Fate: Hammer Time

by TedTheRabbit

Shirou Emiya wanted to become a hero. That was clear to all who truly know him. For a long time though, he lacked the power to actually achieve that goal. No longer. No longer will he lack the power, now that the Hammer of the Odinson has chosen him as new wielder. Prepare for Thunder. ShirouxMultiple, Thor-Shirou.

39. Win

…Win

---

The purge of the Meluastea continued in the Department of Archaeology. It had started early at nine o'clock in the morning and continued strongly until now, which was one o'clock in the afternoon. Three out of the four halls had already been seized, and the underground complex had been reduced to a smouldering heap of ashes.

Only one hall remained, that being the Eastern hall, coincidentally also the one where the Meluastea-family had hidden themselves, and the morale of the attackers was at an all-time high.

A mission that should have taken weeks to complete now promised to be over in under a day. The haul of loot, research, and prisoners was greater than any of them could have anticipated. Hundreds of people, Magi and mundane, had been saved from the claws of the Meluastea.

Most importantly, there had been no deaths among the attacking forces yet, and whatever wounds were received were mild and sometimes even inconsequential.

Assaulting the lair of a ruling family had turned out to be a much simpler affair than anyone could have imagined.

Some might say it was ridiculous that attacking a well-defended base was so easy, that something had to be wrong, and that a trap was perhaps being laid, but those people would be overlooking one crucial fact.

The Department of Archaeology depended too much on Bounded Fields, and that lack of variation in their defences was what ultimately became their downfall.

The entire defence-strategy of the Meluastea, and with them, most other Magi, was based almost solely upon Bounded Fields. The moment those lost their value, because of someone like Shirou coming along for instance, the strategy and their defences completely collapsed.

Whether it was in the Southern hall of the Department of Archaeology, the Western hall, or even the underground complex, the moment Shirou broke the Bounded Fields, it changed from a potentially challenging fight to a matter of mopping up the frightened Magi who seemed to have no plan B in case their Bounded Fields failed, or at least no plan B they could engage in a sufficiently short time.

It was to be expected though. There was normally very little reason to spend time and energy on creating secondary plans when you had Bounded Fields. After all, Bounded Fields were objectively amazing.

They were the staple of point-defences in the Moonlit World. Unlike Runes, Gem-Craft, or many other Fields of Magecraft, Bounded Fields could be made and used by almost anyone. Mastering the art was of course still beholden to only a few but becoming reasonably skilled with Bounded Fields was easier than becoming so with Runes.

True, Bounded Fields needed a lot of effort to create, but it wasn't necessarily very difficult or complicated. With enough effort and concentration, it was doable for anybody, and the rewards were more than worth the cost.

If a Bounded Field was constructed correctly and no rookie-mistakes had been made, such as leaving a focal point of the Spell outside the Field itself, neglecting a part of the stabilisation-process, or rushing through the last part of construction, leaving frayed edges that could be exploited, then breaking through said Bounded Field was extremely difficult.

Bounded Fields could serve as a direct wall, or rather, a type of force-field, that could keep attackers out, but they could also hold many different defences, such as walls of fire, storms of razor-sharp icicles, stakes that rose from the ground whenever someone stepped somewhere they shouldn't, and more.

Worse, Bounded Fields could also have traps built into them. In such a case, it would seem like the Bounded Field broke down, but the moment a careless attacker entered the premises, the Bounded Field would reactivate and kill the attacker, or drain them of energy, or paralyse them, or do some other horrible thing.

And that wasn't even mentioning the really esoteric ones, such as the Bounded Fields with properties based on the Craft of Cu Chulainn, which forced opponents into a deathmatch with him, or the ones created by the Witches of Ancient Greece, which produced endless armies of skeleton warriors.

The point was, Bounded Fields were excellent tools for defence, and the only reason they weren't used for attacking was because it was impossible to move Bounded Fields once they had been established.

Sure, you could create a Bounded Field on a train and drive that train around, but the position of the Bounded Field inside the train wouldn't change, nor would it influence anything outside the train.

Defence was what Bounded Fields were meant for and defence was what they excelled at.

If a Magus with no particular talent for creating Bounded Fields got a nice, secluded spot of land, enough resources, and a year or so to themselves, then they could create a Bounded Field that could keep a team of experienced Enforcers out long enough to escape or engage contingency plans. Less if the Enforcers had a Bounded Field expert with them, but such people were very rare, and often didn't survive long if they made their Craft known.

After all, with Bounded Fields being as important as they were, no one wanted someone around who could grievously upset the natural order of things by potentially making them obsolete.

That a single Magus with a year of time could make such a Bounded Field also meant that Magus-families, especially the old ones that had existed for many generations already, could make Bounded Fields that were far superior in quality. The Bounded Fields on the Tohsaka-estate for instance would be able to keep an average attacking force outside for many hours, even longer if Rin herself was inside to manage the defences.

Not to mention the Matou-estate. That place had been ridiculously well-defended with horrid traps and defence-mechanisms, and though Shirou had been able to break right in, he was in any and every way an exception to the rule.

There was a reason Bounded Fields were so popular, and that reason was that they simply did their job right. There was nothing more to it. Bounded Fields were good at what they did, and thus highly appreciated in the Moonlit World.

Undoubtedly, the Meluastea had thought themselves to be quite safe as well, hidden behind their own Bounded Fields in their department. They reasoned that no one would be able to breach the Fields in a short amount of time, and normally, they would have been entirely correct.

And then Shirou came along.

The Bounded Fields of the Department of Archaeology, massive, intricate, and powerful, fell in seconds when Shirou took them on, and with that core of their defences falling away, the Meluastea had nothing they could use to respond.

Because their Bounded Fields had been so amazing, they had neglected to prepare any other kind of protective measure, and now they paid the price for their short-sightedness.

---

As he broke down yet another Bounded Field on yet another Workshop, Shirou glanced from the corner of his eyes at Lady Barthomeloi, who looked on coolly as the Magi inside the Workshop screamed in fear and started scrambling for a means to defend themselves against the Enforcers entering to drag them out.

By now, there was nothing left of the surprise she'd shown when he'd first smashed through Bounded Fields as if they were sheets of paper. She'd accepted it as the standard with him and didn't even bat an eye anymore. Rather, she seemed sunken in thought.

Since she was a clever, cunning woman, Shirou knew for a fact that she was already considering the ramifications of his existence and the talents he'd shown her so far.

She had already promised not to Seal him, for which Shirou was eternally grateful of course, but that didn't mean he was completely off the hook when it came to the consequences of his actions.

Bounded Fields were massively important to Magi as defence-mechanisms and as a guarantee that their Workshops and possessions were safe, and that he could break them down so easily could be considered a revolution, or a disaster, depending on who you asked. Shirou knew that, Lady Barthomeloi knew that, Lady Montmorency knew that, Lord El-Melloi knew that, and basically everyone else with the slightest amount of common sense knew that as well.

Suddenly, because of Shirou's existence, the mighty Bounded Fields that were used worldwide to protect the possessions and lives of Magi may become entirely obsolete. Lady Barthomeloi had already said that she wanted to perform research on Shirou, to see if she could learn more about his talents, and if she or her associates succeeded in copying his skill, Bounded Fields could very quickly become a thing of the past.

Suddenly, other ways of defending oneself and one's possession would be needed, ways that might be far more complicated, difficult, or expensive than the Jack-of-all-Trades Bounded Fields.

For Shirou himself, that wasn't a problem. He did have several Bounded Fields on his house, for a variety of reasons such as defence, suppression of sound from inside, anti-eavesdropping, and anti-observation, but he also had Wards created with Runes, he had changed his house into his personal territory with Formalcraft, and he had liberally used the Mysterious Power as well to create various means of keeping hostile spells and presences out.

In short, he would be fine, Bounded Fields or not. The fact that it was his house and he wouldn't have to break the fields also helped.

Other Magi might find it considerably more difficult however to make the switch from Bounded Fields to something else, and it was that difficulty that was probably most prominently on Lady Barthomeloi's mind right now.

Shirou fully expected her to drag him to her office once the purge was over so she could make it clear to him just how important it was that he never shared his knowledge and talents with anyone else, lest he cause massive chaos to wash over the entirety of the Moonlit World. She would also probably pressure him into not using his talent too liberally.

Shirou didn't have to be told to understand however, and even though he was pretty sure no one would be able to copy his ability of breaking down Bounded Fields –since it required an ability to instantly grasp the Bounded Fields, which was basically impossible to normal Magi, and the ability to control one's Magical Power so completely that one could mix it in with the power of the Bounded Field, which was also nigh-on impossible to normal Magi– he still wasn't going to share it with anyone else, ever.

He had no intention of setting of a bomb like that for no reason at all. If other Magi wanted what he had, they could develop their own method through their own hard work.

…Cue the moment of depression when Shirou yet again realised that he had become a greater Magus than either he or his father had ever thought possible.

He had truly become the enemy.

The depression was quickly shaken off though, and Shirou turned to Lady Barthomeloi.

"That was the last Workshop in the Northern hall. There is nothing left here. Only the Eastern hall remains." He informed her, before frowning at the next part he had to say. "That puts me at 354 opponents defeated, and you at 375 opponents."

In other words, he'd completely blown his earlier lead.

"That you are so far behind now is entirely your own fault." The brunette told him coolly, a trace of irritation visible in her eyes. "Answering that beeping sound of your 'mobile phone' cost you several valuable minutes at the end."

"It was an important call." Shirou huffed. "I had to answer it. I'm sorry, my lady, but there are many things in life which I consider more important than winning a competition."

It had been a call from Sakura after all, so naturally he had answered it without a second thought. If she called him at an unusual time like this, there was definitely something wrong, and he had to reply immediately.

His girlfriends would always be more important than any game or competition he was participating in, and Lady Barthomeloi was more than capable of handling all remaining opponents by herself. As such, he'd excused himself the moment his phone began ringing, fully prepared to storm out of the Clocktower and towards the airport if his girls needed him.

Heavens, he might fly home by himself if needed.

Ultimately, nothing that drastic had been required. It turned out not to be that much of an emergency, but more of a curiosity. Ayako, Sakura, and Issei had found a corpse a small distance away from the Ryuudou-temple, half-buried by unknown hands. It was an old corpse, and the perpetrators had clearly been nowhere near them at any point, but it had still been off-putting enough for the girls to call him, not because they needed something from him, but because they wanted to inform him of it.

Shirou had done his best to set them at ease, which was made easier by the fact that neither had really been shocked by it. In fact, of the three who found the body, it had been Issei who had taken it the hardest. Ayako and Sakura had remained clinical about it for the most part.

They did appreciate it though that he was trying to comfort them, even if it wasn't really necessary.

His conversation with the girls hadn't lasted very long though. The moment Shirou had let it slip he was busy with a purge, the girls had apologised for interrupting him so rudely, and despite all his protests and assurances that there was no problem, had insisted on hanging up and continuing their talk later.

So Shirou had put his phone back into his pocket and had joined Lady Barthomeloi again, who by then had dealt with the remaining opponents, putting her ahead of him by a fair bit, enough that he would be hard-pressed to make up for it, especially since only one hall remained.

She was annoyed by the fact he'd pulled back from their game to answer a call, but Shirou wasn't going to apologise for it. He had made his opinion clear, and he stood by it, even if it would make her angry.

Lady Barthomeloi didn't get angry however. Rather, his words somehow seemed to have made an impression on her, for she frowned back at him, biting her lip in thought.

"If your 'call' truly was important, I shall overlook it." She declared after a few moments, nodding as if she'd made an important decision just now. "I shall return to my score at the moment you were called away by your 'mobile phone'. You are at 354, and I am at 357."

"Lady Barthomeloi?!" Shirou's mouth fell open at her declaration, before he shook his head. "There is no need to-"

"There is a need." She sternly corrected him. "I did not enter this competition to engineer a victory for myself at any cost or in any way necessary. I wish to defeat you in a fair battle, so that we may truly see who is superior in the matter of purges. Profiting from a distraction is cheap and unbecoming, and I apologise for giving the impression that I would do such a thing."

"…Alright, apology accepted." Shirou mumbled, unsure what to think of her sudden declaration, but not about to make a problem out of it. If she was willing to be so accommodating, he wasn't going to complain.

Especially since, and he knew it was odd for him to say it at this point, he did feel motivated to do as well as he could in the competition. For all his grousing, he hadn't been able to resist giving it his best effort, and being behind Lady Barthomeloi by only three opponents made his heart almost clamour for them to move on to the Eastern hall quickly.

"Are there opponents or other matters we haven't dealt with yet left in this hall?" Lady Barthomeloi then asked him. "You already reported there are no more enemies, but is there perhaps anything else that may require our personal attention?"

Shirou took a deep breath through his nose, using his sense of smell to the fullest extent to find anything and anyone near them that might be of interest, before he shook his head.

"There's nothing left." He concluded, before turning his head towards the last stronghold the Meluastea had left within their department. "Only the Eastern hall remains."

"Hm." The Vice-Director hummed lightly, crossing her arms with a pensive look. "You said earlier that the Meluastea themselves are in the Eastern hall. Are they still present there at this moment?"

"They are. Also, there are more people in that hall now than in the Western and Northern halls combined, and it is the most defended out of the four halls. They have not just Bounded Fields, but also Runes, Formalcraft, and the most powerful Magi of the lot."

"Should we be concerned?"

