Chapter 98

"Why do we fall, sir? So that we can learn to pick ourselves up"

Alfred Pennyworth

(Batman Begins)

First of all, my apologies for the late update, but I got into two separate accidents which injured my arms, and right now, I'm writing this with a very painful sensation on my right arm and shoulder. I hope all of u will understand why this chapter isn't as long as chapter 100. Thank you for reading.

0000

"Elraven and Frea…didn't make it back…"

Each of the letters dwindling in Randgris' answer sounds unreal to everyone standing in the room. Their eyes drastically widened; their beating hearts literally stopped for a second. Lull silence wraps the entire medical room in Pegasus.

Outside, the rain grows harder, each drip colors the city with transparent tear of the skies; it quickly disassembles into void as another drip falls on top of it. The tears that wander into nothingness; not like the thought of the alliance losing two valuable comrades of theirs. Every single person in the room suddenly wishes the news is just a cruel joke, forgetting that reality is more often that not, crueler. Maybe the cruelest thing anyone can imagine.

Just less than half an hour ago, Pegasus received the signal sent by Elraven's talkie and quickly assembled a small team, consisted of Gen Ed & Olivia, to ensure both the adequate attacking force and medical assignment, to pick the team up. It came to their surprised when, the only one stranded in the island where Odin Temple was located was Randgris, her and only her. Olivia tended to her wounds on the way home, and she couldn't stop thinking how bad the attack Randgris had to endure. Her bones are broken all over, she lost her consciousness, and if they were too late catching her juts for one more minute, she's a goner. But a bigger question remains: where are Elraven & Frea? Olivia suggested a search but Gen Ed had a different opinion and prioritized Randgris' safety, which the young lady eventually agreed to. It didn't take forever to go back to Amatsu. And upon arrival, the news of the disappearance of Elraven & Frea spread so quickly, like the terror of fear. It garnered the entire core members of the alliance inside the medical room in mere minutes, where Randgris finally opened her eyes, ever so weakly. Olivia checked her condition to see whether or not she's capable to actually answer before giving the proposal a green light. The first question is of course, asked by Fiorentin, "Where are Elraven & Frea?"

And then came the thundering answer. It shook everyone from the inside. Its impact is so grand no one was able to follow the lines with a proper string of words for more than a minute. The only thing echoing in Pegasus comes from the raindrops on the outside. A distant sound of black rain the water, as the wind tears them apart from inside.

"…what?" Fiorentin is the first to speak up, beating everyone else by a mere second. Her trembling hands are well hid under her coat, which is soaking wet. She ran off to Pegasus upon knowing the absence of Frea & Elraven, the first person to do so. Further ignoring her still relevant injuries, she didn't even bother taking an umbrella like Felicia did when she chased her from behind. Her thought went somewhere else completely. Her voice sounds choked, obviously drawing her disbelief to full extent. She has high hopes what she heard is untrue; everyone hopes what they heard isn't how it is in reality. But reality, more often that not, is cruel, "What do you mean…they didn't make it back?"

Randgris didn't answer directly. She shifted her two weak eyes to Fiorentin's face, not saying anything. The only statement that came from her is another tears that welled in her eyes, further irking the rune knight for an answer, "You…you must mean you got separated in Odin's Temple when you returned from Asgard, right? That's what happened, right Randgris? You mean they're still somewhere in the island, right?"

"No…Princess Fiorentin…I'm…so…sorry" If anyone in the room could have chosen, if they were given the freedom to choose, by God they would rather not hear the reply from the Valkyrie. It could be for a variety of reasons: maybe because they are afraid the truth is too much cross to bear, or maybe because they know once they find out what unspeakable things have happened, their daily life will never be the same, ever again. But none of them even begin to movie their feet. There's something powerful that glues their standing into that room. There's something inside every last one of them that believes no matter what the cold harsh truth is, they need to know. They HAVE to know, "They didn't survive the mission…"

And there it is, the cold harsh truth. So hurting, so painful, and so shocking, but it's the truest of all. Fiorentin, of all people, is suddenly reminded of the time when Naght Sieger's Violet Fear pierced her in the stomach. The pain was so unbearable she nearly collapsed, and now she's feeling like she's experiencing a déjà vu. Only this time, the sword impaled her inner heart. Oh, how she wish this is just a cruel joke. But it is not. It will never be.

