100 A good old friend

The event with Tiana's father left both girls mentally and physically drained. They sat on the sofa in silence, neither knowing what to say nor wanting to produce any sounds. An unpleasant stench of blood filled the room.

Some ten minutes later, the guards began to wake up, so Orisa made a round and knocked them out once more. When she got back, Tiana was absentmindedly staring at her father's corps, so Orisa decided to ask:

\"How… are you feeling?\"

\"Um?\" Tiana finally remembered that she wasn't alone here. \"Oh, forgive me. I think I… should be alright. W-w-we need to store the data.\"

\"Don't you worry about silly things. I'll do it myself, and you just rest here.\"

\"No, let me help. I need to… to g-g-get my mind off the thing.\"

Orisa took the backpack with the device, and turned to Tiana expectantly. The girl stopped by her father's body once more and gave it a long look. Then her gaze switched to Orisa, who felt too uncomfortable in this ongoing silence and said:

\"I think you did what you had to.\"

\"I know,\" Tiana answered after a long pause. Together, they went to look for the vault's access room.

Half an hour later, the girls were done with the extraction and returned to the main hall. With a sting of pity and guilt, Orisa noticed how Tiana shivered slightly from the sight in front of her. That was when they heard footsteps from the corridor. Both girls tensed immediately and took battle stances, but the guest left them speechless.

\"What the hell is going on?!\"

Out of breath, sweaty and somewhat ragged, Kanai was standing speechless in the corridor.

\"Kanai..? What are you doing here? How...\" Orisa asked.

\"No time for this. We need to get out and fast unless you haven't finished the task yet,\" Kanai continued with the raised voice.

\"W-w-were are...\" Tiana muttered uneasily, baffled.

\"Hurry up - we need to leave ASAP. What's wrong with you people?\" Kanai went to take the backpack from Orisa and finally noticed the corpse. \"Wow, you did a number on him. Who is this guy?\"

Tiana flinched. Her gaze was wandering between the body, Orisa, and Kanai, not knowing what to say or how to explain everything. In the end, she looked at Orisa with pleading eyes and turned away. Still shocked herself, Orisa let out a painful sigh and said:

\"It's Tiana's father. For some reason, he was waiting for possible intruders here.\"

\"Oh... shit. Oh, fuck.\" Kanai approached Tiana and lightly hugged her around the shoulders. \"I'm so sorry, Tiana. That's horrible, even though he...\"

Kanai shut up, realizing what he had almost said in such an inappropriate moment. While still hugging Tiana, he subtly gestured to Orisa a question: 'Was it you or her?' Orisa pointed at Tiana, and Kanai's expression darkened even more. He quickly distanced himself from the girl and spoke:

\"I know it's... Well, honestly, it all coincided horribly, but we are in deep shit and need to leave fast. The city is under attack, and Beasts are already inside.\"

\"WHAT?!\"

\"Yeah. Nowa thinks it's all part of this knight's plan. Something about being unable to go against us one on one and bringing an army into a trap instead. I don't know and don't care. But Nowa says we can't leave the city be since it's our fault.\"

\"Doesn't look like him, though,\" Orisa said thoughtfully.

\"It does look like he has something else on his mind, sure, but we have his orders either way.\"

\"W-w-what should w-w-we do?\" Tiana asked, slowly returning back to her usual self..

\"Great minds work in mysterious ways, so, coincidentally, there is a breach in the wall, and Beasts are coming through the hole. Nowa and most of AOG are fighting there, but from what we know from the reports, half of the Beasts' horde is rushing through the main underground gate. We need to reinforce this part.\"

\"I see. Okay, but should we really be leaving things like this?\" Orisa asked and gave the hall another long look.

\"We don't have time and... Honestly, what can we do?\" said Kanai with a heavy voice. Together with Orisa, they turned their heads at Tiana.

\"What do you want to do with his body?\" Orisa asked.

\"Let's leave it here. He doesn't deserve anything better,\" she said after a short pause while giving her dead father one last look. \"But we need to at least take his g-g-guards out before locking the shelter.\"

\"Locking? You mean… you want to leave his body locked here?\" Kanai was thunderstruck. He couldn't recognize Tiana.

