"It's time," Symonne whispered in his mind.
Dezel crashed to the ground. Numb relief clouded over everything as he pressed his forehead against the cold, cold rock, as he panted and his ears rang. He'd no doubt that they had only released him because they had something to do to him, something bad, but he didn't care—he didn't care where he was or what he was doing so long as he was out.
When he'd regained at least a bit of his sanity, he scouted the area. Symonne and Heldalf stood nearby, saying nothing, looking into the distance. Waiting for something. Dezel realized the malevolence was dissipating, if only a little—that meant that Sorey was coming. With Rose. What would she think, if she saw him in this wretched state? She'd probably be glad, and he wouldn't fault her for it.
He tried to get up but found he was restrained by a seraphic arte, forcing him to stay on his hands and knees. He instinctively hacked at the bonds with the wind, but since he was so weak, his efforts proved futile. Symonne looked down upon him, her lips twisted into a smile, before dissipating on the spot.
"Fuck you," he muttered.
"I'll pass," she said with a tinkling laugh. "Enjoy the show."
He felt a strange sensation, as if a hot, quick-cooling liquid were being poured all over him. Was this what it felt like to be covered by one of her illusions? Without sight, he couldn't know for sure.
Sorey and the others came within bounds of his wind senses. They jogged, close together, hugging the side of a ridge. He swallowed as he beheld Rose's form. Aside from her pursed lips her face was devoid of expression, her hair lank and her cheeks gaunt. She was tense, too—but then, everyone was.
He also noticed, with pleasure, that Zaveid was absent.
But what were they even doing here? Surely they weren't going to challenge Heldalf—that was just suicide. A small part of him wondered if they knew he was here and had come to save him, but he quashed such delusions. There was no way they could know.
They came within view of Heldalf. Rose took a sharp breath, flinching slightly.
"So the pitiful Shepherd returns."
"Heldalf!" Sorey looked confident, but he stopped a safe distance away. "This won't go like last time."
"You think so?" He laughed. "Do you really think you have the resolve required to defeat me?"
Sorey said, "With my friends—"
"Ah, but we are not speaking of them," Heldalf said. "We are speaking of you. I ask again: do you have the resolve?"
When Sorey remained silent, Lailah said, "Be careful, Sorey. You don't know what he's capable of."
"I know," he said quietly.
Heldalf snorted. "Go on, then, Shepherd. Show us all what a vessel you are!"
With that he lunged at Sorey, who barely managed to dodge. And instead of running, like he should have done, Sorey unsheathed his sword and began to fight.
"You idiot!" Dezel shouted, unable to help himself. Of course, no one heard him—
—save Symonne. "Be patient," she said. "Your time will come yet."
"Fuck off."
"Such a foul mouth," she said, mock-sighing.
He thrashed against his bonds, but to no avail. All he could do was watch the battle unfold. Heldalf was as skilled a fighter as he'd have expected the Lord of Calamity to be—his powerful punches whistled through the air, and though he was vastly outnumbered, he dodged most of the blows thrown at him. If Dezel hadn't been so horrified, he'd have been impressed.
Rose tended to hang back. That was wise—she was an incredibly talented fighter by human standards, but even as quick as she was, her daggers were mere toothpicks to the Lord of Calamity. She darted around looking for an opening, frustration written on her face, but nothing came.
The clear solution was armitization, even she must've know that, but she appeared to refuse to see it as an option. Dezel couldn't blame her. He clenched his fists even tighter, and thought, My fault—all my fault. How could he have been so stupid, so worthless?
However, even with Rose essentially out of the picture, Sorey and the seraphim held their ground. Had they really improved so much in the time since Dezel had left?
Sorey, armitized with Edna, came up from behind Heldalf and slammed his fist into his side. Heldalf grunted, falling to his knees, and coughed black blood onto the ground. He didn't get up.
Sorey hesitated, suddenly unsure. The situation must have struck him as wrong to him as it did Dezel. Good—he was learning.
Even on his knees, Heldalf was as tall as Sorey's shoulders. "Are you happy?"
"What?"
"One more strike like that, and you'll finish me. Can't you feel it?" He chuckled darkly. "You yearn for it. You crave the opportunity to prove yourself."
