"Marice!"

Katherine grabbed the panicking vendor and took to the skies. Marice hung on to her friend's shield and followed suit, avoiding the dog's maw by a hair's breadth.

"Nooo!" the vendor cried as her trike's containers scattered across the street. "My sidecar!"

Activating Stellar Glare, Marice peered down at the tree in the corner lot and saw a large owl staring at Katherine and the vendor. As its body started to swell with demonic ether, she realized what was about to happen next.

"Kath, move!"

And sure enough, the owl let loose a devastating electric blast, tearing the air with crackling intensity. However, Marice noticed the spell's trajectory a second too late as the blast scored a direct hit on Katherine's shield and sent her careening to the ground.

Wincing, she crushed two homunculus bottles in her hand to summon a pair of golem puppets. She used the mage-type golem to slow down her fall with its innate levitation ability, while the warrior-type golem blocked another incoming blast using its shield. The owl was about to fire a third blast, but Katherine put an end to that with a single shot of her ether rifle.

As the owl fell to the ground, it reverted back to its humanoid form and scurried behind a wall before she could fire another shot. Katherine used this opportunity to pick up Marice midair and hightailed westward.

"Wait," Marice said, looking down at the port district, "where are we going?"

As if to answer her question, a spread of elemental projectiles rained down on their direction. But with a burst of speed from Katherine's thrusters, they were able to give themselves some breathing room from their pursuers.

"A-A-Are you two involved in something shady?!" the vendor asked, clinging on Katherine.

"What? No!" Marice replied. "We just arrived from London yesterday!"

"Then why are those aswang chasing you?!"

She grumbled. "See, Kath? I knew it! I knew that girl's bad news all along!"

"But we can't just leave her alone!" Katherine replied. "You already said that as much yourself!"

She gestured behind her. "Exhibit A: why a good Samaritan's lifestyle is a load of crap!"

"Oh, come on! We've had worse than this!"

"Shut up! Mind filling me in on your plan?"

"Sina's already at the scene, so we just have to keep these guys busy until Liza and your mom gets there."

"So we're just gonna have to play ball with these guys, huh?" She looked over her shoulder. "That said, this is already far enough!"

Katherine then stopped and made her descent, releasing Marice on the water. "Just making sure I won't hit anything!"

Marice gestured at the vendor, who just finished climbing aboard Katherine's shield. "Then why did you bring her along?"

The vendor suddenly grabbed Katherine, shaking her shoulders. "Ah! Y-You have to take me back! Please take me back!"

She sighed. "A little too late for that I'm afraid."

Four of the shapeshifting aswang finally caught up to them, transforming from their respective bird forms. The most human-looking among them hovered forward, his bat-like wings generating a hot gust of wind in each flap.

"Finally tired of running?"

Facing the aswang, Marice began to cast Umbral Rein on her mage golem. "You guys are clearly just stalling for time. Now that you got our full attention, mind telling us what exactly is your endgame here?"

"Stall for time?" The aswang and his friends broke out in a chorus of laughter, their long tubular tongues twitching in the air. "No, we're here to feast on your body!"

"You might want to rephrase that."

"You may be considered a reject," he said, pointing at her, "but you still have the Alcantara clan's divine blood coursing in your veins. You'll make a nutritious meal to complete our metamorphosis."

With the spell complete, the golem behind her started mimicking her movements. "You actually believe that nonsense?"

"Your flesh reeks of pungent purity. Same with that golden-haired companion of yours."

"Why thank you," Katherine replied.

Marice inwardly grumbled. "Look, let's just get this over with."

The aswang nodded and grinned, glancing at his friends. "Don't mangle these girls too much. I want their corpses intact, organs and all."

"Ready, Kath?"

Katherine took off her duffel coat and handed it to the vendor, the highlights running across her two-tone body grew a bright prismatic glow. She then took point as she hovered just a bit further from Marice. "Yeah, I've been wanting to go all out with the Suisei frame! Wanna see this cool super move I'm working on?"

"Super move?"

"Yeah, a stream-type bombardment spell. Grandpa named it Comet Buster!"

"He sure loves his comic books, huh? But are you sure your body can handle the strain of whatever that move is? It's only been two months, and this situation isn't exactly the perfect time to get some practice in."

