With only the sound of grass wilting beneath each footfall, two figures counted their steps, sauntering eastward bound. Their appearances concealed under ebony cloaks and the setting sun at their back. One could not know to whom or what these two silhouettes belonged, just that they emitted an immense aura somewhere between lethality and elegance.

“We are approximately two thousand paces from our destination,” said one in a disciplined, yet overtly feminine voice.

There was no reply from the other figure; instead, a distant, slightly distorted voice was heard, “Excellent. Continue according to plan, Ira.” The response was from a simple communication spell, a type of low-tier magic from a branch of Arcana called Voximancy.

“Of course. It shall be done.”

The position report ended briefly after it had begun.

A gleeful, childish voice emerged from beside Ira. “Hey, hey! Ya think we can have some fun this time?” Her manner of speech seemed very inappropriate given the regimented expressions of the previous conversation.

“I suppose we’ll first have to see how the events unfold now, won’t we, Lilith?”

Lilith stopped for a moment and clicked her tongue in agitation.

“Now, now. I’m sure you’ll have plenty of playtime ahead of you.”

Lilith began to swing her arms around playfully and skipped beside her companion. If Ira were to look over her shoulder, she would have seen the little girl’s mouth contorting into a big, carnivorous smile.

About half an hour had passed since the two girls had submitted their report. An unpleasant clamor could be heard coming from the heart of Umbrium.

“Hey, hey! Ira, there’s two guys in fancy armor over there. Can I play with them?” She poked Ira’s arm a few times and pointed at a duo of Knights standing sentry by a caravan of empty prison-wagons.

She abruptly stopped to think it over. “If that would satisfy your repulsive cravings, then feel free. Just join me when you’re done.”

“Woohoo! I’ll see you in a bit then.”

Without a moment’s notice, Ira veered off to follow the trail toward the village center while Lilith casually skipped toward the knights.

With swords drawn in one hand and lanterns raised in the other, the two sentries noticed her approaching them. “Heh. Looks like Knight-Captain Grayford is already sending those filthy slaves out here.”

“Alright, little girl. Take off the cloak and get in the wagon.”

“Tee~hee. The stupid Knight thinks I’m a demi-human... My dear, I’m much, much worse than the likes of them.”

One stepped forward, sheathing his sword and reaching out to grab Lilith.

She clicked her tongue.

“Listen here, you little bi--.”

“Learn your place, human trash.”

Before he could even finish his sentence, his line of sight had suddenly shifted from the cloaked girl to his steel greaves. The knight’s head slid off his neck and plopped to the ground with a squishy thud. The other sentry, still processing what had just occurred, couldn’t help but to just stand there, mouth agape and pupils dilated at the sight before him.

Withdrawing the right arm that she held extended at her side, the deceivingly delicate figure began to run her tongue along her wet, razor-like nails. A grisly blend of blood and cerebrospinal fluid trickling from her lips down her neck.

As the rest of the decapitated body fell limp to the floor, the other sentry watched as the little girl began to remove her cloak, unveiling herself.

Betraying her crude attitude, she was clothed in an exquisitely tailored, black Victorian dress that flaunted purple trim and white lace. Unlike a normal dress of this style, the skirt was cut low and revealed her upper thighs, but the corset extended down on either side of her, falling to her calves like the twin tails of a butler’s coat. Her heeled ankle boots were made of a polished black leather, and the black lace stockings underneath rode up to connect to the suspenders of her garter belt at mid-thigh.

A bit of cleavage could be seen as the dress cut away at the top into a V, only to recompose itself into puffed sleeves, and her intricately laced gloves wrapped around the bases of her hand, veiling her up to the elbow while exposing her thin, delicate fingers.

Her glistening silver hair which naturally blended downward into a vibrant hue of pink was curled and put up behind her head with only a few ringed fringes falling to one side of her brow. Only to further complement her beauty was her blood-red eyes and pale, almost transparent skin.

With knees bent and head tilted down, Lilith pulled the edges of her dress in a graceful curtsy. “It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Mr. Knight.”

The knight would have fallen in love with her under any other circumstance; however, she leered at him now as a lion would stare at freshly butchered meat. The last image to be burned into that poor man’s mind before he was devoured was Lilith, licking the lips of a grin that went from ear to ear.