After a long day of work at the Pizzeria Palace, Nera reflected on what happened last morning with the runaway trolley and the angry mob. She regretted what she said to Allen about him not knowing anything about her. Nera felt she had gone too far when she knew she was intentionally not telling him about her past. However, that did not mean he had the right to butt into her business and cause a fuss when she wasn’t.

“That guy’s such an idiot. Some nice-sounding words can’t fix everything.” Nera heaved a sigh and looked at a message she got from Allen. With her imagining his voice, it read ‘hey, if you feel like it, we could go to Knight Arms tonight to help prepare for the Festival.”

Over the past week and some change, Allen had sent messages like that to Nera almost every day since she lacked the ability to enter the Luminaire Ward on her own. Her being unable to maintain an aura around her body prevented the young woman from passing through the numerous Gateway scattered throughout the city on her own. Instead, Allen would extend his aura to cover her as well and she always went with him. She did roughly unlock some of her Inheritor powers during the fight with the Soothsayer but was not able to do so again with any measure of control.

She did not open the message, meaning it would appear unread on his phone, and walked outside the restaurant. After some consideration, she decided that Allen had been punished enough by her silent treatment and she would allow him to bask in her presence once more. Nera would wait in front of the usual Gateway they used in front of a dilapidated mural of a flower-filled garden and text that he was to be there pronto.

‘That’ll be fine, right?’ Nera thought with some hesitance but before she could make up her mind, she picked up a fast-approaching sound and swiftly moved to intercept its source.

A figure had leaped down from the rooftops with a blade in each hand. The clang of metal rang out into the surroundings as the assailant’s weapons struck Nera’s gauntlets. After this exchange, the figure retreated with a wide leap and Nera was able to get a good look at them.

She was a woman in her early twenties wearing a pristine black and white business suit and wielding a scimitar in each gloved hand. They had bright golden eyes that shone through the darkness and similar to Nera, their hair was black and white but split symmetrically between the two vertically. The woman’s black hair adorned the top of her head to her eye level while her white hair stopped at her shoulders with sharp precision as if cut by her blades. It was a distinct contrast to Nera’s messier style.

“It’s been a while, Queenie. I would say it’s a pleasure to see you again after so long but that would be a lie.”

“Your personal feelings toward me are irrelevant.”, the woman said in a very matter-of-fact tone as she pointed one of her blades directly at Nera.

“All that does matter is that you’re my target, Ace.”

“That’s a weird way to greet someone,” Nera stated in irritation.

“I was just assessing if your skills had gotten dulled after all this time.”, her tone softened as she lowered her weapons. Then, with a flick of wrists, the two blades disappeared into her sleeves.

“An awful method of doing it then. Could’ve just asked.”, Nera waited several moments of consideration before retracting her weapons as well with snaps of her fingers. Nera was not too surprised by this greeting. The woman in front of her for all the sophisticated air she liked to put on was usually over eager to engage in a clash of metal.

“Heh, you’re always looking for an excuse to swing those swords of yours at something. What are you here for anyway, Queenie? Also, do you happen to have anything to do with a runaway trolley in the Underside.” Nera asked, causing one of the women’s eyes to twitch.

“You’re really going to insist in calling me such an insufferable nickname. Is the word “Queen” that hard for you to pronounce?”

“Nah, it’d just leave a bad taste in my mouth if I called you that,” Nera slighted. “Now, answer my question. Were you all involved in that trolley mess? It seemed it was targeting a front for the Green Manticores.”

“Hmph, it was entirely unintentional. We simply tracked them down to that trolley and it happened to go out of control in the process. Not our fault at all.” Queen dismissed.

Nera’s face burned with both anger and embarrassment. “How could you do that? You know how hard it is already for us?!” Nera spat vehemently.

“It’s all a means to an end. If you listen to what I have to say then you would understand that too.” Queen said sternly.

“If it’s about joining back up with you guys, you’re wasting your time. I’m not interested in being a hired thug. We get a chance to live our lives the way we wanted and you all chose that?” She huffed.

“It’s not like the other options we had were much better but that’s beside the point. I’m not asking you to join us, just help us with our current job. If all goes well, we may not have to take another job ever again.” This statement rattled Nera and Queen started walking closer towards the young woman. She ran her fingers along the dried-up beige paint of the wall of the building next to her, peeling it off as her footsteps clacked on the cobblestone pavement.

