Narsus and Daryun left the crowd, walking on the streets. Their cloaks still covered their body and they were hooded to conceal their faces.

"I had braced myself for this but seeing for myself as the Lusitanian army throws their weight about here, it makes me painfully aware if our defeat." Daryun stated as they walk.

Narsus nods in agreement.

"It makes me painfully aware that I have chose the wrong choice to leave Ecbatana to assassinate viceroy Pelagius"

Hearing someone else talk, Narsus and Daryun unsheathes their sword and faced to the source. The person there was Sena, back in her normal clothes with her straw cloak.

"Sena!" Daryun whisper-shouted. "Don't surprise us like that or we could've accidentally killed you." He lectured.

Both he and Narsus sheathes their swords, relieved that they didn't attack right away. It would be devastating if they strike Sena.

"I can always deflect your attacks."

"You weren't even holding a weapon to deflect anything."

"I have fast reflexes."

The black knight breathes deeply, not wanting to argue with her anymore. Arguing with the Freelancer is time consuming and nonsense. She would always find the words to counter everything.

"Why were you dressed as a Lusitanian soldier a while back? And what were you doing?" Narsus asks, not knowing the reason of her actions. He had came up with a few theories but he wanted to confirm it.

"To infiltrate the Royal Castle, I had to dress up as a Lusitaninan guard. The original plan was to walk around the castle and try to extract information from the people around it, including the soldiers." Sena started to explain.

"But, a bunch of soldiers asked me for help to bring out the ancient scrolls. At first, I thought they would transfer it to Lusitania or sell it. And so, I changed my plan to enter the palace after helping them for quite a bit but I found out they're going to burn the scrolls."

"Then what did you do?" Narsus asked.

"I debated to either look for the King and Queen with the chance given to me or to save at least some of the ancient scrolls."

"What did you choose?"

"Save the scrolls. Don't worry, I'm prepared to face punishment for choosing the scrolls. I would not hesitate or fight back if I were to be punished by Prince Arslan."

"Choosing either way, you would do the right thing. It's His Highness that would decide if he were to punish you or not. How many scrolls have you managed to save?"

"About a thousand. It's the most that I can save. I tried to save scrolls from every section of the library."

"I appreciate that you saved at least that amount of scrolls. You have my gratitude." Narsus bows his head to show his thanks. He was glad that at least some of the scrolls were saved. Still, millions of ancient texts are lost.

"I buried the scrolls to the ground near to the Royal Library. It was the only place where I can hide it."

"No, saving them from being burned is already enough." Narsus shook his sideways. What Sena did is more than enough.

"Why did you bring attention to yourself?" Daryun asks the most awaited question.

"I got pissed. They have no right to treat Parsian culture like that." Sena half-lied, not telling the whole story. And she did nothing to make her lie and story convincing. The brunette had no intention on telling them why she did it.

Daryun and Narsus knew she wasn't telling everything. To make her show such a bloodlust expression, it must be something big.

It surprised Daryun, who knew her for three years. Sena never made that face, an expression of pure bloodlust and hatred. If annoyed, she does a sadistic smile, that's it. Besides, Sena never really gets annoyed.

"Now, how do we take back this place?"
Daryun goes back to the matter at hand as they started walking again.

Narsus told one way to retrieve the kingdom. It had its ups and downs, with slavery being the hardest part.

Walking pass a bar, someone came out with a bottle of alcohol. The man was obviously drunk. The three couldn't tell he if he was a Parsian or Lusitanian.

He bumps into Daryun and falls to the ground. The event remembered Sena of the time where she bumped onto Daryun as well. He was like a wall.

"Whoa! Hey! Make way, you dimwit!"
The soldier's face was red from being drunk. "Do you know who you ran into?!

"Do you know who you ran into?" Sena says back.

"I serve under Eran Kharlan..." The soldier looks up to see the man in black and in the woman in brown.

Daryun frowned and gave a nasty look. Sena on the otherhand had a sadistic smile. Now they know who the soldier serves. He's a traitor to the kingdom.

It's a good time to let off some steam.

"Da..." The soldier immediately regrets everything and lets his bottle of alcohol fall off.

He runs off, knowing and fearing Daryun's strength. He was scared to die.

"It's Daryun and the Female Marzban!" The soldiers yells as he gets away.

"Since when did I become a Marzban?" Sena frowned.

