If nothing else, the guild workers were completely respectful when it came to accommodating the Braver. Sure, in public, he was given restraints and was dragged into the guild headquarters. But once he was out of sight, they immediately took them off and offered him an office to work in. He appreciated it, to not just waste his time away waiting while at the same time giving his testimonies. That was soon done and over with, which led to Finn receiving some more information about the string of murders. More specifically, the witness reports.
He leaned back, crossing his arms. Whoever it was, had to be on his level, as well as having been trained in the same sort of way he was. But for some reason, that logical conclusion felt…off. Civilians weren't perfect, nobody claimed them to be, but if they were only a fraction correct…he sighed, rubbing his temples. Without meeting that mysterious murderer in person, he could only theorize around.
Ability to copy him aside, what was the motive here? It could just be a distraction, a goal to bait him out. It made sense, to take out the head of Loki's operations. Definitely the Night Queen's meddling. And yet, for some reason, his thumb tingled. As if he wasn't reaching the right conclusion. He sighed. Personal vendetta, racism, too many reasons for the murderer to act on their own. He would burn his brain out with the possibilities.
Instead of doing so, he pushed those thoughts aside and stared at the moon sky through his window. Humming to himself, he wondered how Lyra was using his gift. It was highly difficult to get a watch that was useful to a blind person of all people. He wondered if he was a bit too cheeky about the choice of gift. But her radiant smile spoke enough of how she felt about it.
Either that or she was just happy in general she got a gift. Sometimes women eluded him. He shook his head. He really had to give Tione a gift too, before she would overdo it in the name of rivalry. He bit his lip. Sometimes he passed by a certain shop. The product caught his eye several times. And each time, he just walked past it. He chuckled to himself. So much for calling himself the Braver. But…after seeing Bell Cranel in action, didn't he make a vow to live up to that boy's courage?
Once this was all over…he should grab it. It and mayhaps the other one too, for the time after. Before he could think more about it however, he heard the commotion outside. The frantic steps, the shouting. The door slammed open and he perked up.
"Braver! It's happening!"
Finn shot up to his feet immediately, catching the spear that was thrown at him. About time, he thought with a dark expression.
/
The Braver exhaled, his face in a permanent frown, as he rapidly spun his spear, utilizing his acrobatics against the knight…to limited effect. His swift changing of targets, his delayed attacks, as well as his unconventional usage of his spear, were all skills he honed to the limit. He could perform those moves with his eyes closed, asleep, or even in the influence of Hell Finegas. However, if there was one weakpoint he never properly managed to address, it was this.
He usually didn't fight opponents who were smaller than him. It was incredibly annoying. One move for example, where he bend his spear, ramming the butt into the ground, to make his opponent run straight into the tip, would just hit empty air as the knight would run him over. His usual jumps, which would get him to face level with his opponent, would leave him too open from below. Nevertheless, he was a veteran of combat.
He could adapt. Not to mention, he was not alone in this fight.
The knight let out a reflexive grunt, so focused on him, the newcomer, that the Guliver Brothers could now flank from four sides instead of just three. He and the brothers never really worked together, but in the past, they had plenty of squarrels with each other. On top of their raw experience, working around each other was not the most impossible thing to do.
He grimaced as the weapon changed again, a stab of a sword becoming a spear, piercing into his flesh as he misjudged the distance to leap back. He spun his body in time, grabbing onto the spear and dragging her forward. Yet she stabilized too swiftly, transforming her weapon again and the gauntlets blocked the attacks from the brothers, cutting her skin at best.
Before those cuts healed with a glitter of light. Finn narrowed his eyes as he analyzed the information he was receiving. The weapons, but more specifically, the ability to transition between them…they were high level, but they were not the main skill. The spear itself…he could sense the feeling of something being held back. And even with that, the power behind each thrust was incredible, almost throwing him off his feet.
Kaguya and Ryuu were right, aside of the acrobatics used when transitioning between weapons, if she had the chance…the knight fought truly like a knight. A guard standing her ground. Information of the past surfaced, mixing together with his current insights.
The design of the armor. The weapons. What many did not know was the fact that Finn was an avid history buff. After all, he wanted to know as much as he could about the legends of his people, to understand them, and to avoid the pitfalls they fell into as well. Thus…he knew how old that gear of hers was, advanced shapeshifting ability of armor and especially the weapon aside.
Logic dictated what he assumed had to be impossible. But the peculiar way she healed, the date of her gear, as well as the fact they were in Orario itself, the city where logic came to die…
"You must be a spirit of the past."
