You know when the author casually digs a plot hole, completely forgets about it, and finally remembers to cover it up later into the plot? Well, that is exactly what she did. Again. Like a true Mashima fan.

— Angelic


Chapter 21: Leafpool Martini

07 October X820

... I suggest you take a seat for this one.

Miratona hurried to the town hall building not long after notifying the chief of her oncoming arrival. She soon entered his office through the main door with its many smaller and larger doors, shutting it behind her. She ascended the stairs to the chief's office on the second floor.

Pruzo Midnight sat in his usual green armchair across from an empty maroon armchair decorated with black flower designs. He wore monkey-banana pajamas under his silk robe. His hair was tucked into a silk bonnet. In one hand was a full glass of dark red wine that easily passed as black wine under the dim lights.

"I'm sitting, Mira. What have you found?" the chief asked. The mission secretary bowed for a moment, then took a seat in the maroon armchair. The Satan Soul demon folded her hands in her lap with a straight posture.

"Reiji figured out the location of the bodies at last," she replied. Chief Pruzo pursed his lips as he nodded slowly.

"I see... well, that was a slow few months," he muttered with a wide shrug. "Is that what I needed to sit for?"

"Michele has entered the scene. I understood that she used a spatial magic spell to interact with Reiji telepathically. I saw Ryouichi carry her unconscious body away from the scene."

The chief looked at Miratona. He smiled widely, indicating his peaked interest.

"Don't you think it's sweet of Michele to help a fellow curse demon user accomplish what she could not? Personally, I think it is absolutely wonderful!" he sang, waving his wine glass around and nearly dripping some onto the floor. He took a long sip until it was empty, exhaling sharply. Miratona averted her gaze. For a moment, she wondered if he and Cani would have been drinking buddies if it weren't for the Nightmare Curse.

"Reiji discovered the grave, as expected. And then the only other person most similar to her has come to her aid. I knew you could make it happen, Mira," he praised the female demon as he raised his now-empty wine glass to her.

"I was just doing my job, sir. As you already know, it would have been troublesome if the murders were exposed to the public."

"Oh, trust me, I know. If you hadn't interfered that night, we'd have a shit show on our hands! I remember your report like it was yesterday."

"Honestly, I wish it did not happen at all," Miratona shuddered.


Hold on, pause.

Previously, Michele had already confessed to Reiji that she nurtured the cursed rosary with dark energy. She played recorded confessions from three demons the blacksmith viewed as Reiji's worst enemies. Riki slowly grounded itself in Reiji's body by killing off those enemies. It wasn't until just before Otto's demise in September that this feral entity began to reveal itself to the host.

But what actually happened to the bodies? How come not a single villager suspected anything strange about the disappearance of three folks in a short timespan?

Find out next time on—

Oops. Wrong chapter.

Let's rewind back to 13 July X820.


Somewhere on Sunset Avenue

It was a cool, peaceful night just like any other. Miratona sat in a secluded spot by a certain river that divided Sunset Avenue. She liked to go to this spot at night to watch the water and think about anything, everything, or nothing at all. Occasionally, a helmsman or a water creature might pass. Otherwise, nothing in particular happened most nights.

She looked up at the sky just as a dark figure flew away from an apartment building located over a mile up the river. The Satan Soul female knew it was an apartment she recognized the flying creature, mostly thanks to her one spectacle.

The only mage capable of using her hair as wings was Reiji Sagara.

In a cocoon of dark hair, Reiji appeared to be carrying something towards the forest. It was nearly two in the morning. What was she in such a hurry for?

Mira decided to follow the path of the flying female, which led her to the Walkers Pass Forest, a strip of woods usually frequented by folks departing for missions and other responsibilities outside the barrier.

As Reiji disappeared through those trees, Miratona hid behind the nearest large tree, waiting for her target to also come into view. Through the night vision eyes of Algalenah, she peeked around the tree. The sight awaiting her made her blood run cold.

Something or someone, in the shape of Reiji Sagara, hovered over a body on the ground. This creature effortlessly wore the flesh of that polite, timid, and modest female demon. She, or it, was completely naked, darker-skinned, and covered in foreign stripes, possibly tattoos. Its hair, normally dark green, was completely black. Reiji's stolen body was also splattered with the blood of the corpse that still bled from their head, bludgeoned and crushed beyond recognition.

