I do not own Kamen Rider OOO or Familiar of Zero. Those belong to their respective creators and not me. I am only writing this for fun so please don't try to sue me.
Familiar of ZerOOO
By Ten-Faced Paladin
CHAPTER 9: The Jilted, The Jealous, and The Blazing Combo
It had been a long arduous battle. I had to battle through mobs, stalkers, and downright dirty, dirty tricksters. It took cunning, insights, and a lot of luck to get around them and get to safety. I had to be sneaky and pull some dirty tricks of my own just to get some space so I could make the plans and tricks that would get me away and to where I could call myself safe. I had achieved a level of stealth that I had never had thought possible for someone like me.
And that was just to get away from Siesta, Kirche, and Lady Zerbst.
Kirche's mother Emma Francesca Lillith von Zerbst had come to visit her daughter. Kirche had been telling tales about me apparently and the Lady Zerbst was curious about her daughter's 'Darling' and who he was. As part of a guard or something, she had brought a fellow named Alejandro Conquista la Corleone, a Viscount of Germania. Incidentally, he was a man whom Kirche's parents had considered for Kirche as husband material. He seemed to take some offence to how Kirche liked to molest me, no matter how much I didn't molest her back.
Okay, long story short some offense was taken, a challenge in the form og a duel was made, and some ass was kicked. Fortunately for me, the ass that was kicked wasn't mine. Unfortunately, the duel had been for Kirche so now the redhead would be stuck to me like glue. Her mother had publicly declared me her son-in-law, which Louise didn't like all that much. The only reason she didn't cause much fuss though on account that she was terrified of Lady Zerbst. Apparently her runic name of Emma the Searing Heat was one that Louise grew up with holding in same regard to the boogeyman. Why that was I still hadn't gotten a straight answer to.
I wonder if I could hide in Louise's room until this all blew over.
"Darling! Darling, where are you?" Kirche called out, on the hunt for her Darling.
He had been so dashing as he defeated Alejandro in a duel. She never really liked the Viscount all that much. He was way too stiff for her tastes and she liked boys who were closer to her age anyway. Well, she'd make an exception if they were handsome enough she supposed. However, her father seemed to like him since he was the new recruit into the Pegasus Guard who came from an established military family with a lot of prestige in their name.
Her family had taken to the idea after Kirche had caused some…problems, with her old school. It was an honest accident. Things just got a little out of control. Her parents were certainly not amused and considered having her married to alleviate some of the shame of nearly destroying her school. In the end though, they didn't want her to be uneducated since they had already set her on the path of learning magic so they decided to send her to the Tristain Academy.
And now that she met her Darling, she knew it was the right choice.
Now if she could only find him.
Walking through the halls of the academy, she tried to find a trace of her Darling since he had run away as she and her mother tried to congratulate him for his victory. Honestly, he could be so shy! She had only wanted to reward him for fighting so valiantly for her sake. Oh, Louise deserved a little bit of credit too she supposed, but it was mainly her Darling who deserved all of the credit! She was just glad that her mother was fond of him as well.
Now if she would remember that Kirche got to go first then there wouldn't be any problems.
"What are you doing back here you stupid dog?-! I thought you'd want to be with your new Zerbst masters!"
Okay, Louise was pissed. Big surprise. In my attempt to hide from the Zerbsts, I had decided to go to her room in hopes that she'd offer me some protection. Instead I found her at her table, one leg crossed over the other with her arms crossed and her wand in hand. She definitely did not look pleased to see me and was certainly just getting started on showing her displeasure in receiving affection from Kirche and her mother. Being publicly proclaimed the Lady Zerbst's son-in-law probably did not help matters.
"Louise, look…" I tried to explain. "This whole thing…I, well…I didn't intend for it to happen. Heck, I still don't want it to happen."
"Really?" she huffed disbelievingly. "I would have thought perverted dogs like you would have loved a situation like the one you're in!"
Okay, that was a harsh thing to say.
"Look, if I lost then it would have made us both look bad," I tried to defend myself. "I just thought that…okay…I wasn't doing much thinking."
"Obviously," Louise huffed.
"I just wanted to beat Alejandro and get him to leave me alone since he was so bent on getting Kirche to marry him and he thought I was in the way of that," I tried to defend myself. "I thought if I beat him, he'd leave me alone. That just…opened me up to Kirche."
Louse's growl made me know her opinion.
"So, could I hide out here? Please? I'll do anything!" I begged. I didn't want to turn into a boytoy for either Zerbst woman so if it meant grovelling at Louise's feet in order to get some of that protection then I was going to do that. Death by asphyxiation was definitely not the way I'd like to go, no matter how pleasant the scenery would be before I went.
"Anything?" asked Louise with a raised eyebrow.
"Anything!" I insisted.
The smile appearing on her lips made me regret the words as soon as I uttered them.
Viscount Alejandro was pissed, which was pretty obvious to anyone who was unfortunate enough to cross his path. Not only was he defeated by some no-name but he also got humiliated in front of his fiancée and her mother. Where was he to show his face now? There had been so many witnesses to the duel to watch him lose so he couldn't even try to hide the event under the rug. By the next day, the nearby towns would no doubt hear about what had happened. He had thought that he could defeat Matthew and whatever artefacts he had. After all, they were just simple coins, hardly the most intimidating of items.
He had been proven wrong and suffered greatly. He put his hand against his chest which was still sore from the shock he'd received. He clenched his fist in rage. He cursed silently beneath his breath. Kirche was his, dammit! Nobody else! It had been agreed!
Obviously, Alejandro did not take losing quite well. He needed a new plan now, one to get him what he wanted. He had disgraced himself by losing to a teenage boy with a bunch of magical coins. Granted, if Lady Zerbt's theory was proven true then the shame he suffered in losing would be greatly diminished. Still, there was still shame associated with losing and Alejandro wouldn't have it! He would remove the shame from his name and prove he was worthy to be wed to the Zerbst heiress!
"Where did you get this collar?" I asked Louise. "It itches!"
"Silence, dog!"
WHAP!
"Ow!"
I think she was having fun whipping my rear with that riding crop.
This may sting my pride but I had promised to do anything for Louise in exchange for some protection from the Zerbsts. Sooner or later, Kirche's mother would have to go home. Kirche, of course, was another issue. I didn't want to lose her friendship over something like this but her intentions for me were more than friendly.
Presently, I was being treated and disciplined like a disobedient dog. I had a collar that was connected to a length of chain with the other end gripped in Louise's hand and in her other hand was her riding crop. I had to kneel next to the table like an obedient dog while she sipped her tea and continued making notes on the Core Medals, possible combinations that might come in handy. Rather than diligence, I think she was just doing it for fun more than anything else.
At least she hadn't blown me up.
Even better, Louise looked happy. Now, what to do next?
"Partner, I don't get why you don't want the benefits," Derflinger spoke, wriggling himself out of his sheathe again. "I mean to be married into nobility is a huge deal." He then shut up when Louise glared at him. "Then again, I'm just a sword! No brain, remember! Ha ha ha."
If Derflinger didn't want to be melted down, he would need to keep his mouth shut.
"How about I explain that I'm your Familiar and that I can't marry Kirche?" I suggested.
Louise gave me a look and cocked an eyebrow. Right. That would just make them try harder. There really wasn't a way to make myself less desirable and even if there was it involved hurting their feelings. I really wasn't the kind of guy who would do that on purpose. Maybe if I was really cheesed off and someone was being a dick to me I could do it, but to someone who did absolutely nothing to deserve it? No way, it was impossible for me to do.
I bet Lady Zerbst was already making arrangements. She seemed like the type who would forge on ahead with their plans. Kirche was definitely a chip off the old block when it came to that…among other things. The girl was certainly not afraid to grab something she wanted, even if other people told her not to, many times, quite loudly. It was painfully obvious where Kirche got that particular personality quirk from. Unfortunately, or fortunately depending on someone's point of view, that personality quirk was focused on me.
