And another chapter people!
Hope you enjoy!
"Familiar Exhibition?" Nicolas asked when Louise said about the term.
"Yes, it's a gathering that happens every year with second years having mandatory attendance," Louise nodded.
"And judging by the name, I'm guessing it's basically a talent show for familiars?" he asked, earning a nod. "...okay, that's...something. Can't say I'm too crazy about performing in front of a crowd," he admitted.
"Why is that?" Louise frowned.
"Would you believe I have mild stage fright?" he said sheepishly.
"Any particular reason?" she asked in honest curiosity.
The slightly pale face was a bit surprising "So many plays I was forced to participate in by my parents...and the high class crowd...one slip up and its humiliation city..."
Louise sweat dropped at the reaction. "Is there any way you can mitigate it?" she asked, since again...it was mandatory for them to do...something.
"Maybe if I wear my armor, they can't see my face so they can't tell if I'm nervous or if I made a slip up…?" Nicolas suggested.
Louise hummed in thought, before snapping her fingers "I have an idea. You said you like that maid, Siesta, right?"
Nicolas blushed a bit, but nodded, he had indeed told Louise about how he was interested in Siesta after the incident with Mott.
Louise nodded back, smiling a bit "Right, I have an idea to help you, I doubt it'll work if I tell you though, so just trust me, alright?"
"...okay," Nicola nods slowly. "What do you have in mind?"
"Something that should help you relax." was all she said, and he nodded after a moment, accepting that.
"Now...what SHOULD I do for the exhibit?" Nicolas asked.
"Hm…" Louise hummed. "Maybe you could ride Barikion?" she suggested.
Nicolas thought about it. It could work, and it would look impressive riding a horse like Barikion… until he remembered one little problem, namely… it was Barikion. Riding into battle was one thing, but riding to basically show off to some kids he probably didn't give a rat's ass about… yeah… now he was seeing himself getting bucked off of the horse, something he relayed to Louise, who thought about it… and soon found herself agreeing.
"I could… try using some spells," Nicolas suggested, to which Louise brightened.
"That's a marvelous idea! In fact, it would be great if you could show them some of the best spells you have," she said.
Nicolas thought about it, it seemed like a good idea… until he remembered his best spells were mainly ATTACK spells, including the Dark Magic Slash… which he was afraid might destroy more than they intended. That or he could use the growing spell… but then his traitorous brain gave him the mental image of accidentally stepping on someone while his foot was size 300.
"Right… too dangerous." he said after a moment, which made Louise sigh.
"What COULD we do then?" she wondered.
Nicolas hummed in thought "Well… think Guiche is still scared of me enough to make Valkyries for me to fight if I tell him to?"
Louise thought about it "That… that could work. Let's keep that one as a fallback plan if we can't think of anything better and more unique than just a battle demonstration."
Nicolas thought about it. He thought nice and hard...before an idea hit. "Louise, stand back," he said.
"Huh? What are you planning?" Louise asked.
"Gonna see if this works or not," he said, pulling out his WolzaPhone and soon typing in 9-0-6. "Ujira Uru Uzaara!" he intoned, a seal appearing in the air, before moving down… and creating a copy of Louise.
Louise stared for a moment, before it finally registered "What?!"
"Looks like it works. I tried to craft a spell using what I know, was going for an illusion." he said, poking the Copy-Louise's cheek, making contact "Guess it's a physical illusion."
"And what do you intend to do with that?" Louise asked, looking a bit less than amused at what she was seeing.
"Well...think a big puppet show?" Nicolas grinned.
"You don't intend to make MY copy do some sort of song and dance, do you?" she questioned with a narrowed gaze.
"Of course not, I have a few ideas in mind, I just need to decide on which one." Nicolas told her, earning a slow nod from her.
"Alright, when you've decided please let me know and we can work from there. Though please hurry. The exhibition is in a couple of days," Louise sighed.
"Will do," Nicolas nodded.
"So, what exactly do you have in mind partner?" Derf asked Nicolas as they lied in the courtyard.
"I was thinking of recreating one of the stories I read growing up, or at least, a part of it. I'm just not sure WHICH story to go with." Nicolas explained with a sigh as he watched the other students practice their various acts with their familiars. "What would nobles like?" he mused.
"Well, if I recall usually the only thing that really impresses Nobles are other Nobles," Derf shrugged.
"Other nobles...that's it!" Nicolas grinned. "Thanks Derf, you just helped me figure out which story to use."
"Wait, really? Just from that? Well, glad I could help then, but mind cluing me in?" Derf asked curiously.
"Let's just say I'm gonna give them a preview to nobles of a foreign land," Nicolas chuckled.
It was then he noticed a shadow being cast over him, tilting his head up… and came face to face with Siesta, whom was smiling down at him "Hello there Nicolas."
"Uh, hey there Siesta." he said after a moment, smiling at her as he got up and picked Derf back up, strapping him to his back.
"Were you practicing for the exhibition?" she asked him as he patted down any dirt or grass stuck to him.
"Naw, I was trying to figure out how my act should go, I finally got it though, it'll be interesting to see what everyone thinks about it." he explained with a grin.
"I hope so as well, after all, Lady Henrietta will be present." she said with a nod as the two started walking.
"Henrietta? Who's that?" He asked in confusion.
"Right, I forget Tristain is new to you sometimes." she said with a small laugh "Henrietta is the princess of the kingdom."
"The princess? Coming here? Wow, I didn't know the event was THAT big. No wonder Louise was so worried about it," Nicolas whistled.
"It is, though it's also because the Princess is a symbolic existence ever since the King passed away. She is soon to be Queen," Siesta explained.
"I see. Well, even more reason to put some extra prep time into this," Nicolas grinned.
Siesta smiled, before holding his hand. "I know you'll be great," she said with a smile.
He blushed at the action "Uh… thanks." he said, nodding, before watching as she let go of his hand and walked off "I'll see you again later, I have more work to do." she said as she walked away.
There was silence for a moment, before Derf broke it "So… when are you gonna tell her?"
