Another chapter. Nothing much to say, though I did find something interesting: Apparently, the Brimiric religion has Angels and Demons. While I thought 'Demon' was general enough that it could be from any religion, the LN states that "Brimir came down, accompanied by smiling Angels". So I guess the Brimiric faith is equivalent to our worlds Christianity. Makes things easier.
Although their afterlife is kinda odd. A side-story mentions "Valhalla", so their version of heaven is apparently a warriors paradise :/ So Christianity mixed with viking fantasy, I guess.
"So Miss. Longueville was our culprit?" Osmond asked sadly, to which the three students nodded mutely. All of them were too exhausted to provide much more than that, "I see..." He sighed sadly, "Well, I suppose I should have expected this. She'd been acting passive the past few days and she even mentioned that she may be leaving soon. But I would never have imagined she would be capable of what happened today."
Beside him, Colbert nodded solemnly at his words. Like the headmaster, he had considered the snappy secretary a friend despite her crass behavior and blunt dislike of the students around the school. Even still, she had tried to kill his students, there was no getting around that. He had to accept that maybe she was lying about her true personality.
"Um, headmaster?" Louise was the first to speak, "What will happen to Miss Longueville now?"
"As much as it pains me to say, she'll probably be either hanged or exiled," He sighed, "But the chance for exile right now is really low. If she's really 'Fouquet of the Crumbling dirt', then many of the nobility have a particular grudge against her and want to see her killed. I'll see if I can't change their minds about this, but as of now the only way I can see this end is with the noose."
So she was dying anyway? Raziel rolled his eyes discreetly at the announcement. So instead of granting her a quick death they would give her the pretense of a chance at survival. It was all pointless. He didn't understand why his master would stop him from killing her then. At least then it would be quick and honest; none of this nobility nonsense.
"But..." Louise opened her mouth before shutting it again slowly. It wasn't her place to judge how the older nobility would condemn a criminal. She disliked death, and was silently hoping that the secretary-turned-thief would be either exiled or - in rare cases - jailed indefinitely. After all, wouldn't it be more merciful that way? Clemency was supposedly something practiced by many of the nobility against thieves and other criminals. She thought it would be the case here as well.
"Ah, but things like this shouldn't worry you so much," The headmaster cut in, waving his staff lightly in an attempt to lighten the mood, "You three are heroes now: Captured the great thief when none of the teachers could. I suspect you'll be greatly rewarded."
"Rewarded?" Kirche asked. She didn't actually expect a reward. Back in Germania, being awarded titles or other things for deeds were rare. When it came down to it, money was the greatest thing that mattered. No one act could propel you to any title of worth. There were cases of people being knighted posthumously, but those cases tended to be rare as well.
"Of course," Osmond nodded, "I suspect you'll all be given Chevalier titles once I give a letter of today's events to her majesty. I don't know how things work back in Germania, Miss Zerbst, but your actions here mean that you'll be considered to have done a great service for the country of Tristain," He turned to Tabitha, "And for miss Tabitha, since she already has a Chevalier title, we'll give a sum of money. I'm sorry, but I'm not sure if we have anything else to give considering your circumstances."
Kirche shrugged nonchalantly. More than likely the title would be invalid considering her Germanian ancestry. Either that or her parents would take that as another strike against her - Gaining the favor of a rival country. Heh, her parents would either commend her for gaining an olive branch or scold her for bringing even more shame to their family because of it.
Similarly, Tabitha nodded, but showed no other reaction to the news. Money was something she had little use of, save for buying the occasional book that stroked her fancy. Maybe she could go to the new bookstore in town after this was over. She was quickly running out of reading material and she suspected it would be a while before she was forced into another assignment. She needed something to keep her focus intact.
Louise was the only one to react with any sort of happiness, "Th-This is a great honor, Headmaster!" She bowed respectfully, "I am greatly honored to receive such a title," She couldn't keep the smile off her face. Her mother would be proud of her. Louise, the youngest daughter who showed no traces of magic, was able to receive the title of a chevalier. Yes, it was a low title, but it was a title nonetheless.
Raziel resisted the urge to yawn as the questioning continued on. The rest of the trip to the academy was uneventful, save for the fact that Fouquet now had a few broken ribs. It wasn't like he meant to injure her. He just kicked her a few...dozen times...and didn't stop when he heard her ribs- Okay, maybe he did attack her when she was unconscious, but he was frustrated and she was an easy target. At least he didn't kill her.
Even after she attacked him with a golem, smashed him through a wall, attacked him with a golem again, forced him to use the corrupted catalyst, and tried to kill all of them with said catalyst.
Gods, he really wanted to kill her.
"You are very welcome, Miss Valliere," The old man smiled, though Raziel could see that he was forcing it. His secretary's betrayal must have hit something deep, "Unfortunately we don't have the time or resources to do a proper ceremony now given everything that's happened. Perhaps we can postpone it for another time?" All three of them nodded, "Well if there's nothing else-"
"Ah, wait moment please," Louise spoke up, "You gave us all rewards, but what about my Fami- Raziel?" She corrected quickly. As happy as she was to gain the title of Chevalier, it felt kind of hollow since she didn't do much during that fight. Thinking back on it, Raziel was the one who had destroyed that Golem, not her. All she really did was hand him the staff.
"Hmm, unfortunately not," He frowned apologetically, "Regardless of anything he may or may not have done, he's a Familiar and not a noble. To give him a reward would be considered improper conduct."
Louise didn't protest on it more. He was right anyway: Familiars were an extension of their master. If Raziel was rewarded, then Flame and Syplhid being ignored would be a bad sign.
"Very well then. If that's all there is to it then you're all free to go back to your rooms," Osmond clapped his hands, "Once again, I would like to thank you for your efforts in catching today's culprit. And I apologize for being unable to give the proper ceremony today. I'm assuming that you all want to rest, given today's events. We'll contact you again when we have more news."
Kirche and Tabitha were the first to go. Louise slapped Raziel's shoulder to wake him up from his blank staring and turned to leave as well.
"Ah, Miss Valliere, can I ask something of your Familiar before he leaves?" Colbert suddenly asked, "Rather, this is something of a continuation of our discussion before. You can stay, if you wish."