“...They must be paying you an awful amount of cash for you to say that.”

“Our employer is offering much more than money. It's something that could free you from the trouble you’ve been facing lately due to a bothersome ritual.”

“How do you know that? Who told you?” Nera was surprised and bewildered by this revelation. She had not thought they had anything to do with the Grim Inheritor Trial which Queen’s words seem to be suggesting. This made all sorts of doubts swirl through her mind. Every person she met who was involved in the trial all seemed to be prone to extreme acts of cruelty. Now she was left to wonder if Queen and the others had become like that as well.

‘They haven’t been doing the most honest work lately but-’, Nera’s thoughts were halted by a hand being placed on her shoulder by Queen. She reflexively tried to back up but was stopped by Queen’s firm grip and the somber frown on her face.

“I was hoping that part about you was a bluff. I know you’re confused about what’s going on but we’re still on the right track.”, she reassured.

“What’s the deal you have with your employer then?”, she was slightly more open to listening to what Queen had to say.

“We’ll receive a treasure that can remove your curse. But it’s not just that, it’ll also be able to erase the one that’s been hanging over all of us like an anvil dangling from a flimsy rope. All our problems will be blown away with the wind.” The golden-eyed woman stated as she released the scrap of peeled paint and let the night breeze carry it off. Meanwhile, Nera was contemplating her words deeply.

“And what we’ll do in exchange…” Queen leaned down to whisper the last part into Nera’s ear and her violet eyes widened in shock. She then knocked Queen’s hand off her shoulder and recoiled away from her.

“You can’t be serious! There’s so many things that can go wrong with that.”

“But the reward is worth the risk. We have to take it.”

“That’s only if you succeed.”, Nera sharply replied and Queen’s face darkened.

“We will, we have to. Our employer recommended you because they thought you could be a great help in this endeavor and we think the same. However, we won’t try to force you to. We both know this could be our only chance to fix things for everyone though, including her, so what’ll you decide?”

Nera clutched her head in frustration as she tried to collect her thoughts.

“Ugh...I'm still not sure about this job of yours.”

Queen sighed, “That’s understandable. I’ll give you some time to think it over but you’ll only have until July 28th, two weeks from today . Until then, take care, Ace.”, with this last ultimatum, Queen walked away further into the alley before disappearing from sight.

Nera was left there wondering what the outcome of her decision would cause and even if things all went well for her and she was rid of any attachment to the Grim Reaper Trial, where would that leave Allen and their promise to each other? Maybe that would be the best. Even now, she did not know if she deserved to walk the same path as him.

***

The next day, Allen got up early in the morning to head to Knight Arms Gym. He had told Amy that he had suddenly come under the weather and it would probably take him a few days to recover. She told him that was fine and to get as much rest as he needed. Allen hated lying to her this way when he knew how busy Coffee & Chronicles could get during the week but he wasn’t going to risk Porthos canceling the match beforehand.

Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

Regardless, Allen especially felt bad since he was doing anything else but getting rest. Instead, he was in a silver and maroon gym with training equipment lining the wall and several rings raised off the floor. Allen was currently sparring in one of those dueling arenas.

With swords, spears, and even claws, Allen had to go up against a myriad of different weapons as he sparred against Porthos’s crew. They never held back and every hour until the afternoon was spent in brutal combat with them. He figured they would not be this eager to spar with a Craftless just for the sake of training and it did not take Allen long to realize what they were trying to do.

“Sweet, that duel earned me 5 points. That’s enough to get the Loot I’ve been saving up for.” One of the Crafters Allen sparred with celebrated.

“Alright! With this multi-hit Loot, I can hit a vital area five times a second!” Another thug called out to the rest while holding out his phone with something that looked like a mobile game on it.

“Loot Tree is an app that can teach fighting techniques…” Allen eventually surmised. He still did not get the full picture of how it did this. What he did realize was that duels needed to be performed to get points to unlock more “Loot” as the Crafters called it. What the Loot was exactly was the next mystery Allen had to uncover.

