The Trial: Journey's End

Written by: AtheistBasementDragon

Edited by: The Usual Gang of Drunken Perverted Idiots

Chapter 39: Bitter Revelations

...Kirakira Prison...

Mu'Ka looked out over the yard, the guards and the prisoners were formed up into squads, they had been practicing the methods of their instructors for hours, with the unofficial addition to their ranks of the human prisoner who pointed out additional improvements that could be made to their existing methodology. As a result, the guards and prisoners alike were starting to improve. The ones he'd expected to bury as starved corpses had grown stronger, and become leaders respected for their pride, while guards had become more than watchful eyes, they had become helping hands, assisting instructors in forming ties beyond the prison.

As he watched down below as one squad outdid the other, only for the two a few minutes later to be paired against two more, the bonds of camaraderie were growing and the lines were blurring. "I may have to start using some of those parole passes soon, these may be wasted behind prison walls."

A guard approached him from the entrance, evidently a minotaur coming on shift. "Sir... is it really true?" He asked as he walked confidently over the long walkway.

"Is what true?" Mu'Ka asked without taking his eyes off the miracle he was seeing down below.

"That you're going to let them start selling goods produced here, outside, out through the temple in the capital?" The guard asked curiously.

Mu'Ka nodded, "Yes, and other than a slice for myself for administrative work and commission, they'll reap the profits. All this... it seems impossible, but there it is. The prisoners have all converted, and so have almost all the guards, how about you?"

"No, but... I've listened to their instructors' teachings of the divine, and readings from their book, I admit it's compelling. It's hard not to feel the strength down there, it's like we're finding a part of ourselves we've lost. Weakness did this to us, it is the sin that makes all sinners, and all sinners worse." The guard replied as he shared Mu'Ka's look down there.

'He'll convert soon too.' Mu'Ka thought, and huffed as he waved the guard on. "Go ahead, get to your post, or go down there, doesn't matter, we've got nothing to worry about now. But before you ask, no, I don't know when the one who got this started, will be back."

The guard bowed, and went down the long winding path that would take him to where the training was taking place, which didn't surprise the warden in the least.

...Nazarick...

Vanysa looked down at the little item she was working on in Demiurge's lab. It was a small crystalline pendant, similar to the last one she'd given to Albedo to pass to Neia, the information gleaned from Albedo after the Sorcerer King's return from Argland had been... helpful, if incomplete. But if nothing else, at least, she sighed as she looked down at it, an anxious thought had been put to rest.

"Any luck yet?" Albedo, the cause of Vanysa's anxious thoughts, asked impatiently.

The demoness shook her head, "No, my Lady. Not yet. The potential is there, but the problem with these crystals is that they are stabilized, bringing the mana from different things together and getting it to flow the way I want it to is not easy."

"Is this your way of torturing my Neia, the prophet who proclaimed me future empress?" She could feel the glare at the back of her neck.

Vanysa's wings trembled behind her. She didn't look up from her examination as she tried to balance the magical energy between the crystals without disrupting the flow as she tried to combine them all into one piece. "My Lady, I am charged with her absolute protection... outside of court. Even within the court, it tears me apart to do what I do. But outside of it, I am incapable of doing her any harm." Vanysa responded uncomfortably, and she felt the Guardian Overseer relax, and the accusation didn't come again.

"Is there nothing that can serve the purpose you require?" Albedo asked as she walked closer and stood directly over the small fury's shoulder.

Vanysa frowned, "The trouble with magic is that it is inherently unstable, the methods of 'First World' must have been much more reliable, but we don't have that. If I had liquified crystals I could do so much more, but I don't, and nothing yet exists that could liquify them without a catastrophic release of mana from within. She punched her fist down on the table in frustration and her golden body shook with rage.

"If His Majesty had blood, I bet his could serve as a conduit." Vanysa said with annoyance. "Ironically what we'd need to create an item to turn him into a being with flesh and blood, and back again, simply doesn't exist yet, but it could be made with blood from his body if he had it. It's like having torture implements but nobody to use them on, or someone to use them on, but no implements."

"I'd use my blood, but I'm too weak, maybe one day I'll be strong enough, but not yet. Demiurge is powerful enough, and he's a demon, magic stabilizes easily for him, but..." She groaned and grabbed at her horns in frustration.

"But what?" Albedo demanded, tapping her foot.

"My Lady, I don't know about how magic worked in the Second World you came from, but here, well... how do I put this... it often bonds close to a person, I think that's why some people develop talents, and others don't. For it to be most effective, the blood would have to not only be from someone exceptionally powerful, but with a deep desire for all this to work."

Albedo was silent, then touched Vanysa's golden shoulder, "What about my blood?"

