Before Lieutenant Chavonnet had arrived here in the Paradise District, he was in the Royal Guards department building, shuffling through a stack of paperwork inside his office.
Including some notices of deceased Collectors, his desk was filled with several reports about missing people all over Eastern Contra.
Currently, there were several Royal Guards patrolling dozens of streets and neighborhoods, but a single lead was still yet to be uncovered.
"Things seem to have gotten quite hectic overnight," the lieutenant mumbled while reclining in his chair and staring at the empty ceiling. "If I knew I'd spend half my time here instead of being out there on the field, I wouldn't have accepted the promotion…"
The young lieutenant wished to accompany the patrols, reminiscing his days as a junior soldier. But now he needed an excuse to leave his post and get out on the field, but until any leads were uncovered, he didn't have one.
Suddenly, the door to his office burst open, and a red knight entered, clearly in a state of alarm.
"L-Lieutenant Chavonnet!" The soldier cried, his tone still maintaining an appropriate level of formality despite his urgency.
The lieutenant immediately sat up on his chair, trying to suppress his excitement.
"What is it? Have we found any leads?"
"Well, we have, but…"
This was supposed to be good news, however, Salvont had trouble interpreting it that way.
"Is there a problem?" he said, raising an eyebrow.
"I-It's Lieutenant Rose! She encountered the perpetrator and has been badly injured!"
"What!?"
Lieutenant Chavonnet immediately moved away from his desk, following the soldier who gave him the message.
Outside of his office, there was a long hallway, and to the left, the entrance to the department building could be seen.
His gaze was fixed in that direction, having witnessed the first lieutenant get carried inside by three other royal guards.
Once they allowed her to rest against a chair in the lobby, the second lieutenant quickly rushed to her side.
"Lieutenant Rose!" Noticing his steady approach, the three guards backed away slightly. "Are you alright?"
"No… But I'll live thanks to them," she said in a breathy voice while glancing at the three soldiers that carried her here.
Salvont then examined the lieutenant's face, which had been bloodied and bruised.
"You need serious medical attention right away." He turned to one of the royal guards. "Please escort her to the medical room immediate–"
"No, wait!" Charaya interrupted, weakly grabbing his arm. "There's something I need to tell you first… It's about the enemies we're dealing with."
An agonizing groan escaped her, unable to handle the pain of her mangled body any longer.
"You can tell me about it later; for now, you need to see a doctor… Please take her down there at once." He instructed the messenger royal guard, and he immediately escorted her down toward the medical room.
The Lieutenant turned to the remaining three guards, asking them for an explanation of the events that transpired prior to their arrival.
He discovered that the enemy's location was just opposite Raven Church Street on the east side of the Paradise District.
Salvont was ready to send a squad down there immediately, but just before then, he received one final piece of information from one of the guards.
"Lieutenant, sir, I believe the man we encountered on the street wasn't actually the Viper, but a lone terrorist who goes by the name: Jude Clover. He also appeared to be fighting against someone, who perfectly matched the rumored depictions of the Voiceless Viper, sir."
"Jude Clover?"
The guard who gave this information nodded.
"However, on our way here, Lieutenant Rose mentioned a different name, which none of us have ever heard until now. I think she identified him as a Soul Stealer known as the Trap Master."
"What!?" The Lieutenant's face paled in shock, which elicited the concern of all three soldiers before him.
"Lieutenant–"
"Rally the remaining troops and have them meet me outside the department as soon as possible!"
"Y-yes, sir!" The three said in unison, obeying their Lieutenant's orders.
What is that man doing back here in Eastern Contra? And why is the princess of the Melanargia family involved in this? This doesn't make any sense…
With the aforementioned involvement of such figures, the lieutenant struggled to find any correlation.
And the Viper… What does he have to do with any of this?
Until he arrived at the scene and observed things for himself, there were many questions that would remain unanswered for the time being.
One of the red knights soon came back with a report.
"The soldiers are ready for you, Lieutenant."
"Excellent, please retrieve the remaining horses as well. It is a long way to the Paradise District."
"Ah, sir, I'm afraid that there is only one horse available at the moment."
