A/N: Hey guys! I bring to you all the new update for this story! We are really approaching the end of this story and I predict there to be only around three to five chapters left before it ends! It's been an awesome journey and I hope the readers who have been here since the beginning is still here. But those of you who have stuck around, thank you for your continuous support!
Now to respond to you awesome reviewers!
RKF22: Everyone has their own goals and it's indeed a three-way battle! Sort-of
TheAnime4Fan: Well the game did have Milla saying Ivar served her loyally but I felt the game... was done too quickly with that so I wanted to expand on that. But that was in XIllia 2. Xillia 1 yeah, she never gave a goodbye to Ivar lol
-Yup! This isn't the final battle but it's getting close!
Riku Uzumaki: Yeah, that's an interesting thought. After all this story is about what will happen if fractured Milla continued to live on and her appearance has some changes although I stuck with the original idea in certain areas of the plot. But yeah, her commenting on Chronos rigging the Trial is a nice idea
-Yeah that's true. Chronos hates being compared to humans and I remember how shocked he was in the game when Origin pointed out how Chronos was showing human emotions xD
That Mysterious Reader: Rawr! Go and kick the bad guys!
-Glad you liked the little bit about Ivar, hehe
flashyhero: It is a three-way battle. Sort-of hehe
ShouKoizumi: Damn, an entire day? Haha, I guess I'm glad my story was able to interest you that much and I really appreciate your kind words! THey really mean a lot!
-Yeah I ship the couple too. Too bad the game only had Alt. Milla for like 4 chapters. :(
Project AE Hachi-Roku: Yeah I can understand forgetting certain bits in a story. But I just felt the Omnislash was a really huge spotlight in the story xD
-They did have that little bit in the game with Milla saying she was glad Ivar was her handmaid but I felt the game's version was not satisfactory. I mean, it was too short, haha
-Indeed. After all, the huge difference in this story is Ludger's condition that I added in
-Don't worry, the ending of this story is coming in just a few more chapters so you'll see how it'll end soon T_T
Guest-Chan: Woo hoo! THree-way battle!
Kurinai: I know what you mean. I was really depressed as well and actually started crying when Ludger started humming the hymn of proof before he disappeared. I went into the Xillia community of fanfic and was surprised no one had written this story yet so I decided to write it.
-Thanks for your kind words! I really appreciate how you say you love this story! It's lovely to hear my work to be liked! I'll continue to do my best!
LIVE: Well your review is for chapter 10 and you won't see this until you reach this chapter... but thanks for the review!
Well that's it for reviews! I hope you all will enjoy this chapter and do let me know what you think about it! Until next time!
CHAPTER 32: CURSE OF THE KRESNIK CLAN
"I must admit that I did not think it was possible for you to gather all the Waymarkers." Chronos said, "However it ends here. I've stopped your predecessors before and you all will be no different."
Chronos threw the unconscious Julius towards the feet of Ludger, prompting Ludger to Julius's side. Elize moved to Julius's side as well, quickly using healing artes to patch up Julius wounds. The rest of the party stayed behind Ludger, making sure he was safe from Chronos or the Spirius agent's attacks while he tended to his brother.
Julius regained consciousness once Elize was done healing his wounds, his eyes slowly fluttering open. "Ludger…?" Julius managed to croak out.
Ludger cradled Julius's head in his arms, "Julius, what happened? Why were you fighting Chronos? What were you thinking?"
Julius struggled to reply, "Ludger, you don't understand…! We need Chronos… if we don't use him… the way to the Land of Canaan… ugh!"
"Please don't speak." Elize said as she focused more on her healing artes, "I need to heal you."
Julius nodded and remained still and Ludger continued to cradle his brother and the rest watched on.
Meanwhile Bisley approached Chronos, who was still floating several meters in the air, "Come. It's time I settle the score with you. It'll be a wonderful gift to me before I complete the trial."
