So it started…

Maki stared off towards the Border base.

The sound of a fight could be heard even from where he stood.

Hatohara Squad as a whole would not be participating in the attack, but some of their members had been called in for it.

Maki himself had not been called in to help while both Hisoka and Svantje had been told they would be needed. Lukas would be working as their Operator.

But he was not the only one who had not been called in.

The other had been…

"Our captain."

Minoru had not been called in to support any side of the battle.

Hatohara Squad had been informed by Inukai that something had happened during the day, but that was all. Any details on it were omitted with a bitter smile and a way of the hand.

Sunshine looked like she figured it out easily enough, but I guess that's to be expected.

The girl's abilities as a detective were near unmatched by anyone else. Figuring out something through simple words, actions, lack thereof, or hints would have been enough for her to figure out what had been happening with Minoru.

But she had not told them anything.

Svantje had kept her mouth shut on the matter as Inukai explained that Maki would not be needed for the fight either. It had just been a matter of abilities.

Maki, while not lacking in his abilities, did not have the ones needed to go into this attack without moving too many things around.

So this had left him to his own devices for the time being.

"There are some others who aren't involved in that fight, so I guess it's just a matter of who is needed and who isn't. Fine with me. It gives me a chance to go check up on some…"

As he began to turn back towards his walk, something had caught his attention.

It was small, wore fine clothes, had been seen at the Tamakoma Branch, and would often stop Yōtarō from doing Yōtarō-like things.

"Rich Bug?"

.

Stepney heard a faintly familiar voice call out a faintly familiar nickname.

His parents had raised him to ignore any rude names that came his way, but this was different. He had learned already that the name itself was just something that this person seemed to call children. In a way, it was more relaxing to know that he was being referred to like anyone else.

But that had not been enough to curb his worry as he turned to the voice.

"Mr. Takahashi!"

"I told you to stop that, Rich Bug! It weirds me out when you…"

It may have been the look on his face or the way he spoke his words, but Stepney was glad that this person allowed him to catch up and speak instead of continuing his sentence.

The entire time he had been out here, he had felt nothing but worry. The reason for that was the lack of his friend.

Maki had met up with him halfway, leaning down to get a better look at him.

Stepney knew that Maki was not the best with children, so he did not expect any sort of meaningful comfort. Although the way he had been raised may have also played a part in not expecting anything here.

Even so, that thought lost all priority once he realized that Maki was waiting for an answer from him.

"What are you doing here?"

"I'm trying to find Yōtarō! He left the office when I told him that Mr. Hyuse wasn't at the office anymore!"

There was no time to use formal speech. Stepney spoke clearly while remembering to use Japanese instead of English, no matter how many times he tripped up on it.

Hyuse had gone missing and Yōtarō had taken Raijimaru to go look for him. That had left Stepney to sit in the office for a moment before realizing what had happened.

He had seen parts of Mikado City with Michelle, Mitsubachi and Pyrínas before, but this was different. It was an area he was not familiar with and not one he could wrap his head around in all of the worry he was feeling at the moment.

He wanted to cry.

He wanted to let out tears from all of the worry he was building up.

Nothing came out.

He could not cry until this was all over.

Finding Yōtarō and Hyuse would come first. Crying would come after.

That was why he was relying on Maki here. Someone who knew the Tamakoma Branch much better than he did. Someone who could fight if the need called for it. Someone who could move through the city easily.

"Leave it to me. I'll find the both of them."

The response he wanted.

This was someone he could trust.

"But you're coming with me."

"…Huh?"

Maki activated his Trigger at the same time Stepney tried to register what he had been told.

He knew there was no place for him on the battlefield.

A child like him could do nothing for someone skilled like Maki. Even Yōtarō seemed to have more to him than anything Stepney had.

Even so, he had been told he would go along to find the two boys who had left.

"Look, I'm going to make sure you don't get involved with any fights. But I'll need you if we end up finding Crazy Bug. But don't worry. I'll…make sure you're safe."

As the light show outside of the building continued on, a new one began within an open area of the Border base.

Points in the air turned into lines. These lines then made sharp turns. Those sharp turns returned to lines. The lines ended the moment they crashed into the shields above the Dogs.

The points and lines were accompanied by swiping movements of a blade held by two hands.

The lights moved through the air as solid bodies covered the space in only a few steps.

