Fie let out a groan as she relaxed on Rean's bed. She had truly miscalculated when she made the choice to stay behind. As funny as it was in the moment it absolutely had not been the right decision.
Protecting Ymir was easy. Not only was it unlikely that the nobles would care enough to attack the town, but the precautions that Captain Claire and Toval had previously applied were quite effective deterrents. There was little for her to actually do.
Not that she slacked off and spent all her days taking naps, of course. Even if the village was as secure as it could be she still diligently did her best to protect Rean's home until he came back. Between her and Toval there was usually someone out on patrol during the day. Her time in Zephyr even afforded her a few insights that the RMP Captain and bracer lacked, which helped to strengthen the defenses even further.
But at the end of the day they were just deterrents against small forces like the ones that attacked Ymir in the first place. If the Noble Alliance really wanted to take this little village there was very little that the two of them could do. Even a unified Class VII with Valimar would be helpless against an actual army.
But none of that was the problem. Instead it was the fact that Lucia Schwarzer had taken a great interest in her now that she was completely alone in Ymir, catching her for one on one conversations and insisting the younger girl join her for meals. Normally Fie would just ignore her and go find a secluded spot to nap, but that wasn't really an option since it was Rean's mom and she didn't want to offend her.
Instead she decided to bear with it, fully expecting the Schwarzer to lose interest quickly enough. Why wouldn't she when Fie knew that she was the antithesis of what a noble should be. Her answers were brusque, her manners basically nonexistent, and the things she were capable of conversing about were topics that no noble would have any interest in.
And yet none of that seemed to deter Rean's mom at all. Instead she deluded herself into thinking that Fie's unique personality was a major part of the reason for Rean's improvement and decided to embrace it with open arms. Seriously it seemed like all she managed to accomplish was make Lucia even more interested in her!
Her thoughts were broken when she heard a loud gasp from the other end of the mansion. Since Toval was currently on patrol it was up to her to investigate and make sure nothing was amiss. With speed that only she could boast about she was off Rean's bed and across the hall in an instant.
Opening the door to the master bedroom she discovered that the gasp was actually a good thing as it came in response to the very open and focused eyes of one Teo Schwarzer. He still looked extremely tired and weak, but the baron being awake could only be seen as a good thing. Rean would be so happy when he returned.
Everything was well and good until the man's roaming eyes caught sight of her and widened in interest. Lucia too was now glancing at her with an ever widening smile. By the time Fie realized the peril she was now in, it was already too late.
Things had been bad enough with one parent taking an interest in her. Now she had to deal with both of them. As Rean's mom ushered her in to formally introduce her she sighed and accepted this terrible fate. She really didn't think things through when she screwed Rean over like that...
Rean kept one ear open to the chattering of his friends, but he himself did not participate in the ongoing conversation. His mind was too focused on the events that had just transpired inside the mysterious shrine that they had just finished exploring.
As expected, the shrine ended up being just like the one they encountered a few days ago. Sure the monsters were different and the puzzles too, but everything else from the atmosphere of the place to the guardians at the end, and even the large door that refused to open was identical to the shrine off the Garrelia Byroad.
And of course, the mysterious vision that only he seemed to see. This time, however, all that studying he did while back at Thors paid off as he had a pretty good idea of what he saw. A group of Nord warriors gathering under a single banner as they prepared to enter a war-torn Erebonia?
That was clearly a vision of Emperor Dreichels.
Assuming the previous one was the same that just left him with more questions. Why was he receiving visions of the Lionheart Emperor and nobody else? Did it have something to do with Valimar? Or perhaps it was the mysterious power inside of him?
And what was up with the shrines themselves? This was the second one they had encountered in just as many regions, and both in places where they should have been discovered before, but hadn't. They were clearly connected somehow, and their similarities with the Old Schoolhouse were too obvious to ignore. And the door at the end...
"Rean?" He was shaken from his thoughts as heard Alisa speak his name. Focusing his attention on the present he noticed all his friends looking at him in concern as it seemed he had fallen behind during his ruminations. Well, all except Celine who he was certain knew more than she let on about the topic.
