Armand entered the church, surrounded by his mercenaries. Outside of it was a large encirclement by the town militia. They carried spears in one hand, along with long, candle-like torches in the other. Garlic had been placed around the church. In particular, it was put on its doors and windows. The boy hoped it would be enough.

The inside of the building was unnaturally cold. Moonlight shone through the stained glass windows, illuminating an area filled with dust. Armand grimaced as he gazed over the area.

"A church that's still in use shouldn't be this dusty," he thought. "Is this the strigoi's doing?"

Turning his gaze to the back of the church, Armand saw a large statue of Zeus. It was truly grand, demonstrating the god's strength and power. The beard was especially well detailed. The paints used for the statue were clearly of the highest quality.

That's what filled Armand with incredible suspicion.

"This is a small village. A statue like this should be in the church of a large city. The villagers wouldn't be able to afford it on their own, and the greater clergy wouldn't put something this incredible somewhere almost no one would see it," he thought.

The boy turned to one of the mercenaries.

"Bring in one of the villagers," Armand ordered.

His soldier moved out of the church. A few moments later, he returned one of the militiamen. Shock coated the peasant's face as he gazed upon the statue.

"Do you recognize it?" Armand asked.

"No," the militiaman shook his head. "We've got a statue of Zeus, but it's smaller and made of wood."

A grimace crossed the noble's face. Armand looked the stone structure up and down, trying to find any signs of magic. Then, he noticed it. There was a faint glimmer in its eyes, something that could not be replicated with paint. The boy pulled out his pistol and started to aim it.

"Mi Lord, I don't mean to criticize you, but would you fire at an image of one of the gods? And Zeus at that?" the militiaman questioned.

"If I am right, this is a blasphemy," Armand replied. "And this is the safest way to test it. If it is a true statue, I will have it repaired. Then, I will build twelve grander ones to make up for the damage."

There was some hesitation in the commoner's voice as he spoke again.

"But even so, to risk the wrath of the gods is no small thing," he said.

That brought some resistance to Armand's hand. The boy's mind raced.

"This is some trick of the strigoi's. I am certain. But what if it isn't? Or what if it's a more complicated scheme? This creature is clever. Perhaps there's some other way to test it without damaging the statue?"

An idea formed in Armand's mind. It might be a bit risky, but he could pull it off. Orders flew out of his mouth.

"Get a clove of garlic and tie it to a long rope. Then, bring it to me."

The militiaman obeyed at once. He left the church before returning a few minutes later. Armand took the rope without a word and spun it through the air. At the end of it, the garlic moved like the ball at the end of a flail.

Armand stepped closer to the statue. The garlic wasn't quite close enough, so he dared to move a bit further forward. Still, the vegetable was too far away.

Looking back, Armand judged the distance of the rope. He spun it through the air with as much distance as he could. This time, the garlic came ever closer to the statue.

Horror struck the militiaman as the air around the statue shimmered. The image of Zeus disappeared, replaced with the strigoi. A smile was on the vampire's face, quickly replaced with disgust as the garlic came near him. He jumped back and clung onto the wall of the church like a lizard.

"Well played, Lord Armand," the strogoi spoke in a pleased voice. "You are truly a worthy opponent, just as I wanted."

Armand kept his expression stoic. The same happened with his mercenaries. However, the militiaman stuttered as he pointed a sharp finger at the strigoi.

"Blasphemer! You would dare violate the body of Lord Zeus?" he shouted.

"Be quiet," Armand ordered. "Do not anger the strigoi."

The militiaman was in too much of a religious fury to hear Armand's warning.

"Monster! Imitating Zeus like a serpent without venom tries to look like its betters! Have you no shame?"

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Laughter erupted from the strigoi's mouth.

"Why should I care about the will of the gods?" it asked. "They have already cursed me, as they have all of my kind. Unless Zeus wants to incinerate me with his thunderbolt, I will piss on every church of his."

The militiaman rushed forward, but Armand grabbed and yanked him back. His mercenaries aided him.

"Calm down," Armand's voice was like iron. "This strigoi is trying to make us mad. Do not fall for it."

"But he said..." the peasant started.

"Think like Hermes. Would Hermes fall for this trick?"

That calmed the militiaman down. He stayed in place. All this time, Arand hadn't taken his eyes off the strigoi. The vampire kept clinging to the church walls, a wide smile on its face. This exposed the creature's fangs. They glistened in the moonlight.

"You are trapped in here, strigoi. Surrender now, and I will give you a painless death," Armand said.

"I might be trapped, but if I am to die tonight, I do not want it to be painless," the vampire grinned.

It jumped off the wall, landing on the ground below. The mercenaries with guns aimed them. Drawing its sword, the strogoi spread its arms wide. A manic smile was on its face.

"Come, Lord Armand! Show me what you can accomplish! Dance with me until one or both of us are corpses on the ground!"