Reiji, or whoever it was, picked up pieces of its prey's head, slowly consuming a mixture of skull pieces, skin, brain, eyes, ears, and other indescribable chunks. Its bright red eyes never left its prey as it gorged on the warm, blood-spurting remains. The crunching of bones was especially sickening.

The corpse was female based on its build, pale as a ghost with freckles all over her exposed skin. Speaking of exposed skin, the victim bore many signs of an aggravated assault (bruises in many stages, torn clothing, gashes, scrapes, and cuts of many sizes, and damaged bones as well).

Miratona had no idea how much time passed while she stood there, frozen and taking in every little detail despite the shock. All of a sudden, those eyes darted toward her. Miratona inhaled an alarmed gasp, mentally jumping out of her shocked state. Instincts told her to transform, and so she did.

Those dark blue, light blue, and black armored scales covered her entire body, taking over her clothing as always. Her hair was a wild mess, probably a white mass from the feral's point of view.

Reiji stared at the Satan Soul demon through wide, lifeless orbs. Miratona approached carefully. She did not want to make herself a target for a potential attack. And to her surprise, the creature did not move. It swallowed whatever flesh it had just chewed on, then slowly started crawling on its hands and feet. Miratona backed away the closer Reiji got. The Satan Soul nearly jumped out of her skin when the creature flew past her in a rapid dash, disappearing through the trees.

Miratona dropped her hands to her sides, dumbfounded. Did Reiji just... go feral, eat someone, then go home?

Miratona walked up to the body, looking back every few seconds. She thought of Reiji's physical traits again. She swore that creature looked familiar. The Satan Soul demon changed back to her humanoid form, opting to conceal her tail, claws, and triangular scales as well.

Dark skin covered in stripes. Red eyes with a strange pattern of marks. Possession or takeover. Black hair.

Her eyes widened when it finally hit her. There was only one other creature in the village that matched that description when transformed. Her expression dropped into an exasperated sigh.

"Great. Another one."


"I didn't even care about the body once the realization hit me. But thank the gods I caught it first," she sighed, rubbing her temple.

Pruzo burst with giggles as Miratona briefly recalled her accidental encounter with Reiji's entity. In the moment, she was a bit petrified. But now, Midnight absolutely hollered with laughter every time she remarked, 'Great! Another mess like Michele's to clean up before the village faces yet another legal battle!'

"When you assured me the area was spotless from that day forward, relief did not begin to describe how I felt. If the public found out about this, Reiji would be imprisoned for a crime that wasn't her fault," Midnight snickered.

"If the public found out—hell, if they found out—there would be no future for us as a guild town. We would also be imprisoned, and they would dismantle Loner Village without a second thought," the mission secretary added. Midnight perked up with a light gasp.

"Yes. Them. And because of them, it is absolutely vital that Miss Sagara gets into a guild."

"We already know which guild they really want her in. And it is all for the sake of Phase Three," Miratona said, furrowing her brows. "They redacted everything about this "Phase Three" project they want her in. I cannot fathom why they would reward us such a significant amount for a task as simple as entering a level two dark guild."

"That is a project we're not involved in, Mira," Midnight said. He got up from his seat and opened a drawer in his desk. He removed a bottle of the same dark wine to refill his glass. "You have to remember that if we are given a specific assignment by this group, we have no place questioning them. We just do our part until their goal is accomplished, then we accept the reward and move on."

"Do you not think we are essentially selling off a civilian to a secret society?" Miratona questioned with a worried glance.

"Not at all," the chief answered without hesitation. "They see a potential in Reiji—the same potential they sought from Michele—that simply will not be fully realized in a simple guild town. They want to involve her unique abilities in their line of study and work. Besides, she willingly accepted the invitation letter and is now willingly preparing for the assessments. She has every opportunity to drop out if she wishes to. Therefore, I do not believe we are pawning anyone," he concluded.

She accepted the invitation without knowledge of the actual conditions, Miratona thought, still frowning.

He offered Miratona a drink by presenting the clean wine glass. She shook her head to decline. He shrugged, leaving the glass on his desk.

Pruzo sat back in the armchair across from the Mission Secretary. She tapped her nails rhythmically on the left arm of the chair.

