"Talking"
"Thinking"
[Status Magic or other reference to a system or power]
…
The party had flown most of the way in the two days and was now traveling on foot. They moved slowly, using Raphtalia's illusion magic when able, knocking out guards when unable. They had finally made it. As they crested a hill, they could see the town where Lord Rabier lived. A full town of stone, like Opaltown. They saw a lot of soldiers around, far more than normal. Could Idol be expecting them?
They only considered that for a moment before they continued.
...
Eclair saw their movements and sighed in relief.
"They are not guarding the town, they're forming ranks. My guess is they are running drills, preparing to join the warband." Eclair reasoned.
"...So many. That's at least 200." Teal said.
Naofumi used [Calculator]. "It's 311 at the least, according to my shield."
"For so many soldiers to be in just this town... Did he gather guards from nearby villages?" Leon asked.
"No, though he might soon. Just over 300 for a large city like this one seems within a reasonable scope. You must remember that you have guards on multiple shifts, usually three, then patrol units, those that guard nobles and large businesses. If they were all brought together, then these numbers are normal." Melty whispered.
"...That means the combined forces later should be 2100 soldiers, plus whatever the church has?" Monti was worried.
"Likely more." Eclair said.
"..."
They decided to not think about it too much, as they made their way towards the city. After they were within 100 yards of the gate, Filo and Leon broke off from the others. No one stopped them, this was part of the plan.
Three guards stood at the gate, two facing out on their side of the bars and one facing inward on the other side of the bars. They prepared themselves and waited.
After a few minutes, a guard came running, "Fire! Fire! The grain storage is on fire!"
Filo and Leon had leapt the wall. Filo then sniffed out the food storage they were gathering for the army to march with and Leon subtly set fire to it at a distance.
At that, they rushed the gate. Monti transformed and tackled the small barred entrance, snapping the bars and heavily injuring the one guard that had his back turned. The two others dove out of the way. Before either could get to their feet, they were subdued by Eclair and Ake. Teal bound all three guards with roots and they all kept moving.
Filo and Leon did not rejoin the others. They traveled along rooftops, setting small fires and bolstering them with wind. Troops gathered in the area and word of what was going on reached lord Idol Rabier (Lv 46).
"What is going on? Is the queen attacking?" Idol asked.
"Lord, it seems to be just two enemies, one with wings and one with a horn." the knight reported.
Rabier's scowl turned into a sickening smile.
"Demi-humans... I want them alive. I have several racks that need filling." Idol instructed.
Another knight approached Rabier as the first one left.
"Lord, there appears to be a second break-in. Ground level, the southern gate."
"Of all times, they choose now, when I have such a force? The fools. Send 100 soldier to each disturbance and have the last 100 standby at my keep." Idol ordered.
Idol went to leave, only to see something bright that changed his mind.
...
Just before then
...
Filo and Leon wanted to butt heads, but they knew how important this mission was, especially to their mother. They did the best they ever had at working together and it led them to realize they had a lot of synergy. That got them thinking and they then both chanted at the gathered soldiers, their hands raised.
[Infernado]
A pillar of fire that spun at high speed scattered the troops. As they picked themselves up, they all ran in different directions, trying to get out of the way. There was now a tornado of fire that caught everyone's attention.
"What in the world?" Idol could not dismiss that.
While Filo and Leon raised hell, the others stealthily moved throughout the town. They mapped the parts that were important as they went. While the pace was at first slow enough to stay hidden completely, they had to move a little more recklessly as the knocked out guards were discovered and they were being trailed.
They each were handed dozens of Teal's seeds and split into two groups. Naofumi, Raphtalia, and Teal in one group, the rest in the other. Monti was upset he might not be there for his mother when she really needed him, but knew he could be summoned back.
Naofumi's group made their way to the courtyard, Naofumi's [Inconspicuous] and Raphtalia's [Hide Mirage] making them undetectable. Those on their trail followed the other group as planned. They set up several ambushes and Eclair seemed to be defeating them so fast that Monti would have to stop his attacks mid swing because they were already unconscious. Her dueling skills were incredible and exploited even the slightest imperfection in the enemy's form.
Naofumi's group began placing Teal's seeds around the courtyard, watching soldiers being deployed. They watched the direction they went, then silently communicated the news to the others. Naofumi thought things were going great, but each time Raphtalia heard someone call Idol's name, her hair stood on end. Naofumi placed a hand on her back, trying to let her feel that she wasn't alone. She didn't react to that.
