Various Christmas lanterns brightened the streets of Manila as the authorities took them to a police station in a district further north. Apparently, the deputy hunter was posted in that station and only had jurisdiction within Ermita and Intramuros.

Fortunately for both parties, the police colonel in charge always had a couple of his men keeping an eye on her whenever she went out on patrols or investigations. And so, earlier's scuffle was written off as a misunderstanding on their part, much to the surprise of Marice.

Well, it also helped that everyone in the station seemed to know who her mother was, treating her like she was one of their own.

"I'd like to thank you once more for your assistance, Miss Mariella," the colonel said. "Sina can be a hot-headed lass at times—a real go-getter on the job—so I hope you can forgive her."

Sina, who was standing next to the colonel's table, bowed her head. "U-Um, I'm really sorry! It wasn't completely my fault though! I was trying to—!"

"No excuses now, Sina. You're supposed to be in control of your powers. They're ultimately your responsibility."

She meekly nodded. "Y-Yes, sir. I'm aware. Again, sorry everyone."

Mariella just chuckled. "Oh, don't think about it!" She leaned closer to her. "But I must ask: does that happen every time when you let a spiritual being possess your body? You know, the shift in personality?"

"Um, it depends. Cooperative spirits and deities will let me exercise almost complete control. Others, like my ancestral partner, can take over my body if they choose to."

Katherine nodded. "So you're pretty much at the mercy of whoever's possessing you, huh? Isn't that scary?"

"I've gotten used to it. It's why I chose to become a mumbaki in the first place."

"Mumbaki?"

"An Ifugao priestess," the colonel replied. "In her tribe, a mumbaki performs rituals for various aspects of their daily life, including divination and healing."

"Not much different from a shaman then," Marice added, inspecting the chamber mechanism embedded in the wrist guard of her gloves. "But possession isn't quite the right word for her case."

"What do you mean?"

She raised an index finger. "If she were possessed, I should've seen whoever was possessing her earlier. That could only mean that she's actually fusing her soul with another spiritual being."

Sina's eyes widened. "If you put it that way..."

A bout of silence later, Marice just shook her head. "Sorry, I'm just being pedantic."

"So, um," she began, "my partner told me that Miss Mariella and Miss Marice have divine energy within them as well. Can the two of you borrow powers from deities too?"

Mariella paused for a moment. "Nothing like that. I discovered my powers by accident when I was a kid."

Her eyes widened. "Then how? The kind of magic you use is something that only deities can do."

The colonel gestured at Mariella. "They're called celestial witches for a reason—their ancestors are demigods or so the stories are told."

"Whaaat?!" Katherine said, eyes gleaming with excitement. "So the rumors are true after all!"

"What? No! My mother's clan likes to spout dumb stories like that to make themselves feel important." Marice crossed her arms. "To be clear, my mom is the exception—no one in their family had powers like her. Not even me."

"Even you?" Sina said, putting a forefinger on her chin. "I wonder why?"

"But enough about us." She jutted a thumb at the girl they had saved on the other side of the room. "What's gonna happen to her?"

"Well," the police colonel replied, watching the girl nibble on a chocolate bar, "we can't exactly hand her over to the welfare folks and call it a day. We already contacted a few established guilds if they're interested in taking Richelle in for a while, but she'll have to stay in our custody until then."

"What about her family?" Katherine asked.

"She claims she doesn't have one. We'll just have to wait for her to warm up and share more details with us."

"She probably doesn't want to involve her family. Is she going to be okay?"

"Before anything else though," Marice said, "she needs to get better at suppressing her energy signature. I'm honestly surprised she managed to survive this long as a peddler."

"I'll be sure to inform her potential caretakers about that." The colonel leaned forward on his desk, propping his cheek. "Man, our cases just keep piling up, huh? We still have yet to find any leads on this new series of half-aswang trafficking in the metro and surrounding provinces."

"They're trafficking half-aswang now too?"

"Ever since Hiraya imposed restrictions on the use of human labor within her domain, the businesses there set their sights on half-breeds to supplement their shortages. And there's only so much we can do as the recruitment process happens online."

Sina snapped in attention. "S-Sorry, sir! I'm doing the best I can!"

"I know, I know. But I can't rely on you all the time to solve these cases for us. And you're still young too—all work and no play will make you bitter and miserable!"

"Well... it's a bit tough, but I'll manage."

"If only we can get more people onboard to help you."

Sina looked up. "Hmhm. That would be nice. I'd like to explore the city more when I have the free time."

"Right? Just a couple of strong and reliable people like these three ladies." He nodded to himself. "Two celestial witches—one who controls time and space, the other specializes in the taboo art of necromancy. And we also have an ether-powered robot knight hailing from England. The dream team, wouldn't you say?"

She nodded. "I'd be much more comfortable out in the field if I were to work with a capable team like that."

"You can say that again. And you know what the best part is? They're all young beauties like you! With them around, we'll have a busy force in no time!"

As the colonel let out a hearty laugh, Katherine slowly raised a hand. "Um, sir. I'm not a robot. And while I did most of my studies in London, my family is actually from Ger—"

"Enough!"

"Gyah!"

Marice faced her mother, pointing at her. "You. I specifically told you to quit helping them!"

"I-It's not like I'm doing it all the time." Mariella averted her eyes, prodding her index fingers together. "Just a few favors here and there. You know how persuasive Liz can be."

"You're letting them take advantage of you! Again!"

"D-Don't say that! If I don't help out, everyone's gonna suffer eventually! We live here, you know?"

"Let them do their job! Don't act like you're the only one who can solve everyone's problems!"

Mariella balled her hands, her gaze falling to her lap. "I... never looked at it that way. I'm sorry."

"You always say that, but you still keep doing it! You already went through enough crap as it is! Have you had enough?" Seeing the uncomfortable faces of everyone around her, Marice gathered the courage to direct her waning fury at the colonel. "You stalled us long enough. We'd like to go home now."

As if on cue, the door at the back of the room swung open. "Uncle, Katherine's mine! Don't you dare take her away—" The policewoman stopped in her tracks as her eyes met with Marice's. "Oh... hello there..."

Katherine stood up. "Hi, Miss Liza."

"S-Sorry, I just interrupted something, didn't I? I'll just wait outside the hall if you need me."

As she gently closed the door behind her, the colonel was the first to break the standstill. "We've tried at least." He stood up, offering his hand. "I apologize for keeping you three this long. Thank you, and welcome home, Miss Marice."