Chapter 19 – Rain.
Tap, Tap, Tap.
The pattering of light rain upon the dense canopy of the Warg Forest was constant. Birds chirped from their hidden shelters dotted here and there within the partially dry bark underneath. Insects buzzed away relentlessly despite the downpour. The bunches of grass periodically carpeting the forest floor grew greener underneath the pleasant shower. It was peaceful. Tranquil.
Such tranquility was abruptly broken by a vicious chorus of howling alongside the distinct clamor of a heated battle taking place. The rain quickly became part of an irrelevant backdrop to a fierce conflict.
"Eleanor! Crossfire Left!"
Leo barked sharply as the jerked his rifle up and tracked the erratic lycanthrope attacking his comrade.
"Understood!" Was the reply as Eleanor swiftly leapt to her right side, leaving the daemon in direct line of sight of Leo standing across the battlefield.
Not wasting the opportunity, Leo slid his right index finger with practiced ease into the trigger guard and squeezed in a single fluid movement.
CRACK!
The rifle went off with a sharp report, the muzzle flash distinctly reminiscent of lightning in the rain. The large group of lycanthropes the group was fighting all flinched instinctively at the unnatural sound. On the other hand, the group simply used the distraction to press their own attacks, fighting onward with vigor against the monsters.
Leo watched in satisfaction as the rifle round he'd fired perfectly anticipated the daemon's erratic movement and pierced its center of mass eliciting a howl of agony. The daemon clutched at the entry wound in animalistic shock as blood spurted out between its hairy fingers.
With a cry, Eleanor swiftly spun around and cleanly decapitated it with a violent slash of her spearhead through its neck. As the body and head slopped down onto the mud separate of each other, the exorcist gave a concise nod of thanks to Leo.
Leo gave a quick salute in return. He registered Eleanor's eyes widening abruptly and turned around in alarm just in time to see a different daemon rushing towards him with terrifying velocity. He readied his gauntlet blade in preparation for the imminent clash, gritting his teeth firmly. This wasn't going to be pleasant.
"DEVOUR!"
The harsh cry preceded the charging werewolf's howl of pain as Velvet leapt out of nowhere in front of Leo and slashed her massive blood red claw diagonally across the attacker's entire body, crushing its momentum and sending it flying harshly to the side. Blood squirted everywhere and was quickly absorbed by the ever-ravenous appendage as it cleaved through the air. Velvet didn't let up, fiercely charging after the daemon as it landed and attacking with blindingly fast kicks and sword swings.
"Watch yourself!" She ordered sharply, dodging a nasty swipe of claws and retaliating with her own claw, driving the beast further away from her vulnerable group member.
"But if I watch myself, how can I see the bad guys?" Leo snarked back as he roughly pushed the lever on his rifle, ejecting a spent shell and chambering a new one. Threat having been driven away by his therion friend, the pseudo-exorcist took a good glance around for any further potential targets. One quickly revealed itself across the battlefield.
Leo reseated the rifle back in the groove of his right shoulder in precise muscle memory and aimed. "Magilou! Crossfire right!" He yelled.
"Right away!" Came the sing-song response.
CRACK!
The witch danced (in typical Magilou fashion) out of the way to the left with a spin, letting way for the fired round which proceeded to violently gouge itself straight through the upper bicep of the daemon.
"Didn't see that coming, did you now?!" Magilou cackled as she whipped around with an elongated guardian in hand vengefully.
Support accomplished, Leo's eyes left the witch as he looked around, gauging the statuses of the rest of the group. "Laphicet!" He prompted the malak standing close by his side. "I think Eizen could do with some help. Concentrate fire over there, would you?" He asked seriously.
"Right!" The boy nodded sharply and started casting offensive spells in that direction.
Leo kept a sharp eye around the boy. The two of them were always best at ranged distances, so the group had developed the general strategy of having the two of them be close together in battle. Leo was best at strategy and picking off precise targets while Laphicet was fantastic at healing artes and devastating ranged mana artes. Everyone else tried their best to keep the enemies away from both of them. And it just worked well this way.
Abruptly, Leo noticed out of the corner of his eye a daemon abandoning its fight with Rokurou and instead going for the casting malak. "Hawk! Burn him!"
The man's lesser malak appeared with a howl, sending a quick fireball towards the daemon making him stumble and become an easier target.
A quick round burrowed its way through the daemon's left thigh, eliciting a harsh howl and causing the wolf to stumble into the mud and struggle to recover. A quick lever push and pull and a trigger pull later, the wolf had stopped moving for good.
Laphicet cast a quick healing spell to Rokurou across the field with a brilliant flash, illuminating the world around him.
"Thanks, kid! I'm in your debt!" The daemon shouted gratefully while dodging and weaving with his strange dual-sword technique, his wounds briefly repaired by the malak magic.
"Reloading!" Leo announced, reaching into his pocket for fresh rounds.
Well, no time like the present. He muttered mentally as he selected a different interior pocket to pull rounds from.
"Do it!" Eizen yelled as he ran to Leo's side, taking up stance in front of the vulnerable target. Two daemons charged the man only to be driven off by startlingly precise, vicious punches. One particular swing smacked especially hard on one of the two wolves and knocked it completely unconscious.
Trusting his companion to keep him safe (or to warn him if it wasn't), Leo focused his full attention on reloading quickly. One round was slotted into the feed and chambered with a cock of the lever. Three more rounds were slotted afterwards, leaving the rifle at full capacity.
