A Summoner's Journey
Chapter 13: Diabolical Bloodline (Part 1)
Team for this chapter: Ike, Soren, Cordelia and Lucius
"Armored units, forward!" Amelia was leading a regiment of armored knights across the Askrian countryside to practice her leadership skills while slaying bandits at the same time. As the sole carrier of Armor March, Amelia was more or less the leader of any armored brigade. As such, she was told by me to iron her confidence and become a real commander. On her command, Effie romped up to a brigand with surprising speed, shield-bashing the poor man before impaling him on her Brave Lance. Zephiel dodged a clumsy axe swing before striking back, cleaving the bandit in two with his Silver Sword.
"Hmph. For a child, you show promise. Continue to improve" Zephiel told Amelia reluctantly and the young axe knight grinned brightly.
"Thank you! Sheena, there's a bandit wielding a Hammer coming towards Effie. Show him what's for!" Amelia shouted and the Gra princess sprung into action, intercepting the incoming rogue with her Killer Axe.
"Gwa ha ha! You want to know what this Hammer does to you knights? I'll show you!" The bandit slammed his Hammer down onto Sheena, but a barrier of green light formed and protected the axe knight. Svalinn Shield.
"What?! What in the-"
"You will fall!" Sheena's Killer Axe burned ablaze with Ignis as she crashed it down onto the last bandit, burning him to a crisp.
"There might be more of them hiding in their base. Let's move there and take back their stolen valuables!" Amelia ordered, but Kagero and Jaffar dropped down from a nearby tree to stop them.
"We already took care of the brigands inside the base. The stolen valuables can be taken care of later" Kagero shook her head "More importantly, Jaffar spotted a brigade of Emblians about to march through this area. We're going to spy on them to try and harvest some information. Cease fighting and wait for us to come back"
"Don't attract the Emblian's attention. Lay low and wait" Jaffar added flatly before dashing off into the shadows of the nearby trees, with Kagero following behind him. The assassin dropped to the ground and crawled his way towards the top of a hill, where the Emblian brigade was about to march under. The two spies took cover under a large rock jutting out from the hillside and waited. Slowly, the brigade came into hearing range.
"Of all places, why the World of Radiance?" One Emblian soldier groaned "I heard tales of this Black Knight there. Said to be equal to the legendary hero Ike. And you guys all know how many it took to subjugate him into our control. Veronica's sending us men to die"
"They will be meaningful losses" The squad commander, an armored swordsman assured "Having the Black Knight on our side would majorly turn the tides of our battle against Askr. He's nearly invincible and is an incredible commander"
"I heard a rumor that he can only be defeated by weapons blessed by the goddess of Tellius" An Emblian axe flier piped up "How can we harm him if that's the case?"
"We're here to reinforce the men currently fighting the Black Knight in the World of Radiance" Another flier reminded her fellow soldier "The report said they've already dealt some damage to him, so his blessing is just that: a rumor"
"I guess" The axe flier bit her lip "Still, I wouldn't be surprised if someone like the Black Knight has healing on his hands. Something like a Vulnerary or Elixir?"
"Then we'll just have to gang up on him until he's defeated. No matter how strong a warrior is, they cannot best a hundred foes" The squad commander shook his head "We're wasting time at this pace. Move faster everyone! March, march!"
"Sounds like Embla's in the process of conquering the World of Radiance again" Kagero noted "Lucian needs to know this"
"Hmph. Let's gather up Amelia's group and head back" Jaffar stood up "This Black Knight will be a threat"
"To Emblians and Askrians both" Kagero agreed and the two spies hurried off.
Meanwhile back at base, I emerged from the World of Blazing portal with two new sacred seals in hand from defeating the latest Tempest: Defense 1 and Distant Defense 1. Hector was a hard foe to take down, but with Eliwood, Lyn and another Hector's aid, he was slain in time.
