Descendants of Time (Role-Play Act 5: Revolutionary Moment)

In a café out in Shinjuku, Hare was being treated to a cold tomato juice by Michael, even though she said she’d treat the priest. It wasn’t Sunday, but Hare chose to skip some classes for the priest against his wishes.

“...See? Tokyo is… awesome, right?” Hare asked, feeling a little too hot in the open-air café as she fanned herself.

“It’s quite a huge jump from London, I admit,” Michael replied, sipping from his cup. “The lack of steam is a great change of pace, the tall buildings are truly fascinating to see, and it’s much cleaner here.”

“Riiiight? They use electricity instead of steam here… and some solar energy or some crap, dunno how they get †˜em,” Hare explained half-heartedly. “Did you know that they don’t have any police in this country?”

“Really?” Michael asked, surprised. “I’m sure it’s fair to assume that crimes still happen here… do they employ machines instead?”

“Bingoooo! They employ marionettes. They’re pretty cool.”

“Puppets? They use puppets to fight crime?” He took another sip of his tea. It was best at the proper temperature after all, he decided.

“Mnm… they aren’t fully puppets. I guess they are kinda puppets though. People who sign up for the job basically goes through the process with a surgery. Marionettes are known to be eighty-percent machine and twenty percent human. They’re connected by a network so if one person is seen stealing, all the marionettes will know the face of the criminal!”

Michael was speechless; people actually signed up to be mechanized? “Do they retain their sense of self after being mechanized? After being linked?” He remembered the doctor who attempted to do that to Laura. It was a good thing Robert was there to help her, otherwise, he wouldn’t know how to explain to her what they did.

“They do,” Hare said, “but not their personalities. Unlike androids, marionettes hardly have emotions. Only a few manage to retain any. After being linked it’s like you have a computer in your head, but it doesn’t change things all that much aside from gaining information really fast.”

“I… see.” Michael would never agree to such a system; nor would he volunteer to be part of it, but he knew he couldn’t do anything about it. It was a part of life in Japan, and it had been working for them so far. He wondered if they’d think the same regarding Executors. He took another sip from his cup. “What do you Hime Me... Mikos usually do?”

“We’re kinda like the last resort if something crazy goes down,” Hare said, yawning. “Because †˜ya know, we members of Shrine are originally meant to deal with demons and stuff—’youkai’ in this country, demons in western culture—after all.”

“If you are the last resort, then who acts on first siren?”

“There are priests who deals with those things, and other Mikos. Oh and… right, rarely Exceptions but only if they are close by.”

“Exceptions? What separates a Hime Miko then? Are you chosen based on skill?” he asked, his curiosity piqued. He pushed his empty cup aside and signalled for the waitress.

“Well, there are like a few core families in the Shrine. Only they produce Hime Mikos… we say †˜produce’ but anyone with more than one †˜exceptional’ ability gifted at birth is eligible. For the past few centuries only said families did. The Exceptions are the few—in and outside said families—born with one such ability. They’re still rare, though. Exceptions and Hime Mikos receive special training by the way, especially Hime Mikos… we get all kinds of boring things, yes.”

“But what makes them special?” Michael asked, smiling. He didn’t think that Hare was the type who would explain in full, but sometimes she did. It was one of those times, similar to Lily and those pancakes she liked.

“More than one is really the main reason,” Hare sai, yawning. “They aren’t like what you’d think in the western world. We have crazy abilities like extremely good hearing to having a boiling hot body to an ability that lets you see the other side of the world based on where you stand. Even now, a young Hime Miko in training can sense Descendants based on spiritual energy readings… there are all kinds of ridiculous abilities, †˜ya know? To be frank though, I wish I had none of that stuff.”

“I understand you’d wish to not have these gifts if they give you hardships…” he opened, but decided not to finish his statement. “...In any case, I suppose you were not given the choice on whether you wanted to be one or not. However, I wonder, what brings about these abilities, and can they not be suppressed?”

When the waitress arrived, he gestured to the empty cup to convey to her that he wanted another one.

“I want a super chocolate parfait!” Hare ordered. The waitress gave a bow and accepted the order. “Well, who knows. I doubt the Shrine members want to suppress them, but they say the bloodlines of the main families are blessed… but I think the real reason—which I’m not sure of—involves making deals with the spirits. Anyway, did you had a dream before? Like the childhood ones.”

Michael thought about Hare’s question, and recalled the times he was living with his mother. They were poor for as early as he could remember, but they had somewhere to live, †˜Thanks to my nanny!’ as his mother would put it. He remembered his mother juggling jobs all day, but she always managed to come home at night to share a meal with him, usually bread and fruits and sometimes, fish. He remembered how she would cheerfully cook meat for them to share on special occasions. Had he ever wanted anything more than that? “No, I suppose I didn’t,” he replied curtly. “How about you? What did you dream of?”

“That’s sad, you should have some aspirations. As for me, I dreamt of being a marionette in service to the country. You may not like the idea, but they’re really cool handling things with indifference,” Hare said. Her eyes were almost sparkling, or that was what it seemed to Michael. “But then I later learned that Hime Mikos are born with their own responsibilities so I couldn’t do that.”

“But if given the chance…. would you still like to be one?” he asked.

Hare shook her head. “No, I do not think that way anymore,” Hare said. “I have a little sister to watch out for, and besides, someone has to look after the higher-ranked youkais our ancestors sealed.”

“Why keep them sealed? Why not kill them instead?” he asked. “And you have a little sister?”

“Yep, I have a sister, and her name is Ame. As for the seals… well, let’s just say that they’re way too strong to be killed, even with all the tech the country has to offer. We had an incident when I was a kid when a Descendant rushed headstrong into one of the bigger shrines and opened a seal… I really don’t think they should be allowed back into the world.”

“I see now what you mean, if it took a Descendant to combat them. Did that incident pique your interest towards them?” He realized he should’ve ordered some biscuits.

“Sorta, yeah. I wanna find that Descendant and smack him one day,” Hare said, making an angry face. “He almost got Ame killed that day.”

“Do you know which one he was?” He really should’ve ordered some biscuits.

Hare’s parfait was delivered, and as the waitress left she answered sardonically, “That freak was called Aries, and he is the kind of irresponsible brat who wouldn’t care about those around him as long as he had his own fun.”

“To think there are people like that who wield unimaginable power...” His voice hinted at a tone of anger. “These are trying times we live in.”

“According to history we have always been on trying times. Only around the fifteenth century and sixteenth was it calm if I remember right.”

Michael smiled at Hare’s statement and said nothing. He sipped from his cup as he watched her eat her food.

While Hare was having her ice cream with her provocative expression, she looked up to Michael and found him staring. “Wanna taste?” she asked with a smirk. “It’s amazing, you know!”

It took Michael a while before he got used to how Hare ate things, or so he thought. “Well, I guess I do, considering I am the one paying,” he joked. He did get quite a bit of money from selling his gunblade, after all.

Hare dug her spoon into the parfait and scooped up some of the ice cream covered with the fruity toppings. “Say aaah!”

“...Must we do this?” Michael asked, before eating the spoonful of parfait Hare offered anyway. The cold treat was a delightful experience to him, having never tasted a parfait before. The heat coming from the spoon contrasted with the parfait’s coldness, which to him enhanced the experience. “This is really good,” he said, chewing. He did wonder how they kept the spoon heated while serving it. He accidentally glanced at Hare’s lips as he was thinking—and realized the unfortunate truth. He covered his face with his hands in embarrassment as he realized what he had just did.

“There’s more, c’mon, move that hand aside, Michael-san,” Hare said, scooping up another portion of the parfait.

“I-I’ll pass,” he said abruptly as he averted his gaze. “A-anyway… Where else do you plan to go?” he asked, wanting to leave this place as soon as possible.

“Ahaha! You realized the indire- ahem, well, mn… how about a movie theatre? Haven’t been to one myself in a while.”

“A theatre, huh?” he said, making an uncharacteristically sad smile. “I don’t see why not. What do you suggest we watch?”

“Hehe, was expecting that question,” Hare said, flipping out two tickets to a particular movie. “This movie is something I’ve been wanting to see. It’s action-packed, and is about marionettes kicking some sorry butts. And uhh… some uhh… I kinda don’t remember the rest of the synopsis… ”

“Well, it doesn’t really matter since we’re watching it.” Michael signaled for the bill. “I hope it will be entertaining. It is my first movie after all.”

“You’re gonna see some crazy fighting-style you never saw before; of course it’ll be amazing.”

After Hare had finished eating the parfait in her own unique manner, Michael paid for their bill. They took their time walking towards the theatre, stopping at various shops along the way while they talked about random topics that came up.

“Now that was a good movie,” Hare remarked. The priest and the Miko walked out of the theatre. The Miko was, however, was leaning on the priest’s arm saying she felt a little dizzy.

How true was it? Michael could only wonder. He knew one thing though, and that was Hare’s body heat was definitely the real deal.

“You saw what I meant though? The marionettes are cool, right? Who cares how they shoot and hit things mid-air perfectly, all of it looks neat,” Hare said.

Hare’s body felt uncomfortable to Michael, not because of her body heat, but because of one… well, two things. “It really was, can they do that too in real life?” he said, adjusting his collar.

“Apparently so.” Hare gave a nod, which almost felt like her nuzzling against his arm. “The masterminds in the story were kinda crazy though. Who’d think the marionettes were the enemies all along?”

“To be honest, it’s pretty clear halfway through that they aren’t exactly what they seemed to be,” he commented, trying to take his mind off Hare nuzzling him. He feared that he’d offend her if he tried to pull his arm free, so he’d try to endure it instead. Besides, he did enjoy— Our Father, who art in Heaven, hallowed be thy name…

“Yeah, but—” Hare said, but stopped. “Oh, it’s a mall. Let’s buy something.”

“Huh—erm, yeah s-sure,” he replied.

Entering the shop, Michael was a little taken aback from all the logos, models, and all kinds of products being showcased by holograms.

“Mnm… where to go from here…” Hare pondered openly.

“Well, what do you wish to buy?” he asked.

“You first,” Hare insisted. “Ladies have been laughing at me for a while because I’ve been hanging around with an old fashioned man.” However exotic he is…

“What? Why? What’s wrong with I am wearing? Should I have gone with a clerical collar? I thought that might be awkward, though,” Michael asked. He didn’t really think much about what he wore, since he just wanted to thank Hare for helping him while he was in Japan. Something like that.

“Oh, don’t be like that,” Hare said, pouting. “Look at all those other men, they look moderately fashionable, while you look like a guy right out of the past. Well, you are. No offense, but you wanna look more presentable. That thing seems old and worn out too.”

“But it’s cheap and I use it a lot. Those clothes seem like they’d rip the moment I try to run,” he complained, looking at the other men who looked like women to him.

“Nah, you just forget they’re actually there, but they stick to †˜ya. Feels awesome that way. Like when the garb gets wet with sweat. Anyway,” Hare said, “I’m getting you something that looks better or I’m gonna do something to you that you’ll always regret.”

“But you’re already doing something I might regre—” Michael mumbled, “...I really don’t like those clothes, they look girly.”

“How are they girly at all…?” Hare questioned, and then pointed at a certain model. “Well what about him? That coat and shirt set-up is a long-running trend but I’d get the quality that’s much better.”

“Well, I guess it’s fine to try… Even if those doesn’t look comfortable at all.” Michael sighed but accepted Hare’s suggestion anyway.

Michael spent his time trying on the outfits Hare wanted him to try. He felt like Hare was really enjoying treating him as a dress-up doll, as some of the outfits he tried didn’t exactly feel like they’d survive a hunt. Eventually, he had settled with a black coat that went down to his hips, a deep crimson colored fitted button-down shirt, pants, and black boots. He made a mental note to have them enhanced with protection magic later so he wouldn’t have to buy more soon. “I am okay with this.”

“I am okay with that too,” Hare said, agreeing. “The red is a nice contrast to the last coat you had. So this feels unique on you. Aside from that, it’s my favorite color too.”

“But does it really have to cost that much? I feel like I am getting ripped off,” he complained, but he looked like he was immediately comfortable with his new clothes. “Let’s get something for you too. I’d feel bad if I was the only one who bought anything.”

“Those materials are sturdier than they look, so they cost more for that—wait, clothes for me… Sure.” Hare gave a very playful smirk

When Michael saw her face, he felt that he had made a decision he would regret, but being a man of his word, he decided to stick to his decision. “Y-Yeah...” he said with an unsure smile.

And of course the horror would start with a lingerie shop. Michael could hardly tell what lingeries were at first, but a second after entering he wanted to run out. With the Miko tugging at him with her devilish smile, however, there was no way he could go back on his word now.

“S...So, what do you think?”

Michael did not know where to turn his gaze when Hare called him. He heard various women whispering about as they passed by him, and some were snickering; he could also feel the gazes, considering he was a man in a lingerie shop. When he turned to face Hare, his jaw dropped. She was wearing a pair of red undergarments that skirted being obscene, and she filled it up nicely. He felt his blood rushing to various places, and he willed himself into not passing out immediately, not noticing that he was silently staring at her with his mouth wide open. Pater noster, qui es in caelis… sancti… sanctificetur Nomen...

“Hello?” Hare said, trying to bring Michael back to reality, waving her hand before his eyes. “Look at me properly,” she teased. “Do I look nice in it? Or do you think a change of color is necessary? Or perhaps a more daring undergarment…”

“T-that’s o-okay… It looks ni—w-what manner of obscene clothing is that?! It barely c-covers a-anything!” He pointed at her—he immediately retracted his hand when he realized he was pointing at her assets, and covered his eyes with his hands instead.

“Hm? Is that so unusual? I thought the westerners were quite daring too. No, I’m pretty sure of it,” Hare stated, apparently confident of her knowledge. “C’mon, you know you’re happy,” she teased again with a grin. “Undergarments aren’t supposed to cover much. Even nuns don’t do that… or do they?”

“I wouldn’t know! A-Anyway, put your clothes back on, it’s distracting!” He said as he lightly head-chopped Hare. Surprisingly, her head somehow felt soft and silky, and it felt like she suddenly got shorte— Michael feared to face Hare as he slowly retracted his hand, his face sporting a crooked smile.

“Kyaa!” Hare pretended. “You pervert.”

“It was a mistake! A mistake!” He apologized, waving his hands in front of him. “I didn’t mean to touch your chest!” He covered his mouth after he was finished speaking.

Michael could hear the giggles of the women behind him. “Are you sure you don’t want to touch more?”

“Of course I am!” he interjected. He really did regret his decision. At least the part where they went and shopped for clothes.

“Ahahaha! Alright, alright, I’ll stop teasing, let’s move on to the dress part,” Hare said. “Ah, but if you don’t wanna turn and watch me change that’s fine, you know?”

Michael turned around, completely exhausted. “Who knew buying clothes could be this terrifying...” he mumbled to himself.

“Any other man would be thrilled. I guess this is just a thing about your upbringing,” Hare said, not knowing how ironic that statement was. She then pulled Michael along by the shops after putting back on her casual clothes.

In the next shop they entered, Michael could sigh in relief. Considering it wasn’t another underwear shop. Yet now he had to face all kinds of short skirts and revealing legs from the outfits she showed.

“Anything catch your fancy yet?”

“The red one looked nice.” He finally calmed down and suggested the longest skirt that Hare tried that he could remember. He was slowly getting used to seeing Hare’s skin, which to him was both a blessing and a curse.

“Oooh, alright. So you like red after all,” Hare said, making a note, picking the shortest skirt instead of the longest she tried so far. “I guess this should do.”

“Somehow, I knew you’d pick that.” Michael sighed. “I do like red, I think it’s the best color of all!” Michael raised his thumb.

“Because it’s the color of blood?”

“I… hadn’t thought of that. I like how it symbolized courage and passion.”

“Mmm… I see. Well, it’s my favorite too, but only because camellias are red.”

“What’s that, food?”

“No, dummy. It’s a flower.”

“Like a rose, then? That’s red too,” he asked, scratching his head.

“Yep. It’s a little lighter shade of red from the rose… still pretty, though.”

“Interesting, I wonder if I can see one before I leave Japan,” he wondered.

“Shall we go to a garden?”

“That would be nice. I’d love to see these Camellia flowers.” Michael smiled at Hare.

“Alright, that’s decided then.” Hare smiled back as they made way for a garden.

A day was remaining before the Magic Train trip to America. It was sunday. A day when the Academy didn’t have classes. Most scholars were in their rooms sleeping early in the morning at eight. Beyond the forest to the north, however, two were far from sleep.

“You’re still growing,” Svetlana said, anxious. “Sleep some more.”

“Don’t wanna. It’s all I do anyway,” Isabelle outright refused.

“But—”

“Anyway! I keep hearing that you teach in this, uh… Eastern Academy?”

“Eastern Magic Academy.”

“How is it over there?”

“It’s fun. I have some scholars as my students who are still quite innocent for me to have fun with”

“You really only think about fun…”

“That’s not true!”

“Really?”

“Of course. I mean, I think about you and Mrs Alicia and my mom.”

“Uh huh…”

“Hm?”

“Say, how big is the Academy?”

“Huge.”

“How huge?”

“Very huge.”

“That doesn’t really—”

“You wanna go see it?”

“Eh? I… I don’t think I’m allowed out of the house.”

“It’s okay. Today is Sunday so there won’t be many people around. I can ask permission for you.”

“Really?” Isabelle asked, her face lighting up. Both Svetlana and Alicia’s fear of risks of letting her out of the house faded in that instant.

“Yeah, really. Wait, I’ll go ask,” Svetlana said, exiting the room hastily.







“So, Mrs. Alicia, can I take Isabelle outside to show her around the Academy?” Svetlana asked, seeming to appear extremely impatient.

Alicia closed the book of fairies she was reading to face the faerie. “I have heard the conversation, but…”

“As you know it’s Sunday and I don’t think there will be a problem.”

“I know, but…”

“You don’t want her to see the outside? It’s so pretty. I feel like she is kind of wasting her time here always sitting on her bed. Everyone needs some fresh air once in awhile!”

“Alright, alright, Sevvy-chan. You win. I shall permit it. Perhaps I’ll use it as an excuse to show up for once to her as well,” Alicia said, smiling fondly, thinking of speaking to her daughter.

“Would it to be alright to approach her though? Especially in public.”

“Considering her extremely good mood recently, I think it won’t unless we provoke her with this book,” Alicia said, looking down at the book. She’d keep it here so it shouldn’t be a problem.

“Alright, if you say so.”

Aramus came to the Headmistress’ office upon receiving an urgent message on his phone. With him was a child who was under his care due to the request of Lumiere—Almond. Almond was considered to be a promising child with great potential towards magic. As a Magister, Aramus was tasked with being his Master, and to raise him to be a splendid mage.

