Chapter 5
Kept you waiting huh? Jokes aside, it took way too long for this chapter to come out, especially after I said that I would upload more often since I had decided to make chapters shorter. I did let myself be distracted by the lots of stuff but I had planned to upload in September but a job opportunity opened up for me and I needed all the money I could get. Should I have uploaded an announcement? Maybe but I got way too busy even for that. Well, here I am and hopefully, the next chapter will not take as long as I plan to release two more before the end of the year
For the cover, unfortunately, it has been put on hold as the person doing it had an important commission but will eventually arrive.
As always, I thank my Beta Tertius711 for his assistance in making this story.
Karsten Mansion
Emilia, Mairon, and Rem were standing inside the war room readied for their campaign. In front of them was a table with the map of Lugnica and its neighbouring nations with various landmarks highlighted. The Karsten Duchess was in the room as well, standing on the other side of the table with her own followers.
"If we consider Lord Mairon's sight as a reliable source of information, we should be able to attack the Hakugei at Flugel's Tree in about three days," the Duchess said looking at the map. "Which should be plenty of time for me to prepare my forces and move them there."
"I take pride in my sight, Lady Crusch, the Whale will be there," Mairon replied smiling as he pressed his knife into the map marking Flugel's Tree, "and we'll be there to kill it."
Crusch slowly nodded. "I'll trust your words then," she said before grabbing a piece of parchment. "There are reports of suspicious activities in the Mathers' lands, are you aware of those?"
Mairon nodded. "We are aware and we expected them," he declared calmly.
"You think those are..." Crusch started speaking, looking for the right words to say what she wanted to say without offending the half-elf.
"Members of the Witch Cult? Yes, they probably are," Emilia anticipated her words and answered. "By now the news of Royal Selection has probably reached their ears prompting them to seek me out..."
"Do you require any assistance?" Crusch offered wanting to repay them for their help with locating the White Whale.
"Thank you for your offer but as I said before, we were expecting them," Mairon said placing his finger on the spot on the map where Roswaal's mansion was. "Our main forces will be busy hunting for the whale but our rearguard will defend Mathers Domain along with one of my most trusted generals. I am confident when I say they will be more than enough to deal with that filth."
Crusch nodded. "Very well, are you going to take part in our preparations?"
Emilia shook her head. "We have our own preparations to do. We'll see each other at the tree."
The Duchess walked up to Emilia and offered her a handshake. "Then, see you in three days."
Emilia firmly shook her hand and nodded before turning around and moving towards the door. Mairon bowed his head slightly to everyone in the room and followed his protege. The two walked out of the mansion, Rem quick on their heels, and immediately went to their steeds where their company of Silver Knights were waiting.
Mairon raised an eyebrow as he saw Emilia seemingly being almost too eager to get on her elk. He used his connection with her ring to find out what was on her mind, wondering if the meeting with Crusch was causing problems. He was pleasantly surprised to find that she was excited.
"Mairon I want to return immediately to the mansion," she said, staring him in the eyes.
He nodded. "You seem to be in high spirits my queen," he remarked
Emilia blushed, thinking she had let her emotions leak out. "W-Well we are going to take out one of the biggest calamities of these lands...isn't it something to be excited for?"
He smirked. "It is indeed. Bards will sing of the great fall of the whale and historians will immortalize it. A good start to the great story of the Silver Queen," he encouraged.
Emilia scratched her cheek sheepishly. "Well, we need to kill the whale first...and then deal with the cult."
"Indeed, but I have no doubt we'll manage to come out on top," he assured her with a gentle smile. "So enjoy the excitement of taking part in a great quest...but do not let it blind you."
Emilia nodded in agreement. "We should contact Reinhard and Felt once we get back to the Mathers Domain."
"We should be off then my lady," Mairon said as he mounted his steed, Emilia and Rem doing the same.
The three of them made their way back to Roswaal's residence in the capital to gather their baggage before making their way back to Rìs Mindòn. The journey was relatively uneventful, the group didn't stop riding until they reached their destination.
It was deep into the night when they arrived. Emilia immediately went into her room to inform Reinhard and Felt about the plan for the Whale. For his part, Mairon had someone else to talk to…
Making his way to the Mathers Mansion, he strolled right into Roswaal's office. He knew he was still awake, seeing the lights of the room turn on when he had first arrived.
The court magician was sitting there grinning at him. "Lord Mairon, welcome back, I take that you have some interesting news?"
Mairon nodded. "Soon we'll be fighting the White Whale...and the Witch Cult, I take it that you called them?"
Roswaal smirked. "Indeed I did. Is it a problem for you?"
