Sparrow collected Canary by the school gates, the usual cacophony of teenage voices washing over him as he waited.
He spotted her easily, a tiny figure amidst the taller students, her long braid swinging as she chatted animatedly with a friend.
He offered a curt nod in greeting, and she broke away with a bright smile, falling into step beside him. Sparrow simply said, "MIST," by way of explanation.
Her smile faltered for a fraction of a second, replaced by seriousness before returning, brighter than before. She knew what that meant. Waving goodbye to her friends, she followed her brother.
They needed to return home first for necessary preparation, but they would go straight to MIST Union Headquarter right away afterward.
...
The MIST Union Headquarter in Soragant Town was intentionally unremarkable. From the outside, it looked like any other large electrical and engineering company building.
Inside, however, a labyrinth of corridors and specialized rooms hummed with esoteric technology.
They found Autumn waiting for them near the reception desk. She ruffled Canary's hair, and clapped Sparrow on the shoulder. "Kids, good to see you made it. Let's go, the others are already waiting."
As they walked, Autumn's tone turned serious. "This is a difficult mission, you two, extremely difficult. Your role will be primarily support – tracking, information gathering."
She paused for a few moments and quickly continued. "I don't want either of you on the front lines unless absolutely necessary. Cyclops, your… unique vision, will be invaluable. Pixie, your elemental shards and well... little friends, should be invaluable as well."
She paused again, her gaze unwavering. "Remember, MIST agents never reveal their real names to each other. Unless they have some relations outside of work, of course."
"Use your codenames," she continued. "I've told you this before, There are… well, urban legends. Curses, artifacts, entities that need 'true names' to work. You know how people get 'invited' into our Secret Library. It's better to be safe than sorry."
Sparrow nodded, understanding. He knew the dangers of the unseen world were very real. Canary mirrored his nod, her earlier brightness tempered by the gravity of the situation.
Autumn stopped at a nondescript door and produced a keycard, swiping it through the reader. "One more thing, Cyclops. I know you're curious, but please, please don't use your {Eye of Wisdom} to analyze your new partners later. It's impolite, unethical, and frankly, it creeps people out."
Sparrow grunted, acknowledging the reprimand. He knew she was right. His ability to glean a person's history, skills, and even their potential future from a single glance was a potent tool, but it was also a profound invasion of privacy.
Before entering the room, Autumn handed them a few pieces of cards. "Consumable magic cards," she explained. "Popular, but expensive. Use them wisely. And these…"
She handed over a thick stack of cards, "…are fakes. To disguise your abilities. Especially your {Eye of Wisdom}, Cyclops. And your {Grand Telepathy}, Pixie. We can't have everyone knowing what you're truly capable of."
...
Inside the room, two women were already waiting.
"My team-mates, from the 'Three Witches'," Autumn introduced them.
One was strikingly beautiful, almost unnervingly so, with an air of confidence that bordered on arrogance. Autumn introduced her as Sunwitch.
The other woman was her opposite: quiet, almost ethereal, with a penetrating gaze that seemed to see right through them. She was Moonwitch.
"Sunwitch, Moonwitch, this is Cyclops and Pixie. They'll be joining us on this mission as our support team." Autumn said.
"Pleasure," Sunwitch purred, her eyes lingering on Sparrow a moment longer than necessary. Moonwitch simply nodded, her expression unreadable.
A few minutes of awkward conversation followed, mostly centered around the potential weather conditions, when the door swung open and a group of four men entered.
Sparrow's eyes widened in surprise. He recognized one of them instantly, despite the dark circles under his eyes and the unfamiliar grim set to his jaw, it was Glaive, or as his friends called him... Gramp.
Sparrow internally scolded himself for not realizing sooner. Pebble had told him that Gramp was involved in something shady. He should have checked his situation when Pebble told him about that.
He remembered that he had that intention. But, he was pre-occupied with trying to save Zeenara that time. And he completely forgot about it afterward.
Autumn's voice cut through his thoughts. "Cyclops, Pixie, this is Monster Squad."
Before he could betray their connection by verbally acknowledging Glaive, Autumn proceeded to introduce the team members, "This is Ogre…" she said gesturing toward Glaive.
