---

Mizutani cursed under breath as her face morphed into a irritated scowl and her right brow began to twitch. She took a moment to close her eyes as she set the tea cup down on its accompanying saucer with a grace that betrayed the rage building up within and inhaled deeply "I expect whatever is happening below to be dealt with before my tea goes cold... Her eyes open slightly and she glowered at one of the guards attending her in the room "...U N D E R S T A N D?" If Mizutani had been holding the same cup she had been earlier it would have surely shattered in her grip that accompanied the venom in her words. A heavy, uninterested sigh escaped her lips as she crossed her legs and took out one of the expensive cigars she had imported from Valheim. The tip of the cigar was ignited with an elaborate lighter that had been custom made for one of the executed Osprean lords. She inhaled the smoke in one slow drag and seemed to release her anger into the smoke cloud that rose towards the ceiling."Ah, my sweet Cici. What terrible timing. Don't worry that pretty, little head about anything, 'kay?" She had adopted a playful, almost childish tone as she addressed Ciradyl.

A frightened look flashed on Ciradyl's eyes as she heard all the commotion from downstairs and looked over Mizutani with practiced fear in her eyes. "O-okay, I am in your care Mistress." She spoke softly in a demure tone, bowing her head in reverent respect for her elder. Ciradyl could feel those vile eyes of her all over, tearing her apart piece by piece and it brought a visceral reaction in her gut. The only reason why it didn't was because of Mizutani's foolishly relaxed attitude thinking it was just some rag-tag group rebels. Good. Ciradyl had managed to get her guard down enough that she was leaving openings for Kirin to exploit. The force and pace at which her allies had started to assault the mansion did give her a bit of pause.

A shrill shriek from Mizutani berated Ciradyl's ears "You're just so too cute, Cici! I'm not going to let anyone else have you." Ciradyl gritted her teeth into one of her charming smiles. How did a fool like this come into a position like this. No. She wasn't stupid. Mizutani was quite the genius in a lot of ways. Ciradyl understood that she was one of the few things that could get her to act this sloppy.

It was actually a relief that Kirin was wasting no time. She didn't know how much longer she could conceal her overwhelming bloodlust. There would be no slow, agonizing torture for Ciradyl to wash away the grime. No commiserating with allies that understood her agony. All that awaited her at the end of this all was a hollow victory. It had not been fair to Team Kirin for her to walk her own path here. She hoped that with time and enough reparations they might forgiver her this one indulgence. There was nothing, she believed, that grant her that forgiveness if Mizutani was allowed to speak to them. Mizutani was a cowardly snake that would more than gladly give up whatever information she thought would save her.

Ciradyl raised the tea, pretending to tremble slightly, and took a sip to ease her emotions. A hopeful, innocent part of her hoped that she might be able to move on after closing this chapter of her life. Her sullen eyes stared into the amber liquid in her cup as she lowered it from her lips. Perhaps Izayoi had the right idea after all. One final, grand action to cleanse the pain of the past. She felt like for the first time she really understood Izayoi. 'An unrequited love that end in tradegy? How original...' She thought, nearly breaking out into a smile. Whatever she decided to do after Mizutani's death...at least she had served and given Opsrey a chance to flourish once again.

They had made hellacious progress, under the sudden and unforgiving time crunch Ciradyl's presence had imposed, bounding up the sides of the tiered estate with what could essentially be called impunity once he'd helped Esben stow the pair of fresh cadavers out of sight. The man had once again vindicated his instincts to take what he said at face-value— distracted by the sudden wrench in the gears or otherwise, the same instincts that had roused Rudolf right out of a dreamless sleep in the desert hadn't even clocked the man was gone until he'd reappeared.

It was a good thing their interests had still been in alignment thus far.

But he'd known better than to expect a free ride. Honestly, the luck of running into two bum-ass guards right at their initial point of entry was so cosmically terrible that he had half a mind to throw out a half-hearted "my bad" in the wake of the second's exsanguination. He pilfered one of the katanas as the team pressed onward, using the unremarkable, unfamiliar blade in place of the usual suspects well enough to maintain their hurried pace in dispatching the two- or three-man patrols as they surged further upward— at a basic level, a sword was still a sword, weird weight distribution and balance be damned. This one wasn't terribly remarkable beyond that, anyway.

"Not good. They're sequencing their fire."

And the staircase itself was under guard by the time they'd gotten there after the alarms sounded, a churning drumline of gunfire and smoke impeding their progress, forcing them into cover. It made sense. Even while the Valheimr weapons they were using were more advanced than anything he'd run into before this quest, there was still a little downtime between shots where you needed to get another projectile ready to fire— if they all shot at once, the Kirins were definitely fast enough to pounce within that window. Staggering it closed the hole.

KRAK!

Directly in the wake of one such shot, a tall, pointed piece of leather and cloth peeked out from behind the cover the Kirins had—

KRAK-PING!

—and flew right off the sword it had been carefully mounted upon, sailing back through the hall with new ventilation as the katana swiftly withdrew from their cone of suppressing fire with a hissed "dammit."

And what was worse, they were keeping their eyes open for sudden movement instead of getting lost in the rote load-shoot-reload down the line— With their infiltration ruined, they were on even more limited time. Could he come at an oblique angle? Maybe, but the ceiling wasn't terribly high and bounding off Ospreyan walls seemed untrustworthy to get there. Could he sidestep the whole ordeal by bursting through one of them, then? Maybe. It could split their fire if he reappeared from a flank, but he'd be wasting time if he ended up getting bogged down by the rotate process. Not to mention, the specific layout of this place wasn't familiar, and he wouldn't have had much ability to check his angle of approach before just sending it and dealing with whatever bullets came.

