Opening Song: None
I pick up a solid stone block and haul it over to a part of the outer wall that's been collapsed. The grooved rock slides right into the hole and locks in place. I kick it a couple times and check to see if any air is able to get through. A perfect fit. Raesetsu brings another block and sits it on top of mine.
The both of us return to the rocky cliff face that overlooks the river. She picks up her hammer and chisels away at a clunky stone slab while I take the pickaxe and etch out another block for her to shape.
"Thank you for helping me with this. It's a pain having to cut the rock and shape it by yourself."
"Whatever you need until I go back."
I carve out a rough shaped square and push it over to Raesetsu. She carefully examines the nature and digs in. The jagged edges disappear and well-defined polish shapes the rock into a perfect shape.
"How long have you been doing this?" I ask.
"Since childhood. My father was pretty famous, but my siblings and I still had to take on trades."
"Mom and dad trying to teach you the value of work?"
"No. I had to work hard because my parents were worthless. They were more focused on starting wars and expanding glory than raising a family. My siblings and I were just decorations for their crowns, and since I was the first born, I had to be the adult."
I pick up the stone Raesetsu carved out, "Cause over clan I suppose."
"Fame over family." Raesetsu sighs.
The both of us carry a polished rock and finish the section of the wall. We still have a couple of sections in the actual castle to repair, but at this rate, this project will be complete in the next couple moons. I look up and check to see how much time has passed. The moon is orange, but the red star is about to eclipse.
"Hey Raesetsu, it's the twenty-third hour of the auran moon."
"And you're going back during the sanbrum moon, aren't you?"
"Yeah."
"Very well."
Raesetsu and I head back into the main castle and make our way to Annalise's throne room. Daemogina is moving pieces of literature off the bookshelf and dusting the worn bowing wood. Annalise is preparing another syringe for my return to my world. Daemogina puts her feather duster down and kneels beside me and Raesetsu.
"The time of your return is quickly approaching." Annalise picks up the syringe full of glowing fluid and motions for approach. I hold out my arm, and she jabs me in the tattoo. The broken caduceus scar fills with vibrant violet color.
"Rutur has not returned with your medication yet, so I put a sedative in that shot to help combat your darkening ailment. It won't be as effective, but it will ease the frenzy and hunger."
"Is he okay?" I ask.
"Yes. He's having problems obtaining the items you have requested. I will send him your way when he collects them. Due to the complicated nature of your situation, I am allowing you four moons to complete your goal."
"Thank you, Annalise."
"Raesetsu? I want you to go with Alan and ensure he does not succumb to ravaging bloodlust."
"Yes Queen Annalise."
Annalise injects Raesetsu in the arm with another syringe of that glowing fluid. "Now my children, take care of one another and yourselves. These are my only requests."
Understood." Me and Raesetsu reply at the same time.
"And Alan?"
"Yes?"
"Save your bride. I wish to meet her someday."
"I will not fail."
Annalise stands up from her throne and stretches out her arms. "Now my children, go forth in my undying name."
"Hail to the Undead Queen." Raesetsu says.
"Long live Annalise, the ruler of this Damned Land." Daemogina adds.
"Only honor will befit the conqueror of the Korin Fuma." I state.
Raesetsu and I exit the throne room and head to the courtyard where the carriage is patiently waiting.
"Caligula shoreline. It's somewhere off the north coast." I say.
Leather straps pop, and the carriage moves. A sense of anxiety washes over me as I think about Asuka's wellbeing. It has only been a short window of time, and Jonathan and Old Man Hanzo are keeping tabs to make sure nothing bad happens to her, but it doesn't make the situation any less stressful. What's only been twenty-four hours in real time feels like a lifetime.
However, Asuka isn't the only person I have to save. Her parents are there too, and despite how they are going to scorn me for dragging Asuka into this, I have to save them as well. It's an ass chewing I will happily take if Old Man Hanzo can get his family back.
Thoughts about Lawrence and Octavian circle back around and raise question on if they are okay, and what they are doing since Asuka and I couldn't make it to Frambosta. And what of my horse Oktitohbi? As mad as he made me, I really want him back. It's nice that Annalise is lending her driver, and it's a luxury of being able to travel anywhere in a matter of seconds, but I miss the freedom and independence of having my own means of transportation.
"How are you feeling Alan?" Raesetsu asks.
"Good for now."
"Any kind of flesh craving or blood thirst?"
"Not at the moment."
"Good. I don't want to have to smack you, but I will if you misbehave." Raesetsu states.
