Zero: Oh yeah. Ph34r my boredom.
Xyrho: And thus, another catastrophe is born…
Lynas: The apocalypse is coming…
Zero: I'm gonna make the impossible possible. I'm making an EcthelxMalice fic. In order to do this, I made Ecthel a bit OOC, sorry about that.
Lynas: Some help for you readers. Parentheses are wrapped around thoughts, in case you were wondering.
Xyrho: And so, let the one-shot begin.
Zero: If these are any grammar and/or spelling errors, I'm sorry. I feel like I'm forgetting something…
Xyrho: Ah! You used the original Japanese names!
Zero: Oh yeah! Here's a small chart to recognize them. I might be missing some. If I am, sorry.
Ecthel is Ein
Fiaa is Fia
Lyuri is Lina
Rothe is Rose
Excellion is Einherjar
Setora is Seth-Rah
Milfeulle is Gateau
Zero: I would've used Skadi's Japanese name, but I forgot what it was. Oh well…
Lynas: Are you finally done?
Zero: No. One more thing. I don't own Riviera!
Lynas: How about now?
Xyrho: Yes. He's finished. Let's begin the fic.
Fateful Encounter
"Where…where am I?" Ecthel awoke, looking around. He was on a sandy beach, with different types of plants behind him, "A beach? I don't remember being at a beach before." Stuck in the sand, was his trustworthy Divine Sword Excellion. He smiled, as he pulled the yellow blade out of the ground, and gave it a few test slashes. After enough satisfaction, Ecthel made it disappear, as it will be prepared to be called back by the voice of its master soon again.
"Fiaa! Lyuri!" Ecthel shouted to the left, "Serene! Cierra!" he shouted to the right, but no answers, "Rothe! Rothe! Anyone there!" He called the name of his Familiar, but no one appeared.
As the waves crashed to the shore, a small figure could be seen out in the distance. Ecthel quickly ran forward, and squinted very hard as he looked out yonder in the ocean. He saw blue and black, "Serene! Serene, is that you!"
Hitting Ecthel lightly in the shin, was a large, blue halberd-like weapon. He knelt down, and examined it for a second, then looked back out at the person in sea, "It couldn't be…! Is it her…!"
"Nyan…" Rothe's eyes slowly opened, as she looked around. It was Elendia. Yes! They did it! They escaped the Maze of Shadows before it collapsed! They defeated Setora, and saved Riviera! She looked at the green-haired girl still asleep on a large tree stump. She was alive. The sacrifice needed to give birth to Setora was Fiaa, but it seemed like she was okay. Looking around, she saw Lyuri, Serene, Cierra, and…and…no!
She quickly jumped onto Fiaa, shaking her with her small paws, "Nyan! Nya nyan!(Come on! Wake up!)"
"Hmm?" Fiaa slowly began to wake up, as did the other three who heard Rothe's voice, "Rothe? Ah! We're back in Elendia!"
"Yes!" Serene pumped a fist into the air, "We beat Setora! Haha!"
"Yay! Riviera's safe again!" Lyuri bounced up and down with joy.
"What a relief. For a moment, I doubted we would return." Cierra smiled, then look at Rothe move around in a craze, "What's wrong, Milfeulle?"
"Ecthel! Ecthel's not here!" Fiaa started panicking, looking in every direction.
"Nyan nya nya nya nyan!(About time you caught on!)" Rothe shouted.
"Ecthel? Where'd he go!" Serene began looking as well.
"Ecthel! Where are you!" Lyuri shouted, hoping for a reply.
"Where could Ecthel be…?" Cierra was the only one trying to think.
"I don't think he's here!" Fiaa held a hand to her face, which was full of worry, "What if he didn't make it! No! I won't believe it! I must find Ecthel!"
"We all feel the same way." Serene nodded, "Let's go find him right now!"
"Actually…why don't we tell the villagers first. Maybe they can help us." Cierra suggested.
