Hello, once again, and welcome to chapter 24 of The Glacial Ones!
I have a heap of reviews to cover right now, and I apologise for the ones that didn't appear fast enough for me to put in the last chapter.
ChimaTigon: Yes, they will be going with Harry and Esdeath. If you want more information just read over my author notes. Thanks for the question!
Tsunashi777: I agree with your point about Esdeath setting aside her bloodlust. I feel like in the manga, she was intent on killing Tatsumi and didn't really care what happened beyond that as long as it satisfied her. On the other hand, in this story Harry is someone who, unlike Tatsumi, is fully prepared to return her affections, meaning she will be more protective towards him rather than murderous like she was with Tatsumi.
As for Cosmina, Dorothea and Izou, I already have plans for Dorothea, which will start in this chapter, and Izou seems pretty easy to turn. Not sure about Cosmina though.
As for Akame, I agree with your point, but just have to point out that she was conditioned that way. She was condition by the Assassination Corps to be fanatically devoted and the fact that she honestly believe she is doing the right thing just makes it worse. Anyway, thanks for review!
Reaper99937: …Nightmare fuel. Though to be honest I can see Esdeath as viewing it as a cheap form of torture. On the other hand, I'm more worried about her trying to use her powers to imitate Dementors. Or recruit them.
XIV Primarch: Yeah, you already did comment on it. If you haven't already read it, your answer was in the last chapter. Thanks!
Lord of Steel: Why did I not think of that? Genius. Thanks for that suggestion!
Guest: Tsunashi777 suggested the same thing, just read the second part of his review for an answer.
Silent Lurker: There is nothing wrong with being scatter-brained. I tend to be the same most of the time. As for your reviewing problem, I've noticed that other guest reviews come late as well, so I think that kind of shunts them to the side in favour of other reviews, so they come late. It normally wouldn't be a problem, except that I update daily, so being a day late is pretty bad. Anyway, thanks for your continued support!
Imperial warlord: Indeed. I can see Esdeath getting very protective from here onwards. As for your idea, that is a good suggestion. The only problem would be that they didn't have much time to train with it before entering the Potterverse, but, really, that's not a huge problem. I actually intend to get at least one while Esdeath and Harry, and possible the three girls, are campaigning in the West. Thanks for the suggestion and your continued support!
Sterling Ash: As much as I would like to please everyone, it has already been decided that it will be Harry/Esdeath/Air/Fal/Luna. This was not planned though, and romance is hardly a hugely important part of the story, with G=Harry/Esdeath being most definitely the main pairing. Anyway, I will be relying on sceptics like you to help me make sure that it doesn't degrade the story. Thanks for your honest opinion, though, and I do apologize for that.
And a final thanks to jharrell819, Drunkle Qrow and Eurigos for showing their support!
Now that we've finished all that, onwards to chapter 24! I hope you all enjoy it!
I do not own, in any way, shape, or form Akame Ga Kill or Harry Potter.
-T.G.O-
Chapter 24: Something Wicked this Way Comes
The Book of Lies, Harry decided, was a frustratingly confusing Teigu to use and understand. Currently he, Esdeath, Air, Fal and Luna where standing in the middle of one of the empty training grounds Esdeath often used.
At least, he, Esdeath and Luna were.
Fal and Air where, well, not there.
Anymore.
Harry shook his head tiredly. He could already tell that the Book of Lies was going to cause many, many headaches in the future. Hopefully it would be for someone other than him though.
"So you can still see Fal and Air?"
In front of him, holding the book in her hands, Luna nodded.
"Yes. I can hear them as well. I didn't actually realise it had worked until you commented on it."
Harry nodded as Esdeath stepped up beside him.
"So are they still in the same places as they were before.
Luna nodded again and Esdeath materialized a small ice shard, sending it hurtling through the space where Fal had, and apparently was, standing. She looked thoughtful as it continued onwards across the training grounds.
"Interesting. What about her? Can she touch me?"
Luna shook her head after a moment.
"She just tried. It doesn't seem so."
Beside Esdeath Harry nodded, looking thoughtful as he pulled out a pen and pad.
