Cinia Pacifica Posts

After Michael’s learning of the Form of Vim had started, and he started practicing the spell of Exorcism, he did not have all that much time to hang around England, but once in awhile he would think about Iris, and what may have happened to her. A week had passed since he met Lily, and now he was rather lost as to how he’d find her. Iris used to come to him from out of the blue in the past. She’d never talk about where she lived, but she did mention the state of her household. A maid was her caretaker and she was something akin to her guardian for some reason. She did not know who the cloaked man was but he used to deliver something once every few months. After Michael shot her that night while he fought Bram, the body of Iris was brought to the Church by Michael. The Organization in turn took Iris in for a short period of time before sending her to her appropriate residence. Of course they made sure to treat her as best as they could. After handing her over he was no longer involved with her transfer so he never figured out her location.

Michael could only turn to his friend for information. Who else would know? Now that Laura was gone and most were out on missions, Robert was the only person on-the-know of things. He resided inside and checked up on Laura periodically.

Knocking on his room, Michael beckoned for him. Moments later he came out, dressed in his usual attire —a set of black clothes—but with ruffled hair.

“Good morning. It’s a little too early to be bothering me… did something happen?” He asked.

“Good morning to you too. I wanted to ask you something, something about that girl I brought here a few months ago,” Michael stated.

“You mean that person who never woke up again?” Robert asked, scratching the back of his head. “You know how much trouble Laura faced because of that mistake? We went through hell from the upper-brass.”

“To be completely honest, I didn’t plan on a girl suddenly appearing and taking that bullet. But I apologise, either way,” Michael replied. “So, you know where I can find her?”

“Well, yeah, no one intends a mistake, but our higher-ups only look at results… anyway, why do you want to find her? I’m asking this so I can lump the blame on you, because if you come back to tell me you shot her to death I’ll know what to report next,” Robert said with a grin.

“I think that would work if you didn’t tell me first,” Michael replied, sighing. “Well, I want to apologise, for one. And maybe ask why she did that in the first place.”

“Hm… well, alright, I need to look it up to be honest. I kind of forgot it myself. I’m not even sure if she’ll hear said apology though,” Robert said, going back to his room. “Come in.”

Inside the room it was very clean and organised, or rather, spacious due to a lack of things. The only messy place was his desk, paper notes all over the place. He opened the drawer and looked over some notebooks before he found one where it seemed like addresses were listed.

“Found it,” he said, “the cheap housing district, eh? Alright just scribble it down or something and be on your way.”

“Thanks.” Michael picked up a piece of blank paper and wrote Iris’ address there, then handed back the document back to Robert. “I’ll be going there now, in case anyone wants to find me,” he said as he left.

“See you later then.”

Laura still did not wake up.

Michael no longer overstayed his welcome around Laura’s room where she slept. She reminded him of Iris, somehow, whom he hadn’t met in a while. He could hardly find the time to go to her, and even if he could, what could he say to allow his attendant to meet her? Considering that Iris was in a coma, nothing would change if he’d come to her, either. The girl would have to come to him or he’d continue to have anxieties about her. Michael spent his time doing missions. Smaller works given by the Church. Some of them involved having to kill lower ranking vampires, and even getting rid of infernals summoned via failed experiments of diabolists.

Today was one such day in which he was summoned to the Church, to the halls where he could vividly remember speaking with Laura and making reports about the lycanthrope who was apparently someone he knew in reality. The figure before him was a different woman in place of Laura. Her gaze was colder, but not in any way endearing. She held no expression. Her lone presence brought about a feeling of melancholy to the church hall somehow.

“Hello, I had been sent by a different section today,” she said. “I am the Knight of Lilies. Please address me as Lily,” she said, making a light smile. She seemed to be holding a slip of paper. The girl wore a white and blue dress, seemingly not a nun, but a knight like Laura. Armour being invisible was an issue with identifying knights.

“Michael Kallweit. Pleased to meet you, Miss.” Michael returned her smile with one of his own. “Would you like some tea? Or a snack, perhaps?”

“No, I am fine, thank you.” Lily politely declined the offer and handed Michael the paper she held. Plainly, it was a description of the inquisition he had several days ago. It detailed, in general, what were likely facts regarding the events that occurred in the Queen’s Meeting and what he knew of Claudia according to what he heard and witnessed. “You may remember where this is from,” she said as Michael read the paper. “You have a new mission, Mister Kallweit.”

“I see. I thought they gave this to someone else already, after the third Infernal,” his tone sounded like he was joking, but his face was gloomy. “I suppose you are not just here to deliver this message?”

“I have a letter for the details of the mission, would you please read it?” Lily said, handing a letter from her pocket.

Michael took the letter, and subsequently tore off the seal and took out the message. Upon reading it, he learned that his mission was nothing compared to what he had been dealing with before.

The seal, now that he thought it… yes indeed, how could he miss it. Of course it was hand-written from the Pope. He was to pursue the vampire he fought that day on the grounds just outside the Buckingham House. Claudia, he found the name again mentioned.

This was serious.

The letter detailed how he was chosen for this mission because he had first-hand experience in dealing with Claudia, the Representative vampire, after some concerns for him and Laura written out of formalities.

The mission itself involved him having to leave this country for Japan, the futuristic country, where apparently Claudia was on her way to. In Tokyo the vampire would apparently go to visit, for reasons unknown. Possibly to escape the clutches of the Church and its executors. Claudia would likely be with the Countess most of the time, but not all of the time. Whatever business they were up to was likely a good thing, for any terrorism in Japan would perhaps be beneficial to the Western Alliance somehow. However, Michael’s concern was to be solely Claudia’s execution, and if possible other vampires along the way. He’d be rewarded based on his kill count of †˜heretics’ in Japan.

Lastly, Lily was supposed to be his partner in this mission. Both of them were not given the position of leading, however. They’d have to come to an agreement every time they’d take an action and plan wisely.

“Before we get started, do you have any concerns, Miss Lily? I would very much prefer to work alone, myself,” Michael said defiantly, looking straight at Lily. His tone didn’t give any hint of mockery, nor any sign that he was belittling her.

“Do you know anything regarding Japan? I haven’t been there myself, but I know their mother tongue,” Lily said, completely unfazed, and instead introducing a possible disadvantage of working alone. “The country is isolated in more ways than one, and information on it, scarce. We’d be allowed to live in the Eastern Magic Academy—as informed by the letter—for the course of this mission, and I doubt you alone can handle this monstrous heretic that you are to take down. Considering the fact that you have already once failed.”

“Very well, then. I had never thought I would be going to Japan, so I never learned the language,” Michael replied, backing down. “The problem with the vampire was it seemed like she was strange—even for a vampire, it seemed like there was something else.”

“All the more reason to not take it on alone,” Lily smiled, replying, her hand brought forward for a handshake. “Camaraderie is never a bad thing along the way of a mission, and I doubt the Pope is unwise enough to lump us together randomly. I look forward to working with you.”

Well, that is, until we find her. “Same here,” Michael replied as he shook her hand. “I suppose now’s a good time as any to get familiar with each other’s capabilities, don’t you think?”

“I suppose.” Lily gave a nod. “The trip to Japan is in a month, until then we may even formulate a strategy for how we’d deal with her after finding her. On the note of the trip, though… your passport and legal documents are still being formed and fabricated. They shall be delivered when they are ready in time.”

“I suppose I should describe her first. That vampire enjoyed dealing pain. I probably wouldn’t be here if she focused on just taking me out. She showed the ability to summon beasts and is a bit tough, but it seems that she can be susceptible to Mentem spells, seeing how effective Penance Stare and Frighten were to her,” Michael spoke, highlighting some things he noticed while fighting Claudia. “Ah, aside from those two spells, I prefer to use a gun and my sword. That is, if I’m not able to prepare traps beforehand.”

“I see,” Lily said. Half-way through Michael’s explanations of his experiences she already had a notebook out with her hands scribbling with a pen. “I suppose this ability to summon beasts is her power as a Representative… sounds dangerous.” She then looked up to Michael from her notebook. “I feel like your capabilities in terms of magic are quite limited. You should learn more spells. Granted, guns and swords are not ineffective, but a greater repertoire of spells will always help immensely, and expand your options.”

“I’d find it easier if I just learned it on the fly, but I see your point. I don’t suppose you can teach me?” He replied jokingly.

“I can teach you,” Lily answered, seriously. “I am quite studious, and am also capable of teaching.”

“That would be extremely helpful if you do,” Michael said, smiling at her. “If you do not mind, what do you specialise in?”

“ReHe spells, using wood to immobilize a target, or commanding a tree to attack is within possibilities. Otherwise I employ my blade to do the work. I do not use traps, but I am fairly experienced in carrying out ambushes.”

“I see. That’s good, we’ll need to stack up our advantages if we are to go against these types.” Michael tried to recall any more information he could bring up, but he figured Lily would know about the basics with regards to vampires.

“What kind of areas would you prefer for setting traps? To best utilise my spells we’d need greeneries to some extent, however a common place like that in Japan would be… a park? That would far too spacious and open for traps, I’d think.”

“That, and we’d probably have to lure them out in order to bring them there in the first place. That being said, given enough time, I could set up some in most places,” Michael said, pulling a thin piece of wire from his sleeve. “You think we can gather some intel at the Academy?”

“We can ask around, and check out the landmarks given time,” Lily answered. “There is hardly any information in here, so I suppose we can only come up with strategies, half of which may not even be applicable due to the nature of the areas.”

“Hmn, I suppose so. When we finally go to Japan next month they’ll have had a month ahead of us, at least. We should consider that too.”

“Claudia still lurks in London, but perhaps not for long. We do not know when they depart,” Lily answered. “I think they are avoiding facing her in England, hence we’re going to be following her to Tokyo.”

“Oh. If that is what they want, then it will be so. Well then, I believe you said you could teach me a bit more about magic?”

“Yes? I can, what kind of magecraft interests you?”

“Ignem spells, mostly. It would be helping me a lot. I’ve managed to use a few here and there, but I don’t really have one at my disposal.”

“Are you sure about wielding Ignem spells? Some may brand you a heretic considering the roots of the spells involve drawing mana from the Infernal Realm,” Lily warned. “Some even theorise that the mana of the Infernals are corrupting the world at a slow rate.”

“I find it efficient in dispatching the actual targets, the few times I’ve used them.”

“That does not change the things, however… besides, there are other useful Arts, or Forms, if you are so interested in them specifically. Vim is often employed by priests, especially the spell of Exorcism. I hear they affect the Infernals like vampires.”

“Oh, I’ve heard about that spell. It sounds really useful, but I haven’t had time to learn it. I think now’s a perfect time to learn it, actually.”

“I see, then I suppose you’d like me teach that? Do you understand the Form of Vim, however?”

“Haven’t got a clue.”

“...I suppose we’re starting from the basics.”

“Yeah, sounds like a plan.” Michael scratched his cheek as he laughed awkwardly.

“That took a while to convince her,” Catherine sat down on the sofa in her room. Her room was on the third floor, and it was grand in its own way, and more personalised unlike the room at the Ritz. There were paintings adorning the walls and a vivid colour of red for the decor, just like the carpets. The bed was marvelously large, as if for a princess. Claudia’s employer sighed despite not wanting to as a result of finally getting her well-deserved rest. “You should not be so forth-coming about your experiences, my dear.”

Claudia only now entered the room briefly after following Catherine. Apparently she had the privilege to stay with Catherine even past bedtime on her mistress’ permission.

“Yes, yes. I figured if I mentioned past experiences she would only yield to allowing you to leave,” Claudia replied, scanning the room casually as if she had just walked into her own. “Though even if the outcome was the latter, I suppose that would not be enough to stop you, would it?”

“Of course not. I am dead-set on Sagittarius, and I dare not avoid an opportunity to deal with the other two Descendants that Japan has managed to have under their palms,” the Countess said, determined to crush other Descendants.

Claudia hummed, pleased to hear. “Good, and here I thought the yoke of a parent would bind the great Countess from her sworn duty. Ohohoho,” she chortled in a teasing manner.

“Oh, please, I know how to lead myself, albeit I do attempt to play a good daughter, nothing beats the feeling of a successful act.”

“I say, you are quite the thespian. It is stifling to say the least, seeing how believable you are,” Claudia half-joked, coating her sentence with an impressed applause to her Mistress.

“I used to be an actress, just so you know. You’re too young to learn… the various pleasures scattered across the world. Sex – that act of mating which you so obsess over – is mere a part of the fun.”

And with that, Claudia’s comedic applause came to an abrupt and skittering halt. She blushed red and looked to the Countess with furrowed brows. “W-Well I won’t learn any of those pleasures staying cooped up on this primitive island…” Claudia replied in a mock offended manner. She turned away and felt her burning red face and huffed. “Christ, you are so direct… almost too direct that it is polarising….

“To be fair, it is dependent on character rather than location in your case, my dear,” the Countess replied, not agreeing with her notion. “There are plenty of theatres here, for example. In fact, this is the only country where you may spend your life doing the classy theatre acting performances for a living – I’d be happy if I were you. This island is a treasure trove of things. You are missing out, young lady.”

“Acting was never my forte, however,” Claudia replied, shaking her head. “I was always interested in dancing, though I seldom practiced—let alone tried—any routines in my lack of spare time. There was always something about dancing which had me so mystified; the energy of the crowd as you take the stage which deluges into your movements, the bright lights showcasing your body in its entirety, and the ability to wow those who look on at you. It was a passion I picked up back in Paris, though, probably an idle one.” Claudia looked into the ceiling, staring somberly.

The Countess burst out laughing, so much that she held her stomach – again. “My dear, you are quite amusing. I was only providing an example. I never thought acting was my forte either, I can dance just as good as acting. I can even do fencing, and yes I did sorcery in my lifetime as well… what else? Right, sports. It’s a matter of having the time to put in the effort. That said, England is the only country where balls and court dancing hold more than just a meaning. Court dancing is heavily misunderstood in the New World. On the contrary, there are various styles out there that even I never explored. You, as you are now, have time to invest. Why not pick up a dancing course sometime? I doubt you’d regret it.”

Claudia puffed out a cheek and pouted. The Countess’ laughing burned into her skin like a molten hot brand. She sighed and evidently rubbed her forehead. “Right, yes… I suppose finding a teacher couldn’t hurt…” Claudia said, muttering under her breath with defeat laced in her voice. “I would ask you something along the lines of, †˜Oh, you play sports?’ but knowing how long you’ve lived, trying different things is a given.”

“Ahhh… I did not mean to hurt you so,” the Countess said, approaching her so-called maid and patting her like before. “Mnm… not every one of us Descendants picks up different things just because we live long. In simply twenty years you can do most of the things I did, but only if you focus on them and don’t deal with… say, family, or other little aspects of life. A year itself is a lot of time. How about… let me see; on the topic of Descendants that lived long and did not try different things… mn,” the employer considered carefully, “how’d you consider the old tale of Virgo?”

“I’ve never heard it…” Claudia replied after waving off the Countess’ apology in acceptance. “It is not mentioned a lot in the Royal Academy, but on the rare occasion it is, they only tell us of the previous Virgo’s defeat, or another mixed story on top of that.”

“Previous? Ah, yes, we only ever had one Virgo throughout the real history,” the Countess said, apparently correcting herself. “In reality, Virgo was a ruler of a certain nation that is off the map of the current world. All the other nations she conquered allowed her domain to be so large that she was undoubtedly fearsome. She was indeed defeated in battle, for everyone wished to bring her down to the level of her very heels.”

“As do they feel about every other Descendant, yes?” Claudia added.

“The reasoning behind wanting her to go down was distinctive. She was recognised as an extremely prideful and arrogant ruler. She had dozens of lovers, and no one was actually loved. The bitter feeling of never being loved back by those who claim to love you, and would even have sex for the sake of only pleasure… have you ever experienced it? Many who were related and were involved with Virgo did, and that bitter feeling was enough to aid in revolution… and the enemies beyond the kingdom’s walls simply took advantage of its inner turmoils...”

Claudia was no doubt taken aback by that. For such a trivial reason? “My, I had no idea she was promiscuous….” Claudia said to herself, placing a hand on her chin. “Had I ever experienced something like this? No, only within a few of my books. But, by the writing, I could tell the authors were feigning extreme pain; but within a few pages of text and reality is a two-way street. I can imagine how bad it feels, being treated in such a manner. Yes… but I see no reason to revolt against her for that cause.”

“I suppose she is more up your alley in terms of tastes. Promiscuous indeed, for she loved pleasure, and absolutely detested those seemingly wanting to be over her. The men united under a banner – a common belief, so to say – for they felt betrayed, and no less were they… killed. Yes, my dear, killed… so that they’d never tell her people that she engaged in depraved unions with them, so that her name would remain clean to the eyes and unsullied by her countrymen. No ruler was perfect, and nor was she, the alluring Queen of a long-forgotten country. Word spread out, of course. Virgo’s pride and open insults to other nations were much more than simple offensive, too. Humans were none the wiser, for the knowledge of the Descendants were as scarce as diamonds – I’d wager they still are in some cases – and thus people hardly knew what the Queen was. All they called her was… a monster of the battlefields.”

“A… monster?” Claudia questioned, unsure if she heard the Countess’ words correctly the first time. She raised a brow in confusion no doubt. “On what grounds was she so?”

“She used her powers openly, to be specific.”

“I see… what a tale. I especially like this version better than the one they taught us in the Academy. This would be a scandal if prying ears would find out.”

“A scandal of someone who is doubted to live? I doubt it,” the Countess said, shaking her head. “But… do you really think she killed her so-called mates she found pleasure from?”

“I would not be surprised if that were so, honestly. As depraved as that sounds, I guess that’s just my cynicism talking again.”

“Allow me to give you a hint, my dear. She adored them, even if she did not love them… she had never meant to treat them badly, for they gave her what she wished from them… yet, how did her intimates die?”

“...Oh my, they died from the sex itself?”

“Pfft, hahaha! No, silly. I had killed them,” Catherine answered. She then resumed her laughter, but it was more evil than simply finding Claudia’s guess hilarious.

“Oy…” Claudia said, rubbing her temples with a chuckle, feeling silly. “So you caused her vilification of the men around her, in secret, I’m guessing?”

“My villainy was simply a catalyst to setting the flames up among her men, in the most wrongest of ways. I caused her downfall like so, and it was a sight all the more pleasant to witness. It was a glorious day – observing Queen Victoria slaying Virgo at midnight exactly, and sealing her. Beautiful.”

Claudia hummed, not surprised her Countess would cause something like that. She was interested in this tale, regardless. “How devilish of you, Countess. Truly. I have no issue against it, but my question remains; why? The same reason you intend to snuff out the other Descendents now?”

“I kill Descendants, or cause their doom. That is my objective, and to that end…” the Countess paused, looking towards the window listlessly, and the chirping birds beyond it, “I shall accomplish it through whatever means I must adopt.”

