Twisted Reflections

by vendetta543

She was a failure of a Mage, unable to cast even the simplest of spells. He was an Undead, a monster used as a pawn in battle he could never understand. They had nothing in common, and yet fate saw it fit to bind the two souls together.

29. Despair

Time for the battle of Saxe-Gotha. Given how horrible I am with fight scenes I'll just have to focus on other details on whatnot but hopefully it doesn't end up as too much of a copout.

Warning: This chapter may be re-written depending on reader reactions.

Well, time to start!

---

Blood and screams...two things he had become all too familiar with in his 'adventures'. In Lordran whether it be monster or man they always let out either of the two when they ultimately died by his blade or another one of Lordran's hazards. It had confused him at first, one could even say it scared him, but after a while he had learned to 'live' with it as best as he could. He had learned to equate the two with his continued survival against whatever it was that chose to kill him.

The screams were easy enough to ignore after a while. Many humanoid opponents were often quiet, eerily so in fact. After fighting against the stoic silence of the knights or necromancers he had learned to stop caring for the occasional scream of monsters or Hollows. After a while it at least began to add variety against the routine clanking of his boots against the ground.

Blood was...a little more difficult to become accustomed to. Apart from rare constructs everything bled, and rarely were they ever the same. Knights and other demigods bled the golden ichor, demons had their venomous black blood and different monsters each had different fluids inside their body. The monsters of blighttown had corrupted blood, the color a mix of yellow and brown and smelling of piss and rot. The monsters in Seath's archives, whatever was left of them, had their blood turned blue and ice-cold because of the mad dragon's experiments. Every monster was different, but they bled all the same.

One thing he would never forget was the smell. All of them smelled different as well. Some had no smell at all, owing either to their odd nature while some had scents so overpowering he was only thankful his senses were at least partially deadened. He further thanked what little mercies he had that he lost his sense of taste; too many times when he'd killed a monster or other humanoid that the blood sprayed on him and went down his mouth and he was either forced to swallow or frantically spit it out depending on the situation he was in.

Right now he smelled copper...he felt the red blood cling to his fingers already beginning to dry. It was inconvenient. Screams echoed from all around him, some with rage and violent intent and others with fear and desperation, "Ahhhhhhh!" One loud one in particular came from the dying soldier in front of him, who was clutching his leg and trying in vain to keep the blood from pouring out of the chunk that had been cut off. In hindsight maybe he should have aimed higher.

"Wait, please don't-" The soldier on the ground raised his hand to try and plead for his life. He was interrupted by Derflinger's rusted sword piercing through his head and nearly splitting it in half. Raziel wiped away the blood clinging to his fingers onto his shirt before pulling out the sword from the man's skull. Already he could see two other soldiers. The one in front seemed to be the braver of the two given that the hands of the one behind him constantly shook and held the sword he carried

"Hiyaaah!" The first of the pair raised the spear he was carrying and stabbed it towards him. He rolled to the side and picked up some soil before throwing it at his face, "Agh, son of a-" Before he could finish his curse Raziel stabbed Derflinger through his midsection three times in succession and a piddling amount of 'souls' left his body. The soldiers never had much 'power' held within them.

Now there was only one left. The Undead's blood streaked face turned to the sole remaining soldier, who looked to be debating whether he should try his luck or beg for mercy. Raziel raised his flintlock and aimed it at his head, "O-Oh God-" Another interruption came in the form of a bullet shooting through his eye. He looked down at the gun and frowned. He didn't have much bullets left.

Well, one of the corpses had to have some. Raziel knelt down and started searching through one of the older corpses, ignoring the sun beating down on him him from up above, "Nothing..." He frowned and started rifling through another corpse, though he made sure to grab another dagger. There were a dozen bodies here, one of them had to have bullets. A bow was useless at this point and any bullets or flintlocks he could scavenge would be one less soldier a threat to them.

It was only after the third corpse that he'd found some bullets and another gun, "Not enough," He eyed the small bag. There were only half a dozen in the bag and given the blood covering it he didn't know whether they could all still be used. Regardless he pocketed the the extra gun and ammunition and made to loot another body before a faint voice called out.

"Help...please..." He turned to the source of the voice and found a soldier raising his hand weakly. He was tempted to ignore him before he caught sight of his uniform: Patchwork and the armor held no insignia. Either a villager who had tried to protect the village or a soldier from the official army under the command of the Lord of Tarbes. Either way he wasn't an enemy.

"How bad are your injuries?" Raziel asked, kneeling down and looking over his body carefully. He could see the blood pooling behind him and given how tightly he held his side he could assume well enough that he had been stabbed there. Moving him would be risky at this rate.

"I...I don't know," The voice was weak. He was probably struggling just to stay conscious, "Just...Just get me out of here...will you? Michael and the others...fuck, this wasn't supposed to happen!" He coughed out dribbles of blood. He was assaulted by the stench of copper once again. Blood here smelled different compared to Lordran and yet it changed little.

"Now is not the time for regrets," He placed his arms under his back and carefully started to lift him, ignoring the "Argh!" the man gave in protest. He would die if he didn't bring him to the others so he had to stomach the momentary agony.

He took one last look around. Dozens of bodies strewn about the ground, some of Tarbes' own soldiers (if they could even be called that) and most of the Reconquista army. No Humanity on any of them and he didn't fancy trying to force it out of them with the Dark Hand. He'd never done it before and he didn't know how the others would react to him clumsily ravaging corpses looking for something they didn't truly understand.

The trek back to the 'sanctuary', really just the boarded up inn, was uneventful save for the sound of cannonshots peppering the air. As he understood it the Lord of Tarbes had taken priority so his estate had been targeted over the village itself. While this provided a temporary relief for the villagers it also meant they were caged and living on borrowed time. Once the lord of Tarbes was dead the village itself would be next.

Escaping had proved fruitless. Soldiers had surrounded Tarbes and even if they broke through there the sheer amount of soldiers that were being dropped off made it hard for more than a few villagers to escape the enclosing. Those that had managed to break past on their first attempts had either managed to get away or they were chased down by the other soldiers.

Using Sylphid would prove useless as well. Fast as she may have been she wasn't invincible nor was she intangible and other dragon riders spotting her could only end with the standing force coming down on the villagers they couldn't evacuate once they found out Tarbes somehow had a dragon that wasn't a useless sack of stones sleeping in a cave.

Evacuation had quickly been replaced with barricading themselves in either their houses or other buildings and praying that the Royal Tristain Army would arrive to save them before they all died. Personally Raziel had doubts on whether they could arrive here before everyone here died but he didn't fancy taking on an army all by himself. Even the strongest Undead couldn't hope to do so.

Some of Tristain's dragoon corps had appeared beforehand, likely messengers or envoys, but they had been either killed or forced to retreat either due to the ship's firepower or Albion's own dragon riders. He shook his head. He would never thought he would see the day dragons were forced to heel from ships and cannonfire. Lordran's history would have changed significantly if the Gods had gunpowder.

Much as he hated it, a part of him wished for the Gods to appear. They may have been selfish bastards but their level of power in their prime could easily allow them to level armies...on second thought maybe that wasn't such a good idea. He didn't fancy the people of Tarbes being turned to demented apes, being sacrificed to Nito, turning into demons or being forcefully made to pay tribute to Gwyn. They would solve this on their own.

Raziel knocked on the door with his blood covered hand, shifting the soldier's position on his shoulder unsteadily. Not long after Augustine peeked his head out carefully and eyed the soldier slung on Raziel's shoulder before he all but pulled him back into the inn and and barred the door again. Given how thin the wood was he doubted on whether it would for more than a few kicks but he kept quiet on that thought. Security was security and if it calmed them down then there was no point in arguing on it.

"Lad, you like you've been wrung through Helheim," Augustine commented, eyeing the cuts on Raziel's left arm and across his back. Truth be told he wondered how the young man could still stand upright given the state he appeared, nevermind the way he carried the physically larger man on his shoulder despite the injuries.

"I am fine. Just minor cuts," He placed the soldier on one of the few vacant tables and let out an unnecessary breath. In truth the myriad of injuries was painful but he could use an estus later when the others weren't looking, "Are there any more free rooms? I doubt he will last long. He has already lost consciousness."

"What's wrong with him then?" Augustine's face contorted as he caught sight of the man's legs, "Urgh, nevermind, I know exactly what's wrong," He pinched his nostrils to try and block out the smell of blood, "Shit, that's going to get infected. Not sure if he can use that leg when...if he makes it through this," He frowned, "We're running out of things to numb the pain. He's going to have to stomach through the cleaning without it."

"Better he become a cripple than a corpse," Raziel intoned, "Where are the others?"

"They're in the back," Augustine waved a hand at the back door, already beginning to cut through the man's ragged trousers to get a better look at the injury, "I think you should check on your friends. They're...not doing so well," His frown deepened. The flesh of the leg had been sliced off messily. He needed to stop the bleeding, "And tell that Monty girl that I'll need her help soon. At this rate we're going to lose more people to blood loss and infection than the wounds."

He was right on them not doing so well. As soon as Raziel opened the door Guiche let out a surprised scream at the sight of him, "Ahhh!"Followed quickly by the younger of Siesta's siblings screaming as well. He supposed he should have expected it: The state he was in left much to be desired and though most of them knew he could heal quickly that didn't mean his injuries looked anymore pleasant compared to the average person. The blood pouring down really wasn't helping.

"Raziel, are you alright?" Siesta checked over his arms before he pushed her away gently. He could bear with it.

"Where have you been?" Kirche walked in behind him and asked. Given the smell of burnt flesh sticking to her she was likely using her magic.

"Defending the gate," He pulled out the flintlock and started reloading it, "How many of the rooms are open? I found another soldier. I am not sure how long he will survive but his chances might improve if he were on a bed rather than a table."

"Three more, actually. The one's using them won't be needing them anymore," The mood in the room worsened. It was to be expected, of course: They had inadequate supplies and even though they used Montmorency and Kirche's magic and raided Augustine's supplies the rate of which people were getting injured left them unable to clean up.

Montmorency wasn't the best healer and Kirche could at best burn the wounds shut. None of them had any medical experience in patching up wounds save Siesta and Augustine, and even then the best they could often do was bandaging up the wounds and trying to ease their pain. There was nothing they could do if the person died from lack of blood, shock, infection, poisonings or Gods knew what else.

"Julien, take the others and sleep there for now," Siesta tapped her younger brother's soldier, "If any more wounded come you'll need to leave but get some sleep while you can, okay? I'll come up in a while."

"Okay, big sis..." Julien ushered his younger siblings out of the room and soon all who were left were Siesta, Raziel and the three Mages.

Pointless. It was all pointless. Two out of every three people they'd rescued would end up dying and those that did survive he doubted would last long enough. And that was assuming Reconquista didn't just decide to send the majority of their troops here in order to slaughter everyone. They'd been lucky so far; the greatest force they'd sent had been only the two dozen that had been cut down at the gate not too long ago, but he doubted that would last long. Once the dragon riders and the ship decided to divert their attention to them they would die...and he began to sincerely doubt there was a bonfire here.

"Guiche, how's that tunnel coming along?" Kirche suddenly asked. It was their last ditch plan: Dig a tunnel underground and try to bypass the troops encircling Tarbes. It could offer them a way to escape without attention but enacting that plan had proven difficult.

"Not good. Verdande can only dig so fast and my Valkyries weren't really meant for digging underground," Guiche coughed, "My willpower's beginning to run low and Verdande's getting tired. I'll need...maybe two days? A day and a half if I can muster up the willpower and I push Verdande, but those soldiers are spreading out and the distance we have to dig is getting larger."

"We do not have that time," Raziel cut in, "The Reconquista soldiers we had cut down at the gate had overwhelmed what few soldiers remained here. I can try to defend it as best I can but if they send a force in large number I will be unable to keep them from overtaking the town," He let out a sigh of frustration, "If a dragon rider lands here I will be unable to defend the village."

"How many?" Tabitha asked, looking up from her staff. Apart from him she'd been the only other person here that had consistently run out to defend Tarbes. He had found her assistance to be a blessing. Without her some of the other houses would have already been overtaken. He did at wonder why she had done it...perhaps she was a simply a good person underneath her reticence?

"Two dozen, armed with swords and spears," He answered.

"Scouting group. Will send more," Her eyes narrowed, "Lord of Tarbes?" She turned to Siesta.

"We don't know what happened to him yet," Siesta said, "Alphonse already warned him and he already sent the standing troops to fight against the soldiers but...I'm-I'm not sure how well they're going to do," She was trying to stay ambiguous but it was pretty clear to everyone that she meant to say they wouldn't last long, especially given the aerial advantage of the invading fleet.

"Flames," Raziel cursed and let out an annoyed growl, "Our only saving grace now is that the fleet has not diverted their full attention to us yet. Once they do so...we will have to take our chances with running," He was tempted to say 'We will all die' but he had no intention of lowering the already disastrously bad atmosphere in the room.

"Is Ms. Montmorency still capable of casting?" He asked, his eyes turning from the others towards the blonde sleeping on the makeshift bedding. While she would have preferred to sleep in an actual bed she wasn't going to force the injured out just so she could get some temporary relief. Given her somewhat erratic breathing she must have been exhausted from her constant casting.

"Montmorency's sleeping right now," Guiche answered, stepping in front of her sleeping form.