"That's to be expected of it though. It is a stealth centred Teigu. Fal, try picking up a rock near Luna. Don't just try to touch it, actually try to pick it up."
There was a moment of silence as nothing happened before Harry opened his mouth to speak again, only for Fal to suddenly appear out of thin air, picking up a stone from the ground. She glanced up at him, noting him watching and realising that the books affect had been removed.
She stood up straight, looking at the stone in her hand curiously.
"I couldn't touch Esdeath, and when I tried nothing happened, but when I tried to pick up a rock I reappeared?"
She glanced at Harry and Esdeath.
"Why?"
Harry looked thoughtful, jotting something down on his note book as he did.
"If I were to guess, I would say it was because the Book of Lies means that you cannot touch anything, obviously, but actually trying to interact with something in a way that changes the world deactivates the books affects. Probably because the book works by convincing reality that you don't exist, so interacting with the world would prove you did. Interesting."
He glanced over at Luna who was watching.
"What about you, Luna. Are you okay?"
She looked over at him, nodding.
"Yes. I'm fine at the moment, though the book does appear to be draining my energy. I can go a couple more minutes."
Nodding back to her, he wrote something on his pad once more, before looking over at where Air had been standing.
"Alright, Air, it's your turn now. Try walking away from Luna."
Air nodded, unseen to Harry, and began to walk away from Luna.
Once again, there was a moment of silence. Then Air reappeared, walking away from Luna just over ten metres away.
"Stop now."
Standing beside Harry, Esdeath watched the experiment with interest before turning her attention back to Luna.
"So it looks like you have a certain range that you can affect and leaving it will remove the books affects. Is Air still in the book?"
Luna shook her head.
"No, she became visible the moment she left my range for finding people."
Esdeath nodded as Harry made another note on his pad, glancing between Fal and Air as she did.
"Could you two see each other?"
The two nodded silently and she gave another thoughtful look, turning her gaze to Luna.
"And you could too?"
She nodded as well.
"Alright then, I want you to cross Fal out again. Air, you can come back now."
Air walked back to the group as Luna crossed Fal's name out of the book with a pencil, Fal vanishing as though she had never been there.
Esdeath nodded approvingly.
"Now, tell us where she is standing. Use her name."
Luna nodded once again.
"Fal is standing about two metres in front of Harry."
A moment later, Fal reappeared before them, giving Esdeath a quizzical look.
Esdeath just grinned wider.
"Now, is Fal still crossed out?"
Glancing down at the open book in her hands, Luna's eyes widened slightly in surprise before she shook her head.
"Yes, she is still crossed out. I wonder why?"
Esdeath just smiled, materializing another ice shard and shooting it at Fal, who yelp as she jump away. Only for the ice shard to pass through her.
Noting something else on his note book, Harry nodded.
"I think I get it now. Like Esdeath said, the book 'lies' to reality and says that a person does not exist. That person interacting with reality then proves they do exist, so the 'lie' is removed. If someone else is told the truth through, it seems to reach a half and half stage where they can see and hear the person under the 'lie' but not interact, as that would fully prove their existence. What a confusing ability."
He glance down at his pad, then up at the three girls again.
"You could see each other when you were all under the affects could you not?"
They nodded. Harry grinned.
"Good. One last test then, for now. Luna, erase your name, and then Fal, you tell us where she is after she does."
Glancing at him, Luna used her pencil to cross out her own name, vanishing completely a moment before Fal spoke.
"She is three metres left of the boulder."
Nothing happened and Harry gave a perplexed look at his notes before Esdeath spoke up beside him.
"Try again, but use her name."
Fal nodded, trying again.
"Luna is standing three metres left of the boulder."
Luna appeared a moment later and Harry grinned, jotting down a note.
"I see. Saying 'She is three metres left of the boulder' could refer to anyone or be a simple lie. Saying, 'Luna is standing three metres left of the boulder' on the other hand, is telling you that a person, Luna, is standing there as a 'truth'. Interesting."
Glancing up from his notes at Luna, he noted that she was starting to sag.
