Chapter 17: The Harsh Truth

Red bloometh the rose of conviction

And red bloometh the rose of hate

Yes, red bloometh the rose of conquest

Firmly bound to its fate!

Lionel Island - Wharf

They had the last therion, at least that was something. Even if it was someone who essentially fused with the original therion they had intended to capture. Yet it was an awkward silence on the way back with the two siblings in tow. Neither were restrained or anything since both had given up on attacking any further. Ragna walked in position behind both, weighing the current options right now.

Velvet had all the therions they needed, which meant she was ready to attack the Abbey and Artorius. His sister would presumably be there so their current plans shouldn't be too different from each other. But something didn't feel right.

Benwick could be seen just up ahead with a Sylphjay flying to his hands. After the message was sent however, his expression turned grim and he began running towards the group.

"First Mate, there's trouble! We got an emergency message from Port Zekson! A ship carrying dozens of exorcists just set sail for Titania! They have orders to eliminate the Lords of Calamity!"

Eyes immediately turned towards the two siblings, who looked just as shocked as everyone else.

"I wasn't privy to any such information before I was sent here." Oscar explained.

"And I hijacked a ship on my way here. I didn't know about this plan." Teresa replied.

"It wouldn't be either of you. It'd have to be someone who already knows where our base was." Eizen said. "But if either of you can shed light on how they could possibly know about it, then I'm all ears."

"That's easy then. We've always known." Oscar started.

"What?!"

"Lord Melchior had a spy advising him on your actions. A geas on someone who wouldn't even realize they were making a report until after it's been done and couldn't even speak about it." Oscar continued.

"!" Magilou turned, her attention on Bienfu and held out a hand. A circle of blue-white magic formed around the Normin before a second one emerged, red and faint.

"Well played, Melchior." The witch stated before the crimson ring shattered. "Impressive. That old man must have planned all this, from the very moment you escaped me. Even my imprisonment in Titania and my encounter with Velvet… all calculated down to the minute. Nice."

"Uh, not nice? That means they've been following our every move." Ragna said.

"Forgive me, everyone." The Normin looked dejected. "There was no way I could fight against Lord Melchior's artes."

"Son of a bitch…" Ragna muttered.

"Bieeen! Please don't hate meeee!" the normin cried, latching on to Ragna's leg.

"Pretty sure we won't do that unless you're doing all this intentionally." He replied, patting the top of the normin's hat. "Still, what now? They probably know that we're coming for them soon."

"Hey, weren't you the one who was in agreement with a frontal assault?" Rokurou said. "May as well do so now."

"Tch, still risky though." Said Ragna before turning back towards the two Praetor siblings. "What will you two do now, exactly?"

Oscar stood firm. "You said I would help rescue Lady Saya did you not? Then on my honor, I will fight with you until that's done."

"As long as Oscar is safe, then I will do the same." Teresa nodded her head.

"An Exorcist who experienced the power of Armatus and an Exorcist who has the powers of a Therion. That could shock the Abbey if they haven't heard of this development yet." Said Eizen. "Bienfu, you didn't get an opportunity to send them a secret message, have you?"

"No, of course not. I was with Miss Magilou ever since I set foot on this island." The normin replied.

"Alright, in that case, let's not waste anymore time. To Titania." Eizen said.

The wind was on their side at least, and the trip to Titania went by much faster compared to travelling to Endgand. Ragna kept guard over the two siblings though, but they didn't have much to say as they focused on the task ahead.

While Oscar claimed he would fight with them, there was the issue of the Malak assigned to him disappearing soon after she was torn away from the tether linking her to Oscar. He'll have to rely on his own strength, and the protection afforded to him by his sister if he was to stand a chance against the other Exorcists, skilled as he may be.

"Land ho! Titania! There's an abbey ship at the front docks!"

"Guess that's the signal." Ragna said, knocking on the door. The two swiftly emerged looking as ready as ever and followed him up the deck.

The ship circled around the island to the back and as it approached, they spotted Grimoirh and the two therion dogs cornered at the edge by two Exorcists. Velvet leaped off the ship and placed herself in between the two groups though Ragna and the others followed soon after.

"Stop!" Oscar ordered.

For a moment, the two Exorcists paused. Their helms turned towards the praetor, and then to Teresa at his side.

"So you have allied with the Lords of Calamity. You have no authority over us anymore!" They said almost in unison. "We'll carve the weight of your sins from your flesh! We are wings of the divine will!"

Two malakhim materialized beside them and in a flash of light, they transformed as one, armatized in full.

"Bloodthirsty little bunch aren't they?" Ragna said, holding his blade out. "Let's see if they can't be reasoned with."