Nasu continued her onslaught of Viper towards the Dogs and towards Wen Sō.

She could hear the crackling of Gates opening within the open space. It was Kumagai who formed her of what was coming from them.

Kuma: "More Dogs! Now there's seven- No,eight!"

The movements of the Dogs were not lost on her, but they are not the sole focus at the moment.

That was on Wen Sō.

The woman who had kept her distance for some time now was moving forward to clash with a physical attack.

Kumagai was able to parry the attack with her Kōgesu, but even Nasu could tell that the hit was a stalemate for the most part.

"…"

Nothing needed to be said to fire her next round of Viper forward.

Kumagai would know what to do in an instant, having fought alongside her many times already.

.

Kumagai felt her feet leave the ground as she took a leap to the side.

Nasu's Vipers were sent in the direction she had cashed with Wen Sō. That only meant she was trusted enough to dodge out of the way of the attack before it could reach her.

The movement had been anticipated by Wen Sō as she followed along by pushing off the ground.

The seemingly straight shot had rushed between the two of them.

The Dogs to her side were moving in to attack her while she steadied herself. It wouldn't end well if she were to take a full attack head-on.

Seeing that they were coming, Kumagai had a though:

…I have to wait. This battle might not even be the kind that I could use it on.

Instead of moving to defend, having to hold her arms from moving, she allowed them to move closer.

The straight shots that had gone passed her and Wen Sō began to make sharp turns in the air. Those turns turned into lines that pierced through the attacking Dogs at her side.

She felt some relief in knowing that they had been taken out.

Viper: "I've got a handle on their shield strength. I'll take them out one by one. Kuma-chan…"

She hummed in response while moving back.

I know. I haven't asked Taiyōko anything yet, so I hope I don't have to resort to that.

"!?"

Kumagai moved even further back as Wen Sō pulled a device from her back.

So far they had seen the shields she could create and the sharp objects that open Gates in the space around them.

But they had not seen her actual Trigger yet.

Even with the knowledge that they could take on the Dogs and move in close to Wen Sō, they were still in a situation that called for caution.

That was why the sudden smokescreen was a hindrance.

Kumagai brought up her shield as attacks from the Dogs came through the smoke. They could not be seen through the smoke, but they could not see through the smoke either.

Kuma: "The Dogs come after us even when they can't see!"

Viper: "You'll be fine! I've got your back!"

What?

What did she mean by that?

Kumagai knew that she would always be there to help her out, but the tone used when saying that did not sound right.

It was the way that someone spoke when they were literally at another person's back. Something that Kumagai knew she was not.

That had only meant one thing to her.

"Rei!"

"What…?"

Two sounds filled the smoke.

The first was the familiar sound of Viper being shot at close range.

The second sound was something like a blade cutting through a body.

The smoke began to clear and Nasu's back could not be seen in front of her.

Along with her back, Kuamagi was able to see Wen Sō move back, Viper piercing the air, and Nasu's arm flying off to the side.

"Rei, get back!"

Kumagai looked over her captain and realized that it had not just been her arm that was cut. Nasu's side and hip had also taken hits, albeit to a lesser degree than her arm.

She did not need to look down to know that Nasu was glaring at the woman.

"Disguising yourself as Kuma... How dare she...!?"

Hisoka could hear the noise coming from the open area not too far away. It had been loud enough to hear, but not loud enough to make out anything particular.

Another thing that she could hear were the sound of her own movements along with the sound of vines extending out. Those vines would move in close to her, forcing her back, but then retract the further she got away from them.

Is she afraid to attack?

That was not it.

If her opponent had been afraid to attack then she would not have even extended her vines as much as she did. They would have only been moving around her to make sure she would not get hit.

There were no stall tactics being used, but there were no offensive ones in use either. It was something much more simple than any of that.

She wants to keep her territory.

At times there would be people who only felt comfortable once they had set up a location for themselves. From there they would build upon that location and do what they could to maintain that location no matter what.

That was what Shi Muon was doing here.

Instead of extending out of her territory, she would use those vines to build her territory even more while not allowing anything else to reach that territory.

For someone like Hisoka, this was a bad thing.

Her normal movements in battle meant that she would work better while close to the opponent. If the opponent had built a territory for herself like this then it meant that she would not be able to move closer than the reach of those vines.

In which case…

She ran.