The carriage comes to a stop, and the door opens up. Raesetsu and I hop out and look around. The carriage rides off, and the small pocket hiding in-between the fabric of reality yields to the night.
The pungent smell of salty air mixing with frothy water salivating on the sand stitches reality back together. Falling snow from above crosses a threshold a couple feet in the air and turns into rain. Several raging torrents of wind circulate in between Caligula's shore and Tenalbrum's coast.
In the middle of these pockets of angry air is a massive spout that reaches for the moon and forcefully holds it in place. A bolt of lightning sparks out from the main tornado and conducts with the smaller tempests. The multiple cyclones eject molten plasma out their tops and belch out a thunderous boom that turns the ocean waves into early signs of a hurricane.
I reach up and feel around where the falling flakes remain as snow. The air is significantly colder above this fake layer of warm weather. Raesetsu crosses her arms and dwells on the nature of the moon. A face of confusion mixes with her confounding eyes as she bears witness to an unfamiliar experience.
"What do you think it is?" I ask.
"I'm not saying a isn't human capable of doing this, but that is a lot of power to keep this island cut off from the mainland. The energy is so saturated here that it's preventing the moon from completing orbit."
"Which means it looks like we're due for one hell of a fight when we find the source." I state.
"That we are, and I haven't fought in years."
Raesetsu and I leave the coastline and press into the island. The prison complex itself is visible through the leafless trees. The pure snow bed tinged with murky water rolls down the hills and floods the low-lying areas. The flowing current gets deeper as Raesetsu and I struggle to tread through the artificially created stream.
It's tempting to just use the trees to get around, but that would put us above the rain barrier, and if we can faintly see the complex through this strange weather, then anyone on the guard towers can definitely see us if we try to take the high ground.
Raesetsu stumbles and disappears under the waist high water. She springs back up and spits out the filthy water.
"You okay?"
"Yeah. I just tripped over something." She reaches down and feels around. "Watch your step. It's a tree stump."
We pace ourselves and try to avoid any more trip ups. My knee brushes into something in a different location. The object rolls under my boot, and it tosses me into the water. I get back up and wipe the draping brown hair out of my eyes.
Barely jutting out of the water is a small twig that used to be a towering tree. The thing looks like it has been cleaved with a clean swipe. Raesetsu climbs over the floating log and falls into the water on the other side. I hold my breath and swim underneath. On the other side are many more logs that have been cut down. Some of the trees that are still standing have massive slits that bleed amber colored sap from the pierced heartwood.
Raesetsu comes to a stop and looks up at the branches. Bodies stripped of all clothing gently dangle from the gnarling tops. I jump above the weather barrier and frantically search among the bodies.
"Get down Alan!" Raesetsu yells as she grabs my leg.
I ignore Raesetsu and muzzle through the bodies. A certain smell causes my heart to race in a certain way. An event that always takes priority over reason. I hope I'm not too late.
"Get your hands off me woman!" I yell as I try to head in the direction of the unique scent.
In the middle of the bodies is an empty noose that sways back and forth. Tattered shreds of Asuka's red scarf are saturated with her blood and saliva. I snag the scarf and hold it up to my nose. The scent is only coming from here, but it also smells tainted. Rot within her dead blood gives off the terrible scent of sickness. Tiny protruding teeth nibble at the surface of my back as the sense of urgency grows. The nibble turns into massive chomps as the thought of Asuka's pain clouds my mind.
I dive underneath the brown layer to make sure her body hasn't drowned. Relief calms the wickedness swelling within my disturbed heart as it's nothing but wood and tree stumps that populate the submerged white bed. Raesetsu lifts me out of the water and shakes me around.
"I don't want to beat some sense into you. Calm down."
The hypersensitivity in my irritated eyes drain, and the cold bite of the devil gnawing through my spine ceases. I clench the torn red scarf and take a couple deep breaths.
"Now, what are we doing?"
"Asuka is alive, but she's sick."
"What's your plan?" Raesetsu lets go of me.
"Save her."
"And how do you intend on doing that?"
"Here. Help me carry this."
I hoist a huge collapsed tree onto my shoulder. Raesetsu picks up the other end, and we proceed towards the outer perimeter wall. The tree smashes down the spinning barbs on top of the concrete wall. The state of my mind returns to full cognition. We could have just climbed over or knocked a hole into the wall, but my mind wiped itself at that moment.
Death's fragrant perfume masks the trail of Asuka's rotted blood as I make my way over the wall. The snowfall grows in weight and turns the rain torrential when it crosses that strange layer. There is nobody patrolling the walls, and the towers and keeps appear empty.
