Chapter 10: Opening Act (10)
The morning of a day of slaughter and bloodshed was actually quite the beautiful affair, full of drifting mists, bright sunlight and slight breeze as Charlemagne's armies marched upon the Saxon territories, their goal simple and clear.
Bring to justice king Widukind for his temerity of daring to defy Charlemagne and put down any further chances of rebellion or resistance. The natural course history would have taken was for the Saxon king to have already fled, denying Charlemagne his retribution and leading to the death of 4500 Saxons who had surrendered themselves to the Christian king's tender mercies, an act of blunt and simple reprisal that was intended to send a message and little else.
"Today, however, things are going to undertake a few minor course corrections. Well, maybe not minor."
Smirking to himself as he led Shalba and the rest of the small group of Devils towards their target Harris tried hard not to squirm in anticipation, at the eagerness of seeing his plans come to fruition. While he had seen the fallout of his actions in his past life time aplenty it wasn't very often that he got to see what they would avert so this was quite the novel experience indeed.
"We are all in position...and you're certain that Charlemagne's warriors are traveling this route?"
"Of course I am, I told them to take it so that they could wipe all of you out...several kilometers distant. Fucking relax, all right?"
Shalba scowled, growing, "If you are wrong about this then we will have-"
"Engaged a much larger force with no real means of retreat. We are not tiny little children, silly boy...perhaps you have something of actual interest and intelligence to inquire of us~?"
Merlin's sweet and cutting words caused a dark expression to cross Shalba's face before he hid it - rather poorly, at that - as the Devil calmly stated, "No. And I will remember your wisdom, as it is."
He stalked away to his concealed location alongside the rest of their forces, carefully hidden among a line of trees and shallow divots in the ground alongside a meandering path that lead to where their camp had once resided...the path that Harris had given to Charlemagne and the Angels with specific instructions.
"He's, umm...he's going to try to kill us after all of this, isn't he?"
"Oh totally. You all set for this, Charles?"
The Vampire boy swallowed heavily, nonetheless nodding in certainty as he replied, "Y-yes. Or at least as ready as I'll ever be."
"That's the spirit! I mean c'mon, what's the worst that can happen? Death?"
Seeming resigned to suffering through Harris' disturbingly optimistic attitude in the face of adversity and imminent crisis the Vampire merely hunkered down between he and Merlin, the trio falling silent alongside their temporary allies as they waited with steadily mounting anticipation.
All was silent for a time aside from the chirp of birds, hum of insects and rustling of trees in the gentle breeze-
-and the nearly inaudible sounds of approaching footsteps reached their ears, a pair of Human sentries carefully but ultimately uselessly trying to keep their wits about them as they scouted ahead of the main force, eyes peeled and scanning the landscape with nary a blink to be found.
One of Shalba's soldiers launched a pair of rocks towards them at incredibly high speeds, the stone's impacting their necks and crushing them without hesitation, the men writhing soundlessly on the ground as another duo of Devils dragged them into the trees like particularly lethal wolves.
"Now."
Harris' whisper coincided with Merlin sprouting a small flower in her palm with a minor application of her brand of magecraft, the rest of their group off and running towards where the scouts had originated from, a brief window of opportunity allowing them the chance to blitz Charlemagne's forces while they were still on the defensive or waiting for information.
It made perfect sense, after all. Harris had told them the Angels and Charlemagne would be sending a small detachment to crush them while keeping the main body of their forces around the Christian king so that when Zeoticus and his forces mistakenly engaged the main body under Harris' advice their small force wouldn't immediately die and the credit for the kill could be claimed by Shalba and his faction once their foes had ground away at each other's numbers.
...It was a shame that instead of around a few hundred Humans and eighty or so Angels - a force that could be conceivably destroyed with the element of surprise and sufficient violence despite their lower numbers - it was a solid wall of light from almost four hundred sunbright spears that greeted Shalba and his subordinates, the Devils having a scant second to behold the annihilating wave of energy as they cleared the treeline-
-and half their number died right then and there, the resulting detonation from concentrated holy energy turning armor to molten slag and devilish flesh to ash, Shalba staggering away from the detonation as he gaped at the forces arrayed against him, head snapping around in a desperate bid to find Harris and ask why his scheme had failed.
All he found was an empty field, a trio of midnight bats slinking away from the battle with none the wiser as the Devil had barely so much as the opportunity to comprehend the betrayal that had struck when a second tidal wave of holy spears were launched his way in an ambush that made theirs seem like child's play in comparison.
Shalba Beelzebub died approximately eight seconds after the roaring bloodlust and triumph in his chest had changed to terror and fury, annihilated by a barrage of heavenly power that left nothing but drifting embers and swirling smoke.