Filo and Leon thought they were doing great, but they both underestimated the strength of numbers and the strength of strategy. Several soldiers stayed on the other side of the smoke out of their sights, forming three rows of sharpshooters. They all used heavy duty crossbows. They used another man, a spotter, to be in their line of sight and direct their aim. They took nearly 30 seconds to aim well enough, then they fired.
A wall of bolts shot through the smoke at such speed that neither could fully escape. They pushed each other away and escaped some of the bolts, but the bulk hit their mark. In an instant they were both in terrible shape. Filo was at 21% hp and Leon was at 9% hp. They lost to such a simple tactic.
Naofumi saw this and panicked. He summoned them both to his side as Raphtalia and Teal moved forward to engage the enemies that now knew they were there. Naofumi was shocked at their appearance. They had a lot of blood on them and it was their own. Each wound was a separate attack, so [Gamble] was no use. Naofumi really hated not knowing intermediate healing magic yet. He began to cast [All Fast Heal] and administered them potions generously. They drank them quickly between apologizing for screwing up.
"Less talking, more drinking... You did well." Naofumi could not get mad at them while they were in such rough shape.
Monti stopped dead in his tracks when he saw the Hp of two of his siblings go from nearly full to dangerously low. Melty also stopped completely and Ake slowed considerably. That left only Eclair to remain vigilant. This lapse in action on the others' part caused Eclair to face too many enemies at once, she received three grazed blows. This would not be too bad, but at her low level it placed her at nearly half Hp.
Her receiving damage was enough for Melty and Ake to snap out of their shock and assist her. Monti did not. Monti never had any multi-tasking skills and so focused on one thing at a time. Only once their Hp started going up did Monti conclude they were being treated by their father. At this, he pulled himself out of his worry. He shot his tail out, paralyzing more soldiers.
"Sorry, I was... sorry." Monti managed to say.
Eclair was a bit annoyed, but she kept her frustration at bay. Regardless of how she believed he should act, seeing loved ones hurt can distract all but the hardest of fighters. It was actually a good thing they stopped. They needed to turn here and start making their way to the courtyard. They ran off together in that direction.
Even with just Raphtalia and Teal engaging roughly 20 knights at once seemed like a plan that was going to work. Between Teal's diverse abilities, Raphtalia's enthusiasm, and Naofumi's occasional support, they were doing well. Less than two minutes into the fight and seven soldiers were down.
Things were not going to remain in their favor though. More soldiers were showing up and it was at a faster rate than they could deal with them. Filo and Leon were not at full health, only at about half Hp, but they knew they were dividing Naofumi's attention. They stood up and began helping with the knights as well. Naofumi didn't like it, but he also didn't voice any form of disagreement.
"Where are you guys? Are you okay, Eclair?" Naofumi noticed her lowered Hp as he stood to fight.
"I am fine. We are headed there, no need to summon us. Are the seeds planted?" Eclair asked.
"Not all of them and we're too busy to plant the remaining ones." Teal answered.
"Then when we arrive, we will hold the gaps in the line ourselves." Eclair declared.
"If this doesn't work, don't over commit. It'd be better to abandon this strategy entirely than to lose someone." Melty added.
"Where's Idol?" Monti asked.
"We don't know yet." Naofumi informed.
"Filo and I may have distracted too well..." Leon admitted.
"Filo did." Filo agreed.
"It's more than fine. Long term, this strategy is best. Anyone Monti paralyzed is not getting up tomorrow. We have the time to do raids every few hours if necessary." Naofumi reasoned.
No sooner did he suggest that did the plan get shelved. A group of soldiers came from where Filo and Leon were raising hell together. They moved slowly and in close formation. They all guessed why.
Idol.
Amongst them was a fat blond noble who looked beyond furious. Raphtalia lost her cool at the sight of him. An attack meant to knock out a knight ended up drawing a bit of blood and nearly dealt a fatal blow.
Raphtalia and Teal moved several feet away to not risk tripping over the knights they downed. Naofumi moved next to Raphtalia while Filo and Leon positioned themselves in the back.
"What do we have here? The shield devil and a group of demi-humans? I was furious before, but now I think things will turn out just fine, hehe." Idol said while holding his rapier out in front of him.
His soldiers all presented their arms and awaited their orders.
"Do you remember me...?" Raphtalia asked in a voice unbecoming of her. It was cold.
