How long has it been? As if time itself had frozen, not a single thing moved for countless moments. A dozen pairs of eyes staring straight to a small girl with frilly clothes, a bizarre sight to behold under normal circumstances.

But not a single thing the girl encountered so far was normal. She expected some kind of trouble no matter who or what she meets, but this particular moment took an unexpected turn. Cagliostro squinted her eyes, carefully studied the group of a dozen people surrounding her, and landed on a particular man draped in a black coat.

"Oi, Gran! What is the meaning of this? Why are you tagging along with this bunch?"

"Huh? You know me?"

"Of course I know you! What kind of bullshit are you spewing out?!"

"Uh... Well, I lost my memories, you see... And these guys saved me."

"... Saved you?"

Amiya raised her hand to the side, blocking the man's view.

"Doctor, stand back. This might be dangerous."

"Eh? But-"

Gran's complaint fell to deaf ears, as Amiya's eyes are still fixated on Cagliostro and ignored him completely.

"I'm going to ask you one more time. Who are you?"

"Didn't I just tell you my name?"

"You know what I mean."

Despite the unfavorable situation she's in, Cagliostro only showed off a smug smile.

"That's the problem, little girl. I don't."

Amiya's eyebrows twitched. Her eyes slowly narrowed to a slit.

"Doctor's identity is not exactly well-known. And then out of nowhere, a stranger in the middle of a city under siege recognizes him in one look?"

"..."

"You need to explain yourself."

Cagliostro did not reply. Instead, she slowly walked to the side, bent down, and picked up a piece of small white cloth with cute red lace on it.

"And what exactly are you implying by that?"

She nonchalantly examined the cloth and dusted it with her hand. Then, she kneads the cloth a little bit, revealing a piece of sharp glass shard wrapped inside it.

"Are you saying... "

She bent down again, carefully spread out the white cloth, slipped her legs in one by one, and slowly pulled the cloth up. The twin hole on it easily glides past the small yet firm calves before struggling to pass the fleshy thighs. With one graceful movement, she placed her precious garment in place without lifting her mini-skirt.

"... I'm a suspicious person?"

"Yes."

Cagliostro raised her head forward with a grin slowly blooming on her face.

"I could say the same about you".

"?"

"Out of nowhere, I'm suddenly transferred to this weird world, got chased by blood-crazed lunatics right off the bat, and then suddenly ran into an armed group that drags along my captain who conveniently lost his memories? Sounds suspicious to me."

"..."

"I mean.. Maybe... All of this shitty mess is because of your doing, and my darling captain there is being kidnapped and brainwashed by you lot."

Cagliostro took a step forward and stealthily concealed the glass shard in her palm.

"Maybe, just maybe. If I could just kill you, little girl. Then swiftly grab my captain and get the hell out of here, everything will return to normal."

"Don't come any closer."

"Or what? You'll kill me?"

Cagliostro's gaze sharpened. Intense focus and anger were apparent in her eyes.

"Go ahead and try. I will save him and get us out of here or die trying."

"Stop!"

Cagliostro hastened her steps.

"I said stop!"

"Screw you!"

The series of events happened in a blink of an eye.

Cagliostro rushed forward with frightening agility, with a sharp glass shard wielded like a dagger on her hand. The armed group flinched and were caught by surprise, frantically repositioned their weapons and aimed at the girl. But they wouldn't make it in time, as Cagliostro was already several breaths away from their leader.

Then, what looked like a black shadow suddenly leaped in front of Amiya. Cagliostro smacked her lips and kicked the ground as hard as she could. The sight of an acrobatic spin was a sight to behold, as she easily jumped past the shadow and landed right in front of Amiya.

*SWISH!*

The sound of air being split emerged as the glass dagger immediately launched forward, on its way to Amiya's body.

*SMACK!*

"Guhh!"

The blade stopped mid-air. Or rather, the hand holding it was.

