Hello, everyone, and welcome to chapter 29 of The Glacial Ones!
To start off as always, review response!
Drunkle Qrow: All I can say is that that is a horrifyingly accurate description. Thanks!
JDS62: God, I don't even know half of these. Thanks for all the suggestions though, and I have to say that the idea of using Gate: Thus the JSDF Fought There seems like it would be rather amusing. The troll value could be massive. I agree about RWBY as well, but it would be an amusing break if I ever need one. Nasuverse… well I want them to meet Zelretch at some point. Anyway, thanks for the ideas!
Aku No Kotei: I can't see Attack on Titan working very well myself, simple because it has nothing similar to any of their powers. Highschool DxD could be interesting though, if only for how amusing it could be. Hmm… Esdeath could also have a decent fight against a Maou. An interesting thought. Thanks for the suggestions!
Imperial warlord: Not a lot I can really say here, but yeah, I agree that the Western armies would have probably turned on the Empire afterwards… Which means Esdeath saved the new Empire before it was even formed. Anyway, thanks of the continued support!
Exiled Soul Nomad: ?... Not sure what Independence Day: Resurgence is I'm afraid? Should I?
And a thanks to eunikecindy8 for their support as well!
Anyway, now that that is all out of the way, onwards to chapter 29 of The Glacial Ones!
I do not own, in any way, shape, or form Akame Ga Kill or Harry Potter.
-T.G.O-
Chapter 29: Valley of Blood
By second day after the battle, or massacre as some called it, of Fort Bluemont, Esdeaths army was on the move once more, this time at a slightly slower pace than previously. One day and a night to recover from the harsh march they had made to reach Fort Bluemont and any injuries sustained was enough before Esdeath deemed that they were ready to continue forwards.
Esdeath rode at the front of the army, Harry a moment behind her off to her right. Air, Fal and Luna were riding a few metres behind the two with Izou off to the side as the battle force moved across the countryside at a brisk pace.
Gazing around the rather peaceful land, Harry almost found it hard to believe that this was less than a few hours from a massive stalemate between the Imperial army and the Western Army which was being supported by the Revolutionary Army.
Shaking his head to empty it of such random thoughts, Harry spoke up towards Esdeath.
"What are we to expect from the enemy forces? Are we aware of their numbers?"
Esdeath glanced over her shoulder at him, a small, affectionate smile on her face.
"At the moment, according to our last report, the Imperial Army and the Western Army are at a stalemate on either ends of the Valekel Valley. They have had brief skirmishes, but nothing more as the Imperial forces are waiting for us and the Western forces are most likely waiting for their own forces."
She looked ahead again as she lead her horse onwards.
"In terms of numbers, the main concentration of the Western forces are currently there or heading there. Chances are that they are waiting for us as much as they are waiting for reinforcement and intend to try crush us so they can tell the world they defeated us and our army. It would increase their moral as well as how much they were feared if it worked. If."
She snorted softly in disbelief as she gazed over the hilly terrain, eyes sweeping over patches of trees and deep galleys in search of an ambush.
Harry could tell that she was rather bored if she was actively looking for an ambush.
"What about Teigu? Do they have any on their side?"
Esdeath glanced back at him with another grin.
"At least one. They don't know what one it is though, since it appears to be a long range type and none of them have gotten close enough to see it properly. Well, none that have made it back afterwards. Whoever is using it is no amateur in its usage."
Harry nodded, grinning back at her.
"Do you think that's what is giving them so much confidence? It seems a little… foolish if it is."
In front of him, Esdeath nodded.
"Indeed. I would like to assume that they have something else more interesting than a single Teigu lined up. If they are relying on it for victory, then they are going to be crushed far too easily."
Behind her, Harry smiled over at her, directing his horse around a small pothole in the rather unmaintained road.
"Shouldn't you be more open minded about that? Maybe it's a Teigu like yours or some other game changer."
Esdeath just laughed.
"I know everything that the Empire knows about the Teigu, both the ones in the Empire possession and those that have been lost. There is no other like mine, and I already have a fair idea as to what the one in the Western Armies possession is."
Harry grinned as he nodded his acceptance of the fact before looking ahead, glancing up at the darkening clouds above.
"What Teigu do you think it is?"
She grinned over her shoulder at him again.
"One you'll be interested in. The Bow of Spite: Samael."
Eyes widening slightly, Harry grinned even wider.
