Trails of Tempered Steel II

by Alexxer

Just when he had finally found a place where he felt he belonged, Rean Schwarzer's world is turned upside down as he is betrayed by his best friend and a civil war tears the Erebonian Empire apart. Now, with the lives of his loved ones and the fate of the country at the stake, Rean has to step up to the challenge and become the type of person he needs to be. It will not be easy.

46. Chapter 46

The final steps seemed to stretch themselves forever but Class VII reached the top, arriving at the last stratum of the Infernal Castle. It was a vast arena with a high ceiling supported by massive columns, fitting for a fight between beings of legend, but what really caught the attention of Class VII was the large structure in the back: flanked by two pillars, covered in crystalline crimson vines that weaved through stone and bound its prisoner, was the prison of the Vermillion Apocalypse. With his body halfway out, the Divine Knight emitted a low, ominous hum, though thankfully he displayed no signs of being awakened yet.

Atop of a set of stairs that led to the jail cell of the fearsome calamity was a blindfolded Prince Cedric, bound to a chair, roughly 5 arge away from the slumbering creature. Farther away was Duke Cayenne, who sneered at the new arrivals. And down the steps, between Class VII and the vermillion prison stood…

"Crow! Vita!"

Rean was at the forefront of the group, moving in their direction with a purpose on his step, his eyes fixated on the two opponents in front of them. Crow had immediately put his guard up while the witch still kept a relaxed stance, mostly unaffected by their arrival although her eyes centered on her sister.

"Hey, glad to see all of you guys could make it in one piece," said Crow

Machias huffed. "No thanks to you sending all your buddies to try to stop us."

But to his confusion, Vita smiled. "Is that what you think our goal was?"

"That was a ruse, wasn't it?" Emma said. "I gave it some thought on our way here and while there is a logic to only letting Rean pass, the Rivalries are fueled by strife, the more fighting there is the better it is, be it full scale wars or simply combat between indivduals. Meaning that setting us up to fight along the way, specially within the Infernal Castle, only helped incite it more, didn't it?"

"Good job, Emma!" Vita gave her sister a gentle clap of hands. "We knew that things would go into a halt once the Infernal Castle made its appearance, not enough to stop the wheels in motion of course but we needed something to keep the engine warm, and I knew that even implying we wanted to separate Class VII would make you fight all the hardest to keep together. Besides, did you honestly believe I was concerned that any of you could do anything to interfere?"

Vita's words carried a heavy air of condescension against Class VII and some of them had to bite back a retort. Not Rean though, he kept his mind clear.

"Well, I wouldn't go that far. I sure am glad McBurn's keeping Viscount Arseid busy," said Crow. "Which, you know, also keeps the ball rolling."

"And what about Prince Cedric? What have you done to him?" Laura directed her gaze to the young prince, who didn't seem to respond to the events happening around him.

"I assure you that the prince is unharmed. A little scared, sure, but nothing some magic can't fix," Vita replied.

Sara shook her head and Jusis seemed downright scandalized.

"Come on, he's just a child for Aidios' sake."

"Hypnotizing the Crown Prince? A life sentence would be a light punishment."

"You see, Ordine and Valimar's bro got a little obsessed with Arnor blood after the mess with Zoro-Agruga," Crow poked his thumb back towards their hostage. "He responds to it now and it's the only thing that can wake him up for real. Just letting ol' Testy take a whiff of it from the prince is enough to turn up the heat in the castle."

"And let me guess, it's still not enough yet, is it? You still need one more push to start a Rivalry," Rean said, his left hand gripping the hilt of his sheathed sword.

"You got that right," his rival responded.

Rean exchanged a look with Laura then with the rest of Class VII and he stepped up, steeling himself with a deep breath then slowly exhaling. It all had come to this, one final push and they could go back home.

"When this whole mess started, when I woke up back in the mountains that day, I was angry. Angry at the Noble Alliance, angry at you, Crow, and most of all, I was angry at myself. Angry for failing to protect everyone, for not being strong enough, for acting like a fool, and I channeled that anger into the need to make up for my mistakes, to do whatever it took to get things back to what they used to be, even if it meant making another mistake I now know I couldn't come back from or even if it meant my own demise.

"I could've given up and run away but that wasn't right either and it was only thanks to the things I've experienced and the wise words from the people around me that I realized how wrong I was. One of those being that it isn't up to me to end this, but us, all of Class VII, and we're not going to let you people have your way anymore."

Crow felt the same intensity from Rean that he had displayed back in the final trial in the old schoolhouse. Well, not exactly, it was void of any anger or resentment and he was more self-assured than Crow had ever seen him before.

Rean then nodded to Emma and she took a step forward as well, her eyes fixated on her sister.

"Vita, I've begun to understand why you left the way you did. Our grandmother was never big on revealing to us the greater mysteries of the Hexen Clan and the Deus Excellion and even now she has been less than forthcoming with information. That it has been frustrating is to put it mildly so I understand your reasons. What I don't understand is why the Vita who grew up with me, a person I looked up to, would do such things."

To the untrained eye, Vita might have seemed to have had no reaction to Emma's words but Crow, who has spent years with the woman, noticed the slight tensing of her fingers as she held her staff and a pause in her breath.

"Maybe something happened after you left or maybe you were always like this and I just never noticed, either way it falls onto me, as a fellow witch and your sister, to set you straight. I know I'm not as strong as you but I have my friends with me and together we're taking you down and I'm going to drag you back to the village!"

Vita chuckled lightly and her staff made a light thock as she tapped it against the floor. "I appreciate your enthusiasm! Very well then, Class VII, let's begin the final act of this play!"

With one final breath, Rean drew his sword as his friends stepped up next to him, their weapons ready.

"Class VII, commence operation!"

Quickly, they separated into two groups, Rean, Laura and Fie went after Crow, while the rest directed their assault towards Vita.

"Grianos, you can go play now," the witch told her familiar and the turquoise bird chirped and took to the air.

"Oh Celiiiine~"

Emma cast a sympathetic look at the cat, who growled but still started on her way to confront her fellow familiar, casting balls of fire that she launched at him.

"I missed playing catch with you, sister!" Grianos squawked as he easily dodged the attacks.

"We never played catch, it was target practice!"

Just as her familiar left her, Vita was struck by lightning, the purple kind, and the tingling on her arm told the Azure Abyss that had she raised her magic barrier a fraction of a second later, it would have been it for her.

"You know, I've always thought opera is so pretentious, like, it's pretty grand and all that but I prefer something that's actually fun to listen to."

A wave of her staff sent Sara flying away and Vita was struck by another, albeit weaker, lightning as Gaius' spear clashed against her barrier, the Nord's attack being bolstered by a powerful whirlwind at the tip of his weapon, as if a little wind Art could drill through her barrier. Another movement of the magical staff smashed Gaius against the ground.

A barrage of Arts and spells hit Vita's barrier and that she had to watch out for. Emma was attempting to disrupt her protection with her own magic, which could be dangerous if left unchecked. Oh of course the chances of that actually happening were slim and Vita knew she was the most powerful individual in that battle but she wasn't above believing herself infallible, just almost so. Who knew what the grand Crimson Roselia had managed to teach Emma, all it would take was a moment of carelessness from Vita and her barrier could be brought down and a lucky shot would ruin everything she worked so hard to accomplish.

She was not a deluded fool like Weismann and she would not fall the same way.

Pillars of stone rose from the ground trying to entrap Vita but with a simple incantation she lowered them back into the ground, but just as she did so, a shining arrow collided with the barrier protecting the witch's face. The bright, blinding light of the arrow infused with mirage energy exploding before her eyes accompanied by the loud cracking of a shotgun at almost point blank range could be classified as very annoying at best, but again, all it took was the wave of her hands and an incantation was all it took to restore her senses.

More Arts rained on Vita, fire, water, ice, lightning and wind, causing an impressive elemental whirlwind while Emma continued trying to disrupt her protection, and once Vita dispelled that attack, the Purple Lightning and the white Rabbit were pounding against her barrier again.

All in all, the Azure Abyss couldn't say she was bored. And, of course, there was always the possibility that Class VII could have a card up their sleeve.

Meanwhile, Crow had led Rean, Laura and Fie a little further away from the chaos that was centered around Vita. Slowly, the Class VII students faced the terrorist leader and their former classmate, their weapons drawn and bodies ready to move.

"Well, guys, looks like it's a rematch for the four of us, huh?"

