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Title: Maoh, A Day Late
Summary: Yuri arrives in the other world late, and the race for the Boxes has already begun.
Notes: Antoine has a backbone, though perhaps a misplaced one. Meanwhile, Yuri and company arrive back in the Demon Kingdom.
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Part II, Chapter 13
Under the same sky
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"What do you mean, you can't find them?" Belar demanded lowly, his tone coldly furious and deadly.
The soldier who had delivered the news cringed away, knowing that his king would not hesitate to kill the messenger in his rage.
"W-we've searched the bay and deployed troops all along the shore," the soldier stammered. "But they haven't even been sighted. Perhaps they drowned?" His suggested sounded timid and unlikely even to his own ears.
"No," Belar decided, "this must be some Demon sorcery. There's no telling what kind of powers those filthy beasts might possess." He stared into the distance, lost in internal calculations, his fists clenching sporadically. "I would have expected them to be contained properly," he said finally, turning his gaze to Conrart.
"My apologies, King Belar," Conrart said, bowing deferentially. "The boy from the noble families was kept in an esoteric stone prison, so his powers should have been dulled. I did not expect the other two to possess any magic skill, since they were both only half-breeds."
He had made no move to join the search efforts, mostly because of the "elite" soldiers that had remained surrounding him, their weapons not yet drawn but clearly displayed. He had been lost in his own thoughts, about his brother, about the illusion they had fallen under and about what Belar had implied about the third boy.
'Could he really be...?' Conrart wondered. 'No, Gwendal and Gunther would not have allowed something so foolish.' But they had allowed Wolfram to do something almost equally foolish. It wasn't impossible.
What truly seemed impossible to Conrart was that there had not been even a spark of recognition in him. Had his thoughts of a connection between him and Yuri been just a fanciful daydream? Or had the ties between them been truly cut? Both choices made his heart ache.
"Or so they claimed," Belar snorted.
"I did not expect them to use esoteric skills as well," Conrart said, trying to divert from that line of reasoning. Belar did not know it, but transporting through water - opening a gate - was a skill only a select few in the Demon Tribe possessed. He had only know of one, in fact: the Head Priestess at the Tomb of the Great One, Ulrike. It was considered a divine skill, given only to those closest to the Great One.
Knowing that would only further convince Belar of his assumptions. ...Whether they were correct or not.
Belar waved his words away. "It is not impossible," he said dismissively, though Conrart had to wonder how he could know something like that.
The king's eyes darted up, behind Conrart, just as the sounds of an approaching company reached them. The rows of soldiers that had cordoned off the area wavered and parted, allowing a procession bearing the blue wheat emblem flags of Francia to make their way to Belar's ship.
At the front was a young man in fine pale blue robes, the ill-conceived nervousness in his expression at odds with his obvious determination. He was followed closely by a woman of the same age, her serious demeanor and practical appearance markedly different from the man who had to be her king.
That sight, a loyal shadow, supporting silently and steadily, was both heartwarming and bittersweet.
Francia's young king dismounted with surprising grace. For a moment, he seemed to hesitate beside his horse, his hands clutching at the reins. Then, squaring his shoulders, he turned and advanced toward Belar. His aide followed him closely, her hands hovering near the two blades at her waist.
"King Belar of Big Cimaron," the young man began, bowing his head, "we are honored by your visit to our humble country. I am Antoine Jean Pierre, the twelfth king of Francia."
Belar watched him without interest and offered no response. In a way, that rudeness in itself could start a war, though no one present had any doubt that Belar would only welcome such a thing and that Francia would lose with barely a fight.
The fact was Belar had been willing to all but destroy Francia just a short while before. He still could. Wrapped in a ceremonial tapestry, the Box swayed gently where it was suspended between the ship and shore.
Fortunately, the king of Francia seemed unbothered by Belar's blatant dismissal. Keeping his eyes carefully averted even as he straightened, Antoine continued, "We would inquire to the purpose of your journey here, so that we may better accommodate your needs."
Suddenly, Belar smiled. "Why, we are here to help you," he declared, his eyebrows rising in mock good will. "You see, we received terrible reports - that those Demon Tribe beasts had infiltrated your land. They even stole a very precious object from you."
"...I was not aware of such a thing," Antoine said, his words ambiguous.
"Yes, they can be quite duplicitous, those foul monsters," Belar agreed kindly. "Certainly, Francia couldn't possibly stand against them. That is why we of Big Cimaron will offer our protection to you." He spread his hands grandly, encompassing the ships all along the harbor and the soldiers that crowded the wharf. "Francia will now be a protectorate of Big Cimaron."
'That's the same as subjugating them,' Conrart thought. 'They'll become nothing more than another province of Big Cimaron. A bloodless conquest... That may the kindest outcome possible.' His eyes darted to the Box, still hanging ominously over their heads.