"When the thought of doing so doesn't freeze me to the floor." Was the simple reply from Nicolas.
"So basically still a while," Derf laughed, earning annoyed grumbles from Nicolas.
The next day soon came, and the entire school was prepared for a welcome reception for when the Princess arrived.
"Well… this is certainly… 5 levels above what I'd consider the red carpet treatment." Nicolas said slowly from his spot next to Louise.
"Of course. Only the best for the crown," Louise said with a proud smile.
"For the crown in general or for everybody's favorite princess?" he asked with a chuckle.
"A bit of both I suppose… mostly the second." Louise admitted.
"Glad to know the country loves their royalty then," Nicolas chuckled.
Eventually the announcement of her arrival came and several carriages pulled into the academy, eventually pulling to a stop before the Headmaster and the teachers. From the carriage in the the middle (which was painfully obvious that it was the Princess Carriage, or at least intended to look like it), pulled by actual unicorns, a young woman (a rather beautiful one, even if he had a crush on Siesta, Nicolas wasn't an idiot and could admit that) with short hair… he wasn't sure which shade, but one of the non obvious shades of purple that was a bit on the darker side, seemed to have some red mixed into it. She wore a regal dress (obviously) in white, with a dark purple cape hanging off her shoulders, the same teal jewels that were present on her tiara sown into the top of her dress as well. Suffice to say she was the text book image of a fairy tale princess, and if what he'd heard was true, in personality too. Case in point…
"What beauty…" Guiche said in awe, much to Montmorency's annoyance, but she held her peace cause that WAS the princess.
"That's the Princess of Tristain? I'm more beautiful than her," Kirche said, causing Nicolas to sweat drop when he heard that, and Louise to fume, muttering things under her breath.
Once Princess Henrietta walked passed, Nicolas couldn't help but comment. "She looks like she came right out of a fairy tale," he whistled.
"A lot of people think so too." Louise agreed with a smile of something, as she looked at the princess, what that something was though, Nicolas couldn't recall from the show, as he had entered the areas where his knowledge was spotty.
The princess then started talking with the headmaster, of what, they couldn't hear due to a few hushed murmurs around them, but from their angle, they could see Henrietta smile as she spoke, obviously happy about something.
Later, during the night, everyone had returned to their rooms, and Nicolas had just finished explaining his routine to Louise, who was deep in thought about it.
"I see… it would certainly grab their attention, and everyone would no doubt enjoy it. And this strange form of magic they use might pique some curiosity." she said, nodding along, before smiling "Do it, I think we have a chance of winning with this one."
"Glad to hear it. I'm gonna need to carefully plan out the choreography, and I need to think which monster to use. They fought their own set of monsters similar to the Ozu family, so there were a lot to choose from," Nicolas nodded. "Hm...wouldn't want anything TOO hard or I'd be the one with issues. Guess I'll just used an intermediate or lower class one."
However, their conversation was cut short, when a knock on the door was heard. "...think it's Kirche again?" Nicolas deadpanned.
"With how things have been, I wouldn't be surprised," Louise groaned.
"...hey, Kirche's runic name is 'Argent' as in something to do with fire, right?" Nicolas asked gaining a smirk.
"What do you have planned?" Louise chuckled.
"She sleeps around too much. She could use a cold shower for her libido," Nicolas grinned.
Louise clapped a hand over her mouth to avoid bursting out laughing, as Nicolas went over to the bathroom to go fill up a bucket.
"Just a minute please," Louise called out to other side of the door, trying hard not to snicker as Nicolas soon came back and readied the bucket, placing it on top of the door, right as they unlocked it and let the person in. However...instead of a familiar tanned redhead, it was a stranger in a cloak...who was suddenly doused with water.
There was silence for a moment, as Louise and Nicolas stared blankly at the cloaked person, who just seemed to be confused at being doused in water.
Eventually, the two would be pranksters snapped out of it "Ah, uh, my apologies, we thought it was someone else." Louise said nervously.
"Yeah… we thought it was someone who likes to heckle Louise too much." Nicolas added with a sheepish look, while the cloaked figure smiled in amusement.
"Well, I suppose I certainly can't blame you if this was to get back at a tormentor, a rather harmless way of doing so at that." the figure, obviously female by their voice, laughed a bit, as they pulled back their hood to reveal…
"P-P-Princess!" Louise stuttered in a panic as she got a knee, Nicolas imitating her because now was DEFINITELY the time to apologise.
"W-we're REALLY sorry your highness! If we had even an inkling of an idea it was you we wouldn't have even TRIED this!" Nicolas apologized quickly as well.
Despite being soaked, Henrietta chuckled, and with a quick wave of her own wand, got all the water off of her clothes and body. "It's no problem at all. Honestly, it's actually quite funny," she chuckled.
"Well...glad you can take a joke," Nicolas chuckled awkwardly. "So...what brings the Princess all the way here?"
Henrietta smiled "I came to visit a friend." she said, before looking at Louise.
Nicolas looked between the two girls at that "Wait… what?"
Louise blushed a bit "I had the honor of being the Princess' playmate as a child."
"Don't say it like that Louise." Henrietta said with a sad smile as she knelt in front of her friend, making the pinkette look up "You're my friend, it's as simple as that."
"And you came all the way just to see her again?" Nicolas whistled and turned to Louise. "You've got a good friend, Louise," he grinned.
"W-Well…" Louise could only blush at the words, which then deepened when Henrietta hugged her, returning it with a slightly awkward smile, no doubt because of ingrained habits warring with what she personally wanted.
Henrietta giggled as she broke the hug, though she quickly sobered up "I did have another reason though. I heard about what happened at Mott's estate. Apparently, someone was seen there, with a large black horse as their steed, and Louise was seen in town, both entering and leaving it on that same horse."
Nicolas smirked a bit "Nice to see a Princess who can notice the obvious. Yeah, I went to his place to save a friend of mine, but I'm guessing you want to know about the monster, right?"
"...monster?" Henrietta blinked...before she remembered something. "Yes...the survivors of the incident DID mention something about a monster…I am assuming you had a hand in dealing with it?"
