Chapter 3: Prison of Secrets


The sword sung on the barren heath,

The sickle in the fruitful field;

The sword he sung a song of death,

But could not make the sickle yield.


The Island Fortress loomed overhead as they docked at the port. The structure itself appeared to consist mostly of stone, built directly into the side of a steep cliff. It was an imposing place, and even the murky weather made it seem less accommodating… not that it ever really was in the first place.

Ragna whistled as he stared up at the ominous crags. No one sane would willingly come here, though given his companions, he wasn't too surprised. Laphicet stood beside him, equally at awe of this place.

"The whole island's a prison… it's like a secret fort or something!" the kid exclaimed.

"Weirdly quiet, though."

"Yeah, I don't see a single exorcist on the watch."

"Let's scope out the inside," said Velvet, leading the way forward.

"Maybe it became haunted?" Magilou continued, hands behind her head as she walked forward.

Ragna was about to follow as well, though his steps faltered at the witch's comment. "Eh? Haunted...?" He had experienced a great many things, but dealing with the intangible and the ethereal was something he always found unusual. It was a feeling that manifested in his typical refusal to join anything related to things that might contain ghosts and the like. And yet he can't just turn away now if everyone's heading in. "Damn it…" he shivered, his face a bit more pale as they entered the threshold.

Within, they caught sight of someone falling over. An Exorcist apparently, who began to mutter, "Headless…kni…knight…tss… back…" and became still.

"She's dead." Eleanor shook her head.

And then a roar as something large leaped from an overlooking platform. It was ape-like, larger than any normal man, and more ferocious as it roared again, as if to challenge the group.

"Think this is the daemon that attacked her?" asked Rokurou.

"Hmmm, another prison riot?" wondered Magilou.

A grin appeared on Ragna's face. Alright, so this wasn't a ghost then. He can handle something like this if there were more around.

It lunged at Eleanor first, who sidestepped the blow leaving Ragna free to deliver it a powerful kick that sent it flying towards the opposing wall. It was stunned long enough that the Exorcist ran forward and impaled it with the tip of her spear, ending the threat right there.

It was quiet again, though Ragna suspected something amiss. He was sure the others could feel it too and given the simplicity of dealing with that monster, that feeling was likely correct.

"So did the Abbey actually fail to quell the riots?" Velvet wondered, tilting her head to the side as if to think about the situation.

"I find that hard to believe," said Rokurou, "The prison was heavily staffed with Exorcists."

"Perhaps it was venomization," said Eizen.

"Eh?" Ragna turned his head.

"A dark ritual forcing daemons to eat each other in order to produce ever-stronger daemons," Eizen continued to explain.

"And no one thought that was a bad idea?" asked Ragna.

"They likely created a daemon far too powerful for the exorcists to control." Rokurou looked at him.

"I imagine the riot didn't help," Eleanor looked down.

"Now whose fault could that have been, I wonder?" said Magilou.

Velvet shook her head. "Whatever happened doesn't matter to us now. We need to focus on how to take this place for ourselves."

"That exorcist from before said something about a "headless knight," right?" Laphicet wondered.

"Spooky…" Ragna said, resting his back against a wall. "I assume we're going to be hunting it down, right?"

"What, you're going to be joining us?" Velvet asked.

"I mean, wouldn't it be a good idea to keep an eye on me? You can't seriously think of just letting me do anything I please, do you?"

"Isn't that what you're doing now?" she frowned.

"Fair point. Still, It's been a while since I properly stretched my limbs. If all you really need to do is to hunt down a few of these monsters, then I'm sure I can help out in that regard."

"Heh, I like that way of thinking." Rokurou chuckled.

"Fine," Velvet replied, "As long as you're pulling your weight. For now, until we capture the island, let's use this room for our staging ground. I'll leave the prince and Kamoana to Kurogane and Dyle. Eliminate any enemies who come in."

"Prince?" Ragna stared at the other group. Eleanor had walked over to them as well, comforting the little girl before she rejoined them.

It didn't take long before they made their exit from the room and headed deeper into the prison. There were other monsters now though. Winged daemons that swooped down with pointed spears, spellcasters that constantly stayed back, but this was just the opening part and Velvet seemed to lead the way in a methodical manner.