"Why? What happened?" Now it's Fenrir's turn, "Didn't Frea regain her power? Didn't you manage to send the Orb of Edda here? Why didn't they come back? Didn't you have the special butterfly wings from Sarkhan? Why didn't they use it?"

"Upon arrival to the island, we quickly met Ifrit & Satan Morroc. Of all people, Valdomir chose to send them" Now the alliance can at least take a wild guess of what happened, "It's true…we did obtain the Orb of Edda…after momentarily fooling Satan Morroc. Frea even managed to defeat Ifrit. But in order to dispose of Satan Morroc's challenge, I had to resort to using my special butterfly wings. And it turned out that…Ifrit had his Crescendo State hidden all this time, Frea never truly defeated him. Ifrit quickly regained his standing. Frea was already injured and weakened from the first fight with Ifrit, so our hope was lost the moment we had to deal with not only Satan Morroc, but also Ifrit at his strongest. We were quickly overpowered. Ifrit broke my back, engulfed Elraven to pieces with his fire blast, and embalmed Frea with scorching hot flame sphere. He took all of us out with one attack each"

Olivia gulped when she hears Ifrit took all three of her friends out with one try. And everyone else would have done the same if not for the already gloomy mood. It's terrifying to know the war is indeed far from over, and there are bigger challenges ahead. "Continue your story, Randgris" Gen Ed took over from here, with his ever so soothing voice (although it is not necessarily effective at this point), "What happened afterwards?"

"I landed somewhere near Yggdrasil, and it appeared in the sky Ifrit was preparing something, in the form of the biggest fireball in existence. It resembled the sun, and he claimed it has the power to destroy the whole Asgard" Randgris paused momentarily, looking at the faces of the crowd. To her, it appears they already knew what went wrong from there, but she resumed anyhow, "I was quickly discovered by Elraven. He lost his robe and there were several cuts and bruises in his face and arms, I think he didn't realize he has used up all of the Spell of Dyonisus. The damage he took from Ifrit must have taken a lot from whatever was left from the regeneration spell. He tried to send me back to Odin's temple using his special butterfly wings, but it turned out…it was destroyed after Elraven received Ifrit's attack…"

The valkyrie briefly paused, letting herself rest and the others to fabricate what did happen. Some of them, like Fiorentin & Emilion, could have guessed how the story went from there, but they said not a word. They'd rather be proven wrong.

Randgris, not holding back anything anymore, disclosed the truth, "But I…still believed sending him back was priority for the alliance, so I showed him the special butterfly wings which belonged to Frea. Frea gave it to me in case something happened before we reached Yggdrasil, so I used it. I tried to convince Elraven him going back home is what's best, for the greater good. But then…he…"

"What did he do?" Emilio cut Randgris before she could explain any further, obviously growing impatient of the story, "Tell us, what did he do?"

"He…used it on me…instead on himself…" And finally, there it is. Now everyone finally knows why Randgris is the sole survivor, "I…I really had no idea he would do that…I'm so sorry….I thought I had him convinced, that him returning was for the best. He took me by surprise. He said he didn't want to leave Frea alone, and he…said, both Frea and I sacrificed a lot for him and for the alliance. So it was his turn to sacrifice something as well…"

Some of the listeners gasped, some of them put the palm of their hand to cover their lips, and the rest just stayed still. Randgris began to cry, sobbing with every tear that comes out from her saddened eyes. The others look devastated; what they didn't expect to happen the most happened out of nowhere. The Ropera Squad members are looking at each other. Ty, Sasha, and Clyde formed an 'O' with their lips, Martina put her hand on her forehead before looking at Emilio, who is slowly shaking his head in utmost disbelief. To him, the news of his best friend's death felt like being pierced with a bullet in the heart more than a hundred times. To the members, the loss of their vice captain cannot be expressed by words alone. Olivia was silent, but that didn't stop several tears falling down from her eyes. Eremes, who's been standing near her, wrapped his arm around her, comforting her as much as he could although now it's probably useless. Marcus doesn't bother saying anything smart, as does his two usually laid back underlings. Gregory keeps his eyes closed. The manner Gen Ed also mirrors. But the highest ranked officer of The Military of Einbroch can't hide his disappointment from showing in his face. Near the door to the room, both Hikari & Akari also keep their lips zipped.