“That is all I need to hear.” Claudia nodded, accepting of this. “Then I will be right behind you. Every step you take, every move you make, every person you kill,” Claudia paused for a moment to vocally crack her index finger once more, “I will be there to ensure they are thorough. As your Representative, I will be more than that—I will be your sword and shield… and I would prefer it if you were the hands that swung me.”

“I have high expectations of you,” the Countess said, palming the girl’s cheek. Her smile more than simply enticing. “Then, as your wielder, I’d be able to… hm, admire your form, yes?”

Staring her employer in the face, Claudia smiled with half-lidded eyes. She straightened her posture just so she could look up to the Countess. “I am your weapon. Admire me, use me, or wield me as you please. I will not mind at all…” she said, finding Catherine’s hip with her hand, tracing it with her finger.

“I see, then for the rest of the day, under the veils that are these four walls; I shall pamper you in what you would love to indulge in the most pleasurable… ways that Virgo so loved,” Catherine said, she raised her lips up to Claudia’s ears, her hands slipping into her back for a light embrace. “Offer to me your blood, present to me a sweet dream.”

“That I will, my Countess…” Claudia beamed, unbuttoning the front of her shirt partly from the very cleavage of her breasts, completely ready to allow the woman to take her. “I’m yours…”

“Very well.” The Countess’ fangs dug under the skin of her Representative as she ravenously sucked on Claudia’s blood after biting at the corner of her neck. The blood was apparently so delectable that she almost forgot to say what came next to her mind. “You may drink mine too, my dear.”

“Y-Yes…” Claudia said, complying. She bit lightly alongside Catherine’s shoulder, working her way up to the side of the woman’s neck where she dug her fangs inside. She drank copious amounts of blood that the girl’s mind nearly went blank. She still tried to process what was going on here, whether she drank the blood of the Countess, or that she was going to bed with her; Claudia didn’t know anymore. All that was to focus on was the woman in front of her, the woman who stole her first kiss, the one who accepted her when there was no one else.

The Countess, Claudia’s Countess.

“I feel strangely covetous today… you will become mine… won’t you?” Claudia found herself pushed down subsequently. Clothes? What clothes? The two were hardly covered by any form of silk or fabric objects. The Countess’ fingers traced across her navel, and it flared Claudia’s anticipation rapidly as she playfully caressed the girl. The sheepish grin that was mixed with a cute devilish look on the Countess’ face was simply priceless. “Entertain me,” she said under her breath before hearing more of her moans. How delightful her expression was. How pleasing the sensation was. How music to her ears it was.

Claudia simply hummed, pleased from the very sensation that was the Countess’ touch. She practically moaned from it – having to endure this – granted her sensitivity rather she holding it back. She wouldn't give Catherine the pleasure of the entirety of her voice just yet. “Yes, I will do as you ask, Countess. I will entertain you… I will be yours...” Claudia ran her hands along her employer's back gently, peppering kisses along the woman's collarbone. The adrenaline was starting to get to her, Claudia was starting to grow restless as she caressed the Countess with zest. “God, I can't take this anymore – just fuck me up, please. Don't tease me anymore...”

The Countess giggled. “Your choice of words are as vulgar as ever, so unacceptable to Englanders, yet so amusing.”

Something she’d never have imagined occurred as Claudia’s eyes found its way down to her employer’s crotch. Was she imagining it?

“I can make the impossible manifest,” Catherine whispered lovingly, her sweet words melting away every form of reason in Claudia’s mind. “Would you like me to take it from you? ...Your virginity?”

Claudia, who stared mystifyingly at the Countess' new manhood—womanhood—she didn't know anymore—with longing eyes. She bit her lip and gazed at Catherine, with almost an impatient expression. At this point, it did not seem like she cared any longer. “I don't believe you heard me earlier, Countess, and it was not my intention to misinform – I said: fuck. Me. Up,” she expressed as vulgarly as she could manage, gripping the woman's arms tightly.

However, on the contrary, the timeless lady who could manipulate her body to grow such a thing playfully ignored Claudia’s pleas.

“Oh, are you telling me what to do now? That is not quite how you make a request, my dear. You should help me prepare like a good girl…”

“Oh, you tease~,” Claudia said, completely entranced by this ability to shape one's body to their desire. With that, she complied, gripping her employer in a single hand. She gave a few simple breaths and a mental thought of what she read in her books before opening her mouth and taking the most of Catherine in before gagging a little.

“I suppose you are new to this, not bad, however…”

Claudia looked like a puppy as she sat on her knees and wiped her mouth clean of saliva which lingered from her lips. She looked up at Catherine with the most amusing expression she had ever seen, almost as if the girl was begging. “Please... take me now, I cannot hold any longer...” she urged.

“Very well…”

“Welcome home, daughter,” a motherly figure said, her voice sounded strong and overbearing. Her hair long black and wavy, she was tall and seemed to be beautiful, not as much as the Countess, but she had the charm of maturity, along with the airs of strictness. “I see you have been out a lot. I hope you do not overindulge your stay in the Ritz Hotel.”

“It is a marvelous place, though, mother. I do not see why I should not do so,” Catherine replied, acting like a real daughter. “It’s closer to the academy, and it has – admittedly – better facilities. I’m sure Rose would agree too had she agreed to come with me today.”

“Hmph, you and Rose should learn from Violet. She’d rather travel than waste a penny for the sake of extra luxury. Kids these days really need to learn from her… ”

“Now, now…”

The conversation continued, and it seemed like Lady Caroline Vanden-Bempde-Johnstone was more than just distressed from her worries about her daughters. Claudia stood behind Catherine as the so-called mother and daughter had a talk over tea on the balcony. She was introduced as a maid Catherine hired after she revealed her plans to travel out of the country. Claudia was supposedly her personal maid, a helpful companion for her travels.

“And really! To think you’d want to travel overseas now, there should be a limit to your wanderlust. You never know what dangers lurk out there in the modern counties. I do not know how much your maid will be of use there...”

“Fret not, Madame. I will ensure – with all my might – that my Mistress will remain unscathed in her travels,” Claudia reassured, taking a note from back when she was an actual maid. Within this sentence, she even made her classic bow with both hands folded along her thighs. “I am much more than a simple maid, you see. I have a keen sense of combat, all to my Mistress’ liking.”

“Can you… really?” Vanden-Bempde-Johnstone enquired, narrowing her eyes as she analysed Claudia’s figure for the first time. “I do not mean any offense to you, but you strike me as a heiress of a noble house that went under long ago, or the likes, yet you appear to be foreign… your character is seemingly odd,” she frankly stated her opinion, with coldness and brutal honesty. That was, however, this lady’s charm. “Are you sure you can take care of my daughter? Do think before you speak. Nobles of England are the nation’s prized treasures for the future. They must be treated with utmost care, and the dangers of slavers and human traffickers are ever present.”

“Mother… you are being rather overprotective,” Catherine expressed, smiling. She was somehow defeated, but seemed to appreciate the caring mother. “I shall be just fine.”

“Indeed,” Claudia agreed. “I am well aware of the dangers of this decrepit world… slavers and human traffickers alike. I may not look it, but I am able-bodied, Madame.” Claudia’s ruby pupils narrowed and glimmered as she said this.

“You too…” Catherine shook her head, disappointed. “Such dangers are present everywhere, mother, but not as common as exaggerated as they are said to be,” she claimed, going against the views of both. “We will be just fine.”

“There you go again, being careless!” The mother disagreed with the daughter strongly, and it seemed like she shared Claudia’s opinions instead. “Your maid seems much more knowledgeable and aware of the situation this world is in.”

“On the contrary, I am neither agreeing with my Mistress or you in particular; I know in fact that this world is dangerous. At the same time, I believe we cannot stand idly by in fear of what might, or what would happen. Fear is just another deep-seated reaction we humans face – and in my honest opinion, it is also something I believe we all could overcome with rational thinking,” Claudia voiced. “Madame, I understand your concerns, as my parents were the same way – however, I cannot rebel against my Mistress’ wishes. If she wants to go, I cannot advise against it.”

“Oh, no, you are agreeing,” both Catherine and the mother said in unison, surprising themselves.

Catherine looked at her mother and shrugged. “You are essentially implying that my mother isn’t aware of dangers, while you are basically saying the same thing as she is.”

“And before you get deep on the fear topic; you’re not supposed to advise anyway. Don’t even talk about it. You are but a maid, know your place,” the mother said, strict, but Catherine smiled in return to this response.

“Mother, that is exactly what she is saying. Doubtless, no mere maid or even you can change my pursuit for adventure. This is an unmistakable trait I so possess. We are all aware of dangers.”

Claudia nodded. “That is all I was saying. Forgive me if I offended in any way, Madame.”

The coach walked up to open the door of the carriage after it stopped. The two ladies stepped out and looked from down-to-up and viewed the manor in all its glory.

“Welcome to my humble – official – abode, my dear.” Catherine was all ladylike in how she portrayed herself up till now. However her face turned cold. “If… if something were to happen to me, you should take shelter here,” she said, looking up to the sky with a forlorn look.

Claudia blew a bang of her hair from her eye, all the while humming in affirmation to her employer’s words. She smirked, however... “I will make sure nothing of the sort will ever happen. If my body is able in protecting you, we won’t ever have need of such a place,” Claudia said, now with a sincere expression.

“That is untrue, my dear, for this world is full of dangers you have yet to learn of, and besides, this is a good second hiding place as any.”

“Still, wistful thinking like that makes me uneasy. I’m no woman of superstition and the like, but even something as simple as a jinx is enough to unsettle me,” Claudia replied. “Then again, I think too much on things. Is it likely that your parents will find it appealing to have their home used as a place for stowaways?”

“Jinx is the most basic of superstitions, though,” Catherine retorted, laughing. “No, they love to hire maids, if anything.”

Claudia snorted in reply, realising her words were two sides of the same coin. “I’m sorry – they love to hire maids? I’m a little curious as to how many they have working under them, now.”

“Quite a lot, actually,” Catherine answered earnestly. “This family has quite the number of members so it is never enough. In fact, I planned to introduce you as someone I had already hired as a personal maid – of sorts, I suppose – to accompany me in my travels.”

“Oh my, back to stage one then, I suppose,” Claudia remarked, chortling at the thought of being a maid once more.

“Oh, don’t worry your pretty little head off. Not like I’d actually make you do any chores like a real maid, and neither do I need one” Catherine said, “It’s for show, for show.” She walked, ushering for Claudia to follow along.

“Right, right. It will be simple until they start asking questions. Gods know, I am a horrible liar.” Claudia chuckled, following closely behind the Countess.

“We’ll be just fine. That said, when I meant for you to come here if something happens… you’d simply become the next †˜Catherine’ to this family… if that is within this era, of course,” she said. The servants were already lined on both sides as the two proceeded towards the main door of the manor.

“So provided something were to happen to you – Gods forbid – I would live here… as you, basically?” Claudia asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Indeed, in name and status only, of course,” Catherine answered. “Unless you wish to take over the position of one of my so-called sisters. Be my guest in that case, except Rose. She is also a member of this family, though it is a fact that she is truly related by blood. Regardless, we have specialist hypnotists for such shadowy work of replacements to be possible… right here in this house.”

Claudia mused. “Now that’s something to come in handy. Though, basically we are visiting Rose’s family, then,” she said. “I imagine such replacing is done rather often?”

“No, it is – on the contrary – rare. We don’t over-indulge our most effective methods to gaining safe identities to have proper access to the society in general. It’d only make it easier to uncover the secret via investigation.”

“You must be wondering where I am taking you today,” Catherine said, peering through the window of the carriage. Claudia sat beside her, and the coach could hardly hear them speak. The two were bored back in the Ritz, and suddenly, the Countess suggested a trip for a change of pace. Rose refused to come, and Marco was away, busy with his… dining. Meanwhile, Ansel was tasked with preparing for their travel to Japan. A month had already passed by the time this day came to be. Apparently preparing a trip isn’t easy, and the vampires had quite a lot of elements to be cautious of. When the Queen’s Meeting had ended, many members of the Organizations were going back to their respective countries, crowding the Magic Trains, making it improbable for travel at the time.

“That was what I wondered, indeed. Where exactly are we going? Something to pass the time, perhaps?” Claudia replied, crossing one leg with the other in her seat.

“I had figured that I should introduce you to my current family and household,” Catherine answered. She seemed strangely happy, and her expression wasn’t anything devilish, how rare. “Albeit, not all of the family is in London; some are far away on the Eridge Castle. I have two sisters, and a so-called mother at my so-called home in London.”

“No father?” Claudia questioned, albeit surprised that Catherine would even consider bringing her to meet her family of all people. She wondered if she had gained her trust far enough to manage something like that.

“No, I do have a father. Lord Abergavenny, in other words William Nevill, Marquess of Abergavenny. However, he and the rest of the family reside in Eridge Castle, as previously mentioned, my dear.” The Countess looked towards Claudia and chuckled. “It is a little ironic, considering his profession and my life-long task, because he works as a lieutenant for the second Life Guards. He is taking a little time off at the moment at the Eridge, otherwise he’d be here in London.”

“As expected of the famous Countess, she comes from a prestigious family as well. I wonder if they are as… interesting as you are? That would be a sight to bear,” Claudia remarked, smirking.

“Oh, I am but pretending to be a daughter of an aristocratic family,” Catherine explained, implying that she should not get too excited about the other members of the family. “They are not aware of my identity, and I… treat them as family, for now. I have simply chosen a prestigious background in this era to maintain a public identity, both in the mundane world and the Magic World. How else would anyone know me as Catherine in the Royal Academy?”

“I see, that would make sense, actually,” Claudia said, placing a hand on her chin. “Shame, and I thought I would finally meet the one responsible for that alluring charm of your’s. I must know who you inherited that from.” Claudia seemed all too interested about that for some reason to want to meet Catherine’s real family. Truthfully, she was curious about her rather… open personality.

Catherine laughed. So much that it was not normal as she held her stomach from laughing too much. “I see, I see! You’re curious of my late mother. Unfortunately, I am so old that I do not even remember her, †˜tis a pity indeed. I always thought this charm you refer to was something I developed throughout my life. I was much more stoic in the past, mind you.”

Claudia appeared intrigued, more so than usual. “You? Stoic? That is one image I cannot see, but then again, I have only seen you as you are now – in this form, mind you. Any different would just be impossible for me to picture.”

“And you shouldn’t picture me in those states. This is an image I worked hard for, I must continue to benefit from it,” Catherine stated then looked through the window again. “Back when I was stoic, I was but a murderer, desperately looking for something I sought for long ago…”

Reclining in her seat, Claudia hummed, seeing a bit of herself in the Countess now that she heard that. Come to think of it, she hardly knew much about her employer at all besides the fact that she was known as the leader of a terrorist organization. “I see. And that something… did you ever find it?”

“Mn? Yes, yes, I did. However, I lost it not too long after that,” Catherine answered, smiling wryly.

Claudia did not know why, but that smile unsettled her a bit. She never met anyone who would smile from losing something. “I don’t mean to pry, but what was that thing, exactly?” She asked curiously, almost hesitant.

“That is, of course, love,” Catherine answered, as if it was obvious from the start.

Claudia’s eyes widened at that. Marco did say it was difficult to shoot for someone like the Countess. Apparently someone managed to grab her interest long enough so long ago. Moreover, Claudia was a little taken aback to hear that Catherine was capable of something like that. The girl couldn’t help but smile and nod at the Countess. “You become more interesting every time I speak with you, Countess.”

“I’ve married quite a lot of times in my lifetime,” the Countess revealed, continuing to talk about more her past. “However, love was as short as the life of man. Eventually, I was struck with despair, and desired sleep… so that I would find my beloved in my dreams. Pitiful, wouldn’t you say? I learned to move on at some point of course; I learned that only those who’d be able to accompany you for long are best to be close. Claudia, my dear, you are one such existence. Do you know how much I cherish a long-lasting existence – the person I made to be my Representative?”

Claudia pursed her lips. “I’m assuming a great deal?” She asked, surprised to be hearing all this now.

“You are a vampire like none other. You’re closer to what I am; you’re akin to a daughter to me, my dear.” The Countess smiled, happy, her countenance holding no malice at all, and she patted Claudia’s hair lovingly. “Oh, my, I apologise; I should not have done that. I almost ruined your hair.”

“N-No, it is fine… I don’t mind if you touch it at all,” Claudia replied, making an entranced expression. She almost let out a surprised sound when she did, too, something of a yelp. Could it be that she’d become aroused with contact of her hair, perhaps? That was new.

“Oh, is that so? I thought I heard something like a moan?” The Countess enquired. “Do pardon me, I do not mean to distress you in any way.”

“M-Me? Distressed? No, no, no. I… I am not distressed at all…” Claudia replied, feigning a false, and easily seen-passed guise. How about that, she was even sweating a little.

“I can easily see past any form of social feigns, my dear,” Catherine said, chuckling. “Are you sure you should be lying to me?” She asked, wiping Claudia’s sweat with a handkerchief.

Claudia, flushing red once the Countess’ handkerchief came in contact with her face, coughed a little at the question in an attempt to compose herself. “N-No, I apologise, Countess,” she responded with a small lapse in her voice.

“Then I’d love to hear the truth behind the ruse.” With the handkerchief taken back, she observed Claudia’s countenance. She was tense, and the Countess couldn’t be help but be amused. “Is your scalp perhaps sensitive?”

“...Along with a select few parts of my body… yes,” Claudia answered truthfully, docile at that.

“Mn, select few parts, is it?” Catherine’s fingers found their way into Claudia’s ears, then down to her neck. “Like… these?”

With a start, Claudia yelped once more, clear this time. “Y-Yes, those. Th-those especially…” she said, attempting not to lose sight of her words under her own moans.

“Oh, dear, I only meant to tease you for but a moment, I did not consider the possibility of my guesses to be correct.” Catherine laughed again, taking back her hand. “I shall stop now lest you begin to detest me for sexual harassment. I’ve already stolen a kiss. It’d be strange in ordinary circumstances, you’d likely prefer a gentleman treating you this way.”

“I... well, women are in equal value to me. It is not like I hate this, either – rather... it is an honor to be treated in this manner by you,” Claudia mused, blushing. “Is it wrong to enjoy such a depraved thing?”

“I do remember that you never quite resisted when I stole a kiss – granted I went along with the mood – but I always gave the benefit of the doubt instead of making an assumption of your nature,” Catherine said, considering Claudia’s words and taking her sweet time. “Is it wrong from your perspective? If not, then it likely isn’t. I shall treat you in this manner if you really enjoy it, however.” She giggled, mischievously as ever.

“M-My nature? N-N-No! It is not wrong, but I meet with many a person telling me that it is. I… I am glad that you would give me the benefit of the doubt, regardless. I’ve had a lot of people turn on me as of late, but I couldn’t be any happier to be...t-t-teased by you...” said Claudia, mind in scribbles that she could hardly spit out a stable word.