Chronos descended to a lower level but he was still hovering above ground, "Humanity's arrogance simply has no limits."
Bisley had enough of talk and burst forward with lightning speed, instantly appearing before Chronos. This surprised the Great Spirit but he managed to avoid Bisley's fist and returned an attack of his own. Chronos's forearm was shaped like a blade so his hands were weapons of its own but to the surprise of the spirit, Bisley used his own bare-fist to block the attack. Focusing all his strength to his right fist, Bisley thrust his right arm forward and made its target, landing on Chronos's chest. Chronos was pushed back a distance away from the blow and hid his pain with an emotionless expression.
"Not bad. For a human." Chronos commented.
Bisley scoffed, "I'm different to when we last fought, Spirit. I'm not the same."
At first Chronos said nothing but then his eyes widened when he realized what Bisley meant. It was the first emotion Chronos showed on his face, "Ah now I remember who you are. You're that young human who fought me twenty years ago."
"Correct." Bisley readied his fists, "And I'm here to set the record straight."
"How amusing." Chronos said and released a soft chuckle.
"What's so funny Spirit?" Bisley growled.
"I am simply reminiscing on how battered you were after our battle twenty years ago. You may have improved but you cannot defeat me human. After all, twenty years ago you fought alongside that woman who was a Key of Kresnik."
Bisley remembered that day. He was still a young man at the time, only in his early twenties but a promising Chromatus user. When Chronos appeared to kill his wife, Cornelia Kresnik because she was a Key of Kresnik, both she and Bisley fought together. However both were outmatched and Chronos killed his wife, the Key of Kresnik, the one person that was needed to pass Origin's Trial. That was twenty years ago.
"All of that doesn't matter Spirit!" Bisley snarled and charged in. Chronos was prepared this time and the two fought on equal grounds.
Every Spirius agents watched as their President battled out against the Spirit of Time. The fight was all over Marksburg with Bisley on the offensive. A few times Bisley managed to land a number of critical hits on Chronos but his attacks seem to have little effect. But it was clear that Bisley had the upper hand.
XX
Meanwhile during Bisley and Chronos's battle, Ludger had been holding himself back in rescuing Elle because he was worried for Julius.
"Elle…" Ludger whispered.
"Ludger… everyone…" Elize spoke out, "Please go and save Elle. That's what we came for, right?"
"But Julius…" Ludger said weakly.
Elize shook her head, still applying healing artes on Julius, "I'll take care of Julius. Please, Elle is waiting for you Ludger. Go and save her!"
Ludger nodded and gently placed Julius's head on the pavement. With Julius under Elize's care, Ludger stood up and drew his dual blades. All of his friends also drew out their own weapons, standing behind Ludger.
Rideaux saw Ludger and the party getting ready and tightened his grip on Elle, causing her to squirm in pain. Rideaux ordered all Spirius agents to defend him, forming a human shield of sorts.
"Ludger!" Elle managed to cry out before Rideaux silenced her.
"Elle…" Fractured Milla whispered and turned to Ludger, "What're we waiting for? Let's go!"
Ludger nodded, "Let's go everyone. We have to save Elle."
Ludger led the charge and all his friends followed behind him. The Spirius agents moved to engage the party and the area of Marksburg had become a battle ground. With Bisley and Chronos's duel moving all over the place and now Ludger's party battling against the Spirius agents, the civilians quickly evacuated the area.
Jude slammed his fist on the nearest Spirius agent and shouted, "Ludger! We'll clear a path for you! Go and save Elle!"
"That's right. Go and save your little girl, she's waiting for you." Alvin added in as he promptly defeated two Spirius agents.
Leia swung her staff around like a tornado, knocking the Spirius agents around her, "We'll handle these guys!"
Milla summoned the four Great Spirits to her side as they bombarded the agents with artes, "You too 'Milla'! Elle is waiting for you! Go and save her with Ludger!"