"Sorry. It's... nothing. Just thinking about stuff." Briefly he contemplated telling them about the visions, but considering he had only told Fie about the previous one realized it would be a long and confusing explanation that would probably earn him an earful from the others about not telling them at the time.
His explanation clearly wasn't enough to satisfy the others, but before they could press him on it he got assistance from an unlikely ally. "Come on. We need to hurry up. We have a lot of ground to cover if we want to make it back in time."
He wasn't sure if Celine didn't want him speaking of what he had witnessed, or she was merely impatient. Could be both for all he knew. Still... "She's right. If there is going to be a battle today than that means our window for sneaking in will be very narrow."
Heeding his own advice he did his best to put the visions out of his mind for now. It wasn't healthy, but neither was thinking too much about it when they were about to head onto a battlefield. For now his focus would have to be entirely on sneaking into the tower and putting a stop to the communications jammer.
Fortunately it seemed that they had picked a good time, as enemy presence in the highlands was scarce enough that seven humans on four horses with one cat could cross the area undetected. Before long they reached the spot where Bugbear had launched the mortar attack from all those months ago. Thanks to Millium and Airgetlam they had a much easier time setting up the ladder and scaling the cliffs that would take them right to the tower.
Their infiltration was delayed briefly as they had to wait for a patrol airship passing overhead, presumably headed to the battle. But once that was gone the remaining security was so lax that they were able to leap down and make it to the tower without worry. With Claire and Millium taking point they managed to slip past what few guards were on lookout and made it into the tower themselves.
But that good luck could not last forever and upon entering the tower they ran headlong into a group of provincial army soldiers. Unlike them, however, the soldiers were not even remotely prepared for such an attack and were overwhelmed before they could form an effective defense. Although they had not been able to raise an alarm their lack of presence would be enough to give away Class VII's infiltration before long so they knew they had to hurry.
It wasn't long before they came across their first nasty surprise of the day, in the form of archaisms patrolling the structure. These were the same ones they first encountered at Garrelia Fortress in August and so Class VII had little difficulty in overcoming them, but it was still a grim reminder that their enemies were in cahoots with the terrorists that made things so difficult for them earlier that year. And plus, even if they weren't that dangerous to the skilled students nobody enjoyed having bullets and rockets flying at them!
Despite being a relatively small structure, navigating around proved to be troublesome as a few of the doors leading to the central stairway were locked up. But as both Claire and Millium had experience with places like this the two led them on an alternate route through some dark and narrow vent shafts. An unpleasant path, but one they handled without complaint.
Except for Alisa who complained enough for all of them as she found herself sorely regretting the skirt she had on.
Their good luck held up until they neared the top of the tower and found themselves caught in a nasty ambush courtesy of the Nidhoggr jaeger corp they fought before. Even though their team was a lot stronger now thanks to the additions of Gaius, Alisa, and Millium the fight looked to be a dangerous one as they were trapped on a narrow walkway with enemies on both sides of them. But the tides turned when Millium turned the narrow battlefield to their advantage as she hopped on Airgetlam and floated over the edge before beginning to laser the jaegers from where they couldn't reach her. With their formation in disarray Rean and Gaius exploited the opening and cleaved an opening through one half of the ambush, leaving the remaining jaegers as easy prey for the rest.
With the guards down the door to the roof lay in front of them. Naturally they could expect the strongest enemy resistance to be there, but as they emerged back into the bright Nord sun they encountered nothing. Warily, the group advanced up the final flight of steps and laid eyes on the communications jammer for the first time.
Rean wasn't sure what to expect, but it certainly wasn't this. The device was a massive cylindrical object, far bigger than a human. On its top was a group of large blades lazily rotating around the top. All in all it was something that would prove far harder to destroy than expected, so when Alisa instead suggested they disable it from a control panel he agreed to go with plan instead, much to Millium's chagrin. With the Reinford leading the way the group approached the device in order to disable it before the nobles could return and-
"I sincerely regret to inform you that won't be be possible."
