Chapter 26- Reunion
November 8, 2056
Nautilus, otherwise known as Eiji Nochizawa, the Sable Knight of the Harbingers, was making his rounds, patrolling the halls of Castle Mograine. Today was the fated day that his master and the remaining Harbingers were to arrive in Bristol. Given that this will be the first meeting between the demon prince and the northern viceroy, everything had to be perfect. He wanted to give his master a good first impression of the man who managed to gather the missing Harbingers in his stead.
He was currently dressed in the black armor of the Ebon Knights, matched with a dark gray cloak flowing down his back. Strapped to his back was a black and gray two-handed longsword with a cross-shaped hilt. Both the armor and sword were made out of saronite, an extremely rare metal famous for its low weight and high durability and can only be found in Celestine. The metal itself is actually a pain to process since it has a really high melting point, and it was difficult to keep pure during the refinement process. It was also very resilient to magic attacks, especially if the metal was pure, making it ideal for facing mages. Granted, if your opponent was someone like Rias Morningstar, even pure saronite armor wasn't likely to do you any favors.
Tangent aside, House Mograine is the only noble family that is allowed to possess this rare metal, all due to a law passed by the Umbris royal family several millennia ago. This monopoly came about due to House Mograine's fervent loyalty to the royal family, as this metal could become dangerous if it fell into the wrong hands. It is partially because of the saronite equipment that the Ebon Knights, the order created by the House, is considered to be one of the greatest fighting forces in Eternus. Admittedly, their ranks only reached around two thousand, on account of the saronite being such an elusive material, but they were still not to be underestimated. Although, if Nautilus was being honest, he still felt that the united Harbingers were far superior, despite their fewer members.
Just thinking of his true team brought a smile to his face. To think that his decision to join the Ebon Knights to help support his single mother would snowball into the reunion of the Harbingers. Despite what some people believe, Marth, Kisara, Fuko, Kuroba and Sinon were not the only non-humans among the Harbingers, not including familiars of course. Nautilus himself was actually a half-demon, his mother having fled the war-torn Eternus fifty years ago before marrying a human in Tokyo. After the Demon War, she would end up returning to Eternus, distraught over the loss of both her husband and only son. However, she would soon find a young Nautilus curled up by her doorstep here in Celestine about ten years ago, with no sign as to how he got there. His memories were largely missing, but she was just relieved that he was still alive.
Even without his memories, Nautilus was happy with his rural life with his mother, staying in a small village in the northern region of Celestine. Still, money was always tight for them. The land around them was rough, with barely crops able to grow in its soil. That always made the winter such a nightmare to handle. Mercenary work was really the only way the village could make a living so they could import food so that they could survive. When he reached the age of fourteen, his mother fell ill, and they had no means to purchase the medicine to cure her, which was sadly a common occurrence in this savage land.
With no other choice, Nautilus would choose to travel to the town of Zakkaria to enter the Zakkaria Sword Tournament, all so that he could become a knight with a working salary. It wasn't easy transporting his sick mother there given how frequent monster attacks have become, but somehow, they were able to arrive safely. Their good fortune would continue as a kind family of farmers would then bring them into their own home and even help treat his mother's illness. Since the family of two lacked any money to properly pay them for their generosity, Nautilus decided to help with the ranch work while he was training for the tournament. He would even play with the twin sisters of the rancher couple whenever he had the opportunity. Honestly, those were probably some of his better memories of such a difficult time.
Naturally, Nautilus would win the sword-fighting tournament, his skill with a blade not having fully left him despite his memory loss. He would work at the garrison stationed there for an entire year, saving up his income and earning the credentials needed to enter the illustrious Knight's Academy, which was located in Bristol. The Knight's Academy was founded by House Mograine several millennia ago, all to help train the next generation of mages and knights. If you did well enough, you could even be recruited into the Ebon Knights themselves.
