‘What is she doing here?’

  Worried, Leo raised his fists, locking his eyes on the new opponent.

  It was difficult to tell where she was looking as her helmet was just a white sphere, but he could tell she paid no heed to his actions. He could feel her gaze tied to Anthony.

  Everybody held their breaths. Even Anthony didn’t dare utter a word as he could only stare at the white figure.

  All that changed was the steady, muffled breaths.

  Leo saw Anthony waver as he took a step away from the ghost-like guard.

  Anthony yelled out, a hint of fear underneath his arrogant tone. “Who might you be, ghost lady?”

  No response. There was no reaction, no acknowledgement of his existence besides an emotionless stare, his face reflecting on the shiny white helmet as she appeared to look past him.

  In the distance, Leo saw a hand reach out from behind, resting on Anthony’s shoulder. Another figure had appeared, but instead of a snake, it was a man with slicked-back white hair and glowing jade eyes with horns protruding from his head. He wore a green tunic with a black jacket over it, sporting ripped black pants with black leather dress shoes.

  Using Anthony as a leverage, he pulled himself out of the crystalline mirror behind his contractor and made an exaggerated sigh as he stretched his arms and legs as if waking from a nap.

  Scanning the area, he stopped on the white guard. He stared for a moment before smiling in recognition.

  “Little Mouse, it has been a while.”

  She didn’t respond, but it didn’t seem to surprise the figure as he continued on.

  “Looks like you’re still the same since the last time we met. How long ago was that again? A decade or so?” He tapped his index finger on his chin as if pondering. “Oh well, I know you like to get straight to business so I’ll spare you your time, Madam Claudia.”

  ‘So Claudia’s her name…’ It didn’t take much to realize the two had some sort of past, albeit not a good one. And this demon was at least older than them, perhaps ancient if he was a lord!

  Clapping his hands, a snake came out of the mirror carrying what looked like a transparent chair as it pushed it underneath the figure. The demon sat comfortably across from Claudia, his legs crossed as he leaned forward. “It seems you’ve decided to intrude on this child’s quest. Now I simply can’t let you interfere in such affairs, it’s more of a private matter, you know?”

  Claudia didn’t speak, but simply took a small step forward, causing Anthony to stumble back in fear of an attack.

  Of course, nothing happened.

  Leo looked at the sight from a distance, peeking from behind a pillar. Behind him was the group he had assembled, or at least those that were left. The twins, Oliver, Joshua, and Patrick seemed to be fine. The rest, however, weren’t doing so good.

  Connie was leaning against Patrick, her breaths labored from the exhausting fight. Not only that, she seemed to be trying not to sink into the shadows. It seems her flaw was almost coming into effect, trying to drag her into a deep sleep.

  Farther behind, Tyler and Kate were consoling Alyssa, shielding her from the remaining two glass serpents who had grown still from the confrontation all while keeping a hand on her, fearing she would charge at Anthony in an emotional outburst.

  Leo turned behind him, kneeling down to Connie’s level. “How much longer can you stay up for?”

  “I’m good for…one or two more attacks…” She could barely get her words out as her eyelids fluttered, threatening to shut. To reassure him, she gave him a weak thumbs up.

  “Patrick? What about you?”

  Patrick chuckled. “All good here.”

  “Great. Just make sure not to do anything right now, I’m not sure wh-”

  Unable to finish his sentence, he was suddenly lifted by some invisible force. Patrick and Connie reached out, but barely missed as Leo was pulled past the stone pillar. He couldn’t get a grasp of where he was as his body spun around.

  ‘Oh god, so dizzy.’

  Eventually he finally stopped, his feet gently planting themselves onto the ground. He was still dizzy though, causing his vision to be shaky. But through the warped vision, he could see the distinguishable white cloak of Claudia.

  His eyes widened in fear, quickly jumping back in surprise. Midway through the maneuver, however, his body stopped midair. His entire body froze in place as if wrapped in a straight jacket.

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  With his eyes, he looked at Claudia who finally showed signs of life as she began approaching the two demons with his frozen body floating behind her.

  ‘Shit! Shit! Shit! I got to get out of this!’

  Struggled as he did, his body remained frozen. There was no sign of struggles from Claudia as she continued moving forward. Seeing how his efforts brought him nowhere, he decided he should use this chance to rest his body.

  A cheerful voice broke out behind him. “Don’t worry too much, recruit. We’ll try and resolve this.”

  Leo couldn’t see the person behind him, but he was familiar with the voice all too well. But when did he get there? No, a better question was how did he get there. Leo vividly remembered any exits or connection to the rest of the walls having been sealed. Perhaps a transportation ability similar to Connie?

  Claudia finally stopped, standing face to face with the demon who remained in his seat with a relaxed expression.