"Well, I have to use it in live combat at some point, right?" An armored mask covered her mouth and nose as her eyes glowed a deep crimson. "I'll have to charge it first for two minutes though."

"So that new toy of yours doesn't come with its own ether generator?" Marice then did a double take. "Wait, two minutes? That's like an eternity in a combat situation!"

And as if on cue, the aswang lunged at them in pairs. Marice glided to her right, firing an electric bolt at one of the aswang going for her friend. The bolt was strong enough to stagger her target, but the other one let loose a huge fiery blast, consuming Katherine's body in the explosion.

"Kath!" She attempted to slip past her opponents, but the aswang leader stopped her advance with a sweeping kick that she barely blocked with her golem's arm. "Get out of the way!"

But before either party could do anything else, Katherine's energy signature only continued to skyrocket. This prompted the aswang to brandish their steel-like claws and jump into the receding dust cloud, but the silhouette within weaved through them and unleashed a quick series of swings, dismembering their arms and wings.

"What?!" the aswang leader uttered.

Katherine twirled her sword as the prismatic aura cloaking her dissipated. "What, did you think I can't move while charging up my attack?"

Marice then took advantage of the aswang's distraction, using her golem to restrain him with both of its hands. "You idiot!" she called out. "You could've told me first!"

"But that would ruin the surprise!"

"Ugh, whatever!" She raised the aswang over her head. "That attack better be worth the trouble!"

As Katherine pulled out her ether cannon and took aim, the captured aswang started to panic. "Do something!" he shouted at his remaining companion.

The aswang took a stance as it prepared to attack, only to get cold feet as it met Marice's fierce glare.

"So, ready to talk or what?" she asked, looking up.

"That little bitch! She sent us out here to die!"

She raised an eyebrow. "Interesting. Mind pointing us in the right direction then? If you play along, we might give her a piece of your mind."

"I... I don't know much other than she's a witch who has demonic powers."

"And why did you attack us?"

"That scheming runt planned this all! She tricked us into believing we could take you two on!"

"So that explains the demonic ether you guys have."

"Tch, if only you girls didn't appear yesterday, we would've captured that girl without a hitch!"

"Well, well. You served your purpose at the very least."

"Um, Marice?" Katherine called out, her cannon humming with intense energy. "We need to get back and help out Vivianne!"

"Vivianne? What does she have to do with—" Her eyes widened. "Don't tell me..."

"Yeah... she got curious and well, she's currently after a witch who took Richelle."

"What about Sina?"

"She ran into someone else apparently. Most likely an accomplice like these guys."

Marice released the aswang and floated towards Katherine. "Okay, now I'm worried. We need to catch up to them."

"Y-You're just letting us go?" the aswang said with a bewildered face.

"You guys are idiots, so we'll let it slide this one time."

"What's that supposed to—"

"Relax. It just means we don't hunt creatures like you indiscriminately. Consider yourselves lucky that my partner here follows a strict code of sorts."

"Right!" Katherine chimed in as she put her cannon away. "And no more playing around with demonic ether! That stuff corrupts a mortal's body and soul!"

"What?!" the aswang uttered.

Marice shrugged as Katherine's shield hovered beside her. "You really are idiots. Come on, Kath. We have bigger fish to—"

"D-Don't leave yet!" he cried. "You have to help us! We'll do anything!"

He and his friends latched onto Katherine, only to burn themselves upon contact with her metal body. Marice and the vendor could only look away, wincing at the pathetic sight.

"Gyaaah!" Katherine cried, retracting her mask. "I'm so sorry!"

As a flustered Katherine taught everything what the aswang needed to know, the vendor leaned towards Marice. "So you're really letting them go?" she asked.

"Yeah," Marice replied, recalling her golems back into another pair of homunculus bottles. "And don't worry, we'll drop you off back to your trike."

"Um, about that. I have a favor to ask."

"What?"

She paused as she hugged the duffel coat. "Miss Katherine told me the two of you are working with the police."

"Well, something like that. Why?"

She grimaced, hesitating once more. "I don't really know how to put this, but can you guys give me some kind of proof that an aswang wrecked my sidecar?"

"Why not just call your employer over to the police station? You'll have to report the damages yourself anyway."

"I feel like she wouldn't believe me even if I did that."

"Why?"

"B-Because..."

As the vendor trailed off, Marice just rubbed the back of her head. "Fine, I'll tell Liza to think of something."

