Though Aya had been warned not to expect a warm welcome at Argenturris, she had still hoped she would not have spears nearly touching her back when she was dragged to the sparring fields of the fortress to finally met Lady Lalafin Nonomiya, of whom she had heard a great deal, all of it proven wrong on first meeting. Always bright and cheerful, she once heard of Lady Nonomiya, but now she had a permanently dour expression - less due to any displeasure on her part and more due to the severe scarring around her mouth that kept her from smiling. Of course, the glass eye on the left socket didn't help much. All over her body the woman was a patchwork of scars and nasty wounds, and worse still was how her small stature made her appear almost child-like, in a way, though Aya knew her to be older than any of the three standing before her.

"That'll be enough," she said to her men. They had found the three riding just a few hours to the south of Argenturris, and immediately thought they looked suspicious, because anyone moving towards the cursed city of Argentum was suspicious by default. "No need to point spears at madwomen who actually take the road north, eh? If anything you'd actually enjoy the sting on your backs, freaks that you are."

"Excuse me?" Aya interjected.

"I will not excuse you, no," Lalafin said. "Not until I'm done talking, at least. See, you must have a taste for pain to actually come to Argentum, which I find deeply disrespectful considering how much I have bled to keep the fucking city closed off, and my men as well. Now, I cannot possibly imagine there's anyone in this forsaken country that has not been informed of Queen Shirasagi's very strict and clear orders to stay the fuck away from Argentum, so I am left with no alternative but to conclude that the three of you, unable to find a man or woman to pleasure you in your degenerate pursuits, have come to the most dangerous place in the realm so as to suffer like the masochists you are."

"That's not-"

"Now, I understand that all those old flagellant religious orders have ceased to exist on account of the gods being fucking dead, but if it please you I can have a hundred lashes administered to each of you, and even give you the whip so you can go back home and beat yourselves bloody. Although you'll have to share, we only have a single whip here. I'm not insane, I don't keep instruments of torture handy."

"That won't be necessary, my lady," said Maya. "We are not here to, erm, taste the whip. In fact, we are not here to be tortured, maimed, wounded or otherwise harmed in any serious manner. We are here to enter Argentum and to locate a Melody hidden inside."

"Oh," Lalafin sat down, and her right eye stared into Aya's, but the glass one remained perfectly still. "Well, in that case, I'll have my men unlock the gates. In the meantime, let's enjoy some wine. Blueberry, that is."

"R-Really?" Aya had to ask. Lalafin's expression did little to reveal if she was serious or mocking.

"Of fucking course not. Are you daft? Gate's fucking barred, it'll take chains and a lot of horses to pull the fucking stones out."

"You do appear to have quite a few horses," Misaki pointed out. "You don't even have to follow us, you know. We understand it's dangerous there. Besides, it's the queen's orders-"

"Fuck the queen's orders," said Lalafin. "Is the queen here? No? Then unless you can provide me with a sealed letter saying I'm to head to Albio to get my head chopped off and given to children to play with, I remain the ultimate authority in Argentum and Argenturris, and if Queen Shirasagi herself in all her splendor were to tell me to make an effort to open the gates, I'd tell her to eat my shit and remind her that as Warden of the Walls, I give the orders here, and I know that if I were to open Argentum, after the work we put into closing the damn city, all manner of horrible beasties would flood out, swamp us and then swamp Coloratus before swamping the rest of the fucking continent. It is out of the question. Even for a Melody. Even if my sweet mother were to be delivered to the city by catapult and were to cry out for help I would weep and keep the gate sealed."

Aya could not possibly imagine any wording that would have made Lalafin's point any clearer, so she almost felt like a moron to continue to argue, but she knew all too well that nothing remained locked away forever, and that a day would come where everything that was barred in Argentum would break free.

"I am Aya Maruyama, bearer of the Voice of Peace," she said. "It is not lightly that I request access into Argentum. I know the toll that its defence has demanded of you. Hundreds have died ensuring it could be evacuated and sealed, and over the years hundreds more perished to keep the city barred. But the creatures inside still stir, this you must know. You must hear them, smell them, know their ravenous hunger and their incessant flailing and desperate desire to escape. If we allow them to breed, to fester, one day we will be overrun, and without the Melodies, we will lack the tool to repel our enemies. I can keep them at bay, let your men thin their ranks so that I may enter with my companions, then promptly return with the Melody. And then the gate may be sealed again."

