Nice deal.

Phina got up in a large luxurious bed. It was a huge room. It had a few closets, a rug, a large mirror and a couch which Pida was sleeping on. She got up with a yawn. She felt her muscles all relax.

'I should go have another bath.' Phina thought as she got out of bed.

Phina walked up to Pida and picked him up. She put him on the bed and covered him with the sheets.

She took a minute to just look at Pida. She contently smiled. This companion of hers was all she could ask for. He accepted her for all she was and never sold her out. She also noticed how he would take care of her behind her back. He would always give up the most comfortable bed. He would always secretly pay to refill her water bag. He would also always pay for inn rooms after she confessed to him.

"Thank you." Phina softly whispered with a smile.

She left the room quietly.

"Someone's in a good mood after a good night's sleep." Phina heard the voice of Tala as she walked past her room.

Phina's face reddened after remembering how she fell asleep in the middle of Tala's story. "I guess you got me out of the bath? Thank you."

"No problem." Tala looked at Phina's innocent smile calmly, yet her heart was beating madly.

Seraphina Ender!!

The woman that flipped the Killers' Arena's fate upside down! She was right in front of her!!

"I noticed that your mask fell in the bath. Don't worry, your secret is safe with me." Tala decided to test the waters.

"D-Damn it! Does it get loose with water?" Phina quickly panicked. "I hope you didn't get the wrong idea!"

"Don't worry!" Tala laughed. "How about another bath, but this time, maybe actually wash your face before getting in?"

"..." Phina seemed at a loss for words. She then sighed. "Fine. You already know what I look like, might as well."

"Okay." Tala said with satisfaction. 'I'm one step closer to confirming her identity.'

"Shira?" Phina heard Pida's voice inside the room.

"I'm here!" Phina said as she opened the door.

"W-Why am I on the bed?" Pida asked with a stutter.

"I put you in after I woke up." Phina said. She was confused when she saw Pida's red face. She looked down.

"I h-hope I wasn't too heav-"

"I'm going out for now." Phina interrupted as she looked towards the door, facing away from Pida.

"W-Wait, where to?" Pida asked as his redness reaching his ears. It was clear that she noticed.

"The bathhouse." Phina said as she walked out the door.

"I'll come with y-...I mean, I'll catch up with you in a few minutes, you go first." Pida said, almost in a whisper.

"Cool." Phina said as she walked into the hallway, where Tala was waiting.

"Wanna go now or after we walk around a bi- WHAT THE FUCK?!" Tala yelled as she saw Phina's face red like a tomato. "A-Are you okay?!"

"Y-Yeah...l-let's go..." Phina simply said with a small and awkward chuckle before walking off.

After walking for a while, Phina calmed down.

"S-So...Shira...what are your goals here?" Tala tried to small talk as they walked to the bathhouse.

"Pffft- hahaha!" Phina burst into laughter. "You're a lot nicer when your not drunk!"

"I-I get that often." Tala chuckled.

"Anyway, Spear and I came here to find someone." Phina said.

"Who? Seraphina Ender?" Tala asked as she glanced at another building. She simply didn't want Phina to read her expression.

"What?" Phina chuckled nervously. "There's no way we can catch her. She's probably a Law-ranker with many powerful Skills if she came from the Exodia."

"I see, who're you after then?" Tala continued her questioning.

"An old Apex-ranker by the name of Feher." Phina sighed. Even she wished to meet Feher. If she could get the help of an Apex-ranker, she could reach the Apex-rank herself and maybe master the Lord-rank Skill.

"I see..." Tala decided to cut it short when the bathhouse came into view. 'It's not good to talk a lot, I might slip up.'

"What's your goal here, Tala?" Phina asked with a slight smile.

"W-What...?" Tala glanced at Phina. She was looking straight at her. It was the look of someone who was playing along. 'SHIT!!'

"You looked like you disliked me quite a bit yesterday, why the sudden change to wanting to be friends?" Phina asked. "I might be a little naïve when it comes to certain things, but I'm not an idiot. I'd appreciate it if you interacted with me with that in mind."

"I-I understand..." Tala said this and paused. She was thinking. She sighed with frustration. "Well, then...I guess I'll be honest. Axel told me that he doesn't quite trust you yet, so he ordered me to get closer to you and get to know you. To see if you're the type to keep close, or to send away."

"I thought it was weird that he trusted two complete strangers right away." Phina chuckled. "I guess I can't judge you to harsh. In that case, let's get to know each other well."

"Y-Yes!" Tala smiled brightly. 'Finally! A step in the right direction!'

This early in the morning, not many people were in the bath. Tala didn't bother telling Lauren to clear the bath. By the time they showered, the bath would be empty anyway.

