The next morning Class VII assembled at her home to prepare for the trek to Bareahard. As the trains were not an option they would be forced to make the trek on foot, but fortunately the fog had already begin to dissipate quite a bit since their excursion to the castle. It would still be a dangerous walk, but at least Laura had no fear of them getting lost en route.
Truth be told, Laura had not slept well at all the previous night. Part of it was simply due to her excitement at finally being together with her friends once again. Dinner the previous night had been the liveliest the Arseid household had been in quite some time as the students caught up with each other. But while her excitement had been real, that alone should not have been enough to prevent her from sleeping soundly.
It was Fie's final words that gave the blue-haired girl such difficulty.
It wasn't so much the act itself that caused her such distress. She wasn't so prudish as to be opposed to such intimacy - even if she couldn't stop herself from overheating a little anytime her traitorous brain began to conjure such images. She was genuinely happy that Fie had grown so comfortable that she had been able to connect with someone on such an intimate level.
The real problem was one that Fie had immediately pointed out: The war between her heart and her head. It was an issue that had been rearing its head a lot ever since she had descended down her current path in life and it seemed that once again it was a battle that would soon be fought. The previous battles had always ended with her heart emerging the victor and she strongly suspected that this would be the final battle.
Laura knew very well that her father would not agree with her acting so hasty and recklessly. She understood that as the future leader of Legram that there were standards that she needed to maintain in order to set a good example to her people. Allowing herself to be driven by her baser instincts would not be seen in a positive light.
Plus there was the very real chance that her father would destroy Rean if he ever found out they had been engaging in inappropriate behavior...
But at the same time she could not forget just how happy her friend seemed. It was a happiness that she longed to share in. And there was no denying that the act itself held great interest to her, even if she would never admit it to anyone...
All she needed to do was reach out and take it for herself. It would not be difficult at all. Truly she could appreciate the jaeger mindset of taking what they wanted, consequences be damned. And given the way Fie approached her with the subject it was clear that her best friend was willing to support her if she chose to go that route...
With a tired sigh she decided to shelve that train of thought for now. Right now she needed to focus on the mission. Bareahard was one of the Noble Alliance's biggest strongholds and even if they didn't plan on provoking a fight she still needed to be ready in case one broke out. If she wore herself out by going back in forth in her mind she would only become a liability to her allies, which was something she steadfastly refused to become.
"I take it you want to check on Valimar when we leave?" Toval asked Rean as they ate breakfast together. Seeing him nod the bracer continued. "Miles offered me a monster extermination request near there. It's your call, but knocking it out on the way wouldn't be the worst idea."
The way Rean glanced around the table made it clear he was checking for second opinions before committing one way of the other. Since the others appeared noncommittal she took it upon herself to give her thoughts, even if she already knew he would agree to it. "I think it would be for the best. Even if Klaus and the Arseid students are more than capable I would feel a lot more at ease knowing the region was a little safer."
Seeing Rean nod in agreement, the bracer beamed. "Sweet. Thanks, Laura, Rean. Let's stop in at the guild before we leave so we can let Miles know."
"Alright, we'll do that. Is everyone finished with your preparations? If so we should-"
"Actually, Master Rean, I have a request for you and your classmates as well, if you are interested."
Laura blinked. She had not heard anything about that before. "Klaus?"
"I do believe the students have been looking forward to a rematch with you all. This is entirely optional, of course, but I think you will find they have made great strides since your previous victory. It should be a good experience for both parties."
Ah. So that was what he wanted. "I too can vouch for their skills. They have been invaluable in keeping the fiends and other monsters away from Legram. I would not be opposed to the idea."
"Sure. I'm game. Beating them up might be fun." Surprisingly Fie too voiced her support despite her earlier disinterest.
Seeing that neither Millium nor Emma opposed, the black-haired swordsman nodded his head. "Very well. We should do that first. Would make for a good warm-up before we leave town."
