Climb the ladder.

Once again, you're made to look straight up her dress as she goes up first. About halfway up, you feel a tug on your pant leg. You peek down to see the barely visible face of Vivi scowling back up in your direction.

"She's trying to help us, and you're staring up her dress, huh?" Vivi says.

"But I--"

You're cut off by Mina's boot driving directly down into your face. She squeaks in panic.

"I wanna see!" Fang shouts.

You hold your nose and groan. "I literally have nowhere else to look! If I don't look up, I can't see where I'm climbing."

Mina purses her lips and glances away with colour across her face. "... Sorry. You're right. I didn't mean to hurt you like that."

You hear Vivi giggling. And then Delphi.

"Come on, guys. We need to keep moving," says Lala. "We don't want to be caught."

Delphi flutters right past you and stops around Mina's rear visible beneath her dress. She smirks and looks back down. "Well, I can see why you can't help yourself. But how would you even fit in there? She's so small." Then she holds out her hand and a purple rope manifests from her body. She swings it forward and gives the mouse a sudden smack on the cheeks.

Mina squeaks again, but this time scurries up with lightning speed towards the top of the ladder. She moves away a flat down and crawls to the surface before turning off her goggle's light. Her eyes follow you closely as she pulls the goggles back up to her forehead.

"Sorry about her," you grunt as you heave yourself up as well.

"That wasn't very nice," Mina mutters as she rubs her butt.

"I barely hit her!" Delphi exclaims.

"Y-Yeah it didn't hurt, but it still surprised me." She clears her throat and gestures ahead. "Tada! We're a good distance south from the city now. Just head out from here and go wherever you'd like. Shadow Garden watches out for their own." She follows you a distance forwards before she stops and bows.

"Thanks for helping us," you say.

"And uh. I promise I won't eat you!" Fang says with a snicker. "Unless..."

At last you've made it out of Tolis, and with both girls no less. You had to enlist help from a criminal syndicate, but that's basically what you are anyway. Now you just need to hurry back to Castle Phoenix for some much needed rest. It's been a long couple days.

Though as you move forwards, a strange feeling washes over you. It's like a tingle down your spine.

"What's wrong?" Vivi asks. "Forget something?"

"Don't move!" a voice shouts out from seemingly nowhere.

Three figures stand ahead, though they almost seem to fade in and out of existence. Each has pure black skin and hair with dark clothing as well. They wield heavy crossbows, and each is aimed directly at your party. They're loaded and ready to fire. Shadri! You remember running into one back in the cave. Tom explained that they can become entirely undetectable as long as they don't move a muscle, making them excel at functioning as living traps. It's an ambush.

You hesitate. One wrong word and someone could be shot. While you feel like you might be able to dodge them, it's not impossible they'll aim for Fang or even Mina. Anyone. If you even draw your sword right now, one of them might be hurt or worse.

To make matters worse, the bad feeling isn't going away. There's something else.

"... Kyle," Lala whispers. "There are guards coming."

"What?" you reply.

"Behind us. They're marching."

Shit! Somehow we were found out. The new king really has been cracking down on crime. Maybe he squeezed something out of somebody in Shadow Garden. We're surrounded now. We can try to run and hope nobody is shot, but they'll chase us for sure. If we stay and fight, the regular guards will catch up.

One final figure appears behind the others. It's a fourth shadri, though this one is a woman with long, flowing hair, like a cloak of shadow wafting in the breeze behind her form. Her clothes are black like the rest, though clearly more regal--fancy leathers, tightly wrapped around her chest, armour plate over her shoulder, and trousers with guards over her knees. She wears long gloves with her elbows protected as well. Her top, however, is cut just beneath her bust, showing her obsidian midriff and the tiny white piercing through her navel. Though it is difficult to make out details from this distance given her entire ensemble and body matching in shade, you can see her cleavage as well above the cut of her armour.

Her eyes are a piercing, vacant white, and she holds a crossbow of her own under her arm. Though she doesn't even have it aimed. "You have nowhere to run. Surrender now, or we'll eliminate all of you without hesitation." Her voice is loud and commanding.

You clench your teeth as you try to concoct a plan.

She continues. "I am Captain Stinga, leader of His Majesty's special operations unit. Did you really think a Demon King could march right into the capital of Tivera, destroy part of a noble family's manor, break a prisoner out from the royal dungeon, and then escape unharmed? The very idea is insulting!"

"Wh-What is happening?" Mina mumbles. "This isn't right at all. I don't want to go to jail!"

"Nobody's going to jail," you state.

"I beg to differ," says the Captain. "There's no way out. Put your hands up, get on your knees, and come quietly."

"I never came here to harm anyone," you explain. "I only came to rescue two of my friends. One was imprisoned by her own family. They destroyed their own manor by the way. The other was wrongly imprisoned by the king just for coming to talk. She's supposed to be a knight, as am I! What kind of game is this new king playing, huh? I never did anything to begin with. This whole thing is bullshit!"

"Your words are venom, like a snake. You're a Demon King. A danger to everyone. I don't know what you did to subjugate these girls and get them to follow you, but I feel sorry for them. Without their Demon King, the others will be without defense. We'll march to your lair and take them all to the dungeons!"

"Leave them out of it!"

"We really are with him by our own choice!" Lala shouts. "I promise you. I know justice, and despite his title, Kyle is a real hero."

Captain Stinga scowls. "Move in, men."

"Kyle, the guards behind are getting closer," Delphi whispers.

I've had enough.

"Get them!" shouts the Captain.

You hear the sounds of running behind you--dozens of armoured suits clinking. The shadri aim their crossbows and march. There's no way to fight everyone without somebody on your team getting injured, but now there's definitely no way to run. You squint, focus your body and mind, and suddenly everything grows quiet. You can feel your enemies closing in, but you can also sense something afar. It's like your mind is stretching--locking onto something in the distance. It's something familiar and heart-warming. You've never felt so attached to so many people. It's like they're calling out to you. Eva is back home somewhere, probably embarrassing herself. Niki too, likely shouting at someone, laughing, maybe breaking something. Amara keeps them all together with her warm smile and soft voice. There are so many others as well. No matter what, you won't fall and let them be hurt. It isn't going to happen.

Quickly, you snatch Fang's arm, and then Lala's too. You grab Vivi and hold her close while Delphi throws her arms around your shoulder. Finally, you feel something small impact your back as arms wrap around to your stomach. The sound of crossbows fire. Weapons draw from behind.

With everybody around you, the land around you warps and stretches. Sound distorts. You lower yourself down, and with all of your might, you jump.