Wrestled for a while about the direction this story would take from now on, and ultimately chose this way for reasons still unknown to me lol. The dragon kin haven't even been revealed in the manga yet, and i don't think they will be for a while so i thought its about time to involve them in this story.

i thank all my reviews and loyal readers, and i present you with this. I hope you guys iike this chapter, i thought it fits its purpose well.

please review/ leave a comment so i can improve and play with ideas!


Upon exiting Cassandra's cabin, Rafaela sighed as she walked along the cold edge of the ships exterior, her hands running across the railings and breaking the small bits of icy crystals that had began to form in the chilliness. Though this was a feeling that felt good against her skin, but all this recent dilemma as of late, however, felt like a thorn in the back of her mind, chilling her greater than any outside cold could.

Leaning across the railings, Rafaela sighed as she looked down at the abyss of the ocean, a sight that was of reminiscence of her own sea of thoughts. She tried to fathom the thought of Teresa defiantly standing amongst the living once again, but her mind struggled to cope with the idea. Perhaps it was the guilt of past actions, or the fear of retaliation that corrupted her mind and made her think in such a way. What she did to Teresa was something she couldn't justify to her, and she wouldn't blame Teresa for holding a grudge after all this time, or worst.

Though it was true that she had left Teresa back then, she had not forgotten her through the years. Rafaela was sure to keep track of her incredible progress secretly in the background, and, as the months went by, she watched on hopelessly as Teresa's strength grew to a level she didn't think was possible, and far beyond even this. Though Rafaela wasn't absolutely certain about it, she had her suspicions that Teresa may well be the strongest Claymore to ever have lived.

Rafaela knew the organization would soon realize this, and hurry to do something about it after a few couple years of service. But she wasn't worried, she knew Teresa would be strong enough to survive any retaliation they would throw at her. But the moment she was introduced to Priscilla,however, a strange looming feeling came from her gut. The girl was incredibly powerful, but whether she could surpass Teresa was uncertain at the time. What she was sure of, however, was the fact that both of them possessed a power that was far beyond what which would some consider abyssal level.

Rafaela did not listen to her instincts back then, and as a result, she orchestrated the one who was to end Teresa of the faint smile.

Hearing the sound of voices to her side, Rafaela broke her trail of thought as she headed closer towards the source. Arriving at the front of the ship, she noticed Luciela sitting comfortably against a wooden stool, arms crossed as she watched two weaker warriors holding themselves in a handstand before her. Both of their arms shook from intensity, panting from exhaustion under the forced regime of their abyssal master.

At odds with this, Rafaela moved towards her estranged sister, who greeted her with a friendly smile, almost jumping off her stool.

"Hey there Rafaela. I made them do handstands! Look how they listen to me...so appropriate..." she said.

Rafaela looked over sympathetically at the two lower ranked warriors that were being tormented for hours now. At first it was a simple workout, but now it's just gone too far. Luciela always had a sadistic side, even as a human, but Rafaela didn't appreciate anyone abusing others like this, especially when their suffering was so clear to anyone with a conscience.

"Luciela... I don't think you're helping them by pushing them this far. Let them go." Rafaela said.

Hearing this, One of the exhausted warriors looked as though they tried to end their balancing act, attempting to lower her feet down but quickly frightened back up by Luciela's pestering tone:

-"Hey! I didn't say to stop! Did you hear me say stop? We're supposed to be superior creatures to humans, but look at you guys, a complete disgrace to your kind."

"Are you deliberately ignoring me?" Rafaela said.

The awakened threw her a curious grin: "Do you remember... when the two of us would compete for hours at this? Usually I would win, but after all that, both our arms would hurt like hell. It was worth it though, because the two of us motivated each other to go just that bit further. I'm sure you remember that Rafaela, don't tell me you don't. I know it was a long time ago but I still remember."

"We were ranks two and one respectively," Rafaela shot back: "these warriors are numbers thirty and below..."

Luciela sighed gently, rolling her eyes annoying over to the side. She knew Rafaela was right, but found herself enjoying watching these warriors struggle under her brutal regimes. Though they did pretty poorly by her standards, she was aware they were on the verge of collapse, and should probably cut them some slack. She turned over annoyingly to her two captives and sighed:

"Fine...You may leave now,": she said, disappointment clear on her voice: " but don't feel the need to thank me, so just run along now and don't even look back."