"It is not so simple," said Lalafin, still serious, but she seemed to at least give the idea some consideration. "It is not a silent thing, breaking the barrier or constructing it, and the things are drawn to sound. It could be that your Voice may ease their assault and bring them to relent, but we know little of what remains inside. I don't have many men, and the ones I do have seen horrors. Horrors, I tell you," she pointed at her glass eye, "you will not find a man or woman in this tower that has not lost a piece of themselves in the fight against these monsters. Courage and heroism have been beaten out of us. I fear if I tell my soldiers that they must once again take up arms against the creatures, why, I fear they'll break, they'll flee, they'll slit my throat and then yours. Can your Voice grant them relief as well?"

"Often, when I was lost and afraid, full of doubts and worries, I would sing softly to myself, and find the strength to carry on. I have failed many times, faltered even more. And yet I am here. Above all else, it is that resolve that my Voice carries and shares. A peace born not out of apathy but of quiet determination and remembrance of why we were driven to fight when it would have been so much easier to die."

"That almost makes me want to grab my warhammer and go straight to battle," said Lalafin, and laughter came out of her mouth, but her face didn't laugh alongside her voice. "You seem confident enough, and I like that. I just don't like it enough to be careless. Should we fail and the creatures in Argentum escape, that will be yet another concern for Queen Shirasagi when she has to fight a war. And while I would very much love it if she were to let the other queens fight to the death while she guards her own realm, life, it seems, is not about what I desire."

"It won't come to that," Maya promised, though such an assurance didn't really mean much. "How long will your preparations take? Can we help in any way?"

"Your armored friend looks like she's strong enough to help my men move some of the heavier equipment. I'll have them assemble some of the spare espringals around the gap, arm them with some of the special bolts we've been hoarding for years… Now, getting skewered with a bolt the size of a horse is already enough to ruin your day, but I have a dozen or so whose tips are imbibed with an alchemical concoction made by Rosenreich chemists. A mechanism hidden inside unleashes the concoction in sprays when the bolt reaches its maximum velocity, and it promptly catches fire. Good for a scare, and the loud noise it makes might serve as a distraction, for a second. Or it might not. Matter of fact is I've never really used them in practice against those creatures."

"I've brought these," Maya said, reaching for a vial stored in one of her many pouches. The liquid inside was an unpleasant yellow, and Aya couldn't see it as anything but piss. "Extract of sun cornel mixed with the crushed bark of oaks, persimmon and eixant, all melted together in boiling saltwater. The substance has been known to be detested by monsters, though to us there's only a slight smell of, erm, manure. Because cow dung may or may not be an ingredient I didn't mention. Still, pour the liquid by the gap and it'll keep the monsters away for a while. Not for long, but long enough to mend the opening, if you do a hasty job."

"We have plenty of rocks," said Lalafin. "In fact, we have an abundance of them. We'll use them to cover the gap. Won't look pretty, but, then again, neither do the slobbering bastards the rocks will keep away. You know, I actually have a good feeling about this. When something turns out to be a bad idea, my arms always start itching, as if to warn me not to be a fucking moron. Of course, I never pay attention to the signs anyways. Aya Maruyama… I choose to trust you, believe in you. For too long have we been cowering and running from the battles that matter, throwing our lives away for territory or whatever it is the queens fight for… But I've seen what the Melodies can do, how they can heal our lands, our homes. I've longed to take a chance, a leap of faith, but never for a senseless cause, without a plan. Heroics without thought are just stupidity… But I'll not turn away a bearer of the Voice, not when she swears she knows what she's doing, when her eyes are bright with purpose and certainty… Aya Maruyama, Lady Yamato, erm, big armored woman… Consider my life yours. And my men, too, as I assume that's what you actually need."