I draw my revolver and drop down. Crimson colored water diluted with brown and white splashes up from the fall. A huge pool of mud collects blood from the gaping chests of several victims. The wounds themselves look like they were impaled and slammed into the ground since rib bones are sticking out. Raesetsu hops beside me and walks among the corpses.
"Look!" I point at some stacked bodies floating off in the distance.
The wire walls, falling rain, and smoke spilling out of engulfed buildings obstruct what's really happening. A massive flash of lighting splits the sky, and a gold tip lodged through the guards' chests reflect purple light back. The bodies disappear into the front entrance of the prison.
"It appears someone's already done most of the work for us." Raesetsu states.
"Glad the welcome wagon was reserved for someone else." I reply.
Raesetsu and I make our way through the maze of destroyed fences and bullet ridden buildings. The smell of black and smokeless powder that's been freshly burned grows in strength at the front entrance.
The heavy vault doors that seal off the rest of the building have been ripped off the hinges and thrown through the prison's entry. A desperate siren howls and throws off a red glare that illuminates the puffs of insulation floating down from the crushed walls.
Raesetsu and I step over the first vault door and enter the headquarters with all the cameras. Most are blacked out, but a few here and there are active. Raesetsu picks up a clipboard while I study the cameras that haven't been destroyed. One screen in particular constantly flashes as bullets whiz by. Somebody is exchanging rounds, but it's difficult to tell who since most of the assailants are outside the lens.
A couple screens over is a camera watching a hallway. What looks like those floating bodies from earlier appear for a brief second. Black coats the lens as someone's hand drags across the camera, but the same tip that pokes out from the corpses comes into focus. It sways back and forth like someone is carrying the bodies around on a stick.
"Asuka is in west wing solitary confinement."
I walk over to the overview map of the island and trace my fingers over the locations. The west wing isn't far away, but there's no indication on where the solitary confinement block is. However, the warden's office is along the way.
"You find it?"
I pull out my lever action pistol and make sure it's primed, "Perhaps we should ask the man that runs this place where she is."
"Just don't forget about your condition." Raesetsu says.
"I'll be fine."
We move into the complex and keep ready for anything that maybe lying-in wait. Bullets punch through walls, and the many sounds of a warzone grow in volume. Bodies of both prisoners and guards are scattered all over the place. Some have been shot. The more unfortunate ones were impaled through the chest and left on the brink of death. Coded radio chatter breaks out from a guard struggling to draw breath. They calmly exchange dialogue and converse on what the situation is. F.U.B.A.R is what they are saying, but they keep it professional and wait for orders from command.
Many different auras from strong individuals radiate off in the distance. Both familiar and unknown. Friend and foe. Yet there are four that are overshadowing everything. Three are above us, and the other is lurking around like it's searching for something.
It looks like what we are witnessing is the aftermath of a massive disaster, but it's difficult to tell exactly what's going on. An extremely familiar aura comes clear. It's nearly a familia bond. I bust down the door at the top floor and keep the guns hot.
"Octavian!" I yell as I take aim and open fire at the two people ganging up on him.
A round shoves the girl down, but the guy catches on and puts Octavian, Gekko and Senko in the firing line. Octavian brings his broken sword around and blocks an incoming blow aimed at Senko. Gekko swings a massive mirror shaped shield and forces the guy back. He uses the momentum to grab hold of his female partner and jump into a nearby room.
I put some rounds in the direction they are hiding while Octavian helps Gekko and Senko retreat. Raesetsu digs her fingers into a section of wall and tears it free. Octavian, and the twins leap over the incoming debris and hunker down behind the newly created cover. Raesetsu rushes in the room the attackers retreated to and rips another section of the wall out. I charge in and fling open the door to a dumbwaiter. The flap of the guy's uniform disappears from sight at the very bottom of the shaft.
"Another time Alan. Another time." Raesetsu states.
"Yeah."
Raesetsu and I rush back to the children. Octavian douses Senko's stomach with some I.R.E fluid and dries it off. Gekko unfolds some bandages and wraps the bruised wound.
"Any particular reason those two are here?" I ask.
"Which ones? The silver hoes here or Gallowglass?" Octavian replies.
"Hey! Gekko and I saved your ass two times each bitchboy!" Senko coughs.
"And I saved yours three times, and Gekko twice."
"Would you both shut up and answer the question?" Raesetsu scowls.
"I'm sorry, are you talking to us mommy milk?"
"OCTAVIAN!" I yell.
