Reviews:
PrometheusDark: Thank you, I definitely took inspiration from Lord of the Rings for some of the fighting styles used, and I'm happy to see you thought the thought transference had a good balance to it.
Greer123: Here's the next one for you. And the next chapter will feature an HP perspective.
Greyjedi449t: A Happy New Year to you as well, enjoy the chapter.
Guest: Thank you, I'm happy you enjoyed.
Necrogod: Not a problem, enjoy this newest chapter as well.
Guest: Thanks, that means a lot.
Gwen Zenier: There are a few other crossovers of Berserk and Harry Potter, but they haven't been updated for some time. I'm very glad that you enjoyed so far and hope that this story can continue to impress.
Disclaimer- Harry Potter is owned by J.K. Rowling and Berserk is owned by Kentaro Miura. I own nothing.
The formation up above was too erratic to any formation of bugs, but at the same time, there was a presence of a hive-mindset of thinking to serve as the basis for how they behaved. Their patterns were wild and un-choreographed, yet they never seemed to collide with one another or lose sight of the apostle guiding them. Even from down on the ground, Guts could hear the high pitched squealing coming from those bugs.
Puck was fluttering close by, but he wasn't about to get up close the swarm up ahead. "Those are the Misty Valley Elves?!" his tone was clear that he refused to believe it. "There are so many of them."
The mark Harry had drawn over his brand had worked fine for the night, but with an apostle in this close a range, the brand began to become irritated once again. "You really do have a pest problem." His eye trailed the flight path of the leading apostle. It was a bit hard to see, but it almost looked like it was bobbing its head to some sort of tune that it was humming. The apostle pointed a finger at the village below and the swarm descended.
What followed was a series of loud thuds being elicited from beyond the crumbling wall of the village. Seeing the impending swarm, the villagers must have fled into whatever shelter was available to wait out the attack. The apostle flying up above gave a cheerful clap at the sight of her bugs terrorizing the people below. This one might appear small and innocent, but it was no different than the others; just a maniac who likes watching people suffer. Not that Guts actually cared about any of those villagers either, he had probably torn countless families apart during the war and never spared a second thought about the men he had killed. No, these villagers did have some usefulness to them; they had the apostle's sole attention.
Not wanting to waste a cannon shot, Guts equipped his prosthetic with his repeating crossbow and took aim. The bolts went flying as fast as Guts was capable of cranking the lever, he kept count of how many he was firing up into the air, stopping when the quantity of ammunition began to drop to the point of having to reload. This was enough to catch the attention of the apostle; some of the bolts had managed to graze the dainty legs. Sensing the new danger, the apostle pointed down to where they were by the watchtower and a portion of the swarm obeyed an unspoken command and changed course for their new targets.
As they got closer, Guts was able to get a better look at what these "elves" looked like. They were actually smaller than Puck, a clear indication they weren't true to what they had these villagers believing. Like the apostle they served under, their flesh had a bioluminescent gleam to it, and their faces looked young but their eyes were that of a bug, with a pair of an antenna to top it off. Yeah, definitely not anything to what Puck looked like.
"Hey!" one of them spoke, pointing an accusing finger at Guts. "You attacked our leader!"
"Yeah!" others began to join in on their call. "She's nice, she lets us be free! You're mean for shooting those arrows!"
"Just a mean grown-up!"
"Grown-up's ruin everything! They always try to ruin our fun!"
"Ruin our fun! Ruin our fun!" the chant was taken up by nearly the entire section of the swarm.
"We won't let you! No, we won't! Just because you don't like to have fun doesn't mean you should ruin it for the rest of us!" their youthful features which resembled a human, began to change. Their voices were getting deeper. "We won't let you!" their jaws were now pincers, their antennae more prominent; and from their lower back, a stinger began to protrude. The sound of their wings beating now sounded like a swarm of angry rapier wasps.
So they can change their forms for combat, Guts mentally noted. He had to admit, their current design was much more effective at conveying fear than they would be looking like Puck. Dragonslayer left its sheath and was now at the ready. "Alright, you pests want fun? I plan on having a lot of it when I'm killing you."
"A challenge."
"He challenges us."
"Charge! Make him feel the pain of dozens of angry stings!"
The angry buzzing intensified as the wasp-elves flew stinger first toward the group of them. As they neared, Guts switched his hold on Dragonslayer. The massive blade was now ready to be swung with the flat of the blade at the ready. To his left, Harry was uttering some sort of gibberish, but Guts felt the air around them start to get a bit warmer. Waiting until he could see their bug-like eyes up close, Guts swung Dragonslayer a full ninety degrees, squishing over a dozen of the pests against the flat of his blade. Much like squishing a bug, their bodies were a twisted mess after, some had lost halves, and others were flattened. With a flick of his wrist, Guts was able to toss their disfigured bodies aside.
The portion of the swarm that had gotten close to Harry was thoroughly surprised when after he struck the ground with his staff, a sudden combustion engulfed them in flame. It spread out in a three-foot radius, charring the pesky bugs into a blackened state and their bodies dropped into a pile next to the ones he had killed.
"Killed them!" more angry voices of the wasp-elves shouted. "You've killed our brothers and sisters!"
A whole new swarm was charging them now, this one even larger than the last. Guts took a position in front of the old watchtower. "The both of you get behind me," Guts instructed both Harry and Jill. "When I give you an order, do it."