"Leo!"
Eizen's urgent bark snapped the man's attention directly towards the wolf that had leapt clean over the reaper towards the immobile rifleman. He reacted instinctively, springing backwards and bringing his rifle up. At this close range, there was no point in using iron sights. He bunched the stock up against his shoulder and pulled the trigger.
CH-CRACK!
The rifle suddenly coughed out an abnormally large muzzle flash, the kickback arriving at his shoulder with much more vigor than normal.
The man gaped as the improvised shotgun shell he had fired utterly obliterated the daemon attacking him. The daemon was forcefully thrown off-track and spiraled harshly into the mud, rolling over a few times before finally coming to a stop in the mud far away from the man whom had killed it. A thick cloud of gunpowder clouded the rainy air in the wake of the shot.
Leo blinked in amazement. Then he groaned. "Agh!"
"You alright?" Eizen asked over his shoulder as he backhanded another approaching daemon, sending it flying backwards whining in pain.
"Maybe… Maybe I should've taken it easy on the gunpowder in that shell." Leo moaned as he rubbed his sore shoulder, his rifle held limply in his hands. "Anymore and that blast could've dislocated my shoulder."
"Stop whining and start fighting!" Velvet snarled from the other side of the battlefield, flying through the air in an inhuman leap with her hidden boot blade drawing bloody figures in the air.
"Slavedriver!" Leo threw back grouchily as he cocked his rifle three times, emptying the magazine tube, and fully reloaded it with regular bullets that didn't destroy his shoulder. "Thanks for the help, Eizen." He thanked over his shoulder, raising his rifle once more.
The reaper gave a nod and took off, headed to help Rokurou with his own battle.
Suddenly, another chorus of howls rose through the air making Leo cringe. "Watch it! More on their way!" He raised his rifle and aimed at a group of lycanthropes charging from the woodwork at the skirmish.
"Come on!" Magilou whined. "Can't we get a break?!"
Rokurou grinned back while absently slashing a wide arc in front of him, drawing blood. "Breaks don't make you stronger!" He pointed out, driving off two werewolves at once with another vicious slash.
Magilou gave the cheerful daemon a flat look, interrupting her arte. "Neither does dying, you know!" She flicked her hand and finished her incantation, causing an earth-shattering explosion to occur behind her.
Eizen yelled with a punch to a daemon's stomach, "Then don't die!" His punch landed with bone-shattering force and sent the wolf flying.
"Easy for you to say…" Leo muttered sourly as he sucked in a breath.
CRACK!
Leo cursed as his round missed its mark and bounced uselessly off a drenched tree trunk. His target dodged and weaved its way alarmingly quickly towards the man, making for a very, very difficult target. "Damnit!" He swore as he cocked the rifle and tried again.
CRACK!
Another miss, the ricochet whistling pointlessly over the canopy.
And then there was no more time for another shot as the daemon was upon him. Leo quickly dropped his rifle, letting the strap save it from falling into the mud, and lunged away desperately, dodging the flying pair of claws intending to eviscerate him by a hair. He landed roughly and awkwardly in the mud, struggling to scramble to his feet.
"Too damn close!" He cursed. "Hawk!"
The wolf yipped and sent a quick fireball at the monster.
The werewolf howled in protest as he was set on fire. The flames however quickly puttered out underneath the light rain. Nevertheless, Leo sprinted up to it with a cry, stabbing his blade out in a quick and precise motion towards the creature's neck.
The monster dodged it easily, and in retaliation, slung a vicious open claw at him. Leo, in the middle of his follow-through, didn't have time to fully dodge.
"AGH!" Leo cried out in pain as the cold claw shredded violently through his coat and into his skin. Blood immediately began squirting out from the newly inflicted wounds on his chest and began running down the inside of his clothes. With a massive effort, Leo pushed through the searing pain in the left side of his chest and threw himself to the side, away from the other claw swiping at him in an attempt to finish him off.
He ordered through clenched teeth, "Flame Wall!" Hawk instantly responded, his eyes burning red with power as the ground in front of the daemon burned red hot with mana. The mud instantly burst, spewing out flames between Leo and the daemon. The monster roared in pain as it was assaulted by the sudden heat and staggered back away from the flames.
The mana-intensive arte ended quickly, the flames vanishing and leaving behind a round hollow tube made up of metal pointed directly at the daemon.
CRACK!
The leftover smoke from both the fire arte and the detonation of the gunpowder hung in the air as the lycanthrope crashed down lifelessly onto the ground with a large hole in the side of its neck, dead.
"Leo! Give me a hand!"
The man's gaze snapped in the direction of the call and saw that Velvet had been driven away from the group by four lycanthropes all hounding her incessantly, giving her no opening to attack. The pack of daemons had obviously decided that this particular woman was the biggest threat out of all of the group and were banding together to take her down.
"Velvet! Crossfire left! Three!" The code words were let out sharply as Leo took a knee in the mud, hissing in pain as he lifted his left arm and held the barrel out in front of him shakily.
"Do it!" She yelled back, slashing at the wolves in an aggressive move to drive them to her left side.
He breathed in, and he breathed out. His aim steadied.
CRACK!
CRACK!
CRACK!
Three successive shots landed somewhere in the group of daemons (although Leo had no idea which shots had hit where) and caused enough general damage and distraction to turn the tide. Velvet capitalized on the distraction wreaked by her hunting partner by leaping up inhumanly high into the air with her claw held out towards the heavens.
