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.

45. Fun and Games

Sorry this took a while: Phantom Pain and Mad Max grabbed my attention and with graduation coming up I didn't really feel that motivated to keep writing. This chapter might be a bit sloppy, so forgive me for that.

---

Raziel stared up at the ceiling blankly, allowing Louise's soft breaths to calm him. Ever since the root-like lesions had appeared over his chest he had begun to avoid sleeping; at this point there was no purpose to it, and he had a feeling that he would only experience more nightmares if he let his mind wander. Since Julio had left to meet with the tyrant for some obscure reason or another he found that it was easier to calm himself.

He replayed his previous conversation with Cattleya. Her advice was somewhat vague, but it at least allowed him to come to his own conclusions with regards to what he had to do with Siesta. He had been avoiding his best friend these past few days; he didn't want to see her while he was suffering from...whatever this was. By the abyss she didn't even know he was dying, though a part of him bitterly noted she would have tried to convince him that there was 'hope' to his situation like Louise had and that they would find a way to 'save' him.

Nothing more than stupid ramblings.

He shook his head and sighed, turning to the right of the bed. He could feel Louise moving slightly next to him; likely another nightmare. He turned back to look at her and brushed some of the hair covering her face. He hadn't lied to Cattleya, at least not fully...he truly would miss Louise once he was gone. Their relationship wasn't the most stable, he would be the first to admit that, and a part of him still resented her orders in the Charming Fairies Inn but...he had grown attached to her in the months they spent together.

"...I hope you find someone to take care of you when I am gone." He bit his lower lip to keep himself from frowning. No, he had to stop feeling sorry for himself. He had lived long enough...by the abyss he was lucky that he had a few months of relative peace before he finally died. It wasn't his place to be whining about wanting more than he already had; he already received far more than he 'deserved'.

His attention was drawn from Louise to the room's entrance as he heard the turning of the gears. Louise had begun locking the door after her recent experiences, and the softness and lack of knocking was suspicious enough as it was. He could see the doorknob shaking slightly and hear the sound of the gears being manipulated - They were picking the lock. He'd seen thieves in Lordran do it before.

A visitor? No, why would they be picking the lock then? He grabbed for the knife hidden under the bed - Louise wouldn't have liked it if he knew he kept it so close to her bed but he couldn't be too careful nowadays.

He looked to Derflinger briefly before resting on the bed once more, covering himself and the knife with a blanket. There was always a small chance it was the tyrant, so attacking wouldn't be the best option despite his lack of reservations. Besides, this would allow him to surprise them easier.

His eyes narrowed as the figure stepped into the room, closing the door behind him silently. The gender was hard to make out due to the thick cloak, but the musculature let him assume that it was a male. His master wasn't one to invite males into her room, and the flintlock and rapier the figure carried made it apparent that this was no friendly visit. He gripped the knife tightly.

He didn't seem to notice his open eyes, focusing all his attention on Louise. Raziel waited till he got closer and he could see his features - Definitely male by the looks of him, though not one he had seen before. A stranger, and Louise would have told him if she was expecting someone. He stopped breathing and pressed one hand against the blanket; if he made a mistake then he could hurt Louise.

The figure barely had time to scream as Raziel threw away the blanket and jumped on top of him. The Undead covered his mouth and pressed the knife onto the larger male's neck, causing him to struggle at the sudden attack, "Move and you die," He hissed, whispering into the figure's ear. From behind him he could hear Louise groggily forcing herself to wake up in response to the sudden noise.

"Raziel, what's going-"

"Do you know who this is?" He asked, pressing the knife even closer to the exposed flesh. The figure finally stopped struggling as he felt the metal cutting his skin.

"Wh-What? I don't-"

"He came in here after picking the lock on the door. Do you know him?" Raziel pressed.

"Picked the lock? What...no, of course not," She looked down at the muffled figure, "No, definitely not. He's not with the princess either; she would have told me in advance if she planned to send someone." It was only proper precaution at this point. 'Trust no one', or at least that's what Julio told them. She found it hard not to agree with him considering the amount of traitors they'd weeded out in the past few weeks alone. Unless she was told to give trust beforehand she wouldn't give any.

Raziel nodded. Without another word he forced the figure up and slammed him against the wall, stabbing the knife in the wall next to his neck, "Who are you? Answer quickly or you will die."

"Gah...let go of me...you fucking freak!" He tried to grab for his weapons, but the Undead was quicker. He jammed the knife deep into the man's neck and waited till he went limp before finally deciding to let go of him. Raziel let out an annoyed breath and wiped his bloodied hands against his pants.

"You didn't have to kill him..." Louise reprimanded, though it was half-hearted at best. She wanted to complain more, but at this point she honestly couldn't find it in her to complain all that much. Knowing their luck it was an assassin of some kind sent to kill them due to their extensive contact with the princess. She wanted to believe that no one knew of their meetings, but considering her big sister's taskmaster had been one of the traitors she wouldn't count on it.

Raziel didn't bother to reply, busying himself with searching the man's rapidly cooling corpse, "Oh, what are you doing now?" Louise question in irritation. Raziel gave her a dismissive gesture, causing her to give an annoyed sigh in response. She doubted he would be carrying clues to identity on his person, but at this point she knew better than to get between her Familiar and his predilection for searching dead bodies. Perhaps she-

"Hey, Matthew, what the hel is taking so long?"

Louise's eyes widened and she snapped to the door. Raziel stopped searching the corpse and placed a finger against his lips - Keep quiet. She looked back at him and nodded. There was more than one of them; that didn't bode well for them.

"Hide under the bed," Raziel whispered, passing the knife to her. The unspoken message was clear - Use this if you have to. Nodding once more she crawled under the bed's wooden frame, shifting uncomfortably at how tight it was, and tried to stop her hands from shaking as she held the blade. She wouldn't have to use it, Raziel would protect her. Everything would be alright.

Just barely she could make out Raziel throwing the body outside the window and closing the curtains, "Whatever happens, do not make a sound. I will protect you." He grabbed Derflinger and hid behind the door. She could only pray that the sword kept silent and wouldn't give away their positions.

She watched nervously as another pair of boots entered, "Matthew? ...The hel did he go?" She held her breath and crawled deeper into the darkness as he drew closer to her bed, "Fuck's sake it's just a little girl. Can't even take a schoolgirl, you drunk fucker? The others are gonna kill you..." He muttered frustratedly. He walked to the side of the bed and threw off the blanket; trying to search for her no doubt.

She licked her lips anxiously and looked to her Familiar. What in the hel was he waiting for? She must have heard him, right? These were kidnappers, there was no doubt about that.

Catching his master's gaze, Raziel slowly stood up from his crouching position as she silently mouthed something at him frantically. He closed his eyes, trying to focus his hearing. Killing him would have been easy, but he needed to figure out if there were still others around. Thankfully the man's attention was drawn completely to his master's bed and he had missed him entirely.

Louise grew more and more panicked as the figure finally seemed to notice something was wrong. She looked back at Raziel and mouthed more orders - 'Protect me!' 'Do it!' 'What are you waiting for!?' 'Hurry up!'

"The hel? I know he went in here?" The figure tossed the pillows and continued his search. Louise curled herself into a small ball as he began ransacking her bed to try and find her. She did her best to control her breathing and shaking. Finally, mercifully, her Familiar stopped closing his eyes and looked back at her. She mouthed another order more desperately than before.

'Just kill him!'

The attack was quick and mercifully painless. Louise bit back a scream as she heard flesh being torn apart by steel before a decapitated head rolled on the floor in front of her. She let go of the knife and pressed her hands to her mouth and resisted the urge to vomit out the contents of her stomach. Shaking away her nausea, she crawled to the other side of the bed and forced herself to stand.

"Wh...What the hel took you so long?" She wanted to say more, but she had a feeling she would vomit if she tried to force herself to speak.

"I needed to listen and see if there were others around." He replied bluntly. She watched as he started searching the corpse again; she didn't bother to reprimand him and focused her attention to the twin moons outside.

"Anything on him?" She asked, still looking away from him.

"No, but he mentioned others. We must be cautious." He took the flintlock and bullets before standing up. He would dispose of the corpse later once he was sure they were safe, "Let us check outside. I would rather not stay here like a caged animal."

---

"So what do wanna do first? Germania doesn't have the great palaces and towers that Gallia has, but our food is definitely better than anything Tristain can muster up. Not much of that fancy sauces or dressings but it'll definitely put some meat on your bones."

Tabitha continued to stare at her book, idly turning the pages, as Kirche continued to ramble about her homeland's positive traits. Despite her best friend's admitted lack of national loyalty to her country she could still see the pride she held for her land of birth. She wished she could share the sentiment; all she could feel for Gallia was a strong desire for it to sink into the ocean and never bother her ever again.

She nodded to show she was listening. Kirche had insisted that Tabitha come to visit her home for the upcoming winter 'break' and she agreed if for no other reason that she found it much more appealing than listening to that madwoman's training drills and being dragged into a war she had no place in.

Besides, it wasn't like she had any place to go back to.

"We need to pack some light clothing for you. Germania can get really hot even during this time of year. Oh, but we should definitely get you some new clothes! It's such a shame that you keep running around in boys clothing all the time. It'll be my treat!"

She was also pretty sure that Kirche was doing this out of pity. Ever since she'd found out about her past and her mother's condition she'd done her best to show how close friends they were. She didn't like pity - it made her feel weak and bound - but she could appreciate her intent. A part of her didn't know why she'd allowed her to see the state of her home, but it came and went and she was the only one who knew...or at least the only one she actually told rather than stumbling into her mother's room.

