XVIII. Welcome To Rome

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***

Last day of Irina's training.

She was asked to go straight home after class. It wasn't to skip spirit training with Eve, since she's already in the manor before Irina got home. In fact, Lucian was with Eve. She had a feeling of unease.

"Hey, guys!", she greeted them, trying to relax herself.

"Hey, Rin!", Eve greeted back with a smile. Lucian just nodded. Was he still awkward from the night before? Yesterday night, they had to train in silence and minimal conversation. Maybe, he's just as embarrassed as her.

"To avoid unexpected incidents, we'll be staying in the manor until after dark." Lucian began to explain. "Siegfried will be here before sunset. The four of us will go out together by 10 PM."

"That was the time when I fell into Umbra last week.", Irina stated.

"That's right, and that's exactly why we're going out."

"You mean we'll enter Umbra, willingly?"

"Yes."

Irina felt her hands got cold. Even if Lucian and Eve concluded she's doing so advance with her training, she wasn't sure she had the courage yet to face her Nightmares. Especially now that she still couldn't call on her spirit artifact. Couldn't or wouldn't, a voice in her head asked.

"Of course, you want to see how I'd do in an actual battle. I understand", she said.

"Yes. As much as we believe in you, Sieg had been away for weeks and he hasn't seen your growth yet. He'll need to make sure he's not endangering a civilian by enlisting you to ARK.", Eve explained.

"Maybe not, but it's the same endangering by going in Umbra.", she just replied instinctively.

"It's a controlled area in Umbra. You'll have the strongest Ranger with you. Didn't you sign up for this? So after the Trials, do you think you'll just sit around, watching hunters and watchers do their jobs?", Lucian reprimanded.

She met his gaze. For the past week, she learned how to stand up to him. Although she couldn't help but feel bad every time they would end in conflict.

"Woah! You guys are the worst.", Eve commented. "Can't you guys just properly make up and stop all this bull crap?"

"What?", she and Lucian both said, surprised.

"Come on. Rin. You've been bothered since you fought last week. You've been wanting to apologize for shouting but couldn't. You're too embarrassed to admit you cared but you don't know how to express it, do you?

"As for you, Lucian, I've known you for years. You look unfazed outside but I know when you don't feel fine on the inside. That outburst just now, you're worried about Rin, right?"

Eve looked at them. Silence. "I'm tired of your LQ. If you're not going to make up, then break up."

That was rather unusual. She was quite certain Eve was not the type who would be confrontational about these things. She would listen to your rants and all, but she's not one to mediate things like this. Especially, in an aggressive manner. Even Lucian was stunned. That just meant whatever conflict they had, they needed to resolve it. Now.

She looked at Lucian who's already looking at her. It didn't matter now if she would be embarrassed, or even disappointed. Apologizing would be the right thing to do. It looked like Lucian was thinking the same and approached her.

The office door suddenly opened!

Before either of them could say anything, a certain man with an overwhelming presence entered the room. She looked at the man. What she saw was a tan masculine figure with red hair that almost burned, and eyes glowing yellow like that of a beast.

His aura was several-fold more powerful than Lucian and Evangelyn combined. Although, it wasn't the violent killing aura that she felt from Lucian and Eve before. This presence bore superiority, like the word "authority" was coined for him.

"Siegfried!", Lucian and Eve exclaimed, almost in unison.

"Lucian. Eve.", Siegfried nodded in acknowledgment. "Irina Kaspian."

It took her a second to react. "Sir!", she said standing, she didn't exactly know how to behave, they didn't tell her. Should she salute? Kneel? She was just frozen.

"Time for me to decide whether I approve your recommendation or not.", Siegfried said.

***

Irina woke up with an insufferable headache. Last night was completely unexpected. Not even Lucian nor Eve saw that coming. Sir Marcus Vigil's room was a mess. However, this should not hinder her for taking the Trials.

A smile formed on her lips when she remembered last night's events. They thought Siegfried would test her abilities but it was rather anticlimactic. It turned out, he trusted the judgment of the fellow Rangers that he approved her recommendation in a snap, under one condition.

They had to have a drink. Bummer, right? She wasn't a heavy drinker, or so she thought. Irina, having no social circle to drink with, used to drink in solitude. It turned out, she could hold her alcohol better than Eve, and as much as Lucian. Of course, Eve could out-drink her if she'd use spirit energy to enhance her resistance against toxins, including alcohol. But Siegfried wouldn't allow it.

She looked at her phone. She shook her aching head, they drank until sunrise. It was fun. The clock said it's past 5PM already. They slept through almost the whole Sunday!