Those two years studying at the academy weren't easy, with the curriculum being ridiculously hard, especially for a commoner like him, who could barely afford the tuition needed to even enroll. Thankfully he would find a friend and study partner in the lovely Elie Mograine, who happened to have enrolled at the same time as him. Neither of them received good treatment from their peers during their school days, all stemming from their "impure" blood, but perhaps it was because of that discrimination that the two would end up meeting. How ironic. Heck, if it wasn't for Elie, he might not have been able to join the Ebon Knights due to her obvious connection to the order.
"There you are, Nautilus!" a familiar voice cried out.
The Sable Knight stopped in his tracks and glanced over his shoulder to see a young girl with long silver hair and pink eyes sprinting over to him. She was wearing a blue and yellow dress that exposed her shoulders, a bard's hat with a pink wing clip, as well as aqua blue shoes with dark blue long socks that went up to her thighs. She looked no older than thirteen years old, but despite her young appearance, she was actually a talented mage. She gave off a menacing, yet elegant presence, a characteristic common for someone of her mixed lineage.
"Oh, hey, Seven. Is something wrong?" he greeted politely as the girl came to a stop once she reached him, practically wheezing from the effort. It seems her physical endurance hasn't improved at all in the last thirty years.
Seven, her real name being Nanairo Karatachi, is one of the Harbingers that ended up in Eternus after the conclusion of the Demon War. She, along with her elder sister Rain (aka Nijika Karatachi), were two of the few known twilis in existence. The foster family they had ended up with in this realm knew just how valuable the taboo race was, especially the females, so they raised the girls in isolation to protect them from the slave traders of Urun. Despite their strict upbringing, their lives were relatively peaceful. When Viceroy Mograine appeared before them and revealed the girls' true origins as members of the Harbingers, their foster parents agreed to hand them over to him, knowing that he could better protect them from any corrupt nobles looking for female twilis to add to their collection of slaves.
Because of their mixed blood, no one outside the castle knew of Seven and Rain's existence. It was too risky. Elie was safe since she is Darion's daughter. If anyone tried to abduct her, they would quickly find the Ebon Knights at their heels. However, that didn't stop the sisters from receiving a proper education as the viceroy hired a trusted professor to tutor them. Seven was a natural prodigy with magic, as she possessed two elemental affinities (water and earth) and had a relatively high aptitude for light and dark magic. It didn't take long before she started outdoing her instructor when casting spells. In contrast, Rain possessed a fire and wind affinity, as well as a moderate light and poor dark affinity. Not to mention that while she possessed the aptitude to be a mage, she wasn't quite the same caliber as her younger sister. This caused Rain to develop a slight inferiority complex towards Seven, despite the younger girl constantly trying to support her and even going out of her way to tutor her in their free time. Well at least she didn't let it stop her from practicing her singing with her sister as they were both talented in that field.
After taking a few extra moments to catch her breath, Seven stood up straight and locked her gaze with the Sable Knight. "No, we just finished all the preparations for our master's return. Speaking of which, Lady Elie wanted me to tell you that it's almost time for our friends to arrive. We're to meet everyone in the courtyard."
Is it already time for his master to arrive already? Time sure flies when you keep busy. Seeing that Harbingers from Earth are due to arrive any second, Nautilus followed the young girl to the courtyard. It was evening outside, with the light chill of autumn filling the air. This would be quite a perfect opportunity to train his swordsmanship, unfortunately he will not likely get the opportunity considering what will be happening today. Klein and the other Harbingers were present, dressed in their combat attire (which looked very similar to what their avatars from Alfheim Online wore). Seven went over to her sister as they waited patiently for their remaining friends to emerge from the waypoint that had been placed here, meanwhile Nautilus made his way to Elie.
The female twili looked as radiant as ever. Her white hair was finely brushed, partially tied back with a black ribbon. She was dressed in a white and crimson overcoat with two tails and a black undershirt and aqua blue tie, a white skirt, as well as black leggings and white laced boots. Despite not looking too fancy, it looked very comfortable and easy to move around in. This wasn't the attire of a typical noblewoman, but Elie never really cared for the fancy dresses. She inherited that trait from her late mother, who sadly lost her life ten years ago when Elie was still young. From what he has heard about the late vicereine, she was a good source of comfort for the people despite her being a fairy, i.e., the "enemy" of demons. A lot of people came to her memorial when she died, though some believe that her death was not natural, which wouldn't be surprising considering just how unstable the political climate of Eternus is.
