"She looks like one of the fully robotic Apoptosis from the Tartarus," Pyrrha observed. "And yet… like the other residents of this laboratory, she gives off a different kind of feeling to the Apoptosis."

"She's asleep—or rather, she's inactive?" Luka said. "Has she been like this ever since you found her?"

"Yes, despite our best attempts to investigate," King Peter said. He demonstrated his point by pressing a button on a console next to the gynoid's tank, which elicited no response. "To be honest, we suspect she was never completed, unlike the other residents of this laboratory, and thus is incapable of activating. But that is more convenient for us, since this room is where I must perform my ritual."

King Peter walked towards a nearby chair, one surrounded by bulky computer consoles, and sat down. He pressed a key on one console, causing a screen on the wall to light up.

"Now, I should explain what precisely I am doing here," King Peter said. "First of all, have you heard of the assassination attempt on me, carried out via a bomb?"

"We heard it several times in San Ilia, and even near here in Luddite Village," Luka replied. "They say it was a miracle you survived… well, that's what people in San Ilia say, at least…"

"To tell the truth, I suffered serious injuries from that explosion," King Peter said. "I lost more than half of my body, and not even the best healers of San Ilia could preserve my life."

"Wha—then how are you here right now, Your Holiness!?" Sonya asked.

The king responded by simply taking off his gloves, revealing hands of metal. This caused Luka and Sonya to gasp, and Nuruko to bring a tentacle to her mouth. Pyrrha and Micaela weren't quite as surprised, but they still blinked at the unexpected sight.

"I had no choice but to rely on the little-understood technology in this laboratory," King Peter admitted. He pulled his robe open to reveal that his torso was also mechanical. "While we knew even less back then than we do now, we did know that this room contains medical technology. So, after that explosion, I was rushed here by all of my most elite knights and, thanks to the miracle of technology, my life was saved… though at the cost of giving me a body that requires regular maintenance. So, once a year I must return to this laboratory and to this room in order to carry out said maintenance."

King Peter began typing on the consoles, causing text and graphs to scroll across the screen. These were so complex that Pyrrha couldn't even begin to understand what they were about. And at the same time, cables extended out from ports in the consoles, and the king plugged these cables into corresponding ports in his cybernetic torso.

"Is… Is there any way you could undo this, Your Holiness?" Sonya asked, looking queasy at the sight of the king being connected to the machines. "Could you somehow get your normal body back?"

"Currently, I'm afraid that isn't possible," King Peter replied, still focused on the screens. "But with more study of the technology in this laboratory, it may become possible. It's clear that the technology to grow flesh was used in order to create the residents of this laboratory."

Pyrrha thought back on the various tanks found throughout the abandoned laboratory. They were empty now, their contents now roaming around freely, yet Pyrrha could picture lumps of flesh growing within them, organ by organ, cell by cell… She couldn't help but shudder.

Just what was the purpose of this place…? Pyrrha thought. And how did it become abandoned?

"Does your new body give you any additional combat capabilities?" Micaela asked. "After all, the creations of this laboratory all seem to be built for combat, including the one in this tank here, and since you've made use of the same technology…"

"You'd be correct in thinking that," King Peter replied. "Though it would be best if I didn't have to demonstrate the full capabilities of this body… Oh, pardon me, I need to readjust my left shoulder joint… That has been moving quite oddly as of late…"

King Peter did several more keystrokes, then pulled down his robe to expose his left shoulder. A mechanical tendril emerged from a hole in the wall, just to the left of the screen, and connected to the king's left shoulder. Then there was an unsettling series of whirs and clicks.

"My apologies if this disturbs you," King Peter said. "Now, let us talk about another topic. If San Ilia is to be making an agreement with the residents of this laboratory, then some of these residents will want to leave. However, bringing them out will be challenging."

Micaela nodded. "Even if only, for example, one tenth of them want to leave, it'll be hard to hide that number of people. The only path to this laboratory passes by Luddite Village, after all. And any kind of concealment magic could fail when there's so many people on the move, if only because they'd leave far too many footprints behind. There's a reason no one in history has tried to move an entire army stealthily."

