Kirin walked briskly along a road.

Out of all things that could have slipped his mind before leaving the apartment, he actually forgot to powder his foot. Now his bladder was sobbing inside his body and was probably going to burst pretty soon.

Thankfully, Vidal's Restaurant and Suites, which was Faolan's place, sounding just as fancy as any established adventurer's home should be, had already brought itself to sight before Kirin had fallen victim to a tragic uric accident.

With lights adorning almost every square meter of the building, it looked as if it was still day inside. The real time was somewhere around 8:00 PM. From the entrance to the lobby, a red carpet was leading visitors in, and all Kirin had to do was follow it to get to a chamber full of people in suits and evening gowns, all enjoying sweet violin music and expensive cuisines.

"Ooh! I see her." A lady in a purple cocktail dress stood so quickly that her chair skidded on the polished tiled floor.

"Alia!"

"Kirin!" The lady rushed over and hugged. "You have no idea how happy I am to finally have another female in the party."

She seriously said that as her boobs flattened Kirin's ruffles.

Alia caught Kirin's hand and gestured at a table. "Faolan's right over there."

A handsome man in a dark tuxedo was waving, a cute smile brightening his face.

"By the way, he told me to assure you, you don't have to worry about Onyx. He's fine having you in the party."

Faolan got to his feet, bowed, and extended a hand to hold Kirin's fingers as they got closer. "The evening must be envious for it can't be as pleasant as you." He planted a kiss on the back of the trap's hand.

"Oh. Umm. Faolan."

Was Faolan's magic able to spread heat just by giving kisses? If so, how did it reach Kirin's cheeks when Faolan's lips went nowhere near there.

"Have you forgotten? I'm not a real la--"

"For the lovely damsels," said a man carrying a tray of wineglasses, as he set down a bottle of red liquid on the table.

"Take a seat, Kirin." Alia sat on hers.

"Oh. Thank you."

Faolan returned to his as well. "Our friend's not here yet. Forgive him for making us wait. He said he's been busy, but he will be here tonight."

A window behind Faolan showed another crescent blade flying to the sky.

"No worries. That's no problem at all." Kirin locked his thighs together, suppressing an eruption his bladder attempted to make. "Actually, I'm gonna have to be a little rude too and excuse myself from the table real quick. I've been dying to go to a restroom."

"Ahh." Faolan chuckled. "Take the hallway over there. It should lead you to two doors. Both of them are restrooms."

"Thank you so much!" Kirin stood and scurried to said hallway.

That it was too long was a pain, but Kirin managed to survive through it without making a mess. He reached a safe space and finished the business he should have done back at his own place.

Letting the stall he'd used close its own door, he made his way to a sink to wash his hands.

Through a small window, one more crescent blade showed itself.

Seriously, at that point, that guy felt like he was just begging to be noticed.

Can't he be fighting goons more discreetly?

No. Probably not.

Still was weird how the citizens there didn't seem to mind though. They really were used to things like that happening, huh?

Another crescent blade showed up.

"Hmm."

What if he was calling for Kirin's attention? Maybe he's found the thief again. He may even have Kirin's money already.

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Oh!

That's it.

Maybe he's using his magic to draw Kirin's attention because they forgot to trade names. How would he return Kirin's money otherwise?

Darn it, though.

Did he have to pick now?

***

"Crescent Blade!"

The old man tilted leftwards.

Unfortunately for him, that wasn't enough to completely dodge the blue knight's attack. One tip of the blade reached his face and opened a cut.

"Tsk." The old man wiped blood dripping from the wound. "I had no intention to kill you. It would've been useless, seeing as you knew nothing. But now you've just angered me, Chrisholm's pet."

"Give it all you got." The blue knight stood on guard.

"Wither Magic!" A black magic circle appeared, sucking in air and magic power from the atmosphere. Even the crates that were around began to jitter. "What I'm about to summon is an alpha tier spell I used to kill a Minedweller Dragon. Its skeleton collapsed in seven seconds. Let's see how much quicker yours falls. Wither's Hand!"

A black long-fingered palm emerged from the magic circle, moving like a shadow slime. Its fingers jiggled and shook in such a creepy manner that anyone who witnessed it would have wished to lose sight.

Still, the blue knight was adamant in keeping his ground. He refused to blink, he refused to look away.

The wither's hand extended, headed straight for him, and would have succeeded in piercing his chest and taking his life, if only Kirin hadn't fallen from heaven and stood in the way.

"Kyaaaaaaa!" Kirin moaned.

The dark energy phased through his clothes, seeping into his muscles and bones.

The pain. Oh, the pain brought him ecstasy.

"Kyaaaaaaa!!!"