"The two of us? No. The Enforcers and mercenaries who follow us? Yes." Shirou summarised, before expanding a bit when Lady Barthomeloi motioned for him to continue. "From what I know of myself and have heard of and seen from you, we don't have to worry about what awaits us. I can deal with the Bounded Fields and the Runes, and the Magi, though more powerful than the ones we have fought so far, are nothing we can't handle. The people on our side will have more difficulty with it however, and casualties will surely follow if we are careless."

"I see." Lady Barthomeloi nodded, glancing back at the Northern hall, where numerous Enforcers, mercenaries, and officers of Policies were combing through the wreckage with fine tooth combs. At this point, a normal Magus might have ordered them to push ahead anyway and absorb the losses. She did no such thing however, as Shirou had already expected.

She might not show it overtly, but Shirou had noticed that she did care about the people in her employ. That went for her own personnel, but also for the people she had hired for the occasion. She truly saw them as her responsibility. As such, having them die while it could have been avoided was practically anathema to her.

It wasn't very Magus-like, but Shirou had noted often over the past weeks that Lady Barthomeloi was far more a Queen than she was a Magus. She was ruthless when needed but being wasteful with people's lives was something she'd never do.

That wasn't in any way a negative by the way. Rather, it was a positive in his eyes. Shirou was relieved that the ruler of the Clocktower was like that. It was far easier for him to get along with a ruler than with a Magus, not to mention that it was better on a professional level to not have a Magus be in charge of anything important.

Magi couldn't lead anything after all. The Clocktower surely would have fallen centuries ago if Magi had been at the head. Just look at the Department of Archaeology and the Meluastea. They had tried to take a leading role, even forming a block under their command, but said block had been nothing but a loose cooperation between masters and slaves, all of vying for power and eager to turn on each other. The Meluastea hadn't led them, they had used and abused them, and now their block fell apart at the slightest setback.

Honestly, it was pathetic.

"I have half a mind of ordering our allies to wait while the two of us press on by ourselves." Lady Barthomeloi spoke up, pulling Shirou's attention back to her. "If you were truthful in saying that we can handle the opposition, there is no need to put others at risk. We will have our allies guard the entrances, to prevent any criminal from escaping, but we shall only allow them inside once we have destroyed any opposition of note."

"And I suppose having all the opponents in there for ourselves also doesn't hurt?" Shirou asked, unable to suppress a smile when Lady Barthomeloi's eye twitched at being called out. "I cannot agree with you however, because-"

"There is no need for you to explain yourself." Lady Barthomeloi cut him off. "You are concerned about the prisoners, and you fear that the Meluastea and their cronies will harm them when their backs are against the wall."

"Yes." Shirou admitted with a sigh, rubbing the back of his neck. "We have been very lucky so far that our opponents saw no value in harming their captives, but if we truly press them into a corner without any possibility of escape, they might become prone to do something… unwise."

"Such as striking against everything in range, including their captives." Lady Barthomeloi nodded. "Yes, those who have been trapped and have lost hope behave in the strangest of ways. This is something I have noticed myself during my hunts."

"They might try to use them as hostages, or use them in rituals for their last-ditch spells, or perhaps just take their anger and desperation out on them." Shirou quickly named some possibilities. "If it is just the two of us, we will take far too long to deal with them all before those possibilities could become reality."

"So speed is the problem here?"

"Yes. My father always said that you don't corner a wounded animal, but that you must kill it before it has a chance to show its fangs. Only in this case, those fangs will strike at an innocent third party."

"Your father sounds like a wise man." Lady Barthomeloi said, and Shirou had to hide a troubled smile at the sight of the Vice-Director of the Clocktower unironically complimenting the Magus-Killer. "Nevertheless, I must ask you what you have in mind to solve our issue. Let me warn you though; while I sympathise with the captives of the Meluastea, I will not send my people to their deaths for a chance to save those captives."

"Nor would I ask you to." Shirou immediately assured her. "I am merely saying that, in light of the possibility of many innocents being harmed, it would be best if we abandoned the idea of a frontal attack altogether."

That sent Lady Barthomeloi's mind whirling, her glazed eyes showing how deep in thought she was, before she focused on Shirou again.

"You are not one to negotiate with criminals." Was the first thing she said, not a trace of hesitation in her voice, though Shirou nodded nonetheless. "As such, may I assume that you intend to use stealth?"

"I have an ability that allows me to pass through Bounded Fields without destroying them and without alerting their creators." Shirou explained, referring to the very spell he'd used to enter the Einzbern-castle unnoticed. "Furthermore, I can fly, allowing me to go over the defending Magi."

"You truly are full of surprises." Lady Barthomeloi said with a hint of wryness. "I assume you wish to use a distraction to stay out of their sight?"

"I will attack the defences of the Eastern hall through the main hallway. This attack will fail of course, but it will produce immense amounts of mist and smoke. I will use this to my advantage to sneak in and strike behind enemy lines."

"We would be able to surprise the Meluastea and capture or slaughter them before they can resort to desperate and suicidal plans." Lady Barthomeloi clearly liked his plan, smiling with a feral kind of joy.

"Well, I was thinking more about freeing the captives." Shirou laughed nervously, fighting the urge to take a step back from the suddenly bloodthirsty woman. "And what do you mean 'we'?"

"I will accompany you of course." Lady Barthomeloi said as if it was obvious. "While you free the prisoners, I will deal with the Meluastea. Then, we will reconvene, return to the Southern hall, and start the attack in earnest."

"Ah, right." Shirou almost sweat-dropped as the woman laid out her plan. "You can fly yourself then?"

"Naturally." Once more, she sounded as if it was obvious, and perhaps this time, it was. "I am the foremost expert of wind-based Magecraft in the Clocktower. Flying is a simple matter for me."

"…Very well then." Shirou relented, seeing no way to refute her. "Do try to stay unnoticed though. If anyone sees you, the mission is over."

"Mister Fujimaru, I think you will find that I am quite well-versed in stealth myself." She smiled at him, and Shirou was so caught off guard by that smile he had trouble answering for a few moments, almost missing what she said next. "In fact, you will find I am quite well-versed in nearly everything. There is no Magecraft in this world that I cannot learn."

It was an astoundingly arrogant statement, one that would normally have caused anyone uttering it to drop in the level of esteem Shirou held for them, but when it came from the mouth of Lorelei Barthomeloi, he could almost believe it.

"My Sorcery Trait is that of the Almighty after all." Lady Barthomeloi continued, and her smile became slightly wider. "You will not find me lacking in stealth-capabilities."

The Almighty?

What kind of Trait was that?

…It sounded really cool.

"Come now." Lady Barthomeloi said, waving him over as she turned around and walked away. "Let us return to the Southern hall. We must inform Lady Montmorency of our plan."

"Yes, my lady." Shirou sighed, though he couldn't entirely suppress a smile as he followed after her.

She was arrogant, overbearing, and intense, but he just couldn't help but like her nonetheless.

What a woman.

---

Friday-morning.

8:30

Thirty-five minutes before the start of the purge of the Department of Archaeology.

Rudolph Meluastea was having the worst day of his life.

The absolute, actual worst day ever. Full stop. No exceptions.

He knew it wasn't the first time he'd said such a thing. In fact, he'd had many 'worst days of his life' before already, more than he had fingers and toes.

This time however, he really meant it. This time, he wasn't being whiny, nor did he exaggerate his suffering to garner pity, as his sisters often, rightfully, accused him of. This time, he meant every word he said. Nothing he'd ever experienced before even came close to the horrors and torture he had to endure now.

Not when he had been ten years old and his father had forgotten him during a trip to Glasgow, leaving Rudolph to wander the streets on his own for two days.

Not when his eldest sister had placed him on a horse and had then sent it running, resulting in Rudolph screaming his head off in fear for five solid minutes before being thrown head-first into a pile of horse manure, something he had been bullied for to this day.

Not when the love of his life had laughed in his face when he'd proposed to her, and not when his uncle had had her killed for the embarrassment she had heaped upon the entire family with her mockery.

Not even when Waver Velvet had single-handedly destroyed an immense part of the Meluastea's operations in Mesopotamia seven years ago, a part Rudolph had been responsible for, leading to his father giving him the harshest punishment he could remember.

Today was worse, undoubtedly and unequivocally.

It had all started the previous evening already, when Rudolph had been forced to work until late at night by his father, who had grown tired of his only son's laziness and flippancy towards anything that didn't provide immediate gratification.

The man had put Rudolph to work on various projects, and had sat with him until three in the morning to ensure the projects were finished before Rudolph went to bed. Every single last one of them, to perfection.

At the same time, his father had also given a ridiculously long, ridiculously boring speech, about how important family was and how he should be honoured to be a part of the Meluastea. The Meluastea were a 'loving family', his father claimed, and Rudolph should show some appreciation for being allowed to be a part of it.

Pure nonsense of course. Carolus Meluastea, Rudolph's father, wouldn't know what a loving family was if it bit him in the butt. The man was a psychopath, one half cold, unfeeling golem and one half equally cold, equally unfeeling lizard.

The man had forgotten his own, ten-year-old son in a distant city for two whole days! Rudolph might be a slimy man himself, but even he didn't do that.

So no, Rudolph had hated having to listen to his father prattle on; he had hated it even more than the work itself, by an order of magnitude at least. Which was why he'd been incredibly glad when he'd finished the projects and had been allowed to leave his father's presence and go to bed, where he had settled into his blankets for a nice, long sleep...

…Only to be awoken by his manservant long before the agreed-upon time. Rudolph, who had always been a slow riser, had been literally dragged out of his bed by said manservant, and when he'd demanded an explanation from the man, he'd gotten one that almost made his heart give out.

His manservant was an old, respectable, and highly competent man who had served Rudolph for well over a decade. In all that time, the man had never shown any emotion or made a single mistake, even when Rudolph was in one of his unreasonable moods. It was safe to say that the manservant was unflappable.

Until today apparently. The man's face had been pasty white when he woke Rudolph up, and it was with a terrified voice that he informed his master about the fact that the Department of Policies had assembled an army on the doorstep of the Department of Archaeology, an army of Enforcers, Policy-personnel, and mercenaries.

There was no need for further explanation at that point. Anyone with two brain cells to rub together could easily infer why Policies would do such a thing.

They were going to purge the Meluastea and their followers.

For a few moments, Rudolph had believed himself to still be asleep and dreaming. That this was simply a nightmare and that his real manservant would wake him up any moment now, but the vividness of his surroundings and the pain he felt in the wrist his manservant had pulled to get him out of bed proved it wasn't so.

This was real. In some inconceivable way, the Department of Policies had garnered enough evidence that they felt confident in attacking a ruling family that headed the Clocktower's second largest Department.

Rudolph didn't know how they had gathered that evidence, and at the moment, he honestly didn't care either. The 'how' wasn't what mattered right now. Escaping with their lives intact, that was important. They could figure out what had happened once they were out of this mess.

Fortunately, his family had protocols in place that laid out what they should do during emergencies like this. The first step of those protocols was always to convene, to gather together as a family, before taking any further steps. There was safety in numbers and all that.

So Rudolph had sped towards the office of his great-uncle, Stanley Meluastea, the lord and head of the Meluastea-family, which had been designated as the gathering place in case of emergencies and disasters.

Once he'd reached the office and slipped inside, his eyes were automatically and immediately drawn towards the most attention-demanding sight in the room; Stanley Meluastea himself.

A grumpy, cancerous, bitter old man, who held nothing but spite and salt for the world and barely tolerated the presence of his own family on a good day. A wretched creature that should have died long ago yet held on to life with a single-minded vigour, probably because he knew he'd be going to hell once he died.

The number of times Rudolph had contemplated assassinating the man couldn't be counted on the fingers and toes of a hundred men, but old Stanley was tough as nails and held all the reins and pursestrings, so Rudolph had never gone through with it. He would surely fail, after which nothing but an immensely painful end would await him.

Even now, Stanley was an indomitable presence, the undisputed head of the family. He sat upon a throne at the back of the room, on a heightened platform, from where he could look out over the rest of the people present.

The throne itself was immensely gaudy. Golden, with countless gems and precious metals, depicting numerous scenes of Stanley being great at everything, and reinforced with silver bars.

That reinforcement was necessary, because Stanley Meluastea was fat. Really, really fat. Almost two-hundred kilograms worth of fat. Rudolph himself wasn't the slimmest man around, but he had nothing on his great-uncle.

No one really knew how the man had done it. It was incredibly rare for Magi to get fat, let alone to that extent, but Stanley had managed it. Not that the man himself would acknowledge that of course.

After Rudolph had managed to tear his eyes away from the sack of blubber that was Stanley, he cast his gaze around the room, finding that the whole family was present, all twenty-eight of them, sitting on chairs and tables, in a circle.

Which meant that he was once again the last to arrive. No one had bothered to inform him of the current situation, as usual, and the only reason he was even present was because his manservant was reasonably well-connected, as usual.

"Rudolph, at last you grace us with your presence." Stanley sneered, his aged, weathered face, resembling an old brick, set in the oh-so-familiar look of revulsion and disappointment. "Got lost again?"

Rudolph didn't grace the remark with a reply –the old man would just take it in the worst way possible, no matter what was said– and instead sat down next to his youngest sister, Abigail Meluastea, pointedly looking away from his great-uncle.

With the target of his mockery not replying, Stanley lost interest and returned to the matter he'd been discussing before Rudolph came in.

"That cunt of a Vice-Director had declared war on us." He spat out through puffed cheeks, a frown etching itself into the soft forehead while hands weak from age and decades of self-indulgence clenched into fists. "I want solutions."

