A/N: It took longer than expected, but here we are again. Thanks to all of those who have followed/faved my fic and for all of your wonderful reviews. I'm not sure how long the next chapter will take, but it will hopefully come during the first week of July!
Until then!
~Kalafinn
The next morning, the El Search Party had reunited again, sitting a table to the right of where they had sat the day before. Their only meal of the day was a slice of bread so dry, it could have been mistaken for a brick and soup that only had the scent of poultry and traces of vegetables. They had thankfully arrived just in time before the Guild officially closed its doors to the public in preparation of the King's Festival. Yet, there was nothing festive outside the walls of Hoffman's guild; people like Ara had not had much luck finding food The city continued to stink, and no citizen got out without a blade in their pockets.
Just like the town, the quiet that reigned between the six current members of the El Search Party was tense. The two archnemesis ignored each other while the rest watched, wondering when the first spark would ignite. The tap of wooden spoons over the cheap porcelain bowls rang a rhythmic melody as some wet the bread in the soup to make it somewhat edible. The first hours of their day passed in complete silence. Elsword broke the calm before the storm after he emptied his bowl of soup with one last sip.
"Ain, why did you want to go to the Chapel so badly? You could've gone today. Maybe."
The priest, with his hood still up, shrugged. "It seemed urgent back then," he quietly replied, tearing a piece of bread to bite off.
Out of all the people seated, he was the only one who insisted on eating his full piece of bread. Luciela glanced at him. Her expression was too blank for anyone to decipher what she was thinking. While Ain was adamant about eating bread, the demoness was taking very small sips from her soup, her hands sometimes wandering to the edge of the table, as if looking for invisible cutlery. Ciel could barely notice she had thought of replying immediately. Yet, her words were so fleeting in her mind, it was impossible to fully understand what she had been on the verge of saying.
Between Lu's laughter last night and her coldness this morning, there was an eerie difference. He topped his meal off with the same rust-scented water they had gotten the day before, sipping it with the same pensive patience as Luciela.
'Why wouldn't she say anything about yesterday to me?' the Steel Cross wondered, trying to get a better look at Ain's face, but the priest's hood hid most of his face well as long as he kept looking down. The priest who had always looked down on them was now refusing to lift his gaze from his shoes.
Elsword looked to the side, pressed his lips for a minute, and then let out a long sigh, "I'm sorry, Rena. I can't do this!"
The elf, who had just taken in the sour mood, widened her eyes at the boy before shaking her head at what he said, "No, Elsword. Please, don't be insensitive. It's not the right time."
The boy raised his arms in the air, "And when will it be? I trust Ain! I trust Lu! I'm sure we can talk it out somehow!"
Luciela sighed, delicately dropping her spoon to rub her temples, "Pipe down, brat. My head is not quite ready to hear you barking all day long."
Ain simply nodded, "As displeasing as it is to admit, I agree with the demoness. Don't yell this early in the morning, Elsword."
"Alright, Ain," the boy replied, lowering his voice from the thunderous momentum he had gathered, "But I'm still worried about you two. Everyone is. After what you said that night."
The priest slightly turned towards him, "What I said, huh? I guess I must be more careful."
Elsword blinked, surprised to feel, something different about the way Ain was speaking today. His unwavering confidence and the faint smile he always had before were growing dimmer, perhaps even darker. To him, Ain sounded no different, but that gut feeling was not appeased.
Aisha nodded gravely, "We still heard you. It was too cold to sleep. With the wind putting frost powder all over-"
"Snow." Elsword corrected.
The mage cocked an eyebrow, "Snow always falls gently, Elbrat. I would know. I've travelled the world longer than you have."
The red-haired boy gave her a long stare. His eyebrows furrowed.
"What?"
Seeing as Elsword's reaction did not change, Aisha decided to continue, but before the first word left her lips, she noticed that Lu was smiling and shaking her head, taking the last spoonful of her meal.
"What's so funny, Lu?"
The demoness chuckled, "Aisha, it is not a sin to act like a child when you can. You are still too young to act like some wise old woman."
Ain finally set the last bite of bread aside. "It's the first time I hear good advice from a demon."
Luciela briefly looked at him. If there was anyone who could catch a glimpse of his face, it was her. Being smaller and sitting in front of him gave her the perfect angle to peer into the shadows.
On any other day, she would have taken that as a taunt. However, the things that she had went through made her soften her words. She shrugged and crossed her arms, "What can I say, Priest? I see brats like Aisha, and I am more than willing to share some of my old, albeit limited, wisdom. Would you?"
The silver-haired man smirked, "No. The wisdom of the goddess wasn't made for children."
"Hey, you guys actually made up yesterday, huh?" Elsword said, clapping his hands together, "You got to forgive each other after so long! We should go together to the Chapel in the afternoon. You've got friend priests over there, right, Ain?"
Ainchase banged his fist on the table, getting up so suddenly that he tipped over the stool he was sitting on. The hood that hid his face shifted, revealing briefly his hair. Luciela, too, was looking coldly at Elsword. The boy's smile was now gone. His eyes widened at the priest's hair. He could see that the once bright blue highlights were now closer to a deep turquoise.
"Ain?"
That was the only word Elsword could muster at that moment. His thoughts were accelerating at a rate too quick for him to articulate out loud.
"Me? Forgive a demoness?" the priest hissed, "There is a limit to what inanities I'll let you say, boy. None of you are even worthy of setting a foot in sacred ruins."
Luciela turned her gaze at him, "As opposed to you, Priest?"
His fist trembled as his knuckles turned white, but he soon loosened it, taking his hand off the table completely, "Yes. I've always been under the goddess' light."
The priest let his words float in silence, leaving everyone stunned. He then took his leave with a strangely composed pace back to the second floor.
As Lu watched her sworn enemy leave, Ciel could finally see one clear thought in her mind she shared with him.
'The Priest is dying, Ciel.'