"It might be necessary to deal with Luddite Village first," Pyrrha said. "Though that will be a challenge in and of itself…"

"Still, it has to be done," Micaela said. She had a distant look. "I might not be the second-in-command for all angels any longer, but that doesn't mean I've completely shirked my responsibilities for my race… I need to help those angels here who've been experimented on, and make sure this doesn't happen again."

At this moment, the mechanical tendril disconnected from King Peter's shoulder and retracted into the wall. The king rotated his shoulder experimentally.

"Hmm… now it's moving normally," King Peter said. "I'm almost done with my maintenance… I just need to run one last set of scans on my internal components."

The king opened up a panel on his chest, revealing complex circuits and machinery inside.

"Y-Your body's been changed that much!?" Luka cried out. He began walking forward, presumably for a closer look. "Just how can you even—whoa!"

Luka tripped over a crack in the floor. He arrested his fall by placing a hand on the nearest machine… which was the console for the tank holding the inactive gynoid. The moment Luka's hand made contact, the console lit up with blue light, the tank gave off a loud ringing sound, and the entire room began shaking!

"Wh-What's going on!?" Sonya asked.

"Th-that was an accident, I swear!" Luka shouted back.

"Wait, look at the tank!" Pyrrha shouted.

The gynoid had now opened her eyes, revealing them to be bright turquoise and devoid of any sign of emotion. At the same time, the liquid inside her tank drained away rapidly, as if a plug had been pulled. Once all the liquid was gone, a panel in the glass of the tank slid open.

"Impossible… just how could you have activated her…?" King Peter murmured.

The gynoid sat up, causing drops of the strange liquid to drip down her body. She climbed out of the tank and stepped down onto the floor, while the others in the room backed away from her.

"System reboot…" the gynoid said emotionlessly. "Current year: 1543 of Johannes calendar… Current coordinates: unknown… Unit name: Brynhildr. Status: unknown."

Micaela was the first to recover from their surprise. "You, are you alright?" she asked. "Brynhildr, was it? Do you remember anything about how you came to be in that tank?"

The gynoid, Brynhildr, looked at Micaela with mechanical eyes.

"Seraph-class angel detected," Brynhildr said. "Checking archives: identified angel as Seraph Micaela." Then Brynhildr looked around at the others in the room. "Two humans detected, identity not in archives. Half-human half-angel detected, identity not in archives. Monster detected, identity not in archives. Human detected, has extensive cybernetic replacements, identity not in archives."

This stream of words was delivered so fast that Pyrrha could barely understand it. Still, Pyrrha stepped forward and said, "If you're confused about who we are, then we'll introduce ourselves. My name is Pyrrha, and I'm—"

But Brynhildr didn't seem to be paying attention. "If Hild woke up… that means the world is ending," she said. "That's why Hild was made. Then all of you must be Hild's enemies."

In the next instant, Brynhildr raised her arms, causing the blades on her arms to swing forward into a combat-ready position. A deep purple mist flowed out from the joints of her body, surrounding her in an ominous aura. But before she could attack, she was held in place by rings of light that appeared around her wrists and ankles.

"The world isn't ending, and we are not your enemies," Micaela said, one of her hands raised and glowing with golden light. "Do you understand?"

Brynhildr struggled against her restraints, but accomplished nothing more than wriggling around on the spot. She stopped after a few seconds.

"The world isn't ending?" Brynhildr asked.

"No, it isn't!" Luka replied. "I mean, there's some strange things happening in this world, but there's no sign it's about to end!"

"Are you planning to end the world?" Brynhildr asked.

"No!" Sonya replied. "If anything, we're doing the exact opposite! We're looking for ways to solve these problems facing the world!"

"As proof of our intentions, I'll release you," Micaela said. She lowered her hand and the rings of light restraining Brynhildr disappeared.

At that moment, King Peter stood up from his chair and walked over; it seemed he'd finished his maintenance. "As the others have said, the world is in no danger of ending," he said. "But if I may ask, why did you think that the world must be ending for you to have woken up?"

"Because that is Hild's purpose," Brynhildr said. "To wake up when the world ends, and eliminate any and all threats to the world."

