Conscription of Fate

by Shadow0Fire

Humans often depict their heroes as figures chosen by destiny, warriors of superior bloodlines or power. They fight for justice, freedom or a higher ideal of their own volition. Society's ideal hero. But this individual is none of those things. He is an ordinary man, with traits that would rarely be attributed to a world savior. That is precisely why he is conscripted to do it.

40. Paradigm Shift

It's a shame that no one remembers who Mission is, but I can't really blame you: I mean, the last time she showed up in person was chapter one, so it's been a loooong time. Still though, our protagonist's sister is of the utmost importance, though only for a brief while. She hopes you'll treat her well while she's here!

Anyway, sorry for the long wait, but with Christmas and holiday breaks and some personal family tragedy, I just didn't have time. As compensation you get a really long chapter. On another note I'm not particularly looking forward to Grimoire. The only characters I really like are Kaguya and Seiten, but it at least seems like Airi will make an appearance somewhere in the OVA's, so that's a plus.

And finally, as things progress through this story romantically, sex and its related activities will be mentioned/discussed/occur more frequently. That shouldn't surprise anyone considering the anime in question, but if it somehow makes you uncomfortable, this is your fair warning. Will there eventually be lemons? I'm still not sure, but either way we won't be skirting around physical intimacy in this fic.

---

Mission was very, very confused. She didn't know where she was, what was going on, or why any of it was happening. The last thing she remembered was her brother attempting to shield her from a deadly blast during their botched mission in Greenland. After the blinding light there had only been darkness, but after some indeterminable amount of time, Mission had suddenly awakened here; in this world full of trees, clean water, blue skies, and other things that were no longer natural aspects of the Earth she knew.

Was she dreaming? Was she lying unconscious in that terrorist base right now, still in danger from the enemy? Or was she already dead, and currently in some sort of afterlife?

She wasn't sure which option was less ridiculous. After all, she was dressed in pretty normal clothing for her: just a dark blue hoodie and jeans, along with white tennis shoes. If she were dead wouldn't she be wearing something more fitting for the afterlife? Then again, perhaps the notion of celestial white robes in heaven was a purely human construct.

Either way, she was dressed very differently from the two women she had awoken to. Mission had not been and still wasn't sure what to make of them, even a few hours after the fact. She didn't know what to make of two people dressed in such skimpy, outlandish outfits, wielding swords, shields, and maces. Besides, in the blonde's case, what was the point of her armor? It left practically everything exposed and only protected her from straight stabs to the abdomen. It seemed utterly pointless to a practical girl like Mission.

But all of that aside, Mission couldn't deny that she was feeling very awkward right now. Having rescued a person so alien to them, Leina and Risty had put their journey on hold to investigate the bizarre and seemingly insane woman they had found in a ditch. For the last two hours they had been conversing with the silver-haired girl on the side of the road, but their inability to understand any of what she was talking about made progress impossible.

That being the case, the two of them were utterly lost, and Mission was simply irritable for her lack of success in learning anything about her new situation. The pair of women who had rescued her had mentioned a lot of things during their discussion: territories, rulers, cities, towns... but none of that answered anything in a way Mission could understand. She was just as lost as she was when she had first awoken.

So now they were kind of just standing across from each other, trying to decide how to proceed. Leina honestly didn't want to just ditch the woman and continue on her merry way, as she seemed pretty unstable and confused. The rogue Vance daughter was worried that this woman might get herself hurt or into trouble. Risty wasn't quite as concerned, but even she felt like it was wrong to just ditch the woman until she had some semblance of sanity.

As for Mission, she had no idea what to do. How could she? She didn't know her location or the current situation, so she couldn't plan her next move accordingly. If she were still in a familiar environment, her next objective would have been something obvious like, 'complete the mission' or 'make sure my brother is OK.' But the mission was clearly no longer important anymore as nothing related to it was anywhere in sight. As for her brother, was he even around? Was he here as well or was it just her? And what about the rest of the team? Had they suffered similar fates?

There was no way to answer any of those questions. But above all else, Mission ultimately decided that she needed to find someone who knew something about her own reality. She had to find someone who knew where New Eden was, and about NOVA and the surface and everything else. Until then there was no way she could operate effectively.

However, Mission had already concluded that the people before her would not be much help on that front. They had absolutely no clue what she was talking about when she spoke of any of this. Perhaps they were just entirely clueless, though Mission did not see how that could be possible. Either way, she had to find other people to talk to. Hopefully people that were dressed normally and had some grasp of reality.

Although she said that, Mission had to admit that she was confused as well. She still couldn't explain the trees and the grass, or the sky that was not a debilitating shade of crimson. As far as she knew, no place on Earth was still in such pristine condition.

But she could put that on the back burner for now. While it confounded her, such things were not as important as finding out what exactly had happened to her, and with that in mind, Mission prepared to speak to her new acquaintances again.

"You said earlier that we were not far from some settlement called Liere. Can you direct me there?"

While she most certainly could, Leina was a little reluctant to give such information to this stranger, if only because she was worried about the notion of her going anywhere by herself. She was clearly insane, or at the very least completely confused, so Leina was concerned the young woman might be a danger to herself or others.

"Well, we could tell you were it is, but I think you should wait for a bit..."

Seeing that the blonde wasn't going to be immediately cooperative, Mission scowled at her. "And why exactly would I do that? I don't have time to wait around for no reason!"

Risty folded her arms as she cocked an eyebrow at her. "Why? You have somewhere in particular to be? How could you if you don't even know where you are?"

Mission didn't like getting snark from another woman, but she was more than capable of returning fire. "For your information I do have somewhere to be. Preferably around people who aren't complete lunatics waltzing around in indecent medieval armor!"

A while back Leina would have been offended by such description of her attire, but she had long since accepted that she truly was quite under dressed. After all, aside from her armor, which already covered maybe thirty percent of her body at most, she only wore a thong and a lot of leather belts. She wasn't the epitome of modesty at any rate, not that she really cared. All of those years in her early life at Vance castle had given Leina a deep-seated hatred of stuffy, proper clothing. Now that she was living life the way she wanted she preferred to be more exposed, especially since the Continent was a pretty hot place during most of the year.

Either way, Leina acknowledged that she really didn't have any right to impede this stranger's wishes. If she wanted to know where Liere was, it wasn't her place to stop her. That being the case, she pointed down the road in the direction she and Risty had been walking away from. "If you really want to get to Liere, it's several leagues in that down this road."

The woman she was giving directions to looked at Leina incredulously. "Could you possibly give me that in miles or kilometers...?"

Giving a confused look of her own, Risty leaned over to whisper to her companion, though it was still much too loud. "The hell is a kill meter?"

Before Leina could shrug, Mission was answering the question for her, resisting the urge to face palm as she did so. "A kilometer is a unit of distance! For God's sake, where are you people from?! People stopped using leagues to describe distance hundreds of years-"

Mission suddenly fell silent as she thought of something, though she was quick to resume. "Shit... shit, there's no way. That can't be, right...?"

Seeing that she was growing very agitated, Leina was about to speak to the silver-haired girl again, but her target jabbed a finger at her first. "You! What year is it?!"

"Uh... nine seventy-two?"

"BC or AD?"

This time it was Risty who answered. "The hell are those?"

Nodding to herself, Mission closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "...fuck."

---

Man, this is one hell of a long rainstorm. Not that I'm complaining...

A few hours after it had started, Church and Elina were still huddled under his jacket, the only shelter they had from the seemingly endless downpour. The female member of this pair had fallen asleep quite some time ago, though Church was in no way surprised. She was likely exhausted after tumbling down a cliff. She had been reluctant to fall asleep in his presence, but Elina had been unable to hold on for long, at which point she had unwillingly leaned into Church's own torso in her fatigue-induced slumber.

This meant that she was unwittingly pushing her full weight against him, which was unfortunate since he himself was quite tired already. Church had gone numb to his small aches and pains already, but his leg was still hurting from the fall earlier, as were his arms from holding up his soaked jacket for so long. He had taken advantage of Elina's shoulders to rest his arms several times, but at this point those small breaks were barely helping.

He could have allowed the thing to simply rest against their bodies instead of being held up by his arms, but if Church did that it would no longer shield them completely. Unless he held it up like a tent, his jacket would fail to cover them entirely. In their current position, doing that would expose his legs, and likely worse than that, her butt. So if he wanted to rest his arms without getting them wet again, he had to minimize the space they were taking. And that meant pulling the blonde in his lap closer.

Considering the nature of the person in question, Church was a little reluctant to do that. But since she was fast asleep, he figured that he could safely draw her a little nearer.

Of course, to do that he had to cross his legs, which were currently pinned down by the girl on top of him. So the first thing he had to do was lift her off of him for a moment...

Using one arm to hold his jacket up so he could utilize the other, Church subconsciously acknowledged that Elina would be very upset about him touching her in her sleep, but he really had no choice. Wriggling his arm under her thighs, Church slowly (for fear of waking her mostly) lifted his unlikely companion just enough for him to maneuver his legs into a folded position.

Following that he had to actually bring the woman closer to him, but Church was momentarily unsure of where he should grab her to do that. As far as physics were concerned it would be easiest to move her unresponsive body by pulling from a lower area... but he highly doubted that Elina wanted his hands anywhere near her nether regions again. Even in her sleep she was probably still livid about the last time he had wandered down there, though he doubted it actually hurt anymore at this point.

