Chapter 48
Of Seared Veil
One of the thousands of small islands that dotted the Pacific Ocean in Japan's vicinity, Kamine Island was remarkable only because of the archeological relic known as a thought elevator that was situated upon it. The existence of the elevator resulted in it becoming a pilgrimage site during Japan's medieval period, though any settlements on the island remained transitory until after the Great War. Once the secret of the thought elevator's utility was revealed and Ise given stewardship over it, the priesthood established a small outpost with a permanent garrison to carry out their duty. That garrison had been wiped out as part of the opening salvo of the Ise schism, leaving the buildings and equipment abandoned. Since Eden Vital committed to helping restore Ise to its former grandeur however, the settlement began bustling with life once more as workers and material flowed in.
On this particular day, a larger contingent than usual of armed soldiers were positioned about the island, preparing to receive the esteemed guests aboard the two VTOL shuttles descending upon the small airstrip. Overhead, the pair of fighters that had accompanied the shuttle were circling about, waiting for their charge to land safely before beginning their own descent. Fortunately the landings went without a hitch and the hatches promptly popped open to let their passengers disembark. First to step out were yet more armed soldiers, though one might be forgiven for thinking the two women that emerged respectively from each plane were mostly harmless. Anyone that actually knew Yuzuriha Nekoi and Lucretia Clemente however could attest to the fact that they were probably two of the most lethal women in the world. Both scanned their surroundings thoroughly and it was only after they were satisfied that no threats were hiding in wait that they climbed down the stairs to make way for the others. The two parties that emerged were broadly divided along racial lines, with the Japanese representatives of Ise on one plane and the Britannian, Eden Vital, and very small European contingent on another. They did not remain so segregated for long, as the two groups coalesced into one once everyone was disembarked.
"So this is Kamine Island," Kaguya said, looking around. "It's been so long since I last came here, I can barely remember a thing."
"The environs are at least more luscious than that surrounding the Antarctic thought elevator," Lelouch said with a wry smile.
C.C. gave a sniff. "What the Citadel lacks in flora and fauna, it more than makes up in privacy and ample space."
Technically Kamine Island's own remoteness also provided the former, though its somewhat greater accessibility might have provided relatively less of it. Even so, the level of security installed around the Kamine Island thought elevator made approaching the artifact itself sufficiently fraught. The latter point was however definitely true. With Britannia having effectively claimed a very large swath of the Antarctic, Eden Vital had plenty of space to expand if the need ever arose in the future. Kamine Island on the other hand offered much more limited real estate options.
"If Milly were here, she'd probably be asking if there was time for a dip down at the beach," Kallen said with a slight smirk.
That elicited a bark of laughter from the cardinal. "You know my girlfriend well."
As the remark indicated, the Ashford heiress was not amongst those present this day. While Milly was slowly being introduced to more and more of Eden Vital's workings, this particular bit would likely wait until she formally took over as Marchioness Ashford and the owner of Ashford Industries. Even so, the numbers present were a bit more expansive than Lelouch had originally intended.
"The present security at least looks adequate," Cornelia remarked wryly.
That the Princess Cornelia was accompanying them was a result of the woman having successfully convinced her father to allow her to partake in those activities of Eden Vital pertaining to the hunt for the heretics that murdered Marianne. The presence of Sir Gilbert, and only the one knight out of all Cornelia's guardsmen, was a very reluctantly accepted compromise on Lelouch's part in allowing any of Cornelia's guard to set foot on the island. The limit to the cardinal's flexibility ended however at the thought elevator proper, with Gilbert required to remain outside while his liege entered. On that point Lelouch had flatly refused any further allowances and made clear either Cornelia ordered her guard to comply or she could forget about participating in the briefing that would occur inside the thought elevator. While Cornelia ultimately did acquiesce, the tensions between Lelouch and her guard remained palpable.
"I assure you, Your Highness," Subaru spoke up, "we have taken measures to be far more than merely adequate."
If Cornelia's guard was unhappy about the princess' presence here, they had some unexpected camaraderie from Ise's representatives, even if for different reasons. The priesthood really did not want anyone outside of their own numbers and their Eden Vital collaborators poking their noses into one of Ise's most sensitive locations. In this case, it had taken Lelouch a bit of effort to convince Ise to let Cornelia accompany them, and at least some of the responsibility for the restrictions placed on the princess' guard could actually be pinned on the priesthood. Not that that made said guard feel any better or resent Lelouch any less for the part he did play.
"Now, now," C.C. said, in a tone that made it sound very much like she was chiding unruly children. "Let us not succumb to trivial quibbling. You wouldn't want your other guests to think there an opportunity for them to interject themselves, no?"
