Andrew’s cruiser pulled into the mall parking lot.
He drove with considerably less regard for municipal speed limits than a police officer probably should have.
A few minutes later, he entered the shopping center.
He walked through the crowded corridors, his eyes scanning the sea of civilian faces.
His expectations were simple.
This was Diana’s daughter.
Which meant he was naturally expecting a confident troublemaker.
Someone loud and obnoxious.
Someone inherently chaotic.
A miniature version of Diana.
Honestly, he was expecting someone who was already armed.
Knowing Diana, the kid was definitely carrying a weapon.
Then he spotted Ellie.
She was waving at him from across the wide walkway.
“Dad!”
Andrew approached them.
His eyes immediately bypassed his daughter and landed on the smaller girl standing right beside her.
She was small.
Quiet.
She was clutching a pile of paper shopping bags against her chest as if they were life preservers.
The exact moment she noticed him looking at her, she stiffened and straightened up nervously.
She wasn’t confident.
She wasn’t chaotic.
She looked absolutely nothing like Diana.
Andrew stopped.
“…”
Something wasn’t matching his expectations at all.
Ellie smiled proudly, gesturing between them.
“Dad, this is Garin.”
Garin immediately bowed her head, her movements rigid.
“G-Good afternoon, sir.”
Andrew blinked.
“G-Good afternoon.”
The girl froze.
Her fingers tightened around the paper handles of her bags until they wrinkled.
“I-I mean good afternoon!”
Andrew blinked again.
He looked at Ellie, then back down at Garin.
The veteran police officer inside him quietly activated.
It was a habit born from years of experience and thousands of interviews.
He had dealt with every kind of person—victims, witnesses, runaways, abused children, and traumatized survivors.
Certain signs became impossible to miss once you knew what to look for.
The way she completely avoided eye contact.
The way she subtly flinched whenever a stranger walked too close to her.
The way every single movement seemed too careful.
Measured.
Prepared.
It was the look of someone who constantly expected to be scolded just for taking up space in the world.
Andrew felt something inside his chest tighten.
His standard Dad Mode immediately evolved.
Grandad Mode Activated.
His expression softened.
A lot.
“So you’re Garin.”
The girl gave a quick, tentative nod.
“Y-Yes.”
Ellie noticed the shift in his voice immediately.
“Oh no.”
Andrew ignored his daughter completely.
“Did Ellie buy half the mall?”
Garin looked down at the literal mountain of bags in her arms, her voice dropping.
“…M-Maybe.”
Andrew nodded seriously.
“Sounds like Ellie.”
“Dad!”
Andrew smiled.
It was the first genuine smile Garin had seen from him.
“Nice to meet you, sweetheart.”
Garin froze.
Sweetheart.
It was such a simple word.
Yet, hearing it made something strange stir inside her chest.
It was the exact same feeling she had felt when Diana told her the house is yours.
It was the same feeling she had felt when Ellie dragged her around the stores, loudly calling herself Aunt Ellie.
It was warm.
Unfamiliar.
Safe.
She lowered her head quickly, trying to hide her face from them.
“…N-Nice to meet you too.”
Andrew looked at Ellie.
Then at Garin.
Then back at Ellie.
His voice dropped into a low, professional register.
“How much has she eaten today?”
Ellie immediately groaned, throwing her hands up.
“There it is.”
“What?”
“There is always a food question.
Every single time.”
“Answer me.”
“We had lunch,” Ellie huffed.
Andrew looked at Garin.
“Proper lunch?”
Garin blinked.
“…I think so?”
Andrew immediately turned toward the food court signs.
“Not good enough.”
Ellie laughed, shaking her head.
“Dad.”
“We’re eating.”
“Dad.”
“We’re eating.”
“Dad.”
“We’re eating.”
Garin looked between the two of them, completely confused by the stubborn, repetitive argument.
Andrew reached down, casually taking a few of the heaviest shopping bags straight out of her hands.
The weight instantly became lighter.
“Come on,” Andrew muttered.
“W-Where?”
Andrew pointed a finger toward the upper level.
“Your grandpa needs to inspect the quality of this mall’s food.”
Garin stopped walking.
Her boots glued themselves to the tile floor.
“…My grandpa?”
Andrew froze.
Ellie froze.
Everyone stood still in the middle of the corridor.
Then Andrew slowly turned his head to look at Ellie.
Ellie immediately looked away, finding a nearby wall highly suspicious.
Andrew sighed.
“Diana is going to kill us.”
“Diana was already going to kill us,” Ellie pointed out.
“Fair point.”
And together, the three of them headed toward the food court.
They were completely unaware that somewhere inside White Requiem, Diana had just sneezed for the third time that day and was seriously beginning to suspect a conspiracy. This chapter was copied from novelping(.)com without permission.
