Biggest thanks for Ace-Triad helping me with SPAG edit.
More author note at the end for people who are interested to see me blabber some more.
Both Naofumi and Eclair instantly throw themselves to where Lucatiel fell. The Seaetto heiress grabs Lucatiel's hand, while Naofumi's hand glows white as he charges up a healing miracle. Martin, the battle priest, grabs the Shield Hero's wrist, and rips his hand away from the mortally wounded knight. "STOP, Sir Shield Hero! Sir Lucatiel can't be healed with her greatsword through her body. Cast healing Miracles will only cause her more pain.'
"Right! The sword!" Naofumi's left hand immediately flies towards the hilt of Lucatiel's greatsword. This time, Eclair is the one who stops him.
"You'll rip Lucatiel's wound right open. She'll instantly die from blood loss." Eclair shakes her head in total resignation. Her eyes never left the last knight of her family.
Naofumi's hand freezes on the hilt. His head whips around from Martin to Eclair. "How can I save her?"
"You can't, Sir Shield Hero." Jaune steps forward, resting a hand on Naofumi's shoulder. "Even gods' Miracles have their limits."
Naofumi's body tenses up. After a few moments, he throws his hands up and down, his usually mild mannered, and boyish face twisted with grief stricken anger. "What good are these so-called 'Miracles'? What good am I, if I can't save anyone?!"
The Arc boy's head slowly droops down. "His Eminence said the same thing during the plague of the Wailing Death."
"It's… alright." Lucatiel lets out a weak grunt.
"Everybody dies… in the end…"
Chapter 62: Symphony of the Dead
"Lucatiel! Don't, don't speak…" Eclair closes her hands around the hand of Lucatiel, her voice slowly turns into sobbing. "You gave too much for my family… for myself."
"My brother and I… we were… born with nothing." The rat demi-human knight can barely speak through her cough, bead-like sweats trail down her face. But she clearly knows she will die soon, as she slowly speaks her last words through gritted teeth. "Lord Uther… he knighted us. Fight for him… and you. Is the… last thing we do."
Lucatiel did not have to die here. She could have simply killed her undead brother with everyone else's help. But to keep the honor of her own knightly order, she has to challenge her undead traitor of a brother, and destroy him herself.
Loyalty to dead people, even at the cost of their own lives. Knights truly are laughable people. Yet, even the first princess of Melromarc can't deny that the nobility's way of life is protected by people just like Lucatiel.
Mein looks at the animal ear on top of the dying knight's head. She was born a demi-human with nothing to her name, yet she kept her oath more than a lot of human knights from generations of knights serving Mother and Father.
Perhaps these demi-human aren't born as savage, and shameless animals like the Bitch Lord. If given some proper respect, a lot of them are willing to give their lives just like Raphtalia and Lucatiel.
"You are… the last one. My… lady!" Lucatiel pulls Eclair's hand closer to her. The demi-human's face pales by the seconds. "You are… free to rebuild our order… in your image!"
"Yes, Sir Lucatiel. I will not let the legacy of the Silver Hand end with you." Eclair nods her head, tears running in her eyes. "We will change our ways to survive. But I will never forget the honor of my ancestors!"
Lucatiel closes her eyes and nods her head. For a brief moment, Mein wonders if the knight is already gone. But then, the demi-human knight points to the sword on her body. "Sir Shield… Hero, my… lady. Pull the sword. Don't… let me… suffer."
Naofumi looks back and forth in hesitation. Jaune gives his shoulder another shake. "Respect Sir Lucatiel's wish, Sir Shield Hero. Don't let her slowly waste away."
"O, okay…" Naofumi's hand slowly reaches towards the hilt of the great sword again. His hand was shaking uncontrollably. Eclair slowly puts Lucatiel's left hand down on the knight's chest and grabs the hilt. With one deep breath. The two of them pull the sword out. A large gush of blood erupts out of Lucatiel's body, tainting both of their armor and cloth red.
The first princess stumbles back. She never considered herself particularly brave, but she has gone through alot after joining the Shield Hero's party. She fought against a cardinal hero and faced down a dragon emperor, dropped a small sun on a demi-god tree, came face to face with the bandit lord who stolen Rabier County, nearly got killed by the most sinister schemer of those Siltvelt animals, and witnessed the Shield Hero fighting an ancient thunder lizard.
Yet, the shock of all these events pales compared to how the last knight of House Seaetto dies in front of her.