"Mm? What? ...Why would I? Your stupid demi-human brain must be thinking of lord Vera...mir... Wait. I do know you. Hehe ahahaha!"
Idol laughed like a mad man for a moment, no one else moved.
"You actually came back? Are you dumber than an animal? ...Look at those stupid eyes. I knocked the hope out of you once and I shall again. Then I'll sell you off. I know a noble who'll easily give me 40 gold for you." Idol declared.
Filo and Leon inched closer to the front, they now wanted a piece of him.
"Do you really think that it'll go down like that?" Naofumi asked.
Before any response could be made, the rest of the party arrived. Monti transformed into his full form again and ran at the enemy. He saw Idol and tried to tag him with some poison, but his tail was parried. Monti kept going, knocking the soldiers to the ground.
Eclair and Ake were next. They struck a few soldiers as they scrambled to their feet, earning a few cheap wins before retreating to Naofumi's side. Idol turned to attack Monti, only for Melty to cast [Zweite Aqua Shot] at his feet.
While Melty was not a high level, she was just over level 20. That, plus an intermediate surprise spell should of deal great damage in her head.
The strike indeed knocked him down a moment, but it dealt little damage. Monti ran back the way he came and tried striking Idol again, but even on his back he was dangerous. Idol pulled out a whip and went to clash with Monti.
"Monti, don't!" Raphtalia warned.
Monti followed her advice and decided not to attack. He dodged the whip and moved past Idol to Melty. The whip missed and landed on a soldier. On contact, the armor of the soldier began to collapse in on the man, crushing him.
"A cursed weapon..." Naofumi concluded.
Monti wrapped his tail around Melty and leapt to everyone else's side, then releasing her.
"Indeed it is..." Idol stood, furious.
Many more soldiers were coming, too many to deal with.
"My whip's soaked in the blood of many slaves and after enough of them died, tada~, cursed enchantment. What better proof would one need to show that they are monster? Their very blood is cursed!" Idol revealed.
"..." No one spoke.
"...Teal?" Raphtalia called, just above a whisper.
[Living Wall]
Most of the courtyard was now surrounded by trees, but many gaps remained.
"Naofumi...?" Raphtalia was asking something.
"... Everyone choose a hole and plug it... Leave him to Raphtalia." Naofumi finished.
Everyone moved at once. Eclair stood where the gap was at stairs, she wanted the height advantage. Melty and Ake went to the same gap, knowing neither of them could hold multiple guards at bay alone. Teal placed seeds in gaps, not plugging a hole herself. Monti stood at the biggest gap, keeping them away with [Fear]. Filo and Leon finished the soldiers that remained in the courtyard first.
Idol stood there, staring at Raphtalia as she did the same. Naofumi handed her a bottle of poison and used [Anoint] on her. The buff was boosted Mdef, not particularly useful. Raphtalia placed the poison on her sword and began descending the stairs. Idol began moving as well.
...
Raphtalia versus Idol
...
Idol made the first move by striking out with the whip in his left hand. Raphtalia ducked to his right and ran forward. Her advance outpaced his whip's return, she was hoping for this. She struck six times before backing up. All six blows were blocked. Even with her using two hands to his one, she didn't have the time to power through before the whip returned.
"Is that all you have, little beast?" Idol mocked.
Raphtalia didn't speak and she didn't look any less resolved. She pulled out three of her knives and began to approach him again. Idol thought better than to lash out at her first this time and waited. Raphtalia got somewhat close and bolted to his right side, wide. He thought she was once again trying to stay away from his whip. He pointed his rapier at her.
[Zweite Thunder Burst]
Naofumi wanted to intervene, but did not.
A large flash of light turned into a thunderous display as three large bolts of lightning tore the ground, racing towards Raphtalia. From Idol's view, it looked like she was consumed by the spell. He watched the area cautiously to know for sure. It was a good thing for him that he did too. He saw the shifts in smoke that told him an invisible enemy was rushing at him. He lashed his whip out, striking something.
"Nice try, beast."
However, he didn't hit Raphtalia. Raphtalia grabbed a downed knight before the spell struck and used him as a shield. Between him and the buff she had on her, the damage was light. She then used [All Hide Mirage] to turn them both invisible as she carried him as a shield. What Idol struck was that knight.
She continued forward and shoved the dying man into Idol, knocking him to the ground. With him somewhat pinned, they both swung at one another several more times, both landing hits until Raphtalia saw her moment.