Formidable as they could be, the two armatized Exorcists had no chance of stopping the entire group. They were certainly not like Oscar, who managed to fight defensively against one before Teresa drove the other back. Spells from Magilou and Laphicet were quick to drive them further back but neither seemed to care for surrendering.

"Do you not realize how dangerous your Armatus is?" Teresa declared.

But the two didn't listen. They continued to rush forward before doubling over in pain. Their screams echoed out as their bodies disintegrated into flecks of light.

"They destroyed themselves." Said Rokurou.

"Just as I expected." Magilou said. "They couldn't control the transformation for long, and Melchior likely added something else to make them self-destruct if they're losing. Likely with the malakhim themselves."

"This is unconscionable…" Oscar knelt down where the two Exorcists once stood to offer a silent prayer.

"You were prepared to do the same weren't you?" Ragna said, standing just behind him.

"I was. Though I suppose I have you to thank for just severing the connection between me and that malak." Oscar replied and stood up.

"That old man has a lot to answer for. So prepare yourself." He said and turned around towards the rest of the group. Velvet had asked for the location of the other therions which meant their next objective was clear. Head inside the prison and rescue them if at all possible. Then they can worry about the next step.

Their numbers made it a little difficult to move about easily, but that also meant any exorcist they went up against went down quickly. Ragna did not get opportunities to try to save any of them though. Any attempts to tear them away from their Malakhim ended in immediate self-destruction before he could even attempt it. And they certainly weren't going to let themselves be willingly get caught in his grip. Besides that, there was also something else that troubled him. He had to save his strength.

They had rescued Medissa, Kamoana, and Kurogane soon after. The armored daemon managing to grant Rokurou a new blade forged of Orichalcum. Another weapon in their fight against the Abbey.

Next came The Prince and the therion, Griffon. But after dropping the Therion off at the rear docks, they were accosted by a greater number of the armatized exorcists. Enough to slow them down just enough to make the Van Eltia leave without them. But they still had options.

"The front docks then?" Eizen said. "We can't escape from the rear so at best, we'll have to steal an Abbey ship."

"That's where the main force would be concentrated. And…" Oscar frowned, fingers on his chin now as he contemplated the events. "It's too convenient. Lord Artorius would likely be there if Prince Percival is correct."

"All the better." Velvet said, leading the way.

"Wait-" Oscar replied, though Velvet was soon on her way.

"Can't stop her when she gets to be like that. Come on. We're going to make our way through every obstacle in our path." Ragna said, patting his back. He was trying to be casual about all this, but they hadn't encountered anyone of note just yet. And this close to the end, Ragna was expecting something big. He had no point of reference, but each step closer to the front docks gave him an odd feeling.

"A word, Ragna?" Magilou pulled him off to the side as they took a quick rest midway, Rokurou and Eleanor having gone further ahead to scout for signs of more Exorcists.

"What's all this about?" Ragna said as he complied, noticing the change in tone with the normally carefree witch.

"You've noticed Velvet acting strange lately, right? Even our little Phi has noticed it."

"Among other things." Ragna said. "Still, that's not quite what's bothering me."

"Is it the two siblings?" asked Magilou.

"No, not them. But something else entirely. I can't place a finger on it, but there's something I'm dreading that I can't quite understand." He admitted. "Velvet's become really focused as soon as Artorius was mentioned, as if everything I've mentioned to her about taking revenge was forgotten. Not that I'm against it, but I'm trying to temper that rage she feels."

"Hmmm, Is that such a good idea though?" she asked.

"What do you mean?"

"Think of it this way. Your presence here has done a great job mellowing her out up until today. She can look at you, calm herself down, and not have to worry too much about the things that could have been devastating for her if you hadn't been around. And yet… what if that's making her complacent?"

"Complacent? Those eyes of hers don't look like the type to be complacent. She's always on edge." He replied.

"I hope you're right about that…" Magilou said as the group began moving again.

The gate to the front docks was unguarded and for a moment, Ragna thought that his trepidation was unfounded. The coast was clear, all they had to do was…

"You're leaving?" a familiar voice called out behind them just before they reached the doors.

Ragna and Velvet turned around immediately, glaring up at the man who casually seemed to just follow them.

Eleanor gasped, "It's Lord Artorius and…"

Two beings leaped down on even flooring with them. A swordsman similar in style to Rokurou and of course, the one Ragna had expected to face eventually.

"Lady Saya…" Oscar said quietly.

Rokurou attacked immediately, making a beeline straight for the swordsman but was immediately kicked towards an opposing wall by Saya as she flew in from the side. No emotion was on her features as she turned towards Ragna, only for him to react from movement seen from the corner of his eye.

