The guild hall was packed to the brim with adventurer's new and old, apparently holding one last celebration before the first winter storm rolled in, ushering in the together and scarier breeds of monsters during the cold season. It was loud and boisterous in the hall, cheers and whoops filling the air so intensely that it was a wonder Kazuma could even hear Luna as she apologized profusely to him. Again.

"I must profess my sincere apologies once more, Kazuma." The receptionist groveled apologetically, not noticing the thoroughly agitated expression on the young man's face. "Please, if there is anything I can do to make up for my lapse of judgment, do let me know."

"You can make it up to me by not apologizing a third time." Kazuma deadpanned, before rubbing his eyes and waving his hand dismissively. "Could I get a fresh round of ale, please?"

Luna nodded aggressively, departing hastily to fetch his drinks while Kazuma groaned, effectively fed up with the receptionist's antics. Apparently whatever Aqua and the rest of the girls had said to her had been troubling enough that the poor woman was fussing over him like he was a toddler. Normally, favoritism wasn't something Kazuma sneered at, but this was kinda getting tedious.

"I'm surprised you aren't indulging in Ms. Luna's willingness more." Sena commented curiously, fixing the man next to her with an almost impressed look. "Perhaps those rumors about you really are just that, hmm?"

"First of all, I still want the names of the people spreading those rumors." Kazuma retorted, earning a light chuckle from the prosecutor beside him. "Second, she's just being nice because of my idiot teammates being overzealous."

"Respectfully, that seems about par for the course with your merry band." Sena retorted, offering him a small, relaxed smile that Kazuma couldn't help but appreciate. When Sena let her hair down, she was actually really nice to talk to. However, the woman's smile dimmed slightly as her expression shifted more to concern. "You seemed like you were a bit upset earlier. I apologize if I'm overstepping, but I feel that I should ask if something is wrong."

"It's...a little bit complicated, actually. Let's just keep it simple for now and say that my friends have been acting a little strange and it's thrown me off a bit." Kazuma explained, more than eager to move on to another topic. "I am much more interested in you, Sena. What exactly have you been working on since we last met?

"If you're referring to after you and your friends slay Vanir, nothing has changed, actually." Sena admitted, pausing for a moment to finish off her drink before elaborating. "After my return to the capitol, I was assigned to a number of minor cases similar to your own, though none were particularly interesting by comparison."

"Oh, how honored I feel to hear that." Kazuma deadpanned, earning him another giggle. "I still can't believe that you thought I was in league with the Devil King."

"To be fair, you weren't exactly conspicuous. You also lied when you mentioned not knowing any of the Demon King's generals." Sena retorted, her expression hardening briefly. "Speaking of which.."

"They're a former general." Kazuma insisted hastily, holding up his hands as he attempted to explain. "They have no further association with the King, swear to Eris herself."

Sena held his gaze a few moments longer before sighing and turning away, thanking Luna for the fresh round of ale before speaking again.

"You're lucky I'm off duty, Satou. Otherwise, you'd be knee deep in paperwork right now." She assured him, allowing the young man to release the breath he was holding and chuckled lightly, but not before noticing the firm look that Sena was still sending his direction. "However, now that I've shared with you, perhaps you would be courteous enough to share with me."

"If you're really that invested in my personal life, fine." Kazuma replied, taking his own swig. "About a week ago, my party went on our first quest in a while. It went...poorly. Since then, they've been acting differently around me. Nicer, less irritating. Under normal circumstances it'd be a nice change of pace, but…"

"But?" Sena interjected gently, earning a tired sigh before Kazuma continued.

"I've known these girls for a year and a half now. I thought I knew who they were, like the back of my hand." Kazuma elaborated, a frustrated and slightly embarrassed sigh slipping past his lips. "They're my friends, my weird-sorta-family, and suddenly they all started acting out of character and it's...it's made me think about some stuff. Stuff I never really entertained before, for a number of reasons."

Sena listened diligently, nodding along as Kazuma sputtered and rambled, all his pent up emotions and thought spilling from his mouth before he could think better of it. A minute or so passed of stressed rambling before Kazuma paused for breath.

"Wow. I...really needed to get that out, apparently." He muttered, casting an embarrassed look to the woman beside him. "Sorry you had to endure all of that. Didn't realize I was so pent up."

"Think nothing of it. You've been through more in the last year than most adventures endure in a lifetime." Sena retorted, her usually sharp eyes offering a more compassionate shine. "You have more than earned the right of taking a moment to sort your thoughts."

