No! Please, Not the Violence!

It was a pitch-black night, about two days out from the Royal Capital of Midgar by carriage.

A caravan was camped out, the area fitfully illuminated by the flicker of torchlight. A logo resembling a mask was carved into the side of each wagon. While the meaning behind the design remained a mystery to the public, it served as the unmistakable hallmark of the Mitsugoshi Company.

The line of carriages sat in a heavy, sleeping silence, laden with a fortune in goods. It was said that the cargo of a single Mitsugoshi wagon was worth upwards of a hundred million Zeny. Seeing dozens of them lined up like this was, in a word, overwhelming.

Once this haul reached the Royal Capital and hit the shelves, people would trample each other to buy it all up, further lining the company’s pockets. That was the engine behind the Mitsugoshi Company’s phenomenal, breakneck rise to power.

In just a few short years, they had completely redrawn the map of the merchant world.

Plenty of merchants had tried to sabotage them, but the demand for Mitsugoshi products was absolute. Backed by a level of capital that individual traders couldn't match even if they banded together, the company was an unstoppable juggernaut.

One by one, the merchants had yielded.

Mitsugoshi began wholesaling to them at a discount, and the merchants were more than happy to stock up and peddle the wares across the land. The company's mass-produced goods for the common folk had earned them massive support in the rural provinces.

Before this, peddlers had been forced to buy from the major guilds at exorbitant prices, leaving them with next to no profit. Mitsugoshi’s ascent had dramatically improved their quality of life.

The company dominated the urban centers while the peddlers covered the countryside, forming a massive sales network at a terrifying pace. Individual merchants and run-of-the-mill guilds simply couldn't compete anymore.

The Mitsugoshi Company’s foundation seemed rock-solid.

However, even if individuals couldn't win by banding together… the major guilds certainly could if they joined forces.

Finally, the big players had been prodded into action. They had teamed up.

And so—

In the darkness, several shadows looked down upon the Mitsugoshi camp.

They wore masks and carried swords at their waists. They looked exactly like bandits, but there was one detail that didn't fit.

Every single one of them was a spellsword.

It wasn't rare for a disgraced spellsword to turn to a life of crime, but a bandit group composed entirely of them was unheard of.

They exchanged hand signals and crept toward the camp.

Then, they struck all at once.

"Kyaaaaaaaaaaa!"

A woman’s scream ripped through the air.

The silver-haired elf on lookout was cut down, and the invaders began slaughtering the rest of the company staff in quick succession. The sounds of carnage echoed through the night.

Even for the Mitsugoshi Company, there was no defense against an onslaught of this many spellswords.

In the end, only a single, beautiful platinum-haired elf remained.

She was dragged from her carriage, her blue eyes brimming with tears.

"Please… I beg you, just spare my life…"

Looking at the breathtaking elf, the men let out depraved chuckles beneath their masks.

"Should we make an example out of this one?"

"Heh, sounds like a plan."

They restrained her roughly.

"An example…?! What do you mean by that?!"

"Curious, are you? Tell you what, I'll let you know as a parting gift for the afterlife."

"N-no! Please, don't be so violent…!"

The man drew his blade and slowly began to shred the woman's dress, starting from the hem. Her pale, beautiful skin was gradually exposed.

"Your luck ran out the moment you angered the Garter Company. With one word from our president, all the major guilds that used to be at each other's throats joined forces. The Mitsugoshi Company is finished."

"Ah… no way… Then you people are…"

"Exactly what you’re thinking. We’re the Garter Company’s Private Corps. They say our military might rivals that of a small nation."

Despair clouded the woman’s eyes.

The man flashed a sadistic grin and sliced through the fabric covering her chest.

Two white mounds should have been revealed—at least, that was the idea.

Instead, he found a black garment clinging tight to her skin.

In an instant, the material surged, covering her entire body and hiding her skin from view.

"W-what the—?!"

"I appreciate the intel."

The despair was gone from her blue eyes. In its place was the cold, piercing gaze of an absolute predator.

"You bitch!"

The man swung his sword.

The woman didn't even flinch.

The blade slammed into her neck and stopped dead. The black garment had protected her perfectly.

"A pathetic sword."

Then, a single thrust.

A jet-black blade protruded from the man’s chest, right through his heart.

As he collapsed, coughing up a spray of blood, the woman raised her jet-black blade high.

"Commence the Blade of Sanction—"

At her command, the silver-haired elf who had been "killed" first sprang to her feet and cut down a nearby assassin.

That was the signal. The company staff who were supposed to have been slaughtered rose one after another, wiping out the confused invaders. Every single one of them was wearing a black garment beneath their clothes.

The tables hadn't just turned; they’d been flipped.

The woman moved through the fleeing assassins, cutting them down like wheat.

The night was filled with pleas for mercy and death rattles until, after a short while, the silence returned.

"Beta, report."

The platinum-haired elf turned to the silver-haired elf.

"Alpha-sama, the annihilation of the assassins is complete. We suffered zero casualties and no injuries. We’ve taken three of them alive for interrogation."

Alpha, the beautiful elf, gave a sharp nod.

"I’ll leave the rest to the others."

"Understood."

Leaving the cleanup to their subordinates, Alpha and Beta vanished into the darkness.

As the sun began to peek over the horizon at dawn, the two came to a halt.

An overturned carriage lay by the side of the road, and the corpse of a peddler had been crucified nearby. At his feet, the crushed remains of Mitsugoshi products were scattered in the dirt.

It was an "example."

"How horrible…" Beta whispered, covering her mouth with her hand. "Alpha-sama, we should—"

"There are over a thousand peddlers handling our goods in this country alone. We can’t protect them all."

Alpha walked up to the crucifix and gently cradled the mangled corpse.

"See that his family receives a pension."

"Yes, ma'am…"

"It's starting. The war…"

Alpha’s blue eyes were fixed on the rising sun, her gaze cold and hard.