Troubles at harbor

Waves were crashing against the small freighter’s black hull. It was supposed to venture all the way to the main port in Meer, but due to the storm that had caught it, the freighter had to make its way towards the closest port town. Of all that its captain knew, Znena would be the closest. A stormy sea surely wasn’t making their job any easier. All thirty containers were being gently rocked each time the freighter crashed through a bigger wave. Captain Sanderson was currently on the deck, checking if any of the containers had been damaged. He doubted it would be so, but it was better to be safe than sorry. The rest of his crew stayed inside, busy operating the ship.

Sanderson might have been a well-built man who had already cruised through many seas, but a stormy one still filled him with awe and made him humble. No matter how big of a man he could be, the raging sea still made him feel small. Of course, the rumors about a demon living in the depths near Znena always made him wary, yet he tried not to pay that much attention to them. He doubted that a town with one of the bases of the Holy See Demon Extermination Force would allow for such a thing to be right under their nose. His crew, on the other hand, was slightly more paranoid than him. Even if that were true, sea demons were a rarity. Most of those fiends preferred caves, abandoned buildings, and whatever underground places they could find. Sometimes having a relative working in the military was a useful source of information.

Lightning illuminated the sky in the distance. They couldn’t be more than an hour away from Znena, but it felt like there was a whole day of travel ahead of them. At least none of the containers were damaged during the storm. Sanderson could only hope that their stay in Znena wouldn’t be too long. The storm had started recently, which might result in two to three hours of staying in town. It wasn’t a case of him not enjoying the town. Sanderson was there once; quite a pleasant town it was. No, it wasn’t that. They simply had one "cargo" that could get them into trouble with the Force.

Here it was, in red, in an additionally strengthened container. Unofficial thirty-first one. It was quite small—around the size of a car. The container was hidden in a pile of others, creating the illusion of being a rather lengthy one. He had to check if the "cargo" was doing fine. Long journeys like that could be stressful.

Sanderson opened the container. There was nothing but deep darkness inside. That was until a pair of glowing yellow eyes, lacking pupils, stared back at him. A tattoo-like pattern appeared on the body of whatever was sitting in the container and illuminated it entirely with a dim blue light. Thanks to it, the captain could see its owner in all of her glory. A demon with translucent, bluish skin looked at the man with curiosity visible in her eyes. Her upper body could almost be mistaken for that of a person, though her unnaturally long arms and blades rising from her shoulders were a big giveaway, right after the skin, of course. The lower body was like that of an eel or snake. Long, coiled, and with quite sizable fins that were folded at the moment.

"Madam, I hope the journey isn’t too tiring." Sanderson asked. She might have been a demon, but a gentleman like him still had to make sure that any lady that was traveling with him was comfortable. Even if it was a siren that spelled the bane for sailors like him. He got a shake of her head for an answer. “I’m glad to hear that. Due to weather circumstances, we will have to take a short pit stop in a short while. Since it is a town with the Force’s base, I’d like to ask you to stay in your container no matter what.” This time, he received a nod. If it weren't for the punishment he would receive if anything went wrong, Sanderson would have laughed. Never in his life would he think that he would smuggle a demon from one half of the world to another. Of course he couldn’t leave a lady in need of help alone, yet that whole endeavor did leave him rather nervous, even if he couldn’t show that to his men.

"Captain, I have to thank you once again for aiding me despite the troubles I brought you and your crew.” Her voice was captivating. Gentle, without emotions in it, and yet there was something more sinister hidden deep beneath it.

"Madam, you really don’t have to. Any decent man would do the same."

"I know no man who would save a demon." Sanderson could say the same. Hell, anyone he knew would call him an idiot. And he couldn’t blame them. Taking a demon from a country where they are hunted down like wild beasts and who also happens to make quite a lot of enemies would make anyone earn the mantle of a fool. Although it was a pure coincidence that she ended up with them, sneaking up under the deck and staying in the engine room was how she originally planned to get away from her homeland. The luck wanted it so much for Pete, a landlubber who had just started his journey with Sanderson, to find her and discuss the matter with the captain. And Sanderson just didn’t have the heart to throw her out.

As the captain was about to answer the demon, something hit the ship. It rocked dangerously to the left before stabilizing. It happened two more times from each side. Panicked, most of his crew came to the deck to see what the reason for the commotion was. As far as they knew, the road to Znena should have been smooth sailing. Instead, something was banging on the outside walls of the freighter. One of the sailors came closer to the barriers and looked down. Right after, he let out a terrified scream.