The table looked ridiculous.
It was a cluttered mess of burgers, fries, chicken, pizza, desserts, and drinks.
There was easily enough food stacked on the plastic surface to feed an entire family.
Garin sat right in the middle of it all, looking entirely overwhelmed.
“Aunt Ellie…”
“Yes, sweetie?”
“I’m full.”
Ellie held up another plastic spoon filled with pudding.
“Just one more bite.”
“No.”
“One more for your aunt.”
“No.”
“One.”
“No.”
“Half?”
“…”
“Quarter?”
Garin let out a small sigh of defeat.
“…Okay.”
The spoon immediately entered her mouth.
Andrew watched the exchange while quietly drinking his coffee.
A small, faint smile appeared on his face.
The sight reminded him of something.
Something old and warm.
“Dad?”
Andrew blinked.
Ellie was staring across the table at him.
“What’s the matter?”
He chuckled softly.
“Nothing.” His eyes drifted back to Garin.
“I just remembered how you and Diana used to eat as children.”
Ellie’s eyes widened as the memory clicked.
“Oh.” A wide grin spread across her face.
“The bonfire party?”
Andrew laughed.
“The bonfire party.”
Garin looked between them, her head tilting.
“The bonfire party?”
Ellie immediately pointed an accusing finger.
“Diana ate an entire grilled beef leg.”
Andrew nodded.
“Still attached to the bone.”
Garin blinked, trying to process the mental image.
“Big chunk of beef?”
“Very big chunk of beef,” Andrew confirmed.
“Your mother is a surprisingly big eater.”
Garin looked confused.
Hearing the word mother felt strange.
“Big eater…”
Ellie laughed.
“You probably haven’t seen her eat properly yet.”
Garin suddenly became quiet.
Andrew noticed the change in her demeanor immediately.
“What’s the matter, sweetheart?”
Garin hesitated.
She looked down at her hands, choosing her words carefully.
“I don’t think she was eating last night.”
Ellie froze, her spoon hovering.
“What?”
Garin looked nervous, clearing her throat.
“I mean…
she was drinking.”
Ellie immediately sat upright, her playful attitude vanishing.
“She was drinking in front of you!?”
“N-No!”
Andrew raised an eyebrow, his cop instincts taking over.
“Then what happened?”
Garin looked down at the table, her voice softening as she remembered the quiet night.
“It was late.
I couldn’t sleep.”
She explained everything simply.
She told them about the silent hallway.
The faint light coming from downstairs.
The dark agency floor.
She described Diana sitting entirely alone behind her desk, a wine glass resting loosely in one hand, while her other hand held a framed photograph.
The heavy silence of the building.
She explained how Diana never actually took a single sip of the wine.
She just sat there, staring at the photograph, lost somewhere far away.
The table became very quiet.
For the first time since they had arrived at the food court, the loud noise of the mall seemed to fade.
Andrew’s smile disappeared completely.
Ellie’s expression softened into something heavy.
Neither of them interrupted her story, and neither of them made a joke.
When Garin finished speaking, she looked between them anxiously.
“D-Did I do something wrong?”
“No,” Andrew answered immediately, his voice grounding.
“Not at all.”
Ellie slowly looked down at the plastic spoon in her hand, then flicked her gaze toward Andrew.
A completely silent conversation passed between them.
It was the kind of wordless understanding that only came from years of absolute familiarity.
Garin noticed it.
“You both know something.”
Andrew sighed, leaning back.
“Not exactly.”
Ellie nodded.
“We’re just worried.”
“Worried?”
Andrew looked out toward the crowds moving through the mall corridors, his eyes distant.
“Diana doesn’t usually sit still long enough to think.”
Ellie snorted dryly.
“That’s actually true.”
A small, faint smile returned to Andrew’s face, but it faded just as quickly.
“Especially not about her mother.”
Now Garin was even more curious.
The name alone seemed to carry a massive weight.
Andrew leaned back further in his chair.
For a moment, he considered saying more, looking at the girl’s quiet face.
Then he decided against it.
“That’s Diana’s story to tell.”
The answer wasn’t satisfying, but Garin understood.
Some doors weren’t meant to be opened by others.
They belonged to one person only.
For the rest of lunch, despite the food and the casual conversation that eventually picked back up, all three of them found themselves thinking about the exact same thing.
Diana.
Alone in the dark.
Holding a photograph.
And whatever old memory had managed to stop the unstoppable Devil Huntress in her tracks.
The mountain of food had finally defeated Garin completely.
She sat slumped in her mall chair, her hands folded limply in her lap, looking thoroughly overwhelmed by the sheer amount of grease and sugar Andrew and Ellie had forced upon her.
Ellie was still holding up a spoon.
“Just one more bite.”