"Okay! Okay! Gekko and Senko are only here because Gekko has a mirror that lets us travel! As for Gallowglass? I don't know. They must have known we were going to try and spring Asuka from the brig. We thought you were here as well."
"So does that mean Lawrence, and the others are here?"
"Yeah. He knew someone that had a boat. We split up when we got here. Lawrence and Homura went to find you while Hikage and Yuyaki searched for Asuka, but that turned to shit because someone attacked before we reached the outer perimeter."
"Was it Gallowglass?"
"Possibly. Hell, it could have been dad and old Man Hanzo, but in between our fights with Gallowglass, and the guards, there's also been something that's cutting everything in its path down."
"Does it look like bodies floating in the air?" Raesetsu asks.
"Yes. Whatever it is has been impaling the victims and carrying them around like a trophy." Senko states.
"Shortly after we arrived, the weather went from normal salty snow to whatever the hell is going on right now. Twisters, snow turning into rain, and those relentless thunderstorms." Gekko adds.
"What do you think Alan?" Raesetsu says.
"If the weather went ballistic after Octavian, and the others shortly arrived, then that means Gallowglass would have been here prior. I doubt any of them are powerful enough to cause that level of natural havoc. But I'm not here to learn about meteorology."
Raesetsu flexes her fingers and cracks all over her knuckles at once, "Alright. Then let's go introduce ourselves to the warden."
"Wait. We'll come too." Octavian says as he helps Senko to her feet.
Raesetsu takes the lead and reaches the barred, reinforced armored door that leads into the warden's office.
Raesetsu lifts her leg up and drives her foot into the metal door. The entire section of the wall helplessly collapses as the door bounces across the floor.
I storm into the massive room and pull the hammer back on my revolver, "Ding Dong! Anyone home!?"
Raesetsu sticks close to my side while Octavian, Gekko and Senko bring up the rear of the group. At the other end of the room is a bronze throne draped in regal decorations. Standing at the warden's side are two elite looking individuals. One is wielding some kind of bayoneted rifle while the other has their weapon holstered. The only way to tell these machines devoid of humanity apart is the one with the rifle has a gold eagle mounted chest piece while the other has an eye painted on an armband.
Jonathan, Old Man Hanzo, and the Gallowglass' leader Ange are standing before the warden. I point my guns up at the ceiling and prepare to open fire the moment anyone steps out of line. Octavian shoulders my rifle while Gekko summons her mirror shield. Senko pulls a scroll out from between her breasts and prepares to crush it. A gentle stream of blood rolls down Raestesu's hands as wicked barbed spines sprout from her knuckles and arms.
"Well, what a surprise this is. If it isn't the legendary hornfist. Did you finally come to terms and decide to hand over your bones?" The guy sitting on the throne says.
"Only when you strip the flesh from them will they be yours." Raesetsu replies.
"I'll deal with all of you in a moment. Now, where were we Jonathan?" The warden states.
"The girl."
"Oh yes. Asoingbo."
"Asuka." I state.
"Whatever the girl's name is. I don't know what the issue is? I am doing what the council pays me to do. Execute hunters, and reeducate shinobi with dangerous ideals. Shinobi such as your neerdowell granddaughter, Hanzo."
Jonathan and old Man Hanzo each grab a barrel and push my guns down. "This isn't your fight boy." Jonathan states.
"Like hell it is!"
Raesetsu, Octavian, Gekko and Senko all grab a hold and pull me away as Jonathan and Old Man Hanzo take the guns away from me.
"When my team brought Asuka here, I asked to have her ready to talk. You could have easily left her in a cell, and she would have told us everything because that girl is not a liar."
"Ange, you get paid to bring me hunters and disobedient shinobi. That's it. How I go about extracting information, reeducating, or preforming executions is my job. A job the council told me I can handle however I want, and the way I see it is a little physical abuse never hurt anyone." The warden replies.
"That doesn't mean strangle the girl from a tree noose or drop her in the middle of the freezing ocean and force her to swim back! How many shinobi have died because of those methods!?" Ange yells.
"This is all a part of their training. If they can't handle this level of intensity, then they aren't worthy of being shinobi. By the way. You on the floor." The warden looks at me.
"Yes you. It seems you are really having some internal struggles. Physical, emotional and spiritual. Do you know what's the most fun about my job? It's not the torture, or the forceful reeducation. It's crushing the will to live and seeing the hope fade from someone's eyes as they dangle from a treetop makes this job so great. Especially when it was Hanzo's granddaughter swinging back and forth from that noose."
