The sun was yet to shine on his face, but Peram saw Pierre’s expression: confused and lost. Behind him were about half a dozen armed guards, standing like robots.

“Reiss was destroyed in just days…” said Peram, gripping his knife while the warm, orange glow of his ring started to pulsate. “…All because of you and your lady’s antics. But here you are, cowardly hiding inside a run-down building of your own doing.”

Pierre did not answer. The tone of the room was dark, so Vivace shone a flashlight on his face. Telltale signs of malnutrition were what she saw. The beige dapper clothing that once fit him became hanged on Pierre’s body, his red collar was ruffled until to his upper chest. His cheeks were sunken, almost to the bone, and darkened veins crawled throughout the entirety of his face.

“What… happened to you…?” Vivace shuddered as Pierre’s soulless gaze met her eyes. She warily let her ability stand by while she focused on any sudden movements.

“He looks just like those bodies we found on that forest establishment… Did the lady do this to him?” said Peram.

“Most likely, she might’ve controlled her in some way—”

“Coin of Greed!” Pierre shouted hollowly, “Help me escape!”

“Prick.” Peram cursed as grenades rolled towards them. A hissing sound emanated as smoke covered their vision.

The Ring!

Peram punched through the smoke, the ring clearing it and sending half of the guards flying through the wooden walls, knocking them unconscious. They were weak. The ones that were left cocked their guns, but Vivace had already pierced their vests with ice shivs, sending them hurtling to the floor and catching the rest of their bodies in slow frostbite.

The smoke settled, and the ones that were left standing were the two.

Peram heard a door open from the inside.

“Vivace! Secure the perimeter!”

“Got it!” Vivace agreed, dropping the room’s overall temperature before following Peram, who ran through throngs of ruined bookshelves, skillfully dodging each obstacle. They passed desks, presumably an office room, and around a winding corridor lies a hallway lined with doors to the left and a window overlooking an interior garden to the right. The two vassals faced the front, however, and saw the back doors being swung forcefully by a shriveling man in beige clothing.

“He’s fast!” They chased him, running through the hallway as quick as they can, eventually reaching the exit and greeted by first light.

Pierre’s raspy, ghoulish pants and the echoes of his footsteps were emphasized as the sound reverbed on the marble pavement. He nearly slipped descending the stairs, with Peram and Vivace in pursuit behind his back.

“I can’t reach him at this distance! He’s really fast!” Peram swung his left hand against Pierre, a piston-like contraction from the ring made pressurized air push against Pierre’s back, hoping to knock him, but what came was just a light brush.

“How does he run that fast!? I can’t use my ability while I’m running!” Vivace tried, but her ice shivs were turned into vapor the moment a certain distance was traveled. Vivace using her ability while in motion served to only exhaust her more.

They chased Pierre through a few more blocks of buildings before he showed signs of exhaustion. However, he had his last ounces of strength to rely on…

“Coin of Greed! Whoever is left in this vicinity, eliminate these people!”

He whisked his left arm around him, sending a cacophonic wave of sonic energy into the vicinity. He then ran like nothing happened, mindlessly following the road.

“Peram?” Vivace looked worriedly at Peram.

“I know. But we can’t let him escape.” He assured, continuing the pursuit. Eventually, they saw a blockade in the distance, likely still manned by people who Pierre controls.

This was proven true, as bursts of gunfire inhibited their forward movement, and the two were forced to hide into cover inside a half-destroyed building. A long piece of rubble made a ramp to the second floor of the building, giving them a slight vantage point to observe and assess the situation.

Vivace scanned the area with her eyes and saw Pierre already taken into account by heavily-armed guards.

“Oh no… We might’ve lost him…”

“No, wait.” Peram waved his hand against Vivace. “Do you hear that?”

The girl honed her ears in. It was the slight cut of wind, howling. She listened intently. The howls turned from the wind into pain. Human pain, but not a single bullet was fired. She jolted and looked on the blockade. It all fell silent.

“They’re chopped to pieces… What the hell…” She turned her back but saw Peram on the road, already running towards the blockade.

“Oi! Tsk… It’s dangerous…” She groaned, accidentally hitting her head on the window. Realizing she had no choice, Vivace leaped through it and joined the pursuit.

They neared the blockade. The carnage was swift: Guards were mutilated by the cleanest of cuts as blood slowly poured out of what’s left of their orifices. Almost all of them were lifeless, some writhing in pain, guts slowly oozing from their large, expanding wounds.

“Horrible…” Vivace held her mouth, resisting the urge to retch because of the disgusting scene. Fortunately, Peram held her and pulled her out of the area, as her legs were weakened by what she saw.

“Pierre’s not here. From the looks of it, it’s another Vassal, likely pursuing him too.”

The blockade opened up to a T-junction, and to the right was Pierre, still running, now drenched in visible traces of blood.

Without a word, the two started to give chase but were stopped mere seconds by a loud gunshot, something a high-caliber weapon would do, and the instantaneous image of Pierre dropping to the ground.

