Another new chapter out. Not much to say now: Got a cold and a huge headache, so I'm writing this chapter while I'm barely focused. Hopefully I can remember everything.
Smoke and ash everywhere. Raziel scowled and waved his free hand and tried to unsuccessfully disperse the smoke. Something was wrong - The smoke was spreading too fast and when he shifted his hand through it, it refused to move. Someone was artificially enhancing the smoke to make it harder for everyone to see. Was this another form of their damnable sorcery?
"Master," He called out. Where in the abyss was she? He couldn't see through the smoke, "Master, please state where you are," He called out again. Smoke entered his mouth with every word spoken, but it barely fazed him. He thanked the brand in his neck quietly. He was capable of breathing just as much as the next human, but it wasn't actually a necessity. It was the only reason he still had all his faculties.
This was ultimately what outed the Undead among normal humans. They could mimic all they want, but in the end things like breathing or eating wasn't required of them. The church of Thorolund used this as a "justification" to brand them as demonic imprints that had no place in the cycle of life and death. To normal people they were abominations, regardless of how they looked or acted.
Warily he stood up, blinking his eyes to try and see better. He looked to the right and started feeling the ground; even if he didn't need to breath he still needed to see, and the smoke was impeding his vision heavily. He needed to find Derflinger - Being unarmed in a situation like this certainly didn't sound very appealing.
"Hey, partner, you out there?" Derf's voice was coming from the right, "Hey, is this part of the little act too or what? Pinky didn't say anything about explosions and smoke everywhere. Kinda beats the whole point of a sword duel if she planned to this at at the start."
Raziel felt around the ground for a few more minutes before making contact with the familiar grip of Derf's hilt. Nodding to himself slightly, he stood up from his crouched position and fastened Derf back to his old position. At least he wasn't unarmed now.
"Hey, there you are," Derf quipped sarcastically, "You have any idea what's going on? Reminds me of the time I was serving under that minor noble. Heh, guy got his ass shot off in the middle of the battlefield and ran into a group of fire mages on the run back. Dunno how he survived that; must've been blessed or something."
"Please focus," Raziel reprimanded lightly, "Are you able to see through this fog? Master is gone and I cannot find her."
"Huh? Partner, I'm the sword not the swordsman. If you can't see anything, why do you think I can?" He gave an annoyed click, "Damn, a sword isn't built for things like this. Can you hear anything? All I'm getting is a lot of screaming and explosions. Can't fight something you can't see, you know?"
"Agreed," Raziel shook his head in irritation and closed his eyes. If he couldn't rely on his sight, then he would rely on his hearing. Just like the tomb of the giants...except it smelled better.
He couldn't hear much. Like Derflinger said, the sounds of fire and yelling dominated the air more than anything. He could also hear voices, but most of them were the screams of panicking students and visitors. Between the yelling and fire, he could make out the vague sounds of a calm voice and laughter. But unlike before, the voice sounded garbled; like it was being blocked by something. He needed to focus.
"Cesare, the mages we were given are doing their job." This was a voice he didn't recognize, "The smoke means that anyone except other wind mages won't be able to see or breath through the smoke."
It was a smart plan. Normally a commoner couldn't beat a mage, but what if the mage was crippled? Without eyesight, without breath, a mage was as vulnerable as any other human being. And being attacked in the middle of a festival meant that their guard was down, ensuring that they wouldn't be able to mount a proper counterattack. Like lambs to the slaughter.
All the students panicked, running to the nearest exit or teacher. The teachers themselves were too busy trying to keep the situation under control and were unable to fight back as the smoke engulfed the area, except for the few wind mages who managed to make air bubbles around everyone they could so no one would choke. Earth, Fire, Water - All useless now that they couldn't see or fight without losing their breath.
"Ah, but we were paid for a full distraction," The same voice from before, apparently named Cesare, "And I say we should honor our agreement. How many mages were we lent again?"
"Ten mages, Cesare," The other replied, "Many of them are actively spreading the smoke while the others are accompanied by our comrades. Are there orders you wish to relay to them?"
"Yes: Kill any Knights and Wind Mages you find," A chuckle followed the instructions, "They're the only ones here who can disrupt the plan, so they will be priority. Afterwards kill the students and teachers; we can't take risk of them dispelling the smoke. I will see if I can find our Royal Highness and the Dear Cardinal. They will fetch a great price for anyone wishing to have them."
"At once."
The voiced ceased. Raziel concentrated again, trying to figure out where they came from. The two people talking were calmer than everyone else and one of them was relaying orders. He knew what was going on. He was the key to this. But to find him he needed to find his master first. Finding him would be pointless if he found out his master died.
But something he said brought out an unpleasant notion. He said a distraction, so all this - this fire and death - was simply to distract from someone else. He dreaded to know what kind of person ordered this. Whoever they were, they were willing to spread utter chaos and make so much Undeath just to keep attention off them.
"Hey partner, you hear that?" Derf's voice chimed in, knocking him out of his thinking, "Sounds like a tapping sound."
Raziel closed his eyes again. Derflinger was right: On the ground, he could hear soft and rhythmic taps. Softer than the explosions, but louder than the voices...and it was getting closer-
"Partner, look out!" Raziel opened his eyes and backpedaled quickly. Right were he was crouching, a sword had impaled through the wood of the stage, "Damn, nearly got your head cut off there, partner!"
The person who had nearly impaled him was a tall man; taller than he was by a landslide. The armor he wore was a dark leather, masking his figure in the black smoke. On his head he wore a helmet covering his entire face which, unknown to Raziel, was enchanted by a wind mage to have a miniature air pocket. He would have had no trouble seeing or breathing through the smoke.
"Partner, something tells me he's not a friend," Derf clicked anxiously, watching as the figure removed the sword from its impalement, "Hey partner, can you see through this smoke? Something tells me you're gonna have to fight."
Raziel didn't answer, trying to focus instead on his unexpected opponent. He was one of the figures in the smoke during the first explosions; no one important, most likely. A lackey who had see him on the stage and expected an easy kill like the panicking people in the crowd. Still, lackey or not, the smoke and armor he wore meant he was at a significant advantage.
The figure rushed forward, attempting another cleaving strike. Raziel rolled to the side and stood up quickly. He could see him while he was attacking, but that was it. The smoke continued to obscure his figure while Raziel himself stuck out because of the bright blue armor he worse. He needed to fight him without relying too much on his eyesight.
...Right. Mentally scolding himself on how horrible this plan was, Raziel took a deep (and unnecessary) breath and closed his eyes. If he couldn't see then he would rely on his hearing, just like earlier.
"The hell...?" The figure muttered, tightening his grip on the longsword. This was new. He never heard of someone closing their eyes to fight before. Still, he wasn't going to complain. If it meant an easy kill for him then so be it. He could even sell the armor afterwards for a bit of extra coin.
Raziel focused. He could hear the tapping again - footsteps - coming from his front. He could hear it: The clicking of the leather as it hit the wood of the stage; his opponent breathing through the helmet; and the intensity of the sound getting stronger as he got closer. He would be upon him soon and he only had one chance at this, so he couldn't afford any mistakes.
The figure continued to rush forward, raising the sword above his head. This was almost too easy! He smiled underneath his helmet, eliciting a weird chuckle. An easy kill was always his favorite.
'He stopped,' Raziel tightened his grip on Derflinger and dodged to the side. The sounds of a sword smashing against the wood resounded again. Raziel opened his eyes and slashed down to the right. The feeling of flesh and leather hitting against the blade signified that he had hit his target. Pulling Derflinger back, he raised his arms and gave another downward slash.
The figure was silent, unable to choke back the blood as it cascaded from his mouth. Impossible. The armor had been torn through like paper and his wounds were too deep. Too strong, there was no way for a normal human being to be strong enough to ignore his armor and wound him like this.
Following up on his attack, Raziel grabbed him by the shoulder and pulled him in, "Argh!" More blood stained his dark helmet. Raziel had impaled him, stabbing Derflinger through his stomach. He felt the life leave his opponents body and the familiar feeling of souls entering his. He was dead. Raziel gave an annoyed grunt and kicked his body to the floor. Just dead weight now.