There would be no reason to have Aramus bring Almond over like this unless stated. The mail did request him to do this. Almond himself was confused, but upon seeing the Headmistress, he ran over to her thoughtlessly, as if a son had found his mother.

“Thank you for bringing him here,” the Headmistress said, hugging Almond. She seemed to have gotten off her chair immediately to receive the child’s warmth. “How has his progress been?”

Smiling warmly at the display of affection between “mother and son” Aramus gave her a quick rundown of what he had been teaching Almond.

“He’s coming along nicely. Although I wasn’t around for a good portion of it, Almond has been reading the tomes and notes I had set aside for him. I suppose it comes with being young and curious, but when I quizzed him on a few subjects, his answers were almost textbook. You might want to watch out for him when he grows a little older though, he’s more popular with the ladies than I am.”

“I… I don’t know if I am popular with them, or amjust their target for amusement, teacher…” Almond murmured as some form of fear from being caressed too much visited him. “They treat me… differently from how Miss Lumiere does.”

“Don’t you worry. It’s a different kind of affection,” Aramus said in response. The little child was indeed fawned upon by almost all the ladies, no matter which class Aramus brought him to. It was enough to make the rest of the men green with envy, Aramus somewhat included.

“Really…?” Almond questioned. He hardly believed his teacher.

“Well, color me surprised then. When I took him over to England for the Queen’s Meeting, he seemed to be playing games only with my gadgets, phones, and the terminal. Perhaps he crammed after returning with me?” Lumiere guessed, almost finding Aramus’ report hard to believe.

“You see… Those gadgets aren’t something I can offer to Almond. I guess it’s just easier when a child’s interest is sparked. They just go all the way.” It was true that his room was spartan, offering nothing towards a growing child. Not many creature comforts were allowed to him as a child even in the orphanage and it showed.

Lumiere laughed. “I suppose so.” She then released her embrace on Almond before patting him. Feeling his hair gave a feeling of nostalgia now.

“Mister Aramus Valmark,” she called, looking up to the teacher. “Take care of him.”

“Huh?” Aramus said, starting forward as if he hadn’t heard the Headmistress.

“...Miss Lumiere?” Almond called out to the Headmistress—the woman who he had considered his mother as some point the most—for one last time.

The Headmistress simply picked herself up and smiled. “Take care of him,” she repeated.

Aramus simply quirked an eyebrow at her, but chose not to press further. He had a rough guess as to what she was getting at so he merely nodded.

“It’s Sunday, and a free day at that. Perhaps you should take him off somewhere for a change of pace, mn?” the Headmistress suggested.

“Since you put it that way, would you like to come along?” Aramus questioned. “I think we both will get very busy in the near future so this is a good chance.”

“Unfortunately, I am already too busy, even on weekends now,” Lumiere declined, sighing.

“Alright, we’ll leave you to your work then. Almond, come along now,” Aramus called out. The young boy gave his “mum” one last hug before bounding over to Aramus’s side as the pair walked out of the office.

As Aramus left with Almond, the door was closed shut and Lumiere sat back to her chair. Her hands, having previously cupped blood from her coughs, was seen by Weiss from behind.

“So you are here… my Angel of Death?” With a wry smile, Lumiere looked from the corner of her eyes. Her pupil reflected she who bestowed upon her life itself.

There she stood—between Weiss and Lumiere—Steel Princess.

“Do not worry—you are free to have your final wish granted. You really wanted to drink with your buddy, didn’t you?” Steel Princess asked Lumiere, who kept on smiling wryly. “Weiss, show yourself.”

“Yes, ma’am.” Weiss stepped out of the shadows and knelt down in front of the Steel Princess.

“Prepare yourself for a trip to the United States of America. We shall face the humans there.”

“As you wish, ma’am.” She lowered her head. A trip around the world, huh?

“There is some good news in this,” the Steel Princess added, apparently almost having forgotten to say it to her earlier, as she cupped and lifted Weiss’ chin with her sharp-looking crafty steel claws, “That Duke—the man who murdered your husband—will be there in the war.”

Weiss’s eyes widen in surprise. “I see.” She trembled as she remembered the time when her husband was killed.

“So you should hurry there and prepare. We shall meet in New York.”

“Y-Yes, ma’am.” She slapped both her cheeks to relax herself just a little bit.

“There should be no worries about direction; other androids will contact you when you make it there.”

“Oh, the other six will be there too? It’s been long since I saw them, let alone on the same battlefield.”

“That is true. I have not assembled them together in one place for almost two hundred years now.”

Indeed, the members of Judgement had not been gathered for so long. Each was made with a particular archetype of a warrior that had existed from ancient times, except the Sniper. Normally she’d be called something more suitably apt like an archer, but Steel Princess had considered it a little more and decided that perhaps a †˜modernized’ title would be far more befitting. Adaptation was, after all, necessary.

“Ehehe… now, how shall we approach your little friend, Lumiere?” she said, placing a hand on the Headmistress’ shoulder.

Duke, you will die with the very rifle that my husband left me. I’ll kill you without mercy. Weiss held her late husband’s sniper rifle tight.

Svetlana stood before the Academy with Isabelle, who was looking up to the main building and its surroundings with a gaping mouth. Svetlana quite literally led Isabelle blindfolded to the front of the Academy just to give the girl a surprise. Svetlana hadn’t liked the idea of half of the surprise being stolen by the back of the buildings because the forest and the mansion was at the very edge of the north of the Realm. Which meant that anyone leaving the forest would see the back of the main building.

Hence, a blindfold was the fun-lover’s solution.

Alicia claimed that she wanted to check upon something in the building itself. Svetlana assumed that it was to do with safety because her teacher was rather a worrywart and an overprotective mother even if she didn’t seem like it.

“Woah, this place really is huge… the field goes so far I don’t see the end of it,” Isabelle commented, looking left and right.

“Good morning, Svetlana,” Lily greeted, coming to Svetlana alongside Michael.

Michael smiled and waved his hand at Svetlana, unsure if she was wearing the translator thing.

“Hi hi, Lily, Michael,” Svetlana greeted in return, waving at the two. “I got another accessory for the Translation skill, by the way. Kinda still new to this, though.”

“So, you hear us in Russian, and we hear you in English with that on?”

“Yep, yep,” Svetlana simply answered. “Pretty handy.”

“That’s a nifty thing. So, who’s the girl?” He waved at the girl.

“Ah, right. This is Isabelle! Isabelle, say hi to Michael and Lily,” Svetlana said, helping the girl get acquainted to the members of the Church.

“Good day… I am I-Isabelle,” Isabelle introduced herself but hid behind Svetlana. It was astounding to Lily how little the difference in the two’s height were.

“Hello, Isabelle,” Lily said, waving. “I did not know you were acquainted with such a cute girl.”

“Well, it’s a long story. This is Mrs. Alicia’s daughter, and she is usually at home, so I thought she needed a change of pace,” Svetlana replied, beaming a smile.

“Good day little one, call me Michael,” Michael greeted Isabelle. “Speaking of, how is Miss— Mrs. Alicia?”

“...” Isabelle averted her eyes, to which Michael raised his eyebrows.

“I am surprised that you’d go as far as getting another Translation accessory, however,” Lily stated, expressing her surprise to Svetlana.

“Figured that I would have to. Mrs. Alicia also mentioned that since there are foreign scholars around her, being able to understand them may help from time to time,” Svetlana answered Lily, then turned to Michael. “She seems to be all better now!”

“Well, that’s good to know,” he commented, giving up on trying to break the ice with Isabelle. “Where do you two plan to go?”

“I’ll be showing her around the Academy. You guys wanna join us?” Svetlana offered.

“Wouldn’t hurt if I do.” Lily accepted the offer with a shrug, and gave Michael a look. “What about you?”

“Well, I don’t really mind, but I must warn you that I have no money on me at all.” He shrugged. “Maybe Lily will treat us to pancakes!” He decided to once again try to break the ice with Isabelle.

“Ah, pancakes!” Isabelle’s expression lit up in almost an instant.

Unfortunately, someone had to bare the bad news. “The cafeteria is closed on Sundays until lunch hour. We got at least four hours to go till then,” Svetlana said, patting Isabelle who looked down.

“It’s something to look forward to, isn’t it?” Michael knelt beside her as he tried to cheer Isabelle up.

“Wait, how did you run out of penny already?” Lily inquired, facing Michael.

“I ended up spending a bit buying new supplies. I did told you I was going out, remember?” he said to Lily as he stood up, and then shrugged.

“...H-Hmph, not like I want pancakes. We have better at home, after all,” Isabelle said, crossing her arms.

“...Really? Buying supplies in Japan?” Lily asked Michael, raising her eyebrows.

“It seems that women tend to be difficult in Japan,” Michael said, also crossing his arms, but as a joke.

“What?” Lily could only tilt her head in confusion.

“They aren’t in England?” Svetlana questioned.

“They are even more difficult there, Miss Svetlana. In any case, onwards we go! Where are we going?”

“We can’t just yet, kinda waiting on Mrs. Alicia, who said she was gonna check if it’s safe…” Svetlana replied. “So we’re waiting outside here.”

“That woman is trying too hard or something,” Isabelle mumbled with a scoff.

“Safe? From what?” Michael asked.

“People.”

“But we’re also people… That does not make any sense.”

“Apparently Isabelle isn’t good with too many strangers… as you can see,” Svetlana said, pointing at the little girl hiding behind her.

“Well, if that were the case, wouldn’t it be better if we didn’t come?” He wouldn’t want to traumatize the girl, after all.

“E...Even I can handle a few people,” Isabelle said, averting her gaze.

“Why not just admit that you want to get used to more people?” Svetlana teasingly asked.

“Hush,” Isabelle hissed.

“She is cute indeed,” Lily commented, nodding to herself.

“Well, it’s good that you want to change.”

Meanwhile, Natsu was out on a morning jog, and noticed the bunch. Two particular girls stood out to her: Svetlana, her Faerie Lore teacher and one of her protectors on that tragic day a week ago, and a girl right behind her who looked strikingly like Alicia, but with black hair. Is that her daughter she was talking about? As Natsu looked at the other people in the small group, she saw Michael and Lily too, yet more of her protectors. And finally, there was a blonde girl with them that she didn't recognize.

“Good morning, Sevvy-chan-sensei, Michael-san and Lily-san,” Natsu took a detour to greet each of them, in English, for Michael's sake.

“Hi hi, Kazehaya,” Svetlana said. Being non-native to the country she wasn’t one for honorifics as usual.

“Good morning, Miss Kazehaya,” Lily greeted.

“Good morning, Miss Kazehaya,” Michael repeated. He excused himself and Lily, and walked a few steps away from the main group.

“G...Good day,” Isabelle said, still hiding behind Svetlana.

Natsu peered at the girl behind Svetlana. She really was the spitting image of Alicia. Natsu offered her hand and gave a gentle smile, introducing herself to the girl. “I’m Natsu. What’s your name?"

“Isabelle de Mauny,” the child answered, averting her gaze slightly.

“Isabelle, you should properly look people in the eye when you talk to them,” Svetlana reprimanded, but instead she received a jab from the young girl in her buttock.

Natsu retracted her hand. I guess she's just shy. She looked at Isabelle’s interaction with Svetlana and chuckled a bit. It was quite cute to Natsu. “It's nice to meet you, Isabelle. I hope we can get along sometime!”

Isabelle gave what looked like a slight nod in response, while Svetlana sighed. “Listen to your big sis more, Isabelle. Or else you get no candy.”

“...Fine,” Isabelle finally agreed, reluctantly.

“Sorry †˜bout that, Kazehaya, she’s just not used to people yet!” Svetlana told to Natsu.

“It’s alright, she’s still young, after all. I’m sure she'll warm up to me over time,” Natsu said, still keeping a pleasant attitude. “But, is she...?” Natsu tried to confirm that this was, in fact, the daughter Alicia mentioned. She heard that the daughter was sick, so to see this young girl out and about was somewhat confusing.

“Yep, she is.” Svetlana nodded. “I really wish she’d open up a bit more.” She chuckled. “We’re gonna show her around the Academy starting with the main building after Mrs. Alicia returns in a bit. What are you gonna do?” she asked. “You could join us if you want. Would help if Isabelle gets used to more people.”

“Oh, Alicia-sensei is better, now? She got badly injured in... what happened... last week…” It was painful for Natsu to remember even a moment of what happened that day. Recently, she'd done all she could to try to suppress it somehow.

Svetlana’s complexion instantly looked as worse as Natsu’s as she remembered the incident and how Alicia was stabbed in both her stomach and chest. In a moment she restored her smile, however. “She is good as new now! Magic solves everything!” she cheered.

“...What happened to mo—err… that woman?” Isabelle asked, worried, but Svetlana patted her again.

“She is fine, she is fine,” Svetlana repeated.

“Magic sure is convenient, isn’t it…” Natsu said with a wry smile. If only it could fix everything, she wanted to add, but kept it suppressed. “Well, it's good that she's doing better!”

“They really are, but only if the right person is around for the right time,” Svetlana informed with an index finger raised. “After all, not everyone can learn every magic. A spell needs you to be aligned to a supposed deity in a Realm.” She then turned towards the door to the Academy.

“Yeah, I think I learned that in one of my classes…” Natsu said, putting a finger to her chin. Honestly, the classes were somewhat of a blur compared to what happened in the past few days. The recent events really affected her concentration in class.

Alicia exited the main building of the Academy, coming into sight of the group.

“Finally, I’m out from that discussion with Mathilde about wine…” she spoke to no one in particular as she set her sights on her daughter. She seemed happy. Alicia smiled fondly.

“Alicia.”

“Hm?” Almost startled. The teacher turned her head to find Lumiere, the Headmistress. Was she behind her when she was coming out?

“Lumiere. I see you were in the Academy early today… how surprising. I thought you’d be sleeping till the afternoon like usual.”

(BGM: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ODRgoKbgdrsp)

“Alicia,” Lumiere said longingly with a tired look. “Just this once, join me for a drink.”

Alicia quirked her head behind to find Lumiere behind her.

“You have been asking that for quite some time, hm? I know that you may be stressed, but I must attend to my daughter who wishes to see the campus for once… and you know a mother wouldn’t want to miss this, yes? ...Besides, drinking at a time like this is—”

“Daughter this… daughter that,” Lumiere said. “Ahhh… I quit.”

“Huh? What’s wro—”

Alicia looked down at herself. What was this? Why was this happening? Why today? Why now? ...Why? Lumiere’s hand ran rampant, into Alicia’s warm blood inside her chest. her claws fiddled as if searching for something. “W...What? What are you… ”

“Hehehe… hahahahaha!!” Lumiere laughed out loud, turning everyone’s attention to her. “I’ve always been waiting to do this.”

“Y...You’re not… nngghhhh, Lumiere. W… Who are you…?!” Alicia questioned, hardly able to raise her voice. Instead she felt blood going through throat. She looked down at the assailant’s steel claws. Being in a hurry to join her daughter—Margaret Alicia completely hadn’t noticed that Lumiere wasn’t the same the moment she came to her. Even her clothes were different.

“Oh, please. Are you so afraid that you are no longer immortal, Sir David, Walter de Mauny?”

Alicia never thought she’d be hearing that name again. A name that she thought had sunk into the sands of time. The name of the first ever Dark Knight—David. The name of a forgotten warrior, a person who held no true place in history. Walter de Mauny too… how does this woman know these names?

“Where did you… hear that…?”

“Oh, come on, David, do you really not remember me? How could you forget me—Alexandrina the Great—she who they call †˜Virgo’? Well, I suppose it doesn’t matter. Anyway…”

The Queen who she deterred from taking some of the most heartless and cruel measures to take her targets off the maps of the continents—oh, how she regretted being a so-called respectable †˜knight of eld’ as Queen Victoria had once called her.

“Fouuuunnnnnd iiiiiiiit!” The self-proclaimed Virgo with Lumiere’s face held her back and pulled Alicia’s heart out, blood spilling forth from behind the Duchess. With said hand now bloodied, she held Margaret Alicia’s heart that ceased to beat for eternity, the pipes attached to it spewing blood momentarily, much to her delight, after she gave it a gentle squeeze as if to feel its fleshiness.

Alicia stumbled as Virgo let her go; she weakly approached the group, but fell to the floor halfway to them.

Isabelle’s mind entered a state of complete blankness.

It wasn’t anyone else who fell over.

It was Margaret Alicia.

The once proud Duchess of Norfolk. A certain elder woman’s figure whose attention, love, and time she took for granted. She knew that this woman was always keeping an eye over her. Beyond the walls, she felt her gaze all the time, everyday. At some point she was used to it. She was an overprotective woman indeed. She’d get happy over little things if she’d consent. That was the kind of person was she.

While Isabelle herself pretended to be mad as she’d reluctantly accept. None of it was true. She never reluctantly accepted anything. In truth, she felt a strange form of warmth deep in her heart, yet she wanted to look away from it. She was afraid to openly accept the love that woman wanted to provide her. Because she thought she once killed that woman. At some point she wasn’t sure who this Alicia was. Even if this Margaret wasn’t her real mother, it no longer mattered to her. She always had a clue all along. She resembled someone else in attitude—it’s what she felt from that her.

No. She was not any other woman.

She was never a stranger.

She was her mother.

Even if her real mother died. Alicia was still her current mother.

Reasoning be damned.

Isabelle almost tripped, running over to Alicia hastily. “Mommy… ! …Mommy!!” She yelled, not bothering to stop and correct herself mid-way like usual. Her salty tears had already found their way to her eyelids.

This couldn’t be… this… this couldn’t be…! She internally screamed over and over again. Her mother, the woman who always pulled through whenever the demon inside her would attack, how could someone such as her have something like this done to her?

Isabelle would usually wake up from slumber after her blackouts, finding everything back to normal.

That’s right. To her, her mother was always her heroine. How could she possibly live in this otherwise lonely world without her?

Deep in her heart she wished everything she saw today was but a nightmare—touring the Academy be damned too—she’d trade her freedom from the cage that was the mansion in the north of the main building for her mother any day.

That’s right. She wanted to wake up. Wake up and see everything as they used to be. Nothing needed to change from how they were.

Yet, why…?

It was too late, change had undoubtedly come. The gears of fate had shifted.

“I...Isabelle…” Alicia painfully uttered, breathing heavily.

“Mrs. Alicia!!” Svetlana yelled, bringing herself out of the state of stupor, she ran forwards to save the one person who was almost as important to her as her real mother. The one person who called her a daughter from the bottom of her heart even now, unlike her real mother who was devoid of her memories. In such a short time, they had gotten closer than she ever thought they would. She never once believed in her days as a student scholar that she’d form such a special relation with Margaret Alicia—the elder teacher. Now, she seemed like one of the most important people to her. As important as Isabelle, as important as Mathilde, and as important as her real mother.