Seconds later, a tall man, dressed in a white cloak that covered most of his neck, dropped from the rooftops, followed by two other figures: a petite girl with a bonnet, carrying a rifle on her back, and another man in an all-too-familiar black and red suit…

“Sora… It’s Sora!” Vivace exclaimed before Peram held her back.

“Shit, wait a moment!”

His warning was too late. The tall man already took notice, and quickly drew his sword against both of them. The girl with the bonnet cocked her rifle, an aqua glint made by her ability glowed on its barrel.

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“That’s not him.” Peram readied his ring, but Vivace was reluctant. Not wasting her breath, she yelled.

“Sora! It’s us! Vivace and Peram!”

“Wait, Shear—”

Windshear, Vertical Cut.

With a slash, a blade of wind came hurtling towards their position. Peram retaliated with his ability in time, negating both of their wind-based abilities upon contact.

The man in black clothing quickly grabbed the girl’s hand, as she was about to fire. “Leva, stop! They’re friends.”

“Oh?” Leva took two rounds of glancing back and forth before coming to her senses.

“If you say so~ Oi, Shear!”

“Hm?” Shear grunted; blade still locked against the two people.

“Not hostile…” She whispered.

With a knock, Shear sheathed his blade on its scabbard in one fluid motion.

To ease the tension, Sora took it upon himself to approach the two, while Leva and Shear attended to Pierre.

“Guys. I’m sorry for the rude greeting. We were just about to do recon when we saw Pierre running through a blockade. I bet you’re the one who snuffed him out.”

“You did… the blockade…” Vivace stared at Sora.

“I apologize. Both of them are somewhat trigger-happy individuals. I hope you understand.”

“Sora. I guess your operation went “smoothly,” considering you’re still in one piece. But can I ask a question? Why are you with these people?” Peram asked, head leaning to see Sora’s two companions. “Now that I see it, they were the ones that attacked our haven…”

“Those… mercenaries are no longer employed below Aurelia. We kind of agreed to a ceasefire in the spur of a moment. That time when Mido was captured by them was also the time they gave him back…”

“Ehh…” Vivace looked confused, as expected.

“Aurelia?” Peram asked, also confused.

“That’s the name of the lady we talked about. It’s a long story, but I can assure you, these two are with us—”

“Oiii Big Bro~” Leva hopped towards the three, ruffling Sora’s hair as she passed by.

“Leva! Don’t…” Sora grunted while fixing his hair.

“Hey! I’m sorry for everything that has happened so far, but that’s all in the past, wasn’t it?” She cackled, jokingly waving her hand against the confused Peram and Vivace.

“Ehem! Anyway, I’m Leva, from Frostfall. Pleased to meet you, fellow Vassals!” Extending her gloved hand to Vivace, she smiled genuinely.

“Vivace…” Peram whispered a lick of wariness was noticeable in his lips.

“Mhmm… I-I… trust Sora.” Blinking slowly, Vivace accepted Leva’s hand. They gently shook, and their acquaintance was sealed.

“You’re awfully friendly, aren’t you, Leva?” Sora raised an eyebrow.

“Now, that wasn’t so hard, was it?” said Leva, “Tell me, how old are ya~”

“Uhmm… six…teen?” Vivace gulped.

“Oh, but we’re on the same height!” Leva groaned, punching a whiff on Sora’s shoulder.

“Come on, you’re just two years ahead of her.”

“Pssh…” Leva pouted while she fixed her bonnet. Fixing her attitude, she eventually came to the matter at hand. “Well then! Let’s get this over with,” she exclaimed, “Pierre cannot withstand the shot I put on his Achilles for long…”

They neared Shear, who’s kneeling against Pierre, treating him on the spot with first aid. The poor man was writhing in pain on the pavement, face planted against the floor, his body was oriented uncomfortably.

“Fuck… I can’t… move!” He sobbed; his breathing was rigorous.

“Wait… Leva, was it?” Peram asked.

“Hai~”

“Is that… what I think it is?” He pointed to drops of blood leading to a trail to the left, a few meters from Pierre’s position.

“Oh? Hehe, I know, right?”

For a girl with quite a spunky attitude, Leva was sure proud of accurately hitting a man’s leg, to the point that the bullet utterly broke Pierre’s left tibia in half. And casually at that.

“Shit…” Vivace’s head became dizzy, seeing Pierre’s left leg, now patched by crude bandaging, but freshly dismembered.

“Huh? You just casually punctured both of my thighs days ago, but you’re actually squeamish?” Sora mused.

“It’s… It’s not! It’s just different when I see how others are doing it…”

“Vivace. You should rest on the benches. I’ll call you when we’re done.” Peram suggested, which she followed with a nod. After she was out of the scene and sat comfortably on the intact wooden bench with both hands on her sides, Peram turned to Sora.

“Vivace’s mind is numb to the feeling of remorse when she hurts someone using her ability. With that being said, she reacts differently to damages she did not cause. She’s still just a young girl, after all.”