"I was hoping the two of you would be my witnesses so that—"

"Hey, hey. Aren't you getting too ahead of yourself?"

She gasped before casting a downward gaze. "I'm sorry."

"If you want our testimonies that much, then wait for us at the police station."

"Th-Thank you so much! I thought you were scary at first, but you're actually really nice!"

Her lips quivered, looking away. "Assuming we come back in one piece, that is."

And so, they returned the vendor to Intramuros and went after Richelle's captor in the sky. They didn't have to travel far though as the chase broke out into a full-blown battle over a lake-side city.

Katherine flew further upwards, surveying the situation with her eyes. "Richelle isn't with her. That witch must've taken her elsewhere."

"While Vivianne's chasing her? Even if she knew teleportation magic, that would take time to—no, scratch that. She could have another ally with her."

"Th-Then are we too late?"

"Not quite. If that witch is entertaining Vivianne in a fight, then her ally should still be nearby..."

"Okay, I'll do a scan. Just give me a moment."

Katherine deployed her drones once more and began combing the city with their sensors, starting from the area where the fight started. When the initial perimeter she had drawn reported negative results, she expanded her search just a bit further north of the battle.

And after a minute of comprehensive scanning, she finally scored a hit. "I found Richelle!"

"Just her?"

"Yeah, but whoever is with her must be masking their presence."

"Hmph, I suppose we'll find out when we get there."

They then flew straight to the source of the signature. But just as they made a turn around a building, they stumbled mid-air and found themselves stuck in a massive cobweb. The pair attempted to struggle out of it, but the transparent strands seemed to have a mind of their own, slowly wrapping themselves around their limbs.

Marice grumbled. "Again? Seriously?"

"On the bright side," Katherine replied, "I don't see any spiders on this web."

"Wait, below us!"

Standing in the middle of the road, a masked woman held a palm up and began casting a spell. A pulsing orb appeared before her hand, slowly increasing in size.

Marice gritted her teeth. "I can't reach my bottles!"

"Me too!" Katherine said. "I can't dispense any of my blades!"

She glanced at the swelling orb below. "She's about to finish! Buy us a bit more time!"

"Believe me, I'm trying! My shield's autocannons can't move an inch!"

She looked up at the sky. "Then what about that?!"

Katherine followed her gaze and gasped. Just as the masked woman finished her spell, she ordered her survey drone to swoop in and ram the woman into the wall to her right, causing the spell to destabilize and fall into the ground.

With the imminent danger gone, Marice telepathically spun the chamber mechanism of her left glove and preemptively injected herself with a dose of regeneration inducer. She then channeled a bolt spell to her forefinger, making sure that it had just the right amount of strength and ether density. Once satisfied, she used that finger to release the spell at the base of her thumb.

Bracing herself, she carefully guided the spell along her writhing body until it reached the bottles in her cargo shorts. And the second she was able to break them, she poured all of her willpower in summoning her golem puppets just outside the cobweb.

The warrior golem started hacking away at their bindings with its magic-infused sword, freeing them in seconds. However, the excruciating pain surging in her body caused her to immediately lose control of her golems. She plummeted to the pavement below, almost crashing headfirst if not for Katherine's quick response.

As Katherine set her on the sidewalk, Marice continued to convulse, tears flowing out of her eyes. "Shit. I think I overdid it..."

It took a moment for Katherine to realize what she meant. "Y-You did it again?!"

She took deep breaths, holding her injured thigh. "Wh-What choice do we have left?!"

"The last time you did that, you got paralyzed from the waist down! If it weren't for Professor Sameera, you wouldn't be able to walk ever again!"

"And it turned out fine this time! You're such a drama queen sometimes!"

Katherine started to tear up. "And you can be such an insensitive idiot sometimes!"

Marice tugged her cap's visor over her eyes, recalling the last time Katherine got that upset with her. "Ugh... I'm just glad I didn't wet myself again. I guess that charm your master gave us really does work."

She then looked to the left, eyes turning red. "My drone...!"

The masked woman emerged from the other side of the wall, clutching her bloodied left shoulder. But the moment Katherine took aim with her ether rifle, she cloaked herself in a demonic aura and looked like she was about to cast another spell. But instead, she suddenly launched herself into the air, flying to the other side of the block.