Another mission success. Likewise.

Seele was eager to get all the formalities done with. The meeting with Lord Alranne really took a lot of time. All the praises coming from the lord of the town was really annoying but she was glad that the meeting ended nonetheless. Though Denise has become attached to her as she wanted to stay with her longer. But alas, Seele never wanted to be close with anyone else.

Just like that newbie.

She never wanted an attachment, not ever since that incident.

Seele simply said at the little girl that she was a busy person but Denise was hoping that she would meet again.

"No, forget about me. Its for the best."

Those were her thought as she left the mansion without uttering a single word.

Wandering through the busy town, she made her way back into the mercenary guild. The military and the peacekeeper corps are still doing their stakeout as usual. She didn't mind them as she enters the guild's paved entrance.

The moment she entered the guild, the lobby was at least packed with multiple mercenaries compared to few days earlier. Of course it would, today is Monday and its the day where guild posts new requests.

The guild was brimming with laughter, jokes, squeal and even arguments. Some mercenaries are punching each other at the corner with the guild staff as the referee, some plays poker with their own group, some were drinking and some tried to flirt with other female mercenaries. As a 5 year veteran, most people would be spooked by this sight but to her, this is normal in the mercenary guild. Hell, even herself the infamous Crimson Demon was no more than just another upcoming mercenary in the block. 

She made her way through the bunch of degenerates heading towards the counter. There was a number of other mercenaries queuing up at the counter. She simply took the one with the shortest line, Seele is the girl who puts time above all - she doesn't like waiting for a long time. After a few minutes, it was her turn eventually.

"How's the quest, Seele?" And as usual, it was Raymond.

"Easy as usual." She replied as she hands the permit. "Did he came here?"

"Yes, he did earlier. That was quite fast for both of you to finish this task in a single night."

"Believe me, even I was surprised."

"And do you like your new partner?"

"Interim partner." Seele said coldly, "He and I are no more than just a member of an interim party set up by you."

"I know, you must've hate him."

Seele clicked her tongue, imagining Tryx's face already disgusted her. "I. REALLY DO." she hissed, "He's got some big balls to order me around and steal my prey. And he even dared to plan an assault the middle of the night! I had to go through a lot bushes and stupid insects just to cover our entry from being busted. And then he dare to ask me for a date! He's a fucking annoying, control freak bastard!"

Raymond could only shook his head, he knew she would say those words. It wasn't her first time shitting on someone at all. Before she went solo, Seele would complained about her team members. She would jump around, switching parties and by the time she reached D - Rank, she went solo. Due to the fact she would prioritize survival, efficiency and capability, she deemed being in a party and group is useless. All she focused on since then was ranking up and taking harder jobs.

"I take it that nothing is interesting about him." Raymond asked again.

"Nothing at all. Though..." Seele cupped her chin, "If I have to say it... He owned very dangerous weapons."

"What do you mean?"

"Let's just say I need to keep an eye him."

"Huh..." Raymond never thought she would be interested by him since she said she hated him earlier. "What makes you think that?"

"His weapons that he own, I've never seen it before. And his items, all of them are not imbued with magic. His weapons can take out any enemy, be it far or close they died instantly. And he has this weird contraptions that help him see at night. There's more about him I don't know about."

"Oho, that means you've taken quite an interest of him!" Raymond said joyfully.

Seele felt something is about to go at wrong direction after reading the receptionist's soul.

"What do you mean, Raymond?"

"Well, isn't it obvious? You're starting to like him!"

Hearing those words, she was taken aback. "Don't be ridiculous! I only keep an eye on him to make sure he's not a threat!"

"So you can spend another night with him?" Raymond joked.

"No, its not!" she barked back.

Raymond chuckled, "I'm just kidding! Seele, I know you prefer to work alone but..." he paused, clearing his throat. "But it doesn't hurt to try and join a party. You need to change your attitude, your lifestyle and this whole mess? Can't you at least stay in a single party or a group, try it for a change of pace?"

