“Tch! Mido! Don’t let go of that guy!” Fein commanded, lines of blood streaming in his face from the ice shards’ scratches.

“Yes, captain!” Mido confirmed, but he intensified the flames a bit more. Between him and Peram was the latter’s hand, chained by golden flames, threatening to disintegrate his whole arm if he dared move an inch.

“It’s a check, Vassals… Argh!” He yelped as he felt the heat in his left arm grow. “Pierre tipped you off, eh?!”

“What are you talking about?” Mido questioned.

“You waited for this opportune moment... We took the bait, damn it!”

“Huh? What bait?!” Sora weakly said, the woman still holding him by the neck. Both of his thighs were still painful from his wounds, but the chill ironically prevented him to bleed out.

“Don’t make us fools! You’re here to finish us off!” She yelled.

“Wha—You’re guarding this establishment, aren’t you?!” Gen pointed at the woman, which seemed to confuse her.

“Hmm…ngh!” Fein slowly tried to carry his weight and stand. Seeing his effort, Gen supported him by the hip. Wiping his face, he took his stand firmly.

“This is a wild guess, but are you affiliated with the murdered persons?”

“Still playing the idiot, aren’t you all? You know that already!”

This question was not expected by both parties. In this constrained battleground of theirs, each side was vividly certain that they oppose each other: D-7 were trying to infiltrate this area for clues, and these two ragged Vassals are defending it.

However…

“Tch. From the looks of it, we’ve been caught in the fog.” Fein looked at Gen.

“Don’t you mean…”

“These two… must be related to the murdered people. No, they may have the same reasons as us, coming here.”

“If you’re not with Pierre, what are you two doing here?” Mido asked Peram and tightened his grip.

“We’re here to find information about him because he’s out of town. But to stumble upon you people… Are you really not with that prick?”

“No. You said it yourself: Pierre’s a prick.” Gen responded.

“Peram! Don’t fall for them, They’re Vassal United!” The woman across him notified.

Peram took a deep breath. “Vivace… Simmer down. I know it might be a ruse, but my gut tells me we’ve been had. Release the kid.”

“Hm. That was quick—” Gen scoffed.

“But Peram—”

“We’ll die regardless! And in this situation… We won’t have a chance to reach the truth… So please. For their sake. Release him.”

Within the cold, Vivace, the woman, visibly froze a bit before closing her eyes.

‘I hope you know what you’re doing, Peram.’

The cold slowly toned down to room temperature. The humidity of the air condensed into watery vapor, thus almost all surfaces were slightly wet by the time Vivace completely disabled her ability. She made Sora kneel, who winced from the painful thud in his thighs.

“Shit… I can’t feel my legs…” Sora stammered as he grasped the covered brick floor with his hands, trying to stand up.

“I pierced them. What did you expect?” Vivace sternly remarked as she watched Sora shudder in pain.

“Captain, what should I do?” Mido asked for Fein’s decision. Looking at him, Fein nodded.

“Release him.”

Mido dissipated his flame. Once smoke was all left, Peram immediately released himself from the former’s grasp and checked his left arm if it was still intact. Most of his cloth bandages were burned, plus his skin, but the cold from earlier mitigated the worst of possible injuries.

“Ah. She probably went too far. That girl and her temper…”

“Sora! Shit, he’s too injured to move!” Gen rushed to Sora’s side and inspected his wounds. Sure enough, it immediately bled because the ice already melted.

Sora winced again from the pain, “Shit… Gen! I can’t feel them! Ahh!”

“Calm down! I’ve got a med-kit here…” Contradicting his calm voice, Gen frantically rummaged his coat for something to stop the bleeding.

Fein, Mido, and Peram stood behind them. Mido was occupied, eyeing the latter for any opposing action.

“Mido. Try to cauterize Sora’s wounds.” Fein ordered Mido. Hearing this, Sora immediately rejected.

“Captain! But Mido might—”

“Do it.”

Mido hesitated. He still has a lack of tonal precision; he might overdo cauterizing Sora and will do more harm than good.

“Sora does not trust me yet, captain. But still…” He was both worried and quite disappointed. Sora’s words hurled distraction on his face. Still, he too does not trust his own ability yet.

Seeing their captive’s helpless state, Peram acted on the group’s problem on hand.