"Augustine needs her help-"

"She needs to rest," Guiche pushed Raziel back as he made to wake her up. Raziel threw him an annoyed glance, which the blonde (surprisingly enough) ignored with his own glare, "Augustine is running out of medicine and he needs assistance. Unless your magic can heal as well then she is the only one that can help her. As we argue the man is losing more blood and we do not have time to waste."

"She's barely able to sleep as it is!" Guiche all but yelled back, "Why don't...why don't you use that medicine from Rub al Kali! You were using it well enough on our trip here! She needs to rest!"

"Getting the...'medicine' is not as simple as you might think," He could see Tabitha and Siesta wince ever so slightly. They knew what exactly getting the 'medicine' entailed, "Arguing on this is useless. Surely she can-"

"She's tired, alright!" Guiche pushed him back again, "She wasn't even supposed be involved in this! None of us were! You can't expect her to-"

"Guiche...?" Montmorency's eyes opened blearily as she called out to her fiancee, "What's...what's wrong? Does the father need help again?" She was already beginning to stand up.

"No, everything's-"

"Yes, there is one more soldier that has been wounded," Raziel interrupted, "If you could assist Augustine it would be very appreciated."

"R..Right..." She let out a tired yawn and wobbly stood before clumsily making her way out of the door. He had to take back his opinion of her; despite her attitude from earlier she still had enough human decency to prioritize others over herself despite her fatigue. At the end of when people were pushed to the breaking point their attitudes could change severely.

As Guiche could attest by suddenly punching him at his side, "What did you do that for!? Montmorency's nearly close to collapsing! If she doesn't get any rest then-" Whatever he as about to say was interrupted by Raziel pushing him against the wall. That punch hurt! Damn spears stabbing him left quite the impression.

"I do not enjoy this, Guiche," Raziel snarled, "But what choice do we have? Running is no longer an option and none of us are capable of taking on an army even if we fight together. Our only option, as you and the others stated, is to wait here and hope," His lips curled into a sneer at the word, "that the royal army will arrive to cut through the soldiers so whoever's left here can escape. Until then our only choices are to stay here and survive."

"That doesn't mean-"

"Alright, that's enough!" Kirche quickly got between them and pushed them apart, "We do not need this right now! All of us are tired and we can't afford to waste our energy arguing with each other!" She gave them both stern glares, "For Brimir's sake Razi looks like he can barely stand and Tabitha's getting tired too! If we waste time arguing the soldiers are going to have an easier time killing all of us when they get here.

"But-"

"No, shut up, Razi!" Kirche interrupted, "I don't care what either of you want to say! We're all tired, we're all stressed and arguing isn't going to do us any favors!"

"He was-"

"I said I don't care!" She turned to Guiche now, "I don't care if you want to have another duel with him! Wait till we get back to the academy, alright!? Right now we need both of you alive! So stop your arguing and Suck. It. Up!" She punctuated her statement by pushing them both apart even more and pulling out her wand, "And if either of you continue to act like kids I'm going to burn you myself! Am I clear!?"

""...Clear..."" Both Guiche and Raziel answered, whatever anger they felt evaporating at Kirche's sudden aggressiveness. Well, she was right: Arguing and fighting amongst each other would prove useless and serve only to make them easier fodder. Raziel sucked in a pained breath as he rubbed his side. Damn punch hurt, and it was made all the more insulting considering who had done it.

"Uh...sorry about that," Guiche rubbed the back of his head as he caught sight of where Raziel's hand had been placed, "She's right, we can't argue here, but...she's my fiancee and all I don't want her to get hurt."

"She would be more happy if you acted that way all the time rather than only in times of desperation," Raziel began to unbutton his tunic. At this point none of them would care considering the situation, "I do not know how much longer we can keep repelling them. My miracles and pyromancy are running thin and I lack to means to get them back," He removed his tunic and placed it on the small table. The normally white shirt he'd used to replace the leather armor was not dyed red and torn apart. It was barely holding together.

"Oh God..." Guiche and the others looked away as they saw what lay beneath the tunic. His body had been covered in cuts and bruises, though Raziel considered it lucky his bone marrow hadn't been exposed as of yet. Tabitha eyed the drying blood with a degree of apprehension. She didn't know what exactly he was but the blood dampened any thoughts of him being a Golem.

"How in Helheim are you still standing?" Kirche let out a nervous breath as she saw one of the wounds reopen and begin to bleed again. Raziel clicked his tongue in annoyance and began to rummage through his pocket.

"It should be obvious to you all by now that I am no ordinary human," He caught sight of Siesta's nervous gaze before he pulled out the green bottle from his pocket with a shake. Not much left, "Whatever your opinion may be keep it to yourself till we are out of this situation. I have no desire to incite conflict with any of you," He turned back to look at them, "If you wish to tell others then I cannot stop you. Though if you expect me to burn at the stake without a fight then you are mistaken.

"Wow...didn't think you'd admit just like that," Kirche admitted in a slightly casual tone. Granted it was pretty much an open secret that there was more to Raziel than what Louise had told them in her lie but none of them had probed too deep. No Mage could survive the injuries he normally accumulated and his actions didn't have the bearing of a normal magic user.

"I see little point now. You have already seen the state I am in and master's excuse of me being a Mage from a distant land does little to explain it," He grabbed the talisman and checked to see if he could cast any healing miracles, "Damn it..." He still hadn't recovered its use. His eyes drifted back to the Estus. Judging by its contents he could only take one or two 'drinks' of it before he ran out. Should he save it for later? He could no doubt regenerate his wounds but the timeframe wouldn't allow it.

"So...what are you then?" Guiche asked awkwardly. He had to admit through his hesitation he was curious all the same. Judging by the way Tabitha and Kirche were acting they were likely curious as well, "Are you a Vampire then? Or maybe one of the winged people whose wings had been cut off?" It sounded bizarre but it was one of the few ways to explain his odd magic and supernatural resilience.

"Now is not the time to explain," He shook his head. He would have to save it, "Regardless I feel no desire to take your blood neither am I capable of flight. I would have flown us out of here if I could," He couldn't help but smile at the thought, "We have to focus on surviving this. You can hate me or become disgusted with me, but I need your help. Please," He turned and gave them a short bow.

"Ah, geez, why are you acting so damn dramatic?" Kirche said, "Like you said we need to focus on surviving and fighting with one another isn't going to help. There's no point in asking that now considering we're all stuck here," She shrugged, "But I want an explanation of what exactly is up with you. Given the way you were acting I would've thought you liked guys over girls but you don't act any different to them either. I'm honestly curious why."

"...I will most likely just lie to you," Raziel admitted, though he did find it curious that among all things she focused on his preferences. If he had to admit it then it didn't really matter to him whether it was male or female; he had an equal lack of attraction to both, barring the beautiful queen that had enchanted him.

"How long will it take for the army to arrive?"

"One or two days," Tabitha intoned, "Distance far. Forced march." And that wasn't even factoring in the time it would take for the nobles to argue on what to do.

"I am not sure if we can last that long," He put his hands on his knees and placed Derflinger on the table, "If we are lucky then the invading force will lighten during the night but at this point escaping is impossible. There are too many wounded here and transporting them even on Sylphid is unfeasible. Once the army arrives the bulk of the force should be distracted. It is our only chance to escape."

""""Agreed."""" They all replied.

Damn it all to the Abyss, this was hopeless. He looked up at the shaking ceiling. Where in the flames was that Gods damned army that was supposed to come? They wouldn't survive much longer.

"Louise...I need help."

---

This wasn't supposed to happen.

Henrietta sat at the head of the long table as the various aristocrats argued on the course of action. In her minor political lessons she'd always been taught that politeness was one of the key things in any negotiation or discussion. Even when someone threatened you or lied to your face you would never raise your voice and you would answer back with a smile. Always with a smile.

Well it was either that lesson was wrong or it only applied to princesses because there was nobody smiling and being polite right now.

"This is a misunderstanding! We should just explain it!"

"What misunderstanding!? Didn't they shoot down one of ours ships!? This can't be forgiven!"

"Didn't our ship misfire? If-If we explain everything then-"

"Forget explaining! This is an act of war!"

All around her she could see the older nobles and generals arguing with one another. Some arguing for peace, some arguing for war. She looked down at her attire. The wedding dress she had chosen was, in the words of most romantics, 'simple yet elegant'. Though right now she couldn't care less since all it did was make her stand out even more that she had no place here.

"What about Germania? Are they not giving us aid?"

"The marriage hasn't pulled through yet! They're going to leave us out to dry!"

The marriage was supposed to happen tomorrow, but at this rate she doubted they could hold the ceremony before Reconquista's invading fleet was halfway through to the capital. She looked down at her lap and held onto the dress' fabric tightly. She wasn't supposed to say anything; she wasn't even supposed to be here. Her presence was merely for formality's sake alone. In the end Mazarin would make the final decision as always.

"According to the messenger's report they were already making their way to Tarbes! Even if we attempt to make peace with them now the village will be destroyed or used as an outpost. We must fight back."

"The loss of one village is regrettable but a single village is not worth risking a war over. We must negotiate!"

"Are you a fool!? Once they take that village what's stopping them from taking over the other villages to use as an outpost!? The Village matters little but if they can use it as an outpost for resupplying their troops they'll have an advantage!"

Regrettable. Matters little. Henrietta closed her eyes briefly and pursed her lips. This was what it all came down to: Even to the nobles that genuinely cared for their subjects and the people under their command everything became a matter of statistics. Would the soldiers they would lose be worth the cost? Was giving up a village and its people worth it if it meant hurting your enemy? Lives were ultimately currency in times of war and even peace.

Before the nobles could begin to argue once again another messenger opened the door with a frantic yell, "The Lord of Tarbes is dead!" He panted in exhaustion, "Reconquista's forces have executed him and are spreading all over the area of Tarbes!"

Arguments lit up once again. More talks of peace, more arguments for war. Henrietta grit her teeth as anger began to rise within her. She knew that Reconquista would never keep their word and yet would they believe her? If they surrendered they could plan ahead, perhaps feign loyalty to Cromwell and his regime while biding their time to strike.

No, that would never work. Once they conquered Tristain the nobles would retain their power in name only and they would be nothing but Cromwell's lackeys from now until the end of their lives. No doubt those that advocated peace and surrender were unaware of this or hoping they would be the exception to the rule. Still, surrender would no doubt allow them all to live.

But living as heir puppets would be no better.

"Enough!" The room was silenced by the Princess' sudden yell, "As we argue here our subjects die and suffer at the hands of these invaders! If we are to have any chance of surviving this with our honor intact we will do out duties as the nobles of this land and protect those who we swore an oath to defend."

"But what about Germania-"

"We cannot afford to wait," She cut him off, "If none of you are willing to stand against this injustice then I will do so myself! Any who wish to stand with their honor held high gather whatever men are loyal to you and any who wish to kneel to this tyrant can stay here. But I will not abandon the people we have a duty to protect! Stay here if you wish."

"Princess Henrietta!" Mazarin grabbed her hand but she forcefully shook him off. It was just as well since he would have caught on to the fact that her hands were shaking in fear. She was scared; she knew she could have been marching both herself and Tristain's army to death and for all her talk she still didn't want to die. But it was either a quick and 'honorable' death or a slow death by the poison Cromwell would feed them.

And she would rather die trying than doing nothing at all.

Outside the door Louise let out a surprised squeak as Henrietta suddenly stormed out of the meeting room, tearing up the fabric of her wedding dress in the process. As she held no official position in politics she wasn't allowed into the room but she still stood outside with Agnes, who was guarding the princess silently, all the same as a show of support.

She certainly didn't expect this. She turned to Agnes, who gave her a blank shrug before she began to match the Princess' pace. Louise hurried to catch up.

"Princess, what's going on?" She asked nervously, "Have they decided on a course of action on what to do about the situation in Tarbes. Her stomach twisted into worried knots. Raziel and the others had gone there for their so called treasure hunt but it had been weeks since they had made that declaration and surely they were already back at the academy...right?

She wanted to believe it, but something told her that wasn't the case.

"I am leading the army on a forced march to Tarbes," Louise coughed. She was what!? "I don't expect I sound very sound, do I?" She smiled blankly, "But we cannot afford to let Reconquista win this. We swore to defend the people of this land and I will not let the sacrifice of Wales and everyone who stayed in Newcastle go to waste. I could never forgive myself otherwise."

"Are-Are you sure about this?"

"Truthfully no, but I cannot exactly go back now that I've stormed out," She gave Louise a wry smile and turned to Agnes, "Agnes, prepare a steed. We need to get to Tarbes as quickly as possible."

"At once," She did a formal bow and left.

"Louise...go back to the academy-"

"No! I'm...I'm going with you," She could feel her entire body shaking. She was going to go to a warzone; it was practically suicide. But she couldn't abandon the princess or, if her gut feeling was right, Raziel and her schoolmates.

"Louise..." Henrietta looked as if she wanted to say something more before Louise interrupted her.

"Princess, I'm not going to abandon you in your time of need," She took a calming breath, "And even if you were not the one to lead the army I would still have to go. My Familiar and my frie- schoolmates are in Tarbes and on my pride as a noble I can't abandon them when I could help them," Granted she had no idea how she would go about doing that but she should try all the same.

"Thank you," Henrietta hugged her quickly before departing for her room. She needed to get out of the the dress and something that would enable her to fight better.