Ragna played his part as best he could. Despite his heavy blade, he swung it at the daemons with little problem. His only setback usually came when the hall was too narrow to fight in, in which case he was forced to use brute strength with his fists or legs.

"Damn you're strong." Rokurou said as he watched Ragna send a daemon flying, dissipating as it crashed against the opposing wall. "You know when all this is over, how would you like to have a duel? Just the two of us, no holding back?"

"What, to the death? No thanks. I've had too many people going after my head in the past. We can continue that spar of ours, sure. But I don't intend on going all out, ever." Ragna replied.

"Are you sure that's a good idea? We will be facing the Abbey in the future, and we can't afford to have you pull your punches when it matters." Eizen said.

"I meant not going all out on friends. Just because I like to avoid conflict doesn't mean I don't enjoy a good fight every now and then." Ragna answered.

"Oh? So we're all friends now?" Magilou spoke up with a grin.

"Eh." Ragna gave a shrug as they continued walking on. He didn't dislike them so that should be a point in their favor at least. Some more than others though.

Further down, something odd caught their attention.

"Hey, it's you again." Velvet looked at it.

Actually what was it? It was small, human-like, and seemed to carry… or wear a shell attached to its back. And when it spoke, it sounded much older than what Ragna expected it to be.

"Ah, I'm so busy! I'm so busy I can'tz even notice what'z going on around me!" it said, feigning ignorance to the group.

"You're not fooling anybody. Why bother?" Velvet said, glaring at it.

And so it turned around, dejected. "I was… hoping to not have to dealz with youz guyz. Whenever I run into youz, I always lose so much moniez."

Odd way of speaking too, Ragna observed.

"Hey uh, that's a human, right?" he looked at Eizen. Velvet seemed fine enough to deal with it herself along with Eleanor. And Ragna would rather not get involved too closely there.

"That's a question for the ages. No one really knows the answer to that. Be they human or malakhim, there is no answer that can be found about the origins of the Turtlez." Eizen nodded.

"Turtlez, eh? Might be a type of beastkin like the Kaka clan." Ragna answered.

"What's the Kaka clan?" Laphicet said as he approached.

"Oh? Just a race of cat beastkin. Really friendly if you get to know them." Ragna answered.

Whatever business Velvet had with the turtlez was finished fairly quickly and the group continued on their way, deeper into the prison, beginning to head lower and lower with each new stairwell that revealed itself.

"What was behind the riot?" Eleanor wondered, midway through the walk. "Who was behind the riot?"

"Wouldn't you have known something about it?" Rokurou asked her.

"There were reports of a large riot, but I heard little else when I was chasing you."

"It was a small affair, really." Magilou replied, "Velvet, Rokurou, and I were being held on this island. Velvet instigated the other prisoners to riot so that we could escape."

"Heh, nice." Ragna chuckled.

"She used the prisoners?!" exclaimed Eleanor.

"Would you expect different from me?" Said Velvet, her voice calm causing Eleanor to simply grit her teeth at the thought.

"How did it end?" asked Laphicet.

"We didn't stay to see, but the prisoners were losing badly." Rokurou answered, propping his chin up with a few fingers as he pondered his next set of thoughts. "At least that's what it looked like… but if that was the case, then where did all the exorcists go?"

Eleanor sighed. "I know Oscar left to report the incident, but the other guards should have remained at their posts."

"Well, if they didn't flee, we have to assume they were all killed." Said Eizen.

"By this headless knight perhaps?" said Magilou. "Well, no sense losing our heads, I suppose… But it looks like we're in for a heck of a fight."

"Hey, if you can strike it with a sword, it means it can be hurt. Nothing's invincible." Ragna said. "At least it doesn't sound like a ghost."

"Oh? And what if it's some kind of spectre?" Magilou looked at him.

"Ha! Don't even joke about that." Ragna replied, shivering lightly.

Further down they went, each new daemon appearing falling to the party. No headless knight though, but Velvet mentioned they were getting close to the deepest area of the prison.

Daemons appeared before them again and again, but there was only one way forward and that was right through them. Easy enough now with no more surprises, the daemons didn't exactly have many options and their strategy was fairly basic all things considered. Which meant Ragna wasn't threatened at all when the headless knight appeared before them near the end of a prison room.

"He doesn't look that tough." He said, sword drawn.

