A Wolf's Howl, A Fairy's Wing

And she was right.

With his dual paths of Arcanist and Runebound, fighting two second-ranks wouldn't be too much of a problem for him.

Yet, he would prefer not to. Setting aside the fact that Emma, as a mere first rank, might end up hurt, he would also like to keep his uniqueness a secret for now.

After all, the council, at the very least, had multiple third-rank councillors. It was best for Erik and Elora to stay clear until they were stronger by not giving them too much reason to give chase.

Besides, Elora had long since prepared for many eventualities.

So Erik simply laughed heartily at Enzo's words, as if he had just heard the funniest joke in a long time before he lifted his foot and stomped on the ground.

His actions caused a large, light purple sigil to be activated, encircling the entire room as it fizzled and cracked with lightning.

Seraphina and Enzo both yelled, "What are you- Gaaaah!"

They were cut off as screams began to fill the room when nearly everyone received a heavy electric shock under Erik's indifferent gaze.

The newly arrived rank-one's were all knocked out in an instant. Meanwhile, Emma and Emily were spared, while Enzo and Seraphina were shocked but remained conscious due to their higher strength.

Seraphina was in better condition than Enzo because of her Runebound body, but they both panted heavily and sank to one knee while looking resentfully at Erik.

Erik walked over to Enzo with a shrug, "I generally don't enjoy resorting to these things, as there are few things I love more than a good fight, but sometimes you have no other choice, you know?"

All this pussyfooting around was getting tiresome for Erik. He enjoyed fighting, and back on Söl, he could do it as much as he liked because it was a large world, and Erik could simply move to another place if he pissed off a local ruler.

Not to mention that violence was much more common there.

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But here, he had to be careful of the council for now.

He crouched before the panting man, who stared at him with fury and spat on the ground in front of Erik, "I don't know…how you did that…but you won't…get away with it!"

He grinned, "Just wait… until the Iron Sentinel…gets here."

Erik groaned in annoyance before using his heavily armoured gauntlet to knock the man out. "Just stay quiet."

He turned to Seraphina, "Who is this Iron Sentinel he spoke of?"

While they had gained a lot of information about the council from Seraphina, the internal workings of the shadow sentinels were not part of it. Unfortunately, this information fell under the 'no sharing of information that could hurt her' clause of their deal.

Thanks to her powerful body, Seraphina had already largely recovered and struggled to reach her feet. She growled, "F- Fuck you. You didn't have t- to attack me, too."

Erik grinned, "Come now, I could see your eyes. You were ready to fight me together with that guy. Honestly, Seraphina, I thought we got along so well."

The vampire rolled her eyes as she struggled to control her wounded body, "Did you forget how you left me tied up in lightning chains next to your bed for a night?"

Erik chuckled, "Alright, alright. How about a peace offering?"

He bit his finger, making blood flow and brought it closer to Seraphina's face, "Here, this will help you recover."

Immediately, Erik saw hunger replace every other thought in the vampire's mind as her gaze fixed itself on the bleeding finger. It was only a moment before she instinctively lurched forward and sucked it into her mouth.

As she drank Erik's blood, she once again felt like liquid heaven was streaming down her throat while power filled every fibre of her being.

She recognised the danger in continuing to drink this. She hated herself for being so weak, but her instincts refused to let her stop.

Erik spoke soothingly, patting her silky black hair, "There, there. It's alright. Let me take care of you." While he didn't want Seraphina to become entirely dependent on him, he needed to make himself more important than the council.

And for now, he had no other way than his blood.

Emily and Emma looked at this display in morbid fascination, especially Emily, who had never seen her old friend act like that. Erik eventually pulled his finger back, causing Seraphina to attempt to follow, but was held back by the other hand.

"Now, now. Your wounds are healed. You don't need my blood anymore. Unless you would like to ask for some more?"

Quickly recovering her sanity, Seraphina growled, "F- Fuck you. I know what you're doing."

Erik shrugged in response, "Well, suit yourself. If you'd like some more of my blood, how about trading it for information on that Iron Sentinel?"

Seeing her whithering stare was the only response he was going to get. Erik shrugged again and turned towards Emily instead.

Despite his cavalier attitude, he knew he needed to make a little haste, as there was a good chance this Iron Sentinel was a third-rank councillor.

Now, looking at Emily, it was time to confirm her future plans, "Well, it appears the time to make a choice is here. Will you come with me and Emma, or take your chances with Seraphina and the council?

I should remind you that I expect you to follow my lead and swear a covenant if you come with us."

Despite asking the question, he knew there was only one possible answer. And a good thing, too. Otherwise, he would have had to let Elora take control of Emily again. After all, Emily knew too much already and, unlike Seraphina, was not bound by a covenant.

No matter what, he couldn't let Emily leave for the council despite saying earlier he wouldn't force her to follow him.

Emily looked uncertain for a split second but sighed, "Was it ever really a question? Of course, I'm following Emma wherever she goes."

She conveniently left out the part about likely needing more treatments in the future.

She stepped closer to Erik and poked his chest with her finger, saying words that confused Emma a little, "I'll follow your orders while we travel together, but I won't take your little friend's deal for now."

She hesitated a moment, "But… keep it ready just in case."

Erik felt his respect for Emily rise as he smiled and nodded.

As Emily continued to poke Erik's chest, her following words made Emma sad, "Just remember, you have my loyalty only so long as you have Emma's and so long as you keep her safe no matter what. Even from me."

When Emily was about to turn around and address Seraphina, Erik stopped her, saying, "Uh uh, that's not good enough."

He didn't know how much time he had, but some things couldn't wait.

Emily frowned and turned back, "What?"

Erik stuck out his hand, and dark green energy swirled in the familiar way by which he and Elora created their covenants. "You see, Seraphina and Emma have both sworn covenants to keep my secrets, and I need you to do the same. Think of it like a magical contract."

Emily looked at Erik's arm with scepticism before turning to Emma, who nodded with a happy smile, glad that Emily was coming with them.

Still sceptical, Emily looked back at Erik, "So what are the terms exactly?"

"I'll give you the same deal I gave Emma. Serve me for ten years, non-sexually, and never tell anyone anything about me they don't know yet without my permission," he answered.

Emily snorted, "And what do I get in exchange?"

To which Erik raised an eyebrow, "Everything I've done for you so far wasn't good enough?"

Emily recoiled a little and had to admit he had a point. Yet, the serving part still made her baulk. "So what if I refuse?"

Instead of Erik, the one who answered was Elora. Emily suddenly heard a loud giggle echoing in her head, followed by a voice she recognised, "You and I are still connected, Emily.

The fact is, I can take control of you whenever I like, and Erik and I can't afford for you to go back to the council with everything you know about us. So accept the deal, or become a puppet again. Your choice."

Emily paled at the thought of Elora simply taking over whenever she wished. She gulped and looked at Erik with a little fear, "I will take your deal, but only if that little woman relinquishes any and all control or connection she still has with me."

Hearing her words, Erik engaged in a short debate with Elora but eventually convinced her. So he grinned and nodded, "Deal." He wasn't interested in turning the woman into a puppet again anyway.

They shook hands, and the magic did its work as small marks appeared on both their hands. Yet, the one on Erik's hand disappeared almost immediately after Elora had released her control over Emily.

When this happened, Emily felt a chain unwind from her soul, which she had never even realised had been there, causing her to sigh in relief.