“Hurry and pass me the box. No, not this one, the other one on the side” Suna felt a sigh escape her as she was scolded for the third time. They had been at it for some time now and Suna felt like she was messing things up.

She picked up a different-sized screwdriver for the third time and handed it to Nao and hoped that this was the right one. If she made a mistake again, Suna felt like she was going to cry.

“No, not this one either. Can you not tell the difference between them at all? Let me-” Nao picked up her gaze and looked Suna in the eyes. Suna felt moisture gather in them as she stared back at Nao.

It felt like an eternity before Nao sighed and gestured toward the toolbox in Suna’s hand.

“Hand it over and keep guard. It will be faster if I do this on my one” Suna was all too happy to comply. Her feelings were already in shambles due to the present scenario and Nao’s yelling did not help her.

Suna knew it was not Nao’s fault but the tense situation that was causing this friction between them. They were on a time limit and any time wasted was a life lost from their side.

Still, Suna felt like it was all too much. It made her miss her father and his familiar lap. Suna wanted to bury herself in it and be done with this world for a while.

‘No, don’t think about it. He gave you a mission and you need to see it through’ Suna reminded herself as she slapped her cheeks in motivation.

Her father had asked her to be a spy and that was what Suna was going to be. She would assist the oracle but also keep tabs on them. She would make her father proud of her achievement.

That had been the thought in Suna’s mind before she felt a gentle vibration emerging from behind her. It instantly made her turn around and stare at Nao with a worried expression.

“Is everything alright? Don’t tell me that you triggered it” Suna asked with a panicked tone. She looked around for a way out in case things did turn out bad but a forced laugh cut through her panic.

“If I had triggered it then we would all be dead by now. Don’t worry, I just suspended its function for about fifteen minutes max. We will hopefully be out by the time this thing starts again” Nao reassured and Suna did feel reassured for some reason.

Call her a fool, but a pretty face was enough to persuade her to abandon her fear and caution.

“So, what do we do next? Should we start heading toward the train terminal?” Suna asked as she gathered her wits. Nao looked like she had her attention diverted and Suna could vaguely make out her ears starting themselves to hear.

Suna sharpened her hearing as well but she only caught the end tail of the conversation.

“-here already. They asked us to enforce the lockdown on this station” Those words did not make much sense to Suna but they seemed to be making Nao tense.

Suan could see nails digging themselves in Nao’s palms as she clenched them tight. Her expression looked spooked as well and it scared Suna.

What had caused the calm and collected demoness to make a face like this? Suna wanted to know but she did not feel ready to know it just yet.

“We need to take a detour. I don’t think Maria would have waited for us on the train platform. There is a bridge here that passes above the train route, right? Let’s head there” Suna had no idea what Nao was planning.

But Nao looked to be the only one who had a plan amongst then both of them. Suna decided to take her words for it and run after her.

They arrived on the bridge but Suna saw nothing for miles. Whatever Nao was waiting for, she was either too early or too late.

“Wow, fancy seeing you here! I thought you would have left by now” Suna felt the magic before she heard the voice. Her body bowed at the pressure and sweat broke out on her skin.

The voice felt like power itself and it made the demon part of Suna afraid to even look at her. Even Nao looked like she could not stand under the pressure.

“You did follow us along and you even brought a friend along. I feel so honored” Nao sounded anything but honored. Her eyes held fire and Suna felt something inside her sway.

Nao looked so cool at that moment and Suna was all but mortal. That was too attractive for her not to fall for the other.

“My friend here has her reasons, just like you. However, unlike her, you will not live for long. Not if you did not tell me where the oracle is. She is with you right?” Princess Neah asked as she stepped forward.

And holy crap, it was the princess. Suna could recognize her facial presence but she seemed to not have a good relationship with Nao.

The guard at her side took a step forward but stopped as soon as the princess raised her hand. Things were happening just a tad bit too fast for Suna to follow.

“Maria is not with me. I made sure she made it out of here before you arrived. You won’t catch her now” Nao replied with a calm voice and it seemed to be pissing the princess off.

The princess’s face was like a mild-mannered mask. Well practiced and not changing even at the obvious provocation. But her eyes shined with rage and they scared Suna. She did not want those eyes to look at her.

She wanted to hide away and bury her existence.

“Oh, is that so? Is she telling the truth, Simon’s guard? Lie and I will make sure your guild doesn't make it out alive. Tell the truth and I will let them all live. This is my promise to you” The princess proposed and Suna felt herself in a bind.

On one hand, her father had made her promise to help the oracle out and to not let them find out about her mission. Suna had to act loyal to them and that meant not telling the truth.historical

But on the other hand, it was her family that was at risk if she lied. She could not do that to her father as well.

“Get ready to jump” Nao whispered and Suna braced herself. Nao pushed them both and felt the magic build in the princess’s hand. It was too potent and too harsh to survive.

It would not need to hit to cause massive damage and Suna felt like this was the end.

“NEAH, DON’T YOU DARE. I WILL NEVER FORGIVE YOU IF YOU ATTACKED NOW!” the shout came from down below and then Suna felt herself collide with something hard.

The magic attack never came her way.