The hardest part of every battle was the wait.
It was something that Fie understood intrinsically, both from her time with Zephyr and with Class VII. There was very little time to think once the fighting began. It was such a simple thing once the fighting began to fall back on training, instincts, and pure adrenaline.
But the hours before the fighting began? There was nothing to do but think.
It didn't help that the battle they were about to take part in would almost certainly be the decisive one. It was painfully obvious to everyone on board the Courageous that the next few hours would decide the fate of the war, and even if they weren't fighting on the front lines alongside the army, the fighting they were about to be a part of promised to be the most intense.
The tension was so thick that not even she could bring herself to relax or joke around with the others. Even if Fie could no longer deny that she had become a hopeful idealist like the rest, it was tempered with her past experiences: The upcoming battle was gonna be ugly.
It was a shame, cause the morning had started so good. They hadn't done anything but sleep, her success at getting them into the same bed with no clothes ensured a very awkward and messy morning. A few choice comments had gotten the two nobles so flustered that they hadn't been able to make eye contact with her or each other for a good hour after getting up.
She did make a mental note that they needed to seriously find a bigger bed after all this. As much fun as it was to sleep with her loved ones it definitely wasn't the most comfortable experience. Even benches were decidedly more comfortable than what she had just gone through!
As if her body decided to agree with her Fie found herself yawning, something which drew a few annoyed looks. She merely shrugged. What, was she not supposed to do the thing her body wanted her to do?
After that fun morning they had gone to meetup with everyone before departing on the airship. And when she said everyone she meant it. Nearly every student from Thors was participating in the upcoming operation, even if only a few of them would be fighting directly. Thus they were forced to sit through a speech from the principal before departure. It was your standard dull pre-battle speech, but at least it was a little more interesting than the one they had to sit through on their first day at school.
While the other classes got ready, she and the rest of Class VII accompanied Rean and Valimar to where his now finished sword was. She was no expert on sword craftsmanship and mana and all the other weird Divine Knight stuff, but as she watched Valimar take hold of the sword even she could tell that something was different from the previous day. Even if she didn't know what it was she knew that it was a good thing.
After all that morning excitement... Yep. They were all on standby. They couldn't move until the Imperial Army did, as assaulting Heimdallr without them to draw off the majority of the nobles would be kinda suicidal. And the Imperial Army wasn't moving until the clock told them to, and since staring at the clock made it move even slower...
Yeah. It was a long wait.
Mercifully, the clock did eventually tick, and ticked again, and again, and again, until finally striking noon. While they still had a few minutes Fie knew that now was when the main battle was to begin. The 3rd and 4th Armored Divisions would be engaging the elite forces the Noble Alliance had pulled from the western theaters to defend the capital. While she had only seen those two generals once at a distance in Legram she could tell that they were the real deals.
The army was in for a rough fight.
"Alright, everyone!" Sara clapped to get their attention, not that it was needed, "The Villa isn't as big as the fortresses you've assaulted, so once again we're gonna be splitting into two teams. Rean, I want you to take Machias, Millium, Fie, Emma, and Gaius and assault the place directly. You'll be Group A. Laura, Alisa, Jusis, and Elliot are with me. We'll support the others in holding the Imperial Guard off."
Seeing the old woman actually take charge for once in her life only reinforced how dangerous the upcoming mission was. It was a bit of a bummer that Laura would be on the other team, but considering they would be facing all of the enemies reinforcements it was probably a good thing that she and Sara were there to lead them.
The sound of the Courageous' engine let her know they were beginning to move. Given the enclosed location of the villa she understood that they were gonna be flying right over Heimdallr. It was a little disconcerting to know that the only thing standing between them and all the anti-aircraft weaponry around the capital was the soldier's hopeful reluctance to shoot down the princess.
Everyone dispersed to do whatever last minute preparations they needed to get ready for battle. She too got to work, but there wasn't all that much for someone like her to do. Finally having restocked her tools was a nice feeling, but it wasn't as if anyone would let her blow up a chunk of the fancy palace... unfortunately.
The announcement from Towa that they were nearing the Karel Imperial Villa caused them to reconvene near the ship's exit, alongside Edel and everyone else who was planning to fight. Having allies for the fight was kinda nice, even if her group was the ones solely responsible for rescuing Rean's sister, Machias' dad, and the royal family.
