That idiot!

What the hell was he doing?

Andromeda spun to avoid another attack from the many fighters surrounding her. She could easily defeat them all but she could not focus on them. Her attention was pasted on the other side of the arena. Through her vampire eyes, she could see Levi fighting with a group of three men in hideous clothing and he appeared to be struggling. Struggling! Were his opponents so strong?

She raised her hand to grab her attacker's hair and slammed his fat head to another's gut. The two instantly fell to the ground. The vampiress stood straight and watched as Levi slowly got surrounded by more opponents.

Fool!

His situation was getting worse. Why won't he just quickly knock down those ugly mutts?

Another clean hit on his handsome face. Andromeda was sure it would leave a bruise. Such attacks could wound the Captain. And a wound means blood would escape his skin. That would be bad. The vampiress was feet away from Levi but she wasn't sure whether the flowery scent of the man's blood could reach her nostrils or not.

Hell.

She flipped her wolf-cut hair. Should she help the man?

But as she decided to speed toward Levi, another hulky fighter challenged her to a fight. She squinted at him, instantly raising her fist and punching the boar's face.

The challenger didn't budge. He even smiled.

What?

She put enough force on her fist to injure a man. The vampiress looked at Levi again. He was already almost fighting to kill. That was how powerful his opponents were. Odd. Wasn't he supposed to be this world's Strongest Soldier? Andromeda frowned and then faced her own challenger. Time to get serious, too. She bared her claws and hissed at the enemy.

The big boor hit his chest and let out an ugly cry. Grinning, he dashed toward the vampiress to hit her with his elbow. He aimed at her heart, but she was able to shield her chest. Andromeda twisted the elbow and slammed her opponent to the ground. He grunted and then used his thick leg to kick the vampiress' head. As Andromeda dodged, the boor used the chance to stand up again.

"Oh, you're a tough one," the vampiress admitted. "It seems there are many decent fighters in this land, after all."

The enemy's grin widened. He put his fist together and got ready for his next attack.

Maybe Levi was not really the strongest man in the walled world? Maybe these challengers were more skilled than him. Maybe--

Wait. Andromeda's brows furrowed. She watched as the look on her opponent's face grew feral. His teeth were bared. His tongue lolled, and drool escaped from his mouth. Yet he still smiled and laughed loudly like a madman.

There was something...

With her vampire speed, Andromeda got close to her enemy and looked carefully into his eyes. The boor's pupil was encircled by thin scarlet. What in Aurum's name was that?

The bulky boor suddenly chopped her shoulder. The pain rattled Andromeda. The force of the blow was almost as strong as Sir Leo's attack, and Sir Leo was the best knight in Aurum.

The vampiress hissed again. She scratched the man's ugly face, angry. How dare this lowlife inflict her with such pain? Using her full speed and full strength, she jumped and rode on the enemy's shoulders. She wound her legs around his neck and squeezed hard until the man couldn't breathe and lost consciousness.

Victorious, she jumped away from the limp body and flipped her hair. "Hmph. Still not strong enough." But when she was about to walk away, the man grabbed her ankle and pulled her down to the ground. Immediately, Andromeda used her hands as springs and took back her feet from the opponent. The man was still drooling and looking crazy.

"Stop the fight!" Andromeda and all the people inside the arena heard the announcer say in his booming voice. "We have five winners for today's melee! Clap your hands for our champions!"

Huh?

What was going on?

The fight was declared finished?

The vampiress looked around and saw that she, her enemy, Levi, and his two opponents were the only ones standing inside the circle. All the other fighters were knocked down. But why so many champions? Why stop the fight when they haven't determined the strongest one yet?

She searched for the King and saw some of the human royal's men talking to Erwin. Then her gaze landed on Levi. He held her stare. They both realized that something strange was occurring in the large arena.

+0+0+0+0+

Right after the melee, Erwin instructed both Levi and Hange's squads to meet him in one of the rooms in the palace. Inside it, a large oval wooden table was surrounded by wooden chairs where the Scouts each sat.

"What the fuck's happening?" Levi scowled. That was the question everyone wanted to ask. The melee had been halted, and from the arena, the advisers were seen out of their seats and discussing some unknown matter.

Andromeda twisted the ends of her dark hair. She, too, was itching to know the truth. Proteus had just told her that the Military Police tried but failed to arrest the other three winners of the Melee. Why did they want the champions arrested? And how silly were they to think they could easily arrest the strong men?

"Scarlet stone," was Erwin's vague reply. Everyone had their attention on the Commander. They eagerly listened as he explained, "It is a rare jewel that can only be found in the deepest parts of the Underground City. A businessman discovered it by chance only a month ago. He mines in an unknown location in the Underground, grinds the stone, and mixes it with cocaine to produce a new drug. Something that could strengthen a man fifty times his strength. Someone under the influence of the Scarlet drug would also show signs like rabies and/or have the heightened lust to kill."

"Let me guess," Andromeda chimed in, "the Scarlet drug users have a thin red line around their pupils." That was why her opponent earlier was damn strong. It was caused by this drug.