All froze as an unwelcome voice made itself known. "I recognize that voice..." Elliot wasn't the only one either, as all of Class VII knew the boisterously laughing foppish man who appeared in front of the group in a dazzling light display. "Phantom Thief B? What're you doing here?"
"So you've finally revealed yourself." Claire stated as she strode forth with both hands fixed on her weapon. "I take it you're here as one of Ouroboros' Enforcers?"
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Icy Maiden. I'm flattered a woman as stunning as you is so remarkably well informed of yours truly." His tone made it impossible to tell if he was being sarcastic or not.
Turning away from the captain he addressed the rest of the group. "Good day to you all, fair students of Class VII. I need no introduction, I'm sure, but if I may kindly refresh your memories: I am Bleublanc, Enforcer No. X of Ouroboros, also known as the Phantom Thief. I've been longing to meet you all again during these months we've been apart. Our meeting in Ymir was lovely, but lamentably far too brief."
This was an unwelcome development. From what Rean had heard from Instructor Sara and Toval, each Enforcer was powerful. Very powerful. But he still believed that Class VII could prevail thanks to their numbers and teamwork. "What are you doing here, anyway? If you're planning on getting in our way, we're not backing down without a fight!"
His question caused the baron to laugh yet again. "Please, there's no need to be so aggressive. I live for the pursuit of beauty. And so it was that I cam to this distant land today. Obstructing you is but a secondary objective."
From the corner of his eye he witnessed Gaius still at his words. "What are you implying?"
"How could you not understand?" Bleublanc asked in confusion. "Look around you. This land is rife with the exquisite scent of nature, as well as home to an abundance of life... but once the flames of war sweep these highlands, all of what we see will be lost in mere moments. And the one thing that could make it all the more breathtaking is the moment where it is robbed of its own beauty. What other reason would one such as myself have to come here other than to witness such a dazzling demise?"
This might have been the first time that Rean witnessed Gaius getting genuinely angry. "You son of a..." But considering how much the proud warrior loved his home, insane threats against it were as good a reason as any.
Since it was clear that this madman intended to impede them Rean opened his mouth to give the order to attack before the nobles returned- "Lord Bleublanc, that should be enough playing around." Unfortunately someone beat him to the punch, and it was another wholly unwelcome presence.
But he was the only one to recognize the small black-clad girl. "What's with that doll..."
"Huh...?" Not even Millium seemed to know her, despite their similarities.
"The Ashen Awakener and his supporters have been sighted. While currently doing so is not outlined as part of our objective, I think it may be best to capture them while we have the chance." She monotoned.
"Why, I couldn't agree more!" Bleublanc cheerfully replied. "And yet there are times when the prologue to a battle is sweeter than the finest of wines. Simply carrying out orders without taking the time to enjoy the opportunities they present seems rather a shame, don't you think?"
Clearly the young girl did not share in his eccentricities as her expression did not change at all. "I think not."
"Who is she?" Although Gaius was the one to ask, it was a question that all of his friends wanted to know.
And even though Rean didn't know the full answer, he knew enough. "She's the one who kidnapped Elise and Princess Alfin. She was acting on orders from Vita, but she was the one who did it while using that black doll of hers."
"A little thing like her did all that?" Alisa asked, shocked. "And that doll looks just like Airgetlam, doesn't it?" The others seemed just as surprised, although Millium had an unnaturally thoughtful expression on her face.
"Tell us. Just who are you? Are you with the society?! And what did you do with Elise and Princess Alfin?!"
Not even he bombarding the black-clad girl with questions caused her expression to shift. "The society? ...I presume you are referring to Ouroboros. Negative. I do not belong to that organization."
"It's as she says. Sadly, she is not among our numbers." Bleublanc added in support. "I wouldn't go so far as to deny that she has any relation to us at all... but at the present, think of her as a delightful little someone cooperating with the Noble Alliance, much like ourselves."