This time it was Mairon's turn to smirk. "Of course not, is there anything else you wanted to tell me?"
"The people of the village...I want you to help evacuate them to Sanctuary," he said tapping on a map that was placed on the desk.
"Oh? Is it time already?" Mairon hummed before chuckling darkly. "Well it was nice doing business with you."
Roswaal nodded as he grabbed a battle of fine wine and placed it on the desk along with two glasses which he filled. "To the Grand Finale!" he said raising his glass.
"To your 'defeat' and our mutual victory," Mairon replied in kind, clinging their glasses together before they both took a sip.
"I'll head to Sanctuary immediately, I have no interest in seeing you take down the whale," Roswaal said, getting up. "See you soon."
As the mage left, Mairon was left sipping his wine as he immersed himself in his thoughts. While he acted as a partner in crime with the clown, Mairon had a very low opinion of him. The man had achieved immortality so that he could chase after a woman. And all of this because she once show kindness to him...
What a pathetic excuse of a man
He then started to wonder...how would it feel to crush that man's heart? How would it feel to take away the very reason he has been alive for so long? The thought was entertaining, a breath of fresh air from his sometimes tiresome benevolent persona. Despite being in accord with their pact, Roswaal was still technically obstructing his plans...so he could still punish him.
He chuckled to himself in sadistic anticipation as he finished his glass of wine and smirking. He had almost expected it to be poisoned by the wine, but he supposed Roswaal was smarter than that.
The Dark Lord left the mansion and headed for his workshop...only to be pleasantly surprised by the spectacle prepared for him by his trusted servants.
A long column of Silver Knights stood guard along the road between the mansion and his workshop. The knights were immobile, silent, but more importantly they were prepared. Giant bows were strapped to their backs along with quivers that carried arrows as long as lances.
When he reached his workshop, the Witch-king was waiting for him at the door on bended knees. "The soldiers are ready for the march..." he reported in his ethereal voice.
"The dragons?" Mairon asked inquisitively.
"They will be as well soon enough..." the Nazgul replied, bowing his head.
"You have two days..." Mairon replied, dismissing the Ringwraith who left to continue his task.
He did understand that even with his powers, Er-Murazor needed more time to make the dragons obey their riders' orders so that he to use them in the battle against the White Whale. Nevertheless, Mairon was itching for the upcoming fight and its ramifications.
This would be his army's grand debut, their first show of power. This was a clear signal that they were active participants in the Royal Selection and that what was said at the meeting in the palace was not only true but it would be put in motion immediately.
If it wasn't for Emilia needing to rest, Mairon would have wanted to start marching that very night. Arriving early would have allowed them to study the terrain, build fortifications and plan out the attack better. Still not all things could go his way, not yet, and it was far more important that his queen piece be cultivated properly first before he could burden her too much.
He continued his walk to his workshop, putting aside his thoughts on Emilia for now. Rem was still following him. The maid had been silently obeying his orders, following him and Emilia throughout the day. He could feel her silent rage and disgust towards Roswaal and her worry for her sister, but the oni had done an exceptional job putting her thoughts and feelings aside for the sake of the task given her, a great improvement to how she was when they first met. Her dedication to him was admirable, perhaps he should reward her in the future.
"Rem," he called as he walked towards his workshop.
"Yes my lord?" the maid asked, her eyes lighting up.
"You will not be coming with us to fight the Whale," he stated bluntly, causing the maid to tense as she protested.
"But my lord I-"
"You will see to the defence of Rìs Mindòn, the Witch Cult is moving and it is headed here," he cut her off causing her to fall silent. "I do think that is a more appropriate task to give you."
The maid didn't reply and nodded as she waited for Mairon to continue.
"Of course, you are not going to be alone. I gave you the rank of Inquisitor but until now, you have lacked the subordinates to exert that authority over. No longer," he said as he walked into the workshop and opened one of the doors of his many storage compartments. Two rows of black and golden armours gleamed at the light as the door opened, polished and perfect. They were not yet inhabited by spirits.
"I had them prepared while we were at the capital. It is unfortunate, I had hoped for a hundred to be ready but I am afraid twenty will have to do for now," he said, walking up to her. "Your duty is to defend this fortress of ours. The villagers will be evacuated to Sanctuary, so there will be little need for you to worry about them. We don't know how many cultists will come so I advise you to be cautious. I doubt they'll be able to deal with our fortifications so your job is simply to defend this place until our return...but if you happen to deal with them before then I have but one request."
Rem slowly nodded.
"The Archbishop of Sin...capture them alive, they will have crucial information about the rest of the cult," he said calmly.