Three trilobite-like monsters were climbing up the freighter, their sharp legs putting holes into the ship. They moved slowly as their gray, skeletal bodies and light blue eyes emerged from the water. Soon after, more of them followed, surrounding the ship from all sides. A whole legion of them kept climbing up, some nearly already at the deck.

Acting instinctively, Sandersorn drew his side arm. A small, custom-made revolver with six silver bullets. Just for causes like this. Firing two shots at the demon who made his way up to the deck, the captain noticed the rest of his crew go for their weapons. Yet the bullets barely seemed to faze the skeletal monsters. Gunshots echoed throughout the entire ship; sounds of metal being pierced and demons' little feet knocking against it were coming from all sides. The disgusting sound of their hard shells scraping around each other and the barely audible screeching sound they made would forever haunt them in their dreams. The worst of all was the fact that they didn’t seem to end. No matter how many bullets, hits with pipes, broomsticks, and even empty guns there were, the demons kept on going.

It wasn’t until a blood-curdling scream pierced through the horrifying cacophony that Captain Sanderson and his crew could take a breath. The deck started to cover itself in hoarfrost, making it harder for the insects to move around. Shortly after, the ice kept piling up, creating quite massive chunks that immobilized the demons’ legs. The bloodcurdling scream kept on going, nearly deafening everyone, as the chunks of ice covered all of the monsters and most of the freighter, along with holes in its hull. The chunks in which the fiends were trapped broke off, and most of them fell into the sea. Whatever remained was quickly dispatched by Sanderson’s crew as the siren stopped her wailful scream.

"Dear captain, once again, I ask for your forgiveness for bringing such troubles to your ship." To say that Sanderson was abashed would be an understatement. Not only did she save them, but now she was also feeling sorry for all the ruckus she caused around the ship. Yes, taking care of all the ice would take some time, but he preferred that to being dead.

"No, no, madam, it isn't your fault. I should have expected such a thing to happen. Everything about Znena seems cursed, seeing as demons keep flocking to it endlessly. But now we will have to make a pit stop there. I can only hope that our bad luck has run out.'' The captain said this as the ghostly outline of the ‘cursed’ town grew larger and larger on the horizon.

In a room fully engulfed in darkness, the buzz from a cell phone kept disturbing the perfect silence. After a few minutes, an arm reached out for it from under the dark blue cover. Beatrice just got a day off, and already someone had to break her beauty sleep. She might have been an angel, and thus sleep was nothing more than a convenient way to pass time, but it was a damn pleasant one and nothing that one could interrupt without facing some consequences. Seriously, it seemed like she couldn’t be away even for an hour before everything that could go wrong in the Force would do so. Without her, it all might have collapsed. Her worries became genuine when she noticed the name ‘Tvardovsky’ on the screen. That old fox barely called anyone, and when he did, it was only in serious matters.

"Good morning, Beatrice. I hope I’m not interrupting anything important, but a matter just arose, and I was hoping that you and the girls could help us out." His joyful tone of voice meant that it probably wasn’t anything serious. Either that, or he was just happy that he could get his hands on some new measurements for whatever experiments he was doing.

"Tvardovsky, this better be urgent." Beatrice replied, still half asleep. Just what could it require for all three of them to arrive on the scene?

"I assure you, it is. You see, we got a bunch of readings from the sea. Quite a few auras had just appeared, and all but one disappeared shortly after. To add to that, a freighter had been spotted going to dock at our harbor. We had already contacted them, and soon we should know who the captain is, from where they hail, and what they are transporting. Now, I am not saying that they are smugglers, as they would have to be dumb to arrive at Znena, but there is a possibility that one demon managed to find its way onto the deck without the crew noticing. That’s all I would want you to check."

"Is it really a matter that requires our help? Any unit is capable of fulfilling this task, so you better give a good reason."

"Well, I’ve thought about our little angel. I know how she hates being unable to do anything, so I’ve decided that light work like that will be a perfect way to get her back from her temporary break." Honestly, Beatrice couldn’t argue with it all that much. Overall, it was a simple task that should be dealt with quickly, with a low probability of Alice getting hurt. And knowing the half-angel, she would be more than delighted to help. Confirming their arrival, Tvardovsky hung up, leaving Beatrice all alone. Slowly, she got up and got dressed. Entering the living room, she noticed Lilim staring at her like some sort of cheshire cat.

