Here we are at Chapter 51. It's about to get scarier for Fuyumi and her friends now. I do not own Code Vein or Skeleton Knight. They belong to their respective owners. I only own my OCs. Here's chapter 51. Enjoy.
Chapter 51: Day of the Dead
The Lost race out of the forest in droves, killing everything in sight regardless if they're with the empire, the conclave, or the kingdom. The Lost, driven by a thirst that will never be quenched, are ravenous. Fuyumi watches as he chaos spread closer and closer to her side.
"The Lost? Here? How?" Fuyumi mutters.
When the mages spot the Lost, their reaction is as expected, "Demons! It's a horde of demons!"
They flip out, caught between a horde of monsters and the kingdom's soldiers. Fuyumi decides to pull back to her allies' side and regroup.
"Fuyumi, what are the Lost doing here?!" Iris asks.
"I don't know. But, I have a good idea about who sent them. Get our forces regrouped. We can't let that horde spread deeper into the kingdom. If they do, who knows how many lives will be lost. They're berserkers without fear. There's no reasoning with them," Fuyumi replies.
Iris nods before moving back to the soldiers. Meanwhile, Fuyumi turns back to the wave of chaos heading towards her. There are so many of them. More than she's ever faced, even in the game. It won't be long before the imperial forces are decimated, and the conclave's forces are cutting their losses and trying to make a hasty retreat. But, more Lost are waiting for them. When the Lost turn their attention to Fuyumi and her allies, that's when she makes her move. Fuyumi casts Meteor Crush again, sending a meteor shower raining down on the Lost. She needs their attention on her. They charge, and Fuyumi teleports into the middle of them before casting Hoarfrost Stream. The freezing beam spins around her, taking out a large number of Lost around her. Two Lost charge at her, but she deflects the strike of one and swings her blade through its neck, followed by jumping over the second and stabbing her blade through its chest. The Lost don't stop and keep coming, even as their allies dissipate into dust. One, two, five, nine; Fuyumi cuts them down one after the other. But, there are too many of them. One Lost attacks her left flank, only to get cut down by Iris.
"Iris!" Fuyumi yells.
"Fuyumi, the kingdom's forces have regrouped. We need to-," Iris stops to cut down another Lost. "We need to move now!"
Fuyumi grabs Iris and teleports away from the Lost and back to their allies. Unfortunately, the Lost are already on the kingdom's forces. She's told her closest allies about the dangers of the Lost, but not everyone knows about them. The soldiers have no idea how to react other than fear and terror at this new, unknown, grotesque threat. Some try to fight back, while others try to make a break for it.
"Fuyumi!" Hikaru rejoins them along with Anelia and Elane. "The formations are falling apart,"
"Okay, Anelia and Elane, help get the wounded out of here. Iris, aid the officers in getting the soldiers back together. If they lose their minds here, we're all dead. Hikaru, you're with me. We need to take out these Lost as quickly as possible," Fuyumi says.
The girls nod and go about their respective tasks. Hikaru shifts into her dragon form, breathing fire down on the Lost before taking flight. Meanwhile, Fuyumi continues to slice through and blast away the Lost as they come up.
"Come on! Everyone into defensive formations! These things go down if you kill them the same way you kill normal humans. If we falter here, then these monsters will continue until their reach your families and loved ones. Remember their faces and why you fight! Now is the time to show the kingdom and the whole land what you're made of. For Anatolia!" Iris calls out to the troops, her sword raised high into the air.
Her words seem to inspire the troops and get them out of their fearful craze. They regroup with large shields at the front, spears in between, and bowmen at the rear. The Lost are fearless and monstrous, but they're not intelligent. They race towards the soldiers and crash into their shields. The soldiers did their best to hold them back while the spearman thrust their weapons through th Lost. Some Lost, even after being impaled, would still move and try to rip their eyes out, but a few more spears would solve that problem. From the air, Hikaru performs bombing runs, raining fire down on the Lost and using the flames to keep them boxed in. Meanwhile, Fuyumi is still right in the middle of the action. She's lost count on how many Lost she's killed at this point.
"Where the Hell did they get so many of these monsters? Unless..." Fuyumi mutters before a thought occurs to her. "Wait, don't tell me... the kidnapping victims...!"
Now she realizes why they have so many. All those that were kidnapped for the slave trade were used to create more Lost. Some of these Lot could be formers elves or beastmen. Some of the elves may even be those from Elane's village. And now she knows where they went.
