Kal'tsit was busy going over the previous day's deals with a couple of suppliers from Lungmen. To keep their cover, Rhodes Island laid low and reached out to a few companies to conduct business with. They had to make it look like they weren't making any suspicious moves behind the LGD- which they were.

She was double-checking the report when a tapping noise interrupted her. Kal'tsit turned to the balcony doors and saw a bird with a message tied to its leg. She quickly walked to the doors and nudged them open to let the messenger inside. Within a few moments, the contents were read and Kal'tsit was calling the Rhodes Island team.

Rin was about to deliver their contact.

.

.

.

Rin and Sakura had not been idle.

The grey-haired girl looked at her hands in wonder. The dark minerals that had plagued her body for years were gone. Just like that, she was no longer infected. Her wide eyes looked up at the two women who appeared a few hours prior.

The black-haired one was looking outside the window of the wrecked shelter while the younger one was playing with the children. Just like her, their Oripathy had been treated.

"It won't be perfect. We cannot remove all the Originium inside your body."

It may not have been perfect, but it was still the greatest gift she had ever received. The children didn't know it yet, but they now had a chance at a better life outside the Lungmen slums.

"Nee-san! Can you make her do tricks again?" The small girl requested excitedly at the violet-haired woman.

Sakura smiled and willed the small female doe in her hands- a white magical construct- to trot across her arms and leap on top of the children's heads in a graceful dance. The three children watched with awe at the graceful performance before it galloped into the air around them.

"Wahhhh, so beautiful!" Another one cried out.

The grey-haired girl smiled at the scene.

"Thank you, Miss Rin." She expressed her gratitude with a bow to the elder between the two doctors. What else could she call them? They had performed a miracle.

"It was nothing." Not that it mattered much to her. Rin had treated hundreds in the past few months with the same disease. But she understood the value it had to their eyes. An incurable disease, gone in a blink of an eye, all for free.

"...is there really no other choice?"

"No. Their safety is not guaranteed if we bring them along." Rin explained.

"..."

The girl known as Misha looked at the three children she had been taking care of.

"Know that they will not be left behind. There is another group working with us. They can house the children while we protect you."

Rin was still considering how to break the news to Kal'tsit. They had to promise Misha and the orphans safety to guarantee her trust and cooperation. She had been chased by the LGD and the Reunion in the past few days and fights had begun where the two sides met. The Reunion had formed some form of stronghold in the slums and the LGD were sending in numerous teams to combat them.

Rhodes Island couldn't protect the girl- the LGD had their eyes on them. Which meant that Misha was going to join the sisters in hiding. Now, the problem was how to inform Kal'tsit about the three wards. There was also the problem with transportation. Rin and Sakura could cast spells to decrease their presence to a degree- turning them invisible to people's attention. It also helped that Sakura's familiars were able to distract and draw attention away from them.

The problem was- they were surrounded on all sides. Sneaking through the lines would be difficult without some extra help.

Help which Rin contacted.

After all, when you have a destination in mind, you need a guide. So, Rin hired some. Of course, she made sure to hire a few different services- just to be sure they were truly capable. If they managed to reach their destinations, then Rin left behind a special something for them.

Only the first who reached their destination would receive a second commission from her.

Just in time too.

Sakura's eyes met Rin's. Her familiars have spotted three figures jumping over the rooftops. They weren't heading in their direction, but the trio were navigating with a map on them.

"Guess they figured out our trick." Sakura smiled at her.

In reality, the sisters had not expected any guides to find their way to them. That was Plan B. Plan A was for Rin and Sakura to sneak Misha out on their own, but when children came into play, they had to consider other options. They couldn't hide the children with them, so Plan B was put to use.

Plan B was simple. It was for extra manpower and assistance.

Capable assistance. The kind that exceeded the norm.

After a few minutes of waiting, the trio arrived.

They entered the small rundown building and checked each room before finding the group of six.

"Hellooo!!!! Penguin Logistics has arrived!" A bubbly magenta-haired girl greeted them at the doorway. She sported a set of unusual yellow floating constructs on her back- identified as wings for her kind- along with a floating halo above her head.

