A/N: I really did not expect it to be this long before I updated. But between college and other factors, this chapter continued to be delayed over and over again. Good thing is, I started typing chapter 21, so I'll have it up sooner, hopefully next month.
~Kalafinn
Elsword clenched his sword firmly between both hands, knowing he had the disadvantage. The black-haired girl before him was dressed like a mountain bandit. The boy's eyes focused on her feet, noticing immediately that the boots she wore, while made for the military, were a size or two too big for her. Her cloak, too, was trailing slightly on the stone-paved street.
They only had to make her lose her balance to turn things in their favor.
"I really thought you were better, Rena!" the golden-eyed girl, covered in wolf fur, howled before dashing straight for the elf.
"Rena!" Aisha yelled, fearing that the demon would go for Rena's wounds. She saw a glimpse of red hair dash away before she could move, and a blink of an eye later, the steel blade of Ara's weapon clashed against Elsword's sword. Rena had leapt into the air, weaving seamlessly three arrows with the mana around her and firing them. The air whistled as the projectiles took flight, loosening the bows that held the mage's hair. Aisha shook her head, remembering that she had to fight, too. She should know that Rena was probably at Lu's level.
The golden-eyed girl looked up, her gaze growing wide as the wind pushed away the hood of her cloak from her head. She strengthened her grip, and Aisha saw mana whirl around the young woman's body. The spearwoman made her weapon spin above herself, turning the projectiles Rena had sent her way to dust.
Elsword had put all his weight forward to parry the spear, but now that it was no longer there, the young knight lost his balance and fell. He quickly regained enough balance to sweep his sword, aiming straight at Ara's feet. The golden-eyed warrior tripped backwards, her gaze growing wide at the blood tainting her boots.
Aisha took a deep breath. With two monsters hogging up all the natural mana, it was useless to try to unleash a powerful attack. If she knew she had to fight like this, she would have brought a couple of mana potions with her.
'Ah, the El be damned!' She grumbled, using half of her innate mana to ignite a trail of ice over the ground, aiming to encase the feet of the enemy.
Just as Aisha hoped Ara would completely fall over one side of her body, the black-haired girl merely touched the ground with the palm of her hand before propelling herself five stories high. The trail of ice faded into wisps of mana where Ara put her hand. The mage clicked her tongue, realizing she should have expected the spearwoman's spear. Her mana was running out, but challenging her in hand-to-hand combat was suicide. Elsword would have to parry most hits, even if his weapon was destined to eventually lose against spears and staffs.
'We'll have to keep her busy.' The mage took a deep breath, weaving around her staff the few threads of mana left from the air around her. It would take a while before she could launch Lightning Bolt, but she had to be sure to have enough to fire at least two volleys of fireballs.
Rena landed like a cat; the mana around her strengthened her scarred body with a green aura. The elf did not let the girl land before charging a gigantic wind arrow, aiming a bit over the small balcony of the bridge's watchtower.
"Rail Stinger," the elf coldly said.
Aisha had to squint her eyes to see why Rena had chosen to aim her attack there. Ara had no choice but to land there, unless she wished to break something by landing through the ceiling. Even then, Ara had no way to evade an arrow that big.
The moonlight lit up Ara's figure as her hair was turning into silky snow. She opened the palm of her hand, and a ball of golden and black energy formed within it. The arrow pierced the orb, and, in an instant, it disappeared.
Ara graciously landed on the edge of the balcony, but Aisha could no longer recognize her. Her eyes had not only turned crimson, but they shone with malice. She smirked playfully at them; something behind her was pushing her coat away.
"It's been such a long time since I've smelt such a deep killer intent on an elf," the white-haired girl mused as red claw marks began to paint themselves over her cheeks. "Are you a Night Saver?"
Rena frowned, "I'd rather die than join them."
"Oh, is that so?" The girl's smirk turned into a grin. A train of nine fox tails finally emerged from the coat, tossing it into the snow. "What a waste."
Her smile disappeared as fast as it came, replaced by a glare. Crimson eyes shone briefly, and the mana that had once enhanced Ara's body was unleashed in an unavoidable wave. Aisha felt her entire body be pushed to her knees. She clenched her teeth, fighing with what little mana she had left to form a barrier around her to protect her bones. Once she felt lighter, the mage looked for Elsword.
