The heavy wooden wheels of the carriage clattered rhythmically against the stone streets, vibrating right through the plush leather seats as we made our way toward the central Bureau. I sat in the corner, pulling my dark winter hood low over my face to completely shield my pale skin from the bright, piercing sunlight reflecting off the melting snow outside.
Leaving the house had been a trip. I had left little Cliff fast asleep in his cozy wooden crib, his tiny hybrid wings safely tucked under the blankets. Evelyn was staying behind to handle the tavern work and keep an eye on my boy, so I knew he was in good hands. Still, the sudden shift from peaceful lullabies back to the rigid reality of a vanguard officer was giving me a slight case of whiplash.
Captain Friedrich sat directly across from me, his polished armor clinking softly with every bump in the road. He looked at me through the shadows of my hood, his usual stiff, commanding posture softening with a hint of genuine respect.
"Eirene, thanks for joining and coming back to service," Friedrich said, his deep baritone voice smooth over the rumble of the carriage. "Honestly, sorry for interrupting your time with your child. It's been a rough time around the sectors after your absence. The tactical chain of command just isn't the same without your processing speed."
I leaned my head back against the carriage wall, letting out a lazy, sharp-fanged chuckle that completely bypassed his formal captain status.
"No worries, Friedrich. I'll be likely to help you out," I replied, my voice sliding back into its signature, unbothered deadpan. I casually stretched my arms, my massive crimson blood wings giving a subtle, tense twitch beneath my cloak. "Besides, between you and me, I've been practically craving blood for almost a year now because of that pregnancy lockdown. My vanguard instincts are screaming for a good level-grind. Anyways... why exactly did you call me back so urgently? What kind of high-tier mess did you guys manage to pull while I was on diaper duty?"
Friedrich let out a heavy sigh, his expression darkening as he leaned forward, resting his gauntlets on his knees.
"Well, after your maternity leave months ago, the world has changed," he began, his tone turning grim as he gave me the quick, necessary recap.
As we both knew, humans and demons have had a horribly strained relationship, having been locked in a brutal war for hundreds of years. Humans have the numbers, but a single demon's individual strength far surpasses most humans, which balanced out the field and kept both sides locked in a massive stalemate. To break that balance, the demons had made a pact century after century with humans who sold their souls—the Immoral Knights. Those corrupt bastards were the key to the demons' strategy.
"But ever since you demolished the Immoral Knights and took out their leader before your leave," Friedrich continued, looking at me with a mix of awe and grim reality, "the demons had no choice but to do things the old-fashioned way. Without their human puppets, the demons retaliated with pure, raw force. They've officially broken the stalemate and conquered a small portion of land right here in Andromeda."
I adjusted my hood, my single jade-green eye narrowing in the shadows as my crimson blood wings gave a sharp, rigid twitch under my cloak.
"Huh. So because I broke their favorite toy, the monsters decided to actually get off their asses and launch a conventional crusade," I said, a dangerous, sharp-fanged grin pulling at my lips as my vanguard processing speed began calculating the battlefield metrics. "They took a piece of our map while I was busy nursing. Sounds like they're begging for a massive counter-raid. So, Captain, where exactly on the grid did these bastards set up their new base camp?"
Friedrich leaned his head back against the carriage wall, the polished steel of his collar catching the dim light inside the compartment. "Well, the Luminous Knights will handle the frontline deployment. A completely different task is being assigned to you."
The carriage jolted slightly as the wheels rolled past the heavy security checkpoints, officially entering the high-clearance zone of the 7th district. Through the small gap in my hood, I watched the massive, pristine marble structures of the upper tier loom into view.
"What task exactly?" I asked, my voice dropping into a sharp, calculating deadpan as my vanguard mind began sorting through potential mission parameters.
Friedrich looked at me dead in the eye. "Remember the summoning ritual the Pope discussed with you last year?"
