With a slight *creak*, the wheels of the carriage pushed along as it approached the large gates of Regalia. The sight of it made both Leo and Mariel let out relieved sighs, but only served to sour Micah’s mood even further.

Throughout the journey from start to finish, she hadn’t found a single opening to escape while under the watch of the two Heroes, which she supposed should have been expected given they experienced firsthand just how much of a fight she could put up against them. Still, it meant that they’d successfully arrived at their destination with no issues.

As they came to a slow stop before the gates, Micah couldn’t help but notice that the two men stationed as guards were dressed in Regalian Military uniforms. It made sense, she supposed, since—as the name implied—the group was founded in Regalia.

From what she’d read about them, it seemed that the members were so prominent and efficient in combat that they far surpassed traditional knights and could often keep up with Heroes—and many of them often went on to become Heroes themselves. They were so impressive, in fact, that many parts of the world had completely replaced their militias with Regalian Military soldiers. Halloway was an exception, as it still remained on the poorer side despite being a trade town, and focused more on religion and dealing in goods than on militarism.

Once the carriage had come to a complete stop, one of the soldiers at the gate made to approach the driver’s side.

“Good afternoon. May I ask what business you have in Regalia?” he asked politely.

“Ah, yes. I have a message from the mayor of Halloway, in Westra. Here you go.” The driver handed over the letter he’d been given. After reading it, the guard nodded to himself and came around to where Micah and the others were.

“A-A child is it… I can scarcely believe that someone so young could be accused of something like murder,” he muttered, half in disbelief as he laid eyes on Micah’s restraints. Mariel was quick to respond.

“It’s true. The seal on the letter should be proof enough, right? The two of us should be described in there as well,” she said before gesturing to herself and her partner. “I’m Mariel, and this is Leo. We’re Freelance Heroes.”

The man took another look over the letter, then nodded to himself as the information matched up. “Right. So a prisoner transfer then? I’ll have this letter taken to the Norith council.”

His gaze turned on a tower overlooking the walls, and with his hands he made a quick gesture towards whomever was stationed on top of it. After a short wait, another soldier appeared from within the gate. After explaining the circumstances, the original man handed over the letter along with instructions to have it brought to the Norith council, and soon the messenger was on his way.

“In the meantime,” he said as he turned back to the group in the carriage. Behind him, another soldier appeared. “I’ll have the girl escorted to a holding cell to await the council’s judgement on whether they’ll accept her. Please follow him and obey his instructions.”

Against her would-be escort’s expectant face, Micah saw little other option than to obey, and quietly exited the carriage with Mariel and Leo following close behind. The latter let out a yawn as he stretched his arms above his head.

“Well…! Guess that’s about it for our escort job then. Seeing as we got her to Regalia safely, I’d say it’s about time we got started on hiring a carriage back to Avarick-”

“Wait,” his partner cut in suddenly, leveling a stare at the soldier who’d called the escort. “The two of us, we’ll go too.”

“What-?!”

“As long as Micah isn’t in a proper cell, it’s still too dangerous for us to leave her to the supervision of someone who hasn’t fought her like we have. If it’s alright, I’d like for Leo and I to be the ones who watch over her until the council makes their decision.”

“Mariel, what the hell!” Leo was quick to grab his partner’s shoulder. “We’ve already done what was asked of us, and we made an even bigger profit than we were originally planning to! Any more than this won’t net us anything except wasted time.”

“...Even so, I’m going. Are you coming with me or not?”

“Grr, you…!” Their hard stares held for a few moments before Leo let out a sigh. “Fine. Fine! I’m going, alright?! Happy?!”

“...Yeah. Thanks, Leo.” Mariel’s smile was genuine, and Leo turned his face to the side while awkwardly scratching at his cheek in the face of it.

“W-Whatever. Let’s just hurry up and go before I change my mind,” he muttered, then fell into step with his partner as the escort led Micah away to the holding area. “Seriously, what a pain in the ass…”

-----

Size-wise, the cell was more spacious than Micah was expecting. Aside from the tiny barred window, the only things in there were a mat laid on the floor for sleeping and a toilet. After having her step into the cell, the escort closed and locked the door behind her (with restraints still on), before turning to the two Heroes.

“You know, you really don’t have to go so far as to guard her yourselves. I’m sure that as Heroes, you must have other duties to attend to-”

“It’s fine, really,” Mariel cut in once more, as if she’d expected the comment. “I want to do this—to see our job through to the end.” Leo looked like he wanted to say something, but bit down his comment as the escort reluctantly nodded and left the room.

Now with just the three of them occupying the holding area, Mariel found a seat in a chair nearby Micah’s cell, visibly fidgeting from the uncomfortably hard wood. Leo let out a small sigh and leaned against a wall next to her.

An awkward silence followed as no one said a word. After a short while, Mariel looked like she couldn’t take it anymore and suddenly sat up straight to say perhaps a little too loudly, “W-Well! L-Leo, how about you go and get some groceries for us? We’ll likely be staying overnight here, after all.”

This isn’t some sleepover or hangout.

Micah silently retorted in her mind, but ultimately didn’t say anything.

Neither did Leo, and Mariel furrowed her brows as she continued. “Really, I’d love to go myself, but I’m the only one who can see Micah’s mana building up in time to stop her from trying to escape. Please?”

His expression was one of complete dissatisfaction (not that Micah had seen much of otherwise at any point in the trip here), but eventually he let out another sigh and reluctantly headed for the door as well.

Now alone, an even heavier silence settled over the pair of Mariel and Micah, who sat tense in her cell as her mind whirled over what to do.

She wasn’t sure how efficient the Regalian council was, but with the city being known as one of the most prosperous in the world, she figured it would be a safe assumption that the processing of the letter would take less than a week. In other words, she only had about that amount of time—likely less—to escape from her bonds before she’d be officially imprisoned.

Thanks to Mariel’s meddling, her plan to overtake the soldiers with the element of surprise had been thrown out the window. During the journey, when at one point she tried to build up her mana to break her rock-cuffs and was stopped immediately, she learned that Mariel possessed an Ability, like the way she has [God’s Blessing], that allowed her to “see” mana using her five senses. Under the current circumstances, it was pretty much impossible for her to make any kind of move while the woman kept such close scrutiny over her.

With all of that in mind, the best plan logically was to wait until Mariel went to sleep. But even that had been seen through on the way there—as both Heroes had gotten a clear look at her sleeping habits during the first days of the journey. As she herself had no way of knowing exactly how she behaved while unconscious, it was pretty much impossible to fool them in that regard as well.

To put it in simplest terms, she was kind of screwed.

No matter how she examined the situation, there was no feasible way she could escape from captivity. All she could do was lament the fact that she hadn’t cultivated [God’s Blessing] to a higher level before encountering Mariel and Leo.

Speaking of [God’s Blessing], her current stats were like this:

[Ability - God’s Blessing Lv. 24]
[An Ability imbued into the scarf by [God]. The scarf grows through experience and the more it is used. After a set amount of experience is gained, this ability will level up.]
[Leveling up will increase its potential and capabilities.]
[Every ten levels, the wearer can select a new Ability.]

{Default Abilities}
[The wearer’s physical capabilities, reflexes, and senses are enhanced. These traits will increase further as [God’s Blessing] levels up.]
[The scarf acts as a translator, allowing the wearer to understand foreign languages, both verbally and visually.]

{Added Abilities}
[The scarf can be manipulated according to the wearer’s will. Its potential length, as well as its offensive and defensive power, will increase as [God’s Blessing] levels up.]
[The wearer can draw from a mana pool contained within the scarf. The size of the pool will increase as [God’s Blessing] levels up.]
[Free Slot]
[Unlocked at Lv. 30]
[Unlocked at Lv. 40]
[Unlocked at Lv. 50]

Twenty-four. [God’s Blessing] had reached Lv. 24 over the course of the journey to Regalia. Just the fight with Mariel and Leo alone had pushed it over twenty, and the experience gained from seeing a bit of the world outside of Halloway had boosted it even further.

And what’s more, she’d unlocked a new [Free Slot] after reaching Lv. 20. Naturally, at the time she thought to immediately create an Ability that could help her escape, but all of her attempts ended with either rejection or deciding that it wasn’t enough to help her truly escape, and in the end she didn’t end up using it.

Of course it wasn’t as if she wasn’t desperate, and even she knew that she had to try something, else she’d face the worst case scenario. But no matter how much courage she tried to build within herself, the fear of failing and having her scarf taken away a second time for breaking her agreement with Mariel gripped her entire body, and was what ultimately made her hesitate each time she considered it.

And in the end, here she was.

At least I still have the scarf. As long as I have it, there’s still a chance. I can still get out of this.

Really, it was her only chance. Her last chance. Once the guards came to transport her to her real cell, she’d have no choice but to attack with everything she had, and hope that the recent gains in levels were enough to get her out safely.

If she failed, there was no telling what her fate would be in the end. But what she could say with certainty was that her quest to find Yuu would come to an absolute end. Her scarf would be taken away indefinitely, and she’d be powerless to do anything but waste away in her own despair until she died naturally, or killed herself. Either way, if Yuu was in fact in Magi somewhere, her chances of reuniting with him would drop to zero. And that was something she would never allow, ever.

And so, Micah steeled herself. If she had to take lives to escape, she would, no matter how many or how innocent. If she had to hurt herself in the process, she would, without an ounce of hesitation this time.

If she had to destroy the entire world, she would, all for the sake of her most important person.

Yuu… watch over me. I swear I’ll get out of here and find you. I won’t run away anymore. I won’t be a coward who hesitates to protect those closest to me anymore. For your sake, and for only your sake… I’ll fight.

“...Hey. Micah?” Mariel’s voice suddenly cut the silence of the room. Looking unsure of what she was about to say, she continued. “Why… did you kill that person? Why is it that you became ‘Nor’s Angel’?”

The nervousness in her tone was clear, as if she didn’t want to hear the answer but asked anyway. Micah let her head hang and responded.

“...You’ve already asked me that.”

“I know, but you never answered me no matter how many times I asked,” Mariel countered. “After this, the two of us probably won’t ever meet again. So I thought I’d ask one more time, that’s all.”

Micah went quiet for a while, before finally speaking. “I became Nor’s Angel because I cared about those nuns. I wanted to protect them. They picked me up when I was abandoned on their doorstep. They took care of me and made me one of their own. I just wanted to repay that kindness.”

“By killing someone?”

“It’s more complicated than that. But…” She paused, then suddenly lifted her head to look Mariel in her eyes. “If it were for someone I really cared about, I would take the life of anyone. That’s the truth.”

Mariel didn’t respond, and instead held Micah’s intense gaze. After a short while, she closed her eyes and sighed. “Well it’s not like I don’t see where you’re coming from. If Leo or someone else I cared about was in danger, and killing was the only way to save them…” She shook her head. “Still, I would at least make absolutely sure there wasn’t any other way. Killing should always be a last resort in any situation.”

Micah let her head fall again, staring at the floor bitterly. “If that’s how you think, then you’re going to lose something really important to you someday.”

“You…” Mariel’s brows furrowed in a mix of irritation and sympathy, and she leaned towards the door of the holding cell. “Do you honestly believe that? Tell me, has taking the most extreme path in any situation ever worked out for you, seriously?”

“...”

Though she tried to ignore it, Mariel’s question brought her mind back to some of her past actions and how they resulted in things going wrong for her.

Like when she decided that killing Leo and Mariel there in the alley was the best option, when it would have been better to continue feigning innocence on the grounds that they had no real evidence to convict her. In retrospect, there wasn’t a single soul in Halloway that would have believed a couple of random Heroes over her, who’d been living there for ten years and was widely loved.

And the banquet, where she got so caught up in solving the mystery that she blew her cover in front of the entire room, including the nuns. It was only thanks to Lady Irene and Commander Reed that all of the guests agreed to keep the banquet’s events a secret, and her own luck that the nuns didn’t come to a worse conclusion than her just being more intelligent that she let on.

And even before that, with Mr. Stronoff, she’d stupidly thought that fighting him would be a good way of understanding how strong demons—or at least their contracted servants—were in relation to her current strength at the time. Her arrogance had brought her to the brink of death, and if Brunhilde hadn’t interfered she really would have died there. She regretted that too, even if it did result in a substantial boost to [God’s Blessing]’s level.

And of course she regretted letting her anger get the best of her and killing Miriam. Even if the woman hadn’t had anyone she cared about and was just a selfish coward, her murder ultimately came back to bite Micah in the worst way possible, resulting in her present situation. If she’d just kept a more level head, that entire situation could have been avoided and things still could have ended well. She may even have been able to make an ally out of her like she had with Altheon and Barnabel.

“...”

But if it’s about regrets… then her biggest one would have to be running off like she did when she heard Yuu was hospitalized. If she hadn’t fallen into such a panic, then she wouldn’t have made the decision to run across the street and subsequently get hit by that car. She would never have met God or come to Magi and spend all of those nights endlessly worrying over her brother’s safety. Even now, she often had to force herself not to think of how her family and friends reacted after hearing of her death so soon after Yuu’s hospitalization.

Her parents… She really hoped they were doing okay. If it turned out that both she and Yuu had died…

“Do you really not have any regrets for what you did?” Mariel continued. “You know, when me and Leo were getting ready to leave for Regalia with you, there were four women who showed up to stop us, including your mother. All of them looked heartbroken when I told them what happened.”

“...Shut up.”

“Do you really not care? At all? Even if it was for the sake of someone important to you, can you honestly say you don’t feel even the slightest bit of guilt for what you did to them? For the pain you caused them?”

“I’m telling you to shut up.”

“You do care, don’t you.” Mariel stood from her seat to approach the door, then knelt down to Micah’s level. “You care, but you’re telling yourself that you don’t care. For whatever reason, you’ve convinced yourself that you have to do even the most extreme things for the sake of those you care about, even when you know that’s not true.”

“Shut up!”

“Why? What happened to you that made you think like this? Did you lose something important in the past because of inaction? Someone close to you maybe? Or…” Mariel’s face softened, but all Micah could see in it was pity. “...were you hurt deeply by someone who did nothing to help you when you needed them?”

“I SAID SHUT UP!!” Micah suddenly lunged for the door, the loud *BANG* of her fists slamming against it echoing through the room and quieting Mariel.

She took a moment to regain her composure, then spoke quietly. “...You don’t know anything. You don’t know the first thing about me, so stop analyzing me. Or I’ll kill you.”

“...” Mariel’s eyes filled with even more pity as she stood up once more. “You know, Micah-”

*Fwoosh*

The sound of the door opening interrupted what she was about to say, and the two of them turned to the door as a figure stepped into the room.

“Ah, so you were here after all.” Smooth, sultry, and laden with femininity was the voice that emerged from the woman’s lips. Strands of midnight black hair fell over narrow shoulders down to the small of her back and seemed to shimmer even amidst the daylight. The almost-inhumanly perfect curves of the woman’s body were plain to see beneath her matching black dress, complete with intricate designs and patterns that made it seem about as expensive as Aurelia had proclaimed herself to be so long ago.

Appearance-wise, she looked to be around Mariel’s age or perhaps even younger. But the combination of her voice, the resting smirk on her face and the way her arms casually crossed as she held her elbows gave her an air of maturity that made it almost impossible to take a proper guess at her age.

The woman said nothing as Micah and Mariel took in her appearance, like she’d been expecting it and was more than happy to oblige their stares. But after a moment she raised a finger towards Micah’s holding cell, her well-manicured nail gleaming as it caught a ray of light from the window. “It’s nice to finally make your acquaintance, Micah Stronoff. I’ve heard quite a lot about you.”

“Eh…?” Needless to say, Micah was utterly confused by the strange turn of events. Who was this woman? Why did she know her name? And what did she mean by, “I’ve heard quite a lot about you”?

Her questions went unanswered as the woman moved to approach her cell door, almost shouldering Mariel aside as if she hadn’t seen her in the first place. “I was quite troubled to hear of what happened to you, and it took quite the amount of effort to gather the resources necessary to acquit you, but it looks like I made it in time.” She leaned in, and Micah got a good look at the shining violet gems that were her eyes. “As of now, all of your charges have been dropped. You are hereby free to go.”

“What-”
“What?!”

Both she and Mariel had exclaimed, but Mariel’s was louder as she stepped up to the woman’s flank. “What are you talking about? There’s no way she could be acquitted without even so much as a trial!”

The woman inclined her head slightly, just enough that she could see her with one eye. Immediately, her gaze became colder, as if the very idea of addressing Mariel was unpleasant to her. “It’s already been decided. You can ask the Westran officials yourself—they've unanimously agreed to drop Micah’s charges. Naturally, it stands that there’s no reason to continue holding her here if she won’t be transferred to the main prison facility.”

“B-But, what about the messenger with the letter? By now, the Norith council should be-”

“Oh, that.” The woman let out a sigh with a bored expression. “It’d be troublesome if the council got involved in this, so I had him intercepted. After some… convincing, he was more than happy to be relieved of the letter.”

“Wh-What did you-”

“I destroyed it, obviously.” Her answer was sharp, and Micah detected a hint of annoyance in her tone as well. “Dealing with a bunch of money hungry officials is one thing, but the Norith council would have made it much more difficult to get a hold of the girl. Now are you done interrogating me? I have better things to do than entertain your questions for an afternoon.”

Mariel’s expression was one of disbelief as she took out a key and unlocked Micah’s holding cell. As Micah approached her, still in something of a shock herself, the woman put a hand on the rock-cuffs.

With nothing more than a tensing of her fingers, the shackles came undone, crumpling like paper as she pulled them apart. Micah rubbed at her wrists, massaging away the soreness from having carried the weight of them all this time.

“Now then, shall we get going?” Micah didn’t even have a chance to nod before the woman turned to leave, heels clacking against the floor with each step. Even without having to think seriously about it, Micah knew that there wasn’t much other choice but to follow the woman, so after a moment’s hesitation she began trailing her.

“Wait!” Mariel, who’d gone silent for a short while, finally shouted to gain the woman’s attention. Eyes narrowing, she reached down for her baton. “No matter how you word it, in the end you bribed them right? The officials, the messenger, you bribed all of them. That’s a crime!”

The woman sent another sideways glance her way. “...So? Got a problem?”

“Khh…” Mariel’s grip tightened around her weapon, and in one move the baton was drawn and extended to full size. “As a Hero, I can’t just stand by while you do this. First I’ll detain you, then I’ll go and have a word with everyone you paid off.”

“Haa… I thought you’d say something like that. After all, your partner was exactly the same way.”

As if on cue, the door opened once more and another figure stepped inside. Wearing a dark, ash-colored sleeveless hood was a tall, dark-skinned man. His eyes were a dull grey and unblinking as they passed over Micah and Mariel. Neither of their own gazes were drawn to his in turn, but rather, the figure dangling motionless behind him, held up by a single hand gripping the back collar of their shirt from over his shoulder.

“L-Leo!” Mariel shouted, eyes going wide in horror at the sight of her partner’s inert form. “What… What did you…?!”

“He refused the bribe and gave me the same Hero spiel you did, so I had to kill him,” the woman explained, unconcerned. “I’m not even going to bother trying with you, since you’ve made your position quite clear already.” Her eyes flickered to the dark-skinned man. “Make it quiet.”

Mariel tensed as the man took a step forward. Sweat ran down her face as she spoke. “Micah, you have to go. Make a run for it as soon as I-ghhlkk?!?!” But her words were cut off as the man’s free hand clamped around her neck, forcing her back against the far wall with enough force to knock her glasses off her face. Neither Mariel nor Micah, who’d activated [God’s Blessing] from a while ago, saw him move beyond that first step.

With Leo still being held over his shoulder, he hoisted Mariel up against the wall as she struggled in his grip. “M… Mi… cah…!” Through her gurgled choking, her eyes, brimming with tears, searched for Micah’s.

What she found turned her blood cold.

Micah watched the scene with an apathetic expression, unconcerned with following Mariel’s instructions in the slightest. When their eyes met, she promptly shut hers before turning to walk towards the door and the woman waiting for her with a satisfied smirk. “I told you already, you don’t know the first thing about me. You don’t understand my feelings at all. I made a promise; that for the sake of the one I want to protect most in the world, I’ll crush anyone who gets in my way.”

She intended to leave with those words, but Mariel’s strained voice made her pause. “I… If that’s how you… th-think…”

Micah dared a glance back, and immediately regretted it.

Because on Mariel’s face, caked with tears and spittle from enduring the strangling, another agonizingly pitiful smile sat. “Then you’re… going to lose… something really important to you… someday...”

Instantly, she felt a knot of anger form in her stomach, but the realization that a bit of guilt was mixed in as well made her teeth grit. She forcefully ripped her gaze away and walked right past the woman out the door. “Let’s go.”

The woman said nothing, and instead motioned once to the dark-skinned man before turning to follow Micah out of the room. The sickening crack of her neck breaking was the last sound to fill the otherwise-empty room.

-----

Exiting the holding area was a simple task, which Micah guessed was because her incarceration hadn’t had time to be made official and only the few guards involved with putting her in the holding cell likely would have been aware. Micah wanted to inquire about the fate of those men, but decided against asking.

Instead, as they set foot on the startlingly-modern looking city streets of Regalia, Micah remained silent as she snuck a glance at the woman who rescued her from captivity. She walked on with confidence slightly ahead of her, with her accomplice taking up the rear. The large sack filled with the corpses of both Leo and Mariel did nothing to slow his gait.

As they walked on without addressing her, Micah wondered for a moment if she should simply run away in this situation. Getting away from her sentencing and the two Heroes was of course ideal, but somehow she figured that the woman’s motives were less than sincere, especially since she went to lengths such as bribery and even murder to free her, another murderer.

It was a safe bet to say that she did not decide to free her out of goodwill, or for no good reason. So the only logical assumption was that she wanted something—something that she at least believed Micah could provide her.

But the question was, what was it? And was it even worth finding out?

“...Don’t run.” The woman suddenly spoke, snapping her out of her thoughts as if sensing them. “I’m not as weak as those guys. You won’t even make it two steps. Just come along with me to a certain place, and I’ll explain everything to you.”

“...Will you at least tell me who you are? I can’t say I’m eager to go following strangers around, rescuers or not.”

The woman stifled a small giggle with one hand, and Micah shuddered involuntarily. “You want to know my name? Well… I was saving it for later, but I don’t mind telling you now if it will ease a bit of your worries. It’s not often that I’m called by my name directly, but as a special privilege to you, Micah Stronoff, I’d like you to call me… Circe.”