"I see you're awake." The platinum-haired woman said. She walked over to Mary.

The young girl stared at her.

"Were you... the one who saved me?" She asked, sitting up on the hospital bed.

"That's right." The woman nodded. "My name is Maria Krestchmann, but you just can call me Maria."

"Maria..."

The woman who saved her— who stopped Therion from you know what.

Mary could feel the horrible feeling of sadness bubbling in her again. Her lips quivered. The young girl let out a sob, putting her hands on her face. She couldn't hide her emotions, even if she tried.

Maria held the girl in her arms, rubbing her back.

"There, there. Let it all out."

No matter how strong Mary wanted to appear, she was just a child. A small, lonely child.

"Why..." she cried. "Was there nothing I could've done?"

"There are things in this world that are out of our control," said Maria. "Even if we don't like it."

Mary calmed herself and mustered up the courage to look at Maria. The older woman had an indescribable look on her face. Then she heard someone knocking at the door.

"Lady Maria, we've searched the entire area." The man said. He was wearing a cream-colored hooded jacket.

"Good. Thank you, Georges." Maria replied, nodding her head in approval.

"We couldn't find any other survivors." The man replied with a sorrowful look on his face.

Mary straightened up. Her breath hitched, and her eyes widened.

"You... you couldn't find anyone else?!" she asked. Mary could feel the tears forming again.

'No, no, no!'

A million thoughts filled her head, and it throbbed. Maria held onto the young girl tightly.

"There must've been some who could've escaped the chaos," Maria said, glaring at Georges.

Georges, realizing just what he had done, sighed and looked at the visibly distressed girl in sympathy.

"Yes, there is a possibility, albeit slim, that someone made it out."

Mary frowned.

"But... Al—my friend... he... he was badly injured."
Maria sighed.

"Sweetheart, you're so worried about your friend when the doctors weren't even sure you'd make it."

Mary looked at the platinum-haired woman, surprised.
"You were out for three days." She said.

"Three days?"

Everything that happened was still fresh in her mind, so it was odd for Mary to think she had been out for that long.

Mary wriggled out of Maria's grasp, pondering all that she had heard since she woke up.

'That guy, Georges, said there was a possibility...'

Mary wanted to believe Allen had escaped, even with his wounds. She wanted to put her hope in that possibility.

"Georges, you can leave now," Mari commanded. The brown-haired man silently followed her order, tiptoeing out of the hospital room.

For a while, there was mostly silence. Neither Mary nor Maria said anything. Only the sound of the very annoying, in Mary's opinion, beeping.

Then the periwinkle-haired girl spoke.

"Why were you at the church? Why did you save me?" She questioned, tilting her head.

Maria's eyes brightened. Her serious face now gone.

"That's a brilliant question, my dear!" She said, sitting next to Mary.

"You see, I originally came here on the report of people going missing. I was investigating what happened to them. It just so happened that I met you at the church."

Mary could remember that day rather clearly, since it hadn't been too long since then.

Maria continued. "After our meeting, I went back into town and continued my investigation. However, the investigation produced no results. Until three days ago, when I saw smoke in the air. When I got to the monastery, everything was in flames. The Akuma had destroyed almost the entire church."

"Akuma?" Mary had never heard of them do that word.

"They're demons, but not like the ones in the Bible. Either way, I then saw them circling one specific area. There was a creature there. One I realized was an activated Innocence."

"What is this 'Innocence'?" Mary asked. She had heard this word multiple by now, and she wanted to know just what it meant and what it was.

"Hmm..." The older woman put her index finger to her lips as if to signify that she was thinking of Mary's question.

"It's the only thing that can destroy Akuma— an anti-Akuma weapon. This mysterious thing can bond with certain humans, who we call Accommodators."

Maria stopped there with her explanation and continued her story.

"I saw the wolf-like Innocence fighting the Akuma. It had the upper hand at first, but slowly got driven to a wall. A light appeared, and the Innocence reverted to its original form. To my surprise, it was you."