Pyrrha shared glances with each of her companions. Considering that Brynhildr was in the deepest and apparently most important room of the laboratory, this was a major hint as to the goals of this laboratory's original owner. But that still left many questions unanswered.

"Then who created you for this purpose, and why did they believe that the world might be in danger?" King Peter said, asking just the questions that were on everyone's minds.

"Master created me," Brynhildr said. "But Hild doesn't know why she knew what would happen to the world…"

"Alright, but just who is your Master?" King Peter asked. "What is her name, what did she look like, where did she come from?"

"Master… I don't know," Brynhildr said. She looked towards the floor, in the biggest display of emotion she'd shown so far. "My archives don't have any of that information. The only thing in my archives are my purpose, combat skills, reproductive skills, and some general information about this world."

"Wait, did you say 'reproductive skills'?" Pyrrha asked, unsure if she'd heard correctly.

"Yes," Brynhildr answered bluntly. "Hild is fully capable of being inseminated and gestating offspring."

That led to another round of shared glances among Pyrrha and the others. Granted, Brynhildr did look quite… anatomically correct, but why would anyone build a combat robot that could also reproduce? For that matter, how was it even possible for a robot to reproduce?

Would her children be… be partly mechanical? Pyrrha wondered. A series of unpleasant images passed through her mind. I… I should stop thinking about this.

"Then let's change the topic," Luka said. "You said your… your unit name is 'Brynhildr' at the start, but you've been referring to yourself as 'Hild'… So which name would you prefer to be called by?"

Brynhildr tilted her head, as if she wasn't sure how to answer this question. Eventually, she said, "Hild… would like to be called 'Hild'. That name… I remember Master calling me that."

"Alright then, Hild," Luka said. "Now that you're awake, what do you want to do now?"

"If the world isn't ending, then I can't fulfil my purpose yet," Hild said, lowering her head. "And Master isn't here, so I'm not sure what to do now…"

"Then how about you come with us?" Sonya suggested. "You could try fighting to stop the world from ending in the first place!"

"That's… Hild isn't sure…" Hild said. "But if Master isn't here… she ordered me to make my own decisions. Then I've made my decision. I will accompany you to preserve this world. Um… I haven't received much programming for social interactions, but I hope we get along."

They had now succeeded in escorting King Peter for his maintenance, and also recruited a new companion in the process… though there were still a lot of mysteries left unsolved. And there was still one friend that Pyrrha had no clue how to save…

-ooo-

Ruby walked through the corridors of the Monster Lord's Castle, following one of the scylla maids.

I've been in here for a while, but I still haven't really worked out where to go, Ruby thought. I'm not sure if it's just how the castle is designed, or if there's some kind of magic on me to make it hard for me to remember things, but everything just looks the same.

That said, Ruby had been able to figure out some things about her current location, based on what she'd seen and on what she'd heard from passers-by. Her room was on the north side of the fourth floor of the castle. There was a dining room on the same floor, though Ruby had never been to it personally as her meals were brought to her room. There was a communal bath on the third floor and Ruby was allowed to use it once a day, during which she finished her bathing within minutes and then left. And there were several exits to the castle, some of which were on the higher floors and used by flying monsters, but Ruby obviously wasn't allowed anywhere near those.

Returning to the present, Ruby arrived at a tea room on the fifth floor, the highest floor of the castle if you excluded the towers. Seated in this room and sipping tea was Alice XV.

Ruby sat down nervously on a chair opposite Alice XV. The scylla maid bowed and left, leaving the two of them alone in the room.

Alice XV pushed a second cup of tea towards Ruby. "How are you finding your stay in this castle?"

"It's all really nice, and comfortable," Ruby answered. "I haven't had any problems. Well, other than on the first day…"

"Yes… you may rest assured that you will not be attacked by anyone again," Alice XV said. "But if you do have any problems, please tell me about them. You may be a prisoner here, I won't mince words about that, but you do have the right to ask for conveniences."

Ruby was almost tempted to ask for access to a private bath, but decided against it. She didn't want to do anything to leave herself in her captor's debt.