Her gaze met Rena first. The elf was still standing defiantly against the suffocating mana. In fact, she stood ready for combat. Elsword was, however, already completely laying down over the road. Aisha teleported right next to him, grimacing at the burning sensation that crept from her wand into her arms. She was at her limit, but if she did not hold the barrier, they would die.
Elsword coughed as he slowly got back up, "Thanks, Aisha."
"No problem," she said through her teeth. She glanced at his amulet. "If you don't want to be crushed to death, put that amulet around my neck."
She felt something drip from her nose and fall in drops onto the floor. It was most likely blood. The burning was creeping up to her face, far too quickly to hold on for more than a minute. She coughed, tasting the metallic flavour of her nosebleed. The fox woman turned her attention towards them and disappeared. Aisha saw the watchtower become a blur, but after she blinked, she felt a cooling wave of stored mana course through her, and her senses heightened to superhuman levels.
The fox woman was no longer in sight, but Aisha could feel her cursed mana darting towards them from behind. She turned around and turned her barrier into a geyser of flames. She made it expand until she was sure the attacker had stopped moving. The flames faded away, but Aisha weaved the remains of their elemental mana back into a new barrier for the two of them.
The white-haired woman was still alive, but both of her forearms had been charred to the bone. She lifted one, clenching her weapon as if nothing had happened to her arm. With a disgusted grimace, the white-haired woman knelt near a pool of blood stemming through the snow. To her right, the electrocuted corpse of a phoru rested over the watchtower.
"This is why I hate mages," the fox-girl sighed as she dug her free skeletal hand through the corpse's skull, bones and brains crackling like an egg. Yet, by some magic Aisha had never seen, the blood turned into hundreds of fireflies circling around the girl's injuries. The bone, fur, and blood that pooled on the snow evaporated into more golden lights, weaving anew the flesh Ara had lost.
"Necromancy?" Aisha thought out loud, her gaze growing wide at how the girl desecrated the most sacred balance of all.
"She's..." Elsword quietly chimed behind her. "She's absorbing them."
"I know," The mage glanced at him, adding one layer to her barrier for good measure. The prospect of facing someone who had mastered any dark arts so expertly was not an enemy she was ready to face. As if she had heard Aisha's worries, Rena stepped in front of the mana shield.
"I would have hoped your kind would know better than to ruin children's lives." the elven ranger menacingly stared at the ancient spirit in front of her. The Fox smirked.
"Oh, but you are a child yourself. Fresh out of your forests," Eun mused. She opened her hand, letting her claws grow to the length of knives. "And you'll die tonight, elven child."
Rena stood her ground, using one foot as a pivot as she let more and more spirits strengthen her body. There were more of them than ever before, all of them responding not only to her plight, but also the one of the Celestial who had given up his wings to bring her back safe and sound.
The Fox's vessel disappeared, but Rena had only to focus to hear the whistle of nature's spirit warn her of an attack to her left. The elf pivoted to the direction of the attack, raising her arms to block an attack to her head. The claws of her opponent broke as they touched the wall of blue wind. Rena lifted her leg into a high kick from which the wind hung like armour. The hit barely missed Eun's chin, breaking her arm instead. The fireflies appeared and healed the wound instantly.
The spirit glared at the elf, "Not only is a Celestial playing nice with demons, but he gave his Protection to you?! No. That can't be." the fox-girl mumbled. The marks on her cheeks grew wider, until they covered the sides of Ara's face. Eun opened her hand, and the spear she had left where Aisha had attacked her came flying back to her.
Rena looked at the two kids. Aisha's shield could hold even if the two of them went all out. The Fox herself might be powerful, but there was only so much she could do in a human vessel. As long as she did not let the spirit score any points, Rena thought she could make the foxfire run out.
"You broke your oath to us, elf!" the spirit roared as she leapt towards her, her weapon gathering more and more mana until it became a giant harpoon aimed straight at her heart. Rena jumped away, dashing with the gales that carried right behind her opponent. The fox's crimson eyes barely had the time to see a knee hit her shoulder before the air tore her away from the ground and sent her flying across the bridge. Rena looked at the watchtower in front of her and saw just the right amount of misplaced bricks that could allow her to jump to the top. The first one was two stories high, to her right. The elf stepped on an edge barely large enough to fit the tip of her toes before lunging forward to grab the second, a story higher than that.