A literal angel. Or in this world's terms, a Sankta.

Behind her, a grey-haired wolf and a blue-haired girl quietly stood. The bluenette had similar features as the Sankta, a halo and some floating constructs which counted as wings. That was where the similarities ended. The halo and wings were darkened, and the girl had black horns sprouting on her head, along with a black tail swishing behind her.

Rin quickly identified them as Lupo and what she guessed was a mix between a Sankta and a Sarkaz.

Who knew devilish and angelic features could appear together? Little did she know that this peculiar case was a byproduct of a certain problem the Sankta race had.

"Penguin Logistics?" Misha blinked at the trio while glancing at Rin.

"We hired them." She continued observing the new arrivals. "So...you managed to locate the destination."

There was more to them than what meets the eye. Rin and Sakura had placed a light bounded field on the first destination that warded the location to confuse and redirect the parties searching for it. Bypassing it proved that whoever accepted the original commission had the capabilities to find them again.

It was the same bounded field they placed down in the building they were at.

"Sure did! We had some trouble...but a map helped us the second time!" She grinned while flashing the object in front of them. Throughout the entire exchange, the bluenette was switching her gaze between Rin and Sakura- which both sisters noticed.

"Good job." Sakura praised the trio.

"Hehe! It was all thanks to Mostima! She was the one who led us both times!" The Sankta pushed her companion forwards in front of them. The bluenette was pushed forwards despite her best effort to shrink behind the grey-haired Lupo.

"E-Exu..."

"C'mon! Don't be shy! Without you we wouldn't have been able to find them!" She grinned.

"Exusiai." The female Lupo at the back spoke up.

"Yes, Texas?" She glanced back after proudly placing Mostima in front of everyone.

"Let's not get distracted please."

"I'm not! Nothing wrong with some light conversation with our client, yes?"

Sakura smiled while the children giggled at the bubbly Sankta.

Rin coughed to draw their attention back to her.

"You're...a logistics company?"

"Yep! We deliver your packages for you! Though the service we're charging you is the premium fee considering how difficult your destinations were."

For some reason, Rin noticed the bluenette- Mostima if she heard correctly- clutch at the two pommels on her sheathed weapons. Though she withdrew her hands just as quickly.

She took note.

"You managed to sneak here safely-" between the LGD and the Reunion- Rin didn't have to say. "-can you do it again? With company?"

"Of course!" The angel named Exusiai flashed a thumbs up.

"Even if it's a group this large?" Rin tilted her head at their side.

"Easy as pie." Exusiai nodded confidently at them.

"We need to get out of the slums without being spotted. Can you guarantee that?"

"Well...we can't be sure, but I'd say we have a good chance as long as we use the same route we took inside. There were a lot of LGD personnel in the area...must've been because of the Reunion spies being spotted here." The Sankta scratched her head.

"Yep, that's why we want to avoid attracting attention. Everyone will be safer."

"Then it's best if we move out now." Rin's attention was drawn to the Lupo at the rear of their team. "The LGD could be reshuffling their lines. We need to go back before the window is closed. Is everyone ready?"

The Penguin Logistics Team glanced at the other six people in the room.

"As ready as we'll ever be." Sakura nodded. She then turned to the children between her and Misha. "Get ready now, we'll be leaving the slums soon."

"Leaving?" One of the kids asked.

"Yes. Everyone will be moving to a safer place. It is not safe here with the Reunion and the LGD fighting." Sakura patted the girl on the head.

"Oh...okay. We trust big sister Sakura!"

Misha smiled at the response.

.

.

.

Good things never last. That's what they say.

The group buckled down two streets back from the LGD perimeter. The small gap in the blockade had been discovered and a platoon of Lungmen guards were sent to patch up the hole in the line.

"Ehe...looks like they found it." Exusiai scratched her head apprehensively. Behind her, Mostima and Texas were peeking through the rundown blinds to watch the LGD patrol.