"Moving on, I'd like to ask you more about the history of Remnant today," Alice XV said. "Specifically, about the Great War. I have a hard time believing that a war could begin over art…"

Ruby took a sip of tea to calm herself. History wasn't exactly her best subject, and she was nervous that she might not be able to answer some of Alice XV's questions.

"So, first of all… it wasn't just about art, there were also tensions over things like slavery and faunus rights," Ruby said. "But as for the art part… The kingdoms of Mantle and Mistral were allies back then, and when Mantle had a Grimm attack, it decided that banning art would be a good way to control people's emotions and avoid any more Grimm attacks. Mistral did the same… mostly… because of the alliance."

"But Vale did not?" Alice XV said.

"No, it didn't," Ruby answered. "And this caused problems when settlers from both Vale and Mistral arrived at the islands and peninsulas in the east. The Mistral settlers wanted the Vale settlers to give up art as well, saying they would threaten them all by attracting the Grimm. The Vale settlers refused, and they also hated the Mistral settlers for things like slavery and oppressing the faunus. It didn't take long for war to start."

"And to meet their obligations as an ally, Mantle assisted Mistral," Alice XV.

"They did, and that made the Vacuans nervous as well," Ruby said. "They tried to stay neutral, but then they realised that if Mantle and Mistral won, they might force their ways on Vacuo as well. So Vacuo joined the war on Vale's side."

"And then the war continued for ten years, involving every country in Remnant," Alice XV said. "But what of the Grimm? They were a reason for this war beginning in the first place, but they wouldn't stop their attacks; if anything, they must have attacked more frequently due to all the negative emotions of war."

"There were lots of Grimm attacks, and whenever that happened, the two sides worked together to defeat them," Ruby said. "And then they went back to fighting each other… But the Grimm didn't just attack battlefields. They also attacked villages and towns far away, and with the fighters all at war, they often wiped out these villages and towns…"

"The price of war," Alice XV said grimly. "There's a saying in several parts of this world, that the ground beneath your feet is composed of the bones of the dead. Such is the number who have died in the Great Monster Wars, in the folly of Black Alice, and in the countless minor conflicts."

That gave Ruby the delightful mental picture of a landscape composed entirely out of bones, complete with hills made entirely out of stacked-up bones. She shook her head to get rid of that image.

But that reminds me, just how could Cinder be working with the Grimm? Ruby thought. How could anyone work with the Grimm and not be attacked by them, and how could they be that… that uncaring towards other people?

"—by, what happened after that?"

Ruby realised with a shock that Alice XV was talking to her again. She spent a couple of nervous seconds trying to remember what she'd last said, then resumed her explanation.

"So, so after it started, the war went on for ten years. Eventually, the Mantle and Mistral side went for Vacuo and its Dust mines, hoping that Vale would surrender after losing its Dust supply. But the King of Vale led his army and Vacuo's army against them, and… well, it's not really clear what happened next, but Vale and Vacuo won. And then the ban on art was lifted, slavery was banned, and faunus got equal rights to humans… at least, in theory. And people started naming their kids after colours, since… since that's a basic part of art."

After hearing the rest of the explanation, Alice XV said nothing and appeared to be deep in thought.

"I'm sorry, if that was a bit hard to understand…" Ruby said.

"No, it was perfectly understandable," Alice XV said. "I'm simply… wondering what this world would be like if a similar thing had happened here." She gazed at her own hand and the purple skin covering it. "Perhaps the name 'Fateburn' would have become associated with the colour purple, among other things…"

After that, Alice XV asked several more questions regarding the Great War, its causes and its consequences. Some of these questions led to further questions about Remnant culture and society in general. Ruby felt like she was being quizzed by a teacher, and while Alice XV shouldn't be able to tell if any of her answers were wrong… Ruby was a little afraid of what would happen if the Monster Lord did find out that she'd received inaccurate information. Once again, she really wished she'd paid more attention during history classes.

An hour passed, and Alice XV finally said, "That's enough for today. I have other business to conduct, and I also don't wish to take up too much of your time. Before we part, do you have any questions for me?"