"What else shall we look for, now that she is uncovering some of her suppressed memories?" she asked.

"That's easy. We make sure that Miss Sagara makes it to the finish line. Even if the murders remain hidden, it would be a great shame if we failed Phase Three twice."

"Cheers, I'll drink to that!"

Miratona stiffened when Mystique Ryder was suddenly teleported by her chair. The male demon kept his hair in a high wolf's tail style. His choice of clothing was similar to Miratona's: simple dress shirt, blazer, and slacks, but minus the shawl. His job on paper was Guild Messenger, he who managed communications, prepared announcements, drafted invitation letters, and anything else a Mission Secretary didn't and might do.

In other words, the duo was a team.

"Ah, my cleanup has arrived!" Midnight leapt from his seat and went back to his desk for the spare wine glass. No matter the occasion, Mistyque always shared a drink with the chief over conversations.

By cleanup, Midnight referred to Mystique's Memory Control magic. With a feral secretly living among civilized folk, they expected demon folk to witness Reiji's cursed entity at some point. As far as those folks were aware, they never saw a blood-covered monster lurking through the woods after cannibalizing townspeople. And because of his Memory Control, Spatial Magic, and on-call schedule, the Guild Mesenger made sure that any other evidence of the three incidents remained virtually nonexistent to everyone else.

"I heard about the grave. Well, I was close enough to the screaming," Mistyque said, taking a full glass of wine from the chief. "It was almost as loud as the nightmares. I immediately got to work on that before I followed you here, Mira."

"Well, it will all be worth it in the long run," Midnight replied. "I do appreciate both of you for keeping this off the record."

"You know Takeshiro with that Telepathy Curse? It was definitely a hassle wiping his memory," Mystique grunted, sipping from his glass. "I'm not even sure my power could do much."

"Is that self-doubt I hear?" the chief questioned. Mystique shook his head quickly, jingling the tiny bells on his gold earrings.

"In the council, there is minimal room for second-guessing and doubt. Everyone depends on us for their peace and stability," Miratona chimed in. "And right now, Phase Three depends on us for success."

"Yes, of course," Mystique muttered, his gaze hardening. "Everything we do is for the town."

"For the town," Miratona nodded. Midnight stood up and walked over to clink his glass with Mystique's.

"For the town."


28 October X820

If you go, I'll stay

You come back, I'll be right here

Like a barge at sea

In the storm I stay clear...

Ushizumo's small device displaying a hologram screen sat on Reiji's dining table, playing the same song on loop. The green-haired demon spent all morning listening, singing, humming, meditating, and otherwise being unable to relax. To no one's surprise, it was quite easy memorizing one slow song. The vocal range was easy, the lyrics were also simple yet elegant, and there was no expectation of a performance through choreography. Reiji practiced so many times, the lyrics did not sway her emotions anymore.

Her friends spent that morning with her as well. Because the song was Ushizumo's idea, she listened to Reiji sing uninterrupted the first time. At least the ginger didn't think she sounded tone deaf. Takeshiro telepathically critiqued Reiji when she actually sounded rusty. Shugo and Ryouichi bickered over breakfast—who wanted to cook, who had to clean, what they'd make, why Shugo still smelled like weed, and why Ryo couldn't keep his nose out of Shugo's business—and ultimately decided nobody was going to touch the kitchen once Reiji threatened timeout (in the cocoon).

By the time 10:00 rolled around, there was still no announcement from the town hall. Reiji's heartbeat continued to beat out of high nerves. No amount of reading, meditating, or quiet exercising relaxed her anymore. She paced around her apartment. The other four avoided her path because she'd absolutely knock themselves over trying to stop her fidgeting.

"Did the chief actually tell you what would happen today?" Shugo asked.

"Nope," Reiji replied.

"What time do the assessments begin?" Ryouichi asked.

"No idea."

"Is there a dress code?" Takeshiro called from her bedroom.

"Nuh-uh—oh, yeah. I have to change!" Reiji walked into her bedroom. Before anyone else could follow, she shut the door.

She opened her closet, taking out her pieces of armor from the shelf. Reiji laid the pieces of armor on her bed, then went to look for her usual undergarment shirt and trousers.