Rin was silently mulling over their options. She exchanged glances with Sakura. The younger sister shook her head. Sakura was looking through the eyes of her various bird familiars flying over the slums. The LGD perimeter they were at didn't have any gaps big enough for them to slip through without running into problems. Rin was confident in her spells, but when the other party was extremely vigilant, then a group of 9 would instantly catch their attention no matter how strong her spell was.

It was only effective when people weren't on alert.

"We're going to have to break through." Rin quickly decided.

"That will just cause us problems down the line." Texas quipped. They can cover their faces and their connection to Penguin Logistics, but the LGD controlled the entire city. Sooner or later, they would be traced back to their business. It was simply too dangerous.

"We're not fighting them. A distraction should be good enough to open a gap for us."

Sakura would create a commotion using her familiars to draw the LGD away from their position. It needed to be big enough if it wanted to get the right reaction.

The Penguin Logistics trio exchanged glances at Rin's words. Between the three, Exusiai looked the most interested.

"So, you have a plan?" The Sankta asked.

"The Reunion is here."

"-!"

They all turned to the violet-haired sister.

"There is a group of them searching three streets over. They're spread out." Sakura continued while looking through her familiar's eyes- hiding the act by looking out another window.

With how close the two sides were, there was practically no place for the group to hide.

"Sakura, can you bait the Reunion? We need them to slip up and catch the LGD's attention."

Her sister nodded, instantly catching on to Rin's plan. She started drawing some of the rats together and began making sounds to draw the rebels to a certain area. At the same time, another group was directed for the LGD forces.

Texas felt her hairs bristle as instincts took over and alerted her to the rising tension in the air.

"What are you doing?" She hissed.

"We can't hide for long. We have an opportunity to push the LGD in the Reunion's direction. So, we'll take it."

Texas was used to running the gauntlet. Her past had made her experienced in that sense. Penguin Logistics and her time in Lungmen was meant to stay away from that part of her- but the same instincts were alerting her of the danger coming.

It was all too familiar with her time in the mafia.

She didn't mind the weird commission from earlier, sometimes their clients wanted to see how good Penguin Logistics were at securing a package. Mostima already confirmed that something was unusual with the first commission.

Now?

Now her instincts were tingling.

Texas narrowed her eyes. Mostima already warned them that the first commission didn't feel right with her. Clearly she was right.

She always kept an eye on Penguin Logistics clients. It was a lesson she picked up from her past. It was a precaution she was going to need for their upcoming assignment.

=== LUNGMEN GUARD DEPARTMENT ===

Ch'en drummed her fingers on the table while looking at the map in front of her. Several blue chips marked the positions of the LGD while a smaller number of red chips marked areas with known Reunion activity.

A knock from outside the armored personnel carrier interrupted her thoughts.

"Chief? Officer Hoshiguma has arrived."

"I'll be out shortly."

Ch'en took one last look at the map before heading out.

"Are you sure about personally handling this situation?" Hoshiguma asked when Ch'en stepped out. "You left Swire to cover your duties at headquarters while you're here leading the operation."

"This is our biggest operation at the moment, Hoshiguma. It'd be better if I oversee it directly. Especially after what the Reunion did to Chernobog."

The city's signal was gone from the radar. It was simple enough to send scouting teams to see what happened.

The news was not good.

Lungmen wouldn't repeat the same mistake. They were going to take the Reunion seriously.

"This way, we can root out the Reunion while also searching for the objective."

Ch'en's comms unit vibrated before a message patched through.

"Chief! Contact with the Reunion on sector 6!"

Hoshiguma and Ch'en instantly exchanged looks. A mute conversation passed between the two before the other frowned.

"What do you think the Reunion's playing at, Ch'en?" The Oni asked her superior.

The two officers learned that the Reunion had a large presence in the Lungmen slums. They used the infected and impoverished populace to maneuver around the LGD, avoiding direct contact with the city's police force unless necessary.

They had been avoiding the LGD forces in the area most of the time. The small skirmishes were mostly accidents when the Reunion slipped up, which the LGD took advantage of.

"Hoshiguma! Let's go!" Ch'en kicked into high gear.