Ruby obviously had many questions. Some of them she suppressed immediately, like "When will you let me go?" and "Will you ever let me go?" She eventually came up with a few questions that she felt were safe to ask.

"Um… I'd like to know… why you're working with the Lilith Sisters," Ruby said. "I've been here for three days, but I haven't heard anything about that…"

Alice XV sighed. "It's not quite accurate to say I'm working with them… that implies a much more cordial relationship than we actually have. To begin with, I should explain that those three sisters are fusions of the Lilith Sisters of this world and of another world."

"Fusions?" Ruby asked.

"Yes," Alice XV said. "In this world, the Lilith Sisters were sealed away. In another world, a parallel world to this one, they remained free. And the Lilith Sisters of that other world were—through means I don't fully understand—able to transfer their souls to the Lilith Sisters of this world, then broke free from their seals. They used this method because they were unable to cross between worlds using their physical bodies."

Ruby recalled those doors at the bottom of the Tartarus, which only Luka could open. "Then, have they told you anything about the world that they… their souls came from?"

"A little, just enough for me to understand why I must… collaborate with them," Alice XV said. "They come from a world where monsters are the dominant race, and their leaders discovered a crisis that threatens all worlds—theirs and ours—so the Lilith Sisters were sent here to investigate and to intervene. I encountered them when I investigated the Tartarus on this continent… But that is all I will tell you on this topic."

"Okay, I understand," Ruby said. "Then my next question is, why haven't you tried to get your daughter back?"

Upon hearing this question, Alice XV looked at a certain wall… towards the south, the rough direction of Alice XVI.

"I didn't want to," Alice XV said quietly. "But with the Lilith Sisters and their supporters here, it would be far too dangerous for her to remain in this castle. They would seek to use her against me, or I against her. It's better that she remains far away… and I've advised them of the consequences should any of them try attacking her again. And… no, it's nothing. That's all for today."

Ruby knew not to press her luck, so she stood up and left the room. The scylla maid was waiting outside, and she led Ruby back to her assigned room.

As she walked through the corridors again, Ruby thought about the conversation she'd just had with Alice XV.

Alice's mom doesn't get along with the Lilith Sisters, that's for sure, Ruby thought. But it doesn't seem like she has any choice but to work with them.

Next time… I'll try asking what she knows about the other two Monster Lords, Black Alice and Neris. I need to find out how they fit into this. There must be some reason why the Lilith Sisters decided to work with Alice's mom instead of the other two.

And… maybe I'll also try asking about what Alice was like growing up. A question like that shouldn't be suspicious, and it would be interesting just to see what Alice was like when she was a kid. And it might let me learn more about what kind of person her mom is…

Ruby arrived at her room and flopped down on her bed. Being an agent behind enemy lines was something she had never been trained for, and she had no idea how long she could last.

I hope Pyrrha's doing better right now…

-ooo-

Pyrrha's group left the abandoned laboratory and began walking back through the cave, now joined by Hild and a dozen other creations of the laboratory who wanted to leave. Their plan was to go through the forest after they left the cave, bypassing Luddite Village and its xenophobic inhabitants entirely.

Though we might still be found if any of the villagers are out working in the forest, Pyrrha thought. We'll have to hope that none of the villagers get this close to the cave entrance.

Meanwhile, the other members of the group were chatting amongst themselves. The cybernetic angels were asking Micaela about what angels in the outside world were like. The insect monsters were rejoicing over the prospect of mating with men in the outside world, while Luka and Sonya tried to restrain their enthusiasm. And the crab monsters… well, only one of those had decided to leave, and she took an interest in Pyrrha.

"You… I heard that you're not from this world?" the crab monster, who apparently answered to the name of 'Jillian', asked.

"That's true," Pyrrha replied. "But I'm not alone: both Nuruko here, as well as another who isn't here at the moment, don't originate from this world."

Jillian glanced at Nuruko and shuddered. "That one gives me a bad feeling for some reason… and it's not just because I'm a crab and she's an octopus!"

"I… didn't say anything like that," Pyrrha said.

"Kyuu?" Nuruko said in confusion.

