Section 3

The next day, we walked towards the location that the man said this cellar was. It's about a two hour long walk, but at this point it doesn't feel like an awful lot for us anymore.

Along the way are the normal grassy fields with some animals and farms. Nothing we haven't seen before.

"So, a vampire who can use fire. Do we have anyone who can resist fire here?"

"I can, not to say I am not affected by it, but I can certainly resist it.", Edmond Dantès informs us.

"Good. Our attack plan included using you as our greatest asset for the time being.", Olga Marie says in response.

Edmond closes his eyes. "I know that was the plan, but could you not have at least pretended that you all were going to help?"

"We are going to help. I can use my greatsword to attack him, Alice can shoot him, Olga can use her spells, Serena and Ritsuka can support us, and Mash can defend us. It's just that you are our main damage dealer."

"I suppose I shouldn't expect much from the humans of this time, if that is all your powers amount to. But it won't be completely pointless this way, either!"

"By the way, the man said something about a female scream, right?"

"Yes, he said he heard a woman scream, that's why he investigated.", Ritsuka is the one to answer Alice's question.

"Since this was just yesterday, there's a chance she may still be alive…"

"Unlikely. A vampire is not the type to play with food. They drain the victim of all their blood, then dispose of them. It would be a miracle if this woman is still alive." Edmond bluntly says.

"Vampires…Do they suck blood like in the movies and books? Or is it different?", I asked the Servant.

"Yes, they suck blood with their fangs. From what I know, the blood of a virgin is best for nutrition. Something about it being untainted by others. They can also send familiars to get blood from you and deliver it to them. That is what Altrouge does to an extent. She has her minions destroy the towns, kill and drain the residents, turn them if possible, and deliver blood back to her for her own nutrition, and to fuel the grail as well. It is the most reasonable assumption."

"Have you tried following one of these vampires? You would be able to discover her hideout.", Nick asks.

"Yes, I have tried many things. But, I always lose track of them. After a while, they get consumed by a shadow and are gone. Much like they are being instantly transported to elsewhere. That is probably how they are not seen while moving to a village, and can get there in the night so quickly. It might even be that they fast travel while in the shadows, like a boat on water. Your modern day boats go around pretty fast, don't they?"

"Yes, they do. They have engines on them now which can propel them pretty fast through water.", Olga informs the Count.

"Think of Altrouge moving through shadows like a boat cutting through water with an engine. Pretty fast, right? Much faster than moving on foot. I assume she can do this to vampires too."

Ritsuka looks over at Dantès with a confused expression. "How do you know all this about her? You seem like an expert."

"Oh? Well I have fought her enough times to know that she moves through the shadows pretty fast. Mobility is one of her strong suits, so it is often hard to land hits on her. I can tell it is not teleportation, but, I can sense her moving through the shadows if that makes sense to you. Instinct if you will."

"Would casting a light work? As a way to prevent her from moving around so much like that. I have flash bangs in my Imaginary Space that I could use."

"Yes, she needs of shadow to move, as she cannot create shadows herself. If you remove the shadows, then there is nowhere for her to go and she will be exposed. Easier said than done though, she can squeeze into the smallest of patches. Though, light itself does no harm to her. She can move around in sunlight just fine unlike most other Dead Apostles which can only act at night. Some higher ranked ones can still act in the day with a significantly weakened state though. And artificial light does nothing to her at all. Only direct sunlight has an effect, this goes for all of them."

"Just great."

We arrived at the town and shortly after, at the cellar that was mentioned by the man. No one else is around, so no one probably went to check it out, believing that man had indeed gone crazy. All the better for us as we can investigate in peace.

Inside the cellar was a corridor just like he said.

"Be on your guard, Chaldea. This could get dangerous. Our goal is to rescue this woman we heard about, and to take down this Dead Apostle. Got it?"

We all agree with the Director and head on our way.

The place is eerily quiet. The only noise is the sound of water droplets and our footsteps echoing through the stone hall.

Edmond Dantès leads us while Nick follows up the back. We are in enemy territory, so we must be as careful as possible. We all have our combat gear on and ready to fight at a moment's notice.

I pinch my nose. It smells like rotting meat in here. Not only that, the air is stuffy. There's no circulation besides the door we entered through.

"I wonder just how big this place is.", Ritsuka brushes his hand against the stone wall, feeling its rough surface.

"Who knows? Seems pretty big due to how long this hallway alone is. We've been walking for what, five minutes?"

"You're right, Alice, but it's only been four. Still, this place must span a good length under the area. We probably walked right over it without knowing on the way here.", Olga closes her pocket watch and looks forward again. "There's something ahead, it may be a vampire. Get ready."

"It has its back turned, I'll deal with this."

Alice pulls out a combat knife and creeps up behind the vampire as quietly as she can. She pulls out a cloth and wraps it around her left hand to avoid being bitten. Like a snake launching at its prey, she puts her left hand over its mouth and jams her knife into its skull, twisting it so the wound becomes wide open. It quickly goes limp and crumbles to dust. The whole time, her face showed an emotionless, yet scary look. Like she's done this a thousand times already.

"Let's keep moving."

"W-wow Alice, that was dark."

"Serena, my line of work isn't exactly clean. Besides, they were already dead. Who cares."

"You really get serious when working, don't you?"

