The Tainted
See disclaimer in Part 1
It didn't take anywhere near as long for Ein, Malice, and Celina to get through Heaven's Gate as it had the previous times Ein had passed that way. Maybe it was just that he was experienced now and they were taking the fast route, but one of the factors was definitely that there were no patrol demons dumb enough to pick a fight with two Grim Angels and one of the Seven Magi.
The three of them got through the floating islands in only a few hours, and were back at the magic circle so fast that Ein was amazed. But what they found when they passed through definitely destroyed Ein's good mood.
"…Didn't you say that Seth was waiting here?" Celina asked with a frown, looking around the empty clearing and putting her hands on her hips. "I don't see anyone anywhere."
"You're right… that's odd. Why would she go off by herself?" Ein wondered aloud, worried. "Seth knows how important this is…"
"Well, who knows what goes on in her head?" Malice said flippantly. As Ein turned to glare at her, she sobered, folding her arms at her chest. "Either Seth let her childish nature get the better of her and wandered off, or she didn't leave here of her own free will. One way or the other, we have to find her now. If Hector gets hold of her, then…"
"Gods, this is really bad," Ein murmured, shaking his head. "Who knows if we'll even have time to save Lina now…"
"You two…" Celina said suddenly. Both of them turned towards her. "Look here… there are scratches on one of the standing stones, and this looks like it could be blood. Seth may have been attacked, sought shelter. Some kind of struggle definitely took place here…"
Ein caught sight of something lying in the grass and walked towards it, his heart in his throat. As soon as he was able to see it clearly, he let out a short cry and ran to pick it up.
"What is it?"
"This…" He held it up, stricken. "This is Seth's hair ribbon. She's… she has to be…"
Malice cursed under her breath. "…She probably froze again and couldn't fight back. Damn it. This is the very last thing we need right now. If Hector has her…"
Ein bit his lip, remembering the state Seth had been in when he'd first found her. "We've got to save her as soon as we can!"
"Calm down," Celina ordered both of them, causing them to turn and stare at her. "Believe me, I know more than anyone how much you want to rescue her, but if we go charging into Hector's army like this, it's suicide. You two need rest, and now more than ever, we need your friend Lina."
"Huh?"
"It is going to take Hector a long time to unravel the protections on the gods' graves, then to actually get at their power, and he'll take as many precautions as he can to make absolutely sure he won't be disturbed. He and Seth will be at the center of his entire fucking army—do you understand? We'll need as much help as we can get, and even then we'll only be able to punch a hole through their ranks to get in. While the three of us fight Hector, we're going to need a backup fighter to keep the demons off our asses. There are times when you're just completely too predictable, Ein—and this is one of them. Your harebrained little plan to just run in and save Seth no matter what the consequences happen to be to yourself is exactly the kind of idiot scheme Ecthel would've come up with.
"And you don't even have the excuse of there being an army rushing to save you if you fuck up.
"Do you understand yet? You've already lost so much, both of you. Ein, Hector has murdered your friends and double-crossed and used you with absolute abandon. Malice, he enslaved you, tortured and brainwashed you, abused you at his every chance, owned you body and soul. There is no fucking way that I am going to let him kill you, too. Not when you two have just started to rebuild. Not when this might be my last damn chance to do right by someone in my care. You got it? We're sticking to the plan—we stay the night here, move on to Elendia tomorrow, and then decide on our strategy from there."
Ein hung his head. "I… I know. But…"
"We may not have lived as long as you, or hated Hector as long as you, but we've got plenty reason to act as recklessly as we please," Malice said mulishly. "What you say makes sense, but understand that there's only so long that logic is going to hold back my desire to make that creature bleed."
"I know full well that I can only rein you in for so long," Celina retorted. "You can vent on Hector soon, trust me on that. For now, you need to rest so that you can take all your hate out on him when the time comes. Logic may not seem like much right now, but as soon as we get near Hector it's going to go straight out of all three of our heads, so we'd better listen to it now while we can. Okay? So let's make camp. I'll take watch while you guys sleep."
