A New Crusade IF

by Masked Spider

You've all read the story so far of Sir Ulric the Crusader in 'A New Crusade'. But have you wondered what would happen if he didn't have Reinhard's help or took Echidna's deal? Wonder no longer, for you shall find such stories here in 'A New Crusade IF', where we shall explore these alternate routes. So stop on in and take a look!

10. Knight of the Duchess Part Four

Knight of the Duchess Part Four

Hello everyone and welcome to the fourth part of this New Crusade IF story! We got our knight going up against the White Whale once again, so let's see if he's able to come out on top this time. Also, you'll read this down at the bottom too but I've decided to make this the stopping point for this particular short story. Again, reasons at the end of the chapter. Now then, with no guest review questions to answer this week, let's dive on in!

Capital of Lugnica: At a Local Café

"So if I'm understanding you correctly," said the Purple-haired girl sitting across from Ulric, "you'd like to form a temporary alliance in order to bolster your forces for this little expedition Lady Crusch has been preparing for the last several days?"

"That is correct, yes," affirmed Ulric, "we have gathered a fair number of resources in a short time, but extensive research tells me that what we have will not be enough."

"My sources tell me you have near enough soldiers, knights and weapons to topple a small fortress," said the Merchant Girl, "but what I haven't been able to glean is what it's all for. If I am to even consider lending my own mercenary force to you I must first know, Sir Ulric, what exactly are we facing?" The Crusader sighed a bit before answering.

"To put it simply, Lady Hoshin," he said, "we are setting out on an expedition to slay the White Whale." This got the Royal Candidate's attention as she paused to look at him in mid-sip before setting her tea down. Though it was the small cat-like girl in a white robe next to her who spoke.

"THAT'S WHAT YOU'RE GOING AFTER?!" Exclaimed the little girl known as Mimi Pearlbaton, if Ulric recalled correctly. "No wonder you need all the help you can get! That's one of the biggest monsters in the world!"

"Yes, one of the three great mabeasts who've terrorized the land for four hundred years," said Ulric, "it is to be her ladyship's great achievement to demonstrate that she is fit to rule all of Lugnica."

"I can't fault her for aiming high," said Hoshin, "I'm honestly hard-pressed to even think of an equally great achievement. But at the same time, it could easily be the death of her and her entire camp."

"I'd like to say her ladyship knows what she's doing," replied Ulric, "and in many ways she does. But as mentioned, further research has revealed to me several terrifying abilities that this monster possesses. Which is why I'm here now. We've already hired every other currently available mercenary that was willing to go up against the whale. But the best of the best available right now, is the Iron Fang which is currently under your command."

"I'm flattered to hear that you think so," said Hoshin, "and I will admit that more than a few of my fellow Iron Fang members wouldn't mind takin' a shot at the White Whale. But this is a negotiation, ya know, and while I know what I can offer you, what can you offer me in return?"

"Naturally you will be compensated for your aid," said Ulric, "and we will also allow you to share the credit of slaying the White Whale. As you yourself mentioned, it would be quite an achievement. Though for obvious reasons it must still be Lady Crusch who shall receive the most credit for its death."

"That's no surprise," said Hoshin, "this is her bid to be the ruler an' all. But even if I can't take a lot of credit, it'll still be good for the Iron Fang's reputation to have the slayin' of one of the three great mabeasts under their belt. And that's not even countin' the influx in business with the roads bein' safer to travel."

"Am I to take it that means we have a deal," said Ulric as he straightened his posture slightly.

"I'd like double the usual rate for hirin' the Iron Fang," answered Hoshin, "half now and the other half upon completion. That way we still get some form of payment and you have an assurance that we'll stick with you 'til the end. Will your lady find that acceptable?"

"More than acceptable," said Ulric as he held out his hand, "in fact it's a small price to pay for ridding the land of a common enemy."

"Agreed," said Hoshin as she shook his hand with a smile, "just send us word when you're plannin' on heading out. We'll be there in time for the setup."

"Before you go," said Ulric, "there was one other piece of business I was hoping to discuss with you."

"Oh, and what might that be?" Questioned Hoshin as she rested her chin on her hands.

"I was interested in purchasing one of your liger mounts," he said, "and I know just the one I'd like, too."

