Author's note: Fact is, this chapter is supposed to release yesterday (10 September 2023), since all there is are just editing it.

However, yesterday I had a boxing match and needless to say I am absolutely BEATEN. Did I lose? Fuck no, I won that thing. WE WIN THESE!

My body was, however, in simple words, IT FUCKING HURTS A LOT. My tendons hurt, my joints hurt, my ribcage is hurt, my head is all over the place.

I entered into fucking hibernation when I got home.

On the positive side, I got Yato alter with the free 10-pull.

"I've lost count of how many times I've had to hear that same line from my 'boss.' 'I don't know what to do, I'll leave it to you!' Can you believe it?"

"By the way, I'm heading to Sargon, but I'm supposed to meet some important people in negotiations. Meet them for me."

"Uhh, we don't have enough money for all of that. Can you do something about it?"

Every. Single. Damn. Time.

My eyes fluttered open as a voice called out from the other side of the door, "Honey, are you awake? You're gonna be late for work."

"Ugh, yes, Mom. I'm already awake," I groaned. I reached for my phone and saw 42 messages from Valor, 3 missed calls, and a flood of work emails.

"Just another typical day," I sighed with resignation, "Why was I dreaming about this cursed work?!"

THUD

I put down my phone a little too hard, "Whatever, just couple more years and I can freely quit."

I reluctantly dragged myself out of bed and followed my usual morning routine—shower, breakfast, a bit of TV, and then I got dressed in formal wear for work.

I'm thinking pink tie with white stripes for today. Definitely helps me appear more feminine while wearing the usual black suit and coat.

"Have a great day at work, dear!" mom called out to me as I waved at her and got into the car.

"I should move out, shouldn't I? But I can't leave my mom all alone," I sighed as I got behind the steering wheel.

With a sigh, I brushed those thoughts aside as I started the car and drove away.

The LIBERICO office isn't that far away from my house. Just about a 20-minute drive and then you're there.

One of the things I absolutely despise about going to work is the fact that the first two floors of the office building is made to a casino. "Extra income" he said. Extra income my ass.

"Eyy! Boss lady! On for a drink? It's on me!" oh here it comes. The all dazzling and bloody fucking annoying bartender of the casino bar.

"No, thank you very much Xi. And it's not on you, since you are the bartender, it will be on me." I stopped and walked behind the bar top, "Another thing, you should clean this up." I grabbed a bottle of alcohol, whatever it is, and casually did a bottle flip. Where it shatters into a thousand pieces once hitting the floor.

"NOOOO!" Xi jumped on top of the counter and tried his best to repair the very clearly beyond repair bottle, "THAT WAS A VERY EXPENSIVE BRANDY! IT'S OLDER THAN YOU!"

"Boo-hoo. Call me a first-degree murderer then." I waved my hand dismissively and went into the elevator.

"You'll pay for this!"

"I am in fact, paying for it." I stated before the elevator door closed.

Off to the fifth floor, I guess…

One might wonder what the third and fourth floor is for. Is it offices? Meeting rooms? Armoury perhaps?

No, it's empty. Nothing at all in there. Despite my protests for some sort of meeting room, office space, or any other productive uses for them.

The lift opens and as I took a step outside, the intercom blares.

"Sherry, can you go to my office for a bit?"

Oh what is it now?!

I sighed and reluctantly began to walk into his office.

"You called?" I said as I opened the office door.

Valor, who was casually seated behind his desk with his legs propped up, and with various snacks looks over to me, "Sherry, so glad you're here." He pauses whatever he was watching, "So here's the thing. I'm on a diet, right now."

"You? On a diet?" I looked around him. Popcorn, chips, soda, fast-food, and an empty pizza box, "I find that hard to believe." I crossed my arms and sat down on the chair.

"Yeah. I'm trying to be healthy here. So, I've challenged myself to not drink alcohol, smoke, or… go out for some time." He said as he threw a chip into his mouth.