The knight froze on the spot. The brothers were upon her immediately, the large hammer smashing into her chest plate and sending her flying. She somehow managed to flip in the air, to avoid the axe, spear and sword to finish the job. Finn smirked a bit, realizing that words had quite the effect on her.
Which meant she wasn't controlled enough to turn off her hearing. He leaped off the walls and hit her several times, his spear becoming a wheel of hurt as he hit her several times with tip and butt of the weapon.
"I'll go out on a limb and even assume you are from their era! A Knight of Fianna. The Shield Division to be specific!"
She smashed against the wall before pulling herself up on the rooftops. The other Pallum quickly followed suit, with the brothers giving Finn a weirded out look.
"Did your brain rot in imprisonment?"
"Dead people don't revive like that."
"And last I checked, Pallum don't live that long."
"She seems weird, but that…"
"I've met cases that should be dead by now, but aren't." Finn turned back at their opponent, parrying the axe coming in from above. Sloppy. She was getting emotionally compromised. He saw it in her blank eyes, shivering, flickering with a dark light behind them. "You don't seem like a creature. Something else entirely. Whatever you are…Do you not feel anything, when committing your sins?!"
He kicked her against the knee, her leg buckling. The axe bit into her throat, only for a gauntlet to stop it from fully piercing through. With a swift spin, she threw the wielder around, preventing the brothers from taking more flesh from her. Ignoring the wound, she could only step back swiftly as Finn performed various thrusts forward. Her grip on her weapon wavered, shivered. He just needed to push her more!
"Do you not feel anything, as you kill your brethren?! "Many might not know, but I do! The history of the knights! The once our goddess is based upon! Of how much they sacrificed for their kind, of their deeds! They may not have been perfect, but they were still a symbol for us all to aspire to!"
For the first time, the knight growled. Then, with a hammer above her head, she decided to flip the board she was upon. The brothers and Finn lost their footing as the building they stood on collapsed, forced to retreat as the knight, during her own retreat, rained down arrows upon them. Finn hissed as one hit his stomach. It didn't impede his movements, but it was not exactly pleasant. They all caught their breath, with the distance and smoke between them, the knight looking down upon them with a shaking body. Not from exhaustion but from the emotions boiling over, her head lowered at the rooftop she stood upon.
"The Knights of Fianna…no, even Fianna herself, would only feel shame and sorrow for your actions!" He pointed up at her with a snarl. "In their steads, I will cast judgement upon you!"
"Judgment…? Me…?"
Finn stiffened up. The whisper was barely audible to even him. But the frail way she said it…he realized he made a mistake at that moment. His thumb warned him, aching painfully, but I was too late, as the knight raised her head and looked directly at them. At him.
Something fully cracked…and the misted eyes fully cleared up for the first time since she appeared in this world. In that very same moment, Aiz snapped her head towards the direction of the fighting, her eyes wide. She and the others were stationed around Knossos, to make sure none could suddenly appear out of nowhere, in case the knight murderer was a distraction. Yet in that moment, none paid attention to the entrances, the possible points of attack for Evilus. Others shuddered, not aware of the why, why they felt so cold, why the world turned so dark all of a sudden. But she did. She could feel the raw emotion pouring out of the broken flood gates. She could understand where their chills came from.
"Aiz?" Tiona asked with concern, while the Wind Princess tightened her grip on her blade, worry blooming in her chest. All while her hair flickered in color ever so slightly.
"It's…!"
The knight was still, standing on top of the rooftop. Yet, for some reason, the moon behind her began to…warp. As if the very air was being twisted, time and space groaning at the raw emotion she possessed. The Guliver Brothers took an instinctive step back, wariness and a hidden fear rising in their chest. Finn stood his ground, but even he felt…small at the face of that…hate directed at them.
Suddenly…the knight began to chuckle quietly. Out of nowhere, she tore her helmet away, throwing it to the side. Her face was soft. Beautiful and dazzling, as her long blond hair fluttered in the wind. Put her up next to the statue of Fianna, and people might believe she was the perfect mimicry. Yet her face was distorted, as she chuckled, covering her eyes with her palm. Yet her mouth was thin, not a hint of a smile on her face.
"Are you certain about this?"
"Yes. It might be meaningless…but at least try to suppress them. Or else I might completely lose it."
"Your funeral."
She ran her hand through her hand, a sneer on her face as she looked up at the sky. In utter exhaustion. It was meaningless after all? Oh well. She might as well drown in these emotions of hers. Everyone wanted her to bear it all, apparently. Then she looked down, at her opponents, before spitting to the side.