Louise shook her head and moved to leave the room. Most likely they were going to talk again about how her Familiar was some kind of corpse risen off the ground. While she had no problem accepting him as her Familiar, she didn't exactly want to have long discussions on why exactly he called himself an Undead when he looked nothing like a risen corpse, save for that one incident during the summoning ritual. Well, so long as he wasn't an Elf or a Vampire, she could deal with it. Undead people had to have been human at one point, right? At least the magic he used was fire and not the scary magic of the firstborns.
Raziel watched his master close the door before turning back to the two school staff members, "What is it you wish to ask of me?" He didn't bother taking a seat. Given everything that had happened today, he wouldn't have been surprised if either the teacher or the headmaster turned out to be master assassins or dangerous mercenaries. He wanted to be prepared to fight if anything happened.
"Please don't act so suspicious," Colbert raised his hands up in light surrender, "The headmaster simply has a few words to say to you."
"It is so," The headmaster coughed before continuing, "I'll be frank with you: Your claim of being an Undead? It is simply too hard to believe at the moment," He pointedly ignored the slight scowl that Raziel sported at the words, "I'm a well traveled man. I've seen many things: Vampires, Bird People, Dragons, Minotaurs and even the rare Elven mercenaries. But Undead are something that have been spoken of only in legends or in horror books."
"I am not lying."
"Now I know what Mister Colbert told me about what happened during the summoning ritual," The old man continued, "But in all honesty, its easy to come up with other explanations - Perhaps you wore a costume, maybe you asked a fire mage to douse you in fire," He chuckled, "Or at least, that's probably what the students who saw it are claiming. I know that a costume that good isn't possible and that being doused in fire is near impossible to survive, and you don't seem to be lacking in sanity enough to douse yourself in oil and fire."
Humans would do anything to try and justify the impossible, regardless of the logical fallacies of the explanation. Raziel understood that well enough: He did it extensively when he refused to believe that Frampt was lying to him.
"No, the reason I don't completely believe you is because I have heard that claim before," The headmaster chuckled at Raziel's blank acceptance. Anybody else would have called him a liar, "It happened many years ago, you see. I was off on one of my explorations when I was ambushed by a Fire Dragon mother. Without meaning to, I had stumbled into her brood and she considered me a threat," Off to the side, Colbert shook his head at the thought of it, "My wand was knocked away from me and I thought for sure that it would be the end of me."
"Given your presence here now, you must have survived...or you are an Undead like me," Raziel commented.
"Haha, I cannot imagine myself rising from the grave," He smiled at the comment, "No, there was someone who saved me. He used a magic that was unknown to me and killed the fire dragon easily. I wondered who he was: He had the bearing and appearance of an aristocrat, but carried himself with the confidence of a warrior. He confessed to being confused at his location and saved me only because he needed someone to ask where he had been transported to."
"That person sounds familiar..." Raziel commented neutrally, trying to ignore the rising dread he felt.
Osmond grabbed the wooden case holding the 'staff of destruction' and placed it on the table, "This was the staff he used to conduct his magic. He called himself an Undead, and claimed that it was the reason he was so adept at using this weapon despite its corrupting abilities. I didn't believe him at first, but one touch of the staff proved all that his claims were true. Touching it-"
"I know what the staff is like," Raziel interrupted. He had used it temporarily when he had fought Manus. A part of him wanted to keep it with him just in case, but his rationality won out in the end and he left it in the abyss in order to make it easier for him to carry Dusk out of there. He should have expected that someone could just go in there and take it for themselves after everything was said and done.
"Well then, I suppose I needn't explain what its like then," Osmond sighed in relief, "Regardless, he called himself an Undead, and I didn't believe him. He told me that my belief wasn't necessary and that all he needed was an explanation on where he was right now. After I answered all his questions, he left the staff with me and told me that he would find his own way here. He claimed that the thing was more trouble than it was worth and that he didn't need it with him.
"...Why are you telling me this?"
"Why? Well I suppose its because his message pertains to you," Raziel tilted his head in confusion, "Let me explain. When I told him that Undead were a mere myth and that his usage of the staff - impressive as it was - didn't prove he had conquered death, he told me to wait for anyone else claiming the same as him and to show them something after they did so. He told me that if it was the person he thought it would be, that they would recognize it."
"Recognize what?" Osmond didn't reply, making do instead with placing a box on the table. The box was small, but Raziel could see the ornate silver decorating its top. They were shaped like vines and leaves. This thing obviously held some sort of value, "He had told you to give them a box?" He asked, confused. Certainly it was a good looking box, but that didn't prove recognizable to him.
"Its not the box, but rather its contents," The wizened old man opened the container slowly and pulled out its contents. A necklace, made of stone and using a vine instead of a string, "He claimed that-"
Raziel didn't pay attention to whatever he was saying. The pendant...he knew what it was. Manus' pendant, the damnable thing that caused that bloated monster to drag him back to the past. His left hand twitched, the skin corroding into a blackened mist. The Dark Hand was acting up, though the reason for it escaped him. He closed his eyes and focused his energy on his left hand. He needed to keep it under control.
"Ah, but that's a story for another time," Osmond didn't realize he had ignored his long tangent, "Regardless, he told me to give this to whoever managed to use the staff and claim that they were Undead like he was. Let me ask you: Did you use the staff?"
"...Yes..." He twitched as his hand protested at his forced cancellation, "...I had used it against the golem...although it wasn't pleasant." Seeing that pendant was causing him discomfort for some reason. He tried not to think too hard about his dream from earlier. Thinking too hard on things was an unnecessary discomfort, and he found little reason to stress himself too much without needing to.
"Ah, I thought so," Osmond lowered the necklace back onto the box, "He told me that only an Undead could use the staff at its full strength. Anybody else would get a weaker form, or so he claimed." That explained why he was able to use the Dark hand to block the dark flame and beads. If the staff was at full strength, any resistance he tried to put up would have been destroyed.
"...Did he give you his name?"
"Unfortunately not," He frowned, "I don't even know his face, truth be told. He wore something resembling a theater mask and a top hat, so I can't say I saw his facial features at all- Ah, I do remember that he also had a large crossbow on him. He told me that the weapon was a staple from where he came from and that finding it anywhere else was near impossible."
"...I see..." He didn't need to be a genius to understand who had saved the headmaster. There was only one person who had access to the pendant, one person who could have made their way into the abyss and taken the catalyst from its rotted core.
Chester.
Undead were immortal, after all, so it didn't surprise him that the headmaster claimed he was saved many years ago. But there was something bothering him: How did the damned Carim aristocrat make his way here? The map he had seen claimed no way to Lordran, or any of the other lands for that matter, so making his way here would have been near impossible. Was he summoned just like he was?
