[MGM]: 85 - Interlude Zyra

Zyra knew that her treatment had been unfair—knew that they couldn’t simply accuse her of gross incompetence—but because she understood the rules by which the world operated, she knew that any resistance on her behalf would be met with decisive retaliation.

That was the law of the jungle, the rule of life and code of honor by which the hunters lived. Yet it did nothing to abate the burning rage from stoking further—though perhaps that was expected, and to some extent, intended.

“The order came directly from the top,” her superior noted, holding a piece of paper with a cold demeanor, yet unable to hide the turmoil within. For some reason, that seemed to ease her heart, knowing that she wasn’t the only person being targeted.

“What are they asking of us?” she asked, listlessly.

“Not asking,” he replied, shaking his head. “Ordering that the Guild will be managed by Rose Hayworth, effective immediately, and we are to provide her full support.”

“I suppose that’s manageable,” she offered, to which her superior nodded.

The duo fell into a companionable silence, lost in thought and dreading the changes approaching—and approaching fast.

Even now, weeks after the disaster, Erdwatch was still recovering, and perhaps that wouldn’t stop for years to come. The loss of infrastructure had been momentous, though it was the loss of lives that left a deeper wound in the soul of the city. A disaster of that scale warranted resources and support, but all the Guild had received since then were insults and hate.

What most people didn’t understand was that calling an average Guild worker a failure was the same as mocking the system established within. It was like insulting a foot soldier because the King had demanded an increase in taxes.

It didn’t help that other Guild branches had resorted to meaningless posturing and playing politics instead of offering their support—this on top of the fact that they were being accused of causing the disaster in the first place.

Truly, how were they supposed to know that the barriers would harbor such a dreadful defect? Of course, those at the top refused to acknowledge that, and instead blamed them—as if they had somehow caused the disaster.

Zyra took deep and measured breaths, keeping her eyes closed. When she opened them at last, the turbulence was gone, and instead, the woman seemed to have regained her cool.

“I suppose we should go greet our guests then,” she said, looking at the man sitting opposite her. Julian Ashford, though he resembled his past self, looked to have aged a decade. His hair had grown coarse, his sideburns lighter, and he seemed to wrinkle his forehead with a perpetual frown.

It was hard to associate the man with the A-Rank hunter who had stood at the helm when the beasts had marched down the wall. His shoulders slumped, and his back hunched slightly. The sight of him evoked a sharp pain in Zyra’s heart.

He nodded, pulled himself to his feet, and walked toward the door. Zyra followed a step behind, hoping her face didn’t betray her inner anxiety.

In less than a minute, the duo found themselves at the front entrance, which looked more desolate than ever. After the beast tide had run its course, most of the hunters had set to work on rebuilding the city. Nowadays, the Guild halls held a quiet solitude—one that echoed the solemn devastation the city had endured.

They stood together in silence, watching the clear blue sky. Clouds drifted like ice in water, free and unbothered, and cold winds caressed their cheeks, carrying the faint smell of ash and dust.

“They’re here,” her companion echoed.

She followed his line of sight and saw a procession marching toward them. Leading at the head was a woman of regal presence, features colder than ice, and an overbearing aura that made others subconsciously lower their heads.

Rose Hayworth, Zyra thought, frowning. She didn’t like the woman—though to be fair, no one in the Guild actually did. But it was undeniable that she was strong, and strength demanded respect.

Walking beside the woman was a man she recognized. In fact, he had been their guest since the disaster had ended and had only left yesterday. Now it seemed that he had actually been called to accompany Rose.

His name was Liam, and he was the exact opposite of Rose. The man had a darker shade of skin with dusty blonde hair. His garments were loose and meant to evoke a sense of carefree nature. In comparison, Rose sported a regal ensemble, almost militaristic in nature—with a tight white jacket and pants. Her tied black hair fluttered behind her, though it was cut short enough to avoid being a nuisance.

They arrived at the steps, and Julian stepped forward, greeting them with a put-on smile. “Good morning,” he said. “I hope your journey went without a hitch.”

“I don’t think you’ve time to worry about the health of others, Julian,” Rose said, her tone even yet forceful. “Focus on what’s important.”

