Back to the underground chamber that was far cry from the catacombs of Saint Ambrosius' Monastery. While not receiving any sunlight, the chamber was pretty bright from the oil lanterns hung neatly at every corner, rested on the wall partitions made of wooden boards.

At the farthest wall from the entrance a shoddy tapestry was hanging, black and yellow in color. It was the symbol of a snake that resembles the head of a wolf, the official symbol of the Viperwolves, was carved there.

In front of the carpet stood various furnitures, a short table and a long couch. Various kinds of luxurious delicacies were served on the plates on the table.

A man and a woman were sitting on the couch very casually. The man put one foot on the dining table, while the woman was lying down on the man’s left thigh, cradling a certain golden artifact.

“Ah, so this is the priceless Saint Ambrosius' Rosary, with its long history and untold value. Marvelous! Well done Maven, for stealing the real thing and not being tricked by the replica. I can understand if you won’t tell me how you stole it, but to me you have passed with a very satisfying mark. What do you think, Calhoun my dear?” Theana said while caressing her husband’s face.

Calhoun then looked back with a moody face.

“I’m afraid I have to beg to differ, Theana. Maven, a novice thief who failed at stealing from Croac the Frog, could actually succeed at a much more difficult job?” Calhoun then turned towards Maven. “Explain your method in more details, Maven. Just convince me you didn’t commit any recklessness or violation of our codes of conduct.”

Before the two leaders of the gang which were also her teachers, Maven, who stood casually yet politely crossed her hands on her chest, her eyes looking at the floor.

Calmly, she explained, “The underline of my method is according to the lessons that both of you have taught me; Learn about your target and use it to your advantage."

"Right, and?"

"Madame Theana knows I came from that monastery, right? So, to smoothen my plan, I spent six months hiding in the monastery library, studying about the holy rosary, its history and the traits that proof its authenticity. During that time, I also studied about the history and architecture of the monastery, to find a secret underground chamber beneath the monastery that was filled with creatures of the dark. These scars of my body are the proofs of my struggle.”

Still cradling the rosary, Theana commented, “I think that’s detailed enough, Cal. Come on, what else should she do to convince you?”

Looking at his wife, Calhoun could only shake his head. He then turned again towards Maven and said, “Grrr, all right! With this I declare that you have passed the initiation test! From this day, Maven Istravel is a full member of the Viperwolves! Now, since you are our personal pupil and because you have acquired this invaluable rosary, as the prize for passing the initiation, you can ask for one favor. Whatever it shall be, as long as it is within our power we shall grant it.”

Maven's fingers briefly rubbed her chin, contemplating over her ‘favor’ to ask. Her heart beat faster and her lips began to shiver. Then she deliberately stared at Theana who was holding the magical rosary.

“For a favor, I just want to inquire about something," said Maven. "Eighteen years ago, a married elf couple was ambushed and robbed here in Redne. The culprits were the Viperwolves. Now, what happened to them next? I’m sure one of you two can still remember it.”

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Hearing that, Calhoun quickly reached for his weapon, a double-bladed saber with the shape of a crescent moon and immediately stood from his seat. He charged towards Maven like a wolf pouncing at a prey.

Nonetheless, Maven was ready. Without her archery set, she drew her daggers. Then she parried the enemy’s slashes that crossed left and right.

“You bastard! How dare you ask about the Viperwolves' past actions! What’s your intention, huh? Who are you?” yelled Calhoun.

“You wife’s daughter.”

Those three words instantly changed Calhoun’s face expression. His brain quickly worked to assemble all the facts. The first fact was an eighteen years old elf, adopted from Saint Ambrosius Monastery. The second, he suddenly remembered that the cleric who fought him eighteen years ago could’ve been from the same monastery.

Connect the two dots, and what he got was…

Even Maven herself had guessed it. She quickly made a distance, ready to welcome the next attack.

Thus it happened, Calhoun charged again, “Intruder! Traitor! I should’ve known since the very beginning!”

“Oh, I remember now.”

Theana’s voice halted Calhoun in his steps and turned around. “Thea, stop! Don’t say it!”

Yet the woman with blueish black hair didn’t seem to hear her husband. Her eyes looked empty as if she was hypnotized.

With the magical rosary shining in her hand, Theana continued rambling, “Yes, that elf…. He told his wife to run and faced us alone. One against seven. The female half-elf wanted to run but one of my boys injured her.”

“Stop!” Calhoun immediately charged on Theana to silence her. But suddenly an invisible power coming from Theana beat him back until he thudded on the wall. His body was shaking like he had just been struck by lightning. That was part of the might of Saint Ambrosius' Rosary in action.

The warm droplets of tears began flowing through Maven’s cheek. How eager she was to finish her helpless enemies right away, but she refrained from doing so.

And Theana kept talking, “Suddenly a man appeared and stirred us some trouble. Calhoun tended to him for a while, and he was pretty touch. So we decided to run away with the loots. What else to do? We have already done our job…” She then fell unconscious.

Suddenly Maven’s joints grew limp. Her entire being was shaking, even her lips. “Father… mother… I have finally uncovered the whole truth.” She mumbled. “The killers have confessed, may your souls rest in peace in heaven…”

“Tsk, tsk, tsk, so it turns out you are the daughter of that poor elf couple…” Calhoun has apparently stood up again, then he approached the unconscious Theana and took the rosary from her hand.

“And, all this time you have infiltrated this gang, learned from us and exploited our trust.” He then put his wife on the couch. “But I still don’t get it, just now you have plenty of opportunity to finish both of us, why didn’t you go for it?”

“One, because I’m not a ruthless killer like you.” Maven answered firmly while pointing up with one finger. And then she pointed two. “Two, you didn’t really give me the chance, not with all the troops waiting behind that wall. Three, I will make you pay for all the crimes you have committed, justice must be served!”

Calhoun was dumbfounded. He was silent, and then bursted in laughter. “Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha! This is rich! The most outrageous joke I have ever heard! A brat like you threatening me, preaching me about justice?”

His laugh switched to yelling. “What do you know about justice? You spoke about justice for all people, but what's for me? Do you think I can be a good guy with this face and skills? I’m the wolf! The cold-blooded murderer who finds joy in the stench of my victims’ blood and the glimmer of their loots! This is my true self, the predator! Your talk is useless!”

“Here, take back your trash!” Calhoun threw the magical rosary to the floor. Maven quickly picked it up and moved back to her stance.

The boss of the gang shoted again, “It’s time for you to become trash as well! Viperwolves, get out, all of you!”

Just like the secret entrance in the front, the partition boards on the left and right opened like doors. A number of men jumped out from those gaps and began surrounding Maven, blocking the way out.

Those were the furious bandits, male and female. There were also some who looked like they were normal citizens, among them a restaurant chef with bulging stomach and a merchant with a fake smile. Whether hidden or shown, they all had the same tattoos on their left arms.

Maven was not surprised. She was already prepared for this situation. Her eyes glances at her enemis to learn about them. There are twenty six of them. Nice.

It was Calhoun’s turn to grin spryly. “I take my words back. To begin with you never have the chance to attack! Now, let alone escaping, you won’t even have the time to breathe! Viperwolves, finish her!” Calhoun pointed at the target and the bandits charged at once.