"You should destroy the staff," Raziel commented aloud.
"I'm afraid its not your place to say what should be done about the staff," Osmond tapped the top of the box gently, "As of right now, this staff is a sacred artifact of this school. I can no more legally destroy it than you could. We aren't here to discuss the staff," He offered the small box to him, "My savior told me to give the pendant to whoever recognized it."
Raziel raised his left hand to the offered box before recoiling quickly. His skin was corroding and the dark magics that had been re-awakened in his body, "No...keep the pendant," He felt a sense of disappointment as the old man honored his request. He didn't understand it. For some reason he felt like he wanted it, despite all logic telling him that getting the pendant of the 'Father of the Abyss' wasn't a good idea. He sighed. Control was more important than anything.
"But enough about that now," Osmond intoned, "When it comes down to it, I've met two people in this long life of mine who claim that they have surpassed death. Tell me, do you feed on blood to sustain yourself like the ancient vampires do? Or perhaps you eat flesh and bone like the mighty minotaurs? Because from what I've seen so far, you're not that far-off from ordinary humans."
"Neither," Raziel frowned at the thought of drinking blood or cannibalizing others, "Undead survive just like everybody else. We need Humanity to keep ourselves from Hollowing, but so long as we do not give in to despair, we do not lose ourselves to our baser needs. Unless you plan to kill me over and over again to see if I break, I see no need to seek out Humanity.
"Humanity?" Colbert was the one to ask this time.
"Think of it like how you and everyone else need food and water to survive. To an Undead, Humanity is like food to us. But we only need to 'eat' when we lose out to our despair," Raziel pointed his pointer finger up in the air and spun it in a circle, "It is a cycle. Undead are killed on sight and hunted down, forcing us to kill people and take their humanity in order to stop our despair from completely overtaking us and destroying our mind. If one side stopped, then the slaughter would end."
"And I'm assuming this...Humanity is taken from living people?" Raziel nodded, "How dangerous is it for the receiver?"
"In most cases, killing the person is the only way to take their Humanity," He saw Colbert tense at his words, "But there are other methods. We can take it forcefully without killing the host, although they may be in pain after the action. There are times, such as in the case of willing donors, that taking their Humanity can be done without hurting either side. But that requires trusting an Undead, which no person is so easily willing to do."
"And so these need to eat...this only happens rarely?"
"Only to stop ourselves from dying completely," Raziel shrugged, "If you are worried about my actions, then please trust me when I say that I have no plans to kill anyone in order to sate myself. This place is peaceful, and its inhabitants have not tried to kill me...save for that one incident," He coughed awkwardly, "I am here because my master saved me. I do not wish to harm others and endanger my place here."
Raziel was aware that he hadn't told them that he gained strength with every kill, but he saw little reason to tell them that. He had no intention of fighting or killing anyone save those who threatened his master. Telling them that he was essentially a parasite who killed to become stronger would have caused no end of paranoia to everyone here. Sometimes a lie was required.
At his words, the balding teacher finally allowed himself to relax. Undead or not, if he was willing to co-exist peacefully then he would garner no troubles from him. He supposed he should have been more scared or wary, but his experiences told him that humans were capable of being more monstrous than any monster he had fought against. He feared the cruelty man was capable of more than anything else. The capacity for someone to actually enjoy the sight and sound of someone suffering as their skin melted or as they choked on overbearing water.
"Your present state of life aside," Now that was something he had never imagined himself saying, "I'm interested in the magic you showed us earlier. You called it Pyromancy, did you not?" He nodded, "Well, do you mind if I cast a 'detect magic' spell on you? It would give us undeniable proof that you do have mage blood within you. Perhaps you may be an aristocrat." That and he might have secrets on peaceful applications of fire. Obviously someone who was capable of taking fire within themselves used it for more than war, right?
"Do as you wish."
At his consent, Colbert raised his staff and chanted the detection magic. What he saw surprised him: Mages held magic in their veins, this was true, but this wasn't meant literally. Usually when detect magic was cast on a Mage, the caster would see an 'aura' or blanket of magic around them; one that was usually visually distinct based on the element.
But his case was extremely odd. Colbert could see the magic inside him, colors that were undoubtedly fire circulating throughout his entire body. He concentrated the spell further. At first glance it would appear he was using fire to augment himself, or maybe he was using a fire-cloak spell like a shield. But no matter how hard he looked, there was no mistaking it: The magic was inside him. Under normal circumstances that would have been impossible; the person would burn themselves alive from the inside out. But here it was.
Upon closer inspection, Colbert could see the fire flowing throughout his body like blood. But that was impossible. Even a dead corpse would burn itself out if someone tried to circulate fire through it. Logically speaking, he should've been in massive pain right now, enough to drive even the most experienced warrior insane. Colbert looked down at the Undead's left hand. The fire magic seemed to deliberately avoid that place, and he could see why - There was a darkness there, some magic that he didn't understand. It twisted and corroded with every second that passed, like a beast trying to escape its leash. He'd never seen anything like it before.
"Do you see anything?" Raziel's tone held some slight amusement to it, "Pyromancy is a chaotic magic. We use the fire in ourselves to attack others that would try to harm us," He flicked his right hand, covering it in a light coating of fire, "But this magic is dangerous. If we let emotions take control or we lose ourselves in anger and rage, then it will consume all of us."
"You use the magic...inside you?" Colbert asked confusedly, "That's impossible. Fire magic, Earth magic, Wind magic, Water magic. All of these magics used by Mages are the manipulations of the elements around us, not inside our bodies. A water Mage wouldn't be able to use their magic effectively if they were in the dessert, and neither would an earth Mage suspended in the air. Using our own bodies as a catalyst...that's impossible."
"And yet I am doing it now," Raziel clenched his fist and doused the flame, "Believe what you wish. You had asked for an explanation and I gave you one," The flat way in which he talked made it hard to tell how he was feeling, but Colbert could hazard a guess that he was slightly irritated at his explanation being ignored.
"No, its not as if I'm saying you're lying," The professor laughed awkwardly, "Rather, I'm amazed. Magic like this would seem impossible, especially to me who's a teacher. But you've shown me proof otherwise," He nodded excitedly, "Could you please show me more of this magic of yours? This is positively intriguing! Fire magic in the body, which means fire's being used without destroying everything it touches. Please, this could be the breakthrough that I've been looking for so many years for. And imagine the possibilities of internal magic!" The professor was energetic, that much Raziel could ascertain.