"That was...easy," He looked down at his dead opponent, grimacing slightly at the crimson blood staining the wooden material. His opponent was way too fragile. Was he not an Undead? He excreted blood from his wounds like normal humans did, so that meant he was still a mortal. Undead were naturally stronger than average human beings, but that rarely factored in since the normal opponents he fought were always Undead.
Another reason why they were feared. Even the lowest Hollow could match a trained swordsman in sheer strength alone if nothing else. Against human opponents, Undead were massively stronger and so those who wished them harm had to rely on sheer numbers or experience alone to see them through.
Thinking back on it, 'Cesare' mentioned that no one should be able to breath through the smoke. That would have been impossible if anyone here was an Undead That meant that everyone here was alive - Truly alive. Raziel looked down at his left hand: Stained with crimson blood and one rune glowing. His opponents, His master, Siesta, that princess he threatened to kill. All of them were mortal, not like him. They weren't monsters.
"...Haha..." He laughed. He couldn't help it; it was so ironic. He treated death like it was so simple, like everyone here could just ignore it like he did. But they couldn't. They were alive, and none of them would want to be placed in the same circumstances as him. He was a fool. He would have been a murderer here.
In Lordran, concepts like 'Killer' or 'Murderer' didn't exist. Everyone who went there was already dead, so taking a life there was treated as an everyday thing rather than a rare occurrence. But in the realm of the living, they still tried to uphold such laws. Gwyndolin tried to pretend he and his Darkmoon blades upheld such values, but in the end it was just a mask for his own intentions. He had grown so used to killing that he thought little of taking life.
"Hey partner, you alright?" Derf asked, trying to ignore the blood on his hilt. It felt horrible, "I'm sensing some magic off to the right somewhere; must be the students here. You wanna check it out. Better plan than staying here waiting for another guy to attack us.
"Sense?" Raziel asked curiously.
"Huh? Yeah, guess I forgot to mention that," Derf chuckled, "I'm a magic sword, partner, meaning I do more than just talk. I can sense magic being cast and point you to it. Real useful, huh?" Raziel nodded despite himself, "See? Aren't you lucky to have me? Come on, just follow my directions and you can get through this smoke."
Raziel looked down at the body one last time. It didn't disappear like most Undead; he wasn't going to end up in a bonfire. He had killed a living human and it was easy. The blood on his hands began to harden and he twitched irritably. He didn't need to feel guilty; it was kill or be killed here. So what if he was human? Mortal or not, they were enemies.
"...Lets go."
"Princess...please hurry!"
Louise tightened her grip on Henrietta's wrist and pushed forward, using her free hand to cover her mouth and nose from the smoke. She was already beginning to feel lightheaded from the toxic air and her vision began to swim with every strained breath she took. Blinking in irritation, she shook her head and tried to clear the fuzzy spots from her sight. She couldn't faint here, not now.
When the explosions first started, she jumped from the stage and ran to Henrietta's side. There was no logical reason for it; she had enough Knights to protect her and didn't need her help. But she did it anyway, running to her friends side based on instinct alone. She wanted to see that she was safe with her own two eyes. She wouldn't have been satisfied otherwise.
"Louise, please, you're hurt," Henrietta shook off Louise's shaky grip and placed her arm around her shoulder, "You're too weak to run by yourself. Please let me support you."
It was just the two of them now. Her Knights were gone;separated due to the sudden panic and picked off one by one by the bandits in the smoke. She'd tried to heal them with her water magic earlier but their wounds proved too deep even for magic to heal. That was how Louise found her. And now they were trapped, surrounded by smoke and the screams of everyone around them.
It seemed under control at first. The Knights closest to her and Cardinal Mazarin separated into two groups and separated them; for their safety, as she was assured. When the smoke hit, however, they were easily picked off and it was only Louise finding her that ensured she wouldn't get picked off too. Whether she knew it or not, her friend had saved her.
They didn't know how long they'd been running. 5 minutes, 10 minutes? It felt like an eternity. Already Louise was beginning to lose breath and her knees began to wobble. She couldn't walk for much longer like this.
"Princess...please leave me..." She ignored her friend's rambling and continued to walk forward, "This smoke is too thick...can't breath...should it be this hard? I'll slow you down, Princess. Don't worry about me...I'll be fine..."
"Please don't say that," Henrietta stifled a yell as she nearly tripped. This was a nightmare: She couldn't see, she could barely breath, and her friend was becoming delirious. Whispering a prayer under breath, she took a strained breath and used her free hand to remove her shoes. She wouldn't be able to run while wearing the heeled shoes and she needed every moment she could afford.
She needed to heal Louise. Kneeling down, she grasped at the wand at her side and began muttering a basic healing spell and focused. She couldn't do much since she was losing breath herself, but she should be able to ease Louise's pain-
"Well, well. Look what we have here?" From the smoke multiple figures stepped out; all males, wearing dark armor and brandishing swords and daggers. Henrietta felt her heart skip a beat and hugged Louise closer to her. Their blades and armors were stained with blood and she could smell the metallic odor on them even through the smoke. They'd killed people.
"The princess of Tristain all by herself? And look, she brought a friend," He made a lax gesture, eliciting a laugh from his comrades, "Who thought it would be this easy? Somebody should call Cesare and tell him to stop looking. We did his job for him." Another round of laughter followed the sarcastic comment. Henrietta bit her tongue to keep herself from yelling her anger. She needed to stay calm.
"What do you want?" She chanced a look down at her friend and muttered another prayer; she had fainted already, "If its me you're searching for then please leave my friend alone. She has suffered enough and needs help."
She wasn't a fool. While she didn't run the country and was a simple tool for political marriage as far as many were concerned, that didn't stop her from being valuable. Anyone who managed to kidnap the daughter of the Queen would gain enough money to last them for a dozen lifetimes. It was the main reason she was so closely guarded and why a Cardinal was teaching her the ways of royalty at such a young age.
"Typical Princess: Making demands when she's not in any position to," Another laugh. She was beginning to get tired of that already, "I don't think you're in any position to make demands here, Your Highness," He made a mock bow, "In fact, I think Cesare will reward me if we bring you to him ourselves," He turned to his compatriots, "What do you say, men? Up for an extra reward?"
They all nodded, unfastening their weapons from their holsters. Henrietta gripped her wand again and began to incant a spell, drawing from the power of water. She couldn't hold all of them off but she needed to buy as much time as she could. She wouldn't let Louise die here.
Another explosion rang out: This time in front of her. The Bandit's smiles were instantly replaced by surprised screams as their armor caught fire and they were blown through the air from the impact. Henrietta watched, half in horror as their screams reached her ears and half in relief as she realized that she had just been saved. She knew it was improper, but she couldn't help but not care whether they lived or not.
"Are you all right?" Kirche coughed and gasped when she saw Louise's unconscious form, "Is that Valliere? You know what, nevermind. Just follow me. Tabitha made an air pocket but she can't move because its too wide. Just follow me and you'll be safe."
Henrietta nodded and took hold of Louise's arms again, "Th-Thank you- Look out!"
One of the bandits grinned, raising his dagger and preparing to snap at Kirche's spine. She was naive; that explosion wasn't enough to kill any of them. Perhaps she did it on purpose to try and ease her conscience - A mistake he wasn't going to make. Henrietta raised her wand to mutter a counterspell but it was already too late. Nothing was going to stop him now!
"Talking sword coming through!"
Or so he thought. Kirche stared in disbelief as Raziel tackled the bandit onto the ground, struggling briefly with the larger male before cutting his neck with Derflinger's rusted blade. Both Princess and Student flinched as the blood sprayed onto the grass. Raziel gave a small sigh; some of the blood had spurted onto his face and mouth. He decided then and there that he didn't like that taste.
"Hey, where were you?" Kirche asked, eerily calm despite what he'd just did, "I was wondering why Valliere was by herself. Its a Familiar's job to protect their master, don't forget that." Raziel declined to comment that, despite her reminder, Flame was nowhere to be found. There was probably a reason for that.
"Is master alright?" Raziel asked.
"Yes, but she's fainted," Henrietta breathed a sigh of relief. Despite the hostility he had shown her last night, he was a welcome sight compared to the bandits from earlier, "Louise's friend was about to lead us to safe place. Please come with us."