For several seconds, it remained quiet, as no one wanted to be the first to speak and receive Stanley's vitriol, before Roland Meluastea raised a hand.

"Father, I can try to parley." He spoke eagerly, anxious not to disappoint his progenitor. "There is a chance they are bluffing by assembling an army on our doorstep, hoping to bring us off balance so we'll incriminate ourselves, and if that is the case, then reminding them of the Law of Proper Cause should be enough to get them to back off."

"Do so!" Stanley barked, flecks of saliva spraying from his mouth, and it was a testament to his immense anger that he snapped at his favourite son like that. "They cannot have found anything to use against us! My operation was impeccable! It is unfeasible that the Barthomeloi-whore managed to find a flaw in it!"

"Stanley, nothing in life is flawless." Grover Meluastea, Stanley's younger brother and Rudolph's grandfather, argued, making use of the fact that he could generally get away with more than the rest of the family where 'disrespectful' behaviour towards the head was concerned. "We should consider the possibility that Lady Barthomeloi found a crack in our defences that she penetrated-"

"The only crack that gets frequently penetrated is the one between that whore's legs!" Stanley howled, before guffawing as if he'd told a hilarious joke, and then going straight back to howling. "Which one of you did she spread her legs for to get the information she needed?! Was it you, Torben? Or you, Bastian? You perhaps, Thalia? All three of you? I am surrounded by traitors!"

"Stanley!" Now Grover raised his voice as well, frowning deeply at his elder brother's erratic behaviour. "Control yourself. This is not the time to turn on each other. There is an army on our doorstep. We must survive first, and then we'll find out how Lady Barthomeloi managed to find a crack in our defences, yes?"

"Hng, fine!" Stanley spat, the mention of the army returning some sense to his behaviour. "But make no mistake! We will find the one who is responsible for this atrocity!"

"Of course." Grover nodded, and there was a general murmur of agreement from the rest of the family.

Rudolph's voice was included in that murmur, and not just because it was better for his health to always agree with his great-uncle. He actually agreed with Stanley for once. They were indeed going to find the one responsible for bringing this army to their doorstep, no matter the cost. They would find them, and then make them beg for death.

From the looks of it, the other members of the family were thinking along the same lines as he, and for a few seconds, an immense bloodthirst filled his great-uncle's office, a bloodlust said great-uncle clearly basked in.

Then Grover started speaking again, and everyone snapped back to attention.

"Roland will try to call their bluff, if it is indeed a bluff." He began, glancing at his eldest nephew. "I am hesitant to send out the heir of our family on an errand like this, but we'll need a lot of gravitas when dealing with the Vice-Director."

"Naturally." Roland agreed pompously, drawing himself up to his full height, his lean form contrasting greatly with his father's slug-like body. "If we were to send anyone but the lord or the heir, she'd blow right past them, literally. Except, perhaps, if we send Rudolph. She'll likely just ignore him completely."

'Fuck you too, Roland.' Rudolph thought angrily, but he kept his silence on the outside. Branch-members shouldn't mouth off against the main line, that was commonly understood.

"In case negotiations fail however, it is important to strengthen our defences as much as we can." Grover continued, giving Roland a reprimanding look for his remark against Rudolph, which was summarily ignored. "We are currently in the Hall of the Copernicus, the best defended area of the Department, so we have that covered at least, but we must act quickly to activate more defences, and prepare for battle too, in case they break through."

"Nonsense!" Stanley decided to add his 'expert' opinion, whether it was wanted or not. "The Hall of the Copernicus is indomitable. You said it yourself, Grover, it is simply the best. We have mighty Bounded Fields that the enemy can never penetrate. We can rest easy."

That was true. The Hall of the Copernicus, or the 'Eastern Hall' to those who weren't part of Archaeology, was indeed the hall which had been prepared the most for any possible attacks or invasions. It was after all where the members of the Meluastea-family lived, making it the heart of the entire Department.

Without the Hall of the Copernicus, the Department of Archaeology was worth basically nothing. Everyone knew that. The Western, Southern, and Northern halls combined did not have half of the Eastern hall's output in research, goods, and knowledge.

"We can hardly remain cooped up in here forever though." Torben Meluastea, Stanley's second son, argued. He was much less favoured by his father than his older brother Roland, but still favoured enough that Stanley didn't immediately shout him down for being a defeatist. "Sooner or later, they will break through. That, or our food and water will run out."

"Kekekeke! Do not worry about that, foolish son." Stanley tittered, looking supremely confident, which of course did nothing to set the others at ease. "Once the rest of the Clocktower bears witness to how the Barthomeloi-cunt treacherously stabs the virtuous Meluastea in the back, they will grumble and buckle against her authority. When they see how she struggles to defeat us, they will outright rebel. At that point, we may overthrow her."

"And even if that doesn't happen," Grover quickly stepped in, and everyone but Stanley knew that 'if' in this case meant 'when'. "If we can last for a sufficiently long time, the attack will get bogged down, and we can negotiate an advantageous surrender."

"Pah, immediately assuming the worst-case scenario, as always." Stanley scoffed, his ruined denture making his scowl infinitely uglier than it already was. "I see you are as pessimistic as ever, fool."

The worst-case scenario was having to negotiate? No, Rudolph was pretty sure the worst-case scenario was that Lorelei Barthomeloi would breach the defences easily, arrest them all, and then condemn them to an eternity of torture. Why on Earth did his great-uncle think that…?

Bah, wondering about what his great-uncle was thinking was a waste of time. The man was mad. Guessing at his motivations and thought processes was useless if you weren't mad yourself, and Rudolph was many things, but mad wasn't one of them.

"But now that you and grandfather have decided on a course of action, there are many things still left to discuss, great-uncle." Thalia, Rudolph's second younger sister, stepped forward. "Such as the other halls."

"The other halls can manage themselves." Stanley waved a dismissive hand, turning away from Thalia in an obvious sign he wasn't interested in the matter. Thalia wasn't willing to leave it at that though.

"We swore to protect our underlings when they joined us-"

"We are protecting them!" Roland interrupted her, giving her a nasty smile. "We have allowed them to take refuge behind our high walls and mighty gates. If they still manage to get themselves captured even though we've given them every advantage they need, it is hardly our fault."

"Taking such a passive approach with the safety of those who follow us will destroy our credibility." Karen, Rudolph's 'beloved' mother, spat, obviously more concerned about the family's reputation than their actual underlings. "No one will join us ever again even if everything ends well."

"They will." Grover smiled sardonically, his expression the very picture of arrogant smugness. "As long as we offer them riches and power, Magi will continue flocking to our banner, uncaring of what happened to their predecessors."

His words rang true, and Karen had no rebuttal to offer.

"What about all the research and the resources we'll lose if the other halls are taken though?" Torben inquired nervously, with the air of a man who knew he was doing something foolish yet had no choice but to go through with it anyway. "None of that was cheap."

"Heavens be damned, how long are you going to bother me with stupid questions like that!?" Stanley roared, his belly inflating in rage as his pudgy face turned red, making him resemble the crimson bullfrog Rudolph had seen in a pond once. "Everything we need is in the Hall of Copernicus or safely put away in one of the nests. We do not need the other halls. They stopped being profitable long ago. Perhaps a good purge was exactly what we needed!"

"Roland, go outside and parley with Barthomeloi." Grover suddenly snapped, probably to interrupt his brother so he wouldn't go sprouting too much bile. "The rest of you, make yourselves useful somewhere else. I need to have a word with my brother in private."

For a few moments, nobody moved, as all eyes were directed at the actual head of the family, whose spitefulness and immense dislike of being ordered around were things of legend…

"Well?!" Said head snapped, looking inordinately annoyed. "You heard my brother! Do as he says! Get out! All of you! Out!"

Looks of relief were shared between all, and everyone except Grover made to get out of the office…

"Great-uncle, please, may I have your permission to speak?"

…When Carla Meluastea suddenly made her request, bowing low before Stanley, as was the proper procedure when addressing the family-head, and the rest of the family froze in place.

Carla was Rudolph's older sister, the very one who had put him on a horse despite his protests and had subsequently humiliated him several years ago. She was older than him by a good five years, and during their childhood, she had never let him forget that she was the eldest and thus the one with the power.

She had mellowed out considerably though ever since she'd passed the age of twenty, going as far as to apologise for tormenting him for all those years, and Rudolph liked to think that they got along pretty well with each other now, as much as was possible within a Magus-family anyway.

Which was fortunate, as Carla was a very good friend to have.

Carla was one of the smartest people the Meluastea-family had been graced with over the past decades, uniquely talented in an immense array of different Crafts, making her one of the most respected Magi of the entire Department of Archaeology, possibly even the Clocktower. She had made several breakthroughs in some of the hardest disciplines in Thaumaturgy and led a highly successful research-group. She was also a teacher, and though she couldn't measure up to Waver Velvet or Bram Nuada-Re Sophia-Ri, she was pretty good at it.

It also helped that she possessed excellent looks, with her shining black hair, adorably droopy eyes, black make-up, and refined features. There had also been talk about her excellent curves, but Rudolph wouldn't know about that. She was his sister after all.

Her talent and her looks had made her somewhat of a celebrity in the Department, but despite her fame, she'd remained ever humble, even when men and women trampled over each other to praise her.

Now, technically, with such an impressive list of achievements, she shouldn't have to ask permission to speak in a family-gathering, especially since many of the other family-members present had already spoken up without Stanley's permission and had faced no consequences, but Carla was a unique case when it came to things like that.

Not by choice though. She was unique because she was made to be.

To put it bluntly, Stanley greatly enjoyed being sadistic to her. Where for most others, he was willing to forgo proper procedure, loudly proclaiming it was just a bother, he demanded of Carla that she obediently followed every rule and guideline that had ever been written down by their forebears.

He made her bow to him every time he entered a room. She had to kneel every time he addressed her. She had to bow and scrape in gratitude whenever he saw fit to praise her. She had to prostrate herself before him every time she wanted even the smallest favour. She wasn't allowed to speak a word without explicitly asking for his permission.

No one had ever asked Stanley why he did that to her, but that was mostly because everyone already knew. Carla was a beautiful, talented, and powerful young woman after all, and Stanley Meluastea was a swine of the highest order, to the point where even Rudolph, who was a swine himself, was disgusted by his actions.

"Of course, my dearest niece." Stanley replied in a simpering tone, smiling brightly at Carla, something that made his flabby cheeks wobble strangely. "With how politely you always ask for it, how could I ever refuse? You are such a well-raised girl, sticking to procedure even when it isn't needed."

There! That was another thing that Rudolph despised about his family-head. That constant lying and deceiving. That disingenuous nonsense he spouted.

He pretended that Carla only asked for permission to speak because she was a stickler for tradition, that she didn't have to if it was up to him, but that was a plain lie. He was the one who made her do it, and he was the one who punished her when she did not.

Carla had spoken up without his permission exactly once, having foolishly believed him when he assured her that she didn't have to ask every time.

She still had the scars of the whip on her lower back from that time, and she'd never strayed from protocol ever again.

Because of that adherence to protocol, as well as her aforementioned list of accomplishments, she looked every bit the perfect young lady to anyone from outside the family. Rudolph couldn't even begin to remember how often he'd heard people praise his sister for her excellent lady-like qualities, and how she was so well-bred and desirable.

It made him sick. His sister was being treated like a prized poodle, a nice little trinket you showed off to others, all while she was slowly dying on the inside.

Because no, Carla didn't enjoy being treated like that. She wasn't fine with it. She had confided in him multiple times that she hated it, despised it, and the only reason she still went along with it all was because she had a team that relied on her, a team that would suffer if she acted out.

Rudolph didn't quite understand why Carla cared so much about that, but he didn't have to understand that to see that Carla would do anything for her underlings, whom she saw as her real family.

That she cared so much about her team also meant Rudolph could take a good guess what Carla was going to talk about now.

"Great-uncle, I beg of you, allow me to go to the Hall of the Hydra." She said after receiving permission to speak, confirming Rudolph's suspicions, before she fell to her knees in front of Stanley. "My team-"

"Refused." Stanley denied her instantly, and Rudolph clenched his teeth in frustration at the depreciating tone he used. "Be quiet."

And Carla fell quiet indeed, the memory of her punishment fresh in her mind. Only Rudolph noticed the twitching of her left eyelid, and he clenched his teeth even harder.

"The entire family is here. There is no need to go out and rescue those who are not us." Stanley continued, and while Rudolph technically agreed with him, Carla was looking so miserable he almost wanted to protest.

Almost. He was still too much of a coward at heart to speak out against his great-uncle.

"OUT!"

Once more, Stanley Meluastea began to resemble a bullfrog, and the members of the Meluastea-family wasted no time in rushing out of his office. Roland was the first one to leave, followed quickly by Torben, Karen, Bastian, and the rest. Rudolph was the last to leave, as he was pulling Carla along with him, the girl still looking as if she wanted to try asking for permission to save her team again.

Once they were outside Stanley's office, he didn't let go of her, and instead kept pulling her along, past the bickering members of their family, past Roland, who was about to leave for the parley, and past their great-uncle's closest non-family confidents, who hadn't been allowed into the meeting and were now sycophantically rubbing their hands together as they waited for news.

Ultimately, after a few minutes of walking, Rudolph and Carla reached a small room at the end of a distant corridor, a room that no one ever visited, except Rudolph, when he was tired and wanted an undisturbed nap. He quickly pushed Carla inside, before following after her and shutting the door.