He needed to work with what he knew now if he wanted to regain tempo. If they were to. He had to find a way to break these lines up from here. Destabilize them.

...His hand crept to the pouch on his belt, palming one of the two orbs that pulsed with mana within. Unlike the one he'd shown Galahad, this was much more geared towards offense, and swirled with a light purple tint to its depths. He had taken it with him in the vain hope he could pass off any swirling black flames as something that looked vaguely similar...

But in true Rudolf fashion, he'd bungled that idea before he could even test it. Eve could sense the spirit's presence, and Galahad was plenty familiar with what Shield actually looked like. Arrogant and half-baked. Might as well just dispense with the whole plan now, and smoke em while he had 'em.

"I can break this up! Get ready!" he called, bringing his nonfunctional dead weight blade to bear. The thing had blocked Valheimr bullets for him already. If it didn't wanna be useful any other way, then...

Leveraging it out in front, he stepped into the breach, vitals behind the flat of the blade, and focused his will around the Gravity materia in his other hand.

Within the midst of the goons, a well of purple and black sprung forth, drawing everything inward, and down, as though their weight had suddenly doubled. He doubted this would kill anyone, but if it could just buy the team a moment—!

---

@Raineh Daze

---

For her distaste with the entire mission, Éliane got a sympathetic pat on the shoulder from Esben—before he moved to reclaim his daggers from the corpses of the two guards. Even he wasn't willing to get blood on her coat that she hadn't shed herself and risk whatever wrath she might bring to bear while they were out on a mission. "Just nothing too loud," he bid, knowing that their chances for stealth were going to run out sooner or later.

Luckily they didn't waste too much time below and risk the guard patrols coming back around to them before they began to scale the building, though Esben would have preferred they split up and come at their quarry from two directions. He climbed near the rear of the group, bringing the rope up behind as they came to the terrace that Galahad and Izayoi had decided to enter from. He'd had half a mind to try and keep climbing higher, and let the others take charge of the attack from below; still, something didn't sit quite right making a decision like that without any input from the others, especially after what he and Ciradyl had both already done—

"SAMU—"

The guard's scream cut out suddenly, gurgling blood pouring forth from the open hole in his larynx that Izayoi had opened up a moment too late. Esben reached out, grabbing their diminutive red mage by the collar and yanking her back towards the edge of the terrace, before lifting her up to the underside of the eaves hanging over them. "New plan," he said as he lifted her, waiting for her to grab on. He glanced back to the entrance, where the rest of the team had already battered their way in and were moving deeper. "Keep climbing. I'll be right behind you!"

Once she'd grabbed at it and scrambled up to start making her way to the higher floors, Esben went to the railing at the edge of the terrace, carefully stood himself atop it—and jumped, relying on his height to make up the last bit of difference for him to grab on as well. Then he scrambled out and over the edge, coming up behind Miina. "Let's find a spot to get in as far away from the sound of battle as we can, ja? I don't care much if it's a window or we make our own hole."

With the plan of scaling the walls all set up, the only thing left to do was executing it... or maybe not.

"... ... ..."

The False-Dragon leered with mixed emotions as the Garden SEED handled the issue for them anyway, and no one in their right mind would claim scaling the high walls were preferable than simply walking through an open door. For a brief moment, Eve was eerily silent, projecting an unreadable poker face before she sighed, her arms donning back her cloak and, like Esben, pulled back the hood over her scalp.

Eve, without any dramatic flair whatsoever, literally walked through the side door, now unlocked courtesy of the spy. She gave the two recently-slain guards an iota of what could be discerned as pitiless acknowledgement of their existence, then simply continued while some of the team took care of the bodies.

Upon arriving at the interior walls proper, the Pseudolon now could do what she had intended earlier. Cloak stowed away, the mutant formed her wings to scale up the tall building, soon arriving at the terrace along with everyone else... everyone including a pair of thugs on cigarette break.

Izayoi was swift, but the ruffian's larynx was swifter; one terrified wail later and any hope of successful stealthy subterfuge was lost. "...ugh." Between Cyradil and Esben's Lone Wolf shenanigans and Miina's demands for interrogation, what could've been a simple rat extermination became - in Eve's humble opinion - a needlessly complicated endeavor.

However, the black mage held her tongue, simply following the party - minus Esben and Miina - as they sliced, stabbed, and shot their way through the mansion. So far, Eve didn't really feel the need to cast even a single spell...

Up until the Kirins reached a staircase, where no less than a dozen... mobsters? Valheimrs? Who cares, pests, every single one of them.

Still with the same nigh-sarcastic placid visage, Eve took cover from the firing squad, easily doing so due to her slight stature. Again, with that very same (lack of) expression, she watched as Izayoi of the Wild Dance started parrying bullets, Rudolf the Blight-Host conjuring what was definitely not the same thing as his light-devouring blight-barrier, and... who knew what the rest of the team was planning-...

Alright, that's it.

"ENOUGH!!" Eve suddenly and violently roared, her voice carrying the weight of the Dragon King's fury behind it. Even if one didn't turn to look at her, they'd still be able to feel the sheer pressure of a concentrated ether vortex coalescing at the Pseudolon.