Either way, Church settled for wrapping his free arm around the small of her back to draw Elina close enough to him to solve his current predicament. Of course that meant that she was now unwittingly straddling his lap, but Church was too focused on relieving his tired arms to draw any pleasure from it in the first place.

Thankfully he could do just that, as the two of them were now close enough to avoid exposure even if Church allowed his jacket to simply lay on top of them instead of holding it up. However, because of their position the majority of their makeshift shield was laying on top of Elina's mostly bare back. That seemed kind of unfair all things considered, but Church was entirely unwilling to hold the drenched article up any longer, so he instead decided to just wrap his arms around the girl so they could be a buffer between the wet jacket and her bare skin. As long as he wasn't doing this when she woke up, his chances of dying would be minimized.

To his own surprise though, Elina apparently liked the current situation, at least subconsciously, as she snuggled a little further into him while humming rather contentedly. Under normal circumstances Church might have been a bit more flustered about this than he was, but he was fully aware that Elina would never do such a thing were she awake. It was hard to take pleasure in something she was doing unconsciously and unwillingly.

But even so, it was a nice feeling. She was soft and warm and, at the moment, enjoying his proximity, albeit unknowingly. In fact, Church briefly thought that this might be the most intimate thing he had done with a woman since arriving in this world, though he quickly thought of some other things that topped it.

After all, I did technically bathe with Nowa in the forest that one time... and I saw both Tomoe and Shizuka naked, though that was an accident... still, this situation is pretty high on the list, though it'll no doubt be ruined when she wakes up and starts bitching about all of it...

The mere thought of it almost ruined the entire thing for Church, but at that moment Elina re-positioned herself in a way that had her facing him, allowing her current caretaker to listen to her gentle breathing. His dismay with the current situation quickly crumbled, but Church was soon disappointed with his lack of resolve instead.

Yeah, never mind that she hates my guts and tried to kill me, I can't even be mad at her right now just because she's sleeping. Damn, I'm so weak when it comes to women...

---

Generally speaking, Mission was not an overly irritable person. She was usually regarded as a more or less kind individual even though she got a whole lot tougher when something needed to get done. However, in her current predicament, she was coming off as a very grumpy individual, at least to the two women who had welcomed her to what she believed was a different era.

In fact, as she trudged towards Liere in hopes of uncovering some amount of revealing information, Mission could only wonder why Risty and Leina were coming with her. Apparently Risty wondered about this as well, as she grumbled to her blonde companion about the situation.

"Leina, you do realize that we're wasting several hours of travel by backtracking here, don't you? Normal people travel on roads like this all the time, it's not like she needs an escort."

As for Leina, she was quite excited, though not for any reason Risty could understand. She was used to the blonde's enthusiasm by now, but it still failed to make sense to her, even as Leina tried to explain why she wanted to follow this stranger.

"Risty, she's hardly a normal person! Didn't you hear her earlier? She was legitimately surprised at what year it was. Doesn't that mean she's from the future or something? She has to be someone special!"

"Isn't it more likely that she's just insane...?"

"Oh come on Risty, she can't be. She's dressed in clothes we've never seen, she talks about things we've never heard of, and she really knows nothing about this entire continent. She has to have some sort of special circumstances.

Risty could only shake her head and sigh. "None of that proved that she isn't just insane..."

Of course, being only a few steps ahead of the duo, Mission could hear everything they were saying, which served to make her even more agitated. But instead of saying anything about that, the unarmed soldier simply thought of her situation more deeply.

Nine seventy-two huh...? If I really am in Earth's past or something, this is over a thousand years before my own time. But where am I exactly? I'm not even sure which countries actually existed at this point...

Eager to gain some semblance of geographic understanding in regards to her location, Mission glanced back at the two women trailing just a little bit behind her. "Hey. What country are we in?"

Risty was about to tell her that the Continent itself didn't have a name, but Leina spoke up before she could. "Farillia."

Before Mission could even tell her that she had never heard of such a place, Risty was giving Leina a questioning look of her own. "Wait, seriously? I've never heard that before. How do you know?"

Leina seemed genuinely surprised that Risty didn't know this. "What do you mean? Isn't that common knowledge?"

"No. I've literally never heard anyone refer to this continent by name."

The rogue Vance heiress rubbed her chin as she thought back to the dull, dreary history lessons she had been forced to endure in childhood. "Well, according to what I learned, this continent used to be called Praerhiel in ancient times. Then the whole place was called Amara during the time they were in power. When Vance came into power we called it Etrium, but then Queen's Blade happened and the first Queen named the whole place Farillia. I don't think the name's been officially changed since then... but since Vance was in control for so long, the sudden name change really confused the population. My father always insisted on calling it Etrium, but Claudette told me that people had been conflicted over what to call it for so long that they eventually just ignored names and kept it vague."

Risty could only cock an eyebrow at the knowledgeable woman beside her. "Well this is the first I've heard of it. I guess it doesn't matter really... but it's kind of strange to think that their isn't a general consensus on our name."

Her blonde companion folded her arms in thought. "Hm... y'know, I wonder what the elves call it? Some of them have been around since before it was called either of those things. Do they have their own name for it or did they just choose the one they like best? And what about Hinomoto? I wonder what they have our name down as on a map?"

The Bandit of the Wilderness shrugged. "Who cares what those guys label us as? The problem is that our own country can't decide on a name for itself."

"Well in that case, I'll make sure to make Farillia official for everyone when I become Queen. How's that sound?"

Risty gave the novice fighter an incredulous look. "First off, you're twenty steps ahead of yourself Princess. You can't even beat me yet, never mind a legendary fighter like the Queen. Besides, I thought the Vance name for this place was Etrium. Why wouldn't you choose that one?"

Ignoring Risty's assessment of her skill, Leina simply shrugged. "I just think Farillia sounds better. Just because I have a Vance bloodline doesn't mean I have to agree with everything they say."

Ahead of the duo, Mission merely sighed. Aside from the fact that their conversation was not helpful to her in the slightest, none of the supposed names for this country were familiar to her. She had once again come full circle in having no inkling of where the hell she was.

But instead of making further inquiries, she simply stayed silent and trudged on, hoping against hope that this Liere place was not much further. She didn't know how much longer she could suffer the company of the people behind her...

She didn't even have the heart to complain aloud, but even if she wanted to, Mission suddenly lacked the strength to utter anything even remotely scathing as she felt a very unexpected wave of fatigue coming on. It washed over her entire body almost instantaneously, at which point Mission collapsed onto her knees.

Ugh... what is this? I was feeling fine just a second ago...

To their credit, Leina and Risty were quick to react to Mission's sudden lack of strength, despite having been lost in their own conversation. Even so, Leina was more vocal about it than her companion. "Hey, are you alright?! What happened?"

Unwilling or perhaps unable to muster the strength she needed to speak, Mission simply shook her head. She was definitely not alright. She was not feeling sick, or hurt, or anything of that nature. But even so, she just felt incredibly tired all of a sudden, like she had been deprived for days. She couldn't think of an explanation for it.

Either way, Mission felt like she was about to lose consciousness at any moment, so she couldn't do or say anything to assuage the concerns of her new travel partners. Apparently her situation was worse than she realized though, as her world tilted to the side without warning before being covered in darkness. It all happened too fast for her to even realize it was happening.

However, Mission seemed to awaken the moment she hit the ground: or at least, it felt like she did. After all, the moment she opened her eyes, the young girl realized that she was once again in an unfamiliar environment. Unfortunately, this one was even more alien than the first.

She was surrounded by darkness, but also stars. In fact, for all she could tell, Mission felt like she was in space. She even felt the fabled weightlessness of such a location, but she was not so out of it to be concerned over her situation. After all, she would have been unable to breathe in this environment, among numerous other things that would have surely killed her by now.

Even so, she felt lethargic. Her mind wasn't running as quickly as usual. Even as she tried to look at her surroundings, Mission didn't ask any questions. She only admired the interstellar beauty that was before her. She could see no planets, but she could see many other wondrous objects: stars, both near and far, nebulae, and even what appeared to be a black hole, which, while abstractly terrifying, was also quite beautiful.

It wasn't until Mission's floating body gently connected with another solid surface that she seemed to come to her senses. Flinching in surprise, she turned her bright green eyes towards the object of collision, only to be met with an obsidian pillar. Or perhaps slab would have been a better term, as it was only as tall as Mission herself.

"What the hell...?"

Now far more concerned about her situation, Mission looked around her only to spot more of these slabs of mysterious stone floating around. They were difficult to see with the darkness surrounding them, but they were nevertheless present.

Beyond mere concern at this point, Mission almost settled on panic. But before she could go down that path, her mental process was interrupted by a calm, yet unexpectedly loud voice from all around her. It was distinctly male, but she could not recognize it.

"Calm down, Mission. As I'm sure you've already deduced, you are not actually in space. You are in no physical danger whatsoever at the moment."

Glancing all around her in an effort to locate the origin of this voice, Mission was met only with disappointment. "Who are you? Where are you? Screw that, where am I?"

"Hmm... your brother said some very similar words..."

At the mention of her brother, Mission's demeanor changed entirely. Someone finally knew something about her situation. "You talked to Jake?! Where is he?!"

