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When the fight ended and the airship made its way through the dense clouds, the skies revealed the embers of sunset. Victoria stood alone on the damaged deck, her opponent no longer anywhere to be seen. Astrelle focused on her weapon—a large cross that seemed to fit Victoria’s image perfectly. The commotion around Astrelle and Dana continued as the ship’s personnel swarmed about, cleaning up the mess that was left in the wake of the attack, and Astrelle merely watched everything go by. As though a valve had been opened within her, the tension of stress seemed to flood away once everything ended, in what felt like a miniscule moment. Her legs gave, and she found herself slumped against a wall in the control room.

Before long, Victoria had gathered up the new recruits to address the issue. She spoke as she usually did, in an informative way, but to Astrelle it sounded callously indifferent. She was sure that to the seasoned combatant, this was just another day’s work, but she couldn’t avoid feeling frustrated by the lack of concern or accountability on Victoria’s part. 

With a clearer mind, Astrelle took a minute to take in her surroundings. The girls had managed to defeat the Void, much to her utter shock. It appeared that her colleagues were much more skilled than she assumed. At the very least, it occurred to her that staying with them might not be too terrible of an idea, if it means they’d be helpful in prolonging her life. Out of everyone in the room, Astrelle was by far the least worn down in appearance. Penny and Vanna definitely had a number done on them, and Victoria was no less battered from her fight. 

The other girls began piping up about the issue Astrelle was most concerned about—the enemy Ars Magi. Victoria’s response was less than satisfactory, and Astrelle could feel the heat of anger rising in her heart.

[color=b699ff]“You’ve got to be kidding me-”[/color] Astrelle’s voice was quieter than normal, but her frustration was clearly enunciated through her words. [color=b699ff]“It wasn’t something that [i]looked[/i] like an Ars Magi, it [i]was[/i] an Ars Magi. Another female soldier, swinging a sword. It looked like she even had an Elementum—electricity ran through her blade.”[/color]

Astrelle laughed softly. She looked over to Nicole, [color=b699ff]“Aren’t you obedient?"[/color] 

She almost rolled her eyes. [color=b699ff]"But [i]no,[/i] we don’t know what we’ve signed up for because it’s clear that there are things they don’t want to tell us. At least, for now. I understand we haven’t formally started our lessons, but given that we almost [i]died[/i] I feel that at a bare minimum, we could be given some transparency.”[/color]

She met Victoria’s eyes with a smile, but a bitter glare shone through her gaze. [color=b699ff]“If you plan to silence us about this incident anyway, what’s one more secret?”[/color]