As for everyone else, they might not have stumbled like the princess in disguise. But almost all of them stand still, a few like Raphtalia even shed some tears at the death of the loyal Seaetto knight. Everyone, except Firo.
"This is BORING~!" The devil bird turned brat cries out in pure petulance. She hops on her feet and looks at the Shield Hero. "She's gone. Can we go now, Master Naofumi?"
"FIRO! Be quiet!" Naofumi's head whips to the damn kid and screams at her. Seeing the quivering mouth of the deceptive angelic girl, he takes a few deep breaths to calm himself. "Eclair just lost someone dear to her. Give her time to mourn."
"...Okay." Firo looks to the side with a pout big enough to hang a lantern or two on her mouth. She also throws a glare towards the direction of Eclair when she thinks nobody is looking. It's clear the girl neither understands the reason for the Shield Hero's anger at her, nor cared enough to find out.
Eclair tosses the sword to the side, her trembling hand reaching towards Lucatiel's body. It's hard to tell if she wants to simply spend a few moments with the body of her knight, or perhaps move her to one of the coffins to the side and let her rest.
And then, Lucatiel suddenly opens her eyes. This sudden change made Eclair stumble back and fall on the floor. "Lucatiel?! You… are alive?"
"Be careful. Sir Shield Hero, Lady Eclair." The remnants of The Three Heroes' Church contingent all step forward, standing in front of everyone blocking their sight from Lucatiel. Jaune looks back for a quick moment, before facing down the knight who somehow survived. "This… she may not be Sir Lucatiel anymore."
"What do you mean?! How else can she be?" Naofumi tries to push his way through the church knights.
Mein thinks over Jaune's words, and the situation they are in. She quickly grabs Naofumi's hand and pulls him back. "Remember what we were fighting all this time, Master Naofumi? Sir Lucatiel… probably didn't survive."
Yes, they have been fighting the undead since arriving at the outskirts of the castle. And the necromantic energy around them has only become stronger and more saturated as they fought through the catacomb. It goes without saying, any of them who die here would be turned into an undead themselves. The princess stands on the tip of her toe, trying to get a better look at what the newly turned undead will do now.
"Oooh~! Can we kill her then?" Firo jumps in front of the Shield Hero. Looking all too giddy at the prospect of killing someone who was their ally a few moments ago.
Damn… this dumb bird isn't even bothering to hide her pettiness and vindictiveness towards someone she hates! Was she herself ever this… spiteful?
"I'm… alive?" Lucatiel looks confused at her miraculous 'survival'. She slowly crawls up and picks up her sword. She slowly runs the blade of her sword through her graying palm. Her wound slowly, but clearly knits itself back together under everyone's gaze. "I… feel nothing. I am… an undead?"
"We will not let you harm the Shield Hero, or Lady Eclair." Jaune takes a step forward. Pyrrha and Alfred follow him on both of his sides.
"I will not harm my lady!" The newly turned undead knight lets out an indignant yell. Her furious face slowly settles back into an emotional mask of neutrality. "In life or death, a Silver Hand is only loyal to House Seaetto."
"That's a good thing, right?" Naofumi walks over Martin and Richard, trying to push his way through the other three church knights. "Lucatiel is still loyal to Eclair, she just got another chance at life!"
Yes… someone seriously need to teach some common sense to her Naofumi. Treating a demi-human, and beastman as an equal in Melromarc is already pretty… eccentric thing to do. But to treat someone rising into an undead as no big deal, like they just recovered from an illness, or wound? The prestige of a summoned legendary hero can only do so much to shield her Naofumi from prosecution, before someone declares him a fake hero.
"That is a… fresh way to look at things." The courtesy in Jaune's voice sounds forced. Clearly, even the both dutiful, and faithful son of Archduke Wales is having his belief tested to near breaking point. The boy takes a look back at everyone, his smile looks every bit as forced as his voice. "Sir Shield Hero… I realized you probably didn't have the concept of an undead properly described to you by your… followers."
"Yeah, I guess how an undead is portrayed is very different in different media." Mein has to take a step back at the Shield Hero's words. What does he mean by different Medea. He can't mean… are there different versions of their world, Medea portrayed in his world, and taught in the hero academy he attended?
Hmm… didn't the four heroes all talk about them coming from different versions of their own world, earth? Perhaps, there truly are different versions of Medea as well under their Chief God's celestial domain?
Or perhaps, there are different versions of text describing Medea in his world?