"Five, six, seven--Who... Who the hell are you?!" The old man's pupils grew in horror.

Kirin breathed heavily. Pink splashed his face, embarrassment burned his ears.. But his health had never been better.

Undead's Spring: a skill that allows users to gain instead of lose health when under life siphoning or death magic.

"That... That felt so good." Kirin fell on his knees, looked up at the old man, eyes begging, and exposed his pale white neck. "Please! Do it again!"

"What are you talking about?!" The old man backed away. "That should have killed you!"

"Please! Do it again! My body has never been penetrated so thoroughly before!"

"Wither Magic! Wither's Hand!"

"Kyaaaaa!!!"

"What in the--My energy is being drained quickly."

Kirin's slobbery tongue dangled from his mouth.

"A...masochist?" The blue knight behind blinked countlessly. "What are you doing here?"

"Huh?" With a drunken expression, Kirin sluggishly twisted. "I came to get my money. I thought you got it back. I kept seeing your magic from all over town."

"You! You're demonic!" The old man pointed using a shuddering arm. "No living soul would have ever been able to withstand my wither magic!"

Kirin covered his mouth. "I... Never have I ever thought an elderly man would be able to arouse me like this. I'm usually only attracted to men my age."

The old man's eye twitched.

"Oh! Give me more, old man! Degrade me! Call me nasty things!"

"What are you talking about?! Weirdo!"

"Ugh. Weirdo! He called me a weirdo. How belittling. How satisfying."

"I can't take any more of this." The old man formed a cross with his index fingers. "Remember tonight, descendant of Nyx. I'll come back to make you pay. Both of you. For now, I'll be staying away from this insane creature. Wither Magic! Wilt!" He turned into dead leaves, and the dead leaves drifted along a chilly evening breeze.

The blue knight sighed, shoving his sword in a sheath hanging by his hip.

Kirin bit his lips and squeezed his thighs together.

"Hey." The blue knight called. "Thank you."

"No, thank you!" Kirin stood up and shook the man's hands. "If you haven't led me here, I wouldn't have had that wonderful experience."

"I never wanted you to be here."

"Gasp." Kirin turned to hide his face. "Don't exploit my weakness like this."

"I'm not--!" The blue knight grumbled. "Look. About your money. When I caught the thief's trace, I learned he was coming here to meet with Coreiseuse's guild master. That's the guy we fought just now. Sumpo Urwyno. When I showed myself, he must have been threatened, so he killed The Morning Bandit right here."

"Oh." Kirin flinched and gave the knight a sympathetic glance. "That's horrible."

"Sumpo was right. I can't make any allegations without any sort of evidence. Our word wouldn't be sufficient, and he's killed the only one who could have stood a chance in court."

Wait. That was confusing. Why was the thief meeting up with a guild master? And why would the guild master go as far as killing him and the knight just to hide... what was he hiding? What's going on?

The knight was getting ready to jump onto a roof. "Moon Magi--"

"Hey! Where are you going?! Without my money back, I'm still gonna need some sort of help, you know."

The man frowned, eyeing Kirin from head to toe. "Nice dress. Makes me wanna think you're not really that much in need of cash."

"I spent my rent for this!"

"Oh well. Just gotta earn more. Gravitate!" He leaped away.

"But..." Kirin breathed a deep breath. "...my money!!!"

***

In his bat form, the trap slipped through the tiny window to get back in the restroom. He wanted to make sure he didn't end up looking like a mess after the death spell he had taken in.

Cancelling the transformation spell , he hurried to check himself in the mirror.

Thankfully he actually ended up looking way better than he was. As if he had just come out of a spa. Smooth skin, clear eyes, no eye bags nor wrinkles. All he had to do to make sure he looked perfect was fix the ruffles on his dress's breast area. Looking way flatter without his armor's artificial busts, he just had to make sure the ruffles kept its illusion believable.

"Done!" He twirled.

Leaving the rest room, he was greeted by Alia.

"There you are! Wait. What were you doing in the men's room?"

"Oh. Uhh. I--"

"No matter. You probably just didn't notice." Alia put a hand on Kirin's back and guided him along the hallway. "Onyx is here. Before you meet him, I'd like to apologize on his behalf. He couldn't even take time to change out of his armor."

Kirin giggled. "I don't mind. We'll probably be earning stares in that room though."

"Look!" Alia pointed. "That's him right there."

Dark hair. Dark eyes.

Those were what Kirin first saw as they returned to the table their party was eating on.

No wonder he didn't have time to change out of his armor. He was just fighting that old man outside!

That knight in blue... was Onyx Night.

"You're the new member?!"

"You're the other member?!"