Rachel walked behind the blonde legend with Gisele floating overhead; Jeanne glanced back at the giant dragon turtle in the bay and sighed, bringing them away from the docks and into the busy streets of France’s nightlife. Fiona and Nora kept her focus as the two sisters played with a camera, Scarlet attempting to help.

“Are they trying to stream… Ugh.”

“Yup,” Rachel snickered, scanning the shadows as her ears followed the hidden forces moving just out of sight; France wasn’t playing around, but there was always something within range of her misfortune sense that could get her out of trouble.

“How do I turn this on—is it working?”

“I don’t know,” Fiona absently returned, hovering near her sister as they tried to get the live streaming device attached to a backpack working with the other supplies inside. “You have the camera connected to the portable charger?”

“I got it all, Fi… There’s the switch. Is it working, Scarlet?”

The sharp-fanged girl fiddled with the tablet they’d handed her, using it to connect to Fiona’s account. “Oh, it’s up! I can control which camera is used, too. Oh, you’re using your levitation spell to keep one near you? That’s so cool! When did you get all this stuff?”

“Our parents got it for her,” Nora mused, checking the angles. “Heh, can you really keep that attachment in the air all night?”

“I’m super buff… well, magically,” Fiona defended, waving at her fans as Scarlet swapped the camera to her and set things up where people could change between the feeds when they wanted a new angle. “Hello! I know it’s been a while since I last streamed, but we’re in Paris right now with the Legend of Jeanne d’Arc!”

The blonde gave her a nervous wave as Alexa hovered nearby, clearly unsure if she wanted to be in the shot; she breathed a sigh of relief as Erica became the next focus.

“I’ve got my foxy lawyer with me, too!”

Erica held up a hand, dressed fairly warm, but it was March and around 9°C. “Hello. Hello. Having a tail is inconvenient,” she added, seeing a few of the comments as the appendage tucked out of sight from the little slit hidden in the back of her brown coat.

The leviathan’s plates grew to cover more of her skin as the camera turned to her, Fiona introducing everyone; the girl’s seal hovered closer to the lens with interest, sniffing it.

“Galatea and Selavaria, my sister—yes, I know, she’s a cheetah girl—cute, cute… Why are you guys so obsessed with tail length today?” Fiona huffed as Nora tilted to the side in their walk, bringing up her fairly impressive furry weapon.

“Hehe. I think we’re getting a lot more people than you’re accustomed to, Fi.”

“Yikes… 60,000 and climbing,” Scarlet mumbled. “At like 2 a.m.?”

“It’s not that time everywhere, Scarlet,” Rachel laughed, moving ahead with Jeanne; the legend tilted her head in an attempt to escape the limelight behind Alexa so they could talk, drawing her sister-in-law into the line of fire.

Alexa quickly started to pull a ton of attention as the new angel of the group, and people wanted to know if her halo and wings were real or if she’d been to heaven; a lot of stupid questions seemed to follow.

Jeanne cleared her voice but hissed as a glowing light brought Nia into the equation, jumping back to introduce herself to the growing audience; apparently, she was Rachel’s little sister, her clothing, and the true ‘shadow leader’ of Mythic—Rachel knew the hyperactive bunny would snatch everyone’s focus for a time.

“Go on,” Rachel chuckled, putting her hands in her pants pockets and watching her breath puff out in a fog; Paris was far colder than she thought. “France seems to be following Zippy through their satellite network since you anticipated our arrival.”

“Haaa. Can I ask you bluntly why you’re here?” Jeanne asked in almost a pleading voice; she seemed to be standing in the hot water by approaching them alone like this with the number of other parties hovering around.

Rachel almost felt bad for her; ears tilting at an angle, her eyebrows drew together as she motioned for them to follow her down a branching street.

“Honestly? We’re here to stir up trouble and get answers—sorry if you were expecting something more tactful—there’s a new member in Mythic that has a kidnapped sister, and the clues we have brought us here… among a few other topics.”

“New member…” Jeanne whispered; her heavy French accent became more prominent when her bright blue eyes shifted to focus on Alexa. “I’m assuming you’re not talking about your angelic sister-in-law, so…”

Rachel waved her hand with a short chuckle. “Let’s just take a few turns as I get used to Paris; there’s a lot happening. Care to crash a devil summoning?” she casually asked, drawing Yseress’ interest after explaining her thoughts and knowing the nephilim hated extended work.