As she was flying to the next step, Rena heard a crash in front of her, and the cloud of smoke that crept its fingers from the sides of the watchtower was enough to know that the Fox had finally crashed.
The spirits became Rena's wings, her strength in her arms and feet. The elf grabbed the next stepping stone and, with only one arm, she found the strength to propel herself into the cold night right on top of the tower. Once there, she took the bow from her back and aimed at the cloud of dust, dissolving five arrows into a tempest of wind to clear the air from any debris.
The White Fox had barely any scratches on her body, but she seemed to have barely dug herself out of the crater on the left turret at the other end of the bridge. It was the third time she had used the foxfire. Rena took aim with her bow, but as she let the first volley fly, she felt blood spray her cheek. She glanced at her finger as she landed on the watchtower. It was half-way cut.
"Shite," the elf muttered. There was no choice but to fight the spirit in close-quarters. Without taking another breath, the elven ranger let the wind take her down. The wind spirits that scurried along her legs were enough to take the impact of the fall for her, letting her land like a cat.
Rena looked at the enraged spirit in the eye, "If I had broken my oath, no spirit would come to my aid. Up until now, I didn't know just how big of a gift he left me."
"Oh, is that so? Then, he truly is a lost cause."
Eun threw her spear in the air. Nine orbs of energy spun around it, going down as the spear continued to rise. Once on the ground, the orbs faded into pure energy circling around the bridge until the ground Rena stood on began to shake. The elf leapt back as the Fox took the spear back in her hands. She slammed it into the ground, and the stone caved in in a flash. The explosion of spirit energy pushed the fragile road into the river, cutting the bridge effectively off as a wave of hot air rose from where the road had been. Rena put her arms up to defend herself from another attack, which came as the handle of the spear coming straight to her gut.
The elf trusted in the spirits, but the conflicting currents of wind had made her defence weaker. She coughed as all air left her lungs, and the wind that had once taken her forwards was struggling to be a cushion to lighten the incoming crash.
Rena looked up, her gaze growing wide as she saw four different spear strikes come at her simultaneously. She charged a punch with a whirlwind as she set out to slow herself down with her right leg. At equal amounts, the forces should cancel each other out. She struck an upper punch at the four fangs that looked to impale her body, and the sting of the spear made her frown. The blood did not even drip down her wound, but it was already transforming into foxfire, healing Ara's body. Rena's foot dug through the road, turning over dozens of stone tiles. The elven Ranger could feel her knee ache as she finally came to a halt. She found her footing again, but now she could not stand straight. Any weight she put on the leg she had used to break made it shake uncontrollably.
The fox would not relent, and she could not have Aisha and Elsword fight for her. They were simply too weak. With a warcry, Rena forced the wind around her body to hold her leg straight, and she instantly felt a sharp pain crawl from her foot to her knee. It was best not to look.
Eun charged at her, swinging her spear upwards. Rena slid on the ground, delivering a definitive sweeping kick that knocked her opponent down. Without a second thought, Rena jumped and used her last drop of mana to empower her wind aura into a tornado too big for the Fox to dodge. Wings of wind multiplied around her as she fell, seeing through the eye of the storm the right arm of her opponent inching for her weapon again. The deafening wind scarred the bridge and Aisha's barrier, but it didn't break them. As the last blades dispersed, a spiral cut up to the railings of the bridge. Yet, Eun was no longer in sight. Rena turned back, only to see two claws aimed at her neck. She put her arm to block the attack, looking better at her opponent. Half of her face was completely gone, and her right arm was only a thread of cracked bones barely held together by a few tendons and muscles.
The foxfire covered the wounds in an instant as the claws dug a hole in Rena's hand. She grimaced, readying another kick. But just then, an arrow whistled from the walls of the town and dug itself into the healed shoulder. The fox fire grew dimmer until it faded, leaving the girl's hand halfway healed. Then, a gunshot rang. The bullet pierced through the elbow, returning it to bones.
Eun clicked her tongue and dashed away, "Those damned Hunters."