A Short Time Later: On the City Streets

Once again, Ulric found himself riding down the street atop his faithful stead, Spiegel. By this point he knew how to quickly gain the liger's trust, allowing him the chance to focus on what to do next. He was also glad he managed to catch Hoshin at a time when her guard, Berat, wasn't around. He'd been more than a little surprised to encounter a Turk in this land and he'd most certainly want to know more about how he came to be here. In fact he'd discovered quite a bit to think about ever since his first 'death'. And really there was nothing else it could be called except death that he'd experienced.

The pain and anguish of being torn apart or crushed was all too real and he'd been close to death at least a couple times during the Crusades. What was a mystery to him, however, was why he kept coming back and repeating the same moments over and over again? Or to be more precise, he kept getting sent back to the same moment but the paths had all differed somewhat based on his actions. He managed to prevent some incidents at first and deal with some of the unforeseen issues that cropped up during their preparations.

But so far, each encounter with the White Whale had ended in defeat. The mabeast, much like everyone else, repeated its pattern exactly every time he returned from his last death which made setting up for it fairly easy. And yet the beast still proved difficult to slay as they couldn't seem to find a good enough defense against its attack on the other soldier's minds and once it split into three there seemed to be little else they could do other than avoid its gigantic maw. Each time the same problem presented itself to Ulric with the same answer: they needed more troops.

Finding more in such a short time, however, proved to be very difficult until he heard of the Iron Fang. The reason he hadn't asked for their assistance immediately was because they served a rival royal candidate. He'd also considered Reinhard but the knight was busy with his own work and wouldn't have been able to show up in time for the expedition anyway. Not to mention, it was highly likely that if they took Reinhard and he slayed the beast it would give more credit to Lady Felt than Lady Crusch.

But after an especially brutal battle against the whale where they managed to take down one of its spawns, he was forced to witness his lady dying. She'd been caught off-guard by one of the other whales as they'd fled the falling body of the one who'd just been slain and took a nasty hit from the beast's fin. While it had been a miracle that she hadn't been torn in half, the damage to her stomach was severe and by the time they were able to get her to Felix it was already too late. Ulric personally never wanted to see the look of utter hopelessness and defeat that he'd seen on the cat boy's face that day ever again.

So he finally worked up the nerve after some prayer and had Russell Fellow set up a meeting between him and the Merchant Girl. If she and her Iron Fang turned out to be the solution to ending the White Whale once and for all, then he'd thank God for all of them. But only time would tell at this point and now that he was arriving at Crusch's mansion, he reminded himself that he had other concerns to worry about. Chief among them being how he intended to explain this new development to her ladyship.

A Few Minutes Later: The Office of Crusch Karnstein

"I must admit that I'm surprised by this, Sir Ulric," said Crusch Karnstein as she sat behind her desk with her fingers laced in front of her, "even if I haven't known you terribly long, I feel that it is unlike you to do something like this without prior consent from me."

"My sincerest apologies for not informing you of my decision beforehand," said Ulric with a slight bow, "but the possibility existed that you would've deemed it unnecessary to ally ourselves with another candidate. Or at the very least found it disagreeable."

"I doubt I should actually need to explain why allying myself with a rival would be potentially problematic," said Crusch, "we both have designs on the throne and now it's known that I'm hunting the White Whale."

"Lady Hoshin was already well aware that we were gathering supplies for combat," said Ulric, "and with it being this close to time for departure on the expedition I don't believe there's much harm in someone else knowing what our objective is. More to the point, she agreed that you would still get the majority of the credit for the slaying of the whale."

"And despite being mercenaries the Iron Fang are well-known for keeping their end of the bargain," admitted Crusch, "what puzzles me most, however, is why you believe their help is so necessary? We have a sizable force already that could topple a fortress. Is there something else you've discovered about the White Whale that has prompted this need for reinforcements?"

"There is," said Ulric, "the Whale is far more durable than we first believed. And it possesses abilities most are unaware of due to its mysterious nature. But I have managed to uncover a few pieces of information that will help us overcome those obstacles."

"And where did you happen to discover such information," Questioned Crusch, "better yet, were you able to verify if it was even authentic?"