"You'll find that we are not the same people you fought back in Heimdarll, C," Laura said with a steely glare.

"You owe me a tooth, asshole."

Yeah, figures she'd still be sore about that. "What about you, Rean? Got anything to say?"

Rean gave a casual shrug. "I'd say you still have a chance to surrender but I don't think it'd do much."

"Right once again." The words barely left his lips and his eyes shot wide as he had to swiftly put his dual saber up front, blocking the charge from Rean and Laura that dragged him three arges across the ground before they stopped. If it hadn't been for the potion Vita had given him, Crow was sure he would already have lost, and Rean had not even used his power yet.

And, of course, they weren't the main threat at that moment and Crow pushed the swordsmen off him and pivoted around, intercepting Fie coming from behind him with a swipe of his weapon, but the girl jumped, landing on top of the blade and then jumped up over Crow again, delivering a blast of wind on top of his head that almost made him lose balance, and then Rean and Laura were all over him again and he could barely protect himself.

Shit, gotta throw them off somehow and get some breathing space.

"So, did you two finally bang?"

Predictably, Rean almost tripped on himself. "Are you serious-"

"Yes." But Laura replied with absolute confidence, she did stop her attack but the way she almost looked down on Crow indicated she was anything but thrown off. "Twice even and it was amazing."

Instead Crow was caught off guard by her boldness and it was enough for Laura to hit him so hard that the Adamantine Shield barrier he had protecting himself shattered and he went flying some good five arges away.

Holy shit!

Recovering from the orbal truck that hit him, Crow looked up to see Rean and Laura saying something to each other, probably being all lovey-dovey together. Honestly, he was happy for them, really, but it didn't mean he was going to continue holding back.

Okay, time to take this seriously then.

Crow quickly got up and flung his dual saber at his opponents, the weapon spinning like a saw blade, and at the same time pulled up his two orbal pistols and started firing. Non-lethal ammo, of course, because, one: killing Rean would completely ruin their plans, and two: Crow wasn't that much of a bastard.

The flying saber separated the two swordsmen while the bullets flying at them impeded the duo from intercepting Crow's weapon, which would be downright disastrous for him. Rean fled from his sights while Laura used her greatsword for protection. Just like Crow predicted, Fie went straight to him, weaving through his bullets with ease and raising her gunblades to shoot back her own but that was when the dual saber came flying back behind her.

Feeling the threat approaching, the ex-jaeger threw herself on the ground to avoid it. The saber returned to its owner's hand and Crow quickly switched to his ARCUS and cast a powerful torrent of icy cold water that blew Fie back and made her collide against Laura. Rean cut through the orbal water though, his blazing tachi creating a cloud of steam that obscured Crow's vision and from which a sharp blade emerged and the two started exchanging blows with Corw having to give as much as he was taking because Rean was not sparing his strength, and he still had not used his power. Crow knew it was coming, that Rean was keeping it for the right moment to catch him off guard, hoping to end this fight before the fight between the Divine Knights, he just had to watch out for that.

Crow parried a series of attacks then countered by stepping in and kneeing Rean in the stomach, which he took in stride, striking back with a headbutt that was followed by an upwards swing of his sword that cut at his left thigh.

"Heads up," Rean said without much flair and ducked, which was just enough warning for Crow to see Fie flying at him with a kick and duck at the last possible moment, with the edge of Fie's boot cutting his skin as it scraped against his skin.

Tooth? She wants to take my whole damn jaw!

A glimpse at the scene behind Rean explained what happened: Fie had climbed on top of Laura's sword and when the Arseid swung her blade, the smaller girl had been launched like a missile. But their real target had not been Crow but Vita, because the trio had managed to line the two up perfectly because Class VII's teamwork was just that good.

And that was how Vita ended up with a flashbang exploding right in front of her face and how Jusis had joined Rean and Laura and now Crow was really starting to sweat. The younger Albarea wasn't on the top of Class VII in terms of skill but that didn't mean he wasn't good and in comparison to the others, he was the best one in mixing Arts into his fighting style. But it didn't take long for Rean to fight Vita while Gaius and Millium joined in his place.

That was how the battle flowed for a while, with Class VII seamlessly going from one side of the fight to the other while Crow and Vita had to adapt to the constantly shifting playing field. Well, Crow had to at least, Vita's magic was powerful enough that she could handle anything they threw at her without much effort.

It was a lot to keep up with but Crow managed, he hadn't trained all those years, ready to take on even stronger adversaries, just to lose against his former friends. So he striked back, disarmed Jusis and swiped him off his feet, cut Gaius' spear in half, hurled Fie against Alisa and sent blasts of time Arts against Emma and Machias, which were blocked by Millium. Meanwhile, he thanked Aidios that Sara had her attention centered on Vita.

Class VII were undeterred, however, and the battle continued on until the original groups were facing their respective opponents again and that was when Rean finally used his power. That was it, whatever plan Rean had come up with, he would act on it now, and even Vita directed her attention to him.

"Five," Rean suddenly said and Crow noticed a shift in their stances, still guarded but not wholly aggressive.

"Huh?

"It was five of us back in Heimdallr, remember? Right hand man, hit it!"

Crow was completely lost on what Rean was talking about and his eyes moved in search of whatever plan Class VII had cooked up. "Right hand man? Who the fu-"

Then he winced as if something had stabbed his ear. It was a sharp sting deep within his ears and as it grew in intensity, Crow covered his left ear with a hand and when that wasn't enough to alleviate the pain, he was forced to, reluctantly, drop his weapon to cover his other ear and it still barely changed anything. Frantically looking for the source of the noise, his eyes drifted around the surrounding area until he finally found it: Elliot Craig, holding up his orbal staff as it emitted a faint green glow, with wires connecting it to what looked like three or four 4th gen orbments cobbled together.

Elliot Craig, who Crow had classified as the least dangerous member of Class VII. He was really good at casting Arts, sure, but placed last when it came to physical strength, stamina and tactical thought.

Elliot Craig, who, despite growing a backbone in his time in Thors, Crow thought he still could be a bit of a wuss at times.

Elliot Craig, who Crow had pretty much ignored in the fight so far, had put him down on his knees using sound based Arts while Rean's power and Class VII battle strategy had been only used as distractions to keep his and Vita's attention away from the musician.

The high pitched whine bore into his skull, like a hundred jackhammers bashing his eardrums, and no amount of pressing his hands against his ears helped ease the infernal sound. Maybe he could cast an Art to counter Elliot's but he could barely concentrate enough to not fall over on the ground. It took Crow great effort to simply lift his head just to see that Class VII was none the worse for wear, with only some slight discomfort showing in their faces. His eyes drifted to Emma and seeing a faint glow coming off her staff showed him the answer, she was casting a spell on her friends, something that was muting sound in the area surrounding them or something like that, Crow was starting to have difficulty even thinking properly as the sonic attack grew even more powerful.

And if Crow was having a bad time, Vita Clotilde was living a nightmare. The Azure Abyss had not chosen her cover as an opera diva on a whim, she truly loved music and had an ear for it. Even without magic, she was gifted with a more powerful sense of hearing than the average person, being able to pick frequencies that others simply couldn't. But with that gift also came a high sensitivity as well and although she was never more than occasionally annoyed by hearing some bad singing before, now she wished nothing more than to be buried deep within the earth where no sound would ever reach.

While Crow was on his knees, struggling to keep himself up, Vita was down on the ground, clutching her head uselessly, gritting her teeth and feeling her stomach lurch as the high pitched sound wormed its way to stab her brain. The great witch who less than a minute ago was reveling in combat and taunting her opponents was laying crumpled on the floor, disheveled and praying that the pain would stop.

The witch grasped the floor looking for her staff but Kerykeion was nowhere to be found, taken away from her the second she had dropped it. In a similar fashion she could feel that Grianos had also been incapacitated and was in as much pain as herself. But she was still a powerful witch, she merely had been caught off guard, and a simple spell would- Her body seized, her muscles were paralyzed and even her attempt at reciting an incantation was caught on her throat. Forcing her eyes open, Vita spied Sara Valestein blasting her with lightning, before she spotted Rean approaching her with a piece of cloth in his hand and as he got closer, she could scarcely believe it when she felt the slight scent of chloroform.