That territory was her goal and her feet would take her to that goal.

The vines moved the instant she fled the distance between her and their reach.

They crawled along the walls, ceiling and the ground like a snake slithering about. Each one had their points sharpened to the point of being pricing weapons that could skewer her if she didn't pay attention.

But she still ran.

She ran on the ground.

She ran along the wall.

She ran down the path that was created using the vines.

The speed of the vines was equal to that of Fujin's slashes, but she had been able to keep up.

This had been what built up from joining Hatohara Squad. Speed that could move along these vines that threatened to expand Shi Muon's territory even more. But they were not the only hogs she could use to move through the tight space of the hallway.

Spider.

Lifting her arm, Hisoka used he wristband on her to shoot out multiple wires that stabbed into the walls, floor, ceiling and vines of the hallway.

The vines stopped moving as they were caught in the thick wires littering the hallway. She stuck to the ground after having been pierced by the ends of the wires.

Hisoka paid them no mind as she moved through the wires.

She used light steps to step on the wires before pushing off them to reach an adjacent one.

"Th-this is…"

She could hear her opponent mutter something under her breath.

"I hate webs!"

The vines tore through the wires in a violent fit.

The ones that had been slithering around bounced up and swung upward. The free and speed from them cut each wire down from where they had been set in place.

Thanks for that.

It had been perfect.

The wires had been a way to move through the hallway. They were placed around the walls, ceiling and floor so that she had more stable footings for herself.

But that did not mean that was how she fought.

Grabbing a hold of one of the destroyed wires, she moved through the air. Her feet touched the ground as a vine shot toward her.

With the wire in one hand, she leaped towards the wall closest to her. Her feet touched it for a moment before pushing off and throwing her back into the middle of the hallway.

The wire in her hand moved after her, turning in the air and wrapping around the vine.

The vines that had been around and still moving in the air were caught up in it as well.

She pulled the wire in her hand.

The single wire tightened and pulled together around the vines. They were trapped.

"Shin-kun, now!"

A sudden sound could be heard from behind Shi Muon as Hisoka held the vine in place.

.

Tsuji moved with pushing steps and a sharp but light hold on Kōgetsu.

With the help of Fuyushima, he had been transported from the outside battle to one happening in the hall.

Oshiro is busy helping Tsukiko-senpai and the rest of Hatohara Squad can't help right now. That means I'm the best choice to help out Hisoka-san right now.

That was what he was here for.

The vines that were coming from the Neighbor's back were stopped by Hisoka's wires holding them in place and this opponent did not seem like they could move from their spot.

I just need a precise hit.

He drew Kōgetsu from its holder the closer he got.

But the closer he got, the more he noticed something.

The vines.

The ends of the vines were being held down by Hisoka on the other side of the hallway, but the base of them were still moving.

They extended out.

The base of the vines coming from this person's machine on her back extended out even more and began turning in the air. It looked like they were trying to thread each other to form a single object, but that could not happen so long as Hisoka held them in place.

So instead, they twisted into a spiral to create a shield.

In that case…

He continued to draw his Kōgetsu without any hesitation.

He attacked using Senkū.

The slash cut through the base of the vines easily enough.

This action had gotten the Neighbor in front of him to turn around in shock.

The defense had been a hard and heavy one, but he had put enough force to cut through it all.

So now he could see his opponent proper.

And what he saw was…

"A woman!?"

He hit the ground with a tumble.

"Gimlet."

"Hound."

"Idāten."

"No shields, no problems~ I just wish Oshiro was here to watch me!"

The Border members watched as multiple new lights shone in the night air. Each light had been aimed at the Idras that they had been keeping at bay, destroying them all. Flashes could also be seen as a body moved along a designated path.

Even as they moved back and split along the two roads leading to the base, the Idras held up their shields in a poor attempt at defense. Compared to what had happened before, this could only be a good sign that they were winning for the moment.

A duo from Ninomiya Squad and a duo form Kako Squad stepped forward to regroup with the ones who had already been stationed at this location.

"Snipers. The enemy trion soldiers retreated out of range," Ninomiya said. "I'd like to get rid of as many as we can, while we can. Send half the snipers down. We'll pursue them on the ground."

"Roger."

From the side, Kako gave a bitter smile. Her expression gave away her feelings on the current going ons with command.

It was easy enough to understand why she would feel that way.