"BREAK BOOST!" She roared as she descended claw first.
The ground trembled violently as the therion impacted the ground, veins of mana-infused energy spiking out from where her claws had impaled the mud. Blood flew everywhere as all four daemons were obliterated at once in a storm of violent mana. Blood that was eagerly sucked into the monstrous arm as the arte dissipated.
"Thanks!" Velvet yelled back as she promptly jerked her claw upwards from the ground, immediately rushing towards the opponents Eleanor was battling.
With a grunt, Leo stood back up and reloaded his rifle, keeping his head on a swivel. A firm hand on his wounds in an attempt to stem the bleeding from his claw wound, he took a good look around.
It became apparent that everyone else was finishing up. The reinforcements were dying out while the main body of daemons they had originally been assaulted by were all already on the floor bleeding to death. He let out a sigh of relief but kept his eyes vigilant, always the designated overwatch personnel.
It would seem that the Reneed townsfolk hadn't been kidding when they'd warned them about a daemon menace in the Warg forest.
"You alright?" Leo turned around to see Velvet strolling through the mud having already devoured a good number of her kills. Her claw was still out at her side dripping with residual blood, as was her face.
The picture of an evil monster.
Leo grunted an assent. "I'll survive." He pointed wryly at his left cheek. "You've got something on your face by the way."
Ignoring him, Velvet turned and called, "Laphicet!"
The boy in question gave one last glance to his current patient, making sure Rokurou's wounds had been properly set, before running over. "Are you hurt Leo?" He asked with wide concerned eyes.
Leo grunted. "Shoulder; claw-" He hissed as he laboriously took his coat off, revealing the blood-soaked shirt underneath. "-straight down the left shoulder." He lifted his shirt to the open air, showing off three sizable gashes running from his stomach to his left shoulder.
Laphicet bent down and hummed, looking over the nasty bleeding wound with a practiced eye. "It's not too bad. It looks like it managed to get its claws maybe a quarter of the way into your skin. Here." He lifted both his hands.
Leo sighed in bliss as the malak healing arte flooded his nervous system and turned the pain receptors off. The quirks of some worlds never ceased to amaze him.
"That lunge was pathetic." Velvet analyzed derisively. "You were overconfident and expected the strike to land, and when it didn't, it left you completely open to a counterattack."
Leo winced in pain as Laphicet began a different healing spell to knit flesh. "Evidently, huh?" He hissed, glancing up from his wounds to meet the therion's eyes. "I never got nearly as good at using a gauntlet blade as you."
Velvet sighed. "That lack of training's going to get you killed some day, you know?"
"Velvet?" Laphicet spoke up, looking up at the woman. "Why don't you teach Leo then?" He proposed abruptly. "You both use the same weapons after all."
Eleanor walked over at that exact moment and gave her input. "That's not a bad idea, actually." She commented seriously.
Leo raised his eyebrow in surprise at the exorcist. "You're not insulted that another person will be my master?" And because that person is Velvet, of all people?
Eleanor shook her head, eying the wound on Leo's body with worry. "Not at all. I did admit to you at the start of our training that I'd never had any experience with such a weapon… I imagine Velvet has much to offer you in that respect." She met the eyes of the daemon with grudging respect. "As Leo's former teacher, I ask that you take the time out and do what Laphicet is suggesting." She posed the question formally.
Velvet's eyes travelled between Eleanor, Laphicet, and Leo before she sighed.
"…As long as he promises to not slack off, I suppose I can teach him a few things or two if it lets him fight for me better." She agreed reluctantly.
Leo grinned. "Alright! I'll take it! Thanks, Velvet."
Velvet raised an eyebrow. "Don't look so enthusiastic. You're going to be trained by a daemon, after all." An evil glint appeared in her eyes. "You'd better not waste my time." She growled lowly.
Leo cringed. "Right…"
Laphicet laughed. "Good luck Leo!"
Eleanor nodded thankfully. "I appreciate it, truly. Thank you." She gave a slight bow.
Velvet turned a harsh gaze onto the exorcist. "I'm not doing it for you, you know." She pointed out. "Having a fighter that's less prone to dying in a fight is beneficial to me, that's all."
Leo's grin didn't waver. "Ah, yes, because I'm your tool, yes?" He prompted wryly.
Velvet gave him a smirk. "More like you are a tool, but either way works."
With that exchange over with the therion walked off, reextending her claw and proceeding to eat the rest of the helpless daemons dying on the ground.
"Ouch." Leo muttered as she walked away. The light of Laphicet's healing arte faded away as he finished healing, leaving nothing but a very light scar on the skin in place of the wound.
"Gotta say," Leo commented, "Of all the things malaks can do, I'd say healing is the best." He gave Laphicet a thankful pat on the head. "Now what would've meant infection and a slow feverish death in the wild means a bit of pain and no repercussions!"
"Don't be so sure about that!" Laphicet urgently reminded the man. "If you get hurt badly enough, there's no way you can survive, malak healing or not!"
Leo acquiesced quickly. "Yeah, doc. Whatever you say, I'll be more careful in the future! It's not like I enjoy searing agony after all." Eleanor helped him back onto his feet with a grunt. The man slid his shirt back on along with his coat, brushing off as much of the mud from the clothing as possible. "…Wish there was an arte that cleaned the blood off of clothes though." He muttered as he tried his best to dry the sticky blood-soiled section of his shirt.