However, just before she could reach either Alicia or Isabelle, an invisible wall deterred her progress, and she felt something akin to electricity as she was pushed back against her will.

“Alicia-sensei!” Natsu cried out as the grotesque scene took place in front of her. Why was something like this happening on an otherwise peaceful sunday morning? She, too, struck at the wall with her hands, but to no avail.

“For Virgo to be here of all places!” Lily exclaimed, brandishing her gigantic blade. She struck hard against the barrier, but the force rejected her and it barely dented the wall.

“Mrs. Alicia!” Michael pulled out his gun. “Move aside,” he said as he shot at the wall. The bullets bounced back to him, but luckily, they only managed to graze him.

The rest of the group were thus stopped by said wall. A transparent hemisphere of navy blue revealed itself—thwarting any attempts to harm Virgo—as it stood between the group and Alicia, whose daughter was with her, crying.

Svetlana clapped twice, chanted, and casted magic; her ball of flame however, did nothing. Instead it bounced back to her, which Lily blocked with her sword.

“No… this can’t be happening,” Svetlana said, tears running past her cheeks without any cessation before falling to her knees. “With her heart gone… she can only live for so long till the blood stops going to the brain…”

Lily struck against the barrier with her gigantic sword, but she was instead pushed back yet again. Hearing the words of Svetlana, she could only remind herself of defeat, “That’s right… there are two things magic may not restore no matter what through healing… one’s brain and heart.” She cringed and looked down in shame at her powerlessness.

“I wonder how a heart of an ex-Descendant tastes…” Virgo said, giggling to herself. Having taken the same thing from all those clones, it didn’t even matter how they really tasted. The act of devouring was extremely satisfying to her now. She momentarily put the heart into the mouth and swallowed it ravenously. “Bon appetit.”

“You… bitch,” Isabelle roared, her voice a mixture of her own and that of a beast. Her body gave away an aura of demonic impurity and taint. Her pupils turned crimson as did her hair, and the rest of her eyes—black. She growled in rage, and her flames concentrated on her right hand. “How dare you ruin the body I wanted to possess!!” the demon hissed, but Virgo was far from fazed.

“My, a dog sure can bark loud,” Virgo said, smiling. She welcomed its rage and the aura that spread from Isabelle’s body.

The demon leapt forwards, Virgo being the one and only person in mind. She approached at a breakneck pace with a burning fist that accumulated demonic powers, making the flames burn violet. A kind of flame neither Alicia nor Svetlana had ever witnessed the demon use before. However, her opponent stopped it even before it connected—raising her arm to show a prism glowing deep blue on the back of her hand.

“Oh dear, how rude. You should never be attempting to touch a woman.”

The demon fell behind Alicia’s bloodstained body, before turning to normal. Isabelle looked down—her consciousness back to her—at her fidgeting hands to realize that her demon was completely defeated in one blow. However, unlike usual, she didn’t pass out. She was still awake. Was it because it was taken out too early? Or did Alicia and Svetlana simply hit hard enough to put her to sleep? But then it seemed like Virgo hit the demon harder than the aforementioned two combined. What was going on?

Natsu continued to slap at the barrier despite her hands being burned from it, trying to replicate what she did to defeat George on that day, but she didn't remember what exactly triggered the blow that pushed him back. That attack may have had enough force to destroy this barrier as well. Knowing that time was of the essence, she gave up trying that tactic and moved on to a different strategy.

“Everyone, stand back!” She yelled, backing up as well to give herself room to ready her spiritual bow and arrows. Expending too much energy to destroy the barrier would put everyone at risk for Virgo's counterattack, so Natsu only prepared two arrows. She could only pray that it was enough to break through.

The arrows struck against the barrier and an intense wind was felt as the projectiles attempted to break through the wall. Moments later, the arrows turned to small spheres of energy and were absorbed into the surface of the barrier. Ripples could be seen going across the barrier at the same time, when a visibly large crack formed. The ripples, however, traveled back from the other side, and when it reached the minimized arrows they combined into one larger orb, and shot back at Natsu.

When Natsu opened her eyes, she was on the ground with Lily atop her, who had jumped to her for the rescue.

“Are you alright?!” Lily asked, getting off the idol and offering her hand to her momentarily.

Natsu was surprised by how quickly Lily had managed to react. She barely saw the shot being fired back at her, but she was pushed out of harm's way before she could react. “Y-Yeah, thank you.” Natsu stood back up, accepting the offered hand, and regained her composure; she still reeled from the impact. “So, what about the barrier? Did we break through?”

Lily shook her head. “But… I think you have made it possible for us to break through it soon…” she said, looking towards the large crack on the barrier.

Svetlana clapped her hands again. She cast a lightning bolt, then the Blazing Wind spell that Alicia herself had taught her.

All of it were repelled and Lily could only shield Svetlana from her own spells. Of course, the Knight of Lilies was no invincible shield. She was sluggish and was barely holding up from taking all these damages, and Svetlana didn’t want to put her through any more of it either.

She had never felt so helpless—so powerless—and incapable before as she fell to her knees.

“Heh. Do you like your mother—no, father—so much?” Virgo questioned Isabelle who cried beside the dying Alicia on the floor.

“I...I… Mommy… ”

So it was true. It really was her father, somehow having taken the form of her mother all along.

“Even though you hated her all life and called her a liar? I’m certain you were nothing but a burden—”

“Shut up!! What would you know?!” Isabelle yelled from the top of her lungs.

Virgo’s smile widened to this outburst. “Very well. If you love this transvestite equivalent—woman wannabe—person so much, then so be it. I shall let you live so you may agonize over her demise.”

She turned her back to the people and strolled as she laughed, passing through a portal beyond which there was nothing but darkness.

What a spectacle. It was the only thing that passed Weiss’s mind as she pulled her eyes away from the sniper scope. When she was about to go off sometime earlier, people started entering the scene. Oh my. She set up her sniper scope again to observe the situation.

Aramus exited the main building now, only to find a strange navy blue barrier erect over the field. Beyond the murky sight that was barely visible was a bloodied body with a weeping sitting beside it. Aramus spotted something like a crack behind them, and some people beyond the other side of the barrier. Was it a result of an unauthorized Mage’s Duel?

Regardless, Almond shuddered at the sight of blood, who was walking side-by-side with the teacher.

“W...What is all this, teacher?” he asked. The feeling of disgust was something he had never experienced.

The two had only come out now after stumbling upon Mathilde somewhere in the corridors inside the main building of the Academy. For some reason, Mathilde was looking for Alicia, who she wanting to chat about alcohol with. Of course, Mathilde was drinking even then. Aramus, however, having better things to do, somehow managed to escape her clutches from becoming a replacement for Alicia for such a conversation.

“Almond, go back inside now,” Aramus said as he walked forward to inspect the barrier. Somebody had been injured and he needed to get to the bottom of this as quickly as possible. Rules and regulations aside, harming one’s duelling opponent that badly was out of the question. They were all student scholars, after all. A true official Mage’s Duel would accept harming each other, or even killing, but not in the Magic Academies.

Almond was gone when he glanced back, allowing him free reign over the spell he was just about to cast. Channeling mana into his arms, Aramus felt the energy coalescing around his hand as they were shaped into spheres, sucking in the surrounding air. If Aramus had been wearing his favored robe, it might’ve been caught in the pull. Perhaps it was better that he was now wearing regular clothing. Even as the spell continued to charge itself, Aramus strode over to where the people were and upon getting closer, recognized some of them.

“What’s going on here?” he questioned the group, a motley crew if ever he saw one. Aramus had tried to peer through the barrier but wasn’t particularly successful. He would get a short rundown before blowing the barrier open.

“Uh… Teacher… I-I…” Natsu stuttered greatly, not knowing what to say. “Alicia-sensei was hurt by the Headmistress…”

“Who are you?” At this point, Michael wasn’t sure who to trust in the Academy. If the Headmistress was compromised, an unknown mage at this time may as well be an enemy. He pointed his guns towards the newcomer as he waited for his answer.

“Aramus Valmark, a teacher at this academy.” Aramus briefly stared down the barrel of the firearms before turning his attention towards the figures behind the barrier. What Natsu had said baffled him, but now wasn’t the time for that. “I assume that’s them then?”

“Y...Yes, that’s the teacher and her daughter inside…” Natsu answered.

Aramus nodded his understanding and looked over the group again, Natsu in particular. “Can you fight?” Apart from Svetlana crying her heart out, the rest looked like they would be alright. He just wanted to make sure with the young Descendant.

“...I, I tried to break the barrier, but it shot back at me…” Natsu said, a little scared of injuring herself again. Even if she was saved by Lily once, she couldn’t keep depending on her. What if Lily was killed as a result? These arrows were far more dangerous than they seemed, enough to melt through not skin, but organs.

Lily pressed her hand against Michael’s gun barrel and had it face the floor. “Michael, now is clearly not the time to be doubting each other when Mrs. Margaret Alicia is in requirement of urgent treatment… or simply a farewell… while she can.” I doubt any medical attention would work now.

“It was empty, anyway,” Michael said, holstering his gun. He returned to a corner, unsure what he could do against the barrier.

Aramus watched the interaction between Lily and Michael, noting that they at least had some connection with each other. “I’ll handle the barrier, and then we take it from there. Give me a bit of room, this spell is a bit unstable.”

Lily picked up the crying Svetlana and pulled her back upon Aramus’ instruction.

“Let go, let go!!”

Despite Svetlana’s struggle, Lily determinedly handled her to give the teacher some space. Natsu and Michael quietly stood back as well.

With that, the spheres shrieked and spun faster, the winds that lashed out gouged away at some of the pavement around Aramus. He braced a foot against the floor as power surged around his fists and Aramus slammed both into the crack, the spheres fusing together and beginning to grind away at the barrier with a deafening howl. Energy crackled from the impact as the energies collided with each other, but the barrier gave way first.

With the crack as it’s centre, the spiderweb enlarged around the great oval as resounding cracking sounds could be heard, the surface becoming marred and distorted as the barrier collapsed. Aramus stepped back as his own spell extinguished itself with a howl, blinking out of existence with a strong shock wave. That was enough to break the already weakened barrier and it shattered, fragments flying away from the group.

Aramus admired his handiwork, sourly noting that he needed a new shirt again now that the one he was wearing was lacking sleeves.

“Mrs. Alicia!” Svetlana exclaimed her name again and ran forward, and away from Lily’s grasp. She joined Isabelle who’s face was completely tear-stained.

Tch, he broke it. I should leave and join the others. Weiss attached her rifle on her back and jumped off the spire of the main building.

(BGM: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uro5f970xQM

Ah… you two, Alicia wanted to speak, but couldn’t, she could hardly move anymore.

She had once heard somewhere that a dying person’s life would flash before their eyes. Past memories would be reviewed before passing on.

Margaret Alicia wasn’t big on superstitions and the many odd beliefs of people. She rationally considered: how could one remember so many things in such a short time?

Now her answer to her question was found.

In less than a minute her life flashed in her mind.

In the distant past, Alicia was a knight working for the medieval Organization that was the Church. She was a righteous person by heart. The life she so rigidly lived, however, was short. After all, in reality, Sir David Walter de Mauny was a man who sought the flames of righteous war and heroism.

That’s right, the person was a man. Not a woman. He sought to do so much more than what the Church would command him to do.

He—or would it be “she”—was unsatisfied. That was when the spirit of Capricorn visited his soul. Obviously, not being able to use magic, he was borderline useless to the Church. He was hated and exiled. Almost killed, even. Living as a Descendant in the society of humans proved to be futile. Despite all this, David went on to live in solitude, and hadn’t abandoned his sense of justice, ever. He was very optimistic, and he sought glory, but only from doing right. This glory, however, was but a form of self-satisfaction.

As a Dark Knight—a name he made for himself—he fought countless villains in the shadows in the medieval era, and was known to a certain Descendant as the one who stopped Cleopatra’s demonic army. The Descendant would later call him a †˜knight of eld’.

Now that I think about it… I honestly thought that the Blood Countess of Hungary would have my head over a pike… I was sure she’d send me to Hell a week ago that way. But it was Virgo… ahh, Virgo, huh? I stopped her armies from causing atrocities numerous times, didn’t I…? They even wanted me to fight her recently, but she came and ambushed me instead; how pathetic.

Later in his life, he settled in France as a noble. His title and property weren’t anything too commendable. He possessed reasonable respect and contacts in Paris. He thought he could simply lay down his sword and live on in peace. To begin with, no one knew his true identity from the very beginning after he had left the Church. Those people in the Church had not only forgotten him, but were also dead by then as centuries had passed.

After some time, he met Margaret. The Duchess of Norfolk. An Archmage who was born with many gifts from God, they claimed; apparently she was a very special being. So much had happened after he met her.

It was kind of stupid, now that I think about it. I, a †˜righteous’ Dark Knight helped a woman separate from her husband, and made her my wife… what a tale. I suppose I deserve this. This is my just desserts for stealing another man’s woman. They even called it a cursed union…

Indeed, many didn’t like how the two got together and married. Regardless, the Duchess was an important person in the Magic World. Therefore, he needed to tread carefully from there. However, little did David think that they’d meet Aries of all people. The man who wanted to do nothing but massacre all those around him for the sake of his own little fun.

The Duchess, a responsible person, would never allow Aries to do however he’d please, especially when he was wreaking havoc so close to them. That day, a great battle broke out. Many houses were broken down, and many people died.

Aries was eventually displeased, knowing that he was facing an Archmage and a Descendant, one who was older than him. Hence, the viciously destructive Descendant decided to travel across time itself. A unique ability only he seemed to possess.

Of course, Walter de Mauny’s wife, Margaret felt the need to pursue, adamant against letting him go. David, as a husband of such a daring woman, could obviously not let her go alone.

Thus their life in the future started. A nineteenth century England, and a modern world beyond it. They were utterly clueless, and couldn’t even find Aries anywhere. That was when the Queen came to them.

That’s right, Aramus Valmark the Magister came to me on Her Majesty’s behalf, was it? After banishing me from the court, why now…?

The Queen offered them a place in London. The two started anew their life. They even had children at last.

I wonder if Thomas is even alive somewhere…

Thomas de Mauny, their son, was kidnapped. It was akin to a child being spirited away. Many such tragedies surrounded the couple as their life in the future continued. Hardly having so much time to deal with the disappearance of their son, a demon had possessed their daughter soon enough. Who knew what occurred. Was his wife practicing some diabolical activities, or was it some vile creature someone unknown had summoned? The mystery was never solved. The devil took the daughter as hostage while David was away.

By the time he was back from work that day, his wife was presumably killed by their daughter—Isabelle—who was possessed by the monster. Fighting it off with the power of Capricorn, dealing with a devil wasn’t very hard, and he managed to put it to slumber without injuring Isabelle directly. However, his wife’s life was lost.

He then considered… who was more important to Isabelle? Her mother, or her father? Obviously, it would be the one who spent more time with the daughter—the mother. Bracing himself, David used a power of Capricorn he thought he’d never use. His soul subsequently occupied the body of his wife; Margaret, while his own body ceased to exist completely as price for such an outcome. The Zodiac’s Will of Capricorn ascended to the realm beyond the material world, and vanished, bidding farewell and wishing luck to him.

From there on, David was essentially Margaret herself. He was a she. She became a woman. Making a new name, she started calling herself Margaret Alicia instead. She hardly possessed the magical talents and knowledge that her wife previously did. Rather, she had the talents of Margaret, but needed to learn how to utilize them. Having to start over from scratch, Alicia dug deep into the world of magic, while further isolating the daughter at the same time.

A pathetic mistake for a parent, now that I think about it.

However, at the same time, she felt the need to get stronger. Who’d protect Isabelle now? Who’d put her to sleep when the devil emerged? Who’d take care of her? With Thomas having been kidnapped and gone forever, Isabelle was the only family left to him. So, Alicia could only devote herself to her daughter now.

I wonder if Thomas de Mauny—my son—even lives… I can only leave him to his fate now.

Alicia dug so deep into the field of magical knowledge, that her previously existing intellect as a Descendant helped her gleam into forbidden powers—Supreme Spells. Powers that Queen Victoria’s laws would forbid. Having gone on a pilgrimage, the results were indeed successful, but it had repercussions.

I remember when having to live as a woman proved to be a harsh challenge… haha, now it’d seem strange to live as a man.

Her peers couldn’t accept the fact that she possessed such rare and dangerous powers of Supreme Spells. Her past was questionable and her status was too great for someone such as her. Suspicions rose, the daughter was examined. William John Frederick Powlett attacked her one night, accusing her of being secretly funded and ordered by Her Majesty to learn Supreme Spells while keeping the rest of the Magic World in the dark. Such powers were deserved by everyone of her rank if allowed, not only her—was his argument. Of course, Powlett was defeated, but it made the circumstances worse.

All in all, it was a situation akin to a scandal in the Magic World. The only one who labeled her a †˜knight of eld’ or †˜a warrior worthy of respect’ could be the only one Alicia could depend on. After all, she offered wealth and status to her after coming to the current timeline. However, the Queen eventually dismissed Margaret Alicia, and instead she offered her to nurture young scholars in the Eastern Magic Academy in the faraway lands of Japan. Taking it as a hint, Margaret Alicia departed from England with a feeling of uneasiness, along with her daughter, Isabelle, and left.

There were all kinds of recounting to do for the rest of her life after coming to Japan. It took a lot of time for her to establish a small manor behind the Academy and get some maids. In fact, she was in debt for some time. As shameless as it would sound, she even had to resort to selling her body once to pay some of it. It was the most demoralizing event to her. At the same time, it cut away a lot of her stress.

To think I’d have to do that with a debt collector… what am I going to tell Margaret in my afterlife?

However, regardless of what she did, she always thought of her daughter’s well-being. That was the one thing Alicia was proud of. After having built up the foundation for living peacefully behind the Eastern Magic Academy, she noticed that her daughter had finally realized—they immigrated and hadn’t come for a vacation. She started to feel very homesick. Indeed, Isabelle cherished her homeland and London. A foreign land only made her feel uncomfortable even if there were more facilities available in Japan. She could no longer meet her peers anywhere.

Of course she wouldn’t like it, Margaret Alicia thought.

For the first time, she felt extreme rage towards the Queen and the nobles, and most of the magicians of the Magic World. In place of her daughter, she resented those who exiled them from their home and forced them to live out here beyond a Boundary hidden in Tokyo.

At least it’s cleaner here… and better medical service could also be asked for in times of emergency.

Resolving to do whatever she could for Isabelle and keep her safe from the demon, Alicia eventually started to seem as though she was obsessed. Perhaps she really was obsessed with her daughter. Literally all her focus was on Isabelle. She’d watch over her all the time through magic; through the transparent walls of her special room close to Isabelle’s room. When she’d leave for work, she’d order her maids to pay particular attention to her instead. One could easily describe her as a control freak.