Once the door was shut and he was sure no one had seen them enter, he let go of his big sister, before holding up a stern finger, summoning every bit of authority a little brother could muster.

"Carla, don't go looking for your team." He said, before immediately interrupting her when she tried to argue with him. "Don't go looking! If we- If the Meluastea win the coming battle, great-uncle will punish you again for disobeying his orders, and if Policies and their dogs win, you'll be caught out in the open and executed. Either way, you'll be screwed if you leave this hall."

"But I cannot abandon my team!" Carla spat with tears in her eyes. "I am going to save them, Rudolph, no matter what great-uncle Stanley said. I will take whatever punishment he can think up for disobeying his orders, but I will not forsake my own."

"B-But that's assuming our family wins at all." Rudolph protested, desperate to change her mind. "If Lady Barthomeloi manages to get into the Department and she stumbles upon you, she'll kill you for sure, or worse."

"I'll take my chances." Carla hissed, and Rudolph flinched when he realised she was entirely serious. "I am a Magus. Death means nothing to me. I have never committed any crimes myself, so at least Lady Barthomeloi will make it quick, which is more than I can say from Stanley or Roland."

"What does Roland have to do with-"

"The only reason dear uncle Roland hasn't raped me yet is because he is terrified of what his daddy will think of him stealing his prey." Carla snarled. "Excuse me for not wanting to stick around for that."

"He wouldn't-" Rudolph began, before he fell silent when he realised that Roland absolutely would. As such, he switched tactics. "Y-You can't intend to just die?! Because if you go out there, you will!"

"Death before slavery." Carla's shrug was perfectly uncaring, and Rudolph realised nothing he could say would convince her to change her mind. "I am going to save my team in defiance of Stanley's orders, or I am going to die trying. You should come along too, Rudolph."

"No." He rejected her offer before the last syllable had left her mouth. "No, no, I am not brave enough for that."

"Ah, but think about it, little brother." Carla coaxed him, a strangely intense smile on her face. "Would you really rather stay here, in a hole, cowering before great-uncle, or would you sally forth with me, to either win or meet a worthy end?"

"What's gotten into you all of a sudden?" Rudolph demanded, actually becoming scared of how unstable his sister looked. "We are Magi, we don't do worthy ends."

"See it as a spiteful end then."

"We don't even know if your team needs saving at all! For all that we know, Roland might succeed at turning the army away before the gates-"

With a timing that had to be an act from God, an alarm started sounding through the Department at that moment, the alarm that indicated an attack was imminent.

"…Why did I ever expect anything else?" He sighed, before he shook his head, making up his mind. "Listen Carla, I do feel for you, but I cannot accompany you to-"

"Rudolph." She interrupted him, and when he met her eyes again, he was astounded to see the pleading look in them. "Please."

"…"

Her use of that last word brought him up short. 'Please' was not a word that was employed much in Magus-circles, and having it used against him was a very novel experience, one he didn't really know how to handle.

It did make him finally understand though what was going on with his sister.

Carla wanted him to come along with her, not for his sake, to die gloriously and free, but because she was afraid. For all her talk about accepting the consequences of her actions, she was afraid to leave the Hall of the Copernicus on her own, and thus she wanted him to accompany her on her foolish errand.

It was nothing more than a sister wanting her brother to protect her. That, or she wanted someone with her when she died during her ridiculous outing.

It was, of course, entirely preposterous, for many different reasons. For one, she was at least ten times stronger than he was. For two, Rudolph didn't do protecting. In fact, it was ridiculous that she'd even think of asking Rudolph for something like this.

Rudolph, as had been stated many times before, was a swine. He was lazy, entitled, useless, and overly proud. He was a useless waste of space and a greedy slob who enjoyed eating and drinking too much. He was the worst kind of man, and most of the time, he wasn't even aware of it, stubbornly thinking of himself as God's gift to Mankind.

Had it been literally anyone else asking this of him, he would have treated the request with the scorn it rightfully deserved.

But Carla wasn't just anyone, she was family, and family changed things.

Yes, his family was far from perfect. In fact, Rudolph wouldn't even consider most of them to actually be his family at all. Whether it was his father who had already proven not to care in the slightest about him, his great-uncle who cared about nobody, his grandfather who acted the reasonable man but was actually the most poisonous of them all, Rudolph generally didn't consider them family.

They were related, but it ended with that.

But Carla was different. Carla was actually family, just like Abigail and Thalia, and family was special, even to someone like Rudolph.

It wasn't exactly Magus-like of him, but then again, he wasn't really a Magus to begin with. He'd have to be far more interested in Magecraft to be considered such.

So in the end, he was incapable of rejecting Carla's request.

Rudolph hadn't suddenly become a good man. He hadn't seen the error of his ways and pledged to better himself. He wasn't going to cry and shout his regrets to the sky as if he'd been redeemed.

He was still a swine, but he was a swine who loved his big sister, no matter what he might say to the contrary when he was in a bad mood.

"Fine." He thus said, resigning himself to having to join the most difficult mission of his life. "I must be going crazy, but fine. I'll come with you. We'll get those team-mates of yours and run back to the Hall of the Copernicus before the lackeys of Policies can breach the gates. Those gates are strong, so it should take them at least a couple of hours."

"Thank you!" Carla cried in delight, and then Rudolph had to fend her off as she tried to hug him to death in gratitude.

Family had prevailed once more.

Alas, things didn't go as the siblings had hoped however.

By the time they arrived at the entrance of the Hall of the Copernicus, they got the news that the Hall of the Hydra, where Carla's teammates lived, had already fallen, and that no one in that hall had escaped from Barthomeloi's army.

Carla's team was long gone.

Really, this was the worst fucking day ever.

---

When Shirou and Lady Barthomeloi presented their plan of sneaking into the last hall of the Department of Archaeology to the others, the reactions were mixed, as the redhead had honestly expected already.

Most of them reacted in ways that were perfectly in character. Lady Montmorency just accepted it as something her boss had decided to do. Both Sisigou and Bazett nodded with stoic expressions, knowing that it was not their place to argue with the Vice-Director. Adashino the snake-lady and Reines had not reacted at all, too nervous to draw attention to themselves like that. Lord El-Melloi had looked pensive for a moment but had then accepted the plan as well, probably figuring that it was impossible to convince them otherwise.

Grey on the other hand looked shocked that they were going to try something so dangerous. Svin had taken one look at Grey and had then adopted the same expression, while Flat seemed delighted that they were going to do something so cool. Yvette L. Lehrman didn't seem to care much though, as it wasn't about Lord El-Melloi.

It was miss Ortensia however who reacted in a way Shirou hadn't expected. Instead of smiling mysteriously, or making a teasing joke, she looked… almost concerned for him.

It was only for a split second though, after which she had returned to her normal smile. It was but an instant, so short Shirou almost thought he'd imagined it, but no, it had definitely been there.

He didn't have time to consider the ramifications of it however, as Lady Barthomeloi spoke up again.

"Mister Fujimaru and I will enter the Eastern Hall unseen." She summarised her earlier explanation. "There, we shall apprehend the Meluastea and secure the prisoners. This will enable the rest of our forces to attack quickly and decisively without having to fear any unexpected last movements of our foes. Naturally, Fujimaru will disable all Bounded Fields once our objectives have been completed, enabling you to enter the hall without delay."

"How will we know that you are done?" Flat, who had conquered his fear of the Vice-Director at some point, asked. "I mean, I suppose you don't want us to attack before you've completed your goals, as that would sort of ruin the whole stealth-thing, so what's the signal?"

"The Bounded Fields being disabled." Lady Barthomeloi repeated, looking at Flat as if he were a particularly dim-witted rock.

"…Right." Flat placed a palm against his face in self-recrimination. "Should have guessed that myself."

"Indeed."

"May I ask how you plan on transporting the prisoners and the Meluastea out of the Eastern hall?" Lady Montmorency piped up. "There will be dozens of captives at least, and the Meluastea have bred like rabbits these past few decades."

"Transporting people is a simple matter." Lady Barthomeloi blithely dismissed the question, and Shirou found himself wishing he had her confidence. "I have no doubt Levitation will prove very effective."

"I do not think Levitation would be a good idea." Lord El-Melloi disagreed. "Levitating so many bodies would attract too much attention, and place both you and your prisoners at risk, Lady Barthomeloi."

"I am more than capable of defending myself and others, Lord El-Melloi." She swiftly replied in a voice that was definitely icier than before. "Even inside enemy territory."

"I do not question that for a moment." Lord El-Melloi, perhaps realising he was treading on thin ice, immediately tried to sooth the situation. "I am merely trying to say there might be a better alternative."

"Which is?"

"You do not leave the Eastern hall at all. After you have infiltrated, you choose a secure location within the hall. Then, you capture the Meluastea and free the prisoners, before gathering them together in that location, which you and mister Fujimaru will defend. Would you be able to break the Bounded Fields from inside, Fujimaru?"

"Yes." Shirou nodded. "That should be easy enough."

"Then do that once you have secured everything you are after, and wait for the reinforcements to secure a path from your location to this hall, before bringing the captives and the Meluastea out."

That… was actually a pretty good idea, way better than hauling bodies around while trying to be clandestine, and Shirou wondered why he and Lady Barthomeloi hadn't thought of that.

"That is an alternative we did consider." Lady Barthomeloi said coolly, and Shirou only just stopped himself from reacting in surprise at her blatant lie. "We were unsure however whether our absence from the frontlines is something that we can afford once the attack commences. According to mister Fujimaru, the Eastern hall is the most well-defended of them all and might be beyond the capabilities of our strike force if he and I are not present."

"Do give us some credit." Sisigou muttered, before freezing up when he realised everyone had heard him.

"I agree with the mercenary." Lady Montmorency nodded, and Sisigou breathed an almost inaudible sigh of relief. "If the Bounded Fields have been disabled, we will be more than capable of clearing and occupying the Eastern hall, even without you."

"Very well." Lady Barthomeloi nodded, giving in a lot easier than she normally might have, probably because she too was anxious to leave the subject behind before something might give away she hadn't thought of Lord El-Melloi's suggestion at all. "Then our course of action will be thus."

Without giving anyone the time to react, she turned around on her heels and marched away to the entrance of the Eastern hall, and Shirou made to follow her, before stopping and turning to Lady Montmorency instead.

"Is everything alright with the prisoners we have rescued so far?" He asked. "Do you need any help?"

"Not for the moment." Lady Montmorency shook her head calmly. "We have managed to stabilise everyone without any fatalities, both the people we rescued and those of our forces who were injured in battle. I won't lie by telling you that it is all going smoothly, but we are managing. It would be appreciated however if you could visit the patients yourself at some point. I understand you have remarkable healing powers."

"Yes." Shirou nodded, not wasting energy on wondering how she knew that. "I will. Thank you for working so hard to help them."

"'Thank you'? It is not for you that we do this." Lady Montmorency lifted an eyebrow at his words.

"Nevertheless, you do deserve some gratitude for taking care of them." Shirou smiled slightly. "So thank you, truly."

"Hm, very well, boy, if you insist." Lady Montmorency did not seem particularly impressed by his words, but she did nod in acceptance. "Though you should be careful about wearing your heart on your sleeve like that. It might get stabbed."

"I'll take my chances." Shirou responded. He knew that being so open with his emotions was unwise in the Moonlit World, but he had long since decided not to care about that too much.

Lady Montmorency looked at him for a few seconds more, and then she sighed, a sound that carried exasperation, but also amusement.

"With every action you take and every word that comes out of your mouth, you become a better candidate. You are already the best choice, boy, no need to try so hard."

"The best choice?" Shirou blinked once in confusion, not understanding what the lady was talking about. "For what exactly?"

"Nothing you need to concern yourself with for now."

"Your words do not set me at ease."

"Enough of this, boy. Lady Barthomeloi is waiting for you."

"Yes, well, I guess I'm off then." Shirou said, recognising he wasn't going to get anything more out of her, and with a last goodbye to Lord El-Melloi and Grey, he rushed after the Vice-Director, who was impatiently tapping her foot near the entrance of the Eastern hall.

"Here I am." He said as he went to stand next to her and joined her in watching the entrance of the Eastern hall. "Ready when you are."

"…I am ready, yes." She nodded after a moment, giving him a puzzled look, clearly not familiar with the phrase. "You may go ahead and start your diversion."

Shirou nodded back, and lifted a hand, calling upon Mjolnir to help him, even if he didn't fully materialise the hammer.

The hallway leading into the Eastern hall seemed at first sight to be abandoned, but appearances were deceiving, for that hallway was anything but empty.

Shirou could spot numerous Bounded Fields of course, but there were also various other Magical traps of many different kinds. There were parts of the floor that would disappear when you stepped on it, spikes that would come out of the ground, acids-traps, falling boulders, fire-spells, constructs that functioned much like landmines, walls that would suddenly appear and trap attackers in brutal kill-zones, and much more.

It wasn't for nothing that Shirou had warned Lady Barthomeloi that this part would be the hardest yet. If the Enforcers and mercenaries stormed in without due consideration, it could very easily turn into a bloodbath.

Lady Barthomeloi and he would avoid the traps by flying over them, but he was still going to destroy most of them now. Partially to clear the way for the strike force that would attack later, and partially to contribute to the ruckus.

"Let's begin with a little fire." He said, and in one smooth movement, he drew Sowilo, the Rune of Fire, aiming straight at the hallway before him.