The feeling of touchdown was the only signal that their long wait was finally at an end. Adrenaline spiked as she raced out of the ship, using her prodigal speed to be the first one on the ground. A quick glance showed no hostiles in their immediate vicinity, but sharp hearing picked up the sound of yelling and approaching vehicles.
It would seem that the garrisoning forces were quick to pick up on their mission and enemy reinforcements were already closing in.
The sight of two armored cars in the enemy vanguard was a little concerning, but she had faith in Laura in the others. The Arseid was already in her stance with sword drawn as she stood her ground against the upcoming forces. Instead of speaking Fie opted to slug her girlfriend on the shoulder in a show of support before rushing up the pathway to the villa alongside Rean and the others.
She didn't look back as the sound of combat began behind them, as already soldiers and military monsters were exiting the building to intercept them. Despite the imminent threat she couldn't help but grin as she prepared for battle.
Waiting was the hardest part. What came next would be a piece of cake in comparison.
Despite the battle raging around her Laura couldn't help but spare a glance towards the Villa as her friends entered the building after dispatching the first line of defense. While she held the utmost confidence in her classmates a part of her wished to be there in the assault with them. Still, even if it wasn't where she wished to be there was no denying the importance of her current fight.
...A point that was reinforced as one of the Noble Alliance's armored cars chose that moment to turn its heavy machine gun on her.
With a grunt the heiress dove out of the way, avoiding the spray of bullets by a rege. Scrambling to her feet she cleaved her blade into the ground, unleashing a shockwave of energy that impacted the armored car. It did no real damage, but it was enough to throw off the gunner's aim long enough for her to charge into a group of approaching soldiers where the cannon wouldn't risk following.
Finding herself alone among enemies should have been concerning, but the majority of the soldiers had been more focused on taking shots at her allies and were caught completely off guard by her sudden arrival. With a wide circular slash she immediately broke their formation, scattering most of the guardsmen while a few unfortunate souls found themselves knocked unconscious when they were struck directly by the flat edge of her weapon.
Seeing the approach of Friedel and Loggins, Laura elected to leave the stragglers to them. Instead she turned her focus back on the armored car that had taken shots at her initially. After turning away from her it had focused its attention towards the students who fought at range, and even now was pinning both Alisa and Ferris with its withering fire.
The gunner on the vehicle noticed the charging Arseid, but by the time he swiveled the gun towards her it was far too late. Despite its name armored cars still possessed far less armor than a tank or a soldat, and that was something she was more than happy to exploit. Her greatsword cleaved through the front of the vehicle with contemptuous ease, impacting the orbal engine and causing it to spark dangerously. While she failed to understand the technical intricacies of the car, seeing the crew rush to abandon the vehicle gave her a good idea as to what was about to happen.
...She was kinda gladdened that Fie wasn't around as that annoying girl might have made a snarky comment about her ability to destroy technology with ease.
Even as the first armored car turned into a fiery ball the second also went silent, albeit less destructively as Patrick and a pair of his classmates managed to overrun the vehicle to force the surrender of its crew. The remaining noble forces seemed to lose heart and flee. With the enemies in retreat she returned to the others and was relieved to see that outside of a few minor injuries that were already being treated everyone was still healthy and fresh.
"Those were just the troops stationed nearby. The next assault will be much bigger. I wouldn't be surprised if we see a couple soldats soon enough."
It was as if the world was conspiring to prove their instructor right as almost immediately after she finished speaking the now familiar sounds of a soldat on approach reached her ears. Class I and some of the other fighters began to look quite nervous at the prospect of facing one of those massive weapons, but Laura offered them a reassuring smile, "Fear not! Though they may be formidable weapons, we in Class VII have faced them down multiple times already. They can be beaten!"
She wasn't lying, but she did fail to mention that most of those encounters were won by Rean in his Divine Knight. What they didn't know wouldn't hurt them, right? At least there was still that one encounter where they defeated a Drakkhen outside of Trista as a class.
...Which was followed shortly after by Scarlet's Spiegel shrugging off their best efforts like it was nothing.
Fortunately Laura saw none of those advanced models in the group that was now in sight of her position, but the pair of Drakkhens was still unsettling enough. That the rifle-wielding robots were accompanying a few dozen soldiers ensured the defenders of the Courageous had a difficult fight ahead of them if they wished to hold this position.
She was just about to move in and engage the new enemies when she was stopped by a hand on her shoulder and the feeling of a combat link being established. Turning, she saw it was her instructor, "Let the others handle the small fry 'cause I'm gonna need your help in taking down those big boys."
