Chapter 52: Chapter 52

"Master Haru!" Dandy shouted, startled.

Edward’s eyes widened at the sudden appearance of the man standing before them, his presence both calm and commanding. "Where did this guy come from?" Edward muttered, still catching his breath.

"You fool!!" Haru growled, slamming his fist into Dandy’s head with a sickening thunk.

"Ow! Heyy!! What’s that for?" Dandy yelped from the ground, rubbing his skull.

"I leave you alone for fifteen minutes and you cause a damn commotion?" Haru barked, glaring down at him with eyes that burned like tempered steel.

Dandy scrambled to his feet, pointing a trembling finger at Sabrina. "Don’t you get it, Haru?! She’s a member of Rapture! Look at her wings, that golden hair, those crimson eyes—she was literally there that day!"

"Huhhh?! Bruh, I’ve never met you in my life!" Sabrina shot back, hands raised in both confusion and growing irritation.

"Liar!!" Dandy accused, his voice high with certainty, body tense as if still ready to fight.

Haru’s sharp eyes narrowed. "Do you see the Crest of Damnation on her hand, Daiki?"

"Uhhhh..." Dandy faltered, shifting awkwardly. He moved toward Sabrina, cautiously examining her hands—both bare. The tension between them hung thick in the air.

"So basically, Daiki," Haru said, his voice low and disappointed, "you attacked two innocent people."

"But Haru, she looks exactly like her!!" Dandy protested, face scrunching in desperation. "Exactly!"

"I’ll ask again," Haru said slowly, his voice rising like the weight of judgment itself. "Do. You. See. The. Crest. Of. Damnation. On. Her?"

Dandy dropped his gaze. "...No."

"Then you attacked an innocent man and woman!" Haru roared, his patience finally snapping.

"When you put it like that, it sounds bad..." Dandy muttered, sheepishly lowering his bat to the ground.

"Baka!" Haru barked, slapping the back of Dandy’s head again, harder this time. Dandy stumbled forward with a wince.

Then, Haru approached Edward and Sabrina. With a small sigh, he bowed deeply, his long coat brushing the ground.

"I’m sorry for my student’s mistake. Please forgive him. He mistook your wife for someone else."

"Umm, wife?!" Sabrina gasped, her face instantly flushing red as she clutched both cheeks. Her wings twitched slightly behind her back, fluttering like startled feathers.

Edward blinked awkwardly. "We’re friends, dude. And about the situation—I really want to say it’s cool, but your student literally almost killed us!!"

"Haru has already apologized, get off your d—"

"Shut up!!" Haru snapped, hurling a rock at Dandy’s head with a precise flick of his wrist. It bounced off with a dull clack, shutting Dandy up instantly.

"Where was I?" Haru muttered, brushing off his robe like nothing had happened. "Oh yes. I’m terribly sorry on his behalf. He mistook your girlfriend for someone very evil, and to his credit... she looks like the spitting image of her."

"Spitting image?!" Sabrina echoed, her voice rising in disbelief.

"Yeah. But the only difference between you and her," Haru said, turning to face her directly, "is that you don’t have the Crest of Damnation. Because if you did... I would have killed you myself."

His words hung in the air like a blade. Edward felt Sabrina stiffen beside him. He instinctively stepped a little closer to her, his body slightly angled as if to shield her.

"Uhh... Is that how bad this Rapture group is?" Edward asked slowly.

Haru gave a solemn nod. "They’re bad business. Look out for people with a crossed Christ crest on any part of their body."

"A crossed Christ crest..." Edward repeated under his breath, his fingers twitching slightly by his side.

"In the event you ever meet one," Haru continued, folding his arms, "don’t be like my student here. What you need to do is run. Don’t hesitate. They will kill you."

Edward swallowed hard, his gaze shifting between Haru and Dandy. Sabrina’s wings folded in tightly, as if recoiling at the thought.

Haru softened slightly. "Oh, and as for the injuries he caused..."

He extended a hand, touching both Edward and Sabrina gently on their foreheads. A soft, golden glow pulsed from his fingers and vanished into their skin.

"Whoa! My leg doesn’t hurt anymore," Edward said, blinking in disbelief as he lifted his leg and tested it. The sharp pain he’d been feeling was completely gone.

"My wings too!" Sabrina echoed, flapping them lightly. The dull ache that had throbbed in her bones moments ago was now a distant memory.

Then, Haru’s gaze fell to Edward’s hand.

"Ohh... that’s interesting."

"What is?" Edward asked, tilting his head curiously.

"Oh, nothing, nothing," Haru replied quickly, as he pulled out a small black card and handed it to him. The card had a strange insignia—half sun, half eclipse. "If you’re ever in trouble, find me here. Again... sorry for all the trouble."

Edward took the card, studying it as Haru turned and yanked Dandy—Daiki—up by the collar like a disobedient child.

"Okay, let’s go, Daiki."

"Hey! Stop calling me by my government name!!" Dandy shouted as the two of them vanished into a cloud of golden smoke, leaving behind a faint shimmer in the air.

Silence returned to the park.

"That was insane," Sabrina said breathlessly, breaking into a wide grin. "It was like we were in an action movie!"

Edward stared at her. "How can you be excited? We almost died. You were literally screaming!"

"We didn’t die though!" she said with a shrug, laughing as she shook her arms out and folded her wings behind her again.

The two of them began walking out of the park, the sky starting to shift into evening hues. The breeze had cooled, rustling leaves around their feet.

"Seems like you have a twin," Edward muttered.

"Nope. Only daughter here," Sabrina said, bumping his shoulder with hers. "That dude was just insane."

"True," Edward chuckled, shaking his head.

They paused briefly at the edge of the park, the air still tinged with magic and smoke. Sabrina stretched her arms above her head, wings fanning out slightly behind her.

"Wanna fly back home?" she asked playfully, her voice light.

"You’re insane!!" Edward exclaimed.

And with that, the two of them laughed together, the chaos of the day slowly fading behind them like a wild dream. But as they left the park—an invisible weight still hung in the air. Edward glanced down at the card Haru gave him and then at the faint glow that lingered just beneath the skin on his palm.

He didn’t know what it meant yet. But somehow... he had a feeling things were only just beginning.