Cinia Pacifica Posts

Obviously, one of the Queen of Britbongs, Isabelle, because she was a pretty fucked up person and never let anyone get in her way, hence I want to put my dick inside her.

Otherwise, I'd pick Joan D'Arc.

Sauce?

It's probably a sarcasm, but still, no.

Uh huh... well I have no stuff you'd wanna read. But enjoy your stay I guess.

Woah man, it's been ages.

grats

6/10

Once upon a time existed warriors possessing powers that could manipulate time.

They were said to all walk their paths – for most part – solitarily. This was true, yet untrue. People were, and are, careless. They pick words without prior notice, and spread them – not knowing in full about who they speak of. Truly, the communities of human beings were, for the most part, uninformed about these beings. Even the few magicians – wielders of power beyond comprehension, was as uninformed as most men that inhabited the world.

Their powers – in reality – were beyond compare with practitioners of magecraft. Their powers – in reality – reigned supremacy even over nature itself.

Why? One may soon learn…

This is the tale of the second meeting between four of twelve of the Descendants of Time.







A fallen knight laid over the lap of a mother dressed in black attire. Her copper-brown hair bathed intensely in the rays of the apparent setting sun.

“Farewell, my child,” she uttered to her now-lost son as she gazed at his peaceful face with her emerald green eyes. Her voice gave away a hint of sadness, yet her expression was cold and unfazed, mirroring a cold and icy heart. She looked up, finding the King of Knights opposite to her.

He frowned, the woman who had brought his ruin had just demonstrated a magic he had never before seen. The sword he held in his right hand was stained with the blood of the hundreds of men he had cut down on this day.

“So he’s truly dead then?” The King said, blood trickling down his left arm. A huge gash across his shoulder was indicative of the battle he had just fought, slaying his own kin; had it not been for his regenerative capability the wound might be described as fatal. On the face of this cold King, however, he seemed more perturbed by the mother than his condition.

“Indeed,” the mother replied, getting up, allowing the head of her son rest over the barren – blood soaked – earth.

“The experiment had failed. It seems like it is impossible for a child born from the essence of a Descendant… to be comparable to a genuine Descendant, even if he is born from a Descendant,” she added, revealing her intentions. The woman then looked somewhat sad, as if a little girl’s †˜game’ was put to an end. It truly portrayed her disappointment. “What to do now?” She asked herself.

“Do as you please,” The King said cruelly, “Nothing ever stopped you before,” he practically spat out the words to the woman that stood there, the resentment was palpable.

“My, don’t be like that. A mother has but no choice to be kind to their child,” the woman replied, giving the dead †˜son’ a glance full of pity.

“You and him tried to kill me,” the King said, matter of factly, “What kindness is it when you pit a child against his own father? The only kindness that that child had ever seen was the release I gave him on this battlefield.” The sword had vanished from his hand, but the frown remained firmly on his face.

“That was merely his idea,” the lady answered swiftly, not even sparing a moment to ponder over her words. “I simply… fulfilled his dream. Is that wrong for a mother to do? But, I suppose I agree – perhaps this was for the best for him.”

“What do you mean his dream?” The armour clad man snapped, the word triggering a new wave of anger.

“He told me that he wanted it,” she answered – with a calm tone – to the King, “your throne, your position, and your crown.”

“I hope he’s happy in death now that he’s taken it all from me,” he laughed sardonically, “My reign is over.”

“Perhaps I shall take it over for myself,” the lady stated, as if providing herself with the idea. “It may be less boring that way.”

The King’s expression remained caustic as he gazed upon the woman who brought about the destruction of what he had built over the years, “That would be a crass decision on your part,” he said, “We’ve already seen what people like us can do to a kingdom.”

“Words work like magic,” the woman replied gleefully, “after all, everyone just follows the King, right?” Her words were followed by a chuckle.

“Only if the King is worthy to lead.”

“Indeed,” a voice spoke from behind. It was the apparent Queen. The King’s wife. Otherwise labeled the traitor.

The man standing between the two women smiled slightly, “I didn’t think you would turn up,” he chuckled, “Guinevere.”

“Ah… I suppose I am to still be referred by that.” The beautiful lady named Guinevere smiled. “I apologise, I was a little… too late.”

“So you finally show yourself, oh goody-two-shoes Consort Queen,” the other woman spat her words with a look of distaste. “How did it feel to sleep with Sir Lancelot? I hope you had quite a lot of fun back there.”

“It was actually a plot to lure you out,” the Queen answered. “I could hardly believe that a skit would become a scandal. You sly thing.”

Here stood the injured King of Knights – a man who lost his nation’s trust. With him were two women of differing statuses.

The Queen, Guinevere.

The Enchantress, Morgan.

Of course, these were fake names. Only King Arthur Pendragon didn’t pick up on it.

In reality, the participants of this meeting of the Descendants were: Countess Dracula, a certain Dragon Slayer who was now the King of Knights, and an unknown woman who was apparently acquainted with Morgan.

“Arthur, I have decided – I will take the throne. What is your plan from here on out?”

“I’m going to die,” he said bluntly, “and I’m going to stay dead for a long time.”

“I see,” the Queen simply said, accepting the answer. “If that is the case; suit yourself.” She looked back to the Countess. “I suppose this is it, then? I doubt you can take the throne in your position.”

“You forgot what I can do?”

“Brainwashing your people is the most foolish act one may commit, Countess.”

“You won’t know till you try.”

“Must we always… do this?”

“Yes. Always.”

The Countess smiled. It was such a happy smile. Too full of bliss. Arthur had never seen Morgan like this. A blade materialized before the Countess’ hand. It was long, and had a sharp small blade peeking out of it from the side of its tip.

Guinevere, otherwise known as the Consort Queen drew her arm forth, and with a brilliant light appeared a large golden lance.

Arthur sighed, he was oh-so-very tired. The revelation that the two women who stood before him with weapons like his, were most likely in the same position he was didn’t shock him. Maybe a month ago it might have, perhaps even a few hours ago but not now. He had seen too much today, felt so much betrayal today that nothing either of these two could do would surprise him.

“I’m so getting rid of you today, Final Battle Maiden. I’ve had it with you this century. You’re so meddlesome!” The Countess declared with a curse, apparently her temper was almost at its peak.

“Don’t get too ahead of yourself now.” Guinevere still smiled casually, apparently relaxed.

A wave was released as if it was a breeze in all directions. With it, the world lost its color. The wind stopped. The clouds froze. The earth was as good as dead; devoid of life – as the Countess’ killing intent was made apparent.

The Countess disappeared from the scene into the air with black ephemeral feathers, before appearing before the two’s face. She wore a sadistic-looking grin before the blade went down towards the Queen.

However, the blade went past the Queen. Clearly. There was no doubt about it. It was as if she was an illusion – a ghost.

The Countess was clearly shocked, but she did not hesitate, and sliced at the air containing Guinevere’s imagine for five seconds. The slashes were incredibly fast, so much so that Arthur could hardly follow the traces in his tired state, but as a Descendant – he was recovering.

“Take your time,” the Queen mocked, giving her shoulders a relaxed jerk.

The Countess frowned, and ran past the Queen’s body with an angry look, and targeted King Arthur instead.

A shining blade was summoned forth by Arthur, the King’s blade: Excalibur. Parrying the Countess’ attack with a display of incredible dexterity, he sighed again.

“Haven’t I fought enough today?” He smiled weakly.

“No need to, then. I’ll put you to sleep myself.”

“I’m afraid England still needs me,” Arthur said, “Not now, but she will,” his words carried with them the weight of the man’s determination. He quickly began a barrage of his own attacks, displaying the expert swordsmanship that had got him thus far, not relenting despite his injury. This resulted in the two exchanging a series of strikes. Noises of the blades clashing echoed far and wide, but the only audience to it was the Queen.

The two were locked with their blades bound by their strength and unwavering wills. Spiritual energy flowed in two different directions as they both competed to land a strike. The wind blew up.

However.

It was soon stopped.

What Arthur found himself gazing at were crimson droplets – splattering all over his body, and his sword.

A lance was smeared and covered in glistening scarlet. It spun unrelentingly like a drill as it pierced straight through the Countess’ heart from behind, making her cough out blood.

The Queen successfully launched a sneak attack, and it was brutal and merciless. A wise decision, but she had no sense of chivalry. Rather, she chose to forsake it in exchange for an opportunity.

“...Y.. You wretch, you show your true colors now?”

The lady who was referred to as the Final Battle Maiden showed an expressionless face.

“Cowardly may it be; yet the sense of chivalry I had is not going to save this world, nor this nation,” Guinevere answered with her voice sounding as usual.

The Countess vanished with dark feathers once again, and reformed behind Arthur. “Well, two can play that game,” she said, attempting to hit Arthur from behind.

“Both of you have no honour,” Arthur said disappointedly as he spun away from the Countess’ attack.

“Such a shame,” he said, a blue light emanated from his hands as he said this, the sound of water filling the canyon, Arthur’s wounds healed over and he smiled feeling refreshed.

“For the greater good, it was a necessary sacrifice,” the Queen said in defense again. “To me, it was as good as showing mercy to my enemies. Besides, I would not be alive, had I not let go of such… meddlesome beliefs.”

“Hmph, you’re the most annoying Dragoon to have ever lived. Thank god they’re all dead now,” the Countess spoke derisively.

“...You don’t ever learn some manners, do you?” Queen Guinevere said, her expression unchanging. One could truly never tell what went on in her mind.

Tch, unfazed even now, the Countess cursed internally.

“So, are you going to fight, or sleep?” The Queen asked the King who had apparently cast a power of recovering over himself. The more the merrier – if she could destroy the Countess with the King’s aid, the country would certainly lose a future enemy, after all.

“I would rather sleep, but who knows what havoc you two will wreak without me keeping you in check,” Arthur said, twirling his sword around his hand.

“How rude, I still perform my duties accordingly, even now,” the Queen replied with an apparent frown as she looked displeased face, “I think,” she finished, a little unsure of herself. However, a noise of something soft being churned out resounded almost silently. When the Queen turned, it was too late. Stream of crimson flooded out, and the round object; plucked.

A scream was the next thing that resounded across the battlefield.

Queen Guinevere cupped her left-eye socket—to somehow stop the excessive flow of blood with her feeble-looking hands—which was emptied by the extended blade of the Countess’ Harpe, and it seemed as though she was crying blood from an eye now that she closed one of her eyelid. It was the first time Arthur had heard this calm Queen make such a voice. It might’ve been a first for her, too. The lance fell out of her grip as she kneeled to the ground.

The Countess licked the blood that dripped from the eyeball, before bothering to actually take it into her mouth. It was a disturbing sight to behold when she gulped it with a smile.

“Perks of being careless,” she mocked with a twisted laughter. “Now you’re next,” she pointed the tip of the blade towards Arthur. “I hope you still go easy on the ladies,” with this, the former enchantress of the nation dashed towards the King, and they’d soon be locked into another series of exchanging blows from each other.

Arthur smiled, “You’re no lady,” he said deflecting blows from the woman he knew as Morgan, as the clatter of blade against blade continued, three blue pots appeared from behind Arthur, slowly filling with water.

As the blades were once again pushed back and forth with the blows. The three pots were indeed charging up for something big. The Countess was far too engrossed into the sword dance at hand to pay it any heed.

She held her blade with her right hand, so the other hand was unoccupied. Of course, Arthur wouldn’t know what this meant, until a moment later. The left hand turned into a very large hand, comparably larger than at least three human beings combined, perhaps. It lashed at the King with full force as the Countess used its back to push him away. Excalibur was too small a blade and he did not have the time to attempt to block it, either.

Arthur fell about five meters back, and tumbled over the corpse of a dead knight. Yes, his so-called son who was released from the material world.

Arthur grunted as he felt the impact of his fall, “So you continue to curse me even in death,” he said quietly to the corpse of the son he had loved, “You’re not the only one with tricks up your sleeve Morgan,” he said now loud enough for her to hear, as a great wall of water was brought forth directly at her. This had been what Arthur’s pots had been storing while he exchanged strikes with the Countess.

The great wall of water soon erupted into strong gushing waves – causing a tsunami – washing away the blood, mud, dirt and the corpses of the fallen – overtaking the King’s adversary as well as his apparent ally – the Queen – along with it.

It was a literal show of paying back an opponent at least ten-folds in a true showdown of great powers, albeit Arthur could feel a strain from spending so much spiritual energy – his pots would soon resume collecting the water he allowed them to stockpile.

The water begun to have steam rising from it somewhere around the middle. †˜Middle’ as in somewhere middle in his line of sight.

A figure of darkness could be seen flapping its dark and ferocious-looking wings. The water parted away from her, and she rose to the sky. Not as a woman, but as a large and fearsome dragon instead. With a roar it made the very earth shudder even as it was devoid of live. The discolored sun was blocked and the world looked truly dark and grim. Flames escaped and its breathes and the water were evaporated even further.

“You don’t make it easy, do you?” A fiendish voice asked, the voice of a monster and a woman was mixed. The mouth hardly moved. Telepathy? Perhaps. It didn’t really matter at this point.

The real problem was the fact that the opponent now had flight advantage. Arthur was a King bound to the earth, after all.

“It was never meant to be,” Arthur said, picking himself up off the ground, “You never made anything easy for me.”

“This is the end, King of Knights,” the dragon roared. Somehow, Arthur could tell that it was yet another abnormal laughter that escaped her mouth. The glee was a little too apparent, before the swath of flames came raining down upon Arthur.

His pots shot water to retaliate. Water from different directions rushed to protect him; solidifying into ice. Yet he knew – he couldn’t possibly escape such large flames. Tentatively as a sign of his determination, he fortified his blade before him, regardless, taking on the attack.

With a blast the entire field was devastated as flames razed camelot.

When Arthur opened his eyes, he couldn’t recognize the place, at all. Not because it’d be burning with tall fires, not because it was tortured with a pulverizing force from a dragon, not because it was washed and driven away of its corpses, but because he could simply not recognise the place itself.

Arthur found himself standing in a kind of floor he hadn’t quite felt often. Steel, certainly, he could recognise this feeling. He stood on steel all his life as his boots were crafted with them, but here, the floor was just as metallic. Moving his feet a bit, he could tell some strange carvings that designed the floors.

Darkness surrounded him; Arthur couldn’t see anything at all. It was as if he was blind. He wondered if the bright flames had rendered him blind. Even if it were, it’d be temporary, he believed, as he was immortal.

Soon, his vision begun to stabilise, and he could gather a bit of information about his surroundings from what little his pupils picked up.

Dark walls. Silver pillars. Statues of various monsters he’d dare not dream of. Such a place he had found himself in. However, the truly mysterious element regarding the room were not those decoratives, but the pathway before himself.

That’s right, the Gates – the dark and tall gates stood before him – tall yet slim; it gave a frightening vibe even to the King.

A slit opened with an almost inaudible clank, and a stark redness was visible beyond the passage. It slightly illuminated the room. Only slightly, while at the same time it made everything invisible, yet again. Arthur could feel the door beckoning him. It just so turned out that he was responding to it just as it had wanted.

Click, clack, click, clack.

Arthur took steps – approaching the apparent doors of death. His mind was living, and so was his body. Yet why? Why did it refuse to obey him? Arthur was baffled at the situation at hand. It was as if his body itself had come to life; ignoring his commands.

Click, clack, click, clack.

He was getting ever closer to his ruin. At this point, he was beginning to accept his fate. Was it not sleep that he desired? His mind reasoned with him, but from the back of his head a different notion struck home – did he wanted that to be his bed? That horror of red which lay beyond this stinking, cursed door?

He looked around with his pupils. Where did the pots go? Where did the sword go? Would anything change the situation? He’d die by his own accord, rather than suicide by the hands of a superior hypnotism he wasn’t aware of. Was this that troublesome Countess’ doing? He cursed her in his mind, for another damn time today.

The sword was still gripped to his right hand. He could feel the hilt heavily, as well as the weight of his armory now, yet he could not pick them up, at all. His hand wouldn’t listen to him all the same, nor could he apply Spiritual energy to it.

Click, clack, click, clack.

