The Saint's Interruption

“Anna-chan, what are you doing?” she asked, her gaze fixed on the strange object in Anna’s hand. “What is that mask? Is it for a festival?”

She held up the mask, letting the moonlight glint off its impassive surface. “This is a disguise. Sometimes, to hunt monsters, you can’t look like yourself.” She looked at Uetum, her expression deadly serious.

“The knights know ‘Lady Anna.’ Lord Yarte’s forces know ‘the vampire.’ But sometimes, I need to operate without either of those names. I need this,” she tapped the mask.

Uetum’s eyes widened, her mind connecting the dots in its own, simple way.

“This is part of Phase Two.” Anna continued, pressing her advantage. “I need this to save the mines. Which means you cannot tell anyone. Not Pietta, not Demidicus, not a single soul. This is our secret now. Can you handle that?”

The effect was instantaneous. Uetum’s face lit up with a look of pure, unadulterated joy. A secret! A secret mission, just for her and the amazing Anna-chan!

“Yes!” she whispered back fiercely, her tail swishing with excitement. “Uetum can handle it! It’s our secret! A super-secret ghost mission!”

“Wait!”

Just as Uetum was about to cheer for their new secret mission, Anna’s hand shot out, grabbing the catgirl’s collar and yanking her back. 

A moment later, the area where Uetum's head had just been cut by a golden, quiet energy.

A tall, good-looking man with golden eyes and a calm, inquisitive gaze stood before them, wreathed in a gentle, heavenly light. He had the huge sword Ars Caelus in his hand.

“O User of Ars Maren,” the man said, his voice a calm, resonant hum. “Why did you save that catgirl?”

Uetum stared, her fur standing on end. “Nyaa… Anna-chan… he… he’s that sword I fought in the barracks!” she hissed, snapping back to her senses with the instinct of a true fighter.

If Caelus was here, then the real Serenya was somewhere nearby, watching. This was not a random encounter.

She pushed Uetum further behind her, placing herself squarely between the catgirl and the holy weapon.

“Because she is under my protection,” Anna stated, her voice cold and absolute. “And my assets are not to be touched.” She took a half-step forward, seizing the offensive in a battle of wills.

“The better question, Ars Caelus, is why the Saint’s personal guard is attempting to assassinate my subordinates in a dark alley. Is this how Serenya conducts her business now?”

“Maren,” Anna commanded telepathically, her mind a storm of calculation. “Hover at my side. Defensive posture. Do not engage unless he attacks first. Match his energy output, do not reveal your full power.”

Ars Caelus tilted his head, his golden eyes narrowing, his serene curiosity replaced by a cold, sharp judgment. “Why would a wielder of a holy weapon support a beastkin at a time like this? The corruption is near, and I fought that exact catgirl in the barracks. She is of Morvanium.”

His gaze hardened, “Or are you perhaps… of Morvanium yourself, ‘Saint’?”

She took a step forward, seizing control of the confrontation. “Having an Ars weapon doesn’t make me a Saint,” she snapped, her voice cutting and sharp. “It’s a title you and your master seem to be fond of, but it is not mine. Do not call me that again.”

She turned, pulling Uetum with her. “This girl is under my protection because she’s important. It doesn’t matter if she’s a catgirl. Now, if you are finished with your pointless interrogation, my asset and I will be on our way.”

Then, with a soft pop, the blue sword vanished, and the little girl stood in its place, right in front of Anna, her tiny hands spread wide in a protective gesture.

“Big brother, stop!” Maren cried, her voice full of a desperate, tearful sincerity. “Please, you must believe Anna! She’s not an evil master! She’s so nice! She lets me eat sweets, and she praised me, and Zebril is brushing my hair! A really evil master wouldn’t do that!”

The emotional, utterly childish plea was the one thing Caelus’s warrior logic couldn't counter. He looked from his tiny, earnest sister to the cold, masked vampire behind her.

“If my sister says that, then…” he murmured. He lowered Ars Caelus, the greatsword’s tip touching the ground. A small, rare, and genuinely warm smile touched his lips as he looked at Maren. “…it is good to see you, little one.”

And with that, he shot into the sky and gone.

The glade was silent again. The immediate threat had vanished, but Anna let out a long, heavy sigh. She turned to Uetum, who was staring, pale-faced, at the spot where the divine being had just stood.

“You were the one at the Tramble Site. You’re… you’re Saint X, nyaa!”

The final realization hit her like a physical blow. “You… you killed General Marutur…”

Anna watched the catgirl, her expression unreadable. Uetum was no longer just a chaotic subordinate; she was a witness. A loose end.

“I did,” Anna confirmed, her voice cold.

“If you don’t want to be a part of this, if you can’t handle it, then you can run,” she said, her voice a low, deadly whisper. “But I am very, very fast. And I will hunt you down, just like I did Marutur.”

She took a step closer, her orange eyes boring into the terrified catgirl’s. “Or,” she continued, her voice shifting to a conspiratorial purr, “you can keep my secret. You can prove that you are truly my ‘blade in the shadows.’ And you can stay on the winning side.”

She gave Uetum a chilling, almost friendly smile.

“Don’t tell the others, okay?”