"O…okay…" Fiaa closed her eyes, "Oh Ecthel…" she prayed in a whisper, "Please be alright…"
"Katon-no-Jutsu!" Ecthel shouted, shooting flames from the Fire Orb in his hands at dry wood, immediately setting it alit.
He was currently taking shelter in a small cave of which he fortunately found. After checking out the area a bit more, it was safe to say that he was stranded on an island, with no way off at the moment.
He sighed, "I'd be able to fly off of here if I still had my wings, but…" He shook his head, "No…my wings…I have my wings. It is Excellion. That is my wings. I have no regrets with my choice for a sacrifice."
"Ugh…"
Taking hold of the weapon he recently retrieved, Ecthel waited for the person he saved to wake up. As her eyes opened, she gave a small cough, before looking around, "Where is this? I thought I…" Her eyes linked with Ecthel's, as she gave a shriek, "You!" She jumped to an upright position, ready to slash at him with her… "Where…!" She noticed Skadi in Ecthel's hands, and calmed down, "Why…?" She saw that he wasn't looking at her, but at a distant wall, "Hey! Look at me when I'm talking to you!"
"Um…can you please cover yourself up with your cape again, please!" He replied with a reddened face.
"What are you…?" Malice looked down, as she that she was completely naked, save for some blue strips wrapped around her body, but none covering her private areas. She gave the most girlish scream that Ecthel had ever heard, before diving to the ground, and covering her front side with the cape she usually wore, "Don't tell me you…!"
"No!" Ecthel looked back, face even redder than before, "I didn't do anything! I…let me explain!"
"A…alright…" Malice was in no position to oppose him anyways, seeing that he had her only weapon, but she still glared daggers at the young man.
"Look, I found you washing up to the shore, so I decided to save you." He started, "To tell you honestly, I didn't want to at first."
"That's correct! You shouldn't have! I could kill you right now!" she lied at the end.
"I know, but…" he looked at her, "You were being used by Hector, just like Ledah. I can understand that."
"Heh!" She smirked, "I took your friends as well! You have no right to save me!"
"You killed Ledah…you took away Fiaa as a sacrifice, but…those actions…" Ecthel looked at her with the kindest eyes she's seen since she was a child, "There must be a reason behind them, shouldn't there?"
"I don't need your sympathy!" she shouted in hatred, "You are my enemy! I should kill you right now!"
"Then do it." Ecthel replied quickly. He threw Skadi at her, of which planted itself upright in the cold stone floor. (Ledah would say something like that, right?)
"My pleasure!" forgetting her nudity, she jumped up, ripping her Diviner out of the ground, already pulling it over her head, ready to slash downward.
Ecthel did nothing. He didn't call for Excellion. He didn't use the Fire Orb currently in his grasp to defend himself. He just looked at her, also forgetting her nude self.
Malice stopped halfway. Why? She wanted to kill him. She completely despised him! But why…why couldn't she continue the attack? It was those eyes. She's seen eyes of greed, eyes of hatred, eyes of fright, but never these. Perhaps in the past, but…she had already discarded her past, and her future as well. This didn't make any sense. She dropped the axe, which landed in a thud behind her.
"Can we talk now?" Ecthel looked away once again, "Uh…well…I mean when you put your clothes back on." He pointed at her garments hanging over the fire he made, "They should be dry by now."
Without a reply, Malice went over to her clothes with a 'humph', as Ecthel sat on the side, wondering what he should do in this strange situation.
"Let's go check Yggdrasil. Maybe we he's there, since it's kinda like the opposite of the Maze of Shadows." Serene suggested.
"I guess it's better than nothing…" Fiaa sighed, "And what about the villagers?"
"Soala is working on a spell to try and find him with Claude's help. Everyone else is either heading out for a search, or praying for his safety." Cierra replied calmly.
Rothe jumped into Fiaa's arms, as she was also saddened by her missing master.
"Rothe probably misses Ecthel the most." Lyuri pouted, "She's been with him the longest, right?"
"Come." Fiaa headed off to the large tree, "Let's go find him. I…I won't rest until he's safe, here in Elendia!"