"It will be done my lord," Rem replied nodding and bowing before widening her eyes as she remembered something. "My lord, I wanted to tell you earlier, your guest has awakened."
Now that caught Mairon's attention. "Give her a warm meal, and make sure she drinks a lot. I will see to her once I am done here."
With that said the maid left the dark lord to his machinations. Mairon sealed the doors behind him with a spell cutting off the outside world before he began summoning the spirits of the earth. Soon they appeared around him, confused and whispering as Mairon turned towards them.
He would confess his disappointment with the spirits that had come. Despite the fact that the armours around him were all made with quasi-spirits in mind, the spirits in front of him were of the lowest class that existed, which would barely be able to move the armours.
Still, he supposed he'd have to make do. As he spoke to them and gave his usual promises, the spirits soon began to eagerly agreed to serve him and Emilia, expected to be rewarded with an elevation of their spiritual rank in return.
In reality, once they entered inside the armours, each spirit was trapped and would have its will bent utterly to Mairon's so there was no need for the Dark Lord to actually respect his end of the bargain...but as a personal experiment, he still wanted to see if it was actually possible for him to make them ascend to a higher rank.
He kneeled down allowing one of the spirits to jump on his hand and then he raised it to his eye level. He began slowly pouring portions of his power into the small light. At first, nothing seemed to happen, then the spirit stopped floating and landed on his palm, its light flickering as if it was dying, before the light returned in triumph, glowing brighter and stronger
Mairon moved his arm towards the armour and the spirit flew off inside of it. After a few moments, the runes on the armour began to glow signalling that the spirit had enough power to properly use the armour and all of its magical capabilities. The other spirits seemed to be ecstatic as they surrounded Mairon eager to be promoted too.
The Dark Lord was quite satisfied with the result, though he was still a bit unsure on how he would use this knowledge. The possibilities were theoretically infinite but further experimentation would have to wait for now, until after the battles were done.
After he had filled the remaining armours with the newly promoted spirits, Mairon left for the room where his new 'daughter' was being kept. He was still pleased with his decision to 'repurpose' her. She had a very convenient power to control demonic beasts, and by showing her mercy, he had cemented his reputation as the merciful and noble knight of the Royal Candidate, Lady Emilia, which was always a plus.
He was surprised to find Meili was right behind the door when he entered, likely trying to escape. Sadly for her, the spells he had placed on the door made that impossible. The girl panicked when she saw him, backing away until she was against the wall, quivering.
Well that was interesting. He wondered why briefly before remembering that he had amplified her worst memories of 'Mama' and filled them with even more fear and hate. He had been rather darkly amused to find that much like Elsa, he hadn't actually needed to do much there. 'Mama' was hell enough already before his additions.
Meili was probably expecting some kind of punishment, he realized. She was trembling like a leaf, her eyes were fixed on his movements. Mairon felt no small amount of satisfaction in seeing his former prideful enemy so utterly broken, but of course, he did not any of that.
He sat on her bed and looked at her, "Fear not, I will not bring you any harm."
If it was even possible, Meili started trembling even more. "Please don't hurt me," she whispered pathetically.
He really had done quite the job hadn't he? He found himself amused by how greatly merely amplifying her existing memories had affected her.
"I give you my word child. You are safe here. There is an army of knights waiting outside, ready to deal with anything and anyone that dares to try and hurt you. Not even 'Mama' can reach you and hurt you here."
She looked reluctant but she eventually decided to sit next to him.
"She will never hurt you again nor you will have to fear her punishments," he stated calmly. "Rest now, and regain your strength."
"Why are you doing this for me? I tried to kill you, kill your village, and yet you've been treating me so kindly, why?"
Mairon had to resist the urge to laugh out loud. That wasn't quite how he remembered it, but of course, Meili only remembered what he wanted her to. When he had rewritten her memories, he had redone their encounter to portray himself in the best possible way to Meili. Kind, merciful, and sympathetic. He had even had her remember him as a helpful noble knight who had extended her an offer to try and save her from her terrible 'mother', saying he had learned of it from his encounter with her older sister Elsa. It was making it all too easy to manipulate her into his willing servant.
"Because Meili, I know what it's like to be forced to serve someone terrible, to fear and hate them so much, and yet be powerless to act. And I wanted to save you from that if I could," he answered.
Ironically enough, he was at least partially telling the truth. Morgoth hadn't exactly been a kind master.
Meili looked up at him, staring into his eyes with fear but also great anger. "I hate her, I hate them all. They tortured me, they punished me terribly for the slightest failure. I want them all to die!"