At night, Albio was an eerie, unwelcoming city, when all the lights were out and only a scarce few distant torches and candles continued to burn, and underneath a moon nearly swallowed by darkness, Aya looked for a way out of the city, far from the main roads, where she knew guards patrolled looking for vagrants, drunks and anyone who was foolish enough to disrespect the curfew laws. Aya figured that she likely had the authority to dismiss any guard who got in her way, for they would certainly recognize her, but she preferred not to chance it. To be detained in the middle of the night she departed this city, unnoticed by anyone in the palace… It would be shameful indeed.

Near Albioturris, darkness was rare and precious, concealing Aya from any watchman's eyes. The gates at the inner walls were, of course, manned, but there the soldiers were most familiar with Aya, and simply waved at her as she passed them by, while she offered them a curt nod. They needed to know nothing, so Aya kept her silence. Once she was past them, she moved through the deserted streets undisturbed, with the exception of rats scurrying around and street dogs barking at her before growing bored and returning to sleep.

The further she got from the palace, the fouler Albio smelled. Of the streams that ran through their city, only the rivers Tarvos and Papilio were not brown with mud and shit, and even they didn't smell particularly good. There the washerwomen of Albio toiled, and the city's largest wells drew their water. One of the most crowded regions of the city, it was nonetheless the path Aya chose to take, concluding that if her goal was to remain inconspicuous, it would be better if she did not smell like nightsoil.

Aya never looked back. She knew Albioturris was not yet too distant, and even underneath night's shroud it still dominated the horizon. She did not wish to find out if her heart was strong enough to let her walk away, or if she would falter. There is nothing there for me, she told herself. Nothing but to watch the world stagnate while she remained safe behind thick walls, but never resting easy, for she had seen the world outside, and that was something she could never forget.

By the bridge she crossed to get past the Tarvos, three guards passed by, so she waited out of sight, behind a locked box full of clothes to be washed, for them to pass her by. Fortunately, they did not pay any mind to their surroundings, and were instead fully immersed in their own conversation. One remarked he could do with a warm drink, for the nights were quickly growing cold, whilst a woman's voice replied by saying she would rather be abed. Just a few more hours, said the last one. The shadows shifted as the guards moved, the light of their torch moving with them. Soon, drowning in darkness once again, Aya crossed the bridge.

Unlike all the other times she did so, however, she found an empty square, a most unusual sight, as here there were always gathered crowds, whether moving about the city, peddling their wares there - though they were supposed to do so specifically in the market district, the guards turned a blind eye to people just trying to make a living - or watching a spectacle or celebration funded by the crown. A large stage was set in the middle of the square, and Aya had fond memories of many a play she had watched with her friends. Even now, banners remained on the walls, and the cobblestones were still painted many colors. Only a week ago, the city had celebrated the yearly festival of sowing, the populace gathered to celebrate the last harvest and to pray in hopes that the coming winter would not be too unkind to the crops. Chisato had forced herself to attend the celebrations, but it had been plainly visible to all that she was miserable all the while, and the queen left at the first opportunity.

When she at last reached the markets, Aya struggled to recognize them without their smells that she had grown used to. It had been a strong scent, one that Aya could never identify, as it had been a mixture of a hundred different smells, some foul and some fair, and some beyond her recognition. Spices and meats, cured leathers and clothes, all of those and much more, alongside their vendors and buyers, had filled the markets with life, with sounds and sights and warmth. Aya found herself regretting not purchasing her favorite bread before she left, the loaves baked by that young baker man and his many siblings… So much had occupied her mind that she totally failed to consider it, and realized then that there was much more she had not considered. Things and people she would miss, not only her beloved friends but acquaintances, faces she had come to know in the palace, even if sometimes she could not recall their names. It stung; Aya wondered if the pain would be at its strongest here, binding her to this place, or when she was long gone, overwhelmed by nostalgia.

She saw one of the city's lesser gates unguarded, and knew better than to let herself be slowed down by recollections and doubts. She would have plenty of time for pain and longing later, when she could no longer turn back. High above, the guards at the walls had their sights set outside the city, so Aya found it easy to leave unseen, now that the gate guards were either preoccupied with something else, disregarding their duty out of boredom, or changing their shifts. As soon as she was out of the gates, Aya felt a chill. Cold winds indeed, and some would name that a bad omen.