Eleanor sighed sympathetically. "I know. Out here, there's hardly anywhere to do laundry. It's quite unfortunate." She glanced up at the murky skies. "…At least it's raining. It'll wash off soon enough."
Leo suddenly had an idea. "Oh! Hawk!"
The wolf in question loped over to him from his patrols around the group and cocked his head to the side inquisitively.
"Can you maintain a small flame near my clothes long enough to dry a shirt while it's being worn?"
Hawk gave him a flat stare.
Laphicet giggled, "Leo, I don't think Hawk appreciates doing chores for you."
"Nonsense!" Leo waved a dismissive, arrogant hand. "A proper tool should always obey the will of his master! Now! Do my bidding, filthy cur!" He ordered with a cut of his hand.
Hawk simply huffed and conjured a candle-sized flame to singe his master's insolent face.
"Gah!" Leo cringed away from the puff of heat. "I'm kidding! Does no one take a good joke around here?!"
Eleanor deadpanned. "That's insinuating that your jokes are even remotely good."
"Ow…" Leo whined. "That hurts even more than a claw to the shoulder…"
The rest of the group gathered together underneath the canopy in the aftermath of the battle. All the daemons had been consumed by Velvet while all the major injuries had been attended to by Laphicet.
"Everyone ready to move on?" Velvet prompted, trotting over with a now normal bandaged left arm cleaned of blood by the rain.
"I'd say." Leo nodded. "How much further do you think we'll have to search for those Sale'toma flowers?"
Eizen spoke up. "The herbalists all said they're in bloom in the area. Since we've searched for hours already, we should find them sooner rather than later." He splayed his hands with a shrug. "At least, that's the theory."
Magilou added cheerily, "Unless this whole time we've been searching the flowers were all under our feet! Dyed green by the rain by some dastardly trick of the rain! Crunch!" She cried with a dramatic hop for emphasis. "The Reaper's Curse has doomed us in all the dastardliest ways possible!"
Velvet grimaced (as was generally the natural response to Magilou as a whole) and muttered, "I doubt that would be the case. Hawk would've smelt the flowers a long time before then." She gave the wolf a glance.
Laphicet beamed and lovingly latched onto the wolf who yipped in response to his captivity and licked the malak back on the cheek. "Haha!" Laphicet giggled. "Hawk smells stuff so much better than us, don't you Hawk?" He snuggled with the wet pup.
Leo sent a deadpan stare in the witch's direction. "He smells bullcrap real good too." He warned pointedly. "He tends to bite the evil witches who utter it."
Magilou gave a flawlessly innocent smile. "Oh? Well that's good to know! This witch in particular absolutely despises such pesky witches! The great Miss Magilou never lies! That's why they call her Honest Magi!"
Rokurou uncrossed an arm to point behind her. "If that's the case, then why is Bienfu shaking his head so hard behind your back?"
Magilou's smile froze. With a twitching eye, she turned slowly around to glare at the offending normin malak in question. "…Why indeed?" She asked evilly in a low voice.
Having been caught in the act, Bienfu stammered in denial, "M-Miss Magilou! I-I wasn't-"
WHACK!
"BIEEEEEeeeeeeeeeeee…!" The yell of agony grew smaller and smaller as the witch's violent kick sent the normin into the sky faster than a round fired from Leo's rifle.
"Well! I guess we'll never know!" Magilou sang with her hands casually behind her neck as she trotted forwards, humming to herself. Rokurou and Eizen exchanged shrugs before following dutifully after her.
Laphicet blinked as he let go of Hawk, standing up curiously. "So… Does that mean that Magilou… lies?" He asked.
"She does."
"She does."
"She does."
Leo, Velvet, and Eleanor all deadpanned at the same time.
Laphicet cocked his head to the side in befuddlement. "But… Magilou's never lied to me before…"
Leo, Velvet, and Eleanor just stared.
Leo muttered, "Ah, to be young and innocent…"
Eleanor sighed. "To be free from any heavy worries…" She shook her head.
Velvet facepalmed. "To be an idiot…" She breathed.
Laphicet just stared on in confusion as the three group members in front of him muttered inaudibly under their breaths.
"Huh?" He glanced down to find Hawk nudging his body with his muzzle. "What is it, Hawk?"
The nudging got more persistent.
"You want me to move?"
A nod.
"Alright then." Laphicet took a few steps back in the direction of the wolf's nudges. "Is this good?" He asked.
Hawk pointedly stepped back a few steps and looked up.
Laphicet, Leo, Velvet, and Eleanor all followed the pup's gaze as it rose slowly upwards into the sky.
"…eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeEEEEEEENNNN!"
SPLAT.
Bienfu groaned incomprehensibly in the mud where Laphicet had just been standing a few moments ago, his body twitching in agony.
"Oh, Bienfu! Are you alright?!" Eleanor hurried to the fallen normin's side.
Suddenly, the malak shot straight up into the air with paws clasped together in delight. "Oh Madam Eleanor! I'm so touched that you care so much for me!" He sang in a high-pitched voice. "Ohhhh, you're so much better than that lying witch!"
Eleanor drew back from the enthusiastic normin. "Well, you seem normal at least…"
"I'm always normal! We normin are amazingly resilient creatures! Tell them Eleanor! Tell them how special I am compared to the others!"