Takeshiro lowered his closed-eyes gaze, brushing his fingers over the smooth ridges in the chest plate. He never actually got to touch the armor before. It really was built for her. He could tell by the size of the gloves and forearm armor (he forgot the technical name). The loincloth felt like a texture between animal skin and satin. It was so soft. He noticed the chainmail secured near the v-neck shape, the throat guard (whatever it's called), and the back plate. It was shaped perfectly, in his opinion. It felt like the perfect shape of a back.

"If I must engage in any kind of combat, this armor should protect me," Reiji said. She guided his hand to the tassets. "These protect my thighs. Those metal glove attachments are gauntlets for my forearms. The abdomen and back plates are obvious enough. And the chainmail... well, I think it's kind of odd she designed it like a vest that exposed my rosary," Reiji murmured, almost chuckling to herself.

Michele crafted all of this armor herself. The blacksmith must have been certain that Reiji could easily protect her chest. She even placed gemstones in the gauntlets and belly of the chest plates that matched her rosary. The small chain mail and the soft loincloth were also purely aesthetic.

This armor seems very sentimental in your head.

Yes, it's very important to me.

Reiji proceeded to strip down and put on her black ankle-banded trousers and dark blue bishop button-up shirt. Takeshiro picked up the back armor just as Reiji placed the chest armor over her shoulders. He helped to secure the clasps. Reiji felt most comfortable changing with Takeshiro present, mostly because he was blind, and basically a little brother.

I know you saw it, Reiji whispered in her mind. Takeshiro had to already know she kissed Michele. It technically went against her friends-with-benefits boundaries.

One part of Takeshiro thought it was a foolish thing to do, entertaining the idea of a relationship that probably wouldn't work. Another small, empathetic part hoped it made Reiji happy to get it off her chest after all these years.

Michele might've let you do that out of pity, the telepath said. He sat on her bed while she finished suiting herself up.

I know, Blue.

Do you feel like you can move on from her? You know I'm not lying when I say it's unrequited.

I believe you. Although I feel a lot better, it still hurts a little...

If you can't get over these feelings of wanting a relationship, don't forget that Ryo has to know too.

Ryo will be the first one to know. I wouldn't dream of going behind his back with a romantic partner! Reiji sighed outwardly, sitting next to Takeshiro. Her ears twitched, flicking near the telepath's spiky hair. He chuckled lightly.

You can move your ears at will? That's cool.

Yeah, it started happening last month. I think it's from Riki.

Your ears were always long. She just made them even longer and mobile.

Haha, yeah...

Takeshiro grasped her hand, squeezing firmly. The pressure was dainty for Reiji, but she understood the sentiment.

I won't tell anybody. You know that, Rei. You want to figure things out on your own for a change, and that's great. Not to sound cliché—

Definitely cliché, Reiji interrupted with a sheepish smile.

Fine. The love of your life finally accepted that you're grown up, and now you want to grow even more as a person to make yourself worthy of a chance with someone like her. Is that close enough?

"I know how silly it sounds, but it's all true. I still have so much work to do," she whispered.

"Huh, and just a month ago you thought you'd grow out of female crushes," Takeshiro smirked. Reiji lightly punched his arm, snickering at his remark. She decided not to question why she just copied Ryouichi randomly.

The following have been summoned to the Loner Village town hall...

Reiji froze. Her stomach swarmed with metaphoric butterflies. Takeshiro hissed in pain when the green-haired demon suddenly gripped his hand.

... Reiji Sagara.

She immediately rushed out of her room. Ushizumo had just come out of the bathroom because of the commotion, drying her hands on her puppy-themed sweater.

"Rei-tara, what's wrong?!"

"They just called me!" Reiji announced.

"FINALLY!" Ryouichi jumped up from the couch, threw his shoes on, and bolted out the door. Reiji grabbed her boots, lacing them up her calves just tight enough for comfort. Takeshiro, Shugo, and Ushizumo followed behind.

Reiji picked up her pace at first, then slowed to a walk. What was the rush for? They knew she was coming, and the town hall was not that far.

Everyone, shut up! Takeshiro ordered.

"Yeah, yeah, we know. Don't excite the chosen one," Ryouichi rolled his eyes.

