Here we are at Chapter 54. As Fuyumi gets closer to her goal, so does the danger waiting for her. Not that many chapters left before this story is finished. I do not own Code Vein or Skeleton Knight. They belong to their respective owners. I only own my OCs. Here's chapter 54. Enjoy.
Chapter 54: In Chains
A new night draws near as Fuyumi and her friends prepare for the next stage in their mission. They learn from Yukio that her people found a way inside the castle, through the underground tunnels that dwell beneath the city. Castles always have escape passages that lead to sewers. Thus, they planned to meet up at the entrance for one such sewer and use it to get inside. Fuyumi is glad and sad at the same time for it. Glad that they can finally move on with their mission, but sad that she wouldn't get to have more time making love with Yukio. The kitsune is definitely well-versed in pleasuring a partner in bed. Maybe the best out of them all for her experience. A message is delivered to her friends informing them of the plan and they all eventually meet outside the sewer on the edge of the city.
"So, we have to move through this disgusting place in order to get inside? Why did i ever think we'd find a way inside that wasn't so filthy," Iris groans.
"Nothing we can do about it. At least we have a way in now," Hikaru notes.
"I've received information from your allies. They're preparing to launch a full-scale assault with their combined forces on the empire. That should keep their attention away from the castle, but the longer you're inside, the more likely they'll figure it out. You need to take care of things before the chaos reaches here," Yukio explains.
"We'll be sure to get in and out quickly. What about you?" Fuyumi asks.
"Once you're inside, I'll leave some of my best people around to make sure you have an escape route from the castle. As for me and the others, we're not warriors so we're not sticking around. This is where we part ways for now," Yukio says.
"That's probably a good idea. No doubt there's trouble waiting for us in that castle. I don't want you guys getting caught up in that," Fuyumi says.
Yukio smiles, "Then consider this a little good luck charm," she walks up and kisses Fuyumi.
The other girls just stare. By this point in time, they're not even surprised anymore. Yukio steps back, leaving Fuyumi a bit pink.
"You'd best get going. Wouldn't want to keep your future head-wife waiting for you too long back home," Yukio says and heads back her own way with her people.
Fuyumi turns to her girls, "What? Look, things just happened alright!"
"Uh-huh," her lovers reply flatly.
"Look, let's just go. We have an emperor to take down," and Fuyumi is the first to enter the sewer.
The rest of her group follow right behind her. The sewer quickly gets dark, so Anelia and Iris cast two light spells on their staff and sword to give them some light in the darkness. Anelia had also been given a map showing them the right path to their destination. They make a few turns as they head further in, but then Hikaru stops ahead of them.
"Hikaru?" Fuyumi mutters.
"Something's coming," Hikaru says, flexing her claws.
Fuyumi and Elane sense it next, causing Iris and Anelia to tense up. A moment later, they spot red eyes within the darkness, getting closer.
"Of course, the empire is using Lost as additions to their army. Why not use them for security too?" Fuyumi rolls her eyes.
"But, why didn't Yukio's spies say anything about them?" Anelia asks.
"They probably recently released them into the sewers. There's a chance our cover's blown already," Iris replies.
"Doesn't matter. We only have one direction: forward. Even if it means doing so through them," Fuyumi draws her sword.
The Lost roar and charge at them. Hikaru makes the first move, shoving her tail through the chest of one and then swinging it into another, slamming them into a wall. Fuyumi moves next, sending out a Plasma Roar to take out two and then cutting down a third with a downward swing of her blade. Elane fires off two arrows, piercing the hearts of two Lost, while Iris swings her sword wide to cut through.
"Spirit of fire, consume my enemies in your flames. Fire Blast!" Anelia conjures her spell to burn three Lost into ashes.
More Lost appear, but Hikaru rips through several of them with her claws and tail. She's too fast for them to counter as she leaves them in pieces on the ground.
"At least it's just the usual Lost. Let's keep going," Hikaru wipes the blood off her claws.
Fuyumi sighs before they head deeper in. Eventually, they come across a set of doors. Those doors lead up into the castle, as the spies said. They reached their destination. The only problem was the pair of very large Lost standing in their way. Both were wielding large hammers. Not the ones that Fuyumi is familiar with, but large hammers all the same.
"Well, that's new," Elane notes.
"Doesn't change a thing. They're stronger than the usual Lost, but not smarter. We take them down and head inside. Let's move," Fuyumi says.