"On the contrary, you should take a walk and stop eating microplastics."

"Later," He waved dismissively, "Back to what I was saying, since I'll be… going healthy for a while, I need you to uhh… you know, do my work. Just for today."

"I'm not suited to for fighting."

"Neither do I. Look, first, I already asked Mary to help you."

"Her? Have you perhaps realized that she Is in fact, insane?"

"Well… probably yes?"

I let out a sigh, "So? What are we doing?"

"As I said, you, Mary, and… who was his name again? Pepi, right. You do know him, don't you?"

"Who?"

"…"

"Oh… him… Where is he?" I just realized who he is. Yeah, the guy who came back from Siracusa with Valor and Mary. I don't know what to say about him other than the fact that he's sketchy as fuck. Yeah, he's good looking, but that's all the more reason to stay away from him.

"I put him in charge of a convenience store near the slums." He dismissively, "Not important. Anyways he'll be going with you guys."

"Him? Won't that just boost his ego, being surrounded by two women?" I gave him a knowing look. "And where the hell are we going even?"

"Considering how you both are… well… I'm not that worried that's for sure." He coughed, "As for where you three would be going… It would be Chernoborg."

"Chernoborg?" I raised an eyebrow, "You want us, to go there? You know I'm not a fighter. Pepi will flee from battle, and Mary will do the opposite and run head first into battle. Now that I think about it, sure."

"That's actually not that far-fetched, I'm not a fighter either," He smirked before putting down his legs from the desk and sitting straight, "You see, you might've noticed that our finances are getting low." He states as a matter-of-factly.

"No shit."

"Ahem. There's a client that will pay us an extraordinary amount to help them-"

"Help them with what?" I cut him off, knowing where this is going.

He was silent for a minute, "You see, our client is… a… Human rights organisation," he said the last part after thinking about what to say about them.

Of course, I'm not fucking stupid. I know full well who he's talking about.

"It's Reunion, isn't it?"

"It is Reunion yeah," He shakes his head in defeat.

"What do they want?" I inquired further.

"'help' from us. It's all they told me." He then laid back and put his legs back up on the desk, "In any case, I've prepared a fuck ton of weapons in the warehouse, cold and hot. I trust you already know where it is?"

I nodded. Of course I do, we only have one warehouse dumbass. Somehow, the LGD has yet to find out. Either it's incompetence or Valor's hiding the warehouse very well… it's probably incompetence.

"Great. Now, I trust you as an expert negotiator, alright? It did cost me quite a bit of money… and your salary to buy all those from shady people in the black market."

He then unpaused the TV, and I heard some of the corniest lines ever.

"My… le bomb… le killed people?"

"Well, I wouldn't exactly call them people"

"…"

"…"

"…"

"…"

"I thought we were building a rice cooker?"

"Well, you're technically right."

"What the hell are you watching?" I asked him after hearing that corny ass dialogue.

"Nothing that concerns, you, as a woman." He said as he threw a popcorn into his mouth, "Now go on… oh by the way."

As I was walking out of the door, he called me out. Naturally, I turned to him, where he proceeded to open a drawer and threw me a handgun, which I easily caught.

"That's your last resort. Use it when necessary." He then returned to watching the tv.

"How bothersome…" I muttered, rubbing my head in frustration.

I examined the handgun he handed me, checking it over. The letters 'P365' were imprinted on the side. I pulled out the magazine and gave it a quick look.

9mm Luger... probably good for close quarters combat, I guess.

I slid the magazine back into the handgun and cocked it. Aiming down the sights with one hand, I mimicked firing a shot before letting out a sigh and lowering the gun.

Let's just pray I won't have to use this. Ever.

I went inside my office, and after confirming that I was alone, "Vincent, come out." I ordered.

When I uttered those words, a black mist suddenly appeared beside me, and from it, came a large burly Sarkaz.

Giant horns, a thick tail, and his eyes is covered with a cloth. He wore a typical mercenary's uniform. A bit old and ragged, but would still be wearable.

