Three of the assailants leaped from the adjacent rooftop, landing on ours in a crouch, their swords glinting in the dim light. Behind them, the man in the top hat and a remaining soldier watched from their elevated vantage, a smug look painted across his face.

“Get ready,” Otome muttered, her eyes narrowing as her mechanical gauntlet whirred to life, joints pulsing faintly with an amber glow. She flexed her fingers, and arcs of energy danced along her exoskeleton’s pulleys, crackling like miniature lightning storms.

One of the swordsmen charged, his blade slicing through the air with deadly precision. I conjured a shimmering data shield just in time, the translucent barrier flickering as it absorbed the strike. The impact sent a small ripple across the shield’s surface, but it held strong.

With my free hand, I raised the pistol Otome had given me, aiming carefully. I fired a single shot, and the bullet sped past my shield, hitting the swordsman squarely in the shoulder. He staggered back, his grip faltering on the sword as blood began to seep through his uniform.

Another assailant rushed in from my left, blade aimed straight for my side. I rotated my data shield to intercept his thrust, feeling the force resonate through my arm as his sword collided with the barrier. Taking advantage of his hesitation, I fired two more shots, both finding their mark in his chest. He crumpled, his sword clattering to the ground.

Meanwhile, Otome moved like a storm. Her gauntlets powered each swing with incredible force, and she landed a brutal uppercut to the third swordsman’s jaw, lifting him off his feet and sending him sprawling backward. Without missing a beat, she shifted her weight, rotating to deliver a powerful kick to his midsection. The exoskeleton enhanced her movement, and the blow cracked audibly, knocking him off balance.

The man in the top hat raised a hand, and his companion aimed a crossbow from their perch. I caught a glint of metal as he loaded a bolt. “Otome, we’ve got ranged on us!” I called out.

Otome didn’t need to look; she nodded and pressed a switch on her gauntlet, adjusting her stance. “On it.” With one arm shielding herself, she swung her other arm around and activated the gauntlet’s embedded break action shotgun, sending a slug hurtling toward the crossbowman. He stumbled as the shot hit and tore though his side, his aim faltering, and the bolt went wide, embedding itself harmlessly in the roof.

Top Hat’s smirk faltered as he assessed the situation. He pulled out a small pane of glass, tapped it, and spoke into it, “Elizabeth, I found the HVT. Engaging on the art store’s roof.”

With a swift curse, he leaped down to join the fray, his gaze locking onto Otome. His movements were fluid, almost unnervingly precise, as he drew a slender shortsword that glinted ominously in the dim light. "Enough of this," he sneered, lunging at Otome with a barrage of rapid strikes. Sparks flew as her gauntlets absorbed the impact, but he was relentless; his blade danced with precision, each strike flowing seamlessly into the next. Otome was forced to retreat, her exoskeleton groaning under the stress of deflecting his blade, the gears and pulleys straining as she pushed to keep up.

I moved to her side, pistol raised, lining up a shot on Top Hat—but before I could pull the trigger, a shadow shot onto the roof. Elizabeth was there, her movements a blur as she hurled a dagger directly at me. I conjured my data shield, the blade clinking off its shimmering surface. But Elizabeth was fast, pressing her advantage with a quick series of strikes, each blade aimed with pinpoint accuracy to probe for weaknesses in my shield.

Dodging, I barely had a chance to breathe as she closed the distance, her daggers flashing. I parried desperately, my pistol all but useless at this close range. Her attacks came faster and faster, her agility forcing me back as I tried to keep up. The rooftop became a blur of flashing steel and tense footwork, and I felt my shield flickering with each hit, my focus straining to keep it intact.

Meanwhile, Otome’s fight with Top Hat—Cedrick—raged with equal intensity. Each clash of metal reverberated through the rooftop as Cedrick drove her back, his skillful swordsmanship outpacing her clunky exoskeleton’s low agility. With a well-timed pivot, he sliced low, catching her in the leg, and she staggered. Her face tightened, and she swung a countering punch with her gauntlet, but he sidestepped and parried, moving into a swift, downward slash, he shattered the wiring on her left gauntlet, and the exoskeleton sputtered, losing power on one side.

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With a wicked grin, Cedrick twisted his blade, disarming her entirely and sending her sprawling onto her back. Standing over her, he raised his blade, his expression cold. “You put up a decent fight, but this is the end.”