"We don't have time to waste with idle chatter. I believe this discussion has gone on for long enough." That was odd to Rean as it felt like Class VII were the ones on a time limit. Perhaps she just did not care for the banter? "My name is Altina Orion. My codename is Black Rabbit. And this is Claiomh Solais." And yet she still took the time to introduce herself, with her combat shell proving its similarities to Airgetlam by also beeping in seeming acknowledgment. "Commencing apprehension of targets."
"Black Rabbit? And her name's Orion, too..." The similarities to Millium were stark indeed.
Speaking of, their own White Rabbit seemed to understand this, but if anything that just made her even more fired up. "You're just itchin' for a fight, aren'cha? C'mon, Lammy! I say we give her what she wants!"
The enforcer laughed heartily. "How wonderful! A contest of strength between black and white!" Pausing, he withdrew his own weapon: An orbal staff. "Ready yourselves' Class VII! When last we met, you tasted of bitter, unripened fruit. Allow me to sample how much you've matured since!"
With that the time for words was over and the Ouroboros agent and whatever Altina was moved to attack. None of them were at all surprised when Millium immediately took off to engage her black counterpart. Rean was about to direct his friends to battle when he sensed something approaching from the behind. Mechanical noises native to archaisms. Damn. There goes their numerical advantage.
Gaius too heard the enemy reinforcements. "Don't worry, Rean. we'll handle it." By 'we' he was referring to Elliot and Machias who were by his side. Directing his two friends, the Nord warrior fell back to intercept the threat.
"Keep an eye on Millium!" Rean ordered Alisa as he drew his tachi and prepared to engage Bleublanc, with Claire at his side.
"Understood!" The archer moved off to assist her enigmatic classmate as the two dolls were busy firing lasers at each other.
Their prior encounters had left Rean wary of the mysterious thief, but all he seemed interested in doing was throwing a few knives at the swordsman as he began to approach, two of which he dodged and the last he deflected with his blade. The enforcer was prevented from taking any further action as Claire began suppressing him with pinpoint fire from her gun.
With that opening Rean shifted into the fourth form and unleashed an Autumn Leaf Cutter to get behind the magician, but was frustrated when not only did Bleublanc manage to somehow block all his slashes with his staff, but also teleported a fair distance away, rendering his efforts moot. Undeterred, he launched an Arc Slash at his opponent, but with a flourish and a laugh the enforcer easily avoided it.
With a wave of his staff the sky darkened and an unnatural red rain fell upon the battlefield. The crimson droplets didn't hurt that much, but the swordsman felt his body becoming slow and sluggish under the storm. After a few seconds the rain vanished as if it had never been there. An illusion, perhaps? Despite that, the damaging effects seemed to linger.
Even though he was slowed, Claire somehow seemed to have resisted the worst of the effects and was already on the move. Appearing behind their foe she fired at his unprotected back, but once again the thief teleported a safe distance away from the two before again throwing knives at the pair.
"Hmm..." Despite the dangerous situation Captain Claire appeared thoughtful. Although she didn't speak anything further, he gleaned her intentions from their shared link: She wanted him to attack and force Bleublanc to teleport again.
Trusting in the experienced officer he did just that, swapping over to the second stance and launching his body forward with a gale. Although he was still feeling sluggish from that earlier attack it was still a great speed and he was upon the so-called baron in a second. Although his first attack was avoided, the relentless swordsman simply turned and continued striking, this time from another angle. Again and again he continued, keeping his Gale active for as long as he could.
The efforts paid off when the enforcer seemed to stumble slightly after a tremor caused by Airgetlam and Claiomh Solais impacting each other. Seizing the opening, Rean once again darted forward and swung his tachi. This time he was successful as Bleublanc was forced to teleport away to a safe distance for a third time.
Or at least that had been his intent, as the spot he reappeared at was already surrounded by mirrors. It was hard to tell from behind the mask, but it certainly seemed that their opponent was surprised by the predicament he found himself in. That was before Claire finished the same attack he had seen in Ymir, causing a powerful round to ricochet repeatedly across the mirrors before impacting him square in the back.
All present stopped to witness the end result of their attack. It even managed to give Altina enough pause that was she was a fraction slow in reestablishing a defensive barrier, leading to Alisa scoring a glancing hit with a fire art, staggering the girl. With their enemies seemingly out of commission the group allowed themselves to relax slightly and catch their breaths.