Sparrow gave him a subtle nod. Glaive returned the acknowledgement with a nearly imperceptible wink.
Autumn continued, "…Ghoul," she indicated a man with sharp features and intelligent eyes, "…Werewolf," a wild-looking fellow with unkempt hair and a perpetually grumpy expression, "…and their leader, Grim Reaper."
Grim Reaper was a looming figure, his face etched with a profound sadness that mirrored the darkness radiating from his very being.
...
Autumn clicked a button on the remote, and the lights dimmed. A grainy holographic image flickered to life above the table in the middle of the room.
The footage was blurred. It showed a desolate road, shrouded in mist, and then, a terrifying figure burst into view.
The Headless Horsewoman.
Even on the holographic image, the creature exuded an aura of palpable dread. The headless torso of a woman, clad in tattered, once-fine garments, was fused to the powerful body of a black stallion.
The missing head was replaced by swirling shadows that seemed to writhe and coalesce. In one hand, it wielded a scythe crafted from pure darkness, its edge glinting wickedly even in the dim light. The sound cut out, but the image remained, burned into their minds.
"MIST artifact recovered this from the memory of a farmer who unfortunately didn't survive the encounter," Autumn said, her voice grim. "The Horsewoman has already claimed at least three lives since escaping her seal. Her methods… are as brutal as the legends suggest."
Autumn turned on the projector, showing series of gruesome crime scene photos on the table: beheaded corpses, violated remains, and fields trampled into ruin. The air in the room grew thick with a sense of foreboding.
Canary gasped softly, her hand flying to her mouth. Sparrow remained impassive, his one visible eye narrowed, his jaw clenched.
Autumn's expression was grim. "The Headless Horsewoman is an ancient entity, born from a particularly gruesome tragedy and fueled by hatred and violence. She's escaped her seal, and even being weakened now, she's still incredibly dangerous. Check its file."
Autumn distributed documents detailing the Headless Horsewoman, the target of the cooperative mission.
According to the files, a woman murdered by her jealous husband for engaging in bestiality with her horse had been reanimated by a malevolent surreal force.
This entity twisted the woman's corpse and her steed into a grotesque fusion: a headless centaur, the upper torso of a woman melding seamlessly with the powerful hindquarters of a stallion, both wreathed in swirling black shadows.
In its past reign of terror, the Headless Horsewoman had slaughtered entire villages, beheading men, ravaging women, and crushing children underfoot. This brutality inexplicably amplified its power, making it seemingly invincible.
Reports indicated the creature possessed immense strength and speed, wielding a razor-sharp scythe composed of pure shadow. Disturbingly, it appeared impervious to conventional weapons and even traditionally potent forces like light, lightning, holy water, and holy fire.
Past encounters proved the awakened were completely incapable of killing it. Only through the intervention of an ancient agent of mystery, a Celestial Witch, was it finally sealed away. Now, however, that seal was broken, and a weakened, but still dangerous, Horsewoman roamed free.
Recognizing the monster's apparent immortality, HQ deployed three specialized teams to deal with the threat.
"Historical records show the limitations of awakened warriors against her. That's why she was sealed, not destroyed," Autumn re-explained.
"HQ considers her potentially immortal, which is why they've assigned us, three specialized teams," she continued. "Our mission is to re-seal her, not necessarily to destroy her. If we can weaken her enough for the ritual, that's a victory. Direct confrontation should be a last resort."
Autumn gestured to a sketch of the Headless Horsewoman shown on the screen. "Her known abilities include incredible speed and strength, a shadow scythe capable of cleaving through almost anything, and a body seeming invulnerability to conventional attacks, including light, lightning, and holy magic."
She paused, glancing at each team member, her gaze lingering on Sparrow for a fraction of a second. "Past attempts to eliminate her have failed. This is a containment mission first and foremost."
She highlighted the key to their success. "The Three Witches will be responsible for research and potential re-sealing based on past records, the Monster Squad excels at direct confrontation and containment. And Midnight Siblings," she looked at Sparrow and Canary, "your tracking skills and information gathering are crucial to discover her as soon as possible."
Autumn paused, letting the weight of the situation sink in. "This mission is classified. The public cannot know about the Horsewoman's resurgence. Failure is not an option."