She makes the first charge, gaining the Lost' attention with a few ice shards. The Lost run at her, swinging their hammers. Fuyumi teleports behind them. She unleashes an Ice Barrage on the back of one, staggering it. This gives Elane and Iris the chance to strike with their blades, aiming for its head. Meanwhile, Hikaru flies in, catching the hammer of the second one and breathing fire in its face. Anelia fires off a few fireballs at it, hoping to kill it. However, these Lost are more resilient than their smaller cousins. Hikaru just smirks as the Lost roars in her face, throwing a left fist. She catches the thrown fist in her claws and crushes it. The Lost steps back in pain, giving Hikaru a chance to wrap her tail around its legs, causing it to fall on its back. She jumps on top of it and starts pounding away, taking it apart with her fists. Meanwhile, Iris, Elane, and Fuyumi race around the second Lost, making hit-and-run strikes with their blades. The Lost' body is littered with scars by this point, but it's still standing. Fuyumi ends it with an Indra's Coil, shocking it into submission. Its large body falls to the ground before both dissipate into ashes.
"Okay, we've taken care of the guard dogs. Let's head inside and find Venak," Fuyumi turns to the double doors.
"Should we just bust our way through?" Iris asks.
"No. They may still not know we're here. Let's keep it stealthy for as long as possible," Fuyumi walks up to the doors and freezes the locks, then melts them away with her fire.
With the doors unlocked now, they sneak inside, finding a set of stairs waiting for them. They head up the stairs, finding no guards around, until they reach another door. Doing the same thing as before, Fuyumi opens the way inside into some storage room.
"A storage room? Is this the only escape route they made for this place?" Anelia whispers.
"Probably not. Who knows how many escape tunnels there truly are," Iris replies.
Sneaking their way in, they look around for any guards or servants. Fuyumi casts Night Fog Veil and Nightstalker on her team again and they move through the castle. They occasionally find servants doing their business or guards patrolling the place, but one thing they noticed is how few people there actually are around here. As the castle of the empire's capital, they expected to see more people around. Could something have happened to them? Fuyumi doesn't dwell on it too much. The less eyes around, the better. The main problem is that while the spies got them a way inside, they didn't give them the layout of the castle itself. They had no idea where to go.
"Where do you think we should check?" Fuyumi whispers.
"We could start with the throne room, or some antechamber. Big wigs always love to hang out in those rooms," Hikaru suggests.
Deciding on that route they look for the path to the throne room. After several twists and turns, during which time Fuyumi had to repeatedly cast her stealth spells, they finally reach the doors to an antechamber. Once inside, they sadly find it apparently empty. Seeing as they're alone, Fuyumi drops the veil.
"Crap, he's not here. Nor is the former emperor. We'll have to find the throne room, and if he's not there, then-," Fuyumi looks around.
"Above you!" Hikaru calls out.
Fuyumi jumps just as a Lost falls from the ceiling, trying to impale her on its sword. This one is similar to the ones that carry shields and swords that she fought in the game. Suddenly, several more bust in through the doors and surround them.
"Great. The welcome party," Elane mutters.
"My, my, you lot are a lot sneakier than I gave you credit for. Forgive me for underestimating you," they lookup at a balcony and find Lord Creygar standing above them. "A pleasure to finally make your acquaintance, Lady Fuyumi Kusanagi," Greygar says.
"Should I know you?" Fuyumi narrows her eyes.
"Not exactly, but I know you're familiar with my associate here," Creygar says as May Fanchone joins his side.
"You," Fuyumi recognizes her.
"We meet again, Fuyumi Kusanagi. Just as I hoped we would," May jumps down from the balcony, landing behind the Lost and drawing her scythe. "This battle won't end like last time,"
"Kill them, May. Don't fail me this time," Lord Creygar says before taking his leave.
"Understood," May replies.
"We can't let him get away. He may know where Venak is," Fuyumi says.
"Hikaru, throw me!" Iris says.
Hikaru grabs Iris by the shoulder and launches her up onto the balcony.
Creygar notices her and draws his sword, "You women sure like to make a mess of things, don't you,"
Iris readies her blade, "I'll take that as a compliment,"
The Lost charge at Fuyumi' group. Hikaru punches two away while Fuyumi slices through a third as Elane and Anelia fire spells and arrows at the rest. However, May slides in and swings her scythe at Fuyumi. Fuyumi deflects the strike and goes for a Plasma Roar at her face May flips back to dodge the technique. She twirls her scythe around as she goes for another strike. Fuyumi casts Flame Barrage, hoping to burn her, but May jumps right through the flames as she spins her scythe around like a shield. Their weapons clash as their duel continues. Up top, Iris thrusts her sword at Creygar, but he parries it and counters with a swing aimed at her face. She narrowly rolls under the swing and gets back on her feet. Going at him again, she makes an upward swing, followed by a downward, but her deflects both of them.
