The sudden disappearance of the mysterious wraith girl who was on a killing spree for a month had spread into Itaport City. No more victims or deaths were reported in the following weeks nor new sightings of her were captured as though she’d vanished into thin air. Rumors claim she was seen in the nearby provinces haunting small towns but they would then be debunked untrue. Others would state she was found dead, but the pieces of evidence found were also false.

Beatrice was fuming mad after reading the newspaper. She was sitting at a boba shop with several eyes glued to her every move, and she hated every second of it.

If only I could kill everyone here…

She was on the hunt for the wraith girl herself when she ran across a newspaper stand and learned what all the fuss was about. Now that the wraith girl is out of the spotlight, there’s no more goddess for these Earth wraiths to worship. Despite the irritation for not disposing of her herself, Beatrice was relieved to be rid of one of her problems. Her only dilemma now was going back to hunting the vessel of her brother Magnus.

A group of hunters came in. These humans are everywhere around the city trying to find wraiths. Ever since Beatrice stepped into this world, she observed how it’s been a real struggle for wraiths to conceal themselves around these people. She saw the way they fight and kill. The majority of them are skillful enough against wraiths regardless of them being the inferior species. Using the knowledge they’ve collected inside the 400 years of wraith attacks, humans that are willing to defend their world learned the right way to slaughter them.

“Please come again…”

Beatrice eventually left the shop without further ado. She had no idea where to begin the search when she knew nothing about her brother’s vessel except it was a human male. No, a human-turned wraith male. She has no one to help her as she entered this world alone. Heinrich Homa and his mafia organization offered help but she didn’t want him to expect something in return. She can accept his offer but it’ll be followed by betrayal through killing his entire family later, after all, she doesn’t really know anything about the Homa clan. Only her parents and Magnus know who they are but they are all gone.

Another problem is that Heinrich and his organization are too powerful to mess with. She cannot win against them. Her brothers Nero and Carmine could help but they were still nowhere to be found, and even if they find each other, she isn’t sure if they’ll agree to waste their time in this matter. The siblings could just go on their own and search for Magnus’ vessel in private, then kill each other over it in secret.

“Little girl! Watch out!” A running boy in a school uniform suddenly bumped into her on the sidewalks. Both rolled to the ground. The boy stood up and immediately gathered his stuff, then helped her get up on her feet. “I’m so sorry! Are you alright?”

Beatrice remained quiet but her eyes were glaring in anger. She found it embarrassing and there were a lot of people watching. What would they say about a goddess getting tumbled over?

“Morris! Hurry!” Another boy called from afar.

“I’m coming!” The boy called Morris replied and left.

Beatrice scoffed and dusted her dress. It’s one of her favorite dresses! I will make him pay!

A bus stopped in front of her, that’s when she realized she was walking near what is called a bus stop. More youngsters wearing the same uniform stepped out of the bus and ran like the boy who just bumped into her a while ago.

What are they getting so riled up about?

Due to her curiosity, the young girl followed the students.

“Class of 2046, congratulations!”

The senior high school students of the University of Thoma gave a round of applause to themselves. It was graduation day before the summer season. Kino was happy to finish his final year of high school, although he didn’t get to focus so much on his studies this year, he still managed to pass his classes. He did miss some important lessons in the past month due to his hunting duties related to Solar, but the school gave him a chance to save his GPA by letting him take an advancement exam and do community service. In the end, it all turned out well.

“1, 2, 3, smile!” Kino and the people he invited smiled for the camera. They stayed on the campus plaza for more pictures with classmates and teachers he could see.

“Congratulations, Kino!” Kino invited his teammates, but only Loki, Aria, Duke, and Maxwell made it. Reno was there, introducing them to his brother as his co-workers from his “retail job.” They should be extra careful now that he got him a pair of hearing aids. On the other hand, Parker, Pierre, and the president sent their congratulations through email and text, and there was also Calix who sent him a short voicemail greeting from abroad. He knew his teammates in the heavens were happy for him as well. How we wished they were still there to attend his graduation, just like what was planned.

“Thanks, guys.”

“Kino! We made it!” Morris emerged from the crowd surprisingly. Kino’s skin immediately tensed. He had warned his team beforehand that no one but the WHA knew about his wraith identity, but he still couldn’t avoid the anxiety of it being revealed.

