Damon only had a few moments of solitude after closing his status screen before a soft knock came from his bedroom door. 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

He opened the door to find Hana on the other side, her notebook clutched against her chest with both hands, her expression carrying the particular tension of someone who had found something they weren’t sure they wanted to have found.

"I think I have something," she said quietly.

Damon immediately stepped aside to let her in.

She entered with the slightly cautious energy she always carried in his space. Aware of him, not quite uncomfortable and not quite willing to leave, just cautious.

"Someone’s thoughts," she began, keeping her voice low out of habit even though the corridor was empty. "I wasn’t targeting anyone specifically. It just surfaced while I was passing through the eastern wing." She paused for a moment, as if making sure to recall the words correctly. "They were thinking about a meeting. People who want new leadership."

Damon said nothing.

"It’s tonight," she continued. "They are meeting at midnight. There’s a forest north of the castle. Apparently, that’s their gathering place."

The information landed quietly between them.

He’d suspected the traitor to be at least capable. Giving the enemy citadel detailed information about him required some type of strength. After all, moving information through the ruined city was far from easy for ordinary people.

A group rather than a single person made more sense. People didn’t usually betray alone. They found others who felt the same way first.

"How many?" he asked.

"I don’t know. The thought wasn’t specific enough." She looked at her notebook, then back at him. "But it sounded like it wasn’t the first time they’d met."

Damon nodded once.

"Don’t tell anyone," he said. "Not Ivy. Not anyone."

She tilted her head slightly. "You’re going alone?"

"Yes. We don’t know who is a part of it. It’s best to catch them by surprise."

Hana lingered for a moment before asking. "And what will you do to those who are there?"

Her gaze met his, and as soon as she looked into his eyes, she didn’t have to read his mind to understand exactly what he would do.

"I’ll do what needs to be done."

She accepted the answer with a quiet nod.

Instead of leaving as soon as her matter was over, Hana lingered behind for a while, standing in the middle of the room with the particular stillness of someone who had a reason to stay and hadn’t quite worked out how to justify it yet.

"Is there anything else?" Damon asked.

"N-No," she replied with slight hesitation, her knees shifting closely together, and her finger circled the strand of her golden hair.

"Midnight is less than thirty minutes from now. I’ll head straight to the forest to see what it’s all about," he said, walking toward the door and pausing at the threshold. "You should get some rest," he added before leaving the girl behind in his room and moving toward the north of the castle.

***

Damon moved between the shadows not to raise any suspicion to himself. He had no idea who was part of those meetings, so he decided it was best for no one to see him leave the premises.

He arrived early, watching a small campfire from behind the cover of the trees as three people already sat there, awaiting the others, who soon began to arrive.

With pinpoint accuracy, as the hour struck twelve and midnight arrived, there were nine figures standing around the small fire.

"That’s everyone," one of the people present, supposedly a leader of this small group, judging by how easily he took control of the situation, spoke.

"What about—" another person began to ask, but was quickly cut off.

"He’s unavailable." A moment of pause passed before the leader continued. "We can’t keep living under this rule..."

The man continued with some speech, at which Damon almost rolled his eyes a couple of times. It sounded like something out of a kids’ storybook rather than something an actual person would say, mentioning things like breaking out of the chains and revolting against the rulers.

Still, wanting to get as much information out of this circus as he could, Damon lingered behind the tree as long as he could, listening to their speeches until the conversation turned toward the enemy citadel.

"...We can’t allow these savages to rule over us—

That was enough.

Damon stepped out of the treeline.

The fire caught him immediately, nine faces turning toward the sudden presence at the clearing’s edge with the particular expression of people whose worst fear had just walked out of the dark, wearing a completely calm expression.

Nobody spoke for a moment before someone broke into a sprint.

It was a helpless attempt, as what followed took less than two seconds, and eight people were left on the ground without any of them having managed to summon even a single weapon, scream, or anything that would carry back to the castle.

Only one person was left alive, the leader.

He hadn’t run. Either too proud to be seen as weak or too frightened to move, and judging by the pale look on his previously confident face, it was the latter.

The man’s eyes moved across the clearing, capturing the eight figures on the ground, the shadows that seemed to close in on him and Damon, who was standing between him and every exit.

There was no escape.

"Who else is a part of these meetings?" Damon asked.

The man’s mouth opened and held there, fighting against his fears before he forced his lips shut.

"I won’t ask twice."

The name came out slowly, one person, someone who collected the information and passed it out, a contact the group had never met in person but communicated through dropped notes in specific locations near the teleportation gate.

Damon’s expression darkened.

Although the man before him hadn’t seen the face of that person, Damon knew who it was quite well. What made it worse, however, was his Verdict ability, which made it clear that the man was telling the truth.

"Any last words?" Damon finally asked.

The man didn’t speak, instead, his gaze dropped to the ground before Damon’s sword flashed through the air, ending the meeting early.