INTERMISSION
The Covered Moon and Clouded Sun
1
She was left with a sense of foreboding.
The previous moonless night had made her chest squeeze tightly and chills run through her.
“Annihilated? What do you even mean?”
She only had a little farther to go on the highway that cut across the continent.
In just less than an hour more of driving, she saw the Imperial checkpoint. She abruptly stopped the wagon in the middle of it, then dashed out from the driver’s seat.
Imperial territory, eighth checkpoint.
She looked up in the direction she was headed and gulped.
“Wait?! Lord Mask and Lady Kissing were there, and the forces were wiped out… What do you mean?!”
“We’re still collecting information…”
She was corresponding with the Zoa intelligence unit. While Shanorotte had left for the Empire, another unit stayed behind at the Moon Spire and watched the movements of the Lou and Hydra.
“We have lost communication with Lord Mask and the fifteen from the elite unit with him. We can’t get in touch with any of them.”
“This can’t be true…”
A cold sweat broke out on her forehead. She couldn’t believe it. The news was so unimaginable that her throat tightened, and her voice grew hoarse.
“B-but the Revered Founder is headed to the Imperial capital, isn’t she?! That was the whole reason why we decided now was the time to launch a surprise attack on the capital and free our captured brethren…”
“That was the plan.”
“And Lady Kissing was there, too! Even if the Imperial forces had sent out a Saint Disciple, they couldn’t have killed everyone!”
“That’s why we have no idea what’s going on, either!”
She heard a yell through the comm. On the other side of the line, she also heard someone hit a table.
“Shanorotte…go to the eighth checkpoint as planned.”
“And then?”
“If the elite unit was annihilated, you should see traces of the aftermath. Gather all the intel you can. Also…there is still a remote chance that they simply had malfunctioning comms and couldn’t get in touch with us.”
“And if that isn’t the case…?”
If it was true—if Lord Mask and Kissing and all the people they brought with them had been killed, what was she to do?
“ ”
The other end of the line was silent.
“Lord Growley, our leader, went missing during the Imperial forces’ palace raid. And Lord Mask took leadership as the proxy while the Zoa household was shaken by our head’s absence. The commanding officers, staff officers, and astral corps itself have their trust in him, and the Zoa household is currently centered around Lord Mask’s abilities.”
“That’s right.”
“And Lady Kissing is the Zoa’s special weapon. The Lou’s Aliceliese and the Hydra’s Mizerhyby… Only Lady Kissing could compete against them in the conclave.”
“So what? I’m asking you what’s going to happen. What happens if we’ve lost Lord Mask and Lady Kissing?!”
“ ”
The silence this time was longer. She had no idea how long she waited. Eventually, she heard a sigh of resignation from the other end of the line.
“Then the Zoa are as good as done.”
“…Huh?!”
Then she heard a thud, and the line went dead as she realized the comm had been thrown on the ground.
“This can’t be real… I should be the one throwing my comm down!”
Her thoughts were still in disarray. Her mind hadn’t been able to keep up with reality, and even she realized that she was blanking out. If she attempted to drive again in this state, she was certain to crash.
“What is happening…?”
She balled her hand into a fist. Shanorotte felt the pain of her fingernails digging into the palm of her hand, and she gritted her teeth.
“The end of the Zoa? I’d never accept that! Never!”
If—and only if—that happened, she’d take everyone down, too. She’d go out with a bang.
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