"You..." Zefer muttered as his eyes landed on a fair-skin raven-haired petite girl. The same girl stayed with him during his battle with those three guys yesterday, and the same girl that Ina said liked him. He wondered what she was doing here, but he couldn't have any witness regardless of that.
He was out of Rune Energy, and he only had a quarter of health left, meaning he was pretty much out of options. Nevertheless, there was still one thing he had, one thing he could use against this girl.
"Hello, Zefer." Serena said with a smile across her face, delighted to see him and the blood that bathed his clothing. She could barely even hold herself back. Just the sight of him killing those fools earlier stirred her. Now that he was covered in the blood of enemies, it only burned the fire in her loins even more.
But, she had to keep herself composed. It was too soon to let Zefer know who she really was, or rather, what she really was. "It is some lovely work you've done here, perhaps you would--" Serena was interrupted when she saw a sharp object fly directly towards her face.
She side-stepped the pocket knife only to catch it in mid-flight with a cute little spin. Once she faced Zefer once more, she looked at the pocket knife and played with it. "Oh, you kept that knife from yesterday, did you? You just don't stop impressing me, do you, Zefer?" Serena remarked, but as she looked up from the knife, she was surprised to see Zefer was in front of her.
He tackled her to the ground without delay, causing her to drop the knife while he pinned her wrists to the ground and straddled her waist to keep her from moving freely. "Why are you here? What were you doing spying on me last night!?" Zefer's voice was cold, cruel, but to the point, as he stared into Serena's eyes ferociously like none other.
Serena's cheeks became a bright red since her prince's face was right there, his lovely lips just within reach of her own, and his eyes solely focused on her. Things only got worse when she added that the fact that her prince had her pinned down only made her mind stir wildly with anticipation, thinking that he was going to take her here and now.
Although she managed to keep herself under control, she was disciplined enough to do so for better or worse. "I am here to help you. I can hide the evidence that you killed these students. I can forge footage, erase tapes, and make it look like nothing ever happened here. There will be no trace of your handiwork. As for last night, well..." Serena was once more bashful as she looked away, her face becoming even redder before she looked back at Zefer.
"It's because I love you. I want to be by your side. I know what you want, I can feel it, and I want to help you. Together, we can bring this city to ash." Serena answered as she stared at Zefer affectionately.
Zefer didn't know what to say. He was at a loss for words. "Oh? Isn't she a cute one? It would be best if you accepted her aid, Zefer. Just keep her close and watch her every move. If she tries to backstab you, kill her without a word." Ina spoke inside of Zefer's head.
She figured this girl liked Zefer, but it seemed like she was crazy enough even to help him with his goals. Not to mention she talked about hiding the evidence of his work like it was nothing. If anything, Ina felt like this girl could become a powerful ally or an overwhelming enemy.
Zefer needed to take a moment to process everything, so he closed his eyes but did not let up the pressure upon Serena. "If I accept her offer, she would be a valuable asset for the future. It seems like there is more to her than she is letting one, but as Ina said, If she backstabs me, I will just kill her without a word. The best time to do that would be when she is asleep." Zefer began weighing the pros and cons of accepting Serena's aid.
He could see how much aid she could provide for him in the future, but he knew next to nothing about her. She even seemed crazy enough to confess her feelings to him, which was another thing that bothered him. First, how could you love someone you never talked to or got to know. Second, what was the point of such a pointless emotion?
Zefer couldn't believe in love, at least not the kind Serena was talking about. Many times before, he had been played for a fool by girls who confessed to him only to bring him down, saying it was nothing more than a ploy or part of Gambit's Challenge. Of course, this was all before the death of his sister.
The only love he knew was familial love, the warmth of a family, but that had been ripped away from him by the people of this city. In replace of the void came hatred, a powerful hatred that awoke the Rune of Destruction and seemed to get Diabella's attention considering she gave him the system.
Therefore, he had no room in his being for love of any kind. Even during his sexual activities with Karrin, he did not lust for her. Lust wasn't something he succumbed to or even felt, at least to his knowledge. He wouldn't deny the human's natural dopamine that came from the acts, but that was all it was. A chemical reaction to a sinful act that he was committing—no emotion, no feeling, just the urge to gain a stat point.
All Karrin was to Zefer was a tool, nothing more than something he used to become stronger. So, why should Serena be any different?
Zefer's eyes opened, and he gave his response. "Then let's put your loyalty to the test. Clean up this mess. Make sure no one is capable of distinguishing that it is me, and if you fail, then..." Zefer glanced around the area before looking back at her, "You know what will happen." Zefer remarked as he pushed off Serena and got off.
Normally, threats should provoke people, make them mad or upset, but Serena didn't view this as a threat. No, she viewed this as a mission. This was her chance to prove herself to her prince, to show him just how useful she could be. She was delighted to be able to assist him, and so she got to work without delay.
Serena brought her hands together with a clasp. She slowly brought her hands to her face and made an opening to blow into her hands, which caused them to open as if a ball was being created inside her hands.
However, before her fingers split, she tossed her hands into the air, and millions of ice flakes scattered all over the gym. Once the entire gym was coated with ice flakes, she snapped her fingers, and the chips slowly began to expand. The white slowly turned crimson as if it were absorbing everything, showing that she was starting her work.
Zefer had moved to the front of the gym to keep a lookout. Nevertheless, he made sure to keep an eye on Serena, watching her work. Her snow seemed to continue to expand, nearly creating a wall of crimson snow, but then it stopped. Serena once again snapped her finger as the snow turned into solid ice, becoming a beautiful crimson like none other.
Zefer wondered how she would get rid of the evidence. It wasn't like she could just toss the ice anywhere. If she let it melt, the blood would just coat the gym once again, but the strangest thing happened before his eyes.
The crimson color of the ice slowly began to turn clear until the ice was crystal, and once it was, Serena snapped her fingers, and the ice wholly melted into crystal clear water that washed the entire gym. It wasn't just the blood that was gone, but the guts and even the bodies were gone as well, leaving nothing behind but a squeaky clean floor since it seemed like the water dried up in no time.
Serena turned towards Zefer with a cute smile, "So, how did I do?" Serena innocently asked as if she didn't just wholly hide all evidence of the deaths of multiple students. Not even the LCBs remained, which were supposed to be indestructible, showing Serena's effectiveness.
Zefer was, for the first time, impressed. Still, there was more work to do. Serena still needed to clear any tapes of him and Ruth coming into the gym. Nevertheless, "You've done an excellent job, Serena Mars." Zefer knew when to give credit where it was due.
Serena nearly jumped with joy, but before she could, Zefer seemed to speak up once more, "Nevertheless, you still have more work to do. Any records of me and Ruth ever being here need to be wiped. We never encountered any students or staff on the way here, but I know there are cameras. Once you do that, the real test begins." Zefer said.
He knew that eventually, the families of these students would contact the school wondering where their children were, or the school would do that for them. Once they found out the students were missing, the police force would set an MIA search in motion, and students would be questioned. If Zefer were not a suspect, Serena would pass, but if anything at all painted him as a suspect, she would fail.