"I was," said Ulric, "I discovered the information while investigating a connection between the White Whale and the Witch's Cult."

"You believe the Witch's Cult has something to do with the White Whale?" Said Crusch with a raised eyebrow.

"Undoubtedly," said Ulric, "numerous reports of their activities coincide with the appearances of the White Whale. Very little is actually known about what the cult was doing before the Whale showed up but there is enough evidence to point to some connection between the two."

"I see," said Crusch with a hand to her chin, "and what of the White Whale's abilities have you discovered?"

"Its fog can be dropped on enemies like a waterfall," said Ulric, "its roar can affect the minds of many soldiers. Worst of all, it is capable of summoning two other compatriots to its aid nearly as large as it."

"Two more compatriots?" Said Crusch, "as in two other white whales?"

"I've yet to discover how they spawned or from where," replied Ulric, "but what is clear is that once the other two appear, our forces will be incapable of taking them all on at our current strength."

"So this is why you believe it necessary to enlist the aid of the Iron Fang," said Crusch as she folded her hands in front of her, "it is true that another whale, let alone two, would be quite troublesome for us. Hmm, you should have led with this, Sir Ulric."

"In truth I was uncertain if you would actually believe some of what I discovered," replied the Knight, "I had a hard time believing it myself at first."

"Understandable," said Crusch with a smile, "but next time, have a little more faith in me. You'd be surprised to hear some of the strange things I've encountered over the years."

"God willing the circumstances will always be so kind," said Ulric with a smile of his own, "now we're expecting the Iron Fang tomorrow. Anything I should know about them?"

"If I had to pick something," said Crusch, "don't worry about their leader Ricardo. He's far more friendly than he looks."

The Next Day: Assembly Hall of the Karnstein Estate

The scene was familiar to Ulric, at least in most details. As had happened many times before, a mass of knights and soldiers was gathered in the halls awaiting the order to depart. One major difference this time, though, was the presence of another group of warriors. They stood out by wearing white robes with yellow trim and also because many of them were demi-humans, meaning they had tails or other animalistic features. What caught the Crusader's attention most right now, though, was their leader, Ricardo.

He was without doubt the largest demi-human Ulric had ever laid eyes on and had more animalistic features than some other demi-humans, making him look like a giant walking brown wolf. He wore very little armor, or clothing for that matter, choosing to adorn himself in nothing but black pants, black bracers, a leather strap which connected to the holder for the massive sword on his back, and a black shoulder pauldron with the red symbol of the Iron Fang on it. "So you're the one who asked Lady Hoshin to bring us," said Ricardo with a toothy grin as he approached the Knight, "not that I blame you, the White Whale is serious business."

"While I'm not terribly fond of working with mercenaries on general principle," said Ulric, "I can easily make an exception this time. And from what I hear of your reputation you're actually quite a reliable group."

"That's right," said Ricardo as he put one of his massive hands on Ulric's shoulder, "we'll have your backs so don't you worry. But first, care to tell me the name of the knight I'll be riding out there with?"

"Sir Ulric Arkwright," he said as he shook the large Wolf man's hand, "and it's a pleasure to meet you, Ricardo."

"Likewise," he said, "now I need to get going. It looks like my lady needs to talk to me." The beast man removed his hand from the Crusader's shoulder and sauntered over to Lady Hoshin then.

"So that is the Iron Fang and their leader," said Crusch as she came walking up next to Ulric, "they certainly look as formidable as their reputation."

"And I very much hope they are," said Ulric, "we have a daunting undertaking after all."

"Indeed," said Crusch as she signaled for the Crusader to follow her, "but one that I believe everyone here is more than willing to face." Ulric followed her to an upraised platform then and stood on the far left next to Felix while Wilhelm stood on Crusch's right. Everyone in the assembly hall moved into a block formation then, standing at attention as they awaited the words of the Royal Candidate. Crusch took a nearly imperceptible breath before she began.

"Four hundred years ago," she began in a voice filled with both authority and charisma, "the Jealous Witch unleashed the White Whale which has made the world its hunting grounds. For four hundred years, it has trampled upon countless lives and ravaged the land as if it was its own. Countless graves that we cannot even mark with a name have been left in the beast's wake. But today, this four hundred years of us running for our lives ends! All of us gathered here today shall be the instruments of the White Whale's demise!"