She looked down and looked at the box on her lap. Kirche hadn't asked her what it was, for which she was thankful; this was where she was keeping the 'Humanity' she had been given. Maybe it was an improper place, but she didn't fancy leaving the dark fire-like substances out in the open for anyone to touch. She would have to bring it with her when they went to Germania.

"Hey, Tabitha, you listening?" She nodded. There were times that she used magic to drown out the redhead's words. It wasn't her fault; there were simply times that Kirche could become tiring to listen to, "Good, because we need to finish this up if we're going to leave tomorrow. You're going to love Germania. We have a lot of...I dunno the Tristanian word for it - 'Kurtisanen? Wenigstens Maennliche'."

Tabitha raised an eyebrow. That sounded likes some kind of food.

"Monty's lucky that she managed to leave already-"

Kirche was silenced as Tabitha suddenly snapped her book shut. The older female watched curiously as Tabitha stood up and cast a small incantation. Tabitha closed her eyes and let the enhancement spell heighten her hearing - As a Wind Mage she already had a better sense of hearing but it was nothing without her instincts. She had heard footsteps - A normal person would have disregarded them as students simply sneaking out, but she knew better. The footsteps were louder, heavier, and much more numerous in number than a girl sneaking out for a rendezvous after dark.

"Tabitha? What's wrong-"

"Quiet." Tabitha pressed a finger against her lips. She cast another enhancement spell and focused. She could hear-

"Ow, stop fucking biting!"

"Let me go- Mmmph!"

That...didn't sound good. She mentally counted the footsteps; at least five by her estimates, and that didn't include the sounds of struggles and muffled screaming. She opened her eyes and pressed her lips into a thin line. She could only make an educated guess at this point but this was most likely a kidnapping attempt of some sort; this floor was the most packed with students compared to the others and that meant the most assailants.

"Hey, you hear something?" Kirche asked again.

"...Someone's here." She locked her door and pushed a chair in front of the doorknob: That would buy her another minute. She looked between Kirche and the door. She could attempt a counterattack, but she didn't know if they were Mages or they contained firearms. She had the element of surprise, but one stray shot would be all it took for them to get hurt. The sounds of fighting might also attract attention...

The doorknob was shaking now, the would-be kidnappers trying to force their way into her room. Tabitha rushed to the window and opened it, shivering slightly at the cold night air. Sylphid was out hunting right now and even if she summoned her now she wouldn't make it in time to catch them. Escaping by herself would have been easy, but Kirche was here as well.

"Tabitha, what's going on?" Kirche whispered. It was evident something was wrong.

"Jump."

"What-"

"Jump!"

The door to the room burst open in a shower of wood. The cloaked figure sheathed his wand and looked around the room: Messy clothes and a bed that had recently been used. He walked towards the mattress and placed his hand on it, "Still warm..." He muttered. From behind him the rest of the group were looking around the room in confusion. This was the last floor they had to check.

"Someone was here. Look for anywhere she might be hiding!" He barked. The men looked at each other and shrugged before proceeding to tear apart the room in their search.

The apparent leader narrowed his eyes and made his way to the open window. Had she jumped? He stuck his head out and looked down. This floor was one of the higher points of the tower and if the room's inhabitant had cast levitation she would have been falling slowly. He leaned forward and looked down at the inky darkness covering the ground below.

He couldn't see shit.

"Fuck, forget it. Wherever she is she's not here." He shook his head and let out an annoyed breath. A setback, but ultimately one student didn't matter, "Come on, we've got enough girls. Should be enough to satisfy the parents." He took one more look from around the room before closing the partially destroyed door behind him with a slam.

A few feet above the window, Tabitha pressed herself close to the stone wall as she levitated Kirche and herself steadily. The pair waited another minute in complete silence before Tabitha carefully floated them both back to her room. Levitation magic was a common enough spell, but staying in place was far harder than slowing down a descent. Tabitha let out a fatigued breath as she felt the stable ground beneath her.

Thankfully people rarely looked up.

"Well...that was something." Kirche looked around the room distastefully. Whoever those thugs were they were desperate in their search. She picked up the torn blanket and clicked her tongue. Brutes the whole lot of them, "Now I'm gonna assume that whatever's happening it isn't good. What do we do now?"

"It's not safe here." She didn't bother looking around the room. They had more things to worry about now.

---

Julio patted Azuro's head as the dragon landed in front of the school. Meeting with Queen Henrietta had given a fascinating read on her character - The young queen was obviously inexperienced and still reeling from recent events. Ever since the events with Lord Richmond she had been much more reluctant to trust the aid of supposed allies, though the olive branch he had offered was at the very least being reciprocated.

Still, the monarch was trying her hardest, though she was mixing her own desires with what she thought to be the best for her people. He didn't hold it against her - Every leader made the same mistake, even his own master. She was doing well given her age and lack of experience, but she would need assistance; something his master would be all too willing to give her provided she asked. Offering first would have put her on guard.

There was something peculiar in the way she acted, however. He expected that the attempted ravaging of her homeland would be a sore point - and it definitely did factor into her actions - but she seemed to take more umbrage with what happened to the Albionese royal family. She tried to hide it, masking her emotions as general outrage for the death of her extended family, but he didn't miss the subtle cues whenever she talked about the late Prince Wales.

The mask she wore wasn't as thick as she would have wanted it to be. There had been something between her and the late prince, he was sure of it, though what exactly it was she didn't know. They could have been lovers - it wouldn't have surprised him considering the allure of forbidden romance - but they could have simply been very close friends. In his experiences the bond of friendship could surpass those of pairs that slept together. There was a certain...intimacy that was missing in those that simply participated in basic fornication.

He slid off his dragon's back and yawned. The Queen was a difficult case; normally his abilities allowed others to trust him immediately with a rare few being immune to his gifts. The Queen's reluctance was either due to her royal blood or her own harrowing experiences. He had to admit that he was surprised that she wasn't the Void Mage of Tristain: She was, after all, the one whose blood was the most closely related to Brimir. Though if he heard it right then Ms. Valliere was close enough in blood to be her cousin, so he supposed it all evened out.

Azuro's sudden growl caused him to pause, "Azuro, what's wrong" He rubbed the dragon's scaly skin. Azuro let out another grunt and nudged his snout to the ground a fair distance away.

"...Is something there?" He growled in affirmation. Julio let out a tired sigh and made his wayforward; his Familiar had never led him astray before and he wouldn't start now.

Corpses. Two of them. Julio kneeled and traced a finger through their necks, "Clean cuts..." He grabbed their jaws and observed the rest of their faces. No bruises or other wounds. Given the knight's level of skill that would mean they had either been killed by a wind blade spell or a very adept assassin. Judging by the drying stains it must been too long since they passed on; he gave a rough estimate of at least an hour.

Footsteps came from behind him. He made to stand up before he felt the cold barrel of a gun being pressed against the back of his head. He almost laughed at the situation, "...I assume you're the one who killed these two?"

"Funny, that's what I was going to ask you."

He recognized that voice. Taking breath to steel himself he stood up, the barrel of the gun following him, "Sir. Agnes? Is that you?" He ventured. The figure remained silent, though her grip on the flintlock loosened, "It's me. Julio Chesare. I just came back from a meeting with the Queen. I can assure you that I was not responsible for this; I have just arrived, in fact."

Another moment of silence before the gun slowly lowered, "Turn around. Keep your hands where I can see them."

Julio complied and carefully turned to where Agnes stood, "...Forgive me for saying this, but you appear to be in poor condition." He quipped lightly. Agnes scowled at him. The musketeer looked as if she'd been in a struggle - He could see the blood coating parts of her body (hers or someone else's?) and given the way she was panting it was unlikely she had come from a restful sleep.

"These bastards attacked the place we were using as quarters. Killed most of my troops, and a few of the servants who tried to fight back..." She was trying to mask it, but he could hear the seething rage she was trying to suppress, "I was awake along with a few others so I managed to fight back. Killed at least a few of them." She gestured to the blood on her armor, "I had to send the rest of the musketeers back to the capital in order to warn the Queen: Some of them were Mages; mercenaries most likely."

"Any idea as to their objective?" He stepped back, placing a small distance between him and the irate knight.

"Hel if I know. If they're trying to kill the male students to stop them from joining the war then they're too late. Maybe they heard about the training of the female students..." She clicked her tongue and let out an annoyed growl, "Fuck, what the hel is happening? First those assassins now this!"

"Whoever's pulling the strings don't want their game to end just yet." Julio crossed his arms, his smirk faltering slightly. This was far sooner than his master had anticipated, "Regardless we need to deal with this situation. The only thing of value in this school would be the students - The teachers would be easily replaceable, but if the students are killed then it would demoralize their parents. Make them careless..."

"They wouldn't kill them. It would only give the nobles more reason to attack Reconquista for revenge."

"Would it? Or would they lay the blame on Queen Henrietta for failing to protect their children?" Julio sighed. This was getting more complex than he first assumed, "It's also possible that they plan to hold the school hostage. It would certainly explain why they attacked you and the servants who fought back; anyone who's not a student or a teacher would be considered expendable."

"Just perfect," Agnes snarled, "Now we need to-"

"Hello? Is somebody there?"

Agnes trained her gun to the source of the voice. Multiple footsteps. It was only when she saw the head of pink hair that she lowed her gun.

"Ms. Valliere..." She narrowed her eyes as she caught sight of the others. The Germanian and the Gallian were there, but so was that bald professor. She pressed her lips together and tried to calm herself. Now was not the time.

"Ah, I suppose you saw to our guests as well?" Julio asked jovially.