Vanysa looked at her skeptically, "My Lady, you are powerful, and a demon, but do you actually..." She shut her mouth when she saw Albedo's expression.

"Alright, I'll try it, this is a small trio, I simply need a drop or two of your blood to act as a nexus between spells to balance everything, if it works, then we can keep the mana that powers prophecy from flooding into her brain, and if we can do that, it won't kill her." Vanysa said.

"Will it hurt her?" Albedo asked cautiously.

"I can't say, probably not," Vanysa shrugged her shoulders, bouncing her wings briefly, "she doesn't have exceptional mana reserves, so the outer crystal doesn't have to hold much, and should be fine even for the overproduction that comes with a berserker state. However..."

"Yes?" Albedo asked hesitantly.

"Manacrystals are not meant to just hold untapped magic, it will have to be put to use at some point any time she has an episode, if it fills up and she has another one... this may fail completely." Vanysa warned the demoness and stepped aside.

Albedo nodded, "One drop of blood is all it will take?"

"One big drop, but yes, My Lady." Vanysa replied formally.

Albedo laughed, "Even pathetic village matrons shed more blood than that to give life to their spawn. A demon empress to be, can give up a drop to save a daughter." Albedo quipped and held a finger over the crystal that held a tiny round depression, and using the impossibly strong fingers of her other hand, she lightly pricked the pad of her forefinger, then let it drop down into the little gap, forming a tiny red pool."

Vanysa sniffled a little as Albedo stepped back, "What?" She asked the demoness.

"Jus reminded me a somthin..." She said with wild and passionate storm grey eyes, "How... how long time-a-go, momma bled ta protect me when ah was little... how brave she was, ta save me from a wild beast." She sighed, "Always kinda felt bad fer Neia, on accounta she didn't have that growin up. Ah jus..." Vanysa squeezed her eyes shut tight for a moment, before opening them to their former clarity.

"I'm just glad she's got it now." Vanysa said as she went to the crystal halves and closed them over one another, and sealed them tight, then looping a small adamantite chain through a loop affixed to the top of the crystal and sealed between the two halves, she locked it shut and held it up to the Guardian Overseer.

"I just... one more thing, Lady Albedo?" Vanysa asked as she lowered her eyes.

"What?" She asked as she accepted the final product.

"Win. Don't let me kill my friend. I'm following orders, I'll do my best, but please... I don't want her to die... I don't want to hurt her, you've got to find some way out of this. That killing in open court wasn't the last nail." Vanysa started breathing heavy and hard.

"Are you... well?" Albedo asked as sweat began to bead on the forehead of the erinyes of vengeance.

"Lady... Albedo, I have two conflicting orders here, and I know which one to follow, I'm ordered to prosecute her, but outside of court, to protect her. I know where she is, and why she's there, though it relates to court, she's outside of there now and... so this is my chance to tell you... but it's still painful, like swimming too long against a tide." Vanysa began to breathe harder and harder. Her fangs were visible as her mouth fell open.

Albedo's face grew cautious, uncertain, her eyelids fluttered as she tried to process what she was seeing.

Which is why she was caught off guard when Vanysa's talons grabbed her with strength far in excess of what the demoness of vengeance should have possessed and she stared up at Albedo with fanatical devotion in her eyes. "You've got to get her out! She'll hang herself if she's left out there!"

...Crescent Lake...

Bertra was glad when she was finally alone, but at the same time, part of her wished the big teddy bear would have stayed, though as she looked at the door, she was relieved much more that he'd actually gone when she told him to. 'If he'd have refused... even if he hadn't meant any harm... I don't think I'd ever look at the lunkhead the same way again.' She smiled a little at the big oaf with the silly grin and the boyish face on the behemoth of a body.

Still, she was alone, and she went about the rest of her routine to close up shop, bathed in water that all but burned her, and got dressed in tight fitting clothing suitable for her intentions, took out her clay jar of paint, a brush, and went out into the night. Soldiers were out in force, but for the former scripture member, that wasn't a problem.

She ran along the rooftops as stealthily as she could, which for her, was stealthy as the wind through which she ran. The moonless night gave her additional cover, she jumped from one position to another, and found herself savoring the beauty of the greatest elven city in the world, a marvel of ingenuity in both magic and mundane means that made the city alive in every sense of the word, not merely occupied by the living. 'As a human, I'd have found this beautiful but as an elf... I... I can't imagine anywhere I'd rather be, it's like I'm drawn to this kind of place.' She thought as she found the place she wanted She listened with care for anyone nearby, and found none. She dropped down between two buildings, another of 'his' properties, and set herself to painting the same message as before.

"Stop!" A voice shouted, and her eyes widened, she dropped the clay jar and it shattered, scattering paint, she dropped the brush, jumped against the wall, pushed off to the other, and headed for the roof to run away. 'That ought to do it.' She thought as she took off running.

