Chapter 6: The Cardinal Virtue of Fortitudo
Elsewhere, a little girl moved the Bayonetta toy from the Holy City of Vigrid to the Observation Coliseum.
"You are most understood. Our fate is tied with the demon world, and we share your earnest interest in this matter. However, if she does not reach us alive, this conversation was all for naught." The hallowed voice was coming from above in the Coliseum.
Bayonetta finished up the lollipop before firing a round of bullets to get the flying creature's attention.
Whoever it was talking to could wait. Bayonetta's needs took priority.
"You again? And here I thought I'd seen the last of you." The Angel taunted.
Swiping a stray feather that had fallen from sky away from her face, the witch watched the monster slowly turn.
It looked like all that weight was making the poor boy slow.
"It is most kind of you to alleviate my need to search you out, Bayonetta. Please forgive me my prior trespass and lack of hospitality."
How astoundingly polite this angel was!
If it weren't for her ill taste for Angels in general, she might've let him go just for his great sense of manners.
"I'm sure you will be more than hospitable to me this time around." Bayonetta's sarcasm was lost on the dull creature.
"I have been informed that a survivor of the witch hunts is resisting our dominion. However, her inevitable reunion with hell makes her such a sad soul. If you are this pitiful being, then shall I release you from your torment?"
Fed up with the prolonged talking, the witch bit into her lollipop and fired another round of shots at its face. The impromptu attack finally got the motter-mouth to stop talking.
"I'm sorry. I forgot to mention one of the reasons I hunt your kind. You're much too ugly, not to put out of your misery."
The Angel started laughing as if she'd said something funny. Its laughter caused the sky and ground to tremble.
"Challenging us with the dark arts?! No matter the age, witches never learn.."
Again, she fired another round at his face. "Piss off, Feather-face!"
When would it stop talking and just fight?
Audito Fortitudo
Dance around baby
Bayonetta assumed he got fed up with her tarty attitude. A massive fireball was on course to hit her.
Thus began her method of running and dodging fireballs.
Her guns wouldn't be very useful in this fight. She pocketed them and pulled out the deadly new katana she received from Rodin. Once close enough to cut the bastard, Bayonetta elongated the blade so that it would reach the left dragon head. The witch got a clean cut, but it wasn't enough to take off entirely.
Fortitudo put some space between them and jumped onto the ledge of the coliseum. From up there he fired beams of fire that destroyed the ground it came into contact with. The intensity of the attack sent rubble flying everywhere.
Seeing an opportunity, Bayonetta used Witch Time to jump from rock to rock and reach Fortitudo. When she got close enough, the witch grabbed onto the left dragon and used the limb to send the Angel back to the ground.
Fortitudo was still stunned from the attack so she grabbed the dragon again and smashed it left and right on the ground. When it landed on the ground for the third time, Bayonetta grabbed onto its jaws and ripped them open, tearing the head clean off.
The Angel screamed in pain and swung its other arm at her, sending the witch flying into a column. The severed dragon was swallowed by demons from Inferno, who were eager for the heavenly blood.
Weakened by the loss of its arm, Fortitudo spit out lava that covered the ground in magma, leaving Bayonetta no way of getting close to the creature.
Looking around, she suddenly saw an hourglass floating in the air. It was a similar to the one she had found in Paradiso. Using the hourglass restored a bridge which gave the witch the leverage she needed to reach Fortitudo.
Once Bayonetta reached him, she gave the other dragon a taste of what its brother went through. Without either of its arms, Fortitudo was severely weakened.
Fortitude let out a mighty roar, releasing a wave of energy that demolished the coliseum. In the aftermath of the attack Bayonetta lost one of her spare lollipops. She rushed after it and managed to grab it.
The distraction allowed the Angel to attack the witch by swinging its tail. Bayonetta grabbed ahold of the limb and tossed the feathery prick into the air.
A demon was summoned to finish Fortitudo off.
"A GRAA ORS!" Bayonetta chanted.
The Wicked Weave activated, summoning a large black raven that repeatedly kept smashing its beak into Fortitudo's face until nothing was left.
"You know, you're not nearly so ugly when you're screaming." The witch teased mercilessly.
Satisfied that she had finally beat the shit out of the guy, Bayonetta treated herself to another cherry-rose lollipop.
"It was foretold…Your power…Incredible.."
The witch was taken off guard by the creatures mumbling. "Foretold?! Explain yourself!"
Her curiosity had been peeked, which was a hard to do.
"I, Fortitudo, am but a simple sacrifice for the resurrection of the Creator. May the creator Jubilees, grace you on your journey." Unfortunately, the angel was prevented from speaking anymore after demons from Inferno pulled him into the abyss.
How disappointing.
Bayonetta finished another lollipop and threw the stick away. She exited the ruins without a second thought.