It wasn't that the thought of being with Kirche wasn't appealing. Hell, no straight man would think otherwise. However, she was incredibly forward and it was a little intimidating. I was also not too sure just what her intentions were. Well, her intentions were pretty clear. What I should say is I was worried about how committed she was. Her mother seemed all for a relationship, even marriage. Then again, she made it clear she was interested in playing with me too. That look in her eyes when I had her gripped in the Tako Legs said it all. Apparently she practiced an open marriage, and it was hard to say if her husband knew about it or not.
"While you did manage to save my reputation, you've now all but proclaimed intentions towards Kirche," Louise frowned. "Out of all of the girls in the entire school, why did you have to go and start getting closer to her?" She gave me that scary glare again. "Was it her boobs? I bet it was her boobs, wasn't it? Perverted dogs always follow the girls with the biggest chests. What does it matter if they have masters that they have a responsibility to? They have breasts to pay attention to, that's more important."
Her scolding had turned into an inner monologue that more or less defined her relationship with Kirche. Louise was definitely jealous of how Kirche seemed to have a more voluptuous figure and seemed to be using it to get attention from all of the boys in the school. She was even more pissed off by the fact that I noticed her and that she seemed to be interested in me. Worse yet, her childhood boogeyman seemed to support the relationship.
"In my defence, I didn't exactly pursue her," I offered. "She decided that on her own."
"You still encouraged her," she argued.
Not on purpose, not that it mattered away. Kirche now seemed bound and determined to get me and her mother seemed to be in the mood to help her. Boy did I ever step into it. It was literally the line between heaven and hell.
Now how do I get out of it?
It wasn't until nightfall that Louise finally decided that I had taken enough punishment and I could remove the collar. I missed dinner so I had hoped that by heading to the kitchen there would be something left. So while Louise decided to amuse herself with her studies and Derflinger chatted with her, I began walking through the dorms to try and get to the kitchens for some grub. Maybe Siesta was still there and she'd be in the mood to help me find something. At the very least it would get me away from Louise and hopefully by now Kirche and her mother had gotten bored and were off doing some mother-daughter activity together. Preferably without me being the primary target.
"Hi there!"
A shame some hopes go unrealized.
I only saw a flash of red and purple before I was yanked into one of the rooms. While I admit that I was surprised, at the same time I really wasn't. With the kind of luck I was having, seeing as my life as of late was beginning to match that of some kind of harem fantasy anime. I mean honestly, these kinds of things happened only to some hapless male hero who somehow, against all laws of probability, ended up surrounded by a bevy of pretty girls of various attitudes and body shapes. All of them which were either interested in him, hated him, or were completely indifferent with some guest characters thrown in there for good measure.
It was a path which I found eerily similar to my general situation.
"Oof!" I grunted as I hit the ground. The room was dark which kept me from seeing anything, but it didn't stop me from feeling something warm and moderately heavy begin sitting on my waist. After a moment of getting my sight adjusted to the darkness, I found everything bathed in moonlight. That was including the redhead sitting on my waist wearing only her purple negligee. "Eep!"
"Hello Darling," Kirche purred. "I've been looking for you."
"Uh…have you?" I sputtered, trying to play dumb. Not my coolest moment, but I was still a little freaked out with the sudden and likely most blatant seduction yet. It even topped that time Kirche had Flame drag me to her room so she could try to seduce me the slow and sultry way.
"Mmmhmm," Kirche nodded, that sexy smile still on her lips. "I've been wanting to reward you for being victorious today. Seeing you like that was…majestic."
"Um…you really don't have to," I argued weakly. Really, she didn't. "It's no big deal, really."
"Oh, but it is…" She traced a finger down my chest and I shuddered. God, why did she have to be so hot? OK, she was a Flame Mage but you know what I mean. Normally, this would be the happiest moment of my life. OK, one of them. Maybe one of the top 3. Still, even though I was in a position most guys would kill to have, her assertiveness and forwardness intimidated me a little. I liked her, as a friend, and maybe at some point down the road I might be inclined to court her…
Wait, where did that thought come from? Focus, Matthew!
"Kirche, could you please get off me?" I requested. "Please?" I added in a more pleading tone.
She apparently had the idea I was playing hard to get.
"Oh don't say that Darling," Kirche purred, leaning down on me with her breasts pressing up against my chest. "There's nothing to stop us from showing our love. Mother simply adores you and even approves of us. Didn't she already welcome you to the family when you defeated Alejandro? I'm sure we can even deal with Louise once she realizes that we're together. So don't trouble yourself with such concerns, just enjoy our union."
Well, that sort of dealt with some of the problems I had. Nothing quite killed a relationship like parents who didn't approve of you in the first place. I guess with that concern out of the way it would be so bad…wait! No! It wasn't passion or parents that I was mainly concerned about! It was commitment! Yeah! I was worried just how serious she was going to be once she got what she wanted, which mostly seemed like sex to me. I'd seen her boot five guys out of her room while she was trying to seduce me! Remember! Remember that time! If she wanted me, she'd have to prove she wanted a true relationship! Yeah!
I was going to voice that concern…
"Kirche, have you found him yet?"
"Yes, Mother!" Kirche replied, looking to the door.
The door to the room opened and in walked Lady Zerbst, but she wasn't wearing the slinky dress I was used to seeing her in. Rather, she was dressed in a set of negligee which was eerily similar to the kind Kirche was wearing save it was black where Kirche's was purple. Was she walking in the halls wearing that? I mean, she filled it out beautifully and every step made her breasts jiggle slightly. It seemed that Zerbst women preferred the same seamstress for their clothing. It also seemed that they didn't believe in bras either.
"Ah, I was hoping you'd catch him," Lady Zerbst smiled as she shut the door behind her. "Well, don't let me stop you. I would love to see my daughter consummate her relationship with her Darling."
Kirche's smile turned downright saucy, "Oh, we'll 'consummate' our relationship." The saucy grin was mirrored by the elder woman.
You know, it was then that I discovered that it was indeed possibly to have a sudden nosebleed caused by a hormonal overload brought on my excessively sexy women. I had only ever seen it happen in anime and considered it to just be a comic gag, but having it happen to me was something else. Maybe it had something to do with the air quality here? I didn't get to examine the sensation for very long before I had blacked out, losing consciousness.
'You pussy,' a voice in my head growled as I passed out.
Alejandro grumbled to himself as he wetted his whistle at one of the local pubs. He was still as sour as ever over his loss and no matter how much ale he drank it never seemed to get any easier to deal with. He was still shamed, still humiliated, and still angry over it all. At the very least everyone else in the tavern had the sense to leave him alone. If anyone had tried to talk to him, he likely wouldn't have been patient with them for very long and tried to hurt them.
"Hello friend."
But the night was still young.
Looking up, Alejandro saw a man sitting next to him on a bar stool. He was dressed in a black cloak which hid his face and body completely. The only real features the shamed Viscount could see was a domino mask with white eyes that protected the man's identity while allowing him to see. All in all, someone suspicious to be sure but at the moment, Alejandro just didn't care.
"A friend? You?" he snorted.
"I will be in a moment," the cloaked man replied. "I heard rumours pertaining to a duel concerning a Familiar and Viscount Alejandro the Crimson Wind. They say it was for the hand of Kirche Augusta Frederica von Anhalt Zerbst."
"Nn," Alejandro grumbled.
"I also heard that you lost."
"Watch your tongue," Alejandro snarled, glaring at the man. "Lest you wish to lose it."
"Peace. I meant no offence," the cloaked man amended. "In fact, I wish to offer my assistance in reclaiming your lost pride and dignity."
"Oh?" the Viscount frowned, coming out of his rage to listen to the offer. "And what would be in it for you?"
"Knowledge," the cloaked man replied. "Both on the defences and layout of the academy as well as knowledge on that strange warrior that defeated you."
Alejandro's scowl didn't lessen as he pondered what the man wanted in return. If he wanted to know about the defences and the layout of the school, he was probably holding intentions to invade it for the sake of holding someone ransom. It wasn't such an original plot, the Viscount having stopped one or two similar plots back in Germania. As a Viscount, he really should have wanted to turn this man in to the proper authorities. However, he was pissed off and he was in Tristain anyway. Its history with Germaina was a little rough despite how their King was being said to being betrothed to the Tristain Princess. What did he care if Tristain had some internal problems?
