80.Hidden
Marcelline and Leo stepped into the villa just as dawn's faint glow brushed the horizon. The metallic scent of demon ash still clung to their clothes, but the air felt lighter — the kind of lightness that comes only after a clean kill.
Leo sighed in relief as he shut the door behind them.
"Finally… quiet."
Marcelline tossed her weapon bag to the couch and stretched her arms with a groan.
"We wiped out that parasite and its little army. We deserve food."
Within minutes, the two were sitting at the dining table eating hot takeout Leo had reheated — steaming noodles, dumplings, spicy broth. For once, it felt almost normal.
That was when her phone buzzed.
Marcelline glanced at the caller ID and smirked.
"Victor."
Leo rolled his eyes, recognizing the smirk instantly.
She picked up.
"Yo."
Victor's voice filtered through, smug and flirtatious as always.
"How's it going, princess of destruction?"
Marcelline stabbed a dumpling.
"Just kicked some ass."
"Oh?" Victor purred. "Details. What did you destroy this time?"
She casually started laying it all out — the dark entity inside Maximilian's mansion, the violent possession, the way it dissolved like rot peeled from the world. Victor listened with an amused hum.
"I swear," he said dramatically, "you missed me so much you speedran the mission just so you could come eat me— I mean meet me."
Marcelline snorted.
"Oh shut up."
"No really, you're adorable when you're obsessed."
"You wish I was."
A few more minutes of back-and-forth teasing followed — Victor's mocking tone, Marcelline's dry sarcasm, Leo pretending not to hear either of them while silently mouthing "unbelievable".
But suddenly… Marcelline's fork paused halfway to her mouth.
Her expression shifted. Eyes narrowing. Voice lowering.
Victor noticed immediately.
"What? What happened?"
Marcelline leaned back in her chair, frowning at nothing in particular.
"Victor… I don't think this was the end."
A beat of silence from the other side.
"Explain."
Her fingers drummed the table.
"That entity— yes, it was dark. Violent. Corrupted. But even then… it didn't have the kind of power needed to breach the veil and come from the other side of the world."
Her tone sharpened.
"Something helped it. Something bigger, older… hidden."
Victor exhaled, the flirtiness fading.
"You're saying this wasn't random."
"No."
Her eyes drifted toward her bag — specifically, the file she had slipped from Maximilian's mansion.
"Luckily," she said slowly, "I found something connected to all this. Something that might let me dig deeper."
Leo looked up sharply, knowing exactly what she meant but keeping his mouth shut.
Victor tried to pry, "And what exactly did you find?"
Marcelline smirked faintly.
"Let me do a little more digging first."
She didn't tell him it was about Maximilian's family.
She ended the call after a few more teases and mock complaints from Victor.
As she set the phone down, Leo asked quietly,
"You think they're tied to the other side… don't you?"
Marcelline's smile faded.
"I don't think."
She pushed her empty bowl away.
"I know."
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