"That will be fine. Have it ready within the next five minutes."
"Yes, sir!"
Salvont considered a horse to be a soldier's luck charm. Riding one to battle would bless the lieutenant and the soldiers he commanded with strength and vitality.
That is what he believed in.
Furthermore, the Lieutenant was certainly eager to finally uncover this mystery, but he was more so in a hurry to prevent any more casualties.
So, the Trap Master has finally returned after all these years… If there is already a party of brave Collectors fighting against him, then I'm afraid we might get there too late.
…
The sword that Lieutenant Chavonnet pointed at the Viper was sharp and still.
"You know, on my way here, I was debating whether or not you could be considered friend or foe–"
"We're not friends."
The lieutenant, slightly taken aback by the Viper's stern reply, couldn't help but chuckle as such a response was to be expected nonetheless.
"... Well, that answers that question. But would you say we are enemies then?"
The Viper stared at him in silence.
The truth is, he didn't see the lieutenant as worthy of being an enemy in the first place, nor the hundred soldiers stationed behind him.
Wolf, sensing the growing tension between them, decided to butt in.
"I–along with the members of my party–have formed an alliance with him. He's been helping us fight against the one you called 'Trap Master'."
"An alliance, huh?" Salvont turned back to the Viper. "Is this true?"
The Viper, refusing to respond, turned away from them and faced the enemy ahead.
"I don't have time for this. If you're not going to arrest me, then just stay out of my way."
The Viper charged toward the golem again.
Watching him take off, the lieutenant sighed before coming to a difficult decision.
"Where are the rest of your allies?" he asked Wolf. "I heard that the mask-wearer named Snapper was included in your party."
Wolf replied saying that two of his comrades had been frozen by Jude's ability, and that Snapper may have encountered Jude in another area by now.
"Any idea where he might be?"
"I'm not entirely sure, but he flew over in that direction."
After Wolf pointed to where Jude fled, the lieutenant was able to pinpoint the location.
"So, it's the Paradise Park, huh? I'll send some soldiers over there now."
He quickly turned to his men, and signaled for half of them to split up and head over to the park.
They immediately followed his command, with about fifty soldiers marching toward that area.
The only point of access was toward the end of the street, meaning they had to sneak past the golem, however, the Viper had been keeping it distracted long enough for them to find a way through.
It appears the master's plan is moving accordingly, the sentient shield thought as it allowed the soldiers to move freely. With this amount of sacrifices, the summoning ritual will begin sooner than expected.
Wolf, suddenly remembering another vital piece of information, spoke up.
"I think Mel might be with them as well. She's severely wounded, but I still believe that she might be a threat."
The lieutenant rubbed his chin, seemingly distressed.
"So the princess is really involved in this, after all?"
Wolf nodded. He then highlighted the danger she posed to his men, describing the tremendous amount of strength she displayed during their fight.
"I understand, however, if she's already wounded like you said, then it shouldn't be too much of a problem. My men should be able to take her down if she becomes an obstacle in their path.
"But in the meantime, I also have a job to do."
After watching the Viper's struggle against the golem from a distance, he turned to the rest of his squad behind him.
"The Viper is now our ally!" he announced. "Until the battle against the Trap Master is won, we shall support him and the Voltaire's party at all costs!"
There was some hesitation from the crowd, who still mostly judged the Viper as even more of a threat than anyone else.
"But isn't the Voiceless Viper also a terrorist, sir?"
The lieutenant nodded. "That is indeed the case, however, we seem to share a common agenda. If it's the Trap Master we're dealing with, we're going to need someone as powerful as him on our side.
"But the moment this is all over, we will arrest him before he has the chance to hurt any more citizens."
Should he fail to execute this, the lieutenant was prepared to take full responsibility.
"So, let me repeat myself… For now, the Viper is our ally, and we are going to support him in this battle no matter the cost!"
Each soldier–any lingering fears fleeing from their bones–stamped the base of their spears on the ground in unison.
"Sir, yes, sir!"
The sound of their voices–similar to a war cry–echoed through the empty streets as they awaited their leader's final instruction.
"Advance!!!"