Junna would find herself lost in thought as she walked with her new team. They had orders to receive, so they were to arrive on the bridge for them. Junna should have been considering the weight of meeting a new captain like this, but instead she kept staring at the back of Reizari's head. She felt it, something was just off with the man. He was soft, but intense, and his presence gave her a wild chill. She couldn't place it, so she wanted to think more on it. Perhaps she wasn't particularly subtle, as Sheena's hand fell firm onto Junna's shoulder. The Major happily leaned on the smaller girl a bit, as her head fell close.

  "Don't get yourself a crush already. That man only has eyes for one fine lady."

  "...I was not holding any romantic interest, ma'am." Even Junna knew her face flushed a bit there. She hadn't been holding those thoughts, obviously. She didn't have romantic interest in anyone, it was beneath her. She was designed and trained to never allow such things to color her insight. Yet she knew she felt fixated on the man. The girl would force her focus to shift. They were moving down the entry hall, each member of the Heavy Response Team had seemed to lose some of that casualness as they got closer to their destination. The door to the bridge was secure, and the dive plate on it seemed a little more elegant than any Junna used on other ships or at the Holy Site. It took five seconds to unlock once the Paladin placed his hand upon it. That was an extremely thorough scan. Normally one wouldn't even notice the response time.

  Calling the bridge impressive was a bit of an oversimplification. Junna had never walked aboard a Sìthiche-class vessel. She was aware it was designated as a submersible battleship, and that there was maybe a half dozen of them in the Cir Achipelago. What she didn't understand is that the Empire took the title of battleship very seriously. Two Wardens guarded the entrance to the bridge, an she counted the rest of a squad standing guard at key points around the vessel. They were at ready for orders, and each one of them was a Master-grade Warden. The bridge's was composed of two levels of the ship itself in a rounded pattern. Moving up from the doorway was the captain's deck, where presumably their Captain, her Executive Officer, and her Consult would remain. It very quickly dawned on Junna that when Reizari said Captain, he was being literal. Junna had been on plenty of ships, and the one in command was always referred to as the Captain, but they were usually just Paladins with a boat...

  This was not the case here. The Alfin Team would head up to the deck, as Reizari led them in a salute for the three people there. To the left of the captain's chair stood a large, hulking man. One who clearly had served as a Warrior for many years of his life, as his black hair was losing more and more that deep color. His noble's attire worked with his impressive service rack, one thing of note to Junna being that the man had clearly also been a Specialist, given his various honors. He was now a Noble, commanding those aboard a proper battleship. It was hard to imagine how skilled he had to be to escape whatever specialized role they'd given him. His aura was one of intensity, but it was clear that he was the Consult. His task here was to answer questions for his Captain and facilitate her orders, using his great experience to provide insights in fields that the higher ranked officer may not possess. This man faced towards the team, clearly expecting them. He returned Reizari's salute.

  Toi the right was another man of some years, likely in his late 40s or early 50s. He was also a Noble, and his posture screamed the rigid training of the Wardens in him. His voice was quiet, as the team approached, going quiet once other ears were close enough to hear. The man inclined his head to the captain's chair, turning to face the group. His face was thin and serious, thickly rimmed glasses set on him, as he looked to the Alfin Team carefully. His hair was leaving him at the sides, with the hat he wore as Executive Officer concealing almost all that remained. It was this man who spoke, placing his hand next to him towards a pedastal holding a dive plate, as Junna could feel the electricity in the ship shift a bit. as the largest of the various screens shifted behind the XO.

  "This is a map of the Island of Treasures. It was originally established as a highly valuable mining site by the Empire. While it does still provide some resources, the gold and silver that was laceed through it depleted as the veins grew smaller and more sparse." The man's hand never left the plate, as he continued to speak, pointing a thin rod at the screen.. A talented Diver, as well. "Cir Intelligence has indentified this as the location of the Wizard Shamshar. We are the closest vessel with appropriate anti-magic equipment. As such, the Iùbhaidh will be detouring from our route to eliminate this threat. Capture is not recomended, or desired."