"Understood!" Any misgivings she had about facing those monstrosities was offset by the natural ease one felt when following an order. Not to mention she had already witnessed her teacher facing down these same machines during the battle at Trista two months prior. That Instructor Sara was entrusting her to back her up caused the swordswoman to feel a swell of confidence.
Evading a battle while her friends fought wasn't something she was keen on doing, but she knew the instructor was right in skirting around the edge of the melee that formed after the clash of the two sides. The soldats were the biggest threats by far, and letting them near the Courageous was inviting disaster. They needed to be stopped as quickly as possible.
A few soldiers seemed to notice their actions and moved to intercept, but the bracer dispatched them with the same ease she dismantled Rean, Jusis, and Machias during their second combat test. It was strange watching the older woman take combat seriously for a change, but it was also a stark reminder that despite how cool Instructor Sara tried – and often failed - to act, at the end of the day she was one of Erebonia's elites, nearly on par with her father.
Watching her fight served as a reminder just how far Laura still had to go if she wanted to reach the pinnacle of martial mastery.
The nearer of the two soldats seemed to notice their approach as it leveled its massive rifle upon them. Not wanting any part of a cannon capable of coring a tank the two women split up just as it began firing. The crater that remained where she had been standing a second ago served as testament to the wisdom of that evasive action.
Annoyingly, the Drakkhen kept pursuing her, forcing the Arseid to abandon any pretense of assault in favor of survival. Round after round impacted around her, but she remained calm and relied upon her insight of battle to keep away from the incoming rounds. A few close calls were a cause for alarm, but it was too late for her to reconsider her action. She just needed to keep its attention until-
"Look up here, you bastard!" Laura wasn't sure if Sara's shout was enough to get the Drakkhen's attention, but the bullets she fired into the soldat's head made it a moot point. Somehow the instructor had found a vantage point that allowed her to leap onto the machine and scale the body in an acrobatic display that would have made Fie proud.
The soldat treated their instructor the same way Laura would treat an annoying fly that was buzzing around her head as it tried to swat her away from it. And yet Instructor Sara played the role of the fly quite well, expertly evading the clumsy swipes directed towards her while remaining as annoying as possible. Still, its efforts were at least enough to keep the older woman from scoring a decisive blow against the vulnerable cockpit.
But in so doing it had chosen to completely neglect Laura, and she was determined to make it pay for its inattentiveness. With it so distracted there was little stopping her from preparing her strongest move before charging towards the nearer of the two legs. With blade aglow in radiant energy she unleashed her Radiant Lion upon the unsuspecting machine.
The hardest thing with training is to remain motivated despite being unable to notice your self-improvement. It's easy to notice the effort required, the pain suffered, and exhaustion endured, but seeing the improvement of ones skill and body is an entirely different matter. It can be a demoralizing experience when you can't see your progress, which explains why so many fledgling martial artists drop out before reaching their pinnacle.
Yet as her attack connected with the enemy machine her growth was put on display for her to see clearly. Back at Trista it had taken the combined efforts of nearly all of Class VII to take down a single soldat, with her needing Millium's assistance to land a blow powerful enough to force it to a knee. It had been a hard fought victory.
Now? She could only stare in awe as her blade managed to cut completely through the armor of that lower limb, digging all the way into the internal structure before getting lodged inside. Tacitly understanding what was about to happen she grunted as she withdrew the blade with some effort before leaping away in haste. An action that was just in time as the Drakkhen finally succumbed to gravity's embrace as the leg gave way beneath it.
In such a state it was trivial for Instructor Sara to finish the stricken machine off, simply driving her shorter blade deep into the now exposed head. The soldat crumpled down like a marionette without its strings as the cockpit opened and the pilot made his escape. Neither Class VII member bothered to pursue as a pilot without a machine was no longer a threat.
As much as Laura wished to savor this success she knew that now was not the time. A point reinforced as her teacher leapt off the destroyed machine and landed beside her, "Nice work. Ready for the other one?"
It was as she said. The other soldat was backing up as it warily eyed what the two women had done to its partner, but it was still a deadly machine. There were still plenty of soldiers fighting, and the possibility of more reinforcements still existed. This battle was far from over.
And yet, she wasn't worried. If her job in this operation was to hold the line then it was a job that she would do to the upmost of her abilities. Rean and the others would have all the time they needed to secure the villa because she would not allow a single member of the Noble Alliance to pass.
