A week later, they arrived at the town of Grandeur. This lay to the northwest of Sabasa and was famous all over the world as a centre of entertainment. It had the world's largest theatre—simply named "Grand Theatre"—and the largest casino.

Though there's also rumours about it being a haven for crime, Ruby thought. If those are true, then I guess the criminals are just following where the money is.

As with most of the cities and towns Ruby had been to in this world, there were guards standing at the entrance. These ones didn't look quite as professional as Sabasa's current guards, but they were clearly far better than Sabasa's previous guards.

"Welcome to Grandeur," one of the guards said. "We've something for everyone to enjoy, like our high-class restaurants, our casino, and especially SAKI-CHAN!"

Ruby jumped at the guard's abrupt change of tone. She was far from the only one to react this way.

"Wait, did you just say something weird like it was completely normal?" Sonya asked.

"P-Pardon me," the guard said. "Saki, you see, is a succubus who's taken over our Grand Theater and is—what's the word?—monopolising it. All of the shows, day and night, are hers now."

"It's not really a major problem, she hasn't hurt anyone or anything," another guard said. "It's just that she's so popular that… sometimes strange words come out of our mouths. Kind of like hiccups—SAKI-CHAN, WOOHOO!"

The guard thrust both hands in the air as he said the last part. Ruby had only seen a music concert once before—Yang had dragged her along to it a few years ago—but the guard's reactions were clearly those of a dedicated fan.

Maybe it's a bit too early to think of these guys as being competent…

"A-Anyway, please enjoy your time in Grandeur," the first guard said, pushing down his colleague's hands.

Ruby's group stepped through the gates of Grandeur. Beyond was an eclectic mix of buildings, some made from stone blocks while others were simply large tents. There were still plenty of reminders that this was a desert city, such as ornamental cacti. At the same time, there were gardens of lush green grass, bushes and other flora not normally found in the desert. Presumably, this was maintained at great effort to show the splendour of Grandeur to all its visitors.

And there were certainly plenty of those. Ruby saw people with all kinds of appearances, clothing and accents. She even saw a few mermaids, despite this city being over a hundred miles from the nearest coast. Though despite their diversity, there was one thing most of them talked about.

"You have got to see Saki-chan!"

"Saki's definitely the world's best idol!"

"Ahhh… Saki-chan…"

"I hope I get a ticket to one of her night shows soon…"

Ruby started tuning out a little towards the end. Even after she'd gotten used to the… more open attitudes in this world, there still wasn't much value in paying attention to people's wild fantasies.

"It seems like this Saki has gotten everyone in the city obsessed with her," Luka said. "Though… what's this 'chan' that people often attach to her name?"

"It's an honorific, a kind of suffix that people from Yamatai use in their speech," Alice explained. "This particular one is meant to sound cute, if I remember right. It's been a while since Tamamo taught me about honorifics… anyway, the important part is, what should we do about it?"

"While I no longer see monsters as a blight upon the world, we should stop her monopoly of the theatre," Ilias said. "It's quite clearly disrupting this city's activities, even if that disruption is minor."

"That's fine… but I am not going to take part in this," Luka said. "Not what happened in Sabasa…"

"Then me and Frederika can handle her!" Chrome volunteered. "Succubus skills aren't effective on zombies or other succubi!"

"Leaves this to us…" Frederika said.

"I'll help out as well," Alice said. "A place like Grand Theatre should have plenty of good food on offer as well…"

One by one, they all decided where to go next. Ruby and Pyrrha headed off to the north of Grandeur to investigate the rumours of criminal activity.

The north district of Grandeur had multiple magnificent mansions, a few of which had suspicious-looking guards standing outside. The guards were just humans in light clothing with clubs at their belts, not particularly unusual, yet Ruby felt something odd from them. It was like she was looking at a scene with a dangerous predator camouflaged in the background.

Before approaching any of the mansions themselves, Ruby and Pyrrha first explored the surroundings and talked to the nearby Grandeur citizens.

"I wish I could afford a place like that," said a woman selling fruit. "I could just laze around all day, servants to take care of my every need. Hah… Well, at least I have Saki-chan to brighten my day."

"You'd better stay away from there," said a soldier on patrol. "Even the ones owned by normal people have zealous guards who won't let you inside unless you've got an invitation. And one of them's owned by… no, you're better off not knowing."