This was the opposite reaction he expected. Sorcerer's - or Mages, as they fit to call themselves - prided themselves on their uses of Soul magic and their hatred for the 'chaotic' Pyromancy. Granted, he hadn't actually seen anyone use Soul magic here yet. This school used some kind of weird magic where the elements of nature were used as the source of power. Perhaps things were truly different here.
Raziel raised his hand to summon the flame again before he was interrupted, "As interesting as this is, we shouldn't take up more of your time," Osmond interrupted. Colbert looked like he was about to protest before the headmaster continued, "It has been a long and tiring day, Mr. Colbert. I must send a letter to the princess explaining today's events and I'm sure that you have your duties as well. Ms. Valliere's Familiar is no doubt tired from everything that's happened today. It would be best if he got some sleep."
"Undead do not require sleep," He replied flatly. He never thought the day would come when he would be annoyed someone ignored that he was an Undead.
"Regardless, I need to talk to Mr. Colbert about the upcoming ball," The older male coughed when Colbert threw him a surprised look, "Oh, don't be like that. A ball is the perfect thing to get our minds off today's events."
"Headmaster, I'm afraid I must question your judgement here," He protested, "The school has just been attacked by a magical thief and suffered numerous casualties because of a group of bandits. Several of our own students are in the clinics right now, barely clinging to life. I hardly think this is the proper time for a ball of all things."
"On the contrary, I think its the perfect time," The headmaster replied, "The students are panicking right now and they crave a return to the norms. The party will serve as a distraction, a return to the things they're used to. If we let them stew on what happened today, we'll have a lot of scared and paranoid students on our hands. A distraction to help them settle down and show that everything is still okay is just what we need."
"We will have to make doubly sure that nothing happens then," Colbert rebuked, "The teachers need to be on high alert and maybe we can use the Alviss in the dining hall as sentries to guard the area. We should also-"
Raziel turned to leave before he heard more of the conversation. This didn't concern him.
"Get out of here!"
Those were the first words Raziel had heard as he opened the door to his master's bedroom. He was immediately tempted to turn around and leave, but un/fortunately it became evident she wasn't talking to him. He blinked, trying to understand the imagine in front of him. His master was fuming, which was pretty much the norm nowadays. Tabitha was sitting in a corner wall and flipping a book, which he had learned was pretty much her default state. The only thing slightly out of place was Kirche lying down on his masters bed - Usually she was standing when they argued.
"Not until we talk about what happened today, Valliere~" Kirche replied back lightly, causing another fit of garbled insults to sprout from the smaller pinkette's mouth, "I know what I saw: Your Familiar used the 'Staff of destruction'. There's no mistaking it. So whoever you got as your Familiar, they might have noble blood in them. Don't you feel like you should know who your Familiar really is?"
"I...I know who he is," Louise bluffed quickly, "He's my Familiar. Regardless of how he looks or acts, I summoned him and that means he's bound to me by the runes." Right, she just had to keep telling herself that. Nevermind the fact that he was a self-admitted re-animated corpse or that he thought brutal murder was the best course of action for everything. Right, her was her Familiar.
"Why don't we just ask him then?" Kirche finally noticed him, "I'm sure he'd be able to explain better than you could."
Louise turned around and gave a small 'eep' of surprise when she saw him. Evidently she hadn't heard him enter. Her mind quickly went into overdrive. She needed to think of a lie that wouldn't extend to him revealing he was an Undead and the two of them being burned by some kind of Romalian inquisition. No doubt the Germanian barbarian would use the information for blackmail.
"Ask me what?" He closed the door behind him silently and tried to ignore the weariness that set in him at the sight of the hay bed that his master had prepared for him days ago. Many would have called the wooden and straw 'bed' to be insulting and degrading, but he actually found it appropriate. Granted he was a person who used to 'sleep' next to bonfires by sitting down, so maybe he wasn't the best judge.
"Ah, there you are, darling," Raziel was quickly growing tired of that nickname, "We were just talking about what happened earlier," She sat up from the bed, "You used the staff of destruction, right? Don't bother saying no because I already saw it. Valliere here isn't saying anything, and I'm hoping you're more open about what you just did."
"That is because-"
"Because he's a Mage from Rub' al Khali!" His master interrupted loudly, throwing him a glare that promised horrible things if he didn't cooperate, "That's right. The staff was an artifact from Rub' al Khali and he used it because he came from there." That had to be the most absurd lie she'd ever made in her life. She doubted anyone would really believe her.
"Hmm, that does make some sense," Kirche nodded. Of course the Germanian reject would believe her, "Anyway, if he really is a Mage, doesn't that make Razi here a noble according to Brimiric law?" She didn't really know much about it to be honest. Germania had little faith in religion - which was one of the reasons they were considered barbarians - and the same could be said of her family. She was never really taught much about the Brimiric faith, but rather was raised to believe that your own efforts (and money) mattered more than anything.
"...Rub' al Khali doesn't have Nobility," She bluffed again, "Right, from where Raziel comes from, they don't really have a system of Nobility. Many people who have magic are treated the same as everyone else," She nearly gagged at the thought. Mages that were considered just the same as everyone else? She couldn't imagine a world like that. But it was the only lie she could use that had no holes.
"So he's a Mage without a title? Makes as much sense as the 'Zero' summoning a human Familiar to begin with," She shrugged and turned to him, "Hey, darling, why don't you show us what magic you're capable of? You can borrow my wand if you like." Given that her wand was between her large hills at the moment, and that she made no effort to remove it herself, it was glaringly obvious to Louise what her rival was trying to do.
"No need," Raziel raised his hand concentrated briefly. Kirche wondered what he was trying to do before a burst of flame covered his entire palm, "Pyromancy does not require a catalyst." He raised his pointer finger up slightly and focused the fire on it. The appendage looked like a makeshift matchstick.
Kirche's eyes widened. He was casting magic without a wand. More importantly, he was casting fire magic without a wand! Not even the greatest square class Tabitha looked up from her book and raised an eyebrow ever so slightly at the odd sight. Wandless magic was done only by the firstborn races, but those cases were usually spirit magic. Wandless elemental magic was even rarer.
