Clare Chase, a newly hired Finder, had her first official job. Because she was new, it was decided that she'll go with an older, more experienced Finder named Mer Jackson, to be shown the ins and outs of the job. They were going to board a ship to Germany in two days and she was sligtly bouncing as she sat in the train car. Her short golden hair swaying and aquamarine eyes shimmering under the sunlight. Underneath her uniform she wore brown pants and green shirt.

"You look excited Clare."

"Yes, Mr Jackson! It's my first job after all. I can't wait."

"Call me Mer, please. Mr makes me feel old."

"No way! You are not only my senior but currently my instructor. Untill I am experienced enough, I have to refer to you with respect, I've been taught like that by mama." - a nostalgic smile formed on Clare's face.

"OK, then. I can't change your mind then. Now, I have some pretty important things to tell you before we reach the port. You have to be prepared after all."

She straightened and listened to him diligently.

"Now, we Finders are the only field agents without Innocence in the Black order, got that?" she nodded "Good, this means we're in even more danger than exorcists sometimes, because we can't fight or defend from Akuma on our own, we can only run. More than once I have been put in mortal danger while doing my duty, so you must always be aware of your surroundings! Our main job is to listen for rumors, myths, gossips and mysterious news. In other words to gather information that may lead us to Innocence shards or possible Akuma gatherings. We sometimes have to lead Exorcists, help keep the possible accomodators safe, spy on the enemy and even escape with the Innocence while the Exorcists hold back the Akuma. Such situations are rare but happen at least a couple of times in your life."

"Wow! It's amazing and scary at the same time."

"I know. Well, this place we're going to is supposedly pretty safe but stay sharp!"

"OK! Ah, can you please tell me some interesting story from your work? If it's not a problem."

"Yes, I can. Lets see...which one..? Oh, ahem...this is the story of my adventure in Mismark. Around three years back..."

===Flashback===

Mer was sent to a small town named Mismark. His job was to investigate the rumors about the haunted metal factory that had been abandoned a few years back. The factory had been built near the mine, up in the mountain, instead of the outskirts of the town like it was usually done. In order for one to reach the factory, they had to climb up the mountain road, which was now covered with weeds and bushes. It had been rumored that ghosts and monsters appear there and that people go missing at night. He had listened to the rumors and the gossips the old ladies spoke. Afrer he gathered enough information, he headed for the road, his phone box strapped on his back securely. He climbed the road with reat caution. Because no one had attended to it, the dirt road had almost disappeared under the vegetation, there was also loose dirt and rocks that could cause one to fall and trip. By 17:15 in the afternoon he had reached the abandoned factory and mine. He looked all over the place, not seeing a soul he was going to leave when he heard faint voices, so he hid in behind a pile of rocks and coal, taking off his coat and hiding it in order not to be seen easyly. With his black shirt, hair and dark-gray pants he blended in with the pile. Two men and a tied up woman came in.

"Hehehe...what a beauty!" (man 1)

"Oooh...I can't wait! We're gonna have fun with you!" (man 2)

The girl struggled as they untied her legs and let her run, both of them transformed in level 2 Akuma, a wolf and a bear-like ones. She screamed and ran even faster as they chased and toyed with her. After killing her they turned back and headed down when suddenly the one that turned in a wolf Akuma stopped.

"Hey, do you smell something?"

Mer stopped breathing and pressed himself down as hard as he could.

"What? There's nothing here let's go!"

"Ugh, fine!"

After that he waited untill he was sure it was safe and called the HQ, informing them about the two Akuma. In the end they were killed and no more people were hurt.

===End===

"Wow!"

"Yeah, it was pretty intense back then but I survived somehow. I guess my luck was super good that day."

The train wistle sounded, signalling for the pasengers to get ready for the next stop.

"It's our stop. Get your suitcase and lets go." - he told Clare as he took his suitcase down.

She did so with a bit of dificulty, because of her height, and hurried behind him. They got off and headed straight for the docks. Their ship was leaving the same day but thankfully they had good rooms and food reserved for them. They boarded the ship soon after, showing their Order badges. After they put their things in their rooms and the ship set off, they went out to the board and looked at the shores of England. Clare smiled because it was the first time ever she left the country, she was knda feeling homesick already and a little nervous.

"Shall we go and eat?" - Mer asked her.

"Yes, I'm kinda hungry myself."

They went to the ship's restaurant and ordered the dinner, a steak with potato salad, mushroom soup and chocolate cake.

"So, what caused a young, 16 year old girl like you to apply for the finder job at the Order?" - Mer asked while they waited to be served.

"Well...it's a bit uncomfortable to talk about but I guess I have to get used to it. I..." she bit her lip "my family was killed by Akuma and I had an encounter with the Earl."

Mer's eyes widened.

===Flashback===

Her parents and she were traveling the country on a small family trip when they were caught in an Akuma attack. Her mother was shot and turned to dust while her father's bod was split in half. It was pure miracle the Exorcists appeared and saved her, killing the Akuma in the end. She was sent to live with her grandma back in London after the incident. Of course she cried and was depressed for a few weeks. One night in her room the Earl appeared in all his purple glory and offered her to bring one of her parents back but she refused. Not only was she freaked out by the skeleton and the Earl but one of the stories her grandma had told her flashed in her mind, making her refuse right off the bat. In the end the Earl left with a sour face. He had thankfully not attacked her.

