Tatyana’s awakening was oddly sluggish, especially considering the piercing, reverberating echo that may have caused it. Such an inconvenience would usually be concerning, or at least extremely annoying, but this time she was not capable of thinking that. Her mind’s full attention was not on her stupor, the earlier noise or even the tremors that had just now stopped, but rather on the sheer discomfort she was experiencing.

  Some of it was significant pain, present throughout most of her body but stronger around the back of her neck, radiating to the right side of her back. The majority seemed to stem from her awkward position, though. She tried to shift around as a result, and quickly realized she could not.

  … No way.

  To say she was bleary was putting it nicely, but the sensation on her limbs was unmistakable. Both her wrists and her ankles were greeted by a sharp, restrictive feeling. Her vision still unfocused, it was the dull jangling of pulled links that confirmed she was bound by cuffs or manacles.

  Her mouth was dry, pgued by a pungent, bitter taste with her tongue depressed under a lump of crumpled material. It could have easily made her retch in disgust from an instinctive attempt at gasping, but several strips of something sturdy and sticky had been pstered over her lips, covering them and preventing even that.

  She had not stopped trying to gather prana while analyzing her situation. While reasonably strong, her restraints were far from what was needed to withstand her spells. But of course, the possibility of such an escape was wishful thinking.

  Tatyana knew basic information about the gear used by w enforcement to apprehend powered individuals, but for someone as comfortable with sorcery as her, personally experiencing the ck of any complex control over her regutors was downright scary. Worse than that, any scarce prana she managed to gather was scattered and repelled before it even came near her, like withered leaves in the wind.

  The gradual realization of the situation she was in made Tatyana’s heartbeat rush, her breathing frantic.

  Come on, damn it. Damn it! Worrying does nothing. I’m better than this!

  With her limited range of movement a constant bother, she squirmed just enough to let herself fall onto the cold floor, forcibly attempting to recover her focus. The crash of her right shoulder and hip on the solid concrete was as painful as expected, but even if by mere coincidence, Tatyana could see somewhat better by the time the ache lessened.

  Upon looking around, she noticed she was in a very spacious room… No, not exactly. It was big for sure, but the ck of any furniture or decorations made it look even rger. It did not appear to be particurly clean, much less new, which made her think any such things had been removed not too long ago. The bck paintjob was old, dusty and rubbing off in a few pces. There were no windows, but cracked gaps in the closed door allowed some light to seep in and…

  … Looking below the door, Tatyana’s eyes went wide as she noticed someone else in the room with her. She did not need much light or to stand up straight to know it was Edmond ying across the soot-covered floor.

  Both his arms appeared to be stuck behind him, ankles held together by pitch-bck cuffs and his mouth was covered by several strips of thick tape. Just about as vulnerable as Tatyana was.

  That tape… Is it also what’s bundled up inside? Gross…

  Her disgust was such that she had to actively remind herself of the consequences of giving into nausea with her mouth blocked. Desperate for any distraction, she focused on Edmond again.

  Very noticeable bruises were beginning to show around a seemingly broken nose and the left side of his face, but she did not see any severe injuries. She could not feel relieved, however, as it became very apparent that he was still unconscious.

  Fucking hell, you can’t do this now! Wake up already!

  Tatyana did what she could, hitting her boots against the hard floor and raising a muffled, wordless voice to the rough best she was capable of. Nothing worked.

  Would she have to hit him, despite the condition he was already in? The idea was loathsome, infuriating to even be considered. But beyond her anger, Tatyana felt pathetic most of all.

  Only she could be bmed for their bleak circumstances. She knew for a fact her nding spot was clear when fighting Wildcard, and even now she was baffled by the trap which had taken her by surprise, leaving her a free target for the following attacks. How did that bitch even form a new trap without alerting her? Tatyana’s sense was competent and her regutors were on high activity. While she was mainly focused on the battle, the idea that a developed spell trap could be set without her being even remotely aware was ridiculous.

  … She had been careless. She should not have taken her advantage for granted until Wildcard was down on the ground, and now someone else was paying the price with her.

  It’s not too te. We need to get out of here.

  She took a deep breath through her nose, and moved herself however she could. She turned onto her legs and rear with great strain, then guided awkward, persistent efforts toward Edmond, cuffed hands and feet pushing against the floor in parallel.

  She would have to hit Edmond. Probably quite hard, as he had been unfazed by all the noise Tatyana had been making and even the tremoring from before. But that was still preferable to whatever these psychos had in store for the two of them.

  He would wake up, he had to. If they helped each other, they might just be able to undo the cuffs and begin an escape. She had no idea how long she had been out for, but there could still be some time before—

  “Oh my, already awake and about, miss lighter~?”

  The sound of the door opening, followed by the voice of a gring Wildcard, made an almost shocking chill spread through Tatyana’s body.