"Anyway, I want to ask you about how you manage in this world," Jillian said. "I was made just to test if monsters could accept mechanical parts." She raised one of her metal pincers. "And with this body of mine, I'd stand out everywhere. So… what do you think I should do now?"

"I… don't think I'm the best person to be asking that question," Pyrrha admitted. "I don't have any problems fitting in appearance-wise, and… well, my main goal is to return to my world. I think it might be better for you to talk to Micaela or another angel, since, as I understand it, the angels faced similar problems when they fell to the surface world. Although—"

At that moment, Pyrrha sensed an overwhelming presence, a powerful aura of holy energy. It was uncomfortably reminiscent of what she'd felt when Micaela had fought against Granberia. Everyone froze.

"This aura… I don't recognise it, and I should be able to recognise most angels," Micaela said. She raised her hand and a sword of light appeared. "But not many angels are this powerful… could it be one of the strange Seraphs?"

"But what could one of those be doing here?" Pyrrha asked. "Unless… could she be here for you?"

"That's one possibility… or she could also be here for the laboratory behind us," Micaela said. "The technology there is something that many would want."

"Either way, we have to investigate," Luka said. "But… Your Holiness, what should we do about you? We're supposed to be escorting you…"

"I shall accompany you," King Peter declared. "An angel of such power appearing here is of concern to San Ilia. And if you are concerned for my safety, I should point out that I have considerable combat potential now that my maintenance is complete. And even if I were to perish here, San Ilia is prepared for just such an event."

"We definitely won't let you perish, Your Holiness!" Sonya said. "We'll protect you until our last breaths!"

"But what about us?" asked one of the monsters from the abandoned laboratory. "This angel… she feels like she's stronger than all of us put together!"

"You need not fight if you don't wish to," King Peter said. "I would suggest that you return to the laboratory and hide, and advise the others to hide."

At that moment, Hild brought her swords into position again. "Hild will fight," she said. "All enemies to the world are Hild's enemies."

The other creations of the laboratory weren't quite as eager to fight, so they headed back. Meanwhile, the remaining group—consisting of Pyrrha, Luka, Sonya, Micaela, Nuruko, King Peter and Hild—headed for the exit of the cave.

-ooo-

When they stepped back into the sunlight, they heard explosions and screams in the distance, and also saw flashes of light.

"Y-You're back, Your Holiness!" said one of the guards at the entrance to the cave. "We… Forgive us, we weren't sure what to do!"

"You have done nothing wrong," King Peter said. "Stay here, but be ready to approach if I give the signal."

It was a testament to the bravery of San Ilia's soldiers that, even though there was a Seraph-tier angel nearby, both of these soldiers replied, "Understood!"

Then Micaela stepped forward. "I'll go first—time is of the essence!" she said. Then she spread her wings and took off, and she was out of sight in the next moment.

The others hurried after Micaela, towards Luddite Village. As they got closer the screams became louder… and also less frequent. By the time they finally arrived at the village, there were no more screams at all.

Now, Luddite Village was a collection of burning buildings and smoking craters. All of the men, women and children that Pyrrha had seen alive, just a few hours ago, were now charred corpses.

We had a plan to help them… Pyrrha thought. And now… now it's all for nothing.

But there wasn't time to lament the villagers' slaughter. Above the ruins and the corpses were two angels engaged in fierce battle. One was Micaela, while the other was an angel with three pairs of feathered wings who wore a military uniform. The other angel carried a long spear with a flag in her right hand, while her left hand was enclosed in a metal gauntlet on her left arm—or was it cybernetic? Pyrrha had already seen several examples of cybernetics today.

The air shook each time the angels clashed, Micaela's sword of light against the metallic left fist of the enemy angel. And at the same time, the enemy angel shouted at the top of her voice.

"You're nothing like the real Micaela! You're not even on Eden's level!"

Micaela didn't respond, and it was clear this was because she couldn't afford to do anything other than fight. She had an expression of utter seriousness, and she grunted with effort whenever she attacked or blocked an attack.

"I'll kill you here and make sure you can never get in our way again!" the enemy angel said.