She clapped her hands once. "Now, let's move on to team composition and roles. As this is a joint operation, it's crucial we understand each other's strengths. No need to reveal everything, but enough for others to understand your capability," Autumn emphasized.
"I'll start, codename... Starwitch, classes are
Moonwitch followed, summoning her own cards: a golden Queen of Clubs and a golden Seven of Hearts. "Moonwitch,
Sunwitch, with a flourish, presented a golden Queen of Clubs and a golden Queen of Diamonds. "Sunwitch,
Grim Reaper then stepped forward, his presence dimming the room even further. A golden Jack of Hearts and a golden Nine of Spades floated before him. "Grim Reaper,
Werewolf summoned a golden Nine of Clubs and a silver Seven of Spades. "Werewolf,
Ghoul, his sharp features accentuated by the shadows, revealed a single golden Jack of Clubs. "Ghoul,
Glaive, now Ogre, summoned a single silver Six of Spades. "Ogre,
Finally, it was their turn. Sparrow summoned his silver Two of Spades. "Cyclops,
Canary beamed, dispelling some of the tension in the room. She summoned her silver Ten of Spades. "Pixie,
"Alright, now that introduction was done..." Autumn tapped the screen again, displaying a grainy aerial photograph of a seemingly idyllic village nestled in a valley.
"Jollycolt Village," she announced. "That's our insertion point. The broken seal… well, it used to be a huge rock nestled on the hillside of Jaggedtop Hills, just a little outside of the village. Now, according to the initial reports, it's more of a… destroyed site."
She switched to a schematic of the well, highlighting areas of damage. "The runes that contained the Horsewoman have been shattered. Our preliminary analysis indicates a massive surge of soul energy, possibly destabilized by… something. That's what we need to find out."
"Transportation will be provided courtesy of MIST Union's… less conspicuous assets," Autumn said, a wry smile playing on her lips. "A military helicopter. It's been disguised, of course. Plain grey, civilian markings. We'll land a bit further from the village. Let's try not to wave to the locals. We want to be discreet."
She glanced at a digital clock on the wall. "Departure is scheduled for 1800 hours. Ten minutes. The flight time is approximately twenty minutes. Plenty of time to mentally prepare yourselves." There was a subtle undercurrent of warning in her voice.
"Once we arrive," Autumn continued, returning to the mission briefing, "the teams will split up as planned. The Three Witches and Night Siblings, will focus on the investigation of the broken seal. Three Witches need to study the broken seal."
She looked at Sunwitch and Moonwitch who simply nodded in acknowledgement.
Autumn turned to Sparrow and Canary. "Midnight Siblings will determine the cause of the seal's failure, analyze residual energy, and, most importantly, track the Horsewoman."
Sparrow's hand unconsciously drifting towards the eyepatch covering his artificial eye. He remained silent, absorbing the information.
Canary, however, leaned forward, her brow furrowed. "Is there any accurate report for the time the seal broke down?" she asked.
Sparrow nodded. It would give him much easier time to use his Retrocognitive Eye Implant for investigation if the time could be determined.
Autumn met their gaze, instantly understanding their intention. "Yesterday evening. Estimated time was between nine to midnight. Will it be a problem for you to check that time period, Cyclops?"
"No problem." Sparrow simply answer with confidence.
She then turned her attention to the last team. "The Monster Squad, your primary objective before the Horsewoman is discovered is security. Establish a perimeter around the site, and protect the investigation teams."
The members of the squad nodded in silence.
"Alright. Be vigilant. Assume our target is aware of our presence. And remember," she emphasized, "containment is key. Avoid direct confrontation unless absolutely necessary."
Autumn paused, offering a reassuring smile. "This might be a hard mission. But we should be able to handle it well with our current ability. So, before we depart, any question?"
Silence filled the room. The weight of the mission hung heavy in the air, a stark contrast to the brightly lit, sterile environment of the briefing room.
Sparrow shifted slightly, a muscle twitching in his jaw, but he remained silent. He knew asking more questions here were pointless. The only answers that mattered would be found in the heart of Jollycolt Village, facing whatever horrors awaited them.