Ludger and fractured Milla saw that their friends were fighting off the Spirius agents and had cleared a path for them. Jude, Milla, Gaius, Alvin and Leia were dealing with the agents at melee combat, making sure none would obstruct Ludger's path while Rowen and Muzet were supporting everyone with artes of their own. Ludger was touched to see how his friends were throwing themselves in danger just to help him. He pushed forward, eager to make sure that his friends efforts in saving Elle was not for naught.
Rideaux saw Ludger and fractured Milla coming and knew that he had to fight. He handed Elle to the last few remaining agents, "I'll handle those two! Make sure you don't let her go!"
"Understood, Director Rideaux!" The agents said and held the struggling Elle.
Ludger and fractured Milla stopped when Rideaux stood in front of them, blocking their way to Elle.
"My, my, what's the rush?" Rideaux said with a smile.
"Get out of the way Rideaux." Ludger warned.
"Don't think just because you're now the Vice-President that I'll go easy on you. After all, I'm simply following the orders of the President and he's of higher authority." Rideaux said.
Fractured Milla pointed her sword at Rideaux, "Good. I won't feel nice paying you back if you aren't going full out."
"I don't even have to go serious with you." Rideaux grinned, "After all… you're nothing but a 'fake'."
Rideaux was about to add another comment when fractured Milla suddenly disappeared from his sight, only to appear directly in front of him. Rideaux backed away and barely avoided a life-ending wound, fractured Milla's sword just inches away from slicing Rideaux in half. Rideaux regained his composure and tossed several knives at fractured Milla. She blocked them all with her sword and this gave Rideaux the opportunity for a counter-attack but before he could attempt on any, Ludger appeared next to Rideaux and thrust both dual blades forward. Rideaux side-stepped away from Ludger's attack but that was his mistake. Distracted, fractured Milla found an opening and smashed the hilt of her sword on Rideaux's cheek and followed it up with a small cut on Rideaux's shoulder. Rideaux threw another volley of knives, forcing Ludger and fractured Milla to dodge his attacks, allowing the fight to come to a pause.
Rideaux had a bruise on his cheek and inspected the little wound inflicted by fractured Milla. "Well now… I guess I may have underestimated you a little." Rideaux said with venom.
"I'm here to rescue Elle." Fractured Milla said, "I won't be showing you mercy."
Rideaux could feel a sweat drop from his brow and the dryness in his throat. He had not felt this tense in a long while. Fractured Milla had grown far too powerful in such a short span of time and he knew if combined with Ludger, he wouldn't stand a chance. He only had one option but if he used it, he was endangering his life. But he had no choice. He had to prove to Bisley that he was useful. That Julius should be used instead of him!
Rideaux coughed a little and felt a small amount of red liquid seeping out of the corner of his mouth. 'It looks like I'm nearing my limit as well. The Chromatus side-effects is taking a toll on me.' Rideaux thought, 'But I have no choice. I must use the Chromatus and prove to President Bakur… prove that I am still useful!'
Rideaux transformed into his level two Chromatus state and was covered in red armor on his upper torso.
When Ludger did not transform, Rideaux asked, "You're not going to use the Chromatus? You won't stand a chance."
"I'm not going to use that power." Ludger replied, "I don't need to worsen my condition."
Rideaux eyes widened a little with surprise, "Ah… so you're aware of the Chromatus side-effects. But it doesn't matter, you will all die here today!"
Chromatus dashed towards Ludger and drew three daggers on each hand, swinging them around like blades. Ludger parried Rideaux's attacks and dashed forward while spinning around with his dual blades. "Whirling assault!"
Ludger's 'Whirling assault' smashed against Rideaux but fortunately for Rideaux, the Chromatus armor protected him. Ludger engaged Rideaux once more and threw a kick but Rideaux smacked Ludger's leg away and went in for the kill. At the nick of time, fractured Milla intervened by dashing in and delivered two quick cuts across Rideaux's back before appearing in front of him and delivering another two quick cuts on his chest. "Grinding assault!"