That had to be a joke, they were planning on knocking her and Crow out and arresting them, and the worst part was that it could work. With Vita unconscious, Class VII would be safe from her spells, safe to capture the two of them and revert Lucifen Lied, sending the Infernal Castle to its plane of reality and the Vermillion Apocalypse along with it, effectively putting a stop on everything she and the society had accomplished thus far. From Ordis to Crossbell, from the Noble Alliance to Dieter Crois, all the years of planning and hard work and everything she sacrificed for the sake of the Grandmaster's goal, all of it would crumble down with basic Arts and a rag doused in chloroform!?

No, Vita refused that notion, she was the Azure Abyss, second Anguis of Ouroboros, and she would not fall! Even as the sonic attack continued to assault her to the point she could barely keep her thoughts straight, even as her body seized again from another bout of lightning, she pushed past the pain and the bile threatening to force its way up her throat and concentrated on the pool of mana within her. It still flowed within her body, even if she couldn't weave her spells with her fingertips or evoke her charms with her lips, nor could she use her staff or Grianos as conduits, she still had the pool of power within her, she just had to will it into form.

A task easier said than done, casting a spell from thought alone was nigh impossible under ideal conditions and still only possible for simple spells, for magic was all about forcing one's will upon the world after all and how could they accomplish that without externalizing it? But she was Vita Clotilde and this humiliation had lasted long enough.

SILENTIUM!

It was the same spell Emma had been using to keep herself and the rest of Class VII protected, though localized within the proximity of their heads, but Vita's version affected a much wider radius, ceasing all manner of sound within the stratum for a momen, but long enough for Vita to act. The shift in the air was immediately felt by Class VII and Rean rushed to stop the witch but it was too late as Vita's staff flew back to its master, immediately sending a wave of energy that pushed everyone away from her.

Kerykeion's crystal glowed brightly, the silencing spell was undone and Vita recited an incantation out loud (which felt very good), sending a wave that washed over everyone and the students felt their ARCUS units heat up before cracking and shattering in dozens of pieces, with the same happening to Emma and Elliot's orbal staves, as well as the jury-rigged combat orbments the musician had used.

Grianos returned to perch on her shoulder and Vita wasted no time teleporting herself next to Crow, pulling up the young man back on his feet and casting a healing spell on both of them, recovering them from the damage they had suffered. For good measure, she also cast a spell on herself that fixed her hair, wiped her sweat and tears and fixed the damage to her clothes and makeup because by Aidios, she would not give anyone the satisfaction of seeing her looking like such a mess.

The witch's hardened glare fixated on Class VII as they regrouped and stood ready to fight again.

"That was… certainly an unexpected turn of events," she said, doing her best to keep herself from sounding too upset.

"Heh, I'll say, they almost got you," Crow mumbled low enough that only Vita could hear him.

"Stop enjoying this so much," she chastised him before turning back to their opponents. "I believe we've had enough preparations for the time being. The time is right for a Rivalry and I will tolerate no more tricks to stall it. So step up, Rean Schwarzer, Ashen Awakener, and fulfill your destiny."

The rest of Class VII was cursing the fact their plan had failed, even as they had gotten so close to putting an end to Vita's plans wholesale. Rean wasn't among them though, while he would've liked to solve this without any more fighting, there was a part of him that still wished to settle things with Crow the old fashioned way. Not for revenge, not as an act of righteousness, but to finally surpass him and to turn a new page in his own life.

Laura understood this and the two shared an understanding look, followed by a quick and sweet kiss.

"Good luck."

"See you soon."

Then Rean set forth, walking away from Laura and the rest of Class VII, following Crow to where they would begin their fight. He was tense, he was about to fight his best friend, anyone would be in his place, but at the same time he also felt a strong sense of clarity in his actions. One fight, just one more fight and it was back to school with his friends, together with the girl he loved, and whatever came next they'd face it together.

Away from their allies, both Awakeners faced each other silently for a moment and the very atmosphere of the castle seemed to change in anticipation of the incoming battle.

"Before we go at it, Rean, just let me ask you one thing that you left out of that speech of yours. Have you found yourself yet?"

"No, not yet. But I think I'm getting close."

"Good answer."

Both shared a chuckle between them, understanding their positions at that moment, then they raised their right hands in the air.

"Heed my call…"

"Come forth…"

"Valimar, the Ashen Knight!"

"Ordine, the Azure Knight!"

In a bright explosion of light, both Divine Knights answered their summons, manifesting in a more magnificent manner than in any other occasion as a clear sign of the super charged mana that was present in the air. Valimar and Ordine stood behind their Awakeners and when their pilots assumed their positions in their cockpits, the Deus Excellion took on their battle stances and their zemurian ore weapons emitted a faint glow.

"This is it, Rean! Time to end what we started back in Trista, so you better hold nothing back!"

"Same back to you. Let's fight until our souls burn out!"

The Knights charged against each other and the resulting clash of their weapons sent a shockwave that reverberated through the entire Infernal Castle. Both pushed one another, measuring their adversary's strength, and when neither gave in the exchange of blows began.

Ordine's saber spun and Crow unleashed a barrage of attacks but each and every single one was deflected by Rean. Despite his opponent's initiative and seeming overwhelming offensive, Rean was not helpless, he was taking his time and analyzing Crow's movements and once he saw a gap, Valimar's tachi thrusted forward, its edge scraping against Ordine's left shoulder. It was hardly damaging, just a minor cut on Ordine's plating, but it forced Crow to back away to reevaluate his strategy lest he give Rean another opening.

Valimar dashed quickly, keeping his body low, and delivered an Autumn Leaf Cutter aimed at Ordine's shins. It was faster than Crow had expected but he still managed to evade the assault, blocking the rising slash that followed and countering with a headbutt that rang in Rean's ears like thunder.

With his adversary reeling back, Crow swung his saber. They were too close to each other and the attack was only meant to create some distance between them, so there little force to it, but Rean took the blow, letting the blade hit Valimar's arm and knick his armor, it hurt but it was nothing like being cut by the Demon Sword, and taking advantage of the opening, Rean spun the tachi into a reverse grip, pulled his arm back and then smashed the hilt it against Ordine's head with full force.

The thrusters of both Divine Knights came to life and they jumped back away from each other, returning to their stare down for a brief moment before going at it again, harder and faster than before.

Steel clashed against steel, sparks flew and trails of mana filled the air as the Awakeners wailed against one another, each strike filled with purpose. Damage quickly accumulated to highly visible levels as scars began to mar the perfect plating of the Divine Knights and still neither of them seemed bothered by it, if anything they only seemed to grow faster and stronger with each second that passed.

Despite everything they had seen before, to Class VII it seemed almost impossible to think beings so big could move so fast and elegantly.

"I know Rean has been getting better at controlling Valimar but this is anything like I've seen before," Gaius said with wide eyes, watching as Rean and Crow took to the air and their fight became even more heated.

"It's almost like they're-" Elliot started before Valimar and Ordine flew past above them, kicking up a cloud of dust and making the floor rumble. "They're fueling each other."

"That's very close to the truth, Elliot," said Emma, adjusting her glasses. "The Rivalries feed on the conflict between Divine Knights and as a result the ongoing Rivalry charges them further."

"Their fighting starts the Rivalries which in turn makes them fight more and that makes the Rivalries even stronger which…" Alisa mumbled to herself then put her hands to her face with a groan. "It's a perpetual energy source and all that's good for is fighting!"

As if to punctuate her words, there was a loud crash as Crow was slammed against a support pillar and Jusis gave the girl a comforting pat on the shoulder.

Laura said nothing, her entire attention was devoted to observing the ongoing duel. It was the best she had seen Rean ever fight aboard Valimar, and yes, it was partially due to the Rivalries like Emma explained, but she also knew his spirit was also responsible. More than anything, it was the inner strength that she knew he was capable of that was pushing Rean onward at that moment. And as for Crow, he fought fiercely as well and surely was not holding back, but after having crossed blades with him moments ago she could tell that his heart was not entirely on it.

Crow was not looking to die in battle the same way Vulcan and Scarlet were, that she was certain of, but he wasn't entirely concerned with the result. She was thankful for that, at least for the sake of Rean's mental wellbeing. Still, the Azure Awakener was strong, strong enough that he could make up for his lower drive, although Rean overtook him in that aspect in spades. The two were essentially evenly matched and anything could tip the scales, and upon thinking that the same old thoughts about being able to help Rean started to form and Laura was about to dismiss them when she felt a faint tugging at her chest and the familiarity of a combat-link.