If Albio had been dark with its few remaining lights, outside it was pitch black: Coloratus' great losses in warring against the Rosenreich led to road patrols being dismissed, and the lights they kept shining along the roads were snuffed out. The cities and villages of the realm were like isolated islands now, the roads unsafe and ill-preserved. Though bandits were unlikely to be so bold as to pillage this close to the capital, Aya expected dark times ahead, until Coloratus could recover some of its manpower.

Aya avoided the roads all the same. She hummed a tune, summoning the gentlest light she could conjure, enough only to keep her from tripping or stepping on something dangerous. But there was nothing, no life at all, around Albio. The coming cold saw all animals look for hiding places, and the ones that remained here would soon be hunted down for meat once winter thinned the harvests.

When at last the sun was rising, Aya took the time to rest her back against a hedge, eating some of the salted pork she had brought with her from the palace's kitchens, and inspecting her supplies. Her sword, her bow, some arrows, food and coin, but not much else. Though she was in no way wealthy, being in the queen's service had allowed her to amass enough savings to be able to sustain herself as she traveled, for a time.

And then she looked back. From afar, Albio remained imposing, but Albioturris itself was small and distant. And yet it hurt to look at it. Aya's heart ached as she looked between west and east, between her old home and the sunrise she would follow. She thought of Maya, of Chisato, of Eve and Hina, and how they were likely to have just awakened, and she wondered if they had found Aya's empty quarters, if they had noticed she was gone, if they were still to realize it… It was not too late to turn back, she realized. She could say this was just a mistake, she could pretend it never happened, that she had merely been away all day. All would be normal, then, and no tears would be shed… For though Aya doubted Chisato and Hina would weep for her departure, she knew Maya and Eve would. That, above all else, wounded her deeply.

Aya sang to herself. The peace she brought to others with her Voice did not fill her spirit, but she found herself numb, if nothing else, enough to pack her supplies and get up and prepare herself to follow the road. Her song reminded her of her past, not only of the bright times she had known with her friends, but, more importantly, why she had sought them in the first place.

And why she had to move on.

She could not feel the chains around her wrists, though they scraped against the metal of her gauntlets, and Misaki felt oddly grateful for her unfeeling nature, because she figured that the strain of pulling out those huge stones at the gates of Argentum would be excruciating for a normal human. She even pitied the horses by her side, and couldn't help but feel a little pathetic to be working with beasts. But all help was appreciated, and her unique condition made her well suited for this sort of painful manual labor - regardless of how she felt about it.

Holes had been carved into the stone to allow the chains to be latched on to them, and there was just enough of an opening around the edges to allow the stone to be moved, with great difficulty. Misaki would have asked Lalafin how she had found a perfectly shaped gate-sized stone to close this hole, but with everyone around her looking so serious and concerned, she thought it better to keep her words to herself.

At Lady Nonomiya's command, Misaki began to pull, and as the horses began to whine all around her, she wondered if Queen Tsurumaki would have ever had her do something this humiliating. Somehow she felt the answer was yes, but it did not fill her with annoyance, displeasure, or any feeling at all save for a certain degree of confusion and curiosity. It feels wrong to think of her as Queen Tsurumaki, Misaki thought just as she felt the stone drag away behind her. They had shared a bed, once, if her recollections were correct - which, of course, Misaki couldn't be certain of, given how irregular and traumatic the remembering had been. But the name Kokoro felt more appropriate, and with one last pull and a louder whine of the horses, Misaki said the name to herself, when none could hear. A feeling returned to her, the sensation of uttering the queen's name, and she felt her lips move, felt the shifting of her tongue and a certain warmth.

Soldiers with pickaxes struck at the rock to ease its passage, and when the gate was open at last, as small an opening as it may be, Misaki freed herself of the chains and reached for her greatsword, handed to her by Lady Lalafin's squire. She turned and faced the gap, and there she waited for a sign of life; though that word felt inappropriate to describe the monsters that Lalafin warned them about.

