Chapter 38: May the Best Magus
May the Best Magus…
Sometimes, Fiore Forvedge absolutely hated being confined to a wheelchair.
On most days, she didn't really think about it. Her legs had been paralysed from the moment of her birth, and she thus had no perspective on how her life could have been if her legs had been functional.
Yes, in her youth, she had sometimes dreamt about walking by herself, but those dreams had long since been left behind, together with the rest of her childhood dreams. As long as she had Magic Circuits in her legs paralysing her nerves, walking was not an option for her.
As such, Fiore had put the idea of ever being 'cured' out of her mind and tried not to think too much about her disability.
That didn't mean though that she was always perfectly serene about it. While sitting in a wheelchair might not be much of a problem in her normal everyday life, there were situations in which her disability was extraordinarily difficult to deal with.
One of the best examples of such a situation would be a fight, and especially a large battle between two groups in which the fog of war made it almost impossible for someone as inexperienced as Fiore to keep track of what was going on.
In such cases, sitting in a wheelchair was a massive disadvantage that could easily get her killed, and Fiore had always made sure to avoid situations like that as much as she could.
Until today.
The purge of the Meluastea had begun, and Rosaly and Fiore had decided to join in and search for their friend Marie Alva, who may have been imprisoned somewhere inside the massive Department of Archaeology.
Sure, Fujimaru might have agreed to find Marie and keep her safe, but that didn't mean they were going to sit back like dainty princesses and wait for him to fix all their problems. They were more than capable of putting in some effort themselves.
They had egged each other on, and then they stormed into the Department of Archaeology along with the rest of the crowd after the Bounded Fields went down, dead set on finding Marie.
Fiore was regretting that hasty decision very much right now.
"Watch out!" Rosaly screamed, and she threw herself against Fiore, toppling her wheelchair and sending both girls to the ground just in time for them to avoid a Curse fired at them by some random opponent.
Said opponent was reduced to shreds a moment later by Lady Barthomeloi, and Fiore heaved a sigh of relief when she saw the danger had passed.
"Sorry for knocking you over." Rosaly apologised as she rightened the wheelchair and helped Fiore back into it. "I panicked."
"Completely understandable." Fiore quickly waved away her friend's apology. "Thank you for saving me from that Curse."
"Y-You're welcome." Rosaly stuttered, looking around with wide, half-panicked eyes. "F-Fiore, I know that we said we were going to save Marie, b-but I don't think there is much we can do here. This is too chaotic!"
And chaotic was indeed the correct word to describe what was going on.
They were standing in a gigantic hall, with multiple floors, connected by numerous flights of stairs, and countless hallways and doors. If Fiore had to compare it with something, she'd say it was like a large, multi-floored mall or something like that.
It was not a place that had been built with people like Fiore in mind. The geography of the place was confusing, the lay-out was extremely unfriendly to someone in a wheelchair, what with the many stairs and steps and other nonsense, and the floor tiles were so uneven Fiore could barely move around without being shaken silly.
There had also been countless Magical Defences in place, defences so potent that they would normally have Fiore hesitate to move even a single muscle until someone with authority over the area gave her permission to, but those Magical Defences were gone now. They had been smashed to bits earlier, by either Lady Barthomeloi or Fujimaru, whichever of the two had gone in first.
Instead, there were now countless battles taking place everywhere throughout the hall. No matter where Fiore looked, she saw groups of Enforcers battling with the combat-Mages of the Meluastea, flinging spells at each other without end, the continuous Chanting only interrupted when someone cried out in agony after being hit.
She saw officers of the Department of Policies going around, catching the criminal Mages who ran away, arresting those that lied helpless on the ground, helping the Enforcers in their battles, and just plain plundering and stealing everything they came across like a swarm of magpies.
She saw Lady Montmorency and Lord El-Melloi II standing together at the back, a fair distance away from the fighting, protected by their respective bodyguards, discussing plans and results without a care in the world, as if they weren't standing mere metres away from a pandemonium.
But most of all, she saw Lady Barthomeloi and mister Fujimaru, who were running around at speeds too fast for her to track, who jumped effortlessly from floor to floor, who broke through locked and Sealed doors as if they were made of paper, and who slapped the Mages of the Meluastea around as if they were mere children.
As she looked on, Lady Barthomeloi encased a dozen Magi in an iceberg with a negligent wave of her hand. At the same time, mister Fujimaru used a lightning attack to incapacitate a dozen Magi of his own.
Lady Barthomeloi responded by unleashing a whirlwind that sucked up every Magus in its way and eventually smashed against and through one of the biggest doors in the hall. Mister Fujimaru responded in turn by unleashing a whirlwind of his own, one that didn't track a straight path, like Lady Barthomeloi's, but curved and twisted instead, grabbing as many Magi as it could without endangering any of his allies, and then smashed through another door that was at least as big as the one Lady Barthomeloi had smashed through.
It had been mere minutes since the attack had begun, yet at this point, the number of enemies left in the hall was less than one-tenth of the original number. It had been an absolute slaughter, and Lady Barthomeloi and mister Fujimaru were responsible for over eighty percent of the enemy casualties. They still weren't satisfied however, and directed their attention to the remaining opponents, who were locked in battle with the Enforcers and mercenaries.
Unwilling to use the big spells they had displayed earlier now that their allies could potentially be caught in the blast, Lady Barthomeloi and mister Fujimaru rushed forward, dodging and deflecting any spell sent at them by the increasingly panicking Mages, and then engaged them in melee.
What followed was the most one-sided beat-down Fiore had ever seen in her life. Lady Barthomeloi and mister Fujimaru were crushing the enemy-Magi like they were mere bugs under their feet. One swipe of Lady Barthomeloi's arm knocked three opponents to the ground. A punch from mister Fujimaru sent a dozen Magi flying back. A kick from Lady Barthomeloi sent a Magus almost to the ceiling, while Fujimaru took down several others with flicks of his fingers.
It was overwhelming, it was frightening, it was mind-boggling, and it drove home like nothing else that Fiore was hopelessly, utterly unprepared for any kind of real battle.
It was clear to her now that Rosaly and she were nothing but dead weight, and if they had died, it would have been entirely logical and entirely their own fault. The only reason they were still alive after foolishly rushing in was because of those two monsters, who were rampaging around so quickly that no enemy-Magus ever got the chance to so much as look at Rosaly or Fiore before they were beaten down, that first Curse excepted.