The half-demon glanced at her as the rest looked back at their empty plates, passing around the water to fill their wooden cups once more, 'Good. You want him dead, don't you?'
She did not answer, contenting herself to stretch her arms and comb her hair behind her ears.
'I know you still do,' he continued, serving her a glass full of water. She took it with a nod.
'As all demons should, I suppose,' she answered dryly.
Elsword looked down, drawing circles with the droplets of water that fell from the vase as it was carried across the long, rectangular table. He frowned, briefly biting his lips, "I'm so sorry, everyone. I...didn't know Ain would-"
Lu turned to look at him, "Elsword, what part of our conversation made you think we forgave the other? Hiding the obvious does not mean it has ceased to exist."
Elsword looked at her with pained regret in his eyes. Luciela could tell the boy was fighting his tears. "You've been openly hating each other so long that I just thought...you got over it, Lu. You were gone all night! How could I have known?"
The demoness closed her eyes, shaking her head. Rena put a hand over the boy's shoulder. Aisha looked worriedly at him, but that was all she did. The demon countess took a deep breath and spoke again.
"I will be honest with you about one thing. The Priest and I belong to groups that have been at war for eons. This is not the type of hatred a long walk in a foetid town would solve." She swept the rest of the group with a cold glance, "It is not something you or anyone else should meddle in."
The demon countess took a sip of her drink and then put her cup on the table delicately, "My people's history is plagued with far too many failed attempts at peace. Do you truly think you can succeed where countless diplomats have failed, Elsword?" she concluded, cocking an eyebrow at the boy.
Elsword took a deep breath and shook his head, looking apologetically at Rena. The elven scout gave him half a smile and put a hand on the boy's shoulder. Aisha, on her end, scratched her head and grimaced as she thought there was nothing she could say to make anything better. She knew Elsword had spoken too much, but she knew that, if he had not spoken, she would have been the one in his position.
"And where does that leave us, Lu?" the mercenary began, tracing the edge of his empty cup with his finger, "Do we have one or three members less?"
Luciela herself did not answer, taking another sip of her drink. Rena squinted at the half-demon, "Ciel, you can't be suggesting we're going to split apart now!"
"Rena," he sighed tiredly, "Have you seen Ain as pissed off as he was just now? He doesn't even act the same way he has always done since we've met."
He drank his water in one long sip and swiftly set his glass on the table, "I could somewhat trust the old Ain. But the Ain I've seen since Hagen? Never. He could pull the trigger any day of the week."
Rena raised her index finger and pointed at Ciel, "If you don't trust him, Ciel, why did you use your other position to protect him when we got here?"
The Steel Cross smirked, "Rena, when I said that, I meant that Ain doesn't exist for the town. And that comes in handy for a bunch of things, like protecting Lu. I never said that I'd protect Ain, too."
Elsword, Aisha, and Rena looked uneasily at Ciel, who just shrugged, "I told you about my line of work. I didn't get my tags by doing charity. Let's hope Ain knows what's best for him."
Aisha shook her head, pointing accusingly at Ciel, "You can't do that! It's just wrong!"
The mercenary frowned at the young mage, "More than his threats? He's going mad, and everyone sitting at this table knows that."
No one dared to speak against what Ciel had said. They all had seen some sign of it one way or another. Aisha came to doubt if she had ever seen a glimpse of true kindness from him before Hagen. Elsword would not go as far as calling it madness, but he could not think of another possibility for this...version of him. He did not even sound the same anymore.
As for Rena, she had only some vivid memories in mind. What he had told her the night before, the shadow that she briefly saw in his right eye, and shadows tearing away his wings of light when he took her out of Lua's grave.
'Who's to blame? Me for going down alone, knowing I would fail again, or him for fighting something he didn't understand? If I had known he was there before, I could've explained what I learnt from my failures.'
Rena shook her head, then passed her hands over her face to dismiss the question that had risen in her head. She looked down at her empty bowl of soup. They both had done things wrong. And, in one way or another, they were paying the price for their mistakes. Her arrows could not reach as far as they did anymore. Lua had shattered her shoulder blades so much the only way her bones could be held together was with a binding spell. As for Ain, Rena did not want to consider the worst about the nature of his change. The signs were there, she knew it, but her heart believed there had to be some other cause. Something less grim.
Ciel scratched the back of his head, uncomfortable by the silence he had caused, "Look, I don't want it to come to that. I'm not even sure if I'd win. But Ifritan be damned if I don't prepare myself for the worst."
"That," Lu finally said, getting up off her chair, "will not happen. Your first judgement about the Priest was right, Ciel. He will not attack me, and, by the same extent, will not do anything to you, either."
Rena looked up at the sound of Lu's chair, reaching out briefly for her, "Wait, Lu."
The demoness looked at her, and, unlike what she had expected, her gaze was as dispassionate as it had always been. And that, given the circumstances, only made her hopes grow thinner.
"Are you going to talk to him?"
"Yes."
The elven scout nodded, "Could you talk to him on behalf of everyone?"
Luciela turned back and walked through the dining hall. As she headed to the second floor, she answered Rena, "I will try to."
Ciel watched her go, increasingly uneasy about the whole ordeal until he told himself that he could not let Luciela go straight into the wolf's mouth.
"Lu," Ciel called her, getting up himself to follow her as she went upstairs, "How can you be so sure that you'll be safe? Rena should-"
Luciela stopped and spoke loud enough for everyone to hear her words, "No, Ciel. There are things only enemies should talk about. Besides, yesterday, the Priest had more than enough chances to throw one of his spears straight through my head. But the only thing he threw at me was something to drink."
Her servant was briefly surprised, but he knew those eyes. The cold flames that burned within Lu's gaze told him that she was ready to make a decision he could not make her change. With a sigh, he shook his head. Ciel crouched to her eye-level and spoke quietly, "Your only problem with Ain is solving itself, so why do you want to head back now? We should talk about what we're gonna do about those merchants now. Let Ain cool his head off."