Louise watched her go and tried in vain to calm herself, "Oh Father Brimir, please protect us," She took out the small prayer book and held it against her chest. It was a faint hope but she wished that Brimir would send them something, anything to save them in their time of need.

---

"Hold down his leg!"

Raziel held down the man's leg, once again being assaulted by the combination of blood and screams as the man convulsed from the pain of his exposed bone marrow, "Healing water, grant this man respite," Montmorency was casting another spell next to him that would hopefully mend his leg.

The assault had continued all throughout the night, although thankfully they never sent more than a dozen at a time now. While difficult to manage due to their chaotic surroundings Tabitha and himself were enough to keep them at bay for the moment, "He has calmed down," He let out a relieved sigh as the man stopped struggling, though he knew that it would be only a temporary respite.

Fatigue was beginning to eat away at the others. They slept in shifts of two to three hours but it was becoming blindingly obvious that this wasn't enough. All of their movements were sluggish and becoming slower by the second. Montmorency had received the worst of it, being forced awake over and over again and refusing Guiche's pleas that she should rest first.

He wondered how much longer her willpower would last. She'd made a few potions out of Augustine's ingredients but her magic was what they truly needed. At best the potions could alleviate the pain somewhat or cure them of their infections.

"We've got another one!" Another one of the villagers yelled. Augustine grimaced at the sight of the soldier; his arm had been blown off. The poor lad must have been too close to a barrage of cannon fire. The large priest took the soldier with a grateful nod and placed him at one of the vacant tables. They were running out of room and medicine.

"Ms. Montmorency, could you still cast?" He asked, although by her ragged breathing it was obvious what the answer to that would be. She'd already been pushing herself since daybreak and she doubted she could utter even a single spellword without fainting.

"I..I can...still..." She collapsed onto the ground as her vision began to fade. Raziel lifted her up with a frown, "I...I can't anymore...I need to rest..." Raziel internally cursed. She would need hours if not days of rest to recover from this and they didn't have that time. He placed her on the makeshift bedding and ran back to Augustine. They would need a new plan.

"By Brimir, lad, if this was our judgement then I might have to reconsider my faith in Him," He placing a hand across his face and took a deep breath. The smell of blood was beginning to overpower his senses, "I didn't want to tell this to the others but I'm not sure if even the army can save us now. Even if they arrive here we're all going to be dead long before they do.

"I think all of us know in a way," He winced as one of the fresh cuts on his body burned at him, "They will not accept surrender, though I doubt any here would take it even if it was an option," He clenched his fist, "I am not so sure how I long I can keep fighting. These injuries...they are beginning to tear at me. It is getting harder to move..." He had already drunk from the estus once again and all he had left was one sip before it was gone.

"Yeah, I've seen you fight," Augustine's lips curled into a wry grin, "You fight like a demon from Helheim, lad. Those injuries on your body...I've seen men twice your size crumple and die at quarter the amount of that. It's a miracle you're still alive," He looked out the window again, "Once they decide to attack us in force

"Why have they not done so?" He rolled his shoulder to try and ease the pain, "They've made camp in some of the open fields. I have seen them dropping troops, setting up camp and unloading supplies. Taking the village would be simple enough, and yet all they've sent are scouting troops. What is it that is stopping them from doing so and killing us all?"

"The only reason we're allowed to live is because they don't think we're important enough just yet," He clenched his hand in frustration, "Truth of the matter is, lad, that if they wanted to they could level the whole village right now and there'd be nothing we can do about it. I hate to say it but they don't think we're worth sending more than a dozen conscripts."

"Those conscripts are dead," Raziel pointed out, "Why do they prevent us from leaving then? As you say we are not important and none of us are capable of changing the tide of this invasion. It should matter little to them if we leave."

"Yeah, but so are our soldiers," He answered, "They don't care how many soldiers they lose on the ground. So long as the fleet and the dragoons are alive they can sacrifice as many conscripts and mercs as they want," He sighed, "As for why they're not letting any of us leave, it has nothing to do with us. I've been in my fair share of fights and large battles, lad, and this is exactly the same as before."

"What is?"

"No one gets in or out," He answered grimly, "None of these soldiers know why and I'm pretty sure they don't give a damn. Orders are orders," He held the table tightly, "Anybody caught trying to get out is going to be killed, no exceptions. Staying here isn't going to last as long either. At some point they're going to march on down to this village and burn it all down with all of us here. This little place isn't important enough to warrant sparing."

"I do not suppose explaining is an option?" He asked sarcastically.

"Hah," Augustine let out a surprised chortle, "Nah, even if we beg and plead for our lives some asshole commander's going to accuse us of trying to escape to leak something important back to the royal family. Would look better on the reports and killing 'enemy assets' just places him closer to getting a medal of commendation" He scoffed, "All of us just want to get out, but none of them are going to see that. Right now all of us are dead men walking...though by the look of you it seems like you're already halfway there."

"Many would call this resilience a curse," Raziel 'joked', "...What happened to the others that came here before?"

"...Dead, as expected," He frowned, "We tried to open up their bodies again to get the bullets and other shit out but the pain and blood loss must have been too much for them."

"...It is my fault," He gripped the table angrily. When he had recovered the use of his healing miracles in the night he had used it to aid the pair in caring for the wounded. It had worked out well at first; the wounded were treated and Raziel's miracles were able to mend up the final parts of their injuries to at the very least leave them stable.

The problem came when the bodies started to pile up. Treatment of each one became impossible and in his haste he had used the miracles to patch up any wounded that were sent to them. It was a mistake: Arrows that had been lodged inside remained when he had healed the skin. Bullets, shrapnel, wooden splinters and other things that needed to be removed were left inside when he had used the miracles on them. He couldn't imagine what they had gone through but their screams still echoed in his mind. The agony they must have felt...

An Undead's skin was more capable of stopping things that would normally pierce through and remain. When he had been shot at by arrows and bolts they were easy enough to remove, not being able to pierce through the corpse that lied beneath. He had forgotten this and those he had sought to heal only suffered more. Augustine was forced to cut them open again and hopefully try to dig the foreign objects out.

None of them survived, as expected.

"The road to to Helheim is paved with good intentions," Augustine commented, "We all make mistakes and they would have died whether you tried or not. But we can't keep going like this," He smashed his fist against the wall in frustration, "Even if we cure their wounds a lot of them are infected or they go into shock because they lost so much blood. And some just...give up on living altogether."

"What is it that we need?"

"We need something to cure poison and infection. Something to keep them stable till we their body makes up for the lost blood. The medicine we have here barely works," He grit his teeth, "But what are we going to do? There's no such thing as a miracle medicine now, is there?"

...There was, actually. But getting it...would they be willing to go that far. He shook his head. They didn't have to.

He would, "Augustine, is there still an empty room here? A closet or a storage space? It does not have to be wide."

"Well, there's an old closet around here. It's too dirty so no one can go in and risk infection but-"

"Open it and put a table inside," He unbarred the door, "When I come back do not question my actions and do not let your curiosity run amok. I know of a way to save these people...but you do not wish to know how."

---

Bowood was beginning to worry.

By all accounts the siege was proceeding as well as could be. Tarbes' lord was dead and the standing army had been all but decimated, save a few stragglers that were still trying to fight to their dying breath. At the rate they were going they would be able to take Tarbes and the surrounding villages with relative ease and set a path and outpost towards the capital.

The preparation of the camp was going smoothly as well. Already he could see the tents being set up on the field and the various supplies being offloaded onto the flat and (more importantly) spacious ground. Going through the village rather than attempting to take La Rochelle as the Tristanians no doubt expected would be a great boon once they started marching.

But there still anomalies. All of the scouts he'd sent to Tarbes hadn't reported back and any attempts to send in a squad or platoon to investigate ultimately ended with none of them coming back as well. The village itself was a low priority target and it was doubtful that they had a force strong enough to resist but the lack of a response still worried him.

The other cause for concern was the Viscount. The closer they got to Tarbes the more his arm convulsed and his mood worsened. When asked on it he would tell him to focus on the task at hand but it was becoming harder to ignore the noble's worsening condition.

"Has there been any reports on the scouts you've sent?" Wardes asked suddenly.

"None, Viscount," He replied, "There have been no answers from the investigative squad I sent as well.

"No, there's something down there, something...familiar," His arm convulsed again despite his efforts to stop, "I will go down to the battlefield myself when the Tristanian army arrives. I trust you have a spare dragon?"

"Emperor Cromwell sent one to us for your personal use. As I understand he is of a fantastic breed. If you wish to ride him then he is waiting for you at the ship's bow. I wish you luck, Viscount."

"And you, Captain."

---

Augustine couldn't believe it. When he saw Raziel carrying the corpse of one of Reconquista's soldiers he thought he'd gone mad, especially when Raziel went into the storage space and closed it behind him. It was only after five minutes that he had come out, his hands and face bloody but clutching something like dark fire in his hand. When he'd held it he felt a sense of relief and warmth, but what astounded him most was what it had done to the patients.

They had been truly healed. All of their injuries had disappeared in a gust of white plumes, their pale bodies once again coloring as if the blood had been restored to them. Any poison they had been suffering from had been cured many of those who began to wake told him that it felt as if their bodies had never been injured in the first place.

The process continued for a while longer. Raziel would dump the corpse he had been 'using' before grabbing another one and doing whatever it was that he did. He didn't ask, as per Raziel's instructions, but when he caught glimpses of the corpses after he had been done with them he could see them torn apart from the seams. their internal body exposed as if opened by a wild animal.

He didn't rightly know what he was doing but he knew by the look on Raziel's face that he felt no pleasure in it. With every corpse that had been 'drained' the blank expression on Raziel's face became more and more strained. At times he would even catch what seemed to be runes in his hand glowing as if powered by magic, but the headaches he complained about distracted him from looking too much into it.

Inside the closet, Raziel closed his eyes and steeled himself as he used the dagger to cut into the last corpse. Humanity was held in the bones and inside the body of a person. While the Dark Hand could be used in order to siphon Humanity out of living people and even other Undead, it was much harder to do so when life and unlife left them completely.

"Where is it..." He rifled through the stomach, ignoring the subtle disgust tearing through his mind. He had searched through the body before, but always monsters. Now he had been searching through fresh corpses of enemies he had killed. It shouldn't have been different, but he couldn't deny that he was disgusted with himself at the depths he was willing to go through.

"Ahhh..." He raised a bloodstained hand and held his head as he saw the runes glowing again. They were trying to feed him more memories, but he couldn't afford to be distracted. The corpse wouldn't stay fresh for long and once enough time passed they became unfeasible for taking Humanity from. He didn't even try to understand why this was so. He had more to worry about.

"Need to crush the bones..." He grabbed at the ribs and pulled. If Humanity couldn't be taken from inside their body or through the 'kiss' of the Dark Hand then there was always another option - Crush their bones since this was commonly the pockets of Humanity were held. More blood coated his fingers and his hands began to ache from the effort of crushing the bone into dust.

Manus looked down at the caverns of-

No, damn it! He couldn't afford to be distracted. He crushed the bones quickly and, not long after, the bloodstained substance was replaced by the dark fire of Humanity. The other corpses were too far gone to use so if there were any more patients they would have to use the bodies of the fallen villagers and soldiers that the inn still held. Though he doubted any of them wanted to see their loved ones torn apart and desecrated.

"This is the last one," He opened the door and was met with the surprised gazes of the others. What were they doing here? Hadn't they been resting? Immediately he closed the door behind him, muttering a curse to himself. He did not want the others to see what he had been doing.

"What were you-"

"Not now. Augustine, this is the last one," He placed the dark effigy against the priest's palm, "Use it on whoever you deem needs it most. I will be unable to get any more until-"

"Waah, what is this!?" Guiche's yell caused a chill to spread through him. He turned back and to the closet and froze as he realized the door had been opened. Everybody barring Augustine and Tabitha raised a hand to their mouths as they saw the torn open body bleeding onto the floor, its stomach exposed with parts of its ribs missing. It was a gruesome scene to all but the most composed or jaded.

"Razi, what were you-"

"What was necessary," He walked to the door and closed it forcefully, "Healing their wounds were not enough. Infection, blood loss...the medicine and the magic were not enough. They needed something else to keep them alive and there were no other sources I could have taken from."

"You were...ravaging corpses, Oh God," Montmorency felt faint and it had nothing to do with her fatigue. Just what in the void had Valliere summoned that day?

"Would you prefer it if I took them from any of you?" They all flinched at the question, "Humanity can be taken from any living host or by taking them from the corpses. Judge me if you wish but if it gives any of the injured here a chance of survival then I am willing to be seen as a monster for it," He closed his eyes briefly, "Humanity...the 'medicine' does not harm anyone when used sparingly. So long as we use it just this once there will be no repercussions."

"Wasn't there another way?" Guiche all but yelled, "You were-"

"I know what I was doing," He scowled, "But we are out of options. You fiancee can barely stand and the medicine and bandages we have here are not enough to save those that are dying from infection or losing too much blood. If you have another plan then do so because this is the only one I can think of now that can save as many as we can."

An uncomfortable silenced passed between them all before Tabitha spoke up, "Soldiers dead already. 'Medicine' is...useful."

