[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/K2ssvzh.png[/img][/center]

Annabelle retreated from the square back to the evacuation center, weaving spells of conjuration to bring out defensive sunflowers as she went. The plants, further invigorated by Gaia and Angel of Hope, continued repelling the invaders at street level, buying precious time for the evacuation. The veteran looked relieved once she saw how the civilians were brought to the teleporter, and began to help as well.
“Thank you so much, everyone! I don’t know how I’ll ever repay you!”

Once the teleporter was built and activated, Violette nearly shouted through the Beacon squad's comms: “Throw the civilians in as fast as you can, I’ll handle the rest! Don’t worry, the destination is cushioned!” Hyun Long, following  the instructions, began chucking the civilians into the central round chamber of the device; before the sleeping farmer even hit the bottom, they were rapidly zapped away, as the device now rapidly flashed, teleporting any matter the moment it entered its circular center.

Justine finished off the final Spades, and descended back to the evacuation center once she noted the assembly of the teleporter was finished and civilians were being taken to it.
[color=bc8dbf]”Agreed!”[/color] She proclaimed her intentions upon hearing the others, and began to help with the rescue effort, using her magic to close her wounds to avoid bleeding on the townspeople.

Hyun rolled her eyes and sighed loudly upon seeing Kiyome and feeling her aura, but held her tongue, knowing this was no time for hostility. She continued yeeting folks when she noticed that something seemed to be bothering Serenity. “Hey, is something wrong? We need to get these civilians out!” Despite her sour attitude, she seemed genuinely worried for her. As Beacon evacuated civilians, they were joined by Ronin and Miko, who used clever sorceries to efficiently move a bunch of people at once. Though the twins felt their mana dropping dangerously low, thanks to their efforts and not having to worry about having to carefully place the locals and being able to use their strength and speed better, they helped the evacuation force to amazingly evacuate half the population.

[hr]
[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/72bEcUi.png[/img][/center]

Lily continued fighting even as Alex’ defensive front was soon breached and both enemy infantry and armor started going through. Lily refused to retreat despite becoming surrounded and taking enemy fire, and Alex’ barriers were destroyed. One of the tanks turned their cannons toward the teleporter in the distance, when suddenly a burst of electric energy blasted from behind it causing the engine to explode.
[color=fff200]”Die Assholes! Die! DieeeEEE!"[/color]
Lily’s Monstrous Metamorphosis activated, surrounding her in a coating of electricity that seemed to crackle and boom at a rate much faster than would be physically possible. Her legs had turned into a tail-shaped black cloud with thunder pouring out, and her face was entirely covered in a black veil; in fact, her face seemed to disappear. Her skin had turned green with blue veins, as well as old and wrinkly, with long, gnarled fingers on her elongated arms.

She flew around swiftly like an evil spirit, dropping lightning arrows down in a thunderstorm, the thunder strikes continuously repeating as if looped in time. As a result, she continued managing to suppress even some of the vehicles as their engines were overloaded and exploded. Any bullets and shells that were about to hit her were stopped mid-air, leaving an eerie trail of ammunition behind her as she kept blitzing around. However, now lacking any focus, she easily let more and more troops advance past her. Soon, she was completely separated from Alex, with troopers and tanks between them. Another tank now turned their cannon towards the teleporter, and with a single shell destroyed the barrier Eliana had conjured. The teleporter was now in dire need of defense; it was obvious that the Mahou had to split near-evenly between protection and throwing civilians into the teleporter if they were to succeed.

[hr]
In the lull of her duel against Penny, her eyes coldly gazing upon Dormouse’s terrified visage, the Queen continued hearing more worried reports of the supposed Phase Two as the Heart commanders had called it, she rolled her eyes. “Focus artillery on them!” She muttered back. But before she could relay more orders, suddenly a spell was aimed at her; she found herself surrounded by debris seemingly gathered by a vine-dragging arrow, before the debris collapsed all around her in a central point, creating a cloud of dust. “Damn Beacon!” She yelled just before impact. This was the moment that the Engine had decided to disappear, taking Dormouse with her, as well as when the remaining artillery cannons now took aim at the new arrivals, and scored two more casualties among them.

