Tasteless Victory

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

"Are ya tellin' me that that one up there's the real White Whale and the other two are just copies?" Ricardo asked, his gaze fixed on the farthest silhouette, the one swimming in the canopy of the mist.

"Yes, and I think you and Mimi are the only ones capable of forcing it down, of knocking it down."

"The captain and Mimi?" Questioned the little girl, shifting her gaze between the knight and her captain...

After discussing how they should deal with the White Whale, both swordsmen descended from the back of the mauled whale, which was beginning to come out of the stunned state in which the powerful attack of the old man had left it. Together they mounted on the knight's dragon and rejoined the two mercenaries, who, according to what Julius had told them, were waiting at a safe distance from the whales.

However, before they could argue about what they would do with the whale and its copies, the four went further away from them, since the copy closest to the ground soon began to look for them, accompanied promptly by the second one. Now that the two whales were aware of the increasing number of enemies, they did not have much time to debate about their plan of action, so Julius decided to get to the point.

"Yes. I'm sure that if you both attack at the same time with your screams, you could muster the necessary striking power to take it down." Faced with Julius' confident and assertive response, Ricardo glanced at Mimi from the corner of his eye.

"She can't use that much power if she isn't with her brothers. And as ya may recall, one is undergoin' physical rehab and the other stayed by the Boss Lady's side. The Resonance Wave puts a huge burden on the body of its user, and recently Mimi almost pushed herself to her very limit to protect the boy… Subaru. I don't think it's safe for her to- "

"Captain, please let Mimi do it!" The girl interrupted him, hitting the ground with her woden staff. "Because Onii-san was so clever and asked Mimi for everythin' he needed to beat the Oni that attacked him, Mimi didn't have to try too hard! Even though Tivey and Hetaro aren't around, Mimi's ready to give it all she's got and unleash the most powerful scream she's ever had! One that counts for the three of us!"

"I wish I did not have to disturb you, but the whales have already detected us. If we don't move quickly, we will not get another chance."

At Wilhelm's warning, Mimi watched Ricardo with flames of determination burning in her eyes. "Subaru Nii-san was able to defeat the woman who attacked him, even though he hasn't any physical power whatsoever! Mimi wants to follow suit and do what's thought impossible! Captain, let's use the Resonance Waves together, between us we'll create a scream so powerful that it'll surely brin' down the whale!"

"Dammit!" Ricardo yelled, scratching his head in frustration. "That boy has turned out to be a bad influence on ya, kiddo." With a complicated smile, the beast-man patted the little girl's head, then looked at Julius and Wilhelm. "Well, we'll do it your way! Julius, leave it to us to take the whale down! We need ya to buy us time so that we can gather the necessary mana. When we're ready, we'll join the fight and attack the uppermost whale with everythin' we've got. Ya and Mr. Sword Demon make sure the damn thing can't get back into the sky!"

"We will, Ricardo! Good luck to you both!" And with those meager words of departure, Julius pulled his dragon's reins tightly, causing it to slow down and turn toward the enemy that was stalking them from the dense mass of mana clouds.

As the distance between them grew larger and larger, Wilhelm stared at the two demi-humans from behind Julius' back. There were no words of support or battle cries, just looks that conveyed enormous courage. To which Richard raised his thumb, nodding back, and Mimi simply smiled excitedly.

Without the need for words, the three declared that there was no remaining grudge caused by the withdrawal of the Fang of Iron. Both had returned to take part in the final battle, and Wilhelm was grateful for that; that's all that mattered to him. With that matter settled, the three warriors prepared to engage in the combat on which it would depend if they could witness another sunrise.

As Mimi and Ricardo began to prepare their Ods, mouths and throats for the gigantic expelling of magical energy that they were about to perform, Wilhelm returned his keen gaze to the heavens. None of the three whales were entirely visible, but their gargantuan silhouettes sailing through the fog served as evidence that they had not stopped chasing them.

However, only two silhouettes were actually approaching them. The third, the least visible of all, was still holding its position high above their heads, dozens of meters above. For now, Julius and Wilhelm's job would be to buy time, so that the demi-humans could prepare a sonic attack powerful enough to reach out and shoot down the allegedly original whale.

With this in mind, the aged warrior drew two of his multiple swords and stood on the back of the earth dragon. Taking advantage of the dragon's speed, with a nimble and swift leap, Wilhelm somersaulted in the air and landed on the massive body of the first whale that reached them. Grinding his teeth and letting out another huge dose of pent-up anger, the old man drove his swords into the thick skin of the copy of his nemesis and began to make deep, long slashes.