"I can't wait for this war to be over. I'm so sick of fighting the same guards, archaisms, and military monsters over and over again."
"That's what you're excited for!?"
Fie could only shrug at Machias' disbelieving stare. "What? It's so dull! It's just the same fight over and over again!" Sure the soldiers might be a little more trained and the archaisms had a different color scheme denoting a slight increase in specs, but she and the other students were rapidly outpacing the growth of their enemies.
Gaius let out a chuckle before glancing around at the remains of the battle they had just finished, "She does have a point. Given the number of enemies we just encountered and the fact they were guarding this door fervently it's safe to assume we've reached our destination, and yet the battle itself was surprisingly simple."
"Hehe! We just rock!" Millium cheered, "What do you say, Rean? Ready to kick down this door and save your sister?"
He opened his mouth to agree – Fie was kinda surprised he hadn't already kicked in the door to be honest – when Emma cut him off, "We should make sure we're prepared. I sense a familiar energy inside the room. It might be dangerous!"
Rean's faced briefly flashed with uncharacteristic annoyance, but he quickly pulled himself together and let out a sigh, "Emma's right. Let's make sure we're all prepared before we enter."
While the witch went around healing whatever minor injuries had accumulated and everyone took the moment to regain lost energy, Fie found herself focused on the anxious swordsman. It was obvious to her that each second he spent not rescuing his sister was chewing him up inside. Sliding up to him she took his hand into her own, "Relax. We'll get her back."
A little of the tension left his body as he smiled down at her, "I know. I'm just anxious. We're so close now..."
"We are, but it won't matter much if you fall apart on us. You're our leader. We need you."
Rean let out a snort, "I think you underestimate everyone. I'm sure you and the others would be able to pick up the slack for me."
"And I think you underestimate yourself." She closed her eyes in blissful appreciation as he placed his hand on her head, "Dunno about the others, but I would be lost again without you."
"Fie..." The two fell into a peaceful silence as he began to pat her head. Some of the others gave them weird looks, but it was worth it as Rean seemed to relax.
...Not to mention just how good it made her feel.
Naturally, Fie being Fie grinned as she saw a chance to tease her partner, "You should probably be thinking about how you're gonna explain to your sister about all the naughty things you've been doing."
"F-Fie!" Moment ruined, but the horrified look he shot her was well worth it, "Elise doesn't need to know about that!"
"Her best friend is Princess Alfin." That simple point shut him down quickly.
Rean no longer looked anxious as he glanced around. Instead his gaze was filled with trepidation, "...Is everyone ready?" With unanimous nods all around he gave the order to enter. Naturally it was Millium who fulfilled her desire to kick open the expensive looking door... with Lammy. That poor poor door.
Fie had been expecting hostiles to be waiting for them immediately, but surprisingly the room was devoid of anyone save for the people they were rescuing. Still, even as Rean and Machias rushed over to their respective loved ones she held back a bit, casting a wary gaze around the room. Just because the enemy wasn't present didn't mean they weren't there.
"R-Rean? Is that... Is that really you?"
"It is! It's me! I'm so glad your safe!"
...Of course even if she was wary of the entire situation she couldn't help but find enjoyment in the wholesome site of the two Schwarzer siblings finally reuniting with a big hug. She knew just how much Erebonia's most overprotective big brother had been suffering from the kidnapping and how getting her back was one of his main objectives in this war.
Machias reuniting with his dad was also good, she supposed, even if their reunion was a lot lamer in comparison.
"Class VII, was it? Thank you for coming to our rescue." Heh. With all the ongoing emotional moments the Emperor and Empress had gone practically unnoticed. Luckily for them the two seemed to take it in good humor. No sign of the prince, though.
"I'm relieved to see everyone here's all right." Emma said what all the students were thinking. It was almost enough for Fie to relax her guard.
"That's far enough."
Almost.
Fie would always consider stealth fields to be inferior to the real thing, but seeing Millium's rival appear out of thin air in front of them was undoubtedly effective. "Altina! Did you know we were coming?"
Rean brought up a good question, one that Altina seemed surprisingly inclined to answer, "Affirmative. I received instructions from Lord Rufus to wait here for you."
"He really never misses a beat, does he?" Were the circumstances not so dangerous Fie would have teased Machias for his grudging respect towards Jusis' brother.
"Oh, hey." Millium stepped forward, curiosity brimming in her eyes, "I've been meaning to ask you this for a while. You aren't my sister, are you?"
