The operation was over, at least for the most part. Due to a combination of circumstances that was causing the water level to rise, the unit had to leave the confrontation scene in haste. A group still stood behind to watch over the area, considering the Rat Lord's corpse was somewhere in that pool, from a safe place naturally. They'd have to retrieve it later after all, not to mention clean up the mess with all the rodent bodies.

Speaking of the Rat Lord's corpse, Dailah heard there'd be a dispute between different departments over its rights. No matter how horrid that thing was, it was still a valuable sample that multiple academic witches would kill for a chance to study.

They can have it, personally she had seen enough.

"How do you feel, Dailah?" - Scariot asked. - "The first time is always a special or painful experience. Maybe both." 

"...i want a bath." - The girl answered, ignoring the sexual joke thrown at her.

Even if their role was over they still had to stay put outside. Adverse and unexpected situations could always arise, especially when dealing with something as senseless as magic. There had been cases in the past where a contaminated animal revived out of nowhere! Or demonic creatures whose bodies exploded into multiple smaller ones. They just can't relax for now.

Dailah looked outside the tent. The rainy clouds were gone and there was no more fog. All that was left was a slowly encroaching evening. It was hard to believe all of this had transpired in a single day.

"Still... you were quite impressive you know."

The girl slowly turned her gaze towards her partner who muttered so, waiting for the next words.

"If you think about it, you were the one who dealt the most significant hits to the beast. Not to mention the finishing blow. Should we dub thee 'Dailah the Slayer'?" - She said so with a smirk.

"I'll pass. Besides..."

Her words trailed off as she remembered the past fractions of seconds during which she faced the creature in the sewers.

"You're not gonna say you were lucky or something of sorts, are you?"

"More like unlucky. The monster was targeting me back then, coming straight towards my position. Naturally, i had the best shot at it."

"...it does sound awful when you put it that way. Still, the barrier would have just stopped its charge, there was no true imminent danger to your life."

"I suppose...."

Truly, logically speaking, its attack would've failed regardless. Then again, even the heated sewage water wasn't enough to impede the barrage of rodents coming from the tunnels. The resilience of the creatures she saw was nothing short of terrifying. She couldn't help but be haunted by many "what if" scenarios.

"You would've been fine Dailah." - Scariot told her, this time in a more firm and serious tone - "You kicked the bastard's buttocks and came out in one piece. No need to bother yourself with things that didn't happen."

...yes, she was correct. It is done. And honestly, she had survived a far more despairing situation, what're a few filthy rats in comparison?

Rats and bears...

...

Excellent. Now she couldn't help but think about the similarities between the two events. The Great Mother seemed rather determined to not give her mind any respite.

As her mind despaired, someone showed up at the entrance of the tent.

"Dailah, Ms. Scariot." - It was none other than Mariane - "The body has been retrieved and secured, you two can go home. Good work."

"Finally..." - Scariot said while stretching herself. "We're drinking tonight Dailah. You cannot refuse."

The girl sighed while glancing at her partner. Her heart desired no more than home and some sleep.

"Dailah..." - Mariane addressed her directly this time - "Come with me for a bit, there's something we need to discuss."

The two went out of the tent together.

There was a lot of movement outside. Association employees walking about, and in the distance, she could see the Rat Lord's lifeless body being handled by multiple witches. Looking at it like that, it was full of wounds and small strange lumps of meat, almost like growing tumors.

A bit away one could spot what seemed to be common citizens gathering, not being allowed to get any closer, apparently they already caught wind of the turmoil transpiring on the sewer entrance. Some reporters were likely mixed in as well.

After making sure there was no one close by, Mariane started speaking.

"You do understand there's more to this case than it meets the eye, correct?" 

"..."

Yes, that much was obvious. A rat wouldn't become like that through accidental means. This was likely a result of someone intentionally contaminating it with large amounts of mana. However, there was something more important than that, Dailah's kidnapping case also involved someone trying to do the same to a bear.

This is no coincidence.

"...i don't think i'd be part of the investigation either way, would i?"

"We're still not sure why you were involved back then.... and even now..."

Dailah didn't like where this was going.

"...you're not saying they're suspecting me of something are you?"

"They have no reason to believe this... but it is a fact you were directly implicated in two strange high-profile cases. And in such a short time too.