"We shall at last grant a long overdue peace to those both living and dead who have lost something to this beast!" She drew her sword then as she said her next words. "We move out now to Flugel's tree to bury the White Whale once and for all!" As had happened every time so far, a thunderous cheer rose to meet her declaration. And as they rode out, there was one who hoped against hope that this time, this time their determination would win the day.

Nighttime: Flugel's Tree

The way to the location several miles outside of the capital city had become more than a little familiar to the Crusader. By this point he knew almost every inconvenience they might encounter and discreetly moved to minimize the issues where he could. In some of his previous journeys he'd made the mistake of pointing out several of the issues they'd encounter, which led to a number of questions on how he knew so much about a road he'd never been on. Naturally, the first thing Ulric wanted to do was explain the situation but quickly found such an approach to be impossible.

The reason being that whenever he tried to tell someone about his ability to come back from death, he was stopped by a shadowy hand which grasped his heart, a hand that only he was aware of. This led him to suspect that the one truly responsible for his condition was one of the witches, quite likely the Jealous Witch of Envy herself. If that were the case, then what he had on him was more like a curse than any sort of blessing. But he had little time to ponder on his situation now as there was still a great beast to slay.

So with each death he found new ways to avoid certain issues discreetly and took advantage of his future knowledge to better prepare himself for each encounter. His martial and mystical prowess was even greater now and with the added help of the Iron Fang he hoped for this battle against the White Whale to finally be his last. And so now he waited once again under Flugel's tree with the rest of the Subjugation force, counting down the seconds when the clouds would move out and allow the moon to shine through. It was a long wait but one that seemed too short at the same time.

Eventually the time came once again where the shadow appeared against Flugel's tree. "It's here," said Ulric as he drew his sword and turned towards the approaching beast, followed shortly by everyone else. He once again reminded himself that this was technically the first time any of the others had seen the White Whale up close and even now he still felt some semblance of fear when faced with the enormous creature. But someone had to get the battle moving and Ulric intended to try out a new spell he'd recently learned.

"Kito Jiwald," he said as an orb of light formed in his hand before he launched it against the snout of the White Whale. The creature roared in annoyance as Ulric turned to the other knights. "The moment has come so do not falter! DEUS VULT!" He charged forward on Spiegel then, not even having to look back to know that this would spur the others on as light magic formed around his body.

The great mabeast turned its attention towards him and descended with its maw open, a move the Crusader knew to anticipate by this point. As before, he veered off to the side and then leapt up into the air, his speed and strength increased by light magic, before slashing into the Whale's hide while running up onto its back. The creature groaned in annoyance as the knight fell back down and landed on his mount, already bracing himself as the sound of the light cannon projectiles slamming into the side of the whale was heard. The Crusader circled around and moved under the whale, firing another blast of light energy in an effort to keep its attention on him.

He succeeded as the White Whale continued to follow him, it's massive yellow eye tracking him as he went. This was exactly what Ulric hoped for as he shielded his own eyes before the night banisher was fired into the air, again creating a ball of light which hung suspended in the night sky and illuminated the entire battlefield. The sudden brightness caused the whale to shriek in pain as it always did, kicking up large amounts of dust with its roars. 'Now to lead it into the next attack,' thought Ulric as he circled Spiegel around beneath the whale once again, hoping to draw its attention.

And once again it behaved as it had before, zeroing in on the knight at a surprising speed for its size in an attempt to devour him. And once again things played out as they had before with a slash of Crusch's Phantom Sword art hitting the whale in the snout. The monster reeled from this before taking more hits from the magic cannons. Crusch was quick to order them to disperse as the whale turned and headed for them before signaling to Wilhelm to begin his own attack.

The Sword Master wasted no time in riding out on his own red ground dragon. The White Whale turned to him and descended with is maw open, digging up the ground as it attempted to devour him. But Wilhelm did as before, still amazing Ulric as he leapt up a great distance onto the mabeast's back before carving a massive wound into it with his two sabers. And as before, the whale eventually flung him off where he was caught by his ground dragon.

