"Euuuuggghhhh!"

Lancet and his two Heroines turned to Spectra who had a hand covering her mouth as she yawned theatrically.

"Oh what a bore. I didn’t know humans had become so rudimentary and impudent. To think they couldn’t even thank me for releasing that Gloom Domain and saving their lives."

Astensia looked at the Demon Binder with a blonde brow perked mistrustfully. "Humans? Are you not one as well?"

Spectra eyed her. "Dear knightess, I have transcended humanity. I am the Demoness."

Thor, getting angrier the more she heard Spectra speak, turned again to face her. "That means you’re an agent of the Second World. You’re the enemy."

Spectra smirked at Thor’s anger. "What did you say before, thunderbird? A cursed witch or a tyrant empress? Maybe I am both."

Thor’s brows creased more with lividity.

Astensia looked over at Lancet. "Why is she here? The students told me about her, she’s a villainess. A powerful one who enslaved thousands of Second World atrocities."

Spectra’s eyes widened with offense. "Enslaved?!"

"Why would you ask a villainess like her for help?" Astensia asked her master. "Why would you make her your Summon?"

Lancet gazed at Astensia for a while, then answered as truthfully as he could without spilling the beans. "Because I needed her for the plans that I came up with. And when I constructed my ladder and climbed to the past, she was the one I could reach."

He shrugged. "She seemed powerful enough so I chose her. Besides, she’s not that evil."

"She just called herself a Demoness," Astensia loudly pointed out.

Lancet pouted in thought. "Fair point. But maybe it’s just a nickname."

"No," Spectra outright said. "I can reveal my horns if you want to see."

"You’re not helping, Spectra."

The Villainess smiled enticingly. "Ooh. A snappy, no-nonsense master."

Thor, who was yet to look away, squinted her silver-blue eyes at her. "You don’t get to call him that yet."

"Okay..." Lancet pulled his blanket away and raised his leg over the edge of the hospital bed. "Can we all take a chill pill?"

"I am interested," Spectra said, still in a glaring contest with Thor. "What is that?"

Lancet raised a brow. "What’s what?"

Spectra finally looked away from Thor, sighing as her eyes met Lancet’s. "A chill pill."

Lancet’s entire face deflated. "Are you fucking kidding me?" he whispered.

Astensia stepped towards him. "Let us forget about taking anything and focus on her. What do we do with her?"

Lancet tilted his head. "What do you mean?"

"She’s a villainess," Thor stated bluntly. "So the obvious remedy here is to kill her. Like we do all evils from Gehenna."

Spectra smirked cutely at Thor’s words. "Try it you can, thunderbird."

They stepped closer to each other, their breasts inches apart and their eyes laser focused on the other’s.

"Guys!" Lancet tried to stop them.

"Thor’s taking it too far," Astensia said, used to the Valkyrie’s antics. "The villainess did help us in Hebthej but it’s obvious it was for some kind of material gain. Master, a creature driven solely by self-interest will eventually turn on you when your interests no longer align"

"Alright STOP!"

All the women halted what they were doing and turned to Lancet.

Lancet looked at his Knight, then at the fuming Valkyrie, and finally at the highly entertained Mother of Demons.

"I know what I’m doing," he said firmly. "I made a deal with her. Spectra helped me take down the second Demon Head when no one else could..."

Thor’s eyes softened immediately.

"... and in return, I am going to help her."

He looked at Spectra with a deadpan reaction. "But that doesn’t mean I trust her blindly."

Spectra smiled sweetly.

"But I don’t really want to deal with this headache right now, okay?" he pleaded. "I just woke up and I don’t know how many days I’ve been out."

"No big deal," Spectra shrugged. "Only four."

"Four!" Lancet’s eyes widened. "How the hell are you guys even still anchored? I thought my Grace would have run out by now especially since I got infested."

"It did but Nurse Hallow helped," Astensia said promptly, stepping closer to his bedside. "She did a Grace transfusion from volunteer Summoners. It replenished your channels and maintained our tethers so we could remain by your side."

Lancet stared at Astensia for a while, flabbergasted. "Students really volunteered?"

Astensia smiled. "You’ll be surprised by the numbers. Your classmates were all keen on helping when they found out what you did."

Lancet let his head fall back against the pillow, staring at the ceiling. "I’m exhausted. My chest feels like a hollowed-out cavern. Thanks so much for everything guys, but I have to think now so I am sending you back to Summon Space."

Thor and Spectra eyed each other. Lancet noticed.

"And hey, I am begging you. No, I’m pleading really, don’t fight in the Summon Space. You might end up shattering my soul from the inside out."

Thor’s jaws tightened, but to fight her anger, she sighed. "I normally would have combatted that order but I will be lenient today, Master Lancet. The villainess and I will maintain decorum."

Spectra giggled. "I can’t make promises, young Summoner. But I suppose I can play nice... for now."

Lancet sighed deeply. "That’s all I’m asking for."

"Master," Astensia said, her voice unusually small before she cleared her throat. "May I... may I stay? Just for a while? I want to speak with you about something"

Lancet turned to her, his brows shooting up curiously. She looked rigid, uncharacteristically so, almost like she was nervous.

"Of course. Uhm." He glanced at his other Summons . "Thor, Spectra. I’ll see you two later."

The Summons regarded him with their eyes as thunder and a cloud of red smoke took them away into his Summon Space.

Instantly, the room was emphatically silent. Lancet sat still for a while, gazing at where Spectra and Thor had been before slowly turning his eyes to Astensia.

She looked really perturbed. Yeah, she hadn’t slept at all like she said but this was just more than that. Her azure eyes, normally so piercing and resolute, were clouded with a deep, turbulent distress. Lancet could clearly see the brave, knightly facade she always wore like a second set of armor cracking.

"So..." he started, adjusting himself on the bed. For some reason, he felt really nervous. "...What did you want to talk to me about, Astensia?"

Astensia remained standing beside his bed for a while, staring down at his bandaged chest. Then, she raised her head, meeting his eyes before she finally spoke.

"Do you know how worried I was?" she whispered.