Vultures…

  …is an occupation for Ascendants who couldn’t make it as proper Magisters and so turned to other means of boasting their strength and making money.

  Some of those other means included working as mercenaries, scavengers, or contractors for hire. One could specialize in retrieval missions, assassinations, bodyguard works, infiltrations or other illegal contracts.

  Many of them are dropouts or rejects who fell through the cracks of the underworld.

  Yes, most of their trades and operations are conducted in the shadows of the Tinsel Kingdom, the Underworld.

  In other words, these guys were basically criminals to the state.

  Vultures were those who feasted off what’s left behind. Waiting for the very society that looks down on them to turn its head, and then they move in and claim it all.

  Because they are unaffiliated with any organizations or even the ruling powers, their work is unsanctioned, and their existence is looked down upon by society, especially the noble houses.

  Some institutions around the country have shunned them, often regarding them as trash. However, despite their bad reputation, that didn’t mean all Vultures were bad.

  At least that’s what Yuzuriha wanted to naively believe as this information flooded her mind at the mention of the word ‘Vulture’.

  Through it all, one word stood out to her, which was…

  ‘Magister…?’

  The word had slipped out in a breath as the knowledge continued to curl around her mind like a creeping vine.

  According to it, Magisters seemed like a legal side to what Vultures were. Other than that, Yuzuriha had no other information.

  “What’s a Magister, big sis?”

  She directed that question at Marcille, however….

  “This place…Must we meet here, of all places?”

  The older sister either didn’t hear her question or just chose to ignore it because that was not a suitable response to her question. But it seemed to lean more toward the former.

  Hearing the sudden tone change in her voice, Yuzuriha turned toward Marcille. The moment they had arrived here, her astris felt off from her usual self, and now that she was looking at it. She was certain now.

  ‘Is she alright, I wonder if it was the question I asked?’

  By no means was her astris unstable or hostile, but it kept flickering, as if something was making her nervous. Even if she couldn’t tell through that, Yuzuriha still noticed her pressed lips, and the fact her eyes weren’t meeting hers.

  She was also biting her nails. Which was a strange new thing had learnt about Marcille.

  ‘No, that’s not it. Could it be…’

  Turning away from Marcille, she looked to their front.

  The two Drapes sisters had come to a halt across from a building that, to the blind girl, resembled a half-melted stack of bricks and wood, all uneven in shape. Even without enhanced senses, anyone could hear the heavy noise coming from inside.

  The outside smelled of fermented sweat, smoke, perfume, and alcohol. It had two doors, saloon style and a thin veil of light pouring from beneath.

  She could hear live music, or some drunkard’s attempt at it.

  Yep, she didn’t need to see a sign to know what it was. The smell alone gave it away.

  This was where the sweet flavors of human chaos bloomed the most.

  She should know because she did spend a few of her days in them when the workload was too much and just unwinding was that much more attractive.

  ‘A bar? Is this where we’re going to find this person? By the looks of it, Marcille doesn’t seem pleased. This Temperance person must be bad news. Or I could be misinterpreting the situation’

  It happens to overthinkers at times, so she couldn’t help it.

  Anyways, they’ve been standing here for a while now without making any attempts to go inside. Yuzuriha turned her focus back on her older sister, as if noticing her gaze, she dropped down on her knees to meet her at eye level and said…

  “Yor, I’m sorry. This place is not suitable for kids. What you are about to see… I need you to promise me again. Don’t talk about it, okay?”

  Yuzuriha frowned at the statement. Yes, externally she seemed like a 13 year old kid, but internally she was a full fledged 30 year old adult.

  Honestly, if you remove the magic part of this world, nothing about it would surprise her that much, especially when it comes to human nature.

  And besides, she could most definitely keep a secret for the right reasons. That’s what it meant to be an adult!

  ‘But I’m a kid to them so there’s no helping it. Might as well play the part. And besides, she’s just worried about me’

  She exhaled a breath and faced her doting older sister.

  “Okay, I won’t tell anyone. I promise”

  Having said that, Marcille’s astris seemed to return to its normal state. Well, a bit of it at least, because she could still see the slight flickers from it.

  Meaning she wasn’t entirely pleased with the whole thing but had to because it was necessary.

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  At any rate, the sister seemed a little satisfied with that. And so, she gently patted Yuzuriha’s head and went up to her feet.

  “You have my thanks. And again, I’m sorry for bringing you here. Tansy loves theatrics”

  There was something in her voice that made Yuzuriha not want to say anything, like how she would be fine, or how going into a bar wasn’t a big deal for her, but she just kept quiet.

  She didn’t press her on the Magister thing. Not now at least, maybe later.

  The door creaked when it opened, and a wave of heat and noise rushed out to greet them like a dog eager to sink its teeth into their flesh.

  The muffled sounds they heard from the outside were much more palpable, especially to someone with heightened senses.

  The loud noise wanted to make her cover her ears, the suffocating smell of booze and vomit almost made her cover her nose ... .to which she did using her hand.

  Yuzuriha took one step, then another while being held by Marcille’s soft grip.

  And then, they entered the bar….whoosh!

  She barely had a second to react before she felt a sudden pull from her arm. The same arm which was still locked in Marcille’s grip.