"What!" Malice shouted, "Don't lie to me!"
"But I'm saying the truth." Ecthel sighed, "Hector just used you. You were a puppet to him."
"You lie! He helped me! I became a Grim Angel because of him!"
"You…became a Grim Angel?" he wondered, "Grim Angels are born as Grim Angels, aren't they?" he took a closer look at her wings, "Come to think of it, those don't really look like my old wings, nor Ledah's wings at all."
"And what of Master Hector?" ignoring his last comment, "Was he not supposed to make a utopia for himself?"
"We defeated him in battle. When he became Setora, we beat him. Me and my friends…except the one you took away." Ecthel gave a small chuckle, "To tell you the truth, I didn't expect you to throw away your life for Hector at all."
"I…have already lost my future, and abandoned my past. It was because of him that I was allowed to become a Grim Angel. I owe my life to him. For a life with a meaning…that was all I wanted. When I lost my mother, I didn't know what to do anymore. I prayed to God over and over again, but I received no sign of an answer. It was then that I realized that it was futile, and that God had betrayed me. I wanted revenge, so I sided with Master Hector to create his utopia. That was the purpose of my life, and meeting Master Hector showed it to me."
"What happened?" Ecthel asked with concern, "It sounds like you've been through really tough times."
Realizing she basically told half her life's story to him, she panicked slightly, "It's none of your business! And don't you dare speak of this to anyone!"
"It won't really matter." Ecthel grabbed a few dry twigs from the side, adding it to the fire, "Since…everyone thinks you're dead anyways."
"Yes…Ah! You must tell me!" Malice demanded, "How am I here! How am I talking to you! I have already thrown my life away for Master Hector, but I am still here! I don't understand this at all!"
"It might be of Ursula's power." Ecthel thought for a bit, "Before I awoke, she told me she would revive Fiaa with the last of her power. Oh, Fiaa's the girl who you took away."
"Of course! Even I would know that! What do you think I am? An idiot?"
"Uh…no! Of course not!" Ecthel laughed nervously, "Well, on with the story. Maybe when she revived Fiaa, Ursula revived you, as well."
"So I was accidentally brought back to life, is that it?" Malice asked.
"Accidentally…? Erm…um…I don't know, but…"
"That must be it. Why else would the protector of this land bring me back from the dead? But why did she! With Master Hector gone, I once again have no purpose of living. That bitch!" Malice roared, slamming a fist into the ground, opening new wounds, as blood started flowing from her knuckles.
"Hey…" Ecthel sighed, "Don't do that. You're just hurting yourself. We may be from Asgard, but that doesn't mean that we're super strong or anything…"
Yeah, it hurt. Malice sort of regretted doing that. Her body was already in pain from the past slashes from Excellion, and now she just made another wound.
"Here, let me see your hand." Ecthel began ripping part of his shirt off, "I'll bandage that up for you."
"I don't need your help!" she glared at him once again, but winced at the pain from her hand, "How pathetic. I'm flinching from such a small wound."
"That why I told you to let me see your hand." Ecthel sighed, taking out a flask of a Potion, "I can still use this eight more times. Good." He looked at Malice, waiting for her reply.
She gave a quick scowl, but shot her hand out at him, "Do it fast! I don't want you touching me too long!"
Ecthel poured some of the potion onto the wound, then wrapped the piece of cloth he just ripped around her hand, "There, that should be good. I'm glad I listened to all of Fiaa's lessons about potions and elixirs, or else I'd never be able to use them right."
Taking back her hand quickly, Malice leaned against a wall, "My body…you bandaged me up there as well, didn't you?"
"Yeah, but…I didn't do anything bad! I swear!" His face turned a light shade of red.
"I see…" She closed her eyes, trying to force out the next two words that left her lips, "Th…thank you…"
"Huh?" Ecthel blinked blankly, "Did you just say…?"
"I won't say it again, so don't get your hopes up." She stared at him fiercely.
