In a secret passageway of a stately home, a copper-haired woman and a man with dark blue eyes walk side by side toward a futuristic-looking gray door. Two agents with golden crow emblems escorted the two from behind until they had entered and the door closed automatically.
"Davina told me about Harris's peculiar disappearance."
The dark blue-eyed man spoke to a man on the chair with a hint of annoyance. "I know you always keep your ear to the ground, but why didn't you tell me, Drey?"
The man sitting on the high chair opposite the two turned his chair around, staring at them with his cold gray eyes.
"Because I stayed out of the headquarters' sight. Our confidential deal was put at even greater risk because of your appearance amid the commotion Harris caused," Drey answered.
The woman frowned. "Whatever deals you made in the past, if the life of a SURVIVE agent is at stake, that deal just doesn't make sense."
"Don't you get my point, Alessia?"
Drey rose from his seat while looking cynically at the two of them.
"To all of us, you two were always our buried hopes. You however want to discuss life?"
Veron advanced in front of Drey, staring coldly at the man who was not at all afraid of him and gave them a cynical smile.
"There will be a lot of tombstones in the yard if you're caught standing on the ground, Veron."
"What if I had exposed myself to the opposition?"
Drey was wide-eyed. He grabbed Veron by the collar, but it didn't make him flinch a bit.
"Do you really mean what you say?" he asked in a deep voice and sharp gaze. "We've been struggling and pretending for dozens of years so that you and the woman you cherish more than us would be safe, but that's how you repay?!"
Drey let go of Veron's collar and stepped back with an incredulous look. He sat in his chair, massaging his forehead.
"Please, Drey, don't worry about us."
Drey narrowed his eyes. "Alessia… you and Veron have a daughter. Am I correct?"
One sentence from him managed to silence both of them.
When he looked back at them, especially at Alessia who looked wary, Drey said again, "No one knows, I swear. Hence, please just live quietly like a normal family and leave the matter regarding Harris to me."
"We were never a normal family, Drey."
Drey's breath caught in his throat when Alessia said that while smiling bitterly at him.
"We all were. Me, Veron, you, and the rest of the SURVIVE agents..."
She hung her words and raised her hands low for a moment with a wry smile before letting them hang limply next to her body and walking toward the slowly opening door.
Veron looked back at Drey after making sure his spouse had passed through the corridor intersection.
"It's not your fault," Veron said.
"I know," Drey glanced resentfully at Veron. "It's all yours."
"Then let me finish what I've started. Only then, I will come to you to apologize," Veron continued.
Drey's face turned sour while the dark blue-eyed man only gave him a brief smile while maintaining his composure. Veron then left the room, leaving Drey frowning and clenching his fists.
***
On the deck of a ship moving toward the setting sun, a shoulder-length haired girl stood and crossed her arms over the railing. Her distant gaze lingered on the memory of her being with someone on the way back from Bouville. Then she sighed.
When she raised low a small vial of light textured crystal clear liquid, her gaze instead fell onto the bracelet around her wrist. She closed her eyes, imagining the cool breeze as falling snow. She could see a pair of hazel eyes and a warm smile at a distance, driving the darkness away. But someone, whom she didn't find in the darkness, suddenly called out her name.
"Brissia!"
She opened her eyes as Debora tapped her on the shoulder.
"Have you remembered everything?"
Brissia nodded, causing her to heave a sigh of relief.
"Thank goodness. I can't imagine if we didn't find that cure," Debora said, took the vial in Brissia's hand, then looked at it half relieved and half tired.
"Congratulations on getting your memory back."
Both Brissia and Debora turned their heads and found Fayrl and Hansen walking toward them.
"The aristocratic boy's advice was worth a trip to such a remote place," Fayrl said, nodding in satisfaction.
Debora faced Fayrl with her hands on her hips.
"Don't call him that. He wouldn't like it."
"Okay, Mrs. Stuart."
Hansen and Brissia shook their heads at the sight of Debora pursing her lips and Fayrl snickering at her. But suddenly, the sound of Hansen's watch caught their attention.
"What is it?"
Hansen's face became tense.
"Marius Pagan... declares a war."
Fayrl flinched. As her smile faded, rage filled her eyes. Her knuckles whitened, especially when she clutched the hands of two people close to her.