"...All I'm saying is we should give her a chance. What if she's like the undead from Dark Souls? Hell, there's even an undead knight called Lucatiel in the second one, and she's a pretty good ally. Who knows what's waiting for us at the end, we can use everyone." When the first princess recovers from her shock, she finds Naofumi still waving his arms animatedly, trying his best to convince the church knights on his point.
"Undead creatures have no soul. They can not tell right from wrong. That's what makes them dangerous in an infestation or scourge… possibly even more dangerous than wave spawn." Alfred's domed helmet never waves away from undead Lucatiel's direction. "Even if this one is still acting sane, they'll always become mad in the end. It's best to grant them the Lord's mercy."
"How can you say undead have no soul for sure? Didn't we just fight through a bunch of ghost type undeads? Don't those ones have only their souls?"
She didn't take her Naofumi to be someone fancy wordsmith who is into debate. Regardless, his unorthodox argument wouldn't be helping anyone, much less the undead knight he is trying to preserve.
"I will make do without one." Lucatiel closes her fist. She clearly meant her sudden lack of soul. The undead knight turns to face Eclair. "My lady, I can not trust my own judgment anymore. If you agree with the knights from Three Heroes' Church, I will take their mercy. If you still have any use for me, I will be your sworn shield and walk in your shadow, but nothing more."
"I… will have you by my side, Sir Lucatiel." Mein blinks her eyes as she looks towards the Seaetto heiress.
Eclair still calling the undead by her previous title could be interpreted differently. On the one hand, it could simply be something out of habit, and the young heiress still shaken after Lucatiel's recent 'death'. On the other hand… it could also be her still acknowledging the title given to Lucatiel even after she turned into undead.
If it's the second one, how would the members from the church react to her blasphemy? Accepting demi-humans into the ranks of knighthood already caused irreparable damage to House Seaetto's reputation, and divided them from their banner lords. To acknowledge an undead's knighthood, possibly implying she will knight even more undead in the future is flat out social suicide.
"We'll talk about it after we clear up this dungeon." Jaune grabs Alfred's shoulder. Good, the Arc boy still remembers the current undead scourge is the bigger threat, and this still isn't the time for blind zealousness.
As for what happens after the undeads are gone… Well. The Shield Hero, and by extension Eclair still have the advantage of numbers on their side. If the church knights decided to bring undead Lucatiel issues back after they cleared the other undead…
It's not fair to Jaune and all his effort to keep the peace between them. But they will have to shut the remnant of the Three Heroes' Church expedition up, permanently.
On Eclair's side… she still has a long way to go, before she can take her rightful Lady of House Seaetto title. She hasn't even gotten her name cleared, and her 'crime' pardoned by anyone yet. There is still time for Mein to warn her, and hopefully correct her certain actions that would not have been appreciated by the rest of the nobility. And if she truly isn't someone who can be properly educated…
Oh, well. House Seaetto has always been Mother's supporters. Not hers. It's a shame to not bear any fruit for all her effort on Eclair, but it's not a terrible loss either.
"Very well, Brother Jaune. We shall focus on the abominations who defile the will of the Chief God." The redeemed penance legionnaire nods his brass domed head. Alfred slings his wheel shaped great shield over his shoulder, and walks down the corridor Lucatiel's late brother walked out from. Everyone else quickly follows him.
The last chamber is blocked behind a stone double door. Eclair walks to a magical crystal ball embedded on the wall. She takes a dagger out and slides it across her palm, and places her bloodied hand on the magical crystal. The door slowly opens up.
A round shaped chamber stands behind the giant stone door. A few dozen undead death knights, and black phantoms await them behind another undead knight. His wrinkle filled face lacks any color of blood like the rest. Magnificent beard and well trimmed hair both the color of his deathly skin. The leader of the death knights slowly rises his head, glowing green eyes staring at the approaching living in front of him. "You come back to me at last, my daughter. Have you come to join me?"
"Father…" Eclair's voice has no surprise, or even emotion behind it. At first, Mein wonders if the last living Seaetto is simply holding back her feelings like a nearly broken dam. But the more she thinks about it, the more it sounds like resigned acceptance. It seems like Eclair already expected who the leader of the undead is. "How can you become the very thing you hated the most? Does our family honor mean (B)nothing(B) to you in death?"
"Family honor? I see things more clearly now after my death." Death Knight Uther smiles back at his daughter. It looks every bit as bitter as Eclair's own expression. "It was all a lie. For generations, we have been stealing from her, when we should have protected her. And for what? For the good of this nation, or the well being of our people? No. It was all a lie to appease our own pride. We've been stealing from her to keep our own titles, and status."
