It has been two days, and Father Raphael was in his mansion worrying himself sick. He even started biting his nails that he cost a fortune on. This is indeed serious, as he would’ve called. Even when the live streaming of the prisoner was botched, Bain would’ve called him immediately or would’ve picked up the phone.

He couldn’t let the other horseman find out or, even worse, the Holy Mother. And sure as hell, he doesn’t want Lord Caliber to get any more ammunition. He needs to find this prisoner and fast while still kicking himself by not beating a name out of her.

Then suddenly, one of his young maids sporting a black eye cautiously approached him, “m-my Lord, a man named Bain is here to see you--”

Father Raphael wasted no time while pushing the young maid out of the way to meet with him downstairs.

Bain entered Father Raphael’s living quarters Father Raphael as he was still wearing the same black trench coat from the nights before.

The man in black was seen dragging a supposed female with a burlap bag over her head. Of course, he plopped it over at Father Raphael’s feet in too much amazement.

On bended knee, Bain swore his allegiance. “Father Raphael, we have found the prisoner that escaped us recently.”

Then Father Raphael gently poked the Umbra Witch with his shoe, “is she dead?”

Bain smiled as he rose to his feet, “barely.”

“I heard there was another woman who had a daughter… Was she dealt with?” Father Raphael asked with more wonderment and curiosity.

“Yes.” Bain bluntly answered.

Father Raphael shrugged, “well, I guess one is better than none…” Then Father Raphael snapped his fingers as his bodyguards carried the Umbra Witch away. “We will make the proper arrangements for the ceremony. Did you at least do your research on her?”

“Do you mean if we fucked her, then no? We would know if she were a virgin when we do the ceremony,” Bain answered.

“Well, I guess you didn’t beat it out of her, now did you?” Father Raphael joyfully deadpans. “No matter, come to my chambers.” He flirtatiously beckons.

Bain follows Father Raphael upstairs and down the hall to his right as they both went into his spacious bedroom. It had everything that a man of faith but wants: a fireplace, a king-size bed, a working table, a walk-in closet, hardwood floors with expensive rugs, plush furniture, and of course, soundproof walls for any … screaming that takes place inside these chambers. It was all paid for by his Holy Mother.

As Bain closed the door behind him, they were both met by two incredibly male buff bodyguards that searched for weapons. And, of course, Bain was carrying two 9 mm pistols. Father Raphael took off his robe to reveal his slim yet muscular physique as he wore a tight white skirt and a sleeveless button-down blue shirt with matching slippers.

“I heard you went back and torched that whole town to find that prisoner again. How many were in that town, to begin with?” Father Raphael said with such curiosity.

“253. At least 53 were female; the rest were male. Out of those, 53 women were only 20 adults,” Bain thoroughly answered.

“And I bet you enjoyed every single one of them…” Father Raphael teased with a sinful smile.

“Now you know why I’m here, Father. I do have a few confessions to make,” Bain deadpans as Father Raphael giggled.

“Whoever said that enjoying such spoils of war was sinful, to begin with?” Father Raphael was contradicting his beliefs. “Many would say it is your God-given right to take what is rightfully yours! Out of those 53 girls, only one Umbra Witch remained among them, according to our research. They are getting good hiding from us…” Father Raphael fretted.

“What do you want with the Umbra Witch? Besides having her all to herself?” Bain asked.

This led to some easiness between the two because Bain didn’t care much about the holy circle’s machinations and personal goals. But Bain and Raphael were good friends before he even took the holy cloth, so he indeed trusts him.

“Every Umbra Witch has to make a deal. To give a part of himself to their supposed God-- who let’s just put it out there, the devil. Is nothing special or cool about any of them? The devil is supposed to deceive the weak minds of others because they feel they have nowhere to belong. But they do, Bain. Everyone deserves to live and have a purpose. As hypocritical as it sounds, these Umbra Witches don’t have wives anymore as they have sold their souls to the devil. They are beyond saving, and they should be dispatched on sight and dealt with at a moment’s notice. And these so-called fakes? They deserve to die just like the real ones. We don’t have time to wait out the weeds. They made their choice.” Father Raphael explains.

Bain nodded in agreement, “so killing the Umbra Witches is a true testament of your holy message. I understand. Have you ever seen one up close or dealt with one?”