"THAT'S IT!" I sink my teeth into my arm with so much force that the bone crackles. "DIABOLUS EVIGILARE INTRA (awaken the devil in me)!"
Darkness seeps through the pores of my skin and forces the tentacles to burst out. Sin mounts itself to my mouth and pulls teeth along the jawline to form the monstrous beak. The tentacles chew into my back and yank out the two of the wings Miyabi's family gave to me. A black shockwave knocks everyone on their backs.
I launch myself towards the warden. Agape mouths filled with flesh shredding teeth hiss as they wrap around my wrists and stretch out for fresh blood. A bitter bone gauntlet and hand forged steel six centuries old enter the gullets of the tentacles.
"This isn't your fight son. Now sit." Jonathan calmly asks.
"GET OUT OF MY WAY!"
"Perhaps my words fell upon unwilling ears. I said…SIT!"
Old man Hanzo and Jonathan channel energy into their fists and strike the middle of my chest with open palms. Every pressure point in my body locks up, and I collapse to the ground. The corruption drains back into my soul, and I realize what is going on. The fanged tentacles let out a howl of defeat and retract back inside my spine. Raesetsu and everyone else regain their hold and force me into the floor.
"No amount of shots or treatment you've created is going to save that boy from what he really is. You know it just as well as I do Jonathan. I promise I'll make it quick." The warden taunts.
"If you so much as touch my brother, I'll erase your fucking existence!" Octavian yells.
"Not before I shred that man's soul." Raesetsu adds as she performs a basic set of arm calisthenics.
"Yeah! Fuck you!" Senko and Gekko simultaneously.
Old Man Hanzo crouches down by my side, "You done?"
The surge of corruption that forms the beak reshapes itself into a respirator shaped muzzle. Razors slice into the lining of my throat and fill the holes with solidified sin. Mental clarity given from the respirator suppresses the urge to bite someone. "Done."
"Is this your fight?"
"No."
Hanzo and Jonathan hand me my guns back, "Good. Now dust yourself off and go save my family."
"What are you and Jonathan going to do?"
"Something I should have been done a long time ago." Jonathan scowls as he points his sword at the warden. Old man Hanzo sheathes his sword and assumes some kind of combat stance. Ange sizes up the two elites and evaluates who to strike first.
Raesetsu and Octavian help me stand while Gekko and Senko lead the way out of the warden's throne room.
"And Alan?"
"Yes?"
"When this is over, make sure Asuka gets a goodnight's sleep. She's going to need it." Old Man Hanzo says with a smug grin.
"As long as Asuka and I get breakfast in bed that following morning." I holster my guns.
"Deal." He replies.
I clear my head and sniff Asuka's bloody scarf. The rot from her blood is coming from the west wing. I take off down the hallway while Raesetsu and everyone else follows. All the bodies Raesetsu and I stumbled across earlier are now gone. Dust coats the entirety of the floor, but there's no time to give it any thought. My senses perk up, and Asuka's scent trail guides me through the rain and snow.
I barge into the building across the courtyard with guns drawn and keep ready. The scent here is a lot heavier than anywhere else. Asuka is nowhere in sight, but she was definitely housed here.
"Alan! Is that you!?" A male voice calls out.
"Who's asking!?"
"Asuka's father! Who else!? Get us out of here!"
I follow the man's voice and approach some bars that have not been open yet. Asuka's mom is patiently sitting on the other side of the cell. Asuka's father cowers down and dives underneath the prison cot as Raesetsu and I take hold of the slammer bars.
"Don't worry. She's a friend that's helping me save Asuka."
"That's a monster!" Asuka's dad yells.
"You got a lot of explaining to do." Asuka's mom scowls at me.
Raesetsu and I yank the metal bars out of the wall and throw the iron restraints into another cell across the hallway, "I don't think stopping the prophecies of John's revelations make for good family discussions."
"Mrs. Hanzo, what exactly is going on here?" Octavian asks.
"I don't know. One moment, we're sitting here and the next, there's bullets flying and people dying. Asuka managed to get out of solitary confinement shortly after all this happened. We told her to just get out of here."
"Fat chance that happened. The whole fucking island is about to be underwater if this weather doesn't clear." Octavian states.
"Hey! What's going on Alan!? What did you get my daughter into!?" Asuka's dad shouts.
"I existed. That's what, and this was destined to happen no matter what." I make something up off the top of my head.
"What do you mean destined!?" Asuka's mom rages.
"To keep it simple, horsemen bad, Morabis bad, I'm bad, and it takes bad man to stop bad horseman."
