"Are you in position?" Vincent asked through the earbud.
"Yeah. But they've installed even more cameras here. Getting inside without being noticed could prove difficult," Noctis replied. "Are you sure I can't just storm in and kill everything that gets in my way?"
Vincent sighed.
"No. We're sticking to the plan."
Noctis snorted. His nerves were stretched to the breaking point. He had probably never gone into a mission this tense before. But this wasn't about just anyone—it was about the man he loved. How could he not be on edge?
"Isaac got in touch," he said after a moment. "He doesn't want to wait in his room in case something goes wrong. He wants to head for the back entrance instead."
"Is he okay?"
Noctis pressed his lips together. He didn't have a good feeling about any of this.
"I still don't think so. He's in pain, but he refused the morphine because it'd slow him down. We need to get him out of there as fast as possible."
"That's exactly why I came along, little brother," Vincent said. "The moment we have him, you deal with Levi and I'll take care of Isaac. Then you can tear the bastard apart to your heart's content, and I'll enjoy the show."
Noctis couldn't suppress a faint smile.
A fair division of labor. Even if, not for the first time, he wished he possessed healing magic himself. He loved his illusion magic—it was versatile, elegant, and deadly. But when someone you loved was hurt, every other kind of magic suddenly felt worthless.
"Well then, let's give the bastard a look at my gorgeous face."
A laugh escaped Noctis before he could stop it.
"Hopefully he'll keel over from the shock."
"He wouldn't be the first person I've driven out of his mind with my looks."
"Speaking of which, is the cop in position too?"
"He is. He's standing by so he can take Isaac off my hands later. He won't be joining the fight—I still need him for other things. Besides, this fight isn't really his business."
Noctis snorted.
"Probably for the best, considering how terrible his aim is."
"I heard that, you goddamn asshole," the cop said irritably. "I can always leave, you know, and finally go back to my normal life."
Noctis rolled his eyes.
"Go ahead," he replied dryly. "Then I won't have to look at your ugly mug any longer."
"You two bicker like an old married couple," Vincent muttered.
"I would never marry him!" the cop shot back.
"Don't worry," Noctis replied. "My standards are higher."
"Children, please," Vincent cut in. "We're starting. The camera just picked me up."
Noctis was about to turn the volume down when the sound of gunfire echoed from inside the building.
His heart skipped a beat.
Darling!
"Shit," he cursed.
"What's wrong?" Vincent asked.
"Gunshots," Noctis managed.
"They're coming from the front side," Lucy said. "Third floor."
"That has to be Isaac," Noctis growled. "I'm going in."
"Wait," Vincent said.
"Wait for what? He's obviously run into trouble!"
More gunfire.
"They're not going to kill him, Noctis. No matter what happens, I can heal him. But it won't help if you charge in blindly and make the situation worse."
Noctis closed his eyes for a moment. He hated this. He hated every single second of waiting.
"I've got the room in my sights," Moz reported. "It's too dark to make out much, but I can see several bodies lying outside one of the rooms. Isaac isn't among them."
Following Vincent's order was harder than Noctis cared to admit.
"That devil's unbelievable," Lucy said in amazement. "He disabled Ash's surveillance. I'm guessing a few of those shots were aimed at her equipment."
An involuntary smile crossed Noctis's face. Pride mingled with the tension. Even so, all he wanted was to break in and get Isaac out of there.
"Then they should've seen me. I'll wait here for Levi," Vincent said, sounding satisfied. "Are you sure Isaac doesn't want to join us once this is all over? His abilities are genuinely useful."
"Forget it," Noctis snorted. "Once this is over, he'll be waiting for me at home like a good boy. Though I'll let you commission the occasional gadget from him."
Vincent chuckled softly.
"Deal. You can go in. Take Two and Three with you."
"I wouldn't do that. Shit," Moz cursed. "I can see Levi and some of his men."
"Hold," Vincent ordered. His voice was tense. "Does he have him?"
"He's turned the lights on, but I can only see them from behind. Levi's covered on all sides—I couldn't shoot him even if I wanted to."
Noctis held his breath, waiting for Moz to continue. The waiting was driving him insane. It was completely against his nature. By now, a deep sense of unease had taken hold of him.
Please... let him be unharmed...
