April 2nd.

12:30 am.

Somewhere in Kiyomi...

"Hey?" One of the men said.

"What is it?" The other replied.

"How much do you think we'll get for these brats?"

"Depends on how generous the boss man is feeling. But hopefully, a decent payout."

The men continued to talk... They were in an unmarked truck. In the back? New captives of Liberatio. A group that claimed to want to bring "freedom" to mages, by enslaving the ones they considered weak. Their mission was simple. Bring the captives to a secret hideout, where they'd be sold-off.

When suddenly...

"W-What's that...!?"

A massive, shining silver figure crashes down onto the road in front of them. As they quickly hit on the breaks, the figure, a dragon, rises up, letting out a deafeningly loud screech.

"My apologies. But I believe you gentlemen possess something you shouldn't." Aria says calmly, stepping down from the dragon's back.

"Y-You bitc-" The one man begins to say, but is cut off by a devastating punch to the stomach by Aria, dropping him.

"W-Wait, I... I can give you information!" The other says.

Aria exchanged looks with the dragon, who then flicks the man away with its wing with disinterest, sending him flying 20 meters away.

"You and I still think alike , Stella." Aria says, as she makes her way to the back of the truck and opens up the trailer.

Sure enough, inside were multiple people, ranging from teens to young adults.

Aria stepped in, cutting their restraints. "Don't worry, you're safe now. Someone will come and take you home soon, alright?"

Aria then leaves the trailer, gesturing for Stella's attention. "Stay here and guard them until the authorities turn up, Stella."

Stella tilted her head curiously.

"Someone needs to find their hideout. Because when they hear about this, they'll surely move their other captives. So I'm going to talk to our friend over there, and find out what he knows."