The Dustbin
Day 42: Pomp & Circumstance Part 3
7th of Ethereal Moon, Afternoon
The forests of Edmund territory has now awoke from its foggy slumber. Within the white veil obscuring all within were a dance between men and beast alike, hunting and swiping blindly in vain hopes of killing the other.
To the west were the young men fending one Demonic Beast through the swirling mist. To the east were the young women ready to kill two beasts in one altercation. At the center was where the Wandering Beast himself called it home, now trying to evict his unwelcome guests out of domain.
"Piece of crap-HOLD STILL!" Byron roared out as he wrapped the chains of his [Perun] around the Demonic Beast's neck in order to get it under his control. "HEY RAPH! USE THAT BIG BODY OF YOURS TO GET THIS MONGREL UNDER CONTROL!"
Raphael then grabs onto one of the Demonic Beast's legs in an attempt to get it under control, only for it to begin flinging itself around, tossing the Grappler into the trees.
"Welp, worth a shot," he sighed as the monster that he was chaining down began to buck wildly.
In one violent torque, the Demonic Beast flings Byron up into the air before it began swinging its neck around, throwing Byron off of its back as it then began to swing him around with the very chains that he was still holding onto for his dear life.
"It's trying to throw off Byron!" Ignatz remarked as he fired an arrow from his [Steel Bow], only for the arrow to hit the scales under the monster's eye. "We need stop it in its tracks somehow!"
Vidar then jumps into action upon seeing Byron in distress. "... Moving... too fast," he muttered to himself as he charged up his [Baigujing]'s cryokinetic powers while charging towards the out of control mosnter, "... like... Byron... stop it... in its TRACKS!"
He then dug both of his katar's blades into the earth as he dragged it behind him before unleashing a massive cold wave towards the Demonic Beast's direction, freezing it over as the frost crawled all over the monster's body, trapping the Demonic Beast's legs and stopping its rampage.
But upon the sudden stop, Byron was then flung across the air, due to him instinctively letting go of the chain that he was holding on in order for his arm to not be ripped off of his shoulder.
"SOMEONE STUPID GET IN MY WAAAAY!" he cried out as his body collided against Lorenz, knocking him off of his horse and causing both to make a messy landing across the dirt.
"Lorenz! Byron!" Ignatz cried out after he took a few more potshots to the monster with his [Steel Bow] before running towards where the two were at. "You two alright?!"
"... My nose is broken," growled the noble as he scrambled out from under Byron's body, holding onto his bleeding and crunched nostrils.
"I gotcha," said Byron as he then casted [Heal] on the noble's broken nose, stemming the bleeding and cracking his nose back to their default position. "Do you need a kiss on that booboo?"
"Do not," he glared before turning to Ignatz. "Ignatz my good man, what is our situation like?"
"Well given for one, the Demonic Beast has been slowed down to an extent," he said as he glanced towards the confined monster being beaten up by both Vidar and Raphael's flurry of punches from their respective gauntlet weapons, "but given how big this forest is, my wager for another one showing up is very likely."
"Then we better kill this one fast before its friend shows up," Lorenz acknowledged as he picked up his dropped [Silver Lance] next to him, only for his shoulder to be grabbed by Byron.
"No," he said, "... I got a better idea."
Back at the frozen beast, both Vidar and Raphael tried to leave behind some damage onto the monster's scaled hide. But as the attack compounded on top of each other, the beast began to regain its movement within it's frozen prison. With each reclaimed twitch of its muscles underneath the ice, the frost covering it began to show cracks, indicating that it won't hold for much longer.
"It's about to get loose!" Raphael remarked as he landed a few blows against the beast's head with his [Steel Gauntlets]. "Freeze it again already!"
"... Can't," answered Vidar as the cracks around the ice spread out even faster, "not enough time-"
The Demonic Beast then opens its mouth before spitting out a massive purple fireball towards Vidar's direction. But before the blast can consume him, he was then whisked away into thin air before appearing next to where Byron, Lorenz and Ignatz were at.
"RAPHAEL!" cried out the bespectacled Sniper as the sounds of the ice breaking reached its crescendo, "GET OUT OF THERE!"
"RIGHT!" the Grappler replied as he took off running as the monster finally freed itself from its frozen bindings before giving chase. "IT'S ON MY TAIL!"
Another roar was heard from behind the group of four. "Another one woke up," Lorenz clicked in his tongue as he heard the foliage from the other side breaking, "wonderful."
Byron simply smiled. "Oh indeed it is," he smirked, realizing that he found their way out, "HEY YOU BIG LUG, RUN FASTER!"
"DUNNO WHAT YOU'RE PLANNING BUT I SAW VID GET WHISKED AWAY!" he cried out as he kept running away from the monster's snapping maws trying to take a bite out of him. "READY WHEN YOU ARE!"
"WAIT!" Lorenz remarked in surprise, "WHAT DOES HE KNOW THAT I DON'T-"
The second Demonic Beast's has now broken through the foliage behind the four, making its presence known with its horrific roar.
"IT'S COMING RIGHT TOWARDS US!" Ignatz cried out.
"I THINK I'M CLOSE ENOUGH!" said Raphael as he leapt towards the rest of Group A with his own Demonic Beast right on his tail.
"ALL ABOARD!" said Byron as he casted [Warp] to the whole group, teleporting them all elsewhere while leaving the two Demonic Beasts to collide against each. Upon their mutual provocation, the two Demonic Beasts then began rolling over on top of each other, now viewing each other as their own prey.
From a safe distance, Group A reappeared in another part of the misty forest. "Phew, that worked out," sighed Byron.
The entire group then sees the two monsters have at it against each other, now with their involvement completely forgotten at the moment.
"... You know, this is the first I ever saw two Demonic Beasts fight against each other," Ignatz commented, "in fact, this might be the first ever recording of such instance!"
"Why didn't you tell me that you know how to use [Warp]?!" Lorenz questioned Byron. "If you're going to formulate a plan, tell us first!"
"Why are you a Paladin when you're better at spellcasting?" replied Byron. "Don't ask me for transparency when you're the one being suboptimal."
"Excuse me?!" the Gloucester scion glared.
"He has a point, Lorenz," Raphael then saw what the Demonic Beasts were now fighting over: Lorenz's steed and who gets to eat it, its pained brays drowned out by the snarls and snorts of the monster pair tearing it apart with their teeth. "... I don't think riding a horse is now an option."
Lorenz tried to come up with the words to put the blame solely on Byron, only for him to compose himself at the last second and prioritizing reality. "... Very well, I shall forgive you for this little transgression."
"Thank you," replied Byron, "and with that, I shall now explain my plan that is currently in motion, in detail."
The whole Group A then huddle around the clearing surrounded by the thickets. "My initial plan was originally to restrict the monster's movement and slowly grind it down. But while the possibility of a second Demonic Beast was unforeseen, I made some quick adjustments to my plan so that rather than us doing the work, we can simply let them tire each other out and pick up the slack from there."
Vidar nods. "... Back when... we hunt... for food... wolves attack... weak prey."
"That does make pragmatic sense," Lorenz reluctantly agreed. "So what happens after? We just go in blind after we see the first opening? Even exhausted, we're still dealing with two Demonic Beasts at once!"
"That will have to wait," Byron remarked as he then began casting [Heal] onto both Raphael and Vidar. "For now, their chaos is our opportunity. While they fight, we recover our bearings and formulate a concrete Plan B."
As Group A took themselves into a more receding stance, Group B in the east were already making their move to lure in two Demonic Beasts at once into the established killing zone.
In the thickest parts of the foggy forest, both Leonie and Lysithea were riding together as bait for the Demonic Beasts to chase after them.
