The quake of the explosion still shook the building even while it was inside the angel. The debris from knocked down wall pausing in the air completely, the pulse of the explosion can still be clearly seen. The mages must have reinstated the barrier. As he got off her, delirious, he noticed the five bodies around him, all in similar attire as the first man, only one was still moving.

"KILL HER! THE...LOYALIST WILL REWARD YOU HALF A KINGDOM'S WEALTH! I SWEAR THIS BY MY MAGIC, BIND YOUR SOUL TO THIS AND YOU WILL BE REWARDED HALF THE KINGDOM! SHE MUST NOT RULE ANY LONGER!" The man choked out the words as he held up a piece of paper towards him, all of its words glowing blue. He recognized the glowing crest and the magic. He was a blue mage. Cobbler limped over and snatch up the contract, reading it over. 

"You fools..." She muttered, trying to get up. Cobbler took up the contract as his insignificant family crest he made glowed with it. If the deed is done, then the reward was guaranteed. The paper disintegrates into blue dust and rose into the air. He can kill her later, he needs to make sure that thing is dead to extract its scales, at least that was the excuse. He limped towards the hall, the pieces of wall that halted in the air made it looked as if the time of the world has stopped.  

It oozed in the hallway, most of its plasma scales still intact, the gas still tearing its insides apart. Shrinking and solidifying as the silver spread to the last bit of its scales, unrecognizable from the colossal thing it once was. He picked the piece of the color-morphing translucent scale up, the silver overlaying the other infinite colors, he kept it in the satchel reserved just for this then slipped his thumb through the ring of his last flashbang and dropped it. The sleep was still pushing at him. He limped backed into the room. 

The Vermilion pillaged his mind and found nothing of worth. All it had desired was money, money, and more money. Greed and lust. A worthless boy. 

Cobbler walked unevenly towards her, dripping in blood, trying to keep his eyes open. 

He could feel the mask that covered his face being wet by his forehead cut, it was getting into his mouth. He was tasting iron. Blood getting into his left eye. 

He just wants to fall asleep and leave everything up to fate. He slammed on one knee and immediately pressed his shoulder wound, reminding himself to stay in control. 

Fate will never spiral in his favor. 

As soon as he thought it, he sprung up and took hold of her, wrapping his throbbing arm around her neck yet again, holding the knife to her jugular. The mages and guards that entered the room looked like blurs to him, vague outlines shaping colors of black and gold slowly approaching, slowly spreading out in the room. He could see one of them kneeling over the corpse of the other assassins but mostly they were sprinkling something around the room. 

"Don't...Move..." He whispered to the Queen clearly even while breathless. She could feel the sharp edge of the knife tingling her pulsing neck as she struggled against his strange grip. The touch of the knife made her feel absolutely powerless. 

"Your hair smells...good." 

He resisted the strange delirium as best as he could. Still pressing the knife up against her jugular, his hands did not move.

"Thank you. Unfortunately, I can't say the same for you." 

He deciphered vaguely the muffled voice through his earplug.

"I...don't use perfume." He retorts. 

"I don't either." 

"I...Don't shower." 

"I-" She stopped herself before she could continue. 

"...You telling...me you smell like that naturally? I don't know what flowers they are but you smell flowery..." Cobbler kept talking, trying to keep himself awake, his head bobbing back and forth. 

It had occurred to her suddenly. Why was she discussing her smell with him?

"Get off me before you get yourself killed." 

"Sometimes...I think...You...just...have to take that leap of faith..." He spoke coolly and deliriously, smiling. 

The cowardly thief who has just taken her hostage proclaims he was not afraid to die, she thought that very amusing. He backed both of them up over the balcony as she heard him draw a deep breath.

"Wish me luck." He murmured hopelessly. 

He dropped the last can and violently flung both of them down. Time cushioned and slowed her fall as she commanded it, blocking out the flash and the loud piercing ring. Instances before it placed her back up on the balcony, in that slowing second as she saw him falling into the world tear of infinite colors, they made eye contact. In his sunken bloodshot brown eyes were fierce convictions. She never could tell facets of another through their eyes but at that moment, she saw it so clearly. 

But convictions for what? As she looked over the balcony at the dissipating infinite colored portal of seemingly every shade, and her subjects gathered by her, she was reminded of his nonsensical comments about her hair and she reaffirmed the idea that distinguishing facets of another by their eyes was absurd. 

"It would appear something slipped through the moon tear. I have gathered the mages who will die in your place. But you might still need to prepare yourself for what is to come."

It made her uncomfortable but she tried not to show it. She never thought they would activate such an ancient protocol. 

"I see."

The mages of black and gold examined their surroundings as they shuffled around the room. The guards still stood in formation, their sword and shield at the ready for one of the mages to be taken. 

For a long while, she just stood there, looking down a little at the garden as they continued to shuffle, seemingly in the room. Recalling those shades of color that were summoned so clearly. 

"Perhaps I was wrong. It's still not here." 

"Maybe it's dead." She narrowed her eyes at the hedge below. 

"I did not hear clearly, my Queen." He spoke detachedly without turning to look. 

She didn't speak and kept trying to recall the shades of colors she saw. 

"If you mean the last assassin's body, we will clean it from the hedge as soon as we are done with this." 

She sighed deeply and looked back up.

"I am very tired. Let's get this over with then."