Louise shook her head and kept covering her ears. That is, until a small goat boy started tugging at the fringes of her cloak.

She glanced down at him, and literally screamed as she jumped back. In a zombie infested city, that kind of thing tended to draw attention. And in this case, everyone was now watching her.

“Lady Goldblood! You are safe!” he cheered, throwing his hands up in celebration.

Louise’s brows drew together in confusion.

“Mellis!? You nearly gave me a heart attack! Why aren’t you in a shelter?”

Mellis gave her a respectful bow, seemingly unphased by Louise’s alarmed reaction.

“I had to find you, ma’am. I thought you were in danger. I apologize if I offended you.”

Louise’s eyes softened, and, after a moment’s pause, knelt down to gently pat his head.

“That was incredibly foolish of you, Mellis.” she reprimanded. “I am more than capable of taking care of myself, and I would feel more at ease if I knew that you were safe.”

A harpy–not yours, but one with green and yellow feathers—spoke out in his defense.

“Hey, go easy on the little guy!” she said, from atop her perch on a nearby street light. “He’s been looking for you this entire time. If it wasn’t for him, we might not be here right now.”

There were nods of agreement among those standing near her. Belatedly, you realized that these were members of Mellis’ team. They had fought their way here, just like the others.

“Least you could do is show a little gratitude.” she added.

Looking a little contrite, Louise glanced around, and then down at Mellis. His head was still bowed. She let out a sigh, and picked him up like a stuffed animal.

“No Mellis, it is I who should apologize.” she admitted. “You are very brave for having come this far, and I am glad that you are unharmed.”

Mellis gasped, and covered his mouth with a pair of hairy hands.

“Such high praise from the Lady Goldblood…! This one is not worthy of your words…”

Louise was back to frowning again.

“I thought I told you to stop calling me that.”

The goat boy was no longer listening, however. He seemed to be in absolute awe of Louise. The monsters from Mellis’ group looked oddly satisfied by this turn of events.

“What in blazes is going on here?” Shaggy asked, clearly confused by the scene unfolding before him.

He looked at you and Young, and the two of you just shrugged.

“I feel as if we have gotten sidetracked.” Ana observed.

“Try to think of it as a small sidebar.” Ben said, whipping his phone out to snap a picture of Louise holding the small creature. “We might as well take a breather if we’re meant to be preparing a trap for Varnae.”

Ana gave him a skeptical look.

“Besides,” he went on. “I thought you would’ve leapt at a chance to trap a genuine ‘Vampire Lord’.”

(Cont.)

Even from here, you could see the outline of her circulatory system being lit up by her internal flame. They pulsed at the same rate of her flame's fluctuations, portraying to all the world how nervous she was to be called out in public. Which was odd, on account of the massive battle-axe hanging from her back, and the fervor with which you saw her wielding it earlier.

“You three! What're your names?”

“Mellis, ma'am.” the Goat Boy answered with a short bow.

“...Ed.” the Were-rat complied, after a brief pause. To your surprise, he sounded like he had a typical New York accent.

“R-rhyssa…” said the Salamander girl, unable to hide her nervousness.

“Mellis, Ed, Rhyssa. I want you three leading the next assault.”

With the exception of Mellis, everyone's eyes widened in surprise.

“I saw you guys fighting earlier, and I've gotta say, I'm impressed with your work.” you admitted, nodding to each of them.

Mellis was clearly a bard of some sort. That was the only way you could justify what he did to that undead horde with nothing but the power of music. Ed the Were-rat seemed to be a sniper, judging from the looks of those weapon mods. And that shy Salamander was giving off a faint magical aura.

A battle-mage, then. That must have been why she was able to stand amidst all these people without roasting them alive. It did nothing to erase the stigma of Salamanders being dangerous to be around, though.

“Now hold on-” Ed was beginning to say.

“At once, my lady.” Mellis agreed, his brow furrowing in what might have been a look of determination. “We will spare no quarter until the Goldblood is found and protected.”

“It's not just her that needs our protection.” Rhyssa noted with a lisp. “This is our home.”

She reached out a clawed hand, made a few swift hand signs, and her entire body shifted from bright red and orange to varying shades of cool blue. Immediately, the people standing within her vicinity visibly relaxed. That looked like a hastily cast heat barrier spell.

Rhyssa then reached up, and drew her large battleaxe, hefting it in her skinny hands. Mellis strummed his string instrument and gave an encouraging nod. Ed grumbled to himself, but still unslung his rifle. You gave them all a satisfied smile.

“Great. First, we’re gonna need a map of the city.” you demanded. “I’ll mark down the areas that I know have been cleared out, and we’ll set up a route for people to follow if they want to take shelter in the palace. We should set up an infirmary too, if we haven’t already.”

There was a brief pause, where everyone was unsure of which order they should follow first, but Young managed to snap them out of it.

“Well? What are you all waiting for? Do what the girl says! The more time we waste, the more lives are at risk!”