As he rolled out of a heavy strike from a halberd user among the many sparring opponents he faced that day, Allen assessed his opponent’s moves. Allen’s breath was ragged and his face was covered in sweat from barely getting in time to even lay his mock handaxe on the ground and sit down himself. Meanwhile, the Crafter across from him was not tired at all.

Allen had faced him before already, earlier that day, but the halberd user had gotten an hour to recover what little energy he expended during their match. Despite that, Allen was used to dodging after all this time and was much harder to hit than before.

“Hmph, guess I get a chance to test out this,’ The halberd user reached into his pocket. Allen could just barely make out him pressing an icon on the screen of his phone. Immediately, he swung his halberd again but this time, the weapon curved unexpectedly and hit Allen in his ribs. The blow sent him flying out of the ring.

“Agh!” Allen groaned loudly in pain as he clutched his side. “...Wh-what did you do with your phone?!”

“Huh? What are you talking about? Did anyone else see anything strange?” The halberd user spoke loudly and his friends shook their heads while the other gym-goers ignored the situation entirely. “See? Anyway, looks like my match is over. Time for the next one.”

“Whatever.” Allen stifled the pain and got back up to his feet for more sparring sessions. For the next three days, he went through hell as he fought Crafters back to back with no rest or reprieve. He was not just doing this to make sure Porthos upheld his end of the deal but to sharpen his own skills in preparation for their Knight Duel and maybe find out what the secret behind this mysterious Loot Tree app was.

However, no matter how much he tried or how much he analyzed their techniques, he was never able to win a single match. By the end of the third day, his body was worn ragged. His muscles screamed out in pain, his joints creaked, and his skin was a collection of off-color bruises.

When he finally left Knight Arms, he was thankful that he would be able to get some needed rest at home. That’s when he suddenly got a text on his phone. His face was a whirlwind of emotions as it lit up at the thought it would be any of Virtuoso and it dimmed when he saw it was from Luka instead. However, some light returned when he read the contents of the message.

“So, Evelyn’s finally awake. …That’s great.” His fingers gripped the phone tightly as he remembered why he walked such a thorny path.

***

Luka asked him to visit at the hospital where both Evelyn and Harris were staying outside of the Luminaire District. Apparently, there was a hospital in the Underside but it was usually reserved for V.I.P.’s who paid into it, those with a high enough Merit in the Status System, and rare emergencies.

This unnerved Allen. He doubted a normal hospital would be able to treat the kind of injuries Evelyn received properly. It was Atelier City, so the treatment would be top of the line but the physicians would have no idea how to treat any magical ailments or inflictions.

When Allen arrived at the door of the room where Evelyn was staying, Luka was coming out. He had a solemn expression on his face instead of his usual carefree demeanor.

“Hey, Allen. Thanks again for calling for help as soon as you found them. Things could’ve been much worse if you hadn’t shown up when you did.” Luka patted him on the shoulder earnestly while Allen felt ashamed for his connection to the incident.

“You shouldn’t be thanking me, if I hadn’t pissed off that punk, he wouldn’t have sicked the Green Manticores on the Lounge.” Allen reflected bitterly.

“The Green Manticores…” Luka spat out vehemently and the grip of his black metallic fingers pressed firmly on Allen’s shoulder. “Listen, don’t take on any of the blame for what those bastards did, you hear me?”

Allen nodded nervously in response. Luka’s words were more like a command than trying to assuage Allen of his guilt. Afterward, Luka released his grip and walked off down the hallway. “I’m going to grab some snacks for the rest of the day. Do you want anything?”

“No, that’s fine.” Allen looked outside the small windows to see that it was already dark. He wondered how long Luka planned to stay by Evelyn’s side.

“Hey, you can come in now!” A voice from inside called out to Allen and made him jolt.

“Ah, yeah,” Allen replied as he walked in to greet Evelyn. “Sorry to keep you waiting, how’s the place treating you?”

“It’s been good,” Evelyn answered cheerily as Allen tried to keep his eyes from wavering. Her arms and neck were wrapped in white medical cloth and gauze. They hid the portions of her skin that had been brutally peeled off. “The food’s a little lackluster but I can still watch all the singing gameshows I want from this TV.”