Ludger picked himself up, thanking fractured Milla for the save.
"You annoying little pest!" Rideaux cursed at fractured Milla.
"You don't have time to complain!" Fractured Milla said and dashed in, "Ludger, let's go!"
Ludger followed closely behind fractured Milla. Rideaux waited for the chance and when he saw it, swung both of his arms that held three knives each. Fractured Milla blocked one arm with her sword and Ludger switched to his sledgehammer, smashing the other arm. If not for the Chromatus armor, Rideaux's arm would have been broken. With the momentum now with them, both quickly made their attack.
Fractured Milla disappeared again and appeared behind Rideaux while Ludger faced Rideaux from the front. It was a pincer attack. Both charged in at the same time and attacked, Ludger swinging his dual blades and slashing Rideaux's front. Fractured Milla did the same but on Rideaux's exposed back. Once they were done, Ludger kicked Rideaux upwards and fractured Milla jumped up, dashing through the air and made a clean slice across Rideaux's body. To finish everything, Ludger jumped up as well and spun around with his dual blades like a tornado, each of his spins connecting on Rideaux's Chromatus armor. "Moonlight Revolver!"
Ludger and fractured Milla landed on their feet, pleased with their linked arte. It was a modification of Ludger's linked arte with Milla, which was the 'Luminous Revolver' but since fractured Milla had no spirits to support her attacks, they compensated with more swordplay.
A second later, Rideaux finally landed on the pavement. Due to the damage he sustained from fighting Ludger and fractured Milla, his Chromatus was dispelled. He could still feel the pain wracking through his body from Ludger and fractured Milla's linked arte. He had completely failed in stopping Ludger and fractured Milla.
With Rideaux defeated, Ludger and fractured Milla glared at the agents who were holding Elle.
"Elle… we're coming!" Fractured Milla called out and ran for her.
XX
Bisley's battle with Chronos was going nowhere, especially because of the spirit's regenerative powers. Bisley knew how to counter that regenerative power but he needed the girl for that. He turned around and saw Rideaux defeated and both Ludger and fractured Milla were engaging the agents holding Elle captive.
Bisley cursed and lowered his fists, glaring at Chronos, "It looks like I'll end our little fight here Spirit. You'd best savor what little freedom you have left."
Chronos did not understand that when Bisley disengaged from the fight and charged towards the direction of Ludger and fractured Milla.
"It doesn't matter what the humans do." Chronos said to himself, "None can beat me." Chronos then flew to the Land of Canaan and entered it. He would wait for the humans there.
Ludger was about to attack the final Spirius agent that was holding Elle when Bisley appeared suddenly. The giant of a figure stood between Ludger and his way to rescuing Elle.
"Sorry Ludger, but the girl is needed. This is for the sake of humanity." Bisley said.
Ludger gritted his teeth, moving into an attacking stance. He was not afraid of Bisley, "Why do you need Elle?"
"Didn't you hear what I said in the video?" Bisley replied, "She is the Key of Kresnik."
Ludger shook his head in anger, "So what? Why do you need a Key of Kresnik to defeat Chronos?"
"I don't have the luxury of time to explain to you now." Bisley answered, "Just stay here. I'll handle everything."
Fractured Milla appeared behind Bisley with her sword drawn, "You're not taking Elle anywhere!"
Fractured Milla thrust her sword forward but Bisley dodged it with little effort. Fractured Milla continued swinging her sword but Bisley stood where he was, simply avoiding each of the attack with little movements with his head and body. Then with one swift movement, Bisley threw a fist and punched fractured Milla on her exposed gut, knocking the air out of her. She was defeated with one strike.
Ludger quickly rushed to fractured Milla, who was gasping for air.
"Don't worry, she'll live." Bisley said and turned around, calling for his Spirius agents to regroup and to recover Rideaux. "Just stay here and manage Spirius Ludger. I will end Origin's Trial."