The next moment, a miniature star came into existence.

---

Rodger Feldmann really, really, really regretted every choice he'd made in his life up until this point.

He was in a mess. He was in a total mess, and he didn't have anyone to blame except himself.

The Department of Policies was after him, after everyone who followed the Meluastea. There was every chance he was measuring his remaining life in minutes now, and the knowledge that he was going to die without having achieved anything of note filled him with a dread so deep his stomach hurt from it.

Standing at the entrance of the hallway that led from the Southern hall to the Hall of the Copernicus –at the side of the Hall of the Copernicus of course, since the Southern hall had long been taken– armed with nothing but his own rather lacking Spell-repertoire, a cheap spear, and the Meluastea's orders to let no one get past him, Rodger was utterly unprepared for any kind of serious assault.

Rodger was furiously going over his options in his mind, trying to piece together a plan that would allow him to escape from the Department of Archaeology altogether, but nothing presented itself. The department was almost certainly surrounded, and it wasn't exactly a secret either that he worked for the Meluastea, so even if he ran, they would quickly track him down again.

The simple truth of the matter was that Rodger was doomed. He was doomed, and there was nothing he could do about it anymore. If he'd wanted to avoid an end like this, he should have made different choices before this point.

He could for instance have listened to his grandmother when she told him to find himself a good, stable, and safe job at the Department of Policies or the Department of Modern Magical Theories. Alternatively, he could have listened to his aunt and joined the Enforcers, which wasn't exactly safe but at least not illegal either.

He could have become a researcher, an administrator, a teacher, or almost anything else, and he wouldn't be in the mess he was currently in.

Heavens, the job itself didn't even matter. He should just have stayed far away from the Meluastea. Those kinds of people were nothing but trouble.

Yes, they had been very powerful when Rodger had joined them, very powerful and very rich. It had seemed as if nothing and no one would ever be able to defeat them. Throwing his lot in with them had appeared to be the best choice for him.

Now he knew though that it was the worst choice he could have possibly made.

His grandmother had warned him. She'd told him that criminals didn't last. No matter how powerful they might seem at the height of their power, they would fall sooner or later, and they would drag everyone who followed them down along with them.

He hadn't listened though, and that was why his family had cut ties with him. His grandmother, his aunt, his mother, and his sister had all disowned him when he told them that he'd joined the Meluastea, and they hadn't spoken a single word to him since.

At the time, he'd assumed it would be temporary. That they would come back soon enough when they saw how rich and powerful he was becoming under the graceful guidance of his new employers.

Perhaps not his grandmother, she was old and set in her ways, but surely his sister would see the light at some point? That their grandmother was not someone whose plans they wanted to follow?

If it was up to the old bat, Rodger would have kept himself to the laws of the Clocktower for all of his life. He would have broken no laws, he wouldn't have meddled in the business of lords and ladies, he wouldn't have overreached, he wouldn't have insulted anyone. He would just have slowly expanded the family's power and influence through hard work and dedication until he could have entrusted that task to his children, which he would have sired together with his equally inoffensive wife.

For someone like Rodger, that prospect had been hell itself.

Now though he was wondering if following that path might not have been the better option. It would have been excruciatingly boring, but the chance of dying would have been minimal, and right now, that appealed to him very much indeed.

It wasn't so however. He hadn't listened to his grandmother, but he'd chosen the fast, exciting, and dangerous life, and there was no escaping the situation now that it was time to pay the piper.

Not that that stopped him from trying to think of something anyway.

"Feldmann!"

His panicked attempts at formulating a plan were interrupted however when Timo de Vries, a fellow guard, rapidly walked up to him.

"De Vries." Rodger greeted the other man in a frosty tone. "What do you want?"

"A report of the situation." The other man replied, not reacting to the animosity in Rodger's tone. "Has there been any movement on this end?"

"None." Rodger answered shortly, hoping De Vries would fuck off soon so he could go back to thinking up an escape plan. "The Bounded Fields are in top-condition, and none of the traps have been triggered."

"I see." Rather than leaving, De Vries stood still, slowly bringing a hand to his chin in contemplation. "Odd. There isn't any movement at the other entrances either. With how fast the army took the other halls, I would have thought…"

"This one is the best defended." Rodger reminded him, sneakily making a rude hand gesture. "Attacking without a plan will only get them killed."

De Vries didn't seem so sure about that, but he didn't reply to Rodger's words, instead switching the subject to something else, to Rodger's irritation.

"Sure seems like we pissed off a lot of people, huh?" He asked rhetorically, before laughing without humour. "Might be exactly what we deserve though."

"What do you mean?!" Rodger snapped, turning to face the other man. He'd planned on ignoring him, but there was no way he could have let a statement like that pass unchallenged. "We have done nothing to deserve this. This is just Policies' aggression at work!"

"Uh…?" De Vries blinked in confusion, and Rodger couldn't help but note the stupid look was very fitting for him. "We tortured people. Blackmailed people. Abducted people. That's not what the average man would describe as morally good, Feldmann."

"We are not average people." Rodger sniffed at the blatant stupidity, incredulous that such a lout was allowed to live at the Clocktower. "We are Magi."

"Well, perhaps, but now that we are almost certainly going to die, do you not feel at least a bit of regret about what we've done to all those poor people in the dungeons and Workshops?"

"No, why would I?" All Rodger regretted was that he hadn't run away from this place sooner, before it was attacked. He couldn't care less about those mundane mongrels who had been granted the honour of contributing to Magecraft's progress.

"Well, they're people too-"

"Shut up!" Rodger snapped, getting more and more annoyed by this lout's newfound morality. "They are below us! They are little more than vermin. What does it matter that we killed a few? There are billions of them out there."

"But try to imagine yourself in their position." De Vries argued weakly. "Certainly, you wouldn't like to be dissected? Or experimented upon?"

"I will never be in their position! I am a Magus!"

"You might be soon in their position, if the Department of Policies captures you alive. Something tells me they won't be in the mood to be merciful, and I don't think they'll be impressed much by us being Magi either."

"It won't come to that." Rodger snapped, hiding his fear and dread beneath a mountain of arrogance and confidence. "The Hall of the Copernicus is the most well defended out of all halls. The corridor here before us is filled with more traps than I can count, Bounded Fields of all kinds are everywhere, and there are numerous guards standing ready to capitalise on the enemy's weakness once they've managed to crawl through the defences in their way."

"…" De Vries didn't reply, but the look in his eyes was sceptical, which pissed Rodger off even more.

"How could they ever manage to break into this hall?!" He demanded loudly, feeling sorely tempted to point his spear at De Vries' throat. "No, more importantly, what are you even doing here?! Your post is somewhere else! Did you just come to talk about morality?! Are you suddenly feeling guilty now that you encounter some trouble on the way?! Grow up!"

De Vries made to answer, a heavy frown on his face, and Rodger eagerly anticipated the distraction an argument would provide…

Before a mighty, thunderous roar erupted from the other side of the hallway, and both Rodger and De Vries turned to look.

They were just in time to witness an ocean of white-hot fire coming around the corner, burning its way through traps and Bounded Fields alike.

Within two seconds, the flames had reached the two men.

One second after that, both Rodger Feldmann and Timo de Vries were dead.

---

It seemed Shirou had to add two more people to his body count.

The redhead watched impassively as the two guards were consumed by his flames, having a perfect view of the entire process as he flew through the corridor leading to the Eastern hall, staying as close to the ceiling as possible, hiding himself and Lady Barthomeloi in the smoke that his fire had produced.

He should perhaps have been more emotional about the fact he'd claimed two lives, that he had killed people, especially since it had been almost accidental, but he wasn't.

He almost surprised himself by how coldblooded he was being, especially considering he'd just burned two people to death, but it had clearly been over in the blink of an eye, and… well, it had been necessary.

He greatly regretted that it was necessary of course. He'd rather have that those two guards would still be alive, living good lives, but reality was rarely that kind. They had been in the way, and Shirou couldn't afford to spare their lives, not when stealth was of the essence and he had such a tight schedule.

It also helped that it was almost completely certain that those two men would have died anyway, even if he'd captured them alive. The Clocktower was a brutal place, and execution was the standard punishment for treason.

So Shirou turned his eyes away from where the guards had been standing –it was now an inferno, so there wasn't anything to see anyway– and focused again on successfully sneaking inside.

It wasn't hard. There were no defences in the way anymore, and everyone nearby was now running towards the burning hallway, gaping in shock and absolutely not looking up at all.

With the situation being what it was, Shirou and Lady Barthomeloi were able to find a secluded spot easily enough.

"That was a most impressive spell." Lady Barthomeloi whispered once they'd landed and taken refuge in an abandoned lecture hall, and Shirou really didn't know what to think about the look of admiration and respect she gave him while saying that. "It appears you have many surprises left for me even after a full day of battle."

"I do not doubt you have many surprises and secrets as well." Shirou countered swiftly.

"That is true." She acknowledged, before her demeanour turned entirely serious again. "Where are the Meluastea?"

"In that direction." Shirou pointed upwards and to the North-East. "You can get there by… let me see, by following the hallway outside this room until the first corridor to the left, which you must enter, then you continue until you arrive at a stairway, which you must climb up to the highest floor possible, after which you continue straight ahead. There you will find the largest concentration of Meluastea."

"But not all of them?"

"No. There are several stragglers who are spread out throughout the Department."

"I will deal with the stragglers first." Lady Barthomeloi decided after a moment of thought. "Where are they?"

"Most of them are stationary, but there are two who are moving around, though they have stuck together so far."

"Give me a course to intercept them."

Shirou promptly did so.

"Do you also want to know where the other stragglers are?" He then asked.

"No." Lady Barthomeloi was prompt to refuse however. "It is better that I direct my entire focus on two targets than try to divide it over many. I will make one of the Meluastea tell me where their relatives are hiding instead."

"Ah, good luck with that."

"Much fortune to you as well." She replied. "I shall bring my prisoners to this lecture hall, if everything happens according to plan."

"I will do the same for the captives." Shirou nodded. "And after that, I shall bring down the Bounded Fields."

"Which will alert our forces that it is their turn to attack." She nodded back, and Shirou couldn't help but note that 'our forces' sounded suspiciously like she was talking about him and her.

But surely that wasn't what she meant.

Right…?

"Do keep our competition in mind." Lady Barthomeloi reminded him, before she turned around and began following the corridor. She did turn around one more time before disappearing out of sight however, and gave him a small, soft smile. "It can still go either way."

Then she was gone, leaving Shirou once more baffled at how out-of-character she was acting all of a sudden.

His bafflement didn't last long though, and after a few seconds, Shirou focused on his own objective again.

Saving as many people as he could.

---

Elsewhere in the Hall of the Copernicus, Carla and Rudolph were speed-walking through the halls, advancing with such force that everyone in their path could only jump to the side to avoid getting crushed underfoot.

In some way, it was quite an impressive showing. Two members of the Meluastea-family marching through the corridors of their department, looking for all the world like they had a solid plan and were on their way to execute it. That one of the two was Carla Meluastea herself only reinforced that image, and more than a few people gained hope from the mere sight of them, where before they had none.

They would all be disappointed to learn however that the duo had no plan, no great scheme to save the department, not even a particular destination in mind. They were just both so nervous they couldn't possibly stand still and were thus marching through the department in random directions while discussing matters between them.

One could hardly expect two people without any form of serious combat experience to stay calm while their home was being besieged after all. Especially since every plan of theirs to even somewhat mitigate the damage failed before they could as much as try to implement it.

They had been at it all morning and afternoon, since the attack had started, desperately trying to think of a way to get out of the Hall of the Copernicus and towards the Southern hall, where the captives of Policies had been imprisoned, so they could save Carla's team, but without any success so far.

Yes, saving Carla's team was still their main objective. Saving the department, the family, or even themselves were a distant second in comparison.

It might have seemed remarkably un-Magus-like, and it was, without a doubt, but Carla couldn't care less about that at the moment, as she was determined to the point of obsession to save her underlings.

Rudolph on the other hand had no great motivations like that. He was just going along with his big sister, figuring things could hardly get worse than they already were, no matter what he did. He had no use anywhere else anyway, he was self-aware enough to know that, so he might as well do the one thing he could in this situation, which was to provide some emotional support to his favourite relative.

In films and books, this would have been the point where a miracle would occur. A miracle that would let this plucky duo find a way to succeed somehow, to make it through against all odds, saving Carla's team and escaping safely, while the Meluastea imploded behind them and Policies suffered sudden amnesia, forgetting that Rudolph and Carla had ever existed.

Unfortunately for them though, they didn't live in a book, and even if they did, they certainly weren't the main characters, or even important side-characters.

As such, no miracle was provided to them.

"All escape tunnels are blocked, there is no one among Policies or their dogs who we can bribe, and great-uncle is still his pig-headed self." Carla bristled, endlessly wringing her hands as her calm began leaving her completely. "What do we do now?"

"Well Heavens above, Carla, I don't know!" Rudolph snapped in return, before immediately taking a deep breath to calm himself down.

He shouldn't have shouted. It wasn't his sister's fault they were in this mess. Carla had no part in any of today's happenings, so it wasn't right, or at all helpful, to take his frustration out on her.

"Sorry." He apologised when he'd calmed down a bit. "To answer your question, I don't know what we can do. Escaping has always been a very long shot, even if the rest of the Department was still holding out, but now that the Hall of the Copernicus is the only place left that hasn't fallen yet, we might as well forget about getting away alive and free completely."