"I've seen some girls around here who were definitely prostitutes," said a succubus wandering around. "Not sure which of the mansions they got brought to, but whoever it was, the owner definitely has some good taste."

Were they hiring the prostitutes themselves, or actually in charge of them? Ruby wondered.

"I hear one of those mansions is owned by the Elka Company," said one of the mermaids who was clearly a tourist. "Or was it an associate of Elka…? Anyway, whoever the owner is, they're definitely some big shot."

"That place is dangerous," said a housewife. "Back when that bombing happened, I saw… well, it was something that made me wonder if I should notify the Sabasan authorities. But that probably wouldn't have done anything, and then I would've gotten eliminated… You'd better keep your head down as well, if you want to stay safe."

The bombing… could she be talking about the bombing of the San Ilia King's carriage, the one that almost killed him? So the culprit, or culprits, is in one of these mansions?

Then they found a young man looking at one of the mansions. The way he was looking at it was… unlike all the others Ruby and Pyrrha had spoken to so far.

"I used to be a fan of Saki, like everyone else," the man said. "But just now, I saw this absolute hottie go in there. Her figure, her dress, the way she walked… ahhh, I wish she could step on me while—"

Ruby and Pyrrha walked away very quickly from him, not hearing what else he had to say.

-ooo-

Within a certain mansion of Grandeur, an old man sat on a couch and prepared tea. He was old enough that all of his hair had gone grey and wrinkles covered every inch of his skin, yet he moved with the poise of a true gentleman. This impression was enhanced by the well-tailored suit he wore and the cane propped up at his side. However, a large scar zigzagged across his forehead and right eye, showing that he'd also experienced combat in the past.

There was a knock on the door, so the old man called out, "Enter!"

A maid stepped in and announced, "Miss Fall has arrived". A strange woman followed the maid and sat down on a couch opposite the old man.

"You may return to your duties," the old man said, and the maid left.

Then the old man poured out two cups of tea and observed the woman before him. She was undeniably beautiful, that was something he could still appreciate even in his old age. She had an air of absolute confidence, the sort only possessed by those who were fools or who had the power to back up their confidence.

She was also, without a doubt, a powerful monster. There wasn't any particular feature that gave it away, but the old man hadn't lived so long without gaining a keen insight for potential threats.

"Welcome to my humble abode," the old man said, pushing a cup of tea over to his visitor. "What business do you have here today?"

"It's quite simple, really," Miss Fall said. "But first, I'd like to speak to the one actually in charge."

It seemed that the old man wasn't the only one in this room with keen insight. Still, he couldn't back down so easily.

The old man tilted his head. "Whatever do you mean? I am the Don Father of—"

"Don't insult my intelligence," Miss Fall said. "You may have a high rank in this organisation, but you are not its leader. In fact, my guess is that the real leader is in this room, watching from a hiding place."

There were a few moments of silence. Then the doors of a nearby cabinet opened up and a second man stepped out. This also revealed that the cabinet was much more spacious on the inside than it appeared on the outside.

"Thought I was hiding my presence pretty well," the second man said. He took out a cigar, lit it and put it in his mouth. "Fine then. Let's get to business."

-ooo-

After an hour spent gathering information, Ruby and Pyrrha stopped at an outdoor stall to buy refreshments and simply take a break.

Ahh… iced tea tastes amazing on a hot day…

Soon the topic turned to what they'd just been investigating. There was a lot of information, and they needed to sift through it to find the bits that were actually true.

"Do the criminals really live someplace out in the open?" Ruby wondered. "I was expecting them to at least hide who they are if they're going to do that. But we've come across dozens of people who know they're here."

"The criminals seem to be intimately tied into the economy of this city," Pyrrha explained. "To the point that they none dare speak out against them."

"Hmm…" Ruby took a long sip from her iced tea. "It's hard to work out who's telling the truth or not. Heck, some of the people we talked to might be lying on purpose to hide the truth."

"That's quite possible, similar things are often done in show business," Pyrrha said. "It's ostensibly legal, but beneath the façade is a culture of deceit. One of several reasons I'm eager to be away from that life."

That reminded Ruby of her own time in the Monster Lord's Castle. It was surprisingly comfortable, yet she hadn't been able to trust anyone and was similarly glad to be away from there.