"Yes. I was honestly...surprised to see that particular one again. I was sure it had been destroyed in the past," Nicolas nodded.
"You did tell me the Hades Beasts were supposed to have been slain by the Ozu Family," Louise nodded, remembering the story.
Now it was Henrietta's turn to blink. "I feel like you both know something I don't," she couldn't help but say.
"I don't think we have enough time to explain right now, but we'll try to find a time we can tell you eventually." Nicolas said.
"I see… maybe a summons directly to the castle because I wish to see my friend again." Henrietta answered, looking to Louise with a smile, the pinkette blushing but smiling a bit as she looked away.
"That'd work," Nicolas nodded. "At any rate, it's nice to meet you, Princess. Sorry I couldn't be of help just yet, and I hope you enjoy your visit here," he said, before turning to the door. "I'll just leave you two to catch up," he said, before going out of the room.
The next morning had everyone gathered together in the court, a stage prepared. "We will now begin this year's familiar presentation," Professor Corbert said as the festivities began.
Various exhibitions were done, from tricks to simple performances, like Guiche posing with Verdande, his mole familiar, and some more complex ones like the fire exhibition Flame was doing with Kirche. Eventually though, it was Nicolas's turn.
"Alright… anytime for your idea now Louise." he said as it was time for them to go up the stage.
"Perfect time for it actually." Louise said, gesturing to the side, and Nicolas was about to turn, when he felt a pair of lips on his cheek.
He blushed a bit after a moment, turning to see Siesta standing there with a blush "Miss Valiere told me you had stage fright and thought I might be able to help you overcome it."
He worked his mouth up and down a little bit, before looking at Louise, who was grinning at him knowingly.
'My own master is a shipper… well isn't that an interesting situation?' he thought to himself as he took a deep breath and smiled, turning back to Siesta "Yeah, it did help Siesta, thanks."
She nodded with a smile, watching the two as they left the tent.
Nicolas grinned as he and Louise strode onto the stage, letting the pinkette give the introduction "My Familiar, Nicolas Alouette, is a Mage Knight, as such, he will use his skills in magic to put on a show with illusions, presenting a noble of another land and his close attendants, fighting the strange monsters of their land."
With that, Nicolas gulped a bit and bowed to the crowd, before unflipping his wand. "Ujira Uru Uzaara!" he called out after inputting the command. The spell activated, and suddenly several figures in black, darted along the stage, pulling with them sheets and banners (earning a few murmurs of surprise from the audience), and before long, what was gathered looked like a procession for nobility, evident by the Crest that was on the banners, shaped like an upside down diamond, with two spikes jutting out from the side.
Then the steady beating of a drum could be heard, steadily growing louder, before suddenly the men in black clothes started to move aside, taking the banner with them, revealing five figures, all dressed in foreign robes with the three men wearing blue lower halves and the two young women wearing yellow lower halves. At the center of the five was a young man who exudes an air of nobility to him, while in front of them several ominous lights appeared as terrifying fish-like creatures climbed out of the ground, lead by a single more notable monster, it's appearance marking it as… unique, to say the least, it's upper torso red in color, with an almost eye-like pattern over its shoulders, and a strange helmet that seemed to evoke a crab, its forearms blue with fin like protrusions on them, meanwhile, the most attention grabbing part of it would be its lower body, which looked like a giant blue head with a pair of hand shaped feet sticking out below it.
"Halt, Gedoushu!" the man in the middle declared.
"That crest…! You…!" the creature in the lead glared, before the five humans took out devices that reminded the audience of the device Nicolas used, which soon folded to form...brushes?
"Calligraphy Phone!" the five called out. "With these brush strokes, we report to the Emperor!"
The five then traced several symbols that hung in the air, before their devices glowed, and the symbols appeared behind them, wrapping around them. When the light cleared they were donned in similar uniforms, all wearing black pants, the symbols they had drawn on their helmets, and identical swords at their waists attached to a golden belt, the crest on their breast, while the top had black lines that seemed to imitate what their robes looked like before their transformation, with one half tucked behind the other neatly, the most obvious difference between the suits though, were the colors, the two young women in pink and yellow, skirts at their waists, two of the men in green and blue, and the more regal young man in the middle, now clad in red. Opening their belts, they each drew some kind of disk from within and slid it up the handle of their swords till they were attached to the hilt, before drawing their swords, each giving a practice swing.
"ShinkenRed! Takeru Shiba!" the one in red announced himself.
"The same! Blue! Ryuunosuke Ikenami!"
"The same! Pink! Mako Shiraishi!"
"The same! Green! Chiaki Tani!"
"The same! Yellow! Kotoha Hanaori!"
With that, the four on two sides knelt down like knights swearing fealty, while ShinkenRed stood tall. "Samurais authorized by Providence!" he called out before the four stood up at the ready. "Shinkenger! Going forth!"
"Destroy them!" the lead monster commanded, to which the other monsters moved forth, the Shinkengers meeting the attacks head on, parrying and countering strikes with their own swords. At the same time, ShinkenRed pulled out his phone and traced a symbol once more, his symbol, causing a burst of fire to hit the the monsters, destroying them. At the same time, the others did the same and the monsters were pelted with elements of water, wood, wind, and earth from the various symbols.
Realizing that, the horde of monsters drew bows and began firing a barrage of arrows at the five warriors, causing the crowd to gasp at the sight of the rain of death, but the five fended off the attack with their swords, cutting through and deflecting arrow after arrow, till finally none were left. However, even after surviving that, the horde had barely thinned out. Acting quickly, the five of them spun the disk at the base of their weapons, before their swords were enveloped in light, and soon transformed.
"Rekka Daizantou!" ShinkenRed called out as his sword transformed into a massive red greatsword with a pattern of flame on it, before ShinkenRed opened his belt and drew a red disk from it, and attached it to his new weapon and mowed down rows of enemies.
"Water Arrow!" ShinkenBlue called out as his sword transformed into a bow, before he placed a blue disk on it, and began shooting arrows made of water at the monsters, impaling several.