“In Paris?” Jeanne asked in alarm. “We’ve created a grid to identify any evil energy.”

She shrugged. “I’m not telling you ‘how’ they’re doing it. Want to find out?”

“A devil summoning?” Erica spoke up, jogging their way. “Uh, is it safe—stupid question—can we even stream that? Fiona could be demonetized for showing something like that or get banned.”

Scarlet held up the tablet. “Everyone’s hyped—cat vibing emoji—they just want to chill and follow along.”

“That’s not the point,” Erica sighed.

Fiona floated up to get more answers, bringing her camera. “Have they done anything super evil yet, Rachel?”

“Mmh… debatable. There may be blood—”

“Red paint!” Nora responded, eager to make excuses so she could live in the spotlight with her sister.

“Occult writings.”

“Artistic expression!”

“A woman selling her soul to curse the younger girl that ‘stole’ her boyfriend,” Rachel mused, making Fiona wince. “The cult that brought her in is going to use her as a sacrifice, though—really should have verified the cult she was signing up to.”

“Oof! I got nothing there,” Nora hissed out a breath like a cat. “Dramatic theater?”

“Not going to fly, Nora,” Erica mumbled, crossing her arms; Rachel could see the crying emoji lighting up the chat with the ‘terms of service’ emote and Fs.

“Yeah,” Fiona rubbed the back of her neck. “We’re kind of a family-friendly stream… Mmh, which is not very conducive to our recent activities,” she mumbled. “Uh. We can explore a bit and have fun while Rachel does the gruesome stuff!”

Alexa looked unsure. “Shouldn’t we do all of this as a team… Isn’t it dangerous?”

“Pfft!”

Nora, Selvaria, Scarlet, Fiona, and Nia laughed.

“Funny!” the teenage rabbit snickered. “We should be protecting the devils against her!”

Selvaria nodded, stroking her pet seal. “True. What would happen if I ate a devil? Mmh…”

Rachel was fine with them going off to do their own thing, and it gave her time to have a one-on-one with the French Legendkin. “Sounds good. I need to ask a devil a few questions, anyway. You guys have fun sightseeing; I’ll find you when I’m done.”

“Sweet, air trip,” Fiona chimed, turning to her audience with a bright gleam in her glowing green irises. “Who wants to have a live Paris flyover—you have your super suit, Selv?”

“Wooh,” she monotony cheered, throwing a fist in the air. “Oh, watch me transform.”

Leaving them as Nia, the seal, and the leviathan performed a little skit they’d been practicing the last few days; Scarlet had been a part of the team, but she couldn’t do it in front of hundreds of thousands.

Rachel pulled away as Jeanne’s expression turned more serious, and she led the blonde away at a casual pace, following the gentle tugs of misfortune.

“Your people certainly are characters.”

“Mmh. We’ve dealt with a lot, so it takes a lot to get us worried at this point…”

Sucking on the inside of her cheek, Rachel spoke to Yseress within her Core. Ready to see how things are going back home?

“Very eager, Mistress. Will the Saint be fine with my methods?”

Rachel shot a side-long glance at the blonde, still attempting to piece together exactly what she should do with them. She was under no illusion that the French government was on the fence about wanting to bring them in—dozens of powerful Legends and Myths were positioned at a reasonable distance to act—and they had every right to do so; it wasn’t as if they’d come into their country legally.

Jeanne was trying to be the voice of reason to not cause any escalation, which was in character for the woman.

She can’t complain if you save the woman trying to curse her ex’s girlfriend; as for trauma, she went along with the whole process, well… heh, except for the part where she dies.

“Naturally.”

Stopping as a light turned red, Rachel’s wandering eyes drifted between the various people in sight and outside of it that kept pace with their random walk after she’d taken the lead.

“How soon until you have orders to take us into custody? You’ve gathered quite a force.”

“Haaa. You did arrive without warning.”

“No, I get it. Hehe. Although, I doubt you want to have a discussion on Twilight with others around.”

Jeanne didn’t move as the light turned green, and Rachel continued on her path, knowing she’d eventually catch up to her after the sudden slap in the face; it told her everything she needed to know.

Drawing someone’s mind down one direction while snapping it another was a good way to trip people into revealing they knew more about a topic than they wished to divulge; it worked even better when engaging them in another activity to make them trip—all Rachel needed to know was if she recognized and would react to the name—Twilight was the kind of creature to do that to someone when spoken in public.