It was here, however, where the battle began to change as Ricardo led a force of several Iron Fang members, including their incredibly small Vice Captain Mimi, in an attack on the Whale's left side. They created several slashes in it before bounding out of the way as another slash of Crusch's Phantom Sword art impacted against the spot they'd just attacked. Much of that particular section of the battlefield was showered with blood as Crusch ordered another bombardment from the magic cannons on its flank. Several mages also bombarded it with fireballs from their hands.

It was a lethal barrage which would've brought down most creatures, but the White Whale was not most creatures. Despite the howls of pain echoing from it, the great mabeast still stayed airborne. "That monster 'is' a lot tougher than we thought," said Ricardo as he and the rest of his Iron Fang squad formed up with Ulric, "those were some of our best shots right there."

"If my research was accurate," said Ulric, "the beast likely has white hairs beneath its scales. I'm not entirely sure how it works but apparently they're capable of scattering mana, which means cannons and projectile spells are not impacting with as much force as they should be. We're going to have to carve it up until it bleeds out."

"That won't be a problem in the least," said Ricardo as he pointed his large cleaver weapon towards the whale, "everyone, CHARGE!" The group rushed forward then, their aim being a large rock formation out in the middle of the field which their ligers used as a platform to leap up into the air. They timed this right as the White Whale was flying by, landing on its massive right fin before they proceeded to tear into it with their blades. Wilhelm joined them is this effort, cutting the largest and bloodiest wounds out of all of them.

The White Whale howled and writhed against this onslaught as the members of the Iron Fang leapt off along with Ulric. Wilhelm himself was eventually thrown off again after assaulting one of the creature's massive yellow eyes, but he wasn't off for long as Ricardo came riding in beneath him and held up the flat of his cleaver for the Swordsman to land on. The Beast of a man then flung Wilhelm back up to the whale were he finished his work on the mabeast's eye, cutting it out where it fell out onto the ground far below. The Swordsman plunged his blade into the eye and held it up tauntingly towards the legendary beast as a smile crossed his features.

But Ulric knew this wasn't the time to be celebrating just yet. "Everyone! Cover your ears!" He shouted, covering his own just as the White Whale let out another guttural roar, this one so loud it threatened to damage their hearing if they weren't careful. "Now, scatter!" This part was more than familiar to the Knight as the Whale began producing its fog, raining down masses of white scales that tore into the earth wherever they landed.

Thankfully, Ulric's warning was heard in time and they were already retreating back to the main force before the fog became too thick. Not that it would be a problem for too terribly long as Crusch kept swinging her sword and using her Phantom Sword Art to create powerful gusts of wind to blow away more and more of the fog with each swing. The casualties were also fewer this time thanks to Ulric's warning, though they still proved to be a burden on the number of soldiers they could spare. That wasn't the main problem, however.

"Lady Crusch, get the mental protection ready now!" Yelled Ulric. It wasn't even a minute after he said this that the sound of high-pitched wailing seemed to erupt all around them. Much like before, many soldiers fell to the ground in anguish as their minds were attacked. But once again, not near as many as the first time.

"Yet another good call," groaned Crusch as Ulric, Wilhelm, Ricardo and much of the Iron Fang formed up around them, all clutching their heads to one degree or another, "if Felix and some of the other mages hadn't cast a spell of mental protection on your recommendation our forces might've been entirely crippled."

"Get the wounded tended to as quickly as possible," said Ulric as he shook off the last of the spell's effects, "I feel this is the most crucial moment of the battle yet."

"What are you talking about?" Asked Ricardo with clear confusion in his voice.

"The Whale has done more than cast its fog and attacked our minds," said Ulric, "it has summoned help in the form of two more White Whales." He pointed upwards then as the gathered fighters looked and gasped at the sight before them. As he'd warned only yesterday, there were now three great mabeasts to contend with.

"I had hoped our onslaught earlier would've been enough to keep it from calling for help," said Wilhelm, "but it seems our hands are going to be full from this point on." His words would turn out to be a complete understatement as the nearest whale charged at them. A sudden slash from the distance impacted against the charging whale's side, causing it to veer off somewhat as the group beneath it scattered.

