Ru's grey eyes hungrily devoured the sights around him, a warm smile appearing on his face, as the pair continued to push their way through the bustling crowds. "So... normal."

  He let out a contented sigh. "Now if only I could find some good food and a comfy bed, I would be in heaven."

  "Huh?" Elelth wasn't listening to Ru, too busy trying to calm her rapidly beating heart. Deep down she didn't feel attracted to him, but that didn't stop her body's reaction.

  If anything, she still felt a small amount of revulsion at being so near her parent's killer, no matter the excuses her mind came up with but luckily, it wasn't at the level it was a few weeks ago, and so she quickly suppressed the feeling.

  Thinking of her parents, she recounted when they use to visit her local town on market days, her mother pulling her along in a similar fashion as they enjoyed the sights and the delicious smells of the food stalls. Her stomach grumbled. -"Maybe we can get some-"

  Elelth's thoughts jarred as she looked around, finally paying attention to their surroundings, her eyes going wide as she almost tripped over her own feet.

  Noticing her behaviour, Ru looked over with a raised eyebrow. "You OK?"

  "Ru," Elelth paused, her voice shaky. "How often have you been to a market?"

  "In this world, never," Ru's eyes locked onto her, realising she was acting incredibly strange and it had something to do with their surroundings.

  Without needing to look, as he had already mapped out the street and predicted where most of the people would be; he guided Elelth to the gap between stalls that led into an alleyway. Stopping just inside its entrance, Ru turned and scanned the street with a critical eye.

  Dropping his voice to a whisper, he leant towards the dark elf. "The only interactions with civilians we got, was on missions and that never ended well... for them. Other than that and the fortress tavern, we were pretty isolated. Why? What's wrong?"

  Since before they entered the town, Ru had a bad feeling but, try as he might, couldn't put his finger on it. There were no mana fluctuations near him; the people were just milling about their own business having generic conversations about the weather or other menial things and everyone appeared to be happy.

  A few of the townspeople carried a sword or dagger but nothing that would be a threat to him and so, he decided that he was just paranoid. Now Elelth had noticed something, this thought changed completely, and he was quickly calculating their options.

  Elelth's ears were twitching as they lowered."Ru... There are no food stalls. Normally there would be one for every two vendors. Also, there are no kids or old people. Everyone seems around the same age, and they move unnaturally. The left side is typically moving forward while the right moves back but everyone here... is just moving about but not going anywhere."

  "..." Ru's pupils sharply constricted before he let out a deep breath and shook his head, a self-depreciating smile creeping across his face. "Seems like my imprisonment has cost me a lot more than time. I knew something was wrong, but I didn't listen to it and missed some pretty obvious signs. David would never let me live this down if he were still alive, walking into such an obvious trap."

  "David?" Elelth was concerned when Ru mentioned a trap, but after encountering the bounty hunters and overcoming their many devious schemes over the last few weeks, that were by no means weak, she felt Ru could deal with pretty much anything that was thrown at him. He was the Devil after all.

  Ignoring her Ru, continued to watch everyone passing. "So my little elf, as you noticed first, it's your call. Fight or flight?"

  "I am not your anything," hissed Elelth, "and why ask me? I can already tell you are getting ready to fight. You're like an Orc. All you care about is your stomach and killing things."

  "Well, to be honest, you have only just stopped whining about the last town, and you didn't even see what I did," sighed Ru, rubbing the bridge of his nose as if the last few weeks spent with the elf were more daunting that being in the middle of a trap. "And I do care for other things."

  "Like what?" snapped the Dark Elf, failing to cross her arms as Ru still had hold of her hand.

  "Umm," Ru looked at the sky briefly, which further put Elelth's mind at ease. If they were really in trouble, he wouldn't be acting like this. "I like the way you're ears twitch and reveal how you are really feeling. I think it's pretty cute."

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  Just as Elelth was about to answer, her face flushed red, a cheerful voice interrupted.

  "High Inquisitor, I apologise for interrupting, but it seems like you have noticed our little farce. Please be at ease; we mean you no harm." A man in a white-robed appeared in front of them, as the conversation on the street died out, and everyone stepped away, only to be replaced by black armoured soldiers stepping out of the many alleys, magical rifles in hand.

  The soldiers quickly got into formation, their black plate armour, that appeared to absorb all light, clanking so loudly, Ru wondered why he hadn't picked up on it before. The yellow insignia, a circle of stars, of the Alliance was the only noticeable variation on their right shoulders, indicating the individuals rank.

  Ru shook his head once again. -"These aren't your every day G.I Joe... things are going to get interesting."

  Behind him, Ru heard the clutter of metal and knew they were surrounded, however, instead of fear, he smiled as if he had just won the lottery. -"Seems like the information that I am no longer what they class as a higher race hasn't got out. Yes, it hurts, but free mana is free mana... crap, I better stop thinking like that. don't want to add masochist to my list of defects."

  A frown momentarily passed over the robbed man's face before his hand flickered and a sealed envelope appeared, holding it out to Ru. "Do not worry about your mana signature being registered. The town spirit has been isolated, and none of the soldiers are capable of identifying unique signatures. You can let go of the manaless's hand."

  "What kind of idiot do you take me for?" sneered Ru as he accepted the envelope, checking it for spells before using a single hand to open it, discarding its wrapping on the floor and unfolding the letter.

  Ru felt his eye twitching violently.

  The letter exploded into blue flame as Ru ground his teeth, the air shimmering around him as if he was about to combust. Elelth's mana suppression was instantly overwhelmed though, unlike everyone else who had visibly paled and moved a few steps back, she felt fine.

  Ru's words were spoken in nothing more than a whisper, but as they were laced with mana, everyone in the town could hear them as if he was next to their ear. "What the actual fuck?"