"Got it," Harry answered.
"A-alright," Jill said, sounding less confident.
The swarm got closer, and their unified chanting became stronger. "Skewer you! Skewer you all! Skewer you all like pigs!" it was a twisted chant that was especially off-putting when all of their voices chanted it in a sing-song voice. "Playing hunt is fun."
"Get down!" Guts instructed, ducking as the swarm passed by overhead. The two behind him followed his example, leaving them unscathed and the swarm confined in the watchtower. "Perfect." Guts took aim and fired one of his cannon shots into the tower.
Baboom! The fire caught on the dry bits of hay that lay scattered on the floor; the ascending smoke momentarily blinded and confused the winged menaces. There had been too many to kill out in the open, but now the tide of battle had turned. Wings were only good if you have someplace to fly with them. If you clip the wings and keep them confined, then victory was all but certain. But, this tower was made of stone, only the wood and hay inside was actually flammable. Guts had managed to kill a decent amount with that confined shot, but more than a fair amount still remained, and the tower was very worn out.
"Harry," Guts said, his eyes not leaving the sight of the disorientated bugs. "Use that gift of yours; bring the tower down on top of them."
He saw the end of Harry's staff point at the midsection of the tower. "Memonterum, descanda." It all sounded like a foreign language to Guts, but the results were not to be questioned. Harry must have been concentrating very hard as he repeated the same spell twice more before the weathered stones gave way. The tower collapsed in a tumble of rubble and dust.
"Fun enough for you?" Guts asked, posthumously.
Puck stared at the damage that had been done. "Yeah! You guys showed them! Maybe now they'll think twice about disgracing the noble name of the… elf… oh no…"
"What is it?" Guts asked, not really in the mood for a lecture from the one real elf. "Don't tell me you wanted to talk things out with those… Harry?" Puck wasn't the only one who had a far-off look in his eyes; Harry seemed to be in a similar state. He looked white, and he was shaking. "What the hell's wrong with-?" he never finished his question; he saw what it was.
On the ground where the bodies of the "elves" they had killed previous had been, something entirely different littered the stonework. Children's bodies were everywhere in a massive heap of severed limbs and torsos to charred crisps. The creatures they had slaughtered so easily, they had all been children. It had been something Jill had said previous, about how the people were scared of elves, how she would have been taken if Puck was one from the Misty Valley, somehow, it all fit. They were not elves, they were children. Something inside of Guts recalled that this was not his first time he had killed a kid, no. He had done so only once before, back when he was asked to kill the king's brother, there had been that boy – Adonis, that was his name. Guts hadn't meant to kill the boy; he had just gotten in the way. That's all it was, he had been in the wrong place at the wrong time. Of course, Guts had felt sickened after doing so, but he had offered to give Harry tips on how to better work the sword, he had made sure another kid wouldn't have to die an early death. Why should he feel… guilty of these kids, before was a different story. These children were ready to kill for the apostle they served, yes, that was it; as they might have been kidnapped, but to become an apostle, or in this case pseudo-apostle, you had to be willing to become one.
Yes, they had made their choice. They chose to give up their humanity, they were no better than any other regular apostle. Just stupid, naïve children who put their faith in someone who was untrustworthy, to begin with. Gambino. Guts scowled, either at the sight, at the apostle, or at himself, even he didn't know who yet. It's not the same as Gambino, damnit.
And then Guts felt it - fresh air on an open wound. He glanced down at his right forearm to see a cut. It wasn't deep, but his arm holding Dragonslayer began to feel very heavy. A gust of wind passed by, and Guts was able to see a green blur dart past Harry, a cut appeared on his arm as well. The apostle had made its move at last. Casting an innocent look over the shoulder, the apostle stuck out its tongue in a teasing manner. Between the two bug-like antennae, a curved barb was extended and folded in on itself now resulting in a curl.
Jill took a few haphazard steps away from the apostle, but the antennae perked up and soon the apostle was holding onto Jill by her arms. "Gotcha! You weren't thinking of running off and – Jill?"
Confused, Jill tried to wiggle free from the grasp that the apostle had on her, but to no avail. The apostle seemed to recognize Jill and wasn't about to let her go. "Y-you know my name?"
The apostle lets go of Jill's arms and instead wrapped her arms around her in a hug, rubbing their foreheads together. "Don't tell me that you don't remember. Although, I suppose I do look different from the last time we saw each other. But I was finally able to become an elf-like I always wanted."
A horrified look of recognition overtook Jill. "…Rosine?"
"The one and only! You've grown in the past few years, but I'm willing to bet that I still look the same. You tell me." Rosine's facial appearance began to change in complete opposite to the pseudo-apostles had done. Her skin became much less bioluminescent; her bug eyes were now human. Locks of blonde hair grew out from her head, but her two central antennae remained along with a pair of pointed ears like Puck had. "Well? Do I look the same age as before?"
"Rosine… y-you… what happened to you?" Jill tried backing away once more. "This isn't you. You went missing; we all thought you had died. No one saw your parents after they went out to search for you. How? Please, let me go!"
