A little earlier….

In the dark of night within the cathedral, Helen was preparing for the next round of baptism. This time, she planned to force it upon the new heroes.  A young girl walked over and knocked on the door that Helen was in before gently opening it. “Head Priestess, the priests said they are ready.”

“Then we shall begin. Have someone gather the next group of heroes. It is time for them to be baptized.” Helen stood up and gave a smirk. She might have lost one of the other heroes, but the plan was still in motion. The heroes would only listen to the church and follow their orders no matter what they were asked, even if it meant killing children. “Everything unholy must be purged from this world. This is Goddess Yunnie’s will.”

Just as Helen was about to step out of the room, a knight rushed over and knelt in front of her. “Head Priestess, there is trouble. Half of the high district has been set aflame. Many of the priest’s families have died, including some of the cardinals!”

“What!?” Helen’s eyes widened in shock. She did not understand how this could have happened. But after a moment of thought, only one person came to mind. “It must be that dirty Fallen! I knew having her in the city would bring about misfortune. If not for the fact that Goddess Yunnie had changed her race, she would not even have been allowed to roam around freely! Send the holy knights and capture her immediately!”

“Head Priestess, I am sorry, but I can not. We can only question her and nothing more.” The knight responded. He was not under the Head Priestess’s command, but she was the only one on duty at this time.

“Where is Liandra!? She has already had a run-in with that bitch. Have her go and question her. Use force if needed. We may not be able to arrest her, but we can at least get the answers we need from her.” Helen’s expression was not good. She had no idea if Shizuku had anything to do with the fires, but she still wanted to use this as a chance to purge the vampire girl from the city and the world for good.

“I will have Liandra talk with her.” The knight replied. He would not abide by everything, but he could at least question the Fallen girl. He, too, wished to just cut her head off and be done with her, but the pope himself had passed down an order that the fallen must not be harmed at all within the holy city.

After the knight left, Helen looked at the young priestess who was waiting at the side and snorted. “You go and take care of the priests tonight. There will be no baptism until things are settled.”

The young priestess lowered her head and nodded. “By Goddess Yunni’s grace.” The young priestess showed no emotion as she turned and began walking away. It seemed she had long been used to this kind of thing.

- - -

Back to present….

Morning light gently shone through the part in the curtains of Shizuku’s room. She slowly opened her eyes and looked down to see two cute girls nestled into her chest. Waking up like this was quite good. 

A knock came at the door, causing the Miyumi and Mei to stir. Shizuku sighed and called out: “Come in.” She already knew it was Margret from her scent.

Margret opened the door and smiled at Shizuku, who was trying to slip out from under the two girls in bed and said: “Nora is here to take a look at your friend. She said she will heal her wounds and alter her appearance slightly so she will not be recognized by the church.”

“That’s possible?” Shizuku asked in surprise.

“Yes. If it was someone else no. But this is Nora we are talking about. This way, the poor girl will not need to suffer anymore.” Margret looked at the sleeping girl with a pained expression. To have to go through self-mutilation in order to not be targeted was not an easy thing.

“I am sure Miyumi will be happy.” Shizuku smiled. She was glad Miyumi’s wounds could be healed, and more so that Miyumi’s appearance could also be changed.

“Are you not going to invite me in?” Nora asked with pursed lips as she pushed past Margret. 

“Why so pushy!” Margret frowned as she pushed Nora back. But anyone could tell she used no strength at all.

“I have things to do so I will do this quickly. It’s good she’s asleep; she will have a nice surprise when she wakes.” Nora grinned mischievously. She raised her hand and began speaking in a tongue that  Shizuku did not understand. A green light spread out across the room before narrowing in on Miyumi. Her body was covered in the green light, and the cuts on her face began to slowly fade away, and her face became more narrow. Even her ears started to disappear. What’s more, on top of her head, two cat ears appeared. 

Shizuku was stunned when she saw this and quickly lifted the blanket to see a new black furry tail sticking out of Miyumi’s backside. Shizuku stared at it in awe for a moment before snapping out of it. When she heard a giggle from her side, she turned and looked at Nora, who grinned at her. “I hope you like it. The girl is very cute so she will be able to help you a lot. If she wishes to regain her previous looks when you are strong enough to protect yourselves, let me know. If not, she can stay like this. But I must go back to work, so I will see myself out.”

Nora seemed to be in a hurry as she quickly left the room. She had only made it to the stairs when she stumbled slightly. “I used too much life magic just now….” She muttered to herself as she slowly made her way down the stairs.