The night swiftly approached, and the slums were quickly being enveloped by darkness.
"Anna, what do you think about this?" Pete thoughtfully said, standing outside the building.
The brown-haired girl stood by his side, wistfully looking at the door.
"What do you mean?" Anna asked, not understanding the suspicion in the priest's voice.
"...Do they have it under control? I could tell they were fighting each other quite intensely. It's almost like they want to kill each other."
Anna's face paled as she quickly waved her hands in denial. "There's no way. It just seems that way because you don't know them."
"When Cyril fights, he gets a bit intimidating, sure, but he knows when to stop! He is just giving it his all."
"Hmm." Pete looked at her, clearly unconvinced.
"And how long have you known Cyril? How much do you know him, really?"
Anna's face became slightly awkward as she looked away. "Well, it's been close to two months now... since I first saw him. We actually talked for the first time about two weeks ago."
Pete's face slowly turned confused, staring at her with disbelief. Didn't she vouch for him back in the orphanage?
With each word Anna became quieter, her eyes holding less confidence. "We've talked a few times since then... But I know him well, really! I watch him a lot, and I know his schedule. I also know what he eats at the cafeteria. I even befriended his tiger!"
As if in a confessional divulging all her sins, Anna began feeling shame for her words. Strange, she didn't think they were so wrong, so why did Pete stare at her with such awkwardness?
The bearded priest finally sighed, wiping his face with some exhaustion. He was slowly losing confidence in his earlier decision. Maybe he should sneakily observe the duel, just in case.
Miracles were not for fighting. The blind priestess is at a disadvantage in front of an unknown noble.
"Anna, I think we should check what they-"
Before finishing his sentence, Pete suddenly turned around, staring into an alley close to the building.
From there, a few figures slowly walked out as if out of the darkness itself.
They were men and women. All wore suits with gloves, obstructing as much of their skin as possible. They had strangely pale faces, their eyes hidden behind black glasses.
Leading them was an old man with graying hair. On his face was a smile that lacked any warmth.
Pete stood in front of Anna, shielding her. Something about these newcomers wasn't right.
"Who are you?"
The old man politely bowed to them. "We are terribly sorry to disturb you at this late hour. We are looking for a priestess of the Earth Goddess, Luce. We understand you are working with her. Can you point us to her?"
"And why are you looking for her?" Pete said, carefully reaching for the emblem on his neck.
As if completely clueless to the priest's vigilance, the old man slowly turned to look at the abandoned building in front of them, admiring it.
"We are her family. We got worried that she hasn't shown up yet, even though her duties were supposed to be over by now."
Anna slowly wiped her bracelet, vigilantly scanning the shady group, before whispering, "She never said anything about you."
"We only recently reunited, so it's understandable. I assure you, we've got nothing but good intentions," the old man said, smiling wider.
Pete, the priest of the Sky God, took a few steps forward, staring at them without backing down. "You can go back. If what you say is true, Luce will contact you herself soon."
He rubbed the necklace on his neck, as if ready to cast some peculiar spell. Anna readied her hands, her eyes becoming sharper.
The people behind the old man wore frowns, staring at them with hostility, while the old man himself remained smiling.
They stood like this, the atmosphere becoming tenser every second. It felt like any of them could lunge forward and attack.
When, suddenly, a pair of footsteps interrupted their scene.
The two groups stared to the side, where another figure steadily walked closer.
"…What is happening today?" Pete helplessly whispered to himself.
But as he saw the newcomer, he froze.
It was a woman in a maid uniform. She had messy black hair, with a headband vaguely visible among it. Her pitch-black eyes were empty, not reflecting a single emotion within.
As Pete looked into them, a shiver ran down his back.
The maid stopped, keeping her hands in front of her. Without saying a single word, she stared at the two groups present like at a few bumps on the road.
It wasn't a look one would give another human.
"Run away," Pete whispered, sweat forming on his forehead.
Though Anna didn't share his reaction.
...
Inside of the building, Cyril and Lucrezia were engaged in a sweat-inducing activity.
Cyril once again wore his luxurious fake jacket, spending the precious mana for it.
There was blood flowing from his nose. A result of Lucrezia getting a cheap hit while dodging his flames.
After yet another exchange, they created distance, staring each other down.
"Can you teach me how to create clothes?" Lucrezia whispered, her breathing labored.
She briefly looked over her body, at the burned habit she was wearing. There were a few burn marks on her body that she didn't heal.
"You know, for your sake. Maybe you'll get distracted during the duel by my beauty? I'm quite stunning after all~" she said, sending him a provocative glance.
Cyril raised his brow, staring at her as if she had said something ridiculous. "…So it's true that vampires can't see themselves in a mirror?"
Lucrezia's face froze. After a second of confusion, fury overtook her.
Suddenly, her body blurred, disappearing from place.
Cyril moved ahead of time, casting a spell he prepared. In a moment a column of fire erupted in a particular direction.
A dark cloud pierced through the flames, pathetically retreating a distance away.
Lucrezia reappeared, desperately patting the flames away. She escaped in time with no new burns on her skin.
"I can see through your attacks, Lucrezia. It's pointless," Cyril said, walking closer.
Morpho flew at his side, ready to dive in at any second.
"We can go back and forth like this the whole day. Let's finish this before the sun comes up," Cyril said with a straight face.
Although he sounded confident, mana remained an issue. Without regeneration, if this continues, he'll be dead long before sunrise.
Lucrezia stood up straight, breathing unevenly. Her face seemed a little paler than before.
She glanced at the butterfly, then opened her mouth: "I have a proposition for you. How about you stop your butterfly from participating and we fight one on one?"
Cyril froze, staring at her with a frown.
Lucrezia continued, unconcerned: "Since you enjoy this so much, I'll make it more pleasant for you. I won't use superspeed or change my form. But in return you won't use outside help and stop that weird spell that sees through my moves. Seems fair to me."
"Cyril…" Rhamn hesitantly said, her voice helpless.
"She is most likely saying this because superspeed is taxing on her body. I bet she simply can't use it anymore. Just burn her to ashes."
"…"
Cyril narrowed his blue eyes, staring at the vampire with suspicion. In return Lucrezia smirked, her red eyes as if saying, 'Too scared?'
"Morpho, stay away," Cyril said, looking at the red butterfly nearby.
Rhamn, tell Atheris to stop helping.
"…Alright."
Rhamn quickly shook her head, her red eyes becoming filled with excitement.
"Whatever! We'll crash her either way!"
Cyril looked at the vampire and nodded.
"I agree."
Lucrezia smiled wider, her red eyes sparkling.