White Tragedy

One Month and Three Weeks since the Last Death (Nine Deaths)

Behold an unthinkable present...

"… Nail it!" A determined voice shouted, a voice determined to change the series of tragedies that had occurred without stopping since his unfounded pride led him to disrespect the knights of the kingdom and to break the promise he had made to the girl who had stolen his heart.

"Al Huma!" Another determined voice shouted, ready to give everything of herself to help that boy who freed her from the prison that was her broken heart.

"- Everyone, follow that pair of fools!" A third determined voice shouted, with her eyes fixed on her goal, with her heart ready to lead the masses, with her adamant spirit alight with the flames of the memory of that young prince who marked her life.

The three voices shouted in succession, becoming the fuse that ignited the battle that would decide the future of that world. The three voices advanced in determination, each with their gaze fixed on a common goal. The three voices embarked on the path to a future full of tragedy and hope...

And yet, despite the strength borne by those three voices, the wind of fate was enough to blow them away, leaving behind the silence of an uncertain present. The present in which those three voices would be heard would never take place, since an inferiority complex disguised as humility had been responsible for wiping it out of this particular world. Now, those voices would forever belong to an inconceivable present, one that no one should ever contemplate.

"We must retreat!" A desperate voice cried out, watching with hopeless eyes the terrible scene that was taking place in front of him.

"No! We will not retreat! We cannot allow that damned beast to remain alive!" Another desperate voice yelled back, watching with his mindless eyes as his desire of years and years was crushed by the gigantic body of the beast he longed to strike down.

"Shut up, you fucking idiot! Don't you think enough have died already?! We can't keep fighting!" The first voice then addressed the second, with anger shining deep in his pupils.

"B-But…" The second voice stuttered, unsure of how to respond to the first. But then out of the corner of his eye he saw the beast engulf another large part of the warrior platoon with its shadow, and a flare of anger incinerated his neural synapse. "I'd rather die than turn around and run away! You said it yourself, too many of our comrades have died! If we surrender and leave that damned beast alive, their deaths will have been in vain!"

Both warriors, owners of the two voices, looked at each other with black flames in their gazes. The battle in which they found themselves had gnawed at their minds and spirits; despair was increasingly eating away at their sanity. And those two voices were not the only ones involved in a quarrel as such. No, dozens of similar voices were heard among those survivors of the battle against the infamous Mabeast of the Mist, the White Whale.

The battle had begun with dozens of soldiers full of vigor. Some craved to consummate the thirst for vengeance that had plagued them for years. Others wanted to raise their weapons, so that their children would not have the need to. All were looking for a better, brighter future. One in which those who travel the roads, and their families, do not fear the ominous presence of the White Whale.

But their desires had been thwarted in minutes. After unleashing the entire arsenal of their most powerful attacks and spells, the difference in power became more than evident. Out of everyone present on the battlefield, only four individuals were skilled enough to confront the beast and harm it in the process; and one of them, the same person who commanded them, was no longer there, not even within their memories.

With a harrowing chant, the White Whale had split into three after one of its eyes was torn out of its orbit, completely destroying the few remaining hopes that kept the warriors standing. In the end, with their hopes and the vast majority of their companions completely obliterated, the survivors were devastated by the harsh reality; the fighting had been in vain, and it was likely that they themselves were close to losing their lives.

Those moved by the hope of a world free from the threat of the White Whale experienced the despair of being unable to move forward. Dropping their weapons to the ground, they resolved that only retreat could give them a slim chance of survival. Of course, most would perish in the escape, but it did not matter if there was even the slightest chance of getting back to their families.

On the other hand, those moved by the thirst for revenge, felt how the desperation and hopelessness corroded the little reason they had left. Blinded by the need to witness the bloody carcass of the White Whale lying before them, they resolved that it was best to carry on, no matter what the consequences. After all, they had waited years for another chance to face the whale, and were unwilling to survive to be tormented by another phase of tortuous waiting and mourning.