The two exhausted warriors collapsed to the floor, panting heavily as they struggled to catch their breath. Picking themselves up, they grabbed their gear and hastily left down towards the centre of the ship, exchanging thankful nods at Rafaela before leaving in silence.

Watching them as they turned a corner and disappeared from the ships windy bow, Luciela sat up and walked towards the very front. She leant across the edge of the railings, and looked back at her sister with a curious stare as she rested her arms across the sides casually:

"What's wrong Rafaela you seem a little distracted?"

"It's nothing..."

Luciela smiled deviously at her: "Nothing huh? Well I certainly don't believe that...if you would only just awaken...all your worries would go away, I guarantee it."

"Not with this again..."

"I still don't understand why you don't awaken even after I explained to you how great it is...don't you believe me sister?. I don't want to hurt you, I only want what's best for you, you know that."

Rafaela sighed as she glared into the abyss of her sisters deceptively humanly-looking eyes. It was saddening to see her beloved sister seduced by the retched yoma side, but even so, it was clear that there were still traces of her humanity no doubt remaining, and it was this which she found herself clinging on to.

"I told you not to talk about that again," Rafaela insisted strongly: "you know that I wish to die as a human just as we both should have back then."

Luciela sighed as she looked up at the stars, seemingly lost to her own crazed ideals : "You know...At first you develop an intense hunger for human guts... and after your first meal, you feel oh so satisfied it's difficult to put it in words..but then you open your eyes to the truth of this cruel and sad world..."

Rafaela leered coldly at her:"...The existence of your kind and the yoma are what makes it cruel..."

Laughing at this, Luciela replied delightfully : "Funny you say that after you supported the very organization that created this mess in the first place. Besides, this world is only cruel and sad for humans... but why should we care? Humans don't care about us. they know that we are the superior predators in the end, so it's only natural they fear us. We are faster, stronger and smarter than they are."

Rafaela was lost for words as she thought on these familiar words. For many years she had asked herself the same philosophical questions, but came to the same conclusion that she wished to Preserve a world where humans could one day live in peace without the threat of yoma and awakened ones.

"but don't you...feel disgusted? Feasting on human guts...it's something you wouldn't even dream of doing when we were both together back then."

"...how can you feel disgusted by something that smells and tastes so good?" Luciela said with an intense state and a chillingly eerie smile: "to munch on that delicate raw flesh and and slurp down the innards...quite delicious actually you'd be surprised...but I should stop talking about food because just the very thought of it can make me go crazy."

With a brow raised, a scrutinizing Rafaela added: " you've become the very thing the two of us fought so hard against. Don't you ever think about that?"

Luciela paused for a moment, that alluring smile still creeping across her as she replied: "...Remember when I first awakened? It was such a nice day with no clouds in sight, not too windy or anything like that either. But just as I was beginning to enjoy myself, the others raised their blades against me! And...so did you Rafaela! You chose an organization over your own sister!"

-"Don't spin this Luciela..."

"...but...it's like this..." the abyssal one said, her tone slowing with a heartening smile across her: "because your my younger sister I forgive you... alright? but don't do such a thing again you must promise or I'll never forgive you!"

Moving her hand across her face, Rafaela slid her fingers across the scar across her eye that she had kept as an eternal reminder of her failure as a sister. The guilt in her heart grew ever stronger as she set her mind back to that dreaded time of her sisters' awakening. The two had fought a mighty battle back then, and after she lost an eye in mid battle, immediately her awakened sister stopped in a panic, backing off with her head crouched low towards the ground. At the time Rafaela merely took this as a sign of arrogance, but only now did she realize that it was a true sign of empathy instead. Luciela could have killed her back then, but instead, she simply moved away from the organization, towards the land of the south, leaving behind the many dead bodies and ruins in her wake.

Luciela cocked her face to the side as she added curiously: "Hey, by the way...that scar across your eye...how did that happen?"

"Its a wound from a battle long ago..."

"Did I do that? No, It couldn't have been me as I'm certain you could have regenerated easily from that time," Luciela said curiously.

"No...its unrelated..." Rafaela lied.

-"well it would be healed the moment you go over your limit...and awaken."

"ill think about it," Rafaela said: " but Even if I was to awaken, I would probably sink this ship anyway. So first things first...take that pill Rubel gave you... I can already confirm that Isley has already taken his so you have nothing to worry about."