As he prepared to slash her throat, a gust of wind blasted across the rooftop, and in an instant, Nanik was there, his presence electric. In a fluid motion, he raised one hand, stopping Cedrick’s blade mid-swing. Cedrick’s eyes widened, his confident facade cracking as Nanik’s power shook him.

Cedrick stumbled back, his confidence shaken as Nanik conjured a blade of fire that pulsed with intense heat, illuminating the rooftop in a fierce orange glow. Cedrick tightened his grip on his shortsword, channeling mana through it, causing the blade to shimmer with a frosty, crystalline edge.

With a swift, determined breath, Cedrick lunged at Nanik, his blade trailing shards of ice as he swung in a deadly arc. Nanik sidestepped effortlessly, his movements fluid and precise. He countered with a sweeping slash of his fiery sword, meeting Cedrick’s ice-coated blade in a burst of steam and sparks. The clash of elements was fierce, but Nanik’s calm intensity remained unshaken.

Cedrick struck again, his blade flashing with icy spikes aimed for Nanik’s chest, but Nanik merely leaned back, dodging the attacks with uncanny precision. Nanik’s flaming sword carved through the air in response, each strike radiating intense heat that Cedrick struggled to counter. The frost covering Cedrick's sword began to melt under the relentless pressure of Nanik’s flames, the ice dissipating with each hit.

“Is that all you’ve got?” Nanik taunted.

Cedrick growled, desperation flashing in his eyes as he summoned every ounce of mana he had. His sword glowed with a deep, almost indigo blue as he aimed a final, desperate blow at Nanik’s neck. But before the blade could make contact, Nanik shifted, his fiery sword slashing upwards in a sweeping arc that melted through Cedrick’s ice blade, shattering it in a rain of icy fragments.

Cedrick staggered, clutching the remaining hilt of his broken weapon, his breath coming in shallow gasps as he backed away. Nanik advanced, his fiery sword flickering menacingly. In a final, merciless move, he extinguished his weapon, closing the distance with blinding speed and delivering a powerful blow to Cedrick’s chest that, with a loud crack, sent him sprawling to the ground.

Elizabeth’s stoic demeanor cracked as she took in Cedrick’s defeat on the rooftop. For the first time since the fight began, a flash of shock and fear crossed her face. Without sparing me another glance, she turned and dashed toward Cedrick, her movements swift and purposeful. She slid to his side, quickly assessing his injuries before hauling him up with surprising strength.

Before any of us could react, Elizabeth hoisted Cedrick over her shoulder and bolted toward the edge of the roof. She barely hesitated as she launched herself off the side, landing in a controlled manner and immediately shifting into a sprint, her form disappearing into the shadows below.

Seeing Elizabeth vanish into the shadows with Cedrick, I turned and sprinted over to Otome. She lay on the rooftop, struggling to sit up. Dropping to my knees beside her, I could see the pain etched on her face, though her eyes were still sharp.

"Cough... Not the best I’ve looked," she managed with a wry smile. "He had the advantage on me."

With a wince, she undid the straps on her exoskeleton, letting the heavy contraption fall away from her shoulders. She tried to rise but sucked in a sharp breath as her leg buckled, clearly worse off than she wanted to admit. “Looks like I’m not going anywhere in my state,” she said, grimacing. “You all should just leave. This wasn’t your fight to begin with.”

Ignoring her dismissal, I watched as she cut a strip from her sleeve, grimly wrapping it around the bleeding gash on her leg.

“I’m not going to let you do that. You’re going to make it out with us. I’d regret this forever if I didn’t try to take you with me.” I said with conviction.

Suddenly the terminal opened up with a new notification.

[New Skill: Memory Reenactment now available.]

[Cost: 20 SP]

[Current SP: 24]

‘Memory Reenactment?! That sounds like it would be important in getting my own memories back. I’ll hold off on that till we’re in a safe space because I’ll probably black out like I did when I bought the [Corporeal Data Creation] skill.’

Otome winced as I lifted her onto her good leg, my arm wrapping around her waist to steady her. Her face was pale, but she managed a shaky grin, though the pain was clearly wearing at her.

Supporting Otome, I turned to Nanik, who stood at the ready, his eyes scanning the perimeter. “We need to get off this roof. Nanik, do you know where Farthington went?”

“I haven’t seen him…”