"Remember, he's still the product of the Venomization. So stay on your guard." Velvet said, the group getting into a battle stance.

"He certainly looks vicious enough," said Rokurou, though Ragna could detect just the slightest hint of disappointment in his voice.

"Not as vicious as our Velvet though," Magilou grinned.

The knight commenced battle with them now, his massive axe carving a path through empty air as he tried to bring as many people as possible into its arc. The first swing was easily avoided as Rokurou retaliated with a few quick slices to the side. The knight was in full armor though, though what remained of a body didn't seem to be visible at all.

The fact creeped Ragna out, but he held his own against the second strike, completely negating the axe blow with the raise of his sword. Velvet struck at the daemon then, severing its arm. Magilou and Laphicet blasting it apart soon afterwards with a combination of intense spellcasting.

A pile of rent armor lay where it stood though for a moment, it moved as if to rise again. Ragna stepped back, before the pieces simply exploded outward, scattering the remains.

"That takes care of that." Rokurou said, sheathing his blades.

"Yeah…" Velvet whispered, her gaze down on a small chamber underneath this room. It was blocked off by a grate, though a ladder seemed to head down.

"Ah! I feel something again!" Laphicet called out.

"The Earthpulse Point?" Eizen said, his gaze lowered. "I sense it, too. It's very close."

"Directly underneath us, I would guess." Said Velvet, lifting the grate as the group made their way down.

It was a gloomy place, Ragna observed. It wasn't particularly small; though the chains and stone walls scattered about definitely made it feel more like a dungeon compared to the cells and bars in the prison above.

"What is this place?" Eleanor wondered.

Velvet frowned, "Welcome to the most secure cell in the entire complex. The darkest hole in Titania. Feel anything, Laphicet?" she turned towards the boy.

He nodded his head, his compass out to doubly make sure. "Yeah, I think this is the earthpulse point."

"If this cell is where the earthpulse point is, then does that mean it housed a therion?" Eleanor wondered.

"Yeah, and a real hungry one at that." Said Velvet, her voice seemingly darkening.

Ragna leaned his back against the wall, his eyes on Eleanor and then towards Velvet. How much did she know about this place?

Velvet continued, her voice colder and colder, yet there was also pain within it as she looked up at the entrance.

"Every day, they would toss daemons into its cell. It would devour its fill, then wipe the blood from its lips. Never once realizing it was delivering to Innominat the malevolence of hundreds of daemons and prisoners." She paused, taking a deep breath before her gaze fell downwards. "And then one day there appeared before it a female malak, who shattered the barrier and freed the therion from its cage. But the therion knew no mercy, and it devoured its liberator. And it was then…"

A long pause. Everyone was silent until Velvet spoke again. The bandages on her left arm disappeared, transforming the whole thing and revealing the familiar black and crimson claw that served to replace it.

"It was then I obtained the power. The power to avenge my brother."

"Velvet… You're a therion?" Laphicet asked, a little surprised in his sad tone.

"This prison island was a feeding ground for the therion, harnessing the malevolence created by the prisoners within." Eizen said, rationalizing what happened.

"But because Velvet escaped, the malevolence went out of control." Said Rokurou.

"Wow, the same darn thing that happened back in Kamoana's village." Nodded Magilou.

Eleanor shook her head, "Lord Artorius would never have done such a thing…"

"No? What's so unbelievable?" asked Velvet, her voice now agitated. "That he used his wife's brother as a human sacrifice? That he imprisoned his wife's sister? Because that's what your DAMNED HOLY SHEPERD DID! All to get his hands on Innominat's power!"

"I'm sure he… he had a reason for—" Eleanor's voice was swiftly interrupted as Velvet lunged forward, her right hand gripping Eleanor's shirt.

"A reason?! To spare the world of its pain? Don't give me that! Who will spare my brother's pain?! Who will soothe my brother's despair?! He murdered my little brother Laphi! And you'll stand there and tell me it was for the 'greater good'?!" Velvet cried out angrily.

Ragna was silent throughout all this. He honestly didn't know this went much deeper than he realized. His gaze travelled down to his right arm and looked at the back of his hand. What Velvet experienced, it wasn't right. And yet…

He moved, his right hand on Velvet's own as if to stop her from threatening Eleanor. It changed nothing of course, but it was enough to make Velvet back off and pull her hand away.