"Right, that's enough. You can shut the book now."
She nodded, shutting the book carefully as Harry looked at his notes again.
"So effectively, the Book of Lies is the ultimate stealth Teigu, as long as the user has the energy to use it. We may have to do some more test later, as well as see if it has a trump card, but that should be enough for today."
Esdeath nodded beside him.
"Rest for the remainder of the day. Tomorrow, I'll up all of your endurance training. If you are all going to be using Teigu's, which you hopefully will, then you will be needing the endurance to use them for extended periods of time."
Fal suppressed a groan at the thought of more training, nodding along with Air and Luna.
Snapping his notebooks shut and slipping it into his pocket, Harry grinned.
"Don't look so down. Would you rather we didn't find you a Teigu?"
Fal waved her hands in front of her, grinning at Harry's teasing tone.
"I'm sure we'll all manage just fine, no need for that."
Harry just grinned wider, Esdeath watching him with amusement.
And the Book of Lies spun is deceptions once more.
-T.G.O-
The weeks went by rather slowly from Harry's point of view. The Jaegers had very little work to do beyond the normal patrolling, even more so with the emergence of the Secret Police Team, Wild Hunt, lead by Syura, the owner of Shambhala.
And the Prime Minister son.
Letting out a sigh, Harry leaned back in his chair, looking over at Esdeath as she read through a set of files.
"What are you looking at?"
She glanced up at him with a grin. It was something else he had noticed since the chapel incident. She was far more expressive and… well, affectionate. And he had no idea why. When he asked Bols, the older man just laughed and said that he would learn one day.
He turned his attention back to Esdeath as she answered his question.
"Looking over all the information we have on Wild Hunt. As the Jaegers, we will have the right to eliminate them if they step too far out of line, in which case we can obtain Shambhala. Unfortunately, it appears that they know this as well. They are pushing the limits of what they can get away with, but never quite passing it."
She placed the current file she was reading down as she leaned back.
"At the moment we are relying on Ran digging up something to prove they were responsible for the danger beast incident a while ago. We know it was them, or at least Syura, but we need more evidence. There is also a high chance that I, and you with me, will be deployed to put down the Western revolution soon…"
Harry nodded, finishing for her.
"In which case not only will Wild Hunt be able to get away with more, but Shambhala will be beyond our grasp for a while. We need them dealt with before we are deployed."
Esdeath nodded, smiling at him as he looked thoughtful.
"Well, I have the feeling they will slip up soon enough. Maybe we could also try to steal some of their members? It would make getting the information we need easier, on top of making them weaker and bolstering the Jaegers."
She looked thoughtful for a moment.
"Indeed, however if you can convince them to join us, what's to say someone else can't do the same?"
Harry nodded, gazing at one of the files on the table.
"Izou would be easy. He has no loyalty to anything but his own sword which, while being rather creepy, is something we can use. He works with Wild Hunt because they allow him to slaughter as many people as possible…"
He grimaced slightly at the reminder of the man's hobby of killing people.
"… but he should be easy enough to convince. Maybe we could offer to take him with us to the West?"
Esdeath nodded once more.
"Who else do you think we can convince?"
He looked thoughtful again.
"Hmm… Maybe Dorothea? She is an alchemist, and she may have an interest in the alchemy stone we found. I was going to talk to her about that anyway, and if she does maybe get her help with the mirror. I don't know enough about the others quite yet."
"It's worth a shot, especially if you can get assistance for that little experiment of yours. How is the mirror progressing anyway?"
Harry sighed.
"Not well. We hit a wall with the power cost and material quality. It can work, momentarily, but it mirror takes far too much energy to use, with more energy being need to reflect more powerful attacks. The materials being used also tend to decay when I put that much power in, and don't channel it into the mirror well, so it's far to inefficient."
He leaned back again.
"At the moment I'm trying to make a copy of the core with my power so that I don't have to worry about Susanoo coming back on accident. I can make perfect copies of things like stones easily enough, but the core is near impossible. I've been working on one for the last two weeks and it's barely half way done. And that's without Susanoo's memories, personality and skills. I shudder to think what would happen if I tried copying it completely."