"Wait! Who's going to stay here and command?!" Her friend chased after her.

"We'll command on the front!"

...

The two officers separated to cover more ground.

By the time Ch'en arrived at the rearguard, more reports of contact with other small Reunion forces had reached her.

Just what was going on?

The situation wasn't like the past few days. The Reunion weren't prepared to face off against the LGD yet. It made no sense for them to actively engage the Lungmen police. The reports also supported this theory because the rebels were also caught off guard just like the LGD they encountered.

Ch'en sketched a rough mental map on her phone and started marking down areas where the latest reports happened. Soon, something emerged from the chaotic picture.

"Guards!" The two reserve squadrons nearby looked at their Superintendent Chief. "Follow me!"

Her gut feeling was warning her about something.

It was too much of a coincidence. Her sketched map was slowly drawing a gap through the LGD containment lines.

Someone was playing with both sides.

Whoever it was, they had something or someone stuck in the area trying to escape.

Ch'en wasn't going to let them.

=== LUNGMEN SLUMS ===

"Rin, two squads are heading this way along with an officer."

Some progress had been made as the large group snuck through all the chaos. Fights were erupting left and right as the LGD and Reunion ran into each other.

"Not exactly ideal, but there was a possibility they would notice." Rin signalled the group to stop. "Everyone, we're splitting up here."

Rin looked at the Penguin Logistics squad and considered her options. It looked like two of their members were adept in melee. The grey-haired wolf carried a sword while the blue-haired angel carried two staves. Of the two, the sword was better for its short range while the bladed staffs would struggle in extremely close combat.

Rin needed someone to fight in front while she supported from the back.

"Texas, right? That's what she called you." Rin gestured at the sword-wielding Lupo in the group.

"Correct." Texas nodded.

"You're the only one with a short melee weapon in your team. How good are you at it?"

"I'm average."

"Don't believe her! She's the best among us in melee!" Exusiai interrupted.

"I'm the only one who uses a sword. Your argument is pointless."

Texas shut down Exusiai instantly.

"Mou..." The angel drooped her head.

"Alright. Here's the plan." Rin drew everyone's attention. "We split into two groups. The first group will fight and distract the LGD coming. The second group will escort the children and Misha out of here. Me, Texas, and Misha will delay the LGD. Sakura, and the rest of Penguin Logistics will escape with the children first."

"What? What about big sister Misha?!" The kids cried.

"The LGD are after Misha. It is safer for you to escape if they focus on us. Penguin Logistics will guide you and Sakura out of here."

Sakura wasn't as good in combat as Rin, much less Shirou. Instead she made it up with her ability to support. Her familiars collected information while controlling the battlefield to a degree Shirou and Rin couldn't. At the same time, she is a force multiplier with enough energy, allowing the Matou mage to create far stronger familiars in far larger numbers.

If Shirou was the equivalent of a nuclear bomb on the battlefield, the stupid boy having enough firepower to destroy most if not all enemies against him, then Sakura was the equivalent of a conventional force in her ability to create an army of familiars to cover the battlefield. Even more dangerous was her ability to sneak said army of familiars behind enemies like some sort of black-ops team as Shirou called it.

After all, it was hard to defend against something you could not see, nor something you could not predict.

"I do not agree with this plan." Texas spoke up.

"Why?"

"Fighting the LGD will bring trouble to Penguin Logistics." They will be marked criminals at worst, hunted and arrested by the authorities after whisking away their target.

"They won't know." Rin snapped her fingers and pointed at Misha. "They may be after her, but they won't recognize her- or any of us for that matter."

When everyone looked at Misha, her face had changed to that of another person. A stranger.

"My Arts doesn't just hide us like earlier. I can also change our identities."

Yeah...let's go with that excuse.

"...how long does it last?" Texas asked just to make sure.

"As long as I want it."

"...fine."

Rin casted her illusions over the entire group.

"We will make our own escape once we can confirm that the second group has escaped."

"H-how will I fight with you and Texas?!" Misha panicked.

"Don't worry. Just follow my instructions." Rin handed Misha with her bag of gems. "You'll be hiding behind cover for the fight."