"We are in enemy territory with Dead Apostles roaming about, I have to stay on my guard so you all don't get hurt. Joking around will only get you killed."

"G-got it."

We continue on, running into the occasional Dead Apostle. The dungeon splits into multiple hallways.

"So, are we going to the left or to the right?"

Edmond Dantès votes that we go left. And with that, we decide to go left. We will get to the right hallway eventually after all.

More silence…

Not a sound being made aside from our footsteps echoing in the hall.

Alice seems to notice something in the darkness up ahead. "Cells?"

"You mean like prison cells?", Mash questions.

"Yeah."

Alice goes up ahead and stops dead in her tracks after looking in.

"Alice? What's wro-"

"Don't look, Serena." Alice covers my eyes with her hand. Judging by the smell though, I can tell the contents of the cell in front of us are dead bodies, most likely of humans. I could use my Mystic Eyes to see it, but I don't want to.

The air around our party dies. Mash covers her mouth in surprise while Ritsuka looks sick. Olga takes a step back. "What happened to them?"

Nick approaches the cell. "Looks like the vampire that may be here sucked them dry. They were his food, all of them."

In the cell are several dead bodies. Men, women, and even children. All look shriveled up and pale. Some are even burnt up, their skin has turned nearly gray and ash-like.

Their expressions are unreadable at this point of decomposition, but, I'd wager that it was fear, confusion, and sadness.

"I'm gonna puke!", Ritsuka runs off, covering his mouth.

"Senpai, wait! Don't go off on your ow-n…Senpai?"

Ritsuka stands there, looking into a cell a few cells away from the group.

"There's a girl in here…she seems like she's still alive. Or at least, in good condition, unlike the rest of them."

Dantès flies over to Ritsuka's side and looks inside.

"That girl, that is most definitely a Servant. It is faint, but I can sense that she is different from a normal human."

"I can try to pick the lock.", Alice runs over and goes to grab something from her imaginary space.

*CRASH*

The cell door crumbles. Standing there is Nick with his greatsword, arm outstretched to the side.

"Don't bother. It's open now."

"Thanks…"

We ran inside the almost empty cell.

There stands an unconscious woman, chained by her hands to the wall. She's in bad shape. Her short white hair was dirty and matted. Her bangs cover her closed eyes. The woman's clothing was mostly burned off exposing her pale white body, with only remnants of the black cloth remaining on her body covering only a small portion of her chest. Her bottom half is covered by a waist cape and armor. Her body is bloodied and battered, with burn marks all around. Her neck has a bite mark clearly from a vampire's fangs. A normal human wouldn't be alive right now. Her breathing is weak with short breaths and her chest slowly moving up and down.

We can't help but stand there horrified at the image. What pain has she gone through up until now? How long has she been trapped down here?

Nick once again raises his sword, aiming carefully as to not cut the woman's arms off.

One slash was all it took to sever the chains from the wall. The cuff and some chain still remain around her wrists, but that can be dealt with later. Her body begins to fall to the ground, she is unconscious, and even if she was awake, she would have no strength remaining to catch herself. Without hesitation, The Count quickly catches her, leaning her body against his.

Ritsuka points his arm and heals her as much as he can with his Mystic Code. Her minor wounds close including the bite marks, but she is still in bad shape.

"At least now I'm not the only one capable of hearing her drawing breath. Your healing magic helped here, Ritsuka."

"Good, as soon as she awakes I'll form a contract with her. This is already painful for me to watch as it is!"

Olga presses her wristband. "Chaldea, come in, Chaldea."

No response.

"That's odd, there's no way they left. And they wouldn't have all gone on break at once."

"D…re…tor…ca…ou…hear…us..?"

"Yes, yes I can hear you! Dammit! The connection is terrible down here!"

The comm cuts off and a message reading "CONNECTION LOST" appears.

"Crap. We're cut off."

I also try my wristband just in case, and the same message appears. No dice.

"In that case, let's just keep moving, Chaldea." Olga goes to walk out of the cage.

"Edmond, let me carry her."

"Are you sure, Master?"

"Yes, we need your flames to kill any vampires we come across. In combat, I'm only a support, I can't do much besides that. It'll be safest for her there, and allow you to not be held back."

"I hope you know what you're doing."

"Here, wrap her in this blanket to cover her up.", Alice hands over a thin, black blanket which Dantès wraps her bare body in and secures it so it won't fall off.

Ritsuka turns around and bends down. Seeing what his Master is doing, lifts the unconscious woman and gently places her on his back. Ritsuka stands up slowly, placing his hands on the underside of her thighs to better carry her, giving her a piggyback ride.

"Mmmm…"

The woman stirs a little. Still unconscious, but she wraps her arms around his neck to better support her small body weight. Her breathing can be felt on his neck. Small wheezing noises can be heard faintly each time she inhales.

Everyone exits the room with Ritsuka in the back.

"Senpai, I'll protect your back!"

"Thanks, Mash."

We check all the remaining cells and all that remains are corpses. Not one more person is alive.

"Senpai, now that I looked at her, doesn't she look like the holy maiden we just brought over recently?"

"Hm? What do you mean? They look quite different."

"Picture this, then. Jeanne d'Arc, but she has short white hair and pale skin."

"I'll need to have a look at her again later. But why would there be two of her?"

I turn around. "Maybe she's one of those 'Alters' like Artoria? Not the real one, but one slightly different? That would make sense."

"Maybe you're right. We'll have to question her when she wakes up. IF she does not attack us immediately."

We encounter a dead end and turn back, now going to go down the right hallways from earlier.

"It's strange we haven't seen the vampire yet. Does it even know we're here?", I drag my hand against the wall as I walk.

"The vampire might just be sleeping right now. It is daytime after all.", Avenger grins. "Perfect for us to snoop around and kill him in his sleep!"

"Right…"

"How is the woman, Ritsuka?"

"She seems to be doing fine. She's breathing pretty well now. She's moved a little bit too. Still passed out though."

"Senpai, is she too heavy?"

"No, not at all. She's quite light actually. I'll have no problem continuing to carry her."

"All right, please let me know if you need a break."

"Will do, Mash."

We make it back to the split in the dungeon. We turn into the right hallway and proceed as planned. The same as the left. Dark stone hallway with little noise.

Shambling in front of us comes a Dead Apostle. One no different than the others.

"I'll take care of this one like the others.", Alice begins to sneak up on it like the others so far. She gets within arms range of the thing.

The sound of a pebble being kicked alerts the monster to her presence.

It turns around and looks her dead in the eyes. Alice's once attacking arm goes limp, then her body starts to fall to the stone floor.

My eyes widened. I don't know what happened, but Alice is no longer moving as her body hits the ground.

"ALICE!"

Nick brings out some blood from his coat, floating above him like swords ready to fly to their targets. "Mystic Eyes! It used Mystic Eyes on her! Don't look at it!", launching the blood, he is able to kill it from a distance.

My heart stops. Next thing I know, I run over to Alice who hasn't moved since. I think the rest of the group follows me, but at this moment, I can't be sure. I am only focused on her. Crouching down I put my fingers to her neck, checking for a pulse.

One beat.

Two beats.

Three beats.

Her chest rises up and down.

She's still breathing, but it's like she's asleep.

Edmond crouches down next to me and touches her.

"Strange, it seems she has entered a trance-like state. Those Mystic Eyes put her in a dream."

The Director goes to turn around. "Let's head back. Alice is down, and we have this woman who's unconscious. It's too dangerous to continue."

"Agreed.", Edmond takes a step forward as I pick Alice up and lean her against my shoulder. Director grabs Alice's other arm and slings it around her own. We should be able to carry her like this.

Without realizing it, my body spins around. It seems my eyes activated without me realizing it, meaning death for myself is imminent.

"BEHIND US!"

The sound of a crackling flame fills our ears. And in the next instant, a fire blast heads our way faster than we can react.

Time stops. I do not know why, or how, or even who. But a wall of fire, as big as the corridor itself heads our way. There is no escape, no running away from it, it's too fast for that. We can't dodge it, it fills the entire corridor. Not even a centimeter of a gap is visible. The heat becomes unbearable as it bears closer to us. In less than a second, the blue flames will turn me, Alice, Director, Ritsuka, Mash, the white haired woman, Edmond Dantès, and Nick to ash. Not even a trace left behind for anyone to find.

"MASH!"

The sound of a command spell firing off is heard. In the next instant, Mash seemingly teleports in front of all of us. Her Noble Phantasm is already activating faster than we can process. I'm sure even Mash doesn't process what is going on at the moment. Like pure instinct acting before she can even think for herself.

The blast of blue flames lasts for another few seconds, blocked by Mash's shield. It's like fire being used against an impenetrable wall.

After that, the sound ceases, once again bringing silence to the corridor.

"I hoped that all of you would fall into a trance. But I was mistaken. Only one of you was affected. No matter, I will dispose of you all myself."

In front of us stands a man. Long, gray hair. Black fur cape. A blue royal looking suit underneath. And the most notable feature, his piercing red eyes.

"Did you not think that I would notice my finest prisoner being removed from her cell? A human can only provide so much warmth, but, a Servant, they provide so much more energy and warmth. A Servant consists of one hundred times the amount of mana over a normal human. I will take her back after burning all of you to ash."

"You were using her to feed yourself? You chained her to a wall and tortured her for this!?", Ritsuka is only stopped from running up and punching the vampire thanks to Mash.

"She is food. Nothing more. When she attempted to resist, I simply corrected her with my flames."

"YOU-!"

"Senpai don't! You'll be killed!"

"The girl in the armor is correct. However, you will all die soon enough. I do not wish to kill the Servant though. Hand her over."

"I refuse!"

"Very well then. Hm?"

The knight looks over to us with curiosity. I look to see what he's looking at to see Nick. His expression is like nothing I've ever seen from him before. Normally, he stays calm at all times, rarely letting many emotions get in his way in battle. Outside of battle, he's the sarcastic, unfiltered, reliable man we all know. But right now…

His face only shows pure rage…

"Vlov Arkhangel. How fucking dare you show your face in front of me once again after what you did!?"

"After everything I have done, do you expect me to remember someone like you? Who are you?"

"Of course you would say that. But, I know you, fiend. I killed you myself, yet here you stand once again. This is Altrouge's doing, isn't it?"

"You are correct. I was allowed to do as I please and feed as much as I needed to, as long as I gave a portion of the food to the Princess. I know not of the real me, nor do I care. If Vlov Arkhangel is dead in your time, then perhaps he was too weak to carry my name."

Nick's teeth grit, almost like they will shatter with a little more force. His knuckles turn white, his eyes filled with anger and rage.

"Then, I'll just kill you again here and now!"

Like a rabid animal, Nick rushes toward the man named Vlov, filled with bloodlust.

In response, the knight pulls out a blade. Like an oversized, black machete.

*CLANG*

The two blades clash. Even if this Vlov is a "copy," he is still a formidable opponent.

"OLGA, GET EVERYONE ELSE OUT OF HERE!", Nick screams over the sound of swords clashing.

Olga hesitates.

"But what about you!?"

"DON'T WORRY ABOUT ME, GET OUT OF HERE AND GET THOSE TWO TO SAFETY RIGHT NOW! THIS IS YOUR ONLY CHANCE!"

Olga reaches out, but pulls her hand back, trusting in Nick to live.

"Chaldea, retreat!"

She comes back over to help with Alice and we start moving toward the entrance at a moderate pace thanks to an unconscious Alice and the unknown woman holding us back from running.

Dead Apostles begin to attempt to cut us off from fleeing and Edmond Dantès burns them all away to clear a path for us. Right now, he is the only one able to protect us as we run, leaving Nick behind.

Vlov raises his arm to interrupt us trying to flee.

"You're unfocused!", Nick swings his sword, cutting off Vlov's left arm before any fire can be shot at his companions.

It's not that easy though, his arm simply regenerates in an instant like nothing happened. With that, Vlov focuses solely on the white haired man in front of him. As a knight of the dark ages, it's the least he can do against a strong opponent.

Nick isn't going easy. His Hemomancy flies around, looking for an opening on Vlov to strike. While at the same time, looking for an opening with his blade as the two continue to make contact over and over again.

The space around them is limited. Little room to move around and evade. That is why this battle is so difficult.

*CLANG*

*CLANG*

*CLANG*

Still, neither have done any meaningful damage to the other. Vlov outstretches his hand once again and fire begins to rise to his palm. Sensing that he can't do anything about this, Nick leaps back a few meters and the blaze is shot.

A burst of wind flies out of Nick's hand. It is able to blow away and counter the flames, forming a tornado of fire in between the two opponents. Nick cannot move immediately after unleashing that blast. He is beginning to tire out. This battle has been going on nonstop so far. Swinging around a greatsword like that against such a strong opponent is bound to tire anyone out eventually.

Vlov cuts through the tornado of fire and rushes Nick down without him being able to properly recover. Still. He manages to barely raise his sword in time and block most of the blow. He is brought to his knees, Vlov's machete blade weighing down on his own.

"You defeated the real me, yet you cannot beat an inferior copy? I expected more from you!"

"Or…did you not beat me alone? Perhaps you had help in that battle?"

Memories come to the surface. A man lays on the ground, blood on his face, his life nearly extinguished. "I've done all I can… Please… Live…" with those last words, the man's eyes shut for good, and his body went limp. His killer is now once again in front of Nick.

He's right, I couldn't have beat Vlov without Tomo. He did a lot of the early battle, while I evacuated nearby civilians, and because of that, his life was stolen from him. I only won that fight because Tomo gave it his all.

Nick refocuses on the battle, Vlov has him nearly pinned. A last ditch attack can win this for him. He focuses mana into his sword. A canon of mana…

But, it doesn't work. Before he can fire off the beam. Vlov extends his hand and grabs him by the throat. He slams him against the wall hard enough to shatter the stone and Nick falls unconscious.

"After all that talk, this is how you are subdued. I am disappointed. But, I will not kill you. You will make a great feeding source. I will retrieve the Servant, then come back for you."

Vlov walks off. He knows very well that we haven't gotten too far with the deadweight we are carrying. Soon, it'll all be over for us.

We've covered a good distance so far. We've almost reached the exit.

"Almost there!"

We begin to run for it, as fast as we can. Alice is still unconscious with no signs of waking up soon. She and Nick are our best fighters aside from the Servant, and both are unavailable at the moment to fight with us.

After a few more minutes of running, we made it to the entrance. The Count turns around.

"Now that you are all safely able to make it outside, I will go back for our companion. Once you go outside, I would recommend setting up a campsite in those woods not far from here to the north. Going back to town with an injured woman who's naked may not fly over well there. If she were a normal human yes, but a Servant would be too strange for them once she either vanishes if she dies, or self heals with no medicine. On top of that, we do not know if she is a friend or foe. She might destroy the town and kill everyone once she wakes assuming she is not on our side."

"I will meet up with you all once I retrieve Nick.", he begins to fly back to where we left Nick and Vlov.

"Going back for your friend is brave, but pointless."

Vlov has already caught up to us, ready to finish this. Immediately, Dantès begins to attack, blasting his own attacks at the vampire. "Enfer Château d'If!" The Count of Monte Cristo boosts forward. His body becomes one of many, each using a powerful beam in an attempt to stop Vlov Arkhangel. An explosion rings out.

"Chaldea! Make your run for it, I've got this one."

We begin to run out the door. But surprisingly, the Director doesn't follow. Instead, she runs toward Vlov and Dantès. Vlov appears out of the smoke, already bringing his sword down on the woman. She throws up a few runes of her own and they explode into light, blinding the vampire causing him to miss. The machete burying itself in the ground just behind her. Olga Marie runs back into the dungeon.

There's no time to worry. We run out of the dungeon and into the sunlight outside. We could still hear blasts of fire from both sides right behind us, and we ran to where our Servant told us to go.

Dantès has decided that he must stall the vampire as long as possible so Olga can rescue Nick, then find a way to hide or get out, while also tiring Vlov to the point he can't actively pursue the Director. There is no way Dantès can win this on his own and he knows this. So stalling is the best strategy right now.

He ducks under the sword swung toward his neck, his hand ignites in dark blue flame, smashed into Vlov's legs causing him to fall. Following up, Dantès' other hand ignites, and punches the vampire's chest, smashing him into the ground, breaking the stone beneath his weight. Dantès plants both of his hands on the knight before he can react and fire bursts from underneath, causing a pillar of blue flames to engulf Vlov. His screams ring out and echo in the cave. As a finisher, he flies backwards into the air and blasts the downed Superior Dead Apostle multiple times quickly, finally unleashing one last full powered beam from both his hands combined.

Landing on the ground, Avenger dramatically spins around, his back now facing the vampire. He tilts his hat down. "My flames can burn away anything sinful with ease. And you, you are full of sin! Allow the King of the Cavern to burn you to ash, vampire!"

"Huh?"

Vlov rises up from the ground. Wounded, but not quite dead yet. If he died from this alone, he could not be called a Superior Dead Apostle.

"You're still on your feet even after all that, huh?!"

Two black dogs leap over Vlov's shoulders. Lunging at the Servant, going for the throat.

"Foolish…" Edmond grabs the first dog by the neck and burns it to a crisp. Of course, the dog isn't a real dog, closer to a familiar. This doglike creature's corpse drops to the ground as the second one attempts to do the same as the first.

"BURN!"

Dashing behind the dog, with a swipe of his burning hand, splits the dog in half. But, this means his back is turned against Vlov, and he has not wasted this chance.

Vlov quickly closes the distance and drives his sword through Edmond's chest from behind.

The sword easily pierces his chest…too easily…

Edmond's body turns to pure dark smoke, next thing Vlov knows, Avenger is now facing him.

"KEHAHAHAHA! BURN TO ASH!"

Grabbing Vlov's collar, Edmond summons flame once again, engulfing his body in blue flames. Vlov didn't know about one of Avenger's skills. One which allows him to feel no pain whatsoever being Determination of Steel. And a mere stab wound can't put down the incarnation of vengeance so easily. The wound is healed due to his Self-Replenishment skill, closing his wound not long after it's dealt. This doesn't mean he can't be killed, but it can prove difficult to put down the only man that was able to escape the Château d'If alive.

"Let my flames consume you and die!"

"So cold…"

Avenger gets slightly confused. His flames should be hotter than hell itself, but this vampire is cold? No, it's not just Vlov. The air itself is cold. Instinct takes over and Dantès backs off fast. Ice fills the nearby area around Vlov. If he had still been there, Dantès surely would have been frozen in place and promptly killed.

In such a cramped area, that ice will be hard to evade. I cannot get close to him anymore. Retreat is necessary right now. I cannot die yet. I must live to fight another day.

Dantès backs up and returns to spirit form. Vlov feels him leave the dungeon and puts away his sword and the ice melts.

"These humans fought me to a standstill, that's a first. And my source of blood is now gone. I cannot go outside right now to pursue either. No matter. That man should still be where I left him."

Vlov turns around and heads back to the depths.

Avenger reappears back where we set up camp in the forest nearby. Some tents are already set up and we are now sitting on the ground and eating rations.

"Here Alice, open wide."

Alice opens her mouth and I feed her the protein bar. The best way to describe the now awakened Alice is like she just woke up from a very long slumber. Her mind is still not in a good place, yet she is able to remember some things and her own body's functions. But, she seems down about something.

Ritsuka looks up from his meal. "Avenger, you're back!"

"Indeed, I escaped with my life and I believe I tired him out enough."

"What about the Director and Nick?"

"I did not see them after she ran off. I pray that they return safely. We must wait and hope."

Avenger looks at all of us back and forth with a slightly confused face. "What of that woman? Where is she? Did she wake up?"

Ritsuka points to a nearby tent. "She's asleep in there. She still hasn't woken up."

"I see. Good to know."

Mash holds up one of the protein bars. "Would you like to eat?"

"I am a Servant. Food is not necessary."

Mash's face drops a little.

"Fine, if you have enough to spare, then I shall partake.", Mash's face lights up and Edmond grabs the food and sits down next to the group.

"Alice, how are you feeling? Is the effect wearing off?"

Alice nods in response and says nothing else. She scarfs down the rest of her food and stands up.

"Where are you going? Do you need to go to the bathroom?", I ask the dazed woman.

"I'm going to my tent to lay down."

"Okay then…"

Something about that response seemed sad to me. Like she's in pain and wants to be alone. Not physical pain, but psychological pain. Perhaps those Mystic Eyes brought up a bad memory for her?

"Master, would you mind if I went into my spirit form to recover? I may not look it, but I used a lot more than I had hoped in that fight and feel drained now that the adrenaline wore off."

"Of course, go ahead."

"Thank you. I will still keep watch."

