Swan Song

Hunt the Hunter Part 2

The trio made their way down the poorly lit corridor, which was kept in such a state due to Sebastian's preference for the dark. When they turned right to enter a different hallway, the walked into familiar faces.

"Oh, hello, lady Alice," said Theodore Karma, the more talkative of the Karma twins. There were quite a few things that set them apart from everyone else. First off, they had dyed their hair. Theodore donned a blue dye, while his brother, Christian, had green hair. "We weren't expecting you."

"Out of the way, Ted," the girl replied, crossing her arms. "I need to talk to my brother." She took a step forward.

"I'm afraid lord Sebastian is busy right now. You see, he's entertaining a guest," the slightly older teen replied, getting in Alice's way. "We'd be more than happy to leave a message."

Rem took a step forward, too, which the silent twin mimicked. The two glared at each other, then brought out their angels. Christian's was a creepy-looking wooden puppet, about the size of a person's forearm.

"You're not actually gonna pick a fight over something like this, are you?" Rem asked, standing his ground, but the twins didn't move. Ted simply summoned his own angel, an identical puppet to Christian's, demonstrating the second thing that set them apart; They shared an angel.

"Only if you force us to," Ted replied, a cocky smirk on his face. "Dum's been itching for a fight lately."

Stepping between the two, Lock raised his hands. "Cut it out, you two. You know angel fights are illegal."

Giving the shorter boy a one-over, Ted refused to back down, clearly not impressed. "So is trespassing on private property."

"Which isn't the case here at all," Lock countered, gesturing toward Alice. "She lives here."

"But you don't."

"Well, I invited them," the girl intervened, "so they're free to stay."

Ted looked hesitant, unlike his brother, who simply seemed bored. Finally, the boy's smirk was back in place. "Ah, but if my master orders something, I must obey him. Angel fights may be forbidden, but that doesn't mean we can't escort your friends ourselves."

"And how do you plan on doing that if I use Hypnos?" Rem challenged, and the raven spread his wings. All this only seemed to amuse the blue-haired teen more.

"Ah, but then you would be starting an angel fight. It would only be right that I defend myself using Dum, no?" He didn't finish his thought, since they all realized what he was talking about; Rem would be the one to suffer the legal consequences.

Alice, realizing they were getting nowhere, decided to play her cards differently. She brought her hands together in front of her neck, then started batting her eyelashes as she got closer to Ted. "Come on, Teddy. Don't be like that. Can't we work something out?"

"No," the boy replied, crushing her confidence more than her determination to get past him.

"How bloody dare you!? Am I not good enough for you!? Take me to my brother now!"

"No."

Alice reached back with her hand, attempting to slap him, but Lock caught her hand before she could. "Not every conflict can be solved using physical means." He turned toward the twins, then smiled. "You must know who I am."

"Of course," Ted sneered, "but your fancy title isn't gonna make us disobey lord Sebastian. You're not getting through."

"Are you aware of every single one of a preacher's duties?" Lock continued, undeterred. "I was told to examine some of them to prepare for my future life."