\"Yes.\"

\"Well, if you insist… Okay, let's take them out. I hope they won't give us trouble later.\"

---

---

The vault was buried deep underground, which had prevented the girls from hearing outside noises before. When they finally got out of the facility, they were almost overwhelmed by the commotion: an alarm call was ringing, accompanied by sounds of distant fighting, spellcasting, explosions, and shouts. The air was filled with smoke. Although the actual combat was taking place relatively far away, occasional Beasts had made it that far, leaving broken and burning buildings all over the city. Even the mansion was damaged.

\"Maria is here!\" Tiana exclaimed the moment she saw the damaged house.

\"There has been only one Beast as far as I know, and all the guards pulled back to protect residents, so I'm sure she is fine. And we have our orders,\" Kanai said.

\"Orisa...\" Tiana's pleading gaze made Orisa's heart sink. They both couldn't afford to lose another member of Tiana's family today. With that in mind, Orisa turned to Kanai:

\"We are going ahead, and Tiana will catch up with us in a few minutes.\"

Kanai nodded reluctantly, and Orisa turned to Tiana: \"Make haste. While we've sealed the vault's door, I don't want to take unnecessary risks - if he wasn't the only one who had access, there would be an uproar when his body is discovered.\"

Tiana's face expression darkened again, but she nodded and ran towards the mansion. Orisa and Kanai left the yard through the now unguarded staff entrance without any difficulties and ran towards the underground gate.

\"Aren't you worried about her?\" asked Kanai.

\"Well, a bit. But Tiana is quite capable, you know? Also, there are tons of guards in the mansion. She should be okay.\"

\"That's that, but I was talking about, you know, her father and stuff. What really happened there?\"

\"She is tough, I believe in her,\" answered Orisa with a strained voice and hung her head.

\"Hey? What's up with you? What happened?\"

\"Please, I...\"

\"Oh, hm, sorry. Well, uh, I'm here for you in any case, alright?\"

\"I know, thanks.\"

They continued jogging in silence, passing by occasional Beast corpses or destroyed buildings. Not many creatures made it this far into the city but still managed to cause enough damage to the streets. After several more minutes, Kanai decided that Orisa looked less distressed and said:

\"Onuki, Nene, and Nana are here. Marina and Shou pulled out of the whole AOG thing together.\"

\"Together? Like, together-together?\" she answered mostly in her usual voice.

\"Yep. Onuki said that they somehow got real close while we were out taking a breath in the wild.\"

\"Wow, that's so sudden. Can't say I'm not happy for Marina, but I hoped to meet her again.\"

\"What for?\" Kanai asked, his eyes narrowed in suspicion.

\"Love, are you for real? First Tiana, now Marina?\"

\"Exactly. Your pervertedness knows no limits.\"

\"Well, I mean... You aren't wrong, but that's different,\" Orisa chuckled and squeezed Kanai's palm for a moment. \"You know that you are one and only for me.\"

\"Stop with those lame and embarrassing pick-up lines already,\" Kanai shouted angrily while his cheeks burned crimson.

Since Tiana and Iten had joined them, Satoru and Mirai had had no quality time alone, making such rare exchanges even more embarrassing. Despite the outraged look at the beginning, a warm and happy smile made its way onto Kanai's face a few moments later. 'Seems I shouldn't neglect my romance duties,' Orisa thought while enjoying the smile.

On their way to the square, they made a small detour and dropped their luggage in one of the backup hideouts according to the contingency plan. The place wasn't completely empty since someone had already unloaded their belongings there as well, showing that people of AOG were strictly following the plans.

The closer they were getting to the gates, the louder it became, and the more people were fleeing from there. Soon the pair encountered a block post that was also serving as an evacuation coordination knot - soldiers and guards were instructing feeling people on the direction and necessary steps while preventing people from getting back to the gates.

\"Turn back, it's dangerous here,\" stated a soldier when Orisa and Kanai tried to pass.