If there's one good thing I took away from that, it's that I can handle social situations better now. Though losing Crescent Rose was too high a price for that…

"Anyway, it doesn't look like we'll be able to get into any of those mansions," Ruby said. "If we're going to keep at this investigation, we'll have to keep asking people outside."

"And perhaps we could try again at night, the time when the criminal underworld is awake," Pyrrha said. "We'd need to be careful, but we could potentially find out more than we can during the day."

After they finished their drinks, the two of them headed back out to gather more information.

With the sun now near its peak, there were fewer people in the streets. Most went inside to escape the sun and enjoy the various kinds of entertainment on offer, so Ruby and Pyrrha went inside to join them.

However, there wasn't much more they could discover. Mostly it was just repeats of what they'd heard earlier. They did, however, hear about the war with Grangold to the north: apparently, Grangold was still in the winning position.

They also ran into a few of the others doing their own activities.

Luka, Sonya and Nuruko were in a casino. They were taking turns to play the various games on offer, which included cards, dice and slots, all while being careful not to bet too much at a time.

"Want to try it out?" Sonya asked. "I'm not having much luck lately, but maybe you'll have better luck."

"Sorry, I'm not really into gambling," Ruby answered.

"I never had the chance to gamble before," Pyrrha said. "But… perhaps I'll give it a try now. Just a few games."

Thus Pyrrha tried out one of the dice games. It was a simple one where you rolled three six-sided dice and bet on whether the result was divisible by a certain number: 2, 3, 4, 5 or 6. The higher your number, the less likely you'd get a suitable result but the bigger your payout.

Pyrrha bet on the numbers 2, 2 and then 3. Her results were 8, 6 and 15.

"That's amazing!" Luka said. "You got them all!"

"You must have some secret to get three in a row!" Sonya said.

"No, there isn't any secret!" Pyrrha protested. "I just picked whatever number came to mind, and threw the dice normally. Look, I'm sure I'll get a loss soon!"

But then Pyrrha threw the dice three more times, betting on 6, 2 and 4. And she won another three times.

Maybe she actually has good luck, in the magical sense? Ruby wondered. That wouldn't surprise me in this world…

"Anyway, I must stop for today," Pyrrha said, putting down the dice. "If I keep winning, I'm sure the casino will stop me and politely ask me to leave. The house must always win, after all."

And that was the end of Pyrrha's short-lived winning streak. Just as she and Ruby left the casino, Ruby looked back to see Sonya trying the dice again and cursing at another loss.

Soon after that, they found Ilias and Promestein in a private room of a bar. The weakened goddess and angels—though outsiders would just see them as two angels—were talking about the world that Promestein had come from.

"…just dictates every aspect of their lives, from their careers to their marriages?" Ilias asked.

"Indeed," Promestein said. "It's one of the reasons I have no plans to go back there. It's a stifling place to be."

Ilias sighed. "My parallel self has become—there's no other way to say it—a tyrant without equal. And to think I used to have similar plans…" She looked up at Ruby and Pyrrha. "Ah, we're just talking about some indirect mistakes of mine. It's something to discuss further when we're all gathered again. For now, please continue with what you were doing."

So Ruby and Pyrrha left the bar and moved on. They soon came across a rather unlikely pair: Lime and Lucia, who were listening to a bard outdoors. There weren't many other people listening to said bard, presumably due to the overwhelming popularity of Saki.

"…and, it took a while for relations to get better," Lime said. "But now we slimes live alongside the humans in IIliasville, and other kinds of monsters also started moving in recently."

"Hmm… seems like a good place to live," Lucia said, a complex expression on her face.

"Maybe you could visit there sometime?" Ruby interjected. "You don't necessarily have to stay with us."

"That's an attractive idea, but…" Lucia said. She looked at her human hand and morphed it into a mass of tentacles. "I already have this power, so I may as well put it to use against the troubles plaguing the world. I might not agree with everything Lily was planning, but this is something where the two of us would be of similar minds. And… I'm not sure I'd fit into a peaceful village like that…"

"It's too early to say that," Pyrrha said. "Many of us have gone through various hardships, even if they're not quite the same as yours, and gained power not needed for a peaceful life. But it's still possible to lay down arms and settle down."

Lucia curled up her tentacles and looked at the bard to the front. "Maybe… though that's still for the future."