"Let's just hope that the return of our crown prince can help Eternus finally stabilize," Elie spoke up suddenly, as if reading his thoughts.
"I wish for that too, but will that be enough? Prince Marth is hated by his people due to his sudden disappearance seven thousand years ago. Even he can't undo that amount of resentment so quickly."
"That is true," Darion Mograine replied as he approached the teens, who both gave him a bow when they saw him. "But we do not know what truly happened to Marth seven thousand years ago. For all we know, he could have been killed while he was trying to return to Eternus. It's wishful thinking, but as Altena's heir, I believe that Marth deserves some benefit of the doubt."
Nautilus couldn't help but agree with his lord's sentiments. It was impossible to know what truly happened to Zane during the Age of Chaos. History is a murky thing. Only those who are present during certain events truly knew what happened. As far as he knew, he wasn't a reincarnation of one of the original Harbingers, but that wasn't a big deal to him. After all, it didn't change the fact that he owed his life to their leader, a young man who gave him a purpose within that game of death thirty years ago.
Back during the early days of Sword Art Online, Nautilus tried living out his days as a solo player, as he didn't have any friends to team up with. He wasn't quite at the level needed to survive on the front lines, but he was slowly making progress. That is, until he got cocky and got trapped by a gang of monsters. He lacked any healing crystals since they were expensive and had run out of potions to restore his HP. By all accounts, Nautilus should have died that day.
But then he appeared.
In quick succession, all the monsters surrounding the half-demon shattered into glass fragments, slain by a gray figure. Nautilus would end up falling to his knees out of relief, glad that he would not be meeting his demise that day. He didn't even care that his savior was the most feared player in SAO, the Dark Swordsman, Marth.
However, that is not the only nickname that his master was known as, especially back in that floating castle of iron.
The Dark Swordsman nickname itself didn't come from Marth's attire, like it did for Kirito. Instead, it came about from the demon prince's cold, sometimes even ruthless, personality. Back in the days of SAO, he never once hid his lack of care towards the other players. If they weren't his sister, or his friends, then he didn't really care what happened to them. He was the only one of the Clearers who shrugged off player deaths during the boss raids. This callous attitude towards the playerbase would eventually lead Marth to gaining a new nickname, one that's far more infamous than that of the Dark Swordsman.
The Demon King of Aincrad.
Just the passing mention of that name in any online forum or VR world thirty years ago would cause people to flinch in terror. Even now, that name still holds its power, intimidating anyone who hears it. No one, not even the foolhardiest players, wanted to ever clash blades with the Demon King. Even the most infamous PK guild, Laughing Coffin, was wary of him. It would be no exaggeration that people viewed Marth as the Devil in human clothing, which is rather ironic considering what his heritage is.
As for what Marth thought of that title, he never really cared, as the nature of his reputation mattered little to him. If anything, it just served to help achieve his own objectives, like protecting his guild. After all, who would want to take on the Demon King, or even threaten his subordinates? Heck, there were even times he flaunted out his title just to intimidate his opponents to get an advantage over them. Only a handful of players outside the Harbingers weren't intimidated by him. The first two were Heathcliff (Akihiko Kayaba) and Zelgius (Satoshi Shiraki), the creators of SAO and the leaders of the Knights of Blood, the strongest (debatably) guild in Aincrad. Another was General Eugene of the Salamanders in ALO, PvP MMO that takes place in a realm of fairies. Before Marth and Kirito joined that game, Eugene was considered to be the strongest player in Alfheim. However, even with the Demonic Sword Gram, a legendary weapon almost on par with the Holy Sword Excalibur, he still lost to the Demon King in a one-on-one duel. Despite that, Eugene was considered to be one of Marth's greatest rivals, as the latter never refused any of the former's challenges. Sadly, Eugene lost his life in the Demon War thirty years ago, however, there is always the possibility that he may reincarnate.