--------------------------------------------------------------

"I can't believe it!" Pida held his face as he blushed. 'It wasn't my fault! It's just normal male behavior! Not to mention that Shira was breathing on my face all the way yesterday...not to mention the dream I had last night...it's only...natural...'

Pida quickly shook his head as he beelined for the bathhouse.

As he entered, he sighed and greeted. "Good morning, Lauren."

"Good morning, Sir. I apologize, but I didn't get your names last night." Lauren bowed slightly.

Lauren was a young girl, maybe around 15 or 16 years old. Her long black hair was neatly tied into one braid.

"I'm Spear, that's my codename." Pida smiled.

"And the lady who entered with Lady Tala?" Lauren asked.

"Oh, they're already in the bath?" Pida said. "That's Shira. We're going to be part of the Crossers gang from now on. Pleasure to meet you!"

"Pleasure's all mine, Sir!" Lauren again bowed. "The men's bath is already empty if you wish to enter."

"Thanks." Pida smiled at her and entered into the changing rooms. He took a quick shower and entered. This time he didn't wear his underwear.

"Why does it feel so better when I'm completely nude?" Pida questioned as he entered the hot water. He saw his reddened face in the reflection of the water. He didn't know if it was because of the water or last night's dream that he was remembering right now.

After around 10 minutes, Pida got sick of being in the bath alone. He quickly washed himself again and washed his hair then dried off and put his towel around his waist.

As he was walking to the changing room, he heard a thought, a thought that sent his Killing Intent all over this room.

'If I can get her to confess, Axel would accept it and back off. Why are you being so difficult, Seraphina Ender?'

This thought was in Tala's voice. Pida quickly got his Killing Intent under control as he rushed for his clothes. He then had another thing to explode about. He walked out into the reception area yelling.

"Where're my clothes?!" Pida yelled out for Lauren.

"Wow! You're Spear?" Tala stared wide-eyed at Pida. "You're so young! I thought you were Shira's boyfriend, are you her little brother?"

"What?!" Phina looked at Tala with grit teeth and a red face. 'I shouldn't have told her anything!'

Pida actually read Phina's thoughts for a change. He silently glared at Tala.

"What? Am I wrong?" Tala was taken aback. Pida was looking at her like Dave was looking at Phina.

"I'm sorry." Pida quickly changed his expression. "LAUREN!!"

"Y-Yes! I'm sorry, I expected you to take longer, so I took the liberty of perfuming the water I washed your clothes in." Lauren came from the laundry room with a rush. She quickly handed Pida's clothes to him. "Here you go, Sir."

"I-It's okay..." Pida's eyebrow twitched. He went to the changing room and put on his clothes. He kept his money and equipment back at the room. As Pida smelt his clothes, a wave of nostalgia attacked him. He slightly whispered, "It smells like mom..."

He took a deep breath and left the room, this time wearing his mask.

"So you were Spear. I was worried I got it wrong for a second." Tala chuckled. 'I wonder if he knows. Getting him to help her confess would be easier. Seems like Seraphina trusts him a lot.'

"Wanna go shopping with us?" Phina looked to Pida with a smile.

"I forgot my money! Can you come back with me? I won't have any way of catching up. I'm not very familiar with the city." Pida said as he disguised his tone as an apologetic one.

"Alright!" Phina smiled. She looked a lot less elegant and seemed a little childish with her hair tied into a loose bun rather than flowing and untied.

'She acts childish and he looks childish...what a combo.' Tala thought in her mind. Phina refused to show her her real face again, but it seemed like she trusted her a bit. 'It would be horrible if we were mistaken.'

Tala and Phina chatted casually as they walked with Pida back to HQ.

"Alright, wait here." Pida said. He secretly tapped Phina as he walked past her.

"Um...I also forgot something, excuse us for a second." Phina looked at Tala with an apologetic smile.

After Pida and Phina entered the room, Pida locked the door and sat down at the couch.

"What's up?" Phina looked at Pida. Pida took off his mask and looked at her with a solemn expression.

"She knows." Pida almost whispered.

"What do you mean?" Phina asked for clarification. She had told Tala many personal things.

"She knows your secret." Pida continued. "She mentioned something about getting you to confess and then Axel accepting you."

Phina broke out in a cold sweat. She would doubt anyone before she doubted Pida. "W-What do we do?"

"Leave it to me." Pida said with a hint of Killing Intent in his voice.

The two left as if normal. Phina also wore an extra mask that Pida kept on him. Both were equipped with their weapons and armor.

"What's this?" Tala asked.

