Tale of the Warring Nations
By: Asagi Tsuki
Pairing: Shinkai (not necessarily in this order. I just list it this way because Shinkai sounds better -_-;;;), mentions of other pairings. I'll be kind and mention right out that this will be KaitoShinICHI, not KaitoShinKU :D but there will be mentions of HeiShinKU, HakubaShiho (again), and one-sided AokoKaito
Warning: AU, OOCness (some characters WILL be OOC), fem!Shinichi who's named Shinku
Disclaimer: obviously, DC is not mine. If it were, it would be so lame, that this fandom would be non-existent. Also, Odin Sphere, the game that became the basis of this fic, is developed by Vanillaware
A/N: as I've said before, I'm currently in a some sort of writing frenzy :D it won't last long, but I think it's enough to keep this story going until my muse comes back again. Also, as I've said to someone, these chapters are significantly shorter than Pandora's Box, so I should take significantly less time to write one, right? :3 right?
Anyway, this is the first chapter :D enjoy~~
Reply to anonymous reviews are at the bottom, as usual :D find your name :P
Chapter One – Victory
Shinichi rushed towards a valkyrie standing guard on the battlefield, watching for any back up from the castle. Her stance was tense and her grip was tight, causing her knuckles to go white. Shinichi understood her worries. Anyone would be worried while in such prolonged war with a strong nation such as Ringford, the kingdom of fairies. They were known for their healers and mages. It had been more than a week since Shinku died in the war, but it still felt like yesterday to those who cared for her.
However, he also knew that that wasn't all that she was worried about. Her eyes kept glancing back at the castle for signs of an approaching giant, but found none. One of king Odin's strongest generals, aside from Shinku, the valkyrie general, was Brigan, a giant who had served Ragnanival for years.
Although he had served Ragnanival for years, everyone still had their doubts about him, especially the royal twins. Shinku had expressed her worries time and again about the possibility of Brigan betraying their kingdom and their father, but they could find no proof of such thing.
Not yet, anyway.
"Guard, what is the situation?" Shinichi asked as he stood a couple of feet away from the valkyrie.
"Lord Brigan has not come yet, Prince Shinichi," the valkyrie said with a defeated sigh. "How fare the soldiers on the front line?"
"We'll survive," Shinichi said, sighing himself. "Once King Odin and Lord Brigan come, I will go to the front line myself and confront the fairy queen."
"No," the valkyrie said as she frowned. "It's not that I don't trust you, milord, but even General Shinku might not be able to defeat Elfaria, the fairy queen. We cannot lose the other half of the royal twin. We cannot lose our future ruler."
"Don't worry, I won't die that easily," Shinichi said with a small smile on his face. "I will make this spear live up to the name Shinku gave it. Gungnir, the spear that never misses its target."
"If you say so, milord," the valkyrie said as she bowed at him. "But please go with caution, and may the blessings of Erion be with you."
"Thank you, knight," Shinichi said. He stared off into the distance, then nodded. "It looks like King Odin and Lord Brigan are here. I will be going off first. Please notify them of it."
"Of course, milord," the valkyrie confirmed as she bowed again. "Be safe."
Shinichi nodded curtly and rushed off to the front line. One of the advantages of being a valkyrie was the ability to fly and glide in the air. It was even more important because all fairies could fly, and if they couldn't keep up, they would be the ones to die. He looked at the soldiers of Ragnanival fighting the fairies, and after deeming that they would hold up well without his assistance, he pressed onwards to where the fairy queen was.
The fairy queen was a beautiful woman with large, butterfly-like wings. Her wings were strong, solid, and colorful. A crown of flowers adorned her head. She was beautiful without looking frail, and Shinichi knew well that the fairy queen was a very powerful mage that he couldn't underestimate.
However, just like his own father, the fairy queen Elfaria was a power-hungry person. Her weapon was a red crystal-tipped crossbow—a Psypher, like Gungnir. He knew why Odin and Elfaria fought for the Crystallization Cauldron, an object capable of producing Psypher crystals. Unlike normal weapons that wear down as they fought more and more battles, Psyphers absorb the life energy of the ones killed by them and grow stronger instead.
"Oh ho, if it's not one of the royal twins," Elfaria said when she saw Shinichi. "What do you wish to accomplish here, kid? Are you that desperate to follow your sister's path that you recklessly come here to play hero?"
"You have no right to speak of her in that way," Shinichi said angrily. "She died an honorable death for her kingdom. If you speak one more disrespectful word about her, you shall be condemned to an even worse fate than hers. That you would die a pointless death!"
"Oh, I'm scared," Elfaria said with a teasing smile on her lips. "I never knew the royal twins were famed also for witchcraft. Did she also put a curse on other people and it somehow backfired on her?"
"That was the last straw, fairy queen Elfaria," Shinichi said as he held his hand up, letting a small, glowing orb form above his palm. "You shall die a pointless, unhonorable death, and no one will mourn for you."