"Oh? So Ninomiya-kun is taking command?"

"Is that a problem?"

"No, but I don't like it. Sigh. If only Yuki-kun was here to agree with me."

"I don't think he'd be much help, Kako-san..."

"Not to Ninomiya-kun of course."

A small hum came from behind the arguing duo.

Inukai, who was playing around with Kuroe's pigtails, had a bitter expression of his own. The thought of Yuki had reminded him of what had happened earlier in the day.

"I don't really want to think about that stuff, but it is what it is, I suppose. At least I know he will treat my Oshiro well on their end~" His grin spoke volumes as he spun the pigtails around his hand, choosing to ignore Kitora's look towards him. "But it's great that our captains get along well, huh?"

White Fox: "Is someone talking crap about me over there?"

A voice came through to them all with a name in the corner of their visions. More names appeared under the first one to show that others were listening in as well.

White Fox: "Things are set up on my end, so I want to keep track on your side. If things start moving over here then I'll be leaving."

Kuruma nodded to the words he was hearing, answering back to Yuki so that the others would not make remarks to him.

They were all aware of the sudden drop in the air around Ninomiya as the boy's voice came through.

It was worse than it has ever been.

Kuru-ma: "Leaders are ordinarily in order of rank or age."

#5 Mountain: "Then I'd like to ask Suwa-san to take charge."

Mystery Smoker: "Alright, you guys!? I'll take command!"

No sooner had he said that did Suwa turn to Ninomiya.

Mystery Smoker: "Ninomiya, got any ideas?"

Nino: "Sigh. See… This is what happened anyway."

Fried Rice Queen: "But it doesn't feel as annoying as before."

WorTri: "At least she doesn't keep it going like Yuki does."

White Fox: "If that guy is going to be talking a lot now, I'm going to go back preping the area over here."

The lack of response form the Shooter was cause for worry with some of them, but they pushed it down to focus on the task at hand.

Ninomiya had not seemed to even register that Yuki had made a short appearance and instead waited.

None of them said anything as a loud sound made its way to their ears from behind.

The pavement cracked under the weight of the Snipers who had crashed into the ground from up above.

They likely knew of the situation too since the transmission had not been a secure one.

"Welcome over, Hanzaki."

"Don't give me that patronizing tone."

"Calm down, you two."

"Reiji-san."

"Yo, Torimaru!"

"Minubuki-sama takes the stage properly! Nya ha ha! Take that, Shun!"

Inukai raised a brow towards the loud girl who sprang over to some of the other agents.

It was odd to see him down here when he knew that Tsuji had been the one sent up to help the Snipers with the Dogs.

"Shashin, why are you over here?"

"Tsujin had to go off to help out Koba-san! I took the place here so Taichin could help out Tsukiko Squad!"

"So he went to go help out inside huh? Wait…who else was supposed to be in there…?"

"Inukai, focus."

"Right. My bad~"

Ninomiya did not nod, he only turned back to the direction the Idras had retreated to.

Stepping forward, he began.

"Don't spread out too thin. Fan out on either side. Use the angle to concentrate on the enemy and take them down. Gunner and Shooters use enveloping fire and stress defense. Attackers follow through. Snipers attack from beyond the enemy's range."

All the agents gave their responses and got ready for the fight.

"Okay! We'll take 'em out and meet up with Miwa and Yoneya!"

Reghindetz could only stare as his radar showed that even more people had gone down to join the ones on the ground.

There was even more to the forces they had to deal with.

"The snipers came down. We still outnumber 'll use the buildings and surround them! Yomi! Send in more Dogs!"

"Roger. The captain and the others are almost at the target. So I'll go cover for you in an Indra. Also…"

Reghinhetz looked over with a hand to his ear.

There should only have been that much to say.

But Yomi was not done.

"So they finally made a choice."

Koskero's voice came through next.

His tone gave away his feelings on this unknown news.

"Mouri has made their appearance."

The first thing to fill the night on a different side of Border was a gunshot.

There was no moonlight and barely any starlight below the tall buildings that made it a forest of buildings where shadows overlapped. The gunshot raced up from below a rising slope.

Next, a firing line of ten all fired in the same direction.

They aimed at the center of the slope where they had sensed their target.

They continued firing on that location for ten full seconds.

"…"

As soon as they finished, a group of shadows moved below around the buildings.