"Heaven Fan!" ShinkenPink called out as her sword turned into a large battle fan to which she placed a pink disk onto it, and when she lashed out at the enemies, her strikes were accompanied with bursts of wind, sending the ones who tried to get close flying while the ones within her range were cut at the chests.
"Land Slicer!" ShinkenYellow called out as her sword transformed into a bizarre three bladed weapon which once she placed the yellow disk on, was revealed to be a throwing weapon when she threw it at severa incoming enemies, the weapon cutting through them before returning to her hands, to which she quickly used it as an impromptu shield from several blades and countered with a swing of her arms.
"Wood Spear!" ShinkenGreen called out as his sword turned into a polearm, and when he equipped the green disk, a blade extended from the tip of his weapon, allowing him to fight like a great spearmen, cutting down enemy after enemy, till finally only the leader remained.
"Eat this!" the monster roared as he fired fireballs from his mouth...only for ShinkenRed block it and strike him with his greatsword. The creature blocked with its blades, the two dueling for a few moments, before finally ShinkenRed overpowered the monster, causing it to drop its weapons, knocking it back. Once that was done, the five weapons turned back to their original sword forms, the five Shinkenger standing in a row.
"The finisher," ShinkenRed declared as the five of them spun the multicolored disks that were still attached to the swords, causing the swords to ignite with their respective elements.
"Shinkenmaru! Rasen No Tachi!" the five called out in unison before they charged forward, slashing through the monster and when they landed on the other side, they sheathed their sword as the energies wreaked havoc within the monster before it fell over and exploded into a ball of fire.
"And with this the chapter ends," ShinkenRed declared, before the entire scene faded away.
There was a stunned silence within the crowd, which was soon broken by clapping, spreading through it rapidly, no cheering (they were nobles and viewed themselves with class after all) but the clapping alone brought about the message that they enjoyed it greatly.
"Are you doing alright?" Louise asked with a concerned frown as she looked at the panting and hunched over Nicolas.
"That… was… VERY… tiring…" he said, taking several deep breaths of air "When I made your copy last night… it was easy, since it didn't move… but I just made SEVERAL illusions, all physical, ALL MOVING, so… yeah, I was a bit spread thin there at the end." he admitted.
"Well… you've definitely earned the rest after that performance." she reassured him, before grinning a bit "I'll ask that they personally get Siesta to care for you." and her grin grew when Nicolas started sputtering.
However, before they could actually DO anything...Nicolas heard something. "Hey...did you hear that?" he asked.
Louise blinked, and listened carefully. One advantage of Nobles conducting themselves in a dignified way, not much noise. True enough… "It...sounds like something being hit…" Louise frowned.
"We'd better check it out," Nicolas frowned, to which both nodded and wandered away, unnoticed by the others,
When they got to the source of the sound… "...Louise?" Nicolas started.
"Yes?" Louise asked.
"Is that a giant golem playing Rampage with the school?"
"I don't know why something like that would be a game, but yes, yes it is," Louise nodded almost numbly.
"Oh good… glad I'm not having fever dreams due to exhaustion." Nicolas said after a moment. "Now what do we do?"
"We either stop it or we call for help," Louise said firmly.
"Door number 1, cause we've been seen," Nicolas sighed, as true enough, the person on the Golem's shoulder took notice of them.
They couldn't see much of the figure, as their outfits seemed to obscure them rather well, except that they had green hair, though when they spoke "Destroy them!" it was confirmed it was a woman as she ordered the golem to attack them.
"Move!" Nicolas shouted as he and Louise dived out of the way.
"What is she even doing?!" Louise asked as she got up.
"I don't think we'll get answers." Nicolas said as he drew his wand and punched in a code "Uuza Uru Uzaara!"
… and his wand just let out a few purple sparks from it's tip.
Nicolas stared at it numbly for a moment "Performance issues… NOW of all times?!"
"You may have drained yourself of most of your power earlier with the show." Louise said in worry.
"...screw you, Murphy," Nicolas said in annoyance as he drew Derf. "Hope the maintenance was good enough, cause we're about to fight a big rock!"
"Dunno about cutting rock, but I can probably eat some of the magic," Derf said.
"Good enough for me. Louise, I'm counting on you for cover fire!" Nicolas said quickly.
"Wait, what's cover fire?!" Louise asked as she turned to him.
"Just blow it up! And yes, I mean with your explosions, those are plenty good for this, trust me!" he told her, before yelping when a fist came right for him, raising Derf to try and block it, grunting as it pushed him back, though the earth used in the fist seemed to be starting to lose some of the solidity.
Despite her slight annoyance at being reminded of how most of her spells ended, Louise could privately admit he had a point, blowing up the golem WAS her best course of action, but still… "I can't believe I'm about to intentionally fail a spell." she muttered as she pulled out her wand and pointed at the arm of the golem "Fireball!"
A beat passed, and just as she expected, there was an explosion, though where as she had been aiming at the shoulder, instead, the hand was the part that blew up.
"...eh, I'll take it," Nicolas shrugged as he charged forward, capitalizing the loss of a hand to try to get closer… only for the other hand to come around and try to swat him aside. Gritting his teeth, he was glad the runes were doing their job, as he was able to jump to avoid the swing...then he noticed the destroyed hand regenerating.
Louise noticed it too, and aimed again for the shoulder or head. "Fireball!"
This time there was a pause...and the wall of the academy exploded.
Nicolas could only stare dryly, before turning to Louise as he touched back down.
"Don't say it." she muttered through grit teeth.
He shrugged, still giving her that same dry look before turning back to the golem.
The woman standing on top of it seemed stunned at the chain of events, especially when she noticed the wall of the academy cracked, making her grin. Immediately ignoring them, the golem turned and slammed its fist into the cracked wall, breaking through. However, just as it did, it was pelted by several icicles the size of spears, forcing it to block. Turning to the source, they were met with the sight of Tabitha on her Familiar, Sylphid. The bluenette was raining icy death on the golem, but its large arms were blocking the attacks. Of course that was when Nicolas had an idea. "The legs, aim for the legs," he quickly told Louise, who realized the legs WERE undefended, and aimed...after getting a bit closer.
