Unworthy
DISCLAIMER: I do not own Yggdra Union or the spells in this oneshot that are taken from the Negima! manga. This story is affiliated with a larger continuity that may or may not be fully written at a later date.
The noise from the courtyard was an irresistible tug at Milanor's curiosity. As a thief, he'd learned early that investigating interesting things was fun and usually rewarding, and so even now, when he was trying to put his considerable kleptomania and his past as an outlaw behind him, he still found it hard to keep his nose out of things that weren't really his business.
Even seeing Nessiah down there didn't put Milanor off too much—though, honestly, he couldn't stand the guy. No matter how many times Kylier tried to tell him Nessiah wasn't so bad, and no matter how much the fallen angel helped Yggdra, Milanor would never be able to forget what had happened on Ancardia. He'd made Kylier scream, made her cry, forced her to raise her weapon against her own friends, and then forced her to live through the trauma of his own past. (Well, okay, the last part wasn't entirely Nessiah's fault, but still.) Those were things Milanor just couldn't forgive.
Milanor leaned over the balcony, looking around. Nessiah and Gulcasa were in the middle of the courtyard, with Yggdra, Kylier, and Roswell sitting on a nearby bench. Gulcasa seemed to be practicing a few martial arts techniques or something along those lines, and Nessiah was standing a few yards away with his spellbook open in front of him. There was a faint magical halo surrounding both of them, and Milanor realized that they were probably training with that pact thingy they'd all been working on recently.
His curiosity piqued more than ever, Milanor continued down the stairs and slowly walked forward as the magic surrounding Gulcasa fizzled and went out.
"That's good," Nessiah was saying approvingly. "That's much better than last week, or even yesterday. You're adapting to this much better than I would've thought possible, especially considering that just the magic transfer seems to bother all of you so much."
"Pactio is like any other type of magic, or any other skill," Roswell put in from the bench. "The more diligently you practice, the better at it you get."
Gulcasa shook his long hair back, breathing deeply. Milanor saw that his skin was shiny with sweat, but noted that the emperor looked more refreshed than tired. "Well, I made a promise that I'd protect you, and besides, Yggdra needs strong defenders too… especially since she can only fight with her Artifact and she doesn't like using it."
Yggdra blushed prettily. "Beyond not ever going to war again… I just don't like to fight, and I'd rather not if there's any other choice," she said, smiling. "If I have to, I will, but… I trust all of you. I know you can take care of me until there are no options left but for me to take up my sword."
Nessiah shook his head. "Whatever the case, as long as we continue to practice, I'm sure you'll eventually become all the protection Yggdra ever needs. Now—I'd like to try one more thing before we finish for the day. Is that alright?" Gulcasa nodded. "Roswell, if you would, please?"
Roswell inclined his head and smiled, then took off his mantle and beret and laid them on the bench where he'd been sitting as he walked out to join the two of them.
"So what's going on here?" Milanor asked, finally reaching the bench. Yggdra and Kylier looked up at him, and both of them smiled.
"Gulcasa and Ness practice here every day, and this time we thought we'd come and watch, too," Kylier told him. "We all need to start testing our limits more now that we can use our contracts to boost our strength. C'mon, sit down and watch with us, this is really cool."
Milanor shrugged one shoulder awkwardly and sat down next to her.
"Now that we know you can handle fighting hand-to-hand, with your own weaponry, and with your Artifact while drawing upon my magical power, I'd like you to see the difference it makes when Roswell's power is added to my own," Nessiah continued. "After all, in dangerous combat situations, it will likely be much safer if Roswell supplies power to me, and me to you, so that you can defend us and Yggdra more effectively."
"You can do that? Activate more than one pactio when you're Roswell's ministel and I'm yours?" Gulcasa asked, looking surprised.
"We should be able to, although we've never tried it," Roswell answered. "And if we can't, it's better to find out now, while we're in a training situation."
"Alright, then. Whenever you're ready."
Nessiah turned to Roswell and nodded. "The transfer will likely be much stronger if we're in physical contact with each other, so if you don't mind?" Roswell shook his head, then stepped in close behind Nessiah and put his arms around the angel's body, pressing the two of them together intimately. Watching them, Milanor made a face and tried to banish the bad mental images their position was illustrating.
