An Archon was walking down the street.

  Long black hair. Bright orange eyes.

  She was smiling.

  Haloy had gone to deal with the demon. Her presence was no longer necessary.

  There was no point in being there. The demon was too strong. She didn't feel like staying nearby.

  She preferred to take a leisurely stroll.

  "Archon Mirya!"

  She turned around.

  A man was running towards her, out of breath, his face pale.

  "What?"

  "Demons…" He panted. "In the temple."

  Mirya froze.

  Demons in the temple?

  She thought quickly.

  The demon destroying the village… was it a diversion?

  What was the demons' real objective?

  She didn't know for now.

  "How many?"

  "Four."

  Mirya nodded.

  "I'll handle it."

  She turned and headed towards the temple.

  No way these four demons are as strong as the one ravaging the town, she thought.

  Then she stopped.

  Five Archons. The demon had killed five Archons.

  Only four remained.

  She clenched her jaw.

  ---

  Hiro, Lena, Lucia, and Cassian were having trouble leaving the temple.

  Guards were arriving from all directions.

  "DEMONS!"

  "STOP THEM!"

  The group fought, but took care not to kill anyone.

  It was hard. Really hard.

  "Let go of me!" Cassian grumbled, shoving a guard away. "I told you, you're not my type."

  Another guard charged at her.

  She created an ice shield.

  CLANG.

  The guard bounced off.

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  "Another one trying to touch me…"

  They finally defeated the guards in the area.

  They found themselves in an inner garden.

  Beautifully decorated. A fountain stood in the middle, water cascading softly in the silence.

  "We'll never find him like this," Lena sighed, sweeping her gaze across the garden. "We've been going in circles for ten minutes."

  Lucia nodded, wiping a bead of sweat from her temple.

  "Yeah… this temple is huge."

  Lena crossed her arms, thought for two seconds.

  "We should split up. Searching separately will be faster."

  "In groups of two?" asked Lucia, one eyebrow slightly raised.

  "Yeah, that's safer. We'll stay in pairs, just in case."

  A brief silence.

  Lena looked at Hiro, then Lucia, then back at Hiro.

  "So… Hiro, you're with me? We're both pretty good in melee, we can cover each other well."

  Lucia immediately narrowed her eyes.

  "He'd be better with me."

  Lena crossed her arms, not ready to give in.

  "Yeah, but you're more effective when you can stay a bit back. Hiro and I can charge right in without a second thought."

  Lucia shook her head, a small, mocking smile on her lips.

  "Exactly. That's why it's not balanced. On the other hand…"

  She pointed at Cassian.

  "The most logical thing is Hiro with me: him in front, me in the back. And you with Cassian: you on the frontline, her in the rear. That way each group has a perfect mix."

  A silence.

  Lena grumbled slightly, but she knew Lucia had a point.

  "…You're not wrong."

  Hiro blinked, a little lost.

  "Uh… okay? I'm fine with that."

  He shrugged, as if to say "as long as we're moving forward."

  Cassian, for her part, felt a small weight lift from her chest.

  The idea of being stuck alone with Hiro made her uneasy. Really uneasy.

  Hiro spoke again, his voice calm.

  "Alright. We need to divide the areas. One group searches the immediate surroundings of the temple, the other heads towards the main combat zone, where the fighting is heaviest."

  He looked at the girls.

  "Uh… so, for the areas. I volunteer to take the main combat zone, where the heavy fighting is."

  Lena sighed, looking at Lucia.

  "Ok, ok. Hiro and Lucia towards the thick of the battle. Cassian and I, we'll search the temple's surroundings."

  Cassian watched them walk away.

  The most dangerous place… she thought.

  Lena turned back to her once they were out of sight.

  "Alright, us then? Where do we start?"

  Cassian raised a hand, palm open.

  "Wait two seconds."

  Lena stopped, curious.

  "Searching randomly is useless," Cassian continued. A small, sly smile appeared on her lips. "I have a better plan."

  ---

  Mirya was advancing with a group of guards.

  They were approaching the temple.

  She suddenly noticed two people rushing out of the temple towards the main combat zone.

  She glanced at them.

  Their style of dress. Their equipment.

  Nothing matched Lapithathon.

  They came from outside.

  Mirya sent a portion of the guards after them.

  Then she stopped.

  There were supposed to be four demons in the temple. Those two had just left.

  The other two were surely still inside.

