"Hey, aren’t those the prisoners we just captured...?"
One goblin soldier pointed toward the group running through the forest. His friend looked in the same direction before shaking his head.
"My brother, we’re not on duty right now. Just enjoy life."
...
With Yasmin’s newly increased power, the group managed to escape the kingdom.
Her ability had also changed. She could now allow several people to stay inside the black cloud she created, effectively hiding them from anyone searching for them.
After safely returning to their own kingdom, Team One and Team Four said their goodbyes.
Aluna and Valen had to report to the Black Seed officials, both to check on the latest news and to give their report about the "adventure" they had just experienced.
Meanwhile, Qasim and Doran went with the elf Vom to Team Two’s base. They needed Aurora to examine Vom and make sure the purple roots inside her body wouldn’t cause any problems.
Qasim also wanted Aurora to examine his own condition and hopefully find something that could help his body recover faster.
...
Aurora was visibly shocked the moment she examined them.
She immediately recognized the roots.
"The same roots as those monsters..."
She screamed when she realized that they were connected to the monsters created by the scientists.
Then she examined Qasim.
Her expression became even worse.
"Qasim! What the hell happened to your body?!"
Even after everything he had gone through, Qasim hadn’t realized just how miserable his physical condition had become.
After giving him some Alchemy medicine, Qasim thanked Aurora and left.
He returned to the base, but Kevin was nowhere to be found.
Qasim approached the old woman at the reception desk.
"Excuse me, have you seen Kevin?"
The old woman looked at him.
"Kevin? He went missing about two days ago."
Qasim’s expression immediately changed.
"Missing?"
"Yes. Before he disappeared, he seemed extremely scared and angry. He kept saying that his friend had been kidnapped."
Qasim’s heart sank.
Without wasting another second, he rushed outside to search for Kevin.
His first thought was to ask the police for help.
But he never expected that he would actually find Kevin inside one of their cells.
"Kevin!"
The owl Beastkin looked much thinner and weaker than before. Dark circles surrounded his large eyes, showing just how little sleep he had gotten.
When he heard his friend’s voice, Kevin slowly lifted his head.
His eyes immediately lit up.
"Q-Qasim..."
"What happened, Kevin? Why are you here?"
Kevin answered slowly, his voice cracked and exhausted.
"The kingdom is in a state of war... and since I’m a Beastkin, the police arrested me as a potential spy..."
"That’s bullshit!"
Qasim turned toward the guard.
"Hey, YOU! Release my friend!"
But before the guard could respond, Kevin stopped him.
"Forget about me, Qasim!"
Qasim froze.
"Please... save Melissa!"
"What?"
Qasim’s expression changed.
"Where is she?"
"I don’t know..."
Kevin lowered his head.
"The last time I saw her was four days ago. We were planning the next moves for our camera business. We wanted to surprise you when you came back, but..."
His voice became quieter.
"Her mother told me that Melissa never came home that day."
Kevin clenched his fists.
"I spent the next few days searching for her, but I found nothing. So I went to the police for help..."
He looked around the cell.
"And they captured me instead."
Kevin looked directly at Qasim.
"Please... make sure she’s safe first."
Qasim’s chest rose as his anxiety continued to build.
"Alright. Don’t worry."
He turned toward the exit.
"I won’t let anything happen to our friend."
Qasim rushed outside, but he could still hear Kevin shouting behind him.
"Please, Qasim! Be careful yourself!"
...
Before leaving the police station, Qasim showed the officer his Black Seed identification and ordered him to release Kevin and send him to the TaskJam building.
Although Qasim wanted to search for Melissa immediately, there was one problem.
He had absolutely no idea where to start.
"Think, Qasim. Think..."
He stood still for a moment.
Then an idea came to him.
If he couldn’t find Melissa himself, perhaps someone else could.
Qasim immediately returned to the base and asked Yasmin for help.
"I understand."
Yasmin nodded.
"Let’s first go to the *Shadows*. If anyone has information about your friend, it’s probably them."
Qasim and Yasmin immediately went to the Shadows in search of answers.
When they arrived, they met an old woman wearing a mask shaped like a crow’s face.
The woman listened carefully as they explained what had happened.
After they finished, she remained silent for a moment.
"I see what you want to know..."
Her voice was calm.
"And I know exactly what you’re looking for."
She slowly looked toward Qasim.
"But it started long before your little friend was kidnapped."
...
**FOUR DAYS BEFORE QASIM RETURNED**
Melissa was sitting with Kevin, discussing their plans for the camera project.
"Wow, Melissa..."
Kevin looked at her with disbelief.
"You actually managed to meet with some famous merchants? And you even got them to agree to sign a contract with us? That’s insane!"
"Yeah, I know."
Melissa smiled proudly.
"I’m just that good."
She then paused.
"Although, there was one of them who looked a little strange."
"Hmm?"
Kevin looked at her.
"How so?"
"I don’t really know how to describe it..."
Melissa frowned as she tried to remember.
"Something about the way he was looking at me."
Kevin’s expression suddenly became cold.
"You don’t mean..."
"Oh, no, no! Not that kind of look."
Melissa quickly shook her head.
"I mean... it was more like he wanted to see me fail."
She frowned again.
"Again, I don’t really know how to describe it."
"I see..."
Kevin thought for a moment.
"I think I should go with you next time, just in case."
Melissa laughed.
"Hahaha! And what can you even do?"
She looked at his small frame.
"I think I have more muscle than you, to be honest."
"Hey! Don’t say that!"
Kevin puffed out his chest.
"I’m a Beastkin, after all!"
Melissa stopped laughing.
She placed a hand under her chin as she thought about it.
"Oh, right..."
Her expression slowly changed.
"Now that I think about it..."
She looked at Kevin.
"That person was a Beastkin too."
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