Five espringals were arranged in a half-circle in front of the gate; their sight brought back a recollection of Reverie and the scorpions deployed by its army, but there they were smaller and more numerous, and these were far larger, their bolts massive, fit for killing monsters, not people. Each required three soldiers to man, and Lalafin warned that they would be slow but powerful. Twenty more archers stood at the ready, while Lady Nonomiya herself led a dozen or so spearmen, their weaponry long and slender. Finally, palisades had been readied for quick deployment to further funnel any of the enemy's advances while not hindering the troops' own movement. As far as Misaki could tell, it seemed like a solid enough defense, all things considered, and their plan of engagement, formulated by Maya and Lalafin, inspired confidence.

But, of course, so did all plans before they went awry. Alongside Aya, Misaki approached the gap, weapon in hand. They were to lure the monsters towards the gate, keep them there and thin their numbers before retreating to allow the artillery and archers to fire a volley. Argentum, Lalafin explained, was far too infested with monsters to be cleansed by only a few dozen soldiers, but they could gain Aya and her allies a safer entry.

Beyond the gap, Argentum lay not in ruins as Misaki had expected, but eerily still and silent. The streets near the main gate were totally deserted, but the hovels stacked on top of one another were not: distantly, Misaki caught a glimpse of something stirring behind a window. Whatever it was, it was far detached from humanity. And before they came within view, Misaki heard their sounds, their footsteps and their slithering.

"Nock," Lalafin ordered, and the archers obeyed. Misaki, Aya and the spearmen made way for the marksmen as they readied to take aim. To their credit, they did not tremble. To fight alongside Aya, to rely on the Voice of Peace… It meant more to them that Misaki had expected.

A hound was the first to limp towards the main street. But no hound that Misaki knew ever had seven legs, almost a spider, and no hound had an eyeless face with two mouths, one left ajar with a long tongue being dragged along the cobblestones, blood trailing behind. It moved slowly towards the gate, and was soon joined by other monsters like it, though not quite the same. Some had more legs, others had fewer, others had only one mouth but many tongues, while others had mouths all over their bodies, and when they growled they sounded like countless packs howling all together in a fearsome cacophony. Aya whispered that she had not met such fiends during her journeys. The ones that came after these twisted hounds, however, were more familiar. Scalewolves, a common sight since the silence: vicious and lithe, they seemed to watch their prey, curiously regarding what they would do. No scalehound was the same as another, too: their scales jutted painfully out of their skin, and never fit quite right on their bodies, so tufts of bloodied fur always stuck from between their scales. And worms, too. Already Misaki saw the faces around her turn into grimaces at the stench.

"Draw," Lalafin said, patiently waiting for the creatures to come closer. The scalewolves were not so hasty, and neither were the hounds, but the beasts that followed them came running towards the gate, suddenly appearing from inside the abandoned houses. Long and serpentine, they were supported by long thin legs that seemed unable to sustain their weight. And, indeed, as they neared the gate, their legs snapped and broke, sending the creatures to the ground, but that did not keep them from crawling towards Lalafin's troops. Misaki looked to the side, and saw that Maya and the archers continued to wait for Lalafin's orders, even as their muscles began to strain from keeping their bows drawn. Misaki tightened her grip on her blade, while Sieg gleamed as Aya held it. "Loose."

Dozens of arrows pierced the air, skewering the serpentine aberrations, their long bodies bursting into bile that spilled all over the gap, yellow steam rising where they fell. Then, one by one the espringals let loose their massive bolts, and Aya heard a frightened yelp from a soldier who had not expected such speed and force. The bolts pierced through the hounds, and flames began to whirl around the tips, scaring away the survivors. Far away, however, the scalewolves remained undisturbed: as if identifying that the next volley would not come so quickly, they charged, and Misaki ran towards the gap with Aya, Lalafin, and the rest of the troops.

Lady Nonomiya was the first to meet the wolves in battle, her hammer loudly crushing bones as she sent one of the creatures flying towards the remains of the gate, the metal shredding its body. Aya and Misaki fought together, holding the gap as a dozen wolves tried to reach them. Misaki's sword nearly bisected a beast that tried to leap towards her, while Aya struck quickly, first cutting a red line on a wolf's belly, then another on its neck. But they were too many, far too many, and even Misaki found herself overwhelmed by the weight that suddenly fell upon her as wolves and hounds tried to get past her. Only when the spearmen extended their spears did some relief come: the weapons were placed between the three at the front line, and their length prevented any further advances from the monsters, who were promptly pierced when they approached. In time, they took some steps forwards, gaining some ground past the gate, and Misaki saw that, far away, more and more beasts were approaching, hundreds of them, perhaps. Lalafin gave them the order to fall back, and Misaki obeyed promptly.