"Hmm, not bad, but you lack experience, little girl. Truth be told, it's a shame to see young, beautiful women fight like savage men. I'd prefer it if you didn't get that pretty face of yours stained with blood," Lord Creygar taunts her.
"I'd rather be stained with blood that bound in chains. If May Fanchone is your subordinate, then that means you're the one responsible for that slave trafficking ring that affected Anatolia," Iris notes distastefully.
"Well, we did need bodies for those experiments fighting your friends down there. We certainly couldn't use our own people. At least not too many of them. Would've caused us problems. And if we could weaken your kingdom's strength by taking your people, then it's a win-win," Creygar replies without a care.
Iris growls, "You will answer for all your crimes tonight, imperial scum," Iris makes another swing at him and their blades clash. "Why did you do it? What do you gain from all this misery?!"
"My survival for one. I don't know about you, but I refuse to become an experiment myself, not to mention become a man without any power or standing. I may not seek the throne, but as long as I get to keep my head on my shoulders and rewards for my achievements, I couldn't care less. You don't seem to understand. This world... is a cesspool. It's kill or be killed, and I'd rather be the one doing the killing. There's no real honor or justice in this world," Creygar pushes Iris back. "Those are just fairytales told to children. When you've lived in the gutter like I once did, you learn about things very fast,"
"That doesn't give you the right to take innocent lives just so you can get ahead in life. I didn't get to where I am by kidnapping innocent people like you," Iris charges again.
She swings at his feet, but he jumps over her and kicks her in the face.
"And that's why you will lose this fight. You don't have the strength to go the extra mile to survive. I do," Creygar thrusts his blade at her.
Iris leans her head to the side to dodge it and then smacks the blade away with her own. This guy may be tough, but Iris isn't going down without a fight. Back down below. Hikaru has finished off the last of the Lost.
"That should do it. Now to just-," Hikaru says before something crashes through the wall behind them. She, Anelia, and Elane look to see a Lost in the form of a wyvern before them. "Oh, now they're just making me mad," Hikaru growls.
Back with Fuyumi, her duel with May is still going on strong. May twirls her scythe around, hoping to cut off Fuyumi's legs. Fuyumi jumps over her swings, swinging her blade at May's head, but she blocks it. As Fuyumi lands, May throws a back kick that Fuyumi dodges. Fuyumi swings her sword down, but May blocks with the staff of her scythe.
"So tell me, what do you gain in all of this? Money, glory, power, or something else entirely?" Fuyumi demands.
"I care little for such things. I don't have that choice," May replies.
"What are you talking about?" Fuyumi asks.
"It's too late. Far too late," May replies before swinging her scythe around.
Fuyumi leans back to narrowly avoid losing her head. She casts Guard of Honor at, but May slices through the ice. She imbues her blade with dark magic, so Fuyumi casts Flame Weapon on her own to counter it. Shadow and flames dance as they blades clash. Fuyumi teleports behind May and swings her blade, but May backflips over the swing, lands on her feet, and swings her dark blade at Fuyumi's neck. Fuyumi ducks under the strike and kicks May in the stomach to knock her back. Fuyumi twirls in the air, sending out a Blast Bolt as she falls down. May deflects the lightning and then blocks Fuyumi's blade, but she can't dodge the Lightning Charge aimed at her chest. She knows what will happen, but she does it anyway. As soon as she touches May, she's hit by that same shock from before. However, she pushes through it.
"Fancy trick... protecting yourself like this," Fuyumi grits.
May pushes her back, "It's not like I wanted this," she pulls her hair aside to show a symbol on the back of her neck.
"What is that?" Fuyumi asks.
"A slave contract. I am bound by magic to obey my master's orders," May looks up at Iris and Creygar's duel, and then the purple marks from before appear on her skin. "As for that shock, it's a curse I placed upon myself. To keep anyone from touching me. I never wanted any of this, but I had no choice. He tried to get me to undo the curse, but it can't be undone. I made it that way. I am trapped in two cages, one of my own making,"
"You never tried to undo the contract?' Fuyumi asks.