"Hey, I feel that you're trembling," Leonie pointed out as she kept a tight hold onto her steed's bridles. "You alright?"
"O-OF COURSE!" Lysithea reassured herself, her body not matching the words that she'd spoke. "Why would I be scared?! I mean, we're just dealing with big, dumb beasts with sharp claws and fangs and breathes fire..."
The little Warlock lets out a small whimper as she looked back to find the lit [Torch] behind them grow dimmer the further they rode into the foliage.
"... Okay, I'm honestly terrified," she quietly whimpered.
"Who wouldn't?" agreed the Paladin, "I swear, if we get out of this alive, I'm gonna give the Dustbin a piece my mind-"
A low drone groaned around the two.
"... They're close," whispered the Warlock.
Leonie lights one of her [Torches] without uttering a word. Upon illumination, the fog was dispersed by the light, revealing the skeletal visage of the Demonic Beast staring the two of them at their faces.
Everyone was frozen right where they stood. Even the horse knew that if it so much as took off, the lull will give away into utter pandemonium.
Normally, the Golden Deer faced their fair share of Demonic Beasts in their own battles, but back then, they had both several battalions and daylight at their side. There was something about seeing the single, red wisp of an eye glowing the fog that just made them frozen stiff upon seeing it themselves.
"... This is how the Dustbin fights their battles," Leonie reached an epiphany of the horror that she and her friend witnessed. "Uphill... and utterly hopeless."
In the next split second, the following occurs.
First, the other Demonic Beast spotted by Selene beforehand appears right next to where the two stood, it's red wisp breaching through the mist like a damned spirit out in its prowl at the accursed witching hour.
And second, from the aforementioned jumpscare, Lysithea instinctively casts [Seraphim] onto the monster next to her and her Paladin classmate, blinding everyone from within the flash and triggering a panicked retreat followed by a stampede.
Back at the ambush point, Selene spots the flash followed up by both Leonie and Lysithea riding away from the two Demonic Beasts hot on their collective heels.
"Der comin'," Selene remarked as readied her [Crossbow].
"Aim for the eye," said Topaz as she wound back her arm that held the [Zulfiqar] as far as she could, "then I'll strike."
"Ready wen ye are," Sorcha smirked as she held tight of her [Claymore].
As soon as Selene saw the monster in range, with its sole eye focused only on those two, she fires her bolt from her [Crossbow].
As the two Golden Deer students rode like mad away from the beasts, Lysithea's hair suddenly whipped itself to the side from the arrow that buzzed past her head. As the shot arrow flew towards the Demonic Beast's eye, it staked itself into where the red wisp lit from, putting the light out of its sole eye and causing it to go into a blind panic.
"ARE YOU SERIOUS?!" said the Warlock as she clung onto Leonie's horse for her dear life. "SHE MADE A PINPOINT SHOT FROM THAT FAR?!"
Back at the thickets before the two Golden Deers, Selene sees one of the two beasts arch its body up towards the clouded sky upon its sole eye being shot. "Got one."
"Allow me to end this," Topaz then releases the built up tension from her Demonic Beast arm holding onto her V-bladed sword, throwing the [Zulfiqar] across the foggy skies from atop of the trees.
Cutting through the opaque air as it spun its steel in it aerial path, all Leonie heard was a loud thud behind her flight before looking back herself.
All she saw was one of the Demonic Beast's heads slip off of its neck like a wet bar of soap, followed up by its now-headless body felled like a chopped down tree, crashing behind them as the remaining one continued its pursuit.
Whistling across the air, the whirling [Zulfiqar] was then caught by its owner upon its return. "One remains. Sorcha!"
"Right 'O!" she smiled as the sounds of steps of the monster chasing the Golden Deer approached her. As soon as she saw the horse carrying two people pass by her, Sorcha immediately crouches down as she raised her [Claymore] up. "I'M OVER 'ERE!"
As the other Demonic Beast pounced onto her, Sorcha rolls into where its soft underbelly was located at, dodging its downward swipe and standing back up with her blade now planted deep into its insides.
"Open up and say 'ah," Sorcha smirked before she than ran across under the beast's impaled belly, spilling out its organs from behind her trail before finally exiting the monster's range with her massive [Claymore]'s bloody blade rested across her shoulder.
Stumbling as its bodily functions were now completely compromised, the Demonic Beast relents and falls, now inches away from death.
"So, wat did ye say about me sword being impractical?" taunted the green-clad Mercenary as she tapped the bloodied blade of her [Claymore].
"Okay okay, I get it, geez," Leonie sighed as she let down Lysithea from her horse. "Proven me wrong, o great Sorcha McCarthy. Happy?"
She smirks with a beaming smile. "Delighted."
"We've taken care of everything on our end," said Topaz as she casually dropped her [Zulfiqar] into the felled monster's scaled neck, the blade's absurd sharpness being proven as the dropped blade easily melted through the beast's hide and flesh as if it were dropped into water. "Now we go to the center and hope that the Wandering Beast is a worthy foe."
"Okay..." Lysithea couldn't take her eyes off of Topaz's right arm that resembled a Demonic Beast's own. "... Don't mean to pry, but what happened to your arm?"
"This?" she gestured, "during our soirée at the Tower where Miklan's Cartel were situated in, I took the liberty of cutting off his arm that held the [Lance of Ruin]. The residual energy from the Relic spilled over onto my sword arm and now I have gained the [Crest of Gautier] without having to forsake my lifespan, unlike a certain someone before me."
"And the reason you're so gung-ho to help Marianne is..." Leonie then figures out what Topaz was after. "... Oh my goddess, you're after the Crest."
"Unlike you Fodlaners, I have no addictions to this brand of power," she boasted as she flashed her assimilated [Crest of Gautier] from her right hand, "I am merely a vessel, in the name of my own god Azrāʾīl. Anything that benefits his will, whether it may be mankind's creations or another deity's powers, are acceptable."
"Crests are nothing to joke about!" Lysithea cried out, "they're power that comes with responsibility!"
"And yet, the people with them show none of it, save for a tiny few," said the little Hassashin, implying how the Crest-blessed Nobles of Fodlan use their Crests as status symbols rather than actual responsibilities. "Your goddess weeps at your collective incompetence while mine nods in quiet approval despite my people's humiliation at a hands of some spoiled fop."
"Okay, enough of dis dick measurin' contest," Selene remarked as she wound back her [Crossbow]'s crank with a loaded arrow. "Me eyes saw Group C taking on a tougher-lookin' Demonic Beast at de center. Der gunna need our 'elp."
Leonie lets out a resigned sigh as she steadily rode ahead towards the center of the forest. Behind her, Sorcha, Selene, Topaz and Lysithea follow after the Paladin. As they followed after her, Lysithea couldn't help but look at Topaz, her arm, and the weapon that was so sharp that simply dropping it on top of a Demonic Beast's hide was enough to cut through it like a hot knife through butter.
She couldn't help but keep looking, in both fear and envy at the girl who was literally shorter than her.
Back at the western end of the forest, Group A finally recovers all of their fighting strength, with now the two Demonic Beasts who were wrestling each other now sufficiently exhausted to put up much of a fight against one another, but still their bloodlust has now reached mass, its malefic radiation being felt even by those who were hiding in the thicket.
"Oh yeah... thought I forgot something about wolves," Byron groaned as he saw the two Demonic Beasts still continued to fight each other like madmen fighting over a scrap of food. "Wounding them won't slow them rather. Rather, that just pisses them off even more."
"So much for your plan working," Lorenz deadpanned. "Now what?"
