The man she loved had been a very well-known prince. Beloved by his country, his only sin had been to go against the Eternal Queen.

And for that he died.

She had returned back to where she had been, gazing upon the darkness outside of the elevator. The elevator would sometimes shake and screech. Kenichi sat next to her deep in meditation. Aria laid right next to him, deep in peaceful sleep. Then the mercenary had gone somewhere else, deciding that her not responding was getting boring. She continued to peer down upon the abyss, feeling impatient. When was this ride going to reach the bottom?

Someone sidled up next to her. She gave a quick glance, recognizing him as the noblemen on the cover of the newspaper a couple of days ago. The one that embezzled money from a bank his family owned.

“Hey, you’re the Shadow Wolf, aren’t you? I remember seeing you at a party.”

The elevator shook and the lights went off for a second, before it flickered back on.

She didn’t say anything, so he continued building up to what he wanted to ask her.

“My condolences about the Prince. It was tragic what happened to him.” He waited for her to respond. The silence was unbearable to him, so he finally got the courage to say what he wanted to ask. “Say, do you want to team up? I’ve been framed. Just like you, I was forced to come here.”

“I wasn’t forced here,” she said. Her gaze was still down at the abyss. Her fingers gripped the bar. “I came here by choice.”

“Huh?” The man took a step back. “Th-that can’t be true. That’s insane. No one would ever willingly come down here. You gotta be lying.”

Yoru turned to face him.

“I’m not lying. Now scram before I kill you.”

She watched the man run off in disinterest. Her ears adjusted as the bear monk spoke.

“Do you regret coming back?” His eyes were still closed. His face looked peaceful as if he were taking a nap.

“There’s nothing but regret. This is the only path I have left.”

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

He opened one of his eyes.

“There’s always a choice. If not you, it could be another Priestess.”

“There’s no other Priestess that is as compatible than I,” she said, turning back her attention to the abyss below them. A blast of wind from somewhere below blew against her face. Her hair whipped like a flag. Drowned by the winds, she uttered words only for her to hear.

“It is my Fate after all.”

The blast of wind had shaken the elevator. It caused people that were asleep to stir awake. Kenichi stood up, looking over to somewhere in the crowds.

“We’re almost there.” Yoru told him. She could see the ground reflected by the light in the elevator. “You better wake her up carefully. She’s our ace in the hole after all.”

Kenichi nodded and then pushed his way through the crowd. Then a moment later the second most annoying man pushed his way through. The blue haired man came back. He wore a brown cloak. He adjusted the metal mask that covered his mouth.

“Look at what I won? Pretty cool, isn’t it?”

“Only you could call that cool.”

Kenichi closed his eyes, giving an amused smile. He returned meditating. Yoru said nothing. She was unamused by his antics, instead returning him a deathly glare. The blue haired oni laughed it off and then had the audacity to sidle right next to her like old friends.

“You don’t like it?” He pointed to his metal mask.

She didn’t, but she knew he would persist until she said something. “I don’t plan to get along with you. Working with someone like you isn’t pleasant.”

His eyes smiled at that.

“Oh come on, there should be no hard feelings. Just because I wasn’t on your side when-”

She turned to him, daring him to say it. Once he did, they wouldn’t be working together. She didn’t care. Kenichi sensing her bloodlust opened his eyes.

“Yoru.”

His tone was all that was needed to communicate his intention. She still didn’t care. She turned her pressure towards the mercenary. His face twisted in displeasure.

“Hey, hey. I get it. It’s a sore topic. I won’t say anymore.” He held up his hands to surrender.

She let up, and turned back to looking at the darkness as if he hadn’t tried to talk about it.

Subaru grumbled, cursing under his breath about her and left.

Kenichi continued to stare at her back.

“We have to get along, Yoru.”

“No,” she said.

Kenichi sighed. Though useless he said it again.

“We have to.”

Yoru didn’t care. She rested her head on the back of her hand.

“Yoru,” Kenichi said sternly. “This isn’t just about you.”

She heard him take Aria’s hand with his own.

“Please.”

She didn’t have time to answer. The elevator came to a sudden stop, and Yoru grabbed the railing before she lost her footing. The criminals that were sleeping stirred to see what was happening.

An electronic voice resounded above them.

“Welcome to your destination, and to where you will stay for the rest of your life.”

The elevator creaked open.