Fiore had been very arrogant to believe she could make a difference, and she should be very glad that the price for said arrogance had been limited to a few bruises and a gracious helping of humble pie. She would never have forgiven herself if Rosaly had died, and if she herself had died…
Well, she'd be dead, and that would have been the end of it.
"Perhaps we should go and wait with Lord El-Melloi II and Lady Montmorency." Rosaly proposed softly, her thoughts probably having run along the same line as Fiore's. "I don't think we'll be of much use here."
"…No." Fiore admitted as she watched the last Meluastea-Magus be felled when mister Fujimaru punched him backwards, straight at Lady Barthomeloi, who slammed him into the ground. "Probably not."
"…I am sure they will find Marie." Rosaly tried to assure her, though the hesitation in her voice ruined the attempt. "S-She will be fine."
"Y-Yes, probably."
Neither girl held any illusions though. If the purge continued like it had in the hall, with a series of chaotic battles consisting of Enforcers and Mages slinging spells at each other while Lady Barthomeloi and mister Fujimaru rampaged around, breaking and crushing everything that moved, then Marie definitely wouldn't be fine.
She would be caught in the grinder and, if not killed, then at the very least hurt badly.
And there was nothing either Fiore or Rosaly could do about it. Their abysmal performance in the first part of the purge just now had proven that beyond a doubt.
"Hey, are you two girls okay?"
""EEP!""
A diminutive, pink-haired girl appeared so suddenly beside them that Fiore almost had a heart-attack in shock and Rosaly almost jumped out of her skin.
"Oh, oops, sorry for startling you." The pink-haired girl apologised, rubbing the back of her head with a sheepish expression. "I just couldn't help but notice you seemed out of your depth here. Would you like me to bring you back outside? Or perhaps to the Lords and Ladies over there? You'll be safer there. My name is Angy by the way, I'm an Enforcer."
"Ah, please." Fiore gratefully accepted the offer. The danger might have largely passed now that every single enemy-Magus in the hall had been defeated, but one might never know if there were still some nasty surprises. Having an Enforcer with them would be a lot safer than going alone.
"Sure thing." The pink-haired girl, who was actually more of a small woman than she was a girl now that Fiore looked at her better, took Rosaly's hand and a handle of Fiore's wheelchair and began pulling them along, gently. "Would you like to tell me what's bothering you while we walk?"
"We are worried about our friend." It was Rosaly who replied first, after a quick glance at Fiore. "She might be imprisoned here, and we wanted to get her out before… before…"
"Before those two bulldozers over there run roughshod over everything in this department." Miss Angy finished for her, casting a look at Lady Barthomeloi and mister Fujimaru, who were now talking to each other in hushed tones. "I get the sentiment, but perhaps recklessly throwing yourself into battle wasn't the wisest thing to do?"
"We see that now." Fiore mumbled, lowering her face to hide her ashamed blush.
"Hm, well, as long as you learned something and you got out alive, it's all good." Angy smiled. "Did you talk to Fujimaru or Lady Barthomeloi about this?"
"We asked mister Fujimaru to search for Marie, and he accepted." Rosaly answered, biting her lip as she looked at the redheaded teen. "But maybe he's forgotten?"
"Then we should remind him, just in case. KHAMUL!" Angy first grinned at the girls, before turning around and shouting at someone in the crowd. Within moments, a tall, cloaked, and hooded figure emerged, and promptly made his way over to the trio.
"What do you need, Angy?" The hooded man asked in a soft, scratchy voice once he had caught up to them, and Fiore could almost feel how he gave her and Rosaly a curious glance, even though there was no way for her to see his eyes.
"Could you call Fujimaru for me? We need to have a word with him, just in case he's been a forgetful fool." Angy requested, and Fiore boggled at the immensely casual tone she used when talking about someone who was clearly intimately familiar with the Vice-Director.
"No problem." The hooded man didn't share her shock however, and wandered off again.
"D-Do you know mister Fujimaru?" Rosaly asked, her voice displaying the surprise Fiore also felt.
"We did a mission with him the other day." Angy explained, her face scrunching up slightly in thought. "He was pretty impressive back then too, but it seems he's really going all out for this one. I wonder why that is."
And with that oh-so-casual statement, the trio made their way to the back of the hall, where they encountered Lord El-Melloi and Lady Montmorency.
Then Fiore almost had a heart-attack again when Lady Montmorency herself turned to give them a wry grin.
"Miss Forvedge, miss Von Stahlen-Frobrecht, I suppose you couldn't wait to get involved?" She asked, before her lips turned down and she gave them a reprimanding look. "Be glad you are still alive. Rushing in was exceedingly foolish, and not something that should be repeated."
"Yes, my lady." Rosaly squeaked in return, and Fiore nodded quickly to show her agreement, her fear making her break out in sweat all over.
There really was no overstating how scared normal Magi were of Policies. That Lord El-Melloi stood there, looking entirely at ease with being in the presence of Mirei Montmorency, was a testament to his courage and self-control.
"Now, now, Lady Montmorency." Angy countered fearlessly, flipping her hair with a huff, showing that she was just as gutsy as the lord of the Archibald. "These girls were merely worried for their friend. You cannot be mad at them for that."
"Perhaps not." Lady Montmorency shrugged. "But it was unnecessary all the same. Fujimaru already accepted your request to save your friend, did he not?"
"…You know about-"
"Of course I know about Marie Alva." Lady Montmorency huffed, giving them a small glare. "Information is vitally important in my line of work, and you are hardly the only informant I have, miss Von Stahlen-Frobrecht."
"Yes, my lady." Rosaly mumbled, lowering her head to gaze at the floor, not seeming at all surprised that Lady Montmorency was aware that it was her who had passed along information on the Meluastea and their cronies for several weeks now. "If you and miss Angy are both certain that mister Fujimaru will save Marie, we will believe you."
"Hah! You don't even have to take our word for it if you don't want to." Angy let out a short laugh, before pointing to the side. "You can just ask Fujimaru himself."
Exactly on cue, Khamul entered the scene again with Fujimaru in tow.
"Good morning, everyone." Fujimaru gave a polite greeting. "Lady Montmorency, Lord El-Melloi."
"Mister Fujimaru." Lady Montmorency greeted back, while Lord El-Melloi gave a short nod in return. "Are you still intending to save Marie Alva from her predicament here?"
"I am." Fujimaru nodded, looking slightly confused at the question. "Why would I not?"
