Prologue

A small alley had been taped off, the light from the streetlamp shone enough for the two cops to see. The faint smell of gunpowder lingered in the air, just moments ago, a gun had been fired. Locals say they only heard one shot. The problem? Three bodies lay on the ground, and only one had a bullet wound. The other two had been killed using an Ego. The culprit's Ego was most likely one that allowed them to manipulate chains, as the victims had bruises all over, as well as a couple of stab wounds, their blood stained the ground, though most of it had been washed away by now. It was pouring lightly, and to be frank, he wanted to go home. Using the end of his baton, he was able to push the head to get a better look at who it was that might have died. Despite being on the job for well over 10 years, he could never get used to seeing a head that's been shot through, one clean bullet pierced through and through. The other two were nobodies, same as this one. There was a good chance the trio all knew each other. Aside from that, nobody had seen anything, and this alley was a blind spot from the cameras. But from what he could deduce, these idiots might have been trying to rob someone and ended up dead. Or, it could have been them. He stands up, adjusting his hat.

" Hey, let's hurry this up so we can-" When he turned around, he found his partner being strangled by someone, followed by the cold feel of a gun touching the back of his head. I should've just stayed home. And then the sound of gunfire rang through the alley again.

" They'll know it was us," The hooded man spoke, rain sliding off his poncho as he stood over the fallen body of the now-dead cop. He shakes his gun of water before sliding it back into its holster underneath his cloak. His partner uncoiling her sword from around the other dead cops neck, her smile peeking out from underneath her hood, " Ehh, it's finnnne, we're wanted criminals anyway, so what difference does it make?" she said stepping over the cop, she was only acting this way because orders from the higher ups said that everyone is to limit all unneccessary killings to a minumum. They scale the side of the walls and make their escape via rooftops. This part of Weiran was packed with buildings, making it easier to get around.

" Tch, I still don't see why we're suddenly being put on a leash... Ohhh, you think they're going to make a move soon!?" the hooded girl said, skipping alongside her partner.

" Hmm, the infamous 'Upenders', even though we're both from Kraianth, not many people have actually seen them. OH, since you're so much older than me, does that mean you've seen them?" He had elected to ignore her last comment, since he was only a year or so older than her. But he had seen them, " I did." Despite most of her face being concealed in shadow, he could tell she was eager to hear more, " It was a year before you joined, during the S-rank dungeon under the Titans Mountain. One of them had been assigned to the team to make sure things went well..."

" And? How was it? I bet it was mesmerizing, seeing someone of that calibre fight!" He could still remember that day clearer than any other,

" It was...nice, I guess." His partner did not like that answer. He pushed the memory of that day back, seeing one of those...lunatics fight wasn't nice, it was awful. He hoped never to run into them again. The Tainted Blades of Kraianth.

The rain had stopped by the time they had reached the roof of their headquarters in Weiren. Using the seal, he was able to access the door. Once inside, he pulled his hood down and pushed his hair back.

" Welcome back, Edward, Allia," spoke the building's AI. Allia shook her entire body like a dog, spraying water all over. Edward shielded his face with his arm, and when she noticed, she laughed. Allia heads down to the cafe while Edward makes his way to the district officer's office. He needed to make sure to report their outing.

Allia let out a heavy sigh as she sat herself down on the stairs, pulling her hood off. Edward was big on following the rules, and whatever, she, on the other hand, just wanted to do whatever. The reports didn't take long, and she didn't need to wait, but it would be lonely without her buddy, plus she loved to tease him about the fact that he really loves the pudding Granny makes. She was tempted to go with him to ask if the district manager knew anything about that announcement, buut she didn't wanna so here she was. After they dropped by the cafe, she'd need to visit the weapon guys and get her blade checked out. She had been overusing it without any proper maintenance. " You know you don't have to wait every time," Edward says, standing a couple of steps above her. She leaned her back to see him staring down at her. From here, his frown looked like a smile, which prompted her to smile. She stands up as the duo makes their way down, and she begins teasing him before they even reach the cafe.