[Gasan Digital Coplex, Seoul - Nightshade''s Warehouse: Experimentation Room]


    The guards, their expressions hardened, dragged the two kids down a narrow staircase that led to a room below the warehouse.


    The first kid, a boy with tears in his eyes, struggled against his restraints. "Let us go!" he cried out, his voice echoing off the cold, concrete walls.


    The second guard, a burly man with a stern expression, tightened his grip on the other kid, a girl who looked defiant despite her circumstances. "Shut your trap, kid," he growled.


    "This is what happens when you thrash our property."


    The boy''s eyes shed with anger. "You guys hurt my mom!" he shouted, his voice filled with usation.


    The guard looked momentarily surprised. "What''s this kid talking about?" he asked, ncing at hispanion.


    "I''m not even sure haha!"


    The girl, her jaw set in determination, said, "You''ll pay for this..."


    The guard chuckled, a cruel smile ying on his lips. "Yeah, whatever you say, kid."


    As they approached the front door of the room, the guards pushed it open, revealing a massive space with concrete walls and a single metal door.


    Without a word, they shoved the kids inside, the door closing behind them with a loud thud.


    Inside, the room was dimly lit, with only a faint light filtering in through a small, barred window.


    The air was musty, with a faint smell of dampness and decay.


    The kids looked around, their eyes wide with fear and uncertainty.


    "You kids are in for a surprise," one of the guards sneered from outside, his voice muffled by the closed door.


    ***


    {Rel''s POV}


    [Gasan Digital Complex, Seoul - Nightshade''s Warehouse:


    Vanessa''s voice crackled through the mic in my ear. "Axel, what do you see?"


    I peeked out from behind the crates, taking in the scene before me.


    "There''s been mass manufacturing for the drugs they''ve been making," I replied quietly, my eyes scanning the room for any signs of danger.


    "So that confirms it," Vanessa paused. "What else?"


    I hesitated, unsure if I should tell her about the kids stuck around here.


    But that would only mean that I had a different intention heading inside in the first ce.


    BANGGGG!


    But before I could speak, Vanessa''s voice cut through again, this time with a sense of rm.


    "Shit...I think Christian''s fighting. There are reinforcements here all of a sudden. Sorry, Axel, but I''m going to have to leave for a bit."


    I heard the sounds of explosions in the distance, and I knew it was Christian doing his own thing.


    I sighed, frustrated by the turn of events.


    I needed Vanessa in case anything went wrong, but I''ll have to deal with whatever I have.


    I got back up, moving around the building, checking for each room or any trace of footsteps of children.


    As I searched, a thought urred to me: if I haven''t seen the boss yet, wouldn''t that mean he''d be where the kids are?


    It made sense; the boss would likely be overseeing an operation involving the children.


    I quickened my pace, my senses on high alert as I searched for any sign of the boss or the missing children.


    I had to find them before it was toote.


    As I continued my search, I noticed that the clues were bing more tantly obvious.


    Find joy in m-vlemp _yr.


    I found documents detailing the transportation of the drugs, as well as blueprints of the warehouse that indicated a hidden basement area.


    It seemed that my instincts had been right; there was more to this warehouse than met the eye.


    Following the blueprints, I located a hidden staircase that led to a lower level.


    As I descended, I realized that the basement was asrge as the building itself, with rows of rooms stretching out before me.


    I cautiously explored the area, my heart pounding in my chest.


    I could hear the faint sound of voices and machinery in the distance.


    As I crept through the basement, I caught sight of the boss of the warehouse, Lampard, with two of his men.


    It seems they had just arrived to report to Lampard, who was examining the syringes filled with doping liquid.


    "Boss!" one of the men spoke up, his voice filled with urgency.


    "We''ve got intruders outside of our warehouse."


    Lampard turned around, his expression unreadable. "Do we now?"


    The other man, with a calm demeanor, added.


    "Yes. There''s a mage in a ck cloak starting a fight outside."


    Lampard nced at the two men, his gaze piercing.


    "Ace, Eddie, go outside and deal with the mage quickly. Report back here when you''re done."