"You could say that..." Raziel mumbled. His left hand pulsed in response to the priest but he ignored it. They had more immediate problems, "Tabitha and Kirche had ran into them whereas Professor Colbert heard the commotion and came to investigate..." His gaze shifted to the older male. He was the only one who hadn't been attacked - Apparently his laboratory had been mistaken for being an empty storage room. He didn't find it all that surprising.

"Y-Yes, as he said." Colbert coughed, "Could someone please explain the situation? I'm afraid I have little idea as to what's happening."

"We'd like to know too," Kirche piped up, "A bunch of guys just burst into Tabitha's room and ransacked it."

"Heard struggles. Kidnapping likely..." Tabitha intoned.

"Kidnapping? Do they plan to drag every student and teacher out of here on their backs?" Agnes shook her head, "No, there's too many people. Unless they brought an army over here they'd need to keep them somewhere all together."

"Uh, would now be a good time to say something?" A new voice clicked. Nearly everyone jumped as Derflinger nudged on his sheath, "Geez, you guys talk a lot! I couldn't find the right time to start talking."

"A talking sword? Fascinating..." Julio chuckled.

"So says the moon-eyed priest. You ain't so common yourself, buddy," Derflinger 'laughed', "Anyway, what I was going to say was that I sensed a crapload of magic gathered up in one area. If you guys are looking for a bunch of people then that might be a good place to start."

"Alright, where is it?" Agnes asked, ignoring the abnormality of a talking weapon.

"Over there." He nudged himself on his sheath until he was facing the direction of a large building. Louise's eyes widened.

"The great hall..."

---

Menvil looked over the gathered people, his amused smile ever-present. He'd lost count of how many students there were here, but there were enough of them for at least a few families to start kissing Reconquista's ass. They wouldn't want their precious little girls to get hurt now, would they? Most of them were crying, though a rare few tried to 'be brave' and refused to show any tears.

They'd be the most fun to break.

"So, how many men did we lose?" He asked the man to his side. The man was 'on loan' from Reconquista, an attempt to 'tame' him. His reputation was well-established and they feared that if left to his own devices he would forget the kidnapping stage of the plan and simply kill the hostages altogether.

They weren't completely wrong; even now he already felt the urge to burn some of them, to watch the fire eat away at their skin and listen to their tormented screams. It was one of the only ways he found relief from his own deformities.

"At least five unaccounted for. It's nothing to worry about; they likely died fighting those musketeers. Casualties were expected."

"They knew the risks." The burned man snorted. He held no particular loyalty to these men; he'd hired them specifically because most mercenaries had enough sense not to take jobs like this. Already he could see the looks the men were giving the hostages, the way they licked their lips in anticipation. Their carnal desires were clear, though he didn't particularly care - At least some of the parents would refuse to play ball and then they'd only have themselves to blame when their little girl's fingers were sent to them in a package.

Speaking of which...

"...What is it that you're looking at?" The man asked.

"Just thinking of playing a game-"

"Don't." The warning was punctuated by the figure nudging his hand for his rapier wand, "Our objective here is to ransom the children in exchange for their parent's cooperation, not for you to indulge in your vile fantasies. I know well of your reputation, 'White Flame'." He had enough issues convincing the man to simply not kill the cooperating servants and teachers. They came here with a goal, not to indulge in pointless murder. Besides, the more unnecessary deaths there were the more likely the hostages would panic.

"Really? Then why'd you hire me?" Menvil asked back curiously, a chuckle escaping his lips.

"I did not hire you; I myself hold no power in Reconquista. I was, however, placed in charge of monitoring your progress and controlling your...urges," His lips curled in distaste, "If you must indulge in your proclivities then do so if we receive refusals from their parents. The fear of continued reprisal should stop them from continuing any form of rebellion.

"And that'll be what? Days from now? You know the parents are going to stall and I don't think the boys are going to be willing to wait that long" He nudged his head to the assorted men, "Besides, do you really need all these students? You got records on them, right? Some of their families ain't even worth the trouble of waiting for. They probably gave about a dozen soldiers each. We can do whatever we want with them."

"If you insist on indulging yourself then do so on the servants." He bit back.

"Nah, I want to try breaking one of these girls." Menvil gave a perverse grin to the students. He already had something in mind.

"Do my words go into one ear come out the other, lummox? I just told you-"

"And I don't give a shit what you think." He grabbed the man by the collar and pulled him close, "You know, you've been a real pain in the ass ever since we got here. You wanna dock my pay for this? Go ahead. I really don't care about the money. Let me have some fun before I decide it's not worth staying here and burn this whole place to the ground."

"...Limit yourself to the ones on the left side." He coughed and rubbed his neck as Menvil released him with a mocking 'thank you', "Don't go too far. You may be a fearless fool, but I warn you - You will not survive if you fail this task."

"I heard you the first time." Menvil rolled his remaining eye at the dramatic warning. He didn't like working directly with nobles - They always had that inflated sense of importance and always assumed that you were afraid of them. He would've burned the egotistical prick right then and there, but he didn't want to get on Reconquista's bad side just yet. He didn't care about the money, but no other employers offered him contracts like this.

The girls shrunk back as he approached, their sobbing only growing worse as he got closer. He laughed; an action that only worsened their reaction. He gestured at the men standing guard- He would need some space for this.

He singled out three girls. At his nod the three were separated from their friends, causing their sobbing to only grow worse. He looked at all three before taking off the gag on the one to the left. She looked to be about the youngest.

"Hey there. What's your name?" He asked cheerfully. The girl only continued to cry, "Now, now. There's no need to cry." He wiped away her tears. She flinched at his touch, "Now, I'm gonna ask again and you better tell me this time - What's your name?"

"K..K..Katie..." The girl's voice was weak; he barely heard it over the sound of her choked sobs.

"Good. Now, we're going to play a game, okay?" He caressed her cheeks gently, "It'll be fun, trust me!" His manic smile gave her no relief, "Now, I want you to decide."

"D-Decide what?"

He clicked his tongue and pointed at the two other females, "I want you to decide who deserves to die more."

That got their attention. He could hear the teachers struggling behind him, trying to yell out something through their gags. The rest of the students fared no better, many of them looking like they wanted to vomit through the cloth covering their mouths. 'Katie' looked as if she'd been punched in the stomach, continuing to mutter 'No one! No one!' over and over again while her friends tried to mouth something to her. Whether they were pleading or trying to entice her to pick the other choice he didn't know.

"No one! No one, no one-"

"Hey, shh shh!" He grabbed the brown haired girl somewhat roughly and forced her to stand, "Now, did I say 'no one'? No, I said 'decide who deserves to die more'. So," He unsheathed his rapier wand and pointed it at the incapacitated pair, "Now you decide. Her or her," He pointed at each of them in turn, "Which of these two deserves to die more? Come on, I'm sure that one of them had to do something that made you mad. Now's your chance for revenge!"

This only panicked the girl even more. he rapidly shook her head, futilely refusing the madman's attempts for her to play along.

Menvil's smile faltered slightly, "Okay, it was cute the first time but you need to play along on the rules of the game." He clicked his tongue, "How about this: I give you a time limit. You don't play along and both of them die."

The 'contestants' doubled their attempts to speak. Now he was sure that they were trying to convince her to pick the other one: Their frantic attempts at pointing made that rather clear. Sadly his 'partner' seemed to miss the bait, continuing to look away and cry with self-indulgent pity.

"Alright, maybe this'll make things easier," He removed the cloth their mouths, "Technically this is breaking the rules, but I like you for some reason. Maybe hearing your friends will help you come to a decision."

Sadly this only seemed to worsened the girl's hysteria. The students tried to make the usual excuses - 'We're best friends!' 'I have a little brother!' 'She was the one who played that prank on you last week!'. Bla bla bla; all excuses he'd heard before. At this point he would have thought that people would come up with better excuses, if only to make things more entertaining.

The girl looked away and vomited. Menvil looked to the side and covered his nose in mock disgust. Well...that was new, at least. Most of his previous playmates preferred to cry, sweat or scream at him. This was probably the first time he'd seen this...though he usually didn't target kids.

"3...2...1. Time's up!"

Sadly, it didn't disqualify her from the game. The girls tried in vain to stand and run but Menvil's incantation was faster. The fireball was large enough to consume them both and it didn't take long for the screams to start.

He closed his eyes and allowed himself a calming smile as the fire engulfed their skin. The reason always escaped him, but ever since he was young he always had a natural affinity for fire. Hearing their screams...it was the only thing that gave him pleasure. He saw no point in the rubbing of genitalia together like the others wanted to do; it couldn't entertain him the same way the destruction did.

"See what happens when you don't play along?" Menvil scolded mockingly.

"No...No..." Katie closed her eyes tightly and shook her head, trying to block out the sight and sounds. There was nothing...nothing she could have done. It was all his fault.

"Now, who should we go for next-"

"That's enough!"

His head snapped to the source of the voice. He raised an eyebrow at the blonde woman trying to stand up, fighting against the sentry trying to hold her down. His smile disappeared, replaced by irritation, as he walked over to her.

"Really, guys? You need to tie these things better." He took the untied gag hanging around her neck and pushed her down. Just as he was about to stuff the gag in her mouth she spoke up again.

"What is it you're trying to do here, huh?" She growled, "Why the sadistic games? You want to ransom the students, right?"

"Something like that." Menvil grunted. It wasn't his preferred course of action but he was here on a job so he couldn't completely deviate.

"Then you don't need everyone." She sat up, trying to appear confident despite her bondage, "My name is Eleanor de la Valliere. My father is the Duke la Valliere, second only to the royal family. Whatever ransom they could give you will be nothing but paltry change in exchange to what the Valliere family would offer in exchange for their eldest daughter. Let everyone go and keep me here instead; I can assure you that you will be properly compensated."