  She barely got half of the way to Edmond, and now a completely different crisis had presented itself. The crazy Unmasked responsible for their current situation, less than two meters away from either of them. And this time, they could not even move properly, let alone fight back against anything she wanted to do.

  “Was it the huge bst from earlier? Oh, you should’ve seen the actual thing. If I were guessing, it’s probably our lovely helpers tearing those trainers of yours a new one!”

  Why was she even telling her that? There was no way it was useful.

  Then again, Wildcard seemingly knew everything Finn had revealed about their pns. The confirmation of suspicions held by Tatyana and the others was of no concern, so this was just taunting. Pin, simple and insufferable mockery.

  “Oh well, whatever got you up is irrelevant. I’m just gd, you know? I’ve waited a long time…”

  Tatyana was hardly listening to the Unmasked’s words, her mind racing as she tried to think of any possible edge she could use in this situation. It quickly proved to be a mistake, as she failed to brace herself in time for the boot that dug into her gut, fast and strong.

  She almost lost her breakfast then and there, her eyes closing shut almost painfully.

  “Wise up, bitch. We’re only getting started.”

  Wildcard’s stomp followed into a merciless kick at Tatyana’s side, shoving her all the way to the wall she had wriggled away from. Not only her side, but also her head ended up hitting the cold and unforgiving concrete, producing a ringing pain that only intensified her nausea. She struggled to even open her eyes, and the first thing she saw once she managed to was Edmond, as far away as he was when she started.

  Sharp pain then burst at her left ankle, when Wildcard stomped on it one… two times, leaving her foot down on the second one, grinding by the corner between wall and floor. Tatyana bit down on the foul wad of tape in her mouth, hard enough that her gums ached as she refused to let out anything more than a grunt.

  “I told you what would happen, didn’t I? But you can’t really scream if you’re knocked out, so it’s only now that I really get to have fun…”

  She looked up at Wildcard; at her big, hazel eyes and rosy, smirking lips. Seeing nothing but enjoyment and satisfaction in them, Tatyana realized she was in for a slow, difficult time.

  But what of it?

  Her turquoise eyes narrowed into a piercing gre so naturally, without any restraint, and only then did the Unmasked’s expression seem to falter with some irritation.

  “Get a clue, you piece of shit.”

  She kicked Tatyana in the stomach next. She did not get to see anything but Wildcard’s approaching boot, but it certainly felt like she had put some extra movement into it. Forget throwing up; for a moment, she felt like she could have bcked out. But the Unmasked did not stop, and kicked her between and below the ribs, twice more.

  “You know what? This is bullshit. You messed up my face? Then let’s see what I can do with yours!”

  Tatyana felt herself being lifted by her shirt, her face greeted by what probably was Wildcard’s fist. She did not get to see properly, but it certainly felt like it. Wildcard’s tight grip prevented her body from falling back on her side, and another one hit quickly, dead center rather than on the right this time.

  Tatyana held her breath when Wildcard let go of her shirt, correctly expecting her kicks to nd on her face next. She failed to keep count of the blows this time, only noticing the long-haired criminal occasionally bringing her up onto a sitting position for the next.

  Wildcard’s boot loudly stomped on her face, right against the wall, and Tatyana could not help but wonder if it was actually the first time she had done so, or if even that had slipped her mind. Her nose bled, as did her right cheek from a stinging cut on it, while her hearing, sight and even thoughts struggled to varying degrees.

  But even then, once Wildcard removed her foot from her face, Tatyana’s gre had only grown in its intensity. She amusedly pondered, on the verge of genuine ughter, if the pathetic bitch could see her smirking behind the tape.

  From a brow so furrowed as to look painful and pupils that seemed to shrink, Tatyana felt confident in saying ‘yes’.

  “You really want to py this game, little bitch? Fuck that. I don’t have to humor you.”

  Tatyana briefly saw one of Wildcard’s hands going into her right pocket, but could not ascertain more before the other hand seized her neck like a vice, forcing her to instinctively shut her eyes. When she managed to open them again, Tatyana saw an extended switchbde, no more than two centimeters away.

  “I never got all the fuss about eyes like yours. Blue? Green? I’m sure your parents would get real pissed off if I got them wrong. But since you’re just going to keep giving me that look, I’ll cut them out and never get the chance to mess that up!”

  Tatyana felt like the whole world had stopped at that moment. Frozen solid.

  “Oh, but don’t worry. I’ll be sure to apologize to the cockroach over there when he wakes up. He probably likes them quite much~.”

  Ten centimeters of sharp steel drew near, cold as dry ice when pressed to her brow. The bde slid as smoothly as water, and it was the warmth of her own blood, trailing past her eyelid, that allowed her surroundings to move once more.

  Tatyana tried to ignore it, outright reject it as much as she could, but the realization of the situation’s inevitability continued to leak into every corner of her mind no matter what. Wildcard had no reason to spare her, and neither she nor Edmond could do much to stop her.