Eyes completely free of mist, fully conscious of her own actions.
"Fuck it." She pointed down with her finger. Before any of them could act, her voice growled. "Kneel."
The ground cracked from how fast their knees hit the ground. They were not the only ones. Any Pallum that heard that voice, knelt down before they could realize it. They couldn't comprehend why they performed this action, their body not listening to their will, their desire to stand up, to run, to attack.
Yet they could not move. Finn paled, as the implications dawned on him. It was as if…as if…
As if the Divine itself exerted its authority over the Pallum race in that moment. But that was impossible. Gods couldn't abuse their powers like that. And she wasn't a god…
And yet, the knight casually jumped down, the only Pallum able to move, as if she was. As if she was a divine being. As if all rules of common sense didn't apply to her. She came to a stop right in front of Finn…before kicking his head from the side, a twisted face waiting for his head to turn back at her, his lips split from her disrespectful act.
"I was never controlled, you bastard." She chuckled dryly once more, kicking Finn's face again from the other side. "All the Night Queen did was dampen my emotions. Ha…she even warned me to handle the dungeon, but I insisted nevertheless. I guess even her skills aren't omnipotent…"
She turned to the Guliver Brothers. They growled, at their own inability, at the disgrace they were being put through. But they could do nothing, as the mystery walked up to each of them, one by one.
A loud slap sounded through the air.
"You say…the goddess Fianna would be ashamed? That the knight Fianna would be sad? True, true, true. But not in the way you think."
Footsteps. A crack, followed by the dripping of blood, as a fist was pulled back.
"They would be sad. Fianna would be ashamed…after all…"
A pained gasped, as something cracked once more. Yet he was forced to remain kneeling, despite his elbow turning blue. The murderer, the knight, the being of the past, walked back to the front of Finn, raising his chin with the back of her foot.
"I am Fianna," she whispered, her eyes glowing with disgust. There was a hint of something else, but Finn had no time to process the other emotion. She suddenly grabbed the back of his head as she lowered herself too, grabbing a fistful of his hair. "I am a goddess you created, you all created. A creation you decided to throw away when I turned out to be 'not real'." She smashed his face down on the ground. He simply grunted, not giving her the satisfaction of seeing him whimper in pain. It only made her sneer more as she raised his head again. "I am the only one who deserves to decide your fate. All of yours. Because you dared to decide mine."
She let go off him, letting him get a breather as she spread her arms open. She looked at the witnesses, the ones left. The Pallum, the civilian, the lower ranking adventurers, unable to move. Unable to be moved by their allies and friends, who could only look upon her with fear.
"I despise you. I despise the Pallum race." She pointed at herself with a twisted expression. "You betrayed me first. You spat on me first. Why, why, why did I even bother trying to save you all? What meaning do your lives have, you pathetic stains of existence?"
"You dare to fall into despair, just because I turned out to be 'just' a knight? What's wrong with all of you?!" She destroyed the ground with her scream, echong through the night sky. Are my deeds, my suffering, my efforts, all meaningless, just because I'm not a goddess, huh?! Tell me, was that reveal so mind shattering of an event?! Is being divine the only thing that matters?!"
She sobbed, tears running down her eyes, as she clawed at her helmet, her head, her eyes twitching with insanity, her overbearing emotions.
"Their skill! Their honor! Their will! Their sacrifices! All of those knights that were forgotten by history, and instead shoved into me! What about them?! Why were they not enough for you, greedy rats?! You didn't even bother remembering their names! Only mine, this made up title! Why only me?! WHY?!"
She breathed heavily, sniffing and hiccuping as she covered her face. During all that, the brothers only sneered back at her, disappointment and rage marring their features at being put into this situation.
Finn on the other hand? He could only look at her in horror. He could only feel his heart squeeze painfully. It was impossible. Fianna didn't exist. The goddess was a made up entity, born from the legends of the knights.
And yet, he fully knew, that if Fianna did exist…it would be this mourning, vengeful entity before him. And he never realized she did exist. Never learned about her. The myths never mentioned…something like this. Someone who had a shapeshifting weapon. Someone who would ascend to the position of goddess. Either the goddess never existed, explaining the feats of the knights, or the goddess existed from the start, guiding those same knights. There was never a transitional period of a mortal to goddess. The mere thought was blasphemy.
And yet…the proof stared right at him. Looking at him as if he was a complete failure. Not meant to be born at all. Her sorrow was replaced by a blank look, with eyes burning with a dark flame behind them.