And in the absence of an adamant commander, leader, or captain, capable of calming the waters with his or her voice and bringing the warriors back together, the battlefield was flooded with mass hysteria, confusion, alienation, and rage. This was the root of the conflict that had led brothers-in-arms to forget the battle in which they found themselves and to begin to argue savagely among themselves, to the point where casualties due to fratricide, or friendly-fire, began to take place.

Enraged, the most deranged warriors began to kill each other, while those who still held a bit of a reason watched complete awe, unsure how to proceed. All this, while the three mabeasts, which were but one, swam through the ocean of mist that completely surrounded the prairie located near the Hyclara Plateaus.

While the null morale of the warriors lit the flame of internal conflict, a second group of fighters was several hundred meters away, outside range of the whale's mist. Dozens of pairs of eyes watched the dense fog with a scowl. The situation had gotten so out of control so quickly that they ended up losing contact with their temporary allies before they could even notice it.

"Captain…" a childish voice murmured, in a worried tone. Unlike the desperate voices of those who fought amidst the mist, this voice lacked any sign of mental instability.

"I know." A more assertive voice answered. "Since we split up, it seems the situation has only gotten worse and worse."

"Shouldn't we go back to them?" Questioned the childish voice.

"We aren't paid enough to go and die…" The second voice murmured. The speakers were two mercenaries, and both were leaders of the group of mercenaries that had accompanied the warriors with the aim of fighting alongside them against the White Whale.

Unlike the warriors, who fought for personal and patriotic reasons, the mercenaries only did so on the orders of their employer. For exactly that reason, when the situation got out of control and it became clear that if they did not retreat they would perish, the mercenaries acted out of sheer rationality and left the fight without a second thought.

"But what will happen to the warriors that Anastasia-sama agreed that we'd support?" One of the mercenaries wondered.

"Right… Weren't we s'posed to do all of this to pay for Hetaro-san's treatment?" Asked another of them.

"The treatment..." Mumbled one more. "The knight Felix! He stayed in the fog, didn't he?" The person they believed were there for, fighting the White Whale, was still in the deadly mist.

The mercenaries acted because of money, and that is exactly why they could not leave a debt unpaid. Most had agreed to leave the battlefield in order to regroup, which proved to be the right decision in view of the fact that the fog now covered the entire area. But now that they had time to reconsider their decisions, many of them began to show their desire not to abandon the person who healed the terrible wounds of one of their leaders, Hetaro Pearlbaton.

"Mimi agrees with them, Captain." Added the childish voice. "Without the help of the knight Felix, my brother would never have recovered his arm and leg. Mimi knows it's risky, but Mimi wants us to at least try to rescue him. If possible, Mimi wishes we'd honor the deal and continue fightin' the mabeast; but Mimi knows it's too risky. So Mimi at least wants us to save him. Otherwise, Onii-chan wouldn't forgive us... and… and I wouldn't forgive myself either. After all, Felix-san's just like Subaru Nii-san, he can't defend himself."

"Hmm… Ya've got a point, Mimi." The assertive voice answered, grunting. "Ya well know that I ain't happy that we withdrew from the battle either, but after what happened in Priestella... I wouldn't forgive myself if I lose dozens of my comrades again just because I let the din of the battle to cloud my judgment. As things stand, goin' into that fog would be suicidal… Without Wilhem-san's help, I don't think we can-"

"Arrrghhhh!" But before the mercenary captain could finish speaking, a thunderous battle cry reached their ears. For a few seconds, silence reigned among that group known as the Fang of Iron.

"Wasn't that Wilhem-sama?" One of the mercenaries wondered, whereupon his captain showed a wide smile, accompanied by a look of ardent determination.

"Ha! Looks like the old bastard managed to survive!" Laughed the captain, staring out into the thick fog. Although he could not see anything that was going on inside, that scream had already given him a good insight. The old man who, along with the knight Felix, had brought them to that place, had survived being swallowed up by the mabeast, and now was slicing through its thick, filamentous skin. "I guess he isn't known as the Sword Demon for nothin'!"

"Captain." Called by the childish voice, the captain looked at the tiny orange-haired girl on his right side. "Shall we do it?"