"Right, of course." Then, a small rumble was heard. Ecthel quickly had a hand out, ready to summon Excellion, "What was that? A demon? Is a demon attacking?"
"Yes, a very large demon." Malice said sarcastically, blushing a bit.
Ecthel noticed, them laughed, "Oh! That was your stomach, wasn't it?"
"It's not funny, you fool!" She shouted at him.
He reached into his inventory, taking out a small, round fruit known as an applecot, "Here, take it. It's really good. The sweetness is almost perfectly balanced out."
"I don't need anything from you! I'm fine on my own!"
"You say that, but I don't think your belly agrees with you."
Another low grumble was heard, as it echoed in the cave, "Mind your own business…" she looked in the other direction.
"Or…do you dislike applecots? If that's the case, I also have another one of Lyuri's favorites…" He pulled out a crescent-shaped fruit, "A banango!"
"No!"
"Then steak? Cierra's cooking is really good."
"That's not the point!" she shouted, still looking in the other way. He was driving her nuts! She couldn't look at him and stay sane at the same time!
"I know, I know. Sorry. I was just trying to cheer you up." He apologized.
"You…! Wait…what…?" She slowly turned around.
"Even though you act tough all the time, something tells me it's just to hide something important. Something you don't want to reveal." He took a bite out of a banango, "I learned from my friends that, when I'm feeling bad, I should tell the problem to my friends, and not carry the burden myself. That way, I'll feel better."
"Humph, I don't have, nor need, any friends. I can carry my burdens easily by myself." She looked away from him again.
"Then I'll be your first one." Ecthel smiled.
"What?"
"I'll be your first friend. How does that sound?"
"What!"
"I don't know why, but after talking to you, I feel like you're not as bad as people think you are. You're just misunderstood."
"Ecthel…!"
"Ah!" He smiled brightly, "You said my name!"
"Of course I did! It is your name, after all!" She shouted in reply. (Why am I even here! I could leave right this moment! I have Skadi with me, and that's all that's needed.)
"Here." Ecthel took her hand, and placed an applecot in it, "At least eat this. I don't want you starving."
She didn't pull her arm back, or yell anything back, but nodded in acknowledgement, finally admitting defeat. She took the fruit into her mouth, and took a bite, "It's…good…"
"That's good to hear." He relaxed against the rock wall of the cave, looking upwards, "I wonder what the girls are doing? Looking for me? Heh, either that, or they think I'm coming back soon, and are preparing a feast." He laughed slightly.
"Why do you care about them so much? They are only sprites, and they are not immortal. They can fall easily."
"I just do." Ecthel smiled at her, "My friends are important to me. I don't care if they're sprites, or if they're weak. It's about how I feel when I'm around them. When I'm with my friends, I feel more confident in myself. They give me the strength I need to win, to be strong. It's because of my friends that I was able to defeat Setora. If it weren't for them, I don't think I would have prevailed at all."
"That's absurd."
"No, it isn't. Even Hector realized this when he was defeated as Setora, but it was already too late for him."
"Impossible!" Malice shouted, "Emotions can never help you win a battle! They would only get in the way!"
"That's not true. If you're fighting for a reason, you try even harder than when you're fighting for no reason at all. For example, you fought us because you wished for Hector's ambition to be fulfilled, right?"
She nodded silently.
"Well, it's the same with us. We want to protect Riviera so much that we do even better than normal. To protect our friends, that is what gives us strength."
"To fight to protect…"
"Yeah. If you have someone or something to protect, you'll always think about that one thing, and no matter what happens to you, you'll want to protect it, but Hector…he lost because he thought of no one but himself. To even use people for his own desires…it's too much."
"You said he just used me…how do you know?"
"He said it himself. He said you didn't sacrifice anything."
Malice gasped.
"You're Diviner, Skadi, is a fake. He said that to us. That's when I realized that you were just like Ledah, who was treated as a tool. I regretted fighting you afterwards."
"It…it can't be…!" She shook her head, "No! Skadi is real! That is a fact!"