"Well, technically, it can still work," protested Byron, "but now, rather than take them out at their weakest one at a time, we now have to take both of them out at once, with their wounded states making them less durable than they were. Otherwise, the one that still lives will most likely tear us apart with the ease of Vidar and Raphael emptying the Church's larders if they're given carte blanche."
"Yeah, but how?" asked Ignatz. "There no guarantee that they would stay focused on each other if they find us!"
Byron smiles before looking at Vidar. "Vidar, is your head hearing anything from your weapon?"
"My... weapon?" he then looked at his pair of [Baigujing].
"Like how Sorcha heard her weapon [Ne Zha] and discovered how to use its innate Combat Art," said Byron. "Do you remember?"
"Y-yes," he answered as his head pounded to recall clearly of Sorcha's mastery of her pyrokinetic arts that melted steel and flesh alike. "... [Samadhi Fire]... she... called it... that!"
"Good, you're on the right track," Byron supported his friend's recovering mental state. "That cold wave you did earlier, I think it has a true name."
"... True... name..." he grunted, racking his head as he tried to attune himself with his weapon, hearing the words that he'd never heard of until now, and seeing an endless world of icebergs stretched out before him for a brief moment. "... I... got it!"
"Good, now hold onto that," Byron stated as he looked back out towards the Demonic Beasts fighting each other.
"You figured something out now?" asked Raphael. "From the way you look, I think that you figured it out."
"Indeed," he answered, "but Lorenz, I'm going to need your help."
"Tell all of us your plans, in detail," said the Gloucester scion as he switched out his Paladin Armor in favor of a Warlock's robes that he wore underneath.
"Ignatz, how good of a shot are you?" asked Byron.
"Given the fog, not as good as I usually am," replied the Sniper.
"Alright, Lorenz, what kind of spells can you use?" asked Byron.
"[Fire], [Sagittae], and [Ragnarok]," he answered.
"Perfect. Use the second one," ordered Byron. "Your spell is going to have act as a tracer to light the way for Ignatz's own shot while blinding one of the beasts at the same time. Don't worry, those monsters don't have more than a single eye each. Their hollow skulls only indicate multiple eyes."
"So the eyes are going to have to go then," Lorenz remarked. "Ignatz, I will help you."
"Make a shot into the eye?" he jittered before swallowing a gulp. "... Dunno, never made a shot that far."
"You can do it man!" encouraged Raphael. "You're easily the sharpest eyed person I ever know!"
"I know, but through fog and two Demonic Beasts?!" Ignatz's nervousness growing because of his friend's reassurance pressuring him even further. "... But... what if I miss-"
Vidar, already sick of his crap, slaps Ignatz's face, causing him to spit out a loose molar. Upon the bespectacled Sniper being snapped out of his stupor, the bear-pelted Warrior grabs him by both of his shoulders.
"You... must..." he growled, "... or we... all die!"
Despite the feral boy's harsh words, the sober truth ironically calms Ignatz's nerves down.
"... Right," he nodded as he adjusted his glasses. "Sorry for looking lame back there."
"Good, because we're wasting time," Byron remarked. "Once blinded, Vidar and I will move in to immobilize the two monsters and Raphael will jump in get the first hits in while we follow up, got it?!"
Everyone nods.
"Good," said the unscrupulous Priest. "Fire at will."
Lorenz then closes his hands together, forming three small sparks between his palms and focused his sights towards the two glowing red dots waving around wildly in the fog.
"Do you Dustbin always fight these kinds of uphill battles?" Lorenz asked.
"... This is... normal," Vidar nodded as the noble rolled his eyes.
With that little exchange out of the way, Lorenz then fires his [Sagittae] spell towards the eyes of the Demonic Beasts. In tandem, Ingatz fires his arrow towards where Lorenz's spell were lighting the way.
Both hit both of the Demonic Beasts's eyes, much to the Sniper and Warlock's shared surprise.
"Phase two," Byron then took off with Vidar following after him. "Ready?!"
Vidar nods before he belts out a growl that raised into a yell as he dragged his [Baigujing]'s blades across the earth behind him.
"... I know... true name!" he grunted as ice spikes began forming from the trail left behind by his weapons. "A world... of ice... and punishment! Now suffer! Your torture!"
With the whip of both of his arms forward, the ice formed by [Baigujing] exploded into a gigantic cold wave that swept across the two blinded monsters.
"[Bīngshān Dìyù]!" declared Vidar as the wave of ice was blasted from his [Baigujing], engulfing both of the Demonic Beasts's under the cold white deluge as Byron moved in to retrieve his [Perun] chain axe dangling around one of their exposed necks.
"I'll take that back," remarked the Priest as one of the heads opened its mouth to ready to unleash a blast of purple fire.
Byron simply responds by throwing a [Miamsa Δ] into the glowing maw before jumping off of the ice. The clashing arcane energies inside the Demonic Beast's mouth causes it to explode inside of its mana regulatory organ, the resulting overload causing its vital function to be compromised, causing the Demonic Beast to die with its head exploding into bloody giblets.
"I wanna say this even though it's too late, but don't swallow," smirked Byron as he then swung his chain-axe behind him at the other Demonic Beast that is currently trying to free itself from its frozen prison, but to no avail since the ice this time around was thicker and better put together compared to Vidar's previous effort.
"There's an opening!" Lorenz pointed out as he casted [Ragnarok] towards the frozen monster's head. "WEAPONS FREE!"
As everyone then began to finish the monster off, Raphael first stretches his arms, shoulders and legs before bolting towards the fray, running past the spells and arrows that whizzed over his head.
"OPEN WIDE BIG GUY!" the eager Grappler leapt towards the monster encased in ice with his right arm wound back for a devastating payload of a punch. "BA-BOOM!"
With a focused punch to its wounded eye, one of Raphael's [Steel Gauntlets] break apart upon making contact with the monster's head. Despite the lack of one weapon, he continues to punch the Demonic Beast's head wound until his knuckles reached the beast's brain, for which then, he kept punching through until the thrashing monster finally fell eerily still.
"Got em!" said Raphael as he came back down. "Lost one gauntlet, but I think my muscles should carry the day for me."
"Nice work," Byron heaved out as he looked down at his chain axe, "shame though I never used this. Then again, I still have a long way to got before I can break in this weapon."
"I should be thanking you," Ignatz remarked, still rubbing his bruised cheek. "... Your plan actually worked."
"Sorry..." apologized Vidar.
"Well... I sort of needed the negative reinforcement," said the Sniper as he adjusted his glasses. "No offense, Raphael."
"None taken," the Grappler replied.
"I'd say, you Dustbin are a daring lot bordering on suicidal at times," Lorenz groaned before he made a small prayer to his fallen horse. "Still, I admit that your daringness has proven its merit. So... well done."
"You thank that's impressive?" smirked Byron. "Then save your praises when we finally bring down Marianne's literal demon of her past."
Group A then takes off, but not before Lorenz says something.
"Say, don't you have [Warp]?" he pointed out. "Why not just whisk us away into the center?"
"Out of charges," said Byron. "I was lucky the second time when I found an exposed gap in the earth leaking out excess mana that allowed for one more charge. So unless I find one more, we're hoofing it."
As both Group A and B converged towards the center, Group C, facing the Wandering Beast himself, were in a deadlock between their numbers and the monster's might proving an ordeal for them to deal with.
"That thing isn't even flinching!" Karna shouted as he kept firing his [Miasma Δ] at the Wandering Beast before leaping out of its way of the monster's swipe.
"Any weak spots?!" Claude remarked as he fired an arrow from his [Silver Bow]. "Because I'd like for at least one of my arrows to stick!"