"Forgive my asking, these girls were a bit concerned that you had forgotten." Lady Montmorency gestured at Fiore and Rosaly, who both froze at being put in the spotlight like that. "After all, you did turn this hall into a ruin. If there had been any innocents here…"
"There weren't any. I established that before the fight began. I would have done things very differently if there were." Fujimaru stated in no uncertain terms, before addressing Fiore and Rosaly directly. "You don't need to worry. I have fought an Alva before, and I know what they smell like. Once we get close to your friend, I will know and I will make sure she is safe."
"Smell?" Rosaly cocked her head to the side, frowning at Fujimaru. "Are you saying Marie smells?"
"Every Magus has a distinct scent, and the scents of family-members are often quite alike." Fujimaru replied calmly, not rising to the bait.
"I-I see." Fiore mumbled, realising she and Rosaly had underestimated him. "T-That's quite impressive."
"Not half as impressive though as smashing through those gates out there with a snap of your fingers." Lady Montmorency interrupted suddenly, glaring slightly at Fujimaru. "Breaking through Bounded Fields like that… If I wasn't so sure you'd disappear in the blink of an eye, I'd slap a Sealing Designation on you so fast you'd be spinning on yourself for a year."
"Ah..." Fujimaru tensed up, a tinge of apprehension entering his eyes.
"Relax, boy, I won't do it. There's no use to it anyway, since, as I said, you'd just disappear instantly." Mirei grumbled. "Besides, you're too useful right now to waste."
"Yes." Fujimaru nodded quickly, the relief clear in his facial expression and body language. "Lady Barthomeloi and the Enforcers have to clean up for a bit, and then I'll break through the other Bounded Fields in this hall. I'm just waiting for Lady Barthomeloi's signal now."
"You may consider this the signal, mister Fujimaru."
Fiore once more almost had a heart-attack when the Vice-Director herself suddenly appeared on scene, her face set in a grim expression and power rolling off her in waves.
What was it with powerful people and appearing out of thin air?! If they were going to continue doing that for much longer, Fiore might not get out of this Department alive after all. She'd die from the shock.
"You can start when you're ready, mister Fujimaru." Lady Barthomeloi repeated, though anyone with two functioning brain cells knew that 'when you're ready' really meant 'right this moment'.
"Yes, yes, I'll get to it. We can't be standing around here for too long after all." Fujimaru said, and Fiore was once more struck dumb by the sheer casualness that he used when addressing the Vice-Director. "We have to find more enemies to defeat."
"Indeed." There was a flash of amusement visible on that grim face. "Find us more enemies, and maybe you can make up for your disadvantage."
For the first time in the conversation, Fujimaru's pleasant expression broke, a put-upon look taking its place.
"As if that is so important."
"It is. I can infer from your behaviour that you are most displeased by your disadvantage." Lady Barthomeloi's expression changed into something that could, with some imagination, almost be seen as smug and challenging. "Perhaps you should try harder from now on."
"Excuse me?" Lord El-Melloi fell in, looking as curious as Fiore felt. "What disadvantage?"
"Fujimaru and I decided to have a competition about who can defeat most opponents during this purge." Lady Barthomeloi announced, completely ignoring Fujimaru's muttering that she had decided that alone. "At the moment, I am leading with eighty-three opponents defeated."
It was an immense number, worthy of the Vice-Director, but thinking back on the few minutes of extreme violence, Fiore suspected mister Fujimaru's number wasn't much lower.
"Fujimaru?" Lady Montmorency prompted him when he failed to reply for a few seconds, clearly also very curious.
"Fine." The redhead hissed. "I have defeated seventy-nine opponents so far."
"Then I don't know what you're moping around like that for!" Lady Montmorency cried, even as everyone else boggled in shock at just how little the difference was. "You can still turn this around, boy. Just apply yourself a bit more."
"Sounds like the same goes for you, Lorelei." A blonde woman, whom Fiore wasn't familiar with, suddenly joined the conversation, also popping up out of nowhere, though by now, Fiore was so used to it she barely reacted anymore. "You're ahead by a hair. Lose focus and you lose the game."
"I do not intend to lose anything." The Vice-Director bit out. "I will win this."
"That's the spirit!" The blonde woman laughed, and then…
Then she hugged the Vice-Director, pressing the woman's face into her cleavage.
That girl was going to get shredded!
Fiore covered her face, Rosaly shrunk back, Lord El-Melloi stumbled backwards while the girls who were with him threw themselves in front of him, and Fujimaru took a step forward…
"Isabelle, let go of me."
…When Lady Barthomeloi's irritated voice sounded from in-between the blonde girl's breasts, the terrifying woman standing still where she was and the blonde girl remaining remarkably unshredded.
"I am not Isabelle! My name is Rit." The blonde girl pouted, but she did let go of the Vice-Director. "Could you please remember that?"
Lady Barthomeloi sighed as she straightened up again, but then she nodded once. "I will try."
"Please do!"
Silence reigned for a few more seconds after that, and then Fujimaru decided to speak up, his voice now sounding artificially casual.
"So, you know each other?"
"Lei-Lei is my half-sister." The blonde woman, Rit, exclaimed happily, beaming at the redheaded teen. "We have the same mother, and I'm only a year older than she is. We didn't grow up together, but we hang out sometimes these days, and we've gotten really close, if I do say so myself."
"Do not call me Lei-Lei." Lady Barthomeloi snapped, very notably not disputing any of the other things Rit had just said.
"You're half-sisters?" Fujimaru asked, surprise colouring his tone, as he looked from one woman to the other. "But you look nothing alike."
Fiore had to agree with that. The brown-haired, haughty-looking woman with a stiff kind of beauty was nothing like the blonde woman with a perpetual grin and a more conventional kind of beauty. There was a difference in height, in skin-tone, in eye-colour, in disposition, and, perhaps most notable, in the size of their chests, with Rit easily outsizing Lady Barthomeloi by a factor of two or even three, but Fiore didn't think it wise to mention or even think too much about that.
"We both take after our fathers." Rit explained, her grin not lessening for a second. "But we're really close, aren't we, Lorelei?"
"…Of sorts." Lady Barthomeloi's tone was extremely stiff as she spoke, but she still didn't dispute the other woman.
"I… am glad to hear it." Fujimaru said hesitantly, before taking a step back and pointing off into the distance. "I… uh, I think I will get started on breaking some Bounded Fields now."
It was a very forced change in subject, but there was no one present who did not immediately seize the opportunity to leave the matter of Lady Barthomeloi having a half-sister behind them.
