It was no mere rebuke; neither was it a plea. It was an order. The audience exchanged baffled looks, including Hokutoji Taro, who bared his teeth in hanger while occasionally directing hostile glares towards Henge or Hashomon.

"Alicia-san. Can you explain the rationale behind your intervention?" A subtle inquiry was posed by Hashomon behind Alicia. He still kept his seat in the front row and had not quite summoned the will to rise.

Taro's accusatory index finger was already pointing at Alicia. "Precisely! What prompts such an exclamation?"

With a stern look on her face, Alicia reiterated, "I can't let you distribute the elixir to the soldiers here!"

Taro, scowling, surveyed the surroundings with disdain. "Yes! But why?"

"My lord, are you earnestly posing that question? This is the first time I've heard Kagatse approve the use of Protos Particles!"

A sharp statement. A bold accusation. In concert with the declaration, planted seeds of doubts and questions buzzed in Taro's ears. His attempt to brush them off with a wave of his hand only made them louder.

"No! No! Please listen to me first! Listen to me!" Taro's earnest pleas clashed with the protests of hundreds of soldiers. Yet, their voices still yielded to the superior's command. "I may not know the origin of that slander, but I'd rather die with my pride intact knowing I mobilised all my chakra against the enemy than take the shortcut of Protos Particles. Our collaboration with the Magisterium is steadfast. How could we have slipped even a speck of that occult essence into our potion?"

"Which Magisterium?" asked Alicia. "The Magisterium researchers here said they had no knowledge of the potion—"

"They are not the only Magisterium researchers, Alicia-san," Hashomon interjected. "Magisterium researchers are also in Takamagahara. They, along with Donbe-sensei, developed this potion outside of Otnagochi."

Her questions were now suspicions. With a demanding strut, Alicia approached closer to the Magic General. "But, Lord Hashomon? I thought you didn't want to risk bringing Mujino alive into the inhabited area. That's why you sent me as an alchemist on the Otnagochi frontline. You have to let us know where and how they trialled the potion!"

"The cooperation between the Kagatse government and the Magisterium especially regarding the creation of this potion is confidential." The Minister of Defence took the honour of answering. Alicia turned again. "Consider this a warning, young lady. Accusing a high-ranking official without solid grounds is a form of defamation. And we don't acknowledge the term extradition!"

Alicia's retort was momentarily halted, her mouth frozen. Yet, signs of capitulation were not evident. From her waist bag, Alicia fished out Orb, the beacon of her faith. "I didnae accept slander from anyone. Orb feels the aura of Protoss Particles in the potion and informs me of it!" The lass showed her ball-mate to the masses in a bid to garner support. "This is how I identified the presence of black magic and prevented a number of disasters. I trust any revelation brought forth by Orb!"

Taro's throat had already expanded to unleash the ultimate tirade, but Hashomon's interruption blocked that intention. "Alright, alright. That's enough," he rebuked. The magic general immediately ascended the stage, grabbed a potion bottle, and then jumped down. The liquid within wobbled in his grasp. "Prove it."

The accursed essence was only a few feet away from her face now. Alicia was sodden with the worry channelled from Orb, but her determined visage remained unchanged. Clasping Orb with both hands, the lass clamped her eyes shut and veiled the entire glass surface of the bottle with blue ley lines. Hashomon's grip loosened and the bottle was sent afloat, but the inside tremors did not dissipate. The bottle morphed into a silhouette and gradually dissipated in a bubble of azure. The lass's nose wrinkled further, her bare teeth pressing against each other.

After five minutes of tense waiting, the struggle between the two energies reached its conclusion with the blue bubble fading into a haze of stardust. The potion bottle fell over, and fortunately, the magic general's epileptic hand did not betray him in terms of agility. No potion should be wasted.

Hashomon hefted the bottle by its mouth and showed it to everyone. The liquid... showed no visible alteration. It remained purplish, devoid of any suspicious glow or the sort. Not even the general's gloved hand sensed an extreme temperature shift.

But the people did not notice Alicia's sharp intake of breath and wide eyes of disbelief as she still had her back to them.

"What's different about this potion?" asked Hashomon.

The lass' pursed lips seemed to impede her response, her gaze flitting between the bottle and the general's blank expression. The incessant screeching of the Orb still resounded in her ears. It was only a few seconds later that the thin lips mumbled, "N-nothing."

"Nothing? Have you purified the Protos Particles in this potion?"

"N-no. That's not it..." At that moment, Alicia regretted having opened her mouth. "I found no Protos Particles in the potion..."

Alicia said it in a mumble, but those in the front row were already whispering to their friends in the back row and so on. News travelled fast, they said. Sure enough, not even five seconds the whispers in the rear escalated into cries for further clarification.