Cagliostro looked down and saw a black carbon rope tangling her hand. She traced the source to her back, a pair of brown eyes were glaring at her. The shadow, a dog-eared woman with long, straight black hair, was pulling on her whip as hard as she could.

Cagliostro was caught.

"Damn it!"

She turned her head back to Amiya, who still has her hand trained on Cagliostro.

The black shards around Amiya start to quiver violently. She stared at the entangled girl and screamed as loud as she could.

Cagliostro shut her eyes tight.

*BOOM!*

An explosion and a stench of charred flesh emerged, followed by a heavy thud.

This should be the moment when the kiss of death finally embraced her after cheating her way out of it again and again. Yet, when the sound receded, she could still feel the signal of her senses screaming at her brain.

Cagliostro pried her eyes open. blinked several times, and looked down on her body to find no wounds. She turned her head around and saw a man, twice the size of her, laying on the ground several meters away with a huge hole on his chest. A crossbow slipped from his limp hand and dropped to the ground.

"Wha-"

Cagliostro struggled to process what just happened. But before she could, a woman with a crossbow shouted at the top of her lungs.

"Hostile snipers!"

The sound of air being split several times ringed and countless arrows landed all around them.

"Everyone take cover!"

A dozen bodies rushed back to the narrow alley.

"Defenders! Take point!"

A couple of men raised their giant shields and planted them on the alley entrance, cutting off several flying bolts from its path.

The rain of arrows continued relentlessly, yet none of them reached their targets; unable to pass through the shields and the buildings.

"Heh. I thought you're going to kill me for real just now."

Cagliostro snickered to Amiya, who's crouching right next to her.

"Scout! What's going on?"

Amiya didn't notice the snide remarks and shouted at the crossbow-wielding woman instead.

"T-There's at least a dozen snipers on the buildings aiming at us, Amiya! We can't go back down the alley as well, we're surrounded!"

"No visuals of hostile foot soldiers yet, but they will corner us if we stay here."

The shadow that stopped Cagliostro chimed in.

"We need to move, Amiya."

"Instructor Dobermann.."

Amiya stared at the shadow, who apparently was named Dobermann, for a moment. She switched her gaze to the open road, where arrows still rained down on them, then to her wrist. She touched several buttons on a wristwatch-like device and a holographic map projected out from it.

"We're five clicks away from the rendezvous point, and the only way there is northward, down the road to the left."

"The snipers are positioned right to our front and to our right. We could get away from them as we run."

"Yes, but.."

The group gazed on the wide road. There's hardly any cover to go around, and even with the several shields they have, covering the whole group is out of the question.

According to the map, there are no alleyways near them to hide in either. It's a long straight road for several hundred meters.

"We could make a run for it. But doing so will risk heavy casualties."

The female scout spoke with difficulty. Amiya bit her lips and scowled deeply as she wracked her brain to find a way out.

"... We could have the defenders protect our key members, and the rest will-"

"No!"

Amiya screamed.

"I will not sacrifice anyone in this mission! We will get out of this together!"

The scout who raised the idea averted his gaze. Moments passed, and no one voiced anything. Apparently, no one knows exactly what is going on in this city, even though they looked like a professional group with extensive experience.

Several thoughts ran through Cagliostro's mind, though she refrained to voice any. She decided that for now, it's best to observe.

"Hmm... Can't we block their view or something? Like with smoke or something..?"

Out of nowhere, Gran casually spoke to himself as he was thinking. The random idea, however, was caught by everyone there and instantly sent a surge of optimism to the group.

"Smokescreen!"

"Scout! How much smoke grenade do we have left?"

"There's none left, Amiya. We only have several flashbangs-"

"Flashbangs wouldn't work here.."

Amiya closed her eyes and ruffled her head.

"Uggh… Is there nothing else we can use?"

".."

"Doctor! What do we have to do here?"

"Eh? Why are you asking me?"

"Because you're the Doctor! And you gave us the idea with the smokescreen just now!"

"I was just thinking out loud, I didn't exactly know how to get ourselves a smokescreen-"

"You're just not thinking hard enough, Doctor! I know you can get us out of here! You always do!"