"We cannot afford to wait, I told you what is happening to him," she whispered back, "And this rather unusual turn is making me uneasy about other things as well. I must talk to him."
Ciel blinked in disbelief a couple of times, "But why now? Stop pushing your luck like that. Yesterday was enough. Please."
The demoness turned her gaze away from him, her mind riddled with a wavering determination, "Ciel, I am aware that luck is a traitorous mistress. But there are some things I just must ascertain."
Ciel put his hands over her shoulders, still trying to deter her from a horrible mistake, "Then, you can tell me, Lu. Or Rena. She is on way better terms with him. She risks nothing."
Luciela looked back at the table of people she had left for a moment before she looked back at Ciel, putting her hands over his, "No, Ciel. You don't quite understand it yet. Talking to him as he is now is dangerous for anyone."
She gave him a small smile, "Rena has done more than enough for all of us, do you not agree? I can also shoulder some of that weight."
Ciel took a deep breath, looking down as he let her go. He got back on his feet and nodded at her gravely. He was still worried, but there was nothing he could do to change Luciela's mind.
Her eyes looked back at the group, and she spoke loud enough for everyone to hear, "I will hopefully come back with good prospects about our group's unity."
The demoness opened the door and climbed through the stairs. Ciel could have very well followed her and even demand her to explain herself. But their relationship had long past that point of endless struggles and doubts about each other. Luciela had understood and acknowledged his worries, he was sure of it. The Steel Cross got back up, hearing Luciela's voice again.
'Ciel, once I have a clear answer to my questions, I will tell you everything. And I will not die to get the truth. You can count on that.'
'I will, Lu,' he answered as he walked back towards a visibly apprehensive El Search Party. They would not get any plans down for today, and perhaps the days to come, that was certain.
Ainchase had been staring at his reflection on the dusty mirror of his room, tilting it in his hands in a hundred different angles. And no matter how much light filtered through the windows, his once bright green eyes were growing dimmer. They were closer to the eyes of a dead man. His hair was no better, losing the distinguishable blue highlights the magic of the goddess had imprinted on him.
The demoness' words still made their way to his mind. Anything that came out of her mouth was mostly disgusting, sure, but she had a point. He was not worthy to set foot in any of the goddess' temples anymore. The fallen Celestial was no longer sure if his anger had steamed out of his incompetence or the fact that a foul demon had understood what was happening to him.
He felt at peace, with a sharp mind. And that same peace was an impossibly disturbing, silent thunder.
"Goddess Ishmael," he muttered, "If you have let me keep this shell, it must be because I'm not yet completely fallen from grace, is it not? Once I return the El to Ruben, I only have to guide the boy as close to the Old Kingdom as I can. By force, if I must. And that will bring me back to your side."
The priest opened the palm of his hand, summoning his pendulum. The weapon of the goddess was still intact. Its energy was as bountiful and pure as it had been on the first day he set foot on Elrios. He just had to purge all sources of corruption in time, he told himself, holding his weapon close to him. Once he found a temple of the goddess, he could be reborn. He simply had to survive until then, and never listen to the fake apparitions of the goddess.
Of course, that depended on how much true power he had left. He might already be too weak to be a Celestial.
Ainchase focused on the power stemming from his weapon, feeling it flow through him. He was not a lost cause, he thought over and over. He was still a Celestial. He could, no, he was going to survive until he visited another temple of Ishmael.
Three humble knocks broke his focus from his thoughts. Thinking it could only be Rena, the priest simply hid his weapon and invited her to come in.
The door creaked open, and he could only frown at the unpleasant visitor who appeared at the door frame.
"I did not think you would let me in that easily, Priest."
The demoness walked in, closing the door behind her. Her left hand glowed for a moment, spreading demonic runes over the door. Ainchase summoned his pendulum back in his hands, looking at the closed door.
"By the El, demoness. You don't want anyone to hear us, huh? Why are you here?"
Luciela turned towards him, furrowing her eyebrows, "How do you know what that spell is for?"
The priest scoffed, "The goddess gave me all the knowledge I needed for my mission. Now, answer. Why are you here, and why did you put that spell on my door?"
Luciela walked around the room, passing in front of him with her hands behind her back, "I will tell you that in due time, Celestial. But what you just said is very interesting," she continued coldly, still frowning at the thoughts that troubled her. She placed her hands on the wide windowsill and then climbed on it, sitting as if it was her former throne.
"If your goddess gave you knowledge of demonic magic, she must have foreseen you would face me in your journey. And that you would have to deal with me. But you have disobeyed her so far."
"Don't pretend to understand the will of the goddess."
Ainchase sat on the edge of his bed, staring from the darkness at the white-haired demoness. He did not feel any demonic mana flowing from her. Her spell was merely muting their conversation to prying ears, locking the door in the process.
His wariness was suddenly gone and he wondered if it was because of the threat in front of him. He could never let his guard down in front of a demon. Still, it briefly occurred to him that he did not have to be that distrustful of her in particular.
Luciela tilted her head slightly to the side, resting it over the knuckles of her hand, "Fair enough, Priest. I might have ruled as a sovereign and a general, but what do I know of the mind of a goddess? Do I assume she does not wish to wage war against demons? Or that she is waiting for the perfect moment despite your wasted opportunities?"
"It's only because I must rely on a group of mortals that you're still around. I will cleanse Elrios of your presence soon enough."
The demoness scoffed, "You are powerful enough to alter memories, Celestial. It is not as effective on demons or half-demons. But those are your targets, are they not? Corpses, especially demonic corpses, will not speak against you. "
Ainchase sighed, crossing his arms, "Did you come in just to rub my failures on my face?"
The demoness shook her head, "Perhaps they are failures to you, but the more I think about it, the more I see it as mercy. I cannot understand why any celestial would spare a demon noble like myself. Or why I am not taking advantage of that misplaced mercy."
The fallen Celestial raised an eyebrow at her words, "And I'm supposed to believe you're not here to announce the end of this...mutual mercy?"
Luciela straightened up, "That would be pointless now that I am certain you are already dying."
"Why do you think I'm dying?"
"I overheard you talking to Rena last night, " the demoness said, crossing her legs to the other side, "If I add up all that has happened to you recently, what other conclusions should I draw from it all? Not to mention how you look today, that was the most telling sign."
Ainchase chuckled joylessly, making his weapon vanish from sight. And with that, he let go of his unnecessarily obvious hostility, "Yeah. It's obvious when you look at it that way. So, you come to ask me why I'm being merciful even as I grow weaker?"
Luciela shrugged, "If you could answer that, it would be a great start, but I came to discuss other things as well."
"And you think my answer will be any different from telling you that it's none of your business?"
"You've confirmed to me that you're dying. Something that was none of my business, something I should not understand."
Ain nodded, "Yes," he looked at the door once more, stared at it for a couple of seconds, and then looked back at her. He pointed towards the only viable exit of the room and spoke again, "Let me guess, you put that on my door so no one hears about my death."
Luciela's eyes widened, "I did. Does this mean you trust me?"
"No," he answered, laying back slightly, "I'm just accepting that you know one too many things about me. Who am I to deny a truth so tangible a demon could see it for what it is? I'm dying, yes, but I'm not delusional. The rest will also figure it out, eventually. If they haven't already."
His green gaze wandered towards the rune-covered door. The spell would be invisible to anyone. It was very well forged, as expected of demonic nobility. Trying to break it would be tricky. There was no point in throwing her out if it cost him the length of his lifespan. Even if he hated it, there was not much he could do to throw her out. Might as well let her talk.
Ainchase sighed, "I'm somewhat flattered you at least thought of letting me choose when to tell the others."
Lucila smirked, "It's the most I will do for you. I respect my allies and my enemies alike, Celestial."
"And in exchange for that respect," he quietly lashed back, staring back into her vivid blue gaze, "you think you're entitled to an answer to your every question?"
The demoness leaned forward, "You tell me. Can I expect that much?"
The fallen Celestial shook his head, "No. But you've shown some respect, so I'll respectfully hear you out."
Luciela took a deep breath, leaning back against the freezing cold window, "I suppose that is the best outcome I could hope for. Very well. I will begin by the first thing that has bothered me the longest."
Although the priest no longer hid his face behind his hood, the darkness that surrounded him made it harder to truly see what his eyes hid. He simply looked attentive, but paradoxically distracted. It was the first time they had not resorted to insults. It was surreal, even for her.
"I said I would not question why we held hands as long as we did. But the fact it happened in the first place raises a lot of questions about our inherent nature as enemies. I knew that the moment I touched a Celestial, they would absorb my powers until I died. Instantly. That is why Celestial magic is so deadly for us."
Luciela undid the ribbon that covered her neck like a choker, unveiling the scar that the celestial chains left on her, "You recognize what kind of chains would leave this mark on a demon's body, do you not?"
Ainchase gave her a grave nod. She nodded back, hiding her scar once more, "The burn it leaves is unlike any other. But your hands did not burn mine as they should have. Even weakened Celestials would leave some kind of mark. You were not weak at all yesterday. Your power alone blinded me, and it should have killed me as soon as I touched you. But it did not. Your hand was like any other human hand. Warm, pleasant. The complete opposite of what the touch from beings who are built to exterminate demons should feel like. "
She huffed, crossing her arms as she raised an eyebrow at him, "That fact alone turns most of what my people know about Celestials on its head. And I cannot imagine it all stems from your slow agony. I have read memoirs of my family, and even those lucky enough to catch a dying Celestial were grievously injured by his attacks and his touch, unless he suppressed it."
Ainchase frowned at her, " Is that what your foul ancestors figured out? Forcing a Celestial to suppress his powers? Are you sure you're not here to threaten me?"
"Do not play the victim," she lashed out, cold flames burning in her eyes.
Ainchase briefly lifted his hands, nodding before putting his hands back on his knees. Luciela cleared her throat and continued.
"The Celestial my ancestors met willingly chose to suppress it. It only happened once in the thousands of years of our written history, and no history book says why that Celestial in particular made that choice. Even the books that were written at the time only speculated that the Celestial cowered in fear at Sult's might."
Ainchase chuckled, shaking his head at the ridiculousness of it.
Luciela smirked, " You laugh, huh? My ancestors must have been wrong. But the question is still there," she put her fingers over her chest, pointing at herself, "I should, by all means, not be here talking with you unless you willingly suppressed your power from affecting me. I wonder why."
She closed her hand into a loose fist and rested her chin over her knuckles, looking slightly up at Ainchase, "That was part of the most important thing I am here to talk about. Something only you would know the answer to. The other important point is about me."
The silver-haired celestial gave her a small nod, looking up at her. He straightened up and leaned forward, hiding his mouth with a bridge he formed from his intertwined fingers. The man hidden in the shadows would have looked scheming under the light. But under the darkness, he was simply showing a deep interest.
And Luciela chose to capitalize on that interest, whether it was scheming or not. She let a long moment of silence pass, waiting for any word from the priest, but he remained quiet, observing her as attentively as she had been watching him. The demon countess straightened up, furrowing her eyebrows as she rubbed her shoulders, trying to warm herself from the cold that was seeping through the windowpane.
"I have, somehow, learnt to tolerate you, Celestial. I tolerate you to the point that I have willingly chosen to ignore what is arguably one of the most taboo things I could have done with you. And, to my surprise, you are also tolerating me by letting me live this long. And now, you are tolerating me to the point you let me talk about things you hide from everyone else."
She combed her hair behind her ears, "What does this mean for people like you and me?"
"Absolutely nothing," he finally replied, "It didn't change the course of history the first time. Why would it be different the second time around?"
"Oh, is that so?" she squinted at him, "It does not mean anything to you?"
Ainchase put his hood back on his head and shrugged, "You aren't entitled to any answers from me, demoness."
Luciela rolled her eyes," Fine. I will not force you to speak about it."
She pointed at him, "However, I am entitled to have a clear answer about one thing, Celestial. I could not care less on how you want to prepare your funeral from now on. But I cannot say the same for the El Search Party. Are you going to abandon the group to die alone? Or will you try to take Ciel and me with you?"
Ainchase looked down, his long hair hiding his expression, before he combed it back to look back at her, "I'll be there until my time comes. And about your and your servant's safety...I'm not opposed to the good ol' live and let live."
Luciela climbed out of the windowsill and walked closer towards Ain. She could not quite tell what was hiding behind his empty eyes, but she did not sense an obvious lie, "I think that much is acceptable, coming from you."
Normally, she would reach her hand out for a handshake, but she knew she could not trust that a Celestial would always hold back his power against her. She turned away from him and walked towards the door, undoing her spell before opening it. Surprisingly, the demoness found Aisha and Elsword in front of her. The mage's wand was still glowing, visibly using her magic to try to undo the silence spell she put on the door.
Luciela pulled the mage's ears like a bothersome aunt would, making the mage frown in pain, "What a rude little girl! You must not try to sneak in when the adults are talking. Come. Both of you."
Ainchase watched the small demoness drag the two kids away from his doorstep with a faint smile, unsure what exactly he found heartwarming about it. He used his magic to close the door once more and walked right towards where Lu had been sitting before. The sun's light was a bit painful for his eyes, but after he blinked a couple of times, he felt better. For a moment.
The goddess would not answer him now. Not when he was like this. And yet, he still felt the urge to get some kind of guidance. He had no one but himself, now. Perhaps he should use one of those lesser forms of meditation humans knew: talking with the devil.
He closed his eyes with a sigh. Ainchase imagined the demoness was still there and that she could and would reply to any thought that crossed his mind. He figured that understanding his weaknesses through the lens of his enemy would make him stronger in the future.
'I've been asking myself the very same things. The goddess spoke once of a Celestial who tried the unthinkable. A Celestial who believed peace was possible. And that he suppressed his powers towards demons shortly before his death at the hands of his brothers.'
The fallen Celestial looked at the quiet winter afternoon in Elder, staring at the clear grey sky and the sun of silver that hid behind it, finally finding the scenery not as painful as before, 'But I don't believe in peace. And perhaps you overlooked that one moment when I was quite close to throwing a dagger to your back. Back when you went to fight Lua head-on.'
'But you didn't throw it, Ainchase. You dissolved it behind your back, pretending it was never there to begin with,' he imagined her voice as if she were standing behind him.
'No, I didn't. Your power...it seemed to me that if I attacked, it would mean mutually assured destruction. And if that happened, Elsword would've become fodder for Lua's madness.'
'Fair enough. But you do realize that means you chose to collaborate with a demon for the benefit of your mission. What does that mean for you?'
'How about you? You didn't say how you felt about that before. You just stood here, monologuing and asking questions you knew I wouldn't answer.'
He imagined her chuckle, 'Oh, you yearn to know my real thought process, wouldn't you, Ainchase? Even if, deep down, I think you already know who I am. And it's infuriating to meet a demon who doesn't lie to people as much as you have, isn't it? It breaks the mould of the treacherous, violent, and evil demons Ishmael tattooed so carefully in your soul, doesn't it?'
Ishmael's dying servant clenched his fists. She was right.
'You bet I'm right. Which means you can understand that the Celestial who sought peace wasn't a shameful heretic. Your goddess has always made you fight a pointless war.'
'No. Demons are ruthless invaders. That much has always been true for eons, and only Celestials like myself can stop them.'
'Perhaps all demons are ruthless. But are you really a Celestial?'
Ainchase remained silent, imagining her grin grow wider as she continued her monologue.
'You know you're not. And the worst part is that while you're growing weaker, I'm growing stronger. The wings Lua took from you, she turned it into power for her puppets.'
'You don't know that.'
He heard her laugh, not with her strange, child-like voice, but with her true voice, 'Probably not. But you do. You sensed it from the moment they were ripped away from you. Poor Ainchase, wingless and almost killed by an elven ghoul. But that's not what infuriates you the most, isn't it?'
Her voice grew into a whisper, right next to his ear, 'What really makes your blood boil is that I took everything Lua had. And with her power in my hands, even if you killed me, you can't get your wings back. But, tell me, wouldn't you have taken everything from Lua if you were in my shoes?'
'No. I would've-'
Luciela leapt back into the shadows, sitting on thin air thanks to her wings, 'Purified it. Yes, I know. But purified demonic power means power compatible with yours. That was the power you could've used to destroy me. And if you had it, you wouldn't have to go out of your way to picture me telling you what you already know. You're going insane, Ainchase. But in your insanity, you're starting to see your goddess for what she really is.'
Ainchase turned back towards his empty room and laid down on his bed, putting his hand over his forehead. He was not feverish, but he had perhaps taken the wrong approach to this new kind of meditation. The fallen Celestial did not think his doubts would be reflected that ruthlessly.
He turned to the other side, facing the wall instead of the window, and took off his hood. Ainchase stopped when he saw the tip of his fingers. The thumb of his left hand was growing into a deep blue. He sat down in a flash, feeling that he was not the only one watching parts of his body fall to Henir's corruption. The god himself was there, watching him.
'Go away,' he ordered mentally, 'You know you shouldn't be around until I have less than a day left.'
'You wanted help, Ainchase. And it wasn't Ishmael's. We both know she gave up on you long ago.' he heard the demoness' cold voice one last time. It was slightly distorted now, a dissonant fusion of a man's voice with a woman's.
The presence of the God of Time and Space vanished in the blink of an eye, and Ainchase covered his face with his hands, muttering the prayers to the goddess he knew. Henir was a god of chaos and trickery. None of his words were to be trusted.
'By the El, Lu's too strong', Elsword thought, unable to even move his wrist an inch.