"I'm listening."
I awoke to the sensation of warmth and softness on either side of my body. Everything was dark and I couldn't see very well at first. Soon enough though, I was able to get my eyes adjusted to the dimness of the area so I would be able to see.
And what I saw could only be described as heavenly.
On either side of me, in the centre of a bed were Kirche and Lady Zerbst. Both were in their negligee outfits and pressed up against me. I myself was donned only in my pants and bare-chested, feeling the lace of their outfits and warmth of their bodies pressed up against me. My face felt a little stiff, like that sensation you get when you dry off naturally after having gone swimming. At least my nose wasn't bleeding anymore. I guess Kirche cleaned it up.
Still, I had to wonder how I got into my current situation. Kirche and her mother both in bed with me? Was I dreaming or something? I had to be, no matter how hot a mother and daughter pair were they just wouldn't share a bed together, would they? Granted, the school didn't seem to have any guest quarters as far as I knew and my impression of the Zerbst women this far told me that they didn't exactly take much stock in what other people would call proper. Affection, love, and passion were something to be embraced to them. Knowing that, the two sharing a bed if they needed to do such didn't seem so odd when I thought about it. Having me passing out in Kirche's room would have guaranteed adding me into the mix.
As nice as this situation was though, I needed to somehow get out of it. Louise's wrath was immense as was her creativity and sadistic tendencies. I would be suffering both if or when she caught me in such a situation with her greatest rival as well as her childhood boogeyman. I still had welts from when she struck me with that riding crop. I was really going to have to ask her where she got it from. I just hoped that Louise didn't have a secret fetish for S&M.
But then I imagined her wearing a skimpy bikini in of leather with matching fishnets I couldn't help but find the image erotic. Then it started to develop and…
…OK, my imagination wasn't helping matters. I blamed my current situation for that. It was only going to make things harder for me and speaking of hard…well, you catch my drift. I'd have to have problems to not react *that* way to where I was. I reluctantly started to sit up, my hands finding leverage and pressing down on something soft.
Kirche moaned.
Did I just cop a feel?
Then her mother moaned.
My other hand, did it just…wow, these were real soft and…FOCUS! FOCUS! Gotta get out of here with some of my dignity intact, as well as the rest of my clothes! To be honest, I was surprised that they hadn't stripped me naked and had their way with me but then that would be rape and I think they would want me to actively participate in the debauchery.
My word for the day: debauchery.
And a part of me had doubts that I would resist or decline. I mean I would have to be crazy to pass up on such a chance, right? Lady Zerbst was a genuine MILF and her daughter would definitely make the front page of any magazine with her looks and body of a supermodel. Heck, fanboys would be lining up just to touch her hand. Well, considering the line up she had the last time I was in her room, I think she already had the fanboy angle covered.
Guess some things were just universal. Slowly, I crawled out of the bed, making sure I didn't wake them up. I then picked up my clothes which were lying on the floor before slowly sneaking out the door. That voice in my head from before I passed out was yelling at me to not be such a pansy and go take advantage of the situation like a true man would. It made me feel like I was winning in terms of a moral victory, but I was losing in life at the same time. I guess that's what a hollow victory felt like.
Gently shutting the door behind me, I heaved a sigh of relief/regret as I managed to escape. Ignoring the sinking in my gut, I pulled my clothes back on and decided to forget any kitchen assistance since it was probably too late for any staff to be awake. I suppose I'd have to go to bed hungry again and hope that Louise wasn't too upset about me being out for too long. She'd probably suspect that I was hanging out with Kirche, which in this case, wasn't going to be an incorrect guess. I could already see her going to a fit and attacking me with that riding crop of hers again.
Some days it didn't seem to pay to leave your room.
Walking down the halls, I headed back towards Louise's room with thoughts of riding crop attacks circling my head. Turning a corner, I continued travelling but found my path impeded by something I didn't expect. In front of me were a small band of men who were dressed like armour-less solders, all of them holding spears and/or swords. They looked grizzled and/or scarred, definitely not like the normal guards that the Academy employed to protect it.
"Hey, who are you guys?" I asked, growing suspicious.
The leader's response didn't thrill me, "Kill him! Hurry!"
The men charged at me with their weapons raised. I knew that they were likely after someone in the dorms so if I tried to run then they were going to have their opportunity to get whoever it was they were after. With no way I could run, I decided to go for the reckless/stupid course of action.
I charged at them.
I think I just made a personal record for ending up in these situations.
Louise stomped down the corridor, a riding crop and wand in hand as she went in search of her Familiar. The moment she took her eyes off him he just runs off and hadn't been back for a little over an hour. "He's probably with the Zerbsts," she muttered to herself, wearing a scowl and red in the face with anger. She was going to properly discipline him for his actions. It would be well-deserved. He needed to be punished for going behind his Master's back. He needed to know his place.
However, after several minutes, Louise began to calm down. In hindsight she might've been the cause of this. She had summoned him and bound him against his will and even if there were disagreements and some ups and downs, Matthew had been trying to make the best of this situation. It made sense that he'd want to be close to somebody around him who would be nice to him and she really didn't have much of a reason to stop him. Not after what he had been doing for her. He had helped her, even impressing the judges during the Familiar Exhibition. Also, she had summoned him, proving she was not a useless mage.
However, there were still those who considered it merely a fluke. And there were others who accused her of hiring the services of a nameless noble to act as her Familiar. Matthew had displayed the use of magical artefacts said to be 800 years old, wielding their magic with ease. He had even said that the artefacts had been made with specific conditions and that they could only be used by him. Lady Zerbst, Kirche's mother, had even assumed that he was probably the descendant of one of the king's bastard children, one he'd sired with one of his mistresses or concubines. As much as she didn't want to agree with a Zerbst on anything, she had to admit that the theory seemed quite plausible. Kings could be a little overindulgent, even if nobody would dare speak about it in public. If a man was given immense wealth and power, he could have anything he wanted, even a harem of the finest beauties to sate his lusts upon. Who knew how many of the king's descendants still wandered about after his self-inflicted downfall?
To achieve godhood was blasphemy and her Familiar was using the same power which led to the king's end. He had told her the Cell Medals and Core Medals were made from desire, they were desire in their purest form. It was the same as magic, really. Willpower and the desire to make it happen were key components of casting a spell. She had wanted, desired, for a strong Familiar and ended up with Matthew who wielded the power of desire.
Louise shook her head. She had to focus on her mission. Gripping her riding crop and wand, she was deliberating whether she would blow him up, or whip him, or blow him up AND whip him.
Meanwhile, Louise's room was paying host to a visitor. The window silently creaked open and a cloaked figure bathed in shadow slipped through, using a levitation spell to reach the window and silently stepped inn. They were looking around the room and their eyes spotted the pots filled with Cell Medals. Going over to them, they sank their hands into the piles of silver coins and smiled in the darkness. "So, these are the rumoured Cell Medals, manifestations of desire. Interesting…"
'Does this sort of thing only happen to me?'
"RAH!"
I twisted around a spear thrust from the first grunt that was attacking me. It was a close thing though and I could almost feel the breeze of the air displaced by the weapon. Out of sheer survival instinct and a desire not to be stabbed, I grabbed the weapon and pulled. My plan was to try and tug it out of the hands of the guy that was attacking me and hopefully have a means to defend myself. So, once I got my hands on the wooden shaft of the spear, I made sure not to let go.
Then the runes on my hand began to glow…
Suddenly, I knew exactly how to use the spear as my weapon perfectly.
A sharp tug got the soldier off balance before I kicked him in the face. The man cried out in pain and let go of his spear, letting me take it into my hands for myself. I was in a confined space but that was okay, I knew some moves which would let me take these clowns down if they tried anything funny.
Okay, how did I know this in the first place?
