Nono, Castle Tepes
Nono listened intently as the Queen explained how long she had had this particular castle. Admittedly, she didn't think the timescale quite compared to her own, but that was an unfair judgment to make. This world obviously wasn't as advanced as her own, so they probably didn't have the technology that hers did, which had allowed her to stand the test of time practically unharmed.
"Hello," she said to the maid, before blinking in astonishment at the fact that she was transparent, if only slightly. That and she couldn't really get any good readings on her, which was odd. Did she have a malfunctioning cloaking device? That was one technology that hadn't really been developed in her own universe, but then again one had to wonder what a maid would even use a cloak for in the first place.
A slight frown graced her lips as she leaned forward. "Hey, are you alright," she asked curiously, and slightly worried. Certainly the thought that Shirley might be a genuine ghost had never crossed her mind. Such things were for stories and people trying to scare each other, not reality.
That said, she would still follow inside once the question had been answered, the gynoid eager to see what the castle looked like beyond the exterior.
Misaka 10,032, Academy City
"'Yes,' Misaka replied as she keeps moving in spite of attempts at distraction," Misaka said to Marisa as the Witch asked first about her Sister that had been waiting for them, while at the same time making sure that she wouldn't be distracted into letting her guard down. Allowing her to escape at this point would be very unfortunate, for the both of them, for her, and for Academy City in general, though luckily the city had quite the slush fund to deal with property damage. Living with people who could singlehandedly destroy an army could do that.
The assault rifle was suddenly in her hands, not pointed at anything but there nonetheless, to serve as a deterrent should Marisa still make a run for it after Kakine had explained where they were going and who she was supposed to see. While the Witch might make it away from her, there was no way for her to escape all the Sisters in the city, much less Antiskill or Judgment, or even the other, darker groups. In the end, she had little doubt that the Witch would go along with the plan.
"Misaka recommends listening to Kakine," Misaka says with Marisa's best interests at heart," Misaka said once Kakine had finished explaining who they were going to see. Once Marisa had moved to follow she would stow the rifle back in her bag before heading after the duo, stepping through the sliding doors while continuing to block the rear route should Marisa get cold feet. But otherwise, it was off to the Windowless Building for the three of them, and the man who waited there.
Cinder Fall, Museum World
Cinder smirked as the whirling and clashing blades, mixed with arrows and Dust, forced Blake back onto the defensive, no match for the woman's power and strength. For a moment she had been worried there, with her previous wounds and going up against a still unknown foe, but now it seemed that those worries had been misplaced on the whole. She would admit that this Blake had some skill, but it wasn't enough to overcome her, as the two danced back and forth in their fight.
The clones were annoying, but given that Cinder had anticipated them it helped to cope, and she was able to use the opening to rain Dust projectiles on her opponent, shifting between arrows and crystals as needed. The volley of ice was unexpected, nicking at skin and slamming against her already reduced Aura, but the gunshots were stopped by the palm of Cinder's hand, finding no success there.
"Hm, my Blake was tougher," she noted idly in a spare moment between their clashes, before leveling her bow once more to fire off a Dust arrow at her current opponent. To be honest she wasn't that surprised. Her Blake had been somewhat special, and finding a similar one out there would have been unlikely. As it stood, it was annoying that this one knew most of her tricks, but it didn't seem to be overly influencing things. Indeed, her present wounds were more of a hindrance at this point.
That said she moved in, blades flashing in the light of the fire as she pressed her advantage, raining down blows and dealing with any distractions that popped up, like those annoying clones. Dust explosions flared, fire and ice as the half-Witch went all out against her foe. She wanted this wrapped up already so she could get on to her more important task, and track down the ones who attacked her so she could make them pay.
Over to the side, the Beowolf leapt out of the way as it's opponent rushed forward like a battering ram, before attacking from behind. Just because it was newborn didn't mean that it was entirely stupid, perhaps educated by Cinder's malice and will. Regardless though, it would not simply be taken down with a thing like that, but would require some more effort. And the longer that took, the longer Cinder would have to hammer away at Blake, with glowing red eyes and the fire in the museum only spreading.