Ecthel took hold of the blue axe, "I can't feel anything. When I held Ledah's Lorelei, I felt warmth similar to Excellion's, but when I hold Skadi, I can't feel anything at all. It's like any other weapon I carry around. There's no soul in it. The soul of what the bearer sacrificed, there's none."
"No…I am a Grim Angel!" She screamed.
"Malice! Hey, Malice, calm down!" Ecthel was worried, even though this was probably normal for her.
Malice dropped the applecot, as she gripped her head, "Then what have I accomplished! Nothing! I've accomplished nothing! I did not become a Grim Angel, I didn't get revenge on Asgard, I didn't get anything done!"
"Malice!" Ecthel shook her body, trying to snap her out of it.
"I would've been better off dead! I would have died for a meaning, even if it was a foolish one! But now, there's no purpose for me to die, or even live!"
"Malice. There's one reason, and it's for you to live." Ecthel spoke out through her yelling, "As your friend, as long as you're alive, I'll protect you!"
"What…?"
"I said I'm your friend now, right?" He smiled, "Remember what I said earlier. I fight to protect, and I always protect my friends!"
"You…?"
"GRAH!" A roar was heard outside, when the sun was about to set.
"I'm pretty sure that wasn't your stomach." Ecthel joked, Excellion already summoned in his right hand, "Stay here! I'll take it out!"
"No, I'm coming too." She stood up, "I'm getting bored."
"Okay. Let's do it together!" Ecthel nodded.
"Because…it's better to fight to protect…right?" Malice revealed a smile. A smile which made Ecthel gasp in surprise, a smile which was as bright as the sun, a true smile, as one would say.
"I'm sorry…Fiaa, I failed…" Ecthel gave a smile, right before his body went limp, falling to the ground.
"Ecthel? Ecthel!" Fiaa's eyes were watering. She ran over to the boy's body in the dark surroundings, but no matter how far she ran, how long she ran, she didn't get any distance at all, "Ecthel! Ecthel!"
"Ecthel!" Fiaa's eyelids popped open, as she gasped for air.
"Fiaa!" Lyuri looked worryingly at her, "Fiaa, are you okay? Did you have a nightmare?"
"I'm…I'm fine, Lyuri." She looked around, and saw that she was in her bed, "Weren't we in Yggdrasil? What happened?"
"You were pretty lame." Serene answered, eating some bread, "You fainted along the way."
"We told you to rest, remember?" Lyuri reminded her, "But you said you had to find Ecthel first, and that's about when you went out cold."
"I…I see…and you all brought me back, didn't you? I'm sorry, it's just that, I'm so worried about Ecthel…" and with the recent dream, her worries didn't get any better, "By the way, where's Cierra?"
"She and Soala are finishing up the spell to find Ecthel. They said they're almost done, and that we should wait." Serene replied, finishing up the bread, "Let's listen to them. I'm sure they'll come up with something great."
"Yes, of course. As long as we can find Ecthel!" Fiaa nodded.
"Whoa!" Ecthel jumped aside from an ice pillar popping out from the ground.
"Skadi!" Malice slashed forward, but was repelled easily, "It can't be! Is this demon resistant to ice attacks?"
"No…all I have is Excellion and this Fire Orb, and I can only use the orb one more time!"
The demon was humungous. It stood at least 10 meters tall, and was ice-based, making it so all of Malice's attacks were either ineffective or extremely weak. It was the shape of an ape, but had blue fur.
"Trie!" Malice shouted, unleashing a flurry of combos, of which all barely scathed the beast.
"I can't risk using my kokushi attack yet." Ecthel said to himself, dodging an ice blade flying at him, "If I use it, I won't be able to use it again until another hour or so, and that would be too late. If only I could use Mimic Ray or Flame Slash!" As a fist came flying down, Ecthel dodged it, then jumped onto the arm, using it as a runway for him to reach the head, as he did a quick 3-hit combo, them backed off, watching the demon somewhat squirm a bit.
"Trie!" Malice repeated, attacking with her combo again, but to no avail.
