Master 22 stared at the frantic messenger, his masked face unreadable but his stance radiating disbelief. "Who attacked?" he demanded, his voice cutting through the operative's panicked gasps. "Can you identify them?"
The messenger, still struggling for breath, stammered, "Master… it's… it's a child! With golden hair!"
At these words, Billy and Bryan, who had been bracing for their imminent capture, both stiffened. Their heads snapped up. Golden hair. The description was unmistakable.
Before either of them could voice their sudden, dawning horror, Master 22 scoffed, a harsh, dismissive sound. "A child? And you're making this much commotion? Go and capture him!"
"But Master," the messenger choked out, his eyes wide with terror, "he's… he's killed everyone! All the guards on the first level! Many of them were knights – our own city guard contingent, and even some of the Roland Kingdom's border patrol stationed with us!"