The sounds echoed much more clearly. Everything seemed so surreal, even though he was just taking steps towards a simple tall set of doors. Past events of his life flushed out, and he remembered his miseries and regrets, and the few glorious achievements of his life. Sweat ran down at the same time. His instincts called to him. No, it definitely cried out for him. That human instinct of survival that he thought he had long lost as a Descendant – was beckoning for him to take back what it was his own; his body.

His own flesh mercilessly rejected him, regardless, making the coldness of reality more evident than ever.

Disdain. His life was always like this.

Click, clack, click, clack.

So be it – he thought.

If that’s how it is, then that’s that.

He was ready to accept the eventual face. This abnormal reality was true in every part of the world, anyway. Not that he knew what world he was in now.

His hand reached out to it, soon to feel the cold surface of what would bring him a possibly demise moments away.

He faced death with a wry smile. At least, he imagined himself smiling that way. The slit of the door was but inches away, and he could see the horror of the dead, as well as his son grinning at him from behind it.

Click, clack, click, clack.

Even as an immortal being who was accepting this ridiculous situation – a feeling of fear arose in his heart. Perhaps it was due to one of those little feelings leftover in him as a human, but it was there – in the deep recesses of his heart.

However, something inconceivable happened.

He saw light.

Yes, light.

Pure, bright, and white light. Indeed, that which illuminates everything had greeted him. Was it an angel who descended into the depths of hell? A spirit of great prominence visiting to send him off? Or perhaps Aquarius herself for a parting message?

The light approached him. Not from the gates, not from the sides, but from behind him. Fingertips laid themselves over his shoulder, and with unthinkable force it pulled him. He could tell just from how the fingers felt, yet he found it rather hard to believe.

He was forced to turn around, and was then pulled away from the gates of hell – as if he was receiving divine guidance.

“Don’t you dare die instead of sleeping, Arthur!” She shouted, looking straight and deep into his eyes with a determined look. He could see a trickle of tear at the corners of her eyelids, but they were restrained with sheer willpower.

It was indeed who he thought it was. She was burning with white light. Glowing, in fact, and illuminating her surroundings. The Gates revealed carvings of black dragons, and so did the floors.

“You must not sacrifice yourself to the Gates of Tartarus.”

“Is that what this is?” He asked, seemingly not quite all together in his mind. Arthur gestured to the surroundings as he spoke, in a way that made it seem almost normal. “So I’ll die if I continue?” He asked again, “Is that right?”

Guinevere sighed, calming herself as she figured that she was acting out of the ordinary. “That is correct, the last time this happened; Russia was forever changed,” she stated. Indeed, it has lost its sense of time, and that country is now covered in fog that outsiders cannot cross through, save for the mages and the Descendants.

“You may ruin the future of your country.”

“That would be unfortunate,” Arthur smiled.

“Why not enter it, anyway?” A certain woman asked as she stepped in.

It was Morgan. She stood behind the two, apparently coming in somehow in her previous form.

“It may be for the good. That fog that deters entrance of outsiders will forever protect England from invasions, O King of knight.”

“That’s not the England that I want my dear,” Arthur said, “Invasion has never phased this country.”

“Then I’ll toss you into the gates myself.”

The Countess once again begun to change dramatically. Her body transfigured and turned into the very monster they were attacked by. The ear-piercing roars made the steel floor shudder, and the three could hear the gates open with a creak.

Red mist escaped, and what came along with it were pinkish tentacles that gave, well, a very bad vibe to the two. The Countess seemed particularly unfazed, while the Queen seemed to fear them to an extent.

The tentacles moved without a warning, and were fast beyond anyone’s imagination that they seemed to blur. With a tight grip, it caught King Arthur without wasting a moment.

“Hah, serves you right,” the dragon roared.

Arthur tried to utilise his blade, but his arm was caught, and the grip was inhumanly strong. No, he himself was inhuman, too. Even then, he couldn’t move while was he was caught. The tentacles, however, couldn’t seem to catch the Queen no matter how much it went for her, as her mysterious ability that allowed her to be comparable to a ghost was once again active.

This gave her an advantage, of course. Which she intended to use.

With speed and grace, she begun to cut down the tentacles from Arthur.

One by one, in quick succession. They were hard, and strong strands of muscles, but her lance was large and sharp enough to get the job done.

“That’s the last one,” Guinevere said, taking out the tentacle that kept his right arm bound, but just as she pierced it, a bright orange light entered her field of sight.

Indeed, it was as she had feared.

The Countess’ flames were about to burn them both to cinders. Flames from her breathes rushed towards the two intensely.

Arthur pushed Guinevere aside, the legendary blade he wielded was gripped tightly in his hands, glowing the brightest gold it had ever gleamed. “Fool me once,” he said almost laughing, as he met the fire whose embrace he had felt only minutes ago with the warm steel of Excalibur. Gold met Red in an intense second that seemed to last an eternity. The King’s eyes closed slowly as if in a state of meditation. The might of the blade tore through the flame the golden glow filling the room before fading away.

“Wha?!” The dragon was clearly bewildered at the sudden might of the holy sword. Even the face of the dragon changed in a way that even an ordinary human could tell that she was lost for words.

“Don’t get over your head!” She hissed loudly, trying to collect herself back together before she took a breath to release her flames. However, she was a slow learner. Arthur’s wife once again snuck past skillfully.

A sharp golden lance drilled out from the back of the Countess’ head, with an eyeball at the tip of the lance hanging now.

“I suppose we’re now even.”

The dragon groaned in pain, and the tentacles decided to grab it next.

Its wings, head, neck, belly, and legs were caught with a grip that possessed unforeseen strength.

“What! No! Let go of me you mongrels! You pathetic demons of the lowly Rea—” the dragon was soon was pulled so hard and fast that the Countess was gone the next second; swallowed whole beyond the Gates of Tartarus.

Just as Arthur blinked his eyes in surprise, the dark place, or the tall gates were gone; finding himself over a corpse on camelot, as well as the same setting sun that he killed his knights under – now with the time flowing once again.

“I was hoping that it wouldn’t eat her,” Queen Guinevere complained to herself apparently. “Our country is bound to be affected… what was I even fighting for here? Have I failed already… ?”

“You did what you could, no one could have asked for any more,” Arthur consoled, “I didn’t want it to end like that…”

“You are silly. You’re attempting to placate me, one who lied and conducted different operations behind your back?” The Queen asked with a wry smile as she faced the King who lost the trust of his people. It was undoubtedly partially her own fault too, and she definitely felt responsible for all this, including the unexpected scandal.

“You were, Queen, there wasn’t any doubt in my mind that I wouldn’t always know what you were up to,” Arthur said, “I don’t blame you, no one is to blame, people do as they will.”

“My, aren’t you a kind King,” the former Queen said, complimenting the King. Albeit at the same time it could be taken as sarcasm, too.

“Why not go to Avalon from here?” She asked.

“That was the plan,” Arthur admitted, “I think I’ve had enough of the mortal realm for now.”

“Indeed, the Faerie Realm may be a good place for seclusion,” Guinevere replied. “Want a lift?” She offered, as two objects pushed themselves out of her back. They shone strongly under the bright rays of the setting sun – white, angelic wings – that spread out from her.

“It may not look like it, but I am fast.”

“I’ll rely on you one last time then,” Arthur said, smiling wearily.

Guinevere’s – or should one say, the future sole ruler’s – wings flapped; creating strong gusts with it. Features bathed the former battlefield as the two figures now soared high into the sky with the Consort Queen carrying the King, which was rather ironic – making way for Avalon.

She gave one last glance towards Camelot, and saw the hideous dark figure, which almost immediately vanished. She looked back towards the direction she and Arthur headed for. She took down her expression of worry, and rebuilt her smile.

And that was how the tale of a never-known history came to an end.

(OOC: Woo, act 3. Now, 7 more acts to go. GG.)


Act 3: The Rise of the Queen (Part 2)




Over the Pacific Ocean a shrine made out of purely water and crystals existed. Carved with countless formulas of magic. It was a fortress of magic itself; storing boundless mana. A legendary structure of the Magic World created by the ten Archmages.

Here, gathered the Archmages to report regarding the Descendants, or any anomalies they found ever since their last meeting. A meeting that is said to happen once per five years.

Ten Archmages faced each other in a large room that oversaw the ocean, after coming in from pathways of their own from different directions. In the middle of said room was a large magical circle that rotated continuously, and allowed this meeting to be a reality, for the Archmages were attuned to the magic of the structure, so they could make a thought-projection of themselves possible for the meeting; crossing countless miles to be able to participate in the event taking place. However, each of them appeared in shadows, so they would only ever hear the voices of each other and never actually see the face of their fellow Archmages.

“Good day to you all,” Queen Victoria greeted.

“Queen Victoria, it has been long,” a man said, he seemed short but old. “Pray tell, I hear quite a lot of chaos took place in your event.”

“On the Queen’s Meeting?” Another asked. It was Margaret Alicia. “Was everyone alright?”

“It heartens me that I get to meet you, Margaret. To answer the question, however, I must reveal that it was quite the revelation when Japan sent not one, but two Descendants as assassins.”

“...Unbelievable.”

There were some noises of the other mages talking among themselves in disbelief.

“I suppose this confirms it that they have broken the balance,” Alicia stated, shaking her head. “The war may now become one-sided.”

“Unfortunately, it is more than that,” the Queen said in response to the statement. “The ones they sent were Pisces and Gemini. Sagittarius is actually the third Descendant they managed to have as an ally.”

“That is even worse…”

“What about the rest of you?” The old man inquired.

“We had Aries keeping us busy,” a man named Christopher said. “My brother went to the depths of the Infernal Realm to beat up some demons, while I’m holding him off from his crimes for now. We wouldn’t want an army of demons swarming California again.”

“I see that the Guardian Twins of the United States have it tough,” Alicia commented.

“As always,” Christopher said, shrugging. “Nothing we’re not used to by now, M’lady.”

“What about you, Abdullah?”

“As usual, dealing with the terrorists. The vampires are getting more and more vicious these days,” Abdullah responded, smoking something like a hookah. “That said,” he started, “I feel something truly ominous around the direction of the States, or is it just my gut feeling?”

“No, there is indeed an ominous aura afloat there,” Queen Victoria replied, confirming the suspicion. “Virgo had proclaimed her intent to attack the States soon.”

“No wonder. I assume you will to take action?” The old man asked.

“Yes, I intend to send my forces there.”

“Well, good luck. Unfortunately I do not think we can lend a hand, Your Majesty,” Christopher said, giving an apologetic bow. “The Descendant I am already dealing with has my hands full. If my brother, however, comes back in time… maybe I may be of help.”

“I see. I shall appreciate any and all helping hand. Thank you for letting me know,” the Queen said, then she turned to Alicia. “How are things on your end?”

Alicia averted her gaze. Despite the darkness, the Queen could tell. “Sagittarius transferred to the Academy to learn about the Magic World. However, I am not going to kill her over political matters. As a teacher I will protect her from the dangers within the neutral zone that is the Academy.”

“I… see. I wish you luck with the matter,” Victoria tersely replied, a little disheartened that one of her best subject now turned so cold.

The short old man sighed. When Alicia was like this, no one could win any argument, especially with the issue of neutral zone. “Any news on the other Descendants and the issues we gathered from our last meeting?”

William Shakespeare raised a hand. “I believe there is nothing to report. No news of Leo, no news of Scorpio, no news of Aquarius, and the same goes for Capricorn,” he answered with a big smile.

“The latest we learned are thus: Virgo has somehow broken her seal to make an attack on America, Sagittarius is once again active with a newfound host, and in Japan this time, Gemini has finally showed his face after joining Japan too, and Aries continues to do his own activities in America,” said Titania, the daughter of Shakespeare.

“That’s my Titania!” Shakespeare remarked but his daughter ignored it. Even though she appreciated it in reality.

“As for the issues?” The old man once again questioned, a little impatient.

“In regards to that, I have one to report,” the Witch of the Calamity spoke, “There are strange distortions here in Italy, especially around Venice. I suspect faeries playing pranks, or something strange The Society is doing again.”

“Like their project to artificially trigger to bring forth the Gates of Tartarus?” Shakespeare questioned, turning solemn.

“Possibly, we have observed similar changes last time, too,” the Witch replied.

“Titania, my dear,” Shakespeare said, and apparently his daughter gave a nod.

“I shall travel to Italy to help with the investigations,” Titania answered.

“I thank you, Titania.”







In a sanctuary that faced the moon—an ancient structure facing the stars and sun, and the rest of the celestial bodies—the spirits of the Descendants of Time gathered. There lied veritable collection of rare wines and alcohol, banquets with unique food, and all kinds of strange entertainments provided by other, lesser spirits.

A strange place, basically.

“How strange, to think you of all the Celestial Spirits visited today, Virgo,” said Taurus. Across the large and round table that had the cycle of the Zodiac inscribed, Taurus sat in his place. “To think you have returned; it had been a while.”

“You look as rigid as ever,” Virgo replied, a seductive smile decorating her porcelain face.

“You’re not really alone with her here,” another said.

Taurus turned to find Scorpio. “Why… hello there. I suppose I am not, now that I see them…” he said as the twins—the Gemini were busy drinking on the very corner.

“I don’t care about Hynek anymore! ...Rweeeally…. hic.”

“I… I will bound him in… hic… chains and… hic, slap that stupid ass,” speaking vulgar words, the Gemini’s twins were completely †˜wasted’ as one from the modern world would say with alcohol. The black and white spirits—respectively—decided they were going to drink to forget, quite literally, about all the flirting and †˜sleeping’ Hynek does with other women, while making them extremely jealous.

Two mermaids floated in from outside, entering the barrier of the sanctuary, it seemed as though they came past a wall of water. The other set of twins, namely Pisces seemed rather gloomy themselves.

“My, you two seem so melancholic, need big sister to cheer you two up?” Virgo offered, seemingly able to sympathize with whatever kind of pain they were going through.

“Yeah…” they both said, and Virgo immediately flied over to them and started hugging them.

“...So, want to talk about it?” Taurus asked, the first to make a sensible response.

“Our daughter is so misleaded… it hurts to look,” one of the mermaids said, and the other nodded.

“I suppose you have always referred to your host as a daughter… Pray tell, how is she so misguided?” Taurus asked. Surprisingly, Taurus was one of the wisest among the Celestial Spirits. “I believe both of you admitted her future looked bright in the past?”

“Yes, but… every time they do a surgery to have her become a marionette again… she is forced to go through such immense pain,” the other mermaid responded. “For her country, her feelings are ignored by the authority.”

“Then there is naught to free her from her agony, unless she discovers for herself a new path,” Taurus said, his eyes closed. “Her salvation is far.”

“You girls can cry on big sister’s chest. Come on, let it all out!”

And so the mermaids cried, just like that.

“What about you?” Scorpio asked. “How do you fare?”

“Mn… I simply observe the state of the world from the eyes of my host. I feel as if something big is soon to come. Things have been rather tame in my case, regardless. However… I had witnessed one aspect I found interesting… that is—a fragment of your host, Virgo.”

Virgo smiled, it appeared even more bewitching than before. “Oh, whatever you speak of?”

“Hmph. Well, whatever.” Taurus shrugged.

“And there he is…”

An old man eclipsed the sun, and gave away an aura which represented supremacy. The air around the sanctuary changed and one could see angels surrounding the sanctuary outside now.

“Good to see you. It had been some centuries since you visited, Leo,” Scorpio said, smirking. “I hear your host is starting to get rusty. She took some damages fighting mundane creations—pathetic.”

Leo ignored the statement casually and chose not to reply to the matter concerning Victoria taking damage. “Scorpio, thou host seeketh the most trivial of goals, yet opinions of thy own host seemeth rather positive?”

“Her goal is noble if I say so myself,” Scorpio retorted before giving a sinister laugh.

“There, there, all is fair and well. Everyone has opinions. Everyone has their own paths, and they are bound to clash that way. No need to badmouth,” Taurus chipped in, and Scorpio scoffed. “Shall we do it like the good old times?”

“Shall we?” Leo asked, facing Scorpio.

“Fine,” Scorpio said, reluctantly raising his glass of alcohol up.

Leo and Taurus did the same, as they toasted.

“A toast… for us still not causing the world to collapse even now.”

Virgo looked with disappointment at the male spirits as they toasted, and the reason seemed rather insignificant to her. “That is kind of lame,” she commented. “Right?”