"If Creygar dies, the contract will kill me as well. Before, I fought to preserve my life... but I don't care anymore," May lowers her scythe. "I'm... tired... of everything. I just want some peace. Fuyumi, please strike me-,"
"Ah!" a scream gains their attention and they look up to Iris and Creygar's duel.
Creygar takes a breath and makes a few swings at Iris. Iris parries the strikes, keeping her defense up. As Creygar finds an opening, he thrusts his blade at her face. Iris narrowly moves her head aside, the blade going through her hair, and makes a swing across his left ribs.
"You damn woman!" Creygar curses, holding his wound. "May, I order you to protect me and get us out of here!" he commands.
The mark on May's neck glows and it forces May to jump up onto the balcony in between Iris and Creygar.
"Do it now!" Creygar says.
"Spirits of Darkness, engulf my-," May begins before something punches through Creygar's stomach.
He pukes out blood and looks back to see Hikaru as the culprit, her fist through his body.
"You know, using one of my kin as one of your experiments... That really pissed me off," Hikaru growls.
Below, the body of the Lost dragon turns into ash, alongside the rest of the Lost that came after them. Anelia and Elane remain unharmed.
"This is... the problem... with women who don't know their place," Creygar curses as he falls off her arm to the floor.
"And that just leaves you," Hikaru glares at May.
"Hikaru, wait!" Fuyumi stops her, just before May drops her scythe.
"It's over now... At least now, I'll have peace," May says before the slave mark on her neck glows and she falls to the ground, writhing in pain.
"What the Hell?!" Iris appears shocked.
"It's the slave contact. That bastard lying there forced her to be his slave, and now that he's dead, it's killing her," Fuyumi says as the others join them.
"So, what do we just let her die or something? She's an enemy right," Hikaru asks.
"I'd say let her die. She's responsible for so many of my people being kidnapped," Elane says.
"That was that guy's doing. He's dead, so you got your revenge, Elane. However, I don't believe she was lying about what she said earlier," Fuyumi kneels next to May as her time draws near. "You do have to answer for your part in these crimes, even if you were unwilling in them. However, I believe that death is still too cruel for you. In a way, you're a victim too. And leaving you to die like this would just leave a bad taste in my mouth," Fuyumi then casts Panacea's Essence and Modest Offering on May.
She puts her all into stopping the contract with the former and healing May with the latter. She can always heal herself afterwards. Soon enough, May starts to calm down. Eventually, the slave mark on her neck dissipates and May relaxes. She gasps for air, her head covered in sweat.
"Fuyumi, how could you spare her after everything she did? To my people, and to yours?" Elane demands.
"I'm not saying she's entirely innocent, Elane. I understand your anger. But, it just didn't sit right with me. She was forced to do those things. In a way, she's like your people. A slave with a collar around her neck, taken from her home and previous life. She'll never be free from the memories that haunt her of her deeds. But, at least now, she can start atoning for her sins. She'll spend the rest of her life fixing her mistakes. Doesn't that sound like a more fitting punishment than death to you? Death would be instant release for her," Fuyumi explains.
"I see... you're more... ruthless than I thought," May says on the floor.
"No, I'm just more of a softy than some people think. Tell us where Venak is, please," Fuyumi asks.
"Venak is... in the throne room... Waiting for you all... It's a trap," May replies.
"What about the former emperor?" Anelia asks.
"He's being kept... in Venak's office. You'll find it close to the throne room... He's under heavy guard," May replies.
"Okay, then we'll have to split up. He may be the former emperor, but if we capture him, that'll help end the war faster. The rest of us will go after Venak. If it's a trap, we'll just have to spring it," Fuyumi says.
"What about her?" Iris nods to May.
"Don't worry... I won't resist or escape... I don't have the strength to move right now... I surrender to you, Ser Fuyumi Kusanagi," May says.
"We'll come back for her later. We can't bring the extra weight right now. We'll be back for you later. Try to stay put for now," Fuyumi actually pats May's head.
May's eyes widen when she realizes that her curse didn't affect Fuyumi. Which can only mean that her curse, just like the slave contract, is gone. With that, Fuyumi and her group leave to continue on their mission. After they leave, May cries tears of relief. She won't run from her crimes. Her memories will ensure that. She will face her punishment without refusal. But, for the first time in years, she felt free.
"Thank you... Fuyumi," May cries tears of relief.
And that's the chapter. Fuyumi and her friends take down Creygar and May, but their mission is not yet over. Venak awaits them, but will Fuyumi and her friends succeed? Until then, please Read and Review.