  There was a sudden severity about the team now, which Junna didn't fully grasp. A wizard was dangerous, but she could probably handle it without the assistance. The biggest issue was on the large feats of magic they'd be facing. Far too easy to warp this team if their machines did not shield them properly. The girl wouldn't speak up, it was not her place, really. It was instead a more unexpected voice to follow up. Yumeri looked to the XO with an askance of permision, before being granted it with a nod.

  "Sir. The Takahane model has been tested in a wide variety of situations, but it has not been cleared to handle a Wizard-class magic-user. The numbers it has show that it is more reasonably an even match for the Sorcerer-class. I feel like we've been given this mission specifically due to the addition of Alfin-6, but my own Takahane is still damaged and we are still missing four other members of the Alfin Team. Is my assessment incorrect?"

  The noble was about to reply, before a soft voice cut him off, as every soldier in the room stiffened slightly. A young woman... barely out of girlhood spoke from the Captain's chair. Her voice was almost songlike as she continued to face away from the group, her hand firmly on the dive plate on sitting on the right armwrest of the large chair. "Your battle readiness. It is still currently a variable. Alfin-6, your Divine Arm is called an Angel-type?"

  "Yes. Ma'am." Junna paused a bit between her words. She hadn't been expecting someone so soft spoken. All the ship leaders she'd seen before were crusty and difficult. She didnt know anything about Captain Himeri Ouka, but some research suddenly became inviting. Just what kind of ship was she on?

  "What would you say the battle capabilities of an Angel-type weapon are?"

  "All-purpose. Any one of our Divine Arms can feasibly fill any needed role. Each is customized towards their pilot's personal capabilities and preferences."

  "And what do those preferences of yours make this Angel-type?"

  Junna blushed a bit as she realized that she'd essentially made the captain repeat the same question. "Close range. The Empty Angel is fitted with increased armor, and special hydaulics to increase the physical power. Because of that, it is bulkier and a bit slower than other Angels, but it is has the highest physical strength. The particle weaponry has high output, but they are only flexable as the Empty Angel's forearms. Still, when compared to these Mortal Frames that you are using, I'd imagine that even my squadmates will be unable to come close to my machine's specifications. It'll be stronger, tougher, and faster than a mortal frame, if only because my response time will also be greater than a Mortal Frame pilot."

  Junna stopped, quite aware that what she said could be considered rude. It was the truth. Pretending that these Takahanes could keep up was foolishness. Nakamiri seemed a little put off in particular. There wasn't too much time to possess it before the Captain spoke again. Her voice gaining an ounce of authority as she looked over to her right. Her face finally in view... a soft looking face, with long, wavy black hair. Her skin was pale, and she lacked much muscle definition that Junna could make out. The purple eyes she had were piercing. They looked somewhat inhuman... but not in the way an Enchanted would have. They were more heavenly. "Noble Masara. The Alfin Team will continue with the assignment."

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  Treasure was a pretty barren place these days. It had become a meager ghost of the place it had once been. It had once been an important mining and distribution platform for the entire Archipelago, providing a wide array of important goods that would be traded to the mainland. However, after the Empire took hold of the land it had been mined much more efficiently and drained of most of the resources that had given it purpose. There was still a village there, still a mining operation. Only they searched deeper and deeper to find less and less. Nobody aboard the Iùbhaidh had any memory of this place as anything more than artifact of older days.

  For Junna, these details felt pretty irrelevant. Sheena was clearly a bit curious, as she found Junna preparing for launch, they'd had enough time for her to race back to her room and change into her Project uniform. The tight bodysuit monitored most of her day to day vitals and allowed her and the rest of the Project to see where her errors and gaps lay. However, it would only be on shortly as Junna reached the catwalk leading to the Empty Angel. Starting to remove the uniform, Junna would feel a firm hand on her shoulder. The older woman's voice was careful, curious... a bit stern.

