Suddenly, a humanoid figure in black dropped down from the sky, landing in front of Amos. Even with his crimson mask and blurred vision, he could make out the ethereal features of the girl staring back at him.

“...Fr… Frida?”

She nodded before standing up straight and turning to face the threat bearing down upon them.

The girl quickly shed her tops and began to change her form. Her skin transmogrified into sickly pale blue flesh, similar to Amos' temporary arm. She then stuck both hands into her chest and proceeded to rip open her torso, which made a gross peeling sound. The harsh snapping of bone filled the air as her rib cage sprung open like a bear trap, revealing an ominous black rift in the center.

“What?!” Nanaya's eyes widened in both wonder and fear.

The rift then began to vacuum the large sphere. The magnificent gale didn't seem to phase the undead girl one bit as her feet remained planted firmly on the ground. Nanaya watched helplessly as her strongest attack was being drawn into the girl's body.

“......”

“......”

“......”

As soon as the attack was fully absorbed, the undead girl's midsection made a gross squelching sound as it closed itself back up. She shifted back to her original appearance and threw her crimson shirt and black leather jacket back on as quickly as she removed them. Her Bon Appetit ability required her to be half nude from the waist up. Replacing her ruined clothes after every use would get quite expensive, so this was the best solution. Any normal person would have found the whole prospect embarrassing or unbecoming. Not this girl.

“Hmm.”

The girl then turned to gaze down at Amos. She had limestone skin, round pale green eyes, and long jet black hair tied into a single Artorian braid with a crimson ribbon on top. On the surface, Frida McCoy appeared to be the quintessential teenage beauty, but her speech easily betrayed her true age. Her aforementioned tops were paired with a black and white grid textured skirt, black leggings, and a pair of black platform boots. This outfit was a bit outside of the usual dress protocol for Eden Academy, let alone Order of Eve missions, but no one would dare tell the headmaster’s eldest ward what to do.

“Another one??” Nanaya growled.

After belching out a tiny orb of red light, which quickly dissipated, Frida's gaze shifted up at Nanaya, who was still in a state of utter disbelief. However, upon receiving the black-haired girl's gaze, she quickly returned the sentiment with an icy glare of her own. Amos could feel an overwhelming amount of aura emanating between both parties.

Nanaya brought her gaze over to Amos, back to Frida, then back to him. At that moment, Amos could tell what questions were swarming through her head judging by her dazed expression: Who was this strange girl? Where did she come from? And how was she able to absorb her strongest attack in mere seconds? His role was never to try and eliminate Subject-724 outright, all he had to do was to soften her up a bit until Frida swooped in for the kill. At least, that had been the plan they discussed just days prior. Her cue was far overdue.

Frida raised a hand in the air. Black aura coursed through her petite body as she made to cast a spell. While the cemetery no longer oozed with paranormal activity, a skilled necromancer like Frida, however, still had thousands of corpses at her disposal, putting Nanaya at a huge disadvantage.

The blonde girl's breath caught in her throat. Realizing the looming danger, she clenched her fists and muttered something to herself before swinging her arm clockwise. Suddenly, a giant rift opened up beside her, flowing with immense astral energy.

Amos' eyes widened. “A portal!?”

“She intends to flee!” Frida immediately lowered her arm, canceling her Raise Undead spell, but it was too late. Without hesitation, the girl swooped into the portal. Its surface rippled as her body passed through it, and her feet were the last thing they saw before her form completely vanished beyond the rift.

“Damn.” Frida clicked her tongue in annoyance as a pair of large bat-like wings sprouted from her back. Crouching, she balanced on the balls of her feet, preparing to leap into the air and give chase.

“Wait!” Amos called out to his sister, raising a hand to halt her. “Let her go.”

“Hm?” The jet-black girl furrowed an eyebrow. Watching the portal close, her large green eyes then flicked over to the boy, shooting a searching glance. After a few seconds, she snapped her fingers before pointing at him.

“Tracking device?”

“On the hem of her dress... It should pick up her location shortly…” The boy nodded before changing the subject. “You sure took your sweet time.” He grimaced, applying pressure to the wounds he was able to reach. “I know you were only testing me… but did you really... have to let her beat me to a pulp like that?”

“What was it that you were thinking before?” his sister asked with a rather dull look on her face, her voice devoid of any real emotion. Amos however knew her long enough to know when he was about to be mocked. She placed a finger on her chin, adding insult to injury. “‘Sorry, Frida, I may not need your help after all.’ It was something along those lines, yes?”

“That was a… a temporary lapse in judgment,” He smiled weakly, blood running down his mouth as he looked up at the girl. His head had hurt so much, that he had nearly forgotten that his mind had been intertwined with hers long ago. For as long as someone shares a blood pact with a vampire, the familiar's mind, body, and soul become an extension of their sire. Ergo, the sire can always see what their familiar sees, feel their every emotion, and hear just about every little thought that comes to mind.