"I see Isaac. He's walking, but he doesn't look to be in good shape. I can't make out much, unfortunately. One of Levi's men is supporting him."
Cold fury seized Noctis without warning.
"I'm going to kill him," he hissed.
"Noc, calm down. If everything goes according to plan, they'll be coming out any second."
"They just got into the elevator," Moz reported. After a brief pause, he continued, "They're on the ground floor."
"A number of men have gathered at the main entrance too," Lucy said.
"They're coming out. Isaac's with them. I still don't have a clear shot at Levi—he's keeping Isaac close."
"Move to the rendezvous point. One, you and your men go inside and find Ashe. I want her alive. Kill everyone else."
"Understood," One replied.
One belonged to the elite assassin unit and, accordingly, had been assigned a number by Vincent under which he carried out his missions. If he was going in, Noctis had nothing else to worry about. One would bring Ash out alive, and Vincent could interrogate her later.
"Two, Three, you're with me," Noctis said to the other two assassins who had been waiting with him at the rear entrance.
There was nothing more Noctis could accomplish from the back entrance anyway, so he made his way toward his brother. It was far from ideal that Levi had brought Isaac with him, but that didn't mean they couldn't take him back.
He hurried to the rendezvous point as quickly as possible, where several of their people had already gathered. As planned, Lucy and Moz remained hidden, while Vincent and Noctis stood in plain sight. Noctis brushed his fingers over the talisman Isaac had given him.
Whatever happened, he carried the protection of the man he loved. Even open crossfire wouldn't kill him. And even if it did, he would make any sacrifice, so long as he got Isaac out of there.
He took his place beside his brother. Most of their men stayed concealed in the shadows, waiting to reveal themselves only once Levi and his forces arrived. Only a small group remained openly visible.
Levi approached them, surrounded on all sides by his men, with Isaac forced ahead of him. A sickeningly triumphant grin spread across his face. Nothing would have pleased Noctis more than smashing that grin straight off it.
His gaze fell on Isaac, but instead of relief, a wave of dread washed over him.
"Vince..." he said quietly. His voice hardly sounded like his own.
Vincent nodded.
"He looks worse than I expected. I'll take care of him in a minute, Noc."
Isaac was pale. Sweat clung to his skin, and every step looked labored. He barely seemed able to stay on his feet. Only Levi's grip appeared to be keeping him upright. His left arm was soaked in blood; from this distance, Noctis couldn't make out anything else.
"Vince," Noctis said grimly. "If things get out of control, I'm knocking out everything within a two-hundred-meter radius."
"I'd rather you didn't," Vincent sighed. "Isaac needs help. If you knock me out too, that could cost him precious time."
Noctis let out a slow breath. If only he could create an illusion. Everything would be so much easier.
"Have our people clear a path for me. Two and Three are coming with me. One of them grabs Isaac and brings him straight to you. Tell the cop to be ready to get him the hell out of here," Noctis growled.
"Isaac is our top priority right now," Vincent agreed.
He immediately began relaying orders to their men.
Levi came to a stop roughly fifty meters away.
"Good evening, Levi," Vincent greeted him. "How nice of you to accept my invitation."
Levi snorted.
"Invitation? You signed your own death warrant the moment you showed up here," he replied arrogantly.
"Unfortunately, we didn't have much choice," Vincent said with feigned regret. He gestured toward Isaac. "You have something that belongs to us, and we'd very much like to have Isaac back."
His voice turned noticeably colder, edged with unmistakable menace.
"Judging by what I see, your hospitality leaves a lot to be desired."
Levi laughed.
"Isaac?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. "As I'm sure you know, he can take quite a bit. Isn't that right, Isaac?"
He jerked Isaac around as though he were nothing more than a marionette, manipulating him with a tug of the strings. A pained groan escaped Isaac's lips. He lifted his head, and at last their eyes met. He looked at Noctis intently. His lips formed a single word. But from this distance, Noctis couldn't make it out.
"Portal..." Moz's voice came through the earbud. "They've probably taken everything off him—his pockets look empty. Do you think he still has his portal?"
That was probably the most likely explanation. Levi was an arrogant bastard, but from everything they knew, he was also cautious. Isaac almost certainly no longer had his phone, his lockpicks, or especially his knife. There was no way Levi could know about the portal.