"Alright everyone. Excellent job in the Tempest today. Go and get some rest" I said, dismissing my four heroes. Minerva, Caeda. Jeorge and Bride Charlotte all nodded without a word, too exhausted to speak up and departed back to the castle. Fighting in the Tempest without a healer was messy. Before I could enter the castle myself to deposit the Tempest's bounty, Saizo materialized behind me.
"Lucian. A message from Kagero and Jaffar" The ninja handed me a letter. I overcame my shock quickly and took the message. Before I could even say thanks, the ninja vanished into the shadows yet again. How a normal human did that, I had no idea. I broke the seal over the envelope and opened up the message from the two assassins.
"Summoner Lucian, we spotted an Emblian brigade heading back to the capital in eastern Askr. There were murmurs among their group about the World of Radiance and a certain Black Knight. It is to believe that Embla is currently conquering the World of Radiance at this very moment and may enslave the Black Knight into their service soon, who is reportedly an "invincible warrior and incredible commander". I recommend making haste to intercept the Emblians soon. - Jaffar and Kagero"
"Well, this is a surprise. After such a long time without a world invasion, I thought Veronica gave up" I folded the letter in my hands "If what Kagero and Jaffar said is true, then we better stop the Emblians fast"
I headed down to the library to find the current roster of the Order of Heroes in the record corner. The roster was magical in a way that it could track every hero currently in the Order of Heroes's service, making it easy for me to figure out who was out of the castle and who were available to assemble.
"Sir Lucian, what's troubling you? You look frantic" Lucius tapped my shoulder, surprising me "Oh, sorry about that. I didn't mean to surprise you"
"No, no, it's fine. I AM frantic because…" I explained the situation to the blonde healer "... And I need a team of heroes assembled now to help fight in the World of Radiance. Come to think of it, are you free now?"
"Hm? Oh yes actually. I'm relieved of my healing duties after the Tempest Trial team departed the infirmary" Lucius nodded "You want me to come along with you?"
"Yes. A healer always makes things easier in expeditions like this" I smiled wanly before returning my eyes to the magical roster "Let's see… Ike and Soren are currently in the training yard, so I can go enlist them. Catria's… out in the marketplace at the moment, so I don't want to disturb her. But Cordelia's in the stables tending to her pegasus, so we can nab her too"
"And that rounds out a whole team, right?" Lucius absently tapped the bottom of his Pain staff on the floor.
"Yep. Lucius, you go down to the stables to get Cordelia and I'll head to the training yard. I'll meet you in the portal courtyard" I ordered.
"Right away" Lucius nodded and the two of us left the library. It took little convincing to get Ike on our team. The moment I uttered the word "Black Knight", Ike's face scrunched up in quiet rage and he gave his full attention to me. Turns out, this Black Knight was the one who slayed Ike's father, Greil and now Ike's goal is to defeat the Black Knight to get his revenge. Sounded like a typical anime plot from my world, but whatever. Soren would go anywhere Ike goes, so he didn't take long either. On another note, Soren was a superb strategist and a stronger wind mage than Robinne, so I was glad to pick him up so soon after the World of Radiance summoning banner.
"Whose the last person we're taking on the team? Catria?" Ike asked and I stuck my tongue out at him as we ran down the hallway back to the castle lobby. The mercenary (and most others) were well aware of my infatuation with the blue-haired Whitewing.
"Catria's out right now, so I'm taking Cordelia instead. Lucius is picking her up from the stables" I replied "Before I forget, I want to check your skill sets"
"Ragnell, Reposition, Luna, Fury, Vantage and Threaten Speed" Ike reported as I snapped my fingers, causing both him and Soren's skill bracelets to flash into existence "Set and ready as always"
"Take this too" I handed Ike the Distant Defense 1 seal "This'll help you ward off mages slightly easier"
"Thanks" Ike pinned the seal onto his cape while Soren ran through his own skill set: Rexcalibur, Draw Back, Growing Wind, Darting Blow, Desperation and Fortify Resistance. I needed a stronger tome on him like Gronnblade or Gronnraven, but Rexcalibur will have to do for now. By the time we reached the castle lobby, Cordelia and Lucius were already there.