Kirche was about to rebuke that she wasn't Louise's friend before biting her tongue. Now wasn't the time for that, "Yes, all thanks to Tabitha," She smiled, "Come on, we should get going before they wake up-"
A loud noise interrupted her. Another explosion, but smaller this time; a gunshot. Raziel bit back a scream as he felt pain explode in his stomach. Blood and damnation, it was like a firebomb had gone off inside his body! Through pained spasms, he turned around and faced his attacker. The bandit from earlier, smiling and holding a pistol in his bloodied hand. He laughed one last time before blood poured down his mouth and he closed his eyes. A final act of defiance before his death.
It was only after that did the familiar feeling of souls entering his body. He tightened his grip on Derflinger's hilt and resisted the urge to curse. He was so distracted with everything that he even forgot to make sure that the person attacking them was dead. He would have to be more careful from now. Make sure they were absolutely dead before trying again.
"Raziel!" Kirche moved to try and support him before he pushed her away, "That's not a joke! You got hit in the stomach. You're not going to be able to walk properly with that injury."
"I am...fine," It hurt; more than when Guiche's Valkyrie stabbed him but he could still move. That meant he could still fight, "I am...not like you...I will be fine," Talking was difficult and his every movement sent spasms of pain across his stomach and upper body. But already he could could feel the wound slowly but surely healing; a trait he and most Undead shared.
These were human opponents and, whatever that thing was, it was meant to be used against humans. His stomach wasn't pulsating with life: It was as dead and rotted as the rest of his internal organs. The only reason it hurt was because of the force of whatever hit against him, nothing more. Biting back another scream, he did his best to stand up straight.
"Please, we don't have time to argue," Henrietta pleaded, cutting off Kirche's argument. "We can't stay too long in this smoke and Louise has already fainted. Might we continue this argument after we reach safety?"
Kirche bit her lower lip but conceded, directing them both to follow her. Raziel debated whether to carry his master in place of the princess before another spasm of pain discouraged. He didn't like it, but he would have to trust the Princess and hope she didn't decide to abandon his master outright.
"We're here." Kirche announced, pointing the two of them to a vacant spot of land before darting off in another direction. Must be checking on the other people, Raziel guessed.
"Thank Brimir..." Henrietta took a deep breath, face relaxing as smokeless air entered her nostrils at long last. Without missing a beat, she gently placed Louise on the ground and began to cast a healing spell again, "Louise, please be alright," She closed her eyes and continued to mutter the incantation, praying to Founder Brimir that her friend would be alright. She had risked her life to save hers and death shouldn't be her reward.
Next to her, Raziel sat down on the grass and did his best to ignore the bullet wound in his stomach. What in the abyss was that thing? The bandit didn't even move from his spot or cast a spell and he gave Raziel pain equal to a greatsword being cleaved through his body. Thankfully he had faced worse and he could ignore it for the time being. He just needed to stop breathing; it wasn't like he needed to.
The area around them was surreal. Raziel could make out students and Familiar's bunched together, doing their best to avoid going out of the air bubble's boundaries. All around them, like a magical shield, Raziel could see a wide circular dome made out of air. The smoke from the outside tried to filter in, like a dark energy trying to destroy the dome.
Apart from the people, the only physical objects on the field were a few hastily made up tents and basins of water being used by some water Mages to heal those who had fainted from the smoke. Raziel shook his head and twitched as the blood on his face began to harden. He still had a hard time believing that he was the only Undead here, but he again was proof that he was. None of these people were the same as him.
"Will Master be alright?" He turned to the princess, doing his best to try and put down any dislike he had for her. She hadn't abandoned his master and she was even healing her, so he could play nice.
"Yes, Louise will be fine," Henrietta gave one last flourish with her wand before smiling in relief, "Her body is smaller than mine so she couldn't take as much smoke, but she did her best. She will be asleep for a few more minutes and then wake up none the worse for wear."
"...Thank you..." He couldn't look at her; she would've seen how he struggled to say those two words. He still didn't trust that anyone with her power would be so selfless, but he needed to put it behind him at least for today. She had saved his master and even carried her through the smoke; more than what Gwynever ever did for her subjects.
"She's a good friend," She placed a hand on Louise's hair and gently straightened it, "She helped me through the smoke and even told me to leave her when she couldn't go any further. I would most likely be dead if not for her," She shook her head to banish the thoughts away before turning to him, "But what about you, Mr. Familiar? You were hit with a gunshot. We should-"
"I will be fine-" He interrupted, raising a hand as a sign of warning, "As I said earlier, I am not like you. I simply need to rest for a moment and then I can leave this place. We cannot stay here forever."
"Regardless, I can use my magic to heal you," She offered.
"No thank you," He shook his head in refusal before standing up again. He gave a small smile at the fact that the spasms of pain were easier to bear than before, "I can walk just fine now."
Louise had told her about this. One of the topics the two friends talked about last night was the fact that Louise had a human Familiar. Louise had told her everything: How her Familiar first came to be, how none of the water mages were able to heal him, how he never ate or slept, how he was able to beat Guiche in a match despite being outnumbered and unarmed. To be honest, she thought her friend was pulling a joke on her at first.
And yet, seeing him now she couldn't deny that there was something eerie about him. Despite the hot environment they were just in, she couldn't see even a hint of sweat on him and his chest barely moved - like he didn't breath. His voice remained flat and emotionless despite the bullet wound on his stomach. And, weirdest of all, the way his injuries could be healed (or ignored) despite the severity of them. Rare had she ever seen anyone take a bullet and act like it didn't matter.
Henrietta would have insisted on doing it regardless were it not for Kirche arriving with her salamander in tow, "You're already moving? I thought you'd be down for a lot longer," Kirche commented, giving a lax smile that Raziel didn't return, "Guess you were right about healing fast. Well, you're safe here as far as Tabitha's concerned. None of the bandits want to attack; guess they're scared now that we can see them."
"Where was Flame?" He asked, eying the large salamander, "He was not with you earlier."
"I sent Flame out to look for other students," Kirche replied, "Salamander's like Flame aren't affected by smoke, so he's the perfect guy to find the students that are still out there. Sylphid and all the flying Familiar's are in the skies looking to see if they can find others and ground Familiar's like Belldandy are digging pathways in the ground so students can get here without wading through the smoke."
Raziel nodded, "Teachers and Servants?" He asked after giving the area another once over. All he could see were students and some of the outside visitors. No Knights either, though he could already guess what happened to them.
"The servants are all inside; they were closest to the buildings and hopefully they locked all the doors before whoever attacked us got in." She shrugged, "The teachers are looking for students and anyone still out there," She pointed at the air barrier around them, "Professor Kaita's the only other Wind Triangle Mage around here and he's leading the search. Tabitha's making the barrier around us right now and can't even move because she needs to concentrate to make a barrier this big. None of the other students here are Triangle class so they can't changer with her. We're stuck here."
"Trapped, more like," Raziel looked gave the barrier a cynical look. The field used for the Familiar's Fair was large: Easily able to hold all the students of the academy and its staff along with visitors and have enough room for everyone to stretch both arms. The panic meant that everyone who ran was scattered across a large field surrounded by nothing but smoke and murderous attackers; both of which would would kill them if they weren't found.
And, based on what Kirche said, this barrier around them was a temporary measure. Unless the smoke receded, then they were essentially waiting to die...again, in his case. Not that it would stick, but he preferred to avoid death as much as possible. The souls he had gotten were still inside him and dying now would mean losing them.
"Stuck, trapped: Whatever you want to call it," Kirche replied, "I have to go out again: Fire mages are the only ones who can breath through the smoke without choking after a few minutes. We're not immune to it, but its better than nothing."
"I am going as well," Raziel unsheathed Derflinger and moved to the end of the barrier before Kirche grabbed his arm.
"Where in the void do you think you're going?" She asked incredulously, "Unless you've forgotten, you just got shot and you're not a Fire Mage. There's no way you can last more than Ten minutes out there without choking to death."
"I will be fine," He was getting tired of saying that, "The wound will do little to impede me and I...have ways to survive the fires," Better to not say out loud that he was an Undead; might cause a panic...even more of one, actually, "The smoke will not go away on its own and waiting here does little to help us. Better to go out there and try to stop it than wait here for death."
