Time for a VERY bloody battle (no pun intended).
Chapter 81 – Blood of the Wicked (Great Tree Moon)
Fenix let out a low growl as he landed before Myson and his henchmen, with Ladislava watching every move from each of the Agarthan cultists. The Reaver grinned as the Crimson Warrior was joined by Zola, Trauare and Setiawati, with Zola dismounting from her Wyvern.
"The so-called Crimson Warrior," Myson said in arrogant disdain. "You have something I desire: the stone you took from the body of that stupid girl."
Ladislava glared at Myson, knowing he was trying to goad her by insulting Fleche's memory. Even with all the chaos that he and his minions had caused, she had to keep a cool head.
As she drew an arrow to her bow and aimed it at Myson's head, Setiawati said threateningly, "Apa kau yang bertanggung jawab atas kegilaan ini?"
"Be silent, beast," Myson said dismissively. "I have no words to share with an island savage."
Setiawati was about to release her arrow when Ladislava raised her lance before her, prompting Setiawati to hold her fire.
Ladislava then said, "Answer her question: are you the ones responsible for this madness?"
Chuckling, Myson answered, "Why yes, we are. Yet I cannot take sole credit for it."
"What do you mean?"
Myson pulled a small vial from his robes and said, "My late master, Solon, was the one who created the first Felplague strain over five years ago and used it to eradicate the beasts living in Remire. Now, after five years of experimentation, I have improved upon his work. With a little more refinement, we'll have a strain capable of infecting an entire city."
"Like hell we're gonna let that happen!" Trauare said angrily.
Myson laughed again as he put the vial back into his robes. He then said, "You assume you beasts stand any chance against me. I am Myson, the Sanguine Reaver! And you beasts will enrich the soil with your blood!"
Before anyone could say another word, Setiawati released her arrow, which streaked right into Myson's forehead, causing his head to jerk back as he remained standing.
To the dismay of the Black Eagles, Myson continued to laugh as he slowly tilted his head back toward them, and then pulled the arrow from his skull. As he did this, his black robes fell away from him, revealing a bright red ensemble beneath that looked more intended for a social gathering instead of battle. His skin was pale white, and his hair matched its color, but with bloody red streaks arranged messily, as though he had bathed in blood.
"How very rude of you, savage," Myson said as the hole in the center of his skull healed within seconds.
He then dropped the arrow and, before it hit the ground, swung his left hand toward the Black Eagle aces, sending a volley of magical crimson lances toward them. The Eagles quickly dodged the attack, with Trauare leaning just in time to avoid being hit in the head. As the lance passed less than an inch from her, Trauare was splattered by blood all over her face, shrieking when some of it got into her eyes.
"Destroy them!" Myson shouted to his minions as he stepped back, letting four of his cultists move before him as they channeled their unholy magic.
The cultists unleashed their magic into the ground, which quickly began to buckle as something began to emerge from the soil. Within seconds, standing before each of the four cultists were a pair of skeletons, making for eight in total.
Seeing the undead warriors, Zola snarled furiously and said, "Draugr! You've got some nerve raising the dead before a Skrael Warrior!"
"You will join them without delay, beast!" said one of the cultists. "Kill them!"
The skeletons marched forward, raising their rusty weapons to cut down the Eagle aces. Before Ladislava could give an order, however, Zola roared as she rushed forward and cleaved three skeletons with a single swing of her axe. Two of them fell to the ground, but the third had only had its skull taken off, and so it still raised its broken sword to strike at Zola. Yet Zola was too fast, whirling around and slashing the third skeleton with a follow-up swing. At the same time, Fenix smashed two of them with tail, while Ladislava slashed through another with Longinus. Setiawati, knowing her bow was next to useless against the undead, took aim at one of the cultists and fired, her arrow piercing through his throat. Trauare, meanwhile, was busy trying to get the blood out of her eyes, using her water magic to wash it away. By the time she had cleared her vision, Ladislava and Zola had already destroyed the eight skeletons.
Shocked at how easily the Black Eagles had destroyed their undead minions, the necromancers tried to ready new spells. Seconds later, one of them howled in pain as Zola threw a hand axe into the cultist's chest. Behind the necromancers, the other cultists rushed to face the Black Eagles, drawing their blades and shedding their robes to reveal black armor underneath. Setiawati drew three more arrows to her bow and fired them in a volley, hitting one mage and a sword fighter, though her third arrow was blocked by a shield. Another cultist launched a fireball at Setiawati, but the spell was blocked by a ward made by Trauare. The cultist mage did not have another chance to attack before Ladislava slashed through him with Longinus. The Crimson Warrior then whirled around, impaling another cultist through his heart before Fenix crushed another in his jaws.