The voice around her didn't lost any of its serenity as it faced Mission's impatience. "He is alive, though perhaps not well. Currently he is at the bottom of a ravine waiting out a storm."

"And you know this how? And how did you know my name? What the hell is going on here?"

With a sigh, the encompassing voice decided to answer these questions in its own way. "Let me take this from the top. "You are a soldier for the Legion alongside your adopted brother, yes?"

"Yes..."

"And you were deployed on a mission in Greenland targeting a terrorist cell when things went horribly sideways. Your brother tried to shield you from a deadly blast, and that was the last thing you remember before awaking in a seemingly different era, correct?"

Mission folded her arms even as she floated through empty space. "That's correct, but you haven't told me how you know all of this, or how the hell I got here."

"Yes, well, this is the part that is probably going to be tough for you to accept. Do you believe in extraordinary phenomenon?"

"No."

"So if I told you that I'm an archangel exiled from Heaven who has brought you to a different dimension, you would not believe me?"

"Who in their right mind would believe that?"

Though she couldn't see the speaker, Mission got the feeling that he had shrugged. "Your brother believed me, though he was as incredulous as you at first. Then again, he has been here for quite some time, so he has probably had more time to accept reality."

"What are you talking about? If we were both caught in that blast that 'magically' teleported us to another dimension, which I still refuse to accept, then how would he have woken up before me?"

"Church has been active in this world for several months now. As for you, I kept you in inter-dimensional stasis until just a few hours ago. It was the best way to keep you safe, and more importantly, out of Church's way. The last thing he had time to worry about was the safety of his sister."

Mission sighed as she floated by another one of those obsidian pillars. "Alright, let's say I believe all of this. Theoretically, why do you want me and my brother?"

"Your brother is here to save the world. And I mean that quite literally. As for you, I did not intend to use you originally, but your help is now required if everything is to work out for the best."

"Save the world from what exactly? And how is he going to do it?"

"Don't worry, Church is not required to do anything ridiculous. No holy swords or spells are required for this particular adventure. His only purpose here is to rally friends and foes to his cause: to unite those who are strong enough to save the world. He is the cornerstone of my designs. Without him, the many warriors who are natural enemies would never work together for the greater good."

Mission cocked an eyebrow at the faceless speaker. "OK... and he's going to unite these warriors... with what? I'll be the first to admit that Jake is pretty charismatic, but there's no way he can convince people who hate each other to be allies with just that."

"I would not be so sure. Just as you would go to any lengths to protect the brother you love, many others would face incredible danger for his sake."

Church's sister couldn't keep the incredulity out of her voice. "You make it sound like the plan is to get all of these people to fall in love with him."

When the voice remained silent for a few moments, Mission almost wondered if she had hit the mark. But no, that would have been ridiculous...

"Well, they don't all have to be madly in love with him or anything, though a few are already and it certainly helps... as long as he endears himself to them to an extent where they will be willing to fight alongside him, it is fine."

Shocked by what she was hearing, Mission couldn't hold back an outburst. "Wait, what?! What do you mean a few of them already are?! Are all of these warriors women or something?!"

"Yes, actually. And by a few I mean... let's see... hm... three, maybe four. I wouldn't count Nyx's feelings for him as more than an infatuation at this point, but Nowa is certainly smitten with him and Airi is definitely not against the idea nearly as much as she is for it. Alleyne is too conflicted about it all to really count, and I do not believe that Shizuka has spent enough time with him yet... but Nanael is definitely willing to entertain some sort of romance..."

Her mouth agape from what she was hearing, Mission could scarcely imagine the idea of so many women being in love with her brother of all people. Sure, he had charm and he was halfway decent in the looks department, but that had never helped him score a girlfriend before. In fact, Church had never had a lady friend: his interaction with women had been limited to professional relationships and poor experiences during childhood. So how he could be courting so many girls was beyond her.

"Hold on, you can't be serious! You mean to tell me that my brother is hooking up with that many chicks behind their backs?! He wouldn't do something like that, he'd never be able handle the guilt!"

"Well, he isn't actually in a relationship like that with any of them... that is just their feelings for him. Which love he will reciprocate, or how many he will, is up to him, is it not? Of course, I did not really bring you here to discuss this, so if we could move on..."

Mission honestly didn't want to move on from this particular topic, mostly because the thought of her brother being so friendly with a horde of girls unsettled her, but in the end she chose to stay silent on the matter. After all, she still didn't think any of this was actually happening...

"Fine. What did you bring me here for?"

The ambient voice seemed pleased that Mission wasn't resisting his push in the conversation. "As I said, your brother is here to save this world. However, I have recently concluded that it may be difficult without some outside assistance."

"And that outside assistance is me?"

"Yes. There are many things you could do to help him. And believe me when I tell you that he needs it, with the forces arrayed against him taken into consideration. Surely, all of your other misgivings aside, you would be willing to aid your brother however you can?"

Mission scowled at the mention of it. Under normal circumstances that would be true, but in this situation... "Yes, normally I would. But what if I don't accept that any of this is really happening? What if I choose not to believe it?"

There was a weary sigh from the voice around her. "Well that could be a problem. But what if you choose not to believe this and your brother truly ends up dying? On the off chance that this is all really happening, would you be willing to risk his safety?"

"No, but I am still completely certain that this is all a dream. So I don't see any risk."

It sounded like the owner of the voice smiled. "In that case, does it matter? If this is reality, then Church truly needs your help. If it is but a dream, what harm will it do to participate in it? Will you suffer some sort of harm if you help your brother in a mere dream?"

While she really didn't want to, Mission could only admit that the voice was correct. "Well, no..."

"See, if you help him regardless of whether or not you believe this is happening, then there is truly no risk. If it is real you will have helped him, if it is a dream you will be no worse off. So, that being said; will you aid him? He needs your help Mission."

Berating herself for falling prey to such methods of persuasion, Mission let out a sigh. "Fine... on the off chance that this is all real and Jake somehow needs my help, what do I need to do?"

Elated to have gained her cooperation, the voice around Mission's weightless form grew much more cheerful. "Well, first things first, my name is Daedalus-"

"I didn't ask that."

"And the first thing I need you to do is go to a place called Sirinael, as a very particular blacksmith will soon be encountering problems with a project of hers."

"And I'm supposed to help this blacksmith... how?"

"I need you to bring a particular matrix to her. I'll lead you to it, at which point you will take it to her so she may complete the weapon Church will need one day soon. It is of utmost importance that he is properly armed for the battles to come."

Mission found it increasingly difficult to keep an incredulous look off of her face. "What the hell is a matrix anyway...?"

"A blueprint of sorts that smiths use for complex designs. Look, it's not important that you know about it, only that you get it to her."

"And were am I supposed to find this thing? I don't know squat about anything in this world!"

Not at all concerned about this fact, Daedalus carried on. "The redheaded woman you have recently made the acquaintance of has been around quite a bit. Ask her about Sirinael in particular. You will find the matrix you need there."

Mission couldn't help but wish these directions were less vague. "And this Sirinael place is?"

"An ancient residence of the Calibara Elves. It has been abandoned for many millenia, but several valuable treasures are still there. Risty is a treasure hunter: she will be all too happy to conduct a raid alongside you."

The mention of elves almost caused Mission to reject this reality all over again, but following the logic Daedalus had put forth earlier about it all being a dream, she didn't. "So she knows where this place is?"

"No, but I do. And when you tell her, she will no doubt be all too willing to accompany you there. I'm sure Leina will come along as well. To be honest you could go alone, but it would be better to have somewhat experienced fighters accompany you."

"If you say so. Can you tell me where this place is in simple terms I'll understand?"

"Quite. When you get to Liere, procure a map of the Continent. There will be a location marked 'Seclusion Forest' near the very top of it. Of course the real name is Sekalidel, but that's irrelevant..."

"And what, this 'Seclusion Forest' is small enough that the abandoned place I'm looking for will be obvious?"

Daedalus' voice seemed to lower in volume, though it may have only been Mission's imagination. "I will give you more specific directions once you draw closer. For now, enlist Risty and Leina's help in the matter, and be sure to arm yourself in some way or another at Liere. It's a small town, but they will still have halfway decent weapons and armor for you to employ."

"Whatever type of currency this place uses, I don't have any."

"If you convince those two to be your accomplices in this endeavor I am sure they will cover the meager cost of self-defense."

Simply shrugging at that, Mission sighed. "And if I wake up from this ridiculous dream before then? What will you do?"

"That'll hardly matter since I'll have been nothing more than a figment of your imagination, yes?"

"Fair enough. Anything else?"

Mission asked this out of courtesy only, but Daedalus did in fact have something else to say. "Indeed. Don't mention your brother to Risty or Leina in any way. It would be best if their first impression of him is his own."

"And just why the hell is that?"

"Because, they are two of the warriors that will one day assist him in saving the world."

Mission almost laughed. "C'mon, two babes like that, falling in love with Jake of all people? That's unlikely at best."

Daedalus would have shrugged if Mission was even able to see it. "Actually I think Leina would quite like his personality. As for whether or not such beautiful women are too good for him, I do not think you'd be questioning it if you saw the women who already love him."

"What the hell does that mean? You mean to tell me that everyone he's hooked up with is a bombshell?!"