"Ha! Toria! Raa!" Ecthel was doing the most damage, considering that his weapon was doing normal damage to it, even so, the enemy had tons of HP, and with only Skadi and an Excellion that would only be able to use the kokushi attack once, both fighters wouldn't have enough stamina to defeat the enemy in time.
Malice already figured that out, but continued to strike blow after blow, and when her power was filled, she would use Trie, then go back to normal attacks. It was a futile attempt, but still, it was better than nothing.
Ecthel kept slashing normally, while dodging attacks, doing some damage, but not too much.
Both of them landed back on the ground from a previous assault, gasping for air. It was then that the ground shook, and a thought occurred to them both. A thought they forgot. The thought was of the fact that the enemy could charge up energy as well, and could use a powerful Break Out attack.
"No!" Ecthel looked around, "If the Break Out is this powerful, we're finished!"
Malice called back Skadi, as she grabbed Ecthel from under his arms, "Urgh!" She flapped her wings, bringing both of them into the air at a slow rate.
"Malice! No! You're not fit to fly yet!" Ecthel warned her.
"Quiet!" She shouted back, trying to ignore the pain coursing through her body, flapping her wings repeatedly.
The Break Out was complete. Ice pillars broke through the ground everywhere, rising up to the two angels.
"Damn…!" Malice let go of Ecthel, as she flipped so her back faced the ground. Placing her feet on Ecthel's back, she pushed him upwards, sending both of them into opposite directions at quick speeds, "Guah!" She cried out, feeling the pillars crush into her.
"Malice!" Ecthel shouted, seeing the ice return to the earth, as he safely landed back on the ground. He ran up to her, "Malice! Are you alright!"
"Ec…Ecthel…" She managed to speak out, "Don't…you dare…underestimate me…again…got that?"
"Malice…"
Skadi appeared next to her, "Use it…remember our first encounter…when the Diviners resonated…use that power, and…" her eyes closed, as her body went limp.
"Malice!" Ecthel cried out, but sighed when he heard quiet snoring coming from her.
With both Diviners in his hands, Ecthel went in front of the beast. Both of the Diviners started glowing, "First the resonation…then…!" He threw Skadi into the beast's chest, of which it planted in easily in its glowing form, "This is the will of the gods!" Ecthel shouted, "Disaresta!"
Skadi exploded into a burst of light, as each slash of Excellion's kokushi attack was at least five times more powerful than normal.
With the final attack, green feathers fell from the heavens, as Ecthel landed back to the ground, demon destroyed.
"Eh!" Fiaa was shocked, "You didn't do a locating spell!"
"Calm down, Fiaa." Cierra spoke out, "While we were trying to do one, we accidentally did a future sight spell instead."
"It's mostly my fault." Soala sighed, "I'm sorry."
"Don't worry, it's fine." Cierra smiled, "The spell we did said that Ecthel will be returning tomorrow, and I doubt it's wrong."
"Really?" Fiaa smiled, "Truly?"
"Yes! He'll be here tomorrow afternoon, so stop worrying."
"Oh, thank God…" Fiaa sighed in relief.
"Yay! Ecthel's coming back!" Lyuri jumped for joy.
"Heh, I knew he'd be alright." Serene smirked.
"Yes, and he's bringing a friend along as well."
The room got so quiet, that if Muete was in the room, she'd be the noisy one.
"A…friend?" Fiaa gulped.
"Yes, but I can't really tell who it is. But I do know that it's female."
Fiaa gaped.
"Um…Fiaa…" Lyuri waved a hand over the older girl's eyes.
"She's out of it." Serene stuffed in a giggle.
"It's over…it's all over…" Fiaa said in a trance-like state.
"Ooh…" Malice woke up slowly, as she sat up. She was very surprised at the fact that her body didn't hurt at all. As a matter of fact, it was completely healed!
"Ah, Malice!" Ecthel was already reheating some steak he had by sticking it on the tip of Excellion over the flames. The shards of the Fire Orb were near the fire, since it was the last use.
