*Ka-chunk!*

Yuuji rubbed his neck as he stretched while leaving the comfort of the Firebird. While the afternoon sun was still high in the sky, the winter wind held a cold chill, and he could see his breath faintly in the air.

“Is this France?”
“Seems like it.”
“Yuuji, have you ever been to France before?”
“Once or twice. Never for long, though.”

As Hibiki watched their surroundings wide-eyed, he recalled the times he’d visited previously. The first had been when he accompanied his grandfather to some important event as a formality, though he was too young to understand what the meeting was about, and he had simply been told to stay out of the way and keep his mouth shut.

The second was to assist with a werewolf hunt in the city of Toulouse when he was a young teen, though as it was one of the earliest missions he had been sent on, the bloody conclusion was not a fond memory he wished to recall.

“Did you get to go to Paris?”
“...No. These days, nobody can.”
“Un…”

Hibiki nodded sadly. She had been a little hopeful that if it was him, maybe he had seen some of the wondrous sights the city with such a storied history had to offer… but it wasn’t meant to be.

When the Cataclysm came, Paris was the site of one of the worst massacres in Europe. Barely a hundredth of the population of the inner city managed to escape with their lives, and as the wave of lesser demons spread outwards in their rampage, the country’s infrastructure collapsed and caused countless further deaths. 

Many countries were still in the process of attempting to retake their capital cities even over a decade later, but for France especially, progress was slow due to the sheer amount of lesser demons they would need to face. In the intervening period, they had formed a more tribal government of sorts, with mayors and councils of local cities controlling their own land with less integrated national collaboration.

The majority of the survivors of the Cataclysm had fled south, as the other major cities were in fierce battles to be retaken. For the most part, it had been a success, but the northern regions of France were still largely desolate as a haunting reminder of the past.

“It’s a little sad not being able to see it in person, but trust me - the pictures and videos you will have seen of Paris are a far better way to remember it in its prime rather than how it would look now.”

Yuuji had been to far more than his fair share of ruined cities in his time. Some were small and simply abandoned as the population gathered together elsewhere, but others were once great metropolises that now lay in shambles as vile, vicious creatures writhed amongst the rubble.

Hibiki gave a bitter smile in response, as she knew that his words were true. Despite all their best efforts to fight back against the demons, it was possible that in her lifetime she may never see the ‘City of Light’ restored to its former glory, but regardless, it was Phoenix’s job to pave the way for that future to pass.

“Lyon…”

Their two companions had stood quietly behind them, as Claire muttered something under her breath. Any other day, the two girls would be at each other’s throats already over some minor issue, but they clearly had other things on their minds.

The Firebird had landed on a secluded part of the airport on the outskirts of the city and dropped them off. The four of them hadn’t been provided with much instruction as to what their next step would be, but they knew that someone from the church would meet them here and guide them further, so even though there was radio silence from Ji-Hye and the two instructors, they could always simply ask what they were supposed to do if needed… though that wouldn’t be required.

Stood at the corner of the makeshift helipad was a slender man wearing a beautifully tailored suit. His greying hair was trimmed neatly, and he stood motionless like a statue with impeccable refinement despite the cold as he watched them approach.

“Mademoiselle, it is such a pleasure to see you. And your copains as well, welcome to Lyon.”
“...”

The man placed one hand over his chest and bowed deeply. Upon raising his head once again, he stepped aside and gestured towards a limousine that had been waiting just around the corner.

“The car is ready, if you would please.”

Yuuji locked eyes with Hibiki, who was fighting to contain her excitement, before he looked around towards the others. Leona still had a distant expression on her face and didn’t react much to the extravagant greeting, but Claire looked distraught as she stared at the man.

“...”
“...”
“...”

None of them budged, and the silence became overwhelming. The man who had arrived to escort them didn’t seem concerned by this and held firm in his gesture, waiting for the others to move first.

Obviously, he wasn’t from the church as Yuuji had first expected, and judging from the reaction from his companions, Claire seemed to be the honoured guest that this had been arranged for. Yuuji didn’t want to move before her say-so as the situation seemed somewhat temperamental, but if Claire didn’t do something soon, Hibiki’s curiosity was surely about to burst.

“...Claire.”
“I know…”

Her usual flamboyance was nowhere to be seen, and she gave a dejected response as she hung her head. Thankfully, she eventually stepped forwards and started to make her way towards the car, allowing Yuuji and Hibiki to follow suit with Leona trailing behind. Suddenly, the man came to life once again, briskly approaching the car and holding the door open for each person to enter.

"..."
“Umm..! Thank you! I like your outfit!”
“...”

He bowed deeply to Hibiki’s compliment but remained quiet as he finished his duty. Once all four of the students had been shepherded into the car, he closed the door firmly and took his place as the driver of the vehicle.

The interior of the limousine was exquisite, with seats made of fine leather, and a delightfully soft black carpeted floor. With such quality décor, Hibiki seemed a little hesitant to get comfortable as they had traipsed specs of dirt and loose pebbles in from the outside, but as far as Yuuji was concerned, the owner had chosen the vehicle, not them. He wouldn’t go out of his way to make things dirty, but they were there to eliminate demons, not for a ballroom dance.

As she looked around inquisitively, Hibiki’s eyes were sparkling. She inspected the design of the car with great detail until her gaze fell on Yuuji once more. It wasn’t his first time being in such a luxurious vehicle, but like him, she almost certainly had many questions about who exactly they were going to see, and why they were receiving such treatment.

“Yuuji… Do you think you could wear clothes like that too someday?”
“Pff-!”

Or not.

Instead, it appeared she was still hung up on the dignified garb of the gentleman who had come to escort them. His black morning suit jacket and fine grey waistcoat were spotless, and his tie and pocket square had been meticulously straightened to be free of even the idea of an undesired wrinkle.

It had become quickly apparent to Yuuji that the man was a butler for some important person who was aware of Claire, and perhaps spurred on by his own sister’s taste in novels and other literature, Hibiki had picked up some fascination with the attire he wore.

“...We’ll talk about it some other time.”
“Un!”
“Claire, could you tell us what exactly is going on here?”
“...”

As he moved on from the topic, he tried to get some information about where they were going, as he got the impression that the driver would only respond to the girl herself, who was feeling less than talkative. Regardless, possibly after hearing the question being asked, or fulfilling some part of his role, the butler spoke up.

“Mademoiselle, we are soon to be arriving at Château Dupond.”
“Dupond…”

Yuuji muttered to himself as the word seemed somewhat familiar, but with a single look at Claire, his memory was refreshed.

Claire Dupond.

He clicked his tongue quietly as the situation only seemed to get more complicated. He himself was more than aware of the difficulties that family could impose, and with Claire’s less than ecstatic reaction to the circumstances; even requesting she transfer to a different team to avoid Lyon, things were not looking good. Conrad’s response to her appeal had also struck him as strange at the time, but it appeared that there was more going on behind the scenes than he knew.

‘I’m sorry, but you’ll have to put up with this for the sake of the mission. There was nothing else I could do.’

As he mulled over how he should prepare for the upcoming encounter, the car came to a gentle stop, and he couldn’t help but glance out of the window.

“Wow…”

Hibiki gasped in awe at the giant mansion before them. The château was at least 30 metres tall, with tall decorative windows lining the walls and beautiful regal blue tiles on the sloped roof. Even the entrance was elevated from the ground below by a set of gorgeous stone steps that reached down to the enormous gravel driveway they had stopped on.

As he opened the door for them once more, the butler spoke in a cordial tone.

“Mademoiselle, welcome home.”