"Lady Montmorency and I will continue regulating the mission." Lord El-Melloi said quickly.
"Indeed. There is still much that needs to be done." Lady Montmorency agreed.
"We'll press the attack once you finish, mister Fujimaru." Angy called out while she and Khamul grabbed Rit's arms and quickly dragged her away.
"We have lost too much time already. We shall press on." Even Lady Barthomeloi herself gratefully accepted the straw that Fujimaru held out for her. "Now that Magical Defences are no longer an obstacle, I want this Department cleared before the end of the afternoon."
"Before five? That should be doable." Fujimaru nodded.
"Indeed."
Fujimaru and Lady Barthomeloi walked away again together, talking amicably as they went, and Fiore could only stare in silent stupefaction.
The atmosphere here was way more casual than she had expected, and she had no idea what to do with that fact.
Neither did Rosaly apparently, as the girl was staring ahead silently, her dazed eyes showing she wasn't entirely focused anymore.
Well, they shouldn't complain too much though. It had been extremely weird, but at least they had gotten confirmation that mister Fujimaru was indeed working on getting Marie out of the Department unharmed, and that Lady Barthomeloi and Lady Montmorency, while not outright supportive, at least weren't against it.
That was an immense relief.
In all of the times George Wesley had gone on missions with the Vice-Director, he'd never, never seen her argue with anyone.
Lorelei Barthomeloi didn't argue. She commanded, she ordered, she passed judgement, and she sometimes verbally fought with her enemies, but arguing? Wesley had never seen it happen. People were too scared of her for that ever to be possible.
Until now apparently, as a few minutes ago, Wesley had born witness to Lady Barthomeloi arguing with Shirou Fujimaru.
No, worse than arguing. They had squabbled.
Fujimaru had squabbled with the Vice-Director, ignored her orders multiple times, brazenly argued against her opinions, yet despite all that, he not only still lived, but he also seemed to have actually gotten closer to her in the process.
Who knew that Lorelei Barthomeloi liked men who challenged and defied her?
Wesley didn't, that was for sure.
It almost made him wonder if he shouldn't have been more challenging and defiant in his interactions with her. Would she have liked him more if he'd done so?
…Nah, probably not.
"Don't just stand around, Wesley." One of his compatriots suddenly called out to him, and Wesley came out of thoughts just in time to dodge the smack that almost landed on his head.
"What the hell!?" He exclaimed.
"Oh, so you did notice that, did you?" Evert Vaarken, said compatriot, a large, buff man with red hair and numerous scars, clad in a very tight biker's suit, huffed, before pointing to the side. "Come on, man, there's still plenty of work to do. We need all hands on deck, especially since Lady Montmorency wants us to be finished by the end of the day."
"Yes, yes, I'm coming." Wesley nodded, casting a glance around the first hall of the Department of Archaeology, which, though it must have been quite nice before, was little more than a ruin now.
"The big ones might be good at killing the enemies, but after that's done, they still need a lot of people to heal the wounded on both sides, to restrain and guard the prisoners, to gather the loot, to deactivate any left-over traps, and of course, to follow that Fujimaru-kid around while he breaks down Bounded Fields." Vaarken continued happily, clenching his fist in determination. "In other words, hours and hours of work, for which we'll be paid royally."
"Right, I almost forgot, money is everything to you." Wesley sighed, casting his eyes upwards to look at the ceiling. "Greedy looter."
"Money is a better cause than perving on the Queen." Vaarken shot back.
"Oi oi! Ssssssh!" Wesley immediately shushed him, holding a finger to his lips. "Don't say that so loudly, idiot!"
"No one's listening anyway." Vaarken shook his head. "And even if they did, no one would dare tell on you. She's an unpredictable one, that Queen of ours, and she might very well shoot the messenger."
"…I suppose that's true."
"I never really understood what you like so much about her anyway." Vaarken continued, gesturing at his chest. "She's got almost nothing on top, and her icy expression pretty much ruins all the beauty she has."
"As I have told you so often before, a great ass can easily make up for any lack in boobs." Wesley said in a sagely tone. "As for her icy expression, I rather like that."
"Guess we just have different tastes." Vaarken shrugged.
"As we have established numerous times before." Wesley nodded.
The men then temporarily paused their conversation to get started on their work, and after they spent some time hauling loot, restraining prisoners, and deactivating traps, they met up again, with Wesley carrying several boxes of gems and Vaarken carrying two unconscious prisoners over his mighty shoulders.
"Man, the Meluastea are rich." Wesley remarked happily, looking at the boxes he was carrying. "Or rather, were rich."
"They had lots of personnel too, I have been hauling prisoners around for an hour now, and more keep appearing." Vaarken laughed. "It seems their promises of riches and power attracted a lot of people who were willing to close their eyes to treason."
"Have you ever been tempted to join the Meluastea, Vaarken?" Wesley asked curiously. "You could have earned a lot of money."
"Never been tempted for a second." Vaarken shook his head however. "Perhaps I could have earned a lot of money, but I would have had to give up my freedom in return, and that was not something I was willing to do. I am a freelancer because I don't want anyone to own my ass. It's far too good an ass to be owned by anyone."
Vaarken accentuated his statement by shaking his hindquarters, which, because of the bodysuit, were very pronounced indeed.
"A wise policy." Wesley nodded, his mood good enough to not make a snarky comment. "If you aren't owned by anyone, then no one can drag you down with them if they fall."
"That's what we agreed on, brother." Vaarken laughed, holding out a fist for a bump, and Wesley didn't leave him hanging. "Now, let's put in some more work."
"Yes, let's."
And so, the men continued their job, both of them in an excellent mood, laughing and smiling all the way. Things were going extremely well, much better than they should, and it looked like they would soon be getting a massive payday for what promised to be less than a day's work.
Assaulting a Department and taking down a Ruling Family had never been so easy.
Shirou broke down another set of Bounded Fields surrounding the Workshop of some small, irrelevant Magus with as much effort as it would cost a normal man to break a razor-thin sheet of ice, before watching silently as a large, red-haired Enforcer wearing a skin-tight bodysuit immediately stormed into the Workshop and arrested the owner.
Things had been going on like this for a while now. The first hall of the Department of Archaeology might not have held anything particularly dangerous or illegal, but there were still many Workshops spread around everywhere, all of them holding people who had willingly thrown their lot in with the Meluastea and thus had to be arrested.