Kazuma smiled a bit, pleasantly surprised by Sena's kindness. He never really got to talk to her outside of interrogations, trials, and security prospects. In a relaxed environment that wasn't work oriented, she actually seemed really nice.

Unfortunately, the nice moment didn't last as Kazuma's gaze flicked over Sena's shoulder, spotting a familiar man approaching them.

"Uh oh. Don't look now, you've got company." He warned her playfully, prompting her to turn around and spot her approaching assistant and groan dramatically.

"My first break in months, and I barely even get thirty minutes to myself." She mused ruefully, before shooting Kazuma an apologetic look and standing up. "I'll see if I can settle this here."

"Take your time, I'm not going anywhere." Kazuma assured her with a dismissive wave and smile. "And good luck!"

Sena nodded politely, before moving to intercept her assistant as he tried his best to navigate the clusters of rowdy adventurers. It was actually quite the entertaining sight, a well dressed man trying his best to scoot past and avoid heavily armored knights and scantily clad thieves.

Suddenly, a presence appeared next to Kazuma, taking the very seat that Sena had occupied moments before. Turning to face it, Kazuma discovered a young woman with a slender body sitting beside him, clad in a long coat with a cape. She was nursing her own mug of ale, and hadn't as much as glanced in his direction since sitting down.

"Um...excuse me?" Kazuma addressed her, earning himself a curious glance from the woman. "I'm sorry, but that seat's taken."

"Yes. It certainly is." The woman agreed with a smug smile, immediately making Kazuma frown. "If you don't mind me asking, what exactly has you looking so pathetic?"

Kazuma actually sputtered at the insult, immensely offended and contemplating whether or not he should get up and walk away. He had met some arrogant people in his time, but that just about took the cake! Seriously, who the hell did this woman think she was?!

"Come now, there's no reason to be shy." The woman assured him, her black eyes suddenly locked with his. "Tell you what, I'll buy you a drink. I hear that's a start to most proper conversations between adventures."

Kazuma pursed his lips, mentally weighing his options before answering. He wasn't really sure if he wanted to have a drink with the woman who insulted him five seconds into their conversation, and yet there was something about this woman that seemed...important.

"Fine. If you insist." Kazuma replied, setting back into his seat with a grimace. "I'm not one to turn down a free drink."

"I suspected as much." The woman retorted, still smirking as she waved over a waitress and ordered a fresh round of drinks before turning back to Kazuma. "Well, I suppose introductions are in order. I am Serena, sole priestess of Regina, goddess of manipulation and vengeance."

"Uh huh. I'm Kazuma Satou." Kazuma greeted numbly, quirking an eyebrow in slight interest. "Regina, huh? Never heard of her before, but if you're her only follower, I guess that makes sense."

"Indeed. I figured you would know something about that," Serena snarked, fixing the young adventurer with an almost mocking smile. "From what I've heard of your adventures, you happen to have a particularly useless arch priest that worships Goddess Aqua."

"You heard right, but I wouldn't call her useless...at least not completely." Kazuma defended, surprising himself ever so slightly. He'd never jumped to Aqua's defense before, even mildly. How much had he drank? "She...y'know, has her moments of decency."

"Don't sound too sure of yourself, Mr. Satou." Serena teased, taking another sup from her ale while watching him out of the side of her eyesight. "I don't blame you, of course. Loyalty is an admirable trait, even when it's misplaced."

Kazuma didn't acknowledge the statement verbally, scowling instead, which only seemed to make the priestess's smile widen further. A storm of emotions were wheeling up inside Kazuma's chest, all of them negative, and he was losing his grip by the minute.

"Then again, perhaps I should watch my tone. Your priest has committed a few impressive deeds." Serena backpedaled neutrally, her smile subdued but oh-so-proud. "Such as healing those afflicted after Dark Magic attack four days ago."

The whirlwind ceased for a moment as Kazuma processed her words, regaining some composure as he realized something important. Something about her tone...it wasn't fearful, or surprised. It wasn't even cold. It was...prideful. Like a blacksmith referring to their prized broadsword.

"Dark Magic is a terribly fickle thing, you know." Serena continued, either not noticing Kazuma's expression or not particularly caring. "It's potent, it can sink it's hooks into just about any living thing with the slightest amount of proper exposure, and it is only wielded by the strongest of individuals...but it has one distinct weakness."