Pyrrha had to do something. She changed Miló into its rifle form and took aim at the enemy angel, but said angel was too fast and Micaela often too close to her for Pyrrha to shoot.

Nearby, Hild stepped forward, her body once again surrounded by a deep purple mist. She asked, "That six-winged angel is an enemy?"

"Yes, but—Hild, are you saying there's something you can do?" Pyrrha said.

In response, Hild looked up at the enemy angel, said "Target acquired" and fired off an orb of deep purple energy—of dark energy, for it could be nothing else—that shot towards the enemy angel, homing in on its target.

The enemy angel noticed and fired off a wave of holy energy from her palm, intercepting Hild's attack… which provided an opening for Micaela to slash at her head. The enemy angel quickly brought her metallic fist up to block, but not quite in time, and Pyrrha saw drops of red blood scatter through the air.

"Damn you!" the enemy angel roared, blood tricking down her cheek. "You'll suffer for this!"

The enemy angel threw herself at Micaela and there was an exchange of blows too fast for the eye to see. Then Micaela cried out in pain and was sent flying backwards, crashing into a burning house. Then the enemy angel turned her eyes to Pyrrha's group.

"You'll all suffer for this!"

Now that Micaela was no longer near the enemy angel, there was nothing to stop Pyrrha, Nuruko, King Peter and Hild from shooting at her. They all opened fire, the latter two using weapons that deployed from their mechanical bodies—and it was quite disconcerting to see arms transform into gatling guns. At the same time, Luka and Sonya—the only ones who lacked potent ranged attacks—hurried into the burning house to help Micaela.

The enemy angel initially flinched under the barrage of bullets and other assorted projectiles. Then she thrust her metallic left hand forward. "Be crushed!" she shouted.

Suddenly, Pyrrha's body felt like it weighed a dozen times more than normal, causing her to collapse. Several thuds around her showed that the others were similarly affected.

This is... gravity magic!?

Although Pyrrha wasn't able to raise her head, she sensed a growing aura of holy energy from above—the enemy angel was clearing preparing a final attack to wipe them all out.

I haven't saved Ruby yet! Until I've done that and returned to Remnant… I… cannot… fall here!

With a tremendous burst of effort, Pyrrha rose to her feet! Even now, invisible hands seemed to be gripping every last part of her body, trying to force her back down, but she refused to collapse again!

Now, Pyrrha could see that the enemy angel was creating a ball of blazing golden light between her hands, like a miniature sun. And the angel had also noticed her.

"You—how can you even stand!?" the enemy angel asked. "Your bones should've broken just from trying!"

"If you want to break my bones… you'll need at least ten times the gravity," Pyrrha retorted… though that was all she could do. She couldn't take a step from her current spot.

The enemy angel stopped charging up her attack, and the miniature sun between her hands disappeared.

Seeing an opportunity, Pyrrha asked, "Tell me, why did you massacre this village?"

"Because they were walking, breathing insults to the name of Ilias!" the enemy angel snapped. "They called themselves her worshippers, but they just used her name as an excuse to indulge in their own corruption, to look down on everyone outside their village! They were even worse than monsters!"

Now that Pyrrha had a chance to observe the enemy angel closely, she realised that the flag the angel was holding had a picture of Ilias on a red background. Not a very accurate picture, but it was still recognisable as Ilias.

She's a fanatic, then, Pyrrha thought. And a fanatic for the Ilias of another world, it seems…

"And those heretics in this world's San Ilia are no better," the enemy angel continued. She shot a venomous glance at the fallen King Peter. "They consort with monsters, breaking Ilias' first commandment. If Eden hadn't ordered me not to attack that city, I'd have razed it to the ground, just like I did to this village of heretics!"

The enemy angel took several deep breaths after shouting this. Then she began charging up another attack, and Pyrrha knew that there was no way to buy any more time.

"Still… you've got some steel in you, even if you're a heretic," the enemy angel said. "I am Zion, one of the three Seraphim who serves the true Goddess Ilias. What is your name?"

It seemed Pyrrha did have one more chance, after all. She declared, "I am Pyrrha Nikos, huntress in training."

