Apologies in advance, but I won't be posting further updates on the Investigations or Bath pages until right before I post Chapter Twelve: Part One, other to update the remaining Stars of Destiny. Both fully completed pages will be posted before I post Part One of Chapter Twelve.
Part Three
Caesar rubbed a hand through his hair and sighed sheepishly as he stared down at the length of hair sitting on the table before them. "So now...we know whose hair this is."
"Archana," Surya whispered, tears in his voice. He reached out and rested a hand on the braid. "Her hair is this long. Was this long. I've only seen Archana with long hair..."
"He cut so much of it off!" Mokuren whispered. Tears were sliding down her cheeks. "Why did he do that to the Princess?"
"At least it was just hair and not a limb," Peader said.
"T-This is truly unbelievable," Varnaz said quietly. "L—Bearyl. I thought that he cared. He gave the Princess safe haven, and yet he would—" he gestured to the hair.
"Desperate people will commit desperate acts," Allise said softly.
"And Bearyl is VERY desperate," Gunther said.
"Why did you guys let him go?!" Freyr snapped, gesturing angrily to the braid. "Look what that bastard did to my cousin!"
"We didn't have a choice," Chinmaya said impatiently. "Bearyl Lutis said his people would kill her if he didn't make it back to them. We obviously didn't want THAT to happen to her!"
"Is Kaylani safe?" Silvano exclaimed. Israfil said nothing, his gaze frozen on the braid on the table. "What about my son? Did he take all of them or just Archana?! Did he hurt my wife and son?!"
"Bearyl only mentioned one person," Caesar said. "So if he had kidnapped anyone other than Princess Archana he would have said so."
"How did this person get to Lunas to kidnap the Princess?" Soturi asked. "Lord Craig and Lady Haswar have been very protective over both of their daughters since the last time they were taken."
That was something that Bearyl Lutis took great pleasure in telling them. He had followed them into Falena when they had last gone for the meeting between Nakula and Sagiri. The Hershville Naval Base soldiers had naturally been distracted by Daunte and his group that they didn't notice Bearyl's boat. They hadn't seen the boat and so they didn't notice the boat drift away from them away from the direction of Sol-Falena.
And I certainly didn't notice him, given my state of mind on that day, Daunte thought.
"It took us a few days, but we got to that decrepit hole in the wall," Bearyl had smugly told them. "We learned their daily schedules and took Princess Archana when she went off by herself to read."
"Why are you doing this?" Daunte had demanded.
"To show you how serious I am. You will come to the High Peak Mountains near the mine within three days, and you will cut off your right hand and give over both the Rune of Restoration AND the authority over the Liberation Army to me. You'll do it in my presence so that I know that you're not pulling a stunt or trying to fool me with the wrong limb."
"What happens if we refuse?" Peader had asked.
Bearyl responded by waving Archana's braid in front of himself. "If you don't come within three days, I'll send you another piece of the Princess. And I'll keep sending you pieces of her until there is nothing left of her to send."
"Filthy swine!" Israfil shouted, drawing his sword. "I swear, if you do anything—"
"Don't forget," Bearyl warned him. "The men who have ALWAYS been loyal to me have their orders to kill Princess Archana if I'm not back by dusk. I've said what's needed to be said, so it's best that none of you delay me any further."
"So when is this odious man expecting Lord Daunte to come to him with his hand cut off?" Keiran asked darkly.
"He is NOT doing anything to Daunte," Nakula said harshly.
"Certainly not," Caesar said. "But we can't let this lie. A Falenan royal has once again been taken by people from Nagarea. Furthermore, the person who did this is the former leader of the Liberation Army. And he was able to get into Falena because of us. It's our responsibility to make this right and to make sure Princess Archana is returned unharmed."
"She's already been harmed," Freyr snapped, jabbing his finger at the braid again.
"I'm going to ensure that nothing else happens to her," Daunte said. "And I will personally apologize to Queen Lymsleia for this—"
"You have nothing to apologize for," Surya interrupted sharply.
"We'll need to rescue the Princess as soon as possible but we can't go into this confrontation blind," Chinmaya said. "We don't know how many allies Bearyl Lutis has with him."
"Not many," Caesar said confidently. "Most of the Army came with us when we removed him from power. There is no possible way that his numbers are close to ours or the Holy Army."
