“Castor, release.”

Asclepius watched as the dark entity emerged from Kian’s chest as if it were a hideous creature crawling out of him. Well, to be fair, that was the actual description Kian had given him when he and the Gemini’s soul first met. A hideous, petulant creature, the Gemini said, often referred to as an entity but who’s really just a massive stick in the ass.

The latter part of the statement wasn’t really the Gemini’s words, but Asclepius found it funny to remember it as such.

“Is it action time, Master?” Castor’s face brightened, his fangs visible in the growing darkness of the alley. Asclepius was surprised that his transportation portal managed to find the exact spot he was looking for. It’d been a while since he toyed with his powers– he hadn’t fully used them since he arrived on Earth centuries ago– so he was doubtful that the portal would work. Thankfully it did, or else that cool show he put on for Auriella earlier would’ve all been for nothing. But as the darkness and shadows of the alleyway grew, the three of them venturing deeper, Asclepius had no choice but to keep his mind off his petty thoughts and focus on the sole reason he brought the Gemini there in the first place.

“Just stay alert,” Kian replied to the entity in a hard tone. “And don’t go off anywhere.”

Castor scowled. “You suck.”

Kian remained silent. His expression tensed as the shroud of darkness made Asclepius ahead of him almost disappear. “Asclepius, where are we?”

“This is the alley Auriella usually takes from the cafe to her home,” Asclepius replied. A blue spark glimmered from the dark. “Hold your hand out.”

Kian did as he was told, and he immediately regretted it as he felt two pointed objects sink into his flesh. It latched onto him with a hiss, tugging on his arm whenever he fell behind Asclepius’ step.

“Damn it. What the hell is this?” Kian hissed.

“A leash,” Asclepius replied. “In case you get lost.”

“How do you get lost in an alley?” Kian remarked, but Asclepius didn’t answer him. He simply tugged at his new leash.

“Feels nice, right, Master?” Castor mocked, dancing between Kian’s shoulders. “Now you know how I feel every time you bring that abominable chain out.”

“And you shall see it again if you do not shut the hell up,” Kian bit back.

“You know it’s perfectly normal for couples like us to switch roles,” Castor continued. “Maybe next time you can let me try holding the chain around your neck–”

If not for the leash pulling on him, Kian would have grabbed the entity by its throat and slammed it against the wall. But the more Kian fell behind Asclepius, the deeper the sharp objects pierced into his flesh. He tried to yank himself free of it, but when he touched it, he felt something cold and slimy instead. He shivered, admitting defeat.

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“Why are we here, Asclepius?” Kian asked through gritted teeth.

Another blue spark glimmered in the dark, and Kian heard the sound of a staff hitting the floor rhythmically.

“I happened to cross this alley on the way back home from work,” Asclepius started. “But the air smelled a bit off, almost like mana but a little bit more smoky and pungent. So, I followed the scent here and found this.”

Asclepius waved the staff in his hand, and immediately a small blue light illuminated a glimpse of their surroundings, enough for Kian to follow Asclepius’ gaze on the floor. Below the three of them was a demon reduced to ashes, its skin slowly turning into smoke.

“A demon was wandering here just the other day,” Asclepius began, poking the thing with his staff. “It was sniffing around, probably trying to locate Auriella’s scent. I stopped it, of course, and set the poor creature to flames.”

Kian’s lips pressed tightly into a frown. “So, there’s more of them?”

“Of course there’s more of them.” Asclepius rose and turned to face the Gemini. “But you know what? The moment I killed the demon, I got a whiff of a peculiar scent. It smelled of Talonis, obviously, but there was this small hint of freshness to it. Like the scent of a flower or a blossom. Apple blossoms, perhaps.”

“Apple blossoms?” Castor cut in, drifting beside Asclepius to observe the demon. “Master and I smelled apple blossoms, too, when we first met that girl.”

Asclepius’ brows raised. “Did you now?”

“And you know what’s even more peculiar?” Castor continued. “That human girl beat the shit out of Master earlier because of a note. It was really pathetic to see such a powerful deity be beaten to a pulp by a mere mortal girl. But of course, Master disagrees with me and says that he was only being considerate and respectful–”

“What is your point?” Asclepius sighed. He remembered seeing the blooming bruises on the Gemini’s face, but Asclepius thought it wise not to bring it up in his earlier conversation with Auriella. He made a mental note to take care of it later, just as he had patched up Kian’s arm injury from before.

Castor giggled. “The note that caused the whole fight smelled like apple blossoms, too. Isn’t that strange? Maybe all these demons are being ordered to attack by someone who smells like apple blossoms. Or maybe these creatures found their way to a perfume store and took a liking to the fragrance. Who knows? Whichever it is, it sure is interesting.” Castor’s sly smile was directed towards Kian. “Don’t you think so, Master?”

Asclepius noticed that Kian remained silent for quite some time which was atypical for him. He remembered the boy used to be talkative, to the point he would simply speak about something random for the sake of speaking. The Gemini loved to hear himself talk. Yet again, that was when the Goddess was still alive and smiling. Lately, however, Kian took great care to listen and observe.

“Any theories, Gemini?” Asclepius asked.

“No.” The Gemini called for Castor to return to him, and the entity did so, but not without a complaint.

“Let’s go back to the cafe,” Kian began. “We need more information before we can take action. Right now, Auriella should be our focus.”

Something about his response felt off, so Asclepius had no choice but to ask him, “Do you recognize this scent? The apple blossoms?”

“I don’t. Now open the portal.”

Asclepius did as he asked and summoned another portal. But as he watched Kian straighten his posture and fix the dark expression on his face with a more idiotic look, Asclepius had a feeling that the Gemini wasn’t telling the truth.

“Hm,” Asclepius mumbled.

Kian definitely recognized the scent.