A.N So sorry for delay have had no time with uni, illness and now well a mountain of assessments to do so this is probably the last fic I update for the next three to four months unfornately.
Thank you to Will for your constant support.
A BIG THANKS TO TRIPLETRONICLE FOR THEIR HELP!
Chapter 25
Agnes stared in horror as a blood red liquid engulfed the mercenary, as he grinned with a crazed look in his eye, teeth bared in a horrible smile that showed his victory. His flesh stretched and mutated into a horrifying beast, it grew until it was 9ft tall with dark red skin. His head had grown two horns out of the top of the former mercenary's former skull, The way the skin stretched and strained as the mutations horrified Agnes. She gasped as the once human monster looked at her, his appearance more suited for the monster that now controls this colossal beast. It roared loudly, shockwaves pushing the wounded Mr. Colbert and Agnes out of the great hall. Mr. Colbert tried to stand but he fell back down, Agnes was stared at him in a rage but did not move as fear gripped her.
"What was that?!" Osmond asked in disbelief. Agnes' remaining musketeers rushed to their injured leader.
"Everyone fall back!" Mervina shouted as the blade flew out of Agnes' hand heading to Saito who had frozen in fear, staring at the broken wall into the great hall. His hands were shaking, as images of his families' deaths flooded his mind. He watched the temples where he trained get wiped out in a heart beat, memories refusing to disperse.
"SAITO!" Louise screamed as the monster looked at her, it growled loudly as it stormed forward towards her, intent on butchering her.
"Saito get a grip!" Arghast roared, shaking Saito from his fear, his wings flapping rapidly as he burst forward bringing his fist into the jaw of the beast in a magnificently placed uppercut, with golden flame wrapped around his knuckles burning the creature's flesh on contact. It was launched into the night sky, easily clearing the academy tower. Saito didn't even miss a beat before he was chasing after the monster. A golden aura forming around him as he yelled "Heaven's Wrath!", he smacked the creature in the stomach with a quick jab of his left hand, before he vanished and reappeared behind the monster bringing his left leg into the back of the demon. It roared in pain. Saito's onslaught didn't even falter, he teleported again, striking the creature in the right-hand side, in the ribs. It yelled in fury, as Saito angled the beast's face staring into the night sky as He reappeared above it smashing his right foot encased in the golden aura into the throat of the beast as he propelled the beast downward into the flat open yard of the academy. The students, teachers, servants, and musketeers starred in awe as Saito smashed the creature into the ground, a golden fiery explosion roars into the sky, brightly as Saito put everything into this strike desperate to kill the beast before it could kill anyone. The creature's eye glowed a bright red as its body began to mutate again, two scaly wings protruded from it's back forcing it upwards as its left hand grabbed Saito by the face, the creature's wings allowed it to get up quickly as they flapped violently, it lifted Saito into the air before slamming him into the ground with an ear deafening crash. The monster grabbed Saito's left leg and swung him around slamming him into the nearby white marble wall, Saito's wings flapping desperately to stop him from colliding with the wall, The demon turned around still holding Saito and launched him into Mr. Colbert's shed, the wooden structure sagged under the sheer force of Saito's body been thrown through one of the walls. He coughed up blood violently.
"SAITO!" Louise screamed in fear as she saw the creature raise it's right hand a dark ball of energy similar to how Saito had casted before in the past. It roared loudly as it launched the shadow ball into the building, it exploded with a loud bang throwing a halo of wooden splinters into the air and the smell of burning wood fills the air.
"Saito! ...No...HOW DARE YOU!" Louise roared as she aimed her wand at the beast "EXPLOSION!" She roared as the power of void magic manifested next to the beast and violently exploded throwing the beast onto it's back. It howled in pain, it's left wing had been completely vaporised. It looked at the pinkie with pure rage as it surged forward. The ground shaking and thundering with every step of it's sprint towards Louise. Siesta ran towards the demon her left gauntlet wrapped in bolts of lightning as she slammed her fist into the creature's stomach, it froze on the spot with a pained groan.