Ein sighed. "…You're right, as usual. But… don't push yourself too hard, either."
Celina shook her head and gave him a wry smile. "I know. You don't need to lecture me."
---
Ein's entire mind, even the tiny corner of it that was still wholly his, seemed wracked with painful memories.
There wasn't any escape from it.
"Hurry, everyone!"
Ein's heart pulsed with pain at every step he took. He cursed himself with every sharp and gasping breath he took. There hadn't been anything he could do—but still, he hated himself bitterly for having to leave Cierra behind.
Ledah, and now Cierra… how many lives was this going to cost before the end?!
"(We may still be able to go back for her once Hector is defeated,)" Rose told him, but her words didn't ring true. "(Ein, don't act like this—there was nothing you could've done…)"
"Just shut up," Ein retorted. "I swore… I swore back then that I was never going to let anyone else die like that! So… so how am I supposed to face myself now…?! Damn it…"
"Ein, wait!"
It was Fia. Surprised, Ein skidded to a halt, with Serene, Lina, and Rose following suit moments later.
"What is it?"
"I can feel a powerful demonic presence up ahead," the young fencer told her friends. "The hall is narrow—it's possible that there's another trap."
"So what are we supposed to do now?" Serene demanded, glaring towards the corridor ahead. "Damn it, that bastard already got Cierra with his last dirty trick… isn't there any other way around?"
"Serene, calm down," Fia said, placing a hand on the Arc's shoulder. "The aura I'm feeling is coming from the walls. You can see all the reliefs carved into it—that's the trap, I'm sure of it. I've no doubt that this is here to hold us back so that we won't be able to stop Hector from resurrecting Seth. But… I think I can nullify the magic there with my own power long enough for us to get through."
"Fia, are you serious?" Ein asked, staring at her. "Are you absolutely sure you'll be able to hold it so that we can all get through? If you're lying just so that the rest of us can…"
"Ein, trust me," Fia told him, smiling at him. "Do you think I would put you, or Lina, or Serene, or Rose in that kind of danger? I'll go in first just in case, and as soon as I know it's stable, I'll tell you to go. Run—there won't be enough time otherwise. Okay?"
"Fia…" Lina bit her lip, looking up at her friend with worried eyes.
"Fia… we…" Ein shook his head mutely.
"(You know she's right, Ein,)" Rose told him. "(How are we going to stop Hector from taking any more lives if we can't even get to him? You've got to trust her.)"
"…Okay…" Ein sighed and ran his hands through his hair. "We'll do what you say. But, Fia… don't risk yourself. I don't think I could stand it if anyone else dies. So please…"
Fia didn't answer. Instead, she took a deep breath and ran forward into the corridor, white light glowing from her palms. As the others watched anxiously, she charged down to the bend in the hall and stood there, magewind tossing her hair and sending her wide skirts billowing.
"Now! Hurry, go!"
Serene and Lina ran ahead, with Rose right after them. Ein hesitated for a moment, then broke into a headlong dash, passing the girls and breaking back into the crystal walkway.
"Okay, we all made it! Hurry, Fia, and—"
Just as Ein started to turn around, he heard Fia's shriek, followed swiftly by Serene's shouted curse, Lina's pitched wail, and Rose's desolate call. And the part of his heart that had been slowly dying ever since Ledah had breathed his last in Yggdrasil withered.
When he turned, it seemed as though the steady pattern of sharp curls and waves along the booby-trapped corridor's wall had reached out, formed a hand, and grabbed Fia in its clawlike fingers. Now she was plastered up against the wall with stone encircling her waist, arms, and ankles, spread-eagled and defenseless.
"Fia!!"
"I… messed up," she said with a weak laugh.
