Valeriana did not know the reason why there were so many demons thriving in the horror house. Seraphina had already managed to find more than five. She exterminated them with ease. However, the more they found, the more the woman seemed rattled.

Seraphina was facing a lizard-like creature this time. It crawled on the walls with swift legs that made it impossible to catch up with—at least for Valeriana. She never did anything, though somehow the tiredness was pulling at her muscles.

Seraphina landed a strike on the lizard with the pommel of her sword and it fell on the floor on its back. Seeing no other way to fight, the lizard stuck out its long tongue and attempted to throw off the weapon Seraphina held. It failed, however. The lady knight cut off the demon’s tongue before plunging her weapon into its stomach. Within seconds, it vanished into nothingness, flaring into flames before disintegrating eventually.

“I hope that's the last of them,” Valeriana told her companion, panting.

“Far from it.”

She dried her sweat with the back of her hand, giving Seraphina a questioning gaze.

A wall of silence settled.

The woman looked around warily. They somehow managed to end up in a strange room filled with nothing but doors on every corner. Valeriana herself did not feel at ease.

All so suddenly, they all simultaneously banged open and heavy currents of wind rushed in. A flash of sickly green swept by. Seraphina held her sword steady as clang resounded and struck at her blade.

“A Formorian. I should've known,” the woman said. “The reason why there are so many here is because they’ve turned this into a hive. This here is the strongest and formed the horde. How many victims have they taken?”

The blood drained from Valeriana's face as the words sunk in. “Please say this is part of the show,” she chanted under her breath.

“Valeriana, stay behind me.”

Valeriana moved to do as Seraphina told when a gust of wind blew past them.

“Get down!”

Right after instructing the girl, the two of them were assaulted on all sides from every direction. Those attacks originated from the different doors that surrounded them. Seraphina somehow managed to instinctively avoid most of the heavy blows, leaving small scratches throughout her entire body.

When the attacks ceased, Valeriana could not help but feel relieved. “A-are you alright?”

“I'm fine. Are you hurt?”

“No.”

Seraphina blocked most of the attacks. She had sworn to Valeriana that she would not let her get hurt. She was true to her words until the very end.

“Do you mind standing back?”

Valeriana obediently did so.

Seraphina took in a deep breath. “The sooner I get this done, the sooner I leave.”

There was a brief spark of the ominous presence behind one door behind them. Valeriana’s eyes snapped to its direction that she yelled. “Right there!”

Seraphina turned. Her arms moved sharply towards the direction Valeriana was looking at. In one moment, she managed to pierce the heart of the Formorian with her sword. The accuracy was astounding too. Valeriana could only land a short glance at its grotesque appearance before it burned into nothingness.

Valeriana was speechless. “You make your job look so easy.”

“I have to do that every day for the last two decades or so,” she said. “Let's get out of here. These doors should lead somewhere.” With that, she sheathed her sword and relaxed.

As Valeriana opened her mouth to speak, Seraphina silenced her by raising her hand. She looked between each door, as though contemplating which path they should take.

“I sense a breeze blowing through this one.”

“That’s just the air conditioner.”

She confidently went through her choice, leaving Valeriana to follow her out. Despite having to go through another scary room, both of them were able to reach the main exit of the Horror House soundly without any further demonic encounter. The human girl could only breathe out in relief at this thought.

They came out to an open yard where people were huddled in small groups, discussing what they experienced from inside. Some girls and younger victims were crying and trembling within the arms of their companions, unable to handle the intensity of the scare they got. Well, if Valeriana was any younger, she would break down crying too.

Both left the premises and started traveling down the sidewalk.

“So it's over.” Valeriana breathed.

“So it is,” the lady knight replied. “But there may still be others in your city. Considering how big it is, they might just not be staying in that Horror House.”

“You mean there are more of them?”

“The count is forty-eight. Just three more to go.”

She then pushed Seraphina to the direction of the nearby park, needing some space to breathe. After what recently happened, Valeriana ought to relax where she felt comfortable. It was really dark out, though. There weren't many people outside now, and the park was basically deserted.

“Tell me that this won't happen again.”

“I can't guarantee that,” Seraphina told her, looking disappointed herself. “With the instability, it is easy for demons to escape into your world. Even now, some of the other knights are hunting them down.”

“You mean you aren't the only one doing this kind of thing?”

“I'm not. There are others in the neighboring cities of this place. It just so happens that there aren’t many available knights to help in the hunt. I was assigned here.”

“Anyway, aren't you going?”

Seraphina chuckled. “I'm sorry for dragging you into that. I really didn't know what to do.”

“What happened?”

“When I came here, I got arrested by a man who calls himself a police for pointing my sword at a man who was yelling at a poor woman.”

“You what?!”

“He took me to jail, but I escaped.”

To say Valeriana was shocked was a total understatement at the moment.

“Afterward, I wandered for a few hours but saw no sign of what I was looking for. Before I know it, night had come. I knocked on the doors of a few houses to ask to stay for the night, but doors closed on my face and I had to sleep outside.”

“You are...oh, gosh. No wonder you asked for my help,” she muttered. “Are you hungry, though? Have you eaten anything?”

“A kind woman gave me food this morning and I had that ice cream as well,” Seraphina replied. “I'm really sorry. I wouldn't have asked for your help if I didn't need it.”

“No. No one else would've understood you if you asked them.”

She nodded. “And I thank you very much for what you've done today, for helping me hunt those demons down and buying me that treat. I'll try not to rely on you when I need to find them shall I have to do it later on.” She then flashed her a grateful smile.

“I can't believe I'm saying this but...let me know if you need help.”

They shared a smile.