Lawrence is forced to kneel on the ground, his neck at the mercy of that woman. She smiles victoriously, everything having turned out as expected. If there were one flaw, it would be that having a weapon in her hand to toy with the life of that servant would have been the final touch.

  Because only her shadows are capable of holding an illusory weapon in this place. She may have acquired slaves to manipulate, but even so, it has been impossible to obtain a physical weapon for herself.

  With her index finger, she lifts Lawrence's chin and mocks him inches from his face.

  "Trash."

  Absolute Prominence knows she does not harbor particular hatred towards this man, but in him, she sees the face of all her enemies whom she wishes to trample.

  "Don't you have something to say, servant?"

  Her fingers tighten on the man's cheeks, urging him to open his mouth, for this might be his only chance.

  "Isn't it laughable? The mistress of the dead becoming a slave of the living?"

  "What did you say?"

  Absolute Prominence should have discovered the double meaning in Lawrence's phrase, but her current mindset was not able to achieve it.

  When she sees the smile on Lawrence's face, it is too late.

  "Bastard! Kill him!"

  The shadows move their weapons attempting to take his life, but just as they were about to succeed, hundreds of vines burst from the ground and stop each of their movements.

  A woman with long emerald hair appears from the bushes. Unbeknownst to her, a third person had interfered in the battlefield.

  At another time, Absolute Prominence would believe that the opposing party is a guard, a sentinel preventing unnecessary battles from occurring, but it's impossible given the circumstances!

  "You...! You had allies!"

  Lawrence casually gets up from the ground while all his wounds heal rapidly, the six shadows around him cannot prevent this from happening even when their mistress orders them every second to kill him, to slay her enemy.

  "You thought I was the prey, when in reality you have always been."

  Only then does Absolute Prominence understand the strange feeling she had, not only in the battle but in the circumstances surrounding this servant named Lawrence.

  Lawrence smiles cheerfully. "It's ridiculous, considering you were the bait to catch me, but you voluntarily freed yourself from your caretakers to be in the hands of the hunter."

  New vines emerge from the ground and trap Absolute Prominence without her being able to resist. At the same time, she realizes the change in the environment, how the plants eliminate all traces of blood, reposition the earth to its previous state, and absorb the surrounding mana. All traces are being erased by that woman.

  "From the start... I was your target!"

  "What are you talking about, Absolute Prominence? Weren't you the one who had me in your plans from the moment you met me?"

  Absolute Prominence's lips tremble. 'My name... I never told him...'

  The same movements she once performed, Lawrence does at this moment. He approaches her and lifts her chin with his index finger, with a smile much more cheerful than the one she had moments ago, he says...

  "That day I introduced myself to you as someone compassionate so that you would target me. I wanted you to acquire shadows from your clients and their followers, create opportunities to hide my trail, so no one would think of me when you disappeared from this place!"

  Let all suspicion be guided to the wrong place, away from him. In this way, create a web of deceit when it's Prescribed Dream's turn, the last time he took a woman from this brothel.

  That man leans in and whispers in her ear. "Didn't I tell you it was laughable?"

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  "Ah..."

  Only now does the second meaning of that phrase cross her mind, but none of that matters anymore, because that man, the same one she treated as a mere servant, throws her into a strange rift from which she knows she will never be the same again.

  Once Absolute Prominence crosses the Dimensional Rift, Sky Petal is the next to do so, but not without leaving a message behind her.

  Lawrence is glad to hear her words and nods. When the Dimensional Rift disappears, only he remains in the place.

  "Just one more bitch and this will be over."

  Lawrence climbs onto a bamboo sword and flies away at low altitude, hiding among the trees. In this subspace, where flying is forbidden, only certain people are allowed to do so, and none of them are the dao protectors.

  Once away from this place, no one will suspect him.

  +++

  On the first day after her disappearance, an emergency meeting of the partners is held. Not all were able to attend given the urgency, but those who did, would take measures that would not please the Founding Partner in the least.

  "The guards are being interrogated as we speak, but I'm afraid nothing significant will come out of their mouths."

  "What does that mean?"