"Hold!"
The shouted order from one of the Angels brought an end to the bombardment, burning spears of energy fading from existence as the assembled host watched the battlefield with watchful eyes, seeking out any sign that the accursed Devils had escaped their wrath.
Nothing. Only whispers in the wind, their leader nodding in satisfaction as he motioned for his warriors to descend from the sky where they had waited for their quarry, the information provided by the stranger thankfully accurate. There had been concern among some of their number that - despite Telenia's belief in his authenticity - he would falsify reports or try to manipulate events to his benefit.
The Angels began to regroup and plot their return to the rest of their comrades-
-and an enormous beam of Demonic energy wiped a dozen of them from the sky, armored helms whirling to meet this new threat as hundreds of Devils descended from the sky or sprinted across open ground, shouting a war cry as the element of surprise was lost and instead replaced with battlelust.
The Angel's shock lasted only a moment, reforming ranks and preparing for another round with their mortal enemies as it quickly became apparent that they were facing off Zeoticus Gremory's forces, the crimson-haired Devil leading the charge as the battle was quickly joined, the Angels too busy to reflect on the fact that Harris' plan had fallen apart right at the end.
Of course, that had been entirely by design.
"See? I told you it would work. Nice work with the illusions, by the way."
Panting with exertion Charles gave Harris a disbelieving stare, muttering, "You...are completely and utterly insane. I can't believe that worked."
Merlin tittered, remarking, "Perhaps from now on you will have a bit more faith, hmm~?"
Chuckling at the Vampire's disbelief Harris soothingly added, "Don't worry about it, I used to get that reaction a lot. And the whole thing was fairly simple, in all honesty. That timing with the signal was spot on, Merlin."
"A trifling bit of my craft, really."
Idly spinning the simple but beautiful lily between her fingers the magus smirked, her portion of the plan having gone off without a hitch as she had simultaneously grown two identical flowers within both Gremory and Charlemagne's camps, alerting them to the initiation of the plan.
The whole thing had broken down quite simply, when one examined it from an outsider's perspective. He'd told the Angels he would lead Shalba's force in a sneak attack against them, on the assumption that they would be facing off against a far smaller force. And he'd also mentioned that he would inform Zeoticus' forces of the battle taking place except an hour after it had started, allowing them to move unhindered without running the risk of encountering a force of comparable strength.
Then he had gone to Gremory and told them of the supposedly small-scale battle that would be taking place between Shalba and the Angels numbering no more than a hundred strong, the man understanding that it would be an excellent opportunity to both eliminate a rival and chip away at his foe's strength, expecting a quick battle rather than the protracted and bloody melee it was quickly devolving into.
Manipulating all three factions had been depressingly easy thanks to three key resources that had a shelf life anyway, ones he was going to have to use sooner rather than later. Heaven's trust in him thanks to Telenia's rescue, Gremory's desperation due to the stalled campaign and his temporary authority over Shalba that had basically expired less than a day after being granted it.
He'd learned early on in his career that it was better to make use of resources like debts, faith and favors as quickly as possible instead of sitting on them.
"And now for the grand finale…"
"Okay, time for me to do what I do best. Keep an eye on things here, people. And get ready with another round of those bats, Charles. I don't think they're going to like what I have planned for them."
"Right, I'll keep my eye out."
Departing without another word as he shifted into his tiny insect form the male offered the ongoing battle an interested stare, having never seen a large-scale conflict between Supernatural beings before.
The Angels and Devils more often than not took to the skies upon their wings, either seeking aerial domination or a fast-paced melee as they attempted to gain elevation and attack from above, or maneuver in such a way that their allies could launch a massed elemental assault that could wipe out a dozen in an instant without worrying about friendly fire. Of particular interest were the Humans that marched alongside the Angels and Devils, either righteous beings that believed in a cause, mercenaries in it for money or some other denomination that he hadn't yet determined. Rather than be used as fodder or for some pointless battle alongside their much more powerful allies they had a part to play as well.
They strove against their fellow man, blade against blade and shield against shield while a select few Angels or Devils supported them with magic, chanting and casting spells that surrounded their respective Human allies - or pawns, it would no doubt depend on who you asked - that afforded them strength and power a magnitude greater than they would no doubt naturally possess. And making use of this imparted strength they would vie for dominance, trying to push forward far enough that they could then fire off enhanced arrows or allow their Supernatural allies to attack from below, catching their foes in a crossfire.
"Bummer I don't have time to catalogue or watch the rest of this, it would make for quite the show."