"Then we should take a small party then?" Daunte asked.
"I'm coming with you," Surya quickly said.
"As am I," Freyr said.
"Me too," Mokuren said.
"So will I," Soturi said.
"I ask that you take me as well," Israfil said, stepping forward. "I will ensure Her Highness's safety." Silvano smirked briefly but quickly frowned to cover it up.
"So you have a full party established," Caesar said. "But you should have a secondary party as backup, perhaps even as a diversion."
"I will lead this party—" Keiran began.
"No," Nakula interjected. "I'll lead the second party. Whatever needs to be done I'll do it."
"Even as bait?" Daunte asked warily. But Nakula shrugged. "Whatever needs to be done, Daunte."
"Don't get any ideas about throwing your life away," Peader said sternly.
"I'll volunteer for the second party," Georg said, stepping forward. "I want to give my help to the royal family, when I could not do so before."
"I would like to join this party then too," Keiran said, and Mihr stepped forward. "So will I."
"Only if you use Nariek," Daunte told him.
Mihr huffed coldly but after a moment he nodded stiffly. "Fine."
"I will join this party as well," Silvano said. "Archana is my sister-in-law and I want to help her."
"That leaves one more pers—" Caesar began, but was interrupted by a 'whoosh' of air. "I'll do it," said a voice behind Daunte.
Daunte turned to face Yuber, and he was alarmed by his pale expression and swollen eyes. But his gaze was still cold and full of hate, and he was frowning deeply. He debated if he should thank Yuber or ask him if he was all right, but he knew that Yuber would be furious with him if he asked about his wellbeing. So instead he nodded to Yuber and said, "Thank you for your help."
"I'm not doing this for you," Yuber snapped. "I'm doing this so I can kill." then he teleported away.
"Okay, you have your two parties," Caesar said. "I will volunteer for the support party of group one." He looked at Chinmaya and Peader. "Would either of you like to—"
"I will volunteer for group two," Peader said. He looked at Nakula. "Phoebe Amirmoez chose you for her husband. She put her faith in you, and so will I."
"There isn't much admirable about me," Nakula said grimly. "I abandoned my sons—"
"There is no need to drag that back up now," Daunte said sharply. "Besides, we don't have the time for it."
"If I may, Lord Daunte," Caesar said, stepping forward. "Bearyl Lutis gave us three days to meet him on High Peak Mountains. He is expecting us to immediately go up that mountain to confront him. However, it would be in our best interest to sleep it off and go out tomorrow morning."
"But we can't leave the Princess—" Israfil protested.
"Before he was assaulted by Bearyl, Lord Daunte was ready to collapse," Caesar said. Daunte stiffened slightly and Caesar gave him a lazy smile. "I received Blaise's message. We all need to take tonight to rest so that we have clear heads when we face Bearyl Lutis tomorrow. He won't cause further harm to her unless we don't get there within three days. So let's rest tonight and attack tomorrow."
"I'm going to have to agree with Lord Caesar," Georg spoke up. "We're all running on high emotions right now. We'll make mistakes if we leave now, which is what this person who kidnapped Princess Archana wants. We need to have clear heads and be at full strength if we want to succeed in this rescue attempt."
Daunte looked to Surya. The prince looked upset but he nodded slowly. "I…yes. I don't have a clear head right now. I want to save Archana, but I don't want us making mistakes or Lord Daunte collapsing in the middle of battle."
"Do we have any guarantee that this bastard will keep his end of the bargain?!" Freyr asked. "What if he hurts Archana before we get there?!"
"He won't," Varnaz said. "If I can compliment Bearyl on anything, he's meticulous with details. He gave us three days because he intends to hold us to those three days. If the deadline was truly for tomorrow, he would have told us so."
Daunte nodded, feeling the fatigue return to him again. "Okay. We'll rest tonight and head out at dawn. We'll rescue Princess Archana and get her home as soon as possible. After that, we'll worry about smoothing things over with the Falenan government."
Gunther laughed. "I don't think the fiancé of the Crowned Princess has anything to worry about!"
Daunte felt his headache returning as well as laughter filled the war room.