  She tightly held her hands together, desperately trying to resist her visceral shivering. Her jaw hurt so much, teeth biting harder than ever on the gag as she braced herself for what was coming.

  Even so, it was within the darkness of such fear that she arrived at a very natural answer.

  Wildcard would remain disappointed, as Tatyana would never give her what she wanted. There was no way she would lose herself because of such a miserable imbecile, no matter the situation she dragged her into.

  So what if she wanted to blind her? Then the st she would see of Tatyana’s eyes would be no different from before. A look that, better than any words, would let her know that she simply was no match.

  In the end, though, Tatyana’s gre did almost falter. Not because of fear, and certainly not because of pain. Instead, the reason was that Wildcard stopped her bde right at the corner of Tatyana’s eye, and then pulled it back to her side.

  Her expression was one of raw fury and frustration, quickly descending into a palpable disappointment.

  “You’re so fucking annoying.”

  Another hit came right after, so quick that Tatyana failed to prepare herself at all for it, just barely managing to hold on to consciousness as her head hit the floor. The switchbde’s handle was hard and narrow in a way Wildcard’s previous strikes were not, and the sharp pain it caused kept lingering on Tatyana’s cheekbone several seconds after.

  “I would’ve preferred to have your me-ass boyfriend wake up first, but if you’re going to keep pying ‘tough girl’ with me…”

  Wildcard walked away, but her words made a different, intense anxiety shock Tatyana’s body instantly. Any pain she had gone through was now a secondary concern, neglected as she forced her body back up and saw the Unmasked crouching next to Edmond.

  His upper body had been somewhat lifted by a rough grip on his hair, and Wildcard’s switchbde was pressed right by his closed right eye.

  “… Maybe I should try with his~?”

  Tatyana felt as if some white-hot barrel inside her fired off.

  Her eyes went wide and sharp in the purest rage and she mentally cursed her inability to speak, once more. Her garbled voice was almost animalistic, and if her priorities were different, she would have been surprised at how loudly it came out.

  This time, however, such anger and defiance caused nothing but delight to show in Wildcard’s visage. Her smile grew in such a way Tatyana thought it could have reached her ears, with eyes narrowed in satisfaction.

  “Oh yes! That’s much better, miss~. If you get like this with just his eyes, then how about I keep going? Maybe I’ll do ears next, then his nose. Make a real smooth mannequin out of him…”

  The Unmasked’s musings got little extra reaction from Tatyana, if only because the sight before her was overwhelming on its own.

  Wildcard’s switchbde pressed harder, and a fine line of red appeared by Edmond’s temple. Crimson liquid oozed like condensation on a cold gss, all happening so fast. So Tatyana had to act even faster. Fast enough that no manner of complex thoughts could ever hope to keep up.

  She was still right by the wall, her mostly immobile hands touching it, legs grounded. That was all she needed to know before rushing forth, pushing against the wall and floor with every bit of strength her body retained.

  Tatyana had aimed for Wildcard’s face, but her starting position was worse than awful, getting rid of any real accuracy in her tackle. Not that it mattered much, as her head hit the only marginally inferior target area that was the criminal’s upper abdomen.

  Tatyana’s skull felt her enemy’s sternum and ribs only momentarily before she dropped to the floor, face-first. Despite the painful hit, she did not miss the three noises that likely belonged to the switchbde being dropped, Edmond falling on the floor much like her…

  “Shit! Y-You fucking bitch…!”

  … and Wildcard hitting the opposite wall.

  A mere lucky headbutt was of course not enough to bring her down. Edmond was safe, the switchbde away, but for how long?

  There was no time to rex. Tatyana’s breath quickened as she squirmed to her utmost, exerting every useful muscle to the limit. Her position had been even worse than before her tackle, but she managed to somewhat recover and face up quickly enough to feel a modicum of success.

  Only to find herself staring at a pistol barrel.

  “You’re done.”

  Wildcard had not even tried to go back for the switchbde. Why would she?

  Tatyana would have mentally agonized over her assumptions once more, but what else could she have done this time? What could she do now?

  … What could she do? All her thoughts converged for whatever fraction of a second she was allowed, but it was possible even several minutes would not be enough to find a solution.

  Like Wildcard said, it seemed she was d—

  Almost as soon as she entered it, Tatyana was brought out of her stupor by the firearm suddenly flicking beyond sight. In fact, all of Wildcard had, as she fell to the floor with a loud thump that almost felt painful by itself.

  Another round of expletives was released, but Tatyana did not pay them any mind as she turned with single-minded focus toward Edmond, now conscious and rushing toward Wildcard with a side press toward the arm that barely held on to the gun.

  Had he woken up from hitting the floor after her charge? Or maybe all the noise and general rough handling building up? Either way, he had bought them a few more seconds by tackling Wildcard’s legs from under her.