"Amiya, enough."

Dobermann grabbed Amiya's shoulder. Amiya flinched and stopped her words.

"He lost his memories, there's nothing we can do about it."

"But…"

Dobermann shook her head. After a moment of deliberation, Amiya finally relented and dropped her shoulders.

After being silent the whole time, Gran's involvement somehow enticed Cagliostro to finally speak.

"So you guys only need some kind of smokescreen, right? I could make them for you."

"Eh?"

Amiya gave Cagliostro a confused look, wondering if she's just making fun of the situation.

Cagliostro replied by picking up some kind of flask with silvery liquid from her belt. Of course, while showing her trademark vile-looking grin.

"In case you didn't know, I'm the world's cutest super genius alchemist. This kind of thing is child's play."

It's uncertain what she's hoping to see by throwing around such a bizarre remark, as it only incites furrowed brows at best. Even then, Cagliostro did not lose her confidence.

The weirded-out group switched their gazes to their leader. Unlike the rest of the group, Amiya's expression remained still, as if she's seriously deliberating the eccentric girl's offer. After a short pause, Amiya calmly spoke.

"What do you need?"

"Oy, Amiya! Are you serious? You can't possibly-"

"I'm sorry if my decision sounds rash. But we don't have any other options do we?"

"That's-"

"Then we shall go with her plan, whatever it is. Now, what do you need?"

After letting out a short snicker, Cagliostro pointed at one of the giant shields; currently not used to block any projectiles. As soon as she did, the owner of the shield shrunk back, clearly refusing to part with his baby. He looked at Amiya in hope of support, but his hope was immediately crushed as she only gave an apologetic look and silently gestured to him to give the shield.

Although the owner was reluctant, he gave in at the end. Even if it's not in the best interest of all, they know for sure to waste time is the worst thing they could do right now. As such, the defender took off his shield and mounted it on Cagliostro's back, like a tiny turtle with a giant shell.

Cagliostro then moved right next to the open road littered with ruins and corpses, under the cover of the shield wall. Through the small gap between the shields, she scanned the scene. After a moment or two, she caught sight of her prey; a charred wooden stall, with fresh embers still pulsing in and out.

"There you are."

She grinned at her target.

"Oy, muscleheads. At the count of three, I will make a run to that stall over there. Make sure to make way for me, you hear?"

The two burly men holding the shields reluctantly turned their heads towards her and gave a short nod.

"Atta boy."

She patted the guy next to her a couple of times, which was obviously ignored. Then, she took a step back and assumed a sprinting stance. She crouched, pulled her right leg back, and raised her body slightly, with eyes staring straight to her target.

She exhaled and inhaled a deep, long breath.

Her body remained perfectly still.

"One.."

"Two.."

"Three!"

The shield gate burst open simultaneously, and the blonde girl lurched forward like a flash. With astounding agility, the small turtle easily serpentined through the ruined landscape, not letting any debris nor corpses slow her steps. The lightning speed movement surprised the unsuspecting snipers, as they frantically tried to follow the movements of the golden-black flash several seconds too late.

Halfway through the dash, a rain of arrows finally commenced. Sending terrifying sounds of splitting air and crushed stones. Most of them missed their target and the ones that didn't strike the shield mounted on Cagliostro's back. The impact staggered her, but not enough to sway her steps. The turtle persevered.

Near the end of her track, she twists her body halfway. Like a graceful ice skating dance, she slid across the ground with her upper body still hanging in the air, barely missing the smoldering stalls by an inch.

The amazing show of agility doesn't stop there, as she continued to twist her body even further, with her right foot as a pivot. The moment she faced the ground, she planted her foot and kicked as hard as she could.

Just like that, she managed to turn around without inefficient loss of speed and used the momentum to grab a piece of half-burnt wood before returning in such speed, almost like everything happened in the blink of an eye.