Daunte didn't get a lot of sleep last night, both from stress and from Kibbeh insisting on sleeping in his bed...and then not settling down for three hours. But he went up to the war room before dawn the following morning feeling significantly better than he had the previous day.
"Viki can teleport you all to Peak's Edge," Chinmaya said. "I don't know how long it will take to reach the mine from Peak's Edge, but I can't imagine it will take more than a day."
"A few hours at most," Peader said. "Early afternoon if we leave as soon as possible."
"Lord Daunte's group will go from the front," Caesar said. "Bearyl wants to see Lord Daunte more than anyone. Group two—"
"I thought group two was the diversion," Nakula interrupted.
"You're the backup party primarily," Caesar told him.
"We can go ahead and approach from the surrounding cliff-sides," Keiran spoke up. "It won't necessarily be a pincer maneuver, but with any luck our forces will outnumber Bearyl Lutis's forces and we can use our superior numbers and skills to overwhelm them."
"Good idea," Daunte said, nodding.
"Thank you, Lord Daunte."
"What we can do is have Lord Daunte go in and get Bearyl Lutis distracted," Peader said. "Perhaps even get him to start a monologue. Lutis was known for monologuing when he was a Cleric."
"He's a great orator," Varnaz said quietly.
"Then while Bearyl and his group are distracted, we can close in and save the Falenan Princess."
"Archana," Surya supplied for him curtly.
"I will mobilize the Army to be on standby here in case something happens," Chinmaya said, clapping her hands together. "So now we—"
"This is stupid."
Yuber teleported into the war room and glared at Daunte. "You do not need to send these pathetic soldiers to save one worthless person—"
"Don't insult my cousin!" Surya snapped.
"Send me and me alone," Yuber snapped at Daunte, blatantly ignoring Surya. "I will kill the vermin and bring back whoever it is you seek. Before you can blink I can get it done. No one will die except the people YOU want to die."
"Why didn't you volunteer this yesterday?" Georg asked in genuine confusion.
"No one asked me then," Yuber bit back.
"…No one asked you now," Gunther pointed out.
"Are you going to send me or not?!" Yuber snapped at Daunte. Daunte stammered slightly, and then looked at Caesar. To his surprise, he could see that Caesar was entertaining the idea. But he also knew that Caesar would not agree with Yuber unless Daunte sent him ahead. He looked at the Falenans and all of them looked skeptical of Yuber.
But if he can save Princess Archana, and avoid anyone getting hurt...
"Fine," Daunte said finally, folding his arms over his chest. "Go and rescue Princess Archana and bring her back unharmed. You'll need to slay Bearyl Lutis while you're at it."
"Done," Yuber said, and immediately teleported away.
"Excellent idea, Lord Daunte," Caesar said brightly.
"Can we really trust that monster with my cousin?" Freyr asked warily.
"Yuber has to follow Lord Daunte's orders," Caesar pointed. "He's bound to Lord Daunte through their blood."
"I would say that I think such a thing is a bad idea, but it's too late to say anything as it's already done," Nakula said.
A moment passed as they waited, standing in silence for Yuber to return with Archana. Then another moment passed. A full minute passed before a hard lump grew in Daunte's throat. He's taking too long.
"He's taking too long," Surya said aloud.
"I agree," Caesar quickly said, looking at Daunte. "We should follow him now."
"Right," Daunte said, nodding. "For his replacement—"
"I will go," Varnaz said, stepping forward. "Bearyl, he—he was my best friend. He is no longer my friend, but—"
"Okay," Daunte interrupted him. "Let's go now."
Viki teleported the group to Peak's Edge. Daunte's group was teleported there first, followed by Nakula's group. "We'll go on ahead," Nakula said.
"Please allow me to lead the way," Keiran said. "I know a spot where we can lay in wait for ambush."
"Sounds good," Varnaz said.
Daunte waited for group two to depart before looking towards the sky. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Yuber," he called out.
Yuber didn't heed to his call. Daunte briefly felt nauseas, and he remembered when Yuber had been gone for so long because of Windy's lightning strike on him. What's going on? Is—Is Bearyl more dangerous than we thought?
"Daunte?" Surya asked softly. Daunte hoped that he wore an expression of calm as he turned to face his comrades. "Let's go," he said. "Lady Arachana is waiting for us."