"You know I can't."

"Because of what happened in the past?"

Seele remained silent. She refuse to talk about it. There was a tense atmosphere, she starting emit vengeful aura out of her. Even the ones queuing around her had to take few feet away.

"You done talking?" Seele glared at him in anger.

Raymond sighed, he simply placed a sack of coins on the desk. "Your rewards, 750 Munis for exterminating bandit group - 'Dragon Fist' and saving Miss Denise Juan Ismeralda Alranne." Seele collects the rewards from the table and begins to leave. Raymond then speaks again, "Another thing Seele..." She stopped and faced him, "The guild master would like to discuss about your promotion. Make sure you come tomorrow in the morning."

Seele didn't said a single word and leaves the premise. Once she left the guild, Seele heads down the corner finding herself in the market district.

The market district is bustling and lively like any other days. The sellers are shouting and yelling around as they offer a great deal for their items. Customers starting to purchase the items in bulk, be it spices, jewelries, fruits, vegetable, all were bought and hauled off from the street. Thanks to its location close to the border, many traders would stopped at this town to start their business.

As the number of crowds starting to increase as she pushes her way through the street, Seele was annoyed. This is why she hated crowded places, it feels like a bunch of animal herds flocking together.

She wished that she could use her climbing ability and jump between rooftops to reach her next destination. But thanks to the recent Mercenary Guild's fiasco, people were barred from using the roof. Few months back, there was a war between two faction of a mercenary group. Some of the members ran across the roof and fought on top of every quarter of this town. Thus, after dozens of civilians death, Lord Alranne impose a restriction that only his personal army, the peacekeeper corps and the Kingdom of Fecta's troops are allowed to be at the roof top. Should any other person are present at the roof, they shall be arrested or eliminated.

"Fucking bitches..." Seele muttered under her breath, how stupid it was for them to fight.

After minutes of waving through the crowds, she quickly made her way on the pavement leading into the store at the corner.

There, she saw the crude metal signboard hung above the storefront written 'Iron Fist Armory'. The store was a weapons and armor shop.The bell rings as soonest she stepped into the store. The store was devoid of customers making it easier for her to do her business personally. The store was lit with several self-glowing stones giving more brightness for the grim interior. There are several items hanging on the wall which were armors and weapons put up to be sold. Some clothing are also put up to be sold at the rack around the floor, so that customers can choose whatever they see fit. The scent of dusts and metal entered her nostrils.The stench that only some people can handle including herself, its been 3 weeks since the last time she came to this place.

Seele came here when she needed an armored fixed, buying new weapons or even selling some dead man's weapons to gain some profit. Though, since she focus on gaining big bounties to increase her ranks she completely forgot about it. But since she found something interesting, this might be the best time to meet the shop owner.

As she looked around the store, a loud footsteps coming her way.

"Coming!" a female voice could be heard coming from the door behind the counter. After a few seconds, the owner of the shop makes an appearance. "Welcome! Oh... Its you..." the women's energetic aura turned gloomy instantly.

"Are you busy, Lyra?" Seele ask monotonously.

The Dwarven named Lyra simply huffed, "Huh, And here I thought you've stopped coming."

"Ranking up."

"To the point that you forgot about coming here? Is that it?"

Seele didn't answer her question. Not because she has excuses, its because she didn't need to answer it.

"You know what? Forget it." The brown haired Dwarven made her way to the counter, stepping on the stool leveling her line of sight towards the Crimson Demon. She then grabs a rag covering up her head like a bandanna, "So, what brings you here?"

Seele took off her sling bag, placed on the counter and spills out the contents of the bag. The bullet casings clattered as it pours out of the bag and rolling around the table. The dwarf was speechless as she saw multiple shining metals in front of her. She picked up one of the casings and examine.

"I want you to appraise these things for me." Seele urged.

Lyra examines every inch of shell, she was interested in it.

"Where did you get this?"

"From a newbie I teamed up with."