Julius dismissed the old warrior with a last sidelong glance and swiftly approached the second whale. This whale was a few meters away from him, and they were about to collide head on; something Julius would use to his advantage. Without a second's delay, the knight raised his sword and conjured up one of his signature spells.

"El Clausel!" The tip of the sword shone like a star in the middle of the night and then Julius made an arc with it. The light then sliced the underside of the mabeast's mouth, eliciting an enraged cry of agony. The force of the strike of light was enough to deflect the whale from its course, which Julius took advantage of to jump from his dragon and climb on the back of the beast.

Both warriors were now on the backs of the two whales that had roamed into the mist, slaughtering the warriors commanded by the aged warrior and the female-looking knight. Wilhelm now had even more personal reasons to despise the White Whale with every fiber of his being; the mabeast that took his wife from him, evaded him for fourteen years and humiliated him in combat by gobbling him up, almost ending his life. Anger burned inside him like never before, and he would not remain without venting it all on his hated enemy; even if it was a simple copy.

Like tongues of fire, battle cries erupted from Wilhelm Van Astrea's mouth. As if they were rivers, streams of blood flowed from the whale's hard skin. As if they were wind, the blades of the swords traversed the creature's entire body, leaving deep cuts where their bright edges crossed. As if it were flames, the spirit of the old man consumed everything around him.

Chills ran down the spine of a bemused Julius, whose ears caught the old man's fierce screams, capable of chilling the blood of even his allies. After a moment of almost fanatical contemplation, the knight shook his head and looked at the back full of wounds of his adversary; which were difficult to determine if they had been inflicted by himself or by the old warrior.

"I cannot afford to fall short. The future of the kingdom is at stake, what happens to me is of little importance at this point." Saying such words while combing his bangs, Julius focused his gaze on uninjured areas and continued his work with even more determination than before; a result of the belligerent energy that had been conveyed to him by Wilhelm's ardent cries.

His attacks grew more and more frantic, and at each slash from his sword an explosion of magical energy proceeded. Using his spirit arts and swordsmanship in perfect synchrony, Julius perfectly applied the magical swordplay that gave him the title of Spirit Knight. However, prolonged use of that fighting style had a cost, and that was the rapid depletion of his life energy.

Julius's extensive control over the spirit arts was what allowed him to perform Magic Swordplay so perfectly. More than ten years of meeting his beloved companions served as the foundation for the exquisite technique of that known as the Valuable Knight. And because of this, no one was aware of his own limitations than he himself; and fighting the way he was doing guaranteed that soon he would not be able to keep moving.

Still, a calm smile like an underground spring lay on his impassive face. Julius trusted his companions… Companions, he never considered that he would call Kararagi mercenaries in this way, people with a moral code far different from his own, but who inevitably shared many personality traits with him.

Perhaps, had it not been for his mistress, he would never have had the opportunity to forge bonds of camaraderie with them; in fact, it was extremely likely that this was the case. However, at that time, in that place, his life depended on foreign mercenaries and he could not be more pleased with it. Yes, Anastasia Hoshin's subordinates could not be incompetent people, probably that was why he himself had managed to relate so well to them. After all, the three of them were competent warriors who would do anything to fulfill their duty and satisfy the wishes of their mistress.

"Clarista!" He conjured up. "El Clausel!" He uttered. "Fell Goa!" He shouted. With his sword glowing as if red hot, Julius strove to weaken his adversary as much as possible; one that was unfit to fight against unaccompanied.

The White Whale was a fearsome being, its four hundred years of sowing terror without being stopped were proof of this. Therefore, it was not surprising that his best attacks were barely enough to entertain one of his copies. His stamina was in the red and it was becoming increasingly difficult to continue chaining magical attacks. His friends, the spirits who assisted him in combat, were also reaching their limits.

He was exhausted, but that did not stop him from fighting like a raging dragon. Besides, he still had his ace up his sleeve, but he couldn't just throw it away. When the time came, he would know that he should use it; to do so before that would be to risk being cornered. With his unflappable vigor, the knight continued to harm the whale, as did the old warrior.

The copies, meanwhile, twisted, screeched, sang melodies of death and released multiple streams of condensed fog. Their desperation to get rid of the pesky vermin grew second by second. As if it were a glass, the last drop fell, cracking its surface. The first whale to act was the one that was being attacked by Wilhelm.