Daunte hadn't taken the route to the mine by foot from Peak's Edge, and to his growing frustration they met with many dead ends along the dirt roads in the thick brush. They didn't see Nakula's group, which was supposed to be traveling ahead of them, but Daunte wasn't worried. There were plenty of Harpies, Dragons, and even rabid Hippogriffs for them to fight. Good thing we didn't bring Ruggiero and Arisoto with us, Daunte thought.
There were predictably treasure chests at several of the dead ends. Some had money in them, one had an escape scroll, and another had medicine in it. One chest that was far off the main path though had a 'Sound Set 06', which Daunte knew that he would not have been able to find anywhere else.
Liron will be happy to receive this.
"What's that doing all the way in the middle of nowhere?!" Freyr asked. "Who just leaves an item like that in a chest on a mountain?!"
"I stopped questioning the logic of finding items in random boxes in random locations years ago," Soturi said blandly. For some reason, that statement made Daunte choke on a laugh. It wasn't too long before most of the group was in stitches laughing. The only people who didn't laugh was Soturi, who had his usual stoicism, and Israfil, who had stress lines in his face. "I-I don't mean to be rude, but—"
"No, you're right," Daunte said, recovering himself. "We need to keep moving."
As Peader had predicted, the group reached the mine in early afternoon. They approached from the ground-level entrance, and when Daunte spied the cliffside hills overhead, he saw movement in the brush. Dad's group is up there, he thought.
"Damn!" Caesar suddenly hissed, grabbing Daunte's arm. He pulled Daunte behind a large tree and gestured to the rest of the group to follow them.
"What is it?" Daunte asked. Caesar responded by pointing towards the entrance of the mine. When Daunte looked he sucked in a sharp breath of alarm.
Bearyl Lutis was standing directly in front of the mouth of the cave, his arms folded over his chest wearing a deep frown. Two soldiers stood on either side of him and Daunte recognized them from when he served under Bearyl when Bearyl was the leader of the Liberation Army.
And across the clearing, six meters from the entrances, Yuber was sprawled on his back laying very still. He didn't appear to be injured, but he also did not appear to be breathing, either.
"W-What happeend to him?!" Mokuren almost cried out.
"Bearyl Lutis was able to lay out that beast?!" Israfil whispered.
"No," Caesar said quietly. "Something else is going on."
"Then what do we do?" Surya whispered. "Do we stick to the original plan and send Daunte out? Or should we all go out there as a group at once?"
Daunte didn't know what to expect going out there by himself, and he was very concerned about Yuber. After thinking about it though, he looked to Caesar. "We'll stick to the original plan," he said. "I'll go ahead."
"That's the wisest move," Caesar agreed. "Group two only knows about the original plan. If we change it up now, then it will confuse them."
"Be careful, Daunte," Surya hissed at him.
"I will," Daunte promised.
He kept a presence of calm, but his heart was pounding against the wall of his chest. He raised his hands, his tekko down his arms as he walked into the clearing. "Bearyl Lutis!" He called out. "I'm here!"
"So you've arrived," Bearyl called out to him. "Are you ready to surrender the Rune of Restoration?"
Daunte looked towards Yuber and made a move towards him, but Bearyl shouted, "No, you don't! You take one step towards him, and you can say goodbye to the Princess!"
Daunte looked back towards Bearyl. "What did you do to him?"
Bearyl shurgged. "I did nothing. It was Nagar!"
"What?"
"That bastard killed two of my men, but then he was smote by a lightning strike!" Bearyl snapped back. "He hasn't risen since this morning. But that doesn't matter now!"
Daunte blinked in confusion before a cold feeling swept over his body. "Oh no," he said aloud. Windy! NO! She attacked Yuber again with lightning!
"Oh yes," Bearyl responded obliviously. He gestured to Daunte. "The Rune, please."
"B-Bearyl," Daunte said. "Did you—Are you allied with the Holy Army?"
Bearyl barked out a laugh. "Me?! Ally with the Holy Army after everything they did?! You must be out of your mind! Who do you think is getting a taste of the power of that Rune the moment I get my hands on it?!"
"Bearyl!" Daunte snapped, lowering his hands. "Bearyl, we're in trouble! We're both in trouble! That lightning strike, it wasn't—"
"Don't think I don't know what you're doing," Bearyl interrupted him sharply. "You're stalling for time so that your worthless allies can ambush me! But it won't work! Now get over here and give me the Rune, or I will kill Princess Archana!"