"I'm not a chosen one, just another dark guild candidate," Reiji corrected him calmly. She hated that "chosen" label. She was "chosen" based on the skills they expected of a mage, not someone else's destiny fantasies.

"I was only joking," Ryo said, patting her back.

Reiji felt her heart pounding so hard, it filled her sensitive ears with noise. The green-haired demon blinked. Before she knew it, the multi-layered door of the town hall stood before them under its pillared porch. She gulped, clutching her rosary over the chain mail. Now was perhaps the worst time to zone out!

"You're gonna be the first real guild mage!" Ushizumo hugged Reiji tightly, squealing excitedly. Shugo and Ryouichi also joined the hug. Takeshiro did not feel like hugging anyone until Ryouichi's arm wrapped behind his shoulders, dragging him in with an uncomfortable grunt.

"Don't be a square, Blue. You can be anti-hug later," the Beast Soul demon joked.

Your comic relief is melting my heart, jested the telepath.

The town hall door opened, easily startling Reiji. Her friends separated the hug as Miratona and Mystique emerged in full uniform. Shugo thought that Miratona only covered her chest because foreigners would be present today.

Takeshiro immediately took a few steps back. Shugo and the others followed. The Mission Secretary smiled brightly. The Guild Messenger gave maybe a quarter of the same energy.

"You made it, Reiji. You look ready," she commented. Reiji had no idea what that meant. Did she look ready to fail or pass? Ready to make a fool of herself?!

"Are we allowed to go with her? You know, for moral support?" Shugo asked.

"The assessments are not a spectator event," Mystique replied. "In fact, I don't remember summoning anybody else to the town hall."

"T-they can't stay...?" Reiji nearly whimpered. Mystique gave Miratona an odd look.

'Is this really the same creature who lived like a feral in the desert for a whole week??'

'This nervous wreck is the same person who faced the wilderness with barely anything on her back...' Miratona just knew how to read his doubtful face after years of working together. Mystique tried to hide his doubts. Doubt wasn't a curse, was it?

Ryouichi scoffed, but said nothing. No use in arguing with the local government.

"You're asking us to leave now?" the Jade Dragon Slayer frowned with disappointment.

"That is correct," Takeshiro chimed in before anyone else responded first. He turned and marched away. Come on, you know they'll just make us leave.

Shugo pulled Reiji into a brief hug, which she returned just as firmly.

"Good luck, Rei," the male ginger murmured before pulling away.

Reiji was still coming down from her mild panicked state when her safety net had to depart. She looked between them and the councilmen. She rarely saw their uniforms up close. Miratona wore a pencil skirt and Mystique work slacks. Blazers with gold trims and white buttons. Dry-cleaned, most likely.

Mystique rested a hand on Miratona's shoulder, holding his other hand out to Reiji. She leaned away from the gesture. What was he doing?

"I'm a Spatial Magic user, in case you forgot. I will take us to your first assessment with Jerza FDS and Grey Forrester," he explained.

Potion creation, right...

She grabbed the Guild Messenger's hand in a firm grip. Miratona held back a snicker when he clearly suppressed a painful wince.

Quick! Say something confident!

"I look forward to it."


In an instant, Reiji's soles tapped the wooden floor of a large room. She knew it was inside the town hall on the second floor, judging by the treetops visible outside the glass windows. All of the floral-designed curtains were drawn open, filling the open space with Gray Kichi light.

Before her was a waist-high table with several covered dishes and other appliances on it. Past that table, a female demon sat at a table roughly the same size as Reiji's. Her four thick strawberry blonde braids nearly touched the floor. She wore leather armor over a black blouse and long, black-and-white checkered pants. Judging by the length of her legs alone, she had to be much taller than Reiji. One braid covered her left eye, showing signs of a deep scar on the right side of her face. Her one-eyed, dark brown gaze made the green-haired demon want to shrink into herself.

Jerza Fernandal Daywalker Scarlet, the guild representative of Titania Devil, Reiji noted. Next to her, she easily recognized Grey Forrester, also a Titania Devil mage. Neither one spoke at first, most likely gauging her character in the silence. Introductions were unnecessary, clearly.

Miratona and Mystique stood to one side of the room, most likely observing. Reiji locked eyes with Grey Forrester for a moment. His slightly droopy black eyes held a natural grumpiness. Was every mage in their guild grumpy?