Even so, Noctis wasn't willing to take any risks. He was impulsive and had an incredibly short fuse, but he would never charge in recklessly if it meant putting Isaac in danger.
He pulled out the card and held it where Isaac could see it.
"He can take a lot," Vincent said, "but you seem to have very little understanding of how much a normal human being can endure. So why don't we settle this like grown men? You give Isaac back, and we all go home happy and alive."
Vincent kept Levi distracted. The moment Levi's attention shifted back to Vincent, Noctis saw Isaac subtly retrieve the card and murmur quietly under his breath. When Isaac finally gave him a slight nod, Noctis slid the knife, hilt first, through the portal.
He watched Isaac catch it.
A cold expression settled over his exhausted features.
Then Isaac tore himself free and slashed Levi across the arm.
Levi cried out in pain.
As Levi cried out in pain, Isaac pressed the attack and swung again.
He hit Levi in the stomach. Instantly, his shirt turned dark red. Noctis couldn't tell how deep the wound really was. The distance was too great, and the chaos surrounding them too dense. Even so, he sprang into motion without hesitation.
It would've been better if Isaac had sliced him open so deeply that his intestines spilled out. Unfortunately, Noctis was denied that spectacle.
What a shame.
Levi deserved nothing less than to be disemboweled alive.
But there was no time for that now. His only focus was getting Isaac out of there. The moment Isaac struck Levi, one of Levi's men drove a brutal kick into his stomach. Isaac staggered dangerously backward. For a moment, it looked as though he would fall, but somehow he managed to catch himself. His free hand immediately clutched his abdomen.
"Now!" Vincent shouted.
Noctis didn't care how many men Levi had. He would've taken on hundreds by himself and emerged victorious. Every single Webster assassin could fight several opponents at once.
Levi would lose tonight, and they would make sure he never hurt anyone again.
Noctis fought his way mercilessly through the ranks of Levi's men. Knives flashed, blood sprayed, bodies hit the ground. At some point, he'd stopped counting how many men had already fallen to his blade.
He didn't care.
All that mattered was Isaac.
But the sheer number of enemies slowed him down. Every step forward had to be fought for. Every dead opponent only made room for the next. His eyes never left Isaac. He barely dared to blink, afraid that something would happen in that exact instant.
Isaac attacked again.
With one swift movement, he buried his knife into one of Levi's men's abdomen, ripped the blade free, and turned toward the next opponent in the same breath. The second strike caught the man across the throat.
He collapsed instantly.
Meanwhile, Levi had pulled himself back to his feet. His face twisted with rage, he barked orders across the square. Noctis didn't understand a single word, but he didn't need to. He watched as two of Levi's men charged Isaac at the same time. One of them landed another kick square in Isaac's upper abdomen.
Isaac hit the ground hard. He remained there, hunched over, both arms wrapped around his stomach.
Then he spat blood.
For a single heartbeat, the world seemed to stand still.
His blood froze. Then it boiled.
A cold, all-consuming rage tore through his body.
Just wait until I get my hands on you, Levi!
"Isaac!" he roared.
The next moment, Two and Three appeared at his side. Without a word, they fell into step with him and began carving a path through the enemy together. With their support, the enemy line broke apart far more quickly.
Levi's greatest strength was the sheer number of his men. But that was also his greatest weakness. Not one of them could stand against a Webster assassin.
Noctis finally began making faster progress.
He was grateful that every man and woman in their clan was dependable, and that he could trust them without question.
The elite squad especially, along with Lucy and Moz, didn't even need orders to function, and they would never allow Isaac to be overwhelmed out there on his own.
"I'll get Isaac out of there. You take care of Levi."
The cop had suddenly appeared right beside Noctis.
"What are you doing here?" Noctis snapped, driving his knife into an attacker's ribs. "I thought this wasn't your fight!"
"It isn't." The cop shot down two attackers without so much as looking up. "My only job is getting Isaac out of here alive. So leave him to me and focus on killing people. That's what you're good at, after all."
Noctis growled.
"Then make damn sure he gets out of here alive this time," he snarled. "If Isaac has to suffer for even one more goddamn second because of you, I'll personally send you to hell. I don't care how much my brother likes you."
The cop hurled an insult back at him. Noctis barely registered it. At that very moment, his blade slit another opponent's throat. The man collapsed with a wet gurgle.