Menvil stood up and put his fingers under his chin, seeming to consider the idea.

"...Nah."

"Agh!" Eleanor let out a scream of pain as Menvil kicked her right in the jaw. She blinked rapidly, trying to shake off the dizziness, before letting out another scream as he kicked her right in the stomach. She could taste blood in her mouth, but it was nothing compared to the urge to vomit out her insides as he aimed another kick at her gut.

"It's not money we're after, 'milady'," He bowed mockingly. His Reconquista leash opened his mouth to yell a reprimand before deciding against it: The Vallieres gave no troops, choosing instead to pay the war tax. There would have been no point to holding them for ransom; that money had likely already been spent for mercenaries to bolster the Tristanian army. He'd let the 'White Flame' have his fun.

Menvil reared his foot back for another kick before he felt something bump into his left leg. He looked down and saw a pink haired woman feebly bumping her shoulder at his booted thighs, trying to scream something through her bindings. How she managed to crawl to him despite her hands and legs being tied he didn't know.

"Well, looks like we got another volunteer!" He shook his head in amusement, his attention shifting from the blonde to the pinkette. He kneeled down and pulled off the gag covering her mouth, "So, sweetheart, you wanna play the game too? You seem really eager to be a contestant!"

"Do whatever you want," Cattleya hissed, "I'll take whatever abuse you give so long as you stop hurting anyone else."

"Oh, feeling brave, are we?" He leaned in close with an open-toothed smile, "We'll see how long that lasts."

He would do her slowly; it was always satisfying to break the defiant ones. He lit the tip of his spare wand and pressed it against her left cheek. Cattleya bit her lower lip tightly as she felt the scorching flame burn against her skin. She wanted to scream, to cry and beg for him to stop. Her eyes took note of Eleanor's bleeding form and she shook away any thoughts of that; she wouldn't give him the satisfaction.

Menvil's smile began to falter as he slowly moved the wand across her cheek to her eye, leaving an ugly trail of burnt flesh in its wake. He only stopped when the tip was an inch or so from her right eye before pressing the wand harder against the pale flesh. He could feel her squirming, her back arching painfully as her body was wracked with a torrent of agony.

But she still refused to scream.

"...Tch." He shook his head and gave a scowl at the silent pinkette. Stuffing his wand back in his pocket, he stomped on her head and smashed it against the floor, "You're no fun, you know that?" He spat the words out, "Fuck, you killed my mood." He sighed and walked away. He'd come back to her in an hour, reopen the wounds again and see if she was still feeling noble.

They had all the time in the world, after all.

---

"So what's the plan here?"

Kirche looked at each of them in turn. Here they all were, standing a small distance away from the entrance to the great hall as if it was some impenetrable fortress. All of them save Julio were in various states of deep thought. She knew the reason for their hesitation - It was daunting enough to mount an assault on an enemy when outnumbered, but the hostages complicated things. They couldn't just charge in there throwing spells and swinging swords to hit anything that moved; there was a good chance of them hitting the captive school denizens.

"That area's a big pit." Agnes pressed the tip of her sword into the ground, making a crude circle, "We can assume there's a lot of them there, and there's seven of us here...assuming all of us planning to fight." She gave pointed looks to Colbert, Julio and Louise, "In addition to these mercenaries - some of whom are Mages - we have to be careful about hitting any hostages that could be in there."

"I don't suppose you can just send your dragon in there?" Louise gave Julio a hopeful look.

"Haha, I'm afraid not, Miss. Valliere." Raziel frowned at Julio's laugh. Despite the situation he acted for all the world that nothing was wrong, "Azuro is certainly formidable, but his large size would only be a liability here. I cannot guarantee that he wouldn't hurt someone innocent if I send him there." His shoulders sagged in supposed disappointment, "Azuro will have to be absent for this one."

"Same with Sylphid." Tabitha cut in.

"Flame's not doing so well either..." Kirche bit her lip. She and Tabitha had gone to her room in order to fetch Flame but when they found him he was already nursing some wounds. Thankfully Salamanders were hardy, but he wasn't going to be getting up from that.

The other Familiars they'd seen weren't quite as lucky. She guessed that it was only natural that the Familiars would try to defend their master, but still...those sick bastards had put down any of the Familiars who weren't durable enough to survive their attacks.

"What do we do then?" Raziel tapped Derflinger's blade against his knee. Killing them wouldn't be too difficult, but there were far too many of them to take on alone while having to worry about hostages, "We cannot stay here too long. Is there a way we can bait them to coming for us?"

"Not likely." Tabitha shook her head.

"Those held captive have to be our first priority," Colbert interjected, "We can worry about the attackers after they're safe."

"They'll be safe once we kill these assholes," Agnes rebutted, "There's no way they're going to be baited out. Inside that hall they know they have the advantage; you'd have to be insane to leave it and expose yourself. They know that so long as they hold those hostages life in their hands they're going to win. Short of burning that building down and killing the hostages with them they're not gonna move even if we send the whole Tristanian army down here."

"We need a distraction then," Louise piped up, "I mean, something to stop them from killing anyone. Focus their attention solely on us." Her face knotted in discomfort. She didn't fancy being the sole attention of mercenaries with bullets and magic, but if she was right then her sisters were in there and it was preferable to them being hurt.

Besides, she was sure Raziel would protect her. He always did.

Another moment of silence passed before Julio spoke up, "What we need is a distraction, yes? If so then I might have the solution."

"What, you change your mind about the dragon?" Kirche asked, half-serious.

"No, but this should suffice." He raised his right hand and clenched it, causing it to emit a bright light. Kirche, Louise and Colbert jumped in surprise and they backed away slightly at the otherworldly display. Raziel's eyes narrowed, hiding his abyssal tainted hand behind his back. He could see no talisman on the priest...the implications caused him no small amount of suspicion.

"Julio...what is that?" Louise swallowed her surprise and tried to keep her voice stable.

"Magic I have been blessed with, though in the land Sir. Raziel originates from these would be called 'Miracles'." He chuckled and put his hand down, "Given Sir. Raziel's...current condition and lack of proper talisman it is doubtful that he would be capable of conveying similar abilities. I am afraid that my skill in this art is lacking, but if it is nothing more than a distraction that you require then I should be able to assist."

"What could you possibly do?" Raziel snarled.

"A bright light...think of it like a firework." He waved his hand in front of his face, "It should blind them, at least temporarily. Granted we do not know their numbers, so you will have to take as many as you can as quickly as possible if this is going to prove effective." He looked at each of them in turn, "The blindness should last from thirty seconds to a minute. Will that be sufficient?"

They looked at one another hesitantly. All of them save Colbert nodded at one another; the odds weren't in their favor, but they had little choice.

"Wait, we can't do this!" Colbert all but yelled, "I understand that you may wish to rescue those held captive, but this is not the right way! Attacking blindly would only put yourselves at risk to capture or death as well."

"Then what do you think we should do, professor?" Kirche's tone was impatient.

"We need to separate them from the hostages. Momentary blindness will not be enough; we need to panic them...make them forget about the advantage that they have."

"Oh, right, next you're going to propose we turn invisible," Agnes scoffed, "Listen, if you're too much of a coward to fight then go back to that lab of yours and barricade yourself inside. If we fail then the Queen should send reinforcements. Just wait until then."

Agnes purposely bumped her shoulder at him as she trudged towards the great hall's large doors, the students (and priest) following after her. Raziel stayed behind, looking worriedly at the professor. The scholar looked down at the ground, his expression pained as his fists shook in either rage or embarrassment.

"...What do you plan to do?" He unsheathed Derflinger, mimicking a breath, "I can understand your hesitation, but we lack other options."

"There are other options, they simply refuse to wait. They worry for their friends, wish revenge on the attackers...it is blinding them." He shook his head, "I will try to think of something else. Another plan. Just...keep yourselves safe, Sir. Raziel."

The Undead watched him go with a nod before quickly joining up with the others. The plan was simple enough: He would kick open the door and Julio would shine that miracle in order to blind the attackers. Following that they would simply charge in and pick their targets. It wasn't the most complex of strategies, but Agnes argued that sometimes the basics were more effective than anything else.

Raziel watched as the others position themselves on the entrance. He turned to the shaking pinkette, "...Perhaps you should stay behind, Louise. It is not safe-"

"Just...stop." She let out a deep breath, "Big sis Catt and Honored sister Eleanor are in there with those thugs. I'm not going to sit behind and do nothing while they're in danger. Besides." She forced a smile, "We're going to war, right? This is nothing."

"As you wish." He closed his eyes and sighed. He could only hope she wouldn't get hurt.

Raziel stood in front of the large doorway, Louise a foot or so behind him. To the left of the doorway Kirche and Tabitha were huddled together, already preparing their spells, while Julio and Agnes were crouched to the right. The six of them against Gods knew how many on the other side of the doorway...they'd had worst odds before - the battle at Tarbes immediately came to mind - but it wasn't something he actively liked participating in.

"...Are you all ready?" He whispered. They all looked at him and nodded, their hands going for their weapons (or hand, in Julio's case). Mimicking another breath, he rushed forward and kicked the door open.

The screams of surprise were the first thing he heard, "Look away!" Following Agnes' command, he turned away and closed his eyes as a bright light engulfed the entire hall. The screams intensified, and he could hear the sounds of falling bodies

"Now!"