"Skill sets. Quickly" I ordered and the two rambled off what they had. Lucius had Pain, Rehabilitate, Heavenly Light, Speed 3, Live to Serve and Hone Attack. Cordelia had the Brave Lance, Reposition, Galeforce, Triangle Adept, Desperation and Goad Fliers. I would of changed Cordelia's C slot skill, but there was no time. The more time the Emblians spent subjugating the World of Radiance heroes, the worse it'll be for us.
"Alright thanks for being ready to fight at all times. Let's move out!" I nodded and we headed down to the World of Radiance portal. Before we could dive in however, Alfonse and Sharena stopped us.
"Take us with you into the World of Radiance" Alfonse demanded sternly.
"What?! Why?" I gestured to my group of heroes "These four can handle Embla just fine"
"Just now, Anna informed us that Brun- I mean, Zacharias was spotted in the World of Radiance" Alfonse informed me "I have to talk to him. After the disaster that was out last encounter, I need answers!"
"Same for me! I can't leave Zacharias suffering like this!" Sharena nodded vigorously "Please take us with you Lucian. We can hold our own in battle!"
"I know you two can and I'm grateful for it" I nodded "Alright, you two can come with us. Let's go!"
We dove right into the World of Radiance portal and ended up on a road leading up a small hill. A large castle could be seen over the horizon.
"Oh. This is where we fought that Daein detachment" Soren noted, eyes gazing the landscape for enemies "Any Emblian looking to enslave heroes would be in a more populated place. Let's go-"
"Another...dead end. I search and I search...but nothing. I learn...nothing. My time...is running out" I heard Zacharias's voice groan nearby and we turned to find the mage knight slowly clop up to us, his forehead beaded with sweat and strain.
"Zacharias, just what is happening to you?!" Alfonse cried "You look worse than before!"
"Urk… Alfonse…" Zacharias's hand moved to open his Valaskjalf, but his other hand slapped it away "In the end, all of Embla's royalty… are devoured by the dark god. We become puppets. I can't fight the blood flowing through my veins"
"God? What god is this? Please tell me!" Alfonse demanded.
"I can't… utter his name. What matters is that as a prince of Embla, I carry cursed blood" Zacharias clutched his head in agony "Yet in Embla… I was despised by the royal family. Both my mother and I were. They claimed she shared imperial secrets with Askr and they imprisoned her for it. She died in isolation... Thanks to their cruelty"
"I've never heard of anything like this from Embla…" Alfonse frowned as Zacharias continued.
"And me? I was cast out, sent to the border. Assuming a new identity, I entered Askr. I became your friend... Those were necessary steps toward destroying Embla, my homeland" The mage knight explained "But I knew eventually, I had to leave"
"Because of your cursed blood?" Sharena asked fearfully and Zacharias nodded.
"The Emblian blood pulses within me. Whatever I do, I live knowing one thing: the curse will consume me. Had I stayed at your side, I would have killed you and your sister. So I left. And I sought a way...to fight it" Zacharias suddenly clutched his chest, as if he was about to have a heart attack "Urgh... Ghk!"
"Zacharias! What's going on now?!" Alfonse cried worriedly and the mage knight became galloping back where he came.
"Time's… up! Run! Run before I kill you!" Zacharias yelled desperately "GYAHHHHH!"
Suddenly, a pillar of darkness erupted from underneath Zacharias's feat, emitting a roar as loud as a dragon. Two red eyes gleamed from the pillar of shadow before it faded, leaving the mage knight with an ominous aura of darkness.
"Zacharias…?" Sharena whispered fearfully and the fallen prince turned back to us, glowing red eyes beaming from the slits of his mask "He's…"
"We have to put him down before he kills us all!" Alfonse drew his sword as Zacharias's hand flew into the air, a sphere of darkness in his palm. The mage knight threw the sphere into the sky, summoning phantom soldiers to fight alongside him. I spotted a fire mage, archer, wind mage and sword fighter called down.
