I updated as quickly as I could.
According to Allen, there were ten Level 2s headed their way. The attacking force was smaller this time, but had Allen and Blake been alone, they probably would not have survived the night. But they were not alone. Now, there were five other Exorcists who would at least fight the Akuma, if not defend Allen and Blake from them.
Lenalee, Lucia, Kanda, and Lavi were ready. Level 2s were a far cry from Level 1s, but Lenalee was confident that she and her friends could destroy them. However, she was worried about Allen. She remembered what Blake had said to them in the hallway as Allen recovered…
"He would do anything for the Akuma, including sacrificing his life. He fights for them and against them. And he won't let anything drag him down or get in his way. He always goes alone, and completely disregards his safety or his current state. This is the result of that selfishness."
When Lenalee had stopped Allen, she realized why Blake seemed so panicked when he went out. Allen had gone out with almost no energy to fall back to, and had almost fought to the end. Had Blake not shown up, Allen probably would have ended up dead.
But there was no need to worry anymore. Now, the thieves and the Black Order were more or less on the same side. There was no need for Allen or Blake to expend themselves any further. It was the Black Order's turn.
The Akuma did not keep them waiting long. Ten Level 2s met Lenalee, Lucia, Lavi, and Kanda, just as Allen had said. The first was a humanoid creature with a monstrous face and oddly enough, the robes of a stereotypical wizard. The second was a humanoid hawk with the arms and legs of a man. Then there was a full bird with an extraordinarily flexible neck and sharp fangs. On the ground, there were Akuma shaped like a mole, a male lion, a bull, a tree, a rather comical humanoid with a cooking pot for a head, a ball-shaped Akuma with four muscled arms and four eyes, and finally, what looked like a thin sheet of steel with six arms, each arm holding a two-pronged spear.
"How disappointing…here we were hoping to kill Master Earl's main enemies, and all we find are the Black Order's whelps," the wizard complained.
"Does it really matter? This is where Clonsyus died. Even if the Black Order stands in our way, we will still find Allen Walker and Blake Phantasia, probably in that house," the bull grumbled.
"Then let's make this quick. Master Earl will not be pleased if we delay," the lion suggested.
"THEN LET ME AT 'EM!" the bull roared.
The wizard winced. "Stop shouting," it grumbled.
The bull roared and charged. Lavi rushed forward to meet it. "Big hammer, little hammer…" Lavi whipped out his Iron Hammer. "Grow, grow, grow!"
The bull bellowed and continued charging, right into Lavi's enormous hammer. Although it probably weighed around a ton by now, Lavi was unaffected by the hammer's weight as he easily swung it to crush the charging bull. The bull bellowed in pain as the hammer smashed it into the ground.
However, the Akuma would not give up, as it got up when Lavi lifted the hammer off of it. The bull released another enraged roar and pawed the ground before rushing forward again, this time much faster than before.
"Extend!" Lavi commanded, pointing Iron Hammer's spike directly at the bull. The bull's enraged roars became desperate cries as the hammer's spike impaled its head. The cries became even more desperate when Lavi lifted his hammer into the air and took the bull along with it. Then, he slammed his hammer onto the ground twice. The first was in order to shake the bull off. The second was the finishing blow.
The bull groaned weakly as it faded away under Iron Hammer's weight, and Lavi returned his Innocence to its normal size. "How's that?" he asked, smugly putting his hammer over his shoulder.
"You got stronger, Lavi! Good job!" Lucia praised.
Lavi shrugged and smirked. "I couldn't exactly stay the same after losing to Allen and Blake. I had to get stronger if I wanted to beat them."
"I can't believe your pathetic training actually did something," Kanda muttered.
Lavi glared at Kanda. "Hey, shut up! Why don't you try killing some?"
Kanda glared at the remaining nine Level 2s. "Gladly," he growled, slowly drawing Mugen from its sheath.
"It looks like we've underestimated them…" the humanoid hawk muttered. The bird screeched a battle cry, and the remaining nine Akuma all rushed forward at once.
