"All right, all right." Zeke responded.

"Tonight." he said.

Uriel just smirked.

"Well, I'm off." he told them.

"Thanks." Zeke said to him. "To all of you, and to Mom, for helping me see that Talon really IS my familiar." he commented.

"Treat it right, son." Uriel responded, before he bid them all goodbye, left the house via the back door, and they felt his mana, meaning he'd left the premises entirely.

As she flew, an individual was on the ground, sniffing at the air, and the soil. He then raised his head and looked like he was listening to... something... even though the area was silent.

"....." he remained silent as well, before his head darted in a particular direction, and he sprinted off in said direction, stopping only when he reached a small clearing. He then looked through the trees and foliage, seeing what looked to be a manticore-like being laying there. Though it was only a manticore in the sense that it had a large scorpion tail, and a feline-like head.

'...what genius thought that something like THIS was a house pet?' he thought. The creature was a little larger than a great dane, but it was known for having a feral attitude, and being practically untrainable.

It seemed that some rich mage with more money than brains decided to illegally import the creature for an exotic pet, and it escaped, unsurprisingly. The mage had been arrested, and his guild tasked with finding the animal and returning it to its natural habitat. He in specific had been given this hunt.

So he waited for another moment, before launching himself at the thing, landing on its back and having a wrestling match with it. Sure enough, the creature's scorpion-like tail flailed about and jabbed into the man a few times, but he only seemed to react to the first one, and even then, it was only a wince. The two of them wrestled and tumbled for about a minute or so, before the man managed to pin it, causing it to relax slightly in defeat and resignation.

"There you go!" he said, before patting it gently, which caused the creature to relax even MORE, but this time it was far calmer.

He had a way with animals.

"Relax, we'll get ya back home in no time, fella." the man assured the creature further.

The man looked over towards her, and was silent for a moment, raising his eyebrow.

"...Zeria...?" he mumbled, before patting the creature on the head.

"Stay." he told it.

He then stepped away, and started to make his way closer towards the woman.

"Zeria!" he called to her.

"What's wrong!?" he asked, before pausing when he got close enough to talk normally.

"...what IS wrong...?" he asked her, but with slightly different inflexion to his tone.

"Ah..." Ash muttered, before narrowing his eyes.

"Encrae!?" he exclaimed.

"What is that b-" he started to ask, before stopping and shaking his head.

"Kitt?" he asked.

"I... I haven't seen her in... uh..." he stammered, thinking about it. "...maybe about 2 or 3 weeks...?" he said further, before he paused again, some realisation dawning on him.

"...why? What's going on...?" he asked her.

"...." Ash was silent as he heard this.

"Ohhhh damn it all to hell." he cursed.

"Of COURSE she would find a way to corrupt the bonds between mage and familiar." he snarled.

"And your deaths aren't helping...?" he then asked her. "That's... not good." he said.

"Damn it, there has to be SOME way to stop this." he muttered.

"Isn't there ANYTHING that can get you free of that bitch's control?" he asked her.

It was then that Ash suddenly seemed to get an idea.

"That's IT!" he exclaimed.

"Yes! That's PERFECT!" he said further.

He then looked around, almost like he was checking to make sure there wasn't anyone around. However, he still leaned in and whispered something in Zeria's ear.

"So yeah." he said.

"Because of what I am, and the... position I hold... that should be the perfect place for you." he reasoned.

"As long as you stay there, you'll be safe, yeah?" he asked, seeking confirmation from her.

"........right." Ash muttered.

"I'll see her after I finish up here." he told her.

"...one second, though." he then said, taking out his phone. "I need to make a call." he told her, dialling a number.

"Oh, and FYI, when I send you there, it's not gonna be pretty, but it'll be necessary." he finished, before bringing the phone to his ear.

Meanwhile, at the Unit, Ilias and Kiah were studying some equations on a whiteboard, when Kiah's phone went off.

And she recognised the ringtone as well, it was Ash.

"Hey Kiah." Ash responded.

"Listen, I'm gonna be sending someone to the Unit." he told her.

"Can you prep the decontamination room?" he asked. "Like... ASAP?" he asked further.

"It's where I'll be sending her." he reasoned.

"And she'll explain everything when she gets there." he went on.

"Seriously, time's a factor here, and I need you to trust me on this." he added.

"A minute." Ash responded.

"You got a minute, starting now." he told her.

"Talk to you later." he finished, before hanging up.

He then sighed, and looked at Zeria.

"I'm going to teleport you to the Unit, where Kiah will receive you." he told the woman/phoenix. "However, when I do, you'll be burned by my black fire. Which is to say, you'll be killed upon transport, and your ashes will arrive there." he went on.

"You'll regenerate there, and hopefully be free of the influence." he continued.

"But... yeah, due to circumstances there, the Unit will be a safe place for you." he reiterated. "I have no idea why that is... I mean I know WHY, but I don't know why it's THERE in specific, as opposed to other places." he muttered, shaking his head.

"Oh, you know what I mean." he said.

"Regardless, I'll teleport you in about 30 seconds. Anything you feel you gotta say before I do it?" he asked her.

Ash nodded in response.

"I will." he told her.

"Now, get ready." he said, creating balls of black fire in his hands.

---

"......" Ilias was silent for a moment, before sighing.

"I see." he said.

"Well, we'll find out in a few seconds." he told her as they left the room and shut the door, looking through the glass.

As soon as they did, there was a swirl of black fire... before some ashes just fell to the ground.

Ilias... looked panicked.

"Oh sweet heavens, they got BURNED UP!" he exclaimed.