[THE NEXT DAY - IMP CITY]

Liana is sleeping peacefully on her bed, while Lex is sitting next to her, looking at the ceiling thoughtfully while caressing her hair.

The soft hum of distant traffic echoed through the streets of Imp City as the first hints of morning light crept through the half-closed blinds. The cluttered apartment was quiet, save for the occasional creak of old wooden floors settling.

Liana lay curled beneath a thin blanket, her breathing slow and steady, lost in the depths of sleep. Stray strands of her hair rested against the pillow, rising and falling with each breath. Next to her, Lex sat on the edge of the bed, elbows on his knees, staring at the cracked ceiling above. His expression was unreadable, locked in deep thought as his fingers absently traced through Liana's hair in a slow, absent-minded rhythm

Minutes passed in silence, the stillness of the room broken only by the occasional sigh from Lex. His eyes, distant and contemplative, flicked towards the soft light filtering in. Whatever thoughts were circling in his mind remained unspoken.

Eventually, Liana stirred slightly, shifting under the blanket. A quiet hum escaped her lips as she blinked sleepily, her eyes adjusting to the dim light. She turned her head slightly, noticing Lex's presence beside her.

"Morning..." She murmured, her voice rough with sleep. She lazily stretched, one arm reaching out before dropping back onto the mattress.

Lex glanced down at her, a small, fleeting smirk pulling at the corner of his mouth. "Morning."

She blinked slowly, registering his thoughtful demeanor. "You're up early. Or did you not sleep at all?"

Lex's smirk faded, replaced by a subtle shrug. "Couldn't sleep. Too much on my mind."

Liana let out a soft hum of understanding, her eyelids still heavy. "Let me guess. The kid from yesterday?"

Lex leaned back slightly, hands clasped together. "Leonidas. Yeah. Something about him doesn't sit right with me."

Liana shifted onto her side, propping herself up on one elbow. "He's just a kid, Lex. A reckless one, sure, but... still a kid."

"... Maybe." He takes his pants from the ground and dress them up. "But he got his hands on an angelic gun. So either someone gave it to him, or he managed to get it himself." He takes some of her clothes from the ground and hands them to her.

Liana sat up fully now, taking the clothes Lex handed her. She began to dress, the grogginess in her eyes slowly giving way to concern. "You're thinking someone's pulling the strings." She said, pulling her shirt over her head.

He shrugs. "Maybe, although that boy seems to have some hatred towards the higher classes."

Liana smiles and assumes a mocking tone. "What? You're saying the boy who swore death to royals hate higher classes?"

Lex smirked, his eyes glinting with a hint of amusement despite the seriousness of the conversation. "I know, it's a bit of a stretch, right? But the fact that he came in so hellbent on causing chaos... it's not typical for someone that young. And then there's the weapon, the angelic shotgun. That's not something you can just pick up off the street. Either he's resourceful, or someone gave him a damn good reason to hate the royals."

Liana finished dressing and stood up, running a hand through her hair. "So, what do we do about it? You're not going to go after him, are you?"

Lex's gaze flickered to the window, the early light casting long shadows across the room. "Not yet. I don't like rushing into things without knowing the full picture. But I'll keep an eye on him. If there's anyone behind this, I'll find out." He glanced over at Liana, his expression softening. "I'll handle it, Lia. I always do."

She sighed, clearly still not convinced. "I know you can handle yourself, Lex. But sometimes... you don't need to handle everything alone."

Lex raised an eyebrow, the corners of his mouth lifting slightly. "Since when did you start giving me advice?"

"Since always." Liana replied, her voice steady but with a touch of playfulness. "You're just too damn stubborn to listen most of the time."

Lex chuckled, his smirk returning. "And you're just too damn worried about me."

Liana rolled her eyes, smirking. "Someone has to be. God knows you don't think twice before diving headfirst into danger."

Lex chuckled under his breath. "Fair point." He moved toward the door, grabbing his hoodie off the back of a chair. "Come on, let's get moving. I wanna check in with Carmilla. I need to know if it was her to sell the shotgun to the kid."

Liana gets up from the bed. "Alright… but why? Why do you care?"

The crow shrugs. "I got nothing better to do. Finished Asmodeus' mods and the other clients are getting their stuff, so I'm basically free for now. So the reason I want to find that pup…" He looks at her calmly. "For fun."