Hilda and Cyrus charge into the Wandering Beast's range, resulting the monster to sweep its tail around its circumference, catching Hilda and knocking her away while Cyrus and Darius simply jumped over the whip before executing a few down thrusts with his [Gradivus], only for the blows to not even so much as scratch the monster's scales.
"Hilda!" Marianne ran towards her best friend before casting [Heal] on her stricken ribs.
"Thanks for having my back..." the Warrior groaned as she saw the Battuan Cavalier still persist on trying to wound the beast with his legendary lance that he'd pilfered from Miklan's stronghold. "... Can't get close without getting battered like an egg except for him and his monster of a horse."
The Bishop then looked at her [Freikugel], practically the only thing that can theoretically hurt the Wandering Beast, and Cyrus's horse, Darius, who is the only one right now who can get close to the monster without being hit.
"Hilda," Marianne spoke, "... I think you might have to get Cyrus's help."
"Wait, why?!" she gawked.
"Cyrus can get close to it but he can't pierced through its hide even with one of the Three Regalia," she pointed out. "Meanwhile, your Relic can possibly break through the thing's armor! I know you two hate each other, but if you don't work together, none of will be alive by the end of today!"
"Tell that to the ingrate!" Hilda pointed towards Cyrus. "Ever since he'd been inducted into the Goneril House, he'd done anything but listen! What's stopping him from snapping my neck when I'm on his saddles?!"
"She has a point, you know!" called out the Battuan as he kept the Wandering Beast distracted with his poking and prodding while Darius galloped for its life. "Hilda, you are afraid, aren't you?!"
"... Me, afraid?!" the Warrior cried out incredulously. "Just what am I afraid of, you?!"
"No Hilda!" Cyrus barked out, "you are afraid of yourself!"
Hilda wanders why she fears herself. "... I am afraid... of myself?"
Darius lets out a quaking bray as the Wandering Beast stamped the earth below before belting out a blast of purple fireball towards the two, forcing Karna to parry the blast with his [Hades Ω] spell.
"YOU ARE AFRAID OF FAILING YOUR OWN HYPE, GONERIL!" Cyrus called her out as he dodged the Wandering Beast's attacks. "YOU SPEAK OF YOUR BROTHER IN ADMIRATION BECAUSE YOU DON'T BELIEVE IN YOURSELF! DECLARING YOUR EFFORTS TO BE IN VAIN! HILDA! YOU ARE WEAK BECAUSE YOU DON'T APPLY YOURSELF! YOU CAN'T AFFORD TO MAKE THE WORLD WAIT FOR YOU TO PUSH YOU TO YOUR THRESHOLD! THAT IS JUST BEING LAZY, AND I REFUSE TO ACCEPT AN UTTER SLOTH AS MY WOULD-BE MASTER! IF I AM TO FREE MYSELF FROM YOUR SHADOW WITH MY FANGS AND CLAWS THAT YOUR ENTIRE FAMILY HAS TRIED AND FAILED TO DULL, THEN FIRST FREE YOURSELF FROM HOLST'S SHADOW THAT YOU CHOSE TO GET COZY UNDER! I WAS AFRAID ONCE! OF THIS ACCURSED LAND AND ITS PEOPLE THAT LOOKED DOWN UPON ME AND MY WAY OF LIFE! I EVEN ONCE THOUGHT THAT MY PEOPLE'S WAY OF LIFE WERE IN THE WRONG! IF IT WEREN'T FOR MY FRIENDS AND MY PROFESSOR WHO BELIEVED IN ME DESPITE OF MY FAILINGS, THEN I WOULD BE NO DIFFERENT FROM THE WAY YOU ARE NOW, HILDA!"
Hilda began to digest what the Battuan had just said. He claimed that he would've been no different than her if he'd remained mired in his fears.
"YOUR FRIENDS, YOUR FAMILY, YOUR PROFESSOR BELIEVES IN YOU!" roared the Battuan as he continued thrusting his [Gradivus] into the Wandering Beast's armored hide. "BUT YOU DO NOT ANSWER THEIR CALL! YOU CHOSE TO BE WEAK, BECAUSE YOU'RE A LAZY SACK OF WASTED POTENTIAL! FROM SLOTH YOU'VE CULTIVATED AN ARTIFICIAL FEAR TO SIMPLY REMAIN A HOUSEPET OF A PRINCESS! I DO NOT JUDGE YOU BECAUSE YOU WERE BORN WITH A CUNT! I JUDGE YOU BECAUSE YOU DO NOTHING! ABSOLUTELY NOTHING! I'LL BE THE FIRST TO SAY IT BECAUSE NO ONE HAS SAID TO YOUR FUCKING FACE! HILDA! YOUR EFFORTS ARE ONLY A WASTE IF YOU DON'T EVEN BOTHER ACTING UPON THEM IN THE FIRST PLACE!"
Hilda suddenly felt an ugly feeling inside. An ugly feeling of genuine rage.
"Do you think..." she growled, causing Marianne to back away, "... THAT I WANTED A MAJOR CREST?!"
Both the Wandering Beast and Cyrus stop at their tracks as Hilda's [Crest of Goneril] flared to life with her [Freikugel]'s Crest Stone roaring to life.
"That axe..." said the Wandering Beast, with his view of Hilda being superimposed with a tall and proud War Master that he remembers being with back during ancient times. "... Goneril. It has been... a long time..."
"I JUST WANT TO BE A NORMAL GIRL!" Hilda ranted as she swung her [Freikugel] towards the Battuan, only to miss due to the latter's greater mobility, "I JUST WANTED A QUIET LIFE WITH NORMAL GIRL FRIENDS, A NORMAL MARRIAGE WITH A COOL HUSBAND AND TWO KIDS, AND A LIFE WHERE I DON'T HAVE TO BE BURDENED WITH THIS KIND OF SHIT!"
"TOO BAD!" Cyrus cackled as continued to dodge her fiery blows, "LIFE'S NOT FAIR AND YOU'RE ONE OF THE LUCKY FEW WHO HAVE THE DECK STACKED IN YOUR FAVOR, SO USE IT! I LEARNED THAT LITTLE TIDBIT THROUGH YOUR BROTHER AND HIS MERCY, SO IT'S NOW YOUR TURN TO LEARN THAT FROM ME! KEEP SWINGING THAT AXE, HILDA VALENTINE GONERIL! IF LIFE IS STILL NOT FAIR TO YOU DESPITE EVERYTHING, THEN TURN THAT HATRED AND IRE INTO POWER THAT I MUST OVERCOME!"
"SHUT! UP!" Hilda then wanders into the Wandering Beast's reach while chasing after Cyrus, but as the latter raised its claw to crush the girl underneath its foot, the enraged Warrior parries the strike with her own Relic's Combat Art, coating the axe head in flames and each strike upon the monster leaving behind visible burnt cuts onto its scaled legs.
"I take it back," Claude chuckled to himself as he saw Hilda starting to send the Wandering Beast on the backfoot, "get angry as much as you want Hilda! Press the advantage!"
"THAT'S THE PLAN, KHALID!" Cyrus triumphantly laughed as Hilda kept trying to kill him in a fit of blind rage, only for his horse to be proven fast enough to evade her attacks and have those devastatingly scorching blows hit the Wandering Beast instead. "ANGER MAY BE CHANGED INTO GLADNESS; VEXATION MAY BE SUCCEEDED INTO CONTENT! THE OPPOSITE IS ALSO TRUE! UNLEASH YOUR HATE HILDA! LET THE FLAMES OF YOUR TEPID SOUL CONSUME YOU WHOLE AND RESURRECT YOU INTO WHAT YOU WERE MEANT TO BE: MY WORTHY ARCHNEMESIS!"