Those people were small fry, but not arresting them would mean leaving enemies at their back, and that was not something they were willing to do. Too much risk of a pincer attack or ambush.
"How many Workshops remain?" Lady Barthomeloi asked irritably when the latest Magus was dragged away.
"Three. We can be done with this in no more than fifteen minutes." Shirou replied.
That was clearly fifteen minutes too many for Lady Barthomeloi, but she didn't speak up, so the redhead decided to take that as permission to go on.
"The next Workshop is down that hallway." He said, starting down the hallway in question, and the group of Enforcers followed behind him again.
Ultimately, it only took fourteen more minutes for him to wrap it all up, allowing them to leave the small alleys and back rooms behind to focus on the big halls again.
Now that Shirou had entered the Department of Archaeology, he could sense that the Department was shaped roughly like a four-leaved clover. There were four main halls, oval in shape, each in one of the four Cardinal directions, and every hall also had a massive network of hallways, rooms, corridors, and passageways surrounding it, providing shelter to countless Magi of all kinds. The one to the South was the one they had cleared first and were standing in now, but there were other halls to the West, North, and East which were still firmly in the possession of the Meluastea.
The halls were all linked to each other by large hallways and countless other connections, and Shirou also detected something underground, far beneath the department.
He reported this to Lady Barthomeloi, before lifting an eyebrow at her. "Now then, where would you like to go first? West, North, or East?"
"Let's start with the left and work our way to the right." Lady Barthomeloi decided in the blink of an eye. "We shall continue our competition in the Western hall first."
"Very well." Shirou sighed, before they made their way over to said hall, to indeed continue their game.
That game had been something that Lady Barthomeloi had decided entirely on her own. After he had rejected her offer of protection, and they had squabbled about it for a bit, Lady Montmorency had told them that they should stop wasting time and that there were plenty of bad guys for the both of them.
Something in that sentence had awakened something inside Lady Barthomeloi, and she had suddenly demanded of him that they would have a competition about who could take down the most opponents during the purge.
There were no other rules or conditions, no caveats or loopholes, it really was just about racking up the numbers and seeing who had the highest score at the end.
That much, Shirou had understood. He didn't like it, turning something like this into a game, but he understood what she meant and what was expected of him.
What he didn't understand however was the thing she had muttered after. Something about her being the elf and him being the dwarf.
Yes, he was shorter than she was, a bit, but she was an adult woman while he was fourteen. He still had some growing left to do, and with the way said growth was going, he would be taller than her in two or three years.
There was no way he was a dwarf, and he didn't really see why she would be an elf either.
By the way, wasn't she supposed to hate everything inhuman? Or was role-playing an exception?
So many questions, but no answers.
After breaking into the Western hall, Lady Barthomeloi and he found several dozen opponents waiting for them there.
First blood went to Lady Barthomeloi, who sunk several Magi up to their necks into the ground with a quick flick of her fingers, completely incapacitating them. Second blood went to Shirou however, who used a Runic Array to paralyse several others.
Naturally, their opponents didn't just let that happen, and they launched many attacks in return. With the great number of enemy-Magi, there was a great variety of spells. Most of them were elemental in nature, while others were Curses, or Enchantments, or even Gem-based.
With his Magic Resistance, Shirou was able to ignore them. Meanwhile, Lady Barthomeloi, upon seeing Shirou take the attacks without flinching, was noticeably unhappy with the fact she had to block and dodge them.
With her mood having deteriorated, she launched a devastating whirlwind attack in retaliation that took down more than a dozen Magi and put her squarely ahead in their little game. Shirou reacted in turn however by launching several lightning bolts at pockets of Magi standing around, pulling even with her again.
It continued like that for a while, both of them rapidly increasing their score as much as they could, and by the time the hall was cleared, Shirou was now the one leading with 175 opponents defeated against Lady Barthomeloi's 173 opponents.
Rather than being mad however, the brunette just seemed to get more excited by the fact she was behind.
"My compliments, mister Fujimaru." She looked at him with a strangely satisfied expression. "This competition has already proven to be one of the best I have ever participated in. Do not celebrate just yet though. I will defeat you in the end."
"…I am glad to hear that you are enjoying yourself." Shirou replied after a moment, deciding to stick with being polite and cordial. "But I will not be defeated so easily."
"Excellent!" Lady Barthomeloi almost seemed to glow in happiness, though her lips only curled upwards the slightest amount, before turning around to look back at the hallway they had come from, where reinforcements were now arriving, among them a familiar face. "Sir Gideon, you arrive at last."
"Apologies, apologies." The black-haired Enforcer laughed sheepishly as he and his team entered the hall as well, followed by the other Enforcers, mercenaries, and whoever else was participating in the purge. "You are both too fast for us to keep up with."
"Naturally." Lady Barthomeloi said haughtily, before turning to Shirou again. "Mister Fujimaru, I take it there are hidden Workshops and rooms in this hall as well?"
"Many more than in the Southern hall. We'll likely have to spend quite some time here to find them all." Shirou confirmed. "There are also many prisoners present."
"How do you know they are prisoners?" A tall, purple-haired woman, whom Shirou recognised a second later as Kyra, asked curiously.
"Most of them have no potential for Magecraft, and many are restrained in some way. I assumed that was enough for them to likely be prisoners."
"You assume correctly." Gideon nodded sharply. "Tell us where they are. We will split up and cover as much ground as possible."
"Do you have a way to quickly break through Bounded Fields then?" Lady Barthomeloi asked, not unkindly, but still piercingly.
"…No." Gideon shook his head, and though it was a partial lie, as Khamul could very well break through weaker Bounded Fields quickly, Shirou did not dispute him.
"Then you will search the hall for any remaining opponents, and you will find and mark down all places where you cannot proceed because of Magical Defences." Lady Barthomeloi ordered. "Fujimaru and I will work as quickly as possible and come to reinforce you when needed."
"Yes, lady Vice-Director." Gideon saluted, before he and all other people present spread out through the hall to follow her orders.
"You truly are a convenient tool to possess, mister Fujimaru." Lady Barthomeloi then told him, and since she sounded like she was trying to give him a compliment, he decided to take it as such. "Your only downsides are your indispensability and the fact you can only be in one place at a time."
"You managed perfectly well before I arrived." Shirou protested.
"Yes, but now that I have seen how easy it can be to break through Bounded Fields with the correct person on my side, I would be loath to return to the old ways." Lady Barthomeloi smiled mysteriously, an expression he had never before seen on her, and then she returned to her poker face. "Let us not waste any more time. Proceed with the search."