"Bearyl, listen to me!" Daunte shouted. "The lightning, it wasn't normal! The Holy Army is here, and—"
"Get the Princess!" Bearyl shouted over his shoulder. "This stupid brat clearly isn't taking the situation seriously!"
"I AM taking the situation seriously! We're in danger, a powerful witch is—"
"Be quiet! I'll show you that I mean business!"
Two more soldiers emerged from the cave, Princess Archana sandwiched between them. Daunte made a strangled noise of alarm when he saw her physical state. Archana was wrapped in a thick blanket, but her feet were barefoot and he saw her toes turning purple against the cold ground. It looked as though she was wearing a white nightgown—she must have been kidnapped in the night. She was sullen-faced, her eyes dull and sad. And her hair…her hair was matted on her head, strands hanging down in uneven lengths.
"Lady Archana," Daunte said. "I-I—are you all right?"
"Yes, Lord Daunte," Archana called to him. Her voice was low and sad. "This experience is…slightly better than before. I'm thankful Kaylani and my cousins were not taken this time."
Bearyl nodded to one of his soldiers, and he pulled out a dagger and pressed the tip to the side of her neck. "Tell any forces that are in the area to come out," Bearyl said. "They have until the count of ten. One, two, th—"
"Archana!" Surya shouted as group one hurried out into the clearing with Daunte.
Bearyl 'tsked' when he spotted Caesar. "I really expected of you than to follow a teenage boy, Caesar."
"Hello, Bearyl," Caesar responded sheepishly.
"And I know that's not all," Bearyl said, looking back at Daunte. "You have soldiers in the cliffs, right? Tell them to come down."
Daunte knew that it wasn't a debate. Sighing heavily, he waved towards the direction he knew group two was. Nakula and his party reluctantly emerged from the brush and climbed down to the clearing. Everyone looked towards Yuber warily before looking back at Bearyl, his soldiers, and Archana.
"My cousin's feet are freezing," Surya snapped. "Are you going to give her shoes?! Or socks?!"
"I will release her to you the minute I get the Rune of Restoration," Bearyl said, looking at Daunte. "This is your last warning. Get over here so that I can cut off your hand and claim your Rune. Otherwise we'll spill the blood of a Princess of Falena on Nagarea soil—and it will be your fault."
Daunte knew that Bearyl wouldn't listen to him about his warnings regarding Windy. He was blinded by rage, envy, and his own twisted ambitions. In an instant Daunte felt a surge of anger inside of him. "Why are you like this?!" He demanded. "We could have worked together! We could have faced down the Holy Army together! But you care more about power and being right than the betterment of this country! Why are you so—so twisted?!"
"I don't expect a stupid brat like you to understand my feelings," Bearyl said gravely. "Or what it feels like to be betrayed by the very people who pledged their lives to you." He walked out from behind his men and boldly approached Daunte. He unsheathed a sword that was strapped to his hip. "Hold out your right hand. I'll cut it off myself."
"You come near my son and I will end you!" Nakula snapped, raising his spear.
"Son?!" Bearyl exclaimed, looking at Nakula in genuine shock. He glared at Daunte. "You told me you were an orphan! But yet you have a father?! What else were you lying about?!"
"I—" Daunte said.
It happened so quickly that no one had time to react. There was no warming. Daunte's vision suddenly filled with bright light, and Bearyl let out a horrible, piercing scream. Right before his eyes, a lightning strike consumed Bearyl Lutis's body. The power was intense; the heat burned his face and he flew backwards and landed hard on his backside. Daunte quickly recovered, but he screamed as Bearyl's voice abruptly broke off and his body disintegrated into ash right before his eyes.
Wha—Wha—Oh Nagar, oh no—
The light quickly dissipated, and a pile of blackened ash stood where Bearyl once stood. Both sides stood trembling in horror as a whoosh of air burst in front of Daunte, and Windy suddenly appeared before him. Archana cried out in fear at seeing her.
"Sorry to interrupt," Windy said softly, looking down at Daunte. "But I have business to attend to."
"Y-You WITCH!" One of Bearyl's soldiers shouted, raising his sword. "What did you do with Lord Bearyl?!"