While doing so, Eve noted something about the mansion's architecture, how it employed copious amounts of wood and canvas in its construction, how dangerous it'd be if they were caught on fire, indeed, it'd be a shame if such a beautiful monument burn down to cinders...

Alas, if only she cared.

Inhaling deeply, Eve stood up, already facing the firing line, then without a moment's pause, lurched forward with her maw stretched open, belching a veritable deluge of roiling flames. The magical inferno spreading and occupying the whole corridor in its wake, setting everything that could be set on fire... on fire, including the dozen gravity-restrained rats. She hoped they'd burn.

Without so much as missing a beat, the draconic chimera looked over her own shoulder back at her comrades, "Move, team. We don't have all day."

How had she ended up climbing after everybody? It wasn't like she was slow, and if anyone fell then she would be the worst placed to try and catch them… oh well, this was pretty easy to make her way up? Sure, it had the marks of someone trying to make a smooth surface, but then they'd gone and gotten decorative about it.

… The climbability of the exterior probably wasn't a major thought in architectural design, was it?

The redhead let out a startled mrowp sound as Esben hoisted her up, pouting at the spy before seizing onto the exterior once again. "I c-can climb fine on my own… that's n-not so big…"

Still, with the distraction going on inside, they would have to climb fast. Both so their target and Ciradyl were still there, so the rest of the team didn't destroy the building underneath them, and in case there were any guards lining up shots in the rest of the courtyard. Esben had only gotten two of them, after all.

At least one good point of climbing to the top was that the openings were more apparent, not less. Was that a rich person thing, to have less wall and more of a view? Or was it judt easier to have something lighter when you got higher up? But the roof still needed supporting… whatever the architectural justification, it was nice to find that there was even a small balcony up here too, with a view of Kugane if anyone would want such a thing. And that meant there was a door too, in that conveniently sliding Ospreyan fashion that meant she could open it from out here.

"Um… h-hello?"

… How did you ask someone you were about to kill questions?

---

Arton brandished his sword in a way that, he hoped, would make Izayoi proud as he pushed to the front cutting down any opponent in his way with a maximum of two swings. The intensity in his eyes would have only succeeded by Izayoi and perhaps Eve. Their utter disdain and contempt for Valheim might have rubbed of on him. These thugs before them were worse than the soldiers in some ways. Arton had purposefully kept himself ignorant of the extent Mizutani's criminal organization conducted business. Those small details wouldn't help to bring her down any faster. His motivation to cut through their defenses he imagined was similar to Miina's. There was a chance Mizutani knew information about Reisa that would be useful.

The shaped plate armor that made his various configurations had been custom-made by Cyth with his help. It was strong enough to endure more than a few shots from the best firearm Skael could produce...but it would eventually fail. His shield, on the other hand, was more than capable of shrugging off volley after volley of shot even if his arm necessarily couldn't handle it. It was for that reason he still took cover next to Rudolf. If he had charged headfirst into their formation there was a change he would overwhelmed by volume of fire alone. Rudolf grabbed his attention with his fierce declaration. Arton would be damned if he would left him go out there alone.

He didn't know exactly what Rudolf had been planning so he kept a few paces behind him "I got your back!" It was a simple callout but it was enough to let him know Arton was following close behind. It might have been because of Izayoi's training but his eyes picked up on the dark materia that Rudolf had begun to focus on. Arton barely managed to stepped in front as a fresh volley peppered his armor and shield, breaking or bouncing against its surface. A chill ran down his spine as not long after Eve's voice roared with a violence that suggested what was about to happen.

What came next was hardly a shock to someone who had fought with her before. The annoyance was clear and in her voice and he doubt any would object in that moment. Any issues he might have had with her response didn't matter. What was done was done. There was less likely to be much more serious resistance ahead of them if the thugs actions and words could be believed.

"Rudolf, I'm going to take point. I ask that you back me up." It was the voice of someone that trusted in the soldier besides him completely. Arton had been one of the few not to speak to him privately after his 'trump' card was revealed. There was no need for clarification in his view. The others might have suspected his condition to be some kind of blight corruption but if that was the case his scar would have surely brought him to the ground with pain. No. Perhaps Arton was the only one who could trust him completely because of that.

He led the charge upwards the soon burning building with full faith that the rest of the team would support him. This was his role and purpose as he felt the slight magical pulse of the Materia he held. They didn't possess any flashy ability or skill that allowed him access to spells. What they offered was an incredible defense bolstered by his hardened physique. All he had to do in this instant was draw their ire and Rudolf, with his superior offensive abilities, would be able to freely deal with any opposition.

---

As always, Esben had found another way in- a lucky thing the SEED was on their side. Also, in what was seemingly a disturbingly regular occurrence nowadays, something went wrong. Not for lack of planning, or lack of stealth, but the sheer dumb luck of a pair of guards slacking off and going out for a smoke break. On another night, Galahad might've found the change in schedule humanizing, but tonight was not that night. The Kirins were spurred forward, the element of surprise lost, and they now made do with violence of action and the shock and surprise that came with it. Galahad had no need to bark orders, they were all basically stabbing in the dark anyway, rushing their way to the uppermost floors, and dealing with any unfortunate soldier that got in their way.

Galahad found himself rather limited in these close quarters, stuck holding his halberd close to the chest and employing short stabs and kicks, lest his wide swings get caught on a wall or an ally. Luckily, none of these men wore the same armor and had the same weapons as Valheim soldiers did, and his jabs easily pierced and sundered through their relatively light clothing and armor.

