"Well, fancy seeing you two here," said Ago, embarrassed. His situation made him look like a tiny rat who had been caught by a large cat.490Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg0wu1YiKvh
"How did you--" started Eva.490Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡn1ZNstnFB9
"He's a fool for following you two Lieutenants," cut off the burly man.490Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIYwUzlvzSG
"A holy man like him should learn to stay with his books and songs."490Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDvF6fklE9Y
"Huh!?" exclaimed Ago. The perplexity on his face proved he didn't know how to take that remark.
"Anyway," began the man. "If you let my partner and I go without any trouble, and I won't kill the priest. If you don't, I'll snap his pretty neck, here and now."490Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYKeuuvWRuC
"Excuse me, but I'd rather not be called pretty if you'd mind..." butted in Ago.490Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaE6XfIbok9
"Shut up," replied the man, his teeth gritting together.490Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpiVmiDQIje
"Hmm...." mumbled Ago, who stroked his chin as if he was in deep thought.490Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSvYSZJkfny
"What do you mean, 'hmm'?" grunted the man.490Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2oSeKALf8h
"Well, you didn't say please, my highly odiferous friend," chanted Ago in a teasing manner. His voice was innocent and gentle, even more so than usual.490Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvlHZjpc6t2
"Odiferous?"490Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2tr1yV5AHP
"My morally troubled man, it means you smell nasty," noted Ago. He glanced at the stained and rough leather jacket the man wore. "And your attire isn't complimenting you, either..."490Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡC38cGUVIHx
"What the--?!"490Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKM6IzZhvxH
"You should probably think of burning that shirt you're wearing sir, it may cause an airborne plague."
"That's enough!!" screeched the scraggly man. He directed his gun at Ago and shot. The bullet flew and grazed his head.490Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg3bcpjDitI
"Ago!!" screamed Eva. Her hands began to glow once more.490Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqSHiXAqoB8
"Sister Eva, please stand down," whispered Ago. He looked at her with blood dripping off his face and gave a cryptic yet gentle smile. "I'll take it from here."490Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGytt19rEZN
"Huh?!" grunted the burly one.
Ago placed his right hand on the burly man's hairy forearm.
"GAHHH!!!" bellowed the man. His arm began to bleed, and in his shock, he dropped Ago.490Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL8LopGBBux
"I was hoping to be much kinder today..." whispered Ago, who had landed on his feet. He wiped off a small, bloodstained blade.
"Get them!" shouted the scraggly man to the other five men with him. They rushed towards Ago, Tsubaki, and Eva with different assortments of weaponry.490Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWVCG1SObRu
"Sister, Brother...please stand aside for now," spoke Ago. "I'll take care of the situation quickly."490Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbXmFkDpHOQ
"But why?" asked Eva, confused and concerned.490Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3NHjeWvqSQ
"Miss Evangelique, I suggest we listen to him," replied Tsubaki. "He is our superior, after all."490Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ88pI35lyhk
"But Ago is a Hitsujikai!" exclaimed Eva. "He's a part of my team!"490Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4SF8PSCgx7
"That is true," responded Tsubaki. "However, he is also a Lieutenant...Kioku Kitsune's most powerful Lieutenant, to be more precise."
Evangelique stood still. Her breath felt as if it had been taken away by the shocking surprise.490Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdcSQmtnON7
Ago was a Hitsujikai, a man who swore to Elohim, the Creator of All Things, to teach and guide in truth and love as according to the Sacrytheola, or Sacred Scriptures. It was his task to evangelize to all lost souls and reflect the mercy of Kaithé, the Divine Savior.
But he was also a Lieutenant, whose tasks often held no gentle outcome.
"He said it's his conviction," said Tsubaki. Eva looked at him. "Ago has two callings. On one hand, he is a shepherd. His task is to guide his flock and to protect them from destruction. On the other hand, he is a soldier. He has to leave his sheep in order to preserve other sheep."490Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLQKGXovCPX
"And sometimes, in order to protect those sheep, you have to fight wolves..." murmured Eva.
She looked at Ago again, who stood still and tall. His adversaries were sprawled on the ground, wounded.
"Finally, it's done~" sighed Ago, stretching out his arms and yawning.490Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZeZog4JkGH
"D-Did you kill them?" asked Eva, frightened by the surprising side of Ago.490Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs9QNfPkokk
"Of course not," replied Ago. He looked at the men with hurt eyes. "I just made sure they won't be able to hurt anyone ever again. We still need to question them about the attack on the tavern, after all."
He smiled at Eva with his cherubic, princely smile. Evangelique felt a cold chill crawl down her spine.
"Brother Tsubaki, help me tie these men up," said Ago, taking a strong rope from a leather pack on his side. "Brother Hakujou and Mitsuru-daya are sure to come for them soon."490Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy3APCmR4Hc
"Will do," replied Tsubaki. He walked over to help Ago apprehend the criminals.490Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ21R4g0Btb9
"Evaaaaaa!!!" shouted Yasha. She ran up to Eva and hugged her tightly.490Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMhHgHAvFet
"Where did you go!?" added Althia. Both she and Yasha were very concerned.490Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXWgC6ScGqE
"You didn't get hurt, did you?" asked Cyril, who grasped onto her hands.490Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDE5jQz3nwS
"No, no, I'm okay, really..." answered Eva quickly. "Ago may need some attending to, though. Since he got sho--"490Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJJvW419gRA
"Since my shoes got unable to balance on the snow and I tripped!" butted in Ago. He looked into Eva's eyes, silently urging her to remain silent about the incident in the alleyway.
"Ah, yes," replied Eva stiffly. "He had quite a bad fall!"490Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcN8TfHFLW1
"Did you now?" asked Augustine.490Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡb48NuXsJ5o
"It was bad, but I'm sure it was all his clumsiness," began Eva. "He's so clumsy, he puts a landing albatross to shame!"
Cyril, Yasha, and Althia chuckled at the remark. Tsubaki, who stood nearby, watched them giggle.
"Oi, that was uncalled for..." pouted Ago. Eva giggled in reply.
Augustine watched as they all laughed, only to soon glance at Ago's dirtied robes.
In unbelief and an undisclosed resent, he turned to look at Eva, hoping that one of his greatest fear hadn't become a reality.490Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwDdGSclND9