And by other, C.C. was referring to the trio of Europeans that made up the rest of the non-Japanese party. While Lelouch had advocated for his sister's presence, it was the grandmaster herself that insisted Leila also be permitted to join. And if Leila was coming, there was no way her minders would allow themselves to be left behind. And on account of him being the actual official representative of the Holy See, Kevin even won permission to accompany Leila into the thought elevator proper, albeit without Ries.
"Of course, Grandmaster," Subaru agreed respectfully enough.
Cornelia on the other hand only offered a curt nod, though that might have more to do with her continued befuddlement with the fact that someone as youthful looking as C.C. was Eden Vital's grandmaster. While the princess was now at least intellectually aware of C.C.'s nature, that she had had so few opportunities to actually witness the grandmaster act in her official capacity meant emotionally the emotional disconnect between C.C.'s appearance and her station remained for Cornelia. That and the grandmaster carried herself with nonchalance even when ostensibly carrying out her duties likely didn't help.
The party climbed onto the various waiting vehicles that ferried them the short distance over to the thought elevator proper. Much of the surrounding area had been cleared of vegetation, with a sturdy wall surrounding the perimeter. Guard towers were situated at each of the four corners, and automated turrets could even be made out.
"Are the thought elevators in the Empire so heavily guarded?" Kaguya asked Lelouch.
"The Antarctic one relies a bit more on passive security," Lelouch said, "considering the temperature tends to be below freezing on a good day. The New York thought elevator is both restricted airspace with a SAM installation enforcing it and has one of the larger Order Militant garrisons."
Kaguya now looked over at her cousin. "Did Ise have all that for Kamine Island before?"
"We did not," Subaru responded. "Ise relied a bit more on obscurity than overt security, though in light of what happened we are having to reevaluate our security measures. The issue is of course mustering the manpower to so augment our guard."
"I'm sure one of the appointed provincial lords could be convinced to second some of their guard for that purpose," Lelouch remarked, casting a sideways glance over at Kaguya. "Considering the names on the shortlist."
That elicited a wide smile on the girl, though she made no attempt to pry further on the matter. If Lelouch was being courteous enough to provide hints as to the continuing advancement of the Japanese people's advancement, Kaguya would not be so crass as to make the cardinal commit his word so publicly.
The vehicles came to a stop and the passengers disembarked. As they reached the structure's entrance, several of the Eden Vital and Koya soldiers detached themselves to take up positions waiting outside. Gilbert glanced one last time over at his own liege, and at Cornelia's nod, reluctantly did likewise. The now reduced party proceeded inside, with the doors sealing shut behind them.
The interior of the thought elevator was not much different than the outside, though now having a chance to look at the stony walls up close, Cornelia could more easily discern a definite, artificial pattern engraved on them. Despite not being of any language she was familiar with, the symbols seemed oddly familiar at a primordial level. Cornelia tried to look more closely, almost mesmerized by the flow of symbols. She was suddenly jerked away however, and a sharp pain shot through her head as her gaze was torn away. When her senses cleared up, Cornelia found Lelouch having grabbed her by the hand.
"Don't do that," the cardinal said. "These petroglyphs encode far more information than mere mortal minds can safely decipher, so don't stare at them."
"Right, thanks for the warning," Cornelia said, massaging her temple.
The rest of the walk down the stairs went be uneventfully, until the party arrived at a large, wide chamber. Arranged inside was five what looked to be beds, albeit with what looked to be metal panels mounted overlooking where one would lay one's head.
"Eden Vital's latest and most advanced external neuro-link interface," Lelouch explained. "And arguably the real reason why all the security is warranted, considering each one cost the equivalent of a hundred million pounds in cycle time in the Antarctic thought elevator to build."
A slight gurgle sounded in Kaguya's throat, while Cornelia gave a cough.
C.C. chuckled. "Let it not be said that Eden Vital is not doing its part in reviving Ise."
At half a billion pounds, that was quite a part.
"We will make sure these are returned in pristine condition once Ise is able to rebuild our own systems," Arashi however said.
It seemed the hidden priestess would prefer this contribution be treated as a loan instead of as an outright gift. That might seem a mite ungrateful, but simply accepting a gift this expensive carried with it certain obligations that Arashi not unreasonably might be loath to simply accept.
"Well, we'd certainly appreciate getting at least the sakuradite back for recycling," C.C. said.
A not very veiled insinuation that by the time Ise was in position to return the interfaces, they would be obsolete as far as Eden Vital was concerned. That was probably as much directed at Ise as it was the Holy See.
"So how exactly do these connect us to the thought elevator?" Kaguya asked, testing the cushions on the bed with a hand.
"I presume you are asking for a layman explanation, and not the technobabble that the Order Sabine would provide?" Lelouch said with a wry smile.
"Would you even be able to understand such technobabble?" Kaguya retorted with one of her own.
"More so than I wish at times," Lelouch said. "In simplistic terms, our brains serve as a sort of biological antenna that can tune into the frequency the thought elevators broadcast at. Doing this tuning requires our brains to similarly shift to that frequency. In the past, this shift was induced via purely pharmaceutical methods, which carried the attendant risks of overdosing and the like."