  Tatyana kicked her struggles into high gear once more, approaching as fast as she could. Wildcard had been taken by surprise, she was probably in pain and her position was less than ideal, but Edmond still had both his arms and legs cuffed.

  “Get the fuck off me, you bastard! You’re so fucking annoying!”

  Shot after shot was fired from the Unmasked’s gun, loud on release and after hitting whatever wall she happened to aim at. Ricochets were a risk, but Tatyana could not afford to stop. Not when she saw, despite her senses being dulled by the cuffs, prana gathering on Wildcard’s other hand and beginning to turn visible.

  “—!”

  Edmond’s eyes, violent and borderline bestial since he regained consciousness, strongly shut all of a sudden. Tatyana saw the scarlet tear at his thigh and felt an instinctive, regretful relief that the bullet had merely grazed him.

  She was so close now, but so was Wildcard to completing her spell. If she managed to cast it, then there would be nothing to—

  Another bsting noise practically knocked her very thoughts out of her. Loud and reverberating, more extreme in every sense than anything before it, including the explosion that had woken her up to begin with.

  After regaining some awareness, Tatyana saw that Edmond and Wildcard had stopped their struggle. It was much easier to notice now, as things had suddenly become a lot brighter.

  Still, she doubted their shellshocked, frozen expressions were because of the ceiling being torn away, literally. After all, even to her, it was the enormous pair of membranous wings that drew the most attention. Spreading over fourteen meters across and coated in jet-bck scales where a bat would have fur; the same organite scales that covered the multi-ton creature of wonder that peered within with icy blue, reptilian eyes.

  Its rge, fanged maw unfurled to give way to a bellow unmistakable for any other sound, and Tatyana could finally rex.

  They were saved.

  For a split second, Edmond had forgotten all about Wildcard, his injuries, and even Tatyana.

  Gripping the edges of the open ceiling with cws like daggers, strong enough to spread even more cracks across, the newly appeared dragon made everything else seem irrelevant.

  Just thinking of that made him doubt his eyes. A dragon? The sight was unmistakable, but still so ridiculous.

  He was brought back to proper awareness when the roaring jaw approached, stretched into the room by a retively long, vaguely S-shaped neck. He would have rushed back without a second thought if not for Wildcard’s two-legged kick to his stomach doing the job for him.

  “This is insane! What the fuck’s with all this!?” She yelled as she mounted a desperate retreat despite her poor footing, gun on the floor for some leverage.

  “They’re here!”

  A familiar voice made Edmond turn back to the perching dragon. Or rather, just past its right side, where the silhouettes of Kloel and then Cude stepped up. But after they hopped down, it was only Kloel that approached him and Tatyana.

  Their eyes went wide in confusion as they saw Cude walk toward Wildcard instead, but Edmond, while just as concerned, expected this all along.

  “You’re done.” He decred coldly as luminous prana gathered around his raised hand.

  Wildcard’s brow furrowed fearlessly in response, taking aim at him with both her gun and a complete spell on her other hand.

  “As if!”

  Only three more shots were released from the pistol before it apparently ran out of ammo, but the ‘bullet’ of light blue prana coming from the other side compensated for more than ten.

  But Cude rushed forward without hesitation, waving his hand three times as soon as his own spell completed. Within a single second, Wildcard’s bullets lost their momentum and were deflected in a warped state, all the while her prana shot split apart into uneven pieces before fully dispersing.

  Held in Cude’s hand was a bde like a falchion, made of a material most simir to translucent gss that cleanly reflected boy and surroundings alike. He followed from his ending position into another swing with impeccable smoothness, toward the shellshocked Wildcard.

  His eyes suddenly darted in a panic, however, when an all-new threat forced him to interrupt his attack and brusquely leap back. It was only when he nded back on the floor that the mysterious assaint became fully visible.

  The nky Unmasked Phantom, pyfully swinging his wired hook like a ball on a string, now stood between them and Wildcard.

  “Damn it, I’m oh for two against you lot now. You’re good, man.”

  “Your weapon is dogshit, that’s all there is to it.” Cude replied, seemingly unbothered by the red wetness spreading from the tear on his shoulder.

  “I prefer to see it as a tool, you know? It has its uses.”

  Still, Phantom acted even more casual.

  “The fuck are you doing here? I sent everyone off long ago.”

  Wildcard asked as she finally rose back to her feet, her attitude oddly pushy considering she had almost been sshed just a few seconds ago.

  He did not even look at her as he spoke back, his full attention on Cude, Kloel and the dragon growling with increasing loudness.

  “You stopped checking messages, let alone responding. Hellbound wanted me to check up on you and I can’t be bothered to argue with him. Turns out you really were in the shitter, eh?”

  “Fuck you. There’s no way I could have predicted this.”