She reached the damaged railing when the arrow and shot rang again. With a glare, the cornered spirit formed a sphere of the same darkness Ain had cleansed Rena from and threw it at the projectiles. The sphere grew bigger until it finally exploded, briefly blinding everyone on the bridge. By the time Rena could see again, the spirit was gone. The lesser spirits she had called decided to stay, still answering to their calling to protect her from all harm, to do so, they had to heal her.
Rena sighed in relief, stumbling backwards until she found her balance against the other railing. She searched for Aisha and saw the powerful mana shield come undone. They were mostly unharmed, save for Aisha's dried nosebleed. She tried to be happy about that, but the words the Fox said about Ain just would not leave her mind. Just how much of his lifeline had he used to cleanse the dark energy that was starting to corrupt her?
Ciel heard the safety jam the trigger as the rifle hit the ground before he realized he had let it out of his hands. What was that sphere of darkness, no, light? Whatever that thing had been, it was unlike any spirit or forbidden magic he had seen.
"What was that?" he thought out loud as he picked the weapon up.
"It's the same," he heard Camilla mumble, her eyes as wide as his, "It's the same thing as back then…"
She was still clenching her weapon, but her hands trembled, completely overcome with fear. Ciel slapped her shoulder strongly enough to make her lose her balance. The feitan Steel Cross needed no more to snap back to reality and frowned at him.
"Where have you seen that, 16th?!" He hollered at her, more out of fear of knowing that something that consumed magic as its fuel existed around here. He did not need to deal with something as dangerous as that when he planned to get Lu away from the madness they were being dragged through.
The fear had gone out from the woman's black eyes, fully set on the cold, distrustful stare that characterized people like them, "Someone you know, 21st. I can't do shit against it, but maybe you can. Now, give it back."
Ciel picked the weapon back up, admiring the Feitan Moonstone alloy. The dark steel camouflated naturally in the dark, even with the moonlight and the torch burning nearby. It was a shame to let a fine weapon like that go back into the hands of a woman who could not even use it.
He sighed but gave the weapon back, "Look, I appreciate the respect, but you've clearly seen whatever that was before. You're way ahead of me."
Camilla pulled the weapon away from him, her gloved hands glimmered as mana threads carefully fused with one another to form a belt to hang the weapon over her back, "That's bold, coming from someone who just made a pact with an enemy of the El to save his life. But if you've made all the way here, I'm sure you've seen all kinds of magic beyond human reach."
Ciel furrowed his brow, "Just who are you, really?"
"You know that by my tags," the woman answered, glancing back at him. "And you should know the Church wouldn't let a top dog like you simply vanish from their sight. I'm by far the weakest person who has kept tabs on you and that demon child."
She opened the trap door from which they had entered and stopped, turning her head towards him, "Oh, and before I forget. The Earth Priestess wanted me to give you the rifle, as long as we were sure you could be trusted."
Ciel scoffed, "We? More like she left that decision to your partner, the 21st of Lurensia."
"Yes. But neither she nor I trust you. Eliminate the pagan priest for us, and you'll not only get the rifle but also safe passage to Feita. The only thing left for you and that demon can be found in the Altar of Dedication. Or so the priestess said."
The blue-eyed man's gaze widened, "The Altar of-"
"Yes, you heard me. Fluone needs its 21st back, and not as some half-demon scum. You are still the prime candidate to replace the 9th Fire Guardian. I hope you're not dumb enough to prefer your demon master over a chance like that."
Ciel did not say a word, turning away from her as she bid him a sour "goodbye" and slammed the trap door behind her. He looked down at the three adventurers on the bridge. They were injured, but not to the point they could not stand at all. Bringing back the El ensured his and Lu's immediate survival in the region, but not much more.
Becoming a Fire Guardian, even as their weakest ranked member, guaranteed him a life three times longer than any other human and immunity from the Church's persecution for his current situation. How hard could it be to convince the Fire Priestess to leave Lu alone?
He took a deep breath in, 'It'd be dumb to reject her offer, huh?'
The half-demon shook his head, choosing to jump over the wall instead of taking the stairs. When he was at the level of the portcullis, he fired a simple air spell from the palm of his hand, forming a bubble of air that eased his fall. He looked at his wrists, looking at the wind bracelet he had managed to get from the lower clergy in Sander. At the time, he thought the priest was merely being kind, but now he wondered how much of the help he had gotten was not influenced by the eyes of the Church.
He furrowed his brow at the runes carved on the bracelet, 'Just two spells left. Shit.'