Pharmaceuticals like Refrain, in which case the risks were quite substantial. In fact the rather reckless usage of Refrain by the Soviet Union was a direct cause for so many of their candidates dying in the early days of their program, and then again as the war turned against the USSR and Stalin's desperation saw him drive the program ever more harshly. By the time Eden Vital's teams arrived at the Taklamakan thought elevator, there were barely any candidates still responsive, the majority either dead or in comas. Perhaps not coincidentally, every single person involved in overseeing the Soviet thought elevator program perished not long after, most from an acute case of bullet to the back of the head.
"These days, with the neuro-link interface, the shift can be induced via finely tuned electrical impulses, which are safer and less intrusive upon the body's neurology. Still, one has to take care not to spend too long in this induced state, as that by itself can throw the body off-kilter. Much of the augmentation we undergo is specifically so that those bodily functions which would otherwise get suspended or backgrounded get picked up and are allowed to continue functioning as normal."
"Being capable of superhuman feats is a nice bonus though," Kallen remarked.
The cardinal chuckled. "Yes, that it is. Anyway, those of you that do not have an interface physically installed within you will be making use of the external systems." Lelouch plopped down on one of the chaises longue also present. "While the rest of us just need to make ourselves comfortable so we don't wake up in a really weird position."
Which put a hard limit of five on such non-augmented persons participating. That had actually been one of the sticking points for Cornelia's participating, since she was in effect bumping one of Ise's representatives. Lelouch was ultimately successful in convincing Ise to allow it, mostly by pointing out that giving his sister a greater awareness of the exact sort of dangers associated with the thought elevators might make her more pliable and openly cooperative with respect to their mutual objective of restoring to the Japanese people their previous station.
"Beginning encephalon dive," Sancia said once everyone was settled in. "Link start."
Lelouch's field of view shifted, a sensation he was if not exactly comfortable with, at least familiar enough that there was little disorientation. When his vision settled, the cardinal was standing at the foot of a wooden staircase leading up to a large ceremonial platform. While Lelouch himself remained in his Eden Vital vestments, Kaguya, Arashi, and for some inexplicable reason C.C.'s outfits had changed into that of shrine maidens. The cardinal did a doubletake on that last one, and he was not the only one to do so.
"Oh, I see my registration was not revoked," C.C. said, spinning about.
While the grandmaster was enjoying herself, Kaguya massaged her temple as she tried to reorientate her senses.
"Okay, that was a bit weird," the girl said.
"This was actually a much smoother transition than what we would get with the European interfaces," Leila remarked.
"And it'll be even smoother once you have a proper neuro-link integrated in your body," C.C. said, flashing a smile and a sideways glance at Arashi. "Interested?"
"It is better for Ise to have something to aspire to than to have everything handed to us," Arashi responded.
The grandmaster chuckled. "A worthy sentiment."
"So this is the inside of a thought elevator?" Kevin remarked. "And what's this raised platform for?"
"A thought elevator's encephalon environment can be customized to whatever its user wants," Lelouch explained. "The Antarctic thought elevator's entry point is patterned after the cruciform layout of a cathedral. I presume the thought elevators managed by the Catholic Church have a similar design."
Leila nodded. "The London one at least does."
"The platform before us is the ritual grounds on which the kagura dance is performed," Arashi answered the second part of the question. "Presently the thought elevator is locked down, with further access to its systems and records restricted. Lifting the lockdown would require someone preregistered entering the correct credentials." The woman took a step up. "Kaguya-sama, onto the platform. Grandmaster, if you would be so kind as to assist."
While Kaguya ascended the platform, Arashi and C.C. took up positions at the edge. A shimmer of light descended upon all three women, and once it faded revealed each now held something in their hands. Kaguya gripped a folded fan, while Arashi held a flute and C.C. a drum. Bringing the instrument to her lips, Arashi gave Kaguya one last look before letting out a loud trill. C.C. commenced beating her drum, setting a slow but steady tempo. Atop the platform, Kaguya knelt down, whipping open the fan and resting it against her chest.
"What exactly is this?" Cornelia asked in a hushed whisper to her brother.
"The kagura dance," Lelouch answered in his usual tone, "is a ceremonial dance dedicated to the Shinto gods. It seems Ise used the dance as a means of authenticating those trying to access the thought elevator."