“Vivace. Try to stop Sora’s bleeding with your ability.”

He was serious in his words. If there’s one neutral way to gain even a bit of closure to them, it would be to compromise by reversing the other’s damages. In this particular scenario, that is.

As expected, Vivace would not immediately decide to help. How could one injure an enemy, only to help them soon after? Scoffing, she barked at Peram.

“Are we seriously just going to stay here and help, Peram?! You should—"

“Just think straight for one second! Even if we get out of this place, we’ll have nowhere to hide! So, cast your anger aside for once and just do it!” Peram bantered.

“How dare you… Tch!” Tears was about to fall on Vivace’s dark eyes when she scoffed and set it aside. This seemed to tame her, and she proceeded to kneel down on Sora, who was at Gen’s lap, eyes closed from the pain.

Reaching out to both of Sora’s legs with her hands, she used her ability to freeze his wounds to a temperature that will hold off the bleeding.

“Wrap it with cloth.” She sternly ordered Gen, not even trying to initiate eye contact. Her eyes were glued to the wounds.

“I still don’t trust you lot.” She remarked.

“Hmph. Same goes.” Gen replied.

Vivace abruptly stood up and looked at Sora again.

“The bleeding may have stopped, but you still cannot walk. Still, it would be better off if you didn’t anyway…”

“What did you just say…?” Gen leaned back to her face with a fearsome chagrin. His face bore of one that is utterly insulted.

“You… I’m seriously going to--!” Gen snapped, ready to bust out his ability at any time, all the while supporting Sora on his right arm.

“Try me.” Vivace said as a cold breeze started to collect. Both were in on each other, headfirst. Ice versus the shield. At their adrenaline-filled mental state, they won’t regard for any casualties.

“YOU TWO! STOP THAT!”

All three urged them. If they were to start another heated fight, everyone outside, regardless of the lacking guards, many will hear their commotion. It would be a deficit to both sides.

“Vivace, please! This is our chance! Hear out your senses for once!” Peram talked to her again, this time, his voice calls more on frustration.

“Gen! Sora’s bleeding has just been suppressed. If you cause another fight now…”

Everything fell slow for Gen. He was drowning in rage. His short temperament when it comes to his team was a latent trait of his, passed down from his past. He might say himself that this is his way of protecting the people he sees as ‘friends,’ or better yet, ‘family.’

I mean, who can stand seeing their family being spat on by such insidious words?

Gen recovered from his state, however, and slowly backed down. Vivace’s building breeze also calmed.

“Mind your own business, old woman.” Gen, remarking Vivace’s messy, beige hair, turned his back and carried Sora to his team.

“Eh. I am younger than you, but whatever.” Vivace waved a hand as she returned to Peram’s side. Her stature and height falls more to the likes of Wizbette and a plum. Her hair, however, speaks for itself.

Gen, Fein and Mido checked up on their injured comrade. His legs were limp; Sora cannot even stride with both injuries.

“Hey… Still there?” Fein asked the now half-conscious Sora. His eyes were half-closed as Gen snapped his fingers between them.

“All good, cap…tain.”

“Hang on. Once we get back to the Beaver, we’ll have Wiz heal you.”

“Captain. Your face…” Mido saw Fein’s injuries. They were bleeding, but Fein seemed to not notice, or he was just disregarding his own pain.

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“Just scratches. We have her, don’t worry.”

“Wizbette. Right.” He can’t help but feel worried for her.

“Captain, what should we do to them?” Mido pointed to Peram and Vivace. The latter was busy treating Peram’s burn.

“You two. You seem to have acquired info regarding Pierre.” Said Fein.

“We’ll take care of our hide, thank you very much.” Vivace bluntly rejected, but Peram held her back.

“What’s your business in the middle of the night, really?”

“Fein. Is it okay for them to know?” Gen whispered behind him as both he and Mido assisted Sora.

“At this point, we need insight into this. These people might have answers for us.”

“Even if they are hard to trust with?”

“Let’s risk a fast route in favor of wandering without a torch, Gen.”

Fixing himself, the captain turned to face the two.

“In the meantime, we will aid you in your own goals, provided that you agree to work with us. However, double-cross us and we will be forced to apprehend you as rogue Vassals.”