"And they will Meili," Mairon said, stunning her a little as he used her name for the first time. "And you will be the one to help me ensure their end. But for now you must rest, let your mind and body heal more."
She slowly nodded and he led her back to the bed.
"I will be out for a few days so I will give you this now," he said slipping a ring on her finger. It was no ring of powe. Were he still in Eregion, Celebrimbor, the old fool, would have called it an essay in the craft. But even lesser rings had their uses. "It will block out your aura and will allow you to contact me if needed, I will tell Rem and the knights to let you out when you wake up again for some fresh air. We shall speak more when I return."
Meili slowly nodded and Mairon left the room. He was satisfied with the result of the visit. He was about to return to his study looking for contacting Reinhard when he noticed Emilia walking around in her night dress.
"Emilia?" he called out, raising an eyebrow.
She snapped her head to look at him and seemed to be embarrassed. "Ah...you're still awake..."
"Is something wrong?" he asked her as she shook her head.
"No...I just can't force myself to sleep..." she replied placing her hand on her arm. "The excitement for the upcoming battle wore off I guess..."
"So now you are nervous?" he asked her getting another nod. "Come with me."
She nodded and followed him inside his study. Mairon began picking up maps and books and placing them on his desk.
"Mairon?" she asked confused.
"Part of your uneasiness is caused by the lack of knowledge about our plan. You are a good learner it is still too premature for you to come up with plans so you put your trust into me, as you should, but at the same time it makes you anxious to not know everything. I understand, which is why now I will tell you everything," he explained to her as he unfolded the various maps. "Tomorrow we'll depart and normally I would tell you to rest so you are ready for the ride, but we both know that will not happen so we might as well make the most of the time. We shall discuss the battle plans until morning and hopefully I would have tired you out enough that you will fall asleep on the carriage."
She giggled at that and nodded and so Mairon began to explain how their assault on the White Whale would unfold. Before the half-elf could notice, the sun had risen and Rem was preparing breakfast. Her tutor didn't seem tired at all...now that she thought about, she never even saw him tired.
He looked at the fake window in his office. "Well that will do for now," he declared looking at her. "I suggest you refresh yourself before we get going, I will have the carriage prepared."
"I can ride my steed..." she said before being cut off by her own yawn.
Mairon smiled at her. "No need for that, you lost a night of sleep. It is better for you to recover that."
Emilia slowly nodded and got up as Rem entered the room with breakfast for both of them.
Mairon didn't need to eat but not doing so would raise questions for his nature so he had decided to do so anyway. As soon as he was done, he left the study and climbed up to the peaks above Orod Gûr where the Witch-king had decided to keep the winged dragons.
Murazor was overseeing them as slowly but surely, the winged dragons were acclimating to their future riders.
"How long before they are ready?" Marion asked as he arrived, his Nazgul bowing to him as he approached.
"The dragons respect us my lord...but they do not respect the knights. They seem to tolerate more Silver Knights inhabited by Wind Spirits but at this pace...a week or two more before they will be ready" Murazor answered, kneeling before his master.
"Unacceptable," the Dark Lord replied shaking his head before staring at Murazor with a stern gaze. "I command you to bend their will even further," he said before the Nazgul's ring began to glow. "I trust that would be enough..."
The Witch-King nodded as Mairon returned to the lower levels where everything was being readied for their departure.
Rem approached him, leading his horse's reins. "Everything is ready my lord."
He nodded. "We'll see each other in four days Rem," he said, as he mounted his horse. "Follow my orders and everything will resolve itself."
Rem nodded and Mairon took one last look at his army and at Emilia's carriage, pulled by her elk and several ground dragons, before he spurred his horse on, the whole company following behind him.
Three days later
Lady Crusch and her forces had marched all day to the Flugel Tree. Along the way, Anastasia Hoshin's mercenaries had joined their forces and Crusch had not been willing to deny them. They all had a vested interest in the end of the White Whale. The Karsten Duchess could count on a battalion comprised of three platoons made of knights and mages. Anastasia's forces were three companies of mercenaries, one of which took it upon themselves to block the road to avoid any civilians getting in the crossfire. Crusch would admit to having high confidence in her men and their allies for the task ahead.
"The Flugel Tree...has lights on it!" someone shouted causing her to look at the magnificent tree.
She narrowed her eyes when she indeed saw many lights flickering all over the tree but that was not at all. At the base of the tree, she soon spotted a fortification made of wood. She and her troops finally reached the tree and were left in awe as a thousand Silver Knights greeted them.