"Innocence, activate!" Lenalee and Lucia activated their Innocence with this command.
"Mugen…activate!" Kanda commanded, running his fingers along the blade's blunt edge. As the Akuma rushed forward, Kanda made the first attack. "First Illusion: Hell's Insects!" He swung his sword to produce a swarm of monstrous insects with spike armor, red eyes, and snapping fangs.
The insects swarmed the Akuma, and as they cried out and tried to shake the snapping insects off, Lucia and Lenalee unleashed their attacks.
"Lux!" Lucia's swarm of light arrows added to the pain of the Akuma. Although Kanda's insects disappeared to accommodate the swarm, the Akuma found themselves being forced to face a nearly unstoppable attack. The lion, the cauldron, and the two bird-like Akuma got the worst of it, as they had no way to properly defend against the swarm. The mole went underground, the wizard activated a magical shield, and the four-armed ball and steel sheet used their arms to their advantage, moving fast enough to deflect most of the damage.
Lenalee rushed in to finish off the weakened ones. With a single dropkick, she shattered the cauldron Akuma's head and destroyed it. Then, she used the momentum to rebound with a reverse spin kick into the lion's side before sending it flying upwards with a high kick. Finally, she leapt upwards to the lion's level and sent it hurtling back to ground with a heel drop. The lion faded to dust before it hit the ground.
By now, the two bird-like Akuma had recovered. The more bestial one screeched in anger, and the humanoid grunted. They looked at each other and nodded before releasing a gust of wind, both of which flew towards Lenalee. Lenalee turned and saw the attacks, but countered them with her own. "Waltz: Mist Wind!" She kicked the air twice to produce a spiral tornado that engulfed the gusts of wind and the two bird-like Akuma. The two of them screeched as they collapsed into dust, torn apart by the sharp, spinning winds.
The momentum of the attack brought Lenalee back down to the ground…and towards a trap. Luckily, she was able to sense the changing earth just as her toe tipped the ground, and narrowly leapt clear of the mole Akuma seeking to grab her in its claws. As Lenalee leapt away, Lavi's Iron Hammer smashed the mole back into the ground.
Lenalee's leaping away, however, had brought her into the reach of the four-armed Akuma. She gasped as the ball's arms extended to grab her. As soon as they laid hands on Lenalee, though, Lucia and Kanda moved in to save her.
"Tenebris!" Lucia fired four dark arrows that each pierced right through one of the arms. Kanda finished the job by slicing off the weakened arms before thrusting his sword through one of the Akuma's eyes.
"Hell's Insects!" Kanda ordered. His sword glowed, and the Akuma screamed as the demon-like insects tore it apart from the inside and corroded it to dust.
"That's it! I am done with holding back!" the wizard Akuma snapped, taking out a scepter from its robe-like coating and beginning to chant. "Strihm, fleck, magna, crus, oberas, latos, teios kodhon rahu! Spiral Flame!" The wizard pointed its scepter forward, and a spiral blast of fire erupted out and spun towards Lenalee.
The agile Exorcist easily dodged the flame and leapt upwards to where the wizard was. She landed a spin kick that sent the wizard flying, but it was not powerful enough to vaporize it, especially since it put up a shield of energy beforehand.
"Lenalee!" Lucia called, leaping clear of the mole's attack and barely managing it.
"Yeah?" Lenalee replied, landing back on the ground.
"We're going to need a better plan of attack!" Lucia fired and missed the mole. It had dived back underground in a split second. "Especially for that mole!"
Lenalee noticed that the plate of steel was just casually fending off Lavi's hammer blows like they were nothing, and got an idea. "Lavi! Switch with Lucia, and stay around her!" she ordered.
"Why?" Lavi asked.
"Just do it!"
Lavi and Lucia grumbled, but did as Lenalee asked. Lucia was about to use her dark arrows, but Lenalee stopped her and leaned close to her friend's ear. "When I say so, shoot your light arrows and then do whatever you have to in order to survive!"