I didn't have much time to contemplate the notion before more of the soldiers began to attack me. I twisted my spear and slammed the blunt end into one man's but striking him directly in the kidneys. By no means was it a lethal blow but no one was capable of shrugging off a blow like that. I was proven right as the man groaned loudly and stumbled back, clutching where I had struck him. I didn't have time to note the victory as the other two goons came charging at me. The first tried to slash me with his sword, but I deflected it with the metal tip of my spear before twisting the blade away and smashing the wooden end into the soldiers face. He cried out in pain before I kicked him in the face, knocking him backwards into his unarmed friend, making them both tumble to the ground. Trained soldiers these guys weren't. They were likely cheap mercenaries with basic abilities meant to be used in large groups. Who hired them to come here though?
Either way, it made me determined to keep the Derflinger, O-Driver, and some of my Core Medals on me at all times from now on.
Alejandro winced as he heard the crashing noises from down the hall. He had ordered the mercenaries to sneak through the front door of the dormitories as a distraction from any guards that may have been there. The soldiers were cheap, but they had battle experience which was likely more than what most of the guards in the castle had. It shouldn't have been difficult for them to get to where they needed to go. Instead, it seemed that they had found some unexpected resistance.
It made Alejandro glad he decided to take the stealthy route.
Using his magic, he levitated up to where his fiancée's room was. As expected, she was there and sleeping peacefully thus far. However, he mother was right next to her, making what he was about to do next that much more difficult. Still, he had no choice if he wanted to begin his plan. Casting a smaller levitation spell around his boots, he steeped into the room and towards the bed. Lady Zerbst was sleeping against the wall thankfully, which left Kirche open for him.
He slowly removed a long strip of cloth from his jacket and proceeded to tie Kirche's hands together gently as not to disturb her. Once they were secured, he reached down so to pick her up. Soon he would be out of here and be able to proceed with the next phase of his plan…
"And what pray tell are you doing with my daughter?"
Lady Zerbst's eyes were open and glaring darkly at Alejandro, making him feel thankful that he was in disguise.
It didn't remove from the fact that he was in deep trouble though.
Louise heard a ruckus and rushed to the scene. Coming onto the area proper, she gasped at seeing three men who were obvious bandits of some sort facing off against her Familiar. He was holding a spear, apparently stolen from one of the three and was fighting them with it. He was holding them off well enough, which was something of a relief to her. However, Louise knew that a master who neglected her Familiar was no master at all. Retrieving her wand from her pocket, she raised it and called out to warn her Familiar of her intentions.
"MATTHEW!"
When I heard Louise call my name, I was surrounded by these unknown soldiers who were trying to kill me. They also heard her and turned their attention towards her momentarily.
"Louise, RUN!" I shouted to her. Of all the times she was going to get involved in something, it had to be now when I was in the middle of fighting some mercenaries who were likely not all that worried about having to kill me. I honestly doubted killing one teenage girl would have been that much of a problem for them.
"No!" she protested, stubbornly. She pointed her wand at the mercenaries.
Uh-Oh.
As she began to chant a spell, I hit the dirt as the tip of the wand glowed.
-BOOM!-
A hole was blown open in the wall as the soldiers were knocked down by the explosion. I was unharmed, save for a bit of rubble raining down on her. No doubt, what served as campus security, the teaching staff and the student body would have heard the explosion and become alarmed by it.
"Louise..." I spoke up as I slowly rose to my feet. My ears rang from my close proximity to the explosion. Still, as the smoke cleared I could see that the soldiers were half-buried in rubble and the night sky was visible through the hole that Louise had created. It certainly took them out for the count. "Thanks."
"Doing my part," Louise nodded. It seemed for once that her explosions came in handy rather than being an unwanted conclusion. Personally, I was glad for those little screw ups as well. Now, just to try and figure out where these guys…
-BOOM!-
"Louise!" It was sheer reflex. Honest.
"It wasn't me!" the pinkette snapped back.
I would have explained myself, but that was quickly interrupted by a cloud of steam passing into the halls. I first mistook it as mist, but the heat told me otherwise. Louise and I looked at each other in confusion before down the hall where the steam had come from. Now I knew that something bad was up. Gripping the spear, I headed in the direction that the steam was coming from, making sure that the pointy end was forward in case things got ugly.
Turning the corner again, we saw that the steam was coming from Kirche's room and that the door had been blown off of its hinges. Now doubly concerned since someone I knew was apparently in trouble, I dashed over to the door to see what was going on.
"GET BACK HERE WITH MY DAUGHTER!"
Coming to the entrance of the room and looking inside made me blanch and Louise whimper. Lady Zerbst was in her sleepwear still, but condensation was making it stick to her body. What caught my attention though was the wall blown open with steam wafting off the brickwork, the same kind of steam that was falling from her clenched fists. In the distance, it looked like a winged horse was flying away with two people on its back, one was riding properly while the other was slung over like cargo. Suddenly it seemed obvious both as to Lady Zerbst's anger and why she was called Emma the Searing Heat.
"What happened?" I asked Lady Zerbst.
"It was Alejandro!" she shouted, turning to me with eyes that looked like a blazing inferno of fury, "He took my daughter! The bastard thought he could disguise himself, but I recognized him in a heartbeat!"
Crap, I knew that Alejandro didn't take losing so well, but to resort to kidnapping? Seriously, were nobles really so messed up that they allowed their pride to make them go insane? I didn't quite understand how kidnapping Kirche was supposed to help him, but anger made people do weird things. For his own sake, I hoped he wouldn't do anything stupid with her lest I bring down the wrath of god on him for it. Still, I couldn't do that unless I had the right equipment. With that in mind, I turned to look at my pinkette friend.
"Louise, do you have my Core Medals?" I asked Louise, "And my belt?"
"They're back in my room," she told me. "Why do you need them?"
"I'm going to go rescue Kirche," I told her firmly.
Louise would've protested, normally, since she wasn't too fond of Kirche. The redhead had been the one to start calling her 'Zero' but then she realised that it wasn't a good reason to allow Kirche to be taken. As much as a pain in the ass the redhead had been to her, no one deserved to be kidnapped like she had been. Her morals conflicted with her personal feelings for a brief second as she considered the proposition. Of course I knew she would hesitate so I leaned in and whispered, "She'd owe you."
That was enough to get Louise going as she ran to her room to gather the Core Medals and O-Driver. I stood with Lady Zerbst to console her. She had just watched as her own daughter was kidnapped. I could understand why she was so upset. Since she was using steam, I assumed that Lady Zerbst was able to combine elements to create it, likely water and fire if I thought about it. From what I learned, neither was good at speed or flight like Alejandro and his steed would be. That left the fuming woman behind as she could only watch her daughter be taken further away.
"I'll rescue her," I swore.
Lady Zerbst regarded me, the fury still in her eyes but thankfully not directed at me, "Only if I do not rescue her first."
I would have spoken more, but Louise chose that moment to enter thee room again. You know, for such a short girl she could really move fast when she wanted to. Her arms were curled around my O-Driver and the Medal Book. She wordlessly presented the items to me, not needing to tell me anything. I quickly snatched up my O-Driver and attached it to my waist. Next I took the Medal Book and popped out three red Core Medals. They felt hot in my hand, like they were reacting to the growing fury I was feeling now that the situation was truly sinking in for me. That was fine. It may even let them work better for me. I was in no mood to 'test out the waters' in a situation like this. Alejandro was going to go down HARD!
Sliding the Core Medals one by one into their respective slots, I tilted it into its diagonal position. They began to shine red in the light, bringing both Lady Zerbst and Louise's eyes to them, neither having seen my moments for a Full Combo up close before. I ignored them in favour of taking the O-Scanner and bringing it to the Driver. "Henshin!" I called as I swiped the O-Scanner across the red Core Medals in order to activate them.
"TAKA!"
"KUJAKU!"
"CONDOL!"
"TA~JA~DOL!"
Louise had to step back as a blazing aura burst from my body as my armour formed on my body and once it had completely formed, she took stock of my appearance.