"Run Miss Vallière!" Siesta begged as she put everything she had into the strike. Only to be swatted aside with ease. Other mages such as Louise's sister Eleonore were casting various amounts of spells but to no avail, they just bounced harmlessly off the creature's body as it advanced towards Louise with malicious intent.
"Saito get up!" Lucina begged as Saito groaned under the collapsed shed.
"Kid if we don't get off OUR ASSES SOON OR LOUISE WILL BE KILLED!" Arghast roared but Saito could barely hear them, he could barely see, he was drifting in and out of consciousness.
Louise screamed as she tried to run away from the beast but it brought it's right arm up and swatted her aside, she flew through the air in pain screaming loudly. Through fortune, she landed on the soft grass with only superficial wounds. She looked up at the creature as it approached her again, intent on finishing it's job. Yet before it could bring it's arm down to hurt Louise, Saito had caught it with one hand. His eyes were bright red and glowing, the left wing that was normally white feathered started turning black, as the feathers at the root of the wing changed to black, all the way to the tip of the wing where the feathers had blood tips. His skin begun to darken quickly turning all the way to a black coal like texture and colour.
"Oh No! He's gone berserk!" Mervina said in fear as two blackened hornes begun to protrude from his temples, they angled vertically, till they were pointing at the demon in front of him.
"What do you mean Berserk?" Agnes asked Mervina.
"Saito has the spirits of an angel and demon living inside him, they are affected by his emotions, so when he gets too angry he can push the demon into a blood rage. Which is what has happened!" Mervina said in fear as Saito roared balefully at the monster with a howl which was not human. He threw the beast across the area with such force it went through the outer wall of the academy. The monster roared loudly as it climbed out of the hole in the wall it's long elongated fangs bared in rage as it roared loudly. Saito answered the roar with a roar of his own equally as loud many of the spectators had to cover their ears as the noise was incredible.
Louise stared in disbelief as Saito and the monster ran towards each other roaring balefully. The crowd stared in horror as Saito and the monster clashed with shockwaves of shuddering off them with the sheer force of power, strength capable of shattering entire buildings. The elegance and discipline Saito was known for when he fought was gone, the monsters clashed like savage beasts each with the aim to rip the other's head off. Saito knocked the monster down again with a savage blow to the stomach launching it across the green grass yard. The mutations began again as the monster grew taller reaching 12ft tall and towered over Saito, it looked at the hybrid and laughed loudly.
"HAHA Ahh poor little Arghast, trapped inside a mere mortal flesh of a pathetic human. Oh, I look forward to killing you and the winged bitch inside that wretch!" The demon stated, it's voice was strange to everyone around it. It had intelligence but was harsh and low. It was as if there were two people speaking at the same time but just out of sync with each other. Everyone stared in horror.
"I will wipe you from the mortal realm and then I will bring death to this entire world when I unleash the rest of my brethren, it will be a glorious slaughter!" The monster shouted laughing it's twin voices coursing throughout the clearing.
"Oh, Why don't you shut up already!" Saito shouted back but it was not his voice. It was soft, not gentle but low, measured and hostile. "I will not allow you to hurt him!" He shouted again as dark energies roared around Saito.
"I am ARGHAST greater demon of vengeance, lord of the chains of the betrayer AND I WILL END YOU!" Arghast shouted as dark chains climbed out of the shadows around Saito.
"AH HAHA, You think you can beat me Arghast. I am Skarband the bloody, if you were in your normal form then yes I would lose but you are bound to that boy. You do not stand a chance against me for I am your end!" Skarband roared loudly.
"How did you come to this world, the veil protecting it has not failed yet?" Arghast asked as his mutations strained Saito's body, he did not grow any taller but his muscle's expanded to a far greater degree than Saito had ever used.
"Ahh a smart question, I don't want to spoil the surprise so I will merely say I was smuggled onto this world by a close 'friend' of yours...haha…." Skarband replied his fangs shown in his grin.