Setting aside that momentary and wistful thought Harris continued on, circumventing the battleground and making his way towards where he knew Charlemagne's encampment would be, guarded by a few Angels and Humans that were present to ensure some potential assassin or splinter force couldn't sneak by and make the centerpoint of their grand campaign very dead.
"A shame that's going to end up being wasted effort."
Carefully observing the camp for any signs of caution or wariness he found none, inwardly smirking as his tiny form - just as it had at Gastofield - remained completely undetected. And while the garrison was definitely jumpy with the unprecedented scale of the battle occurring his magic signature or whatever it was his body was using still remained invisible or at least hard to discern to the Supernatural of the world.
He did experience a small moment of regret at seeing Telenia on guard duty, no doubt worried and cautious of why things had so quickly gotten out of hand. She'd been the catalyst of how he'd managed to get this far so easily in the first place and he was about to betray a great deal of that trust.
"Oh well. I'm used to disappointing acquaintances."
With that thought in mind Harris drew ever closer, carefully landing on the pavilion Charlemagne used as his command post and slowly slinking his way inside, compound eyes spotting his quarry and beginning a steady approach, moving randomly and pointlessly just in case any of the residents of the tent spotted him.
"So far so good...just a little bit more…"
Spindly legs tapped out an inconsistent rhythm on the ceiling, the Christian king unaware of his approach as he pored over a few of the maps present on a nearby table alongside his subordinates-
-and Harris struck.
Releasing his hold on the tent's roof he flipped through the air, orienting his body so that he was facing downwards as the man shifted his body into that of a nondescript Devil's, one of the many he'd killed at Gastofield.
The only warning anyone got as blades of raw magic flared to life in Harris' hands was a brief glimpse of triumphant smile, crackle of energy...and the shrieking of golden wards as talismans and shields gifted to the king flared to life in a desperate bid to stave off the assault, burning out in rapid succession as Harris didn't hold back one bit in channeling enough power to slice through the protections. Within a second they were gone, one timeless moment passing between murdered and murderer as Charlemagne met Harris' eyes with an expression that could best be described as confused frustration.
Then the blades of magic sawed through his neck and skull, burning hot enough that flesh and bone was reduced to ash as the headless corpse toppled over with nary a sound, Angel and Human alike staring in shock at their slain king.
Harris was already running like hell, tearing his way out of the encampment before he could be burned to ash by the plentiful amount of guards that would be more than happy to avenge their slain charge.
It was up to Charles now.
He cleared the edge of the camp's exterior, sensitive ears picking up the whine and hum of gathering holy energy as well as the first shouts of retribution that were dogging his heels-
-and tendrils of shadow snapped to life around him, chittering bats surrounding his sprinting form as Harris grinned uncontrollably.
"Right on time, Charles."
While the little show of darkness didn't actually do anything it provided him the perfect opportunity to shift into his insect form once again, winging high into the sky as a deluge of lightspears and other magic thoroughly ravaged the location he'd been occupying a scant second earlier, the force and heat of the explosion forcing his body into an uncontrolled tumble that nonetheless pushed him the direction he wanted to go.
And then he was free, furious and distressed shouts ringing out as the scattered forces of Charlemagne's camp tried to figure out what to do next.
"And just like that mission accomplished. 4500 innocent lives spared, history altered and who knows what kind of fallout to look forward to."
Compound eyes shifted back towards the distant sound of the continuing battle, in no shortage of coming to a halt until a definitive winner had been decided.
"Well, let's see how things are proceeding on that front."
Sirzechs and Serafall had been raised on stories of the glory of battle, of how valiant and superior Devils were when in the heat of combat, of the strength they wielded when conquering their foes.
Neither of them particularly felt that inborn superiority right now, as they were hounded by ten Angels and slowly pushed further and further away from the main theater of battle, hounded and harried the whole way as they desperately fought for their lives.
While the pair of Devils may have been more individually powerful than their adversaries the opposite group more than made up for that with good tactics and combined strength of arms.
When Serafall attempted to freeze either the air or the ground around them they countered with waves of burning holy energy that thawed and melted the encroaching frost. When Sirzechs fired off ravening blasts of the Power of Destruction they dove and dodged, allies casting body-enhancing spells that gave them just enough maneuverability to avoid the lethal magics.
"I don't know if I like war all that much, Sirzy!"
"What a coincidence, I was just thinking the same thing!"
Despite the shared levity their situation was incredibly dire, edging closer to lethal. Sirzech's father had been injured in the first few minutes of the battle when fighting against the Angel's commander, both factions quickly devolving into several smaller skirmishes as their leader's were crippled or removed from play and clear direction was overtaken by white-knuckle, knee-jerk reactions.