"You... well, actually, according to the Abbey's standards, objectively speaking, you're actually rather average in terms of greater malaks." She shifted a finger over her chin in thought. "In terms of resilience you don't really bring too much to the table, while your elemental focus isn't anywhere near as developed as some malaks like Zaveid. Furthermore, your raw arte power is nothing compared to Laphicet's. Even your normin powers as augmentation of powers aren't particularly exceptional." She shook her head. "Really, the single strongest thing you have going for you is your somewhat okay looks, but that's completely subjective." She summarized efficiently and concisely.
"Bieeeheheheeeeeen…" Bienfu whined as he returned back to the mud in a defeated faceplant. "…Madam Eleanor, would it kill you to tell a lie at least once in a while?" He groaned into the mud, weakly swatting at Hawk who was attempting to sniff the hat on top his head.
"So… Eleanor never lies." Laphicet concluded from Bienfu's words. "…So then why does Bienfu not like her telling the truth if he doesn't like how Magilou lies?"
Leo just pinched his nose. "Some things in life, Laphicet," He offered sagely, "you just can't understand. Let's just leave it at that."
Laphicet didn't look any more enlightened.
"So, Leo," Magilou began, falling in step with the man as the group continued their search, "during the battle, I couldn't help but notice one of those little cannon firings sounding a little bit different than the others."
Eizen hummed, also falling into step with the other two. "I noticed that as well. It seemed as if your cannon fired with too much power, causing the daemon you were shooting at to be completely obliterated upon impact."
Leo winced as the twinge in his firing shoulder made itself known again at the reminder. "Yeah," he rubbed his shoulder. "It was a field test gone wrong, I suppose."
Laphicet blinked as he caught up with them. "A test?" He chirped curiously. "Were you firing something different this time?"
Leo nodded, pulling out a red-colored rifle round. "It was a bit of an impulsive idea, but I'd thought I'd done all the calculations correctly… evidently not." He shook his head, meeting the malak's eyes. "It's meant to be a scatter shot round." He explained. "Instead of one bullet, there's a lot of tiny pellets contained within a large shell that breaks up upon discharge."
Eizen nodded appreciatively. "That way, the impact is spread out and there's a greater chance of dealing damage in more places and increasing the amount of overall surface damage rather than deep penetrating damage." He blinked in amazement. "How in the world did you come up with that?"
Leo shrugged.
Magilou spoke up, "Never mind that, where'd it all go wrong?" She grinned slyly. "I remember hearing your whining across the battlefield if I remember correctly. I'd almost thought that a little banshee had shown up to attack us."
Leo glared at the witch. "…You know what? I don't have to take that from you." He promptly grabbed his rifle and emptied the magazine tube into his hands. With deft movements, the man inserted a single red-colored round and offered the weapon to the witch. "Here. You try it." He cocked the rifle, grinning evilly.
Magilou eyed the weapon with trepidation. "Ah! Perhaps another time…" She let out nervously. "I'm not a fan of big loud bangy things."
Eizen muttered, "What about the cannons in the Van Eltia that you're always firing for no reason?"
Magilou gave him a pout. "Those are obviously not big loud bangy things. They're big loud boomy things. You're a pirate, you should know this! Get your stuff together Eizen!"
Velvet intruded in on their conversation. "You know what? I think that's not a bad idea honestly." She grinned darkly. "Some loud noise would likely scare off any nearby daemons and make our search easier. I nominate Magilou for the field test."
"Now, Wait just a second!" Magilou sputtered in indignation.
"Aye." Eizen grunted in assent. "I'd say that's a good idea." He shrugged. "Besides, making Leo's weaponry stronger would benefit all of us in battle."
Magilou yelled, "Don't I get a word in edgewise?!"
Rokurou walked over and joined the rest of the group. "What's going on now?" He asked curiously.
Leo explained, "I'm trying to get Magilou here to test out an experimental round for me by shooting my cannon."
Rokurou blinked. "Oh… Well that sounds awesome! Go for it, Magilou! I'll be rooting for you!"
Magilou hung her head. "Who else would you be rooting for?! The cannon?!"
Eleanor, watching the whole thing from the sidelines asked Leo in a whisper, "Is the bullet that bad?"
Leo grinned. "Absolutely." He whispered back. The man looked down at Laphicet. "Come on kid, you're the last one. Should Magilou test my gun for me?" He asked. "Say yes." The man whispered out of the corner of his mouth.
"HEY! I HEARD THAT!" Magilou exclaimed. "This vote is rigged! RIGGED I say! I demand a recount!"
Velvet deadpanned. "There's five people voting."
Magilou shook her head. "And there's five Empyreans!"
Velvet blinked. "Wha-? That doesn't help your case at all!"
"Alas! Five is the magic number! Only with five beings, does the world survive through the millennia! Should only four beings concur, the world will turn to dust and the elements will run amock! This is known! So therefore, if only four people agree that I should test the cannon then-!"
"I think Magilou should test the cannon!" Laphicet agreed cheerfully.
Magilou gaped at the kid in betrayal. "…What have I possibly done to deserve this horrific witch trial?!" She cried.
Laphicet shrugged. "Leo promised that it would look really cool. And I didn't have the chance to see it during the battle so…" He gazed pleadingly up at the witch. "Magilou? Can you please shoot Leo's new bullet? Please? It sounds so cool!" The malak was practically bouncing with enthusiasm.
"…" Magilou fell to the ground in dismay. "Witch burners, the lot of you!"
Leo grinned and poked the woman with the butt of his rifle. "Come on! It'll be fun! Bet you 5 gald you complain after shooting it!"