"Hey! What are you doing?!"
Debora gaped in disbelief as Fayrl ignored her question and continued to look forward. Her entire body was also emitting a soft blue that brought shiver down her spine.
"Brissia, hold Debora's hand," Fayrl commanded softly.
"I don't think it's a good idea," Brissia chirped.
Fayrl glanced at her indifferently, placing Brissia's hand on Debora's wrist, which made their faces even more tense. Just as she was about to take a step, a stronger hand suddenly held her wrist firmly.
"She's right, Fayrl. It could be a trap," Hansen stated as he fixed his gaze on her.
Fayrl stared unblinkingly at Hansen. Unlike her calm gaze, Hansen's eyes showed unconditional concern.
Meanwhile, Brissia and Debora stared at each other. After a moment, they nodded together and were about to touch the back of Fayrl's hand when...
"Hold on tight."
The three of them widened their eyes before a bright blue light enveloped their bodies, obliterating them from the deck. They were transported to a semi-outdoor hallway next to SURVIVE's backcourt, where they could hear the commotion of the agents' crowd.
Fayrl widened her eyes when a pair of hands turned her body to face someone.
"What have you done?!" Hansen muttered, shocked and enraged.
Ignoring Debora and Brissia who were rushing in the other direction, Fayrl brushed off Hansen's hand and took a step forward toward him. "We must bring this dispute to a halt."
"But does it have to be us?!" Hansen asked loudly.
"It have to!" Fayrl snapped. "Look at them!"
A loud, vengeful cheer turned Hansen to his side. In front of the crowd of his colleagues, a man stood with a gaze full of victorious desire.
"It's time to rouse them from their slumber! They don't deserve the peace we've granted them because they've unleashed the most dangerous menace!"
All the agents raised their hands and voices at him, making Hansen look at them in disbelief. Even though there were two among them who seemed silent, he no longer recognized the other agents who always hung out with him at the end of the day. Their tired but grateful smiles simply faded from his memory as his gaze swept over their faces.
"He's right! My beloved died in the ridiculous chaos that Algor District sparked!"
One of the two who had been silent in the middle of the crowd turned Brissia's head. The rustling sound of the day she lost someone she loved echoed in her ears. Without realizing it, she had ignored the red-haired girl next to her who tried to pull her away as an agent stared uncomfortably at them.
"Hansen."
The man straightened his gaze slowly back to the blonde girl in front of him.
"I already know your feelings to me, thanks to Brissia and Harris."
The man's eyes widened. He was about to hold Fayrl out of the hallway until he heard her speak again.
"But there are people I must fight for and a battle I need to win. So... sorry."
Hansen watched in silence as the blonde-haired girl walked toward the roar in the shade of light, in contrast to the dimness that suffocated him.
"You can't blame everyone on one person."
Various gazes turned to Fayrl as she walked in front of them. Their faces were painted with anger, disapproval, and other emotions indicating their dissatisfaction with Fayrl's words.
The man in front of them all, Marius, chuckled derisively. "Don't you ever wonder why so many of our agents have passed away before? It's because we have to close our eyes while someone acts!"
He paused for a moment as he stared determinedly at the agents in front of him.
"So, let's end it once and for all!"
His roar sparked a loud echo of the outrage behind her. That left Fayrl and a woman behind a window silent, despite the noise in their heads.
"Davina."
Someone's call from behind drew the woman's attention away from the window. She took the roll of paper that an agent with a blue emblem handed her, only to widen her eyes when she saw a photo of a girl and a black crow feather.
She quickly turned back to the window. A flock of black crows flew in the sky, approaching where all the agents had gathered to listen to their leader.
"Come, quickly! Get Benjamin!" she said as she ran out of her room.
The flapping of the crows' wings in the air silenced the cheering crowd. No less numerous than them, the crows flew over their heads. Until then, a light burst out in the middle of the crowd, blinding everyone in an instant.
As the light faded, dozen of agents were collapsing to the ground. The crowd of hundreds of people was divided into those who sought shelter and those who went to help their collapsed friends.
In the midst of the chaos, a woman walked leisurely to someone in front of them. The terror around her became a melody to her triumph as she saw the plot's executor cornered against the dividing wall.