“Yes, yes. I see. Despite your experiences you’re still a young maiden at heart. For a vampire, camaraderie is quite rare and limited, yet all the more precious when found. People would turn on you for your apparent villainy, but telling them the truth is not the answer… performing your given duty and orders is where it is. And lastly… if any amount of teasing makes you happy, it’d be my pleasure to entertain you.”

Claudia looked on at her employer with a longing expression and brought her quivering lips to a smile. She was far more exhilarated than she thought. But why not? This was her employer, and nothing simply got Claudia’s flowing than something as scandalous as that. She could only mouth, “Oh my God,” as she shielded her eyes under her hand in disbelief for a moment, removing them to see Catherine with that mischievous smile again. “I’m so glad, Countess. I believe you just made my day…”

“Of course, as expected of myself,” Catherine said, proud. “I know you best, after all,” she added, patting the girl’s hair again with a laugh.

Holding back a moan, Claudia substituted it with a pleased sigh. “Ou-out of everyone in BLoodLuSt?”

“For now, I suppose.” Catherine giggled again. “Eventually you will get to know a gentleman. Like… Marco, yes?”

Claudia pursed her lips, pausing for a moment. “O-Oh… he told you? Or is that your well-known intuition telling you so?” Claudia asked, almost taken aback.

“I learned via observation. The countenances speaks more than mere words, my dear.”

“Was I really that obvious? You are just too amazing – as expected of you, Countess.”

“Yes, but I think it isn’t too hard to tell considering the glances you two give exchange.”

Claudia scratched the back of her head and snorted. “Of course...” she said with a defeated smile, sighing. “I was in a really frail state, that night – when I lost my arm – to the point where I needed somebody, I guess. And Marco... he's one of the good ones, too.”

“Well, it is all well now. I’m sure Marco would treat you as you should be – as a †˜fair’ lady like he claims. I wish you two luck from the bottom on my heart.”

“T-Thank you, Countess, really, and here I thought you would be indifferent on the matter.”

“I may be a terrorist but I do have a heart for my comrades, if anything,” the Countess said, pretending to frown.

As if out of turn, Claudia laughed at the Countess’ false frown after a moment of staring at her blankly. Seeing her do it was just priceless to her in some way. It reminded her of the many overexaggerated reactions of someone she once called friend. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry. It’s just that you with a frown like that is unbecoming.”

“My, no need to laugh that hard…”

It had been a week, and Michael was always around the door leading to Laura’s room. Unfortunately he wasn’t allowed to be with her at some point, and was forced out by Robert, and a certain doctor he brought with him. He never even caught the sight of this so-called doctor, as he didn’t even care. He simply waited to see Laura recovered, and that’s all that mattered. He hardly even ate much ever since then, and Robert would seldom force him to have at least a chunk of bread or two.

“Michael, you alive there?” Robert asked. When Michael looked up he found his old friend, seemingly wearing a dreary look. “I have news on Laura.”

“You expression does not fill me with hope at all,” Michael replied. He tried to smile at Robert, but it made him look more morose than cheery.

“She… won’t be waking up for a while,” Robert said, closing his eyes. “We tried what we could, but it seems like she just isn’t waking up. When that vampire came out of her, luckily, its portal – or well, we believe it was a portal – was formed just beside her heart. If he’d wrecked her heart while he came out, I doubt she would be alive at all. I am ashamed to say this but, I am sorry.”

“No, it’s thanks to you we still have the chance. I was supposed to guard her, but look what I’ve done.”

“The other doctor we had recommended in mechanising her through the technology of steam, and even suggested an implementation of artificial organs. I… I suppose… well, I had to refuse. It is a rather unsafe method if you ask me. She may not be the same person she was if that would happen. In fact, we had only learned that Laura is a faerie after this incident, and her bodily structures – while the same on the outside – are different on the inside compared to humans. I’d rather not try something like gambling with her life. But perhaps she’d be awake if it’d succeed by now.”

“Thank you for that. Although, I’m surprised you took her being a faerie well, she was conscious about it.” Michael hesitated before continuing, “Did you find anything… else? Will that vampire be able to do that anymore?”

“No, we removed the taint,” Robert answered. “There was something like bad blood lurking in her,” he continued, sighing. “You know, her race was a shock to me at first. In fact, we didn’t publicise this information. The Pope, however, sent a letter that we should keep this to ourselves. So I suppose Laura is allowed to stay in the Organization without being branded a heretic. I wonder why that rumoured Mary girl would be delivering the letter, though. Perhaps the Organization is more busy than it seems.”

Michael sighed in contentment as he listened to Robert. The news of the Pope himself sending a letter with regards to this case was a surprise, but considering who got involved in the incident, it made sense. He wished he could’ve seen Mary when she delivered the letter so that he could thank her. The last time they talked just after the incident, Michael fell asleep. “That’s good. Then again, if they wanted to brand her as a heretic they wouldn’t have sent you first.”

“Well, they did not know at the time. When Mary carried her here I could only keep my eyes on that wound and how much effort I’d have to pour forth to bring her back to proper health. That said, you know how empty this Church is usually most of the time, especially at night. The priest who deals with the mundanes seems to hardly involve himself with the more important matters.”

“Well then. I suppose now’s a good time to break fast,” Michael said as stretched his arms. His hunger came in bulk as his worries became lighter.

“About time you said that, I’d been wondering if you’d die from a lack of food or from a load of worries.”

“You underestimate me. Besides, I’ve got work to do, can’t die just yet.”

“To think he’d give you such a trial…” the Queen’s voice trailed away as the two were walking down a different tunnel after exiting the Faerie Realm through the gates they passed through earlier. Apparently the Queen was taking him elsewhere now.

“Damned if I do, damned if I don’t. There wasn’t much choice but to accept.” Aramus said. He was already resigned to whatever was going to happen to him. At the very least, he wasn’t dead.

“You cannot live through the flames of hell unless you have holy magic to combat them, or equip yourself a protective relic… it is a harsh trial.”

“Guess I’ll have to find something that can allow me to do that, maybe one of Takeru senpai’s suits…” Aramus said wistfully, remembering how bullets bounced off his suit like they were nothing but pullets. “I don’t have the faintest idea of anything else otherwise.”

the Queen chuckled, as if Aramus was cracking jokes for her.

“Well, when there is a will, there is a way. I know the solution, but it is your trial so you must find it yourself,” the Queen replied.

“Things never come easy, do they?” He asked in response. “I suppose I’ll go dig up some more notes on Tartarus in the library or with Duchess Frederica. She should know a thing or two. I really want that suit though, it was marvelous.”

“Mn… I doubt there is any information on Tartarus specifically, but anything pertaining to hell itself may contain a clue,” the Queen stated. “I’m afraid I cannot provide a suit that is enhanced with technology like Japan, however…”

“I’m not even sure what the suit is made of but I want it, it is absolutely dapper.” Aramus exclaimed. “And thank you for the information, Your Majesty. Every little bit helps, especially for a place as dangerous as Tartarus.”

“Well, we do not have what they have, but we do have our own form of dashing suits with strong magical protection.”

“First I’ve heard of it. I know clothes can be enchanted, but I guess I’ll have to find some way to get protective garments after my robe was destroyed,” Aramus said, feeling somewhat naked without his familiar robe. “I really liked that robe…”

“Well, it is not as though I am in possession of such clothings, I am only relaying what Caroline told me earlier, that her husband’s company recently started to sell something like that. That said, I would imagine the price wouldn’t be pretty for you.”

“I definitely can’t afford a full outfit. There should be some other form of protection that I can obtain, I suppose. I’ll just need to look harder,” Aramus sighed, resignation written on his face.

“Considering the economy of Japan I doubt you’d be able to buy the type of suit Mister Takeru seems to use, either…” the Queen placed a hand on Aramus’ shoulder, showing pity. “You have it hard indeed.”

“Hardship builds character or so they say,” Aramus huffed.

“Well, one day perhaps I shall gift an appropriate garment imbued with magic, for now…” the two stopped before something that looked similar to a shrine Aramus once visited in Japan. “We have arrived. Here you shall be bestowed the Supreme magic I promised to grant you.”

“And here we go again,” Aramus said, shaking his head sourly. “Let’s get cracking then!”

When Aramus looked closely, this was actually something akin to a grave, and or perhaps a memorial of sorts? Either way, he thought he saw something glimmer in the dark, and coincidentally; Her Majesty approached it, and picked out something from the small tomb.

Atop Queen Victoria’s palm a golden earring shone strongly with magic.

“Pray use it well,” Her Majesty said, gifting the golden earring to Aramus.

“Of course, Your Majesty. This gift I receive with great honor,” he answered, kneeling as he received her gift. “I will treasure it, a sign of your trust in me.”

“I know you will. Use it when you feel the time is right,” his monarch replied. “Heaven’s Oath magic – Judgement; a spell so strong that it rends evil even before they may retreat back to their Realm… are words I carved on an ancient wall, but it’s effects are rather dependent on the target’s nature. This earring has the magic sealed into it, and once the spell is activated – by pouring your mana into it – it may never be used again from said accessory. You will, however, receive some extent of protection from evil with this earring.”

“Understood, Your Majesty.” Aramus said, rising and looking at the earring. He tried to keep the emotion of his face but some of the cheer leaked through in the form of a smile.

“With all said and done, I suppose we should return to the surface. I have to return to my other duties, and you to your various activities.”

“Mmm,” Aramus hummed, pocketing the earring for now. “I do not wish to trouble Your Majesty any further than I already have. It was a real shame our tea party was interrupted so ungraciously, maybe sometime again in the future.”

“Perhaps, we shall see.” the Queen began to walk back towards the elevator and so did Aramus. “That said, any word on when you return to the Eastern Magic Academy? I hear there are two months till the next semester begins.”

“I shall need to find a way back soon, perhaps with Elizabeth since we both need to return.” Aramus mused. “Though, there are a few things I have left unattended at the moment in England. That and a bit more digging at the library. I wonder if anything has changed since I left.”

“Well, I have a task to provide you for when you return to the Academy,” the Queen said, her voice turning solemn yet again.

“Anything, Your Majesty,” responding in kind, Aramus would strive to fulfill her direct order, especially now that it concerned not just him but the academy as well.

“You are acquainted with Duchess Margaret Alicia, yes? She is considered to be one of the oldest member of the staff employed by Headmistress Lumiere, I believe.”

“I am familiar, yes. She helped me out when I first arrived but otherwise, we have had few chances to speak with each other.”

“The Duchess who was widowed with the death of her husband. A family that harboured a cursed child. Banished for learning forbidden– no Supreme spells… many unpleasant rumours surrounded her at the time she was here. At the moment, she believes to be affiliated with the Academy more than anything, according to Mister Takeru. You must persuade her to lend her hand to our cause – to stop Virgo.”

“I understand, Your Majesty. I will do everything within my power, though I sense that she will not come easily. Partly because I am the one asking.” Aramus nodded. “Though I believe Virgo is far more dangerous than any other petty rumours that the nobility circulate.”

“You must. She is likely the only Duchess who can stand against an experienced Descendant alone.”

“A-Alone?” He gasped. “She holds that much power?”

“Indeed. She is a magician of the highest rank, and she is one of few that stands at the pinnacle of magecraft – a legitimate Archmage. After fifteen years she had mastered three Supreme magics. Which is considered a rather short period of time.”

“Three!? An Archmage as well? To think that someone of such strength would be at the Academy, I would have never imagined.”

“Well, I am an Archmage who is rumoured to know five of such spells, it is true but at the same time it is not; for I am unable to truly cast spells or use magic, unless I expend vis. However, Duchess Margaret is exceptional… we need her strength in this battle.”

“She would be indispensable in the upcoming conflict. I will do what I can, Your Majesty.”

“You will have a month at most to convince her. After the time expires, Frederica will come to pick you up, and whoever else will agree to fight with Virgo, with her you and the rest will travel to the New World. Then the battle will take place will take place at some point in the United States of America. I wish you luck.”

Beyond the gate, Aramus could hardly believe his eyes. It was a completely different world.

To think the Queen hid technology which could literally open a pathway to a different Realm.

Everywhere he looked, the Magic Magister could see a clear blue sky. They were standing atop solid floor, and before them was a zigzag path to a tiny planet that floated in the sky itself. Below said path were a sea of clouds flowing with a current of great wind. When Aramus looked around again he noted other such floating lands, no planets. Tiny planets, with plains of lush green grass, trees, houses, and more; it was a strange world.

However, the dwarf of a seemingly tiny planet ahead of them had no house, nor grass. In fact, it was so veiled with clouds that he could not see what lied over it.

“There lies He… the owner of the fan. Steel yourself, Sir Valmark.”

Aramus gulped, already sufficiently overwhelmed by the vast change in scenery. “Small planets. Floating. Whoosh!” He rasped, mouth dry from surprise. “Yeah, nothing can get better than this. I’m ready.”

“Beautiful scenery though, would you not agree?” Her Majesty said aloud, the wind was so loud that it was hard to hear each other’s words, their hair already waving against the strong breeze. “Let us proceed, and be careful not to fall off the path. Use your beloved fan if you need to for safety.”

“Uh huh.” Aramus answered weakly, taking a careful step back away from the path. He got a sense of vertigo from looking down, one wrong step would send him falling to his doom. Scenery be damned, he was going to stay in the centre of the path. Aramus tightened his grip on Paimon’s Fan and followed after his monarch.

It took some time to cross the path. About thirty minutes at most. He wished that they could cross faster but the path was longer than it seemed. Half the time, Aramus was worried about himself, and more importantly, about his Queen. However, the Queen seemed to be doing considerably better than him. Was this a perk of a Descendant? He felt jealous, for once. There were all kinds of birds and flying creatures staring at the two now that he took a good look around the place after crossing the bridge that nearly cost his life – just from stepping over it.

“A human?”

“A human.”

“A man and a woman.”

“More like a Queen and a poor whoever.”

“What is he, a dirty handkerchief the Queen carries?”

“She sure lost her sense of quality.”

“Hush, you don’t judge from looks.”

(BGM: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TAsL9AGVfn4)

“Silence,” a roaring powerful voice finally spoke. The clouds of the planet parted ways, and the creatures scrambled across the sky in fear and awe. “Who dares awaken me with all this chatter?”

Aramus could feel the vibrations from simply hear those words, his ears screaming to him with a tang of pain. In fact, when he looked at the ground, he only now came to realise that he was being pushed back from the wind generated from this being speaking.

“Good day to you, King Solomon. How do you do?”

“Hm?” The king looked down to the tiny beings before him from his throne, after tilting his head, for his gigantic blade that was stabbed on the ground blocked his view. The giant of a being that was King Solomon was so large, that the entire planet was but a seat to him.

“It had been long… friend. I am faring well. Crowned Queen of Angels, speak. I must know how your subordinate possesses my old weapon, my old friend, and my old Djinn.”

“Allow me to introduce you to Sir Aramus Valmark, one of my chosen… well, I suppose a blade is appropriate as he himself would say,” the Queen began, introducing Aramus to the King who rules over the Faerie Realm. “He had involved himself in an action of theft, and by chance attained Paimon’s Fan in his hunt for food. Not knowing that it was being transported to me, so that I could fulfill my promise of delivery to you.”

“...Thievery. Such an act by a young child. I see,” King Solomon looked down at Aramus with a look that seemed indifferent, yet the man felt something like an intense glare that pierced his very soul. “Do you admit to committing such an atrocious act?”

“Yes, Your Majesty.” Aramus answered, looking even more forlorn at his Queen’s admission. Already burdened as it was, it pierced his heart deeper that he had in fact, stolen from the person he had sworn to serve. “In my ignorance, I had stolen the fan. I am… ready to receive your judgement.”

Solomon released his grip from the handle of his large blade. Who knew how many years it had been since he did so. Dust danced and got carried by the wind, and feral vultures were shaken from their sleep, along with their nests as his hand extended towards the two before him.

“I feel Paimon’s pleas. It speaks for you, not against,” the King stated, considering deeply about the case. “She revolts against my rule. Hah!” The planet shook greatly at his words. “For one who claimed to love me, this is quite the revelation.”

“I was right, Paimon prefers you as the owner, Sir Valmark,” the Queen commented, smiling.

“Indeed,” the King agreed. “However, stealing is sin, sin is wrong, and the wrong must be corrected. I, King Solomon, who has arisen from the mortal kingdoms to maintain order in this Realm must judge the falsehood that made you commit said sin. Are you truly prepared, mortal?”

“To back down now would disgrace me even further.” Aramus said, looking up towards the King. “I am prepared.”

“Very well, I shall test your heart and soul, and give to you a trial. Your objective shall be… to bring Laevateinn from beyond the Gates of Tartarus. Journey forth, through the path to hell – mortal – seek the flames that deludes the weak into believing in the concept of purgatory. There it lies, at the hand of a murderer – the one who murdered dear Ishtar – the relic demonic sword Laevateinn. When you stab the blade of Laevateinn before me, only then shall I accept that you are worthy of my Fan. If, you are not worthy, and do not have the character required; you would doubtless be burned to ash, like the rest whom perished at the quest of attaining the services of the Djinns I enslaved.”

“I understand, Your Majesty.” Aramus answered with a bow, accepting King Solomon’s judgement. He was surprised to hear that Paimon was partial to his cause, that made him feel slightly less unhappy about all this.

“I sense that you have a concern to discuss, Queen,” King Solomon said, looking down at Victoria. “I have enquired in our last meeting, and I shall do so again: what would you predict this time?”

“He who drinketh deep of the Earth’s life, wanders. The Gathering of the Twelve Celestials…” the Queen spoke, meanings so deep Aramus could hardly tell what she was speaking of, however her second sentence rang a bell.

“So he lives… and plots for the end,” the King sighed. That sigh itself caused great tremor. “It is a shame that I cannot entertain my guests like I could in the past. I shall pray for your wellbeing, Queen. The world remains yet bright, lose hope not. Your serenity and grace knows no bounds.”

“I thank you for the compliments. Sir Valmark,” Victoria bowed to King Solomon and turned towards Aramus, “Let us be away.”

“At once, My Queen.” Aramus answered, bowing again towards the giant figure of King Solomon before following his sovereign.

Aramus found himself in the large elevator the next day. To say the least, he didn’t quite expect to be back here already. Some days ago when Her Majesty claimed that she’d have him meet the owner of Paimon’s Fan for his verdict, he thought he’d be here only once. Due to the unexpected events of the Queen’s Meeting, however, it was now his second time. The least he could do was appreciate the technology down here, if anything.

“We are almost there. How do you feel?” Her Majesty asked as the elevator continued to descend.

“Nervous.” Aramus replied. “I’ve kept the owner waiting a very long for the fan, it wouldn’t surprise me if I was attacked on sight.” He added, examining the fan in his hands.

“Mn, well, the owner has a different perception of time, contrary to you,” the Queen stated, then looking down at herself. “We – the anomalies of the world, Sir Valmark, often don’t understand differences between decades or centuries.”