The stairway that filled with gunfire might've been a problem had Eve not subsequently filled it with fire, Arton leading the charge up the stairs shortly afterwards. Galahad began to hang towards the back of the formation, where he could swing and stab with impunity to hold off any goons that were trying to reinforce their boss from the lower floors. Out of the corner of his eye, Galahad spotted a man bearing a crossbow, a glinting tip levelled at the firebreathing pseudolon.

Grabbing the half-dragon by the back of her robe, Galahad yanked her a step back, crossbow bolt spiraling through the air her head just occupied. Rearing back, Galahad hucked his halberd down the hall, the heavy weapon knocking the offending man off his feet, through the outer wall, and clear off the building. The sound of rushing wind was accented with the faint noise of a man screaming as the halberd flew back into Galahad's hand. He pushed the black mage onward towards the rest of the party.

"Set the corridor behind us on fire, prevent reinforcements from catching up with us." Galahad said as he stabbed forward at another man rounding the corner, pinning him to the wall. "But lets try not to blow up the building while we're still inside."

"?!!" For a split second, Eve's red eyes spread open wide as her body was yanked backwards. The mere whoosh of a crossbow bolt narrowly missing her head was more than enough to tell her what just happened. She turned toward her dragoon savior then nodded, both as an expression of gratitude and acknowledging his instructions, done, not a single word necessary.

With Arton leading the charge forward through the blazing corridor, Eve instead turned around, eidolic ether already coalescing at her throat once more. What came next was a foregone conclusion as the artificial dragoness exhaled another plume of magical flames, this time saturating the space behind the party with her fiery wrath. Now she'd see if Tane paid her goons enough to brave her flames, she hoped they would, just so she could watch them burn.

Alas, there was no time to waste, with her job done, Eve followed behind Arton and Rudolf's lead. By the Dragon King, all of this hassle better be worth it...

On one hand, the fact they'd been spotted was definitely no good.

On the other, it meant that she didn't have to try and be stealthy anymore.

Robin took a deep breath, her thin blade singing as it swiftly left its sheath, cleaving the thin air. The inferno that Eve had created was certainly wasn't something she was adept at crossing.

However---

Light lined the edge of her blade as Robin broke into a sprint. There were still those out of reach who could open fire.

It was her goal to deal with those opponents before they could.

Indeed, without any sort of direct protection, flames posed a difficult challenge.

However, that didn't mean they were impassable.

Robin's foot hit the wall, and the girl carried herself upwards, using her momentum to sprint along the sheer surface. It was an exhilarating sensation, as she heard as surprised shout from the thugs ahead as they tried to adjust their aim.

Too late, of course.

Robin leaped from the wall, angling her sword down and in and cutting one of the men along his throat, sending him to the ground and spitting red. As her boots hit the wooden floor, she straightened, the sparkling lights on her blade glowing brighter.

At this close range, she could likely kill another opponent, but it would be difficult to avoid their fire or stop them from firing at her allies.

And so---

"Oh Light, be unleashed!"

It was a simple command as she clicked her sword upwards, the sparkling glow suddenly erupting outwards and towards her enemies. It wasn't damaging, and really she'd only figured out how to do this for the sake of making her entrances more exciting.

However, it also served pretty well to stun opponents, especially those who were using guns. Even if it only blinded them for a moment, that was a moment where they couldn't take aim.

And a moment was all she needed!

Lunging forward towards a stumbling gunman, she thrust her blade through his chest and pushed him back in the same motion, sending him into one of his fellows.

---

To Éliane’s greatest relief, the decision was taken from her, and from the team at large by their absolute lack of luck in infiltrating the compound. In other words, she was free to do what she did best—make lots of noise, do lots of damage, and to jump right into the fray with her gunblade. It didn’t take more than a moment after that man screamed that she already had her weapon out.

The place was surprisingly more guarded than she’d thought, even with the half-assed briefing that they’d gotten just before.

Actually, with how little information they had, should Éliane really have been particularly surprised?

Fighting began to erupt around her, and Éliane didn’t hesitate to begin shooting. It was quickly turning into a gun battle –the thugs were well-armed, and in close-quarters, they were left somewhat at a disadvantage…

But Éliane was used to gunfights like this. Shooting one gun-toting thug right in the face with her gunblade, she vaulted over a table in the corridor, closing the distance. She had secured some small bombards of Ospreyan make during their time in the city, and this seemed like as good of a place as any to try them out. She lit one and tossed it under a pair of criminals that had been firing at Galahad—and a moment later, they were thrown forwards by the small explosion.

Eve’s violent shout, though, completely caught her off guard, and she dropped her second, larger bombard. Thankfully, it wasn’t activated, but it rolled backwards, down the corridor and out of sight… and theoretically safely out of mind, too…

If Eve didn’t direct a wall of flames down that same hallway, that was.

Éliane ducked under a pillar, shouting a warning as she did. “Grenade! Get down!”

Sorry, Galahad…

A moment later, it exploded.

“The hell is this?!”

“GRENADE! Get down!”

“M’gun feels like a sack of bricks! Th’ fuck’s going on?”

“My eyes!”

“OH GODS OH FUCK WE’RE GONNA BURN-”

Rudolf crippled the gunners, Eve slaughtered the majority of them while detonating Eliane’s grenade, and Robin mopped up those that weren’t caught in the former two’s assaults. Nonetheless, Izayoi gave an annoyed huff towards Eve in particular.