And so bloody many black crystals on his skin. This is not someone I want to be around with for a long time, lest I become an infected. But he's the only suitable bodyguard for me. He's done his job well, over the years…

An observant person would notice the barcode on his neck.

This is because I bought him as a slave in Leithanien. The nation where the crazed arts users reside. All those pursuit in Arts… yet they can't seem to have a functioning society.

Anyways, purchasing a slave in Leithanien has its perks. Mainly, the slave and the master I bound not with a normal paper contract, no. But with a blood pact. A process of binding the souls of the master and the servant to each other.

I don't know the Arts behind it, heck I don't know if it's safe. But as long as I can make him subservient to me, and me only, I can rest assured that I will be safe from immediate danger.

"Vincent, what can you make of him?" I asked the Sarkaz as I put down the handgun of my desk.

"That is the person you're working for?" Came his answer, "That man is a two-faced liar, do you even know who he is?"

"Well, that's why I asked for your help, remember?" I turned to him, "So? What have you found out?"

My slave sighs, "I haven't found much about his real name, all I've found out are that he was raised by a Church somewhere in rural Iberia. He was a wandering…uhm… what do you call it? Fixer, I guess?"

"Fixer? As in underworld terms or…?" I raised an eyebrow.

"Fixer as in he's a wandering worker for hire. Well, there are also records of him of uhh committing minor robbery, pickpocketing, street fights? Also, he was… Still is a con man."

"Mhm. Is that it?"

"He also has ties to various academic figures."

"Wait a f-, what do you mean by ties to academic figures?" Now this is interesting… Perhaps my university has some connections to him?

"Well, archaeological figures, that is. He digs up ancient stuff and he sells them to education institutions-"

"Or the black market." I continued.

"-And that."

I leaned on my desk and thought over it.

Since I won't be working under him for much longer. 2 years.

It would be wise to start investigating my 'boss' so that when he gets captured, I'll get out scot-free.

It has been 3 months since I made my first investigations. I've made a file, a quite thick one I might add, all about the person named Alter Valero.

It's merely a contingency plan of when, not if, he gets arrested. One day there'll be a trial for him and I would regret not making the thing I made right now.

It's nothing personal, it's just business, after all.

But for now, I'll gladly act like your most loyal rabbit.

The sound of the door slamming open interrupted my thoughts. My slave disintegrated into red mist as the figure of a slim and tall Lupo came ever so closer to me.

"Yo." She greeted.

Somewhere near the slums.

"So this is the guy's stomping ground, eh?" Mary yawned from beside me. It was around 2pm when we arrived at the convenience store where Pepi is in charge of.

It was a normal convenience store, if not isolated. The buildings were dilapidated, there were people-

"What's up with this place? There's crack addicts, hookers, and gangsters." Mary said out loud as she looked around, "I'd like to see them to come at me."

"We're just here to fetch Pepi and be on our way to Chernoborg," I put my hand up, "Don't make this unnecessarily complicated, would you?"

"Fine… Fine…" She rolled her eyes.

In short, this convenience store is located just between the slums and Lungmen. Not too poor and infested with crime, but not too rich and secure either. Perhaps this is part of a red-light area?

We went inside the convenience store, and were greeted by a gush of cool air. I see Mr. Pepi has taken serious steps in ensuring that his place has sufficient enough room temperature to freeze Ursus ten times over.

We went behind the counter and saw a clerk slumped down sleeping on his job.

Okay? I suppose they aren't getting that much customers either…

"Damn it! The backdoor's locked?! What the fuck?!"

We heard a voice, accompanied by the sound of someone repeatedly attempting to open a locked door.

The noise eventually ceased. After a moment, the door in front of us swung open, revealing the disheveled figure of Luis 'Pepi'.

"Wha-? Wh- What are you guys doing here?!"

His clothes were disarrayed, his hair was unkempt, and lipstick marks were scattered around his neck, accompanied by potential bite marks and scratches on his back.