Mein looks back at the Church knights, and their own undead knight Lucatiel. The remnants of Three Heroes' Church expedition are still keeping their attention on their enemies, but everyone one of them seems to be stealing a few sideways glances towards Lucatiel. The reason for this is clear.
Lord Uther's statesmanship is more than a little susceptible, but nobody can deny him being one of, if not the most dutiful nobles of Melromarc. If someone as steadfastly stubborn as him in life completely lost his mind less than a month after his own death… and subsequent rising as an undead, what does it say about a demi-human knight?
"Now that I am dead… I finally understand what is the most important duty of my family. The one we ignored all this time: Protect her from harm." Death Knight Uther either didn't notice, or didn't care about the thoughts amongst the living. He simply continues his monologue.
"What's he even rambling about?" Naofumi leans closer and asks Eclair in a hushed whisper.
"It has to be the artifact in our family's possession for countless generations." Eclair's face slowly turns towards the Shield Hero, yet her eyes are still trained on her now undead, and insane father. "It has the power to draw out someone's full potential, just like the legendary weapon of a Hero."
"What is your family heirloom anyway?" Mein also whispers to Eclair for answers. It might not be the best time to ask such a trivial question, but she was curious what the fabled House Seaetto heirloom looked like. "I heard about it… I mean, I read it in one of the documents my father worked on. But it didn't say what it was."
"It was a magical crystal ball." Eclair's answer is by all means, more than a bit disappointing.
The first princess of Melromarc didn't expect the artifact to be some kind of powerful magical weapon, or armor. It goes to reason with House Seaetto being a martial house tasked with defending the western half of northern Melromarc, they would have brought the artifact with them to battle if that's the case. Fabled or not.
But she thought it would at least be some kind of intricate enchanted talisman, like a piece of necklace or ring. Or perhaps something completely out of expectation like the many strange trinkets uncle Aldrecht collected in his long life. A piece of frozen fire, a bone tablet with symbols no one recognizes, a floating piece of gem on top of a metal pedestal…
To think House Seaetto's heirloom looks just like a piece of regular mana storing crystal magical balls is underwhelming to say the least. Then again, she suppose its unique properties are what set it apart, not how it looks. The Guardian Beast Houou is just a bird, if one wants to get technical.
The undead Lord Seaetto slowly raises his open hand towards Eclair… and Lucatiel standing behind his daughter. "Will you join me, my child?"
"I can't let you do this, Father." Eclair slowly returns the blessed steel sword back into the sheath by her waist. She tightens her hand around King Ariona's runic bronze sword and pulls it out, holding her ancestor's sword in front of her chest. "I will stop you, if it's the last thing I do."
"Choices are your own." Death knight Uther stops trying to convince his daughter, and fully turns his attention towards the undead knight standing behind Eclair. "What about you, Sir Lucatiel? Will you join me in death, as your brother?"
"In life or death, I serve only Lady Eclair." The voice of the demi-human undead knight has no trace of hesitation.
"A shame." The dead lord's face looks even more bitter at both Eclair and Lucatiel's rejection. He slowly raises his hand up to her head, and then points his hand forward. With this wordless command, the undead behind him surges forward. The Shield Hero's party, and the remnant of the Three Heroes' Church expedition meets them without any fear.
The final clash between the dead, and the… mostly living begins in the lowest level, and the last chamber of the old Boletaria catacomb.
The last chamber, where House Seaetto kept their fabled heirloom artifact is a large round room. The Shield Hero and his allies can finally spread their own force around, instead of being squeezed inside a small corridor like sausage. But the same thing goes for the undead.
Usually, her fire affinity is one of the better elements to use against the undead. Unlike water, wind or earth, undead monsters can easily shrug off piercing, cut, or crushing damage unless one completely destroys their body. This is where the burning effect of the fire element shines through, as long as one ignores the stench of burning corpses.
But with her magic severely weakened by the specific condition of this dungeon, the princess is forced to fight the undead monsters with the blessed steel sword like a common man-at-arm. The undeads' fighting style is simple, but effective: death knight's strength is enough to split a boulder, phantom's swings are as quick as lightning bolts. She has no chance to show off her fancy fencing skill, especially when the dead easily outnumber them. After a few swings, she is already forced back to have her back behind the wall.