"Focus on one whale at a time if possible," called Ulric as he summoned up Jiwald around his body and jumped onto the nearest one of the massive creatures. Wilhelm and Ricardo were quick to follow as the trio began carving large swathes into the body of the whale with their blades. The beast twisted and contorted against the assault, roaring angrily as it tried to throw them off. It did eventually succeed, but when it went after the group it was met with another wind slash from Crusch.

"All remaining mages and cannon operators!" Ordered Crusch, "we were warned of this situation ahead of time, so do not lose heart! Fire everything on the second whale!" No chorus of cheers rose to meet her orders, but a couple of the mages and one cannon operator did manage to summon up the nerve to fire at the other whale who'd been drifting towards them.

'That's better than nothing,' lamented Ulric as he leapt back onto his own White Whale and continued assaulting its body with the others. This pattern would repeat for more than a couple of minutes before the whale moved closer to its companion, forcing the group to split up in order to avoid more blasts of scaly fog. Naturally Crusch did everything she could with her Phantom Sword art to keep the fog away from them, but that took away her ability to directly assault her own target whale whenever she did so.

And said Whale took the first opportunity it saw to go after them as it honed in on the trio. Due to his size, Ricardo was proving to be the slowest of the three, something his pursuer picked up on as the three fighters split up. But just as the mabeast was about to tear into the ground with its massive mouth, a pair of powerful screams slammed into it, disorienting it as the beast howled in pain. "There are my vice captains!" Cheered Ricardo as Mimi and her twin brother, Hetaro, came riding up beside the group.

"Hey Boss," said Mimi, "we managed to get most of the Iron Fang back in the fight!" Ulric looked up and saw that they were right as a number of white-robed figures were now hanging off of the floating behemoth.

"Also," said Hetaro as he held up a few satchels, "Lady Crusch said it's time to use these."

"Ah yes, the fire stones," said Wilhelm as he accepted one of the bags, "these will prove quite effective, I believe."

"You really did plan a hundred steps ahead, didn't you?" Commented Ricardo to Ulric as he accepted his own bag.

"Let's just say I want to make sure this monster is dead," replied Ulric as he accepted the last satchel, "now let us go!" The other two warriors shouted in agreement as they charged around the Whale that was being bombarded by Crusch and the mages before heading to the one still being assaulted by the Iron Fang.

"Everyone," called Ricardo, "open us up some big holes around its eyes!" His comrades complied as they all aimed their weapons at several places around the mabeast's eyes and ears. This caused the creature to thrash around even more violently, throwing off several of the mercenaries before Ulric, Wilhelm and Ricardo all leapt up and plunged their weapons into the monster's hide. The trio held on for dear life while shoving the satchels into the large wounds which had been created by their comrades before yanking their own weapons out of its body.

As ever, their faithful mounts were there to catch them as they turned and rode away from the raging Whale. "Everyone brace yourselves!" Yelled Ulric, half wondering if he should attempt to cover his ears. It was too late by the time he thought about it, however, as the satchels filled to the brim with firestones exploded. The targeted Whale howled in agony as massive chunks of its face were blown off by the powerful explosives, causing it to crash into the ground, no longer able to see its prey as it rolled slightly from side to side.

"Good work everyone," said Wilhelm, "now concentrate everything we have left on the remaining two whales!" Ulric couldn't agree more as the trio and the Iron Fang rushed towards the mabeast which was still under partial bombardment. The attacks on it were sporadic and not nearly as powerful as the full-scale barrages they'd been using before, yet somehow they still seemed to do a noticeable amount of damage. What really caught the Crusader's attention, though, was when he glanced up to see if the other whale was about to attack.

'Why is it still up there,' he thought, 'one of its comrades is down and yet it does nothing. Stranger still, our attacks seem to be doing a fair amount of damage despite our diminished strength. What in the world is going on here?' This was truthfully the first time he'd survived this long against the mabeast without dying and in all that time he hadn't discovered all of its secrets.

He'd planned ahead for the Whale's location, its fog, it's extraordinarily durable body and the appearance of the other two whales. But this was the first time he'd had enough breathing room to notice the third Whale was hanging back. 'I wonder,' he thought before diverting course and heading towards Crusch.

"Ulric, where are you going?" Wilhelm called back to him.