\"We are from The Hounds and were ordered to come and help,\" Kanai answered in a matter-of-fact voice, placing himself above the soldier immediately. \"Status report on the situation at the gates.\"

\"Sir! I don't know much since I have been stationed there the whole time, forgive me. I've heard that both Guardians and Crusaders there, and evacuation is mostly over, sir.\"

\"Good job, keep going,\" he said and marched forward. Orisa followed him, carefully hiding her smile. She loved the moments when Mirai turned all serious and leading. They walked away from the post, and then Kanai turned to Orisa: \"Two top groups out of four possible are here. Do you think we should go there?\"

\"Well, I think it's okay. As long as there are no Inquisitors, we should be fine. Anyway, we'll first check the situation and just walk away if it will look like everything's under control.\"

\"Oh, yep. What could possibly go wrong when two strongest raids are defending the gate.\"

\"Dude! What the fuck? Now we are doomed,\" Orisa shouted angrily and kicked Kanai's feet.

\"You are too hung up on red flags. It isn't some Attack on Titans situation.\"

\"Like, really? You are talking about Titans when we are inside a city surrounded by giant walls with monsters rampaging outside? I just can't believe it...\" Orisa palmed her face and let out a long sigh. \"Look, if some random giant monster pops out from behind those walls, I'm taking our dear Tiana and going back to my mom.\"

\"Wow, not to mom! Anything but that.\"

The closer they got to the Gate Square, the more intense things became around them - soldiers were running back and forth with boxes containing supplies from storages, medics kept bringing injured into shielded areas used as hospitals. More buildings in this area had sustained damage or were completely destroyed. And corpses of Beasts complimented the picture.

\"Looks like those walls aren't good enough,\" Kanai said.

\"I told you so, dude.\"

The pair finally arrived at the square in front of the underground gate's entrance. It appeared exactly as they were expecting - people there were constantly swapping each other in small groups, entering and leaving the tunnel non-stop, and a separated division was treating the wounded. Among those people, the ones belonging to top groups could be distinguished easily by their unified and expensive-looking gear. And a thick flow of Mana was coming out of the entrance, making Orisa slightly nauseous and hinting on the insane amount of magic and Beasts there.

\"I know it's kinda too late, but is it really okay for you to go there without a tag?\" asked Kanai.

\"Pfft, do you really think people here have time to check these things? Plus, I have the paper on me. In the worst-case scenario, Tiana will be here to get me out.\"

\"That's true, but I still don't get Nowa. Why the hell should we do all this?\"

\"Who knows, dude, who knows...\"

Orisa had been wondering about the question for some time but hadn't arrived at any plausible answer, looking puzzled herself. It was definitely one of Nowa's schemes that Orisa couldn't make sense of because everything they were doing now was dangerous and ill-conceived. Despite that, she wasn't worried that much since Nowa had earned her trust and due to her already tarnished mental state from the earlier events regarding the Supreme Commander. She resolved to be reactive with the situation instead of being proactive.

\"Who is in charge of the operation?\" Kanai asked the closest guard when they reached the center of the square. The man only pointed in the general direction, but it already became evident even without his help.

A small crowd of knights of white and grey armor stood around two people going through a heated argument. One of them, a man with grey hair gathered in a knot, was wearing heavy white armor and holding a two-handed sword in his hand. In front of him stood a woman with a tight white ponytail clad in an even heavier-looking grey armor set. Unlike the man, she was holding a tower shield and a morning star.

\"Thora, calm down already,\" the man said.

\"The hell is that supposed to mean?! Pipe down yourself and stop messing up my orders!\" The woman's mighty shout shook the surroundings.

\"You are the one not following the plan.\"

\"Listen well, Freyar, and listen well for this is the last time I'm saying this - take your crapload of a plan and shove it up your ass.\"

\"We are fighting a horde of Beasts. Their behavior changes drastically when they are like that. You clearly don't know how to approach such an amount.\"

\"We are defending an objective, imbecile! You know nothing about proper defense, so shut up and leave it to a pro.\"

\"You have no experience with crowd controlling, Freya. Mobs require a different approach.\"

\"And you don't even know how to set up a proper perimeter and man a defensive line. Why is that important, your empty head might wonder. Because it's a fucking city defense!\"

\"Who are they? What's going on?\" Kanai quietly asked one of the knights.

