The darkness of the night hid the bloodstains on the floor. The faint moonlight and cold night air woke her up. She opened her eyes and pushed herself to her feet.

"Ugh... what happened?"

She bent down to examine her body. She wasn't hurt, but she found it hard to move as if there was a delay in her body accepting the orders from her head.

"Ugh..."

It took her a long time to get to her feet, and it bothered her that it was already night, given her physical condition. Lucretta's orders to her were to check in on Bashme's progress on the mission, which shouldn't have been that difficult, but she took too much time. How long had she been down?

Struggling, the woman sat up, swallowing air between her teeth.

"Ayresha, did you sleep well?"

Someone said. The woman called Ayresha turned her head in the direction of the sound, and her whole body shook. There stood a woman with long, red hair, holding a blood-red greatsword. Behind her stood a group of men in black robes.

"Lu-Lucretta?! Why are you here..."

"Stand up and explain. Why did you kill Bashme?"

"What?!"

Ayresha gulped. What the hell was she talking about? Killed Bashme? Lucretta's red eyes looked like they were boiling with lava. Ayresha stammered, avoiding Lucretta's eyes.

"Oh, no, Lady Bashme was already dead when I arrived, what reason would I have to kill her?"

Then one of the people behind Lucretta said. "Ayresha usually enjoyed cursing little children. She might have wanted Bashme's mission in Agade."

"What, you! Even if I wanted to, how could I defeat Bashme with my power?"

As Ayresha hastily excused herself, another spoke up.

"I can smell Leaf here. Leaf is a witch of great power, yet she insists on being a servant of others, and we can never guess her true intentions. It is clear Ayresha has joined hands with Leaf. With Leaf's help, she killed Lady Bashme."

"That's not true! By the time I got here..."

Lucretta took a step forward, then raised her sword. "Enough with the excuses, Ayresha. If you had nothing to do with Bashme's death, why does your heart bear her mark?"

"What?!"

Ayresha looked down at her chest once more, realizing that Bashme's energy was hovering near her heart. Bashme's mark would alert all who bore Granadilla's blood to the location of her killer.

"Ayresha, you really made a mess. The curses Bashme gathered have lost their power, and the shard of Lutea is gone. Where is it? Did you give it to Leaf?"

"I swear, Lucretta! I really didn't do anything! I was just looking around Rekabi and suddenly... Yes, that's right, someone switched hearts with me, and this one is my heart...ugh...ugh!"

Ayresha couldn't finish her sentence. Lucretta's sword had sliced off one of her arms. A red maggot wriggled from the cut.

"Ayresha, I hate futile conversations. Who would covet the heart of a mere mortal like you? Tell me now. Where's the shard?"

Ayresha groaned in pain and clutched at the severed part. The injustice was beyond her comprehension.

"Who did this to me? What did I do to deserve this?!

But she knew it wouldn't work. Lucretta is not the type of person who listens to others and Lucretta's other subordinates want her to go away so that they can rise to higher positions. No one is willing to stand up for her. But confronting Lucretia was not an option either. Yet, Airesa didn't want to die.

Silence.

In the end, Ayresha decided to run, because she thought it was the only way she'd likely survive. Her thighs grew as thick as a horse's, her feet grew hooves, and something like wings grew on her back. This was why she was often sent on intelligence missions. She was very good at getting out of trouble.

"How pathetic"

Lucretta grabbed her sword and ran after Ayresha, her speed outstripping hers. As expected. She might be a fast runner, but she was no match for the likes of Lucretta, Akale, and Ambrosia.

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"Damn it! Is this how I'm going to die? This is so unfair!"

And then, the ground shook. Something unseen stood between Ayresha and Lucretta.

"So you did conspire with Leaf after all, Ayresha."

"What, huh?"

Ayresha didn't recognize the words. But when Lucretta stopped pursuing her, she realized that this was her chance, so she ran forward. Lucretta shouted in anger.

"What are you trying to do, Leaf? Stop hiding and come out!"

It was a cloudy night. Lucretta hadn't realized that the shadows of the surrounding trees were unusually dense.

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Ayresha looked around. She had run through the ruins of Rekabi, out of Agade, through the jungles of Gudea, and into southern Ascidia. 'This is strange,' she thought under her breath.

"There is no one among the witch's subordinates who does not know the mark of Bashme. So the pursuit should continue endlessly. But no one came after her until I passed through Gudea…"

"Have they decided to let me go?

An optimistic thought briefly crossed her mind. But she quickly realized that was unlikely. There was no way Lucretta, who cherished Bashme, would let go of Ayresha, who appeared to have something to do with his death.

"What are they up to?"

Being chased was unsettling. Among the witch's followers were many who excelled at evil scheming. Continuing like this, Airesa feared she might fall into a trap. With that thought, she turned back, hiding her presence, and concealed herself in the shadows of the dense Gudea jungle.

Then she saw it.

"Laotou, how long have I been asleep?"

"A month. Do you know how anxious I was, thinking you'd never wake up..."