Decision made, the group followed Klaus as they made their way down the hill to the Arseid school. It was clear that her butler's words had been no exaggeration as Gaveli, Fritz, Datt, and Ares were all already assembled and warmed up for battle. They were quite delighted to find out that Class VII had accepted their challenge.
But given there were four of them and six of Class VII.. "So who wants to participate?" Rean asked.
"Since I'm not a part of Class VII I guess I'm sitting this one out." Toval was quick to recuse himself.
"I think I will sit this one out too." Emma stated as she and Celine followed the bracer to the sidelines. "But you had better win!"
"Aww yeah! Me and Lammy have been waiting for the chance to fight you guys and now you also have to fight our Fearsome Threesome? You guys are screwed!"
Laura couldn't help but blush at the crass nickname and even Rean scratched his head nervously. Fie meanwhile... "Not bad, but it could use some work."
As was often the case in duels like this, it was Klaus who took on the role of officiator. "Is everyone ready? Then begin!"
Laura would readily admit that the Arseid students impressed her. Sure she had known that their strength had improved in leaps and bounds, but she hadn't expected their teamwork to have also seen similar improvements. They had managed to combine the various weapons that the Arseid school specialized in into one coherent fighting formation, emphasizing their individual strengths while covering their weaknesses as much as possible. It was clear that they had been working hard in preparation for the rematch with Class VII...
"Oww..." Datt whined from his position on the ground. "What just happened?" Unfortunately for them, reality did not work out as they had expected.
"Haha! I told you! Our Fearsome Threesome can't be beat!"
Awful name aside, Millium wasn't entirely off the mark. Although they had somewhat experienced it during the fight against the cryptid, high emotions and the suddenness of the situation meant they didn't truly get to fight together. But in a friendly duel?
All that previous training together paid off as they were back to being completely in sync.
Whether it was her batting aside their spears to create a brief opening for Rean to slice through their formation, or Fie flanking them with a devastating surprise attack from the shadows forcing them to turn their backs to Laura, to Fie and Rean completely overwhelming them with their combined speed. Their combat link timing was impeccable and the time apart had done little to hinder their ability to read each others intentions. Add to that the overwhelming power of Airgetlam...
It was almost a mercy when the three girls pinned the students in place for Rean to end the fight with an efficient Gale.
"Dammit all..." Ares muttered in disbelief. "Have we been making any progress at all?" Laura couldn't help but wince a little at that. While it would have been impolite for her and the others to not take a duel seriously, she knew just how discouraging a one-sided defeat could be.
"There's no shame in being defeated by a foe like this. Take the opportunity to reflect on your flaws and use this loss as encouragement to continue your advancement." Klaus chided gently before turning towards her and the others. "I must say, however, that your teamwork was most impeccable, Lady Laura. To think that Class VII has come so far in such a short period of time, I know I am no longer a match for you. I suspect the four of you would even be able to give your father a hard fight." Somehow Laura doubted that, but she still nodded in appreciation of the sentiment all the same.
"Ain't that right." Toval commented as he and Emma approached the victorious group. "No clue how I would even begin to fight a group like yours. That combination of speed and power... Makes a guy feel old, ya know?"
Thankfully it seemed that the encouragement from the veterans was enough to perk the students back up. After taking a minute to recover and treat any accumulated scrapes the groups dispersed, with the Arseid practitioners going back to their training with renewed vigor while Class VII trekked to the Bracer Guild. After stopping in to get the details of the monster extermination request the team was ready to depart Legram.
But there was one oddity that she needed an answer for. "Um... Rean? Why are you hiding behind me?" Indeed their leader was now pressed up against her backside, clearly using her as a shield for some purpose.
A snort drew her attention to Fie. "I think it's cause of that." Following her outstretched finger Laura bore witness to three figures from afar glaring daggers at the boy cowering in her wake.
"Haha. I see you're acquainted with the young ladies of Legram." The bracer tilted his head in thought. "Although I suppose in your case the death glares are warranted. I wonder how they managed to find out?"