The Taka Head helmet had turned into the Taka Head Brave with a more detailed design on the helmet to resemble a bird's head with the yellow beak being a gemstone. The wing-like attachments to my helmet had become bigger and the eyes had turned red. The Kujaku Arms were still the same and equipped to my legs were the Condol Leg armour. The sides of my thighs were decorated with crimson fabric which held the image of feathers when looked upon. The shin armour spread out just below my knees in more wing-like decoration. My feet though had a single yellow blade rising from the red armour over my feet with two similar blades coming from either side of my ankles. The O-Lung Circle crest was surrounded by a golden ring which sported a red emblem that resembled a phoenix by combining the images on the red Core Medals.
Lady Zerbst stared at me, agape as did Louise. I could feel the energy running through my veins, like liquid fire. I felt energized, powerful, nigh unbeatable! "Here…we…go!" I called out as I crossed my wrists in front of me and spread my arms to the side. Red, bird-like wings spread out from my back as I took off into the air.
"Let me go! Let me go you brute!" Kirche snapped, struggling with her bonds as she rode like a satchel pack on the back of Alejandro's Pegasus. "Alejandro!"
"Quiet!" the now quite obviously dishonoured Viscount snapped. He knew the jig was up after Lady Zerbst recognized him when he opened his mouth. "Don't make this more difficult than it is! I'm taking us back to Germania and I don't need you trying to give us away even more!"
"What? Germaina?" Kirche blinked. "Why?"
"To be wed of course!" he called back. "Your parents selected me to be your husband and I plan to ensure that happens! I will not have some foreign curs make me look like a fool and try to deny me my right!"
"What?" Kirche blinked. There had to be something wrong with this man! Did he honestly think that she'd sit idly by and let them get married in some chapel after a stunt like this? He'd be a wanted man in all of the countries in Helkenginia when her mother got word back to her father about what happened! Obviously his defeat at the hands of her Darling must have addled his thoughts more than anyone could have guessed. He was actually willing to go this far in order to heal his pride?
Looking about, Kirche tried to see if there was anything she could do to get herself out of this mess. Flame was off in one of his favourite sleeping spots, likely someplace near open flame since Salamanders liked hot places. Her wand was back in her room as well. Her mother had no aptitude in wind magic and thus couldn't follow and it would likely be some time before the guards could try and get themselves together to try and follow them. The only one she could think of who could immediately help was her Darling and he was…
…coming up quickly in his red armour!
"DARLING! HELP ME!"
I managed to catch up with the fool and the girl very quickly. As if some flying horse would be able to outmanoeuvre someone like me who has the power of all birds on his side! Honestly, what did a horse know about flying anyway? I was sorely tempted to shoot the blasted thing out of the sky with my Peacock Missiles, but that would put the girl in danger. Frankly I was finding myself fond of the girl. She was one of the most honest people I had met since coming to this world of spoiled brats and she was certainly dedicated in getting what she wanted, even if it was me. It was why gave her a token of my favour in the form of the red feather she was so fond of carry around. It was good to know she could properly appreciate a gift.
But I digress; this wasn't the time to reflect. Now it was time to kick some ass and work off some of the aggression I was feeling.
"DARLING! HELP ME!
What did she think I was trying to do?
"WHAT!-?" Alejandro whirled his head around to see the flying red figure in pursuit of him. His face twisted in fury as he saw OOO. He would recognise that armour anywhere even if it changed appearance. Who else had such a suit at his disposal but the cur who had taken what was rightfully his!
Grabbing his sword wand, he twisted on his mount slightly and lashed out with his wind spells. He wasn't going for the weaker tornadoes that were made to knock people away, he was attacking with bone-crunching blasts of wind that would definitely knock the armoured nuisance right out of the sky!
"Take this!" Alejandro bellowed.
"Woah! Dammit!"
I cursed as I dodged blasts of wind that shot out like bullets at me. They were about the size of my torso and no doubt would have been extremely painful if they were able to hit me. His aim was terrible though. Obviously he wanted me to back off while he fled to wherever it is he wanted to go. It seemed that the fool was even more stupid than I thought. Did he actually think that if he got to wherever it is he was heading he would be safe? Apparently the idiot had just as much common sense as all of the other spoiled brats I had come across in this world. At least the brats were teenagers and had an excuse for being stupid. Alejandro on the other hand was a full grown man and still seemed to think everything should roll his way. Again, what a fool.
"Hyah!" I cried, shooting fireballs from my Taja Spinner at the oncoming spheres of air. Fire and air of course didn't mix when they were opposing forces so small explosions rang out at each impact.
Still, Alejandro didn't look pleased that I was managing to get around his first assault. His gaze kept snapping between what was ahead of him and back at me. I was steadily getting closer as he had fired at me and I was beginning to see the rage on his face. I couldn't be sure from the distance, but it seemed he was slightly deranged if the gritting teeth and wild eyes were any indication. Gripping his weapon, he lashed out again this time sending another one of his tornadoes at me. I swerved around it, but it allowed him to put some distance between us.
Dammit this was getting annoying!
I couldn't shoot at him directly, not with the girl at risk. Still, there had to be a way to slow them down! I mean, the idiot was riding a goddamn horse! He…wait…of course! He wasn't driving a plane or something, but was riding a horse, a creature with survival instincts of its own. If something bad started happening to it, it would try to survive to hell with whatever was on its back telling it otherwise. If I spook it, that ought to slow Alejandro down enough for me to catch him!
Raising my Taja Spinner again, I adjusted the aim before I shot more fireballs. This time the blasts flew in front of his flying horse, flashing by quite closely. The horse reacted as expected and let out a neigh before flapping its wings to try and get out of the path of the fireballs. The fool had to stop shooting at me to try and get control of his steed again. It served to slow the blasted thing down enough that I was rapidly catching up with it.
About damn time.
Seeing as he wasn't losing me, Alejandro must have gotten fed up and decided to stop running away from me like a coward. He turned his flying steed around and faced me as I flew in closer. Now I could tell he was pissed since his teeth were clenched and with my Taka Head, I could even see that his pupils were narrowed. He was beginning to get desperate and it was showing. Hmph! More fool on him then. Desperate people begin making a mountain of mistakes. Of course, he had already made several, the first being kidnapping one of MY friends.
"So it seems you don't have the sense to quit!" Alejandro snarled at me. If it was supposed to scare me, it failed miserably.
"Why quit when against someone like you?" I snorted, coming to a stop and simply hovered in the air once I was close enough. "I am many things, but lazy is not one of them."
"Do you really think you can win against me now? My defeat before was because I underestimated you. Now, I have the good sense to fight you with all my power."
"Keep telling yourself that," I responded. If it was a fight he wanted, that was what he would get. Still, there was still the girl to worry about. She could get hurt in this fight. I needed her to someplace safe, away from us, so she wouldn't get caught in the crossfire. The trick would be getting her away from the fool before I could go all out and put him down. Still, I might get the opportunity to end this fast since he was sitting up and the girl was lying across the horse's back.
"Enough of your tongue!" the fool bellowed, raising his weapon again. This time, I could see air whipping around the tip of his weapon, likely charging up for another spell. I wasn't disappointed as what I could only call a lance of spiralling air was sent at me, only the sheer amount allowing it to be visible to me. Flapping my wings, I dove out of the way, only feeling the displacement of the air rather than the attack itself. I had dived slightly lower so to get out of the way, but it gave me an angle to attack from without risking the girl. Aiming my Spinner, I launched another fireball which would land on his fat head and hopefully knock him off his flying horse.
Unfortunately, as much as a fool Alejandro was in life, he apparently wasn't as much of a fool when it came to battle. His reflexes and riding skills served him well, getting him to swerve out of the way of the attack. He retaliated with another lance of wind. I managed to dip around, but I felt something scrape over my shoulder meaning that it had just grazed me. His aim was getting better. He was really starting to piss me off. Fine! If I can't be civilized about it, then I may as well do it the old fashioned way!