And yet even as he knelt on the ground in apparent defeat Bleublanc seemed more amused than anything. "Marvelous. Your taste is so much sweeter than I was expecting. It looks as thought they don't intend to be taken without a fight, my lady." The entertained enforcer said to his partner.
"Raising threat level appropriately... The white doll fought more ably than the specifications I was informed of suggested as well."
"Ahaha. Really? Still... you're connected, too, aren't you?" What was Millium talking about? Unfortunately it seemed that Altina did not feel inclined to answer that cryptic question.
Perhaps that could be changed, but only after he got answers to more pressing questions. "So? Ready to start talking, Altina? Where are Elise and Princess Alfin? There better not be a scratch on them!"
Surprisingly she didn't seem disinclined to answer. "I don't know the answer to your question. I've yet to be informed of their whereabouts since I delivered them to Lord Rufus Albarea." Wait... what?
"Isn't that Jusis' brother?" Their feline companion asked aloud.
"He's been making quite the name for himself as the Noble Alliance's chief of staff." Bleublanc happily informed the group. "It was largely thanks to his skill that the Imperial Army's armored divisions have become split throughout the country. His sharp mind for politics has played no small part either."
"Tch..."
Once again assuming a combat stance Claire warily began approaching the duo. "Regardless, you two seem to know the answers to many questions we've had regarding matters within the alliance. And we plan on having you answer each and every one of them once we've seen our operation through."
"...? I don't understand."
Unlike Altina, the Enforcer seemingly did. But instead of being concerned by their threats, he once again chuckled. "How very pitiful. They don't seem to realize that we still hold the upper hand!" As the thief rose to his feet the group quickly rushed to stop him, but it was too late. "Aiguille! (Needles!)" What appeared to be a bunch of needles shot from his hand and towards the group. None of them hit anyone, and yet...
"Wh... What the...?!"
"I-I can't move a muscle...!"
Rean had heard of a technique like this before. "Is this Shadow Weaving...?" An ability to pin someones shadows, in this case with the needles he unleashed upon them.
"It is but one of many skills I possess." The enforcer agreed freely. "And now each and every one of you are caged birds, powerless to fight back."
"How could I have been so careless?" Claire muttered in dismay as she struggled in vain to escape.
As Altina moved forward to apprehend them, Bleublanc once again laughed. "But not to worry! We won't be whisking you away from this land just yet. I wouldn't want to deny you the chance to watch it burn."
The twisted man was either taunting them or genuinely thought he was providing them a service, but either way it was enough for Rean to renew his struggles. "This isn't over yet...!" But try as he might, it seemed impossible to escape from the invisible binds that restricted him.
At least, that was true with his normal strength. But that wasn't the only strength he had. To protect the land of Nord he willingly drew upon the dark power within himself. And even shadows gave way against that strength.
"Haha! Yes! Your mysterious power akin to the might of an ogre! What an honor it is to see it for myself!" Not even his failure to keep the swordsman pinned seemed to dampen Bleublanc's insane enthusiasm. "But even with such strength do you think you can stand against us alone?"
"Then it's a good thing he doesn't stand alone." Came a surprising, but familiar voice from above. Before anyone could react a series of wires fell from the skies, latched onto the many needles pinning him in place, and yanked them away.
Now free, everyone was able to turn to the new arrival. "How in the world...? Is that really you, Sharon!?"
As unbelievable as it seemed, Alisa was indeed correct. The mysterious maid of the Reinford family dropped down with grace befitting her station. But of course. I've come to collect you, my lady. And I'm relieved to see so many of your classmates are in good health."
"Hehehe... Hahahaha... HAHAHAHA!" Only Phantom Thief B could find humor in this situation. "Now here's a face I wasn't expecting to bump into on foreign soil! This too, must be the will of the Goddess... Nay, perhaps it would be more fitting to think it the guidance of our Grandmaster? It's been some time, Enforcer No. IX."