"Are you ready for the Trials", it was just a low firm voice. Yet, her hangover had taken its toll. It was Siegfried.

"Can you lower your voice, please?", she asked.

"I am. I didn't want to wake them up", he pointed to the wasted Lucian and Eve, sleeping on the floor and the table respectively. "Here, take this", he gave her a small dried ginger.

"Just chew on that. It's property was enhanced, it should cure your hangover in a few minutes. Eve always carry things like this, in case someone requires healing. Or curing hangover.", he explained.

"Is this why you're not hungover?", she asked with frowning face when the ginger touched her taste buds. "Ugh!"

"No. It's just you three, drinking. I don't drink", he said. If it was the early 2000's, he would have been mocked for being a German who didn't like drinking.

"Go to your room and fix yourself. I'll take care of these kids here. Get down here by six", he said and she complied.

After taking a bath, she felt her hangover fade. She's feeling better by the minute. She checked her phone again. Only then did she notice three unread messages on her phone.

Sent: 2:00 PM

"I'm on my way to the manor. See you in a bit."

Sent: 2:31 PM

"Some cops approached me and they didn't let me in. I'll wait for you in the store by the corner of the street."

Sent: 4:55

"Sorry, Rin. I really wanted to see you, but I got to go."

From Arthur Jung. It was her childhood friend. She remembered he sent her a text about coming here today. She completely forgot! No, she didn't, she was too drunk to wake up and missed her chance to meet him after three years.

Guilt and sadness crept her chest. But she tried to suppress it. These feelings would be obstacles on tonight's endeavor. Why would she be guilty, it's not like she agreed to meet him today. In fact, she didn't reply to the message at all. But the truth was she wanted to see him so bad. She opened her drawer and picked up a familiar box.

She could only sigh, walking out of her room. The manor was quiet, it was Sunday after all. The students must be having fun somewhere. Just when she reached the office' door, Siegfried came out.

"Feeling good now?", he asked, still in a low voice.

"Never better", she replied.

"Good. Time to go, then."

Siegfried pulled out a translucent crystal from his pocket. She saw that quartz before, the one that the Royal Guard used to escape. He gestured for her to go outside with him. They stopped right at the gate.

"Hold my arm. Very tight. Make sure you don't let go until I tell you.", he commanded. She nodded and complied. His arms was so ripped with muscles, it was difficult to fully grip it with just a hand. She had to cling both of her arms just to get a good hold.

"In three, we will step out the gate. Just one quick step. You have to be very focused. If one of us is late even for just a fraction of a second, that would be bad news. Do you understand?", he asked.

"One quick step in three. Without letting go.", she answered.

"Good. Now, Transport!", he took a deep breath and so did she, "One. Two. Three."

Siegfried opened the gate and they stepped out in unison. A blinding light flashed in her eyes which disappeared in an instant. It left her disoriented. "You can let go-"

He was not able to finish his sentence. She let go of his arms and ran far from him. She almost threw up and didn't want to involve him in the mess. Luckily, her stomach was too empty to do that.

"What just happened?", she thought. It felt like her body was riding an airplane flying on 1000kph but only for one second, then it abruptly stopped, and her organs suffered the inertia.

That's not the worst part. Her body clock was sure that only a second had passed but there were many images flashing in her brain, like memories. She could recall stepping outside then falling down a deep dark hole in God knew-how-fast, then going back up in the same speed. She could even swear she saw images of Nightmares.

"Tough cookie. You didn't throw up. That's a first.", Siegfried said.

"That's because I'm starving. I'm fine thanks for asking", she almost forgot she's speaking to a superior officer but she was frustrated for not knowing what happened and feeling this sick. "What just happened?"

"We Shadow Transported. Or teleported, as Terra's Sci-Fi authors like to call them. We did two quick jumps between dimensions. Took advantage of the Umbra phenomenon, which you're very familiar of the location, just outside the manor. We used the spirit energy in the quartz to attract the phenomenon.

"There was this theory that realms are interconnected and if one knows how to make the jumps, he can travel dimensionally and and jump back to his realm. If you can focus the direction of the jump back, you can end up on your intended destination. Of course, these destinations should have as much powers as to attract the phenomenon. Anyway, that's how my master explained it. I was told to just memorize it but I hope you understand that and if not, just take a look around."

Irina couldn't believe her eyes when she looked up. The number of flags overwhelmed her. There's only one place on earth they could be.

"Welcome to Rome."

They're in Vatican City!