There was no time to lose. The elevators and stairwells were crowded with confused, frightened tenants who all desired to escape the tall apartment complex. After grabbing their phones and putting on their winter clothes, the two sisters squeezed their way throughout the bustling staircases. Kai's hand desperately maintained a tight grip around Lanfen's palm the entire time so they wouldn't get separated in the chaos. Once they had managed to reach ground-floor, the pair rushed out of the lobby and onto the sidewalks to see the roads that were absolutely jammed with immobile vehicles. But before either of them could even catch their breath, a deep thrumming erupted from the pulsing rifts hovering above their heads, causing Lanfen's stomach to churn within her abdomen.
Unfortunately, this harsh, violent cacophony was only the least of their worries.
Like a legion of falling angels, dozens upon dozens of large, knight-like creatures descended onto the streets below, their hulking bodies effortlessly crushing the civilians and vehicles beneath their armoured feet as moonlight gently reflected off baroque, obsidian armour. Armed with kite-shaped shields and rugged battle-axes, the sudden advent of these armoured monsters only fueled the panic of the retreating civilians on the sidewalks. While their helmet-visors emitted an azure glow akin to burning, uncaring fire, the knights drew out their armaments in perfect unison, and charged towards the fleeing crowds around them.
Kai and Lanfen were running before they even realized it.
There was nothing else either of them could actually do. Panicked yells in the winter air transitioned into the horrified shrieks and pleas of the dying, encouraging Lanfen to hold on to her little sister's hand as they bolted down the streets towards the nearest disaster shelter. Lanfen couldn't care about anyone else other than the two of them. The adrenaline which pumped through her blood made it all perfectly clear: Her focus was only on their own survival.
Sprinting around a sharp bend that led into another street, Kai and Lanfen skidded to an abrupt halt when they saw more of those armoured knights in the bloodied roads ahead of them. Wielding their axes within hands of dark metal, the armoured creatures' brutal swings reaped throughout the panicking crowds, chopping apart the begging and the screaming with extreme prejudice beneath the shine of the Christmas lights hanging above the streets. There was seemingly no sense of malice in the way they butchered the countless people of Yamaku. It was as though they were systematically cutting down a growing infestation of weeds which had dared to even stand before their ebony silhouettes.
"Jie, over here!" Kai exclaimed, pulling Lanfen's frozen body towards a narrow alley on their left.
Taking their chances with the deserted alleyway to their side, the two ran for it, fleeing through several bends and turns before they finally chose to rest inside the depths of the empty, tight space. They then fell onto their aching knees and drew the freezing air into their exhausted lungs. With their legs already burning with pain, the two sisters leaned against the alley junction's concrete walls, and tightly held on to one another for comfort. They could still hear the distant screams of the dying even when they were deep inside the alleyway. It was a haunting sound which only made Kai desperately place her hands over her ears while the younger girl's eyes kept themselves open for any sign of the arriving monstrosities.
Even with the uncontrollable trembling that was coursing through Lanfen's arms, she managed to take out her smartphone before opening up a map to find their way to the nearest shelter from here. Their devices were operating in perfect condition. But it was almost impossible to focus on the screen when Lanfen's hands couldn't stay still for even a single second. Forcing herself to regain her control by biting down on her lips, Lanfen grasped her phone with both of her shaking hands, and hurriedly charted an escape route throughout the empty alleyway.
"W-What are even those things?" Kai stuttered at her side, staring down the multiple paths of the junction they were in. "Are those N-Noise...?"
"I... I don't know." Lanfen's trembling whisper was barely even audible. Drawing a shaky breath into her exhausted lungs, she tried to keep up a mask of bravery, more so for Kai's own sake than herself. She needed to get them both to safety first and foremost. Even if absolute terror infected every fiber of her body. Lanfen didn't give a damn about anything or anyone else right now. "We have to get out of here. Fast," she declared, holding up a route on her phone as she pointed at one of the pathways to their side. "This should get us to a shelter while avoiding the streets. The signal's getting weak, but-"
The loud shuffling of baroque metal resounded from the alley path behind them. The two sisters spun around in an instant and spotted one of those large, armoured knights slowly creeping its way towards them. Carrying an axe which was marked with foul gore and ichor, its glowing visor seemingly glared at both Kai and Lanfen, its obsidian armour visibly coated in bloody handprints that were illuminated by the light of a shattered moon. It perked its head at the faint sound of Kai's careful footsteps. And when the two sisters steadily got up to their shaking feet, the hulking knight charged at them, trampling the trash cans in its path beneath the sheer weight of its body.