With slow, deliberate motions, Kaguya stretched out her empty left hand to her side, and then swept both harms to the right in a synchronous motion. Her left arm now pointing straight ahead of her, her right hand began rotating back, letting the upright fan sweep through the air before tilting down to rest upon her left palm. Little by little, she rose onto her feet, holding the fan out like an offering, before lifting it above her head and performing a sweeping, circular motion before returning to her proffered stance. In one smooth motion, Kaguya collapsed the fan, twirling her arms about again one at a time, before opening the fan up again. Raising it above her head, she swept it down, following the turn of her body before letting the fan sway side to side. Repeating the turn, Kaguya now faced the other direction as she waved the fan above her head. The girl made one last turn to face her original starting angle, sinking down onto her knees as she closed the fan. Another shimmer of light descended, with the fan vanishing from Kaguya's hands, to be replaced by a stick decorated by countless bells hanging off it.
Rising again, Kaguya held the bells out, rattling it in time with the beats of the drum. In wide, circular motions, she shifted back and forth on the platform, drawing arcs in the air with the bells. The long sleeves of her dress fluttered in accompaniment of the swaying, producing an almost ethereal visage despite the leisurely pace being set. The flow of Kaguya's motions blended together into a continuous stream, with none of the stop and start a less proficient practitioner might succumb to. The girl was seemingly in a genuine trance, lost in this offering to her gods. When the bells stopped ringing and the fan once more fluttered into her hands, she sank down onto her knees and let it come to rest upon her chest. Even so, one last chime could be heard reverberating through the air, and a light swept out from the platform.
All around them, where there previously was just the dancing platform, stone paths and green grass appeared, followed by large structures with sharply tapered roofs held aloft by sturdy wooden beams. Where there was but the shrine grounds before, now they were surrounded by an entire shrine complex. Kaguya had successfully completed the dance.
A loud, blaring alarm suddenly sounded, causing all present to tense. The first to act however was C.C., her white shrine maiden robes twisting and reforming into her black robes as Eden Vital's grandmaster. Robes, and armor.
"Come, Joyeuse!"
A loud wet thud sound as C.C.'s blade struck something, a something aimed squarely at Kaguya. That was enough to shake the others from their surprise as the next moment gunfire erupted.
"What's going on!?" Cornelia cried out.
"Protect the shrine!" Arashi said, a sword in her hand as she fended off the swarm of yokai that were flooding in.
Seeing as that was not an answer, the confusion of those not in the know remained.
"What's going on!?" Kevin echoed. "What are we protecting the shrine from!?"
"Detecting activation of viral payload in the Kamine Island thought elevator," Lucretia said with admirable calm in between bursts from her rifle. "Concurrent hack attempt originating from the Taklamakan thought elevator detected."
An attack that was taking on the appearance of spirits and monsters from Japanese folklore. Whether that was due to the attacker's intentions or simply a consequence of the thought elevator's configuration was moot, for they at least served as a target for the defenders to strike back at.
"A trap," Lelouch said with a grimace. "The Ise heretics must have laid it in the expectation that we would try to activate the thought elevator. Defensive formation around the non-combatants!"
All of Lelouch's attendants were now in battle gear, wielding guns within the virtual environment. The cardinal himself drew a sword, slicing apart those yokai that got past the wall of bullets being sprayed by the others.
"It'd be better to just get them out of here," Kallen said.
"That would be inadvisable," Sancia however shot the suggestion down. "The attack is generating too much interference to cleanly disconnect them."
"Leila, Mr. Graham, if either of you have any training in projection, arm yourselves," Lelouch ordered. "Otherwise stay close to Cornelia and Kaguya."
"What projection!?" Kevin exclaimed, thus settling that question.
Leila on the other hand closed her eyes, clasping her hands together as if in prayer. When they opened, so too did a pistol appear in her hands.
"Sorry, this is the best I can do," she said.
"It will suffice," Lelouch said, though one could almost hear the unspoken "probably" beneath his breath. "Ms. Arashi, permission to initiate counter hack with Eden Vital's thought elevators."
Arguably Lelouch could have initiated such an action on his own authority as cardinal, considering the gravity of the situation. And with two elevators at their disposal, Eden Vital could almost certainly defeat the hack attempt launched by the Taklamakan. Doing so however would require digging fairly deeply into the Kamine thought elevator, which officially was still under Ise's jurisdiction. While forgiveness would probably be forthcoming, if permission was actually easy enough to obtain, there was no harm in at least trying.
"Do it," Arashi said curtly, clearly more focused on cutting through the viral payloads masquerading as yokai than worrying about letting Eden Vital run rampant through Ise's thought elevator.
"Sing, Joyeuse."
A single tone resonated through the air, shattering a whole swath of the yokai swarm. With the opening this provided, the humans present consolidated into a tighter formation of their own.
"Emergency requisition," Lelouch could be heard speaking. "Archbishop Lamperouge, requesting immediate provisioning of the Antarctic and New York thought elevators for an encephalon counter hack of the Kamine thought elevator."
