Chapter 99: Serafall Sitri

Londinium, Britain

November 12th, 1152

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It didn't take long for Erik to find Serafall Sitri. He had just to follow the trail of ice. Serafall Sitri had an illusion barrier up and was interrogating the fleeing Devil with very creative use of Ice magic.

"Where are the others?"

She asked the Devil while slowly covering one of the Devil's hands with ice.

"I don't know."

The Devil replied while shaking. Erik was not sure if the shaking was because of fear, the ice, or both.

"You deserted from the old Satans' army together with another eight Devils. Tell me where are the others or I will slowly freeze you to death."

Serafall Sitri asked again in a no-nonsense tone that was very strange for Erik. That was a very different Serafall than the one portrayed by the show in his past life.

"I swear I don't know. I lost contact with most of them some weeks ago. The last time we got together was a month ago, and two of them didn't come that time too. Word on the street was that there were someone hunting Devils."

The Devil replied almost crying. The despair in his voice was very clear for anyone hearing it, and if anyone saw the ice climbing his hand they would understand why he was so desperate. But Serafall Sitri didn't believe in him.

"I don't believe you."

Serafall said with a cold facade and started to increase the speed of the ice covering the Devil, who started to yell desperately, swearing-in 'Lilith's name' that he was telling the truth. Serafall Sitri didn't stop. The ice continued to climb the Devil's arm and he continued to yell in despair. Serafall's facade continued blank. Erik finally couldn't take it anymore and with a quick motion, conjured an iron spike and banished it to the yelling Devil's head. His aim was true and hit dead center in the target, killing it instantly.

Serafall Sitri could react in time to the silent attack and could only watch as the Devil died in front of her. She quickly turned in place and started to look for where the attack came from but couldn't see anyone. Even her senses could not feel anyone around her.

"Come out from wherever you are."

Serafall Sitri said and started to ramp up her demonic power. Erik sighed silently at that. If she continued to do that, Londinium would turn into a block of ice. He could already see a snowstorm forming. Erik then decided to activate the measures that he had put into place earlier for his safety. With a mental command from Erik, Serafall's body went limp and she fell on the ground like a marionette having its strings cut. The only part of her body that she could move was her head. Serafall Sitri tried to power through what was causing that to her body, but she couldn't even mobilize her demonic energy anymore. She was trapped in her own body.

"You know, for one of the leaders of a group of Devils who want to reform the Underworld and get rid of the war-loving Old Satans' faction, you are just behaving like them."

Serafall Sitri heard a masculine voice behind her. Her body was then levitated into the air and 'deposited' in a comfortable armchair. Serafall Sitri then saw who had done that to her and her first impression was that her assailant was… weak? That's right. She couldn't feel anything coming from the handsome man sitting in another armchair in front of her. Between them was a low wood table that had a set of tea on top of it from where the man was calmly serving him a cup of tea.

"I'm nothing like that old scum!"

Serafall Sitri said heatedly. The man's comparison of her with the Old Satans' faction had bothered her immensely. The man just raised an eyebrow at her comment and finished serving his tea. He slowly sipped it, savoring the beverage, and then looked at her.

"Really? Then look around you and tell me what do you see."

He said to her and sipped his tea again. Serafall Sitri did that and looked around. The location where she was standing before was frozen. That was normal for her. She was an Ice magic user after all.

"I don't see your point."

Serafall Sitri said to the man in front of her, who raised an eyebrow again.

"Really? Then how about you calm yourself and look around again."

He said and snapped his fingers. Serafall Sitri then felt some sort of a wave going through her body that forced her to calm down. She then looked around again and what she saw this time shocked her. Outside the barrier that she had earlier raised, a snowstorm was starting to slow down. Chunks of ice could be seen where before were puddles of rainwater. The humans outside the barrier were shivering while huddling together trying to keep themselves warm because of the sudden change in the weather. Her face slowly went from the blank facade to one that showed some horror in it. She could bet that some less vulnerable people had died from the temperature change caused by her.

"See what I meant now?"

The man said and Serafall Sitri slowly nodded her head absentmindedly.

"What have I done?"

She mumbled while still looking around.

"Don't worry too much. I stopped you before things could get really ugly."

The man said to Serafall Sitri and she turned back to look at him again. More calm now, she paid better attention to the man in front of her. He had sharp facial features, stormy-gray eyes, and red-blong long hair that was braided in a nordic style.

"Who are you?"

Serafall Sitri asked.

"My name is Erik, and I was near here and saw your little pursuit."

Erik replied to Serafall Sitri and sipped his tea again. He loved to do that kind of mental game.

"What have you done to me?"