"D-Don't tell me you approve of this!?" Motmorency turned to the bluenette in shock, "He's desecrating corpses like a deranged animal! I want to help these people but this is not-"

"Other options?" Tabitha asked blankly.

"Well, no, but-"

"No choice then," She concluded succinctly, ignoring Montmorency's aghast expression. While she wasn't comfortable with it she couldn't deny that the 'Humanity' substance was useful regardless of its origin. In the end the bodies of the soldiers would either be burnt or tossed down a cliff somewhere to form a mass grave; unless they were nobles they weren't going to be shipped back to their loved ones and given honorable last rights. In the interest of pragmatism using their bodies to save those they could was better than doing nothing.

Tabitha tensed as frantic knocking reached the door. Seeing that no one else was going to move she removed the wooden barricade and stepped aside as Siesta's mother rushed inside in a panic.

"Mother, what's wrong?" Siesta asked nervously. Both her parents had been going around assisting the other villagers or dragging those not too injured to be healed at the inn. Her eyes looked past her. Where was her father? He wouldn't have let her go out alone in this situation.

"It's...It's your father, he's..."

---

Raziel stared at Alexandre's prone form lying on the bed. The man was a rock, or at least that's what anybody in the village would say. But to see him now...he couldn't imagine it. The left side of his face had been seared with deep burns and beneath the blanket he could see a pool of blood. Much as he didn't want to see it the man's leg had likely been crushed into nothingness.

He didn't know what happened: Had he been attacked by one of the dragoons? Or perhaps he had gotten too close to a barrage of cannon fire? In the end it didn't matter. The man was dying and given the state he was in he wouldn't last much longer. Already he could see his breathing becoming weaker and the bandages were already beginning to get soaked through with the blood trying to escape its confines.

"No, dad, please..." Siesta was kneeling at her father's side and clutching his hand tightly, the rest of her family surrounding him as well. Raziel walked to the window and kept watch on the gate. The others had stayed behind at the inn and the house wasn't too secure. Moving him to the slightly more secure inn was risky. At the state he was in he wouldn't survive the standing.

"No more soldiers..." His eyes narrowed as he stared at the gate. Even a single tuft of Humanity could save him but there were no more fresh corpses and the ones there couldn't be used; the Dark Hand didn't react to them and he'd already tried to siphon them. He turned to look back at Alexandre. If he didn't get any assistance then he was going to die.

He needed a fresh corpse.

"Siesta...I am going back to the inn. Stay here," Going out to kill an enemy soldier would take too long and every breath could have been his last. He needed to get the human effigy now. He was halfway through to the inn when Siesta suddenly ran out of her house and forcefully grabbed his arm, "Siesta, the longer we wait the less time your father has."

"W-Wait," She looked down at the ground, "E-Earlier...you said that you could take this...'Humanity' from living people, right?" He nodded, though he failed to see the point she was...

Wait.

"...You are not suggesting-"

"Take some from me then," She pulled his hand forcefully, "Just one is enough, right? One can save my father like it did everyone else-"

"That would kill you," He shook off her hand, "In the best of all worlds I can take some from you without harming you but...I doubt I can resist the hunger if it ever came down to it."

"I...I don't want to lose my father, Raziel," She took hold of his hand and cried, "He's suffering now and he doesn't deserve to die like this! Please...Please save him...I trust you, so-"

"Go back to your father. I will find a way to help him," He shook of her hand and made his way to the inn again. This was no fairy tale - It didn't matter if Siesta trusted him. Many of the Darkwraith's victims were friends and lovers, people whose trust had been used against them in order to make the siphoning painless. Unless she was a Firekeeper the Humanity he would take from her would end up killing her or leave her violated in a way she could never truly recover from.

Taking only a portion of their Humanity was certainly possible, he had done it with Fouquet beforehand, but given the state of his injuries he couldn't risk it. Another headache engulfed his head reminding him of his second problem. He stared down in slight annoyance at the glowing runes. Whenever the runes glowed the feeling of hunger and temptation increased. If he was calm he could attempt to siphon carefully but something inside told him that if he used the Dark Hand on anyone they would be left as nothing but a festering Hollow.

He looked at the gate again. They had sent no more scouts and making his way to the camp would take too long, assuming he managed to avoid becoming overwhelmed by the soldiers stationed there.

That left one other solution.

"Ah, there you are," Augustine smiled in relief as Raziel walked past him silently, "Listen, I know none of the others like what you did but every person that was dying here owes you their lives-"

"Where do you keep the bodies of the deceased?" He looked confused at the sudden question. Raziel growled in annoyance, "Augustine, where are the bodies of the people that had died from their injuries?"

"Well we placed them all in the basement. Its not proper, I know, but we'll bury them when we have time. Why, what do you-"

"Open the door to the basement," Raziel interrupted again, "I need to get one of the bodies. Since they died recently their bodies should still hold some Humanity-"

"H-Hold on, lad! You're not going to..." Raziel's serious gaze was the only answer he needed, "Wha...no! Lad, taking from enemy soldiers is one thing, but the people here need something to bury when all this is said and done! You can't just-"

"What happened to your words of gratitude from earlier?" He rolled his eyes, "Alexandre is dying, Augustine. Even one clump of Humanity is enough to save him-"

"That's different!" Of course it was..."Listen, there has to be-"

"Another way?" He interrupted, sarcasm dripping from his voice, "I have heard it all before. 'There must be another way', 'We should not do this', 'There is always an alternative'," He let out an annoyed breath, "Unless you can think of something to stop Alexnadre from dying then do not act as if to lecture me on morality. Siesta is offering herself in her father's place and I will not take that choice."

"...You do realize what'll happen if anybody finds out, right?" Augustine warned numbly, "If you do this you're depriving someone of properly burying their loved ones."

"If I do not do this a family will lose a husband and a father," Raziel bit back, "Regardless of how you wish to justify it someone will always lose something. These soldiers I have taken from also have loved ones that will never see them again," He pursed his lips, "I find it is best that we not worry about how our actions will always hurt someone else in the end. I have no more delusions of being a messiah that can save everyone, do you?"

"The only messiah we have is Father Brimir," Augustine snorted, "All right, lad, but make sure you know what you're doing and, if you can, leave the body whole will you?"

"I will do my best."

---

Louise shivered as they got ever closer to Tarbes. The forced march had lasted for many hours and the army was beginning to show signs of fatigue. As much as she wanted to believe that Tristain's army would be able to prevail she doubted that the majority of the army would be in any condition considering how rushed they were in preparing for the march.

"You look worried, Ms. Valliere," Agnes commented next to her, adjusting her place on horse she rode. As the princess' bodyguard it was her duty to protect her no matter the danger, though she had to admit that she certainly wasn't expecting her charge to lead the army against Albion's aerial fleet. Given the reports that came from the dragoons they were almost certainly walking to certain death.

"I...I'm not sure if this is a good idea," She whispered hesitantly. Swallowing her nervousness she moved the gauntlet of the armor she had been given. Truth be told she doubted on whether it would protect her considering how ceremonial it looked but it was infinitely better to running headlong into Tarbes

"I must agree with you, Ms. Valliere," Agnes sighed. She looked at the back of the princess, who was leading the army a small distance ahead of of them on a unicorn, "As the princess' sword and shield I will follow her orders with no hesitation, but I worry on whether this truly the wisest course of action to take right now. The reports of the surviving dragoons indicates that the fleet surrounding the area around Tarbes is substantial. That's not even considering the dragon riders Albion has under their command."

"Hmm..." She didn't know what to say. She knew well enough that the dragon riders of Albion were among the best in the entire land of Halkeginia, to the point that even Germania with its vast armies would hesitate to fight against them. Their lack of numbers would also be a problem: While a forced march to save a town sounded great in stories it didn't change the fact that the soldiers would become exhausted and not all of the army could be mobilized so quickly without prior planning and arrangements.

The rest of the ride to Tarbes was quiet, save for Henrietta's occasional order to go faster or for the remaining dragoons to scout ahead. With every step the horse took her nervousness and the urge to run became ever larger. But no, she couldn't run, not now. She resolved herself to look ahead before a prickling pain engulfed her left eye.

Inside Siesta's house, Raziel let out a muffled cry of pain as the vision in his left eye changed. To his right he could see Alexandre hugging his family due to his 'miraculous recovery', but in his left he could see unfamiliar scenery. A horse moving forward in a rigid march with soldiers from all sides scrabbling to move forward. He as seeing through Louise's eyes.

"Th-Thank you so much," He was distracted by Siesta's mother suddenly hugging him, tears still continuing to pour from her eyes, "I...I don't know how you did it, but you've saved my husband. We owe you a debt we can never repay."

"It...was not a problem," He had to resist the urge to push her off out of instinct. Thankfully the family was too deep in their relief that they hadn't noticed his left eye turning a pinkish red, "Ex-Excuse me," He pushed her off and looked out the window to better focus. He could see more soldiers and the the knight, Agnes, asking something from Louise that he couldn't make out. She must have noticed her eye changing color.

"That Familiar's bond is acting up again," Derf clicked, "Must mean pinky's getting close to here. Dunno what's she's doing here though."

"She must be coming with the army," He shook his head and sighed in relief as their connection severed, "Alexandre, we must go soon," He picked up Derflinger and slung him across his back, ignoring the way the cuts seared at him, "The...'medicine' should allow you to stand and run well enough. I will go to the inn and warn the others. We must prepare to leave."

"I-I'm going with you," Siesta ran after his retreating figure. She rushed to catch up to his fleeting figure, "R-Raziel, wait," She grabbed his wrist, "I just wanted to say thank you again. You saved my father, and we'll never forget that."

"The price that comes with it may be too much to bear," He whispered to himself. He knocked at the door of the inn again, "Do not question me on how I had gotten the Humanity needed to save him. You may regret hearing the answer."

"Why-"

"What's going on?" Augustine unbarred the door again, interrupting her. The group of Mages looked up from what they were doing with expectant gazes, though he didn't miss the way Guiche's fiancee was glaring at him. He would have to deal with that later.

"I saw through Louise's eyes using the...'Familiar Bond'," He answered, "Master is getting closer and from her eyes I saw the army. They should arrive not too long from now."

"What would Valliere be doing with the army?" Kirche asked incredulously.

"Whatever her reason is we need to run once they arrive," Guiche cut in before turning to Tabitha, "What about Sylphid? Is your Familiar going to be able to help us fly out of here?"

"Too dangerous. Definitely be attacked," She replied, "Tunnel finished?"

"No, I didn't get very far," Guiche frowned, "We can't afford to use it. Once the army arrives Reconquista's going to burn all the buildings down," Siesta winced, "We'll be trapped underground with no way back out. My willpower's nearly gone and Verdande's too tired to keep digging. We'll...We'll have to take our chances with running at the forest and hope they can't catch us there."

"If the army can distract them long enough," Montmorency commented glumly, "We have to be sure on what we're doing. Once they arrive here Reconquista's going to focus their attention here and turn this village into a battleground," She wrung her hands through her hair, "A lot of the people here have been...'cured' but there are still some that are going to have a hard time walking."

"We run to the forest. If we get far enough Sylphid may be able to help us escape," Raziel said, "Augustine was able to heal most of the injured with Humanity and those that have difficulty moving will have to be assisted by any villagers that are able or by those that have fully healed already," He brought a hand across his face, "All that is left is to wait."

Waiting had turned out more tense than anything else he'd experienced. Throughout the entire ordeal all of them had been running either on adrenaline or desperation, stopping only when the fatigue became too much for them to handle. Now they all sat and waited, occasionally looking out the window when bursts of cannonfire boomed.

They were all tense. Guiche and Montmorency sat together, the latter with her head on the former's shoulder and trying her best to sleep and conserve her energy. Kirche was walking around and biting her lip while Tabitha read one of her books with deliberate slowness. Augustine and Alexandre were helping the patients up while Siesta's mother gave instructions to her children. She wanted them to try and find shelter in the forest and to make utmost sure that they didn't separate from one another.

"It looks like they're landing. Troops are coming this way too," Alexandre grimaced as he looked out the window. One of the airships was descending down onto the square and he could see platoons of soldiers amassing at the gates. They were going to meet Tristain's army head on, "We need to leave. All of you, go through the backdoor. Now!"

---

Henrietta had expected the forces of Reconquista to be vast, but even still she couldn't stop her eyes from widening as her mind processed what she was seeing. A village burning, dead bodies scattered around puppets that had been torn from their strings. Soldiers marched towards them defiantly while up above ships and tamed dragons flew, burning down and destroying all that laid in their path.

"Princess, what is your command?" Agnes questioned her.

"F-Focus on the enemies at the ground!" She yelled at her soldiers, "Dragoons, target the ships and take down as many as you can! We will not fall to Reconquista's tyranny this day!"

"You heard her!" One of the squad leaders yelled, "Charge in and take down as many of those bastards as you can! For the Royal Family! For Tristain!"

"FOR TRISTAIN!" The army yelled back in response. Louise covered her ears briefly and tried to keep her horse calm as the soldiers all but stampeded past her, weapons raised and putting their lives on the line.

---

"Gods damn it," Raziel pierced the soldier's neck and stabbed him into the ground forcefully. To his right Kirche casted a quick fire spell and burnt the attacker who had raised his spear to try and end her life. Burning flesh was a smell she wasn't unaccustomed to but at this point she found herself being sickened by it. She just wanted this to end.