”You underestimate the flammability of Osprean structures, and we must still needs exfiltrate once we are finished here. Pray that the fire does not spread before we can make our escape.”

whirwhirwhirwhir…

The next floor up, Esben and Miina were met with yet another thug under Mizutani’s payroll, albeit with this one rolling out a Valheimr-class gatling gun from the top of the staircase leading up to where Mizutani Tane resided, and Ciradyl with her.

“Gahahaahaha! That’s right, you little bastards! Twelve barrels of HELL, coming your way!” The thug aiming the weapon cackled, opening fire. “Lady Tane will reward me over your punctured CORPSES!”

The remainder of the Kirins ascended up to the next floor at this time, and were met by the same barrage, the gatling gunner pivoting to fire at them the moment they ascended from the staircase.

”Damn that wench!” Izayoi hissed in sheer fury, forced to take cover. Even in her prime, she couldn’t have deflected so many shots at so high a speed without taking a bullet or three dozen in short order. She grit her teeth as she dove behind a pillar, the thug on his gatling gun rapidly chewing through cover with sheer volume of fire.

At this rate, it seemed the Kirins were well and truly suppressed without alternative measures. The shield mounted atop the gatling gun was adorned with magic suppression runes, likely nullifying Rudolf’s previous trick with the gunline, as well as Robin’s light sparkles. To say nothing of deflecting head-on gunfire and spellcraft. If they wanted to get past this one, more creativity would be necessary.

Loud! Like a storm! A Hurricane, bearing down on them from on high!

"GYAH! WHAT THE FUCK?" he yelped in surprise, rounding the stairs only to fairly dive back for cover as the second firespitting dragon in the building made its presence known from on high. The lead-up had been a surge as their unit broke through the enemy lines with little effort after his gravity materia had gotten the ball rolling, so to speak. It had bought time for Robin to spring ahead, utilizing the same walls he'd written off for support, and clear the pair that had dropped to reinforce the line he and Eve had dealt with, flash of light leaving them defenseless against the flash of steel.

In short order, he and Arton had naturally fallen into lockstep, a surprisingly snug fit given the state of affairs— for all that had happened in this hellish place, Rudolf couldn't deny it was a hearteningly familiar thing, hearing the understood camraderie between fighting men. In a way, it felt like he was fighting alongside his brother, all broad back, solid shield, and complete faith in both the sword at his side as well as the one in his grip. The big man was a sturdy wall, contained and poised to ward off strikes even as his blade bit deep into the stragglers of those Robin had stunned. Rudolf, with his stolen katana, was poised perfectly to finish them off.

And then they had gotten up here, and this happened. He grit his teeth from behind the safety of his obscured position, forced further down, below the threshold of the staircase. The bastard's shield looked like it was pulling double duty, both protecting most of his frame from incoming projectiles as well as, concerningly, flashing with arcane runes the moment he peeked his head out and tried to do a second cheeky doubling of weight— the thought being "make it that much harder for the guy to pivot the thing".

"No dice on materia..."

His mind raced. He'd seen Izayoi was further up, but if she was the only thing the gunner had to go after, the bullets would chew through that pillar quick. He seemed confident he had enough to do the job...

They had to cut his ability to focus fire somehow, then disable the thing. He couldn't just charge in— the floor below had already seen twelve barrels be enough to dissuade the thought. Even behind the sword, he couldn't count on it. Behind Arton's shield was out of the question. Robin couldn't blind him if the materia were inert. Eve's fire would be rising fast from below.

Hell. This was bad. They were funneled, and they couldn't wait for fear of the cut-off advance from below suddenly proving a cut-off escape. They'd get smoked out, and then they really would all be "punctured"...

Corpses.

!!

He ripped off the cloak that had obscured much of his gear and frame from their travels. Maybe if he had heavier armor, he wouldn't have to resort to such grisly measures, but he could only play the hands he was dealt.

"I think I can pull his fire away for a sec," he relayed to those nearby, voice tight, hands shaking as they tied the faded red cloth around recently-stilled shoulders, one of the goons from below. "Waste a burst at least. He got a glimpse of me, if he thinks this is me again, I can buy us a second to knock that thing out!"

Tight enough, and wrapped to obscure. He quickly rammed the knife on the thug's belt through his limp hand— a blurring gleam, to look like a weapon drawn, sell it that much more. Taking a deep breath, he lifted the awkward weight of the cadaver like an ad hoc shot put, judged what he remembered of distances, and breathed a prayer to Himstus, to guide this spur of the moment gambit home to victory.

A moment to react, a moment to shred the decoy, a moment to be confused... if this went well, that ought to have been ample time and ample distraction for Team Kirin to pull something off.

Not a moment later, a red-coated, vaguely man-shaped blur launched up from the staircase with the sound of a heavy boot driving hard into the wood from below, on a high arc outside the edge of the stream of firepower.

Between the gravity materia, dragonfire, and good ol' gift from Skael, whoever or whatever that once stood against them in this particular floor was done for, minced and well-cooked. However, the job wasn't over yet, the Kirins could only call this mission accomplished once they have Mizutane's severed head served on a platter. So, they marched on. "..." As she did, Eve briefly shot Izayoi an unflappable stare that might be interpreted as expressing polite disagreement, really, it was the Samurai herself who underestimated the Kirins' abilities to scale down a burning building; between her wings, Galahad's dragoon powers, Miina's feline agility, and Izayoi's own athleticism among others... but, too many words, too little time.

Especially when they had to deal with this bullet belching lunatic!