Lucia realized what Lenalee was aiming for and nodded. Lavi looked confused, but decided to follow Lenalee's advice as well. In the meantime, the steel plate had advanced closer, and Lenalee moved in to deal with it.
"I don't know what you're planning, but it won't work!" the plate promised, swinging its bladed polearms at alarming speeds. Lenalee was able to meet each swing blow for blow, but she was quickly wearing down. Luckily, she felt just what she was waiting for.
"Now!" Lenalee screamed, leaping clear just as the mole erupted out of the ground below her. Lucia fired a swarm of light arrows that turned the mole into a practical glowing porcupine with spines that stuck inwards rather than outwards.
The mole screamed and faded away, leaving only the wizard and the plate of steel to deal with. Kanda, who had been dealing with the wizard, saw what had happened to the mole and returned to join his comrades, leading the wizard back as well.
"Only two of them left…this isn't that hard at all," Lavi mused.
"Don't you think there's a reason for that?" Lucia asked.
"These two are probably the most powerful ones. They are rather humanoid, after all," Kanda remarked.
The wizard grinned, and the sheet of steel laughed. "So was one of the hawks, and he fell all too easily against you," the wizard reminded.
"Even so, you are right. Thank you for being the sharp one. Now that those peons are gone, I can finally fight with no restraints," the steel sheet snapped.
With that, the sheet rushed forward with speeds comparable to Lenalee's. Kanda was its first target, and he instinctively parried the first ten spear strikes. After that, it was more of a match in which the steel sheet was attacking faster than even Kanda could defend, and it wouldn't be long before Kanda was overpowered.
Lenalee stepped in just before Kanda was overwhelmed, and knocked away the arm that would have given a fatal blow. Her second kick, however, was knocked away just as easily by a second arm. Kanda went in to attack again, but his attack was parried by a third arm.
Lenalee and Kanda leapt backwards and faced the steel sheet together, while Lucia and Lavi had their hands full with the wizard. It turned out that the chant that the wizard used to cast Spiral Flame was merely a control so that the wizard could avoid harming its comrades. Now that they were gone, however, the wizard was freely firing blasts of energy at Lavi and Lucia. Lucia was attempting to counter the blasts of energy with arrows of darkness, but she couldn't keep it up for long enough for Lavi to get an attack in.
"What's the matter? Where is the skill that you used to kill the mole, or the bull?" the wizard mocked.
"Still here!" Lucia retorted, firing yet another arrow of darkness to stop a blast of energy.
The wizard blasted Lavi's hammer away before rushing around to attack Lucia from behind. Lucia turned around to fire a pair of darkness arrows just in time to dissipate an energy blast that the wizard fired at her, but the impact blew her backwards. Lavi quickly caught her.
"This won't be as easy as I thought," Lavi muttered.
Lucia stood out of his grasp. "Thanks for the catch. And you're right. These guys are on a completely different level."
Lenalee let out a cry as she landed next to Lavi and Lucia, but this time, she landed roughly on her back. Kanda joined them, panting from the wasted energy that he had used to land an attack on the steel sheet. From his appearance and the steel sheet's relative freshness, Kanda's gambles had not paid off.
"This won't be easy," Lavi repeated.
"But we have to keep on holding out. It's our job to destroy them," Lenalee growled.
"You're right. Allen and Blake are out of the question. It's our turn," Lucia said.
The steel sheet and the wizard had now gathered together. "The four of you have put magnificent resistance…" the wizard started.
"But it's all over. This attack will end it," the steel sheet finished.
The wizard pointed its staff to the sky, and gathered up a collection of clouds. A second later, a bolt of lightning struck the sheet of steel, but instead of being fried, the sheet absorbed it. "The reason that the Earl sent us to kill Allen Walker and Blake Phantasia is that like them, we work very well together. This is our most powerful combination attack," the wizard explained.
"We only explain this to you because you are all going to die. Farewell. It has been a pleasure," the sheet added.
"Lux!" Lucia cried, firing an enormous swarm of light arrows at the two Akuma.
"Waltz: Mist Wind!" Lenalee added, kicking out two spiral tornadoes.