"Heroes, to battle! Our foe is Zacharias. If we take him down, his phantom soldiers would surely fade away!" I commanded "Ike, take the archer and wind mage. Soren, keep Zacharias occupied. Cordelia, take down the swordsman and fire mage. Lucius, keep our heroes healthy. Alfonse and Sharena, cover me and watch Zacharias's movements. You never know what he's going to do. Move!"
My heroes sprung into action as Zacharias and his team rushed to meet us. With his mind consumed by insanity and darkness, Zacharias had no battle strategy and just rode alongside his men, trying to zerg rush us. Sadly for him, my heroes were stronger.
"Predictable!" Soren weaved a tunnel of wind in front of him as Zacharias's icicles crashed into it. With one move, Soren blasted the magic icicles back at the mage knight while firing his wind tunnel, which howled like a tornado.
"Hah!" Bruno formed a shield of darkness and nullified the gale blast completely "Try this, you pest! Dark Spikes T!"
All of a sudden, dozens of shadowy spikes surrounded Soren, intent to impale him. Ike ceased fighting to run to his aid, but out of all people, Lucius stepped in to save the day.
"Shine!" Lucius's staff lit up at the tip and a series of light explosions erupted around Soren, countering the Dark Spikes T spell soundly. Soren nodded with approval before continuing to fight off Zacharias.
"Lucius, I didn't know you knew light magic! Why didn't you show it off sooner?" I asked.
"I prefer being a healer, but now's not the time for that. Do you want me to assist Soren against Zacharias?" Lucius pointed his staff at the phantom archer, blasting it backwards with an arrow of light. Ike shot a shockwave through his Ragnell, finishing the archer off.
"Absolutely. Alfonse and Sharena, cover Lucius in case Zacharias summons more soldiers. Ike and Cordelia, go in and assist once you're finished!" I commanded.
"Of course! Out of my way!" Ike threw another shockwave towards the wind mage, ripping through it's Rexcalibur spell easily. The shockwave tore the wind mage to dust and Ike charged in to attack Zacharias. The fire mage was about to cast Bolganone all over Soren's group, but Cordelia's spear impaled him just in time, letting the lance flier get in on the attack too. Zacharias was too distracted fending off four heroes at once to summon more fighters.
"Begone from my sight! Hades Omega!" Zacharias thrust his hand towards Soren's squad and an intense sphere of darkness formed over their heads. Before they could react, the sphere slammed onto them and exploded, sending all four heroes sprawling to the ground.
"Ike and Cordelia, keep Zacharias occupied! We can't have him summon more soldiers!" I yelled.
"We'll do more than occupy him. Ike, we move as one!" Cordelia raised her Brave Lance and charged at Zacharias, who was stumbling with the strain of the Hades Omega spell.
"Right. Let's finish this!" Ike flanked Zacharias on his other side and leaped, silvery moon gleaming over his head "Luna!"
Ike's crushing blow sent Zacharias careening backwards, straight towards Cordelia. The lance flier jabbed the prince's back twice before Galeforce activated, bursting Cordelia's pegasus forward to headbutt Zacharias right off his horse.
"Hahh!" Cordelia vaulted down onto Zacharias's fallen body to land the finishing blow. Her Brave Lance was inches away from striking Zacharias's throat before Alfonse batted it away, the spear impaling the prince's shoulder instead.
"GAAAAHHHHHHH!" Zacharias roared in pain before the dark aura faded away from him, his voice dying down to a crying whimper "Ughh… Oww…."
"Prince Alfonse?!" Cordelia's hands let go of her weapon "Why'd you stop me from killing him?"
"... He can't die. There has to be some way to-" Alfonse was cut off by Zacharias laughing below him.
"Heh heh heh… HA HA HA!" Zacharias grinned darkly, despite his shoulder being impaled through "I said it before, Alfonse! Too merciful!"