Evelyn used her remote to point at a flat-screen mounted on the opposite wall. It was currently showing some reality show where the judges were breaking down the musical performances of contestants. “The graphics on it are just as good as the ones at the R&R Lounge…”

Her words trailed off like windblown sand as her hand fell to her lap.

“Don’t worry, the Lounge will be good as new in no time!” Allen insisted while pounding his chest.

That did nothing to erase the dour line on Evelyn’s face. “You don’t have to console me like I’m a child, Allen. I know that Mr. Fletcher doesn’t have enough to repair the damages. I saw how much they wrecked the place with my own eyes.”

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to sugarcoat anything.” Allen apologized but Evelyn simply motioned for him to take a seat on one of the two chairs next to the bed. He did as told before asking, “Are you sure you’re okay?”

“I am, but I heard what you said to Luka,” Evelyn confessed. “You don’t have to blame yourself for what happened. We’ve run into trouble like this before. It’s just this time almost no one was there to fight back.”

“…Even so, I still have to do something to set things right. I can’t let them off the hook…did you see a tall guy with blonde hair and blue eyes that day?” Allen questioned with a determined look.

Evelyn shook her head. “It’s kind of a blur but I don’t remember seeing anyone that fit that description. Regardless, you’re not seriously thinking of trying to go after them, right?”

“…No, not anymore at least but I’ve arranged a Knight Duel with one of the Manticores. If I win, they’ll have to pay for the damage they caused, all of it.” Allen assured while leaning forward.

“Huh? What are you trading in exchange for that?” Evelyn’s voice raised.

A pause occurred as Evelyn attempted to drill holes into his skull with her eyes until Allen relented begrudgingly. “The trade was that I would take on a challenge to help Porthos’s thugs gain points for something by sparring with them for five full days.”

“I see. Have you told Nera and the others about this?” Evelyn inquired lowly.

The young man shook his head. “No.”

“Have you gotten a good sense of your opponent’s skills after all this time?”

“...No, I haven’t sparred with that guy, Porthos, these last few days,” Allen admitted.

“Do you have a real plan for beating him despite that?”

Allen’s head hung low. “...no.”

“Then…how the hell do you expect me to believe you can win if you can’t even confidently say anything!” Evelyn let out a yell that became a ferocious roar and roused Allen to alertness. “The first step to winning is believing that you can and the first step to believing is saying it out loud with your chest.”

She struck a frail fist against Allen’s heart with an encouraging smile.

“You’re right. I don’t know how yet but all that means is that I’ll figure it out later.” Allen declared.

“That’s the spirit.” Evelyn beamed right before her face contorted in pain and she clutched her throat.

“What happened?!” Allen asked worriedly, almost rising from his seat until a hurried gesture from the young woman stopped him.

“...My scales are still in the process of healing. Looks like I overused them just now.” Evelyn explained.

“Your scales…they’ll grow back on their own?” Allen asked with a mixture of concern and curiosity.

Evelyn nodded. “The ether in my body will gather to replace the scales that were lost as my skin heals. I can channel energy into them to alter my voice because they’ve already healed a lot so far. I won’t be in star songstress shape, but I’ll be good enough to see you beat that asshole Crafter in a couple of days.”

“Thanks in advance. I’ll make sure to give a show that won’t disappoint.” Allen promised.

Allen got up to go and Evelyn waved him goodbye. When he exited the door, he saw Luka with a bunch of snacks in his arms just like he said he would get. Allen realized he had been waiting outside to give them a chance to talk alone but didn’t say anything about it. Luka simply gave a nod of silently understood affirmation as Allen left. He made sure to stop by Harris Fletcher’s room on the way out and exchange some kind words with the older man as well.

After reaching the streets of Atelier City again, Allen crossed a long pedestrian bridge over a wide canal. A booming noise came from overhead that called his attention. A sleek jet that illuminated the night with flashing lights nosedived into the water to everyone else on the bridge’s shock. However, instead of crashing, the jet smoothly passed through the water’s surface. The flashing lights of the jet indicated it moved under the water with submarine capabilities.

While the crowd stopped to chatter and gawk at the awe-inspiring wonder, Allen simply looked back to where he was going and headed home with renewed resolve that would not be distracted by glittering lights any longer.