“That makes me feel even worse, knowing that I stole from a Descendant.” He continued, getting a little panicky. Strange that he felt more nervous at this upcoming meeting than the fiasco that happened the other day.

“No, Sir Valmark,” the Queen chuckled lightly as she corrected him, “Calm yourself, for I am the only Descendant down here.”

“Oh, well that’s a relief. Maybe I won’t die as horribly then.” He choked. “Nothing for me to do except face the music anyway. Still, I’m glad you’re here and it’s not just a meeting between the owner and I.”

“Rest assured, Sir Valmark, I shall let not you die,” the Queen said, offering assurance. “You are still a valuable asset. That said, however did you attain such a precious relic to begin with?”

“Uh, well, I happened upon it when I was still an urchin, but I honestly don’t remember when. There was a lack of food in the slums during winter and a group of us decided to… steal from someone else. During one of the raids, I grabbed a case that I thought contained food but instead, I found this.” He said with a wave of his fan, the action sending a light breeze flowing.

“I didn’t know what it meant at the time so I hid it, though I was more than displeased at not having anything to eat that day.” Chuckling bitterly, he admired the relic for what is was worth and more, how it had pulled his butt out of the fire on more than one occasion. “A fine partner, one I am honestly loathe to give up.”

“I see.” the Queen sighed, one that was rare from her. “Urchins… poverty…” the Queen looked down, melancholic. “I suppose that was fate’s way of making up for the lack of food. I do not know how the relic was being transported on a supposed food container, perhaps the urchins had misinformation about their target.”

“Yet here I am, though I can’t say the same for the others. We didn’t have a very good network, it was pretty much every man for themselves. The only time we did get together was on occasions like that, everyone would’ve starved otherwise. It’s been a long time since those days and I have Your Majesty to thank for changing that.”

The Queen could only provide a sad smile in return, not turning to the Magister. “There are quite a lot of urchins around every year, it seems. I am glad that at least the child you saved would not face poverty to the extent the already-poor children are facing.”

“It is… not possible to save everyone but that should not deter us from trying as much as we can. Even if I’d like to say it was me saving the child, it’s Frederica who will be providing her with financial support.” Aramus replied glumly. “I can’t do much for anybody except fighting.”

“Well, you indeed cannot save everyone. For one soul you save, another is tormented elsewhere. Fighting is important, however, allows one to directly save people from danger of losing life, and that is one of the most important way to save someone, is it not?”

“Yes, though I have felt that my skills are severely lacking in light of recent events. What use is a sword that cannot cut or a shield that cannot protect? Thus, I must strive to better myself.”

“Well, you are contesting beings that possesses abilities beyond comprehension, and wills of astounding spiritual girth that instills fear to the very earth itself. I would not pin the blame upon you. Every sword has it’s own uses.”

“It is heartening that you think this way but I still do not like this sense of weakness, even in the face of beings such as Descendants. Besides, this †˜sword’ is meant to be wielded by Her Majesty alone,” Aramus added, placing a hand on his chest for emphasis.

I do not overestimate a sword not underestimate them. What you are is simply what you are. However sharp a sword becomes its use shall never change. The Queen shrugged. “Alas, from my perspective I have countless blades, and my prime concern is how to manipulate them most effectively, not criticise them for their shortcomings.”

“It is our own prerogative to become sharper nonetheless. Nobody likes a dull blade,” he added with a laugh. “One day, I hope to become as powerful as the Dukes and Duchesses, maybe that way I’ll be more useful.”

“A bold statement, Sir Valmark.” Her Majesty laughed. “I suppose having high goals for motivational purposes is a necessity. Perhaps you should consider learning some of the unique spells granted to them before considering to surpass them, or even come to be in league with their abilities.”

“I’m not adverse to learning their spells, just that it would feel strange to not have some of my own. Though, it would do me some good to seek advice from my betters more often.” Aramus said with a nod. “There is much that I have yet to learn.”

“Well, you are still young. Coming up with spells… I remember when I was inventing, it takes considerable inspiration.”

“Being young… I do feel more than a little beyond my years when surrounded by my students. It is… different when you are teaching and yes, spell creation never comes easy.” Aramus answered with a short laugh.

“One of the professions I did not touch for long was teaching,” the Queen replied, apparently somewhat at a loss for words because she couldn’t share much of her experiences. “I can scarce imagine feeling the gap between the young and yourself that way. After becoming a Descendant, it was almost impossible to make comparisons whatsoever.”

“The brand of my face does not help matters either. I reckon some members of the faculty keep their distance from me because of it, at least those who know what it means. The kids though, they are vastly different from those in England. Possibly due to technology being much more advanced in Japan.” He said with a sigh. “Sometimes, I don’t know how to answer when a scholar speaks to me about something called †˜RPG’ or †˜MOBA’.”

“There were complaints regarding my choice when I nominated you as a Magister, one such comment referred to the aforementioned brand. People oft find minor points to argue with. I seldom turn back to such points, for I am always considering the big picture. So, I cannot say that I can sympathise, or provide heartening words to that matter. On the subject of the child, though, I am surprised you do not understand those terms, Sir Valmark, and besides, didn’t the Eastern Magic Academy also have scholars from the western side of the world?”

“Heh, well, I was not too popular with anyone during my time in school apart from being the punching bag. At least it took the heat off others who might’ve been targeted if I hadn’t been there. Sometimes, you do need someone to play the part of the †˜bad guy’ for the good of the majority,” Aramus said somewhat bitterly. “And unfortunately, I do not have the time or finances to keep up with the Japanese trends that teens follow. Our own scholars are also different from the average Eastern student, like Elizabeth.”

A bad guy… is it? I suppose I can sympathise with that. “A punching bag… I suppose that is a little rough, but there are times a necessary evil is indeed in need,” the Queen commented. “†˜Tis true, I suppose, that a poor man would have difficulty following trends. I hear the nobles are mostly the individuals sending their children to said academy. I would see how they’d of different standards. I do, however, hear that our western children in Japan impressively catches up to the trends and advancements. Perhaps being noble children helps in that regard.”

“It forces the children to adapt. To survive in a different environment, especially one as technologically advanced as Japan’s, the teens realise they need to change. Which requires money and being nobility, most have the financial means to keep up indeed,” Aramus explained. “Unfortunately, one such as I will always lag behind, though I do find solace in the food that Japan offers. That at the very least, poses no threat to my wallet.”

“Well… I suppose you are somewhat wasting your luck if you do not have the financial stability to enjoy Japan’s rich culture. I hear the Headmistress there pays quite the amount of money, but I suppose it is never enough. I see why you’d crave food even now, being an ex-urchin may forevermark the sign of gluttony in one, for the times to come.”

“Gluttony, Your Majesty? It think the term connoisseur is more fitting.” A laugh accompanied Aramus’s claim, though he knew that wouldn’t fool anybody. “It is indeed a shame that I am unable to enjoy what the East has to offer. Luck notwithstanding, some things just never go well. Perhaps due to the spirit I picked up but strangely enough, things have gone well since I arrived in England.”

“I remind myself of the face you made when you consumed the great many food when contesting Duchess Caroline,” the Queen said, with a big and gracious smile. “Of course things would go well; I forbade the spirit to appear in my presence.”

“A face of joy, yes?” Aramus said, returning her smile with a grin. “Surprising you can do that. That spirit tends to cling to me every waking moment. I don’t sense any malevolence from it but it can be… frustrating at times.”

“A face making apparent that the mouth was stuffed with food… I’d rather say ungraceful, and, to be appropriate, I could imagine you suffering instead due to the difficulty to swallow,” Her Majesty replied, contrary to the joke she imagined the situation rather seriously. “Except – on the matter of said spirit – there is malevolence. Malevolence in action rather than feeling, strangely enough. She takes the fortune for herself, while you are resulted with misfortune.”

“Heh, I suppose you could put it that way. I guess I can’t hide who I truly am with pretty words, those are for the real nobility. It’s the same for my spirit, she can’t change who she is,” he answered rather tiredly.

The elevator finally landed and the two found many paths open to them. the Queen begun to guide Aramus, and they walked past one of the tunnels. It seemed like a maze of machinations down below the earth. The Magister stared with wide eyes but said nothing as he followed the Queen, though it did interest him as to how did all of this get here, hidden beneath the palace.

Finally, they stood before a gate. Aramus could see something akin to a semi-sphere that stood before some machines, and behind them was a long and tall wall. There was something beside it, and he could see the Queen approach it; manipulating some controls, and pulling some levers. They seemed to be hard to move, but Her Majesty performed the feat effortlessly. As expected of a Descendant. Steam flowed and discharged from pipes all across the gate. Electricity could be seen conjured. Upon closer inspection, however, they seemed to be a different form of energy that was concentrated at the centre of the gate. Before long, it was host to a portal, and Her Majesty ushered Aramus to follow.

Aramus and Duchess Frederica arrived at the church riding Frederica’s carriage, the Magister was pleased that he didn’t have to travel by foot. He was still quite tired from the battles that took place earlier today. Aramus couldn’t find Mary anywhere, even on the same streets they passed by. The priest and the nuns sheltered the children inside, and that was where Aramus learned that they were to be sent to an orphanage first thing tomorrow. It seemed like the church did not wanted to shelter the children for long either.

The two were brought to the door of a room full of children, where most were still having breakfast. There weren’t many chairs and not a single bed, so most of them were sitting on the corners of the floors. It was a glimpse of poverty, but nothing as bad as the Magister’s experience.

“Mister Aramus, it’s now up to you to identify the child,” Frederica said, motioning him to enter the room.

Nodding, Aramus entered and looked around for the little girl. It did not take long for a familiar face to run up to him and tug on the end of his shirt. Instantly, he was reminded of who he had saved. It was her indeed.

“Hello again, kiddo.” Aramus said with a smile, crouching down to her level. “Have they been taking good care of you?” He asked, placing a hand on her head and ruffling her hair.

The girl gave a nod. “Did you come to visit us, mister?”

“I’ve come to pick you up,” he answered, waving for Frederica to come in as well.

“Really?” The girl said, hope welling up on her face.

Frederica shook her head, and instead ushered Aramus to come out with said girl. An esteemed noble like her would apparently refuse to walk into the room of children.

Aramus looked somewhat sheepish at Frederica’s refusal, instead patting on the child’s head and slowly guiding her out of the room. “Yep. I’m Aramus, what’s your name?”

“Sophie Mc… uh… um, I can not quite pronounce it…” she introduced herself, but mumbled halfway through her sentence.

“It’s alright. Then Sophie, there’s someone else I’d like you to meet. Her name is Frederica, she’s going to be taking care of you from now.”

Frederica got down to Sophie’s level, and greeted her. “Good day to you, little one” she said, placing a hand on her hand, and noticed that her hair hadn’t been having a proper treatment for days immediately. “I hope we get along.”

“...Really? M-Mister, that’s wrong,” Sophie said, looking back and forth between the two. “Someone so pretty can’t possibly be taking care of me me of all people. I mean, me... but wow, she is so pretty.”

Aramus shook his head in dismay ever so slightly, feeling a little bit defeated. “Yes, Sophie. She will be the one looking after you, your guardian. Well, I think you should call her pretty more often. She’ll like it.” He said with a chuckle.

“Of course I would, any lady would,” the Duchess said with a scowl. “That said, Sophie, you’d look gorgeous too with a visit from a professional any day,” Frederica said, getting up.

“But… you seem like a noble, Miss, I do not know if I am–”

“I am a Duchess.”

“Wow.”

“...Is this supposed to be that surprising?”

“Sophie, how about you get to know her with some milk and cookies later?” Aramus offered, taking the heat off Frederica. “Or would you prefer something else?”

“There is no suitable place here to do that,” the Duchess replied, giving a glare at their surroundings. “I think I will take her back to my manor after dealing with the formalities.”

“So, how’s that sound Sophie?” Aramus said, offering a hand to the young girl, though he did shoot Frederica a dirty look when she mentioned the cleanliness of the church.

Frederica, of course, would shot Aramus a piercing gaze that would forever injure his confidence as not only as a man, but as an inhabitant in the universe itself, but that was not the time for that.

“Umm, I-I think… it is alright, I mean, if the Lady is alright with me…” Sophie replied, nervously.

“Of course she is,” he reassured, “Now we just have to fill some paperwork and we’re done.”

“Alright, let’s get down to it,” Frederica said. “This is going to take some time, so feel free to wait inside my carriage.”

“To that end, would it be possible if either of you could aid me in creating new spells? As I mentioned before, my current repertoire of spells were incapable of effectively neutralising the Descendants.” Aramus inclined his head, looking slightly pained at the thought of being useless. “I have no spells for healing nor am I a Spirit Seer. If I unable to even harm those that threaten our Queen and country…”

“That is, I’m afraid, a tall order to carry out, Sir Valmark,” Her Majesty said, and Frederica nodded in agreement too.

“Spells that harms Descendants and bypasses the magical resistances are mostly made forbidden, by Her Majesty, after all. If you are inventing spells, you’d have to be quite careful, but usually, anything that hurts more than what spells you have would likely bring you better results,” Frederica said.

“Something that… would disable a Descendant would be sufficient. Robbing them of their senses or something similar would suffice for me,” Aramus explained. “I do not wish to break the rules of our Magic World as well.”

“There are spells that exists to blind foes – not that they always work on Descendants – which may be of use to your ends,” Frederica suggested.

“It’s something similar to that. I plan to expand upon the usage of the Vibrato spell. It revolves around the process of cavitation, a miniature area that is pressurized and then forcibly collapsed to provide a shockwave. I haven’t actually gotten past the initial spell theory but this would be one of the spells I’m looking to create.”

“An interesting theory, but I do not know how the mana will react to that,” Frederica said, rather lost on how it’d work. “Considering Vibrato is Rego Imaginem, the spell is easier to cast upon someone—but now that this considers… I’d think perhaps Aurum?—you’d need to find a way to materialise such a phenomena with mana of the Faerie Realm.”

“Yes, precisely because Aurum is my prime that I would attempt such a thing. Hopefully the mana does not spiral out of control, it’s going to be very messy if it does,” Aramus said with a shake of his head. “Utilising the air or water around should be sufficient for such a spell so it should be a little more efficient than generating something large scale like a thunderstorm.”

“Indeed, for which you will have to find out exactly how much mana you’d have to apply for this to work.” Frederica was getting heated up, in zone and all with her imaginations flying. “Too much and it will spiral out, too less and it will simply fail. Even if you reach the optimum level, you will be making these mana do something violent, so you’d have to bring it close to going out of control intentionally for your end result to be successful.”

“Indeed, the speed I’d have to achieve for the spell to work is somewhat daunting. Still, this should be one of the few things that I have that can harm a Descendant. If it works of course. Regardless, I look forward to the results.”

“Mhm, the Duchesses and Dukes are always researching magic to begin with under Her Majesty’s command so that we could be effective against Descendants to begin with, so I can sympathize with you. Moving on, who will the prayer go to for the spell?”

“Since it’d have to be from the Realm of the Faeries, I was thinking of one of the sidhe. There aren’t very many to choose from that might aid me in the spell.. but I was thinking of the Bean Sith.” Aramus said with a lopsided grin.

“My… a wonderful choice, yes,” the Queen commented, albeit it sounded forced.

“Eerie, but I suppose you need something as dangerous as her for a dangerous spell meant to inflict harm on a Descendant.”

“Yeah… If this spells proves to be successful, I’d think about involving other members of the sidhe but for now, she will do.” Aramus added with a grimace. “She has the scare factor going for her at the very least...”

“Well, there are quite a lot of spells referring to such deities, if you think of the Latin words the spell Lightning Blade calls upon the fury of Dullahan,” Frederica said with enthusiasm.

“Oh, Dullahan was also one of the contenders for the spell but I felt it more appropriate to walk before I run and take on a sidhe like that.” Aramus said, pleasantly surprised. “Would it be alright to ask for your knowledge on the Dullahan if I do create spell related to it?”

“Of course, you are welcome to approach me on the subject of Deities, since I am knowledgeable of various lores,” the Duchess answered.

“Phew, now that the complicated talk is over, I can enjoy all these. These are incredibly hard to obtain in Tokyo. All they have for beverages are really bitter teas… They don’t exactly fit my palate even if it does go well with their own version of traditional sweets.” Aramus said, wiggling his fingers as he picked up a biscuit.

“That said, Your Majesty, you have been awfully silent for a while now,” Frederica said, looking towards the Queen, who seemed to not be looking at either of her guests, and not even consuming the sweets, biscuits, or even the cold tea before her.

The Queen on the other hand, said no words, confusing Frederica even further. “Your Majesty? Any idea what happened…?” She asked Aramus.

“Your Majesty?” Aramus intoned, setting down said biscuit. He waved a hand slowly at her but receiving no response, he placed a hand on his forehead and the other on hers. The clean hand, of course. “Are you alright?” He asked again in concern.

Upon contact, his flesh seared and Aramus flinched away quickly, shaking the hand to ward off the heat. “Ah, ah,” he gasped, his fingertips slightly burnt.

“You dare touch Her Majesty? I thought you’d have known better!” Frederica scolded.

“...Move.”

“Hm? What was that, Your Majesty?”

“Move, hurry!” Queen Victoria pushed both her subjects: Aramus and Frederica. It was no surprise that the strength of the Descendant was enough to send the two flying across the room, and off to the wall.

Aramus saw something black ephemeral coming down to where he was sitting earlier, but it dispersed a moment later. Strangely enough, no real damage was incurred to said chair.

“So you were in my residence after all,” Victoria said, “Virgo.”

“Ahahaha!! To think you’d see through me, as expected,” a voice echoed across the room.

The Queen got off her chair and looked around. Solemn, alert, and possibly ready to raze the entire structure down if it would mean that Her Majesty would have to draw upon her Gungnir.

“I see your resurrection is near-complete.”

“That it is. Thanks to the vampires, I had quite a lot of time to do as I please. What? Are you not going to treat me like a guest like you did before?”

“...I thought I destroyed your form that day.”

“You underestimate me. I had many lurking the shadows of your beloved country, feeding upon the negativity from your very people. To think you had so many people with dark and evil imaginations in your country, how laughable.”

“...It is the same everywhere, Virgo.”

“So they say, Leo.”

“What do you want?”

“I was simply here to greet you. I do not intend to fight you today. I shall purge the filth that is humanity in due time of course, and I shall start with the country that claims to be atop all else. Eventually, I shall come here to put an end to your miserable existence too, so rest easy.”

The voice stopped speaking, and the strange presence was gone.

“...Country that claims to be atop all else… the New World – United States of America?” Victoria fell back to her seat, relaxed again. “She is such a problem child,” she mumbled to herself. “Oh, you two, I apologise for the rough treatment.”