At Kirche's yell he found himself charging ahead, attacking the first mercenary moaning in pain on the ground. A few raised their guns and shot at them blindly, easily missing. Raziel dodged the clumsy slashed aimed his way and slashed at another mercenary, barely taking note of Louise casting an incantation behind him. Alright, things were going according to plan. Now all they needed to do was-

His thoughts were interrupted by the sudden feeling of extreme heat. Looking ahead he let out a surprised breath as he saw a wall of fire heading straight for them, consuming everything in it's path.

"Run!"

Agnes' voice came too late; they wouldn't make it before the fire reached them. Raziel let go of Derflinger and turned around, holding Louise in a tight embrace and using his body as a shield. To his left he could see Tabitha frantically pull Kirche close before muttering a quick incantation, shielding them in a protective layer of wind. Ahead of him he could see Agnes crouching and using her mantle as a shield.

"Arggghhhh!" Raziel screamed in pain as he felt the fire hitting against his back. While he was already averse to fire given his experiences in the kiln, the pain reignited the memories he had buried. He could feel his left hand pulsing, the Dark Hand struggling and wracking desperately in order to avoid the suffering he was experiencing. He made sure to cover as much of Louise's body as he could. It was painful, but he could survive this.

Tabitha grit her teeth in effort as the wind shield began to falter. The spell...it was far more powerful than she expected from a common mercenary. It took all of her willpower not to collapse as the fire pushed at them, trying to char them both.

Agnes clenched her hands into fists as the water bags underneath her armor popped from the heat. Her mantle had been enchanted with rudimentary protection against spells, but this was no basic fireball. Soon her enchantment would disappear, and the fire would kill her. Taking a deep breath, she made to let go of the cloak and run before she felt someone pulling her free hand and drag her back to the entrance.

The wall of fire disappeared, leaving the survivors in its wake. Menvil clapped his hands mockingly as he strode forward, ignoring the charred corpses of the mercenaries that had been in the way. It was their fault that they had been incapacitated by a bunch of brats.

He had to admit, the trick with whatever that light was had been clever, but he could still see them. Their heat signatures were easy enough to make out and from there it was as easy as making a spell wide enough to cover them all. Being blind had been a liability the first few years, but he wouldn't trade his enhanced sight for anything in the world.

He looked down at the four. The the little girl and her redhead friend were nursing a few serious burns; severe and certainly painful, but nothing life-threatening. From what remained of their tattered attire he could at least see that they were students, so that meant his leash would want them taken hostage on the off-chance they belonged to some high up family.

The next pair weren't quite as lucky. The pink haired girl's upper body had been shielded well enough, but the burns on her legs more than made up for it. He could hear the girl crying, calling for her protector's name in between her pained sobs. Said protector definitely took the brunt of the attack; his back was little more than burned and broken skin as a result of his futile attempt at heroics.

"So what, was this some kind of rescue attempt?" He jeered. Shaking his head in amusement he pried the burnt male away from his protectee, letting him fall on the ground with a disgusting smack, "Gotta say kiddies you made a really good attempt at it, but really? Charging in like that was suicide." His remaining eye narrowed; the knight that was with them was gone. Someone had escaped.

"Somebody deal with this." He nudged his head to the four, "Follow the orders of that Reconquista dog until I get back." He let out an excited smile and licked his lips. He was getting bored just sitting here; a little hunting would prove fun.

The cloaked figure shook his head in distaste before gesture to the two closest mercenaries, "Tie up the nobles; until we can find out their heritage they may still be valuable."

The mercenaries sighed in annoyance but followed regardless. The redhead and her friend raised their wands to attack, but it was easy enough to disarm them. Tabitha bit her lip in frustration as she caught sight of the lecherous gazes aimed at Kirche's cleavage but the Germanian showed no fear, only glaring up at the pair as they tied the two of them together.

Louise wasn't faring as well. The mercenaries groaned in annoyance as she continued to cry and futilely reach out for her Familiar, "Raziel...Raziel, wake up...!" The tears in her eyes were heavy and the pain in her lower body was unbearable, but she still tried to reach out to her Familiar. She let out a muffled cry of pain as the mercenaries stuffed a gag in her mouth and tired her hands behind her back.

"What do we do with this?" The first mercenary kicked Raziel's still body.

"I'm not touching it." The second mercenary sneered.

"What, you think we should just leave it here?" The first replied. Shaking his head he knelt down and examined the corpse. Despite all the burnt flesh he couldn't smell anything out of the ordinary about it. It was almost surreal in a way, "Fine, let's just leave it alone- AHHH!"

His words were replaced with a yell as the corpse reached its charred hands towards his head and pulled. The mercenary's eyes widened before he screamed in pain; Raziel opened his mouth and bit down on the man's neck desperately, trying to cause as much pain as possible.

A single gunshot pierced through the hall. The first mercenary kicked away the corpse and scrambled back, covering the wound on his profusely bleeding neck, "What the fuck!? That asshole was still alive!" He sucked in a pained breath and tossed his bloodied flintlock. The wound was painful, but not fatal. Hopefully this school kept bandages around.

"...Now I'm definitely not touching him." The second mercenary looked in distaste at the bullet hole on the burnt corpse's forehead. He was definitely dead now, but it gave neither of them any relief.

"Fuck, let's just leave it alone. I don't want to get near that thing again."

---

Agnes panted, trying to ignore the pain of the burns in her arms and legs. Her entire body ached and it felt as if she was about to faint. Ahead of her Julio pressed on, gesturing for her to follow, his smile ever-present. She didn't know what he found so funny but hopefully he knew a way out of this pile of shit they stepped on.

"...Perhaps that plan wasn't our best idea." Julio laughed. Agnes scowled, though she said nothing. She still owed the smiling prick for pulling her out of there, "Miss. Valliere and the others have been taken captive and we are being chased by the mercenary leader." He looked down the hallway they just came from. Despite the darkness their attacker was relentless, seeing them regardless of where they went.

"Where the hel were you earlier?" She bit her lip and rubbed her reddened arms. She sorely wished she had a pouch of water to soothe the burns.

"Staying outside. As I told you before, combat is not my specialty." He shrugged lightheartedly, "Regardless I am here now. If you wish to lambast me for my cowardice then I suggest you do so when we are in more favorable circumstances."

"Just...forget it, you saved my ass earlier so I'm not in any room to complain." Granted whether his suggestion of going inside the dormitories for cover was sound or not was another thing entirely. She sucked in a pained breath and stood up straight. She'd worry about her injuries later, "Now we need a way to deal with this asshole-"

"Come out come out wherever you are~!" Menvil taunted, his footsteps echoing loudly.

Agnes winced as a fireball exploded a short distance away from them. Great, he was already here. She tightened her hold on her flintlock and looked back at the dark hallway, "...I can't see anything. Can you-"

"Found you!"

"Shit, run for it!" Agnes grabbed the priest's arm and ran deeper into the building's interior.

She didn't know how long they ran, but he was always one step behind them. She aimed a shot behind her blindly and ignored the laughter he gave in response. Just what in the helheim was this guy? He was following them like a damn bloodhound while she couldn't see her own nose in front of her.

"In here!" She kicked open the closest door and slammed it behind her with a frustrated yell, "Find something to barricade the door. Quick!"

Julio looked around the room briefly before pushing a table against the door. Agnes looked outside the window and winced; they were one one of the lower floors so jumping to the outside was possible, but it sure as hel wasn't going to be painless.

"Can you summon your dragon?"

"I could, but it's doubtful he'll arrive here before we're nothing more than cinders." He looked back at the entrance. Given the proficiency of their assailant's magic he doubted it would buy them more than a few seconds of time.

"...Fuck." She could already hear his footsteps, "We don't have a choice. Jump!"

The rush of air felt refreshing on her skin, however brief it might have been . Agnes curled herself inwards and rolled to negate as much of the impact as she could. Standing up shakily, she let out a groan and rubbed her burned right leg. Great, now she had a sprain. She could still run, though she'd need a lot of booze to drown out everything once she made it out of this.

"We should split up-" She looked behind her and let out a frustrated breath as she saw that she was alone. She shook her head; whatever, she would move faster on her own. She just hoped he made it out of there alive.

---

Tabitha moved her mouth within the confines of her gag. The ropes were tight, digging painfully into her wrists the more she moved. Directly behind her Kirche continued to struggle, only worsening the feeling of the rope on her skin. She wanted to tell Kirche to stop moving so she could concentrate. This wasn't the first time she'd been held hostage, and she could always free herself given enough free time.

She took a glance around the room - The teachers were still resisting, albeit barely. The rest of her peers weren't so lucky - Those that weren't crying and attempting to scream through their bindings seemed to have gone catatonic, no doubt due to their experiences. She stared at the two burnt corpses sitting in the corner - Why had they been left there? Some kind of torture? A warning? She didn't know.

Her gaze shifted to Louise. While Kirche seemed to be taking their situation as best she could, the youngest Valliere wasn't holding up as well. The pinkette was muttering to herself despite the gag, her face a mix of emotions as she looked between her injured sisters and her dead(?) Familiar. Counting on her for help would be a shot in the dark, but she was the closest to them so she would have to chance it.

She closed her eyes and concentrated, trying to push the cloth out with her tongue. She didn't need full freedom of speech in order to do this, but she needed to be able to form at least a few words properly.

Wandless magic was a rare skill. Rumors had it that only royals, those closest to the bloodline of Father Brimir, were capable of the coveted art. Tabitha would never claim to be an expert, but it was an ability she had actively trained herself in for emergency situations. At best she could make a small wind blade, maybe giving someone a paper cut if she aimed it just right.

Still, a small blade was enough if all she needed to do was cut rope.

