[center][h2]Lyaeus (4)[/h2][h3]Academy[/h3][@Argonaut][/center]
As they arrived, the world around them had distorted. It was recognizable, the barrier that had painted itself over space was a component of the larger system that had been destroyed not long ago. For it to be this quickly recreated, it had to be a Noble Phantasm of some sort. 

Troublesome, certainly, but not insurmountable. 

...Their forward advance was halted, though, as they realized precisely what it was that they stood within. 

The spirits of children, shackled to one's whim. Bound to service even after death. 

Robbed of their lives. Robbed of their very self. 

[color=bc8dbf]"Unforgivable."[/color]

The flute of the Caster did not seem to faze them, their minds unaffected as they advanced, but the existence of that damnable territory certainly did. It was a feeling that was new to the Beast, and yet one that it had already become accustomed to: hatred. 

For one who dares to shackle others into their thrall, to bind them even after death, to stand as if he is a king over a monument of tragedy, it cannot be forgiven. There would be no heartfelt appeal. 

As the tail of a rat came to bind one of them, they acted. However, they did not act to stop their member from being dragged off. 

This is because, no matter how tightly that rat tail wound around the Lyaeus's foot, no matter how hard it pulled, the being did not budge in the slightest. There was not even the strain that would indicate that it was struggling to remain in place, even slightly. Rather than resisting the bind of that tail... 
 
...it was more as though the restriction of the tail [b]was not permitted to impose on its reality[/b].

As for their own action, then-

Their will stretched outwards. Their eyes cut through the world. See the desires and hopes of the living and the dead. See the nature inherent to that order they are born to oppose. See the red strings that connect all things. See the laws that dare to shackle mankind. 

-And, [b]shatter them[/b].

It took no longer than a single-action. Without warning, the connection that the Pied Piper possessed to each of the rats scurrying around the confines of the academy was severed. 

This was not something for him to be concerned about. After all, given his abilities and proximity, he could almost certainly reestablish those contracts in no more than a single-action after realizing they had been cut. It was a mild annoyance, but the time needed to sever on the part of the Lyaeus and the time needed to reform on the part of the Piper would likely come out to equal, so it had no chance of turning the tide of a battle. 

That would have only been the case, though, if all that had been cut was the Piper's connection to the rats. Beyond that, something else was broken. 

Ordinarily, interfering with a great Noble Phantasm at the micro level should have been impossible. And yet, that was exactly what had occurred. For, that law of the Pied Piper's Noble Phantasm, the rule of its reality that shackled those spirits and grudges into its domain, had been broken. Everything that connected them to this damned space was shattered, and so, those trapped children dissipated away. Even a familiar master of the Pied Piper's caliber could not recapture them before that had occurred. 

[color=bc8dbf]"...I am sorry, but don't worry. You'll all be brought back to life, after this is done."[/color]

One of them murmured out those words before the grudge cannons, robbed of their ammunition but at least still fueled with unprocessed magical energy, met their targets. The Lyaeus were caught up in the bombardment, having been too occupied with freeing those children to mount a proper defense for themselves.

When the smoke cleared, the Lyaeus still stood, worse for wear from the attack but still very much alive. Even with the weakened output of the cannons, they seemed to have taken less damage than would be expected; perhaps one of them had managed to throw up a shield at the last second.

However, now they had nothing to distract them from their task. Their eyes cut through the territory, staring squarely up at the Piper from where he stood atop the school. There was no doubt that their next move would be made with the intent to kill.