"...In a sense. Do keep in mind that our purposes differ to some extent, however."
That certainly wasn't what Fie expected to hear, and yet her friend seemed to take it in complete stride, "Oh. 'Kay."
"I can't deny being curious about who you really are, but now isn't the time to get to the bottom of that. If you intend to stand in our way, then we intend to remove you by force!" Any conflict Rean had about attacking a small child was more than offset by his need to protect the sister that he was now standing protectively in front of.
"I see no meaning in negotiating further. And while I remain partially reluctant, I will rely on the society's contraptions for backup."
In a now very familiar action to the students of Class VII, their opponent snapped her fingers and immediately a pair of Zephyranthes appeared to flank her. Fie let out a tired sigh. Her complaints about fighting the same enemies over and over were proving more true every moment.
"Good luck, everyone!" Thankfully for them Elise and the other hostages had the good sense to put some distance between the opposing forces. Much easier to fight without bystanders in the way.
"Black Rabbit, Altina. Model name Oz74. Commencing operation."
"Woah! Crazy! Yours is just one off mine! Let's do this, Lammy!"
With that interesting little tidbit the battle began in earnest. Both of the combat shell wielders seemed entirely focused on each other and so Fie opted to go after one of the Zephyranthes, at least for now - Millium could have her duel, but she wasn't against taking a cheap shot if it looked like her friend was in need of it.
The others seemed to have the same idea as everyone went after the archaisms, and with five of them against two machines it meant an uneven split. Ending up on the smaller team was a bit annoying, but given that her partner was Rean she'd happily accept it. Even with the numbers disadvantage she was confident that they could win before the other team.
The archaism wasn't content to let them come up with a plan, instead opting to fire a giant laser at the duo. They easily dodged it, but Fie couldn't help but glance over towards the Emperor after the beam blew a huge chunk out of the nearby wall. Hopefully the guy wouldn't mind too much that they were ruining his fancy villa.
Pushing thoughts of collateral damage aside the jaeger raced towards her opponent with the swordsman a half-step behind. She belatedly realized that even without any planning or reliance on their combat links they had instantly fallen into one of their tried and true tactics, one that had proven especially useful during those rare spars when they had ganged up on Laura.
By being the quicker of the two she had taken up the role of bait. As the Zephyranthes focused its attention on her she grinned. The barrage of missiles it fired towards her would have been dangerous in a normal situation, but her intent had never been to attack anyways. Instead she swerved out of the way, using her natural speed and evasion to dart between the incoming explosives.
Once Laura made the mistake of ignoring her feint, but Fie used that unexpected opening to prove just how adaptable she could be by instantly turning the feint into a full attack. Good times.
Having expended its attack on her left it completely open for Rean, and the swordsman was quick to take advantage of it to close the gap. With an opening wide enough for one good attack Fie placed her mira on it being his Flame Dragon, and much to her delight she was proven right. The only reason his attack failed to instantly slag the machine was because it turned at the last second, but the flaming strike still managed to cleanly slice through an arm.
Fie was too opportunistic a fighter to not take advantage of the archaism as it flailed about desperately while trying to balance itself after the loss of a limb. While her gunblades might normally struggle with such heavy armor, having a gaping hole where the arm used to be presented too juicy a target for her to not thrust her blades into. With her weapons firmly lodged into the internals of the dying archaism she fired her guns over and over until it finally shut itself off and collapsed to the ground.
With her enemy vanquished the silver-haired girl scoped out the other fights. She felt a sense of smug satisfaction as while she could see that while Machias, Emma, and Gaius were doing well against their own archaism, they hadn't actually won yet, thus making her and Rean the victor in the unspoken challenge. Something she fully intended to tease them about later.
The battle between 'sisters' was far more interesting to the former jaeger. Seeing the two combat shells going at it with fists and lasers was pretty cool. The two seemed at a stalemate, with Millium's enthusiastic control of Airgetlam being stymied by Altina's far quieter commands to Claiomh Solais.
Even if she had no intention of intervening directly in that moment she still found herself subconsciously moving to place her body between the hostages and the laser spewing death robots.
The stalemate ended when the second Zephyranthes finally went down. It was enough to divert Altina's attention for the briefest of moments, which was more than enough for Lammy to charge in with its arm cocked fully back. The black-themed girl tried to respond to the dangerous attack, but her command for a barrier was a little slow and the result was an attack that knocked the machine and operator back many arge.