"Sis mea pars per 120 secundas," Roswell said softly, and magic flared brilliantly around the two of them. Nessiah flipped a page in his spellbook and held it out, extending his left hand over the lines of text.
"Gulcasa, are you ready?" Nessiah called. "I'll give you a minute, no less—target the bench we've been progressively destroying all day. Yggdra, I will make you a new one, don't worry."
Yggdra giggled and waved a hand at him. Milanor glanced over at the wreckage of what had been one of the marble benches in the courtyard—it was chipped, scuffed, and missing several large chunks of rock, which were scattered along with lots of other dust and debris nearby. Had they really been attacking that? It wasn't really possible to do that with open-handed blows, kicks, or strikes from an ordinary weapon, was it?
"Alright then, let's go," Gulcasa said, turning to face the wreckage of the bench.
"Sis mea pars per 60 secundas," Nessiah called, and an immense flare of magic enveloped Gulcasa's body.
"Ah…" Gulcasa shivered and arched up onto his toes where he stood, squeezing his eyes closed tightly. "D-damn it, this is worse than before…"
Milanor squinted and shaded his eyes, feeling the hair on the back of his arms stand on end. "Whoa, what is this? That aura… it feels almost like when he was channeling Brongaa at the end of the war!"
"The clock is ticking, Gulcasa," Nessiah reminded them all.
Gulcasa shook his head as if to clear it, then tensed into a ready position, taking a deep breath and then running headlong for the bench.
When he was about a foot away, he ground to a halt, turning the motion into a wide pivot kick so that his heel met the marble squarely. There was a sound like an explosion, and what was left of the bench cracked straight down the line where Gulcasa'd kicked it. The two halves crashed to the ground as everyone stared, openmouthed.
Gulcasa blinked, shook his head, and then picked up one of the chunks of marble that had been left over. Glaring at it intensely, he squeezed until he crushed it into little more than powder—crushed it in his bare hand, Milanor thought dumbly, gaping at him. Half a second later, the overpowering aura of magic around Gulcasa's body died.
"I'd say that was a success," Nessiah said mildly from the other end of the courtyard, closing his book and tucking it under his arm as Roswell let him go and straightened up. "We'll have to see how far we can go with this some other time; by now you and I probably need to rest for a while. Besides, you've your duties to see to soon."
"True that." Gulcasa dusted his hands off, then wiped them on the red jeans he was wearing, leaving wide chalky streaks across the sides. Then he smiled, clenched his fists, and sank into a relaxed ready stance. "Want to finish it off with a round of hand-to-hand?"
Nessiah laughed. "I think you've reached the point where I can't keep up with you any longer unless I expend large amounts of magic. And soon you'll surpass me completely, Gulcasa… you're becoming truly strong. I'm proud of you."
And to the vast amusement of Milanor and the other onlookers, Gulcasa went the color of his hair and looked down. "Ah… no, that's not… come on, Nessiah… I've still got a long way to go…"
Nessiah shook his head and smiled. "Gulcasa. True strength comes from the desire to protect what's most important to you; you've always known that. The weak look to and depend on the strong; that's the Bronquian way. You have Yggdra and your sisters to fight for. That's why you're able to push yourself to continue to grow. Compared to that, my strength is nothing."
"I'm fighting for you, too," Gulcasa retorted as he crossed the courtyard to sit next to Yggdra. "Don't forget that."
Nessiah turned away, but as he did, Milanor noticed that he'd gone bright pink in the face.
"Seems as though we only need to worry for Yggdra's safety when you two are back in Bronquia, Kylier is visiting her family in Lost Aries, and I'm dealing with affairs at my estates," Roswell commented with a smile.
"…That's true," Nessiah said, pushing his hood back and running a hand through his hair. "And we should start coming up with plans for those times, but on the whole—"
"Hey, time out," Milanor interrupted, starting to frown. "Aren't you forgetting something?"
Nessiah turned to him like he'd only just noticed now that Milanor was even sitting there. "Have you something to add, thief?" he asked, his voice suddenly cold with irony.
"Yeah, I do," Milanor retorted, scowling. "Yggdra isn't undefended when all of you are busy. She's got me and the rest of the Royal Army to take care of her!"
"And you think that will be enough?" Nessiah asked, his voice dripping with scorn.