“I understand. Almost all of us are exposed to gruesome things like these at a young age. It’s no different to everyone else in this world.”

Peram sighed. “I know. We’re still here though, surviving.”

“Alright! Does this wimp have a bounty?” Leva jumped, “Because we’ll take it!”

Peram and Sora looked back and saw Pierre being propped to the side of the road, back resting on a brick wall.

“You… traitors! All of you… even the lady…” He cried, leaning and gazing on his amputated leg.

“SHIT!!” He abruptly slammed the back of his head on the wall. The force nearly chipped off a part of the concrete, but it came back to him with his head now bleeding. Pierre was crazed, mentally unattended, thrashing his arms about while crying.

“I was to go to a better place… If I carried out my plan… I was supposed to go silently after this last job… But why!? Why did she leave me here, with you traitors!!”

“Fucking…”

Shear rushed his blade against Pierre’s throat, the slight ripples of wind on its tip barely cut his neck.

“Eek!”

“Would you just shut up for once? I know you, Pierre. By name. You’re hopping from city to city, right? Influencing unknowing nobles for your amusement… Assuming you were not caught until now, did you even spare their lives?”

Pierre stared blankly at Shear, eyes wet with tears, lungs breathing heavily, mouth shuddering.

“Answer me,” Pierre emphasized callously. His cold demeanor seemed to cut through Pierre, as he answered with a slow nod.

“I used… my coins… to make the department turn against the nobles… And with that… Reiss…” He answered, sobbing.

“Ugh. Using your ability to control the police, and cause anarchy… Now, when Aurelia talked to us about her ‘plan,’ I did not expect you to literally turn Reiss into a battlefield. You’re just something else than a merc; this is why I loathe mind-control Vassals like you…” Leva let out a disgusted look against Pierre.

“In any case, Vassal United still has a lot to question, with regards to your past… conspiracies.” Sora wrote on a small pad; his left arm comfortably gripped it as he wrote.

“Heh~ Cute.” Leva giggled silently, seeing Sora writing on a small pad of paper.

“No… I’m found now… Please, do me a favor and just--!”

“End you?” Shear asked. Pierre gulped; his loose clothing shook along with his body. His eyes erratically dilated as he struggled to let a word out from his throat.

Seeing his sorry state, Shear withdrew his sword. “Figured as much. You’re bluffing; you’re not even ready to face your death yet.”

“tch… Nghh…” Pierre huddled into his knees, sobbing.

“What a sorry man. Aurelia sucked the hell out of his life.” Leva scoffed, “Urgh… now … I don’t like it when I think about working for her, after all this.”

“Bad rep for Frostfall?” Shear leaned. “Perhaps cutting ties with Aurelia was the good decision.”

“Figured as much.”

Finishing the last of his jotting, Sora waved for everyone.

“Shear, can I ask you to carry Pierre back to our vehicle? It’s a long haul from here, however…”

“It’s fine.” Said Shear, who immediately started to carry the broken Pierre from the ground. “We have our vehicle parked close to yours, anyway. And besides, we have another man that can carry this vegetable.” He looked at Peram, who innocuously looked back with a ‘Me?’ face.

“Right! I’ll call the little girl, then~” Leva hopped to the bench Vivace sat on. Sora followed soon after.

“Vivace? We’re done.” She told her, who slowly looked up, her beige hair bobbing with the movement of her head.

“Leva… Sora… Uhm! Are we going where the others are?”

“Yep.” Sora nodded, “It would be rude for us not to send off a proper farewell.”

“Hm? Would it be better if we take them with us back to Henwales? This city’s a dump, now.” Suggested Leva.

“We’ll talk about it with the captain. But don’t fret: Relief groups and volunteering Vassals are slowly helping Reiss as we speak. You might see aerial vehicles in a while: that’s them.”

“No matter how destroyed it is, Reiss is still our home. The people know that.” Peram snuck behind the two, startling them in the process.

“We will rebuild, piece by piece until we and our friends can walk through the streets of Reiss peacefully again. Truly I appreciate Vassal United’s efforts, Sora. You have our thanks.”

“It’s my pleasure, Peram. I know you people can pull through. Now, the captain’s waiting for us. Let’s go!”

“Onward!” Leva cheerfully hopped, as Shear assumed front, carrying the exhausted and dreadfully betrayed Pierre.

Truly, Leva’s attitude against the atmosphere is almost, always misplaced.

“Let’s go, Vivace.” Peram lent a hand as the others walked ahead.

“Mhmm!”

‘Pierre’s now caught. Finally, another investigation to tick off D-7’s list. Well, some might say that our actions ushered in a riot that tore Reiss in a matter of days, but when all is said and done, the destruction and repair of a city is no different than that of the tensions, battles, and crises that fluctuate all around the world.’

Sora heaved a weighty breath as he felt the slight caress of breeze, and after that, the sound of rotors coming from the sky at the distance.

Yeah, it’s just another day in Alto.