"...!" The dragoness took cover along with the others, but this time, either through plain dumb luck or the sheer number of bullets sprayed her way, even with the convenience of having a space-efficient body, one of Gatling Goon's innumerable projectiles managed to graze her left upper arm, ripping through cloth and slicing the pale skin underneath. "Tch...!" Eve gritted her teeth as she closed an eye, her right hand clasping the wound. To any would-be observers, they'd be able to see... blood...? No, the liquid had blood-like viscosity, yes, but it was translucent with pale hues of all the seven colors of the rainbow, it bore similarities to the prismatic beam that devastated Proudclad.

Ether. The Pseudolon was bleeding ether, from ether she was born, to ether shall she return... but hopefully not today, not in this manner.

To make matters even unnecessarily complicated than they already were, she could feel the muted presence of the world's ether around the enemy's weapon, the godsforsaken thing was fitted with some sort of arcane nullifying shield. Though Eve doubted the brute was even aware of the twelve-barreled gun's functions beside the steps required to aim and fire, regardless, for obvious reasons, it still presented a major issue for her.

"...?" Then, the Blight-Host had a rather audacious idea to draw the madman's attention. Would he sacrifice himself? No, of course not, not with how adamant he was, one could even say he's the complete opposite of the suicidal samurai. So, surely, he had some other plans...

And what a plan it was, use the enemy's own 'resources' against them, plus they got to disrespect their dead too, good, there'd be no open casket funerals for any of these lowlife scum!

With a determined nod directed at Rudolf, Eve slowly unclasped her hand, putting the matter of her ether-bleeding arm away for now. Instead, she'd assist him in this gambit of his. The black mage built up power once more as angry winds began coalescing along her right arm. Then, as soon as Rudolf heaved the cadaver forward, Eve directed her open palm at the flung corpse, mid-air, then fired her spell, launching a gust of wind forward to accelerate the lifeless meat bag's established momentum. Now let's see if that dimwitted thug would - Ilias willing - take the bait.

Uh.

Being riddled with bullets didn't seem great, but at least the man had neatly announced what he was going to do. And the room conveniently had pillars to hide behind to avoid the whole "being shot" thing. Now, if only she could've kept climbing up the exterior rather than face this… one, she'd actually have the target in her sights, but two, she could just stab this guy from behind.

Which wasn't to say that stealth was that bad of an idea. If she used that near-invisibility again… yes, if he was focusing on the bait Rudolf and Eve were providing, then he'd not notice the blur where she was. And even if her footsteps were a bit louder than normal to close in quickly, there was no chance that she could be heard over the sound of guns.

Now, hopefully none of her other teammates would resort to shooting wildly in his direction, there was still enough risk of being shot from the front. And… well, explaining would give the game away and there wasn't time.

3… 2… 1… now.

And hopefully she could get in under his guard and stab him.

She was doing a lot of stabbing from below recently.

---

"This has to be some sick joke right? There's no way this is actually happening..." Mizutani's fingers had pushed into her hair as she looked solemnly into her teacup.

Ciradyl resisted the smile that wanted to appear on her lips and forced herself to appear frightened, clinging to the collar of her own dress. The explosions had sent shockwaves that shook their floor and the sounds of battle echoed ever closer. Her guards had managed to send up a report of the situation which had been the catalyst for Miztuani's despair. It was such a sweet expression on her face that Ciradyl wished she had more time to enjoy and make it even better. Time was sadly running out and she needed to isolate Mizutani from her bodyguard.

"Tane, I'm scared. Your guards are strong, right? It was a pathetically submissive and hopeful voice, but one she knew would move her to do what she wanted.

Mizutani stopped digging her fingers further into her scalp at her words and seemed to regain a portion of her composure "Yes, they are strong my little Cici." She walked over and caressed her cheek with a single finger. Her attention turned to the elite guard inside the room "Barricade that door and don't let anyone in! Now, dammit! Mizutani screamed and they moved in accordance with her orders, gathering around the entrance to the room. Anything that seemed sturdy enough, regardless of value, was stacked against the door.

Mizutani took Ciradyl's hands and held them up between them "Stay close and I'll get us through this, 'kay Cici." That sickeningly sweet voice was laced with a different intention but Ciradyl complied regardless. There was no doubt that Mizutani would try to utilize Ciradyl as a hostage to buy whatever time that would give her. Her keen ears then picked up on the faint whirling sound of something mechanical before a thunderous roar. It was enough to send a chill down her spine and worry for Kirin's safety if the twisted grin on Mizutani's face was any indication.

BRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRT.

For what it was worth, the goon manning the gatling gun was remarkably quick to shift his aim. The corpse thrown by Rudolf and accelerated by Eve was a blur of movement in the thug's eyes, and he immediately filled it with dozens on dozens of rounds before he realized he'd been had.

"Tricky little fucks!" He bellowed down the stairs, preparing to resume his suppressive fire before he heard the sound of footsteps almost immediately upon him. "Eh?"

Taptaptaptaptaptaptaptap.

Izayoi had dashed forward in the brief window of time she'd had, and was nearly upon the thug. He paled as he recognized that hateful glower, scrambling for his wakizashi.

"Th' FUCK is Ranbu no Izayoi doing here?! She's dead-"

Miina's barely-visible outline was finally noticed by him, and distracted as he was, the gunner had no recourse as he was skewered upon her basket-hilted sword. The instant he fell, choking on his own blood, Izayoi vaulted over the gun emplacement, giving Miina a brief nod.

"A fine blow. Your versatility serves you well. Now, forward!"

