Leo opened his eyes and noticed his face against something cold as he realized he was lying on a hard stone floor. The Hyur got up in a daze, slightly disorientated but quickly regaining his senses as he looked around. He noticed Neilla lying down nearby and approached her, kneeling by her side and nudging her gently.
"Neilla, are you alright? Open your eyes." He said softly.
"L-leo? Did it work, are we inside that castle?" She asked, lifting herself up as four others around them got to their feet.
"It seems we have penetrated their defenses, but where are the others?" Miles wondered as he turned to Paris.
"I-I don't know, they must be somewhere else in the castle. I hope..." Paris muttered to herself.
"We'll reconvene with them later, our priority should be dealing with the residents of this castle then finding your hostage." Sieg instructed.
"What kind of room are we in anyway? The ceiling and stairs lead so high up and there's machinery lining all the walls." Leona pondered.
"Who knows, some kind of clock tower?" Miles replied.
"In any case, let's head to the top and see where it leads, we may be able to get a better handle on our position from there." Leo suggested.
"Good plan, but you're not going anywhere. Not when I finally have you." A feminine voice echoed throughout the room.
"Leo, look out!" Neilla warned as a figure came crashing down with a lance towards the group, the silver-haired Hyur barely avoiding the attack in time.
"Reza. Don't you ever quit?" Leo asked as he readied his weapon.
"I never let a job go unfinished. And I never let a mark go free." She replied as she rushed forward with her lance. Leo parried her blows as Miles readied his bow and took aim at the Ishgardian woman.
"I'm not sure what this lovely lady was thinking but she is heavily outnumbered." The man said as he released the arrow straight towards her head. Suddenly a glowing serpentine figure emerged from Reza and lashed out towards the projectile, destroying it in mid-air.
"Well that was unexpected, what the Hells was that?" Leo growled as he deflected another vicious attack.
"That was just a taste of the dragon's power that I possess. Although I was never chosen as the eye's Azure Dragoon, I still carried the power of the dragon with me and have trained tirelessly to improve upon it all these years. No matter how many there are of you, you will all fall here tonight." Reza smirked.
"To Hells with that!" Leona shouted as she charged forward holding the hilt of her blade. The Elezen unsheathed her weapon as she neared her target which sent a powerful gust of wind towards the enemy that cut through the air like razors, but was met with the same red serpentine figure that blocked the attack.
"You annoying snake!" Leona yelled as she sliced forward towards the glowing entity that protected the mercenary. It met the blade of her katana with the same force as a sword, parrying her attack as Leona started slashing relentlessly. Reza soon found herself fending off two combatants front and back almost effortlessly.
"This isn't good, we have to do something." Paris exclaimed to her nearby party. Neilla stepped forward, placing her crystal medium on the hilt of her rapier and materializing multiple blades of ice that floated above her. With a thrust of her rapier, the blades flew through the air towards Reza and the draconic entity.
With a spin of her lance, Reza deflected both Leo's attack and the incoming projectiles which veered upwards, crashing into some of the clock's mechanisms and causing a giant gear to smash down to the ground below as the trio sprung back to avoid the danger.
"Leona, watch out!" Paris shouted, reaching a hand out helplessly as the ground beneath the fallen gear began to give way and crumble, with the Elezen falling down below with it.
"Leona!" Leo shouted as he quickly got to his feet and peered down the dark abyss.
"I'd be more concerned about my own well being if I were you." Reza taunted as she thrust her lance into the Hyur, piercing through his armour and into his chest. Leo let out a cough of blood before falling onto his side.
"You bitch!" Neilla shrieked as she charged forward. "Miles, cover me!" She shouted, striking at the Ishgardian woman with her rapier. Miles quickly took aim and fired several arrows towards the serpentine figure that materialized to fend them off, keeping it busy as Paris raced over to Leo's side.
"Gods damn it Sieg, why are you just standing there? Do something!" The Roegadyn yelled as she began to heal Leo's wounds. Siegfried however just stood there, staring intently at the fight in front of him. Neilla tried to combat their enemy as best she could, however her weapon wasn't suited to defending against the strong strikes of Reza's lance.
Miles grabbed another arrow from his quiver, preparing to strike once more before Sieg reached out with his cane to stop him.
"Hold off on that for a moment, let's see what happens when her little pet doesn't have anyone to play with." Sieg instructed.
"Are you mad? She could get killed!" Miles yelled.
"Just trust me on this." Sieg replied, his eyes remaining on the fight at all times. Nearby, Leo groaned and opened his eyes as Paris used her magic to tend to his wounds.
"Keep still, you're not in any condition to fight yet." Paris ordered.
"Is this really the best you can do? You're just wasting my time." Reza said before summoning the dragon spirit once more.
"There we go." Sieg grinned as blue diamonds materialized and started to spin around the Hyur who began casting. Suddenly a blue serpentine figure formed from Sieg's outstretched hand and shot forward towards Reza's, wrapping around it like a snake coil and restricting its movements.
"W-what is this?!" Reza let out in shock, lowering her guard for a brief moment and opening a window for Neilla to close in and strike her rapier through the Elezen's shoulder. The Reza roared in pain with fury in her eyes, ready to strike the Hyur down before she suddenly stopped as Leo drove his lance straight through her abdomen.
"This isn't... How..." Reza let out, choking on her own blood as she collapsed to her knees. Leo pulled back and removed his weapon from her body as the Elezen fell to the floor.
"Leo! Are you okay?" Neilla asked as she ran to his side.
"I'll be alright, just need to shake this off while Paris' magic finishes the job." He replied.
"You're lucky she didn't pierce any of your vital organs, but let's take it easy for now until you're healed." Paris replied.
"Aright but we have to keep moving. We need to catch up to the others and find Juria." Leo said clutching his chest as the group ascended the staircase.