She immediately reached for her ARCUS but as she expected it was in pieces, just like the rest of Class VII's orbments, but the combat-link persisted. Well, it wasn't exactly like the link she was used to, it felt warmer, closer and centered around her heart. Her focus returned to the fight and she felt an adrenaline, a will to fight, resolve and certainty in actions that were not her own and she realized that she could tell what Rean would do before he did it.

So, back then, that's what happened.

Through Valimar, Rean was reaching out to her, seeking strength in her being and whatever he could get from her. So she gave it to him, in a reversal of the instances back in Trista and the watchtower, Laura passed on to Rean her feelings of confidence, trust and love. It was then that she became aware that her clenched fist held close to her chest and she noticed the rest of her friend slowly starting to mimic her, their gazes focused on the fight.

Rean was reaching out to all of them.

The battle came to a standstill as both Awakeners hovered in the air, taking a moment to reassess their conditions. Rean's body ached at every spot Ordine had struck Valimar, his breathing was ragged and his body was drenched in sweat but that still hardly affected him, he wouldn't give in without a fight, and he knew that also applied to Crow as well. He also knew his adversary had a trick up on his sleeve he hadn't used yet.

"I have to say, Crow, you told me to not hold back but you're the one holding out on me."

"Heh, just making sure you can handle the heat. Wouldn't want to end things too soon, y'know".

"Try me," Rean said back, the grip on the controls tightening as he braced for what was to come.

Ordine's lights flared up with the activation of his Boost Mode, charged up by the Rivalry the Azure Knight emitted a faint hum as his wings spread open, looking more menacing than ever before. Rean waited with bated breath, focused, expecting he would have but a few moments to react.

He had less than that.

Crow all but teleported in front of Rean, feinted an attack then disappeared from his view again and reappeared behind him. With a powerful swing, Ordine slashed Valimar's back and sent his brother flying downwards, creating a crater on the ground.

Valimar had barely managed to get up before Ordine was on top of him again, unrelenting, and Rean was overwhelmed by the Azure Knight's lightning speed. For every blow he managed to defend himself from, Crow landed three and there seemed to be no space for a parry, no gaps to exploit, no chance for a counter.

"I'll admit it, you've all fought valiantly, far surpassing my wildest expectations, but this is where it ends. Crow has years of experience over Rean, both in and out of his Knight. This fight was decided before it even began." So far quietly observing the dual, Vita chose to speak up, a subtle satisfied grin on her lips.

"That may be so, Vita," Laura retorted, a firm look in her golden eyes that betrayed no doubts. "But Rean is fighting for something, he is fighting to stop this war and your plans, refusing to allow you to do as you please with the lives of the people of Erebonia. And he carries all of our strength in his heart. Tell me, what does Crow have?"

Vita gave Laura an unimpressed look and scoffed, turning her attention back to the fight.

Crow continued with his relentless series of attacks, running circles around Rean and striking when he least expected, but Rean firmly stood his ground, paying close attention to Crow's movements despite the continuous onslaught. So far he was managing to handle it but Rean knew his time was running out, one precise blow could incapacitate him at any moment. He had one chance to turn the tables, to catch Crow in a decisive moment and do something unexpected.

Attack from nowhere and everywhere.

Even the Void seemed like a tall order to accomplish at that moment, as much as Rean wished he could, he still had not mastered it and any semblance of doubt could be his undoing, he was not fighting a mere jaeger dropout this time. But that was fine because he wasn't alone in this, his connection with his friends was stronger than ever, stronger than any link an ARCUS could provide, and he received their trust and strength. Laura's heartbeat drummed in his ear, fast but not panicking, and it felt like she was fighting by his side.

He could do this.

Valimars fingers tensed on the hilt of his sword and Rean felt like they were his own, the Knight's body shifted and his feet dug into the ground and it was like Rean's boots were touching the floor. His hands left the controls and for a brief moment, Awakener and Divine Knight were one.

Form is emptiness, emptiness is form…

Crow and Ordine came straight at them, much faster than before, too fast for anyone to see and too fast to change course and when the Azure Awakener noticed the flashing steel coming at him he had almost no time to protect himself. The guard that Ordine managed to put up wasn't good enough to absorb the devastating blow that came, it rocked his cockpit and physically stunned Crow. He expected a follow up but it never came and once he got his bearings again, the Azure Knight pulling himself up, he saw Valimar ahead of him, already about to unleash another attack.

A powerful blade of Arc Slash barreled its way to Ordine, tearing the floor under it, and it was quickly followed by a second one. Crow stood his ground and blocked the first, hitting him like an ocean wave during a storm in Jurai, overwhelming and almost making him eat shit. He braced himself for the second one but doing so, missed that the second projectile hadn't been aimed directly at him, but the ground in front of Ordine.

The second Arc Slash landed and raised a great column of dust and debris that obfuscated Crow's vision and, quickly realizing what was happening, he took to the air just to find Valimar up there as well, waiting to catch him by surprise. And despite this playing out exactly as he expected, despite that fact he had even taken into account the technique he had been hit with previously (which Crow was 99% sure was the Void Form), despite all of that, Crow still was caught by surprise and hit at full force.

Because why would he expect Rean to be able to perfectly perform an Arseid technique?

Valimar's sword slipped past Ordine's guard and hit the Azure Knight's right shoulder, cutting through his armor and making him plummet against the ground with enough force to bounce back up in the air before landing. With his world spinning and body screaming in pain, Crow could barely pull himself up and when he tried to, Valimar stomped down at Ordine's right arm and the tip of the zemurian ore tachi plunged down at his head, stopping only a few rege above.

"I won this one, Crow," Rean declared, out of breath but with the grip on his weapon still firm, only loosening once Ordine let go of his dual saber.

"Yeah… Yeah, you sure as hell did."

Valimar moved away from his brother, Ordine lifted himself up and as the Divine Knights stood facing each other, Rean and Crow emerged from them, with the latter stumbling and falling to his knees from exhaustion. Completely beaten and at his mercy, Crow didn't expect Rean to extend a hand to help him up on his feet.

He looked puzzled at the outstretched hand in front for a moment, before shaking his head and letting out a chuckle, accepting the gesture.

"I know I told you to not hold back, but did you really have to hit me that hard?"

"Sure I did, there's a pretty girl watching."

Crow barked out a laugh and, as if on cue, said pretty girl tackled Rean, catching him in her arms and spinning her boyfriend around.

"You were amazing!"

Her enthusiasm made Rean laugh heartily. "I couldn't have done it without you!"

Laura put him down and both lovers embraced and kissed passionately, the excitement that their ordeal was finally over flowing through them.

Watching the scene, Crow whistled loudly. "Woah, nice. Can I get something like that too? Like a consolation prize maybe? Volunteers?" He looked back at the approaching Class VII and only earned unamused glares before they turned to their friends. "Eh, figures. Give me some love, Vita?"

Perched on Vita's shoulder, Grianos sneered at Crow. "Idiot."

The witch completely ignored his playfulness, only shaking her head with a heavy sigh. "I suppose you did your best."

Meanwhile, the rest of Class VII congratulated Rean, although the celebratory atmosphere was cut short once the question of what would happen now was raised.

"Well, as a member of the intelligence agency," Millium made a dramatic pause and cleared her throat. "Crow Armbrust, Vita Clotilde, you are under arrest!... Teehee, I always wanted to say that."

"That last bit aside, you two really are under arrest," Sara repeated the words with a graver tone. "You guys have a loooot to answer for."

Crow shrugged his shoulders saying it was fair while Vita rolled her eyes. "You had to give everything you had to distract us for a stunt that ultimately failed, what makes you honestly believe you can arrest me? And you," she pointed a finger at Crow. "Quit joking around, we are not done. Or are you reneging on your promise?"

"There is at least one person here who can apprehend you," Jusis cocked his head towards Rean and, by extension, Valimar. "I may not be knowledgeable about magic but I very much doubt that even you can withstand the might of a Divine Knight, otherwise they wouldn't be so valuable."

"I'm all up to keep helping you, Vita, you know I'm good on my word, but I don't have a second wind in me. Also, I think a rematch kinda goes against the spirit of your experiment."

"Yeah, Crow lost so now Rean and Valimar are stronger than ever because he has Ordine's power too," Elliot said confidently but when he looked at Rean, his friend had a quizzical expression on his face, indicating something wasn't right.

"I… don't feel stronger. This wasn't a real Rivalry, was it?"

"W-wait…"

"Hold on."

"What!?"

"Vita, what's going on?"