  Anthony stood beside him, a glass spear in hand, its speartip pointing towards the ceiling. Although he appeared fine, Leo could tell Anthony was wrought with fear as he kept his eyes on Claudia.

  The demon scanned Claudia head to toe before turning to Leo. Curiosity filled his eyes as he studied Leo’s figure before he chuckled to himself. He got up from his seat and put his hands behind his back, calmly approaching Leo.

  “Hello Leo. I believe this is the first time we’ve met properly. You can call me Lord Velmior of Clan Envy. I am currently the demon your friend here has contracted with, though I suppose I have you to thank for this outcome. I will say, he is a magnificent contractor, being able to use my abilities to this extent already.” He quickly eyed the gravel still attached to the roof in awe. He turned to Claudia. “As for you, Little Mouse. You’ve grown tremendously since the last we met.” He lowered his hand to around his thigh. “You were only so big when we met in that small village. I’m shocked I even remembered your scent.”

  Although she showed no signs of a reaction, Leo felt as if his body grew heavier. It didn’t seem to be his imagination either as Anthony stumbled for a moment, his grip on the spear tightening.

  From behind him, the Lieutenant walked forward as if shielding Leo from any danger. His right hand rested on the katana hanging on the right side of his hip. He wore his military attire as neatly as usual, hiding any exposure of his sun-kissed skin. His cap covering the buzz cut underneath with a black jacket donned over his uniform, its sleeves waving behind him as the jacket rested on his shoulders.

  “Lord Velmior, I’m sure you’re aware of the rules in place for the both of us. Although the people here are outsiders, they are still within the jurisdiction of Hellsgrog. If you are who you say you are, I would suggest you depart immediately.” He pushed the guard on his katana, letting the silver blade peek out of its sheathe, his left hand resting over his chest, ready to attack at a moment's notice. “Don’t tell me you’ve defected from your clan?”

  Velmior snorted, feigning ignorance to the claim. “Defected. What a funny word you use, Lieutenant. But I must deny such accusations, I maintain my status in the family just as you do your rank. I was simply placed here by chance.”

  Teddy scoffed. A dissatisfied smirk grew on his face as he looked at the demon in disgust. “By chance. We both know such an excuse won’t get you out of here, demon.”

  “Demon?” Velmior exclaimed dramatically, covering his mouth in shock. “What a word. What happened to the respectful tone from earlier?”

  The Lieutenant glanced to the side for a moment before shaking his head. “Well, it seems my guest’s patience is running thin. So what do you say? Will you run like the dog you are, or will you stay and die here?”

  Teddy pointed up as if somebody were watching. “Fate isn’t exactly in your favor today isn’t it?”

  From his peripherals, Leo could barely see above him that the ceiling was clear of those crystalline mirrors. Some fragments remained stuck in the roof while others lightly rained down to the floor.

  ‘When did she do that?’

  There was no sound of the dozens of mirrors shattering, nor was there any movement from Claudia that suggested an attack. She simply stood there completely still. If Leo hadn’t seen her move before, he would assume she was a marble statue.

  Velmior clicked his tongue, seemingly dissatisfied with something. “I’m grateful for such an offer, Lieutenant. But I am going to have to remain here for just a moment longer.” He tiredly shook his head. “And either way, I don’t think she would let me go that easily anyway.”

  Leo was suddenly lowered as his feet finally touched the stone floor again. Regaining his balance, Leo glanced at the Lieutenant who had quickly stood in front of him, shielding him from the two enemies.

  Behind his back, Leo could hear Anthony slam the spear into the ground as his teeth gnashed together. With a voice quivering with hostility, Anthony said to the Lieutenant. “Get out of the way, Lieutenant. He’s mine!”

  Teddy let out a small chuckle as he unsheathed the katana, its blade hissing as it was free from its containment. The silver blade glistened, its thin edge appearing as if it simply faded from existence. A small hue of white exuded from the blade, the temperature around Leo rose as more of the white aura burst out from the sword.

  To Anthony’s right, Leo could see Velmior had dismissed the chair, donning an ethereal cape as two spine-like whips rolled down in his hands scratching the stone floor. The respectful smile that had remained on his face was replaced with a much more sinister, sadistic smile as his eyes were captivated by the marble figure before him.

  To Leo’s right, the marble figure in question still didn’t move as if she didn’t register the threats around her.

  ‘Just what was she about to do…’

  Leo could tell in an instant that she was a Smogborn, and thus, possessed a Refraction. Judging by how Teddy had acted around her so far, he could only assume she was stronger than him, or at least a higher rank. If that were the case, just how strong was she for Velmior to fight her in Anthony’s stead?

  Now, however, wasn’t the time to measure her strength as all he could do now was be at the mercy of these two monsters.

  With the katana in hand, Teddy said with an unfamiliar coldness:

  “He’s property of the 7th Castellan. You have no claim to him, traitor.”