She bit her tongue as she felt the blade cut her wrists an inch above the rope. Okay, she hadn't aimed that right. She ignored the blood leaking from the small wound and tried again. Aiming without a proper foci was difficult at the best of times; it was only worse when she couldn't properly see what she was trying to cut. She closed her eyes and tried again; just an inch lower this time.

She barely heard the sound of the rope being cut. She shook her wrists and nodded to herself; alright, the ropes were loosened now. She could feel Kirche renew her struggle - Tabitha did her best to sound off a 'Shhh!' and elbowed her in the back. Hopefully she would get the message.

"Mmmph..." Kirche 'answered' back. Tabitha could only hope that meant 'I understand'.

Slowly but surely the ropes were cut apart. Tabitha resisted the urge to ungag herself and continued to hold on to Kirche's hands. If they stood up now then all they'd accomplish was getting shot. She had to time this just right.

She gauged the distance between herself and the teachers. Provided she could get a wand she could cast a quick enchantment to augment her speed and help untie them. The teachers wouldn't be all that helpful without their wands, so she'd have to steal at least a couple of them...of course that meant stealing one for herself first. She let out a soft sigh of frustration; she'd had missions that were easier than this.

Maybe she could...no, no they'd notice if one of their man started bleeding out of his eyes. Ah, perhaps that would...no, even if she cut his tongue out that would still garner attention. She looked back at her best friend - Kirche could provide a distraction easily enough and she could steal their wands...no, wait she wasn't that fast. More than likely they'd simply catch her.

This was frustrating.

As she was taking another another long look around the room she finally noticed something amiss - Small slips of red paper dotted various parts of the room. Those definitely weren't there before. The mercenaries had taken no notice of them, and she was definitely sure they weren't there before. Looking closer the paper definitely looked familiar. She was sure she'd encountered it before-

Kirche made a sound of confusion as Tabitha suddenly looked away, shutting her eyes tightly and pressing her hands against her ears. Seeing no other option the redhead reluctantly followed her example.

The next minute was filled with the sound of explosions. Tabitha kept her ears covered and tried to focus. Someone had scattered papier incendie - A common enough tool in alchemy that boosted specific properties. It was risky to use, however, due to its volatile reaction to fire (hence its namesake): If it even caught a hint of fire they emitted a loud sound, akin to a barrel of gunpowder exploding. Individually it was of little issue, more like the sound of a slap than anything else, but one always used the papier in large groups.

Hence the current situation.

Tabitha tried to shake away her dizziness. She and Kirche had covered their ears so they had been protected, albeit slightly, from the sudden explosions.

Everyone else didn't share their luck. The mercenaries were on the ground, hands clutching their heads as they groaned in pain. The effects of hearing a full blast of the papier were painful, but ultimately temporary. The hostages own groans of pain were an unfortunate reminder that they weren't alone, but she surmised that they would take a temporary bout of pain if meant rescue.

"Ahhhhhhh!" The door at the end of the hall opened with a loud crash and a mercenary stumbled out, the fire eating away at his skin. From behind she could hear more struggles and explosions. She felt a swell of confidence; someone was helping them. Now was their chance.

She stood from her chair and rushed to the closest mercenary. He was prone on the floor, looking as if he wanted to vomit. Tabitha grabbed the knife from his sheath and jabbed it at his neck. He struggled, his eyes widening as they registered what had happened, before he passed quietly. She turned him around and grabbed both his rapier wand and the spare that he carried.

"Hey, what the-"

She turned to the source of the voice and prepared to cast a spell to defend herself. It proved futile, however, as her would-be attacker was tackled to the ground.

Raziel let out a enraged growl and beat his left hand against the larger man's face, ignoring the pain engulfing his head. The man beneath him struggled, trying in vain to fight back. The Undead didn't stop till the man's face was an unrecognizable mess of bruised flesh, "Argh..." He let out a cry of pain as more flesh from his back ripped away. The wounds...they were agonizing.

He...He needed to feed.

Tabitha watched as he ripped open the man's neck and bit down hungrily, chewing on the blood and flesh like a crazed animal. Her eyes narrowed slightly as his eyes darkened into an overwhelming shade of black before reverting back to their usual color.

"...You're alive." Her voice was devoid of emotion, as usual. She didn't even see him get up, though she already had her doubts of his death. She looked down at the ravaged corpse before pushing him out of the way. Whatever his instincts might have been been now was not the time for her hesitation. She took another pair of foci. Alright, that should be enough.

"Hey..what the...what the fuck!?" The mercenaries were recovering. While their hearing hadn't returned fully the panicked pointing and the blood staining their clothes made it clear what he was ordering them to do.

"Go. I will keep them busy." Raziel shoved her away as the mercenaries trained their guns on them. Tabitha quickly returned to Kirche as her impromptu partner charged at the group, "Here. Untie Louise. Hurry."

"R-Right." She took the offered wand and began untying the pinkette.

Raziel smashed the mercenary against the ground and stomped on his neck. The pain...it was still gnawing at him. He resisted the urge to feed as he gouged another mercenary's eyes out. The fire...he wouldn't let it consume him again. Not again.

"Take this." Tabitha untied the teacher and pressed the rapier wand into her hands. More gunshots, and Raziel was forced into the ground as the bullets embedded themselves on his already ravaged back. She cast a quick incantation and summoned four icicles, aiming it at the group of mercenaries. They were scared, incited by the panic of seeing their comrade being eaten mercilessly, but that was only temporary.

If they didn't do something the tides would turn.

"Hey, Valliere, snap out of it!" Louise hissed as Kirche slapped her painfully, "Damn it, Louise, get up" She forced the younger girl up and snapped her fingers in front of her hazy eyes, "Come on, you need to help your Familiar!"

She pointed her wand at an approaching mercenary and hit him with a fireball. They needed to help the others.

"Familiar...Raziel...?" She looked past the Germanian. Raziel was being pinned to the ground by three mercenaries, each attempting to stab their swords into him, while the rest were fighting against the teachers. She could see Honored sister Eleanor fighting against the brigands, but..where was Big sis Catt?

"Get up or I'm leaving you!" Another slap came, more painful this time. Louise shook away the pain and nodded. She was awake now.

She pointed her wand at the three and yelled, "Explosion!"

Raziel sighed in relief as the soldiers were thrown away from him. Groaning in pain, he pulled out the sword and bit back a scream as he forced himself to stand. No...not yet, not until they were all dead.

"Shoot him! Shoot him!"

Their features melted away. He could see inside them, see the Humanity flowing inside their bodies. His left hand flared, the parasite hungering for more food. He only needed a few more to soothe the pain.

---

"Here, piggy piggy piggy~!"

Agnes snarled softly as she hid behind a low wall, "...Last bullet." She looked down at the flintlock and bit her lower lip. Thirty minutes...thirty minutes of them playing this game of cat and mouse. The one-eyed bastard was toying with her, she knew he was. He could have killed her easily - he had more than enough chances for it - but he was content to prolong his little game. Cast a quick spell, nip fire at her heels, but never aiming to kill.

A predator playing with its prey.

She was sure she had hit the bastard. Twice in the leg and once in the side, but he just laughed. Was he another one of those enchanted freaks like the assassins? It was the only way she could explain how he could laugh off the wounds she inflicted on him. She gripped the pistol with both hands and prepared to fire. She had to make this one count.

She popped out of cover and fired. The bullet hit him in the shoulder, piercing through his leather armor. He looked back at her and smiled, raising an eyebrow mockingly at the attack.

"So that's what, four bullets? I thought at this point you'd give up and try something different."

"Shut up and fight." She unsheathed her sword and charged at him. He raised his right hand and caught the sword easily, grinning at her look of disbelief. She attempted to press the sword deeper but even as his hand began to bleed his grin never faltered.

"That's not gonna work, little piggy." He kicked her on her injured leg. Agnes let out a pained scream and fell on her back, causing his grin to widen, "Gotta admit, you lasted longer than most, but these games have to end some time." He unsheathed his rapier wand and pointed it at her, "You know what? Since you've been so entertaining I'll do you a favor and kill you quickly. Be grateful."

Agnes grit her teeth and looked up at him defiantly. Was this how it was all going to end? Killed for a sick bastard's entertainment.

"Stay away from her."

Menvil turned around and blocked the fireball. His eyes narrowed in anger at the interruption before he broke out into a large laugh as he caught sight of his 'opponent'.

Colbert leaned into his staff and did his best to keep his breathing level. His robes were in tatters, various cuts and burns dotting his entire body. He could feel himself growing faint as he continued to stand.

He had managed to break apart the back walls and attack those staying in the other rooms of the great hall along with providing a distraction, but already he knew it was too much. Twenty years ago he was a soldier, a renowned prodigy for his skill, but now...now decades had passed; decades he had spent running away, trying to avoid his past and forget his sins.

His skills had atrophied. He knew that all too well.

"So...this is supposed to be the cavalry?" Menvil asked mockingly, "An old man that has to use a cane to stand up? This is rather disappointing."

"...I know that voice from anywhere." He smiled bitterly, "When I first saw you I wanted to deny it, but...it appears you haven't changed at all even after twenty years."

Menvil's mouth opened slightly in surprise. The old bastard knew him? Wait, he mentioned twenty years ago... "Could you be...?" His eyes narrowed. Looking past the wounds and age, there was definitely something he recognized about the frail man. "Wait, don't tell me..." His eyes turned manic and a deep, bellowing laughter echoed from deep within, "Oh, damn it! It's been a long time, captain! Oh, I can't believe it's you!"