"Fireball!" she shouted and the legs were abruptly destroyed, causing the golem to teeter back and forth, before falling over. The moment it did, all three (four including Sylphid) of them all but surrounded the golem, until…
"Uh...where'd she go?" Nicolas blinked as the mage wasn't where she had been before.
"The hole." Tabitha said after a moment of looking around, pointing towards the hole in the wall of the academy, where the woman was standing, holding a case under an arm.
"Well now, it seems that I have to thank you for allowing me to get away with the Staff of Destruction." the thief said, a smirk on her face.
"Who said anything about letting you get away?" Nicolas said with a frown.
"Who said you had a choice?" the thief returned, before jumping out of the hole, surprising them as they dived to the spot she would fall…
… and they watched in shock as she dived INTO the ground. A stunned silence followed before… "Well… that just happened…" Nicolas blinked.
"The Staff of Destruction has been transferred into my hands. Fouquet the Sculptor," Headmaster Osmond read the message left on the wall of the vault. "They got us," he frowned as he turned and looked at the new hole in the wall.
Meanwhile, down in the court, the various students and their familiars were gathered for their safety, just in case Fouquet was still nearby. However, it seemed that the thief was long gone.
"So it was Fouquet, huh? That's a surprise," Kirche mused, quite surprised at the sudden turn of events. "Hey Tabitha, did you see her face?" she asked her friend who was quietly reading a book next to her.
"She hid her face," Tabitha said simply.
"Is that so? How boring," the redhead shrugged with a sigh.
A bit further away, Louise and Nicolas were looking towards the battleground. "So what's the verdict?" Nicolas asked.
"To control a golem that large. Fouquet is at least Triangle-Class...probably a pure Earth mage at that," she said.
"So basically the earth version of Kirche in terms of magic. Got it," he nodded.
"It's good to see you safe Louise." the two of them heard, making them turn to see Henrietta come up to them with a relieved smile on her face.
"Any clues about what exactly is going on princess?" Nicolas asked when she got close.
"Nothing much, only that Fouquet was targeting the Staff of Destruction, apparently a powerful relic from long ago." Henrietta said with a shake of her head.
"We apologize for not being able to stop her," Louise said in apology.
Henrietta shook her head. "No, this was not your responsibility. Thank you for trying to stop Fouquet," she said with a smile. "I need to report to the palace, but before I do, I did learn what the verdict from the judges were. Congratulations, you both won, even if I must apologize for the lack of congratulatory ceremony." she said, as a guard came up with a small crown, which Henrietta picked up and placed on the stunned Louise's head.
"Right, I do all the work and she gets the prize. The pains of being a familiar." Nicolas said with fake annoyance, a grin on his face as he joked around.
Henrietta chuckled. "Now then, I must take my leave. I hope to see you both again soon," she said before she turned to leave and soon boarded her carriage. As the royal entourage was leaving though…
"I hope the princess doesn't have to take responsibility for this…" Louise frowned.
"Huh? Why would she have to do this over something she wasn't even there for?" Nicolas blinked.
"I've been hearing bad rumors about the palace recently," Louise frowned.
"Let me guess...corrupt nobles in the court?" Nicolas groaned. Really, corruption among those in power really WAS universal.
Louise didn't say anything, neither confirming nor denying his words...though the expression she had was more of being in deep thought, and thus he chose not to press further.
A couple of days later, and so far no word had come regarding Fouquet. For a change, Nicolas was with the students in a classroom...during study period. "Do these happen often?" he couldn't help but ask.
"Only when the teachers are busy," Louise said, diligently going over materials.
"Ah...makes sense," he nodded, seeing as with what had happened recently, no way the teachers weren't busy dealing with the fallout. However, as he was thinking about that, he noticed Kirche turn around, and reveal a small lunch box which she opened, and a rather sweet smell wafted out. To which she took a fork and speared a fruit in it, offering it to him.
"Say 'aah'," she said with her usual tone.
Nicolas inwardly sighed at how she just couldn't take a hint. Though he mentally reminded himself NOT to do this the jerkass way. She may be annoying, but she hadn't done anything to deserve THAT treatment. With that in mind… "I appreciate the snack, but really, I can feed myself," he said politely, taking the fork from her and taking a bite out of the fruit. "This is really good. What is it?" he said honestly.
"These fruits are a Germanian specialty," Kirche smiled.
"I can see why," Nicolas said as he took the box and ate another piece...before passing it to Louise. "Here, you should try some. It's really good," he said, but not before giving her a wink.
She looked at him oddly for a moment, before grinning a bit, understanding what he was doing, as she ate a piece as well "Not bad I suppose." she said, before deciding to make this even better as she passed it to another student, which then passed on to another, and another, and another.
Before long it was back with Nicolas with just a few pieces left. "Thanks a lot Kirche, these were a great pick me up after just study hall after study hall," Nicolas said with a smile.
"Ah...well...I'm happy to help," Kirche said a bit stiffly, unsure how exactly to feel about what just happened. On one hand Nicolas looked pleased, but on the other hand...they were supposed to be for him only… Shaking her head a bit, she looked around. "Anyway, it's really been pretty boring with just study hall," she sighed.
"It can't be helped. The teachers are all busy dealing with Fouquet," Louise sighed.
"But it sure is a big deal. I heard rumors that Princess Henrietta might have to take responsibility," Kirche frowned. "After all, the reason Fouquet could sneak in was because they pulled some of the guards that were normally guarding the vault. Not to mention I heard this was against what her advisors told her."
Nicolas scoffed "Damn advisors, acting high and mighty, hate people like that."
"You and me both." Louise muttered.
Before any further conversation could take place, the door suddenly opened, Professor Colbert entered the room in a hurry. "Ms. Valiere! Ms. Tabitha! The headmaster wishes to see you immediately!"
"Huh?" Louise and Nicolas blinked.
A bit later, the group found themselves in Osmond's office, though they did have an addition.
"Why are you here Zerbst?" Louise asked with a raised eyebrow.