"Your man called?" The grin on Succubus’s face was just an eyesore to her. During the mornings, she really didn’t have the energy to deal with her antics.

"Can you be a dear and go wake up Alice? We are going on a mission."

"So early? But the monitor didn’t even beep."

"We just have to check one ship, so if you could hurry." Lilim didn’t need any more encouragement. Swiftly, she made her way towards Alice’s room. Quietly entering it, the first thing that she saw was the half-angel cocooned up in her cover. That probably meant that sharing a cover was a no-no. As Lilim was waking up Alice, which is no easy task, Beatrice combed her hair. While beds were one of the best things humanity could come up with, the bed hair that came with them she could do without. A loud scream erupted from Ginger’s room.

"Lilim, why?" Alice had trouble keeping her voice down.

"What? You didn’t want to wake up."

"But a finger into an ear?"

Beatrice sighed. No matter how many demons they took down or how many wounds they suffered, in the end, they were still teenage girls. And it often seemed like many were quick to forget that one. If only they could just be teenage girls. It didn’t take too long for both of them to get dressed and ready to go. Spreading out their wings, the entire Purgatorio quickly found themselves right at Znena's main and only dock. The black freighter, with many chunks of ice still on it, sure drew attention. A few KRAZs were also parked on the site. It looked like the Anti-Demon Militia got here before them. On landing, they could already hear someone arguing.

"Sir Roland, while I understand the importance of your duty, I simply cannot allow you and your men to do a thorough search of my ship without seeing a proper permit first." The voice seemed reasonable, and the man to whom it belonged made the impression of one who knew his rights and couldn’t be made a fool. Standing at a similar height to Roland, his dark blue, buttoned coat, paired with dark pants and boots, along with his face covered by a black beard and shielded from the sun by a white captain's hat, made him look like he was the one giving orders.

"Listen up; we have been allowed by the government and by the administration of Znena to check any ship that might be smuggling demons. And our radars never lie. So captain, let us do our work before the situation gets ugly."

"This is our task, Roland!" Great, just great; that was what he just needed. Those damned Force's rats. Why did they always have to interfere? ADM is more than capable of handling such situations all by itself.

"Errand girl, I don't know what you came here for, but hurry back home. We have everything under control, and we don't have a need for any half-assed heroes. "Roland quickly shut up as he finally turned around and noticed a blond-haired angel coming towards him. He didn’t expect her here and, for sure, did not want to get on her bad side. While he personally had never seen her in action, he had heard enough stories to be glad to never have.

"Mister Roland, I get that you are just as irritated as we are, so how about you let us do this quickly, and you and your men will just watch quietly?" While she might have spoken in a rather casual tone, Roland could feel malice hidden deep within. He didn’t know what had happened to her, and for heaven's sake, he didn’t want to find out.

"Yes Ma’am!" The military-cut man quickly made his way towards the KRAZs, much to the shock of his companions. Roland stood by the side and awaited the upcoming conversation. Lilim, who stood behind Alice, stuck out her tongue at him. Roland just bit his tongue and stayed silent. Captain Anderson, in the meantime, took off his hat. It was common to take it off when greeting a woman, especially a beautiful one like the blonde-haired woman who had managed to strike fear into the general's heart, or at least that's how he presented himself.

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"Who would have thought that the bossman could be so docile?" One of his men muttered as Roland continued to stand still, a good few meters away from the Force’s unit.

"I can’t really blame him; just look at the readings." Another one whispered, handing him a tablet.

"I assume that you are the captain of this ship." Beatrice wanted to get this over with as quickly as possible, but some procedures had to be followed.

"Yes, Madam, Captain Ahab Sanderson is at your service." The angel felt her mood lighten up as the captain made a slight bow. At least someone knew how to properly treat a lady here. She extended her arm, and the captain, guessing her intent, held it gently and kissed it slightly. He had sailed through the seven seas and met many beautiful women from all continents, but she easily beat any competition. And an elegant lady like her had to be treated with proper respect.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, captain."

"Please, drop the captain. This little freighter is all I have; it can barely be called a proper ship."

"Proper or not, it is the reason as to why we came here."

"I can assure you, Madam, I am no smuggler, nor do I have any ill intent against this town."