\"Oh, you don't know? Thora and Freyar Ragnos, leaders of Paladins and Crusaders, respectively,\" a knight in white armor answered.

\"They have been like that for a good ten minutes,\" chuckled a caster in a grey robe.

\"Are they, like, siblings?\" Orisa raised an obvious question.

\"Worse,\" was a unanimous reply of all nearby soldiers.

\"Huh?! Who gave you permission to speak?\" Thora directed her thundering gaze towards the disturbance in the crowd. \"What's up with those weaklings? Throw them away and get back to work!\"

\"Um, I'm sorry for interrupting you, Miss Ragnos, we-,\" began Kanai.

\"HUH?! I didn't hear your mumbling!\"

\"The Hounds, reporting for duty, ma'am! Under direct orders from our captain, ma'am.\" Orisa stepped forward and reported in a soldier-like tone.

\"That sleazy crook is sending more men? Ugh, what's going through his head?\" Freyar sighed. \"Well, your Mana doesn't feel weak, at the very least.\"

\"Sir, what's the current situation, if I may?\" Kanai asked, picking up this gender-differentiated game.

Freyar gave Kanai a slightly surprised look, clearly not being used to answering questions. He glanced at Thora, but his wife was still fuming and only blasted another thunder gaze at him. Letting out another tired sigh, he gave a short account:

\"The tunnel is safe, but I expect Beasts to notice the situation soon and focus most of their attention on the walls.\"

\"Notice? You are saying it like they are being directed by someone,\" Kanai pointed out carefully.

\"It's not unusual for evolved Beasts to take control over small crowds. However, this horde is clearly abnormal. Which, on the other hand, changes nothing - we'll still need to take crowd control measures and-.\"

\"That's exactly why reinforcing our current positions and following my directions is a must!\" Thora exploded again.

\"So, should we head to the walls?\" Orisa quickly interjected before another round could start.

\"Whatever, I don't mind. Take the elevators to the left of the gate,\" Freyar said and turned to his officers. \"Inform groups through six to eight that when their shifts are over, they are to head on the walls.\"

\"Tell ours to do the same. Also, start bringing hand cannons as well.\" immediately echoed Thora by commanding her peers. She and Freyar exchanged glances, looking ready to start another argument, so Orisa swiftly pulled Kanai away and towards the lifts.

\"What a lovely pair,\" he noted when they were far enough from all the commotion.

\"Do you think we'll be like that, too?\" Orisa asked with a poker face.

Kanai bent forward in a coughing fit, looking like he was about to die. When he came round a few moments later, Orisa was practically rolling on the ground, laughing her lungs out.

\"You know what?!\" Kanai spat out angrily and went forward with a retaliation phrase, \"To become like that, we need to get married first.\"

\"Ew, gross. Why would you bring something like that up? Oh well, if you insist... Then you need to propose, I guess.\"

\"What?! Why me?\" Kanai was left with his mouth agape, silently staring at Orisa in outrage.

\"Who else, then? You are a man here, right?\"

\"What..? But I... You... Urgh, you are impossible!\"

Laughing even harder, Orisa sped up to catch up with Kanai, who had dashed forward while fuming angrily. They made it past the guards and into the elevator. Before she went inside, Orisa asked guards to spread the word that Tiana vas Kavenfenn might visit so they should guide her to the walls as well.

The sound of a battle was growing louder while they were going up inside the lift. The pair tensed up and went through the usual buffing routine. The elevator's doors opened into a small room where several wounded were lying on the floor, and a healer was tending their injuries under a strained look of several soldiers. Orisa shivered from revulsion when the healer turned her head to check the guests, but there was nowhere to hide or run, and her new dyed hairstyle failed to deceive the person in front of her.

\"What the hell?! What are you... Guards! Arrest her for she is a dangerous criminal,\" their beloved sugar princess in her usual pink dress screamed on top of her voice.