.

.

.

A quarter of an hour later, Ch'en and the two LGD squads with her encountered a rogue force.

"Contact!" Ch'en shouted as unidentified projectiles were lobbed over their position.

The small shiny objects exploded mid air- essentially acting as a flash grenade.

What a waste of her gems.

Rin grumbled as she aimed her hand and fired Gandr at the LGD forces braced for contact. They were meant for other purposes, but reduced to being distractions to avoid killing the police. They didn't want to become Lungmen's most wanted criminals after all.

The LGD forces instantly found themselves incapacitated as their numbers were cut down by Rin's spell. Gandr was a Finnish curse aimed to incapacitate targets by weakening their physical health. Numbers began falling as the Lungmen police found themselves keeling over from sickness or weakness.

Ch'en noticed the dark corporeal balls impact her men and knock them out of the fight. Their pained moans informed her that they weren't killed in action, which allowed Ch'en to sigh in relief. She immediately reacted against the threat, drawing one of her swords and intercepting the dark miasma orb before it could hit her.

The unknown combatant firing from the end of the street continued firing at her, but Ch'en weaved around the barrage while cutting those in her way to reach the enemy. Once she made it halfway to the sniper, a grey blur appeared from the side and dashed for her. The dragon twisted to meet the new attacker, parrying the sword with her own.

The two exchanged a fast series of attacks with each other. Ch'en slowly but surely pushed back the other with her superior strength lent to her by her draconic genes. Her attempts to rebuff the fighter proved unsuccessful as the more experienced swordswoman used tricks and maneuvers that redirected her strength elsewhere.

She's good.

Ch'en glared into the eyes of her enemy.

As expected of the LGD's Commander.

Texas knew that going into this fight would be difficult. While she was more accustomed to the battlefield and risks due to her history and background, Ch'en Hui-chieh was raised with the best training offered in Lungmen. The girl was touted as one of the LGD's best fighters in addition to her exceptional ability to command.

But the difference of training vs real experience was different.

Texas had fought for her life before. She accrued lessons back during her days in Siracusa and Columbia. Lessons that were carved into her body. It was different compared to Ch'en. Ch'en's style showed professionalism and technique from her training, but it lacked the edge compared to a blade that carried real threat.

One was trained to subdue. The other was forced to survive.

Blades clashed and Ch'en found herself being led around the street by the stranger.

They were leading her movements!

Ch'en clicked her tongue in annoyance. Each time she disengaged from the swordswoman, she would find herself assaulted again. She couldn't find an opportunity to retreat to a safer position. Her back was wide open to the hidden sniper that was relocating.

All she could do was wait.

Her instincts screamed and Ch'en twisted around to intercept the dark orb shot at her. Her blade flashed out and sliced the attack. Her opponent took the opportunity to close in and unleash an assault that pushed her back while she was unprepared.

Ch'en growled as the sword came particularly close to nicking her on the shoulder. It wouldn't hinder her combat ability, at worst it would've been a small cut. Worse, it meant that she was losing ground to the two enemies tag teaming on her.

Suddenly, a loud sound of concrete being crushed came from behind.

Ch'en snapped her neck sideways to see a blur speed from the building to her side in a single second. Her eyes widened when a hand covered in dark miasma slammed into her back, followed by the sudden urge to vomit her lunch. Tried as she might, but the instant sickness that enveloped her body was too much. The LGD Commander bent over and held her stomach as her body suddenly ached and shivered weakly.

She glared at the two criminals as they made their escape past the fallen squads behind her.

They had escaped.

Ch'en slumped down while reaching for her radio.

"...Hoshi...fuck...need reinforcements..."

"Ch'en?! CH'EN!"

Ch'en couldn't answer as she tried to hold down the vomit crawling up her stomach.

.

.

.

"Is everyone out safely?" Texas asked as they sprinted out of the slums.

"Yes. I grabbed Misha after you engaged the commander and evacuated her before returning."

Texas kept her eyes on her employer as they snuck away from the LGD forces suddenly converging towards their previous location.