-"Oh I know...I've been thinking whether I should take this opportunity to just kill him now or not...but he's been with that woman for so long it's maddening," Luciela said, then slowing her tone to a soft irritated moan:"...I think I may be a little jealous actually...but keep that between you and I If you don't mind..."

"It was told you guys only care about eating and sleeping." Rafaela smirked.

-" eating and sleeping are our main activities, but we're also free to do whatever we want, whenever we want. The best part of it all actually, is that there's no one to stop you. I controlled all of the southern Lands so basically I became a god down there..."

"that...Sounds delightful..."

With a sadistic smirk, Luciela added: "but this claymore...This Galatea...Who does she think she is? And Why would Isley chose her over me?"

Rafaela raised a brow :"I thought you disliked him ever since he defeated you back then."

-"Of course I do! I despise him!'" Luciela said, rolling her eyes over with a wicked malevolence: "That doesn't mean i don't desire him though, don't be so naive. Or perhaps I should just kill him now while he's weakened...if you help me he won't stand a chance..."

"I will not participate in your jealous revenge fantasies..."

"Fine then! Whatever! I didn't think you would anyway," Luciela said angrily, crossing her arms as she leant across the wooden porch to look away in disgust. A moment of silence ensued as the two thought to themselves for a moment, until she raised herself throwing Rafaela a strange glare:

"...Oh I get it you want him too?"

Rafaela signed: "I didn't say anything like that..."

" Well that's fine if you want him too then we can just share him. But I get him first though...or we could go at the same time? Up to you really. You've always been the shy type, but I've never cared much for such things, you know me."

Rafalea leant comfortably across the railings, next to her sister with a hidden smile behind her face. She enjoyed moments like this, the way they used to be a very long time ago. During her claymore days, Luciela was always the cheeky type, and it was this side of her that Rafaela found to be endlessly amusing. Whenever yoma weren't about, Luciela's eyes at times wondered over towards young human men amongst the towns they would sometimes pass by. She would flirt and tease with them in small discrete ways, taking delight in the horrified looks they would exchange back at her.

For too long had she been departed from her dear sister, however, and Rafaela was determined to enjoy this reunion for as long as was possible.

"So tell me more about...being the queen of the south," Rafaela smiled: "A life of eating and sleeping doesn't actually sound that bad.."

Luciela smiled back: "It's such a long story it would take a very long time to explain it all!"

"We've got an entire night to talk, and I don't think i can sleep."


Standing amongst the break of dawn, Teresa stood alone at the far end of the giant training fields, marveling at the rising sun that had began to rise from behind the great mountains off in the distance. The warming touch of its rays dispersing through the clouds, growing ever brighter. The harsh shades of the distant Colosseum vanished as the light fell upon the land, the grande scope of the city much clearer. It was quite similar to Rabona in structure, however this place was a fortress, a half city half military stronghold.

Their section composed mainly of these training fields and the soldier barracks, while the other human portion of the city contained skyscrapers and other capitalistic structures. The place was in pristine condition, looking as if it's never actually seen the frontline of combat in this so called war against the dragonkin. But to Teresa this was understandable as the city had the protection of hundreds of Claymores at its disposal , super beings who would defend it until their last breath. This protection seemed to have worked quite well this far, as it was obvious it would be a major target for an enemies to attack.

A while ago, she felt a strangely familiar aura coming from the direction of the colosseum and went to investigate only to see something very interesting when she arrived. Standing unnoticed in the shadows, Teresa quietly observed Both Helen and Deneve talking amongst themselves with none other than riful, watching Raki and Ophelia doing battle in the centre.

She cringed a little at the ugly sight of cuts and sears across their bodies as they fought like maniacs trying to kill each other. After a while she found herself concerned for Raki, The wounds he sustained on him thus far weren't exactly fatal, but that limit was fast approaching, even for a brawny man like him.

What would Clare do in such a situation?

Should I intervene?

She watched the battle for a while longer, but as it dragged on, the gruesomeness simply stained her eyes far too much, and decided she simply didn't feel to watch anymore. Both of them seemed willing enough to fight until they dropped, and there was nothing she could do to change that. Besides, Helen and Deneve would no doubt have Raki's best interest in mind anyway, so there was no reason for her to stick around for much longer.

