The chill in the underground cellar was constricting. Nirvana paced around the small oval shaped room with a hurried look on her face.

She held her breath, avoiding the chemical smell in the air as she thought. The cellar was the best place to hide herself from Freya. The chemical hidden here also helped her hide her trail.

And yet they knew.

Nirvana smelt Faust flying across the roof of this very building. She sensed Zen and the others later. They were looking for her.

And even though she was the only one that knew about this cellar, she still worried. If she went forward with her plan everyone would know it was her.

In the middle of the room, tied to a chair, Amelia frantically followed Nirvana’s pacing, screaming curses through the cloth stuff in her mouth. Nirvana eyed the girl once and she shrunk back. The glow of those crimson eyes promised carnage.

Nirvana watched Amelia even as she turn away. So much trouble caused by one. Her fangs extended with a stinging pain. The burning pain in her throat increased.

Human blood. I need human blood.

Monsters and animals could temporarily stave the hunger, but it always came back so quickly. It was like they were a fire in her belly trying to crawl up her throat.

She wanted it to be Faust. She wanted him to give himself to her. But now Nirvana saw that she was just foolish.

No matter how many looks she shared with Faust, how many times they smiled together in the past, all of that had meant nothing. It wasn’t love at first sight. Just coincidence. She had loved him for so long. But to him, she was just a tool.

A tool to get to her group which he could use for his trip into the Gate. A tool to engage him in conversation until Amelia came. Someone invisible in his beautiful world.

Anger made Nirvana so cold. Her clothes felt rough. She ripped off the military jacket and threw it across the room violently. A minute later, she walked back to it and put it on, carefully dusting it off.

"I still have to kill her," Nirvana whispered. There was no going back. Amelia would tell Faust what happened.

Nirvana felt irritated by her mind. She kept imagining scenarios where letting Amelia go made Faust like her. Or explaining to Amelia why she did all this would make them friends, and then Amelia would let her have Faust.

She promised herself she would no longer be delusional. Life wasn’t a movie. Love doesn’t just happen. Killing Amelia without implicating herself was the only way.

She looked up at the dusty, stone roof of the cellar and smiled. A sudden collapse, then they find Amelia’s body. Meanwhile, she’s uses her transformation skill to escape somewhere far but full of people.

Back to the Town Hall’s general area might be good. There’s a whole party happening in the square; no one could say for sure that i wasn’t there the whole time.

After that....

Maybe it was time to give up. It had been almost ten years since she first met Faust in that hospital. Nirvana chuckled. Ten years was a long time to realise he cared.

She looked for support beams, cracking them with her bare palms. It was strange how strong she was now. Her hands felts like steel. But her heart felt like slowing breaking glass.

Amelia somehow managed to get the cloth out of her mouth. Her voice rang out frantically. "Oi! Wait! What the hell did i even do to you?!"

Nirvana snapped another support beam casually and turned to Amelia. Anger made her face a cold and cruel thing.

"You remember me. Take a guess."

"Faust?"

Nirvana laughed dryly. "This is a lot easier when we dont pretend, isn’t it?"

"Okay, okay, sorry. But I-i don’t even like him," Amelia said. The small way her voice cracked, even the way her eye shook, told Nirvana it was a lie.

She was too tired to even care. "Say whatever you like, but you have to die."

"I swear on my fucking life, I won’t tell anyone what happened!" Amelia promised, tears falling from her eyes now.

Another piece of Nirvana’s heart broke. She hated how beautiful Amelia was. How nice and friendly she looked. There was nothing Nirvana wouldn’t give to have Liora sitting here instead. 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

Nirvana turned away. "I’m sorry."

She opened the cellar window and walked to the last three support beams. The room was creaking and shaking already. All she had to do was—

KNOCK KNOCK

Both of them froze. Nirvana felt like throwing up immediately. She stilled her shaking hands and pulled out the sword Faust had given her. Chipped and dented, the blade was reaching its limit. Maybe when it broke she would be free from Faust.

KNOCK KNOCK

She pointed the sword at Amelia in a dead silent threat, before walking to the door. She cleared her throat.

"Hello?"

"Uh... hi. Daniel sent me to get more booze."

Nirvana immediately smelt Todd’s blood through the door. What a terrible time for the boy to come. He would have to die with Amelia.

But an overwhelming scent of alcohol made her wrinkle her nose. Did he drink an entire gallon? Why does his blood smell like that?

She took a step back and opened the door, hiding the sword behind her back, and putting on a kind smile.

Todd was about her height, maybe a bit shorter. His black hair reminded her of seaweed, covering most of his face.

"Come in."

But Todd didn’t move. His hair part like a dark sea revealing clear grey eyes with no sign of intoxication. He was sober. But then why...

"It’s an Iron-Grade skill called Blending In," Todd explained. "Also, even though he said I shouldn’t, I just wanted to say I’m sorry."

Nirvana’s jaw felt in confusion. "What—"

Something ripped her off her feet. The world blurred. Wind roared in her air. She crashed into the other end of the cellar with a resounding crash. One of the wooden barrel cracked open and a corrosive fluid poured onto the ground and her left hand.

Nirvana hissed, jumping away. Her sword was still in hand. She barely felt the massive crash into the wall; Constitution was the only attribute competing with her Spirit.

Her eyes widened. A chill ran down her spine as Faust stepped into her vision. He had freed Amelia, who was escaping with Todd.

"Nirvana," His voice was soft, almost gentle. Yet everything about him screamed danger. "We need to talk."