Releasing a maddening chant, the whale soared into the skies, forcing the experienced swordsman to use his two swords as leverage. However, that is not all the whale had in mind. Demonstrating a level of intelligence superior to that of ordinary animals, the whale approached its companion, a silhouette equal in every respect, and positioned itself over it in a parallel fashion, with its abdomen pointing upwards to the sky.

Wilhelm, who was struggling to hold on to his swords stuck into the thick skin, realized that something was different from the last few times the whale tried to shake him off. Both whales were left with their backs against each other, almost completely touching, and it was then that their murderous songs became synchronized.

"Julius, jump!" Without a second thought, the old man shouted at the knight before abandoning his two swords and plunging to the ground.

Julius, having heard the order of the respectable man, stopped his series of attacks and ran toward the edge of the massive body of the mabeast. There, on the ground, was his earth dragon waiting for him, with Wilhelm at its back. His beloved Shaknar was a highly trained fine dragon, so it was no wonder he had reacted so quickly for Wilhelm's safety. Julius then leaped, but before he could be caught by his dragon, which had already jumped from the ground, a mass of wind and mist pushed him far off his course.

As if he were a projectile, the knight was propelled away from the whale, towards the ground. The copy he had been attacking was the one closest to the surface, and yet the fall was extremely harsh. When he was pushed by the force of the fog, Julius had lost his ability to discern above from below, so it was impossible for him to break his fall. The incredible pain that ran through his leg was proof that he had not escaped unscathed form the event.

Nevertheless, his attention was not placed on it, but on the scene before his eyes. The whale attacked by Wilhelm had placed itself on top of the one he had been attacking, and by means of sings, both agreed to release their mist attacks on the other; as if they were animals ridding each other of parasites. And had it not been for Wilhelm's warning, his very existence would have been wiped off the face of the world.

After a moment watching in astonishment as the top copy proceeded to stand next to the bottom copy, Julius finally reacted and immediately moved onto analyze his own physical state. The first thing he checked was his leg, and he quickly noticed that the outlook was not good; proof of this was the whitish lump sticking out of a tear in his pants. His leg had been split and one of his bones was sticking out, along with jets of blood that kept on gushing out.

"Damn it…" The knight muttered, not so much with his own health in mind, but the future of the operation. In his current condition he could not continue fighting.

"Julius! How are you feeling?" He had begun to wrap his leg with a piece of pants that he tore off to put pressure on his wound, when he heard Wilhelm's voice and the sound of footsteps. Julius then turned his head, thus greeting the old man with a look of disappointment.

"I am fine. But I'm afraid I cannot be of much help any longer." In response to this statement, the old man's eyes instinctively moved to Julius' hands, where he found the piece of bloody cloth and the still visible piece of bone.

"I see." He replied after an instant, his countenance unfazed. Both men, firm and disciplined, looked at each other for a few seconds. "You need not worry; I will take care of the situation. I believe we have gained important minutes, so it should not be too long before Ricardo-san and little Mimi-san can do their part of the deal. For now you should cover the wound and get on the-"

But before Wilhelm could finish speaking, he was interrupted by the thundering song of the two whales. Getting rid of the parasites that were bothering them was not enough. They would not rest until they had been eliminated, that was completely clear. Wilhelm, realizing this, drew his last sword and prepared to resume the fight to the death with the whales. But before he did, Julius's voice stopped him momentarily.

"I will not stand idly by while you face the two copies alone. I still have one last ace up my sleeve, and I am not going to leave without using it." Having used his dragon for support, Julius stood up, placing most of his weight on his good leg. A powerful determination burned in the young knight's gaze; one that Wilhelm was quick to recognize.

"Good! In that case we shall continue to fight side by side against these beasts, Julius!"

"It will be an honor, Wilhelm-san!" And so, both warriors of great mettle set out to pour their hearts out in combat.

The blades rose into the air, as did their tempered spirits of steel. Both men were willing to put their lives on the edge of the abyss in order to keep on fighting, since the word "surrender" was not in their vocabulary. Thus, as if they were two iron beams, both received the attacks of the whales.

"Arrrggghhh!" Released a guttural roar that was not in keeping with his elegant and gentlemanly image, the old man violently slashed the whale's mouth, taking advantage of the momentum to return to its thick-skinned back.