Teresa tried to get some sleep afterwards, but once again found herself unable to do so. There was quite a bit of chaos happening lately, and her mind was simply preoccupied with too many things. Sleep wasn't something she needed all that badly anyway, as lately, she had been doing quite a bit of that as of late. The incident of Rabona was now days behind, and she had no doubt that now she was already at full strength, and sleep at such a time would merely act as an opportunity for someone to catch her off guard, something she would never allow to happen again.

Before she met Clare, she was never suspect of such paranoia, but now that she had something else to protect besides herself, she couldn't afford to fall victim to such ignorance like she did with Priscilla.

As she thought on this, Teresa suddenly heard suspicious sounds over at her side, towards the direction of a bundle of crates nearby. Looking over curiously, she could not see, nor sense anything at all however, and wasn't quite sure what o think of it. It was a suspicious inconsistency she thought.

Teresa took slow steps towards the bundle of crates, her eyes running carefully through and around the shadows they bore. Her instincts told her to prepare for anything, and her instincts have always even right in the past. Sliding her hand up towards her hilt of her sword, Teresa thought she could sense something nearby, but wasn't quite sure if it was only her imagination or not.

Her heart froze however, when something emerged out from the shadows, a dark figure lunging towards her in an ambush.

"bam and your head's gone!" the shadowy figure laughed, revealing the glow of a blade that threatened to cut her down.

Just what?

Moving like thunder, Teresa avoided the incoming attack by moving off to the side, but the moment she did, her attacker already produced a counter attack with the other end of the spear racing for her back.

Damn he's fast

Teresa ducked at the last moment, hearing the soaring howl of a sharp blade grazing above her head. From the corner of her eye she could see strands of her hair feather down towards the ground, the blade severing them in a cut that seemed too close for comfort. As fast as she was, it appeared she wasn't quite fast enough to save all of herself.

Reaching for her claymore, Teresa unsheathed her weapon from her back, moved around him, and in a quick slice, slashed across her opponent cunningly. Unsurprisingly, the attacker managed to dodge the initial attack, But a second and third from Teresa sliced the weapon in three pieces, causing the shadowy figure to stagger back momentarily and drop his broken weapon to the ground.

Seeing an opportunity, Teresa rammed her boot hard into his chest, slamming him against the nearby crates with punishing force, no doubt causing a few cracked ribs in the process. The crates cringed and splinters erupted outwards from the impact, making a sound that was much louder than she was comfortable with at such a time of day when most others slept.

Looking upon his face closely, she recognized the face of Marcus through the faded light of the early sunlight. Marching towards him annoyingly, she pointed the sharp tip of her blade against his chest, pinning him against the damaged crate behind him.

With a faint smile Teresa said: "Just what did you say earlier?"

"What? well, it was just supposed to alert you to my incoming attack obviously...besides, I wasn't actually going to cut off your head, lady..."

Irritated, Teresa pressed her blade punishingly against his chest, the sharp tip tearing through a good portion of his muscle and causing a steady stream of blood to flow outwards and drench the sand beneath his feet. The pain she caused this man pleased her ever so slightly, but Teresa didn't appreciate being ambushed in such a manner, and felt no sympathy for him as a result.

"Im only about an inch from your heart , so you should chose your words a little more carefully from now on. And by the way, whatever good impression you think you've made so far...you just ruined it with this." she said coldly.

"Hey I was only testing you, so there's no need to actually kill me.."Marcus said, staring down the edge of her blade that dug into his chest, then up towards this beautiful, though rather frightening woman, taking especial notice of that distinct faint smile that oozed of pure ruthlessness.

"...what made you attempt such a thing? Who wants me dead? "" Teresa demanded, poking her weapon just a little deeper to make her displeasure clear.

"Lady, I didn't try to kill you..."

"Don't play games with me. I won't ask again." Teresa warned, her stare deathly.

"my weapon was only wooden with harmless tips, very difficult to kill somebody with such a thing. Have a look yourself," he said, staring at the direction of his downed weapon.

Intrigued by his words, she looked over to her side and noticed the snapped weapon he had dropped behind earlier laying across the ground a small distance away. Studying it closer, she could see that Indeed he was right, there were no sharp blades across the ends. it was completely harmless, a mere training tool probably made from a broom and not a dangerous weapon in the least. Surprised at this, she then tried to locate the strands of her hair that she swore were cut off earlier, but also could find no trace of them either.

I guess it's all in my head...

Perhaps I should have slept a little...