"That's what we said at the beginning of this ordeal already." Carla laughed shrilly. "But we still went to check on the escape tunnels, didn't we?"

"There was no harm in trying." Rudolph sighed, pushing down another angry retort. "But I guess we're well and truly screwed now. I'm terribly sorry, Carla, but I think you should forget about saving your team. I don't hold out much hope for ourselves either."

Carla's expression became mutinous at his words, but she didn't reply, not even to insult or mock him. She was angry, yes, and stressed, and nervous, but she wasn't dumb. She knew that they had no more options, and she also knew that shouting at Rudolph would do nothing to change that.

Still, the siblings weren't going to give up just like that. If they had run out of good, plausible options, it was time to pull out the ridiculous plans.

"Maybe we could try to surrender and pretend we aren't Meluastea?" Rudolph suggested after a few moments, more to fill the silence than because he considered it a valid option. "I suppose they'll likely still execute us, or imprison us, or some other horrid fate, but it would be better than if we are captured and they do know who we are. A quick death is better than a slow, torturous one."

"If we're looking for a quick way to die, we might as well kill ourselves right away." Carla snipped, and Rudolph winced at her words. He knew she was technically correct, and he had made his peace with dying a long time ago –to be a Magus is to walk with death– but doing himself in was honestly a bridge too far. "And that still won't help my team."

"What about disguising ourselves as Policy-personnel?"

"If it was that easy to get away, numerous people would have done that already."

"Fake our own deaths and hide, so we can sneak away later?"

"They won't fall for that, and even if they do, we have nowhere to go, and again, it does not help my team."

Carla was merciless in critiquing Rudolph's suggestions, but he wasn't discouraged. He was in the process of brainstorming, throwing out random ideas, and having clear feedback was an important part of that process.

So he threw out another suggestion.

"Then how about we go the back-stabbing route and betray the Meluastea in exchange for leniency?"

Carla froze in place, instantly coming to a halt, and Rudolph, upon realising just what had come out of his mouth, froze in place as well.

He had said it.

He had talked about betraying the family.

Out loud.

No one did that! No one betrayed the Meluastea-family. No one even so much as suggested it! In all the past centuries, it had never happened before.

Sure, the members of the family might think about it, at times, when things got rough or they were in a bad mood, but no one ever actually went through with it.

Inter-family betrayals, between siblings, cousins, parents and children, uncles and nephews, aunts and nieces, and whatever other combination were commonplace, but such things were always kept within the family itself.

Working together with outside elements however was absolutely prohibited, on the pains of endless torture and a slow, agonising death.

That Rudolph even suggested such a thing was… it was unprecedented, unreal.

Especially since he and Carla were literally standing in the middle of the family's greatest stronghold, the absolute worst place to be discussing such things.

By all rights, Carla should have punched him in his stupid face for saying something like that, or failing that, at least shushed him and made it clear that he should never talk about such things again.

"Go on."

But desperate times asked for desperate measures, and Carla had stopped caring about the Meluastea and their wiles a long time ago.

"It's pretty simple." Rudolph said slowly, looking all around to make sure no one was listening in, only continuing when he was sure they were completely alone. "We leave the Hall of the Copernicus to go to the Southern hall immediately-"

"Once the hallway between them stops burning you mean?" Carla reminded him wryly.

"…Yes, once the hallway stops burning." Rudolph nodded, having momentarily forgotten about the inferno that had swallowed every defence in that corridor along with its two guards a few minutes before. "Undoubtedly, we'll run into Policy's forces, who are surely waiting now for the flames to go out. We surrender to them right away, and then help them capture our dear family-members. In exchange, we'll ask them to be merciful to your team, and possibly us."

"Policies is not renowned for its mercy." Carla frowned, and she was entirely correct about that. Most Magi around the world were terrified of the Department of Policies, and that wasn't because they were inclined towards mercy and kindness.

"But they do keep to their agreements." Rudolph countered, and he was right about that in turn. Ever since Lorelei Barthomeloi had taken over, Policies' word was as solid as steel, and even deals struck with criminals were fulfilled to the letter. "Come on, it's simple. We trade information for our lives."

"Policies doesn't lightly make deals with criminals." Carla was still hesitating, which was understandable, as it was a huge decision to make all of a sudden.

"That is true, and people like great-uncle Stanley or uncle Roland would never be allowed to strike a deal, but we haven't committed any crimes ourselves." Rudolph reminded her. "Yes, we supported our family in breaking the laws of the Clocktower, and we did administrative work for them, and we didn't do anything to stop them, but neither of us has ever directly broken a law. That has to count for something."

"…Maybe." Carla admitted after a few moments, the crippling lack of other options forcing her to really contemplate Rudolph's words. Eventually, she folded her hands together, and looked up at her little brother with pleading eyes. "Do you really think it will work?"

"It might." The brunette woman standing next to the siblings said, rubbing her chin in small, elegant motions as she contemplated the matter. "It will depend on the value of your information, and on whether you speak the truth about not having committed any crimes yourselves. Fortunately, Policies recently obtained a very reliable method of discerning truth from lies, so finding out whether you are truthful will be a relatively simple matter."

"Yes." Rudolph agreed, happy that he finally had some support. "And as you know, we have the locations of every Meluastea-family member, as well as many personal details, so we aren't short on things to trade. I do think that…"

The sound of the pennies dropping inside Carla's and Rudolph's heads was almost audible in the otherwise abandoned hall.

Rudolph jerked his head to the side and Carla jumped in fright when they realised they were no longer alone. The brunette woman had appeared out of nowhere, standing right before them, looking for all the world like she'd been there since the conversation had started.

Somehow, she had avoided both his and Carla's notice while standing right before their noses.

And it wasn't even like she was that stealthy looking. She was a beautiful, brown-haired woman, wearing a red shirt, a black skirt, and ankle boots, who was standing out in the open for everyone to see.

Only they hadn't seen her. She had stayed beneath their notice the entire time.

The level of skill that required, the immense control over her own presence, made cold sweat break out on the back of Rudolph's neck, and Carla clearly wasn't faring any better than him.

Nevertheless, his sister did make an effort to address the situation, showing the kind of courage Rudolph would never possess.

"Good afternoon." She said pleasantly, smiling kindly even as sweat dripped down her temples and to the tip of her chin. "My name is Carla Meluastea. May I ask who you are and what you are doing here?"

"I am Lorelei Barthomeloi." The woman replied, her contemplative expression becoming perfectly neutral. "I am here to arrest and detain every member of the Meluastea-family."

"…" Neither Carla nor Rudolph said a word for several seconds, slowly processing the information.

"…" The brunette didn't speak either, seemingly content to wait for them to respond.

She didn't have to wait long.

"Lady Barthomeloi?!" Carla cried, and Rudolph felt like he was going to faint on the spot.

It was her! This was the Vice-Director herself! The Queen of the Clocktower. The Ruler of the Department of Policies. In the flesh!

He hadn't recognised her at all! Even though he'd seen her at least once a month over the past years, he hadn't connected the dots in the slightest. The shirt-and-skirt combo had disguised her as effectively as a cloak and hood.

Rudolph promptly became acutely aware of the number of times he'd wished death upon this woman. Suffice to say, that number could not be counted on the fingers and toes of the entire Meluastea-family.

It was only with titanic effort that Rudolph kept his expression straight, and even then, he wasn't at all sure whether he'd succeeded.

"Yes, I am Lady Barthomeloi." The woman nodded in response to Carla's earlier screech, her expression still perfectly neutral. "And I know of you, Carla Meluastea, but not of your… brother?"

"My brother, yes, Rudolph Meluastea." Carla introduced him once it became clear Rudolph wasn't capable of answering himself. "Forgive him, he is under a lot of stress."

"Hm." The sound was perfectly non-committal, but since Rudolph wasn't vapourised on the spot, it could be assumed she indeed forgave him. "Well met. Will you surrender peacefully?"

"Absolutely!" Carla declared without hesitation, and Rudolph found the strength within himself to nod feverishly in agreement. No way he was going to resist arrest.

"And you will assist me in apprehending the remaining members of your family?"

"…" Neither Carla nor Rudolph answered for a few moments, this time not out of shock, but out of hesitation. To not betray the family had been stamped into their brains since they were very young, to the point where even Lorelei Barthomeloi herself wasn't enough to instantly make them switch sides.

In the end though, the scary lady won over the indoctrination, and the siblings nodded, officially capitulating to the Queen of the Clocktower.

"Excellent." To her credit, Lady Barthomeloi did not smirk, cheer, boast, or act smug. Rather, she gave them an approving nod, along with a look that said she was glad they had chosen the wisest option open to them. "You mentioned something about a deal?"

"Yes." Rudolph's mouth shot off before his brain could catch up, and he felt as if his insides turned into ice when the terrifying woman turned her eyes towards him, but he didn't let himself falter, and immediately continued. "We help you find the rest of our family, as well as all their secret stashes and hide-outs, and in exchange, you spare Carla's team."

"I-I have a-a t-team of researchers-" Carla began, before falling silent when Lady Barthomeloi held up a hand.

"I have heard of you before; I know the team you speak of. Very well, I will ensure their punishments are mild." She promised, before frowning. "Will you not include yourselves in the deal though?"

"Well… If we could include ourselves, that would be really great." Rudolph smiled through his terror, before the smile fell again when his interlocutor didn't smile back in the slightest. "We just didn't think you'd accept it, us being Meluastea and all."

"If what you said before about not having committed any crimes yourselves is true, I might be inclined to make your punishment mild as well." Lady Barthomeloi promised, and then her neutral expression broke to make place for a smile. It wasn't a kind smile though, rather it was one that almost made Rudolph faint from terror again. "If I find out you have lied however…"

She didn't finish the threat, and Rudolph's overactive imagination immediately went to work to fill in the blanks.

"We have told you the truth." Carla swore, pressing a hand on her heart to show her sincerity. "And we shall continue doing so. If you lessen our punishments and those of my team, we will help you with your goals."

"Very well." The Queen nodded. "Your terms are acceptable."

"Would you be willing to seal our deal with a Geass?" Carla tried.

"No."

"Understood!"

The rejection was immediate and firm, and Carla didn't even try to argue.

"Now fulfil your end of the deal and take me to where the rest of your family hides."

---

"WAIT! WAIT! I surrender! I can help you-"

The pathetic pleading was cut off when Shirou threw the offending Magus into a wall of his own Workshop, knocking him out cold, after which he broke all Magecraft restraining the captives, healed them, and put them into his Vault, in stasis.

After that, Shirou burned the Magus' research, not even bothering to look at it. He wasn't interested in whatever that man had been doing, not if it involved abducting and harming innocent people.

Once he was done with that, Shirou snuck out of the Workshop and headed towards the next one.

He was making good headway so far. Everything was going perfectly fine and according to schedule, and Shirou had no reason to assume that would change any time soon.

This hall, the Eastern hall, might be referred to as 'the most well-defended hall', but that apparently only went for the defences meant to keep people out, and didn't mean much when the intruder was already inside.

There were no alarms to speak of, barely any checkpoints, some of the guards were loitering and lazing, while others were so high-strung that they were incapable of effectively carrying out any task, and the Magical defences consisted once again of pretty much only Bounded Fields.

In other words, Shirou breezed past it all, effortlessly entering Workshops, storage rooms, and laboratories to save every person who had been imprisoned there. He removed their bindings, healed their wounds, lifted Curses, jinxes, and Enchantments, and, when necessary, covered them up with Projected clothes.

After that, he moved them into stasis in his Vault. That would keep his hands free, would ensure he could still hide himself without having to hide numerous other people as well, and it would ensure they wouldn't wake up suddenly and make things difficult.

No matter how easy it went though, Shirou couldn't enjoy it. Any good mood he might have had was ruined by what he saw, again and again, every time he broke open a Workshop.

While the cruelty and callousness of the Mag in the Eastern Hall didn't hold a candle against that of the Magi in the underground complex, and especially not against that of the Magi in the base in Germany, they were still by no means mild or good.

Torture was relatively uncommon, but many people had still been stacked in storage spaces like sardines in a can without any regard for their comfort of well-being, other people were strapped to tables, terrified and confused, while again other people were locked in cages like animals.

Many of these people had no clothes, no food, no privacy, nothing. Nothing but humiliation and the knowledge that they were going to die soon, if they were allowed any form of consciousness at all to begin with.

No, Shirou took back what he said earlier, this was definitely torture. Maybe not of the vivisection-kind, but torture nonetheless.

Which was also why he wasn't very merciful towards the Magi he encountered on his way.

"You will never take me alive, Policy-scum!" The owner of the Workshop Shirou broke into next shouted, spittle flying from his mouth. "Meluastea forever!"

Shirou didn't reply –talking in battle was a sin– and instead rushed forward to punch the Magus in the stomach, knocking him unconscious as well.

In this Workshop, there were two captives, both teenage girls, who turned out to be twins. From what Shirou could see, the Magus had been working on research that explored whether twins could somehow be 'linked' together with Magecraft.

The girls were unconscious, and Shirou left them that way, quickly healing them before placing them into his Vault.

Then he burned the Workshop, though he took care not to burn the knocked-out Magus –killing prisoners went a little too far– and continued on his way.

He rapidly cleared Workshop after Workshop that way, and before long, he had over two hundred rescued people in his care, from eighteen different Workshops, three different storage spaces, five laboratories, and even an office.