"Let me guess, you thought our plan was to instigate a Rivalry so that Ordine would defeat Valimar, absorb his power and then use that to take on the Vermillion Apocalypse, correct?"

"I knew you had something else up your sleeve, I knew it, I knew it!" Celine yelled as she stamped a paw on the floor repeatedly.

"That information only serves to make us be much less inclined to allow you to leave," Laura said, drawing her weapon along with the rest of Class VII.

Amidst the growing tension, however, there was the sound of laughter, a very haughty one, along with the clapping of a pair of hands. Attention turned to the source of the noise, that being Duke Cayenne.

"Bravo, a spectacular duel followed such drama! A scene fitting for one of the Azure Diva's operas!"

"Oh crap, with everything that's been going on, I think we forgot about the prince," Fie winced.

"W-well, we had to handle the main threat first," Machias said. "But yeah, Duke Cayenne is under arrest too!"

"And I get the feeling Vita isn't going to care much about you getting put behind bars," Rean stated, his eyes shifting to the Anguis.

"The duke has served his purpose, you may do with him as you see fit."

"Oh you wound me, Lady Clotilde, truly," Cayenne put a hand to his chest with an exaggerated flair. "But I understand, I was no fool to believe you and your society had my best interests in mind. We used each other for our own means, just like any other human relationship. And you, my dear, have also served your purpose."

Cayenne chuckled and an irate Vita gripped her staff a little tighter, her eyes firm at the duke, although she was curious about where this was going as the man seemed too relaxed. The feeling was the same for Class VII but they were wary as well considering how close Cayenne stood to the crown prince.

"You see, children, this civil war was always going to happen but things took an interesting turn when a certain witch appeared to me, telling tales of the ancient Divine Knights. In particular, the name that piqued my interest was the one Testa-Rossa, the Vermillion Knight, once piloted by Emperor Hector Reise Arnor then once again awakened by Orthros Reise Arnor, who was labeled a "false" emperor even though he was one of his father's legitimate children. If you ever wanted an example of how history is written by the victors this is it, boys and girls, Orthros lost therefore he was a false ruler, while Dreichels won and was hailed as the Lionheart." Cayenne's face turned sour and he spat the last words.

"And let me guess, yadda yadda yadda, you learned about the Vermillion Apocalypse and thought you could snatch it for yourself," Crow interjected, much to the duke's annoyance to have his speech cut short but it lasted briefly.

"Right you are, Azure Chevalier, sounds like you are not as stupid as I once thought."

"Tch, hate to tell ya, Cayenne, but everyone figured out that was your goal from the get go. And maybe you didn't pay attention the dozen times this was mentioned, you were probably too busy counting the feathers on your ridiculous outfit, but Testy only answers to Arnor blood."

"Ah yes, he does, doesn't he?" Cayenne said wistfully before pulling a small knife out of his pocket with his gaze following Prince Cedric. Hearts were caught on throats as the older man brandished the blade and hid behind the prince, Vita in particular was ready to cast a spell and end his tirade, but to everyone's surprise the duke used the knife to cut the ropes that bound the young prince to his chair. Thinking himself the funniest man alive, he chuckled at the confused stares being thrown at him. "Oh please, I would never be so crass to harm a hair of our dear prince's head," he said, ruffling Cedric's hair.

"Okay, enough of this-"

"Armbrust is correct!" Cayenne bellowed and gripped Cedric's hair tightly, eliciting a pained whimper from the half-conscious boy and making Rean stop moving towards them. "But there is one detail neither he or the Azure Diva are aware of, a little piece of hidden history. You see, Dreichels the bleeding heart that he was, instead of sentencing Orthros' family to death as a true ruler should to avoid any future uprisings and claims to the throne, simply stripped his descendants of their father's family name."

Cayenne let go of the prince and moved away as he spoke, towards the crimson prison, the knife tight on his hand and a mad grin creeping up his face.

"And so, the children of Orthros Reise Arnor were hidden away within the ranks of his wife's family… the Cayenne family!" The duke punctuated his words by cutting the palm of his hand and the drawing of blood was enough to intensify the glowing light that came from the Vermillion Apocalypse's prison.

The world seemed to slow down as the small crowd came to realize what Cayenne's words meant. Class VII started to rush towards him while Vita began to cast a spell but it was already too late, Cayenne touched the structure with his own bloodied hand and the entire stratum was bathed in crimson light.

There was a rumbling and cracking of stone and the Vermillion Knight turned his head, his body stirred and slowly he came back to life. A clawed hand emerged and the creature dragged itself out of his cell, his movements growing faster and more erratic with every rege of freedom it conquered.

It could hardly be described as a Divine Knight like Valimar and Ordine, the Vermillion Apocalypse was a bestial thing that stood hunched over, with claws, a tail and protruding spikes all over his armor with his silhouette resembling that of Loa Erebonius. Also unlike his brothers, the Vermillion Knight's aura was a fair cry from their noble and dignified one, but corrupted, dirty, like oil clinging to the skin.

Cayenne marveled at the spectacle, laughing madly now that his goal had finally been accomplished.

"Yes! Yes! Rise o' great Testa-Rossa, rise! The injustice committed by Dreichels and the indignity my family had to suffer shall finally be corrected! I command you, Vermillion Knight, to crush my foes! Heed the calling of the true heir to the Arnor lineage!"

The crimson demon looked at the small man by his feet. "Arnor…" His voice rumbled and Croire's eyes sparkled like diamonds

"Yes. I carry the Arnor blood in my veins and I am one much more worthy of it than the current, so-called royal family and their pathetic excuse for an emperor. Now, obey me-URK!" The duke's words were interrupted by the gigantic metallic hand that swiped down and snatched the man between its claws. Quickly, Cayenne attempted to free himself but Testa-Rossa's grip became painfully tight. "W-what is the meaning of this? Release me immediately, I command you!"

But his command was ignored and the Vermillion Knight reached down, taking a hold of Prince Cedric as well. "Arnor…" The monster growled again before letting out a blood curdling roar that seemed to shake the entire castle while both Cedric and Croire disappeared within his chest.

"What the hell is going on!?" Rean yelled over the hellish sound and the dark energy that erupted from the Vermillion Apocalypse. "What did he do to the prince?"

"I don't feel so good…" Elliot said with a shaky voice.

"That fool, I can't believe he…" Vita huffed and schooled her anger, that wasn't the time for it. She tapped her staff against the ground and she, along with Crow and Class VII, were all teleported farther away from Testa-Rossa and a bubble of energy erected itself around them. "I am sure you all are aware at this point that Testa-Rossa was corrupted by the blood of Zoro-Agruga. The dark dragon once wiped all life of Heimdallr by feeding on the vital force of its population. Although not as potent, the Vermillion Apocalypse is doing the same thing to recover his strength. This barrier will protect us from its effect for a while."

"Did you seriously not know Cayenne was a descendant of Orthros? After all this time?" Sara threw an indignant glare at the witch.

"No, I did not. If I knew I wouldn't have allowed him to set foot on this place. This is not the time place blame-"

"How convenient."

Vita ground her teeth. "Testa-Rossa's obsession with Arnor blood has made him seek it. While I can't exactly tell you what is going on inside his cockpit, I hardly believe it to be pleasant for the young prince. So if any of you wish to save him, you will can it with the snide remarks and listen to me!"

Class VII stirred with barely contained protests but in the end relented to reason. That was no time to argue.

"Good. Emma, Celine. Grianos and I will need your assistance to re-do the incantation to imprison the Vermillion Apocalypse again. He won't go down quietly, of course, that is why we will need you two to subdue it," Vita directed her gaze towards Rean and Crow. "We'll need to be close to his prison for the spell to be more effective, so draw him away and I'll teleport us there."

"Shit, you're really putting me on the spot after that beat down," Crow scratched the back of his head.

"Alright, let's do it," Rean said, almost noncommittal with a shrug of his shoulders, which caught everyone a little off guard.

"Are you sure about this?" Laura pulled him aside but her question wasn't if Rean was sure about fighting the Vermillion Apocalypse, her gaze flickering towards who he'd be fighting alongside with. As much as she accepted Rean's newfound understanding of Crow, the act of trusting his life to him did not sit well with her.

Reaching out for her hand and giving her a soft squeeze, Rean smiled at her. "You don't think Crow is actually going to stab me in the back after all of this, do you?"

"I suppose not," she conceded reluctantly before a fierce glare overcame her eyes. "But if he does, he will answer to me."