"My dear friend Tabitha was called up here, so of course I'd be curious about what's going on." Kirche answered.
"Uh huh, right, totally nothing to do with the fact Nicolas is here too." Louise said dryly.
Kirche just chuckled before they stood before Osmond and several other teachers.
"Upon questioning various folk around town, we have gathered information about sightings of a suspicious shadow entering and leaving a deserted shack deep in the woods," Ms. Longueville reported. "I've attempted to sketch out the person based on the descriptions."
"You sure are quick on your job," Osmond praised, before Ms. Longueville gave him a rolled up paper, which he soon unrolled and showed it to the gathered students and Nicolas. "How is it?"
The group took a closer look...and they saw the exact same person that they'd been fighting before. "There's no doubt about it! This is Fouquet!" Louise said, while Tabitha nodded in agreement on the side.
The teachers looked among each other at the news, before Professor Colbert chimed in. "We should report this to the palace immediately," he suggested. "We can ask the Royal Guards to send men there."
However Osmond shook his head a little, looking down. "If we drag our heels too much, Fouquet will catch on to us. We must get the staff of destruction back with our own hands, to regain the the institute's honor that was tarnished by the thief!" he said, his eyes dead serious, before he looked at the assembled people. "Raise your staffs up if you are up for the challenge!"
He was met with silence from the surrounding teachers, making him look at all of them "Really? None of you wish to go?" he asked as most of the teachers stood awkwardly.
"...am I the only one feeling a little embarrassed just looking right now?" Nicolas whispered to the three girls. The snicker (Kirche), grunt (Louise), and light nod (Tabitha) all answered his question. Eventually…
"I'll go!" Louise said, raising her wand, while Nicolas couldn't help but smirk at the action. He had a feeling she'd do that.
"I will go as well," Kirche said, raising her wand as well. "I can't afford to lose to a Valliere," she added.
"Of course you would…" Nicolas and Louise muttered, but neither tried to stop her. Neither of them were too proud to realize that this kind of mission needed all the help it could get.
Wordlessly, Tabitha raised her staff. "Tabitha?" Kirche asked in surprise.
"I'm worried about you two," Tabitha said simply.
Both girls couldn't help but smile at that, something Nicolas did as well. It was nice to know Tabitha cared. "Well, since my master is going, obviously I'm going too," he chuckled lightly.
Osmond sighed at how this turned out. "Then I will leave it to the three of you," he sighed, clearly more than a little disappointed that three students were stepping up to a plate that SHOULD have been filled by fully trained mages, while turning to Tabitha and Louise. "These two have seen and fought Fouquet. On top of that, Ms. Tabitha is a Chevalier Knight, at so young an age."
There was some surprised gasps from a few people at that, and…
"What's that supposed to be?" Nicolas asked with a blink.
"A Chevalier is a class of Knights. To be awarded the rank of a Knight is hard enough, let alone one as high as that," Louise said in surprise.
"I honestly had no idea either," Kirche said, just as surprised about the information regarding her friend.
"Furthermore, Ms. Zerbst is from an established military family in Germania," Osmond continued. "I also hear her flame magic is powerful as well," he said, earning a proud look from Kirche.
"And…" he started, looking towards Louise… and pausing a little until he noticed Nicolas giving him a look… which gave him an idea. "And Miss Valiere was no doubt taught by her mother, Karin the Heavy Wind herself, and has a powerful Familiar to back her up." and Louise beamed at that.
"That's right! He's the legendary Ga-" Professor Colbert was about to say, but quickly cut himself off before he finished, but Nicolas noticed...and so did Miss Longueville.
"The Institution of Magic will be looking forward to your hard work as well as your duties as nobles!" Osmond quickly said, drawing attention back to himself, the three girls raising their wands/staff in acknowledgement.
With that done, Miss Longueville stepped forward. "Old Osmond, I will serve as their guide," she said.
"Will you do so, Miss Longueville?" Osmond checked.
"I had intended to from the start," she said with a smile...one that put Nicolas on edge. It was far too happy for someone volunteering to fight a criminal.
Definitely need to keep an eye on her.
The group was soon boarded on a wagon drawn by horses, albeit one modified for more comfort. It wasn't long before they were approaching the forest where Fouquet was supposedly hiding in. "Hey...I had a thought," Nicolas suddenly spoke up.
"Hm? What is it?" Kirche was the first to ask.
"Well...Fouquet can use magic right? Sure not everyone who uses magic is a noble, but I can imagine it'd mean something at least, so why is she resorting to crime?" he said.
"It's possible she's a disgraced noble, or something of the sort. If it's the first, maybe she resents other nobles for having what she lost." Louise said speculatively.
"Yes, that is very likely. It's quite often that such disgraced nobles become guards, mercenaries, and in this case, even criminals," Miss Longueville said, before chuckling melancholically. "I myself am among those who have been demoted from nobility."
"Really? But aren't you Old Osmond's secretary?" Kirche asked.
"Mr. Osmond isn't particularly picky regarding commoners or nobles," Longueville chuckled.
"Is that so? Then, what was the reason you lost your nobility?" Kirche pressed a bit.
"Kirche, you don't just ask somebody that kind of question." Nicolas admonished her.
"He's right! You're being rude, Zerbst!" Louise agreed rather hotly. This really wasn't the kind of thing for casual talk.
"You two are being too stiff. I'm just having idle talk. It's not like anything is going on right now," Kirche huffed. "Geez...for what sad reasons do I have to come catch some thief…"
At that Tabitha gave her friend a flat sidelong glance before returning to her book. Nicolas and Louise on the other hand...
"You volunteered for this!" they said in annoyed deadpan, one notably more annoyed than the other.
Kirche blinked, before having the decency to blush "Oh right… I did."
"We will be arriving soon. Please keep your voices down," Longueville said, halting any further conversations.