Lina let out a wordless cry and surged forward, but Serene grabbed her around the waist and held her back. "No, stupid! Don't go in there! You know what'll happen if you do…!"
"But, but!!" Lina cried, struggling fiercely. "Fia!!"
"Fia, are you crazy?!" Ein demanded, clenching his fists and starting to shake. "You know we can't just leave you here! I won't let you sacrifice yourself just for something like this! We can find another way! So…!"
"So… what, Ein…?" Fia asked him, trying to shake her head with little success. "If you come through here, you'll be caught too. The only way for you is forward now. Besides, this isn't a life-threatening trap. It's just here to hold us still, waste our time. Don't worry about me, just go! I'll catch up with you later, when my power comes back. Okay?"
"But as long as you're in here, you're defenseless! If one of Hector's goons comes this way, they could kill you, or worse!" Ein protested helplessly. "Fia…!"
"It's okay," Fia said slowly, smiling. "It's like Cierra said… some things… some people are just worth going through pain for. Don't call it a sacrifice. I'm choosing to do this to help you of my own will." She sobered, bit her lip, and looked at them all silently for a moment before finally speaking. "Now, go! Don't look back! If you do… if you do, I'll never forgive you, Ein! Everyone… I leave the rest to you now. Serene…!"
"I… I understand!" Serene tightened her hold on Lina, grabbed Ein by the arm, and dragged both of them towards the next magic circle, pulling them through before either of them could protest.
Once they were on the other side, she stopped, breathing hard, even as they struggled against her iron grip.
"Serene, let go! Let go!!" Lina wailed. "Fia… Fia's gonna…!"
"If we don't do something, it'll be just like Ledah and Cierra! Serene…!"
"Will you two both just SHUT UP!"
Ein and Lina both stared, silent even through their tears.
"Fia knew what she was doing the second she stepped into that stupid trap," Serene shouted at them. "She probably knew she didn't have the kind of power to get out if she was going to help all of us through, and she decided to do it anyway! She told us to go on because I'm sure that stupid Hector knew one of us was going to throw herself into his trap just to get Ein forward, and someone's going to come for her. Fia doesn't want us to see that! She… doesn't want our last memory of her to be something like that… so…!"
"Then why…?"
"Because there's nothing else we can do, don't you get it?!" Serene burst out, glaring at Ein, and he noticed that she was crying too, shaking with fury and grief. "Because Fia was right and even if we don't want to admit it, nothing we do can change her fate now! All we can do is get to Hector and make him pay for making us do this!"
"I…" Ein gritted his teeth and turned away from the circle, balling his hands into helpless fists. "I hate this!"
---
Ein jolted awake with a strangled cry, lurching upright and clutching the hilt of his Diviner.
"What's wrong?"
He turned with another yelp—he'd almost forgotten that Celina had volunteered to do the watch.
"Bad dream?"
Ein sighed and slumped down, pressing his forehead into his knees. "Bad… memories…"
"Really…" Celina made a face and patted the ground next to her. "Come here."
Ein did. She put an arm around him and drew him close against her side, folding her wing around him as Ledah had done so many times when the two of them had traveled together. It seemed so long ago now.
"Why is it that no matter what I do… everyone I love always has to die…?" he wondered aloud.
"…It's… a testament to how strongly they feel about you that they're willing to throw their lives away for your cause," Celina said slowly. "When someone loves someone else that much… they'll do anything to protect that person, thinking that they're helping you with their life or death, not even realizing the pain they'll cause you by dying. Maybe it's a selfish way of thinking, maybe not. I don't know. But what I do know is that even though it's made you suffer so much… that even now, you wouldn't hesitate to lay down your life for your loved ones. Angels, humans, demons, Sprites… even us Magi… we're all like that, all foolish mortals who can't help but think, if only the way we go out matters… then maybe…"
"But the Magi are immortal, aren't they?" Ein asked her, trying not to think about his lost friends.