"Really? I suppose there isn't that many long range Teigu, but it's a bit of a coincident. Not that I'm complaining."
Behind him, riding in between Fal and Air, Luna piped up.
"What Teigu is it? Why are you interested in it?"
Harry grinned over his shoulder at the girl, missing the slight dusting of red in her cheeks.
"You know how I said that the Book of Lies, Lilith, was part of a set of three Teigu made from similar danger beasts?"
Luna nodded, Fal grinning as she rode beside her, speaking up before Luna could.
"So you think it might be one of the other two."
Harry nodded at her.
"Yup! Samael, the Bow of Spite, is meant to be a bow that changes its effects and grows or shrinks in power depending on the users feelings and emotions, as well as how powerful those feelings and emotions are. Esdeath and I did some research on it since it seems likely to be one of the set. Still, a lot of information was lost on it after it became a lost Teigu, so we can't be sure until later."
He turned his head, grinning at Air.
"We're hoping that you will be able to use it properly."
Air smiled softly, nodding as she did. Giving her another grin, Harry turned back towards the front, gazing across the hill covered terrain towards the two massive mountains standing side by side in the distance.
His eyes drifted towards their location between the two mountains.
Valekel Valley.
Where the Western Army had made its stand for now.
Where the Western Army had made its final stand, without even realising.
-T.G.O-
The battle began as the sun reached noon. Esdeath had led her army into the Imperial Army base less than four hours ago, quickly taking control as she began directing the various people in charge of the camp, Harry getting more than a few odd looks as he remained at Esdeaths side.
It was understandable, since, unlike Esdeaths army, they were hardly used to anyone below seventeen being anywhere near their battlefields. As a soldier anyway. The fact he spent all of his time with the Empire's Strongest just made it stranger.
Right now though, he was standing next to Esdeath, the Imperial Army, plus Esdeaths own army, forming itself behind them as both of them observed the distant Western Army bustling like ants in a hive, falling into ranks just as their own forces were.
Well, Esdeaths forces, not Harry's.
Harry glanced upwards at Esdeath.
"So once the archer appears, I deal with him or her first?"
Beside him, Esdeath nodded with a sadistic grin.
"Yes. Using Shambhala you can get to them easiest and retrieve the Teigu. Once that's done, just return to me."
Harry nodded his understanding. It had taken some practice, but he had learnt that by using his teleportation in stereo with Shambhala, as Air had suggested the first time he had started using the Teigu, allowed him to teleport anywhere within his line of sight without any of the side effects of his own version of teleportation or the recharge time and need for a marker that Shambhala had.
Behind him, Standing beside Luna and Fal, Air spoke up.
"And we will be staying with Esdeath as much as possible for the duration of the combat?"
Harry and Esdeath both turned to look at the three girls standing behind them, nodding in stereo asHarry speaking for both.
"Yup! While the three of you are pretty powerful, especially when you all work together, it would still be annoying if you were to die because of inexperience. Esdeath should be able to stop that as long as you don't mess up really, really bad."
He grinned before glancing at Luna.
"And remember you have the Book of Lies, Luna. Don't be afraid to use it if you get in trouble."
She nodded seriously as Esdeath turned completely, looking over the assembled Imperial forces.
Then, as the sun hide behind blackening clouds, as though fleeing, not wishing to have to cast its light on the coming bloodbath as Esdeath whipped the soldiers into a frenzy.
Then the army was moving, segments breaking off as they began to approach the enemy forces, Esdeath watching from atop the hill she had been standing on, Harry still at her side as she gazed across the advancing armies.
"Hmm… Izou's already charged in."
She glanced down at Harry, following his gaze across valley to where Izou was charging forwards.
Then blood began to flow.
Shots rang out as the two armies entered within range of each other, waves of bullets ripping through armour and flesh with equal ease, blades flashing in carnal madness.
Near the front of it all, Izou was a maelstrom of death and destruction, his blade flashing through the air in arcs of flickering steel, slashing away at limbs and torso's and everything within sight as he swept through.
He ducked under and attack, blade sweeping upwards to hack the attacker in half, slashing the man beside him in two in a second flash of steal, a third flash beheading yet another as Izou swept through, leaving only corpses in his wake.
There was a flash of light above him, off to his right and Izou reacted, slashing the nearest three men into several pieces before swing his katana towards the flash.
His blade slammed into the head of an oddly shaped arrow covered in intricate designs, preparing to cut it in half.
He kept swinging.
The arrow kept going.
His blade slide straight through the arrow as though it wasn't really there and he jerked his body back in an attempted dodge, the arrow catching him on the left arm, forcing him to bite down a cry of pain as the arrow did nothing to his physical body, but sent white hot, burning pain lacing through his arm. There was a series of gunshots and his blade moved on instinct, splitting one bullet, then a second, then a third before the fourth slammed into his side, staggering him as he cut down the man who had fired, continuing his massacre as though he hadn't been shot.
Back up at the top of the hill overlooking the valley, Harry grinned pointing over at a spot on top of the cliff overlooking the battlefield
"Found him."
Esdeath nodded with an equally wide grin.
"Good. Deal with him and then return to me. I think I may join in the fun now. Air, Luna, Fal, come on!"
Behind her, the three girls nodded, Air holding two slim, slightly curved swords, Fal equipped with her gauntlets and shotgun, while Luna held two pistols with blade attachments.
Harry glanced over at the area the archer had attacked from as he took Shambhala in on hand, reaching into his core as he activated it.
A moment later, as Esdeath lead Air, Fal and Luna into the fray, Harry vanished in a flash of blue light.
-T.G.O-
Harry appeared in a flash of light on top of the cliff face, the archer already moving, spinning as he fired an arrow at Harry who dived out of the way and rolled to his feet.
He observed the man.
He was a rather slim man with a small amount of stubble on his face, dressed in browns and dark greens that blended in with the area around them.
The man pointed his bow at Harry, an intricate arrow appearing in his hand before he fired it at high speed at Harry, who ducked it and shot forwards, drawing his blades from his back with a small grin.
"So the Empire sends children to do its dirty work now, Eh?"
Harry just swung his blades towards the man as twin flashes of steel as he approached in complete silence.
The man grabbed the handle of the bow with his other hand, so he was holding it with both.
Harry leapt backwards as he noticed the bowstring vanish a moment before the man wrenched the bow into two, curved blades quite similar to Airs and darted towards Harry.
Flicking up his right hand blade, Harry deflected the first attack, deflecting the second with his left hand blade as he sent his other jabbing towards the man's stomach.
The man slide to the side, narrowly avoiding the attack before sending a flurry of attacks down on Harry, the smaller male deflecting and blocking them all until the man leapt backwards, a new kind of respect in his eyes.
"Impressive. You are quite skilled aren't you, brat."
Harry just snorted.
"I wouldn't have survived this long if I wasn't."
He shot forwards again, slashing at the man's stomach in an attempt to disembowel him, only for one of the man's blades to come up and block the attack, his other blade deflecting Harry's jab towards his chest as his foot came flashing up to collide with Harry's face.
Or try to collide with his face anyway. Instead, the man's booted foot slammed into a transparent, domelike shield, knocking him off balance and shocking him enough that Harry was able to open two thin slashes across his chest before he regained his senses and leapt backwards.
"You have a Teigu of some kind as well?! No wonder you were part of the accursed Empires Army."
Harry laughed lightly as he charged forwards again, their blades flashing out again and again, colliding with the clang of metal on metal as they fought in a blur of steel.
"Actually, I'm not technically part of the army. They don't even pay me. I just follow Esdeath around."
The man pushed him back a few more steps with a flurry of blows forcing Harry to leap backwards and flick his wrist, banishing the man towards a boulder, only for him to flip and land on the boulder in a crouch, shooting off towards Harry.
"The hell?! Why do you go anywhere near that monster?! And what the fuck is the Teigu you're using!"
Harry smirked darkly.
"Go near her? Random guy with a Teigu I want, I sleep in the same bed as her."
The man stumbled, while still in mid-air, before clumsily righting his balance as he landed, crushing the shock at Harry's comment, just in time to catch a bruising shock wave to the chest that threw him backwards off the cliff face. He hung in that air for a moment as a wave of ice spears appeared above him.
Then he dropped, the hail of ice spear hurtling down after him as he screamed.
"You little braaaaaaaaaaaat!"
Harry just smirked, leaping off the cliff face after him, noting that the man had deflected all of the ice spears as he sent a shock wave to smash him into the ground, using Shambhala and his own teleportation to warp down above the man, blades flashing downwards.