"At any rate, that's one less Therion for us to track down." Velvet said with a wave of her hand as she calmed herself down.

Neither of the two women said anything, conflicting emotions through both for what felt like hours until the silence was broken by Eleanor mentioning Kamoana.

"What? Did Velvet yell at you so hard you're starting to hear voices now?" Magilou asked her.

"I just have a feeling that something's wrong. She could be in danger."

"The headless knight was defeated already though…" Laphicet said.

"I still can't shake this feeling! Please, let's go back and check on them!" Eleanor pleaded.

The decision was unanimous. Best to return to the rest of the crew instead of lingering about in this gloomy place. Ragna said nothing as they headed back, though another small conversation caught his attention.

Magilou initiated the discussion, however and said, "So, Velvet is a therion, is she? I knew there was something off about her."

"But it's what she cried out that's really on my mind." Eleanor murmured as she turned towards Laphicet. "Is Velvet truly Lord Artorius' younger sister?"

"She never told me." The boy replied.

"If it were true, I suppose it would explain her knowledge of Lord Artorius' training."

"If you're so curious, why not ask her yourself?" Rokurou said, turning his gaze towards Velvet. "Hey, Velvet. What's your connection to Artorius?" he called out.

Eleanor's features dropped. "Rokurou, have some tact!"

Velvet glanced back, her expression more annoyed than anything. "I heard you whispering. It doesn't bother me." She said as she gave her answer, "Artorius was married to my late sister Celica. He was our brother-in-law. We lived together for more than ten years."

"Celica…" Ragna murmured. The name was just a coincidence but still…

Magilou looked at him briefly and then back towards Velvet. "That does explain a few things."

Eizen shook his head, "So he sacrificed his little brother and turned his sister into a therion."

"But… you were his family." Eleanor said, her gaze downtrodden.

Velvet frowned again. "To his view of the grand scheme, family is inconsequential. 'The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few.' All he did was act according to his ideal logic. In any case, that's enough chitchat. Let's get moving."

The trip back was even gloomier than usual, at least in Ragna's view. It was mostly Laphicet and Eleanor he observed that was most affected by this and he walked beside them almost instinctively. Neither of them objected as far as he could tell.

Moments later, they neared the entrance only to hear a cry of help.

"That was Kamoana!" Eleanor declared, running forward ahead of them.

All jumped over the railing to rejoin the smaller group, and met a sight they did not expect. Another of those daemons had appeared, more ferocious than the others one. And coincidentally, it was also another headless knight… but on top of a headless horse.

"It's giving off a ton of malevolence." Said Eizen.

"The true survivor of the venomization process." Rokurou nodded.

"Oh… I get it!" Magilou chirped up. "The dying exorcist lady wasn't saying "Headless knight is back," she was going for "Headless knight on horseback!"

"Whatever the case, we'll fight whoever we have to claim this island!" Velvet declared as the group prepared themselves for a fight.

"No."

They turned towards Ragna as he stepped forward, his sword held out to his left side as if to bar the rest from passing him by. "This one's on me."

"This isn't the time for showing off!" Velvet said.

"Sorry, but I need to get this out of my system." Ragna answered, standing a fair distance in front of the group now. They could have stopped him, probably, though Eizen and Rokurou seemed to acknowledge that this was important and held the others back momentarily. He took a deep breath, and then stared at the daemon directly where its head could have been.

Despite being headless, the horse made a neighing sound and then charged. Its rider levelled its spear and aimed it straight for Ragna. He wasn't too concerned of course, but his next action will make or break his place in all of this.

Eight steps before the daemon reached him and everything seemed to move so slow. Not so much the same as a life flashing before his eyes, but simply the sheer gravity of what he was about to do. He raised his right arm, fully revealing what appeared to be a crimson object embedded within the back of his hand. It glowed, and Ragna began a familiar chant.

"Restriction 666 released."

Five steps. What was he doing? He was wasting this kind of power on this daemon he barely even knows about. He didn't even have a guarantee that this wouldn't be detrimental to his own mind and body.

"Dimensional Interference Field Deployed."

Two steps. The spear was just a few feet away. An azure circle like that of a spellcaster's bounded field appeared around him. Darkness gathered atop of him, a storm that partially shrouded him but also giving off an intense aura that made those who looked upon him wither their gaze.