Drinking with Headmistress Lumiere, huh?

Those were good times. Alcohol took away many of her worries, but to be frank, she was scared of them for that very reason of brief rests. She’d see dreams of being together with Margaret—the deceased wife. She was very scared of seeing her again. She wouldn’t know what to say to her. She feared of having to say she had left Isabelle alone in the world.

I am a failure of a mother, please forgive me, my dear wife… Ah, but there is one who may yet protect our child, Margaret.

The time of her reverie had finally expired.

“I...I’m sorry, Isabelle… I am a… failure. I failed… you,” Alicia barely managed to pronounce her words, not even being able to lift her hand to touch her daughter’s face. She felt truly powerless.

“It’s me who should be sorry! ...I always knew the truth, but I couldn’t… I couldn’t accept that the mother I knew was gone,” Isabelle replied, letting out the true feelings she had kept pent up within herself.

Alicia’s eyes turned to the crying Svetlana who didn’t want to interfere in the conversation. Perhaps it was because Isabelle would never ever be able to speak with Alicia again.

In truth, Svetlana had a lot of things she wanted to tell her, but nothing was escaping her lips except the noises produced from her sobs.

“Se...Sevvy-chan.” A small smile formed on Alicia’s face. “The sin you inherited… I trust you with it,” she said with a low voice. “As the big sister, you must take care of her.”

“I will,” Svetlana resolutely said with a face full of tears, giving a sharp nod. “Leave it to me. As you said, I can do it, right?”

“I’m sorry… you can have my property; I’ll leave it to you girls. Use them well,” Alicia declared with a very low tone.

“Please don’t talk like that,” Isabelle said, shaking her head. “You can’t just leave like this now! After all that you did to me, keeping me locked up in that stupid room. You can’t… ”


Alicia stared, not knowing what to say to all these words. She seemed surprised.

What would Margaret tell her if she were in my place?

“I’ll be a good girl. I’ll do as you say!” Isabelle wailed and begged. “I won’t listen to a devil. So please, mommy… don’t leave me.”

“Then… just be a good girl. I’m sure that… you’ll be fine without me. You have Sevvy-chan with you now.” Alicia looked at Svetlana one last time. “I apologize… but it’s up to you now.”

She saw a certain person forming at a distance. A blue image. Was it her imagination? Was she seeing things?

Ahh, I failed your expectations too—didn’t I—Your Majesty? Perhaps you had meant to save us by sending me here. I can only offer my heartfelt apologies now, but this is the end of the tale of your Knight of Eld, a Dark Knight, a Duchess, and an Archmage. I wish you the best of luck.

She then looked up to the cloudy skies, thinking about why the country’s skies were the way it appeared to be. How silly—she thought; she always knew the reason. She remembered the warmth of true sunlight as she searched her memories. Her brain wasn’t working anymore, she concluded; why was she thinking about all these random things?

In the end, when she passed on her responsibilities to Svetlana, and the shackles of pain and cruelties that life offered her had finally been released. Knowing Supreme Spells didn’t seem so… forbidden anymore.

She could forgive herself for what she considered her wrongdoings at last.

Finally, Alicia closed her eyes.

Blood stopped flowing to her brain when her heart was lost. No magic known so far could completely bring back said organ with success, especially if it was too late. It was impossible with late treatments. Isabelle and Svetlana’s wails intensified.

Till the end, the Duchess wore a smile as she passed on. How could she be happy while leaving her daughter all alone in this world? The reason was simple: she was happy from the bottom of her heart—knowing that her daughter promised to be a good girl. She knew that if it was Svetlana, she wouldn’t leave her daughter alone.

Svetlana would do something about her—is what she’d think. They had spent only around two months around each other, but Alicia had observed enough to place her trust in her.

Regardless, this was the end of one of the ten Archmages that the world had known for some time.

Lily could only stand there praying for the soul that had departed. Knowing that treatment after a lost heart was hardly going to make any difference, she could only let Isabelle and Svetlana speak to Alicia before she passed on. It was hard to admit, but the might of a Descendant was something else, especially one such as Virgo. She was completely powerless against the barrier. Were people really that weak? She questioned this internally despite being a faerie.

Michael kept silent in a corner for the whole ordeal. He knew from the start that Alicia would probably not survive from her wounds, but he didn’t dare to interfere. If anything, he was already used to seeing scenes like this from his job. He mentally cursed his powerlessness, but he knew that he should stay vigilant, so he endured. He shook these poisonous thoughts away from his head and decided to step forward. He knelt beside Alicia, crucifix in hand, and looked at Isabelle, as if asking for permission. When he saw that the girl was in no condition to do pretty much anything, he made a slight nod to his partner and then twisted the lower part of the crucifix, revealing inside a small jar of blessed oil.

“God, the Father of mercies, through the death and resurrection of his Son has reconciled the world to himself...” He chanted, opening the bottle. “...And I absolve you from your sins, in the name of the Father, the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.” He anointed Alicia’s forehead with oil. “Through this holy anointing, may the Lord in His love and Mercy help you with the Grace of the Holy Spirit.” He anointed her hands, and finished the sacrament. “May the Lord who frees you from sin save you and raise you up.” As he finished, he pocketed the jar of oil and placed the crucifix on her chest. Afterwards, Michael stood up and backed away to give space for the ones grieving.

“Mrs. Alicia…” Svetlana started to wipe her tears before going over to Isabelle’s side, giving her an embrace, and letting her emotions flow out. I swear, I’ll definitely take care of her, Mrs. Alicia. I’ll definitely get Virgo for this…

“Alicia-sensei…” Natsu cried. As a Descendant, as one who was given Sagittarius’ powers, how could she be so powerless as to not be able to save a single soul? After her manager had died, now Margaret Alicia—someone who she truly respected—had also passed away just before her. That day, her manager’s head fell off before her. Today Alicia’s heart was ripped out before her. What was with all these incidents? When would the tragedies end? She looked down as she once again confirmed within her heart that she needed to work harder. She needed to get stronger. I need to master my powers, she resolved to herself. So that I’ll be able to protect the people around me… at least. For her to not even be able to save the one person who saved her from the Countess… one day, she’d have to pay her back. Indeed, just as Alicia was a heroine to Isabelle, she was also a heroine to the idol. From now on, Natsu would likely keep a silent and keen eye on the life of Isabelle as long as she stayed at the Academy.

Aramus stood by as he watched the others pay respects in their own ways. Although Margaret Alicia had refused to offer any aid to him in their conversation prior, it was she who had helped Aramus when he had first arrived at the Academy, showing him the ropes. Granted, it was out of obligation on her part, but that did not change the fact that he was indebted and also thankful for her aid. Although their methods might have differed, at least their desire to raise and protect the young had been the same. He offered up a silent prayer for her. Although he may not live up to her standards, Aramus would nonetheless try to protect the place which she had held dear.

“I see that I was too late,” a voice familiar to Aramus spoke.

It was only vaguely familiar, in fact, but as he looked on, he found a younger version of Her Majesty standing before Alicia’s corpse. Her form was ethereal. A blue glowing body appeared, which was comparable to an apparition. It was a thought projection. In this state, she appeared to be in her earlier teenage years from looks alone. “So you have fallen, Duchess Margaret Alicia.” She looked down on an old friend who was banished from England. Her blood painted the floor red and her life lost, her daughter and her peers mourning for her. “Sir Valmark,” she began, “I am in need of your immediate report.”

“My Queen!” Aramus exclaimed as he snapped to attention. “I am ashamed to say I do not have a full grasp of the situation. When I arrived, a blue barrier had already been erected and was summarily dealt with which leads to the scene before you. Before that, I was informed that Duchess Margaret had been injured by the Headmistress of the Academy.”

“...Headmistress?” The Queen repeated the one name that baffled her. “No, it was clearly…” Aramus, for the third time, saw an extreme fury in his liege’s expression. “Virgo.”

“Your orders, My Queen? It is unlikely that she still remains on the premises but if you so wish it, I will begin pursuit immediately,” Aramus said, scarcely believing that Lumiere would be behind this. Was this the reason she had entrusted Almond to him? That she would sever all human ties before attempting world genocide, starting with the Duchess? It raised more questions than it gave answers, something he absolutely loathed.

The Queen clenched her fists and looked down, as if a child who couldn’t do anything but back down from making requests. “She is gone; I do not sense her. Fetch Frederica and have Margaret Alicia’s funeral arranged,” was all the Queen could say. She then gave a bow towards Alicia’s corpse. Her tears fell as her faced downwards. “Farewell, friend. It saddens me that I couldn’t even apologize for my actions. I shall forever remember your noble deeds. I shall have Alexandrina sent to where she belongs, this time… for sure,” she whispered to the fallen.

Aramus nodded at her order but otherwise remained where he was.

Isabelle continued to mourn her mother’s loss as Svetlana held her still beside Alicia. Eventually, Natsu joined them and could only hug Isabelle from behind.


Meanwhile, Lily explained the situation. She knew etiquette, so she knelt down to the Queen and didn’t face Her Majesty as she spoke.

“I understand…” the Queen said with dismay. “The Headmistress was a clone, I suppose. The real form came to take back what was her’s, thus weakening the seal even further.”

Soon, Lily carried away the body of Margaret Alicia, and everyone followed along with her, except Natsu, Aramus, and the Queen.

“So… you are the Queen who ordered for my life to be taken…?” Natsu questioned. Despite the circumstances, this was her first time meeting the Queen. It’d be wrong to not exchange words with the one person who caused the first tragedy of her life.

“That is indeed correct,” Victoria replied coldly, now facing Natsu properly, and looking her straight in the eye. “It was upon my command that young scholars were recruited and a large-scale operation took place—all for the sake of taking down Sagittarius—namely, you.” She gave Aramus a glance, noting his participation in the event, and momentarily looked back to Natsu.

“Why…? So many lives were lost,” Natsu spoke grievously. “And in the end, it was useless. All in vain.” Natsu looked at the two with ire.

“Indeed.” The Queen agreed wholeheartedly. “However, not even I would be able to stop the foolishness of man with mere words. After all, the task to end the existence of Descendants was given to humankind by the Prophet.”

“A False Prophet!” Natsu spat, but she looked down, as if in resignation. “However… regardless of all that, Alicia-sensei was different. She cared about her students, her daughter, and everyone here. She didn’t really care whether I was a Descendant or not. In time, I want to do something for her. Injustice begets retribution. Please tell me—what can I do to aid in the battle against Virgo?” she declared, then questioned, displaying her determination. Her expression completely battle-ready.

“There is only one answer,” Victoria replied, accepting Natsu’s strong will and sense of justice. “If you seek to bring about justice to such a misdeed committed by Virgo, then I shall offer you a place among my force whom would rally against her.”

“...There are things I must do here, but with the government’s help, I will go there and join the battle against Virgo,” Natsu stated, before giving a bow a typical Japanese would before walking away.

“...She is so human—I find her too dazzling for mine old eyes,” the Queen commented.

“I could say the same of you, Your Majesty,” Aramus responded with a short chuckle. “She is still young and fiery. I saw that same fire in you when you spoke of Duchess Margaret. It’s not yet time for you to call yourself †˜old.’”

The Queen made a rare pout, the disagreement apparent on her face. “I believe you are seeing something else entirely, Sir Valmark,” she said. Despite her expression and her grief, she carried herself with her usual grace and elegance.

“Not at all, Your Majesty,” Aramus said, somehow quite pleased with her response. “I believe the people would be glad to see you vibrant and passionate. It would be a refreshing change but alas, it is only something that I have been privy to see this day. That too, is a good thing,” he said with another laugh.

“How could I possibly do such a thing, Sir Valmark? I’ve seen so many pass away, and so many were delivered from the world by me, too—it’d be selfish for me to live in a state of bliss while the souls of others mourn,” Victoria said, shaking her head, looking at the puddle of blood of Alicia’s that was left behind.

“Your Majesty, a Descendant you may be, but at your core, you too are human. A great many things have been accomplished with your best efforts throughout time. I think it is understandable for a short reprieve once in awhile. If not for rest then at least to soothe the frayed nerves,” Aramus said, shoving a thumb into his own heart. “I for one, would not fault you for that.”

“You are too relaxed for your own good,” the Queen commented as if scolding, but she smiled. Yet this smile was mixed with her melancholy. “Well, perhaps a respite is in order. However, that would not change anything. That said, it is not so true that I am human, Sir Valmark.”

“How so, My Queen?” Aramus said as he looked upon her ethereal visage. “Perhaps it is a crude evaluation on my part, but I do not see your heart as anything but.”

“You have judged a book by its cover then,” the Queen stated, closing her eyes. “All the Descendants who had taken lives were simply called monsters. I loathed said word in the past. However, it is the most clearest—yet poignant, perhaps?—term to describe beings such as us.”

“Even if you say as much, that will not change anything in my heart,” Aramus said with conviction. “A monster… cares not for the lives it takes, whatever havoc it may wreak. Anyone can become a monster, no matter who or what they may be. I have seen you agonizing over the decisions that would affect the people, the country. How it may change them for better or worse. I do not think those feelings are any less genuine.”

A monster cares not for the lives it takes, is it? “That is simply the absolute bare minimum for but any ruler, Sir Valmark,” the Queen replied eloquently, looking into the cloudy sky with a hint of sadness and perhaps regret. “While I have been keeping the throne to myself, I’d wager many humans would have wanted to take on the role themselves. In this age, the act of ruling should rightfully belong to the humans, yet I selfishly clung to this position… I have observed humans for millenniums; it is but a trifling matter to act like them now.”

“And yet not all of the Descendants are nearly as benevolent as you are,” Aramus said. “You have led us as best as you could up till now, and of course, there were stumbling blocks along the way, but it is an admirable job nonetheless. Many covet your position as monarch, to wield the power that you hold for their own. Maybe things might have been different had a human taken the throne. Lacking the insight that you possess would definitely have been a huge loss.”

The Queen chuckled, seeing Aramus argue so much for her own sake. She looked down at Aramus with disdain. “But would you find it acceptable as the natural course of history, Sir Valmark? I, a person who mysteriously usurped authority through various means by playing along with the nobles, have taken the position from where I can manipulate the United Kingdom to my will. In normal circumstances, I am but a ghost of the past who should’ve been behind the tombstone of a grave long ago. Wouldn’t one argue that the people of the current generation should shoulder the country’s weight? Am I not stealing the right from the people of this generation—no, every generation in which I governed these countries unified under Britain?”

Aramus pursed his lips, somehow feeling greatly exasperated. “If history had run its course, my life would have ended on the streets. Up until the meeting, I had thought of this life as natural. Never could I have imagined that My Queen, Your Excellency could have been a Descendant. Basically, all that I knew was turned upside down and yet, I did not find myself greatly bothered by the revelation because you toil tirelessly for the people.

“There can never be any man that can do what you have done for us. Absolute power can corrupt even the most honest of men, turning them into mere shadows of their former selves, destined to only dream of days long past. But not with you, My Queen. The people of this generation… would do well to learn a thing or two. A man like Powlett who seeks the crown, who would dare to turn a blade against you. Someone like that is NOT fit for the throne! I would not have the country you worked so hard for go up in flames, so long as I breathe,” Aramus said, all but hissing his anger at Powlett even as his knuckles turned white from clenching.

Ahh, but the mere fact that I am so different from the people sets me apart from them… The Queen decided to keep these words deep down within her heart. This was born from a feeling of loneliness. Who knew how long it had existed within her? To the crown, most often would one have to turn to the wistful calls of solitude.

In such a heated conversation, Alexandrina Victoria saw a young boy who was Aramus’ disciple, and gave him a brief smile before turning back to Aramus.

“Calm down, Sir Valmark,” the Queen spoke, showing concern due to his slight outrage. From the short time she had spent with him, this was the first time she saw Aramus lose his temper like this. Somewhere in her mind, though, she felt relief that someone cared this much about the crown. So much that they’d argue that it was better off for a ghost of the past to lord over people rather than the people of the current times—as was their very right. Or perhaps she was touched that someone raged about all this in place of her, out of sincere loyalty.

“People are meant to learn through experience. The only means to this is via achievement of the position. I suppose, however, you have a point regarding Duke William John Frederick Powlett, for he is a man working for The Society… and, in all earnesty I can see why he’d loathe my existence. To the mundanes, officially, the parliamentarians are responsible for the country, not I. Yet my influence would thwart their decisions regardless. They possess power simply in name and word, but not in reality. I suppose some extent of frustration and rage would naturally build up in any man.”

Almond could only think that perhaps this young lady was his teacher’s real girlfriend. Better leave them both alone and go back to the room… He noted the puddle of blood again, and it somewhat scared him. How could these two stay there and converse so casually? Neither of them were ordinary people. He shook his head and silently left for the dormitories.

“Only a lesser man would go so far as to strike down their liege in nothing but vindictive rage,” Aramus said, letting the matter of Powlett go. “I suppose you are right in that regard at least. One would need to test their own mettle to see if they are worthy of the job. I am not nearly fit to be considered for it, but what constitutes a ruler, a monarch? One who would make his name known throughout the world? To protect the people? You have led us from age to age, and we have done well thus far. I do not see how others could do better, no matter what they may say. Those who are dissatisfied do not know the value of what they already have.”

“Of course, humankind is prone to taking things for granted. Such is the effect of time upon creatures dwelling the world. It is indeed true that I have led my people for generations, but did many other countries seek a Descendant to lead them in this modern era? Monarchy is a concept now considered ancient and imperfect to most. It could always be better… so many people wouldn’t have to suffer from poverty… we’d prosper more economically if it was better.”

“Everything can go both ways, My Queen. It’s a matter of trying to make the best decision of how to go about it. I would be repeating myself about it if we went over it again. You chose to make it your duty to lead but what of the other Descendants? Virgo seeks to destroy countries, never mind leading them. Alice looks like a slave to hers. When we spoke, it felt like she had given up on life. I was one of them, those that you say suffer from poverty.” Aramus looked at her with sincere eyes, smiling as he thought back to the day when it had all changed. “I had nothing—and to me who had nothing—you gave me the world. I will not stop until I return the favor.”

“True. I suppose the function of the Descendants to live to lead people has long ceased—oh, I should not have let that cat escape the bag.” The Queen then laughed at her own apparent small mistake. It hardly felt like a laugh. It felt forced. How could a mourning person laugh? “Regardless, I must apologize, it seems that I have put you on the spot, Sir Magister. Such a debate for someone such as yourself may have been completely unjust.” But Alice—Pisces… I wonder if she will be fine with the way Japan intends to treat her. I suppose I do not possess the luxury to worry about her anymore.

“Not at all, Your Majesty. It is a rare occasion that I ever get the chance to speak so unabashed. Thank you for listening to what I had to say. It was a great pleasure,” Aramus answered in kind.