"Kyruru," Flame growled and pounced on another soldier, tearing open his neck with his mouth and burning his insides. From the back Tabitha let loose waves of concentrated air and tore the skin off their legs, with some unlucky ones finding their legs being torn from their body completely. One of them tried to scream before Raziel shot him in the head with a scavenged Flintlock.

Running to the forest hadn't done them any favors. Though the resistance they met was far less compared to using the road there were still pockets of soldiers that met them regardless of which direction they went. Raziel reloaded the gun with a frown. They were lost and at the rate they were going they were going to be overwhelmed sooner rather than later.

"B-Big sis, I'm scared!" One of Siesta's younger siblings held onto her skirt tightly and cried.

"Shh, shh. It's okay, Driscoll," Siesta ruffled her sibling's head in an attempt to calm him, "Raziel and the others will protect us."

"Wh-What about mommy and daddy?" Another asked with a grab of her sleeve.

"Th-They'll be fine," Her voice was unsure this time. They'd gotten separated from Augustine and parents, along with Mr. Gramont and his fiancee, not long after they had ran to the forest. Despite orders the stick together the fire beginning to spread and the barrage of the ships forced them to escape in separate groups. She could only pray that they were alright.

"We have to keep moving," Kirche panted. She didn't know how many castings she had left in her and Tabitha, despite not saying anything, was already on her last legs. She didn't know how much longer Raziel could stand either given that his entire body seemed to shake due to all the injuries that he had accumulated. One mistake and they would all die.

"We are lost. Moving might not be the best course of action," He searched through the bodies and pocketed another flintlock. Every single advantage counted, "Can Sylphid meet us here?" He asked Tabitha.

"Risky," Tabitha pointed above them at the ship sailing a small distance away, "Have to-"

Whatever she was about to say was drowned out by another barrage of cannon-fire. "Look out," Tabitha quickly cast a wind spell and pushed Siesta and her siblings back just before a large tree collapsed from where they were standing, separating the two groups from one another.

"Siesta!" Raziel ran ahead before another barrage of cannonfire caused more trees to fall. He looked up and glared at the ship: They weren't aiming for them specifically but the cannon's barrage was close enough that the trees were starting to fall down on top of them. If any of the trees caught fire from the spreading flames from the village then they would suffocate...well, he'd likely burn to death given his lack of needed breathing.

"We have to go!" Kirche forcefully pulled him back, "There's nothing we can do! We don't have time to go around those trees!" She ignored Raziel's defiant stare, "Look, we have a better chance of surviving if we split up here. If you make them wait there the next tree might fall on top of all of us."

"But-"

"Raziel! Just go!" Siesta yelled and tightened her hold on her younger siblings, "We'll be alright! We can't stay here!"

Before he could answer her she had already run at the opposite direction and soon he'd lost sight of their retreating figures, "Come on!" Kirche pulled at him again. He clenched his right hand in frustration before reluctantly following the Mage's command. He could only hope that they would be able to avoid the soldiers despite the large size of their group.

More falling trees behind them caused the three to nearly trip. Even this far he could make out the sounds of fighting. The Tristanian army was beginning to clash against Reconquista's forces, though who was winning and who was losing he had no idea. Up above the ships continued to fire Gods knew where while the dragon riders attacked Tristain's meager air forces.

"Running is pointless," Raziel stopped, "If we do not divert the ship it is liable that the whole forest will catch fire and fall on us," He looked back at the fallen trees, "The ships need to be destroyed or led away from here else it will not matter how long we run."

"And how do you propose we do that," Kirche snapped exasperatedly, "Me and Tabitha are running out of magic and even if you tell us you're an Elf in disguise I doubt you can take out a whole fleet."

"We do not need to take down the whole fleet," Raziel walked past her and took out the Velka Talisman in his pocket, "They simply need to think that there is a bigger threat that requires their attention," He clenched and tightened his hold on the cloth, "...Tabitha, I require your assistance."

"For what?"

"I need Sylphid," She raised an eyebrow slightly, "I doubt I can get to the ship by myself. I require a dragon for transportation." And he sincerely doubted the stone sloth would move even if he removed its bindings.

"Dangerous. Very risky," She pointed out.

"I am not asking that you ride with me. I am aware of the risks," He frowned, "I am not asking for Sylphid to die for me as well. Once I arrive at the ship you can command her to leave me there if you wish."

"Raziel, this is crazy," Kirche said, "Even if you take out one ship, then what? There's at least 50 ships in that fleet! You're not going to change anything by committing suicide."

"I will accomplish more than simply running here," He argued before quickly turning to face Tabitha, "Please. I know this is a fools errand but if we do nothing then there a likely chance of everyone who retreated into the forest dying."

Tabitha closed her eyes and faced her head downwards. Raziel contemplated on begging once again before Tabitha looked at him and gave a barely noticeable nod, "Limited assistance only. Stay alive," She raised her staff and began to call Sylphid to her. Raziel raised the talisman and ignored the pain the action gave him. Perhaps a miracle could occur.

---

Ensign Robin stared down at the forest as it began to catch fire, praying to Father Brimir that any of the troops that had been stationed there would escape before the fire reached them. It was a risky tactic, but they needed to ensure that the Tristanian's didn't try to use the dense vegetation to try and flank them. Thankfully Tristain's army seemed to forgo strategy in favor of attacking a head on: A foolish strategy given that they were outnumbered and soon to be surrounded.

The screams of dying dragons and griffons reached his ears, another reminder of their victory. He had gotten nervous when Tristain's Dragoon forces showed up to confront their troops but his worries were quickly shown to be misplaced when Albion's trained dragon riders dispatched them with relative ease, forcing the few to survive to retreat in shame.

"Hey, what is that?" Another sailor looked down and pointed at something. Robin narrowed his eyes and focused on what he was pointing at: He could see the outline of a dragon, though far smaller than Albion's forces or even Tristain's dragoon group. The rider was bizarre as well, wearing no armor to his name save from some cloth to cover his body. A refugee, perhaps? No, then where did the dragon come from?

"Kyuuu!" Sylphid let out a wail as she forcefully landed on the ship's deck. Robin nearly wet himself when he realized what exactly had happened, "Kyuru!" She opened her mouth wide and bit down on the sailor that had fallen next to him. In his short life he had never heard anything as traumatizing as another man's screams as he was crushed and swallowed like food.

"Ahhhh-" His scream was silenced by a bullet going through his head.

Raziel dropped from Sylphid's back and gestured her to move away as the rest of the stationed sailors and soldiers moved to attack them, "We need to burn the ship," He ducked the clumsy attempt to attack him and threw the soldier overboard. Following his example Sylphid swept her tail across the small deck and forced the assorted forces through the railing.

"Move back," He gestured for her to move away before putting his hands together in a gesture of prayer. Fire engulfed his right hand and he slammed them down on the wooden deck. Pillars of fire shot up from the ship's foundations, engulfing the wood and metal and spreading quickly. Those that hadn't been killed by the initial attack moved to the wood to try in vain to put the fire out.

"Come on," He climbed up the dragon's back again and held on tightly as she flew upwards again. Back at the ship he could see the remaining sailors trying to put out the fire. It didn't matter if they all survived; so long as the ship crashed and the cannons became unusable then his objective had been accomplished. Sylphid let out another "Kyuu!" as she landed on the closest ship.

The process repeated. Raziel placed his hands in another gesture of prayer as the ship's forces charged towards him frantically, "Guahhhh!" Just as they were about to attack him their bodies were torn apart by what looked to be red swords rising up from the ground itself. Those that survived backed away in a panic. He focused on his right hand and threw a large fireball that quickly began to spread across the ship.

That was two ships. He scrambled back onto Sylphid's back as the fire began to spread across the ship. If they kept this up then they could-

"Graaaaahhhh!" A loud roar resounded, quickly followed a larger dragon appearing behind him. Raziel cursed; of course someone would catch on to them. He looked back and saw the dragon rider ordering his dragon to fire on them.

"Kyuuu!" Sylphid quickly dodged to the side as a torrent of fire nearly engulfed her. Tabitha had warned that though Sylphid was fast she couldn't be expected to fight against the other dragoons if they were forced into a confrontation.

"Circle around him," Sylphid suddenly faced downwards, forcing Raziel to hold onto her for dear 'life'. The dragoon chasing them was momentarily confused by their location before he realized that Sylphid had circled behind him.

This knowledge proved useless as his dragon was hit with a bolt of lightning, "No!" He pulled at the dragon to rise up but the beast had lost focus and was unable to stop itself from crashing against the trees and dying on impact. Raziel watched the creature and its rider crash. He had forgotten how strong sunlight spears were in comparison to the other miracles.

"...Praise the sun," He let out a relieved laugh before more roars interrupted him. Three more dragoons had come to attack, "Go, go," He urged Sylphid forward. He didn't want to risk fighting them all.

---

Things weren't going so well. Granted Louise should have expected that given the march leading up to the battle itself, but she had hoped and prayed that they would somehow find a way to win against the heretical upstarts.

This wasn't the case. The dragoons that had attacked the aerial units had either been killed or forced to retreat with the casualties they inflicted on Albion's fleet being negligible at best and crippling to Tristain only at worst. Things were going better on the ground, but the Albion dragoon's constantly attacking the ground forces to support their comrades disavowed any notion of victory quite clearly.

"Things aren't going well," Agnes muttered. She would have preferred going to the battlefield herself but as a bodyguard under the princess' command the only chance of that happening was if the princess rode down herself, which she was thankfully not doing (yet), "Princess, we may be forced to retreat. If you fall here then the fighting will amount to nothing."

"But if we-"

An exploding ship caught their attention. Louise's eyes trained on the burning vessel. What in the void? Did one of the dragoons successfully attack the fleet? She narrowed her eyes and focused. The ship was rather far from where they were and she couldn't make out much. She could make out what looked to be the figure of a dragon leaving the ship before the fire engulfed it completely.

"That's odd..." Agnes was the first to speak, "Did one of the dragoons get lucky-"

Another ship caught fire. It was slightly clearer this time: Louise could definitely see a dragon escaping the remnants of the ship before it and its rider were chased by another dragoon. She would have thought little of it - she'd seen enough aerial combat to last her a lifetime - if not for how the rider dispatched his opponent: By throwing a bolt of lighting at the dragon and forcing it to crash.

She'd seen lightning magic before, and that singular bolt wasn't anywhere reminiscent to what she'd seen. Her mind flashed back to the stories Raziel held in her hands, of the 'miracles' that allowed them to hold lightning and raw force in their hands.

"Raziel..." It was a shot in the dark, but she knew in her gut that it was him. She ran forward and yelled, "Raziel! Over here! Go here!" She raised her hand and beckoned to him, ignoring the unlikelihood of him seeing it or even hearing her over the sounds of the fighting.

"Louise, what are you-"

"Raziel! Raziel!" She called again. He had to hear her!

"Ahhh," Raziel hissed as the runes on his hand suddenly glowed and he felt the urge to go towards the field. What was going on?

"Looks like Pinky's calling you," Derflinger piped up again. Raziel gave him a questioning glance, "Don't be so surprised. Bluegirl could summon her Familiar just fine so she can do it too. Best that you go to her. If she's calling then it must be important."

"We cannot lead these dragons to them," Sylphid weaved through the ships to try and lose the dragons giving chase. Just above him the cannons roared and fired, forcing him to cover his ears, "They are very persistent," He muttered as the blue dragons followed. Sylphid was faster than they were but that mattered little if they were unable to fight back.

"Need to hit them again," He gathered power in his left hand and made to throw another sunlight spear before his vision split once again, "Damn," He threw the spear, missing all three by a wide margin, before he was forced to clutch his eye in pain. Why now?

"Pinky's using the Familiar bond to tell you something," Derflinger said, What do you see?"

"Ahh...an open field...view of Tarbes, soldiers around her..."

"Anything else? There must be something she wants you to see."

"View shifting...looking up, raising her wand," Sylphid let out a cry as the fire grazed her tail. They were getting closer, "Talking to the princess...pointing at...dragon riders."

"Ah, that must be it," Must be what? "She's telling you to go there so you can get he dragoons off your back. The army's losing but these guys are playing it cautious. Since the remaining dragons and griffons must be guarding the princess these three won't follow you down there."

"I doubt that," Raziel turned to look back at the chasing riders before pointing at where the runes were urging him to go, "Go there," He whispered. Sylphid roared in response and faced to the right before she sped up again, forcing the opposing dragons to fly faster in order to catch up. He could only hope that she knew what she was doing.

On the ground, Louise bit her lip nervously. Her message was rather vague, but given that Sylphid (why in the void was he riding Tabitha's dragon?) was making its way to where they were she could guess that he had gotten the gist of it, "The dragoons are slowing down..." Louise remarked. The two at the back seemed to notice where he was going and pulled back, leaving only one to chase after him.

"Not all of them," Agnes cut in. She had no idea what the pinkette was planning but she had gotten the princess' approval for it so it wasn't her place to criticize, "Princess, stand back. We may need to take down that last rider if he doesn't retreat."

"I am fine, Agnes."

One of them wasn't stopping. Raziel looked back and saw two of the three riders divert back to the main fleet, but the one at the lead refused to leave. The Undead growled and shook the Talisman again, "Damn..." The power wouldn't build up. He had exhausted his normal amount of uses. Forcing it again could lead to serious damage.