The Commander agreed, "Yes." Then he instructed two other Scouts to paste a large copy of the map of the Underground City on the board in front of the room. "The Military Police was able to pinpoint several locations where the Scarlet stones are most likely being mined, but they could not stop the miners right now. The Military Police is already stretched thin because of the celebration. They need the help of the Scout Regiment."

"Let's go close the mines, then!" Moblit exclaimed.

But Erwin put a stop to his enthusiasm. "We cannot go there in large groups. It would cause panic, and panic is something that we should avoid. Remember, this celebration is important to the royal family."

"What do we do then?" Oluo inquired.

The Commander answered, "We'll send our best Scouts first to confirm the mines' locations, and then they will arrest at least one of the owners. The arrested owner would be brought to the court and questioned about their dealings." He searched the crowd and saw Andromeda's eyes. "Andy, you will perform this mission with Levi."

With Levi...

With Levi...

It was as if the words echoed inside the vampiress' head. What the hell was the Commander thinking? Assigning her to a task of utmost importance with a lover she had recently parted with! What an insane man!

Petra was the one who first reacted, "But, Commander Erwin, due to certain circumstances, I don't think..."

"Petra, let's listen to what Erwin would say first," Levi said, and Andromeda couldn't help looking at him.

The Commander continued to say, "Levi and Andy are our best soldiers. Each of their strengths equals a platoon of soldiers. If someone has the chance to outpower the Scarlet drug users, that would be these two. Levi, Andromeda, you can fight everyone except the owner with the intent to kill. You must bring the owner here alive." He looked back at the entire group. "Also, rumors had been circulating that Levi and Andy are a couple. Their breakup hasn't reached the populace yet. The two of them suddenly missing together won't cause much commotion unlike if a whole squad would suddenly disappear. The masses would not panic."

That was sound logic, Andromeda thought. And, honestly, she didn't mind handling such a mission. It was a welcome challenge, if she was going to be honest. However, the thought of strolling along the Underground City and fighting goons with the male Captain made her stomach queasy and her heart beat triple time.

Levi's black orbs met her eyes but she looked away.

+0+0+0+0+

It wasn't exactly like hell--the Underground. There were no fires that engulfed the whole area or devils with horns and pitchforks torturing the masses. But, it was still a depressing place. Because, as its name says, it was situated in the underground, no sun touched its citizens. It was dark, cold, and musty. Andromeda wouldn't mind living in the dark, though. Vampires dwelt in darkness. But the people here were human; many of them would not survive without sunlight.

Food here was also scarce and the streets were disgustingly dirty. The citizens looked sickly. Many appeared to be criminals, so used to crimes just to continue living in this horrid place.

She remembered Levi telling her that he lived his childhood in a dark, smelly place beneath Mitras. This must be it. He lived in the Underground.

"You lived here," she told him and tried to break the ice as they walked along the odious streets.

Both Levi and she wore civilian clothing. No one should know they were on a secret mission. She was in a light peach dress with long sleeves and a very long skirt. Levi was in disguise, dressed in a black sweater and gray pants; he had a long black wig over his head and thick dark sunglasses. From a certain point of view, they looked like a common couple going out on a date. Like long-haired Levi was showing her the place of his childhood.

But Levi just grunted in reply, not wanting to start a conversation with her.

Oh, well.

If he could so boldly ignore her, then she should do just the same. Her eyes traveled back to the man. His eyes were glued in front. Andromeda flipped her black hair and continued walking.

She took the map from her satchel and tried to find their current location. They were near one probable mine.

Levi halted.

Andromeda felt eyes fixed on them. She looked around and saw a group of burly men surrounding them. Damn. Had their mission been found out? This early?

"Hello there, young lady," said one ugly man. "Would you like to play with us?"

"Yeah, we're good company," one thin man who looked like a squirrel teased, "come on, now, beautiful."

The vampiress rolled her pretty translucent gray eyes. Ah. These men were just common idiots. "No thank you," she flatly rejected him and walked away.

"Hey--" The idiot was about to grab Andromeda, but Levi caught his arm and twisted it. "Y-you! Argh!" He exclaimed. The soldier's sunglasses slid a bit and the burly man recognized his face. "You're Captain Levi, aren't you? The real Captain Levj! From the Scout Regiment? I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!" With their tails between their legs, the group immediately disappeared.

"Quite a celebrity, aren't you?" Andromeda teased but was ignored again. The vampiress was frustrated. Her mind and her heart constantly clashed. She both wanted and did not want to communicate with the male Captain.

"Captain Levi, eh?" asked another man.

Damn.

More idiots.

Levi and she spun to face the direction of the voice and saw another set of hooligans, but this time, it was obvious that around their pupils was a thin red line. They were Scarlet drug users. Most likely bodyguards of a nearby mine.

"Congratulations," said the boor with confidence, "you two will never leave the Underground alive!" His friends laughed with him.

Andromeda rolled her eyes once more. Egotistic fools, she thought.

Stretching her shoulders and baring her claws, she welcomed the fight. Soon, in this dark corner of the Underground, very near the place where a drug was being mined, chaos ensued.

The vampiress couldn't believe fighting for a good cause would feel so nice.