Idol went to strike mostly downward. Raphtalia kicked the end of the handle of the rapier, knocking it from his grasp. She thought she had won, but another surprise awaited her, a second whip. Idol grabbed a second whip he had with his now empty hand and struck at Raphtalia, she had to retreat to dodge. With her not standing on the now dead body, Idol knocked it aside and stood.
"You stupid, foolish animal! How dare you! You actually think you can win!? Against me!? I killed you beasts when you were an army and you think some lone woman is of any importance!?" Idol had lost his cool completely.
And of course he would. She had disarmed him, withstood his spell, struck him, tricked him, and threw him to the ground. This fight was far from the one-sided fight that he thought it'd be. She had the stats to compete with him, solid attack strategies to undermine him, and her allies were closer to the fight than his own.
"..."
Idol went for a cowardly attempt. He struck his whips out at both Filo and Leon while their backs were turned, both facing the walls they were trying to maintain.
[Zweite Thunder Crack]
Idol's whips could not reach his targets, but by casting spells from the snapping of his whips he'd reach them.
[Air Strike Shield] [Second Shield] [Air Strike Shield]
Naofumi blocked both attacks. "Your opponent is in front of you. Stay in your lane, dipshit."
"Tsk." Idol wasn't aware that the shield hero could protect from a distance. He'd need to consider that he'd obviously interfere in this 'duel' when she started losing.
However, Idol wasn't aware of other things either.
Three knives hit their mark, Idol's stomach. Raphtalia knew Naofumi would protect the kids and so never worried. While Idol tried to force her to take action, she simply threw her knives at him. A punishment for trying to involve others. This was a duel.
"...What is this meager damage?" Idol asked in a growl.
Idol struck all three knives from him with his whip. The strike skillfully touched the cloth around the knives. The cloth warped to the curse and pushed itself against the skin, stopping his bleeding. Clearly, his skill with a whip was far higher than his skill with a sword. Even Naofumi had to double take at just how perfect the man's movements would need to be to turn his own clothes into pressed bandages.
Raphtalia didn't advance at first and merely stood there.
"Maybe this beast has an inkling of intelligence? That's right, you little bitch, come anywhere near me when I wield two whips. I dare you..." Idol was still confident.
Raphtalia sheathed her sword and put away her knives. She then picked up a sword off the ground, one that belonged to one of the knocked out soldiers. She held it in her right hand, while her left hand rested on the hilt of her [Mana Blade]. Naofumi and Idol saw that she clearly had a plan, but Idol couldn't know what Raphtalia's other sword did.
"Another cheap ploy? Is that all you have?" Idol goaded.
Raphtalia stood five feet from his whip's reach.
"Cheap ploy? Like what you did a moment ago?" Raphtalia goaded back, referencing Idol's cowardly tactic earlier.
This was only the second time she had spoken to him. He was doing all of the talking and it made it look like she had all the control. Idol hated it. Idol decided to be clever himself. He whipped at the many weapons now laying around, striking them at Raphtalia. As the swords traveled, the curse began to warp the swords. The blades curved around and met the hilt before driving in further. These circular blades traveled rather well.
The attacks were too many and from to many directions. Raphtalia placed both her hands on the sword and did her best to deflect them all. Metal flew at great speed as Raphtalia was being pushed back. With her full strength, she could easily knock these aside, but she could not commit to any action for more than half a second, she had so many things to block.
Slowly, Raphtalia started to receive damage. Cuts began to pile up and she was bleeding in a few spots. Naofumi really wanted to jump in, but he'd wait.
Raphtalia needed to simply endure it. Once there was no more weapons to launch at her around him, he'd need to advance. She knew this and so powered through.
As the last weapons were knocked away by Raphtalia, she caught her breath and wiped the blood on her head before it could get in her eyes.
"Now that is more like it! Once more and you're done, hehe." Idol was pleased with the results of that attack.
"I shouldn't be surprised though. This particular tactic was among my most effective during the war. Weapons lying about and such... Are you done, girl?" Idol felt comfortable in the lead again.
Raphtalia finished catching her breath. "Yeah... I am. Are you done talking?" She stood firm, still sure of victory.
"Mmm... How about this then?" Idol asked.
He struck the stone brick street all around him with his whips. As he did, they began to collapse in on themselves and pop into powered stone dust. In only a moment, he had formed a dust cloud.