Another sword lunges out from the side, piercing right through the head of the death knight. Raphtalia kicks the undead down, and stands right beside Mein, wildly swings her sword at the other undeads. She would likely also lose her life, if Eclair and Lucatiel didn't join her right afterwards. The four of them manage to stand together, back against the wall and watching each other's sides, slowly pushing the undead monsters back.
The first princess wanted to pay some attention to the rest of the battle. But she can't afford to divert her attention while she is being pushed by the undead. Her chest is already getting tight with how fierce the battle has become.
With a loud growl, a gray blur dashes in front of Mein. She blinks her eyes, and sees all the undead surrounding Raphtalia, Eclair, Lucatiel and herself either falling down the floor in pieces, or crumbling into ectoplasma. The princess turns to look to her left, and sees Farkas leaps up from his crouch and charges at more undead monsters.
Of course! With Farkas being the only prestige level fighter in their party, he's the only one who can smash through the undead with his superior stats. His fighting style is much well suited for this battle.
Eclair and her undead bodyguard rushes into the fray after Farkas. Raphtalia is about to follow their example before Mein grabs her shoulder and pulls her back. The lost princess of Q'ten Lo looks back at Mein, worried clearly in her eyes. "Is something wrong, big sister Mein? Are you hurt?"
No, she's not hurt. Yes, she can still feel her heart beating fast enough to rupture out of her chest with the previous fight for her life, but her heart isn't failing yet… hopefully.
This time, the issue lies with Raphtalia herself. As much as the child in adult wanted, she was clearly unsuited for melee combat. Mein already noticed this before, she is completely sure of it now. The reason is probably a mix between nature… and nurture.
From the point of Raphtalia's nature, the raccoon, or raccoon dog demi-human aren't built for strength like the lions, tigers, bulls… or even the boars. There is a reason why the raccoon demi-human (and their supposedly 'superior' cousins, the raccoon dog demi-human) have a reputation for being thieves and rogues. Their body is better suited for agility, and reflexes. Even if they choose to become frontline fighters, a more acrobatic fighting style to dazzle their opponent is better suited for them.
There is a reason why most former Q'ten Lo nobles are sorcerers who rely on illusion and trickery to dazzle their opponent, and not warriors who face their opponent and cut them down, Isshin the Sword Saint notwithstanding. He's more of an outlier.
Which brings out Raphtalia's second problem: the fighting style she's been practicing so far isn't suited for her. She's mostly been trained by Eclair so far, who uses a standard combat style for knights. It has some more advanced technique that utilizes a fighter's skill, but it's a form that's more suited for someone who wears heavy armor to take hits from enemies and then dish it back out: A fighting style more focused on building one's strength and constitution.
"Stay back with me for now. Don't join the melee like everyone else." Mein pulls Raphtalia back and has the lost princess stand beside her. Raphtalia looks hesitant and confused, but nods her head and follows Mein's command. "You mentioned some teaching from the Kaguya clan before. Did they teach you anything about warfare?"
Not exactly the best time to teach Raphtalia how a noble befit her own station should fight… and command in a war. But their side is still holding well against the undead without the two of them. Better not have Raphtalia charge out in the open, and get herself killed.
"Not a lot. They taught me the basic form used by our Okami warriors… our 'samurai'. I… I didn't practice a lot." Raphtalia's head casts down, she looks at the blessed steel sword in her hand. "It's not suited for a sword with a double blade."
"Good. Your young body wouldn't be able to handle more advanced forms. But more importantly, don't rush to the frontline if you aren't prepared for melee. Unless it's an absolutely dire situation." Raphtalia's eyes are fixated on Firo while she listens to Mein's lesson.
As for the devil bird turned child in question, she is currently dashing and running around the Shield Hero, either kicking or trampling the undead or blasting them away with her magic. Once again, it doesn't take a trained scholar to figure out what's going on in Raphtalia's mind. She's comparing what she can't do, versus what Firo can do.
"You don't have to fight on the front to help out Shield Hero, or anyone else." Mein leans in closer to Raphtalia's ear, to the point she's blowing words directly into the head of the lost princess. "Remember how you saved everyone in our fight with Porter? You tossed a potion and distracted him long enough for Master Naofumi to pin him down."
Raphtalia blinks a couple of times, her eyes becoming slightly unfocused for a brief moment before looking at Mein. "I think I understand, big sister Mein. I should focus more on my strength, not weakness."
"Yes, good girl." The princess gives a quick ruffle to Raphtalia's hair. She leans back and looks at the ongoing battle. The undeads are strong, but thanks to Naofumi, and the church knight's miracles, they are slowly being cut down to more manageable size. Everyone is making good progress towards the boss monster of this dungeon: Death Knight Uther.