Magilou's eye twitched. "…Argh! Fine! Give me the dratted thing!" She swiped the gun from a grinning Leo and examined it closely. "Huh. Look at that. It's too confusing for me to figure out. Well! I guess we'll just have to call it a bust-!"
Velvet gripped the barrel of the gun harshly. "It's easy." She dismissed. "Look." With practiced hands, she pointed out the parts on the rifle. "Left hand here, right hand there. When you're ready to fire, finger goes here, pushes the safety off and pulls the trigger. Easy."
Magilou glared between Velvet and Leo. "Oh, why did you two have to be so close?!" She grumbled.
Leo grinned. "Alright, Magilou." He pointed at a large tree a small distance away from the group. "Go ahead and just point the gun at that tree over there and fire. I'd make sure the gun is properly seated in your shoulder before you do… just a friendly tip." He grinned slyly. "Remember our bet!" He reminded.
Magilou pouted as she tried her best to shift unfamiliarly with the weapon in her hands. "Witches are made for casting spells, for making potions, and for charming princes. Exactly where in the job description does it say, 'test fire extremely dangerous ordinance?!'"
"Just shoot it already!" Rokurou yelled eagerly.
Laphicet urged, "Come on, Magilou! You can do it!"
Eizen nodded. "Good luck, Magilou."
Velvet gave a scoff. "Yeah, you'll need it."
"Be quiet! I'm going to win my 5 gald, whether you ruffians believe in me or not!" The witch called over her shoulder.
Leo exchanged meaningful looks with everyone in the group. He mouthed silently, "Stand back."
The group all collectively edged away from the witch as she her aim became steadier and steadier on the target.
Evidently confident in her firing stance, Magilou let out a laugh. "Hah! This is going to be easy! Let it be known across the land that the great Magilou backs away from no challenge!" The safety clicked off. Everyone took another step back and covered their ears. "5 gald, here I come!"
Click.
CA-CRACK!
Everyone gaped as the firearm in Magilou's hand roared, the muzzle flash exploding aggressively into the air and pushing tremendous force back into the unsuspecting witch's shoulder.
"WAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!"
The witch cried as she was caught utterly off guard and sent tumbling backwards head over heels into the mud and landing with a wet slap. Meanwhile, the rifle catapulted itself over the witch's shoulder in an impressively high arc through the air.
"MISS MAGILOU!" Bienfu cried in shock as the witch collapsed onto the mud, racing from behind to help his charge. Right into the path of a falling metal gun.
SMACK!
"Bieee-?" Squelch.
The Malak faceplanted into the mud, a massive bump rising on his head. Leo's rifle landed happily at his side with a clatter.
Leo blinked as his mind raced to catch up with all the events occurring before his very eyes.
"Uh…" He started. "I…I don't…" He stammered, looking from Bienfu to Magilou, both lying in the mud in obvious pain.
Suddenly, Rokurou burst into hysterical laughter. "Hahaha! That was totally worth it!"
Eizen chuckled himself. "Aye, that was quite the impressive field test."
Velvet smiled wryly. "Don't you mean mud test?" She gestured pointedly at the witch moaning in the mud along with Bienfu.
Laphicet shook his head in wonder. "What are the odds that the cannon would fly at just the right trajectory from Magilou's hands to hit Bienfu mid-flight?!" He asked in awe.
Leo laughed. "Beats me, kid." He had a thought. "I guess it's just the Reaper's Curse at play."
Laphicet laughed. "I guess so! Poor Bienfu."
Magilou plucked her face from the mud sourly. "What about poor Magilou, huh?! Doesn't anyone have any soft caring feelings for one of their dearly loved companions in pain?!" She whined as she got back to her feet, plucking mud off the front of her hat.
Leo raised an eyebrow. "Is that a complaint I hear? Because if so…" He extended a hand meaningfully.
"AHH!" Magilou leapt back from him in shock.
"No! Definitely not! That was…" She winced in clear agony from her bruised right shoulder. "T-That was simply an expression of the lack of group cohesion! What a failure we have been as a team!" She languished dramatically.
Leo nodded sagely. "Well, a bet is a bet. I suppose this 5 gald is yours then." He pulled out a few coins and proffered it to her.
The witch's eyes lit up. She snatched the coins right out of his hands and held them up to her cheeks. "Ahh! My darling 5-gald! How rich are the fruits of my labor! Pleasure doing business with you Leo-darling!" She sang.
Leo shrugged uncaringly. "Funnily, this time I'm actually quite happy about losing a bet to you. Worth it."
"Bien…" The poor normin malak wobbled his way in the mud towards his mistress. "Miss Magilou… are you okay?! You looked like you were in a lot of pain!" The pitiable thing asked.
Magilou's eyes shot between the 5-gald in her hand and Bienfu. "Of course your mistress is fine, Bienfu!" She sang out charmingly. "Silly you, getting worked up over nothing." She twirled around and laid her hands around the back of her neck (with a slight cringe of pain). "Try to be more considerate next time, Bienfu darling. It's rude to disturb a witch when she's working." She grinned slyly.
"BIEEEHEEHEHEEENNN! MISS MAGILOU! YOU'RE SO MEAN!" The malak cried, flying off crookedly.
Eleanor's eye twitched. "Is… usual behavior?" She asked Leo quietly.
Leo nodded knowingly. "How does it feel to be the only normal person here?" He asked.
Eleanor put a hand on her head in exasperation. "It feels like I'm a fish out of water."