Emilia came riding her elk and placed herself in front of Crusch. Mairon beside her, riding his own metal horse. "Lady Crusch, welcome to the Flugel Tree," Emilia said in greeting with a slight bow.
Crusch returned the gesture in kind. "I'm glad to be here," she replied before looking at Mairon and bowing her head again. "Lord Mairon."
"Yo! Nice army you got there!" suddenly Ricardo, Anastasia's right hand, said as he placed himself next to Crusch. "I hope you do not mind a couple more of helping hands!"
"Mimi is here too!" Ricardo's Vice Captain said, raising her arms before looking at someone who looked like her. "And this is my younger brother Hetaro!"
Emilia remained silent for a few seconds, not exactly ecstatic in seeing that Anastasia had managed to slip inside their plans.
"Anyone willing to raise their sword against the White Whale is welcome here," Mairon said calmly. "But next time, being notified beforehand would be appreciated. The fort we built was made with our and Lady Crusch's forces in mind," he explained cordially before looking at Crusch again. "Shall we finalize the preparations?" he proposed receiving a nod in return.
Mairon and Emilia led Lady Crusch and Ricardo, who were escorted respectively by Wilhelm and Mimi, to the command post. As they headed there Crusch couldn't help but notice the preparations Emilia had made for the assault. The fortification at the base of the tree was relatively small but it was only the start. Crusch noticed improvised lifts along the trunk of the massive tree, leading up to platforms high in the branches bristling with ballistate and other siege weapons and several of Emilia's Silver Knights, each once having a massive bow strapped to their back.
Rather underwhelmingly, the command post was a rather small tent with a table with a map of the surrounding region on a table. Everyone gathered around it as Mairon placed his hands on the table.
"In three hours from now, the White Whale will appear in the sky. We did our part in preparing for it already so I suggest you do the same now," he explained calmly before looking at Crusch. "Lady Emilia and I have agreed to let you be the ones to launch the first attack."
Crusch frowned a bit, not that she was complaining, but it was surprising. "May I ask why?"
"In your forces, there are those who have lost someone to the Whale, am I correct?" Emilia asked getting a nod. "Then I don't see any reason why they should wait any longer to get their long-awaited revenge."
"Once our own assault begins, there will not be much left of the Whale for the others," Mairon stated calmly throwing a look at Wilhelm.
"Those are some big words...some would even call them arrogant." Crusch replied crossing her arms. "Many have tried subduing the Whale, even the previous Sword Saint and all of them failed."
"They relied on pure strength," Emilia's knight replied. "But they were lacking in knowledge...We have both along with a meticulous plan. Tonight, the Whale will die, there is no other outcome."
There was silence for quite some time before Ricardo's laugh boomed inside the tent. "I would call you a madman! But after seeing what you did here I might even believe you! Guess only time will prove your words!"
With that, the group began the final preparations for the coordinated attack. Once they were done, all of them headed towards their troops... except for Wilhelm, who stayed in the tent even when Crusch left.
"Sir Wilhelm?" Emilia asked, concerned that something was wrong.
Mairon on the other hand was not worried, he didn't even need to look into the old man's mind to know what he wanted.
"For fourteen years I've waited for this day..." the old man began to say before bowing deeply. "I will be forever indebted to you."
"The previous Sword Saint was your wife, was she not?" Mairon said calmly. "Theresia van Astrea...Reinhard referred to you as his grandfather and considering that she was his grandmother, it was an easy conclusion...am I wrong Wilhelm van Astrea?"
The old man shook his head. "No my lord, your conclusion is correct."
Emilia seemed to be very moved by that revelation. "Raise your head..." she said and Wilhelm obeyed.
She gently took his hands in hers. "Tonight that evil beast will meet its end. I hope that you find closure in the aftermath, that your wounds will start to heal and that you will find the strength to put the pieces of your life back together..."
Wilhelm slowly nodded before gently retracting his hands. "Thank you my lady...then with your permission, I will go join the others."
Emilia nodded and the man left. "So much suffering..."
Mairon crossed his arms. "That's why we are here. To stop it."
"I just wish Puck could join us...if only the Whale didn't come at night..." the half-elf muttered
"Having Puck would be nice but unfortunately we can't have everything our way." Mairon grabbed her hands gently. "But I am sure you'll manage even without him...if you feel hopeless just look at the gift I gave you and it will give you the strength you need," he reassured.
"Mairon," the half-elf called looking at him with determined eyes. "We have to end this...not just the Whale, but everything that causes good people to suffer."
He smirked. "There she is..."
Emilia looked at him with a puzzled expression. "Who?"
"The Silver Queen," he replied.