"He's there," Windy said, gesturing nonchalantly to the pile of ash. "I used just enough power to destroy his body so you cannot bring him back with your Rune." She paused before adding, "Though since you sent Yuber ahead of your group, I'm assuming that you had no intention of bringing him back to life."
Two of Bearyl's soldiers screamed and lunged at Windy's back. Windy twirled around and raised her hand. A burst of light appeared before her, and from the light two Chimera appeared. Daunte remembered the ambush on HQ, and bile rose in his throat when the Chimera jumped onto the two soldiers and began devouring them.
"Now then," Windy said, unmoved by the screams behind her as she turned back around to face Daunte. "I'll be taking the Rune of Restoration now."
"You can't have it!" Daunte snapped, covering his right hand with his left.
"Did I say it was a request?" Windy asked.
"Get away from Daunte!" Nakula shouted.
"I see the lot of you will be keeping my Rune busy," Windy sighed with annoyance. Behind her the Chimeras finished killing the two soldiers and charged towards Archana and the other two soldiers. The soldier who held Archana at knifepoint shoved her towards the Chimeras, and the Princess fell hard to her knees on the ground as they turned to flee into the mine.
Daunte had a split second to react. Names raced in his mind—Surya, Israfil, Georg, Freyr—and he realized that he could also raised his hand and attack the Chimeras with his Rune before they reached Archana. But the second passed, and he found himself shouting, "ISRAFIL, GO!"
The Falenan General raced passed Windy, his Nodachi already drawn. With a desperate battlecry he decapitated the snake's head off one Chimera with a single swing, and activated his Titan Rune on the other, slamming his sword into the Chimera's back as jumped between the monsters and Archana, using his own body to shield her from any attacks.
"Archana!" Surya shrieked, racing forward with group one to engage the Chimeras in combat.
"You've seen to have forgotten one important thing, boy," Windy said suddenly, gaining Daunte's attention. "The Princess isn't the target here. You are." She raised her left hand, and it began to glow white. After a few moments, the light shot from her hand to Daunte's right hand.
Daunte's eyes widened in shock as his right hand raised under the power of the white light. He saw the Rune of Restoration begin to glow in response to the light, and all of a sudden he felt a painful stretching sensation in his right hand. Suddenly, the sounds of screaming filled his ears. Daunte screamed in response to the screaming, and he tried to cover his ears, but his couldn't move either of his arms.
"Daunte!"
Someone screamed his name, but Daunte barely heard it over the screaming in his ears. Windy raised her right hand, and there was a burst of blue light, but Daunte's eyes were on his hand. Right before his eyes, the symbol of the Rune of Restoration started—rising off his hand! The symbol stretched, and the stretching sensation increased in power, and the screams increased in volume. Daunte then realized what was happening.
Windy was removing the Rune of Restoration from his hand. And the screaming he was hearing—it was the Rune screaming!
"NO!"
Something slammed into Windy, and the connection abruptly broke. The light was gone, and the symbol of the Rune slammed back down onto his hand. His whole arm felt sore but the screaming ceased and Daunte could move. He hugged his right hand to his chest, covering the Rune with his left hand protectively as he looked up.
Yuber had regained consciousness, shrieking and swinging his duel swords wildly at Windy. Windy for her part looked surprised, and a little annoyed at the attacks. "Yuber, what is the matter with you?!" She scolded him as though he were a child. "Do you still not have any manners?!"
Daunte became dimly aware that the area was full of monsters, possibly two dozen of them, and his allies were fighting them all off as best as he could. Daunte scrambled to his feet and raised his right hand. "Berate!" He shouted.
The Rune of Restoration responded, and it was VERY angry. The power unleashed upon any monster that surrounded Daunte, killing many of them with a single blow. When the spell faded he had killed half of the monsters. He raised his hand to attack again, but then a familiar circle of life appeared before him. Daunte immediately felt at ease when the light faded, and the voice surface that cut through the air. "ENOUGH."
In an instant, light enveloped the remaining monsters and they disappeared. Daunte's allies still frozen as Leknaat turned her head towards her sister. "So," she said softly. "You have gained great power indeed, Windy."