Leo grinned. "You get used to it after a while."
"…That's what I'm afraid of."
Leo laughed.
He hoped she would. He really did.
"Alright," Velvet stated firmly, "We've wasted enough time as it is. Let's get back to the search."
Leo, Hawk, and Eleanor trotted alone through the forest, the group having decided to split up in order to expedite the search. Leo had been the one to suggest it and had sorted out the logistics, leading to the former mentor and student walking together in the rain. The others were all searching in pairs of two and three, malak tethers acting as impromptu communication channels.
"This feels strange, don't you think?" Eleanor broke the companionable silence as the two trotted around, eyes peeled for daemons and purple flowers.
Leo nodded. "I know what you mean." He glanced at Hawk leading the two, sniffing around for any hint of the sweet scent of Sale'toma. "It's just like old times, back when the two of us were patrolling for the Abbey."
Eleanor nodded with a distant look in her eyes. "…I really appreciated your help, back then. Patrolling was always a rather lonesome task."
Leo grinned back. "What, didn't you have Bienfu?"
Eleanor shook her head. "Back then… I couldn't fathom the relationship between you and Hawk. I'd always been taught that malaks were only tools. Bienfu was merely a deviant, in my eyes." She looked off into the distance. "I've… started to realize just how wrong I've been when it comes to malaks. Laphicet… Eizen… even Bienfu. They're all so… unique."
Leo patted her on the back sagely. "Ah, young grasshopper. I'm proud of you. I knew you'd get there eventually."
Eleanor glared at him. "Did you ever think to tell me? Let me know just how naïve I was being when it came to malaks?"
Leo eyed her seriously.
"…What do you think of the Abbey right now, Eleanor?" He asked pointedly.
Eleanor blinked at the change in subject. "I…" She shook her head firmly. "My views of the Abbey haven't changed. While the things the Abbey do are harsh, it is necessary for the survival of the world. I still believe that reason is what we need."
Leo nodded. It was what he had expected. "And there's your answer. Some things you just need to experience for yourself."
Eleanor eyed her former pupil. "I suppose you're still of the disposition that the Abbey's end goal does not justify the means."
Leo nodded. "Yeah. That's why I left, of course." He shook his head dismissively. "Anyways, that's just my opinion." He shrugged. "What you need to do, Eleanor, is to see things for yourself. Do what you think is right. That's all I can really say in that regard."
"…" Eleanor clenched her fists.
Leo watched regretfully as his former master fought with herself.
He knew what she was thinking. Artorius's mission and her inevitable betrayal of the rest of them for the Abbey. He was sure his presence in the group made it that much harder to stomach. Nevertheless, she had always been a strong person. Leo honestly had no idea if Eleanor would ever change her position.
It was up to her at this point.
Suddenly, Hawk started to growl.
"Who are you people?! What are you doing here?!"
Leo cursed and turned to the threat, grabbing his rifle as Eleanor reached for her spear. "Reloading!" He called as he progressively ejected the contents of his rifle, not bothering to pick up the falling bullets, and reached for his coat pocket that contained his rubber bullets.
For they had somehow stumbled upon two exorcists in the middle of the Warg Forest. What the hell were they doing here?!
As he reloaded, Eleanor sprinted forward and clashed with the attacking exorcists and exchanged blows, distracting them. One of them proved a match for her, allowing the other to sprint towards Leo who was still fumbling with rifle rounds.
Hawk stopped the charging exorcist with a fireball arte.
The man shouted in surprise, "What?! A malak?!" In response, the exorcist's own malak appeared; one with the head of a hawk and the body of a human. The malak began its own spell directed at Leo while the exorcist swung his sword at Hawk. Hawk dodged the blade deftly with a taunting growl.
Meanwhile, Eleanor was holding her own against both the exorcist she was fighting and her malak. With a cry, she deftly dodged the exorcist's lunge and in retaliation swept her feet and threw the exorcist off her feet. With precise movements, Eleanor swung the blunt end of her spear into the back of the fallen exorcist's head, knocking her out. The now unconscious exorcist's malak continued to attack Eleanor emotionlessly despite the defeat of its master.
CRACK!
Leo had finally filled and chambered his rifle with four rubber rounds and had fired one at the exorcist whom had been getting a bit too close to Hawk with his swings. The exorcist cried out in shock, clutching his shoulder in agony where the round had struck. Hawk capitalized on the interruption and bit the exorcist viciously on the wrist, causing him to cry out and drop his sword. The two struggled against each other amidst growls and grunts.
Suddenly, Leo remembered the exorcist's malak just in time to recognize the alarming rush of mana underneath him. With an alarmed cry, he lunged to the side into the mud, narrowly dodging the vicious-looking spike of earth that violently erupted from the mud a second later. In the air, Leo twisted around and brought up his rifle while cocking it. He landed roughly onto the mud with a grunt and readjusted his aim at the offending malak.
CRACK!
The rubber bullet caught the malak right in the neck and caused it to recoil in pain. Cocking his rifle, Leo scrambled to his feet and sprinted towards the malak, aiming from the hip.
CRACK!
Another round struck the malak, giving Leo just enough freedom to swing his rifle around like a baseball bat and slam the shoulder butt into the back of the malak's head, causing it to dissipate in its final defense mechanism and return to its master's body, drained of energy.
"Hawk! Crossfire right!"
CRACK!
