Tyaethe's presence and handily halted any attacks coming from either side, it seemed.

"..."

Fanilly lowered her sword.

"Iron Roses," she called, "Stand down."

It was perhaps not the decision she would normally have made. However, these circumstances were strange. Even once the fight had begun, Alette had used only the shaft of her spear and not the tip. She had only brandished the tip once further knights had joined the fight. And many of the mercenary force had seemed rather reluctant... it was a curious circumstance, and in good conscience Fanilly could not push the battle forward any longer, not once Tyaethe had stepped in, in a bid to halt the fighting.

She trusted Tyaethe had seen something to make her certain enough that the battle was in error.

Alette raised her spear and rested it on her shoulder, cocking her head to one side.

"You should be glad someone thought to take a look," the blue-haired girl commented, "Things would've gotten a whole lot messier if it had taken any longer, y'know? I definitely didn't want to have to kill such a girl with such a pretty face."

Doing her best to ignore that last comment, Fanilly stepped towards the spear-wielding mercenary, glancing briefly towards the rabbit-eared swordswoman..

"I am fine, Nori" she began, before turning to face Alette once more. "Show us, then."

Alette simply shrugged, and used her spear to point towards the door that Tyaethe had opened.

Fanilly signaled for her knights to follow, and approached.

Within, her vision was filled with corpses lining the walls. Stripped of all their gear entirely, a few days old judging by the way the blood had dried, their throats uniformly slit. Blue eyes wide with horror, she looked to the left and right. Lines of bound, murdered soldiers continued out of sight. It looked like the entire population of the fort...

"... They... were all tied up and slaughtered..."

"See?" interjected Alette, "We're no fools, why would we kill your soldiers? These bastards are the lowest kind of scum-sucking shitbags to do this kind of bullshit."

She gestured to the corpses scattered across the ground.

Borifos sighed.

"You speak as if you have a distinct advantage," he began, "I cannot claim to be as versed in strategy as Lady Alette, but I cannot help but notice we are evenly matched in terms of numbers. I would advise you to quit your posturing with haste, as I believe it can only cause aggravation in your superior officers."

Alrial, on the other hand, simply stuck her tongue out at the other elf, before letting out a huff and looking away.

"Ah, you're lucky," said the deathly pale girl, placing one hand on her cheek, "My lovely Alette seems no longer to be in danger. Hah~"

The sigh that escaped her lips was one of infatuation as her eyes lingered on the blue-haired girl's body from a distance.

"... A... a stingray? A poisonous fish~ A blade tucked against its tail~ It looks rather harmless, but is in fact deadly," she explained, without looking away from Alette. "I believe I have the title because of my apparent charm masking my lethality, but... haaah~ My charm is nothing compared to Alette's, is it?"