The Spirius agents all quickly made a swift retreat, two agents even grabbing the injured Rideaux away. As they ran away, Ludger saw Elle being taken away from him again.
"Elle!" Ludger screamed out.
"Ludger! Save Elle!" Fractured Milla managed to say.
Ludger nodded and placed fractured Milla on the ground and was about to give chase.
"Ludger! Don't follow them!" A familiar voice ordered. Ludger stopped in his tracks and turned around. It was his brother, Julius. He has recovered from his injuries. "You can't face Bisley now. Not in your condition."
"Julius…" Ludger whispered. The rest of his friends were also around Julius and for now, it looks like the fighting had come to a stop. Ludger helped fractured Milla to her feet and regrouped with the rest.
The party was gathered and they needed to plan their next action.
"It looks like we failed in rescuing Elle." Rowen commented, "I worry for the little girl's safety."
"Poor Elle…" Teepo remarked with sad eyes.
Ludger looked at Julius, "Why did you stop me? We need to rescue Elle! Bisley said he's going to use Elle! He's going to kill her!"
Julius looked at his little brother, "Calm down. It's true that Bisley is using Elle to beat Chronos. However he won't kill her. She's his weapon against Chronos so we have until we get into Canaan to rescue her. She's still safe for now at least."
Fractured Milla did not like that one bit but she said nothing.
Gaius looked up at the sky, at the Land of Canaan, "The problem still lies on how we can get to Canaan."
"Oh yeah. Chronos said that even using an airship is useless, so what can we do?" Leia wondered.
Jude was also looking at the Land of Canaan, "There must be a way to reach Canaan. But how?"
"I know of another way to Canaan." Julius said.
The whole party's gaze turned to Julius.
Fractured Milla's heart skipped a beat at that, "Really? You do?"
Elize was also excited that there was hope, "So there is a way to Canaan?" Teepo was already dancing around cheerfully.
Julius nodded, "Yes. I was hoping to not resort to this method… and it's the reason why I chased after Chronos after visiting you all at Xian Du."
Jude remembered that. It was right after the party rescued Leia from Exodus and Ludger was injured in the process. While Ludger was recovering at the inn, Julius came to visit and wanted to stop Ludger from trying to complete Origin's Trial. However when he saw how happy Ludger was with fractured Milla and Elle, he knew what he needed to do.
Julius continued, "You see, Chronos was actually supposed to help bring the humans to Canaan once someone has obtained all five Waymarkers. Unfortunately Chronos's hate for humans means he will not help anyone get to Canaan. That's why I searched for Chronos to try and force him to help us get to Canaan. But… he was too strong for me. I couldn't beat him."
"Wait, you mean you searched for Chronos and fought him… so that you could make him take us to Canaan?" Jude asked.
"Yes." Julius answered, "Chronos was originally meant to help humans in Origin's Trial, especially when the time comes to get to Canaan. But I failed to defeat Chronos. And Chronos is already in Canaan… so we cannot use him to get to Canaan."
Muzet looked concerned, "Oh my… so what do we do?"
"If Chronos is our only means to Canaan, does that mean we lost our chance?" Alvin asked.
Julius shook his head, "No… we only have one option left. And it's because I didn't want to rely on this option that I went in search of Chronos. But it looks like we don't have any choice now."
Milla eyed Julius, "What must we do?"
"To get to Canaan…" Julius hesitated, "We must inherit… the curse of the Kresnik clan."
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
While Ludger and his friends were on the Elympios side of Marksburg, Bisley and his agents have retreated to the Rieze Maxia side of Marksburg. What was important to him was that Elle was still with him. Because Elle was almost rescued by Ludger, she had been a nuisance and so he had ordered his agents to sedate the girl. Now she was sleeping and in the arms of a Spirius agent.
"The girl should wake up once I'm in Canaan." Bisley said to himself. He then looked up at the sky, at where Canaan was, "Soon… Origin's Trial will finally come to an end. This girl will be key in my success. I cannot fail."