"I have a theory I must present to her ladyship!" Ulric called back over his shoulder, "try and hold that beast until then!" Wilhelm clearly didn't know what he was thinking, but the Sword Master trusted him enough to know that he likely had a good reason for veering off at such a crucial moment. And so he did as asked and assaulted the lower Whale to the ground while Ulric pulled up to their leader. "Lady Crusch," he said upon arriving next to her and her white ground dragon.

"Is something the matter, Sir Ulric," asked the Royal Candidate loudly as she let loose another slash of her Phantom Sword Art.

"A possible epiphany, your ladyship," he said, "you may have already noticed, but the third Whale has yet to descend." The green-haired girl looked up to see that he was right.

"So there really is something strange about this whole situation," said Crusch, "I had thought it odd that no one ever mentioned a legendary mabeast hunting in a group."

"Given the extensive amount of research I did, I actually found little to no mention of it hunting in a group," said Ulric, "merely enough to know that the appearance of two more whales was possible. Do you think perhaps there was more than one this whole time? Or did it perhaps create its allies?"

"I believe the latter is the most plausible," replied Crusch, "you said the White Whale's actions always seemed to coincide with the activities of the Witch's Cult, but you never found mentions of the White Whale being in more than one place on the same day or time. It would also explain why these two new Whales don't seem capable of taking the same level of punishment as the one we were fighting earlier." As if to emphasize her point, that was the moment said Whale came crashing to the ground under the onslaught of attacks from the remainder of the Subjugation force.

"Perhaps it's time to enact the emergency measure," said Ulric as he glanced at the remaining fighters, noting their exhaustion as well as his own, "we've run out of most other options."

"There's one problem with the final measure we planned," said Crusch, "we need to get that monster to actually come down from where it is."

"I have a somewhat rash plan of action for that," said Ulric as he turned Spiegel towards their final opponent, "be ready to slow my descent."

"'Descent'," repeated the confused Crusch, "what are you talking-WAIT!" But Ulric had already directed Spiegel towards the Iron Fang, more specifically towards their leader.

"Ricardo!" Called the Crusader as he rode up by him, "the maneuver where you flung Wilhelm at the whale, I need you to use it on me."

"Use it on you," said the confused Wolf Man, "where are we even aiming?"

"Upwards," said Ulric as he pointed towards the third White Whale in the air, "I may have a way to bring the beast down towards us. But I need to get as close as possible to it first."

"One problem with that plan," said Ricardo, "how will you get down without dying?"

"I've left that up to you and Lady Crusch," said Ulric, "I trust you'll figure something out."

"You're either really trusting or really ballsy," said Ricardo before grinning, "but alright, let's get ourselves some air!" The two of them circled around then, heading for the blinded whale who was slowly ascending into the air again. The Duo used their ligers to quickly leap up onto its back before reorienting themselves and charging at each other. "NOW!"

Their two ligers launched themselves into the air, acting as platforms themselves for Ulric and Ricardo to leap up even further. Ulric focused as much mana as he could into his legs using Jiwald then as he planted his feet against the flat of Ricardo's weapon. The large demi-human roared in effort as he swung with Ulric jumping at the same time. The result was a knight rocketing into the air at incredible speed as he had to partially close his eyes from the wind.

'I've only tested this a couple times before,' mused Ulric quickly, 'but it worked as bait one of the last times, so it should work again.' And so, right at the apex of his ascent, the Crusader yelled up at the White Whale. "Foul beast! I can return from the gra-GAAAAAAAHHH!" He felt it then, the grip of the shadowed hand as it closed around his heart, silencing him once again.

Something else also happened to his body when this occurred. He started producing more of what everyone called 'The Witch's Scent' or 'The Witch's Miasma'. The reason he knew about it was because Felix had crinkled his nose at him more and more each time he came back from death. Eventually he'd confronted the cat-eared knight about it, wondering if he was doing something wrong. Felix had explained to him then that he'd had the Witch's scent on him from the first day he'd walked into Crusch's mansion and that for whatever reason it had gotten worse recently.

This had led him to try and tell Felix about his curse, only to discover that he couldn't. Instead he only succeeded in making the miasma, the scent, worse. Since he didn't need to research certain things over and over again, he'd taken time to study the miasma in texts and learned that it attracted mabeasts. He'd even attempted using it in one of his previous fights to try and bring down the Whale, but it had failed due to them not having enough hands at the time.