"Mei, run!"
While Kai sprinted down the path leading towards the nearby shelter, Lanfen bolted into an adjacent route, forcing the knight to chase down the older Jiang sibling instead. Lanfen could still feel her exhausted legs crying out beneath her. Her lungs were desperately gasping for air. As she could still hear the heavy footfalls of the knight right behind her, Lanfen's eyes barely maintained their focus on the paths and bends up ahead. Its bloodied axe grinded against the ground beneath them the entire time while Lanfen leaped over the alleyway's countless pipes and dumpsters. The knight itself barely lost any momentum in its relentless pursuit whenever it plowed its way through the obstacles with ease.
A twist in Lanfen's ankle threw her off balance.
She stifled a cry and fought against the pain surging throughout her leg, only to instead widen her eyes when a large, heavy blade cleaved into her back with a sickening crunch.
The next thing Lanfen knew, her limp body had tumbled onto the dirty ground, eyes still wide open with shock. She tried to move. But her limbs would not respond. All she could feel was a sickening warmth which grew across her back as an armoured knight stood over her to stare right into Lanfen's panic-ridden gaze. Ever so slowly, the knight silently raised its axe over her head. Fresh blood dripped from its blade and landed on the woman's cheeks. All sense of control over her limbs was completely lost to her at this point. The only thing Lanfen could do was to simply gaze at the ringed moon shining high in the December skies. She couldn't even let out a plea for it to not be the end.
Schwing
A severed, helmeted head crashed onto the ground with a loud thud, allowing Lanfen to see the flickering lights that permeated the insides of the fallen, empty helmet. Her attacker's decapitated form then fell to one side and exploded into a cloud of black sand which stung Lanfen's still-open eyes. Weakly coughing out the particles that had managed to enter her mouth, Lanfen's vision was already beginning to blur by the time she managed to gaze up in shock at her mysterious saviour. She couldn't even utter the weakest syllable in response. Not even when Lanfen's protector crouched down next to her with a glass vial in their gloved hands.
Removing the vial's cork with a soft pop, they began pouring an icy liquid all over Lanfen's warm back, causing her to clench her teeth when she felt a subsequent, sharp stinging sensation coursing throughout her body. "Is this where you intend to let your performance end?" the figure inquired in a sultry, almost-motherly voice. "Shall your curtain fall before you've even started?"
To Lanfen's utter disbelief, the pain which wracked her entire body slowly melted away into complete nothingness.
She blinked several times and slowly took in a few shaking breaths. Looking up at her apparent saviour with a returning sense of sight, Lanfen saw a woman crouching down next to her with sickly-pale skin. The medium-length, blue hair that barely touched her shoulders were kept neat and trim. And a strange smile was practically plastered across the woman's face while a pair of bright, golden eyes stared right into Lanfen's purple pupils. In contrast to the diamond symbols which were prominent all over her formal, azure suit, the intent behind those eyes was a complete mystery as the ghostly woman stood back up with an emptied vial between two gloved fingers.
"... T-Thank you," Lanfen stuttered, slowly getting up on her knees. She then ran her hands all over her trembling body and felt as though she had never been wounded at all. The back of her winter jacket was ripped clean open. And yet, the only thing that remained as proof of her injuries were the dried bloodstains all over Lanfen's back. Even her twisted ankle felt perfectly fine.
Sliding the glass vial into the pockets of her suit, the pale woman held a gloved fingertip over a pair of blue, curvy lips. "Do you desire the power to save your sister?" she whispered with a soft giggle.
Lanfen directed a wordless gaze right at the woman, eyes slowly widening. "What... did you say...?"
"Do you desire the power to save your sister?" she loudly repeated the question, crouching back down again so she could slowly hover her pale face mere centimeters away from the tip of Lanfen's nose. The golden eyes she possessed essentially dove into Lanfen's soul while the pale woman's honeyed words slithered into her ears, causing Lanfen to subconsciously tense up until she couldn't move. "Or is your love for her... all but an act of bravado?"