"Uh…" she tried to find the right words to say, "Err…Good morning…Ecthel. You…patched me up again, didn't you?"
He blushed, "Uh, yeah." He quickly shook it off, "How are you feeling?"
She smirked, "As good as new." She then looked down, slightly blushing herself, "Uh…thank you…again." She was still getting used to 'being nice'.
"I'm just glad you're feeling better." He took the steak off of his sword, then used the same blade to cut it in half, "Here. I don't have any plates or utensils, so…"
She took the piece of meat, already taking a bit out of it, "Please." She scoffed, "It's just food."
"Heh. Everyone else back in Elendia would think that you're weird."
"Elendia…is that the sprite village you reside in?"
"Yeah. It's a small and quiet village. Everyone knows each other there, as well."
"It…sounds nice…" Malice remembered her childhood days, the days that she thought she had abandoned.
"Why don't you live there too?" Ecthel suggested.
"Are you joking?" She chuckled in amusement, "I sided with the enemy. The very same enemy of which wanted to control all of Riviera. I think the demons would welcome me more than your friends."
"But…you're different now." He smiled, "Very different. I feel comfortable around you, which is exactly the opposite as yesterday in battle at the Maze of Shadows."
"Ecthel…you…remind me of my mother." Malice said, "She died from an illness when I was still a child. She would always worry about me, and never about herself. I…I wished for God to save her, but he didn't."
"Malice…" This was probably related to the story she said from yesterday, "There is no true God. The gods sacrificed themselves to give birth to us, the Grim Angels, to battle the war of Ragnarok a thousand years ago."
"Well I didn't know that in the past." She gave a 'humph', "That was when I wanted to take revenge on Asgard, who betrayed me, and killed my mother."
"But…"
"Let me finish!" She raised her voice, "But I understand now, that that was a foolish thing to do. Ecthel, you have reminded me that I can still live my life in different ways, and that I don't have to always live in the past."
"Malice…I'm glad to hear that." He smiled.
"I…I'll live in your village." She nodded slightly, "I'll…I'll try, but I don't know if I'll succeed."
"If you believe you can, I'm sure you will, and I'll be here with you all the way."
"Ecthel…thank you…" she smiled, closing her eyes.
"Wow, all of a sudden, you're saying 'thank you' a lot now."
"Really?" she stared at him, unamused, "Humph." She took another bite out of the steak.
"So…how are we supposed to get off this island?" Ecthel groaned after looking around the island once again. Suddenly, he felt two soft mounds press against his back, as his face turned red, "Huh! M-M-M-Malice!"
"Humph." She wrapped her arms around his body, as she easily flew up into the air.
"Whoa!" He looked down at the ground, amazed at the distance he parted from it.
"Now that I'm healed, you're as light as a feather." She chuckled, "So, do you know where to go?"
He squinted, seeing another small piece of land to the west, "Why don't we try over there? It seems like a better idea than just staying here."
"Fine." She darted off into the direction, with Ecthel flushed in the face, "Hey, Ecthel."
"Hmm?"
"Remind me to tell you about my life's story later on. I guess…it really is too much of a burden for me to carry alone."
"Of course. I promise."
Gill was looking through a telescope he got from Reiche, and was really amazed on how cool it was. It could look so far away, and so clearly. He saw a bird in the distance, and it looked like it was carrying something in its talons. As the bird got closer, it became an image of a person. He lowered the telescope, "Huh? Lyuri! Molan!" He shouted from the roof.
"Hmm? What is it? You find something cool with that thing?" Lyuri asked excitedly, her treasure-craving side already showing.
Molan took a look through the telescope, "Ah! It's Ecthel!"
"Eh!" Lyuri took the telescope from Molan, as she looked through it, "And Malice! No way!" She handed it back to Gill, "Keep sight of them! I'm calling the others!" Lyuri quickly jumped off the roof, running back home to tell Fiaa.
Epilogue
"Malice? Are you done yet?" Fiaa asked from one side of a curtain.
"No way! I'm not coming out!" Malice shouted from the other side.