Father Raphael knew better not to lie, “unfortunately, no. But this is my first time tonight. And that is why I wanted one. I want her to summon her maker if you will. Looking right in the eye and destroy him with my holy light.” He declared as he clenches his fist, emitting white flames.

Bain smiled at him as if he were proud, “do you know their abilities? Besides, I’ve dealt with many before.”

Father Raphael’s eyebrow raised as he was intrigued, “go ahead, tell me.” Wanted to be comfortable, he sat in one of the chairs as Bain spoke.

“First of all, forget about what you heard in the media. TV, books, video games, movies… As it’s all junk. And you are right about one thing, especially in this mission: there is at least a 50 to 1 chance for you ever to encounter an Umbra Witch. They are elusive; they are self-preservative; they are cunning.”

“Indeed they are…” Father Raphael agrees.

“Not all Umbra Witches are built differently. That includes mentally, physically, and even emotionally. All three attributes coincide with one another and help mold the Umbra Witch into what she will become and evolve to be. As this splinters off, it follows the same set of rules. When they are born and how to obtain such power. You see, in some months, according to traditional astrology, being born in a certain month means that you have control over an element. Air, water, wind, and earth. The same components made from the aether give the Umbra Witch their power as they too are from the aether. But also their powers come from the nether as well. With such a constant struggle of keeping the balance holds a great responsibility. And I stress the word, responsibility.”

Bain’s lecture about Umbra Witches was a bit intriguing yet was a bit detailed. Maybe it’s because he has claimed to kill many Umbra Witches before, but he was never the person to share much information even up to this point.

“Why don’t we have a drink, Bain? Are you thirsty?” Father Raphael offered.

“No, my lord,” Bain denied as he gingerly walked towards Father Raphael. “The thing is, my Lord, Umbra Witches can tap into various sources of knowledge and power resources. Just like living on a Maryland coast. Even know what you’re doing, there’s a great chance you will never starve to death or go without thirst. There is always something to hunt and catch out of the wild. And that is their jungle, my Lord, everywhere can be a source of knowledge.”

Then the two bodyguards blocked off Bain as they felt uneasy as well. Getting the hint, Bain took a few steps back, as so did the bodyguards.

However, Bain just smiled as he concluded his little lecture, “I’m trying to say is, my Lord, how can you judge something if you haven’t seen it yourself. Especially someone who claimed to kill so many Umbra Witches only to inflate his supposed ego, to make himself and you feel better of what bullshit you are trying to accomplish--!”

This made Father Raphael rise from his chair as he backed away, “I-- What the hell’s going on, Bain?! Are you working with-?!”

Before Father Raphael would get another word out, Bain unsheathed a hidden blade in his sleeve and, in less than a second, sliced the heads off of the two bodyguards. Blood was spewing everywhere like a faucet as the two bodyguards fell to the ground.

With that same smile on his face, he looked at his next victim, Father Raphael.

In his back pocket, he pulled out a retractable cross as he was about to ready a spell of his own. But Bain was too quick. He was always faster than Raphael. And stronger to as he grabbed him by the throat and pinned them against the wall. By grabbing his wrist, he twisted it so he could drop the cross on the ground.

And the coup de grace of everything he snapped his fingers and he chanted, “auferat!”

Then, a glowing red magical symbol appeared on Father Raphael’s forehead as he felt his body feeling cold. And then the circle seeped into his skin as it disappeared.

“What did you do to me?” Father Raphael would find out soon enough as he tried to throw a punch. At least he could try to fight back, but he couldn’t. His punches were incredibly weak. Even though Bain was stronger than him, but still… He could make him at least bleed. But his punches had no energy and no power behind them. He could not use any of his Aethereal abilities as they were locked away by chaos magic.

Bain couldn’t by giving Father Raphael a hard punch in the gut himself, making him cough.

The teary-eyed Father Raphael was enraged by his betrayal, “You! After everything, I’ve done for you! After everything, we have been together! Why? Why now?!”

Bain smiled, “man, I could keep this up all day. Unfortunately, I have things to do. EXIMO!”

Then, Bain’s head had a white glowing magical symbol appearing on his four head as his eyes glowed cherry red, and his short black hair started to grow out down to his back while it turned silver-white. The rugged complexion but Bain started to fade away as it revealed a heart-shaped face. His body even became smaller as he stood 6 feet tall but now lost several inches.