Rean chuckled and kissed Laura, bumping their foreheads together. "See you soon. Again. I love you."

"I love you too."

He stepped away from her and after a nod to the rest of his friends, Rean walked up to Crow, who waited for him at the edge of Vita's barrier.

"She's got a point, you know? Are you really up for fighting side by side with me after all this?"

"Not like I have much of a choice, right? I have a lot to still say to you, Crow, but that can wait until this is over. So, are you ready for this?" Rean said, extending his clenched fist towards Crow.

Crow reciprocated the gesture and both bumped fists. "Okay, fair. Let's do this."

Vita cast another spell and the two Awakeners were teleported next to their Knights, and during the brief moment they were outside the protective barrier, they could feel the Vermillion Apocalypse's dark aura beginning to drain their strength. Bad enough what was happening to Prince Cedric inside it, if that was allowed to continue it would surely affect the whole of Heimdallr and its citizens.

"Oof, never doing that again," Rean said with a shiver running down his spine as he settled back in the cockpit. "At least it looks like we're safe here for now. How's Ordine doing?" He looked over to a screen that showed Crow's face inside the Azure Knight.

"Still messed up but we can pull our own weight." Ordine's armor was still damaged from Rean's attack and it wouldn't be repaired anytime soon during that battle, but his movements were still fluid as evidenced by how he spun his saber and walked alongside his brother.

"Alright then, let's put that thing down before it can hurt anyone else."

Crow had to admire his tenacity. "Y'know, Valimar and Ordine are supposed to be the weakest ones."

"That just means this will take a little longer for us to win. It's gonna be a pain but we'll manage."

"Alright, okay," Crow could barely stifle a laugh. "Are you in that much of a hurry to put me in jail and throw away the key?"

"Oh no, I have much worse planned for you. I'm going to make you graduate with us. First order of business once we get back is an intense month-long cram session with Heinrich."

An overwhelming sense of confidence came from Rean and Crow couldn't help but feel the same way. It felt good to joke around with someone like that, despite everything that had happened between them, and going out to fight for something other than revenge or an obligation.

"Reano, I never took you to be so sadistic!"

"And you still owe me 50 mira!"

The Divine Knight's boosters flared and they rushed forward, brandishing their weapons against the Vermillion Apocalypse, who finally took notice of his brothers. A deafening boom echoed through the Infernal Castle once Valimar and Ordine made contact with their corrupted brother, the beast catching their blades on each hand and roaring back.

The battle was on as the Ashen and Azure clashed against the Vermillion, tachi and saber slashing at the monstrosity with unrestrained power but their target took it as little more than annoying flies as he swatted them with his claws and tail. Testa-Rossa raged and followed his attackers away from his former place of slumber, as the Divine Knights worked in perfect synchronicity, covering each other and not relenting for one second, with Ordine engaging his Boost Mode from the get go and Valimar being able to keep with his speed, as they distracted their Vermillion brother from Vita's teleportation spell.

The outstanding teamwork between Rean and Crow was a sight to behold but confused Class VII a tad, because if they weren't mistaken the two had a combat-link going on but Rean's ARCUS, along with everyone else's, had been destroyed.

"What your ARCUS are capable of is a mere trifle in comparison to the power of the Ashen Knight," Vita said once they voiced their confusion. "Each of the Deus Excelion has a unique ability. Ordine has his Boost Mode that enhances his speed, Testa-Rossa the One Thousand Weapons system, which is self-explanatory, and Valimar has Spiritual Resonance, the ability to connect with those his Awakener has a close affinity to, allowing him to use the strength of his allies as his own, supplant their weaknesses and act as one with them in a manner much grander than your ARCUS units are capable of. Ironic, is it not? In a system that pits the Deus Excellion against each other in a battle for dominance, Valimar is the one whose strength depends on his Awakener forming alliances."

For the rest of Class VII that was a surprise as they were only now realizing what the sensation they had experienced in the previous battle was, but to Laura that was old news and she silently continued to watch the battle and send Rean her power.

For a moment it seemed that Rean and Crow had things in their favor as the Vermillion Knight continued to lash out when suddenly something changed in the creature. Maybe it had accumulated enough power or had simply remembered what it truly was, either way, the Vermillion Apocalypse roared and summoned two massive battle axes to his hands, manifesting in a burst of scarlet light, and swung the weapons against the duo.

Valimar and Ordine evaded the attack at the last second, with the crimson blades chipping at their armor, and then had to run as their corrupted counterpart relentlessly tried to smash them. When the axes proved inefficient, the monster slammed both weapons together and they turned into a long halberd.

Rean didn't even dare attempt to block the gigantic weapon, opting instead to dodge it. "So, this One Thousand Weapons system…"

"It's an euphemism," Crow replied, ducking away from a wide swipe.

"Oh good."

"Testa-Rossa isn't limited by one thousand weapons, he actually can make way more than that, basically anything the Awakener can think of."

"Crap."

The halberd became a sword then a scythe and then a spear and with each use, Testa-Rossa became more skillful in handling them.

"Vita, how is that spell going!?" Crow yelled out over the sound of roaring and the marble being split in half.

"We're ready but Testa-Rossa is fighting against it, you need to weaken him otherwise it won't work!"

Valimar dodged and parried an incoming thrust of the crimson spear and Rean landed an upwards slash on the monster's torso, powerful enough that made the creature recoil and jump away. Crow took advantage of that and moved behind Testa-Rossa, striking his back with another devastating blow. With a mighty roar, the Vermillion Knight striked back by wrapping his tail around Ordine and spinning around, slamming him against his ally. Both Rean and Crow were briefly stunned by the attack and that gave the Vermillion Apocalypse the distance himself from his brothers and the spear on his hand became an arrow while a bow manifested into his other hand.

"Watch out!" Rean yelled as both him and Crow pushed off each other and away from the massive projectile flying in their direction.

That monster was getting more dangerous by the second, Rean thought, and it was a small miracle that it was just some corrupted version of the Vermillion Knight, without a mind of his own. But with that also came with a wild unpredictability that more than once had scored a few hits on both Divine Knights.

But despite all of that, Rean couldn't help but thrive through it, with the support he received from Laura and the rest of Class VII and fighting alongside someone who, despite everything that had happened, he still considered his best friend, Rean found himself in a new high, feeling like he was approaching the enlightenment that Master Yun Ka-fai told him about.

He just had to free the prince and put the Vermillion Apocalypse down.

Just one more fight.

Valimar's Spiritual Resonance borrowed from Ordine's Boost Mode while fortifying his brother's strength and without the need to exchange any words both Divine Knights rush forward once again, weaving through a shower of arrows, and reached him before Testa-Rossa could react, with Crow destroying his weapon while Rean delivered a barrage of blows that were too fast for the monster to defend himself from.

Valimar's tachi cut through Testa-Rossa's torso, exposing it to air, and the beast roared fiercely. Victory seemed to be close but the Vermillion Apocalypse still had one trick up its sleeve as he surrounded himself in the same crimson lighting that signaled the use of his ability. Rean and Crow backed off, which proved to be the right move as their enemy had surrounded himself in gigantic spikes which then burst off in a deadly explosion.

The overwhelming attack was too efficient, impossible to fully evade or defend from, painfully ripping through Valimar and Ordine's plating although not taking them out of the fight just yet. Worst still, was the massive spike that had landed right next to Vita's barrier, almost taking her and Class VII in one fell swoop.

Rean cursed under his breath, they had to end this soon.

Realizing how efficient his previou attack had been, the Vermillion Apocalypse quickly began to charge another salvo of spikes. It had been mere luck that the previous one hadn't killed everyone and they could not allow another one to be fired.

The two Divine Knights rushed forward and the Vermillion Apocalypse fired a set of spikes, not a full barrage like the previous one but a smaller quantity that allowed him to charge his attack faster. Rean and Crow dodged it but then there was another one then another, a constant wave of spikes was blasted off in random patterns and made their approach difficult, with another spike flying way too close for comfort to Class VII.

"Enough of this shit. Rean, go!" Crow yelled as Ordine threw his double saber, zipping and slicing through the spikes until it embedded itself on Testa-Rossa's left shoulder and caused the Vermillion Knight to briefly stop the summoning of his spikes.

Rean followed close behind it, evading and blocking what he could of the enemy fire and ignoring the pain from the ones that hit Valimar, his focus now was solely on finishing this fight. Once the double saber struck its target, Testa-Rossa reeled back and stopped summoning his spikes and Rean furiously but precisely slashed through his armor, the sound of steel ripping through steel drowning everything else.

