Episode Seven
The Fabled Witchblade Revealed, Eibon's Tools to Start a War?
A sound soul dwells within a sound mind and a sound body.
"Tsarevich!" Vyse transformed and knelt beside his Meister. He was bleeding out quickly and was unconscious. He turned at looked at Liir. His arm was out to the side and was still in the fashion of a gunblade—a magnum revolver with a long, broad, one-sided blade.
"You bastard!" Vyse spat, transforming his hands into knuckles.
"Oh, you're angry that I killed your friend? It was a fight to the death and you lost, plain and simple. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to get what I cam for and be on my way," Liir said, walking calmly towards the piles of tools.
"What is so important about these things anyway?" Vyse asked.
"They're magic tools. Some of them don't do much at all. Some of them possess power beyond your wildest dreams," Liir said.
"Is that why you want them? For more power?" Vyse demanded.
"The coven that I work for wants them. As does the DWMA. It wouldn't surprise me at all if an all-out war breaks out over these silly little machines. I just want to make sure that I'm on the winning side when that happens," Liir replied.
"This fight isn't finished yet," Vyse said, clenching his fists and taking stance. He knew deep down inside that he probably didn't stand a chance against the powerful Warlock-Weapon, but his honor would not let him stand down.
At least in death I will be united with Vera once again…
"Uhhh…" a low moan came from Tsarevich as he stirred at Vyse's feet. At this, Liir let out a sinister laugh of morbid amusement. Vyse was back down at his side again, but he kept his eyes fixed on the Warlock incase he tried to escape.
"Well isn't this a moral dilemma. The assassin is torn between destroying a Witchblade or saving his friend. This is rich! I doubt that he'll last much longer. If you hurry you might be able to save his life—for now. If you try to stop me, I'll probably kill you and you'll both die. If by some miracle you manage to defeat me, there probably won't be enough time to save him. Decisions…decisions…"
Vyse hated the Witchblade for stating the obvious, but it was causing Vyse to hesistate. His instincts told him to strike, that the beating they had given him earlier had done more damage than he was letting on, but that was risky. Then, there was Tsarevich. If Vyse didn't take him to get medical attention now, he would die. There was no doubt.
We do not leave our warriors behind, Vyse.
The voice of his village elder sounded in his head. He grit his teeth and growled with rage as he began scooping up the stocky, injured Meister.
"So you chose to save the life of your friend. How noble…"
"Shut your mouth, Witchblade! I'm coming for you and I'm going to kill you, do you understand?" Vyse asked.
"I'll be long gone by the time you get him back to the Academy. How do you propose to find me?" Liir asked.
"After I tell them what you did to Tsarevich, every Weapon and Meister in the DWMA is going to be looking for you. Your days as an agent for the West Coven are over, you hear me?" Vyse said. Liir glared at him with his Witch-black eyes.
"You realize I'm being merciful and letting you go, right? You should be thanking me for sparing your miserable little life. We both know that you won't be able to defeat me on your own. Now get out of here before I change my mind!" he growled. With that Vyse reluctantly took off through the observatory with Tsarevich on his back.
He could feel the warm, wet blood began to soak into his own clothes as he ran. Tsarevich was still breathing, his pulse faint and every now and then he would let out a little moan like he had before. It sounded like he was in pain, but he was too exhausted to give any more effort than that.
"Hold on, Tsarevich! You hear me! You're not dying! Not today!" Vyse said. He was out of the entrance of the observatory and running full sprint down the mountain. Running downhill was much easier and much faster. He had to push himself to the very limits of his abilities if he was going to get there on time. Fortunately, speed and endurance was something he specialized in.
I have to get there in time…I just have to…
"Cannonball!" Hammer let out a loud bellow and jumped off the diving board and into the water. He sent a splash that went over the edge of the pool and drenched the girls in bikinis trying to get a tan. He swam to the top and saw six of them glaring down at him.
"What's the big idea, you jerk!"
"You idiot!"
"You're so annoying!"