Windy cursed and rose up into the air to get away from Yuber's attacks. "This isn't over," she rasped, glaring at Daunte. "I will get that Rune. Just you see!" and just as quickly she was gone.
"URRRGH!" Yuber dropped his swords and ripped his helmet off. He ripped at his own blonde hair as he fell to his knees. "It doesn't stop! It NEVER STOPS!" with another loud scream he dipped forward and began slamming his face against the dirt in rapid succession.
"Yuber, STOP!" Daunte shouted, scrambling across the ground towards Yuber. He grabbed Yuber from behind in a full nelson and tried to restrain him. "Yuber, stop hurting yourself!"
"This is YOUR FAULT!" Yuber shrieked. He struggled violently in his hold. "The images, the—the FEELINGS! It's devouring me from the inside! Your blood has CURSED ME! I CAN'T ESCAPE IT!"
He continued screaming and trying to throw Daunte off him. Daunte let him go long enough to pull the Blinking Mirror out and throw it to Surya. "Get the princess out of here!" he shouted. "All of you, get back to Headquarters!"
"R-Right!" Surya shouted, his eyes wide as he glanced at Yuber briefly. Then he turned to face Archana. "Archana, can you stand?!"
"I-I think—" Archana tried to stand as she spoke, but her frozen feet could not hold her up. She collapsed, but Israfil caught her and swept her up into his arms. "I've got you, my Lady."
"T-Thank you," she stammered. She blushed, and because of how pale her complexion was it made her cheeks look crimson.
"I'm not leaving you!" Nakula protested.
"Everyone, just please go!" Daunte yelled, still trying to hold on Yuber who was still screaming. "And when you get back, tell Viki and Pesmerga to get come here now!"
"Viki and Pesmerga?" Georg asked him. "Why?!"
"Just do it, PLEASE!"
The group put up no further protest, but Caesar, Nakula, and Leknaat refused to leave. The rest of the parties teleported away. The clearing fell silent as Yuber thrashed against Daunte and continued screaming incoherently.
A moment later, there was a burst of light and Viki and Pesmerga were standing there. "W-We're here!" Viki announced nervously. "We do you need, Lord Daunte?"
"Lord Daunte needs your help in subduing Yuber," Leknaat said calmly. "The two of you must assist Lord Daunte in restraining him."
Pesmerga stared at her for an uncomfortably long moment while Yuber continued screaming on the ground. "I'm not hugging him," he finally said in cold defiance.
"Pesmerga, just get over here!" Daunte hollered at him.
"Ah—why did you need Pesmerga and Viki specifically for this?" Caesar asked.
"Because no one else but them will be able to help Lord Daunte calm Yuber down," Leknaat responded.
"Wait, what?!" Viki asked, her eyes going wide as she looked at Leknaat.
Pesmerga watched Daunte continue to struggle with Yuber without helping him for another few moments. Then, a cold smirk rose to his lips. "Now it makes sense," he said softly.
"What does?" Nakula asked.
Pesmerga moved forward then, and knelt on the ground behind Daunte. He embraced Daunte from behind, meaning that he was primarily hugging Daunte but his hands were touching Yuber's breastplate. "Will this suffice?" He asked coldly.
The embrace was tight and uncomfortable around Daunte, but he wouldn't complain. "Okay, now you Viki!" He shouted to her. "I-I need you to hug him, too!"
"Uh—ah—um—uh—" Viki looked around frantically for a few moments, clutching her staff to her chest. "—I—"
"You must," Leknaat said softly. "Be strong, Viki."
"W-What if he gets really mad?!" Viki exclaimed.
"He's uncontrollable right now," Caesar said, gesturing to the mess on the ground. "I don't know what's going on, but can you do something, Viki?"
"Please, Viki!" Daunte shouted.
"I-I—Right!" Viki shouted. She tossed aside her staff and lunged forward, throwing her arms around Yuber's shoulders and hugging him from the front.
Yuber still struggled for a few more minutes in their arms. He stopped screaming, but his voice was still loud and muffled against Viki's sternum. Daunte, Pesmerga, and Viki continued to hold on to him tight, refusing to let him go. Finally, finally his struggles ceased. His body did not relax but he stopped fighting and trying to hurt himself. His breathing was loud and ragged.