That was right. Thanks to all the commotion that occurred after, Rean had completely forgotten about that revelation on the final day at Trista. And he was sure he wasn't the only one. "Heehee. I'm afraid it's neither. I am a loyal servant of the Reinford family. What more reason do I need to come to Lady Alisa's aid?" But thankfully right now that didn't matter as the maid was clearly an ally.
"...Thank you, Sharon." Alisa especially looked very happy at this turn of events, although knowing the relationship the two shared Rean was sure she would have some unpleasant words for her maid later on.
"Ahhh... So your love and devotion is for the Reinford family now? What of your love for the Grandmaster?"
As tense as the situation was, the rest of Class VII plus their RMP ally couldn't help but listen intently for any useful information as the two enforcers conversed. "All I'm doing is prioritizing the Reinford family over my duties as a member of Ouroboros. Nothing more, nothing less."
"Haha. I see. I take it you have no intention of following the same path as Joshua or Renne?"
"That path was closed to me long ago." Even though her expression never changed Rean couldn't help but think Sharon's eyes looked a little sadder as she said that. "Still, if you intend to harm those I love in your pursuit of beauty... then I'll show not the slightest mercy in severing your ambitions."
Her words were quite intimidating, but as always Bleublanc seemed completely nonplussed. "I couldn't be more pleased to hear as much from the Severing Chains! Very well! Then I shall respond in kind with all that I-"
"What are you all doing down there?!" Came a booming voice from above. Turning around they discovered to their horror that the Alliance airship they witnessed leaving was now rapidly approaching their position. And behind it on the ground below a handful of soldats were also entering the area. "So you think that you can infiltrate our watchtower and get away with it, do you?! Stay right where you are! You're under arrest."
"This isn't good... We're completely surrounded."
"And we were so close to disabling that jammer, too!"
If there was anything positive about this current predicament, it was the fact that neither of their enigmatic foes appeared pleased by this turn of events. "It's time we retreat."
"What boorish fools..." Bleublanc muttered with a sigh, for the first time appearing unhappy at the turn of events. "Still, even if we were to leave, you have nowhere left to run."
"That's where you're wrong." Three soldats and an airship? Running might be out of the question, but that didn't mean they couldn't fight. And Rean knew that he could beat them, with some assistance, of course.
Tuning out the others he focused on the link he shared with his robotic partner. As expected, Valimar was ready to fight. "Heed my call... Valimar, the Ashen Knight!"
Unlike in Celdic, this time Valimar didn't need to fly all that far to reach their current position and within seconds his Divine Knight was hovering alongside the tower thanks to its thrusters.
"Ohhh... Such beauty!" It seemed that Bleublanc's good mood had returned despite the situation having turned back in Class VII's favor. Such a strange man.
Trusting in his connection to his Ashen Knight, Rean and Celine both confidently strode towards the edge of the tower. "We'll take care of that airship and the Soldats! I'll leave everything here to you guys!"
"Are you seriously gonna jump?"
"Stop! That's dange-"
But the swordsman and cat ignored those warnings as they leapt off from the top of the watchtower. A fall from such a staggering height would be instantly fatal, but that did not happen as they were teleported inside the cockpit before gravity could take them far.
Now safely entombed inside Valimar, Rean descended to the ground and took in his opponents. Two Drakkhens and a Spiegel. Already that was more dangerous than what he had fought at Garrelia. Add to that the dangerous supporting firepower from the airship that was already vectoring in on his position...
Even still, Rean was confident in Valimar's ability to defeat these opponents. The Drakkhens were basically no threat now that he had a sword, and the Spiegel - while clearly more dangerous - probably wasn't piloted by someone as skilled as Scarlet had been. And even if it was, the swordsman knew he was leaps and bounds better at controlling his Divine Knight now. The biggest wild card was that damned airship.