The Queen gave an abrupt yelp when Aramus heard a loud bang on a door. Of course, such a yelp was even more rare than Her Majesty pouting.

“Your Majesty! I heard voices. Did someone rude intrude upon your chamber?!”

Aramus heard what he realized was the voice of none other than the mother of his most excellent student, Caroline Cavendish Bentinck.

“N...No, I was simply speaking on my steam phone,” Her Majesty responded quickly, but she was nonetheless flustered from the sudden interruption. It seemed like she made a lie on the spot, or was it prepared beforehand? The Queen heaved a sigh as she allowed the tension to leave her body. Somehow, this made her appear as if she was communicating with some sort of secret liaison instead of visiting Margaret Alicia, and it brought about a bit of blood to her otherwise milky-white cheeks as she looked down. “I suppose this is where I shall bit you farewell, Sir Valmark.”

Aramus chuckled good naturedly as he watched the scene play out, fitting of the Duchess to act as such. He probably would never forget that sight of Her Majesty ever, not with that blush. “Of course Your Majesty, till we meet again.” Our little secret I guess, Aramus mused.

“Take care,” the Queen said, bidding farewell. Her form began to break apart as twinkling dust escaped from the apparition of a figure.

For me to feel happy so soon after passing away… perhaps I really am…

As the form vanished, Aramus noted the return of her look of depression. Was it due to Margaret Alicia passing away after all?

Aramus huffed as he left the scene. His work was cut out for him. No way he could back down now after saying as much to his monarch. For now though, he had a funeral to arrange.

It was Monday, the day after the gruelling incident involving Duchess Margaret Alicia’s death. In this day the classes were supposed to resume, but unfortunately that was not possible. Not only was one of the senior teachers dead, but the Headmistress too, had also passed away.

This was confirmed when the staff members visited the Headmistress’ office yesterday to seek out Lumiere. Of course, Aramus was part of said staff members seeking the Headmistress. They all witnessed Lumiere’s corpse sitting behind the desk of the office.

There was one glaring similarity between the death of Margaret Alicia and Lumiere the Headmistress—their hearts had been taken out in a brutal manner.

Now that the classes were impossible to be scheduled to take place for Monday, the funerals for both Lumiere and Alicia were prepared.

Michael offered to conduct the funeral rites for the two; whether out of remorse from the inability to prevent their deaths or gratitude for their help, he couldn’t exactly determine. The ceremony itself was organized pretty quickly, and there was an air of solemnity around the whole area. It was the first time in his career as a priest that he had to wear the vestments he carried, and for a while, he never thought he would wear them. As he was conducting his homily, he took time to observe the people attending the mass: there were some who looked like they were genuinely in grief, but some looked like they would rather be elsewhere but attended out of courtesy.

It was when the coffins were carried to the nearby cemetery that he truly felt the gravity of the situation; an Archmage, a great teacher of the Academy, and its Headmistress were both killed by a Descendant inside the campus itself. The former passed away in front of him. It was truly foolish of him to think that they would be safe inside the Academy. It was arrogant of him to think little of the Descendants, and what a horrible tragedy brought about.

He once again glanced at the crowd, seeing the little girl orphaned by Virgo. She was younger than he was when his mother died. Who would look after this girl now? He wondered; he felt lucky that his mentor picked him up when he did, but he knew that a life of executing Infernals wasn’t a life suited for the young girl.

“May their souls and those of all faithful departed rest in peace, through His mercy,” he concluded, closing his prayer book. He closed his eyes and bowed down, offering his own personal prayer as most of the crowd dispersed. The noises eventually faded into silence; he opened his eyes and looked up and saw the little girl.

Isabelle, was it?

He pocketed his prayer book and walked near the girl, far enough that she wouldn’t immediately be disturbed, but close enough so he could try to talk to her. “It is hard, losing your mother at a young age.” He spoke softly and slowly, unsure of whether the girl would converse with him or ignore him. Either way was fine. In his mind, he was the person who had failed to even help save her mother. “...I know the feeling all too well.”

“Everyone says that anyway,” Isabelle responded dryly.

Her voice was barely audible. The girl’s tears were spent. All day and night, she spent yesterday weeping. In the funeral today, Isabelle could no longer weep for her lost mother. Her eyes were clearly tired. She was only wanting to look away from the reality of her situation. She wanted to see everything back to normal the moment she’d enter home, yet as a smart child, she knew that wasn’t going to happen.

Michael sat on where he was standing, making sure to check if he was about to sit in a grave. “I lost her when I was out working, back when I was older than you by a year or two. It’s probably one of the reasons I am a priest now. So I don’t know about everyone else, but I really do know the feeling—I wished it was just a bad dream, that I would wake up with her smiling at me once more. I would have given anything and everything back then for just one more day with her… You know?”

“So… you mean to say you understand my plight?” Isabelle asked, not turning from her mother’s grave.

“I have an experience of loss similar to yours… but no. You could say we have quite a difference with our circumstances. However, I wish to be of help, as a fellow orphan, I guess,” he replied as he faced the same direction as hers. “I do not know the full story between you two, but… I know you truly loved her, as I did with my own mother.”

“I hated her at first…” Isabelle voiced with regret. “But I don’t think I want pity.”

“There is nothing to be pitiful about. As I have said, you have your own circumstances,” Michael replied. “But, I truly am curious on why you say you hated her. To me she seemed like a kind person.”

“She was a liar. I killed my real mother with my own hands, I didn’t forget it,” Isabelle admitted for the first time to someone who she only got to know yesterday. “I wronged. Of course I couldn’t face a person with the same face again like she was my real mother… yet, I do now believe she was real.”

Michael recalled that there was a demon that appeared from within the girl when Virgo appeared. While normally he would’ve jumped at the opportunity to exorcise the demon, somehow he felt... wrong. What can he do, he wondered. Maybe the girl was taking blame for something the demon did? “What did she say, when you saw her again?”

“She simply acted as though nothing occurred. Everything was covered up. Everything. That’s how she tried to shield me from reality.”

“I… see.” Michael paused, as he took a deep breath. “That demon that… was there with us. How long has it been… with you?”

“I do not know,” Isabelle answered, shaking her head. “It came as sudden as the wind and brought about all the problems of my life… and after everything was over, it left. Yesterday, I no longer felt it with me by the evening.”

“If it’s anything, I would be at your service if it decides to disturb you again. It is my job, after all,” he offered, before asking her the question he really wanted to ask. “So, what do you suppose you want to do now, miss?”

“I intend to train myself, and hopefully follow in my mother’s footsteps; I shall aim to be an Archmage. I have not decided how I will achieve the feat but I hear there are numerous ways to get to it.”

“Well, you are in a Magic Academy, that’s a good start right there,” he joked. “If you’d like to hear my advice, little miss, it is to never forget this moment of loss… and to realize that with great power, you may also become the bringer of this tragedy to others. It is up to you for it not to be so.”

“Maybe, but it depends on how you use it, right?” Isabelle said, a little annoyed. “The stupid Academy won’t accept me for I am too young.”

“Well, I don’t have anything that might be of use to you in terms of magic, little miss. But I guess I could show you some tricks with the sword if you want. Don’t tell anybody though,” Michael said, putting a finger on his lips.

“And how would you like me to pay you for that?”

“As long as no one finds out I am teaching you, it’s okay. My partner would kill me.” He laughed, then stood up. “Not everything should be paid for, little miss.”

“I was taught to pay for all services rendered to me. If not by money then by favor. I am not going to be irresponsible, Mister Priest.”

“You somehow remind me of my partner,” Michael remarked. “If you offer a favor, then I only ask of you to never use what I will teach you to harm an innocent person… nor to strike in revenge.”

“Then I must respectfully decline, as I may not trust myself to yield from fighting for revenge.”

“My offer stands, little miss, and I do hope you think about it for a long while,” he turned around and spoke as he was about to leave. “Good-bye and take care, little miss. Do not waste the life your mother saved in exacting revenge.”

“Hmph, like he’d know,” Isabelle muttered to herself as Michael walked away. In the end, she refused to abandon the idea of revenge. “Even if the demon is gone… I can do it. I will show everyone that.”

Isabelle returned home.

All the maids looked at the deceased Alicia’s daughter with worry and fear. They cared about her wellbeing, but at the same time they feared the demon that inhabited within her. They also viewed her with some extent of pity.

The gazes were felt like daggers, and she looked away as soon as she entered. Before her awaited a familiar figure. Naturally, she huddled over to her after approaching her. She was the one and only person she could rely on for anything in this world now. However, she knew that she needed to stop being dependent.

It was Svetlana—the heiress of the name of Margaret.

Her so-called older sister who was not blood-related, but as the older recognized †˜sister’ by Alicia, she was now the legitimate successor of Margaret Alicia. Indeed, she had newfound pressures to battle against.

The sin she inherited from Margaret Alicia—she resolved herself to using it well in her life, and of course, mastering it.

Isabelle looked at her with a sad look for a moment. She wanted to smile—no, she tried to smile, but she couldn’t. How could she, especially so early after her mother had passed away?

Svetlana too, didn’t show her usual smile.

“I’m back… sister,” Isabelle said, addressing Svetlana as she deemed appropriate.

“Welcome home, Isabelle,” the older sister finally said, patting the head of young Isabelle. She gave a forced smile. It was one that was clearly riddled with grief and powerlessness, yet somehow she seemed hopeful of a brighter future. As one would expect of Svetlana, her optimism was one of her virtues.

Isabelle could only wonder how a person could give such a smile.

That night, they went to bed together after having a dinner where they hardly ate much.

With a lot of tears shed, and words hardly spoken, most of the day passed by. The two had things to tell each other but couldn’t bring up the courage to speak.

Svetlana wanted to tell Isabelle that she was going to partake in the operation to fight Virgo.

Isabelle wanted to discuss the future, and also wanted to ask how she would learn magic.

However, they fell asleep without uttering a single word to introduce such topics.

“What will you do now?”

“Who… are you?”

“I am the demon you humans fear so.”

“The… demon?!”

“That’s right…”

“I’ll definitely… definitely free Isabelle from you.”

“Bold words, child, but what can you do? If Margaret Alicia couldn’t—what would you do?”

“I… I… ”

“I entered Isabelle’s body through an accident. At least I believe it was. Then I happened to glance upon Margaret Alicia’s in time… how delicious it was.”

“D… Delicious?”

“That’s right, her soul seemed delicious to me.”

“That’s why you ruined Isabelle’s future.”

“Hah, whatever you say, it was Alicia’s fault for not accepting me.”

“Accepting you? What do you mean?”

“That’s right, I offered her a contract. However, she didn’t accept.”

“What kind of a contract…?”

“A pact of life and death—one that intertwines the fates of the involved—where I inhabit the contractor. That’s right… it is the only way to take me off of Isabelle’s body.”

“Why… why would Alicia not save Isabelle that way, then?”

“I wouldn’t know. You can ask her—well, I suppose you can’t anymore.

“Mrs. Alicia…”

“I have come to you with an intention tonight—why not make a contract with me?”

“A contract… with you?!”

“Don’t you want to save Isabelle from her fate? Don’t you want more power? Don’t you want to avenge Margaret Alicia’s death? I offer you unbound power, strength, and vitality!”

“But that’s—”

“Oh? Are you afraid? I thought you’d do anything to free her from this fate?”

“...Fine, I’ll do it. I’ll show you that I can do what it takes to save my little sister!”

[i]“Very well. May our destinies be bound. Your blood, your body, your soul—I shall have them in exchange for my strength.”

“Just you wait, Isabelle—you won’t have to think of revenge or fear anything… I will get rid of her for sure.”

In the next day, Isabelle wouldn’t feel the demon within her anymore, and Svetlana would reveal her plans to join the operation.

At the expense of one’s future, another’s future was saved.

It was already evening when Aramus was finally going back to his room at his dormitory, his hand linked with Almond’s as they walked side by side. Almond’s eyes were dry from crying excessively, and even he was starting to think all kinds of things regarding why Lumiere might’ve asked his teacher to take care of him in that solemn tone yesterday.

Regardless, Aramus looked up to find a familiar blonde figure beside his door.

It seemed like she was waiting for him.

The young lady he’d often address as his best student, Elizabeth Cavendish Bentinck.

Ever since Aramus found out about some of her secrets, things had changed a lot between them, and they had hardly conversed much since then. The distance had grown, after all. He’d see her in classes but they’d never find a reason to seek each other out for conversing.

Needless to say, the etiquette lessons was a memory of the distant past.

“Teacher…” Elizabeth started, her voice trailing away. “I was waiting for you.”

“Ellie… Give me a moment,” Aramus replied, ushering the whimpering Almond into the room. “I’ll be with you shortly.” With a cup of chocolate milk and whispers to comfort for the distraught boy while he was with Elizabeth, Aramus shut the door quietly, leaving the pair alone. “How have you been?” Aramus began. It had been some time and somehow, this wall that had never been there before made itself known. He found himself stumbling over words that were waiting to be said.

Elizabeth signalled him to follow her out of the dormitory. With the walls of the rooms surrounding them, it wasn’t exactly a nice place for a Duke’s daughter and the Academy’s teacher to be speaking.

After a short walk out the exit, and Elizabeth finally found herself answering. “I had been doing well, teacher,” she answered, feigning a smile, “My studies are progressing as usual, and I believe my grades will remain to be the top of the class.”

“As expected of my favorite,” Aramus said as he strolled alongside her. “Your parents? Are they well?”

“I do not know.” Elizabeth’s fake smile already fell. “I did not receive a letter, and they hadn’t recovered when I left.”

“Judging from the way your mother sounded yesterday, she seemed right as rain,” Aramus reassured her. “And of your †˜private business?’ No problems there as well?”

“...My mother, yesterday? Where?” the student scholar asked, ignoring the more personal question.

“Hah. Just happened to overhear something I wasn’t supposed to.” Aramus made a shushing motion with a finger, looking around to make sure no one would’ve heard it.

Elizabeth supposed that it was a matter she wasn’t going to learn more about and dropped. “So, what do you imply by †˜private business?’”

“Are they still contacting you?”

“They will not in Japan. Unless an emergency prevails.”

“Good for now then. So, what did you want to speak to me about?” Aramus said, a little bit more relieved by that piece of information.

Elizabeth swallowed her saliva and gulped before she opened her lips again. “...What did you see yesterday, teacher?”

Aramus arched an eyebrow, turning to look down at his student. “Was there anything I should have been taking note of?”

“Did… A-Alicia-sensei say anything about me… my family…?”

“No. By the time I arrived, she was already gone,” Aramus said in a slightly cold tone. “Is there something you are worried about?”

“...The truth is,” Elizabeth looked away. “My sword was apparently responsible for the demon that haunted her family.”

Aramus considered her for a moment, filing away that little tidbit for later. “How so? As far as I know, your relic weapon does not have that capability.”

“Well, my mother once explained that she never got to apologize to Duchess Margaret Alicia because her sword brought forth a rare kind of… fire, which could potentially summon entities from the Infernal Realm.”

“Hellfires?” Aramus exclaimed loudly, suddenly excited. “Will †˜o’ wisps!? The sword can summon that?”

“Hm? Hellfires? I am not sure about that… same for Will †˜o’ Wisps—where did you learn these, teacher? I was certain that those are not known to many except a few Infernal Lore teachers.”

“It was something requested of me when I returned to England. Suffice it to say, what you hold in your hands is probably the key to what I seek,” Aramus said with a grin. “I should’ve asked your mother while I was there.”

“Even if you ask me that… the risks are high, teacher. I do not know why my mother unleashed such power into the world when she did, but it brought about a tragedy that prevailed throughout Alicia-sensei’s life, and I do not even know where the source of that darkness lies today.”

“It is something I must do. You should ask your mother about it since you are now the wielder of the sword. At least, to prevent something like that from happening,” Aramus said, regaining ahold of himself. “It would do good to have that knowledge.”

“There is nothing to speak with my mother about.” Elizabeth shook her head, adamant as usual. “If it concerns powers regarding the sword I have not used before, that may only mean that I haven’t fully mastered it.”

“Have it your way. Knowing you, it’s only a matter of time before that happens. That said, mastering the sword does not necessarily mean mastering what comes through the flames,” Aramus said with a shrug, a slight †˜humph’ leaving his mouth.

“What comes through the flame is beyond control,” Elizabeth replied in a matter-of-factly manner, completely deporting Aramus’ all-knowing attitude. “Mastering it implies keeping said flame stable. Hence, there really isn’t much to talk about with my esteemed mother; I’d only be worrying her.”

Aramus grunted in response.

“Besides, what would you do with such dangerous flames, teacher?” Elizabeth now faced Aramus with her good old inquisitive tone and gaze that made the teacher cower further. “For an educator, such a request is rather ironic, considering the safety of the innocents.”

“We would have to localize it or something… I didn’t know that your sword is able to generate them but my original intention was to find them in the New World. It’s part of a quest, I suppose,” Aramus said sheepishly. “If push comes to shove, I might have to ask for your help.”

“If you wish for my cooperation,” Elizabeth began, feigning sternness, “Then you’d have to explain everything. It’s the least you may do for listening to the shame my family has committed. After all, what I spoke of wasn’t official. None of it.”

“Alright. Since you’re probably going to hound after it anyway, I’ll tell you in detail. We should find a place to have a drink as it’s going to take some time,” Aramus said. A small price to pay for her cooperation since he would’ve told her about the quest if she had followed anyway.

“It’s good to know that you’re easier to speak with like before,” Elizabeth said with a smile he hadn’t seen in a long time. “...Yet, do we have such a convenient private place in this location, teacher?”

“That makes two of us. How’s a café outside the Academy sound? It would be good to get away from the cloud hanging over the school, not something I’d like to face on my last day here anyway,” Aramus suggested.

Elizabeth shrugged. “It’s cloudy outside the Academy all the same. We can’t do anything about a country with an similar issue as England, but I suppose a mundane café would be far more suitable than here.”

Aramus pouted. “I just want to eat some cake on my last day, ok? I’ll get all those looks if I eat cake here. †˜How can he be so relaxed just before the mission?’ or †˜Eating casually after what happened.’ I could do without that, to spend the last day with good food and even better company.”

The young noble lady laughed. “You’re extremely self-conscious about your public image as usual, teacher. But you should’ve been more honest—with me at least—from the start. Excuses do not escape my attention.”

It seemed like Elizabeth pondered about something after placing a finger under her chin. “Perhaps I should try out some of their parfait due to this opportunity.”

“Oh! Oh! Great idea!” Aramus said, suddenly fired up. “I should stock up on candy as well for the trip and… Almond. Maybe some for Frederica.” He mumbled under his breath. “Then shall we go, missus?”

“Let us depart then.”

Elizabeth offered her hand and Aramus held it, a scene somewhat resembling an escort of a princess leading her for an outing. Except that the escort was a poor man in reality.