"Farewell Mission. Good luck."

"Hey! Answer the damn question!"

Unfortunately no such thing was forthcoming, and Mission's query went completely unanswered as her body suddenly began feeling the pull of gravity again, though not from below. Glancing back behind her, she saw that she was being pulled towards the black hole she had seen earlier.

"Hey! I thought you said that thing wasn't real?! Hey! What the fu-!"

Before she could even finish cursing, Mission's eyes were met with piercing light, as well as the faces of her two acquaintances, sporting varying degrees of concern. For some reason Leina was more worried than her redheaded counterpart. In but a moment she had been returned to the 'real' world, leading Mission to question whether or not what she had just experienced had even really happened.

Either way, she did not have much time to think about it, as she was soon forced to listen to Leina's question. "Are you alright? You completely passed out without warning."

Before Mission could even offer a suitable response, Risty cut in with a deadpan look on her face. "Does this kind of thing happen to you often? Is this how you ended up in a ditch in the first place?"

"No, this is not normal for me... how long was I out anyway?"

Not one to be overly polite, Risty left the rest of this conversation to Leina. "Only a few seconds, but even so you collapsed entirely. It was really sudden: are you sure you're alright?"

Mission shrugged off the blonde's concern in favor of looking back on the strange encounter she had just had with an ambient, faceless voice. She honestly didn't know how much credence she could give to such a thing, but if this all really was a dream... then it didn't really matter if she played along, did it?

Like he said, on the off chance that this is all really happening, I'll be helping Jake with something serious... and if it isn't real, then no harm done by participating. There's really no reason to ignore the situation then, regardless of how real I think it is.

Coming to that conclusion, Mission briefly struggled to remember the name of the place Daedalus had told her about. Thankfully it only took her a few moments, at which point she pointed a finger at the redhead that had taken a few steps away from her. Unfortunately Mission had forgotten her name already. "Hey you. You ever hear of a place called Sirinael?"

Though she had probably butchered the pronunciation, Risty nevertheless understood, leading her to look at Mission with newfound interest. "Yeah. It's a fabled treasure trove left behind by one of the Elven tribes when they were forced out of their original territory. Of course, it's just a myth. People have been looking for that place for centuries without success. So what are you asking for?"

Finally rising to her feet once more, Mission made sure to look the woman in the eye as she spoke her next words. "I know where it is."

Despite her efforts, the first thing Risty did was scoff. "Oh really? Ten minutes ago you didn't even know where you were, so how on earth would you know where some mythical treasure is?"

Knowing that she desperately needed to convince these two women to accompany her, Mission quickly thought up an excuse that could work. Recalling Leina's belief that she was from the future, the silver-haired girl decided to build on that. "I'm from the future, remember? It's true that I don't know exactly where I am, but this place you mentioned, Farillia? It's ancient history in my time. Sirinael was uncovered and excavated already. I know its location and its worth. Believe me when I tell you that the treasure humanity uncovered there is incredible."

Risty's stony expression faltered for a moment, being the one who had thought this future business was nonsense, but she quickly recovered. "Give me one reason why I should go along with that story."

Mission quickly subdued a grimace as she thought of some way to seal the deal. Thankfully, like her brother, she was quite the skillful wordsmith. More fortunately than that, she had finally remembered this woman's name. "Because, the legendary treasure hunter Risty would never let an opportunity like this pass her by, even if she doubted its truthfulness. At least, that's what I've been told since I was a kid."

"T-treasure hunter? Wait, what do you mean by that? If you're from the future how would you know about me?!"

I've got her now. All I have to do is play to her pride...

"You're a legendary historical figure in the future. The most well-renowned and recognized treasure hunter in human history. You have entire chapters dedicated to your exploits in history books; countless young women aspire to be like you in the future. Of course, I had my doubts initially, but since you do know about Sirinael... you are that Risty, aren't you?"

As she uttered those final words, it became apparent to Mission that she had Risty in the palm of her hand. The woman's face was aglow with pride and joy at the mention of 'legendary historical figure' and 'most well-renowned treasure hunter.' In a heartbeat her tune had changed entirely.

"S-so you really know where Sirinael is?! And you'll tell me, just like that?!"

Clearly Risty understood that her future fame would theoretically be greater if she were to discover a place like Sirinael. Mission planned to fully exploit this.

"Yes, I will. However, there are a few terms."

Risty's exuberance quickly shifted to suspicious at the mention of terms. If there was one thing she knew about terms, it was that they were often in favor of the person setting them. "And what would those be?"

"First off, I will be going with you. Second, there is but one object in Sirinael that I want for myself. Finally, you will pay for the gear I'll need for the journey. Not completely irrational, right?"

Apparently Risty didn't think so. "Seems pretty irrational to me! Why would I agree to any of that?!"

"Because, without me you'll never find Sirinael. Beyond that, you can take all the credit for the discovery, and you can have all of the treasure aside from the one thing that I need."

Now that Mission had mentioned that, Risty's resistance crumbled entirely. "S-seriously? Well, I guess it's not such a bad deal after all... but if this is all some ploy or a trap or something I'll make you regret it, alright?!"

Mission merely nodded as Leina finally found a chance to speak. "Hold on Risty! We don't have time for a treasure hunt to who knows where! We have to get to Gainos for the tournament!"

While she had no idea what Leina was talking about, Mission decided to stay silent as Risty countered the blonde. "Calm down Leina, we still have months before the tournament starts! Besides, what better way to show up than with fame and glory at our heels? We'll be famous!"

"Being famous doesn't make you a better fighter!"

"But it does give you something to fall back on if you lose! Now look, I'm going to Sirinael no matter what. You can come along if you want, or you can go to Gainos alone. Whatever floats your boat."

While Leina was certainly conflicted, she didn't have to think too long about her decision. After all, she didn't think she was ready to leave Risty's companionship and guidance just yet, and she was truly interested in this unreal situation...

"Fine, but we absolutely can't be late to the tournament, alright?! Nothing would be more shameful than to lose through disqualification!"

Seeing that she had successfully roped these two into her scheme, Mission turned on her heel and began heading for Liere again. "Well if time is that precious to you, let's get going. The sooner we're done with all of this the better."

Risty followed behind her with enthusiasm, but Leina had to hold back a sigh. Even so, she quickly found a way to put a spring back into her step as she caught up with Mission. "Hey... um, is there anything about me in the future? Am I famous too?"

Seeing the expectant look in her bright blue eyes, Mission tried to think of something she could tell Leina to keep her content. Taking her armor and sword into account, she thought of something she would probably like."Uh... yes, you are... a... well-respected warrior. Very famous for your skills in battle."

As the blonde's face lit up with joy, Mission silently acknowledged that being this good at lying wasn't necessarily something to be proud of.

---

Nyx did not particularly like traveling alone. She was a lonely soul who enjoyed the company of others. Unfortunately, she had been alone for many years now. Ever since her mother had died she had been alone. Sure, there had been other people around: other servants, guards, her Vance masters... but no one Nyx could call her friend. After her mother's passing every day had been a hellish routine of waking up before dawn only to suffer Elina's vicious whims until late at night.

Remembering those days ignited a hateful, powerful fury in the young brunette, so much that she likely would have burned down the forest around her if she could. But thankfully for the trees, Funikura was resting at the moment, and without him Nyx could do nothing to vent her anger.

Strangely enough, Funikura had been sleeping more and more lately. Nyx had no idea why, but the living staff seemed to spend at least half of the day sleeping now. In fact, Funikura's desire for rest was the only reason she had stopped in this small clearing in the woods a little ways off the road. This had originally been somewhat inconvenient, but Nyx had decided to use this time to cook something for lunch: for herself only, of course. As far as she knew, Funikura did not need sustenance the same way she did.

With that goal in mind, she had left Funikura in the clearing after it had fallen asleep to scour the nearby woods for both wood and herbs she could use as seasoning (of course, she had never gone far enough to lose sight of the creature).

After she had accomplished that, Nyx was forced to endure the painstakingly frustrating task of starting a fire through normal means, which she was, ironically, not very good at. Even so, she eventually managed to set the pile of branches she had gathered ablaze after clearing a buffer patch of dirt around it, and soon enough the self-proclaimed hero of justice was digging around in the knapsack she carried for the things she would need to actually cook a meal.

With her nearly legendary cooking skills (though Nyx herself did not know she possessed them), Nyx didn't actually carry around food as she traveled. The small bag she used for carrying supplies only had a pot and a handful of basic ingredients that she could use to make soups and stews. After all, if there was one thing she had true skill in, it was making entirely delicious and filling meals from very basic and sometimes even unexpected sources. Her life as a child slave with little to no decent nourishment had led Nyx to develop quite the unusual, yet effective, means of cooking. Truth be told she had probably consumed more grass, mushrooms, and edible flowers in her childhood than food from the Vance stores.

That being the case she was still very capable of doing so. Filling the pot she had procured with water (no traveler in their right mind left town without a lot of that), the only other store-bought ingredient she put in was a cheap broth of sorts that tasted vaguely like chicken. The rest of her meal would be comprised entirely of things she had found in the woods just now.