While Lelouch was organizing the counterattack, the others kept up their efforts. The battle sisters had automatically linked together, allowing each one to slot into a tactical role. Dalque was hefting an anti-material rifle and firing it full auto, breaking up any attempt by the circling swarm to converge and charge. Alice on the other hand was zipping around with personal defense weapon, peppering the swarm at multiple points, probing for any weaknesses and serving as a general distraction. The remaining sisters kept to regular assault carbines, supplementing each other as needed to keep the yokai at bay and preventing them from flanking the vanguard.
With the initial element of surprise spent without overcoming their opponents, the remaining yokai found themselves unable to close upon the humans. Those of the initial wave that had not been gunned down or sliced apart instead fell victim to the resonant blast from C.C.'s sword, creating a distinct perimeter separating the kill zone and the swarm. The grandmaster had positioned herself some distance away from the battle sisters, serving as both a tempting target but also to give her enough space to unleash further blasts without risking the others. Arashi was similarly out front, slicing apart those yokai that mistook her for a less formidable challenge.
"Five minutes!" Lelouch called out. "Counter hack will lock out the Taklamakan connection in five minutes! We must hold until then!"
That task done, the cardinal charged forth to join the grandmaster on the frontlines. A glint reflected off his blade before being eclipsed by the light that shone from the sword itself.
"Burn, Clarent."
That light was revealed to be the spark of a massive inferno, which swept across the shrine grounds, incinerating the yokai while leaving everything else untouched.
"Clarent?" Cornelia uttered, having picked up the declaration despite the distance.
"Clarent?" Kaguya repeated. "What is that?"
"A sword from Arthurian legend," Kevin was the one that answered. "Meant for ceremonies instead of battle." The man frowned. "Before it was stolen by Arthur's bastard son Mordred, who used it to kill his father."
A sword whose reputation stood in stark contrast to so much of what Lelouch himself represented. A certain chill ran through those witnessing the battle as they contemplated the parallels, and the prospective tragedy that might unfold. After a brief moment however Kaguya shook her head.
"I believe in His Eminence. Whatever curse taints his sword, I trust him to be able to surmount it."
A faith that Lelouch's own sister had difficulty placing in him, if the grimace Cornelia sported was any indication. For the moment however, none of them had any other choice.
Oblivious to the tumult behind them, the three sword wielders were now making inroads to whittling down the number of yokai swarming about. Or so the reduced numbers implied at first, but it quickly became evident something else was happening.
"They're adapting," Lelouch was the first to openly express his observations.
Whereas the previous swarms were filled with bestial forms crawling about on all fours, the creatures that made up the formations now advancing upon them stood upright and gave off a more regimented feel.
"Oni," Arashi declared. "Their malevolence is undeniable."
"Even so, they remain naught but virtual constructs," C.C. said. "Do not bring shame to your lineage by falling to such as they."
"Of course not, Grandmaster," Lelouch assured her. "But it still might be prudent to augment the arsenal available to the others."
"True enough," C.C. said. "Authenticate, administrative code. Suspend lock on conceptual weapons for battle sisters. Limit access to historical depth of one degree. Three degrees for Kallen."
That might have sounded stingy, but there was reasonable doubt as to whether any of Lelouch's attendants could properly use anything of higher authority.
"Sacred scripture access unlocked," Lucretia said. "Switch weapons."
The carbines disappeared from Lucretia, Sancia, and Anya's grasps, and Alice similarly dismissed her PDW. What replaced them were much larger rifles, with actual wood serving as the stock instead of the metal or composites of modern firearms. To someone like Cornelia, who recognized the rifles from her days as a cadet doing drills, it seemed downright ludicrous to switch out the carbines for something that was last standard issue back when the European War of 1914 kicked off. Of course that was before one saw the weapon that now manifested in Kallen's hands.
"Uh, Sister Kallen?" Kevin said a bit nervously. "I'm not one to argue against the pointed end of an arrow, but is a bow really the best choice here?"
As Kevin raised his understandable doubts, Kallen took aim with the bow in question. The arrow did not appear until she started pulling back the string, though considering not once had anyone reloaded previously, it was pretty evident that ammunition was not an actual problem in the thought elevator.
Paying no heed to Kevin's concerns, Kallen took a deep breath. "Fly, Fail-naught."
Again Cornelia's, and Kevin's, ears perked at the name announced. Where Clarent was associated with Mordred, Fail-naught was similarly attached to another legendary knight of the Round Table. And while Tristian's reputation might not have been that of a patricidal king slayer like Mordred, it still had its fair share of tragedies and betrayals. Mordred might have been the hand that landed the killing blow, but Tristian arguably kicked the first pebble that precipitated Camelot's downfall. One had to wonder if Eden Vital was intentionally drawing upon the darker side of the Arthurian mythos.
The distances to the advancing oni were not particularly great, at least if one were dealing with the velocity of modern bullets. A suitably competent archer would still have had little trouble hitting any of the advancing oni with a regular bow and arrow, never mind the conceptual weapon Kallen wielded. As it was, the time between her shooting and the impact from said shot was so infinitesimal that the noncombatants almost failed to register the hit. That became much easier to do when an entire line of oni shattered, ripped to pieces by the single shot.