The girls looked down at him and he got wonderful views of each one of their cleavages. He could feel the pink hearts form where his irises once were.
"You sure that you don't wanna come in and take a swim? The water's perfect. We can play Marco Polo," he offered.
"You're a creep!"
"Weirdo!"
"Gross!"
They hurled out insults and exclamations of disgust as they walked away which only gave him views of their shapely behinds. Hammer felt his nose start to bleed as he floated atop the water in the deep end.
"You really have a way with women," Nail commented. Hammer wiped his nose and swam to the edge.
"Nail! You decided to come! What changed your mind?"
"I finally beat the last boss and I decided to go ahead and join in with the celebration," he said.
"You wanna help me pick up girls?" Hammer asked excitedly.
"I think you're doing a marvelous job all by yourself. I don't think you need any help from me at all," Nail teased with a chuckle. Hammer stole a glance at the girls that he splashed. They were still throwing hateful glares in his direction.
"They love me. They just don't know it yet," Hammer said.
"You're hopeless," Nail said with a sigh.
"I know! I'm a miserable failure when it comes to talking to women. I usually end up staring at their breasts and getting a nose bleed and then they won't have anything to do with me," Hammer said, suddenly bursting into tears.
"Hey, Nail," Hammer looked up and saw Kimiko standing in a cute, two-piece yellow bikini. She was holding two umbrella drinks.
"They messed my drink order and gave me this one for free. I thought you might enjoy it. Would you like to sit under at that table and get to know each other over an umbrella drink?" she asked.
Shock. Amazement. Jealousy. Disbelief.
"Sure. Hey, thanks, Kimiko!" Nail said, "See you later, Hammer."
"What? How does this happen? The girls just flock to him! It doesn't make sense either. I'm in way better shape than he is! Just look at these muscles!" he threw such a fit he was airborne over the water flailing his limbs. He was struck by an idea. He scurried out of the pool and marched up to the drink bar.
"Can I get two of those umbrella drinks, please?" Hammer asked.
"Sure. That'll be four dollars," the bartender said.
"What? They're not free! You gave her one for free!" he protested, pointed over at Kimiko who was laughing and carrying on with Nail. Hammer watched as her hand caressed his arm and he began to growl through gritted teeth.
"Yeah, but she paid for the first one. They're not free. This isn't an open bar you know," the bartender said.
"Can't you cut me a break? I'm trying to pick up chicks," he said, flexing his muscles out of habit.
"Well if you need the assistance of an umbrella drink go find some money and then we can talk," the bartender said, turning around. Hammer felt steam spout out of his ears. He didn't have any money. He was going to have to improvise. He looked and saw Mei standing at the bar, opening her purse which was full of money. She was far too skinny for his taste, her boobs way too small. Maybe he could talk her into buying him a drink though.
"Hey, Mei. How's it going?" he asked seductively.
"Hey, Hammer! How are you?" she asked, all smiles.
"Here's the thing, I want to buy an umbrella drink for a pretty girl but I don't have any money. Do you think you could spot me and I'll pay you back?" he asked. Mei didn't say anything. She set the drinks in her hand down and promptly kicked Hammer in the balls.
"Ow! What the hell did you do that for? You crazy girl! What's the matter with you?" he demanded. She shouldered her purse, took her drinks and walked away with a "Hmph!"
"Looks like you got some pretty smooth moves, man," Takashi said. He came out of nowhere and patted Hammer on the shoulder.
"I just don't get it. All of the other guys have no problem getting girlfriends. They're all scrawny too. What other student do you know has muscles like this?" he asked.
"Girls are looking for more than just muscles, Hammer," Takashi said.
"Can you give me some tips?" Hammer asked.
"I don't think that I'd be the one to talk to. In case you hadn't noticed, I'm kind of one of those book-worm-nerdy types. Girls aren't interested in me," he said pushing his glasses up on his nose.
"Hey Takashi! I really liked your oral report on Soul Resonance. I had never really thought about it like that before. You're so smart!" a younger pretty girl with pigtails and glasses said, blushing as she spoke. Hammer knew what was coming.