“Indeed, for chaos and strife is always an inevitability, especially due to our very existence,” answered Aquarius, who was in something like a makeshift lake behind Virgo. “That said, my Knight shall not forgive murder. I hope you understand.”

“I look forward to meeting your handsome man,” Virgo casually replied, rather looking forward to the meeting.

Alicia showed Natsu around the premises.

The years were divided by the number of floors, which was simple and easy to follow. Natsu’s classroom was shown, the class was 1-A. Apparently there were up to †˜E’ from †˜A.’ So, each year had five classrooms, apparently. Natsu figured that they required quite the large staff to attend all these classes simultaneously throughout every week. The combat lesson room was shown next. It was at the corner of the ground floor, somewhat away from the lobby and the cafeteria – also located in the ground floor – where Natsu saw countless doors across a hallway, and eventually a stairway leading underground at the end of the corridor.

“There are one-hundred and fourteen combat practice halls in total,” Alicia said grandly, and pointed towards the polished wooden floor below them to let her know that the rest of the rooms were located underground. “The first one here is different. Well, technically it’s the first one, I suppose. In total I suppose there are one-hundred and fifteen rooms.” The title on the green plate above the first door simply said †˜first room,’ it seemed. “The first few rooms are only ever used for combat lessons that are hosted by the teachers. As for the rest, students may occupy them and train in there in their free times.” She then pointed towards the name-plate of the first room. “The nameplate is green now, but if you enter it and use any form of magic or spiritual skill, it will turn red, letting outsiders know that the hall is in use. Neat, don’t you think?”


Natsu nodded her head. It sounded very useful. However, now that she thought of it, Natsu's powers weren't technically magical, were they? “The Headmistress told you about my... circumstances... right? If I practice some spiritual or physical abilities, will the nameplate still change? Or will I need to do that manually?"

“As I had just mentioned; yes, spiritual energy should similarly cause the change, too,” the teacher answered.

Next, she was shown the lore classes. They were located in a different building beside the main structure. Apparently the lore classes were placed rather randomly there for some reason. Alicia advised to use the map that could easily be found in the lobby right after entering said building. Since time was short for the day, Alicia recommended Natsu to check it out on her own some other time.

There were three elevators in the lobby of the main building where they were in currently, but Natsu wasn’t sure if those would be enough considering each year had five classes. She was shown the cafeteria too. Apparently there were other magic classes divided for magical †˜Forms,’ something Natsu did not quite understand as the teacher explained. Perhaps she’d learn in class, but they were also scattered across the floors in the other building where the lore classes were located.

Walking across the halls, explaining and showing classrooms of extracurricular activities, Alicia eventually stopped.

“I suppose that concludes my tour. I apologize, but I must return home soon,” she said, turning momentarily. It was still morning, despite all the time that had passed after so many events. To Natsu it seemed like she went through quite a lot of things today already, but for everyone else the day was only starting. It seemed like the few days before the next semester put the entire Academy on break, however. Which explained why there were so few scholars across the area at the moment. “I was told that you were a Descendant of Time… otherwise referred to as a †˜Time Warrior’ by the Japanese. I would like to hear it from you yourself: is this true?”

“It is. I am the host of Sagittarius,” Natsu stated affirmatively. “Thank you very much for showing me around, Mrs. Alicia-sensei.” She gave a small bow to show her gratitude.

“I see… I shall promise that we, the members of the staff, will do what we may to keep you safe and protected, but know that it may go both ways, Kazehaya-san. If our scholars come to harm due to you, I could say the same for them, and shield them from you,” Alicia said with great determination.

“T-Thank you, and I understand. I hope it never has to come to that, though…” Natsu held a great deal of respect for Alicia, and was satisfied with her ideals, even if it meant that one day she'd need to face off against her.

“I hope so too,” Alicia said, giving a rather motherly smile as she patted her head. “I do apologize if I startled you, but I had to get this off of my chest.”

Natsu returned a small smile of her own. She trusted Alicia. She had a sinking feeling, though, that Alicia could seriously kill Natsu if necessary. She felt something powerful within Alicia.

An hour had passed and Natsu was waiting outside the Headmistress’ office. Ame went inside first. Apparently both weren’t supposed to go inside together. Perhaps there were details discussed that would be better off taken place in private. Especially for Natsu, considering her disposition as a Time Warrior. Time passed rather slowly ever since the wait begun. The pace of events were fast ever since she entered the campus grounds. The dormitories were larger than they thought when they approached it at first. Asking a passersby student made things easier for figuring things out, and they had to call up on the dormitory’s caretaker to realize that they were both supposed to share a room. Time could only tell if this was a ploy of fate.

“...Careful, that person is a tanuki, or a fox, or whichever one one would consider,” Ame said with disdain, exiting the office.

Natsu’s reverie was broken as she saw Ame wearing a rather frustrated expression.

“Anyway, she is waiting on you.”

Natsu gave a nod and went inside. The room was spacious, and she could see quite a lot of gadgets and items from Tokyo laying around the place. It wasn’t a very clean and organized room, and the Headmistress who sat behind the desk seemed to be playing a game on a phone. The Headmistress was quite literally glowing with the sunlight coming through the window from behind her. Her flowing blonde hair particularly glistened, and her amethyst eyes gave a look of enthusiasm.

“Hello there,” the Headmistress greeted rather casually. “The government did well to set everything up promptly that I did not even realize your notice of enrollment till I returned from England.” The Headmistress placed her cell phone on the desk, as if to shift her focus completely to Natsu now, as she placed her chin over the back of her hands; turning serious. “Welcome to the Eastern Magic Academy, Time Warrior Natsu.”

“I guess Takashiro-san told you about me, then…” Natsu wasn't surprised that the Headmistress would know. She was supposed to be safe here, so the Headmistress was meant to make sure Natsu stayed that way.

“Well, I do not know about Takashiro-san, but I was greeted by the Prime Minister who personally requested me to let you into my academy,” the Headmistress replied. “The staff members knew about you even before that, though. The battle that took place – I’m sure you know which one I’m speaking of – had more or less allowed quite an amount to hear of your retaliation in combat.”

Natsu gulped. That battle was certainly a memory she didn't want to be reminded of. “A-Are you sure I'll be safe here? Was there anyone in this school that... participated in that battle...?” Her mind returned to that teacher who pleaded for his students' lives, as well as some of the faces of the students themselves. What if some of the survivors were enrolled here? What would happen? Natsu suddenly felt uneasy about her new school life.

“Most of the people you faced were from this academy,” the Headmistress answered with a smile, one that seemed rather scary considering the context. “In fact, only three people – that organized the group – were not from this academy. Some staff members were given commands from their home country, and some western studying scholars were recruited for the campaign to eliminate you. Rest assured, my staff members – despite having Magic Magisters – are professional and competent. They will never break any of the laws and nor will they attack you regardless of their country’s opinions. After all, my academy is the neutral ground. Everyone will have to get along here, regardless of wars or grudges.” And what would she be scared of? A Descendant who can fling off magic like it’s nobody’s business shouldn’t be so concerned about security…

This was unsettling news for Natsu. She would much rather have preferred to be isolated from the people who tried to take her life, not put herself in closer proximity of them. It didn't make any sense to her.

“T-there isn’t going to be anyone who may... y’know... act on impulse?” That battle resulted in many casualties due to Sagittarius’ intervention, and Natsu felt like it was very likely that there'd be some amount of people who'd hold a grudge against her for that. “Why are they here, anyways? I thought many of them came from England... Does this school have some sort of collaboration with a school in the West?” Natsu asked, believing this to be the only viable reason for this to occur.

“I am sorry if you feel endangered, but this is not a school catering specifically to the Japanese; it is an international academy, and it is the only one in the Eastern side of the world. There is no collaboration with a western school, westerners may simply apply from abroad and study here. The dormitories exist so that they may transfer, live here, and study. One may indeed attack on impulse, human emotions often make one do something irrational at least once in a while, after all. The staff members will protect you at those times. It isn’t just the English, however. we have many Japanese here, and other people who are not related to the war. If anything, perhaps your fellow countrymen will protect you if something goes awry.” Lumiere shrugged as she said that. “You are an idol, yes? I’m sure there are some who’d recognize you, or may even be your fans.”

“Oh, do I have many fans here?” Natsu started to feel more at ease since the Headmistress kept insisting that the teachers would keep her safe, and that even some of her countryfolk might step in, too. Also, knowing how far her influence reached as an idol was always a comforting thought. To think she may be popular even within the world of magic was astounding to her.

“I wouldn’t count on †˜many’ before checking. I am simply taking a guess, but our scholars often go out of the academy to visit the city for various reasons – even as far as going for shopping, it is possible with permission from a teacher – and they may have seen a performance or two. Who knows? You do seem to have natural beauty, and if you were chosen to be a Descendant of Time, perhaps it is due to your qualities. The rest of the world may hate them, but the Japanese seem to adore them.”

“I see, I see…” Natsu's feeling of pride subsided with that, but, at the very least, she was now less anxious about her decision to be at this school. “So, have my parents been informed of living arrangements? I mentioned it was just a possibility, but…” Natsu’s voice trailed off as she explained. She had, in fact, let her parents know that she was transferring to a new school and may need to live on in the campus. They trusted Natsu enough to allow her to do just that, but, as her parents, they worried about her.

“They know more about you than you think,” Headmistress Lumiere revealed, her lips widening further. She was about to reveal what she was supposed to not speak of. “Did you know that your father was once a member of a long-running family of shamans?”

Natsu’s eyes widened. Her parents were usually open with her, but she had never heard of anything like this. “...W-what...? R-really?” Natsu stammered. "So, my father is a mage, too?" she asked with a shocked expression. These past weeks have been one world-shattering revelation after another.

“That’s right. Your father stopped years ago, however, so he is likely rusty with his skills. Your older brother, however, is an excellent shaman. Some of the talents and qualities may have come from your father. I do not know everything of the matter, but apparently only your brother was told the truth about the ancestry of mages.”

“My brother, too!?” Natsu said with even more surprise. “He’s always so... tired though!” she told the Headmistress. She was being polite to her brother, but a better, more blunt way to describe him was †˜lazy.’ Whenever Natsu saw him at home, he was always idling around at his leisure.

“...Tired? I hear he has made quite a lot of accomplishments, though. Well, that’s what the prime minister said; don’t ask me.”

“That's amazing! I didn't know…” Her brother was often away from home, too. Natsu assumed he was tired from schoolwork from college or something, not something this grand. If he’s this accomplished, than he deserves all the time he spends slacking off at home, Natsu thought. “What exactly do my father and brother do as shamans, then?”

“Who knows? Exterminating bad spirits or something? They also defend the country from western enemies, similar to the ones that fought you.”

That seemed like a non-answer to Natsu. The Headmistress must really not know, Natsu thought. She shrugged it off, interested in learning about a certain something now that she had learned about her family's heritage. “Does my brother happen to come to this school?”

“Sixth year,” the Headmistress answered. “He is a sixth year student. He is termed as an Exception by the Shrine members.”

“Whoaaa... he's been here for almost six years... Ever since we moved back to Japan...?” Natsu's head was spinning. She almost couldn't believe it. “Oh, an Exception? Ame-san told me about those. So my father and brother are members of the Shrine?”

“Your father is an ex-member, and I’ve already answered about your brother.” She somehow came back to the same question… are her inquiries on a rotation? It was hard for the Headmistress to keep up the business smile with all these personal questions coming at her, especially about people she wasn’t even acquainted with. However, Natsu wanted to know. She could quite literally feel her curiosity, and couldn’t help but tell what she knew.

This was, once again, a lot to take in. Natsu didn't know what else to say. She took a moment to calm herself down and return her focus to her current situation.

“So, with that aside…” Natsu paused again. It was still a bit of a shock. “...What is this Academy like? What will I be learning, exactly?” According to Ame, this Academy apparently taught a wide range of magical skills from all over the world. Natsu imagined that there could be classes where she could learn about various cultures and their use of magic, as well as the history behind them too, perhaps.

“We cover literally almost everything that has been known about the Magical World, the mystical Realms, the know hows; spells, skills, we even have combat lessons. I suppose I shall explain since you asked, but in such Magic Academies, every student is referred to as a scholar. They study, but at the same time they have the option of researching upon joining a teacher’s research group – this requires good grades, excellent performances, and more. How you decide to progress is – for the most part – up to you, Kazehaya-san. Aside from the main – mandatory – classes starting from 8:00 am, almost every classes is optional. This includes Faerie Lore, Infernal Lore, Dominion Lore, and even the Magic Lore classes. Same for the fighting lessons. We also have separate classes for specifically learning different kinds of spells. Unfortunately, learning spells wouldn’t be an option for you for an obvious reason, but you are free to join whichever other classes that interest you. Excluding the combat lessons, a combination of your choices may go up to a maximum of two. If you decide to partake in the combat lessons, the time-period for it is particularly exclusive, so you’d have a third class after the mandatory classes if you pick it. Otherwise, you’d have two extras aside from the main classes. I know this is quite a lot to take in but… well, any questions?”

It was indeed true that one could only choose to partake in two particular classes for the year aside from the mandatory classes. However, scholars would have to make their decisions every year, instead of only the first time after they joined. This was because there were different levels of lore and spell-learning classes across the academy. A scholar could choose the Infernal Lore and Faerie Lore classes for the first year and pick Faerie Lore and Dominion Lore class in the second year, which would result in them going to the first year class of Dominion Lore and second year class of Faerie Lore. The reason was simple, each tier taught different kinds of things. This, however, did not apply for spells. In regards to spell learning, each Form – Aurum, Aquam, or Ignem, for instance – which were elemental equivalents of nature, had their own classes, but retaking an Aurum class at the start of a new year would simply imply that the scholar wished to hone their Aurum spells even further. They may not even learn a new spell if they couldn’t master the last one they learned. This was simply a rule of thumb followed among mages sometimes, especially in Academies such as this.

“There’re a lot of choices... How flexible.” Natsu nodded her head as she tried to absorb as much of what the Headmistress told her as possible. “How forgiving are each of these courses? The timing for my idol work is sometimes unpredictable... I need to keep to the schedule Manager-san has for me. I might need to miss a few classes…” she told the Headmistress honestly. Natsu was a relatively good student, but balancing her idol work and her schoolwork was difficult regardless. It had gotten her in trouble on occasion.

The Headmistress picked up the phone and typed a message as she replied. “While we are aware of your circumstances, I do not think you may leave the academy unless a major event takes place where you’d have to perform,” the Headmistress informed, quite certain of her own words. “I was told that your schedules were all transferred for late hours past the school time. This is a fact. I do not know what schedules your Manager-san has planned, but the government is strictly managing your career at the moment. To answer your question, however, I do believe the courses aren’t so forgiving. I’m afraid this just isn’t your ordinary school, Kazehaya-san.”

“Ah, that's right. Takashiro-san mentioned something like that... It put Manager-san under a lot of stress,” Natsu mumbled, again feeling regretful for her manager, for various reasons. Returning to the topic at hand, Natsu asked, “Are there combat lessons that specifically focus on particular skillsets? I wonder if there was a place I could practice my archery.”

“For that you’d have to personally approach an instructor who is proficient with projectiles. I know you wish to learn to use your powers, but make sure you do not destroy the institution in the process.” The Headmistress placed her phone down and there were a set of knocks heard from the door. “Come in,” she beckoned.

“I am here as requested,” an unfamiliar voice said. Natsu turned to find an individual who seemed to be absolutely different compared to anything she had seen before. The pink-blonde hair was hardly ever seen aside from cosplaying in her country, but something about the quality of the woman simply pleased her eyes. Namely the fineness in skin and primness. It was an indescribable impression.

“Alicia, there are some tasks I have to attend to, would you please give our latest scholar a tour?”

“Very well, Headmistress. I must return to my daughter after this; please do bear that in mind,” Alicia said with a chuckle.

“Again, really? Here I thought I could finally invite you out to drink tonight…” The Headmistress sighed heavily. “Anyway, look after her for me.”

“Mhm, leave it to me,” Alicia said, very assuring. Her business smile made Natsu realize that this person was very professional at work, which was admirable. “Shall we be on our way, Kazehaya-san?”