Dozens of corpses remained just past the gap, another blockade for incoming monsters. Aya and Lalafin caught their breath, while spearmen gave each other javelins, tossed them at the coming horde, then moved away as Lalafin commanded the archers to nock once more. Now the waiting was brief, for another volley soon followed, the archers trying to do their best to slow the onslaught while new bolts were prepared. It was a lengthier process than Misaki felt was safe, and by the time the espringals let loose again, a mass of monstrosities swarmed past the corpses of their companions, barely slowing down.

There was no camaraderie there, and the beasts' claws tore at the flesh of their own kin as they piled on top of one another, trying to get through the gap. Aya sang, then, as Misaki and Lalafin took their positions by the broken gate, but her Voice meant very little to the creatures, already mad in their blood-seeking trance. Hissing, they were struck down as they reached the gap, and some were kept at bay by the long spears, but many of the beasts had no regard for their own lives and let the spears run through them, mindlessly charging until so many had died that their heavy corpses began to fall on Misaki, Lalafin and Aya.

Flames burst forth, spurred by the beat of an unseen drum; Maya's doing, her magic unleashed to burn the dead to cinders. They were like living things, the blazes, strands of red light that avoided Misaki, Aya and Lalafin, coalescing into a wall of fire just in front of them. Fiercely they burned, and the monsters trapped behind shrieked, stepped away from the heat, while the corpses were quickly made into ashes, and scattered into the wind. A brief respite, for after an instant the flames already began to die down, but that time was still enough to let the defenders retreat safely, discard their damaged weapons and quickly acquire new arms.

Misaki's own armor was battered and scratched, which of course she had not even felt in the midst of battle. She could not tell if she could even die, but was in no rush to find out. The damage inflicted on her was no so severe, but Lady Nonomiya's left arm bled profusely through the gaps in her armor's joints. She called for bandages, and even as her squire helped her remove her pauldron so that her arm could be treated properly, Lalafin continued to command her troops to prepare for another assault. The soldiers who saw their spears damaged replaced them with swords, and readied themselves to fight at the front now.

Through the fire rushed darkened blurs, fangs bared to meet Misaki. The first hound was nearly cleaved in half, but the ones that followed were not so courteous as to attack her one at a time, instead coming at the defenders in their dozens. They were fearless, too, and the sight of their kin being slashed, skewered and crushed did nothing to relent their assault. Misaki swung her sword from left to right, attempting to regain some ground for her allies; limbs and severed heads were scattered all around, some still twitching after death - if they were truly dead, which Misaki wasn't entirely certain of. Aya weaved a song alongside Maya, their sound full of urgency, flames and lights fighting to force the monsters back, but even as they burned and were blinded they continued to struggle, and their sheer numbers were too much to overcome.

A soldier fell with his face to the ground, and was promptly devoured by what had become a wave of horrendous creatures, deformed wolves and hounds, some small enough to almost get past the defenders by running between their legs, other large as horses, unbearably heavy. To remain there would be suicide: Misaki raised her hand to call Lalafin's attention, and promptly Lady Nonomiya ordered everyone to step back. All obeyed save for Misaki, who let the hounds pile up all over her to allow her companions to flee. She felt no pain, nothing at all, and her enemies' fangs were shattered as they tried to bite into her strong armor, but if she fell, she realized, she would not be able to get up. She had fallen to pieces in Albioturris, but here she doubted anyone could save her. Once she saw her allies had put some space between them and the incoming horde, Misaki turned back, her gauntleted fingers sinking into the eyes of a scalewolf that tried to wrap its tail around her neck. She threw him away, and retreated behind the palisades.