  While Wildcard and Phantom had their discussion, Kloel was helping Tatyana back on her feet, then Edmond, whom she also pushed retively hard to the wall.

  “Up you go. Now, and I mean it, please stay completely still for a moment.”

  He worried instantly. Being told to do something with such strictness, yet not knowing the ‘why’ lent itself to such feelings of concern.

  He did not have to feel that way for long, the suspense giving way to panic when he heard… felt the wall itself tearing behind him. It happened so fast as to seem unnatural, cold outside air now blowing behind him through the rge gouge. More than that, he noticed his wrists and ankles being freed at the same time, a ‘pop’ oddly simir to opening a can of soda just barely heard past the noise of breaking concrete.

  The two criminals were still in the same room, but Edmond could not help but turn around for any answers on whatever just happened. He soon wished he had waited a tad more, as that was the moment he first came face-to-face with the bck dragon. Were it not for the tape still sticking to his face, he may have shamefully gasped. Just maybe.

  The dragon was hovering right outside the destroyed wall, front cws at the floor’s edge. Had it simply brought them from the ceiling’s edge down, tearing walls and cuffs alike in one swoop?

  He turned to Tatyana next, who was already onto the task of removing her gag, indifferent to the simir gap in the wall behind her. Kloel addressed her perhaps a tad too early.

  “I didn’t want to believe things were this bad, for you to have Sig break out of the door.”

  “Bwah… Is that what happened? I can barely remember, things around the time I bcked out are still a little vague.”

  “You’re just…! Look, how did things come down to this, anyway?”

  Sig? Was that the dragon’s name? The ‘door’ mention specifically made a jolt of realization strike Edmond’s mind. He ripped away the tape on his own mouth soon after, but Tatyana spoke before he could ask anything.

  “There’s no time to expin, Klo. These fuckheads already began the assault, we need to move fast.”

  What?

  Edmond felt like his throat had been blocked. Even conscious awareness and effort to breathe would probably be insufficient before long.

  Kloel did not reply to Tatyana’s words, instead narrowing her eyes in a rather aggressive manner as she looked back at the two Unmasked. Stared down by both her and Cude, Phantom still greeted their gres with a calm that was nearly insufferable.

  “She’s right. Here you may have the two of us, but Hellbound and Miasma are leading the bulk of our guys. We’re talking dozens of brutes added to those two, all armed to the teeth in every way you can think of and hitting your people where it hurts.”

  “You’re really going to be this obvious? All you want is for us to let you bounce.” Kloel answered dryly, so soon she almost interrupted him.

  Phantom chuckled, catching the swinging hook back at its base.

  “Neither y’all nor us want to waste any more time here, so why be vague?”

  “Just fuck right off and maybe you’ll be in time to help out one of the schmucks over there. If you’re lucky, they might just be in two pieces!” Wildcard added.

  Such contempt would have infuriated Edmond in different circumstances, but this time all it did was further increase his anxiety to levels beyond unbearable.

  He still could not forget about Finn, and his ck of knowledge on the matter regarding him was too stressful. Now, his worries were flooded by the many more people at the facility, caught up in a disaster they had no way to prepare for. His own peers, the instructors, and even unpowered workers.

  Hilda. If she had stayed on any business, training or just doing research…

  Edmond could no longer distinguish his own thoughts. As if his mind was constantly pulled in different directions, no single idea stayed long enough for him to identify, let alone pn anything.

  Everything felt cold, but he was still sweating so much. He knew showing any weakness before these two assholes was the worst thing he could do, but not even gripping his wrist until it hurt could stop his trembling.

  The growing tightness in his chest incessantly alerted him to his ck of breath, but he was powerless to change that. It was like he was seeing his body from the outside, unable to control it in any way.

  … No. If it was about ‘seeing’, the picture in his eyes had begun to grow fainter and less coherent since a while ago, darkening by the second and—

  “I thought you were smarter than this. You really think we’re in the same situation?”

  It was not Kloel’s words that knocked the chills, along with the wind, out of Edmond. Rather, it was a bag that was not too heavy, but containing something hard and reasonably heavy.

  He only saw it on the floor, falling dryly after hitting him in the abdomen, but upon looking up from it he saw Cude’s extended hand. The one not holding his sword of gss.

  Without looking back, he had thrown that and managed to distract him enough to listen to whatever was about to be said. Edmond gnced aside next, toward a Kloel with piercing, focused eyes.

  “What matters here is there’s two of you, and five of us.”

  Unusually, Phantom and Wildcard showed expressions of confusion rather than anger or disregard.

  “You think you can just blitz us down or something?”

  “Oh please.” Kloel spat out. “Tanya, you two can head over to the facility with Sig. Cude and I are enough for these guys.”

  Edmond doubted what he had just heard. Cude was one thing, but while he had not known Kloel for long, he did not expect this to be her intention.