Hilda then ups the tempo of her attacks after missing several times, her swings of her [Freikugel] becoming more heavier and nastier with each successive hit that landed on the Wandering Beast that was meant for Cyrus. With each crushing blow, a patch of molten earth was left behind with a smoldering crater.
"YOU WANT AN ARCHNEMESIS?!" Hilda snarled, now completely lost in her rage, "I'LL GIVE YOU ONE, YOU FUCKING INGRATE!"
The flames around her Relic brightened akin to a miniature sun. The Wandering Beast recognized the light as the first Goneril's, the testament to his raw power rivaling that of the King's own.
"The light..." it moaned in wanderlust as the images of both Hilda and Goneril overlapped each other.
"[APOCOLYPTIC FLAME]!" she declared her Combat Art as the sun came crashing into the earth towards Cyrus. However, being completely insane from her unleashed fury, the Battuan Cavalier easily dodges the flaming smash, for which it instead the flaming axe buries itself into the Wandering Beast's shoulder, the hiss of the flames searing the meat and bone underneath its scales, causing it to let out a shrill roar of pain and agony.
"Heeey Hilda," Cyrus grinned like a troll while waving his fingers in a mocking manner. "You missed!"
Hilda then tries to remove the Relic from where she'd struck, but unfortunately, it was stuck deep into the monster's body, unable to be easily be removed from where it had buried itself into.
"A shame..." sighed the monster, "... to fall so short at this critical of a juncture."
In a swift movement, the Wandering Beast shoulder-tackles Hilda away from itself, shattering the Relic's axe head and rendering it inert upon impact and sending Hilda back flying into Claude's unwitting self, resulting both of them eating dirt.
"... This freaking sucks," groaned Claude as he got back up, helping Hilda up along the way. Upon regaining his faculties, he then notices the Wandering Beast now sporting a soft spot. "Well, at least there's something to shoot at. Aim for the open wound!"
Wasting no time, he then hands off the injured Hilda back to Marianne as he then began shooting arrows with his [Silver Bow], this time, the quills successfully stake themselves into the fleshy bits.
"That prowess..." said the Wandering Beast as he was then assaulted from all sides by Claude, Cyrus and Karna, "... it is diluted... but it smells like... Riegan..."
"What? A fan?" the Sniper deadpanned before he continued shooting.
"... I... remember... being close... to him..." he recalled, the Bow Knight of the olden days riding beside him. "Tell me... are you... the one... who will end me?"
"Really don't have a choice at this point, do I?!" he answered. "Not only to clear my friend's name, but also I get the feeling that you're going to eat us alive if we don't."
"I hear... resolve..." it breathlessly droned as the monster began to move more proactively, forcing Karna and Cyrus to watch where they were going lest they get creamed. "Now... show me... results."
The Wandering Beast then lets out a roar that echoed through the entire forest as it began its retaliation. First, it swiped its claws towards its front, forcing Claude to jump back before leaping out of its way with a follow-up fire breath. Then, seeing that the mortal was down, the monster then swept its tail across its surrounding circumference, kicking up an additional layer of obscuring fog of dirt to hide itself from its surroundings while putting the lit torches. And finally, from the darkness, the Wandering Beast bursts out of the fog with its maw open, edging towards Claude to try and devour him whole.
However, Karna then jumps in Riegan's way, jamming the Wandering Beast's maw by sticking his [Scythe of Sariel] inside of its mouth and then grabbing Claude and making a run for it to gain some distance.
"Don't worry," reassured the Professor, "Death Knight's weapon is made of strong stuff."
Realizing that biting was no longer an option, the Wandering Beast then opts to stomp the the spindly bastard into paste.
"I think you just made it mad," Claude pointed out.
"And water is wet," deadpanned Karna as he kept running from the beast's chase. "Honestly, I'm out of ideas."
Claude paled before his brain moved onto something else to make his supposed peace. "So, you also know my real name?"
"Third Prince of the Almyran Empire, Khalid Al-Mansur I Muhammad," Karna stated Claude's full Almyran name bluntly and fluently, "I was older half-sister's prisoner once before I sweet talked my way out of the jail cell before I got nabbed by the Battu tribesmen."
"Khawlah?" said Claude as his body bobbed up and down from being carried by Karna as the latter ran for their lives, "... didn't see her much back then. I only heard that she got into more trouble than me."
"That's putting it lightly-"
Suddenly, the Wandering Beast then stamps the earth before him with heavy strike that thundered across the ground, sending a tremor across towards where the two were running, knocking them both off of their feet and making them land on their butts.
"Oh my shins... oh my shins..." heaved Karna as he felt his legs wobble from the sudden quake. "Hey Claude, you alive?"
"Barely!" he answered as the two saw the monster approach where they laid. "... Not for long though."
"Can you run?" asked the Professor.
"Not far on my own!" answered Claude as he readied his [Silver Bow] for one last stand.
Karna smirks as he then propels Claude away from him with his [Flux H] spell, getting him out of range of the monster's finishing blow leaving only him in his place. "I'll buy some time!" he cried out as the monster raised its right arm to crush him underfoot. "COME GET A TASTE!"
As readied to parry the monster's crushing blow with his own [Hades Ω] spell, a certain whirling sound was heard whistling across the air.
A second later, the beast's raised arm was then completely lopped off of its shoulder, the beast's roar of pain opening its maw wider than usual, allowing Karna's [Scythe of Sariel] to fall out and land next to him. Right before the beast's whole body can crush him, Karna casts [Flux H] onto himself to propel him towards his dropped weapon, grabbing it along the way of his flight trajectory, and leaving the crippled monster to lie only on the soppy dirt.
"What just happened?!" Marianne asked as she and Hilda got up to see the Wandering Beast now bleed profusely for the first time. "Just what cut through that monster when we barely could with [Freikugel]?!"
Karna smirks upon figuring out what. "Zoltan's masterpiece."
The [Zulfiqar] was then seen caught by Topaz, who was crouching on the treetops, below her being the McCarthy twins and the two Golden Deer students, Leonie and Lysithea.
"Took you long enough!" Cyrus smirked at the sight of his friends coming to rescue.
"Didn't 'ear a call fur 'elp," deadpanned Sorcha as she then looked at the struggling Wandering Beast, now missing a leg. "Dat de one givin' ye lot sum trouble?"
"Its scales are stupidly thick," said Cyrus as he raised his now-dulled [Gradivus]. "I had to goad the Goneril chick to losing her shit and dodge all of her murder attempts onto the damn thing. It was the only instance where we actually damage the monster at all."
"The Relic!" Lysithea pointed out, "we got her [Freikugel] during our incursion to Fodlan's Locket last week! Combined with her natural strength, it would make sense that it was the only thing that could damage the Wandering Beast!"
"So where is it?" asked Leonie, to which Cyrus points all the way across the battlefield.
"Blade's chipped after one [Apocalyptic Flame]," Cyrus spoke. "Hey Topaz, can your [Zulfiqar] strip its scales at least?"
"I will try," she replied. "Sorcha, the [Ne Zha]. My instincts tell me that thing is more durable than a block of solid bronze."
"Right," she nodded as she sheathed her [Claymore] in favor of her pyrokinetic gauntlet katars. "Let's kill dat bastard."
"Openin' barrage!" Selene ordered as she fired her [Crossbow] right into the Wandering Beast's fresh wound in tandem with Lysithea casting [Dark Spikes T] onto the creature.
As the creature was then engaged by Group B, Karna then drags Claude back to Marianne across the battlefield to get some attention. "Medic!"
"Just a few shattered bones, nothing more," grinned the yellow-clad Sniper. "What about Hilda?"
