"Skeletal Maiden!" I mutter. A large skeleton rises from the underground, attempting to trap Lord Eugene.
"Hmph!" he curses. With a single punch, he destroys the white bones of my skeleton.
"Take the girl! Take the girl, Lord Eugene!" the Princess of Terror shrieks as Madam Fron's superior skill begins to give her the upper hand.
"I'll help you fight her first," Lord Eugene says as he traps me with his metal wires, "she doesn't look that dangerous."
"Hoo... Underestimating me, huh?" Madam Fron laughs. However, she is starting to sweat, her spells are weakening. The blue flames from her eyes have vanished.
"The Lords fear you so much. But seeing you like this, I don't understand why," Lord Eugene comments casually.
"Fool...." the Princess of Terror curses.
"Now it is over," Madam Fron smirks.
"Deva: Great Sage Equaling Heaven!" a distinct voice of calmness declares.
Mr Anwar and his golden armor arrive on the battlefield.
He doesn't waste his time. He charges and launches a flurry of extremely quick punches at Lord Eugene.
"Augh!" Lord Eugene falls back, his flesh broken, showing cracked bones underneath.
"As fast as ever, eh, Anwar?" Mr Arctus comments as he and Mr Charles arrive.
"Hmm ... I don't expect a demon Lord and the Princess of Terror to be caught this early in the war," Mr Charles says.
Madam Fron backs off. She is running out of breath. Now it is time to let her allies control the battlefield.
Lord Eugene hastily lunges forward. "Thousand Iron Fist!" he exclaims as he launches a barrage of punches.
"Way of the Naraka!" Mr Agusman counters as he allows himself to be attacked.
Curiously enough, the Thousand Iron Fist seem to rebound back on Lord Eugene.
"Deva: Four Heavenly Kings!" Mr Agusman prepares to strike back as he splits into four majestic beings, all clad in red and golden armor.
"Water–" Mr Arctus prepares his spell as he raises his right arm.
"Wait!" an authoritative voice declares.
"Archduke Isabelle?" Mr Agusman asks rhetorically.
"Ah, the negotiator. I take it you are the ambassador sent by Queen Seira," the Princess of Terror says. All of the Order's members flinch. Madam Fron, in particular, has her cheeks redden from fury.
"Indeed," Archduke Isabelle replies, "Queen Seira offers word of friendship and diplomacy." He then hands her a letter.
Madam Fron watches in anger, her eyes jolting out.
"Objection, Archduke Isabelle!" Mr Arctus declares, as he peculiarly steps in front of Madam Fron.
Madam Fron throws me a small pendant. She winks hastily. Her tense eyes shut me up.
"Are we really going to allow an enemy Lord to escape unharmed? And a vampire Queen to add to that!" Mr Arctus declares in a very Madam Fron-ish manner.
"Arctus Pompey," Archduke Isabelle calmly replies, "Irvine signed a ceasefire with the Empire just hours ago. We are seeking a peace agreement."
Mr Agusman, Mr Charles, and Mr Arctus all back off, although their eyes squint and their lips begin to twirl.
"Well," the Princess of Terror says, "I believe our business here is done."
She flaps her bat wings, and Lord Eugene his iron ones. Madam Fron, as I see from the corner of my left eye, grins.
"I think I'll leave on my own, Archduke Isabelle," Madam Fron guesses Archduke Isabelle's intentions. She sprouts her wings, leaving the scene.
After Archduke Isabelle leaves, I pull out the pendant Madam Fron threw me. It is a moon shaped pendant, with a nice small ruby on it.
"So this is what Madam Fron gives us. A listening device." Mr Arctus suddenly snatches it from me before giving it back. "Guard it well."
"She must have put another one on Lord Eugene. This will allow us to hear their communication!" Mr Charles adds, a rare smile forming on his lips.
We hurry back to HQ, bringing with us the barely alive White Masks and the unconscious John and Aelita.
"Uhh. I feel dizzy. What happened?" Aelita asks as she awakens from her sleep.
"You were knocked out," I reply. John and Aelita are actually fine–aside from the fact that they got hit on the head, of course.
The three of us return to the meeting room. Everyone is tense, their bodies sticking to their chairs; they are listening to the pendant.
"So, we have managed to keep Fronica out of the scene for now. Alas, Vio escaped once again," Lady Jessica grumbles, "that girl's dangerous."
A heavy slam against a table is heard. "I told you, Lord Eugene, just snatch the kid and run!" the Princess of Terror shouts furiously.
"Well, how am I supposed to know that there are four of Irvine's Big Five there?" Lord Eugene attempts to defend himself.
"Enough!" Lord Luke shouts, "we have enough setbacks. Now we must draw up a new plan, considering that the Order now has our old plans."
"I received direct orders from King Marengo this morning. Securing the six Sacred Gems is to be our first priority," Lady Jessica says.
"We're still lacking three of them. One is held by Irvine–by one of their Great Five, no doubt–and two others are lost," Lady Jessica continues.
"Then we'll have to attack and defeat them separately," Lady Caitlyn comments.
"Lord Eugene and I will go after Fronica," she continues.
"I don't need two of our Lords to die fruitlessly, Lady Caitlyn, especially considering Lady Sakurako is still busy in Elaise," Lady Jessica cuts her, "we should figure out who is the keeper of the Yellow Gem first."
"I suspect Vanya, considering she hasn't appeared for quite a while," the Princess of Terror comments.
Thinking about it, my grandma isn't in the Order's meeting.
Mr Agusman, Mr Arctus, and Mr Charles flinch. I throw them a suspicious look, but they really couldn't care less.
"Perhaps," Lord Luke says, "but we have a more fundamental problem. If we attack individually, none of us can defeat any of them quickly enough so that reinforcements don't appear. If we attack in a group, we'll risk destroying Crown and our allies' political positions in Irvine, Francia, and Elaise."
"Then we have to eliminate Anwar politically, too. Considering he now can use his Great Sage Equaling Heaven instantly, he is our most crucial opponent," the Princess of Terror comments.
"Fronica has always been vocal, so it's easy for Crown to get rid of her. But Agusman? Heck, he could be selling beers and no one would notice!" Lady Jessica says, "perhaps we should ...."
"Hold that, Lady Jessica. Lord Eugene, what is that on your robe?" Lord Luke asks.
"Huh? There isn't ...."
Lord Eugene is cut off by Lord Luke. He audibly grabs the transmitter.
"They are listening to us," Lady Jessica mutters in horror before it is destroyed.
"Aah!" Mr Arctus moans in disappointment, "We could've known much more!"
"Still, now we know they have a hand in getting rid of Fronica," Mr Anwar serenely says, "And that something is happening in Francia and Elaise."
"Alright, we have to go now. Staying too long here will only attract more problems," Mr Anwar continues. He stands up from his cranky chair. One by one, Order members follow him and leave the room.
"Madam Felicia, I need your help," I say as she attempts to leave.