Lyra's eyes widened, she was shocked to hear it. "T-teamed up?! Newbie?! Are you for real?"

"Its a long story."

"Is it a boy or a girl?!" Lyra suddenly became interested, her eyes were glittering in joy.

Seele narrowed her eyes in disbelieved, "It doesn't matter." Because Tryx's existence was an annoyance to her.

"It does matter!" Lyra lashed out, "I mean this is probably the best time for you to find a soulmate!"

"Soulmate?"

"Soulmate! The person whom you share similar feelings and..."

"I know what soulmate is, Lyra. I get what you're trying to say here. That newbie is irrelevant to me. Raymond set us into an interim party when both of us had a dispute over the quest."

"Aww but at least you can still tell me the newbie's name! Is it a boy or a girl?"

"Fuck off."

"Its a boy isn't it?"

Seele rolled her eyes, "Like I said, fuck off."

"Its a boy, right?!"

Seele's anger have started to peaked, "Lyra, just stop it."

"Its a boy! I knew it! Seele fell in love to a newbie! She- UGHUK!"

Seele clawed the Dwarf's cheek out of sudden. Lyra could feel the claw is crushing her jaw every second as Seele pulls her face closer. The look on the Crimson Demon's face was visible - she was pissed off. Lyra was sweating bullets, she realized she had gone too far.

With her cold tone, Seele said "If you don't want your store to be demolished, I suggest you stop spouting bullshit and do your job. Otherwise, you'll be the only one who runs a weapon shop under an old shack in this district."

"OFHAY!" Lyra replied. As soonest Seele opened up her claw, she could feel pain stinging all over her puffy cheeks. "Owww, my cute cheeks..."

"Just be glad that I didn't break that pillar." Seele thumbed at the supporting pillar behind her. "Though, I do wonder if this entire building can still hold up if one pillar goes missing."

"DON'T YOU DARE!" Lyra barked.

"I'm joking."

"That doesn't sound like one! You're saying that on purpose, aren't you!"

Seele shrugged, "Eh, I'm just curious. Just wondering if it can still stand."

"Just don't!"

"OK. Then, do your job."

"Yeah, I'm doing it! I'm doing it!" Lyra grumbled as she reluctantly follows her orders. She inspect the shell casing again, turning it in every directions to determine the value of the item. "Alright, I'm done."

"So, what are these things?"

"These things that you collected, they're made out of brass."

Seele raised her brow, "Brass?" she admits, she's never good with metallurgy or even smiting, so she wouldn't understand the material used.

"Yup, brass. They were once used as a material for weapons hundreds of years ago. These are quite common for some people back then."

"So why stop using it?"

"Eh, as the time progress there are more sturdier and stronger materials to create a weapon. I mean, there's a mithril, dragon scales, dragon's breath sword and all of those things. I mean, you know all that stuff basically. Brass ended up becoming more of a cosmetics these days - tray, pot, jewelry, cups... You name it! They're not that valuable in the market but there are some people looking for these metals. And you're quite lucky, I am one of those people. Though, these brass thingies..." Lyra sniffs the casings, she was disgusted. "They have some weird smell."

"What do you mean?"

"I can smell some burnt stuff in this little hole. I don't know what happened but there is some chemical residue in this hole. And then there's this weird thing at the bottom, I don't know what this is but I bet an alchemist now what this is. I'm no master alchemy but there are some chemical materials in this thing right here. "

"Chemical?" Seele though for a while, "So, his weapons were not generated from magic generated stones or even a holy weapon. Then, does this mean his carriage is also chemical powered as well?" The image of him pouring a weird fluid into the carriage comes into her mind, "Perhaps it is, that fluid he poured into the carriage is in fact a chemical as well. But to be able to master alchemy..."

I'm just the user. What do I know?

Seele shook her head, "No, he was telling the truth. Not even he understands how it works." Tryx's words kept ringing in her head, increasing her curiosity.

"Uhh, Seele?" Lyra's words snapped her back to reality. "Anything else?"