As the dust settled, Finn caught a glimpse of the Queen as he aimed for the deathblow; she was still standing, visibly injured with blood seeping from the corner of her lip. She looked roughed up, and seemingly had difficulty standing. It was strange how the queen had not dodged or defender herself, but it seemed like the perfect opportunity to catch her while she was weakened…except her purple eye was glowing, as was her sword. It was too late for the Sinner of Wrath to back down as the Queen unleashed her stored attack.

[u]“You will be my example to everyone.”[/u]

As Finn swung with his own blade, so did the Queen respond in kind. In that moment, her sword flashed, and the sound of a ripping page could be heard, resonating through the world:

*RIIIIPP*

When Finn came to, his vision sideways while lying on the ground, he saw something shiny spin in the air, before it finally embedded into the burned ground right before his eyes; it was his magical weapon, Briar Rose, now split into two broken pieces. But how was this possible? Magical weapons were impossible to break. Furthermore, it did not mend itself when summoned again. That was when Finn realized the strange point of view he had of his hand clutching the broken hilt; it was too distant, as if it belonged to someone else. Finn attempted standing up…But as he did, his point of view did not change, even as the body he knew had sluggishly risen up to one knee. It was strange; his body was slow and cumbersome, as if he had been injured…That was when he realized, seeing something was lacking, in his horror; he had been decapitated. But strangely enough, there was no blood seeping from the solid black neckhole that once housed his head. Nor was there bleeding where his head rested on the ground; it was cleanly removed by powerful magic. He didn’t feel any worse than usual, either, as if it was perfectly normal for his head to be detached from his body.

He saw the Queen’s legs step carefully closer, and he craned his eye up to see her look around. The glow on her weapon and purple eye had disappeared.
“Penny had disappeared…Interesting.” She then looked down at Finn, her lips curled in a mocking grin. “I saw a glimpse of my story, as well as yours, Finnegan Vanhorn. You intended to take my head while I was distracted. I suppose that did happen in one edition. But here and now, you’re mine-” She reached down, about to grab his head, when suddenly a fireball was launched at her. It scorched her sleeve and leaft burns on her forearm; it turned out to be Mayra, who had come to the rescue. “Another one? I thought I saw all the stories…I suppose I still need training,” the Queen mused as she lifted her free hand to her eye. She then pointed her blade towards the monster girl. “No matter; I will gladly add you to my collection.”

[hr]
Al sighed heavily as Chloe went on a tirade about her being disappointed in him, and upon mentioning the New York broker he nodded. “Good old Brooklyn Bonnie. She’s a gal who can run a tight outfit. Did you know she started from the very bottom, with only a few coins and her clothes to her name, only to rise up as one of the most accomplished of us? Even had a hand in Al Capone’s business, or so I’ve heard.” He looked to the distance, as if reminiscing, when he finally dropped his cigar, and stomped on it. He looked like he made a decision.

“You know what? I got a job for you.” Before Chloe realized what had happened, Al had taken his hat, and placed it on her head. The moment he did, she felt a surge of magic course through her, like shadows extending down her limbs. The black coin tattoo on his head glowed. Chloe then realized the same tattoo had appeared somewhere on her body as well.

“There; you’re now a junior broker. Your job is to run operations and agents in Penrose until I’ve seen enough to make a call on whether you can handle it. Of course, anything you do has to be approved through me first, but I’ll let you take a shot at it. I’ll even throw in a few hints for free. If you can manage to save the local business from disaster, or salvage enough of it, I’ll make it official.” He chuckled. “Lucky for you, you get to decide if you want to bail out, with an added debt. I didn’t have that choice when I got the hat. I guess Veronica did teach me to break some of the rules, hah.” He then snapped his fingers in realization. “Oh yeah, you can transform the hat to something else, like an accessory or scarf. But you have to wear it as part of the curse. Congratulations, kid.” He clapped a couple of times.