"Even if you yourself aren't aware, there's still a chance you might be connected to these events in some way. Maybe you're being targeted, or related to the culprit somehow. All i'm saying is..."

Mariane put a hand on Dailah's shoulder and said, looking deep into her eyes with a serious look.

"Be careful. This might not be over for you just yet."

Removing her hand and closing her eyes with a pensive expression, her mentor added.

"...maybe not for any of us."

Mariane ended in a rather ominous note. The girl really wanted to leave these concerns to her future self, but she knew very well she'd be haunted by this for days to come.

Maybe alchool is really what she needs right now. Is that what it feels like to become a proper member of society? 

As they finished business with each other, Dailah returned to the tent where Scariot waited. 

"Done with your friend?" - She asked as soon as Dailah entered.

Observing as her friend threw a bag over her shoulder.

"I've been wondering..." - The girl asked with half-closed eyes - "Do you and Mariane have some history i should know about?"

The woman shrugged.

"We can't get along. Sometimes that's just how things are."

"Sure..." - Dailah decided not to pry further - "So, it's Beulah's Bar right? I want to pass on a public bath before that."

"Oh? Are you actually looking forward to it now? Will you finally grow some boobs?"

"Leave boobs out of it Scariot."

Going out of the tent, they saw the remnants of the shack they had stayed at. Earlier they recovered everything they could from the wreckage. Luckily most of the losses were just food and a few Association items, which were already covered as operation expenses anyway. Some of their spare clothes did get ruined, unfortunately.

On a side note, the owls.... were now gone. Just what was up with those in the end?

As they kept walking forward, came a sudden realization. They'd have to go through the mass of citizens and reporters.

"...no choice i suppose." - The older witch murmured. - "Just ignore them Dailah, don't even look in their direction."

Reluctantly they went in the direction of the gathered citizens. Trying to get around them would be pointlessly annoying.

As the two approached the delimited line, some people holding on to notepads pushed through the crowd to get close to them. Reporters.

"Excuse me! What happened in those sewers!?"

"Is that a giant rat?"

"Was that thing living under us all this time!?" 

"Wait, are you perhaps the rumored crowley girl?"

"Are those rumors true!? Why are you involved in this case?"

The barrage of questions made Dailah dizzy, but as instructed she just ignored them. Interestingly enough, despite their eagerness, no one got needlessly close. Seems they knew better than to try overwhelming two association witches.

As the two got out of the larger crowd, a few still insisted on following them. At that moment, Scariot whispered to Dailah so only she could hear.

"...can you still muster power for some 'magical steps'?"

Dailah quietly nodded. Then, they both enhanced their bodies with magic before breaking into a run. Scariot made sure to match her pace with Dailah as she was the more powerful one.

"Ah! Wait!" "Wait! You can't just run!" "Stop!"

Just who would wait when asked under these circumstances?

As the people faded in the distance behind the two, Dailah was glad to have stationed Mr. Crowley away from the scene.

...he didn't just left out of boredom, did he?

Thankfully, as they approached the place, it was possible to see he was still there. The ration the girl left remained mostly untouched.

What's with the resentful look, Mr. Crowley? There was no choice. Would you rather starve than eat some bland food for a while?

"Fine, i'll buy you a cake or something." - Dailah muttered, prompting her partner to give her an exasperated look. The fact she didn't say anything just made Dailah more uncomfortable.

They got onto the crowley and set out under the now clear night sky. 

But even if the clouds were gone, the downpour wasn't over just yet.

XXX 

Just what is this creature?

Mariane couldn't help but think as she observed the corpse before her. It had been mutilated and burned by her former student whom she had spoken to a while ago and that woman's attacks based on what they reported, and the signs were very much still here. Yet it somehow managed to recover in a few hours to a state where it could still put up a fight and scheme against them.

The way it controlled other rodents was also extremely abnormal. They had never seen this kind of ability even in demonic creatures.

Did it become like this just by having liquid mana injected into it? According to Dailah's kidnapping case, that's what they had done with that bear, though the results were nowhere near this. Did the difference in size play a role?

Could a rat even survive such concentrated amounts of mana? Such experiments go against every safety standard the Association put up so there weren't many examples to compare. Not official ones at least.

Still, skimming through history books in the library might turn up similar cases. Although Stone City, in its relatively short history, is the one spearheading magical research, that doesn't mean witches of old or from other regions of the world didn't also practice their own types of studies.