"You're probably wondering what lies beneath each dish cover in front of you," Jerza began, sitting up straight. Reiji nearly jumped at her booming voice. It sliced through the awkward silence. Grey approached the table. Reiji stepped back cautiously, then he paused.

"Come back here, Reiji Sagara. We don't bite unprovoked," Jerza gave a reassuring smile. Reiji personally thought she might just bite her anyway. The female stepped back to the table, lowering her head from embarrassment.

She finally looked at the table. A martini glass, a metal shaker, and a cold cup of ice sat at the top row. Four small dishes were placed in the second row. And on both sides of her ingredients sat a pair of mini tongs, a small knife on a cutting board, and a stone pestle in a little mortar.

Grey lifted the lid from the first dish. Small, skinny black mushrooms with sunken pink pores.

"Lionblaze mushrooms," Jerza said.

The next lid revealed a stem with three little berries and a few spiky leaves.

"Hollyleaf berries."

The third dish, taller than the other three, contained a clear liquid.

"Potion base."

Reiji knew this one. Not everyone was capable of making a potion from scratch, especially if the individual did not have strong magic, curse power, or any other abilities. Liquids were made infused with traces of eterano as sort of an aid. Everyone learned about it in school even if they had no intention of using it.

And finally, the third dish. It contained little colorful crystals that shimmered in the light.

"Jayfeather salt."

Reiji could hear someone writing nearby. She looked behind her. A raven-haired humanoid stood by the door. Her big eyes somehow looked sad and tired, focused on a clipboard. The raven-black horns on her head looked just like extensions of her hair, with baby hairs showing at the tips. She wore her hair in two braids tied in loops. A brown fur-lined black coat and a stylish black jumpsuit. Her gloves were purple, lined with green.

So pretty...

"Sagara."

"Yes!" Reiji blurted, turning her attention back to the Titania Devil mages. Crap, she got distracted already! "Lionblaze mushrooms, hollyleaf berries, jayfeather salt, and potion base."

"Very good, you were still listening," Jerza said, looking past Reiji. Reiji did not need to look back to know that the two were staring each other down. She wondered what they were thinking about. Did dark guilds have rivals?

"Minerva Orland, good to see you again," the Titania Devil mage greeted the somber humanoid with a grin. Minerva silently came forward with that clipboard, pulling a small piece of paper from it. She crushed it in her hand, holding it out to Reiji. The green-haired demon raised a brow, holding her hand out for the crumpled paper. Was this also a dark guild custom?

Jerza's eye twitched, but she maintained a smile.

"There are many incantations, chants, and the like that creatures use in their brews. This paper provides a hint on what kind of spell you must use to create your poison."

Reiji gasped. Poison? She looked at the martini glass, the shaker, and the ice. A poisonous beverage?!

"As you can see, I have provided the basic ingredients of a Leafpool martini. These same ingredients are also used for a potion that produces cold symptoms in the drinker, AKA myself. If your potion works, I will have symptoms such as sore throat, coughing, runny nose, and possibly a fever if you're strong enough.

"Spells used to activate a potion don't always require spoken words," Jerza continued. "In this case, your magic power alone and the provided ingredients are the spell. The challenge here is making that spell strong enough to affect me. I asked Minerva Orland of Tartaros Fairy to provide a hint on how to do exactly that."

Once Jerza went quiet, she opened the paper.

'A normal potion will not work. Votre rage est votre pouvoir.'

My rage is my power... Wait, why do I understand this?

"Oh, I see..." Reiji immediately crumpled the paper, making a sideways glance at Minerva.

'Les esprits de nos ancêtres veillent toujours et nous éclairent d'une lumière d'espoir...'

It only lasted a split second, like a small tug from nothing. She didn't recognize the language, but it somehow felt familiar. Soft hands once caressed her baby face, wiped her tears, and gave her the best hugs. Her mother's hugs felt like home.

"Je vais... faire de... mon mieux?" Reiji mumbled, looking towards Minerva again. The raven-haired female looked surprised. Reiji smiled wryly. That soon dropped when she felt that one-eyed gaze burning her from across the room.

"If you don't have any questions, then let's get started," Grey announced, stepping away from Reiji's desk.

Recipe first, questions later.