  "Why are you doing that?"

  It would take Junna several moments to consider the question, before she would look back to her commanding officer. "I am a High Diver, sir. My body posesses channels across my entire body which allows me to widen my Neural Gate with the Empty Angel. My cockpit contains a solution called Fluere that facilitates this. Any physical barrier will impede my efficiency."

  "I thought that's why it was so revealing in the first place."

  "My uniform's design was made for modesty and efficiency. Should I need to utilize technology aside from the Empty Angel, it provides ample opportunity." Junna paused a moment, as she stared at the strange eyes looking her over. Sheena appeared to have lost that flamboyant charm of hers. "Am I being ordered to stop? I will be less efficient."

  Another moment stood between them, before Sheena smirked, shaking her head. "We'll set something up on the catwalk for you then. Maybe a little tent or something, so you can get a touch of privacy. Until then, I'll make certain the assholes out here give you a minute to get yourself situated." Her attention would shift to the hanger crew, as they looked in curiously on the scene. "You heard me, jackasses! If I find one of you peeping on my cute new subordinate, I'll be sending you through the floor!"

  Junna watched for but a moment, but she didn't really get the need for the fuss, disrobing, as she neatly set her uniform against the flooring and rail of the catwalk, before opening the circular hatch of the Empty Angel. It was a narrow pathway she had to bend to walk into. She didn't need to see in the darkness of the space, both from having done this so many times and feeling the connection to her Divine Arm as her hand and back grazed the walls of it. Opening up a little more, she'd set herself to stand in the cockpit. Her feet placed in small securing ports next to one another, as her hands slipped into similar little half circles. The girl would relax her body a bit as she felt the flooring under her start to give way, sliding open. Junna's hand reached forward, as she grazed the walls with her fingers, listening as the the entire machine thrummed with power. Metal bands locked around her wrists and ankles as the various ports around the cockpit opened. The floor was completely gone now, as Junna hung in the air, listening to the machine pumping that weird substance into the cockpit. Junna closed her eyes and mouth, it wasn't needed... but she always wanted to. That liquid-gel Fluere flowed in... it felt warm on the skin, and the moment it touched her, she could feel energy flying from her flesh. It almost burned with the sudden feeling of connection to the Empty Angel. Her entire body was covered as the cockpit chamber filled, eventually submerging her head. Once she felt fully submerged, Junna slowly opened her mouth, breathing in as the substance filled her... and she felt it breathing for her. It wasn't the same as using her lungs, she was just being maintained, like any other component of the Empty Angel. Opening her eyes always hurt for a moment, as she felt the gel slowly fill her body, activating some last chanels she had in order to fully connect with the Divine Arm.

  Junna could see through the Empty Angel now. She could understand it's systems completely. Status on the Core, the weapons, the pilot, the sensors, current location within the Archipelago. She saw Sheena moving into a Takahane with the rest. It felt calming now. Junna occasionally used her sensors to pick up on local chatter around her. Listening to the crew getting ready for this battle, as Junna finally felt comfortable. She was complete when she was like this, not just a less useful husk outside of it. A man's voice rang through the Empty Angel, as the comm link for the ship appeared in Junna's vision. It was Noble Masara, looking at her wtith a level of emptiness only the High Command could instill. His gaze was so flat, only shifting just enough to not seem artificial.

  "Alfin-6, you have not yet had any training with your new Team. The scale of your Divine Arm places you in a different position as well. You will be acting as the vanguard, as the rest of your team falls in behind to secure after." Junna's vision would find the transmitted maps being filtered into the Empty Angel as she continued to listen. "Reports state that a minimum of 12 magic-users are currently hiding within Treasure. These threats are not your primary concern. Allow your Team to do their job and secure them. Your objective is simple. Locate and eliminate the Wizard Shamshar. Your records show you have not directly engaged anything on that scale."