A spark of energy burst from Testa-Rossa in one last, desperate attempt to defend himself as it fired one last spike but it was completely off target and Rean delivered one final blow that opened up the Vermillion Apocalypse's torso. From the wound a burst of black light came out, after which both Prince Cedric and Duke Cayenne were revealed to be inside and unconscious. Valimar's hand opened Testa-Rossa's chest and he removed the two humans inside it.

Testa-Rossa still attempted to move but it was in vain as magical tendrils formed around his limbs and began to pull him back towards his jail and despite his struggling, the Vermillion Apocalypse was once more imprisoned.

They had done it, it was finally, actually over and Rean let out a sigh of relief. He was about to turn around but he felt it before he could see it, his connection to his friend was waning and that told him enough. Something had gone wrong. Hesitantly, he turned Valimar around and his heart sank as he saw the grim reality: one of Testa-Rossa's spikes, the monster's final, desperate attack, had impaled Ordine in the chest.

Briefly too stunned to move, Rean eventually ordered Valimar to approach his fallen brother.

It wasn't supposed to be like this, they had won, the civil war was over, he had defeated Crow, mastered his link with Valimar and put the Vermillion Apocalypse back to rest. That was it, it should be over and then they'd go back to Thors and visit Crow in prison or something. He hadn't thought too hard about the aftermath but he never expected this.

It wasn't supposed to be like this.

Nobody was supposed to die this time.

Valimar knelt down and laid Prince Credric and Duke Cayenne down on the ground while Rean left the cockpit and took a hesitant step towards the huddled Class VII, their gazes looking down on the ground.

"Rean, I'm sorry but it doesn't look good," Sara said with a solemn look in her eyes and he wordlessly pushed past her. She simply let him go and went to check on the unconscious hostages of the Vermillion Apocalypse.

Watching his approach, his friends gave him space and Rean finally saw Crow, lying on the ground with blood pouring from his chest.

"I'm sorry, Rean," Laura said, putting an arm around his shoulder to support him. "That last attack was aimed in our direction but Crow put himself in its way. He took it in order to save us."

"Couldn't let you hog all the glory…" He forced a grin. "I guess you were right, huh? I really ended up dying the next time we met," the Azure Awakener said playfully.

"Shut up, Crow, save your strength," Rean fell to his knees, reaching out to his friend before hesitating, unsure if he should try to move his friend or touch him at all or not. "We need to do something, we gotta take you to a hospital and-"

"No, no, I uh… I gotta say something," Crow attempted to lift himself up to speak but gave up as his strength was rapidly leaving his body.

"Vita, you put him up to this, do something!"

The witch, looking more miserable than ever, cast an apologetic gaze at the pleading swordsman. "The damage he and Ordine have suffered is too great for my magic to fix. The best I can do is ease his pain. I am very sorry, Crow. Truly."

"Yeah, I know."

"Emma, get your grandmother's ointment, we have to-"

"I'm sorry for the shit I did!" Crow yelled out, using his remaining strength to stop Rean's pointless attempts at helping him by grabbing him by his jacket. "About everything. Really, I am. You were right, I thought you were a dumb loser when I first met you, a loser just like me, lost and looking for a way to fit in, looking to be someone new, even if for a moment just to escape from the bullshit in your life, and if my own stupid ass could help you get some confidence before shit hit the fan and we messed up your life, well, I thought it would balance things out a bit."

Crow wheezed and coughed, blood coming out of his mouth while a startled Rean stared at him with horror.

The sound of machinery caught their attention as they watched Ordine, with his exposed cockpit, kneel down to be closer to his Awakener.

"Hey, big guy. How you feeling?"

"As you would say, Crow, I feel like shit."

"Heh, teaching you to swear was the best decision I made. I'm sorry that things ended like this."

"It was a joint failure. Remember, we fight as one, we win as one and we lose as one, as it is the bond between Awakener and Deus Excellion. And among my Awakeners, you were the most exciting one."

"Not the best?"

"Let's not push it."

Crow barked out a laugh that shot up pain across his body. "Fucker, making me laugh with my guts turned into mush. Why did I have to get the smartass knight?"

His gaze swept across Class VII, watching their expressions. Good ol' Elliot and Emma were just as shocked as Rean, tears pooling in the corner of their eyes, too good natured to feel anything but anguish. Gaius seemed to be praying which Crow appreciated though he felt it wouldn't make a difference about where he'd end up. The rest seemed to be struggling with their mixed feelings, confused if they should be sad or angry or thinking this was good riddance. Laura kept her eyes on Rean, her hold on him gentle and comforting, and he once again had to admire what hell of a girl she was.

"Look, I know I ain't got the right to say this to you all but… being at school with you guys was some of the best time I had and I… I almost forgot about everything else. Maybe I should have, I don't think this is what grandpa would've wanted for me. So thanks, everyone, for putting up with me. Rean… Thanks for being my friend."

His lips trembling, Rean choked a sob.

"Hey, man, come on now. Don't-" Another burst of blood came from Crow's mouth. "Don't let this get to your head, it's not your fault. I put myself in this situation. Just… keep going, just like you've been doing, and let nothing stop you, you hear me? This world will break you if you let it but you are not the kind of guy who accepts being put down, you just get up again and again because you're that damn strong. Stronger than I ever could be. Don't let that fade away no matter what because you and friends are gonna need it. Keep going… onward. Relentlessly, without looking back..."

Crow's voice descended into a whisper and with his final words spoken, his body went limp. Crow Armbrust, leader of the Imperial Liberation Front, the Azure Awakener and member of Class VII, succumbed to his wounds.

"Damnit…" Rean's face dropped and his hands balled into fists as he cursed this whole situation. His mind was in complete turmoil trying to process everything. It didn't seem real, he had never experienced loss and this one had come with a lot baggage he never would never have the opportunity to deal with. He had lost his best friend that day in Trista and whatever hope he had of re-establishing that connection had been swept away.

The only thing keeping him together was the presence of Laura and the rest of Class VII around him. He wasn't alone and if they were together they would be able to move past this, he had begun to think, but then the voices of his friends, distant to him at first, grew louder and louder with gasps and utterances of pure confusion.

As Rean and Laura lifted themselves up, they turned around to follow the gazes of their friends and what the couple saw left them completely speechless.

"Persistent until the very end. Once again, Armbrust deserves praise for his tenacity," said a deep, booming voice that sent shivers down the spines of the individuals listening.

Standing atop the stairs that led to the Vermillion Apocalypse's prison were Captains Lechter and Claire alongside Altina Orion but despite the unusual combination, nobody's attention was placed on them but instead on the man standing at the center of the group…

Chancellor Giliath Osborne.

"G-gramps!? Wha- wha- How!?" Millium broke the silence with a shriek.

"Been wondering the same thing for the past few minutes ourselves, short stuff," Lechter said with a casual shrug.

"Minutes?"

"Yes, we received a call using an Ironblood code phrase to enter this castle and that was when we met with His Excellency," Claire responded, looking much more apologetic than her counterpart. "I am sorry we couldn't make it earlier, Class VII."

This entire thing was absurd, nobody seemed to be able to wrap their heads around what they were hearing. Nobody, aside from Vita Clotilde.

"Oh, I see. This is certainly an unexpected turn of events," her cold gaze centered at the chancellor and her fingers wrapped tightly around her staff, its magical glowing signaling the beginnings of a spell being cast. "Grianos, fetch."

The turquoise bird chirped and flew from her shoulder, moving towards the chancellor like a bullet until it was intercepted by a jade streak that sliced the familiar in half and at that moment the witch experienced a coldness unlike any other, feeling her entire body torn asunder and cast into the black void of nothingness. A witch is connected to their familiar and can feel whatever happens to them, meaning that as Grianos was violently killed, Vita Clotilde felt as if she herself had died.

Her voice was caught in her throat as she went to her knees, clutching her body as she still felt the cold blade that had murdered her precious Grianos slicing through her own body. Her eyes watered, her skin became pale and covered in sweat and she shivered uncontrollably. Emma and Celine rushed to support her, throwing away any notions of their conflict due to the distressing situation they knew their fellow witch was going through.

"Y-you…" The Azure Abyss lifted her head with a hateful glare towards the cause of her current situation: Rufus Albarea.