A master whom, incidentally, had just received another bullet; this time to the ankle. With a cry, the man tumbled to the floor. Hawk leapt deftly onto the fallen exorcist and cast an arte, promptly rendering the man unconscious.
Gasping for breath and shaking with the adrenaline surging through him, Leo glanced over at his partner just in time to see her sharply slamming her spear pole directly into the exorcist malak's back. The malak quickly dissipated into its unconscious master.
The three individuals, panting, took a good long look around for further threats. When none appeared, they finally relaxed.
"…Well," Leo muttered wryly, breaking the silence, "I suppose it's not exactly like old times, huh?" The man ejected the remaining bullet in his rifle and caught it in the air, returning it to its designated pocket.
"Yes…" Eleanor was clearly deeply uncomfortable with fighting her own comrades, even if it wasn't to kill. "…How things have changed…" She whispered shakily.
Leo trotted over to where he had originally been at the start of the fight and dug around through the mud for the four daemon-killing rounds he had ejected in the beginning. "Honestly," he asked casually as he searched, "I'm amazed that you're doing all of this for the daemon you hate. You said it was for honor… right?"
Eleanor's inner conflict was palatable.
To Leo, it was obvious what his mentor would've done if Artorius hadn't given her the mission. She would've killed herself the moment she got rather than serve the daemon she hated. The only reason she was doing this was because the Abbey had told her to.
But she couldn't admit that, even to her old friend.
"Yes." She whispered, looking away and holding a hand close to her heart. "That's why…" She trailed off uncertainty.
Leo scoffed mentally at the bullshit response. The Abbey really needed to train her on lying better. Leo examined their surroundings and changed the subject. "Well, I think it's safe to say that these two were guarding something." He pointed to a nearby tent with supplies. "I'm going to signal the others."
Eleanor nodded, clearly relieved at the change of subject.
Leo warned, "Cover your ears." He reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a rifle round dyed bright green and slotted it into his empty rifle. Chambering the round, he angled the barrel straight up into the air.
POP!
The low-powered round flew into the air and flashed a brilliant luminescent green. Floating in the light breeze, the flare fell slowly to the ground, ensuring that anyone in a 5-kilometer radius could see it.
Eleanor gazed at the flare in awe, shielding her eyes from the brightness. "Sometimes Leo, I think your ingenuity is too good to be true…" She trailed off.
Leo coughed. "What can I say? I'm just super smart."
Eleanor watched in amusement as Leo changed the subject abruptly as he filled his rifle with four fresh anti-daemon rounds, not looking her in the eye.
"I said green for if we found something of note, and red if we needed reinforcements. They should be over in a few moments."
Eleanor shook her head in exasperation. She muttered, "Always the secretive one."
She turned to the sigil of the Abbey on the tent in the middle of the forest that the two exorcists had been occupying. The rain pattered off the white and blue canvas starkly contrasting the natural hues of the Warg Forest surrounding the tent.
"Still, I wonder why these two were out here in the middle of nowhere? Something isn't right…" She breathed.
"Let's go take a look then." Leo urged, shouldering his rifle.
Together, the two stepped forwards through the mud and into the small tent away from the rain. The inside was standard as expected; usual Abbey fare. Nodding to one another, they ransacked the place systematically, searching both effects and equipment.
"...Bug Cage?" Leo held up a document found in a drawer.
Eleanor took the paper from him and examined it under the candlelight. "…Orders from Legate Melchior… Guard the designated area in the Warg Forest from any intruders…" She blinked in disbelief. "There was no official documentation in this in the Abbey ledgers about missions like these. Yet this paperwork details an apparently top-secret Abbey operation to be kept secret from even other exorcists!"
Footsteps could be heard outside. Leo glanced at Hawk and noted that the malak wasn't alarmed.
"Come in!" He called out.
The rest of the group promptly stepped into the tent. Velvet glanced around in surprise as she entered first. "What is all this?" She asked, her raven hair dripping water onto the canvas floor of the tent.
Leo explained, "We found two exorcists, apparently guarding something top secret for the Abbey." He shrugged. "From what we can tell, the area they were guarding is nearby… but there's nothing here that really explains why exactly they were guarding something so remote and far away from any human settlement."
Eizen took the offered paper from Eleanor and glanced over it. "…Hm." He glanced meaningfully at Eleanor. "And you've never heard of operations such as these in the Abbey?"
The group turned to Eleanor. She shook her head in firm disbelief. "I… had no idea. Such operations technically shouldn't exist." She genuinely seemed confused. "So why do they…?"
"Ah!" Laphicet suddenly yelled out as his compass began to spin erratically. "It's the same feeling I had when we were in the earthpulse!"
Velvet blinked. "Eizen. Do you feel anything?"
The man shook his head. "It would appear that Laphicet is more sensitive than me."
The spinning stopped. "It stopped, but that feeling is still there…" Laphicet trailed off.
Velvet prompted, "Where's the feeling coming from?"
Laphicet pointed in a direction. Rokurou shrugged. "Might as well investigate, right?"
"Why do I get a bad feeling about this?" Leo grumbled to himself as Laphicet and the rest of the group shuffled out of the tent.
Velvet pointed out, "That might be because we have a reaper with us?"
Leo sighed melodramatically. "No… I think you guys don't give yourselves enough credit. Trouble follows you guys like flies on feces, Reaper's Curse or no."
Velvet shrugged. "Come on."
The two followed the rest of the group outside.
Overhead, the rain slowly petered out, leaving tranquility in its wake.