With those words, Edmond vanishes into blue dust.

"I wouldn't mind getting some rest too.", Ritsuka says while stretching and yawning. "Since Dantès used so much of his power, it sorta drained me too."

"Go ahead, Senpai. I'll stay out here. Oh wait, I completely forgot! Let's contact Chaldea if we can. We are out in the open, so I'm sure we will have a connection."

"Oh sure."

Mash taps her wristband and fiddles around with it, and finally, contacts Chaldea.

"We finally have a connection! Are you guys alright!?"

"Doctor! It's you!"

"Yeah, tell us everything that happened down there."

We tell them every little detail that we can.

"I see. The Director…I can tell she's still alive, but I can't get in touch with her. Same with Nick."

Da Vinci rolls into view of the hologram. "I'm sure they'll be fine. He's pretty resilient, you know. And the Director is too stubborn to die."

"I hope you're right about that."

"Well, be sure to tell us when they return, we will keep an eye out too. Including if any enemies are nearby. You all rest up please. Doctor's orders!"

"Understood!"

Mash taps the wristband once more and the hologram cuts out.

Ritsuka and Mash return to their separate tents. However, I can't even think about sleeping right now. I'm too worried about Alice. She seemed way too sad, like her mind was fixated on something bad. I could at least try and get her to open up her mind to me.

I walk over to her tent.

"Alice, can I come in?"

"Yeah, sure."

I walk into her tent and see her only in her bra and underwear, sitting on her sleeping bag holding a handheld mirror to herself. Seeing it like this, I can tell her body is toned. Must have been from all the exercise she's done all these years. She then throws the mirror down to the ground and covers her face with her hands.

"Hey Alice! What's wrong!?", I run over and crouch down. Putting my hand on her shoulder.

"Sorry, sorry. It's just…Everytime I look at my body, I'm reminded of that day, that man… I guess since I just relieved it, it's hitting extra hard right now."

"What are you talking about?"

"Oh right, you've never seen my stomach scar fully, have you?"

She's right, I've only seen a glimpse of it under her tank top she normally wore which slightly exposed her stomach.

I look down and see a massive scar right over her stomach area. To my shock, it's slightly bigger than her hand. "Where- how did this happen?" I cover my mouth in regret.

"Sorry, forget it. I'm sure it was traumatic."

"No, it's fine. If you really want to know, I'll tell you."

Three years ago, just like any other mission, Alice took out her target. He was no one too special, just a guy trying to practice forbidden magecraft. The Clock Tower sent her to deal with him and she did.

Easiest way to deal with a mage is a gun, so that's what she used. Specifically, she sniped him from the London rooftops. Alice stands up and takes off her hood, letting her long hair fly free in the night breeze. She closes her eyes and clears her mind.

Oh right, I should call Sensei.

Taking her phone out of her pocket she finds Bazett's contact and calls her. She puts her phone to her ear and waits.

"Hello? Bazett speaking."

"Hello Sensei. It's me."

"Oh, Alice. How are things going with the job?"

Alice plays with her hair with her right hand. "It went fine. No issues at all. I'm going to need a clean up crew though. I've made it so nobody will notice his body with a spell."

"Very good. Hey, where are you anyway? I can barely hear you."

"On a rooftop. It's windy up here."

"I see, well, I will send some people to get his body. You are free to return to the Clock Tower."

Alice smiles at that. "Thank you, I—"

Something catches Alice's eye down below on the streets. Not a thing, a person. He's not doing much besides walking down the street. A man with slick black-hair, wearing a pair of glasses on a sharp face. From what Alice can tell, he's wearing black and red. For most, these details would mean nothing. But…

"Alice? What's wrong? Why did you pause?"

"It's…him…"

"Who?"

Alice's heart stops. Are her eyes tricking her? No, Alice's eyesight is good enough to tell exactly who the man is.

"Wait, Alice. Do you mean him?"

No response.

"Alice, do NOT engage. There's a reason he hasn't been stopped yet. You can't take him alone, even your parents couldn't—"

"AND YOU EXPECT ME TO SIT AROUND WHILE MY PARENTS' MURDERER IS RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME!?"

"Alice, please understand! You cannot kill Beryl Gut yourself! Listen, keep your eyes on him, I, along with some of the top Enforcers here will be over there shortly. We can deal with him together!"

"I'm sorry, Sensei, but I cannot stay still right now. I'm going to kill him with my own hands. I will avenge my parents."

"Hey wai—"

"CLICK."

Alice hangs up her phone and stuffs it in her pocket. Bazett can track her position. But for now, Alice only has one thing on her mind…

Alice quickly descends the building, she wants to get close and personal. Killing him with a simple gun from long range wouldn't leave her satisfied.

She pulls out a hunting knife as she nears her target.

Lunging like an animal, she goes for his throat.

"Hm?"

The man looks over at the approaching girl and notices the knife nearing his neck.

"Oh, another person out for my head?", he backs away and dodges the knife. Alice repositions herself and now faces Beryl Gut.

"You look like hell, cutie. I'd recognize those eyes anywhere. The bloodlust you are feeling."

"You fucker! You murdered my parents!"

"Hm? Oh? Oh! You resemble those two Enforcers who were sent after me a few years ago! They almost had me too. It's a good thing those losers just didn't have the skill to put me down. I thought the Clock Tower would've taught you better than hunting alone."