"The empire... They really have no shame. To think they would create these monsters," Fuyumi mutters with anger.
She slices through another Lost and glances back at her allies. They seem to be keeping the defensive up, but after a tough battle with the empire and the conclave, and then seeing the horrors before them, it's no wonder that they're getting tired and losing their momentum. Soon, the Lost start punching holes through the kingdom's defenses. They do no hesitate to slaughter anything in their path. In the middle of the chaotic melee, Iris and Elane fight off the Lost while Anelia provides support with her magic. At this rate, it won't be long before the kingdom's forces are routed. Even with Hikaru's aid from above, it's still not enough. Fuyumi can't let that happen. She can't let her home fall and her loved ones die. She knows what she needs to do, even if it may cost her deeply. In the middle of the melee, her and Iris's eyes meet and Fuyumi gives an apologetic smile.
"I'm sorry," Fuyumi mouths the world to her fiance.
"Fuyumi?" Iris mutters.
Fuyumi turns to the horde of the Lost and casts the one gift she never really used before: Final Journey. Immediately, she feels all the power she used up before rush back into her like a flood and then spread outward around her body. She can feel her strength increase to incredible levels. In the air, Hikaru can sense the change in energy around Fuyumi and glances down at her. Fuyumi suddenly shoots into the horde of Lost, slicing down several of them in a single moment. She casts spells faster than before, with each being more powerful than they usually are. The Lost fall in droves and the chaos draws the rest of them towards her. Her allies watch in awe as she takes out the Lost single handedly. The remaining allied soldiers use this chance to fall back and regroup.
"Fuyumi," Anelia mutters as she watches her fiance fight with everything she has.
No matter how many of the Lost swarm on Fuyumi, she cuts them all down or blasts them away with her gifts. With the added power boost, Fuyumi casts Rage of Perkunas, unleashing a massive lightning explosion in the plains, taking out dozens of Lost in a single moment. She would cast this same gift a few more times to deal as much damage as quickly as possible. Soon enough, the Lost's numbers thin out. When the dust finally settles, Fuyumi stands over the vanishing corpses of the monsters. Her friends rush out to meet her, and Hikaru shifts forms as she joins them.
"Fuyumi, are you okay?" Hikaru asks.
Fuyumi is about to reply when she feels something within her. Final Journey's limit has come. Suddenly, her body pulses and blood explodes out across her body. Blood even comes out of her mouth, eyes, and nose. Fuyumi collapses onto the ground in a pool of her own blood.
"Fuyumi!" Her girls yell as they race to her side.
...
A few days have passed since the battle in the plains. Apparently, the Lost appeared in other locations besides where Fuyumi was. They caused untold havoc and killed imperial and enemy alike. They even attacked the conclave, which is the empire's ally. The conclave was torn apart as their mages fell one after another. The kingdom and its allies had to defend their own countries from the Lost, and they were still cautious of the conclave, to she couldn't lend much aid. There were refugees who fled to Anatolia, with despairing looks in their eyes. Some believed this was the goddess' judgment upon them for walking down the wrong path. Others were more practical in their reasoning, like the empire betraying them. Either way, there wasn't much left of the conclave or the church there by this point in time. The only reason the damage was kept to a minimum for Anatolia and the other countries was that the Dragon Empire showed up at just the right time to lend their support. The dragon prince, Kagero, led their forces and attacked from the sky, burning down every Lost they found. It's clear now that this was the empire's main method of taking the continent, with an army of monsters. But, why did the Lost attack their own soldiers too? It seemed like they were unaware of these things as much as the kingdom was. Either way, the situation just became that more dire. However, for a select few, that was the least of their concerns. In Crystalglove city, the atmosphere there was different than normal. And for a good reason.
Since the battle in the plains, Fuyumi has not woken up from her slumber. Even after Anelia healed her wounds with her magic, she still didn't regain consciousness. When Emilia saw the state she was in, she was beside herself. She barely left her side as she slept. She asked the others what happened, and they told her so.
"She activated one of her abilities, and her power suddenly increased. I could feel it. I wondered why she never used that in her fight with me, and now I know why. My guess is that power she used has a limit and a price to it. She probably only uses it as a last resort. The situation was just that bad. Those things... were everywhere," Hikaru explained.