    The two men, Ace and Eddie, nodded, acknowledging the order.


    As they turned to leave, I realised I had to hide quickly before they spotted me.


    One of them, however, noticed something amiss.


    He nced at a box that had been moved, suspicion evident in his eyes.


    My breath caught in my throat, expecting to be caught. But their attention was elsewhere.


    "Did one of our workers move this box here?" one of them asked the other, his voice low.


    The other shook his head. "No."


    As they left the building, I let out a silent sigh of relief. I had to be more cautious now that the warehouse was on alert.


    ***


    [Gasan Digital Complex, Seoul - Nightshade''s Warehouse: Rooftops]


    [5 minutes after...]


    BANNG!!!!


    Vanessa leapt from roof to roof, the distant sh of Christian''s battle echoing through the night.


    "...!"


    On the nextnding, not instinct but experience made her recoil.


    A split secondter, daggers rained down, shattering the tiles where she''d stood.


    From above, descending with a leap, Ace appeared,nding gracefully in front of Vanessa.


    He observed her with a careful eye, noting her ck cloak and herposed stance.


    "There''s two intruders?" Ace remarked, more to himself than to Vanessa.


    Vanessa remained silent, her gaze steady as she assessed her opponent.


    "Whatever you have on you, drop it now, and you can leave in peace," Ace demanded.


    Still silent, Vanessa made no move toply.


    "It''s okay. I get it. Your organization doesn''t allow foolish people to speak,"


    Ace continued a hint of mockery in his voice.


    Getting impatient he could only feel irritated at this person who was staring at him with no intent to kill.


    "If you won''tply..."


    WHIP!


    A flicker of steel – the whip uncoiled, razored edges glinting in the moonlight.


    "Then die, masked fool."


    Vanessa watched a decision hardening within her. He wasn''t just a guard with fancy toys. She had to stop him.


    With a swift motion, she drew her own weapon, a ymore, from its sheath that hung behind her back.


    DASH!


    As Ace lunged forward, his whip shining through the air, Vanessa jumped into action.


    SAAASH!


    She dodged to the side, the sharp spikes of the whip grazing the edge of her cloak.


    Not wasting a moment, both her hands clenched tightly to her de.


    huuu...


    As she took a deep breath in, there was energy channelling within her, and as her focus was purely on breaking his defence, Vanessa''s aura surrounded her de casting a light that coated the steel.


    With a swift motion, she swung her ymore in a wide arc aimed at his whip.


    Ace seeing the attack attempted to parry it straight back, but Vanessapletely overwhelmed him in strength.


    SLASH!


    Her de imbued with aura created a shockwave that sent Ace pacing backwards.


    "Not bad," Ace remarked, a smirk ying on his lips.


    "But you''ll have to do better than that to defeat me."


    Ace jumped back into the fight and snapped his whip aiming for Vanessa''s legs, in an attempt to cut them off.


    CRACK!!!


    Vanessa leapt back, the whip cracking against the rooftop where she had just been standing.


    Anticipating his next move, Vanessa charged forward, closing the distance between them in a heartbeat.


    With a powerful swing, she aimed her ymore at Ace''s head, but he was ready, raising his arm to block the blow with the handle of his whip.


    CLANG!


    The metal shed loudly, the sound reverberating through the night.


    Vanessa had been toying with Ace for the minutes that had passed, testing his skills and waiting for the right moment to end the battle.


    She muttered to herself, "I let him live a little too long..."


    With a swift leap into the air, Vanessa channelled her elemental attribute of gravity into her de.


    The de hummed with a blend of violet and darkness, a sight that puzzled Ace as he tried to discern the nature of her attack.


    DUNNNNNNN!!!!


    Before he could react, Vanessa brought her de down with incredible force.


    The roof shattered as his body plummeted to the bottom floor of the warehouse.


    As hey unconscious under the moonlight, Vanessanded gracefully on the rooftop, her cloak billowing behind her.


    She nced down at Ace''s body, knowing that the battle was finally over.


    ____________


    Authors Notes:


    - Each elemental attribute has its own respective weight. some others can be much heavier than others.