"Hmm..." The captain then looked behind him, where a mercenary with a mirror in his hand stood. The mercenary, noticing his leader's gaze, nodded.

"Julius-sama and the others have already left their post at the entrance to the road. They'd be here in less than two minutes." Upon receiving this reply, the captain looked again at the girl, who was staring at him with a look of determination that could only be described as extremely cute.

"Once Julius joins us, we'll go in there and beat the crap out of that damn whale!"

One month and two weeks since the Last Death (Nine Deaths)

"... Wilhelm has spent years studying the appearance locations of the White Whale, and has been able to predict where and when it will appear." Crusch Karsten's steady gaze fell on Anastasia Hoshin's analytical gaze.

"Hmm… I'd heard about Wilhelm Van Astrea's obsession with findin' the White Whale, and I'm glad to hear that it's paid off." With a condescending look, the businesswoman observed the veteran warrior and butler of the House Karsten. However, the gentleman's spirit was not moved by the woman's words. He respectfully bowed his head to the candidate of the Royal Selection in reverence; after all, although her tone had not been the kindest, her words were definitely congratulatory.

"I am aware, as you must be, that the Merchant Guild would be the first to benefit from the eradication of the White Whale. So you cannot deny that this deal is in your best interest, Anastasia." Pointed out the gentleman's mistress. Crusch Karsten was a woman of adamant bearing, always dressed in clothing that could be considered masculine. Even so, her beauty was not spoiled in the least. Her sharp golden eyes and long dark green hair were her most outstanding features.

"Ya say it as if I'd intended to refuse your offer, Crusch-san. After what ya'd for my subordinate, I'd never have done such a thing." Anastasia replied, a pained smile adorning her fine face.

Those words might as well prove empty and false coming from a woman like Anastasia Hoshin, but Crusch knew that was not the case; or else her Divine Protection, which allowed her to spot if someone were lying to her, would have been activated. Smiling back at Anastasia, Crusch reached out towards her side, whereupon the female-looking demi-human standing to her right, handed her a rolled-up scroll.

"It will appear here, within a week." Said the manly-looking duchess, having unrolled the scroll and placed it on the table that divided both factions. It was a map, and right where Crusch had placed her finger, one could read "Hyclara Plateaus". "Wilhelm has refined his technique for calculating where and when the whale will appear, and the last time it did so was on the Lifaus Plain, near the Flugel Tree. Unfortunately, a small miscalculation in time caused us to miss the opportunity to face it."

"Yes, I remember. Back then the price of iron and weapons increased dramatically; it's been one of the biggest market fluctuations I've seen in a while. It's a pity that all that ended in nothin'." Shrugging, Anastasia remarked.

"I would not say it ended in nothing, since it was thanks to that, that Wilhelm was able to perfect his technique. That is why we are so convinced that this time the same mistake will not occur; I trust him." The ties of familiarity and loyalty that existed between Crusch Karsten and her two subordinates were quite solid, that much was clear.

Curiously, Anastasia looked at the faces of the three people opposite her. All three could be considered their rivals, even enemies. It was inevitable that they would end up facing each other in a couple of years, but that was a great moment to establish a formal alliance that would ensure a fair and square competition when the time came for the Royal Selection. Having Crusch Karsten as an ally, her strongest rival and the one who was the favorite among the five candidates, could be extremely positive for her if she played her cards well.

"Alrighty!" Exclaimed the petite merchant girl, clasping her palms together. "In that case, we'd contact Russell Fellow. I'm sure the Merchant Guild will be more than happy to assist us with the materials needed to carry out the hunt. I'll place part of the Fang of Iron, and my best knight, at your disposal. I hope you put them to good use. I'm aware that you are an excellent leader and strategist, though, so I know I don't have to say so... After all, it won't be the first time you've faced one of the Three Great Beasts."

At Anastasia's words, Crusch grimaced in a way that was almost imperceptible; after all, the memory of the day she dealt with the Great Rabbit was still fresh in her mind. That was the day her existence as a noblewoman, as duchess, was fully exposed to the public eye, and what happened then led her to obtain the highest position within House Karsten, from her own father. However, not everything that was said about that day was true, and his spirit was not as unwavering as many believed...