"Ciel!" Aisha called him, "Over here!"
The half-demon jogged towards them, looking at Rena. The elf reassured them with a smile, gathering spirits around her to stop the bleeding.
"Rena," he called, taking one step closer.
The elf turned around and put a hand up, "Stay right there, Ciel. The spirits around me are still under Ain's authority. You're only a half-demon, but…" she nudged her head.
The Steel Cross nodded, "Can you get them to disperse?"
Rena nodded, "It'll take some time, but yes. They don't want to leave until my finger heals."
Elsword looked at the two adults, raising an eyebrow, "I don't really get it. That girl didn't look like one, so why does she want him to die?"
Ciel crossed his arms, taking a deep breath, "She isn't. The Millennium Fox is a spirit like the Ancient Phoru."
Elsword gravely nodded, "I see. So, some spirits also want to kill Celestials. No wonder he was so injured when we faced that spirit in the ruins."
Rena looked away, with a pained frown on her face, "Elsword, did you hear what the spirit that took over Ara's body was saying?"
The boy raised an eyebrow, "Yes. But why do you-? Ouch!"
Aisha tapped Elsword's head with her staff, "Dummy. She's asking because that spirit knows exactly what a Celestial is."
The boy looked back at Rena, raising an eyebrow, "I heard what she was saying, but I don't get it. Why shouldn't Ain help you?"
Ciel furrowed his brow, wondering the same thing. Yet, he doubted Rena would say anything about him. The elf took a deep breath, "Where do I begin…"
Aisha huffed pridefully, "Well, you could say that they're gods, for starters. My elder sister translated part of the-"
Rena shook her head, "They're not gods, Aisha," the light of the spirits around her slowly turned from a light blue to green. She looked at Ciel. "It's ok now, Ciel."
As the mercenary joined the other three, he contemplated the holes and cracks on the paved road ahead. Debris from the stone rails littered the way. The rare spots where the path was clear, the road had been either cleaved by the Fox's claws or had craters the size of feet. Right in the middle of the road, a hole too big to be avoided by carriages pierced the bridge. The only way left to cross from the other side into town safely was on foot.
"Huh? But the manuscripts of the Lost City-!" the mage began to protest.
"It's not because some people call a spirit a God that it is one. Think of a Celestial as a spirit who was given a duty by a real god." She looked at her injured finger, trying to bend it, but it only trembled instead, "Ain has, well...I guess the easiest way to describe him is to say he's a knight."
Ciel frowned, "And knights have to defend their Lord's land from invaders."
Aisha rubbed her hands together, taking a deep breath in, "Well, demons are invaders for sure, but if he hasn't killed Lu, she must be too weak to be a real threat."
Rena's ears dropped, "Well-"
"Are you dumb, Aisha?! Lu's super strong! She said she was the Steel Queen, remember?" Elsword loudly blurted out.
"You still think nobody around you ever lies?! Demons lie like they breathe, but even the weakest demons would beat a human to death without breaking a sweat. They all enjoy that."
The comment made Ciel frown, but he decided to keep his venomous reply for another time. Rena had decided to give some information, so he might as well try to find the missing link between Ain's nature and Lu's obsession to know why he was dying. As the two kids continued to argue, Ciel quietly approached Rena and put a hand over her shoulder. The elf looked up at him.
"Is something wrong?"
"He's either a traitor or incompetent, right?" He softly said, "That's why his goddess is killing him, isn't it?"
The elf's eyes widened briefly, then she furrowed her brow, "Must be convenient, sharing a soul with a demon Queen."
Ciel blinked, taken aback by how disgusted Rena's voice sounded. He sighed, scratching the back of his head, "Look, she only wants to know why he's dying, Rena. Once she knows-"
The elf glared at him, "Nothing gives her the right to know, Ciel."
She turned away, brushed his hand off her and hollered at the two kids to stop their bickering. Ciel stayed where he was and took a deep breath. His questions had gotten him answers as bad as he had expected. At the very least he had come one step closer from understanding Lu's fixation, and he hoped the demoness would On the other hand, now that he thought about it, Lu had asked him to let her know if he caught up with Rena or the kids.
'Hey, Lu,' he calmly called her, following the group two steps behind.
