Chapter 53 - We'll Meet Again
It wasn't until Yao deemed they were far enough away from their camp that nobody would over hear them. "This is far enough," Yao remarked as her nose twitched and fox ears quickly swiveled around. "There's no angel following us. It seems Promestein kept true to her word. That is good."
The kitsune turned her attention towards Will. "So, Tamamo and I spoke and we came to a similar conclusion. As you are no longer being spied upon by we believed you'd be better suited aiding us in preparing for war instead of continuing to journey alongside Luka. Granberia is extremely capable, however she is a blunt instrument. We can't afford to take such a heavy handed approach without the risk of tipping our hand to Ilias."
Will nodded along with the information. "Alright, what would that entail?"
"It'd be quite similar to what you dealt with today," Yao replied with a smirk, tails lazily swaying behind her figure. "Traitorous monsters that must be brought into line. We now have an excuse to deal with them. You can aid us in breaking their crowns and making them bend the knee," her smile grew with a hint of sadistic glee.
Will reflexively balked at the prospect, eyes bulging in surprise. "Are you mad? You want me to fight a bunch of treasonous queens? That seems like a good way to die."
It was a crazy idea. Monsters ruled through strength alone, be it physical or magical, so those that could call themselves queen did so because they, or their ancestors, were strong enough to beat off any would be contenders.
"You wouldn't be doing it alone," Yao nudged her head towards Alice. "The two of you will deal with the traitors and deny Ilias their support."
"And possibly draw out Black Alice in the process," Alice remarked, then shrugged. "Though it is very unlikely she'd show herself. Their entire plan depends on catching the world off guard by neutralizing us instead of engaging in a direct confrontation."
Will looked between the two monsters as he reassessed the idea, rubbing his chin in thought. "I don't see how I could contribute, really, if Alice is there. You could deal with any of them by yourself," he gestured to her.
"Did you already forget what I told you?" Alice rhetorically asked him in a chastising tone. "You, Sara, and Luka could have beaten the elf queen by yourselves if she was alone. Do not sell yourself short, William. You'll be invaluable aid against them, especially if they pull out any surprises."
"I suppose," he replied, glancing towards the gigantic weapon in his hand. "I'd get a chance to put this to good use at least."
"That's the spirit," Yao nodded in approval. "There is one other matter to discuss."
"You need to learn magic," Alice firmly stated. "If you knew how to read the wind then you would have sensed the queens and their entourage earlier today. It'll be absolutely necessary in the long run."
He always had a fondness for magic in games. It always seemed so fantastical and wondrous, which made it ironic that he'd gone down the path of a warrior. He acted like a well read brute.
"Well," Will hummed in thought, "I understand it conceptually, but I'm not sure how I'm supposed to do that. Luka can call upon them directly. It's one thing to know 'take the wind into yourself and envision a raging hurricane flowing through you' but another thing to attempt it in practice."
"Which is why your training begins immediately," Alice instructed him. "Try to read the wind. You've been around Sylph long enough that you've surely sensed her power. It's a unique aura, quite distinct from myself or Yao. Even from here you should be able to sense it."
"Uh, okay, I'll try… I guess," he replied, wondering how the hell he was supposed to do that.
He went silent as he simply took in his surroundings, letting the noises and smells of the night time forest wash over him. He could hear the beating of Yao and Alice's hearts, smell the flowers in the latter's hair, and the rustling of the leaves in the breeze. The pair of monsters radiated power that was familiar to him. It was darkness. The element that was inante to monsters. He knew it well for it flowed through his veins.
In the distance he sensed the presence of his other companions; Luka and Sara. Sara was much like himself, monster blood in her veins as well. While around Luka there hung two distinct auras. He knew them to be the two spirits. He could feel their power inside of the hero, and realized that he could sense it within Yao and Alice too, to a lesser extent.
He tried to focus on it. It was a difficult task, like picking out individual instruments from an entire orchestra. He could almost hear whispers of Sylph's presence on the wind. It danced around all of them but wasn't directed by her. It simply was the wind, running freely through the forest without a care in the world. However it was directionless without any intent carried by it and told him nothing about his surroundings.
It was strange, trying to reach out and sense something so intangible, yet seemingly omnipresent, like trying to gauge background radiation without any tools. It was an alien experience. It almost seemed like he could grasp it but he had no idea how.
"It's so peculiar," he finally spoke, brow furrowed. "I think I felt it but I couldn't read it. I know that it's there, but have no idea what to do with it."
He really had no intuitive understanding of it. The best he could do was come up with various analogies to try to make sense of it.
"I'd be astounded if you could, so don't feel bad," Alice smirked, slithering up to him and patting him on the cheek. "It's a good start. You've got potential."
"You inspired such confidence with your kind words," he sarcastically replied, smiling back at her.
"I know I do. It's a mark of a great leader," she smiled amusement. "Oh, and the first traitor we shall deal with is the vampire queen. She's in the region after all. It only makes sense to start with her."
"Right," Will nodded in agreement. "I suppose that's everything then. We've got a plan… I guess I'm going to have to tell Luka that we're leaving tomorrow, not looking forward to that." He was already mentally going over what he was going to say, feeling apprehensive about the conversation.
"I'll still be traveling with him. You need not worry about his safety," Yao reassured him.
"That's good. I wouldn't want him to feel completely alone. I mean, he'd still have Sara with him, but uh, you know," Will trailed off, shaking his head.