“Yeah, we did!” The new boy saw his teammates behind him, his eyes giving him a meaningful look upon seeing Aria.

“Who is she?”

Kino nudged him on the side. “That’s my teammate, Mo. She’s older than you. Stop it.” Morris could only scratch his head. “Uhm, this is my best friend, Morris. Morris, this is my team in the association—of employees!” He remembered Reno’s presence. Morris nodded to say he gets it. “Loki, Aria, Duke, and Sir Maxwell.”

“BEST FRIEND?!” Loki was in disbelief at what he had just heard. Morris raised an eyebrow. He didn’t like the tone.

“Why? Is there a problem?”

“Kino is my best friend! We fight wr—!” Aria immediately covered Loki’s mouth before Reno could hear it.

“Y-Yeah! We f-fight… r-rude customers t-together!” Kino gave her a thumbs-up to send his thanks for her effort.

“Oh yeah? We’ve been best friends since the third grade!”

Kino couldn’t help but facepalm himself in the middle of the two. Oh boy…

“I bet you don’t even know his favorite color!”

“It’s blue! Do you know his favorite food?”

“U-Uhm, guys… P-Please don’t f-fight! Y-You c-can be Kino’s b-best friends t-together!” Aria tried to calm them down, but Loki and Morris ignored her.

“I-I don’t know! But do you know who her girlfriend is?”

“It’s Henrietta Homa in our class!” Morris confidently exclaimed.

No, she’s not!

“Wrong! It’s Aria!” Loki pointed Aria beside him.

“M-M-M-Me?” Aria pointed to herself.

“Who is your girlfriend, Kino?”

“H-Henrietta!” Then it was Henrietta’s turn to approach their group. Everybody turned to the elegant girl followed by huge men walking behind her. Aria gripped on Loki’s shirt, and Morris turned blue as a reaction whenever he sees her.

“I’ll see you later, Kino.” He waved him goodbye and fled the scene at the speed of light.

“I told you to just call me Rie.” Henrietta rolled her eyes from the pathetic thing she just saw, then her eyes flew to the people around Kino. “Your friends?”

He scratched his nape. “Yeah, they are my team at work. A-And uh, this is my younger brother I keep talking about, his name is Reno.” Reno was tugging on his uniform like a cat and only took a glance at Henrietta. He looked very terrified of the men behind the lady.

“He looks exactly like you,” Henrietta commented.

“We took after our mom.”

“For real? I would love to see your parents’ pictures. I took after my mom too. By the way, I’m here with my dad and sister. Do you wanna meet them?” She pointed behind her using her thumb. Familiar wraith auras were soon felt, including a powerful new one he hadn’t felt before. When was the last time a wraith except Henrietta stepped foot in their school?

Kino looked where she was pointing. The huge men acting as her bodyguards gave way to the three upcoming people from the crowd. When he finally got to see who they were, he froze on the spot.

“I apologize, I and your sister ran with an old friend getting lost outside the school…”

That’s Henrietta’s father?! Oh shit!

It was surprising to know that her father turned out to be the mafia boss his father was indebted to. Beside him was an older woman who resembles Henrietta, probably the sister she mentioned. Lastly was a short girl who was as shocked as him, looking at his face. The three new arrivals were all wraiths.

Kino was supposed to feel fear from this revelation, yet the unexplainable aura from the little girl bothered him the most. It wasn’t the same intimate feeling he felt from Henrietta, but a familiar bond he feels towards Reno. A shallow pain emerged from his heart.

“Kino, why are you crying?”

“W-What?” Henrietta’s worried face brought him back to reality. His tears were streaming down his cheeks while looking at the little girl. Her shocked expression remained. Kino quickly wiped his face with his sleeves. “I-I… Uhm… just happy I finished h-high school!” Henrietta cutely chuckled at his stuttering.

I’ll look like a creep! Embarrassing!

“Dad, Jeanne, and…?”

“Beatrice. My name is Beatrice.” The little girl answered in a firm tiny tone. She was as cold as ice, despite the red dress, pigtails, and all.

“...Beatrice. This is my friend, Kino. Everyone, can we take a photo with him?” Henrietta clung to his arm. How he wanted to die. The way her father stared at his daughter’s arms on him shows he wishes the same thing.

But that couldn’t bother Kino at the moment. Sure Henrietta’s father looked terrifying, but there was something in the eyes of the child called Beatrice he should be cautious about.