Sarkhan only gulped, not knowing the quest would end up like this. It was just yesterday the ship celebrated the acquiring of Orb of Edda, but now the mood has axiomatically differed. He takes a quick glance at Fenrir, who also glares at him with a discomforting silence. Fenrir doesn't even bother to stay in the room. He runs quickly outside, which no one follows. And it's probably better that way. Who knows what he might hit with that emotional state. But the sorrowful calm does not last for more than half a second, because an outburst quickly arises.

"You know what this is, Randgris?" Emilio's words surprised everyone, because it was so quiet but all of a sudden someone spoke up with a loud gripping voice. It's a well known fact Emilio is not the serenest man around, and the current news add more credibility to that trivia. Adding what sounds like anger in his tone, he shouts, "This is bollocks! That's what this is! I know Elraven well and there is no way he's gonna die because of some creature with a burning hair! You only said that because you barely even knew him!"

"But…I told you all I saw…" Randgris weakly replies, now the scene looks like Emilio is bullying the valkyrie, "There was no lie in my story…"

"Maybe, but there's tons of mistakes!" Not debating any further, Emilio flies out of the room. The rest of Ropera Squad and Gen Ed followed him soon after, worrying over the fact he might do something foolish and regrettable if they don't stop him now. The room does not look that much crowded anymore, but that doesn't mean the dark cloud has gone from it.

Fiorentin, especially, is visibly trying to hold her standing. Felicia has to quickly hold her back from behind, otherwise she would have fallen. "This…" She urges to say something, fragilely, "This cannot be happening…"

"…Fio" Concerned, Felicia whispers to her ear, while personally trying to hold back from crying herself, "Don't say that"

"No, I…I don't believe this!" Fiorentin forcefully pushes Felicia back, which stunned not only the golden haired lady but also the entire room. The shock is clear in Felicia's bewildered expression. Fiorentin has never yelled at any of her close friends before, let alone doing something such as pushing. Even so, she does not seem to regret it. Her focus is occupied on the battered servant of Odin alone, "How can you just believe Elraven is dead, Randgris? Did you see how he died? Did you see his dead body?"

"Fiorentin, calm down" But being the mature personality she is, Felicia does not respond by yelling or shouting back at the devastated girl. She prefers the calmer and gentler approach, shown by her soft stare at her childhood companion, showing compassion as opposed to anger and that's after being pushed back. It takes a lot of heart to pull this one out, "This isn't the way you're supposed to act. This isn't you. Calm down, Fio"

"Don't patronize me, Felicia! Don't tell me to calm down!" Still with her bursting sorrow, Fiorentin doesn't pull any punches, "Am I supposed to believe Elraven is dead without any proof?"

"And how are your rants going to help your cause, exactly?" Felicia comes up with a powerful come back, which silenced the rune knight in a mere second, "How are your rants going to delight everyone here from their sadness? It's not going to do anything, is it?"

Fiorentin cannot answer back, obviously because Felicia is true. Any word she uses to rebuff her now is gonna sound like a fool's foolish attempt.

"I see you have taken my point into consideration" The dusky skinned girl continues showing her maturity, "Which is why you should stop, Fio. If you wish to say something, then say it without misdirecting your anger. Randgris isn't at fault"

The words are effective to ease the tension Fio rose with her anger. The young girl gives a guilty look because her action just now was unworthy of her status, but no one seems to fault her for it, not even Randgris herself. They would have done the same in her position. But still, Fiorentin couldn't just outright accept Randgris' story. She doesn't want Elraven gone, above all others, while they had something to settle. She could feel a sour liquid beginning to take form inside her eye-socket. But she fights the urge back, something inside her tells her it's best to not let it out in here again after the earlier ruckus. Something inside her still wants to hope, to believe, that the insensitive gunslinger is still around to experiment with unrealistic yet edible steaks. Softly, she kneels before the bed where Randgris is lying and stretches both her hands to her right one, gripping it. The warmth crossing in her palm catches the valkyrie's attention, and there she looks at Fio's eyes. Her fight against her urge to bawl is at its limit, Randgris could tell that much. And she can also tell, by the looks of her eyes, perhaps of all people, the rune knight is the one that hopes what she has been told is not the truth. Oh, how Randgris wish she could say so. But lying would only hurt them even more. The grip strengthens itself as seconds go by, indicating her insistence of still hoping for the best. Randgris feels like she's betraying Fio's hope, so she kept her silence. Knowing what she utters would not only hurt her, but everyone else deeper. "I beg you, Princess Fiorentin…please don't say anything" She prayed to herself, even though it is the unlikeliest scenario hanging around. And indeed the silence is one sided.