The swordsman moved just as fast, putting a lot of power into his slash. A slash that Ragna blocked as he was blown away directly into the opposing wall. But with far more force than had been landed on Rokurou. The impact shattered the wall and he could barely stand up again before the man leaped at him again, raining down slash after slash, each block causing him to crash against the other walls of the prison.

He was so focused on defense before he realized what had happened. They had crashed through another wall, but this time it lead outside to a secluded area of the island fortress. Part of the mountain loomed above now that they were outside before Ragna finally struck back, the Aramasa clashing with that of the man's own sword.

"Not going to go after your brother?" Ragna asked, their blades clashing thrice before they leapt away from each other.

"Oh? You know me well enough for that then?" the man said, his blade pointed at Ragna as they circled each other.

"I've heard enough from him. You must be Shigure then." Ragna said and then lunged forward with an overhead blow, avoided by the swordsman though the counterslash was also avoided in turn.

"Perceptive. Then you know why I was chosen to keep you company then?" Shigure asked, lifting his blade up to block another slash from Ragna's weapon.

"You want to keep me away from my friends. I figured out that much." Ragna said, pressing on the attack. Each swing of his blade carved up the ground around them and one tore open another hole in the wall.

Shigure leaped up, running up the side of the mountain before Ragna followed, their blades clashing in mid-air as the two crashed into one of the towers.

"Mostly as a distraction really. But I have to admit, I've been looking forward to this. Your strength really is unreal." Shigure smiled as they traded blows again, the shockwaves of their strikes rumbling through the structure. "Fighting your sister was one thing, but seeing you in action like this? It makes even my heart flare up with excitement."

"Yeah, I don't give a damn!" Ragna shouted, suddenly making a circular kick in mid-air that went over Shigure's crouching guard. A follow-up kick sent the man crashing through the side of the tower, though he soon sprung back inside, colliding with Ragna as he tried to make his way back down.

He was forced to defend once more and a sudden change of stance forced Ragna to create a small barrier around himself as he was blown upwards through the ceiling. Atop the tower, he clutched his right hand and then hesitated.

"All right! I've heard of this. Come on then, Lord of Calamity. Let me see how much stronger you can get. I'll do the same in turn." Shigure stated, closing his eyes briefly before an intense aura overflowed from him. He wasn't kidding. He truly had a lot more power to spare. And yet…

While Ragna was half-tempted to indulge him in this battle, he was running out of time among other things. Use the Azure Grimoire now? A copied power that wasn't even the true Azure Grimoire? Or rather, the fake of a fake? And for what? A boost in power to match against a battle-crazed man?

Ragna took a moment and looked at Shigure's expectant face before a memory returned to him. A memory watching The Black Knight facing off against a mad dog.

"What is it?" Shigure asked.

Ragna shrugged and lowered his weapon. "You win, I give up."

"…What?"

"You heard me, I'm beaten. I surrender. You're too strong. So go ahead, finish me off before I head on back." Ragna shrugged and leaped down the hole in the floor.

"You're kidding…" Shigure said, not at all amused. And yet, he didn't go after him. Whether it was from sheer surprise or Ragna's sheer audacity of surrendering just before the fight got truly going… Shigure for once, did not know how to respond.

Ragna was running now, trying to trace his way back to the front entrance. The layout of the place was only slightly confusing now that he had been in the prison long enough but still, it would take a while to return.

Thankfully, that little trick worked against Shigure. He truly couldn't afford to waste too much time against him, not when there were other more important matters to tend to. It didn't take long before the familiar halls directed him straight through towards the exit… just as Artorius struck.

A flurry of sword strikes forced Ragna to defend himself once more, but having just made the trek back… he couldn't form a fast enough counter attack before he was blown ahead… back towards the group.

"He didn't finish you off? No matter." Artorius said.

"Bastard…" Ragna said as he attempted to get up… only to find that he couldn't. "Wha-?"

"Many thanks, Artorius. I can finally devour all of them."

A voice, this one wasn't familiar at all.

With all his strength, he forced himself up on his knees and stared ahead and around him. Everyone was trapped as well, a black mist rising up around them all, dragging them down to its depths.

Velvet looked devastated. Oscar was beside her, Teresa's dead body in his arms. Rokurou's new blade had broken in two and just ahead of them, Saya and the boy looked at them coldly. What the hell happened here?!

"You can't…" he heard Velvet whisper, "Laphi…"

Damn it! He couldn't even activate his false Grimoire. They sunk into the darkness lower and lower and just before everything faded, he caught the glimmer of a silver sphere that surrounded them all. Too late as they were dragged down into the deep abyss.