The next morning, the group met up at base at dead on six and went to the vehicle hanger. Tower found the correct one and whistled.

It was a large armored van with magically reinforced metal covering it. The only glass was on the windscreen and two front seats. Even then the glass was 3 inches thick. It was painted in matt black and it’s tyres were thick to withstand magical attacks. The windows were black tinted.

“It’s nice to know they care about us,” Spike said.

“They do,” Tower replied, “And you’re the best driver out of all of us here,” He said while chucking him the keys.

“I could kiss you right now big man,” Spike said as he spawn the keys in his hand.

“It will take 15 minutes to get there from the teleportation pad. I won’t fit in the seats so I’ll be in the back. Sharp will sit in the front with Spike, Sol and Mute will be in the six seats that face each other in the middle. The prince will sit facing the front with his two bodyguards by side. Any questions?”

“None Spike, really?” Tower added.

“I just wanna ride this bad boy, or are you a girl?” He questioned while slapping the hood erotically, “ooo you naughty girl.”

Tower ignored him and carried on, “Spike and Sharp will not be wearing their masks in the front seat, our masks will start drawing unwanted attention in New London especially more than ever. They will be partially hiding their faces during the journeys but we will greet them with our masks on. Understand?”

“Yes, Sir!”

“Right, try not to die and I might buy you all a  drink at the end of this. This is our first mission as Raptors, we have a group name now, we are no longer fodder but predators. Let’s not fuck this up, do you understand?”

“Yes, Sir!”

They clambered inside to find it surprisingly comfy, it was made from leather and was clearly used for situations like these. But possibly lesser important figures like diplomats and not a goddamn prince of an entire country.

“Right, Spike, don’t crash this thing before we get there.” Tower said.

“I wouldn’t get a scratch on this beautiful girl,” He said while stroking the dashboard.

“What is it with you and this van?” Tower asked through the back.

“She’s got a 16 cylinder rare explosive crystal engine, even if she’s heavy once she gets going nothing will be able to stop her!” Spike shouted through.

“Just get going.”

Spike drove onto the large teleportation pad and they flashed into a garage on the wealthy side of New London. It was near the royale palace so the area was clean with not a single pile of trash.

They pulled up into a huge estate and were let in without question. The walls were made with sandstone and it fit the vibe of a prince from the southern areas of Kraos.

“Masks!” Tower ordered.

They drove slowly down a paved road with luscious green grass and palm trees. At the end of the road there was a huge white mansion with 6 pillars holding up the overhanging roof. In the center or the drive there was a water fountain. He drove around and parked up next to countless maids and servants who stood in attendance

Spike stopped the truck and Tower got out first. The servants looked terrified, a giant man with a misted face. They had heard the news of the Unwanted.

The rest of the group got out with their misted faces and lined up in order to meet the prince. The double doors were pulled open by servants and a man of small stature walked out. He wore a thin white robe that was inches from the ground and it covered his eyes barely. His skin was tanned like the two powerful bodyguards by his side. They were both women and stood a few good inches over him, roughly the same height as Spike but not Sol. They both wore silver armour that covered their chest and thighs, one held a staff while the other had a rapier. They seemed to be twins and were both definitely more than bodyguards with their looks. Their hair was tied in an extravagant braiding with a small high ponytail.

Behind them were a group of 18 men in full silver armour, they wielded magical guns, spears and swords. Magical guns were useful as long as the person had expendable mana but without them they were useless.

Tower bowed as the prince approached. The man returned the gesture and opened out his hand.

“Tower, correct? And this is your team- the Ill Favoured Five?” The prince asked, his voice was passive and lacked emotion.

“Indeed your majesty.”

“Mute is the small woman-deadly no doubt, Spike the bard, Sharp the scout and the Immortal.” He said as his eyes landed on Sol.

Sol was not a fan of royalty or anyone of high standing. Anyone of that power has done some awful things in their life. There were of course some exceptions.

“Your majesty, this journey will be very dangerous but you are in good hands.” Tower said.

“I’m fully aware of your capabilities. The man known as Mercy has told me of your great feats and that is why I specifically requested you. My father wishes to see what the Raptor rank is capable of.”

“So this is a test?” Tower asked politely.

“More or less.” The prince answered.

‘This fucker is testing us?’ Sol questioned internally.