"Total jerk move on whoever blabbed." Fie deadpanned with a shrug, easily ignoring the look Laura shot her way.
After realizing the futility of trying to chastise her laid-back friend Laura let out a sigh. "Be that as it may, perhaps we should get going?"
It was only after they had put a distance between themselves and Legram that Rean emerged from her shadow and resumed his role at the front of the party, acting is if nothing had happened, much to the collective amusement of the rest of the group. From her understanding, both Valimar and the monster were located not all that far from town, but were both off the main highway, which meant they would need to be wary. Fortunately the monsters – although still clearly acting abnormal - seemed to have calmed down a bit with the dissipation of the mist, allowing the group to make steady progress.
They found Valimar exactly where Rean said they would and although this wasn't the first time Laura had beheld the Divine Knight, this was the first chance she got to truly take it in. Even though it was still slumped over - low on mana as Emma and Celine described it - it still held a majesty unlike anything else she had beheld. It was a weapon unlike any other and she was quite grateful that it was on their side.
With that finished their next task was to locate and exterminate the monster for the Bracer Guild. From the description given they knew to look for a large and very powerful simian-like monster called a Gordi Schnarr. Finding it was not a challenge at all, as it had cut a wide path of destruction through the wilderness and other monsters had decided to give it a wide berth.
Killing it on the other hand proved to be a surprisingly difficult task. The Gordi itself wasn't particularly skilled or fast, even if its raw strength was enough to make them wary of it. The true difficulty lie in the fact that it simply refused to die. It was able to regenerate cuts on a whim and even the more crippling blows they landed only hindered it briefly. And worst of all it seemed to have a temper to match its regenerative ability as it grew fierce with rage the more they attacked it, making it more unpredictable and dangerous. It was quickly turning into a battle of attrition that they could ill afford if they wanted to reach Bareahard that day.
Something that became readily apparent as the monster burst through their ranks – completely ignoring the grievous damage that she and the others had been inflicting upon it – to strike at their back lines, or more specifically, Emma. It was only thanks to a hastily constructed magical barrier that the witch was able to avoid crippling injury at the meaty fist of the large creature. Narrowing her eyes in indignant anger, Laura decided that she had had enough and seized the opening to charge herself for a Radiant Waltz. Through the combat link she currently shared with Millium she could feel the same fury from the diminutive girl as she transformed Airgetlam into a massive hammer in preparation for her own finishing strike.
The monstrous monkey, blinded by his rage as he was, failed to react to the dual threats until it was far too late. It only just began to turn before being hit by both attacks in the same instant. Not even its large mass was enough to keep it rooted in place as greatsword and hammer knocked the beast off the ground and sent it flying a fair distance away.
Amazingly, the Gordi Schnarr - despite the ruinous damage it had taken – was still alive and was getting back to its feet. As neither she nor her friends had any ideas on any limitations in its healing ability they once again prepared to engage lest it somehow recover from that powerful assault.
"Rise, great towers!" But as it turned out, there was little need for any of the physical fighters to do a thing. Although she knew Emma was slow to anger, even the kindly witch had her limits and it seemed that nearly being flattened by an overgrown simian was enough for her to reach it. Over the past month she had born witness to her magical skills first hand, and while Emma might never have a warrior's mindset like she and her closest friends possessed, the raw power she now freely wielded more than made up for it. "Lord Albireon!" Thus Laura was not at all surprised as a powerful beam of energy descended from the heavens with enough force to instantly vaporize the enemy.
After ensuring once and for all that the monster was truly dead the group allowed themselves a brief respite. That fight had been more exhausting than anticipated. Still, they had prevailed. While they rested Toval took the time to call back to Legram and inform Miles of mission completion.
After taking a few minutes to rest and recover the group returned to the highway and continued traveling north towards Bareahard. Laura was confident that barring further distractions they should arrive at the Verdant City shortly after noon, giving them plenty of time to come up with a plan to find and convince Jusis. Of course just getting in would require a plan, something which they were currently lacking...