Alice pulls out a pistol and fires immediately, enraged at his mockery of her parents.

Beryl reinforces his legs and dodges every bullet. Then, dashes at Alice the moment she runs out of bullets and swipes at her face, deeply scratching her right cheek.

"You're not thinking straight, are you girl? You could've just sniped me from the roof you were on, and your gun play is sloppy. When going for the kill, you have to keep calm. I'd expect an Enforcer to know that."

"SHUT UP!"

Alice continues to fire all she has to no effect. She can't focus, and Beryl is just too quick.

"Don't you ever think about what you do!? To these people's families!? Friends!? I have nothing because of you! Because of all the murders you've done!"

"Nope. I kill because I feel like it, that's all.", Beryl smirks. "Don't you kill for a living too? The two of us aren't that different don't ya think?"

"We are nothing alike. I kill to protect others. You kill just because you're a monster!"

"But in the end, we're both murderers, aren't we?"

"I…"

In Alice's moment of hesitation, Beryl closes the distance and guts Alice before she can react with a beast-like hand.

Alice looks down at her stomach.

Red.

"Ah."

Some other things lay on the ground in front of her. Are they her guts? Who cares, all Alice knows is that she's blacking out and has lost the strength needed to keep her on her feet, she falls to the ground, bleeding out.

"And that's the end of this bloodline.", Beryl licks his bloodstained hand. "I'll finish you off now. By removing the remainder of your organs."

Beryl steps forward and prepares to do just as he said, but right before, spells shoot toward him and a woman runs straight at him, her fists glowing from runes. Throwing out a boxing technique, Bazett attempts to take out Beryl Gut to no avail, who quickly realizes he's outnumbered and slinks into the shadows, vanishing from the area.

Not bothering to follow, Bazett, along with some others run over to Alice now barely awake.

"ALICE! ALICE STAY WITH US!", the last thing Alice sees before blacking out is Bazett's worried face…

"And after that, I woke up months later after being in a medically induced coma. Luckily, his hand didn't damage my spine, but I still lost a bit of internal organs, but they were able to be replaced by artificial stuff. I got really lucky that day. I should be dead, but I'm not."

Alice looks down in sadness. "I just, I had my chance to kill him there, if only I kept my cool."

Alice looks at me now.

"Back then, when we were eating together in the cafeteria, I said I had come to terms with it. But, I haven't. I want him dead. I want it more than anything. I tried convincing myself that I had gotten over it, but who am I kidding? I want to kill him with my bare hands for what he did to my parents and me. Beryl Gut will pay!"

I don't know what to say. She went through all that? I knew it was bad, but not that bad. Alice is in pain right now and I don't know what to do. Maybe?

I gently wrap my arms around Alice's body, embracing her in a hug. She did this for me and it helped, maybe it'll help her too.

"Serena!?" Alice initially tries to resist, but in a few seconds she gives in. She seems to melt in my arms. I hold her tighter, I want her to know that I'm here for her no matter what.

Alice pulls her body back. "Thank you for that…", she meekly says.

"It's no problem at all! Happy to help my best friend."

"Heh. I'm supposed to be the one to protect you. I hate being this weak…"

"Not at all! Even the strongest are allowed to feel sadness!"

"I suppose so."

Alice gives a small smile. "Well, I'm going to rest for a while. What are you going to do?"

"I'm gonna do the same I think. I don't know if I'll be able to sleep though. I'm worried about the Director and Nick."

"Yeah, me too."

There is one more thing I'm able to do to calm Alice down, and she needs it. Before I take my leave, I lift some of the hair covering her forehead and plant a kiss on it. It doesn't seem to surprise her very much, but this should calm her heightened emotions. Alice's smile is so beautiful.

"Well, have a good nap! I'll be nearby whenever you need me!~"

"Thanks." A small blush forms on her face, nearly unnoticeable in the darkness.

I leave her tent and return back to mine. This day has been heavier than I had predicted, but we must keep moving forward no matter what.

"Nick! Come on Nick, wake up!"

Nick's eyes open to the view of Olga's worried face.

"Huh? What's— What are you doing here, Olga!? You were supposed to escape!"

"Everyone else did, but I couldn't just leave you here to die. The Count was still doing battle with Vlov last I checked. Maybe he can tire Vlov out enough where he won't notice us leaving. For now, we must remain hidden."

Olga puts Nick's arm around her shoulder and tries to help him up. Nick stands on his own but clearly struggles.

"I'll help you walk."

"Thanks. But I failed in killing him..."

"Nick, you're still alive. That's what matters to me."

"Olga…"

The two continue to walk down the hallway, trying to find a place to lay low for a bit and recover.

"How badly did you lose?"

"I feel like a train hit me. I couldn't fight even if I needed to right now."

Nick sighs. "I cut his arm off, but he regenerated it right away. My mind was too clouded by anger to properly fight. Not that I could've won when he is at full power. I could've done better, at least."

"Don't you heal quickly with your Hemomancy? Where's that?"

"I don't have the mana to use it right now. I used most of it on an attempted final blow, but it failed. And most of my vials of blood are broken now. I need them to fight later, I can't drink them now for extra mana."

"You really got your ass kicked hard!"

"You don't have to repeat what I said."