But this time it would work because they had a plan, the first part of which was already succeeding as the White Whale looked down and started descending towards Ulric. Now the next part of the plan, was praying. "God in Heaven," he prayed aloud, not daring to look down towards the ground just yet, "grant me a safe landing so that we may slay this beast." In the next few terrifying moments, the Lord answered.

A powerful wind hit Ulric in the back, greatly slowing his descent as he flipped over to look down for the first time. He caught a glimpse of Crusch swinging her sword again as another powerful gust of wind buffeted him, slowing his fall even further. And as he had been the entire battle, Spiegel was there to catch him roughly on his saddle. "God bless the both of you," Ulric said as Crusch pulled up alongside them.

"Don't thank me yet," said Crusch, "we still have that monster coming after you!" Ulric merely needed a quick glance to know that she was right as the two quickly galloped away from the great mabeast. And it continued its pursuit, slowly gaining on them as they neared Flugel's tree.

"God forgive us for desecrating such a sight," said Ulric as they passed by the massive natural wonder.

"Worry not," said Crusch as she gave the signal, "another splendid sight is about to be created!" As she said those words a series of explosions went off several feet above the base of Flugel's tree. It was quickly followed by an orchestra of cracking and tearing as the landmark actually began to lean and fall over. Ulric thanked God that the number of fire stones they'd used had been enough as the three bags they used earlier were all that remained of the stockpile.

But it appeared to be worth it as the White Whale chased after them, seemingly unaware of the danger of the massive tree until it was too late. A colossal crash was heard then as the tree slammed down on the whale so hard that it kicked up dust for hundreds of feet. The force of the impact was also enough to send both Ulric and Crusch flying off of their ligers where they landed in a heap several feet away. The mabeast let out a pained groan, the type an animal lets out when it knows its end is near.

Ulric quickly saw why as he caught sight of Wilhelm carving his way up the massive creature. "Sir Wilhelm!" Exclaimed Crusch as she threw her sword a surprising distance towards her comrade.

"This is for my wife, Theresa Van Astrea!" Exclaimed Wilhelm as he caught his mistress's sword and held it above his head, "now, sleep eternally legendary mabeast!" He jammed the blade into the beast's head then, the sound of its impact seeming to ring out through the land. The White Whale gave one last groan of pain before its remaining eye lost whatever light was left in it and finally closed.

The two other spawned whales fell to the ground and quickly dissolved then as silence fell upon the land. Then a thunderous cheer rose from the subjugation force as they realized what had just been accomplished. "Praise be to God," said Ulric as he fell back onto the ground, "it's over at last."

"I couldn't agree more, Ulric," said Crusch as she also fell onto her back and looked up at the sky, "I'm absolutely exhausted."

"You must be," said the Knight as he glanced at his mistress, "I never imagined I'd be seeing you in such a lazy position."

"We just slayed one of the three legendary mabeasts," said Crusch, smiling in spite of herself, "I think I'd be allowed to lay wherever and however I like. And besides, you look pretty undignified yourself, sprawled out on your back like that." Ulric might've replied to this but instead the two of them burst out laughing as all the built up tension from the battle slowly left them. It really had been an ordeal, one Ulric feared at one point might never end. But at last the loop had been broken, which meant there ways of moving forward in this new world.

'So this is not hell after all,' he allowed himself to think, 'so long as I don't give up and trust God to lead the way, a solution can be found for any situation.' And looking at his mistress's laughing, beautiful face, he vowed then and there that he'd take this curse given to him by a witch and turn it into a blessing for her and for the others. From this day forward, the legend of Ulric Arkwright would be born, and he'd become known as one of the greatest allies of the Karnstein family who helped his mistress carve a path all the way to the throne.

And so the threat of the White Whale has been ended! And for the moment, this shall be the stopping point for the 'Knight of the Duchess' side story as well. It's been a fairly good ride but we all know that if it gets much longer it'll be more than just a side story. But, hopefully this chapter and the previous ones have given everyone a fair idea of what the story would be like if Ulric wound up serving under Crusch instead of Emilia. So as always feel free to leave a comment or review about what you liked/disliked or if you've got any neat ideas for future stories. 'Til next time.