After a short time, Apollo finally stepped through the ruined entrance, his captain following close behind.
Inside, scattered debris and broken structure marked the signs of conflict, yet no clear opponent remained.
Apollo's gaze swept the hall once, sharp and calculating.
"Don't waste time searching for her," he said calmly. "Focus on the objective."
His attention shifted deeper into the structure.
The order was followed at once. His members moved out, splitting into smaller groups as they began searching the surrounding sections.
One group approached a sealed passage along the left side. The mechanism remained unmoving despite their efforts to open it.
One of them stepped forward and struck it with his blade.
The impact rang out but left no mark.
"Who builds doors like this?"
No answer came.
At the same time, Apollo had already moved ahead. His attention fixed on the central unit.
The structure stood out immediately—too complex, too deliberate to ignore.
"That looks strange."
He stepped closer, studying it.
Above him, Lili watched in silence, her eyes tracking his movements carefully as she waited for an opening. As he drew nearer, step by step, her focus narrowed, timing the moment precisely.
Without warning, she dropped.
Her chain sword drove straight toward him—but it never reached.
Captain Clio intercepted the strike without holding back. He twisted his blade free and stepped in, following with a second strike meant to force her back.
She pulled away just enough to avoid the next blow, her momentum breaking as she created distance.
Hyakinthos Clio stood in front of Apollo while the other members who had noticed the clash quickly arrived.
Lili clicked her tongue in irritation as she landed lightly, her gaze sharpening.
"I'm really unlucky."
Her thoughts turned dark. She realized she had never successfully killed anyone since joining Luthra.
Apollo stepped back slightly, more alert now.
"Looks like you missed your chance," he said, trying to sound confident. A faint fear still edged his voice; he understood how close he had come to leaving this world.
Lili did not respond. Instead, she prepared herself for the fight.
A faint layer of energy spread across her armor, forming a thin, translucent barrier that settled over her entire body as she shifted her stance. At the same time, the low mechanical hum of her chain sword activating broke the silence, followed by a sharp metallic rotation that echoed through the hall.
The first attacks came quickly. One rushed in with a blade while others opened fire from close range, trying to overwhelm her before she could react. None of it worked. The strikes glanced off the barrier or stopped short of cutting through, leaving only faint distortions across its surface.
Without wasting a moment, Lili stepped forward and swung her chain sword. The rotating edge caught the first attacker before he could recover, cutting cleanly through his guard and dropping him instantly. She did not pause, shifting her position as another came in from the side.
A second strike followed, forcing another attacker back with a bloody cut. Watching this, the others hesitated.
Clio watched carefully, his eyes narrowing as he followed the exchange.
"Stop using the guns," he said sharply. "It's not working."
His gaze shifted across the group before settling on one of the heavier weapons nearby.
"Give me that hammer."
The members hesitated for a moment before handing over the large hammer. Clio took it without another word, testing the weight briefly in his grip before stepping forward and closing the distance in a single motion as he swung.
Lili saw him coming, but it was too late to adjust.
The hammer came down with full force. The shield flared under the impact, distorting for a brief moment as it absorbed the blow. It did not break, but the force carried straight through her body, slamming her hard into the wall behind her.
Watching Lili finally on the ground, a few of Apollo's members let out relieved breaths, the tension easing now that she had been brought down.
"Got her," one of them muttered.
Apollo stepped forward, his expression sharpening as he looked down at her.
"Bring her here," he said calmly. "She knows where the weapons are."
Two members moved in immediately, lowering their weapons as they grabbed hold of her arms, assuming the fight was already over. One of them even reached for the chain sword, pulling it away from her grasp.
They began dragging her forward.
Without any warning, her fingers twitched.
A tight pulse of energy formed in her palm. Before anyone could react, a sudden burst erupted at close range, slamming into both of them and throwing them backward.
Lili pushed herself up, her movements slower but controlled as she regained her footing. One hand rose again, the compact emitter in her palm still glowing faintly from the discharge.
With her other hand, she pulled free a small blade—compact, but humming faintly with power as it activated.
She pressed a hand briefly against her chest, steadying her breath.
"That actually hurt."
She glanced around the damaged hall, irritation creeping into her voice.
"Should I just blow this place up and leave?"
Her self-questioning drew a few confused looks from the others.
Then a voice came through the speakers placed inside the church.
"You shouldn't do that."
It was cold. Hearing the familiar voice, Lili finally relaxed.
But for Apollo's members, the effect was the opposite.
The moment the voice faded, unease spread through the hall.
It wasn't loud or immediate. It settled quietly, creeping in without reason. There was nothing to explain it—no threat they could name—yet the unease came all the same, sudden and instinctive, like a warning they couldn't ignore.
No one spoke.
Not because they chose not to, but because something about the moment made it feel wrong to break the silence.
The silence followed.
It lingered, heavy and unnatural, stretching just long enough to make every second feel longer than it should.
Then a sound broke through it.
Low. Mechanical.
It came from the left side of the hall, near the left passages—like something heavy unlocking or rising into place.
The sound was not loud, but everyone heard it in the silence.
Several of Apollo's members turned toward it instinctively.