"Thanks to Emion! It's you! And I didn't fall asleep anyway!"

Her heart was pounding in her chest, she was breathing heavily. Shirei inspected her for a moment, then, to see if he was right, he asked, "Are you sure you're that happy to see me?"

"Certain! I don't know why... but yes!"

The boy brought his nose close to her lips. Marina smiled and grabbed his face with both hands, narrowing her eyes waiting for him to come closer. She understood why he was there, he wanted to kiss her. It was obvious.

"You're drunk," the boy said instead

Marina snorted and pushed him away, "For a glass? And anyway I'm serious...!"

"Me too, you drank Miula's mead."

"The goddess of wine?"

"Yes, someone hid it in my closet. Perhaps a son of Cragar from the past."

Ien's daughter realized, it made perfect sense.

"I don't know-... I'm not, really... at least... not so much that I'm not aware of what I'm doing!"

She didn't realize it then, but part of her knew she would regret it a few hours later.

Shirei looked at her, he seemed to be amused, "Okay, I'll take you to drink something normal this time, if you stay here you'll catch a cold."

"Okay!"

Cragar's son reached out to help her up. Marina was a little surprised that the boy was worried about her health, but she pretended nothing happened and got up. Shirei slowed his pace and walked beside her.

The two demigods walked to the canteen, which was completely deserted. The boy immediately headed towards the thirteenth table.

"So, can you take me a drink?" Marina asked in a sarcastic tone.

Shirei stared at her, "I'll get you some milk."

"I'm sorry..."

Lorenzo was passing through, looking for a snack before returning to the laboratory. When he saw Shirei and Marina, he decided to approach, worried about the latter. After what had happened, he didn't want to leave her alone with Cragar's son.

"Lore!" The daughter of Ien greeted him.

The boy sat down and showed the box he was holding.

"I created the first prototype for the magnetic gun."

Marina smiled and opened her eyes. Shirei returned shortly after and handed her the milk.

"H-hi, Shirei."

The boy waved, "Have you finished it?"

"Did you succeed? Fantastic!"

Lorenzo took out the multi-everything and placed it on the table for safety.

"It's not finished, it's just a first version," he replied, "It's probably not very powerful, but it should work for a start."

"So it works?"

Ien's son nodded, "I can only fire one shot."

"It's more than enough."

Cragar's son turned to the blonde, still sipping her milk.

"You're not going to get shot?"

Shirei didn't reply, but implied a positive response.

"Are you crazy? With your wounds, bullets would kill you."

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The demigod ignored him. He got up and walked about five meters away. Lorenzo immediately took the box, but Marina had already grabbed the gun.

"I will not use my inventions to shoot another demigod."

Ien's daughter smiled as she looked at the weapon.

The newly made gun lay in her palm, it was a creation of craftsmanship and ingenuity. Every detail reflected Lorenzo's meticulous attention and patient work.

The wood of the stock, carefully sanded, showed natural grains that gave the gun a unique character. The engravings were hand-carved along the barrel. The polished metal of the barrel and cylinder gleamed under the light of the mess hall lamps.

"You two are crazy!"

"Ready?" The girl asked.

Lorenzo stepped between the two and grabbed the barrel of the gun, in an attempt to divert the trajectory and not risk Shirei being hit.

Cragar's son closed his eyes. Shadows began to swirl around him, but the boy remained still.

Shirei knew exactly what he had to do.

He had remained up until late for that specific reason, he was practicing his new power. Part of his body itched for the few wounds he had just got by ramming himself against trees, but he knew that everything was worth the pain.

He exhaled, trying to recall the sensation of the darkness that transported him to the Interworld. He shouldn't have been impatient. He had to wait for the precise moment, otherwise he would have failed.

He imagined he could feel his heartbeat.

Tum, tum, tum.

All it took was just a heartbeat.

A wave that would spread throughout his heart carrying him to the Interworld, only to be overwritten by the next heart tone, by an opposing command.

He could do it.

