Amid the shifting light and shadow, Lin En recognized her the instant he saw her.
"Number Three?"
Lin En smiled.
The little girl sitting at the dining table narrowed her eyes and said:
"What do you mean?"
Lin En remained utterly nonchalant, as though her appearance had come as no surprise. Folding his arms, he teased:
"The third one, of course. Have you forgotten? You came down to see me like this the last two times too, and didn't I cut you off and take you captive both times? I numbered them, so that makes you the third, doesn't it?"
The dim lights on the surrounding walls burst with a crack, throwing off flickering light and shadows.
The smile faded from the little girl's face, and her expression turned ice-cold. She slowly stood, her gaze blood-red.
"So you really aren't afraid at all. What? Did you figure I was bound to come?"
Holding Hana Ye in his arms, Lin En smiled.
"Did I need to figure that out? You need Hana Ye as the vessel for your ascension, and tonight might just be the final moment, right? If you could still let me leave Clockwork City at a time like this, that would be strange."
The little girl sneered. She folded her arms, her footsteps echoing through the silent dining room.
"If you knew I wouldn't let you go, why did you dare run? Wouldn't you have been better off hiding in that Cathedral of yours?"
Lin En said softly:
"What are you talking about? Don't you know how terrifying that woman Jiu is? If I didn't get out quickly, wouldn't she cut down both Hana Ye and me when the Red Moon Descent came?"
Smiling, he took a fighting stance.
"So of course, I came out here prepared to