"The request came from here in Rabona, am I correct?"
Hearing Clare's words and seeing the cold glint in her eyes, father Vincent couldn't help but sweat drop and stepped back nervously.
Due to being a member of the holy city, even though he'd heard stories of the silver-eyed witches before, this was the second time he'd interacted with her.
Now that he knew who he was interacting with, he couldn't help but feel fear.
Steeling his nerves, he stammered.
"Y-yes, that is correct. I was the one who wrote the request."
"I'd like more details."
"O-okay."
The three of them then moved over to a small table, but since there are only two chairs available, Clare and Father Vincent sat opposite to each other while Seth stood behind her looking very conspicuous.
"Um…A-and who might this be? Another claymore…?" Father Vincent glanced up at the figure in an all black strange outfit.
Because Seth's face was nearly fully covered, only a small part showing his eyes and even that is nearly covered by the hooded piece so the priest was unable to identify him.
"Nah, it's me… the guy from earlier."
Seth pulled back the hood and tugged down his mask, showing his face.
It had to be noted that Seth's irises became red only when he activates either thermal vision or infected vision.
In its normal state, they are metallic turquoise blue color, which attributes a bit more to his attractiveness.
"You're the person who came with her this afternoon… Nice to meet you." Father Vincent's eyes widened slightly before he recovered his bearings.
Seth nodded. "Same here."
"Continue with the explanation." Clare interrupted smoothly.
"Ah, yes! Where do I begin? Right…"
Father Vincent took a deep breath to steady himself as he began recounting.
Since a week ago, the priests have been the primary target of the recent yoma attacks and apparently, each time it happened, it all took place within the confines of the cathedral.
Frightened by his seemingly pending fate, he went against the city's law of "no unnatural allowed" and sent a request to the organization to send a claymore to deal with the yoma.
Due to the nature of the attacks, he and the others chose to keep the details private fearing the possibility of the people losing faith if they find out that if the priests themselves are getting eliminated, then god won't protect them.
"…I don't know what to tell you… But if that's how far your faith is in your god, then you guys ain't seeing heaven at all."
As he listened to the words of the priest, Seth couldn't help scoffing at their foolishness.
From his point of view, this kind of faith is centered more around fear and survival than genuine devotion that will inevitably collapse under little pressure.
Father Vincent's head snapped up, brows furrowing as his voice raised slightly.
"And why do you say that? Although it's not genuine devotion, it gives them something to hold on to for comfort."
Even though he doesn't agree with their reasons himself, it was understandable. After all, these are ordinary people, living in fear of things they stand no chance against.
If believing in something greater for protection is what keeps them standing, he won't take that from them.
"Yea?"
"Yes."
They steered at each other in silence for a few seconds, father Vincent's face firm while Seth's remained calm.
Clare's eyes alternated between the two.
Seth shrugged.
"In any case, father, it doesn't matter whether a person is holy or unholy: as long as they are made of flesh, they are targets for yoma."
Clare then suddenly spoke up, explaining that there was no specific reason why a yoma would strictly target them.
"Whether you are rich or poor, old or young, believers or non-believers—it doesn't matter. They are still the same."
"…" Vincent froze as he listened.
Once she explained, he might've realized that he and his colleagues didn't have a target on their heads and it likely has to do with them just being nearer and easier targets.
Even so…
"Please… I don't want to die. I can pay whatever you want. Just help us."
Memories of the various scenes played in his mind. The horrible state of the remains found and buried.
He simply didn't want to end up like the rest.
"Keep the money," Clare got up and walked over to the window they came through. "Once the job is done, someone will be sent to collect the money."
As she finished, she climbed through the window and jumped down into the roof of a nearby building.
Seth soon followed, leaving the old priest alone in his chambers.
As soon as they left, Vincent leaned back in his chair, heaving a sigh of relief.
…
Whoosh~
On the tiled roof of a nearby building, Seth quietly landed beside Clare who waited.
"Let's go—!!" She said, as she turned.
But before they could move, she sensed something coming in their direction.
Reacting swiftly, she spun on her toes as three blades flew past her.
"Hm?"
Seth was a little baffled by her actions but once he saw the blades beside her, he realized they were being targeted.
"What the—"
Turning his head to where the blades might be coming from, his face was met with three more—though they bounced off with a "ting" as if they hit metal.
"Straight for the head…" Seth rubbed his face.
"Are you alright!?" Clare flashed over with concern.
Thanks to his increased durability, the blade did no damage, but it did stung a bit.
"Yea, I'm good! But what the hell is happening?"
"It seems we have company."
He scowled as the two of them looked over at the other building.
There, he saw a young fellow with a smirk on his face. Between his fingers were more blades. It was clear who threw the ones from before.
"You little piece of shit—"
"There is another," Clare said, picking up on another presence. "Behind!"
A man in metal armor seemed to have materialized behind them. Holding a sword above his head preparing to strike the two of them down.
But—
BAM!
Faster than they could react, Seth elbowed the man's chest area, leaving a large dent.
"Khh—" blood spurred from the man's throat as he was blown backwards slamming onto the road.
"What—ghk!!" The youth who was preparing to throw more blades jolted in shock.
This gave Clare enough time to appear in front of him, delivering a sweet guy punch that knocked the wind out of him.
Moments afterwards, they heard the clanking on metal armor heading to their location, most likely because of the commotion.
"Let's move."
They wasted no more time, as soon as the two assailants were dealt with, their figures flashed, removing themselves from the scene.
Seconds later, they appeared in their room through its window that they left open.
"Phew~" Seth breathed a sigh as he plopped down onto his bed, his ninja outfit disappearing into boxers.
"I think I might've put too much force into my swing back there…"
The guy even spat blood. It's unknown whether he's still alive or on his way to heaven.
"Whatever happens, I take no responsibility."
He turned his head, saw Clare removing her short robe.
"Raki is probably already asleep… What's the plan for tomorrow?"
Still in her short dress, Clare walked over to the bed. Seth scooted over, creating space for her to sit as she said.
"Today when we were at the cathedral, I faintly sensed the yoma inside, but I couldn't accurately pin point its location. It seems I'm still subconsciously suppressing my yoki."
That's good news. We won't have to dig up the whole city just to look for it.
"At least we know it's in the cathedral. That's half the hassle."
Seth brought his hand to his chin.
"Our problem now is to choose a time to carry out the task. We can't just go in when there's people inside, so daytime is a no-go."
Clare nodded as she added. "And the request was to handle it secretly. If we cause a disturbance, it defeats the whole purpose."
"…Plus with the shit that just went down, security will definitely be tighter." He clicked his tongue.
They remained silent for a second before Seth pointed at her.
"Tomorrow night, if things go smoothly, we sneak in, we find the yoma and kill it. Easy peasy. But if things get messy, I'll handle the guards while you…"
"Handle the yoma." She finished.
"Yep. Then tomorrow night, don't hold back mkay? Remember, you're not gonna become a monster if you do."
"…Right." She said softly.
With plans settled for now, Seth shifted. "Man… this is gonna be fun."
Clare didn't respond, though there was a small shift in her expression.
"Get some rest." She said quietly as she slid into the covers next to him.
Since the bed was quite small, they were nearly pressed together.
"I don't even need sleep." Seth snorted.
"…Then be quiet."
"Can't make any promises."
"Try."
"I'll consider it."
A short chuckle escaped her lips, surprising herself momentarily.
Ah…
Even though he heard it, Seth had no idea how extremely rare that brief sound was.
Unknown to the two of them, while they were having their little talk, two persons fell victim to the jaws of the yoma.
Chapter 21 end.
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Had no idea what to write for this one so I just threw some idea together.