Kirche gave him a suspicious glance before looking down at his stomach. No bleeding despite the gunshot and he was standing up straight. Did his armor block the bullet somehow? There was no way for him to naturally survive without medical attention and yet he was standing fine and even arguing with her despite the fact that he was supposed to have a gaping hole in his stomach.
"Fine, but we need to talk to Tabitha first; maybe she can point you in the right direction," She waited for Raziel's nod before turning back to Henrietta, "What about you, Princess? Will you be okay by yourself?"
"O-Oh yes, I'll be fine," She nodded and smiled at the two of them, "I shall see what I can do about helping to heal some of the people here. They must be suffering from both injuries and inhaling the smoke."
With that confirmation, Kirche led Raziel to where Tabitha was. On the way there, Raziel continued to observe his surroundings. It was sad, almost pathetic in a way. The students shivered and muttered comforts to themselves, unable to comprehend the reality of the situation. There were a few of them trying to encourage their fellow students to stand up and be brave, but their efforts were met with rebuttals or ignorance. The majority was content to wait for others to save them despite having power they could call on.
"Tabitha, you still alright?"
Raziel looked to where Kirche was calling out and his eyes widened ever so slightly. Tabitha was standing there, Staff held in both hands and eyes closed, occasionally muttering incantations under her breath. Kirche wasn't exaggerating; she was the only one holding up the air bubble around them. Off to the side he could see Guiche whispering instructions to his pet mole, but apart from him the area around Tabitha was completely bare. No one was helping her.
Tabitha turned towards the two of them and nodded, not even eliciting surprise at Kirche's companion. From his spot, Guiche looked up from Belldandy and gave a wave before turning back to his Familiar. He was scared; Raziel could see his shoulders and hands trembling despite the nonchalant front he put up. But he was doing better than most around here.
The sounds of beating wings reached his ears. Raziel looked up and raised an eyebrow as Sylphid landed next to Tabitha, carrying a few students on her back. Guiche waved his rose wand summoned a few Valkyries; all of which proceeded to help the coughing students off the dragon's back and carry them to the more populated (though not by much) area. So that was why he was here.
"Good," Tabitha reached up a hand and patted Sylphid's nostril, receiving an affectionate cooing in response.
"Still no luck trying to disperse the smoke?" Kirche asked again, only receiving a quiet shake of the head in response, "Damn, this isn't natural. We're in the open air and the smoke stays all around us like a blanket. This shouldn't be happening."
Raziel stared at Sylphid and was hardly surprised when the female dragon stopped cooing and immediately hid her tail behind her when she spotted him. Smiling inwardly, he gripped Derflinger's hilt and anxiously flexed his hands on the handle. He still hadn't given up on getting that precious tail, but he had other things to focus on. She was safe...for now.
"Wind Mages," Tabitha offered. Kirche gave a disapproving shake of the head and cursed under her breath - She already knew that. Some of the other wind Mage students they'd gathered tried to blow away the smoke, but every try was met with failure as the smoke continued to surround them despite their best efforts. It was obvious that the smoke was being kept here to pacify them.
"She is right," Raziel agreed, "I overheard a conversation earlier and they stated Wind Mages lending the attackers assistance," All three of them turned to look at Raziel, "One voice mentioned that there were ten of them and that they are the reason the smoke does not fade. Without the Mages, will we be able to clear the smoke from this field?"
"Possible," Tabitha nodded.
"It wouldn't hurt," Replied Kirche sarcastically.
"Just one problem," Guiche started, "We still can't see through this smoke and we can barely cast magic without choking to death. I've already tried sending my Valkyrie's out there, but they can only go so far before I lose control of them and they become dead metal. Even if we know their locations there's little chance we can get out there to stop them."
Raziel looked at Derflinger before turning to the others, "Derflinger can sense magic and I can travel through the smoke. Once the mages are killed, the smoke will begin to disperse again?"
"That should be the case," Guiche answered. He wasn't even going to bother asking how exactly Raziel planned to go through the smoke without choking; if he could survive being impaled by his Valkyrie then he could certainly survive this too.
Raziel nodded turned to leave before he felt a soft pulling on his arm. It was Tabitha, "Be careful," Raziel nodded again before beginning his run to the outside. He would need to be if he wanted to succeed.
"Who in the void are-"
Whatever the mage was about to say was cut off as Raziel impaled Derflinger through his stomach. He tried to struggle and cast a spell, but Raziel slapped his hand over his mouth and refused to let go till his movements ceased and the feeling of his soul leaving his body and entering his once again took over. Shaking his head at the blood, he stood up and wiped Deflinger's blade on the grass.
Another one down.
The Mages were usually alone. At times there were one or two bandits accompanying them, but for the most part they had expected no one to be able to come to them. It made sense for the most part: They were positioned on the far edges of the field in order to avoid the teachers and the dark clothes they wore ensured that they would be camouflaged among the smoke. The only reason Raziel found them was because he had Derflinger sensing the magic they used to keep the smoke concentrated on the area.
Killing them was easy. They hadn't expected anyone save for the stray student or commoner to find them, and even then they expected whoever found them to be weakened heavily from smoke inhalation. Surprise killed them more than anything.
He even figured out how they were keeping the smoke boxed in. Similar to Tabitha's 'Air bubble' keeping breathable air in, all the enemy Mages around the area made their own bubbles that kept the smoke contained. No matter how hard the students tried, they wouldn't be able to dispel the smoke because the bubble would keep it from really going anywhere. A perverse use of the magic, but a use nonetheless.
"That makes six," Derf commented, "That should be enough to stop the smoke, right, partner?"
"Not sure," He could see better now since he was near the eastern exit to the field, but he wasn't sure if that was enough to disperse the smoke coming from the main field. 'Cesare' did mention that not all of the Mages were actively propagating the smoke, and he had killed six out of the ten mentioned, so it should have been enough right.
Another explosion made him lose his balance and fall onto the ground, "Loud..." He closed his eyes and tried to ignore the ringing in his head. This explosion was louder than the previous one. It almost felt like it had been done next to him.
"Hey partner, you might want to turn around!" Derf warned him.
Hands holding his head, he stood up shakily and looked behind him. There was structure there, shaped vaguely in the shape of a humanoid. It was made of light brown stone with wide, stumpy 'limbs'. The face, if it could even be called that, was connected to its upper body and shoulders and looked more like a carving than something made for showing expression.
But the weirdest part about it was the humanoid figure sitting on its 'shoulder'. He couldn't see them very well - the smoke still obscured a majority of the area around them - but he could make out a a cloak and a wand. It didn't take him long to realize what it was: A Golem, just like Guiche's but bigger. Much bigger. The person sitting on its shoulder must have been its controller, judging by the wand they were using.
"Any idea who that is?" Derf questioned. Raziel shook his head as it smashed its fist against the building again, "Well something tells me that thing being here the same time as these bandits isn't a coincident.
It raised its right hand and smashed against the wall of the building again, sending another shockwave through the ground. Those weren't explosions - At least, not all of them were. He had assumed that the rocking on the ground were the attackers setting off more explosives while the general panic set in, but this made more sense. They were distracting everyone from that thing and everyone would assume the shockwaves were just more explosions by the attackers. Whoever they were, they were completely cloaked.
That's who Cesare was distracting for.
He needed to stop them. Struggling to keep his balance, he picked up Derflinger and made his way to the Golem's 'foot'.
Fouquet sighed in annoyance as the walls continued to hold despite her rampant assaults. Biting her lip in frustration, she turned her gaze from the wall to the smoking field. The longer she stayed here the more people died. She sincerely hoped that whatever she was being sent to get was worth all this trouble; she wouldn't be able to look at her little sister in the eyes again if this turned out to be a hoax.
She raised the Golem's fist again before stopping. Something was attacking her Golem.
Raziel grunted as the Golem's 'foot' healed itself again despite his strikes. He was strong enough to take off chunks of the appendage with every strike, but he wasn't fast enough that he could destroy it faster than it healed. Raziel growled in frustration and gripped Derflinger with both hands. He wasn't going to stop them now, not unless he continued without stopping.
"What is he doing?" Fouquet looked down as the figure down by the Golem's foot continued to attack despite the regeneration. She didn't recognize him through the smoke - most likely just an overzealous student or a stray knight who had caught onto her. Shaking her head in pity, she waved a her wand and made the Golem's foot nudge him off. It would hurt, but he wouldn't die.