In the end she decided to join the Black order. Seeing she wasn't an accomodator, she decided to become a Finder because a work behind a desk didn't suit her.

===End===

"So, that's it." - she finished and started eating.

"Now that's something rare. Most people accept the Earl's offer without thinking. Why did you refuse?"

"Well, my grandma used to tell me stories and legends from her homeland, you see, she was from France but moved here after meeting my grandpa. One of the stories she liked to tell me the most was about a girl who loved a rich man but she was poor. Then a demon appears and offers her to grant her wish in exchange for her soul after she dies, the ending was bad for the girl if you hadn't guessed it. The scene when the Earl appeared looked too similar to the story, so I refused."

"Hmm. Maybe the story was also about the Earl, although changed. Maybe someone who had seen the Earl in action had told the story and it had changed in time." - he mused.

"Maybe. Wow! This cake is super tasty!"

After dinner both went to bed. They were arriving the next day, so Clare was nervous how she'll do. After a few hours her eyes became heavy and she fell asleep.

===Dream===

A seven year old Clare was tucked in her bed, her grandma sitting in a shair next to it, the oil lamp's flame flickering, lighting the room in soft light.

"So, which story do you want me to read you Clare?"

"OH! A new one. We've read all these stories. I want something new!"

"Ok." - her grandma stood up and took a booklet from the topmost part of the bookcase.

It looked old and battered. As she peered at it she noticed it was all handwritten.

"I think you are ready for one of these stories. Back when I was younger I started writing down stories and legends from my homeland. I stopped when I moved here with your grandpa but still kept the booklet. This story is my favourite and I think you are old enough for it. Ready?"

She sniggled in her sheets and nodded for yes.

"Long time ago, in a kingdom that no longer exists lived a beautiful girl named Felicia. She was the daughter of the village's baker and was said to be the most beautiful girl around. She was kind, passionate and worked hard every day. One day, however, the area's supervisor, duke Ragnold, came to the village to inspect it. With him was his youngest son, Jasper. Felicia fell in love at first sight with him. She had never felt like that before. He was heither very pretty, if fact his siblings laughed at im because he was the 'ugliest' in the family, but she liked him instead of all other men that wanted her hand. Reality was harsh and their social standing wouldn't allow them to even meet and talk, much less to allow her to marry him. She became sad and cried every night, begging God for help. Her prayers were heard, but not by God, by a Demon.

'Hello there, little girl. Why are you ruining your pretty face like that with these tears?' - the demon asked her.

She told him her whole story.

'I see. What a cruel world indeed! It's obvious you two are the perfect couple but something as unimportant as social status is keeping you two away. What a tragedy! If you want, I can help you.'

'C-can you really help me marry him?' - she asked desperately.

'Of course I can.'

She looked at his face for the first time his beauty was so unearthy, like he had come from another world. His deep, black eyes captivated her and compelled her to trust him.

'I'll do anything! I just want to be with him!'

'Then, will you sign a contract with me? I'll help you unite with your true love. All you have to do is sign the contract.'

He then produced a parchment and a quill out of thin air and gave them to her. She signed the contract, not realising she was giving her soul away.

A few months later Felicia was in the duke's manor. With the help of the demon she had become rich and famous, so the duke offered one of his sons to her, she cose Jasper and a week later a grand wedding was held. It was the happiest day for Felicia. Then, during the dinner after the wedding she tripped, hit her head on the sharp corner of a table and died. The demon then smirked and took her soul with him in hell."

"Grandma, this story is so sad! Why did you read it?"

"Because it teaches a very important lesson- to never make deals with the devil."

===End dream===

She woke up with a start and wiped her forehead.

'Why did I dream about it? There are no such thing...well, there's the Earl and Akuma, so there are demons after all.'

She stood up and got dressed up. They were going to reach Germany in the afternoon.

===Somewhere else===

In an old mansion, that looked overgrown with weeds but actually was surrounded by a barrier, a strange creature that looked like a black ball with bat ears and wings with a devil tail and worried expression hurried through the halls. It reached two tall doors and burst through them.

"Luciel-sama! We have a problem!" - it shouted.

A foot pinned it to the ground. A girl that looked no older than 14 stood over it with a scowl. She wore a brown coat with fluffy white hood, boots, khaki pants and a T-shirt that read "Meat is life".

"Jass, how many fucking times do I have to tell you not to call me by my family name! I hate THAT name!"

"Ii'm sorry Lu-!" she stepped harder on him "...Endra-sama...Please forgive me!" - he started to tear up.

"Cheh! Next time you call me by that name, you'll be my dinner! Got it?"

"YES!"

"Now, what did you want to say? We're having a meeting about the soul collection this past year."

"Well, I recieved a report from Cardian, he said Exorcists had been snooping around the town he's currently working, so he would be a delayed, also Castor was almost caught by a Finder during the process of retrieval."