It wasn't long before they saw a small structure ahead. A rundown wooden shack that was apparently used for charcoal-burning. Once they arrived, Louise, Kirche, and Longueville quickly got behind some bushes, while Nicolas and Tabitha got closer from opposite ends, both ready to throw a spell at a moments notice. However...there didn't seem to be anyone in the house...nor did it seem like there was any place to hide. With that in mind, Nicolas gave the others the 'all clear' sign. Tabitha even checked and found no traps with her magic, a fact she relayed and confirmed by simply opening the door and going inside.
"...I dunno about you all but this place seems fishy," Derf said, popping out of his sheath.
"That makes two of us," Nicolas nodded in agreement, while Kirche went after Tabitha.
"I'll stand guard out here. You three try searching the inside," Louise volunteered, earning a nod from Nicolas and going into the shack as well.
"I will scout the surroundings," Longueville said as she went off in another direction.
With everyone doing their assigned jobs, the three who went into the house investigated. However… "Are we sure this is the right place? This place looks like not even a rat's been living here," Nicolas commented as he used his sleeve to cover his mouth, as he idly traced his hand over some furniture. His finger was black from just a single swipe.
"Oh, at this rate I'll be covered in dust," Kirche complained as she had to agree with Nicolas. This place looked almost unfit for a rat to live in, let alone a human being.
"Staff of Destruction," Tabitha suddenly said, holding a familiar box.
"Oh? You found it? Good work, Tabitha," Nicolas half paid attention, before he realized what he'd just said, and turned so fast Tabitha wondered how he didn't break his neck. Not to mention how his eyes were comically bulging out as if he couldn't believe she'd found the Staff just like that...which she honestly couldn't blame him.
Before he could speak though, they heard a scream, and Nicolas reacted on instinct, rushing back outside with Kirche and Tabitha following him, to see… "Oh of course it's another bloody Golem." he said, before turning to the two girls "You two, aerial support, I'll take the ground." he said seriously, earning nods as Tabitha whistled into her fingers, her Familiar arriving moments later.
At the same time a few explosions hit the golem, but for any bit that did break away, it soon regrew as Louise fruitlessly tried to hit it with more spells. Seemingly getting annoyed, the Golem soon turned to face her and looked ready to smash her, until…
"Uuza Uru Uzaara!" Nicolas shouted, and soon Wolzard grabbed her, getting her away from the Golem, while Kirche and Tabitha rained ice and fire spells on it from above. "This one seems tougher than the last one," he frowned.
"We need to destroy it faster before it regenerates," Louise said, having noticed how it kept regenerating.
"Then we'll need a LOT of damage," Wolzard frowned, before putting his shield on his back and summoning Derf to his left hand.
"I'll help too!" Louise said.
"Not when you could get hit by those fists," Wolzard stopped her, before signalling to Tabitha and Kirche to land. Once the two did, Wolzard quickly helped Louise onto Sylphid. "You three provide air support. I'll attack it from the ground."
"Understood," Tabitha nodded, seeing the logic of this plan.
"Hey wait, I-" Louise didn't get to finish as she was on Sylphid who took to the sky. Now alone on the ground, Wolzard looked at the golem. "Kirito, eat your heart out," he smirked before he felt the runes fill him with energy and he charged forward. The Golem tried to squash him, but he was faster, evading the fists, and slashed away at the limbs with his two swords, cutting through easily. However, the Golem quickly regenerated the damage. At the same time, the three girls were pelting the golem with their spells, but the effects were the same. Minimal if any damage due to how much the Golem kept regenerating.
"Oh come on! This is getting annoying!" Wolzard grunted as he cut off a hand, which quickly regenerated.
Louise couldn't help but agree with him, wondering if there was anything they could do… before she looked at the case which supposedly held the Staff of Destruction "Let's see if this is as strong as they say!" she said and opened it up, retrieving the staff from within as she jumped off of Sylphid.
When Wolzard turned at hearing her voice, he was about to berate her for jumping back down… until he saw the staff, his eyes widening in surprise beneath the helmet.
The staff was black, almost midnight blue in color, with blue rings around the area where it was gripped, a blue orb slightly higher, and the top of the staff looking like a twisted version of an open flower.
"Take this!" Louise shouted as she reared back to thrust the staff forward and unleash its destructive magic to destroy the Golem. However, Wolzard knew better.
"Louise! Noooo!" he shouted...too late, as when Louise thrusted the staff forward, it opened, and a set of seeds/beans flew out of the staff, and impacted the Golem. At first nothing happened...before the Golem spasmed and a series of green plants rapidly started growing out of it, breaking it apart...before soon growing uncontrollably and wrapping around themselves till they were high into the sky, seemingly forming some kind of outline before a flash occurred...and when everyone could see again, found themselves faced with a Golem now the size of a mountain.
There was a tense silence amongst them, broken by Louise "Wh… what just happened…?"
"Louise… that staff belong to a Duchess Org by the name of TsueTsue, she would use it to release Org Seeds, little soybeans that, when they come in contact with a creature, make it grow to giant proportions, usually used to revive Baron Orgs after they fell in battle." Wolzard explained, slowly taking a few steps back. "I don't know why they'd call it the 'Staff of Destruction', but the only destruction it can bring is the destruction caused by the creatures it makes grow," he gulped thickly.
"But… how do we beat a giant?" she asked fearfully.
Wolzard was silent for a moment "With a giant of our own." he said, and passed Derf to her "Hold onto him for me."
"What do you mean? What are you going to do?!" Louise half panicked due to situation, while Kirche and Tabitha quickly picked her up and got her on Sylphid again.
Wolzard looked at the Golem, before looking to the side. "Uu Uru Zazare!" he called out, as Barikion appeared out of the magic portal. Acting quickly, Wolzard got onto his steed and they began galloping. "Uuza Uru Ugaro!" he shouted as a new circle appeared and the two passed through, and came out the other side gigantic, Wolzard now as large as the monster, while Barikion had also grown and changed, becoming a giant, black iron horse, with silver and gold strewn about his body, and glowing green eyes on his head.
"What in the world?!" Kirche said in alarm as the three bore witness to that. However, Wolzard wasn't done.
"Uuza Douza Zanga!" he called out.