After several days of preparation, the warriors gathered by Crusch Karsten, the mercenaries of the Fang of Iron, the royal knights Felix Argyle and Julius Juukulius, the butler Wilhem Van Astrea and Crusch Karsten herself, departed for the Hyclara Plateaus with the aim of defeating the Great Mabeast known as the White Whale. What they all were unaware of was that the veil of tragedy would fall over their presents, because they lacked the presence of a weak boy capable of serving as bait. The butterfly had already flapped its fragile wings; fate was already sealed.

The group of mercenaries had been divided into two before the combat, one had been assigned the task of ensuring that no one entered the area where the battle would take place. And this group would be led by Julius Juukulius, the proud best knight of the candidate for the Royal Selection, Anastasia Hoshin. The other half of the group, under the command of Ricardo Welkin, would serve as support for the warriors commanded by another of the candidates for the Royal Selection, Crusch Karsten...

Julius had experienced a quiet night, without any kind of incident arising whatsoever. According to the calculations of Wilhelm Van Astrea, formerly surnamed Trias, the White Whale would make its appearance in an area located between the Hyclara Plateaus and the city called Flanders, also known as the Earth Dragon Capital.

The job of the Valuable Knight and the mercenaries who accompanied him was to guard the road connecting Flanders to the Hyclara Plateaus. And besides a couple of merchants who were aiming to go to the plateaus to sell various hauls of seeds and farming tools, Julius had not seen anyone else all night. So, when the sound of a liger's gallop reached his ears, the knight realized that the tranquility of the night was about to crumble.

"Julius-sama!" The demi-human who had been riding the liger jumped to the ground and approached him hurriedly, with visible signs of exhaustion on his face.

Julius was for a moment tempted to correct him. "I'm Juli" is what he wanted to say to him. After all, his involvement with the Fang of Iron was somewhat unofficial; especially considering that at that time he must have been taking charge of various affairs in the capital. And although he was doing it for his mistress, he did not intend to tarnish his impeccable record as the Knight among knights; that is why he had decided to use another name, one that suited his character as "mercenary leader."

However, the aura of tension and despair surrounding the mercenary was enough for him to dismiss the idea and instead rush the envoy to deliver his report. After all, if he and his group did not have a metia to keep in touch with Ricardo's group, it was because they had few and these had been distributed only among those who would participate in the battle, as a measure in case of separation.

His group had never been considered to join the battle against the whale; so the presence of an envoy in that situation could not bode well. "Did something happen?"

"Julius-sama…" The mercenary repeated, struggling to catch his breath. "The captain instructed me to tell you that he needs ya and half of the forces in charge of guardin' the road to join the battle. He presumes that many of the warriors under the command of Felix-sama and Wilhelm-sama have already been killed and… "

"I understand." Said Julius, his countenance ever poised, preventing him from continuing with his report. Yet within him burned a desire to fight; his best friend was in danger, and he could not sit idly by. "Explain to me the details on the way, we will leave at once."

"Subaru… Subaru!"

"Huh?"

"You seem more distant than usual. Is something wrong?"

"No… It's just that…"

Subaru released a deep sigh and looked Leith straight in the face. At that moment, Subaru was in the place where the path he was following had started; the house of Leith Hendar, his colleague, and the place where the workshop in which they both began to reinvent the objects of his memories was located.

Both he and Leith had agreed to meet that day to discuss various issues related to the design of reinventions. In addition, Leith was interested in hearing about the profile of the designers he had met at Hoshin Company's headquarters. However, since waking up that day, he had not ceased to feel uneasy, which had prevented him from concentrating on what was happening before his very eyes.

"What…?" Leith asked, faced with his partner's growing silence.

"No… it's nothing… Forget it." Dismissing the matter, Subaru glanced towards the door leading to the workshop.

He had become accustomed to working every night on his designs, even during the long journeys he made with Anastasia and her camp; that was his way of distracting himself, taking his mind off the thoughts that constantly swirl in his head. His obsession to do so had greatly improved his drawing skills, although art had never been his thing; thanks to that, he could now draw the details of the designs with much greater precision.