"Damn! Both the Earl and the Order are becoming more active recently! Curse their fucking 'Holy War' ! Everyone..." she lifted her finger up at the sky and sent a message "Everyone that doesn't work is to come immediately!"

In the room soon after started to pop in various strange and scary creatures of diferent shapes and sizes.

""You called us Endra-sama?""

"What do you need our humble presence tonight?" - a golden skeletal creature with sharp fangs, claws, rotten and crooked wings, in an ancient egyptian robe and bamdages wrapped haphazardly, covering its eyes, asked.

"It's very serious! We're making big loses! Because of the increased activity from the Earl, the amount of souls we recieve yearly has dropped drastically!" - she pointed at a chart that appeared out of nothing.

"Why? It doesn't look too much to me." - a toewring bear-like monster remarked.

"Yes, because we're currently the ONLY demons that hopped two dimensions over to gather souls! Also griefing people are the easiest to trick into signing a contract! Get me? The second problem are those pesky Finders and Exorcists. We know the so called Innocence can't kill us. Because Haleb was hit by the full-power blast of the friggin floating torso in China and only got his clothes and hair singed, unlike the Earl's Akuma that got destroyed, but we should still stay under the radar! Also a change in orders, if a Finder sees you during the process of extraction, make sure you don't allow him to escape and report it! Kill him if you have to, just make sure you blame it to the Yoma, no, the Noah or Akuma!"

"Yes master!"

"Good, now, lets review this year's amount of souls."

===In Spain===

Allen, Lavi and a finder were going to a town near the sea to check rumors of a man that had aparently returned from the dead. They reached the house of Esmeralda Cortinas. They were just going to check with Allen's eye if the man was a person or an Akuma. They knocked and waited. The door opened, revealing a beautiful woman with wavy red hair but she looked pale, her cheeks were sunken and had dark circles under the eyes.

"Yes, cough, what can I help you with?" - she looked ready to colloapse any moment now.

"Are you Esmeralda Cortinas?" - Lavi asked politely in order to not stress the sickly woman.

"Yes, do you have some buisness with me?"

"No, actually it's about your husband, Victor. We wanted to talk to him about what happened on the Galatea."

"Oh, come in then! He went out to buy me medicine, he should be back soon."

She then served them tea with the help of Allen. As they drank, the door opened, revealing a handsome dark haired man with square jaw and gentle brown eyes. Allen looked at him and saw nothing, he was human.

"Esmeralda? Who are these men?"

"Hello, Mr Cortinas. My name's Lavi and I'm a bookman. We record historical events and I would lik to hear about what happened on the night when the Galatea sunk. You are the only survivor after all."

"Ok." he sat down and started to tell the story "It was going well but we were caugh in a vicious storm, which resulted in the ship sinking. I was found by french fishermen and was nursed back to health. I was unable to move for a while because of a bad leg injury. " he showed them the scar "As soon as I could move and repayed the kind people, I returned here, to my love." - he kisses Esmeralda on the lips and she returned it.

Lavi gaged a bit but something caught Allen's eye. Fro a brief moment as their lips separated it looked like some sort of vapour was sucked into Victor's mouth from Esmeralda. They talked for a bit more to not be suspicious and left. Allen dismissed what he saw as a trick of the light by the time they exited the house.

"Well, what did you see Allen?" - Lavi whispered.

"You should have guessed it, no reaction. He was not an Akuma."

"So, it was for nothing? Let's go home and report it."

===Back at the house===

'Those uniforms were definetely from the Black order! Damn exorcists! Thankfully they're leaving soon.' - 'Victor' thought.

Esmeralda looked even worse and was swaying. He held her in his arms.

"Victor...?"

"Don't worry, dear. Close your eyes, everything will be fine."

She leaned on his strong chest and slowly closed her eyes. In a while she slumped like a sack. He laid her on the floor and kneeled over her head. His face started to disappear like smoke, revealing a handsome man with blood red cat eyes, elf ears, purple hair, gray skin and ruby earrings. He wore clothes like a noble with a long red cloak with many golden buttons and golden watch. He opened the lid of the watch and looked at the hand. It slowly crept tovards the green zone. As soon as it reached it, he closed it and put it back in his pocket. He stretched his hand over her hearth and slowly moved it towards her mouth. With one final gasp a round ball that shimmered like a flame came out. He put it in a contained which then got sucked in a black portal.

"Another one done. Finally! I was sick with all the lovely-dovely act!"

He took out a flipphne and called someone.

[Hello? Endra, the gretest Demon ever on the phone.]

"I'm done Endra-sama. However, a few Exorcist came earlier today."

[Are they gone? They didn't suspect anything, right?]

"No, I fooled them. They left an hour ago."

[Ok. Do the usual procedure and return.]

"Hai, Endra-sama!"

[And Beelpegogor, good luck!] - she closed the phone.

He placed her in a way that looked like she collapsed on her own and died on the spot. After that he teleported a few hundred metres over the town, floating there for a bit as he concentrated. A magical circle with intricate design appeared in front of his right hand, a similar one appeared on the ground below the city. It shone briefly then disappeared, deleting all memories of 'Victor' coming back from the minds of the cityzens. He then teleported away.