"My Relic is kaput!" she whined. "Big brother is going to be so mad..."
"Eh, just take it to a forge," Karna brushed her off as he walked back to the front. "Welp, back to the carnage."
"In that state?!" Marianne remarked at the Professor's injured state.
"Eh, been through much worse," smirked the Professor as he propelled himself back to the front with [Flux H] applied onto himself, raising his [Scythe of Sariel] above his head while in the air above the Wandering Beast. "CHEW ON THIS, YOU PERSISTENT PIECE OBSOLETE HISTORY!"
He remembers the word "heavy" in relation to his [Flux H]. The weapon that he brought down suddenly became heavier as Karna swung down towards the beast's back.
"Come on, come on, COME ON!" he begged as he applied both [Frozen Lance] and [Flux H] into his [Scythe of Sariel], "WORK DAMMIT!"
The enhanced blow makes contact against the Wandering Beast, its armorlike scales sparking off of Karna's attempt to create another wound. Belting out another roar, the Professor pushes his weapon further into the beast's back until the insufficient amount of force repelled Karna off of the monster.
"Effort is good..." spoke the Wandering Beast as it was still being assaulted from all sides, "but not good enough-"
Its face was then blasted with a [Hades Ω] from both Karna and Lysithea. "SHUT UP! I'M TRYING TO THINK!" he roared before turning to the Golden Deer's resident ace Warlock. "Also, thank you."
"No problem," she nodded, "the monster's talk is already bugging me."
As Lysithea rejoined the fray, Karna continues to rack his head as he ran from the Wandering Beast's stray fireballs that it spat out and its errant swings of its remaining foreleg. Okay, so that last effort was insufficient, he thought, if power isn't the right way, then what can [Flux H] be improved upon? What principles of physics should I be concerned with?
A blast from the Wandering Beast sent Leonie flying off of her horse before said horse was devoured for a quick snack by the monster. However, it was the former that struck with Karna.
Up... down, up... down... his mind raced like his feet that ran not away from danger, but rather, towards SOMETHING. With his head now pulsating like mad, Karna's situational awareness then suddenly took a nosedive before he collided the back of his head against a tree that he'd backed up towards unknowingly.
His thoughts were then interrupted when an abandoned bird's nest fell onto his head. "SUNNVA-SCREW YOU NATURE-"
It fell. Of course.
Karna chuckles to himself. "... Who would've thought that it was that simple."
He then readies his [Flux H] in his hand, only this time, rather than simply disrupt the the laws of physics in a localized area, he was going to do something else entirely while utilizing the same principle behind his [Flux H].
"Now I gotta find an opening..." Karna peeked behind from the tree, spotting the Wandering Beast's wounded state increasing its already-high aggression. "If it can hold still for just a moment-"
From the other end of the woods, an axehead with a chain attached to it shoots out towards the monster, gashing it across several of the Wandering Beast's scales before wrapping itself up around its titanic body. Following that, a massive cold wave bursts out from the ground, traveling towards the creature before engulfing its feet, trapping the three limbs in thick ice.
"Leave some for us," smirked Byron as he and the rest of Group A came out of the thicket, his hands holding onto his thrown [Perun].
"It looks almost dead, but no less hostile!" Ignatz pointed out.
"No need to prolong its suffering then," Lorenz commented as he readied [Ragnarok].
"Let's bring home the bacon!" Raphael hollered as he pounded his bare fists together.
"KILL IT!" roared Vidar as he pulled his [Baigujing] from the ground. "KILL IT! IT IS WEAK!"
With both the Dustbin and the Golden Deer now fully reunited together, they all make a final assault towards the wounded Wandering Beast to bring a close to this monster hunt once and for all.
Gloucester... Charon... and even Gautier... thought the Wandering Beast as it saw Lorenz, Lysithea and Topaz as the aforementioned, but now with unfamiliar faces charging towards him, all of whom beat and shot at his body without mercy. ... Has the Goddess granted me one last mercy to see my friends so soon?
He couldn't remember what they looked like. Only vague recallings of who they were and the fact that he was close to them.
Goddess... the monster prayed as spells and steel raked across its body, desperately trying to sever his only mortal coil binding the lost soul in this world that had forgotten its name long ago, ... if I am to die right now... then thank you for making me remember of who I am-
"Eureka."
Suddenly, an oppressive force coming from nowhere pressed down the Wandering Beast, forcing everyone on the attack to retreat for the time being.
"WHAT?!" it roared as it slowly creaked its neck towards where the gaunt-looking Professor was at.
At his end, his hands were now sporting a modified magic circle. The expended mana from the monster's surroundings suddenly becoming like lead weights that tied it down, and the sudden disturbance was coming from him.
"I did it..." he then laughed in boisterous triumph. "I DID IT! I FINALLY HAVE A '+' SPELL! BEHOLD! MY EVOLVED [FLUX H]! [GRAVITY H+]!"
The beast was completely immobilized, as if the earth below its feet and the sky looking down at its back were both pulling and pushing the creature down with an invisible force that looked as if it came from the Goddess herself. It tried to move, but the more it moved, the heavier the oppressive force became, threatening to crush its bones and meat like eggs, already cracking the earth beneath its feet.
As everyone was completely awestruck at the sight of such mighty behemoth being laid low with such unforeseen might coming from Karna's epiphany, Topaz, realizing that there was now an opening, immediately runs towards the trees, climbs up to the very tip, and with a running start, leaps into the air, drawing her [Zulfiqar], and using the boost from [Gravity H+]'s downward oppression, turns her whole body into that of a guillotine.
With both the added weight from the spell and the sharpness of Zoltan's masterpiece, the Wandering Beast was then decapitated from where it lay. Seeing the monster finally slain, Karna turns off the spell as everyone else now began to let the current reality set in as Topaz then rams her left arm into the beast's head.
"Now..." she declared, "GIVE ME YOUR POWER!"
From the corpse of which she stuck her hand into, an malignant force seeped out and began crawling onto her left arm. Instead of pulling it out like any sane person, Topaz instead opts to dig even digger, her handing piercing something that drove through all the way out of her hand's back. With that prick, she then pulls it out along with the thing that stabbed her palm, revealing itself to be a Relic sword. Rather than pulling out the blade, she instead opted to let the blade merge with her left arm, and upon completely absorbing it into her body, it then transforms into a dull-olive-colored scaled arm just like her right, black-scaled arm that was from the [Lance of Ruin]'s, with the Relic's blade jutting out of her wrist akin to a mantid's claw.
The dark sparks cease, and the result was Topaz's entire left arm now becoming that of the Wandering Beast's. From her tattered sleeve, a "XV" was carved into her shoulder, and with the flick of her left wrist, the assimilated blade retracts back into her mutated limb, returning to a more articulate and human-like appearance, if one discounted the scales and claws that looked as if they were sharp enough to cut through steel sheets.
"Oh my..." Ignatz looked at her in horror.
"She actually gone and done it..." Lysithea gulped in fear.
"I think I'm gonna skip dinner tonight," Raphael declared in a forced neutral expression.
"Dear Goddess..." gasped Marianne.
"WHAT JUST HAPPENED?!" Lorenz cried out.
"I'm gonna hurl..." Leonie then runs to the foliage and wet sloppy sounds were heard.
"Save some space for me!" Hilda ran after Leonie before making the same wet and sloppy sounds.
"Topaz, WHAT THE FUCK?!" Claude yelled. "WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO YOURSELF?!"
Topaz smirks. "I freed Marianne," she declared. "The girl no longer has to be burdened by her legacy of being related to this monster. In fact, she can use me as a scapegoat if she so wishes."