No answer. He called three more times, but to no avail. He clenched his fists as they crossed the gate into the town, calling out her full name. He overheard some guards ahead, and he saw the other three stop. A guard approached him. Ciel noticed his tan skin and white hair, but the details of his face were blurred as he tried again and again to contact Lu.
"Hey, Mr. 21st, I got someth-"
"Lu," Ciel muttered her name; his mind screamed it. His gaze shifted left and right, looking for the fastest route back.
From the corner of his eye, the half-demon saw something move close to his head. He caught the fist before he snapped back at his attacker, "What are you doing?!"
It was the guard. The lad looked like a teen, with bright copper eyes and a guard uniform that looked half a size too big for him. However, his slightly pointy ears were the sign that he was not fully human.
The young guard whistled, withdrawing his armoured fist, "You're a half-demon, alright. But don't get me wrong, I just wanted to tell you something, and I couldn't think of anything else that would get your attention."
Ciel raised an eyebrow, "What is it?"
"You're not even going to ask me who I am?" the half-elf sulked, "And here I was so excited to meet Fluone's best."
"Cut to the chase. Give your name and your message." The Steel Cross looked around, noticing he was not the only one being questioned. "I don't have time to waste."
"Don't worry about your companions. Those guards are real ones. I'm from Hamel's Branch, 5th Water Guardian."
Ciel raised an eyebrow. He had hoped what happened in Resiam could not be traced back to them, but it was clearly useless, "And what does the Water priestess's personal guard have to tell me?"
The lad smirked, "Not what you're probably worrying about. Compared to the tragedy that will hit this town, the collateral of your battle in my hometown is nothing. Camilla surely mentioned some of it."
The half-demon clicked his tongue, "Yeah, how reasonable of you to ask me to kill a spirit akin to a god. I need to deal with something else right now."
The half-elf chuckled, "If you're worried about your mistress, you have even more reasons to hear me out."
The blue-haired man gave the teen an icy glare. The mercenary slid his hands in his pockets, feeling the daggers he hid in his sleeves slowly scurry down into his open hands.
"You greatly underestimate your mistress if you think I could have done anything to her. I will give you the answer the forest elf refused to give you."
The 5th Guardian stepped closer to Ciel, looking him straight in the eye, expressionless, "He's a traitor alright, but what's killing him is the second pact he made. The God of Chaos, Henir, became his second master."
"And why must I kill someone who's gonna die anyway?"
"If you simply let him die, as it were, the power of Henir will run rampant. The Fox's vessel already has some of it poisoning her body and mind."
"You mean that the black and yellow magic she threw back then is…"
"That's not magic. It's raw energy that's only capable of destroying. The Celestial you're travelling with has enough of it to make this town and everything to the North an extension of Bethma's desert."
"How can I kill it?"
The half-elf smirked, "I like your decisiveness, Ciel."
Luciela's curiosity had gotten the better of her. After Ciel left to see if he could get some auxiliary support from the other Steel Crosses in town, she ended up sneaking in Rena's room. It was exactly like the one she shared with Ciel, except for a letter sitting at the top of the night table. She raised an eyebrow at it and sat on the edge of the bed, her gaze fixated on the letter. She sniffed the air. The sickenly sweet smell of emotions she could not feed from assaulted her nose.
The demoness furrowed her brow and coughed, trying to get the smell out of her system. She reached out for the letter but paused for a moment, her mind walking back to the events of the morning. She snatched the folded paper, her frown growing deeper. Once it was in her hands, she unfolded it, and as she read each sentence, it was harder to remain angry. By the time she reached the end of the letter, there was no trace of anger in her face.
Luciela folded the paper back, keeping it on her lap as she looked up at the window to her left. The sun was setting, and training any further had no meaning if she was alone. Ciel would come back for sure, and so would the two kids, with or without Rena.
She took a deep breath, grabbed the letter in her hands, and got up from the bed. Once she was out of the room, she muttered, "I suppose you are indebted to me now, whether you return or not."
Luciela walked two doors down Rena's and found Ain's room as cold as it ever was. It felt as if there was not a room there but rather a blizzard. Nevertheless, she crouched and slid the letter down the bottom of the door. It didn't quite fit, but, to her surprise, it got pulled away from her reach.
She punched the door, "Well, how unexpected for a hermit to be this eager to get mail."
