Remember!!!: Viaresu=Bierrez…and Viales/Vierres/Biaresu. XP (--Has given up on not confusing ppl…never seems to work.)
With the idea of using Bierrez to further his own purposes, Kharl resurrects the yôkai and sends him after Rath. However, Bierrez has some ideas of his own, and an unfulfilled task to complete… [First Bierrez/Cesia fic on Fanfiction.net!] UnfulfilledBy shinsetsu no kokoro
Chapter Three: Unrest
"One day." Boots clicked smartly along the polished floors of one of the Dragon Palace's many balconies as their owner paced restlessly up and down.
"One day." This time the words were said louder, almost shouted, bouncing and echoing across the smooth white corridors. Rath looked hopefully towards the doors, almost wishing that Alfeegi or Tetheus would come charging out to scold him. Anything to relieve the depressing boredom that was quickly settling over the Dragon Knight.
"One day back, and I'm already sick of this place…" Rath sighed, giving up his fruitless call for excitement. He slid down to lean against the balcony railing, the slatted shadows falling over his face. As Rath watched rays of sunlight streak across the immense Palace gardens, he fell into a half-doze, absentmindedly playing with a small bell in his hand. Just as he was really about to fall asleep, a flash of movement deep in the most shadowed depths of the garden caught his eye.
The Dragon Knights stood abruptly, all traces of boredom and sleep erased. The fiery flash of yôkai magic died down, but Rath continued staring at the spot. His fist clenched over the bell, and, with a burst of light, he was holding the Dragon Sword in one hand.
Gaze still fixed unmovingly on the garden and jaw clenched, Rath vaulted over the railing and landed silently on the grassy lawn below. He broke into a half-run, half-trot as he headed for the source of the disturbance. He recognized that magical signature—how could he not, when the memory of that encounter was so fresh in his mind?
Impossible, he told himself, but the evidence screamed otherwise even as Rath tried to fool himself into safer thoughts. The only yôkai who dared to, and could, break into the Dragon Palace's grounds…
Viaresu.
*****
The smoke blurred before Viaresu's eyes, making his vision swing in crazy, erratic, half-circles before coming to a sudden halt, revealing the lush landscaping of the Dragon Palace. Looking around, the yôkai scowled, realizing that he was quite a distance away from the main compounds. Everything seemed to be complicating his mission. It had taken a whole day to reach the Dragon Palace, because Viaresu was forced to duck out of sight every time one of Nadil's yôkai came his way—which happened too often for comfort.
Nadil seems to be making a lot of progress, the yôkai thought to himself. Demons everywhere, and the humans don't notice it at all. Dusis, Draqueen, the Dragon Palace…they'll all be overrun in no time.
But that isn't my problem, he reminded himself. Not my problem at all. Concentrate…
Time was of the essence: Kharl was probably already on his tail by now, given the huge burst of magic required to pass through the Dragon Lord's shield. He was lucky that none of the Dragons had spotted him; this time, he'd taken the trouble to place a powerful ward around himself. The magic he used couldn't be felt by any of the Dragons, not even the Lord. And if no one had seen the burst of magic…
A rustling of the foliage caught his attention, and Viaresu gritted his teeth in frustration. It seems I spoke too soon, he thought, cursing himself for not picking a spot that was not visible from the Palace. He ducked behind a rock, hoping beyond hope that whoever was here was simply taking a walk.
"Viaresu!!" Footsteps were headed his way now. "I know you're there!"
Well, he wasn't going to hide behind here like a frightened human. Straightening, the yôkai molded his face into a carefully emotionless expression and stepped out.
Rath…!
*****
Kharl stopped in the middle of his perusal of the large spellbook before him, turning his attention to a small circle roughly etched in the stone wall. He watched for a moment longer, and then a satisfied smile curled the alchemist's lips.
"Ah…" he whispered softly. "The hunt has begun."
*****
Of all the Dragons… Viaresu eyed the Knight suspiciously, one hand unsheathing the long dagger he had bought in Draqueen. Not one of their pathetic fighters, not even the Dragon Lord himself… His fingers latched onto the flimsy weapon, and he wished desperately to feel the familiar wood of his glaive. The dagger was weak and useless, against the other's magicked blade. …but him.