It didn’t take more than two seconds for her to join Rachel, knowing she’d already given it away by her reaction. “You have more objectives than simply freeing someone… Are you here for Revilla or Adelle?”

“Hmm-hmm-hmm. No.” Rachel answered, moving to a random office building and tugging on the door, slapping the lock, and bending the handle a bit. “After you.”

Yseress shifted within her Core, leg practically tapping against the imaginary floor in her excitement. “Corrupting the Saint? Hehe. Bad hare, Rachel!”

“We don’t have a warrant,” she hissed, glancing back at the pedestrians that had stopped to see the criminal activity; one woman pulled out her phone to record.

“Go get one if you want,” she shrugged, proceeding as Gisele landed on her shoulder. “The not-so-innocent girl is going to be dead, and a devil summoned while you play politics. I can take the heat if you want. Hehe. Think of it as escorting me.”

“She can’t refuse unless she wants to get physical. Hehe.”

“Do… you always act so rashly?” she grumbled, ducking inside to follow Rachel to the elevator.

Rachel inserted her fingers into the metal to force the door to the side. “I couldn’t care less what other people say or think of me. I do what I think I must and deal with the consequences that follow… Joining?”

“This is such a bad idea… Joining you where? We’re going to be all over the—”

Jumping through the illusionary field to the third basement level—secretly excavated into the underground catacombs of France’s underbelly—Jeanne froze, noticing the flicker and warding script and symbols burned in the wall in Rachel’s passing.

“A demonic barrier?”

Landing on the concrete floor, she looked up to see the elevator high above them; it didn’t actually lower to this level; there were stairs that were welded and studded to the wall. It didn’t take long for Jeanne to join her, battle armor shimmering to replace her dress.

“You vanished—I couldn’t even sense your presence down here—how is this… This wasn’t built in the past two months? How did you know this was here?”

Rachel continued into the dimly lit cavern, eternal torches flickering in brackets showing this place had been in operation for centuries. “If you’ll remember, Jeanne, I have my own devilish side.”

The woman’s jaw tightened with her grip around the banner spear that appeared in her hand as a flurry of black feathers revealed Yseress.

“I wonder how you knew, indeed, Mistress. I don’t believe we have been properly introduced.”

Jeanne stopped, slamming the butt of her spear on the ground. “Rachel… I can’t continue until you explain to me why you have a devil—fallen angel—inside of you! Was she… inside of you since you were pulled into the 7th Circle of Hades? Why are you showing me this now?”

Rachel jabbed her thumb at the black-winged creature, who adjusted her silky gown to not be ‘too’ revealing. “That’s Yseress—a nephilim, to be precise—and kind of the bad me that can come out.”

“I have had an influence on you, I am proud to say,” the woman whispered, faking as if she was choking up with pride.

Turning, Rachel leaned against the wall as her ears tilted forward. “She’s still a little weak, but it’s fairly simple, Jeanne. We both have our secrets now.”

Yseress absently stroked Gisele’s head when she transferred to the horned woman’s arm.

“Meaning?” she carefully said, shifting to glance back the way they’d come and likely wondering why her friends hadn’t joined them.

“You knew what was going to happen in Cuba… didn’t you? No…” she whispered with interest at the woman’s clenched fist and guilty crease that crossed her face. “You didn’t know ‘everything’ but enough to feel guilt. Huh. How do you know Twilight?”

“I can’t talk about that in the open, and the woman—”

“Can wait,” Rachel interjected. “As can your buddies; you see, the only reason you were able to get inside was because of Yseress.”

“Guilty!” she chimed, waving her hand. “This place has been sanctified to Hades for… mmh…” She sampled the air thoughtfully. “…at least fifteen decades. Unfortunately, those who stumbled upon it aren’t its true occupants, who seem to have moved to a newer, more modern location than this relic, but the stones still hold power,” she explained, caressing the stone wall.

Jeanne puffed out a long breath before forcing out a weak laugh. “I’m going to get in so much trouble for this… Fine. You know more about Hades and the occult—I get it,” she groaned, releasing her weapon and armor to show she wasn’t going to attack them. “So… your real reason for guiding me here was to, heh, trap me?”