Natsu stared at the woman for several seconds before reacting to her question at all. “Oh, ah, yes. Alicia-san, was it?” she asked, making sure that she got the woman's name correct. Natsu stood up and faced the woman, ready to follow her around the school.

“For you that’s †˜teacher,’” Alicia said, chuckling, leading Natsu out of the office. When Natsu exited with Alicia, Ame was nowhere to be seen. Perhaps she went back to the dormitory room.

Almost two months had passed. Natsu spent it doing her works, however much she could, and practiced her skills while she could in her free time. When Takashiro told her that she had a month to spend before the new semester; she tried as best as she could to enjoy her career, but it wasn’t so easy considering she felt the rift between herself and her manager after the ordeal of massive schedule adjustments. He seemed to be stressed from these occurrences. It was as though he caught a clue as to something big going down Natsu’s life, yet he never once asked anything about it.

It was business, as usual.

Eventually, she waved farewell to her old life. She was to face a new beginning now.

Natsu was aboard a car, along with her luggage and what belongings she bothered to bring along after saying goodbye to her family.

Beside her sat a seemingly cultured girl. So exceedingly cultured that she could be considered an endangered species under protection. Such people were rare in Japan nowadays. Outfits worn by girls – or rather, mikos – in shrines and temples were seen; she was undoubtedly a shrine girl, yet the air around her seemed to give off a more elegant and haughty feel. She seemed perfectly dignified. It somehow felt similar to Alice’s level of dignity, yet somehow different. She remained quiet, and cold, as she viewed the passing buildings outside the window, ever since she boarded the car halfway into her journey to the academy.

Natsu hadn’t spoken to the girl and only gave an initial bow with her head when she came in. She wondered if this girl beside her was cosplaying. She seemed to be in her teens, similar to her age, even. Apparently in Japan a lot of people around her age seemed to cosplay. However, Natsu reminded herself that she was treading upon the Magic World now, ever since she boarded the car.

Regardless... she wanted to break the ice now but didn't want to disturb the girl too much. To test the waters, she led with a simple greeting.

“Um... Hello there…” she started awkwardly. Natsu could see the girl's face clearly through the reflection in the window, but the girl hadn't once turned to face Natsu yet during this car ride.

“Greetings,” the shrine girl said. She turned to Natsu as she responded – perhaps out of courtesy – and gave the same bow, just as the time she came aboard, yet her expression was as icy as Natsu had seen from the window’s reflection. “Is something the matter?”

Natsu was relieved to finally be acknowledged by the girl, but her somewhat cold demeanor still unsettled her a bit. “A-Are you transferring to the Academy, as well?” Natsu inquired, trying to spur some sort of conversation.

“I am going to enroll there,” the girl curtly answered. “It was decided last year that the Hime Mikos would also be sent to the Eastern Magic Academy, other than the Exceptions of the Shrine.”

“Exceptions?” Natsu tilted her head after hearing that. What sort of conditions would exempt them, she wondered. It was then that Natsu realized she hadn't really introduced herself to the girl. “I’m Natsu, by the way. Nice to meet you!”

“My name is Ame Matsurika. It is a pleasure to meet you,” she introduced herself. She spoke in a very respectable dialect, which sounded rather old-fashioned to Natsu. Last she heard such dialect was probably from some film depicting an era from centuries past. “Hm? You are not familiar with the Shrine? Are you with the government, perhaps? One of the marionettes that are more than just guards? Regardless, I shall inform that an Exception in the Shrine organization is a Shrine Maiden who is born with a unique trait; some have a spirit close to them, and others have weird birthmarks, or special abilities, and we treat them differently. They were the only ones sent to enroll in the Academy since they’d not fit with the Shrine’s usual training provided to the ordinary Shrine Maidens.”

Ame's slightly haughty attitude threw off Natsu. She hadn't heard this manner of speech anywhere in real life, and that quip about being a †˜marionette’ sounded a bit rude. However, Natsu didn't want to make assumptions yet. Perhaps this was just the way Ame spoke all the time, she thought. “I see. You're a Hime Miko, though, right? What exactly makes them different from other mikos?”

“We Hime Miko are born into the bigger, and more influential families that have controlled the Shrine Organization for generations. It is our powers and lineage of natural talents that separate us from the other shrine maidens. We’re often born with special traits like the Exceptions, except that it is expected for us to be have such abilities unlike the Exceptions.”

“Oh, wow, that's incredible!” Natsu hadn’t realized she was in the presence of someone with some importance in the Magic World. “Did you have some kind of special training of your own, then?”

“Yes, we Hime Mikos are indeed provided special training.”

“If you did, why do you and the other Hime Miko need to go to the Academy?"

“Well, there are secret arts and lessons that are only given to mikos that the academy can never give – that the Exceptions are simply not eligible for due to the position of their family – but at the same time the academy offers a treasure trove of knowledge that is often lost to even the Shrine’s elders. The academy’s offer encompasses knowledge, skills, and spells from both the eastern and western side of the world, which would naturally lead to a greater growth to a respectable mage such as myself.”

Natsu nodded her head, indicating her understanding of Ame's situation. “That’s really cool! You’re already knowledgeable about eastern magic, but you're also expanding it by learning about the West!” she said, seemingly impressed. “I've only recently discovered my... aptitude... as a mage. I have a lot to learn. Hopefully the Academy can help me learn faster so I can keep up with everyone.” Natsu took a pause to explain her introduction to magic without revealing her identity as a Time Warrior. Takashiro had told Natsu that the Shrine could be trusted to protect her, but it still seemed like it wasn't wise to openly state her status as a Time Warrior.

“I see,” Ame replied tersely. Cool? What’s that supposed to mean? Regardless, I sense hesitation and untruth. Ame shrugged internally, ignorant of the modern world. “Are you entering through scholarship too then?”

“Well... I'm being sponsored by the government…” Natsu told Ame with a guilty-looking smile. She would have offered to help pay some of it, but everything had been taken care of very quickly before Natsu could even suggest it.

“Ah, the so-called †˜donations,’ I suppose. Well, that’s how the majority of the people enroll there, after all,” Ame said, sounding disappointed. “So you’re with the government. I suppose you are a member of the Library of Geneva?”

"The... huh?" Natsu had never heard that name before.

“...So you’re a marionette after all?”

"I... Hm..." Natsu turned her head to the side to think for a moment. "I'm not sure, honestly... I guess I am, then? They recruited me because I'm...unique..."

“I see.” Ame snickered. I’ll know for sure soon enough, considering the rumors I may roughly guess… “If you say so.”

“Hehe…” Natsu chuckled somewhat nervously. “So, is this going to be your first time at the Academy? Or have you already done a year, since that decision was made?”

“Oh, no. I have only turned sixteen this year, thus I have only become eligible to enroll this year. Hence I shall be starting as a freshman; it’ll be my first time there after this trip.”

Natsu's eyes lit up a bit when Ame told her that. “Really!? Then we might be classmates! That’ll be fun!”

“Perhaps. Does it really matter?” Ame asked, a little bewildered about the excitement surrounding the idea of being classmates. What was so delightful about being classmates, or being from the same year at all? As a girl who wasn’t even sent to school before, and was only educated at home, she was completely oblivious.

“Sure it does! We could be friends, and help each other out in our classes and stuff!” Natsu replied, her enthusiasm not dampened by Ame's reaction.

“Friends, huh?” Ame thought out loud. Do people only make friends with others from the same year… or with only classmates…? she wondered, but pushed her thoughts aside for now. “S...Sure. I am okay with that, I suppose.”

Natsu smiled brightly at Ame's answer.

The car then stopped, and Ame looked ahead, shifting her focus from Natsu. “Ah, we’ve arrived.”

The driver exited the car and opened the door for Ame and Natsu to exit.

When Natsu got out of the car she saw a road of the ward they were in. They were literally parked in the middle of the street. Everything was foggy, but they were clearly in the middle of Tokyo, and she could only see some office buildings and nothing close to resembling an academy. However, one thing she never took note of was the fact that there were no other people other than themselves in the vicinity.

“Uuuuuuuum... so... Where do we go from here...?” Natsu was half expecting that they'd need to walk through a certain wall of some sort like in a certain fictional novel, but no matter the method, it had to be beyond her normal sense of reality.

“Well, I suppose you are clueless to the walls of the Magic World. It cannot be helped,” Ame said, placing her hands on both sides of her hip. She gave the driver a glance, who in turn gave a nod and handed Natsu her luggage, and the Hime Miko her bag. Ame then grabbed Natsu by the arm and dragged her, walking straight ahead towards the fog.

Natsu, who had no idea what was going on could only follow along, not knowing what to expect amidst the road. She looked behind her and saw the driver with his head bowed towards them as they were going farther and farther away from the parked vehicle. The fog enshrouded them as they proceeded, and the street, driver, and the black car were all but lost from view.

She felt something like a strong gust of wind, and instinctively closed her eyes fearing dust in the air, but when she opened her eyelids and looked ahead, she could not believe the new world she found before herself.

The road under them was of sparkly white marble floor. There was a fountain ahead with the picturesque statue of an angel. Behind it was a large establishment, which she assumed was the main school building. There were some other buildings of note visible, perhaps they were the dormitories? Regardless, the place was impossibly clean and beautiful, and particularly for Natsu, everything was new. The architecture was innovative, and nothing like what she had seen before in Tokyo. Were these western designs? she thought.

Not many students could be seen today considering it was Sunday. Classes were not scheduled to take place today, and if what Takashiro said was true, the next semester was in but a few days.

“You seem to be in a daze,” Ame commented, taking a peek at Natsu after checking out the landscape herself. “Well, I suppose anyone would be.”

Natsu could hardly speak; she was still in awe of the beauty and magnitude of the school. “This is incredible! Such a place was hidden in my hometown...?” She continued to look at everything around her in amazement.

“No one told you, I see,” Ame said, apparently having figured something like that was the case. “The Eastern Magic Academy, built in Japan to cater to the eastern side. They wanted it to be safe from possible wars and other dangerous activities, so the academy was built on a land safeguarded dimensionally, in other words, beyond a Boundary; in a Realm of its own. Let’s just say that you’re in Tokyo but not in Tokyo at the same time. I’m sure this academy will eventually teach about Realms and Boundaries, but I got to learn beforehand,” she explained, flaunting her knowledge.

“Whoa, you're already so knowledgeable! I hope I can keep up... I didn't even know much of anything until very recently…” Natsu praised Ame.

“Well, you’re gonna go through all the known facts and terminology around magic anyway, like it or not. Same goes for me. I’m still going to learn some things I already know…” Ame said, sounding bored already. A revision of common knowledge at best… “Ahem. Well, why don’t we go and meet the Headmistress first? Hm, but maybe we should drop the luggages around the dormitory or something before that.”

“That sounds good,” Natsu nodded her head in agreement. “Was the headmistress expecting us?”

“If the government sponsored you, she has to be… I believe? In my case, I was told that the Headmistress would be expecting me considering all the document works were completed.”

“Alright, let's go together then, after we drop off our bags. Where's your room?”

“...Let’s find out. I have no clue.”

“You awake yet?”

Aramus found himself on the same cobblestone street he was in earlier, but now in his human form again.

“Are you alright, Mister Valmark?” Mary asked another question yet again. Her sword not held at all, but he could see the same fog even now.

“Yes, yes. I suppose,” he answered, holding a hand to his head. There was a buzzing in his mind that persisted and he cringed slightly. “Care explaining to me what just happened, Lady Mary?”

“We’re currently inside the area of effect of a spell called Noah’s Exhaust. Something The Society cast to experiment, and I’ve been going around returning people to normal; since they turn into random beasts upon entry to the fog,” Mary explained. “I apologise for the rough treatment, Mister Magister.”

“You have my thanks,” he said, rubbing the sore spot where she had smacked him with her blade. “Is there any way I can help as well? If this fog is the cause, perhaps blowing it away would remove the effects of the spell?”

“You probably cannot dispel it permanently, but I would appreciate the favour; my job for the night here would be over.”

“Then I shall attempt to do so.” Aramus said, brandishing his fan. Though it was brief, Aramus still had an urge to hop instead of standing up like a human did when he tried to get up. He shook both his head and the fan vigorously to clear his thoughts, hoping that the effects of the spell wouldn’t affect him any further.

Thankfully, there weren’t any other undesired after effects and he swung Paimon’s Fan, putting all the confusion and shame he had experienced over the last few moments into the motion. The result was a gale with winds that cleared the fog effortlessly. It howled for a few moments, visibility quickly returning to the area. Aramus hoped that no one else would have to experience what he had just gone through.

“Thank you very much,” Mary thanked, expressing her gratitude. “This sure helps, really.”

“Not at all. The least I can do after you returned me back to normal, I wouldn’t have enjoyed being a toad any longer than I already did.” Aramus said, laughing at his own transformation.

“Then, it is almost curfew hour. I assume you are returning home about now? Albeit that seems like a district for the rich down the street…”

“Oh no, I was actually wondering if you had some time to talk? There is a matter I would like to discuss and it’s of great importance to me,” Aramus answered, scratching the back of his neck sheepishly at the mention of where he was putting up. “I am currently staying there on the generosity of someone else. Someone like me wouldn’t be able to afford even the smallest property in that district.”

“Well, this is likely not a time we can go relax at a café and have a leisurely conversation? If it is important than I am all in ears, Mister Magister.” So Magister Aramus Valmark was indeed as poor as I had heard, but at least he knew kind people who’d shelter him. Not that I am jealous or anything. Yes, I am not jealous at all!

“As I mentioned before, I’d like to thank you for saving Sophie that day alongside the other children. Even if it was just one more life, I’m glad,” Aramus said with a smile before becoming slightly uncomfortable as he thought about how to broach his next subject.

“Um, Sophie… ah, the orphan you left under my care?” Mary asked after reminding herself of the chaotic day almost one and a half months ago.

“Yes, that girl. Well, I’m incapable of taking her with me to Japan when I return, nor do I have any means to support her, so she has been entrusted to someone that I know will ensure she grows up well.”

“I see. That is a fantastic solution to her misfortune,” Mary stated, smiling. “I wish her all the best.”

“Yes, she is truly fortunate. There is one more matter I’d like to enquire about and it’s… a touchy subject.”

“Yes? How may I help you?”

“There is a matter I must attend to, for that I will need to travel beyond the Gates of Tartarus and having done a bit of research, there weren’t any methods found that were feasible but one. That pertains to demons and I guess it led me to you. I apologise if this offends you but it means a lot to me if you would be able to provide any guidance.”

“...How did it lead to me? I am but a scholar of the Royal Institute, I have no hand in summoning demons or the like,” Mary replied, cool and composed.

“There has a been a rumour circulating that you happen to be chased by demons. Normally I would not be one for them but in this case, I cannot afford to lose any potential leads. Again, I apologise.”

“I… umm, well, rumours are but rumours…” Mary said, taking a step back hesitantly, her smile all convincing… seemingly. “I really have nothing to do with any demons. Really.” With that, the scholar turned tail and dashed out across the pavement. Her speed surprising even Aramus.

“Hey, wait!” He shouted, immediately running after her. This response made him even more interested in what Mary had to say about the matter, if she would even answer him at all but he wasn’t going to give up until then. Too bad not many people liked a persistent guy. Mary was fast, but Aramus was able to keep pace with her, his wind magic coming in handy as it provided him with a speed boost.

Mary looked to the side and found Aramus walking over the very walls of the houses quite literally as he rode the wind with magic. How ridiculous. Taken aback from this feat, she couldn’t react in time when the Magister leapt and landed just before her; blocking her path.

“Leave me be,” Mary said, frowning from being halted this way. “Nothing good will come out of this.”

“That it may be, Lady Mary, but I must find a way to Tartarus.” Aramus replied, face set. “I don’t want to make it more unpleasant than it already is either.”

“Tch,” Mary turned and ran again.

Aramus gave a dash again after sighing, and he repeated, by jumping and standing before her. However, the moment he landed before Mary, the world around him changed in an instant.

Floor of steel, a town that looked quite literally dead somehow, yet similar to the London. A clear yet dark sky. The Realm had changed, and Mary was visibly afraid.

“Oh, what is it now!” Aramus yelled, throwing his arms up in exasperation.

“That’s why I tried to get away from you,” Mary shouted in return, blaming the Magister for following her. “You should never get involved with me.”