"I see you had your fun." I remarked with a stoic expression fixed on him.

"It's not what— " His words were cut short by Mary who snickered before pushing him aside and letting us inside the backrooms and into his office.

And if there is a higher power, his office is a real-world representation of the second circle of hell—Lust.

"Tsk. Fucking whores." I turned to Pepi with a disapproving look "Should we hang you upside down and beat you relentlessly until you die?"

His office was strewn with five fully unclothed women, sprawled across the space. And amidst the scene, there was a white powder that I could only assume was cocaine.

"And what is this? Cocaine?" I used my finger to lightly sweep through the layer of white powder.

"Haha. I should tell you that good old 'Pepi' Sarkozy over here is a reputable drug dealer in Siracusa." Mary, laughed, "… Reputable for taking in loans and not paying them back, that is," She looks too Pepi.

"Hey! I paid them back—"

"You paid what? Twenty thousand LMD?"

"That was interest!"

"Alright," I interrupted their argument, "Look, Pepi. I don't care what you do in your spare time. But maybe find a more discreet place to… conduct your business meetings."

He shot me an irritated look, "You think I wanted it to go down like this? These ladies here decided it was a good time for an impromptu party!"

"And yet you joined them." Mary shook her head.

"Look. This is not Siracusa where laws a basically non-existent. This is Lungmen, probably the place where laws are the most enforced in all of Terra. And the LGD have been cracking down on this kind of operation lately. You need to clean up your act." I explained with a serious tone.

"What are you guys doing here anyways?!" He growls as he fixed his clothes, before getting hit In the face by a jacket thrown by Mary.

"Oh right. Get dressed, we're going to Chernoborg."

After fetching dear Pepi, we got to the warehouse where the 'goods' per se are stored. It was only a matter of time until we loaded the truck with the goods and drove off to the ruined city called Chernoborg.

Obviously, Pepi is driving. With that many kilos of pure coke in his bloodstream he's guaranteed to stay alive for another 24 hours. Enough to get to Chernoborg if nothing disrupts us.

…

Huh…

Looking at the nature passing by is… somewhat… therapeutic.

Observing the natural world as it unfolds around you can be a calming and rejuvenating experience. Whether it's the gentle sway of trees in a forest, the rhythmic sway of tall, old-growth forest trees, or the vibrant colours of a sunset painting the sky, nature has a way of soothing the soul.

Or watching catastrophies… where tornadoes swell to monstrous proportions, earth-shattering quakes rend the sky, and virulent spikes erupt from the ground in a sudden, terrifying crescendo of chaos and destruction.

Both of which, are soothing.

Hmm… Ah… I just remembered a hymn or song? from a Columbian comedy group.

How does it go again?

… Oh right. it goes like…

"Sargon, they say they're backwards lovers, a rowdy crew,

But in their disarray, order's overdue, it's true!

Ursus, oppression's their game, a mad carnival view,

Lungmen's all 'bout cash, like a greedy hullabaloo!

And their masters in Yan, oh my, a ticking time bomb,

Their power struggles, oh dear, it's a continuous wrong!

From Iberia's old glory, still holding on so tight,

To Aegir's fading story, heading towards the night!

Siracusa shouts "Lawlessness is the law," it's a brawl,

Laterano counters, "Capital punishment," they call!

Kazdel? What's that? They're a mystery to all,

Leithanien, mystical and fantastical,

Psst, best avoid them, that's practical!

Rim Billiton's ore-hungry, they're digging for sure,

Kazimierz, the past clings, it's a stuck-in-time lure!

Human rights? Shh, don't ignite their fights!

Oh Sami, Higashi, Minos, and dear Kjerag too,

How irrelevant can you be, it's a peculiar crew!

Siesta's a phony, better head to Iberia's waters,

Second thoughts? Consider a waiver to avoid disaster!

God save the King, heed it fast,

Victoria's reign, it won't forever last!

