The man—or whatever that thing in front of them was—shuddered from Seraphin's blow.
"I didn't think I'd see that mark here, it makes me nauseous just looking at it," said Seraphin as she stretched her shoulders.
Dannep felt more relieved now that Seraphin was here; she felt safer and more protected.
"Hey Dannep, take care of the kids, that thing is more dangerous than it looks," Seraphin ordered as she walked forward without taking her eyes off the creature.
"Y-you, Scarlet tells me to kill you, your magic, ahhhh!!! Die!!!" the deformed man shouted as he lunged at Seraphin.
The knight dodged the blow and countered with several kicks that broke through the creature's defenses.
"Ahh!!!" A quick attempt to slash at Seraphin's neck was made, but she raised her arm and blocked it.
Dannep watched the fight in amazement; with her little experience in combat, Seraphin looked like a goddess to her.
"Sunlight!" Seraphin shouted, releasing a large golden aura that pushed the creature far away.
"AHHHHHH, IT HURTS, YOUR MAGIC HURTS!!!" The man's body twisted even more, his face mutating until it barely looked human.
Seraphin's expression turned darker as she focused on the mark on the man's neck, and Dannep noticed it.
"I'm sorry, there's no cure," the girl began to say when the man—or what remained of him—lunged at her again.
Seraphin struck again instantly, this time releasing a golden flash with every punch.
"I'll have to kill you," Seraphin said as she dodged the creature's attack.
"Ahhh, light, I don't like the light, I—ahh, it hurts!!!"
The creature became more and more deformed while Seraphin remained still, watching it with a dark gaze.
Dannep noticed that the woman seemed reluctant to keep hurting the man, but her expression shifted into a more determined one.
"I'm truly sorry, I promise I'll kill that witch for you."
After saying that, Seraphin pulled out a dagger she had hidden in her clothes and began to breathe slowly.
"Dannep, cover the kids' eyes!" the girl shouted, and Dannep followed her orders.
"Scarlet!" the man shouted again before throwing a punch at the knight.
"Swing"
The sound of a cut echoed in everyone's ears as a perfect dividing line formed across the creature's body.
"Y-you... thank you..." the creature said before splitting in two in front of her.
The blood that flowed out was black with a strong, foul smell. Seraphin approached the corpse and closed her eyes, clenching her hands.
"Oh God, please take care of his soul, I hope in his next life he becomes a good person." She was praying for him.
Dannep was surprised to see this; while Ilyss seemed to enjoy killing, Seraphin looked like she hated the entire idea.
"They really are opposites," she couldn't help but think as she watched her.
"Don't worry, I'll call some of my men to come clean this up. Take the kids outside, keep their eyes closed until you're far away."
Seraphin said, returning to her usual radiant smile.
Dannep did as she was told and took the children outside. Seraphin followed later with the bag of money.
"Here you go, kids," she said as she handed it over.
"Thank you very much, miss."
The boy in the center took the bag, and "big" wouldn't even begin to describe the expression on his face when he opened it.
"Ah, there are more than 200 elemental coins!" the boy shouted in disbelief.
"Hahaha, yes there are. I added some money so you can take a break, today was a tough day, right?" Seraphin said, winking at them.
The children thanked Seraphin several more times, but since sunset was already visible, they decided to leave so they wouldn't get robbed again.
"Now I suppose you owe me an apology, right? What the hell is wrong with you? Why did you get involved in this?" Seraphin began scolding Dannep.
"I..." Dannep chewed on her words. Seraphin was right, she shouldn't have gotten involved in something like that, but after watching the children walk away, she couldn't help but speak:
"I don't know, you know, I just wanted to help them, I wanted to make them happy. Is there a reason to do good things?" the girl said with a smile.
"Hey, you..." Seraphin saw the sincerity in Dannep's face, and for some reason she couldn't understand why Dannep's smile seemed brighter than the sunset rays.
Her light blue eyes focused on Dannep, unable to look away. Dannep's words had struck something in Seraphin's heart.
"Hey, you, stop acting like a hero next time," Seraphin said, blushing as she looked away.
Suddenly her heart started beating faster, and she felt nervous.
"Hey Seraphin."
"Y-yes, Dannep!" the knight replied nervously.
"It seemed like you recognized the tattoo on that man's neck, and he kept saying the name Scarlet. Do you know anything about what happened to him?" Dannep asked, curious.
"I'm sorry, Dannep, but it's confidential. The only thing I can tell you is that Scarlet is a witch with very dark magic. I can't say anything beyond that."
"I understand," Dannep replied, knowing she wouldn't get more information.
"Come on, don't make that face. We still have a few hours left—how about we keep having fun? Your cotton candy got cold, I'll go stand in line again, but you're coming with me."
Seraphin took Dannep's hand and they continued their outing.
During the time they had left, Seraphin took Dannep to several places, like an aquarium, to eat roasted chicken, and to watch a theater play.
Unlike the beginning of their outing, Seraphin talked less, and when she did, she started to stutter and seemed nervous. Dannep interpreted this as the fight having affected her.
At the end of the night, they took some photos together, each receiving an identical copy.
This was Dannep's second photo in her entire life.
"We're here!"
Seraphin shouted after passing through the castle doors, but no one came to respond.
"God, they're probably all in their rooms. You should do the same, Dannep."
"And what will you do?"
"I have to go to my office to work, I need to write a report about today," Seraphin said as she walked up the stairs.
"Huh, I thought she didn't like paperwork?" Dannep thought as she walked up to her room.
Unable to stop herself from smiling as she looked at the bags of clothes and things Seraphin had bought her, she had truly enjoyed the outing.
"Well, time to sleep," she said to herself as she opened the door.
"Ayy Dannep!"
But to her surprise, her room was not empty.
Lying on her bed was Ilyss, smelling her sheets while making self-pleasuring movements with her lower body.
"Dannep, yes, like that, like that ahhh!!!"
Ilyss kept m*sturbting herself while biting Dannep's sheets, finally noticing her.
"Oh Dannep, you're here, just in time," the woman said, licking her fingers.
"Come, I need you."