Drawing his blade he observed the two lesser soldats approach him first, while the Spiegel held itself back. One had a sword and the other a gun, with the latter setting itself up to provide supporting fire to the former. Even if Valimar's armor was thick he didn't want to subject himself to that fire unless necessary so he moved to intercept and-
"Watch out!" Trusting in Celine's warning Rean immediately took an evasive action. His quick instincts saved him a lot of pain as the airship filled his former position with powerful armor-piercing rounds as it passed overhead. "Thanks! Can you keep an eye on it for me?" One of the perks of having a second pair of eyes in the cockpit.
"Hmph, fine. But you owe me one." Celine, being her normal prickly self, naturally had to be difficult about it, but that was fine. Assuming they made it through this mess alright he was more than willing to go catch her something fresh from the river outside of Ymir.
With the airship covered Rean was free to focus on the two soldats. As he approached the sword-wielding machine he reached out with his ARCUS. His friends were a fair distance away and possibly still fighting the Ouroboros agent, but maybe- Yes! An open link! He was able to tell that it belonged to his Nord friend and without hesitation he formed the connection with Gaius.
He had been expecting the feeling of a gentle breeze that best described his close friend, so he was not at all prepared for this intense wild rage. Did Gaius always repress his anger like this or did the current situation in Nord just really irk him? Either way, drawing upon his anger seemed to fuel Valimar to even greater feats of strength, but at the same time it also seemed to be burning his mana even more rapidly. Not a bad trade-off for a fight like this where he needed to quickly dispatch his foes before the airship took him out.
With righteous fury powering his actions the two swordmechs engaged in close combat. After a single clash of blades it was obvious to all parties involved that Valimar was the superior combatant and the Drakkhen began backpedaling at an angle. Trying to keep close almost cost Rean as he realized at the last second that the Drakkhen's movements left him wide open to the gunner. Was the Spiegel directing their positioning?
Not willing to subject himself to that harassing fire the young noble tried to reposition himself to where the gunner couldn't hit him without risking a friendly fire incident, but both enemy machines moved in coordinated unison, foiling his plan.
Actually, it reminded him of a spar he had taken part of at the Old Schoolhouse what felt like a lifetime ago. Laura, having wanted to gain more experience in fighting multiple opponents at once, had requested that both he and Fie battle her at once. Thanks to their ARCUS links and months of experience fighting together the blue-haired swordmaiden had been getting steadily pushed back, but using a feint wholly unexpected of the proud warrior had faked an opening that nearly turned the tables on him when he tried to exploit it.
Seeking to imitate that battle the swordsman slowed his machine just a tiny bit, which created an opening for the rifle soldat to exploit. He winced when a round grazed Valimar's sword arm. Although it inflicted little real damage it still hurt, not unlike getting stung by a bee. But it was a necessary pain, as it made it all the more believable when he acted up the graze as a real injury by dropping his sword.
Exploiting the obvious opening the sword Drakkhen abandoned its position as it sought to land a powerful strike on the defenseless Divine Knight. With a victorious grin the Eight-Leaves practitioner seamlessly shifted into the unarmed stance, ducked under the wide swing, and counted with a swift one-two combo on his surprised opponent's head. Before the dazed enemy could recover he had already retrieved his fallen blade and struck a crippling slash to the machine's knee, knocking it over and removing it from the battle.
With the first enemy out of commission the enemy commander strode his Spiegel forward, obviously intending to participate himself. Unfortunate as the other Drakkhen was still in the fight, but at least it meant their coordination would suffer as it was unlikely he could command and fight at the same time.
He was just about to engage the new enemy when Celine's voice rang out. "It's coming! Watch out!" This time he was caught in the open and unable to fully dodge the gunship's strafing run, but at least he managed to raise his arms up in a block. Gritting his teeth he endured the barrage. After a painfully long second the bullets stopped and he allowed the now smoking Valimar to lower its guard. He was still combat worthy, but he did not want to risk another one of those.
He was unable to relax as the Spiegel was already on him, sword poised to strike. Even though he blocked that blow and the subsequent follow-up attack, he couldn't help but grimace. It was clear that not only was this machine more dangerous, but the pilot was more experienced too. Not on Scarlet's level, thankfully, but with the other Drakkhen already moving into position to resume firing he couldn't risk going on the offensive. Individually neither were a match for him, but it was hard to take action when they were working together.
