"Urghh…" Selene groans as she slowly regains consciousness.
"Vice head, Vice He—"
"You're up!!" Penelope shouts, immediately bursting into tears.
"Why wouldn't I be up? Just who the hell do you thi—ow!!" Selene starts to say as she pushes herself up, but a sharp pain shoots through her left arm, forcing her to wince.
"I took too much damage to my left arm… I won't be able to fight for a while." she thinks, steadying herself as Penelope helps her up.
"What about the head? What about Anyachi?" Selene asks.
"I've been looking for her too. I was searching for both of you actually… I'm just glad I found you in time." Penelope replies.
"Thanks for the save. I knew you had it in you, Penelope." Selene says, lightly pushing down her head cap.
"Y-you're welcome, Vice head!!" Penelope beams, her eyes lighting up.
"Could Anyachi still be in the sword containment room? If that's the case, then something—or someone—is holding her there." Selene's expression darkens slightly.
"I can't help her fight… but I can at least contact HQ for backup." she thinks, weighing her options.
"Excuse me!! Hey!!"
A voice calls out from below.
"Huh?" Selene mutters, glancing down into one of the large craters left behind by the explosions.
Miura and Liah wave up at them.
"Who the hell are you?" Selene asks, her gaze sharp as Penelope looks just as confused.
"I'm Miura Redborne, and this is Liah. Please, can we join you to the exit… if that's where you're headed?" Miura says.
"Redborne?!" Selene and Penelope both freeze.
"Is he the reborn hero…?" Selene thinks.
"Redborne… that's the name of heroes. Is he one of them?" Penelope wonders.
"Hold on, I'll get you up here." Selene says, turning to Penelope.
"On it." Penelope nods, summoning a wooden platform that rises up from the ground.
Miura and Liah step onto it and are lifted up.
"Thanks, that's a pretty cool ability, shorty." Miura says, pushing down her head cap.
"S-stop it!" Penelope snaps, flustered.
"So where's Anyachi? Since you all have the same armor, you must be her battalion." Miura asks, turning to Selene.
"She said she was heading to the sword containment room. Not long after that… the attack started." Selene replies.
"Then shouldn't we go check on her?!" Miura shouts.
"No. We have more important things to handle—like informing HQ from the communication room." Selene says firmly, locking eyes with him.
"So you're just going to leave her there? Not even knowing if she's okay?!" Miura fires back.
"You don't need to worry about that."
"Why?!"
Selene turns, a small, confident smile forming on her face as she starts walking.
"Because she's the strongest person I know."