A small smirk lifted the corner of Rachel’s mouth as she pointed down a branching hallway with an ear, directing them to continue. “You could certainly see it that way, but can you see it from my point of view when you seem to have some connection to a very dangerous person with a vested interest in my group?”

Silence took them as they proceeded down the hallways, the Legendkin pondering her response or how she should answer the accusations.

Rachel was perfectly willing to give her the chance to collect her thoughts, instead turning her gaze to the catacombs; it was surprisingly well maintained, but ritualistic maintenance for over a century had collected into its stones to create a rather potent source of untapped Infernal Energy—something this new cult had stumbled upon.

With her connection to Hades, Rachel could feel every pulse of the negative force pumping through the city, and it wasn’t light, which likely came from France’s rich history of demonic practices; there were many low-tier demons and devils skulking in the shadows.

Jeanne’s mention of a grid told Rachel there was a snake within their group; it wasn’t her problem, but something she could mention in time—Alexa’s vision clearly pointed that out.

She paused, Yseress turning to smile at Jeanne as the woman rubbed her elbow and slowed to a stop, mumbling, “I’ll just say it… I can guess at this point that Twilight set things up where you would suspect my involvement after we spoke…”

It was a fair assessment and the next conclusion Rachel would have turned to, showing how self-aware the legend was as she looked Rachel in the eyes.

“I wasn’t included in the critical discussions involving Cuba’s fall… only that great sacrifice would be needed to cage Revilla. I trusted Twilight wanted to save humanity, which she did… but I wasn’t aware of how far she would go with many others to do it, and without even hearing other opinions,” she bitterly stated.

Rachel motioned behind them with a nudge of her head, and Yseress sighed and snapped her fingers, making Jeanne tense as a rush of devilish force reverberated on the walls and screams sounded in the distance, echoing down the halls.

“They were speeding up the process, so we had to act sooner than I wanted,” she sighed. “Well… I wasn’t expecting you to just come out and own it, either. Haha. You’re too pure.”

Jeanne hesitantly followed behind Rachel as she continued to the ritual location. “How did you form this… contract with Yseress?”

“Oh!” the obsidian-horned woman clapped, allowing Gisele to hitch a ride on one of her slightly raised wings. “I will give you points for not calling me something dull like ‘nephilim’ or ‘devil.’”

“Not demon?” Rachel teased.

“Oh, the hilarity, Mistress,” Yseress hissed, rolling her eyes.

“C’mon,” she laughed, sliding her fingers across the walls to feel the reverberating Inferno Force Yseress used to trap those in the ritual room; the nephilim was too lazy to use her own. “I’ll give you a free rabbit pass for that.”

The woman shot a petulant smile her way. “How generous!”

“Haha!”

Jeanne’s tension lessened as they went. “I didn’t expect a creature that uses Hades’ power to be so… human?”

“Oh, you should hear her rant about pancakes and pound cakes—she’s powerless when it comes to such simple topics.”

Yseress almost tripped in her heels. “How can you speak of my weaknesses so carelessly, Mistress?!”

“Cakes… Okay, you’re joking?”

“Heh, yes! My mistress is very funny. Haha!” she swiftly agreed, trying to keep her feathers from ruffling.

“This is… What did you do?” Jeanne mumbled in disbelief as they came upon the scene of devil worshipers—minus one.

“Huh… Fun and games aside, Yseress?” Rachel smirked at the paralyzed group of hooded men and women who followed their entrance with their eyes—the only thing that could move.

A trembling brown-haired woman in her thirties was strapped to a sacrificial table, in total shock from the moist, dripping guts that fell from the ceiling, where a ruined robe hung, soaked in red, yet unoccupied.

“Hmm… Well, I did need a sacrifice, and the very bad, horrible monster of a man was about to stab the poor curse-enthused woman! I had to act in her self-defense, so…”

“You blew him up?!” Jeanne choked, covering her nose as the stench of the scattered gore permeated the airway, sticking to the clothes of the worshipers and bathing the shaken ‘original’ sacrifice in blood, organs, and bone.

“Ahem. Snap, snap,” Yseress bustled, moving to draw the blonde to the edges of the stained, occult-infused walls. “I have much to accomplish if I am to turn this half-baked ritual into something fruitful.”

“Bear with us!” Rachel soothed, moving to stand behind Jeanne in case she thought about shutting this whole thing down by sending a bolt from heaven or something. “It will make sense, and everything will work out in France’s favor in the end! Cool?”