"No, this doesn't make sense!" Alicia was still insisting because Orb was as well. "The Protos particles are still in the potion! Orb and I felt it—"

Hashomon clenched Alicia's shoulders and forced her closer, his voice a low whisper. "I think you've become complacent in wielding the privileges of the Shogunate, don't you? You should be grateful that if it wasn't for your Arcane abilities or how much Dajo Daijin likes you, we would gladly take the time to try you. I don't care what anyone says, your Arcane has no place criticising let alone slandering the results of our hard work to eliminate the mujinos!"

"W-we're not slandering!" Hashomon's firm grip did not escape epilepsy, so the pressure of his knuckles repeatedly created a pang all the way to the spine. Alicia winced with one eye clenched shut. "P-please! Give me and Orb time to investigate and I'll prove it to you. But don't let anyone else use—"

"If you can't ask the accursed portal across Otnagochi to delay its opening, don't bother telling us what to do. Should I remind you that Donbe-sensei died because of this? I don't want to hear that preposterous accusation anymore!"

With the same hand gripping the fabric of Alicia's dress, Hashomon pushed her almost to the ground. He then jumped onto the stage, taking the Defence Minister's loudhailer. The varied reactions to the awkward interruption became apparent. Some with expressions as apathetic as Hashomon's. Others appeared to be sullenly disapproving. But more frowns were twisted in doubt and concern.

"We, the Magisterium of the Arcane Plane swore an oath to maintain the balance of the world of thaumaturgy, one of which is to abstain from using the essence of the destructive Khaos. That oath remains the same. The potion has undergone rigorous testing and is deemed safe!"

Unfortunately, sweet words did not assuage the crowd's nerves. Hashomon understood that, so he uncorked the bottle and took three large gulps to deliver all the liquid down his throat.

"One bottle for one person!" Hashomon declared once more. "That's the safe dose. One bottle for one person for six hours. Meet me at the crack of dawn, and witness my unscathed state, free from poison or madness."

With all that demonstration, Alicia was seemingly unwilling to blend into the sea of people while bearing the shame. "You cannot do this," Alicia implored, "Orb has never been wrong about the existence of the Protos Particle!"

The Magic Shogun's menacing was shot at her now. At least he still had the heart not to make the girl's self-esteem plummet further by lowering his loudhailer "Orb is the source of Arcane which is the most powerful energy in the thaumaturgical world, that I admit. But perhaps we learnt something new for tonight: Arcane, just like everything else in this universe, even Khaos, is fallible."

That set Alicia off. Orb's screeching turned into a chaotic scraping of plates.

Hashomon's eyes wilted. "I'm sorry, Alicia-san. Perhaps because you spent your time hunting a mujino, your focus was drained. I allow you to disperse early and rest," Henge and the masked Magisterium shinobi already materialised behind Alicia, the lass herself startled by the loud and sudden clang of their ninjato, "You're working as a researcher here anyway, so this isn't your place. No, from now onwards, research teams or anything not directly related to frontline activities need not come to the Last Strategic Briefing. Would you agree to my proposal, Minister Taro?"

Hokutoji Taro, apparently taken aside from the main stage, only let out a prolonged sigh. A nod before words, "I do, Hashomon-dono."

Hashomon and Alicia's eyes remained locked. A sense of distrust began to grow in Alicia. But Hashomon said nothing more. And the two shinobi behind the lass were not ordered to become display automatons.

Alicia warded off any chaperone in the form of touch or solicitation. She broke through the layers of Kagatseans in the front and middle rows, then the Tamoanchanese warriors with their eccentric colours in the back row. A scowl still carved her face, but she chose to avoid eyes looking at her, instead fixating on their feet. That included the pretentious stare from Izel. Orb, on the other hand, had yet to stop ranting.

With the show's bully gone, Hashomon brought the loudhailer back up to his mouth and bowed. "We apologise for the interruption. The researcher lady was only expressing her concerns, but in the end, this was a mere misunderstanding. Please continue to treat her with kindness and respect."

But alas, the incident seemed to have left a mark on the audience. It was as if they had been divided into two camps. Perhaps the lass was just putting on airs. But it would be even more chaotic if she was telling the truth. Hashomon noticed the faces that implied that. The Kagatsean officials too. Taro's head was about to burst that he had to vanish into the background.

"You will be given this potion at dawn," Hashomon declared as Magisterium officers discreetly appeared with trolleys in the crowd. "But I understand your concerns. The attendees of the Palace meeting also have the same concerns. Therefore, you are only taking the potion by your own consciousness and will. But keep this in mind: You all play a big role in tomorrow's battle. So weigh your decisions as wisely as possible!" []