Esdeath smirked.
"So that's why you've been so exhausted when we head to bed. Well, I can get you better materials, but for now, concentrate on getting Dorothea's assistance and convincing Izou to join us."
Harry stood with a nod.
"I'll start with Izou once I find him."
Esdeath nodded once more as he left the room at a brisk pace.
-T.G.O-
The headquarters of Wild Hunt, Harry decided, would be the first place he searched. It was perfectly reasonable decision as it was their headquarters for a reason. Which lead to where he was now, walking towards the Wild Hunts base of operations with a fearless step.
Harry was almost certain that he would not be welcome there, but he didn't really care and, honestly, it would be amusing to watch the members of Wild Hunt get annoyed. If he pissed them off to the point that they decided to disregard his relation to Esdeath, then he could simple teleport away and then use it as an excuse to wipe them out.
Strolling around a corner, he noticed the Wild Hunt headquarters come into view, walking towards it leisurely.
His teleportation ability was something new which he had learnt after he did it in the chapel incident. It had taken almost two weeks. And Esdeath throwing lots of ice boulders at him. But he could do it.
Of course, he preferred not to.
He grimaced as he approached the building before him as he recalled the feeling of his method of teleportation. It felt like he was being squeezed through a straw and then spat out the other end.
Plus, much to his annoyance, it was rather noisy, on top of being disorientating.
Shaking his head clear of his thought, he stopped for a moment in front of the base, staring at the door for a moment of deliberation before moving forward again, entering Wild Hunt's common room.
Stepping through the doorway, Harry swept his gaze over the room. A large, fat man known as Champ was sitting in one corner, and Harry decided to stay well away from him. It would be annoying if he killed the man on reflex.
Sitting on a couch near one of the walls, was a lean, black haired man known as Enshin, a former pirate.
Finally, sitting in the corner opposite Champ with his sword on the table in front of him, was Harry's target, Izou.
Turning towards him, Harry made a beeline for the man, watching the reactions of all those in the room. Champs eyes seemed to light up slightly. Apparently he was still in the disgusting man's preferred age range. He would have to remember to find some horrible way to kill the man at some point.
Izou just watched him approach, waiting while Enshin stood from the couch, walking in front of Harry with a scowl on his face.
"What the fuck do you think your doin' in here, brat? You wanna die or something?"
Harry stopped in front of him, looking up at his face with an amused smirk.
"The kid with Esdeaths symbol, who is seen predominantly with Esdeath, walking into the Wild Hunts headquarters? Gosh, I guess I was lost. Either that or… I'm doing something for Esdeath."
He smiled oh so sweetly that Enshin could swear that he could feel his teeth start to decay.
"Take your guess. And since it will probably take you a while to do so, please remove yourself from my path."
Enshin gritted his teeth, his fingers twitching to just reach out and throttle the brat in front of him. Unfortunately, and fortunately for him, he was well aware that that would be crossing the line and bringing Esdeath down in Wild Hunts collective head. He did have a small survival instinct. He stepped out of Harry's path, slouching back to his couch.
Harry grinned after him, giving the same, horrifyingly sweet and innocent smile as before.
"Good, doggy."
Enshin twitched violently, barely stopping himself from surging forward out of the chair, swearing in his head that one day, the first chance he got, he would give the brat the most brutal death in the history of the Empire.
Grinning to himself in amusement, Harry walked over to Izou, stopping in front of him.
The two stared at each other in silence for a moment.
"I need to talk to you outside. Now."
Izou stared at him for a long moment before reaching over and picking up his sword, gesturing for Harry to lead on. And lead on Harry did, taking Izou out of the Wild Hunts headquarters and a little way away from the door, leaning against a tree as he looked up at the man.
Izou pulled the strand of grass he seemed to have perpetually in his mouth out.
"What do you want?"
Harry looked at him for a moment before standing up off the tree he was leaning on.
"Esdeath has an offer for you."
Izou raised his eyebrows, silently signalling him to continue.