"I knew there was a reason Flame liked you!" Raziel blinked in surprise at Kirche's overtly happy reaction, "This is really great, Raziel! Not only a fire Mage, but even capable of doing it without a wand!" She continued to rattle off some more things, but Raziel had already learned to tune out. He wasn't used to people talking so much. In Lordran, you talked straight and to the point, mostly because you could get attacked at any time. If anybody considered it rude, then perhaps they should talk in clearer and shorter sentences. Tabitha seemed to understand that, at least.
"How do you know my name?" It was an odd thing to ask so suddenly, but he did honestly wonder how she knew what to call him. The only person he had ever actually told had been his master - and Derflinger by proxy of him being there - so it was kind of odd that she knew how to call him that, "I do not recall telling you."
"Hmm? Oh, you mentioned it in your sleep," She waved off his question, "But tell me more about that fire magic you just did! This is really amazing! If you had fire magic why didn't you use it against Guiche? Was that why you looked so different from when Valliere summoned you? What about the staff, what kind of magic was that? It kinda looked like fire."
Raziel looked at his master for help, but she had already thrown her hands up and given up. He sighed. This was going to be a long night.
The days passed quickly after that. Rebuilding the damage was the biggest concern for everyone in school, along with trying to regain a sense of normalcy. All the students had made a full recovery, which helped to preserve the nobles image that things were going to be just fine. And if anybody did die, the fact that nobody made a big stink about it meant their families weren't influential enough to matter, meaning that the nobility's image of prosperity had little chance of being disputed.
Everyone spent their time differently. The students that weren't recovering in the infirmaries had gotten back to their regularly scheduled classes. While many of them complained about returning to classes so soon after the tragedy, it was quite obvious that they were relieved for a return to the norm. The servants weren't as lucky and over half of them were assigned to cleaning up the damages that had been done to the school and its fields. Earth Mages helping them made the task easier, but it was still a lot of physical labour all around.
Life had returned to normalcy for Raziel...or at least, as normal as life in this place was. Kirche's questioning continued into the night, with him replying in either one-word answers or outright lies. His master had made it clear that telling anyone else that he was an Undead was an absolute impossibility, so he was forced to make up a fake background: Now he was an orphan who grew up on the streets of Rub' al Khali who had made a living for himself by using his fire magic for odd jobs before he had been summoned. Granted that was mostly Kirche filling in any holes he had in his explanation and him not doing anything to rebuke said claims. But it was as good a background as any, especially given that communication with the land was rare. There was no way to prove he was lying.
He had spent the past few days in a state of utter boredom. After the attack and return to classes, he was once again given free reign by his master on what to do when he wasn't forced to guard her. Talking with Siesta was impossible since he could never find her; different shifts, according to the servants he had talked to. Trying to read in the library proved impossible since he couldn't understand the words, so reading was out as well. Kirche had tried to chat him up, but his master had explicitly ordered him to stop talking with her and he obliged. As happy as he was to find someone who found Pyromancy intriguing, she took it a bit too far.
Rumors of Kirche, Tabitha and his master's capture of Fouquet had also spread, and soon after the three of them had gained a popularity boost with their peers. While there were those who doubted that the 'Zero' Louise was capable of capturing a thief, but their doubt was extinguished by the idea of the school lying in order to boost her reputation. Granted, nothing much had changed: People simply called her Zero behind her back rather than to her face.
A week had passed before the school officially announced the ball. Officially it was used to celebrate Fouquet's capture and the survival of the students from the attack. Unofficially it was because they needed something to get their mind off of the near death situation from a few days ago. The students were happy for the distraction, although the servants moaned at their increased workload.
It was because of this that he was in his current situation.
"Ah, where's that dress!" Louise rummaged in her closet, tossing multiple articles of clothing in a messy pile behind her, "Big sis Catt told me to wear that dress for special occasions. Where did I put it!?"
Raziel raised his hands and mimicked a yawn. He had once again been forced to change clothes - His armor had been torn to shreds and was borderline unusable by the time they had destroyed that Golem. It was mostly the same clothes he had been forced to wear when he first woke up, with the addition of sleeveless leather vest and more fitting pants. Louise had insisted that her wear more 'proper' clothes since it was embarrassing to have a Familiar who ran around looking like a beggar. He also noticed that the white shirt looked cleaner, most likely to emphasize her statement.
He scratched at his covered right eye. He had been forced to wear bandages, though it was more for appearances sake than anything else. Although his taking of humanity had saved him trouble in healing, he still had some injuries from his attacks. His master didn't want anyone being suspicious and so he was forced to once again cover himself in the white cloth.
"Found it!" Louise stood triumphantly, holding the pink dress in her hand like it was the answer to all of life's problems. Raziel raised an eyebrow at the ecstatic gesture, "Raziel, clean this mess up while I go prepare for the ball. After that you can do whatever you want."
He sighed, but followed her orders regardless. This was how their interactions usually went nowadays; completely ignoring one another except when she gave orders. After she had been forced to order him to spare Fouquet, coupled with her revelation that he was an Undead, they had taken to ignoring one another unless they absolutely had to. He was completely fine with that, to be honest. He had to protect her, that didn't mean he had to be friends with her. In fact, he couldn't recall considering anyone but Siesta a friend.
"Hey, is there something wrong with you and Pinky?" Derflinger piped up from his place next to the 'bed', "You've been ignoring each other for days now. Its not my place to worry, but in my experience the users and their masters work best together when they get along."
"We are fine, Derflinger," He grabbed the bundle of clothes and lifted them onto the bed. He would need to fold these, "I will protect master if she needs it." Yes, he would protect her, that was the binding. He wouldn't do any more than that. He wasn't the one she would talk to or seek out when she had personal problems, and he wouldn't consult her if he was unsure about life's meaning or other such endless concepts. They needed each other and they mutually benefited, but that was all it boiled down to.
"That's not the point," The sword clicked in annoyance and retreated back into his hilt. It was obvious that his partner wasn't in the mood to talk right now.
Music blaring, bright lights shining and food that could feed crowds of people at a time. It was obvious to anyone that the school had gone all out for the ball. Many students danced happily, grabbing people of the opposite sex and dancing to the gentle tune with steps they had been taught by their parents for proper conduct. Many would have been happy at the sight, or at least intrigued by the lights and sounds.
Raziel decided then and there that he hated balls. He plugged his ears as the annoying music continued to sound and did his best to look away from the overtly bright lights. The music irked him, mostly because he was not used to it. Music was something that never came up during his time in Lordran. Fights were eerily silent, save for the sounds of his opponents attacks. Bright lights were also rare due to the time he had spent in interiors. Seeing the bright illumination caused a slight headache to envelop him.