Said undead waves his hand, as if he's still the commander of an army. The death knights and black phantoms who were already killed by everyone rise again behind his back.
WHAT?! How can they fight a battle if their enemies keep coming back?
"They can respawn now?!" The Shield Hero sounds equally shocked. The dead, taking the chance of the confusion, manage to push Naofumi and his allies back towards the wall.
"Hold your ground without falter!" Jaune, no doubt recalls his training and manages to take control of the situation during this time of urgency. Between the time he fights the undead for his life, he slams his shield at the ground, and clanks his sword against his shield to rally everyone. "Shield Hero, take your allies and protect our sides! Brother Martin, put all your will power into your miracle! Sister Pyrrha, Brother Alfred, to me! We'll charge their leader!"
"You have my spear, Jaune!" Nikos pushes a death knight she was fighting away with a shield bash, and follows after the Arc boy.
"We'll purge these abominations with our Lord's holy flame!" Alfred crushes his opponent under his great shield alight with dark flame. He tramples whatever remains of the undead under his armored boots as he runs after Jaune.
The first princess quickly grabs Raphtalia's hand, and pulls her running towards the Shield Hero. "Master Naofumi! We need to follow Sir Arc. Protect his sides and back."
"Right! [Sanctuary]!" The Shield Hero quickly casts the miracle that weakens the undead and empowers the living. "Everyone, forward! We have to open the way and protect our allies!"
Mein gives a quick glance to Lucatiel. If the undead knight is weakened, she isn't showing any signs of slowing down.
"Watch Firo do it!" The devil bird child jumps over everyone's head and lands on… Jaune's shoulder like she's getting a ride.
Mein cringes at the scene so hard, she nearly trips over with Raphtalia. With Firo still naked aside from the Shield Hero's cloak, guards would probably be called on the poor Arc boy if they aren't in a dungeon fighting for their lives.
The devil bird girl crosses her arms in front of her chest in the form of an X, four magical spheres of pure white light flashes into existence around her body. The four balls of magic energy spin and collect into one massive vortex of power in front of where Firo crosses her arm. She pushes her arm forward, uncrossing them in the process and seems to proper her spell forward with the speed of lightning. "[Cosmo Nova]!"
Mein can feel the power of Firo's magic without knowing anything about Siltvelt Sorcery, the destructive potential is close to the [Supernova] forbidden spell she used against the life root. Granted, it doesn't compare to the magnitude of the forbidden spell she tried to use, incomplete as it was, and for good reason too. A forbidden spell is supposed to be cast by a large team of mages, and used as a massive area attack against a large army, or stationary fortress.
Firo's attack on the other hand is clearly aimed for a much smaller, and more mobile group. The fact it can reach the power close to a forbidden spell is a miracle in itself. Perhaps… There is something worth looking into about sorcery.
Firo's [Cosmo Nova] attack tore the undead monsters in front of Death Knight Uther to dust as it slams towards the boss of the dungeon. The death knight in question raises one of his hands in front of him. A golden symbol appears in front of Uther like a great shield. "[Greater Death Ward]."
The spiraling ball of white light crushes into the golden glyph and… that's that. One moment, the destructive orb of magic energy is there, only a few steps away from its target. The next moment, it's gone from everyone's sight. Almost like it fell into a bottomless ocean and got swallowed by the abyss.
The bird herself is the most indignant at how easily Uther stopped her attack. She flips off Jauen's shoulder and drops her heel down towards Death Knight Uther's head. "What did you do to Firo's attack?"
The undead knight doesn't dignify Firo's tantrum with an answer. His only reply comes from his hand swatting the devil bird turned child to the side, making her crush face first into the ground. Mein would have cheered for seeing the little monster getting what she deserves if the situation isn't so dire.
She gives a quick glance to her Naofumi. The Shield Hero's eyes seem to be twitching, clearly disturbed at how easily, and nonchalantly the dungeon boss stopped Firo.
As for Death Knight Uther himself, his eyes didn't move from his daughter. Firo's failed assault on him seems to cause as much an impact on him as a gentle summer breeze. "Are you going to let everyone else fight your battle, child?"
The devil bird's failure moments ago did not undermine the determination of the three church knights. They are either too well-trained, or zealous to let a failed attack distract them. Jaune charges straight at Uther in the front, Nikos leans her spear back like she's about to throw it like a javelin, and Alfred leaps into air similar to Firo moments ago.