“Uh-huh,” Frida said as she stood over him, dangling a bottle of green potion above his head. “Here, I need blood from you, so drink up.”

“Oh right. Th-thanks,” Amos said before he tried and failed to reach for the bottle. “H-Hey. I can't really feel my arm. Could you… help me out a bit?”

Frida sighed as she set down the bottle beside her before grabbing Amos and propping him down from the tombstone, laying him flat on his back.

“Ow, ow, ow!!” he yelled, raising his hand as high as he could in protest. “Please be gentle.”

“Beggars cannot be choosers.”

Frida sank to her knees. With the potion bottle in hand, she removed the cork…

“H-Hey, wait! You're supposed to shake those first! And you could at least sit me up before you—”

...and shoved the bottle into his mouth.

Amos coughed violently as he guzzled down the potion. As soon as the bottle was emptied, Frida sat him up and smacked his back a couple of times. His wounds were quickly beginning to disappear.

"There, there,” she said dryly as her brother continued to cough. “Did it go down okay?”

Does it look like it went down okay?!

“Augh! Well, that wasn't intentional at all, I'm sure,” Amos cringed. “And what's with this strange behavior? Watching you attempting to play ‘mother’ in any way shape or form is simply…off-putting to say the least.”

"Hmph. Well, you are most welcome, my dear brother." There was a heavy layer of sarcasm in her voice as she crawled between his legs. "Now, hold still…"

Frida drew closer, ripped the collar off of his skin-tight suit, extended her jaws, and sank her razor-sharp fangs into his exposed neck. Amos, who was used to having two-inch fangs lodged in his flesh by now, still found himself wincing ever so slightly.

(That Spectral Counter… It was much grander than the ones from previous missions.)

Frida's thoughts spoke to Amos, flowing through the boy's subconscious as she fed. Their telepathic bond was so strong, that only the world's most powerful psychics could pick up on their frequency.

(It is a sign that you are growing much stronger.)

(Do you really think so?) Amos answered. He didn't feel any stronger. If anything, his exchange with Nanaya proved that he still had a ways to go. No matter what he threw at her, she always seemed to have a counter. As frustrated as he was about that, of all things, the girl's outburst was still fresh on his mind. His physical wounds may have healed, but this wound felt different entirely.

(Worry not about what that girl said.) Surprisingly, Frida’s words sounded almost comforting. (Exorcising souls is a tremendous feat. Soon you will be strong enough to lift my curse.)

Amos gave a slight nod. The curse. Of course. That's what this all boiled down to in the end. Long ago, when the world was much different, his sister was born to a vampire and a lycan, making her a werepyre. Conception between the two races was forbidden at the time, and her hybrid blood had made her a pariah among the monster races, who deemed her an abomination. For the crime of simply existing, the Witches Council had cursed Frida with eternal life. She was then abandoned in the Great Forest of Everwood where she would spend this eternity terrorizing its inhabitants. However, the half-breed girl was soon discovered by the headmaster. With the promise of finding a way to break her curse, he took the werepyre girl in and raised her as his first ward for the next millennium.

Then, just five years ago, the headmaster approached the boy himself. Amos had no recollection of his life before that point, only his name and age. According to the master, his spectral magic was the key to freeing his sister from her curse and finally putting her to rest. This task was the main reason he was brought to this continent. Simply put, he had to do it if he wanted to remember everything.

He had only gotten this far because of Frida's training. The least he could do to repay the girl was to break her curse. I need to get stronger, he told himself. Her entire life, she has been denied the very thing that every person will one day experience. She's lived a long life, seen everything there is to see, and done everything there is to do. My sister is overdue for a well-earned rest... That much I owe her.

Amos resurfaced from his trance and found himself back in the cemetery. The brush in front of them swayed to and fro as a gust of wind blew upward and through the taller trees, shaking and rattling their poplar leaves. The cool breeze caressing his cheeks felt nice and refreshing after the agonizing pain he'd been through just moments before. He then lowered his gaze, eyes fixed on the one he called his sister. As expected, the werepyre girl was still feeding. In fact, she had been feeding for so long that his neck had grown numb. Even though the moonlight was now farther away, Frida's jet-black mane still glistened and sparkled under the luminescent beam, a lot like their target's hair had done forty minutes prior. Amos found himself momentarily enraptured by the rare sight, before quickly shaking his head in self-admonition.

This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

While his sister continued her late-night bloody buffet, he reached up and flicked a familiar switch on his headset. “Wolf to The Garden…Come in Grand Fisher.”