Julian’s smile grew stiff, and he offered a terse nod. Without another word, Rose forced her way inside, not even deigning to offer Zyra a single glance. Liam seemed to offer some words of comfort to Julian, but the man obviously wasn’t feeling it.

They arrived at the meeting room and filed in. Liam and Rose took a seat on one side, and Julian sat on the other. Zyra remained standing behind him, keeping her face impassive to avoid betraying her surging anxiety.

“Pardon me, Miss, but these are…?” Julian didn’t finish, though it was evident by his words and gaze what he was referring to. Standing behind Rose were four people—one man and three women—and until now they had maintained a hard silence.

“Ignore them,” Rose said, waving her hand offhandedly. “I like to have my own team on the task, so once we are finished, you’re to induct them into the Erdwatch Guild and provide them everything they require. Until then, ignore them.”

“Ah, yes,” Julian nodded and flipped open the folder on the table. Similar folders were presented before Rose and Liam, with the former sifting through the pages in a quick manner and the latter ignoring it as if it didn’t exist.

“As you can see,” Julian began, “the damage to the City Wall has been extensive. We have lost…”

Zyra listened with half an ear, intimately familiar with all the dreadful accounts of the citywide destruction. She instead focused on the reaction the duo offered to the information and was disappointed to receive the same numb expression. Though in retrospect, it was to be expected. The duo must’ve already been briefed, not to mention that Liam had firsthand experience of everything that took place in the city.

…Or not?

She looked down at the untouched folder resting before the man, as if it were disease-ridden. Even now, he seemed more lethargic from listening to Julian talk than he had been when he first arrived at the gates earlier. Seeing this, Zyra couldn’t help but wonder whether he had even bothered to read the accounts provided to him.

Julian finished the talk on the destruction and the steps taken to mitigate the economic downfall. Rose listened with rapt attention and offered terse responses wherever required. At last, the woman closed her folder and leaned back.

“I can assume the recovery efforts are going without a hitch and that we should be seeing some difference within a couple of months,” she noted.

Julian nodded. “You can rest assured that I will do everything in my power to see that the city is standing back on its legs.”

“I never doubted that, Julian,” Rose said. “But let’s put the talk of reconstruction and relief on hold and discuss why exactly we came here.”

Zyra noted Julian grow stiff, and she felt her anxiety rise a smidgen higher. Even Liam, as laid-back as he had appeared in this meeting, looked a touch serious.

“Do you know why we are here, Julian?” Rose asked, but before Julian could reply, she added, “Why we are really here?”

The man ran his tongue over his lips, fingers scraping the edge of the table in nervous agitation. “Is it because of the barrier?” he asked.

“Yes,” Rose replied. “Now, tell me what you know about that.”

“Not much, really. The exact cause for the alert array to stop functioning is something my men haven’t been able to identify. Though we did manage to deploy the barrier, it was only after struggling to bring it back online.”

The woman frowned, her stare turning icy. “What about the information we received on Feylance territory? Has it been verified?”

Julian shared a glance with Zyra before nodding. “Yes,” he said. “It’s true that no barrier was deployed during the siege by the monsters.”

“And yet they managed to keep their territory safe,” Rose added, skeptically.

“Actually, there’s something else…” Julian remarked, earning a curious look from the woman. “It’s possible that they received outside help.”

“What do you mean?”

Instead of answering her question, Julian turned to regard Zyra. Comprehension dawning, she stepped forward and began to elaborate on her encounter.

“Wait a minute,” Rose said, raising a finger. “You’re telling me that some people—who might actually be members of our Guild—decided to ditch us in the middle of a fight and instead provide support to some noble? Something doesn’t add up here…”

“About that,” Zyra said, “they were looking for some people whom the Guild had previously sent to the Feylance Barony. I did some research on those people and they were an established party. One of them—the man who had accompanied that Vampire—had teamed with that group previously. Maybe he sought to rescue his teammates?”

Rose frowned. “Is that what you believe?”

“Um, actually…” Zyra trailed off, clearing her throat. “The group was known to possess a rather notorious reputation within the Guild. They had lost a few members over the years, but none of the core members. As you already know, the Guild has a policy to overlook certain matters so long as its interests aren’t harmed and the fallout isn’t too harsh.”

Rose sighed, rubbing her temple. “This man and the Vampire—tell me what you know about them.”

Zyra took a deep breath and began, “His name is Markus…”