It was a risk he had to take, "Come on..." He focused on what he needed. Light, powerful..."Ah, flames..." He felt a jolt of shock go up his left arm. Okay, now he just needed to focus and...got it.

Raziel stood up on wobbly legs and clenched his hand. It was painful, "Hold still..." He was forced to kneel as Sylphid started descending. They were getting close to where Louise was. It was now or never. He pulled back his arm and released the bolt of lightning. The rider screamed as he head of his dragon was snapped back by the force of the projectile and he started falling.

"Got it..." He took hold of his left hand and nearly dropped the talisman. It wasn't unheard of for humans or even Undead to perform miracles without a talisman, but doing so took years of training and the utmost dedication and faith. The talisman allowed those not so devout to perform miracles without the strain but even they were unable to prevent the backlash that came from pushing past the limit of castings.

He allowed himself a breath of relief. Hopefully he would get a chance to recover his bearings before going back.

"Kyuuuu!" Unfortunately, the landing wasn't as pleasant as he had hoped it would. Sylphid landed on the ground in an exhausted heap and Raziel was forced from his place on her back and crashed onto the hard ground painfully. It wasn't her fault; she was exhausted considering what they'd done and the flames nearly hitting her, but Raziel could only curse at her as he felt himself land painfully at his side.

"Arghhhh," He bit his tongue and let out a choked cry. Damn...everything hurt. He shook his head to try and clear his vision as everything came to focus again. Soldiers stared at him, though their gazes contained confusion more than anything else. He bit his tongue again and wiped his wrist on his trousers. The blood and constant bleeding was beginning to grate on his nerves.

"Raziel!" Louise ran towards her Familiar and knelt down to help him, "What...What were you doing?" She placed a hand on his shoulder and tried to pull him up.

"That hurts..." He shook off her hand and stood up on his own. He needed to take that last estus later, "Louise...what are you doing here? ...And what are you wearing?" It looked to like something one of the crystal sentries or Channelers would excuse as armor.

"We have more things to worry about," She snapped, "Alright, first things first what were you doing up there?" She could already see Agnes telling the remaining soldiers to focus elsewhere. She silently thanked her; she didn't need to be watched and she had a feeling Raziel was going to do something that they couldn't afford to be seen spread around.

"I was-"

"Louise, what is going on?" Henrietta walked towards them and let out a surprised cry when she caught sight of Raziel, "Mr. Raziel, are you-"

"Shallow cuts," He preemptively answered. He took out the talisman and cast a small healing spell on himself. Some of the minor cuts had healed, though the majority of his injuries remained, still covered in crimson blood," Urgh..." Damn it, he was getting woozy. Constant miracle use without resting in a bonfire in between always took a toll on the body.

"What were you doing up there?" Louise repeated, ignoring the healing miracle. She would ask later.

"Distracting them," He said with a grimace, "The villagers along with Kirche, Tabitha, Ms. Montmorency and Guiche ran into the forest when the army marched to the village," He blinked as his vision began to fade. Stay focused! "It was difficult escaping and the ship's bombardments caused the trees to collapse. I asked Tabitha to lend me Sylphid for assistance and in the hopes of distracting the ships.

"Kyuu!" Sylphid chirped as if to accentuate his statement.

"What is Motmo- nevermind," She frowned, "What about the others then? Did they make it out? Are they alright?"

"They were alive when I had left them," He answered vaguely, "We were separated from Guiche and Ms. Montmorency early on. With luck they are still escaping with Siesta's parents," He wiped his forehead with the back of his hand as blood began to pour from the small cut, "What happens now, Louise? Augustine told us to wait for the army before attempting to escape but the forest contained pockets of resistance. What is going on?"

"Regrettably, the battle is not going as well as we hoped," Henrietta admitted, "Tristain's dragoons are no match for Albion's dragon riders and the ground troops are at a numerical disadvantage as well. Agnes suggests that we retreat to try and recover."

"Waiting for salvation was pointless then," He bit his lower lip and looked up at the fleet again, "...The fleet needs to be distracted...I am going back-"

"No, you're not!" She grabbed his wrist. Raziel growled as pain shot up his arm, "What do you expect to do when you're up there? You barely managed to get here when those riders were chasing you and the ships you destroyed aren't going to stop them. If you go up there now all you're going to do is get yourself and Tabitha's Familiar killed, your...'condition' be damned!"

"Do wish to stand here and argue then?" He pulled his arm from her grip, "If the fleet is not destroyed or diverted there is a good chance that everyone who tried to escape will die. Retreat if you wish but I am not going to leave them behind."

"Killing yourself isn't going to-"

"Shut up, both of you! You sound like a pair of arguing kids!" Derf's loud yell caused them to pause. They had never heard him yell like that, "Partner, I know you want to help here but pinky's right! Trying to play the 'leave no one behind line' doesn't make you look like a hero here, it just makes you stupid! You barely survived the three dragons, what makes you think you can take down the fleet."

"I-"

"Hel, there's no use arguing about it," He interrupted again, though his voice had gone noticeably softer this time, "Look, I didn't want to say anything since I wasn't sure how bad it was going, but you need all the held you can get here. Pinky, do you still have the prayer book?"

"Y-Yes, why?" She had taken it with her without really meaning to. In the rush to follow the princess' forced march she had forgotten all about putting it in her pack and she couldn't well go back simply to leave it in the castle.

"Alright, that makes things easier," So why did his tone remain uneasy? "Hey, princess, you still got some dragoons left right? Any airships or anything that can go in the air? Every little bit's gonna count here."

"Y-Yes, there are a few units left," She answered somewhat hesitantly. Despite the situation she still found it odd to be talking with a sword, "There are also a few airships we used for transporting troops, but they don't contain adequate firepower to fight against the enemy ships."

"They don't need to," The answer confused them all, "Alright, Pinky, you're going to be the most important here. We're going to need you to get into the center of the fleet and once you do that you have to open the prayer book," Louise looked doubtful, "Look, I know you might not like me but I don't have any reason to lie to you here. Trust me, you'll know what happens when we get there. All you need to know is that once you finish that fleet's going to be history."

"Wh-Why didn't you tell us something like this before!?" Louise stomped her foot angrily.

"Because you might regret it when it happens," The grim answer caused her to shiver. She couldn't find any trace of joking or mirth in his clicking voice, "Getting to the center of the fleet's going to be difficult with all the dragon riders and the ships. That's where the ships come in," Raziel had a feeling on where this was going, "The dragoons aren't going to let you just waltz into the middle of their fleet without a fight. Princess, they'll need to charge in and grab as much attention as they can-"

"Y-You want to use them as targets!?" Louise interrupted angrily, "They'll die!"

"No shit," Derf sounded as if he was talking to a child, "That's what happens in war, pinky. Even if you retreat now they'll die sooner or later when that fleet comes after you all while you're running with your tail between your legs. You saw what happened at that castle; you think they won't kill you once you turn your back or raise the white flag? They either die taking the fleet with them or when the fleet bombs their asses to the void. Seems like a simple choice to make."

"But-"

"Louise," Henrietta took hold of her hand and shook her head sadly, "Much as we might regret it, Mr. Sword is right. Retreating now will accomplish little, even if we do manage to recover our numbers. Reconquista will only use the chance to spread further inland.

"I...I don't like this," He entire body shook and Raziel could make out tears falling down her downcast face. He probably should have said something, but it was neither the time nor the place.

"I do not think any of us do," Raziel commented grimly, "I trust Derflinger. He has little reason to deceive us," He looked back at Sylphid briefly, "Sylphid will be able to fly us faster into the center of the fleet. Do you wish to do this or not?"

"I'll...I'll do it..."

---

"Keep running!" Siesta yelled, pushing her siblings forward. From behind her she could hear the crunching of wood and curses as the soldiers continued to chase after them. Looking back briefly she stifled the urge to yell as she realized they were getting closer. She cursed their luck and prayed that they would make it through this. She didn't want to die here

"Just leave us alone!" Julien yelled back. She knew it wouldn't change anything; they were following orders and whether that meant killing them or detaining them as prisoners they knew surrendering and hoping for mercy wasn't an option.

A sudden explosion caused the soldiers to stop. One of their ships was burning, "What in the void!?" He pointed at the flaming vessel, causing the others to stop and stare agape at what they had seen.

The siblings refused to stop, continuing to run deeper into the forest, the youngest trying to avoid stopping even as exhaustion began to eat away from them. Siesta looked back again. The soldiers were still staring in shock as they caught sight of a second ship burning, but that wouldn't last long. They needed to make themselves a smaller target.

"Julien, we have to split up-"

"No!" He shook his head frantically, "We already got separated from mom and dad! I don't want to-"

"If we stay together they're going to catch us!" She argued, "We don't have time to argue! Take the others and go somewhere else! I'll take Driscoll and Patrick to see if we can find somewhere to hide. If they split up then maybe we can lose them in the forest!"

"Big sis-"

"Go!" She grabbed Driscoll's and Patrick's hands tightly and ran to the right with Julien leading the others to the left with a look of hesitation. The soldiers had started moving again, she could hear them getting closer.

"Need somewhere to hide," She looked around frantically. There were some large trees and the forest was decently shaded despite the sun. Hiding at one side was an option.

"Split up! Find those brats and bring them back here!"

No choice. Her two younger siblings couldn't run any longer, "Stay quiet," She brought them to the largest tree she could find and went to its shadowed side, "Calm down," She sat with her back against it and placed Patrick on her lap, gently covering his mouth to try and muffle his soft cries, "Shh, shh. It's going to be alright. The bad men can't find us here."

"I-I'm scared..." Driscoll whispered next to her, trying to wipe away his tears with one hand and muffling his own mouth with the other.

"Just stay quiet," She advised softly.

The next moments of her life were the most nerve-wracking she'd ever experienced. All around them the sounds of battle echoed, men's battle cries resounding in the distance while the roars of dragons and booms of cannonfire raged at them from above. Patrick cried, but he did his best not to let even a single sound escape from his lips as did Driscoll.

Soft footsteps crunched ever closer to their location. Driscoll whimpered softly and tightened his hold over his mouth as he scooted closer to Siesta. Should they run? No, at the state they were in the soldiers would catch up to them easy. She pricked her ears and tried to focus. She could barely hear the approaching soldiers over the rage of the battle. How close were they.

She barely heard the footsteps's crunch before they suddenly stopped. What happened. She looked to the side and tried to calm her beating

"Found you!"

"Gack!" Siesta let out a choked cry as the collar of her clothes was pulled roughly and tossed into the ground. Through blurry eyes she managed to see Patrick and Driscoll attempt to help her before another pair of soldiers grabbed and restrained them.

"Big sis!" Julien screamed. Siesta turned to where she'd heard him and let out another choked cry as she saw the rest of her siblings being restrained. They'd been caught as well.

The leader of the squad, a bulky man with a scarred face, panted and wiped the sweat off his brow, "Damn brats, making us run to catch you," He knelt down and grabbed Siesta's chin, forcing him to look at her, "I am going to ask you one question and you better answer me honestly after all the shit you put us through," Siesta shivered, "Where are the rest of the villagers?"

"I...I don't know..." She answered honestly.

"You don't know...?" He shook his head and let go of her face. As she was about to look up she felt his hand slam across her face and she was once again forced into the ground.

"Big sis!" Julien struggled, but the soldier's grip on him never loosened.

"Do you honestly expect me to believe that!?" The captain yelled, "Some of our comrades are dead in this very forest!" He knelt down again, "Unless you plan to tell me you have a mysterious protector watching over you I want you to cut the lies and tell me where the others are! Where are the people that killed my men!" He kicked her hard in the stomach. Siesta let out a strangled cough. She could taste blood.

"I...I don't...please, I don't-"

"Maybe I wasn't making myself clear," He let out a theatrical breath and pulled out his dagger, "Listen, I have my orders, and I don't enjoy this, but someone has to answer for those deaths and I'm not going to take 'I don't know' for an answer," He stomped over to Julien and placed the knife at his neck, "What about you, lad? You got something to say that your big sister won't?"

Julien spit in his face.

"I tried to be nice about this," He shook his head and turned back to Siesta, "Here's how this is going to work. I'm going to carve this here lad up until you tell me where the rest of the villagers are. All of them, starting from that freak with the crossbow and top hat," He pressed it against his cheek, "If you don't, then I'll move on to the next of the little tykes here till you decide you want to wag your tongue. The choice is yours."

"Ah!" Julien screamed in pain as he brought the dagger down his cheek.

"No! No, please stop!" Siesta yelled, struggling and kicking desperately against the soldier who held her.

"That's not what I wanted to hear," He shook his head in mock disapproval and placed it against his chest this time, "Don't say I didn't give you fair warning."

"I-I don't know anything!" She yelled again, "Please, please! I don't know anything! I don't-

"Ahhhh!" More screams, but not the ones she was expecting. The captain looked up in shock as the sound of his men's screams. What he saw caused him to to drop his weapon: Crossbow bolts had been stabbed into their necks, killing them near instantly. All of the remaining soldiers looked around frantically. Where had the attacker come from!?

"What the-" The rest of his men clawed at the back of their heads before falling down one by one in quick succession as well. Roses had been impaled onto their heads- No, on closer inspection one could see the point of a sharp knife from the bottom of its 'stem'. The squad leader looked around desperately. He was the last one left.