Ruby and Pyrrha joined in listening to the bard for a while. He was was singing an off-key yet still heartfelt song about an ancient Monster Lord who'd disguised herself as a human to follow a human hero around, yet this ultimately ended in a tragic love that could never be fulfilled.

Somehow, it sounds like that might have actually happened, Ruby thought. Though the details have obviously gotten—what's the word?—embellished over time. Maybe it was just some high-ranking monster rather than the Monster Lord…

Eventually, the two of them parted from Lime and Lucia, and returned to the north district. The air was quite a bit cooler now, and more people were out and about.

"Come to think of it, Ruby, what do you plan on doing with the… debris from that angel?" Pyrrha asked.

"It should be useful for making my new weapon," Ruby said. "And that should still leave some left over. One idea I had was to make some armour so I don't have to rely on dodging all the time."

Ruby had countless things on her plate to do. She had to replace her lost weapon, potentially make armour for herself, collaborate with the other scientists/engineers of the group and train harder just to catch up to the others.

Micaela baptised me as a hero on our way here, but I still can't use any of those hero abilities in combat. Hmm… if only I had more time…

Out loud, Ruby said to Pyrrha, "And you could have some of this metal as well, I think it would be useful for—"

The two of them passed near the gates of one of the mansions. At the same time, a familiar face stepped out of the gates. She was wearing a different dress than when Ruby had last seen her, but there was no mistaking the one who'd attacked Beacon and caused—caused all of this.

"Cinder!?"

"You!"

"How can you two be—!?"

There was a moment of confusion by all three of them due to the unexpected encounter. Then the three drew their weapons, and Cinder also changed into a different appearance.

"This is the perfect opportunity!" Cinder shouted, now with purple skin, red tattoos and silvery horns. "Burn!"

Cinder cast a torrent of orange flame at Ruby and Pyrrha, who easily dodged the attack. Fortunately, the reputation of the mansion meant there weren't any innocent bystanders nearby to get caught up in the attack. There were a couple of guards from the mansion, who'd been slightly behind Cinder when she emerged, but they fled immediately at the sight of Cinder's power.

I can't believe we just happened to meet here—but she's right, it's the perfect opportunity! The opportunity for us to finally bring her down!

Ruby activated her Semblance and circled around Cinder, leaving behind a trail of rose petals. She pulled out a handful of elemental stones, originally intended as materials for her own projects, and threw them haphazardly. Some of the stones were intercepted by Cinder's flames while others hit the ground around her, but all of them burst, creating explosions of fire, ice, lightning and other elements.

That elemental stone barrage had done no damage to Cinder, but it also wasn't meant to. It created an opening for Pyrrha to charge in and stab at Cinder's throat with her sword. Cinder blocked Pyrrha's sword with two of her own and then they began a furious clash of blades.

Even if she's turned into a monster somehow, she can't have had much practice with that body! And Pyrrha almost beat her last time! Plus we only need to wait for our friends to make it here!

Ruby clenched her scythe tightly. A temporary weapon like this wouldn't have been adequate against the previous Cinder, let alone one who had gained more power as a yoma. But it would have to serve for now.

For a few moments, Ruby watched Pyrrha and Cinder clash. The former was enhancing her blows with the crimson flame of a hero; a power that Ruby herself still couldn't use. But Cinder was matching her blow for blow, even pushing her back.

When the opportunity arrived, Ruby dashed in at full speed. She raised her scythe, seemingly to cut through Cinder's neck. Cinder lashed out with a clawed hand, wreathed in fire—

—only for Ruby to dodge at the last second. This had also been nothing more a distraction, but it was again an effective one. Pyrrha knocked the swords out of Cinder's hands and followed up with a quick thrust at Cinder's chest.

Cinder grasped Miló with both hands. Even for someone with Aura, it was normally a desperate act to grasp a weapon's sharp edge as it would rapidly deplete their Aura. But she simply sneered as she held Miló in place, also immobilising its wielder.

"I haven't clung to my humanity as you have," Cinder said. "I've become something far more now!"

Cinder's hands glowed white-hot. Pyrrha visibly flinched from the heat.

Then a copper pot came flying over, seemingly out of nowhere, towards Cinder's head. Although Cinder incinerated the pot with a glare, that gave the opportunity for Pyrrha to pull her sword free and jump back to a safer distance.