Weird gems. Illusions. Powerful physique.

The concrete had crumpled underneath Rin when she launched herself with Reinforcement at Ch'en. Texas had seen it herself.

What kind of Arts allowed that many abilities?

She was right to keep an eye on her. Mostima had already warned them earlier.

=== REUNION PRISON ===

Her neighbor was awake by the time she woke up the next morning.

"How early did you wake up? Did you even sleep?" Nearl asked the redhead. She adhered to a strict schedule. Wake up at the rise of dawn, sleep at 10pm each night. To see someone wake earlier was unusual.

"I did." A little. Shirou woke up earlier than Nearl did. He didn't go back to sleep, choosing to think over his situation.

The two settled into silence, Shirou busy with his problem and Nearl having nothing to talk about. She picked up on the atmosphere and left the man to his devices. After about an hour, the archer moved from his position. Nearl glanced at his cell, the only point of interest as they waited for breakfast to be served.

"Sorry about earlier. I...was thinking."

"Mhm." Nearl nodded. She didn't try to dig into it.

"Nearl, right? That's what Rhodes Island called you."

"It's my callsign."

Shirou didn't expect much beyond that. It was the same way he asked them to call him Archer. It still felt a bit uncomfortable using that man's name but Shirou had come to understand some of that man's views.

Not everyone could be saved.

"Can I ask you a question?"

Shirou glanced up to the blonde Kuranta inside the other cell.

"Why did you surrender?" Nearl remembered the events of that night clearly. Not even the adrenaline back then could distract her. "You surrendered so that we could escape. Though...it didn't go as planned."

He was powerful. He could've escaped if it wasn't for them.

"Because you needed help."

Nearl blinked, slowly looked up at Shirou, then gawked at him.

"That can't be all."

"You guys were trapped in the city. My original goal was to help the hospitals, but they weren't going anywhere with the Reunion around. Helping you escape was easier." Which was true. They were a smaller group and were much closer to Shirou's position.

"You said we were bait to draw them away from the hospitals."

"Two birds with one stone." Shirou shrugged. "Help you out to bait the Reunion, then rescue the people. Bait didn't work out."

They were baited alright. Though Shirou hadn't prepared for the Reunion's resentment of Rhodes Island. They were both infected groups, but one side was more than willing to erase the other.

As the two slowly conversed, more and more questions emerged on Nearl's mind.

"Archer...?" She wasn't going to call him by his real name. It felt too intrusive.

"Hmm?"

"...do you mind if I ask about your Arts?"

Nearl knew that the topic was a bit more personal compared to her previous one.

"I'm afraid I can't." Shirou declined. "I hope you understand."

"It was yours wasn't it. That purple shield."

"..."

Shirou's silence was all Nearl needed. It had to be him. There was no one else on the ground when Rhodes Island evacuated. No one but him.

"Thank you....for protecting us."

He did more than protect them. Nearl couldn't forget about the Arts he used to heal the children. The memory was unforgettable.

"I'm sorry it wasn't enough." Shirou sighed while looking at the Originium shards protruding on his skin. He knew that Terra's energy was different from Earth's. Not only was his body not accustomed to it, but Terra's mana jump started Oripathy within his body. He'd have to spend some time purifying the corruption.

"Wasn't enough? You did more than enough-!" Nearl murmured. "We...didn't expect the situation to go so horribly wrong. It was out of our preparations."

While they talked, Shirou began scanning his system. He had overestimated his limits and pushed his body past the safety threshold during the Chernobog invasion. His body wasn't perfectly suited to Terra's conditions and the Originium corruption overwhelmed him in the end.

He'd start dealing with that now.

Shirou focused within himself and began cycling his own energy. Corrupted Originium particles that invaded his body were slowly purged from his system, appearing as dark crystals that emerged from his skin. Shirou deliberately held back from removing the infection completely to integrate himself as an Oripathy victim just like the Reunion.

Nearl blinked in shock as the dark crystals on Shirou began to fall off. Her eyes widened in shock as the third degree Oripathy receded to that of a first degree infection.