"I would never!" she spoke.
Topaz's smirk then turns into a gentle smile. "... Truly, you deserve a peaceful death. I will make it as such that you live a normal a life as possible."
"So you took a Relic that was inside of the Wandering Beast..." Lorenz tried to process everything that the Hassashin just said, "... just to clear Marianne's name? Slaying the monster isn't enough?"
"The people will always look for someone to blame, regardless if the issue is resolved," explained the Thief. "Take it from us. Why do you think we're so unapologetic?"
"Because no matter what, they won't understand us even if we force them to listen," Byron stated. "Do not underestimate how close-minded people can be."
"... They call... us monster... because we... don't think... or act... like them..." Vidar grunted in agreement.
"Feking sheep dat's wat dey are," Sorcha grimaced. "I got bitten once. Der nasty."
"It's not just in Fodlan either," Selene remarked, "... regardless of culture or ethnicity, if you're not with the majority, yer beggin' te git wasted."
"So instead of taking it like the supposed victims..." Cyrus pointed out, "... we'll make our stand as individuals."
"But that doesn't mean we'll disregard those who are being looked down upon," said Topaz. "We are not doing this for you, but we will not abandon you Marianne. Now go with your friends, and be free from the shadow that you had no business being born in. We'll stay in the dark to make sure you don't have to suffer."
Claude lets out a sigh before giving a shrug. "... That's a roundabout way of saying you guys helping the helpless."
"We are not great with straight answers," Karna explained.
"Regardless, I now owe you all one for helping one of us," said the Riegan scion. "As a future head of the Alliance, I cannot let any debts go unpaid. Name any request, as long as it's within reasonable bounds."
Karna strokes his chin before giving an answer. "Well..."
Back at Garreg Mach...
Out of the Examination halls right before they closed, Karna, Sorcha, Selene, Byron, Topaz and Cyrus all walked out into the sunset with new appearances.
Karna's robes were now that of the poofy-sleeved Warlock's, the black cloak edged with red trims.
Sorcha's forest-green Mercenary garbs were replaced that of a Hero's, the armor and leather straps being slate-black and her cape hanging behind her back being a deep forest-green lined with a gold embroidery resembling that of a lynx on its back.
Selene, in an abrupt departure, goes from an Archer to that of a Pegasus Knight, now wielding her [Crossbow] on one hand and a [Steel Lance] in another, riding atop her winged mount that was white in color, dressed in both blue and green around its saddles.
Byron was now carrying two activated seals. The first was his Dark Bishop garb, now adding a hood in addition to making his beaked mask even longer. And then the other seal transforms him into a Bishop, his white garbs lined with blue and violet tassels.
Topaz, now with both of her arms bandaged, dresses into a Swordmaster. Her [Zulfiqar] held in one hand, her [Wo Dao] sheathed around her hip, and her straw hat perched neatly behind her neck as her sleeveless dusty-pink garbs flowed in the wind.
Cyrus rides out in his new Paladin armor, the armor bits jet black and the cloth being jade green. Below Cyrus was Darius, carrying his steadfast master and companion on its back as the former carried [Gradivus] with pride.
And all of that came out of the Golden Deer's very own pockets. A total of 12,000 gold for the exams that they've just taken, with an additional 6,000 gold for weapon repairs.
"Debt repaid," Karna bore a shit eating grin.
"Well, money's no object to us, right guys?" asked Claude.
"I had a bad feeling when you said that you were willing to divulge any favor to the likes of them," Lorenz pinched the bridge of his nose, "still, I should be grateful that it wasn't even more expensive."
"Huh, I thought we were gonna buy dinner for them," Raphael stated.
"Don't give them any ideas," Leonie pointed out.
"Still though..." Ignatz soaked in their new looks along side Vidar's Warrior garb with the Duscran Black Bear's pelt around his shoulders, "you guys look great!"
"Aw, thanks!" Karna beamed.
"Hey, wait!" Hilda remarked. "About my competition with that horse-fucker! What now?!"
"Sorry kiddo! No contest!" Karna cackled. "Maybe next time, don't let your rage dictate your movements?"
"It was his fault that he made me break my Relic!" Hilda pointed towards Cyrus.
"Says the girl with gorilla strength," smirked Cyrus. "Though, I admit, you got moxie. The way you fought back there... it was honestly a sight to behold. Admirable, even."
"Hmph," the Goneril girl brushed her hair aside from his surprising complement, "I guess you can be a gentleman-"
"I look forward to dragging your dead body across the grasslands after I kill you at your strongest!" he beamed back without irony.
"And you ruined it," sighed Hilda as she raised her still-broken [Freikugel] before giving chase to him. "GET YOUR ASS BACK HERE! THE AXE IS JUST A CONVERSATION PIECE!"
As the two archenemies resumed their game of cat-and-mouse, the Crest Scholar that Vidar had thrown into a broom closet comes running back towards Marianne.
Instinctively, the available Dustbin stand between him and the girl.
"You again?" Byron raised an eyebrow.
"If you're going to slander about her, take it up to us," declared Topaz.
The man lets out a sigh before he began speaking. "... I heard," he stated, "the Wandering Beast is dead. And she's still here... meaning that I almost tried to kill an innocent girl for nothing."
"Who's da dumbarse?" taunted Sorcha. "Ye are. Yes ye are."
"So... I figured out who the Wandering Beast was," said the Monk as he began to explain himself. "The truth is, the Ten Elites were actually eleven. The eleventh member was scrubbed from history as he was turned into a monster that you've all just slain... its name was Maurice."
"Sounds better than 'Crest of the Beast,' amirite?" Karna jabbed his elbow to the side.
"I must ask for one more thing..." requested the man, "apparently, Maurice had a Relic with him. A sword called [Blutgang], for he'd allegedly never let go, even after his supposed death. Can you show me it?"
Topaz then unfurls the bandages around her left arm to reveal the scaly limb underneath. Then upon further surprise, her forearm sectioned and jutted outwards to reveal the embedded Relic implanted inside her body.
"If you wish to have it, I'm afraid it's impossible," said Topaz as she retracted her Relic back into her arm before concealing them back into her wrappings. "Take that as a sign to leave Marianne, the hell alone. She did not deserve your ire!"
"I-I-I-I'M SORRY!" he wept as he groveled, completely scared out of his mind at the grotesque sight and genuinely ashamed of what he'd done.
"If the others have a problem with her linage, or her as a person..." said the Hassashin Swordmaster, "... tell them to take up with me. If they want a monster to scapegoat, then I'm available. Because if you ever persecute someone who is just living life normally, then I will make them beg for a swift death!"
The Crest Scholar whimpers in penance.
"Hit the road," ordered Topaz, causing the Crest Scholar to run away crying.
"... You really didn't have to go that far," Marianne commented.
"I needed to make sure," she replied. "So... uh, too late to ask, but can I keep [Blutgang]? I mean, it's practically stuck on me."
"Only because of your feckless approach!" Lorenz sighed, "... be glad that you're still sane to be coherent even with all that power."
"Sure," Marianne approved. "And besides, I think being an Edmund noble suits me just fine. Even without the Relic, I can still clear Maurice's name."
"Just be careful out there, alright?" Topaz waved goodbye as she and the Dustbin walked off towards the sunset, "don't let anyone call you a monster!"
"I will!" she spoke back, this time, with a genuine smile. "AND THANK YOU!"
Everyone in the Dustbin (sans Cyrus, who was still being chased by Hilda) gave the freed girl a collective thumbs-up.
"Hey guys?" Claude spoke from behind, with Hilda returning from her chase, completely exhausted, "I need to tell you guys something."