The dark green-haired female began to slice the mushrooms thin on the little cutting board.

One of her first drinks at age 16 was a martini made with very similar ingredients. Fungi in mixed drinks are a popular choice due to the unique high one got out of specific fungi. Lionblaze probably gave an individual the high of liquid courage on a ridiculous level. Or perhaps a lion on fire isn't as literal as Reiji thought.

Once the mushrooms were as close to paper thin as they could get, she returned them to their dish.

Next, she emptied the jayfeather salt rocks into the little stone mortar. Jayfeather salt was extremely rare. According to Ryouichi, this type of salt was only found in a few underground caves where seas had long since dried up. The unique properties made it an excellent potion ingredient if one was lucky enough to acquire it. How she remembered even half of that was beyond her understanding.

She ground the contents to a finer salt form, then poured it on the little dish. Jerza rested her elbows on the desk with her chin on her hands. Even Grey seemed intrigued. Reiji took notice of their thoughtful gazes. Surely they've seen village folk craft a simple martini, right?

After that, she dropped two and a half berries in the stone mortar and crushed the berries until all that was left was slightly chunky juice with traces of jayfeather salt.

Channel the power of rage... the power of rage... What do I hate and get angry about? Reiji wondered. She definitely hated bad people if they were bad enough. She hated the creatures that ruined her and many of her peers' lives in captivity. She hated feeling abandoned. She hated herself for a while too.

Just how much rage would it take to poison someone?

She picked up the martini glass and, using the other half of that berry, lightly moistened the outer edge with hollyleaf juice. She tipped the glass to carefully line the outer rim with the jayfeather salt and tapped excess salt off.

Now that she thought about it, she was angry at Michele. But they made up, so it hardly counted now. Riki made her angry, but a weapon couldn't possibly care for that. What also made her angry was that no proof of her status as a prisoner existed beyond a couple of pieces of paper. There was no guarantee those invisible papers existed anymore either.

All the memories buried through years of schooling, counselors, doctors, and every other face and name she forgot made her stomach turn. For years, she felt broken but content enough. All it took was a crumpled piece of paper with strangely spelled words to pierce that part of herself.

Reiji didn't notice her hands begin to tremble. The backs of her hands were several shades darker than moments before. She placed the martini glass down, clenching her fists on the table.

Jerza lifted a hand before anyone could approach her.

"Let her calm down on her own. This is my assessment time. Reiji Sagara does not get any more help," the strawberry blonde reminded everyone. Minerva squeezed the clipboard in her arms, glaring darkly. Miratona and Mystique exchanged looks of concern.

'Something triggered her.' Mystique furrowed his brows with concern.

'Even her hair is beginning to quiver.' Miratona arched a brow.

Reiji took deep, slow breaths. Her locks braided themselves down her back until not a single strand brushed on her face. Tuning out the sounds around her, all she heard was her own breathing.

She took the hollyleaf leaves and broke them apart by hand. The leaves were actually unsafe to touch freely due to the microscopic blades on the edges of the leaves.

The blood of a highly emotional individual also boosted a potion. She dropped them in the grinder, added that last piece of berry, and crushed it all down.

Touch of Chi... never mind.

Reiji decided to power through the mild sting of her fingertips. Finally, she added the mushroom slices (except one) to the mortar, and only bruised the fungi enough to make the mix chunky. Mushroom did not need to be a fine paste for a martini.

She opened the shaker cup, tongs in one hand, and dropped a few ice cubes inside. She poured the mortar contents and then the potion base. Immediately, the unmixed ingredients smelled sweet.

She closed the lid and shook the cup in both hands.

One. Two. Three. Four. Five. Six.

She removed the cap that covered the strainer on the lid, then poured her concoction into the martini glass. Reiji then picked up the one mushroom slice with her tongs, gently placing it on the surface of the potion drink. The martini was dark red, nearly black.

Grey came forward, gently lifting the glass to prevent the mushroom garnish from sinking.

"M-Miss Jerza," Reiji began hesitantly. "Are you... immune to all poison?"

"No, not entirely," she answered. "I've spent decades training my body to withstand a wide variety of toxins: venom, plants, gases, drugs, viruses, and the like. A strong immune system is a valuable weapon as a guild master. I cannot afford to die a death by something as foolish as illness."