"Thanks, Misato! I read your paper on Weapon harmonization. Very inciteful," he said back. He was also blushing.
"You're too kind. Do you wanna come over to my table and hang out with me and my friends. We're getting ready to team up and play chicken. I let you put me on your shoulders," she said.
"Sure! See ya later, Hammer. Good luck!" Takashi said as Misato took him by the hand and led him to a table full of popular kids.
"That's it. I know that I'm doomed. If a geeky kid like Takashi is getting girls before I do then there's no hope for me at all. I'm cursed!"
"Everyone! Everyone, listen!" the voice came from a student that Hammer didn't recognize. She sounded like she was in a panic.
"Someone just brought Tsarevich back to the infirmary. He's hurt really bad! They say that he fought a Witch!" she said. Hammer was moving towards the door and saw that Nail wasn't wasting any time either.
"Do you think he's okay?" Hammer asked as he and Nail broke into a full-on run. Nail just looked over at him grimly and gave a look that told him to expect the works.
"Help! Somebody help! Tsarevich is hurt! Someone! Anyone!" Vyse began screaming through the halls as he dragged Tsarevich in. He watched as the blood smeared across the marble floors as he let the Meister down, holding him up only by his shoulder. Vyse was dripping with sweat. He thought the stairs leading up to the Academy was daunting when he climbed them the first time weeks ago. It was a walk in the park compared to doing it while giving someone a piggyback ride.
"Oh no!" said Tsubaki. She rushed to Vyse's side and took Tsarevich under her arm. She was so close and wasn't paying attention to Vyse. All he had to do was transform his hand and stab her through her wicked hard. He started trembling with hatred as he saw her.
He stayed his hand because he knew that she was the school nurse and would probably be the only person who could save Tsarevich at this point.
You're lucky my Meister is hurt, Tsubaki. Otherwise you would be dead right now, he thought to himself. He was also surprised that he thought of Tsarevich as his Meister. He had resolved in himself a long time ago to be an autonomous Weapon. A lot had changed since then. Everything had changed since he came to the DWMA.
"Help me carry him to the infirmary!" Tsubaki said. Some other students started to walk by and stare in shock. Vyse took Tsarevich under the arms while Tsubaki got his legs.
"Don't just stand there!" she shouted at the students, "Go find Professor Aurion now!" she screamed. They gave out cries of surprise and turned around to obey. The two of them managed to get him onto a stretcher in the infirmary. Tsubaki transformed her arm into a ninja blade and cut through Tsarevich's shirt, ripping it off.
Vyse gasped. He had seen his fair share of wounds and had inflicted plenty of them himself. The stab wound was huge, and he knew that there had to be one like it on the other side because Liir had run him all the way through. His skin was pale white and as far as Vyse could tell, Tsarevich wasn't breathing. The professor barged in and walked past Vyse, throwing him only the quickest of glances.
"I came as soon as I heard. How bad is it?" he asked.
"It's bad. He's lost a lot of blood. He's going to need a transfusion if we have any hopes of saving him," Tsubaki said.
"What blood type is he?" the professor asked.
"The files are over there. Find his! I'm going to see what I can do about closing this wound," she said. Vyse stepped back and out of the room. It was out of his hands now. He didn't know anything about medicine or healing. He had devoted his entire life to learning how to inflict wounds upon people—wounds they would never recover from. He thought the way of the assassin was a higher calling and noble. He realized now that it was more noble to save a life than to take it.
If only I could have saved Vera's life…
Two students came rushing past Vyse. He remembered seeing them from when he was enrolled in classes but he didn't remember talking to them. He was working extra hard to blend in, but hadn't actually tried to make friends. Maybe he had talked to them and he had just forgotten.
"Tsubaki, is he gonna be okay?" Hammer pleaded.
"Please say he's gonna be okay!" Nail added.