“Not at all.” Aramus said, waving a hand from when he had landed in a heap. His back hurt too much for him to get up. “This just desserts for one who dared to put a hand on Her Majesty. Ahaha…”

“This happened so fast that I didn’t even know what to say,” Frederica expressed, pulling herself up. She was about to take up the chair that fell to the floor, but made Aramus do it anyway, before sitting back down on it. “Ahem, so that was Virgo we heard… and she intends to †˜purge’ humanity…”

“So she claimed… I wonder how she intends to do such a thing. Mayhap she has an army prepared, not that I can imagine,” the Queen said, looking up to the window yet again.

“Subtle, that one.” Aramus said as he crawled back into his seat, favouring his now-burnt hand. “Interesting to note that this was her second visit.”

“Well… yes, that’s how I learned that she was going to eventually come back,” Her Majesty confessed. “Virgo had often visited me with phantasmal clones of herself in the past.”

“Like some kind of creepy stalker, she dare not come herself?” Aramus said, huffing once before his face fell. “Though what she said does sadden me, that our fellow countrymen are not happy.”

“She can’t, Sir Valmark,” Victoria answered plainly, as if feeling sorry for Virgo. “She is sealed far away at the moment, she couldn’t simply leave her country to visit me in the past long ago, either. So a clone such as that was rather convenient.”

“I agree, who would’ve thought our countrymen was in so much despair that Virgo could take advantage of them?” The Duchess felt grief for the Englanders. “Seeing the condition, I could see why she’d visit Your Majesty… but why? If I were her I’d never reveal that I was planning an attack on a country that way.”

“Maybe because we were once friends.” The Queen gave a very melancholic smile.

“Bad taste in house visits, that Virgo. Didn’t even bother to bring any souvenirs.” Aramus scoffed. “Still, I hope to be fully ready by the time she brings about her so called purge.”

I believe she did in the form of that attack moments ago. “Now that we know this, we cannot simply watch her reign chaos; I shall play my cards,” the Queen declared with determination.

“Then does that mean we’re going there, Your Majesty?” The Duchess questioned.

“Unfortunately, I cannot leave England, especially now, but there is someone… either way, I’d like to send at least three members of your rank there, Frederica. I shall send you,” the Queen answered, looking at Frederica “and you, too,” then to Aramus as she spoke. “No magician can ever truly hope to defeat the Chaos Utopia, it has to be handled by someone of equal level… ”

“The last of us must be someone powerful…” Aramus said.

“Sir Valmark, I did not intend to state this, but the spell you are developing will not be enough.”

Aramus flinched as the Queen proclaimed it wouldn’t be enough. “Then tell me Your Majesty, what will be? I will strive with all of my strength towards achieving that power.”

“You and the others likely have not heard due to the event being interrupted by the vampires, but we have made an adjustment to the rules pertaining to the Magic World,” Her Majesty stated.

“Wait, when did this take place?” Frederica questioned, bewildered. “I was sure that I was with Your Majesty most of the time, and I hadn’t heard of any of this till now.”

Aramus looked just as confused.

“This was decided before either of you entered the Buckingham Palace: we have decided that forbidden spells would be acceptable if used against the Descendants.”

“That… changes quite a lot of things,” Duchess Frederica said, struggling to understand how much change this would make to the Magic World. “It also complicates matters. Considering those who are found to know the forbidden spells are usually hunted down.”

“No, we would not tolerate just about anyone knowing forbidden spells, Duchess,” Queen Victoria stated, shaking her head. “The requirement is simple. The users must be just as eligible as those who are given the prestige to learn and master Parma Magica, and in that case; Sir Valmark, Duchess Frederica; both of you are enough qualified.”

“It would be a honour,” Aramus said in response. “Still, it begets the fact that many more people would strive to learn these spells, even if they’re just a tiny bit more obtainable.”

“Yes, this would make the title of Magic Magister and the higher nobles much more desirable, even if for power alone… but that is a side-effect that I must accept, for we have greater dangers lingering about our world for the people,” Queen Victoria claimed, “if worst comes to worst; I shall admit that it was my error in judgement and take all the blame that may come in the future.”

“I do not think it would become that bad in time to come but nonetheless, if we fail to bring down Virgo, there won’t be anything left anyway,” Aramus said with a shrug of his shoulders.

“You have asked me what would be enough, did you not, Sir Valmark? Tomorrow… I shall lend you one of my spells.”

Frederica gasped. “You don’t mean…”

“I mean exactly what I speak, we must be as prepared as possible for the encounter.”

Aramus’s eyes widened even as he knelt down in respect. “Your Majesty, for me to learn one of your very own. You give me far too much!”

“You will not be able to use a borrowed spell beyond the limit, so it is not as though you’d master it and be able to use it repeatedly. Yet know that I am fine giving like this, such spells are almost useless due to who and what I have become.”

“Still, I am deeply honored by your decision.”

The Queen then peered towards the clock on the wall. “I am going to rest. Frederica, I leave the rest to you. Sir Valmark, I expect your visit tomorrow.”

“Of course, Your Majesty,” Aramus replied sharply, rising from his position and bowing towards her.

Frederica too, gave a respectable bow, and the Queen gave a slight wave with her hand as the two proceeded to exiting the room.

“That sure ended fast,” the Duchess commented.

“Indeed… I still wanted more of those…” Aramus muttered, somewhat in disbelief over what Her Majesty had decided for him. “Maybe we’ll have another chance once the dust settles.”

“Perhaps. I will have more than just my company work over the next week. Mister Aramus, I think this is likely the best time to pick up that orphan you were speaking of.”

“Sorry about all this.” Aramus said, offering Frederica an apologetic look. “I really wish I was a little bit more capable in that regard. Well, more capable in almost every regard actually. This… incident was quite the eye opener.”

“All’s well, Mister Aramus. In fact, I am a little thankful… perhaps now there will be someone to inherit my properties if any misfortune befell me,” Frederica said, while walking alongside the Magister, looking down. Who knew if she’d live to see the day after engaging Virgo in combat?

“Nonsense, Duchess. It will only get tougher from here on out but you will be fine.” Aramus said, feeling a little displeased himself. At what, he wasn’t quite sure. “People like us, we don’t leave the service of Her Majesty too soon, despite what the job entails.”

“We’re going to be fighting a Descendant regardless, and quite a lot of people are staring at the fortune I hold,” Frederica replied, still melancholic, but her resolve was clear as day. “I am not very optimistic, but I shall try for as long as I may to perform my duty, just as you would.”

“Just another day on the job for me. I’ve never known what it’s like to have a silver spoon, but at least that girl won’t have to suffer through poverty, unlike if she came with me,” Aramus said, slumping a little. “Do you not have a reason to strive to live? I understand duty to the crown, for me it’s a little more personal than just the title and position but what of yourself, Duchess?”

“Who knows,” the Duchess said with disdain. “With Her Majesty being proven to be of worth of my services; I only live for my duty now, and perhaps the sweets, and my property. I thought I had lived for searching for one true love, but I do not believe in that anymore. Two marriages past, and now I am simply starting to age.”

Aramus smiled somewhat sourly, looking very chagrinned. “I’m sure you’ll find it again soon. Even now, I am not quite sure what love is. Besides, you’re still in your prime. I do not think you have to worry about anything regarding your prospects.” He said, scratching the brand on his face.

Heh. Prime, he says. “Not that I found it to begin with. I do not think I will simply try anymore.”

“That said, Your Majesty, I forgot after everything happened but… something disturbing was definitely mentioned… for reminder, allow me to quote Your Majesty, †˜Virgo shall come. Chaos shall be invited with her. Britain has many more dangers to brave’. What was it about?”

“It is no exaggeration to say that Virgo will bring about worldwide chaos with her, Frederica. We have indeed much to deal with for the times to come,” Victoria answered.

“Are there any specifics about what she’s after? Surely she does not mean to merely come and create a fuss. It’s not often a Descendant decides to show up and turn a country against them,” Aramus said, a bit perplexed by this Virgo.

“I do not know her plans but… last I met her, she said exactly that. She intends to create a mess and burn the banner of order itself,” Victoria replied.

Aramus facepalmed, a heavy sigh rolling out from his body. “Why do some of these Descendants have to be so troublesome.”

“She was betrayed by her people, yet it was but a natural result of being extremely prideful and haughty, and manipulating them instead,” Her Majesty said, mentioning the truth of a tale long ago.

“Wait… but as far as we were taught in the Royal Institute, Virgo was a Descendant who was long ago sealed or killed, there was no mention of her personality whatsoever. Unless you’re implying that you met her, Your Majesty?” Frederica asked.

“And who do you think was capable of sealing her, Frederica? Of course the task fell upon me,” the Queen said, and Frederica was pleasantly surprised. “She planned to conquer the world. She was the person who was once called Alexander the Great. However, that is a historical error, for she was Alexandrina – a name I share now. People who forgot her and where she went imagined that a Queen could never conquer so much, and they drew depictions of a gallant and fearless King instead.”

“Barring Hynek, all the Descendants I’ve been exposed to recently are women,” Aramus mumbled as he numbered off using his fingers. “I wonder if it’s a trend? Still, for Her Majesty to seal such a renowned person, I’m quite intrigued by what personas you have gone by over the ages.”

“Well, England’s King of Knights Arthur was identified as a Descendant, and he was male. The great King Charlemagne was an old friend who was a man, too. Then there was… King Clovis, Samuel White Baker, Ii Naomasa, and yes, I hear the current Aries is also male. I think it is fair to say that I have met quite a lot of Descendants in my lifetime. There was a time when I was known to be something of a secret council-giver for Descendants.”

Aramus blinked once, twice as he stared at Her Majesty. Council-giver… for Descendants? How much respect did she command to be able to do such a thing? “Now I’m just feeling entirely outclassed,” he said quietly.

“Well, we are but mages…” Frederica said, joining in the league of outclassed members alongside Aramus. “I have to say, your role changed considerably, Your Majesty, from helping to exterminating Descendants now. The changes are rather drastic. On another note, I always thought something was amiss about the legend about Charlemagne, about how he gained swords from the heavens and his knights.”

“Truth be told, in those years having knights was a common tradition among the monarchs. The Church was what created the class of those warriors initially, but the Kings and Queens enjoyed protection from such warriors at the same time. Even Virgo commanded a round of knights. However, she made a harem of it instead, and that was the beginning of an ancient scandal that did more than what would occur from a modern scandal,” the Queen said. “She was truly the Heart-Breaker Queen.”

“H-Heart Breaker Queen…?” Aramus mouthed, looking slightly incredulous. “You’d think obtaining a harem like that would be something enviable but to me, it just brings unwanted trouble.”

“She’d kill those who she’d sleep with, as a measure to keep mouths shut, but instead it caused suspicion and alarming danger of revolution. The most dreaded tactic of the outsider countries were to invade when the country would enter a phase of inner turmoil… of course the mundane monarchs had no way of fighting a being so powerful as Virgo, so someone had to eventually come and reason with me to take her down. It was a shame, but I had to bid my friend farewell with my own hands.”

Aramus found himself looking very appalled by what Virgo would do to her †˜lovers.’ “What kind of… that would only invite dissent! You’d think she’d know better, being an immortal.”

“Indeed, she claimed to have never brought harm to her lovers, so perhaps she had a way to commune with the dead?” Victoria said with a shrug.

“Perhaps. Even so, there is a certain line that mustn’t be crossed, especially when you are such a central figure,” Aramus said, still looking quite displeased with Virgo’s conduct. “Was she offended when you turned your blade upon her?”

“Of course. She had a hard time accepting me as an adversary, but we eventually crossed blades, and she drowned in hatred as she left the world.”

“This reminds me of Claudia somehow,” Aramus said bitterly. “That girl is way in over her head. Even so, you didn’t slay Virgo but sealed her instead?”

“Virgo is different from Claudia,” the Queen said, shaking her head. “She viewed herself as something completely different from human beings, and found that it was her task to lead them, but made mistakes due to stress. As for why I did not slay her… well, there was an ability I could not bypass: Chaos Utopia, and so I resolved to dealing with her through other means.”

“Stress? Did she distort somehow?” Aramus asked with a tilt of his head.

“Let’s just say that handling the issues of the many nations she had conquered would take several days to resolve. By the time she’d be done, more work would come in. I do not think she distorted back then, however.”

Aramus nodded, understanding how much pressure she must have been under. “Communication during those days was not as advanced as what we have now, after all.”

“I’d think so, and days to take care of work? That sounds like loads of work I’d never want to deal with. I can sympathise,” Frederica said, nodding to herself. “Well… I suppose that’s that. She is history now. How do you think she is coming back?”

“She is already back, Frederica,” the Queen stated, much to the surprise of her subjects. “I can feel her, and she also greeted me prior to the time she started her little revival. Apparently she is not back in full strength just yet.”

“Then would it not be wise to engage before she is able to make good on her threats?” Aramus asked, somewhat puzzled.

“She is too far away,” Her Majesty said, shaking her head again. “I cannot leave England, and I’m afraid even the Spirit Seers aren’t feeling an inkling of her presence at the moment. A prime example here is Frederica.”

“Ahaha… I have to admit I feel nothing at the moment indeed. The time Her Majesty called upon her powers, I was getting a headache because the strength was incredible, but I feel nothing from Her Majesty now. It is strange, I suppose Your Majesty may seal her powers just as Virgo was sealed,” Frederica said.

“So all we can do is prepare for her arrival then. Well, I’ll be willing to give her as warm a welcome as any,” Aramus said with a laugh.

“Indeed, I am rather perplexed on how to stop her if she does make a grand appearance. However,” the Queen said, placing her head atop the backs of her hands, “she may intentionally appear far from England, and among the mages too. Unlike the ancient times, I will have trouble engaging her while deluding the Magic World’s keen observation.”

“You can always rely on us, Your Majesty. We shall be your arms and legs, to strike where you may not,” Aramus said, placing a hand on his chest for emphasis.

“That’s right, your Majesty. I can still stop time around her, all of the Dukes and Duchesses can,” Frederica said, in agreement with Aramus.

Not quite what I meant, but I suppose they are dependable, Victoria smiled. “Very well, then I shall do that.”

“I wonder if there would be time for me to visit her…” Aramus began before shaking his head. “If you are alright with it, I could bring her with me to Tokyo. I do not wish to burden you greatly, but if you would be willing to provide some remuneration in exchange for me providing you those confectionaries, I can manage.”

“You probably cannot manage to accomplish said feat,” Frederica said, grimly looking down at the pastries. “The Headmistress could make an exception for the child she took up – Almond, was it? – but otherwise the rules states that you need a passport among other documentations. Plainly, I think it’s going to be borderline impossible for you alone to achieve so much for the child at the moment.”

Aramus heaved a heavy sigh. “Alright then… I’ll leave her in your care if that is possible. I’m actually taking care of Almond at the academy as well so having two children isn’t too much of a difference if I had to be frank.”

“There may be a problem of where she has to stay,” Frederica said. “You’re likely in the boys dormitory. Really, you intend to raise her there?”

“I actually stay in the teachers dorms. They’re separate from the students’ dormitories,” he corrected.

“Yes, and exactly how much luxury can you afford to compensate for a normal life? A girl without an older female figure… well, think about it. Do you find it positive? Moreover, she will be trapped in the Boundary Realm of the academy, barred from the city, and a chance at childhood school life, too. Surely you must know that there is no school for her over there. There is no guarantee she’ll get the same treatment as Almond… considering she may not have been born with The Gift of magic, she cannot enroll at the age of sixteen unless someone pays for her in the form of a donation. I can go on and on about the sad reality of the matter, but I believe you understand.”

“Now, now, Frederica, calm yourself. When there is a will, there is a way,” the Queen said, trying to lower the pressure. “While I understand Frederica’s concerns – which are quite right, in fact – I do not think you would be a bad parent figure. However, there are shortcomings at the moment that we cannot overlook. You saved her, so the end-decision is up to you on where you want her to live – assuming she is in-line with what you wish for her. But as you have said that you’d want to leave her in Frederica’s care if it’s possible, I believe she’d probably accept.”

Aramus had been flinching with every point that Frederica had pushed across. He had known it was a desperate move on his part, but to have it all hammered home so brutally made him feel terrible for even considering it. “All I want is what’s best for her, even if that means she will not be under my care.”

Frederica finally sighed, despite feeling a little unladylike. “I apologise. I did not mean to be so harsh on you, Mister Aramus.”

“Well, you always wanted to be a mother after all, Frederica. I’m sure you’d know what’s best for her in no time,” the Queen said, attempting to encourage the Duchess, who in turn blushed.

“N-No, I had never claimed so, Your Majesty! It is true that my family currently lacks an heir but–”

“Yes, yes,” the Queen playfully ignored the words of denial and turned to Aramus. “Well, is that your final decision for her?”

Aramus nodded firmly, making his decision. “So long as she grows up well, I will be happy for her. I know Duchess Frederica is more than capable of ensuring that. I just hope she doesn’t spoil the child like the Headmistress spoils Almond,” he added with a chuckle.

“If she is to be at my household I might as well have her become a proper noble lady, and there is no better method than some good old-fashioned strictness,” Frederica said, apparently proud of her conduct already. “Society be damned, once I take up a task I will see through to it till the end.”

Resisting the urge to slump once more, Aramus had to give it to the Duchess for being somewhat unforgiving when she decided on something. “If you see it fit. Just don’t be too harsh with her too soon, she still needs time to recover.”

“Well, she did lost her family, I know that much…” Frederica said, her voice low. Averting her gaze, she was reminded of the time she lost her husband. She could somewhat tell how the girl may have felt about now too.

“Sorry for bringing up a sore point, Duchess,” Aramus said, sheepishly rubbing the back of his head. “I never actually grew up with a family so I treasured my time greatly at the orphanage. Perhaps what both of you need is some company, just like I did.”

“Thank you for the kind thought, but I do have more than enough, and with one incoming,” the Duchess said, reforming her smile. “Speaking of which, what is her name?”

“Aha, I would like to know that as well,” Aramus said, laughing nervously. “I didn’t have the time for that as the rest of London was burning down. Ahaha…”

“Ahaha…” the Duchess laughed dryly along with Aramus. “We should go meet her sometime,” she suggested.

“That we should,” Aramus said, averting his eyes from meeting both Frederica’s and Her Majesty’s.

“Speaking of which, Your Majesty – and this is crucial to my research as you know it – but how did you make that separate Realm to combat Pisces and Gemini? I was pleasantly surprised to have found it,” Frederica questioned.

“Ahh, that was a technique utilised with spiritual energy I came across some centuries ago. It isn’t something a particular Descendant can do; any of them may attempt it as long as they know how,” Victoria answered.

“Interesting, very interesting,” Frederica said, jotting down notes on a notebook she flipped out in but seconds.

“Oh, I would like to know as well!” Aramus said, eager to change the topic from his apparent lack of parenting skills. “Is there an efficient way around a Descendant’s magic resistance? It made my toes curl when Gemini shrugged off all my attacks like it was nothing.”