Hola Bolivar, apologies for the past,

We promise to make amends, to mend it at last,

But we'll come back, Bolivar, to make it right and fair!

For us that is!

Oh, Columbia, land we call home,

Brave and free, but the truth's yet unknown,

Leaders fill their pockets as people groan,

In this land of promise, seeds of change are sown!"

I hummed the lyrics. I'm surprised at myself for remembering them.

Suddenly, a loud THUD interrupted my thought. It sounds like we ran something over.

"What was that?" I turned to look at the others. Mary was sleeping, and she's drooling.

"Uhh bad guys who tried to blockade us?" Pepi responded without looking away from the windshield.

I narrowed my eyes for a bit, before turning back to look outside the window.

I'm not falling asleep. I don't trust you.

"Well he's dead." Mary said as she poked on Pepi's cheeks.

He's not actually dead. I think the cocaine in him ran out and he entered deep sleep.

In other news, we've arrived at Chernoborg. More specifically, a makeshift headquarters of Reunion outside a ruined city hall.

There were a lot of Reunion soldiers wandering about, which means a lot of infected openly roaming around. And I'm not taking chances.

"Alright, don't forget to wear your gloves when interacting with these people. Oh, and leave Pepi here." We're still inside the truck and was preparing to meet the Reunion leaders.

"A bit too close-minded don't you think?" Mary mocks, "I thought you highly-educated people would care less 'bout these things?"

"It's exactly the fact that I am highly-educated that I am taking precautions. Do you even know how Oripathy can spread?"

"Eh, to each his own, is all I say. But you should fix that mindset of yours" She smirks, before opening the door and getting out.

…

Why should I care? People are inherently selfish anyways, why shouldn't I take extra precautions to protect myself from an uncurable disease with 100% mortality rate?

Whatever.

I hopped out of the truck and caught up with Mary, and together, we made our way toward the tent housing the Reunion leadership.

There were many Reunion soldiers with injuries and are being treated because of that. It seems Chernoborg hasn't been fully pacified yet?

The city is literally destroyed yet Reunion hasn't managed to control the city?

I must commend Ursus' police and military for holding out this long.

Before long, we arrived in front of the tent. I looked to the guard beside the tent, he just nods, meaning we could go in.

Mary went in first.

I took a deep breath. Because deep down, Mary can't negotiate for shit. And in the end, it's up to me.

Haah~ maybe I'll take a well-deserved vacation when I get back

Surely that dearest boss of mine wouldn't mind.

"Okay… just sign here, here, and here." Mary said, breaking me out of my thoughts.

I snapped back to reality, "Hold on, what's going on here?"

"Oh, we're finalizing the deal." Mary replied, turning to me.

"Sorry?"

It felt like just moments ago I was standing outside the tent, watching Mary enter first, right?

Is there some time dilation bullshitery at work here?! Because I swear it's not even a minute!

Mary was indicating where to sign on a piece of paper to a likely important person. Was she a Lung?

Beside her stood a massive Wendigo Sarkaz. How do I know that the thing is part of the Sarkaz race? Well, there are people like me who actually put in effort in studying. Though if I remember correctly, there is only one Wendigo left…

Apart from them, there was only one other person, a Cautus like me. She seemed alright, I guess. Though what's with the cold atmosphere all of a sudden?

But more importantly….

"What did you mean by 'finalizing the deal'?" I went to Mary's side.

"Well, I just wrapped up this deal. You know, we get the money, they get the weapons," Mary responded calmly as she rolled up the piece of paper.

"Finalize my ass, they didn't even get to see the weapon. Not to mention seeing how it works!"

"Ahem. We don't mind." The Lung spoke, "The name's Talulah, and I'm in charge of Reunion," she spoke with an air of authority.

"Yeah, I noticed." I replied with a dissatisfied expression. Not my fault if you complain to Valor about how these things operate.

"Good. However, even after concluding this deal, I'd like to offer you a contract."