A sudden spark of recognition flared in my single jade-green eye. *The forbidden dimensional summoning.* My mind flashed back to my encounter with Pope Corneas inside the grand arches of the Caria Cathedral before my pregnancy lockdown. The elderly, white-and-gold clad leader of the Church of Goddess Elpis had laid out the desperate, last-resort plan: an intricate, forbidden ritual designed to pierce the veil of existence and pull a 'savior' straight from another world—likely Earth—complete with god-tier cheat skills directly optimized by the Goddess to wipe out apocalyptic threats. And as a newly appointed Luminous Knight powerhouse, I had been earmarked to stand guard the moment that circle blew wide open.
"Oh, the summoning ritual. A person from another world will go here," I murmured, a faint, highly amused smirk tugging at my fangs beneath my hood. Being a reincarnator myself, the irony was never lost on me. "Yeah, I remember that. Don't tell me the old man is finally ready to press the start button on his cheat-hero spawner?"
"I wish it were that simple," Friedrich said, his tone growing increasingly grave as the carriage slowed down near the district plaza. "The summoning circle produces a massive, cataclysmic amount of mana just to prime the sequence, which means there are certain delays currently happening right now. It's impossible to hide that kind of energy signature."
He paused, staring out the frost-rimed window before looking back at me. "After you completely demolished the Immoral Knights and executed their leader, the demon commanders panicked. They saw our tactical trajectory, realized the summoning ritual was an existential threat to their crusade, and immediately changed their strategy. The demons have actively begun hunting our high-ranking mages across the continent. They're systematically assassinating the circle's stabilizers so that the savior's arrival will be delayed even more—or stopped entirely."
The carriage slowed down to a smooth halt as we reached the massive, heavily fortified checkpoint of the 8th district. Standing guard by the iron gate was Damien, the district gatekeeper, clad in pristine silver armor. He stepped forward to inspect the vehicle, but the moment he saw Friedrich's recognizable crest through the window, he snapped a quick salute.
"Greetings, Captain!" Damien said efficiently. Then, his eyes drifted over to my cloaked figure sitting in the shadows. His jaw dropped slightly. "Wait... Eirene? Why are you here? I thought you were on long-term medical leave for—"
Since my heavy dark cloak was completely hiding my massive crimson wings and my newly shifted post-pregnancy figure, I didn't feel like giving the whole neighborhood a medical update. I let out a lazy, flat chuckle from beneath my hood. "Relax, Damien. Just a routine check-in. The Bureau misses my charming personality."
Because Friedrich was a high-ranking official on urgent business, Damien didn't dare ask for status cards or tolls. He quickly signaled his men, and the heavy iron gates ground open, allowing our carriage to roll straight through into the heart of the Bureau's main compound.
The carriage finally pulled to a complete stop inside the shaded courtyard of the command headquarters. I immediately pulled my cloak tighter around my shoulders, tucking the fabric securely around my pale skin to ensure the bright afternoon sunlight couldn't burn or expose me.
Friedrich stepped out of the carriage first, his armor clinking as his boots hit the stone ground. He turned back, his sharp eyes locking onto me under my hood. "Follow me."
"Right behind you, Captain," I replied, stepping down into the shadows of the awning, my vanguard reflexes fully waking up as the familiar scent of iron, polished weapons, and military paperwork filled the air.
We walked briskly through the grand, high-ceilinged stone corridors of the Bureau, bypassing the lower-ranking scouts and knights who gave us wide berths. Once we reached a secure, private briefing hallway, Friedrich slowed his pace, turning his head slightly toward me.
"Now, your task is to hunt the demon who is responsible for these targeted attacks," Friedrich explained, his voice low and dead serious. "Fewer and fewer high-ranking mages are left alive in the city, Eirene. If we lose any more of them, the Caria Cathedral won't have the casting power to stabilize the savior's summoning circle at all. We need this assassin neutralized before the ritual line is permanently broken."