"Running away without even fighting any of you two... He has a good grasp of his own capabilities." Narsus thought that the soldier was someone who would fight without even thinking. The soldier wasn't stupid enough to do such a thing.

"But it was his mistake to talk all strong and mighty." Sena slips her hand into her robes and reaches for a throwing dagger. She could chase the traitor easily and kill him.

"Do we go after him?" Daryun pops the question.

"First, I will go alone." Narsus smiles as he removes his hood.

"No fun." Sena puts back her dagger and removes her hood as well.

Narsus goes ahead as Sena and Daryun takes another path that will lead to the same place where Narsus is headed. They're going to cut of the escape routes.

Men were secretly waiting for Narsus to fully enter, being surrounded by Parsian traitors. The men made their move and decided to show themselves. There were four of them.

"I knew it! It's Narsus!" One laughed.

"Because of you bastards, we've got nowhere to go now!"

"Before you die, you'll tell us where to find Prince Arslan." It was the soldier who they met earlier.

Narsus quickly draws his sword and strikes two men. One was slices in the stomach while the other had his hand cut off. They fell to the ground, yelling in pain.

"Did you think that alone, I would be easy to deal with?" Narsus says.

Daryun strikes one soldier and he falls the ground, leaving the drunkard being the last one standing. He was frightened at the people before him.

Sena whistles at Narsus. "Nice moves."

The remaining soldier lets go of his sword and falls to the ground in defeat. His body was also jelly-like, from being drunk and scared.

"Before you die, how about you tell us where to find King Andragoras?" Narsus threatened to make him talk.

"I-I don't know!" The soldier had his hands up in the air. He became even more frightened when Daryun puts his sword below his chin.

"I really don't know! It's the truth! I value my life, too! I'd tell you if I knew!" The soldier pleads.

"From what I can tell, he is telling the truth." Sena pointed out.

Narsus approaches him and kneels to his level. "I do not care if they are merely rumors. Recall what you know, for your own sake."

"K-King Andragoras is alive."

"That, we know."

"Ahahaha! You better say something useful or else." Sena holds out her thumb and swipes it sideward on her neck, gesturing his death.

"It seems he's imprisoned somewhere. Lord Kharlan only told the closest to him to begin with. Even the generals of Lusitania don't know about it." The soldier faces Narsus.

"What of Queen Tahamine?"

"She's to marry Innocentius VII, the King of Lusitania. I heard some Lusitanian soldiers gossiping about it. They said it was love at first sight or the King."

Giving Sena a chance to do something, they let her beat him up. Her physical strength was scary for a woman, especially that she shows no sign of muscles. Daryun and Narsus takes note not to annoy her.

The soldier was out cold and she threw him onto a barrel. With his butt in the bottom and his legs out of the barrel, it would be hard to move or get out from there.

Sena claps her hand to remove any dust. After doing so, she joins the two men and they walked away. They wore their hoods again to conceal their identities.

"The Lady Queen's beauty is a terrible thing." The strategist pointed out.

"Who knew that being beautiful could be a curse?" Sena grins.

"But what do we do? Even assuming that His Majesty is alive, he may be harmed as an obstacle to the marriage." Daryun says.

"Will he even be considered an obstacle if he's imprisoned?" The brunette countered.

"Or there is the possibility that the King of Lusitania is pressing the Queen to marry him in exchange for King Andragoras' life. I would prefer to have a little more information." Narsus stops in his tracks, making the other two stop as well.

"Shall we split up and go fishing again?" The Marzban suggested.

"Yes." Narsus replied.

"This time, I'll try to bring back useful information." Sena said.

And so, the three splits up once again, with Daryun leaving the group first when he turns to a corner. Sena looks at his disappearing figure and looks at the ground. Then she looked back at the direction where he went.

"Is something wrong?" Narsus asks.

"It's nothing. My nose just started to itch. I'm quite restless thinking about the scrolls I buried. If you don't mind, I'll relocate it to somewhere better and safe. After that, I'll continue to investigate further." Sena pointed out.

"You may go ahead."

Nodding, Sena leaves and headed towards the Royal Library. When she arrived, she made sure that no one was there to watch her. A couple of soldiers walked by and the Freelancer waited until they left the vicinity.