"Analysis complete," Sancia said. "Enemy data fortification levels well within capacity of sacred scriptures."
The other battle sisters promptly resumed fire, though limited to bolt action rifles as they were, the cumulative rate of fire saw a corresponding drop. Even Dalque, who continued holding a more modern anti-material rifle, was switching over to single shots. The only exception to this was Alice, who on account of her superspeed could pull back the bolt on her rifle fast enough to go semi-auto. None of this however reduced their effectiveness, if anything the sisters were proving considerably more deadly after switching to these seemingly antiquated arms. Where previously the newly appeared oni had been able to soak up an ungodly number of rounds before falling, now a single shot was enough to punch through their armor and cripple if not outright destroy them.
"By the by," Kallen said as she notched another arrow. "You seemed to recognize Clarent rather quickly, Father Kevin." And loosed, wiping out more of the oni. "Are Arthurian legends standard reading for the Gralsritter?"
Kevin pointedly looked away. Evidently the priest was not quite as ignorant of the current goings-on as he feigned. Nor was there any indication he was prepared to end this pretense.
Further on the frontlines, the vanguard was dispensing with the wide area of effect attacks on account of the reduced enemy numbers. Instead they engaged those oni that made it past the barrage of fire laid down on a more direct basis.
"It's been quite some time since I've stretched my legs like this," C.C. said with a lackadaisical air. "Oh no, that won't do."
An oni made a mad dash past C.C. while her blade kept at bay the claws of another. It got about five paces before another loud chime coincided with it being vaporized. The enemy that had tried to distract C.C. fared little better, a faint breeze scattering its ashes.
"Take care," Lelouch said. "Even once the Taklamakan connection is severed, we will still need to purge the viral payload from Kamine. Do not let a single one of these creatures escape!"
"I have no intention of doing so," Arashi declared.
While the hidden priestess did not demonstrate the wide-ranging destructive capacity exhibited by C.C. and Lelouch, those that fell to her blade were far from scant. A single slash of her sword carved a path across multiple opponents, the blade performing a dance as deadly as it was artful. Though she held the rearmost position of the vanguard, that none reached to endanger the rearguard was not solely due to the whittling down the others performed. Indeed, those that made it as far as the swordswoman were arguably the most cunning, and robust, of the foes they faced.
The ringing of metal sounded as Arashi locked blades with a sword-wielding oni, one whose cunning had seen it avoid both the long-range bombardment and the winnowing C.C. and Lelouch subjected its fellows to. At Arashi's hands however its good fortune came to an end. Deflecting the oni's sword, Arashi flipped her own around and performed a backwards slash, cleaving through the creature's armor with contemptuous ease. Thus was the strength of her own conceptual weapon, forged within the bodies of countless generations of hidden priestesses. Nothing that faced her today had the strength necessary to overcome that legacy, at least not yet.
"They are coalescing once more," C.C. remarked. "A most clever virus, this one, adapting itself based on our efforts to counter it."
"Mention was made of a prodigal programmer amongst the Ise heretics," Lelouch said. "This is likely her handiwork. I will have to up the priority of her kill order."
"Worry about that after you are able to find her," C.C. chided. "And after we've dealt with this particular infection."
The cardinal's only response was a grunt as he slammed his sword into another oni, roasting the creature from the inside. His head then jerked aside, as a message from Lucretia flashed through his head.
"The Taklamakan connection has been severed, but we seem to have triggered a failsafe in the viral payload."
"A most persistent lot," C.C. said with a sniff. "Still, they should at least serve as a measure of your progress, my child. Go forth, black knight of mine."
"Always another test with you," Lelouch groused, before a black crowned helmet formed around his head.
As if in response to the cardinal stepping forth, the ground itself began shaking. The vibrations were not in time with his steps however, indicating the one making them was something else entirely. Something much, much bigger. From the darkened mist surrounding the shrine grounds, a hulking figure in flowing robes gripping a ceremonial staff topped with metal rings emerged. The most distinctive feature of the create had to be its long protruding nose however.
"A tengu," Arashi said, eyes narrowed. "Such sacrilege, to manifest a sentinel in such a manner."
"If this be sacrilege," Lelouch said, "then I trust you will not protest me slaying it."
"If you think it within your means, Cardinal of Eden Vital," Arashi responded. "The disciples of Sarutahiko-o-kami are not to be taken lightly, even one corrupted like this."
Lelouch however was unfazed. "My charge is the death of an immortal. Whether that be one or two hardly makes a difference."