"Imbeciles!" Myson hissed.
Before Myson could bark anything else, Zola rushed toward the Reaver, howling as she swung her axe toward his head. Just before her weapon struck, Myson's body turned completely red and became almost like liquid, causing Zola's axe to pass through harmlessly.
"What the fuck?!" Zola said in surprise Myson's liquid form moved quickly away from the blonde murderess.
"Foolish beast!" Myson said as his body reconstituted itself. He then sent another two crimson lances at Zola.
The blonde Skraeling blocked the first with her axe, but she then cried out in pain as the second pierced through her left shoulder. Myson then spun his wrist melodramatically as he used his Dark Gift, causing the bloody lance to surge back toward him, taking some of Zola's blood with it. Zola was forced to her knee from the pain of Myson's spell.
"How shall your blood taste, I wonder?" Myson said arrogantly.
But before he could extract any more of Zola's blood, he heard Trauare shout "Eislanze!" and turned to see the water mage sending a barrage of icicles toward him. Again, he entered his liquid form, causing the icicles to pass through him, but also causing him to stop siphoning blood from Zola. Some of the blood from his body clung to the ice, leaving him to scowl as he reconstituted himself. He turned his attention to Trauare, who now was slashing through a new skeleton raised by one of Myson's necromancers.
"Get rid of that blue-haired whore!" Myson shouted to three of his cultists, prompting one of them to draw his bow.
The Agarthan archer was about to fire at Trauare when another arrow from Setiawati found its mark, hitting the archer in his left eye. The Agarthan released his shot as he perished, which went completely off target.
"Kalian pengecut tidak layak mendapat belas kasihan!" Setiawati said angrily, drawing another arrow and shooting another cultist in the neck.
Setiawati then drew another arrow, but then turned when she heard an Agarthan woman shout as she sent a Thunder spell at the Brigid huntress. Setiawati howled in pain as she was blown off her horse.
"Seti!" Trauare shouted in concern.
The water mage was about to move to the huntress's aid, but Setiawati rolled as she hit the ground, stopping on her feet as she quickly drew Sharanga's bowstring. Another arrow flew forth, hitting the Agarthan mage in her chest and going through her right lung. As her most recent kill collapsed, Setiawati fell to her knee in pain.
Seeing Setiawati starting to falter, Ladislava was about to order a tactical retreat when she heard the roar of another Wyvern. Ladislava briefly turned to see Salia leading twenty more members of the Black Eagles and forty men from the 5th Army to their aid. Behind the deputy commander, Ladislava could see that most of the crazed villagers had been dealt with.
"Good timing, Salia!" Ladislava shouted.
Not taking the time to acknowledge Ladislava, Salia ordered, "Focus on the mages! Delvin, Kurtz, keep those swordsmen busy!"
With the other Imperials joining the fray, Ladislava turned her attention to Myson, who was preparing another barrage of bloody lances. The Sanguine Reaver send his spell out at the approaching soldiers. The Black Eagles and their mounts avoided the barrage, but three men from the 5th Army were skewered by the spell. The unfortunate soldiers then cried their last as Myson's lances drew the blood from their bodies, sending it back to the blood mage's body. As he absorbed the blood, Myson let out a pleasured gasp, as though he had just finished a fine wine.
"Refreshing," Myson said in satisfaction.
Seeing this, Salia angrily readied a fireball and sent it flying toward Myson. The blood mage again shifted to his liquid state and swiftly avoided the attack, reassembling himself in a new position. He launched another barrage of bloody lances, but Salia blocked the attack with a ward. Myson was about to send another attack when he heard Fenix snarl loudly, prompting the Sanguine Reaver to turn to face Ladislava and her partner. Myson dodged attack after attack from Ladislava and Fenix, but he was now forced to focus his full attention on them.
Just as Salia was about to move to aid Ladislava, she heard Trauare shout, "Sally, need a hand here!"
Salia turned to see Trauare wasn't being threatened by any of the cultists or their undead minions. Confused, Salia flew over to Trauare on Alektra's back.
"Trauare, what are you–"
"I've got an idea for dealing with that red creep," said Trauare. "Give me a boost!"
Knowing Trauare had to have something big planned, Salia began to channel Mana to the water mage as the battle raged around them.
Myson continued to laugh arrogantly as Ladislava and Fenix continued their attempts to strike him. Any time he was about to take a blow, he would shift to his liquid form, causing the strike to do no damage. Yet at the same time, Ladislava and Fenix were attacking so frequently that Myson could not find an opening to strike back.
Soon enough, the Sanguine Reaver became frustrated with the Crimson Warrior's assault.