"Hmmph… you still have your magnetic tricks," Cinder said. "But that's no match for what I can do in my current form!"

Cinder's eyes glowed an eerie purple. Suddenly, Ruby's vision grew hazy and she lost her balance.

This is—Demon Eyes of Confusion!?

Ruby struggled to regain her balance, but the ground seemed like such a nice place to be. Dirt touched her face and it felt surprisingly comfortable, almost like being in bed.

No… have to… get up!

Ruby could hear the sounds of Pyrrha and Cinder fighting—and it didn't sound like the former was winning. She pushed herself up and raised her scythe again. But now she still couldn't do anything to help as she didn't know who was who. Both her ally and her enemy looked like indistinct blurs, blurs that shifted and merged repeatedly.

There has to be… something I can do!

The answer came to her. It was the kind of thing that happened in video games, but Ruby didn't have time to worry about that now.

Ruby slapped the cheek of the only one whose position she was sure of: herself. After the jolt of pain, her vision cleared up a little. Not completely, but it was enough for Ruby to no longer fear hitting Pyrrha by accident.

It would help if I still had Crescent Rose to shoot with… can't do anything about that now… just need to buy more time!

Ruby dashed towards Cinder. This time, she wasn't planning a feint. She hoped that her enemy still thought she was too confused to fight.

Cinder whirled around, forming a miniature tornado of blazing flames that knocked both Ruby and Pyrrha away. Ruby was sent flying into one of the trees in the mansion's garden, snapping the trunk in two, while her scythe flew in a completely different direction.

Argh!

Judging from the power of that blow, it had depleted most of her Aura. Anything more than this would threaten her life.

Not yet… just a little more!

But before Ruby could get to her feet, Cinder appeared before her. She kicked the young huntress brutally in the stomach.

Ruby flew backwards again and hit the mansion's outer wall, cracking it. Red motes of light scattered from her body, showing her Aura had been completely broken.

"Ruby! No!"

Pyrrha charged towards Cinder, only for ice to suddenly form around her feet and trip her. Then a lightning bolt flew from her hands and struck Pyrrha head-on, shattering her Aura with another scattering of red motes.

"Fire isn't the only thing I'm good with, even before I gained this new body," Cinder said, her voice as soft and deadly as a serpent's hiss. "Now then, which of you should I kill first? You've both been thorns in my side," her eyes turned to Ruby, "you in particular—"

Gunshots and arrows of ice suddenly pierced the air. Cinder twisted to avoid them, then glared upwards.

Ruby followed Cinder's gaze to one of the mansion's windows. Here there were two middle-aged men in suits, one holding twin pistols and the other holding a staff that glowed with magical light.

"Interesting idea of business, talking to someone and then starting a fight in their front lawn," the pistol-wielding man said.

"Oh, you shouldn't blame her," the staff-wielding man said. "There's no point blaming those who are too foolish to follow basic manners."

There was something familiar about the pistol-wielding man. She hadn't seen him recently, but…

"As if you two are in any position to talk," Cinder snapped back. "You undoubtedly accepted my offer just so you could betray me when the time came."

"Since you clearly had the same idea, we're just being smart," the pistol-wielding man replied, still aiming his guns at her.

Then Ruby realised who he was. A memory from all the way back in Iliasville resurfaced.

Lazarus!? Then, that mage next to him—could he be Merlin, that mage who was part of the same group!? Wait, does that mean they're part of the criminal underworld here!?

More people showed themselves from the mansion's windows, holding guns or other weapons. There were at least fifty in total now, yet Cinder showed no fear of them.

"No matter how many minions you call together," Cinder said, her eyes blazing, "they're no match for someone with real power!"

Ruby staggered away, just in time to avoid the tsunami of flame that Cinder sent towards Lazarus' mansion. People screamed in agony, windows shattered and the very walls cracked under the heat.

"That should deal with any distractions," Cinder said, turning around. "Now… time to remind you of your place!"

With no weapon in hand, no Aura left at all, Ruby did the only thing possible to protect herself: she raised her hands to protect her face.

Then the fire hit. It burned her almost everywhere and knocked her to the ground. She couldn't help but scream.

"RUBY!"

"I'm not done with you yet!" Cinder called out towards Pyrrha. "Once I'm done with this little brat, I'll start on you next!"

