The next morning, Squad One is in a formal briefing room near the main armory.
It’s a simple space, its walls lined with maps and tactical displays.
With a single, large, polished wood table in the center of the room.
Carter, Ruby, Paige, Yulian, and Akira stand together, looking like a young security detail.
They are all dressed in new uniforms: sharp, perfectly tailored black suits, with white collared shirts and simple black ties.
They wait for their Team Leader.
Paige tugs at the collar of her shirt.
“I still cannot believe this is our official uniform. It feels a bit… restrictive. I prefer my normal clothes.”
“I think it’s nice.”
Yulian’s voice is a deep rumble, thick with his Russian accent. He adjusts his tie, which looks tiny against his massive chest.
“Makes us look like… important secret agents.”
Ruby laughs, smoothing down the front of her own suit jacket.
“We ARE important secret agents, you big oaf.”
The suit feels strange, a world away from his old EMT uniform. But it also feels right.
Like a second skin for a new life.
“So, what did everyone do on their day off?”
Ruby’s pink eyes sparkle with curiosity.
“Last chance for fun before we get shipped off to who knows where.”
In the corner of the room, Akira cleans his katana.
“I trained.”
His voice is flat. A simple fact.
Ruby shakes her head, smiling.
“Of course you did. Does the word ‘fun’ even exist in your vocabulary?”
“I visited my family,” Paige says.
A soft light fills her eyes.
“It was… nice. To see them. To know they’re all safe.”
“I gambled!”
Yulian’s grin is wide, almost like a child’s.
“And partied! There were many beautiful women, much good food, and so much vodka!”
He pauses, his grin fading.
“I lost most of my bonus money. But it was a very good time.”
Akira sighs.
“Moron.”
Ruby turns to Carter with a playful glint in her eyes.
“And what about you Carter? What did you do?”
Carter chuckles as he drifts into thought. “Nothing crazy, just catching up with friends.”
He thinks of his parents’ worried faces, a dull ache in his chest.
“It was… good to see them. It was a good day.”
The doors to the briefing room slide open with a soft hiss.
Killian Faust walks in.
The relaxed feeling in the room is dissapating. Replaced by a sharp, professional focus.
For the first time, Killian is all business, no play.
He carries a thin datapad, his eyes scanning the faces of his new team.
“Alright, listen up,” he says.
His voice is a low rumble that commands their attention.
“The time for celebration is over. It is time to go to work.”
Killian walks to the head of the table.
The five members of his squad turn together to face him.
He looks at them, at their young, determined faces.
For a moment, something crosses his face. Pride? Concern? A memory?
Then it is gone.
“Our first mission is an intelligence gathering operation.”
Killian’s voice is a low, serious rumble that fills the silent room.
“We are heading to Bangkok, Thailand.”
“The Library has a small, hidden sanctuary in the city, but for the past few weeks, our agents there have gone dark.”
“At the same time, a number of magical creatures who were under our protection in the area have vanished without a trace.”
He taps the screen of his datapad.
A holographic map of a neon lit city district appears in the air above the table.
“Our last known contact was from an agent who was investigating the local mafia’s sudden, violent takeover of the city’s red light districts.”
“We believe the Order of Babel is using the chaos as a cover for their operations.”
“What kind of creatures are we looking for, exactly?” Akira asks.
His voice is sharp, his focus entirely on the mission.
Killian’s gaze is steady.
“Our missing assets are a small, tight knit community. A group of female Oni and Succubi, and a single male Faun.”
“Succubi?”
Yulian blurts out, his eyes wide with a comical interest.
“Like… the really, really hot demons who please you until you die?”
Paige reaches over and flicks him hard on the forehead.
A sharp, cracking sound echoes in the silent room.
“Ow!” Yulian yelps, rubbing the spot.
“Stop being a perv,” Paige scolds, a look of pure exasperation on her face.
“This is a serious mission.”
A faint smile touches Killian’s lips.
“She is right, Yulian. We are not going there to have fun.”
He pauses, a distant look in his eyes.
“But… I understand the sentiment,” he says while trying to hide a discreet smile.
Ruby shakes her head, a playful laugh escaping her.
“Oh my god, now you’re being a perv, too, Killian.”
Killian’s smile vanishes, his expression turning serious again.
“This is the first solid lead we have had in months. Magical creatures have been disappearing all over the planet.”
“The Order is gathering them for some purpose, and we need to find out what it is.”
“Bangkok is one of the biggest tourist destinations on Earth. Thousands of people, coming and going, twenty four hours a day.”
“It is the perfect environment for the Order to operate, to hide in plain sight.”
“Our primary objective,” he continues, his voice low and commanding, “is to blend in. We will be tourists. Businessmen. Nothing that draws attention.”
“We will gather information on the local mafia, on their connection to the Order, and on the whereabouts of our missing people. We are going in quiet. No flashy spells. No grand battles.”
“Is that understood?”
“It might be difficult to blend in wearing these suits,” Akira notes, his tone practical. “We will look like targets.”
“He’s right,” Killian agrees.
