After dinner, Fritz wandered towards the church's library. The main church was deserted. Every priest and orphan was celebrating Fritz's awakening within the church's dormitory. Fritz opened the creaking double doors and wandered past the altar. The tapestry of Freyes sat in the dark church. Her arms were open like a loving mother accepting the mass of beastkin depicted below. He walked the dark halls towards faint candlelight creeping from underneath a thick wooden door. The library was a tiny room, filled to the brim with books from floor to ceiling. Two plain square tables were present with equally uncomfortable looking chairs to sit upon. Marcelle sat reading a musty tome. Her purple tail was coiled up underneath her.

"Minion." Marcelle said, barely acknowledging Fritz as he entered. Her purple eyes fixated upon her book, never looking up towards Fritz.

"Must you call me that?" Fritz asked as he moved to the seat next to Marcelle.

"Of course. That is what you are. Make yourself useful."

Marcelle reached into her robes before slamming down a list onto the table. Her eyes fixated upon her book devouring the information like a ravenous serpent.

"Get to it, minion." Fritz rolled his eyes as he started conjuring.

"Yeah, yeah." He replied. Staring at the list for a moment, he let the images of all the reagents filter through his mind. One by one he went down the list until he reached a particular item.

"Dragon's tooth? Was this part of your experimental potion?"

"Do not question me."

"Come on, Marcelle. It's the last item on the list. At least humor me."

"Yes. It is part of my magnum opus. My path to alchemical godhood."

"To turn into a dragon?"

"Precisely. Once I complete the transformative potion. I will have everything I crave. Power. Respect. Immortality. The world shall tremble before me, and all shall fear and love me."

"How will you turn back?" Marcelle's purple nails tapped angrily against the wooden table. "It doesn't last forever, right? How will we keep in touch?"

"Why would I want to turn back?!" Marcelle spat out.

"So you can talk to us?" Fritz asked awkwardly.

"Don't be ridiculous, minion. Once I achieve my goal I will never associate with you again."

"Fine. Fine. Here's the tooth. Just remember us poor mortals once you achieve your dreams."

"Maybe, I will. I certainly intend to remember my enemies."

"Please don't burn down any villages."

"Hah. Don't tell me what to do. However, speaking of burning towns, there is something more important for us to discuss."

"What?" Fritz asked.

"We cannot stay. This city is doomed. I have prepared several contingencies for our escape while you have been asleep. Taking them is the superior strategy. You may thank me now."

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"Marcelle, we are staying. We cannot run away. We have a duty to help those in need."

"Do not be foolish. Staying is an unnecessary risk. Our true goal lies beyond the city. Javert is not a capable strategist. We cannot rely on his warriors. We may die if we stay."

"Javert?" Fritz asked.

"He rules this city. He will lead his warriors like a fool. You cannot defend a city if all its defenders have died."

"Hmmm.... No it shouldn't be a problem. So long as we have the right weapons. I can train them. Mynuru told me that we will be facing vampiric knights. Historically, peasants killed plenty of knights with firearms and cannons. It shouldn't be a problem."

"Not a problem?" Marcelle asked. Her eyes threatened violence as she stared daggers at the human.

"Are you even listening? Have you gotten dumber? Has Ada started to infect you?"

"I don't need warriors, Marcelle. I just need them to stand on the walls and shoot. I don't need fools swinging swords. I need civilians who will listen to me."

"What? So you can get them killed?"

"Isn't that their fate if I do nothing?" Marcelle slammed her book shut. Tossing it onto the wooden table, past the conjured material.

"Listen to me. Our objective lies beyond this city. I will not risk myself for strangers. My alchemy cannot perish with me! Future generations will look back upon my work with awestruck reverence! My genius cannot be allowed to die!"

"You have quite the ego for an apprentice."

"Watch you tongue."

"If we leave, we endanger more people. We have a duty to stay and help, however we can."

"Don't be sentimental. Be practical. They are stupid, not worth risking our lives over."

"And the children? The elderly? What about them?" Fritz asked. Marcelle clicked her tongue in annoyance.

"It is a mistake. I can make invisibility potions for our escape. They would never know."

"We're staying." Fritz reiterated.

"Pathetic, sentimental fool." Marcelle scoffed.

"Marcelle, I do need your help. Help me, and I promise everything will work out." The lamia glowered next to him.

"No! I will not help you in this protracted death pact! How dare you ask me?!" Marcelle screeched. Beneath her long black bangs, her face spasmed.

"I am not giving up." Fritz said calmly. "What's wrong with your face?" Her face was twitching like she was having a seizure. "Are you okay?"

"Fritz. I'm gonna need you to drink a potion for me." Her lips pulled back in a sadistic grin, as she leaned closer. The twitching stopped, as her purple eyes glinted with predatory delight.

"What kind of potion?"

"One that will make you complaint." Reaching into her bag of holding she started rummaging around before she withdrew the purple liquid. "Drink." She offered. "Drink deeply. Come on, drink up."

"Uh.... No."

"Why not? Just drink it. So we can move on from this city. It won't hurt. If anything you should be thanking me."

"No."

"I'm gonna make you drink then." She threatened.

Marcelle's tail wrapped around his legs as it started to rapidly slither around him. Pushing away from the table, Fritz tried to generate some distance. Yet it was too late, the purple, scaled tail had already pinned him down. His chair skittered on the floor as it was pushed away. Marcelle pressed her body forward as Fritz wrestled with her strong tail. Her tail was too strong. He couldn't budge it. A cruel smile was glued upon her lips. His arms flailed wildly as he slapped the potion out of her hands. Her powerful tail contracted squeezing the air out of his ribs.

"Idiot!" Marcelle screeched as she watched the bottle smash upon the floor. The purple liquid spread amongst the tiled floor seeping into the cracks. Fritz looked inward concentrating on his magical core despite the crushing force against his body. The rush of magic left him, as he clenched the solution in his hands. Fritz shoved a hypodermic needle into the side of her exposed neck. The muscle relaxer swam through her body as Marcelle's torso collapsed onto him. A mess of black hair fell over his face as Marcelle's limp body rested atop of him. The scaled tail wrapped around him kept him in place as Marcelle breathed slowly.

"Idiot." Marcelle whispered weakly. "I'll kill you."

"We're staying Marcelle." Fritz's heart hammered in his chest. "I don't know what you were trying to feed me. But, I couldn't risk it."

"Make you say 'yes', to anything."

"Don't ever try that again. That's creepy."

"Not creepy. Efficient. Stop, fighting. Listen. Next time."

"Shut up."

"You. Shut up. Kill. You. Myself."

Pushing with his hips, he tried to shove the snake woman off. He barely made her budge. Her tail had him completely pinned.

"Your heavy."

"Really. Kill. You."