"Sir Sanderson, as much as I don’t doubt you, it is our duty. We have an assumption that a demon might have sneaked onto your deck. That is why we have to do a thorough search of your freighter. I believe a messenger should soon bring a permit from the very Holy See Demon Extermination Force itself." Sanderson could feel sweat going down his neck. With a permit, there really wasn’t a way for him to stop them. Though the mention of the demon worried him, during the havoc, one of those trilobites might have managed to get onto the ship. But if they found Siren, he and his crew would be made into smugglers. Yet if that really wasn’t the case, then letting them deal with whatever had been hidden in his ship could be beneficial.

"Well, if it all is done by law..."

"Great, Mr. Sanderson; I knew that you would be cooperative." A delighted smile appeared on Beatrice’s face. It was a blessing when everything went according to plan. "So how about you tell us what exactly attacked your freighter?" The blonde-haired angel once again took a look at the ship. She wondered how they managed to get rid of whatever had frozen half of their ship. That is, unless it was the demon that hid itself. But then, what were the remaining twenty or so signals?

"I, along with my crew, decided to make a pit stop at Znena and wait out the storm. Unfortunately, on our way here, a whole swarm of trilobite-like demons emerged from the sea, and well, how it ended, you can see for yourself. Miraculously, none of my men got badly injured. There were a few bruises and scratches here and there, but mostly it ended in fear."

"I’m glad to hear that, but how did you manage to kill them? One demon can be troublesome, let alone a whole swarm." In response to that, Beatrice received a hearty laugh from Sanderson.

"That again would be due to my crew. By their bravery alone, we all managed to dispatch those fiends. Without them, I’m afraid I wouldn’t be here today." Beatrice didn’t answer as one of the harbor staff members came to the scene and handed her a still-warm, probably freshly printed, permit. Everything was as it should be, signed personally by Ezekiel and with Force’s very own stamp. Handing it over to Sanderson so he could read it, the captain had no other choice but to let them do a thorough search of his freighter. He was only glad that his entire crew was on a compulsory break; otherwise, one could have spilled a little too much. It’s not like he didn’t trust them, but one could never be too circumspect.

Lilim and Alice quickly made their way onto the deck as Beatrice stayed down and chatted with Sanderson. Both girls quickly went to work and started checking all of the containers. The first few were mostly filled with bags of wheat, flour, and various seeds. So far, no demon has been spotted. Though Lilim could have sworn that she felt something smell like fish and seaweed, perhaps it was just the constant odor of the ship. They have already checked half of the containers, and nothing suspicious has been found. Pretty much all of them have been full of victuals. Albeit no fish, the blue-eyed succubus was starting to doubt her sense of smell. Taking a temporary break, she kept her gaze on the blonde angel and the captain.

"You know, Al, if those two keep at it, you might get yourself a new dad soon."

"As if, Beatrice doesn’t even have time for stuff like that. Besides, I have yet to see her go on a date. Now, could you lend me a hand?" Lilim turned around and saw Alice try to reach one of the top containers. Due to her size, even by jumping, she could barely even reach it, let alone the handles required to open it. They shared the task in the way of Lilim checking the upper ones and Alice checking those on the bottom, but half-angel being half-angel, she always tried to do more than was asked of her. Succubus used the occasion, grabbed the ginger, and lifted her up. Alice was surprisingly light. Opening the container, they were met once again with victuals.

"Perhaps the demon felt us and ran away?"

"If that’s the case, then that’s even worse. Who knows where it might have gone?"

"Honestly, it might be better. I can’t feel shit due to the fish stench.

"What stench? Lilim, we don't have any fish in the containers. Yeah, there is a faint sea breeze and a slight smell of seaweed, but fish?" So succubus wasn’t going crazy. She should have known that her intuition is always right. The demon they were after seemed to be smarter than the rest. Hiding on the ship while it smelled like fish. No one would suspect anything. Now to pinpoint from where the stench comes, and they will have it. It seemed to have come from one of the containers. Lilim was going back and forth from container to container. One of them smelled much worse than the others. She opened a bunch. Stench was close, but neither of them was the hiding spot. Aha, there it was! She opened it and found even more flour. To say that the demon was dumbfounded would be an understatement.

"Oh, come on! It had to be here!"

"Lilim, we have already checked that one. It's the one with doors on both sides, isn’t it?"

"The weird one? Dammit, it fooled us... Wait a second..."Lilim didn’t say anything more; she just stormed off to the other side. The one with double doors. But they only checked one side. She swung the doors open. The stench was here, in the completely empty container. It didn’t take her long to put two and two together. Some bastards linked two smaller containers to look like one. But nevertheless, the demon that was there was now gone.