Emilia blushed a little in embarassment, but her smile was warm and pleased. "Let us go then...my knight."
Silence fell on the fort as the hours passed. All preparations had long since been complete and now the only thing left to do was wait. Lady Crusch had brought 15 mana-crystal cannons which were fielded next to the walls of the fortification. Outside the fort, the various cavalry groups waited for their foe to appear while the mages, medics and archers took position inside the fort and in the platforms in the tree. Emilia, Mairon, Crusch, Ricardo and Mimi stood in front of the formations, each of them in front of their own soldiers.
All the soldiers' eyes were glued to the dark blue sky. A cloudless night with countless stars streaking the sky. In the lands beneath that wondrous sky, some might be forgiven for thinking the stars had come down, as the Silver Knights glowed with their own light. There were whispers among the mercenaries and Crusch's knights, all of them wondering how long they would have to wait. Some prayed that they would return home safely.
"It's here," Mairon announced with a solemn tone causing everyone to freeze in place as they looked around before focusing on the moon.
Everyone looked horrified as they saw the White Whale slowly descending on them. Even Crusch could only stare at it in abject horror.
"Crusch!" Emilia called her snapping her out of it. "We can do it!"
The Duchess recomposed herself and nodded. "You seem awfully calm about it."
Emilia smiled. "I know far worse and larger beings," the half-elf replied looking at Mairon. "Am I wrong?"
"If this was the War of Wrath, we would have called that a fish when Ancalagon eclipsed the moon," he answered dryly.
Crusch nodded and took a deep breath. "MEN! YOU KNOW THE PLAN! MAY THIS DAY BE A DAY OF VICTORY!" she screamed as she unsheathed her sword and prepare to swing it.
The blade began to glow with a green light as Crusch stared at the White Whale, waiting for it to get closer and closer to the formation. Once the whale was close enough, Crusch narrowed her eyes and swung her sword. A strange sound echoed all across the battlefield, like wind cutting apart. Soon after a massive sword slash hit the whale on its beastly face causing blood to rain down..
Crush looked behind to the mages operating the cannons. "FIRE!"
The artillery pieces glowed with a white light before unleashing a barrage of magical attacks that exploded as soon as they made contact with the whale's body. Then it was time to unleash the Night-Banisher. The mages readied the cannon and fired it towards the sky. The projectile exploded in the night sky with a blinding flash and soon night became day as the shot lit up the battlefield.
Wilhelm then shot off, riding hard toward the Whale on his earth dragon before he leapt onto its body, using his steed to propel himself. He unsheathed his sword and began running across the monster's body slashing at its skin and making blood rain down.
He was soon joined by the mercenaries that jumped with their steeds in the air, Mimi and Hetaro launched their mana attacks through the mouth of the whale while the others used their swords to cut away at its skin.
"Retreat!" Crusch shouted as she prepared another sword strike.
As soon as Wilhelm and the mercenaries got away from the whale, the Duchess unleashed yet another sword slash cutting into the middle of the beast's body causing it to shriek in pain.
"Mages!" she ordered
The mages stationed at the fort raised their hands and fireballs formed above their heads. "Al Goa!" they all chanted sending the the fireballs crashing against the whale's side before they exploded.
The soldiers began cheering at the spectacle but Crusch nor Emilia was happy. That attack was supposed to make the whale crash...but it didn't even descend from its high position.
Mairon moved in front of them with his armoured horse. "Izg am a stuh hai gur ugil izish izub tarbam sha nar mubaram," he began chanting as dark clouds appeared above. The sky began to rumble as his voice echoed across the plains, Kil kul zo agh tarthur izub urdan lat zaug lump!"
The clouds flashed and an explosive thunder rumbled that was so strong the earth itself trembled in fear...and then silence.
In the blink of an eye, countless lightning bolts hit the whale without any mercy, striking it where it was cut previously.
Immediately after that wind began to blow, tearing through the area with extreme force, forcing some lighter soldiers to steady themselves with their weapons in a desperate attempt to stay on their feet. The White Whale's cries of pain were silenced by even more thunder. Soon the whale began to descend as its supposedly impenetrable skin was torn apart by the lightning which pushed it to the ground until it crashed with a thunderous boom.
"READY YOUR BOWS!" this time Emilia commanded before the dust could settle.
The Silver Knights obeyed and elegantly anchored their bows to the ground in one fluid motion.
"NOCK!"
The knights grabbed their arrows from their quivers on the ground. As big and heavy as lances, their shafts brimming with magic crystals.
The dust began to settle and the whale was once again in sight.
"MARK!"