The prince's body began dissolving into particles of shade before warping away, Cordelia's Brave Lance clattering to the ground. The lance flier picked up her weapon, staring at Alfonse warily.
"He's only going to more of a threat to us and Lucian if he's kept alive" Cordelia said carefully to Alfonse "But… I understand your desire to try and save him. Let's… let's track him down. I'll be careful to not almost kill him again"
"A possessed mage knight wouldn't go unnoticed around here. He can't possibly warp that far. We should go to a populated area and see if anyone's spotted him" Soren dusted off his robes and looked into the distance on the hill "There's a port just a little way down the road. Let's try that"
"Fine by me. Lucius, is everyone patched up?" I asked the healer and he nodded "Alright then. Down to the port we go"
Once we made it into the port town, we found it to be practically a ghost town. Nobody roamed the streets and no shops were set up. The boats by the harbor seems to be abandoned too. Strange, seeing as ports would be among the busiest place in any land. At least that's how it was back in my world with airports.
"Maybe they're holed up inside their houses" Cordelia suggested and Ike knocked on the door next to him.
"Eeek! Go away! I want nothing to do with you Emblians! You're worst than the sub-humans!" A voice shouted from behind the door "Leave me alone!"
Ike winced at the word sub-human and so did Soren "We're not the Emblian army, ma'am. Nor are we laguz. Just what happened here?"
Chatter I couldn't hear rang from behind the door. I heard footsteps moving closer to the door and someone inside slid the peephole open "Who are you then?"
"We are the Greil Mercenaries, a Crimean mercenary group" Ike replied "Now can you tell me what's happening here? Why is this town so deserted?"
"It's not the townspeople who are gone. Everyone's been holed up in their houses ever since this "Emblian" army strolled in" The citizen answered "They came in, subjugated us quickly and then I spotted them fighting some knight in the center of town. Sinister black armor, that knight had"
"Black armor?!" Ike's eyes went wide "Did the knight have a striking red cape too? Along with a special looking sword?"
"Hey man, I can't see everything through this peephole. Why don't you go see for yourself?" The civilian said "They just finished their fight minutes ago. The knight's in the center of town right now"
"He is?! Thanks for your info" Ike nodded and the citizen closed his peephole. Zeroing it to the center of town, there was indeed a knight standing there. Tall, imposing, clad in dark black armor, adorned by a crimson cape and carrying a sword that seemed to resonate with Ike's Ragnell. The Black Knight himself. All around him were dozens of dead Emblian soldiers.
"The Black Knight… it seems that he hasn't been conquered by Embla yet…" Alfonse turned his head to Ike, who was charging straight at him "Ike! What are you doing?!"
"Black Knight! I've come for you!" Ike shouted, raising his Ragnell over his head "I will avenge my father!"
"Fool. While you may carry Ragnell, you cannot hope to touch me" The Black Knight's voice rang clear and true, even through his helmet "Come, boy. Try to best me"
"Rrragghhh!" Ike roared with anger and ran towards the Black Knight, slamming the Ragnell over his chest. However, a crimson shield enveloped the Black Knight's body, absorbing the blow effortlessly. Embla's Ward.
"So the Black Knight was beaten by Embla after all…!" I realized "Ike! Pull back! You can't beat the Black Knight like this-"
"I'll kill you! Die! Die now!" Ike, mad with rage, attacked the Black Knight again and again. Every time, his sword was deflected easily by Embla's Ward. Even with Luna, his blade did no damage to the dark general. Worse still, every time Ike's strikes connected with the Black Knight's body, a pulse of orange light ran down his armor, just like with Brave Ike. Steady Breath.
"I've seen enough" The Black Knight raised his sword, the Alondite "Will you survive this?!"
A blood red moon blazed in the air above the Black Knight as he brought his sword down onto Ike "Black Luna!"