Jeanne shook her head, making a cross symbol in front of her chest. “Not cool, Rachel! You are planning on summoning a demon?!”

“Eww.”

“Excuse me?” the blonde asked at the nephilim’s twisted noise. “You are not going to kill anyone else?”

“Why would I need to? Amateurs,” Yseress sighed, snapping her fingers, causing the bonds around the ‘innocent’ sacrifice’s limbs to snap. “You can run along, dearie… Hey!”

“H-Huh?!”

“Scram, meat sack,” Yseress ordered, causing the woman’s eyes to dilate and making her hyperventilation cease in an instant. “Good.”

She smoothly brushed the gore and bile off before leaving.

“Rachel!”

“Haaa. Yseress… having some blood-soaked woman wandering the streets isn’t helping.”

“Then you handle her; I’m busy,” she shot back, making a dismissive motion with her hand for the woman to collapse and start crying hysterically.

Jeanne moved to comfort the distraught ‘former’ sacrifice.

“Just know, she wanted to curse another woman to be unfaithful against her will by casting a ‘life-lasting’ sex curse on her, devolving her into a sex fiend… heh, literally in the case of the gradual pull to Hades.”

“Mmgm…” Jeanne’s mouth tightened at the gleaming smile in Yseress’ steely irises. “She hasn’t gone through with it yet…”

“Haaa… You remind me of my ‘brighter’ self—blegh! Well, are you demon-licking bags of crap ready for something with ‘actual’ meaning?” she asked, placing a hand on her hip as she directed a brilliant grin at the paralyzed group of ten cultists. “You wouldn’t want to displease me… right?”

Obviously, they couldn’t talk, mouths sewn shut with fine devilish thread that was invisible to the natural eyes, so they nodded and shook their heads; the only thing that existed to them was the alluring nephilim that tugged on their souls like a leash.

“Not a succubus, hmm?” Rachel slyly prodded.

“Humph. Actually! An excellent idea, Mistress… Let us summon a real succubus.”

The gore lifted off the ground, spinning in a spiderweb of patterns that blanketed the altar with the still intact heart of the dead cultist floating to the center.

Yseress directed the men and women to line up in a specific pattern, telling two whipped men to stand off to the side since the ritual needed an equal amount of men and women, and Rachel refused—Jeanne snapped back that she would rather burn in Hades when asked the question.

“No fun,” she huffed, and Rachel was a tad surprised to feel the four men and women shaking with anticipation; they’d gained a taste for what it was like to channel Hades’ energy.

Unfortunately, it was worse than any drug, corrupting the soul—mind, body, and spirit.

Rachel remained silent as the nephilim instructed them on the chant—the heart began to beat on the table—the bloody symbols it sat on seeping into the organ to burn fiendish markings into the flesh.

Cracks appeared on the altar, and the occult members struggled to repeat the chant as pressure was put against their souls, but the only lasting damage came from the screaming spirit of the heart she’d used for the ritual’s base.

Jeanne looked like she was going to throw up in disgust at the unholy forces that were pulled from the catacombs. A foul wind whipped their hair to the side as crimson light shone from the fissures cascading down the altar; the stone broke away, falling into a fiery pit as the spirit’s tortured screams increased and the heart floated into the air.

Yseress walked to Rachel’s side, wings practically fluttering with excitement as the men and women collapsed to the floor, and a wave of Infernal energy erupted outward; the barrier concealing the ritual site fell with all of its power used.

An ominous fluctuation from the blackened stone ground kept everyone’s gaze before a loud noise drew their eyes to the heart; a bite was taken out of it, revealing a terrifying, black-haired figure with curved horns and obsidian wings that began to take form each time her fangs sank into the gushing organ, leaking black ooze down her chin.

“Mmh…” she moaned, savoring each sample as the sunken, white glow within her darkened vision settled on one of the cultists; all of them were locked in the devil’s radial grip as if claws held every piece of them in place.

Her voice was a honey-laced lull that also put a knife against the throat. “Such… unimpressive souls to have summoned one such as I… and without a control binding? Unusual… And one that resonates with the heavens?”

Her head shifted to Jeanne as the woman’s blinding aura and spear appeared, but Rachel knew on instinct that it would be troublesome for both of them to take this creature, who hadn’t even fully taken on her physical form.