Bravado though those words may sound like, there was still confidence in Lelouch's bearing as he approached the corrupted tengu. The ashen robes of his opponent were like a pale specter in comparison to the cardinal's own ebony plate, but both reeked of death in their visage. One, a cold, chilly revenant. The other, a demon wreathed in scorching flames. The tengu raised his staff, giving it a single shake. The rings clinked against each other, creating overlapping waves of sound that washed out from that epicenter. The cascading ripples converged upon Lelouch's position, with the air itself seeming to freeze as their interference with each other grew stronger.
"Interesting," Lelouch remarked. "Removing energy from the system via destructive interference, to create a zone of absolute zero. I'm sure the Sabine researchers would love to analyze the means by which you are effecting this phenomenon. They will have to be satisfied by my verbal testimony, however. Burn, Clarent!"
The slowly encroaching field of stillness suddenly ignited, the kinetic energy imparted by the cardinal overcoming the dampening effect of the tengu's staff. With a path cleared, Lelouch charged, bringing his sword down in a vertical slash. This was met by that same staff, the tengu resorting to melee now that its ability was nullified. Its greater mass saw it not budget an inch from Lelouch's blow, with the blowback enough to even throw the cardinal back a few steps. Lelouch landed deftly on his feet however, bouncing forward to launch an immediate follow-up attack. The two exchanged strikes and parries, the speed of which made their movements hard to track. Every flick of Lelouch's sword was a red blur, the blade burning brighter and brighter with every strike. This time it was the cardinal who imposed his will upon the surrounding atmosphere, creating a field of smothering heat. In fact the intensity of the heat was such that small embers could be seen igniting and fraying the edges of the tengu's robes.
The tengu did not take all this lying down, using each blow exchanged to rattle the rings dangling atop the staff. The small pockets of chilled stillness may not have lasted long, but even momentary contact with them could induce considerable thermal stress from the sudden shift in temperature. Cracks were already appearing upon Lelouch's armor despite the rectitude of his will. But Lelouch was still merely human, merely mortal, despite the code that was being etched upon his soul. Even with his mind alone, it could still become fatigued, the strength of will dulled if ground upon ceaselessly.
"A troublesome opponent," Lelouch muttered.
As a virtual construct, the tengu did not suffer the same frailties as the human mind now confronting it. It could be worn down, and indeed Lelouch's attacks were degrading and corrupting its composite data, as evidenced by the scorch marks and dints hewed into the staff. The cardinal would probably even emerge the victor in a battle of attrition if he were inclined to resort to such means. It would be a rather disappointing display were he to resort to so plebian a method when he was the cardinal of the Order Militant however. Then again, rarely did Lelouch have the opportunity to face an opponent that merited him properly exerting himself. Confronting the tengu was therefore a worthwhile exercise for that reason alone.
"Sear, Clarent."
In classical mythology, the four commonly identified elements were air, water, earth, and fire. Though the ancient storytellers had no way of knowing it, these four elements actually corresponded quite closely to the four observable states of matter defined by modern physics. Air was gas, water liquid, earth solid, and lastly fire plasma. The firestorm ignited by Clarent was actually on the cool side of the plasma that Lelouch could invoke with the sword. What he summoned now was several orders of magnitude more energetic.
The bolt of lightning that coursed through the tengu's staff upon contact with Lelouch's sword took but a scant moment to do its work, ripping through the creature so quickly that the searing of its clothes and form only became visible in accompaniment of the clap of thunder that echoed seconds later. The tengu's staff shattered at the point of impact, the ends dripping slagged metal before cooling. The scorched sleeves were rendered unto blackened ash, while the flesh they clothed were left charred and crumbling. The suddenness of this turnaround seemed to outpace the tengu's reaction time, for it was still trying to comprehend the magnitude of the harm done to it when Lelouch delivered the coup de grace. With no means of defense left, the cardinal's sword faced little resistance as it pierced the tengu's heart. The light that erupted once more flashed in a soundless void. But that was fine, for the delayed boom served to provide the gust that blew away the ashes yet to settle before the cardinal.
"All threats eliminated," Lucretia declared from behind, before promptly collapsing onto her knees.
Several of the other combatants quickly followed suit, with only Kallen and C.C. able to remain on their feet. Even the cardinal had toppled over, completely in his case, with face flat on the ground.
"What's wrong!?" Kaguya exclaimed, grabbing onto Alice, the closest to her, to keep her steady.
"Blowback from projecting the conceptual weapons," Kallen said, breathing heavily as the armor and bow she previously wielded faded. "You have to utilize a greater proportion of the thought elevator's compute capacity in order to do the projection, which puts a bigger strain on one's body. Give them a few minutes to recover, they should be fine."
"You seem relatively less worn, Sister Kallen," Kevin remarked even as he laid Leila down gently.
"For better or worse, my neural physiology is more compatible with the thought elevator's system, so I'm not as affected," Kallen said. "It'll probably take a few more years of training before I can pull off something as impressive as His Eminence, but supposedly the potential is there at least."