In an increasing storm, Eris sat among commoners. They looked at her with suspicion in their eyes. However, her words had convinced them to let her stay so far.

"I just have to stay here long enough to end this revolution. After that, I will never have to deal with this particular group of idiotic subhumans again."

Eris watched the people surrounding her. The girl hid the contempt she was feeling.

"How many of these commoners have families? When their revolt fails, those families will be put at risk too. Are they truly so stupid that they'd endanger their loved ones in a doomed affair? I know subhumans are stupid, but...."

The Hapsburg pushed those thoughts from her mind.

"Why am I thinking about this? They are subhuman rebels, and I shouldn't care about their peasant families. If they lose them, it would be their own fault. Just like how almost losing Armand was my fault."

That notion sent a wave of pain through Eris' mind. She was jolted from her thoughts by the leader of this particular group of rebels.

"Now that you're joining us for sure, my name is John Cooper," he introduced himself. "The other noble in our ranks is showing up later tonight."

"I look forward to meeting them, just as I did to you all," Eris said.

She curtsied.

"And I hope that our class differences won't get in the way of us working together to overthrow the governments," the girl stated.

One of the women among the rebels grimaced.

"I still find it hard to believe that any nobles are on our side," she said. "When this is over, you'll all lose your titles, your lands, and everything else. The only ones we're keeping in power are the royal family."

Another woman raised an eyebrow.

"I thought the good nobles were going to get positions in our new government," she pointed out.

"Yeah, but they won't be nobles anymore," the first replied.

One of the men grimaced.

"And the royal family? Are you sure we should keep them around?" he questioned. "It'd be pretty pointless without any nobles."

"Getting rid of the royal family is going too far. When the Revolutionary Council suggested that, we lost a lot of common support," John Cooper said.

Eris nodded.

"A very good point," she stated. "And the nobles who are not good will be massacred."

Numerous different looks formed on the people in the room. Some expressions were of agreement. Others, dismay. Shock coated a few other people.

"No, we are not massacring anyone," John Cooper shook his head.

"Why not?" another man asked. "If a noble's not helping us, he's an enemy, right?"

"Lots of commoners aren't helping us. Should we kill them too?"

"No, but nobles are the guys in power."

Another man scoffed and folded his arms.

"Of course, we should kill commoners who don't help us. If they're not with us, they're against us," he said.

"But killing them is too far. I get that we'll have to kill some people," a woman spoke up. "But we should banish people instead if we can."

Eris had to hide a smile.

"As expected, the subhumans are divided. They can't help but argue and fight among themselves. Yes, it is good that the nobility rules over the commoners. We are far more united."

The girl was not thinking about all the nobles she had assassinated or the literal wars she fought with other aristocrats. In Foldzar, division was not unique to commoners. However, Eris could not and had little interest in seeing that.

"If I can turn them against each other more, I can weaken their rebellion in case my main plan fails."

"You are all serious about this rebellion, right?" Eris asked. "If any of you are not, then it will weaken us as a whole."

She narrowed her eyes, giving everyone in the room a scathing look.

"If one mercenary weakens the company, the best thing to do is for them to get better, leave, or die."

Uneasy expressions appeared around the room.

"Everyone here is serious about this, Eris," John Cooper replied. "We just have different ideas about how to carry out the rebellion."

He then gave her a wide smile.

"Besides, our division is what makes us strong! We can disagree while still staying on the same side!" John declared.

"And what happens after we overthrow the government? Will those disagreements remain civil, or will there be a revolution against the new government too?" Eris questioned.

"They'll be civil, of course," the cell leader said. "I guarantee you that the Revolutionary Council can keep people under control. And do a better job of it than the nobles currently are."

Eris nodded. She forced down a look of utter disbelief, instead giving a smile.

"That is very reassuring. Those words put me at ease," she spoke before thinking. "At least I've planted a seed of doubt among these subhumans."

A knock came at the cabin's door. Silence overtook the area. The tallest of the men in the room walked to the door and opened it slightly. Seeing who was outside, he opened it all the way.

"Sorry that I'm late," a very familiar voice flowed into Eris' ears.

"No. It can't be!" the Hapsburg thought.

"You told us that you'd arrive late. We thought you'd show up later. By all accounts, you're early," John said.

Eris heard footsteps going in her direction.

"I heard we had a new member today. Hopefully, they can help advance the revolution's cause," the voice spoke.

"She might be a noble like you, but she should be a good addition," one of the women stated.

Eris was wracking her mind for any way out of this mess, but she found none. So, she decided to bite the bullet. The girl stood up before turning towards the source of the familiar voice.

"I see that we met under more friendly circumstances this time, Lady Abene," Eris curtsied.

She looked at the hateful face of Lady Abene. It was clear to Eris that Abene hadn't forgotten that time Eris brutally tortured her boyfriend to death.

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