A floor above inside the office, the trio of former samurai hired by Mizutani to serve as her elite guard stared between each other.

"Brothers, did you hear that?"
"Finally, a worthy foe!"
"I never liked her anyway."

They drew swords, prepared to set upon the first person to enter with a storm of steel.

___



Deputy Director Lambert sighed as she tackled the veritable mountain of paperwork on her desk. Leadership wasn't all it was cracked up to be, especially after decades of service in the field. Still, someone had to do it. A particular set of reports came off the stack next, and she cracked them open, working through the cipher they were written in.

"Ah, Mathiassen." She murmured to herself, working through the report. "Linked up with...oh for the love of-" The blonde woman bit back a curse, rising to walk over towards the operations map pinned to the side of the wall in her office.

"Those little idiots." Kayliss ran a hand across her head, already feeling a migraine coming on. "Why did he go to Osprey first? We don't have the coverage abroad to double up like this."

Five minutes later, an older, eyepatched man sighed as Kayliss glared at him from across his desk, taking a puff from his cigar.

"Lambert, you were chosen as my second for a reason. You can't just go tearing across half the continent because we're short on manpower."

"Then consider me on leave, Director. I'm fairly certain I've built up enough of it over the years. Costa del Sol sounds nice this time of year." Kayliss riposted, leaving almost immediately after she said that. The aforementioned Director took a look at his cigar, sighed, and reached into his desk to pull out the vodka.

"Dhinas above, I hate Mondays."

---

@Ithradine

---

What a bother.

Esben and Miina had almost immediately been made to take cover the second they entered the room they'd climbed up to; he hadn't even a moment to try and salvage some sense of dignity in the situation after the diminutive Mystrel's entrance before they were pinned down with a seemingly endless stream of gunfire. He was more than a little displeased that Izayoi had been wrong in guessing where their target would be—and somewhat confused as well; retreating to the highest position in the tower was certainly not a choice he would have made in the event of a battle like this, lest they had chosen to deal with it all in the easiest way possible.

The explosion he heard below, alongside constant cracks of gunfire and what could only be Eve working her particular magic, almost made him wonder if they had chosen the simplest option after all. The floor didn't immediately collapse out from under them or the building noticeably start to tip, though, so that was confidence enough they hadn't—before they started to show above the stairs themselves, immediately taking cover as the gunfire turned their way. Esben immediately set forward, sword and buckler in hand, even as Miina's almost impossible-to-perceive outline did the same. Between the corpse that was sent flying and Izayoi's own mad dash, enough of a distraction had been made for Miina to make her strike as the gunner abandoned his primary weapon and drew a blade.

Esben continued on past, beyond the gun emplacement, long bounding steps carrying him rapidly up the stairs as Izayoi took a moment to compliment Miina behind him. He burst through the thin door shield first, knocking into a shelf with a grunt—

Dislodging it a ways, and peering into a waiting three-on-one.

He ducked back against a quick thrust through the opening, before shoving the shelf in with a hard push. He slid into a sloppy-looking stop, the mat below him shifting slightly as he brought his feet together into an unstable, narrow stance; the mat was worn and due for replacing, spongier than it should have been and slightly shrunken out of the overall frame of the floor. A look of surprise played across his face, weighted forward on the lead foot as though he were completely shocked and about to fall. Acting; one of the first skills any graduate of the Garden had to learn that was going into clandestine work would prepare them as well for the theatre as anything else. Already primed to attack and perceiving a momentary weakness, the guards charged him with swords raised to maim or kill.

Esben sprang back and to the right off of his leading foot, the mat shifting again from his weight as the first guard stepped on it. He slapped the cut aside as he did so, the force of his parry and the worn flooring stealing away the samurai's sure-footedness. A quick shift of his lead foot in the samurai's way sent the man stumbling past him, through the ruined door frame into the former general waiting just below.

The second came at Esben as the first went through the door, cutting at Esben as he placed his foot against the wall. He ducked, kicking off and further to his right again. The sword cut into the wall where he'd been, Esben resuming his guarded stance in the corner of the room he'd sprung off to. Mizutani Tane and Ciradyl were back against the far wall from the door, the third guard advancing warily to the center of the room, the second wrenching his blade out of the wall and kicking a chunk of wood that had broken off of the now-ruined shelf back towards the rest of the debris. The first no doubt occupied with—or occupying—the other Kirins.

Evidently Esben had made the right choice, rushing in as quickly as he had; had they any more time to really barricade that door, getting through it may have been more difficult than it was worth. Climbing around again would have been slow enough for any more guards left below or outside to make their way on up, take some free shots, and let their quarry escape by a similar route.

"Mm. Only one visitor is enough for you for the night, then?" he asked conversationally of Tane. "It's all a shame, really, I would've liked to get to know you better without all of this mess." No doubt, the guards and Mizutani herself thought him pinned in the corner; for all he knew, they may well have been right to make an assumption like that, especially now that there was no further chance of fooling them with the clumsy, off-balance act. Not that it would stop him from speaking as confidently as ever. "Tell them to stand down, please. It would make all the rest of this easier, for all of us."

---

Her explosions had definitely added to the chaos, but they didn’t bring down the building, at least. The building itself probably wasn’t going to last after the fire and the rest of the fight, though.

Especially when the criminals brought out a full shielded gatling gun mount of all things, blasting away at anything that moved—and the columns of the building. Given the relatively close quarters, she could have dealt with it fairly easily. Lobbing another bombard in the gun’s direction would probably silence it. But she also wanted the gun for herself.