Now as for what Nautilus felt towards his master, it honestly didn't bother him to serve the man referred to as the Demon King of Aincrad. No matter what they called Marth, it would never change the fact that the half-demon owed his life to him. Nothing could ever sway him from his master's side.
His thoughts were interrupted by the shimmering hum of the waypoint (which looked like a three-foot-wide runic circle with a gemstone at its center) just a few feet in front of him. Someone was teleporting into the castle. The time has finally come. Mentally preparing himself, he stood up straight and alert, getting a brief giggle from Elie (which in any other circumstance, he would have found adorable, but right now wasn't the time for him to think about such things).
A blinding light soon followed and quickly dispersed, revealing a familiar group of faces that the Sable Knight has not seen in a long time.
"Looks like the waypoint Elie gave us worked perfectly," a familiar black-haired beauty in Eastern-style clothes commented. "A shame we couldn't bring it with us."
"That's just the weakness of teleportation magic," Rias replied. "Which is why Marth and I are working on Gate, which doesn't require waypoints for you to use it. Unfortunately, it's still not ready for actual field use, which means we can't use it for this mission."
As if taking that as his que, Darion made his way to the new arrivals and gave a bow. "Prince Marth. Princess Kisara. Welcome to Bristol. I am the viceroy of Celestine, Darion Mograine."
Both royals gave their own bows as well. "Thank you for inviting us," the Purple Flash replied elegantly. "Also, thank you for locating the remaining Harbingers for us. You've saved us a lot of time."
"I am just glad that I could be of service. We of House Mograine pride ourselves on being the vassals of House Umbris. Now then, I know you are all eager for your reunion, but may I suggest we relocate to someplace more private. We have important matters to discuss."
"Agreed," Marth said with a slight nod. "Lead the way, Lord Mograine."
And with that, the large group made their way into the castle.
Kaida had to hand it to House Mograine, they sure knew how to decorate their home. The castle's architecture had a gothic theme to it. Decorating its interior were fabrics of red, purple and black, which wasn't too surprising considering that demons are called the children of darkness. It really showed just how powerful the Mograine family is.
Even the command room the meeting was to take place in looked nice. There were several banners with the Mograine coat of arms (which was a blue runestone in front of a twin pair of crossed swords). At the center of the room was a round table made of platinum oak. Several chairs surrounded it, but there wasn't quite enough for a group this size (there was around twenty of them after all). To compensate, the half-demon known as Nautilus offered to take some of the Harbingers and have them guard the room. They couldn't risk this meeting getting leaked out after all.
Being the cautious person that he is, Marth approved of it, and allowed the Sable Knight to take Klein, Argo, Philia, Sinon, and Takumu, leaving the rest behind in case trouble were to break out. As for Kaida, she stayed close to the demon prince's side. Part of it was because she possessed his scabbard, Ascalon, which was still hard at working repairing her body from the damage the slavers left on her prior to her escape. In order to make use of the scabbard's healing effects, she needed to be close to Marth, as it only accepted his mana in order to function. Even after these past few days, Kaida was still in awe of the Dark Swordsman's kindness. Rather than use the scabbard for himself, he instead placed it within the young dragoness since she needed it more. Her body was slowly regaining its strength, allowing her to walk around and stand more easily. Her tail was almost fully restored as well, which was a welcome relief. She was afraid that it might never grow back. Ascalon's regenerative abilities really can't be underestimated.
She still had flashbacks of those cruel men cutting off her tail just to make her more docile. They just loved to see her in pain. It was a miracle she didn't die from blood loss, let alone malnutrition. However, despite all the repairs to her body, she still wasn't strong enough to use any magic. Her elemental affinity was wind and water, likely further evidence that she is a ryuu like Marth suggested as they are apparently storm dragons. As a mage, Kaida was about average, which was another contributor to her capture by the slave traders. Since almost everyone in her village looked down on her because she didn't have wings, no one was willing to teach her magic, so she essentially had to teach herself.