Sorey's brow furrowed. "Wh-what are you saying?"
Heldalf rasped, "Finish what you started with Forton." He smirked when Sorey flinched at the mention of the Cardinal's name. "By now, you must know that you cannot save me. Therefore—strike me down. It's the only way to save this accursed land."
Sorey separated with Edna.
"Sorey, wait!" Lailah looked pained. "If you finish this here, can you be absolutely sure you will not regret it later?"
"That's right," Edna said. "Did we really come all this way just to smack ol' Kittybeard around?"
Heldalf let out a heavy breath, clearly annoyed. What—did he want to die? "It is the duty of the Shepherd to quell the Lord of Calamity. I can assure you, you will not get another opportunity like this." When Sorey still did nothing, he sharply said, "Symonne."
She appeared at Dezel's side. "Yes, master?"
"Dispose of the extras."
With horror, Dezel watched as she placed everyone but Sorey—Rose—in bubbles of malevolence, and after that, he could no longer sense them. Rose. Everyone ... He cursed his own worthlessness, and his inability to do anything.
Heldalf slowly stood, and Sorey took a step back. "Come, Shepherd. Let us finish this once and for all."
"But—"
He lunged at Sorey, but this time, Sorey wasn't so quick to dodge. Heldalf's claws grazed his front, ripping his cape and scraping his flesh, and he hissed in pain.
Heldalf didn't stop there. He relentlessly pursued Sorey, wildly swiping at him, and it was all Sorey could do but evade him—sometimes. Not even a minute had passed before Sorey was at his limit, his clothing in bloody tatters, his breathing rapid and shallow.
Heldalf laughed derisively. "Don't tell me the tables have turned. Have you finally given in?"
"Never," Sorey wheezed. He took a few more gulps of air, then said, "I can see what you're doing, Heldalf, and it isn't going to work. I won't let you needle me." He leapt at Heldalf with the last reserves of his strength, but Heldalf easily blocked his thrust and shoved him to the ground.
"You remind me of the previous Shepherd. Stubborn and spiteful, until the bitter end." He bent down, grabbing Sorey by the throat, and lifted him high. Blood dripped from the gauges Heldalf's claws left in his neck.
"You knew him?" he choked out, clutching Heldalf's hands.
"He's the reason I became this way." He watched Sorey intently, but all Sorey did was uselessly pry at his claws. He sighed. "Do you not realize how warped it is to struggle so?" He didn't wait for Sorey's answer. "Symonne. I think it is time for your ... project."
She nodded.
What—
The illusion surrounding Dezel vanished, and Sorey's eyes bulged. Rose's screams became audible, but suddenly cut off as she fell to the ground in a heap. Tears streamed down her face as she sat up and looked around.
When she caught sight of Dezel, she froze.
Dezel was all too aware of his shameful position, the way he knelt with his face to the ground, as if bowing reverently to a superior. At this point, he couldn't even spit on the ground Symonne walked on. She easily knocked him onto his back, then placed the tip of her baton right against his throat.
"I've brought you a present, girl," she said, smiling sweetly at Rose. "Here before us lies the man who wronged you. Does it not please you to see him suffer?"
Rose stared at Dezel, deathly still. She opened her mouth, but nothing came out, not even a breath.
Symonne continued. "He used your body for his own selfish desires, over and over again, and then had the nerve to come to you in the guise of a friend. He's the one responsible for steering your life into the disgraceful direction it's taken. Doesn't he deserve to die, for all he's done to you?"
Rose met Symonne's gaze.
"Don't those of your profession dispose of people like him? People who, by all counts, only cause those around them to suffer?"
She swallowed. "I ... I—"
"Rose, please—!" was all Sorey could manage before Heldalf tightened his hand around his throat, cutting all speech off.
"I can do it, you know," Symonne said. Her eyes gleamed. "I can kill him. Just for you. You only need to say the word."
Rose let out a breath.
What little of Dezel's hope that remained had been swept away. Symonne, as much as he despised her, was right—he did deserve to die. He only wished he had, all those nights ago.
Not that it mattered. Now, he'd finally get his bittersweet release.
I've nearly finished the next chapter, too, so expect that to come up momentarily!