"Stop worrying already!" the cop shouted over the roar of the battle. "This isn't my first operation."
This situation was far more chaotic than anything Noctis had ever experienced. He trusted his own people without question.
The cop, however, was another matter.
"I hope you're a better nurse than you are a marksman," he said before turning his attention back to Isaac.
"Moz. Take the shot when you have a clear line of sight," Vincent ordered. "Lucy, box them in."
"Understood," Lucy replied, and suddenly the assassins emerged from the shadows.
Without a sound, they appeared among Levi's men and cut off their escape routes. Panic spread through the rear ranks as the first guards realized they were suddenly under attack from every direction.
"I don't have a clean shot at Levi yet. I'll take out his guard first," Moz said calmly.
"Fire," Vincent replied just as calmly.
Levi advanced on Isaac with his blade drawn, still flanked by his men. One gunshot rang out louder than all the others, striking one of the guards square in the forehead. Levi didn't even seem to notice that one of his men had just fallen. Without slowing down, he continued toward Isaac.
Moz had finally joined the fight.
About damn time you fucking Idiot, Noctis thought.
"Shoot Levi. But don't kill him. I want him alive."
"Understood."
By now, Isaac had forced himself back to his feet. His posture was terrible. He was still clutching his upper abdomen, his movements sluggish. Every step looked like it took tremendous effort. He looked as though he was only moments away from collapsing.
Noctis was almost there.
Just a little farther.
Levi raised his knife. The blade shot straight toward Isaac's throat. Isaac didn't react. He seemed completely paralyzed.
At that exact moment, a second shot rang out.
Levi's body jerked violently to the side. The bullet had torn through his right shoulder—the very shoulder holding the knife. The blade missed Isaac's throat by mere inches.
"Target hit," Moz reported matter-of-factly.
"Good work. Keep your eyes on Levi and shoot if any of our people are in danger," Vincent ordered. "We finish this within the next ten minutes and disappear before the cops arrive."
"That shouldn't be a problem," Lucy said eagerly.
"Don't take unnecessary risks. We got what we came for. Thin out their numbers and only fight battles you're certain to win," Vincent said with satisfaction.
"Understood," several voices answered at once.
"Three! Help get Isaac out of here! Two! Watch my back!" Noctis ordered as he quickened his pace.
He charged straight at Levi.
Levi's remaining bodyguard raised his pistol at Isaac. Noctis was finally within range. He couldn't even say how many men he'd killed on the way here, but it didn't matter. Tightening his grip on his knife, he hurled it straight at the hand aiming the pistol at Isaac.
The blade pierced clean through the bodyguard's hand. A bloodcurdling scream cut through the noise of battle. The pistol slipped from his fingers and skidded across the ground.
Before the knife had even struck home, Noctis had already drawn another blade. With all his strength, he drove a kick into Levi's side. The crime boss crashed into his own bodyguard. Both men lost their balance and tumbled to the ground together.
He suppressed the urge to look at Isaac and focused entirely on what lay before him. There wasn't much he could hear through the chaos of battle.
Noctis cut down two more men before he was finally able to walk toward Levi at an unhurried pace. His blood boiled as it coursed hot through his veins.
His heart thundered in his chest, yet outwardly he appeared perfectly calm. The blood in his veins felt like liquid fire.
"Oh, Levi," he said with feigned sympathy. "I told you I'd catch you."
Levi's face twisted with fury.
"Kill him!" he roared.
Gunshots rang out, but not a single one hit Noctis. In the blink of an eye, Two killed three of the shooters. Noctis dispatched two more. He didn't have many blades left and needed to conserve them if he wanted Levi to suffer a little longer.
Throwing any more knives at Levi's men was no longer an option.
"We've got Isaac," Vincent said.
A weight Noctis hadn't even realized he was carrying vanished in an instant.
He let out a slow breath.
"They're almost with me. I'll take care of him, Noc. Don't worry."
Noctis locked eyes with Levi, who stared back at him in shock. A murderous grin spread across his lips. He was going to tear Levi apart like a rabid dog.
"That expression suits you much better than your arrogance ever did," Noctis said calmly. "Let's see how you look when you're terrified of dying."
He didn't give Levi a chance to answer.
He attacked immediately.