The man leapt from his place on the ground, flipping backwards as he went to put some distance between them, only for Harry to banish him backwards into his own allies in an unpleasant reminder, for the man at least, that they were now on the main battlefield.
Harry shot forwards, a wave of ice spears appearing around him and hailing down on the group the man had landed in.
The man leapt away, deflecting the two spears that attempted to skewer him.
His allies had no such luck, the hail of spires of ice skewering them as Harry swept past, barely even noticing as he beheaded a man on his way past.
With a tug on his core, Harry sent stone spires bursting forth from the ground to hit the man as he back flipped away, slashing two Imperial soldiers across the throat as he landed and slamming the hilts of his blade together, smoothly switching from dual blades to bow as he sent several low power arrows at Harry.
Harry flicked up a shield as he charged the man, the arrows splashing harmlessly against it as a boulder of ice materialized above him and flew towards the Teigu user. The man leapt out of the way, the boulder crushing two men several metres behind him as he sent several more arrows of pure energy at Harry.
Harry leapt to the side, dodging the and, unknown to him, condemning several Imperial soldiers behind him to death as the arrows slammed into them, buckling them over in pain before the Western soldiers cut them down.
Harry just charged forwards, slashing the throats of two men as he flew past, the archer in front of him releasing a single, vastly more powerful arrow at him.
In a flash of blue light, Harry appeared above the man, banishing him straight down into the ground as he fell, spinning in mid-air until he was descending on the off balance man like a whirling tornado of death. Behind where he had been moments before he vanished, a soldier took the arrow to his chest, his heart stopping as pure agony beyond all mortal comprehension swept through him.
Slamming down into the ground, cutting several long gashes in the earth, Harry spun back upwards towards the man as he staggered after just barely dodging Harry's first attack, only for Harry's second series of slashes to draw blood as they cut across his side, followed up by a shock wave empowered kick in the side that sent him flying away.
A series of gunshots rang out, Harry instinctively threw up a shield to stop them before sending a hail of ice spears to skewer his attackers as he rushed after the man who was skidding to a halt several metres away.
He wondered briefly when he had begun to enjoy the fight so much, after all, if he had been fighting the man the same way that he had fought Syura, the man would be dead by know, and he would be back with Esdeath.
Back with Esdeath… for some reason the thought sent a tingly sensation through his body that he filed away for later analysis, just as he realised he really wanted to be back with Esdeath now.
With that thought in mind, Harry materialized a wave of metre long ice spears around his body as he surged towards his opponent, who was charging up a powerful shot on his bow.
Harry sent the ice spears surging forwards with the smallest tug on his core, another tug sending a shock wave to speed them up and a final one somehow electrifying them in complete ignorance of the laws of physics.
The spears became blurs as they crackled through the air towards Harry's opponent just as the man released his arrow.
The arrow slammed into Harry's shield, shattering it with ease before the approaching Harry's chest far too fast for him to dodge.
The hail of empowered ice spears tore through the man, piecing his body in several places and hurling him backwards through the air before he landed with a thump, coughing up blood.
Harry appeared next to him in a flash of blue light.
What? I said the arrow was too fast to dodge, not to fast too warp out of the way.
The man smirked as he coughed up blood.
"Heh, you really are a monster, aren't you? Still… it was fun, even though… I was getting my ass kicked the entire time."
He held up the hand holding his bow towards Harry, offering it too him.
"Here, take it… it is Samael… the Bow of Spite… it's yours now."
Harry took the bow from him gentle, barely even noticing as he generated a wave of ice spears to skewer the approaching Western soldiers.
The man's hand fell limply as he gave a bloodstained grin up at Harry the life fading from his eyes.
"Truly, for a child… like you to become… something like this… this world of ours… is truly fit for only monsters… and demons…"
He let out on last breath before his body slumped, Harry briefly succumbing to his odd desire to reach down and close his eyes for him before standing, absentmindedly skewering several approaching enemies as he locked in on Esdeaths location and, keeping his eyes on her, vanished in a flash of blue light.
-T.G.O-
Esdeath grinned as she slaughtered another group of enemies under a hail of ice spears, noting briefly that it wasn't near as fun as it used to be, nor as fun as simple sparring against Harry was.
Behind her, Fal slammed her fist into one man's stomach, buckling him over as she blasted another two backwards with her shotgun, even as Luna used her pistol to shot down several more as they tried to shoot the group, Air hacking another three enemy soldiers into pieces nearby.