He was staying in the balcony. He probably could have gone in - the nobles inside were so festive that they had allowed their Familiar's in - but he had little interest in trying to pretend he enjoyed the noise and illumination. Besides, he would have preferred to be alone right now.
He chanced to see his master walking through the halls entrance. She was dressed up well- or at least, he thought she did. He placed little stock in appearance. She was wearing the pink dress from earlier and she had done up her hair. She was even wearing accessories: A tiara, a necklace and a pair of earrings. The males around her had taken notice and many of them immediately moved to invite her to dance with them.
He had seen Kirche and Tabitha earlier as well. The former was getting multiple invitations to dance the latter was in her own corner, reading a book as usual. He didn't bother trying to talk to either of them. Guiche was off trying to flirt with multiple girls into dancing with him again now that Montmorency had (mostly) forgiven him. Old habits died hard, as he had said before.
Looking up at the skies, he sighed. What was he doing here? He had thought he would have Hollowed by now. He had nothing much to live for at this point, which was usually the time his body would give up on life and he lost the will to go on. But he was still here, still listening to the annoying ballroom music. Maybe he should jump off this balcony right now. It would certainly be better than listening to the noise.
"Not enjoying the party, Mr. Familiar?"
Siesta gave a friendly smile when he turned to face her, "Long time no see, Mr. Familiar," She leaned into the balcony as well, "Why aren't you inside with Ms. Valliere? I would've thought you would be enjoying yourself by now."
"This music is hurting me," He replied flatly, eliciting some giggles from the dark haired maid, "I have not seen you for a few days now. Where have you been?"
"Cleaning up the mess that was left behind," She frowned, "There were so many buildings that had gotten destroyed when those bandits attacked. Not to mention helping out the nurses at the infirmary who were treating the students from their injuries," her frown deepened, "And after all that, they have a party and act like nothing happened at all. The nobility can be truly amazing at times."
"Siesta?"
"I hate the nobility, there's no way around it," She sighed, "They say that they protect us in exchange for our loyalty, but growing up I never really saw that. When a monster attacked our village once, we petitioned the local lord to send some knights to protect us. He ignored our request and we were forced to fight off the monster ourselves. Many of our villagers were seriously hurt."
"I am sorry..."
"Why are you apologizing?" She gave a forced laugh, "I'm sorry, I guess I'm lowering the mood. Its just...a couple of the servants were killed during the attack. They tried to help some students they'd seen in the smoke and they were killed defending them from some bandits. And now? The group of students are in there right now, dancing like nothing happened at all."
"People do their best to cling to what is familiar. It is how humans are..." He replied. He knew; many Undead he had met tried to cling to the things they knew in life. It was a vain attempt to stay sane.
"I suppose so," She laughed, though there was no enjoyment in it, "I'm sorry for acting so negative, Mr. Familiar. I guess I'm just angry. All of them are in there, acting like nothing happened at all, like their lives are perfect. None of them have to worry about a thing," She looked down at the ground below the balcony, "Head chef Marteu once told me that nobles are just born bad. Maybe he was right."
"You are wrong," He answered quickly, "Nobody in this world is born evil. In most circumstances, humans can be good. But when tempted with power, a person can change for the worse. Power is euphoric: Many crave it so they can dominate others or purely for the sake of having power. But many cannot handle power, and we end up hurting others. Blaming humans as naturally evil solves little."
He had made the mistake when he was first summoned here. Seeing Guiche, he had been quick to assume that all nobles were selfish tyrants in the making. But seeing the headmaster, Kirche, Tabitha and others who put themselves at risk to help others, he was forced to realize that his over-generalization wasn't going to work. All of these nobles were different, that was just how they are.
...Except princesses. They were all tyrants in the making.
"You sound so sure of that. Are you speaking from experience?" His lack of a reply was all the answer she needed, "I won't ask why you think so; we all have our own views, I guess," She stretched both her hands into the air and sighed, "I guess I really made things depressing here, huh? Sorry about that," She apologized again, "Is there anything you want to do now, Mr. Familiar?"
"Call me Raziel," He answered.
"Raziel?" The name felt odd in her tongue, "Is that your name?" He nodded, "Hmm, its nice. I don't think I've ever heard of anyone called like that before," She giggled, "But you didn't answer my question. Might I suggest you take my offer from before and go to the kitchens? All the servants are eating right now and they would like to meet you if possible."
Raziel shrugged and decided to accept her offer. Might as well, given that he had nothing better to do than contemplate the meaninglessness of his existence.
A flapping of wings jolted him out of his reverie. He saw the blue dragon up above, circling the field aimlessly. And, most important of all, he saw its tail swishing back and forth. He looked back at the party: Tabitha was still reading a book, meaning she wasn't watching her dragon right now. This was his chance- Gods damn it all, he forgot Derflinger in the room. He looked down at his hands. Well, he hadn't tried ripping a tail apart with his bare hands yet, but there was always a first time for everything.
"Mr. Fami- Raziel, are you alright?" She had to get used to the name change.
"Huh? Oh, yes, I am fine," The dragon was continuing to circle, so now was his chance, "Siesta, I will meet you in the kitchen. I must do something first." She barely managed to reply before he was running down the stairs into the field.
Irukukwu - or Sylphid, as she was usually known - sighed as did another circle over the field. She was bored! Big sister had told her to keep guard in case of possible attacks, but so far that had amounted to circling over the school with absolutely nothing to do. A part of her wished that something dangerous would show up in the school; maybe a wild beast that she could eat since she was so hungry.
The sound of footsteps approaching the field below reached her ears. An intruder? No, more likely it was one of those people called 'servants' that served the people in this school. Hmm, perhaps she could pester them for food? That was a good idea. With that thought it mind, she landed gently on the school grounds and waited for them to get closer. Maybe they would-
Oh no.
It was him!
"Kyuuu!" She shot up faster than she thought possible. Raziel cursed and tried to jump at her tail. He was going to get a new weapon if it was the last thing he did! The dragon, seeing his attempts at a jump, flew up higher into the air to try and stay away from him.
"Kyuuuuuuu!" She flew towards the back of the school, the determined Undead trailing behind her quickly. Mistress Pri had told her about them: Dragon hunters. They were distinguished by always going for the tail first and never needing sleep. She'd seen him walking around the campus during the nighttime, and that meant he was one of them! She didn't want to lose her tail!