Setting her sights back upon Marcus, she could see the man throwing her a sleek smile from down there, even though sharp steel bit into his chest. She admired his willpower, and apparent immunity to pain, but knew that if he proved to be an enemy then he was as good as dead.

"my apologies if you thought otherwise...but that's just how I properly introduce myself," he said: " I was merely testing your reaction time and technique, and it seems...you've passed..."

Teresa raised a brow at this: "You can call it whatever you want, but to me its nothing but a cowardly attack, so you have about ten seconds to tell me why I shouldn't just kill you."

"Oh wow you'd really kill me? So ruthless...you are.".

"five...four...three..."

"perhaps we could be friends?..." he said at the very last moment.

Teresa stared at him strangely for a moment longer, scrutinizing this annoying man before her. She let out a short sigh as she withdrew her blade from his chest, and took a step backwards, watching coldly as he coughed out bits of red, recovering from the ordeal and getting to his feet afterwards.

"Wow seriously? Friends? ...You're cute." Teresa said with a playful sarcasm, her glare set hawkishly upon him.

He shot her a distasteful smile: "even if we can't be friends, there's many things I know that you would probably want to know, so I'm more valuable to you alive than dead."

"I'm listening..." Teresa said.

As she waited for an answer, a sudden foreign yoki aura nearby shot her attention, alerting the presence of single warrior that rapidly headed towards them. Teresa smiled serenely the moment she identified who it was, and simply took a couple steps back to observe the amusement of what was about to unfold.

It wasn't long until Marcus noticed this too, the man taking slightly longer to do so that she suspected however, but her standards were always quite high in his defense. Priscilla arrived at the scene quietly alongside Teresa, wielding her weapon and staring with a dangerous suspicion at this man.

"Teresa! What's going on! I heard sounds and I made it here as fast as I could..." Priscilla said concretely.

The wavy haired warrior sighed with a gentle annoyance: "you know I don't need your help, so why are you here?"

"Irene told me that you were unfit for battle."

Teresa cocked an irritated brow at this: "Really? What else did Irene say..."

"It's nothing you should know. I only told you that because I simply want to be of use to you. By the look of things, it looks like you desire to kill him, so let me do it for you, I have no problem killing an enemy. I knew all along he wasn't one of us..."

"fine, whatever, kill him, I don't care. I think it's Irene that i might actually want to kill." Teresa said.

"...Such young pretty girls made into monsters...such a shame..." Marcus said, sending a mischievous wink Teresa's way afterwards.

Taking notice of his eye contact, Priscilla turned over at the rather emotionless wavy haired warrior beside her, who merely stood with her arms crossed, eyes staring coldly back at him as though it was not warranted.

Reaching along the side of a nearby crate, Marcus reached into a compartment, revealing a hidden spear, it's blades shimmering with razor sharp tips across them -a double sided sword. Priscilla cringed ever so slightly at the sight of the weapon, Teresa had noticed. And rightly so, because if that man's skills with a broom translate to double sided spears then he may prove to be a cunning foe.

"Hid this there just incase something like this happens," he said as he swayed his double edged spear skillfully; "lucky i prepare for such occasions. Always have a plan B. its Very important to survive I've noticed."

"why are you attacking Teresa? Explain yourself!" Priscilla yelled, raising her blade with a clear determination to kill, ones that seemed so familiar to Teresa once before.

"I was only testing her combat skills and didn't want to kill anyone. Besides, who exactly are you?"

Priscilla nodded fearlessly: "forgive my rudeness, my name is Priscilla, two being my former number."

"Only a number two huh? Number two's are always so boring, it's the number ones that are interesting."

"Now your the one being rude here. But regardless, I'll just have to kill you for the sake of Teresa and the others. Someone like you cannot be trusted, and would be better off dead. "

"Your logic isn't flawed, I'll give you that much. But to me, you don't seem too impressive..." Marcus said.

"that's alright, it will only make your defeat the more satisfying."

"...your enjoying this, aren't you Teresa?" Marcus said' glancing mischievously at the wavy haired warrior who stood so silently a short ways away, noticing the smallest of smirks across her gentle face.

"Your lucky...we didn't meet a few days ago. I would have ripped off your limbs and feasted on your guts, that is, if you guys even taste any good. But don't hate me for it, it's only in my nature..." Priscilla said.

"so your one of those awakened? I get it..."