"First Illusion: Hell's Insects!" Kanda snapped, summoning up a swarm of netherworld insects.
"So you still resist. It is all futile," the wizard chuckled as the attacks hurtled towards the two Akuma. It made to dodge, but to his surprise, the sheet moved behind it and paralyzed it, keeping it in place. "W-what! What are you…!"
"I don't need your help anymore. You'll make a nice shield!" the sheet laughed as it flew away to avoid the series of attacks.
"No…no, you bastard! Master Earl! Master Earl, please help me…!" The wizard's cries went unheard and the Exorcists watched in horror as the swarms of insects and arrows tore the wizard apart, while the two spiral tornadoes finished the job.
"How could you?! He was your comrade!" Lucia snapped at the sheet.
"He was a pawn that I used. With him taking your attacks, I not only avoid them, but I waste your energy and leave you wide open for my attack. There is no more escape," the sheet boasted.
"He was your partner!" Lucia protested again.
"He was nothing to me. Us Akuma have no loyalty to each other. We only have loyalty to the Great Millennium Earl…and the Noah." Then he covered a spot where his mouth would be. "Oops, I've said too much. But it does not really matter, does it? It's time to die!"
The sheet raised all six arms, pulsing with electricity. "Steel the Thunder!" it roared.
"That's enough!" a new voice ordered.
Oddly enough, everyone froze and looked at the new arrivals. Allen and Blake slowly walked out of their house, donning Exorcists' coats. Allen smiled at the other Exorcists as they glared at him. "We have seen enough. Thank you for your concern and your efforts, everyone, but they are no longer necessary. Blake and I have finished off the meal. My energy is back."
"But you shouldn't be fighting!" Lenalee protested.
Blake spoke up before the Exorcists could answer. "We have seen enough, Exorcists of the Black Order. We are with you in every way," he said, walking up to the others with his Innocence activated.
Lenalee and Lucia instantly realized what Blake meant, and they instantly lost their anger. "You mean…?" Lucia started, beaming.
Allen and Blake bowed. "Exorcists of the Black Order, we are within your ranks." Allen murmured.
"As you have believed in us, so too shall we believe in you." Blake looked at the steel sheet, and then at Allen.
"Everyone, believe in us…" Allen murmured, Crown Clown fully activated and flowing around him.
"And we'll go up…against this guy!" Blake whipped his right arm out, and his wings burst out of it.
The two newest Exorcists surged forward, and the steel sheet chuckled. "How nice…our greatest targets are standing in front of me. It looks like I will take all the credit for the kill, and finally evolve! Steel the Thunder!" The Akuma raised its arms, and six bolts of lightning went flying at Allen and Blake.
"Blake?"
"Fulgur!" Blake's wings were sheathed in electricity, and he fired six bolts of his own to counter the Akuma's bolts. The two blasts collided and exploded, blowing the Akuma backwards.
"Let me take care of this one, Allen," Blake said, stopping Allen.
"You've already dealt with the first wave. I'll finish this one," Allen said.
"But…"
"Blake, last time, I started the job and then you finished it. This time, it's my turn," Allen said.
Blake hesitated, but the Akuma was recovering. There was no time to argue. "Fine. He's all yours," he conceded, stepping back and deactivating his Innocence.
Allen nodded, and faced the steel sheet as it recovered. "Impressive. You two are different. Far more powerful than the others…yes. I can see how Clonsyus lost to you," the sheet rumbled.
Allen wasn't paying attention to the Akuma's musings. He was only focused on the soul that he saw. Like all Level 2 souls, the human part was not very well defined, but he could still see the grieving that it went through.
Allen sighed. Sometimes he wished that he didn't have this eye. But on the other hand, if he couldn't see the souls of Akuma, he wouldn't be as motivated to fight as he was now.
Blake was watching, too. For some reason, even though he was not in his Level 2 state, he, too, could see the soul of the Akuma. He supposed that it was a side effect of Allen's eye. Luckily, he was already used to the appearance of an Akuma's soul, and so he did not react when the soul of the Akuma suddenly appeared next to the monster itself.