"It's too late for you to take shelter, Pagan."
Brissia turned her head when she heard a familiar woman voice, but was pushed away by the agents who ran into the building in frantic. As soon as she caught Fayrl's presence, she released her power of blue light toward the purplish-haired woman even though she eventually missed.
Madame Ouden's glance prompted Marius to summon his powers into the sky. The flock of crows slowly moved away from the headquarters, although only for a moment because then something sharp stabbed him in the stomach.
"No!" Fayrl screamed as she swung her arms.
Just as the purplish black-haired woman was about to turn to the shouter, she was thrown quite far away from the two of them.
"Fayrl... back off!" Marius exclaimed while pressing on his wound. "It's an order!"
Rising from her position, Madame Ouden cackled.
"Hilarious. How are you going to wipe out the entire Algor District if your daughter alone is your weak..."
A gust of wind cut her words, turning her sharp gaze to the back side. Without anything, she had frozen Debora who was a meter away from her with her fist pointed forward. Then with just one movement of her hand, the dark-ruby haired girl was thrown quickly into a pillar.
"Debora!" cried Brissia and Hansen.
Hansen turned his head when he heard a familiar scream. "Brissia! Keep Fayrl safe!"
"Got it!" Brissia answered while swinging her hand toward the ground.
She jumped as the light exploded upward then pushed it toward Madame Ouden. After that, she approached Fayrl who had fallen limp on the ground, checked her pulse.
When Hansen helped Debora sit up, Debora winced in pain. "Damn it. I almost got that witch's neck," she hissed in annoyance.
Both of them turned at the overlapping thuds. A number of agents led by Brissia attacked Madame Ouden in formation. Most of them have blue emblems. At the top of that, the coordination of ordinary agents and special agents eliminated the opportunity for Madame Ouden to fight back.
"Hansen, help me up."
Hansen grabbed Debora's hand while looking at her worriedly. "Are you sure you can endure the pain?"
Debora laughed softly at that. "This is nothing compared to a narrow alley without sunlight," she mumbled.
They sped off, joining Brissia's agent formation. But not long after, the formation was broken by Madame Ouden's blast of wind.
Hansen, who was not affected, ran toward Madame Ouden's back with both arms outstretched to her, restraining her movement as she lifted Brissia and Marius into the air. But unfortunately, the angel of death glanced at him at the moment Madame Ouden turned to him.
"Argh!"
Madame Ouden's eyes flashed a purplish light as blue light radiated from Hansen's body. Hansen floated in the air when Brissia hit the ground. Without anyone getting in her way, Madame Ouden threw Hansen at Marius.
"Two strikes are always better than one," she said with a smirk.
"What about three?"
Debora knocked Madame Ouden down from afar. She lowered her palms as soon as Brissia directed a bluish light at Marius and Hansen. However, Fayrl was the only one aware of what Madame Ouden was muttering with her shining eyes.
"Brissia, stay away!"
As the blue light Brissia gave off seemed to devoured, Fayrl rushed to grab her waist. They disappeared together into another area just as an explosion of light destroyed part of the barrier wall.
"No..."
Fayrl withdrew her hand from Brissia who was lying on the hallway floor. The more steps she took toward the backcourt, the greater her disbelief at the absence of Hansen and Marius.
"Nooo!"
She quickly teleported toward Madame Ouden. Despite that her body was at its limit, she continued to attack her.
"Finally, I found your weakness, Young Mistress!" exclaimed Madame Ouden with a broad grin. "You're highly amusing when you're obsessed with vengeance and lose sight of the purpose of your power."
"Shut up!" Fayrl snapped.
A well-dressed man ran toward Brissia, making her look up slowly. "Brissia, we have to go, now!" he said as he pulled Brissia to her feet carefully. He took some time to look for Debora, but found her nowhere.
"Why... are you here?"
Benjamin shifted his gaze back to Brissia. "I'm obliged to get you out of here as soon as possible, Brissia."
The neatly dressed man rushed to carry Brissia out of the headquarters. He led her into the forest.
Those two broke through the drizzle to a place that started their journey at a different time. The place where the head of SURVIVE would have set it on fire, the district Brissia had weaved her memories of Archtier for the first time.