"...Why did you write this?" he replied, probably louder than what she could hear, behind that door.
She chuckled haughtily, laying her back on the wall next to the door, "You did not save me in the Forest Ruins. Do not say something so preposterous."
"That's not what you wrote."
Luciela clenched her fists, "Have you gone blind? That's exactly what it says."
"No. You wrote this."
"Why would I even write you a letter?!"
The space around her was growing still, as if time itself was closer and closer to coming to a halt. Her indignation only grew, "Rena wrote this for you, for Sult's sake!"
The demoness felt dizzy, and slowly, the hall around her became completely dark.
"Ru?" a familiar voice asked behind the door, "You can come in."
The hall became warmer; the flowers that decorated the walls turned into Bluestone lamps. The demoness rubbed her eyes, thinking she had just imagined being somewhere else a moment ago. The walls of this hall were always made of painted Snowstone, not wood.
'Wood…' she thought, pinching the bridge of her nose, 'Where did that even come from?'
The Soulscream territory, no, rather the entirety of the Realm had nothing called 'wood'. Perhaps her mind was still feeling the effect of the venom. With a deep breath, the Steel Queen opened the door of her knight's quarters.
The room was identical to others reserved for guests. While the floor and the walls were both made of Snowstone, the floor had moving patterns of mana dust carved into it, giving it the illusion of walking on water. The walls were more dull in comparison, merely keeping the natural white colour of the mineral it was made of.
Two windows almost completely covered the wall in front of where she was, and her knight, her hero, was standing under the blue moonlight. His silver hair had grown longer than what she remembered. She had only seen him with his hair untied once, and just the memory of the time they had loved each other brought a smile to her face. However, once she closed the door behind her, the thought that there was something wrong crossed her mind.
Her knight did not turn around to see her, and, more worryingly, Luciela could not see his wings.
"Ainrad, what happened in the Northern Front? How did they get you?"
Ainrad turned around. Like most Cizin, he had clear turquoise eyes, and, since it was a full moon, a halo of mana hovered around his black horns. He took a deep breath, "From the back. A couple of their shadow mages didn't die with one attack." Then, he flapped one dark wing from underneath his hair, "But I didn't let them dig too deep. My left wing is already back to normal. The other's going to take seven days to regenerate."
Rusiela frowned, swearing to burn every last village where dark elves lived. That was the price the Marsides would have to pay for shaming Ainrad like this. He offered her a tranquil smile, "But that's enough about me." He walked towards her and embraced her, "I'm so glad to see you, Ru. When they told me that the venom of that Hydra could make you forget everything, I…"
The demoness closed her eyes, wrapping her arms around him. How long had it been since she had felt his warmth like this? It felt as if centuries had gone by, but that was simply impossible. They had only been away from one another for two winters.
"There's no way I could ever forget you, Ain."
She softly passed her fingers through his silky hair, as she had so often done, "Say, do you mind if I comb your hair today?"
He chuckled, "Not at all."
Russiela did not remember when Ainrad had sat in front of her, nor when she had begun to comb his hair, but the quiet between them was more than enough to fill her heart. The thought that she had left him for a long time just would not go away. Tears began to dwell in her eyes, but she took a deep breath to calm herself as she began braiding Ainrad's hair.
"Ru, did you remember back then?"
She silently swept her tears with the back of her gloved hand, "Hm? Remember what?"
"When we were in Rigomor, back in that festival. We left the ball for the High Gardens. I held your hand for the first time, and-"
The demoness smiled at the memory, "You kissed me. Of course I remember. I never knew a Cizin warrior could be such a timid kisser."
She expected him to get at least a bit flustered, but his voice was as serious as if he was still on the battlefield, "Not that. The promise I made to you."
"Hm," she raised an eyebrow, finishing to tie the braid, "I do, but why do you bring it up now? Aegirp is still far from being ready to establish the first settlement."
"What was that promise?" his voice was a scared whisper, as if he was waking up from a nightmare.
Russiela hugged him from behind, "Are you sure nothing else happened in your expedition, Ain? I'm here for you, you know it," she left a kiss on his head, "Always."
"What was it?" he simply repeated.
"Well, you promised me to take me to the most beautiful flower field you had seen from Aegirp's observatory. And that you'd ask for my hand there."