Rideaux had recovered from his injuries and made his approach to Bisley.
"Sir, why are we just waiting here? Shouldn't we capture Julius?" Rideaux asked Bisley.
"Julius? Why would I waste manpower on capturing Julius?" Bisley questioned while looking straight ahead.
Rideaux blinked once, confused, "S-sir…? We… we need Julius to create the soul bridge don't we?"
"Ah yes, how could I forget?" Bisley said with feigned ignorance, turning to Rideaux, "However we already have everything we need right here."
"What… what do you mean?" Rideaux then realized that he was surrounded by Spirius agents. When the answer dawned upon him, he took a step back, "Wait… you can't possibly mean…!"
"You're a smart man Rideaux." Bisley stated, "It's why you were able to compete with Julius. You'll make a fine bridge for me."
"B-but… I'm still useful! I can still help you whereas Julius is already injured! I'm much more useful than him!"
"Yes but you're within my reach." Bisley responded, "You've been a fine employee of Spirius Rideaux but this is the end of the line for you. Your only use right now is to become my bridge."
Deep within Rideaux's heart, he knew that there was no talking Bisley out of this. He retreated with Bisley thinking they would capture Julius to make him the soul bridge. But he was wrong. He was going to be the bridge.
Rideaux transformed into his level two Chromatus, "No! I won't become the bridge! That's the last thing I'll ever become!"
Bisley took out a remote and pointed it at Rideaux, "I had a feeling you'd say that." Then he clicked the device.
Rideaux suddenly lost control of his body and his Chromatus form was dispelled, returning to his normal body. He dropped and landed on his back, unable to move his arms or legs but he was still conscious.
Bisley stood over Rideaux and looked down at him, "Have you forgotten that I'm the one who sponsored the operation to implant your spyrix organs? Obviously I know the control codes to them."
Rideaux could only helplessly glare back at Bisley, "W-what…?"
Bisley clenched his fist, "The least I can do is give you a quick and painless death."
Bisley raised his fist and Rideaux eyes widened. And worst of all, he could not move, "No… No!"
The Spirius agents all looked away as Bisley made the blow and a blood curling scream from Rideaux that slowly ended in silence.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXX
"Inherit… the curse of the Kresnik clan?" Jude repeated.
Julius nodded, "Yes. It's the only option we have now to get to Canaan."
Milla did not like the sound of that, "What is this curse? What do you have to do?"
Julius closed his eyes and gathered his thoughts. After that, he began his explanation, "As I said before, Chronos was originally meant to help bring humans to Canaan. However that is not the only way to Canaan. What we have to do now… is repeat what the previous Kresniks have done."
"What do you mean?" Ludger asked.
"Did Bisley ever tell you that the Kresnik family has been fighting amongst themselves?" Julius questioned.
Ludger gave a nod, "Yeah… he said they fought because whoever meets with Origin first gets to make a wish. That's why they have been fighting."
"Bisley isn't wrong about that." Julius remarked, "However that's not the whole reason. It's true that greed in the Kresnik family to obtain the wish was the main reason they fought, but there's another reason why the Kresnik family has killed each other in the past."
Gaius narrowed his eyes, "And the reason being?"
"A member of a Kresnik family… someone who possesses the power of the Chromatus… must give his life to create a bridge that will bring them to Canaan." Julius finally revealed.
Everyone was shocked by the revelation.
"Wait… you can't mean…" Leia said slowly.
"Yes. Ludger must kill me… and use my life to create the way to Canaan. It's called a soul bridge." Julius said. Even though he was talking about his death, Gaius saw that Julius eyes were determined. He was not afraid of dying.
Jude shook his head, "I… I don't understand. You mean after all this time, the Kresnik family has been killing each other… to create a soul bridge to Canaan?"