Liana blinks and shakes her head, muttering to herself. "I should've expected that…"

[LATER - INDUSTRIAL CIRCLE, PRIDE RING]

The Pride Ring bustled with its usual air of opulence and underlying menace. Neon signs flickered against polished stone buildings, casting eerie glows onto the streets.

From above, lands Lex holding Liana in his arms. Two turbine wings on his back that morph back into his body.

Lex's turbine wings folded seamlessly into his back with a mechanical hiss, disappearing as if they had never been there. He set Liana down gently, and she adjusted her clothes, brushing off the windblown strands of hair from her face.

"Couldn't we have just driven here like normal people?" Liana muttered, still catching her breath.

Lex shrugged. "It's faster and cooler my way."

Liana rolled her eyes but couldn't help a faint smile. "Sure, if you say so."

They walk up to a building with a neon sign, CARMINE'S INDUSTRIES, and stand in front of it.

Lex stretches calmly. "Don't even worry, Lia, Carmilla's not as bad as the other overlords, even though she still makes soul contracts."

Lex approaches the door of the building and stands in front of the camera. "Carmilla, we gotta talk about something, you better open that door, or I'll open it myself."

The door to Carmine's Industries creaked open almost immediately after Lex's words. The crow and the imp pass through the door and go into the building. They keep walking until Lex stops. He looks at Liana calmly. "Lia, mind to give five steps back?"

Liana furrows her brow, but steps back, crossing her arms as she watches Lex. She's seen him take control of situations many times before, but there's something different about the way he's acting now, focused, alert, almost like he's preparing for something.

He walks a bit more and stops. Suddenly, his arm morphs into a blade, and he turns around, parrying a sudden attack from Carmilla.

She leaps back and stands in front of him, her fight-ballet posture, tall stance and tied-white hair making her look threatening. She looks at Lex, unimpressed. "Not bad. You're getting better, Mod Demon."

Lex rolls his eyes and his hands morph into two metallic claws. "I need information. We're going to fight first, or we can skip to the interesting part?"

Carmilla's gaze hardened, the slightest flicker of amusement crossing her face. "Oh, we're skipping the pleasantries, are we?" She raised one hand, her fingers curling into a fist. The surrounding air thickened as the space seemed to darken, shadows stretching unnaturally toward her. "Very well. Let's see if you've actually improved."

Without warning, she charged, her movements fluid and fast. Lex reacted in a flash, his claws swiping through the air with precision as he dodged her initial strike. The metallic screech of her weapon slicing through the air was barely audible over the sound of his quick footfalls.

Carmilla's movements were graceful yet lethal, each strike a perfect blend of deadly intent and balletic precision. She moved in a blur, her body twisting and turning with supernatural agility as Lex blocked and parried with his claws. Their clash sent echoes through the darkened room, the force of their attacks sending reverberations that rattled the walls.

Lex's eyes narrowed, every muscle in his body taut with concentration. He could feel Carmilla testing his limits, pushing him to his edge, but he wasn't about to give her the satisfaction of seeing him falter. He snapped his claws forward with a burst of speed, aiming for her side. But Carmilla was already gone, slipping behind him in a fluid, predatory motion. She struck his back with a sharp, precise strike, and he staggered, gritting his teeth in response.

"Impressive," She said with a smirk, her voice laced with amusement. "But you're still too predictable."

Lex growled, spinning on his heel to face her. "Then maybe I need to get less predictable." His arm morphs into a chained blade, and he strikes it at her, swinging at a certain distance from her.

Carmilla's eyes gleamed with challenge as she effortlessly dodged Lex's chained blade, her movements a blur of fluid grace.

"Predictable?" she taunted, her voice a low, melodic lilt as she shifted to her next position. Her eyes locked on Lex, assessing. "You're getting desperate, Mod Demon. You need to learn to trust your instincts, not your toys."

Lex smirks and with a quick move, the chains of his blade wrap around Carmilla's arm. He tugs it strongly, slamming her to the ground.

Carmilla's eyes widened for a brief moment as she was pulled off her feet by the chain, crashing to the floor with a sharp thud. For a heartbeat, the room fell silent, the tension thick in the air.