"Of course it is!" Milanor stood up and put his hands on his hips. "It was enough all through the war, and it was enough against you! We've been fighting for her much longer than you have, and we should know what it takes!"
"…………" Nessiah tilted his head to the side a little, as if he was considering Milanor. "…hmph. Come over here for a moment; I'd like to demonstrate something to you."
"Like what?" Milanor asked suspiciously.
"If you're so certain that you have what it takes to protect Yggdra, I'd like to give you the chance to prove it." Nessiah turned to Roswell, holding out his spellbook. "Hold this for me, please."
Still frowning, Milanor stood up and walked out into the middle of the courtyard.
Nessiah shifted one foot back slightly and sank down into a ready stance, tensing his small hands into half-curled strike positions.
Milanor sweatdropped. "Uh… you're not serious? You really think you stand a chance against me in hand-to-hand combat, do you?"
"You might be surprised," Nessiah answered seriously. "Come at me with all the strength you can—I'll even allow you the first blow, if you'd like. If you can defeat me in my weakened state with only my own strength and my magic, you just might stand a chance against those who mean your sovereign queen harm."
"…Tch." Milanor knew enough to suspect that something was up, but he'd be damned if he was just going to stand here and let Nessiah treat him like he wasn't worth anything. "Alright, if that's the way you want it, then fine!"
In that instant, he swept Silver Moon from its place on his back and rushed forward, readying his blade and sweeping it through the air at Nessiah.
Except that Nessiah wasn't there.
Milanor blinked, then looked down at where Nessiah had sank down to one knee in a movement even Milanor's trained eyes couldn't track, staring up at him. So fast—
"So slow," Nessiah remarked coldly.
In the next second, he slammed his right hand up against Milanor's chest, and there was a burst of some kind of power that felt like a horse's kick, sending electricity pulsing all through his body. The force sent Milanor full into the air, and with his muscles still twitching and rigid, he couldn't so much as position himself for the fall, let alone counterattack. He could only watch as, far below him, Nessiah sank further down, then ran forward and leaped up, raising his right hand high and gathering magic power visibly, preparing to strike.
"ΔΙΟΣ ΤΥΚΟΣ!" Nessiah yelled, and swept his hand in an arc. Lightning leapt from his open fingers in the shape of an immense hammer—or axe—and slammed Milanor hard into the ground, where he lay shivering from the aftereffects of the electric pulse, watching dizzily as Nessiah touched down gracefully.
"MILANOR?!" he heard Kylier cry from the bench.
"It's alright—I held back. There was no serious harm done," Nessiah replied.
"What the hell—did you do?" Milanor managed to hiss, struggling to sit up.
"That was—incredible," Roswell said from the other side of the courtyard. "A spell of that power, completely unincanted…"
"Listen to me, and listen well," Nessiah said coldly. "It isn't any mortal threat that I fear—the Royal Army is easily capable of handling anything born of Midgard, even without Yggdra and the Gran Centurio at the lead. No, what worries me is the fact that there are multiple factions in Asgard that will not go along with the gods' decision to leave what they see as our threat unchecked. They will act against us eventually, you can be sure of that—and you should know it well enough, after what happened to us only last month. If you can't last even a minute against me, bound as I am, without even the Revelation of the Gods to assist me—then there is no way you can stand against the might of the heavens. Gulcasa and the others can borrow my power; with them we may yet have a chance. But you, undisciplined and cocksure as you are…
"Milanor, you are not worthy of protecting Yggdra Yuril Artwaltz."
Milanor glared up at Nessiah where he stood staring down impassively, then slowly pushed himself up, collected his Silver Moon, and stalked off, clenching his fists and bowing his head, wanting to run but refusing to grant Nessiah any more victories.
"Milanor…!" he heard Yggdra calling from behind him, but he didn't look back.
---
A good half an hour or so later, Milanor noticed Kylier walking up the path towards him from where he was sitting overlooking the river that ran through Paltina.
When she sat down next to him, he just turned to her and raised his eyebrows.
"I figured you needed some time by yourself," she said simply. "Yggdra wanted to go after you right away, but I told her it'd be a better idea to just let you be. Men need their cave time before someone comes to talk some sense into them."
"Whatever that means," Milanor retorted dryly. Kylier shook her head at him and leaned back.