"Pitiful Akuma…let your soul be saved," Allen and Blake murmured.
With that, Allen activated Clown Belt, sprouting far more tendrils than usual from his back. The sheet of steel actually retreated a little at the sight. At that singular moment of hesitation, it was over for the sheet. As soon as he retreated, Allen's tendrils shot forward. The Akuma was caught off guard, but still managed to try to slice the piercing white assault that was Clown Belt.
But it was indeed over. The Akuma had six arms, but Allen had at least thirty. And one of them was far more dangerous than the others. As Allen's tendrils whipped and slashed at the Akuma, and the Akuma fought them all off, Allen moved in for the kill. In a split second, he moved in under the cover of Clown Belt, and they fell away from the view of the Akuma, as Allen got right in front of it.
The exhausted Akuma couldn't react in time as Allen's claw slashed right through it, opening four rips in the steel. Allen finished it off by using Clown Belt, gathering all the tendrils to slice the Akuma into pieces. Needless to say, it was over.
Allen landed, and deactivated Crown Clown. The other Exorcists ran up to him, their Innocence all deactivated as well.
"That was amazing, Allen!" Lenalee cheered.
"It was only to be expected," Blake pointed out.
"I would have to agree," Lucia said.
"Thanks, everyone." Allen wiped the sweat off his brow before meeting the eyes of Kanda and Lavi. He innocently smiled when he saw them look away. "You two definitely have become stronger since I fought you. Still, as you can see, you should train more."
Kanda grunted, but Lavi managed a nervous grin. "I'm glad that you're on our side, beansprout."
Allen's smile became fixed on his face, and the others gulped as they suddenly felt an enormous pressure. "Say that again, idiot Lavi…" he dared, his left hand tingling with the desire to cleave in two.
Everyone began to laugh. Even Kanda smirked a little. Lenalee now felt that with Allen and Blake with them, the Black Order had more of a chance against the Earl. If not, at least things would get more interesting.
However, the happy times were going to end very quickly. Blake noticed something out of the corner of his eye. His sharp vision quickly picked out what it was.
"Allen," Blake called. Allen looked over, and the others stopped laughing. "Put your hands up."
"What?" Then Allen saw the approaching horsemen, and he, too, realized what they were. "Oh. I guess there's no helping it."
"What are you guys talking about…wait, that's…" Lucia saw the approaching party as well.
"Her Majesty the Queen's personal soldiers," Komui's voice said. The Exorcists turned to see Komui and Bookman walking up to them. As he joined the others, Komui glanced at Lenalee apologetically.
Lenalee instantly realized what had happened, and her face turned red with anger as she glared at Komui. "BROTHER! HOW COULD YOU?!" she screamed.
"Komui! I thought we agreed that we wouldn't tell the authorities! You promised us! You even accepted Allen and Blake as Exorcists of the Black Order!" Lucia protested.
Komui seemed to shrink under the two furious girls' gazes. "But…they…"
"Are criminals, no matter what," Allen interrupted. The others looked at him and Blake, both of whom had sorrowful looks on their faces.
"He was right to do this, everyone. After all, we are thieves and murderers. It's time for us to face up to our crimes," Blake agreed.
"But…all those you killed were Akuma!" Lucia exclaimed.
"And how would the nobles that we stole from know that, or even care? To the rest of the world, we are criminals. That's all there is to it," Allen said.
"Whatever you do, do not speak up for us. We'll accept any punishment," Blake said.
"But…for all those crimes that you two committed…" Lenalee started.
"We'll only fight if there's a death sentence. But until then, do not act," Allen ordered.
"Every criminal that can be caught should face the court. That's all we're going to do. Just don't do anything. This is our problem, not yours. Just stay back," Blake added.
The other Exorcists hesitated. Even Komui was having second thoughts about what he did now. But there was no time left. The Queen's soldiers were upon them, and Allen and Blake slowly raised their hands as the soldiers dismounted and pointed rifles at the two thieves. The Black Order's party backed off to avoid the line of fire. However, when the dust settled, something else emerged that no one had noticed before.
