"Hey, Alise! Where are those elephant-headed guys!? Weren't they supposed to back us up!?" Kaguya called out impatiently through the chaos, blade still dripping with blood.
"They're not coming." A cool voice answered.
It was Ryuu, clad in her signature green cloak, her lower face hidden by a mask. Though her features were obscured, her elegant bearing and calm tone carried a striking beauty.
Swinging her uniquely shaped sword, she cut down another enemy as if it were second nature.
Lyra blinked, surprised. "Huh!? You mean… they're not?"
Ryuu didn't even pause to answer. "Shakti and her team encountered a different group. They're pursuing them now."
Even as she spoke, Ryuu's sword danced through the enemy lines.
"Then forget those guys!" Alise shouted from a distance, rallying her squad. "Let's finish this fight ourselves!"
And they did.
Within moments, the warehouse echoed only with the groans of defeated foes. Evilus had been thoroughly crushed.
"We've taken full control of Warehouse No. 3." Lyra reported, voice ringing with triumph.
"Understood." Alise replied, her tone steady. "We'll use this momentum to storm Warehouse No. 4. Also, send word to Iska and Maryuu, they're to suppress the other warehouses immediately."
As she issued orders, Alise moved through the warehouse briskly, already forming the next strategic plan. Her poise and decisiveness gave everyone confidence.
"Lyra, get moving to the next checkpoint. I'm counting on you."
"Yeah, yeah, what else do you want?" Lyra grumbled dramatically, already darting off like a nimble little mouse, weaving through smoke and fallen crates.
"The goal is to halt the enemy's offensive and prevent the fire from spreading. Stay sharp. Attack!"
Turning to her two closest companions, Alise's eyes gleamed with excitement.
"Kaguya! Ryuu! The enemy general is in your direction. He's all yours."
Kaguya grinned wickedly. "A fine commander you are. Then I'll take the lead, Miss Elf. Please follow me closely."
"This is no time for jokes." Ryuu responded with a sigh, dashing after her. "Let's go."
Their figures vanished into the rising smoke and roaring fire, a pair of blades cutting through the chaos.
Fortunately for the defenders, Evilus' assault had been relatively weak this time. The strongest among them was barely Level 2, a pathetic match for the battle-hardened girls. Their attacks were uncoordinated, their defense sloppy.
In just a few minutes, their arrogance was shattered. One after another, the dark-cloaked assailants collapsed to the ground, clutching wounds and wailing in defeat.
"AAAGHHH!!"
"Ugh." Kaguya groaned, rubbing her forehead. "This is so boring."
Though she stood tall, her posture made it clear that she had a headache.
She added with disdain, "How the hell did such weaklings cause such a ruckus? Unbelievable."
Just as the three girls regrouped to complain...
CLANG!
A figure burst out from the shadows, a member of Evilus lunging forward in a wild charge, something clutched tightly in his hand.
"This ambush is way too obvious." Kaguya snorted.
Without hesitation, she twisted her body and sent a crushing kick into the attacker's gut, sending him flying like a ragdoll. But the object in his hand was flung into the air, straight toward Alise.
"Oh no—Alise!" Lyra screamed, eyes wide with horror.
A brilliant blaze erupted where the projectile landed. Flames engulfed Alise in an instant.
The Evilus members gasped in disbelief.
"N-No way… she's still standing?!"
Indeed, Alise stood firm amidst the firestorm. Though her body was intact, her red-themed combat uniform was now scorched and partially aflame.
But the girl herself? She remained blissfully unaware.
Her fists clenched confidently as she raised her chin and proclaimed, "Explosion? Against me, Scralet Harnel? Don't make me laugh."
A proud smirk appeared on her face as she struck a triumphant pose.
"The flames of the enemy hold no sway over the pure and beautiful me. Hehehe."
She practically glowed with self-satisfaction.
Crackle… crackle…
"Alise, YOUR CLOTHES ARE ON FIRE!" Lyra shouted, panic in her voice. "This isn't funny anymore. You're about to burn to death."
"Whaaaat!?" Alise froze, her eyes going wide with horror.
Da-da-da-da!!
She took off running around the warehouse like a headless chicken, desperately searching for water.
"Where's the water!? Where is it!?"
Her figure weaved through smoke and rubble, flames trailing behind her like a bad joke. Eventually, she skidded to a stop, heaving for breath.
"…Hmph. Whatever. Everyone has a moment like this."
Then, with a bright grin, she added, "Failure is just the ladder to tomorrow. Maybe this way… I'm a step closer to my ideal."
She laughed sheepishly, trying to pass it off as a noble sacrifice.
Lyra deadpanned. "Our captain seriously knows how to throw people off."
Kaguya giggled behind her hand. "Well. I suppose that ability to casually brush off embarrassment might be worth imitating."
"And that weird dramatic accent, too…" She added with a sigh.
"Kaguya, don't be so harsh on Alise." Ryuu muttered awkwardly, trying to defend her. "She's just… y'know… a little stupid."
"…You're actually defending her for that?" Lyra raised a brow.
The banter continued as the embers crackled around them, and the grim tension that had once filled the warehouse slowly began to lift.
Akira appeared in a flash near the magic stone processing factory through the activation of his magic circle. The instant he arrived, a pungent mixture of gunpowder and scorched air slammed into his senses like a wave.
The crackle of fire, the acrid stench of smoke, and the lingering heat left no doubt, Evilus had made their move again.
Without hesitation, he sprinted toward the factory, extinguishing the spreading flames with precise bursts of magic along the way. His expression was calm, but his movements betrayed urgency. This place, this street, was Orario's lifeblood. He couldn't let it burn.
Meanwhile, inside the factory's Warehouse No. 3, the girls were still laughing and half-crying over Alise's earlier "fiery mishap," entirely unaware that a certain someone had quietly arrived outside.
Akira stood at the scorched threshold, his eyes sweeping across the chaotic interior.
Debris littered the floor. The once-pristine walls were stained black by smoke. The air was thick with soot, and fallen Evilus members lay strewn about like broken marionettes.
Just as he was about to enter, a familiar, high-pitched voice rang out.
"You guys are...!" One of the Evilus survivors stammered, his voice trembling with fear.
"Oh? You need an introduction? Very well! Let's do this properly!" Alise's spirited voice echoed like a war drum.
Like someone flipping a switch, she suddenly struck a dramatic pose, her red hair fluttering as if on cue, sword held high, voice resonating with heroic fervor.
"Help the weak and strike down the strong! When necessary, punish both sides equally! No discrimination, only justice, freedom and fairness above all!"
"What I pursue is order! What I envision is peace! The crest I bear is none other than the wings and sword of true justice!"
With a loud declaration, she opened her arms theatrically, standing proudly in front of her comrades.
"Yes! We are the Astraea Familia!"
Behind her, Kaguya, Lyra, and Ryuu all simultaneously displayed expressions of second-hand embarrassment.
Lyra groaned, curling her lips. "Alise, you're way too embarrassing…"
"She never fails to overdo it. Where does she even get all that dramatic energy from?" Kaguya shook her head, raising a hand to cover her forehead.
Ryuu simply lowered her head in silence. A faint blush dusted her cheeks, clearly affected by Alise's bold theatrics.
"Tch, who cares who you are!?" The Evilus remnants, driven by either madness or desperation, raised their weapons and charged with a roar.
The warehouse echoed with the dull thud of wood striking flesh. A wooden sword slammed against one of the dark-cloaked attackers, knocking him out cold.
Within seconds, every last enemy in the warehouse was neutralized. Weapons were re-sheathed. The skirmish was over.