It really is him! Up to now, Rath had still harbored fantasies that he had been mistaken, that Viaresu could not be back. But the proof before his own eyes dismissed such delusions immediately. He's back. Rath's thoughts flickered to Cesia, and he panicked a little. For the same reasons as before? I won't let him have her! No yôkai will have her powers…
Rath gripped the Dragon Sword tighter, and he could feel himself calming down, his alertness heightening and a cool veil settling over his mind. His fingertips stroked the smooth metal lovingly. The sensation was pleasant and familiar: this was what he loved, and this was what he did best.
"Remember me, Viaresu? Remember? It's demon hunting time."
He remembered.
Rain lashing down, cold steel at his throat, Rath's smiling face. And his last request to his own killer: protect Cesia. Desperate, seizing on to the last, faintest hope, he had asked. But now, looking into the smirking face, the face of a hardened killer, Viaresu deeply regretted the last words of his previous life.
"You're going to fight me, youkai. And then you're going to die," Rath continued. Soft laughter pealed forth, joyous, carefree: a child's laugh in the body of a murdering beast. So much zealous anticipation at the thought of death was captured in that innocent sound. Rath was as ready to kill as ever.
Viaresu's resolve tightened at the thought. Killing is his obsession…and who knows when that bloodlust will drive his attentions to Cesia? She's in danger every minute she's with him. The adrenaline was tingling in his veins, but the yôkai knew beyond a doubt that he could not win. Not here, not now, not with this flimsy blade.
"I'm not here to fight you, Rath." He was angry now, and the words came out harsh and clear. "Don't play the fool. What could be accomplished by a battle now?"
Rath's eyes were on him like a cat with a mouse, following his every move.
"Your death," the Dragon Knight replied, feeling the Dragon Sword's power flowing through him. "…And Cesia's safety. You're back to get her, aren't you? I'll send you to the grave…again."
The Dragon Knight's sword bent closer, as if yearning to reach forth and taste blood.
"Cesia's safety?" Viaresu paused and gazed steadily at his opponent, eyes searching. "Is that what you really want, Rath…Iryuuzaa?"
Rath flinched involuntarily. "Don't call me that!"
"Why? Because you know what you did back then? How many elves, humans, demons, and Dragons died at your claws?" The yôkai's eyes flashed contempt. "You belong to no race. You're a monster, a killing machine. You were out of control, leaving mountains corpses in your wake…"
"That's not true anymore!" Rath shouted back. "That is…was…my past. Shut up now. You're dead."
Viaresu continued, heedless of the threat. "Why ignore me, Iryuuzaa? I am one of the few who witnessed your savagery firsthand and live still to tell about it." He took a cautious step forward, blade out, his voice low and contemptuous. "Look at you." Rath's hands flew suddenly to his own face, feeling the cheeks hot with battle-lust, tracing around blood-tinged eyes. "Your true blood still shows. How can you say you can protect Cesia? Will you not one day find her blood staining your hands?"
"I said, SHUT UP!" Rath was breathing heavily now, his sharp gasps harsh and loud in the silence. "Shut up," he repeated tersely. "Don't distract me, or I'll make sure you die slow and painful." His eyes began to flared up suddenly, dangerously, and the Dragon Sword was up and pointed at Viaresu's heart.
"You—" Viaresu stiffened suddenly, his sentence unfinished. Something was calling inside his head, ringing insistently, incessantly.
Rath…Rath…get Rath…
His hand moved jerkily forward of its own accord, the dagger lifted. He couldn't control his own arm any longer, nor his body, as the voice rose and throbbed. Viaresu could feel himself losing control as his own mind slipped away from him…
Just like last time…
Rath was staring at him now, sword lowered, his mouth moving in funny, blurred little waves. The Dragon Knight's face winked in and out mockingly from the darkness that now enclosed Viaresu's sight.
No…
He grasped at the last bits of willpower that were rapidly slipping away. No! His lips were numb, stiffened, but somehow he forced the words of the incantation out.
"Fresai…njen…gaodon krish…na…"
The teleportation spell wrapped him up, and the Dragon Palace became a hazy blur in the distance. Rath and the grounds disappeared from view, and Viaresu's last discernable sight was that of the Dragon Knight's face, shocked and angry, before he fell unconscious.
End Chapter Three