"Should we divide the body into multiple parts then? Perhaps cut it right in the middle?"

"No! That could reduce its value as a specimen."

In front of Mariane, a few witches argued over what to do with the body. One of them was Athgas, lead reasearcher in the mana extraction and refinement department. She was the one who suggested slicing up the creature to a group from Monster Studies.

Mariane herself? She wasn't too interested in it. Considering she was the one who developed the silver bullet - or rather, the anti-mana bullet in this case - as well as the fact the Pest Control department she was part of was the main leading actor in this operation, she had every right to claim the sample for themselves.

And she was curious about it really, that she couldn't deny. Still, there really wasn't much use for it in her research, Daniela didn't demonstrate any desire to have it either.

Speaking of which, just where did she go? Dealing with the creature's rights was her function, but the woman had left for somewhere while leaving Mariane as a stand-in. If she didn't know the witch any better, she'd think this was her passing on annoying grunt work to someone else.

No matter, standing in silence here was all that needed to be done.

As the discussion prolonged itself, her eyes wandered to another person. Like her, she said nothing and just stood there waiting.

Izebel from Gehenna.

Not many people would understand this today but her name was quite an awful one, almost comically so. In bygone eras it would be enough to be hated by her peers, perhaps even hunted and executed.

Even now she gave an eerie impression to onlookers, Mariane included, with her puffy disheveled hair and heavy eyes with dark circles under them. Anyone outside of Magical Suppression kept a distance, though even those wore an uncomfortable expression when around her.

Once she decided to do some searching, to find out where Gehenna was located. All that turned up were old scriptures from ancient religions. She still wasn't sure if that place even existed. A fake name perhaps? Could also be some remote village, though she finds that to be unlikely.

As she peeked once more towards the Izebel.

Izebel was looking back.

A terrible chill coursed through Mariane's spine as she discreetly tried averting her gaze, the hair on her arms stood so strongly she thought it would pierce through her robes.

Before she knew it, that woman began approaching her for some reason. Mariane did her best not to stare in her direction and keep up her composure.

Soon enough Izebel stood beside her, seemingly focusing on the creature's corpse. She did the same, not wanting to look to her side.

Then, the ominous woman opened her mouth.

"..did you know...."

Her voice was raspy, very silent and hard to discern. But even as the words were difficult to understand, they still carried a dark and terrifying energy with them, one that forced her to pay attention.

"Mother rodents may kill their offspring out of stresss. Or hunger."

"..."

What is this woman on about?

"Sometimes... females murder and consume the children of others, take over the mother's nest."

...what is this woman on about?

Suddenly she felt a palm squeezing on her shoulder, which made her jolt unconsciously. She couldn't even feel it when this woman had put her hand there.

"When i think about it... we aren't so different. Wouldn't you agree, Ms. Mariane?" - She said, now turning to look at her.

She certainly didn't. Or rather, what was this conversation even?

"...maybe."

Mariane gave a vague answer, still looking ahead in the direction of the ongoing discussion, hoping it would make her leave as soon as possible.

"..."

She just kept staring, for an uncomfortably long time. 

Then, removing her gloved hand from her shoulder, she turned... and left the scene entirely, clearly not interested in the carcass either.

Without saying anything further.

"..."

Before she knew it, her subordinates from ERUMA also began leaving.

"...what in the mother's name."

Mariane was simply left there, unsure of what she was supposed to think.

This was their first interaction ever.

And she wanted to believe, from the bottom of her heart, it would be their last. 

XXX

The trees whispered to her in the night, and she didn't mean that metaphorically.

There she comes.

Our forest, a visitor!

No, it wasn't the trees. It was the fat owls perching on their branches.

What does she want?

Does she seek help?

Does she seek demise?

Ours? Or hers?

Daniela now walked through the dense and misty forest. She had sensed something off with the birds ever since she arrived at the sewer entrance earlier in the day. Now that the main business had been completed she decided to venture further into the forest, the direction where the owls would come from and back towards, hoping to sense any source of magic. She even made sure to take the magical sensing wand with her.

The results didn't disappoint her.

Even as the fog dissipated, as soon as she entered the forest it began thickening again. And this fog wasn't natural.