The king was made aware of Fuyumi's condition. Honestly, he was surprised to learn she was wounded, given her prior accomplishments and her skills. Unfortunately, he had little time to offer his support since the war was still going on. For now, they're keeping a good defensive against the hordes of Lost the empire sends there way, but who knows when or if the empire will run out of monsters to send before their defenses run out of strength. Worse, they have not been able to break past them or push them back to the empire. It's the same with their allies. If no for the aid of the Dragon Alliance, it would be a different story. They would need to find a way to end this, and right now they still don't have a good idea on how to do that. Emilia could care less about the war right now. All she cares about is that Fuyumi wakes up so she can give her a piece of her mind and then hug and kiss her again.
...
Two more days pass and the situation has not changed, both for the kingdom and for Fuyumi. Everyone checks periodically to see if her condition has improved, but nothing yet. That is, until Hikaru arrives with a special guest.
"Please Fuyumi... Please wake up. Don't leave me when I'm not ready," Emilia mutters, leaning in to kiss Fuyumi's cheek.
In Fuyumi's room, Emilia sits by her side, watching her beloved slumber. A knock rings out from the door.
"Come in," Emilia replies.
The door opens, revealing her mother, but also Hikaru and a kitsune beastmen girl.
"Hikaru, Mother, what's going on?" Emilia asks as she stands.
"Have there been no changes with Fuyumi?" Hikaru asks.
Emilia shakes her head, "Still nothing. I have no idea how to get her to wake up,"
"Well, thankfully, we might have a solution for that," Hikaru nods to her guest. "This is an old friend of mine, Yukio. She says she might have a way to wake Fuyumi up," Hikaru explains.
Yukio, the same Yukio Fuyumi met back in the Dragon Alliance, bows her head, "A pleasure to meet you, Lady Emilia Crystalglove. I am Yukio from the Dragon Alliance. Princess Hikaru informed me of the situation and so I am here to lend my aid," Yukio says.
"You can help Fuyumi wake up?!" Emilia asks almost desperately.
"I cannot offer any guarantees, but I do have an idea that just might work," Yukio replies.
"How so? Please tell me?" Emilia asks.
Yukio walks up to Fuyumi's bed, "As a Kitsune, I possess magical abilities that most simply do not. If her body is fine, and yet she still will not wake up, then it is her mind that must be healed now. I will use my unique abilities to help wake her up," she opens up a folding fan.
"Will it do anything to her?" Emilia asks.
"She may feel a bit groggy, but she should be fine. Now please, I need you to stay back and let me work," Yukio asks.
Emilia is still a bit unsure until Hikaru places a hand on her shoulder, "Don't worry, you can trust Yukio with this. She's got this,"
Yukio sits next to the sleeping Fuyumi, taking a moment to stare at her, "Now, it's time to repay my debt for you saving my girls, and me," she mutters before closing her eyes.
She holds out her fan as small sparks of blue flame take form around them. Yukio's fox fire. The orbs of blue flame float around Fuyumi as Yukio works to connect to her on a spiritual level. She starts humming, finding her rhythm.
A moment later, she closes her fan, "There you are," she mutters before tapping Fuyumi's forehead.
...
Deep within Fuyumi's mind, she exists as if she's floating in a deep sea, her mind adrift in the dark waters. Her eyes remain closed as if asleep.
"Where am I?" Fuyumi wonders within. "Am I... dead? Final Journey kills its user. I must be. Well, hopefully I'll revive... I hope... It feels like it's been a while,"
Just then, a small flicker appears out in the distance. Fuyumi turns to the shimmer, seeing it flickering. The shimmer slowly gets brighter, and a form appears. It takes on the form of a fox with multiple tails and made of blue fire. The fox gets closer, but the flames don't burn Fuyumi.
"This feels... so warm," Fuyumi notes.
The fox floats around her, curling its body closer until it has Fuyumi resting upon its tails.
"Fuyumi... It's time to wake up. There are people here waiting for you. It's time to wake up," she hears a female voice ring out from the fox.
"But I'm so... tired," Fuyumi replies, groaning.
"It's time to wake up, Fuyumi Kusanagi. It's time..." the fox replies.
The fox curls around Fuyumi before she's engulfed in a bright light. A few moments later, Fuyumi's eyes slowly open, finding herself back in her room at Emilia's manor.
"I'm... home?" Fuyumi mutters groggily.
"Fuyumi!" she's suddenly assaulted by a pair of strong arms that nearly squeeze the life out of her and looks to find Emilia as the culprit. "You're finally awake! You have no idea how worried I was," Emilia cries.
"Emilia... can't... breath..." Fuyumi gasps.