  Partner Wicked Fortune interrupts Gentle Break, the partner in charge of initiating this emergency meeting. She has the least human appearance among the partners, with feathers covering most of her body and the face of a bird. This does not hinder her role as a partner, since she is neutral, holding no enmity towards any of the present. It would be foolish to make an enemy of someone like her simply because of her appearance.

  She continues saying: "Because although they weren't present at the location, there are clues suggesting they were roaming around the surrounding territory. It was one of them who noticed traces of a battle and subsequently discovered that she had disappeared, alerting the others and starting their search."

  The guards wanted to find Absolute Prominence before filing their report, they didn't want a bad record in their history. There are also traces of this, but in a place where the lives of prostitutes are worth more than those of their employees, what compassion could be had for them?

  It should not be forgotten that once the prostitutes leave this sub-space, they will be watched for life. They simply know too much. For one of them to disappear out of nowhere implies a serious risk of information leakage, and that's just one of the worst-case scenarios.

  "Traces of a battle?"

  This time it is partner Spectral Verse who asks this question. He is a man with very pale skin, but his eyes radiate a madness that makes those who observe him afraid.

  "Yes, that's right, but there are no traces of third parties. Just some damage that suggests there was a battle in that place, moreover, there are previous records alerting that this woman, Absolute Prominence, had acquired new shadows. We still don't know if this has anything to do with the case or not."

  "In summary, if it were not because it involves her, we wouldn't even be having this meeting."

  Only one day has passed since her disappearance, it is too early to be sure that she will not be found, but because she holds a special position, they are gathered here.

  Absolute Prominence, a woman whose innate ability has been considered extraordinary and, as such, a perfect example to attract those behind the disappearances of the prostitutes from this closed room, such as the sub-space. The fact that she also vanished without a trace adds more questions to the situation.

  At the words of Dark Root, Wicked Fortune immediately counters.

  "You can leave if you don't want to be here."

  "If you answer for me, I would gladly do so, but we both know that you will not. So be quiet and do not interrupt me."

  As they begin to argue, the rest continue thinking about the situation.

  "They are already investigating everyone who had previous contact with her, but according to what is written in this paper, there is no relationship with the previous disappearances."

  Impure Caprice, the second woman present in this meeting, checks the documents that were given to each of the partners and delivers her opinion. She is an elderly woman of advanced age, and even older considering her real age.

  "Are you in agreement that we should conclude this issue by interrogating all those involved and executing the unfortunate ones to set an example?"

  She herself calmly delivers the final judgment once the meeting has gone on longer than necessary, with no incriminating clues. This case is only identical to that of the woman called Sky Petal, they will hardly be able to deliver the final verdict when everything has been done in complete silence, without any clue or trace.

  It is for this same reason that the case of Sky Petal remains unanswered.

  "Impure Caprice, do you think the Founding Partner will be happy if we conclude this meeting just a few hours after it began?"

  It is strange that the one saying these words is none other than one of the troublemakers among the partners, Dark Root.

  "We will have to remain in this room until he arrives and until then, we must take measures to suggest that we did something."

  Everyone nodded at his words, even Wicked Fortune was internally in agreement, but only Impure Caprice continued with the discussion.

  "I understand what you mean Dark Root, but there are events much more important that require our attention at this moment and most likely, they are related to the recent disappearances."

  The atmosphere in the meeting room changes instantly, all partners paying attention to Impure Caprice.

  "Our clients are dying and all of them have frequented one of these three women."

  From her storage ring, Impure Caprice retrieves three portraits.

  "Serene Will."

  "Sky Petal."

  "Coldness Divine."

  Each of the portraits revealed the face of a woman.

  "All of them are those who have mysteriously disappeared from this place."

  The partners are surprised to discover the strange coincidence that is presented before them, indeed, can it even be called a coincidence? Even if it is, it is imperative to investigate this further.

  "We must do something about it. If this information leaves this meeting room and reaches the ears of the clients, our credibility will be at stake. No one will want to enter the Unquenchable Fire Brothel for fear of losing their life. Even if it is just a rumor."