"El Clausel!" Julius, for his part, waved his sword, on the tip of which now rotated his six spirits in a circular formation. A blinding light emerged from the tip of the sword, which not only disoriented the whale, but also cut it into multiple parts of its face, causing it to release a song of agony. Nonetheless... "It was not enough…"

With an expression of frustration, the always imperturbable knight watched as the whale shook off the dazzle and refocused its one reddened eye on him. Starting to feel discouraged, Julius instinctively touched his injured foot. The combat against the two clones was supposed to be the preamble, so it was imperative that he came out of it unscathed so he could face the real whale without problems; he had failed in that respect.

In his present state, it was nearly impossible for him to remain standing, and his time on the battlefield was about to run out. Shit… Thought the knight, clenching his leg vigorously. He still had his ace up his sleeve; all this time he had hoped to use it against the original whale, but it was becoming increasingly clear that that would be impossible. And his thoughts were certainly bolstered by the following developments.

"Julius!" Then he could hear Wilhelm's voice calling him from the heights, to which he looked up. There, about five meters high, was Wilhelm Van Astrea, riding again on the copy of the whale. "We cannot keep on wasting so much energy on copies, we shall…" However, Julius could not hear what followed those words.

As if it were the voice of the Jealousy Witch herself, the whale's song nullified any other sound that was not its own expression of rage. It was the copy that Julius had been facing, that unwilling to continue wasting time with him, set out to launch its powerful blast of mist. Julius, noticing this, raised his sword high.

"My dear comrades, I am counting on you!" And as if they were capable to understand him, the spirits that accompanied him began to emit an exuberant amount of light, which was able to overcome the dense fog that surrounded them. After this, the sword began to absorb the light, beginning to emit a bright tone that gave the sensation that it was about to melt. He did not have much time for the blade of his sword to absorb all the energy necessary to slice the whale, so he would have to venture what little he had. "Al Claris-!"

"Keep it there a little longer, Julius! Save it for the moment of truth!" But before he could finish casting the spell, Ricardo's voice halted him.

Surprised, Julius looked in the direction the voice came from, and saw Ricardo galloping on his liger, with Mimi on his shoulder. They were both smiling, although signs of tenseness were visible all over their bodies; that was proof that they were ready. Both demi-humans passed by him and approached the whale that was about to attack with its terrible jet of mist.

"I need ya to keep that mouth shut, yer breath stinks!" And with those words, Ricardo jumped off his liger with his great hatchet held in his right hand. Like a projectile, the Captain of the Fang of Iron landed on the whale's face, using his weapon as a climbing tool. The edge of his massive hatchet smoothly pierced the whale's only remaining eye, causing it to flail and miss impacting Julius with its mist.

The jet of mana in the form of steam hit the floor of the plain, leaving a huge crater in it and lifting tons of debris into the air. Then, the whale seemed to forget Julius and focused all its attention on the new vermin that had climbed on it. Unable to see them, it used its other senses to locate them; they were approaching its tail. Having spotted them, the whale was ready to rise up in the sky to get them off its back, which it did.

"Yuuupppii! Up! Here we go!" Julius, from his position on the ground, could hear Mimi's ecstatic screams. It was clear what Ricardo was trying to do. The closer to the original whale, the less likely it was to misfire. And that was exactly what Ricardo had in mind. "Now, captain?!"

"Wait for it..." The whale rose about twenty meters into the air, and then moved its body to begin a sudden descent; thus the vermin could not stick to its body. Ricardo, realizing that they had reached the climax, looked at the original whale. "NOW! WAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

"WWWWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Two trails of light emerged from the area near the whale's tail. With a ghostly bluish hue, the two trails rose into the air at lightning speed, with nothing, not even the friction of wind and fog, or gravity, being able to stop them. Both light trails then began to intertwine, forming a shape reminiscent of the double helix of DNA, until they merged, transforming into a huge beam of light that soared through the skies ominously, until it successfully hit its target.

Boooom! The shockwave was so powerful that if Julius hadn´t been leaning on his beloved earth dragon, he would have been thrown up into the air. The cloud of mist was dispersed, leaving the sky completely bare, and whole patches of grass, near ground zero, were uprooted.

The force of the sonic boom was so powerful, that the impulse pushed the whale on which Ricardo and Mimi were standing, causing it to collide with the ground violently. Julius considered for a moment going to check on the state of his allies, but refrained from doing so when he noticed what was rapidly descending towards the plain.

The magical attack of the leaders of the Fang of Iron had struck the whale's abdomen squarely, ripping off a large chunk of it, leaving a hole through which its entrails were beginning to protrude. Of course, this caused that, shortly after the expansive wave, a copious rain of blood soaked the battlefield. As they had hoped, the attack was enough to strike the whale down, but from the erratic movement of its tail and fins, it was clear that it was still alive; proof of its gigantic sturdiness and resistance, both physical and magical. It was still not enough...

