Look back through.

Zazra whips her head up to a figure standing atop the castle wall. Though before she can leap into action, an arrow flies. It whistles through the air at alarming speed right towards the group, and it's reading straight towards the forehead of Raleza. While succubi are demons, and demons are durable, that doesn't mean they're at all invincible. In the last moment, her eyes widen, and fear strikes her body, but she's unable to dodge--not before the impact.

The arrow pierces straight into the lower chest of Thomas as he leaps through the air with an inhuman swiftness to stop the shot. His leather armour absorbs some of the impact, though he falls to the ground with a groan and a thud with both hands grasping at his own torso.

No assassins my ass! Who would--

You flutter up and stare as intensely as you can until you make out the image of a second ALICE armed with a bow and quiver.

Taiga remains behind to guard and aid the wounded man, as does Raleza, but Mipa is already off. Zazra might as well have been an earthquake, because the sounds of her giant footfalls feel as if they're causing the ground to tremble. Koblix isn't far off either, though he's taking an alternative route, perhaps to cut them off. It'll be a difficult chase, however, as she by far has the high ground, and the golem girl's manufactured body has stamina beyond an ordinary woman. She bolts along the stone walkway, and another arrow is let loose towards Mipa. With a quick swipe, however, the goblin cuts the attack down with her axe. Then the ALICE turns her ankle, leaps, and attempts a quick retreat off the other side.

She's caught before she can. The moment her feet leave the ground, two winged figures snatch her up, followed by two more following behind. The harpies have appeared, and the skies are their domain. They bring their target back towards the courtyard where they drop her not far from the rest, trapping her in the circle of soldiers that has formed during the chase.

Her best escape is past Zazra, which is also her worst. She may be fast, but the oni cuts her off with a hulking swipe of her weapon, forcing the golem to retreat back yet again. So instead, she bolts to the left, towards the shadow of the wall in hopes she finds a different means of escape. Like you've seen before, one of her arms transitions into that of an arcane laser canon, and she holds it up towards the stone--aiming to find her own doorway.

It charges, but then a claw grasps it and pulls it down, forcing her to cease lest she blow herself up.

The ALICE turns her cyan gaze up to the looming visage of Catherine the high vampire.

"I've been meaning to speak with your supposed Demon King," she says calmly yet her face tells a different story. "It's in regards to the queen." Then her attention rises up, and she looks to the other captives at the same time as Zazra.

Both of them say, "Look out!" as the first ALICE stands, free from the tattered, broken rope.

Once again, things come to a sudden change. She freezes in place. Everyone thought the ALICE was about to escape, but instead she stops moving, shakes, trembles, and then falls to her back rolling back and forth. She rises up again, but stares blankly now. "Hello," she says with a wave of her hand.

Thomas stares up, still groaning in pain. "What the--"

"Oh. It is me," she says. "Meladarai Tlarthanil. Though, I do not think I can hold her for long like this."

"Spooky... Ow."

Raleza strokes her fingers over his forehead and back through his hair. "Stop speaking, silly boy. You'll heal up soon."

That's all of them. Wow. What is this feeling? Am I proud of everyone? Nothing went horribly wrong. That doesn't happen often.

Meanwhile, Lady Vex tugs on your sleeve. "Heey. So Kyle, can you go ahead and let my spy go?"

You switch back and try not to feel nauseous while doing so. "No."

"What?!" She places her hands on her hips and glares into your eyes like a spoiled brat throwing a tantrum. "Spying is a victimless crime!"

"Shouldn't have gotten caught."

William can't help but smirk slightly. "He's right, you know."

Vex grabs his coat with both hands. "Yours was caught too, you dumbass."

This is exhausting. You look back to the battle royale, having missed a bit during the chaos. From what you can tell, Stax has become surrounded inside the same cylinder, with a Kis-sa body on each side ready to obliterate her. Their bodies are covered in a sticky, white substance, which they don't seem to be stoked about either. You drop connection with the Arcane Eye knowing Alice is here in case something else comes up, and while Thomas was wounded, but it didn't look fatal thank goodness. For now, Stax needs your support, though you can't help but feel anxious having to split your attention.

"Let me know what they say about Tom's condition," you say to Alice. Then with a deep breath, you cup your hands around your mouth and shout, "Kick some ass, Stax!"