"Since you came back, you seem very different..." Leith stated, getting up from the chair he was sitting in and then leaving the room. Subaru added nothing on the subject, and just looked at the wooden door that separated him from the place where his project, the Reinvention Project, had been born. "Here, maybe this will help you calm down." He was then thrown out of his thoughts by Leith's return.

The craftsman carried two cups, one in each hand, and steam rose from both. Stretching one of his hands in his direction, Leith motioned for him to take the cup; which Subaru did without saying a word. Silently, he took the cup to his mouth and slurped a little sip from its contents; it was tea. In his seventeen, almost eighteen years of life, Subaru had never been able to understand why people enjoyed such a leafy brew. Not that he disliked it, he just didn't find anything great in its flavor, and therefore was unable to tell a quality tea from a cheap one. Yet, for a moment, as he felt the warmth of the liquid coming down his throat, warming his worn-out spirit, he came to partially understand it.

"Thank you..." He murmured, once he finished drinking the contents of the cup, his gaze fixed on its porcelain surface.

"No problem." Leith replied, then taking a sip of his own tea. "… So… How's the child...?

"Hetaro?" Subaru asked, looking up.

"Yes! Hetaro! To think that something so terrible happened to a child…" It was not surprising that his partner asked that kind of question. After all, Leith and Otto were not ignorant of what happened on Priestella and Kyo.

They found out about the former from Subaru, when, through the letters, he mentioned to them, without elaborating on the details, what had happened and asked them to watch out for any signs of danger. Subaru believed, and still does, that the Client behind the first attack, and possibly the second, was a person seeking revenge for the signing of the contract linking the newly founded Reinvention Association with the Hoshin Company.

So informing Otto and Leith about it, and warning them that they could be attacked, was necessary. However, they did not learn about the second attack on his behalf. With the short time elapsed between the Oni's attack and Anastasia's announcement of her return to Lugunica, Subaru had no time to do so. And yet Otto had heard about it from one of his connections.

Subaru thought that both of them would be disgruntled by it when they met, but contrary to that, they treated him with the delicacy that he would have expected from Mimi or Anastasia when he suffered a panic attack; and he did not like it. He felt that he was being looked down upon, he felt that they were belittling him. After everything that happened in Priestella and then in Kyo, Subaru had developed a huge aversion to his own weakness, and so he couldn't stand people treating him like he was made of crystal.

Nevertheless, Subaru, precisely so as not to provoke concern in his companions, cast aside the feeling and strove to show them that he had not changed; and even then he had utterly failed. His weak spirit remained the same, and however much he tried, it seemed that this would not change. The scars left behind by both attacks had been very deep, therefore it was not possible for him to hide them completely.

The first hour after the start of the meeting went by without any major complications. They caught up and talked about each other's progress regarding the Reinvention Project and what they still needed to do before the beginning of it. Leith had already hired two craftsmen and three blacksmiths who were skilled enough according to his criteria; he planned to meet two more craftsmen in the coming week.

And Otto had already taken part in several meetings in which trading rights had been sold to different merchants in the continent; moreover, in two days he would leave to the south of Lugunica to meet with the administrators of an important market in the country. It was then that Subaru's turn to speak came, and his insistence on hiding his arms caught the attention of his colleagues.

From there, both began to become more aware of the subtle, and not so subtle, changes induced by his terrible experiences. So, to divert attention from himself, Subaru told his companions more about what happened during the time they were apart, revealing some of the details that he had omitted in his letters. And so what happened with Hetaro slipped out of his mouth. That was a sensitive topic, and it made sense not to go around disclosing it. But he, in his selfishness, had ended up doing it.