"…The life spans of angels used to be a lot longer before the gods left us," Celina told him. "Before that time, angels could live thousands of years before reaching old age. Once they were gone, well… you know how it turned out. You yourself will only live a couple hundred years at best. But what the gods do is… they take ordinary mortal angels and freeze their biological clocks so that they'll live for much, much longer even than angels used to in the old days. Once the gods come back, the current Magi's term of office, so to speak, will end—we'll be released, our lives will start again, and we'll live out the rest of our days just like any of you. It… sucks… not being able to die when you're supposed to… seeing everyone you grew up with get old… nobody should really see that. When I'm released from my service… it'll be a relief, really."
"…Oh…" Ein sighed as the memory of what Serene had said echoed through his head. "…Hey, Celina… can I ask you something…?"
She looked down at him. "Sure, what is it?"
"…Your last memory of Nessiah… I mean, the last time the two of you were really face to face, the last time you were close to him… what is it…?"
Celina's expression darkened, and she turned towards the fire. "…I only got a glimpse of him at the trial, so… not counting that…" She looked down at her hands. "I took care of him during the wait. His wounds were… they were really severe. They wouldn't stop bleeding. When an angel is… when someone's wings are amputated, it's not like it was for you—the wounds aren't cauterized right away, and Ness… it was like his blood wouldn't clot, like his flesh didn't want to knit. And no one really wanted to treat him. The pain was so bad, he… he was literally out of his mind with sheer agony. And his eyes…" Celina shuddered. "He kept scratching, making it worse, reopening the scabs. He was in so much pain, he was so scared, and I… I was so pathetic. All I could do was hold him. Every time I think of him, I remember the way he used to be, but I also remember him like that. I think of him talking, or laughing, just to remember the sound of his voice, and I can't fight back the memories of him crying, screaming until his voice broke, until he got so hoarse that he could barely make a sound. It's a horrible memory, a painful memory, but it's the last one, and so I can't help but go back to it, over and over again."
"…………" Ein tried to imagine it, but couldn't. All he knew was that if he'd seen Fia and Cierra and Serene die, or if Ledah's death hadn't been so dignified, he wouldn't have been able to bear it. Maybe Serene had been right after all. "Celina… I…"
She grimaced. "I'm sorry. I don't mean to be so depressing. But… just know this: We're going to stop Hector very soon. Nothing like that is ever going to happen to those we love again. It's going to be okay, Ein. I promise."
Don't promise what you can't give, he wanted to say, but didn't. Instead, he leaned into Celina's side, and let the soothing rhythm of her stroking his hair lull him back into sleep.
---
The people of Elendia were surprised, to say the least, when Ein and his company arrived the next morning. Many had been sure that even if their wingless angel triumphed over Hector, he would never want to come back here again… but here he was, and his "stay away from me" aura had softened considerably. The Grim Angel he was with also seemed a lot less severe; she was almost relaxed in comparison to her constant, malevolent vigilance the last time she'd been in their town.
And then there was the matter of the third angel with them—the one who wore such dangerous-looking swords, as well as a smile.
The three travelers headed straight for Fia and Lina's house to speak with Ladie, who stood guard outside while the small home's only occupant slept inside.
"Ladie… there's a way for us to wake up Lina," Ein told her anxiously. "Please… you've got to let us in. We can save her…"
"If that is so, then…" The red-haired young woman stepped away from the door and bowed to the three angels. "Elendia isn't the same without that child. If you can save her, then do it."
Ein nodded to Ladie and stepped into the house.
Lina lay in bed with her stuffed animal collection lovingly arranged around her. Someone had changed her out of her dusty, stained travel clothes and into her nightgown; her hair had been taken loose and combed. Ladie or someone else or maybe a lot of someone elses were taking very good care of Lina, even if they didn't know how to wake her.
"…Okay. I'm going to do the spell now. You two should step back," Celina told them, motioning with one hand for them to stand away.