“So the rumors are true then? All this is by demonic means?!” He shouted back, indicating the area around with a sweep of his hand.

Mary ignored the questions, and instead stared at Aramus before pulling him by his hand with unnatural strength, and throwing him behind her. A blade from her gold eye was swiftly drawn and it clashed with a gigantic skull momentarily.

“Run!” Mary shouted again before kicking the crude thing away.

A blast of wind was what she got in response, the gust flowing all around yet not harming Mary as the gale smashed into the gigantic skull, sending it crashing into a nearby building. It fractured on impact, spiderwebs forming across the surface with a sharp crack. The skull, however, floated up with zeal and rage. Aramus could see a deep red light within the eyes of the demonic thing.

A clash of steel could be heard a moment later, and he found Mary blocking the fangs of another similar-looking skull behind him at the same time.

“These things don’t take a hint, do they?” Aramus snorted before loosening another gust of wind. This time, things did not go as expected. The skull opened its maw, splinters of bone falling away as it seemed to swallow the gale up. Once it was done, it peered back at Aramus with its glowing eyes, seemingly gloating at him.

Mary then gave a horizontal strike, and the skull she fought was cut in two and fell; turning to dust.

The other skull made way towards Aramus to bite his head off for good. Aramus huffed, keeping the fan and pouring mana into his arms. A sphere formed in his palm, the air spinning wildly as it was compressed into the shape he wanted. Aramus could feel the strain of his newly formed spell as he tried to control it, sending the sphere flying at the oncoming skull with a thrust of his arm.

The spell hit it straight on, the sphere expanding as it struck bone and began to shear away at it. A moment later, the expanded bubble collapsed on itself in a flash. The skull fragmented even further, breaking and turning into fine powder as the shockwave travelled through it. The spell finally expired itself with a loud shriek, sending whatever remained of the skull flying. “Not too bad for a first attempt.” He hissed, flicking his hand back and forth in agony at some of the backlash from the spell.

“Sasha, is it?” Mary looked up, and so did Aramus.

A blonde child was afloat the air, consuming an apple. An eerie-looking grim reaper was lurking behind her; its face a skull, covered with a black robe, also consuming an apple, holding a scythe.

The girl named Sasha gave away an ominous feeling to the Magister below, and he reckoned that Mary might’ve felt the same.

“Mary…” Sasha said, lazily. “Would you give up your Golden Eye to me at last?” She questioned. “I am very, very hungry tonight.”

“And what if I refuse?” Mary asked fearlessly.

“Then all I can do is…” Sasha yawned, “eat it from the socket directly.”

“Wait! Wait! Before you do any of that, can I ask if you’re a demon?” Aramus yelled, waving up at the little child. “If your answer to that is yes, how do I go beyond the Gates of Tartarus?”

“Huh…?” Sasha tilted her head, only now noticing that there was a man beside Mary. “What… no one told me you were being courted, Mary.”

“I-It’s not like that! And it’s none of your business!” Mary snarled, flustered with a red face.

“Huh… is that so?” The child looked at Aramus with an extremely bored look. “It has been eons since anyone brought up the Gates of Tartarus… but do you really call yourself a magus while you can’t even identify a live demon?” She curiously asked back. Perhaps the humans really just got lazy to learn how to identify us…

Aramus shrugged as he was unable to bring up any defence, merely looking quite displeased at none other than himself. “I suppose that would be my failing, yes. I’ve never been adept at discerning what are the nature of my opponents. I figured demons would be more…” Aramus made clawing motions with his hands. “Demonic.”

“You fail as her man.”

“I said he isn’t.”

“Right, I forget.”

“Can we get this over with…?”

“But I uhh… wait, did someone asked a question or…? I forgot.”

“Tartarus,” Mary said, as if to remind her, palming her forehead.

“Ooh. Right. Tartarus. Yes, Tartarus… wait, what was that?” Then, the grim reaper behind her kindly whispered to her something akin to a reminder. “Ooh. The Gates of Tartarus… human,” she turned back to Aramus again, “It is impossible to go beyond the Gates. Don’t bother.”

“There has to be a way to go beyond!” Aramus yelled, looking between Mary and Sasha. “One of you must know something!”

Mary simply averted her gaze and ignored Aramus’ desperate pleas, but she looked at Sasha and shook her head.

Sasha, however, grinned in return. “You see… mn, how should I say it? The Gates of Tartarus has a very specific requirement to be brought forth, and it is quite impossible for most men. Even if you succeed, your world shall meet unavoidable danger. Are you willing to fill your world with chaos?”

“Well, to go that far…” Aramus thought back to the words of Duchess Frederica, would he be playing into The Society’s hands if he did succeed? Shaking his head, he looked back up at Sasha with a steely gaze. “Tell me, I have to go beyond.”

Immediately, Aramus felt the cold steel just before his neck. Mary was ready to kill him there and then.

“I knew it. It is always splendid… watching humans having to kill each other.”

“I cannot let you do that, Mister Magister. Regardless of who you are, you must never make that mistake. Even if it means the sin of homicide—I will carry it out.”

“Just knowing the means is punishable by death, Lady Mary? Come now, show a little faith in your fellow man,” Aramus said, turning his attention to her.

“Do you think the stability of the world getting threatened is a joke, Magister?!” Mary enquired, and her blade pressed against Aramus further, blood lightly trickling down his throat.

“If I did then we’d all be in trouble, no?” Aramus answered. “From the way you are reacting, it seems you do know the answers. You didn’t wish to give them so I must seek them from another source.”

Before the two knew it, the demon was just before Aramus’ face. She pulled the sword away with ease, and thrust her palm at Mary without any effort, pushed her away.

“I will tell you what you need to do,” the child said, taking a bite of her apple as she moved back and ascended slightly above. She gave the most twisted smile ever momentarily.

“Bring about eight or so Descendants in one place and have them fight each other. The climate of the world will be affected in such a way that it will be treated as a sacrifice to the Gates of Tartarus. After the Gates are manifested, they will change forever a country and distort its time. How glorious, wouldn’t you agree?”

Aramus looked let down by the answer he was given, sighing deeply. “Perhaps that has happened before, hence why certain countries don’t seem quite right. This method won’t do for me nonetheless, I thank you for informing me, demon.” Looking at Mary, Aramus looked sour as he spoke. “Now that wasn’t so hard, was it?”

“But there is another way,” the demon girl said. “Why not make a contract with me?”

“A contract, are you mad, Sasha?” Mary questioned, picking herself up.

“Now why would I want to do that, demon?” Aramus said, scrutinising Sasha or more precisely, both her and the reaper at her back.

“Because I can easily send you to the Infernal Realm if you are contracted to me?” Sasha answered in a rather confused manner, as if the fact was obvious, she appeared bored all over again, however.

“Well, that’s surprisingly convenient.” Aramus remarked. “But unfortunately, I can’t do that. As much as I’d like to, consorting with demons is forbidden. Thank you for the offer nonetheless, Sasha. Not everyday I meet a demon who offers a contract.”

“Then I guess you’re not going past the Gates,” Sasha said, finishing an apple and immediately taking another out from the reaper’s robe. “Meh. Whatever. Good luck entering it through the Hell’s Fires,” She floated past Aramus slowly as she spoke, the Grim Reaper groaned as she left him as if it was disappointed. “Now… where were we?”

The Grim Reaper again, whispered to her, and she remembered. “Right, your delicious Golden Eye. Come on, Mary, you know you want to give it.”

“No way in hell I do,” Mary still refused, and the two begun to clash in combat, as the Grim Reaper fought for Sasha, who kept munching her apple. The Grim Reaper was agile and deadly, the scythe it carried cut any walls and structures—all of which was seemingly made of steel—without fail, but Mary seemed to be able to parry almost perfectly.

Aramus walked up and stood beside Sasha, watching the reaper try and slice Mary. He was more than a little hesitant to speak about it before he decided to try. He would help Mary in a bit. “So, what’s up with you and Mary? You been after her for some time?”

“When I’m bored or hungry,” Sasha yawned as she murmured a response. “Apples don’t help hold back my hunger for long.”

Aramus looked confused. “You plan to eat her? Is that what this is all about?”

“Her Golden Eye, doesn’t it simply look extremely sumptuous?”

“The apple of my eye? Something like that? Maybe that’s the reason why you eat those apples?” Aramus muttered. “Is that eye really that attractive to you demons? I’d reckon you aren’t the only one after it.”

“Of course not… most of the demons are enticed by its scent,” Sasha answered, licking her lips with anticipation. “Almost every day there is a different one coming to face her.”

Aramus recoiled slightly, looking back at Mary with newfound respect. “She’s caught up in this every day and yet she still manages to fend you all off. Her strength is profound. I think you’ve just piqued my interest to see what lies behind the Golden Eye.”

“It is a power of the Representative, but it is the only power that is manifested in a material form,” Sasha explained, yawning again. “It mysteriously beckons our unsated stomachs to give it a taste. Yet its wielder uses the very power of the eye, and she does so… perfectly.”

“You haven’t put a thought whether it would piss off whoever she represents?” Aramus asked.

“Nope,” Sasha said blatantly. “We’d simply run back home. Why’d it matter? …Hm?” She looked down, and a black sword was buried under her chest.

Mary struck home.

Sasha vomited something like black blood, as she staggered. Mary took back her sword, the Grim Reaper dispersing behind her, she seemed to have attacked both of them in one strike.

“Not bad…” Sasha said, holding her mouth, and dropping the apple.

Aramus hmm’d and picked up the fallen apple, placing it firmly in Sasha’s hands. “You’re going to need this for some time. Also, tell me where I can find the Hell’s Fires? If that doesn’t work out, maybe I’ll look for you again.”

“...Very well, since you are so kind unlike this lass on period, I shall tell,” Sasha coughed as she spoke, slowly retreating to the air. “It lies in somewhere called California, where it is used to raid… the city and its people… over and over again…” She then vanished into thin air.

“Hmm. For a demon, she wasn’t half bad.” Aramus murmured to himself before turning to face Mary. “I didn’t know you faced them on a daily basis.”

“You didn’t need to, she and her big mouth…”

“Bah. We’re all in this together, I don’t see why you should have to keep all these problems to yourself. Well, you can trust me to keep my mouth shut now that I’ve found another way to get into Tartarus.”
Aramus said, putting a hand on his chin. “Surprisingly, Sasha didn’t seem too malevolent. Like she was just here to kill time or something.”

“Not all demons are the same,” Mary huffed. “However, she’d be eating people if I weren’t here.”

“She just told me she ate apples to sate her hunger but she’s actually that kind of demon?” Aramus said. “At least she told me where to go.”

“...Whatever the case, as a religious person I cannot trust them.”

When Aramus blinked his eye, the two were already back to their world.

“Well, thank you very much for the wonderful evening, Lady Mary. Seeing as I have obtained the information I needed, there will be no need to trouble you further. I trust you will have no problems returning home before curfew?” Aramus queried.

Mary sighed. “I am probably not returning home any time soon, however comfortable the sound of sleeping seems. Homeworks be damned. I still have work to take care of. Since I am sort of used to this already; you need not worry, Mister Magister,” Mary answered with the same smile she gave him as when they first met tonight.

“Will you require any help with that? It is sad to say that the only assistance rendered was when I spoke to the demon long enough for you to stab her.” Aramus offered with an outstretched hand.

“My work is… unfortunately the kind you wouldn’t want to see,” Mary said, looking away, gloomy. “Please send my regards to Her Majesty the Queen.”

“Ah, I see. I personally don’t mind, there hasn’t been much I haven’t done, but I’ll be on my way if you don’t require any. I will definitely send your regards to Her Majesty, and thank you very much for your assistance tonight. Even with your reluctance to answer, not only did you save me from an unfortunate fate, but you also provided an avenue to get the information from elsewhere.” Aramus lowered his head to Mary, offering her both his thanks and respect. “I am grateful, Lady Mary. It seems I will be in your debt.”

“It won’t do if a Magic Magister bows down to a mere scholar of the Royal Academy, so please,” Mary said, sighing, then she turned. “Regardless, I am a little glad that you got to know what you needed to. I will not ask what you hope to accomplish in the Infernal Realm, but I wish you luck. We will likely meet each other in the New World if you are participating in the battle with Virgo. Till then, take care,” she said before walking away, waving as she did so.

Aramus was heading back to Duchess Caroline’s manor. Even after all this time he was still under such kind people’s care. One could say he was blessed. The Magister searched for Mary Shelley all day across London. The lady with the golden eye was apparently easy to find, but it didn’t seem to be the case today. He couldn’t find her in the Royal Institute, and that was literally the only thing he knew about her other than the myriad rumours after her. Mary was supposedly a scholar in the Royal Institute and she was considered a studious scholar. Perhaps she was studying at home? The information about her residence was not known to him so he didn’t have the choice to visit her.

Thinking about how tiresome and boring the day was, he finally stopped still on the street and looked ahead. The street that was once full of people was suddenly deserted and Aramus swallowed. A sudden stillness was never a good sign and he looked around for who was responsible, if they deigned to show themselves. Fog had descended as well and it made searching frustrating for him, his footsteps the only sound on the street as he continued walking.

However, his said footsteps didn’t seem to last long as the sole noise in the place. The Magister started to hear growls of beasts from some distance. Believing that it was coming from ahead, Aramus ran forward, but stopped, did he really run, yet he felt that he jumped? He looked down at himself, thinking something was very, very wrong.

Aramus’ body was that of a large toad.

“This is a first,” he croaked, trying to examine himself only to find that his eyes now made it very difficult. If Aramus could sigh, he would have. All that action succeeded in doing was puffing out his sac and releasing another long croak. As a toad, Aramus could hear other beasts roaring and growling, and as a fellow animal, for some reason, he thought that they were uttered not from confusion or the joy of finding prey, but was from pain.

He tried to take a step forward but forgetting that he was a toad, it didn’t end very well. The legs that were made for hopping took an awkward flop forward, unbalancing himself and with a very guttural wail, he fell face first into the cobblestones. As a man, the shame he would’ve felt would’ve prevented him from being seen in public for an undetermined amount of time but as a toad, the feeling of cobblestones on his face was strangely comforting. He gave a short ribbit of horror at the disturbing thought. He would’ve palmed his face but unfortunately, his new arms did not reach that far.

When he pulled his face up, hoping that the pain would soon subside. He noticed that the painful noises subsided. He croaked, tilting his head with confusion, wondering if his animal buddies-to-be had left him behind. How strange, he felt lonely. The wind shifted and the fog was cut through from the sky as a slim figure landed from above sharply. Aramus – the big toad – barely leapt back from the blade that struck the pavement mercilessly as he clung to his dear toad-life. Looking up, the gold glint in the fog was unmistakable.

It was Mary, pointing her black sword at him.

“Why hello, Lady Mary. How nice of you to drop in.” Good lord, Aramus thought. First, he sounded horrible as a toad. How did a toad even speak? Second, had his transformation regressed him so much that he was making bad pun jokes? Did she even understand him or was she only hearing croaking?

Mary tilted her head, looking innocently at Aramus.

“Wait… you’re…” Mary stared intently at Aramus for some seconds, and then lowered her blade. “Ah, Mister Aramus Valmark the Magister. Good evening,” she greeted. “I cannot understand your words, but I suppose I can still see through your mind.”

Aramus croaked happily if one could count it as such. “Excellent that you can. Pray tell, do you know who is responsible for my predicament?” He said, indicating himself by licking his eyeballs. Hoping that he wasn’t going to do anything worthy of disgust was useless by now. “Also, I am glad you missed but why did you try to strike me down earlier?”

“Of course I’d strike you down,” Mary said, smiling. “Since you’re a Magister, I hope you’re going to be understanding and let me hit you properly, Mister Valmark,” she said, pointing her black sword straight to his eye.

Aramus flopped around on the ground repeatedly in response. “Here I was hoping to thank you for saving Sophie that day from the fire. I suppose it’s for naught now?” He said after finally coming to rest. Looking at the black sword pointed at him though, made him sweat. Or at least he would have if a toad had sweat glands.

Instead of hearing a reply, all Aramus could remember was Mary’s blade dancing.

The next day, Svetlana was in the backyard of the manor. Apparently Alicia had no class to attend to this early in the morning and had a few hours to spare.