"Ia… Kua… Aro… Ik… In… Nes… I'm totally counting on you!" This was the moment he had been waiting for, and he would not waste the opportunity Ricardo and Mimi gave him. "AL CLARISTA!" Using all the air in his lungs, Julius finally casted his ultimate spell.

All the light that his sword had absorbed was expelled in the form of a pillar of light that rose up into the now clear skies. Unlike the light trail produced by Mimi and Ricardo's attacks, this one possessed an overwhelming, blinding brightness; a full-blown radiance. The blade of light rose to receive the whale that was about to crash to the ground, slicing through much of its already open abdomen and finally releasing all its contents.

With a bang, the whale fell to the ground. Blood, feces, fluids of all kinds... rose through the air, thoroughly showering the battlefield. An unbearable stench took place on what used to be a mist-covered plain, making it clear that the White Whale had finally fallen.

Julius, with his eyes almost closed, watched the scene from the ground. Al Clarista's strength had been enough to knock him and his dragon off their feet, and now both lay in the bloody grass. His stamina had been almost completely consumed, it was only a matter of seconds before his consciousness faded out; even so, Julius could not afford such a luxury. He needed to make sure of the death of the whale and the well-being of his allies.

"Uhhhhhhhhhh…" However, a stubborn and agonizing chant reached his ears. It was the whale, it was still alive; granted, it was on the verge of death, but if it did not die then...

"Aaaaauuggghhhhhh!"

"Aaugghhhhhhhh!"

Two more chants could be heard, which corroborated Julius's fears. The copies were still alive, or was the state of the original not linked to that of its copies? Had they been mistaken and was not the original whale eliminated? Doubts began to flood Julius's mind, and when he seemed about to drown in them, another cry came to his rescue.

"Your time has come, mabeast! I shall be sure to retaliate for all you have taken from me!" With his last seconds of consciousness, Julius was able to glimpse how Wilhelm Van Astrea, the warrior with fourteen years of longed-for revenge behind him, raised his sword and delivered the final blow to the whale after having sliced all its organs. He still needed to know the status of Ricardo and Mimi, but his mind was unable to stay awake...

Wilhelm had watched everything from the back of the copy. Had it not been for his rapid reflexes, the shockwave from the sonic attack would have been enough to send him crashing to the ground. So he was able to witness how the second copy fell to the ground, driven by the force of the attack, and with it the two demi-humans as well. Then he observed how Julius delivered the final blow to the whale; or so it had seemed, but the cursed one was still releasing songs of agony.

Wilhelm had really wished such a scenario to unfold. He would have been able to refrain from acting had his presence not been necessary, even if he did not get the chance to strike the final blow. But that development, in which he could end the life of the White Whale, was what he dreamed of for years. That is why he did not even pay attention to the copy of the whale that seemed ready to resume the fight against him, he grabbed his sword and threw himself towards the wounded White Whale.

With no hesitation, he entered the fleshy hole left behind by the attacks of Julius, Ricardo and Mimi, ignoring the uncomfortable sensation of déjà vu, and like a whirlwind, sliced up the entire interior of the whale. Arteries, heart, intestine, stomach. He hacked and slashed everything in his path, leaving only the brain intact. After that, and completely covered with blood, he climbed on top of the dying whale; genuinely surprised that it was still alive.

Thus he looked directly into its one eye and could perceive fear. Not a bit of pity lurked in his chest; in it there was only room for the burning desire for revenge. With the memories of his wife flashing through his mind and hot tears of anger soaking his face, Wilhelm Trias delivered the final blow, piercing the brain of the whale with his sword.

A strong desire took shape in her heart, he wanted to say the words that his stubbornness prevented him from saying for decades: "I love you, Teresia!" However, he did not feel worthy to do so. Not after everything that had happened, not after such a tasteless victory. He would utter those words, but he did not feel that this was the appropriate moment... Something was missing. Maybe confidence? Maybe a few words of support? In that present that had taken place, the answer would never come...

In the end, when the fog lifted completely and the few survivors could see the first rays of the Sun, there were no exhilarating cries of victory, no hugs of genuine emotion, and no smiles of overflowing calm. No, the only thing there was silence, a sepulchral silence that preceded a combat that had brought both sides to the brink of extermination, with only one of them crossing the threshold to complete annihilation. The White Whale had been hunted down, but... at what cost?