"Yes, Lady Barthomeloi."
In the meantime, somewhere else inside the Western hall of the Department of Archaeology, quite close to where Shirou and Lady Barthomeloi were standing, Lysanne Saward was literally running for her life, away from the sounds of combat and towards her Workshop.
A purge had begun! An actual, freaking purge, the likes of which Lady Saward had only heard of in stories before.
It wasn't supposed to happen. The cautionary tales about Ruling Families and even entire factions being destroyed had always seemed so far-fetched to her, yet now such a destruction was taking place, and she was part of the losing faction.
The Meluastea had miscalculated! They had miscalculated badly, and now they, as well as everyone who had thrown their lot in with them, were paying the price.
A price in blood, extracted by an army of Enforcers and mercenaries, led by Lorelei Barthomeloi herself. The Queen of the Clocktower, who had come down from her ivory tower to bring ruin upon those who opposed her.
Against such an opponent, there was nothing lady Saward could do but run in terror.
As she ran, Lady Saward cursed. She cursed the Barthomeloi, the Department of Policies, the Enforcers, the Clocktower, the stringent laws, and the concept of purges.
Most of all though, she cursed Torben Meluastea.
Torben had been the one who had recruited her into the Department of Archaeology several years ago. Before then, she'd just been a researcher in the Department of Lore, but Torben had quickly lured her in with promises of freedom, power, and riches. He had introduced her to the criminal life, taught her about the possibilities that opened up once a Magus let go of ridiculous rules and laws, and had even helped her set up her first blackmail scheme. It wouldn't be incorrect to say that he was basically her sponsor, and he had acted as her liaison with the Meluastea-family ever since.
He was the one who gave her assignments and collected the payment she owed to the Meluastea-family, but he was also the one who arranged for her Workshops to be well-stocked, who got her a few underlings when she needed them, and who protected her from the fall-out whenever she broke a law or two.
It was a mutually beneficial relationship, made even better by the fact that Torben was generally more than willing to accept sex as payment, in lieu of money or favours. A quick tumble in the sack ensured without fail that Lady Saward could rest easy for another month, safely ensured of being backed by a Ruling Family.
When everything had been going well, the relationship between them was nothing short of excellent.
Now she cursed his very name however, and not just because she needed someone to blame. She was raging because he had given her completely incorrect information.
The last time they'd slept together, Torben had been in a talkative mood, and he had assured her, with complete and utter certainty, that there was no chance at all that the Meluastea were ever going to be purged. Lady Barthomeloi and her ilk had no proof of anything, and no way to obtain proof either.
He had promised her that they were safe.
And now he had been proven a liar, or at the very least an ignorant fool who had no idea of what was going on.
A purge was happening, the Meluastea were going down, and Lady Saward now had to think of something quickly before she would meet the same fate.
She was under no illusions that she would be let off easy. She had not only worked for the Meluastea, making her guilty by association, but she had also blackmailed a number of students, which, while common, was actually still a punishable crime if discovered. To make matters worse, she'd also cooperated on Dead Apostle Research, Demonology, and experiments on illegally captured Magi.
Furthermore, her star pupils, Yoshi Kawakami and Yuu Kawakami, whom she had been blackmailing, were both talented enough that any influential family would gladly accept them as proteges, and if the Kawakamis then asked for Lady Saward to be killed, then no one would hesitate to get rid of the fallen, imprisoned, worthless former lady.
If she was caught, she was screwed, plain and simple.
As such, she needed a plan, a plan that could get her out of the department safely. Devising such a plan was easier said than done however, especially since she was very near panicking.
That was why she'd kept things simple for now. The first thing she planned to do was to get back to her Workshop and hide under its powerful Bounded Fields. That should give her a bit of a respite.
Also, her ally and partner in crime, Millicent Raverth Archibald, was waiting for her there.
Together, they would stand more of a chance of devising a good plan than separately, so lady Saward was quite eager to regroup with her friend.
She eventually made it to her Workshop unharmed and unimpeded. As she had expected, she found Millicent there, sitting on a couch, looking…
Entirely relaxed and calm?
"Millicent!" Lady Saward called out to her partner, quickly walking up to her. "Millicent, we are under attack!"
She honestly thought that was obvious from the explosions and screams in the distance, but perhaps Millicent was very absorbed in thought right now and had missed these obvious clues.
"Ah, Lysanne, good to see you." Millicent smiled happily. "Yes, we are under attack, I am aware of that."
"T-Then why are you so calm?" Lady Saward spluttered, unable to believe how utterly blasé the other woman was being.
"Because I already have an idea to get out of this."
"Y-You do?" Lady Saward gasped, and she felt a massive knot unravel in her chest when Millicent nodded confidently, breathing a massive sigh of relief. "Oh my God, you have no idea how happy I am to hear that."
"I can imagine. I mean, if we're caught, we're screwed. There's no way that Policies is going to be soft on us, is there?" Millicent echoed lady Saward's own sentiments, getting up from the couch and stretching her arms a bit.
"No, definitely not." Lady Saward agreed, the knot returning at the mere mention of that department, though it wasn't as tight as before now that there was a possible way out for them. "Shouldn't you get dressed by the way?"
Lady Saward made that suggestion because Millicent was still clad only in lingerie, and quite a racy set at that, which might not be ideal for combat. The white-haired woman shook her head confidently though, waving the suggestion aside.
"No need. In fact, the way I am currently dressed might work to my advantage, depending on how the plan goes exactly."
"Should I strip as well then?"
"Also no need." Millicent shook her head again, giving Lady Saward a side-ways smile. "There's no particular advantage in you stripping as well right now."
"I see." Lady Saward nodded, thus keeping her clothes on. "Could you tell me about your plan? You have made me quite curious."
"Yes, I will." Millicent nodded, her smile disappearing to make place for a serious expression. "First of all, you should know that it is not exactly an honourable plan."
"Honourable?" Lady Saward huffed in amusement at Millicent's use of that particular word. "Since when do we care about honour?"
"True, but for this plan, something truly underhanded is needed. I mean, it's quite a betrayal honestly, and I confess I am somewhat hesitant to go through with it."
"Millicent, listen." Lady Saward held up her hands, giving her friend and partner a wide smile. "I appreciate your hesitance in betraying our allies, I truly do, it's cute, but you need to get over it. This is a purge; if we don't act fast, it will be all over for us soon. In these kinds of situations, it is every person for themselves. Old alliances and friendships are worthless now, and we need to do whatever it takes to survive and retain our freedom."