“We will not disappoint. If your men are ready we would like to proceed. The roads will be empty until 7:30 and we will exit the city at that time.”

 “Of course,” the prince said and then snapped his fingers to the soldiers who started moving, “these are my two bodyguards, Aya and Ara. Aya is a healer and Ara a duel specialist.”

Tower bowed to both of them and they returned the gesture.

The leader opened the door and let the man inside with his two bodyguards inches from him.

They sat in the three seats facing the front while Mute and Sol sat opposite them. The van weighed down slightly as Tower got in the back. The two other vehicles were less armored but didn’t lack in manpower or size.

The envoy set off with the two vehicles behind and in front.

“Sharp, I need your complete focus, the rest of you sit tight and wait on orders.” Tower said over the ear piece.

“Yes, Sir.” Sharp said over the ear piece.

It was relatively quiet inside of the main compartment, Mute and Sol were facing the envoy. The man seemed relatively calm given the warnings. If the Chaos Masters were to capture him then they would torture him and post the video online somewhere.

The Chaos Masters just want to see society burn and they would do anything to achieve it. Xabarth, The Torturer, was their leader, a level 90 who specialised in five types of magic. He was also adept at soul magic one of the rarest kinds and most used for torture.

Spike lit a cigarette and followed the vehicle in front. The sun was now rising and casted an orange glow over the city.

The convoy pulled out of the estate and pulled onto the main street a few minutes later.

“Immortal, are you true to your name?” The prince asked.

Tower could hear too from the back but just listened.

“Am I immortal? Yes.” Sol responded with mist on his face. Spike and Sharp had taken theirs off but had a cloak pulled over their faces.

“My father was curious about you. The rumour had spread far before the video was released.”

The two body guards met Sol’s eyes.

“The video was only released to better the organisation,” Sol remarked.

The prince nodded, “I understand, but an immortal man leaves many unanswered questions doesn’t it?”

“And what would you like to know?” Sol asked with a hint of annoyance in his tone.

“Easy, Sol,” Tower said over the earpiece, “Tell the man what he wants to know, he’s a fucking prince. Not to mention his father wants to test us.”

“My father has tried to replicate your immortality but hasn’t managed to. He’s killed countless slaves and criminals but had no luck in replicating,” the prince said without emotion.

Sol’s intuition was right. He paused for a moment before answering, “You cannot replicate my immortality. It isn’t a skill, spell or class.”

“Your magical affinity, it is not from this world.” the prince said.

“That too has nothing to do with it,” Sol said.

Tower was listening at the back still, Sol never had opened up about himself in this sort of way so his ears were peeled.

“But your lifespan is triple that of a regular human, unless you are not human?” the prince asked.

Sol glanced at the female mage next to his side, she had a skill like Sharp’s and was studying him.

“Stay alert, we’re being watched.” Sharp said over the earpiece.

“This conversation will have to wait,” Sol said.

The prince nodded and made himself comfortable in his seat.

Suddenly, a truck came out from the nearby alley and crashed into the van at the back. The extreme force caused the large van to tumble on it’s side and landed on top of a nearby parked car making it immobal.

The truck reversed back and two vans screamed past at top speed.

“We have lost the back of the convoy- maintain position,” Tower said calmly over the radio.

“Sharp anymore or just these two?” Tower asked.

“Can’t tell yet,” Sharp said, “but the truck that took out the back of the convoy is now driving towards us.”

“Punch it, Spike and Sharp put your masks on.” Tower said, “Spike, expect another truck or more vehicles.” 

The vanes behind were coming in close, one stayed behind the armored van while the other moved up to the side. The side of the van swung open and a magical machine started rotating.

Spike didn’t have time to react as balls of fire were expelled from the barrel. It took only a second for the thick glass to melt under the high temperature and burn Spike’s shoulder to the bone.

“Fuck!” Spike shouted as he bashed into the van.

The sudden force caused Sharp to be flung back and he caught his sleeve on the radio dial. It turned it up to full blast.

“You’re listening to Old Earth radio on 107.7, to kickstart this beautiful morning we have Mr. Blue Sky by Electric Light Orchestra.”

The jolly song began playing at full volume. The vehicle to their side dropped and people began to jump on top of the armored van.

The van behind moved up close and people climbed out and on top of the armored van too.