"Syura has something we want, so she intends to remove Wild Hunt in the next few weeks, before we are sent to deal with the Western rebels."
Izou showed no reaction to the news.
"So what is she offering?"
"She agrees that it would be more beneficial to try and get some of you into the Jaegers rather than simple kill you all, so in return for joining the Jaegers, she is willing to take you with us to clean out the north."
The man narrowed his eyes.
"You want me to turn on Wild Hunt?"
He sounded rather insulted. He was.
Harry shook his head.
"No, just not interfere when we deal with the rest of Wild Hunt and then get folded into the Jaegers in the aftermath."
"And if I go with Esdeath to the West?"
Harry grimaced in his mind, carefully keeping his face carefully clear of it. He had nothing against the rebels, so he felt slightly bad for setting the psychopath in front of him onto them.
"As long as you aren't killing our forces, you will be able to kill any rebels you come across. Considering the size of the army that has been reported to approach from that direction, I imagine that there will be a lot of people to kill."
Izou gave him interested look.
"And all I have to do is not interfere when you wipe out the remainder of Wild Hunt and then join the Jaegers?"
Harry nodded.
He turned away.
"I will require some time to think this over."
Watching him start to walk away, Harry spoke up.
"If you agree to the deal, just don't interfere with our attack when it happens. Also, do you know where I can find Dorothea?"
Izou turned back towards him.
"Do you intend to give her an offer as well?"
Harry nodded wordlessly. Izou turned away again.
"She should be over at the Palace labs."
Without another word, Izou walked away, sword at his side. Harry watched him for a moment before turning away towards the Palace.
The Palace labs.
That would make things easier.
-T.G.O-
Stepping past the guards at the doorway with a nod, Harry entered the massive complex that was the Palace laboratory's, glancing around as he walked through the almost maze-like place with a sure step.
He was here quite often in the time Esdeath designated each day for him to do his own things.
Harry honestly wasn't sure if the fact she was giving him time to himself, even if it was a project, was good, or the fact that she was scheduling said time alone was a sign of something that was possible very bad.
He tended not to bother thinking about it.
Strolling deeper into the lab complex, nodding and waving at several of its inhabitants as he did, Harry continued to gaze around, eyes jumping from person to person until a voice called out from behind him.
"Hello, Harry. Your early, are you looking for someone?"
He turned with a smile on his face to look the man who had spoken. He was a rather average, non-descript man, but Harry had sought his assistance several times. He wouldn't call them friends, but they were… close acquaintances? He honestly didn't know. Nor care.
"Yup. I'm looking for Dorothea from Wild Hunt. Have you seen her?"
He nodded, pointing down the hall.
"Yes. She was just down that way. Good luck."
Harry grinned.
"Thanks!"
He turned, walking in the direction the man had pointed with a bounce in his step until he spotted his target, alone in a room overlooking a large vat with some kind of danger beast in it.
Harry stopped a little behind her.
"Dorothea."
She turned from her observation of the thing in the vat, eyes sweeping over him before she grinned.
"You're the kid who goes around with Esdeath, aren't you? Harry, was it? What do you want?"
Harry nodded.
"I have an offer, well half offer half request, for you from Esdeath."
Sitting down in a nearby chair, she motioned him to continue with a grin.
"For various reason, mainly due to Syura being annoying as well as having something we want, Esdeath intends to eliminate Wild Hunt at some point in the next few weeks."
Dorothea's eyes widened slightly, though her grin didn't change in the least as she spoke.
"So what is she offering? Why shouldn't I just inform Syura of this?"
He tilted his head to the right.
"Other than that would annoy Esdeath? And an annoyed Esdeath is a bad thing?"
He grinned.
"We have something we want you to study that you may find interesting, as well as a project you may find even more interesting."
She grinned as she stood.
"Really?"
Nodding, he grinned back, turning and motion her to follow as he began to walk from the room.
"Come on and I'll show you."
He lead her deeper into the lab complex in silence, stopping in front of two large doors with a guard on either side. The guards nodded to him in recognition as the large doors slide open silently.