"Ah! Sorry!" Emilia loosens up, but still remains locked around Fuyumi.
"Welcome back, my dear. We were all quite worried about you," Eleonora joins in.
"That makes three of us. Just be glad it's not me hugging you, or else you'd be in deep trouble," Hikaru jokes to hide the tears of relief in her eyes.
"Hikaru... Eleonora," Fuyumi then notices Yukio behind them. "You're from the alliance. Yukio,"
Yukio smiles behind her fan, "I'm honored you'd remember little old me. It took a little digging, but I'm glad my gifts were able to wake you up," Yukio says.
"So that blue fox... was her?" Fuyumi thinks.
However, she's got more important things to focus on. Namely, the girl wrapped around her body.
Fuyumi slowly wraps an arm around Emilia, "I'm sorry for scaring you like that. It was never my intention,"
"You'd better not ever do that again, do you understand?! Don't ever throw your life away like that, even if your kind can revive from the dead," Emilia cries.
"Where are the others?" Fuyumi asks.
"Helping out where they can with the army. That horde of Lost we fought at the plains wasn't the only one. They attacked on multiple fronts. Fuyumi, you've been out of action for about a week. We've managed to hold the line, but things aren't getting any better. Thankfully, my father sent the reinforcements he promised from my homeland. They've been a tremendous help in holding back the enemy," Hikaru explains.
"What about our allies, or the empire and the conclave?" Fuyumi asks.
"We'll worry about them later. For now, you need to regain your strength. Lady Yukio, you have my utmost gratitude for helping to awaken Fuyumi. My family and I are in your debt," Eleonora bows her head to the kitsune.
"The pleasure was all mine. I owed Fuyumi, and this was the perfect way to repay that debt. But, you are right. There will be time to talk about the war later, after you've regained your strength," Yukio says.
Fuyumi sighs and nods. She's no match for these women.
...
Meanwhile, in the capital of the Gravlon Empire, Commander Ruth Hawke goes to meet with Lord Gilbert. On the way back, he received reports on his soldiers being attacked by the scholar's little 'experiments' and suffice it to say, he's not happy about it. He barges through the castle and stalks straight to Lord Gilbert's office, practically kicking the door down.
"Gilbert! What is the meaning of this?!" Commander Hawke yells.
He finds his target sitting at his desk, looking over some paperwork, "Could you tone down the yelling, please, Commander Hawke. It's throwing off my concentration," Lord Gilbert replies nonchalantly.
"Enough jokes. You sent those monsters of yours into battle without learning how to control them. Because of that, we've lost so many of our own soldiers in their slaughter. What was the point in all of that?!" Hawke is not playing around here.
"Well, we did need them to get some actual combat experience in for our research. That way, we can better learn how to control them," Gilbert smirks.
"By sacrificing our own soldiers, our own people?!" Commander Hawke slams his hands on the table.
"It is the wish of His Majesty," Gilbert replies.
"Even I don't buy that," Hawke retorts.
"My, my, what is all the commotion?" they look back to see Chancellor Venak enter the room.
"Chancellor Venak, this mad scientist unleashed his monsters into battle without alerting me or my troops. I've received reports that we've lost thousands of troops because of his monstrosities. Worse, they even attacked our allies in the Theodosia Conclave. How can this be His Majesty's will? I intend to bring this up before the emperor so that he can make his own judgment on the matter," Commander Hawke says.
Chancellor Venak just sighs, "I see me prediction was correct,"
"Your prediction?" Hawke demands.
"Yes... I certainly can't have you meet with His Majesty alone. Not while I still have use for him," Chancellor Venak says.
"You... what?" Hawke is stunned by his words, his hand drifting closer to the sword on his hip.
"I am finally close to my long-awaited ambition, and you won't get in my way," Venak replies.
"Chancellor Venak, we may still have use for him. If I may..." Gilbert stands from his seat.
"Sure, sure, but first," Venak snaps his fingers and three Lost, wearing armor and wielding sickle-like black blades in their hands.
Hawke draws his sword, "You... You traitors!" he roars.
"Don't damage him too badly. He may yet still be of use. No one will stand in my way," Chancellor Venak smirks as the Lost close in on the imperial commander.
And that's the chapter. Fuyumi pushed herself to the brink of death once again, but thankfully she survived after a vicious battle with the Lost hordes. Meanwhile, Venak begins to make his move by removing Commander Hawke from the chess board. What kind of chaos awaits Fuyumi as the war continues? Until then, please Read and Review.