With no alternative available, Nyx had no choice but to simply hold the pot over the fire herself as it boiled. Most people would have found this uncomfortable, but being someone who often spewed flames from her fingertips, Nyx did not feel any discomfort in being close to the now lively fire she had made. On the other hand, she wasn't very strong, so holding up the full metal container quickly tired her out, leading Nyx to shift hands or rest her arms on her knees constantly. Somehow she got the feeling that Funikura would find this lack of physical strength pitiable.

For that reason, she was glad that the purple creature was asleep. No matter how many times she had been forced to endure it, Nyx hated being punished by the thing even more than she had the first time it had happened. To be completely violated from every possible avenue of assault was... an experience Nyx could not describe in any positive light. Sure, by the time it was underway it felt good: no matter how much she hated it mentally Nyx couldn't stop her body from feeling pleasure, but psychologically it was incredibly debilitating.

Besides the awful feeling of being viciously raped like some sort of toy, to know that some things were forever lost to her often led Nyx to greatly resent Funikura. While she had little confidence in herself as a woman, if she ever were to find someone who wanted her... she wouldn't be able to say she was unspoiled for him. Despite having never been with a man in such intimate forms, Nyx was certainly no longer a virgin. She'd been abused by Funikura so many times and in so many ways that any man who slept with her likely would have thought her a whore. She couldn't even offer them a pure kiss, as Funikura had soiled that as well.

Just the thought of it made Nyx sick, yet somehow, she couldn't find it in herself to get away. She couldn't muster the will to simply stand up right now and leave Funikura in this clearing. Because, despite the fact that it was far from a human companion, Funikura was the only company Nyx had. The only thing that had been a constant for her since she found it. The absolute worst feeling from her childhood, even above all the suffering she had endured at Elina's hand, had been loneliness. And no matter what it did to her body, as long as she had Funikura, Nyx didn't have to be completely alone.

Besides, Funikura wanted her. Her, a useless, clumsy slave girl with no skills and nothing to boast about. Regardless of what it did to her, Funikura gave Nyx the power and confidence to fight towards her dream. Without it she could never hope to be Queen, could never hope to end the horrible mistreatment of the poor and the needy... and for that reason, no matter how much it hurt her both inside and out, Nyx just couldn't let Funikura go. She needed something to rely on. Literally anything, and right now Funikura was the only one willing to support her, in its own selfish way.

Completely absorbed in these dire musings, Nyx lost track of the world around her until she felt a heat much more painful than the warmth of the fire on her hand. Brought back to reality by this interruption, Nyx realized that the water had started boiling. Small droplets of the scalding hot liquid were landing on her hand as the bubbles in the pot burst. Even with her gloves on it was too hot to be tolerable.

Of course, there was no need to hold onto it any longer: with it being heated to a sufficient level, Nyx could begin adding the different ingredients she had found in the woods to it. This consisted of little more than some raw edible flowers and grasses she had found, along with some mushrooms for actual sustenance. Few people would consider these things food fit for humans, but considering that the first two were only being used as a source of flavor and were not to be actually digested, perhaps some would be more accepting.

Still, Nyx highly doubted that. This was by no means a normal diet for even the poorest of individuals: it had only been her desperate desire to feed her sick mother that had lead Nyx to grow so proficient in this form of natural cooking. In fact, if she were willing to compliment herself, Nyx would have to admit that her knowledge on this matter was probably quite impressive. She doubted many people even knew that such common things as grass (though it was only specific kinds of grass) could be used in cooking.

And it always tasted good, at least to her. Even as she withdrew a wooden spoon, which was the only other implement she had available in that knapsack of hers, and took a bite of her unique meal, Nyx thought it was delicious. Of course, that may have been an acquired taste, but Nyx liked to entertain the idea of her being a halfway decent cook.

I wonder... is there someone out there who would be happy to eat my cooking regularly? Every day even...? But who would want something like that...?

For some reason, the face of that man she had met in Alabaster Town formed in her mind, assuring her that her cooking was good enough to eat every single day.

She wasn't too surprised that it was his face that made its way into her little daydream, as Nyx had often caught herself thinking about him without realizing it: it was the implications of him saying those things that flustered her.

H-he would never say things that unnatural... b-besides, for him to eat it every day, wouldn't that mean that we'd be m-m-married...?

Despite being essentially alone, Nyx felt the instinctive need to hide the now prominent blush on her face. Glancing down at the ground to shield her face with her hair, Nyx was met with the sight of her nature made stew, which quickly disheartened her.

"...who am I kidding? Who would want to eat something like this every day...? And who on earth would want to marry a used, defiled woman like me anyway..."

Before she could do anything to stop it, a lone tear splashed down into the stew in her lap, eliciting a bitter laugh from the chef as she reflected on her miserable excuse of an existence. "Well, guess a little salt won't make it any worse..."

---

Hours after the deluge that had halted Church and Elina's escape from the ravine had begun, the heavens finally decided to give the unlikely duo a break. It had been a ridiculously long and extensive storm, but the sun was finally showing its face again through breaks in the dark clouds above.

It was this light that initially woke Church from his unintentional slumber, but it was the slight rise and fall of another person's breathing that brought the man to full alertness. After all, the moment he remembered who was in his arms, any residual bliss from a well deserved nap was smashed into pieces.

However, as Church glanced down at the blonde in his arms, he was relieved to see that she was still asleep even now, with no sign to indicate that she had awoken at any time since he had last laid eyes on her.

Now that his initial fear of the situation had passed, Church was once again struck with how hard it was to think of Elina as dangerous or hostile when she was asleep. He had of course heard before that nothing was more serene than the face of a sleeping girl, but to think that such a thing pertained even to an individual like Elina...

With a conflicted sigh, Church lifted his soaked and heavy jacket enough to look around him. It felt strange to have such potent sunlight bathe the area immediately after a rainstorm, but in a way it was an incredible scene. Of course, the image was somewhat diminished by the copious amounts of mud on the ground, but Church chose to ignore that in favor of thinking about what his next course of action should be.

He was eager to get out of this thrice damned ravine as quickly as possible, but Elina was still sleeping. He could wake her up of course, but to be honest Elina was much more bearable as she was right now. That being the case, despite his own fatigue, Church would rather carry her than wake her up. But that led to the issue of how to get to his feet with her in tow without disturbing her. Clearly moving her to his back would be too much jostling to ignore.

Then again, she was already in a pretty convenient position... if Church could get his own legs under himself, he could simply stand while holding Elina under her thighs. The problem with that was that he was sure she would try to kill him if she awoke in that state. Without a doubt, she would be livid to find his hands on her thighs and her body in his arms.

Glancing back at the muddy ground around them, Church thought that maybe he'd be able to pull it off. After all, he doubted that a noble like Elina would be eager to trek through terrain like that, so if he took one for the team and carried her, maybe she would actually be appreciative?

The idea of her expressing gratitude in any way made Church scoff. He was positive that Elina had not thanked him at all for how well he had taken care of her all this time. Then again, she was only down here because he had dragged her down, but on the other hand she had been the one to attack Church first. For that reason he didn't feel guilty at all for putting her into this situation.

Either way, Church decided that he didn't want to spend any longer in this ravine or in this company than he had to, so without any further thought on the matter he wiggled his legs into position under his body, hooked his arms around Elina's thighs, and rose to his feet. Throughout all of this the blonde's only reaction was a groan that could have been interpreted as pleasure or discomfort: Church had no way of knowing.

Hanging his wet jacket over one shoulder and strapping Elina's spear to his back via Grendel's harness, Church quickly regained his bearings as he tried to figure out which direction they had been traveling before the downpour had started. Thankfully that didn't take long, and soon enough Church was heading off in that direction in hopes of finding a suitable place to climb out of the ravine.

Unfortunately he had to move very slowly, considering the burden in his arms and the treacherous ground. Then again, he could hardly call Elina a burden, as she was actually quite light. If he had to guess her weight, he would have put it at barely over a hundred pounds, though it felt like less with her upper body leaning against his own. He imagined she would have felt much heavier if all of her weight was on his arms.

The thought of it unfortunately reminded Church of the pleasant, soft texture against his hands, immediately flustering the young man. Regardless of what he thought of Elina as a person, he had to admit that she had pretty nice legs...

In an attempt to derail these particular thoughts, Church tried to occupy his mind with other things. Such as the efforts of Elina's soldiers. It had been several hours since she had fallen down here: were they even looking for her or was this ravine just much larger than he had imagined? Or were they just completely incompetent?

Whatever the reason, that thought didn't distract Church for long, and soon enough his mind was on his current position once again.

Dammit, now's not the time to be a pervert! C'mon, think of something that couldn't possibly turn you on! Like... shit, I don't know, kicking a puppy!

For the briefest of moments, Church tried to visualize exactly that, but as an avid dog-lover, he quickly dispelled the unbearable idea.

OK, maybe not that... but what else? Uh... damn, think of something!

Unfortunately, everything Church thought of were only things that flustered him even more. The time he had seen Nowa naked, the time Melona had shoved her tits in his face, untying Shizuka's questionably bound body, she and Tomoe's naked forms at the hot spring, the time he had held Nanael in his arms in the mine... literally every tantalizing moment he had experienced in this world so far was for some reason coming to the forefront of his mind right now, just when he didn't need them to.

On some level Church acknowledged that he was an incredibly lucky individual, having experienced all of these things. But on the immediate level Church was simply lost in recollections of risque memories and it was doing nothing to help him focus. That being the case, he was not paying particularly close attention to his footing.