In the end, he found it necessary to tell them about the reunion between the two siblings that had taken place that same day. A reunion full of heavy silences, between two little ones who usually had an extremely strong fraternal relationship. After the sibling reunion, Subaru thanked Tivey, to which he responded in equal measure: "No need, Onii-san. If it weren't for you, neither the lady, nor my brother and sister, nor I'd still be alive. Riskin' my life was the only thing I'd do at the time, and I don't have any regrets... "

Those words were still there, clinging to his mind. To risk life, and to strive to preserve it... That is what Subaru wanted for himself. He wanted to be able to fight against adversity like that boy, who had sacrificed two of his limbs, and now was striving to regain the mobility he had lost by doing so, thus having the opportunity to continue fighting alongside his siblings. Subaru wanted to sacrifice himself, so that no one else would have to do it in his place, and survive so that he could return to those for whom he would sacrifice himself at the end of the day.

"He's fifteen, so child wouldn't be the right way to call him." Subaru finally answered, apathetically. "And I'd already told Otto and you; he's feeling better. He still has trouble walking without losing his balance and has a hard time using his left arm; and it isn't like that's changed in a week…"

Leith, realizing that Subaru was in no mood to talk about it, did not ask any more about it. Anyway, that question had only been a pretext to look for a way to address the topic he really wanted to talk about. After another minute of silence, Leith decided that further procrastination would be of no use.

"Uhmm... Subaru." Having regained his colleague's attention, Leith resolved to tackle the issue that both Otto and he had avoided during their meeting five days earlier. "I wanted to ask you… How do you feel?"

"What are you talking about?" Subaru asked back, frowning. Leith was looking at him in that way he hated so much, as if he felt sorry for him.

"I'm talking about... what happened during those two attacks. I'm talking about how you feel right now, after those two attacks. Your life was threatened twice, and all in a period of just a couple of months. Also, you had to… do things you may regret, in order to survive. "

"Look, I know what you're trying to do, but you don't have to-"

"Subaru, I'm not judging you." Leith stated, preventing Subaru from dismissing the issue. "I understand that you did it to continue living, and so that others could do so as well. I... I respect you, Subaru. I don't think I would have been able to go through everything you went through... And that's why I want to lend you my ear, my support... You may not be able, or want, to talk about it right away, and I understand if that's the case, but I want you to know that you don't have to deal with that burden alon-"

"No need!" Subaru exclaimed, rising from his chair suddenly. "I told you, I'm fine. It's just like you say. I did what I had to do, nothing more; life goes on."

"Subaru…" Leith's look of pity deepened, causing Subaru to start grinding his teeth due to the irritation it caused him. "Have you noticed the dark circles under your eyes? It's evident that you've been days, weeks, even months without a good night's sleep. I remember that you used to have nightmares, and you never told me why. Have they worsened because of what happened?" Subaru didn't reply, his penetrating gaze didn't separate from Leith's compassionate gaze. "And that's not all, there's also…" Leith's gaze moved to Subaru's covered arms, and that was what exhausted the black-haired man's patience.

"Thank you for having me, Leith. We still have a lot to talk about with regard to the Reinvention Project, so I'd like to reconvene as soon as your schedule is free; hopefully together with Otto." And with those words, Subaru left the house he had lived in for several months and signaled to the mercenary who had been keeping guard at the entrance.

Without turning back, Subaru started his way back to Anastasia's mansion. Subaru was not really mad at Leith, he was mad at himself, for being unable to even hide his weakness. After all, Subaru was aware of the goodness of Leith, the person who helped him cement his dream. With a grunt, Subaru looked at the moon shining on the castle's silhouette.

"Shit, I can't stop feeling like something bad is gonna happen… It's just like when Elsa and the Oni attacked me…" Hugging himself to dispel the chill that ran down his back, Subaru focused on looking straight ahead. Anastasia hadn't told him much about what happened during her meeting with Duchess Karsten, however, she had told him about the hunt for the White Whale, and the involvement of the Fang of Iron and Julius in it; and if everything had gone according to plan, then the dangerous hunt was taking place at that very moment. "I hope Julius, Ricardo and Mimi are all right."

As with many things in that world, Subaru was ignorant of the magnitude of the White Whale, but thanks to the stories he had heard, he might have had an idea. Hence, with an ominous aura enveloping him, Subaru moved on as he gently took one of his arms scarred by his sins.