"You invite me…?"
"To go with me to Lawless City and have a bit of fun in fixing problems there," Cid repeated.
He suddenly realized that after reviving Violet he practically didn't have any interactions with her other than immediately after his work and before going to Earth. That's not nice, absolutely not nice! So now he was fixing his mistake to make sure she doesn't feel left out… Not like she would, considering she immersed herself in experiencing the brand new world she found herself in, without suffering or cruel experiments…
Hmm, Todd, write down the "Reincarnation of Knights of the Rounds" point into the list… He suddenly realized that he needs to give them a better punishment…
"My, my," Aurora's eyes lit up, "Are you inviting this lady to accompany you and make new memories together?"
"Hm, yes, exactly."
"And your current attire…?"
Oh, right.
"I will play the role of undercover agent to find out whatever happens in that place. Overwhelming power is good, but over time it becomes boring to just annihilate whatever goes your way, and so I give myself new experiences in various roles with pre-set abilities," he told almost the truth.
"Hm, hm!" she nodded, "Yes, such an experience would certainly be new… Do you think I should get a matching attire?"
"Actually…" his eyes lit up as well, "Yes, exactly! What a brilliant idea! A pair of undercover agents working together!"
"My, my, look who is fired up all of sudden," she teased him.
Hell yeah, he's fired up! That's one of kids' dreams! Being a super elite secret agent!
"So, what do I need to be this, as you said, 'undercover agent'?" Aurora inquired.
"Well, my lovely Violet…" he started, "First thing, you will need to be able to do close quarters combat."
"…Eh?"
"I told you multiple times: I have not learned weaponless combat!" Violet pouted cutely.
"And I am saying that this is a mistake. I have taken the weapon from your hands so much times that it's about time you do."
Cid was slowly getting tired. As much as of great fighter and magic user Aurora has been (befitting her of the Witch of Calamity), she was absolutely unable to fight with just her body, in contrast to Cid whose strongest area was actually close quarters combat. Yes, he could say that even now his CQC abilities were not that much below his magic abilities.
"If I lose my weapon and ability to use magic, I don't think I will be able to-"
"I did not use magic at all during our sparrings."
He sighed at her antics. Yes, he understands that this world was absolutely barbaric in terms of developing proper fighting techniques, but even Violet who he recognized for being proficient in combat was still like this! And she was rumored to be the strongest being this world had to offer! If she had to fight the Serpent, Cid honestly wouldn't know who to bet on… Probably Serpent, since that thing had hundreds times over Violet's mana capacity.
"I only want to give you the basics so you can still play the role to a some degree. You don't need to make it your main area. You will get another weapon.
"Eh, alright…"
And don't sigh on him!
"How much longer until you finish with costume?"
"Not that much longer. A minute or so."
Cid was giving the finishing touch to her undercover agent attire. Upon placing the final accessory he walked back and smiled in satisfaction.
Violet's hair was flowing freely, just like usual. However, that's where similarities ended.
The top half of her face was closed off with a black mask, similar to his own silver. Her usual Witch clothes were replaced in favor of a large gray jacket with inner-side pockets that held papers, small-scale weapons like throwing knives and needles, some money, and other mundane, but vital things for an agent. But once you remove the jacket…
Skin-tight bodysuit that allowed for free, unrestricted movement in combat. It was not that much different from Shadow Garden's uniform; in fact, Aurora's attire was actually a revised version of it. Golden linings were completely removed, leaving a fully black attire instead.
In short, her clothing complemented his own. Hers was fully blacks, while his was a mix of grey and silver. A perfect duo!
"Uhm, that will take some time…" Aurora complained a bit.
Yeah, skin-tight suits are a bit lewd…
But what matters the most is that they are now ready! Only six hours passed, yeah…
Hmm, she has to have a cool name, right? Now, which one, which one…
Hey, didn't Green Serpent say something about a cool spy from the place where Beast appeared? Like how he infiltrated the enemy camps easily and everyone was none the wiser?
Yeah, that one. That spy is a man, of course, but who would question him in fantasy world?
It's decided. Her name will be…
"Claire is where?"
"Yes, my Lord, Claire Kagenou left a note saying that she was summoned to Lawless City in order to join the knights here. We are suspecting the goal of Midgar kingdom there is the same as ours."
Cid listened to the report Gamma (who could finally walk) gave him. Yeah, that does not bode well. His sister was supposed to stay here… Though considering her fiery nature and the fact everyone thought she's the rising star of Kagenou family, it is not surprise she was called to fix all of that. Really, that was his fault for not paying attention.
Right, he and his buddy in roleplaying, aka Violet, were currently sitting in their attires alongside Gamma. Of course, Violet still had her jacket on and did not reveal her bodysuit. It wouldn't do good to go out with attractive woman in skin-tight clothes right after proposing, right?
"Hmm…" he gave out a profound hum.
"Who else do you wish to take with you to Lawless City, my Lord?" yeah, Gamma continued with the official tone in public; as they said, it would do no good if they would start going all lovey-dovey in front of other people. Honestly, he agreed; what would onlookers think about his cool Shadow persona if he's constantly surrounded by pink aura?!