He had rescued two women from that office, who were being used not for research of any kind, but as sex slaves. The owner, an absolute pig of a woman if Shirou had ever seen one, had had every limb broken before she was knocked out.

Naturally, his actions didn't go unnoticed. Even with the Department under siege, it was almost impossible for the Magi present to miss that so many Workshops and storages had been destroyed, and before long, a manhunt had been organised to find the perpetrator.

As the Department was already in a state of complete chaos however, and most people had more important things to think about than whatever happened to other Magi, the manhunt failed to gain any traction, and avoiding the twenty-or-so people who were clumsily searching for him was child's play for Shirou.

Normally, the Magi would call Enforcers for such duties instead of doing it themselves, and it showed clearly in their incompetence and inability to effectively track an enemy down, even on their own territory.

It was so bad that Shirou just strolled past them and continued saving people.

Don't get him wrong, he was grateful things were going so well, but once more, it painted a bleak picture of the Magus Association if this was the general level of competence one could expect from its members.

Not that mundane people did any better –the criminals Shirou had fought as Rakurai were just as incompetent, treacherous, and unable to work together– but with how much Magi talked about being superior, they should have been able to put up a more impressive showing than this.

But they didn't. They weren't more impressive, in any way. They were just the same old scum, with a few Magical powers.

So much for Magus-superiority.

---

"Friends! Allies! Honoured members of my Department! Your attention, please!"

The smooth, baritone voice sounded through the central hall of the Department of Botany, effortlessly capturing the attention of all people present, and before long, a sizable crowd had gathered before the stage on which the speaker stood.

"I bring grave news! Our most noble and appreciated comrades, the Meluastea, are currently under attack!"

A shocked muttering erupted from the crowd at that message, and before long, the hall was abuzz with muffled conversations, all expressing surprise at the news. All fell silent again however when the speech continued.

"They have fallen prey to boundless aggression and limitless envy! At this very moment, the Meluastea's warriors struggle to hold back the attacking hordes, who intend to kill and plunder until there is nothing left!"

Once more, the hall was abuzz with shocked whispers, as many people tried and failed to comprehend how a ruling family, the very family that headed the Clocktower's second largest department, could possibly struggle to defeat an attacking force in their own territory.

"The perpetrator of this heinous crime is known to all! It is Policies who launched its attack on the honourable Meluastea, and it is Policies who press the attack even now, intent on finishing off the Department of Archaeology once and for all!"

This time, the conversations among members of the crowd weren't even hushed anymore. People screamed in shock and fear, while others stumbled backwards, gaped in horrified surprise, or immediately started making plans to flee the Clocktower, alone or in groups.

"Policies has shown its true colours today! It has shown that it cares not about ancient laws or traditions, but only about power! As soon as the Meluastea developed the potential to eclipse them in status and authority, Policies started plotting against them! Now, they have decided to cull their rivals out of nothing but spite!"

Fear was now prevalent in the crowd, and that fear quickly turned into the stirrings of anger. Anger that the speaker was only too happy to fan, continuing to spout his fear mongering dribble.

"Many have already been killed, and much has been lost! Research and resources alike have been destroyed by the invading hordes, and though the brave Meluastea have eluded their hunters for now, they are being pushed back more and more!"

It was a very biased speech, clearly favouring one side over the other, and normally, sensible Magi would not have listened to these words. They would have been sceptical of anything that was said without evidence to back it up, and they would have been very recalcitrant to believe the word of a single man with clear conflicts of interest.

Furthermore, most of the people inside the Department of Botany had no links to the Meluastea, and thus cared little about them. They were shocked that Policies would suddenly attack them, yes, but not enough to do something about it.

If the situation had been normal, the crowd would have stopped listening after the speaker had given them the most important information. They certainly would not have listened to the speaker's biased opinions.

However, there was a sizable minority within the crowd who had a vested interest in the speaker being believed. This minority had strong ties with the Meluastea, were completely aware of the constant rule-breaking that that family engaged in, and certainly didn't want Policies to start investigating them next.

That sizable minority eagerly stoked the flames of anger even further, in the hopes of getting the rest of the Department of Botany on their side, and once they had a mob-mentality going, most of the people in the crowd were swept up by it.

"It is even said that Lorelei Barthomeloi herself has joined this cowardly attack! Rather than taking the time to investigate matters properly, she thoughtlessly accepted the rumours that were whispered into her ears! Rumours that the honourable Meluastea are naught but common criminals."

The biased speaker was the leader of this minority, and regrettably also the de-facto leader of the entire Department of Botany. His name was Jack Colby, lord of the Colby-family. He was married to Marianne Archelot, the actual head of the department, but since she was ill, and had been for a long time, it was Colby who actually held the reins.

"This attack was cowardly and unprovoked! It is a travesty! It surely is a sign that Policies and the Barthomeloi no longer respect the other families and departments! Everyone is in danger now!"

Naturally, Colby didn't care about 'everyone'. He only cared about himself. His only concern at the moment was the fact that he stood to lose everything if the Meluastea fell. His position, his wife, the power that being married to said wife granted him, even his life, it was all at risk if nothing was done to stop Policies in its tracks before they would turn their eyes towards him.

Being allied with the Meluastea, and being friends with the heir, Roland, had been very profitable while things had been going well for them, but now, Colby had to cut ties with them as soon as he could and prepare for the storm that was heading his way.

"I say we must strike back! Arm yourselves, people of Botany! Arm yourselves before Policies comes for us! We shall fight, we shall endure, and we shall win!"

Which was why Colby was very pleased to have the people attending his speech cheer loudly when he finished, bloodlust and defiance in their eyes. They would fight if he ordered them to, and right now, that was the largest advantage he had.

Even Lorelei Barthomeloi could not take on an entire Department by herself.

Efficient as they all were, the Magi of Botany wasted not a second after he was done talking, and once he dismissed them, they quickly dispersed to head to their Workshops, to prepare for the coming battle.

Colby then descended from the stage he had been standing on and mingled with the crowd for a bit, talking with people here and there, reassuring them, inspiring them, and convincing them to fight with him. After he had performed that –dreadfully dull– duty, he headed back to his own office, where his closest allies and confidants were waiting for him.

Those allies and confidants had been in a right panic when the news about Archaeology being under attack had reached them, and they had fallen over themselves to seek Colby's counsel, but he had given them the cold shoulder, telling them to wait in his office while he gave a speech for the grunts.

Now that speech was over, Colby could go and speak with his allies.

Oh, and his wife too, of course. He shouldn't forget about her.

On his way towards his office, which was located in the highest part of the entire department, Colby met numerous people, most of whom paid him some form of respect, even while they were busily preparing for an invasion. Several of them however ignored him completely, and others even glared in his direction.

Colby didn't let it bother him. Those people were still angry about him having taken the place of the old bat who had been the previous leader, Raquel Archelot. They were nothing but fossils, unable to accept that new leadership had been exactly what the department needed.

Raquel Archelot had been a capable leader who had kept her fiefdom steady and relatively prosperous, Colby would admit that much, but she had been too old and set in her ways to ever hope to improve and revolutionise the Department of Botany. For those improvements, new blood, unaffiliated with the old guard, was needed, and Colby had very generously offered his help.

Alas, not everyone appreciated his efforts, but Colby had accepted long ago that you couldn't please everyone. In the end, it was better to focus on the things you could do and on the people that you could please.

His detractors were irrelevant. It was his allies who deserved his attention.

"Jack! How did it go?"

"Is Botany prepared to fight?"

"Did anyone challenge you?"

"Have you received further news?"

The moment Colby entered his office, he was assailed by a barrage of questions, but rather than letting it bring him off balance, he laughed confidently, holding up his hands to motion for calm, while looking around the room, taking in his allies' faces one by one.

They all looked scared, and they all looked at him for guidance. Rather than trying to take some initiative, they stood around like fools waiting for him to order them around.

Good, that was exactly how Colby liked it.

At the moment, well over thirty people were present in the room, a feat that was only possible because Colby's office was massive. It was that massive because it also doubled as his living space.

Colby and his wife lived in his office. It hadn't been his choice, but something that had been a tradition for the rulers of Botany for centuries, and Colby had been unwilling to break it. He had enough trouble as it was without also adding traditionalists to the list.

The office itself was essentially a large living room, though with a desk and lots of papers and documents lying around, and there were several doors here and there that led towards other rooms, such as the bathroom and several bedrooms.

Yes, it was a bit annoying sometimes to have to allow people to come so close to his bed and his dining table, but he appreciated the fact that, at the end of the day, his bedroom was only a few paces away from his desk.

Working from home, essentially.

But this was not the time to lose himself in studying his own office. His friends had asked him questions, and it was time he answered them.

"To answer your questions in order, my friends, it went well, Botany is very much prepared to fight, nobody dared to challenge me or even look at me in the wrong way, and no, unfortunately, I have received no further news from Archaeology. The last thing I heard was that Policies had breached the Southern hall, now several hours ago."

"Then that hall must have nearly fallen by now." One of his allies, Joshua Ernest, whispered.

"That is only the Southern hall." Dorothea Meinhart proclaimed, placing a hand on her heart. "Archaeology is much bigger than that."

"I just hope our friends and relatives that are in the Department of Archaeology are well." John Kleine sighed, having his signature stupid look on his face. "I have a brother there."

"Yes, I too have a relative in Archaeology, a cousin named Gaston." Colby agreed with Kleine, figuring that fishing for a little sympathy would go a long way, to show them that he was truly one of them. "I truly hope that he is alright."

In the privacy of his own mind though, Colby was rather sure Gaston was fine. He had the rare, blessed talent of the Colby-family after all, the power of persuasion, even if Gaston's version was effective only on men. No matter what happened, Gaston would always have allies with him, just like Jack Colby himself, and that made all the difference in the world.

"Yes, yes, our poor relatives, yadda, yadda, but what are we going to do about Policies? About Barthomeloi?" Dorothea pushed. "Sooner or later, they will come for us too."

"That is simple." Colby laughed confidently, about to present his master plan. "We will-"

"Jack? What's going on?"

A sleepy though melodious voice interrupted him before he got halfway into his sentence, and though he was very annoyed by the disruption, Colby put on his best smile when Marianne, his darling wife, came out of the bedroom that was connected to his office.

It was clear she'd just gotten out of bed, with her unkempt hair, eyes that were half-closed to protect them from the light, and her crumpled nightgown, but even so, she was as beautiful as ever.

With golden-blonde hair that fell down her back in waves like a waterfall, a perfectly symmetrical face with features that were both adorable and astoundingly attractive, sizable breasts that were perfectly shaped and wonderfully perky, a bottom like an apple, strong thighs, and flawless skin, Marianne Archelot truly was the very picture of European beauty. Anyone who looked at her could see immediately why there had been more than a hundred men fighting for her affection once her family made it known they were looking for a husband for her.

Of course, the fights had been more about the fact that she was the heir of the Archelot-family, but that she was an absolute looker definitely also contributed to the size of the group of eligible bachelors pursuing her.

Colby had had to work his behind off to marry her, and though the rewards were absolutely worth it, thinking about that period of time still pissed him. The trouble that he had gone through to get where he was now…

But that wasn't important at the moment. Right now, he needed to get his wife out of the office. Already, she was distracting several of his underlings with her skimpy, see-through nightgown, but even if she hadn't, she was still too dangerous to be allowed to stay.

Jack Colby might be doing most of the ruling in the Department of Botany, making the important decisions and everything, but it was Marianne who still held the authority. He was only borrowing his current power from his wife, and if Marianne chose to counter or contradict him at any point during his speech, she could critically damage his standing with his underlings.

It was not something he could risk.

"Gentlemen and gentleladies, please grant me a moment to speak with my wife." Colby addressed the room, putting on his best smile. He received a round of nods in return, and he took his wife by the arm to gently lead her back into the bedroom.

"Dear, how often do I have to tell you." He sighed once they were in the bedroom, the door had been closed, and he was sure no one could hear or see them anymore. "Don't disturb me when I am in a meeting."

"But everyone was yelling so loudly." Marianne complained weakly, leaning back from him as much as she could. "I thought someone might have gotten hurt."

"Everything's fine." He assured her quickly, not having the patience or indeed the time to set her at ease properly. "Everyone's just a little… spirited about the current situation."

"Could I perhaps join in the discussion?" Marianne asked, a hopeful tone entering her voice, before she slumped when Colby shook his head.

"Not when you're dressed like that." He admonished her, gesturing at the incredibly sheer gown she was wearing, which practically advertised the fact that she was wearing tiny, frilly panties and no bra at all.

"But you bought it for me, and you said I had to wear it." Marianne protested petulantly.

"Forget it. Just go to sleep." Colby said shortly, well aware every moment spent away from the meeting was a moment the public opinion could turn against him. "I'll tell you how things went in the morning."

"I don't want to go back to sleep." Marianne muttered, shaking her head weakly. "I've slept enough."

Colby didn't grace the childish remark with an answer, and instead pushed his wife back onto her bed, before throwing the blanket on top of her.

She didn't seem content to stay put however, and tried to sit back up.

"Please, Jack, let me stay at the meeting, just once." She pleaded with him, but he had no intention of listening to her. She was a danger if left unchecked, and if there was anything Jack Colby hated, it was unchecked dangers.

"You are ill." He told her instead, before reaching into the cupboard next to his bedside and retrieving a box of glass vials, vials that contained a light-red fluid, the sight of which made Marianne visibly nervous. "You must take your medicine and sleep."