"You weaklings. You pieces of shit. I will never forgive you. No, I will not stop until I killed all of you with my own hands. You don't deserve to live, you who never tried, you who are a disgrace to the old world, of the courage and efforts they showcased. Why didn't you all just kill yourselves and spare me the trouble? If you fall into despair, do it properly, you half assed assholes."
Each whisper was like a stab in the heart of all Pallum. They tried to deny it. Reject her. Object to the very idea that their goddess, their light they lost, hated them so much. But…none could. For in their very souls, they felt her divine authority having an iron grip on them. To keep them kneeled before the absolute ruler of the Pallum.
"And you." She looked at Finn once more, growling. "You are the worst of them all." You want to replace me. You want them all to forget who Fianna is. Become their new god."
"That's-"
"I'M TALKING!"
Finn flinched, yet no attack came. He wished one hit him, for then he would have an excuse to hold onto frustration instead of this sense of…defeat. Fianna breathed heavily, her eyes twitching as she shook her head over and over. Denying his heartfelt dream to become the light of the Pallum, the mere idea of it. Denying a successor of her efforts.
"I won't let you. I won't let you, you damned fake." Finn froze, something that Fianna ignored utterly. "Nobody gets to forget me. Nobody gets to forget the Knights of Fianna. I won't let you become a new light. I'm even doing you a favor. They would just betray you too."
He didn't know when he pressed his forehead against the ground. Wishing for her to stop talking. To stop poking holes into his determination. Yet the being he kept praying to, before each adventurer, rejected him wholeheartedly. He was unable to declare her a fake, a pretender. If she was a lie, it was too convincing of one. And it tore at his own will, to resist.
"The world doesn't want heroes. Heroes are meaningless to it. All the world wants…is the divine." She looked around at every single Pallum in the vicinity. "So I'm gonna give you the oh so divine execution you all desire. If you are not going to respect our feats, then you will get to fear them. The last thought that will remain in your heads, after I rip them off your bodies, is the knowledge that we, the Knights of Fianna, are not mere memories to be spat upon. That we are still here. That we are the peak of the Pallum race, that shall never be reached ever again."
Her weapon became daggers. Weapons symbolizing the dark, of assasination. No, of thugs stabbing each other in backalleys, and letting their bodies rot, to be forgotten. She slowly walked up to Finn, the edges of her weapon rubbing against his cheek.
"You all must be punished for your sins. Maybe then, my dear knights can rest in peace. When the Pallum race is extinct and stops shaming us all just by taking one more breath too many."
He grit his teeth. No. No matter how low his race became…His mind flashed back to a young man, standing up for people that had no one. Standing against Orario itself. So what if the world agreed with this woman? So what if she was the divine will of the Pallum herself? There was no way in hell he could allow his people to die. He roared, and pushed. Pushed against the absolute fate inflicted on him.
Fianna's eyes widened as a fist was about to smash into her chin. She leapt back, staring at him in bewilderment, his legs shaking, but very much standing. The Guliver Brothers were struggling as well, not fully up yet, but their knees no longer touching the ground.
The confusion was replaced by a sneer, as she cracked her neck.
"Too little, too la-"
"That will not be necessary."
She barely managed to dodge the death from above, the massive black blade cleaving the ground apart with ease.
The King rose, a giant compared to the small goddess before him. He narrowed his eyes, taking in her aura…before calmly readying himself, his sword raised at her. Fianna spat to the side, before looking at the shaking Braver behind Ottar.
"Tch. Lucky you."
"You think we're going to let you escape, bitch?!" One of the brothers shouted in outrage. At the same time, they could all feel the auras of Freya Familia, surrounding her from all sides, on the buildings, looking down at the criminal. Yet Fianna remained calm as ever as she growled, frustration bubbling up.
"I think you can't do anything about it. I'll finish this properly next time. Until then…Braver." She scoffed. "And extras, I suppose."
In that moment, her body began to disappear into sparkles of energy. Ottar was moving swiftly, without mercy, but it hit nothing but air as he finished the attack.
It was as if the goddess they witnessed was just a figment of their imagination. As if she never existed in the first place. But her existence, her words, they all had a lasting effect. On the Pallum specifically.
They wept. They prayed. They lost their minds, despair clutching their hearts, as the goddess they believed to be fake existed…and found them all wanting.
The Brothers drew blood on their own bodies, their frustration running high. Meanwhile…Finn was standing.
But he had never felt so low in his entire life before, his eyes closed with blood running down his mouth as he bit down on his lips.