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Astrelle’s eyebrow twitched when she heard Nicole address her as ‘babe’, a moniker far too lax for her liking. Under normal circumstances, Astrelle might have briefly scolded her for the careless remark, but there were more pressing matters at hand. 

Vanna’s plan, as expected, was rational and well thought out despite the strenuous situation. It annoyed Astrelle that she couldn’t help but admire her fortitude as she actively fought against calamity, while Astrelle was a passive participant in it. Even so, there were parts of her instructions that she didn’t agree with, namely having Nicole and Dana follow her through the dark corridor. Alone, she could silently traverse the halls without alerting any monsters. As ragged breath and sickly black ooze secreted from the injured guard’s wounds, Astrelle was hard pressed to think of the pitiful man as more than mere dead weight. There was no guarantee that the others would not invite unnecessary risk to her own safety. 

Before Astrelle could protest, the monster turned its rage on Penny. The hum of electricity around her fists did little to conceal the cracking of her bones as the Void took hold of it, and tossed her away with trifling ease. Astrelle’s eyes went wide as she witnessed the assault, taking further steps back from the beast even though she was already positioned behind everyone else. Her own powerlessness to act or subdue the creature was painful, in a way. [color=b699ff][i]Pathetic[/i][/color], she thought, finally criticizing her own inadequacy. 

As Nicole helped Dana to support the weight of the injured man, Astrelle considered the option of leading them past the Void to the control room. She put some thought into the course of action, and still could not reason, in her perspective, why it would be a good idea.

[color=b699ff]“No. The injured man should stay put. There is no reason to believe that we would not encounter another Void towards the control room, and the more we move him, the more likely it seems that he will perish to his wounds.” [/color]

Astrelle’s cold gaze and calculated tone juxtaposed the supposed concern she showed in her words for the man's life. 

[color=b699ff]“I may be the only one here who can avoid a fight if there are more Voids up ahead. I can find and get to the control room faster on my own than if we were to lug that dead weight along with us as a guide.”[/color]

As Vanna steeled herself to face the humanoid creature, Astrelle used the monster’s moment of distraction as an opportunity to pass it. She took a single step forward, yet as her foot lowered to the ground, it did not make contact with the tangible flooring of the airship. Instead, it seemed as though Astrelle was falling into her stride, and sinking into the floors of the shadowy corridor as if it were a viscous pool. 

In brief moments, Astrelle’s concealed form slipped through the shadows and emerged on the other end of the Void, her silhouette illuminated by the distant light of Dana’s magic. Though the monster now stood between her and the rest of the girls, Astrelle felt safer on her own with a means of escape. She smiled silently and waved back at the rest of the girls. Rather than wait to see if anyone would follow, Astrelle willingly sprinted down the lightless passage.