  He did not get to speak up before feeling Tatyana’s hand on his chest, stopping any words from coming out. She looked at him with a gaze that btantly questioned his apprehensions, but… this time it was different.

  “Just…”

  As unfair as it felt, enough to make him want to scream, Edmond had to make a decision. And he had to make it fast.

  “… do you remember what they’re about?”

  Endangering some people to help others. Not just Cude and Kloel, but also Finn whom he would cruelly force to wait even more.

  It was hypocritical nonsense, one step backward for every step forward. It was not what he wanted, far from what he had worked so hard for. Choices that would fill him with regret from beginning to end, no matter which one he went for.

  But he had to accept the world would not wait for him to become capable enough. Fairness was a lie, for why would a superhero be necessary if it existed?

  “You mean their powers? It’s only a few days ago we talked about them. I’m not so forgetful.” Kloel replied confidently, already gathering indigo prana particles around her.

  Edmond felt nauseous. It was a completely different discomfort from earlier, rousing hot anger at himself rather than cold anguish.

  He thought of Hilda, Finn’s sister he had promised to help, as well as cssmates and workers he did not know the names of. He consciously kept every inch of his awareness on them to the point of whispering it under breath, trying everything to keep his focus strong.

  More than anger, more than pressure and anxiety, he feared the mistakes he might make if he did not do that.

  “… Alright. We’ll go face Hellbound and the others.”

  “Edmond…” He heard Tatyana’s voice beside him, breathy in her astonishment.

  The wrong decision. The right choice. Remorse and assurance came over him at every moment, a conflict that could easily tear his mind apart. All he knew for sure was that he needed to act before that happened.

  Finally, Edmond reached for the bag he had been given.

  “Fuck off with this nonsense!”

  But before he could take hold of it, he saw Wildcard lifting her arm out the corner of his eye. The floor around her shone with an electric blue glow, and not even a second after, a sudden burst of prana hid her and almost Phantom from sight, spreading dust and debris everywhere.

  A barrier spell took form right before Kloel, covering her, Edmond and Tatyana from the worst of it, but when it came to Cude…

  “You will not!”

  … he merely cleaved through the explosion’s aftereffects with his weapon, revealing a torn hole in the room’s floor where Wildcard had just stood, and that Cude then jumped into.

  “W-Wait! There’s stuff about her you don’t know yet!”

  Edmond hurried forward, but was stopped by Tatyana’s tight grip on his forearm just as quickly.

  “Just trust him, please! I know what you mean, but Kloel’s right about our only edge here! We’re out of time, so let’s just deal with Hellbound quickly, and then we can help!”

  He gritted his teeth at her words. She was simply being logical, but seeing Cude run off right before his eyes made even that difficult to accept. His hands went tight into fists, pressed to the extent of hurting, and he shook Tatyana’s hand off as it helped him turn around.

  Toward the dragon?

  “Not going to help her out?”

  The st thing he saw out the corner of his eye was Kloel addressing the unscathed Phantom.

  “You’d just cut me off if I tried, right? I can see how she’s doing after killing you, makes no difference.”

  Edmond stopped in his tracks.

  And how could he not, hearing such words spoken with such casual disregard? Like it was but a mere chore to get past?

  He would have turned back around if not for Tatyana continuing to push him toward the openings in the wall, where the bck dragon ‘Sig’ id down its bulky tail as an apparent path.

  This in itself was something Edmond found ridiculous, that she of all people would force him away when Kloel confronted such callous violence. But when he pushed further, turning to at least say something…

  … the face he saw, unnatural and outright pitiful in its shiver-pgued attempt to remain poised, did away with any words he had thought of.

  “Big talk for someone begging us to let him escape.” Kloel followed upon his words without a hint of nervousness. Edmond could hear a ugh of genuine enjoyment from Phantom.

  “Hah… Well, I’m not the type to waste time insisting on stuff. I offered the best outcome for everyone, you shot me down. So we go the other route, and that’s it.”

  Tatyana stepped onto the massive creature’s tail, finished walking out of the building through the gap in the wall, and then let herself fall into a sitting position. Sliding down the slightly inclined body with her legs forward, she stopped right by Sig’s wings.

  It all looked oddly smooth, practiced, but Edmond still found himself unable to advance until she outright beckoned at him.

  He inhaled deeply, then took his first step on the dragon’s tail, which was… solid. Not like steel or concrete, but rather like his Nemesis suit. That much allowed him to rex somewhat, at least due to knowing he was producing no discomfort to the creature that would make it snap at him. Probably.

  He did away with useless thoughts and continued onward, allowing himself to fall and sit much like Tatyana did, sliding until he was right behind her.

  There was no warning before the massive wings began to fp more quickly, powerfully and wildly as Sig raised its head and long neck in another direction. Edmond was caught completely off-guard, and he found himself hugging Tatyana’s torso for stability before he could think.