"I need the two of you to wait out in the hall. The professor and I are doing everything we can. Right now the two of you would only get in our way," Tsubaki said. The two of them obeyed and walked out in the hall to stand with Vyse. He didn't move a muscle as the came and leaned against the wall next to him. It even took them a while to notice that he was covered in blood.
"Are you hurt too?" Nail asked.
"This isn't my blood; it's his," he replied simply.
"What happened? They said something about a Witch," Hammer asked.
"We were at the Eibon Observatory in the mountains not far from here. I was there looking for a magic tool. I don't have a Meister partner so I was trying to find something that would give me a competitive edge in combat. Tsarevich was there because he said there were some rumors and secrecy surrounding this place and he was doing a little investigation to satisfy his curiosity. That's when he showed up," Vyse explained.
"Who?" Nail asked.
"Liir—the Witchblade," Vyse replied.
"The what?" Hammer asked.
"Witchblade," Nail repeated, "long ago Witches seduced Weapons in Meisters in hopes to spawn a race of people who had both Witch and Weapon souls, or Witch and Meister souls," Nail said.
"Like a combination?" Hammer asked.
"Exactly," Nail said, and continued, "as far as we know they were not successful. After all, Meister souls were created to hunt Witches in the first place. We're perfect enemies."
"I see you've been paying attention in class," Hammer observed.
"I read ahead," Nail admitted.
"So what, this guy you ran into was a Witchblade?" Hammer asked.
"Yes," Vyse said.
"There's no way. Witchblades are like Santa Claus and the Tooth Fairy. They're not real," Nail countered.
"Until today I thought the same way that you did. I wouldn't have believed unless I had seen it with my own eyes," Vyse said.
"So why is Tsarevich hurt and you're okay?" Hammer asked suspiciously.
"I was wondering that myself," Nail said. They both got up from the wall and faced him, cornering him in.
"We tried to fight him separately but he proved too much for us so I let Tsarevich wield me. We had the upper hand, or at least we thought we did when…" Vyse trailed off, unable to say it out loud.
"When what?" Hammer asked, pleaded for him to continue.
"His arm turned into a gunblade and he stabbed Tsarevich through the chest and pulled the trigger," Vyse said. Nail and Hammer winced. He wasn't sure what had happened while he was gone from the Academy, but it was clear to him that they cared about Tsarevich.
"Are you his friend?" Vyse asked.
"Yes. He's also our roommate," Nail replied.
"I don't think that I got the chance to meet you two while I was here at the Academy," he said.
"I remember seeing you and then one day you just disappeared," Nail observed.
"Yeah…this place wasn't for me, it turned out," he admitted.
"Well, I'm Hammer and this is my Meister, Nail," Hammer said, reaching his hand out for Vyse to shake it.
"Vyse Rosemont," he said.
"What are you going to do now, Vyse?" Nail asked.
"I'm going to wait to make sure that Tsarevich is okay. I guess I'll have to figure out what's next after that," Vyse said.
"Well, they're going to be a while with him here. I'll keep watch and keep you guys posted. Hammer, take Vyse back to the dorm, let him take a shower and find him some clean clothes," Nail said.
"Right," Hammer nodded and motioned for Vyse to follow.
"I'd rather stay here and wait," Vyse said.
"I will call Hammer's cell if anything happens; don't worry," Nail said, assuring him. Vyse nodded. The blood on his clothes was starting to dry and the smell was getting to him. It would be nice to get out of his clothes and into some fresh ones. A shower didn't sound too bad either.
He followed Hammer back and was not surprised to see that the dorm room was a mess. Only Tsarevich's room was in some sort of manageable order. It still was not tidy enough for Vyse's taste. He grew up with the highest standard of neatness and cleanliness being expected of him.
He walked into the bathroom, disrobed and stepped into the shower. He stood there for a moment and then knelt at the bottom, holding his knees and letting the water crash over him. The only thing that he could think about was whether or not Tsarevich was going to be okay. The wound was deep and he saw the grim expression on Tsubaki's face when she saw him. Things didn't look good. He would probably survive.