Antoine had flinched, his head had bowing under Belar's unspoken threat. For a moment, all he could do was shiver, his eyes darting to the side. He wanted to look at his faithful aide, but she stood behind, also trapped between cold logic and emotion. He couldn't afford to turn to look back here. He had to choose alone.
"You're wrong..."
The quiet declaration caught everyone off guard, and Belar's brows rose in question.
"You are mistaken, King Belar," Antoine repeated, lifting his head to meet the other man's eyes. "We do not require your protection. We are not in danger. The Demon Tribe did not trespass upon our lands. Rather, they were here by our invitation, as our allies."
For a moment, all present remained frozen, stunned by his declaration - and what it implied.
Belar was the first to move, shaking faintly with rage as he leaned forward. "Do you understand what you're saying, boy?" he demanded through grit teeth, barely forcing the words out. "Do you realize what you're suggesting? Siding with those beasts? Have you betrayed your race?!"
Antoine flinched, but even trembling, he refused to back down. "The representatives of the Demon Tribe presented themselves to me and stated their case. My aide Lyla witnessed our meeting. I have approved an alliance between our two nations. This is my decision as King of Francia," he stated, his voice quavering just a little.
With a sharp crack, one of the armrests of Belar's throne shattered. He had brought his fist down upon it, and the force of his rage had proven too much.
"You... dare..." he grit out. "Enough! You don't deserve to exist, if you choose to side with those things! I'll erase your pathetic little nation off the map!"
He gestured angrily to the Box, forcing his soldiers out of their stupor. They scrambled to the cargo crane, as Antoine's eyes followed their movements to the line of the crane, up to the cursed thing that had begun to sway ominously above them.
"Please wait, King Belar!" Conrart exclaimed. The man's furious gaze turned to him, but Conrart forced himself to remain at least outwardly composed. He couldn't hesitate or show uncertainty, or he would give away the game they were playing. Conrart ducked his head respectfully. "I understand that their actions are almost unconscionable. But the king is young. Surely he can still be made to see reason and come to support Big Cimaron as one of our allies."
Belar shook as he tried to force down his anger, but his eyes were regaining the gleam of calculation as he stared down at Conrart.
There was something in his gaze Conrart had not seen before - doubt. Not the unspoken knowledge that Conrart bore no loyalty to him, but an uncertainty about the nature and capabilities of what he was looking at.
He knew. He knew that Conrart's arm had been cut off. The Key had been removed and most likely used.
What had he been told while Conrart was away in Francia? Who could have told him?
"Well," Belar said, forcing a twisted smile on his face, "they can perhaps still be of some use." He leaned back in his throne, and a shudder passed over all those gathered, like a collective breath of relief.
When Belar turned to look at Antoine again, his anger had been banked and his demeanor again scornful and disinterested, as if the outburst had never happened - as if Francia had never stood on the brink of destruction.
"That is quite the development," Belar said, his tone falsely mild. "Your new alliance will certainly change things, for everyone. I must insist that you accompany back to Big Cimaron... to discuss what this will entail."
It wasn't invitation, or at least not one that could be refused. Swallowing heavily, Antoine nodded and stepped forward. He wanted Belar and the thing he had brought out of his country as quickly as possible. When Lyla moved to follow him, Antoine looked back and shook his head.
"I'm leaving our country in your capable hands, Lyla," he said, smiling tremulously. "See you when I get back."
Soldiers closed in around Antoine, pushing Lyla back. Belar met her glare and smiled mockingly. "Of course, your new friends are also quite welcome. I extend an invitation to the Demon Tribe as well," he said. "I look forward to speaking with your new allies. Do convey that to them, won't you?"
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As Yuri's head burst above the water, he looked around frantically. At the very least, they were no longer where they had been. The shore was barely visible and there was no port city in sight. They had escaped successfully.
Murata appeared next to him, also sputtering a little while keeping careful hold on his glasses.
"We did it!" Yuri exclaimed, grinning. Looking around, he paused. "Hey, where's Wolfram?"
"You were the one holding him!" Murata protested.
Yuri flailed for a moment, panicking. Taking a deep breath, he plunged back underwater and looked around frantically. There! A flash of something gold. Swimming toward the drifting figure, Yuri grabbed hold of Wolfram's wrist and dragged him toward the surface.
Wolfram coughed as he surfaced, shaking his head. "Urgh... What happened?" he muttered.
"Murata and I transported us out of there," Yuri said. "Come on, let's head toward the shore. We'll need to figure out where we are."
The other two followed him as he began to swim toward land, though Wolfram protested immediately, "What do you mean, figure out where we are? Shouldn't you know that?"
"This isn't exactly a precise method," Murata explained between strokes. "I wasn't even sure it would work. I tried to aim us toward Ulrike, but... The best I can tell you is that we're still in the same world."