"And you never told us anything about this!?"
"Nope. I got smacked with all this the moment those four assholes threw me down the Korin Fuma hole."
"So you have been sealed?" Gekko asks.
"For now. The Queen there let me return to tie up all the loose ends. I reckon once that's done, I won't be allowed to come back ever again."
"Wait, you're joking about the 'won't be allowed to come back' bit? Right?" Octavian pleas for truth.
"Honestly, I don't know, but I reckon that will be the tradeoff."
The conversation drops at the very mention of what is more than likely the truth. Annalise is only letting me come back because of Makaria's previous friendship with her. Otherwise, there's no way she would have let a new arrival come back so soon.
"Hey!" A distinct voice yells out. A series of whistles ring from a nearby catwalk that is located around a nearby keep. Homura and Lawrence are waving and trying to flag us down.
"Alanboy! You're alive!" Homura yells.
"You didn't drop the soap during your stay, did you?" Lawrence asks.
"Soap? Those cheap bastards didn't even give me lotion!"
Everyone aside from Asuka's prude parents laugh at the small exchange of words.
"Since you're up there, can you see Asuka?" I ask.
"Yeah!" Homura points at a tower that's on the edge of the island's outer perimeter, "she's with Hikage and Yuyaki!"
Asuka's parents breathe a sigh of relief as I struggle to contain my excitement. I roll my sleeve up and look at Annalise's tattoo. It's over three quarters of the way full. Roughly four hours remain. This is almost over, and there's still plenty of time left. Which means Asuka and I are getting laid after this.
"Then what are we waiting for!? Let's go!" Asuka's mom cheers.
Homura and Lawrence drop down and all of us sprint in a collective manner towards the tower. I take the lead and outpace everyone. A sudden burst of energy comes out of nowhere. Almost like an unconscious thought is telling me this is too good to be true. I hunker down on all fours like an animal and lengthen the stride threefold. Faint silver bolts and yoma bone buckshot grow in volume over the drowning rainfall. The sleet layer turns into solid snow as I dangle over the edge of the wall.
"Just get Asuka out of here because nothing is working." Hikage states as she yanks the pan mag off her crossbow and loads a new one.
"And what about you?"
"I'll figure something out. He's got to be weak to something." Hikage answers Yuyaki's question.
A black egg-shaped object floats up above the tower's keep and hovers. The appearance of yellowed skulls from humans and animals alike form the shell. A series of threads slither out of the split jawbones and tie together to form a giant snare. Asuka's sickness forces her to cough and struggle to keep up.
Hikage and Yuyaki motion for Asuka to continue running while they hunker down and fire into the snare. Silver bolts and double aught yoma shot rip the trap to shreds. The threads split into three separate ropes and reshape into a net that avoids the incoming projectiles.
"Damnit! Dodge!" Yuyaki yells.
Hikage and Yuyaki leap forward as the net attempts to catch them. The black egg drops down and separates Asuka from Hikage and Yuyaki. I scramble along the side of the wall and avoid the collapsing sections. Lawrence and everyone else scales up the crumbling wall as Hikage and Yuyaki muzzle around and reunite with the group.
A small shockwave splits the wall right up the middle. Asuka avoids the falling platforms and jumps over the pursuing cracks. The egg splits in half and Cataphract emerges from within. Bodies of slain prisoners and guards are mounted on the end of his stained halberd. The wounds range from stab wounds, bullet holes, crushed skulls and dismemberment. He hoists his halberd up and points it in Asuka's direction.
I grab hold of my kopises and throw myself in the way the moment he takes off. The edge of the blades dig deep into mailable gold. A crushing impact from his weight, the gored bodies, and a run-away horse in full trot causes me to helplessly skid across the wall. Snow, rain and wind sidestep around me and shove Asuka down. She gasps and coughs in shock as I come to a stop in front of her. Cataphract's strength pushes me down to my chest within the wall and sprinkles me red from the sloshing bodies. I deflect his halberd off to the side and cross slice.
The kopises catch him on the flap of the neck. Red juts out as I spin the blades around and aim for the shoulders. Cataphract leaps out of range and tries to evaluate what just happened. I yank my buried legs out of the wall, flip backwards and hunker over Asuka with her in between me, and the sword blades.
Asuka reaches up and wraps her arms around my neck and sobs. "I knew you would come for me."
"Not even Armageddon itself can break the promise I made your grandfather. Or you." I reply as Asuka wipes her tearful eyes and kisses the side of my face.