Without a word, he walked into the room beyond, Dorothea a step beside him as he walked over to a pedestal on one side of the room, opening it and removing the crimson, glowing gemstone from it before turning to Dorothea.
"This is the thing we need studied. Our scientist know it was created through some form of alchemy, but can't learn much beyond that."
She nodded, taking the gem from him and examining it.
Her eyes widened after a moment.
"Incredible…"
She glanced at Harry.
"Where was this found?"
He grinned.
"A tree man up at Mt Fake ate it. It was turned into a semi dangerous danger beast that survived at night. Do you know what it is?"
She shook her head, turning her gaze back to the gem.
"No, but I can tell that this is the product of some incredibly complex alchemy. Alchemy on the rank that could create a Teigu."
Harry's eyes widened as he listened to her talk.
"I'm considered a master at alchemy, and even I couldn't do this. I can't even tell what it was for yet. And from what I can see, it's not even complete. It seems to be missing something… It's Incredible!"
She glanced over at Harry.
"And if I take Esdeaths offer, I can study this as much as I like?"
Harry nodded.
"Yup. You'll actually be doing us a favour as well, since we want to know what it is. We also have another project going related to a biological Teigu that your assistance would be appreciated on after Wild Hunt is removed."
She nodded, accepting the logic of only revealing one thing before Wild Hunt was removed.
"Deal."
He raised his eyebrow.
"Really? That was quick. Izou is still thinking about it."
She shook her head, ignoring the titbit of information.
"You don't understand. For a master alchemists like me, we often reach a point where we can't find a way to improve at any kind of speed. That's why I travel the world, looking for knowledge. This little stone here, even incomplete, could advance my alchemy by decades, even centuries compared to my current rate of advancement. Throw in a project related to a biological Teigu, and how can I refuse?"
Harry just grinned.
"I wasn't complaining about it being easy, Dorothea. Merely commenting. We just need to talk to Esdeath, then you can come back and study it to your hearts content."
She nodded, letting him take the gemstone and place it back inside its case before leading her from the room.
-T.G.O-
The last thing Harry decided to do before he headed back to Esdeath after sending Dorothea her way, was visit Bols and his family.
It had become a bit of a routine for him to visit the man three or four times a week in his spare time, sometimes with Esdeath as well. It wasn't about pity, Bols had no need for pity, and was quite happy right now with his family. No, it was because not only was Bols a sane, intelligent man who Harry could talk to easily, but he was also someone who could explain things to Harry. Like emotions and feelings and other things that Esdeath never could explain.
…
Like puberty.
He was, not that Harry noticed, the closest thing Harry had to a father figure.
Stepping out onto the street a few blocks away from Bols home, Harry grinned as he spotted someone else he recognized heading in the same direction.
Grinning, he ran forward, waving.
"Hey, Ran!"
Ran turned, smiling when he saw the much smaller male moving towards him.
"Hello, Harry. Are you visiting Bols again?"
He nodded with a grin, falling into step beside him.
"Yup! Are you?"
Ran nodded with a small smile.
"Indeed I am."
He slowed himself slightly so that Harry didn't have to walk faster than normal to keep up with his much longer steps as the two fell into a comfortable silence.
Together they rounded a corner a block away from Bols home, preparing to pass through the market. The street was empty bar a familiar group at the end of the street.
Harry and Ran froze in unison.
The sun fled behind the clouds. It was a coincidence. Really!
Harry spoke first.
"Hey, Ran, remember how Esdeath is looking for a reason to remove Wild Hunt?"
Ran nodded.
"Yes, indeed I do."
They spoke perfectly naturally, as though they were simply having a chat over a drink of tea.
"And you know how you have some kind of bad blood with Champ of Wild Hunt?"
Ran nodded again, not even bothered by how Harry knew that. He was aware he wasn't the best at hiding it.
"Indeed I do. He is a paedophilic, mass murdering rapist who deserves to spend the rest of his life in Esdeaths torture chamber."
He may have well have been talking about the weather for all his tone said.
Harry began to walk down the street.