“You will not be required to wear the full uniform. The overcoat has the same protective enchantments as the suit jacket.”
“Wear that, and whatever civilian clothes you need to fit in. Our goal is to be ghosts.”
“One last thing before we go,” Killian says, his gaze sweeping over the faces of his new team.
“I forgot to mention this earlier. Your rings… they can do more than just open a door back here.”
He holds up his own hand, the golden Lotus Ring is a solid presence on his finger.
“You can use the “Open” spell to travel to any location you have been to before.”
“You just need to have a clear, precise visual of the place in your mind when you cast.”
A new playful light enters Ruby’s eyes.
She leans against the table, a slow, mischievous grin on her face.
“Hmm, that’s fishy,” she says in a teasing tone.
“So what you’re saying is… you’ve been to the red light district in Bangkok before, Killian? Are you like a regular there or something?”
A faint blush appears on Killian’s neck.
“Welll uh… for work, obviously,” he stammers.
His usual composure falters for a moment.
“Yeah, but you haven’t had a team in years,” Akira adds, his voice flat and logical.
“What kind of ‘work’ were you doing exactly?”
Yulian lets out a booming laugh.
“AHH HA HA HA!”
“Haha! Maybe we need to keep an eye on you, boss!”
“Okay, that’s enough!” Killian barks, his face now a slight hint of red. “All of you, shut up.”
The doors to the briefing room slide open with a soft hiss.
An interruption.
Lady Seraphina enters.
Her expression is calm and professional. She carries a small, leather satchel.
“I apologize for the intrusion, Killian,” she says.
Her soft voice calms the room.
“I just wanted to wish your new team luck on their first mission.”
She walks to the table and opens the satchel.
“And to provide you with your standard issue field gear.”
She hands each of them a leather sleeve.
Inside is a thick stack of small, paper strips and three small, cork capped glass vials filled with a shimmering rainbow colored liquid.
“As you know,” she begins, her voice like a patient instructor, “all field agents are required to carry a supply of emergency runes.”
“They are simple one time use spells.”
“In a desperate situation, they can be the difference between life and death.”
She takes one of the runes from the stack.
A simple piece of parchment with a single, intricate symbol on it.
“To activate it, you simply need to make physical contact and speak the activation word written on it.”
She holds the rune between her thumb and forefinger.
“Ignis.”
A brilliant flame erupts from the rune, consuming the parchment in a single, silent flash.
Not even smoke is left behind.
“These vials,” she continues, gesturing to the small, shimmering potions, “are concentrated healing potions.”
“They are extracted from the blood of a unicorn and enhanced with a powerful, purifying Sanskrit spell.”
“They will heal almost any wound and restore your stamina.”
“But,” she adds, her turquoise eyes meeting each of theirs with a stern, maternal warning, “they can only be used once per day.”
“Using them any more frequently would be a waste, resulting in zero effect. So choose wisely.”
“Thank you, Lady Seraphina,” Killian says, his voice a low, grateful rumble.
She gives them a final, warm, motherly smile.
“Be safe, all of you,” she says as she turns and leaves the room.
The scent of fresh lavender is left behind.
The briefing is now over.
The gear has been distributed.
The time for talking is done.
Killian looks at the five young mages standing before him, with determined, anxious, and eager faces.
He sees Yulian’s raw power.
Akira’s cold skill.
Paige’s quiet mind.
Ruby’s vibrant fire.
And Carter’s terrifying, unknown potential.
They are a chaotic collection of flawed people, but they are now his team.
Killian walks toward the large reinforced door at the end of the room.
It will lead not to the safe halls of the Library, but to the outside world.
He turns to face the group, with a rumbling voice, which held the weight of a thousand battles.
“Listen up,” he says.
His gaze locks onto each of them.
“Out there, there are no second chances. There is no Gendric to stop the fight. There is no Seraphina to patch you up when you push too hard.”
“Out there it is life and death.”
“The people we’re facing… they will NOT hesitate. They will NOT show mercy. And they will kill you without a second thought.”
He pauses, letting the cold reality of his words sink in.
“Make sure you watch each other’s backs, and trust your training. Trust your instincts, and do whatever you have to do to come back alive.”
“All of you.”
“Understood? Good.”
“If you’re ready, then lets get out of here.”
Quiet determined voices echo in the silent room.
“Ready,” says Ruby.
“Ready,” says Akira.
“Ready,” says Yulian.
“Ready,” says Paige
And “Ready,” says Carter.
He turns and places his hand on the cold steel of the door.
He takes a deep breath.
He speaks the final command of their training. The first command of their new lives.
“OPEN!”
A shimmering swirling portal of brilliant rainbow colored light erupts in the doorway.
This is not the silent portal to the quiet halls of the Library.
It is a chaotic, violent assault on the senses.
The sounds of a thousand shouting voices, of blaring horns, of thumping music, all flood into the clean briefing room.
The smells of spices, street food, sweat, and wet asphalt wash over them in a thick suffocating wave.
Killian gives a final grim nod.
Squad One, their faces masks of fierce determination, step through the portal.
Their bodies are shadows against the dangerous light of their first mission.