"Argh!" Raziel bit back a string of curses as he landed harshly on the ground. He couldn't damage that thing, not as long as the Mage who made it would continued to fix whatever damage he took. Biting his lips in order to alleviate the pain, Raziel stood up shakily and gripped Derflinger again.
"Partner, I don't think this is gonna work," Derf commented irritably, "Golem's are tough enough when they're normal sized, but giants like this are hard to destroy. You need to destroy it entirely or you take out the Mage: Whichever one works best. My suggestion? Go for the Mage. There's only one of you and there's one of them. Seems more fair than trying to replace an army.
"...How do I reach them," Raziel flinched as he felt spasms of pain shoot up his left arm. It had taken the burnt of the attack and every movement sent uncomfortable joins to shoot up the limb, "Climbing is too inefficient."
"Hell if I know," Derf cackled, "You're the one with the legs, right? I'm just along for the ride."
Raziel rolled his eyes and sheathed the talking sword. He needed to get higher and climbing wasn't an option, so what was the next best thing? His head turned to the right and he couldn't help the wry smile that took over his face. If he couldn't climb the Golem, then he would have to climb the building standing next to it. Preparing himself for the worst, he opened the door and ran up the stairs.
Fouquet smiled under her hood as the cracks on the wall began to widen. She'd been doing this for long enough that she was sure she'd had enough of punching walls to last a lifetime, but she did it. She was beginning to doubt the information that Colbert had given her about brute force being able to get past the barrier as simple codswallop that he fed her in order to appear smarter. But he was right, and now he just needed one more punch and she'd be able to-
"Are you insaaaaaannnnne!?"
The green haired thief looked up at the yelling voice and couldn't help but freeze in surprise. Someone was falling.
Raziel crashed onto the Golem's left shoulder, impaling Derflinger on the construct's material. He had to admit: That was exhilarating. The last time he had done a lunging attack was against the Stray Demon from the Undead Burg. It was a risky maneuver to do; one misstep meant falling painfully onto the ground and being wide open to any giant monster that happened to by lying around.
Which made succeeding feel even better.
"Partner, I've done some crazy shit in my time, but that was absolutely insane!" Derf yelled, handguard clicking rapidly in irritation, "One miss and we would've both ended up as stains on the floor! Next time, I'm going to make the plans!"
"Understood," Raziel removed Derflinger from the stone and charged to Fouquet, who was still bewildered with the Undead's sudden appearance.
"Get out of my way!" He was nearly halfway to her before she made the Golem forcefully shake, making him lose balance slightly, "I tried to shake you off earlier without killing you. Don't make me kill you: I wanna avoid killing anyone I don't need to."
He ignored her and continued to press forward. She couldn't say that she didn't want to kill anyone: All the people who died in that smokey field were because of her. She couldn't deny responsibility now after everything that happened and claim that she wanted to avoid killing, not now. She was responsible for every person that died today.
"Die," Raziel stabbed Derflinger forward, forcing her to dodge to the side and barely avoid falling. Not giving her a chance to rest, he made another slash to the right; another she barely dodged.
"Get off!" Fouquet mouthed a quick incantation before slamming down her hand roughly. The Golem shook slightly before raising its left hand to its right shoulder and attempting to grab Raziel and throw him off. Doing his best to keep his balance, he grabbed Derflinger with both hands and slashed down.
Fouquet twitched as she saw half of her Golem's hand get cut clean off and fall into the ground with a large thud. The hand was naturally thinner than the foot so it shouldn't have surprised her that he was capable of damaging it to that extent.
"Alright, you want to die that badly? Fine!" Another spell. Raziel grabbed onto the Golem quickly and prepared for another grab attempt before he realized the Construct wasn't moving anymore.
"Not this time!" Raziel barely had time to turn to Fouquet before a wave of pain enveloped his entire face. She had augmented her fist - covered it in a thick layer of stone - and punched him right in the face, "Get off already!" She punched him again and this time he could do nothing as he felt himself fall off the Golem's shoulder.
He rolled, down the Golem's shoulder and onto its enclosed fist. Pain racked his entire body as the hard rock smashed into him, but he knew the landing would be the most painful if he didn't stop before hitting the ground. Desperately shaking off his dizziness, he stabbed Derflinger into the Golem's 'arm' and barely stopped at the Golem's knuckles.
Wait, the knuckles?
"Stubborn, aren't you? Fine, I hope you enjoy the ride."
He didn't have to ask what she meant before the Golem reared its fist back and prepared for its final strike against the Vault barriers. She was going to smash her Golem right through the wall and he was right between them. The only other option would have been to let go and fall to the ground, but that was no better given the height he would fall from he would most likely end up in the same state. He had to stick with it.
This was going to hurt
"Princess!" Louise jolted up from her place on the ground and coughed, vision still swimming. Next to her, Henrietta's eyes widened in surprise at the sudden jolt before she grabbed her friend's shoulders gently and started tapping her back.
"Louise, please rest," Henrietta smiled gently and pushed Louise down onto the grass slowly, "You fainted not too long ago and your body is still weak from inhaling so much smoke. You need to rest before you can move properly again."
"Princess, you're alright?" Louise smiled, relieved. Henrietta was covered in smoke and looked like she'd been dragged through hell, but she was alive at least. That was all that mattered, "Where...Where are we?"
"A safe place," Henrietta answered, "Your friend Ms. Kirche led me and Mr. Familiar here when we were lost in the smoke. She saved me from being attacked as well. Its thanks to her that we're here."
A Zerbst saved her? If Louise wasn't too sick to laugh, she would have guffawed at the bitter irony. So now she owed her life to a daughter belonging to her sworn rival family? If Eleanore could see her now she would have been in so much trouble. But regardless of that, it was because of her that the Princess was saved and she owed her for that, much as she disliked the idea of it.
And she really, really didn't like it.
As she was about to stand up she saw the figures of Tabitha, Kirche, and Guiche walking towards them and visibly relaxed. She was glad to see them - even Kirche. But, at the back of her head, she reminded herself that it was shameful to show weakness to fellow peers. She needed to stand up and see what she could do to help; she didn't want to appear as a victim.
"He did it," Tabitha intoned, pointing up at the rapidly smoke above them, "Fast."
"Huh, guess the bullet just grazed him," Kirche smiled and looked down at Louise, "Awake already, huh, Valliere? You missed your Familiar. Shame, the master being so far away from her Familiar is pretty disgraceful.
"Wait, what are you talking about?" Louise raised a hand to her forehead and took deep, ragged breaths, "My Familiar was at the stage when this began and..." She tried to recall. Her Familiar did a performance, the crowd cheered, bandit's attacked, she jumped from and the stage and left...
Oh Brimir...
She had left her Familiar!
"Where-Where is he?" She asked frantically. Knowing him he was standing around the stage utterly oblivious to what was going on. She needed to find him before he got himself killed or worse.
"We don't know," Guiche answered somewhat nervously, "He told us that he would go after the wind Mages keeping the smoke in the field a while ago. He still hasn't come back, but the field's began to clear up already so he must have succeeded."
"...What?" Louise blinked and took a few moments to try and compose herself, "...My Familiar is alone out there and trying to take out Brimir knows how many mages? What made any of you think this was a good idea?" She asked. For voids sake, it sounded even weirder when she said it out loud. He won against Guiche, but he was a dot mage. How did he expect to fight against multiple Wind Mages?
"Given the results, I'd say he's succeeding," Kirche commented, looking at the area around them, "Tabitha doesn't have to hold up the air bubble anymore and the smoke's dissipating," She pointed to a few Wind Mage students off to the side, "They're already trying to clear the air and a lot of the people who attacked us are either getting detained by the teachers or running away. We're safe now."
"Tired," Tabitha commented blankly.
"Yes, good work," Kirche smiled and ruffled the blunette's hair affectionately, getting a blink in response.
Louise shook her head and tried let what they said sink in. Were they seriously telling her that her Familiar had managed to put down multiple Mages in a row and succeeded? That sounded too unbelievable. She could barely fathom Guiche's defeat, let alone this.