Perhaps having expected her to say that, Millicent smiled again.
"Of course." She agreed happily. "I already thought you'd say that, but I felt I had to check first. Sorry if you feel that I wasted precious time with that."
"Oh well, it only took a second." Lady Saward shrugged, before getting back to the point. "But what about your plan?"
"Indeed, my plan." Millicent nodded, her expression turning serious once more. "Lysanne, be a dear and get my boots from that closet, would you?"
"What am I, your servant?" Lady Saward huffed, but she did as was asked, turning around to walk to the closet, which she then opened before bending down to grab her friend's boots-
"I am sorry, Lysanne."
-Before something smashed into the back of her head, and Lysanne fell forward, the black spots before her eyes rapidly consuming her entire field of vision until black was all she saw.
Millicent wasn't entirely sure what she felt as she watched Lysanne slump to the ground after receiving a whack to the back of the head with a chair.
On one hand, the woman had been a good friend of Millicent's for years now. They had joined the Department of Archaeology at about the same time, both of them having been recruited by Torben Meluastea, and they had become fast friends. They had a lot in common after all.
Both women were driven and willing to go to extreme lengths to get what they wanted. They had no qualms about using others or themselves to further their ambitions. They were both highly cynical, and had long lost faith in the goodness of humanity.
Another point of similarity, perhaps the most important, was that both Lysanne and Millicent were elders of their respective families, and both had been forced to watch powerlessly as a complete outsider suddenly took over said families.
For Millicent, it had been Waver Velvet who had come out of nowhere to knock her another rung down on the ladder of succession, and for Lysanne, it had been Ariadne Saward who had taken over the reins, a woman who had married into the Saward-family.
The women had spent many a day complaining to each other about their lots in life, and Millicent would be lying if she said she hadn't become fond of Lysanne, and she did not doubt Lysanne had become fond of her in turn.
On the other hand though, there was a purge going on right now, Policies was taking apart Archaeology brick by brick, and if Millicent didn't act quickly to save herself, all would be lost. Her freedom was worth any price, even her only friend. No friendship was worth being tortured and killed over. Not in the Moonlit World.
Lysanne might have been dear to her, but Millicent could easily find someone to replace her with a bit of effort. No amount of effort would get back her life though. Ditto for her freedom in case she miraculously wasn't sentenced to death.
So she had made the choice to betray her ally, and now that she had done so, she had to make the most of it.
Fortunately, the Workshop had a lot of materials, including Enchanted rope, which Millicent used to quickly restrain her unconscious friend. She tied her ankles together, as well as her lower arms, and since she had plenty of rope left at that point, also her knees, before making sure to loop the rope around her torso several times. Then she just had to add a gag, and voila, one helpless victim, ready to be sacrificed.
The end-result was quite an erotic picture, if Millicent did say so herself.
Now all she had to do was wait for the Enforcers to arrive, and then pretend she was a victim instead of a perpetrator. From now on, Millicent Archibald wasn't in this Workshop because she was a scheming Magus, but because she was forced to by blackmail and threats.
She couldn't pretend to be a prisoner herself, as she had accompanied Lysanne sometimes and participated in her crimes, which meant Policies' spies probably had her pegged already, but she should be able to pull off the act of a victim of blackmail, fitting right in with the dozens of other Magi in Archaeology who had suffered a similar fate.
It admittedly was far from a perfect plan, especially considering Lysanne would likely tell her interrogators the truth and then some, in retaliation for Millicent's betrayal, but if Millicent stuck to her story, she might be able to get through this in one piece.
She was mainly relying however on the support of her family, the Archibald, to get out of this situation. Granted, the other elders didn't exactly like her, to say nothing about Waver Velvet, but none of them would want to suffer the blow to their reputation that having one of their own be convicted for treason would bring. That would put them even further from reclaiming their lost glory.
Couple that with Velvet's soft heart and righteous nature, which she would take full advantage of by begging and pleading pathetically with him, and Millicent should be able to get herself out of prison after a week at most, hopefully with minimal torture.
After that, she would keep herself under the radar for the rest of her life. No more crimes and stupid adventures for her, she'd become a boring researcher who kept herself to every law the Clocktower had.
Her little rebellion against the status quo had been nice while it lasted, but it was over now, and she had to accept that if she wanted to survive. She really had to make the switch from Millicent, the cold-hearted, law-breaking Magus to Millicent, the proper, well-behaving young woman.
Now to set the scene.
After verifying that Lysanne was tightly secured, Millicent walked over to the nearest desk, and then smashed her face into it several times, making sure not to hold back at all, giving herself a broken nose and many bruises. Then, she grabbed a knife and used to make cuts all over her body, before pressing the knife into Lysanne's hand for a moment. Lastly, she pulled her underwear eschew, as if she had hastily put it on after it had been forcibly removed.
Hey, if she was going to play the victim, she might as well go the entire way.
Millicent then threw herself onto the couch, and began nursing her wounds as well as she could. She didn't know how long it would take the Enforcers to get into the Workshop after all, and she'd rather not die of blood loss before then.
That was honestly one of the few downsides of the plan. The sheer length of time she'd be forced to spend in the Workshop, waiting for someone to break through the Bounded Fields, which could very well take hours, if not days.
There was enough water and food, and if Lysanne awoke, Millicent could just give her another whack, but it would be very boring.
But there was nothing she could do about it, so she settled down to wait.
It was only several minutes later however that she felt the Bounded Fields surrounding the Workshop shatter without warning. From one moment to the next, they just came apart, and if Millicent hadn't already been lying on the couch, she would have fallen down in shock.
She didn't have long to be surprised however, as the door was opened merely seconds later, and four people walked through, prompting Millicent to adopt her most pathetic and pleading look, like a proper victim who was in dire need of help from strong, capable Enforcers.
Millicent's heart stopped however when Lorelei Barthomeloi herself appeared in view. It was so unexpected that the white-haired woman forgot to breathe for a few seconds, her entire focus aimed at that terrifying lady, while the fact that Waver Velvet's new student as well as the Kawakamis had accompanied said lady barely registered.
Her singular focus was interrupted however when the male Kawakami, Yoshi, made an exclamation of victory.
"There she is!" He cried, pointing at the bound Lysanne. "That's the woman who was blackmailing us!"