Rosine seemed a bit distraught that Jill was not reacting in the way she had intended. She loosened her hold on the girl. "Alright, Jill. But you have to admit that this body is much better than the one I had before. With it, I can fly as free as the elves we used to tell stories abo-," her antennae perked up, and Rosine barely had time maneuver herself out of the impending danger. Harry and Guts both went to attach her from the back. Guts' Dragonslayer nicked a portion of her wing, and Harry's elf sword cut across her Achilles tendon. "AGGhh!"
"So a kid is using other kids to do her dirty work," Guts glared at the apostle in front of him. "What's wrong; can't fight your own battles?"
Even with her injuries, Rosine managed to gain some distance by taking to the air. "Hmm. You boys must really hate me. You're powering through the toxin that was in my stinger." She suddenly smiled. "I think that you're the first to ever do that! All the other adults just lie down and die, you'd be great to have in some of the games that we play back home."
"How can you say something like that, Rosine?" Jill demanded of her friend. "Why are you attacking our village? This is your home."
"No," Rosine said with certainty. "You know what it's like, Jill; you knew exactly how I saw this place. The only home that we have id the one we make for ourselves. I chose to make a fantasy come true, and my sacrifice made it a reality."
"Sacrifice?" Jill wondered.
A blast of fire rocketed past Rosine, causing her to roll around it. Harry sent another blast of flame her way, and Guts was loading his repeating crossbow, quickly firing as many bolts as he had stocked.
Rosine quickly became overwhelmed and was forced to call her swarm of pseudo-apostles to her. "Jill," she said to her friend. "If you want to know the truths of this world, come to where the fantasy became a reality." With a beat of her butterfly wings, Rosine went soaring away as fast as she had come.
With the threat gone, for the time being, Puck came to offer his services to the two wounded. "Geeze, she got you guys good, huh? Stay still; let me work my dust on those cuts of yours."
"Damn apostle," Guts grit out. "Little bitch has speed, that's for sure."
Puck coated Harry's cut in his dust as well to help counter the lingering effects of the stinger venom. He accepted it without acknowledgment. "Not even a 'thanks' from either of you?" Puck crossed his arms. "If you have another faster way of tending to those wounds, I'd love to see it."
"Oh, right. Thanks, Puck." Harry said to the elf. That seemed to brighten him up a little bit. It wasn't the toxin that had Harry feeling out of it. No, it was more to do with the mass of dead children that lay just a few short feet away. The sight of it left him feeling sick to his stomach, everyone, and everything that he had killed before had been full-grown adults, undead spirits, or fully-fledged apostles, but not children, never children. From what he knew, they had been kidnapped, they probably would have agreed to anything if they thought it would help keep them alive. And he and Guts decimated them.
"Because as long as they acknowledge what they've done is wrong, and it wasn't easy for them to do, they still might be a good person." Those words that Judeau had spoken to him echoed throughout his mind. But it had been easy for him to do. When he thought that they were regular pseudo-apostles, Harry had killed them without a second thought. He acknowledged what he had done, but it had still been easy. Just what did that make him?
'Hey, Harry?' Schierke picked up on his distress. She had been quiet for some time after he had seen just what it was that he and Guts had done. 'Harry?'
…Yeah?
'You didn't know about what they were.'
I do now.
'You do.' She waited to see if there was anything he was going to add to continuing. 'Look, I don't know what it's like to kill a person, especially a child, but in the moment you did as you would have before. I'm not trying to justify killing children, I'm not, and there is no spell that can reverse time to undo what the two of you did. But the least you can do is make sure that no others like them have to die. It's something.'
Stopping Rosine.
'Yes. An apostle granted them pseudo-apostlehood, maybe there's a way to reverse that, and you know where she's headed.' To the place where fantasy became a reality; the Misty Valley.
Guts'll be on board with that idea, at least. I don't know how he does it, even after seeing those kids he was still willing to fight.
'Did you get a good look at his face? That's not what I saw.'
What do you mean?
'I'll admit, when you and he reunited, I didn't think too much of him. He fit the mold of the barbarian I had built up as an outsider stereotype. From how he fought, to how he talked to Puck, he just seemed like a brute.'
I'll tell him you said that.
'No! I mean, I saw something else to him as well, and I think Jill did as well. He still risked his life to help you in that fight with the possessed, he stood up to her father, and just then it looked like he was deeply disturbed by what he had just done even if he'll never say it. I guess he just has a quality to him that lets people know they can depend on him.'
Harry cast a look over to the Black Swordsman; he was flexing his arm, making sure that it had healed properly. In between flexes, his eye would dart to the pile of corpses. His thoughts, like Harry's, seemed to be a bit scattered. Yeah. I see it. He felt a tap on his shoulder. It was Jill. "Excuse me, Harry, but did you hear what I said? You looked a bit spaced out."
"Oh, no I didn't," he admitted. "I was just a bit distracted. What was it?"
"I asked if you were planning on tracking down Rosine."
Guts glanced over to where they were. "The Misty Valley," he said. "She wasn't exactly smart about hiding where she was going. Then again, what do you expect from a kid with an inflated ego?"
Jill paused to think over how to word her next sentence. "If that's the case, will you allow me to be your guide to the Misty Valley?"
Guts regarded her with skepticism. "Are you living in a fantasy world? You saw what it was your friend was. You must have some sort of death wish."
Puck sided with Jill. "Hey c'mon, she's offering to be our guide. I mean it's not like any of us know the way there ourselves."