And I would have lost someone else that I care about, he thought to himself. Did he care about Tsarevich? They only barely knew each other and what they did know was based on pretense. Vyse had been anything but honest about who he was and what his intentions were. Still, the friendly Meister had grown on him and had proved to be a friend and ally. He did care about him, even if it was only on the most basic level.
He turned the water off and dried off. Hammer had set a towel and extra clothes out for him. He dressed in them and found them to fit pretty well. They were only about a half-size too big. He was surprised. Hammer and Nail were a lot taller and a lot bigger than he was. He walked out and found Hammer sitting on the couch in silence as if he were waiting on Vyse.
"Thanks for the clothes," Vyse said, getting Hammer's attention, "I'm surprised they fit as well as they do."
"They belong to Tsarevich. He's a little stockier than you but you're about the same height. I figured you be swimming in any of the clothes that Nail and I have. Plus, none of ours are clean. Tsarevich is the only one of us he does laundry," Hammer admitted. Vyse went wide-eyed with shock and surprise.
"Oh. Well thanks again. I hope he won't mind," Vyse said.
"Nah! Tsarevich is a pretty generous guy. He won't care," Hammer said.
"Should we get back to the infirmary and wait with Nail?" Vyse asked.
"Probably. There could have been an update by now," Hammer said.
"Nail said he would call you if anything came up," Vyse reminded. The two of them walked back to the infirmary and found Nail sitting in exactly the same place he was before: up against the wall, across the hall from the infirmary.
"Any word?" Hammer asked.
"Nothing yet. He's still alive and fighting. That's what counts. He's gonna be okay. He's a survivor," Nail said. Vyse knew that he was just saying that to give comfort to the situation. The injury was dire and it would be a small miracle if he survived.
The professor came out the infirmary and the three of them crowded around him to see what he was going to say. They waited in eager anticipation while he wiped the blood off of his towel.
"Tsubaki is still working on him so it's hard to tell. He's in bad shape, but he's a fighter and he's in capable hands. Even though we're not out of the water yet, I'm hopeful that he will recover," the professor said. Nail and Hammer were letting out sighs of relief. Vyse just remained emotionless. The professor didn't know and was saying it in the nicest way that he knew how.
"Well, as long you're hopeful, Professor," Vyse said sarcastically.
"Vyse, I didn't expect to see you again so soon. I'm glad you're here. I'm going to need to you to tell me everything that happened. Walk with me," the professor said.
Vyse saw no point in resisting. He doubted that it would end in any kind of conflict. It seemed that there was an understood agreement that everyone would behave peaceably until they were for sure about Tsarevich's condition.
"I was in the Eibon Observatory looking for a magic tool," Vyse began.
"Why were you interested in obtaining a magic tool?" the professor asked.
"I hoped that it would give me a competitive edge in combat since I don't have a Meister," Vyse replied.
"You were planning to use this tool against Black Star and Tsubaki?" the professor asked. So, he hadn't forgotten why Vyse was there.
"Yes," Vyse replied simply. There was no point in hiding anything between them now. They had fought each other and knew each other better than most. Though he despised the professor for blowing his cover and defeating him in battle, he trusted him and respected him.
"That would have been very foolish. Magic tools are extremely dangerous. You could just as easily have killed yourself trying to use it advantageously," the professor said.
"Spare me the lecture. While I was there, Tsarevich showed up saying that he had heard some rumors about magic tools, the observatory, and said that everyone was being kind of hush-hush about it. He came to investigate and we ran into each other by chance," Vyse said.
"I see. That makes sense. He and I were just having a conversation about that subject today. I mentioned the observatory and he left in a hurry," the professor said.
"That's when he showed up. His name was—," Vyse started.
"Liir—I know. I ran into him a few weeks ago myself. He's a very dangerous Warlock. You're luck to be alive," the professor said.
"I know. We fought him together and it looked like we were going to defeat him and that's when he transformed his hand into a gunblade, stabbed Tsarevich, grabbed one of the magic tools and left," Vyse explained.