"Right…" Ein edged back nervously, biting his lip.
Celina held out her hands in front of her, closed her eyes, and shifted her weight, rocking forward onto her toes with her wings outstretched. White light gathered in her palms, and she said something in that ancient, ancient form of the Sacred Tongue that Ein couldn't hope to understand. The light around Celina swirled around Lina, slowly bringing color back into her face.
"Come on… come back," Celina murmured, a frown creasing her brow. "There's someone here waiting to see you."
"Mmn…" Lina's eyelids fluttered, and she turned slightly where she lay. "Wha…"
"Lina!!" Ein pushed past his companions and knelt at the young archer's bedside. "Lina, are you awake?! Say something!"
Lina made a face, opened her eyes halfway, and stared at him. "Ein, is that…?"
"Oh, thank the gods…" Ein smiled, feeling tears sting his eyes. "Lina, you're okay…"
"What happened?" Lina asked plaintively, pushing herself up. "Lina remembers the Maze of Shadows… and the fight… but then, everything is all…"
"It's a bit of a long story," Celina said with a shrug. "Nice to meet you, by the way."
Lina turned and seemed to notice that she and Ein had company for the first time: Celina stood just behind him, the very picture of irrepressible good cheer, and Malice off towards the stairs, facing to the side with her arms crossed and her shoulders hunched.
"Ehh… UWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH?!" Lina pointed to one, then the other. "Wha… wha…?"
"Um, yeah." Ein sweatdropped. "You've… been asleep for a while, Lina. Malice… well, I guess the gist of it is she's on our side now, and… and this is Celina. She's one of the Seven Magi, but she's nothing like Hector, she's coming with us to fight him because she hates him, and…"
Celina patted Ein's hair. "I apologize for him. Ein hasn't had it easy for the time you've been asleep, and I suppose compressing the entire story to tell it to you quickly is beyond him. Ein, Malice, why don't you two go downstairs while I talk to Lina? You'll only confuse her more."
Ein sighed. "You're probably right, as usual…"
"Fine," Malice said sulkily.
"Okay, kids, then that's your cue to amscray," Celina said, waving her hands at them in a get-moving gesture. "I should probably start by introducing myself. My name is Celina Mizer, and like Ein said, I'm one of the other Magi who governs Asgard…"
Ein and Malice trooped down the stairs to sit at the kitchen table, both sighing.
"Well, at least I'm not the one who has to explain everything," Ein said, shaking his head. "What happened while she was unconscious… why Serene and Rose aren't here… I wouldn't know what to say."
"…………" Malice stood up. "…Having one of your friends back makes you happy, doesn't it?"
"Yes, but…" Ein looked up at her. "It's… it's also awkward. Lina has so much reason to hate you and Celina, but I don't want her to reject you. You're as important to me as she is."
"…Really…"
"You've helped me a lot lately," Ein said helplessly, standing up and walking over to Malice, who looked away from him. "I wouldn't have made it this far without you."
Malice said nothing.
"And you… you've always supported me." Ein shook his head numbly. "The first time I went crying to you, I was just looking for something to latch on to, it didn't matter who or what it was. And you knew it was impersonal, but you didn't push me away. And from then on… it got awkward, turning to you when I needed someone, because of the things you've done, the distance between us. But in Asgard, when I had to face up to what I am, and you came after me, I realized… that distance has closed a lot. You have every reason to want to stay away from everyone. I don't know how willing you are or aren't to touch someone else, to get close to them, but… you still held my hand. You held me together when my world was falling apart."
"…………" Malice turned towards him, her expression impossible to read.
"Malice, could I…" Ein felt something inside his heart shaking, could feel his face heating up, but didn't stop. "Could I hold your hand again…?"
"…………" Malice was silent as she considered him. Ein closed his eyes and sighed.
Wonder bloomed between them when he felt the warm press of her fingers wind through his own.
:TBC: