A woman walks through a hallway. She is clothed in a light-red dress that one might see a medieval queen from Earth wearing. Her hair is long and ice-blonde, well combed and straight. Her name is Cariha. She is leading seven people, three women and four men.

The women are dressed in similar dresses like hers with slightly different colors and skirt flourishes. The men are wearing dress shirts and pants, clothes that make them stand out less. Their gait is reserved with a hint of pride mixed with caution.

These are all members of the organization known as the Twin Moons. Though they were wearing the rings marking their affiliation earlier, they have since taken them off after realizing that someone was interfering with their group.

Hm. Would that man still see through the distraction set earlier? Would he still be able to come after us? If he is able to, then what did he die for…

Cariha remembers one of her friends who has already concluded his time in this world. There used to be a man named Beric who she used to talk with often. He was one who was devoted to both Lord Osva and his friends and, unlike some others within the Twin Moons, he always treated Cariha with respect.

Cariha’s “family” within the Twin Moons is normally filled with the grim and devoted. Beric, while her friend, was not committed to the goals of her family. Instead, he was someone who she treated as a close friend. He was always one to make her and her family members laugh. His outlook was always light and optimistic.

For he knew that, one day, humanity would wipe out all their enemies. Those like his parents and siblings who had taken the side of the demihumans against their own race would never be allowed to exist anymore.

Since he had such faith, he felt more comfortable in his daily life. His commitment to a violent struggle against humanity’s eternal enemies was still strong and he was always prepared to sacrifice his life. It was quite the interesting contradiction and Cariha had always loved to see him wade through his own mind.

Today of all days however, he had sacrificed everything in order to make sure there was a beautiful future for humanity that they could all witness once they reach the realm that was promised.

“Why are you doing this, Beric? Why did you decide to… to give your life like this?” Cariha had asked him. She had wanted to hear his last words. Though Beric had seen through her true worries.

“When did you become so afraid of death, Cariha? All I’m doing is what our Lord has ordained for me. Why else would I do this? Why would any of us give our lives?”

“But… aren’t you scared? What about your friends… What about me?”

“What about you? Are you going somewhere?” He smiled brightly. “You’ll still be alive, Cariha. You'll still have the opportunity to give your own life, your own contribution… You may be worried about your ‘unforgivable sin’, but I’m of the idea that all you have to do is offer yourself to Osva with your heart, mind and soul.”

At that moment, Cariha’s eyes welled up with tears.

“I… We may not disagree in the end but–”

“Nothing more, Cariha. We will speak again in the true heaven.” He once again flashed his dazzling smile.

“...Yes. We will.”

Here now, she was doing what Loman had asked of her. She was to go into this apartment building and ensure that all the demihumans in this building died in the blazing fire that she and her family would create.

If Beric was willing to do that much on Loman’s order, to go that far in order to see the world turn to a new page, she and her family could not show any less. Cariha had decided to follow through with a longstanding plan of hers while thinking of his memory.

They would be granted an opportunity to join Beric in the true heaven, sooner than he might have expected. They would not throw their lives away for nothing; they would not let him have all of today’s glory!

Though Loman had asked that they hold off on a sacrifice ritual after the appearance of that unknown powerful human, Cariha could only ignore him. Her team was already dedicated to their own specific finale. She didn’t believe that he was smart enough to track them down anyways.

How could she know that the man she was dreading, Ajax, was an experienced tracker who could search for their groups by sound and even by smell? She wasn’t thinking things through that closely. She smiles slightly, seeing only success in her mad plans.

In honor of Beric.

“Have you found a candidate yet, Poil?” Cariha asks. Poil is a member of their family who is using a magic spell in order to go from apartment by apartment in this hallway on the second floor to find a worthy offering.

“I’m sorry, Cariha. None so far.” Cariha clicks her tongue in annoyance.

They had been searching the first and second floor already for candidates. If they were unlucky they would have to go up to the third floor. They had only used four minutes searching, though every minute was precious to them. They could end up facing that terrifying existence if they were too slow.

Cariha doesn’t know what to make of that human. She had seen the young man freeze Karise, right before Beric detonated and her group fled into the apartment building to perform their mission. She was slightly perturbed by the loss of Karise as well. She had been killed so easily; though she wasn’t someone that Cariha was close with, she respected the young woman.

Cariha might have given the same sacrifice when she was Karise’s age. However, growing to the age of 41 had tempered her rhetoric while sharpening her ideological commitment. She had her own way to die now.

After a bit of searching, Poil comes across a certain apartment down the hall of the second floor, three doors away from a stairwell towards the third floor. He signals to Cariha that he had found a candidate. She smiles with a mad-glint in her eyes. The anticipation has been killing her.