Lion Leon glanced at the Magic Mirror, recognition dawning on his furry face. He said nothing about it, though, and asked instead, "Which devils are coming after you? If it's Lynn City... the Beria Family?"
"It is one of the three great Demon Families—the Beria Family," Abner said with a nod. He wasn't surprised that Leon knew about them. Tales of devils in Sivellas County had circulated since Roselle's reign. After a moment's thought, he continued:
"I can sense five Desire Apostles who bear me clear malice: Cecia, the Fascination Apostle; Hila, the Murder Apostle; Samael, the Death Apostle; Balu, the Light Apostle; and Herta, the Mirror Apostle.
"I can also sense thirteen Devils following those five Apostles, and there are even more Serial Killers... In short, we have at least thirty confirmed Mid-Sequence enemies.
"The good news is that Desire Apostles are cold-blooded by nature. Even members of the same family don't trust one another, so they can't work together. If they forced themselves to join hands, they'd probably spend sixty or seventy percent of their energy guarding against each other. They're better off fighting alone.
"Besides, the Murder Apostle, Death Apostle, and Light Apostle are all over 130. They only maintained their condition by remaining asleep through a special ritual, but they're already on the verge of Loss of Control. They act rather 'mad' and have nearly lost a devil's cunning.
"The Fascination Apostle and Mirror Apostle are much younger, but they're still nearly a hundred. They're only better off by comparison and still face a serious risk of Loss of Control... The Abyss Pathway is the one most prone to it and to corruption.
"And among the Devils under their command, some are surely hoping we and the Apostles will cripple one another so they can seize