The tavern was dimly lit. 

The fire mage, Maria, sat at the bar, her brows furrowed in anger as she glared at Syzoth, who leaned casually against the counter, sipping from a mysterious vial.

"You killed her, Syzoth!" Maria's voice quivered with rage. "She was one of us, a new recruit! What possible reason could you have for such an act?"

Syzoth remained nonchalant, as if the accusation was nothing more than a passing breeze. He lowered the vial, his piercing eyes meeting Maria's fiery gaze. "Maria, you were always quick to judge without seeking the truth. There were reasons..."

Maria slammed her hand onto the bar, her temper flaring. "Reasons? What reasons could justify murder, Syzoth? We're supposed to be a team, a family, and you betrayed us!"

Syzoth sighed, as if the conversation were a tiresome inconvenience. "It wasn't betrayal, Maria. It was a matter of necessity. I had a vision. Because of it, I was forced to act."

Maria's nostrils flared; her fists were clenched. "You expect me to believe that? You acted without consulting anyone, without any regard for consequences! You've always been a loose cannon, and now you've gone too far."

"The being that brought me to this world told me to do that. She was a devil. If I hadn't acted, she would have manipulated the entire cohort, turning us into unwitting pawns in her sinister game. I…"

"A devil? A DEvIl? HAHAHAHAHAH"

Maria then started to laugh. She laughed at the absurdity of his answer. Of all of his possibly explanations, this was the most absurd one.

"I do not believe you. You really want me to believe, that neither Seraphina, nor Leon, were able to find out that we had a supposed 'devil' join our ranks? Seriously?"

Syzoth's gaze remained cool and detached. "Sometimes, the greater good demands difficult choices, Maria. You must also know that we are not perfect. We can make mistakes. And get manipulated. And, we can fall. We are not some protagonists of a weird one of novel, with plot-armor that could make us pass through any challenges without problems. 

Roran lost control over his beastform, he became the very thing we fought against.

Lyra got captured by the gnorocks, and before we could do anything, they finished the ritual of bringing an avatar of their dark god into this world. If it weren't for Duran, we would all be dead by now.

And now, Aria. Look around you. This bar we are in wasn't like this a few decades ago.

That man she married? Well guess what, he was a deviled one of the second rank! Because of this, this beautiful place fell into chaos, and Doro died in the process of trying to save it.

And after all this, the fact that after all these years you distrust me, only proves how much Eliana managed to get her control over her. You must under…"

Maria seethed with anger, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "Oh, don't you dare bring up the greater good as an excuse for your actions! How dare you mention them! I have not forgotten what Gavin said back then! We all have heard his final prophecy. He said that one day, one of us would one day either kill us, or make puppets out of us, taking over the world in the process. And now I know he talked about you. Funny, how after that night, we found him dead. I didn't want to believe it at first, but I know you were the culprit. You killed your best friend. And how do I know this? Because you were the only one who Gavin trusted the most. Gavin, the man that could see the future, died the exact next night. Care to explain that? And now, you killed another one of us."

With a determined resolve, Maria rose from her stool. "I'm taking you to Leon, Syzoth. I will make sure that you won't slither away from justice this time. This time, justice will be served."

"Justice? JUSTICE? Did you just say that you will make sure that I will make sure that I won't escape justice? I? Me? Hehhehhhhahahahaha"

For the first time, Syzoth face stopped being indifferent, and started to laugh like a maniac.

Maria's face, changed from rage, to bewilderment. "Does something amuse you?" 

"Yes. You are just so goddamn..."