“Pardon, I meant to do this a little later, but I felt time should be valued more,” Alicia said with a chuckle. She offered tea over a white table. They sat under the morning sun that was blocked by the clouds. Despite the presence of said sun, it was rather cold. Alicia said as much.

“Please, this is nothing compared to Russia,” Svetlana said happily as she stretched out, then sat down and drank the delectable tea.

“Alright. The reason why I’m not already teaching you anything yet is because I wished to have a word with you first… you use Ignem, yes? What other Forms do you use?”

“Yes, and I also know Aquam, Aurum, and Herbam.”

“Hmm, that makes it difficult if you wish to specifically combat a demon. Vim is the most effective Form against them so far.”

“Well it’s not like I thought I’d one day be fighting demons. But nothing I can do about that now, unless I start studying it, though that would take a while to learn.”

“I suppose that means the Earthly Cleanse magic is simply not suitable for you,” Alicia stated, closing her eyes in thought. “But fret not,” she said, showing confidence, raising her index finger to accentuate her point, “I have learned two other such spells.”

“Oohh, and would the great Mrs. Alicia tell me about them?”

“I am only willing to teach one of the three Supreme Magics I know. Not because I want to be greedy and keep them to myself – mind you – but because each one takes years of practice, patience, and perfection to completely master. I doubt we have such luxury. I know not how long you’d take to master this one spell I decide to teach you; know that it depends on a number of factors, including latent talent, race, gender, strength of will, and much more. Basically, it’s all up to you,” Alicia said, giving an encouraging smile. “I’m sure that you will pull it off.”

“On that you can count on it. Once I focus on a task, I make sure I don’t stop till I have it down,” Svetlana said with glee.

“I see, you sound like a reliable big sister indeed,” Alicia said, nodding. The two finished tea and at the Duchess’ beckoning, they walked over to the field of grass beside the table.

“Before we begin, I must inform you what it means to be learning this spell from me…” Alicia began, patting Svetlana almost thoughtlessly, but with a bit of melancholy. “Sevvy-chan, was it?” She said with a chucklet. “If you’re a big sister to Isabelle then you’re akin to a daughter to me,” but then her expression turned icy cold. “And that means you will be inheriting one of my sins.”

“To protect Isabelle, that’s fine with me. If it helps to get rid of the demon inside her one day, even better.”

“I don’t know if it will, but let us pray for that… that said, always practice this spell around this manor. We have a barrier here. Those who can sense magic will not sense your use of this spell if you practice here. Now, shall we begin?”

With Svetlana’s nod, it began.

The sky’s color changed, and that was the first thing Svetlana noticed, as Isabelle’s mother closed her eyes to concentrate. Clouds gathered ominously at the center of the cloudy sky above them. Thunder rumbled. Then the sky turned pitch black, and the Duchess took a stance; her fingers ran through the air as she performed hand gestures again. Svetlana could feel the tremor of the earth. The air around the Duchess completely changed, and it was as though Margaret Alicia was ready to take on anything in the world, be it the king of the underworld or her maker. That was the type of resolve she displayed as she performed the gestures. This time, Alicia did it considerably slower than her previous time for Svetlana’s viewing pleasure. The index finger and the middle finger were once again joined, but for both hands. Before her chest, the fingers from both hands were linked – one hand horizontal, the other vertical – and a small red magic circle formed in between the linkage.

“This spell may be done with incantations instead of hand signs like these… but I use hand signs for a reason. I use them because they are considerably faster, and it makes it harder for enemies to discern my actions. It is a more higher level style of magic usage, but I assure you that it is worth the time to learn. You take this magic circle to the tip of one of your middle finger, like so,” she said, and the red circle traced along with her right middle finger as the union of fingers was broken. “From there it is simple.”

The finger that held the red tiny disk was pointed towards the dark vortex that formed in the sky. Svetlana could see something like a hollow hole.

“And lastly… you bring it down.” Her right hand was swung down towards the earth, and Svetlana could see a large ball of fire emerge from the sky.

“Dark Celestial Body magic – Metéora.”

However, Alicia brought her finger up again, and the blaze stopped coming down. She then rested her arms back down – and allowed the oxygen from her lungs to escape as she exhaled – resulting in the black clouds beginning to dissipate, along with said meteor. The sky was regardless cloudy, but no longer looked like there was going to be a storm.

“I couldn’t actually let it land here; otherwise everyone would die,” she said with a chuckle.

“Umm, wouldn’t it be bad if I actually hit Isabelle with that even if the demon is controlling her…?” Svetlana asked after being a bit startled with what Alicia said.

“Not when the demon is in control, no,” the Duchess answered. “Actually, I’ve already used this on her before. Do not underestimate it, whatever it is that possesses her.”

“Well I suppose that’s okay… but since it has that kind of destructive power, what would you say would be the best time to use it if I ever actually need to if I’m able to master it?” Svetlana asked as she was worried about using such a spell at the wrong place.

“To be honest, I’d prefer to teach the Earthly Cleanse magic – Holy Encasement – which I used yesterday – but your alignments are different. Ignem’s root lies in the Infernal lore, and the Infernals are not quite peaceful with their conduct often. You will have to be quite sensible about this spell. There is the destructive force to consider, but there is also the possibility of people seeing the casting of a forbidden spell. You’re an adult; I’m sure you will find out the right timing. Needless to say, this should be your last resort in any life and death combat.”

“Understood. Though, I suppose if I can make time I should at least try to learn another alignment if possible, but that might prove a bit hard soon. All I can do now is give it my all to learn this.”

“Mhm, as I’ve previously mentioned, I know you can do it,” Alicia said, patting Svetlana again. “I would suggest Vim. The spell of Exorcism sometimes work effectively against demons if anything.”

“Alrighty. Now then, can you show me the movements for the spell again? Not like I can memorize it from only seeing it once.”

“Before that, I should explain the workings of the spell so that it is easier for you to remember the specifics.” Alicia then explained the background details of the spell. “The hand signs are replacements for the incantations.” She slowly did the hand gestures for Svetlana to follow with the details. “The signs translates roughly to †˜O Asteria, lend me thy strength and vigor’. The spell was centered around Asteria, the Goddess of stars, and that is exactly why this spell summons forth a meteor. Fascinating, is it not?”

“Oh, that’s pretty amazing. By the way, Mrs. Alicia, I would still have to clap twice first to start the spell, since it seems I have to do that for all my incantations…”

“You do seem to have such a condition. I wonder why,” Alicia said, a little confused. “Was it something to do with Mathilde-sensei’s teaching, or is it something else entirely?”

“I’m really not sure. At first we thought I couldn’t use magic, till for some reason I did that and was able to cast a spell.”

“If I remember right; some magicians need to fulfill a condition to attune properly with the Realms from which mana is drawn. Perhaps that is the reason. Regardless, there is only one way to deal with it; do it really fast, and for this case, you’d simply need to keep practicing so that you may blend in the clapping with the rest of the handsigns smoothly.”

“Guess it's gonna be a bit of an annoyance for me for a while,” Svetlana said with a laugh. “But oh well, I can only practice till I get used to it. Now then, I’m ready to listen to more, teacher.”

“Very well then, let us move on: there are certain rules pertaining to these powerful spells that you must never break,” Alicia continued with a nod. “If you break them, I know not what would happen, only that something terrible may befall you. This spell has two rules that you must abide by. First, you must never use the spell at the two solstices of a year. Second, it must clearly be aimed at someone you believe is evil. The very idea surrounding the creation of this spell in the first place was using the appropriate †˜medicine’ against the †˜poison.’ As the saying goes; purge evil with evil. If you are in any way forced to battle someone you believe is good in some way in nature – you must never employ this spell, under no circumstances. The effects will be unpredictable, and more importantly, unfavourable. Be wary that you should avoid casting the spell fully till you master it. There is no proof to my belief, but I suspect the drawbacks involve eyesight issues upon incomplete usage.”

Svetlana let out a small chuckle about hearing what the drawback could be. “Well honestly at this point, that kinda drawback would just finish half of what I already lost, but I will do my best to follow everything.”

“I don’t think it’d be an issue for someone as young as you, but it seems I get higher blood pressure every time I use such magic,” Alicia said, crossing her arms. “I wonder if I’m simply growing old… that can’t be, right?”

“Well Mrs. Alicia, I can’t answer that since I haven’t experienced using the spell myself yet but I’ll make sure to let you know once I master it.”

“Mhm.” Alicia gave a nod. “Now, the next thing you need to know is the position of the sun when casting it,” she continued with the explanation. She then entered the stance again, the right hand’s index and middle fingers joined – like the left hand – but the right arm was pointed forward, while the left was pointed simply to the left. “Did you notice what’s in the space in-between the position of my hands? I am basically covering one-quarter of a compass. The sun’s location in the sky must be confirmed within said quarter. With all those clouds you may only locate its position from the time of the day. That said, when the sun is not around, this spell is impossible to cast.” She paused and continued. “Stand beside me and aim for the tree for the spell. As long as you don’t fully cast the entire spell its law will not be broken. Just watch and mimic my movements.” She then started to perform the stance and the handsigns.

“Okay,” Svetlana said as she followed along. She then felt an incredible surge of mana flowing through her. The ground started to shake again. Having never felt this before, Svetlana lost balance and fell to the ground.

“Oh dear, are you okay?” Alicia said, offering her hand.

“Ehh, what was that?” Svetlana said as she reached for Alicia’s hand.

Alicia pulled Svetlana up. “Well, you weren’t able to handle the amount of energy that Asteria from the Infernal Realm responded with. That just means you have to try until you are used to it.”

“Oh, didn’t imagine it would cause something like that… Guess this will take a while to learn like you said,” Svetlana said, laughing. “Oh, by the way, Mrs. Alicia, you wouldn’t happen to know other spells I could learn on the side especially more from Faerie lore?”

“Well, I do know a few off the books. What kind of spells would you prefer?”

“Well both offensive and defensive are fine since it would be nice to have more options when in a fight.”

“Hm, what would your opinion be of something like this then?” Alicia performed several handsigns, and saw blades of ice grow out from the earth. The ice curved and coiled, eventually becoming a sphere. “This is defensive, but,” she flicked a finger towards a tree, and swords of ice were shot out that stabbed said tree.

“Oh, I’ve never seen such a spell before, that was amazing,” Svetlana said with excitement

“Alright, do you wish to learn with hand signs, or shall I teach the incantations?”

“Is it too greedy of me to say both?”

“I believe it is natural, but I guess I was looking for an excuse to laze.” Alicia laughed. “Very well. But, hmm, I suppose I should show you this too.” With a flick of her wrist her sphere of ice was dispelled. She performed her hand signs, but Svetlana could note some glaring differences than the last spell she cast. From her finger what was released were utterly destructive forces of flames, but it was pointed to the sky due to the danger of burning the forest. “This is one of my original creations; a combination of fire and wind, the Blazing Wind spell.”

Svetlana’s eyes sparkled with amazement as she watched Alicia send out her spells. “You have to teach me those two spells too Mrs. Alicia! Pretty please~!”

“So I shall, but they cannot be mastered in a day. I suppose we have almost month before the next semester… you will likely be able to master these two spells by then.” Alicia was scribbling something in a note. Was she going to manage Svetlana’s training schedule? “What else is there that you’d be learning throughout said month?”

“Suppose that’s all I’ll study. I can work with Vim on my own since I can do that by myself at least. Would ask to teach me something but till I get the understanding of it, it’s not like i can use spells for it.”

“Duly noted,” Margaret Alicia the Duchess answered, “These three spells shall be more than enough for now.”

Today, like usual, Svetlana was led to Isabelle’s room by a maid. It had become something like a habit to visit Isabelle now. The two were relatively close, much to the delight of Alicia. It seemed like only Svetlana was given the privilege to visit her. Even maids were not allowed to stay inside the room to simply converse with the child. Alicia was rather overprotective when one would stop to think about it. She didn’t make it seem like it, but she was almost silently watching over the child whenever she had no other duties to tend to. It was admirable, and even the maids looked up to their employer. Which was also the reason why they watched out for their lady’s health, for Alicia would stay up really late even after Isabelle would go to sleep. Svetlana often heard maids chattering among themselves about how the Duchess would keep reading the same book over and over again, and stay up past bedtime to keep an eye out for Isabelle.

In what seemed like almost a month, Svetlana was an expected visitor for Isabelle at a few times a week at least. Of course, the girl herself expected her often, too. Isabelle was sometimes cold even now but had opened up so much that Alicia once expressed jealousy openly. Svetlana hadn’t seen the demonic side of the girl coming out even once since the last time Isabelle went berserk, so things were looking good for the most part.

“Hello, Miss Svetlana,” Isabelle greeted as Svetlana entered the room. The girl was still on her bed, sitting as usual, almost looking like a patient in a hospital. She hardly ever left the bed, they said, unless for the toilet. “Do you have any offerings– ahem, candy for me today?”

“Hi hi, Isabelle, of course I brought some, when wouldn’t I?” Svetlana said as she took a small bag out of the rather big bag she had brought over. “But you know, Isabelle, one day you gotta do me a small favour for bringing you all these sweets.”

“Oh? And that would be?” Isabelle asked, eyes already set on the bag of sweets.

“That you would let me do anything playful to you is all I ask,” Svetlana said with delight as she handed Isabelle some candy from the bag.

“Define †˜playful,’ please,” Isabelle asked, unwrapping the candies impatiently before consenting to the request.

“Well I’d rather keep it a surprise, but it’s nothing bad. You would still be getting your candies along with the cakes.”

“That doesn’t answer the question, there are so many strange concepts that you speak of…” Isabelle said, chewing on the candy while looking lost.

“Don’t worry about it too much. It would be for later anyways. Well, anything you want to do today, my cute little Isabelle?”

“I told you before, but I’m not cute – I’m beautiful,” Isabelle boasted, placing a hand on her chest. “Ohohoho,” she laughed haughtily. “Even if you ask that, though… nothing really comes to mind. Hide and seek? Board games? Or… mn, reading books?”

“Well, any book you would like me to read for you?”

“I-If… it isn’t much trouble, there was this book I used to read a lot… it was about fairies.”

“Would you happen to have the book here, or is it somewhere in the mansion?”

“Um, my m– that woman used to read it for me as a bedtime story, now it’s… I don’t really know where it is. Maybe she knows.”

“I see. Well, then I suppose I can ask, but tell me, is the book is in English? If so, I won’t be able to read it,” Svetlana said with a small laugh.

“You can’t read English? There are people like that?” Isabelle asked, tiling her head. “Well, I can read it, so I suppose it does not matter.”

“I wasn’t born in England you know. I only know Russian and Japanese. My English can barely be called English,” Svetlana said as she headed towards the door. “Anyways, I’ll be right back. Let’s see how things go.”

“Huh… see you,” Isabelle said, but then she wondered to herself, Hasn’t she been speaking in English all this time? That’s weird.

Svetlana re-entered the room after a few minutes passed and was holding the book that was nostalgic to the young girl.

“Woah, you actually found it, where was it kept?!” Isabelle inquired.

“One of the maids gave it to me after I asked them.”

“Huh… so they lied to me.” Isabelle looked down, becoming somewhat gloomy again.

“Is something the matter?” Svetlana asked as she went to sit next to Isabelle.

“When I asked the maids to bring the book to me before, they said that they left it back in England… everyone in this house is liars. You’re not a liar, right, Miss Svetlana?”

“I’ve got no reason to lie to you. Though, the maid that gave me the book seemed rather lost. I wonder if she was new? All she said was she had found the book recently in a box in the attic.”

“I… see,” Isabelle responded, but she kept is to herself that she had asked the head maid who literally knew more or less everything about what was kept where. “Well, anyway! Let me have the book.”

“Here you go. I looked it over and I can’t read a single word of it,” Svetlana said with a laugh, handing the book to Isabelle.

“You should learn English sometime, as Britain is the best country in the world. It is a necessity to know the language,” Isabelle said, acting smug. She then opened the book after feeling the cover with her very palms, looking back at distant memories. A smile naturally floated into her facial features as she looked over the depiction of fairies in the pages of the book. They were drawn rather beautifully for an old book. However, after some minutes, Svetlana could see tears running down from the eyes of the young girl.