"I'll keep him on track," Yao replied. "He won't be left to meander about the continent without any direction. I'll train him too," she hummed to herself and smirked. "I'm going to be doing so much for him in your place, it feels like I should be getting paid."
"A sense of pride and accomplishment should be payment enough," Alice dryly shot back as she crossed her arms. "If you want money then go out on the street and beg."
"Such cruelty you inflict upon me with your harsh words," Yao chastised her sister, shaking her head and tutting. "Cutting remarks aside, I believe that is everything we needed to discuss…" She glanced between Will and Alice, and when neither offered any objections she nodded. "Very good then. Nothing more needs to be said," she remarked to the pair as she started off back towards the camp, with Will and Alice following suit.
-
The morning started like any other. Will got up earlier than usual, however, unable to get a full night's worth of sleep. He was too anxious about his planned conversation with Luka. There was no point in putting it off. He figured simply getting it over and done with was the best option.
Luka was busy packing up his tent when Will knelt down on the ground near him. "Hey man, morning," he greeted his shorter friend.
Luka paused what he was doing, and looked over to the Canadian. "Morning, you're up early. That's surprising. It's not even noon yet," he cheekily replied.
Will softly chuckled. "Yeah, couldn't sleep. Yesterday was quite eye opening, in a few ways."
"That's for sure but we handled ourselves well. I'm glad we were able to talk them down. It seems they were just stubborn and prideful, not malicious," Luka remarked in relief. "I have a feeling it won't always be that easy though."
"Probably not, no, unfortunately," Will paused for a moment, gathering his thoughts. "So, the elf queen mentioned some usurper came to her offering support. Someone calling themselves Black Alice, claiming that she's the real Monster Lord."
Luka nodded along. He was hypnotized when the elf queen mentioned that specific information, but had been filled in on that info after the fact. "Right, you had mentioned that. Is Alice going to try to track her down?" he asked with some apprehension, giving his friend a critical look.
"Yeah, she is, and, I'm going with her," Will said, glancing away. "So this… this is where we part ways, for a while at least. Not sure how long that will be, though. We don't know how long this Black Alice has been around and how many other monsters she's tried to court."
Luka cast his own gaze downwards. He was silent for a moment before responding. "Are you sure you have to go? We've been traveling together this whole time. It… would wrong if you're not here."
"Yeah, I have to go with her. She'll need my help," he placed a hand on Luka's shoulder. "Luka… you're a good friend. I'm sorry that I haven't been able to do the same for you. Maybe in the future I'll be able to."
"That'd be nice. It feels like we haven't been able to speak with each other in a long time," he remarked with a hint of melancholy. "You're not as open as you used to be back in Ilias Village, before we left. You seemed much more carefree back then."
"It's the stress of everything. It gets to me," Will answered honestly, exhaustion evident on his face. "This whole incident opened my eyes to that. There's shit going on in this world. Alice and I are going to try to get to the bottom of this mystery at least."
"Maybe I can help you once I have the Four Spirits. I'm not really sure what I'm supposed to do with them really," Luka admitted, spreading his arms and shrugging his shoulders. "Heroes are supposed to fight the Monster Lord, but Alice and I want the same thing. I thought maybe I'd have to fight her Knights to make them support that goal, but now it seems like she's going to keep them in line. So what do I do?"
"It's simple, you get them so you're strong enough to beat anyone that would stand in the way of that dream of yours," Will poked his friend's shoulder. "It doesn't matter who they are; monster, human, whatever. If they refuse to accept peace you'll have to be able to deal with them, with your words or with your sword, whichever is necessary. Maybe we'll need you to help us fight Black Alice and anyone else helping her."
Will hoped that he could implant that idea in Luka's mind that there were enemies hiding in the shadows, simply biding their time. He couldn't get much more explicit than that though.
The corner of Luka's mouth quirked upwards, ever so slightly. "I hope so. You and me, side by side, fighting bullies and protecting helpless people."
"Yep, and there's a lot of both in the world. Seems like we've got our work cut out for ourselves, honestly," Will replied with a chuckle. "We'll meet again too. This will only for a while, relatively speaking. Yao's going to stick around, so you can train with her and Sara now."
Luka faintly blushed as he shot a quick glance over his shoulder towards the kitsune. "Really? Just me with the two of them for the foreseeable future…"
"Luka, buddy, go for it," Will leaned in closer and spoke softly. "I know you've got some hang ups about it, since you consider it a sin, but think about giving Yao a chance. She's not as intimidating as she tries to appear. Really, she's more like a brat. She just likes to whine and be overly dramatic."
"I'll… consider it, but I can't promise anything," Luka replied before turning back to his friend. "Stay safe out there." He reached out and hugged him.
"I'll consider it, but I can't promise anything," he echoed Luka's word with a smirk and returned the gesture, large arms wrapped around the small hero. "Don't worry, I'll do my best. Alice and I will keep each other safe."
"I'll hold you to that…" Luka said as the pair separated. "So, are you leaving now?"
"Uh, not yet, I need to get everything packed up," Will jerked his thumb back towards his own half-disassembled tent. "I'm not very good with goodbyes. I always tend to draw them out and repeat myself, so I thought I'd get this out of the way first."
"Alright, then, do you mind giving a hand before you go?" Luka gestured down to his tent.
"Not at all," Will smiled as he got to work.
It was a simple task, one which Luka didn't really need any help with, but Will was more than happy to lend a hand for his friend. After all, it'd be a long time until he ever got the chance to do so again.