"A tail?"
Mandragora reacted instantly to Harmonie's words. Her head snapped back, her eyes zeroing in on the shadowy hedge where Harmonie's gaze was locked. The officers around her fell silent, their eyes following her lead.
Without a second thought, a salvo of Originium Arts erupted from the group, bombarding the brush.
Exposed, Horn stepped out from the foliage. Her stance remained steady, even if her choice of weaponry looked almost comical—a single, silver dining knife held firmly in her hand.
"Who the hell are you?!" Mandragora demanded, already summoning swirling dust and stone around her hands.
The other Dublinn officers raised their hands to cast, but held back as Mandragora's Arts flared out of control. Her raw, volatile magic made her dangerous to stand near, and none of them fancied being caught in the crossfire of a lunatic.
"Highland Berserkers, Second Squad, Captain Horn," she announced, holding her ground without a hint of fear. "You are under arrest for violating the laws of Victoria. Drop your weapons!"
Despite having only a butter knife, Horn had no intention of surrendering. She began closing the distance toward the Dublinn leadership, knowing their ranged spellcasting precision dropped when enemies got close enough to mingle with their own lines.
It was a high-risk gamble. Nine officers stood before her. Even if they weren't all front-line combatants, getting surrounded meant immediate capture.
So she kept her distance, maintaining a delicate balance. She used Mandragora's wild Arts as a shield, forcing the other officers to step back while she maneuvered for a chance to break the stalemate.
The Dublinn officers made no move to help Mandragora. Instead, they watched with detached amusement, like cats playing with a mouse.
At least their leadership isn't united, Horn thought grimly. They'd rather see a comrade embarrass herself than lend a hand. That's one small mercy... I suppose.
Swish!
Horn lunged forward with a sudden burst of speed, thrusting the knife straight toward Mandragora's throat to take her hostage. But Mandragora was faster. A thick wall of swirling stone hardened in front of her, deflecting the blade with a harsh metallic clang.
"Typical Victorian trash," Mandragora sneered, stepping past her barrier. "Always resorting to underhanded little tricks. I'd love to tear you apart right now, but I'm curious—how did you vermin find out about our gathering?"
She raised a hand, and a massive boulder slammed directly into Horn's ribs. The impact launched the soldier backward onto the cobblestones, the dining knife skittering out of her grip and disappearing into the darkness.
Now, the Victorian captain was completely empty-handed.
Horn clutched her side, wincing as she caught her breath. The rock had hit with enough force to crack armor, let alone cloth. Mandragora was playing for keeps.
"Who knows?" Horn wheezed, forcing herself to stand tall despite the pain. "Secrets don't stay secret forever. If Victoria wants to know what you're up to, we'll find out."
"So someone leaked it," Mandragora spat, her eyes narrowing. "Fine. That makes things simple. We find the rat, gut them, and leave their body as a warning to anyone else with funny ideas."
"Enough playing around!" Harmonie snapped, stepping forward with an irritated sigh. "We don't have time for your games. Leader, use your Arts and turn her to ash."
It wasn't a request. Harmonie voiced the order with cold authority, speaking down to the very person meant to be their supreme leader. To anyone watching, it was glaringly obvious that this Draco was nothing more than a puppet placed on a throne, while Harmonie pulled the strings from behind the curtain.
The Draco leader remained silent, staring down at Horn. Her hands trembled slightly, and she made no move to obey Harmonie's command.
"Is there a problem, Leader?" Harmonie repeated, placing a heavy, sarcastic emphasis on the title.
The puppet leader flinched. Reluctantly, she raised her hand, her palm glowing with an ominous heat as her Arts began to surge.
Damn it! Horn thought, her heart sinking.
She had prayed the fake leader wouldn't draw upon her Draco Arts here. Talulah's flames were legendary, and even if this counterfeit's power was a pale imitation, a Draco's fire in a narrow alleyway would incinerate everything in seconds.
"I have no quarrel with you," the puppet Draco murmured softly, her voice hollow. "Forgive me. I'll make sure it's quick."
An intense wave of heat rushed over Horn. Her skin began to prickle, her blood boiling beneath the surface as if she were being cooked from the inside out.
"Cancel your Arts!"
A thunderous voice echoed down the alley, followed by the heavy rush of air as a massive banner spear hurtled through the night like a missile. It slammed into the cobblestones right between the officers, blasting stone fragments in every direction.
Before anyone could react, the puppet Draco's fire sputtered and died instantly.
"I... I can't!" The Draco gasped in terror, her body locking up completely. "My body... it won't listen to me! I've been controlled!"
"Don't move!"
The voice boomed again, carrying an unnatural, absolute command that struck directly at the Draco's mind.
The fake leader froze completely. Her arm remained outstretched, her mouth open, unable to lower her hand, turn her head, or even blink. An overwhelming, ancient aura pinned her in place, stripping her of every drop of free will.
Jeanne and Bagpipe burst into the alleyway.
Exploiting her innate authority as the Dragon Witch over all dragonkin, Jeanne had shut down the Draco's body without firing a single spell.
While Bagpipe rushed over to check on Horn, Jeanne stepped to the front, grabbing the shaft of her banner and pulling it cleanly from the ten-centimeter crater it had punched into the street.
"You!" Mandragora's face contorted in rage as she recognized Jeanne. "What did you do to her?! You're the one who was standing beside Talulah!"
She couldn't comprehend it. A few spoken words had rendered their leader entirely helpless. It defied everything she knew about Originium Arts!
"If you're going to address someone, at least use their proper name!" Jeanne said, hoisting her banner onto her shoulder. "Calling me 'that person beside Talulah' makes me sound like her lackey!"
"Well, well..."
"Now this is interesting," two Dublinn officers chimed in tandem from the back.
Suddenly, one of them flicked his wrist, tossing a small, metallic cylinder straight at Jeanne's head.
Recognizing the shape, Jeanne instinctively swung her banner, swatting the object back toward the Dublinn squad like a baseball. The moment it left her spear, however, a flash of regret hit her.
It wasn't a bomb. It was a trap.
Bang!
The canister exploded in midair, instantly releasing a dense, suffocating cloud of purple chemical smoke that engulfed the entire street.
"Retreat! Move!" Harmonie's voice shouted from within the haze.
The Dublinn officers scrambled to flee, but when they tried to pull their leader along, they found her still frozen stiff as a statue. Frustrated, Mandragora used her earth Arts to lift the immobilized Draco into the air, carrying her along as they fled into the side streets.
"How is she still following us?!" the officer known as the Toxicologist yelled, tossing another smoke grenade over his shoulder.
Behind them, Jeanne moved through the thick fog as if she possessed night vision, cutting through their paths without missing a beat.
"Mandragora, take the leader and split off down the east alley!" Harmonie ordered, her eyes narrowing as she analyzed the situation.
The enemy's command had targeted their Draco specifically. That meant Jeanne likely possessed a way to track the Draco's unique presence or energy.
Harmonie needed to test her theory. Even if it meant using Mandragora and their fake leader as bait, she had to confirm if this woman was their natural enemy!