The old man arrives.

Reina had been sitting on the couch in Will's living room for the last 30 minutes without moving. She was holding tightly her hands that had quickly gone cold and numb.

Amelia was pacing around the apartment with her phone to her ear, calling customers of hers, rearranging meetings, apologizing for delays or getting deals done over the phone instead. Ruth was also making calls, telling her dance group she wouldn’t be able to make it that day. Cynthia and Anna were sitting at the dining table, rearranging schedules for photoshoots, sponsor meetings, interviews for new models and more. And of course, Aoi had left to look for Will.

Reina understood that it was all stuff they had to do and that they probably even welcomed the distraction, but… She didn’t think she could do it. Reina was paralyzed, pain and fear deep inside her heart.

“Don’t worry,” Nanami’s soothing voice came from next to her as the gentle girl sat with her on the couch. She put her hand over Reina’s and smiled at her. “We have a trail now. My aunt will find him. She’s done this before.”

Reina answered with a slow nod.

“I know… I mean, I knew that the other world was dangerous. I knew that all this supernatural stuff was dangerous, but…” Reina’s lip quivered. “But I thought Will was above even that. I…” She bit her lip. “Nanami… He’s just a kid who doesn’t know what he wants. Why did he even have to BE there?”

“...” Nanami pursed her lips and gripped one of her own hands with the other. “I wonder the same, really. It’s true that Ishtar possessing him turned his world upside down, but… he accepted it. He accepted the good and the bad. For as confused and conflicted as he is about many things, Will… He understood that well.”

“I hate that all I can do is just sit here and wait,” Reina said, holding herself and looking down at her knees. “I have powers too, don’t I? I should be able to do something.”

“...” Nanami closed her eyes for a moment, then turned to look at Reina with a firm gaze, directly into her eyes. “There’s nothing you can do now. Whatever power you have is worthless without the understanding of how to use it. If you wanted to be able to help Will, you should’ve started learning about it the moment you awakened.”

It felt like a sharp, cold dagger to the chest. Reina’s jaw half-hung and the numbness of her hands spread to her entire body. It was the ruthless tone in which she had said it, too.

Nanami stood up, arms at her sides, fist clenched, eyes looking at her own feet. “I have spent my entire life training, honing all the skills I could. I can sense aether, mix potions, cast mental protection spells, and that’s on top of all the reading I’ve done on the supernatural. And yet all of that is useless now. I can’t do shit to help. Not now.” Nanami’s lips quivered, and so did her clenched fists. “And so I wait. I wait for the proper time to use what I know. That's all I can do right now.”

“...” Reina watched Nanami walking away and going into the bathroom, and did so with a heavy heart.

Reina wasn’t the only one worried sick and feeling useless. Nanami understood the situation even better than Reina did, which was probably why she reacted that way. Reina stayed there, a knot in her throat and teeth leaving a mark on her lower lip. When Nanami came out of the bathroom, their eyes met for a split second before both looked away, Reina doing so in shame.

A knock on the door kept them from dealing with the awkwardness, however. A completely unexpected knock on the door, one that made Nanami go white as a sheet.

“...Who!?” she asked. “The barrier around the building is intact but I felt no one crossing it!”

Reina stood up on alert, the other girls also tensing up. Aoi was gone, meaning they were all defenseless. If whoever was behind that door was dangerous, then running to the basement and going through the portal to the other world was their only choice. But who could be…?

“I’m aware this is a bad time, but I think it’s very rude of you all not to give me a call, at least,” said the man from behind the door.

Nanami, Cynthia and Amelia shared a look of incredulity.

“Belphegor?” Amelia asked in whispers.

“Y-Yeah…” Cynthia nodded nervously. “What is he doing here?”

“Why don’t you let me in and I can tell you everything? I thought you had better manners than this.”

Cynthia’s eye twitched and she stomped her way towards the door, opening it and seeing the demon himself in the shape of her ex-husband. “Anyone who arrives uninvited has no right to demand hospitality.”

“What other choice do I have when I’m waiting for an invitation that never arrives? The raven I leave with the lad gets killed and you think I wouldn’t notice?”

“S-Sir… W-We can handle this…” Nanami said weakly.

“Oh, sit down and relax, lass,” Belphegor casually waved to her. “I’m not here to offer a deal, if that’s what you’re worried about. I have business with William and Ishtar. I have yet to fulfill my part of the arrangement and I won’t have my supply of the elixir cut short now that I’ve had a taste.” The man, big as he was, reached his hand back and grabbed something behind himself. It was… a box. A cardboard box. A big, refrigerator box and dragged it into the apartment. “Now, where is the pair of fools?”

“...Missing,” Amelia said, arms crossed and looking down. “We have a lead and Aoi went to follow it.”

“Guessed as much. We’re not the only ones looking for a mirrorkin, and anyone going to one of those parties usually has a few eyes on them for a while.”

“We also know who it was,” Cynthia said. “Helga Cooper. She was at that party. Does it ring a bell?”

“Ah, the greedy girl? The one possessed by a dwarf?”

“...”

The silence in the room was heavy.

“D-Don’t you mean… a dragon?” Nanami asked. “Dragons are the ones associated with greed, aren’t they?”

“Oh, believe me, if that girl had a dragon inside her the whole underworld would know. She’d be sure to tell them. No, that’s a dwarf inside her. One who failed to turn into a dragon, actually.”

“W-Wait, you know who that is?” Reina asked.

“Sure I do,” Belphegor said, tapping his temple with a finger. “Could recognize his magic the moment the girl tried to pull something on old Jack here. I still haven’t decided if she’s stupid or brave.”

“Stupid,” Ruth said. “She kidnapped Will, apparently.”

“She’ll want to use his powers, no doubt. Or take the succubus princess for herself. I’m curious about how that would turn out, I admit.”

“Okay, just… Let’s take a minute, okay?” Anna said, stepping into the conversation. “Mr… Belphegor, would you like something to drink?” she asked him with a tired smile.

“Finally, someone with manners! Yes, lass. Anything you have to offer is fine.”

A phone then rang, interrupting them yet again. Cynthia groaned loudly and pulled her cellphone out of her pocket. “Oh, what NOW? Ah, right…” She sighed heavily. “I asked my daughter to bring me my flash drive here.”