"[Cross Slash]!" Alight with white hot holy flame, Jaune slashes out Crocea Mors horizontally, and immediately follows up with a vertical chop. The fire forms into the shape of the holy icon of four right in front of death knight Uther.
As a sword weapon art, [Cross Slash] is only a mid-tier one. But with it taking the shape of the holy symbol of four heroes, it is the most effective sword weapon art against unholy such as undead, and demonic. Especially when it's further empowered by the user's faith.
"[Southern Star Javelin]!" Nikos tosses her weapon into the ceiling. Instead of imbedding into the rock, her spear seems to disappear into endless darkness before a white star seems to shine down from heaven. It quickly changes into her fallen spear surrounded by white aura.
Another weapon art with undead and demon slaying properties. Except unlike [Cross Slash], [Southern Star Javelin] is actually a high tier spear weapon art.
"[Dynamic Hit]!" Alfred twisted his body in the air, his wheel-shaped stonewood great shield falling down towards Uther's head like an ax.
Not an unholy slayer weapon art like his two allies, but still one of the top tier axe weapon art from a weapon type known for causing the greatest amount of damage. The fact that Alfred manages to use an axe weapon art using a great shield shows his mastery at the original weapon art… and gives the evidence of what weapon he preferred before being forced into the penance legion.
Even if it's not strong enough to outright kill the dungeon boss, surely the three church knights' combined attack would force him to the backfoot?
"I'm disappointed, my daughter. Is this how you envision your own way of life?" The first princess is once again disappointed. All the death knight did was hold his hand up again, and the golden symbol flashes into existence, completely blocking all three attacks from the church knight. It also sends both Jaune and Alfred flying back and crashing onto the ground. "I thought you won't let me do this? Are you going to keep hiding behind everyone else?"
"Mein, buff my attack now!" Naofumi parries an undead back and switches his shield into Gaelion's [Dragon Scale Shield]. "We have to hit him with our strongest attack!"
"What if he blocks it too?! You'll be wide open to counterattack!" After witnessing the failure of Firo, and the three church knight's attempt, Mein isn't too sure about Naofumi's plan. She would be willing to risk it, if the previous two attempts have managed to hurt Death Knight Uther even a little. But seeing how he easily shakes away anything thrown at him so far… she wasn't too sure Naofumi's plan would work any better.
"We have to try somet-" Naofumi's words are interrupted by Eclair's battlecry.
The last living Seaetto holds King Ariona's runic bronze sword over her head with both hands. Strands of glowing green light streams into the sword, making its ethereal blade grow larger than a two handed great shield in size. "I'm here… I won't run away, or hide behind anyone else, father! You… are my RESPONSIBILITY! I'M ENDING IT HERE!"
"Come at me with all your power, my daughter! Show me your (B)DETERMINATION!"(B) Eclair's dead, and insane father goads her as his own eyes seem to shine with the same light as Eclair's sword. With an unintelligible scream of rage, or perhaps a cry for victory, Eclair charges towards her father with her sword still raised far above her head.
There's not even a single shred of Eclair's skill at work. Much like Lucatiel's duel against her undead brother, Eclair put all her faith into her ancestor's spirit and sword, using up all her strength in one desperate attack, to either overpower her dead father, or die trying.
The ethereal blade falls on the unholy ward. It manages to cause some reaction to Uther's barrier. Green sparks of necromantic energy burst forth from the undead's ward where the runic sword connects.
Of course, the power displayed by Uther's [Greater Death Ward] isn't a natural skill for a single man, undead boss monster or not. He is clearly feeding this dungeon's power into his defense, much like his ability to raise his fallen subordinates. And if he is using the negative energy from beyond the veil of death, King Ariona should also be able to use it.
In a way, Eclair's suicidal charge at her undead father isn't as dumb as it first seem.
Uther raises his left hand over his head, a scarlet red saber of energy forms over his head, and falls towards his daughter in front of him. "[Smite Good]."
Eclair miscalculated one thing about her father. The ward he's been using clearly isn't an active skill that requires his constant maintenance. With her stopped by the barrier, death knight Uther is free to attack her how he wants to.
And more importantly, even as the giant glaive formed above her head, Eclair didn't show any sign to back down or dodge. If she can't break through her father's defense on time, she won't be able to get out of the way, or even defend herself.
Mein's body moved before her mind. In an instant, she closes her distance and tackles Eclair from the side. But the first princess knows she's too late as Uther's saber falls toward them. It seems all she managed to achieve is adding herself to the casualty.
