'I know the hearts of man. You're only fooling yourself.'

I sat up in bed, placing my head in my hands. Jezebel's words digging deeper into my brain. Sadly, a part of me agreed with her.

If I told Emma, what would she think or do?

The what-ifs poured into my thoughts uncheck. One interrupted the other, chaos swelled. I shook my entire body to pull myself out of the madness.

My eyes fell on both my hands. They trembled with realization settling on me. This was the first time that I actually had a hard thought about my situation, and the conclusion was that I was terrified to be exposed.

The wall of the hospital room pressed against me. I needed to get out of here; I needed fresh air. I was fully healed, but the doctors wanted me to stay a little while longer to make them have a fill good.

I reached over to the table by my bed and s.n.a.t.c.hed up my phone. I texted Mimiku:

Me: "hey about to be discharged from the hospital, come and get me?"

Mimiku: "Sure"

Me: "you mad?"

Mimiku: "you and I are going to have a talk"

Me: "do we have to?"

Mimiku: "yes"

Me: "I don't want to"

Mimiku: "that's nice"

Me: "thnx"

Soon after that, the doctor came in and discharged me. I completed the necessary papers and happily stood outside the building, soaking up the sun and fresh air. The happy feeling left me when Mimiku teleported next to me. She was not pleased. She started down the sidewalk, and I followed.

The wind grew colder. I zipped my jacket all the way up; Mimiku was just in her military dress uniform. She could counter the cold by heating up her body.

Lucky.

"What, in the seven h.e.l.ls were you doing the other night. I was on my way here expecting to find you out of danger and maybe even lying in bed with Emma, but instead, you're beaten to h.e.l.l, your clothes are torn, and you're as b.l.o.o.d.y as the rivers in the h.e.l.ls itself!" Mimiku spat.

"You know what the color the rivers are in the h.e.l.ls?" I ask, heavy in sarcasm.

"Do not be a smart-a.s.s with me," Mimiku rebuked, folding her hears back at me.

I turned half my torso towards her.

"When my father told me that I had completed the summoning ritual, I wanted to make sure," I said, feeling the narrow eyes of Mimiku.

"You couldn't have waited for me?" Mimiku questioned.

"Apparently not?"

Her ears flattened to their side.

"I don't know what I was doing, I really don't. Maybe I thought, subconsciously, that I could send the devil back to where it came from."

"How did that go," she snipped, "was the devil sent back?"

I didn't grace Mimiku with a response. The fight with Jezebel, if you wanted to call it a fight, was more like me being Jezebel's punching bag.

"How come you didn't put up more of a fight?" Mimiku scolded.

"BECAUSE!"

Mimiku jumped with her ears up. I huffed and gritted my teeth. I looked from side to side, making sure no one had heard me yell.

"Because I have never used my powers in combat. Remember the whole needing to hide my powers," I snapped.

She looked at the sidewalk. A wave of regret washed over me. My mouth opened to say something, but words didn't come out. I placed a hand on Mimiku's head and petted.

"I'm sorry I made you worried. You're right, I should have waited," I apologized.

"Master." She fought back the tears.

"Come on, don't start that, I ain't worth crying over," I joked and smiled.

But that's when the flood gate's opened. I was yanked into an extremely tight hug and used for soaking up tears.

"Don't you ever think that you're not worth crying over," she scolded.

"I…"

"We are family, you're my family, and I was worried sick that you had died or that I couldn't save you. Emma had to hold me down, I was so upset," she bawled, "I cried which got her crying and got Nekko fl.u.s.tered."

"Alright, alright, I'm sorry," I hushed, petting her head.

It took a little more hus.h.i.+ng and petting, but Mimiku finally calmed down. She wiped away the remainder of the tears and pulled herself away. I smiled and shook my head.

"We should get going," I said.

"Yes, master," Mimiku agreed.

She stood next to me, wrapping her tails around us, and when she pulled them away, we stood in front of the tents. There were more than before and far more paladins in white armor. The place was busy and buzzing, chattering here and there, and there was the Director himself, pointing to things and calling out orders.

There was a figure standing next to him, a female in black and red armor. She wore something like a body glove that was black, with the armor on top. It was slick, tactical, maneuverable, and flexible.

The new figure had twin blades strapped on her lower back, a thigh pouch that probably held daggers, a few tactical patches on her lower side and shoulders, they were small, again perhaps for more throwing knives, and the most unique feature on this suit of armor was that her shoes, if you will, were individually toed and sharp. Her gloves also had claw-like fingertips.

She wore no helmet, but her face was covered with a dragon spook mask. Her hair was white, long, and thick. She was a foot taller than Emma, by my guesstimation.

Another one walked up to the taller figure, but this one had my daggers on her left thigh, and her spook mask was that of a snarling wolf.

Emma?

We made our way to the Director and the two a.s.sa.s.sins. When Emma saw us coming, her taller companion turned to look, then gave Emma a swift nod of her head. Emma didn't hesitate but took off and disappeared.