"No one. This is operation for us two. However…" he made a motion, "You are free to use your own manpower and attempt to take over everything we leave. And not only manpower."
Understanding flashed through Gamma's eyes.
"As you wish, my Lord. When do you wish to proceed with your plan?"
"Now," he calmly replied.
Claire fought back against yet another mindless ghoul.
They have just evacuated another batch of people.
It came all of sudden… alright, not sudden, they anticipated it, but it was still something unexpected.
The moon turned red.
And with it, a lot of ghouls suddenly turned into killing machines and started their rampage across the city. Knights worked tirelessly to ensure safety of people, but… Their manpower was lacking.
There were simply not enough people to cover the whole city. They could only focus on a small patch if they wished to have a good standing against undead. Yes, undead.
Their enemies were undead. They were probably the underlings of Blood Queen… But why would they go on rampage all of sudden? Was it related to red moon?
"Tch…" she clicked her tongue.
At this point, they would not be able to fight back… And probably will suffer huge casualties…
If only Cid was here…
She shook her head. She knew her brother was way stronger than everyone, and his organization could probably easily handle everything that was going in Lawless City… But if he didn't command it to come here, then he probably had his reasons…
"L-Look, over here!"
Hm?
Claire focused her gaze and saw a pair of people, man and woman, eliminating the ghouls. They worked efficiently, their movements were terrifyingly precise; Claire could only see man's fingers moving at incredibly high speeds as multiple flashes appeared in her vision. If she concentrated enough, she could recognize… Threads? Yes, threads. Man used threads as his weapon.
The woman, on the other hand, used knives to dispose of the undead. She preferred closed quarters combat, unlike her partner who focused on maintaining the distance, and tore through her enemies.
Yet the more Claire watched, the more suspicious she became. Something about that man… Something about the way he moves… Was familiar…
The battle ended. People who got stuck in horde of undead were finally saved. Some woman (Claire pities her; not only was she a prostitute but also got attacked like that) frantically thanked her saviours before leaving.
"Thank you so much, kind sir and lady…" their squad leader, Claudia, calmed her breath and spoke to the pair.
The man only looked up into the crimson sky, humming.
"If you would be so kind as to introduce yourselves…"
"The frenzy has begun."
She was interrupted by the man in silver mask.
"What… No, does that mean…?!" Claudia's eyes widened in realization.
"The moon is red."
Yes, the moon is red. What about it?
"T-Then the Blood Queen… And the prophecy… It's all true!"
"We are out of time."
Man nodded to his partner and prepared to leave.
"Wait, we need all the help we can get-!"
"Worry not. Once we are finished, there will no need for help."
Claudia gasped.
"Do you want to take Blood Queen and her servants head-on?!"
"Indeed."
Calm. Indifferent. Calculating. The more she looked at it, the more it seemed like…
"Just who are you to attempt that?!"
He stopped. Then he turned around and placed the right hand behind his back, while his left fixed the mask on his tilted face.
"I am John Smith. I was sent here to fix the situation. That's all you need to know."
"John Smith?…"
Claire, meanwhile, found her pocket to be a bit heavier than before. Upon finding a safe place she took out the new item. A letter, to be exact.
Curious, she unpacked it.
'Hey, sis, sorry, was a bit busy here and there. Heard about the situation here from Shades and figured it's about time for me to join in the fun. They will come a bit later, though, so for now you will have to settle with me and my partner. And yeah, please don't blow our cover, it's absolutely vital!'
Yeah, just as she thought.
Well, at least now she can surely say that the situation will be fixed, right?
"So, this is what you propose…" the fox therianthrope waved her fluffy white tails.
The pair in front of her suddenly appeared at her doors and offered a deal: they would help out in becoming a sole tycoon of Lawless City and fix the problems with Blood Queen and Red Moon in exchange for exclusive offers for them. As of now, they did not want to reveal themselves, but…
"Say, would you be so kind as to say your names?" she folded her fan.
"Indeed, now that we are on agreement, it would be the best to introduce ourselves properly," he fixed his silver mask, "My name is John Smith. I shall work undercover and provide the necessary information as well as business strategies. I am proficient in combat, however I would like to maintain my distance against my opponents."
"I see…" therianthrope mused, "And your partner?"
"She, on the contrary, is highly skilled in combat and prefers close quarters. Do not be fooled by her appearance," he placed the right hand behind his back, "She is a professional, just in a different category. She can easily blend in anywhere, find out everything, all the while everyone thinks that she is one of them and does not question it until it is too late."
"Is that so… And her name is…?"
"Oh, but of course! Please, meet…"
The woman bowed, red shining through her black mask.
"Stierlitz."
I was suddenly overwhelmed on the previous two days, so the previous chapters were a bit rushed and lacked in quality. Yeah, sucks. This one should be vastly better, in my humble opinion.
And yes, Aurora is now Stierlitz. A good way to make new memories, right?