"I guess we should go find Murjana."

The man with the head of a wolf and the wings of an eagle was speechless. When Ayresha saw him, she felt a familiar sensation. She tried to figure out what it was, but then Lucretta appeared.

"Cockroach... you're still alive?"

"I'm not a cockroach, I'm a spider."

The thing, half spider, half beautiful dark-haired woman, held up a large axe spear. Ayresha realized it was Laotou, the apostle she had heard so much about. It was rumored that Laotou had been mortally wounded and had lost her legs and immobile, but in front of her, all of her limbs were intact.

"Is that Shamas? You lot, what have you done? And you still claim to be Apostles of Lutea?"

Lucretta said as she looked at the wolf-headed man with Laotou. The man was obviously Shamas, an apostle of Lutea, but his aura was strange. It felt very familiar.

'Could it be... me? Could it be that they swapped my heart?'

"Isn't it funny that you question who deserves to be an Apostle,Lucretta?" With that, the silver-haired boy lunged at Lucretta. It was a reckless, straightforward lunge, but Lucretta's sword clashed with the boy's and she was knocked back.

'What are you guys doing? Support Lady Lucretta!'

The army led by Lucretta hurled curses at the silver-haired boy, but none of them reached Edulis. The axe spear that Laotou wielded created a vortex that sucked in the curses. Meanwhile, Shamas lunged at the panicked witch's minions.

"Oh, no..."

"This aura clearly belongs to our comrade... Why would you..."

He bit their necks and clawed at them. The witch's army, known for their lackluster loyalty, began to flee in fear of Shamash's might.

The silver-haired boy focused solely on Lucretia.

'What's going on? How can they overpower Lady Lucretta? She's one of the strongest to inherit the blood of Granadilla!'

Airesa stood frozen, watching the intense battle. Actually, the intensity was all on Lucretia's side. The boy was at ease. Like a flowing river, he was moving forward, smoothly, yet powerfully, overwhelming Lucretta.

"Ugh…What are you!"

Lucretta's crimson sword began to crack. Ayresha was conflicted.

'What should I do? Run away? But my heart is over there... How can I defeat those who are overpowering Lady Lucretia?'

She didn't have to think long. In that brief moment, the battle was decided. The boy was unscathed, and Lucretia's head rolled on the ground.

She clamped both hands over her mouth and swallowed hard. Then the silver-haired boy spoke.

"You there?"

The boy suddenly appeared over to where Ayresha was hiding.

"I'm asking you to stay. Act as bait."

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Murjana swung her sword at Kurzina. There was no feeling of flesh. There was only the cold clamor of steel against steel. Murjana looked into his face, and her tiny pink lips parted as a high-pitched voice escaped from them.

"Are you... alive?"

"Yes."

At the sight of it, Kurzina slammed her forehead into the ground. The thud was loud enough to be heard. She didn't dare call out to him, didn't think she deserved it. She didn't want to ask for forgiveness for she thought she should never be forgiven.

There was only one thing Kurzina could say now.

"I'm relieved... truly relieved... that you're alive..."

Edulis still locked swords with Murjana. All of the Fey buildings had corroded and crumbled from the poisonous aura she exuded.

"Murjana, sheathe your sword."

Murjana did not listen to Edulis. Her ivory-colored pupils had turned into black butterflies.

"You should put away your sword, Edulis. I think she should be killed." Murjana said. "So do the people of the world. They call themselves saints and holy figures, pushing their problems onto others, ungrateful even when someone saves them. Instead, they turn their spears against their saviors. Look at her actions."

Edulis looked into Murjana's eyes. He listened to the curses and venom in her voice.

"You are right, I am not worth saving. I am despicable and ungrateful." With Kurjina's sobbing voice behind her, Edulis spoke.

"What is it that you want, Muryana?"

"We must kill those who hide behind faith, those who invoke it only when it suits them. They don't deserve to live in this world. As long as they exist, Edulis, you will never be happy. They are obstacles."

Edulis looked at Kurzina.

Edulis felt the burning gaze and the coldness in Murjana's voice, and he knew that beneath the anger and venom was a desire to see him happy. The way Murjana looked at him was similar to the way Edulis looked at Lutea.

Realizing this, Edulis said.

"You're right, Murjana, this world is full of scum, and I intend to kill them all."

Edulis understood that it was pointless to try to convince her otherwise.

"However, Kurzina can't die yet. We need the name of the Fey family. There is work to be done with Kurzina as a puppet."

Only after Edulis said that did Murjana seem to understand.

"Is that so, Edulis, if that is your plan, then I must change my approach." As soon as she finished speaking, Murjana immediately changed the direction of her sword.

Her blade formed a crescent-shaped parabola as she lunged at Leaf. Leaf didn't dodge. She didn't even try. Leaf's body crumbled like dried clay under Muryana's blade.

Leaf reappeared ten paces away, grinning.

"Yes, this is it. This is what I wanted to see."

With that, Leaf melted away like a lit candle.