By the time he was slipping on a nasty patch of mud, there was little he could do to recover. The only thing he could think to do was to make sure he didn't drop Elina in the mud, lest she get up and snap his neck for it.

Unfortunately she was already slipping out of his arms, leading Church to frantically grasp for some way to hold onto her even as he tried to regain his own footing. Miraculously, he managed to do both, as he planted one foot onto a relatively dry piece of ground. On the other hand he had also managed to keep Elina from face planting into the mud, though, as one would expect after such jostling, she was certainly no longer asleep.

In fact, she was upright in his arms, now allowing Church to feel her full weight instead of roughly half. Her expression was the epitome of utter shock as she locked eyes with the man carrying her. As for what emotion she was experiencing, Church couldn't tell. The look in her eyes seemed to be shifting from complete disbelief, to anger, to absolute mortification. Initially, Church wasn't really sure why she might have felt this way. Sure, he had expected her to be indignant upon waking up in his arms like this, but he had never expected her to look so completely mortified. This was beyond mere embarrassment, but Church had no idea why she might have felt this way.

That is, until he realized where exactly his hands were. Having reached out to grab her during his near fall earlier, Church had not been aiming particularly well at the time. And of course, having been busy finding his footing and locking eyes with his companion, Church had not noticed just where this bad aim had taken him, until now.

Needless to say his hands were much too far back to be excused. There was no possible way he could explain this one away, as he was literally groping Elina's ass with enough grip to hold her up. Even worse than that, his less than optimal grasp was literally spreading her; with her already skimpy underwear taken into account, anyone behind the blonde would have been receiving a glorious view of everything she wished to keep private. Thankfully there was no one in such a position, but the notion that Elina was being unwillingly and completely exposed by the man in front of her was not lost on her in the slightest. And of course, this was the situation she was waking up to.

As the expression on her face changed from absolute horror to one of incomprehensible fury, Church realized that this may have very well been the end of the line for him, especially as he watched Elina cock her good arm back. This was not going to be some shame-fueled slap. No, this was going to be a straight punch worthy of Hercules himself. A broken nose was unavoidable, and if he dared lose consciousness he was sure that Elina would strangle him to death while he was defenseless.

On some level, Church admitted that going out with a firm grip on the ass of a beautiful woman was not the worst way to die. But on a much more important level, he wasn't ready to meet his maker. That being the case, Church did the only thing he could to avoid the incoming blow: he dropped the woman in his arms flat on her ass. Surprisingly, this elicited almost as much shock from her as the initial situation had, as well as the first words she had uttered since waking up.

"Y-you dropped me!"

Completely lost as to how she could be indignant over that, Church pointed a finger at her accusingly. "You were going to punch me in the face!"

"You fucking dropped me in mud!"

"You. Were going. To punch me. In the face!"

Apparently Elina did not understand how that resulted in her landing in mud. "Of course I was you insufferable piece of shit! What the fuck was I supposed to do after waking up to find your hands half-buried in my ass?!"

While Church had to admit that he did sound like the bad guy, he knew he wasn't entirely responsible for this. After all, he had been trying to be considerate. "It wasn't on purpose! I didn't want to drop you!"

"Well great fucking job!"

"Hey, you were the one who was going to attack me before I could offer an explanation!"

"What the hell was there to explain, you were literally s-spreading... you know what the fuck you were doing!"

Unfortunately Church couldn't deny that from her point of view there was no justification to be had. Even so, he had to try and clear his name. "I slipped on the mud while I was carrying you, alright?! Like I said, I didn't want to just drop you on the ground or anything so I panicked and grabbed onto whatever I could! I wouldn't purposefully molest you like that in your sleep!"

Elina didn't look like she agreed with that second statement entirely, but she nevertheless ignored it. "And just why the hell were you carrying me around anyway? Explain that one."

"I just wanted to let you rest. I mean, you'd been sleeping for several hours already and you still looked tired... I thought I could keep looking for a way out of here while still giving you time to recuperate. Geez, is that so bad?"

While she hated to admit it, Elina couldn't deny that, if this were true, Church had been awfully considerate of her. Even so, she refused to take his word at face value. "If that was all you were trying to do than why not just carry me on your back like a normal person?"

A little displeased to be on the receiving end of distrust even still, Church folded his arms. "Are you a deep enough sleeper that me pushing you off of me and shifting you around to lift onto my back wouldn't have woken you up?"

"Well, n-no..."

"Well that's why I was carrying you the way I was. Now look, I know it's hard to just overlook what just happened, but it seriously wasn't on purpose... I'm nowhere near bold enough for that."

A scowl never leaving her face, Elina rose to her feet and tried to wipe away the mud that had gotten onto her thanks to Church's sudden ejection earlier. "Instead of telling me that, why not just apologize you ape?"

Ever eager to patronize this woman, Church smirked. "Well I can't do that. After all, I'm not sorry at all for this incident. Not in the least."

These words earned a scathing glare from Elina. "And why the hell is that?"

"I'm not one to question good fortune. So accident or not, I'm certainly not going to regret the opportunity to lay hands on a sexy girl like you. I mean, I'd have to be ridiculously innocent and naive or just gay to regret getting so risque with you."

While he half meant it as a joke, Church thought that Elina might have taken him somewhat seriously just now as she blushed at his less than romantic praise. But she didn't look any less angry, and she certainly didn't look like she was going to let him get close to her again. All she did was fold her arms and glare in another direction. "Whatever. Let's just hurry up and find a way out of this damn place..."

Though she said that, Elina didn't move, which confused her male companion. "Uh... then what are you waiting for?"

"Well I'm certainly not going to let you walk behind me. I think you've molested my ass enough for one day, so take the lead!"

Church narrowed his gaze. "And how do I know you won't strangle me from behind or something?"

The blonde folded her arms and glared at nothing in particular. "Because, I... I have by no means forgiven you, but I'll at least let your offense slide since that mistake occurred while you were trying to be considerate..."

Strangely, Church believed that may have been the most friendly thing Elina had ever uttered to him. Granted, he had spent less than twenty-four hours in her company since the day he had first encountered her, but it was still nice to hear a sentence that wasn't loaded with threats or disdain for once.

Still, he eyed the girl warily as he walked past her. She was a tricky individual who seemed to be halfway torn between actually liking him and wanting to kill him, so he wasn't going to take any chances. That was why he stepped even further away from her when she tried to reach for her weapon strapped on his back.

"What do you think you're doing?"

"Taking my weapon back, what does it look like?"

"For what?"

"To hold, obviously. I sure as hell don't trust it with you."

The idea of trusting it with her almost made him laugh. "I'll give it back to you when we get out of here, don't worry."

"It's my weapon, you don't have any right to keep it away from me."

"Are you planing to use it on me?"

"Unfortunately no."

"Then you don't need it right now. Besides, you have my weapon, so it's only fair that I hold onto yours, right?"

Glancing down at the makeshift splint Church had made for her arm with Grendel's sheath, Elina sighed. This man truly infuriated her. "This is only the sheath of your weapon, but whatever... let's just get going. The sooner we get out of this ravine the sooner I can be out of your company."

Church honestly hoped that meant she wouldn't try to kill him upon their escape, but even now he couldn't be sure. Unfortunately there was nothing to do about it right now, so he simply shrugged and began walking in the direction he had been before this fiasco had occurred, Elina trailing along a decent distance behind him.

To be honest he didn't like the idea of having someone like that behind him, but at the moment Church actually felt that she wasn't feeling hostile towards him. She was silent of course, which was in itself disturbing, but Church felt no need to open up a discussion at this point, instead choosing to merely keep an eye on her as he walked.

Unfortunately that led to a very boring trek through the muddy ravine, as Church was too preoccupied being cautious to think of anything interesting while Elina stayed silent. It wasn't even entirely tense as much as it was merely dull. The only thing Church was left to do was observe the woman behind him from time to time whenever he glanced back at her.

Instead of dwelling on all of the things he didn't like about her, which were as numerous as they were serious, Church decided to try and pick out the things he liked about the girl behind him. On a superficial level that wasn't difficult. She had beautiful, piercing blue eyes, golden locks that were just curly enough to bounce a bit with every step, and a sleek, angular face that was actually quite striking when she wasn't scowling or glaring at you. On a more carnal level, she certainly wasn't lacking in sex appeal. She was slender and toned in a way that accented both femininity and strength. Her bust wasn't blow-you-out-of-the-water amazing, but it certainly wasn't modest either, and they did have an alluring perkiness to them. Beyond that, Church knew she had amazing thighs and an incredible ass through first-hand experience.

On the other hand, it was much more difficult for Church to find personality traits he liked. She was bitchy and irrational for the most part, not to mention sadistic and cruel...

Yet she did have some redeeming qualities. She had confidence that, while oftentimes bordering on vanity and conceit, was attractive. She had a realistic view of the world that coincided with Church's own, and, while it only pertained to very few people, she was superbly dedicated to those she loved. Church also had to admit to himself that he liked her cunning, as well as her skill in wit and speech craft. Finally, she was a complex individual who consciously hid a weak side of herself behind mental and emotional walls. This made her a puzzling person who was likely not nearly as bad as she tried to portray herself as, and unfortunately Church had a weak-spot for girls like that.