Lalafin threw the vial given to her by Maya. As explained, the monsters closest to the foul liquid writhed and fled, frightened and disgusted. Led by Maya, the archers continued to let loose volley after volley, but there were no more bolts for the espringals. Beyond the gate, however, the accursed creatures in Argentum seemingly had unending numbers among their ranks, though now that they could not advance any further, they had immediately started to fight among one another. Hound bit hound and wolves pounced on their equals and their lessers, and even after they died they were still ravaged by all fangs and talons around them until thick black blood had pooled up underneath them, and ran all the way to the line of foul liquid tossed by Lalafin…

Misaki only realized that blood's stench was unbearable when she saw Maya's nauseated face. This new smell overpowered the one that was meant to shield them, and soon beasts were pouring out of Argentum. All around her, there was only terror as Lalafin and her troops realized that they had failed in their singular duty.

A half-circle was their last line of defense, but a precarious one; only one soldier had to die for the beasts to find an opening, and there were simply not enough guards to maintain their position. Misaki did what she could, drawing the monsters' attention as well as she could, but the scalewolves soon found her metallic body to be unappetizing and instead preyed upon her companions. Blood was spilled all over Misaki's armor, and pained screams followed. The creatures did not wait for their food to die before they bit out pieces of their bodies, and in fact seemed to find pleasure in feasting on the fallen as they remained aware and alive. Misaki continued to swing her blade, but to no avail, as each beast she slew found two more to take its place.

They were soon the ones surrounded. Aya had given up on her Voice of Peace, for whenever she tried to sing she was assailed by snarling, drooling hounds. She fought them off remarkably well, whirling from one side to the other to meet each foe that came her way, slashing at their throats and heads with great precision, but even so this could not last. Here a soldier fell, there another, and soon Misaki saw the ranks of her allies thinned. And she could not see Maya, she realized… Lalafin fought on, and when her hammer was caught between a scalewolf's bones, she continued to wrestle against it with a dagger.

"A-Aya," Misaki heard Maya scream, and found her almost disappearing underneath the horde. Only her armor kept her from being devoured entirely, but she struggled to rise to her feet, and claws began to scratch at her face. She shrieked, calling Misaki's name, but after that her voice was muffled.

Misaki ran to her, tossing aside the monsters on her way. Something was crushed underneath her heavy boots, now painted black with the blood of the abominations she fought. Her greatsword cut a path towards Maya, and she grabbed her by the arm and lifted her up, but this was not yet salvation, for too many beasts remained around them. They began to climb Misaki's body, piling up on top of one another, and when their fangs neared Maya's throat, Misaki could not even move her arms, such was the weight of the monstrosities.

An arrow caught a hound in its face, and its tip opened as it met the monster's flesh, carving a hole into its skull and splitting its head open, the insides falling as the body went limp. But the arrow did not come from anywhere near Misaki… Two horses drew nearer, coming from the south: the first mounted by an archer, who let loose arrows with little hesitation or pause, and each found its target perfectly. The second was a familiar silhouette. Arisa.

Music filled everything, first coming from Arisa but then enveloping all that were fighting, a sound so powerful that Misaki could not imagine having ever heard such a song before. It was not like Aya's singing, peaceful and soft, nor was it like what Maya had conjured, for that had been a brief sound, while Arisa's fingers gave birth to a symphony as they motioned decisively yet gracefully, magical runes writ on air and turning into horns, into lutes, into a loud and dominant organ. Misaki stared in silent awe, as did Maya, all the soldiers fighting around, and even the monsters.

Where the soil was dead and barren a moment ago, there was now a fierce, powerful green, spreading before the gates of Argentum. The creatures began to hiss, but Arisa's music overpowered that hideous noise, and from the ground burst forth long vines. They wrapped around the monsters, squeezing them until their bones shattered and their bodies fell apart, held them by their limbs and tore them apart, forced themselves through their mouths, their eyes and ears, then exploded from the inside, leaving nothing behind but their innards, leaves and thorns. But they avoided Misaki and Maya, did not touch any of their allies, save to pull them away from danger and safeguard them. Though at first the sight was horrifying, from the vines bloomed gorgeous flowers of colors Misaki hadn't seen in years. There was no escape for the beasts, and when they tried to run, the vines simply chased them and their thorns made pieces of them.