"So it's finally happened then; the Witches were able to give birth to a Witchblade," the professor said, pondering aloud.
"That's not all. I asked him what he wanted with the magic tool and what he said was a little disturbing," Vyse said.
"Go on," the professor urged.
"He said that the coven that he works for, the West Coven, is trying to collect as many magic tools as they can. He also said that the DWMA was doing the same thing," Vyse added.
"That makes sense. Lord Death sent me on a mission to intercept Liir only because he was carrying a magic tool," the professor said.
"It gets worse. I don't know what's going on behind the scenes here, but Liir said that he suspects that there will be war fought for control of these magic tools. In so many words, he insinuated that whichever side controlled the most tools would win, and that he wanted to make sure that he was on the right side," Vyse said, finishing his report. He wasn't sure still why he was so forthcoming with the professor. The last time they met he'd coughed up blood for a few days.
"That is disturbing. It makes me wonder why the staff hasn't been informed about this. If the Witch Covens are trying to gain control of the magic tools so that they can start a war with the DWMA, we need to be informed. I need to go report this to Lord Death. Thank you for filling me in, Vyse. You've probably saved more lives than just Tsarevich's today," the professor said.
"You really think he's going to be okay?" Vyse asked, narrowing his gaze and looking for an honest response.
"I honestly do. It's not going to be an easy road to recovery, but I see Tsarevich up and about and better than ever by the time all of this is over," the professor replied.
"Well, I hope you're right. If I ever get my hands on that Liir he's going to be sorry for what he did," Vyse said.
"You're not the only one who would like to take a crack at him, believe me. What are you going to do now, Vyse?" the professor asked.
"I suppose that I'll go back with Hammer and Nail and wait until we have more word on Tsarevich," he replied.
"I know that. I meant what are you going to do after that. What are you going to do with your life? Are you still on this path for revenge?" he clarified.
"As I've said before, I won't rest until I get my vengeance. I recognize that now is not the time. I'm an assassin. I can wait for the right moment to strike. I'm going to stay long enough to see Tsarevich recover. After that I'll play it by ear," Vyse said.
"Well, if you're going to stay here at the DWMA there's a few things that I need to inform you of. First of all, you're going to enroll in classes again. You can't just use this place as a hotel. Your tuition was for an education and you're going to get educated as long as you're staying here," the professor said. Vyse shrugged.
"I've got nothing else to do for the time being," he replied.
"The second thing concerns your quest for vengeance on Black Star and Tsubaki. Remember that wherever you go, whatever you do, I will be watching you. As long as I'm around you'll never be able to get close enough to kill them. If you want to get revenge on them, you need to confront them directly," the professor said.
"I figured that was coming. Don't worry. I won't try to kill Black Star and Tsubaki while I'm here," Vyse said.
"Forgive me for not taking your word for it," the professor said.
"No need to apologize. I wouldn't take my word for it either. Is that all? Is there anything else I need to know? Any terms or conditions we still have yet to discuss?" Vyse asked.
"I suppose that's all for now. I'll see you in class on Monday," the professor said. With that, he turned around and continued towards the Death Room. Vyse turned and went back to stand with Hammer and Nail. They were keeping themselves occupied by playing tic-tac-toe. Vyse sat down and leaned against the wall and suddenly realized how exhausted he was. He fell asleep before he could think of anything else.
"And so that's how it happened," Merios said, explaining the entire situation to Lord Death.
"That is troubling indeed. A seriously injured student, and a Warlock on the run with a magic tool who turns out to be a Witchblade—not to mention the assassin who has managed to infiltrate our Academy with intent on killing two of our executive faculty members," Lord Death said.
"I wouldn't worry about Vyse. He and I have an understanding. Still, I'm going to keep a close eye on him—watch his every move," Merios said.
"Shouldn't we give Black Star and Tsubaki a heads-up on Vyse's intentions?" Lord Death asked.
