Alina looked at Remilia, who gave a dignified nod, signaling that she could speak freely. The gentle Elafia took a breath and began to explain that, during this period, people had been mysteriously disappearing in the dense forest to the west of the mobile module. The Reunion forces had searched the area several times but had found absolutely no trace of the missing individuals.
During her own investigation, Alina had discovered traces that pointed toward the presence of Blood Demons. Knowing the nature of the Scarlet sisters, she wanted to commission Flandre and Remilia to check the situation.
Upon hearing Alina's words, Remilia agreed without hesitation. She was deeply interested in the creatures known locally as Blood Demons. After all, both she and little Flandre were considered vampires, which made them, by Terra's logic, part of that same race.
However, through her research, Remilia had found the classification system of this world quite strange. Whether it was Blood Demons or others, they all fell under a collective name—Sarkaz. The Blood Demons were merely one of many branches. Patchouli had learned from various books that the Sarkaz were composed of a messy collection of diverse lineages, including the Nachzehrer, Banshees, Liches, and even Buldrokkas'tee's own Wendigo bloodline.
At first, Remilia had assumed Sarkaz was the name of a country, but looking at the map of Terra, she found no such nation. little Flandre had mentioned that the only mobile city the Sarkaz currently claimed was Kazdel. The outside world knew very little about the inner workings of the Sarkaz, and Remilia was careful not to ask Buldrokkas'tee too many questions, fearing she might reveal her ignorance of their "own" kind.
Therefore, the news of a Blood Demon appearing nearby was an opportunity she would not pass up. If she could catch the target and interrogate them, she could gain the information they lacked about the Sarkaz and their history. To Remilia, such a task seemed trivial.
Seeing Remilia agree, Alina breathed a sigh of relief and hurriedly asked when they planned to depart.
"Naturally, the sooner the better!" Remilia declared. She patted little Flandre on the shoulder, indicating they would set off immediately.
"Izayoi."
Remilia turned her head slightly. In a spot that had been empty just a moment prior, Sakuya Izayoi appeared with her usual silent precision.
"Eldest Miss!"
"little Flandre and I can handle this matter ourselves. You are responsible for staying here and taking good care of Patchy," Remilia instructed.
Sakuya Izayoi hesitated, her eyes flickering with a moment of doubt. "But...?"
"Do you truly think we sisters cannot handle such a simple matter?" A dangerous, sharp look appeared in Remilia's eyes, her aura flaring slightly.
"Of course not. Eldest Miss, I understand!" Sakuya lowered her head immediately, stepping back into the shadows.
After watching her head maid leave, Remilia took hold of Flandre's hand. The two of them flew up directly in front of the gathered onlookers, soaring toward the western horizon. Alina had intended to mention that she had gathered some clues and intelligence at her office, but Remilia had bypassed the offer, stating that if the target was a Blood Demon, the two of them would find a way to locate them regardless of human clues. Alina could only nod and wish them a successful journey.
Once they had left the mobile module behind, Flandre looked at her sister in confusion. Why had she turned down the intelligence? Even if it wasn't perfect, it would have saved them from searching blindly.
Remilia pinched Flandre's cheek with a playful smile. "Is it possible that little Flandre doesn't want to accompany her sister to play outside for a while?"
Flandre's eyes lit up instantly. "Of course I'm willing!" She began to fly happily in circles around Remilia, her wings flapping with excitement.
Traveling by air, it took them less than an hour to reach the forest. If they had walked, the journey would have taken more than half a day due to the need to bypass a deep valley. Once they arrived, the two weren't just playing; they were investigating while they soared through the canopy.
The forest was massive. Remilia estimated that for an ordinary person—even one who could fly—finding a single Blood Demon here would be like looking for a needle in a haystack. But she was the mistress of the Scarlet Devil Mansion, the one who possessed the Ability to Manipulate Fate. What was a struggle for others was no trouble for her. Luck was not a factor when fate was already in her hands.
After searching for only a short while, Remilia sensed a disturbance. Under her guidance, the two sisters flew toward a specific location. After landing, they walked toward a small thicket of thorns where Remilia had noticed something unusual.
Flandre reached out and, with a casual display of her monstrous strength, tore open the patch of thorns. The sharp, jagged thorns looked formidable, but they didn't leave a single scratch on her delicate skin. Remilia, however, frowned at the sight.
To her, it was too inelegant—entirely unladylike. She worried about her younger sister's habit of using her bare hands to tear things apart. It was a movement too uncivilized and full of potential gore. She remembered how Flandre used to like swinging a giant flaming sword around; while that had also given Remilia a headache, it was at least a weapon. Now that she had abandoned her weapon for raw strength, Remilia felt a communication was necessary to encourage her to at least pick up the sword more often. Neither was truly "ladylike," but at least the sword wouldn't result in blood splattering all over her dress.
By this time, Flandre had already found a clue within the thorns—a patch of dark, dried blood that looked several days old. She pulled out a twig coated in the substance and held it up proudly. Remilia looked at her sister, who was now covered in burrs and forest seeds, and sighed again.
"Is it really fun to get yourself all dirty like this?"
"Isn't it fun?" Flandre asked, genuinely puzzled.
"Forget it, give me the branch!" Remilia reached out and took the evidence, unwilling to argue logic with her simple-minded sister.
The two took to the air once more. Remilia muttered a series of incantations while holding the branch, then tossed it into the sky. The branch spun in the air like a headless fly for a moment before suddenly locking onto a scent and charging southward. They followed closely behind.
Half an hour later, they arrived at the edge of a village. Calling it "abandoned" wasn't quite right. Everyone in the village was dead, and they hadn't been dead for long. The wooden stick spinning in place in the air told them that the perpetrator hadn't left yet. He was hiding right there.
Both sisters were bold and confident in their strength. Even knowing a Blood Demon might be lurking among the corpses, they felt no fear. Flandre, ever impulsive, immediately took a liking to the vertical well in the center of the village, which was surrounded by several fresh corpses.
She flew to the edge of the well and prepared to peer into the dark depths. After all, stories always said that wells were the easiest places to hide. But at the very moment she peeked in, two sharp blades made of condensed blood flew out from the darkness, aimed directly at her eyes!