Virgo. Her expression and laughter, and the terror she wrought yesterday. He saw them again. Her hearty villainous laughter was loud and clear. The barrier that obstructed them, then Alicia who was wounded. He saw how Isabelle cried for her mother. He saw how Margaret Alicia closed her eyes and smiled as if she was content with life. Michael blinked, unable to do anything. He looked at Margaret Alicia once more—but standing in front of him now was Laura, as she pushed him away. Her upper torso slowly bulged and he saw it once more, her skin torn apart as blood spurted out like rain and fell all around him. He tried to reach out to her, but a man covered in her dangling innards reached back towards him instead. He screamed her name but no voice came out as she slowly fell down to the floor. With his arm still reaching out towards her, the man—no, the beast who came out of her, started growing and growing, so he fired his gun.

Was he holding it all along? He couldn’t remember now, but he knew the weight of his gun, and the feeling of squeezing its trigger. He’d never miss at this close range, he was sure of it. The beast would die, and he’d be able to save Laura. He could only hear the sound of his gun firing as the bullet traversed its deadly course, piercing through the lycanthrope’s face and exploding its brains outwards from the back of its head. Yet, the beast did not change course as its lifeless corpse tackled his body. Once again, he blinked. Was the beast really dead? He wondered.

“Save her.”

It said unto him. He looked at his prey and in front of him was his friend. With a small hole on his forehead, Bram’s lifeless eyes were looking at him pleadingly.

Michael panicked and pushed him off, his head felt heavy as if it were made of lead, and his heart—empty. He stood up, clutching his head, as the crimson rain continued to drench his being. He was crying, maybe for the second time of his life.

“No. Leave me alone. Go away!” he sobbed. “Go away! I cannot possibly do anything! Anything at all!”

Bram’s corpse grabbed him by his now crimson coat, pulling him to his knees.

“Save her…” it said.

On his back, he felt someone trying to embrace him, but only managing to dangle an arm around his neck. Even with the overwhelming scent of blood and gunpowder, he could recognize Laura’s scent.

“............Run,” it said. He couldn’t hear her. He refused to listen to her. To them. The feeling of cold steel on his forehead snapped him out of his misery.

It was him, and he was aiming his gun at himself.

Then he awoke, sweaty and tensed on his bed. He was alone in the dormitory room. He was tired. Having performed the rites and ceremony of the funerals in the morning, he had simply come back to the dorm and napped, only to face a nightmare accompanied by visions of his past.

“No rest for the wicked, huh?” he said to himself, chuckling at his predicament. “Now’s a good time for tea, I guess.” He stood up and straightened his clothes. As he was about to leave, he saw his guns in their holster, hanging by his bedside. He paused for a second before deciding to leave them there, as he put his hand on top of his sheathed sword’s pommel, finally stepping out of the room.

Inside the main building of the Academy now, he walked towards the vending machine Hare had taught him to use. Following her instructions, he ordered tea. He knelt to take the beverage he ordered when a voice interrupted him:

“Oh, I didn’t think anyone would be here now. Mind getting me a mango juice?”

He’d recognize that voice anywhere, and sure enough when he turned around, Mary Shelley was in front of him.

“Seems like my nap got cut short. Let me get your juice then, Miss Mary.”

“Thank you,” Mary curtly replied. She sat back on a chair in the cafeteria behind him.

The cafeteria wasn’t empty. There were some scholars who showed up for dinner, but for the most part it was quiet and somewhat deserted compared to the morning lunch hours. Student scholars had other ways to get dinner apparently.

“Here for dinner, Miss Mary?” he asked, giving her a can of juice. Michael opened his can and took a sip. He grimaced as he tasted iced coffee in his mouth. It seemed that it was the other button he should have pressed, after all.

“More or less.”

“Mind if I join you then? Your company would be much appreciated.” He smiled at her.

“Oh? Since when was my company was so popular?” Mary joked, but she gestured towards the seat opposite to her.

“Well, you’re an actress, and I am admittedly a fan,” he replied, taking his seat. “Have you any idea as to who would be joining us in America?”

Indeed, she was an actress, after coming to Japan now, Mary really thought that her name as an actress didn’t carried far at all. In all honesty, she was disappointed, seeing the way the modern world worked. One day, she’d want to be an actress in the New World or somewhere, but that was only a fleeting dream.

“Yes, our leader of course,” Mary responded.

“I thought the Duchess would be leading us?”

Mary laughed. “Of course not, silly. She is leading the entire group with a few others, and our party is a small part of it. We’d still need a leader of our own.”

“And that leader isn’t you? That makes me curious as to whom that person might be,” he remarked.

“No, no,” Mary answered the question while waving her hand dismissively. Leader? Her? How? “I am just an ordinary scholar from the Royal Academy, only eighteen years old, remember?” She reminded with a wink. “The one to lead our party will be the Magister Aramus Valmark. To begin with, the two of us decided to make the team. We simply had you and your partner join us,” Mary stated, before eating from her plate of curry.

“The name sounds familiar.” Michael took a piece of bread from his pocket and dusted it off before taking a bite. “Is he a dependable sort, then?”

She chewed her food and gulped before meeting Michael’s pupils with confidence. “Probably,” she answered. It sounded rather vague coming from her. “He is a Magister, so he has to be dependable, right?”

Michael raised his eyebrows at Mary’s response. “Well, I hope he is, either way.” He bit into his bread and sipped his coffee to soften it up and add some flavor to his mouth. “How many are we in the team?”

“That’s all so far. The four of us—no, five,” Mary said, reminding herself of something. “I almost forgot, but Svetlana Astakhov was with your partner when she said that she wanted to join us. After that incident, I guess I can’t blame her.” Her smile broke as she looked down to her food. However, there was no reason to let the tragedy stop her, so she continued to dine. She was used to it all.

“Miss Svetlana, I know. She was with me when we fought against Claudia and one of her allies. She is a truly formidable mage,” Michael said, trying to take his mind off the recent incident for at least this night. “However, I thought she was close with the late Miss Alicia’s daughter. I figured she’d be helping the girl now that she’s pretty much alone now.”

“That young girl is probably going to be under her maids’ care for some time,” Mary guessed, finishing her curry. “If you claim that Miss Astakhov is formidable then I suppose I was right to let her in.”

“Well, as it stands, I owe her my life so I think that’s a good measure,” he joked. “When I had arrived, she was holding Claudia back for a good while.”

“That does sound like an achievement, especially against a Representative. I suppose she has the qualifications to be a teacher here after all,” Mary said, picking up her can of drink. She saw some depictions of strawberry and milk. “This isn’t mango juice, is it?”

“What? I believed I pressed the right button this time. That machine must’ve been broken. It gave me coffee when I wanted tea,” he responded. “Apologies, Miss Mary. Let me get you your mango drink.”

“No, it is fine,” Mary said, halting the priest before he got off his chair. The young lady deftly opened the can and drank the contents. “...Oh my, I was really content with the mango flavored juices, but I think I can get addicted to this as well.”

“Seems like you really do enjoy sweet things,” he said, smiling at her. “That reminds me of that sweet biscuit they are selling here. It is quite good.”

“Ahaha… I suppose I do, but if I eat any more it’d probably not be good for me…” Mary laughed nervously. She couldn’t tell him that she had been eating more than she usually would. Any more weight and it’d be a problem in more than one way.

“Eh? You look the same as always, Miss Mary. Like the first time I saw you in the theatre.”

“You don’t have to put it that way…” Mary sighed. She drank her strawberry milk juice greedily as if to ignore him.

“Huh… Wha—? Did I say something wrong? I apologize if it is so!” He panicked, unsure whether he had hurt her feelings.

Meanwhile as he spoke, Mary drank more from the can and finally dropped it on the table. “Haaah, that felt great.” She then got off the chair. “Well,” she smiled like usual again. “Shall we go out and get some fresh air?”

“Erm… Uh… Y-Yea. That would be great,” Michael said, completely puzzle by Mary’s behavior.

The two strolled for some time as they passed by the long corridors of the Academy. There were the dark clouds covering the sky and its stars like usual outside. Even then, Mary was staring at it as a light breeze passed. She held her platinum blonde hair in place with one hand as she viewed and admired the quiet scenery. The lights placed around the area shone against her figure and she appeared dazzling, even more than usual, somehow.

“How are you holding up?” Mary finally spoke, only to make another question.

“I’m quite fine?” Michael was curious about her sudden question. “The hospital said I’m perfectly healthy now. It’s quite surprising, really.”

“That’s not what I meant,” Mary said. She only turned halfway to reveal her golden eye at the priest. “Ever since yesterday… how have you been holding up?” She repeated her question yet again, her tone solemn.

“I’m okay. Really,” Michael replied knowing he couldn’t lie to Mary’s golden eye. “It’s just part of the job. We’re trained to handle it, so don’t worry!” he said, smiling at her.

“Idiot, you don’t have to smile when you don’t want to. That’s what actresses do,” Mary said.

“That’s...” His gaze went down but his smile didn’t, “It’s okay… Miss Mary. It’s part of the job.”

“Everyone needs a break at least once.”

“Ah, well. I’m actually on a break right now. Besides, I’ve gotten plenty of rest at the hospital,” he replied. “I am genuinely thankful for your concern, Miss Mary, but don’t worry. I will be in tip top shape when we deploy in America, even if we do so now!”

“Then why were you crying?”

“I’m what?” Since when did I even cry? Maybe with mum’s funeral perhaps? But that’s way back in the past, isn’t it?

“Don’t you remember?” Mary asked as if the answer was the most obvious in the world. “When Mister Bram caught you?”

“Oh, that. Might’ve been just stress, Miss Mary. Happens sometimes. Admittedly, it seems to be more frequent as of late. I suppose I should take a detour to HQ before I go to America.” Michael was stroking his chin in contemplation.

“You don’t need to hold it all in,” Mary advised. “You don’t need to be burdened with his last words; I can take care of myself.”

Michael put his hand on Mary’s head. “Trust me on this, Miss Mary, this box is better off unopened. For my sake.”

Mary shook her head in disapproval.

“It’s fine, just this once.”

In the next moment he was reminded of his time alone with Laura back in Hyde Park in London as Mary embraced him.

“It’s fine,” she said again. “I’m sorry you had to go through some of those nightmares.”

“Thank you,” he whispered to Mary before pushing her away gently. He averted his gaze as he took off, running towards the building, intending to lose her somewhere there. He knew for a fact that this might’ve been a futile effort from him, but he’d be damned if he didn’t do something, anything. Never again. I won’t lose any of my friends again. Especially to them.

“Things won’t change if you run away.”

Michael heard and looked up, stopping in his tracks.

Like a ghost, Mary was before him and he felt a strong and short gale momentarily. Her speed was as impressive as ever.

“Isn’t this some sort of cheating?” he joked.

“Are you implying running away isn’t?”

“True,” he said, raising his arms. “I guess I can’t really run away, huh?” On his fingers, silver strings glittered in the light.

Mary noted the strings and sighed. “Do you wish to be away from me that badly?”

“If it were only up to me, I would wish the exact opposite of what you just said,” he admitted.

“Then why run?”

“Because it isn’t up to me. I have responsibilities to do, vows to uphold, Miss Mary, and as of this moment, I can barely do them.” He lowered his hands. “And as you’ve demonstrated, I am not strong enough. The Countess almost killed me as if she were just killing a fly, and Virgo managed to kill Mrs. Alicia in front of me with me being unable to do anything… and Claudia… she’s getting stronger as days pass. What would I do if I fail to keep up? I will not just yield, I will end the need for people like me.”

“But were you not on break?” Mary questioned but didn’t expect an answer. “Everyone has a role to play in life, Mister Kallweit. Not necessarily whatever they are told to do. You are not a puppet of the Church unless you truly choose to be—you’re a human being with your own mind and heart. It’s sad, however. Humans are only so strong; Descendants’ and Representatives’ superiority are too much for many of you.” The way Mary worded her last sentence made the priest realize that she didn’t count herself as human. “Of course Claudia is getting stronger; she is slowly realizing her true potential. Soon she will join among my ranks.”

“Even so...” He clenched his fists. Now that he fully realized the truthfulness of Mary’s statement, it was then that he had strengthened his resolve. Even more so than the first time they had a similar talk. “Even so... I will.”

“What will you do? Rather, what can you do?”

“My job. I will get it done at all costs.”

“I see. Good luck.”

Mary turned and walked away.

I wonder why he reminds me of myself sometimes…

In a café in this strange place known as Akihabara, Aramus and Elizabeth were more than just lost. Elizabeth had been interested in this area for some time, and it just so happened that she wanted to come here of all places.

“This café certainly is unique,” Elizabeth commented, looking around. “They are all dressed as… western maids? But the waitresses’ dresses are more… bold than I had imagined.” So this is what Aozora-san was talking about.

Indeed, a maid café of all places was where they had ended up in. Despite it being somewhat late, the place was brimming with activity by the strange-looking people who were particularly chubby and wearing glasses. She wondered if this was some kind of a trend.

“It’s all about the image,” Aramus raved, pointing at the maids with the end of his fork. “They try and cater to the tastes of every male customer that walks through that door. They aren’t able to actually cook or clean like the ones we’re used to, but the other customers aren’t here for that anyway,” Aramus said after a mouthful of cake.

“But they’d call themselves maids despite being unable to fulfill the criteria?” Elizabeth asked with incredulity, cutting a portion of her omelette rice from her plate before eating it. It was delicious indeed. To think it wasn’t a cooking maid who prepared this dish… it felt rather odd to the English maiden.

“The Japanese have a different definition of the word †˜maid.’ Something regarding †˜moe’ though I’m not too sure what it entails. Take a look around at the way they treat their customers and how happy they are to be served that way,” Aramus said, setting aside an empty plate and beginning to eat from another. “Their job is just to keep the customer satisfied.”

“I do comprehend the concept of †˜moe’ to an extent, but not entirely. My friend had been… introducing me to this culture of niche products, and whatnot,” Elizabeth responded. “However, I do see what you mean, teacher. The †˜maids’ are doing what they are required to do… they just appear incomplete to me.”

“I suppose it’s true. I’m just here for the cake, I guess. This is a good spot for light conversation as well. I mean, even if we did speak about magic and what not, anyone who overhear it would just chalk it up to the latest anime craze.”

“Indeed, indeed, part of the reason I wanted to come here was for that reason,” Elizabeth agreed with a nod. “Now, shall we hear from you what the story is?”

“So this fiasco began way before you were born. No, seriously. It was from my time as an urchin,” Aramus said, explaining himself after Elizabeth gave him a strange look. “Suffice it to say, it involved the theft and eventual recovery of Paimon’s Fan. No, it is not rightfully mine,” he said sadly.

“So that magical weapon you have been wielding all along was actually gained from… larceny?” It almost felt like she heard it wrong from her teacher.

“Correct. I only met the rightful owner back in England during the Queen’s Meeting and it was more profound than I thought it would be.” Aramus poured a round of tea for both himself and Elizabeth, drinking some of the hot beverage to loosen his tongue. “Quite literally, larger than life.”

“Quite literally larger than life?” Elizabeth questioned. “I wonder how you’d get to meet such a being in all the fuss that the event was surrounded by.”

“Her Majesty herself arranged the meeting. There, a quest for penance was handed down to me for the crime of stealing the relic. To travel beyond the gates of the Infernal realm and retrieve another lost relic for him. Of course, Her Majesty was present when all this was being said and therefore, I cannot fail.”

“...I see, but this hardly makes sense. Teacher, it just doesn’t. That night I spoke with you, and Her Majesty was still injured. How’d any of that be possible in such a short span of time?”

“If happened after that mess and the Queen deigned herself to hear out my request to speak to Paimon’s original owner,” Aramus said, running a hand over the fan hidden in his suit. “King Solomon, lord of the Faerie realm.”

“...King Solomon?!” Elizabeth shouted, turning some heads to her. She felt rather embarrassed from raising her voice and toned down her excitement immediately. “S-Such a person still exists?”

“If you could call him as such, yes. He was, for the lack of a better word, huge,” Aramus said, thinking back on how he had to crane his neck up to look at Solomon, far enough to leave a crick.

“...I wonder how many know of this fact. Likely very few. King Solomon appears in our textbooks in the Academy but mostly because he was a famous and exemplary magician many centuries ago. I wouldn’t think he was in fact the Lord of Faeries. Reality sure differs from history quite often.”

“Indeed. Imagine my surprise when I found out who I was speaking to… Anyways, he tasked me with retrieving the sword, Laevateinn, from the Infernal realm. Up till now, I’ve been searching for a way to get there, from chatting up a demon to looking up on Will †˜o’ Wisps after information provided by old man Mikaido.” Another sip of tea followed, Aramus absently noting that even his tea back at the dormitory tasted better than this.

Elizabeth, too, sipped her tea as she listened. This was an interesting topic. “However intriguing I find it, this is still a dangerous journey. I will not ask what sin you might’ve had to commit to bring about a demon, but what are the leads so far? Hellfires?”

Aramus set his teacup with a soft clink, steepling his fingers. “Thus far, I have learned that there is an entrance to it in America but apart from that, the hellfires are apparently another entrance. I didn’t do anything wrong, just a victim of circumstance when I met with the demon. Becoming a toad was a… once in a lifetime experience.”

“Oh, you must’ve come across the rumored fog of change, or whatever that is going on in London. I had only heard of it at the Queen’s Meeting from a gentleman.” Elizabeth somehow regretted bringing up another gentleman in her conversation with Aramus. Clearing her throat, she continued, “Anyway, I suppose I may help you, teacher. With your quest, that is. However, I must warn that I am not in perfect control of my relic weapon.”

“That is fine, this is my selfish request for redemption after all. I’ve held onto the fan for far too long. To turn my back on this now would only mar me further. I appreciate your assistance nonetheless, Elizabeth,” Aramus said with a smile, waving away her inhibitions.

“We lack the time to do any of this here, however. Perhaps in the New World then?”

“Of course.” A smile appeared on his face at her easy acceptance of his tale, Aramus feeling nostalgic as he watched the student across from him. Reminding him that she wasn’t his favorite for nothing. “Since we’re here in Tokyo, do you want to find something else to do?”

“That, definitely—that,” Elizabeth looked towards the window as she spoke. Beyond said window of the café was a robot walking across the street.

This was known as the Sweet Bot. As the name implied, it carried sweets and desserts on its body, displaying them like any other vending machines in the world. It would patrol on a given time span in an area, and would happily accept money in exchange for giving away sweets of particular choices.

“I had always wanted to buy something from that,” she added.

“Good!” Aramus exclaimed as he eyed the Sweet Bot with predatory glee. “Some people are going to be so disappointed once I’m done with it.”

“...You should really manage your finances more,” Elizabeth advised, and with that, she was going to manage it anyway.