Many hunters came here during hunting season and creepy tales weren't uncommon, but that is the same for most people who venture into any wilderness. Still, she doesn't remember anything about talking owls.

They knew she came here for them, whoever "them" were.

"I can feel an illusion spell was cast. We have ways to deal with those, so i suggest you just come out."

Illusion spell? Ha!

She thinks this to be an illusion.

It is very much real.

"...suit yourself."

Daniela concentrated on her magic. For a few seconds, she stood there, muttering something to herself. Magic didn't really require witches to chant, but those could help them focus depending on the situation. Specific chants, passed down from mother to daughter or written down in books, were known to help most witches with certain types of magic.

"Over there- huh?"

The witch pointed her hand in one direction, ready to destroy the illusion. But over there... multiple owls stood guard, staring down at her from the trees.

And slowly, a cloaked figure emerged from within the fog.

She came!

Master came!

Mother came!

The succurbi cowers!

"..."

She observed the figure cautiously. Strangely enough, she didn't think its intentions to be ill ones.

"What does a lusty demon desire in my domain?"

"...quite a rude fellow, aren't you?"

Succubi were just creatures from myths. Certain witches from the past, witches whose powers were only matched by their wickedness, would be branded as such by the victims they left in their wake.

In other words, calling someone a succubi was just a way to insult their character.

"Besides... you call me succubi, lusty demon..." - A drop of sweat trailed down her forehead - "...but i'm not the one wearing a pair of horns on my head."

In the contours of the hood worn by the figure, she could see them. Two pointed protrusions.

The woman gently caressed her bumps, her face only partially visible, revealing glowy yellow eyes.

"So much prejudice, not all horns belong to demons. My children here also have them, don't they?"

She gestured towards the owls. Indeed, the white birds had horns in their heads... though they were just tufts of feathers that looked as such.

Is this woman mad perhaps? No, that doesn't matter right now.

"Were you involved with that rat? Don't pretend to not know what i speak of." - Daniela demanded, a deadly look adorning her face.

To such an expression and words, the figure... seemed utterly dumbfounded.

"Do you think i commanded a filthy creature such as that?"

"...i don't know, but you still seem able to control minions yourself, an oddly similar skill to that monster if i must say. 

"And you sent those minions there, to watch over everything. What exactly are you after?"

The woman before her put her hands on her hips, pouting cutely like a child.

"I don't control my babies, they love me and i love them. We willingly help each other as family, don't compare something beautiful like this to what that greedy monster was doing."

Daniela eyed her suspiciously. She didn't think the woman was lying, but she wasn't being fully honest either.

"If i have indulged you enough... i ask you to leave." - she said, putting on a tired expression - "We don't like your kind very much you see, and we'd rather live in peace."

"You know i can't just pretend i never saw you."

The figure, the owl woman, narrowed her eyes at that provocative statement.

"Oh? Should i have you disappear here then?" - She answered in a threatening tone.

"...if i disappear here, the association will come looking for me. Then, you can bid farewell to your 'peaceful life'."

"..."

The woman let out a chilling air upon that statement... and it was all gone by the next second.

She let out a sigh and turned around, leaving a few last words to Daniela as she looked over her shoulder.

"The yellow woman."

"...?"

The witch tilted her head at these words.

"The woman who pacted with the giant raven. The crowley as you call them? Not very fitting i must say."

"...Dailah?" - Her eyes went round - "What in the Mother's name you want with Dailah?"

"Nothing in particular, but you clearly want something from me. This is merely my willingness to compromise.

"Neither you nor your comrades from this association are welcome into my forest, but that girl i'm willing to invite. Use her as your middleman."

"Middle... man?"

"Middlewoman, whatever term you use nowadays." - She walked back from where she came from, slowly disappearing into the fog - "She's quite the rare thing you know, i'm a bit curious. I wish to chat with her for a while.

"So long, don't come here again."

As the woman disappeared, so did the fog. Around the branches, the owls... were nowhere to be seen anymore. Looking back, she could see the lights of the encampment, as if she barely walked more than a few feet away from it.

Only now, with a familiar and secure sight, the woman realized how nervous she had been. Her heart pacing incredibly fast, cold sweat covering her arms, legs and foreheads.

That was no ordinary witch.

"...i'm sorry Dailah."

Still, she couldn't just let this go.

"Guess i'll be putting you to work again."