  “See you ter, Klo!”

  The single-minded focus of her words, however, made his brewing panic lesser, more bearable.

  Tatyana was no doubt in conflict herself, pained by her own decisions. But if Kloel was committed to dealing with one battle of her own, it was simple respect to address the other one, that which her efforts cleared the path for.

  There was no difference. It was… what he had to do as well. To have faith, acknowledge their ability and will, as they did with Tatyana’s and his own.

  Edmond looked back and saw Kloel’s hand extended in a casual wave, a sight that quickly became smaller as the violent fpping of the dragon’s wings took him and Tatyana increasingly far, with only the glimmer of combat sorcery remaining after a certain point.

  “Belittling them helps no one.”

  Tatyana’s strict words brought his attention back to the front. The stressful realization that he was flying at an increasing altitude had just begun to set in, only for his mind to be yanked in another direction once more.

  “I’m not trying to… No, you’re right. There’s already so much going on.”

  “… I’m sorry. Me belittling you is just as useless. I’m just… We have enemies of our own to take care of, and things won’t go well unless we’re focused.”

  Edmond pondered over her words, his eyes upon the majestic creature soaring past seventy meters above the street.

  “Even for a Crowned One?”

  Tatyana herself turned for the first time, only one of her sharp turquoise eyes visible. Confusion was clear, and the ck of denial all but confirmed things. Edmond continued.

  “A fucking dragon is at your command—”

  “I’ll punch you in the mouth if you ever say that again. I don’t boss Sig around; he respects me and I do the same for him.”

  “… S-Sorry. Well, befriending a dragon at all is already the stuff of legend, but from what Kloel said, he also lives past that weird door in your apartment? I’m not going to ask what kind of spatial manipution rune you snagged for that to be possible, but there’s also the fact he was the one to find us… I think, at least. Some kind of astral connection? One that remains even after you bcked out and were put in cuffs that mess up most sorcery? And there’s also how you acted back—”

  “Okay, I get it! That’s enough.” Tatyana’s eye narrowed, then closed slowly as she sighed. “I said it before, I don’t remember exactly what happened, but there wasn’t much more I could have done in that situation. I guess once I noticed I couldn’t continue fighting, I sent Sig as much prana as I could before losing consciousness? The connection you’re thinking about does exist, between me and any entities I form a link with. That could have let him break out of his room on his own and—”

  “Wait, you have more?”

  “… They don’t really compare to Sig here, but yes. I’ve gathered a fair amount between elementals, eidolons, and some others.”

  Edmond was not sure how to take her words. On one hand, their own combat strength was even higher than he expected. He had no idea of what entities Tatyana was linked to, much less their abilities, but she had all but confirmed they could affect the current conflict.

  On the other hand, why was his own focus so important?

  “Back on topic, you still think all this arsenal of yours is not enough? In all honesty, I wouldn’t bme someone doubting if I’m even necessary.” The thought alone did nothing but pressure Edmond even more, but there was no use in overstating his strength.

  “Well, for one, we’re going up against a whole bunch of Thorns, not just Hellbound and Miasma. Any extra manpower is good to have, but the main problem is our injuries. We’d mostly recovered from st week’s scuffle, but Wildcard really did a number on us. Hellbound and Miasma should be in much better shape now.” Tatyana expined rather matter-of-factly.

  “Wouldn’t your… er, ‘familiars’ make up for that?”

  Edmond tried his best to choose his words carefully while conveying his question properly, but the discomfort shown by Tatyana seemed completely detached to the accidental rudeness he worried about.

  “Back when I rescued you, I already used my Crowned One powers.”

  “… Ah…”

  “Of course, I didn’t show everything. Sig wasn’t there, for one, so we still have an edge to make use of. But leaving aside Miasma and that prana-eating deal of his, Hellbound… He’s not the sort that you go head-on against. I still don’t know for sure what he’s about, but I’m sure there’s something that makes him ramp up. Hard. If I can’t put him down before he reaches a certain point, then… I’ll…”

  A brusque movement not only threw Tatyana off her words, but also made Edmond tighten his grip on her and his ‘seat’ like a frightened child. Stability returned soon after, the only hint to the source of the ‘turbulence’ being… Sig’s upraised head letting out a snort like a horse’s, a whale’s and even a crocodile’s all at the same time, before it returned to its previous, level position.

  “Sig…” Tatyana muttered, a strange emotion in her voice.

  It was a dispy even Edmond could understand and smile at.

  So smart.

  He clung forward, reaching his hand out for Tatyana’s.

  “You’ll win for sure. It’s clearly not just me who knows that.”

  Her blinking was even amusing, eye wide open as if at a loss. She sighed, lips curled up at the end in slight awkwardness.

  “Talk about pressure… But you’re right.”