The small amount of intimacy we share relieves a tiny bit of the pain, but the bottom half of my body is in agony. Cataphract damn near buried me, and it's taking everything to keep from flopping over.
Lawrence and Homura reset the fractured bones in my legs as Octavian injects me with a mixed syringe filled with blood genesis and instant regeneration elixir.
Cataphract plants his halberd of skewered bodies into the ground and kneels, "I don't know how you did it, but a harbinger capable of escaping one of Paladin's schemes is worthy of having a discussion with."
I scoop Asuka up in my arms and stand, "There's nothing to discuss."
"Honored cup maker, surely you grow weary of your failing attempts. How long are you and Kagura going to drag this out?"
"Drag what out?" Gekko asks.
"The creation of a better world. The sole purpose of our existence."
"By slaying hundreds of innocent people?" Hikage asks.
"Mankind forfeited their claim to innocence the moment they were given free will."
"What's this have to do with Asuka?" I ask.
"Four girls. Four horsemen. In these four special girls are four scrolls. Fragmented, yet unpresented power we need to achieve brother Paladin's goal. With father's wench out of the way and two of the four scrolls standing here in front of me, this is an opportunity too good to pass up."
I brush my respirator against Asuka's mouth and insinuate a passionate kiss, "I love you, but I have a job to do. Raesetsu? Make sure these people get off this island alive."
"Yes Alan."
I put myself in between Cataphract, and the group while Raesetsu takes Asuka in her arms.
"You might need this." Octavian says as he hands me the rest of the mixed syringes in his side satchel.
Cataphract gives a halfhearted clap as everyone runs off, "The hope of escaping death is always a cause worth crushing."
Cataphract's elegantly decorated halberd trickles down the fleshly weapon rack of bodies and is swallowed whole. The stack of mangled corpses combust into yellowish green flame and rages with the fierce intensity of the sun. All the falling snow around him turns to rain as Cataphract reaches into the fiery corpses.
His silver-plated armor shatters and forms a thick bone plating in its place. Horns similar to a ram protrude out of Cataphract's eyes and form a hideous blinding helmet. The jaw of a skull rests up against the chop of his hand as he pulls his submerged arm out of the burning pile. The bodies turn to ash as Cataphract's new weapon still resembles that of a halberd. Yet the new appearance is forged entirely of a massive leg bone still attached to the hip. A vertebrae column forms the staff as the cracked skull acts as a pommel.
Cataphract rears back and swings the halberd around with a dominating right hand. I slap the incoming blows around with the kopises. The halberd spins around behind Cataphract, and transitions the weapon from his right side to his left. Cataphract thrusts the weapon towards me with his off hand. The vertebrae staff extends and drives the spike through my stomach. I yank back as Cataphract pulls the halberd around and two hands the staff.
The jagged mouth on the end of the weapon doubles in size as he delivers an overhead strike into the ground. I cross my arms and strike Cataphract in areas his armor doesn't overlap. He leaps back and slashes midair to cover his escape. I backstep and rake the spines of the kopises together.
Fire wraps around the left blade as blue plasma injects itself into the other and fills the blood groove with an alternating current. Electricity courses through the grains of the weapon as both kopises supercharge with volatile heat.
Cataphract slows his pace and raises the halberd over himself. I jump back as he changes the attack and mounts the weapon over his shoulders. He unleashes a flurry of rapid swipes that cover a huge radius. I duck and weave but a swipe nicks me on the inside of my thigh. I clench my teeth and keep dodging. Another blow hits me in the stomach. The stab wound from earlier bursts open further and puts me on the ground.
I roll onto my back and spring up. Wood and bone crackle as the wheel on my back deflects Cataphract's attack. The blow spins me around and provides a bit of air time. I drive both blades into Catphract's shoulders and throw myself over the wall. The weight drags him with me as we freefall into the courtyard.
I lose my grip on the kopises and stray from Cataphract. Mud packs into the massive wound on my stomach and thigh as intense agony paralyzes me in place. I work my knees up underneath and assess the damage. A huge slash severs the inner part of the thigh. Blood gushes through the makeshift bandages of wet dirt in both the thigh and chest. I wipe the brown slush from my chest plate and shove a broken rib back into my chest. Cataphract returns to his feet but leaves the kopises lodged in his shoulders. I take the wheel off my back and mount it on my shoulder.
Cataphract rushes forward and swings from the side. I bat down his attempts and adjust to his attack patterns. He mounts the halberd on his shoulder again and cyclones around. Another series of blows obliterates through the wheel's defenses and slices me all over. Red tint bleeds into my vision.
