In the silence, Xide took a few steps toward Annie and opened his mouth. "Miss Annie..."
"Shh!"
Annie raised a finger on her right hand and held it vertically to her lips.
Xide froze.
Annie blinked her long eyelashes twice, then stepped forward across the scorching, charred ground. Reaching the corpse of the dead Magic-armored Knight Squad captain, she crouched down.
Only the left half of the captain's body remained, its surface extensively burned black. Annie gently touched his forehead, her lips moving almost imperceptibly as she whispered something unknown.
Then she stood, swept her eyes over Xide, and said slowly and seriously, "Give him a proper burial, with the highest honors!"
"Yes." Xide lowered his head.
The expressions of the surrounding magic-armored knights shifted slightly, their gazes complicated.
Annie walked to the side again, stopping beside the unconscious Brown-Eyed Wizard who had been captured. He lay limp on the ground, guarded by four magic-armored knights. Annie raised her foot and lightly kicked him several times, confirming that he was still alive.
"Hey, this guy was the companion of that gray-eyed one, right?" Annie asked, tilting her head.
"Yes, Miss Annie," Xide replied.
"Then that's perfect." Annie nodded several times. "Don't let him die. Wake him up later and use every method you have to pry open his mouth. I want to know who sent them, what their purpose was, and who else there is besides these few. Once you find everything out, deal with them all at once. But don't let them die too easily, understand?"
"Understood," Xide answered.
"Good." Annie nodded hard, turned, and walked in front of Xide, looking him up and down.
Xide opened his mouth. "Miss Annie, you..."
"Shh!"
Annie once again raised a finger on her right hand and held it to her lips.