“Hey, what’s wrong? I hope those are tears of joy because you get to read your favorite book,” Svetlana said, reaching into her bag and pulling out a handkerchief to wipe Isabelle’s face, but a black wind began to flow around her, and she couldn’t reach the girl anymore.

“I… I killed her…” Isabelle said, staring listlessly at the depiction of the fairies on the page that her tears were staining.

The door behind Svetlana was opened with a loud noise as Alicia rushed into the room.

“Svetlana, take the book away! Hurry!”

Svetlana complied, immediately turning back to Isabelle, and tried to reach the book with her arm, but the wind blocked her hand, instead she was blown back from the vicinity of the bed.

“That’s right… I killed– I killed my mother… you, who are you?” Isabelle said, turning to Duchess Margaret Alicia. At least the one who went around with that identity. Was she really the real Alicia? Isabelle showed a disgusted face. “You liar. You… you poser!” Her voice turned demonic, eyes fiery, and her hair blazed.

“Listen to me, Isabelle. I am your mo–” Alicia tried to say, but a ball of flame launched forth from Isabelle’s palm, impeding her as she blocked it with her bare hands, saved by what little mana she gathered to protect herself.

Svetlana pulled herself up and found Isabelle on all four over her bed, howling, facing Alicia with blood-shot eyes and a cringe that revealed fangs that were unlike any human being.

“Here I thought I wasn’t going to see this again,” Svetlana said as she sighed. Quickly clapping twice; she began chanting an incantation. A whirlwind formed below Isabelle lifting her up and sending her backwards.

Despite the force pushing her back, Isabelle – in her demonic state – broke the wind with pure magic as she sent a wave in all direction mid-air, and made a proper landing to the floor behind the bed. She shot a toothy grin at Svetlana.

“I know how to deal with that now,” the devil in the young girl said. “I really loathe you, it is hard to feed on her negativity due to you.” The devil raised a hand forward toward Svetlana, and a stream of flame was approaching her soon enough. Before Svetlana was hit by it, Alicia pushed her away.

“How long will you keep this up till you’re satisfied?!” Alicia yelled, questioning the devil. In return the devil still smiled.

“For as long as I can,” was the answer. “Besides, she is right; you’re a liar.”

“Tch, you make it sound as if all lies are bad. Even though some are necessary,” Svetlana said as she stood up and dusted herself and stretched out really quick.

“Like hiding the fact that she is not really her mother? Hahahaha!!” The demon laughed heartily, but due to this laughter, it was too late to retaliate.

Alicia’s fingers brushed through the air as she made hand gestures, and was moving lightning fast. She then took a stance, her middle and index fingers joined and pointed upwards.

“Earthly Cleanse magic…” she stated, her body radiating an aura of bright mana.

Svetlana had never seen anything like this before, not even from qualified Magic Magisters. Such magic were completely new even to her as a graduated scholar of the academy.

To Isabelle, a magical circle appeared to the left, one to the right, one to the front, one to the back, one above her, and finally one below her. These golden circles encaged the demon, whose laughter was broken, and instead it appeared to be enraged.

“Damn you!” The demon raged, so loudly that the windows broke behind her.

A bright light emanated, and before Svetlana knew it, Isabelle was passed out on the floor.

“Tch, and here I wanted to take it out,” Svetlana said as she then approached Isabelle. “But I will say that was pretty amazing. I’ve never seen anything like that.”

“Ever heard of the legendary Supreme Magics before?” Alicia asked. She clearly looked exhausted as she looked down on her daughter. “I was banished for learning them, from my country, but I’ve never once regretted it, until she came to resent me.”

“Well I still don’t understand everything that’s going on and I won’t blame you if you don't tell me. You have your reasons, and no, I don’t think I’ve ever heard of those magic before, but I don’t see what could have made her resent you, for it didn’t seem dangerous to me, yet that was only one spell, I suppose.”

“There are many such magic indeed, old and forgotten, but powerful spells. I’ve learned a few, but they are very powerful, and dangerous at the hands of the wrong individuals. Remember the rule of the Magic World which forbids one from wielding forbidden magic? I was subject to it. Her Majesty did not publicly brand me a breaker of the law, but she sent me away from the country, hence I was banished. Since there was no other guardian to look after Isabelle, she was brought here with me. The reason why I am resented by her is because I stole her homeland from her, in a way.”

“Well, when it comes to the rules of the Magic world I know only the basics,” Svetlana said with a smile. “So anything beyond the basics I know nothing about. Well from that one spell, I didn’t see anything forbidden about it. Not like I really care, I suppose. As long as you’re not doing it for horrible things, it’s fine. As for Isabelle, well, she’s still young. As she grows older she might be able to forgive you.”

Even though the clause regarding forbidden spells is one of the basics… ? “Ahaha, perhaps she will. As for why it was forbidden… well, I suppose you don’t care,” Alicia said with a defeated smile. “You are amazing, in a way… anyway, we’ll take care of the damages to the room. The bed sheets were burned due to her powers so we’ll have a lot of cleaning up to do. Moreover, the girl needs rest. I think you should go rest yourself, too.”

“Well, since Isabelle can’t really rest here, where is another room I can take her to? If it's fine with you, I can just rest there with her too. Might be good for her as well, in my opinion.”

“Understood. I was about to offer you to stay overnight here, so I suppose it works out.” Alicia chuckled, motioning for a maid to assist Svetlana. “I shall permit you to sleep with her. The maids will lead you to another room.”

“Alright. Also, can you have the maids bring over my bag? I had brought some clothes for Isabelle to try out. I might as well change her into something for sleep in the meantime, considering her clothes are a bit dirty after that.”

“Well, the maids would have just done all of that for her, but I suppose it is fine regardless of who does it. You heard that, yes?” Alicia turned and the maid supposed to help lead Svetlana to the other room gave a nod.

“Yes, ma’am. It shall be done as requested.” The head maid then approached Svetlana, and picked up Isabelle. “Please follow me to the other room,” she instructed. Another maid soon picked up the big bag and they soon left the room while the rest of the maids began tending to the messy room.

Alicia picked up the old worn-out book from the burnt bed. It wasn’t damaged badly, but there was a bit of a black burn mark on the back cover. “I see you’ve endured yet another hurdle. Just like me…” she mumbled to herself.

“Oh yeah, one more thing. Maybe if you ever have any time you could teach me a trick or two to handle that demon. It doesn’t have to be forbidden magic since I doubt you would teach me that anyways. But I can’t expect you to be here all the time if that demon ever shows up again. I think I’m limited in what I can really do against it. She might not see me as one, but I think I’m starting to feel like her older sister.”

Alicia gave a very motherly smile, turning towards the short-looking faerie. “I see. Very well, I shall think about it. I am not sure what I can teach you, since I’ve learned Supreme Magics to fight demons and the Descendants of Time. Other tricks aside from these are borderline ineffective. You will have to sacrifice some of your time that you use for visiting her, unfortunately. Is that okay, big sister?”

“Since it’s for her, I don’t mind. I’ll just make it up on the days I actually come to see her. Well, it’s up to what you to teach me and whatever you decide is fine. To protect her I wouldn’t mind breaking some rules.”

“I like your spirit. Come see me tomorrow.”

“Understood. Now then, time to have some fun and see her reaction when she wakes up,” Svetlana said happily as she then went out for the room Isabelle was being taken to.

With well wishes, Svetlana was sent off to the Headmistress’ office. The Headmistress was back days after the Queen’s Meeting in England, and ever since, she was busy with various tasks for which Svetlana could not have an appointment, so she was glad to be standing before the office after an entire month instead of almost two months.

Knocking on the door, she heard the Headmistress beckon her inside, and thus Svetlana opened the door, stepped in, closed it behind her, and faced the principal. The principal had a gorgeous figure from what Svetlana could see, and she seemed friendly as she greeted Svetlana with a big smile.

“Svetlana Astakhov, yes? I have heard that you wanted to join the staff of my academy as a teacher. I am the Headmistress of the Academy as you know it, Lumiere. Nice to see you.”

“Hello, Headmistress Lumiere, it’s a pleasure to finally get to see you, and yes, I would like an opportunity to become a part of the staff for the academy.”

“Well, I do remember your face since you are a graduate. Any particular reason you are interested in teaching here?”

“I just thought it would be a different experience from what I had compared to jobs in Russia. Since over there, I was always like on the go, having a job at one place would be nice for once.”

“Hm, well I’d be more than happy to have you on-board. Considering you have studied here for six years, you should be used to the rules and regulations here.”

“Thank you very much, Headmistress Lumiere,” Svetlana said happily as she bowed.

“Well, what fields do you intend to take?”

“Well anything under Faerie Lore is fine with me, I could also teach Infernal lore but overall I’d rather stick with Faerie lore.”

“There is the Faerie Lore class, I suppose. For now, why not teach first and second years the Faerie Lore? The rest of the years will be handled by Mathilde as usual.”

“Thats works fine by me,” Svetlana said happily.

“Well, that is only one class that students may choose to take. I’d like you to consider other options. How does teaching Aurum, Aquam, and Herbam in their respective classes sound, for the first year?”

“That’s perfectly fine with me, Headmistress Lumiere. I’ll be looking forward for it.”

“Alright, I too look forward to your work. If you have any questions or concerns from here on out you may approach me or Mrs. Margaret Alicia. I believe Mrs. Alicia will brief you on the rules meant specifically for the staff members soon.”

“Understood,” Svetlana said as she gave a bow.

Aramus sat behind a table, and it seemed like all kinds of confectioneries and sweets were placed before him by a maidservant. It was safe to say that the manor he entered was the kind that made him feel unease. The servants all gave a glare as if they were letting a criminal into the house. He felt that the house was too big for just two female individuals. Frederica was the only one living here till Sophie was taken up, and that seemed to have been recent. To think the Duchess lived here all alone with the servants before the adoption, Aramus could really feel the gloom around the rooms. This particular room was decorated with quite the number of portraits, and before him was a large window.

Moments later, the door was opened and his reverie broke. Frederica entered and sat before the aforementioned window.

“Good day to you, Mister Aramus. Did you come to check up on Sophie?” Frederica enquired, not knowing the reason behind the certain visit after a month.

Aramus had been busy in all manner of personal search for knowledge. He had been digging into the dropped case of his late mentor, who died a year ago while he was away on Japan. The poor Magister could hardly find much information, aside from learning that he died of illness, and a rumour that he was conducting odd experiments. The Magister had then visited his mentor’s grave, developed his own new spell, and finally started checking out the various books from the libraries to learn about the Gates of Tartarus. He hardly ever learned anything about the Gates of Tartarus in the end, it seemed.

“Good day, Duchess Frederica. I’d like to say that but I’m afraid this is more than a social visit. There have been some matters that have come to the fore and I require a little of your expertise, my own search at the library did not prove fruitful in the slightest so I thought that you might be able to help,” Aramus explained with a wave of his hand.

“I see. How may I help you, then? Is it related to the Descendants?”

“Somewhat. Due to some circumstances, I am now required to travel to Tartarus. It’s a quest of sorts. My own research to find a way to get there… unscathed came up short,” Aramus said worriedly. “Nothing short of a relic would help me and those are a little hard to come by.”

“Um… are you working for The Society, now?” Frederica said, looking suspiciously at Aramus now.

“What? No, why would you ever think that?” Aramus raised an eye in return, feeling a little puzzled as to why she would ask that.

“The Tartarus Project – is the biggest objective of The Society to date, Mister Aramus,” Frederica answered. “Only they would want the gates of hell opened.”

Sighing was insufficient and Aramus palmed his face. “Figured they would do something like that. No, I was tasked to retrieve a relic from beyond the gates. Either I make it or die trying,” he said simply.

“Mn… well, currently there is no way to get past the gates simply because no one knows where its kept hidden. They say that the Gates of Tartarus require a key, but no one – also – knows what that is either. It was hinted that it is a live sacrifice, however. The alternative to reaching the Infernal Realm, however, is to use a demon, I believe.”

“That complicates things. A live sacrifice or a demon, not exactly the best of choices.”

“You may fall under trouble both ways,” Frederica stated, shrugging to the matter. “Live sacrifice, well you can see the issue with that, but using a demon means summoning one, inciting the wrath of Church. You’d be branded a heretic if you’re caught in the act. Moreover, the demon summoning may not even guarantee that you’d safely venture into said Realm.”

Aramus wanted to lie down somewhere and forget about this quest. The Queen must have known about this, all things considered, but perhaps left it up to him to find his own way. “Damned if I do, damned if I don’t,” he muttered to himself.

“I do not know myself how the summoning process of an Infernal demon is performed. So you are truly on your own there. You may have to find a forbidden tome of Infernal magic. The modern ones have spells such as Ignem or Imaginem, but these are commonly practiced spells approved by Her Majesty.”

“Ugh. Yeah, she would’ve known,” Aramus mumbled again, voicing his thoughts. “So your advice would be to find a tome to somehow get a demon… I’m not killing anybody so this would probably be the only option.”

“Likely. Even if you prepare a sacrifice, it is not as though you’d know where the gates are hidden. However… there is another rumour I believe may be of interest to you.”

“Let’s hear it then. I’m willing to take any help I can get, even if it’s baseless,” Aramus answered.

“You have heard of Mary, yes?” The Duchess tried to remind him. “She is more famous in the Magic World than she herself believes. However, it is not purely because of her neutralism and strange contacts she has that can put a stop to many issues, it is also because she is said to be often pursued by demons.”

“Huh, that’s news to me. Perhaps I could persuade one of them to jump ship.”

“I doubt that. They’d have jumped ship on others by now if they wished to but didn’t. They are solely attracted on this Mary apparently.”

“So she has some special quality that draws demons to her. I see, hopefully she’ll be free to talk before
I leave for Japan. Also troublesome, this quest is extremely important to me.”

“I wish you luck. Seems like this relic retrieval mission is quite important to you indeed. I’m afraid this is the most I may do to help, however.”

“Quite alright. Now that’s over and done with, how’s Sophie been adjusting the past month?” Aramus asked with a smile.

“...” Frederica averted her gaze. “Let’s just say that… it is going well. Yes, well. Well indeed.” A moment later, Aramus heard from afar, the painful noise of a plate—or was it glass?—falling on the floor and shattering, along with something like a loud yelp. Frederica, one who liked to be prim and proper, sighed, however rare it was of her to do so.

“Good that she’s been adapting well,” Aramus said, grimacing at the sound of broken china. “Does she talk to you, and I don’t mean in the †˜wow, you’re a noble’ way.”

“Hmm.” Frederica wondered herself, placing a finger under her chin. “She has asked considerable amount of questions regarding how she should be behaving as a noble girl, and has for some reason been making enquiries about when I am home and when I am not. Not that I understand what is up with her. I have hired tutors for her, so it is a little mysterious why she’d ask me instead of her teachers.”

“Well, it just shows that you mean much more to her than any of those tutors if she asks for your input,” Aramus pointed out. “She seems to be more keen on becoming a noble that you approve of, is that not wonderful?”

“Mn, is that so? Well, you understand more about the kids so I shall believe. Let us hope she grows up as wonderfully as we’d want her to.”

“You flatter me. Is she free now? I’d like to speak with her if that’s possible,” Aramus enquired. It had only been a month but even so, he wanted to see how she had changed.

“You hear that noise?” The Duchess asked in return. “Not completely pleasant yet but it is going to get better soon enough. Sophie is learning to play the violin at the moment.”

“A month and you’ve already started her on an instrument? Well done, if I must say so myself.” Aramus answered with a raise of his eyebrows. “Well, give her time. Mannerisms and etiquette can be taught but it will take time for someone unaccustomed to it to adapt so quickly.”

“Of course, I am aware of it all; considering I’ve been through the exact same process at her age. Only difference is that she wasn’t born around here and is thus a few years behind. That said, we have discovered that she may learn to use magic.”

“She has The Gift? I don’t have a good eye for these kind of things so I would’ve missed that. Will you be planning to take her under your wing in the magic arts?”

“Yes, but not naturally,” the Duchess answered. “Assuming I come back alive after the battles, I shall continue to have her master the mundane skills that she is required to have as a noble. Perhaps it’d take a few years before she is taught any magecraft at all, unfortunately.”

“Walking before running eh. Well, I’ll go take a look at her progress if you don’t mind?” Aramus answered, getting up from his seat.

