Though his concentration was mostly fixated on what was ahead, as he retraced his steps through nearly-identical hallways and staircases, Thomas was still aware of the presence of his comrades behind him. He couldn't quite tell how many were following along, but the staggered footfalls, along with a strange squeaky grinding noise like a blade digging into a slippery surface, indicated at least a couple of them.
Upon reaching the throne room though, the dark-haired boy stopped dead in his tracks, standing dumbfounded at its open entrance. There was just so much to take in. A humongous snake, much the same as the one he'd fought before, only bigger, bared its fangs and hissed in Thomas' general direction as it noticed his being there. Its focus was quickly shifted back to the other fighters in the chamber though, some of whom the young man recognised and some of whom he did not. There was Kanbaru diligently fighting back against the beast basically single-handedly, and he just caught a glimpse of Akiko as she disappeared up above, assumedly to also fight back against the dark serpent. A new girl in witch attire was seemingly assisting as well, aided by an actual flying broomstick and a sniper rifle. Finally, he spotted another new girl with noticeably fang-like teeth sitting on the throne itself and holding her head, as though she were in pain. At once, the wolf man's words from before rang again in his head, as Thomas also noticed the lady's ears. Whether fake or not, those bunny ears probably meant that this was the mistress of the manor.
He didn't have time to notice Ami and Riku at that moment, as his attention from scanning the room was drawn away by two things. First, was the realisation that those battling the snake seemed to be floating. And secondly, was the subsequent realisation that he was being drawn off the ground himself, his body feeling lighter all of a sudden. Was this the doing of someone in the room, or some proximity effect of the snake? His heart began to beat fast as his mind became slightly overwhelmed with everything going on around him. In fact, Thomas barely registered Kanbaru addressing him when she shouted over to him for assistance.
"R-right!" He confirmed back to her nervously, still a little bit confused as to what the hell was going on and who half these people were, let alone having to deal with the prospect of fighting whatever the hell this monster was. By the time he'd summoned his glaive and begun to try and propel himself in the air to help though, Kanbaru had already launched herself towards their foe, fit with a new weapon and item of clothing thanks to the card she'd just acquired.
And then, just like that, she was gone. Swallowed whole by the beast. Thomas suddenly froze, in utter disbelief of what had just happened. Before he could cry out to his eaten ally though, as welling emotions within him suggested he would, something even more bewildering happened. Bolts of electricity shot out from within the snake itself, the great serpent seemingly more confused than Thomas was himself as the boy shielded against the lightning with his weapon. As seconds went by the snake glowed brighter and brighter until it became a blinding light in the room. Thomas looked away and squeezed his eyes shut, the last thing he saw being a shadowy figure lifting Victoire from her throne and carrying her away from danger.
The next thing the boy knew, there was a resonant bang followed by the squelching of flesh hitting the walls and floor. Barely after he'd registered the noises, Thomas felt himself hit the ground. Luckily he'd only had to fall a short distance, but he still gave himself a moment before opening his eyes and getting back up. At once he noticed Kanbaru, standing in triumph around large chunks of what had formerly been the snake as flesh turned to masses of small slithering shadows, in a similar manner to the other snake from before.
Recognising that Kanbaru was probably fine though, Thomas began to make a run for it in the direction that he'd seen the dark figure sneak away with Victoire in, his curiosity and intrigue pushing him forward. They didn't for long though. The violet-eyed boy made it only a couple of metres before he collapsed back onto the ground, lying back on his elbows and panting. His body wasn't used to anything like the physical activity he'd undergone in the past 15 minutes or so, and the near-constant running and the few fights he'd been in had almost completely worn him out at this point.
Of course though, it was at this point that he noticed the other two in the room, with Ami standing near a mangled pile of red on the floor. Thomas gasped inwardly when he realised exactly what that pile was however, once he'd looked at it well enough, his eyes wide and slightly gaping mouth quivering. It was a corpse of a girl, battered and crumpled on the ground with blood spilling out from beneath her, and darkening the shade of her already mostly red attire.
"Why...? Who... who is tha- was that?" Thomas questioned to no one in particular, utterly shocked by what he was seeing. Though he was no stranger to death himself, it was the first time he'd seen a corpse, and let alone one as fresh and in a state like this. Especially when she seemed no less human than the others in the room, including himself. He was freaked out.
