As soon as Kano left the power plant she heard gunfire coming from the direction of the citadel. Was Eomonsa responsible or someone else? Eomonsa seemed like a safe bet, but she wasn’t entirely sure. She hadn’t even known he existed, so it was hard to say what other opposition might have appeared. Either way, Kano figured she was better off at the citadel than here.

Running through the streets, she never caught sight of Miusvon and her troops. Panting, Kano finally reached the citadel’s front entrance. There was no one here, though she wasn’t sure if that was a good sign or a bad one. The ghouls who should have been on guard were gone, but at least there wasn’t a line of invaders streaming inside.

Making for the upper levels, where An should have been working, Kano passed a number of fallen ghouls. Most of them wore rags or civilian clothing, but there were a few bodies wearing the black armor of the citadel’s soldiers. Given the attackers similarity to the ghouls she’d killed at the power plant, Eomonsa’s involvement was all but confirmed.

Whoever he was, he must have considerable numbers at his disposal to manage such an assault. Hearing more gunfire ahead, Kano readied her rifle and peeked around the corner with it leveled. She saw four ghouls in plain clothes firing at something farther down the hall. Identifying them as the invaders, Kano shot the closest one in the back. Before they could turn to face her, she picked off another while the crossfire from the other side cut down the last two. And just like that, the little group joined their dead brethren that lay throughout the corridor around Kano.

“It’s me. Kano,” she called, stepping out of cover.

The three citadel ghouls, as they turned out to be, just looked at her. Seeing that they were awaiting orders, Kano said, “Take me to Miusvon. Or An, if you don’t know where Miusvon is.”

Without even acknowledging what she’d said, they turned around and led the way. Trusting her escort to watch the front, Kano focused on the sides and rear. The explosive sounds of gunfire echoed through the building, but none of it was very close. But that didn’t mean there weren’t more enemies close by, just that none of them were fighting right now.

And that was assuming that the attackers were made up of only ghouls with firearms. It was impossible to say what else they might have brought along. Would someone really try to take this place over if that was all they had? The forces here were depleted, but surely they wouldn’t fall to a bunch of poorly equipped ghouls.

And now that she and Miusvon were back, they should be able to mop things up with relative ease. Or so Kano hoped. Other than putting a bullet in an invader trying to sneak through on their own, Kano encountered no resistance on her way to An’s lab. There was another squad of black-armored ghouls waiting for them outside the lab’s doors, with Miusvon at their head. She called out to Kano and came over.

“How’d things go after I left? I see you didn’t get the power back on.” She glanced up at the lights to illustrate her point.

“Things got a bit complicated. Do you have any idea who Eomonsa is?”

“Nope, why?”

“He’s the one who took over the power plant and he’s holding it hostage. Apparently he’ll only be using it for the next twenty-four hours or so, and then he’ll let us have it again, but I doubt that. I’m pretty sure he’s the one behind this attack as well.”

“I see. I guess we’ll hunt him down after the citadel is secured. How were things on your way in?”

Kano described the few living she’d run into and the many more dead. “How about you?”

“Much the same. Looks like the attack is winding down, then, at least on the upper levels.”

“Any idea what they were after?”

“Not really. I think they were trying to reach this lab or just generally take over. From what I saw, they don’t seem very organized. I don’t think I’ve ever seen such sloppy soldiers.”

Kano blinked. “That’s because they’re not soldiers.” She thought back to the workers at the power plant, seemingly held in thrall by Eomonsa. “I think he’s just using whatever random ghouls he can get his hands on.” She had no idea how he was getting them to follow his orders, but she doubted Miusvon would know either. That sort of thing was much more An’s field of expertise.

“Huh,” Miusvon said, unperturbed. “Well, I can hardly complain. It sure makes our job a lot easier.”

“Speaking of which, you’ve got An’s lab secured, right?”

“Yeah, should be.”

“Then I’ll go and check how things are going down below.”

“All right, but before you go.” Miusvon took the rifle from the unresisting grip of a ghoul beside her and offered it to Kano. “Take this. No sense using that piece of junk you’re carrying if you’ve got better options.”

“Thanks,” Kano said with a shrug, trading the old bulky rifle she’d looted for a sleek, newer-looking assault rifle before heading off with her own group.