“Rachel—we must…”

Hyper Mental Acceleration activated as she threw her spear at the devil, slowing it to a crawl, yet the succubus moved as if totally unimpeded, a cruel smile lifting her blackened lips; she wasn’t concerned in the least.

Gliding forward, the devil might have been as fast as her when channeling Hades; she seemed oblivious to anyone, but the cultists and Jeanne as Yseress created a veil between them.

The succubus’ curved fingernail touched the spear point with amusement before spinning to the side when chains shot out to bind her; not one touched the devil’s rapid movements as she acted as if gravity didn’t exist. She laughed and shot at the legend in an instant, claws reaching for her chest.

“Sit, Elinnila.”

“Eh?!”

The tense atmosphere broke, the succubus freezing in front of Jeanne and slamming to the earth with a grunt, Yseress’ far superior aura replacing Elinnila’s to lock everyone in place; Rachel could hear several men and women hesitate down the hall as the nephilim revealed her true presence.

Sound centered around the clicking heels of the black-dressed woman as she casually strolled to the paralyzed, bound, and naked succubus. “Turn… that’s it, Elinnila… Good girl.”

The succubus’ voice quivered upon seeing the half-breed. “Y-Yseress—when were you purified?! No! Y-You summoned me… Why—I have nothing against Izanami or Lucifer—I’m neutr—”

“Tsk-tsk-tsk. Shhh. Haven’t asked you to speak yet.” She released Jeanne from her locked position after showing her everything was under control, and Yeseress pulled her black bag out of empty space to show it to the devil. “Well… have I, Elinnila?”

“N-No…” she cried, a quake running down her frame as the succubus’ wings pulled into her back and her tail wrapped around her leg. “Sorry—I’m sorry…”

Jeanne pulled the traumatized ‘former’ sacrifice around the pair to stop beside Rachel. “Just… how powerful is your devil—I can’t even gauge it… it’s like we’re facing Revilla again?”

Yseress continued without paying attention to their conversation or the Legendkin and Mythickin far down the various hallways, unable to break past some kind of web-like blood field by their shouts.

“Hmm. When was the last time I saw you, Elinnila? Ah, that’s right! I rather enjoyed your presence when Fornorad brought you along to my palace in the 3rd Circle of Hades, seeking temporary asylum—you were in such a sorry state—but look at you now! How is Ylanarax’s lieutenant?”

“Promoted… Please, there’s no need for that!” she pleaded, chest quivering as the occultists hovered around in shock at what they were seeing. “I know my place is below your heel—”

“Mmh?” Yseress tisked.

“I know—I’m sorry,” her horns cracked the floor as she threw herself before the nephilim. “I know you didn’t ask me to speak, b-but, please… Don’t put tha—mmgm-mmmh!”

The succubus whimpered as Yseress slowly opened her bag, yet instead of hands coming out of her purse, Elinnila’s spine split open with painful cracks and pops that leaked poisonous blood onto the stone with her tears, burning deep holes into the stone ground.

Gnarled, shriveled demonic hands reach out of the fissure in her quaking back to close around Elinnila’s gagging throat, black tears dripping down her cheeks to mar the soil underneath and turn it into a bubbling liquid.

“Shhh…”

“Mmh-gmmhmmm…”

When it released her, a crimson collar enclosed the succubus’ neck, and intricate designs burned into place to ripple in a cascade effect into her body, sliding into the gash along her spine before the hands sealed the wound, drawing into Elinnila’s flesh.

Yseress snapped the purse shut, dismissing it into the void. “There! See, heh, no need to be a baby about it, Elinnila—it didn’t hurt—don’t I have a delicate touch?” she asked, yet her tone held dangerous undercurrents. “Don’t I?”

“Mmm-hmm-hmm… mmhm-mhm…” she silently nodded, black liquid still leaking into the floor from her back, eyes, and mouth, having bit her lower lip.

“Good! Now, I’m going to take a little nap, but… when I wake up, we’ll have so much to discuss. So, I’m going to give this chain…”

Elinnila shook her head, eyes widening even further as she hugged herself, vision rising in panicked protest when Yseress held up her hand; an invisible chain linked to her collar, and Yseress moved to hand it to the stunned, blonde legend.

