A Wolf's Howl, A Fairy's Wing

Currently, Erik and the others were crouched on the fifth floor of a nearby building, next to a large hole in the wall that overlooked the institute.

Around them lay the corpses of several overgrown, first-rank dogs, which had claimed this part of the city as their territory. The aetherium seeping into the Earth had mutated them into walking balls of muscle and teeth, posing a serious danger to any first-rankers trying to survive without the Council's protection.

Of course, to Erik and his group, these creatures posed little obstacle.

They suspected there might be one or more second-ranker versions of these beasts nearby, but believed them to be further into the city, away from the Council-occupied institute.

Erik surveyed the surroundings of the building and noticed several patrols of first-rankers securing the perimeter.

It seemed as if the institute had been transformed into a community center and now acted as the only Council-occupied living area in Stockholm, a fact that a doll-eyed Victor confirmed after Erik inquired about it.

Apparently, most of the Stockholm residents who had survived the awakening had left relatively recently for Rikuna, where the Council promised better living standards, safety, and order in exchange for working in the mines, assisting with research, or performing any number of other tasks.

"So, what's the plan?" Astrid asked, turning her head towards Erik with a raised eyebrow, curious.

"Well…" Erik began, with a thoughtful yet unconcerned expression, before turning to Victor. "Hey, toady. How much security did you say this place had?"

"Should be no more than five second-rankers and some sigils," came the robotic and emotionless response from Emily's latest slave.

Hearing that, Erik shrugged casually. "In that case, I don't think we really need a plan," he said, before suddenly changing into werewolf form, sweeping Emma into a princess carry and jumping through the hole with an amused grin.

Emma yelped as he picked her up and screamed all the way down—not out of fear, but from pure excitement.

After all, there was nothing to fear when she was in Erik's arms.

Astrid rolled her eyes at his actions, then turned to Emily with a teasing grin.

"Oh no, you don't!" Emily quickly shook her head, backing away towards the staircase. "I'll just take the stairs!"

"Where's the fun in that!" Astrid laughed, catching up to Emily, hoisting her over her shoulder, and leaping out of the hole right behind Erik.

"Aaaaah! You bitch!" Emily yelled as they fell.

Erik and Astrid soon landed on the cracked asphalt below, creating an explosive sound that immediately alerted the patrolling forces.

Shortly after, Victor crashed down behind them.

Emma and Emily were set down on the ground, each reacting differently. Emma giggled happily, while Emily glared at Astrid, who returned the look with an amused smirk.

Despite this seemingly unfriendly interaction, Emily and Astrid got along very well and even tentatively considered each other friends.

Astrid turned to Erik and raised an eyebrow curiously while smirking. "So… a frontal assault, I guess?"

Erik chuckled and nodded. "Yeah, why not? Five second-rankers can't stop us, and Elora will warn us of any nearby sigils. She may not be able to use her physical body right now, but she can still use her omnisense."

As they approached the glass building in front of them, several first-ranker patrols began to cluster together, anxiously watching their approach, while a few others ran inside—likely to alert the resident second-rankers.

"Are we going hunting?" Emily asked, a bloodthirsty smile on her lips, while three pitch-black orbs danced around her fingers.

Her question made Emma slightly uncomfortable, but she understood why her big sister acted this way and had accepted it.

"Not unless they give us a reason to," Erik chuckled, shaking his head. "I don't mind killing them if they decide to make a fuss, but if we can leave here with Alice in hand and without taking a single life, then I say why not?"

"Spoilsport," Emily pouted, clenching her fist and making the orbs disappear.

Erik rolled his eyes but also noted how quickly Emily was adapting to the fact that her blood-thirst was likely to be permanent.

Or perhaps, the fact that these emotions were already a part of her, meant she had to either adapt or go insane, and she had simply chosen the former.

After a few minutes of walking and observing the guards prepare for their arrival, Elora suddenly announced in Erik's head, "Heads up. Looks like they're activating a large barrier sigil."

"Oh?" Erik responded curiously. "Should I be hurrying?"

His question was met with a casual mental shrug, "Not really. There's a decent amount of power involved, but since it has to cover the entirety of that large building, I doubt it could stop more than a single second-ranker. And a weak one at that."

Erik nodded, aware that he was neither weak nor alone, and thus, there was no need to exert himself.

Suddenly, a shimmering blue barrier began to emerge a few meters in front of them. It rapidly grew upward and inward before finally forming a dome that covered the entirety of the building.

Erik, having seen such phenomena before, was unimpressed, but the girls accompanying him looked up at the dome with various expressions of curiosity and awe.

The best barrier Emily had seen was a small one covering the house in Frostvik, while Astrid and Emma hadn't even seen that.

Yet, while this barrier was significantly larger and more awe-inspiring, its technicality and protective power were far less impressive than the one Elora had created back then.

Eventually, they arrived in front of the barrier, and Erik playfully poked it with an amused grin.

At that moment, a group of six individuals, quickly identified by Elora as second-rankers, approached the other side of the barrier.

'I guess Victor got the number slightly wrong, but this is still fine,' Erik thought as he watched them coming closer.

"This is a restricted area! State your name and intentions!" the leader of the group demanded, confident in his numerical advantage and the shield's protection.

Indeed, the shield was merely a precaution, erected as standard procedure since the institute was under orders to prioritize its safety and security above all else, including apprehending suspicious individuals.

They knew perfectly well that the shield wouldn't hold up against even one serious second-ranker, but it still functioned perfectly well as a method to stop anyone from sneaking in on the other side of the building, while all the patrols were gathered here.

However, this man considered it unnecessary and was contemplating lowering the shield to take the group into custody, especially since they closely resembled the subjects of a recent report that mentioned a handsome reward.

Yet, the penalties for deviating from procedure were severe. Thus, he was still debating internally when Erik, ignoring the demand, began to speak.

"We're here for Alice," he stated nonchalantly. "Hand her over, and we'll leave you in peace."