"That's right." Julius confirmed, "Ludger isn't the first one to have collected all five Waymarkers. Previous Kresniks have done so in the past and… they have killed someone amongst their family to create a soul bridge. But they all failed when Chronos confronted them."
Ludger clenched his fists, "You're asking me to kill you?! I can't do that! I won't! There… there must be another way!"
"That's right!" Jude added in, supporting Ludger, "There's got to be something we haven't thought of!"
Suddenly a distance away, everyone saw a beam of purple energy appearing that connected to Canaan. They could not see where the source of origin the purple energy came from but it was quite some distance away.
"What's that?" Alvin asked, referring to the purple energy.
Julius looked at the beam of purple energy and said, "What you see there is the soul bridge. Bisley must be preparing to enter Canaan."
Elle gasped, "Don't tell me he used Elle to create the soul bridge?"
Julius shook his head, "No. Like I said, Bisley is going to use Elle as his weapon against Chronos. My guess… is that he used Rideaux to become his soul bridge." Julius paused for a moment, "Bisley never saw Rideaux and me as anything more than tools for creating the soul bridge. For years, Rideaux and I competed against each other in hopes to impress Bisley that we're more useful over the other… so that we don't become the bridge. I see now how pointless that was."
Now everyone could see the picture and knew why Julius was seeking Chronos. He wanted to avoid resorting to this option to enter Canaan. Also Jude could not believe that Rideaux, someone who was quite a trouble to the party, was nothing more than a sacrifice in the end.
Rowen knew this would be a painful question but he had to ask, "So… when you said the way to Canaan is to inherit the Kresnik clan… you mean for Ludger… to use your life as a soul bridge."
Julius nodded sadly, "It's the only way…"
Everyone then looked at Ludger and saw he was struggling to even accept this. But who could blame him? Jude did not even want to imagine what Ludger was going through his mind right now. No doubt Ludger loved his brother and now, he was being told on the spot to use his brother's life so that they could progress to Canaan. This was too cruel. Jude was powerless to help and it infuriated him even more. He was once again helpless to ease Ludger's suffering.
Ludger was close to breaking down, on the verge of tears. He looked at his brother, his vision blurry, "Why… why do I have to do this to get to Canaan?!"
Julius stared at Ludger for a few seconds and then answered, "Maybe… it's just another way to test the nature of humans. That is the point of Origin's Trial after all."
Ludger shook his head as he finally let out his tears and collapsed to his knees, "No…! I… I can't do this…!"
Fractured Milla looked away. She wanted to consoled Ludger, hold him tight and tell him everything was alright. But that would be nothing but a lie. This whole time, Ludger had been shouldering the burden of destroying worlds, ending millions of lives and carrying all that guilt. But now this was the biggest challenge of all and fractured Milla felt the task was beyond what any human should be doing.
"Julius, you can't be asking Ludger to take your life!" Jude cried out, "That's… that's…!"
Leia stepped up, "We've got to think of something! We always do! We always come up with something when something looks hopeless!"
Julius chuckled, "I… appreciate the thought… but there's no other way. I'm glad… that Ludger has all of you as his friends."
Ludger was still unable to accept it, "No! I can't do… ugh!"
To everyone's horror, Ludger started coughing blood. This was particularly shocking to Julius as he instantly recognized what this was. Ludger continued coughing blood for another few seconds before he stopped and he was clearly a mess. With tears decorating his eyes and cheeks and mouth covered with dried blood, it was a pitiful sight.
"I see you've already reached stage three of the Chromatus side-effects." Julius said, "I didn't know you've progressed this far. I guess I can still help you one last time as your brother."
Ludger looked up at Julius and was about to say something but he started coughing again, more blood being spilt on the floor. When Ludger finally recovered, he asked "Wh-what do you mean?"
Instead of answering, Julius took out the glove covering his left hand and displayed the condition of his hand to the party. When they saw it, they were once again shocked at what they saw. Julius's left hand was dusk black, a sign that he was turning into a catalyst.