The breathtaking dance dumbstruck everyone who witnessed it. If it wasn't for the girl shouting 'Oy, fuckheads! The fuck are you doing? Open up!' several meters before crashing into the shield wall, the defenders might actually let the girl turn herself into a pancake.

"Hah... Did... You guys... Hah... See... That? Guh... Told you... So.. Phaaah.".

Back under the cover of the shields, Cagliostro heaved heavy, laboring breaths. Which apparently did not stop her to brag about her feat.

As irritated as they are, the group has no choice but to acknowledge her skills after such an impressive performance. None of them stare at her with a weird look anymore, rather, they are tinged with a spark of hope, and a glint of awe.

"What do you need next?"

Amiya did not succumb to the same sentiment for long and probed the exhausted-looking girl once more.

"Heh, not giving me any time to rest, are we? I like that."

After she regained control of her breath, Cagliostro stood up and broke the wood in half.

"Give me your sugar."

"Sugar?"

"Yes, any sugar will do."

Amiya tilts her head slightly for a second, before calling out to the Medic and politely asking her to hand over her bag. She opened the bag and ruffled deep inside it, then pulled out a brown pack with a white and green sticker on it and handed it over to Cagliostro.

"Huh. You do have some."

"What's next?"

"Next? I need space."

As Cagliostro grabbed what looked like a tiny pestle and mortar from her belt, Amiya took the hint and ordered her men to back off from Cagliostro.

In no time at all, a set of portable alchemy equipment was already laid out on top of a leather sheet. Like a master cook in her kitchen, her hands moved as swift as flowing water. She ground the charred wood to charcoal-like dust in one hand while preparing and mixing some powder in another.

The young man might not have any memory to compare Cagliostro's display of skills with, but Gran was certain she might be one of the best in the world, if not 'the' best and couldn't help but to visibly gawk at her, as does the rest of the group.

After she mixed the charcoal and the powder in the mortar, she covered the top with her palm and closed her eyes. A curious red glow leaked out of her hand as she mumbled something under her breath. After a few moments, the glow recedes. She then carefully poured the sugar and mixed it together.

Out of nowhere, she snatched a water bottle from a guy's backpack next to her, poured out its content, and replaced it with the sand-like brown mixture she just made.

"Give me five more bottles."

The group complied and she did the same five times. On her last bottle, she exhaled a long breath and wiped the sweat off her fair-skinned face.

"There. Just chuck in a match or some kind of fire and voila, smoke grenade."

Cagliostro threw a bottle at Amiya and she effortlessly snatched it mid-air. Glancing at the stuff she just received, her brows furrowed slightly.

"Are you sure it's going to work?"

"What? You don't believe me?"

Her smug returned.

"Either it works or we die. Simple."

Amiya took her eyes off the bottle and scanned the faces around her. It would be lying to say they're all completely confident in the mystery concoction, but she of all people knew that this is the best bet they have, and they can't afford to waste more time.

If the makeshift grenade could produce at least half the normal amount of smoke a smoke grenade does, they might have a chance of confusing the enemy for a while and let them dash away far enough out of the reach of the crossbows.

But this strategy highly depends on the incompetence of their enemy. A good sniper might be able to predict their target's movement or just simply land a lucky shot to render the smoke useless.

When push comes to shove, prioritizing high valued individuals is a given, and they might have to sacrifice one or two operators.

And yet...

Amiya was determined to pull everyone out of this hell. Even if it's the most ridiculous thing to do. Even if she has to go against all odds. When the worst happens, she will find a way to save everyone. She will not lose anyone ever again. Never.

The hands clutching the bottle grew tighter. She shook her head once to ward off any doubts left in her and stood up in haste. The group followed suit and stood up in tandem, with all eyes fixed on Amiya, waiting for her next command.

Amiya closed her eyes and drew a long breath in silence.

After a second that felt like a hundred, she opened her eyes and turned to the alleyway entrance. She clenched her fist, and her lips parted ever slowly.

"Rescue team.."

It is now or never.

".. Prepare to move out."