Reiji's jaw dropped. Guild master? A freaking guild master?!

"You look shocked. You must not have done your research," Jerza observed. Reiji hung her head in shame.

"I'm so sorry, Master Scarlet!" she shouted, bowing to her superior. If there was one thing dark guilds were known for, it was the secret in-fighting. Assassins were a common nuisance in any guild, especially dark guilds. Reiji only heard by word of mouth that the Titania Devil guild master was one of the strongest mages in terms of ironclad immunity. It was truly a challenge to give her a mere sniffle potion.

"Stand up, Sagara."

Reiji stood straight.

Jerza motioned with two fingers, then Grey pulled a small flask from his pocket. Upon pulling the cork, something crawled out of the guild master's sleeve. The dark green-haired demon's eyes bulged at the tiny eight-legged creature. It hopped from Jerza's arm straight into the flask. The cork was sealed again.

"Thank you, Grey."

"W-was th-that a s-s-scorpion spider—" Reiji's sputtering fell short when Jerza sipped her potion.

From the first sip, Reiji heard the click of a stopwatch. Miratona started recording the time it would take for Jerza to feel side effects. The Titania Devil mage hummed with approval for the flavor, drinking the entire glass.

"Mmh! Even better than the reviews," she smiled. She even ate the little mushroom slice. "If I am affected in any way, you pass. But you will know if you fail."

No one is questioning the very venomous spider casually crawling?! Reiji swallowed, humming in agreement.

"I-I understand, Master Jerza."

"Worry not, it's just a little scorpion spider," the strawberry blonde chuckled lightly. "It barely does anything to my body. See?"

She lifted her sleeve the spider crawled out of. Reiji covered her mouth to conceal the disgusted look on her face. Jerza's forearm was covered in dark purple warts. The area did not swell up or bleed from the spider bites, thankfully. That was always a bad sign. One bite could kill a giant feral. Jerza was just insane.

"Y-you're injured!" Reiji exclaimed. Without thinking twice, Reiji came forward with her hands reaching for the spider-bitten flesh.

Touch of Chiron!

Jerza glanced over at Minerva, then Miratona and Mytique.

We found her.

Grey took the empty glass back to the table, then took the table away. Minerva opened the door as Grey nodded to her. The female humanoid grabbed Reiji's gauntlets.

"Thank you," he murmured, exiting.

Reiji stepped back from the guild master, taking her gauntlets from Minerva. Jerza inspected her forearm, satisfied with the spotless results.

"What should I do while we wait?" Reiji asked, sliding her gauntlets back on. Jerza tapped her fingers on her desk. She then stood, catching Reiji by surprise.

Oh my gods, she's huge! Reiji stared in awe. The top of her head was at Jerza's nose. Of course Reiji had been around demons taller than her, but she rarely got to meet them up close. The guild master held a relaxed expression.

"We'll have ourselves a little..." Jerza trailed off. She cocked her head to the side, her mouth twitching. "H-have a little, a chat, a h-have ourssselves ha-haa..."

Jerza stepped forward, bucking under the weight of nothing.

Miratona was first to act. She clicked the stopwatch as she rushed over. She gently guided the guild master to lie on her side on the floor in case she vomited. Jerza curled up, groaning in pain. Her who face was red and beaded with sweat. Miratona touched her forehead.

"She's... burning up?" she whispered in disbelief. That wasn't a scorpion spider bite symptom.

Reiji looked on in horror. What happened? Just what the hell was happening? She did not notice Mystique practically dragging her by the arm towards the exit door.

"Master Jerza, help is on the way. Stay with us," Miratona insisted.

Mystique ushered Reiji and Minerva into the hallway. The green-haired demon heard gagging noises just as the Guild Messenger slammed the door shut. The female demon was too stunned to speak or react beyond shock.

Minerva kept her distance from Reiji, holding the clipboard over her face. Behind that clipboard, she hid a wide and idiotic smirk.

"She passed. She actually passed," she whispered gleefully under her breath.


I've been neglecting to read Warriors: Power of Three. Since middle school, it was always my second favorite series, right under The Prophecy Begins. Best pre-teen books ever! I just had to throw in a tribute to my favorite chaos triplets haha!

— ML