Serena's gaze slid back to Kazuma's, the slightest gleam of irritation visible now as she leaned forward, almost snarling the next words.

"Sacred Magic." She growled, as if the very thought of such practices was disgusting. "A rarity out here in Axel, as a majority of high level wizards move on eventually, but a present threat all the same. Perhaps one we should have anticipated, even."

Kazuma's eyes widened further as her words sank in. We. What in the hell did she mean by we? She couldn't possibly be saying what he thought she was, there was no way. Aside from Beldia, no other Demon General had been agitated enough to attack Axel directly, but if Serena was suggesting what he expected…

"I can hear the gears turning in your head, so I'll save you the trouble and just come out and say it." Sena interjected, bringing Kazuma's attention back to reality. "Yes, I am who you think I am, and I am partially responsible for the attack earlier this very week."

Kazuma felt sweat begin to bead on his brow, glancing in the direction that he'd last seen Sena and her assistant, losing them in the crowd. A saw the briefest flash of red dress through the chaos, and stood up before a hand landed on his shoulder, forcing him back down into his seat.

He looked up in surprise, and realized that another woman with yellow eyes and short red hair was standing beside him, clad in a cloak going down to her ankles and one-piece suit with a boob window and tie covering her cleavage. She seemed vaguely familiar, but the far more pressing characteristic he picked out was her expression. It wasn't hostile or amused, more...uneasy.

"Oh, I did forget to mention my fellow general, didn't I?" Serena mused sarcastically, turning in her seat and gesturing between the pair. "Satou, this is Wolbach, goddess of violence and sloth. I'm sure you remember her from your stint in Alcanretia, she was briefly present before you vaporized Hans."

"Listen, I'm-I'm really not taking as much of this in as I think I should be." Kazuma interrupted, a dangerous mix of exhaustion and alcohol lowering his tolerance for bullshit even lower than usual. "What the hell do you want from me?"

"Fair enough, I suppose we've indulged in pleasantries long enough." Serena obliged, a serious air finally overtaking her features as she stood, moving in front of Kazuma in order to command his attention. "Kazuma Satou, you have managed to cause more problems for the Devil KIng in one year than any other adventurer has in the past decade. This must end. If you step away now, and permanently swear off from interfering further in our dark lord's business. This will be your first and final warning. So...do we have an understanding?"

Under normal circumstances, Kazuma would've gladly accepted Serena's offer as. Quite frankly, it wasn't like he wanted anything more to do with the Devil King and his murderous generals...but after all the messy and headache-inducing bullshit he's had to suffer through this past week alone, he had to put his foot down at some point.

"You...are remarkably stupid."

Serena blinked, actually thrown off by Kazuma's blunt statement, thrown further off balance as Kazuma stood up, having shrugged of Wolbach's hand as he jabbed a finger in the priestess's face.

"I have killed four of your fellow generals on whim, because they got in my way and made life hard for me, and I did it with the three most hopeless people I know!" He scoffed, steamrolling on as just about all control he had been holding onto crumbled away. "Not to mention you've chosen to threaten me in guild hall, abso-fuckin'-louty packed with competent, powerful adventurers who are more than capable of turning you and pinky into paste. So yeah, respectfully? Fuck off."

The idle chaos in the hall died down suddenly, and Kazuma realized that he'd been shouting in Serena's face. To his surprise, the general had already recovered, that same smug smile already having reappeared on her face as she took a step back and chuckled darkly.

"Well, color me surprised. I didn't think you had it in you honestly." Serena admitted with an amused tone, before her dark eyes sharpened further alongside a ruthless smile. "If you want to play this out, then let's play this out."

Kazuma didn't get a chance to ask what she meant as the priestess raised her hand and cast her spell with absolute calm, coldly smirking in obvious reverence as she uttered the phrase.

"Death."

Without as much as a whimper, Kazuma crumpled to the floor like a sack of potatoes, his body already cold. All the assembled adventurer's drew their respective weapons, shocked with the events transpiring before them while Serena simply turned around, a sinister grin still fixed on her face.

"Consider this a warning, adventurers." She announced, unveiling her mace and gesturing broadly to the assembled crowd. "Any further interference in the Devil King's pursuits will result in a death far more painful than Satou's own. Consider yourselves warned."

With her declaration quite finished, Serena nodded to Wolbach, who had been standing nearby with a shocked expression. The second general seemed to compose herself, and with a quick flick of her hand cast "Teleportation", allowing both women to escape as the Guild Hall descended into complete and utter chaos.