"My dear, sweet child…fear not, for I am watching over you…continue on your path." That melody of a voice echoed in her mind again.
Elsewhere, the little girl moved the toy Bayonetta from the Observation Coliseum to the Pennetum Mountains.
"She fought better than I expected. The only aid I needed to provide her was the hourglass. I thought for sure she would need my assistance." Cerezo mummbled thoughtfully. "Such a shame that Fortitudo had to be sacrificed. He was always one of my personal favorites, so polite and obedient. But it was necessary for the eye..."
Above in the sky, the young sage watched Bayonetta, using peacock feathers to remain airborne. Surrounding him, was a flock of Affinities.
The Affinities were mourning the loss of their fellow brother by singing a tragic hym, detailing all of Fortitudo's glory. The song was beautiful.
"Fear not, my friends. His death shall not go to waste. Now bring the altered hourglass to me." The sadness in Cerezo's voice disappeared.
Flying forward, two Affinities lugged a giant hourglass towards their liege. This hourglass was special compared to the one Bayonetta had used in the battle.
Cerezo had developed it and spent years pouring magic into it. It was one of his prized creations.
While the smaller hourglasses were useful for quick binds, they did not have any actual worth when it came to fixing things. This new hourglass the sage had designed would function in the same manner as its predecessor, but on a larger and more permanent scale.
The sun shined through the clouds, giving Cerezo a boost in his light magic. Adding on to that power was the Affinities, lending him their magic to activate the hourglass.
The sage had learned the hard way that his magic wasn't enough to power the object correctly. Cerezo's ego took a huge hit after that experiment. The first time he'd tried to use it, he'd nearly killed himself from overexerting his magic.
Oh, how his Father had reprimanded him when he found out. The man brutally pummeled Cerezo in their next training session for the display of arrogance.
Slowly, the coliseum began to repair itself back to its original state with the hourglass breaking and turning into dust.
The process of powering the machine exhausted Cerezo and forced him to return to the ground to catch his breath.
Preserving the holy city was proving to be detrimental for his health. He'd already used four hourglasses. One after Jeanne crashed a plane in the middle of a highway. Two were needed to repair the actual city of Vigrid, but there were still areas that needed to be fixed. And now another hourglass on the coliseum.
Anymore massive scales of destruction would send him into a coma. He couldn't keep running around and cleaning up his sister's messes.
"My Liege, the Father is calling us. We must return. Allow us to carry you back." The two Affinities who had been carrying the hourglass had flown down beside Cerezo.
While the Affinities were the weakest of the angels, they could be depended on as loyal followers. The higher angels in the hierarchy tended to be more prideful and difficult to work with.
Too tired to fly on his own, the sage allowed the band of Affinities to carry him into the sky. The sounds of their flapping wings lulled him into a light slumber.
"Cerezo!" A shout woke Cerezo up from his daydream.
He was thinking about what to get Sissy for her birthday.
"I'm sorry Daddy." The little boy said bashfully.
He was sitting outside on the grass. Daddy had brought him out there to have a lesson on magic. He was trying to teach Cerezo how to properly use Beast Within.
A few days ago the boy had accidentally turned himself into a half dog, half human.
Cerezo had seen Daddy turn himself into an amazing white wolf to catch up with a demon. He wanted to be able to do that too, so the little boy tried turning into a wolf, but it didn't work out. For his troubles, Cerezo's human ears turned into dog ears and he grew a tail.
Daddy freaked out when he saw it, but Aunty Sigyn thought it was the cutest thing she'd ever seen. The little boy had the tail and ears for two weeks because he couldn't change it back and Daddy said he just had to wait until the magic ran out.
It was a really bad experience.
The enhanced ears made it so Cerezo could hear everything all the the time. The increased noise gave him a headache to the point that sleep was out of the question. Worst of all, the tail always made him feel itchy.
At one point, the boy couldn't take the itchiness anymore and ended up rolling around in the dirt to make it stop. Aunty Sigyn happened to see this. Cerezo made her pinky promise not to tell Daddy.
Sigyn chuckled whenever she saw her nephew after that.
The real icing on the cake was that Daddy wouldn't let him go anywhere out of fear. If any mortal saw Cerezo they would think he was a demon spawn and hunt him down.
Trying his best, Cerezo focused on what Daddy was trying to explain.
"In order to truly master the Beast Within, you have to diligently study the animal you are trying to become. You must learn the way it walks, the way it eats, the way it behaves, even the way breathes. By studying it, you become the animal. You my dear son, skipped all this and attempted to copy me with no prior training. Your arrogance works against you." Daddy's words were sharp and the boy could see his eyes glinting in anger. The right eye looked even scarier because of the monocle.
Cerezo felt like crying.
All he wanted was to be just like Daddy. His father was his hero. One day the boy was going to be a powerful sage just like him. All he needed to do was get better at magic and listen to his elders.