Marina took a deep breath and tried to shoot, even though Lorenzo was holding her arm. The two brothers began a real fight over the object. Before they knew it, the trigger was pulled in the heat of the moment.

Shirei heard the noise and concentrated all of himself.

A pale white pulse spread from his chest and traveled throughout his body. A wave of darkness soon followed, mixing with the ghostly light.

A sharp blow, precise and fast, pierced Cragar's son, as if it were an illusion. Marina opened her mouth, enthusiastically. Lorenzo's eyes widened for an instant, then he laughed hysterically and immediately retrieved the weapon.

"Crazy people! You two are crazy!"

The darkness stopped swirling around the boy, he had succeeded.

I did it! I shot him! Ah! I really shot him! What's wrong with me? How can I be so stupid?

A thousand more questions wandered through Ien's daughter's mind for the next few seconds. She had said she would, but she had no serious intentions, although she had become nervous in that situation. She didn't know where she found the courage, but she was sure it would work somehow. With Shirei, she just had to have faith. That completely devoid of any logic thing scared her terribly, but she was grateful that he was okay. She cursed herself for being so stupid and blamed her actions on the divine mead.

"You two are going to give me a heart attack!"

Marina jumped for joy, "You really have become a ghost!"

She approached Shirei with a smile on her face, in the meantime Lorenzo went to take the bullet back, muttering that it would have been better not to leave any traces. Without thinking too much, the girl hugged the purple-eyed demigod, "Thank goodness, for a moment I feared the worst!"

Shirei tensed, he wasn't used to that physical contact, then returned the hug in a cumbersome way. He didn't mind, after all.

"This gun also has another positive side, the bullets can be reused as many times as you want!"

Ien's son laughed, then realized that the two were hugging and fell silent. Not wanting to make this any more awkward than it already was, Shirei pulled away.

"Thank you, Lorenzo" said the boy.

"Wait until you see the cannon I'm working on."

Marina turned pale, "What?"

"You don't ask about my secrets, I will not ask about yours," said Cragar's son

"Speaking of secrets, Shirei… may I ask where you learned to fight?" Lorenzo said before thinking about what he had said, "That is, if you want, I can answer your doubts about my secrets too!"

Shirei reassured him by raising her hand towards him, "I don't know, since I woke up on the shore of Uchia I have always fought by instinct."

"Uchia… one of the rivers in the Underworld…" Marina took the opportunity to ask a question too, "Hollow... Why do you go to the Underworld to train?"

Cragar's son sat down at the table, "I would like to point out that normally it doesn't end up like this morning. Fighting continuously and under pressure is a good way to force rapid improvement. Win and survive or lose and get killed."

"I guess you've never been defeated," Lorenzo said with a laugh.

It couldn't be serious after all, at least that's what Ien's son hoped.

"Okay, but why?" Marina asked.

"Cragar told me I must be strong, for my power will soon be needed."

Ien's daughter remained silent. She was starting to regain clarity, but she still struggled to connect different thoughts and think rationally. Lorenzo went to grab a cup of ice cream and went back to listening.

"Is there anything else you want to know?" The purple-eyed demigod asked.

"I just have one request," said Marina after stealing the ice cream taken by her stepbrother, "I'm not asking you to swear, much less on fate, but, in case you need help... please, don't hesitate to call me. I know I'm less strong than you and I'm not used to spectral travels... and I'm not experienced in real combat. I just want to help you if you're in trouble... okay?"

The girl turned her blue eyes on Shirei, but the son of Cragar looked down. Lorenzo felt slightly excessive and turned over the multi-everything he had in his hands, looking for a way to leave them alone.

"Hollow!"

"I will not expose you to unnecessary risk."

"Hollow!" She repeated, raising his voice.

"Calm down!" Lorenzo intervened, "How about we talk again another time? It's getting a little late…"

Shirei nodded, "You're right, then I'll go ahead of you."

Marina rushed towards him, "Don't you dare-" but, before she could finish the sentence, Shirei was enveloped by the darkness and disappeared into the Interworld.