I dove down to leave the fool's range of sight before I flapped my wings and began flying straight up again. I was directly underneath the horse so he couldn't see me. Clenching my fists, I shot up like a bullet. Either he was waiting for to pop out elsewhere, or he never seemed to expect me to show up from under his steed. Wind whipped across my faceplate as I dove up. I adjusted the flight path slightly so that I could see the fool properly once again. His eyes were darting around and finally spotted me coming up. He tugged the reins of his winged horse, but he never managed to move in time as I reached him and threw my fist up for an uppercut…
*KRACK!*
The fool's head rocked back from the impact and I'm pretty sure I felt something break when I did it. I didn't really care though, but it was immensely satisfying if I have to admit. Still, the impact distracted him as his senses were dazed and he wasn't doing anything. I quickly killed my speed and dove back down for the horse again, this time it wasn't to pound on the fool's face no matter how much I wanted to. Instead, I grabbed the girl and pulled her into my arms in a bridal carry before flapping away from the horse and stunned rider.
"Darling!" the girl beamed at me.
The fool seemed to have been fighting for consciousness, but seemed to have lost the battle. His body went limp as he dropped from the back of his steed. As much as I didn't want to, I began to angle my wings so I could go save him.
But then someone beat me to it.
I don't know who he was, but all I knew was that he came out of the forest on the back of a griffon. He was wrapped in a black cloak and was hiding his face, making it impossible for even my Taka Head Brave to see just who he was. He and his steed dove towards the falling Alejandro and managed to catch him quite expertly, meaning he had experience in mid-air movement. Holding the unconscious Viscount in a sitting position, the man looked over at the girl and I.
"You don't disappoint, Gandalfr," he spoke. "Your record has been rightfully earned."
"Cut the fake flattery!" I snapped. "Just who are you?"
"Oh, just a benefactor of this man's ambitions, as small as they were," the cloaked man replied. "I honestly didn't expect him to succeed, but he did manage to help me accomplish my goal."
"Your goal?" I frowned. I did not like the sound of that.
"Retrieval of certain objects," the man answered. Reaching into his cloak, he produced much to my shock, a Cell Medal! "I'm sure they will assist in our endeavours."
"Bastard!" I snarled. Those were mine! I took beatings and worked my ass off to get those. Oh if I didn't have the girl in my hands I would have charged that bastard and taken back what was mine!
"Such language," the man snickered, obviously amused at my anger. "I've heard much about these simple little coins. So much so, I think I'll test one." Taking the Cell Medal in his hand, he brought it to the unconscious Alejandro's head. To my horror, a Medal Insertion Slot appeared in his forehead. The cloaked stranger didn't hesitate as he dropped the Medal and let it vanish into the man's head.
"NO!"
Alejandro reacted instantly, regaining his wakeful mind. However, his eyes flashed yellow as he sat up with a snarl. It was an instant clue as to what kind of Yummy was being produced from his desire. A cat-type Yummy was a kaijin whose main trait would be to take control and eventually swallow their hosts into themselves. Now it seemed that the fool would be the latest in a long line of Yummy victims.
My moan of, "Oh fuck," summed it up quite nicely.
The possessed Alejandro was up and alert before he bellowed loudly as if he were an animal, the sound reminding me of an enraged jungle cat. The stranger let him go before Alejandro took a leap from the back of the gryphon, easily surpassing what a human was capable of, and managed to land on the back of his flying horse which had been hovering nearby. He quickly took his mount and raised his sword arm up. However, Cell Medals spilled out of his clothes and formed into an orange and black striped furry arm with what looked like a broadsword clenched in its fist.
I reiterate, "Oh fuck!"
"Darling, what's going on?" asked the girl, seeing that something very wrong had happened.
"The fool's been possessed by a cat-type Yummy," I growled. "It's going to drive him to take what he desires and right now he desires you!"
"Oh,"
"Oh is right," I frowned. "Now hold on tight. It's going to get hot out here."
The fool bellowed and urged his steed to fly towards us while he was waving his new sword like some kind of maniac. I glared at the cloaked man on his gryphon before I dove towards the ground. I had to get the girl out of my arms before I could really cut lose and try to get the damn Yummy out of the fool.
"HAND HER OVER!" the possessed fool bellowed, slashing his sword at me. Rather than lances, actual blades of wind came screeching towards us at a rapid pace, tainted yellow by the Yummy's power. I cursed under my breath as I dipped and curved away from the attacks, trying to keep in mind that I had someone in my arms. I couldn't even use the Taja Spinner since my hands were full! God dammit did this kind bad luck just happen to me?
My aerial stunts weren't doing me any favours, actually giving the fool a chance to catch up to me. Looking over my shoulder, I saw that he had caught up with the two of us. His next move shocked even me. He actually dismounted the flying horse and jumped at me!
"Wha-!"
"RAAAH!"
"Darling!"
The fool landed on my back, causing me to begin dropping like a stone! I tried to dislodge him, but he was gripping my wings and keeping me from trying to get some altitude. I didn't have much time with the ground coming at me at a rapid pace. So I twisted my body slightly and made sure the girl was shielded as best as I could. I could have cared less about what happened to the fool. As it was, I knew that this was going to hurt no matter what I did. "Brace yourself!"
*WHAM*
All three of us quickly hit the dirt skidding across the grassy plain and leaving a dirt trench in the process. The fool fell off on impact, landing somewhere else. I tried to keep the girl from taking the impact as much as I could, damn my bleeding heart for that. When we came to a halt, my entire right side was numb from the skidding and if it weren't for the armour, I was pretty sure that I would have broken something. The girl was coughing, getting the dirt out of her lungs but aside from some tears in her lingerie and some dirt and scratches on her skin, she seemed fine. Well, it was a little difficult to tell with my swimming vision but I was sure she was fine.
"Hey," I groaned, trying to pull myself up from the rut I made. "You alive?"
"Ouch," the girl moaned, shifting in my arms. She looked to me, "I'm alright Darling. Are you?"
"Peachy," I grumbled.
I pulled myself out of the dirt and got to my feet. I put the girl on hers so at least my arms were free again. Shaking my head, I looked around to see if there was any sign of the possessed fool out there. He was likely still in his White Yummy stage, but if he got his hands on the girl then that would change very fast.
"Do you know which way to the school?" I asked.
"I-I think so," the girl winced, touching a scrape on her arm.
"Good," I nodded. "We need to keep you away from the fool and the Yummy that's controlling him. If it gets its hands on you then it's going to get even stronger and right now we can't afford that." I began scanning the forests, looking for any sign of the possessed fool. Maybe if we were lucky the fall killed his host and we wouldn't have to deal with the Yummy after all. It was a nice thought, but knowing my luck it would never happen. It would be best to just get the girl away and behind some solid walls before I took the thing down. "Now let's go."
As I began to guide the girl away, I began to hear the wind blowing…
….then a whistle…
*SHING!*
*BOOM!*
"GYAAAH!"
I was struck in the back by what felt like a cleaver knife! Hot pain shot through me like race car drivers on speed and I crumpled to the ground, my vision blurry again as I struggled to breathe properly. The girl was screaming something as she kneeled down at my side. My limbs shook and I felt like I was going to puke from the sudden strike to a rather unprotected portion of my body. I struggled to keep my breath steady for no real reason beyond to avoid such a messy outcome. Do you have any idea what throwing up in a helmet would be like? I didn't, and I sure wasn't going to try and find out!
"Darling! Darling, speak to me!" the girl cried, my hearing coming back to me.
I didn't try to answer yet, but even if I did I wouldn't have had a chance to do so. The fool came charging out of the darkness and scooped the girl up into his arms. She kicked, screamed, and struck him in ever manor she could. I mean, she really let him have it as best she could in her position. She had gotten a good strike on his nose, leaving a trail of blood running down his face. He didn't seem like he was noticing it though, he was too busy hugging the girl for all he was worth, making her struggle to breathe in turn. I could practically hear the Cell Medals piling up in his body from the contact.
Oh I was so pissed right now!
Punching the dirt, I struggled to my feet. There was no way I was going to let some complete idiot possessed by a mangy cat look down on me! It wanted to fight dirty? Well, I would show it the definition of fighting dirty! Raising my Taja Spinner, I shot another fireball. Since the girl was struggling, the fool couldn't keep a good grip on her and so had to keep twisting and pulling to keep touching her. It left his side wide open, which I took advantage of and landed a perfect shot on it.