She didn't let the chance slip away. She grabbed the dagger he had dropped and stabbed it at his back, "Ahhh!" He screamed as the metal blade pierced his skin, "Damn brat!" He used the last of his strength to kick her down again. Before he could do more another crossbow bolt shot out, hitting him at the back of his head. Siesta watched as his look of anger turned blank and he fell, blood pooling around him.

Siesta and the rest of her siblings breathed rapidly, none of them saying a word. She looked around cautiously, "H-Hello, who's out there...?" She called out hesitantly.

No one answered.

More footsteps came from behind them. Siesta was about to yell for the others to run before the voice called out, "Siesta? Thank God!" Alexandre pulled her up and hugged her tightly, "Oh, I thought we would...nevermind that. I'm glad you're all alright," Off to the side she could see her mother hugging the others in relief. They were safe, thank Brimir.

"We have to keep moving," Montmorency had one of Guiche's arm slung across her shoulder and Siesta could see the noble limping, favoring his left leg. Had they encountered soldiers as well? She could see blood on the claws of Guiche's mole Familiar. Despite what he'd done not too long ago she prayed that he was alright.

"H-How did you find us?" Her stomach hurt, but the relief made her ignore it.

"Damndest thing, but we swore we heard someone calling us to go this way. Thought maybe it was another one of the others who'd found a safe place to hole up," He looked down at the dead soldiers before he shook his head in disgust. It didn't matter how they died so long as his family was safe, "But we found you instead, Thank God. Come on, I think we found the way out."

The others began to walk with her father taking. Siesta looked back and, just for a moment, she could have sworn she saw a mask bearing the visage of a demented smile. She blinked and rubbed her eyes, only to find nothing but the empty forest greeting her. Had she imagined it?

"Siesta, hurry up!"

"C-Coming!"

---

Louise covered her ears as another barrage of cannonfire destroyed another one of their escort ships. She couldn't hear the screams of the sailors as they fell to their death, but she considered that merely a small mercy.

Derflinger's plan had been working well so far, though she didn't find this to be a cause of celebration. The riders and the fleet's ships had prioritized the dragoons and the meager airships accompanying them as being larger threats and Sylphid was able to slip by relatively unnoticed. Those that did chase after them were intercepted by the few remaining riders Tristain had. Their orders were to defend them with their lives.

"We are close," He looked back at Louise and nudged his head to their destination. The center of the fleet wasn't an exact target: As Derflinger had said being close enough to the Lexington was good enough since it was the flagship. Since the other smaller ships also congregated around it, it would be the perfect place to deploy...whatever this plan was.

"Ready the prayer book, pinky." Derflinger advised. Sylphid had stopped and hovered somewhat nervously close to the Lexington's bottom. It was a risky position to stay in too long.

With shaking hands she opened the holy text and stared at the blank pages, "Its..Its blank..." Of course it was, that was how it had been for the past 6000 years. Why would it change now?

"You need to think on what you want!" He yelled, "The book doesn't give you all the answers! Think, Louise! What do you want!?" Had they not been in this situation both Master and Familiar would have been astonished at Derflinger calling Louise by name.

"I...I want to end this invasion..."

"What kind of half-assed conviction is that!?" Derflinger clicked, "Stop the invasion? How? By surrendering!? You need to focus! What do you want to happen to these ships! Think on what'll happen if they aren't stopped!"

"I..." The ships had to be destroyed. She wanted to avoid that if possible but that was what the reality of the situation came down to, "I...I can see something!" She gasped as words slowly but surely began to appear on the page. This was what would save them-

"Down," Raziel suddenly ordered. Sylphid roared and flew downwards just as a bolt of lightning struck at where they were staying. Louise screamed and held the prayer book tightly against her chest. She'd nearly dropped it.

"Wardes..." Louise looked to the source of the voice and whispered out the name fearfully. Her former fiancee scowled as she caught sight of the two of them and urged his dragon forward. He knew there was a reason for his increasing convulsions.

"Kyuuu!" Sylphid dodged another spell and the dragon's breath and flew up the side of the Lexington. Louise looked back and let out a panicked breath as he realized Wardes was catching up to them.

"I do not think we can fight him in our current state," Raziel clenched his left hand as darkness began to overtake it. He didn't know why but seeing the Viscount seemed to awaken something primal within him, "Louise can you cast the spell? It will not be long before he catches up." He had run out of sunlight spears and none of his other miracles could reach him at this range.

"Not while he's shooting at us!" She yelled as the air close to her crackled.

"Damn," He looked back at Wardes. Sylphid wouldn't be able to keep ahead for much longer and they couldn't fight while they were in the air. He had to find a way to ground him so Louise could concentrate.

"He's getting closer!" Louise grabbed the back of his tunic nervously.

The Lexingston's deck was right below them. Raziel sucked in an unnecessary breath before he uttered what may have been his last words, "Sylphid, turn around and charge him. Go."

"Kyuu!" Louise screamed as Sylphid followed the command and faced downwards again, charging towards Wardes' dragon. The former Griffon knight's scowl was replaced by a look of shock as he saw the smaller dragon charging at him. Raziel readied himself as they got closer. He could see Wardes already attempting to slow down. If he missed then it was all over.

He jumped.

"Are you insaaaaaannnnne!?"

Derflinger yelled as he realized what Raziel had done followed by Louise yelling what he assumed to be some kind of profanity as she watched him fall. He let the cold air foster a feeling of liberation from within him before he focused again on what he had to do. He saw Wardes staring at him with his mouth slightly agape while the dragon continued to charge straight for him.

"Graaaaahhhh!" The wind dragon let out a piercing shriek of pain as Derflinger's rusted blade stabbed against it's wing. Not letting up on the assault Raziel gathered the fire in his right hand and punched as hard as he could against the dragon's bleeding flesh. He needed to force this thing to land.

"What the!?" Wardes yelled in surprise Louise's Familiar attacked his mount. He raised his rapier-wand to cast another spell before his dragon suddenly started to fall, "You mad bastard! You'll kill us both!"

Louise watched with wide eyes as Wardes' large dragon crashed on the Lexingtons's deck, "Raziel!" She yelled in a panic. Was he...no, he was tougher than that. She knew she was. She had to trust him. Taking a deep breath she stabilized her shaking hands and opened the prayer book once again. She needed to focus, to make sure that this didn't all end for nothing.

---

Bowood thought he had seen everything, but as he watched the Viscount's dragon crash into the ship he was forced to admit that, no he hadn't seen everything just yet. The rest of the men on the ship could only watch with their mouths agape as the dragon's weight forced the ship forward ever so slightly. Bowood held onto the railing for dear life.

The dragon gave a weak murmur before consciousness had left it. The shocked captain looked around the ship; the few men that hadn't been crushed or knocked over by the dragon were slowly walking towards the fallen dragon or continuing to stare in shock at the majestic creature with the now bleeding wing.

Was the Viscount alright? Cautiously he stepped forward only to freeze as he saw something...someone crawling out from beneath the dragon's broken wing. A young man, covered in numerous injuries and blood, holding a rusted sword in his right hand and a tied piece of cloth on his left. The remaining crew watched as he stood up shakily before giving them all a glare that froze the blood in their veins.

Not a crew member and definitely not on their side. That meant only one thing.

"A-Attack! Attack-" Bowood's words got caught in his throat as the young man made a small gesture of prayer before placing his hands on the ground. Blades, red like blood and larger than even an ogre could wield, rose up from the ground and tore apart his men, "A...Ahhhh," He felt fear seize him. He could hear the screams of his men as they died, the cries of a woman in anguish that couldn't have been there.

With a single prayer he had torn apart his men, their bodies scattered all over the deck with many of them split in half or torn elsewhere.

The last remaining soldiers charged desperately and stabbed the edge of their blades against his body. The blades tore against his flesh before stopping abruptly. The soldiers looked down in disbelief before Bowood saw what looked like a shockwave blast forth from him, knocking them all past the railing to the unforgiving ground ahead.

He had come face to face with a demon.

Raziel let out an agonized scream as he pulled the blade from his body. The pain was close to unbearable and yet he refused to lay down and die. There was just one left. He turned to stare at the remaining officer before he charged towards him. Bowood raised up his pistol to fire but in his panic he had missed. He was in the middle of pulling out his rapier before he grabbed him by the neck with enough force to choke him.

He stabbed him three times in the stomach. The older male attempted to struggle feebly before he felt the life begin to ebb away from body. Raziel stabbed him one last time before throwing him over the railing.

"Rrrhhh," He held onto the wall of the ship and tried to calm himself. Something was wrong; the runes in his hand glowed more intensely and he desperately fumbled for his estus. He needed something to ease the pain.

"Argh!" As he was about to drink in the healing tonic a burst of pain coursed through his whole body, forcing him to drop the green vial. His vision faded as he felt himself collapse. Vaguely he could her Derflinger yelling something at him as his body convulsed from the lightning surging through his limbs.

Wardes smiled through bloodstained lips and lowered his sword-wand as he saw Raziel fall at his spell. That damned Familiar had caused them enough trouble. He looked back at his dragon; such a waste, but at least he had survived to kill him. As he stepped closer he became vaguely aware of the talking sword yelling "Partner!", urging the damnable monster to rise again. With a scowl he kicked the rusted blade away and forced the near-dead Familiar to face him.

This was something he didn't need magic for. He needed to pay him back for what he did to his arm.

Raziel was vaguely aware of the pain as Wardes punched his face. Left, right, left, right. Over and over, again and again his head moved as the the noble continued to attack him. His fingers twitched, but he couldn't fight back. The pain was too much, the damage had finally done its mark. He could feel his vision fading as the punches intensified in force.

He shouldn't have been worried, he would recover in the next bonfire...right? But then...what would happen to everyone else still trying to escape? Would they make it out okay?" It didn't matter if he died but he had to make sure they were safe, that his master...Louise was safe and that this wasn't all for naught. Through his fading vision he could see the field of Tarbes burning from the battle. Siesta had told him it was one of the village's pride. And now it was all being burnt to ash.

Like Izalith...

Raziel's left hand stopped Wardes' fist mid-swing. "Wh-What!?" The noble gasped as the Undead's unfocused gaze turned into a glare a dark corruption started to spread from his left arm, "Wh-What is this-"

Rather than reply with words Raziel pushed Wardes back and let loose a shout that chilled him to the bone; he didn't sound human anymore. He could see the wounds of his body healing as the dark corruption began to spread across his body. In a panic he grabbed for his wand tried to cast a spell before he was pushed back again by a burst of dark fire.

Raziel grabbed the former knight by the neck pulled on his left arm. Wardes couldn't even scream as he felt the blackened limb being torn from his body. The pain almost made him lose consciousness.

He wasn't finished yet. Raziel grabbed one of the fallen daggers and stabbed it on Wardes' neck before shoving a flintlock at his mouth. The last thing he had seen before the trigger was pulled was the sight of the Familiar's eyes. Black, without a single trace of anything else.

Raziel pulled the trigger and threw the Viscount's limp body over the edge of the ship. He looked down at his hands and watched as the cuts, tears and bruises disappeared, leaving no trace of the harm that had befallen him. Just like Newcastle. Despite the darkening of his left hand the runes still shined as bright as ever. Memories began to flood into his head.

"Let her go! Let her go!"

"Quela's hubris has doomed her..."

"Quelaan, run! We have to leave before-"

"Hey, partner, focus!" Derflinger's voice cut through his myriad memories, "I don't know what the hel just happened right now but we have to leave before-"

Raziel suddenly felt an acute sense of danger. Louise had finished casting her spell. From Sylphid's flying form a great sphere of white had slowly but surely begun to spread, consuming the ships that had been caught in its path, "We have to go!" Derflinger yelled, "Grab your stuff and jump! Hurry!"

"Jump?" He grabbed Derflinger and the estus before looking down at the field below. At this height it was almost certain he was going to die.

"You either jump now or you burn with this ship! Neither are good but you were the one who jumped from the dragon in the first place! Now choose!"

Raziel looked back. The sphere was getting closer and he knew that it would harm him more than anything else would. He looked down at the runes and his darkened hand. His injuries had been healed just now despite their severity, would they save him now? Another ship exploding behind him cut off his second-guessing. It was now or never.

He took a leap of faith.

---

Henrietta watched the explosion of power engulf the fleet. Where once there had been a mighty fleet all that was left were the burning remains of the ships as they crashed into the ground. Albion's dragon riders tried to escape as well, many dying as the explosion burned them alive with the few escaping retreating entirely from Tristain's 'trump card'.

"Wh-What was that?" Agnes asked next to her. Henrietta wished she knew how to answer her.

The tide of the battle changed. The destruction of their fleet had caused a mass panic among Reconquista's troops with many of the soldiers surrendering on the spot and begging for mercy. The princess covered her ears to muffle the loud explosions of the ships crashing and the gunpowder being set off by the fire. Those that hadn't died from the fire and the landing had even less a chance of doing so now.

From her place at the back of Tabitha's Familiar, Louise looked at what her...her magic had done. She ships had been destroyed, either being destroyed completely or burning and crashing at the field open fields. She'd...She'd done it. The fleet was destroyed, Tristain had successfully repelled the invasion. She should have been happy.

But all she felt was a crippling weight on her shoulders.

