The cloaked figure's eyes opened wide as they looked around. Standing around the figure were Jellal, Meliodas, Meredy, and Ultear. Meliodas leaned over and pulled the hood down of the figure, revealing a young woman with bright blonde hair, fair skin, and sharp red eyes.
"What do you guys want with me?" The woman asked.
"You're with Astral Duchess aren't you? Why destroy the mage's college?" Ultear asked. The woman stared at Ultear for a moment before glancing at Jellal, Meredy, and Meliodas. 'Out of all of these guys, the pink haired girl is the weakest, but she's still a threat. That black haired woman and blue haired man both have especially high magic. But that blond kid...I couldn't even see him move...it's best I cooperate with these guys for now and figure out what they're up to.'
"So what if I am. I was doing a job that involved having to kill a certain student. It just so happened that several other students got in my way so they had to die as well. What is it to you guys? You can't touch me." The woman replied.
"And why is that?" Ultear continued.
"How could you be so dense? Everyone who lives here in this city knows that Astral Duchess makes up its foundation, even if they don't want to admit it! Even the guards are in on it! If you don't let me go this instant, you'll disappear from this world before midnight!" The woman responded angrily.
"So that means that the high officials in this town are allied with Astral Duchess…looks like we can't trust anyone here then." Jellal said.
"You guys sound like you're new here." The woman commented. "I don't know why outsiders want to get involved in this but this is not the city to play hero. Since you're new here, I'll forget this incident ever happened but you need to let me go now and leave this place!"
"We can't do that. Astral Duchess doesn't just affect this city, it's reach spreads throughout the entire western side of Ishgar. This is our opportunity to take you all out. And you're in no position to threaten us." Ultear said in a cold tone.
"I suppose you're right. You all seem like powerful mages. But now that I know your true intentions...it looks like I can't let you leave alive!" The woman shouted. Her hair began to stand up as her magic suddenly increased. Her eyes began to glow brightly and her skin began to emit a strange light.
"I'D RATHER BURN IN HELL THEN LET YOU LOT GET WHAT YOU WANT!" The woman screamed as her entire body began to brightly glow.
"She must have casted a high level explosion magic on herself using her body as a catalyst in order to increase its effectiveness and range! If she explodes, she'll wipe out the entire upper district and then some! We have to get out of here!" Ultear shouted.
"But the people in the city! There are still innocent people who live here. Are we just going to let them die?!" Meredy questioned.
"I'll move her somewhere else with Meteor!" Jellal said as he crouched on the ground.
"No...I'll deal with it. I won't let anyone die if I can help it." Meliodas said in a serious tone. Jellal, Meredy, and Ultear stared at him in shock as they felt an extremely powerful yet dark energy coming from him.
Meliodas raised his left hand up, with his fingers outstretched.. Darkness leaked out of his fingertips and covered the now brightly glowing woman, enveloping her body completely. Meliodas closed his hand into a fist, tightly clenching it and causing the darkness to form into a human sized ball.
The group stared at the ball for several seconds. After a brief rumbling sensation, they felt the magic completely vanish. Meliodas unclenched his fist, causing the ball to slowly disperse, revealing nothing left inside except for a cloud of smoke.
"W-what happened? Meredy asked nervously.
"I contained the explosion." Meliodas answered.
"She was really willing to sacrifice herself for the sake of her guild." Jellal said. "Astral Duchess is no ordinary dark guild."
"If we take them down, the entire city will become our enemy as well." Meredy added.
"Well that's nothing new. Being wanted by one more city isn't all that big a deal right?" Meliodas said nonchalantly.
"You're right. We do this for the sake of fixing the wrongdoings in this world. Even if the world sees us as an enemy." Jellal said.
"Then I guess it's time we pay Astral Duchess a visit." Meliodas said.
---
Meliodas and the Crime Sorciere group walked through the southern forest. The forest itself was very peaceful, with the rays of the afternoon sun peeking through leaves and no signs of hostile wildlife nor dark guild members.
The group eventually arrived at a wide forest clearing. Standing tall in the middle of the clearing was a large mansion. The mansion was four stories tall with a unique "U" shape design. At both ends of the mansion were large towers that were an extra two stories above the middle of the mansion. The mansion itself appeared to be made out of stone and maroon colored wood.
Outside the mansion were several guardsmen, dressed in maroon robes with silver colored shoulder pauldrons and helmets. On the back of their robs was an insignia that looked like a simplified woman's head with several stars behind it.
Meliodas and the group immediately ducked behind trees as they observed the mansion from afar.
"They really set up a nice mansion like this here. No wonder the guards said to stay away from this area." Meredy commented.
"We can't be reckless. Expect to see a small army inside." Ultear commented.
"Not only that, but I can sense that the mansion is protected by a powerful barrier." Jellal added. "Breaking in will be tough."
"We're being watched." Meliodas said. "Although they're really good at concealing their presence so I can't quite tell where from."
"How perceptive of you." A woman's voice echoed. The group looked around, trying to figure out where the voice was coming from. Suddenly, a lone woman appeared out of thin air in front of them. The woman was slightly taller than Ultear. She had fair skin, side swept white hair that fell to her shoulders and curled slightly at the tips, and neon green eyes. She wore an open, maroon colored hooded cloak that was draped over her shoulders. Underneath the cloak was a shoulderless and strapless black top that revealed much of her ample cleavage as well as black shorts with a white belt. Her legs were covered in a dark pantyhose down to black high heeled combat boots.
"Something is off about her…" Meliodas commented.
"She's a thought projection." Jellal said.
