The slums cover a vast area, at least a hundred square kilometers. Because of this, dozens of checkpoints are required, along with the constant presence of rank 2 and 3 members to guard the borders and prevent anyone from trying to escape.
To find the killers, we'll have to go deep close to the "center," the area farthest from the borders and, therefore, the place where the strongest and most dangerous criminals gather.
Our plan is to pose as ordinary inhabitants and gather as much information as possible, either through peaceful means or by force, if necessary.
Once we identify the suspects, we'll capture them and use the mid-level ability "Teleportation," which will take us close to the border. There, we'll use the communication devices to call for an escort.
The problem with this plan is that "Teleportation" consumes around five hundred mana units when used to transport more than one person over such a long distance.
Alice and I have mana reserves of eight hundred and eight hundred and fifty units, respectively. We can only use the skill once... and afterward, we'll be left dangerously low.
That's why we'll only use it once we're absolutely sure we have the right people.
Before entering, we'll cast the low-level technique "Illusion."
It makes anyone with a lower rank see us with the physical appearance and clothing we choose. Thanks to that, we can move around without drawing attention.
It's time to go in.
We spent about twenty minutes walking inward.
The streets or what remained of them were deserted.
It must have been because it was still early. It was nine o'clock. The only things moving were the street rats, rummaging through the trash.
The buildings had deep cracks in their walls. The plaster had fallen off, and the wooden beams were exposed, rotting from the humidity. Broken windows let the wind in, and some doors hung crooked on rusted hinges.
The plazas were empty, covered in debris and weeds growing between the stones. The fountains no longer worked. Their spouts were either broken or clogged, and the few statues still standing had faces so eroded they were unrecognizable.
The bridges over the river barely held together, with cracked arches and missing railings. The water beneath was murky, carrying garbage and fragments of collapsed structures.
Many houses were abandoned. They had structural damage, and their tiles had fallen off, leaving the roofs open to the rain.
Only ruins remained of what had once been Brigantum the most beautiful city in all of Nexus.
We kept walking a few more minutes until I saw someone slumped against a wall by the side of the street.
Wait...
No matter how hard I focus, I can't feel any mana in him...
I ran toward the figure.
When I got close enough, I saw it was an old man. His body was little more than a skeleton, covered in a thin layer of dry skin stretched tight over his sharp joints.
His beard, scraggly and filthy, blended with the dust on the ground. His eyes lifeless still held the trace of dried tears that had run down his cheeks.
He died in agony.
One of the worst ways to die.
Death by starvation.
Rare in Nexus... but an everyday reality here.
My fist clenched. My whole body trembled.
Nothing has changed...
I knew the chances of things improving were slim, but... I had a little hope.
A hope that just shattered.
Everything is still exactly the same as five years ago.
The last time I stepped into this place.
The last time I spent time with my mother.
--------‐--------------------------------------------------------------------
It was during the vacation month of my fifth year at the academy.
Dad was away on a mission, and Mom and I were alone at home.
My mother... the most beautiful person I've ever seen.
Her hair was dark as night, a perfect contrast to her eyes intense blue, almost electric, like they carried their own light. Her pale skin wasn't sickly it was like fine porcelain. Her face was perfectly symmetrical.
But the most striking thing about her wasn't her appearance.
It was who she was. The most just, empathetic, and kind person I've ever met. She could've been compared to an angel, one of the guardians of the paradise the believers speak of.
But she wasn't fragile.
She was an elite rank.
And a very unique one.
Unlike the rest of the Evans, she didn't specialize in space or time skills but in healing. An extremely rare path for someone of her level. That's why she was recognized as the greatest healer in the entire galaxy.
"Mother… where did you go last night?" I asked, genuinely curious.
"What do you mean?" she replied, with a hint of nervousness in her voice.
"I woke up late because I needed to go to the bathroom, and just as I was getting out of bed, I felt you returning home. It was subtle... I didn't know you'd gone out," I said.
"Oh... I see, it's just…" She hesitated. I could feel her indecision.
"Mom, I'm not a child anymore. I'm at the top of the Apprentice rank. I only need one more mission to graduate from the academy and become an official member of the clan. You can... trust me," I said seriously.
We looked into each other's eyes.
She saw the determination in mine.
"Alright... I'll let you come with me tonight. But please, don't tell your father. I don't think he'd approve of this. It's not a mission it's something personal," she said, resigned.
She kept her word. That same night we were standing by the door, ready to leave. With her vast mana reserves, thanks to her elite rank, her "Teleportation" even if it wasn't her specialty could take us anywhere on the planet with ease.
In an instant, we appeared in an unfamiliar place.
And yet that desolate landscape, with cracked buildings and broken streets, could only exist in one place within Nexus.
The slums.
Why would Mom come here?
Moments later, I felt her "Illusion" spell wrap around me.
"Follow me," she said, serious.
We walked a few minutes across a ruined plaza. About twenty people were gathered there.
When they saw us, I immediately noticed they didn't see us as locals, but not as Evans either. I had no idea what Mom's illusion showed them.
A few seconds later, a man spoke. His arm was wrecked, covered in blood. Looking closer, I realized they all had wounds. And hunger.
"Great priestess... please, I beg for your help. I was gravely injured when a group of thieves stole the bread I'd spent days trying to find," the man pleaded.
Mom nodded and asked him to sit down. Then she placed her hand on his arm and said.
"Advanced healing."
I watched as the open wound began to close within seconds. While she worked, I heard her whisper with quiet anger.
"A place like this should not exist. These people aren't to blame for what once happened."
It was one of the few times I ever saw her truly upset.
Now I understood.
She kept coming to this place to bring food and heal wounds. She did it in secret, so no one in the clan would find out .
When she finished treating the man and he saw his arm completely healed, tears welled up in his eyes. And he said.
"Bless you, priestess... you truly are..."
"An angel walking through hell."