"No, how much all of these things worth?"

"Well, considering the number you packed..." Lyra hummed as she gives the appropriate figure, "Well, 300 Munis."

"400."

"No way. Didn't I told you this thing isn't that worth?"

"If it isn't that worth, why would you want it?" Seele shot back.

"Because I got some customers looking for these metals! That's why!"

"Then, 380 Munis."

Lyra cringed, "Nope, 320."

"375."

"Nu uh, 330."

Seele refuse to give up, so she uses another method. "Maybe I should try demolish the front pillars first."

"OKAY, OKAY! 375!" Lyra lashed out fearing the worst. "Geez, you don't have to do that!"

"Pleasure doing business with you." Seele gave fake warm smile towards the dwarf.

Lyra grumbled as she prepares the coins. She just couldn't believe it that the mercenary before her would do such dirty tactics just meet her expectations. Now she knows why she had the moniker demon. This wasn't her first time threatening the dwarf to meet her demands, she's been doing this in the last five years since she became mercenary. If it weren't for her power, Lyra would've had the entire profit all for herself. Oh well, there are other customers. She's not the only one.

"Here, 375 Munis." Lyra threw the satchel to Seele. "You'd better hope these brasses are worth it."

"Indeed they are, Lyra."

With that, the Crimson Demon left the shop and into the busy street once again. After pushing her way through the crowds, she managed to exit the district. Now, it was probably the best time to head home. 

Though, to call it a home was not appropriate. It was more to temporary lodging. Her house is actually in another region. As a mercenary, she's constantly on the move. Thus, she needed to stay at a hotel or an inn during the quest duration. 

And here in Bulgen, she chooses her usual inn that has become her second home. 

'The Woods' inn. The standard lodging for adventurers and mercenaries alike, costs only 10 Munis for 1 week. 

The moment she stepped into the premise, the familiar beast kin maid greeted her. 

"Ah, Miss Seele! That was quite fast!" Villi bowed. "How's your quest?" 

"Easy as usual." Seele replied coldly as she climbs the flight of stairs. 

"Oh, and your food and drinks?" 

"Send them to my room as usual." 

"Okay~!" Villi chimed as she went off towards the the manager office. 

After reaching the first floor, she went straight towards the door marked number 7. She enters it and locks the door, she had no more plans to head out anymore. Although, its just 1:00 in the afternoon. Seele thought she might head out in a few hours if she needed to. Right now, its just a moment full of boredom. Now that she's in the room, Seele closes the curtains. A small amount of light bleeds through red curtain and around it. The room turned dark, barely visible to naked eyes. 

Confirming that no other person is in the room, she took off her robe, leather corset, combat webbing and her skirt. She heads to the mirror to look at herself. 

Her long auburn spiky and dishevel hair was running down to her waist, her glowing pair of purple eyes full of lamentation to fit her pale skin, black rings appeared underneath her eyes due to lack of proper sleep, scars around her neck and around some part of her toned body. It was from long ago, she intend to let it served as a reminder. Seele removes her high boots and thigh socks revealing even more tone body parts. Now, she removes the shirt revealing her black underwear. Her C cup fits it perfectly and top of that was her slender yet toned body. This is the body of the Crimson Demon. 

After a long time wearing the robe, she felt some coolness. 

Seele lies down on the bed with her hand covering her eyes. 

For along time she had never felt such exhaustion. If it weren't for that idiot's plan, she would've get a proper sleep. Now because of his plan, she had to take an afternoon nap.

Though, she couldn't stop thinking of his weapons and his carriage. To be able to kill someone with a weird weapon, a horseless carriage and a device that allows him to see under the night. None of them uses magic. It was bullshit but yet, its real. None of those could work without the use of magic.

I'm just the user. What do I know?

Those words rang in her head once again. 

"Just what are you, newbie?" 

As she thought for a certain answer, she could feel her eyelids getting heavier as the demon fell into slumber.