When all was over, orchids, marigolds and roses bloomed atop a field of blood, red and black, corpses left nearly impossible to recognize. There was a sort of grotesque beauty to that sight, but more than admiration, Misaki felt relief. She let go of Maya, who still struggled to breathe, but smiled at the sight of their rescuers. Aya, meanwhile, was both ecstatic and baffled. She walked up to Misaki's side, and waited for Arisa and her companion to approach.

"I understood well enough that you were of a mind to do something foolish, but I didn't expect you to outright open the fucking gates of the city," Arisa didn't waste any time in reprehending Aya, not even waiting to confirm if it was indeed her idea. "Here I was, thinking my timing proved impeccable, but it seems it would have been better if I had come some minutes earlier. My apologies. I must admit that I am often late, far too late."

"Not too late," said Aya. "And yet… I did not know you had such gifts… This magic…!"

"Yes, well," Arisa dismounted, and when she was not atop her horse, looking down on others, it was hard for her to maintain her arrogantly superior demeanor, "there is more than a little that I failed to tell you. If not for Masuki," she pointed at the rider by her side, "I may not have come at all. So if you have thanks to give, she is the one who deserves them, not I."

"Lady Masuki?" Maya extended her hand to her, but when she realized it was filthy with blood, sweat and dirt, she gave up on that notion. "Does Queen Shirasagi know…?"

"Firstly, I'm not a lady," Masuki said, "and secondly, yes, Chisato knows… In a way."

"That is to say, Queen Chisato sent us alongside Eve to bring you back to Albio," Arisa explained. "Or, rather, to bring Maya back, for the queen disapproves of her departure."

"And Thegn Eve is nowhere to be seen," Lalafin remarked. "What am I to make of this…?"

"That the two of us are not here to escort anyone back to the capital," said Arisa. "We've come to retrieve the Melody. I should have left alongside you in the first place, in truth. Cowardice kept me from doing what was proper. It made me hold my tongue when there were things you should know, Aya. No more. I shall tell you all I know," she said, then turned to Masuki. "What we know. Though I'd love to rest, especially after that little display of magic has left me quite exhausted, we ought to make haste. Lady Nonomiya, correct?" Lalafin nodded. "We will trust you to hold this position. If Wakamiya should arrive, cooperate with her, but do not allow her entry into Argentum, or she and her troops will die. The five of us will be enough."

"That doesn't sound bloody likely," said Lalafin, "but, then again, you do sound very certain of yourself, and you saved our asses. Lady Arisa Ichigaya… So Maruyama did not know who you are, hm? You'll have quite the story to share."

"We'll share after we have the Melody," said Arisa, her voice commanding, like a true noble. Misaki considered questioning why she had hesitated for so long, but she felt that now was not the time. Now there was one thing they had to concern themselves with.

"Take good care of Cherrywind," Masuki said, caressing her horse one last time before handing the reins to Lalafin's squire. "Cherrywind likes to be brushed."

Arisa was the first to march forward, towards the gate, and the way she carried herself while doing so made it evident to Misaki that she had done this countless times before. And yet she had pretended to be entirely unremarkable, shied away from the fight to conceal herself as an alchemist…

"I'm glad you came, after all," said Misaki. "And I'm not saying that just because you saved us."

That did, of course, play a significant part in it.

"Yes, yes, well," Arisa looked away, embarrassed. "I can't let my fear prevent me from helping when I can. And you very clearly need help, and desperately. Save the relief and happiness for when we're out of this city, alright? There's still danger ahead, and as I've no intention of burying anyone, remain cautious. I know that display might have seemed impressive, but magic like that is quite taxing. Don't expect me to do it again."

"That's alright," said Maya. From the way she was grinning as they stepped past the gate, one would be excused if they found it unbelievable that she had been nearly eaten alive just minutes ago. The blood on her face was still fresh. "I was thinking, huhehe, well…" She took Aya's hand, and then, quite seriously, faced her, speaking to all her four companions but directly at Aya. "We're five again, Aya. It might not be the five we were used to, but we're five nonetheless, and complete once more. Let's go get that Melody."