“I do not know how my custom magic even worked on Gemini, but I was glad it did, same for the Gaia’s Fangs,” the Duchess commented. “It just looks weird seeing lightning bolts turning to nothing before a Descendant.”

“Hmm…” Aramus’ Queen considered how to answer for a moment. “To be perfectly honest with you, only forbidden spells are able to bypass the Descendants’ magic resistances often. Mind you, this is not publicised information in the Magic World so do be careful with the information. However, I had to ban such magics for reasons I believe good for humanity as a whole. They are beyond lethal against a human being. Other than that, there is really no better way than to focus on penetrating their resistances each time,” the Queen elaborated, then stopped, and remembered something. “Oh, but you can completely bypass the magic resistance if you can inject your magic somehow into their body. With… well, ahem.” the Queen’s cheeks turned slightly red as she averted her gaze. “With… a kiss, thus injecting through the mouth, for instance.”

“Tch, perhaps I should’ve seduced Hynek again, just to get rid of him for good.” Frederica cursed under her breath now knowing such a truth. She scribbled down the new knowledge in her notebook too.

Aramus reacted a bit differently, positively looking revolted as the image of kissing Hynek shot unbidden into his mind. “I… Ah…” He tried to speak but only succeeded in making choking noises. “Is it possible to be injected via any other form…? Through their blood or something similar? Kissing is a little...”

“P-Pardon my language, but through the other…” the Queen begun, hesitating, “the… other mouths of the body.” Her face was completely red. “Ahem! You may inject poisonous magic that we store in the form of potions. There are many kinds of drugs available in the Magic World, after all. You may use a syringe, given that you have the opportunity to apply anything such as that on them.”

“P...Perplexing information indeed,” Frederica commented, a little ashamed of the turn that the topic took.

“W-What if I made my own hole!?” Aramus gasped, stuttering as he thought of the implications of all this.

“If you chance upon wounding a Descendant that way, the magic resistance will be low there, but it won’t be nonexistent. On the surface of the body, Descendants will always be protected,” the Queen answered.

Aramus clicked his tongue in annoyance. “So it has to be one of their †˜natural’ openings then. How troublesome,” he muttered.

“That aside, how in the world do you have the wings of angels, Majesty? That is the most out-of-the-world thing about Descendants. The Countess is oft called a vampire, and I was somewhat skeptical about it, but now I am starting to link a connection,” Frederica said.

“You are not wrong in doing so, Frederica,” Victoria responded. “Descendants can distort due to their actions.”

“How exactly does it happen, though?”

“That… I may not answer.”

“I see… I must apologise if it was something I should not have spoken about,” Frederica said, putting down her pen and paper.

“Distort?” Aramus asked, tilting his head in curiosity. “Do they mutate or something?”

“Technically, yes. I am hardly a human anymore,” Her Majesty stated, staring down her palm with pity. “I am a half-angel at the moment.” There was a look of despair which she tried to hide as she gazed down at her tea from her palm. It was getting cold. “We Descendants… we change with time based on our actions.”

“I apologise Your Majesty, if my question brought up any unhappiness but no matter what you may become, it will not change that I will always serve at your side,” Aramus said with conviction, somewhat trying to play off his earlier question.

“Indeed, it matters not if you’re an angel or a devil, Your Majesty, you know that you are a righteous person and a Queen worthy of our duties, please brighten up,” Frederica stated.

“Oh, no. I am quite alright, no harm was done, both of you.” Her Majesty waved her hand dismissively as she denied any form of unhappiness.

“Moving on… I would assume that you gain more powers even as you distort? Like that massive wave of zombies that suddenly appeared…” He shivered as the memories came back, the clammy touch upon his limbs. It wasn’t so much that they were zombies but the sheer number. If he hadn’t been using the fan, it would’ve been a much more daunting task to clear them out.

“We do get stronger, yes. However, I do not think the… undead – †˜zombies’, you call them? – were any form of distortion in the Descendant. I had once heard of it. Gemini is the symbol of twin, and thus the host carries with him two spirits: Eris and Harmonia. Eris has powers that are evil and beguiling, while Harmonia’s powers reflects her purity. That was the first time I had seen him call upon this kind of a summoning power, however.”

“I am going to assume that golden apple was Eris’ doing then,” Frederica concluded from the revelation. This was all good information, especially the names of the spirits, she was already planning to look them up later. “In fact, mythology surrounding Eris mentioned a golden apple she threw to create chaos of Paris’ wedding, after which there was war and everything there was destroyed.” Her image of Hynek was crumbling down even further. “What a despicable man.”

“That is so troublesome to deal with. Were the zombies his former servants or the people he killed or something? They looked… feminine.” He cringed as he said the word. It was disturbing having to know about female zombies, especially if they came in groups.

“They were his fallen servants. Thomas – I suppose his real name is Hynek – has always had a large harem, comparable to King Solomon perhaps; so large that it spreads all across the world apparently,” the Queen answered.

“H-Harem!? Those were all the..” Aramus put a hand to his face, suddenly feeling a great sense of inferiority as a man. “To have so many under his thumb… A fearsome man indeed,” he said after composing himself, though he now felt a greater urge, a need, to defeat this †˜Hynek’.

Her Majesty chuckled. “I suppose he is now allied to Japan. He was definitely neutral before. I am going to guess that Japan offered him and his girls a place to live in peacefully. Granted, they were living in certain fear of being discovered for centuries, doubtless they wished to find somewhere peaceful to settle down on.”

“That’s one problem of having too many women. How does he keep them all in check?” Aramus answered with his face buried in his hands. “How!?”

“And for that peace he has to obey every command, to think Japan would use such a thing to enslave a Descendant,” Frederica wondered. In the end that man always considered his girls above anything else, yet something always felt off for her.

“He doesn’t, Sir Valmark, I doubt he can. There are ranks attached to his women and most of them are all around the world. The ones he sleeps with are often his †˜wives’ – the highest ranking thus far – whom acts as his close assistants. I suppose Duchess Frederica was in that position for a short period of time.” Her Majesty looked at Frederica, who looked down in shame. “Of course, despite going out with his wives, he always finds new women to flirt with… that said, these are things I learned from rumours, so I am not sure how true they are. Who knows, his women may be spreading them while speaking from frustration,” the Queen explained.

“So much to live with as a Descendant. You’d think that he’d curb it over the centuries or how long he’s lived but apparently not. He should’ve just stopped before it got to the point that he needed to run to a country for protection,” Aramus stated, snickering as if finding some joy in Hynek’s plight.

“Everyone will always run into some form of danger in life. It is only natural to seek a paradise devoid of devastation,” Her Majesty said, as if speaking from experience, looking towards the window… the birds chirping on the trees.

“Of course, Your Majesty. I just find it distasteful that a man let his own desires run wild to the point that even he cannot manage them anymore,” Aramus said, bowing slightly before looking a little pensive. “Paradise, huh. It is probably something I will never find in my lifetime.”

“I wished for England to be ideal,” Victoria began, “the revolution, and evolution of technology to a path none had taken before… steam technology was but another form of theme for storytelling in the New World. However, I made it a reality… so that something new and exceptional would come out of it. Of course, we ran into issues foreseen before the revolution itself, yet I wanted to believe…”

“There will always be trouble. How we overcome it only makes what we find at the end that much sweeter,” Aramus said with a wave of a biscuit.

“Of course, and that is why I keep going down this path. It seems like Russia is in agreement with me, considering their structuring also utilises steam technology,” the Queen agreed.

“Indeed, but Russia is a forlorn place – snowing all the time and whatnot – lacking time itself. Orphans many times more than here all abound the streets, criminal Organizations and corrupt officials everywhere, it is a rather dangerous country to tread upon. Considering there is no concept of time, it’d be troublesome to live there,” Frederica said.

“Indeed. When compared to our glorious England, there is no contest,” Aramus agreed, smiling at the Queen.

Aramus woke up, opening his eyelids he found himself inside the Buckingham House still. The room was much bigger than the one he had back in the dormitory of the Eastern Magic Academy, or the one given to him temporarily by Duchess Caroline. Do they let diplomats stay here? Being as tired as he was after the events that followed the Queen’s Meeting, Aramus was allowed to simply stay in the large palace to rest and catch his breath, much like a few others. The medics gave him proper medical attention but at the end of the day, it was up to his body to recover. That and with some helpful from the medicines made by magicians.

He stretched, feeling the aches and pains from the events of last night throughout his entire body. He also badly needed a bath. Aramus grimaced after taking a sniff from his ruined sleeve. A replacement for his robe would be required as well, one more item to add to his growing list of troubles. He slumped backwards onto the bed provided, feeling as though all of the troubles in his life had been compiled and thrown at him within this one night.

First, the issue with Alice and his deal with her. Fighting with Descendants was one thing but to get on the bad side of one? Not something he enjoyed. Second was the near elimination of all members of Cavendish Bentinck. A family of nobles that had treated him even better than one of their own, something that he hadn’t the pleasure of enjoying before this. Aramus had to find a way to help them, Elizabeth as well, whether she liked it or not. Lastly, his Queen. Finding out that she was a Descendant made him no less loyal to her but it perturbed him ever so slightly.

A set of knocks on the door, and his attention was back to reality.

“Master Aramus, you have been summoned by Her Majesty the Royal Queen,” the maidservant said from beyond the door.

Aramus jumped up, a bit more of his robe falling away to his dismay. “Uh, does she need me now or do I have time to retrieve a change of clothes and a bath?” He called out, starting to grasp as what remained of his sleeve as it threatened to expose his entire arm to the light.

“You may take your time preparing yourself to look presentable, which I would recommend doing for Her Majesty’s sake,” the maidservant answered. “I shall wait outside the door.”

“Thank you,” he exclaimed, rushing into the bathroom with a suit he found in the closet. A quick shower and good scrubbing later, he came out and smiled at the maidservant, smelling very much of oranges. “Sorry for the wait, we can go now,” he said, buttoning up his cufflinks.

“Understood, please follow me.”

The two then passed by the corridors, and Aramus was eventually led to the very room where he met Her Majesty some days ago. The infamous room where assassins were said to lurk throughout the Queen’s Meeting to end Victoria, something Elizabeth told him. It was also where her father was found. The door was opened and Aramus was asked to proceed inside as the maidservant motioned.

“Good day to you.”

Both the Queen and Duchess Frederica greeted as Aramus entered. There were cakes and biscuits among other things on the table, just as he had spoken about before.

Aramus smiled at the pleasant surprise, having thought the summons was for something else. Apparently they were planning to hold the tea party now. He was glad that he had not rushed here without freshening up first. “Good day Your Majesty, Duchess Frederica.”

“I hope we did not interrupt your rest, but Frederica was ecstatic at the opportunity to have the sweets,” the Queen said, ushering Aramus to sit to her right. Frederica sat on her left already.

“How could I not be overjoyed at the prospects of having these confectionaries, Your Majesty? These are high-quality products from my competitors, and I cannot wait to see how good they are.” Frederica eyed the sweets closely, thinking of what to start with. It seemed like Frederica prepared all the sweets and confectionaries; bought them from not only her own company but also bought them from other companies the market too. All for the excuse of the tea party. Otherwise she’d usually indulge only her own brand of such food.

“Not at all, I’m actually delighted for the change of pace after what happened,” Aramus responded, taking his seat with a slight bow. The spread that Frederica had prepared was quite delectable indeed, and included some brands he had only heard of but never had the luxury of tasting. Something in him cheered, for out of all the Dukes and Duchesses of England, he was glad to be in the company of the two that loved food as much as he did.

“Well, it wouldn’t do proper justice to the sweets without tea. I believe the far eastern Japanese claim that the taste of sweets may be experienced more clearly if you drink tea first?” Her Majesty said, but wasn’t sure of the saying herself. “Either way, Sir Valmark, would you do the honour of pouring the tea for all of us?”

“It would be my pleasure.” Aramus went about preparing the beverage with practised ease, checking the tea leaves, sugar cubes and milk before finally pouring the liquid into the ladies’ teacups. It was a clear, golden tea, maybe a little citrus to go with the sweets. “The Japanese drink a different kind of tea, Your Majesty. Green tea, which in contrast to ours is very bitter. It’s meant to offset the traditional sweets the Japanese enjoy to better bring out their flavor. A mouthful of each, so to speak.”

“Oh dear, pardon my misunderstanding; thank you for explaining,” the Queen said, happy to know more about the Japanese culture. “You have been learning of their culture in Japan while working as a teacher, I believe? How were things in the Eastern Magic Academy before coming to attend the Queen’s Meeting? I would think the fight with Sagittarius made it tough, but otherwise it was fine, I presume?”

“It is a world apart from England. The Japanese, they have invented fascinating things that help people in their lives down to the smallest detail. They have this little robot that moves on its own, equipped with a set of brushes. It rolls around your room scooping up dust, can you believe it? It’s small too, barely thirty centimeters from end to end,” Aramus said, recalling one of the funny things that he had seen in Tokyo, opting to use this as an example over the more questionable toilet seats. No matter how comfortable the heated seats were in the dead of winter, they were not appropriate tea party subjects. “Life with the students there is uneventful, I suppose. It shames me but I would be happy if even half the class would listen to what I teach. At least they’re not ignoring me outright, most of them manage a good grade,” he lamented with a sigh, pouring himself some of the delicious looking tea.

“Interesting, it’d be nice indeed to have such a small robot doing the small, mundane tasks,” the Queen said, already visualising a steam-technology-made robot fit for chores like cleaning. “The scholars seem to be attentive at least to an extent, otherwise one cannot maintain good grades, I’d believe.”

“Word traveled back here that you have had Elizabeth Cavendish Bentinck as a scholar in your class there. So I wouldn’t think it was all that bad,” Frederica said, but noticed that at the mention of Elizabeth’s name, the two’s face turned grim. “...Haha… Cheer up, she’ll be better in no time.”

“I am afraid that lass is wrapped up in more complicated matters than that of her health,” Aramus said, dropping three cubes of sugar into his teacup and stirring. He would need some sugar for this.

“A deal with The Society, orders most do not know about, blackmail materials executed one after the other. Behind the curtains quite the talk of her take place; we all know about them here, this conversation being an example.” Frederica shrugged, naming some of the common subjects Elizabeth’s name would pop up in. “She was bound to get into deep trouble considering the family she was born into.”

“So you knew?” Aramus arched an eyebrow at Frederica, sipping from his cup once the sugar had dissolved.

“Her Majesty has left me in charge of delving into the matters of the Organizations across England, and beyond.” The Duchess sipped her tea and her complexion eased as she savoured the taste. “I know the most about The Society outside the knowledge of its members.”

“Frederica…” the Queen’s voice trailed off.

“The young lady’s deeds are deeds that cannot be undone. I do not see why you’d rather avoid the topic. Especially considering the fact that you must decide what to do about her, Your Majesty,” Frederica responded, albeit a bit harshly.

Aramus lowered his teacup as he breathed out, the tea relaxing him just a tad. “I have tried to ask her about what she is doing but she won’t say anything. That stubborn streak of hers is a mile wide. I want to stop it before it gets any worse,” he said worriedly, remembering the shape Elizabeth was in when he had found her.

“Unfortunately I do not think it’d be wise to interfere, as Her Majesty once said… we don’t want to go off face-to-face with an Organization that focuses on killing among other dangerous criminal activities, especially one that is world-wide large. The issue is her status as a noble, and the possible charges she may face if the issue is somehow publicised in the Magic World. Of course, I do not think she is so careless as to make such an amateur mistake, but her work is undoubtedly dangerous, and a young popular noble working for The Society would leave an extremely bad image, especially to those who believe that the nobles are the †˜good’ people.”

Suddenly feeling like draping himself over the table in frustration, Aramus settled for stirring his tea somewhat agitatedly. “She is young and impressionable. I do still believe there is a chance for her to do some penance for her actions.” He put a hand to his forehead, rubbing it to prevent the oncoming headache.

“Until she resolves to working against them, I do not believe it’d be right to take action,” the Queen interfered between the two. “How shes wishes to proceed with the stages of her life should be up to her; not us. If she is forever indebted to them and continues to work for them, then I shall accept her resolve, and we shall find ways to put a stop to it. Otherwise, she shall join us among our ranks if she is rid of her loyalty to the darkness.”

“Alright,” Aramus said, turning a little sad at Her Majesty’s decision. Her words were a decree that he would not go against. “Do her parents know of this…?”

“No, they do not,” Frederica answered, shaking her head. “They would be crestfallen if they did.”

“Sir Valmark, I had indeed stated that it is unjust to take action, but those were words merely meant to restrain myself. You, Sir, on the other hand, is free to do as you please. If you wish to save her from the clutches of her perils… then that is a decision only you may take.”

“My role as an educator and Magister extends beyond the classroom. If a scholar of my class is troubled, I believe it best to find the source of their discomfort. It is nosy of me and probably not my place to do so either but I cannot accept our youngsters, the future of our nation, being led astray. Especially not one such as Elizabeth,” he said, taking another sip from his tea. “Perhaps this is one reason why my students don’t take to me, teenagers don’t take too kindly to these actions.”

“Indeed they don’t,” Frederica said, apparently knowing what Aramus meant. “They’d rather you don’t know anything about them. Kids can be awfully secretive sometimes… I wasn’t surprised when Elizabeth fell into this mess, however. Everyone wants to use her relic sword; they don’t even care about her feelings.”

“The mistakes of youth indeed. I remember when I was younger, nobody even wanted to breath the same air I did,” Aramus said with a chuckle. “If only it weren’t so difficult to change her mind. Again, it’s just me but I’m more worried about the wielder than her relic.”

“Yes, yet not many are anxious for said wielder and only pays heed to the relic. That is why the circumstances remain the way they are,” the Queen said, looking down. “If only people were more understanding.”

“That’s the way this world is. If only people would extend a helping hand like Your Majesty did for me,” Aramus said, speaking from his own past. “Well, enough with this talk. We’re here for a tea party so let’s enjoy what the Duchess has brought, shall we?”

“You don’t have to tell us.” Duchess Frederica had already eaten more than half her share while conversing, contrary to Aramus who had been busy sipping his tea. “And then there was the other troublesome bunch, wasn’t there? The Vampires. Claudia Virtuoso… what was the rest of her name again, anyway? I had indeed seen her at the party. I believe she took part in causing chaos last night.”

”Ah, her,” Aramus said, quickly getting to chomping on his snacks with glee when he noticed Frederica had been doing so. “When Your Majesty was out cold, she attempted to take your life. Why did she have to stray down the wrong path as well?”

“Oh, that young scholar who used to be a caretaker for the Duke and a Dark Knight? I had already noticed when I chanced a glance last evening,” the Queen said, “She is now a Representative.”

“...That is a grave matter, Your Majesty. I am surprised that you’d say it so casually,” Frederica said, solemn, putting down the spoon she was using to apply sugar to her second cup of the tea, which she had Aramus pour just now. “I must say, however, that it is a little hard to believe I am spending my time here with an exceptional being who has transcended the mortal state of an ordinary human being. Never had I thought that the Descendants were able to sense each other – which I assume how you could tell, since you seemed to have noticed the Countess too – to an extent.”