And, as much as she hated to admit it, she felt insulted. Her Familiar managed to do all that and what was she doing? Fainting from inhaling too much smoke, being saved by her childhood friend who she tried to help, and then owing her life to her sworn rival. Today was a complete and utter embarrassment, for both her and anyone who shared the name 'Valliere'. To think she was so worried about embarrassing herself in the show just this morning.
"Louise, I must help with treating more of the injured students," Henrietta stood up and bowed in apology, "Please take your time and rest easy. I'm sure Mr. Familiar will be back soon and he wouldn't want you to strain yourself."
"Same here." Kirche cut in, "Guiche, Tabitha and I will check around to again just in case. Get some sleep, Valliere."
Louise didn't reply as the princess and her peers separated from her. The Princess was right. She needed to rest and she still didn't have enough energy to move properly, let alone to look for her Familiar.
And yet, that wasn't going to stop her. Taking a deep breath, Louise forced pressure into her legs and stood up shakily. Her Familiar was put there right now and, like it or not, he was bound to her. It was the Familiar's duty to protect the master, but it was also the master's duty to watch over their Familiar and take care of them. She wouldn't be able to call herself a Mage if she abandoned her Familiar.
"Alright, Louise, you can do this..."
"I hate this swamp!"
Blighttown was his least favorite place among all the locations he went through. In addition to smelling like someone had crapped all over everything, he seemed to go slower whenever he was here for whatever reason. The poison in the swamp and the thickness of the water forcing him to a crawl also didn't help how alleviate how much he hated this swamp.
Oh, and there were the monsters. Oh how he hated the monsters here. At least the monsters in Anor Londo had the decency to shine their armor. But here? Here there were giant monsters covered from head to toe in feces wielding giant clubs and boulders; giant insects that tried to prick him and suck out his blood (not that he had much to give); and flame demons that looked like a cross between a spider and a crab. So really, not only did the location stink (And quite literally at that), he had to deal with its awful smelling denizens.
"Why Quelana insists on staying here, I don't know. Place smells like shit and vomit," Raziel nearly gagged as one of the boulder wielding crap monsters rolled on the floor in an attempt to put out the Pyromancy Raziel had doused him in. As Raziel found out, the only thing worse than the smell of feces was the smell of burning feces. He didn't need to breath but he didn't lose his sense of smell either, much to his dismay right now.
Leaving behind the pudgy monster, Raziel grimaced from inside his knight helm as he went ever closer to the poisonous waters of Blighttown. He really should killed Eingyi, he really should have, but that meant Quelaag's sister would be stuck alone with no one to help her. Suppressing a sigh, he flipped the covering of his helmet and swallowed a few clumps of Purple Moss. They tasted like they'd been dragged through the sewer walls - and they probably were given who sold them - but if it meant avoid poison then he was willing to stick with it.
"Ugh, I hate doing this..." He shivered as the slimy water lapped at his skin through the small gaps in his armor. Even without the poison the feeling of the water never stopped being disgusting. And this was through an Undead's decayed body. He dreaded to think how a normal human would feel when passing through this swamp. He decided not thinking about it was the best idea.
Quelana was close-by and, if his hunch was right, he would meet Laurentius here as well. He had gotten a significant headstart and he was even more excited to meet Quelana than he was, given her reputation as 'The Mother of Pyromancy'. He wondered how his friend was doing. It had been a while since he had seen him and Firelink Shrine had began to feel empty now that Logan and Griggs had left on their own journeys as well. He smiled inwardly; seeing Laurentius again would be a good boost to his energy after what happened to Lautrec in Anor Londo.
As Raziel was about to reach the landmass, the water in front of him exploded with a loud pop, "Ah, what the!?" Raziel frantically pawed at the opening of the helmet and tried wipe away the toxic water. Another explosion of water, this time to his left. Raziel growled in frustration and removed the helmet, tossing it away haphazardly. He couldn't see!
He rubbed his eyes again, blinking rapidly in an effort to remove the toxic water from his eyes. Everything was hazy; like everything had been doused in the slimy water. He could see someone in front of him: Wearing rags he couldn't identify and a skeletal body. A Hollow, Raziel noted. And not only that, but a Hollow who knew Pyromancy! That was new. The heat from the fires it was tossing caused the toxic water to pop.
It tossed another flame ball; right in front of him this time. Raziel's eyes widened before another stream of toxic water invaded his orifices. Gods damn Hollow, he was going to kill that thing. He unsheathed Quelana's furysword from his side and charged forward. He could barely see anything and movement was sluggish, but he focused on the figure.
Raziel tackled the figure and held it up against the wall, scowling as it pushed and clawed against him. That was what all these things were: Mindless husks left of the person they once were. Shaking the last of the toxic water out of his eyes, he grabbed the Hollow neck before impaling Quelaag's sword through its midsection. It struggled again, pushing and shoving him in an attempt to remove the flaming sword from its flesh, but it was in vain.
He blinked. The last of the water was finally disappearing and he could see what was causing him so much trouble. But as his vision cleared, the feelings of victory and achievement were absent, replaced instead by dread and horror. The Hollow wasn't wearing Rags, but the uniform of a Pyromancer from the swamps.
"What...? ...No..." Laurentius. Raziel's grip on the sword loosened and he fell back. His face had taken the decay the Humanity hid, but there was no doubt about it: It was Laurentius. The Hollow on the wall clawed at the sword one last time before the sword covered itself in flames, purging the life from the mindless corpse. Raziel watched as Laurentius' body disappeared and as his clothes burnt to ash.
And just like with any being he killed, the souls left Laurentius body and entered his.
He sat there, trying to make sense of what had just happened. He had killed his friend. Not only that, but he had killed him without even realizing. To him he was just another mindless Hollow; like the dozens he had killed on his journey.
And now Laurentius was gone. He had destroyed his body and taken whatever was left of his soul in him. Raziel's body shivered: Not from disgust, but out of rage. Rage at himself, rage at Laurentius for being so careless. It was his fault. When Laurentius asked him where he got his Pyromancy, he shouldn't have said anything. Laurentius might have hated him, but at least he would still be alive! And now he was gone, killed by him with barely a second thought.
He smashed his hand against the wall. It didn't hurt; barely anything ever hurt unless it was from one of the monsters he faced. He roared an animalistic growl and smashed his hand against the stone wall, his hand flaring with more and more fire with every hit. He was angry, but he couldn't find anyone to blame but himself.
"You are attracting attention, tread carefully..." Raziel smashed his fist against the wall one last time before looking up. Quelana, "Your anger is overtaking you. You must be careful, or the flames will consume you as they did Salaman. Do not let your grievances take your mind, lest you lose your body along with it."
Always with the words of wisdom, Raziel thought. She was the reason Laurentius was here and he died so close to achieving his dream of meeting her. All he wanted was to learn from her, to find out what she'd taught him. But now he was dead and Quelana was still here.
Raziel crunched his grip on the dirt before smashing Quelana against the wall. The sister of chaos barely reacted to the sudden assualt,"You knew he was here, didn't you! You must have heard him stepping on the swamp and being attacked by the monsters!" He accused. Quelana nodded, "Then why didn't you help him! Why didn't you save him? You could have saved him..."
"He was a friend to you...?" Raziel took a ragged breath and nodded, "Them I apologize for your loss. Though to you he was a friend, to me he was but a stranger. I did not know if he wished to do me harm."
"Laurentius would never do that! He's one of the kindest people I've met! All he wanted was to learn Pyromancy from you and he even risked his life coming down here just for that."
"How was I know to know this?" Quelana bit back calmly, "If I could not find the courage to save my sisters, then what made you think I would have the courage to save a stranger? I am a coward, this is something I've never lied about." Raziel looked away, "Then let me ask this? Was it not you who killed my sister on your first trip here?"
"I did, but-"
"I do not fault you for it, for you had good reason and little choice," Quelana held up a hand to silence him, "However, to you she was a simple attacker: A monster. My brother in the lower depths of Izalith. You killed him because to you he was a simple mindless monster. Again I do not fault your for it, for you had no knowledge to his circumstances."
"And so I ask you, how are my actions any different from yours? My family may have been suffering, and I thank you for ending their pain, but they were my family and you cut them down without a thought to who they were. I apologize for the loss of your friend, but to me he was a simple stranger, nothing more. We all have our own views."