  For some strange reason, it was yanked forward and then…

  “Eeeek—!”

  She was flung into the air before she could say a word, only an incoherent yelp. However, her pitched voice was lost in the startled rush of wind past her ears.

  Her legs kicked instinctively, the same went for the arms she was flailing widely in the wind.

  As the floor of the bar below curved out of reach, it was at that moment that she realized that Marcille had thrown her into the air like a ragdoll. Effortlessly too!

  Naturally, the question of why she would do such a dangerous stunt to her beloved little sister welled up inside her thoughts. But the answer became evident when she caught a glimpse of two figures from her aerial view.

  “What are they…”

  They appeared small in stature, not taller than Leo but maybe the same height as Willow. It was honestly difficult to tell from the angle she was flung at.

  The two figures surged out from either side of the tavern’s entrance. They had hidden well in the alcoves, waiting for Marcille to open the door and walk right into their trap.

  That’s what it seemed like to her, especially with those knives they were flaunting around.

  However, Marcille didn’t seem phased at all by this, as if she had either sensed them and baited the two or she was already expecting something like this to happen.

  The two assailants were fast. One dove in low with a cut aimed for the ribs, and the other curved around with a high slash meant to catch her exposed back.

  In response to this ambush, Marcille pivoted and caught the wrist behind it. She flung the first attacker’s body into the other.

  The impact sent both crashing back with a grunt, limbs tangled together as they laid on the floor for a total of three seconds.

  They split off in the fourth second.

  It was around that time that Yuzuriha succumbed to gravity and descended from where she was standing 3 seconds ago.

  Like the first time, she couldn’t help but let out a girly scream as she fell on the floor. Fortunately, she didn’t meet it because she had landed gracefully right into Marcille’s lifesaving arms.

  Before Yuzuriha could breathe out in relief, steel scraped concrete as the second assault came, circling and blades glinting.

  Marcille didn’t flinch, she kept her eyes on them and when the first one rushed in with a knife reversed for a deep stab, she let him get close, almost too close for comfort. She then drove her foot into his stomach with a painful thud, sending the poor lad sprawling.

  The second of the two was behind her now, lunging again.

  Yuzuriha held her breath as Marcille twisted, parried the attacker’s knife arm in a single motion with the back of her foot. This not only caused the weapon to clatter on the ground, but it also caused him to stagger.

  And that was enough time for Marcille to deliver the finisher. Before the attacker could regain his balance, the older sister drove her leg upward in a rising arc and caught him clean under the chin.

  Once again, gravity seemed to lose its grip as the boy’s body jolted upward, his heels lifted off the ground and head snapped back as if yanked by an invisible rope tied to the sky.

  Then he dropped like a puppet cut from its strings.

  “Wow”

  Yuzuriha marveled at the scene, barely realizing when her feet finally touched the ground. Or rather, Marcille had lowered her without her notice. She also made sure to fix her clothing and hair which were ruffled a bit after her flight.

  “Sorry about that, Yor. I let my guard down for a moment and this happens. Are you hurt anywhere?”

  She exhaled, still a bit shaken from that rush of adrenaline.

  “Uh, I’m f-fine, I think. What just happened?”

  “Hmph! Took it too lightly again, Seth. Thought we had her this time”

  Before Marcille could fully get into her dotting sister persona, one of the attackers groaned from the ground, rubbing the side of his face.

  “That’s what you always say, Silas. We were taken down too easily. But I wasn’t the one who got folded in two like laundry”

  The second one said as he sat up with a scowl.

  “Blame your own form and plan. I told you this would not work. That’s what you get for not listening to me!”

  The one who got kicked at the chin pointed his knife at Marcille while rubbing the spot with his other hand.

  “She caught my wrist!”

  “If you were faster, she wouldn’t have!”

  The bickering between the two went on, until Marcille brought it to an end with a clap of her hands.

  “Seth, Silas. You both did well. Stop before you tear off each other’s throats. Brats”

  There was a tiny moment of silence, ignoring the bar noises, then yes there was silence. The two groaned and dusted themselves off.

  “You’re not even trying to let us win”

  “Not holding back either. At this rate, you’ll kill us before we get the chance to join Duskfall”

  Marcille let out a chuckle and said.

  “I cannot afford to. Because if I did. The both of you would be dead already”

  “So how many losses does that make it now, Silas?”

  “Should be 45 now”

  The two grumbled bitterly, but that didn’t last. They put away their knives and focused their attention on Yuzuriha, who was still processing what was happening here.

  Somehow, their demeanor had changed from before. To be honest, she couldn’t really tell them apart. Their astris was so alike that she couldn’t tell who was who.

  ‘Twins?’

  One of them gave her a dramatic bow, a second later, the second one followed.

  “Madam, apologies for the theatrics. And be at ease, we are not the sort to go flinging young girls into the air unannounced”

  “Truly. If we had known a beautiful flower such as yourself was present, we would have called off the ambush”

  And their manner of speaking had changed too.

  Yuzuriha blinked.

  “Um…thanks?”

  Thankfully, before whatever was happening could go on, Marcille put an end to it by striking their heads with enough force to drive them back onto the ground.

  “Enough fooling around, you two. Are the others here?”

  They both jerked a thumb weakly toward the interior of the bar.

  “They are…waiting for you”