Lex loses no time. His legs quickly morphs into a bigger metallic one, and he jumps high, stomping Carmilla's body mercilessly and finishing the fight.

The crow breathes deeply and steps back, his limps morphing back to normal.

Liana looks shocked at Carmilla's body. "Uhm… Lex… weren't we supposed to question her? We can't have answers if she's dead."

Lex shrugs. "Don't worry. She's an overlord."

He takes a seat on a nearby chair and start smoking. Quickly, Carmilla's body regenerates completely.

Carmilla's form stirred, her body reforming with an unsettling, almost mechanical precision. The bones beneath her skin twisted and reshaped as if her body had never truly been broken in the first place. A faint hiss filled the air as her eyes flickered open, glowing with a cold, unblinking intensity.

Liana, who had been watching the scene with an expression caught between disbelief and curiosity, took a cautious step back. "Is this what I'm supposed to expect from an overlord's healing factor?" She muttered under her breath, still processing the brutal efficiency of Lex's fight.

Carmilla sat up, her movements slow and deliberate, as if she were unfazed by the near-death experience. She glared at Lex, her expression a mix of annoyance and respect. "Well played, Mod Demon. You've certainly gotten better. Your body mods are getting more and more impressive." Her voice was tinged with an edge of amusement, even as she dusted herself off, clearly unperturbed by her recent defeat.

Lex exhaled a plume of smoke from his cigarette, his eyes never leaving her. "I'm not here for the small talk, Carmilla. I need answers, and you're going to give them to me." He shows a picture of Leonidas. "This pup had an Angelic Franchi SPAS-12. Did you sell anything like that to a 'Leonidas'?"

Carmilla's eyes narrowed as she leaned forward, examining the photo Lex held up. Her expression remained unreadable, though a flicker of recognition passed through her cold gaze.

"Leonidas, huh?" She murmured, brushing a strand of white hair behind her ear. "I don't sell weapons to brats. Even I have my own rules."

Lex leans back and shrugs. "Fair. But tell me, did you sell any shotgun like that to someone who seemed to be an easy target? There are two ways Leonidas got this gun, he either stole it or bought it, if he didn't buy, he stole it and if he did, I need to know from whom so I can find him."

Carmilla sighed, leaning back against the wall, her arms crossed. The tension in the air had cooled, but the sharp edge in her voice remained. "I don't deal in Angelic weapons lightly, Lex. You know that. Too risky, even for me. But…" Her gaze sharpened, calculating. "There was a recent transaction involving a weapon like that. Not directly through me, but through one of my associates. Let's just say, it's possible it ended up in the hands of someone reckless enough to lose it."

Lex raised an eyebrow, the cigarette dangling between his fingers as he tapped the ash into a nearby tray. "Names. Who's the associate?"

She leaned in slightly, her eyes locked on Lex's. "The associate's name is Vasko. Low-tier arms dealer, more bark than bite, but he's been dabbling in higher-grade inventory lately. If anyone was careless enough to let an angelic shotgun slip through their fingers, it'd be him."

Lex's expression darkened. He flicked the cigarette into the ashtray and stood up, rolling his shoulders. "Vasko, huh? Where can I find this soccer team?"

She raised an eyebrow in confusion.

Lex chuckles. "Sorry, Brazilian joke. Where can I find Vasko?"

She sighs, rolling her eyes realizing it was a joke. "East of the Pentagram City. Search in the alleys."

Lex gave a slow, satisfied nod. "East of Pentagram City. Got it." His tone carried a sharp edge of finality as he turned toward the door.

Liana crossed her arms, her brow furrowed. "So now we're hunting down shady arms dealers?"

Lex smirked. "We're not hunting. We're just asking questions."

Liana gave him a flat look. "Uh-huh. Like you 'asked' Carmilla?"

Carmilla chuckled darkly from behind them, brushing dust from her shoulder. "Be careful with Vasko. He's paranoid. Won't go down as easily as I did."

Lex shot her a glance, the corner of his mouth lifting in a half-smile. "No one goes down as easily as you, Carmilla."

Carmilla's eyes narrowed, but a sly grin tugged at her lips. "Get out before I change my mind, crow."

Without another word, Lex and Liana stepped out of the dark, industrial building, the heavy doors groaning shut behind them.

[TO BE CONTINUED]