"WHAT?!" That was what Ed and Vivi thought the moment she said that. Their voice almost came out, but they were able to hold it back. Her voice was that of an angel yet her words... the word that came out from her mouth was foul. She glanced at them with the devilish grin still on her face. "Good. You both know some restraint." She faced Theo again. "I thought I could give some good impression to the legendary Class 5 Mage that shouldn't have been. But as always you ruin fucking everything." Sara continued. She let out a fake and exaggerated sigh. "Hey, I only said that you fooled them. I didn't tell them you like to lie." "Lie? I never fucking lie-" "Heyyy~" Theo pointed his finger at her. "Fucking hell, all right. I RARELY lie. It just a proper etiquette to speak normally to people. A lust driven whore like you won't understand." She turned to Ed and Vivi where her face returned to that of an angel. "Please take a seat." And turned to a devil again the moment she saw Theo. She was scary, Ed thought. Little did he know that what made her truly scary stretched far beyond just her changing face. Theo sat opposite of her while Ed and Vivi chose to not sit at all. The situation was bizarre and they didn't want to sit near Sara. "I know you're itching to have a good long conversation with me, but I don't have time for that. So let's speak business-" "Not yet, motherfucker." Sara interrupted. Her voice was not playful. "This my fucking house, you play by my fucking rule. I believe you have something, a badge or emblem. It's radiating magic so I know." "Okay." Theo took out a black badge from one of his pouches and put it on the table. He didn't want to waste time, but just like Sara said, it was her house and he was the one asking for help, he has to go by her rule. "Tell me about this." Sara inspected it from up close. "It's the sigil of the bitch of the Black. From the look of it, one of the priests working under him." By Bitch she meant High Priest. "WOW! I didn't know that!" Theo said sarcastically, inviting the annoyed face of Sara. "No Shit! Do you fucking know that this was from ten years ago? Before the previous bitch of the Black vanish when he was traveling to Nippon. Where did you find it?" "In the sewer." "Yeah of fucking course." She rolled her eyes. "THE Sewer." Theo said, correcting his statement. Sara squinted her eyes. "Go on." There was a look of curiosity in her eyes. "It was stuck on the body.... skeleton of a priest of the black inside a Crawler Nest." Sara rubbed her chin. "Hmm. Ten years ago, there's a conflict between Amaryn kingdom and the Ketu Theocracy. I don't know the details since I'm not a High Priestess back then. From the looks of it, either the Pontiff himself or the Bitch of the Black decided to use Crawlers to cause chaos in the kingdom. Unlucky for them, it went fucking awry." "Any chance they will attempt such thing again?" Theo asked. Amaryn political condition was already a mess, but if the Theocracy added to that mess, then there will be no future for that Kingdom. "The problem was solved 4 years ago. By me, so no." "P-pardon High Priestess. What is this uh.. the High Priest of the Black, both of you mentioned him often, but I, we, don't know what that means." Ed asked, doubt and fear evident in his voice. Her gaze moved to him. Her smile was of an angel. "Please just call me Sara. How many different colors of vestment did you notice when you came here?" "Eh?" Ed was taken aback with her question. His gaze wandered as his brain tried to count and remember. "Uh..Six, I guess?" "Correct. There's actually seven, but you won't see a priest of the black outside in the open. Each color represents which branch they are serving, which High Priest or Priestess they are under, which in turn represents which Seraph's duty they assumed. The High Priest of the Black and those under him assumed the duty of Seraph Azraela in punishing the heathen and destroying those who oppose the God. They are the assassins or spy of the church, you could say that, and also its special squad specialize in dealing with something that won't be written down in history." "They do the dirty job basically." Theo added. "Among the church's military forces, those working under the High Priestess of the Black are considered to be the strongest, and that says a lot considering how powerful the church's military forces are." "Okay, I want to talk business now." Theo said after finishing his explanation. "Sure." Sara said. her gaze moved towards Vivi and Ed. "You want both of them to get out?" Theo turned toward them. Dealing with Sara would, without a doubt, turned rough. His dark past and all the thing he had done would affect it, and he didn't want Vivi and Ed to know that. "Please." Vivi and Ed immediately get out of the room. In fact, they seemed to be happy about it. Before Theo could speak, Sara raised a hand to stop him. She stood from her chair and faced one of the bookshelves. "A favor, I assume?" "Yes. I want to ask you a favor." "Yet I owe you not a fucking shit." Theo drank the spit in his mouth, he really didn't want to do this