To Puck's surprise, Guts chuckled. "Heh. I would never have taken you for the twisted type. You really want to see another child dead?"
"Please," Jill insisted. "I promise not to get in your way, and I owe you both for saving my life."
"You know why we're tracking her down, don't you?" Harry asked. "You saw what she had done to those children, who's to say she won't try to do the same to you?"
She looked conflicted. She was offering them her aid, but as a result, it would mean the life of her friend. It was a lot of pressure for her to simply give a straight answer to, and she knew that. Perhaps she just thought that things would just work out along the way, that she could somehow redeem Rosine for what she had done. Opening her mouth to speak, Jill's answer was overshadowed by the sound of many footsteps running from the inside of the village. No surprise there. The brief fight they had with the pseudo-apostles must have caused quite a bit of noise. And with the immediate threat of the swarm gone, the citizens were free to investigate what had happened outside of their wall.
"Look, the watchtower!"
"It's been destroyed!"
"Oh shit! Are those children's bodies?!" they finally noticed the group of them standing nearby the scene of the massacre.
"Watch out! One of them is still here!" they had caught sight of Puck, who was looking to the sky trying to spot one of the pseudo-apostles.
"Huh?" Puck looked around. "I don't see anything."
"They mean you, bug," Guts informed.
"Ohhh. Got it."
"Get the elf!" the mob yelled, brandishing farm equipment as makeshift weaponry.
"Well, what do you know," Guts made ready to draw Dragonslayer once more. "These people do have a backbone after all."
" Jill!" a woman's voice cut through the crowd. It was her mother. "Jill get away from that thing!"
The girl's eyes looked up at them both pleadingly. "Please. Let me help." The mob was getting closer.
"Damnnit!" Harry hurriedly reached in his satchel and retrieved what he was looking for; golem talisman. He tossed two along the ground and watched as they grew to be six feet in height. They linked arms with one another to form a makeshift protective wall around the group. The mob backed away in caution of this new development, buying Harry enough time to grab Jill by the hand to lead them away from the angry villagers.
"What are you doing?" Guts asked, sounding irritated at the change of things as well, but he still followed them as well away from the village.
"I bought us some time," Harry stated. "Those golems will only last about five minutes each before they disappear, that's more than enough time to get a head start to the Misty Valley."
"And you're seriously bringing her along?" Guts questioned. "I thought you were smarter than that."
'He has a point,' Schierke admitted. 'You could track Rosine by her od, you're only putting Jill in danger this way.'
I could track her by od, but to that, I'd need something to base it off of, and the bodies of those kids are back by the village.
She sensed where he was leading the conversation and didn't raise a counter argument. The four of them stopped when they reached a babbling brook that must have marked a borderline for the village behind them. "Do you know where we are, Jill?" Harry asked her. "Can you lead us to the Misty Valley from here?"
"I believe so, yes." She said, sounding somewhat confident.
"Well, isn't that reassuring," remarked Guts.
"Hey, go easy on her," Puck stuck up for the girl. "She's just a kid, let her prove herself."
"You know what, bug, you're right. She is just a kid. And she'll die a kid, do you know why? Because the world isn't easy, this isn't like an abusive home where if you keep your head down, you might survive, all it takes is one mistake and she'll end up like that pile of corpses back there."
"Guts-," Harry began to say.
"-But what do I know. Let her do what she wants, just don't come back to haunt me when she's dead in a ditch." He turned his back to them. "I'll work on starting a fire; the three of you scout ahead." Seeing that Guts put his walls up, Harry knew it was better to comply now than to have a one-sided conversation.
"Yeah, alright. Let's go then, Puck, Jill."
The three of them journeyed ahead through a grove of trees as Guts went to work on lighting a fire. "Talk about a stick in the mud," Puck seemed to fly a little lower. "I don't get why he can't just be happy that he has people willing to help him out."
"Has he always been so distant?" Jill asked the both of them.
"Most of the time," Harry/Puck both answered. "Sorry," Puck apologized. "You go first."
"Well… yeah, he has a tendency to keep to himself. He has lone wolf traits, but he worked well with others before."
"What?!" Puck almost stopped flying. "You're bluffing!"
"I'm not. The both of us, we had good friends for a while. Then things changed." His own change of tone conveyed an unspoken message to the both of them.
"I wish I could have met him back then," said Puck. "I bet I could have put a smile on his grumpy face back then."
"You should be careful what you say about him," advised Harry. "He can always squash you."
"Hm? Kehuhuhu!" Puck chuckled. "Now that's funny."
Jill didn't seem to understand. "How's that?"
"I've been following him around for the past two years. If he wanted me gone, he wouldn't have just kept tossing me aside."
'I don't think he's aware of how to take an obvious hint then.'
"I don't know much about why Guts is the way he is, but that doesn't mean I won't try to brighten up his life now. Guts might not always want me around, but when the time comes, I'll be there when he needs me."
That was certainly unexpected coming from the elf. Up to this point, he had always come across as a jokester. Knowing that he would always stick by Guts despite his standoffish behavior was a comforting thought. And maybe Guts was aware of that as well, and it was something the swordsman couldn't stand. Harry was well aware that the experience during the Eclipse changed everything. Both he and Guts had taken their own paths, Harry wanted to try and escape the sense of dread and he had found new comrades through magic. Guts went and surrounded himself in darkness, he deliberately pushed others away because of what had happened; he didn't want to get close because he didn't want to experience that feeling of loss ever again.