"A contract? You should contact Valor about this," I turned to look at the Lung, "we're not someone who you could just hire on the spot. There are procedures and—"

"I think we should hear her out?" Mary cut me off, "What we'd like to hear about your contract."

Why you twisted mockery of a dog.

Why is it at these times Mary can act very cordial? To the point where she is a different person than who she really is?

The leader of Reunion, Talulah, clears her throat, "Ahem. We'd like to contract you to help us in taking over a school."

"A… school?" What? They're having problem in dealing with children?

"Yes. Peterheim Middle School, to be ex—"

"Whoa, whoa. Hold on." I cut her off right there because I noticed something isn't right, "You're telling me, you have some difficulties in taking over a middle school?"

"Unfortunately, yes." She looks to both of her comrade, "There is someone who is difficult for us to deal with. Someone who's assisting the school defenders."

"And who might that be?" I raised an eyebrow.

"… Hellagur." She responded.

"…Who?" I have no idea who this is.

"She means Hellagur as in the retired Ursine general," Mary chipped in, to which Talulah nodded.

"Ohh. So, a retired general is helping at defending the school? Now that makes sense." I nodded, "But we still won't accept t—"

"Let's go." Mary declared suddenly.

"Could you shut the fuck up when I'm talking?" I slowly turned to face Mary.

I absolutely want to skin you alive. You have no idea how much I want to dip you into toxic acid, peel your skin slowly and painfully. Mutilate your body parts until you are left with only a body and a head.

"Wonderful. Of course, you will be compensated."

"We don't need compensation. As long as I can…" Mary trailed off.

Looking at her, her face turned into something unsettling. Might just be me, though. The friendly and gentle Mary has been replaced by her usual side.

"I can't believe you accepted that terrorist's proposal." I said as we both walk around a each other's side, "I'm not disappointed. I'm livid. Is it wrong to skin you alive and shove your eyeballs out?"

Mary just hums while brandishing her great sword.

This girl…

About that agreement with Reunion. We, Mary, agreed to get rid off Hellagur. Which is why were inside the school right now.

I must say, the school seems to be in… an okay condition for a war-torn place. Dismissing the fact that debris is everywhere.

Well if worst come to worst, I have the handgun Valor gave me. I also have my slave who would gladly take a beating for me.

We both walked some more minutes. We checked each classroom, locker, and other stuff associated with a school. Before reaching the rather large cafeteria.

"You both are not Reunion, are you?"

Both of us halted and turned our heads in the direction of the voice.

It was a large man. A Liberi, if I had to guess, judging from his ears. He wore multiple layers of clothing; his body is fully covered with a coat. He is definitely carrying a weapon inside there.

"Correct, we're not with Reunion." I responded calmly, "I assume you are Hellagur?"

"You are correct in your assessment. I am indeed Hellagur," The man replied in a neutral voice, his face unmoving, "Now, why are you both here? This isn't a place where people like you still roam around."

He's reffering to our clothes. So what? Should we wear a t-shirt when doing our job?

"I am merely curious. It's not as if you both are collaborating with Reunion to target me, isn't it?"

Bingo.

Mary whispered to me, "Our cover's been blown, I'm going in." before bolting toward the man.

Damn it! At least wait for my signal!

Without hesitation, Mary sprinted toward the retired general, who remained eerily composed in his stance.

"In the end, violence is your choice," he sighed, drawing a sleek Odachi from beneath his cape and deflecting Mary's charge with a resounding CLANG.

See? He does have a weapon hidden under that coat. An Odachi, no less. How very international, Mr. Hellagur.

Mary held her own surprisingly well. Despite the size of her greatsword, she displayed remarkable agility in dodging and parrying his strikes, although the difference in strength was evident.

This is all from my observation from the sidelines.

However, just as Mary seemed to be holding her ground, she parried an attack that forced her to retreat back to my side.

"Aren't you gonna help?!" She yelled, panting heavily.

I sighed. I then pulled out my handgun and firing shots at the retired general.

Predictably, he blocked every bullet with ease. Even slashed through them.