"Azure Grimoire, activate!"

An explosion of dark energy surrounded him and blew outwards, sending the daemon back to the far corner of the room with an impact that cracked the wall. It wasn't down yet, however, and it was back on its feet to try the process again and charged with the same ferocity.

Ragna was different now. His right arm had transformed, shrouded or even completely encased in what looked like a pitch-black claw with crimson markings.

The sight was enough for Velvet to widen her eyes, right hand moving to clutch her left arm. It wasn't the same and yet, there was a similarity that couldn't be denied.

"Is he… a Therion too?" Laphicet looked on.

"Stay back!" Eizen pulled the boy back. "This is beyond any amount of malevolence I've seen."

Incentive for Ragna to finish this quickly then. He brought the Armasa's blade out with his left arm, and before the Daemon could react, the blade was swung. Only, it wasn't a sword this time. Somehow, the weapon transformed, part of its structure changing to reveal another blade made of crimson energy. It extended outwards, the entire weapon looking more like a scythe. A scythe that split the horse daemon apart with a single swing.

Its headless rider tumbled down, and then got up to thrust its spear at Ragna. He avoided it by ducking under and was now directly in front of the daemon. The claws of his right arm extended and then he simply grabbed the whole daemon.

"Let Darkness consume you!" Ragna declared, a pitch-black wave engulfing the daemon. The darkness all around them were forming structures now as well, spikes that gouged, stabbed and made short work of the daemon. It must have taken less than a second before the whole thing vanished, traces of its existence moving… into Ragna himself.

With the enemy gone, he turned around. The right side of his face had changed for a moment as well, black and crimson markings all over around his eye, down his face, and extended down to the rest of his arm.

Ragna paused for a moment, before he deactivated the Azure Grimoire. The markings on him disappeared as did the claw.

"The malevolence just disappeared?" Eizen wondered.

"What are you?" Velvet asked, hesitating as she approached.

"That's an open question," Ragna said looking down towards his right hand. He opened and closed his fingers, making sure everything still worked fine. He looked up towards Velvet and sighed.

"I don't know what you've been through. I can't claim that what I've experienced was worse than yours. But I can tell you one thing at least. Losing your family, losing your arm, becoming the world's enemy? It sucks, I know. Maybe I just felt some connection or something? But I've decided to stick with you guys for real this time. Simple as that." He said.

"Intended to leave before? Sorry pal, but after all that, we need to keep an eye on you more than ever." Eizen said with a smile.

"Yeah, that's what I thought." Ragna chuckled, "Guess I just need to- argh…!" he gave out a yell of alarm. He was down on one knee, eyes closed as his head rang.

"What's happening to him?" Eleanor cried out.

Memories. Far too many of them came rushing into his mind. Not his own, but of the daemon he had devoured. Memories of the one who was imprisoned here. Memories of those he had been forced to devour… so many prisoners each with their own story to tell. Venomization… what a pain in the ass!

"I'm good… I'm good…" Ragna said, his breathing heavy. "Too many memories, thought I was going to black out for a moment. I didn't think consuming that would be this detrimental."

"You sure you'll be fine?" asked Eizen.

"Yeah? Probably…" Ragna said. He looked forward, and then paused. Velvet was in front of him, holding her left hand out as if to help him up. Something he graciously accepted as he took her hand with his right.


Interlude: The Empyrean's Throne

Her eyes opened. Though she was unable to move for now, she was perfectly aware that this was intentional. Two people were in front of her, their backs turned until one of them looked back.

"So, you are alive."

A statement, not a question. Who was he?

"This much malevolence still radiating from her, how curious."

The older one was more curious, but she didn't care. There was a presence here, a presence she can't quite see or had yet to reveal itself. And it was… draining her?

"Alive is such a strong word. I am more privy to… Death." She spoke, and then closed her eyes. "Ah, dear brother. So it was your presence I sensed…" she smiled. For now, she can wait here. Her presence in this world, this was an interesting twist of fate indeed.

She was silent, and then she began to laugh. A laugh that echoed about the Empyrean's Throne Room.


Author's Note:

Expect the story to move to the crossover section. I'll let it stay here for a week, and then off it goes.