(Iris POV)

Honestly, how long does it take to rise from unconsciousness?!

"Still no signs of them waking up, huh?"

I turned my head to see a familiar sex demon leaning against the wall a few feet away from me, his eyes fixed on the Three Beasts who still remained unresponsive. I huffed, leaning back in my uncomfortable wooden chair and crossing my arms.

"Nope. No turning over. No shifting. Not even a single nose twitch." I clicked my tongue "They're basically statues... with pulses."

Darius hummed, scuffing the heel of his boot against the stone floor and finally looking at me.

"So... Wanna spar?"

I snorted loudly and leaned forward "Okay look, although you survived against the Beasts you're still a Rookie. Until you're of a high enough rank to be at least noticed by the big leagues, I'm not--"

I froze mid-sentence, my eyes widening as a curved blade hovered by my throat. Darius was suddenly standing beside me, face neutral, and was holding his scythe dangerously close to my neck. He had moved so fast, that if you blinked you would've missed it. I didn't dare move anything but my eyes, slowly moving them to look up at the boy. He glared at me from the corner of his eye, their emerald colour glowing in the shadows as we made eye-contact. He had become menacing so suddenly. He gave me a small, yet almost evil smirk.

"Don't underestimate anybody based on their status," He muttered, moving his scythe away from my throat "That could lead to your downfall."

I rubbed my neck, averting my gaze and grumbling "I don't need your advice, I can handle my own just fine..."

"Oh really?" He chuckled, sounding like his usual self again "Then how'd you explain me nearly slicing your head off?"

"Beginners luck." I responded with confidence.

"Want to test that theory?"

"Fucking bring it, pervert!"

---

"WHAT THE FUCK?!" I screamed, attempting to break free from Darius's hold. He was sitting on my back, one hand pressed against my head while the other was pulling my leg up to his shoulder. It was painful, lemme tell ya.

"So, what were you saying before about 'beginners luck'?" He asked. I could sense the smugness in his voice.

"ALRIGHT, ALRIGHT YOU PROVED YOUR POINT! LET ME GO!" I yelled, pounding the ground with my fists.

Darius laughed, but released me from his hold and lifting himself off my back to sit beside me. I puffed my cheeks out and pushed up to a sitting position, crossing my arms and legs and sulking. Darius sighed, wiping some sweat from his forehead with his tail and sitting back on his arms.

"I gotta say, you held your own pretty well compared to some other soldiers I've sparred with." He spoke up, giving me a grin.

"Yeah yeah," I ran a hand through my hair, avoiding his gaze "I'm not some rookie who has no clue how to handle themself on a battlefield."

"You're also way cockier than anyone I've fought."

"You what?!" I snapped my head towards him, baring my teeth like a lioness. Darius wasn't fazed.

"You let your rank and past victories lead you through battle. That's not going to get you anywhere, you know." He explained casually. My blood began to boil.

"Excuse me, who are you to tell me how to fight?! I've been completely fine just the way I am until now, so I don't wanna hear that bullshit--"

"You're living in the past, Iris. You're driven by your skill instead of your potential." His face suddenly became serious "You're only aim in life is to win, no matter what you have to do. You always take the easy way out, without exploring and seeing if there's any way through a problem. Take the Venom Weasel event, for example; You used your power to dispose of them quickly out of irritation, even though General Emilianna told you to refrain from using your abilities. You were driven by your anger, which can turn out to be your enemy at the most unexpected times. You don't even try to improve yourself, you only do it to suppress anybody else. Granted, you've gotten this far, but how far can your motives actually take you before it all starts going downhill?"

I was silent, unable to respond to him as I took my lip between my teeth. I hated to admit it but... He was right...

Darius sighed and placed a hand on my shoulder "Just try and think about it, okay?" He murmured as he got up, turning on his heel and leaving me alone in the training room. I sat there, my eyes fixed to the floor as his words repeated in my mind.

I wonder... How for can my motives take me?

---

(3rd POV)

"It's been two days, Dexy!" Alexa growled, sparks dancing around her fingertips as she glared at the girl in front of her "How long does it take for three puppets to dispose of one single target?!"

"I don't know what to tell you, Alexa!" Dexy responded in a rushed tone, flipping page after page of her spellbook "I can't connect to them anymore for some reason, so I have no idea where they are!"

Alexa yelled out in irritation. Her blonde hair was getting more static each second.

"Well, the spell they're under could've been broken?" Nathan suggested from the couch "Have you even considered that, Al?"

The woman scoffed "Please, there is no way that..."

She stopped mid-sentence, eyebrows furrowing as her eyes moved to the window. Nathan seemed to sense the same thing she was sensing, as he began slowly reaching his hand out towards his bow on the table. Even Dexy had stopped what she was doing to listen. Alexa slowly peered over her shoulder to Nathan, giving him a subtle nod and reaching for her whip attached to her belt. Nathan was mouthing counting down from five, not keeping his eyes off his partners.