“No…”
“Just one.”
“No…”
“Half?”
“No…”
Garin looked like she was genuinely about to cry from fullness.
Fortunately for her, Andrew’s phone suddenly rang.
The veteran officer glanced down at the screen.
His relaxed, grandfatherly expression faded instantly, replaced by a cold professionalism.
Ellie noticed the shift at once.
“Dad?”
Andrew stood up.
“Excuse me for a moment.”
He stepped away from the noisy table and answered the call.
“Andrew speaking.”
The conversation was brief.
Far too brief to be good news.
Andrew’s brow slowly furrowed into a deep line.
“What happened?”
A short pause.
His expression hardened into stone.
“He survived?”
Another pause as the voice on the other end crackled.
“I understand.”
A longer pause followed.
“Any suspects?”
Nothing.
Andrew sighed.
“I’ll pass the information along.”
The call ended.
For a moment, he simply stood there staring at the dark screen, thinking.
Then he walked back to the table.
Ellie’s smile was already completely gone.
“Dad?”
“There was another attack.”
The simple words instantly killed the mood.
“What happened?” Ellie asked.
Andrew sat back down, leaning forward.
“The son of J.
Bruce was attacked.”
Garin froze.
Andrew continued, his voice flat.
“J.
Marvin.”
The paper shopping bag resting in Garin’s lap suddenly crinkled loudly as her fingers tightened around it.
Andrew noticed the movement immediately.
His eyes narrowed slightly.
“You know that name.”
Garin hesitated.
Then she slowly nodded.
“Yes.”
Ellie looked confused, glancing between them.
“You do?”
Garin swallowed.
“Miss Diana accepted a case involving him.”
Andrew leaned closer.
“Go on.”
“The wealthy businessman passed away,” Garin explained, carefully recalling the neat documents she had sorted.
“His son was supposed to inherit everything.”
Andrew nodded.
“So far, that matches our dispatch.”
“There were multiple attacks before,” Garin continued, her voice level.
“At first, they were just normal assassination attempts.”
Andrew listened carefully, his face unreadable.
“But the most recent report involved a demon attack.”
Now Ellie understood exactly why Diana had gotten involved in a corporate dispute.
Andrew folded his arms over his uniform.
“And now security personnel are dead.”
Garin lowered her head, the grim reality finally settling in.
This wasn’t just a simple file on a desk anymore.
Real people were dying out there.
The table fell into a heavy silence.
Ellie glanced over at Garin, noticing the slight tension in her shoulders.
The girl looked worried.
But she wasn’t worried for herself.
She was worried for Diana.
Andrew noticed it too.
“You’re worried about her.”
Garin hesitated, then gave a slow, honest nod.
“…Yes.”
Andrew exchanged a brief glance with Ellie.
Both of them allowed a small, almost amused smile to touch their lips.
Garin looked up, thoroughly confused by their lack of concern.
Andrew took a slow sip of his coffee.
“Don’t be.”
“Huh?”
“The thing attacking people out there should be the one worried about Diana.”
Ellie immediately laughed, the heavy tension breaking.
“That’s actually true.”
Andrew nodded.
“Very true.”
A small smile finally appeared on Garin’s face.
It was only a tiny one, but it was there.
Miles away.
Inside the quiet walls of the White Requiem Agency.
The telephone receiver settled back into its cradle with a dull click.
Diana sat quietly behind her desk.
The police report had been short and bloody.
J.
Marvin had survived the encounter.
Several high-grade security personnel had not.
The attackers had escaped into the city without leaving a trace.
Diana stared at the peeling wallpaper for a few seconds.
Then she stood up.
A long, lazy stretch escaped her.
Several satisfying cracks echoed clearly from her shoulders and back.
“Ahhh…”
The sluggish, sleep-deprived woman from this morning completely disappeared.
The Devil Huntress returned.
She reached out, her gloved hand wrapping around the grip of the massive sword resting beside the wall.
The familiar, heavy weight settled comfortably across her back.
Her white coat followed, flowing over her shoulders.
She adjusted the collar with a quick flick, then pulled her gloves tight over her knuckles.
Ready.
For a brief, fleeting moment, her eyes drifted toward the dark staircase.
Toward the upper floor.
Toward the room Garin now occupied.
Toward the strange, loud, completely uninvited new family that seemed determined to invade her life.
A small smile touched her lips.
Then the steel returned to her eyes, and it vanished.
Work first.
Everything else later.
Diana opened the heavy agency door.
The chaotic lights of the city reflected sharply in her dark eyes.
She rolled her neck once, her posture turning fluid and dangerous.
“Okay.”
The smile returned to her face—this one sharper, jagged, and entirely unbothered by the dark.
“Time to go to work.”
The Legendary Devil Huntress stepped out into the chaos of the night.