The worst part of it was that she knew she couldn't fight back. Big sis had expressly forbidden her from attacking anyone humanoid in this school, and he was (unfortunately) human. Granted that probably meant humans who were non-hostile, but she wasn't willing to take that chance. She was a dragon, after all: Bloodlust and hunger for battle was in their instinct. If she attacked him, there was a likely chance she would cause a lot of property damage in the process. And if that happened then big sis wouldn't feed her for a week.
She turned the corner, temporarily losing his chase. But he was coming; she could hear his footsteps getting closer. There was no other choice. Big sis had told her not to do it unless she was truly desperate.
Right now, she was feeling really desperate.
Raziel scowled as he rounded the corner. This dragon was giving him way too much trouble. What was the big deal? So he cut off the tail and they had a little pain. It would grow back! The stone dragon in Ash lake didn't exactly complain when he had cut off its tail. Dragons could grow them back whenever they wanted, so running away was more effort than actually just letting it get cut.
A rustling of the leaves to his right brought him back to attention. Was the dragon hiding there? It looked too small to hold her, but he couldn't discount it. Dragons were clever creatures, after all. Dragon phobia or no dragon phobia, that tail was going to be his no matter what! Without thinking, he jumped into the shrub at full force.
"Eeek!"
That...didn't sound like a dragon. Blinking his eyes, he found himself face to face with a blue haired girl no older than Kirche, "...A girl?" He looked around him. The dragon was gone! Damn it, it had gotten away! He looked back down at the girl below him. He had tacked her without meaning to and now he was pretty much straddling her. It was an inconvenient position.
"...Who...are you...?" He got up slowly and offered her a hand up, which she ignored in favor of of jumping away from him. Looking closer, she wasn't actually wearing any clothes apart from the leaves covering parts of her body. He considered this briefly before understanding dawned on him: She was one of the Deprived. They were known for going around with no armor and sometimes even without weapons. Rumors were that it was because they had trained their bodies to a point that armor was unneeded.
"Oh, I'm no one!" She shook her hands quickly, "Just a stranger who got lost! Yup, that's all I am!"
"Lost?"
"Yup, lost! Which means I should try to find out where I am! See ya!" She pushed past him roughly. Raziel looked at her briefly before closing his eyes and shaking his head. He had no idea what one of the Deprived was doing here, but he wasn't going to question it. She had mentioned that she was lost, and she had left in a hurry. Perhaps she had somewhere to be.
Still, why could he not stop staring at her backside? He felt like there was supposed to be something there that was missing.
"Hey, Siesta, is this the young man you were talking about?" Raziel stumbled as the heavyset man grabbed him by the shoulders in a friendly hug, "Nice to meet you, Our Sword! My name is Marteau! Siesta's been talking a lot about you! Its good to finally meet you!"
When he had been told about the head chef, he had expected someone who was cynical of life and professional to a fault. What he got instead was a large man in his middle age who was probably the friendliest person he had seen with the exception of Siesta. This was the person who claimed that there were people just born bad? He sure didn't seem like it.
"Oh, how rude of me! Join us! We're in the middle of eating right now. Hold on, let me get a plate for you!"
Raziel sat down awkwardly next to Siesta. The other servants had greeted him happily, welcoming him to eat with them. He did his best to smile back at them. They were the first group of people who had welcomed him no questions asked. He tried to stifle his embarrassment. He wasn't used to spending time with a large group of people. The times he was with his master didn't count since the other nobles had effectively ignored him.
Times in Lordran were spent in isolation, and he had grown used to the idea of both living alone and dying alone. He wasn't shy to admit that he wasn't the most socially adept person.
The meal given to him was simple: Some meaty stew and a few loaves of bread. But given that he never ate anything save for the occasional herb, it looked quite substantial to him. He picked up the spoon and dunked it into the soup lightly. It felt odd to eat this way. Doing his best to maintain his composure, he raised the stew to his mouth and swallowed.
Were he an ordinary person, he would have smiled and told the head chef that this was one of the best meals he had in his life while angels sang in the background. But he tasted nothing right now. The soggy matter drifted across his tongue blankly before he forced himself to swallow. He taste buds were dead, just like the rest of his internal body. Gourmet cuisine was indistinguishable from dung pies to him. Many would have called being unable to taste a curse, but he cared little for it. He could never recall ever eating food, so there was no longing for what he had never felt.
"So how does it taste?" The head chef asked eagerly.
"...Delicious," He lied through his teeth. No need to waste the man's effort.
"Hahaha, I'm glad," He laughed jovially, "You see, Our Sword, this kitchen is the pride and joy for all of us here. We may not have magic like those snooty nobles, but we can make miracles with spices and meats that would make any man cry from the delicious taste. The food they're eating at that party right now are some of our best creations."
"Why are you calling me that?" He grabbed one of the loaves of bread and chewed; still nothing, as expected.
"What, you mean Our Sword?" He nodded, "Well, its a nickname we came up with since you beat that spoiled noble," He patted him in the back roughly, "But mostly its because you defended poor Siesta here. Poor girl here just can't leave well enough alone and got herself in trouble again. Although thinking on it, maybe she did it on purpose so she could find a dashing hero to save her-"
"Head chef!" Siesta protested loudly, causing the servants around her to chuckle at her rapidly reddening cheeks.
"Um, is it possible if you do not call me by a title? It is uncomfortable. Please call me Raziel," He suggested casually. In truth, the idea of being called with titles made him feel spasms of hate. He hated being called by title; it reminded him too much of when he was called 'The Chosen Undead'. He dealt with his master calling him 'Familiar' out of necessity.
"Ahahaha!" He clapped him roughly in the back again, "You're a modest guy, Raziel. I like that. Come, let me kiss you to show proof of that!" At his announcement, the rest of the servants collectively groaned. While the head chef was a good guy, he had a bad habit of being too affectionate in showing his friendliness. Granted he just kissed people in the forehead or the cheek, but his exuberance tended to rub people the wrong way. Raziel must have felt awkward now.
"Um...of course, if it please you," Many of them went slack jawed as he put down his spoon and turned to face the older male, "I am...inexperienced with kissing and other forms of affection. Could you please guide me? I apologize for any inconvenience." How embarrassing. Here he was being fed and welcomed and he couldn't even copy their customs as a form of gratitude. He needed to learn more about this place.