Hesitation came into both of them. Vivace was clearly seeing the four as unreliable people and cannot trust them just yet. Peram, however, had a conservative stand on the matter, and was willing to cooperate, if it will benefit both sides.

“it’s all right. We have to do this. We too, have no other choice.” Peram comforted his companion.

“Mhhmm.” Vivace muttered.

Clutching his slightly burnt hand, Peram proposed a compromise. “Alright. It seems to me that the two of us share one goal.”

“That is, to topple Pierre and his antics.” Fein added.

“Hm. Then I have two requests. First: We will cooperate, but don’t send any more of your goons.”

“Not to worry. Our designation handles this case by ourselves.”

“Good. And second: give us two a safe place to hide from. Not until this whole ordeal is soon solved.”

“We have a vehicle waiting for us. We will provide ample protection and resources. Should you agree, that is.”

“Peram… Are you sure?” Vivace looked Peram in his eyes. With no other reason to hide his face, Peram took of his hood and mask. He had a blonde, dirtied hair, Teal, rested eyes, slightly tan skin, and a tired face, both from their battle and his own natural physique. Vivace followed his lead, albeit hesitantly. Messy, beige hair, dark eyes, and fair skin composed most of her appearance. Her eyes were piercing, almost akin to Mido’s. It held hand in hand with her tempered personality, and is the complete opposite of her stoic, cold ability.

Based on appearance, these two were like the people who D-7 saw staring at them. Poor, albeit skinny, and dirtied.

“We’ll try to get ourselves hand in hand, Vassal United.” He nodded. Fein followed.

“For now, let’s hurry back, before we are all caught.”

----------------------------------------

The group, now composed of six people, quickly snuck behind the lights and into the nooks and crannies of the buildings.

“Geez… People here are fast asleep already…” Gen commented as he carried Sora on piggyback. His bleeding was now stopped, thanks to the help of Vivace’s ability and the cloth that held it together.

“Where to, Vassals?” said Peram, cautiously nudging himself through the tight space they’re currently in.

“Just a few blocks more… But I have to say. What about Pierre’s house? The ruckus we made might have been noticed by someone. But from the looks of it, no one seems to mind in this neighborhood.”

“That might exist because of one factor, but now is not the time to talk. As for Pierre… Based on gossip, we heard he’ll be out of town for a few days. To the outskirts, I think…”

“Wait. Our encounter was all but a coincidence?” Fein noted. D-7 did not have the information that Pierre will be out of town. In fact, they expected the house to be heavily guarded, and got a bit too enthusiastic when it was not.

“That guy noticed our movements for a while, but—shit, hide!” Peram whispered. On the exit overlooking the main road, he noticed a group of guards, about four, coming their way. Staying into the shadows, they waited.

Vivace, on her struggle to hide, tripped a bag of produce positioned atop a crate. She hid behind it in time, but the loud thud must have alerted someone…

“Oh no!” she covered her face, and saw Gen’s, who was just beside her. He was extremely annoyed. As expected, the group turned to the vicinity of the sound, slowly…

…

…

“Hey. What was it?”

“Just a cat. Come on. Let’s finish this patrol, and drink.”

The guards were too lazy. They were like zombies, affixed to certain orders, such as the routine patrol. They could not even try to investigate what they heard and disregarded it as a cat. It’s as if they were not motivated enough to even protect their own ‘city’ from their potential dangers, such as this group, which is the primary job of every city’s guard.

Well, who couldn’t? They’re not well-equipped, and from the looks of it, only pushed to be guards because no one will.

“See. That’s why it’s easy for us to hide. Our guards are not adamant.” Peram remarked.

“But when Pierre showed up… He… four of us…” Vivace tried to let out words but was too tired.

“That’s enough, Vivace. Let’s go.” All of them stood up once the guards dissipated one by one into the dark.

After a few minutes of sneaking, they eventually rushed back to the wooden ‘garage.’ It was unguarded, fortunately for them.

Fein called out, with Gris coming out as a response.

“We got wounded! Quick, deliver them to the med-bay.”

“Shit… What happened, Fein? Sora…” Gris was startled at their battered look.

“Long story.” Gen passed by him and carried Sora inside, which was immediately responded by the gasps of the two girls inside.

