A roar of laughter burst out of the three story house, signaling its occupants were still present.  The sign on the door was flipped to “Closed,” but it didn’t deter Deimos from ringing the bell.  Another roar of laughter could be heard, followed by some grumbling and then the sound of footsteps.<br/><br/>“Excuse us, but we’re closed earl—Deimos! I didn’t realize you were coming”  Roland’s apology turned into surprise, but the brunette nevertheless unlocked the door and let the Knight inside.  Deimos merely nodded in greeting and walked up the stairs to the living quarters.  Adair was smiling at whatever had just been said and Seraphim’s arm was wrapped around her stomach, a clear sign she either had cramps or had laughed too much.<br/><br/>“Roland! Lesus is being mean again!”  Adair’s older brother pouted, turning teary blue eyes towards the newcomers.  It was hard to believe that this childish man was the serious Vice Captain's older brother.  The others had also turned at the sound of the opening door, only to be greeted by both Deimos and Roland.  The mood immediately sunk into solemnity as Adair stood up and strode over.<br/><br/>“Deimos.”  Adair greeted, green eyes roving his subordinate’s form and noting the bag of reports still hanging from the other Knight’s shoulder.<br/><br/>“Want to take a walk?”  The pale blond man offered, yellow eyes already turning to look out the window.  There was a thump of boots on wood as Seraphim rocked back onto her feet and stood up, signaling her intent to come along.  Adair simply nodded in response and walked to the chair his armor was still stacked on to put the pieces back on.  Grisia came over the help, worry evident in the older blond’s eyes.<br/><br/>“There was an attack in Lindela’s District 8 about two weeks ago.  There are rumors down low that it was a Pure Sinner.  No one’s quite sure though, since the place has been under guard ever since and no one’s been allowed close.”  Lesus spoke up, hands deftly wrapping up three sandwiches for the Knights to take.  He handed one out to each Knight and then the group walked to the door.<br/><br/>“May the Divine Light protect you.”  Grisia blessed, the solemnity in his voice a reminder of why the blond had once been the Cathedral’s best Advocate.<br/><br/>Adair hugged his brother in response and then the three Knights were walking back out in search of their errant Captain.<br/><br/><div style="text-align: center;">~~~~~~~</div><br/><br/>“That area has had Knights 24/7 for the past two weeks!  I can’t believe it!”  The blond woman huffed in disbelief, poking whatever was in the pan with a spatula.  Her frown indicated it wasn’t ready yet.  She turned to face her husband only to sigh in exasperation.<br/><br/>“Okay! Okay! You’re allowed to go!”  She permitted with an exasperated smile.  Valiar hadn’t even said anything yet but the expression on his face was clear: he wanted to check out the quarantine.  “Try to be back in time for dinner?”  She asked, dropping a kiss on his cheek as she walked to the pantry to get the salt.  Valiar nodded, a brief smile lighting his face as he pulled Marielle in for a proper kiss before he donned the armor he had just been shining.  The two had been married for his entire Knight career and extra words were unneeded by now.<br/><br/><span style="font-style: italic">Stay safe. Come back.</span><br/><span style="font-style: italic">I love you.</span><br/><div style="text-align: center;">~~~~~~~~~~</div><br/><br/>Leon scuffed his boot against the ground, looking over the market square forlornly.  Everyone was either busy with their day or in groups of friends, seemingly having a good time.  It reminded him of how alone he was.  His previous teammates would all be busy on patrol in Gless and most of his childhood friends had drifted away as his Knight training took him in a direction away from them.  He finally lived on his own, like he’d always wanted, but it was lonely to go back to an empty apartment.  He wondered how Seraphim dealt with it.<br/><br/>With a sigh, he walked down the road aimlessly.  Not even the awed whispering of the civilians he passed brought him any joy.  Then again, there wasn’t much awed whispering.  Knights were common in Lindela and he didn’t have the fame yet to command instant recognition like other members of his squad.  His self pity party was ruined by a blow of negativity against his senses.  He froze immediately, eyes darting around as he searched for the source.  It had been faint, suggesting it was further away, but it had been<span style="font-style: italic">very</span>toxic.  Running forward, he leaped onto the roofs and took off towards the faint pulsing of Sin.<br/><br/><div style="text-align: center;">~~~~~~~~~~</div><br/><br/>The constant drain of containing the crystal was annoying but not terribly difficult.  If anything, it was making her a bit sleepy, if she could find the nerve fall asleep in this cesspool of evil.  She was relieved when Brynhildr indicated they had finished suppressing the crystal; if she stayed too long, it was likely she’d find that Deimos had finished all the reports.<br/><br/>Just as the blue-haired Knight was reaching out with a glass bottle, a cracking sound could be heard.  All of Gil’s squad froze, a clear indication something was wrong.  The earth rumbled in warning just as Georg shouted out.<br/><br/>Lethe immediately placed herself between the other Knights and the breaking crystal.  The two swords she had been using to help suppress the aura immediately coming back to her.  Her other four swords appeared in front of her, splayed outwards like a sun.<br/><br/><span style="color: silver"><span style="font-style: italic">“Repent!”</span></span>She shouted, directing the holy energy into her swords to form a shield over her and Gil’s squad.  If Gil was any indication of his squad, they’d be much weaker than she’d normally expect, especially with four of them having just siphoning holy magic to suppress the crystal.  A wave of Sin rushed past her, infinitely stronger than the one they’d first released upon coming into the basement.  When the light finally died down, she lifted her head.<br/><br/>The first thing she noticed was the walls; the etches she had seen earlier were glowing red like veins of blood.  The second was the figure in front of her.  Pale white skin.  Hair as black as night.  The figure was clad in a familiar dress but in the mottle blue-grey that marked the skin of Sinners.   Blood red lips curved into a hauntingly familiar smile.<br/><br/><span style="color: red"> “Hello~”</span>It cheered with a happy wave of a hand.  Glowing crimson eyes stared at the Knights assembled in front of them.<span style="color: red"> “Hmmmm”</span>It hummed thoughtfully, taking note of the faint light that surrounded each of them.<span style="color: red"> “Oh no no no, that won’t do at all.”</span>It tsked in disapproval.  It lifted a hand, an orb of darkness gathering in its hand.  Then, it brought her hand down with a roar:<span style="color: red"> “Demi!”</span><br/><br/>Lethe was lucky her swords were still arrayed in front of her; she doubted she had the mental presence to have moved them in time otherwise.  Instead, she channeled her magic through her swords once more to block the attack.<br/><br/><span style="color: silver"> “Get out of here!”</span>She echoed the order from earlier.  They had to save this room if what Gil had said from earlier was true.  For no one to have sensed Sin’s presence earlier, something about these runes had to be masking the taint.  The moment the attack stopped, she was rushing up stairs and out of the room, leveling a<span style="font-style: italic">Banish</span>on the manifestation of Sin to ensure its attention.