"I just wanted you to know—Nessiah was a little thoughtless, but he wasn't trying to be mean. Right now he's holding Yggdra's safety as his top priority, and… he was just a little harsh trying to get his point across. He's worried, Milanor, same as you would be. Same as we all are. We barely made it out of Asgard back then, and in the end we only could 'cause Nessiah's friend was there to help us. That could happen again, or worse, and Nessiah's afraid that if it does, we might not be able to stop Yggdra from getting killed."
"Why's he suddenly so concerned about her anyway?" Milanor grumbled.
"…………" Kylier looked at him, then out across the water. "…I've seen into Nessiah's heart before, Milanor. He's a very sad, very pitiable person. Before he met us, he hated everything, and he was in so much pain that he just wanted everything to go away. But, since everything happened… I think he sees himself in Yggdra, the way he used to be. The way Yggdra wants to make a truly peaceful world… just like the rest of us, Nessiah's realized that she may be the one who's actually able to do it. We all want her to have that chance. When people are threatening to take that away…" She shrugged a little, looking at Milanor helplessly.
"Yeah, but why's he gotta treat the rest of us like we don't matter?" Milanor crossed his arms, hunching his shoulders irritably. "There are as many people down here that don't want to see Fantasinia come back from the edge as there are in Heaven."
"It shows how much we trust the Royal Army that we don't even consider those people to be a threat at all," Kylier said with a smile, shoving Milanor in the shoulder. "You dumbass. You don't know 'cause you won't do one, but having a pactio really does make a difference, a huge one. Back on Ancardia, it took almost everybody in the Royal Army to beat Nessiah. Drawing on Nessiah's power, I think I might be able to take on that crazy Marietta angel who attacked us back then, and hold out long enough to win. If you did one—"
"I'd rather die," Milanor interjected with feeling.
"Funny enough, Ness shares your sentiments," Kylier quipped, rolling her eyes. "Anyway, if you did one, even with Roswell or Rosary, you'd understand. You're strong already, but that feeling… it's like you can do anything."
"Maybe it's different for you and Yggdra, or for Roswell 'cause he's used to it, or for Gulcasa 'cause he and that stupid angel are already friends, but I'd never want to do one of those pact things," Milanor said sulkily. "I've got my crew to watch my back. I don't need to depend on anybody more than I already am. If I need to get stronger, I'll do it on my own."
"…Milanor…"
"Yggdra's like a sister to me. If she's in danger, I'll be the one to save her," he swore. "I don't care about magic. I don't care whether the enemies are angels or humans. I don't care whether some people think I can or can't. I will get stronger, and I'll protect Yggdra no matter what. I'll fight by your side, Kylier. I'll prove him wrong. I'll make that cheeky bastard eat his words, or I'll die trying."
"Don't say dumb things like that!" Kylier punched him lightly in the shoulder. "It's the 'die trying' part that's got us thinking you should just stay in command of the Royal Army with Durant, instead of worrying about our problems with Asgard!"
Milanor stuck his tongue out at her.
Kylier groaned. "…Milanor…"
"I'm serious," he told her. "In case the rest of you already forgot, I was the one that rescued Yggdra in the first place, when Luciana was chasing her. She'd never've made it through the war without me. Back before you decided to join us, when Gulcasa and Nessiah were still our enemies, when Roswell was too confused and depressed to do more than get into one near-death scrape after another—I was Yggdra's strength. I was the one she relied on. I'm not gonna let anybody try to treat that like it's not worth anything. So I got a little overconfident. So I sat back for a while and now all of you gave gotten a little ahead of me. I'll just have to make up for that now. I'm not gonna get left behind. I will keep fighting for Yggdra. And no one's gonna pull a stupid stunt like that on me again."
Kylier just looked at him for a while, then smiled. "You know? I think that's good, Milanor. The more strong people there are for Yggdra, the greater the chance that we'll finally be able to make real peace in this world. Besides… I don't want you to get hurt, so…"
"Hmph." Milanor set his shoulders. "Well, that's not gonna happen anytime soon. That's a promise. I'm not gonna let anyone get to the people I care about ever again." Yggdra… or you.
There was a short silence, and then Kylier shook her head and laughed.
"…You really are a dumbass, you know that?"
"Shut up, Kylier."
Owari.