Kaname answered the transmission almost immediately. “Wolf!!” she cried. There was a great deal of relief in her voice. “Thank the gods you’re alright! The feed got cut when you were engaging the target. We'd already thought the worst..."

"Yeah, sorry about that. Frida's with me now, so it's all good." He immediately thought of Christy when he asked his next question. "How much did you guys see?"

"We saw just about everything up until you got knocked away by that Matsuga…" There was a slight tremble in her voice. Their Eve comrades were like family to Kaname, Amos, especially so. And for a brief moment, she honestly thought that she had lost a little brother. "...and the camera died right when the target was going in for the kill.”

“Oh… and Twin Drills…?”

Kaname hesitated for a moment. “Yeah, she, um…” Amos could hear what sounded like a door being slammed in the background. “She just stepped out. I think it's safe to say that she may need a bit of time to herself.”

“I... I see...” Guilt washed over Amos. He knew all too well that he had a brutal tongue-lashing to look forward to when he got back home. Of course, she's angry. I broke my promise, why wouldn't she be? Sighing heavily at his looming troubles, he pulled out a handheld tablet. “The target managed to portal out of here. I'd placed a tracking device on her dress beforehand. I'm sending the map your way, now."

“Alright… Got it!” Kaname beamed before something immediately made her groan. “Ugh, wait, it needs to buffer first… This will take a sec.”

Kusanagi...

This may not have been the best time, but Amos couldn’t shake this nagging feeling, so he needed to ask. “Hey, so that girl… She said her name was Nanaya Kusanagi. You don't think…?”

“Hard to say for sure, but her appearance and DNA profile checks out. We can't really ignore her use of the Matsuga, either. It's a Kusanagi bloodline technique, after all.” She paused for a moment, perhaps to gather her thoughts. “Either we're dealing with a perfect clone created by those sickos… er, sorry, I mean our clients. Or we’ve all been lied to.”

“I see.”

Amos had detected an unusual note of bitterness in Kaname's voice as she spoke. That alone told him that none of this was sitting well with her, either. Thinking back to the headmaster’s urgency when he issued this mission, Amos didn’t need her to say it outright. All signs pointed to the latter. Nanaya Kusanagi's existence would only serve to reopen a case that the world was already trying to forget.

“If your life… and everyone in it was suddenly taken away from you in a single day...what would you do… if it meant that you could see them again?”

The blonde girl's question still lingered in his mind. Numerous questions of his own began to pile up, as Kaname's voice snapped him back to reality.

“I know what you’re thinking, Wolf. And trust me, I feel the same way, but we can't afford to dwell on that right now. We still have a job to do, don't we?”

“Yes, Senpai. We certainly do.”

He found the sincerity of his upperclassman's words comforting. After a few passing seconds, Kaname spoke again.

“Ah! It’s finally done… Ooh, it looks like she wound up in Marlia City."

"Enemy territory?” Frida queried as she finished her drink, licking the leftover blood from her lips. “Not ideal, but nowhere near a problem."

Well, it's about time she came up for air!

"Um, they have Project Galanga and Stardom as their protectors," said Amos matter-of-factly.

"Your point?"

“My point is if either of those factions were to catch wind of us, we’d have no other choice but to deal with them. Need I remind you that Project Galanga has Black Fang as their leader?”

"Hmm." Frida thought about it some more as she pulled a large band-aid from her pocket, peeled it from its wrapping, and stuck it over the boy's fresh bite mark. She then crossed her arms and frowned. “Black Fang… now there is a name. With a man like that at the helm, they do make quite the formidable faction… I suppose that may prove a bit of a problem.”

Amos tilted his head quizzically. "You suppose? The guy wrestles drop bears for fun and has even killed 20-foot-tall nightwalkers, and you’re telling me that you suppose?" He shook his head in disbelief. "I'm all for a good challenge, you know this, but for the sake of the mission, I don't think we're properly equipped to handle them."

Frida looked disappointed. “To think… that an incredibly craven response would come from one of my students. And from my own brother no less… Surely you did not learn such things from me.”

“Wha…?” Amos gaped at his older sister. “Cr-Craven?!” He was appalled, yet unsurprised at the habitual callousness of her remarks. “That isn’t craven, sister, it's just common sense!”

“Excuses.”

“Why do I even try?”

“Alright, you two, enough of your squabbling,” Kaname reprimanded with a light chuckle. “I’ve already dispatched Nano-chan and Spitfire. According to their intel, both Project Galanga and Stardom are currently preoccupied with another assignment near Everwood, so direct confrontation is avoidable. They've just uploaded their rendezvous point to our database. Be sure to meet with them there.”

A green ‘X’ icon appeared on Amos’ screen. He nodded.

“Got it.”