Altina seemed to realize the battle was against her as she got onto her shell and flew away to a higher level. Fie noticed that she wasn't fully retreating from the area, but as long as she was content to remain up there then Fie was content to keep and eye on her while Rean and Machias continued their tearful reunions.
"Haha... Looks like our plan was a perfect success." Oh, hey. Standing at the door was Sara, Laura, and the rest of Class VII. Guess that meant that the nobles had stopped sending troops once they realized Class VII's liberation mission couldn't be stopped.
The emperor stepped forward, "Rean Schwarzer, as well as each of the other members of Class VII... you have my most sincere gratitude for what you have done. My alma mater seems to be raising truly exceptional students these days. I couldn't be happier."
"You attended Thors as well, Your Majesty?"
He nodded to Jusis' question, "That I did. It's a longstanding tradition that the men of the Imperial family attend the academy. Olivert did in his younger years, and Aidios willing, Cedric will as well..."
She couldn't notice the pained looked that crossed both he and the Empress' face at that final bit. It was Laura that asked the question on all of their minds, "Where is the crown prince?"
"The crown prince was taken from here several days ago." Machias' dad answered, "We were told he was going to somewhere in Heimdallr, but nothing beyond that."
"If you're looking for the crown prince, he's been escorted to the palace." Altina interjected herself into their conversation.
"For what possible reason could he have been taken there?" Elise asked.
That Altina seemed willing to answer was suspicious as hell, but it wasn't as if they had any better leads to go on, "To cooperate in a ritual. Specifically, Duke Cayenne wishes to use the crown prince in a ritual which will be conducted shortly."
Her words caused a murmur to go through the assorted crowd. Whatever she was talking about sounded really bad to Fie. "Sounds like you've got a lot of juicy information you're going to be sharing with us." Sara informed the girl harshly.
"My thoughts exactly. Fie! Millium!"
"On it." Huh. Nice. She didn't think Rean remembered she still had her grappling hook. Regardless, with the order given she was quick to spring into action. With her trademark burst of speed and a quick grapple the former jaeger found herself face to face with a wide-eyed Altina, gunblades at the ready. Any thoughts of escaping were put on pause when Millium arrived atop her combat shell, blocking off the other side. "Stay right where you are."
Black Rabbit seemed to accept her capture as her face returned to its usual stoicism, "...I know little more about the ritual than you do. One thing I do know, however, is that you're too late to stop it from taking place." Well, that definitely sounded bad.
But even that paled in comparison to what they heard next. Singing. And not just any singing, but it was the same singing they had heard back in the classroom when everything went to Gehenna. A singing that only the Second Anguis of Ouroboros was capable of unleashing.
"No... This... This can't be happening..."
"What's wrong, Emma?"
"This song is the Hexen Clan's most strictly forbidden incantation. A song to summon the Vermillion Despair from the deepest darkness... Lucifen Lied!"
There was so much there that Fie didn't understand at all, but Emma's panicked expression told a different story. Plus, anything named the 'Vermillion Despair' had to be bad news.
And bad news it was as the ground immediately started shaking. The confusion and fear in the room was palpable until a resigned Emperor Eugent grimly told them that the source would be Valflame Palace, causing all of Class VII and the freed hostages to seek out the nearest windows. What Fie saw was so startling that she forgot to keep tabs on Altina and allowed the smaller girl to make an escape.
But how could she be blamed when the gaudy palace that dominated Heimdallr was being replaced by something no less gaudy but far more ominous looking? A massive red castle had taken its place and was emanating an eerie miasma that was now spreading through the city. Whatever it was was clearly dangerous and even she felt the urge to flee far away and leave things to the pros.
And yet, glancing back at Rean she saw a determined face as he stared at the evil castle, and it didn't take her long to put the pieces together. Crow was there which meant Rean had to go there. And if Rean was going there than so was she. And Crow wouldn't be the only person there, would he?
Fie fought down her nerves as she once again gazed at their final destination. Xeno, Leo, Crow...
This would almost certainly be their final battle of this war.
Did you know that when I reached the CS2 portion of the plot I estimated it would 'only' take 20-25 chapters to get through? For some reason my brain decided that the shortest game in the arc would be a short one to write. I am such an idiot.
Still, we're officially in the endgame now. Just a few more chapters until we reach a large period of uncharted territory...
Hope you're looking forward to it!