The sudden accusation practically ignited a proverbial fire within Lanfen's eyes. Knowing that Kai was somewhere out there - potentially all alone and without help - Lanfen's hands seized the pale woman by the collar of her suit. "Of course I want to save her!" she hissed between gritted teeth, the knuckles on Lanfen's fists already turning into a pale white from the sheer force of her grip. "Even if I'd have to lay down my own life, I'd do anything for her! She's the only thing I have left that matters. So, don't you dare imply-!"
The ghostly woman laughed. It was a hearty, honest laugh.
Seemingly brimming with joy at Lanfen's answer, she lifted a hand to brush the back of her glove against Lanfen's bloodstained cheek.
"Good," she cooed, unbothered by Lanfen's tight hold on her collar. "I'm pleased to have chosen someone who knows the importance of one's own family. Here..." Reaching a hand into one of her pockets, the woman drew out what appeared to be a red, crystal pendant. The light of the moon above reflected off its crimson surface as Lanfen stared at it in confusion and released her hold on the pale woman's outfit. "All you need to do is sing," she advised, gently placing it in one of Lanfen's hands. "Sing, and you shall wield the power of the melodious Valkyries who have saved your world many times before, as you are the one most worthy to wield the Sword of Damocles."
Lanfen could hardly register what she was even hearing.
Gazing down at the red pendant in her palm, the woman in the azure suit stood back up again and casually fixed the wrinkled collar of her suit. The reflection Lanfen casted on the glimmering pendant allowed her to see the clear disbelief growing within her own purple eyes. "... Who... Who are you-?"
Lanfen lifted her gaze upwards and the woman was gone.
Nobody but Lanfen herself remained in the alleyway while the sounds of the dying could still be faintly heard in the distance. It didn't matter who she was, Lanfen quickly reasoned with herself. There was only one thing she desired right now. And it was Kai's assured safety. The identity of the stranger who saved her was a matter to undercover only when this living nightmare was all over. Slowly getting back onto her two feet, Lanfen held the crimson pendant up to her chest, and drew the cold, winter air into her battered lungs. All she needed to do was follow the vague words the strange woman had instructed her. All she needed to do was 'sing'. Sing.
Sing.
Directing a hardened glare towards the pulsing rifts in Yamaku's tattered skyline, Lanfen subconsciously parted her lips, and released a holy chant originating from within the farthest depths of her soul.
"Valtorah Damocles sen zizzl."
Lanfen lifted one leg and slammed the sole of her boot onto a floor of pure energy as saxophones blared in her ears. In the eternal span of just one second, fibers of black-and-white concealed her toned form within a body glove. A steel, three-point crown materialized on top of her head and connected itself to a pair of headphones that soon manifested over her ears. With her braided hair fluttering in the air, a pair of dark gauntlets slammed onto Lanfen's forearms, sealing themselves shut while a pauldron formed over her right shoulder in the stylized-shape of a Queen chess-piece. Beneath her waist, armoured boots clamped around her legs, shielding them up to her knees as intense drumbeats and pianos conjured a tune of soothing jazz.
Gazing above to see a sword quickly descending upon her, Lanfen leaped into the air with agility far beyond her wildest dreams. Its blade grazed past her face and Lanfen seized the falling arming sword by its golden grip before crashing back onto a floor of energy with a thunderous howl. While roaring trumpets conjured a tune of victory and triumph, Lanfen caressed the thick blade of her one-handed sword with a gloved palm, a small smirk completely visible on the crowned warrior's face the entire time.
With that eternal second finally past, Lanfen observed her transformed state in awe as she felt her form imbue her with a sense of superhuman strength, agility, and reflexes. She felt practically invincible. Steamed hissed from numerous exhaust vents located all over her armour. And before Lanfen managed to uncover a suitable phrase meant for this new look, she sensed a single word suddenly manifest within her mind: Symphogear. But it was not the only shard of knowledge to suddenly generate within her head. Almost instantaneously, Lanfen felt her Symphogear flood her mind with a library's worth of information, causing her to wince from the sheer mental overload of learning everything about her newfound powers faster than she could even breathe.
The name of the weapon in her right hand became as clear as day: The Sword of Damocles.
Once she felt the tide of knowledge settled itself within her mind, Lanfen got down into a crouch, and leaped into the rift-plagued skies in a single bound with the ringed moon right behind her. The crowned warrior soon crashed back into the streets, kicking up a cloud of dust and snow while a small crater blossomed beneath her armoured feet. When the last bits of the cloud finally dispersed, Lanfen found herself standing in front of a group of armoured knights, their weapons still dripping with the ichor of countless innocents. Lanfen took one wordless glance at the nearby disaster shelter's entrance behind her before glaring back right at the approaching suits of armour, her one-handed sword still in her grasp.
