CHAPTER THIRTY FIVE: EXTRA SCENE: FIRST JOB

(Flashback)

A man in black watched casually as a long haired warrior chopped up some youmas easily and quickly.

"A nice warrior you got there, Rubel," another man said. "Is she invincible or what? Ever since she received her symbol, she had never been injured. She's been practicing real hard too, we heard."

"She's not invincible, but she IS pretty unique. She fights without fear, without any thought. Just in for the kill, yet she does not delight in it. She's like the Ultimate Killing Machine, you could say. For the purpose of killing, she had finetuned her technique of striking from afar and that speed…" Rubel mused.

"So, are you going to promote her? Her rank of number 45 is most undeserving…"

"Maybe. She will get a single digit's rank. But not number 1. Never number 1. Number 3 is the most she can go," Rubel commented.

"Well, most people would kill to be number 1. But number 3 is good enough, for just a youma-slayer."

"You got a mission in Rabona. An awakened being, a former number 3. However, claymores are not allowed to enter. That's why we've sent you. You could run so fast that none would see you. So we would not give you youki suppression pills either. So get in and get out quick." A man in black said to Serafiel.

"Rabona? The holy city? I've heard of it," Alvin said.

"Alvin, hold on to me," Serafiel said abruptly.

"Eh?" 'Why would she say that? She had never allowed me to touch her before.' "Alright," Alvin tentatively wrapped his arms around Serafiel's stomach.

"Tighter. Don't fall off," Serafiel ordered.

Alvin closed his eyes. 'I wonder how it will feel like? Scary, I bet.'

Serafiel, holding Alvin with one hand, ran at full speed. The organization door's gate broke down.

"Mattaku… Always so eager to be off," a man muttered. "Really, Rubel, you must teach her. We don't have the patience to always repair the doors."

"She just wants to get it done as soon as possible so she can get back to killing normal youmas. She does not like killing anything else," Rubel said.

Serafiel ran, and after five minutes, they were there. Serafiel ran so fast that all the guards at the big gate only noticed a blur and a tremendous blast of wind. Serafiel ran to a dark alley and stopped. Alvin noted in awe that she was not even panting.

"You will go find a inn and pay for a room. I'll watch from the roofs to see

where you are staying. After I finished the job, I will come back to fetch you." Serafiel threw some gold bars at Alvin. Alvin, having had much practice, caught them briefly. He nodded and ran off. Serafiel stood and watched him for a bit, before running away to the Grand Cathedral. She had a meeting with the priest there.

As before, the guards did not notice her. After running into the inner sanctuary, she hid in the shadows, observing a priest who was praying alone. "Kami sama, onegai. People are being found dead on the streets with their guts eaten. It is the work of a youma. We did not tell the public for fear of panic. Please answer our call for help. Thank you."

"I've come, from the land of Sutafu… Bearing the Holy name of Rimuto, to answer your prayer," Serafiel said.

The priest jumped. "You… when did you arrive?"

"I've just come to announce my arrival. The mission will be completed in a few minutes time. I do not think I need to report back. Jya, mata." Serafiel jumped out of a window and onto a roof.

"Just what is she…" the priest whispered. "She's barely human… A silver-eyed witch in the flesh… I wonder if it is a mistake to hire her…"

'Now… where is the Awakened Being…' Serafiel closed her eyes and searched. 'She must not be hiding her youki because she thought that no one would be sent after her. And for a number 3, her youki is likely to be huge that no matter how far away I should be able to sense her'. Serafiel opened her eyes and looked in around. Suddenly, two men were in front her.

"We're really getting too old for this, Galk," the shorter man said.

"True, you're in your fourties, Sid, and I'm in my fifties," the taller man said. He had a weather beaten, scarred face. Sid had a cocky grin.

"So, another claymore, eh? What number are you now?" Sid asked.

'Eh? Did the organization send another claymore?' "There's no need for you to know," Serafiel said coldly.

"And so bold, too. In broad daylight, on a rooftop, not even bothering with disguises or turning your eyes into a normal colour. You must be quite powerful, perhaps one of the top 10?" Sid cajoled.

'I have no time for this.' Serafiel turned and ran towards the direction where she sensed the youki.

"Not so fast!" Sid knew claymores were fast, but she… While Clare would take about three seconds to disappear from you, Serafiel was gone in less than a second. "What on earth was she? And why was a claymore being called for, Galk?"

"I have no idea," Galk said, mystified.

Serafiel tracked the Awakened Being until twilight. It was very sneaky, but finally Serafiel followed it to a dark alley. It took the human form of a 'lady of the night', feeding on the entrails of a little girl. It heard the sound of Serafiel's sabatons against the cobbled floor, and turned its head. Not bothering to wipe away the blood on its lips, it leered.

"Well, well, only one person? The organization is really looking down on the former number 3," it said cockily. Suddenly, it extended its fingers. Serafiel leapt up and dodged. Serafiel unsheathed her sword and swung it in an arc at the claws.

"Huh? You miss!" it said delightedly. To her shock, her claws were chopped off anyway. 'Impossible! She clearly is too far away to cut me! Unless… what mysteries does this lone warrior harbour?'

"I told you, all resistance is futile. All that's left is to kill you quickly." Serafiel said. Ruthlessly, and safely from a distance, she continues to use her specialty and chop its limbs. "You're an offensive type, and thus slicing you piece by piece… is the most effective way after all."

"What the hell are you! Tell me, what number are you!"

"Number 45."

"You're lying! Wait, don't kill me! I got info—" Its sentence was cut off by the gurgling of blood that came spurting out of its neck.

Serafiel heard the sound of many footsteps and guessed that the soldiers from before had came to investigate the commotion. Sheathing her sword, she ran away. She jumped into Alvin's room by the window. He was sitting on a chair, asleep, but woke up upon hearing the impact.

"You're not resting?" he asked.

"Let's go. There's no reason for me to stay here any longer."

By the time the soldiers got to the alley, all they saw were several dismembered body parts.