Raphtalia started to backpedal. She was right to do so. Idol's whips lashed out and struck at where she was just at. He was advancing his position from within the dust. She could see Idol in the dust, but it was hard, which meant he could see her too. However, she couldn't see the whips. They were far too thin and fast for that.
She could not keep retreating. If she did, he'd move into an area with more weapons to launch and she wasn't sure she could win if he did that attack again. She thought a moment.
"We can barely see one another, but the dust obscures his weapons..."
Raphtalia threw three more knives at him.
"You bitch!" Idol yelped.
As she thought. He couldn't see small weapons coming at him either.
They both stopped moving a moment, letting the dust settle. They both thought the dust was not a good idea now. Idol's face was passing anger and reaching insanity. Raphtalia ignored that and once again positioned herself five feet from his reach.
"..." They stared at each other once again.
Idol lunged forward and had his whips come from both sides to box her in. She saw this and jumped as high as she could while casting [Light Shield]. She then jumped off of it to escape. As the two whips touched each other, they collapsed inward, folding back up while remaining connected. Had she been caught, even if she blocked, she would have been dragged to him. The number of ways he could use his cursed whips were truly amazing.
Raphtalia placed herself outside of his range by about five feet for the third time.
"Look at you hide away from me. You think I can't reach you!?" Idol yelled as he attacked with his whips.
They wouldn't reach her, but-
[Zweite Thunder Crack]
Idol used the spell cast from the end of his whips to make up the last few feet... Is what he thought.
"I win." Raphtalia announced as she pulled out her [Mana Blade] and rushed in.
She cut the still forming spell as she ran through it, taking a little more damage. She sprinted the narrow path the whips created, barreling towards her target. Idol was not going to be able to bring his whips back in time. He reached down to grab a soldier, copying Raphtalia's earlier tactic. Raphtalia wasn't letting it happen.
Raphtalia purposely ran the sword against the nearby whip, then threw it at Idol. The weapon began to collapse as it landed around Idol's arm.
"No!" He yelled.
The blade kept collapsing as the edge sank further and further into his arm. Before Raphtalia could even reach him, his arm was severed by the shrinking blade.
Idol turned just in time to see Raphtalia pull out her own sword and stab him with both her swords.
"Gak!" He was taken to the ground again. His mana depleted from the other blade's strike. He lay there, struggling.
Raphtalia stood over him a moment.
...
Winner: Raphtalia
...
"I was just some little girl when you bought and whipped me, and just now I beat you. I proved I was stronger than you... How many of your slaves would have out-shined you like I have if given the chance? That something like you stopped Rifana from becoming more..."
Raphtalia turned away, she couldn't finish without crying.
"Teal!" Naofumi yelled.
[Living Wall]
The last remaining holes all closed. Many of the soldiers saw the blow on Idol. Some tried even harder to break the walls down. Eventually, all the soldiers made their way to the treeline and they began to tear at it as much as they could.
Naofumi went up to Raphtalia and wrapped his arms around her.
"I'm so proud of you. You were so strong. You showed him your worth." He said in his soft voice.
A few tears escaped as she went to walk away. Naofumi saw that Idol was still alive.
"Raphtalia?"
"He has no mana and can't stand. He's a danger to no one and will soon die all by himself, in a cage made by someone else... Like he made so many others..." Raphtalia was firm in wanting him to suffer.
Naofumi never thought Raphtalia was capable of such cruelty, but never dreamed of thinking less of her for it. If anything, her cruelty towards him only made Naofumi think all the worse of him. To have provoked that much hate from Raphtalia required the work of a real devil.
Naofumi looked down at Idol gasping, drowning in his own blood and moved towards him. Raphtalia would not stop him from showing mercy, but she wished he wouldn't. Naofumi leaned down and grabbed both whips, placing them in storage. He thought Liviccic may find a use in them. He didn't pay Idol a second glance as he walked off to Raphtalia and then to the others.
"That was a great display, Raphtalia. I'd love to train with you at some point." Eclair said the nicest thing she could think of that wasn't a lie.
"Mom, are you okay?" Monti asked, the other three kids awaiting the answer.
"Not yet... please follow me." Her voice conveyed a deep pain.
She walked to the other side of the courtyard and began descending the stairs. She did so slowly, each step made her remember another day she spent here. Each step, she remembered another face. Everyone followed behind her, matching her pace. As they made it towards the bottom, a foul stench took over. The air was disgusting and many did what they could to escape it.
Raphtalia stopped at the bottom. The large door was locked.