"So it did escape."

"You think that’s the case? How could it sneak into a container and close it from the inside? Let alone open it without damaging it."

"What do you mean?"

"You think it might have been smuggled here?"

"Who would be dumb enough to do so? Besides, Cap doesn’t seem like someone to take the demon into his ship."

"Believe it or not, various organizations can pay quite a sum of money to get their hands on a demon. Afterwards, they are used to carry out the dirty work. Back in the days, they were quite a menace in Znena, but lately they have become a rarity."

"We’ll have to question Cap about it later. Now come on, we have an entire lower deck to check."

Back on the dock, Captain Sanderson was glad that he ordered his men to carry Siren into the engine room. Leaving her in the container would turn her into a sitting duck, but as it was now, both of the young girls should find nothing, and he and his crew should get enough time to repair the punctured hull. In the meantime, he could enjoy his time with Lady Beatrice. If only their meeting would be under better conditions. Though perhaps once this is over and done with, would she agree to meet once again?

Roland, on the other hand, was having none of that. Seeing the errand girl and her pet demon shuffle around the freighter while he couldn’t do anything pissed him off. The Force always had to interrupt them and get all of the glory. Of course, glory wasn’t the main motivator for him and his band, but it felt good to be called a hero. With nothing better to do, he could only gaze at the sea. The storm hadn’t come to them yet, so it was still pretty calm. Save for the black spot that was slowly closing in.

"What the devil?" Roland muttered, squinting his eyes in order to catch any details from the shadow. It seemed quite large, perhaps around half the length of the freighter. It vanished from his sight. Perhaps his eyes were only playing tricks on him. Any doubts he had were swatted away when a white beast arose from the surface. Its long snake-like body, covered on top by what looked like gray stone-like scales, with four limbs, each splitting into seven or more tendril-like fingers, slammed its massive body into the freighter. The ship rocked left and right, crashing against the deck. As the beast returned and dived, the gray scales ripped themselves away from the body. Sanderson let out a terrified scream as he recognized the same trilobite-like demons from before. Roland and his crew took the initiative. Drawing their rifles, they sprayed bullets right at the sea. While normal bullets wouldn’t have phased them, specially made silver ones sure managed to slow them down. Beatrice, in the meantime, summoned her bow and tried to shoot the white demon while it was still underwater, circling around the ship.

The trilobites swiftly made their way onto the harbor, despite the bullets that were raining down on them. For every one shot, two more took its spot. Roland always hated these kinds of demons. Those damned drone-like little shits that weren’t even truly alive The only way to make them stop would be to kill the ‘mother’, but it was easier said than done. And even accounting for all the ‘drones’ he faced, those were absolutely the worst. The white demon resurfaced once more, jumping over the dock and releasing even more trilobites. Beatrice managed to hit its tail with three arrows. Yellow blood kept leaking from the wounds, making it easier to spot the demon while it went underwater again. Never in her life would she have thought that, but she was glad that the Anti-Demon Militia was there. Having them take care of the little ones gave her more time to focus on the main one.

Back on the freighter, everything under the dock looked like a tornado had gone through it. Lilim and Alice were currently on the floor, and succubus was using her black wings as a shield to protect both of them from anything that was sent flying when something hit the ship. At least they knew the position of the demon. It struck the freighter once again, sending both girls right to the door to the engine room. It sure was pissed.

"Are you fine, Al?"

"Yeah, I think. But I don’t think the freighter will endure it any longer." Lilim couldn’t answer as the ship got hit from the bottom. If it keeps up, then it will sink. They have to get out of there as soon as possible. Though the demon was much more cunning, they would have given it credit. Leading them onto the ship to drown them with it. The demon once again hit the ship, but this time it seemed to be accidental, as it wasn’t with as much force as before. Hearing gunshots from the outside, Alice could only guess that Roland had decided to join the fight. Her eyes went wide when she noticed quite a sizeable crack in the wall from which water was pouring in. Before she could alarm Lilim about it, both of them heard something akin to ice cracking. The water stopped pouring in as the crack was filled in with ice. Though it seemed to be coming from the outside, a cold breeze suddenly came from the engine room.