In one strike, the mercenary's body was completely cleaved in two. A jagged red line ran down from his shoulder and his hip as Ike fell apart into a bloody mess, dropping the Ragnell in the process. Beside me, Soren shrieked in horror before Ike dissolved into feathers, just like any other defeated hero. Still, the scene was gruesome.
"We can't hope to defeat the Black Knight as he is now. We have to pull back, wait for Embla's Ward to fade and-" I said, but Soren cut me off.
"We can't. In this world, the Black Knight's armor is blessed by the goddess. Only Ike's Ragnell can cut through it" Soren gritted his teeth "We should retreat back to where we started and find another way to liberate-"
"Sorry to interrupt, but a detachment of Emblians are heading towards us. The only way out is through the harbor" Cordelia interrupted, slowly coming down from the sky.
"Change of plans then. We'll defeat the Black Knight and escape on a boat before the Emblian detachment arrives" I said. Soren opened his mouth to interrupt, but I put my hand up "And yes, while we can't harm the Black Knight without Ragnell in this world, remember that the Emblians can't enslave a hero without defeating them in battle. They must of done damage to B.K to do that"
"That's easier said than done Lucian. You saw how he killed Ike in one blow" Alfonse warned me "What are the rest of his skills anyway?"
"Alondite, Black Luna, Steady Breath, Warp Powder and Panic Ploy" I quivered with fear from that set alone. It was nearly perfect "Okay well, he doesn't seem to be attacking us. We can probably go around him to reach the harbor"
"There's a problem with that" Cordelia pointed to a battalion of Emblian soldiers who emerged from the harbor: two wind mages, two swordsmen, an axe flier, two lance cavaliers, an archer, two axe cavaliers and two sword cavaliers "We have to fight through all of those Emblians to reach our objective"
"Fine. It's better than taking on B.K" I shook my head "Everyone, don't lose hope. We can do this!"
Soren surveyed our group "Okay, we'll move together as a group to centralize manpower and get to the harbor in one piece. Princess Sharena, you'll take the lead and defend our front. Me and Lucius will be behind you with healing and magic. Prince Alfonse, you'll watch our backs and Cordelia, get Lucian on your mount and protect him from enemy fliers. Inform us of incoming ground foes too"
"Sound plan. Let's do this" I nodded and climbed onto Cordelia's pegasus with her assistance. The rest of our units formed together into Soren's formation, moving slow but steady through the town to reach the harbor. The port was a maze of alleyways with wide streets, making it easy to choke points, but also to get ambushed. Cordelia's sky-high view would be invaluable.
"An axe and sword cavalier duo are coming towards the front. They are backed up by a wind mage and an archer!" Cordelia shouted and the grounded squad rustled for battle. The cavaliers charged through the alleyway towards them, weapons raised. Sharena raised her shield, blocking the axe cavalier's Brave Axe while skewering the sword cavalier easily. The axe cavalier's second strike came, slashing Sharena through the waist.
"Out of my way" Soren threw a gust of wind to blow the cavalier off his horse while Lucius healed Sharena's wounds. While the two cavalier's horses panicked and bolted away, Soren slashed the fallen axe cavalier to bits with sharp gales. Next was the wind mage and archer.
"Status report: Two lance cavaliers and two swordsmen are approaching us from behind. This could spell trouble for Prince Alf- Whoa!" Cordelia's pegasus swerved sideways to dodge the archer's arrow. With Soren's group right in his face, Cordelia never expected the archer to fire at her. I pulled my bow from over my shoulder, nocked an arrow and took aim at the Firesweep Bow archer.
"Lower me down a bit aannddd…" I let the arrow go loose and it slammed the archer's face square on, pinning him to the ground. I saw an axe flier rocketing towards us and I slew it too. Bet she wasn't expecting an archer on a flying mount.
"Nice shooting there. Looks like I'm in no trouble from this point on" Cordelia glanced back down to the battle. Alfonse switched places with Sharena and slayed the wind mage while Sharena dueled with the lance cavaliers. One lance cav wielding a Sapphire Lance struck Sharena, breaking the Fensalir thanks to Lancebreaker. While the princess fell back to get healed, Soren erected a wind tunnel to sweep through the alley way to annihilate the lance cavaliers. The two swordsmen were halted, but managed to push through. Sharena cleaned them up easily.