"it's complicated, no time to explain. You will die by the hand of the strongest Claymore..." Priscilla said proudly, sparing a challenging glance over at the wavy haired warrior.

Strongest claymore? We'll see about that... Teresa thought to herself.

Teresa found herself terribly interested in what was to come about now that Priscilla was used to her former Claymore body. Priscilla was a talent after all, and her recent fight with Clare among other things would have only made her stronger than last time. Their first fight all those years ago was probably the first real fight Priscilla's ever been in, but now the girl had more experience, undoubtedly even more than herself, and could pose a larger threat than she initially thought.

Marcus sighed: "You know, I've never met anyone as strong as you guys for about a century, so I'm terribly interested in the both of you. But if your so determined to kill me, then lets move this to the colosseum shall we? It will be quite a spectacle, a fight to the death to the cheer of the crowd. The strongest Claymore against the strongest amongst my kind, I think that's a fair fight. No doubt we'll draw a crowd in no time."

Teresa's mind lit the moment she heard those words, scrutinizing him closer than ever before. If he truly was the most powerful of the dragonkin, then this fight could get serious after all. She wasn't sure if the dragonkin could summon energies similar to yoki to aid them in battle, but she was determined to find this out. Perhaps with observation with him fighting Priscilla she may uncover his secrets, and make proper analysis about his potential threat and strength in comparison to her own.

Teresa sighed as she rolled her eyes over to the direction of the barracks where most including Clare slept in a far distance away. She could sense that a few of the others have already wakened from their sleep, and the sun was now rising at a rapid pace that signaled the end of dawn. Miria and the others were sure to arrive soon, and this situation just might end up being more amusing that she had initially thought it to be.


Assembled amongst the very front of the ship, Audrey, along with most of the others stood to marvel at the ever approaching landmass that was off in the distance. Between the Cliff sides, there appeared to be some sort of a settlement, or city perhaps which was likely the place where Teresa and the rebels resided. The morning has just started, and already there was a looming feeling in their minds that they should be prepared for anything.

Roxanne and Cassandra seemed to avoid each other for most of the morning, the two standing amongst opposite ends with their arms crossed, often leering at the other questionably. Audrey wasn't quite sure what was going on between them, but whatever it was, it was definitely not something she wanted to get involved in. Hysteria stood proudly at the very front of the ship, insisting this to be her spot saying it had the best view. Nobody really argued with her, because it was something that wasn't worth fighting for many, and hysteria proved to be the epitome of stubbornness and always got what she wanted.

Miata seemed to have recovered from her wounds rather quickly, finally feeling brave enough to stand along the edge to gaze outwards herself, though having to grasp on to Clarice's hand like a desperate animal terrified of the water.

Next to her, Galatea and Isley stood close to each other, the two not seeming to care for all the strange stares they warranted. The man seemed quite fond of Galatea, standing so defensively by her side marveling at both the mainland and seemingly at her equally. A lot of the other girls, especially Anastasia and Dietrich, seemed a little jealous that Galatea grabbed Isley all for herself, having eyes of contempt for the former number three.

Audrey sighed as she looked upon the two men, Rubel and Orsay in the middle of the deck. Last night the three of them had a long chat about what was to happen with Raftella, making it very clear that her power will go to the rebels and no longer to the organization. Rubel respectfully agreed on the condition that she must be his personal bodyguard, a request she thought was quite strange. She wasn't thrilled with the idea of protecting him, but it also gave her an opportunity to closely monitor his activities, and she couldn't say no to such a thing. Of course, this was probably his desperate solution to avoid death by her blade, but it was a solution they were both satisfied with in the end.

If he does anything wrong I'll just kill him anyway...

He could still be useful...

Eventually, she ship came to a stop amongst a dock, guarded by a pair of guards in heavy chain mail armor, their faces hidden behind their iron masks. Both seemed to be hybrid warriors, wearing black chain mail armor and wielding a Claymore in right hand.

"They will ask you to relieve your weapons just so your all aware..." Rubel said, glaring especially at the three resurrected ones than assembled before him.

Cutting the rope and Releasing the platform upon the dock, Roxanne glanced over questionably the other two, knowing for sure that such a thing wouldn't be something especially Hysteria would probably be doing.

"I'm going first, move it," Hysteria said, shoving Cassandra away as she headed down towards the less than friendly looking guards.

"relieve all weapons and place them on the ground before you." one of guards said.