"I already took my medicine today." She protested, crawling back on her bed until she hit the wall. "I-I don't-"

"Clearly, it didn't work well enough." Colby cut her off, taking one of the vials, before walking over to her and holding it out. "Drink."

"I-I don't want to."

"Drink it, it's for your own good."

"No! No, please, I don't want to drink it!"

"You must."

"Please-"

'SMACK'

Marianne whimpered in distress and pain as she grabbed at her cheek, and Colby took a deep breath to calm himself down when he realised he'd inadvertently slapped her.

"I'm sorry." He apologized quickly, taking her hand in his and not letting go even when she tried to pull back. "I'm sorry. I didn't want to do that, you just left me no choice. Oh, Marianne, if only you didn't make me do that."

"I-I…"

"Just drink, and we can move on." He told her again.

Marianne didn't protest anymore, but also didn't make any movements to obey his instructions, sitting paralysed on her bed, looking at him with large, fearful eyes.

He didn't have time for this.

With a razor quick movement, Colby pushed her back down on the bed, before he pinned her in place by the throat, paying no mind to her struggles.

"J-Jack!" She wheezed out. "P-Please don't-"

Jack pulled the cork from the vial with his teeth, before forcing it between her lips and almost into her throat, making sure she swallowed every last drop of the red fluid. Only then did he release her again.

She immediately let out several hacking coughs, rubbing her abused throat, but even as she did that, she became visibly drowsy, and it wasn't long before she slumped on the bed, fast asleep again as the drug took hold of her mind.

Seeing this, Colby nodded in satisfaction, before throwing the empty vial into the rubbish bin, where it landed amongst the dozens of other vials that were already in there.

The Samhain Sleeper, as the drug in the vials was referred to, might have cost him a fortune, but it was worth every penny. Not only was it a potent sleeping agent, but it also made its victims perfectly docile and influenceable after they woke up, while also lowering their intelligence and perception.

In short, it was the perfect drug for someone in Colby's situation.

Without further ado, without even making sure that his wife was alright after receiving twice the recommended dose in one day, Colby marched out of the bedroom again, to join his compatriots in discussing the impending crisis.

Behind him, his wife lay still in her bed, uncovered by her blanket, her nightgown in disarray, and her cheeks wet from the tears that she had cried before she had been forced to fall asleep.

It was a miserable sight, yet no one present cared in the slightest.

---

When Rudolph had woken up that morning, he hadn't had an inkling yet that he would be turning traitor before the day was over.

It went to show how quickly things could change. One moment, he had still been Rudolph Meluastea, the disappointment of the family whose only concern was avoiding as much work as he could while enjoying the rich life to the fullest. The next moment, he was just Rudolph, member, or perhaps former member, of a family about to be exterminated, whose concerns were so much larger than before that it seemed ridiculous to compare them.

He had been presented with a choice, a choice to either die or to betray the rest of his family by assisting Lorelei Barthomeloi in her search for his relatives.

Since he was rather allergic to dying, especially in the face, Rudolph was now stuck helping the person he feared most in the world with her objectives, leading her towards his family-members so she could arrest or execute them, whatever struck her fancy.

Oh, and his sister Carla was with him, in the exact same predicament.

At this point, one could wonder how Rudolph felt about it all, what was going through his mind as he was forced to turn his cloak.

To that, he would have no clear answer yet.

On one hand, he felt all the emotions he should be feeling at a time like this. He was afraid, panicked, and nervous. How could he not, when his whole life was shattered and everything he'd ever known was destroyed before his very eyes?

On the other hand though, he had to admit he derived a certain, dark pleasure from watching the Vice-Director deal with some of his more-disliked relatives.

For example, their uncle Roland.

"Rudolph?! Carla?! What is this?!" Roland barked when they entered his office, his flunkies immediately taking their position at his side, like the proper lackeys they were.

No, wait, there was only one flunky now. Didn't Roland have two companions though? Had he sent one of them away on an errand?

"Well? Answer me!" Roland continued his bristling, acting outraged enough that Rudolph seriously started to suspect he'd been doing something that was against the family's rules before they'd come in, something he was now trying to hide. "What are you doing here?!"

"Terribly sorry, uncle." Rudolph smiled. "Something rather important has come up."

"I have no time to deal with your nonsense!" Roland was now outright sweating, further increasing Rudolph's suspicion he too might be about to turn traitor in some way or another. "Leave, at once!"

"Once again, I'm sorry, uncle, but-"

"But nothing!" Roland screamed, aggressively storming forward, though he did not come too close, which really reflected what the man was like. Full of posture, but with little substance to back it up. "You will leave now, or I'll make you regret ever being born!"

"Charming as ever, uncle Roland." Carla smiled as well, the look in her eyes conveying she was enjoying this even more than Rudolph. "But this cannot wait. There is someone who really wants to talk to you, and I don't think we can make her wait."

"I have no time for guests- WAAAH?!"

Carla and Rudolph stepped aside, revealing the person who'd been standing behind them since they'd entered the office, and the scream of terror that was ripped from Roland's throat sounded sweet like the finest of music to Rudolph's ears.

"Roland Meluastea." Lady Barthomeloi smiled thinly, though there was absolutely zero amusement to be found anywhere in her expression or body-language. "We meet again."

At this point, Rudolph expected a number of responses from Roland.

Trying to go down fighting was one of those possible responses, and one that would likely earn Roland some grudging respect from Rudolph, if nothing else.

Trying to talk his way out was another. It was hopeless, considering the situation, but it would still be reasonably honourable and nothing to be ashamed of.

Throwing himself on the ground to beg for mercy was also very possible. It would be humiliating and degrading, but based on Lady Barthomeloi's conduct so far, also the option that was most likely to end in Roland's life being spared, for now.

But Roland was a coward at heart, and he chose the most futile and honourless option; to run away, to throw himself at his office's backdoor in the hope of getting out safely, followed closely behind by his remaining flunky.

It was a chanceless endeavour from the start. Lady Barthomeloi blinked once, merely blinked, and the next moment, Roland was back where he'd started, on his knees and bound by black chains, while the flunky lied in pieces before the backdoor he'd been trying to escape through.

It was a show of total dominance, and all the fight drained out of Roland in that very instant, as he slumped over, and his eyes turned dull in despair and hopelessness. He didn't have to suffer for long though, as Lady Barthomeloi swiftly knocked him unconscious and levitated him with Wind-Magecraft.

"Sorry, uncle." Rudolph apologised again, though he didn't really mean it. "Nothing personal, purely business."

"Speak for yourself." Carla grumbled, before the three of them continued the hunt.

The next person they found was Abigail, their youngest sister, and the scene that followed was a lot more unpleasant than Roland's fall.

"You betrayed us?!" Abigail looked furious when she saw Lady Barthomeloi enter her room, accompanied by Carla and Rudolph. "Carla, Rudolph, you would stab me in the back like this?!"

"We're sorry, Abigail." Carla apologised, this time much more sincerely. "But we had no choice."

"And be honest here, it's not like this family provided much incentive to stay loyal." Rudolph pointed out, though he was aware he was just making excuses.

"I know that." Abigail bristled as she held up her hands, showing she would surrender without a fight. "But you should have involved me! I would have joined you too! Of course I would!"

"…"

"…"

"By the Root." Abigail grumbled when neither Rudolph nor Carla had anything to say in response. "Idiots."

"Cooperate, and I might be willing to lessen your punishment, depending on the severity of your crimes." Lady Barthomeloi made a similar offer as she'd given to Carla and Rudolph, and Abigail quickly accepted the straw she was offered.

"Grover and Stanley are still discussing the situation together in Stanley's office." She revealed, pursing her lips as she tried to think of things she could trade for a milder sentence. "Oh! And there is a small Vault hidden behind the portrait in the left corner of the room. I once saw great-uncle retrieve some kind of paperwork from there."

"Noted." Lady Barthomeloi nodded, before gesturing the girl towards Roland, who was still unconscious and floating behind them. "Follow us, and do not try to escape if you value your life."

"Understood!"

From there on, they made their way over to Stanley's office, taking down every Meluastea-family member they came across on their way. By the time they arrived at their destination, at least two-thirds of the family was already in Lady Barthomeloi's custody.

In all honesty, it was pathetic. Not a single one of them managed to put up any kind of fight, and being caught out in the open by the Strongest Magus of the Generation went only so far in explaining that.

They had really gotten too lax and too careless. Their successes had inflated their egos until they were but fat kings reigning over their department, unable to see that their castle had been built on a pillar of sand. The moment the tide had turned against them, they fell like dry leaves in a thunderstorm.

A pathetic end, but perhaps a poetic one.

"Great-uncle, grandfather!" Rudolph shouted bombastically as he strolled into Stanley's office, throwing his arms wide with a large smile on his face. "I have news!"

"Rudolph, this is not the time." Grover frowned, looking up from where he'd been whispering into his brother's ear.

"Boy, you better have some important news indeed or I'll have you thrown from the Astronomy tower." Stanley wasn't nearly as polite as his younger brother, and immediately opened with a threat, shifting on his massive throne.

"It is indeed very important." Rudolph nodded, looking as serious as he could, wanting to stretch things out a bit. "I'm afraid it is also rather bad news."

"What on Earth could you know?" Stanley barked, spittle flying from his mouth. "You're a disappointment, boy, and I don't believe for a second you have information that Grover and I don't have."

"Rudolph speaks the truth, great-uncle." Carla came to assist him, speaking up without asking for permission, the vicious pleasure even more pronounced on her face than on Rudolph's. "Disaster has come to this hall."

"We heard nothing about the defences of this hall being breached." Grover protested. "There have been some small issues, but nothing that's 'disastrous' or anything like that."

"Shows what you know. The defences have been breached." Rudolph corrected his grandfather. "They have been breached, and the enemy is here."

"I don't believe you." Stanley scoffed, and the cruel look in his eyes indicated quite clearly that he was already thinking of the torture he'd inflict on them for interrupting his talk with Grover. "And even if I did, there's a lot of distance between the hall's entrance and my office."

"You do not understand, great-uncle." Carla now laughed for real, a loud, shrill sound, that conveyed dark amusement and vicious pleasure. "When Rudolph said the enemy is here, he meant here."

"I suppose that is my cue." Lady Barthomeloi said as she suddenly appeared to Rudolph's left, and while Carla and Rudolph were by now used to her tendency to seemingly teleport everywhere, Grover and Stanley almost suffered heart attacks from shock. "Stanley Meluastea. Grover Meluastea. For egregious violations of the Clocktower's laws, for blatant abuse of authority, for treason, and for other crimes too numerous to count, you are under arrest."

Her words were like an executioner's blade, and Grover and Stanley barely had time to look surprised before she shot forwards and slapped them to the ground hard enough that Rudolph momentarily thought she'd killed them.

But no, they were very much still alive, and promptly added to the veritable cloud of prisoners Lady Barthomeloi was gathering behind her.

It was quite the victory, and quite cathartic for the siblings, but there was no time to celebrate.

"We can continue now." Lady Barthomeloi told them in no uncertain terms. "Bring me to your remaining relatives."

And so they did.

---

Ultimately, the siege of the Department of Archaeology came to a pretty anti-climactic end. Lady Barthomeloi caught all the Meluastea, Shirou freed all the prisoners, they met up together in the abandoned lecture hall, Shirou destroyed the remaining Bounded Fields on the hall, and then they waited until the Enforcers and mercenaries had created a corridor from the entrance to their office.

Then, once the prisoners had been brought to safety and the Meluastea had been properly taken captive, Shirou and Lady Barthomeloi joined the fray, rapidly taking down all remaining resistance.

The Department of Archaeology had fallen, and all resistance had been mopped up. The Meluastea were no more.

With the battle over, Shirou and Lady Barthomeloi could compare their final tally, and the winner of their little competition became known.

In the end, the victor was Lady Barthomeloi.

Shirou had given as good as he got, but in the end, the final score came out as 686 for him, and 701 for Lady Barthomeloi.

Better luck next time.

---

And I think this is a good place to end the chapter.

I admit it is a bit of a rushed end, but in all honesty, I was really getting tired of writing nothing but Shirou and Lady Barthomeloi going around kicking ass, so I wrapped it up relatively quickly.

Don't worry though if you feel that the Meluastea didn't get their comeuppance. There are still the interrogations and the trails to look forward to.

Next chapter deals with the Departments of Botany and Mineralogy, but that will be wrapped up within that chapter. Additionally, the fall-out of this mess is addressed, and they are going to work on resolving it.

Illya returns as well next chapter. I suppose that was long overdue, and she has some things to say to Shirou about what she's found in his Vault so far.

Now, it is time to talk about something interesting; Waver.

I am sure some of you, or most of you, have noticed that he is doing well with the ladies, and yes, that is entirely on purpose. Waver too will get his fair share of fair ladies in this story, some of whom you have already seen, some of whom you haven't yet.

I do not know if you readers are aware of this, but it is canon, stated by Nasu and compatriots, that Waver will never find love in the canon-storylines. In their words, he is 'too pathetic' to find love.

Now, I do not understand this. Waver, in all of his roles, is portrayed as a man who does what is right, who is willing to look the King of Heroes in the eye, who braves almost any danger for the sake of others, who will fight a Servant on top of a moving train to help his apprentice, and who has an immense knowledge and intelligence that leaves most Magi he meets stunned.

If he is pathetic, then everyone in the Nasuverse is pathetic, with some exceptions.

So no, I am going to overcompensate. Waver doesn't get any women in canon? He will get his fair share here.

Thank you for reading, goodbye.