  "That is correct, sir. I have been primarily occupied with non-magical targets. The only magic-user I have directly faced was Sorcerer-class. However, the Empty Angel is designed to be capable of countering any known magical class. If you look into the specifications-"

  "Capability does not yield result, Alfin-6. Simulation does a poor job at reproducing true threat of what you face. The Iùbhaidh will be staying in support distance only. Once you make landfall, you can expect extreme resistance. Your role is to push through that and isolate the Wizard. Do not hesitate."

  The comm would close, as Junna started through her optics for a good while. She was being underestimated again. It was common for normal soldiers to not understand the difference in power between a normal Diver and a High Diver. A man in his position shouldn't be so inexperienced with them, though. The girl would drift her consciousness back a bit as she ran through the possible ways to engage with the threat. The faces of her new squad mates would each appear in her vision as they were getting themselves sorted. Another ten minutes would pass before the machines were being loaded into the launch tubes. The ship would have to surface so that the Empty Angel could rise onto the larger catapult at the top of the vessel, giving Junna a good look at the breaking dawn of their approach. If they were lucky, this mission would take at most a few hours, giving them plenty of time to return to their route and insert Junna into the role she was actually assigned to.

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  The rush of steel flying forward, slamming against the feet of the Empty Angel, the sudden sensation of weightlessness as the Divine Arm was in the sky, and the sudden crash as Junna positioned it to land into the beach of Treasure... it all felt so uplifting. Junna could detect the three Takahanes moving immediately after her, while she pressed forward. If the enemy hadn't noticed already, they would within moments, as each of the Takahanes made a bit more graceful of a landing, as the steel shell they were inhabiting opened, allowing them to slide onto the beach. A scream of fire quickly erupted across the island, as the initial salvo of missiles would rain on the infrastructure these magic-users had built up for themselves. There was a moment of pause for Junna as she tracked the missile trajectory and impact zones, Reizari's discontent would become obvious.

  "That is either multiple Fairy-class, or maybe a Sorcerer-class." His voice growled slightly, as Junna looked at an impact point. The structures were undamaged. A barrier had to have deflected the force of the blast. One powerful enough to deflect ordinance of that scale was going to be troublesome. They hadn't detected any active barriers in their initial probe, so it was created quickly and possibly reactively. "Alfin-6, move in. Alfin 2, head to the northeast vantage point, Alfin-4, hole up someplace you can support Alfin-6. Alfin-9, you are to link up with each of us. I want accurate support intel and observations."

  The pilots would all respond in the affirmative, as Junna pressed on. Nakamiri was with her now, as Junna rushed towards the encampment that had been set up. Her large size also provided her with a pretty impressive speed once she got going. The streets she neared were dead quiet, maybe even too quiet for the hour that they were invading at. With the fact that barriers had been used, any pretext that the enemy was unaware or unprepared was gone. Junna had made some distance from Nakamiri when the first counter was made. A beam of light flew, as the blue-white flash went for Junna's head. It was quick, but the Empty Angel's arm narrowly managed to intercept. The bulky shielding on the forearm absorbing the magic rather cleanly. No significant damage, nor was it particularly rapid-fire. There wasn't the usual follow-up that Junna would have expected from her simulations. What it did give her was the location of her first target.

  That beam could only have been a Light Cannon, a magical enhancement tool which allowed weaker magic-users to amplify their powers into potent beams. The cannon didn't produce any standard output, but it wasn't useful to higher classes of magic-users because of the strain and the limitation of improvement on their own abilities. Judging by the shot that Junna had defended, it would be a weaker talent who'd fired at her. The emplacement was on the roof of a little schoolhouse sitting outside the main town. While it was possible that this could be a distraction, it was also the perfect way of getting what she wanted. The Empty Angel's right arm lifted as Junna carefully plotted the course. She still was awful at this kind of thing, but she could at least hit this. The azure light of her heavy particle cannon flew, tearing into the roof of the schoolhouse. She wasn't aiming for the Light Cannon, but rather above it. Her guess proved mostly right, as the barrier around the firing point ate away at much of the beam, the part skimming the top of the barrier charring the roof and causing it to start collapsing in the section it was hit.