The sound of cracks crawling through the glass made the demoness step back and look up in horror as she witnessed the sky itself split itself like glass. She called for Ain, but she could no longer hear her own voice. The man she loved turned into a monstrous shadow, barely retaining any semblance to anything she knew save for his long, silver braid.
"That isn't true. No, that can't be true."
"No," his distorted voice repeated over and over, growing into incomprehensible growls as more cracks formed on everything around them, including her fingers. She took a step forward, and immediately saw herself fall. Russiela could not explain why, but she saw her own body shatter as if it were a porcelain doll thrown against the wall.
'Huh?' she thought, seeing everything around her spin, 'What...what just happened?'
She overheard someone's voice -a man's- mutter an apology over and over again. His anger was out of her reach, but she could still feel it.
'What kind of man loathes himself to this point?' she wondered as she felt something soft against her back. A bed. The sound of a door slammed against the wall startled her.
"What did you do?!" another man's voice barked, his boots stomped through the wood so loudly it occurred to her that each step the man took left holes in it. "What did you do to her, you sick bastard?!"
"Ciel!" a boy's voice called from the distance, "Ciel, calm do-" he held his breath and, when he spoke again, it was a whisper, "By the El..."
"What did you do?!" The man she had heard before continued to scream, the sound of knives slashing flesh cut his words at times. She could smell the man's suffering. It was both grief and physical pain. Was he the one being attacked? But who was attacking him?
"Ciel, enough!" A woman's voice cut through. "Look at yourself. Didn't...?"
She thought it was odd that, considering how well she was hearing the people around her, some parts of what the woman said were drowned in silence.
"I'm still..." the man whispered. She could hear something drip onto the floor as it creaked.
"Aisha," the woman calmly ordered. "Get him some ointment and bandages."
"...Yes," a girl's voice quietly replied; her timid steps creaked then stopped. The girl probably thought she was far enough, but her muffled wail still made its way to her ears. It was a peculiar wail, the broken woman thought. It was full of fear, but barely a hint of grief. Perhaps she had screamed.
'Who are these people?' she asked herself. Aisha, Ciel...Were there any demons with such names?
The door closed way more silently than the first time, and complete silence returned to her surroundings.
"There's-" the first man she had heard, the one who was apologizing, began.
"Shut the fuck up..."
'Why do they feel so sad?' She thought, 'Did I know them?'
"Fine. If she dies, it's your fault."
"My fault?! This?!" the second man, Ciel, roared again, "You did this shit...! …"
"If you're really set on doing that, fine. But she's not dead yet. Can't you hear her breathing?"
Silence returned once more, only to be broken by a sigh of relief.
"The only thing that can bring her back is your Soul Pact." The door creaked open again, "If you've... It has a low chance of working perfectly, but it's the only way."
"Why are you telling me this?"
"Who knows?"
The door quietly closed, and it seemed to her that someone was holding her. Perhaps it was that Ciel, whoever he might be.
'Just who are you? I never made something as reckless as a Soul Pact with anyone.'
Someone opened the door again. She heard glass bottles rattle against each other. Was this new person Aisha? That woman did order her to bring ointments and bandages.
Yet, to her surprise, she heard the woman's voice instead, "You're going to make your wounds worse, resting like that."
The bed creaked as what she assumed to be Ciel's arms left her alone.
"Treat... Please, Rena. She's barely breathing." his breath creaked, and the scent of grief overwhelmed her senses.
'Wounds? But I'm not in pain. This is how I have always been. I don't know who you are, but I'm not even close to dying.'
The woman named Rena sighed, but her voice was still as tense as it had been the moment it first reached the demoness. "Ciel, if I touch her, I'm going to instantly die...told you how, right?"
"Why would I ever trust that bastard again?" Ciel hissed. "He did this to her."
"I guess that's fair, but, Ciel-"
"I should've been here," the man weakly said. The hit of a fist hitting a wall startled her. "Shit. I should've protected her."
'Why do you care about me?' she tried to remember if there had been any servant she had been that close to. The more she tried to narrow down each memory, the fainter they became, until she became sure she never had any servants.
"But you didn't. And now your only choice is to save her," Rena answered. The quiet creaking of scissors cutting through bandages filled the silence. "But whether you try or not… I think you'd feel better knowing you tried saving her even if it doesn't work."