I continued to shoot at him, and he effortlessly deflected each round. What I didn't anticipate was how he closed the distance between us. The more bullets I fired, the nearer he got.

Eventually, he stood dangerously close to us.

"Fuck off!" red mist started to appear and in seconds, my slave appeared and threw a punch at the unsuspecting Hellagur, who blocked it with his odachi and knocked him back some steps as he assessed the situation.

Now, the situation becomes, a big Sarkaz slave, armed with only his fists, against a retired general, who calmly observed us.

"Finally..." Mary smirked and rushed toward the general.

Whatever, I'll assist you. I ordered my slave to go and help Mary in killing this bastard.

Upon seeing the two opponents, Hellgur sighed before assuming a defensive stance. "I don't know who you are, but I cannot allow you to harm the innocent."

He parried Mary's attack and countered with one of his own, overpowering her. Then, he skillfully evaded my companion's strike and severed his arm with ease. However, he had to block again as Mary relentlessly attacked him, knocking him back.

"…"

Hmm… I'm starting to get uneasy on this…

Escape routes, escape routes, escape routes… there are no escape routes…

Fuck.

I'm not a fighter, best I can contribute to this fight is using my slave and relying on Mary. And although my slave can heal his wounds and regenerate body parts, Mary, who I admit still has a brain, cannot.

Losing her means a defeat.

What should I do?

Should I be a nuisance and shoot bullets at him?

No, that's stupid.

Just as I was lost in thought, Mary was sent flying towards me. I narrowly avoided getting hit by her, thankfully dodging in time.

I glanced back at the general.

He was still locked in combat with my companion.

I looked at Mary, who was still conscious but on her knees. She appeared eager to continue the fight.

I turned my attention back to the general, narrowing my eyes. "General, I think this fight has gone on long enough. It was never our intention to fight you in the first place. We'll take our leave now."

"What?! I can still fight!" Mary glared at me with determination.

"You are more than welcome to continue your fight. But I value my own life. So goodbye." I turned to the General and awaited his response.

"...Go ahead. I dislike violence." He slowly sheathed his odachi but maintained a firm gaze on us.

My slave disintegrated into red mist once again, "Come on. We've done our job. shouldn't have accepted a job from terrorists." I shot Mary a disapproving look.

"Grr. Fine. But I can't move." She growled.

"And?"

"Don't just fucking stand there and help me get up!"

"... Fine." I sighed and moved to support her, I then turned to the general, "General, is there a back door we can use to exit discreetly?"

"There is one. I'll show you to it."

"… Appreciated."

Both of us followed the general to the back exit, keeping a safe distance. I continued to support Mary's body.

"Ah. Sorry for putting you through all this. Truth is, I was just itching for a fight." Mary mutters to me.

"I'm surprised you actually apologized."

"Yeah well, I'm not you, princess."

"… Fuck off…" I rolled my eyes.

We followed the general a bit longer until we finally reached the back exit.

"Here it is, ladies." He took a step back to let us through.

"Appreciate it."

As we both exited, the door slammed shut, and I released my hold on Mary's body.

"So? Are we going to walk to Lungmen? It's actually pretty close." She stretches her arms.

"Hmm. We'll do that. Don't worry about that Pepi. He'll make it through." I yawned, "One other thing, Mary,"

"Hmm?"

"What do you think of Valor?"

Valor's office, 30 minutes after Sherry left.

"Well that movie was something… I almost dozed of on the second-half of it."

Yawns

"Guess is should be reading all these mails that are just mostly scams…"

Sighs

"Hmm? What's this?"

…

"Oho. Long-time haven't heard from you"

Aro.

Author's note: Next few chapters will be in Iberia, with a pitstop at Rhodes Island. I've been itching to write this, so hopefully it doesn't take too long. It will also go over Valor's lore. And oh yeah, that Monster Hunter boss stage is pretty easy when you have Texas Alter and Yato alter in your team. The more you know I guess.