Derek didn’t know what to say, he planned his words carefully. He took a deep breath and told them everything. He told them who he was, the framing, everything. He even told them about how he found Raven at his doorstep, which Raven was surprised to hear considering she was never told that.

“So, wait. You’re telling me that you were framed for murdering two kings?” Ezra interrogated him, not believing most of what Derek said. The others stood and watched.

“Yes.”

“And they know exactly what you look like and everything?”

“…Yes…”

“And you expect us to believe you didn’t actually do it? They clearly saw you.”

“But, I didn’t! I couldn’t hurt anyone!”

“You sure did a number on that nucora.”

“That was different!”

“He’s right. He wouldn’t hurt anyone unless it was completely necessary.” Petra interrupted, attempting to ease the tension.

“You still haven’t told us who you are.”

“I’m Petra Valtaheim. I’m Derek’s younger sister. I’d know my big brother better than anyone.”

“If what you say is true, then how does he plan on dealing with it? Wouldn’t they come after us, too? In their eyes, we’re harboring a fugitive. Or worse, we could be assumed to be accomplices.” Wess said, getting quite worried about the safety of his friends.

Derek stood up as everyone looked at him.

“I want to clear my name.”

“How are you gonna do that?” Allison asked, standing up, prompting everyone else to stand up, too.

“I don’t know. But I’ll figure out something. I know I didn’t murder those kings, I just have to make everyone else believe that.”

◆◆◆

On a ship not too far away, Talos and Syvis were making their way to Dathevia. The captain of the ship told them that they would be at their destination in about an hour. The two sat in the captain’s quarters waiting. “Did he tell you exactly where he was?” asked Talos, turning to Syvis.

“Yeah. He said he’s staying in a hotel called The Harvot Hotel.”

“I wonder what he meant when he said that the gehena stone was out of control.” Syvis continued.

“I don’t know. The stone is just usually much more stable than what he claims; Something must be very wrong if this is true.” Talos said in response.

As they got close to shore, the captain came in to get them. “We’ve arrived.” he said as he motioned for them to come out.

“So, this is Dathevia…” Talos said, stepping off the ramp that was connected to the ship.

“This should be where he said to meet him.”

“If he’s not here in 10 minutes, we should go find him.”

“Agreed.” Syvis said, nodding her head slightly.

The port was not the most bustling area of the town at the hour. The tall, trench coat wearing figure stepped away from the wall he was leaning on.

“Ah, Mordecai. You made it. And wow! You have not changed one bit.” said Syvis with a smile.

“Yeah… I had to do a few things… And you’re still short, I guess…”

Syvis playfully pouted. She was much less cold than she was before.

“So, do you have the stone?” Talos asked, keeping everyone on track.

“Yeah, it’s right here.” Mordecai reached into his pocket and pulled out the gehena stone.

“Here…” he said, handing it to Talos.

“Good. Thank you. I’ll take this back and see what the deal with this thing is. The sooner I can figure out the cause, the better.”

Mordecai bid his farewells to the pair. They had much work to do ahead of them. With the stone now in hand, finding the maidens would be a breeze.

However for Mordecai, his return would be far from simple.

“Hey, Mordecai. Where were you?” asked the constantly looming Grust as he floated over to the door.

“... Nowhere important.” he responded as he stood next to Azlana, who was leaning against a wall.”

“I saw you talking to Raven last night. I hope that’s not where you were again.”

“No. I wasn’t.”

“Good… You know, let me give you some advice. She’s an obstacle. If you care about an obstacle, you’re dead. That’s how I died.”

Mordecai glanced at Grust, assuming what he said was a threat. “Sure. I get it.”

“Wait.” Azlana joined in. “How did you die anyway?”

Grust paused for a second. “... Murder… That’s all I’m gonna say about it.” he said as his ghastly glow became dim.

“Oh… That’s awful.” Azlana said, looking rather sad.

“ANYWAY.” Grust said, shattering the sad atmosphere. “We’ve got more things to do tonight.”

“Like what?” Mordecai asked curiously.

“Let’s just say, furthering an already established plan…”

◆◆◆

It was finally night time, Magic Madness would start in only a few hours. Fans had already started pouring in to get to the seats they paid for. Meanwhile, the staff were preparing for the show, setting up the ring, screens, and cameras.

Derek was walking backstage, trying to prepare his mind for another night of magic wrestling when someone came up to him.