Three

Two

One

They all moved at the exact same time, rushing towards the middle of the room just as a bunch of thorny vines shot up from the floorboards. Alexa activated her whip, slicing them all in half with a flick of her wrist. In the blink of an eye they were surrounded by three enemies: a man, a woman, and a boy, who were obviously meaning to kill. The boy was next to attack, sending embers towards the trio from all directions. Dexy reacted quickly, summoning a forcefield to protect the three of them which the flames bounced right off of. The boy Made them disappear with a snap of his fingers, obviously pissed. Finally, the man lunged at them with his spear, and if their targets were ordinary he would've plunged it through their chest. But unfortunately for him they leapt out of the way. Nathan shot an arrow at him while in mid-air, causing it to fly right through the man's shoulder.

Just as the other two were distracted by their friend's pained yell, the Pillars had the chance to attack. Dexy summoned a purple restraining rope and sent it at the boy, binding him to a post instantly. In the meantime Nathan had pinned the man to a wall and pressed his bow to his neck, while Alexa had floored the woman after tying her up with her whip.

"Don't move, or you'll in for a shock." She growled. The woman knew exactly what she meant and obeyed. Not willingly, of course.

"Who are you?" Nathan asked. He had slammed his foot between the man's legs, dangerously close to his... 'friend', so it only took one movement to cause extreme pain.

The man gulped, his hands gripping the wood of Nathan's bow "W-We can't say."

Alexa scoffed, sending him glare "You'd best tell us want we want to know, handsome. We can kill you all in an instant at any time."

The woman snarled "You're bluffing."

"She's not." The boy replied calmly. His hair was covering his eyes, so everyone could only see that his lips were pressed together in a straight line. The woman huffed.

"Fine, we are members of the Mountain Rogues; A group of elite assassins--"

"We know what the Mountain Rogues are, lady." Nathan cut her off "We want to know who you are."

She sighed "Very well... I am Thorn, the one with the ponytail's Raven and the kid's Delta. I'd say nice to meet you, but this is hardly a pleasant introduction." She hissed.

Alexa hummed "I suppose you already know who we are, as you attempted to attack us."

"...Yes."

"What exactly do you want?"

"We were hoping to retrieve the Pillars' weapons." It was Delta to speak this time "We thought we could use them for our own gain..."

"What could you possibly need our weapons for?" Dexy asked, tightening the rope around the boy. He wasn't visibly fazed, but she could tell it hurt him.

"We have a target..." he murmured, not sounding too pleased about it.

"Oh yeah?" Nathan raised an eyebrow "Who?"

Thorn scoffed "Like we'd tell--"

She screamed as a small shock shot through her body, leaving her body tingly and numb. Alexa smacked her round the back of her head.

"We asked you a question, sweetheart."

Raven sighed. He was the one to spill the beans "Our target is Hunter Bloodrayne. A former member of the Mountain Rogues..."

"Hunter Bloodrayne..." Alexa echoed, glancing off to the side "Why does that name ring a bell?"

"Probably because she's friends with Iris."

Her head snapped towards her archer friend "I'm sorry, what was that?"

"Hunter Bloodrayne and Iris Kester are good friends." He replied "Didn't you know that?"

"If I did would I look so confused now? Why didn't you tell me?"

"Didn't seem important."

Alexa let out an exasperated groan before thinking for a moment. On one hand, she could dispose of these intruders easily and never worry about them again. While on the other... If both their targets were close, perhaps she could convince them to help her out. She was no fool, she knew these assassins were powerful. They could be valuable allies...

She smirked, making her decision.

"So, Thorn was it?" She asked the woman underneath her, her voice taking a sudden seductive tone.

"What's it to you...?" Thorn asked, confused at her change of tone.

"Well... I may have a proposition for you that can help you get to Bloodrayne, if you're willing to listen..."

"...Go on."

---

(Iris POV)

"And then he told me to think about it!" I finished, slamming my glass onto the table "I don't even know what to think!"

Crimson laughed "Sounds like Darius gave you quite a lot to work with."

"Bro, you have no idea..."

"I do, kinda," He confessed "Darius has given me advice in the past, too."

I looked up at him "You?"

"Yeah, though it wasn't about fighting. It was more on the lines of... Family issues."

" You mean Silver issues?"

"...Yeah. He actually helped a lot, in his own way."

I hummed, taking another sip of my drink "You'd never expect that from a pervert."

"He's an Incubus, it's in his nature to flirt." Crimson argued.

"Yeah well he's doing a pretty bad job at it. Incubi are supposed to be smooth, while he... Just comes off as creepy." I shivered.

Crimson raised an eyebrow "Why are you so hung up over this anyway?" He asked as I took another sip "Are you interested in the guy or something?"

I instantly spat out my drink "WHAT?! NO!"

"Uh-huh..." He gave me a suspicious look "Then why are you talking about him so much."

"He irritates me. There's not really much to say about it."

"Riiiiiight..." He gave me a smirk "Alright, I'll let it go for now. But I'm watching you two."

"Alright, have fun with that." I rolled my eyes and reached for my glass again.

"Wait, Iris, is that milk you're drinking?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Aren't you lactose intolerant?"

.

.

.

"I hope it kills me..."