"You're not getting past me."
Electro-swing jazz blared from her Symphogear's built-in speakers.
The knights rushed towards the crowned warrior to put an end to her groovy tune.
Blitzing out of the crater to meet with the incoming monsters, Lanfen's lips subconsciously moved as she leaped into the air and unveiled a soul-fueled song to synchronize directly with her monochrome Symphogear.
"There's a new world for me to see, yet I don't know who I want to be." She cleaved off the arms of the first knight she neared, skidded to a halt behind it, and effortlessly swept her opponent off its feet with a swipe of her armoured leg. Swiftly plunging the Sword of Damocles right into its chest-plate, the suit of armour violently exploded into a cloud of obsidian sand before its back even hit the concrete. "Sights surrounding me, front and back. Yet I don't know which to track."
Hearing the lumbering approach of a dozen enemies over the sound of rushing pianos, Lanfen's one-handed sword deflected several strikes with but a single, thunderous swing. The knights reeled back from her superhuman blow and Lanfen lunged towards them to cleave apart the gathered horde limb-by-limb. Each strike of her blade against their metal forms produced hot sparks which showered the singing swordswoman, the crowned warrior carrying little for their heat while she weaved between their crude blows to cut a swathe through their rapidly-depleting numbers.
"My guts ringing out a cry of worry. I don't know where to go or what to hurry-" The severed arms of the last knight in sight soon dropped onto the snowy concrete. Lanfen's blade thrusted into its chest-plate and exited out of its back with a loud, metallic screech. "Can I find my way if I'm walking blind? There's something my heart needs to find!"
Withdrawing her sword from the final knight's ruined torso, the exploding suit of armour showered the storefront behind it with obsidian sand as Lanfen heard the lumbering footfalls of a dozen more approaching enemies. Swiftly spinning around with the Sword of Damocles in her right hand, the crowned warrior spotted an amassing army of knights charging towards her from two different directions. It was as though her song had attracted every single one of the monsters in Yamaku towards this specific street.
"Searching high or low, where is it? The purpose glowing deep inside my soul." Lanfen aligned her left forearm with the pommel of her Armed Gear. The armoured gauntlet on her forearm split open, revealing the large, wired harpoon resting inside it. With a tightening of her fist, the harpoon launched outward and combined with the pommel of her sword, tethering the weapon to her left gauntlet while Lanfen called back to her rope dart training. "Looking up and down, nothing fits. There's something I need to feel whole."
She took a single, graceful step on the snowy, sand-filled road. She gripped the tethered hilt of her sword in her right hand. As the roads quaked beneath the feet of a dozen monsters, Lanfen hurled her weapon towards the horde with the force of a speeding rocket. The soaring blade then skewered the heads of three knights, and with a quick tug, Lanfen retracted the weapon to dance across the streets while her tethered Armed Gear whipped through the winter air like a striking snake. The gauntlet's wire wrapped and unwrapped around Lanfen's body, expertly manipulated by a combination of momentum and the usage of the crowned warrior's entire body.
"The flashing lights filling my vision slow. Roaring cheers flood my ears, smiling for me!" Lanfen's heavy sword reaped through the knights, filling the air with clouds of obsidian sand. Feeling like she was back in her practice room, her blinding movements were a perfect replica of her mother as Lanfen's tethered sword thrusted itself into faceplates, cleaved off arms, and sliced off legs faster than the knights could even react. "A concert to rinse them of the lowest lows. I've a purpose that you all have to see!"
Swinging her tethered blade to the rushing beat of sticks slamming onto drums, Lanfen glared at the remaining stragglers of the sundered army behind her and prepared for the finale.
Black-and-white flashed before her eyes and a name appeared in her vision, spelled out by steel letters that slammed onto a chessboard to slowly crack it apart with each ringing impact. "Bishop Barrage."
Her sword swiftly returned to her right hand. Ornate, crimson markings flashed across the length of its thick blade.
With a brief smirk, Lanfen swung the Sword of Damocles in a wide arc, causing a dozen floating, glowing replicas of her weapon to manifest around her as if an entire armoury had just emptied itself. Through the subsequent flick of her left wrist, the energy blades soared towards the remains of the depleted army. Each translucent sword sung through the air with a semblance of sentience while they jinked past swung axes and raised shields before stabbing right into the gaps of the enemies' ebony armour. Severed limbs fell to the floor with each blinding attack run the flying blades made on the dwindling monsters. Lanfen herself simply stood back and observed her opponents' fruitless efforts.