”A Representative? Her?” Aramus shook his head. As if the memories of her hadn’t been trodden on enough, they were absolutely shattered by what the Queen had revealed. He had thought she would go far but definitely not in this direction. “I suppose I’m the only one left out in all this. The both of you seem to have a good handle on things that happened, it was basically one thing after another for me.”

“Well, we are receiving information from various contacts oft times. There are the newspapers for the Magic World by The Times, and the rumours going about. If you keep an able mind, half the truths pop up granted you’re able to piece the puzzles,” Frederica stated boldly, it was no wonder that Her Majesty charged her with keeping tabs on the Organizations of the Magic World. “That said, Claudia has a number of charges to answer to in reality, that were frozen thanks to the action painstakingly made by Duke William John Frederick Powlett – who was rumoured to be so nice to Claudia that people gossiped about a possible scandalous and romantic relationship. Her Majesty, on the other hand, was curious, and hence I tracked her origins. Her full name was never revealed even as she enrolled at the Royal Academy, or participated in the Queen’s Meeting last night. Turns out she is a French who was brought into England through the Magic Train illegally by slavers. We never made a formal enquiry due to a number of reasons you can imagine but… now that she is a Representative, I suppose she is an enemy of the Magic World altogether, and it’d be inevitable for us to take action sooner or later.”

Aramus was thankful the seat he was in was so plush and padded, otherwise Her Majesty and Frederica might have noticed how he seemed to sink deeper into the seat as he digested the news. Being situated in the Far East, Aramus did not really make it a point to keep up with The Times and half the time, he considered the contents of the newspapers complete balderdash anyway.

“I suppose she is,” he admitted, nibbling on a biscuit thoughtfully. “I wonder if there were any other other Representatives present at the Meet. It really makes me feel extremely inadequate not being able to sense potential threats such as those until they are right upon us.”

“Why yes, we indeed had Mary Shelley in the event like every year,” the Queen revealed vivaciously. “She is a Representative, and her golden eye is proof of her true identity. However, I see her not as an enemy. Albeit, I do not know how long her master will remain kind. His ambition shows bottomless greed.”

“So she’s a Representative too? I will need to meet up with her before I depart for Japan again. There is a little girl I left in her care,” Aramus said. “If you don’t mind me asking, who is her master?”

“Colour me surprised, I had always heard rumours about Mary Shelley, but had never even doubted her identity to be as such. All I knew was that she was a tad bit peculiar.” Frederica expressed her surprise on the matter and paused for a moment. “I suppose this means we have two Descendants in this country including You Majesty.”

“That… I cannot tell.” the Queen finished her tea, and hardly touched the sweets. “Mary is a good girl, I’m sure the little girl is safe. However, how’d you come to the situation of leaving anyone in her care in the first place?”

“Your Majesty was dealing with the airship, so Duchess Frederica and I did what we could to help the townspeople when the beams struck the city. The young one is an orphan, both of her parents were lost and I promised to go back for her,” Aramus continued, this time choosing a particularly fancy looking snack to feed his hunger.

“I see. I’m sure you’ll be able to take care of her…?” The Queen said, but then a look of anxiety was apparent. “I am more worried about your financial stability, however. Considering you are going back to Japan for your profession, wouldn’t you be taking her with you?”

“That is where I face a problem,” Aramus admitted, looking very conflicted about the matter. “I would very much like to take care of her but I am not sure if I can cope in my current state. Though I think bringing her to Japan would definitely be a good change of pace for her, I don’t want her waking up to the ruins of London.”

“I would imagine her waking up to the halls of the Church instead,” Frederica said, sounding calm instead of imagining the worst of tragedies immediately. “Mary would never abandon her. Even if she stops visiting the child she is taking care of her for you at the moment, I doubt things would be as bad as you imagine. Urchins are a flock now making ends to live… somehow.”

“Through theft, Frederica,” the Queen added after the Duchess. “That is no proper way to live. There was one who told me long ago… †˜to live, is but to fight,’ but I feel that life should not be terrorised that way.”

“Forgive me for any impertinence, but would you have any suggestions as to how I may go about caring for the young one? It’s precisely because I grew up as an orphan that I do not want her to experience what I went through,” Aramus said, bowing his head to the two others at the table.

“...You could try an orphanage,” Victoria suggested. “They are supported by the government to keep up the service, I suppose.”

“Do tell, Mister Aramus, was the girl from the slums, or did it seem like she was from a middle-class family?” Frederica enquired curiously.

“I came from an orphanage and when I visited my own, I found it gone,” Aramus said sadly. “I do not know where my younger †˜siblings’ or the matrons were sent to.” He then faced the Duchess. “The girl was not from the slums, I found her within an apartment building. It seemed she had a regular upbringing I suppose.”

“Ahh, that might’ve been because the orphanage was too old and someone else bought the land. That sounds like a case from at least ten years or so. I must say that I cannot remember well,” the Queen said.

“Does she happen to have magical prowess in any sense, like The Gift, if I may ask?” Frederica asked again, and the Queen was starting to understand the purpose.

Aramus remained silent, accepting none too happily that certain things did have to change. He just hoped that those in the orphanage found another place. “I have not yet had the time to ascertain whether the lass has The Gift or any other outstanding qualities, but that will be for when I check up on her soon.”

“I can sponsor her and try to take care of her upbringing,” Frederica offered. “Of course, if you wish to be a father figure at this age, and feel that you have the money then I wouldn’t need to do any of that, but considering you asked… you aren’t open to that option, I presume.”

“You would do that Duchess?” Aramus asked, his eyebrows raised in surprise. “Is there anything you would require of me for that…? I imagine it would be a little troublesome for someone of your position to suddenly have a child dropped into their lap.”

“Mnm… there would be some response from society, certainly.” Frederica wanted to sigh, but stopped herself. “I’d have you bring lots of confectionaries from Japan, certainly, and you shan't taste them till I do.”

Aramus made way to the Millennium Bridge and found the site of the explosion. The locals seemed as shocked as himself. The small crater that formed was likely some hours old as reported. There was no fire, but the pavement was already burnt out. He got the stares more than the pavement, however, due to his tattered robe and injuries dressed newly. The Magister ignored the people and went on to investigate, looking around from over the bridge.

Aramus then took to the air and searched to no avail. There were so many people who were tiny from the aerial view. Due to the commotion caused by the airship of Japan the people of London were awakened, yet the confusion was at large and of course mundanes could hardly make any sense of the situation. He could only hope that the people didn’t see the ship, as the people didn’t even know of the war aside from the mages. However, some saw did indeed the airship, hence there was a panic.

Past the Red Road, and the Guildford Road, then into the Kings Road, not a single sign of the noble lady was seen. Aramus was beginning to feel frustration and moreover, anxious about Ellie’s safety. The search had lasted an hour now and he was already on the West End.

Aramus was searching – walking while looking left and right – and fifteen minutes in, he noticed that he was being watched. Every time he felt gazes and turned, he’d notice some heads sinking back into the alley. Suddenly his knees bumped into something and he looked down. It was a young child, a boy who looked up to him. He seemed slightly angry about something.

“Are you Aramus Valmark?” The child asked. His voice made it even more apparent to Aramus that he was annoyed.

“Yeah,” Aramus replied, giving the young one a perplexed look. Had he done something to wrong the child?

“Is this flimsy guy really that important?” The child muttered to himself, but Aramus could hear it. “Well, Miss Mary told us that you were looking for something here. What do you need? We’d rather you don’t look into our neighbourhood carelessly if you know what’s good for you, old man.”

“Just looking for someone, a girl about this high.” Aramus indicated Ellie’s height with a hand. “Blonde. Could be carrying a big sword, perhaps injured as well. Name’s Elizabeth.”

The boy looked about left and right. “Ah, the one we can’t do anything about,” he said, looking a little disheartened. “She is a goner but if you think you can change that; be my guest old man.” The boy said, leading the way for Aramus. After that, Aramus couldn’t remember how many times he turned to the left or right after going into an alley. The path was long and the way hard to remember. He could only wonder how he did these things as a kid. Truly, urchins were the children of the alleys. Before long, the boy turned to a corner and pointed at something without entering the next intersection to the right.

“Should be her, right?” He asked. Aramus peered to the right along with the child and saw a person leaning against the wall on the ground, holding a wound on the stomach. The blonde hair, the dress, and the eyes were unmistakable. It was his Ellie, his precious student.

“That’s her alright. Thanks kid.”

“See ya then,” the child said, walking away.

Aramus grunted, walking closer to his student. The teacher was worried for her but didn’t let it show on his face as he approached.

Elizabeth didn’t even have to look towards Aramus to know it was him, she could simply tell apparently. The young lady simply stared listlessly to the sky.

“The sky is nice like this, don’t you think? Without an airship like that–” she said, but coughed; vomiting blood the Magister stood before her. “Teacher… why do you show me that face?”

Aramus bent down, carefully scooping her up in his arms. He knew not what expression she was talking about, but he definitely wasn’t in a good mood. Holding her close to his chest, Aramus braced himself against the ground and kicked off; launching the two of them above the rooftops of London as he raced towards the palace, one that he might not win.

(BGM: [url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rMZEG_Wm92s]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rMZEG_Wm92s[url])

“You should leave me be… I do not think I will… make it,” she said, coughing more blood. “However, I must say, that I appreciate the view of my hometown.”

“Hush. You’re a terrible student, you know that?” Aramus said in between breaths, the distance closing as he bound from roof to roof with magically enhanced steps. “Even after a fight with Descendants, I still can’t get any rest because of you.”

“...I see, then all the more reason to leave me behind,” she replied. “I know that I am a terrible person.”

“Did you finish what you needed to do?” He continued, ignoring her remarks.

“It will likely never end till my own undoing.”

“You’ve come back to us then?” He asked, a slight tremor in his voice.

“Were I not always there?”

Aramus grunted in both reply and exertion, just a little more and they would be at the palace. “I don’t know. Do you see yourself as one of our members? Not as one of the Society’s?”

“I don’t know, I am indebted and I feel that I’m too deep into this fray. I am likely on the fence of both sides,” she said, her voice barely audible.

“I made a deal with Alice, you know. Information on your activities and what not. In exchange, I had to offer something up to her. I couldn’t uphold my end of the bargain,” Aramus said, frustrated at himself. “The repercussions if I did so might have been too great to fix.”

“...You did not even need to do that. You are my teacher, but anyone would know to not get involved unnecessarily.”

“And leave you alone? Even Alice cautioned me about taking action, but I can’t let you handle this by yourself. This is all I need to know.” He indicated with a tilt of his chin at her wound. “You should also know how whimsical I am.”

“No, you will not involve yourself. You are my teacher but not specifically a guardian, not a parent. Whoever Alice is, she is likely correct. I may be wounded and have lost, but that is a loss for me to bear alone. For consorting with darkness, this is my sin and for that I must atone, and I will see to this by myself till its end.”

“Stop behaving like a petulant child. If everyone thought that way, we would lose most of our population, and I refuse to let someone as bright as you snuff out your future over something like this,” he snapped, showing displeasure towards his student. “You’re smart enough to know that they’re too large for one person to handle alone. On a side note, Alice is a Descendant. I thought you knew, you know, that girl we met in Tokyo when I got stuck on the swing?”

“Please say that to an actually petulant child… for I do not believe I am showing abrupt impatience and irritation. I do not think I am facing all of them–” she coughed yet again, “...and thus I believe you misunderstand, The Society is what I hold debt to, not my blade against.”

Aramus’s eyebrow twitched in irritation at her stubbornness. Sometimes he forgot how much of a chore it was to dissuade her once she had decided upon something. It would be even more difficult considering she actually felt a sense of obligation.

“That is besides the point. The worst kind of patient is one that doesn’t believe he’s sick,” Aramus said with a sigh. “Your parents very nearly lost their lives today, your father against one of our supposed own. If it turns out The Society is responsible, will you still stand with them?”

“...Likely neither,” she answered, averting her eyes. “I only take action for The Society if they request, no more, no less. As for my parents, it is not as though I do not wish to stand with them, but more so that they would not let me… as protective as they are.”

“Can’t argue there. Your blood runs deep,” Aramus said wryly. “There will be repercussions after this debacle, I think that removing your entire family was a possible aim. Because of that, I don’t want to lose you to them.”

“That does not come as a surprise considering how close our ties are to the Queen, but my parents are strong, unlike me… ”

“You left but maybe that was good as well. When I found your father, he was almost gone. From what I have heard from Duchess Frederica, your mother was in a similar state. Ellie, you are not weak. Why do you say that?”

“My mother would… never be wounded against… Dark Knights…”

When Aramus looked down, it seemed like Elizabeth had lost her consciousness. Aramus sighed again into the morning sky, the wind against his face providing some comfort. He made it post haste, landing in the grounds of Buckingham with a thud.

“I see you found her… Medics, see to her immediately!” Duchess Frederica shouted an order and the men took Ellie from Aramus’ hands, taking her to a room inside to treat her. Apparently, all that the mages required was a nice place to lay down a person and cast magic.

“Well with that done, what will you do now? You are free to rest, I’d think. With Her Majesty safe, the Cavendish Bentincks found, we can only pray and hope now.”

Sherlock exited Buckingham House. The palace was still in an uproar, but of a different kind now. The attendants and guards were busy rechecking the surroundings and making sure whether everyone was alright or not. All anomalies and reports were being documented, apparently.

The detective took his sweet time before exiting the palace. Some time ago, Sherlock witnessed the invasion of the airship from a window of the palace and was undoubtedly awestruck; enough to watch the scene unfold completely, instead of getting back to his business. However, the set of unexpected events did not stop there. As he made his way out of the building, he saw that the massive form of machination in the sky was assaulted by what seemed to be a winged being.

Was that an angel… in the flesh? Sherlock wanted to bury his face in his hand. He’d seen more than enough of the Magic World for one day. Whatever the being was it had seemingly succeeded in driving off the ship as the skies were now clear. The devastation left on the surface was still present though.

Sherlock had no immediate goals given the state of chaos, so he went out to examine the city. For the most part, he was unscathed, and so long as things did not clash with his case, he was one to help when he could.

At the exit – the gates of the palace – though, Sherlock stopped to find an associate.

“I see you’re alive,” Frederica said, holding pen and bunch of papers. She seemed to have scribbled down his name on her paper as soon as she saw him.

“Oh?” Sherlock said in subdued surprised. He figured she was alive, but he definitely did not expect her to be right outside the Buckingham House like this. It was likely more magic at work, so he wasn’t going to press the issue too much. “Why hello there Duchess, I see you’ve kept your promise of staying alive. I suppose you’ve got an idea of what is going on?”

“Yes, I suppose I do,” the Duchess answered. “I did promised that, didn’t I? Although I was not sure about it after meeting my enemies that time, in all honesty,” she said as she received more papers – reports, so to say – from attendants. “It seems like we have quite a lot of people that ran away at the commotion that now we’re having trouble making a list of missing people, people that are dead and the rest who are fine.”

“Tough enemies even for you huh?” Sherlock remarked. “Well, I have no plans seeing as how everything is in shambles. Would you like my help?”

“You may draw unnecessary attention if you attempt to help. Considering the situation I suppose the constables are tending to every place the lasers razed.”

“I suppose that’s fair. But good God, lasers? Is that what that giant ship in the sky was shooting? I assume it was the work of Japan as I never seen or read of anything that could cause that kind of destruction.”

“Yeah, it sure gave us a headache. We rushed in some time ago to rescue people, but eventually after the ship escaped we came back to official duties. My friend is seeking some missing people, while I am helping with the facilitation for the reform of order.”

“Impressive, you people are so diligent. Speaking of the ship escaping, what the hell was battling it? I saw something like an angel wreaking havoc up there.”

“...That, is something akin to a national secret that I may not divulge,” Frederica replied. “Perhaps one day when you are truly in need of that information, and are given permission; I’d answer.”

A national secret? Obviously it is somehow related to the Queen, and given that it is all but confirmed that she is a Descendant, then that angel up there has to somehow tie into the equation. Is it possible that the Queen can call down angels at will? Were Descendants capable of controlling even heavenly beings? Or is it some kind of machination like the beings created in Japan, and perhaps powered by that factory of pipes under the Buckingham house? Sherlock left his thoughts at that. It made no difference how much he figured out now as he had no plans to pressure or question Frederica at this point, as she would probably not answer anyways. “Well, that’s a real shame. My curiosity is piqued, but I do not have nine lives to pursue any further. So, are you satisfied with what you’ve found out?”

“Yes, I am, for now,” Frederica said. It seemed like her lust for mysteries would be reawakened †˜ere long. “Psst, step aside,” she whispered to Sherlock and he complied without thinking; clearing the path of the gates.

Several men came by, their coats distinctive despite the blackness. He noticed the insignia of the Soviets. The one in the middle seemed to be fancying a red coat, and wore sunglasses and a red hat – mixing the look of a mage and an official – so his eyes could not be seen.

“I hope you enjoyed the event, however short it was, Mister Vladimir. We apologise for the unforeseen inconveniences caused,” Frederica said, giving a short bow, and the man in red smiled.

“No, no, it was my pleasure,” he said, taking off his hat as he faced the Duchess. “Misfortunes are always unpredictable so it could not be helped. I look forward to Her Majesty’s invitation next year. On that note, do send my regards and salutations to the Queen. With that, I shall take my leave for this year,” he said, giving a bow and then putting his hat back on before leaving.

Sherlock felt a heavy feeling on his heart, and it pumped as though he was on the edge of his very life as he watched the figure pass. He was so surprised at this intense feeling that when he looked down at himself in surprise, he did not notice Vladimir Lenin casting a terse glance at him before walking away with his men. Sherlock had never felt this kind of pressure before; he had a bad feeling about this.

“Frederica, who was that?”

“Ah, him? Vladimir Lenin; the administrator of the Soviets. They come every year in the event to greet the Queen, alas he did not get to meet her this time.”

“Administrator of the Soviets? Is the Queen allied with Russia?”

“Is that so new to you?” Frederica said, raising an eyebrow. “the Queen had been working with the entire Europe and formed the alliance to combat Japan and their Descendants. This is old news.”

Sherlock thought for a moment. I suppose it’s not a surprise actually, since the war on Japan has been ongoing. But, that’s not quite the problem here. “That’s… true. Though I do wonder if Russia has their own Descendant, considering our newfound information on the Queen.”

“You’d best keep your tone down there,” Frederica hissed. “To be honest, there is a rumour, however, that a Descendant showed up from Russia in the last Mage’s War,” she added, her tone lowered.

Something is very strange about all of this. Something about the Descendants in general. Why do these beings exist? And If I understand correct, then these being naturally oppose each other, but to what end? All things aside, the existence of Japan is an issue on its own. Strange forces are at work, a larger, grander scheme is happening when you really think about the situation. “I’ve got a bad feeling about all of this. Some things are not adding up, but I’ve been drawing blanks for now. I assume that the Queen knows what she is doing though, so I’ll leave it at that for now.”