So naturally just a few minutes later a distraction presented itself to Class VII. "Hey, Laura?" She turned in confusion towards the bracer. "That path over there..."
Following his gaze she identified the path in question. To an outside observer it looked just like any other natural path cutting away from the highway. However... "That's odd... I cannot recall having seen that path before...?"
"Dammit..." Toval was not the only one to react, as Rean, Fie, and Millium all stiffened, seemingly realizing something. Celine simply let out a bored yawn.
The swordswoman shared a glance with Emma, who shrugged in ignorance. It was Fie who came to their rescue. "Remember how I told you about the weird shrines we found near Garrelia and in Nord? Both of them were on paths that hadn't been there before."
"And you think one of them might be here as well...?"
"There's only one way to find out for sure." Rean stated, taking charge. "Let's go check it out."
Although she was not one to ever doubt the words of her dearest friends, actually seeing the mysterious and ancient shrine at the end of the path still caused her to stop short. There was no way that something like that should be there. It was impossible and yet it clearly wasn't.
She couldn't help but laugh lightly to herself. In other words, it was just another day with Class VII where such oddities occurred on a near daily basis.
"Actually, this is great." Fie mused aloud before pointing an accusatory finger towards Emma. "You must know about this, right? Your stupid cat refuses to say anything even though it's obvious she knows something."
"Hmph. How dare you call me stupid. I'm clearly more intelligent than you." The odd sight of her best friend and a cat engaged in a glaring contest was amusing to Laura, but she reluctantly focused her attention on the girl in question.
The young witched hummed thoughtfully. "I cannot say for sure, but I'm reminded of some stories my Grandmother told me when I was younger. About Spirit Shrines hidden throughout Erebonia that would only appear at certain times. It's possible that these were what she was referring to." She paused before her eyes widened in realization. "If so that would explain the recent arrival of cryptids and the presence of the higher elements across the land."
"Spirit Shrines..." Fie muttered the name aloud. Laura suspected that if nothing else the name was going to stick.
"I've been meaning to ask.." Rean began, finally entering the conversation. "You don't think this place has anything to do with the Divine Knights, do you? The higher elements were active in the old schoolhouse where we found Valimar, after all."
"Most likely, yes." She stated, before looking away sheepishly. "I'm afraid I don't know anything more specific than that, however."
It was Celine who came to her master's defense. "The knowledge witches have is gathered from bits and pieces of legends – there's still plenty missing."
"I'm pretty sure you're right, Rean." Since when did Fie become an expert on Spirit Shrines? "It would explain the weird visions you get whenever we go in."
"Hold up." Toval interjected. "Weird visions? First I'm hearing of this." It most certainly had not been in their recap of the previous month.
Millium too frowned thoughtfully. "Can't say I've heard it either."
"Right. Sorry about that. With everything that had been going on the visions managed to slip my mind."
The bracer shook his head with a disapproving frown. "Nuh uh. I get that we've been busy, but from my experiences strange visions from ancient ruins are generally a pretty big deal. You really should have told us about it."
Although Fie maintained her signature bored look, she raised two fingers to form a 'V'. "He told me. What can I say? Rean likes me more."
"Oooooh! I get it!" Millium exclaimed in the way she always would when she was about to say something wholly inappropriate. "This is what they mean by pillow talk, isn't it?!"
"That's exactly right." Fie nodded solemnly as Rean buried his head in his hands out of embarrassment.
Laura coughed awkwardly, both to draw attention to herself and to help will away her own redness. "Perhaps we should continue?" She paused to level a stern glare towards her beau. "And if you so happen to have another of these visions, you will be informing us of this. Am I understood?"
Seeing him flinch nervously under her stare brought a sense of satisfaction to her. "Of course. Like I said, I never meant to-" He trailed off, understanding that repeating his earlier excuse would not absolve him. "I've managed to figure a few things out about them, but I'll wait until we finish here for confirmation."