Stealing cloths from a nearby vendor, she puts as much scrolls it can hold and ties it up. There were ten cloths all in all served as a bag for the scrolls.

One by one, she buries them again but located in different places. If she hid it in a building, the Lusitanian's might decide to burn or destroy every building. If she gave it to someone else, it might fall to the wrong hands. And besides, there was no one in the capital whom she could trust. Izu, the informant, left the capital already.

Just as she was about to bury the last remaining cloth, someone stood behind her. She saw the shadow that was casted because of the moonlight. The shadow belonged to a tall man.

"Woman, what are you doing?" His voice was deep and it was full of authority.

The man couldn't see her face because Sena's back was facing him. She was also hooded. The man knew that the person is a woman from her small figure.

Sena didn't answer.

"Tch. I'm going to ask one more time, what are you burying?"

Not wanting to reveal her voice, she gets the cloth and opens it. Then she lays it on the ground carefully not to make the scrolls roll in different directions.

"Scrolls?" Unfortunately, the scrolls rolled everywhere and one made its way to the man. The scroll was half opened.

"From the Royal Library? Where did you get this scrolls?" The man asked even further. Sena didn't utter a single word.

"Answer when I ask!" Still no answer.

"You lead me no choice!"

The brunette watches his shadow as he pulls out a sword and readies to strike. Seeing this, Sena unsheathes her own sword and met the man's weapon half way.

She sees a man with a silver mask with black hair.

The man was surprised. He only planned to fake a blow to scare her so she will talk but she answered differently. She replied with a sword.

"To be honest, I was not expecting a sword. You're not a normal woman are you?" The man says.

Sena takes a good look at the man.

He doesn not seem to be a Lusitanian. Those savages would proudly where their blue uniform.

Since she's already exposed, she has to talk.

"I am a Freelancer." Her greatsword is covered by the cloak. Thus, the man cannot see it.

"What are you going to do the scrolls?"

"Bury them."

"Why?"

"To save them."

"Who hired you to do such a thing?"

"Can I choose not to answer?"

"Ignore those scrolls and leave." He demanded, wanting to get the scrolls and keep them. It is still Parsian culture and it is very valuable.

"No." Sena strongly says.

"Leave or I'll slice you."

"What are you going to do with the scrolls?"

"None of your concern." Sena scoffs at his reply.

"Do you harm women?"

"I harm anyone who gets in my way."

"At least we have something in mutual, masked man."

The two exchanged swords and the masked man was surprised that the woman can match the weight he puts into his sword. In Sena's mind, it would be trouble if he would put all his weight on the sword or else she'll be crushed. This is no time to fight on equal terms, she must do everything to gain the upper hand.

Both back away from the clash and took a good look at their opponent. Sena can't see his face, and the man can't see what's underneath her cloak.

"This day just keeps on getting interesting." The man grins.

He just arrived from fighting Daryun and Narsus, who got away. They were strong and worthy opponents. And for him, it was fate to meet the nephew of Eran Vahriz.

"This day just keeps getting worse." Sena countered.

"Poor soul."

The man charges once again with his sword while Sena grabs her shortsword, wielding two swords. She stops his attack and their swords rests on top of the other. The brunette somehow manages not be crushed by his weight. Sword to swords, both looked at each other's eyes.

The man didn't see any fear in Sena's eyes. They were bright and not clouded. He envied those eyes. He knows she went through something harsh to achieve those.

Sena saw hatred and revenge in his eyes. His eyes were telling that he was convincing himself. Convincing himself that he has every right in doing things his way. She knew he went through something harsh to achieve those.

Sliding their swords against each other, both backed away once again.

"What's your name?" The man asks, grinning. Sena was worthy enough for the man to know her name.

"I say mine, you say yours." Sena tries to make a deal with him.

"Very well then."

"I am Sena, a Freelancer. Also known as Blood Seeker. " The Freelancer risked of saying her name just to know his. She chose to say her name as a Freelancer and not someone from the Royal Palace.

"The infamous Freelancer?" The man laughs loudly, as though he was entertained.

Slightly irritated, Sena reminds to go back to the matter at hand. "Your name."

The man puts a hand to his face, calming down. Once settled, he puts down his hand.

"I am Hilmes." He introduced.

The Freelancer was relieved. She thought he wouldn't do as promised. It seems he's not that of a trickster.

"To think that the infamous Freelancer does jobs like this."