And to make matters worse... "It's coming back around!" Celine warned the Awakener. Great. Now he would need to disengage if he wanted to avoid the airstrike. He just didn't have the armor needed to endure that attack-
Wait. Rean blinked as an idea came to mind. "Can you tell me when it's about to attack?"
"I'll try, but I'm no expert on human weapons, you know!"
This time Rean didn't stress the fact that he was now on the defensive, instead simply doing his best to parry and dodge. He needed to ensure the timing was right...
"Three seconds!"
For his plan to work he needed the airship to fire. Since there was the very real likelihood that it wouldn't do so if he were engaged in melee with the enemy commander the Chevalier, after ducking another swing, instead opted to shove off from his opponent, creating separation between the two.
"Two!"
With distance between the two he now found himself subjected to fire from the supporting machine, but that was fine. If it was just for a few seconds than those rounds were just a mild inconvenience and he no longer needed to pretend otherwise. To keep the Spiegel at bay he took a rather reckless action and threw his sword at it. Although the commander blocked it, it was enough to halt his momentum.
"It's gonna-!" He too observed the glowing of the airship's cannons as they were tracking him and about to fire. Surprising all present the Divine Knight darted forward and ran straight into the Spiegel. Before the confused commander could respond Rean caught the machine in a grapple and with Valimar's superior strength spun them both around so that they were facing the airship. And it was now too late for the flying machine to abort its attack.
Once again Valimar shook under repeated shell impacts, which was further compounded by the remaining Drakkhen's shots, but it was nothing compared to what the Spiegel endured. Reactive armor that held so easily against Class VII's best efforts crumpled like paper under the barrage. For a brief horrified moment Rean worried that he had just murdered the enemy pilot as the command mech collapsed to the ground like a marionette without strings, but much to his relief the shattered cockpit began to open, revealing the pilot.
That just left the one remaining enemy. His sword was gone, but that mattered little as the Spiegel's blade was right there. Grasping it he was pleased to note that it was heavier, sharper, and better balanced than the one he had been using before. Still no tachi, but he had no qualms with liberating it from the nobles to upgrade Valimar.
Without support the final mech had no shot as Rean quickly closed the distance and ended the battle with two sword strikes: The first slicing through the large gun and the second caving in the chest of his enemy, rendering his machine inoperable. He thought the airship might attack him again, but it instead appeared to be landing in order to pick up the enemy pilots. He briefly contemplated going after it, but ultimately decided against it. There was no place left in the highlands for them to retreat to. Not to mention he had something more important to attend to.
He needn't have worried, however, as by the time he and Valimar had flown back up to the top of the tower, their two enemies were long gone and Alisa was hard at work disabling the jammer. With he and Valimar keeping watch Class VII was able to complete their mission without further incident, much to his relief. It had been a hard battle, but hopefully peace could now begin to return to the Nord Highlands.
With everything completed the victorious group made their return to the Nord Settlement. There they met up not only with Lacan, Gwyn, and the rest of the Nord people, but also General Vander and his aide. From him they learned that the Nobles – having lost both their base and their trump card – had abandoned the highlands in its entirety. The situation still wasn't perfect since they were still besieging Zender from the other side, but the general seemed confident that they would be able to hold out now that they were no longer at such a disadvantage.
Thanks to Sharon they now had a better understanding of what was going on at the other side of the gate. The maid had been with Irina Reinford, but left upon learning of Alisa's whereabouts. Roer – including the Reinford Group and Roer Institute of Technology – had been completely occupied by the Nortia Provincial Army. Not only did they control the city, but according to Gwyn they had also seemingly enlisted the services of Professor Schmidt, as the Epstein disciple was the only one who could conceivably come up with all the new technology the Noble Alliance was using.
That was disconcerting, but none of that was Class VII's problem. Their objectives had been to reunite with each other and bring peace back to the highlands, both of which had been accomplished. After some teary farewells with Gaius's family and the rest of the settlement, the group, now including Sharon, made their way to Valimar. With one final flash of light the team made their return to Erebonia.
