Ravin had a perplexing set of stats, neither particularly strong nor exceptionally clever. 

In terms of brute force, she ranked below Arsil. 

Admittedly, it was strange to see a healer who was also a martial artist, but such anomalies existed. 

When it came to strategy, she couldn’t keep up with the mages or the shield knights.

Yet, Ravin had a knack for assessing situations objectively and playing to her strengths, which had bolstered her survival skills and standing. 

But that was when she was merely a squad leader among a gang. 

Like Arsil, Ravin was utterly ineffective in dealing with bureaucratic debates.

“Uh, so, what I’m saying is, demons, you see, with their deep-rooted grudges and all that, shouldn’t automatically be considered enemies,” the merchant stammered.

“But, merchant! These demons are out to kill us all! They’re trying to wipe us out first, so how are they not our enemies?” retorted a mercenary.

“Uh, so, the economy works like this. You buy what you want with money! You sell what others want for money! Demons also have desires! So if they want to buy and sell, they should be seen as business partners first, not automatically enemies,” the merchant explained, albeit clumsily.

Even Ravin, though poor at debates, couldn’t ignore the absurdity of this dialogue. 

She stood there, mouth agape, listening to the senseless exchange between the mercenary and the merchant.

“I don’t care about the economy! They’re the ones shoving knives at our throats! As a mercenary guild responsible for Waltercrua’s security, dealing with demons is pointless! We can’t trust them! We need to eliminate all threats to ensure our safety! Demons should be killed on sight!” the mercenary argued passionately.”

“Uh, then, how does the mercenary guild plan to flush out all the demons in Waltercrua? Do you think they’ll just come out if you call them? You need to lure them out by pretending to negotiate, not by brandishing weapons and causing chaos,” the merchant countered.

Ravin looked around, doubting her understanding, but her subordinates were equally bewildered, furrowing their brows or wearing vacant expressions. 

Even Adora seemed confused.

‘Are you serious?’

Suppressing the urge to flip the conference table, Ravin silently wished for Lin and Lucy to quickly subdue the demonic market. 

Then she could overturn this round table with satisfaction and deal with the babbling idiots on either side.

Lucy’s fingers itched. 

Not just her fingers, her legs trembled, eager to dash forward. 

This was her first battle since regaining her limbs.

‘I want to show Lin how strong I am.’

Beaten and battered by Ravin, Lucy felt quite diminished. 

Even Lin had shown minimal interest in her, which gnawed at her. 

Now, a chance for redemption had come. 

A mission she could easily handle: subdue the black market dealing in demonic beasts. 

The plan was simple: infiltrate the market, incapacitate everyone, and secure the beasts.

Conveniently, the market was close to the conference room. 

They could send a signal once subdued, bring Lin to the conference room, and capture Reinhold’s informants.

Reinhold. 

The name chilled her blood. 

For three years, he had deceived her—a vile man who made her realize how poor her judgment of men was. He was a stain on her life. 

Without Lin’s orders, she would have captured an informant, found Reinhold’s location, and killed him immediately. 

Lucy feared she couldn’t win Lin’s love as long as Reinhold was alive.

Reinhold was the one target she had to personally tear apart, even if it meant parting from Lin temporarily. 

She needed to kill him to ensure her place in Lin’s heart. 

She envisioned showing Lin the dismembered pieces of Reinhold, proving she had cleansed her past.

‘I love only you,’ she would say, presenting the left half of Reinhold as a symbol of pure devotion and the right half as proof of her unwavering loyalty.

This thought kept her going as she followed Lin into the black market. 

The merchants eyed her suspiciously, sensing her sinister intent.

“Lucy, get ready,” Lin whispered.

Lucy nodded, closing her eyes to sense the demonic energy. 

She quickly detected the unrefined presence of the beasts.

“Yes, this is the place.”

It wasn’t far from the conference room. 

Once they finished here, they would regroup with Ravin and present the evidence to publicly oust the traitors.

But Ravin was no fool. 

She had left hundreds of thieves waiting at the guild house and taken only a few to the conference room. 

Only Lucy and Lin were handling the black market, a decision Lin had insisted upon. 

The enemies here were weak, mere grunts compared to the real threats awaiting them: the two traitors of the Triad and the ever-dangerous demon party.

Subduing this place swiftly and joining Ravin was the plan.

“Welcome! What are you looking for?” a bald man greeted them, his eyes shamelessly fixated on Lucy’s prominent chest, ignoring Lin entirely.

“Oh my, miss. The lingerie shop isn’t here. There’s a place for H-cups nearby. Want me to show you the way?”

“Excuse me.”

“Your bust looks heavy. Should I carry it for you?”

“Excuse me.”

“Don’t interrupt. I’m talking to this lady here. Understand?”

Apparently born a thug, the bald man got annoyed at Lin’s persistent interruptions. 

Raising an eyebrow and leaning forward, he gave Lin a typical delinquent glare.

“What the hell are you buying? I’ll have someone show you around… Ack!”

Crunch!

“You bald idiot, what’s with your attitude towards Lin?” Lucy snapped, lifting him by the face with one hand, crushing his cheekbones with her grip.

“Apologize to Lin.”

“Guhh…!”

“I said, apologize, you bald scum.”

“Gahh…”

A man with a broken face couldn’t possibly speak. 

He just trembled, letting out a squeal like a pig as his gang rushed over.

“Who’s there?”

“Wow, look at her boobs.”