Raziel's grip on the elder Pyromancer loosened and she walked away, leaving him there in the solitary island. He placed his back against the wall and slid downt, crashing to the floor in a heap. In the end, he couldn't blame anyone else.
Fouquet waved her hand through the air held her breath. The dust from the displaced stone was unpleasant and caused her nose to itch, but that was of little concern. Cautiously she peeked in, looking through the area to see if she could find any more magical traps in place. Finding nothing else to concern herself, she jumped from her Golem's hand onto the impromptu entrance.
The first thing she noticed was the crumpled form of her opponent. He was there, lying facedown among the rubble and barely emitting a sound. There was no way he survived that; his armor was almost completely destroyed and the bones in his body must have snapped on impact. Fouquet sucked in her tongue: She wanted to avoid needless deaths, but he pushed her and she had to retaliate. She gave him many chances to walk away.
She almost didn't recognize him anymore. Miss. Valliere's Familiar, and yet he was here and his master was nowhere in sight.
The interior of the vault was exactly as she expected: Lavishly decorated with gold and silver with multiple paintings adorning the walls. All around her she could see chests, filled to the brim with gold, coins, jewelry, and whatever else a thief could hope to steal. There were even rare arcane tomes; historical records written by Brimir's disciples themselves. Even selling one of those books to an aspiring collector would have set both and her sister for life.
But that wasn't what she was here for. Licking her lips in disappointment, she ignored the treasure trove around her and went to the case at the pedestal. Unlike everything else, the case holding the staff was nothing special; simple wood already showing signs of old age. Releasing a sigh of disappointment, he opened the box and looked at the contents.
It was a staff. Certainly longer and darker than most of the staves used by normal wizards, but a staff nonetheless. She couldn't keep the disappointed from from reaching her lips as she reached down for it. This was the treasure the academy worked so hard to keep hidden and what she was being blackmailed to steal? This was a simple staff; and not a particularly good looking one either. She could see the end of it bent over like some kind of primitive axe and the handle curved like a snake, meaning whoever held it would have a hard time doing so.
As soon as her fingers made contact with the catalyst, she could feel all warmth leave her body. She shivered, as if wrapped in a thin sheet of ice. All around her she could hear screaming: Men, Women, Children, and, worst of all, an angry roar that sent ripples through her body. She couldn't make out their words, only that they were screaming in pain and anguish. Something powerful held this staff once, something...primal.
She removed her hand from the rod and stepped back, sweat pouring down her face as she hurriedly closed the box on it. She didn't want to take it with her, but she had little choice in the matter. She just hoped whoever planned to use this thing knew what they were doing, or they would suffer.
"...rtner...up...artner...ake up!"
Raziel opened his eyes to pain. He could feel it all over his body and his every movement sent jolts of agony to spread across his body. Gritting his teeth and holding in his tongue, he forced himself to crawl forward from under the debris he was in. Everything hurt and he couldn't twitch a finger without feeling like he'd been tortured, but he was alive.
But there was more keeping him going: Anger. He looked at his right palm and stared blankly at the crimson flame covering it. The only thing stronger than fire were the fires of chaos, signified by the crimson color overtaking the orange. Chaos flame burned stronger than anything else and could melt through anything...even stone Golems...
"Oh man, I almost thought I lost ya!" Derf clicked in relief, "The thief broke in here and she just went out, so I think its a good idea to just wait here till she leaves."
"She is outside?" Talking was hard.
"Yeah, and I think you should live and let live with this one," Derf suggested, "Partner I'm all for never surrendering and dying with honor and all that, but you nearly got killed and you barely grazed her. There's little point in a fight where you have no chance of winning and you don't accomplish anything."
Raziel looked down at his palm again. The anger fueling him right now wasn't his: At least, it wasn't anymore. It was the rage of his former, the one who had killed Laurentius. And yet, he couldn't deny the power it gave him. Quelana warned him that anger was the most dangerous catalyst, but it was also the most powerful one. After all, what could help more with fire than the burning desire to destroy?
Raziel balled his hand into a fist before smiling. It wouldn't last for long and he doubted if he could ever replicate the effect again, but right now he ad the power of the Flames of Chaos. He had a chance to win this.
Outside, Fouquet heaved as she deposited the container holding the staff on the Golem's shoulder. The smoke was beginning to dissipate from the field and that meant her distraction was long gone by now. Best she leave before anyone took notice of her.
As she instructed the Golem to take its first step, she could feel the temperature around her increase. She wondered briefly what was going on before she realized; her Golem's arm was burning. Had somebody spotted her? She looked around at the ground quickly and found no one. What had happened? Shaking her head, she cast the regeneration spell and-
"What!?" The regeneration spell wasn't working! She cast it again, and again it proved useless. The fire was burning through the stone faster than the spell could heal it. From the hole in the wall a ball of crimson flame flew out before hitting against the Golem's other arm.
Like before, the regeneration spell proved useless and she could do little but watch as both of the Construct's arms melted into useless sludge. This was impossible! Not even a square class Fire mage should have been able to burn through her Golem, not without using a heavy amplifier like oil. And even then, it shouldn't have made her regeneration spell worthless.
Raziel's smile widened ever so slightly as he saw the giant Golem's arms melt down into nothing. Fouquet looked at the and spotted him. She was surprised; at the fact that he was using Pyromancy or at the fact that he was alive? Either way it mattered little. One shot to the Golem's 'legs' should be enough to take it down for good.
The Mage thief's eyes widened. He wasn't using a wand. He was throwing fire at her with his bare hands and it was overpowering her magic. She hurriedly ordered her Golem to take a step back but it was too late. Another fireball, bigger than the last two, hit one of her Golem's legs and she sound found herself falling as the Golem lost its balance.
"...This isn't what I signed up for," Fouquet groaned. She had expected an easy snatch and grab, maybe one with casualties but she had expected to get out of this without a scratch. If she was told she was going to have to fight a wandless Mage with the capabilities of a square class Fire Mage then she would have taken her chances with running.
The green haired thief cradled the container against her and stepped back. Raziel was there, walking towards her slowly like a monster out of a nightmare. She summoned a miniature Golem to serve as a distraction, but it barely did anything before a flick of the flames melted it down and she was forced to summon another one. She had no way of winning this: Her willpower was too spent and she couldn't summon her main Golem anymore. It was take a miracle for her to survive this.
It was as if Brimir himself was watching over her. Raziel crumpled to the ground, his vacant hand moving to cover his right eye as if he had been attacked. Taking the chance, Fouquet expended the last of her willpower and summoned a few more Golems before running to the exit. Raziel was barely able to place his hand on the ground and summon pillars of fire before another burst of pain forced his attention.
His right eye had changed color, turning into pinkish red; just like his master. He blinked a few more times before he could focus. On his normal left eye he could see Foquet running to escape. But on his right...
"The Familiar's link," Derf's voice reached his ears, "Your master's in danger and the link is showing you where she is. It always hurts the first few times it happens."
He could see through his masters eyes. She was being dragged through the school. Small trees? He recognized those. The small field Siesta was sleeping in before. No one ever went there and with the panic from earlier it was guaranteed to be deserted. No sooner had he seen it, the link was severed and he was forced to the ground again.
"Partner, your master's in danger! You're her Familiar and you have the runes, so that means you protect her!"
"But-"
"Its either you chase after that thief or you save your master! You can't have both!"
Raziel looked to where Fouquet escaped. She had escaped into the forest already but he could still follow her if he went now. She was responsible for everything that had happened and if he let her go now she would get away with it. But his master was in danger and he couldn't gamble on her life right now
The choice was obvious.
"My plan destroyed, my comrades dead or captured, and we have nothing to show for our efforts!" Cesare yelled, "The only thing we have left are three men and a wandering girl you caught!"
Louise shook her head and looked around groggily. She was being forced to kneel, her arms both held by dark figures. She had tried to look for her Familiar and, in her weakness, she was captured by the remaining attackers in her search. She didn't even know where she was right now; all she could see were trees and some light sunlight. Was she still in the school?
"Tell me who you are, girl, and why I shouldn't cut your throat now and be done with," Cesare grabbed her hair roughly and forced her too look up, "You are no Princess, no Cardinal. What value does your life hold?"