"As insightful as you are, Puck, Jill, what can you tell us about Rosine?" Harry asked, changing the topic.
"The both of us became friends because we were outcasts," Jill began, seemingly a little nostalgic for her friend. "Her home life… was similar to mine." They all knew what she meant. "Before she was born, a tribe of bandits raided and attacked our village. Rosine's mother wasn't fast enough to escape with the rest of the women, and her father began to question if Rosine was actually his daughter after she was born. He hated her just because he thought she was another man's daughter. I saw it when we go out to play, she would have bruises on her arms and neck, but she always put on a happy face when she went out. Then one day, she must have had enough. She stopped by my house and told me that she was leaving to go find elves, which they were going to become her new family."
"And her parents?" Harry had to know.
"They… went off after her the next day. Nobody ever saw them after that."
'They were probably who she sacrificed,' Schierke took note.
You're probably right. But how would that have worked? From what Jill just told us, it doesn't sound like Rosine would very much care for her father and sacrifices need to have to mean in your heart.
'I don't have an answer for that. But she was still very young when she became an apostle. Children's minds work in strange ways, maybe she still perceived her parents as being family if only by blood.'
Her explanation reminded Harry of something the Skull Knight had once said about how all children yearn for their parents, even demons. Rosine wasn't a demon by birth, just a normal human child. And that was the most uncomfortable fact to think about.
The fire crackled as Guts tossed a few more twigs on top of it. By no means was it special, the flames would flicker and die just as easily as they had been started, they were not meant to last, just to serve their purpose. He sat himself down on a rock, letting the fire warm him. It was only just past midday, but the weather was changing with the seasons. It was fall, and the days were growing shorter. The cloudy overcast didn't help ease the growing cold that would surely be upon them in a few weeks time.
The three of them should be back soon. If they were lucky enough to stumble upon any berries or maybe even a rabbit, they could enjoy a decent enough meal. It probably wouldn't be enough to feed all of them, but that's what happens when there's another mouth to feed. Once that girl led them to the apostle, she was gone. Her close connection to this, Rosine, would only serve to complicate things. Harry probably hadn't thought of that before he went and dragged her along on this journey.
Something shifted in the firewood, catching his attention. A shape seemed to float amongst the flickering flames. A blobby, deformed body floated, staring at him with that singular brown eye.
"Oh, it's you." As expected, his "child" made no sign of acknowledgment. "What? Are you here to follow me around like a little lost puppy?" it continued to stare back at him. "What? Not going to answer? You yearn for your parents, is that it? That's what that bonehead said. Have you come to pay me a visit, because it feels overdue?" The open, toothless mouth seemed to quiver.
"Guts?" a voice spoke. Faster than lightning, Dragonslayer was drawn, and Guts' eye widened. He stopped his arm; the blade was close to lopping Harry and Jill in two.
He composed himself, strapping Dragonslayer onto his back. "Oh, you surprised me."
"Who were you talking to?" Harry inquired.
"Just talking," Guts said. He cast a glance back to the fire. Sure enough, the child was gone. Strangely enough, the brand on his neck didn't even prickle. It could have been the rune Harry had drawn, but when Rosine had attacked with her swarm, he had felt it then. Of course, it wasn't sundown. The child couldn't have appeared to him. He really had just been talking to himself.
At last, they came to a village. It was worn, run-down, and isolated, but it could provide the ideal hiding spot for the elusive Black Swordsman. Farnese could feel it this time; they were closing in on this enigma of a man. "Don't sound our horns on our approach," she instructed her attendants. "If he's here, we don't want to let him know we're coming."
"Of course, Lady Farnese," Sir Azan saluted. "Often times the best way to success is to have the element of surprise."
"I was not aware you partook in any stealth operations," Serpico conversed.
"Well, er… no, I haven't. But that does not mean I do not possess the knowledge of that particular battle strategy."
"Knowing is half the battle, I suppose," Serpico admitted.
"Wise words from the youth," Sir Azan smiled, his large mustache moved up with his mouth. "I only wish I could have been as insightful in my own prime."
"Time has its effects on all of us," furthered Serpico.
"Too true, lad. Too true."
"Formation halt!" Farnese held up a mailed fist to signal her command. There was a sight to behold just outside of the old village; a watchtower looked to have collapsed. A multitude of villagers have gathered around, sifting through the rubble, they looked to be pulling out bodies from the ruins. Much to Farnese's horror, they appeared to be the bodies of children. As they removed the bodies, they were laid down next to another set of corpses, all children as well. They were mangled and burnt to the point not even their parents would have recognized them.
"Oh, my…" Serpico looked very pale. Farnese knew of her attendants fear of blood and fire, and seeing such wounds inflicted on children was just sickening to him.
"Good God!" Sir Azan gaped at the horrific scene. "What could have done something like this?"
"Not what, but who." Farnese had a creeping suspicion. "Dismount. We'll question some of these villagers." Her Holy Iron Chain Knights complied with her order, and the questioning process began. Something that Farnese quickly came to realize, was that the villagers were clearly traumatized by whatever had occurred. They told stories of elves who abducted their children, a clear sign they were just trying to cope with what had been done. None of it was useful information, there was no such thing as elves; didn't these people know the text of the Holy See? Only pagans and heretics believed in the tall tales of children.