“You idiot! Can’t you see she’s crushing Max’s head?”

There were about a dozen of them, matching Adora’s intel. 

Lin stepped forward.

“There are demonic beasts here, right?”

“How did you…?”

“Money talks. Sell me the beasts.”

“They’re not for sale!”

“What’s the big deal? You’re smuggling them, risking execution anyway. Just sell them, and we’re in it together.”

“Ridiculous…!”

“Wait, how much are you offering?”

They were curious about the price. Lin, in a monotone, pointed to Lucy.

“She’ll handle it.”

“W-what?”

“Lin, what are you talking about?”

“Huh? What do you mean? I’m saying it literally. We have no choice but to use our hands.”

The black market gang members were buzzing, and even Lucy was flustered as she asked Lin. 

But Lin spoke innocently.

“Be honest, Lucy. You don’t have a sword, do you?”

“…!!”

“Then you have no choice but to use your hands to fight.”

“Oh…”

Lucy, trying to hide her blushing face, realized that her hand, which had grabbed the bald man, was covered in snot and saliva, and she felt a surge of irritation.

“Hey! Are you only going to use your hands? I prefer using my feet!”

“Huh…? I never said I would only use my hands. Using my feet works better for me too.”

At this, the black market gang cheered.

“Woohoo! Feet are allowed too!”

For some reason, they seemed to like that. 

While Lin chuckled in disbelief, Lucy’s expression grew increasingly stiff.

“So, are you going to sell the beast?”

“No, quite the opposite.”

The gang members drew their weapons.

“We’re going to kill you, and that woman will have to please us using not just her hands and feet, but every part of her body.”

Wow.

Lin was genuinely impressed. 

After seeing their bald boss get his face smashed, they were still acting on their lower body’s commands?

“Enough, who’s in charge here?”

At least bring along someone disguised as the head of the black market. He’s an important witness.

“If you mean that bald guy, he’s already over there, knocked out. He paid us well, but now, you’ll have to work hard to cover his share too.”

Oh, this is a mess. Why did that beggar act like such a thug?

Lin took a pair of leather gloves from the porter’s bag and handed them to Lucy.

“Let’s kill them all. It’s more troublesome if they run away and spread the word.”

“Is that okay?”

“Of course.”

Lin helped her put on the gloves.

“They said bad things to you. Don’t forgive them.”

“…Yeah! As I thought, Lin is the only one who cares about me!”

With her eyes tingling, Lin wiped the corners of Lucy’s eyes.

“Now, go, Lucy.”

“Okay!”

With a bright smile, Lucy turned around. But the face of the hero facing the gang was void of any expression.

Crack!

One guy’s head burst from a kick.

“You said feet were allowed, right?”

She wiped the filth off her foot by grinding it into the ground.

“Hi, hiick!”

“R-Run away…!”

The black market gang, finally understanding the situation, began to scatter.

“You can’t go, Lin told me not to let you live.”

Lucy quickly chased after them. Meanwhile, Lin realized something was wrong.

“Huh?”

Lucy chased the fugitives, leaving Lin alone. Behind him, three remaining gang members, too frozen to run, stood still.

“Huh?”

Lin and the remnants stared blankly at each other.

“Damn it!”

Lin snapped out of it and grabbed a shield from the porter’s bag as the remnants charged at him.

Slice!

A dagger grazed Lin’s cheek, the scent of his blood quickly reaching her.

“…Lin?”

Biting her nails in anger.

“Who the hell did this to you…?”

“Informant? What’s wrong?”

A thief waiting in the conference room asked, but Adora ignored him.

“Go tell the boss.”

“Why is the informant acting like that?”

“Prepare for battle.”

“Hey, informant!”

Despite the thief’s call, Adora vanished from the spot.

“What the hell is this…!”

At the same time, there was a loud argument at the conference table. 

The mercenary guild and the merchant guild were trying to frame Ravin as a traitor.

“Our mercenaries only know how to fight and seize! But thieves can negotiate!”

“Um, so we merchants use deals as weapons, but thieves also know how to conquer through force.”

Ravin, shaking her fist, confronted them.

“What kind of nonsense is that? Your logic is as stupid as your speech, you idiots!”

An intense exchange of nerves and insults followed. But shortly after,

Awoooooo~!!!!

“What’s that?!”

With a sharp beastly howl, the surroundings began to crumble. 

The building used as a conference room fell apart as if it had never existed.

Among the collapsing buildings, Ravin saw it.

“A unique… mutant…?”

A wolf beast the size of a house, surrounded by what seemed like hundreds of wolf beasts.

“Where’s Lucy? Find Lucy!”

“Boss! The informant has left the premises!”

“What nonsense is that!”

The sudden turn of events left Ravin’s mind spinning. 

The unique mutant stared straight at her and howled again.

Awoooooo~!!!!

“Everyone, prepare for battle!”

Ravin drew her dagger. 

The unique mutant began to move, and the smaller beasts charged with it. 

The merchant guild and the mercenary guild were one team at that moment. 

One misstep and they would all die.

“Do we have to face them together?!”

“If we leave them be, we’re all dead!”

Despite their hesitation, Ravin yelled at them roughly.

“What are you doing, you idiots! Tear those bastards apart! This is our city! This is the Waltercrua of Three Heads! Even if someone eats it up, it should be one of us, not some beasts!”

Finally, the two guild leaders drew their swords and charged.

“Guys, it’s a battle, let’s go!”

“We must protect our assets!”