The four of them sat there together for a few more minutes before Yuber finally spoke. "Get off me." his voice was harsh but still muffled.
Viki let go of him first, and then Pesmerga. Daunte let him go last and Yuber fell forward, catching himself with his hands. His breathing came out ragged, his head dipped low and his loose hair hiding his face. The group watched him, waiting to see what would happen next.
"…I want to be alone," Yuber said quietly.
Daunte looked at Leknaat, and she nodded to him reassuringly. "Okay," Daunte said softly. "We'll leave you be, Yuber. But you need us—"
"I need no one," Yuber interjected harshly, his voice ragged. "Only to be alone."
"Okay." Daunte looked at the rest of the group. "We need to get back. The rest of Bearyl's allies—"
"If there are any left, I will slay them," Yuber said. "Just go."
"You're welcome," Pesmerga said passive-aggressively.
They left Yuber at the mine and returned to HQ. Dr. Yulin examined Archana and determined that she had mild frostbite in five of her toes and in the soles of both her feet. "You will be all right," he reassured her. "We'll keep your feet wrapped and give you some hot soup in the meantime."
"I appreciate that, thank you," Archana said good-naturedly. She looked at the group assembled before her. "Thank you again for saving me…again. I apologize for inconveniencing you."
"No, I'm sorry that this happened to you," Daunte said, bowing deeply. "On behalf of the Liberation Army—"
"I don't blame you, and Queen Lymsleia won't blame you either," Archana said, forcing a smile. "I'll be fine when I get home. And—" she touched at her tattered hair. "Perhaps once I get my hair fixed."
"Oh, I can assist you with that Your Highness," Priscilla gushed, rushing forward to the foot of her bed. "I've always wanted to play with a Princess's hair!"
"I'm more of a Lady than a Princess. But if you can help me then I will appreciate it."
"We should let her rest," Clara said sharply, waving her hands to the group. "Everyone, out!"
"Wait," Archana called out.
"What is it, Archana?" Surya asked her.
"General Israfil," Archana said. "Would you mind staying for a few minutes?"
Israfil's eyes went wide. "I will allow it if it's only him," Clara said. "The rest of you, out!"
"Oh, don't be so harsh Clara," Dr. Yulin scolded teasingly.
Daunte saw a few of the Falenans smiling as they left and felt in his satchel for the Sound Set 06. "I should probably give this to Liron," he murmured.
"Lord Daunte," Caesar said, taking him by the arm as he left the Infirmary. "May I ask you a quick question?"
"Yes, of course."
"You specifically asked for Viki and Pesmerga's help. The fortune that Piccolo gave you those months ago…was it them?"
"Yes," Daunte said. "Lady Leknaat identified Pesmerga as the "black" in the vision, Viki as the "white" in the vision, and me as the "red" in the vision."
"I see," Caesar said. "That's strange. I would have thought Lady Leknaat herself would have been the "white"."
"That's what she said, though. She said us three were key to humanizing Yuber."
"Except that Yuber isn't responding to the humanization well," Caesar said. "It sounds like he can feel your emotions through the blood that binds the two of you in your contract. I'm going to assume that this is a first for Yuber, as previously he was summoned via human sacrifices and not through direct contact with the summoner."
"Did you know that this might happen?" Daunte asked.
"Honestly? No. I just wanted to summon him to get his help. As it stands, he's currently feeling things that he hasn't felt before, through the emotions that you feel. Considering the terrible things he's done in his long life, it's not surprising that he's taking to these emotions well. I am curious as to why you specific three are the key to giving him humanity."
"If I knew then everything would be much easier," Daunte said softly. "But in any case, we rescue Princess Archana. It was…anticlimactic, I think."
"It was," Varnaz said, approaching them. "Forgive me for interrupting, but yes. With Bearyl Lutis's physical body disintegrated into dust he can't be brought back even with a Resurrection Rune. I wish that things had turned out better for him. He—I owed him my life," he said sadly. "And what he did for Bara, I…I wish that things did not end the way they did."
"I'm sorry, Varnaz," Daunte said, putting a hand on his arm.
Varnaz shrugged. "There is nothing to be done about it now. We've got other things to worry about now."
"Yes," Caesar said. "First, smoothing things over with Falenan's Parliament over this incident. Then, we plan our campaign against Keha Hale."