It was an angel, about 168 cm tall with big, white wings protruding from their back and a beautiful halo over their head that glowed bright. They were very androgynous looking, making it hard to tell whether or not they were male or female. Not all angels are like this, however. The angel had pink hair, styled in a messy, short ponytail. Their eyes were a brownish color and their skin was of a darker complexion. They wore glasses with golden frames. They also wore a beige turtleneck sweater with slim, black pants and brown boots, which the pants were tucked in. They put their hands behind their back as they smiled.

“Hi! You’re Derek Valtaheim, right?” they asked, smiling even more.

“Yeah, I am.”

“Well, I just wanted to introduce myself since you’re new. You’re gonna need a veteran as a friend around here.” they said as Derek grew more confused.

“I’m Luciel Gabrialis.” they said, holding out their hand for Derek to shake it. He shook their hand.

“So, I hear you have another match tonight. You’re going up against Salia Herano, right?”

“Yeah. Why do you ask?”

“Well, I just wanted to warn you, she’s pretty fierce and doesn’t play it safe when wrestling. She kinda lacks restraint.”

“Oh, really? Well, that helps me out a lot. Thanks.”

“No problem!” Luciel looked at Derek for a bit, making him a bit nervous.

“You seem a little… uncomfortable. Are you okay?” Luciel asked curiously.

“Uh, yeah. I'm fine.” he said, trying to hide the stress in his voice. Luciel didn’t believe him, but didn’t want to be intrusive. Before they could continue their conversation, Luciel heard a voice behind them.

“Luciel, could you come with me for a moment?” asked one of the producers of the show.

“Okay.” the angel responded.

“Well… alright. I have to go now, but if you need any advice, let me know! Nice talking to you!” they finished as they backed away waving, eventually turning around and walking off with the producer. Derek watched as they disappeared around a corner. He didn’t know why, but talking to Luciel didn’t fill him with as much anxiety that he’d usually get when people talked to him. He felt that they genuinely weren’t out to get him. He eventually decided to continue preparing his mind for his match.

Meanwhile, Raven was sitting in the women’s locker room, she didn’t feel comfortable around a bunch of girls she didn’t know. One of them came up to her, handing her some wrestling gear. “You’re Raven, right? Here you go!” she said with a warm smile. “Charlotte wanted me to give you your gear.”

Raven took the gear from her. “Oh, thanks.”

“No worries! I’m Anna. We’re having a match together, a triple threat match. Me, you, and Satella. Let’s have fun out there, okay?”

“Yeah.” Raven said, smiling. She was glad to be welcomed so whole-heartedly. She spread out the different parts of her gear on her lap and was pretty impressed. It really felt like something she’d wear if she were a wrestler. She decided to go and find her dad, to show him the gear. It seemed quite nice in her opinion. Making her way into the hallway, she could hear the crowd filling the arena as they looked for their seats.

“Man, they’re really enthusiastic about this show.”

She continued to walk through the halls to find Derek, eventually running into Feros. “Oh! Hey, Raven. Sorry I disappeared this morning. I had some things to do.” he said, scratching the back of his head.

“That’s okay.” she responded, reorganizing her gear in her hands.

“Oh, you have a match tonight?” he asked, noticing her gear.

“Yeah, I’m kinda nervous.”

“Don’t be. It’s not that hard.” He seemed pretty sure of himself when saying that.

“That’s easy for you to say, you’ve been here way longer than I have.”

“Trust me, once you get out there, it’ll all come naturally to you.”

“Well, I’ll take your word for it.” She then continued to walk down the hall to search for her dad. Feros’ eyes suddenly flashed orange. As they reverted back to their original brownish color, he turned around towards Raven.

“Raven, wait.” he said, causing her to turn around and face him.

“Yeah?”

“Would you like to go out to have breakfast with me tomorrow?”

“Um…” Her eyes flashed orange. “... Yes… I would.”

She then noticed how attractive he was. She never stopped to really take a good look at him before. She noticed his chiseled jawline, his beautiful brown eyes, his fluffy dark purple hair, his defined muscles, his tattoos that crept up his arms and met at his chest, the horns on his head and his tail. All of this captivated her and she enjoyed the attention he was suddenly giving her. She then snapped out of it.

“I-I look forward to it.” She immediately walked off as Feros watched her, his eyes flashing orange again.