"Oh, this place should work out."

Next to them seems to be a hidden room. A door in the wall which leads to a storage room.

The two walk in and close the door behind them.

"Hand me some rocks so I can make runes."

Nick does as he's told. Olga carves some symbols and places them all over the edges of the room.

"There. With these, Vlov can't sense us. And he should ignore us because of the spell in some of these runes too. We should be safe for the time being."

Olga turns around to discuss what to do next with Nick.

"WHY ARE YOU TAKING YOUR SHIRT OFF!?"

"Tch, keep it down. I need to address these injuries. I have some gauze and medicine and bandages in my coat."

His body is quite muscular under that coat he wears. But right now, it's also very bruised and bloodied.

"Hey! Are you really okay!?"

"Like I said, not really. I just need to patch these up and take a nap to recover."

The Moon's light would really help me right now, I'd be able to heal faster. And I'm not so cold as to just drink Olga's blood. I just have to bear through it.

"Then at least let me patch you up. Give me that!"

Nick hands over the medicine.

"Just relax your body."

"Alright."

Olga begins to rub the medicine on his body.

"This stuff should at least ease the pain a bit and clean out any bacteria from the wounds. I assume you can take the sting?"

"Yeah, I should be fine."

"Hey…why do you care about me so much?"

"Hm? What do you mean, Olga?"

"I get that you like to tease me, but why do everything else, like back in Trifas against that Greek hero? You encouraged me to do my best. Why, Nick?"

"I don't really like all the self doubt you have. You're much stronger than you have yourself credit for. And I don't just mean in magecraft."

"Huh?"

"Your magecraft is really cool though, a meteor shower like that looked awesome and looked really strong."

"Even after Lev Lainur screwed you up, you still got back up and directed us as best as you could. Sure, you sorta fumbled it a bit at the start but you've improved since."

"And you've certainly got the bravery needed to be a leader like this. You ran all the way back here just for me. No one would have blamed you if you left without me."

"What I'm trying to say is that you're way better than you think you are. So what if your father gave the family's crest to Wodime and not you? You made due without it! Chaldea is yours to direct and you are doing just a fine job with that. You can always lean on the Doctor or Da Vinci to help too. You're doing perfect!"

Olga's face flushes in red.

"Y-You're really pushing your luck when you say these things to me…"

"A few years ago, I also went through a ton of self doubt. My parents treated me badly and I guess I started to see myself as worse than I was because of that and in turn, That made me worse than before and the cycle continued. I always thought I was weak, but now I realize they only held me back. I just…don't enjoy seeing other people go through the same thing, that's all."

The two go quiet as Olga continues to now wrap Nick's torso in white gauze.

"Is it too tight?"

"Nope, just right."

"That's good."

"…"

Olga stands up and looks around the room.

"I'll find something comfortable for you to lay on."

Searching around the room, she digs through many items such as weaponry and valuables. "Here we go, this should work!" She digs up a sleeping bag. I wonder how he even got this? Maybe from a previous victim who was camping? Olga thinks before discarding the thought. Vampires are so complicated.

She lays it down on the ground and places a rune on it which emits wind. "There, that should get the dust off of it."

"I guess no pillow, but that's fine with me.", Nick says while moving toward the bag.

Nick places his coat on the ground and folds it. It didn't look comfortable, but it should do the trick.

"Oh, right. I can't have you sleep with your head on this stone ground. That coat won't do much. H-here."

Olga begins to strip.

"D-don't look so intently!"

"Sorry, I can't help it. Of course I'm gonna stare when a beautiful woman is stripping right in front of me.", Nick says with a sarcastic looking smirk on his face, as if intentionally trying to tease her.

"I'll blow your head off with a magic bullet. Besides, I'm only taking my outer uniform off, that's all. I'm not getting completely naked in a place like this with you around."

"Great, thanks for shooting me down, Director."

"Grrr…!", Olga undoes her collar, folds her outer layer and places her uniform on top of Nick's coat to form a better pillow for him.

"Make sure to get some rest. I'll sleep over here."

"Against the wall? I don't expect you will be able to sleep well like that."

"I'll sleep on the ground."

"Are you sure you don't just want to join me in the sleeping bag? We can even go back to back."

"I'm the director. I can't just do these things to my own employee, we've only met not long ago!"

"Let's just keep this to ourselves, if you want. And you're really making this sound a lot worse than it is!"

"Listen! I'm fine here on the ground! You just need to get rest. I'll wake you up in a few hours! Got it!?"

"Whatever you say, you hardass."

"Hey, why is your finger glowing, and why is it aimed at me!?"

"Olga?"

"Hey- wait! You wouldn't hurt an injured person!"

"This'll put you right to sleep.", Olga says with a crazed look in her eyes.

"Fine, fine! I'll get some rest and leave you alone!"

Nick quickly lays down facing away from the dangerous woman. "See? I'm sleeping. You get some shut eye."

"Ugh, fine. I was really looking forward to blasting you. But this works. Putting you in your place feels nice for some reason."

"Sadist."

Olga charges up another blast.

"Okay okay, I'm sorry. Don't hurt the injured man any more."

"Fine, this is lights out, for both of us."

"Sure."

Both settle in and drift off to sleep. Both uncertain if they will live another day. Meanwhile, on our side, our new companion begins to wake…