Raziel closed his eyes and raised his head up slightly. This was how they did kisses, right? He couldn't recall ever doing it in the past. He moved his lips nervously. He was already embarrassed being dragged into this place; he didn't want to embarrass himself even more by not being able to do their greeting customs. Granted he'd never actually heard of customs like this, but he wasn't one to question things.
The servants reactions were mixed. While many of them turned away at the impending expression, many of them had also taken to watching the upcoming action eagerly. Siesta could make out Lola and Aimee watching with bated breath, barely keeping their noses from bleeding. No surprise, considering some of the contents in the books they had lent her. She felt downright heretical after reading them. She would never look at cats and glasses the same way again.
For his part, the head chef was actually feeling apprehensive. When he said kiss he actually meant a kiss to the forehead, not a kiss on the lips. But what was there to do? He had invited him to do it and he said yes. It would be rude of him as a man to back out now.
The servant's gazes intensified as the head chef grabbed Raziel's shoulder. Were they truly about to see this?
"Excuse me!" Siesta smashed her hands against the table, "I forgot that I needed to show Raziel something. We have to go now!"
The answer to that would be no. Siesta grabbed Raziel's wrist and pulled him not-so-gently from his chair and out the door before anyone could comment on her actions. Although she did hear about a couple complaining that they were just getting to the good part.
"Siesta, what is it that you wish to show me?" He tried to keep his voice level, but the loud music was making it extremely hard for him too keep calm. They must have had those wind Mages augmenting the sound somehow; it was the only way to explain how the music reached them despite the pair being in the field and nowhere near the ballroom hall.
"That was a lie, Raziel," She panted. She had dragged him from the kitchens all the way to the field, and yet he wasn't tired at all. He must have kept fit, "I did it so you wouldn't have to kiss the head chef?" She lied down on the ground and looked up at the sky. The music was so relaxing that she was tempted to go to sleep. During balls and other celebrations, the lights were so bright and the music was widened with magic so much that one could probably see the school from the next town over.
"Why not?" He sat down next to her and put his knees close to his chest, untying the bandages from his face in the process. He didn't want to be half-blind, regardless of what his master had told him, "He seems to be an affable man."
"I know Mr. Marteau is friendly," She agreed, "But that doesn't mean you should kiss him. Kisses are usually signs of affection that you give to people you really care about. Family, lovers, but not to people you just met. A kiss is important and you can't just freely give it away to people."
"...Perhaps it is," He sighed. Things were so complicated around here. Guiche seemed to give away kisses a lot, if the rumors he had heard around campus were accurate. While calling him a friend would be dubious, he didn't hate him so much that he would think his every action carried with it negative connotations. Guiche seemed to try and be friendly, and he thought kissing was a part of that.
"Raziel, why do you speak so formally?" She suddenly asked, "I mean, you talked casually before. Now you talk so stiffly, like some of the nobles around here."
He didn't really know why. He had unconsciously started doing it after receiving dreams of his past. He felt little connection to the man in his dreams, and he slowly found himself doing his best to try and separate himself from him. The figure talked cheerfully and casually to everyone and he found himself talking stiffly and formally to try and separate himself.
"You're not even listening to me, are you?" She rolled her eyes at his half-focused nod, "Well, since we're here, why don't we try dancing? The music's certainly loud enough and we have nothing else to do with our time."
"Dancing?" He immediately felt iffy. Dancing wasn't something he was particularly good at. After all, how could he match those Channelers? The dance they conducted when they chanted their spells was particularly impressive...and yet also ridiculous. Could Siesta dance in the same way? He couldn't see a trident or anything else similar to it around her.
"Yes, dancing," She laughed at his confused expression, "Don't look at me like that! Even a country girl like me knows some of the dances the nobles do," She picked herself up and offered him a hand up, "Come on, I'll teach you the steps."
She wished she could say that it was perfect: Dancing with a friend, the moonlight above them and the music surrounding them. It had all the makings of a perfect setting, but that couldn't have been any farther from the truth. He stepped on her feet every three steps, their movements were uncoordinated, and they ended up nearly tripping over one another every three steps or so. From an outsiders perspectives, they looked like two puppets whose strings had been severed.
And yet, they still found it fun.
"This is dancing?" He placed his foot behind hers and changed his hand position, "This seems to be more like a form of unarmed combat training."
"Come on, its not that bad," She nearly tripped as her foot collided with his, "Okay, its kind of bad, but it can be fun once you get used to it!" She sighed and let go, "My grandmother taught me how to dance when I was young. She didn't teach me much before she passed away, but I always found it fun to try and dance to music and pretend none of our problems existed."
"I am not as good as you are in dancing, I must admit," He laughed, and oddly enough he found it coming out naturally. Usually it was either forced or sarcastic, "I do not have anything to do in the coming days, so could you teach me again tomorrow? I found it...enjoyable."
At his words, Siesta smile suddenly turned into a frown. But quick as it came it was gone and she had an even brighter smile on her face, "Of course! I know another few steps for beginners and the music can just be hummed to make it easier for the both us."
He smiled at her reply and waved goodbye to her. It was getting late and he needed to go back to his master's room before she arrived. Siesta waved at him as well, keeping up her smile even as tears threatened to spill from her eyes. She couldn't tell him. She had avoided him the past week and tried to steel herself and make it easier, but even now she didn't have the guts to tell him. Her workmates acted like nothing was wrong, but even they were worried. She thought she could tell him now when they were alone, but she couldn't do it.
Her smile faltered, and a single tear dropped. She didn't know what was going to happen now. She'd heard the rumors, and she was scared on what would happen to her. He had promised to protect her, but counting on him to that degree was asking for too much. Sucking in her breath, she stood up and made her way back to the servants quarters. She needed to pack the last of her things and say her last goodbyes.
Raziel wouldn't see her again tomorrow.
Necrofantasia - He doesn't want the staff :/
Lia Silverclaw - Fixed.
Demons Anarchy - Wasn't this question asked and answered before? Anyway, I'll leave the reactions a secret for now.
OmegaHouse - No offense, but how did you miss the flashback chapter with Ghough? That should have made it obvious that he did the DLC.
Kraut - Don't make too many theories :) Like he said, the name 'Manus' is more of a designation than an actual name. You could technically call all of the monsters you fight in the DLC as Manus. Although Seath's appearance does change things. Seath is blind in canon, and yet he has eyes in the flashback chapter. Do the math and guess what 'Manus' might end up doing.