Colbert's pained expression only worsened as the white haired man continued to laugh, "Oh, this is perfect! I knew there was a reason I took this job!" His excitement only grew as he stepped closer to him, "Do you know how long I've been searching for you captain? Twenty years! Twenty long years of searching for the elusive prodigy! Hel, I became a mercenary just so it'd give me a chance to find you!"

"It seems you've accomplished your mission then..." He could see Agnes forcing herself to stand. Now was her chance to run; he just had to distract him a bit longer, "Take your revenge if you wish. I won't fight you."

"Revenge? Why would I do that?" His face was one of genuine confusion, Quite the opposite, I have to thank you for all you did! I mean, back then I was weak! I attacked you out of jealousy, I admit, but what you did...it cleansed me. Made me stronger-"

Agnes stabbed her knife into his back. He stumbled slightly, more out of surprise than anything else, before he let out another laugh. "You see what I mean?" He grabbed the musketeer by the throat and lifted her up, ignoring the knife embedded in his shoulder, "Twenty years ago a wound like that would have killed me but now? Now it's not even a tickle."

He threw the struggling knight next to him. Agnes let out a pained gasp and struggled to stand, but her feet wouldn't obey her.

"Now, I will admit those first few years were tough. Having most of your body burnt will do that to you." He joked, "But after that, when I finally pushed through the pain and agony I got...well, this!" He gestured to himself happily. Colbert could see the burnt skin underneath his armor. When Menvil had attacked him he fought back with intent to kill. The spell he had used...it was far more agonizing than even the average fire spell. He was angry, and when the younger man had attacked him he used him as a focal point for his rage.

He ripped away the damaged leathers and exposed his ruined body. The former knight captain made a noise of disgust - Most of his body was nothing more than charred flesh. How he was even standing was a miracle in and of itself.

"And with a little magic done from a few friends I was new and improved! I tell you, captain, if you hadn't done what you did twenty years ago I'd still be as weak as I was back then. So, from the bottom of my heart, thank you."

Colbert felt sickened. His actions led to this...this monster to grow stronger. Every word of gratitude that came from the burned man's mouth felt like a knife being stabbed into him.

"So what happens now?"

"Now? Well, since you threw that little ball of fire at me that means you joined the game." His shoulders sagged in feigned regret, "So sorry, captain, but we all gotta follow the rules, huh?" He raised his wand and pointed it at them both, "But I'll give you the same quick death I was planning to give her." He eyed the other man's wounds, "At this point it's going to be a mercy. You look like you're knocking on death's door already."

Colbert raised his wand to try and cast a spell but all that came out of his lips was a mouthful of blood. It was...no use. Before the mercenary was his inferior, a rash youth that relied on pure overwhelming force. But twenty years had passed, twenty years of him running and trying to forget everything of his past while he reveled in his monstrosity. Even making a distraction and fighting the reinforcements earlier had been too much for him.

Menvil sighed in slight disappointment as Colbert fell on his knees, holding onto his staff to keep him upright. When his captain had disappeared he never expected him to end up like...this. The man he had admired, turned to nothing more than a pathetic wretch. This truly would be a mercy.

What came next came as a surprise for all of them.

Menvil halted his spell as he heard an overpowering roar from above him. Looking up he barely had time to open his mouth in surprise before a dragon landed on top of him, its toothy maw wide open.

Azuro leaned down and bit down on the burned man. Colbert looked away as he heard the sound of flesh being torn apart and the confident mercenary's screams of pain. It was a mercifully quick passing and the screaming soon stopped, though he still felt sickened as the dragon seemed to relish in its meal, chewing on the man as if he were a succulent piece of meat.

Agnes watched the dragon swallow the bastard whole. Next to her she heard Colbert fainting, though whether it was due to his injuries or the sight of a man being eaten alive she didn't know. Swallowing, she tried to stand up once more.

"Need some help?" She looked up to see Julio offering her a hand, an amused smile playing across his lips. She let out a sigh and took hold of his hand, allowing him to pull her up.

"Where the hel were you?" She winced. Her right leg felt like it was on fire; she'd need a lot of booze after this.

"Observing, mostly." He rubbed Azuro's leg affectionately, "You may not believe me, but this incident is nothing compared to the events that shall soon come to pass. If you couldn't survive this then you would have had no chance in surviving the rest of this cycle. I thought this would be a good test."

"Cycle? What are you...you know what, fuck it. I don't even wanna know what you're rambling about." She clicked her tongue and released a pained breath, "Whatever you think you're doing, leave me out of your games. If your 'tests' place Queen Henrietta in danger then you're not going to live long enough to regret it." She sighed, "Still, I guess I owe you for dealing with that bastard."

"Think nothing of it. As I said, I was merely testing to see if you had the will to survive." He laughed, "I must say, you passed with flying colors. Your response is as expected as well - A loyal knight, devoted to her monarch until the very end. I must say that Queen Henrietta could have used you in her past life. Perhaps then she wouldn't have been led astray by temptation."

"You're rambling again." Agnes bit back, "Listen, I appreciate the help you gave me and whatever assistance you can give Queen Henrietta, but keep your ramblings to yourself. I've no interest in whatever prophecies you think are at play."

"Are you sure? I could tell you if you wish. It should provide some insight-"

"Not interested. All I care about now is getting something to drink and blocking out everything that's happened tonight." She glanced briefly at the unconscious professor before letting out another sigh. His wounds were going to kill him without proper treatment, but she didn't care enough to save him.

"Of course. Ah, but one another thing I think you should know about." He held up a hand, "Professor Colbert is not who he says he is. He-"

"Was a captain in one of Tristain's knight groups. One of the people who burned down my village." Agnes finished. Julio blinked in slight surprise, "What, you think I didn't know? Nobles always keep records on these things even if the purpose of groups like his are to be denied. Yeah, I know he was the captain of that squad . And no, I don't particularly give a shit."

"I must admit I am...surprised. I thought you would want revenge."

"I do, but I want the one who pulls the strings. This bald prick was a puppet, a pawn. If it wasn't him it would have been someone else. Richmond and whoever paid him for 'permission' to destroy my village; that's who I want. I could care less about the guns they used, I want the one who pulled the damn trigger." She looked in distaste at the injured professor, "I'm not going to waste time hunting all the men in that group. They followed orders; in their position I might have done the same thing if Queen Henrietta ordered it. He's not worth caring about."

"Hmm, fascinating," Julio, "And yet here he is, injured and dying. Will you save him?'

"In your dreams," She scoffed, "I'm not going to go out of my way to kill this son of a bitch but he can go die in a hole for all I care. Do what you want with him, I don't care."

Julio watched her go with another laugh. Oh yes, if she survived then she would definitely prove useful in the coming trials. He kneeled down and placed a hand on the professor's chest - It was because of him that the reinforcements guarding the servants had been killed and it was he who provided the distraction that allowed them the chance to turn the tide. For a so-called coward he had proven crucial.

A bright light emanated from Julio's palm and the wounds on the injured professor's body slowly but surely healed themselves, "Now is not your time to pass." He gave the older man a comforting smile, "You still have a role to play. You will not leave this cycle just yet."

---

There had been a lot of crying.

Raziel sat away from the large clusters of people, idly rubbing the bandage covering his forehead. He thanked Brimir or whatever God they worshiped that it wasn't raining; the weather always seemed to have impeccable timing and he didn't fancy a torrent of water given his wounds.

Killing the rest of the mercenaries was done successfully enough, and through what he could only consider a miracle none of the teachers or anyone else had died in the fighting. Now all that was left was to pick up the pieces - He watched blankly as clusters of students huddled together, trying to dry their tears, while the teachers did their best to reassure them.

Parts of him still hurt, though now it was more of a dull ache than anything. Most of his body was covered in bandages that he had crudely wrapped around himself: Louise insisted that he cover his wounds so they could deal with them later. The temptation to consume a pure Humanity shard was outweighed by the bullet still being in his skull - He didn't exactly want a metal ball to be stuck in his head when the flesh healed over it.

He looked up as he heard footsteps drawing closer. He caught sight of Cattleya walking towards him, offering him an uneasy smile. He didn't bother to return the gesture and simply looked away. He wasn't in the mood to talk.

Sadly she seemed to miss his intent as she sat next to him, "You seem to be alright..." Her voice was soft, almost strained in a way. He nodded mutely, "...Do your wounds still hurt."

"The bullet is still in my skull." He replied flatly. He rubbed displaced skin beneath the bandages, wincing slightly as he felt the metal ball moving around, "Add to that most of my body is burnt flesh. Yes, they still hurt." He frowned, "I will admit, however, that I thought the injuries would force me to revive at the bonfire. I suppose my tolerance for pain is stronger than I thought."

"...Sorry, I didn't mean to cause offense."

"No offense taken." He sighed, "I am irritated, but I should not use you as a target of my frustrations?" He turned to look at her, noting the ugly scar marring her left cheek and the bruises dotting her face, "...I assume that was from earlier."

"From their leader." She pursed her lips, "He was hurting Eleanor and I tried to stop him." Her smile faltered, "This was a warning, I suppose. I was lucky enough that he didn't burn my eye."

He raised a hand and traced the scar softly. She let out a hiss of pain but made no effort to push him away. The wound would heal in time, but the scar itself would remain, "...Louise was worried about you. It is why she rushed in there."

"She needs to worry about herself more." Her shoulders sagged. She watched her little sister talking to one of the teachers, though the topic of their discussion eluded her.

"...Louise wants to leave tomorrow. No more delays, she said." She let out a surprised breath. Odd, he thought she would be the first he would tell, "I suppose she wants to go now before she decides to change her mind." He shook his head. He hadn't seen Siesta all night, but he hoped he would be able to say goodbye properly. The timing wasn't something he would consider agreeable, but it was better than leaving without a word.