“That’s right—you’re so smart—Jeanne will take care of you! So, be a good girl,” she patted the tortured and humiliated succubus on the head between her horns, “and be useful because… you don’t want me to hear that you were a bad girl. Right, Elinnila?”

“N-No…” she choked, pain etched in her voice. “I’ll be a good slave… Mistress.”

“Wonderful!”

She turned to grin at Jeanne, utterly repulsed by the devilish practice she’d just witnessed.

“Haven’t you always said you wanted a succubus pet somewhere… very deep in your obnoxious, holy heart? Well, make sure you feed her properly and take her on long walks to collect the ‘evil’ demons and devils around Paris! Don’t say I never did anything for you. Oh, and cover-up, Elinnila, for, heh, goodness sake!”

The chain wrapped around Jeanne’s hesitant hand and vanished in crimson light with the collar. “What… did you just do to her?”

“I told you,” Yseress sighed as the succubus wept, unable to straighten her spine in her hunched position. “I’ve gifted you a succubus pet; she will do nothing that you are not comfortable with, which is why she is sooo distraught…

“Because, heh, well, you are you, ‘Saint’...” she spat. “And, as an added bonus, she will take on a form that will not get you in trouble… Oh—hehe, well, that’s… one way to go about it,” she mused.

A flurry of black feathers encircled the nephilim, leaving them with a not-so-innocent smile as she vanished, entering Rachel’s Core, while the succubus morphed into a rather pathetic-looked, tearful, brown-haired girl.

She shakily accepted one of the cultist’s black robes—Rachel knew she was only trying to take a form that would elicit pity, and unsurprisingly, it worked—then again, the previous sight of devil-on-devil domination was certainly something not soon forgotten.

“Nice,” Rachel snickered. “Now we both have devils!”

“We’re not devil buddies,” Jeanne growled, rubbing her temple as she tried to come to terms with what had just happened. “3rd Circle of Hades… palace—who is Yseress?! Ugh…”

A rush of templar knights, Gilles de Rais, and—to Jeanne’s surprise—the Comte de St. Germain came barging into the room.

“Are you okay, Saint Jeanne?” Gilles asked as the knights forced the compliant cultists to the ground, too overwhelmed by what they’d just experienced, and the knights moved to check if the crying succubus in disguise was alright.

The famous and mysterious alchemist observed the scene with composure, silently following the ritual site to the hiccuping devil child, Jeanne—telling the knights to keep their distance from the girl—and Rachel; after a moment’s study, he stepped forward to hold out his hand.

“Allow me to introduce myself. I am…”

Rachel answered for him, taking his thunder on purpose. “Claude Louis, Comte de Saint-Germain. I’ve heard your fangirls screaming your name.”

“Ho-ho. How embarrassing! Am I to assume you came to stop this devilish cult operating under our very noses?”

“Mmh,” Rachel nudged her head to the side as if saying it wasn’t her biggest priority and making him laugh. “Ah, Sir Gilles!” she redirected, further deflating his sail.

The legendary man’s sharp eyes narrowed upon approach. “Am I to believe Saint Jeanne and you killed that… monster that blocked our entrance?”

“Killed is a… strong word,” Rachel chuckled, “but we have resolved the situation. I’d like some more time with Saint Jeanne; there are other places like this that need to be cleansed. Can we trust you to handle the processing as we mark the next location?”

“A grand idea!” Louis nodded. “A new crusade, Sir Gilles; rally the knights!”

Rachel knew the Count would want to tag along, and by his excitement, he’d been trying to find an excuse to get in contact with her or the Saint; she wasn’t against it since she planned on recruiting Jeanne for the operation to rescue Melissa’s sister—she was the best political bug repellant in the country she had access to.

As Yseress explained, Elinnila’s freedom to return to Hades was to find the snake attempting to break Revilla free and take him with her—succubus’ were punished if returning without enough payment for their handlers; a potent soul would cover that, and one seeking to destroy Hades at that—she’d be a heroine in Hades.

Of course, Elinnila didn’t see the bigger picture since nothing was explained to her—Yseress having fun tormenting the succubus, no doubt—Hades was filled with bullies.

Rachel reached out and picked up the crying succubus child, motioning the Saint and Count to follow her as Gisele landed on her shoulder.

Stage two… find the snake in the garden; Revilla would work through those of the occult, and the more mess I cause in the covens and devil worshipers, the bigger ripple I cause to draw our mole out.