The small-looking demon was effectively guiding them outside like a nanny carrying away unruly children. Aisha was struggling much more than him, but even with her magic, she could not make the demoness' grasp budge an inch.
"Where in Behemoth's name are you taking us, Lu?"
"The dungeon. You two misbehaved this morning."
"What?!" the two kids said in unison, fighting even harder to get out of her grasp as they climbed down the stairs into the main tavern. But instead of going ahead, Luciela dragged them through a narrower side corridor they had not noticed the first time. As they walked through it, Aisha noticed a heavy metal door. And another one. Then, a third one. She wondered what hid behind each one, but she had no time to ponder about it.
The demon countess finally made them stop a few steps away from a dead end. Luciela finally let them go, nudging her head to order them to stand by her side. She glanced at their faces and smirked at their wide eyes. The two kids saw that they had just stopped in front of a trap door. They glanced apprehensively at each other and looked down at Lu.
The demoness rolled her eyes, "Oh, do not be so distrustful, children. This is not a dungeon."
"Then, what is it?" Aisha asked.
Luciela put her index over her lips and opened the door without a sound. The muffled hits of wooden swords and training dummies slowly invaded the corridor they were on.
Elsword was the first to smile, "Lu, when did you find out about this?" he muttered.
"Ciel found it last night while he looked for a side door to get me and the Priest back in. Come."
The demoness ventured down the stairs, making them creak slightly at each step. Aisha remained on the main floor, looking down as Elsword ventured in with a bit more enthusiasm.
"Lu, someone's training there already. I don't think we should even be here."
The demoness turned back, "Perhaps. But we cannot know for sure if we do not inquire about it first. Some exercise would help you cast today's gloominess away."
"A book would be better," she mumbled.
"You have read them all, Aisha. You can recite entire chapters."
Aisha blushed, looking swiftly away from Lu and Elsword, "Hmph! No, I can't. I don't even like those old novels that much."
Elsword was about to open his mouth to tell Lu to let Aisha go, but the demoness' words were like her fists, swift and sharp.
"Oh, is that so? Chapter 24 of The Warrior and The Flower. Miranda came into her Lord's chambers. The moon was glowing blue-"
"No," Aisha retorted, "the moon was glowing like a blue sapphire, filtering through the delicate silk curtains like the incense of the Temple of the Wind. The night's breeze was a playful lover, caressing Miranda's skin, her golden dress left unprotected. Her heart was pounding out of control, but her love burnt brighter than Aya's. And tonight, she would-"
Elsword's stare made the young mage realize her mistake. She immediately covered her mouth and pointed at Lu, who was grinning from ear to ear.
"By the El, Lu!" Aisha angrily exclaimed, "What are you making me say?!"
"Aisha...you really memorized those books. That's amazing. I wish I had that kind of memory."
Aisha's cheeks grew even redder, but she began to go down the same staircase, "Elsword, I-I don't even-"
Luciela put a hand over the mage's shoulder, "Do not be so flustered. You stopped more than two pages before the horizontal dance."
The mage showed her face again, frowning at Lu, "That doesn't make things better! You're as mean as a demo-"
The demon countess pointed at her growing horns.
"Oh," Aisha mumbled, "Sorry, Lu."
"You did not offend me, Aisha. Now, come along."
The three adventurers continued through a stone-paved corridor, lit by expensive lanterns made of El, sturdy enough to still function after a raid and bright enough to replicate the light of day without any windows. There was a wooden door at the very end of their long path, and the sounds of training were coming from those gates. However, Elsword was not all that focused on their destination. He kept thinking about what Aisha had recited and, truthfully, he did not appreciate long silences between his friends anymore.
"But...how does a horizontal dance work?" Elsword suddenly asked, loud enough for his words to echo across the hall.
"Oh my El..." Aisha sighed.
"You will learn how to make it work when you are older, Elsword."
"But I could train for it right now, right?"
"Oh my El, what have I doneā¦"
Elsword furrowed his eyebrows at Aisha's increasingly defeated voice. Even by trying to keep the conversation going, he felt completely lost, abandoned to some kind of silent conversation he could not grasp.
Luciela glanced at him, "You cannot, and you must not. Horizontal dances are only for adults or married couples. Are you a married adult, Elsword?"
"No."
"Exactly. So, you will wait like every other child for one of the two to happen. Demons wait centuries for their adulthood, surely you can manage to wait a decade or two."
The boy nodded while Aisha's eyes widened at what she had heard.
"C-centuries? How old are you, Lu?"
Lu chuckled, "It is very rude to ask a lady for her age, Aisha. I am as young as spring."
Luciela stopped. They were in front of the door already, and the demoness was the one to open it.
A room as big as a palace's atrium stood before them. The ceiling stood at least two stories high. A blonde, athletic woman was practicing powerful spinning kicks with a dummy made of stone. The strength in her legs was so formidable, Elsword could hear the wind whistling, increasing the momentum of her kicks. The woman's hair was tied in a high, messy bun. She wore a tight black shirt and matching shorts. Her shoulders were scarred with old arrow wounds, and a necklace hung from her neck.
The blonde gave the dummy one last kick, sending a powerful air current all across the room. It was then that they saw her necklace was, in fact, a set of tags just like Ciel's. The metal tags chimed as the wind died, finally landing over her shoulder. Luciela could see the number twenty one engraved on both, making her stand at the same level as Ciel. The blonde sighed and turned around. Her face was as recognizable as any, it was Ariel.
She tilted her head at them, "Uhm, were you looking for me, adventurers?"
Elsword shook his head, "Not really. We just kinda found this place by accident. Could we train here, too?"
The woman nodded, untying her hair before combing it into a high ponytail, "Of course, these facilities belong to Cobo Services. All registered adventurers may use them as they please."
She looked down at Lu, "Sadly, you weren't registered as one, Luciela."
The demoness put her hands together, making the best pleading face she could, "Can I at least watch? Elsword promised I could! Please, Miss. Ariel! I won't touch anything, I swear!"
