Mildred
```ini
["WE MUST BEGIN. YOU WILL BE HUNTED."]
```
Geraldine
There were a number of questions to be asked, and numerous concerns to be brought up. Why on earth would Salhaeja actively place a *Target* On Ha's back? After all of the precautions they've taken thus far? The emphasis on remaining concealed, so much as to avoid the dueling competition? The fish was not anymore important now than it was before, other then the fact that it originally belonged to what was ultimately a stranger with some level of competence— there wasn't enough data observed to deem it worth the potential trouble. It's not like Kuouo asked her for a favor; she was *Told* To ask for it. It wasn't her responsibility, presumably did not need to be, nor did it have any remote benefits that mattered, and now it was, which made the discretion that Sal so coveted much more tedious, perhaps even impossible. Purely, this course of action as instructed by the blade existed as a blunt contradiction. There was no logic, no line of reasoning that did not almost entirely undo what they've established, and at that, jeopardized their intentions. So, why? Did he realize something? Did he realize he was *Wrong* About something?

Ha did not so much as think about any of that, and obviously would not bother to verbalize concerns that didn't exist in her mind. She rarely did— once a general of freedom fighters, filled to the brim with blistering courage and vigor, now turned into a literally blind soldier beckoning at the commands of a non-tangible spirit. A fall from grace, except there was never anything graceful about it. Upon hearing instruction, she nodded unemphatically, and then turned around, firmly placing both hands on her sheathed blade. With all the might she could physically muster, practically putting her entire body weight into it given her lack of strength, the swordswoman lifted her weapon, and then tossed it across the parking garage from where she stood, intent on getting it *Outside*. The moment it was thrown, the blade would glimmer with

Purple hue that was mildly bright as indicate an ACTIVE ABILITY, albeit lasting for merely a second or two— and then seemingly catapulted *Out* Of her sheath, exiting the interior of the garage with considerable speed. Notably, it rather suddenly decelerated it's momentum once within reasonable parameters of the the outdoors, and then simply fell to the ground below them as if a mishandled kitchen knife. She was on the sixth floor, so it wasn't a dangerously high drop, and irregardless, it managed to avoid landing on anyone directly within the massive crowd, particularly in a section separate from the King for obvious reasons. 

Ha softly groaned, grabbing her left shoulder and planting the plausibly empty sheath onto the floor with purpose. That hurt, didn't it? She sat herself down immediately, sliding her right hand down the brunt of the sheath, while her left still attended her shoulder. Sal instructed her to do this for whatever reason, and most likely due to how painful it visibly was, the swordswoman entered what was a mild shake, twitching back and forth. There was a slight glimmer beneath her shades, likewise to the purple hue of her sword, but it shortly faded. It was in her best interest to remain oblivious.
Justin
***`A glitter, ephemeral, sifts through the crowds of the Festival.`***
A fragment of a star's light clings to one's form as they walk amidst dim-lit city-streets, her destination toward the center of it all: the **Margo Aeternitatis.**
Nathan
A woman clad in black cloth accented with dull-gold.
Her hair, an ashy black. Her eyes, a bright gold.
A smoky mana trailed in her wake.

She walked the trail of starlight, herself carrying a fragment of light hovering aglow at her right shoulder. An ephemeral trail of spirits:
***The Spirit-Koi's trail.***

Though the duels had begun, the Hunt had not yet ended. The caliginous sorcerer still followed its trail, sifting beyond the crowd of the Festival and the audience of the duel toward a solitary target.

`- -`

Salhaeja may have noticed it as an approaching shard of light, far in the distance.
Salhaeja may have observed a break in the crowd as one pushed amidst them.
Salhaeja may have spotted the golden glimmer of one's irises, breaking the dark and peering singularly in their direction.
Salhaeja may have heard the unnatural flow of air that proceeded her, her presence passively shifting the atmosphere in her adumbral aura.
Salhaeja may have sensed the presence of a peculiar magical energy, openly in-flow amidst a crowd of spectators and nonparticipants.

Salhaeja may not have seen the magician herself, but there were many ways it could portend her coming.

**__`𝐒𝖆𝖇𝖑𝖊.`__**

***CLAP.***
_ _

In a flash of smoke, in a shimmering of light, that black-clad magician manifest from the shadows, her footsteps softly trailing into existence toward Ha on the sixth floor of the parking garage. With *Salhaeja* Gone, all she could hear was the sorcerer's coming: the echo of her footfalls across the concrete pillars, and the subtle smell of ash that clung to her form. Her mana shifted the atmosphere around her subtly, smoke trailing and thinly dispersing from the cloth of her robe and her hair, a fragment of a star's light shimmering just behind her and a trail of ephemeral mana left in her wake. 

With a motioning of her hand, candlelight illuminated her surroundings, small licks of flame sputtering into existence as her pale-gold mana gave them form.

```asciidoc
☾• "You surrendered your weapon." :: •☽
☾• "Is the Koi not important to you?" :: •☽```

—she questioned, her arms folded as she continued to approach Ha. Her voice was clear and decisive, on the lower end, and with a subtle accent that was hard to single out. Her footsteps grew closer, before stopping, just a small distance from Ha herself.

*`Tap.`*

If she did not reject Sable, she would place two fingers to Ha's forehead, following any answer or absence thereof.
Five seconds would count down from that moment until she stole the ***Koi.***
Roger
Flying over — or, well, not really *Flying* But, floating at a decent speed, Gold enters from the *East*.

Yes, while others like Max, Kuouo, or William had immediately left- Gold had *Lingered*, accomplishing a few tasks of his own separate from that of the rest of the hunters. If only his enemies had been a bit more *Thorough* With their search in the conquest against him, they *Might* Just have found what they were looking for.

Of course, atop his head was ~~Max's~~ *His* Signature hat, and tucked away in his belt was, of course ~~William's~~ his trusty bayonet, that which never leaves his side, naturally.

Continuing on his way, he aims to completely bypass the center altogether —

*But that isn't what happens.*

Something strikes him out of the corner of his eye

A *Mana trail* That seemed oh-so-familiar, and... The *Fish*... Swiftly scouring the area, Gold looks for any signs of people he'd already made angry, finding nothing.

`Well, then.` Engaging might *Just* Be the more lucrative option here.

Gold descends nearby, carefully watching the exchange that was about to go down for an opening. An *Opportunity* To continue on his *Own* Quest... *Waiting* With his hand in his pocket, and *Palm Gun* Adorned upon his hand should someone attempt to suddenly strike him. "'s a fancy piece o' glass y' got there." He speaks, directing his words towards Sable, lifting his hand to reveal the glowing palm of the activator, itself letting out a small *Ckccheeeeew* As it whirs to life.