if there was any other way. Owing Sara was the last the last thing he wanted, but for the sake of Mary and his women on Amaryn ... "Then I will owe you one after this." "Do you really want to owe me a favor, Motherfucker? You know how fucking bad that shit can be." Theo chuckled inside his heart, even Sara acknowledge that owing her a favor was a stupid thing to do. "To be frank-" "But you're Theo, not Frank." Sara smirked and glanced at Theo, before looking back at the wall. "Go on." Theo sighed. "I really don't want to owe you anything. I will try any other way.....but I don't see any other way right now." "Why don't you just suck it up your ass and bring Mary with you? That would solve the fucking problem. Genius!" "So you already know the problem?" Theo said. He was not surprised at all. Sara was one of the most resourceful people on the Continent. She had one of the biggest information networks, eclipsing even some Kingdom's spy master. That and combined with the Church spy network, made her know almost about anything happening on the Continent. Sara clicked her tongue. "Theo, Theo, Theo. You know how I am. Your fucking problem with that bitch Aria and Wrath...... What the fuck do you think will happen when you make them your enemy huh? You expect them to just send one assassin to attack your women? Hell no." "I promised Mary...I promised her father that I will not involve her in any trouble that I make. And I want to keep that promise." "Oh so noble of you Theo." She turned her body to face him. "Fine. I will guarantee the safety of all your women in Aeston from Wrath's and Aria's men. But I have two conditions." Theo squinted his eyes. "We agree only to one favor for one favor." "I'm actually doing you a favor right now." "Really?" Theo's heart skipped a beat. Sara often exploited loopholes and used underhanded tricks when dealing with people to get as much advantage as she could. He was careful with her, but the way she said it ... "Stand up." Theo followed her order. "Do you know why the church hate demon, Theo?" She asked. Theo grew suspicious. "Because it's in the Holy Book. Demons are the enemy of God Ketu." What was Sara thinking? Suddenly asking that out of nowhere. "Correct." She smirked. Her smile was more sinister than ever before, a bad news for Theo. "And do you know what will the church do to a demon?........and a conspirator of a demon?" Theo's face turned serious. "You don't mean-" "Room three on the second floor. Her green hair is really nice." She puckered her lips. "Lustrous." He slammed her into the bookcase causing the whole room shake. "Don't you dare touch her, Sara!" he shouted in her ears. "Burned at the stake. Just like you like it. Roasted meat." Theo wasn't amused by her words and tightened his grip on her neck. She grimaced due to how hard it was to breathe in her position. But despite her position, she still smirked. "Kill me, Theo. Snap my neck. Send me to my God. I know you can, I know you want it." He tightened his grip again. She almost couldn't speak anymore, yet the smirk on her face wasn't going anywhere. "Mary, Tia, Cynthia, Miki, Milli Dam, Minni Dam, Cissy Dilon, Cissy Duke, Ivy, Vivi, Ariel, Lizzie, Caesia, Pompeia-" Theo let her go. He punched the bookshelf next to Sara. And punch it again. And again, and again. And again until it broke to pieces. Sara sat up. "I can.....specify...their...favorite food if you... want me to." She grabbed her neck. There was a red mark on it. She leaned her body on another still intact bookshelf. She chuckled. "Wise choice...... If.... you kill me...."She took a deep breath. "Those women and twenty more.... will be accused of conspiring with a demon and will be burned at the stake. By the end of this week." "TELL ME WHAT YOU FUCKING WANT!!" He stomped his feet, causing the marble floor to crack. If not for the sound proof magic surrounding the room, the whole wing of the cathedral would have heard him. She laughed. "Relax Theo. I told you before, right now I am doing you a favor. No one knows your beautiful and lovely Lyana is a demon. But decline my generous offer.."She gave him a sinister look. "Burned at the stake." "Then te-" "Be my Champion." Theo looked at her with a confused and surprised look. "Wha-" The door was knocked. Arwin's voice could be heard from outside. "High Priestess. The Pontiff called you. The ritual for the blessing is about to commence." "Thank you Arwin. Please, just a moment." She answered with her angelic voice. She stood up and walked to the door. "We'll talk again tomorrow." "Wai-" Theo tried to grab her arm but stopped at the last moment. He had no power over her right now. "Good. Realize your own powerlessness first." She stopped before opening the door. "Don't make a scene, don't make a trouble, don't do anything that will make attention come to you. Until tomorrow at least." She smirked again. "Adieu." Theo was left alone inside that room. He was standing still, thinking. It was precisely because of this reason he has avoided Sara for many years; She knew too much, far too much for one person. And now, he was at her mercy.