Huh, sounds weird to say it, but it seems like there are more things to like about her than I thought...

Lost in thought, Church was staring rather blankly behind him. It wasn't until he caught Elina's gaze specifically that the girl realized he was staring right at her, leading her to blush as she finally spoke to him. "H-hey. What the hell is with that perverse stare you're giving me?"

Her voice disrupting Church's thought processes, he floundered momentarily as he tried to formulate a response. "I-it wasn't a perverse stare..."

"You were staring right at me."

"Yeah, but I wasn't thinking about anything like that! I was just thinking that... uh, that..."

Intrigued as to what excuse he would make, Elina cocked an eyebrow at Church as he contemplated what he should say.

Should I tell her that I was thinking she looks beautiful when she's not angry or irritated? Would that just make her mad, though? Hell, I doubt she wants to hear that from someone she hates anyway...

"I was just wondering if your arm was OK. After all, I jostled you pretty badly earlier. How is it?"

To his surprise, Elina actually smirked at this, for reasons he couldn't understand. Surely she couldn't tell that he was lying, right...? Did she actually have some idea as to what he had really been thinking?

Either way, she played along with him. "It's fine. Your concern in unwarranted."

Now uncomfortable with the idea that she might have been onto him, Church simply looked away from the youngest Vance sister. "If you say so..."

However, while he was looking off to the side, Church spotted something he hadn't seen before. "Hey, do you think we could get out of here from there?"

Immediately forgetting the conversation they had just been having, Elina eagerly followed Church's gaze to a section of the ravine wall that was crumbled in enough places to feasibly climb. Unfortunately a lot of it looked like it would require two hands.

"Well, you might be able to..."

With a nod of confirmation, Church began walking towards it. "No problem. I'll help you up any place you can't climb on your own."

While her pride dictated that she should reject even more help at this point, Elina's desire to escape this accursed terrain took higher priority. She followed Church over to the wall, watching as he climbed over the first low boulder in his way. From Elina's perspective below him, she couldn't help a rampant and unexpected thought that ran through her mind.

Whoa... guess I'm not the only one around here with a nice ass... shit, what the hell am I thinking?!

Staring down at the ground to avoid any more thoughts along that line, Church mistook Elina's lack of progress as an obstacle she couldn't pass. Without any warning, he reached down to grab a hold of her good hand and began pulling her up.

"H-hey! I don't need your help for this part!"

Not pleased to be on the receiving end of more agitation, Church derailed Elina's anger with his special move. "Fine then, let's just say I wanted to hold your hand for a second. Now c'mon, let's go."

Unable to suppress a slight blush even though she knew he was just messing with her, Elina grumbled something incoherent to herself as she followed this unbelievable individual as far up the ravine as she could manage on her own. Despite the increased difficulty of now slippery rocks, they managed to make it almost all the way to the top before encountering obstacles too tall for Elina to climb with one arm, even with her agility taken into account.

The first of these was simply too high for her to leap and pull up with one arm, though, to be fair, it was too high for Church to reach either. Unfortunately it was the only way up, so they had no choice but to tag team it. It was up to Church to lay out the plan.

"Alright, in order for both of us to get up this thing, one of us will have to boost the other, who will then help pull the booster up. Now, I don't think you're strong enough to support my weight from below with one arm, so I should boost you up first. Then you can help me up just enough for me to get a grip on the ledge and I'll be able to pull myself up the rest of the way. Sound good?"

Elina glared at him. "It sounds like an excuse for you to look places you shouldn't."

Church shrugged. "You're the one who chose to cover yourself with only bikini armor and a thong."

Unable to really refute that, Elina simply scowled at Church as she waited for him to form a step with his hands. She knew telling him not to look anywhere embarrassing was pointless, so she didn't even bother.

As for Church, lifting Elina above him meant he got quite the view. With her crotch in his face for a brief moment and plenty of under boob to go around, he had very little to complain about, even though his hands were cupping the bottom of this girl's muddy shoes.

Man... it has been a really good day...

Unfortunately for him, Church's excellent view was disrupted when Elina purposefully stepped on his face on the way up. The fact that it was covered in mud only added insult to injury.

"Hey! That was completely unnecessary!"

After successfully clambering onto the ledge above her, Elina glanced back down at her climbing partner. "If you can look me in the eyes and tell me you weren't taking advantage of the situation, I'll apologize."

Immediately admitting defeat, Church simply held up a hand for Elina to grab on to. "Just help me up..."

While she honestly had half a mind to ignore him and just get out of the ravine herself, Elina knew that she still needed Church's assistance to climb out. That being the case, she simply frowned as she grabbed onto Church's hand, doing her best to keep any enjoyment from the act from showing on her face. In her fatigued state, pulling Church up with one arm was rather difficult, but even so she managed to get him high enough to finish pulling himself up, at which point she felt the need to insult him again.

"You sure are heavy, you fat ass."

Instead of being offended, Church simply returned fire. Admittedly, Elina wasn't sure if she liked or hated his level of wit. "Funny, I was thinking both of those things when I held you up by the ass earlier. And yes, the second part was literal."

While being called heavy was an insult to any woman, it was the latter that Elina really took offense to. "Are you saying I have a fat ass, you bastard?!"

With a victorious smirk, Church shrugged. "Nah... it's actually pretty petite and cute, but either way it's still nice."

Fed up with being on the receiving end of all of these sexual jokes, Elina sported a smirk of her own as she walked up to the man responsible for angering her. Naturally, Church interpreted this as threatening, but he was shocked silent when the only physical contact that came his way was Elina smacking him in the rear. "You're one to talk, with such a girlish butt yourself. Don't you think?"

With that, Elina walked past him, leaving Church to fumble for some sort of defense. "I-it's not girlish! What the hell does that even mean? How would you even know unless you were looking, huh?!"

Elina shrugged as she glanced back at him maliciously. "Oh please. Don't tell me you're going to bitch about that after how much you've ogled me today."

Unable to properly counter that, Church simply settled on getting back at Elina later as he stalked towards their next obstacle. He couldn't help but notice the victorious grin on her face as he passed her.

Fuming about that exchange for the next few minutes, Church stayed silent until he finally reached another roadblock in their climb to the top. Ironically, it also ended up being the last one. The section of ravine wall here was entirely collapsed, forming what looked like a rough rock-climbing wall. Technically it wouldn't have been all that hard for a fit person to climb: with two hands, that is.

Forgetting about his childish war with Elina for the moment, Church seriously contemplated how he would help her climb this one. He was at a loss for a few moments, but then he remembered the spear pressed against his back. As a somewhat eureka moment, he felt like he should snap his fingers or something, but that seemed too corny.

So instead he simply turned to Elina to explain the plan once more. "Alright, I'll climb this wall first, and then I'll use your spear's wire thing to help pull you up too. If we tie it around you correctly it shouldn't hurt, and I can do most of the lifting. You should be able to climb up using just your legs."

Elina folded her arms, careful to avoid bumping her injured hand. "And just how would you tie it around me so the constriction doesn't hurt?"

Seeing an opportunity to strike back for earlier, Church smirked at his current company. "Hm, you're right. We don't want to squeeze your guts out or anything, so we should tie it to your underwear or something. You'll probably get a God-awful wedgie and all, but-"

Church's ridiculous jab was cut short as Elina sucker punched him in the stomach with her good arm, causing him to cringe and recoil as he had trouble catching his breath. "H-hey... no fair... this battle is words only..."

Scowling down at him with disdain, Elina ignored Church's rules for the engagement. "Do you sexually harass every single woman you meet?"

Looking back on all of his female encounters until now, Church laughed, though the lack of air in his lungs made it a short one. "No... you are literally the only one."

Expecting some sort of angry response, Church instead received a Cheshire grin. "Oh really? Well, they do say that boys love to tease girls they like."

Seeing that they had returned to wordplay sparring, Church reciprocated her expression. "Yeah, well they say that girls tend to be a little mean to the guys they like. Something you want to tell me?"

Annoyed that Church had managed such an effective counter so quickly, Elina simply disengaged and folded her arms. "Just get climbing already."

"Don't mind if I do."

Chalking that battle up to a victory, Church turned towards the rock wall he had to climb and tackled it with gusto. Even had his company been someone less combative and mean, he would have been eager to get away from this place already.

Unfortunately, being above Elina meant that he was subject to her verbal abuse once again. "Christ, with such a cute butt we could put you in a skirt and a wig and no one would even know you're a guy."

Though he was sure it wasn't Church felt like a vein was popping out of his forehead. "Take a picture you pervert, it'll last longer."

Unfortunately Church realized that such a saying held little meaning for someone who lived in a world without cameras, so he settled on getting vengeance after he reached the top of the ravine. Focusing on that, he managed to climb what was left fairly quickly, at which point he disappeared from Elina's sight over the lip of the wall.

However, after several moments, which was all he should have needed to catch his breath, the man did not return to the edge to help Elina up as well. Even so, this did not immediately worry her. "What's taking you so long, you simpleton? What, can you not even figure out how the wire works?"

Having expected a retort for this affront to his intelligence, Elina grew worried only when none was forthcoming. "H-hey... what the hell are you doing up there? Hurry up!"

When there was still no response, Elina truly began to panic. He hadn't seriously just left her here, right? After going through such pains to help her throughout this entire fiasco, surely he wasn't going to just ditch her now...?