"His transformation has progressed that far?" Rowen stated in horror.
"Don't feel too badly for me." Julius said as he looked at the condition of his hand, "I'm already at stage four… and I'm closely approaching stage five. I'm a dead man no matter what. That's why… with my death, at least I can still help Ludger one last time."
At first Ludger was confused. But through Julius's words, he understood and blurted, "No… you don't mean…"
Julius smiled, "I guess you know. One of the Chromatus rules is that if you kill another Chromatus user, you can heal your own symptoms. So if Ludger takes my life…"
Ludger shook his head, "No… I don't want to do this…"
Julius pushed on, "Ludger, Use my life. Let me be your path to the Land of Canaan… and also use my life to heal the side-effects of the Chromatus."
Ludger was at a loss. He could not make a decision and while he wanted to cry out, his eyes were dry. There was no turning back and there was only one answer. Everything he had been doing was to rescue Elle and complete Origin's Trial. This was the final test for him. No, this was the final test for humanity. He looked at his brother and Julius had a sad smile on his face. Both already knew the answer that Ludger needed to choose.
With a heavy heart, Ludger reluctantly came to a decision, "I… I'll do it. Julius, I'll… use your life to build the bridge."
Julius released a breath that he had been holding, relieved that Ludger was mentally prepared for this. "So you're ready then…"
Ludger nodded and took out his dual blades, his eyes stained with tears.
Julius drew out his dual blades as well and moved into an attacking stance, "If that's the case… let me be your big brother one last time. I'll see for myself if you're strong enough to see this through."
Jude could not let this fight start and cried out, "Wait! You can't do this!"
"Jude, stop." Milla called out, putting one hand in front of Jude to stop him, "We don't have any right to intervene in their fight. This is something the two of them have decided… to embrace the curse of their family."
Jude wanted to protest but when he looked at Milla, he saw that she too was holding herself back. She too wanted to stop Ludger and Julius from fighting each other but she was forcing herself to not intervene. This was the curse of the Kresnik family. This was their fight. Jude understood that now and with a frustrated sigh, he did not intervene.
"Alvin, are we really going to just let them fight?" Leia demanded with tears in her eyes. It was just too sad for her.
Alvin looked away and could not give an answer. All he could do was hold Leia to comfort her.
Elize was shaking her head, "No! Ludger… Julius… why do they have to do this? I don't want them to fight!" Teepo could only watch with sad eyes.
Rowen himself found this to be disturbing, "In all my years, I have never been tasked with such a burden nor can I imagine anyone else doing this. This is not something any human or spirit should face."
Gaius made no comment but he was now seeing Ludger with the utmost respect. If he was tasked to kill his sister for the sake of his country, he wondered how he would fare. It was too much and to see Ludger still able to pull this through without breaking… was admirable beyond words.
Ludger and Julius stared at one another, both of them running through memories of one another. Julius remembered how he took care of Ludger and how he promised he would always protect Ludger. This was his beloved younger brother and to see him progress this far, he was proud of Ludger.
Ludger was also going through the past memories he had with Julius. He remembered how he always looked up to his brother, how he wanted to become like him. He remembered how he accidentally burned Julius's left arm when he was still practicing with cooking. This was all part of their bonds as brothers and now… it was finally coming to a head.
Julius prepared to attack, "I'm sorry for the entrance exams. But I'll make it up to you now. This time, the test is real!"
Julius dashed forward and attacked but Ludger blocked it with his dual blades. The fight between Julius Will Kresnik and Ludger Will Kresnik, the brothers of the Kresnik family, has begun. They have both embraced the curse of the Kresnik family!
CHAPTER END
A/N: Just a little heads up, fractured Milla's 'Grinding assault' is an original arte. Just in case you guys were wondering about that.
And by the way, the ending of the chapter, you can listen to "For the sake of mutual proof" on youtube. When I wrote the ending of this chapter, I was listening to that OST and it might create that sense of atmosphere :P