"Oh, I have done plenty of jobs besides killing. People just pay attention to my killing streak, that's all there is to it."

"How about we do it this way." The man named Hilmes sheathes his sword and stood firmly.

Believing that he has no reason to fight, Sene sheathes both her swords as well. If things go down, she'll have to rely on a quick draw in order to avoid death.

"Abandon your task from the client you serve and give the scrolls to me instead. For your reward, name your price. Money, a castle, land, slaves, anything." Hilmes offered, expecting the Freelancer to comply.

To say such things, he must be rich and powerful. I haven't heard anyone named Hilmes that has that sort of power in Ecbatana or Pars.

"It's quite tempting, sir. But may I know your plans for the scrolls?" Sena asked, hoping he would spill it.

"I want it for the same reason as your client. I want to save it, but not by burying it into the ground."

"So you're saying you're going to store it somewhere safe?"

Hilmes grunts, getting impatient. "You are a nosy and talkative Freelancer."

"I'm a Freelancer, you're basically asking my service by making me hand the scrolls over for a price. Meaning, I have the right to know or else I can't accept such a thing."

For Sena, handing over the scrolls does not seem bad because he'll keept it safe. Hilmes is willing to give a reward, but will he really do as he says?

"Five hundred thousand gold pieces. Give it to me or you won't be getting any of these." Sena goes to the front of the pile of ancient texts.

Hilmes was irritated at the expensive price. He can just trick the Freelancer and kill her afterwards but he also wanted her service. She is the infamous Blood Seeker, successful in countless one-man impossible missions. Hilmes can't simply ignore that fact.

Just when he was about to say the meeting place and time for the exchange, Bodin and his men arrived at the Royal Library. Both Hilmes and Sena cursed in their minds at such a wrong timing.

But Sena's blood boiled. Her bloodlust was once again obvious. Just like that time, her hands were shaking. The want to kill Bodin is strong.

Hilmes on the other hand was quite surprised to see the Freelancer to have such bloodlust. He was deeply mistaken. This girl is like him, and he didn't envy those eyes anymore. She is also full of hatred and revenge, but her eyes are still clear.

"Silver Mask! What is going on here?" Bodin demanded. Then he looked at the ground, seeing scrolls scattered everywhere. He eyed them and saw that it was scrolls from the Royal Library. Narrowing his eyes to see the girl's features, he thought he saw her somewhere. But it is impossible to have seen a Heathen somewhere before.

Silver Mask?

The name made her realize that the man she's with is the killer of Lord Eran Vahriz. It made her clench her fists in anger.

He was a Lusitanian soldier from the beginning! He never planned on saving the scrolls, he never planned on paying! Savages!

Hilmes had to answer Bodin, and he didn't like having to. Such a wrong timing. He has to be on the Lusitanian's side for now. What a waste, he thought.

"I found this woman burying scrolls on the ground. Then I found out it was from the Royal Library. I was in the middle on interrogating her. Then I plan on destroying the texts." Hilmes replied, lying on the last sentence. He didn't sound like he's planning to save Sena.

I knew it! Curse these Lusitanian savages! Sena bit her lower lip.

"She's a heathen! There is no need for interrogation! Just kill her!" Bodin yells.

What he said made Sena snap.

"If a heathen does need interrogation and needs to be killed without hesitation, why did you kill the pure boy in white without hesitation who was a Yaldabaoth believer?!"

Hilmes and Bodin's eyes grew large at her words. Both of them recognized who she was talking about.

Bodin had his own memories flash, and Hilmes had his.

"You're the healing priestess!" Bodin exclaimed.

No wonder, he thought. That hair color, those amber eyes, they belonged to the same person five years ago.

Bodin was right in front of her eyes. Sena could just kill him, but there was also Hilmes who must not be taken lightly.

Once again, she restrains herself from killing Bodin. She has to wait and believe that the time to finally eradicate him from this world will come.

Leaving the scrolls, she fled from the area.

"After her!" Bodin yelled at his men. Sena escapes the soldiers easily because of her speed.

Bodin had his teeth gritted. He was restless after knowing that she is still alive and well.

Hilmes simply thought of it as a coincidence. He pitied her of her past and how she ended up. But if ever she'll get in his way, he will not hesitate to rid of her. Although making her join his army is also not a bad thing after knowing what she's capable of.