Selyne planted her feet then puffed out her chest and rolled up her uniform sleeves in a gesture she clearly thought was intimidating. She took a deep and a steadying breath, steeling herself for the confrontation then marched right up to Astrid.

"Astrid!" she declared, her voice was a little shaky but full of a fierce protective conviction. "Listen to me, and listen well. Azrael will be in your team for the time being. If you dare to do anything to him, if you even think about plotting anything against him, it won't be good for you. Understand?"

She tried her best to look menacing, to project an aura of power she definitely did not possess.

Aria covered her mouth with a delicate hand, her shoulders shaking silently with suppressed laughter. Silas didn't even bother to hide his amusement; he let out a loud, barking laugh that drew stares from nearby students.

Astrid just stared at Selyne, her golden-yellow eyes completely blankas if she were looking at a strange and a noisy insect. She stepped forward. Instantly, Azrael and Selyne tensed, their postures becoming attentive and defensive.

'Great,' Azrael thought, his own body aching in anticipation of another fight he didn't want. 'I'm going to beg my sister to change my class. She can pull some strings again. Well, that's if I even survive today.'

Astrid stopped right in front of Selyne. She took a long drag from her cigarette her expression was unreadable. Then, with a casual air of complete and utter contempt, she exhaled a perfect smoke ring right in Selyne's face.

Then, without another word, she turned and started walking away.

"Wait! I'm not done yet!" Selyne shouted, coughing and waving the smoke away from her face. "Hear me first!"

She took a breath, her mind clearly scrambling for a new strategy. "And Azrael… he just sticks to me! I don't know him! He's just a nobody to me! I don't care about him at all! So if you do anything to him, it's not like you're harming me!"

She thought she was being clever, a master strategist changing the terms of their relationship to trick her opponent.

She continued her brilliant performance. "Yes, we live together due to certain circumstances, and… yet, I like being with him, even if he is annoying. And yet he is a really good and stupid guy, but… but I don't like him at all!"

She glanced at Azrael, a flicker of panic in her eyes as she realized she might have gone overboard and what Azrael would be thinking about her now.

'Well, not like I hate him,' she thought, feeling a surge of pride in her own genius. She had hit two targets with one bow. She had warned Astrid and also made it crystal clear she had no hate for Azrael. Perfect.

But now, Selyne's real plan was painfully clear to everyone.

Astrid paused, looked back over her shoulder, and gave a slow, amused smile before walking off without another word. The message was clear: she was not worth the effort.

Aria finally spoke, her voice laced with a weary finality that cut through the awkward silence. "That's done, then. So, Azrael, Aelira, take Astrid with you and go to Kerua village. We will stay here in Wuhan."

A memory kicked in for Azrael, a scene from the manga flashing in his mind with perfect clarity. He knew what would happen. The first wave of orcs, the aggressive scouts, would roam around Kerua village. Wuhan village was safe, for now. The quest was supposed to begin in Kerua, with the other team joining later.

He wasn't about to walk into a predictable death trap.

"No way!" he shouted, his voice echoing in the quiet village. "We are not following your every command! I want to stay right here! No, not want. I will be staying here!"

Aria's gaze turned heavy, her patience wearing thin. "Don't act childish, Azrael. I can't take you with us. You argue about everything."

"You're the one who put me in this mess with these arrogant ones in the first place!" he shot back, his frustration boiling over.

"What did you say?" Aelira's voice was a low and dangerous from behind him, each word dripping with venom.

He was a gone case. His emotions were speaking for him now, all logic and self-preservation forgotten. "You heard what I said! I'm stuck with fuckers like you and that smoking catgirl who is unpredictable and can sabotage the team in any instance!"

Aria and Silas just looked at him, their expressions a mixture of shock and pity. He was done for.

Azrael realized it too late. His emotions had fucked him up again.

Aelira's hands clenched into fists, her knuckles turning white, but she controlled her anger, knowing that a public fight here would only lead to more complications.

Aria sighed, a sound of pure exasperation. "Very well, Azrael. I accept your request. Your team can stay in this village. We will move to Kerua village."

She turned and walked away. Silas gave Azrael one last look that clearly said, 'You are so, so done.'

"Umm… Azrael, will you be okay?" Selyne asked, her face full of a sad, worried concern.

He didn't answer. He just stared after the departing group, the weight of his own stupid decision crashing down on him.

They left.

Azrael was left alone with Aelira. He could see her face was still filled with a cold, simmering anger.

He decided to try and defuse the situation. He put on his most charming smile and bowed slightly. "Princess," he said in a ridiculously sweet voice, "I will take my leave. If you need me, you can find me in the inn where we put our luggage. No, if you need me, just call my name. I will come running."

Aelira took it as pure sarcasm. It was a mockery.

She closed her fist, turned on her heel, and stormed away, slamming the door of the inn behind her with a loud bang.

Azrael sighed. 'Cool. I think Selyne and I would be the greatest duo to attract our own death flags. I cannot blame her alone for this.'

He leaned against a post, his mind a storm. 'Good. Now two very powerful people want me dead. And the mission itself is a death sentence. Very assuring.'

Night fell.

They were on patrol.

Well, only Azrael was patrolling. Behind him, Aelira stood like a statue, her arms crossed, her gaze fixed on the dark forest. Astrid was nowhere to be seen.

Azrael walked the edge of the village, his hand on his sword, every sense on high alert. The forest was a wall of black, the only sound the chirping of crickets.

'Wait, Astrid is up there,' he thought, glancing up into the branches of a massive tree. He could just make out her silhouette, perched on a thick branch, the faint orange glow of her cigarette the only sign she was there.

Suddenly, a sound. A footstep. A twig snapping in the darkness just beyond the village edges.

Azrael became instantly attentive. Aelira's posture straightened. From the tree, Astrid jumped down, landing silently on her feet like a predator.

Azrael looked at his team, then gave a sharp, decisive nod, as if telling them to follow his lead. He was acting like they were a perfect, coordinated team that followed his every order. In reality, they were a dysfunctional disaster waiting to happen.

He led the way, moving silently into the trees. He pushed a large leaf aside and saw it.

An orc. It was huge, its body a mass of thick, green muscle. It was alone, gathering firewood, its back to them.

He looked back at Aelira and Astrid, then nodded again, a clear signal: 'We should attack it.' He wanted to steal the orc's Aether for himself. He would use them both to do it.

Astrid and Aelira looked at him then at each other. They both smiled, a shared look of amusement and contempt passing between them. Then, they both nodded back at him.

Azrael was happy. He thought, 'Everything's going fine. Both of you fools come on now. Farm for me.'

He waited for the perfect moment, when the orc turned its back completely.

He signaled to them, holding up three fingers, his voice a low whisper. "On my count. Three…"

He turned his own back to them, his eyes locked on the orc.

"Two… One…"

"Now!" he shouted, and rushed forward, drawing one of his swords, his gauntlet gleaming in the moonlight.

He was about to strike, to land the first, decisive blow. But he realized something was wrong. There was a deafening silence behind him. There were no footsteps.

He skidded to a halt midway to the orc and looked back. There was no one there. They had left. They had abandoned him.

Then, he heard a low grunt to his right. He turned.

More than ten orcs were there, collecting wood, their small, beady eyes all fixed on him.

He muttered two words, his voice a cracked whisper of pure, undiluted despair.

"Those bitches."

'I was stupid. Mom, you were absolutely right. Never, ever believe in girls.'

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