"Nah! I wouldn't tell Black Star something like that. As soon as he finds out someone's trying to kill him, he's just gonna beat em to the punch," Soul said. Merios looked over at the Death Scythe and nodded.
"He's right. Vyse isn't more than I can manage, Lord Death. And as upsetting as it is to have students trying to kill our faculty, it would be far worse if we had faculty trying to kill students," Merios added.
"I suppose you're right about that. Well then for now we will let Vyse remained enrolled here in the DWMA kept under close watch," Lord Death said resolutely.
"Lord Death, what do you think the Witch Covens want with the magic tools?" Merios asked.
"The same thing they've always been after: power," Soul said, taking the liberty to answer.
"He's right. I don't know what tools they have managed to get their hands on at this point, but the idea that they have any at all is disturbing to say the least," Lord Death said.
Liir marched into the West Coven and started walking towards Chandra's chamber. She would be pleased that he did not return empty handed this time. After his last failure, he needed to get back into her good graces. The coven was hidden deep inside of a cave, underground far enough that most Meisters would not be able to detect the dozens of Witch souls hiding there.
The guards recognized him as he walked towards them and started sneering at his attire. He had forgotten to change his clothes since he had been injured by his own Shadow Flare spell.
"Looks like you got roughed up again, Liir," one of the Warlocks said to him.
"Chandra's really going to be mad at you now," the other added. He ignored them and continued through the door. Chandra was dressed in a black and red evening gown, her beauty glowing so brightly it was enough to captivate any man, and make any woman jealous.
Liir was immune to her charms. Growing up around Witches, he had learned to distrust them. In the Witch world, it was all about power. Chandra was stronger than him and he belonged to her Coven. He had to do what she said. He had to remain useful to her or there's no telling what could happen.
"Liir, my sweet, I see you've brought me a little present," Chandra said, stepping away from the candles she was lighting and approaching him. He took a knee and held the tool before her. She snatched it out of his hand and brought it to her table. She sat down and began to examine it. He took the liberty of getting back on his feet and coming over to her.
"Sit down, Liir; make yourself comfortable," she said. He obeyed.
"Is that the one that you're looking for?" he asked.
"I don't think so, but that's okay. I'm sure that this will prove itself useful in the end after all," she replied. She tinkered with it for a while and powered it up to turn on. It emitted the faintest of hums. Liir felt some sort of energy in the air but couldn't place it off-hand. The guards burst into the door.
"Lady Chandra! Is everything okay?" one of them asked.
"Yes! We're fine. Why are you interrupted me?" she asked.
"We couldn't help but notice that you and Liir put your Soul Protect spell up. We worried our Coven might have been discovered," the other said.
"We didn't put our Soul Protect—Oh! Oh my this is a delightful little contraption indeed," she said giddily. She turned the tool off, the hum disappeared and the guards looked at them with blank expressions.
"You may go back now. Don't interrupt again even if you do see our souls disappear," Chandra ordered. They obeyed.
"So it's a tool that hides souls from view?" Liir asked.
"I thought that it would cast a veil of invisibility around us, but they were able to see us just fine. This is better. Now we can hide dozens of Witches inside of its barrier without having to worry about getting found out," she said.
"That could come in handy," Liir admitted.
"You did a very good job, Liir. I am very pleased," she said.
"I'm glad to hear that, Lady Chandra," he replied politely, "Did you have any trouble recovering it? You look like you've been a little roughed up."
"I ran into a Weapon and Meister from the DWMA at the Eibon's Observatory," Liir explained. Chandra looked at him and raised her eyebrows.
"It seems that you've had a bad run of luck with them as of late. I take it that since you came back with the tool that things didn't end favorably for them," she said.
"I stabbed the Meister through the chest and fired my most powerful curse through him. If he survives the wound, he won't survive the curse," he said.
"And what of the Weapon?" she asked.
"I left him to nurse his fallen comrade while I got the tool. I know you don't like to be kept waiting," Liir said.
"You probably should have made sure to finish the job," Chandra pointed out.