"RAAAAH!" the fellow bellowed in pain as the flaming sphere struck him. He dropped the girl and stumbled away, cutting off the production of Cell Medals. His clothes were singed and I could see through to the red skin underneath. The fool would be hurting by morning, but I had long since stopped caring about his well-being and that was before he got taken over by a Yummy.
Panting, the fool turned to glare at me, his eyes shining bright yellow in the night. Gripping his broadsword in his hand, a yellow pulse of energy began to surge through him as he unleashed a hateful roar at me. This time, Cell Medals dropped out of his skin and engulfed him completely. The Medals then all merged together to form the body of the Yummy that was controlling him. It was a muscled Yummy, covered from head to toe in orange fur with black stripes. Black leather encircled its waist in a belt with a disk in the centre. More discs dotted its bare chest, proving the common theme between all Yummies. Tarnished silver armour covered its shoulders and upper arms like one of those romantic knights. The hands were like the fool's was before the change, one gripping the same broadsword from before. Its legs were covered in more tarnished silver armour, but it looked more ornamental than practical. The feet were feline-like, orange with black stripes. Its face was human-like, but was orange like its fur with a tiger-head helmet covering the majority of the cranium with two lengths of orange and black framing either side of the face.
"A Tiger Yummy is it?" I muttered. "For some reason, just looking at you pisses me off."
The depths of the fool's desire for the girl must have been something if only about a minute of contact with her to allow the Yummy to fully develop so damn fast. I suppose since the girl was from some big military family anyone would see her as being the key to their whole careers. No doubt Alejandro felt the same. He probably saw a betrothal as his key to fortune and glory. Having me kick his ass and earn the favour of the girl's mother likely ripped that from him. His desperation would have made his desire that much more intense.
The Yummy roared, bringing me out of my introspection. I answered the call by taking a battle stance. I was tired, pissed, and in pain. I was going to wail on this freak before putting it out of its misery! The kaijin raised its weapon and began its charge at me. Of course, I decided that I was still allowed to play dirty. I pooled my energy and spread my arms out. My armour reacted and from my back bloomed a multitude of peacock feathers. They were spread out for a moment before I launched them like missiles at the approaching Tiger Yummy. At the range I had, I had no problems finding the target. Each feather impacted in a shower of sparks which knocked the Yummy away.
"Not so easy when I fight dirty too, isn't it?" I asked, even knowing I wouldn't get an answer.
The Yummy snarled and slashed its sword at me, sending more of those damnable wind blades at me. I quickly ducked and shot more fireballs from my own weapon at it. Wind and fire clashed, destroying one another, sending cinders through the air. From the corner of my eye, I spotted the girl watching with concern on her face.
"Don't just stand there!" I barked at her. "Hide somewhere!" It managed to get her scrambling some distance away, far enough she wouldn't get caught in the crossfire. With that said I decided to engage the fool in some good old fashioned close quarters combat. I ducked and dodged air blasts, countering with my own flames, before I got in range and swung a leg at him. The blades equipped to my boots slashed the Tiger Yummy across the chest, spilling Cell Medals on impact. I continued to hit it with a series of kicks, the blades on my heels causing damage with each strike. I will not deny that it was satisfying to see the Yummy in pain after all of the misery it and the fool put me through. If I had my way, I'd be putting him through more.
I took an extra moment to get in closer and unleashed another roundhouse kick into the Yummy. This time, the ankle blades dug into the monster's hide and tore open a sizable gash which wasn't healing as quickly as the other wounds had. Cell Medals spilled out from the wound, allowing me to see deep into the Yummy's body, seeing a swirling mass of Cell Medals. As the Yummy stumbled backwards from the blow, the Medals shifted and I spotted the fool's face inside the Yummy's chest and he looked like he was in agony. Good, he deserved it. He had taken what was mine so it was my right to kill him.
Of course, maybe I could humiliate him more by saving him instead. I threw my left fist forward, digging my hand into the Tiger Yummy's chest and gripped what I assumed to be the fool. I planted my foot on the Tiger Yummy's stomach and pushed it back as my arm pulled away from the Yummy, Cell Medals bursting outward along with the fool who'd become its host. I dropped him like a sack of potatoes and cracked my knuckles. It was time to finish this thing off and collect Cell Medals to replace the ones stolen by the thief.
The Yummy was stunned and looked to be in pain, likely being severed from its host caused an interruption in its mental processes. That was good for me. Dashing forward, I got behind the monster and wrapped its arms around its midsection before unleashing my wings again. A single leap and we were off in the air, flying straight up. The Yummy struggled, but I left it no room for leverage and it couldn't even strike with its sword. Flying high enough for my liking, I simply let the Yummy go and let it fall towards the ground, screaming as it went. I wasn't going to let it off that easy though. Oh no, I had something special in mind. Grabbing my O-Scanner, I swiped it across my Medals with that pleasing chiming noise.
"SCANNING CHARGE!"
I dove back down at the Yummy, moving at speeds which would let me pass it easily. Zooming closer, the armour on my legs ignited into red flames which lit up the night. I flipped over so that my feet would hit the Yummy first, but I kept my knees bent. As I moved, the leg armour on the sides of my legs and down to my ankles flipped up so that the ankle talons were pointed forward. With the talons on my toes where they were, it looked like my legs had transformed into a pair of flaming bird talons which would be perfect for what I wanted.
"SEEE-YAAAH!" I bellowed out, sounding like a falcon diving towards its prey. I reached the Yummy and impacted it with my talons with as much force as gravity and speed allowed me to do. The force rocked the Tiger Yummy, sending us to the ground even faster than before. The ground came up incredibly fast and the pierced Yummy hit first, exploding in my face with a fireball and Cell Medals flying around in all directions, chiming in the night-time air. The heat didn't bother me, not with the Medals I was using.
The flames died, leaving only a blackened circle while I stood up in the middle of it. I dusted my hands off and said, "Well that is that!" And I even got a new pile of Cell Medals to add to my collection. Not a bad night, to be honest.
GLOMP!
"Darling~" the girl cooed as she had my head pulled into her cleavage. Too bad my helmet got in the way. I wanted to feel those exquisite orbs pressed up against me. I mean, I was already in position for them anyway. Still, I had Cell Medals to collect first and I should probably get the girl something decent to wear. To do that I had to get her back to that damn school since all of her clothes were there, and I suppose her mother should know that her daughter was safe. As much as I wanted to leave the fool to rot, I probably would have to bring him back to the school for the guards as well. Then there was the fact that someone had stolen Cell Medals from me. All of these details practically made my head spin.
Wait, I really was getting dizzy.
Suddenly, I was overcome by fatigue and…
Kirche gasped at the sudden added weight as her Darling's armour fizzled and faded out, leaving him in his natural form again. He collapsed against her, making her fall on her butt in the grass while he passed out in her cleavage. She really didn't mind, but the grass felt a little funny against her skin, considering she was still only in her sleeping clothes.
"It must have been too much for him," Kirche sighed, repositioning her Darling so that his head rested on her lap rather than on her chest. From what she learned, using a Full Combo like he did with his red Medals put an enormous amount of strain on his body. He obviously took a lot more strain from the fight, which made it a very amazing thing that he didn't pass out long ago. He got hurt so much for her sake it made her want to cry in remorse.
"Rest, Darling," she whispered softly, letting her fingers run through his hair. "We'll head back when you're better."
Matthew gave off a soft groan and shifted slightly, possibly getting comfortable. He didn't look like he was in obvious pain, but Kirche was determined that if Louise didn't take him to see a water mage when they got back, she would. Maybe then she'd get her chance to steal him away once he returned to consciousness? Well, maybe when she was sure he was completely recovered. The attacks he took looked positively brutal!