It was a bloody twelve-barrel whirring machine of death, after all.

In the few moments she debated how to approach taking out the gun without destroying it, her teammates moved on it instead of her.
And Miina of all people managed to slip in and shank the man with her sword. Éliane would have never expected that from the diminutive, meek girl—she’d have to complement her later on that.

With the pathway free, though, she bounded up to the gun, briefly inspecting it. “We’re taking this with us, no matter what happens,” she declared to the team, in a tone that brooked no argument. It was clear that she was going to continue to wonder over the gun until a mighty crashing noise from above caught her attention, just as an enemy samurai stumbled through the ruined door to Mizutane’s room.

Éliane raised an eyebrow as she raised up her gunblade. The man had quickly recovered, and on seeing Éliane, smirked as he began to twirl and flourish his blade.

The Skaelan tilted her head. Was he trying to show off or intimidate her?

Well, two could play at game, and she had a gun, too. She smiled back, flipped her blade around and did some classic Skaelan blade tricks, even tossing her blade in the air like a baton… before catching it again and shooting the man with her gunblade.

Right then. How was she going to bring this gun and its ammo with her?

---

Fighting in such tight quarters was a real pain, at least for someone like Galahad. Tight corridors and small spaces did little to allow for wide swings of his halberd. At the very least, there seemed to be no one able to follow them through the fire, though it did not bode well for the structural integrity of the building- and Galahad hadn't accounted for Éliane's explosives either, though knowing the Skaeler, he probably should've. Thankfully, at least the gunfire stopped- or at least slowed, one of the Kirin's above must have taken care of the gunner that was pinning them down. That meant they were basically at Mizutanei's doorstep.

The sounds of rapid gunfire were replaced with the muffled thud and shifting of feet and bodies, as the Kirins were likely handling the last of the bodyguards as they spoke. Galahad turned to follow the rest of the Kirin's up the stairs and into the proceeding floor when he heard the muffled sounds of voices. Glancing above him, he saw the slight traces of dust dislodged from movement above, and the creaking of the wood denoting weight and steps. There were several figures in the room directly above him. One was heavy and slowly stepping. A slight ways away was a muffled tone, feminine but unfamiliar. In the opposite direction, Galahad heard a more casual tone- difficult to tell what exactly was being said, but he knew the casual confidence well enough at this point.

A glance around the corner confirmed that weight above was neither Arton nor Rudolf, and he saw Éliane messing with the gun emplacement that had pinned them down. The remaining members of the party were too light footed to have been this one in particular either. Pressing down on the floor below him, Galahad tested the weight and strength of the floorboards and nodded to himself.

In Mizutani's office, the remaining Samurai slowly paced towards Esben, blade at the ready, his eyes darting between the door and Esben, half expecting someone to barge through the door. Turning towards the spy, the samurai held his blade over his head, and yelled, readying a charge. The scream was cut off halfway through as through the floor came Galahad's halberd, splintering through the wood as though it were little more than plywood. The heavy point of the weapon pierced through the bottom of the Samurai's jaw and pinned him to the ceiling above, sword clattering unceremoniously to the ground. A moment later, blued steel and dragonscale armor burst through the weakened floor, following his weapon as the dragoon jumped. Armored boots took the place of samurai sandals in the center of the room as Galahad lightly dusted off the top of his armor, swatting away splintered wood and dust.

"Pardon the intrusion." Galahad apologized, offering both the women and Esben a short nod as he reached up and grabbed the haft of his halberd, pulling it off the ceiling and discarding the corpse with a simple flourish. Now in an open room, he had a bit more space for his weapon, the axe blade slowly interposing itself between Tane and Cir as Galahad pulled off his helmet. Cold eyes glared at Ciradyl for a moment before shifting towards Mizutani, the point of his weapon moving a bit as he gestured for the two to separate "Good evening, Miss Tane. I wasn't aware you had a guest. My apologies, but I believe you have some more pressing matters to attend to."

Eliane and Galahad had taken two of the three hired ronin by surprise, their lives ending in an instant. The last one raised his sword, expression gobsmacked as Izayoi closed in to engage. Their impromptu duel lasted a sum total of ten seconds of back-and-forth before Izayoi kicked him away, sheathed her sword, and then dashed forward. The elite guard managed to parry her quickdraw, but was completely unprepared for her non-sword holding hand to whip her sword's scabbard out and smash it into the side of his head, crushing his skull.

Her eyes wide with panic at seeing her best guards cut down so quickly, Mizutani reached over in a flurry of motion to grab Ciradyl in a hold, drawing a pistol and waving it about as she screamed at Izayoi.

“Not another step, butcher! She’s MINE, do you hear me?! Not yours!”

”Imir’s breath, what are you prattling on about?” Izayoi kept her sword raised, her teeth grit in frustration. ”I should have killed you years ago, consequences be damned.”

Even if she were still fast enough to cut Mizutani’s throat in the blink of an eye, there was still a chance the bitch could get a shot off, putting Ciradyl at risk. Unacceptable. Better to keep her distracted so that one of the others had a solution.

Izayoi glared death at Mizutani as she slowly paced to the side, keeping the crime lordess’s attention on herself as she kept her sword raised. Mizutani wasn’t a complete fool, of course. She’d catch on to what Izayoi was up to should she go too far. Thus, the latter only moved about forty-five degrees from where she had been standing, leaving the slightest gap in Mizutani’s peripheral vision that any of the others could take advantage of.