"I see." Velvet's student –come, what was his name? Ah yes, Fujimaru– nodded, moving towards Lysanne to study her for a moment, before rising again. "Out cold. It will be at least four hours until she wakes, and she is restrained well. There's no need to worry about her."
"Good." Lady Barthomeloi said, though she didn't look at him, instead choosing to give Millicent a truly terrifying glare. "And who are you?"
"M-M-Millicent Raverth Archibald!" She squeaked, not even having to fake the stutter. "I-I w-wasn't involved in a-anything-"
"She lies." Fujimaru said coldly, frowning at Millicent. "And those wounds are self-inflicted, mere minutes ago. This is nothing but an act."
"Hm, I suspected as much." Lady Barthomeloi huffed, her glare becoming possibly even more terrifying. "My spies already informed me that you were in league with the Meluastea, and one of my best informants revealed you were doing so entirely voluntarily. There is no use in lying."
"I-I-I…" Millicent wanted to argue, to deny the woman's words, anything to salvage her plan that was falling apart at first contact with the enemy, but those eyes… Those terrifying eyes didn't let her get a single word out.
"Take her away." Lady Barthomeloi ordered a few Enforcers who had entered a moment ago. "Bring her to Lady Montmorency and Lord El-Melloi. See if there is anything Lord El-Melloi is willing to say on her behalf. And cover her up before you go."
"Here." Fujimaru said, holding out a cloak that had suddenly appeared in his hand, and one of the Enforcers gratefully accepted it, before tightly wrapping it around Millicent, effectively covering and restraining her in one stroke.
Then she was hauled off, and Lysanne was dragged away right after her.
And now, faced with the absolute failure of her plan and the prospect of being imprisoned, tortured, and executed, Millicent could only really think about one thing.
'I hope they don't put me in a cell with Lysanne.'
"Two more prisoners here!"
"Another two?! Where are we going to leave them? Bring them to cellblock C and ask the warden if there is any room left."
"I've got three more prisoners myself."
"What?! Uhm, cellblock A, tell them to expand their Bounded Field as much as they can so they can fit a few more captives into it."
"I found a load of books on Curses."
"Put them in box E, with the rest of the books."
"I'm pretty sure these books are Cursed themselves though."
"Box G then, with the other Cursed objects."
In the Southern hall of the Department of Archaeology, a lot was happening at once.
After the hall had been cleared and everyone in league with the Meluastea had been arrested, Lady Montmorency had decided to build her temporary field-headquarters in said hall, and now, captives and loot from all over the department were being hauled in at great speed.
The elderly woman and her personnel were managing it as well as they could, but since the inflow of people and property was so great, a lot of improvisation had to be done.
Several rudimentary cell blocks had been erected in the hall, really just small spaces with some Magical Defences and guards around it, as well as field-hospices, impromptu morgues, and large boxes for the loot.
Furthermore, there were guard posts securing the entrances, making sure the Meluastea couldn't mount a counterattack and other families couldn't try to profit from the confusion, and countless scribes were recording everything that happened and everything that was said, for the history books.
Enforcers were searching through the wreckage for hidden artifacts, mercenaries searched for anything that could get them a quick buck, and policy personnel did whatever they were told to do.
It was the very picture of somewhat-organised chaos, and though Waver felt impressed by it, he made sure not to get swept up in the currents. He rather remained close to the wall, merely looking out over the scene.
He didn't have the skills or knowledge required to make a valuable contribution, and if he did try to help, he'd just be in the way.
And if there was anything Waver hated, it was being in the way.
So he did nothing. He remained where he was, near the wall, patiently waiting until something would happen that was relevant to him.
"This is chaos." Flat suddenly stated in no uncertain terms, commenting on the scene before him. "Pure chaos. Prisoners and loot are coming in faster than they can handle. They are managing this by the skin of their teeth."
"Well, what did you expect?" Svin countered, sounding insulted on behalf of Policies. "They came here expecting to have days to work through the Department of Archaeology, but now that Fujimaru is doing his thing again, they suddenly have to fit all that work into mere hours."
Svin spoke the truth. It wasn't that the people of Policies had been unprepared or sloppy, it was just that this was an unprecedented situation that required a lot of improvisation to deal with.
It would have been enough to overwhelm anyone, and the only reason things were going acceptably well nonetheless was because of Lady Montmorency.
She truly was living up to her reputation as the undisputed top-bureaucrat and logistics-expert of the Clocktower. At that very moment, she was giving orders to three separate groups at once, while one hand wrote down the names of prisoners and the other hand wrote down the collected loot, at the same time.
Somehow, despite all the chaos, she seemed to have everything well in hand, and that image, that aura of competence, greatly contributed to the fact that nothing major had gone wrong so far.
Yes, it was chaos, but it was an effective kind of chaos.
"There are so many prisoners." Grey whispered, looking with wide eyes at the improvised cell blocks, which were bursting at the seams with people now. "What are they going to do with them?"
"I couldn't say." Waver admitted, before looking to the side, at Adashino. "Do you know what will happen to them?"
The snake-lady promptly nodded in response, giving him another one of her mysterious smiles.
"But you aren't going to tell us?"
Adashino shrugged, before pointing to her mouth and then to Lady Montmorency.
"She is under an order of silence, Lord El-Melloi." Ortensia, who sat on her knees and had been saying prayers for all the lives lost today, reminded him kindly. "She cannot tell you even if she wanted to."
"Right, I remember." Waver nodded, rubbing the back of head, before glancing over at the cellblocks again. "Well, whatever you and your ilk are planning for the captives, Adashino, you should do it quickly. There are enough prisoners to make things very difficult if they escape, and I do not fancy fighting a horde of Magi who have nothing left to lose."
"Don't worry, Waver, my darling, I will protect you!" Lehrman exclaimed, sidling up to him again. "On my honour, they will only get to you over my cold, dead body."
"…Thanks, Lehrman." Waver replied, unsure what to do in the face of the girl's sincerity, so he focused on Adashino again, who was hiding a smile behind her hand. "But you do have a plan for all those prisoners?"
The kimono-clad woman nodded in response, and Waver let out a breath of relief.
"But man, Fujimaru really is a game-changer, isn't he?" Bazett piped up. "I mean, can you imagine how long it would have taken us to even just get into the Department without him?"
"Hours, perhaps even days." Waver nodded in agreement with his main bodyguard, which was proven by the fact that a few dozen Enforcers and mercenaries were trying to break through the defences on the Northern and Eastern hallways, which Fujimaru hadn't gotten to yet, but hadn't made any progress whatsoever.