She changed her topic of questioning to if any strange individuals had passed by here as of late. The responses were much more valuable; they confirmed her suspicions on point. One short man with a cane and who smelled like a tavern was quite vocal. "There was this big brute dressed all in black; he had a puck teenager with him as well. The boy had a staff like some kind of wizard."
That last bit was new news to her. Of course, leave it to someone like the Black Swordsman to go around associating with heretics. "Thank you, Mister Zepek. Your assistance has been quite helpful."
"W-wait! There's more. The two of them took off with my daughter, they looked to be heading to the Misty Valley." Kidnapping a young girl, is there nothing this monster wouldn't do?
"You know, I used to be a soldier myself. If you're hunting this man, I'd be of great help on your way. Why, before my injury, I was one of the best crossbowmen Midland had ever seen." Farnese began to lose interest the more Zepek bragged. He seemed more occupied with wanting to relive his glory days than he was with finding his daughter. "Just one word to my wife and the ol' crossbow will be ready and-,"
"-I'm sorry to stop you, Mister Zepek." She wasn't. "But this is a dangerous task we are undergoing. The loss of one of Midland's citizens is the last thing we want to see happen." Please take the hint.
Zepek's haggard face fell. "Oh, uh, of course. But, at least let me offer to be your guide to the Misty Valley."
Sir Azan, in all his gullible quirkiness, seemed to believe Zepek was offering to guide them for righteous intent. He began to sniffle. "A father's love for his daughter… there truly is good for every bad."
"Yeah…" Zepek trailed off. "Something like that…"
The first thing they noticed about the Misty Valley was that the name was very fitting. A layer of fog seemed to hang above their heads, making them feel lighter; almost like any minute they could jump and fly into the air. The tangled mass of trees that they trekked through looked more like the setting of a horror story, serving as a reminder that this place was far from the paradise it appeared. Jill had been a faithful guide to them, going off directions she had heard before from people who had visited before Rosine had made it her new home.
Harry could tell that they were getting closer to the now apostle Rosine, his brand, and Guts' too were beginning to prick, not bleed yet, but they would be soon. Needless to say, neither of them was actually looking forward to the prospect of killing more children, and Schierke had done some research back at the spirit-tree mansion to try to find a way to avoid it.
'You're familiar with the Four Elemental Kings, you summoned Ate for a time.'
Any chance of them being able to reverse whatever Rosine did?
'No, that is beyond their power. But if the power of all four is summoned at once, you'd be able to make a magical defensive barrier that no supernatural being can trespass through.'
Good to hear. When the fight breaks out I can perform it around Jill so Rosine doesn't try and grab her.
'You could, but there are downsides to it.'
Of course.
'For one, the barrier will have to be stationary. Second, it will keep out supernatural beings, but it won't protect against physical attacks. If Rosine were to toss a rock, it would go right through.'
But you mentioned it being used against those pseudo-apostles. If it can act as a barrier to keep creatures like them out, can it also keep them trapped inside?
'You'd have to lure them to a spot first and then perform the ritual. That's the last downside.'
Still, it was better than nothing. If it meant that he wouldn't have the blood of more children on his hands, Harry would gladly use it. Guts was probably going to deal with Rosine as soon as he saw her which wouldn't leave Harry the necessary time he needed to perform his spell. "Guts," Harry asked, "what exactly is your plan for when we find Rosine?"
"The one I've been doing. It's worked well so far." He could see Jill stiffen a bit at his answer. She clearly was not eager for what was to come with the confrontation. "If I may ask, why do you hate her so much?" Guts regarded her momentarily. "I mean, I saw what happened to those children she had with her, and anyone would hate her for that; but you seemed to hate her even before that."
"She isn't special," Guts told her. "There are lots more of her kind out there; each of them has done something to become those monstrosities."
"And that's why, because they're monsters?"
"I don't hate them for that, the things I've done; I'm not that far from a monster myself. No, I hate them because they exist." The tree line ended and they all instantly knew that they had entered the true Misty Valley. There was definite moisture to the air, almost like a tropical rainforest, and the climate seemed to have changed a season as well. Before there had been a cold chill in the fall air, now it was like it was a warm summer evening. A large lake was located near the center of the valley with a waterfall dumping in more from the side of a cliff. Surprisingly, the valley seemed almost devoid of trees, save for one cherry blossom tree on a ridge near the lake. As soon as Harry spotted the tree, an unfamiliar wave of od washed past him.
That od! Did you feel that?
'Just a part, since I'm not actually there.'
It felt… it felt new and old.
'The old od might be the tree. It could have magical properties like the one where Mistress Flora and I reside.'
And the new… if that tree has magical properties, could that be how Rosine is creating pseudo-apostles?
While Harry pondered that possibility, Guts was all ready to start searching the valley for the apostle. "Stay here, kid," he ordered Jill. "Unless you want to be used as bait."
"Guts, wait!" Harry urged.
He could tell Guts was starting to get impatient. "What?"
"I have a plan, but it'll require all of us." Guts didn't look enthused, but he still heard Harry out. To begin, Guts would take the cherry blossom tree, if that was truly how Rosine was creating her pseudo-apostles, he would take care of it. While he was doing that it would buy Harry enough time to begin his ritual of summoning the Four Elemental Kings to contain the apostle-like children.