He leaned a bit and saw two more silhouettes.

“Who are these people?” He saw the ragged Peram and Vivace, which both hid in response.

“We got in a bit of misunderstanding, but we should help them too. They have information.” Fein grabbed Gris by the shoulder, who also helped Mido.

“Have Wiz treat you all.”

“Sir Gris, is it all right for her to take this much load?” Mido concernedly asked.

“Wiz has seen more wounds than this. I’m sure she’ll be okay. Now quick, before it gets worse.”

One by one, they quickly got inside the Beaver, but Gris held the two back.

“You two. I don’t know why captain dragged you along, but don’t cause a fuss inside.”

“We won’t, sir.”

“Good. Get in.”

----------------------------------------

“Wiz… Thanks…”

“Shhh. You know it, Sora. I always do this.”

Wizbette touched both of Sora’s legs with her ability. The strings that floated from her fingers anchored themselves to his pierced thighs. As it drafted into the wounds, it seemed to take in the tones from the space around them and stitch it together. Once she was done, all that’s left were the dried-up blood and cloth.

“There. Change those clothes immediately. I don’t want myself to do that for you.”

Sora nodded and placed his head back to the pillow. Wiz closed the door soon after, and began focusing on Fein, who was with everyone at the table.

“Captain…” She used her ability to do the same effect to Fein’s scars on his face. It seemed to even remove the scars altogether, restoring Fein’s undamaged face after bathing it in a turquoise glow.

She did the same to Peram and Vivace, who introduced themselves beforehand to D-7. She reached out to Peram’s burns.

“Beautiful…” Both stared in awe at the strings that enveloped. After a while, Peram’s burns were no more. He clenched his fists and reached out to see if there were any more wounds. It was completely healed in a matter of seconds.

When they said it, Wiz was flattered a bit. “Really? Thanks…”

However, when her healing on Peram was finished, Wiz immediately turned to Mido, who was panting at his seat. Kneeling to him, she consoled.

“Mido! Are you hurt anywhere? Show me…”

“I’m fine, Wiz. I’m just tired… Don’t waste your energy on me.” He said, before slumping his head to the chair. He’s exhausted, but Wizbette understood. He caressed his hair before making his seat comfortable.

“Gen. Are you hurt?” She turned to Gen, who’s also seated. He was in a much better shape now, but still noticeably exhausted.

“I’m good, Wiz. It’s like what Mido said, don’t waste your energy.”

Wizbette smiled but healed both of them anyway.

“No. You’re doing your best out there. Why couldn’t I?” He reached out to both of them, and restored their vigor.

Gen sighed. “You’re really hard to stop, princess. Now, take a seat.”

At the other side of the table, Gris, Enna and Fein faced the two.

“So. Peram and Vivace. Vassals. Tell me one thing…” Enna initiated.

“You’re also investigating Pierre on your own, right?”

“You’re right. In fact, those people killed… were our friends.” Peram lowered his head. “They were Vassals too. And he managed to pull it off, that bastard.”

“Hmm…” She took down notes and mumbled to herself.

“Do you know an affiliate of his? Talking on the phone?”

“Peram! So that was true…” Vivace looked at him, to which he nodded.

“Yes. We had a feeling that somehow, Pierre had someone backing him up. He alone cannot do such things, even if he’s in the favor of the local lord.”

“How many were they?”

“Four.”

Enna rummaged at the documents.

“Hmm… We have six missing persons. That means the others were not your friends. Still, I’m certain that these two are also Vassals.” She pondered a bit. “Why are they specifically targeting Vassals, though?”

“We also don’t know. But it only started about a week ago, right when Pierre started to act funny.”

“Please elaborate.”

“He’s been covertly inspecting Vassals out here in the ‘slums,’ in his jurisdiction. Asking them about us, and the possibility of a protection from him. I’m sure you know that there are people who oppress us…”

“So, they agreed.”

“Yes. Well, most of us did. Vivace and I were skeptical of it, so we hid most of the time, trying to keep in touch with the others. But then, in a matter of days, they were killed, one by one.”

“We know that the guards won’t take to us kindly, as they are controlled by Pierre, and posting for any outside help is hard enough as it is. So, we took matters into our own hands.”

“I knew it. Pierre controls the security around here. But why is it almost all people are unfazed by this?”