A flash of blue behind them informed them of Harry's return, a shock wave blasting a wave of bullets backwards into the men who had fired them.
Materializing a massive boulder above her head and using it to crush another group of sixteen men, Esdeath didn't even look back as she spoke.
"Harry, what took you so long?"
Harry flicked of a concussive ball that exploded in the midst of another group of enemy soldiers, noting that they had started to flee, as he gave a slightly shame faced look.
"Ah, I was, well… it was fun, and I was enjoying myself. Just a little bit."
Esdeath grinned wickedly, a little more enthusiasm in her next attack tearing apart a groups of disorganised and fleeing enemies. She chose not the comment.
Harry wondered briefly if she had intentionally corrupted him with her love for combat. He dismissed the thought.
Of course she did it on purpose.
A flick of his wrist sent a massive slab of earth rising up from the ground before slamming down, crushing all those below it as Harry tugged at his core harshly once more, staggering slightly as he began to feel the fatigue strike.
Horizontal lightning flashed across the battle field, dancing from one soldier to another as it passed through their bodies, setting their flesh alight and incinerating their organs as it snaked across the battlefield before final slamming into a cliff wall with enough force to crumble a large portion of it.
There was an awed, terrified silence, broken only by the sound of people dying horrible deaths.
And so the massacre continued, Esdeath and Harry quickly killing off anything not on their side that was still breathing in the valley as the Imperial Army began to chase after the fleeing remains of the Western Army, Esdeaths Army remaining behind as the group of five surveyed the battlefield.
It was a bloodbath, thousands of corpses filling the small valley with an equally large number of puddles of crimson blood, filling the air with their stench.
Esdeath sighed.
"That wasn't as interesting as I had hoped. I thought that they might have a secret weapon that would surprise us."
She gazed around before smiling affectionately at Harry.
"I imagine we will be heading back to the Capital in a few days."
Harry looked at her in surprise, Air, Luna and Fal echoing his expression.
"Why?"
Esdeath just sighed.
"With the main Western force eliminated, as well as the rebels trying to take Fort Bluemont, the Imperial Army will be able to sweep up what's left with the assistance of my fighting force, so there is no reason for us not to return to our duties as parts of the Jaegers."
Harry nodded before glancing back up at her.
"What happened to Izou?"
She looked across the valley, pointing at a large pile of hacked apart corpses.
"The first attack weakened him significantly. He was almost overwhelmed and killed off. I imagine someone is giving him medical attention right now."
Nodding once again, Harry grinned widely after a moment.
"Oh yeah, look what I got!"
He held up the Bow of Spite and the four females around him examined it.
It was made up of two halves that, while not sharp right now, still looked like the curved blades the man had turned it into, with designs similar to those on the cover of the Book of Lies running all along it in silvers and blacks.
Fal grinned.
"Well, it's definitely part of the set. Hope we find the last part soon."
Harry grinned at her before Esdeath spoke up.
"We can try it later, after we have cleaned and relaxed a bit. If something goes wrong, we don't want anyone suffering rejection right after a battle."
The group nodded in stereo, grinning as they did, turning to follow Esdeath as she went to leave, grabbing Harry's hand as she did.
The wolves of the west had been silenced, but in the end, it simple delayed the inevitable.
The Empire was still dying.
-T.G.O-
And that is chapter 29 complete!
Gosh, I didn't actually think I'd finish this chapter in one day, because I had a bit of a writer block.
I have also cut the Western war arc short, and I apologize for that, but writing these scenes is very, very tedious for me.
Also, I'm just going to clarify somethings with Harry's teleportation abilities (which he needs to use more).
Teleport/Apparation: General wizard apparation which is rather unpleasant and causes disorientation which makes it bad for high speed combat, but has massive range (Harry doesn't know that yet).
Shambhala: Uses Shambhala to teleport. Needs to have a marker set at the target location, and can't be used to many times in a row without injuring Harry's body.
Warping: A fusion of the above two, it allows instant teleportation without side effects, however it only works in Harry's line of sight (as in he couldn't use it without light, since he can't see anything), and drains from his magic core, though not a lot more than apparation.
Alright, hope that's clear!
As always, any ideas, constructive criticism, likes, dislikes, advice of simple support are all welcome and appreciated! Please review!
Finally, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and have enjoyed The Glacial Ones so far!
Goodbye, and see you next time!