Despite her situation, she still found it in her to scowl at her interrogator. She was afraid, she was scared of what he would do and if she would die, but she refused to show her fear. Raziel's situation was different; she had seen something supernatural, something she had never seen in her life. But now? Human interrogators and threats. She found little need to show her fear here.
"Keeping your tongue, are you?" Cesare smirked, "Very well it matters little. All the fun to be had getting you to talk." Louise's blood turned ice cold at his next action. He'd unsheathed a dagger, a serrated blade that could cut with just the lightest touch, "We shall see how long you can last before you start squealing, my little pig. I do so enjoy these games."
"...Familiar...save me..." She whispered softly, closing her eyes. She could feel the blade's cold touch against her chest. Cesare was cutting away at her buttons; there was little reason to do it other than to unnerve her.
"What was that? I couldn't quite hear you," He sliced at her cheeks. Louise felt pain as her pale skin as the crimson liquid slowly dribbled down from her cheekbones and onto her chin.
She could feel tears fall from her eyes and begin to mix with the blood on her face. She was going to die here, wasn't she? Alone and with no one to help her, all because she didn't listen. She didn't want to die, not like this.
"Raziel! Save me!"
The grips on her sides disappeared. Louise opened her eyes and gasped: The bandits at her side had fallen the ground, deep gashes across their backs. Their armor had been torn through completely. Behind them, she could see a familiar head of white hair.
"Raziel!" Louise called. Her Familiar had saved her, he had come for her, "What...happened to you?" He looked horrible. He was covered in smoke, dust, and his armor was nearly destroyed. He looked like he could barely stand.
"Its a long story, pinky!" Derf replied for him. Raziel clenched his right hand quickly before throwing another ball of concentrated flame at the bandit standing closest to Cesare. As soon as the flame made contact with his body, it spread immediately and it wasn't long before he began to scream in agony. Chaos flame could never be put out unless its target died. It was exactly why it was considered risky to use.
Louise closed her eyes and covered her ears to try and muffle out the noise of his screams. She had heard tales from her father and mother about the horrors of war, but nothing compared to seeing it. Even when she covered her ears she could still hear some sounds of his voice.
But that wasn't the only thing Lousie had to take note of. Her Familiar was using magic. He had just burned someone to death and he did it with magic. Louise removed her hands from her ears took some calming breaths. She had seen her Familiar burn someone to death and he used magic. No matter how many times she repeated it in her head she still couldn't believe it.
"Micheletto's dead," Cesare commented neutrally, giving a blank stare at the burnt corpse, "And who is my opponent now? A child who looks like he can barely stand?" He laughed, though Louise could tell he was bluffing. Despite Raziel's appearance and state, he had disposed of his remaining bandits before he could blink and he had apparently used magic to do it.
"Well, we should finish this then," He sheathed the dagger and pulled two blades from behind this back. Raziel's face darkened as he saw the design of the weapon; small crescent blades with metallic handles. Shotels, the weapons of the knights of Carim. So whoever this Cesare was he came from Carim and wasn't a native of this land, just like him.
"I had found this blade during one of my travels," Okay, maybe not, "The design has always interested me and I often wondered how to use it. I think I will not have much of a chance now after everything that's happened."
Raziel's scowl deepened as he continued to stare at the blades. He could remember Lautrec's laughter, his words ringing in his ears. The flame on his palm extended from his hand to his elbow. The flame was beginning to consume him, he noted painfully. He needed to end this quickly.
"Come then, let us start!"
Cesare probably expected to go down fighting, to fight Raziel till his very last breath and go down as someone who, when pushed into a corner, proved stronger than those around him.
The truth was much more simple.
Raziel grabbed the Shotel with his flaming hand and Cesare watched in horror as it melted from the extreme heat. He tried to use the other crescent blade to strike against Raziel, but a parry from Derflinger was enough to disarm him of the foreign weaponry. Shotel's were extremely powerful weapon, but only in the right hands. The Knights of Carim trained with the weapon for months in order to adjust to its steep weight and odd shape. Someone who decided to pick it up and use it without any training wasn't going to be very effective.
He needed to finish this. Focusing on the fire one last time, Raziel opened his palm and struck it against Cesare's face and holding it.
"Aaaaaaahhhhh!" Cesare yelled in pain as fire began to engulf his head. With one last burst of energy, he grabbed the dagger from his back and stabbed it into Raziel's neck. The Undead barely flinched at the attack; after everything he'd been put through today, the attack honestly mattered very little. Raziel's grip didn't falter until he once again felt the familiar feeling of souls leaving his body and transferring to his.
It was over. Raziel blinked as drops of water fell on his head: It was raining again. He looked up at the darkened sky before looking at his palm again. The fire had gone out. There was nobody else to fight and no one to focus his anger. He flinched as he stared at his hand - It was burnt again, just like when he first came here not too long ago.
Raziel turned from Cesare's dead body and made his way to his master. She was sitting on the grassy ground with her knees up to her chest and she was soaking wet, but she was alive. Louise looked up at her approaching Familiar and shivered again. He had killed everyone here, all of them. But he had done it to protect her, like any Familiar should. She didn't know why she cared so much. Larger Familiar's tended to kill anything threatening their master, so why was she so surprised that he did it? Was it because he appeared human?
"You killed them?" She asked, though it was more of a statement than a question.
"Yes."
"You used magic," She pointed at his hand, "You didn't use a wand and yet you still used magic."
"...If master could call it that."
She looked up at him again before turning away. Raziel looked down at her curiously before she pointed a shaking finger at his neck. Raziel reached up and let out a cold breath; the dagger was still imbedded in his neck. Raziel used his left hand and pulled the small weapon off his neck. Louise forced herself to look up and was barely surprised as she found no bleeding. He didn't bleed.
Louise tried to say something else before she stopped. It was a question she should have asked ever since the first day she'd summoned him. But instead she put it off, doing her best to ignore it because she dreaded the answer. His first appearance, after his fight with Guiche, both times she could have asked and both times she chose not to. Now she needed find the answer.
"Who are you...what are you?"
"A monster."
Phew, done with the Familiar's Fair part of the Fouquet arc. Gotta tell you guys, writing this chapter was a giant pain in the tush. Almost all fight scenes and badly written ones at that. Thankfully the next chapter is one of those talking chapters I like so much and I'll be able to do it easier. Now to reply to some reviews.
Now I know some of you are already complaining: WTF!? SMOKE!? What a lame excuse! Honestly, as powerful as Mages can be, they're still human. Humans would choke out on smoke in less than 15 minutes, even faster if they move around. Also kinda hard to focus when you can barely breath, so its gonna be hard to cast spells.
Question: When does the Count Mott thing take place timeline wise? Also, why did Siesta fall for Saito in the LN when he never saved her or anything? She goes from being friends to "He is the love of my life" with no precedent. Lastly, should I switch this to an M rating? I don't think its too graphic, but I'm paranoid given how many fics were deleted last year during the 'purge'.
Necrofantasia - All nobles are mages, but not all mages are nobles. Miss. Longueville/Fouquet is an example of a Mage who's not an aristocrat.
Demons Anarchy - He said the reason: He dislikes Princesses due to his experiences with Gwynevere :p There's really no deeper reason to it. It may seem like a stupid reason, but he's not the paragon of intelligence so he can be stupid from time to time.
AnubisGundam0 - That...is...brilliant! Thank you for the idea :D Although now I have this mental image of of Louise standing still looking pissed while Raziel tries to use her to craft weapons. Better not spoil anything for now.
Judurad - You need a Dark Hand to suck out Humanity :(
Kraut - Thank you :) I enjoy making this story and it puts a smile on my face when I see someone enjoy reading it. Hopefully you continue reading.
Bigreader in the Omniverse - Trust me, that'll be explained later :) As for the likeness to Legacy of Kain? Simple fanboyism. Now I will explain how he changes from blue Wraith to Humanoid looking Undead. Flashbacks to those segments will be sparse since they're plot critical and activate parts of his runes, meaning there's gonna be about 6 to 7 of them.
BrazeRancor - Because its impossible to make your own bonfire :p In Dark Souls you can only ACTIVATE bonfires, meaning you can't make your own. Imagine how gamebreaking the ability to make your own bonfires would be? The game would be so broken.