  They couldn't attack and defend at the same time, nor could they protect entire structures so easily. Junna could hear the sounds of more ordinance batting the defenses, as she burst through the village, her left arm scattering rays of light all to her side as she did so. Starting fires and ruining roads, as she created as much devastation as she could imagine. Another beam of light came for her from the schoolhouse, but it was easy to predict. A single shot from the Takahane supporting her would light up the area, as the Empty Angel crashed into the barrier that barely formed in front of her.

  It was strong. And it had happened too quickly. The magic-user attacking her couldn't also be doing the defenses. There's no way a weak talent could switch from the Light Cannon to a defensive field strong enough to stop a Divine Arm. Junna was about to speak as Yumeri did first. "There's a Sorcerer-class interfering with munitions. They must be someplace where they can look on all of you."

  Junna would focus on her task. Clearly this Exorcist asn't completely useless, she didn't need to warn or alert the others to things like that. Nakamiri had been quick to pick up on her thought process, likely destroying the Light Cannon before it could be a real threat. Still, Junna had to doubt if they had the ability to deal with something like this. A magical barrier was pretty complicated. There were a few ways to nullify the effect, but the one Junna preferred was to use the overhwhelming force of the Empty Angel's arms and put pressure on as small as a point as possible. The massive machine would take a step back, as the huge hands clasped together, interlocking. The Core whirled to life, as the energy conduits for it opened a direct channel to pump extraordinary amounts of energy through the arms. This would fill the hands, as the energy would churn about. As Junna focused her energy there, the black hands would begin to glow a bright and pulsating blue. It would be pretty dangerous to anyone standing nearby, but what weapon wasn't?

  The Empty Angel stepped forward, hands before it as they slammed into the barrier, the magic melting away as the spell's individual limits for a point were being breached. It wouldn't take long before it completely cracked. Junna allowed the hands to release as they tore through the building, before the entire machine would snap back, yanking out the target. The magic-user she'd grasped was burning away. Any noise or words they may have wanted to say couldn't reach Junna's ears as she held the young man within the still glowing palms of the Divine Arm. She'd lift her left arm up with the remains inside... as they turned into a messy dust.

  It was certainly grotesque, but Junna would simply wait, as she could hear the outrage of the various enemies that were coming out of the woodwork. There was a sudden movement of the earth, as Junna narrowly lept back, closing the left fist to crush the remains of the magic-user she'd snatched. The very ground she stood on had ripped open... as a massive figure of stone and earth emerged. It radiated with magical potence... massive glowing eyes and a gaping maw as it stood almost as tall as the Empty Angel. This was her target, her Wizard. This earthen mass was something only one of immense power and talent could produce, a Golem.

  This was one of the principal reasons why Divine Arms were so important, why Mortal Frames were advancing more and more. To animate the earth in this way was to saturate it with magic. The only people still human in the area were likely the pilots secured safely with the anti-magic shielding of their cockpits. That poison swelled up, created the shell to form up around a core that the Wizard was hiding in. Junna could see the disgust and concern of her new Team. Her own voice sliding out for a moment.

  "Even someone like this should know what summoning that here means."

  The Island of Treasures needed to be purified now. The Empire would purge the place of any stragglers. They would need to deploy mana disruptors all across the island to recover the land. All because this Wizard wanted to be special. He wanted to use this corruptive power to elevate himself above the masses, and allowed it to ruin everyone he touched. Enchantment stole away what made one human, warping it into some obscene-

  Junna wouldn't have the time to reflect on her own feelings seeing the Golem as it lunged at her, the massive earth and stone arms grasping forward as the Empty Angel caught them. Junna could hear Nakamiri's rifle going behind her as she pushed against the strength of the earth crashing down on her. The shots were making some decent impacts, as chunks of earth and stone fell from the main body, while the two massive opponents kept one another in a lock.