"What about me?" Puck asked. "What task shall I undertake?"
"I'm going to need someone to lure that swarm into my trap," Harry explained. "Fly around the valley. Once you spot that swarm, bring them back to where I am."
Puck happily accepted. "I won't let you down, Captain! But… what about a weapon for me?"
'What does he need a weapon for? He's just being used as a distraction.'
Beats me.
"Uh… here!" Harry picked up a burr and stem from the ground. "It won't kill them, but it'll get them angry enough to follow you."
Puck stared at the burr for a moment before brandishing like a knight would a sword. "With this almighty weapon bestowed upon me, I, Puck the Conqueror, will not fail in my heroic mission! If I should fail in my task, then let one of my brothers wield this burr in my stead!" No one had any response to his dramatic.
"Harry, what about me?" Jill asked. "You said you would need everyone, does that include me?"
"You do have a part," Guts said, "go home. You've lead us here, that's what you contribute. You really want to see the girl you knew end up dead?"
"That's not what I had in mind," Harry corrected. "We still don't know where Rosine is, and if Jill was agreeable to it, she could lure her out. Rosine knows what we plan to do, but she wouldn't suspect anything from Jill."
"Heh! You've shown yourself to be smart before in the past, Harry, but at what point did you lose your fucking mind?" Guts' tone and laugh held no feeling of mirth.
"What I'm saying is-,"
"-What you're saying is going to get another little girl dead. Saying stuff like that, you sound no better than all of us twisted adults."
"It's far from the worst you've probably done."
"No denying that. But I guess I just thought you better than that. Shows how wrong I was." His words cut deeper than Dragonslayer.
Guts… thought that highly of me?
'You did use to be in the same mercenary band if you're among the last survivors, I'd imagine he'd feel a certain degree of respect. And… I don't really know anything about his life before, and I'm sure you don't, but maybe he wants others to turn out differently than he did.'
"Um," Jill's voice brought Harry back to the present. "Mister Guts, I… would like to help some more. Rosine was my friend, but I don't know how much is still her and how much is an… apostle. She was always a bit strange, but never crazy. Please, let me try and talk to her as a distraction. That way… I'll know if she really is the Rosine I remember."
Guts didn't look satisfied; he turned on his heels, ready to make a beeline for the tree. "Just be ready to dig your own grave then." His black cloak hung to his shoulders as he stalked off.
Jill found herself alone as she walked the field of the Misty Valley. The scenery was so surreal that in any other situation she would have been happily running through the grass and maybe even dipping her feet in the water of the lake. There were probably secluded places like this all over Midland, but this one just held an otherworldly feel to it.
"Rosine!" she called out. "Rosine, are you here?!"
From above, a shadow passed under a cloud, zooming down at incredible speeds straight towards her. "Jilllllllllllll!" just as it seemed it was going to tear her in two, the figure slowed down its speed, and a pair of arms wrapped around her in a hug. Rosine touched her forehead to Jill's. "Hi!"
Shocked, Jill slowly moved her arms, patting Rosine on her back as she reluctantly returned the embrace. "Y-yeah. It's me, Rosine."
Rosine's features shifted again to become more human. "I'm sooo happy that you came! Isn't this place wonderful? To think elves actually used to live here so long ago – real elves! This place is a dream come true."
"…It really is nice." She could think of no better thing to say than that. "But there aren't any real elves here anymore, are there?"
Rosine pouted, as expected. "No. People stopped believing in them, and they just… poof! They vanished."
"That… sounds like magic."
"Well, magic is all about believing in the impossible, isn't it?" Rosine guessed. "And belief is a powerful thing, everything that is or was, existed because someone believed in it."
Those were wise words, something Rosine had never been too fond of. "Where did you hear that?"
Rosine smiled proudly. "The four angels told me that. Although, I suppose there are five of them now."
Five angels?
"But enough about them," Rosine seemed eager to change topics. "What's going on in the world of Jill? Have you made any new friends since I left?"
"Not really. It was always the two of us since we met."
"True enough," said Rosine. "But what about more than friends?"
"What do you mean?"
"Don't try playing coy. When I was at the village earlier, I saw you by the watchtower with those two guys. What's the story there?"
"There is none!" she said a little too quickly. "I met them, and they helped me out of some trouble in the woods, and then with my father as well."
"You were never any good at lying, Jill." Rosine smiled like she had won a great victory. "It is a bit romantic that you would have a little crush on the guys who helped you out. That one boy looked only a year and a half older than you, I would never have figured you'd like older guys."
"I-I don't!" she denied. "Harry is just… a friend."
Rosine wiggled her finger teasingly. "Didn't you say that you didn't have any other friends?"
"Not any from the village," Jill countered, feeling very humiliated. "But you'd know why that is, wouldn't you?"
"Hm?" Rosine tilted her head. "Oh yeah! Some of them joined me here in paradise! Now they know what it's like to live the free life of an elf-like I do!"
"But they were kidnapped!" Jill argued. "Why? Why would you terrorize your old home like that?"
Rosine's happy demeanor began to fade. "Jill, you're the last person I would expect to ask that question. You knew what my home was like, you live just like it. No, the only home we have is the one we make for ourselves." She took both of Jill's hands in hers. "You can be a part of that home too."