"So what they were saying was true...you could treat Oripathy." The two rebel officers had mentioned it when they visited the prison while Shirou was recovering. Nearl thought they were going to interrogate her, but they left immediately.

Shirou nodded quietly. It seems like Kal'tsit hadn't informed the other Rhodes Island operators of what they were capable of.

Nearl was still absorbing the scene in front of her eyes.

"D-does it really work?"

"Not completely. Most infected have had Oripathy for so long that the Orignium particles have fused into their cells. Filtering them would only tear chunks out of their bodies."

Nearl's eyes widened at the answer. No wonder it was so difficult to produce a solution to Oripathy. It literally merged with your body on a cellular level.

"B-but it can be done, right? You can treat it to a degree!"

"It's possible."

Nearl inhaled sharply. Shirou...Rhodes Island needed him! The amount of value he could bring to their research! He was already treating Oripathy on his own!

She...

She had to bring him to Rhodes Island.

Nearl recollected herself. Shirou was too important. Him being in the hands of the Reunion was already a failure on their part.

If only Rhodes Island didn't mess up.

The blonde slapped her cheeks to push those thoughts away. Nobody could've been prepared for half the events they faced. All they could do was react to what was going on. Rhodes Island did their best. It was only unfortunate that Reunion's leadership were intent on chasing them down. Even worse when they came into contact with another Reunion objective.

One at a time, Nearl. One problem at a time.

Right now, her best move would be to avoid antagonizing the Reunion. Only then would she be kept alive. Nearl wouldn't be able to keep an eye on Shirou if she was dead. Her exile from Kazimierz had opened the Kuranta's eyes to the true state of the world. Out in the wilds, it was kill or be killed. Law and order didn't exist outside the cities.

"What...what do you think our chances of escaping are?" Nearl asked. She hesitated from hoping for the best, but considering how strong Shirou was...a little optimism bubbled inside her.

"Right now? Zero. Isn't that right, Faust?" Shirou looked at an empty space outside Nearl's cell.

Eh?

Nearl blinked.

"..."

Light shimmered and a boy appeared. Nearl instantly recognized him as the officer who visited a few days prior. He was shooting Shirou a narrowed glare before glancing at her, switching his gaze between them.

"You knew I was here."

"It didn't make sense not to have guards watching over two Arts users." Shirou lied. He had been tracing the area every quarter of an hour. Faust had appeared right after the guards left.

Nearl clammed up at the sight of him. She didn't know his true status in the Reunion, so she had to play it safe.

"Did your leader send you to keep an eye on me?"

"Something like that."

It wasn't Talulah who sent him. It was actually FrostNova. The rabbit commander was worried about what Shirou would do when threatened. Faust agreed, so he went along with it.

"Have you made up your mind?"

"Do I look like I have a choice? I'm prepared to agree, but I have conditions."

"I doubt Talulah would agree to releasing the prisoners."

Nearl's eyes widened. Were they talking about...?

"Nothing so drastic. I'm just asking to help them."

Faust frowned.

"Explain."

"I'll help treat the Reunion, but I demand that the civilians also get treated."

"You're making more work for yourself."

"Nothing much different from when I was a doctor."

Doctor my ass.

Faust wasn't going to believe that lie one bit.

What kind of doctor assaulted the Reunion single-handedly?

"I'll see what I can do. Talulah could say no." Faust stepped away from their cells.

The civilians were their main leverage against him. Without them, Shirou would've had nothing to hold him back. Faust shuddered at the idea of Shirou unleashed.

"Oh, and can I get a kitchen? I can help out with the food!"

Huh?!

Nearl looked at Shirou in disbelief. Who would ask for a kitchen now of all times?!

Faust stopped for a bit, then continued walking as if he heard nothing.

===

Author's Note (FFN)

Thank you Miro0815 for pointing out my mistake. I forgot Ch'en was a different kind of dragon from Talulah. I just settled on calling all dragons western Dracos when there are also eastern Lung dragons.

Western Dragons (European) = Draco

Eastern Dragons (Chinese) = Lung