A soft rustling noise took the redhead out of her introspection and looking up in alarm. She feared that man on the gryphon had returned to finish her Darling off, but she was relieved to find that Alejandro's Pegasus had simply come in for a landing nearby as it was trained to do as the steed of a soldier. It perhaps looked a little blackened from soot accumulated during the fight, but otherwise fine. It could certainly still fly if not walk along the ground.
"Hmmm," Kirche pondered.
I woke up in a soft bed at a familiar ceiling. It seemed that I was becoming a regular in the school's infirmary. Again, this was probably due to fatigue from using the powers of the Core Medals to use a Full Combo. 'Maybe I should start training and exercising,' I thought to myself. I was going to need to increase my stamina so that I could last longer in a Full Combo but human endurance had its limits. Still, how did I get here? The last thing I remembered was beating that Tiger Yummy with the Prominence Drop attack before blacking out.
"Matthew, you're awake!" I heard Siesta gasp happily. Looking from where I was laying to the entrance to the room, I saw the maid walking over.
"Yeah," I groaned as I tried to get up but she gently pushed me back onto the bed.
"No, you must rest," she told me gently and worriedly. She was right. I really did need rest. My body felt like lead and I could barely move myself from the bed. Still, I had to learn what happened after I had passed out. Was Kirche okay? Did Alejandro get away? Did someone get the Cell Medals the Yummy left behind?
"What happened?" I asked weakly. "How'd I get here?"
"Ms. Zerbst brought you back," Siesta replied as she promptly attacked my pillow, turning it to its' absolute fluffiest it could. I have to admit, she was really good at that. "You were riding that awful Germanian man's Pegasus with you leaning against her back and that man being loaded on like a saddle bag. He was tied up at the arms and I think it was rather fitting he was done so."
"Tied up?" I blinked. When did Kirche have something to tie the guy up with. "With what?"
That question made Siesta flush slightly, "Her nightie," It took me a moment to process that, but then my eyes widened in shock. Kirche actually rode back in nothing but her panties? Siesta's next statement managed to bring me back to reality before I could make the mental image. "Although she wore your jacket back," Siesta's face then took a pouty/upset look, "She has yet to return it."
"Oh…okay," I blinked. Shaking my head, I tried to get back on track. "Siesta, a Yummy got involved when I was fighting Alejandro. I destroyed it, but there's a lot of Cell Medals left. Is there-?"
"Professor Colbert and some guards went out to collect those Medals as soon as Ms. Zerbst told them where they were," Siesta replied. "He was in quite a hurry too. I guess he knows how dangerous they can be in the wrong hands as well."
Wow, stuff had been happening since I had passed out. Still, "Siesta, I need you to pass a message on to Louise. Have her check the amount of Cell Medals we have so far. Someone showed up out there and claimed he stole some of them from us. He was the one who made the Yummy from Alejandro and we need to know how many he took."
Siesta's eyes bulged in shock. Apparently she hadn't heard that particular point of the recent events that happened, "I-I-I'll do it right away!" She was then off like a shot, sensing the urgency of my request.
I lay in bed. As far as I know only a handful of people knew about what the Cell Medals were capable of. So, who could've tipped off the thief? This was really giving me a headache. When I thought about it, some sleep sounded really good right about now. So I decided to just that. Maybe by the time we had to deal with the latest incidents I would be at least back on my feet again. Hopefully Louise wasn't going to be in too much of a panic when she realizes that some of our stash of Cell Medals had been stolen.
It had taken a full day, but I managed to recover from using TaJaDol for so long. Unfortunately, Louise confirmed what the gryphon-riding thief told me. A whole pot of our Cell Medals were missing, leaving us with only one pot and those saddle bags left for us. Headmaster Osmond found the news to be very grave and assured me that he would use all of his contacts to try and find out who the thief was and how to find the Cell Medals before an army of Yummies were created. Still, that was for another day. Right now, we had to see Lady Zerbst off.
"This visit has been very exciting," said Lady Zerbst as she stood in front of her carriage with her daughter. I was present as well and so was Louise, although she looked like she would have preferred to be anywhere else but in the woman's presence. Tabitha was also with us. She was of course Kirche's best friend so she was there to see Kirche's mother's off as well. "And Matthew, thank you again for saving my daughter."
Alejandro was shipped off immediately to Germania under armed guard so to face the justice system there. He was a Germanian citizen so he would be dealt with under Germanian law. No doubt he would be stripped of his title and locked up for kidnapping and possibly attempted rape. I mean he was trying to force Kirche to marry him, according to what she had told me after all the excitement had died down and I had recovered.
"It was nothing, Lady Zerbst," I said politely. Speaking of Kirche, I still didn't get my jacket back from her so I was currently in my BuraKaWani outfit. I would need to convince Kirche to return it soon and if not I was going to need to ask Quinn for a replacement. The latter was most likely since Kirche would not easily relinquish anything belonging to her 'darling', namely me. I was just afraid she'd turn it into her new sleeping apparel since she used her old one to bind her prisoner.
"Oh, please, call me Emma," Lady Zerbst smiled. She then hugged me close, pressing my face into her bosom. I have to be honest with you, everything Kirche had in terms of how incredible her chest was, Lady Zerbst had more of in spades.
"Mother, please," said Kirche as she grabbed me from her mother and sandwiched me in her own sinful valley, barely giving me time to breathe. I could hear Louise beginning to growl, but likely her fear of Lady Zerbst kept her from doing anything to me. I'd likely pay for it later, but right now I couldn't seem to muster up the energy to care. Either the lack of oxygen addled my brain or my hormones kicked my common sense to the curb. "He's mine!"
"But he's so fun to play with!" Lady Zerbst giggled, "And also so majestic. Your description of his armor pales in comparison to actually seeing it."
"I know," Kirche agreed, swooning as she hugged me tighter I was starting to see spots from the lack of air. "Red like a flame, and such powerful wings. He's like a phoenix."
"Matther MacGregor, the Phoenix Knight," Lady Zerbst recited. "It has a nice ring to it!"
"Mother, let's take Matthew home with us and make him a noble! With his heritage and power he would definitely fit in!"
"Ah, so you're making marriage plans already?"
"Excuse me!" Louise shouted. Maybe she wasn't so afraid of Lady Zerbst anymore or maybe her anger was stronger than her fear. Thankfully, it caught Kirche's attention too, making her let me go and take a big deep breath of precious air. "But Matthew is my Familiar!"
"Oh, how cute," Lady Zerbst chuckled, finally acknowledging Louise's presence. "It seems you have a rival for his affection, Kirche."
"What!-?" Louise shouted, red-faced.
"And you have good taste, Little Valliere," Lady Zerbst acknowledged. You know, it was times like these that I wondered if it was only the Vallieres who considered themselves in the midst of a rivalry with the Zerbsts in this generation. "I don't see anyone better than Matthew. Most young men these days are so…boring."
"Uh…Thank you?" I offered weakly.
"Well, I'll be off now," said Lady Zerbts before kissing Kirche on the cheek, a gesture her daughter returned. "I'll see you soon, Kirche. Oh, and don't forget to bring along Matthew for a visit!"
"I promise, Mother!" Kirche beamed.
"Ta-ta then!" Lady Zerbst waved before she entered the carriage proper and let the driver shut the door behind her. The man then scrambled to the front and took the reins before getting his horses to begin moving. The Lady Zerbst's carriage then took off at a polite pace and passed through the exit gate of the school, its destination Germania.
"Oh that was so much fun!" Kirche giggled. "I can't wait to bring Darling home with me for the holidays!"
"Oh no you won't!" Louise cried, her face still flustered over the rival-for-affection comment. "He's my Familiar! He's going nowhere near Germania!"
"So you say, but I think I can convince him otherwise," Kirche teased.
"You won't get the chance!" the pinkette snapped back.
Tabitha and I just watched the pair argue, the sight having become routine for the both of us. Sighing, I glanced over to the bluenette who was reading her ever-present book once again, seemingly ignoring the sight of her best friend and Louise arguing again. Shaking my head, I asked, "So, how was your day?"
She shrugged as a response. I took it to mean it was an average day for her.
A/N: Okay, chapter 9 is complete. Hope you enjoyed it!