"It feels weird with everyone in the streets wearing masks except us. Please wear one too." Phina asked with a weird tone.

"Alright, we'll buy one on the road." Tala sighed. 'It actually works better for me, I don't have to act all the time.'

After the group walked in silence for a while, Tala tried to start some small talk.

"Shira, do you have any-"

"There!" Pida yelled as he suddenly dashed into an alleyway.

"Wait!" Phina rushed behind him.

"W-What the hell?!" Tala quickly ran after them. After turning right and left, Pida finally stopped.

"That's weird." Pida whispered.

"What is?" Tala asked between breaths.

"Each of you check the corners for traces of World Energy, I'll trace our path back." Pida said as walked back a little.

"What?" Tala was utterly confused.

"Let's just do that." Phina said as she went into the dead-end's right corner. Tala sighed and took the left.

Pida then came back a minute later and motioned for Phina to come back.

The two stood in front of Tala with their weapons out, a crazy amount of World Energy was gathering in Pida's sword.

"We know, so I'll only say it once. Explain yourself clearly." Pida said coldly.

"W-What do you mean?" Tala asked with confusion.

"Don't act stupid. You know our secret, so explain yourself before we wipe you off the face of this world." Pida said.

Tala grit her teeth. She unsheathed her sword. Surprisingly, she threw the weapon to the ground. "I don't mean you harm, please let me explain myself."

"..." Phina looked at her. Tala had an earnest look in her eyes. "Go on."

"We heard you sleep talking about an empire and how your father was an emperor. There are no empires in the Killers' Arena's entire history, so we came to the conclusion that you came from outside the Arena. That means one thing. You're Seraphina Ender." Tala explained. She took a deep breath and continued as she felt her two opponents' Killing Intents flare. "I made a deal with Axel. If I could get you to say it and that you'd cooperate, he'd give you a chance to come up with a plan on how to help us. You can do that in the meeting in a few days."

"What if we convince him?" Pida asked.

"You'll have the entire Underworld's power under your command." Tala explained with her voice slightly nervous. Pida had not stopped his Skill for a second.

"I thought he was only the head of the Crossers gang, what's this about the entire Underworld?" Pida asked.

"He'll get the other gangs' heads to cooperate." Tala clarified. "They've already agreed on a general plan of seeking Seraphina's help."

"..."

"..."

"..."

Everyone was silent for a few seconds. Pida glanced at Phina, "It's your call."

"..." Phina grit her teeth. 'I still haven't been able to reach the High stage, let alone master Bow before the Lord!'

"What's your rank?" Phina asked.

"Early stage Expert-rank." Tala answered truthfully.

"Perfect. I want you to reach the High stage with the Holy element." Phina said.

"W-Why?" Tala asked.

"I just need someone who can use Holy infused World Energy, then I agree." Phina said. 'If I could maybe familiarize myself with how it feels inside my body, then maybe I can reach the Founder-rank.'

"Deal!" Tala immediately accepted. "Though, if you want someone with Holy World Energy, your best bet would be Leader Crown."

"Crown?" Pida asked as he dispersed his World's Order.

"That's his codename, I don't know his real one. He's a Leader in the Crossers gang, like Marten." Tala explained.

"Can you explain to us the hierarchy?" Phina asked as she offered a hand to Tala.

Tala looked at her hand and chuckled. She took her hand and stood up. "Yeah, there are three Leaders. The Third Leader is named Orville. He has Nevin and Saul as his Captains."

"So, that's Nevin's Leader?" Pida asked. He still kept on high alert and was constantly paying attention to Tala's thoughts.

"Yeah, he's a really chill guy. Great to have a drink with." Tala smiled. She then continued happily with her explanation. "Then you have the Second Leader Marten. You've already met him. He has Luke and Pan as his Captains. You'll meet them all at the meeting."

"What are the ranks of the Leaders?" Pida asked.

"The Captains are all Advanced-rankers. Orville and Marten are both Expert-rankers." Tala said. "The last Leader, Crown, is a Founder-ranker with one of his Captains, Latir, at the Expert-rank, while his other Captain, Froud, is an Advanced-ranker."

"Interesting...that's quite the firepower you got." Pida said with a mutter.

"I know right!" Tala said with excitement. She was currently over the moon. She had succeeded with her mission. This might actually lead to peace among the races. "Oh right! I almost forgot! We need to go tell Axel! If he knows now, we'll have more time planning for the meeting and coming up with good points."

Pida read her mind as she was thinking about Axel. 'Looks like we'll be safe for a little bit at least.'

Pida sighed and followed after Tala as she rushed out of the alleyway and towards HQ.

The duo ran after her and arrived after a few minutes of running.