Reconstituting himself again after dodging another attack, Myson shouted, "ENOUGH!" as he released a burst of blood around himself.
Too close to avoid the attack, Ladislava and Fenix both howled as the attack tore into them, sending Ladislava tumbling from Fenix's saddle and the ruby-scaled Wyvern to the forest floor.
Myson laughed as he gazed arrogantly at Ladislava, who panted with exhaustion. The Crimson Warrior hadn't gotten nearly enough rest before the attack, and now her fatigue was making itself known. Fenix, meanwhile, was similarly exhausted.
"Foolish beast," said Myson. "Did you really think you could best me?! I am far beyond you and your lizard! Prepare to die!"
Scowling as she struggled to stand, Ladislava watched as Myson prepared a new spell, forming over twenty lances of blood aimed right at her.
But as he was about to release his spell at the Crimson Warrior, the bloody lances started to bubble and broil.
Surprised, Myson then realized it wasn't just his spell that was being affected. In mounting pain, he looked down at himself to see his blood-soaked form was also starting to boil. It felt as though every fiber of his being was being cooked alive.
"W-What is this…?!" Myson stammered in pain.
Then, as though struck by an epiphany, Myson turned to see Trauare was focusing a complex spell on him, aided by Salia transferring her Mana to the water mage.
"Did you know that water makes up about half of what blood contains?" Trauare said with a smug grin on her face. "And did you know they both have the same boiling point?"
Realizing what Trauare was doing, Myson tried to reabsorb the blood he had been planning to skewer Ladislava with. But with his body now boiling, he could do little but scream in agony as the blood evaporated into a crimson mist, along with the blood in his body. Within seconds, the Sanguine Reaver's body began to shrivel as the blood in his body was literally vaporized.
Staggering painfully as Trauare's spell finally ended, Myson looked up in agonizing fury at the Black Eagles.
The first thing he saw was Ladislava shouting as she lunged at him with Longinus.
Myson let out a loud, painful gasp as the ebony lance ran him through, piercing through his Darkheart and shattering the crystalline organ in his chest.
"I-Impossible…" Myson wheezed as he felt his life slip away.
Ladislava, knowing she had scored a fatal hit, ripped Longinus's blade from Myson's chest. The Sanguine Reaver, shuddering and gasping in pain, looked down at his body as it began to destabilize. Without the Darkheart, his body began to liquify and fall apart.
With his last breath, Myson collapsed forward, his body bursting into a pool of blood as he hit the ground.
Ladislava loudly panted as the blood washed over the forest floor, leaving behind the broken fragments of Myson's Darkheart where the Agarthan had once been.
"Eww, gross," Trauare said, prompting Ladislava to turn to the bluette. The water mage looked as though she were about to vomit. "Remind me never to do that one again."
Ladislava briefly looked around at the rest of the battle. The remainder of Myson's henchmen had been wiped out by the other Imperials.
"You got him?" asked Zola as she stumbled toward the other aces, her shoulder still bleeding from her prior wound.
"Yeah, we got him," answered Ladislava.
Taking a moment to look at her teammates' handiwork, Zola spat at the spot where Myson had perished.
"Hope they've got an eternity in Niflheimr waiting for them," said Zola.
Sighing, Ladislava said, "Let's tend to the wounded. I want to know how many we lost."
Ladislava continued to give orders as she and the other Black Eagles moved back toward their camp, hoping to get some rest after their harrowing ordeal.
Gross indeed.
A shame I had to kill Myson off like that, but I couldn't really have him surviving the encounter. It has to do with events that will be coming up in future chapters, primarily related to Cornelia. For Myson himself, I based his Dark Gift off Vladimir from League of Legends, especially Vlad's poolhax. But just to be clear, no, Myson wasn't some kind of vampire. He was a hemomancer. There's a distinct difference. That said, I do have to wonder if my means of letting the Black Eagles beat him might've required too much suspension of disbelief. (Also, if I got the 90% water thing wrong, my bad.) On the other hand, Myson dies with very little fanfare in most of the routes in Three Houses. The only time it really makes a tangible difference is the final mission in Azure Moon, where Myson's death triggers the rest of the TWSITD to run away. (My main strategy for doing it was to let him attack someone with the Counterattack effect active with Quick Riposte.)
EDIT: Thanks for the correction on the blood and water ratio, SlashFan2018.
With regards to Myson's minions, while they were capable of necromancy, none of them would be on the same tier as Solon had been. I.E. none of them would be able to create that big abomination I used during the Remire Calamity. All these necromancers could do was skeletons, which are easy enough to destroy.
We'll be doing one more chapter with the Black Eagles before going back to Garreg Mach Monastery. I'll see you next week.