“To be honest, I’d rather you do that at a later date,” the Duchess plainly refused. “I’d prefer her to not lose focus. The music is starting to become pleasant… slowly. Now is not that time yet, Mister Aramus.”

“Very well.” Aramus nodded his understanding. “Then I shall be taking my leave, Duchess Frederica. Thank you for entertaining my sudden visit, I hope I didn’t cause any inconvenience with it. Perhaps I shall come by to see Sophie one last time before I return to Japan if my schedule allows it. If not, I leave her in your capable hands.”

“Welcome to my humble abode, Mister Sherlock,” Frederica greeted.

Sherlock came to Frederica’s manor. A grand establishment, paled in comparison to the Buckingham House but still large enough for him to open his mouth agape as he’d look up to its top spire. The establishment was mostly empty with the exception of decorations and other furnitures. Frederica was the only person living here aside from a couple of servants. The house held a gloomy air despite being kept quite clean. Moreover, the servants seemed wary of Sherlock. As expected, a shady man in a noble lady’s house—who lives without a family—put the servants on alarm.

Frederica was a lady worth the fame and title. A Duchess in every right. She commanded strong magic, and was often interviewed by The Times. When Sherlock checked, her name was indeed known far and wide by both members of the Magic World and the mundanes. The Silver Wanderer, some called her. It seemed like she had a habit of donning silver dresses. Her favourite colour, apparently. Furthermore, a spell she invented herself seemed to radiate with the same colour, which was the cause of her nickname’s creation.

Sherlock looked down to the table before him. The so-called desserts served before him looked good. A conversation over high-quality tea was always a pleasant treat. He could see a portrait of her late husband on the wall before the Duchess aside from the intricate decor. The maidservants were excused, and the two were left alone.

Sherlock motioned to take a seat after giving a short bow to Frederica. “I thank you for inviting me. Quite a wonderful place you have. Your reputation holds true.”

The two sat down after the exchange of pleasantries.

“Why, thank you. Having an afternoon tea time beside this window like this is quite the luxury, wouldn’t you think?”

“I must say, this is essentially the best way to spend an afternoon. And these biscuits,” Sherlock said as he picked up a scone on one of the numerous plates on the table, “they look like an exquisite complement to the tea. Did you bake them yourself?”

“Yes, since I bake every day,” the Duchess answered, proud of her own work. “Give them a taste, would you? I am always delighted by the expression of those who enjoys my creations.”

Obliging to her request, Sherlock bit down on the scone he was holding. It was slightly crispy thanks to a perfectly thin apple glaze that was baked onto the top. The inside was fluffy, and surprisingly warm; Sherlock wondered when the scones were made. “Wow,” Sherlock said in subdued surprise. “This is likely one of the best scones I’ve tasted yet. I’m impressed.”

“Glad to hear. So, how do you do now? That day a month ago; in the Queen’s Meeting you seemed to have quite a headache almost at the same time as I.”

Finishing what was left of the scone, Sherlock responded, “Nothing has come over me since then. At least not to the degree of what happened before. I nearly blacked out then. It makes me wonder what you could have possibly been dealing with.”

“Well, at the time I was sensing immense spiritual waves,” Frederica replied. “I am glad that you are fine, but I’d regardless wager that your true nature was the cause of your blackening out.”

“So you still believe I’m a Descendant then?”

“Of course,” Frederica said, smiling. “Well, do not mind my beliefs. It is not as though I’d force you to speak regarding your identity or force you to prove what you are. I am not going to speak about this to the Queen, either.”

“So long as the issue is approached with a level head, it hardly matters if I am a Descendant. In fact, I’d say it plays into your favour, but I thank you regardless. You are one issue, the Queen knowing is another. I’d like to keep my head on my shoulders. Anyways Frederica, what is the occasion? Have you gathered your end of the deal?”

“You’re welcome. I suppose we are both attentive of our surroundings, and must often pay heed to others’ personal space, too. Regardless, I suppose you have kept your end of the deal; you wish for the information of Olivia, yes?”

“Indeed,” Sherlock said succinctly.

Frederica passed a letter to Sherlock as she sipped her tea. Sherlock tore open the letter impatiently. What was inside was a slip of paper detailing an order of execution. The writing and the paper itself seemed somewhat old. Someone hired to kill a particular person called Olivia.

An order by The Society.

Made to kill the very woman he so loved.

At first, Sherlock held the letter almost absentmindedly. The words didn't quite register. His eyes glossed over the letter, quickly scanning over it several times, but each time it felt like none of it was sticking to him. Was it that surprising? No, not to Sherlock. The Society in general was always a suspect in his mind. However, just suspecting them was hardly enough to prevent him from wanting to vomit in disgust. His mind spiraled down into a momentary void as he recounted the fact that he’d been helping the enemy he was chasing.

Sherlock shut his eyes trying desperately to find solstice at least in the cold, rational darkness of his mind, but it was to no avail, not when it came to Olivia. He flashed through his life with The Society and cursed at his blindness. In hindsight, the threads he’d found while working in the Society had never bore fruit. Wasn’t that strange? How was it possible that he had made almost no headway into Olivia’s case. The answer was in front of him the entire time, and he was too much of a fool to realise it.

The glossy, dazed look in Sherlock’s eyes vanished, and a seething rage replaced it as his hands tightened on the letter. Was he being manipulated yet again? It was possible, but at this point, Sherlock would need to take risks on who to trust and who not to. In the absence of hard evidence, hedging his bets was all he could do, and in this case, his bets were on Frederica. I need to keep a cool head first. How many more times must I fail before I learn to not be triggered when Olivia is brought up? The meeting with the old man has taught me that much.[i] Sherlock took a deep breath and then put the letter down onto the table, and asked coolly, “And I assume your sources are reliable. Is there anything else you’ve found?”

“I suppose I have,” Frederica said. “Olivia was originally an ancestor of mine, or sorts, but she had capable brothers and sisters, and was thought she’d be wed to a noble. A baron, perhaps. Apparently, she dabbled into the underworld at some point in her life.”

Sherlock’s curiosity was piqued. “The underworld? What does that even entail?”

“Use some common sense to fill the void. It’s what The Society controls, the world of all the illegal exchanges and activities, which also includes the black market.”

“You know, that was a lot more disappointing than I expected. I mean, considering I saw an angel in the sky the other day… forget it. Back to the matter at hand, if The Society wanted her to be cut down, and if she was indeed doing some digging of her own, then that begs the question, what was she doing? Why was she doing it? Were you able to find anything about that?”

“No, I know not what Olivia was doing, but the way the letter worded the command to the ten Agents, she seemed to have held something quite valuable that they could not tolerate. To shake the composure of the entire Organization that way is rather odd.”

Sherlock couldn’t make much sense of it. The image of her as a quiet, peaceful librarian was starting to be clouded. [i]What were you looking for Olivia? What were you trying to do? “Rather odd indeed… Anyways, you mentioned that she was an ancestor of sorts? Was she a magician?”

“Of course,” the Duchess answered. “Every child of every family of mages are trained. I doubt she was an exception, and I doubt even more that a mundane could shake The Society the way she did.”

“Have you found anything else about her?”

“In terms of particulars to secrets, this is as far as I went. I can tell what little I’ve heard of her life… but I doubt that is a necessary piece of information to you?”

“It can’t hurt to learn more,” Sherlock said with curiosity.

“Simply put… she was considered a talentless girl,” the Duchess said with disappointment, sighing for once. “Olivia was a mage, and her only talent was apparently scheming, but she was never seen with positivity. She was often mocked for lacking talents but her mother seemed to have loved her regardless. Her father had a different form of thinking, and only wanted her married. At some point in her life she somehow led herself astray. I suppose by this time either someone tricked her into the darkness of England, or she herself descended into it. Lady Olivia was said to be receiving enormous amounts of information from various agents, and was guarding a certain secret sector of the library she decided to work in—again, for reasons unknown. After that, we both know that she was murdered. You seemed to have met her after she started working in the library. That said, most of this information I got is from Her Majesty, so you should be thankful.”

“The Queen, huh? Yeah, I’ll have to thank her then. But for even the Queen to know about Olivia, that’s a little odd. And a secret sector you say. It’s been a while, but do you know if the library is still standing? I wonder if she’s left something behind. In a way that no one else would realise.”

“That isn’t quite odd, the Queen keeps logs for the noble families so she has detailed journals and records on them.” The Duchess shook her head. “Unfortunately, the library is long gone now, reconstructed and all.”

“Keeping detailed records of every noble family… alright then. Well, questioning how your Queen conducts business would be hypocritical, so I’ll leave it be. So, I’ve hit another dead end then. However, I don’t think whatever she was guarding would be buried so easily. I’ll be paying a visit soon to this new building. What do you plan to do from here?”

“Nothing related to this case I suppose? I am going to be honing my skills, as I will be sent to the New World soon.”

“Well, that sounds like quite the adventure. Considering the current situation though, don’t you think it’s a little dangerous for you not to be around here?”

“There are many strong noble men and women around this country, I believe. Two others of similar rank to mine will also be sent to the New World… we have a bit of a campaign to run, I suppose.”

“If you believe so, then so will I. This †˜campaign’ sounds interesting though. Anything you can divulge?”

“...You’re gonna see it happen anyway, so I suppose a little is fine.” The Duchess gave a shrug. “You did not hear this from me. Yes?”

“As far as I’m concerned I’m just here to taste your baking and to talk of the weather. Anything else is private, you have my word.”

“A Descendant quite straight-forwardly proclaimed that they’d target some of the larger and more influential countries of the world, and so the Queen has decided that she must be stopped at all costs.”

“Wow. That’s either bold and confident, or foolish and arrogant. So she’s sent you and some others to hunt her down then?”

“I think Her Majesty intends to send quite a lot of magicians there, and apparently there was a recent change in the law of magic; forbidden spells are made valid against the Descendants. Of course, practitioners of such spells must be higher-ranking nobles, Magisters, and others are great magician titles, still, a dangerous change of rules.”

“The Queen is serious then. I don’t know about all of this though. Something about all of these Descendents confronting each other feels off, like someone is scheming something. Don’t die out there, Frederica.”

“My, are you worrying about me?” Frederica playfully replied. “I shall be fine. I’ve already been in a war-zone before. This is nothing new.”

“You’re the best client I’ve had in awhile, I’ve no choice but to worry,” Sherlock replied in jest.

“It takes a little more than flattery to win a woman’s heart.” Frederica chuckled. “I suppose you have no other business to attend to here?”

Sherlock cocked his head and closed his eyes for a bit in thought. There’s a lot to do and a lot to ask, but rushing things is not the answer. I need to work things out and think about how I approach The Society on my own before I can ask Frederica anything further along those lines. She also still suspects me of being a Descendent which works both for and against me, so at least she’ll be in contact. “Yes, I think I am done here. It was good doing business with you Frederica.”

“Duly noted, thank you for your time and work. I appreciate the results back there. Let us stay in contact for the times to come,” Frederica replied, shaking hands with Sherlock. “Do take care.”

Sincerity was not something found too often in his line of work. A bit taken aback as he shook her hand, he replied, “You too Frederica. And, I do mean it when I say be careful. When do you leave?”

“In a month or so,” Frederica answered. “But ff there are signs showing that Virgo is appearing any earlier, I will be dispatched immediately.”

Virgo huh? And it’s a she. I wonder if the old man knows anything about her. Sherlock wondered if he could help Frederica, but cast the thought aside immediately. He had plenty of other things to worry about. “Alright then, farewell. The next time you need someone to taste something, you can call on me. Maybe you can take some ingredients back from the New World.”

“Perhaps. We’ll see about the ingredients; there would be much to learn. Regardless, stay safe and Farewell.”

The house was surprisingly big. Michael looked up to find a two-storey house which was moderate for even a middle-class family. A class of people that was rather low in London considering the poverty stricken people and the rich, wealthy nobles were in far greater numbers. A surprising irony for the district in general. This house could probably hold a family of five or more.

The priest rang the bell and waited for the caretaker to open.

The maid – about whom Michael had heard little of – opened the door and looked at him, from up to down, and noticed his cross.

“How may I help you?” The maid asked with an icy cold gaze from behind her spectacles.

“Good morning, miss. I’ve come from the church, to check up on Iris,” Michael greeted with a smile.

“The Church has no business with Iris. Please leave.”

“Can’t I at least say hi?”

“Say hi to a sickly Lady in a coma?”

She’s still in a coma, huh. “Well... yes. My name’s Michael Kallweit, by the way,” he replied while offering a handshake.

The caretaker completely ignored it, and was about to close the door, but something stopped her.

“Now, that would be rude to our guest,” a familiar voice said, and Michael’s eyes widened. Iris was just behind the maid, healthy, hale, and awake! “Nikita, it is alright. Let him in.”

“Tch.” The caretaker named Nikita spat under her breath but complied, opening the door wide open and stepping aside for Michael to enter.

“Thanks,” Michael said as he entered, smiling at Nikita as he passed by her. “Good day to you, Iris, I am glad to see you’re okay now. Physically. I mean, not in a coma.”

“I am glad to see you are well, too,” Iris ushered, and Michael followed her to the living room. They both sat opposite on sofas. “How have you been faring?”

“I would like to say it has been going well but...” Michael paused, recalling the recent incidents he had to deal with. Whilst the knowledge that Iris was okay now filled him with joy, his face showed a melancholic smile as he continued talking. “A lot… a lot happened. W-While you were gone I meant. I… I’m just glad you’re okay.”

Iris giggled. “Alright, if you don’t want to talk about things, that’s fine. How did your business go with… that man you were tailing?”

“I finished my job. Actually, one of the reason I came here was to ask something regarding that,” he replied. He glanced towards Nikita’s direction as he spoke.

“And that would be?”

“Back then, why were you there. Why did you do… that?” Michael didn’t speak in specifics, as he was conscious of Nikita’s presence.

“I was curious about him, you see. But it was my own fault, so don’t blame yourself over the incident. That night, I snuck out to explore the town—childish, isn’t it?—and saw this man with a mysterious air about him. I could not help but be curious, is all.” Iris then faced Nikita with an apologetic face. “I did say sorry.”

“Just… curiosity?” Michael asked, completely surprised. “It is dangerous at night, more so here in London. I… I almost kil–” he stopped himself from speaking any further and kept his mouth shut and frowned.

“Well, that’s all in the past now. What’s done is done. Do not dwell on it. I was but a child… anyway, is that all you wanted to talk about?”

“Mostly,” Michael replied, sighing. “You seem different.”

“Really? I wonder about that.”

“You do. Quite a bit more different than when we watched that play.”

“Perhaps.”

There was a phone ringing, and the maid swiftly took out an Engine phone and handed it to Iris.

“Excuse me, Michael.”

Michael then heard Iris speaking with a steam phone.

“Yes… ah, I will make sure that the packing is done… no, not yet. Everything shall be in order soon. I shall be prepared by the morrow. Alright. I shall see you soon.” Iris then hung up and handed the phone back to her caretaker, and got up.

“I’m afraid this is it then. Michael, please take care; you are often very reckless. I must tend to other business around the house with Nikita. So I do not think I should keep you here any longer; you should go back to the Church, lest you miss another mission.”

“Ah, sorry to have taken so much of your time. I should indeed get going, I have yet to prepare for a trip in Japan,” Michael said as he stood up.

“I see… that eastern country, is it? Well, good luck.”

“It was really nice to see you well again. I hope that we get some time to talk to each other again soon. Be seeing you two, God bless you both.”

“Thank you, please stay safe.”

Michael made sure to smile at Nikita as he left.

The maid shut the door after she saw the smile, and Iris chuckled at her reaction.

“But… Japan, is it? How perplexing,” Nikita said, facing Iris. “What do you intend to do?”

“Nothing,” Iris answered without a thought. “Whatever he has to do has nothing to do with me. We just have to follow what she says, yes? Isn’t that why you’re here in the first place, to keep me in check?”

“That is correct.”

“Then I will simply do my part, as payment for my life that was saved.”

“I am glad to hear that. Let us hope your efforts are not wasted.”

“I do not think my skills have rusted. No worries. I shall craft something worthy of the Countess’ Representative...” Iris said, walking away from her maid.

This is it, I suppose. Farewell, Michael. May God bless you, and keep you save.