“Oh, it’s just a couple hundred or thousand yen. I need to get some for Almond to cheer him up as well,” Aramus said, silently thankful for her advice. “I’ll manage somehow.”

The two walked, paid their charges, and left the café while Elizabeth was still unconvinced by those irresponsible words—or what they appeared to be. “Doesn’t change that it’s precious money earned from hard work, esteemed Magister Aramus-sensei-sama,” she said with emphasis on his name. “Mayhap you forget—with our Headmistress gone—you currently lack an income hitherto the situation is resolved?”

Aramus gave her a look of abject horror, all the blood draining from his face. “Doesn’t the salary come from somewhere else. No wait, the money for Almond comes out from her own pocket, doesn’t it!?” he wailed. “Whoever’s taking over the finances won’t give me any extra!”

“I believe all of it was coming from her pockets to begin with,” Elizabeth answered, sighing. Pitying herself for having to explain common knowledge. “To begin with, Headmistress Lumiere made the Academy through her own money. This side of the world didn’t have any Magic Academy till then. I am not sure where her property will go from here. Perhaps maybe Almond…? He’d possibly be the one closest to Lumiere as far as I know. I have never ever heard of her family, even if she has one.”

Aramus, who had collapsed to his knees by then, gave a weak reply. “He was personally entrusted to me by the Headmistress. I don’t intend to relinquish that right. Though I might need to find another source of income on the side to make that happen…”

“Well, thankfully for now, the operation to kill Virgo should yield us some income, no?”

“I hope so,” Aramus said, the Sweet Bot by his side and †˜greedily’ accepting the notes he was stuffing into it. A stream of candy was flowing out from it, and they were disappearing into Aramus’ outfit, occasionally one or two finding its way into his mouth. Even though it was an endless stream, his shirt and pants somehow didn’t get any larger or bulkier. A unique kind of sorcery that any other mage would have found admirable but useless.

“Yes, we may only hope,” Elizabeth said, the bot’s other hand busy taking her notes and dishing out candy too. However, she stopped much earlier than Aramus. An exclusive DVD of that show… am I seeing this right? Needless to say, anime distracted her as she stared at a store’s poster.

“You want to get that?” Aramus mumbled as he looked up, cheeks full of candy. “We got time so…”

“N-No, it is alright. It wouldn’t do to waste my allowance,” Elizabeth vehemently declined, waving her hands. Although she seemed to really want it, whatever it was, she’d never spend her money wastefully.

“Then I’ll buy it for you.” Checking his own wallet, he found that it was painfully empty. Only a few notes were left inside after the candy buying spree, but it was enough for a simple DVD or so he hoped. “I’m always troubling you. This is the least I can do for your help so far.”

“No, no, please don’t. I will feel guilty about it.”

Aramus merely hummed, deciding that he would just get it for her.

Elizabeth frowned. “Why is it that people feel proud of forcing their kindness down the throat of others?” she questioned to no one in particular as she followed Aramus to the store.

Aramus snickered slightly as he parsed the wares of the store, an attendant greeting him with a “Welcome!” as he walked into the shop and asked whether anything caught his fancy. Explaining what Ellie wanted, the attendant handed him a small ticket and directed him to the cashier. Aramus glanced down at the small piece of paper, the information all written on it and he balked inwardly at the price.

Still, Ellie’s presence and the knowing look in the attendant’s eyes crushed all resistance in him. Judging from the way Ellie was gushing over some of the offerings, it was hard not for the attendant to discern who the DVD was actually for. Shortly after, the pair was outside the store and the attendant gave them a final “Thank you!” as the doors closed shut.

Aramus looked at the bag he was holding, stuffed full of flyers of the latest of whatever was popular. Again, filled to the brim with all that cute †˜moe’ stuff, Aramus sighed and passed the bag over to Elizabeth. “Well Ellie, here you go. I hope this will suffice for now. I can’t really do much more than this...”

“I would prefer you not doing anything at all…” Elizabeth reluctantly accepted the bag, but with a frown that was for her usual †˜caring’ side, if one would put it that way. “I am going to guess that your wallet is even more emptier than before now.”

Aramus remained silent, Ellie already knowing the answer to that question. Still, he felt obligated to return the favor even in the slightest. Something like this, letting her watch her favorite anime and enjoy her youth just that little bit more, it was enough.

Noting the silence, Elizabeth sighed.

“Shall we go back? I think the hell discussion is quite done.”

“Alright,” Aramus said with a bit more vigor, indeed noting that he had accomplished a little bit more today. “T’was a good day today. Well, apart from the mess and all that. I quite enjoyed myself having these shenanigans before the trip, you know?”

“I suppose I enjoyed it too.” Elizabeth beamed in return, secretly excited about the DVD she was gifted.

“Hehehe.”

“ …You really are insane.”

Two figures stood among the rubble that consisted of broken concrete, asphalt, and torn bodies.

He who was the object of legend, awe, and fear all in one—the lone warrior who was renowned to crush all under his feet—faced his nemesis once again. The Descendant who was supposedly able to manipulate time to an extent wore a crazed smile for an expression, and he was known to be completely fearless. However, he was also surprisingly chivalrous.

He was seemingly a proud teenger. A proud lunatic. A proud killer of many.

He was a superhuman.

He was commonly called Aries.

A monster.

A being who was so powerful that most Organizations would steer clear from his path, and the mage associations were always thinking of ways to tackle his iron grip across the States.

The teenage boy munched a burger thoughtlessly to sate his hunger. One could say that he wasn’t acting serious enough, despite the fact that he had destroyed a bus with a single kick while having his so-called snack.

On the other hand was a brown-skinned man with a grown beard and moustache—the same color as his hair tied in ponytail—dressed in a sleeveless suit, white shirt and black pants. A cigarette hung from his dry lips as a waft of smoke was adrift in the air. One could also call him out for not acting serious enough despite the situation, too.

“You know, kid,” the man begun with his baritone voice. “When I was a kid, I was a good one, havin’ some fun here and there, studyin’ when I needed to, and hangin’ out with girls other times…”

“What a coincidence! I used to do that too. The girls, I mean. Except that they were all corpses by the time I was done hanging around with them.” The Descendant grinned as he noted a time in his past too.

The Archmage who led the mage’s association of America sighed deeply. The Mage Vanguards Association—MVA in short—was responsible for catching criminals abusing their Gift of magic, playing around with spirits thinking it’s actually fun, beating up demons taking souls and killing civilians, and lastly, stopping Descendants from running rampant in the United States of America. Of course, the government of America funded them and their operations. They were quite effective against most opponents so far, except the Descendant who had been causing trouble left and right for them for the past few years.

The last of the burger was crunched, munched, and gulped down.

The last of the tobacco free cigarette burned out, and it was crushed under a boot.

“Done,” they both said in unison.

“That’s enough for your break, I guess, Blayze?”

The two met and fought so much that they were known to get along, strangely enough. Since the older man knew that the Descendant wasn’t one who’d run away, he’d gladly wait for him to finish his burger. What kind of a dandy man would attack a teenger who was eating, anyway?

“Tch, thought I was going to be faster,” the young man spat, and the aged man could only shrug with a smile. “Yeah, let’s get this over with, Christopher Bradley.”

“Alright, good.”

Christopher Bradley, one of the greatest mages in the world, took the stance of a warrior monk from the eastern countries, his hands and forearms donning a pair of silver gauntlets with a cross carved onto each of them.

The earth shook and the air vibrated tremendously. Nature itself was disturbed.

The Descendant gave a toothy grin as spiritual energy leaked from under the broken road. The lunatic’s laughter echoed.

“Hope you don’t die now, Christopher. The world would be boring without you.”

Claudia found herself in America. There were no cars levitating or lights extremely pleasing to the eyes, and nor did she find tiles that would move one automatically upon standing on it. Being outside the futuristic Japan wasn’t so bad. This country seemed to be quite literally full of casual people and mixed races as she had heard. The cities, landmarks, and the areas were charming in their own way.

It was also Marco’s home country.

Here in California, though, it was quite hot and Claudia wasn’t sweating, but she felt effectively scorched by the sun.

After having left Japan through a trip of the Magic Train, it had taken a stop shortly after on an Island close outside said country. From which they got off, and entered a certain city. That city was supposedly a city made by the mages. Through it, they managed to book flight tickets on its airport and Claudia chanced to have the biggest surprise of her life where she got to ride an aeroplane for the first time.

The group of terrorists did not stay in a hotel this time. Instead, Claudia was surprised to know that they had a private villa close to the beach of San Diego there. It wasn’t particularly grand but certainly held the end of its bargain in terms of looks and luxury inside.

“Oh, we still had this place,” Marco said, a little surprised himself.

“Well, I never relinquished my ownership on it.”

The Countess was apparently in a good mood as they entered the villa and checked for any suspicious objects planted inside. After all, who knew when the American agents would set up hidden cameras to find out whether the owners of the villa were ordinary people or the extraordinary or even people that should be exiled from the world altogether. It had been in ownership of the same person for too long.

At this point, Claudia concluded that Catherine was even richer than her family could have ever hoped to be, owning multiple dwellings in different countries.

“I have to say, I’m impressed. The way this villa yields such a view of the beach is calming to say the least. I’ve never even been on a beach before.”

“Now that’s a shame, fair Lady!” Marco exclaimed. “I suppose you do not have swimsuits either…?”

“A swimsuit? Ahh…” Claudia scratched the back of her head and looked headlong back to the beach. “Never wore one in my life,” she responded earnestly. She almost felt bad that she was never exposed to such things living in England. A shame it was.

“Well, why don’t we—” Marco was about to make a proposal when Rose cut in, placing a hand on his mouth.

“Shall we get you one, then?” Rose suggested in Marco’s place. “It’s boring with men, I assure you.”

Astounded, Claudia couldn’t help but shrug in acceptance. “Sure, why not? I don’t mind with either one of you, actually.”

“No, it’d not be valid for a gent like me to accompany you. It is only suitable for a fellow Lady for shopping in this case,” Marco said, backing away.

Rose nodded, smiling. Her devilish nature showed. “Men should be gawking at the beach at our beauty, and be captivated. That is the only right they get.”

Claudia snorted, running a hand through her hair, already wondering what type of swimsuit would fit her. “Then so be it. I suppose I could use another woman’s mindset on a subject I know nothing about.”

“Good, good,” Rose said. “We shall be off to shopping after settling down our luggage.”

“Oh? So the morning of the morrow will be spent at the beach?” Catherine inquired to confirm, appearing very excited at the matter.

“Indeed, Mistress.”

“Very well. Frolic in the beach at day time if you may; we hunt for Aries at night. Keep it in mind.”

“Of course. Fun for the daytime, hunt for the night,” Claudia said with a bow.

“So, as worse as that sounds we don’t get to sleep in the day?” George questioned from behind Catherine.

“...Well,” Rose began, “If you aren’t comfortable being awake in the morning, you are free to sleep in.”

Rose, Marco, and Claudia made their way to the beach outside the villa now and found many people occupying it. The fragrant scent of saltwater and human flesh was all over the air, and the vampires were all tempted to hunt for prey already… despite not telling each other that, they were thirsty for blood.

Claudia stepped forward, sporting her newest swimsuit; a purple string bikini that showcased her body lucidly. Being a girl that had never worn one, Claudia was embarrassed to be wearing so less in public. She was worried that the scars lying on her arms, inner thighs, and midriff were easily seen by peering eyes.

Needless to say, none of said scars were present considering the regenerative abilities of a Representative could heal traces of past injuries too.

“I-I have to say, this is rather breezy. And this is a normal article of clothing for people?” Claudia asked, sheepishly.

“Everyone on the beach wears these, dear,” Rose answered. She wore a bikini of black with a pattern of red decorating it, and thus she similarly wore hardly any articles of clothing. It could be said that these two wore particularly less than most women on the beach.

Marco simply wore a pair of black briefs as he looked at the two ladies with a funny look. “I… I have to say you both are very impressive with your choices, e-especially you, of course, Claudia.”

Claudia couldn’t help but shield herself from Marco and blush. Just take the compliment, Farris. “T-Thank you, Marco. You look rather handsome yourself.”

“Thank you, fair Lady.”

Meanwhile, Rose bit her finger looking at the crowd as the couple stared each other down.

“Really, to be honest, this is very embarrassing. Never before have I showed this much skin in broad daylight… then again, I never showed any skin in general,” Claudia said. “England and all.”

“That is fine. That’s just how it was,” Marco said, smiling. “England is a thing of the past, after all. Forget swimsuits, you’d be vilified for far less than that, but if it wasn’t for that, we wouldn’t have met.”

Claudia smiled. “Then… I’m glad that was so.”

“Shall we enjoy breakfast in the seaside restaurant?”

“Why not? I am feeling peckish, anyways.”

The two went to the restaurant, had their food—which was completely different than even the food of Japan, by the way—and came back. They then enjoyed just walking around, side by side with their hands and fingers intertwined while holding their sandals.

“I wish we had a private beach here like we do in Japan,” Marco abruptly stated. “We should’ve went there when we were there.”

“Indeed. I definitely would’ve experienced the joys that come with being at the beach much earlier than I wanted,” Claudia agreed, absently burying her toes underneath the sand, enjoying the sensation.

“The scent of humans here is so strong… it tempts me,” Marco said, looking at the people for a bit, as children ran along and a group played beach volleyball for fun.

The birds sung and flew across the clear blue skies. This place wasn’t anything like Japan or England. America had clear skies, it had fine weather and the birds were lively. This was the first time Claudia could live under such skies, gaze upon them, busk under the sunshine, and appreciate the gifts of nature. She saw a few birds in Japan, but they were sparse.

Claudia hummed with interest. “Are you planning to…”

“I am not. I am going to hold myself back to have more time with you.”

“Good. Though, I would have joined you regardless. Maybe we could have taken the edge off.”

“A...Are you sure? We’d be spending valuable time taking out a human or two and sucking their blood.”

“Well not now of course, silly. I’m actually feeling relaxed for once and I’d rather not ruin it with a little spilt blood.”

“Indeed… So, fair Lady, how do you feel? Wasn’t it great after all that you joined us? Or do you regret the repercussions you faced?”

Claudia hummed and pursed her lips. “Well, of course I don’t regret it. I don’t regret any of it, actually,” she answered. “Truly, I’ve actually had the time of my life since joining.”

“...If you say so.”

Marco then looked towards the waves and the blue sea. The water coming and going, washing the sandy beach repeatedly. Something that would keep on happening for what seemed like an eternity.

“You know, you aren’t the only one.”

Quirking a brow, Claudia turned back to Marco. “The only one? To do what?”

“To be a child of a Diabolic family, I mean.”

Claudia looked astounded, no—shocked. A gasp escaped the back of her throat before she stifled it with a palm. “You were what…?”

“My family sold their souls to the devils. Until one day when my father had his soul eaten by a devil. Then later… my mother went deeper into the act…”

“My God… I’m so sorry.”

“It’s alright, I wanted to tell you who I was… we all seem to only speak of you,” Marco said.

In fact, the man known as Marco—as he stared into the blue skies and seas, after he turned away from Claudia—had no idea what kind of an expression he made as he spoke of his dark past.

“I guarantee you, you and our comrades—we all suffered terrible lives before the Countess saved us from our fates.”

Claudia hummed and turned towards the ground. How could she had been so self centered? She never thought once of the fates Rose, Marco, and her other comrades had been forced to live in before coming under Catherine’s wing. She felt bad thinking about it now after all this time. “It’s all terrible—the concept of fate, I mean. We have the potential to be better people, but we’re dropped into some life that throws nothing but pain at us.”

“I personally think I could run away to find a better life. I really think so, but now I don’t think I should turn back anymore… I suppose I was simply scared as a kid. I really wanted to stop my mom, I really did… I knew the villagers had a hint about our family’s deeds.”

“That’s awful. But, it is normal for only a boy to be scared. If it matters, I do not blame you for not stopping your mother. You were only a child,” Claudia comforted.

“I was only twelve.” Marco gazed downwards. “The Executioners from the Church arrived…”

The damned Church. As expected. Claudia placed a comforting hand on Marco’s back, somehow sensing a pattern. “Sounds familiar…” she could only say, feeling like anything else would be taboo.

“Of course, they killed my mom,” he continued, feeling the need to finish recounting the tale. “I ran. I ran without thinking. I ran… leaving my sister behind. I ran… and there she was waiting—the Crimson Rafflesia. From there I started anew as a vampire… According to the Countess, my sister is alive somewhere—wandering the world like me.”

“Wow…” Claudia said incredulously. “I… have you ever attempted to look for your sister since then?”

“For seventy years, fair Lady,” Marco said deeply, almost ready to cry, but he held the tears back. “I am now eighty-two… I hope I’m not too old for you.”

Claudia was stifled with shock. An arresting silence came over her as she eyed the man with disbelief. This man had it bad, that was for sure. Worse than Claudia, at that. Never before had she had the overwhelming urge to hug a person and never let go; that’s what she did too. She reached out and wordlessly grabbed the man in both arms.

“Thank you…” He hugged her back and of course, there was a public response as some stared at them. “Ahaha… I feel a little embarrassed now.”

“Don’t worry about it. This is for you right now,” Claudia said, keeping the hug firm.

“That said, fair Lady. I have a favor to ask. If… if something were to happen to me, and you come across my younger sister, bring her to the Countess… of course, with her given consent. I’d want nothing more for her as a brother.”

“Don’t speak like that. It is bad luck,” Claudia said. “But… regardless of that, I will. I swear it.”

“I am glad to know.” Marco then turned back to her and their embrace ended. “Enough with me and the gloominess for the day I suppose? Come, let us perhaps enjoy a more bloody meal or two for a change of pace.”

“What do you have in mind? Or should I ask whom do you have in mind?”

“Well, whom would you like? There are many beauties and hunks for us to choose from.”

Humming in thought once again, Claudia glanced about the beach, putting a hand over her forehead to shield her eyes from the sun. “It won’t be an obese one, that’s for sure. I hear they’re unhealthy with all the stuff they eat here,” Claudia mumbled. “Most likely someone that won’t give me diabetes.” She suddenly chuckled into her hand and kept her search strong.

“It’s just blood though…?” Then again, I’m not one for biology or the likes. Whatever, I’ll go with her picks.

The operation started.

The objective of the terrorists was Aries’ head.

The only issue with the mission was that they’d have to find Aries before the MVA—the American police of mages. They were skilled individuals trained to track and take down mages, and they were mages themselves. They weren’t the best opponents of Descendants, but they had been dealing with this particular monster for years.

Narrowing down Aries’ location in California, and specifically in San Diego at that, had probably taken a lot of research and hacking of networks by Ansel. The group of terrorists split out in the Cedros Design District. It was formerly a place for designers, and their creativity thrived there. Aries, however, completely put most of it under the rubbles in five minutes some time ago, according to the information from the MVA.