With that said the group of six (plus Celine) entered the shrine. From the others she knew to expect a place not dissimilar to the trials they had faced in prior months at the old schoolhouse, so seeing it for herself did not surprise her much. An ancient building filled with dangerous looking monsters while carrying a most oppressive atmosphere. At this point none of Class VII reacted to such challenges.
That being said... "Is it just me, or does this place appear a little... flooded?" She observed dryly. Very little of the shrine was actually explorable as water covered almost the entirety of the place. And swimming was out of the question as she could clearly see monsters infesting the waters.
"I'm not so sure that it's flooded as much as it was intentionally designed that way." Emma commented. "Look over there!" Following her gaze they discovered an ancient looking lever. Without waiting for input from the others Millium ran over and flipped the switch.
The results were immediate at the water level receded, creating a pathway for the group to cross. "As I thought." The witch muttered. "It seems that the element of water is dominant here."
"Oooh! I get it!" Millium commented cheerily. "The one we found in Nord was pure Gaius-approved wind."
"That would make the first shrine we encountered the earth element shrine." The swordsman pointed out.
Water, wind earth... "So I suppose that means there is a fire shrine somewhere in Erebonia too."
"Hundred mira says we're destined to run into it." Fie groused. "Glancing around it appeared that Laura was not the only one who knew not to take the bet." "Damn." Fie muttered with a shrug.
"The Aqua Shrine, the Aria Shrine, the Terra Shrine, and the Ignis Shrine." The haughty feline deigned to answer, confirming that she knew a lot more herself. "There are others too, but you needn't concern yourselves with them."
Although none of that knowledge assisted in their exploration much, having a better understanding of the situation made that conversation worthwhile. And so they progressed through the shrine, constantly fighting water-themed fiends while having to raise and lower the water level to proceed further. It was a dangerous trek, but Class VII were more than prepared and soon enough they reached the passageway at the end that would lead to the guardian of the place.
Fie let out a sigh as they prepared for the inevitable encounter awaiting them beyond the door. "It's gonna be more of those stupid demon faces again, isn't it?"
"Seems like it." Toval agreed miserably. "I'm as big a fan of fighting tough monsters as any, but even I start feeling a bit bored when it's the same stuff every time..."
Laura couldn't help but sweatdrop nervously at their lackadaisical attitudes. "Isn't it a good thing that we will be fighting enemies we already know how to best...?" Sure what she said was obviously correct, but deep down she couldn't help but agree with her friend and bracer. Fighting the same fiends over and over did sound rather unappealing...
"In that case, you and Emma can take care of it." Her best friend appeared behind her in a flash and began shoving her through the portal. "We'll cheer for you."
From behind her she heard Rean let out an amused sigh. "Alright, let's move out before Fie actually makes Laura fight them on her own."
Contrary to Fie's words, the others did not sit by idly once the expected demons appeared. Almost as soon as they had appeared her dearest Sylphid had darted into the fray, engaging the three masks with the quick grace and beauty Laura knew she possessed. Naturally, she and the others were not far behind as they spread out and began their group assault on the guardians.
Even though this was her first foray into a Spirit Shrine, through her link with Rean she was able to take advantage of his experience of having fought these enemies three times in the span of a week, allowing his knowledge to influence her movements. The aqua variant did unleash a couple attacks that her partner was unfamiliar with, but generally speaking the entire battle was handled with mechanical precision.
Once finished with the unfulfilling battle the group moved to investigate the door, although from what she understood it was more professional courtesy than any real belief that they would find something. Even as she walked around the room she kept one eye locked firmly on Rean and she had a feeling she was not alone in that matter. So when he paused briefly before raising a hand to his head as if warding off a headache... "Was that it?"
"Y-Yeah, it was." He muttered as he seemingly regained his bearings. "We should probably get out of here." Under her stern frown he wilted. "I promise I will tell you guys what I saw once we're outside, alright?"