Hearing the shuffling of baroque metal suddenly coming from behind her, Lanfen casually glanced over her shoulder, and glared at the lone knight who had managed to get close to her. She clicked her tongue in annoyance and parried a predictable attack with a loud clang. With the knight's axe now flying high into the air, the monster was left completely defenseless as Lanfen's glowing blades viciously drove themselves into her attacker. They first stabbed into its knees, then into the joints of its arms, its chest-plate, and lastly, right through the middle of its glowing faceplate.
A finisher came in the form of a swift kick right into the knight's abdomen. In an instant, the suit of armour exploded into a cloud of black sand, ending the life of the last visible knight alongside Lanfen's jazzy tune.
A subsequent ear-piercing, high-pitched wail from the rifts in Yamaku's skies attracted Lanfen's attention. Protected by the headphones she donned, Lanfen prepared herself for the arrival of additional enemies while the pulsing rifts emitted a deep howl which reverberated throughout the ravaged streets of the city. She held her breath, and then gasped when the giant rifts instead began to 'shrink', allowing the city's skyline to slowly return to what it was before. 'Is it over' was all Lanfen could assume, tightly gripping the hilt of her sword until the tears in reality vanished completely from sight.
The closure of the rifts left only faint particles that fell onto the concrete below alongside the winter snow. An eerie silence had returned to the city of Yamaku. Lanfen's glowing blades soon disappeared from the air around her with but a mental command.
Detaching her harpoon from the pommel of her Armed Gear, the wired weapon slammed back into her gauntlet, letting the forearm armour close back up with a few audible clicks. The thick blade of her sword then retracted into its cross-guard and Lanfen attached the hilt of her weapon on to a piece of armour at her hip. Not a single bead of sweat had appeared on her brown skin for the entire battle. But when Lanfen's attention redirected itself back to the safety of her little sister, the crowned warrior spun around on her armoured boots, and began rushing in the direction of the nearby underground shelter.
"Mei," she whispered, feeling her heart pounding within her chest once again. Stomping throughout the sand-filled roads of Yamaku City, Lanfen's purple eyes darted around the damaged buildings around her. The reinforced metal doors which led to the underground shelter were closed shut. But the possibility of Kai still being outside was a thought that only continued to plague her mind.
"Jie?!"
Lanfen came to a screeching halt upon hearing Kai's voice and directed a panicked gaze over to one of the abandoned stores at her side. There, behind one of its broken windows, Lanfen saw her little sister slowly poking her head out from a large piece of furniture. The flickering ceiling lights above Kai's head shined on the bits of blood which stained the girl's face, tears of fear evidently flowing down her cheeks. Lanfen needed to control her superhuman speed when she suddenly bolted towards the store with a smile of utter relief. "Mei!"
Crawling out from underneath her hiding spot, Kai stared in silent awe at the monochrome armour her approaching sibling was wearing. Kai looked like she was about to ask a dozen questions right on the spot. But with everything that had happened in the past hour alone, the teenage girl clearly desired nothing more than to head back home, and end this nightmare of an evening. After wiping her wet eyes with the sleeves of a tattered, winter coat, Kai went over to the entrance of the store to reunite with her sister, only to suddenly stop with her hand still holding on to the door's broken, metal knob.
Lanfen noticed the startled look in Kai's eyes and soon halted herself to follow her sister's gaze.
Redirecting her sights to stare down the sand-filled streets, Lanfen was barely a few steps away from the store's entrance when she noticed the appearing shape of a figure within the corner of her eye. Illuminated by the light of a shattered moon within the skies, a lone, human-shaped silhouette stood in the middle of the road among the dead bodies of Yamaku's slain citizens. The fluttering, hooded cloak it wore concealed its unmoving form, preventing Lanfen from even determining whether or not it was even human. All she could make out were the glimmering, armoured boots which concealed its legs, and the sharp, metallic tips of its slender fingers. Absolutely nothing had given away the cloaked being's presence until it actually made itself known.