8th of Ethereal Moon, Dawn
Even after the betwixt of night and morning, shadows continued to loom around as the fog from the sea set in once more.
Within the veil were five figures. Four of whom being Dark Bishops, their cloaks black as night, and at the center was an black-armored man with a fur lined cape and a sword with a knuckle-guard sheathed in its rectangular hilt. His head was obscured with a hood and a brass mask resembling that of a bearded man with black round holes for eyes and nostrils and gaping mouth.
"Fan out," ordered the armored man. "Find anything that they might've left behind."
The Dark Bishops then begin their survey across the battlefield. Only corpses of Demonic Beasts remained, rotting in the air and sun.
One returns from his survey, carrying a filled sack. "Nothing but [Umbral Steel] here, Sage Thal-"
The masked man glares at the Dark Bishop for his blunder.
"I-I mean Lord Face of Truth," said the subordinate, calming his leader. "Apologizes. Spoke out of reflex. Forgot that we're in incognito."
"What of this 'Wandering Beast'?" he asked. "Anything useful?"
"Just meat, sir," he reported, "nothing but rotting meat."
"Take me there," he ordered as the Dark Bishop then escorted him to the slaughter site.
At the very heart of the forest, the two then find the rest of the Dark Bishops searching whatever may lie around the now-headless and armless Demonic Beast.
"To think seeing one of these foul beasts felled in such a humiliating manner..." chuckled the masked man, "... my only regret is that I never got to do it myself."
As he kept walking about, he was then guided closer to the main body of the Wandering Beast.
"Have you tried digging?" said the Face of Truth.
"No sir," answered the Dark Bishop as the man drew his saw-toothed sword.
"Then step aside," said the Face of Truth as the blade's internal mechanisms roared to life, slowly spinning saw-teeth before they quickly blurred from the rapid rotary from within.
The spinning blades ground into the beast's scales and flesh, tearing through facade after facade, revealing its innards as blood and gore splattered onto his armor and mask.
Upon seeing a faint glow, he stops the blade's rotary function and uses his armored hand to pull out the source of the faint light.
In his hands was a small red marble with golden veins. Within it was the emblem resembling a bull's skull with downward-facing horns.
"How fortuitous..." the masked man peered into the marble's light. "A Crest Stone!"
But before he can belt out a triumphant laughter, the Face of Truth immediately composes himself before making an about face.
"We got what we came here for," he said as he put away the Crest Stone onto his person. "Everyone, return to base."
All five men [Warp] away into thin air, leaving only the dead bodies in the fog.
To Be Continued...
Support Conversations:
- Byron and Vidar (B)
Byron: Phew... that'll show em.
Vidar: ... They run... faster... than they fight.
*two collapse onto the floor with their backs touching*
Byron: Have to ask Vidar... do I have a punchable face?
Vidar: ... Uh, I... punch... all faces... except... you.
Byron: Oh good, then it's not because of my looks, then.
Vidar: Do I... have a... punchable face?
Byron: Dunno... you look like you're the one punching.
Vidar: ... True. I punch... good.
Byron: Damn right... so you think they learn.
Vidar: Are they... stupid?
Byron: There's gotta be a reason why we're always being targeted, my good man. I like scraps, but I don't think I would be able to live life like this! I mean, heavens, if one were to attack me in my own home, which I hope we buy soon together, during supper, then what would happen?
Vidar: ... I like living... anywhere... with you.
Byron: *chuckle* And as long as you're with me, I don't think I have to be afraid.
Vidar: ... You... good friend... I will... stay... until we... die.
Byron: Together, preferably. Because the Goddess forbid if either of go first without the other. I wouldn't know what would I do without you!
Vidar: ... Me... too. You... smarter... than me. I good at... punching.
Byron: Yep... we are helluva pair.
Vidar: We... invincible... together.
Byron: *smacks his lips* ... Indeed we are. Wanna go grab something to eat?
Vidar: No fish... makes me... choke.
Byron: Guess we're eating meat then.
Vidar: I find... rabbits to... eat.
Author's Notes: And with that, Marianne has been freed from persecution while Topaz get mutated even further.
Coming back from vacation and immediately wanting to write afterwards is one hell of an ordeal. But I keep my given promises, and I do biweekly uploads, so I'm powering through, dammit.
So Demonic Beasts are dead, the Wandering Beast/Maurice is dead, and Hilda and Cyrus's competition was kill-stolen by Topaz. Not much happened other than finishing up the first part from the previous chapter, but it ultimately shows that at least Cyrus and Hilda acknowledge each others's existences, with Hilda now treating Cyrus like a credible threat rather than some unruly dog, and Cyrus no longer seeing Hilda as a disappointment and now as a worthy prey in the making.
Topaz being the one to shield Marianne is my way of showing her that while she is from a death cult, she's in the whole "let live and let die"-mentality to the innocents. Sure, she's basically power-hungry, but even she knows not to kick someone who's already down, and even though the Crest Scholar was being bullied by her, it should be made clear that he tried to kill her out of baseless paranoia so he kinda deserved it, and she wanted to see his remorse as genuine. Topaz's a bit of a weirdo, but she's nice in her own way.
As for Claude, he's gonna be important in the fit-original arc that's going to take place around the Pegasus Moon. He's been called out twice, so he can't afford to keep it under wraps anymore. Time will tell of how well they will take the news.
For Maurice, he's a case of a "tragic monster," and cementing that I made it so that he can't see (his monster eyes are shut in his in-game artwork), so having him see people's souls and what Crests they bear is his own brand of being loopy. Oh, and due to the Dustbin being sloppy at their jobs, a third party now has their hands on his Crest Stone. Yay.
Next chapter will be a break from the fighting and more akin to holiday prep rush shenanigans. See you all then.
References:
- Byron's line before making collision contact with Lorenz's face is a reference to Vegeta's line from Dragon Ball Z: Abridged - Super Android 13.
- Selene, Topaz, and Sorcha's method of dealing with the first Demonic Beast caught in their kill zone is a loose reference to Mobile Suit Gundam's "Jetstream Attack" used by the Black Tri Stars (first blinds, second shoots, third goes melee).
- Vidar's [Baigujing]'s Combat Art, [Bīngshān Dìyù], translates to "Iceberg Hell" from Chinese mythology as the name of one of the Eighteen Hells loosely based of the Chinese interpretation of the Buddhist faith.
- Byron's post-mortem line to the Demonic Beast that he made its head explode was from Deadpool (2016).
- Cyrus paraphrases a part of Sun Tzu's quote when he performs the "Deadly Dodging"-trope using Hilda against the Wandering Beast ("Anger may in time change to gladness; vexation may be succeeded by content. But a kingdom that has once been destroyed can never come again into being; nor can the dead ever be brought back to life.").
- Claude's full Almyran name, Khalid Al-Mansur I Muhammad, is named after Al-Mansur I Muhammad, brother of Saladin of the Third Crusade and Al-Adil, and ruler of the Sunni Faith Ayyubid Dynasty from 1191-1219. His full name would messily translate to "Immortal, the Victorious, the Praiseworthy" (this explains in retrospect of how Shahid got such a big head, who wouldn't have an inflated ego from having a family surname that means "Praiseworthy"?). For extra hilarity, Topaz herself is the Shi'a Muslim analog to Claude/Khalid's Sunni analog.
- Topaz's assimilated [Blutgang]'s physical/organic appearance is based off the retractable Mantis Blades from Cyberpunk 2077.
- The "Face of Truth" mask worn by one of the Seven Sages at the end of this chapter is based off the same mask worn by the Stoneborn enemies from Fire Emblem Fates's, and the real life "Bocca della Verità" marble mask from Roman Italy.