The plan was crystal clear. Right next to Marlia City was a town called Little Hōjo. The place was chock full of Kannagi and Onmyoji, meaning the number of wayward souls in that general area was significantly smaller than that of Holden Cemetery. Their target’s spectral magic wouldn’t be as powerful without a large pool of souls in her domain, thus, overwhelming her with numbers was the ideal strategy.

“And Wolf?” Kaname continued. “One more thing.”

“Yeah?”

“You'll talk to Twin Drills when you get back, won't you? After she calms down, I mean.”

“Of course, I will, Senpai.” He answered her with no hesitation. Frida didn't say anything, but he could feel her eyes boring into him.

“Good. ‘Cause I need you guys on the same page if we're going to be working together.” Kaname spoke in a very frank tone. “Sometimes she can be a bit much, but she does mean well. You should know this by now. I'm sure you guys can come to some sort of an understanding if you just talked to each other more, y'know?”

“Understood,” he affirmed, feeling a wave of newfound confidence. “That's what I'm hoping for as well. Although… This isn't the first time I've angered her like this. Are you sure she'd even hear me out?”

“Definitely! Well… I mean after she's done pumping you full of holes if we're being honest.”

Unfortunately, that confidence didn’t last very long.

“You just had to go and make it scary again, didn't you, Senpai?”

“Tee-hee!”

Amos thought it best to cross that bridge when he came to it. In the meantime, they still had a target to eliminate. He looked over to Frida and gave her a nod.

“You ready, partner?”

“I am always ready,” Frida stated coldly. “You are the one who always needs tending to.”

“Well, I’m sorry that we all can't have your absolute healing factor, sis,” Amos mocked, walking over to pick up his sword and return it to its sheath. "And besides, what do you mean that I always need tending to? Did I not just feed you??”

“That... is expected when you enter a blood pact with my kind,” she remarked. "You are merely fulfilling a legal obligation.”

“What does that have to do with…? Ugh! Whatever.” As he walked back over to her, Amos heaved a sigh, realizing there was no point in arguing with someone who could kill him, resurrect him, and then kill him again. While she had never done this to him, he'd seen her do it to others. Amos knew he was valuable to Frida, but given her mastery in necromancy and the utter ferocity of her wrath, chances were, even he wasn't safe. And he for one, didn't dare test his luck.

Ungrateful old hag… Just then, a thought he had fought hard to suppress slipped out into their shared mind. Shocked by his carelessness, Amos clamped his hand over his mouth as if he'd said the insult aloud. Frida's head snapped in his direction, her green wolf-like eyes emitting a faint glow.

(I heard that.)

(I, uh... No, you didn't.)

(I most certainly did.)

(Did not.)

(Did so.)

As their strange telepathic sibling row ended in a momentary draw, Frida spread her wings once again and walked over to the boy. “Mm. We have dawdled long enough,” she said. “I shall deal with you later. At present, let us refocus on our mission. Now, on your knees.”

Amos knelt before her, his arm stretched out to the side. The werepyre circled the boy and knelt behind him, her chin resting on his shoulder. She then wrapped her thin arms around his waist, securing him. Frida readied her wings as she extended her right knee, her foot flat on the ground. She was getting ready to take off.

The boy nodded. “Alright, let's do this!”

“Amos, do not shout when you are so close to my ears. It is quite distracting.”

“S-Sorry.”

With that, Frida's wings beat frantically a few times before she used her right foot to launch them into the cold night air. As they soared higher and higher, Amos took in his surroundings. In no time at all, the shrubs, trees, and tombstones below became indiscernible. As the two began their flight down south, Amos glanced over to his left and peered down at his amputation.

Images of Nanaya's face flashed through his mind's eye. At once, the girl was standing across from him in the endless void. Her eyes welled up and tears streamed down her cheeks. Her lips were moving. He couldn't hear her, but somehow he still made out the words: Why? Why did you do it? How could you? Her gaze was drawn deep into his soul, searching for an answer. Unable to come up with one, Amos simply stared back in silence, hating himself for it. A sudden gust of wind broke the awkward hush between them, and the gale swept at her long blonde hair. And then, she was gone.

Huh…? No, wait, come back!

In the blink of an eye, Amos was once again soaring through the night in the clutches of the werepyre girl, the moon, and The Yolk in full view. Amos cursed under his breath, he still didn't have a firm grasp on his Spectral Counter and this frustrated him. Despite his sister's words of encouragement, the barefoot girl's tears remained vivid in his head, her harsh words echoed in his ears.

“You…Because of your actions…My friends…they are forever lost! I was mistaken…you are nothing like me…”

Those words had bothered him something fierce and he still couldn't make sense of any of it. No one had ever made him feel this way before. And little did he know... a violent storm was beginning to brew inside his chest.