Ariel nodded with a smile, "Of course you can watch. But not much more."
Luciela walked into the training area, surprised to see that Elsword and Aisha were already scrambling for weapons. The boy held out a wooden sword, and Aisha had taken a wooden spear she awkwardly tried to wield with one hand. Luciela sat back and watched how their first spar without any direction would go.
Their blows were disorganized, wasting too much momentum in their attacks. And their defence had no real technique. Luciela could notice just how tense their arms were. Their footwork was unbalanced, leaving their ankles exposed to attacks from below. Their fight was even, despite that Aisha had the tactical advantage of both offence and defence. A spear had a naturally longer reach than any sword, making it the ideal counter for any swordsman.
Elsword spun to get a high hit to Aisha's shoulder. It was the perfect chance for Aisha to thrust her spear forward into Elsword's unprotected back, but the girl simply stepped back to parry the hit with her shield.
Luciela had had enough. She summoned her gauntlets on her and clapped once, the chime of demonic steel overwhelmed the hits of wood against wood.
Aisha and Elsword turned to face her, sweat already dripping down their foreheads.
"You two desperately need to train the basics," Luciela announced, making her weapons vanish once more. Her eyes wandered to an open chest of wooden weapons, and she picked up a short sword and a small shield. She scrambled through the rest of different weapons until she came across a good quarterstaff.
"Aisha," she called, "leave that spear and take this."
The demoness threw the shield and the staff towards Aisha, who picked it up. Already, her grip on her weapons was more natural. Elsword leaned on his bastard sword, looking at Lu as she approached them, armed as well.
"Lu, are you ok with that sword?", He looked at his longsword, "I don't think it'd be fair against a heavier sword."
The demoness scoffed, "This is a handicap, Elsword. Your bones would hate me if I used a heavier sword. Now, I will teach you what your footwork lacks. That's the most important thing."
She pointed her weapon at Elsword, "Elsword, let us duel first. Aisha can watch and catch her breath. She might pick up a thing or two in the process."
The boy straightened up his posture and raised his sword. He slid his right foot behind him, preparing it as a pivot point. Luciela stood sideways, a hand behind her back and the other pointing her weapon straight at him. That was unmistakably the position of a fencer. Elsword tried to replicate her position, but holding his sword with both hands was more comfortable for him. He had never practiced that fighting style before, but he told himself he was a fast learner.
"En garde," she said before dashing towards him. She approached slowly. Her feet were slightly misaligned, and she was leaning back as if she was afraid to lunge forward. Her stance was awkward. Lunging forward was the quick way to finish the battle. His bastard sword had far much better range than hers. Elsword rushed with a more masterful pace towards her. He saw her shift briefly her weight forward, and he understood he had to deliver a slash not only to defend himself but also to have a chance at hitting her before she deflected his sword. She would definitely jump forward.
Luciela smirked, wasting part of her momentum to clash her sword as Elsword had expected, but also poke the side he had left wide open, "If this had been a dagger, Elsword, you would already be losing. This is your liver."
She poked his exposed femur, "And this is your artery. I only have to cut it down and you would bleed out in minutes."
"H-Hey, Lu! That's not-" Elsword protested as he stepped back to catch his breath. Even for a poke, he felt as if he had been hit with a small pebble. It was surprisingly painful, "That's not fair."
He briefly looked down, only to be immediately brought back into the battle by Luciela's thunderous voice, "Lesson one!"
Elsword barely had the time to react, but he managed to barely parry her sword from viciously hitting his shoulder.
"Lesson one," Luciela repeated, "you do not take a break unless your opponent is dead. I yelled before so I would not hit you, but real enemies will be silent. Not only are you bleeding out from your liver and leg, but you would have one arm left if I was silent."
Elsword pushed against her, fighting to keep her at a close distance. The boy slid one of his hands over the blade, resorting to half-swording to continue his fight. He wished that, by changing his grip like that, he would eventually overwhelm her to push her back. That was ultimately his mistake. He felt a swift kick sweep his shaky stance in one strike and, in a blink of an eye, he was laying on the floor, seeing Luciela's blade inches away from his eyes.
"You would be dead now if we were enemies."
Luciela stepped away, swinging her weapon nonchalantly in circles, "Your main problem lies in your perception of combat. Did you ever spar against Lowe or Banthus?"
Elsword got back on his feet and shook his head, "No. We weren't trained to fight people at their level."
"Hmmm," The demoness walked from side to side of the training area, "That explains it. When you are fighting against people more experienced than you, you must always be on the defensive. Not parrying, but evading anything they throw at you. Ideally, you should know your opponent personally so you would know in advance what kind of openings they naturally leave."
Elsword put his weapon over his shoulders to catch his breath, "Yeah, well, that didn't work against you, Lu. I thought you would fight fair. This is just a spar."
The demoness chuckled, "Elsword, I am training you for what we came to do here. We will face Banthus again, and his potential allies will not have a friendly spar with us. The faster you get used to always fighting seriously, the better."
Luciela looked up at the stone dummy Ariel had been kicking. It had a rather ugly monkey face. She covered her blade with mana and swung it at the dummy at it in the blink of an eye. The wooden weapon cut through the stone nose of the monkey as cleanly as if it was made of butter instead of stone, "This dummy is as useful as a swordsman fighting fair in a battlefield. There is no honour in real combat, Elsword. Every strategy is a good one if you live and your enemy dies. What you must focus on first and foremost, is to learn when you can go in and when you must back out. Footwork is the key."
She turned around and looked at Aisha, "What can you tell me about my footwork, Aisha?"
The mage nodded, "Well, you were almost always on the offensive. In the beginning, your stance was horrible for fencing. But it was, well, instinctive. And you used it to change your stance you were much more comfortable in. The rest was classic parry and counter, adding more...underhanded strategies. But it didn't look like improvisation."
Luciela nodded at her, passing her one-handed sword from one hand to the other, "That is absolutely correct. Have you taken any sword lessons, Aisha?"