“I’ll be acting as the operator tonight,” Ansel announced through the voice transmission device in Claudia’s ear. “The incident with Aries took place several days ago when he showed up and destroyed this area. It is now off-limits to the civilians. You should be very wary of the people you may find here. They may either be MVA members or the Descendant. Our target is a teenager, male, and he has black hair. He often laughs while speaking, similarly to Claudia perhaps.” To the additional comment everyone laughed. “There’s some information that Aries continues to hide here somewhere while the MVA are trying to find him and take him out.”

“Can they even take him out?” Marco questioned. Indeed, he was partaking in the operation this time.

“It’s a possibility. If information holds true, then the Archmage Christopher managed to deal good damage to the Descendant.”

“That said, comrades,” Countess Dracula spoke through the device. “Careful with the Archmage. He is no ordinary opponent; avoid confronting him in combat.”

“Understood, Countess,” Claudia said with a nod, puffing her cheeks with an afterthought. I don’t laugh when I speak… do I?

“That said, Christopher is basically a dandy man with a strong build of a body. I don’t think you’ll find more than one of his type,” Rose said, sounding a little dreamy at the image already. “Shouldn’t be hard to notice such a man.”

“Sounds simple enough; find Aries and avoid the well-built Archmage. No problem at all,” Claudia replied, listing off their objectives just to be sure.

Venturing about the largely broken area, Claudia hummed a small tune as she absently kicked around loose rocks with the toes of her boots. She noticed debris and nothing short that riddled the area, thrown carelessly about like it was nothing. “Sounds like our Descendant here is having a bit too much fun…” Claudia mumbled, inspecting the rubble closely. “If he could do this much damage…”

The thought of fighting the Descendant clouded the Vampire’s mind, as did the desire to see how far he could push Claudia. If he was so strong to level an entire district within five minutes, then Claudia saw every reason to be excited. After all, the strong ones always did interest her. A smirk formed along her face, a long and curved one, too, as she cracked her neck, sighing with ecstasy. “...That’s exactly what I want. I want to see his face when he unleashes his power...”

Abruptly, Claudia heard some noises. Noises of something grinding an object against the floor. Except it was particularly loud.

“Hehehe… ahahahaha!”

She heard a laughter, one that she could easily define as creepy. Taking a peek from behind a broken pillar, Claudia found a youth repeatedly stepping upon a corpse whose face was beyond recognition.

Unmoved and definitely unphased by the sight, Claudia could only let a shrill chuckle escape the back of her throat.

“Found him,” she mused casually into her earpiece, alerting her comrades. She placed her scythe along her shoulder and smiled as she walked a careful enough distance from the young man. “That’s quite the temper you have there.”

“Ahh… right, there was a pest around here for a while… hehehe. Don’t your ear feel a little lonely?” The young man turned to Claudia with a crazed smile as he stepped aside from the corpse.

Claudia snorted. “Hardly. You’d think with all this destruction, a person’s rage would be vented by now.” She didn’t appear so phased by the smile either. Rather, Claudia was intrigued by it, if anything. That’s the face I wanted to see… the face of a Descendant mad with power. God…

“Fool,” the Descendant called her. Aries showed his hand, putting up his palm, and what lied on it was Claudia’s voice transmission device. “You fucking fly. You can’t even tell when I take something from you. How fucking pathetic. Ahaha,” he said. The earpiece was already turned off. Long ago, at that. He crushed it after clenching his fist and it fell apart from it as little pieces.

“Oh, nooooo...” Claudia said, feigning distress. She waved her arms about nonchalantly and smiled the whole way. “The way you crushed it in between your fingers… how many heads have you squashed with just those fingers alone? Ngh… you’re perfect…” She was blushing, almost visibly spasming at the thought of those dead. “It’s not like I need it anyways. They’ll realize I’ve been away too long.”

“Countless heads. You wanna be next?”

“Mm, that’s if you can touch me…”

“Hmm, but then you said †˜they’ll realize I’ve been away long.’ Do tell, little lady, who do you work with?”

“Are you familiar with BLoodLuSt? But oh, what does it matter anyway? We’re just going to have the upper half of your head laid out along the sidewalk…”

“Ahhh! It’s been seventy-years. How fucking nostalgic. Guess I get to have some fun tonight. No wonder you’re a Representative. I heard all about the failures of your actions. This is a treat.”

“Failures on the behalves of those who meddle, and lucky for the both of us, there is no one to do as much.”

“Man, are you sure you aren’t a fly if you can’t even stand some meddling? You’re a fucking Rep for fuck’s sake.”

“Well I am only one person, after all. I’m not an army.”

“Huh? Reps are at least half an army. Alright, fine. Let’s say you’re right,” Aries said, shaking his head while grinding the back of his finger with his ear, “How strong would you be compared to say… oh ya, that wench called Mary. Yeah, how strong are you compared to her then?”

“What does it matter? She’s just going to be put down by me all the same… only unlike you, she has a cozy space in a dark room after the fact. You? Well, hell—maybe even worse than that—is the only place for you.”

“Bahahahah!! I sorta like that attitude of yours. Truly, hell is the only fitting place for me, and I’d wager it is perfect for you, too,” Aries claimed. “Are you sure you wanna fight me, and not hunt some scums with good †˜ol Aries?”

“Mm, tempting, but I’ll have to respectfully decline. Besides, I make sure that my kills are clean and not…” Claudia had to pause for a moment to impulsively shudder. “...A bloody mess. You have no restraint at all.”

“Ahahaha! Alright, alright. I am a bit of a gentleman even if I don’t seem like it. I’ll take the rejection with grace.” Aries then took off the fedora he was wearing. “As respect for a Rep I’ll tell you my name before we dance. My name is Blayze, Blayze Smith. What about you?”

“Claudia Virtusio De la Farris,” Claudia answered. “Such an interesting name you have. Very fitting for someone such as yourself.”

“I’d love to say the same to you but… your name fucking reeks of nobles. Ew.”


Claudia chuckled. “Nope. Just the name of some French girl.”

“What world you live in? No French fucks have long ass names like that unless they’re descendants of some fucking snobby noble trash. Are you just misinformed or some shit?”

“Well count me as a descendant of noble trash, then,” Claudia replied, shrugging.

(BGM: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7L4aKVOmBrQ)

Blayze spread his arms, laughed, and flames arose in the surroundings.

Claudia turned and observed; wherever she looked there was a wall of fire. She was completely trapped in a circular boundary. She doubted that she could easily jump over those tongues of fire, either. They were extremely tall.

“What an impressive light show. No, Really,” Claudia said in an unimpressed tone, propped against her scythe. With a sigh, she kicked the ending pole of her weapon towards her other dominant hand and gripped it tightly. Smirking, she dashed at Blayze and swung in an arc, cutting into the man’s flesh as roughly as she could manage.

“Well, don’t be impressed just yet,” Blayze said, barely containing his laughter. His eyes turned red for a second only. He casually moved the scythe away from his wound like it was simply in his way, and quite literally jabbed Claudia’s face with enough force to send her flying at the pillar from which she came from.

Claudia could only hear Aries’ creepy maniacal giggles as she was played around with like the ball of a basketball match. Aries kicked her from one point to another without rest as he caught up to her before she’d land.

She managed to swing the scythe mid-air and graze his arm a little, but it wasn’t very effective. His eyes hardly even flickered red anymore.

After a full minute, the vampire finally landed with the concrete crumbling under her with a spiderweb-like pattern. She barely twitched, but his leg stomped over her cheek and she could feel her teeth crushed. She wasn’t even sure if her skull was intact or not.

“I hope you’re impressed now for real.”

To Claudia’s view he was an apparition of a demon with red leering eyes by now. Leering brighter than her own eyes, which were as real as crimson red shining brightly. She’d really love to drink some blood now, but she wasn’t sure if her fangs were up to the task anymore.

“As expected of a Rep, body’s tough even after all that. Perfect fucking ragdoll you are, Claudia.”

“Well, that was pathetic, Lachesis muttered in its user’s mind.

“Not yet,” Claudia mumbled from under the man’s boot.

A puddle of darkness formed under the fallen lady that was the proud vampire—a Representative—of the Blood Countess.

“Oops,” Blayze leapt back nonchalantly seeing the activation of her ability. “So that’s the Commandment you were granted by Countess Dracula.”

Black demonic beasts surfaced from under the disc of darkness.

“Go.”

Wrapped in a shadowy aura, hardly visible under the clear night sky even with the stars twinkling above, they charged forth. It looked like Blayze was having fun, as if playing tag with the demons Claudia summoned. The jumps were beyond supernatural as he pranced around the fallen buildings with a toothy grin before knocking out one of the demons with a seemingly gentle tap from his knuckles.

“Ahh, but maybe I should see just how good she is. This is a rare opportunity… but that kinda sounds retarded; like finding a stupid reason to be hit—” Aries turned down to his stomach to find a beast biting his flank. “Well fuck, too late.” Another struck with its claws at his back from behind. “Not bad.” He spread his arms and spiritual energy tinted the sky red momentarily, yet not for long.

The demons now fallen, Claudia pulled herself back up and observed with squinted eyes. From what looked like an intense solar flare just now, she had trouble surveying her surroundings, especially the sky where he was last.

“I’m heeeeere!” Blayze was on the worn-out asphalt, literally inches away from her.

How was he this fast?

Three simultaneous strikes were made with burning heat. One to her right arm, one to her left arm, and one to her chest. She parried at the same time as he attacked when she noticed him; otherwise he would’ve hit more than that. She just knew that he would if he could as she wailed from excruciating pain. It wasn’t exactly pain from the fiery strokes he gave, but the fact that he somehow managed to sever her very veins was beyond simply painful. She coughed up blood, but couldn’t cup them and could only watch them splatter the floor.

Her arms were completely immobilized. The scythe fell off her hand as she couldn’t manipulate her fingers to keep a proper grip anymore.

“Fucking hell, why is it that everyone aims for my arms? It hurts… fuck me, it hurts so bad!” Claudia groaned, chuckling a little at the sight of her own blood. “Well congratulations, you just managed to piss me off.”

“If it’s that easy I reckon anyone can.”

“Well you’re not wrong. I just don’t like people, is all.”

“That’s a shame,” Aries said, feigning disappointment. “After all, the world is fun only because it’s full of idiots. Idiots like you who thinks they can just approach me alone.”

“Maybe I thought it would be fun? I don’t know. So far, despite me being a little heated, I’m having the time of my life,” Claudia said, spitting a loogie of blood onto the concrete, smiling visibly at Blayze. Though despite her efforts to keep herself composed, Claudia truly was in sheer agony. Screw the time she was burned and exorcised in Japan. This was the worst pain she felt in a long time.

“Oh? Then let’s dance, baby.” He wore the fedora at last with a grin. “Come.”

She kicked at her scythe, making it spin mid-air before she curved her leg and tightened around it. With one leg she made a charge.

Aries was quite impressed from this desperate style of combat as he caught the blade with his bare hand.

“Now we’re talkin’.”

Claudia couldn’t simply fling around her scythe with a leg. It required her to make light jogs and jumps for her to arc them. Even then, they weren’t as good as her usual strikes. However, she was very-well trained with such weapons so she somehow managed.

Since Aries wasn’t using a weapon, he had nothing to defend with other than his very arms. He parried most attacks until some of them landed sharp cuts on his skin. The mind-controlling ability of Lachesis’ Fang was still shrugged off like it was a simple nuisance. The way Blayze shrugged the effect off was comparable to one simply deciding to look away from a television show they weren’t fond of. Hypnotism was far away when enticement was barely taking any effect. This was the iron-strong will of a Descendant.

“Ah, I’m not so good with such a weapon. Not many used them in my life before…” He widened his eyes and a supernatural force struck, pushing Claudia back.

However, her shoulders were caught by warm hands.

Claudia turned to find Marco, looking at Aries with a face riddled with rage and fear.

“Are you alright, fair Lady?” he asked with a shaking voice.

Spitting more blood onto the floor, Claudia looked up to Marco, grinning a dopey grin. “Oh, I’m peachy. My arms don’t work anymore and I have one hell of a headache, but I feel great!”

“What are you, a masochist?” Marco joked, though his smile was barely as happy as Claudia’s.

“Is that what they’re called? Huh. Maybe.” Claudia chuckled.

“Why didn’t you let us know that you found him? Hell, why’d you even take this bastard on alone?”

“He took my earpiece the second after I saw him. Son of a bitch is too fast for his own good, I’ll tell you.”

“Should’ve fled then,” Marco said before sighing. “I suppose we can’t change what’s done anymore…”

“Indeed. That said,” Claudia stood up straight and cracked her neck. “I’m still gonna kill †˜em.”

“While holding your weapon like that…?”

“Hey, I’ve smashed a kid’s head in with a rock. I’ve fought in weirder ways. Maybe you can see how flexible I am like this, if you know what I mean,” Claudia jested, balancing her scythe on her right knee.

“I don’t know what to say.” Marco shrugged. “That’s… unique?”

“Oi, oi, I think that’s enough for a chit chat, boy,” Aries spat. “Hehehe, but I remember you. You’re the kid whose liver I tore out like what, fifty years ago? Sixty years ago? Seventy? Fuck if I remember. You sure have some balls to come standing before me again.”

“That I do,” Marco replied with a wry smile. “And that was seventy years ago, you creepy bastard.”

“With your bare hands? Heh, that’s fuckin’ brutal,” Claudia mused. “Still, I’ve grown quite fond of Marco, and I’ll be damned to let you pull some shit like that again.”

“Aw, don’t be like that. Alright, alright,” Aries said, as if pardoning her. “I’ll pull out your intestines instead. Pretty slick, those things are.”

“Ooh. That’ll be a show to see,” Claudia beamed. “Tell me Blayze, are you familiar with the term, pegging? And if so, are you interested in it?”

“I know what the fuck it is, but not really. Different strokes for different folks though; I can picture you two doing it,” Blayze answered, cupping his chin, while Marco showed a rather disgusted expression.

“W...Well, i-if fair Lady takes a liking to it then…” Marco stammered. He wasn’t even sure what he was saying.

Claudia chuckled, to both Marco and Blayze’s words. “You’re tolerant of that kind of thing, at least. I like that. But no—I was only saying; whether you were interested in it or not, I was going to be sure to shove the end of my scythe right up your ass before I’m done with you. I am so serious.”

“Well, you’re kinda fucking crazy in a way, like me. So I figured it was the reason. I doubt you can do that with your hands that way, though.”

“You’d be surprised what I can do with my feet, too,” Claudia replied.

“You can forget about that; I’m taking out those feet as well, hehehe.” Aries cracked the bones of his hands as he stretched. “So, are you ready for round two?”

“By all means. Let’s go.” Claudia bounced the scythe along her knee, maneuvering it under the pit of her calf and held it there at the ready while balancing herself on the other leg, the same method she had used before.

She charged the man again with a single leap of her left leg.

Blayze effortlessly stepped out of the way, but a portion of his skin towards his stomach burst open at the same time and he smirked instead of cringing.

Claudia followed with a mad dash as she concentrated all her efforts on her feet. The scythe arced across the air, but Aries dodged nimbly. He ducked from her last attack, and his fists shone with a bright orange flash.

She was struck three times: on her right arm, left arm—again—and additionally on her right leg this time too. The dangerous prickling pain of the severing of her leg’s vein made her face contort noticeably, much to the glee of the Descendant. He then punched her a few times, especially on her face, before kicking her.

Falling back beside Marco, Claudia angrily cast her Commandment again as her shadow turned to a disk of darkness that summoned two demonic beasts.

Aries wasn’t very interested in her power anymore, and took stance to deal with them.

“Go.”

The demons charged forth yet again. Blayze leapt with inhuman speed and force as the forms of the demons enlarged continuously in pursuit. He crossed broken shops; pavements, ruined buildings; and clouds, but the demons still followed suit. This was after crossing at least five hundred meters.

“Oh? So they can follow ceaselessly like that, eh? Not bad.”

It was truly impressive, not because they could simply go on and on, but because they could go past the wall of flames he placed around the pair. That was something one couldn’t get out of normally. Claudia had been thrown around like a ragdoll for some time but she was always under the confines of the flames.

Aries turned abruptly and kicked one of the demons, crashing it to an abandoned house. The house was almost a hundred meters away. Before he could put the other out of its misery, he felt extreme coldness. Ice formed on his being, and he realized Marco had cast a spell. By the time he could concentrate his spiritual energy to melt it away, it was too late; the other demonic beast took a bite out of him.

“Tch, that bastard, finding a time to distract me.” Blayze then looked down on his thigh where the demon hurt him. “So that’s how it is. That bitch, this shit causes death itself.” He grit his teeth, feeling some rage.

Aries approached the two from behind. “That’s some nasty Commandment you got.”

“Agh, shit…” Claudia turned an eye to Blayze and glared. “How did you…?”

“There isn’t a thing I can’t accomplish with my speed,” Blayze said with a smirk.

“Well fuck me, that’s impressive. I can’t lie to you, there.”

“Hehehe…” Aries laughed lightly. “Aw. I haven’t shown you this, so hold your horses… HAHAHA. HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!”

Pillars of light broke out from under the streets before the entire layer of the road collapsed. It felt like the world itself was breaking apart and before the pair knew it, everything was enveloped in a light of fiery flames.

Claudia was sure that she was going to be die tonight.

Some minutes later, she woke up to an environment that was different. Marco held her on his arms and ran along the sewer pathlines.

“Wha…? Damn it, you just won’t let me die, will you?” Claudia mumbled, chuckling.

“You wanna die that fast?” Marco inquired, dashing, his feet glowing as he flashstepped. He was clearly hurt but was somehow well enough to carry his lover in his arms.

“Well it beats getting one of my arms taken out every fight I get into.”

Marco placed a hand on his ear and then looked back at her. “Your arms sure have some bad luck. It seems like Mi’lady finally met Aries.”

“Oh, good. I wonder how much more collateral damage those two can cause in the next five minutes,” Claudia said, chortling.

The two heard a loud noise of buildings falling and glass shattering.

“It hasn’t even been five minutes, you know…?” Marco sighed. “I don’t want to be in the middle of two Descendants fighting.”

“BAHAHA, that’s great! To think we could have had front row seats. Ah, well. You win some you lose some.”

“...What’s exciting about this? We didn’t even get to drink some blood!” Marco said, his face twisted with anger. “Well, whatever, at least you’re safe now.”

“Ah, right… that was also my intention after I would defeat Aries, y’know, aside from the pegging,” Claudia said as an afterthought. “I could tell that his blood would’ve been good, too…” She shrugged, or attempted to, at least. “Still, thank you for the save, again.”

“Well, you can count on me, fair Lady.”

The two then found a broken section of the road above them, and so Marco leapt up to the surface. From there they decided to simply head back home.