All the knights adjusted themselves. They were the loyal servants of Lady Emilia and Lord Mairon, they would not miss. The whale let out a screech as it began to squirm in pain.
"DRAW!"
With all of their body and their strength, the knights pulled on the strings of their mighty bows. Each arrow was pointed right at the gaping wounds of the beast. The Whale finally regained its senses and stared at its attackers with a bloodshot eye.
"LOOSE!"
In an instant, the Silver Knights released their arrows. The wind crystals inside them ensured they flew true and at extreme speeds. They cut deep into the flesh of the Hakugei before exploding, sending chunks of its body flying. The Whale screamed and some few even felt pity for it in that moment. So terrible were its cries of pain.
"Charge!" Emilia shouted as she unsheathed her twin blades and spurred her elk forward into a hard gallop, behind her, Mairon and the Silver Knights followed, readying their spears and swords. Crusch and the others joined the charge as well and together they surrounded the whale.
The Silver Knights threw ropes around the whale and pulled them in an attempt to keep the whale from taking to the sky again even as others unleashed their fury upon the beast. Wilhelm out of everyone was truly causing havoc, bathing in the whale's blood as he cut and stabbed the beast like a madman.
Mairon was placed himself near Emilia, not actively attacking the beast like she was but instead he was on the lookout for he knew that the whale was far from being out of options. Their assault had ripped the skin apart supposedly destroying the vents that allowed it to release its fog.
Suddenly, he saw the beast's body contorting itself before forcing open its vents.
"Emilia! Crusch! To me!" he shouted
The half-elf turned around alarmed and rode to his side along with her knights. The Duchess saw them retreating and ordered her own forces to retreat as she noticed the Whale's increasing agitation.
Unfortunately, they were out of time. The beast let out a powerful that broke the ground as it knocked the knights of Crusch's rearguard off their steeds before letting out its deadly fog, enveloping the battlefield and obscuring the Night-Banisher's shot.
Crusch rallied with her captains and soon discovered that an entire company has been lost but none of them remembered their faces. Her soldiers began to panic.
"So this is what the book meant..." Mairon muttered recalling the passage that said that the Whale's fog was able to erase someone's existence.
"A terrible power..." Emilia was horrified. She had been warned by Mairon of that very power, but nothing could prepare her for witnessing it.
"That damned beast...we will not even be able to honour our dead..." Crusch said as she joined the two of them. "What are your losses?"
"Thankfully none, I can still feel all the spirits in our knights." Mairon replied calmly.
Crusch seemed to be surprised to hear that, but she supposed that an army of spirits in armoured knight bodies could move faster than humans.
"Do you have any wounded?" Emilia asked getting a nod in response. "I'll order my knights to escort them to the fort."
"You have my gratitude," Crush replied bowing her head a bit before looking at Mairon. "Say, do you have another of those powerful attacks. It might get us out of this situa-"
Suddenly Crusch brought her hand to her face as if in pain. At the same time several of her soldiers fell to the ground screaming in agony while clawing at their own faces.
Mairon quickly realized that this was another of the whale's powers. The Mist of Mental Contamination the book had called it. He could easily take it out of the equation but he had a better idea...
Emilia looked around panicked as she saw the various soldiers on the ground in agony, even Wilhelm and Ricardo were in visible pain. Suddenly she could feel Mairon's hand on her arm and she turned to face him, waving her hands hurriedly in a panic. "Mairon you must..."
"No Emilia, I will keep the Whale at bay, you have to help them," he immediately cut her off.
"B-But I don't have Puck...I can't help them all..." she muttered, downcast and lacking confidence.
"Use the incantation I taught you and remember what I told you in the tent..." At that Mairon left her side and placed himself in front of the formation scanning the fog for the whale.
Emilia felt helpless as her ears were filled with the screams of her comrades. She felt helpless. Mairon was now alone against that monstrous beast while she could only see despair around her...but then she saw something else.
It was no star, the stars in the firmament above were cloaked in the whale's fog, but it shone nonetheless. Despite the dire situation they were in, her ring shone like it never had before. She felt herself almost moved to tears by it as she brought it to her heart and then began to chant...
"Menno o nin na hon i eliad annen hain; hon hain o-ngurth." She chanted. "Menno o nin na hon i eliad annen hain; hon hain o-ngurth."
Unbeknownst to her, her whole body began to glow with ethereal light. The screams began to die down as the frenzied soldiers stared at her in awe, some even began to cry. The horrific screams were replaced by their children's laughter, the terrible visions into familiar sights that brought joy to their hearts. To their eyes, Emilia had become a being of light that had banished the darkness that had swallowed them.