Zion frowned, presumably not recognising the title… and her hesitation allowed an arrow of light to strike her directly in the head. She staggered to the side, now with much more blood dripping down her face. At the same time, the gravity magic affecting Pyrrha and the others disappeared.

"You shouldn't… have taken your eyes off me…"

These words were said by Micaela, who was off to the side and being held up by both Luka and Sonya. She was breathing heavily and bleeding from a wound in her abdomen, but she had just enough energy for one surprise attack… and in battle, a single attack could sometimes make the difference.

Pyrrha charged towards Zion. As she moved, she remembered Ruby, trapped in the Monster Lord's Castle. She remembered the rest of Team JNPR, no doubt wondering if she was even still alive. And she remembered the people of Luddite Village—regardless of what they'd done, they didn't deserve to be massacred like this.

With the fires of a hero engulfing Miló, Pyrrha brought her sword down towards Zion's head… only for it to be grasped by both of the angel's hands.

"You… no matter how tough you are, I'm not going to lose to a human…" Zion growled.

Despite her head injury, Zion was still absurdly strong, and she slowly forced Miló back. But Pyrrha devoted every last aspect of her being towards bringing her sword down. Even if she had to tear all of her muscles and dislocate all of her joints, she would not lose again!

After what felt like an eternity of struggling, Zion quickly threw herself to the side to avoid a barrage of gunfire from Pyrrha's allies. However, she wasn't quite able to avoid Pyrrha's sword, and Miló drew blood from one of the angel's wings. Zion retaliated with a fierce kick that sent Pyrrha flying and broke her remaining Aura. However, she was then struck by a blast of dark energy from Hild.

"Ugh…. Argh!"

Zion coughed up blood, but she was still able to stand. That put her in better condition than Pyrrha, who tried to get up by using Miló as a support, but couldn't do more than rise to her knees.

But… we've bloodied her! If we keep going, we can reach victory!

For a few tense moments, the two sides looked at each other: one side comprising humans, monsters and angels, the other comprising a single angel, yet both sides were wounded, exhausted and relatively equal.

The tension was broken when Zion leaped into the air and flew off. She was soon no longer visible. And the only one out of Pyrrha's group who could fly was Micaela, who was in no condition to pursue.

With the battle over, Pyrrha collapsed.

-ooo-

When Pyrrha opened her eyes again, she found herself sitting against a tree and surrounded by the ashes of Luddite Village. The countless corpses of the villagers were no longer in sight, having presumably been buried somewhere else.

"Oh, you're awake," Sonya said. "Do you need help standing up?"

Pyrrha looked at her own body and saw that her wounds had been healed. However, she was still aching all over, and her limbs were heavy with fatigue.

"That would be appreciated," Pyrrha said.

Pyrrha stood up with Sonya's help, then the two of them began walking around what was left of the village.

My Aura… it doesn't feel like it's replenished much, if at all, Pyrrha thought. It would be tremendously unlucky if we were to be attacked again in our current state…

Pyrrha met up with the other members of the group in what used to be the centre of the village. The others were in a similar condition to her: they no longer had any physical wounds, but they were exhausted from the previous battle.

After a short conversation, Pyrrha learned what had occurred while she was unconscious. Everyone had been healed, though they were in no condition for another fight. The corpses of the villagers had been buried in in individual, though shallow, graves around the edges of the village. Priest Daniel and Sister Martha, the two agents from San Ilia, were among the dead. Finally, Luka and Sonya had gone back to the abandoned laboratory to talk to its creations again… but none of them wanted to leave now, not after the horror that had just occurred nearby.

There were, however, a few survivors of Luddite Village. There were just six of them, two boys and four girls, and they were only lucky enough to survive because Micaela had arrived before Zion could find them. Even then, they had the same looks as children who'd been orphaned by the Grimm, children who had permanently lost their innocence.

On paper, this mission was a success, as they'd escorted King Peter for his maintenance and none of their own group had died. They'd even managed to go above and beyond their mission by saving a few of the villagers from an unexpected attack. But when she saw the ruins of Luddite Village, Pyrrha certainly didn't feel like she'd succeeded at anything.