"Let me get th-" Naofumi went to offer.
Boom!
Raphtalia broke the lock off with one strike and began moving again.
"..."
No one could figure out exactly what Raphtalia was feeling right now. Not even Naofumi. They just knew to follow her and to be quiet. After another ten feet or so, she stopped.
Everyone looked around. Prisoner cells? No. Slave cages. They all ran up and down the cages, looking for survivors.
"I've got two!" Eclair called.
"One here." Filo called.
"Another one here." Ake called.
Naofumi found the last one. "This makes five!" He told them.
He absorbed the lock off and entered the cell. As he did, a young dog demi-human boy woke up. At the sight of Naofumi, he stood quickly.
"Bring it you piece of shit! I'm ready for you, c'mon!" He yelled.
Raphtalia recognized the voice and went toward it.
Naofumi put his hands up. "Oi, shut up brat. I here to rescue you."
"Don't call me a brat!"
"Keel!?" Raphtalia called.
"...How do you know my name, lady?" Keel asked defensively.
"Of course I know you, Keel. It's me, Raphtalia." She said.
Keel stared at her a moment. Then he glanced down at her...features.
"Bullshit." Keel declared. "Raphtalia is shorter than me and is flatter than the floor of my cell!"
"Oi, don't go pissing me off too. This is Raphtalia, she just grew up from leveling up." Naofumi explained.
"She could be level 1000 and that still wouldn't explain those." He said, pointing at her chest.
"Keel... It's me. Um... Oh! When we were five, you snuck onto Sadeena's boat and she didn't find out until she was like ten miles out. So she beat you half to death and had to bring you the whole way back and when we found out, you were cryi-"
"Okay, Okay! I believe you! ... ..., But that means... you're alive." Keel went from embarrassment to joy and he hugged her.
"I'm so glad you made it, Raphtalia!" He cried.
The other slaves were already freed and they were about ready to move. Raphtalia pat Keel's head.
"In just a bit, we're leaving. Can you walk?"
Keel took a step back. "Of course I can! I super tough rememb-" Keel went to jog in place, but nearly fell. Naofumi caught him.
"Teal, do you mind?" Raphtalia asked.
Teal just went over and placed Keel's arm around her neck, helping him move.
"That's everyone, let's move." Eclair said.
"Wait... There is one more..." Raphtalia said as she slowly made her way to a particular cell.
Naofumi and Monti peered inside and saw a skeleton. They flinched. Raphtalia walked into the cell and slowly brought herself to her knees in front of the skeleton.
"...Raphtalia... Who was this?" Naofumi asked after a moment.
"That's the word, 'was'. She 'is' no longer." Raphtalia thought bitterly.
"Remember when I said that his whip and words never broke me?" She asked just above a whisper.
Naofumi went to her side and knelt too. He nodded.
"..." She started crying again. "When he realized he couldn't take my smile directly, he used her... Her name was Rifana... and she was my best friend in this whole world."
The kids drew closer to her. Melty looked at what remained of the body, doing everything she he could to remember this image.
"He'd beat us both, but when he was done for the day... We'd talk. Talk about how we'd escape. About how we'd return to Lurolona Village and raise its flag one more time..." Raphtalia said, reaching out to the small cloth in the skeleton's grasp.
"Flag..." Naofumi remembered the way she looked at the flags of her kid's meals.
The kids were all next to her now.
"But... but that never happened. He began torturing her more, because it worked better on both of us... We got sick and eventually she died... that was when I broke." Raphtalia was sobbing now. Naofumi, the kids and Keel hugged her as she kept crying.
"I'm sorry, Rifana! I'm sorry it took me this long to come back for you!" She wailed.
The family wept for Raphtalia's pain.
The other slaves and Ake wept for the death of a young girl.
Melty and Eclair wept from the guilt they felt, their failures led to this tragedy.
.
[Author's Notes]
The assassination was not perfect. They didn't even take down half the soldiers and the one time they didn't keep moving, Filo and Leon get bloodied bad.
Raphtalia is given what she wanted, a duel with Idol. A one-on-one duel to show him that she was no longer his victim or anyone else's.
This is the first chapter in awhile that didn't cut to some other group. So it went rather fast. After this Pope nonsense is handled it should return to something like this.
I really liked the way I did the fight, thoughts? And FYI the crushing curse on the whips, made from the blood of his victims... That's canon. Yup. I just thought of more ways to use those abilities
and feels trip.
Please leave a review!