Boss of the Azure Blood Squad

-----(Liz) "She has a skill that allows her to block others from reading her mind or her emotions. She can also tell when someone is intentionally trying to read her. Her default is she doesn't let anyone, although she's never blocked me before."

Again, Liana simply ignored Liz's emotions.

(Liz) "Although, it works on anyone but my sister." -----

Back with Lillian…

(Jasmine) "Boss, everything is ready."

She then proceeded to tell Lillian the arranged address, to which Lillian simply nodded and said,

(Lillian) "Good job."

She exited the building with Jasmine, to find January, July, Stella and Erin waiting outside for her.

(Erin) "Lucas contacted him then went ahead to scout out the area."

Lillian nodded, knowing Lucas's habits.

(Lillian) "January, July, you will be following me for this meeting. Erin and Stella will be back up, staying a distance away. Jasmine, you need to stay behind and handle things here."

They all nodded, accepting their orders. Lillian thought for a moment more before saying,

(Lillian) "Let's head out."

The others all nodded, and Jasmine went back into the building while Lillian activated a teleportation spell around Erin and Stella, which became a small pillar of light before they disappeared, then did the same to herself, along with January and July.

They reappeared in the middle of a field. Lillian's eyes narrowed as she placed a mask over her face. Strapped to her back were two swords, a short dagger on her waist, throwing knives in slots on a belt. Although it seemed like a bit much, it simply made her look more intimidating, fitting her like a sleeve. In addition to this, she was wearing a hood, covering most of her features, concealing her gender.

(Man) "So you show yourself."

Lillian lifts her eyes to see a man standing in the middle of the field, armed with a two-handed broadsword strapped on his back. Standing next to him were five men, all armed as well, standing in positions where they would be able to react quickly, should anyone come close to their boss.

(Man) "The Phoenix. You don't look like much."

She made a small motion with her hands, and January and July nodded, then walked off on either side of Lillian, until they were each about ten metres from her. She continued walking to the man in the middle and stopped a couple of metres from him.

(Man) "I'm assuming you called me out here for a reason?"

(Lillian) "I'm simply accepting your invitation."

She used a spell that made the gender of her voice impossible to discern, along with amplifying it. The man grinned, clear bloodlust in his voice as he said,

(Man) "I'm delighted to hear that. I hope you won't be too surprised when I do this, then?"

He drew his longsword and charged at Lillian with a speed that shouldn't have been possible with a blade that size. Still, Lillian easily drew her sword with her right hand, and with a simple movement, blocked his attack, completely halting his charge. If Liana were to have seen this, she would realise just how much she was underestimating Lillian.

(Lillian) "Surprised? No. Disappointed? Yes."

She appeared to move her arm slightly, but the man flying a couple dozen metres back seemed to show the opposite. The two men that were standing with him originally drew their weapons, but when Lillian sheathed her sword and walked towards them, they dropped their weapons and ran. Lillian looked surprised for a moment before signalling, and July drew her bow, shooting two arrows at once, hitting the men's legs, prompting them dropping to the floor screaming in pain. Then all of a sudden, the screaming stopped, and they went completely still.

Watching from a hundred metres away, Erin turned to Stella and asked,

(Erin) "What's going on?"

Stella's eyes narrowed slightly as she said,

(Stella) "She's upset."

Erin raised an eyebrow at Stella's curt reply and tried not to let it get to her. She tried again,

(Erin) "How... do you know?"

Stella watched as Lillian moved slowly towards the man, whom Stella knew was Steven Conley, the Boss of the Azure Blood Squad. She then took her eyes off what was happening and turned to face Erin. With a small smile on her face, she explained,

(Stella) "If she was calm, she would have played with him for a bit, letting him think he had the upper hand, then crushing him. However, that block showed that she's none too pleased."

She shrugged.

(Stella) "I'm not sure if you know why, but I can guess."