Even the Duchess was left speechless. The tension, fear and nervousness were no longer in her heart.
Felix who was attending to the people at the fort stared at Emilia's figure that could be seen through the fog. Just like Mairon's voice before, her voice was reaching all across the battlefield taking away the pain of the soldiers with it.
Mairon was most pleased as Emilia followed his instructions and was putting her ring into use. His goal was achieved...everyone had seen the Silver Queen and now that vision will never leave their minds. There was only one thing left to do...Finish this fight.
Unknown to most, the fog was actually the whale's mana used to poison the minds of the unprepared...which meant that he could use it to his advantage.
He raised his first in the air as the wind once again began to blow strong sending the fog right into the One Ring which began to absorb the fog and convert its power into its own. The wind was so strong that it felt like a maelstrom was upon them but everything came to an halt when the fog disappeared revealing that now three whales were flying in the sky.
Anyone would have fallen into despair once again upon seeing that...but not his army. This army came prepared.
Crusch was absolutely astounded by how much spot-on Mairon had been until now, having predicted almost everything except for the beast's mental attack. She ordered her men to move to the base of the tree. Emilia and the Silver Knights did the same just as planned.
"Three whales...I can't believe that man was right..." Ricardo muttered seeing the whales flying in the sky focusing on the highest one. "I hope you brought a lot of those fancy arrows of yours...Because I have no idea how to bring down"
Emilia smiled as the sun began to rise in the sky. "There will be no need for that."
Loud roars echoed across the battlefield but they were not sounds the whale would make. Crusch looked over the horizon before her eyes widened in shock. Around fifty winged dragons flew above them, each one ridden by a Silver Knight. Leading the flying battalion was the Witch-king who immediately ordered his troops to engage the highest of the three whales.
The Silver Knights riding the dragons each carried a modified version of the greatbow that their fellows on the ground were using and they let loose arrow after arrow on the beast causing it to shriek in pain as more of its body was blown to pieces.
Murazor himself descended to the ground bringing a red four-winged dragon with him.
Mairon was pleased indeed. He walked to the dragon that Murazor had brought him, the beast in question immediately bowed to him and he mounted it. He took off and flew toward the tree before landing again, extending his arm dowards to Emilia. She understood what that meant and stood in her elk's stirrups before grabbing onto her mentor's hand. He pulled her up and made her sit behind him.
Taking off again, Mairon flew over Crusch's forces. "Wilhelm!" he shouted.
The old swordsman didn't waste any time, he immediately jumped in the air and landed on top of Mairon's dragon. With the last passenger picked up, Mairon began flying higher and higher.
Emilia could feel her heart almost coming out of her chest as they climbed up to the whale. It was her first time flying and despite the circumstances, she immediately fell in love with flying.
"Let's put an end to this," Mairon told the two, getting a nod from both.
He commanded his dragon to fly above the whale allowing Wilhelm to drop on its back and start cutting. Then he began to circle around the beast.
Emilia immediately began creating ice projectiles and jetting them at the whale with the help of her ring while Mairon pulled out his mace and began diving toward it, slashing at its body as he passed by.
At the same time, Murazor was using his sword to cut along the whale's side as he flew by, spreading the curse of his Morgul sword all over its body.
On the ground, Crusch and her forces kept the White Whale's clones at bay with the help of the Silver Knights.
Desperate, the whale tried to spread its fog once again but Mairon would not allow that. He used his ring to absorb all of the fog once again as the whale began to shriek in pain. Its screams had no effect on its flying foes and unfortunately for the whale, its grievous wounds were catching up with it. The Hakugei had lost most of its blood, it was missing so much flesh that some of its bones were exposed. It was exhausted and out of options but still it tried to fight for its life.
Mairon looked down at it and decided that the battle has been prolonged for far too long and so he dived toward the beast one last time raising his mace above his head and when he got close enough he struck it.
A massive shockwave was caused by the hit which was strong enough to break the whale's horn and to cause it to plummet down to the ground and crash.
Mairon picked Wilhelm in mid-air and together they descended to the now dying whale.
The copies vanished as the real Hakugei no longer had the power to sustain them and so Crusch and her forces gathered around the giant beast that for so long had haunted them.
Wilhelm looked at Mairon and Emilia with a silent question and both of them gestured him to go ahead. The Old man jumped on top of the whale's corpse and drew his sword.
"This is for Theresia..." he muttered as the memories of his beloved wife flashed before his eyes before he stabbed his sword through the whale's bloodshot eye and ripped it out letting out a warcry soon joined by everyone else...
The battle was over and the beast was slain...