Perhaps Marth might be willing to teach her once she regains more of her strength. He seemed to be an expert mage from the sparring bouts she witnessed. His control over the wind was, pardon the pun, breathtaking. It's no wonder why his friends consider him the ruler of the sky. Marth always seemed unbeatable when he was in the air. Although, even he seems to have his limits given how badly he lost to Rias earlier today. Apparently he's never won a duel with the demoness before, but that last match seemed more one-sided than usual. His use of dark magic was pitiful even by her standards. It would seem that even someone as strong as Marth had mental scars that hamper his true potential.
"If Marth can't get over his mental scars, what hope do I have of overcoming mine?" she found herself thinking as she sat beside the demon prince, not paying attention the meeting that was taking place.
Because she lacked the ability to transform, she was considered useless in the eyes of her village. They called her weak, an outcast. It was a miracle she managed to find any friends in that hellhole of a village. She never felt safe there, that she could call that place her home. And yet, despite having only stayed in that apartment for four days, they were the best days in her life. Sure, the place was a little cramped because of how many people were staying there, and Marth was the only guy in the household, but it felt more like a home to Kaida than even the one she had back in her village. No one in that apartment looked down at her "deformity" or the fact that she was a slave. Instead, they comforted her and made her feel welcome. Whenever she wasn't fighting Fuko for Marth's attention, Kuroba would even hang out with her, the two of them playing video games or reading books together during their free time.
Kaida wanted to pay them back for that kindness, especially to Marth, as he was the one constantly looking out for her. But because of her poor mental state, and her inability to transform into her dragon form, she didn't know how she could do that. She didn't have any money either since she left her village in a hurry (plus even if she did manage to escape with any, the slave traders would have stolen them the moment they captured her). Well, Kisara did mention that she was rather pretty. Maybe she could…could…no, no, no! She couldn't think of that without becoming red with embarrassment.
Perhaps to distract herself from those thoughts, she started paying closer attention to the meeting.
"As I'm sure you're aware, my prince," Darion addressed formally while overlooking a large map of Eternus that was on the table. "Urun has the strictest border control out of all the regions. It's nearly impossible to get in or out of it. A group of your size won't be able to sneak in undetected."
"We can't risk getting discovered," Asuna voiced. "If Matias hears of us, he'll relocate Altina to a more secure location, not to mention we'll have to deal with the full might of Urun's military. Sure, we've got two demon lords, a goddess, and an immortal witch within our ranks, as well as six divine weapons, but all that fighting will just slow us down."
"Correction," Scathach spoke up, her arms folded across her chest. "One true demon lord and one rookie demon lord. Marth's still in training. He hasn't quite mastered his powers as the Wrath Lord yet. Not to mention he hasn't grown accustomed to the Lunaris's power as well."
"True," Seven agreed. "It sucks that our leader is cursed to become the next Lord of Calamity, but there's nothing we can do about that right now. Although, knowing Marth, he probably already has a countermeasure in mind."
The Demon King of Aincrad let out a small chuckle. "You know me too well, Seven. I indeed have a countermeasure in mind, but in order to maximize its effectiveness, I need to keep it secret until the time is right. Regardless, I'm glad that you all are willing to support me."
"Well, we are friends," Rain replied, cracking a light smile. "It's only natural that we support each other, right?"
The Highlord of the Ebon Knights nodded his head in agreement. "Indeed. Naturally, House Mograine will continue to serve you as well, Prince Marth. That oath will hold true even if you become the Lord of Calamity."
It was quite touching to see everyone continuing to voice their support towards the Dark Swordsman, despite knowing his eventual fate. Even Kaida, despite not knowing much about him, wanted to offer her support. Occasionally in Dun Scaith, she would sometimes hear Kirito discussing possible ways to rid Marth of his curse, only for his ideas to get shot down by Kisara. Still, the Black Swordsman was a stubborn one. He had every intention of saving his best friend from the cruel destiny fate has forced upon him. It was quite admirable really.
"Anyway, back on topic," Kuroba spoke up, getting everyone's attention. "If we can't sneak in as one big group, then how about we split into several smaller teams and infiltrate Urun that way?"