"Kyuu kyuu!" Sylphid flew downwards, making sure to avoid the fire and the explosions of the few intact ships. Louise watched the ships silently: Burning, breaking, the soldiers inside dying...it was inevitable, she knew that, and yet...it didn't make her feel any better. Sylphid flew a while longer before landing in relatively clear art of the field.

As Sylphid landed Louise immediately scrabbled off her back and vomited. This wasn't how she was supposed to feel. She had done her duty as a loyal noble of Tristain, she should have felt proud! But...she turned and saw one of the burning corpses in the distance crushed under the debris and she vomited again. All these people, dead, because of her.

How many had she killed...?

A sudden feeling of exhaustion washed over and she felt the temptation to sleep then and there, "Not yet..." She stood up and shook her head forcefully. She still had to find her Familiar, "R-Raziel..?" She called out weakly. Where was he? He had to be alive...or as alive as he could be given his circumstances. Surely he had escaped the explosion...right?

As more explosions and screams echoed in the distance she suddenly felt nervous. When she'd opened the book and started reading the words it was as if she had fallen into a trance and before she had realized it the fleet was already burning around her. Raziel and Wardes had been at the Lexington and it was one of the ships that had been engulfed by the blast.

She hoped that didn't mean what she thought it meant.

"Kyuu!" Sylphid nudged her head and gestured to the forest before lowering her back for Louise to climb on. What was she...oh-

"Is...Is Tabitha calling you back?" The dragon let loose another chirp in response. She pinched her leg forcefully and waved her off, "G-Go ahead, I...I have to find Raziel," Sylphid seemed to look confused at her answer, "Just...Just come back here as soon as you get them...please. I think I'll need help," She said tiredly. The Lexington wasn't too far of a walk away but she had no desire to stay any longer than necessary.

"Kyuu kyuuu!" Sylphid launched into the air and flew towards the forest to reunite with her master. Louise watched her go briefly before she began to walk towards the direction of the Lexington. Unlike the other ships parts of the remained had remained relatively intact, likely due to being larger and made up of more metal compared to the smaller vessels.

"...Raziel...where are you...?" She mumbled to herself. She grasped for her wand cast the spell for the 'Familiar Bond'. She'd never really done it 'properly' so to say - all of the previous instances being automatic instances - but the results should have been the same despite her lack of magic...or maybe not, given what she'd just done to the fleet.

She felt a light sting on her left eye and saw...nothing. She closed her eye and focused again, but again nothing came from the link. His eyes were closed, she thought numbly. That didn't bode well. All she could see on her left was darkness and a subtle tint of red. She could at least conclude he wasn't somewhere enclosed.

"...He must have been somewhere near fire or light," She looked at the Lexington's hull and let out a groan as she realized that most of it was burning. That didn't narrow her search down any, "Have to hurry..." She took a deep breath and ran towards the destroyed ship. She didn't want to be in the field when that fire started spreading.

She coughed and covered her mouth and nose as the smoke made her dizzy, "Raziel, where are you!" She yelled. Beyond the fire another smell began to enter her nostrils: Burning flesh. It was overpowering. She'd smelled burning meat before when she passed by the kitchens, but despite the similarities the strength of the burning meat mixing with the blood was thoroughly unpleasant and nearly caused her to gag. She wasn't going to be able to eat anything for a while.

"H-Help me..." A sailor called weakly as she drew nearer, attempting to grab at her legs. Louise looked down and suppressed a scream as she saw the state of him. Crushed by a heavy chunk of wood with his right arm and face looking like they'd already been seared off by the fire. She couldn't help him even if she wanted to. Steeling herself she walked past him and blocked out the sounds of his screams and cries for help.

"Raziel!" She called out more desperately. Where in the void was he!? He couldn't have been inside, could he? No, he was on the deck, she was sure of it. She ducked under a low hanging pillar and coughed again as the smoke intensified. She was almost reminded of his stories of the Kiln before she crushed the thought. He wasn't going to burn again. She wouldn't let him.

As she was about to turn and look elsewhere she managed to make out a chain of frantic clicks, "Hey, anyone out there!? Hey!? Magnificent sword and stupid partner trapped over here! Could really use some help!"

"Derflinger!" She ducked and weaved through the remaining pieces of wood and metal and followed the sound of his voice, "K-Keep talking! I need to know where you are!" She yelled.

"Over here! Follow the sound of my soothing voice!" She couldn't help but laugh at his horrible joke.

What she'd found wasn't good. Raziel was lying on the ground stock still with Derflinger frantically trying to move him by pushing at his side. If this wasn't bad enough she could see one of the metal pillars had fallen on top of him, essentially trapping him underneath.

"Oh God, Raziel!" She knelt down and placed her hands against his face. Not as many injuries as she'd seen beforehand but that didn't do much to alleviate her panic. She looked to the pillar draped across him and grimaced. It was heavy, that much was easy to tell from a glance. Cautiously she placed a hand against it and recoiled as the heat seared her skin.

"What happened!?" She asked Derflinger.

"We jumped, that's what happened!" He clicked back, "Thought it would be better than staying on top of that ship and taking that 'explosion' head on. Guess that was a mistake," He attempted to push Raziel again, "Ship damn near landed on top of us! I think partner broke his legs when we landed cause he couldn't run out of there. It's better than dying, but shit we're stuck here now."

"We have to get you both out," She placed her hands under Raziel's arms and pulled out, "Come on, you stupid Familiar! Move!" She pulled harder but everything from his stomach on down had remained trapped and unmoving beneath the metal, "He's stuck! I can't get him out!"

"Yeah, I kinda got that," Derflinger clicked sarcastically, "We're going to have to remove that pillar..." He suddenly retreated to his sheath. What in the void?"It's getting hotter and hotter in here, Pinky! I don't have to tell you what happens when metal's exposed to too much fire."

He was right. She wiped the sweat off her face, "Damn it! Raziel, wake up!" She slapped his face twice, but his eyes remained closed and he gave no indication that he had felt the hits at all. She made one last attempt to pull him out before she stopped as she saw his stomach begin to bleed. If she kept going there was a good chance she would split him in half.

That left one other option - Moving the pillar out of the way. She looked at the heated metal and muttered a silent prayer as she pressed both hands against its side and pushed,"Tsss!" She let out a pained hiss as her skin burned from the metal. The gloves that came with the armor were her only blessing and they mattered little considering she couldn't even budge the damn thing by an inch.

"I can't move it," She muttered angrily. She took a deep breath and pushed the pillar as hard as she could and again all that met her efforts were her hands turning red from the heat, "Damn it," She put her hands on her knees and panted. She didn't know how much longer she could last in here. She'd heard stories before of people who, when pushed to limit, exhibited great feats of physical strength.

It didn't seem to be working for her.

Wait a minute, she didn't need physical strength! She grabbed her wand again and placed it under the pillar's right side and as far away from him as she could. He explosions were often touted as useless, but no one could doubt that they had force backing them. Her willpower had been sapped by that earlier spell, she could feel it in her body, but she should still have enough for one last spell.

"Fireball!" From the tip of her wand a loud explosion hit against the metal. Louise quickly covered her ears and whimpered as the loud noise caused her head to ring. Yup, she supposed some things would never change. Still, it had done its job. The column had been thrown off by the botched spell and landed a small distance away. She did it...

"You did it!" Derflinger vocalized her thoughts, "Right, now you need to get the two of us out of here before we all burn to death. Trust me, it isn't pleasant."

She didn't bother to reply. Grabbing Derflinger, she slung him across Raziel's back before she started to pull him out again, "Ugh, you two are heavy..." She groaned. Raziel wasn't exactly heavy under normal circumstances but Derflinger's added weight coupled with her lack of physical strength and her current fatigue made even dragging him out to be physically taxing.

"You...are going to...pay for this..." She halfheartedly complained to the unconscious Undead, "I'm going to...make you apologize...to Princess Henrietta...and you're...going to bow...and thank me...when you wake up," She looked back and let out a relieved smile as she saw the open field. Finally this nightmare would end.

"Haaa...Haaaa..." Louise panted and dropped Raziel once she was sure they were safe. The noble closed her eyes and sat down, gulping in the fresh air as if it were a fine meal, "Stupid...Familiar...jumping off like...an idiot..." She smacked his shoulder weakly as the urge to sleep engulfed her. She was...so tired...

"H-Hey, wake up..." She leaned towards him and shook his shoulder. He didn't respond, "Raziel...wake up...I know you're not...dead..." She placed both hands against his chest and tried to rouse him from his slumber.

Again he didn't open his eyes.

"Raziel...Raziel...please wake up...you can't sleep forever..." She coughed and placed her head against his chest. She wanted to rest, "I know...you won't die...you can't die...I know you won't...you already did once..." Her eyes began to droop, "Raziel...I order you... to wake up...don't..." She could hear the flapping of wings and footsteps getting closer to them. She didn't have the energy to greet them.

"Don't...leave me..."

---

In the burning depth's the ship's remains, Wardes' body lied entombed. This was to be the end of him: His body burnt and forgotten, another fallen soldier in the failed invasion of Tarbes. Once the fire consumed his flesh and stripped the clothes from his body there would be nothing left for anyone to recognize him.

"...No..."

Or perhaps not. Through the fire and injuries something in his body changed: A dark circle had been branded on his chest. As the fire drew ever closer the sensation of pain begun to spread across his body once more as consciousness slowly began to return to him.

"Ah..." A weak cry of pain escaped his lips. Wardes opened his eyes and was greeted by fire nipping ever closer at his heels, "Damn..." He scrambled back in a panic and looked down in horror at his stub of of an arm. It didn't...It didn't hurt. He let out a panicked breath and forced himself to stand. He had to leave this place. He couldn't afford to die yet.

He had become a monster. Forever without hope, forever without light.

---

Re-write note: Right, I changed the last parts of the chapter on suggestion from LD1449 (Thanks and sorry:p) and some additions I was too lazy to add last time:) Guy/Gal had a point and I'll admit that I rushed the ending since I was sleepy and had to go to school with three hours of sleep. Hopefully this one is slightly better, though I'm willing to re-write if the criticism/suggestions are legitimate enough.

Whew, this is without a doubt the single largest chapter I've ever written! Over 20k words...damn, that was an annoying couple of days. Sorry if this felt like a copout, but the timeline makes absolutely no sense in either the anime/manga/LN and I had to make crap up as I went along. Hopefully it's not too bad.

Alright, time to answer some questions before we go.

First things first, people are gonna whine about Wardes becoming an Undead. Don't drop the story just yet, alright? Becoming an Undead doesn't automatically make you unkillable and he doesn't exactly have access to bonfires. Really I needed an excuse for him to survive the canon battle and he might play an important role in future arcs so I'm leaving the option on the table. If the story calls for his death then he dies.

Also, the next chapter is either the filler POV arc or the Manus flashback: - Which would you guys prefer? Either way Raziel isn't the viewpoint character for this.

thefluffyone93 - Solaire was pretty obviously killed and I don't want to much up canon too much here or break the flow of time itself just because I like a character. Tarkus was also long dead before you were even in Anor Londo, he's likely out as well. I might have flashbacks, at least.

Alex0597 - I want to avoid using FSN as inspiration. I liken him more from Martin Walker from Spec Ops: The Line. A wannabe hero who keeps pushing forward, unaware of the consequences of his actions until it's too late. This applies both to Manus (Not really a spoiler since canon dictates the Gods all get boned) and Past!Raziel to a slightly lesser extent. It's why Raziel has such disdain for concepts and heroics.

Necrofantasia - Self-taught does not mean better. Unpredictable yes, but anime often romanticizes being self-trained as having an unorthodox fighting style when really it's not. A trained professional will almost always win against a 'self-taught' person unless the latter was incorporating actual techniques from other styles and copying them. Raziel is completely untrained and he wins through brute force 9/10 times.

Hades Revolution - It's fine, just be careful when posting on other stories. Also, no, the poll was closed because romance is freaking hard to write for me without it seeming off. I had a much easier time writing the conversation between Raziel and Augustine than I did with that first segment. Romance isn't a true priority till we get near the battle of Saxe-Gotha.

Arrow Monger - I know:/ Check the authors note up top on Ch. 28.

XcelltasticX - Hey, good to see you again :D Thanks for the long review:) Wanna reply more but I'm exhaused and swamped, so lets keep this somewhat brief:

Nashandra and Dark Souls II MIGHT be playing a role in this story. Note that Nashandra is listed simply as a fragment of Manus (as you pointed out) and unlike Manus she's not mindless. Whether she appears or not is up to where the story goes:p Also, as the flashback chapters reveal Manus is already closer than you might think ;)

The romance thing was awkward to write, to be completely honest. The recent chapters were too depressing and I needed a rom-com segment. This chapter will probably balance that out considering what happens. Besides, this is a canon rehash and in canon Siesta confessed sincerely when they were on Tarbes, so I followed suit. Raziel himself isn't really ready for a romantic relationship, especially since he notes that he doesn't mind gender/has no preference due to having a particular lack of attraction to both. Daphne and Amethyst's seduction magic is essentially useless on him too as shown in previous chapters any romance will remain tease moments as of current writing.

The village was supposedly a low priority target, at least according to discussions. What they really want is the field to unload their troops and supplies into, so that explains why they're not forced to fight the army. The timeframe literally makes no sense so I had to make crap up as I went along.

Well, that's it for this chapter. See you guys next time!