"A soul gem? You gave up your own body to become a pure spiritual entity?" Arghast asked staring at the monster.
"Indeed but look I have a new body and unlike yours this one is permanent, the useless bag of flesh you call Saito is being pulled apart by your very power." Skarband said laughing, before he growled loudly and stormed forward. Arghast grinned as the chains wrapped around his arms, he then violently swung both of his arms to the right ripping a large lump of earth and rock out of the ground. He swung this lump into Skarband knocking him to the side of the ground, before the demon had a chance to recover Arghast was ontop of him, fists covered in the dark chains as he brought each chain covered fist into the demon's face, each strike unleashing shockwaves of dark energy.
"I will never allow any of you hurt him! YOU'VE TAKEN SO MUCH FROM HIM! YOU WILL PAY!" Arghast roared as dark energies gathered around his left fist as he raised it. The demon looked up from his mangled face, fangs broken, jaw dislocated, eye battered, black ichor ran down it's face. "NOW YOU DIE!" The fist fell, crushing the demon's skull into a fine paste. Bone, bile, and flesh crushed into a dark black pulp. The body began to burn in an ethereal blue flame, it's husk burning to ash before even that was blown away in the wind.
"Ahhh….time to sleep now kid.." Arghast said weakly as Saito's body shrunk back down to normal, his coal like skin returning to normal, the horns disappearing on a strange wind being blown away and the wings retracting into his back.
Louise ran to Saito, her body ached in pain but she pushed herself regardless of the pain coursing through every fibre of her body.
"Louise stay back he's dangerous!" Eleonore shouted in protest.
"No he is not, he is my familiar!" Louise shouted back ignoring her sister's cries.
"Eleonore Onee-sama, he saved my life and if he hadn't killed whatever that monster was we all would be dead. You yourself saw our magic bounce harmlessly of it." Cattleya said defiantly.
"But still!" Eleonore shouted back.
"Without Saito-kun to save us we would be dead now, thankfully there were no fatalities," Osmond said happily.
"Sir!" Kirche shouted loudly, everyone turning to see her cradling Mr. Colbert in her arms, tears running down her face. Agnes stared in a mix of horror and rage. The man that had killed her mother and father. The source of her lifelong mission was right in front of her. The aim to claim her vengeance, and it was taken from her. She roared in rage before she fell to her knees.
Julio looked to where Saito had collapsed and went over to Louise and helped pick Saito up with her. They walked in silence as they carried Saito up to Louise's dorm.
Cattleya and Eleonore went around the busy work of calming the students and sending each one to their dorms. Osmond returned to his tower where he wrote numerous letters to the palace and other garrisons near the academy alerting them to what had transpired at the academy. He left out the monster Saito had become to defeat the beast. Osmond was more worried about the fact that the monster had claimed it would release more of it's kind on their world. He wrote a private letter specifically for the queen to read and no one else. He entrusted this letter to Agnes only.
The following Day
Saito launched upwards from Louise's bed, his body had bandages all over it and ached with every movement. Yet he was shaking in fear and disgust at himself. He had become the very monsters that wiped his family out. It horrified him. He climbed out of the bed and crawled into a ball in the corner of the room. His knees were brought to his face. Tears began to flow down his cheeks. He was ashamed and horrified at himself.
"Kid I am so sorry…" Arghast said somberly.
"Saito, it's okay. You saved everyone it's okay." Lucina pleaded but Saito didn't respond. He was shaking.
The oaken door creaked open as Louise crept in, seeing if Saito was awake. When she noticed he was missing panic flooded her mind as she moved around the room as quickly as her little legs could carry her till she saw Saito in corner crying silently. She smiled sadly as she walked up to him slowly as she knelt in front of him and wrapped her arms around him, pulling his head into her chest.
"Thank you for saving me again Saito.." She whispered quietly before kissing his cheek as tears still poured from his eyes.