The carriage slowed down to a smooth halt as we reached the massive, heavily fortified checkpoint of the 8th district. Standing guard by the iron gate was Damien, the district gatekeeper, clad in pristine silver armor. He stepped forward to inspect the vehicle, but the moment he saw Friedrich's recognizable crest through the window, he snapped a quick salute.
"Greetings, Captain!" Damien said efficiently. Then, his eyes drifted over to my cloaked figure sitting in the shadows. His jaw dropped slightly. "Wait... Eirene? Why are you here? I thought you were on long-term medical leave for—"
Since my heavy dark cloak was completely hiding my massive crimson wings and my newly shifted post-pregnancy figure, I didn't feel like giving the whole neighborhood a medical update. I let out a lazy, flat chuckle from beneath my hood. "Relax, Damien. Just a routine check-in. The Bureau misses my charming personality."
Because Friedrich was a high-ranking official on urgent business, Damien didn't dare ask for status cards or tolls. He quickly signaled his men, and the heavy iron gates ground open, allowing our carriage to roll straight through into the heart of the Bureau's main compound.
The carriage finally pulled to a complete stop inside the shaded courtyard of the command headquarters. I immediately pulled my cloak tighter around my shoulders, tucking the fabric securely around my pale skin to ensure the bright afternoon sunlight couldn't burn or expose me.
Friedrich stepped out of the carriage first, his armor clinking as his boots hit the stone ground. He turned back, his sharp eyes locking onto me under my hood. "Follow me."
"Right behind you, Captain," I replied, stepping down into the shadows of the awning, my vanguard reflexes fully waking up as the familiar scent of iron, polished weapons, and military paperwork filled the air.
We walked briskly through the grand, high-ceilinged stone corridors of the Bureau, bypassing the lower-ranking scouts and knights who gave us wide berths. Once we reached a secure, private briefing hallway, Friedrich slowed his pace, turning his head slightly toward me.
"Now, your task is to hunt the demon who is responsible for these targeted attacks," Friedrich explained, his voice low and dead serious. "Fewer and fewer high-ranking mages are left alive in the city, Eirene. If we lose any more of them, the Caria Cathedral won't have the casting power to stabilize the savior's summoning circle at all. We need this assassin neutralized before the ritual line is permanently broken."
"Great. Well, where is the demon?" I asked, my single jade-green eye scanning the hallway as we walked, my tactical mindset completely taking over.
We rounded a corner and arrived at the grand, high-ceilinged room of the Bureau registrar. To my absolute surprise, standing behind the heavy mahogany counter was a very familiar face. It was Sydney Popov.
We were currently standing in the Capital Knights Bureau Association (CKBA) headquarters, and Sydney had always belonged to the Luminous Knights Bureau Association (LKBA), our usual sister building. I had no idea she had been redirected or temporarily reassigned over to this high-clearance facility. The moment we walked in, Sydney looked up from a massive stack of paperwork. Her eyes instantly locked onto me. She froze, her mouth dropping open in a mix of utter shock and profound bewilderment as she stared at my heavily cloaked figure.
"Wait... Eirene?!" Sydney stammered, her pen slipping from her fingers and clattering onto the desk. She frantically gestured toward my torso, completely bypassing all formal greetings. "Your belly... it's gone! The giant bump is just... gone?! Did you—is the baby—?"
I let out a lazy, sharp-fanged chuckle from beneath the shadows of my hood, casually leaning against the counter. "Relax, Sydney. The passenger officially checked out two months ago. He's back home sleeping in his crib. I'm just back on the clock."
Sydney let out a long, breathless sigh of pure relief, clutching her chest.
"Oh, thank goodness... I mean, congratulations! But holy gods, you look exactly the same... flat deadpan and terrifying as always."
Before she could spiral into more questions, Captain Friedrich stepped up beside me, his heavy gauntlet resting on the counter as he brought the conversation straight back to the mission metrics.
"Well, Sydney, do you have the demon's whereabouts yet?"