  "Alfin-4, focus on the small fry. Let Alfin-6 do her job. Keep them off of her."

  "Sir, that's a-" Nakamiri would catch himself, as the rifle fire shifted, and his Takahane moved to get a better vantage point. Junna couldn't really spare the effort to worry on his actions as she slowly pushed her Empty Angel a bit lower to the ground, before spring forward, as the pair sailed across the ground, crashing into the schoolhouse again. Once the Golem had its back to the wall, she focused on pulling, tearing at the earthen arm as it slowly began to crack. Junna only applied more force as she silently bore into the Wizard... the arm tearing free, as the ground beneath them opened up somewhat. Enough to shift their standing, and lose Junna her leverage.

  The one-armed Golem slide through the earth, as it pulsed out a wave of mana from the center of it all. A little foolish maybe, Junna had to imagine that is where Shamshar was hiding. A booming voice flew over the island with this wave of magical energy.

  "SENIA. I WILL GIVE YOU TEN MINUTES."

  Like hell, he was. It was an older voice, strained sounding as Junna rushed forward, the left hand pushing out as white lights seared all over the torso of the Golem, the damage they did quickly being regenerated as more earth and rock was pumped into the thing through the legs. As Junna came close enough, the missing arm had formed again to block her right hook, a crash resounding around them as she continued her assault. The left fist came, to batter the blocking arms, making large breaks that filled in with more earth each time. Still, the Empty Angel seemed faster than this Golem could manage. She wasn't getting any closer to her goal. though.

  Just as Junna started to consider another avenue, she felt the each shift at her feet again. She'd been expecting something, as the Divine Arm's arms fell back, rising to block the massive weight of the Golem's arms coming down in double handed slam. The soft earth under the Empty Angel gave way, as it began to sink. The arms would lose form, as the earth spread from above and below, the Golem's arms becoming a thick trap as they weighed down on the Divine Arm, and began to cling it to the ground.

  Junna lacked much time to react, though she'd already begun some preperations as she was being quite quickly encased in a coffin. She lost sight of the Golem as the mud and earth covered her completely. It was too heavy, and it had magical force pressing it to her as it constructed, but even a Wizard would have his limits. He couldn't go very far while doing this. Of course, he was trying to stall her more than anything. The earth on top was still pulling as well, trying to force the Empty Angel deeper into the ground.

  Junna's face would scowl deep in her machine, as she brought it down low. Her only methods of movement now were to reduce space, so she curled the Divine Arm and let it bring her low, as the particle beams would eat away at the walls on either side. Reaching for more solid each as she was forced down with her legs, Junna could feel the strain of the weight on her machine, as she clasped her hands together again. That booming voice radiated around her machine now.

  "THIS IS NOT YOUR FAULT. YOU ARE MERELY ANOTHER WEAPON IN THEIR MACHINE, UNABLE TO BE SAVED. I WILL PLACE YOU TO REST IN AS PEACEFUL A STATE THAT I CAN."

  "What an arrogant guy this is." Junna frowned as she spoke to herself, her Core coming afire once more, as her clasped hands flooded with that same energy again.

  "IT IS NOT ARROGANCE TO BE RIGHTEOUS. EVEN WHERE MY STEPS WILL NOT REACH, YOU CANNOT STEAL THE HOPE FROM THIS WORLD. THIS BEAUTIFUL LAND WAS MADE WITH MAGIC, AND ITS PEOPLE SHALL RETURN TO IT. OUR ONLY SHAME IS A CHILD, UNABLE TO WIZEN TO THE WORLD MUST BE SWALLOWED BY IT."

  A little annoyed that she'd actually been heard, Junna would return to her normal silence, as her hands crackled with power again. They tore through the earth around them, as Junna slowly pushed them through the earch around her arms, using that intense heat and force to meld a path forward. Once some space was made, she'd begin digging her way out, pushing herself not up, but forward, as the Empty Angel would slowly break through to some light. It was still down to the torso in the trap, but as the hands seperated, their remaining power allowed her to created forceful grips to yank the massive machine free, the lower half muddied as she could once again see the Golem, quickly shifting to regenerating itself.