When the figure appeared to turn its head towards the crowned warrior, Lanfen felt a chill run down her spine, forcing one of her hands to slowly reach for the sword that was stowed on her hip. As her gloved fingers curled themselves around the golden hilt of her weapon, the cloaked figure took one soundless step towards Lanfen, a pair of golden orbs immediately shining within the shadowy depths of its tattered hood.
"Jie, watch out!"
There was a flash of emerald light.
Lanfen drew the Sword of Damocles.
She felt a wave of intense heat wash itself over her and a hitch-pitched ringing soon deafened Lanfen's ears. Her body felt weightless while she was effortlessly hurled into the air. Now completely blinded by a pure, white light, Lanfen was unable to hold back a genuine cry of pain from escaping her burning throat. The next thing she knew, she felt her body crash back onto the concrete, the reforming, protective barriers of her Symphogear immediately cushioning her from the force of the crackling impact.
Wincing from the agony that was now reverberating throughout her body, Lanfen's blinded vision slowly cleared up, giving her the sight she required to see the burning rubble which surrounded her as she laid down on her back. There was the distinctive taste of copper in her mouth. A thick fog shrouded her dazed mind. While white snow fell onto Lanfen's bloodstained cheeks, the crowned warrior slowly pulled herself up into a sitting position before she grasped her headphones with a now-empty sword-hand. Clenching her teeth in order to suppress the growing pain within her abdomen, Lanfen pulled together her consciousness, looked up at the burning roads ahead of her, and drew in a sharp breath.
"Mei...?"
The cloaked being had disappeared. The city of Yamaku was enveloped in a blanket of complete silence. And obsidian sand littered the roads that were now soaked in the blood of countless civilians. Standing back up on her armoured legs, Lanfen's shocked gaze focused on the large mound of building debris which had gathered on top of where she was standing earlier. As the Sword of Damocles rested underneath a nearby pile of broken wood, the building that Kai had been hiding in now existed as nothing more than a burning ruin, its glass windows littered across the concrete in the form of broken, useless shards.
Lanfen broke into a panicked run towards the mass of debris. She felt her blood turn cold beneath her skin. Even while jolts of pain continued to rise within her abdomen, she could not stop herself from desperately calling out to her sister.
"Mei, where are you?!" Her scream practically shattered the cold, uncaring silence.
Approaching what remained of the destroyed building, Lanfen desperately searched through the countless broken glass and shattered bricks lying at her feet. Her armoured gauntlets rummaged through the heavy debris, leaving nothing unturned even as blood started to trail down the corner of Lanfen's mouth. She tossed aside broken chunks of metal with ease and ignored the fires which burned relentlessly around her. Finally, when her enhanced strength managed to push aside one last chunk of the shattered building, the bloody sight Lanfen subsequently witnessed underneath the Moon's light caused the woman to freeze where she stood.
She found her.
Lanfen fell onto her knees, crushing the bloodstained glass underneath her. Her armoured, dirt-stained hands gripped the sides of her head. Squeezing her eyes shut just to deny herself the image that was right there in front of her, Lanfen felt an uncontrollable stream of tears trail down her face while she slowly lowered her head in shame. She couldn't control herself for any longer than a second. Drawing the cold, winter air into her lungs, Lanfen parted her bleeding lips, and subsequently released an agonizing cry which echoed throughout the burning, barren streets of Yamaku City.
She did not know how much time continued to pass as she knelt among the burning debris. Even when the sounds of ambulances and rescue vehicles slowly resounded in the distance, Lanfen refused to move even an inch from where she sat. A layer of snow was building-up on her motionless, armoured body. And all Lanfen could do was stare into her trembling, open palms with eyes that barely possessed any hint of light within their pupils. She was alive. The battle had been won. The monsters were gone and defeated. And yet, Lanfen felt her entire world end right then and there.
After commanding her Symphogear to disappear into rising particles of black-and-white, Lanfen closed her eyes and waited for her own end at the hands of Yamaku's freezing winter.
Unfortunately, such a wish would not be fulfilled. Instead, Lanfen heard the distinct clicking of a gun's safety being switched off. It was immediately accompanied by what sounded to her ringing ears to be an order to hold up her hands and slowly turn around. While moonlight reflected off the glimmering, red pendant around Lanfen's neck, she hesitantly looked over one shoulder, and narrowed a pair of lifeless eyes at the sight of multiple individuals in suits who were all training their respective firearms on her. Led by a young man with distinct, blonde hair, Lanfen's senses had not even heard the sound of anyone approaching her before the woman actually noticed them.