After the meeting with all the Bishops was over, the Pope asked him to have tea with her, in private. Yuriel knew what this was about, she knew about the twins, how could she not, she was the overseer of the whole church of Itab, but the thing was, he didnt want to talk about the twins with anyone, especially with her.

But he knew that he had no way to deny her request, so when the meeting was over, he followed her to her private office, and now here he was, having piping hot tea with the Pope of the Church of Great Tibba.

“Yuriel.” He looked up. She was looking at him, it was very hard for him to guess what she was thinking, her wrinkled face didnt show any emotions, so he didnt know what to expect.

“Yes, Mother.”

“What is going on inside the small head of yours?”

He hesitated a little bit, but then he confessed. “The twins, Sara and Patrica… They are the nightmares that have been plaguing my mind.”

She took a sip of tea. “My dear Yuriel, why dont you let me handle them? I could send some Knights after them. The warriors of the church serve for the will of our Lord, and will rain down on them his fury on them, killing your nightmare forever.”

“Ah.” He didnt like that suggestion, he knew they were good girls, and they are currently brainwashed. He would rather have them captured and try to bring the girls that he knew back.

“Ah?” she imitated him. “It seems like you dont like the idea?”

He clenched his fist but maintained a dignified face in front of her. “With all due respect Mother, I think, that would be too hasty…Those girls are innocent. They have just been brainwashed by that pale dark mage.” She didnt show any visible reaction to his theory, so he continued. “And I think that I could get them back to their senses. I.. I. Just need some time with them. And I can get them around in no time.”

She didnt say a word, he had nothing else to say, so he took a sip of the tea as well. It was then she started speaking. “Yuriel, do you know how long I have been sitting in this chair?”

He was caught off guard by the question, he started thinking back and realized that he really didnt know how old she was, when he young boy, at that time as well she looked just like this, it was safe to say that she hadn't aged a bit in all the years since he had seen her.

“I dont know Mother.”

She leaned forward. “To tell you the truth, I have also forgotten how long I have been occupied this chair for… And as I have become so old that some people have started to think I have gone senile.”

He was enraged. “Did you hear anyone say that? I will personally flay them, and execute them in public,”

How could someone disrespect her like that?

“No one said it to my face, my dear child. But everyone thinks so. I can tell because I oversee everyone. And let me in you on a little secret.” She then put down her cup of tea and gestured her whole body. “Me acting senile, the smile that I maintain… that is just a facade. You could think of it as a tactic to rule, but with it, I have gained the ability to read people like an open book.”

He raised his eyebrows, he didnt get what she was trying to say. “I dont understand…”

She then bloomed a smile. “I act senile in front of everyone. This way people tend to let their guard in front of me. And when they do that, I get a glimpse of the people that I am working with. And people like you slip up from time to time, giving me precise information that I need.”

‘Did she just say, people like me? Does she know something?’

Still, to maintain the facade he tried asking her what she meant. “What do you mean Mother.”

She leaned back on her chair. “Father Yuriel, when you came to me, giving me a report on how two of our Knight turned towards the Dark path and joined a Dark Bloodborne family, everyone was furious at them, it could be seen from their faces, but your face for some reason told a different story.” She then leaned forward. “Your mood was down, your body language showed that. Curiously you looked disappointed for some reason rather than enraged, all those people in the room were not able to sense it, but I did.”

A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

His heart started beating faster, and he started sweating profusely, but still, he bloomed a fake smile on his face. “What are you trying to say, Mother?”

She didnt show any interest in answering his question, she then moved forward. “Now curious, I myself investigated a little bit. Those girls were never under your care, and you have only met them a few times. Yet you cared so much about them, it was very suspicious.”

His heart was about to burst open, but she was not done yet. “So I investigated a little bit. And it is then I found Josephine.”

Hearing that name sends chills down his spine. Cat was out of the bag, he lowered his head and resigned to his faith, he felt embarrassed as he had sinned. “You know about her?”

She nodded her head. “Yes. I know everything dear.”

He finally looked up. “I am ready to accept any punishment.”

She shook her head. “Father Yuriel, you have sinned. As a Bishop of the Church of Itab, you were never allowed to have children, yet you had two of them. They then turned to the Dark Path and became Dark Mages. Do you even know what kind of jeopardy it puts the church in?”

He got from his chair and kneeled beside her. “I accept my sins, Mother. I am willing to pay any price for them.”

But still, she continued, “Your deeds could tarnish the reputation of the church. It would be a scandal of the century and it would take a lot of scrubbing to even suppress the situation.”

“I will accept anything that the church would offer me.”

“I want the heads of both the twins.” He immediately looked up, surprised. “Do you understand Yuriel? I want their heads. And I want you to bring those heads to me.”

He shook his head. “Mother I…” but he was cut off in between. “I will not hear it. You are a very respectful Bishop of the Church. I cannot let you tarnish our reputation like this. I want those girls’ heads. And I wanted them yesterday. Do not disappoint me again, Yuriel.”

His breathing became faster, he was about to plead again, he could not do it, he could not kill them all these years ago, how the hell was he supposed to kill them now? But the stern glare of the Pope made him back down. He quietly got up and left the room, leaving behind an innocent Pope with her tea.

***

It was a typical night for the Ulaspas family, they were currently raiding a city, feeding their babies, the only thing different today was that Yasmine and Kaisel were on herding duty, while Sara and Tara were resting. All the awakened ones in the city had been taken care of, so now the Vampas could freely roam around creating havoc.

While sitting on the highest tower in the city, Yasmine hugged Kaisel’s arms, silently looking at the destruction before them. “I can never get enough of this.” She commented, to which Kaisel grabbed her waist, and brought her closer to him.

“You should really work on your hate of humans.” He knew that it was a sore topic for her, but he had to say it, this type of hate was not good for them.

His words were enough to piss her off, she let go of his arms and made some distance between them. “How can you say that?” she asked.

“You know how it is Yasmine, your hate had always come in the way of your radical thinking. It would be for the best if you let the hate go a little bit.”

She looked calm on the surface, but he knew better, her calmness was like a silence just before a storm. “NEVER,” she said in a venomous voice.

He sighed. “I am not saying to forgive all of them. I am just saying that you should try to not let your hate cloud your judgment.”

“It happens once.”

“What about the Opera job, then what you did do in the embassy? And what about the biggest one? You are the reason Bishop Yuriel is after us.”

She took offense at his words. “So do you think that all of this is my fault?”

“Not solely your fault, but you are responsible for half the shit we have to go through.” It was then she lost it, she got from the ledge, he thought that she would start berating him and cussing at him.

But he was surprised that she didnt do anything, and just stared at something behind him.

Now curious, he turned around to see what she was looking at, he followed her gaze and then spotted a Vampas on the roof of the nearby house, facing South, as he looked around, he saw that every Vampas in the city was facing south.

All the Vampas in the city stopped behaving like rabid animals and were all looking facing south as if they could hear or smell something from that direction, something more appetizing than the meal before them.

‘What the hell is going on? They have never done something like this before.’

Before he knew it, all the creatures abruptly started running, and all of them started heading towards the south.

Seeing the whole herd heading south, leaving behind their food, both he and Gloria paused their fight for a moment and went after the Vampas. They cannot let their little piggies run amok…