  Edmond’s face heated up somewhat, his smile even bigger. It was that confidence, that arrogance even, that made Tatyana shine.

  “We’re almost at the facility. Scouting won’t be a problem from the air, but after that, I think we’ll split up. I’ll face Hellbound, so…”

  “I’ll keep the way clear for you. Yes.”

  “Try. I know how you get about your own well-being, so let’s say that things will go even worse for me if you go down. Understand?”

  Edmond let out a snort at her rather condescending words, but nodded nonetheless.

  They were flying by the facility’s grounds within a few more seconds, and what they saw… was not too recognizable.

  The pavement was cracked and peeled in many spots, to an extent that was visible even from their vantage point. Trees had been torn from their bases, several serving as fuel for growing fires. Several of the buildings were ravaged, gss smashed and melted alike, with some stories even tilted due to damaged support.

  However, what was most frightening of all was the conspicuous ck of people, for one side or the other. Signs of the conflict that had yet to end were obvious wherever one looked, with even the surrounding prana being abnormally agitated and dense, but neither knights or Thorns were visible, fighting or escaping.

  And despite that, Edmond’s attention was monopolized by something else.

  “This is terrible… They’re probably in one or more of the buildings now. If the assault has gone on as long as it seems, they probably already reached the armory. I can go there on my own and drop you off here for recon and—”

  “No.” Edmond replied as dryly as a voice could be.

  Tatyana turned back to him, jerking her head so fast and brusquely it looked dangerous.

  “What?”

  “We can’t waste time here, either of us.”

  Edmond’s voice was panicked, trembling. His hands and legs alike were even trying to push Sig toward another direction, causing the dragon himself to also turn with a snarl and gaze that were more annoyance and anger than confusion.

  “This isn’t up for discussion! After all you said, you’re telling me you don’t trust me to hold my own!? Splitting up and tackling each pce will let us help more people!”

  “It won’t matter when there’s a rift about to open!”

  Tatyana did not respond, her eyes wide open and lips awkwardly trying to form something. Edmond did not wait for any words to come out, and even ignored the aggression dispyed by Sig, instead pointing ahead and to the right with a shaking arm. A direction that would lead to the outdoor training fields within several hundred meters.

  He saw Tatyana still trying to argue for a bit more, but she ultimately turned to look where he pointed, toward a pce where the prana and even air meshed and violently warped in an aberrant way, still so visible despite the day’s ck of color.

  Tatyana kicked Sig lightly of her own, making him slow down his flight as she turned to Edmond once more.

  “Are you positive? I mean, how would you even know…?”

  She closed her eyes, seemingly regretting her own question. After all, it was not rare for young people who had experienced one such event to become cadets. In fact, it tragically was one of their most common sources of motivation.

  “… Are you sure? There’s so many people here. Are you going to make them wait even more?”

  Edmond certainly did not need the reminder. Another knife to drive in the implications of his decision, when several others had yet to disappear since they set off.

  He tried his very best to withstand the urge, but ended up looking back at the damaged facility. Where the conflict was obvious, people who had done nothing to suffer this sort of attack and did not so much as know it was coming, unsafe. Meanwhile, those who had no problem with putting innocents through the worst were about to get even more time to do so.

  Even so, no matter how painful, cruel and hateful, Edmond knew the choice he had to make.

  If a rift to Nox, the ndscape of nightmare that had warranted the founding of the Knight Corps itself, managed to open here and now, the assault on the armory could very well be the lesser threat. Far lesser.

  “… A rift… is not something I can ever ignore, and still… I know how hypocritical this is, to say this, but… Look, Tatyana I…”

  Edmond cried, his voice cut off by a shameful gasp. Powerless, pathetic, almost unable to draw a breath. What kind of nonsense was this?

  His teeth chattered, right hand clenched to his head in a desperate, futile attempt to at least slow down its trembling.

  Another hand held it. Warm, strong, though definitely not fearless. But still…

  “I’ll help you, Edmond. I promise.”

  … Its owner would take action regardless of how afraid either of them were.

  “Let’s end this, together. We’ll stop that rift and help everyone else. Got it?”

  Tatyana turned forward, her brilliant brown hair swaying in the wind. Bck-scaled Sig unleashed a bellow like nothing ever before and soared toward the twisted prana. Throughout all that, Edmond’s hand was not dropped for an instant.

  He could not find any more words. Somehow, he found it harder to speak than in the midst of tears, for a completely different reason.

  He had not stopped trembling at all, and the traces of warm tears tenaciously clung to his face despite the strong breeze. But that was all unimportant now.

  He checked the bag he had received from Cude. A bag that when unzipped, showed few contents that were very familiar.

  Edmond took hold of the shortsword, a small card key doing away with its sheath, and then the small pouch of rubber-like marbles.

  Once he did, he knew he could also try, he could also act, no matter the obstacle.