"Rosine…" has this been the real you all along?
"You can be just like me; just like the stories, we used to share. We just have to go to the tree over there and – the tree!" Jill looked to see the cherry blossom tree in flames, and silhouetted against the flames was a tall, imposing black shadow holding an even larger sword. His lone eye shone with the flames giving him a demented look. "An intruder!" Rosine's appearance changed back to her insect-like one. "Stay here, Jill. I'll show him what happens to those who aren't invited."
"Rosine, wait!" but she was already flying off to engage with Guts.
He saw her coming, his eye tracking her every movement. She zigzagged low across the air, trying to make him lose his focus. She broke her formation when she dipped low and popped back up with her head stinger extended out, looking to stab him through. "Surprise!" she gleefully cheered as her stinger neared his face.
Her face quickly fell when she saw that her stinger bounced harmlessly off of his prosthetic arm. A predatory grin slid on Guts' face. "Surprise yourself." He thrust Dragonslayer forward and the blade poked a hole through one of her wings. She had folded them in front of her body to act as a shield.
"Gnnuuhh!" she winced from the pain. "That hurt!"
"Good, it was supposed to." He raised Dragonslayer again, but even with a torn wing, she managed to get away from him. She was shouldering the burden to her surviving wing; it was enough to glide back to evade his attack. "Where do you plan on going with that clipped wing? You should be smart enough to know that you're beaten."
She snarled up at him. "Says you!" her antennae began to twitch, sending out a signal to the rest of her swarm. "I don't plan on fighting alone. This is my valley, and here we play by my rules!" a dark mass appeared overhead. "This game is already over, enough stings will kill anyone." But the swarm did not come to Rosine, they continued flying back to where the surrounding forest was. "What?!"
Guts could faintly hear the voice of Puck shouting; "Hurry, Harry! Hurry, Harry! Hurry, Harry!" as he led the swarm toward the awaiting Harry. The young wizard had the time to use his staff to draw some sort of circular symbol in the dirt and was now chanting some spell or another. He appeared to be in deep concentration, but he was aware of Puck flying to safety under his cloak, an indication that the swarm was closing in. As soon as they were within the confines of the drawn circle, Harry finished his chant. A glowing circle of light erupted from the ground; four luminous beings appeared to have linked arms with one another. Confused, the swarm of now wasp pseudo-apostles tried to fly out but were repelled back by some sort of invisible force.
"My elves!" Rosine cried out.
"Can't handle your toys being taken away?" Guts sarcastically mocked. "But I guess you are just a stupid child at heart."
Her body began trembling. "You… come into my paradise, capture my elves, tear my wing, you're just some mad dog!" she was changing once more. A new set of wings were growing from her back, a large thorax sprouted from her back, working to encase her legs. "And I'm the queen of this valley."
Guts rushed her, Dragonslayer at the ready to cut her down before she finished her second transformation. Rosine was faster. Her wings were much stronger now than they had been previously. She flew forward at deafening speeds, completely running him over, knocking him off of his feet. She flew into the sky, her shape a giant shadow before shooting back down to the ground again, straight toward him.
A crazy idea popped into Guts' head, he stood ready with his arm cannon pointed at Rosine, and Dragonslayer held in one hand. He waited until she neared, before using his teeth to pull the string to fire his cannon. The cannonball struck Rosine, but Guts made no move to brace himself from the recoil of the blast, he let it spin his body a full one-eighty, ending with Dragonslayer cutting her across her thorax. It wasn't without its downside though, without bracing, Guts felt his left shoulder become dislocated.
"You big meanie!" Rosine shouted at him. "Look what you did!" like a hornet, his attack only seemed to enrage her. Her new wings were still undamaged, and they carried her toward like a speeding arrow, her head stinger at the ready. Once more, Guts used his prosthetic to block it from hitting his face, but Rosine was able to curl her stinger. The barbed stinger now pierced through his forearm holding Dragonslayer. "Your sword isn't going to help you now! Let's go for a little flight!"
Her wings were strong; they were able to support her new body as well as his added weight and Dragonslayer. She slammed him against the burning cherry blossom tree, the heat of the flames began to singe his black cloak and some of the skin on the back of his neck. Rosine shot herself higher into the sky, taking Guts with her. She began to twist and turn her body, looking to shake him off.
"Guts!" he heard Harry yell from the ground. "Get ready to brace yourself!"
"Whatever it is, just do it!" as long as she took the most of the attack, that was all that mattered at the moment. This was just another battle, he had to be willing to take punishment to win.
From below, Harry began another chant, the clouds high above them started to cluster closer together. A rumbling began to ensue, and a sudden burst of lightning erupted arcing its way straight toward Rosine. The blast struck her, and Guts felt some of that raw energy pass through his body as well. But it worked, Rosine was falling from the sky.
Harry made ready to perform another spell to slow their decent, But Rosine seemed to still have enough control over her body to an angle where she wanted to go, and that was straight toward Harry. Before he could roll out of the way, the joined Rosine and Guts slammed into him, the momentum of the fall sent the three of them sprawling in the waters of the Misty Valley Lake.
A/N: That's it for this chapter, the next one will feature a large look at what's going on in the HP side of things. Thank you for reading.