A golden barrier appears over their head, but it barely came into being before Uther's saber of unholy energy smashed it into pieces. In this dungeon of death and souls, even the gods' divine sphere can barely offer their faithful much protection.
"[Air Strike Shield], [Koten Zanshun]!" Naofumi throws forward his shield weapon art next. But instead of trying to block the attack heads on, he tosses it forward like a throwing disk. Uther's attack eats into Naofumi's energy shield, but with its entire width taking the attack, it holds on just enough for Mein to hit the ground and roll Eclair away with her.
Mein feels someone running over herself and Eclair. The princess turned adventurer looks up, and sees Lucatiel charging over them and swings at Death Knight Uther. Behind him, Firo also crawls up and tries to kick the dungeon boss behind him. Uther stops Firo's attack with his unholy barrier again, and blocks Lucatiel's sword with his shield.
"Why did you push me away…?" The princess looks down at Eclair. For once, she is surprised at how ungrateful the knight sounds.
"You would have been dead if it weren't for me!" Mein hisses right back at the Seatto heiress. She really isn't in the mood to argue such a moot point, especially with how precarious their situation still is.
"Father was my responsibility! If my death can-" Eclair didn't have a chance to finish her sentence when Mein slapped her hard enough to drop her head onto the floor again.
"What if you help beat him?! What about your people?! The refugees like Raphtalia you swore to help? Are you going to let someone else do it for you?! Killing yourself isn't the answer here!" Mein has to take a moment back and think over what she said to Eclair herself. Since when does she care so much about something like a bunch of useless, dirty commoners? To speak these words first even if she doesn't truly believe in them… it seems her time with the Shield Hero, and everyone else have truly changed her.
"Mein is right. Death doesn't solve any problems. It's much more responsible to live and make things better." Naofumi runs over them and helps them both up.
"I'm sorry… your, I shouldn't have snapped at you." Mein stops Eclair's awkward apology in favor of looking at death knight Uther. From her study with Uncle Aldrecht, she knows there is no such thing as a 'perfect' spell. If the main goal for Uther's [Greater Death Ward] is to protect him from harm, the spell has to have some kind of weakness. And if it doesn't have one… the energy it would drain out of him would be enormous.
What weakness could it be?
Hmm… since the battle started, the dungeon boss didn't even take a single step. On the one hand, he could simply not be threatened enough to take a single step away. Or perhaps…
The princess turned adventurer turns her sight down at the ground Uther is standing. Sure enough, she noticed small ripples of green light under his feet. But unlike a ripple made from tossing stone into water, they shrink down under the death knight's feet.
That's it! This is how death knight Uther finds the seemingly limitless energy to power his [Greater Death Ward]!
"Master Naofumi! His feet! Knock him off his feet!" The first princess points her finger at death knight Uther's feet. "He gains his power when his feet connect to the ground!"
The Shield Hero's head jerks forward, looking at where Mein is pointed at. He nods his head, and charges at death knight Uther with his shield. "Good work, Mein! [Shield Charge]!"
Naofumi manages to slam right into the death knight himself, with Firo still bearing down, and furiously kicking at Uther's barrier. For a moment, it looks like two unmovable mountains pushing at each other, neither giving any ground. A glass bottle flying through the sky and smashing down at their feet changed their stalemate.
For once, the stench of death manages to completely overwhelm the stink of Naofumi's failed hair potion experiment. Thankfully, the potion still retained its other effects. Most importantly, its ability to make ground slippery like a well placed [Grease] spell. With the marble floor losing all its tracktion, both the Shield Hero and death knight Uther lose their feet and fall over.
It's enough of an opening for Eclair to descend down upon her undead father. The blessed steel sword she borrowed from a fallen church knight pierces through Uther's dark armor into his chest.
End Note:
Well, Lucatiel actually does become an undead now like her original DS2 inspiration. To be honest, this is sort of impulsive decision on my part, after I had her stab herself to beat her undead phantom brother last chapter. It really doesn't feel right if she actually gets healed back up to full after that stunt.
AND... Eclair gets even more woobified this chapter, when she meets her father again... who is now undead, and (seemingly) batshit insane. Unlike Lucatiel becoming an undead, THIS part has always been the plan since I decided to adopt the whole Eclair's family heirloom subplot from Prettylazy. And the mighty death knight gets brought low not by a mythical artifact of great power, but by Raphtalia's throwing arm and Naofumi's failed attempt at making shampoo.
:)