"So she's really leaving...I suppose a part of me just won't accept it." She licked her lips nervously, "...Hey, can I ask you a question?"

"You already are." He clicked his tongue.

"Oh, right," She forced out a laugh, "Well...I wanted ask; what was it like for you when you...killed someone?"

His eyes narrowed, "...I have had this conversation before, so I will shorten it for you - I do not feel anything when I kill someone. I might be enraged if someone attacks me and wish their death, but the act of killing on its own has no effect on me."

"Oh..."

He sighed, "Let me guess, you killed someone and now you feel guilty? Guiche and Louise were the same. If you are hoping that I will give you some profound advice on how to deal with your regret then you will be disappointed-"

"N-No, it's not that. It's..." She clasped her hands together and looked down, "Quite the opposite, in fact. I didn't feel guilt. It would have been easier if I did, but...I don't know how to describe this. It's not that I'm happy, but-"

"What do you mean? Stop speaking in circles."

"I...I killed someone-"

"I already know that. It is nothing-"

"It's not nothing!" He was surprised by her sudden yell, "Just...let me finish." She gulped nervously, "One of the mercenaries tried to escape. Everyone else was too busy fighting to notice him so I followed after him. He was injured, bleeding out really. He didn't want to fight anymore and just wanted to escape. He could barely even crawl when I chased after him."

"Little wonder no one else found him..."

"I guess so." She conceded, "When he realized he wasn't alone he begged me for help, begged me to heal him." He rolled his undamaged eye. He would have stabbed him, "And...I cast a spell. Just some water, not enough to drown him. I allowed him to drink..."

"...And? Is this story going anywhere?"

"Just let me finish." A hint of irritation reached her voice, "At first he seemed grateful; he thought I was going to help him. Then..." He saw her hands shaking, "I didn't stop. I forced the water into his mouth until he couldn't breath anymore. Then I...I covered his nose and mouth until he..." She trailed off, "He was struggling, but he was so weak that he could barely move his arms. I could see him crying, begging me not to kill him and-"

"You do not need to continue. I can surmise what happened next." She nodded in relief, "So...is that it? You choked him to death on water? Guiche buried people under the earth and Louise...she has killed far more than you will know..." He whispered the last part, "You killed one man, a man who would have killed you had your circumstances been reversed. You do not have anything to regret."

"I told you, it's not regret. It was...I felt elated." He raised an eyebrow, "I could feel him struggling but it only made me want to end his life quicker. This is...wrong, isn't it? I shouldn't feel like this for taking someone's life."

"Revenge in summary." He shrugged, "Did he do anything to you personally?"

"Not him personally...I think." She answered slowly, "A few of my friends died because of his group. They tried to take me and some of them fought back..." She bit her lower lip, her mouth shaking, "They also hurt Eleanor. But still...this is wrong. I shouldn't feel so...content for taking someone's life, especially like this."

"I cannot say anything to comfort you, I am sorry." He gave her a wry smile, "If you wish for someone to comfort you then tell your sisters. I am sure they will give you the relief you crave."

"I...I can't. I can't tell them I did that, they would..." She turned to look at him, "I simply thought you would understand better because..."

"Because I eat people?" She shrugged and pointed at the specks of dried blood dotting the sides of his mouth. He sighed, "...I do not usually partake in such a thing. Normally it is more like your 'treatment'; siphoning the Humanity out of people. I had...a momentary loss of mind. I blame the bullet to the head." He tapped his forehead, "I can only hope that Louise did not see that."

"She didn't...I think. Still, I hoped you could give me at least some advice..."

"What do you want from me?" He let out a frustrated breath, "Like I said, I cannot give you any relief. I do not feel anything when killing, neither joy nor sadness. You felt happy for killing someone, so what? They did you wrong, it would only be natural. So long as you do not enjoy the act of killing itself rather than revenge for harm that has been done to you then you have nothing to fear."

"I suppose..." She still didn't sound convinced.

"Whatever the case, only you can deal with this." He did his best to give her a genuine smile as he patted her shoulder, "If you will excuse me then I should go. I...need to talk to Siesta."

"Haha, I almost forgot about your girl troubles." She ruffled his blood-soaked hair, "I suggest cleaning yourself up a bit before doing anything. I doubt it'll be very pleasant looking like that."

"Right..."

---

And done. Well you know the drill - Sorry for the fight scenes, this chapter was a drag bla bla bla. You've heard it all before. Anyway, Albion comes after this so it's fine. Just a heads up now: I'm going to gloss over the large siege battles since I can hardly write duel scenes, let alone army scenes. They still happen, it's just not shown that much. The events of Albion from an individual perspective take precedence.

This chapter underwent some re-writes. Menvil's 'game' scenes were toned down a bit, the gory bits being mostly glossed over since they felt rather exploitative. It was bad enough writing this guy's saturday morning cartoon dialogue, so I had to tone down any gory details. You guys can imagine it well enough.

Likewise I was also supposed to show Cattleya doing the nasty she was worried about, but it cut the pace of the chapter since it would have to be between the scene at the great hall and the finale with Menvil. I can flashback to it later if necessary, but you guys can just infer what happened from her dialogue and reaction to it.

Last thing: Some of you might be annoyed with how the Menvil confrontation played out. Some of you were likely expecting a big fight with Agnes and/or Colbert putting him in his place, but it wasn't meant to be. In canon Colbert is this supposedly legendary 'Flame Snake' Mage that's on a level even above Wardes, and I can agree this was the case...twenty years ago. Colbert right now is a mild-mannered pacifist professor who spent the last two decades with his skills deteriorating due to lack of practice and experience and unlike Karin she doesn't have the 'Creators pet genes' that allow her to be overtly powerful for no stated reason.

Likewise with Agnes she's good, but her field experience isn't even a quarter of Menvil's and she lacks the magic to keep up with him. She does shoot him a few times, but because his body is pretty much a burnt husk suffering from extreme nerve damage anything save a headshot wouldn't have really worked. Hence why it took a literal dragon eating him to take him down. As for the personality change with her considering Colbert's not worth bothering about, that's mostly me. She wants the king, not the pawns. If she has to go through the pawns so be it but if she has a straight shot for the king she's gonna ignore em. She knows where Richmond is, so Colbert is chopped liver for her.

Skelo - Considered it as well, but it adds more problems. If Tabitha found out Cattleya was a Humanity font then she'd keep urging Raziel to keep draining her, which he'd refuse to do since siphoning too much will kill her. Ultimately it does nothing and why he refuses to tell her where he got the Humanity from.

Remvis - Is Cattleya your preference or would anyone who's not Siesta work? I admit Raziel was supposed to hate Cattleya but the scene in the forest went in a different direction than I thought it would. Still, in the last chapter she sort of treats him like a child - Urging him to play around, ruffling his hair, scolding him when he mouths off etc etc. While Raziel himself is inexperienced with romance I would argue that Cattleya is just as lacking in actual knowledge beyond having her first crush. She does know how to be a big sister, which she acts like when dealing with Raziel and Tabitha.

Kishinokurobi - Didn't think of it that way, but yeah it's kinda similar. Raziel's 'fighting style', if it can even be called that, is very aggressive and lacking in any finesse. His tenuous grasp on sanity in the recent chapters only exacerbates this.

Thaqif - Uh...no thanks. I generally don't take requests for new stories, I don't really like Fairy Tail, and since you reviewed three times with more and more details I can imagine that you already know the story well enough that you can do it yourself.

Dedan - Nice, long review :) Alright to start off - All the examples you gave me have little to do with changing personalities, just events and backstory. Cattleya being a Firekeeper didn't change her personality any more than it would have if she just had a regular sickness. Likewise the Vampires' personalities are transplanted from the Light Novel with the exception of Amethyst - She didn't really have a personality in the LN since she showed up maybe once for a few sentences.

Also, I thought I did change her personality slightly - In the early chapters she's mentioned and shown physically abusing Raziel, being very demanding and not showing him any basic decency. In the recent chapters they're much friendlier, she regrets having to use the 'Familiar' trump card and only used it at the heat of the moment, and she breaks down apologizing to him during the homecoming. She's no saint, but she's definitely more tolerable than she would be at this point in the story in the canonical light novels. You can even see her refusing to order him to stand down when Julio was goading him into a fight, which she wouldn't do if she just plain didn't give a shit about what he thought.

To cap off, I also don't have anything against her character, at least not at this point. I generally don't let my thoughts affect the character's development all that much - I like Henrietta and am generally 'meh' about Siesta, but the latter has much more plot focus while the former is constantly insulted by the main character.

Wanderer - The blushing and angsting is a fair argument, though I would argue that he would angst growing humanity or no. As for the blood and stuff - It's made clear multiple times that whatever 'human' traits he has are shallow, a facsimile of what a human really is: He has blood but it doesn't flow and he's shown to only be slightly annoyed whenever he bleeds. He can eat but his stomach isn't built for it so he doesn't, which he shows in Tabitha's mansion when he refuses to eat more than a few bites. Likewise in Chapter 37 where you reviewed and any fight scenes before and after that he's shown to be just as durable. During the fight with Jack he's stabbed in the throat and shrugs it off while in this chapter he's shot in the face and has his back burned, but the only damage he shows is mental ones. He may appear to become more human, but it's only skin deep.

The lack of dying was intentional. Bonfire or no, enemies he kill won't stick around waiting for him to come back if not for gameplay convenience. Dying and reviving to enemies would really grind the pace of the story into a halt since it would really make the story into a parody of him always winning by value of sheer attrition - Half the story would consist of him rushing back to the fight scenes.