Hence, their current situation where they were fighting practically back-to-back, their Angel opponents slowly but surely forcing them to ground level where they would be at even more of a disadvantage than they previously were, half their maneuverability simply gone.
"You have a plan out of this?!"
"I was hoping you had one, in all honesty!"
Feeling the jaws of defeat slowly but surely close around them as the metaphorical noose was tightened both Devils prepared themselves for a risky and exceedingly desperate breakout attempt-
-and had to take a moment to properly appreciate what was happening before their eyes, the image of a Scale Mauler quite literally appearing out of midair and impacting a pair of the Angels leaving them just as speechless as their opponents.
The ensuing roar from the Underworld beast knocked some sense into them, both Sirzechs and Serafall turning tail and running while their foes were distracted with the rampaging beast as they put discretion before dishonor.
A few minutes of fast flying had them out of breath and panting heavily, wiping the sweat from their brows as they took a short break in the relative cover of a tree.
"What was that all about? Where did that Mauler come from?"
Serafall's gasped question had the redhead shaking his head, dazedly replying, "I honestly have no idea. There was no summoning circle or anything like that and if that wasn't present...well, your guess is as good as-"
"You actually have me to thank for that, you two."
Both Devils jumped as a calm and borderline amused voice sounded out from behind them, both preparing to yet again fight for their lives-
-and coming up short as it turned out to be none other than Harris Xavier, both the young man and woman warily relaxing as Sirzechs asked, "Was that Scale Mauler your doing?"
"Eh, who can say? By the way I took out Charlemagne and unless my ears deceive me the battle is coming to a close."
Both Devils blinked, realizing that he spoke the truth and that the distant sounds of conflict had largely faded, a few white-winged figures in the far distance fleeing while a few bat-winged ones stayed behind.
Far less than there initially had been.
"Well, I'd say my work here is done. Take care, you two. We'll likely see each other again sometime in the future."
Before Sirzechs or Serafall could stop him the male strolled out of sight, their pursuit after him leaving them blinking as the man was simply gone. No magic signature, no flash of a teleportation array or portal...nothing.
"Dammit, we didn't get a chance to ask what went wrong with his plan! That was practically all of Heaven's stationed troops we fought against, not just a hundred!"
Heaving out a tired sigh Sirzechs nodded in agreement, posing, "Or maybe it was according to his plan all along, who can say? Regardless we should regroup as soon as possible with everyone else, no doubt my father is more concerned about our potential injuries than he is his own."
Huffing in annoyance but agreeing with her friend's analysis both of them began to make their way towards their comrades, feeling bone-weary and entirely worn out by the campaign...neither noticing the tiny insect perched not far from where they walked.
"Well, master? How did it go~?"
"Went about as well as I could have asked for it to go."
Sharing perceptions through one of Merlin's familiars Harris watched the fallout of his actions with great interest, of how things were panning out.
Charlemagne's death seemed to have sapped the will of a great many of his followers as well as Heaven, body being carefully preserved by his soldiers as they wearily prepared to return it home, the Angels remaining close at hand to provide safety and security against any potential Supernatural assaults aiming to capitalize on their overall defeat.
The Saxons were understandably confused as to what had just happened, that their enemy had apparently lost their great conqueror king and were now falling back to whence they came.
The Devils had also retreated to lick their wounds, the final total of casualties on both sides nearing the halfway mark before they had called it quits, albeit the mood on their side seemed far more upbeat and optimistic than the other factions, a few cookfires and jugs being passed around as they kept a close eye on their enemy's next moves.
"All in all things seem to have worked out quite nicely. Most of the more zealous elements of Heaven had led the charge against Shalba's group and were subsequently killed in the ensuing battle while the campaign into Saxon lands - as well as other theatres - will probably peter out for a little while. A little while that may very well give me the opportunity to get that much more powerful."
As if on cue with those thoughts a vast presence filled his mind, accompanied with,
[You continue to impress. 'Widespread' conditions have been cleared and you may choose to manifest another soul born of your desires, as well as a greater fragment of my strength.]
Smirking to himself Harris set that notification aside for the moment, pulling back from the familiar's view as his two companions stared at him, the trio hidden in a small grove of trees and flowers grown courtesy of Merlin, the Vampire hesitantly asking, "Well...what now?"
"Now? Now we kick back and welcome our newest traveling companion as well as take a well-deserved rest. As for afterwards?"
He thought about that before recalling a bit of history that would prove to be very interesting to observe the fallout of.
"How about we move on to Japan and visit Akito?"