"According to the note, our target is the so-called Rosamond Mansion," Iten began a meeting to decide the group's course of action.
"I say that's hella nice. We've been there once," Nene declared loudly, eyeing Iten with a proud smile plastered over her face as if expecting to be praised for such an achievement.
"This is great news, thank you," he played along, knowing well his ex-ex-girlfriend. "If we are to trust this information, the mansion isn't that well-guarded unless the Supreme Commander is visiting. Usually, it's only several servants and guards. That aside, there is an alarm system that covers all the exterior."
"Well, we already know a person who can handle this, I suppose," Onuki muttered absentmindedly.
"We do?" asked Marina.
"Mhm, her name is Toatre. She is, well, an oddball. In a good sense, of course, but she is still in her own world. She helped us a lot during the initial escape."
"Yes, Toatre is a perfect candidate. We need to secure her aid swiftly and plan the rest of the operation with her being present. She should be a great addition to the team."
"Why would she help you out again?" Shou asked, trying his hardest to look bored.
"She will. I believe in her," Onuki said, and Iten supported her with a firm nod. She eyed him for a moment, then chuckled and added: "I'm surprised you are so eager to head a burglary with a possibility of kidnapping."
"We are only setting things straight. There is nothing illicit in saving a person and fixing what's wrong."
"Must be nice being so self-righteous," Onuki snorted and left to her room.
---
---
Three days later, a small team of four people prepared to infiltrate the Rosamond Mansion. Iten, Onuki, Nana, Toatre were hiding in the bushes, clad in black clothes, their faces covered by masks.
Previously, they had had a heated discussion over the composition of the infiltration force. Everyone agreed on making it as small as possible, but they couldn't find the best setup. Toatre and Iten were mandatory members, and in the end, they decided to take Onuki as their best medic, and Nana to provide combat support. Her sister, to Nene's own outrage, was ruled out due to her inability to stay quiet and hidden. Marina was vetoed for the same reason, and Shou simply declined to participate.
Moonlight illuminated a three-meter tall wall of red brick in front of them. The obstacle gave an imposing feeling, threatening any possible thieves, but the main issue was hidden from the naked eye.
"Indeed, I sense magic currents wash over the stone. They aren't as pleasant as I wanted them to be, which isn't good. But not that bad, either."
Toatre was talking in her usual otherworldly manner, her eyes frantically following something invisible for the rest of the team. She took out several devices of unknown purpose from a large and heavy bag that Iten carried for her, and began with some tests.
"Not sure I like this idea of trespassing on the guarded property," Onuki said nervously.
"We are here to pay a friendly visit and merely forgot the invitation card at home, or so they say," Nana put her palm on Onuki' shoulder and squeezed it lightly, trying to cheer and reassure her mate. The girl in question smiled weakly and patted Nana's palm.
"The picture is clear to me now. The outline is, at the very least, slightly visible," Toatre said, tucking the first set of devices into the large bag, which she then lifted with ease and then went closer to the wall. Iten only shook his head in amazement, not used to being around the girl of many talents.
Toatre unpacked more instruments from the container and spread them on the ground in front of her. Among the various machinery and unknowns, the most peculiar was a set of wired needles connected to a large black tablet.
"How is it going, Toatre?" asked Iten with a hint of worry in his voice.
"It isn't going anywhere, if you are asking about the alarm system, Iten. I thought that it was the reason you brought me here."
"No-no, you are correct. I was referring to the progress of your, um, manipulations. Is there any chance for us to get inside?" he massaged the bridge of his nose tiredly, unaccustomed to Toatre's ways.
"Oh, I see now. Indeed, it is very much possible, even too simple for my taste. There is a pulsing net that changes its size and orientation every four seconds. With the instruments here, a sacrifice of one person, and a few more minutes of preparations, I'll make a passage for you."
"That's good to hear, thank-, wait, what!? Why do we need to sacrifice someone?"
"Unless you know a better way to overcome this web, I pledge to you that sacrifice is a must."
"Toatre, dear, explain to poor Iten what exactly it is that you suggest, or he would get a heart attack," interjected a chuckling Onuki. Her mood suddenly got better.
"Hum-hum, as you wish, my friend. So, Iten, as I have said before, there is a net. It changes its structure every four seconds. We need someone to recalibrate the size of the path each time the net shifts. This leads us to my solution of leaving someone here to watch the instruments, reconfigure the path, and wait for the rest of you to return."
"So what you suggest is to leave someone here with this, um, machine, while others are inside? That's your idea of sacrifice?" Iten doubled his effort in massaging the bridge of his nose.
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"That is correct, Iten. I'm glad that you were able to follow my explanation. It is strange, though, I remember you being sharper."
"Um, thank you. And I need to make sure of one thing - we'll have only four seconds to pass, right?"
"Correct again. By the way, you can go one by one. I'll remake the path for you."
"Wonderful, thank you. Ultimately, you are making a hole in this wall, and we'll each have four seconds to get to the other side, right?"
"Your conclusion is mostly correct, though there won't be any hole in the wall."
"But you said there would be a path..."
"Indeed, the path through the alarming web," Toatre looked at Iten with a dubious expression.
"And how are we supposed to get to the other side?"
"Why do you even ask such questions, Iten? Jump, of course."
The rest of the group eyed each other, then looked at the three-meters high wall and fixed their gazes on puzzled Toatre.
"Dear, common folk like us can't jump that high," Onuki said with a mixture of apology and sympathy. "But I think we can make something similar to Orisa's blocks, right?"
"I don't like the idea of wasting Mana now, but we don't have a choice," decided Iten, and then gave Toatre another look. "Can you assist us with the ladder?"
"No reason to decline for me here, Iten," she answered and turned her attention back to the instruments.