Erin raised an eyebrow, but when Stella didn't elaborate further, she understood that it was something that couldn't or shouldn't be discussed. Stella seemed to think for a moment before she asked,

(Stella) "Has Boss ever asked you to come to the Clan? It seems like she would have."

Stella actually originally came from the Mafia, but after an invitation from Lillian, she joined the Clan, then joined the Guard, and slowly worked her way up the ranks. Since she was personally invited by the Chief herself, she wanted to prove that she earned her positions.

Erin nodded.

(Erin) "She offered a few months back, and I asked her to give me some time to decide, and she hasn't been back since."

Stella shrugged.

(Stella) "You know how she is."

She brought her eyes back to Erin as she continued,

(Stella) "If you haven't already decided, I think you'd like it there. And…"

Erin raised an eyebrow and prompted the younger girl.

(Erin) "And?"

Stella had a pink tinge on her cheeks as she said,

(Stella) "I'd like it if you were there too… it's nice to have someone who I've already been working with for a long time by my side."

Erin had a slightly surprised look on her face. She knew Stella was telling the truth about being comfortable around people she already knew, which is why she stuck to Lillian so much. But she also knew Stella was not one to say these kinds of things and held hope against hope that it could possibly be something more. Stella was a straightforward girl, along with being remarkably sharp, but incredibly dense when it came to feelings surrounding herself.

She took a moment to compose her thoughts before she responded with a small teasing smile,

(Erin) "Why? You miss me too much when you don't see me?"

Stella's response confused her, to say the least. She still had the faint blush, but her words confused Erin.

(Stella) "It's getting lonely, since Boss stopped calling me to do things."

Erin raised an eyebrow. Stella frowned as she said,

(Stella) "I'm not sure how much I can tell you, but recently she's had other… things on her mind."

Erin's face paled slightly as she said,

(Erin) "She…"

Stella turned to her as realisation crossed her face.

(Stella) "Your skill kicked in?"

Erin nodded stiffly.

(Stella) "But mine didn't though."

(Erin) "Perhaps not yet but─ Yours?"

Realisation crossed her face as she asked softly,

(Erin) "It doesn't work on you, does it?"

Stella shrugged.

(Stella) "Not as far as I─"

She broke off as her eyes widened and she turned to Erin.

(Stella) "You─ How?"

Erin blushed as she asked,

(Erin) "Could we not talk about it now?"

(Stella) "Fine. But I am wondering─ I should be worried too, huh."

Erin raised an eyebrow as she asked teasingly,

(Erin) "What did you do now?"

(Stella) "Stupid things. I hope she isn't too mad or doesn't get too mad when she finds out. I'm so dead."

Erin chuckled, but her expression quickly smoothened out as she noticed Lillian appearing nearby, then walking towards them, an upset expression on her face.

While they were talking…

Lillian walked toward the man she had kicked. He was struggling to get up when Lillian reached him. She drew her sword with her left hand, holding it against his neck.

(Lillian) "Steven Conley, Boss of the Azure Blood Squad. As Chief of the Loyal Eagle Clan and a General of the Adrenian Royal Guard, you are under arrest for treason."

January and July were using a spell to hear what was going on from where they stood. January turned to July and asked,

(January) "General of the Adrenian Royal Guard? I've never heard of that position before."

July's brows furrowed.

(July) "We can ask Boss later, but I don't know if she'll be in a good enough mood to answer."

They watched until Lillian gestured for them to move towards her.

Steven Conley stopped struggling, accepting his fate.

(Steven) "How did you know?"

(Lillian) "You're not as good as you think."

She sheathed her sword and gestured for January and July to approach. When they were close enough, she gestured to Steven and his two guards.

(Lillian) "Lock him and his men up. I'll give further orders later."

She then disappeared before their eyes. January and July, unsure what was going on, but quickly moved to follow her orders. When they reached Steven, they realised he was unconscious. January quickly bent down to examine him.

(Stella) "Boss is upset. He should have quite a few poisons in his bloodstream by now. Don't worry though, it won't kill him. Yet."