"Family member?" I whispered to Mimiku.

"I was thinking of an older sibling, the way that she ordered Emma to leave," Mimiku whispered back.

"Corporal, I hope that you're feeling better?" the Director asked, with a smile.

He noticed that I hadn't taken my eyes off of the figure next to him.

"This is my bodyguard, you may address her as Ma'am and is my right hand," he addressed.

"Ma'am." we saluted.

The 'right hand' bowed her head ever so slightly.

"Do you remember where you were the night last night?" the right-hand's mechanical voice asked.

"I was a good three miles into the forest. I know that there was a wide creek or river that I crossed, but other than that, I don't remember much, Ma'am," I answered.

"I have my subordinate trying to follow where you went. Was there anyone else with you?"

"No, Ma'am, why?"

"We still haven't found Sargent Wallow," she concluded.

Wallow was still missing?

"What were you doing all night?"

I looked up at the right hand.

"Come again, Ma'am?"

"What were you doing?" she asked, a little more forcefully, putting her hands on her hips.

"Right, uh, I was, ah, I was researching faceless statues in the demon culture I had gotten a hunch that I could have completed the ceremony," I respond.

"Researching?" she turned her ear towards me.

"Ah, yes, I was surfing the web and other open-ended things," I answer.

"You didn't see him at all last night?"

I poke at my forehead, trying to recall if I had at any point.

I don't, I know that I did.

I shook my head, and that concluded my interview. The right hand was imposing.

"Corporal, Staff Sergeant, you two can head over to the staging ground and get a.s.signed to a search party," the Director commanded.

We saluted and left in a hurry. Mimiku seemed to be scared of the right hand, as well.

"That went well," she scoffed quietly.

I snickered as we came up to an officer and ask where we could be a.s.signed. He pointed to a rallying point of troopers about to leave. They were grabbing communication equipment and provisions. Thanking the officer, we made it to the group.

We were a.s.similated in getting other pieces of equipment for the search when a void exploded open, hissing, and spitting fire. The concussion forced everyone to be blown a few dozen meters away. Anything that the fire touch immediately caught and spread.

Forces that weren't knocked to their b.u.t.ts when the void opened, rushed over encircling the void with their rifle or preparing to cast a spell. I had landed on my back, rolling a few feet before stopping. Mimiku fell a little way to my right, but she was on her feet snarling.

From the void, stepped out a beautiful, breathtaking, devil, that covered herself with an almost see-through black dress, with slits cutting all the way up to her hips. She wore a crooked smile, one fist on her hips, and the other held up a b.l.o.o.d.y, Wallow.

His sh.e.l.l was cracked, some of it was broken off, his face was swollen, and bruised with crusted blood mangled into his fur. The fur that was once so well taken care of had burnt patched, ripped out tuffs, and fresh gashes. If Wallow didn't moan from Jezebel's rough handling, I would have thought he was dead.

Jezebel gave an obnoxious curtsy and howled a devilish laugh at the crowd. They were awed by her and unsure of what to do. The Director and his right hand made it through the crowd.

"Unhand Sergeant Wallow this instant, and surrender," the Director ordered.

The devil only laughed at his request.

"Oh my. A man that knows how to take charge and give orders. I do wonder how you do in bed," Jezebel hissed, letting Wallow slip out of her clutches.

"I found this little kitty snooping about and thought that he needs to be returned to his owners," Jezebel said, placing a foot on Wallow's head and pressing down.

"FIRE!" the Director countered.

Trooper's machine guns rang out with a rat-tat-tat. Every bullet hit their mark, ripping Jezebel apart.

"Cease Fire!"

Her body was torn apart, and some parts hung off her bones, the devil stood there silent. Her body began to suck the blood back into itself, and her flesh fused back together; good as new.

"Foolish humans," the devil growled.

Once her body was back to normal, she snapped her teeth at the troopers. Some jumped, which tickled Jezebel.

"Paladins and their toys, thinking that those blessed bullets of the sun could ever phase me?" she mocked and fisted her hands.

The rifles smoked, singed, and melted in the hands of the troopers. Many screamed out in pain from getting burnt.

"No, I came here to make a trade," she stated, kicking Wallow up into her hands like a hacky-sack.

In the blink of an eye, the Director's bodyguard stood in front of Jezebel. Jezebel kept her sinister smile and proved that she was quicker. From my point of view, the bodyguard stood there and let Jezebel hit her, I think.

The right hand was sent back into the Director, who, caught her and firmly stood his ground. The a.s.sa.s.sin's chest plate was smashed in and cracked. She put a hand to her chest clearly in pain.

"To Business, I want to trade this sack of meat for your necromancer. You don't know who he is yet, but you will. I want to prove to him that he's foolish in thinking that he can place his trust in you," she giggled.

My blood turned cold, a frog was caught in my throat, and my heart almost stopped.