"Stop!" She heard and looked behind her, and saw two glowing red eyes.

'Fuck! Vampires... ugh of all the...' She cursed her luck and pumped her legs and used her martial arts to run like hell. [Ability boost] [Lesser Strength] [Agility Boost] She sped up.

Tefl could hardly believe what she was seeing. Whoever it was, was outrunning her. The distance between them was growing and the person, a woman given her body shape, had clearly used martial arts and was expertly using the city itself to increase the distance, propelling herself off walls, chimneys, tree limbs, and so on.

Tefl ran hard and fast, the sound of her feet rattling clay tiles she used martial arts of her own, and managed to close the distance, but the woman was swift as a raging river.

"Stop! I'm not going to hurt you!" Tefl shouted into the dark.

The words were out of her mouth before she could stop them, "That's what I thought about him!"

Cursing her loose tongue, she turned to magic. [White Flame Prison] She uttered, and swung her arm behind her, creating a prison of white fire around the vampire.

Tefl stopped dead as she recognized the use of sacred fire to contain her... 'How the hell... could 'that' man have raped 'her'?' She wondered, as the suspect hopped several more buildings over, then disappeared far in the distance.

She swore, but yanked a message scroll out and contacted Queen Zesshi.

After she explained what happened, Zesshi did not answer. 'Highness?' Tefl prompted.

'It will vanish in a few minutes, go ahead and go back home, I've got somewhere to be.' Zesshi replied, and then killed the connection.

Bertra landed in front of her shop, breathing hard, she reached for the door handle, opened it, and entered slowly enough that the bell barely tinkled. She looked over her clothing, white paint had gotten on her clothing, so without hesitation, she used a simple cleansing spell. "Just like that, it's gone." She said as she took off the black fabric she'd been using to disguise her face, and with great relief, she tossed it aside.

"Still, a vampire, how do I get that kind of luck... of all the things to catch me in the act... but, at least I got away." She said out loud to the wonderful shop, and held her arms out as if to embrace it. "This is my home now, this is where I want to spend my life... I'm not letting that bastard take it away from me." She swore as she looked around her beautiful little residence.

"Not exactly Kami Miyako, or your luxurious estate, but it's yours, and you like it, and that's enough, isn't it Berenice." Zesshi said as she walked through the door, then closed and locked it behind her.

Bertra instantly went from a shocked expression, to down on one knee with a fist to the floor and her head bowed.

"Your Highness!" She exclaimed. "Welcome to my home, it's after hours but, for you if there's something you like..."

Zesshi didn't waste words, and didn't intend to play games, she approached the blonde elf, the former human Cardinal, and grabbing her hair at the root, she yanked her head up and back and forced Bertra to look into her heteromorphic eyes.

"What the hell are you up to?!" Zesshi demanded with a fierce bite to her words.

Bertra's eyes glassed over and narrowed angrily, she bared her teeth and growled as she looked up at the former 'trump card of humanity'.

"What do you mean?" She forced out innocently.

Zesshi shook her, hard. "I'm not playing here, I know it was you!"

Bertra shut her eyes as her head was bounced about like a rag doll. "Are you going back into some political nonsense, is this part of some conspiracy to hurt my rule or are you going after him?!"

Bertra cried out, "I didn't..."

"Shut it!" Zesshi snapped. "Your clothes may be clean, but there's white paint on the floor and outside your shop, you're dressed like an operative, your face covering is on your counter, and if there's one other person in this city who can use fire magic like a former Holocaust Scripture member to contain a vampire, I'll hire them right now. I 'know' it was you, now tell me what's going on!" The Queen said as Berenice thrashed.

"Damn it..." Bertra said as she calmed down.

"The truth." Zesshi relaxed her grip a bit, but forced her eyes up.

"I wrote the truth! But nobody believes it! Nobody!" Bertra cried out in anguish.

Zesshi released her and stared down at the former Cardinal.

"What, shouldn't you be happy it happened to me!" Bertra shouted from down on her knees. "You're a Queen, and I, the former Cardinal, am now a peasant! I told you to put up with what the elves were suffering, and now..." She laughed bitterly, "It's politically convenient for you to just let your noble do what he wants to me. If I still believed in the old gods... I'd think this was their punishment, the irony isn't lost on me, I assure you."

Zesshi was very, very quiet, and let Bertra go on. "Yes... I did it, I was the first to put the writing on the wall, that day, the one in the square where I saw you laughing at a joke he told while he showed you a building, he'd raped me the night before and left boasting about his connections to you. But that wasn't the last time, there were... a few more times he did it, in one day."