No… I nearly saw Pyrrha die once…

Ruby couldn't even get up, her limbs refused to obey her. Even breathing hurt in her current state.

I won't let that… happen again!

Ruby turned her face towards Cinder and glared.

Blinding white light filled her vision briefly, and at the same time Cinder screamed in pain.

"You—That power again!?" Cinder groaned, swaying on her feet. Cracks were now running across her skin. "That isn't enough… to stop me! I'll finish you right—"

A literal angel descended from the sky. To her credit, Cinder still had enough presence of mind to react to this new threat. However, all that meant was that she lost her arm to Micaela's holy sword, rather than her head.

"Gah—Ahhhhhhh!"

Cinder clutched at the stump of her right arm, which emitted smoke rather than blood. Her power and confidence from before were now completely gone.

Micaela glanced at Ruby and her expression hardened. She approached Cinder, sword raised for the finishing blow.

But at the last moment, Ruby's hopes were crushed by something entirely unexpected. Cinder disappeared into a vortex of purple energy right before Micaela's sword.

After all this… she gets away again! That's—ugh…

Apparently sensing Ruby's pain, Micaela hurried over to start healing her. The soft warmth of healing magic began enveloping Ruby's body.

At this point, Ruby spotted one of her arms lying on the ground before her eyes. It was burnt to the point of being black as charcoal, save for a few dull white patches. There was no pain… and Ruby's medical knowledge told her this meant the damage was severe.

"I'm sorry…" Micaela said. "If it wasn't for the injuries Gnosis inflicted, and if I wasn't hiding in that house, I could have made it here sooner—"

"It's fine," Ruby croaked out. "Just glad… you're here."

Pyrrha approached, having managed to free herself from the ice. She knelt down and held Ruby's hand while weeping.

"That feeling just now…" Micaela murmured, glancing at the spot where Cinder had disappeared. "She didn't teleport away under her own power. But if that's the case… this does not bode well."

Ruby wanted to know what the angel was talking about, but her body had already exceeded its limit. Now that she was safe, she let her consciousness slip away.

-ooo-

Cinder gasped as Lilith gently lay her down on a bed.

"I-I'll kill her! I'll make her pay for this! I—"

Then the memory of that encounter returned. A single merciless blow had almost reaped her life. It wasn't even like Cinder had been weakened and left vulnerable, for she still had most of her stamina and mana left after crushing those two brats. No… she had lost to an existence that was far above her. And that thought caused her entire body to shiver.

"Please stay still and allow me to examine you," Lilith said.

Cinder did as she was told. It wasn't as though struggling would achieve anything. Following Lilith's instructions would be best.

Lilith ran her hands along Cinder's body. For a moment Cinder wondered if she would take advantage of the situation, yet the succubus seemed to be completely professional. Cinder even calmed down somewhat thanks to her touch.

"Alright, I have good news for you," Lilith said. "All of your wounds, including your arm, can be healed with enough time."

Cinder couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

"You were fortunate, though," Lilith added. "We monsters have a particular vulnerability to holy energy. In some cases, wounds from holy attacks can never be healed."

"Then I must become even stronger," Cinder said. "Strong enough to make her—all of them—pay."

"I'll warn you that it will take a… very long time to reach the level of Seraph Micaela," Lilith said. "Even weakened from time on the surface world, she's a force to be reckoned with. And if she hadn't been weakened… I wouldn't have been able to save you, as you would have been reduced to ash by the slightest touch of her blade."

Cinder shivered again. She sat up and pulled a blanket around herself.

"I'll need to prepare some things to restore your arm," Lilith said. "I won't be more than an hour. Until then, please rest here."

Lilith left the room. Cinder watched her as she went, her eyes following the swaying of the succubus' tail.

I wonder just what she could do with that tail—ugh, I must remove that thought from my head. It's not as if I'm even interested in women in that way…

Cinder looked at her one remaining hand and clenched it into a fist. She'd gained much upon arriving in this world, but it still wasn't enough.

I need more… I need strength that ensures I won't have to bow down to anyone ever again.

Otherwise, I won't be able to serve Mistress Lilith properly.

AN: Something funny about this chapter is that when I first wrote it, I forgot Micaela was hiding in the Pocket House and included her in the scene with Ilias and Promestein. That would have been an embarrassing plot hole if I hadn't realised it.