'The gate between worlds remained closed, even though I tried to open it,' Murata thought. 'What's going on with him? Even when I reach out, I can't get a sense of his presence. Ulrike is the same. She said she hadn't heard his voice for years... That's not like him. After keeping such careful control of everything for so long, why would he cut himself out of the game like this? Could it be that he's already...'
"Hey, I recognize this place," Yuri declared suddenly, as they neared the shore. A castle could be seen on, built almost right on the water. Rather than a powerful, defensive structure like Covenant Castle, it appeared almost like a villa, a place of relaxation and ease. "Isn't this the castle we left from? You know, the one that belongs to Miss Celi's friend?"
Wolfram looked up at castle as they swam toward its pier. "That's right. This is definitely the Karbelnikoff territory," he agreed.
"I guess we made it back to the Demon Kingdom after all," Yuri said cheerfully. He hoisted himself up onto the pier and offered a hand down to Wolfram.
"If you had such a convenient way out, why didn't you use it earlier? And why didn't you tell me?!" Wolfram demanded, dragging Yuri close and threatening to drop him back into the sea.
"I told you! We weren't sure it would work!" Yuri protested.
"That's right," Murata agreed, moving onto the peer as well. Taking off his glasses, he tried to wring the water out of his hair. "This isn't some kind of reliable, simple ability either of us has. Shibuya and I need to be able to sync up almost perfectly, with his power and my control, and even then we need all the outside factors to line up. I was only able to open a gate because Ulrike was there to help me anchor it. She's really so dedicated... And although in theory any body of water will do, no matter the size or origin, we wouldn't have been able to make the connection in anything except the sea itself."
Yuri stared at him, lost in the flow of words. Murata had futilely tried to explain the concept to Yuri before, but theory wasn't Yuri's strong suit and as it was, to do his part, he had simply relied on his intuition, rather than any real skill or understanding of what they were doing.
On the other hand, Wolfram nodded, if reluctantly. "I suppose that makes sense," he conceded. "I shouldn't have expected anything more from this wimp."
"I'm not a wimp!" Yuri protested.
"We ran away!" Wolfram shot back. "It's so... disgraceful! And you just surrendered to those troops, letting yourself get captured like that!"
"That was the plan!" Yuri said hotly. "Otherwise, you two would've kept on fighting! One of you would have died!"
"That's the idea!"
"It's not what you want!" Yuri snapped, startling Wolfram into silence. "You don't want him to die."
Unable to answer, Wolfram turned away. As a strong breeze blew in from the sea, all three shivered.
"Yuri, that illusion you used..." Wolfram began instead, his words trailing off uncertainly.
"You mean the flowers? It's just Hanafubuki. It's a really standard one for blinding opponents," Yuri said, a little confused about the change of subjects. "I modified it a little though."
"Yet it took so much practice to get it right," Murata grumbled. "I was so sick of flowers..."
"That's not it! I mean, those flowers..." Wolfram dithered, refusing to look at Yuri. "Where did you see them?"
"Oh, that's right!" Yuri brightened suddenly. "That's what was so weird! There weren't any of them growing at the castle. Are they out of season?"
"Of course there weren't any! I pulled them all out!" Wolfram shouted, spinning around to point angrily at Yuri. "They don't grow anywhere else. They're Mother's special flowers. So where did you see them?"
"Why would you do that? Do you not like that color?" Yuri wondered, cringing a little in the face of Wolfram's outburst.
"It's not the color, it's the name! And don't change the subject!" Wolfram insisted. Backing down suddenly, he glared at Yuri, but the furrow between his brows spoke of his worry, confusion and hurt. "Is this... from what you were saying before? Another thing you received from your previous life?"
Yuri shifted uneasily, his eyes sliding away. "...Not exactly," he admitted quietly. But it was clear that this subject wasn't one he wanted to discuss. "And anyway, illusions are something I learned by myself. There's no way I could have received that!"
Watching him, Wolfram shook his head. "...Fine," he muttered. "But you're telling me everything later!"
With that declaration, he stalked off toward the castle, leaving Yuri to look after him, stunned. Slowly, Yuri smiled. "Okay," he said, though Wolfram could no longer hear him. "I wouldn't want to keep secrets from a friend anyway."
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Part II is over. Part III is going to have lots of ~explanations~, so uh, look forward to that.
Just so we're clear, I originally only planned to write three parts, dealing with retrieving the three Boxes. I do have some ideas for another three parts, a kind of second season that would resolve the Originator issue (1. Vandavia conference, featuring Yuri showing his diplomatic skills, haha, 2. Stoffel, Shori and the last Box, 3. time to get possessed) but I would need extra motivation to keep going, hint, hint, hint.
Actually, you guys are doing great and I love you all!