  The Empty Angel was still faster, bringing itself to rise, as Junna panted from the growing heat of her cockpit. She could maybe use that Amenote System once more before the interiors started taking serious damage. Normally to charge her arms like that required a 15-minute interval between use. This had been maybe 5.

  Charging forward, Junna hurled her Divine Arm at the Golem, as it continued to recover. Most of the Wizard's focus had been spent on trapping and pushing the Empty Angel. A shoulder smashed into it, as it was brought down to the ground. Junna wouldn't relent, smashing both arms down and to sides of the Golem, as she would suddenly launch the massive hunk of rock upwards. The strength of Junna's Divine Arm was the highest of her type, and this was one of the benefits.

  "With no more earth to collect, I bet you can't keep rebuilding."

  Her words were heated. She was angry. She managed to keep her calm to find her way out, but to say she almost died wouldn't be wrong. And he taunted her. Junna might have wanted to be the emotionless tool that Aeril had created, but she couldn't. She could get angry. Just like anyone else. The Empty Angel's body lowered again, as a fist bent back, rising with a snap as the girl would push her first straight through the core of the Golem.

  At least. She wanted to. As Junna stared at the arm, she saw the emerald light of a barrier. It was strong, and the right arm of the Empty Angel was not fine. It was like she'd just punched herself with all that force. The joints were in ruin, as the shoulder ball was out of place. The arm was totall unusable. Junna stared at her target, as that booming voice sounded so much more strained now.

  "SENIA... YOU FOOLISH CHILD... WHY ARE YOU HERE?"

  The Golem shifted as it laid on the small barrier as well. The limgs and lower torso falling off of it as a small orb of rock moved from the back of it. Multiple shots would land on it, cracking it as it fired off like a bullet from the Golem. More rifle rounds continuing after it, as pieces of it broke away.

  "Alfin-2, guard Alfin-6." The Paladin's Takahane soared over Junna as it continued burst fire at the escaping wizard. A second Takahane landed next to her, on her damaged right side. Junna quickly realized she was being placed out of the fight, as she saw Nakamiri on his hill and heavy rifle, firing at such a small target. She was being protected, when the mission was running away.

  The girl's eyes widened as she made a complete scan of the area, the barrier collapsing as the remains of the Golem hit the ground before the Empty Angel. Junna would finally see her target... a robed woman, exhausted, clearly. The massive Divine Arm would begin to lurch forward, as Junna noted some objection by Sheena. The left arm rose, as Junna erratically painted the area around her new target with white light. None of it hit, but it did give the woman pause, as she turned to face the massive Divine Arm behind her. Whatever source of power magic-users called on was clearly gone for her, as the pitiable barriers she tried to generate couldn't stop Junna from launching the left arm through them, the hand grabbing the woman and lifting her off the ground.

  Something probably broke as Junna stared at her. Viridian hair, and bright orange eyes, still half aglow from her focused use of magic. Hard to make out to many details. It wouldn't matter. This was the one who had stolen Junna's mission from her. Looking at the legs now, the Empty Angel hadn't handled the weight as well as she'd wanted. They couldn't properly run, even the little walk she did to catch up to the fleeing magic-user was more than she should be doing. The only part of her mission left was to eliminate this magic-user.

  Junna closed her eyes, letting the hand close.... before she felt a sudden sharpness in her comms.

  "Do. Not." She'd find the Captain of the Iùbhaidh staring at her. She wasn't angry, her order was just very calm, and very clear. Not the frantic concerns that Sheena had been eschewing. "Contain that magic-user. We are capturing her."

  Junna felt a bit of tension run through her entire body, staring at Himeri. She'd look back at this creature who'd managed to shame her so thoroughly in a single instant, before some of the tightness of the hand slackened. "Yes, ma'am."