"My apologies for killing your pet, Lady Clotilde, but given the current state of the Empire, we can not allow harm to fall upon His Excellency," the man said with his trademark smarmy attitude. "And just like my fellow Ironbloods, I also am curious to know how he pulled this one out."

"Sheesh, you hear this guy, Claire?" Lechter scratched his head. "Reveals himself to be an Ironblood to us like five minutes ago and already acts like he owns the place."

Jusis stared at his brother in disbelief. "Rufus, what's the meaning of this!?"

"It is as you heard, dear brother. I, Rufus Albarea, codename Jade Rook, am a member of the Ironbloods and have been for quite some time I might add."

"When I get my hands on you-" Vita snarled and her staff began to glow once more but the strength quickly left her.

"I shall allow you to leave with your life this time, witch. If only because you might still serve a purpose in the future," the chancellor looked down on Vita, indicating just how much he had outplayed her. "Go, lick your wounds and tell your Grandmaster that I am taking over that Phantasmal Blaze Plan of yours and my first order of business will be sorting out the mess you left in Crossbell."

A far cry from the unwavering and collected individual that she was, Vita looked distressed and undecided. "I'm sorry you had to see me like this, Emma," she said in between ragged breaths to her sister then turned to Crow's body before returning her gaze towards Osborne. "This isn't over."

With those final words, Kerykeion flashed in a bright blue light and the witch vanished.

This series of events barely registered in Rean's perception, as if he was watching a stage play far away from him that he was barely paying attention to. A feeling he hadn't felt in a while began to bubble inside him once again, his body felt restless, twitchy, and a buzzing began to drone in his ear, low but it grew in intensity steadily, and his eyes began to focus on the chancellor.

"How are you alive!?"

Then the whole dam burst.

"He shot you, Crow shot you square in the chest, everyone saw it! You should be dead!" Rean screamed as he pointed an accusatory finger at the chancellor. "Was everything he did, were all the years he spent planning revenge and stewing in hatred for nothing? Are you telling me he could've just stayed with us back in Thors and nothing would've changed!? That he wasted his entire life!? And then you strut in here like… Like you already knew…"

The words fell out of his lips in utter disbelief as the pieces began to fall into place. The swordsman's eyes fell to Captains Claire and Lechter then to Altina and Rufus as he recalled their discussion back in the Courageous about the oldest of the Albarea siblings' motivations, when the man sanctioned the arrest of his own father. They had believed that Rufus had been orchestrating the downfall of the leaders of the Noble Alliance to position himself as the faction's true leader, but what if that wasn't the full extent of the matter?

What if he had been doing all of that under someone else's orders? What if he had infiltrated the Noble Alliance for the sake of eliminating the Reformist Faction's enemies from within? What if everything they had accomplished had been completely pointless?

"You knew! This was all your fault! You knew all of this would happen all along!" Rean shouted as realization struck him, successively hitting all of Class VII as his words and outrage sent the point home.

Rean's legs moved before he could think and none of his friends had the time to react, the next thing they knew, Rean had climbed to the top of the stairs and grabbed Giliath Osborne by his clothes, screaming in anger at his face.

"The Noble Alliance, the terrorists, Ouroboros, even the Crimson Wings! You knew what everyone was planning and you let this war happen then set all of us up like chess pieces to take your enemies out! We went through hell to get here while you were just watching from the shadows as we did your dirty work for you!"

Calmly, Rufus approached Rean and put a hand over his shoulder. "Rean, I believe yo-"

"Shut up!" The transformation was instantaneous, an explosion of renewed power that repelled Rufus as if his hand had been shocked by electricity. Dark miasma swirled around Rean like never before and a sense of killing intent washed over everyone else.

Claire immediately tried to intervene, pulling out her gun, but Valimar was already on the move and placed his sword in front of her, silently threatening anyone who'd oppose his Awakener. Sensing how delicate the situation was and what was about to come, Lechter signaled the policewoman to hold off from any drastic actions.

"Rean, wait!" Laura shouted along with her friends' attempts to stop him from making a terrible mistake, but their words were unheeded.

"You really are a monster, worse than Albarea, worse than Cayenne or anyone from Ouroboros! You are a danger to everyone and someone has to stop you. I have to stop you. With Valimar I'm the strongest person in this Aidios damned place, nobody can stop me, give me one good reason for me to not finish what Crow started!"

Before anyone else could say anything, the chancellor spoke, calmly, with a hand over the young man's shoulder.

"It has been a while, Rean."

At that moment something flashed in Rean's mind. A calm night interrupted by a loud crash. Fire. A woman's scream. A gunshot and piercing pain that dug into his chest before the world went black.

---

"Rean... I pray you grow up strong and healthy. Oh, Aidios... If you're listening, hear me now. Please, allow this child…"

---

"No…"

Rean let go of the chancellor and just as fast as his power had exploded out of him, it retreated back within his body, recoiling like a scared animal. The rage that consumed him had been completely snuffed out in an instant and Rean stepped back, slowly, with glassy eyes staring at the chancellor, until he tumbled down the stairs. The action was emulated in Valimar, whose hand let go of his tachi before seeming to shut down.

Laura and the others rushed to his side to ensure he was okay and were shocked when they saw his face. Rean had turned pale, tears started to pool on the corners of his trembling eyes and a hand clutched to his chest, right above his scar. He was shivering, cold and hyperventilating, muttering "no" over and over again under his breath, growing more desperate at each utterance, while his feet weakly attempted to push him away.

Laura put an arm around him while her free hand searched his body for injuries or any other sort of answer that explained what was going on. In one minute, Rean was consumed by anger and in the other he was absolutely terrified, in a manner she had never seen him before.

"Rean, what happened? Did the chancellor say something to you?" She held him closer, trying to assuage him. "Please, calm down and tell me what's going on." She felt herself growing anxious, unsure about what to do.

And then Osborne spoke.

"I am glad to see that you've grown into a fine young man, my son."

One could hear the smallest of pins drop as that set of words drove everyone in the premises to complete silence, struggling to comprehend what they had just heard. It was as if the world had stood still. Nobody could move and nobody could say anything as they stared between the chancellor and Rean in complete disbelief.

And nobody would ever forget the panic stricken scream that came from Rean at that moment.

---

Author's notes: Hey guys, this took longer than I expected but considering how huge this chapter was you can clearly see why, this is probably the longest chapter I've written so far, but also real life got in the way multiple times.

Some details of note: you might have noticed that I never used the term subcontractor to refer to the rest of Class VII and just straight up gave Valimar an unique ability, like Ordine's Boost Mode and Testa-Rossa's One Thousand Weapons system. First because the use of the word subcontractor makes no sense, initially they claim it's because the rest of Class VII took the trial but then Sara wasn't part of the trial and she's still considered one. And it's all dependent on the ARCUS, a thing that didn't exist when the Divine Knights were created. Instead I changed it so Valimar can make a combat-link with any person Rean is close to, without the need of an ARCUS, and that is much deeper than a regular link to the point he can briefly use their skills.

The games handwave it away later in CS4 to explain how Sara and New Class VII can also be considered subcontractors, saying that it's actually because they're close to Rean but in that case why were the rest of Class VII being called subcontractors for doing the trial? It makes no sense, there's no need to say "they're subcontractors because they were in the trial, no wait, it's actually Rean being close to them," in such a roundabound manner, just say that Valimar can do this from the beginning, the entire theme of the series is the power of friendship anyway.

Now as for Cayenne… In the game Vita goes "Cayenne, whatever you do, don't shove Cedric in the robot okay" and she just expects him to follow her orders. Is she stupid? It's also said in the game that Testa-Rossa only responds to the direct Arnor bloodline but isn't every descendant of Hector carrying Arnor blood? What does that actually mean? Are we talking about purity? Is Cedric, and by extension Olivert, Alfin, Eugent, all the way to Dreichels and beyond really super inbred? Yeah, I know inbreeding is a thing in monarchies in the real world but that's never even hinted in the games. (Also nobody in the Arnor family seems to suffer from genetic defects caused by inbreeding. Where's the erebonian version of Charles II of Spain?)

So, this way, by saying that any descendant of Arnor blood would suffice, Vita doesn't come off as simply trusting Cayenne won't disobey her. I wrote her as very high and mighty, which I believe fits her, and she should expect a sniveling man like Croire who betrayed all of his allies to also betray her, she was ready for that (and use it as an excuse to smack him around) but she could never have predicted his ties to the Arnor family.

The final chapter of Part 2 and a more extensive afterword will be posted next week.