"I'm sorry Daddy. I promise I won't do that again. I'll ask you first next time." The boy promised, choking back his sobs.
He couldn't help it, the tears came out anyway. Cerezo was crying so hard that he started hiccuping. The boy continued apologizing to his father, hoping he wouldn't be mad.
Daddy let out a big sigh.
"There, there, my dear, sweet child. Stop your tears. Daddy isn't mad at you, he just doesn't want to see you hurt." His voice was soft and gentle now.
Cerezo's glasses were foggy now from his his tears. Daddy knelt down and removed the glasses to wipe the boy's tears.
The little boy stopped crying, but was still shaking from his turbulent emotions. The father just sadly smiled and opened his arms. Cerezo didn't hesitate to jump into them and bury his face into his father's shoulder. Brown locks tickled the boy's nose.
They both just sat on the ground, basking in the tranquility of the moment. Cerezo stayed in his father's arms even after he had stopped crying and shaking, just letting the man rub soothing circles on his back. At some point, Aunty Sigyn appeared and joined the two.
The boy had never felt so warm.
If only Cereza and Mummy were there too.
When Cerezo woke up he was laying on a bed, staring at the ceiling with blurry eyes.
Memories like that sill brought tears to his eyes. He felt someone wipe the tears away.
"My dear, sweet child, I hope you had a pleasant dream." Father smiled. The man was sitting by Cerezo's side.
He wanted to sit up, but was too tired to do so. The hourglasses wore him out more than he thought. Seeing Cerezo's struggle, Father pushed him back down.
"Rest now, my child. I merely came to check on you and bring you something to eat."
"You mean I brought him something to eat, Balder. I don't see a tray of food in your hands." Sigyn jested.
She came onto the other side of the bed with a tray of what Cerezo assumed to be soup from the smell.
Having Father and Aunt Sigyn fawn over him in this manner made him feel like he was a child again.
It was nice, but also silly. The young sage was a grown man afterall.
"Tray? Oh, you mean this tray, dear Sigyn?" Father's voice had a tint of mischief in it. The man snapped his fingers.
When Sigyn looked down the tray had disappeared from her hands and was instead in Father's hand. Cerezo quietly laughed at their antics and took the soup he was offered.
"Cerezo, before you fall asleep again, I think you should tend to Sola. She's in a fragile condition…and she's been asking for you. Our grand plans of salvation can wait till the morn." The young man could tell his Aunt wasn't asking.
The reminder made Cerezo feel guilt.
Bayonetta's arrival had caused him to neglect Sola in her time of need.
"Yes son. An unhappy wife is an unhappy life, remember those words."
Father would know all about that. The saying rang true for his first and only wife.
Once he finished the soup, Aunt Sigyn picked the tray up and wished him goodnight. Father followed her out, but held the door open for someone else.
Cerezo's petite wife entered the room as the magic users exited.
Sola was a peculiar little thing with her long copper hair and brown eyes.
The two of them had met when she was no more than a child. She was an orphan at the time and tried to kill herself by jumping off a cliff. Cerezo happened to be flying through the air when he saw her and drove after the girl. He had a long discussion with the child afterwards about not throwing away their life, especially not at such a young age.
The sage didn't think much of the encounter and never expected to see her again. However, fate worked in mysterious ways.
Somehow Cerezo ended up falling in love with her after many years of companionship.
Now, she was his wife.
"Cerezo, I felt her moving again." Sola said, trying to contain her joy. She was hesitant to show her excitement about impending motherhood around him.
Sola knew of her husband's doubts.
Cerezo let her climb into the bed and played with a strand of her hair. he had only just recently found out she was carrying his child, and a girl at that.
The thought of a daughter made the sage queasy.
He loved Sola and the child they had created and would never, ever turn his back on the child or its mother. Not after what his parents went through and how it affected him growing up.
Yet, the sage had to be honest. He was afraid of what a girl could mean for him.
Cerezo wasn't a pureblooded Lumen Sage like his father. There was Umbra blood in his veins from his mother.
What if his daughter turned out to have an affinity for the dark arts?
He'd have to raise her knowing that one day she'd have to sell her soul to the Inferno for her demonic powers. And worse, that her most basic instincts would compel her to hate him due to light magic coursing through his veins.
Light and dark were always enemies. That was how it had always been until Cereza and Cerezo entered the world, but even that had a bitter ending.
Cerezo's stomach was in knots. All this worrying was making him sick. Parenthood was a trial.
"I wonder if Father had these fears whenever he was with us?" The sage mummbled too softly for Sola to hear.
The long night continued on with him playing with Sola's hair until he fell asleep. Cerezo forgot about everything for a time.
No Bayonetta.
No Witches.
No Angels.
No Jubileus.
Just the child that was growing in Sola's womb. That was his only concern.