The Wizard of Machines was slumped against the wall in a broken heap. He had strongly underestimated the Crusnik's power. Kampfer had lost most feeling in his body. He wouldn't be able to use any of his magic; his death was imminent.
"Tsk, tsk, father dearest! It was you who told me to never underestimate an opponent. Now look what you've done! You're such a mess!"
Abel and Caterina turned to the direction of the arrogantly scolding voice. Kampfer attempted. A slender young woman emerged from behind a stone cross with her hands folded. Her heels made a soft clicking noise as she walked. She was wearing a black cuffed shirt under a fancy red vest along with crisply creased black pants. Abel immediately recognized her.
"You again!"
Caterina noted Abel's strong reaction. "So you are…"
"Isabella Fae von Kampfer." The girl bowed toward Caterina before turning to Abel. "Father always said you were a strong one, Crusnik. Clearly, though, his meaning of strength was a bit lacking." Isabella calmly sauntered toward Kampfer.
The monster that Abel had become barely hesitated. He made the air shriek with the speed he was bringing his scythe down upon Isabella. It was all in vain, though. The scythe suddenly stopped at an invisible wall. Abel growled in annoyance. iSo she has a shield also…/i His attempt hadn't even misplaced a hair on the girl's head. He increased the force upon the shield but Isabella's shield was clearly stronger than the one Wizard possessed. Abel's ruby eyes shone with pure contempt against the deceptive girl.
Isabella remained calm and tossed back her hair as she kneeled beside Kampfer. She seemed unfazed by her father's chest being split wide open. As she let down her shield, everyone in the room felt the ground tremble from the sheer force with which Abel's scythe struck the floor.
"So dear father, what fatal mistake did you make this time?" Isabella smirked as she gently lifted Kampfer's arms from his open chest cavity. "It must have been very drastic, from the condition you're in."
Wizard coughed. His dull eyes were fixed upon his daughter. "Ah, well, I'll admit I was a tad bit unprepared." He broke into a coughing fit as his chest began to tingle from Isabella's regeneration spell.
"You, unprepared? What could have you so unprepared?" Isabella suddenly felt the hair raise on the back of her neck. iWait a minute. This kind of electrical discharge…/i
"Spark-gap impact."
It was too late. The second she turned, the daughter was struck with the sword of Justice just as her father had been. The force of the blast tossed Isabella into the air, tore open her chest and split the crown of her head. With a shriek of anguish she fell like a ragdoll into the gigantic fissure below. Her high-pitched voice echoed for a few seconds. After that, the whole room was swallowed by silence.
Kampfer casually stood up and brushed himself off. His unnervingly tranquil voice broke the silence. "Your promise, Father Nightroad, what do you make of it now?" He peered down the fissure where Isabella fell. There was no emotion on his face or in his voice, just calmness.
Abel let the scythe slip from his hands. His wings had disappeared, and his eyes had returned to the color of a winter lake. Disbelief was plastered on his face. "I…" He glanced back at Caterina.
The Duchess of Milan just stared at Abel, causing her monocle to fall. "Abel did you… You didn't, did you?!"
Abel shook his head rapidly. He stared into the silent blackness of the fissure. "No! I, I…"
Wizard pushed back a strand of hair. "I do believe this is my time to exit."
"Negative." Eighteen bullets ripped through the air. Had Kampfer not deployed the Shield of Asmoday, his head would have been riddled with holes. A young man with an expressionless face dropped the spent cartridges from his pistols before replacing them.
"Tres!" Caterina reaffixed her monocle.
"Isn't that grand? However, I don't have time for a petty squabble with you, Gunslinger." Wizard was already sunk far into his shadow. Tres fired another eighteen rounds, but it was too late. Kampfer was gone.
Tres lowered his pistols. "Rewriting tactical thoughts from assault mode to search mode." He turned to Caterina. "Damage report, Duchess of Milan."
"I'm alright, Tres."
"Acknowledged. Father Nightroad, damage report."
Abel didn't answer. He was still staring into the plunging blackness of the fissure. He didn't notice Tres approach him. Instead, a soft red glow from the bottom of the fissure and the click of Tres readying his handguns brought the priest back to attention.
"Movement detected."
"Wait, Tres!" Abel grabbed his companion's arm. "Maybe we should investigate first."
"Request acknowledged." Tres put away his handguns and jumped into the fissure. Abel followed him down into the darkness.
When both priests had landed Tres pulled out a flashlight. The white beam of light pierced the darkness. Abel heard a small gasp and slightly labored breathing coming from a few meters away, and Tres was already in search of the source. Abel quickly followed as to not be left in blackness. iShe's still alive, for now…/i
After several meters of cautiously walking over rubble, Gunslinger stopped. As Abel caught up, he saw Tres shining the flashlight at something, or rather, someone. A quivering figure lay in the white beam. Bloodied black hair was pasted over her face, and her arms were crossed over her bare, partially split open chest. Even in complete ruin, Abel still recognized her.
"Isabella…"
The figure raised her head. The light reflected sharply in her watery eyes. Abel could see the girl had attempted to heal herself, but it had only done so much. Her head wound was still seeping with fresh blood, and the split in her chest had left a huge scar and a couple ribs showing where the gouge had failed to completely heal. The arrogant Wizard's daughter now seemed so frail; her face bore the expression of a terrified child. But anyone could sympathize with her while staring up the barrel of Gunslinger's pistol.
"What are you doing, Tres?!" Abel clung to the deadpan priest's arm.
"This girl is a member of Rosenkreuz Orden. She is also involved in Archbishop d'Este's plot. She must be eliminated. Why are you defending her, Father Nightroad?"
The silver-haired priest released his companion's arm. Tres was correct. Defending this girl could be taken as high treason. Still, there was something…
"He's right, Father," Isabella coughed, her mouth stained with blood, "After all I've done, perhaps the only way to atone for my sins is with my death." The fear in her eyes subsided to a calm acceptance. Her sincerity was genuine. "I would repent, but it probably wouldn't be enough."
At this, Abel felt that he now had a reason to prevent the girl's death. "Tres, please wait. There are a few things I wish to clarify with her."
Tres didn't verbally respond. However, he lowered his pistol.
Abel smiled at Tres before sitting next to Isabella. His voice was gentle as he questioned her, "Truly, would you repent?"
The girl nodded and coughed again. After her fit had stopped she asked her own question. "Father, will God really forgive me for everything?"
"Of course he will." The priest smiled warmly and brushed Isabella's matted hair from her face. He felt joy in his heart from having the chance to rescue this girl from her demonic past.
A puzzled look took over his face as he noticed Isabella taking something from her pocket. His face didn't change when he saw the small cross. "Where did you get that?"
"I found it when I was young," the girl's face darkened with memories, "I think it was my mother's."
"Ah." Abel didn't know what to say. He could tell that Isabella knew little if anything about her mother. "It's very beautiful."
"I know." A tear cleaned a streak on her ruddy cheek. iI just wish I knew something about her…/i Isabella blinked when she noticed the priest had gingerly taken the necklace from her hand. "What are you doing?"
The dopey priest smiled widely as he fastened the gold chain around Isabella's neck. "Well, it's a beautiful cross, and you're a beautiful young lady, I just figured the two should go together!"
Isabella returned a small smile. If it weren't for her current modesty predicament she would have hugged the priest. Her smile widened when Abel placed his coat on her pale shoulders.
"There. Now you don't have to worry about keeping yourself covered while we climb out of here."
The smile remained on Isabella's face as she fastened the coat. It was a little large, but it still felt better than being exposed to the cold air.
"Ah, so Tres," Abel turned to Gunslinger, "We'll take this girl, Isabella Fae von Kampfer, into custody and have her questioned on the archbishop's plans and the Silent Noise."
"Affirmative." At last Tres put away the pistol he had been holding the whole time.
Isabella was relieved. Yet she still seemed uneasy about something. Abel noticed her uneasiness.
"What's wrong?"
The girl shook here head. "It's just… I need to use my magic once more, before I abandon it completely. I need to retrieve something that's very important to me."
Abel gave out a small sigh. "Very well then…"
"I promise, I'm not planning anything." Isabella's face twisted with worry that Abel still didn't trust her. Still, she rested her bloody, gloved hands on the ground. The pentagrams on her gloves dully glowed as a small shape rose from pure blackness. The girl smiled as the kitten looked around in confusion.
"A kitten?"
"Yes, a kitten, AND documents on the Silent Noise." She picked up the kitten and handed the folder the kitten had been sitting on to Abel. "And her name is Rose. I don't trust to leave her with Wizard." The girl frowned. She pulled off her gloves and threw them away from her. "Now that that's settled…"
Abel looked up. "Yes. We should get out of here. Caterina's probably wondering what happened to Tres and me."
"Affirmative."
Tres had no trouble climbing his way out. He calculated the strength and angle of each foothold to find the best path. Abel made an attempt to follow Tres's path, but he slipped occasionally. Isabella could barely keep up with the two priests. Her delicate hands couldn't always grasp the same holds that Abel and Tres had. Plus, her substantial blood loss from earlier threatened to make her lose consciousness. Still, she kept following as best she could. Rose peeked out occasionally from Isabella's coat pocket.
Caterina watched as she saw Gunslinger emerge from the crevice. She smiled in relief when Abel came up next. "So you're alright…" She paused when she saw Abel reaching back down into the fissure. iWhat's he doing?.../i Once Caterina saw the silver-haired priest pull up Isabella she reflexively stepped back.
Abel panted slightly and looked at his superior. "Now before you go calling guards or anything, let us have our say." He grinned.
The Duchess of Milan sighed. "I expect you have a very good explanation for this." She watched as the shivering girl swayed before falling into a sitting position. iSomething's different about her. It's as if she's a completely different person…/i
"Positive, Duchess of Milan." Tres broke Caterina out of her deep musing. "Isabella Fae von Kampfer gave herself up for questioning exactly seventeen minutes thirty-two seconds ago."
"Just like that? Wasn't there any struggle?"
"Negative."
Abel had opened his mouth to speak, but he quietly closed it again when Isabella raised her head.
The girl spoke weakly but clearly. "Your Eminence, truly I have repented and wish to atone for my sins." Her eyes were dull and almost lifeless; her entire body was motionless except for her shoulders, which quivered and shook with every breath she took.
The Woman of Steel was completely dumbfounded. Isabella's sincerity was remarkable and unbelievable. There didn't seem to be the tiniest trace left of Wizard's daughter.
A small movement caught Caterina's eye. The Duchess of Milan raised an eyebrow when she saw the black kitten tumble out of Isabella's coat pocket. "Should I even ask why you have a kitten with you?" Such a completely random occurrence brought a tiny smile to her lips.
Isabella watched as the kitten scouted out the area. "Her name is Rose. I retrieved her. I just couldn't leave her behind with…" She stopped, refusing the finish the sentence and admit her relations.
"Ah." Caterina carefully scooped up the curious kitten. Rose squirmed in her hands. "She's quite the lively one." She put Rose back down and watched her scurry back to Isabella. There was an awkward silence.
The silence lingered for a moment before being abruptly broken. A large laughing man sauntered into the room carrying some delicate machinery under his arm. Father Leon Garcia de Asturias seemed very pleased with himself. "Haha, I hope I didn't miss anything, Your Eminence!" But as he looked into the room at its occupants and the rubble, the smugness left Dandelion's face. "Aw, I did miss something!" He looked at Isabella with increased confusion. "And just who the heck are you?"
"You seem rather down." Dietrich lazily looked up at Kampfer. "Are you really that upset about your loss?"
"No, it's not that. I just can't seem to find those documents on the Silent Noise." Wizard had the rare face of irritation, which he usually saved for his daughter. "Daughter dearest must have moved them again." He placed his cigarillo in his mouth.
"Ah, well, that's strange Isaak." Dietrich folded his hands. "You know that stupid kitten of hers? The little brat hasn't bothered me all day. Actually, I haven't seen it all day, either."
Kampfer pushed his cigarillo into the ashtray. "Most suspicious."
"Most suspicious, indeed…"