And some of it already manifest, considering the weapon Kallen had wielded. While she had not employed Fail-naught on an as destructive basis as Lelouch's Clarent, that she manifested an Arthurian weapon at all put her a step or two above her fellow battle sisters.
"Little wonder Eden Vital recruited you," Kevin said.
While that was not the only reason, Kevin was not mistaken in it being a big one.
"Oh, still standing, Kallen?" C.C. said, having carried over the cardinal in a rather unceremonious slump across her shoulders.
She just as unceremoniously dumped Lelouch onto the ground, eliciting a groan of protest from the cardinal. It fell upon Kallen to express any actual concern or sympathy.
"Are you alright, Your Eminence?" she asked instead of answering the grandmaster.
"I expect I'll be bedridden for a few days at least," Lelouch responded, his armor dissipating back into his robes. "Preferably with painkillers."
"We should disconnect from the thought elevator then," Kevin said, cradling a Leila whose breaths were still labored. "And handle the rest of the briefing later, or in the real world."
"No, we should press on," Lelouch said, pushing himself upright.
"Lelouch!?" Cornelia said disapprovingly as she hurried over to steady her brother. "Look at yourself! You're barely able to stand, what if we run into something else!?"
"You can rest assured, there are no further threats," a young, feminine voice sounded, and moments later a projection of an adolescent girl with flowing brown hair appeared before them.
"Nunnally?" Cornelia gasped.
The girl beamed a warm smile at her sister. "It is good to see you again, Cornelia. I hope our brother has not been too trying in his company."
"Despite me being the one usually put upon?" Lelouch groused.
Nunnally gave a familiar chuckle before looking over at the others. "Grandmaster, Priestess Arashi, we have completed firewalling the Kamine thought elevator and conducted a scan of its data space. No additional malign elements have been detected, so it should be safe to proceed."
"Your assistance is appreciated, Archbishop Lamperouge," Arashi said with a slight bow.
Nunnally returned the motion. "It was my pleasure and honor. I will leave you to your duties, then." She spared Cornelia parting smile. "Please give Euphie my reassurances that I am well, Sister."
"I will," Cornelia nodded. "And, it was good to see you again as well, Nunnally."
The smile remained on the girl's face as her projection faded. By now the rest of Lelouch's entourage were also climbing back onto their feet, along with Leila.
"I still think it'd be a good idea to wait until later," Kevin said unhappily.
"There likely won't be a later," Lelouch stated. "Once we disconnect, I expect some time will be needed to clean up all the bleeding myself and my attendants did on the couches."
"And you still want to continue!?" Kevin said incredulously.
The cardinal shrugged. "We are even now receiving as good treatment as can be afforded elsewhere. Based on my biometrics, my physical body has been stabilized and my neurology is recovering rapidly. Any further healing will be over a longer term, which makes it less pressing than the business at hand."
Several heads turned towards the grandmaster, who shrugged.
"If my child thinks himself up to it, we should proceed. And it's not like I'll be in Japan for much longer anyway, so there may not be any further opportunities in the near-term."
Neither Kevin nor Cornelia looked particularly mollified, but it was not really their choice to begin with.
"Father Kevin," Leila spoke up. "Please. We will not get another chance to bear witness like this."
The priest gave a resigned sigh himself. "Alright, fine, I know when I'm outnumbered and beat."
"Then let us proceed," the cardinal said as he turned towards the main shrine building.
"Lelouch."
And stopped to glance over at his sister. While she still wore a grimace, it seemed driven by something other than concern for Lelouch's personal wellbeing.
"Why Clarent?"
The cardinal's head dipped ever so slightly. "I would think that to be obvious. Only one worthy to be king has the right to wield Caliburn, and I am not so presumptuous."
As if that settled the matter, Lelouch resumed his pace towards the shrine building. Cornelia followed, though clearly far from satisfied.
End of Chapter 48
I decided to split the chapter. The current draft is already sitting at approximately 13,000 words, and as I iterate and tweak, I suspect it'll get another thousand or so before I'm done. There is a lot of info to dump.
This story doesn't take place in the Code Geass canon, so whether nukes exist or not in said canon has no bearing on their existence in my AU.
The conversation between Lucretia and Euphemia was originally supposed to take place much earlier. As in, it was supposed to be one of the major reasons why Euphemia decided to make her debut in Japan. As such the mindset I had when writing it was still rooted in that timeframe. That being said, it's not impossible that Lucretia's prior encounter with Euphemia wasn't brief enough that Lucretia didn't get, snippy, with her. It mostly depends on how exact Lelouch's timing was when it came to inviting Euphemia over for the meal. The conversation regarding Marika was mostly an oversight, though there were some details that got missed during the first iteration. Again, consider it a sign that for the most part I don't do editing passes and most of this is just straight stream of consciousness with very little filtering.