Breaking through the door, both girls saw a siren-like demon trying her best at patching up any cracks that appeared with ice. She was so absorbed by her task that she didn’t even notice anyone enter. It wasn’t until Lilim drew Prince, just in case, that she turned around and prepared a spell to defend herself with.

"You! Who are you?"

"I think we should be the ones asking this." Lilim said, standing protectively in front of Alice. Before the demon could answer, the other one hit the freighter once again.

"It came here for me; it’s my fault."

"We can talk about that later; now go!" Alice grabbed the siren by her hand and, together with Lilim, tried to make their way towards the deck. Though it wasn’t an easy task as the ship was constantly rocked and crashed against the dock a few more times, after finally making it to the top, all three of them saw the white beast surfacing and diving into the sea. It had lots of arrows struck in its body, which was now halfway covered in its yellow blood, yet it still refused to die. Roland and his crew made a fine circle around Beatrice and Sanderson, continuing to keep an increasing number of trilobites at bay.

Lilim spread out her wings, grabbed both Alice and the demon, and flew down right into the middle of the ring, landing next to Beatrice.

"It took you long enough, and I guess this is the demon that snuck into the ship."

"Probably, but we have a bigger fish to deal with." Prince shone with a blue flame. Succubus made one downward swing and burned down any trilobite that was in front of her, additionally scaring away any crew of the ADM. She used the free way to swiftly get to the great white snake. Taking off into the air right as the harbor met the water, she plunged down on it, stabbing Prince right in the head. Beatrice and Alice continued the onslaught from the distance, with arrows and ghostly spears piercing its body. It gave succubus enough time to cover the entire black blade in blue flame, which soon after started to burn the snake from the inside. After a few more seconds of it thrashing around, the blue finally started to pour out of the still-unclosed wounds and soon after consumed the whole beast. ADM started to retreat as Lilim made her way back to the rest of Purgatorio, not wanting to get on the demon’s bad side. Roland still exclaimed that next they would be the ones to take care of the demon, and Lilim once again stuck out her tongue at him.

After everyone and everything had calmed down, it was time to explain the matter of the demon that was found on Sanderson’s ship. Without a way out, the captain had to spill everything. How he and his crew got to the Middle East and how demons were causing havoc left and right as the Holy See Demon Extermination Force tried their best to keep the situation under control. How they had to pack their things, cut any deal short, and run away. About how they met Siren in the engine room. Afterwards, it was Siren’s job to do her part of the explanation. In fact, when the angels joined the extermination, she had to book it, and Sanderson’s freighter was the first means of transport that she spotted. Trying to run away all by herself would have been impossible, as not only would the angels try to kill her, but there were a bunch of demons that wanted her dead for one reason or another, so it was easier to hide somewhere. Sanderson begged on his knees not to be labeled a smuggler, as that would have finished his career. And honestly, the entire Purgatorio was lost. While it was true that Sanderson and his crew were not smugglers, they did illegally try to transport a demon from one continent to another.

"Captain Sanderson." Beatrice started, trying to sound as imposing as possible. "While it is true that you have committed no crime, we cannot turn a blind eye to matters such as this; otherwise, other potential criminals could see this as permission to continue their ‘business’. I hope you understand that and-"

"Yes, of course!" Sanderson cut in, already sensing that whatever ‘punishment’ he would receive would be purely symbolic, and thus he and his men could continue to sail through the seven seas. "Madam Beatrice, I am more than sure that your judgment will follow the law and be just."

"Now, you did bring a demon here illegally and had attracted the attention of an even greater one, but seeing how that allowed us to exterminate it and keep the collateral to a minimum, I reckon that public works until we have your freighter repaired will be a just 'punishment'."

"Well, with the state the freighter is in, we wouldn’t be able to go anywhere anyway, and I would be glad to help around."

"I too am grateful for such a just judgment of our situation." Both Sanderson and the Siren bowed, leaving Beatrice flustered. She wasn’t used to people reacting that way to her, and while it was a weird change, it was a welcome one. In the meantime, Lilim and Alice were making their way home.

"I’m pretty sure she did it all just to go on a date with the cap." Succubus muttered to Alice.

"I heard that!"

"Just so you know, I am not taking care of any kid that will come out of it!" Seeing Beatrice smile and aim her bow in the black-haired demon’s direction, Lilim grabbed Alice and, together with her, ran off into the city. Beatrice took a deep sigh. Right, they were still teenagers, and Lilim was a snappy one. She could only hope that it wouldn't transfer to Alice.