Serafall asked again. Her mobility and sense in her body had still not come back. Erik smiled at that. Inside Serafall's body was a group of his micro monsters. They were around her spine, around the neck region, blocking any electric signal going down to her body that was not to keep its basic functions running. But of course that he would not tell her that.

"I paralyzed you so you don't turn Londinium into a gigantic block of ice."

Erik simply said.

"I can give back your movement partially if you promise me to behave."

Erik said again to Serafalll Sitri like he was talking with a child. Serafall nodded her head at that and Erik snapped his fingers for theatrics while sending a mental command to his micro monsters inside her body. Immediately, Serafall felt her sense coming back to her body. Slowly, she tried to move her fingers and then her arm. She then sighed in relief.

*sigh*

It had been a bad experience for her to be a prisoner in her own body, one that she didn't want to repeat. So she would 'behave' to not feel like that again. She then saw Erik start to serve another cup of tea. When he was done, the cup floated in front of her. In calm movements, Serafall took the cup from the air and brought it to near her nose. She then whiffed the contents of it and closed her eyes in reflex to 'savor' the fragrance coming from it.

"Hmm…"

Serafall let out a short 'hum' and sipped the contents of the cup. She knew that it would not be poisoned. Not because Erik was drinking the same thing, but because someone that could do that to her once without her noticing, could do that a second time and would not have the need to poison her.

"Good tea."

Serafall Sitri said. She had identified the hot beverage when she whiffed it. Erik smiled at that.

"Thanks. It is a personal leaf grown in my home."

Erik replied and snapped his fingers again, this time conjuring a pot that was full of honey cookies.

"These are made by me too. People who ate them all loved it."

Erik said, taking off the lid of the pot and grabbing one of the cookies in his hand. He bit down on it and savored the weak taste of honey on it. Erik was looking forward to the day that he would find some cacao trees so he could make some chocolate and increase his repertoire of sweets. That and white sugar. Serafall took one cookie from the jar and slowly bit down on it too. The sweet taste that invaded her mouth was amazing. Quickly, she started to munch in the rest of it and, without knowing, let her blank facade slowly melt away from her face. Erik had his ideas of what happened to turn that bubbly woman into this cold torturer and vice-versa but chose to keep it to himself.

"He was telling the truth, you know."

Erik suddenly said, making Serafall stop her nibbling and look at him.

"He didn't know where his companions were because I have been killing a lot of Devils in these last months."

Erik said, making Serafall frown at that.

"Only the ones that don't behave, of course. Those that only want to live in peace, away from your war, are alive and well."

Erik added.

"What do you mean by 'don't behave?"

Serafall asked after swallowing the bit of cookie that was in her mouth.

"If they start attacking normal people, that means killing, raping, robbing, etc, I kill them after taking any useful information out of them. Simple as that."

Erik replied, making Serafall scowl at that.

"And you were berating me for interrogating that Devil."

Serafall said.

"No, I was berating you for not paying attention to your surroundings and not controlling your aura. And maybe because you were just toying with that Devil too. You must have magic to tell you if someone was telling you the truth, don't you? And my interrogations are all painless when they are not on a more… personal… level."

Erik replied while remembering what happened the last time that he and Selena had found vampires.

"Hmph."

Serafall humphed at that and Erik could see a glimpse of that bubbly magical girl-Satan under the blank killer created by a Civil War. Serafall had indeed forgotten to cast her magic to verify if the Devil was telling her the truth. She was just so tired of all the killing. And now that the war was finally over in the underworld, she was sent to hunt down the Devil's from the enemies army that had fled to the Human World. Serafall and her team had decided to divide into groups to cover more terrain and she had been the one to go alone and hunt down the Devils in Britain. She had not found too many of them. In fact, Serafall had only found one Devil: the one that she was pursuing early. But if the man in front of her, Erik, was telling the truth, the bad ones were already dead and she could live with that. Serafall then started to eat another cookie.

"And what are you?"

Serafall asked Erik.

"Me? I am human."

Erik replied, making Serafall roll her eyes.

"That I can see. I meant, what faction are you from?"

Serafall asked again, better phrasing her question.

"I am not part of any faction."

Erik replied.

"Someone, as strong as you, is not part of any group? I don't believe it. By your looks, I would say that you are part of the Nordics."

Serafall said and Erik shrugged at that.

"My roots come from there, but I'm not part of them."

Erik replied truthfully.

"I have friends there, but then, I have friends in other pantheons too."

Erik said again, not caring about what he was telling. It was not like he was giving her a lot of information to work with.

"And when are you planning to let me go?"

Serafall asked Erik, who turned his head to the side in confusion.

"Let you go? What do you mean? You are not a prisoner here, Serafall Sitri."

Erik replied, revealing to her that he knew who she was.

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