Zesshi frowned, "Bullshit." She said and folded her arms. "You may have the body of an elf and the fake backstory of a former slave, but you still have all your old power, probably more. You could have snapped his wrist, arm, legs, broken off his hardon and shoved it down his throat before he had time to scream."

Bertra nodded, "I considered it, believe me. But... not all power is physical. If I killed him, well, you know who he is. Everybody knows, likes, and respects him. Nobody would ever have believed me, even with magic, when someone is that popular or powerful, even the truth doesn't matter to people. You'd have had to punish me for it, and that's assuming I even got a chance to explain myself. If I only injured him, well... he has a lot of power and money... he could get back at me in a thousand ways. I have a life here now... I didn't want to lose it. This is my home, this is my business, I made it all and I don't want to give it up!"

Zesshi stared at the kneeling cardinal. "Say it. Look me in the eyes and say it."

From down on her knees she screwed up her courage and stared at her Queen as hard as she could.

"Your Highness... Lord Lovien of House Alu, assaulted and raped me, repeatedly. He threatened my livelihood, and made veiled threats of harm not only to mine, but another's career, by promising 'help' if I let him have his way with me, and suggesting things wouldn't go well unless I cooperated. So I let him do what he wanted, to keep this little life that I've built for myself, intact."

"And what is it you want, addressing your Queen with these allegations?" Zesshi asked.

"I want... I want justice! Please... give me justice!" She shouted through her caught throat and prostrated herself at her Queen's feet. "I'm sorry... I'm sorry... I promise I'll regret those things I said for the rest of my life, I understand if you want to savor this as some kind of revenge against me but..." Bertra trailed off as her sobs got the better of her.

Zesshi did not move as she looked down at the former Cardinal through stone heterochromatic eyes. "But?" She prompted.

"But I only wrote in white, and only a few, all the rest were other people, who knows how many he's done this too. He controls so much... he could take advantage of any woman with a business, any woman with ambition... any woman..." She lowered her eyes again, "with a lot to lose... like me."

"So why didn't you report him to the watch?" Zesshi asked curiously.

"Same reason you didn't report what the guard was doing to Aorli. Either nobody would believe it, or nobody would care, or they'd think I was after something. Look at you, you've known me your whole life, and you've never heard me lie to you, but as soon as you heard me say it, you immediately said I was lying. You can't admit that the elf lord you trusted to his position would do that. That your judgement was wrong, that your friend who made you laugh had not but a few hours before, left me lying on the floor unable to understand how that could have happened."

She looked up at her Queen, "Are you going to say we're all lying, how much writing will be on the walls tomorrow?!"

Zesshi didn't answer, but Bertra could see the Queen deep in thought.

"Do you have any proof?" Zesshi asked slowly.

Bertra laughed bitterly, "Like what, like what 'he left behind'? No, I scrubbed everything away like the filth it was, I tried pretending nothing happened, I tried pretending everything was normal, to keep talking to him, and that only made him do more, and all I could do was let it happen or... well, here I am, on my knees to you, who can take away absolutely everything from me, which is what I was afraid of in the first place. All I've got... one thing I couldn't bear to throw away." Bertra said, then stood up and went to her closet upstairs, and returned a few moments later with her torn up dress.

"He ripped it when he stripped me. I bought this with the first money I earned on my own here... it was... special, now it's... it's filthy. I can't even look at it."

Zesshi took the dress and held it up in both hands, as Bertra said, there were several tears that looked like the result of a struggle. A tear at the shoulder, a tear near the strings, and a tear down the center of the back.

When Zesshi held up the dress, Bertra went back to her knees and lowered her head to the Queen's feet. "I swear... I am telling the truth. He did this to me, and I have absolutely no doubt he's done it to others. I didn't come forward for exactly the reasons you saw in public. People called me a slut, a whore, a jealous liar who he must have rejected, nobody knew anything, but they were already jumping to his defense, and what could I offer except for a torn dress? One look at his charming smile, good looks, fine clothes, not to mention his great reputation, and what chance does a nameless peasant bookshop owner have? I'm already screwed."

The word choice was bitter and ironic, and that was not lost on the half elven Queen. She set the dress to one side and scratched her cheek.

"I didn't think I could get justice, but I didn't want him to just walk away like it hadn't happened either so... that was all I could think of to do. But now you know... My Queen... what will you do? Arrest me? Punish me? Exile me?" The possibilities ran rampant through her mind, but she couldn't let it go unsaid again, as she thought of the rainbow of paint colors repeating her first words to the world on the matter, she felt she had to say something. 'For the ones who never could and never will.' She thought, and looking up at the silent Queen she said it again. "Your Highness, "Lovien of House Alu has raped me, I beg you... give me justice... Please."

Finally, Zesshi spoke.

"I believe you."