Cataphract launches himself up into the air and steps onto the neck of the halberd as he descends. The spike slides through the eye socket of the wheel and rips all the way through my shoulder.
Cataphract flips backward and ascends up into the air. Another falling blow sends the entire halberd through the spokes of the wheel. The air purses from my lungs as the weapon slides all the way through my chest cavity. The beak of the halberd hooks on a part of my back and doubles the size of the entry and exit wound as Cataphract retrieves the blade and jumps up into the air again. A line of red paints both the falling snow and rain with my blood as it falls back towards me.
I reach into the wheel's gauntlet and crank. Red mist spews out of the screaming weapon. The blades inside the gauntlet dig deeper into the flesh as I yank again. The weapon howls again, and it spins. The weight of Cataphract's impact puts me on my knees, but the wheel stops the halberd dead in its tracks. Wooden spokes spin the halberd around in a motion that prevents Cataphract from dislodging his weapon.
I reposition myself and swing the wheel. The illusionary blades circling the wheel slice right through Cataphract's armor and forces him to lose his grip on the halberd. The blow sends him flying along with the wheel as I let go and snag the halberd.
The vertebrae staff burns deep into my flesh, but I ignore the pain and hit Cataphract with his own weapon. Trapped rage and suppressed darkness spill out as the teethed tentacles from earlier rip my wings back out. The respirator reshapes into the fanged beak, and the ability to swing the halberd with more force grows tenfold.
I impale Cataphract with his halberd and plant him in the ground. Another quick burst of strength overrides exhaustion and forces the weapon over me. I drive the halberd into Cataphract's exposed chest that the blade's edge reaches the crimson sleet bed he lays on. I attempt to lift the weapon again, but I drop it and collapse into a nearby puddle. Blood trickles out of Cataphract's busted armor as he forces himself to sit up against a piece of broken wall.
"You've proven your point."
"Why did you kidnap Kagura?" I pant.
"Because she's a fool like you."
I pull out a blood genesis shot and inject myself in the leg, "where is she?"
"Brother Cavalier's homeland, the starving scorch." Cataphract coughs. "The only way there is to possess a horsemen's cup, and since I've been bested, that is now a possibility. When you are ready to confront him, twelve days' worth of food must be made as a burnt offering."
"And how do I know this is true?"
"Because I can now rest easy knowing Nihil will put an end to your crusade."
"We'll see about that." I reply.
"Before I go, answer this. Even if you and Kagura win, who will they blame when we are gone?"
Cataphract lays his head back and takes one final breath. Light radiates from within his bones and in a puff of ash, his body vanishes. An ancient looking cup that's been carved out of horn lays in his resting place.
Inside it is a swirling silver liquid that is unable to spill despite the horn laying on its side. I pick the horn up, and it integrates itself through my gauntlets. The blood genesis serum kicks in and rebuilds the internal damage within, but it doesn't provide enough relief to spark curiosity about everything Cataphract told me.
I pick up my belongings and limp up the stairs that lead to the wall. The darkness that was choking all light from this place surrenders to the sun peaking off in the distance. I stumble to the top of the wall and slouch down in a flooded crater Cataphract carved in the ground.
Ending Song: Shissouron by Hitomi Harada
The deluging down fall clears away, and the redeeming flakes absent of color form a freezing blanket and pillow to tuck me. I wipe the crimson mask off my face and stare towards the mainland. The sight of a fleeing boat causes my heart to break, but I'm too worn to display anything but agony laced joy. The translucent illusion of a rainbow reaches out and touches the coastline on the other side.
I examine the regrowing muscle on the inside of my thigh and feel something solid. A huge red stone encases the area where most of the damage was inflicted. Cataphract's blow not only took a chunk out of my leg, but he managed to clip through my groin too. Hundreds of strings aimlessly float around in the crimson reservoir. New muscle forms underneath the layer of stone and painlessly push against it like an aging scab.
Fleshy wings barely covered by feathers flap above me. Rutting antlers that form the strange tusks along Rutur's inexplainable face comes into view as he scoops me up in his left arm.
"You have done well boy. I am proud. Queen Annalise will not be disappointed." A collection of several static voices obstructed by monstrosity states as he leaps up into the air.
Raesetsu rests in his right side completely asleep. Light illuminates through all the holes in her body as the wounds naturally stitches themselves shut. The thought of falling asleep is way too good to pass up. Even if the trip is only a couple seconds long.
I close my eyes and give solace to the ache that's been plaguing me since this all happened. Asuka is safe, and that's all I could ever want…