"My whole body is killing me!" Selena whined out loud, falling face-first into her comfy bed. Her arms and legs were sore, much like the rest of her body. She felt like she had been running for hours on end without giving herself a single break.

Three days had passed after she first arrived at the organization. During that time, Cedric would come knocking on her room every day around seven a.m. to train. To make matters worse, Dante informed her about needing to train her accuracy by doing target practice.

Knock! Knock! Knock!

A groan left her lips when the sound of someone hitting their knuckles against her door sang to her sweetly. Selena forced herself back to her feet and dragged her body over to the entrance to her apartment.

Selena slammed the door open in anger. "Listen, Cedric, I need a break from all this training and..." she paused, blinking a few times when she saw a man with fluffy snow-white hair and kind lavender eyes.

"Did I come at a bad time?" the man asked, taken aback by her sudden outburst of anger.

Selena quickly waved her hands around. "No, you didn't. I'm sorry, I expected someone else to be at my door," she sheepishly admitted. She couldn't believe she just yelled at some random stranger.

"Sounds like Cedric is making quite the impression on you," the man teased as a chuckle escaped his throat. "I should introduce myself; I'm Daniel Archer, someone who works all the time with Lena Blackthorn," Daniel explained with a smile.

"He's something alright," Selena suggested, crossing her arms. "Cedric mentioned her name a couple of days ago. It's impressive how she's running this whole place by herself," she stated.

"I agree; she's truly amazing," Daniel stated with a wide smile on his lips, lost in his own thoughts for a brief second before he snapped out of it. "That reminds me, I came here to inform you that you'll be going on your first mission with Cedric tonight. Please, do your best," he stated as he clasped his hands together.

Selena felt her eyebrow twitch. Damn it. Just when I thought I could relax a little, she briefly thought before giving him a small smile. "Then, I'll be heading out to go find him," she said, causing Daniel to nod his head and walk away.

I guess I better get going then, Selena thought. She turned on her head to head inside her room to grab something and then walked back out.

—--

Selena strolled through the plaza and headed over to the massive fountain in the middle of it. She glanced up when she heard shouting and whining.

Cedric held his hands up in surrender. "Why are you yelling at me? I already told you I didn't forget to tell her anything," he whined before taking a step back to avoid Dante's wrath.

"You're an idiot who forgets stuff all the time, and you expect me to trust you?" Dante pointed out, causing Cedric to frown at him.

"That's a bit harsh," Cedric said, looking like a child who was getting scolded by a parent. He blinked and looked over his shoulder when he heard footsteps growing gradually louder as they got closer.

"I hope I didn't make you wait too long; I tried to get here as fast as I could," Selena mentioned as she approached them. But she did lie a little since she took a tiny snack break before deciding to head over.

Dante let out a sigh, crossing his arms across his chest. "Now that you both are here, you'll both be heading over to a club to slay a demon that has been causing havoc at the location. It shouldn't be too difficult of a mission for a first-year to handle," he explained.

Dante says that, but that trial nearly killed me, Selena thought, feeling her eyebrow twitch slightly from irritation. She was about to open her mouth but quickly shut it when Cedric spoke up.

Cedric jumped with joy and punched the air. "Hell yeah, I finally get to try out my new motorcycle to get to the location," he said, his eyes sparkling with delight.

"Whatever, just try not to cause too many problems for each other. Also, make sure to watch each other's back. Just because Cedric is a second year doesn't mean you should act recklessly, and Cedric, don't be an idiot," Dante scolded, shooting daggers at Cedric with his one eye.

"Come on, you act like I'm going to drive like a maniac or do something stupid," Cedric pointed out, sounding a bit offended that Dante didn't trust him.

Selena looked down at her arm when Cedric grabbed it. A small gasp left her lips when he tugged her forward. "Hold on! At least, let me catch up," she scolded him as he continued to drag her along, seeming excited to show her his motorcycle.

—--

Selena blinked her eyes in surprise. She walked closer and inspected the ebony-colored motorcycle with a glossy finish. "Alright, you win; it's a pretty nice bike," she said with a smile.

"Right? I've been dying to drive this to a mission location," Cedric mentioned with a big smile. "Here, put this on," he said, handing her a matching helmet. He placed on his helmet before sitting on the bike and patting the seat behind him.

Selena let out a sigh. She put on the helmet and sat behind him. "Hey, where do I put my hands?" she asked since she had never ridden a motorcycle before.

"That's easy, I'll show you," Cedric said innocently. He reached behind and took hold of her hands. He brought them forward and placed them around his waist. "Make sure you hold on tight so you don't fall off," he teased in a flirtatious tone.

A bright blush spread across her cheeks. "I knew you were planning something!" she yelled before wrapping her arms a bit more tightly around him, catching him by surprise. "I'm only complying with your stupid request since I don't want to fall off, you hear!" she stated, causing him to smile.

"Got it," Cedric said with a grin. "Since teleportation spells aren't easy to do, I'll just cast a spell that'll take us to a street near the club," he mentioned as he extended his palm out.

A blue mist formed in front of them that swirled in a circle. The portal eventually opened wide to give a peek at what was on the other side of it, which was a street near a street lamp.

"Alright, let's go," Cedric said, cranking up the bike that let out a purr when the engine roared to life. He drove into the portal, causing it to close behind them.

Selena looked up at the dark, azure sky above with twinkling stars scattered across it. She observed the surrounding buildings after Cedric turned right at the street corner.

"According to the information in the report, the building should be just up ahead," Cedric explained. He increased the speed of the bike to get there faster.

"Dante didn't mention too much, but what type of havoc has this demon been causing at the club?" Selena asked with uncertainty lacing her voice. She wasn't sure if she wanted to hear all the details.

"Well, I'm not sure if you already know this information, but demons enjoy feasting on the blood and souls of humans. So, if you already guessed, this demon has been littering the club with corpses of numerous humans," Cedric explained, feeling sick to his stomach.

Selena grimaced as her stomach churned, already imagining the scent of the corpses filling up the air space. "That's horrible. But, at least we're going to be doing something about it," she stated.

"Looks like we're here," Cedric said, parking the bike next to a massive building.

Neon lights flashed out of the windows, and the walls vibrated from the loud music inside. Selena clutched her right arm as nervousness gnawed at her.

Cedric stepped off the bike and took off his helmet. "Don't worry. I'm here with you," Cedric said with a warm smile after he noticed her getting anxious.

"Yeah, I know," Selena said softly. She took off her helmet and placed it on the bike.

The moment they walked inside, her eyes widened in bewilderment. There were clusters of people everywhere dancing, drinking, or chatting with each other. Perfume and cologne mixed with one another, dancing with the odor of alcohol floating around the air.

"I think I'm going to be sick," Selena grumbled as she walked forward, feeling nauseous from the scents invading her nostrils.

"Yeah, I know what you mean. But we can leave as soon as we slay the demon here, which shouldn't be hard. It is a simple mission, after all," Cedric said, following after her.

Selena winced each time someone bumped into her as if she didn't exist. After finally breaking out of one crowd, she leaned against a wall to take a small break. "This is an absolute nightmare; how are we supposed to find the demon with all these people?" she asked after Cedric struggled to escape the crowd of people as well.

"Well, maybe we could check..." Cedric started before he paused, causing Selena to focus intently on him.

"What's wrong?" Selena stated before it hit her, too. The strong scent of iron filled her lungs like poison spreading through her veins.