Roxanne and Cassandra followed on down, watching closely as Hysteria stubbornly trotted onwards, seemingly ignoring the guards. They spoke something amongst themselves, them drew their blades at this incoming threat.

"Relieve them now or we will be forced to end your life. Comply now."

"We can't have that now," Hysteria said, Throwing her hand over a shoulder to grasp at her weapons hilt.

"Drop the weapon now!" the other yelled, soundly much less confident than his comrade.

In a flash, Hysteria vanished into the wind, rapidly slashing by them both and appearing unscathed behind their backs with a blood soaked weapon. They fell to their knees, their chests burst open by slash marks , dropping to the ground in a shower of blood.

Roxanne grinned delightfully: "Elegant suits you perfectly might i just say, that could almost pass for art."

"I don't think you should have killed them, they were only doing their jobs." Cassandra said.

Hysteria sighed: "Like I care about that. They were in my way and now they're not. I'm only here for Teresa and Phantom Miria and that's all."


Miria stood outside the barracks, her gaze like a hawk at the distant colosseum, wondering just what was going on. It was the break of dawn, and both Teresa and Priscilla, as well as Riful, Helen Deneve and Raki were missing entirely, their location unknown to her currently. The presence of yoki from the huge structure up ahead, however, was surely the disruption where she would find them find her answers.

She made sure Clare and everything else was alright before picking up her gear and heading for the colosseum, moving by the surprisingly lightly guarded establishment in innovative ways through its streets. Moving from building to building, she noticed something up ahead, and could see three previously unknown warriors heading for the same direction down in the streets below.

Curious about this, she lowered her yoki to unsensable levels, following them closely and as silently as a phantom along rooftops of the building they passed by. Observing the group, The one at the centre immediately caught Miria's eye. She was the tallest, the most proud, and most beautiful of the three. Her hair was long an silky, with four distinct braids tied along the sides. Her gaze sharp and powerful, a perfect indication that she was nothing but trouble.

Miria's heart skipped when she miscalculated her footing and tumbled down below, landing right before them in a move she otherwise regretted. The three stopped in their tracks, looking curiously upon this warrior that suddenly appeared before them. She exchanged eye contact with Hysteria, the Elegant warrior throwing her an odd stare:

"hey you!" Hysteria said, her voice calm yet demanding: "which way to Teresa and Phantom Miria?"

What? Why would she want to find me and Teresa?...

I've never met her before...

Just who is this?

Hysteria's face stiffened slightly, a look of annoyance setting across her soft features. In a split second, she sped before Miria intending to end her with a slice across the chest, but was surprised to feel the parry of her blade instead.

Hysteria smirked: "I hate being ignored, but oh my you are so much better than the guards around this place...surely you must have a name?"

Miria swallowed the lump in her throat: "As must you..."

Smiling at her, the braided warrior replied: "Hysteria's my name."

No way...

Hysteria the Elegent? Responsible for the rockwell hill massacre...

Then the other two behind her must also be... Former first ranking warriors brought back from the dead...

"Careful now, my patience has its limits," Hysteria said.

Miria put an end to her thoughts, raising on a confident face:

"My names Hilda. Pleased to meet you." she lied.

-"pleasantries are not necessary. Where is Teresa and Miria?"

"I haven't heard of them. No idea, sorry."

Hysteria sheathed her blade suddenly, seemingly satisfied with the answer: "that's all I wanted to know, so I guess I'll keep heading towards that large circular building. I sense something's going on there now."

Roxanne looked over accusingly at Miria, scrutinising her closely and throwing her comrade a challenging stare: "just like that you believe her? it's obvious she's lying...she knows them..."

Miria could see Hysteria exchanging Roxanne an annoyed look, but then almost immediately turned back to Miria and bit her lip deliciously as she gazed at her.

"do try to stay alive." Hysteria said, sending her a wink before turning over.

Miria remained frozen lipped as the three then left her, unable to keep her mind from fathoming what just happened. Her heart raced ever so much faster from that encounter, and she wasn't entirely sure if it was due to fear alone.

Hysteria no doubt was someone trouble, and by the sound of things, Teresa was soon to be under attack, and this was something Miria just couldn't just allow just yet.


I felt a little creative when writing this chapter so forgive the randomness if you encounter any. next chapter will be the encounter between the three resurrected ones and Teresa so stay tuned and thanks for reading.