Moments passed after the examination concluded, Demurc went and guided Cecile back to her cell.
"That was quick," Cecile muttered as they walked through the long hallways, the faint hum of machinery echoing around them. "I thought it would take longer."
"It was just a routine examination check. It doesn't take much time," Demurc replied.
"Does that mean I'll have to wear this thing more often?" Cecile asked, tugging slightly at the restraints that bound her arms, her tone laced with displeasure.
"Yes. You'll have to wear it every time an examination is conducted," Demurc replied. "It's for safety measures, best to keep it on."
"Being a Warden must be a pervert's fantasy for someone like you, huh? You get to see girls undress all the time," Cecile teased, masking her dissatisfaction with humor about having to wear the restraint suit for every examination.
"I mean, your ability kind of explains everything." She smirked. "Stopping a Bearer from turning into devil by sleeping with them? You must've made some interesting prayers before bed."
Demurc forced a smile, refusing to entertain Cecile's tease. A vein throbbed faintly on his temple as he exhaled through his nose.
Though subtle, Cecile caught the shift in his expression. "Jeez, I was just joking with you. Don't be so angry?" she scoffed, leaning back with a faint smirk.
Behind them, several armed soldiers followed in formation, their boots tapping on the floor in rhythm.
Once they arrived at the containment ward, Demurc gestured for the soldiers to dismiss themselves. The group dispersed, leaving only him and Cecile in the hall's cold air.
He escorted her back to her cell in silence.
"What, are you going to watch me undress again?" Cecile teased, a faint grin curling at her lips.
"No," Demurc replied, his voice firm. "After you remove the restraint suit, it stays with you inside the cell." He locked the door with a heavy click, the sound echoing down the quiet hall.
With everything concluded and Cecile escorted back to her cell, Demurc found himself without any remaining tasks for the time being.
The cell beside 1A it was usually alive with a pair of curious eyes watching through the reinforced glass, but not this time. He slowed his pace, then stepped closer and peered through the narrow window.
Inside, in the dim light, sat Cynthia. She was sitting motionless on her bed, her eyes faintly glowing in the dark like twin embers, watching him in silence.
Demurc unlocked the door to Cynthia's cell, the mechanism releasing with a sharp hiss before sliding open.
Inside, Cynthia lifted her gaze from the floor and greeted him with a gentle smile.
"Hello, Warden. Do you need something?" she asked, her voice soft.
"I was about to ask you the same thing,"
Demurc replied, stepping inside. "Is there something you need?"
"Me? Well, I don't really need anything," she answered, her tone too casual. A faint smile curved her lips as she looked at Demurc, calm and strangely composed.
It wasn't the nervous, fidgety Cynthia he'd grown accustomed to. Something about her demeanor felt wrong.
'This is odd,' Demurc thought to himself. 'Cynthia would always get nervous whenever I approached her, yet now she's calm.'
He couldn't quite tell what it was, but something about her felt different and off. His instincts stirred, warning him that whatever it was, it might be dangerous.
"Let me warn you, Cynthia," Demurc said, his tone low, edged with caution. "If you're plotting something, I suggest you don't do it." His eyes locked on hers.
"Ah, I don't know what you're talking about," Cynthia muttered, her smile widening unnaturally.
Demurc steadied himself, body tensing, ready for any sudden move she might make.
In the next instant, the air around her shimmered and then cracked. Crystalline shards burst into existence out of thin air, glinting like splinters of glass under the dim light. With a sudden flick of her fingers, they shot toward Demurc at terrifying speed, slicing through the air with a sharp whistling sound.
Demurc dashed backward, slipping out of the cell just as the crystalline shards tore through the air. The door hissed open behind him and was left open in his haste. He sidestepped sharply, narrowly avoiding the shards that embedded themselves into the reinforced wall with a sharp crack.
'This is strange... I can't feel anything,' Demurc thought, his eyes narrowing. 'it doesn't feel like she's about to turn. Then what is it?'
Before he could recover his stance, Cynthia leaped out from her cell, her movements unnervingly fluid. In her hands, a blue crystalline spear formed from thin air, gleaming under the cold lights as she lunged straight for him.
Demurc pivoted to the side, dodging the spear, and countered with a swift kick that struck Cynthia in the ribs. She grunted as the impact sent her stumbling back.
"Weren't you ever taught not to hit a woman?" Cynthia taunted, pushing herself upright, her smile sharp despite the pain twisting her voice.
"I don't hit women. I neutralize threats." Demurc replied coldly.
For a moment, neither of them moved, only silence and tension between their gazes.
"What are you plotting, Cynthia?" Demurc asked, his voice low. "Was everything you did these past few days all just an act?"
One of Cynthia's brows arched, her expression twisting into confusion. "An act?" she repeated, then suddenly burst into laughter, the sound sharp against the silence. "You still don't get it, do you?" she said flatly.
A shadow crossed Demurc's face. His brows furrowed, his eyes narrowing with a look that was equal parts focus and disbelief. "What are you talking about?" He asked.
"Why don't you find out yourself—!" Cynthia snapped, her voice rising with sudden aggression. Shards of crystal burst forth from the air, slicing toward Demurc in a deadly scatter.
Demurc pivoted hard, dashing toward the side of the corridor where the only entrance and exit to the containment ward stood. Beside it, a red emergency button glowed faintly, the trigger that would alert the entirety of NEUS in the event of a containment breach.
Cynthia quickly realized what Demurc intended. "As if id let you do that!" Her eyes sharpened as more crystalline shards materialized around her, launching forward in a barrage.
Demurc slammed his hand against the emergency button just before the shards reached him. A deafening alarm blared through the containment ward, red lights flashing violently across the walls.
Without hesitation, Demurc turned back toward her. Chains burst from his hands in a sudden surge of energy, whipping through the air and deflecting the incoming crystals with sharp metallic clangs.