"But you already changed into it, right?" Lyuri asked.
"Well…yes, but…!"
"Then hurry up while the sun's still out!" Serene demanded.
"Now now, there's nothing to be ashamed of." Cierra giggled.
"Easy for you to say!" Malice shouted once again.
Fiaa was in a green bikini, while Lyuri was in a yellow one-piece swimsuit for children. Serene had on a one-piece as well, but the chest was opened a bit more, and it was blue. Cierra had on a two-piece like Fiaa, but it was red, and also had a little skirt to boot.
"Hey, what's going on?" Ecthel wondered, knocking on the door to where the girls were changing into their swimwear. They were currently at a beach near Elendia of which Ecthel never knew about.
A few weeks ago, Ecthel and Malice arrived to Elendia. Of course, there was quite a bit of commotion afterwards, but after an explanation from Ecthel, all of them calmed down, except for Serene, that is. Her whole race was sent to eternal rest by Malice, and she wasn't going to forgive her that easily, and Malice wasn't going to beg for her forgiveness anytime soon.
Although Serene hated Malice, after a week together, they had more in common then they thought, as she slowly started forgetting the genocide of her race. Ecthel, for one, was very glad about this.
For Fiaa's case, she was in a tighter situation than before. It was already enough of a challenge for her to win Ecthel's heart with Serene and Cierra around, but with the new addition of Malice, it was getting downright impossible.
"Hey Lyuri…" Serene started whispering into her ear.
"Hmm…ah! Oh! Hehe!" She giggled softly, listening to Serene's plan.
"Got it?"
"Yup!" Lyuri opened up the door, "Hey, Ecthel."
"Um, the kids are wondering when you'll be done. They're getting bored, I think." He scratched the back of his head. He was currently in a pair of dark blue swim trunks, and a pair of sandels.
"Ta dah!" Serene forcefully pulled back the curtain to the stall Malice was in, making her give a small shriek.
"…!" Ecthel was silent, as he stared at her.
Malice's swimsuit was white, but it wasn't the color that awed him. The design was basically made so that it was just a long piece of cloth going through several rings in an orderly fashion, of which covered all the important parts of a female body.
"Wow!" Serene gawked, "Cierra! You gave her something like this!"
The witch giggled, "Isn't it nice?" None of the other girls saw the suit when Cierra let Malice borrow one of hers, since their sizes were about the same.
"Damn it, Ecthel! Stop staring at me!" Malice cursed, trying to cover herself up with her arms.
Lyuri saw a bulge appear within Ecthel's trunks, "Ah! Ecthel's a pervert!"
He quickly covered his crotch, "That…! That's not true!"
(No! I'm definitely going to lose at this rate! I have to think of something fast!) Fiaa thought to herself, then blushed at the idea that popped in her head, "But it's the only way! Ecthel!"
"Huh? What is it, Fiaa…! Whoa!"
Fiaa untied and threw off her whole swimsuit, leaving her as naked as the day she was born.
"Hey! That's not fair!" Serene gritted her teeth, "Ecthel!" She also threw off her swimwear.
"Oooo!" Lyuri started getting angry, "Me too, Ecthel!" She quickly got out of her swimsuit.
"My my…well if everyone else is doing it…" Cierra swiftly removed her own swimsuit, then started giggling.
"You're all crazy!" Malice shouted, but saw the look in Ecthel's eyes. He was completely bewildered, "Urrr…fine! If that's how it's going to be, take a look, Ecthel!" Malice said angrily, removing a base ring, making all the rest fall to the ground, dragging the cloth with them.
"I…I can't…! Uwaa!" blood blasted out of his nose, as he fainted to the ground.
"Ecthel!" All the girls shouted in worriment.
Rothe held up a paw, and poked his cheek, "Nya nyan…(Poor boy…)"
And thus, a love hexagon was born, soon to be a love heptagon right after Cierra finishes with a certain potion.
Zero: I'm done! Please review!
Xyrho & Lynas: And we're out.