"Not at all. I've just watched some of my brothers' fencing lessons."
The demoness nodded and turned back at Elsword, "Parry and counter, Elsword. That will be what I'll get you working on. Take a short break while I duel against Aisha. Observe very well. I will get a little more serious given Aisha's knowledge."
Luciela went back to put her weapon in the chest. She discarded some spears and two other bastard swords before finally reaching a greatsword. The demoness giggled as if she had gotten a new toy, testing her easy grip on the sword, which was at least two heads taller than her, "Oh, this kind of sword is perfect. Elsword, what would you call this sword?"
The boy stretched his neck to see an accurate replica of the longswords used by mercenaries, "Oh, that's a Maximus. I think it's Lanoxian craftsmanship. Pretty light for its size, huh?"
Luciela smirked, "Lanoxian, huh? Leave it to them to forge the most exquisite weapons."
"If you're so fond of swords," Aisha began, adjusting the small arm shield Lu had given her over her forearm, "why do you fight with gauntlets?"
"Because my gauntlets are the only part of my armour I could take with me. If I had my full plate and my Beastslayer here, I would probably hunt monsters for a living on my own."
Aisha cleared her throat, "Uhm, Lu? You...haven't fought a real monster, have you? Those things are too big to be slain by one person."
Luciela turned to face Aisha, raising her monstrous sword above her head, standing confidently sideways, "I would not name my real weapon the Beastslayer if I had not slain at least twenty monsters."
Aisha grabbed the staff with both hands, keeping it in a high diagonal. Luciela did not make the first move. Instead, she spoke to Elsword again, but her blue gaze was like a hawk on her staff. No, the mage corrected herself, Luciela watched her whole body carefully.
"Look well, Elsword. If Aisha was on my level or even stronger, she would win no matter what I did. Thank whatever gods you pray to that Banthus is not a spearman nor a staff wielder."
The purple-haired mage took two measured steps forward and swung her weapon downwards, aiming right for Lu's head, the demoness spun her grip on her weapon to parry the hit, preemptively taking a step to the side to avoid getting hit by the length the staff had over her weapon. Her blade was swift like water, continuing to move in a second wave; Luciela had stopped defending and was now aiming straight for Aisha's wrists.
The mage stepped back, repositioning her hands on her weapon to parry the hit. Her staff was now a vertical shield. But, once again, Luciela only kept her momentum, swinging her greatsword in a diagonal ellipse, forcing Aisha to shift her defence to the side. The hit was greater this time, but it did not stop the merciless riptide of swings Luciela was managing to keep going. The demoness stepped to the side and lunged her weapon forward, effectively poking Aisha's chest.
"I have punctured your lung, Aisha."
"You're going too fas-"
Aisha saw Lu take a step back, and she felt the force of her stab shifting backwards. The demoness was going to kick her. Aisha flipped her weapon sideways to protect her chest. But the touch of Luciela's foot came to her lower stomach, surprisingly lightly.
"Woah. How do you manage to hold that back?"
"It comes with experience. That said, I just cut your breath. You are bent over, coughing and wheezing. And each cough is incredibly painful because of your punctured lung. Aisha, you got a shield on your arm. Use it."
'Easier said than done, this staff is too heavy for one hand!' the mage thought, taking three long steps back, only to find herself with her back to the wall. Luciela dashed forward, her sword higher than her, firmly held in her hands ready to swing it down viciously. Aisha knew it aimed at her head. She thought about her shield, dropping her weapon and focused on protecting her head from the death sentence that was going to hit from the right.
The shield absorbed the hit, but so did her arm. Aisha lost her balance as her arm went numb from the vibrations of Lu's hit. She stumbled sideways and barely managed to stop hitting her head by putting her arm first. Luciela's relentless attack ended in one short swing upwards, aiming the tip of her blade only a hair away from Aisha's neck.
"And just like that, you got decapitated. Aisha, when I said use your shield, I meant that you should use it with your staff. The way I stroke you left me vulnerable. You had an opportunity to lunge your weapon towards my neck, and I would be out of the fight."
Aisha took a deep breath, watching the edge of Luciela's weapon spin away from her before getting up, "I can't do both. This staff's too heavy."
"A staff wielded with one hand has more power when it is swung towards an opponent. You need to train your strength, from what I see."
The mage squinted at the demoness, still breathing heavily from the spar, "Oh, come on, Lu! I'm a mage. I wouldn't be fighting like this in a real fight."
"When you are out of mana, and your enemy is still relentlessly attacking you, what are you going to do? Forfeit your life? Or perhaps you wish to be saved by the nearest ally even if it kills them?"
Aisha looked down, remembering that Lua's words to her were still true: a mage who had gone over their limit was a cripple in battle. Relying on Elsword back then had almost ended in their deaths. She did not want to be responsible for getting anyone that close to death again.
The red-haired boy got up again and walked next to Lu.
"Hey, Lu," he began, pulling the amulet Aisha had given him. To the mage's surprise, it was faintly glowing, the way it should when it was under the control of its wielder.
Luciela raised an eyebrow at the amulet, but did not pay more attention to it than that, "What is it, Elsword?"
"I want you to teach me how to fight with a Maximus."
The demoness tilted her head, "Oh? Why the sudden change of heart? A bastard sword is better for kids your age."
Elsword pointed at his amulet, "This amulet gives me the strength of an adult already. And I think the way you fought fits me more. I want to overwhelm my enemies as fast as I can."
"Hmm, yes, my fighting style does suit your hot-headed temperament, but you still need to apply better basics. Shall we go back to the main floor to get some water before continuing?"
The two apprentices nodded in unison, eager to get a proper break. As they got out, a dark-haired woman with a cocky smile dressed in a red and white uniform walked in with a broom and a bucket. Nothing about her made her stand out as anything other than some maid employed by Cobo Services.
Little did they know that the woman was the second pair of eyes that Hoffman had put on them.