"I didn't go to the observatory to squabble with kids from the Academy. I went to get the magic tool like you asked," Liir countered.
"That's true. The only unfortunate thing is that you let someone live who witness you using your Weapon soul in combat. I had hoped to keep that cat in the bag for just a little longer," Chandra said.
"I'm not worried about it," Liir said with a shrug.
"No? You should be. The DWMA is aware of our efforts to try to create a Witch Weapon or Witch Meister. They've been under the impression for decades that we have not been successful. You've been our best-kept secret—until now, that is," she said.
"I'm sorry I let the secret out, but I still don't see why there is any cause for worry. So they know that I'm a Witchblade? So what?"
"You've just made yourself their number one enemy. It wouldn't be a surprise to me if they decided to abandon collecting the magic tools in order to apprehend you. In fact, I'm sure of it. They'll probably send every Weapon and Meister they have your way," Chandra said.
"Let them come. They don't scare me. And we should welcome the distraction. If they're so busy trying to apprehend me, that leaves the magic tools we still need ours for the taking," Liir said.
"You're smarter than you look, Liir," Chandra said.
"I suppose that's as close to a compliment as I'm going to get from you, but I'll take it," Liir said with a sneer.
"You're right. We'll use this to your advantage. I'll assign some other Witches to retrieve the tools for me and you will act as bait," Chandra said.
"I see you have no problem putting me in harm's way," Liir pointed out.
"You're a Warlock. Every day of your life you wake up with scores of people who hate you and want to eat your soul simply because of who you are. Me putting you in harm's way is something you should expect. Besides, you said yourself that you can handle it," she said.
"I can. I'm fine with it. Just tell me the next time you need something done," Liir said, getting up from the table to be excused. He had had enough of Chandra today.
"Rest assured I will. Go now and throw those clothes away. You smell like smoke," she said. He sniffed his clothes and realized that she was right.
"I would think that you of all people wouldn't mind. After all, where there's smoke there's fire," he said. She didn't replied but waved her hand to dismiss him. He turned and made his way back to his quarters. He played it cool with Chandra but he realized that his life was about to radically change now that the word was he was a Witchblade.
Let them come. Let them try to take me. I will cut them all down. All of them.
Vyse stirred awake when he heard the door to the infirmary open. It was late…or early considering that it was in the wee hours of the day. Tsubaki had huge bags under her eyes as she had no doubt exhausted herself in her efforts to save Tsarevich. Vyse tapped Nail to wake him up and he in turn woke Hammer up. The three of them stood, waiting for her to give her report.
"I was able to stop the bleeding and stitch up the wound. The sword missed his major organs by millimeters. He's lucky. He's resting now, but I think that he's going to be okay," she said. Hammer and Nail starting cheering. Vyse let out a huge sigh of relief.
"When do you think that we can see him?" Vyse asked.
"Not for a while, I'm afraid. He needs his rest. He hasn't even regain consciousness yet," she said. Vyse nodded. He figured.
"You can come by tomorrow and check on him. I know that the three of you are his friends. I'll keep you posted, okay?" she said with a smile. It was that same smile that Vyse could only imagine wiping away by a quick slash from his katar. He could do it before she had the chance to retaliate. She was tired, weak and without her partner. He would never get another chance like this.
Out of the corner of his eye he saw Professor Aurion watching him from then end of the hall. He had his arms crossed and his eyes fixed on Vyse. True-to-his-word, the professor was not going to let Vyse out of his sight for a minute.
You're lucky, Tsubaki. Twice today I could have killed you. I spared you once because I needed you to save my friend. I'm sparing you now because I'm under suck tight watch it wouldn't be prudent to attack. Trust me when I say that I will not let the next opportunity pass me by.
You have no idea who I am, or that Vera was my sister. I can't wait to see your face when you figure it out. I can't wait to see the expression that you make when you see the look of satisfaction I'll have on my face when I kill you.
Be patient, Tsubaki, for your time will come. I will have my revenge.
Soon…