The soldiers that were not pointing guns at the two thieves were escorting an elaborately decorated white carriage, one that everyone, even Allen and Blake, recognized. "Isn't that Her Majesty's carriage?" Blake hissed.
"What is Her Majesty doing here?" Lenalee asked.
The door to the carriage opened, and out stepped a strapping young boy, about Allen's age, with blond hair and blue eyes. He was dressed in a fine dark green cloak, and had a sword and a pistol strapped on the right and left sides of his belt, respectively. Then, he turned around and helped a beautiful young girl, about Lenalee's ages, with red hair, green eyes, and rather elfish features out of the carriage. Finally, when the girl was on the ground, the boy turned back to the coach to assist a mature-looking older woman, with the girl's red hair, out of the coach. When this older woman revealed herself, the Black Order's Exorcists immediately kneeled. However, in their awe of the coach's splendor, the Black Order's party did not notice that Allen and Blake had kneeled on the ground and bowed their heads at the instant that the first boy had stepped out of the coach.
A speaker came forward. "Her Royal Majesty, Queen Natalia! Her daughter, Royal Highness, and heir to the throne, Princess Dulcinia! And Her Highness's betrothed, Lord Wendell Desier!" he announced.
"Y-your Majesty! Your Highness! Lord! I…I did not expect to see…!" Komui stammered.
"Upon my wishes, I have decided to bring my royal party and personally see to the fate of the criminals Crown Clown and Fantasy's Requiem," the Queen announced.
"Their fate? Your Majesty, does this mean that there will be no trial?" Lenalee asked.
"But that is unfair! These two…these two deserve a fair trial!" Lucia protested.
"There is no need for a trial. My decision is final," the Queen said.
Lenalee and Lucia were about to protest, but Blake spoke before them, keeping his head bowed, so he did not look at them. "Do not! We are criminals, and that is all there is to it! You of the Black Order have managed to capture us! That is the end!"
"What is wrong with you?!" Lucia screamed. "You are going to die if this keeps up, and I'm not going to stand by and let that happen, not when I…" Lucia caught herself before she said something that could be used against her. She decided to go another path. "What about your goals? What about your duty?" She paused. "What about my dance?"
There was silence for a moment, and then Lenalee joined in. "You said that you want to save the souls of Akuma and the lives of humans." She spoke much more quietly than Lucia had, and even though it wasn't as clear exactly whom she was speaking to, Lenalee's intentions were obvious.
"Lenalee…" Komui warned.
Lenalee ignored him and lowered her gaze, hiding the fact that she was beginning to cry. "But now…you're just giving up. Is this all that your wish amounts to? To bluff your way into our good graces, and then leave us behind when we need you? Is that all?" She clenched her fists. "How could you?! How dare you act like this now?!"
Blake and Allen kept their heads bowed throughout this tirade, but deep down, both of them were glad that the girls cared about them so much.
"Ladies…please." the Queen murmured. Lenalee and Lucia glared at her before remembering their place, and they bowed their heads before long. "May we continue? I will not tolerate any more of this protesting. The criminals have accepted their fate. You will do the same."
Both of the girls heard the soft but unforgiving tone in her voice, and they knew that they could not say any more. To do so might make things worse. At the girls' silence, the Queen nodded once and continued. She looked back at Allen and Blake, who still had their heads bowed.
"Upon my authority as Queen of England, I hereby…"
Lenalee and Lucia braced themselves for the power that they knew would come.
"…pardon Allen Walker and Blake Phantasia of all their crimes."
There was shocked silence for a few moments, and then Komui, the most authoritative Black Order figure in the party, could only muster one stammered sentence.
"B-but…I…did not tell you their names…"
I think I'm getting better at making cliffhangers. I'll admit, the Queen's appearance in this chapter was rather random, but it all worked out in the end, right?
Oh, and I'm sorry if I've confused you with the change in title. I just think that this new one fits my planned plot better.