They were Autonomous trion soldiers equipped for night missions in mountainous forests and cities. They wore dark green maid uniforms with black aprons.

They split into three teams. One fell back a bit to act as the rear guard and command unit. The other two circled to the left or right of the slope. Their enemy was in the center of the slope, so they intended to flank the enemy on both sides at once.

The ones moving left had rearranged their bodies to be right-handed and the ones moving right had done the same to be left-handed. This allowed them to constantly aim their guns at their target.

They moved forward.

As they rushed through the forest of buildings, they searched for their enemy by trion and sound rather than vision. They also avoided speaking. They could use their trion soldier shared memory to rapidly exchange thoughts.

Even now, they were confirming each other's positions via thoughts instead of words.

"Right team has arrived. Checking for unusual movements."

"Left team has arrived. Checking for unusual movements."

"Center team has received confirmation. Please continue."

"Understood," the other teams replied to the center team.

But shortly thereafter, an especially loud report reached them.

"Okay, this is Mouri-01. Everyone, Mouri-02's unit has reached us, so I will now command both units. Please keep that in mind. Our priority here is not to assist Galopoula or Pagoménos, but simply attack at the same time as them."

.

Mouri-01 double-checked their current formation.

Two teams had split off from her unit for the pincer attack up ahead. To assist, Mouri-02's unit had also split into three teams with two sent after the other two teams sent ahead. So…

"An additional team will be added to both advance teams. The leading teams will be known as R1 and L1 while the following teams will be known as R2 and L2. Please confirm."

"R1 here." "L1 here." "R2 here." "L2 here."

The responses came in almost simultaneously and Mouri-01 gave them silent praise from the central team.

When she had come to be made, she had never expected to be given combat work as well, but…

…We can handle this with the proper training and knowledge.

Thanks to the instructions of their makers and their familiarity with a multitude of locations due to their living peoples' want of new things, after only two years on Mouri, all of the maid soldiers had been able to traverse the forests or cities covering Mouri alone and with no equipment.

In a group of three, they could accomplish reconnaissance and delaying missions.

"Mouri-97 of R2 here. I have detected a large group of flora in this area. Permission to pick them?"

"Only if you use your spare hand while remaining in motion."

"Understood," they all replied.

A few reports of successful harvests came in afterwards.

Mouri-02 was silent even in their shared memory, but she seemed to have found a similar clump of plants behind the central team. Mouri-01 decided this was a good thing and that the girl had changed since being dragged around by the living people.

"But everyone, show some restraint and do not pick too many. The flora of Miden belongs to those residing in Miden. Disturbing them beyond our mission is strictly forbidden."

While they all replied with "understood", the central team prepared their rifle Triggers.

The bullets they used were muzzles loaded in accordance with their homeland's rules. They could control the loading and firing with their gravitational control as was built into them, so they could fire quite rapidly even with a normal gun. As for the materials used for the bullets…

"Mouri-01, this is Mouri-236. I have reconfirmed the makeup of the soil in this area. The rain last month has changed the soil since the last survey. Lowering the density of trion for the bullet composition by 2% should speed up the compost rate of the used bullets."

Leaving behind too much for Miden would mean more trouble later on.

…And then we would lose the cooperation of other nations and even some local Miden dwellers should we come back.

And if the people avoided them even more, their want to cooperate would naturally no longer reach them at any point.

This was why it had long been said to be very careful when fighting on another's land.

…And that is why it has become a job for Mouri Autonomous trion soldiers like us.

When moving through the forest of buildings, they could avoid speaking while also confirming each other's positions and maintaining order. trion soldiers were likely the only beings that could do that outside of the non-humans who lived in other ecosystems.

However, the combat trion soldiers could not do that.

Two of their leaders using giant swords and extreme gravitational control were bad enough, but their third leader's shellfire would destroy the buildings down to their dirt.

And that is why we do it, thought Mouri-01 as she gave instructions.

"Everyone, compress the bullets within 2% trion usage. Our previous shots were a response to sudden movement, but this will allow our used bullets to be destroyed upon impact of any kind. Also, R1 and L1, have you detected the source of that sudden movement?"

"Testament. R1 is investigating. …The sound is gone. No trion source."

"Testament L1 is investigating. …The sound is gone. No trion-…"

L1 was cut off before finishing.

"R1 has a correction! There is a trion source!"