"S-seriously...? Hey, did you seriously just leave me?! Don't just leave me here! I... I can't climb this by myself, I need your help!"

For some reason, Elina found the idea of being abandoned here incredibly painful. She couldn't really place why, but on a subconscious level, it probably had something to do with her lingering resentment towards Leina for what she interpreted as abandoning her as well. Was everyone just in the business of ditching her when she needed them?

"Come back! You bastard, get back here! You can't... you can't just leave me like this after dragging me all this way! Don't... don't leave me here..."

Still out of her sight, Church couldn't tell that he was actually inflicting pain on the girl below him. Her tone of voice was too vague to interpret that way. He merely thought she was angry with him, and that he was getting her back for screwing with him a few minutes ago. However, he quickly decided that enough was enough, at which point he peered over the edge to gloat.

"Man, you should hear-!"

Before he could even finish, Church noticed that the helpless blonde below him was practically on the verge of tears, at which point he felt like throwing himself back into the ravine to die.

"E-Elina! Hey, I didn't go anywhere! I-I'm still here!"

Realizing that she was about to cry in front of someone she considered an enemy, Elina quickly dried her tears and threw up an angry wall. "You idiot! What the hell were you doing?!"

Completely unwilling to tell her that he had been playing a cruel joke on her, Church quickly thought of an excuse that would dilute Elina's potentially hazardous rage. "I was looking for a rock or tree I could use as a center point to pull you up more easily... sorry, I should have told you... a-anyway, how do I use the wire function on this thing?"

Accepting Church's excuse but still angry that he had managed to scare her the way he had, Elina barely managed to raise her grumbling voice to a volume Church could hear. "There's a button near the head of the shaft..."

As Church searched Elina's weapon for the mentioned trigger, he couldn't help but berate himself for being so stupid. Damn, I'm such a stupid piece of shit! To have made someone like her nearly cry like that... I must have reminded her of something awful...

Still, he didn't let any of these thoughts show on his face, and soon enough Church lowered enough of the wire that Elina could begin wrapping it around herself in a way that wouldn't be too painful on the way up. In an effort to distract himself from his terrible folly a few minutes ago, Church let his inquisitive nature take over. "How on earth does this thing fit this much wire in it?"

While she was unsure of whether or not she should share something about the mechanism of her weapon, Elina eventually decided that there was no harm in sharing. "The head of the spear itself is mostly hollow, except for the tip. The metal wire can coil inside of it several times over, allowing for several meters of it to be held inside. It's some dwarven creation I read about in a book once."

"Did you make it yourself? I mean, if it were dwarven it would have been red and gold, right?"

Elina merely shrugged as she began walking up the side of the ravine with Church's strength to support her weight. "Do I look like someone who would sweat their ass off in a smithy? I had it commissioned by one of the dwarves in the Iron Mountain. Told them specifically to use the steel we desired."

"But why wouldn't you want them to use dwarven steel? Isn't it stronger...?"

For some reason, this question earned an incredulous look from the blonde slowly advancing towards him. "You moron, do you honestly think red and gold would compliment the rest of my outfit?"

Church would have face-palmed if he had a hand available at the moment. So, even girls like Elina care about stuff like that, huh?

Either way, Church managed to get Elina to his same elevation, at which point he pressed the button on her spear again to retract the wire: after she had removed it from her own body of course.

Ironically, for the first time in hours, the duo was left silent, though Church decided to break it sooner than later. "So... we got out of the ravine. Now what?"

Fixing him with a hostile glare, Elina snatched her spear out of Church's grasp. "First, I'll take that back..."

Then she cradled the weapon in the crook of her elbow so her good hand was free again. Church didn't know why she did this, but it became obvious when she slapped him across the face. "Ow! What the hell was that for?!"

"That was for putting me through all of this shit and sexually harassing me more than once throughout this entire God-forsaken farce!"

Attempting to rub the sting out of his face, Church glared at the woman who had attacked him. "I don't suppose this is the part where you follow up with a kiss and say, 'and that was for helping me'?"

Unfortunately this question was answered only by an even fiercer glare than before.

"Figures... so seriously, now what? Are you just going to wait for your troops to find you or what? Will you be alright on your own if I left you here?"

While he was expecting some sort of hostile answer, what Church had not been expecting was the tip of Elina's spear being thrust in his face. "Oh no, you aren't going anywhere. Now that we've gotten out of there, we still have a score to settle."

More than a little alarmed, Church wondered if he could outmatch Elina in a fight even if she only had one good hand. Unfortunately, he probably couldn't. "H-hey, you can't be serious... really, after all of that you're just going to gut me?"

Elina shrugged nonchalantly. "What, do you think we bonded down there or something? You're still a criminal, and more importantly, I still loathe you. Now that I no longer need your help, I don't see any reason to let you walk away alive."

Considering his options, Church wondered if he could feasibly reach Grendel before being killed. Since its sheath was still tied to Elina's hurt arm, the blade itself was simply slid into the strap at his waist, but he didn't honestly think his reflexes were faster than his opponent's. "Elina, seriously... I... I came back for you, didn't I?"

Since he had certainly not expected his words to have any effect, Church was surprised to see a look of shock come over Elina's face, as well as the dangerous edge of her weapon waver.

On the flip-side of this situation, Elina was truly struck by those words. That's right. He... he did come back for me. He could have abandoned me at any time to better serve his own desires, just like Leina did... but he stayed behind to help me... even though it meant more pain and effort for him, he stayed behind because he knew I needed him...

Unable to hold it any longer, Elina simply lowered her spear to the ground. Suddenly she couldn't find it in her to even threaten this man, much less carry a threat out. "I... you... I'll let you go, this time..."

Breathing a sigh of relief, Church smiled at her. "Well, I-"

However, Elina cut him off with a glare before he could continue. "But don't think this will mean anything later! If we meet again after this... I'll act as though none of this had ever happened! This is the one and only time I'm letting you off!"

While he was disappointed to see that Elina was still holding a grudge, Church accepted his good luck for what it was as he withdrew the clawed gauntlet he had kept strapped to his back for the duration of this trip. "Alright, I get it. But don't think I'll forget what happened here even if you do. Anyway... this is yours."

Glancing down at the damaged armor he was holding, Elina merely snatched it without a word. She then began to untie Grendel's sheath from her wounded arm, prompting Church to stop her. "Hey, you might need that..."

"I can get a proper splint once I find my forces. Besides, this is a valuable looking sheath. I don't think you want to part with it for my sake."

"I would have been willing to honestly, but if you're really alright without it..."

Brusquely pressing it into his palm after removing the thing, Elina merely frowned at him. "I am."

With that, she turned on her heel and began to walk away. The sudden nature of her departure caught Church off guard. "What, just like that? No goodbye or anything?"

Stopping in her tracks to glance back at him in a way that was not entirely unfriendly, Elina gave him the slightest of grins. "Good riddance."

Church merely sighed as the girl began walking again. He honestly didn't know why he had expected anything else. "Figures... make sure you get that arm properly treated, alright? I'd hate for you to suffer anything permanent because of it."

Though Elina had obviously heard him, she said nothing back. She merely left Church alone in the mountains as she dwelt on how stupid it was for him to express concern for her even now: even though it made her happier than she cared to admit.

---

In all of Gainos, there was only one structure that could allow one to substitute their view of the ground with clouds. This was the highest tower of the palace: a place only the Queen and the people she allowed to could enter.

Currently, the Twilight Queen was standing on a balcony that overlooked the sea of calm, white clouds before her. She had been there for quite some time, simply allowing herself to dwell on the current state of things. But even lost in thought, she was fully aware of the moment Irma stepped onto the balcony as well. She was supposed to be attending to other duties, but the Fang assassin had trouble leaving Aldra to her own devices for long periods of time.

Still, the North Realm native said nothing, allowing Aldra to speak first. "Do you know what is frightening about storms, Irma?"

Not one to question Aldra's strange openings for conversations, Irma did not seem at all surprised. "I'm afraid I don't, your Majesty."

Glancing over the seemingly serene sky before her, Aldra gave further explanation. "It's that you never know when they're coming until they're right on top of you... the day before a storm can be as calm as this one."

As usual, Irma didn't really get what her Queen meant. "You foresee poor weather, your Majesty?"

With a small smile to herself, Aldra turned away from the skies and headed back into her palace. "Yes, Irma. I believe that a very bad storm is coming our way. The only question is how much damage it will do to our unprepared world when it strikes."

---

"Shadow0Fire, you can't possibly write a convincing romance for a psychopath with a sister complex like Elina!" Bitch watch me.

Anyway, this is definitely the longest chapter this story has ever gotten... kinda happened unintentionally, but oh well.

So, here's a question that would be interesting to answer. We all know Queen's Blade is a heavy-duty yuri setup: so if there were a yuri pairing you had to (or want to) support, what would it be? If you guys feel like sharing with me I don't mind putting my own thoughts in an author's note in the next chapter. For now, I'll just say that I always thought a thing between Alleyne and Nowa was heavily advertised in the show itself: but it would be way hotter if Nowa somehow ended up dominating her romantically naive teacher. That might just be me, but hey... we're all guilty of something if we've been watching Queen's Blade anyway, right?