That was enough to mollify her. If nothing else she knew that Rean was not the kind of person to go back on his word. Still, it was hard to hide her impatience, especially as the others seemed to share in that sentiment. It took a reassuring squeeze from her to Fie's shoulder to get the anxious girl to relent on her own frown as the two quietly followed the others out of the room and through the ever reliable teleporter.
Once back on the road to Bareahard he began, first detailing his first two visions and the hypothesis that they were somehow related to Emperor Dreichels. Although history was not her strongest sibject even she could recognize the mentioned scenes as being related to that famous emperor. And she was especially sure of it as he recounted his most recent memory.
One did not need to proudly possess the name Sandlot like she did to immediately recognize the story of a young Dreichels meeting Lianne Sandlot and her Eisenritter for the first time. It was one of the key events that would lead to the end of the War of the Lions and the birth of the modern Erebonia, after all. So hearing Rean recount a brief fragment of that tale in perfect detail was enough for her to believe his theory without a doubt.
But that just begged the question of why? Their theory that it was somehow related to the Divine Knights seemed likely, but what was the connection to the Lionheart Emperor? And given the parallels between this civil war and that infamous war hundreds of years ago she couldn't help but feel the tinge of unease about what it could mean for their future.
"Mira for your thoughts?" She was broken from her musings by Fie, whom she didn't even notice was now walking alongside her. Said girl smirked at her obvious surprise. "You seem out of it."
"It is nothing. Just lost in my thoughts for a moment there." The way the former jaeger's eyes narrowed made it clear that such an answer was insufficient. Despite her aloof attitude the girl really was curious. Just like a cat. The analogy was enough for her to giggle, which only caused Fie further annoyance. "Sorry. I was just thinking about what Rean's visions mean. I cannot help but see the similarities between this war and the one Dreichels was in. I feel... uneasy, as if Rean has been caught up in something beyond our understanding or control."
Fie hummed thoughtfully. "We've seen enough weird stuff this year that I can't disagree entirely, but at the same time I kinda do. Sure there's probably some occult stuff going on, but this is a war. and war is messy. It's unpredictable. This entire situation is beyond our control and understanding. People will do dumb things and even the most detailed plans can get messed up. Nothing is ever assured." Was this supposed to be a pep talk? Fie too seemed to notice her dour words and shook her head. "What I'm trying to say is that it's pointless to worry about everything. All we can do is trust in our skills and our friends and hope that everything works out for the best."
It still wasn't the most inspiring speech ever, but she could tell that Fie was speaking from experience. "Ignore the stuff we cannot control and focus on what we can, huh?" That was logic she could get behind.
"Yup. Still..." The silver-haired girl let out a sigh. "Starting to get the feeling it's gonna be a total pain."
"Getting cold feet?" She teased.
That caused Fie to smirk and shake her head. "Nah. The greater the challenge the greater the reward."
"Indeed. Something else that jaegers and sword practitioners share in common. I wonder what our reward shall be..."
"Exactly." There was something behind her gaze as she lingered on Laura for a few seconds, before switching back to her usual teasing look. "Speaking of, did you think about what I said yesterday?"
With a supreme effort of will Laura managed to keep her face from heating up at the memory. "Some. I am... unsure, but have decided to shelve the thought for now. We need to focus on the mission first."
"Boring, but practical." Her companion nodded approvingly. "Still haven't figured out how we're supposed to sneak into Bareahard."
It was concerning when even their stealth specialist was drawing a blank. "I am sure we will find a way." She reassured, even if there was little real reason for her optimism.
"Is everything alright?" It seems that their conversation was no longer unnoticed as Rean and the others were gazing at the two warriors.
"It is." Laura reassured as she and Fie moved to rejoin the others. She couldn't help but notice that they had ended up taking flanking positions around Rean. It was fitting, she supposed. The future was murky and dangerous, but it was their strength that would ensure the happiness that they and the rest of Class VII shared would endure the dark days ahead. As long as she believed in herself, her skill, and her bonds there was no obstacle that they could not overcome.