Something quickly rose on the bullet-riddled slope.

It was a shadow and it sank down for an instant.

"…!"

Wind wrapped around it, and it leaped down the slope toward the central team.

.

The trion soldiers reacted calmly. Just as the enemy shadow leaped down the slope, the central team simply confirmed its presence and left the direct interception to R2 and L2 who were moving to the right and left.

The next to move were R1 and L1 who had moved ahead and reached about the same height as the point the shadow had leaped from. They calmly fired in a fan shape along the slope where it had jumped from as well as above and below that.

Down below, Mouri-01's C1 team finished confirming the shadow in the air ahead of them.

At the same time, that enemy shadow was suddenly stopped.

Mouri-02 stood at the lead of C2 which had caught up from behind.

"…"

She had used accurate gravitational control to fire a trion skewer as a high-speed counterattack.

.

Mouri-01 saw Mouri-02's counterattack strike the enemy shadow.

Gravity had compressed the tip of the trion skewer that stabbed into the shadow as gunfire from either side poured into it.

"…!"

Mouri-02 twisted her right wrist and the skewer was forced into the enemy.

The impact caused the shadow to burst, but the way it scattered and the sound it made told Mouri-01 something.

"That is not a person! It is a piece of a building!"

The scattering shadow was indeed a slab from a building, yet it also had definite trion.

…What is this trion source!?

Mouri-01 soon realized what it was. A mass of trion she determined was a trion sphere spilled from the scattering concrete.

Just as she determined the enemy had put it there, the other trion soldiers' thoughts shouted to her.

"L1 here! Noise detected to the outer left!" "R1 here! Noise detected to the outer right!"

Suddenly, new shadows appeared beyond them all to the right and left.

Two movements raced through the underbrush and the trion soldiers defended against the shadows moving down the slope.

"Please rise up!"

The trion soldiers on the outer edges of the teams used their gravitational control to lift the ground on either side.

They created barriers of earth between them and the shadows descending on either side.

It was enough to defend, but something suddenly appeared over the heads of R1 and L1.

"Trion source detected."

But it was not just one. Countless trion sources poured down on their heads.

"Spheres of trion!?"

Someone on the ground breathed the battlefield's air back into her lungs after listening to other battlefields.

It was Chisato.

Red Sky: "No pressure, Shiraishi. Remember that you can always use Ikoma Squad to fight there."

She took a combat stance once more and thought to herself.

…I can't just say I'm a freeloader and slack off.

Mochizuki threw an explosive right in front of her.

But Chisato did not block it. She simply leaned to the side to dodge the coal that passed by her.

…Yes.

She understood something. No, she had remembered something: the identity of what she had sensed in Mochizuki's explosions.

"Is that a secret technique? You're still far from being cornered, aren't you?"

Chisato held out her trion lance and let the explosive detonate behind her.

"I've more or less seen through your explosions, when they expand, and that odd step of yours. I was hoping to wait until I had a more complete understanding, but one of my landlords is hoping for results sooner than that."

So…

"When my next attack hits, it will defeat you."

Those readings are…

Hyuse let out a frustrated sigh through his nose.

He was walking through Mikado City when he noticed that there were even more trion signatures around Border than there had been before.

So whoever is attacking had decided to ask Mouri for help, did they? Pretty gusty, even if it only causes trouble for everyone involved later on.

Looking around himself, he found a particularly tall building that would give him a good vantage point to witness what was going on.

He began to move towards it.

If it's Rhodokrhoun, their soldiers won't be on the battlefield. I'll have to make contact once combat ends and they come to recover their trion soldiers.

But if Miden soldiers annihilate the trion soldiers… I won't even get that chance.

He had taken a flight of stairs to make it to the roof.

Upon reaching the door, he created a blade of trion, breaking the lock and letting him through.

If Galopoula is involved, it'll be more likely that I can make direct contact with someone. Galopoula is small, but their soldiers are exceptional. They have Triggers to take on multiple opponents. Even if they're outnumbered, it's likely they'll be on the battlefield.

An expansive view was laid out before him.

The roofs of other buildings could easily be seen in the night.

Even more than the, large flashes of light and loud sounds could be heard in the distance.

Either way, the odds aren't in my favor. But whatever it takes…

He faced those lights and sounds with keen eyes.

I need to open a path back home…!