"How astute of you, Jellal." The woman commented. She turned her attention to Meredy and Ultear. "And you two as well, Ultear and Meredy. I didn't expect such high profile guests to be visiting me today."
The woman turned her attention towards Meliodas. A slightly puzzled look formed on her face.
"Strange. I don't remember my sources saying anything about a fourth Crime Sorciere recruit. No matter." The woman said. She turned around and made a beckoning gesture with her hand. "Why don't you all come inside?"
Meliodas, Jellal, Ultear, and Meredy followed the woman into the mansion. The guards standing outside glared at the group as they opened the doors for them. Upon arriving in the mansion, they were shocked at what they saw.
The mansion had already looked large from the outside. But the inside was beyond their expectations. Despite being on only the first floor, the ceiling was over a dozen meters high. Spanning out in front of them was one extremely large and long red carpet leading to a dimly lit grand staircase.
"What is this place…" Meredy commented in awe as she looked around.
"This is an extremely high level of spatial magic." Ultear commented. She glanced back at Meliodas who nodded at her.
"I'm glad you're all impressed with my work." The woman continued. "Oh and forgive my rudeness, I didn't introduce myself. I'm Rezeria Nightborne, the guild master of Astral Duchess."
Her body suddenly faded away. A moment later, several pairs of footsteps could be heard walking down the grand staircase. In the middle, was Rezeria. To her left was a woman with long black hair that fell to her waist. She had long bangs that were swept to the left, covering her left eye entirely. She wore the same cloak and boots as Rezeria but underneath was a black jumpsuit.
To Rezeria's right was a younger, and shorter woman, similar to Meredy in stature. She had short black hair that parted in the middle, going down the sides of her face, stopping just after her ears and had a few individual strands that fell over her sharp black eyes. Under her maroon colored cloak was a black tight bodysuit made of spandex.
Jellal, Ultear, and Meredy stared in awe at the three women, able to tell just how strong their magical presence was.
'Those two women individually could handle any member of the Seven Kin of Purgatory by themselves...but Rezeria...she's on an entirely different level. Not even Master Hades would have been able to contest against that level of magical power...' Ultear thought, unable to hide the visible distress on her face.
"No need to be so tense." Rezeria sighed. "Anyway, let me introduce you all to my two guild officers. The one on the left is Eskei. The one on the right is Nyx."
Both women remained silent as they bowed their heads to Crime Sorciere.
"Well, well, well." Meliodas said, grabbing Rezeria's attention. "We're supposed to be your guests right? Shouldn't you give us something to drink?"
The Crime Sorciere group turned their heads towards Meliodas, with wide eyed expressions on their faces from Meliodas' sudden brashness. Rezeria raised an eyebrow at Meliodas and a small smile formed on the side of her face.
"You're quite amusing. What would you like to drink?" Rezeria asked.
"Well, I'm new to Bosco so I don't quite know what's good here. I trust you have good taste in booze though so I'll let you decide." Meliodas responded.
"Very well. Nyx, get this young man a bottle of Mithra ale." Rezeria said. Nyx nodded silently and she turned around, walking back up the stairs. Not a moment passed and she returned with a large green tinted bottle. She approached Meliodas and handed him the bottle.
"Thanks!" Meliodas said with a grin.
"Anything for the rest of Crime Sorciere?" Rezeria asked.
"No thank you." Jellal answered.
"Now then. Let's talk business. From what I understand from my sources in Fiore, you have abandoned your dark roots and chosen this path of atonement by subduing dark guilds. I'm surprised that you all came here, considering that I operate mainly in Bosco, not Fiore. I'll admit, the Balam Alliance was a hassle to try and cooperate with so I kept my presence in Fiore small. But since you've all come here, that can only mean you hope to take me down, am I correct?" Rezeria said with a confident grin. The room began to shake with a strange pressure as she flared her magical power. Jellal, Meredy, and Ultear stared at her in awe at the power she was displaying. Rezeria turned her attention to Meliodas who was unfazed by the display.
'Hmm…' Meliodas thought as he looked at Rezaria. 'In terms of raw magical power, she's a bit weaker than Monspeet. That's still impressive though. I didn't expect to run into anyone who was on the level of one of the ten commandments.'
"By the way, I never quite caught your name, young man." Rezaria commented.
"Oh, I'm-"
"Meliodas." A deep voice said from behind him. The group immediately turned around and saw two figures walking closer to them. Meliodas' eyes widened as he saw their attire, reminding him of the assassins that had come after him and Schneider previously. They wore masks over their faces with the same color and markings as well.
"The Blond Demon." The figure said.
"Oh? That Meliodas? I'll be honest, I didn't expect someone like you to be working with Crime Sorciere." Rezeria said in an amused tone.
"By the way, why have you two interrupted my conversation?" Rezeria said, her voice slightly agitated as she turned her attention to the two masked individuals.
"Forgive us." The two masked figures said, each taking a knee. "But Meliodas is a high priority target by our guild. He must be killed now."
"I see...then do it later. Go outside and wait for me to finish up with them." Rezeria ordered. The two masked men looked at each other and nodded before walking back the way they came.
"You're a lot more popular than I had thought, Meliodas." Rezeria continued.
"Rezeria." Meliodas said in a serious tone. "Are you associated with Phonoi?"
"The fact that you even know the name of their guild means that you're deeply involved. You've really interested me. And yes, I am associated with them. I hire them quite often to get rid of rival guilds and as one of the top providers to their guild, I've become fairly high in their hierarchy of power." Rezeria said.
"Then let me ask you this. Do you know who Blue Tsukihou is?"