Vivace reached out to a satchel on her back and put to the table two things: A canister, and silver coins engraved with a shield.

“These are what we found of note at his house.”

The canister was metallic, the size of a soda can. It had a small tube receiver on top of it. There were markings of a logo, but most of it was deliberately scratched out.

“Hmm… Gris, look at this.” Enna tossed the canister at Gris, who thoroughly inspected it.

“This is a canister for an embalming fluid. These were mostly used in rushed ceremonies during the war… How did he come across this?”

“And miss?” Vivace pushed the coins to her.

“Can you feel it in there?”

Enna focused on the coins. After a moment of searching, she finally saw it.

There were traces of a tonal ability mixed on the coins. It was passive, and cannot do harm to them alone.

“Strange… An ability is etched on these coins. Sadly, we don’t have an appraiser here, but…”

“Does Pierre distribute these to the people?”

“Well… it’s been a long time, but he did give money to us when he first got here… Which brings me to…” Peram closed his eyes before coming to a conclusion.

“Now that I remember it, the people in this part of town have been acting strange ever since Pierre came here. It might be, but I can’t say for sure.”

“Are you affected by it?”

“We felt something weird about it, but no. It had not done anything of note when we touched that coin. Still…”

“No. You’re right. In any case, you found it at his own home, and that alone can bring us to the speculation that Pierre has an ability that can control the people’s minds.” Enna fiddled the silver coin into her hands.

“With these coins.”

“Wait. What about the whole ‘raising the dead’ case? Are we forgetting about it?” Gris said, putting back the coin to the table.

“The what?” The two were confused.

“Apart from this, we are also investigating a rogue Vassal around these parts. They can, as a source had said, raise the dead. Details are very vague, however. Do you know about this?” Realizing her question, Enna took it back.

“Uh, yeah. You have no idea.”

“No… If that ability… And our friends were killed… Could they be…” Vivace stammered at the thought of it.

“Hey, kid. Pull yourself together. We have yet to conclude this.” Gris consoled her.

Suddenly, Wiz joined in, as she was finished treating the other’s wounds. “There is a possibility that Pierre was in on this rogue Vassal. I can presume that he procured people to be used by that ability… It’s morbid, putting it that way, but it might be the case.”

Enna looked at her, and noticed Fein was silent all the time.

“Captain… Are you okay?”

“Hmm. I’m fine. I was just thinking…” Fein opened his eyes.

“The canister to suppress the decay. The ability inside the coins to suppress the local populace. The killer specifically targeting Vassals, and the possibility of them being a Void… It’s no doubt. Pierre and that Vassal are working together.”

Everyone slowly started to put it all together on their heads. After a while, they were all on the same page.

“Gris. We’ll keep tabs on that village next. That might be where Pierre is. Better yet, we can’t stay here for longer.”

“Alright.”

“We should let the others, especially Sora, recover as quickly as possible. Prepare for a fight.” Fein looked at Wiz, who nodded as response.

“But you, Peram, and Vivace. We apologize for the misunderstanding.”

“No. We’re sorry, sir Fein. We were too rash and doubted your company’s arrival.” Both of them bowed as apology.

“We were at an impasse, not without cooperating with each other. But now, we seem to understand each other’s motives. So, as what your compromise states, we will grant temporary protection. That means you too, will be out of town for a while.”

“Still… Would you cooperate?” Fein stood up as both of them looked on him.

“We will. If this is for our friends… We will gladly help!” Peram and Vivace stood their ground.

“It’s settled then. D-7! We’ll be having more people for a while, not after this case is solved!”

“Right, captain!” D-7 valiantly hailed.

----------------------------------------

A silhouette of a man stood above a large boulder. In the distance overlooked a line of light blasting beneath the dark skies, seemingly covered by a large wall. He held a device on his left ear, and was talking to someone from it.

“Milady. They took it. Both took the bait.”

“Good. Then, as all words still hold, stick to the plan…”

“But trashing my house like that… I have to expect more compensation from you, you know!”

“Hmmm… I’ll consider. For now, do what you need to do. I’ll be in touch in a short while.”

“Of course, milady. Anything for you.”

“Do not let me down, Pierre. Or our deal will be paid by your own soul.”