"Looks like we're in the clear. The Black Knight isn't moving and the Emblian battalion seems to have been taken care of" I noted "Cordelia, let's soar to the harbor. We're in the clear!"
"Yes sir!" Cordelia rocketed down towards the harbor, where we were reunited with Soren's group. They were thankfully unscathed thanks to Lucius's healing.
"Alright everyone. Let's get onto a boat and make our-"
"There they are! After them!" A cry came from the port town's entrance. That must of been the Emblian detachment Cordelia saw.
"Onto the boat. We're setting sail for Melior, Crimea's capital" Soren told us as we quickly hopped onto the closest boats "If there's anywhere we can find Emblians and Zacharias, it's populated area like that"
"Alright that sounds good. Let's get this boat moving and out of here!"
Armor Troubles: Amelia and Effie's C support
"Effie, can I ask you something?" Amelia asked the lance knight after they arrived back in the castle "How can you stay in that armor for so long? After a fight or two in this get-up, I feel like I'm going to keel over!"
"Oh that's simple Amelia. I simply train and eat a lot, bulking up my body to support this armor and protect Lady Elise" Effie replied, smiling "It took years of intense training to do this. Want to know my regiment?"
"Err… I don't think we'll be here for more than a few years, but sure!" Amelia nodded earnestly "What do you do to train?"
"I think it'll be better for me to show you than tell you. Follow me to the training yard" Effie said and the two of them headed to the training grounds, where several large barrels were lying in the corner "See these?"
"Those are… very large barrels" Amelia observed, walking over to try and pick them up "Hurrk… Wow! These are… very… heavy too!"
"And that was the empty barrel too. What I do regularly is…" Effie scooped up another barrel, which was filled to the brim with rocks "I lift this sucker up and down a hundred times after my morning stretches. Really helps my arms, legs and back"
"You can lift that up a hundred times?! No wonder you're so strong!" Amelia exclaimed, impressed "What else do you do?"
Effie rambled off the rest of her regiment, Amelia noting down each and every one in her head. Running ten laps around the castle perimeter, swinging a heavy steel blade or hammer around thirty times for each hand, bench-pressing plastic containers filled with sand etc. By the end, Amelia was convinced that Effie was inhuman.
"Amazing! You're incredible Effie!" Amelia was practically starstruck "What can I do to start? I want to be as strong as you!"
"Oh? So I'm your fitness trainer now?" Effie laughed and Amelia nodded earnestly "Well, alright. Take this day to rest while I draw up a fitness plan for you. You're still tired from the battle today, so exercising hard wouldn't be good for you. Muscle pain and cramps are painful"
"Of course, teacher. I'll do everything you say!" Amelia saluted like the true soldier she was "We're starting tomorrow, right?"
"Sure. Meet me here by… four in the morning"
"Four o'clock?!" Amelia reeled back in shock "I can't wake up that early! I need-"
"This is what you asked for, right?" Effie raised an eyebrow "If you want to be as strong as me, you have to get accustomed to training nice and early"
"Urk… fine" Amelia frowned "You won't hear any complaints from me, teacher. I promise"
Effie smiled "Good"
Damn, it's been a while since I wrote a chapter for this story. Sorry about that everyone. Originally, this was supposed to be the To Die on the Battlefield TT, but TT chapters are kinda boring to write, so I decided to skip it and move straight into the climax of Book I: Diabolical Bloodline. This is being split into two parts because I reached my Google Doc page limit (12 pages typically) and ending it on a boat escape seemed to be a good time. Coming up next is the second part of Chapter 13, the finale of Book I. If you want to be notified of when a new chapter comes out, favorite and follow. If you want to give constructive criticism or praise, leave a review. Until next time, fellow summoners!