Rose was quite familiar with the intricate underground escape tunnels under the capital.
After all, she'd been taught how to navigate them if it ever came to it. However, these tunnels were not connected to the concentration camp, and so, the other members of her squad had patiently dug a hole nearby to connect to it.
Rose, Clara and several others were now walking along those tunnels having jumped down the hole.
Shadow would have ample strength to deal with Maximilian. Rose couldn't imagine Shadow losing to him. If there wasn't that issue considering Cid, she would've trusted him fully even. She might've even been in awe and respected Shadow for his strength alone.
But Cid-- was he truly in a safe place?
It was worrying.
But for now, she just had to trust that Shadow wasn't lying. She couldn't abandon her duty and go searching for Cid.
Still, if Cid really was safe as Shadow claimed, it raised even more question.
Why was that Slime there? What reason did Shadow have to make a faux Cid?
Rose didn't understand.
Could it be-- Cid and Shadow were connected somehow…? Rose thought back on her image of Cid. She couldn't see anything about him that would be related to Shadow.
Before long, they had made it to the location where her squad members would be waiting.
Small holed leading to the surface was the only source of light in these tunnels.
There was a figure in black propped up against a wall.
"... 664?"
Rose let down Batt from her back and slowly approached the figure.
"Where is 665? What…!?"
The woman in black who was sitting with her back to the wall was definitely her squat leader, 664.
She was injured. Blood had drenched the wall behind her.
"664!? What happened here!?"
Rose quickly crouched down to her.
"...-un." said 664 in a weak voice.
She was breathing, at least.
"I'll help you right now!"
"R-...-un, 666.!"
"Eh?"
And then, something came.
From a direction where no one was supposed to be, one man suddenly came walking.
"... What!?"
He had practically no presence. Rose couldn't comprehend how he'd appeared as if from thin air.
It was almost as if he was there all along.
"Seems Maximilian failed."
Said the man, looking at Clara and her troupe.
It was a cold voice.
He was a tall man, with hair white as snow swept to the back of his head.
He had a sort of chilling beauty to him.
"... 665!?"
Rose's cry echoed into the tunnels.
The man was holding 665 in one hand.
"She was a disappointment too."
He said as he threw down the beaten woman at Rose's feet.
"--!"
Rose quickly caught 665 as she fell and checked her breathing.
"...ugh."
She was unconscious but breathing, yes.
"I'll make you pay!!"
"S-stop, don't fight him, 666!"
664 cried out to her as she was drawing her sword.
"Why!?"
"You, can't beat him… he is… Mordred."
"Eh!?"
Rose was aghast and stared at the man, who in turn gave her a curt bow.
"I am indeed Mordred. It is a pleasure… Princess Rose."
Behind Rose, the people following Clara stirred. Rose asked Clara to lead them a safe distance away.
"... You have the wrong person."
"I see, if that is how you want it, I shall comply."
Rose glowered at Mordred, who in turn looked at her with a bemused expression.
"Shadow Garden… so the organization opposing us has come here too. Rather than the Key of the Oriana, I personally find you bunch much more interesting."
"... Key of Oriana?"
"Did Shadow Garden not intervene in this war for the sake of obtaining the Key? Oh, perhaps you didn't know?"
Rose didn't answer.
She had become a member of Shadow Garden, but that didn't mean she knew everything. Shadow Garden was a large organization. The Seven who lead them all held unbelievable strength, and the special forces known as the Numbers all had strength equal or surpa.s.sing that of Rose. Rose was only a single cog in the machine.
Still, this Key of Oriana seemed to be something that could concern her personally. Would they fill her in on it if she asked?
"I will not reveal anything. We need to be somewhere."
They had many injured. Mordred was clearly stronger than she could handle, but she could at least buy time for them. Rose drew her sword.
"Don't fight, leave me and go..."
"Leader..."
"Y-yeah, I'm your squad leader, and that's an order..."
664 weakly got to her feet and stood in front of Rose.
Mordred observed the two with cold eyes.
"I am interested in Shadow Garden, as I've said. Much more so than the Key..."
"... So you will block our path?"
"As one of the Order, I mustn't let you run free. But I believe letting you go now would be quite beneficial to me."
"Meaning?"
"My interest in Shadow Garden is quite deep. I'm specifically interesting in your leadership, The Seven."
Mordred said with a cold grin.
"... Yes, she was quite enjoyable indeed."
"... Enjoyable?"
"Yes, very. So much that I'm willing to let you go past me."
Mordred retrieved something from his pocket.
As he opened his palm, something drifted down from it. Bright like spring water-- they were strands of hair.
And rose happened to know someone with such beautiful and strange hair.
"Wait, that's--"
That clear springwater hair was that of Epsilon.
"She was… quite enjoyable." kuku, Mordred chortled.
"Go on, pa.s.s at your leisure. The Doem Faction and Royalists will clash soon enough. However, this is not your ordinary civil war."
Mordred was beginning to shimmer into the background.
"This is a proxy war between the Order and Shadow Garden… how fun."
He disappeared, leaving only dry laughter.
"So that's, Mordred..."
It will become an increasingly difficult battle with him around, Rose thought.