A few minutes later, Toatre got back on her feet and began to stick wired needles into the wall. They were glowing green and easily went into the stone as if it was made of butter. At the same time, a ladder made of her Mana appeared nearby. Iten pushed it to test its stability, and the construction didn't even budge.
"Thank you, Toatre." Iten turned to the girls and frowned, thinking of the next move. "We have a ladder now, but there are still three meters for us to fall from on the other side of the wall."
"It shouldn't pose a problem, or so they say," said Nana and repeated the same set of spells for the three of them:
"Major Agility!"
"Grace!"
"Feather Fall!"
"Oh, I feel strangely compelled to climb a tree or jump from the roof," muttered astonished Onuki, moving her body to get used to its empowered state.
"Perfect, thank you, Nana. Alright, I will go first and alert you if anything is wrong. We regroup at the nearest obstacle on the other side of the wall and plan the next move. Our goal is to make it to the bedroom on the second floor."
Without further ado, Iten took a smaller bag with infiltration tools and climbed the ladder. He carefully peeked over the wall. With no lights or sounds coming from the mansion or its surroundings, the area looked like an abandoned or haunted house. It played into their hands, of course, but gave a creepy feeling.
"Toatre, I'm waiting for your signal."
"Watch the web. When it burns out, you are free to go," murmured Toatre, moving blue lines closer to green triangles on her tablet.
"What are-," Iten began in confusion, but then fell silent.
Right above the wall and amidst the air, a transparent grid appeared. It blinked several times, then burned away like a web set aflame. Taking a deep breath, Iten dived forward. Showing an unusual and unnatural level of agility and reflexes, he spun mid-air and dropped on his feet like a professional acrobat. The feeling of grace and agility left his body immediately after that. He crouched to blend with high untended grass just as a precaution and looked around once more. Several seconds later, something soft dropped on his head with a strange squeak.
"Iten, I value your attention to an extent, but I'm not sure Onuki would like to partake in a triangle," Nana said with an even voice, getting her butt from Iten's face. "I also suggest you to move a bit to the side, or so they say."
Four seconds later, Onuki landed on the ground, and the three of them crawled towards the dark mansion. After checking the back entrance with an alarm detector, they unlocked it without any trouble using the simplest lockpick.
"It does feel like a trap if I'd be honest," Onuki said uncomfortably. "Everything is too easy."
"Not sure I share your concerns. For me, it merely shows the value of the person held here to the owner of the place, or so they say."
Iten and Onuki gave Nana a heavy look, understanding the implications of her words. With the atmosphere taking a turn to the worse, they made it into the building and came into a dark and dusty hall. The place felt like it was deserted years ago.
"Cat's Eyes!"
Nana's eyes glowed green, and she took a long look over the premise, frowning while pondering something:
"That time we paid a visit, it was from the main entrance, so I am not familiar with this part of the mansion. There is another complication - we'll leave footprints in the dust, and I don't know any skills to cover them, or so they say."
"Since we can't do anything with our tracks, let's ignore them. As for the rest, I suppose we should head to the second floor and start looking for the bedroom," Iten concluded, and the group departed to look for the stairs.
During the search, they stumbled upon a room with lights coming from below the door and swiftly retreated. Aside from that encounter and a muffled discussion between two guards, the mansion appeared abandoned. Finally, they made it to the second floor, and Nana was able to make out a trail of footprints leading in and out towards a certain direction. The group followed the tracks to a pair of heavy doors at the end of the long corridor.
Iten used the same tool to check the door for alarm and was ready to push it open, but Nana stopped his hand then chanted a spell, making the door frame glow red:
"Muffler!"
"Why do you even know such spells in the first place?" asked a surprised Iten.
"You two were making too much noise, 'oh my mighty knight,' so I had to," Nana replied to Iten, his face turning beet-colored.
With the mood lifted a bit, Nana and Onuki pushed the door open, and the trio stepped into the room. Unlike the rest of the mansion, three large windows weren't covered with heavy curtains, letting some of the moonlight inside. And again, unlike the other rooms and corridors, this room was cleaned to perfection, and fresh flowers in vases filled it with a pleasant aroma.
Fearing what they were about to see, the intruders slowly moved closer to the large bed at the corner of the room. A moment later, three muffled gasps of horror broke the silence.
If it were not for the barely noticeable movement of the bedspread, a person there could easily be mistaken for a corpse. The girl's platinum blonde hair lost its silky shine and was spread over the pillow. The pale skin of her face turned completely white, looking almost translucent under the moonlight. Her cheeks turned hollow, revealing sharp cheekbones, and chapped lips served as an undesired highlight to the overall picture of complete exhaustion. Tiana vas Kavenfenn looked barely alive.
"Oh my god..." muttered Onuki, covering her mouth and looking away.
"How could they... How dare they..." Iten's rage was clearly visible on his distorted face.
Nana only clenched her fists. The trio stood in silence, thinking each their own. Despite not being as close to the girl as their leader, they were appalled and enraged, with their hearts torn and weeping. Their thoughts had drifted for some time before arriving at the same idea - whatever happened inside the family, Tiana didn't deserve this.
"Iten, it's time," said Nana with a tense voice.
He silently nodded and stretched his hands towards Tiana:
"Major Status!"
"Major Condition!"
Iten had been practicing these spells for a few days straight before the raid, but it still took him some time to process the data. He closed his eyes with a frown, deep in thought. Onuki followed shortly after with another set of diagnostic spells, and then asked him:
"What do you think?"
"Honestly, I don't know. Back in my old world, I would have suggested marking her as an organ donor without a second thought. Here, things are different somewhat, but I can't say for sure. I-" wasn't able to finish his line as the group was startled by a voice coming from the door:
"And who might you be?"