Barikion's head and neck suddenly disconnected from his body, while Wolzard floated up to in front of said body, the front legs opening and his own legs resting within as the front closed back up, giving the appearance of a centaur. At the same time, Barikion's head detached from the neck, the golden mane turning into a spear as it straightened out, a handle jutting out of it, while the head itself attached to the bottom of the handle, with Wolzard grabbing hold of the spear from the air as he gave it a practice swing "Dark Magic Fusion, WolKentauros!" he declared.
The girls were...busy picking their jaws up from the ground to really say anything regarding what they'd just seen.
WolKentauros didn't pay it any mind, as he charged towards the Golem, and struck with the spear, cutting off a limb, and when the Golem tried to counter, it was kicked in the face by the horse legs, sending it skidding back. It tried to fight back, but WolKentauros didn't give it any chance, and kept attacking while using his speed to evade the slow Golem's clumsy attacks. Eventually…
"This is the end of your fight." WolKentauros muttered, before lifting his spear high "Uuza Douza Uru Ugaro!"
The magic circle appeared behind him as he spun the spear around, both sides igniting with dark magic, before he galloped forward, and right as he passed the Golem, he struck it in the side, cutting through it easily, the dark magic disrupting the magic that animated it, causing it to fall to the ground in two parts and crumble into dirt. With the battle done, a magic circle appeared before WolKentauros, before he went through, and came out as Nicolas once again, riding on Barikion and back to their normal sizes, before they quickly went to the shack, just as Sylphid landed. "Phew, that's actually pretty tiring," he sighed.
"You can turn into a giant?!" was the first thing Louise asked, well, rather screamed actually.
Nicolas winced a bit and put a pinkie in his ear, moving it around before pulling it out "Ok, first, Louise, volume, control it a bit, just a suggestion. Second, yes, I can, I just didn't mention it before because I didn't think it would ever end up being important."
"WHY DID YOU THINK THAT WOULDN'T BE IMPORTANT?!" Louise all but shouted.
"Unless Helkagenia has giant monsters stomping around it every couple of weeks, I honestly didn't see the point. That form takes up energy and then there's the risk of me stepping on my own allies by accident," Nicolas deadpanned.
"Dangerous." Tabitha summed up in a word.
"Essentially yeah, I gotta build up my magic reserves to be able to use that without issue for prolonged periods." Nicolas said with a shrug.
"Still...I'm glad we could get the staff back...sorry about what I used it for though," Louise said apologetically.
Nicolas shook his head. "Its fine. Had I not known what it was, I'd probably have done the same. I mean, with a name like 'Staff of Destruction', I'd expect some kind of destructive power too," he said. "Still though...what was TsueTsue's staff doing here?"
"Actually while we're on that topic, where's Ms. Longueville?" Kirche suddenly said, noticing that through all the commotion, said woman never showed up.
"You don't think…" Louise started, getting a bit worried.
"We'd better search for her!" Nicolas nodded in agreement, looking worried.
A few hours later, they were back at the academy...but the mood was somber. They'd recovered the Staff of Destruction sure...but when searching for Longueville, all they'd found was her cloak...covered in blood.
"I… I see… it saddens me that not only did Fouquet manage to get away, but she killed and took away Miss Longueville's body." Osmond said sadly as he gazed at the cloak of his secretary. "However, you have managed to recover the Staff of Destruction and it is now securely in the vault once more. For that you all have my thanks," he said with a small smile. "Normally we'd be having a banquet in your honor, but…"
"Its alright Headmaster," Louise nodded solemnly, a fact matched by Tabitha and even Kirche.
"Someone died. This is not a time for celebration," Kirche said, her usual fire not present.
"Another thing, despite the regrettable outcome, the Palace still thinks highly of your actions. It is likely they will want to reward the three of you in the future," Osmond added.
"The three of us?" Louise blinked. "Then…" they looked at Nicolas who shrugged.
"Eh, it's not a big surprise. I'm not a noble, and besides, I don't really care about that," Nicolas shrugged. "Though, I DO want to know something else," he said, before walking forward. "That Staff of Destruction...that was the Duchess Org TsueTsue's staff. A staff that makes monsters grow into giants. Why was something like that here?"
"I don't really know what an Org is, but this TsueTsue you speak of… she suddenly appeared in our kingdom years ago, far before any of you were born, and suddenly spread havoc, using her staff to make creatures grow to giant proportions… we were lucky she could only ever find goblins to serve her." Osmond explained with a weary sigh.
Nicolas frowned at that, before a thought struck him "Headmaster… were there any other strange people like her? Those with strange sources of power like hers and mine? Or other relics perhaps?"
"Well...there are rumors here and there, but the only one I actually know of is the Dragon's Raiment. It was said to have appeared from the sky one day, and landed somewhere in these lands...but where exactly I am uncertain. You might want to talk to Colbert. He has been researching into it due to how the stories speak of its similarities to some of his projects," Osmond said.
"I see…" Nicolas frowned.
"But...what does that all mean?" Louise frowned. "What does this have to do with you and your powers?"
Nicolas sighed a bit "Because the origin of my powers, while it is magic, it's also something else. In my home, there is a large group of over 200 heroes, known as the Super Sentai, protecting the world from every threat that comes to face them. The Super Sentai as a whole are spread into over 40 teams, each with varying power sources."
"Then, the Ozu family you told me about… and even the Shiba Clan you used in your performance…!" Louise realized.
"That's right," Nicolas nodded. "They were Super Sentai. The Mahou Sentai, or Magical Taskforce, Magiranger, and the Samurai Sentai, or Samurai Taskforce, Shinkenger, respectively."
"They saved the world, but we never heard of them?" Tabitha asked curtly, tilting her head in confusion as she gave him her attention for how interesting this was getting.
"That would be because I'm not FROM Halkegenia in the first place. I'm from a land called Earth, the home of the Super Sentai, well, of MOST of the Super Sentai." Nicolas said, deciding to drop the bomb quickly.
The moment he said that, all sound in the room just...stopped.
You guys hate me with the cliffhangers by now don't you?
Anyway, hope you guys enjoyed, because...
The Hiatus... is over...