Both January and July jumped slightly, not aware of Stella and Erin teleporting close to them. Stella approached January, bending down and using a hand to move Steven's collar, showing a small scratch on his neck.

(Stella) "Heal his wounds but leave the poison."

January simply nodded and went to work. By this time, July had dragged the other two men back over to them, knocking them out at the same time.

(July) "General Dusk, may I ask what just happened?"

Stella sighed softly as we replied,

(Stella) "I'm not exactly sure myself. It doesn't matter. Boss will give further instructions, even if she doesn't explain."

They both nodded as they went to fulfil Lillian's orders, meanwhile, Erin was still deep in thought about something she had heard.

Lillian appeared in the training hall Liana and the others were in surprising all of them but Rose and Elena, who had wandered into the hall a while earlier, wanting something to do.

(Elena) "Lex!"

Elena jumped onto Lillian, giggling with delight. Lillian's expression softened as she caught Elena in her arms, rubbing her back affectionately.

(Lillian) "Hey Lena. I haven't been giving you enough attention, huh."

The others were all watching this scene with wide eyes. Elena, the girl who always had a blank and controlled expression on her face, had jumped onto Lillian and was now giggling happily. Lillian, the Chief or Chieftess of the Clan, who usually had a controlled expression on her face, also never showing much affection, was holding the smaller girl in her arms and rubbing her back, joking with her.

After a few moments however, Elena got both her feet back on the ground, her expression serious again. Lillian's expression had also returned to its normal blank state.

(Rose) "Chief. What are you doing back so soon?"

Rose was the first one to recover, while Liana was still processing that gentle expression on Lillian's face. It evoked many feelings in her, which caused a few worried glances from Liz, but she didn't do anything.

Lillian sighed softly as her eyes closed.

(Lillian) "Gather everyone in the meeting room. Send a message to King Zander and Queen Adelia to come as soon as they can."

Rose's position as an elite finally came into play as she nodded.

(Rose) "Should I send a message to Empress Laurel as well?"

Lillian nodded before disappearing again. Liana's eyebrows raised, but she knew the situation was under control as Lillian told her something through the bond, sending her a quick smile before disappearing.

(Liz) "Ruby and I will get Robyn."

Rose nodded and turned to Liana.

(Rose) "My apologies, it seems something has come up and we have to end our training session abruptly."

Liana shrugged.

(Liana) "It's alright. It seems serious, from what I can tell."

She hesitated a little before asking,

(Liana) "Does she usually get this upset?"

Rose looked surprised for a moment before she replied,

(Rose) "No. Chief is usually very collected, and this is the first time she returned from a trip to the Mafia in less than a day, much less twelve hours."

She left Liana in deep in thought as she went to carry out Lillian's orders.

Lillian appeared next to Erin, who was standing at one end of a room, where Stella and July were standing in front of three men tied in the middle of the room.

(Erin) "Boss."

Lillian nodded, before she raised an eyebrow at her, asking a question without opening her mouth or even sending her a mind-link.

(Erin) "Enough."

Lillian hummed softly before saying,

(Lillian) "Bring them to the Clan meeting room."

She didn't wait for an answer before disappearing again.

(Stella) "You heard Boss. Let's go."

Erin nodded and gestured for July to move closer to her.

(Erin) "Get January. You're both coming with us too."

July nodded before disappearing. All of Lillian's personal guards had to have the ability to do some form of magic, or she'd give them a personalized suit with the necessary spells on it, which explained their ability to teleport, as it wasn't exactly a low-levelled spell. More of spatial magic, legendary class type of level.

(Liana) "Mum, Dad, do you know what's going on?"

King Zander and Queen Adelia had made their way back as soon as they got the news, with Lillian's guards escorting them, and they were all now sitting in the meeting room.

(Queen Adelia) "We have no idea either."

(King Zander) "If Chief Lera called us so soon after we left, it has to be something serious."

(Lillian) "King Zander, Queen Adelia. We are still waiting for a few more people to arrive, then we can begin."

Lillian said with a slight dip of her head.