  She headed into the temple.

  It was always better than getting close to the demon who had ravaged part of the village.

  Upon entering the temple, she noticed something.

  A light mist was spreading along the floor.

  She frowned.

  Visibility was still decent, but a thin fog was beginning to settle, more concentrated at foot level.

  She continued forward.

  Further ahead, a passage led to the inner garden.

  It was blocked by a wall of ice.

  Mirya observed it for a few seconds.

  She sent guards to check the other entrances leading to the garden.

  One by one, the guards returned.

  "Blocked."

  "That one too."

  "All blocked."

  It was clearly suspicious.

  Something was happening in that garden that the demons wanted to hide.

  "Archon Mirya," a guard said. "The garden is completely isolated. Maybe we should look for another entrance… or go elsewhere."

  Mirya stared at him.

  "Are you stupid?"

  ---

  Cassian was sitting on the edge of the fountain, legs crossed, looking perfectly relaxed.

  Lena stood in front of her.

  "Alright, Cassian… explain it to me again. Why are we still standing here, in the middle of this garden, instead of moving?"

  She was wondering why she had even listened to Cassian.

  "Because it's going to attract enemies here," Cassian replied calmly. "Maybe even Haloy."

  She pointed at the fountain.

  "And there's a water source. That's a serious advantage for me."

  Lena looked at the fountain, then at Cassian.

  She was about to respond when…

  BOOM.

  An ice wall exploded.

  Mirya entered the inner garden, a dozen guards at her heels.

  Her orange eyes gleamed upon seeing the two strangers.

  Lena turned to Cassian.

  "And now?"

  Cassian looked at her, confused.

  "What?"

  Lena's eyes widened.

  "WHAT?!" she shouted. "THAT'S your plan?! To bring the enemy here and… and DO NOTHING?!"

  "I explained everything at the beginning!" Cassian defended herself.

  "You said you had a plan! A REAL plan! Not just the first part!"

  "There is no second part!"

  "EXCUSE ME?!"

  Lena took a deep breath.

  "I was stupid. Really stupid. I thought you had some brilliant tactical trick in mind…"

  "Well, at least the first part is a success, right?" Cassian said with a small smile.

  Lena stared at her.

  She felt like hitting her.

  All this time, Mirya was trying to interject into the conversation.

  But no one was listening to her.

  "I have found you demons…" Mirya began.

  Cassian and Lena continued as if she didn't exist.

  "…you must be eliminated…"

  No reaction from them.

  "…it's for the safety of Lapithathon…"

  The conversation even became more animated.

  Mirya clenched her fists so hard her knuckles turned white.

  The guards exchanged awkward glances.

  Mirya took a deep breath, changed her tone completely, and pointed a finger at Cassian.

  "You. That… creature with pointed ears. You're not even hiding. You openly admit you're not human."

  Cassian slowly turned her head towards her.

  Mirya crossed her arms, satisfied to have finally captured their attention.

  "And frankly, with an appearance like that… it's typical of seducer demons. You enchant people, you suck out their life energy, you leave them empty and smiling."

  Lena held back a laugh.

  A guard in the back timidly raised his hand.

  "Personally… if she's the one doing the sucking, I'm not saying no. She's seriously hot."

  A female guard beside him gave him a sharp elbow jab.

  "Shut up, we're here to kill them, not to get bamboozled."

  Mirya ignored them superbly and continued, scrutinizing Cassian from head to toe.

  "And these clothes… That's…"

  Cassian cut her off sharply, her gaze icy.

  "Watch what you're about to say about my clothes."

  Mirya raised an eyebrow.

  "Excuse me?"

  "You heard me perfectly. You're not qualified to criticize my outfit."

  A silence fell.

  Mirya narrowed her eyes.

  "And might I ask what qualifications I would need, exactly?"

  Cassian tilted her head, a dangerous smile on her lips.

  "To be able to stare directly at the sun for ten hours straight. Without blinking even once."

  Another silence, even heavier.

  Mirya opened her mouth.

  Then closed it.

  She lowered her eyes to the ground.

  "I… I apologize. I do not possess those qualifications."

  Then she jerked her head back up.

  "YOU REALLY THOUGHT I WAS GOING TO SAY THAT?!"

  She pointed an accusing finger at Cassian.

  "I HAVE NEVER SEEN A DEMON SO INFURIATING AND ARROGANT IN MY ENTIRE LIFE!"