"I was thinking the same thing," Marth said calmly. "I was thinking of splitting our forces into three teams. We can't make them too small, otherwise we might run into an unexpected issue that they can't handle alone. Eight or so members each might be enough as long as they've got a decent team composition."
"Agreed," Rias mused. "This should go without saying, but we shouldn't consolidate all of our divine weapon users onto a single team. That kind of power imbalance will surely come back to bite us in the near future if we do that."
"No kidding. Our team's will be called Alpha, Beta and Omega. I'll lead Alpha, Kirito takes Beta, and Asuna will handle Omega. My team will consist of Kisara, Kuroba, Fuko, Takumu, Sinon, Nautilus, and Rias. Kaida will accompany my team as well since she has Lunaris's scabbard and she needs to be near me to benefit from it, but she'll be a non-combatant. For Kirito, he'll lead Agil, Leafa, Yuna, Klein, Silica, Argo, and Scathach. Finally, Asuna's team will consist of Elie, Philia, Rain, Seven, Cynthia, Elaine, and Medusa."
"Not a bad team composition," Argo said, sounding impressed. "Each of our teams have at least two healers and two divine weapon users. Not to mention that we each have one extremely powerful fighter in case things get dicey. I feel like I've seen that kind of trope in a strategy game series I used to play."
Elie looked a little nervous, likely because of her new-found position. "Are you sure you want my help? I mean, I'm not one of the original Harbingers, so I've got no say in joining you in this operation."
Kisara, who was sitting next to the twili, simply patted her on the shoulder in comfort. "Don't worry about it. Both you and your father pledged to offer what aid you could for House Umbris. Nautilus spoke really highly of you, so it's only natural Marth would want you on his side."
That seemed to do the trick as Elie looked far more relaxed now. The next part of the plan involved which route each team will be taking in order to reach Urun's capital, Umbara, which was where Altina was being held. Beta will travel through the Rulid Forest, a massive sea of trees on the eastern side of Urun. It was a hard place to navigate, but with Argo's talent for gathering information plus Scathach's experience, it should be no problem for them. Omega's route will take them through the Echigo Highlands, a vast hill-like land that hardly sees activity from the Urun military. As for Alpha, they'll be going through the Eridu Valley.
Even Kaida could see the issue in them taking that route. Eridu Valley was where Altena, the birthmother for Marth and Kisara, was killed in the War of Light and Shadow. Even after seven millennia, her death still leaves them a terrible mental scar. Kirito and the others tried to talk Marth out of it, or even volunteering switch routes with him, but the Dark Swordsman refused to yield. He didn't give any reasons for his decision, but it was clear that he wouldn't change his mind. Although, there was no denying that Eridu Valley is one of the fastest routes to Umbara.
"Moving on from that," Marth continued, pointing at specific section of the map near the southern capital. "According to Cynthia's reconnaissance from a previous mission in Urun, there's an abandoned fort about a few miles from Umbara. It should make for a decent rendezvous point for our teams to meet up at. That's when we'll execute the next phase of the plan."
"Even at our top speed, it will take us several days to reach Umbara from Bristol," Fuko noted. "How do we even know if Altina will still be there when we arrive?"
"My spies have reported that Matias is in no rush to move Lady Altina out of the capital," Darion reassured. "Knowing him, he's so confident that Lord Marth and Lady Kisara aren't alive that he's in no rush to relocate her. As for time, I will provide you all transports to get you all to your destinations. They'll be ready by dawn."
"Excellent," Rias said with a smirk. "I'm quite curious to see how Eternus's technology has changed over the last seven millennia. Knowing you, Darion, I'm sure these vehicles will be quite impressive."
"I'm honored you feel that way, Lady Rias. You'll all have an aerial transport take you as close to the border as possible, then you'll unload your land vehicles and continue from there. Each team will also be given a beacon to signal their aerial vehicle when it is time for the extraction. Is there anything else we need to cover?"
"No, I think that's about it," Kirito replied. "How about we take this opportunity to rest and mentally prepare. This will probably be the last time we can sleep soundly for a while. By tomorrow, we'll be in enemy territory."