"The same paedophilic, mass murdering rapist who is currently man-handling Tiffany over there? At the same time as Enshin and Syura man-handle her mother?"
Rans voice was positively terrifying in its normalcy as he spoke.
"Indeed it is."
Harry smiled as they approached the group.
"Oh, good. Well, if he is alive when you're done with him, please transport him to Esdeath and tell her I would like his remaining days to be very painful. I'll even set aside my disproval of torture and watch for a little bit. In the meantime, Syura has something I need."
Ran nodded again.
"But of course, I would be more than willing."
In front of them, Wild Hunt, or those present, spun around as a calm voice spoke up behind them.
"You know, attacking the family of someone Esdeath looks out for is a good way to die."
On the ground at Wild Hunts feet, where the two had been thrown, Maggie hugged Tiffany to her, sobbing in relief.
Syura scowled darkly.
"I'll do whatever the fuck I want! Some little brat isn't going to stop me. Enshin, you wanted to slice the fuck up didn't you? Make sure he screams. Champ, you can have the little girl after you kill the other one."
Apparently, Syura's survival instinct had been deactivated at some stage that day, as he didn't even bother thinking about what Esdeath would do when she found out. Enshin and Champ just followed his order, Enshin grinning maliciously and Champ scowling at having his fun cut off.
Enshin spoke first as he drew his blade.
"I've been looking forward to this. Little fuck who thinks he so fucking great."
He licked his blade creepily.
"I'm gonna enjoy making you squeal like a pig."
Whatever anyone might have said after that was cut off as Harry started laughing.
A shiver ran down the spines of all who heard it, even Izou who was watching from the side-lines, having already decided to just watch.
Maggie took the Wild Hunts members lack of attention to grab Tiffany and flee as Harry threw back his head and laughed.
Even Ran, standing beside him, who had known him, and Esdeath, for quite some time now, shuddered.
Because Harrys laugh was pure, utter, ice. It was chilling to the bone in every wrong way possible.
It was the kind of laughter that brought to mind massive glaciers filled with the frozen corpses of armies. The kind of laughter that seems to speak of great nations crushed and burnt, of great empires reduced to ruins.
It was the single most horrifying thing many, if not all, present had ever heard.
His laughter died down into giggles.
The temperature began to plummet.
Harry smiled, a chilling, soul freezing smile that could have made an ultra-class danger beast turn tail and run the fuck away!
Then he spoke, his voice equally chilling, fall of malice and murder and all things wrong and sinful.
"Oh, you poor, poor, little fool. Did you really think Esdeath would take in and train a mere child if they were not truly worth something? Did you really think that you were the powerful ones here? You poor, little fool."
His voice became distorted, warp into a demonic mockery of his voice.
The temperature plummeted and the street darkened as the sun seemed to hide itself behind layers of clouds, as though hiding from the terrible thing below.
A wind, viscous and cruel, chilling, whipped up, swirling around Harry as he spoke, his voice as terrible whisper, the Reapers own call.
"It's been a long time since I've felt truly angry. I've forgotten what it felt like. But you poor, poor fools, should learn that you are not the top of the food chain. And now, you're going to die. Because now, I. Am. Angry."
The wind howled around him like some terrible, distorted beast, the screams of a thousand damned.
The temperature plummeted even further, windows glazing and frost creeping along the ground.
The evening light vanished, leaving it like night as the sun fled behind layers of dark clouds.
The present members of Wild Hunt, that weren't too prideful to thinks such things, had just a moment to think 'Well, fuck. We just kicked the sleeping dragon'.
Then winter struck with the fury of a thousand gods.
-T.G.O-
And that is chapter 24 done!
How was it? Was my explanation of the Book of Lies any good? Did I do a good job giving Izou and Dorothea a realistic deal that they would take? Did you like my last scene? Please, feedback, whether it is ideas, likes, dislikes, constructive criticism or simple encouragements are all welcome and appreciated!
Please review!
Anyway, that is chapter 24 done! My longest chapter yet!
I hope everyone enjoyed it, and have enjoyed the story so far!
Goodbye and see you next time!