“You’re late to the race of worries, Detective,” Frederica said, chuckling. “The world is burning down tomorrow so calm down; you still have a case to crack for me.”

“Hah, true enough.” Sherlock laughed along. Despite any complications and situations that rise around him, Sherlock still had plenty of things to do. “Do you have anything you think will be useful? Dead end leads can sometimes prove fruitful after a second look.”

“I shall provide all the information I can in a later date, unfortunately – as you can see – I have quite a lot of work to take care of even now in here. Most information are at my manor, after all. Why not come visit me at a later date?”

Sherlock looked around to see numerous people scrambling about, crushed buildings and pavement completely destroyed some distance away due to the invasion of the airship. †˜A lot of work,’ was quite the understatement. Sherlock responded, “That sounds fine. I’m holding you up here, I’ll let you get back to work.” Sherlock had questions, but now was hardly the time. He needed time to sort things out on his end as well.

The three eventually found a room and the Queen was put to bed. It looked strange because her wings were still present. With the Queen’s back firmly laid against the bed, her wings outstretched to both sides of said bed. She had already lost consciousness as soon as she was laid down.

Frederica and Aramus sat down on the couch on the opposite side meanwhile to enjoy a brief respite to reward themselves for all their hard work. The Queen’s body was inflicting quite a lot of burning pain upon them, after all. They intended to go back up and deal with other issues after a minute, but they passed out instead.

An hour passed just like that, and Aramus awoke, only to find Frederica leaning against his shoulder while asleep.

Try as he might, Aramus couldn’t stop a smile from forming. After a hard day’s work, this isn’t too bad, he mused to himself, though he would eventually need to wake her up. He looked over to where Her Majesty lied, wondering how her condition was.

He rose slowly, careful not to wake Frederica. His body still ached, stretching to work out some of the kinks. There was a set of cups on a platter laid on the table next to their couch and Aramus conjured a little water, pouring some for the occupants of the room. He drank greedily, gulping the water down to sate his parched throat.

Aramus then took leave of the room silently. If it was one thing he had been wanting to do other than serve his Queen, it was finding out what happened to the Cavendish Bentincks. All three of the family members saved him in one way or the other. The Duchess saved him and the Queen from both invading Descendants at the more direst of moments. The Duke saved him from the other Duke who wanted to take the Queen elsewhere, or even end Her Majesty’s life. Lastly, the daughter – his precious student, Ellie – saved him from the possible death that had lain in Her Majesty’s very room.

Aramus searched the palace and he could hardly find any of them. There were mages and people trying to clean the mess, collecting corpses and trying to figure out what exactly took place last evening. He soon found Takeru taking notes of the incidents from questioning people, before he noticed him and came rushing.

“Aramus! Where have you been? I was worried, with Her Majesty the Queen missingm and the palace in chaos, we have one big mess to clean up here,” Takeru said, ranting about his frustrations ever since the incident came to a close. “You don’t seem too well yourself, it seems. I am to guess that you fought against the conspirators?”

“You don’t know the half of it,” Aramus replied, looking weary. “We can chit chat later, let’s focus on getting everything back in running order first. I’d like to find out where the members of Cavendish Bentinck are.”

Takeru raised some piece of papers up that he held, and read them through his spectacles. “They are indeed missing, seeing that they’re not in the list of people found so far,” Takeru stated, scowling. “But I think you should get some treatment and let the others search instead.”

”Just a bit then I’ll set out to look for them,” Aramus said, calling out to a passing medic. “What about things on your end? Alright?”

“Way too many people are missing from the High Places, which is vexing to say the least – I don’t think that means things are alright – but it also points to the possibility that they were closely involved with the incidents that took place after the assassination attempt on the Queen took place,” Takeru said, sighing, while the medic gave a nod to Aramus and began casting healing magic and dressing his wounds with proper bandages. “We’re assuming she’s alive, of course, but I wish someone would tell me that she’s alive. Either way, most of the other guests managed to make their escape.”

“Her Majesty is fine, she just requires a bit more rest,” Aramus said, wincing slightly as the bandages were tightened around his wounds. “Someone is trying to remove people loyal to the Queen. We must put a stop to it, no matter who it is.”

“May I ask what evidence or proof you have of it, or why you’d think so?” Takeru asked curiously, penning down the Queen’s name on the list of people found. “I don’t doubt your words, but I do need to know what’s going on if I am to make things around here better.”

“If witnessing two Dukes battle over loyalty to the Crown isn’t enough, perhaps if I told you one of them tried to get me arrested for treason would be. I can’t say I didn’t give them good reason to but at that moment, Duke William demanded possession of Her Majesty and raised a sword against me when I refused,” Aramus all but spat.

“Well there is more than one Duke with that name, which one are we talking about here?” Takeru enquired, bewildered. William is such a common name here… unexpectedly enough.

“Sorry, sorry. That Powlett bastard,” Aramus said, “he dared raise a hand against Her Majesty. If Duke William Henry has not dealt with him, I will do so. Despicable, really.”

“Unfortunately, I cannot say experiences would be proof to subjugation or treason, especially towards a noble, however bad all of this sounds,” Takeru said, analytical of the situation. “Duke William John was indeed found, and that may mean that Duke William Henry might’ve dealt with,” he added, grimly.

Aramus’ expression turned sour when he heard that the traitor had survived. “We’ll have to be careful around that one.”

“By the way, have you seen Duchess Frederica anywhere? She is one of the missing too, it seems.”


“I am here,” Frederica said, approaching the two from behind. “The Queen’s wounds were mostly dressed, and so I am here,” she said, smiling, proud of her own work.

“Ah, good day to you, Duchess Frederica,” Takeru greeted, noting down Frederica’s name too.

“Duchess, sorry to be so abrupt but what are your plans now?” Aramus said.

“Search for the missing… is what I’d like to say but I have to go and get the mages, servants, and the rest in order. I imagine they are all operating in varied groups without lead,” Frederica answered. “Someone has to manage and collect the details of situations discovered. You’d better find my old friend Duchess Caroline though, I know not where she went.”

“I will search for all three of them. Takeru, please, keep an eye on †˜him’ until I return,” Aramus said, laying a hand on his fellow Magister’s shoulder.

“No promises, but you know I’ll do what I can. Just don’t fall under his gaze or he may attempt to arrest you for treason again. Considering you were protecting the Crown, you could be charged all the same in the name of conspiracy instead,” Takeru replied, beckoning Aramus to be under caution.

Aramus looked slightly disappointed, mostly at himself than at Takeru’s words as they reminded him of Alice and their agreement. “Thanks. I’ll be back,” he said, leaving Takeru behind and going out to checking the entire palace.

He then went back to the hall where it all began, and traced back to the corridors he passed along with the Queen, retracing the events that transpired last night. There were blood trails when he reached the place where he met Claudia. A bitter taste was left in his mouth. The bodies of the guards were likely retrieved, but considering the time when Takeru mentioned that the Duchess wasn’t found, it meant that she either lived and moved to a different location, or the worst had happened elsewhere. Going on ahead, he eventually found the place where he met Elizabeth. The window where she left through was still broken. He took a moment to look around through the broken window to no avail. He searched for his student in the distance, hoping she’d return from whence she leapt away, despite knowing that such a thing wouldn’t happen.

Finally, he took the turn and arrived at the place he met Duke William John Frederick Powlett. The place was a mess. There were scorched marks of burns and trails of blood. Considering William John was found, he doubted that he could find the Duchess’ husband here. Regardless, Aramus searched, and was still empty handed.

Aramus heaved a sigh, and gave up on finding them in specific places. He went on to simply scour the palace. It was so large that he was starting to get tired all over again. The halls were large, the corridors were long, and the rooms; spacious. The interior designs were a marvel to look at but he hadn’t the time for those now. Eventually the man came across the Queen’s bedroom. It wasn’t where the Queen was resting now, but he did reminded himself of Elizabeth’s words that the medics awaiting Her Majesty there were all killed, and that assassins were likely awaiting her there. He took a deep breath and slowly approached the room, ready to react to any attacks.

Opening the door, Aramus found the corpses of the medics, the carpets he stood upon days ago wet with crimson blood, and it seemed like someone ransacked the Queen’s very belongings. It was apparent that no one checked this place yet ever since the entire ordeal came to an end and daybreak took place, otherwise the corpses would’ve been retrieved by now. When he turned to the corner, his eyes widened, for he found Duke William Henry, the Duchess’ husband! The Duke was leaned against the wall, injured and weathered, battered from his battles. He was unconscious, but his heart was still beating.

“Duke William!” Aramus exclaimed, rushing over to the injured noble. Summoning the dregs of his mana, Aramus called forth a shadow partner and commanded it to reach Takeru and the medics. He couldn’t leave the Duke in this state, not without some form of protection. The clone saluted and ran off, disappearing behind the door.

The clone came back in about fifteen minutes. The Duke’s situation was only growing worse in the meantime. It felt like an eternity had passed for Aramus whose tension levels broke a new record today.

Takeru rushed in and ordered the medics to take him away. Since there wasn’t enough hands, Takeru himself took on the corpses of the fallen medics and carried them, thanking Aramus on his way out.

When Aramus left the room himself, Takeru stopped and turned to him. “Right, I forgot due to the urgency of the situation, but I think Duchess Frederica was looking for you for something – sometime after you went off.”

“Right. I’ll be right with her then.” Aramus nodded, heading to where Duchess Frederica was located. “Take care of him.”

Tens of minutes later, Aramus found Duchess Frederica ordering the servants about. She wanted the palace cleaned of blood, soot and dust. She then had the mages search in places that weren’t checked, going through the blueprints herself. It seemed like she was slave-driving everyone, but she was also getting people to check close outside the walls. She was quite literally setting everything straight neatly in her own fashion. Even the other Magisters could feel their pride crush at the gaze of the formidable lady, who openly scolded them for their lack of participation in the search.

“Ah, Mister Aramus,” the Duchess said, turning to Aramus as he approached her. “I found a disturbing report here.” She then handed him the paper containing the report. “This is a report from Scotland Yard; something from the mundanes. An incident took place outside the Buckingham House yesterday, while all the fuss was in progress. There was an explosion around the River Thames, for which the officers were out searching for clues all night past midnight – little did we know due to the disasters taking place in the palace at the time… More specifically, this incident took place around the Millennium Bridge, and it says here that they saw a girl there,” the Duchess explained, turning grave. “As you may see, the descriptions match Elizabeth, don’t you think?”

Aramus mused over the information, indicating for the Duchess to continue with her explanation. He wondered why there was a need to involve the mundanes in the affairs of mages. An incident like that wouldn’t be easy to cover up or explained.

“In here, several hooded people were also noted, and the officers of Scotland Yard could hardly make sense of the situation as they came across it abruptly while patrolling. As you should know, there is a curfew at night in England these days, and they’d naturally attempt to apprehend anyone they find at such hours. This situation was obviously beyond them. Right now the officers are still inspecting, but they haven’t found anything yet. I feel like the Cavendish Bentinck’s daughter was involved, in which case we may need to expand our area of search.”

“Alright. I shall personally join the search for Elizabeth myself. These opponents might be beyond what the mundanes can handle. Any news on Duchess Caroline?” Aramus asked.

“That is where the good news comes in,” the Duchess replied, giving a brief smile. “The Duchess is now resting. We recovered her in a near-death state so we were lucky to find her just outside the house. It seemed like she was forced out of the establishment through one of the windows of the corridors. They are having trouble taking out the shards of glass from her body but… we have magic to thank for the problem. She’ll be as good as new soon enough.”

“Indeed, that is good news. I’m amazed at her resilience though, facing down two Descendants and still… living. Do you have anything else for me, Duchess Frederica?” Aramus said, allowing a small smile onto his face at the news.

“Nothing of note for you. Since you volunteered yourself, this simplifies things as I’d like to have you look for Elizabeth too. I do not know what that child may be up to, but at the moment I may only rely on you for this task; you must find her,” the Duchess said, putting the papers away. “I’ll be here facilitating things as I have been. I’d love to search alongside you, but there’s no one else willing to take the managerial position. That Duke tried to put the blame on you, but I debated him and we agreed to have the matter settled with Her Majesty later.”

”Powlett? Be careful of him, Duchess.”

“I know that much, young man.”

I’ll be heading off first then. Good luck on your remodelling of the house. I’m sure the Queen will be pleased that there’s an excuse for a makeover after so long.” Aramus chuckled as he walked off, eager to continue his search.

The Magister did what he could to save the people in danger from the lasers and cannons, but it was never enough. Aramus was already wounded from his previous battle; an otherworldly experience. He could scarce catch his breath. Eventually, he made his way back to the Buckingham House, whereas the Queen was landing on its rooftop. The vessel in the sky departed but moments ago through a set of portals. The ship had a mechanic through which it could branch off into separate pieces, and each portal took it different parts, or so one could make out from staring at the sky blankly. Fragments of sunlight were seen thanks to the clouds being rendered from the sky momentarily due to the ship, and some considered it nostalgic, others found it as something new.

The Queen was covered in glistening light before it faded from her side and dispersed into the air; revealing a pair of shimmering wings that seemed to have been attached on her very back. Duchess Frederica and Aramus bore witness to this scene with awe. It seemed like the Duchess was also there to welcome back the monarch

The Queen did not come back unscathed; gaping wounds could be seen around her stomach stomach, and one of her leg was gone upon closer inspection, for which she couldn’t quite stand. The first wound she took on her chest from Marco was gone, but it was replaced with a different wound, one that seemed more like a precise hit. Her red dress was redder than ever as a result, and she was visibly tired, much more than the last time she spoke to the two; her eyelids were barely kept open. On her knee to the dusty – feather littered – floor at last, all she could do was try to catch some breath, the glow from her wings were starting to fade.

“Your Majesty!” Aramus cried, rushing over to support her.

“Stop, Sir Valmark!” The Queen said, but she was too late, for Aramus tried to touch the Queen to support her, and an invisible force pushed him away.

Aramus grunted, staggering backwards and flailing to regain his balance. Frederica helped Aramus regain his balance as she held him by the arm and supported him.

“It seems like Her Majesty is protected by something,” Frederica said, the two standing just before the Queen now, who simply looked down dejectedly. Frederica herself tried to touch Victoria, but felt something akin to electricity burning her palm, and retracted her hand immediately. “Would you explain what this is about, Your Majesty? We won’t be able to help you like this.”

“The angels are wary… and overprotective. Anyone with a spec of blackness in their heart is repelled indiscriminately,” the Queen replied, her hands holding her thigh, from where the rest of her leg was detached under the long dress. “I’m afraid they are not paying heed to my commands at the moment as they are in a bit of a frenzy.”

“This is troublesome…” the Duchess commented. “I do not know what to do.”

Aramus stood wordlessly and walked forward the next moment. Again he was repelled, sent to the ground rather roughly by the barrier.

“What kind of Magister am I if I am unable to help my liege?!” He screamed, this time bracing himself and returning to his Queen's side. Her power surged against him like flames, a burning agony in his body almost striking him low but he persevered, helping Victoria to her feet. “Alright, we’re good to go,” he said through gritted teeth.

The Queen wanted to stop Aramus, but Frederica shook her head, letting the Queen simply accept help from her subjects. Frederica took up the other arm of Her Majesty after Aramus, also deciding to endure the burning pain before they took the Queen away.

“That thing is humongous,” Thomas complained, the situation took a huge turn and they were still on the streets. Unfortunately for Thomas, the officers out for curfew and the lack of open inns made it extremely difficult to find a place to shelter poor Tsuruko, and like this it was already dawn. He did not think so many Scotland Yard officers would be around. Mages usually had no problems unless many of them were out and about searching for people. Did something take place earlier that the officers were out even around dawn? Likely, especially now that the airship appeared and the lasers razed the revolutionised city.

“Far bigger than anything I’ve ever seen grace the sky… if you could even call something like that graceful.” Tsuruko held her grimace. Looking at something that mechanically huge made her doubt the originality of that huge flying machine, being so apart from Japan’s technology sector.

“I’ve not heard of such invasion plans. What about you, Miss Tsuruko?”

“Nothing that would’ve amounted to this…” Tsuruko gazed upon the massive amount of chaos and destruction going on. “

“Well, maybe–” Thomas stopped running, and so did Tsuruko, he turned to witness a soaring figure who fought the machination of the skies, but also another who approached them. With no time to run he raised his arms as if to protect them both.

“Miss Tsuruko!”

Tsuruko heard a familiar voice as the figure landed before them. It was Hynek, carrying Alice on his arms. Both were gravely injured. Hynek had red bruises and swollen spots all over the place, and many of parts of his body had traces of dried blood. Alice was almost literally broken. There were electronic particles hanging from her open large wounds, her right arm and shoulder were literally cut off, and she was unconscious.

She was almost instantly grieved as her eyes set upon the figure that she was supposed to protect… wait, are those sparks…? Or rather, why are they in such a state? Countless questions ran through her mind as Hynek landed. She tried as hard as she could to make sense of the current situation, but like the others, reason escaped her.

“What happened? Or rather, how? Why is Lady Alice… injured… to this extent?” Thomas enquired, taken aback by all the wounds, his words barely enunciated properly due to the gravity of the situation.

“No time to explain,” Hynek curtly answered, his voice raspy. “I’m here for you, Miss Tsuruko, to escort you two to the ship. We’re going back home.”

Tsuruko just nodded, holding any words directed at the two for later, as she understood the importance of the situation now. “How are we going to get back?”

Hynek gave his wings a flap and gave a smirk. “How else do you think? Prepare for a ride,” he said.

“What will you do?” Hynek asked, facing Thomas.

“Well, I think I’ll simply head home and pray that the lasers don’t fall here, or at the two of you for that matter.”

Hynek gave an uncaring nod. “Gotcha.” He picked up Tsuruko with ease from behind Thomas – who stepped aside as the taller man approached – and held both the ladies with each arm. “Stay safe.” He then ascended off the stone pavements as his wings began to flap rapidly.

“You people should stay safe too! Watch out for the projectiles! And Miss Tsuruko, we shall meet again, in your country next time!” Thomas yelled as Hynek started to take to the air and towards the sky where the impossibly large airship hung, unsure whether she even caught his message or not.

Tsuruko felt a great pulling force from behind her, and after a quick moment they were speeding off. She nearly yelped, if not for the feeling of her abdomen grinding against Hynek unabling her to produce any noise, and in the end a short groan just came out of her mouth, along with a few drops of saliva. She would cover her mouth immediately, but her arms were locked by sheer force.

Tsuruko almost seemed to reach out to Thomas as they parted from the earth, almost wondering if she’ll ever see him again. As the silhouette of Thomas grew thin, Tsuruko recalled her moments with him, and she would cherish them dearly, until she would see him again.