"I'm fine with that," Marth said in agreement. "Asuna, can you fill Nautilus and the others about the plan? After that, everyone should rest up. We leave as soon as the transports are ready. May Sinestra watch over us and ensure we all have a safe journey. I expect to see you all at the rendezvous point, and remember to keep a low profile."
"Right!" everyone acknowledged.
A man with long blonde hair and dressed in a formal green suit and cape befitting a nobleman walked into the lab where the homunculus girl was being kept. His name was Rufus Alberaea, the right-hand man of Viceroy Matias Shinra. Given how late it was, all the scientists were gone for the night, leaving the artificial being all alone. The girl looked so helpless within her capsule, floating in that transparent liquid.
To think that the viceroy seeks to use her as a way to seize the Eternian throne, a right only reserved for members of the Umbris family. House Shinra has always had a shady history, so such a tactic wasn't a surprise to him. However, it wasn't until about forty or so years ago that the current head and viceroy started dabbling with creating an Umbris homunculus. Naturally, to do so, Matias would require blood samples of any members of the Umbris family, unfortunately they were wiped out in the War of Light and Shadow. However, Matias somehow acquired the blood of Zane and Lucia through their reincarnations. It happened when the siblings were trapped in death game known as Sword Art Online, their real bodies being kept in hospitals and put on life support. Rufus had to give the viceroy some credit, that was a clever opportunity to acquire their blood without arousing suspicion. As for how Matias even learned about their reincarnations, that part isn't clear, but he believes that they perished in the Demon War that plagued Japan thirty years ago, so he was confident that they couldn't stop him from using their new sister as his pawn.
However, creating a homunculus from Umbris blood wasn't easy. Practically every attempt ended in failure, with none of the experiments able to live for more than a week. It wasn't until Rufus came along about a year ago with the blood of Altena (which Matias was too pigheaded to question) that the scientists finally started to make some progress, their work culminating into Altina, the first Umbris homunculus with a stable lifespan and magic power. In fact, her magical aptitude was among the highest ever recorded. While she only possesses a water affinity and a high dark affinity, she certainly has the potential to be a high-class mage. Unfortunately, because of her high aptitude for magic, it made her a threat to their operation until her conditioning was complete, so the scientists put an inhibitor collar to prevent her from using magic so that she couldn't escape.
However, despite the scientists' best efforts, the young Altina has proven to be quite resilient to their psychological conditioning. She was an Umbris alright. She absolutely refused to yield to such corrupt people. The scientists even believe that she knows of their plans for her, which was why she was resisting so much. Even Matias was getting frustrated by the lack of results.
Chuckling to himself, Rufus placed his hand against the clear glass of the capsule holding the young girl. "You're doing quite well, little Altina," he murmured softly. "Perhaps you didn't even need my assistance to protect yourself. Just hang in there a little longer. If my master is correct, your siblings should be coming to free you."
Needless to say, Rufus held no loyalty to the southern viceroy. That nobleman was about as corrupt as they come. He overly taxed his citizens, tightened border control so much that not even a mouse could slip through, and spends far too much on his lavish lifestyle. If Matias actually succeeded in claiming the throne, then all of Eternus would fall to ruin.
However, Matias is also rather easy to manipulate, which was what Rufus's master took advantage of to fulfill his own objective. That master was none other than the Mage of Flowers himself, Merlin. Rufus was only here because Merlin gave him the mission of creating an Umbris homunculus so that he could move onto the next phase of his plan. Altina may not know it yet, but she will play a crucial role in restoring something that will prove vital in this rigged game of fate.
And Rufus couldn't help but eagerly wait for that day to come, for that will be when the real fun begins. Ah, but first, he should carry on with his preparations. He needs to make sure everything is ready. After all, Castle Shinra will be having some guests soon.
To be continued
Sorry for the late update. It took me a while to actually dedicate enough time to finish this chapter. I've been playing a lot of Fate Grand Order recently in preparation for Castoria's NA release, which should be sometime next month if the predictions are accurate. Anyway, this delay helped me sort out my thoughts of the major events of this arc. Hope you all are looking forward to what I've got planned because I think it will be really cool. See you guys next time!