Chapter 57

In an office room with a wooden desk, closed blinds on the window, and three cabinets lining the wall, a man paced restlessly. He appeared distressed and frustrated, his brown hair falling to his nape and his green eyes reflecting his unease. The man sported a teardrop earring on his left ear and wore multiple rings on his fingers. He muttered to himself, his words filled with impatience, "Why isn't she here yet? Given the circumstances, she should have arrived by now."

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. Believing it to be the person he was anxiously awaiting, he hurriedly swung the door open without inquiring about the visitor's identity. "Can I finally..." Mid-sentence, his words trailed off as he saw the person outside. "Savik, what is it? Where's the mayor?" he asked, his impatience still evident in his tone.

"Kaden, you need to accompany me to the reception area as quickly as possible," Savik replied.

Kaden raised an eyebrow, seeking more clarity. "Is the mayor there?" he asked.

Savik hesitated for a moment before responding, "Yes and no. Just come with me, and you'll understand."

Kaden shrugged with a hint of annoyance and rolled his eyes before following Savik out of the room.

Kaden followed Savik through the sparsely populated militia barracks, his eyes scanning the surroundings. He noted the absence of most personnel, with only the militia members who didn't typically serve on the front lines remaining. His thoughts lingered on the absence of action as he moved along, thinking to himself, *All of them have likely rushed to the site of those explosions, and here I am, the former Supreme Officer, doing nothing.*

While quietly trailing Savik, Kaden was poised to voice his question when they finally reached the reception area. He began to say, "Okay, now can you..." but his words trailed off yet again as his eyes landed on an unexpected sight. There stood a woman, looking like a little girl in frilly clothing, adorned with the mayor's suit on top. Her heterochromatic eyes gazed back at him.

"Mayor Victoria?" Kaden breathed, his astonishment clear in his voice.

Victoria, sporting a smug smile on her face, replied, "Yes, Kaden, it's me. Now, grovel before me!" she declared.

Kaden was ready to comply without hesitation, but then Xain, who had been virtually invisible to him until now, intervened. He couldn't help but exclaim, "Are you seriously doing this right now? Did you forget that we have a town to save? Which is your town, might I add!"

Savik couldn't help but agree with Xain and chimed in, "I'm with the blue-haired man... boy? Well, I'm with him. Could you two save your weird moment for later, perhaps?" Victoria huffed in acquiescence. "Fine," she conceded.

Xain turned his attention to Kaden, who didn't quite match the image he had in mind for a former Supreme Officer. While taller than Xain, Kaden's appearance wasn't particularly intimidating. *Is this guy going to be of any help?* Xain pondered silently. Kaden approached Victoria slowly, still in disbelief. "Is that really you, Mayor Victoria? How are you alive?" he asked, struggling to comprehend the situation.

Victoria's response was swift and to the point, "No time to explain that. Just know that we have a vampire to slay." Xain, however suggested, "I feel like we should explain a little," but Kaden's response took him by surprise. "Of course, Mayor Victoria. Anything you say," Kaden readily agreed, leaving Xain confused.

Xain couldn't help but ask, "Hey, are you not suspicious at all? What if this Victoria is an imposter or something?"

Kaden responded fervently, "Impossible! No one could ever replicate Mayor Victoria's beauty or presence." Xain was left feeling even more weirded by Kaden's enthusiastic reply but decided to let it pass.

Savik, however, redirected their attention to the pressing matter. "Wait, what was that about a vampire?" he asked, his concern palpable.

Victoria suddenly remembered they hadn't filled him in yet and responded, "Oh, right, we forgot to fill you in. The cow who replaced me as mayor is a vampire, and the current Supreme Officer is also one. However, he's assisting us, so there's no need to worry about him."

Savik, now looking rather alarmed, began, "Mayor Victoria, may I—"

But Victoria cut him off curtly, declaring, "No."

Savik persisted, "But I haven't said anything yet."

Victoria remained unyielding. "I don't care. Whatever you were about to say, I reject it."

Savik, accepting his fate, sighed and said, "Very well, Miss Victoria."

Xain shrugged at the unfolding situation and turned to Victoria, inquiring, "So, what's our next move? Now that we have Kaden, should we head out to help the others?"

Victoria considered their next steps and answered after a moment of thought, "We need to make our way to the town fountain. Along the way, we should gather as many militia members as possible to help us in the upcoming fight against that cow."

Xain nodded, acknowledging the plan, and then raised a practical concern, "That sounds good, but how are we going to get down to the ritual site?"

Victoria grinned confidently as she held her staff, assuring him, "Leave that to me."

Xain took a deep breath, his thoughts drifting to his friends and their ongoing battle against Eirisse. *I hope the others are doing well,* he silently wished.

Xain had every reason to be concerned for his friends because, at that moment, they were in an incredibly precarious situation. Ercale, Lennix, Zee, and Clarissa found themselves encircled within the confines of the ritual site beneath the town's central fountain. They were trapped, surrounded by Eirisse's thralls, with the vampire herself grinning maliciously as they realized they had walked straight into her trap.