"I'm not scared of such talk," Elfaria said as she scoffed, even after the orb exploded into a flash of bright light. Most of the valkyries nearby looked to see who was cursed by Shinichi, but then returned to their own fights when they saw Elfaria. "Try to kill me if you could."
"It's not my place to kill you," Shinichi said calmly. "I will do all I can to bring Ragnanival to victory. You have something you kept as a last resort, don't you? I shall fight him."
Elfaria laughed. "How foolish of you," she said. It was now her turn to raise up her hand and produce a glowing red orb. "If that is what you wish, then do as you will. Come, my faithful servant Belial. I have found a perfect dinner for you."
The orb exploded in a flash of red light, and suddenly a huge dragon towering over them appeared, staring down at Shinichi with cold, hard gray eyes.
"Belial the dragon," Shinichi mumbled as he raised his spear up. "Why have you submitted under her? Had she defeated you? Did she make a pact with you?"
The dragon roared, spreading its wings wide and looked back down to stare at Shinichi.
"I understand. I shall do my best to release you from this bond," he said as he spread his own wings. The wings were sewn onto the valkyrie armor, and controlled at will by those wearing the armor.
Elfaria laughed. "Well, do your best then, foolish prince."
She then flew away, but was quickly intercepted by Odin who had arrived at the battleground. They moved to a wider space and began their fight. Odin also owned a blue Psypher, the huge spiked metal ball he named Balor. No one dared to disturb their fight, so the knights fought against knights while watching, making sure their ruler wouldn't die.
Meanwhile, Shinichi was struggling against Belial. It was true that Belial was much slower compared to him, but its size more than made up for it. It could reach farther than he could dodge sometimes, and he knew this would become a losing battle if he didn't find out its weak spot soon.
The fight dragged out for long and for once, Shinichi began to fear for his life. His vision had become slightly blurry and he knew he couldn't take more blows from the dragon. If he lost more blood, he would die for sure.
Suddenly, loud cheers were heard from behind him, and he flew up to see what it was about. It seemed that Odin had won the fight with Elfaria, and the wounded fairy queen had retreated, taking her army of fairies with her. However, Belial remained.
Shinichi landed on the ground and was about to pierce the dragon's heart when the red tip of a Psypher crystal went through the thick, scaly skin of the dragon. Belial roared in pain before it fell down, obviously dead, and the owner of the Psypher sword pulled it out from its carcass.
"You!" Shinichi exclaimed in surprise. "You are the Shadow Knight! Why are you helping me?"
"Whoever said I'm helping you?" the knight asked coldly. "Don't flatter yourself. This is my way of taking revenge against those people."
"Why?" Shinichi asked, frowning.
"It's none of your business," the knight said, and he disappeared with a flurry of black shadow.
Shinichi was still confused when the valkyries rushed up to him to announce their victory and bring him back to the castle. He, however, decided to take a look at the Crystallization Cauldron, to see what kind of object could cause such a great war.
Meanwhile, Elfaria was surrounded by healer fairies and some of her trusted advisors, as well as a tall man named Melvin who had become her lover for some years now.
"The wounds aren't that deep," the dwarf advisor said as he frowned. "However, there is something that is stopping our healing magic from closing them. Also, as time goes by, the wound gets deeper."
"What?" Elfaria asked in shock. "So his curse is real?"
"Who?" Melvin asked. "You don't happen to have been cursed by the prince of Ragnanival, do you?"
"Exactly," Elfaria said as she growled. "I thought he was just all talk."
"No, the princess was famed for her fighting skills. He was famed for his curse," the dwarf advisor said as he shook his head. "Though he doesn't curse anyone often. Oh well, I guess there's nothing we can do now if he had cursed you to death. You're just another victim of this war."
"You would die an unhonorable death, and no one will mourn for you."
Shinichi's words flashed through her mind as Elfaria sank to her knees, more and more blood pouring out from her wounds. "Is this my end?" she asked herself. "I'm so... foolish."
As Elfaria lay to meet her inevitable death, the valkyries were regrouping their troops and preparing to head back to the castle with the Cauldron. Shinichi had gone off first to check on the condition of the Cauldron. When he arrived there, he saw a young woman with short strawberry blond hair dressed in a long robe and carrying a chain with two red crystal tips—no doubt another Psypher weapon, standing before the Cauldron. The blazing fire in the Cauldron had died and the metal framework had cooled down.
"This object is a cause of many wars," the woman said as she stared hard at the Cauldron. "Also the cause of misery. I will not let anyone use this for their personal gain. Not Odin, and not Elfaria."
With that said, the woman went off, leaving Shinichi to stare blankly at her and at the Cauldron.
"What was that all about?" he asked himself, but then decided that he would know in due time.
End of Chapter One
Well, that's it :D I hope you enjoyed that. If you do, please leave a review~
rirspaw: I can't guarantee this fic will retain that "cool" feeling all the time, but I try to at least include some "cool" bits like that in most chapters :D glad that you like this universe though