Tower kicked open the back door and buffed himself and his large hammer. He swung it down hard on the front of the van, it crushed the engine into the ground and the back end flew in the air. People who were already on top of the van were flung forward into buildings and splattered against them. The vehicle toppled over and crushed the two people in the front seat.

Tower slammed the doors shut again and bolted the lock.

“Back vehicle is down!” Tower shouted.

“We have 12 on the roof, Spike is heavily injured but still driving. He’s losing blood fast.”

One of the prince's bodyguards opened the hatch into the front and flowed green magic into him. The flesh around his boney shoulder began to reform and soon the bleeding stopped.

Spike nodded a quick thank you as he turned his attention back onto the road in front. There were hardly any cars on the road and he was following the van in front. They had opened their back doors and started to fire their magical guns towards the enemies on the roof.

Sharp put his window down and sat halfway out. He brought his bow up and started to pick them off with mana arrows. He noticed that they were trying to drill in through the roof.

“They are drilling through the roof, they want him alive.” Sharp stated.

“Mute, go and deal with them. Use your skill if necessary.” Tower ordered.

The elf fitted through the small hatch into the front seats and dashed towards Sharp, she gently pressed off from his thighs and landed on the roof. The Chaos Masters were wearing all black and had ski masks covering their faces. A few of them stopped dead when they saw her misty face.

Mute took out her longsword and moved like lightning. The enemies didn’t even have a chance to raise their weapons. Three of them were sliced in half in an instant.

Sharp took out the one with the drill with a mana arrow and their body skidded off onto the tarmac. He summoned another two mana arrows into his bow and killed another two.

There were six more left to go, each wielding various weaponry. Tower kicked open the back door again and grabbed one of their ankles. He dragged him down to the road and pressed their head against it. It acted like a sanding machine and half of the there was buffered off.

He threw the body back on top of the roof and slammed the doors shut again. Five more to go. Two of them dodged the mana arrows from Sharp but that was Mute needed for an opening. Two more heads cluttered against the roof of the van and fell odd.

One panicked and leapt back onto the moving van while the other stood their ground in front of Mute. It was a foolish decision as one of their arms was cut off immediately.

“Save one,” Tower said, “chuck them in here with me.”

Tower opened the doors again. Mute dived under their legs and grabbed the back of their shirt. They fell off the roof and were swiftly caught by Tower who slammed the doors shut again.

“Sorry girl,” Spike said as he steered the enemy van into a concrete barricade. The two people in the front seat were ejected and their bodies flopped against the tarmac like dead fish.

In the back of the armored van, Tower had ripped  off the person's ski mask. It was a blonde woman with a half burnt off face. It looked like an acid attack.

He grabbed her by the neck and effortlessly slammed her against the side.

“How many more?” Tower grumbled threateningly.

“We are the Chaos Master. We are-”

Tower tightened the grip on her neck.

He grabbed her hand that was clutched on his wrist and crushed it within his own. She tried to scream but couldn’t.

“How many more!” Tower screamed.

“We are the-”

Tower grew impatient and tore off her hand strength alone.

“We are-”

Tower crushed all the bones in her windpipe and her body went limp. He opened the doors again and threw her body outside. Tower closed them again but felt pain in his lower abdomen. The lady had stuck a dagger in him.

“Fucking bitch.” Tower muttered as he pulled it out.

His high constitution allowed the wound to close after a few seconds.

“Sharp, rundown.”

The man let Mute climb on him to get back in then he did the same. He winded the window back up and took a breath.

“Spike’s window melted off. His shoulder is healed now. There is minimal damage to the roof so whatever tools they were using they got undersold.”

“Right,” Tower said, “Immortal, how's the prince?

Sol looked at the prince who looked relatively calm still, his bodyguards too.

“Fine, did you get any info?”

“Nah, she was brainwashed, kept saying the same thing over and over again.”

“The truck from before is coming up on our six?” Sharp said.

“Road is blocked! Road is blocked!” The driver of the van in front shouted..

“Take the appropriate detour, let us know if it’s a trap.” Tower ordered.

“Yes, Sir. They blocked off both lanes with a truck.”

“Shit,” Tower muttered, “Take the path. There’s still another truck behind us.”’

The van in front took a sharp right down an alley and the group got a good look at a long truck that blocked off the main road. There was a person in the driver's seat with a ski mask on and there were more of them that were coming out of the back of the truck.