"Randgris…" The princess finally gathered enough spirit to speak, sufficient to makes Randgris' heart beat a lot faster than it already does, "Please tell me that isn't true. Please tell me Elraven survived"

The valkyrie knew this was coming, she knew Fio would choose to believe Elraven is still there with his pathetic insensitivity and ridiculous talent of cooking weird ingredients. But he isn't. Randgris knew it, Fio also knew it. But Randgris of all people realized the young girl is only searching some peace, some closure, some consolation. Anything, so she can get a hold of herself. And if Randgris could, she would have exchanged her life so El could be here. Oh, yeah, she would do it in a heartbeat. But who could do that?

"Please tell me…he's still here to make dinner. To proudly try out baroque ingredients for his latest steak…spiritedly doing things only to end up flying" Fiorentin put a little smile on her lips when she asked Randgris. Remembering Elraven is, more often that not, remembering weird but amusing things. Looking at her begging is the toughest thing Randgris has ever done that didn't involve any combat. She never thought words can hurt more than swords, but here Fio is, providing her with enough evidence of that notion, "Tell me he's still here to do all those things, Randgris. Please…I'm…I'm begging you…please…"

For each time Fio begged her, for each word she muttered, for every tear she held back, Randgris couldn't help but feel how cruel Elraven was for putting her in this position. How cruel he was for leaving this poor girl begging to her alone. But she was reminded also by how selfless he was. It was so easy for him to use the wings and come back home, but he put her before himself. She owed him her life. And right now, she wants nothing more than telling Fiorentin "Elraven is indeed hiding somewhere, and he's planning to give out a gala dinner tonight". But o, how big of a lie that would be. Not only Randgris, but no one in the room has the heart to tell Fio to stop denying the truth. Because deep down, they also hope for the same to happen. Although they know full well it won't. The rest of the audience didn't even have the heart to the sobbing rune knight, all of them either looked somewhere else or closed their eyes completely, with the exception of Felicia. There seems to be a mutual understanding that this is a scene they want to avoid the most. Every word of begging Fiorentin voiced out hit their hearts and souls pretty badly; the strength of her feelings was inside her pleas, so powerful it can hurt the listeners. Let alone the one who has to answer to her.

And as Randgris has deciphered, lying would only hurt them all even more. So, as much as it is perhaps the cruelest thing she has ever done to a person without using her spear, she let out a weak whisper. So powerless it's almost unheard amidst the sound of the heavy rain, but notwithstanding it makes its way to escape her lips, to the air, echoing in faint, "I'm…so sorry…"

Right at that moment, Randgris could hear Fiorentin's heart shattered into pieces as it hit the floor. The heart of a maiden, so gentle like a feather yet at the same time, so vulnerable. And she just did what she didn't want to do the most when Elraven sent her back here.

And it was the only thing needed to snap Fio back to reality. "No…no, no!" Her grip loosened, she stood up, and ran out before anyone could stop her. "Fio!" Felicia yells and runs after her, leaving the room behind. The rest of the audience stays quiet. Randgris cries again, putting both her palms to her face. She feels guilty the most, no denying that. Sarkhan, with a similar feeling, wraps his arms around her and hugs her. "It's not your fault, Randgris" He softly says to the crying Valkyrie, who in turn also hugs him, "You did your best. It's not your fault"

Randgris seems to calm herself a lot more; of course she is still crying, but not as much as she did earlier. The tension has weakened with just one act from Sarkhan. Marcus and his followers soon leave the room, as do the Samurai sisters. With the audience leaving one by one, Eremes also whispers to Olivia whom he's hugged for a while now, "Let's go, Olivia. You need to take a rest, it's been a long night"

Olivia simply nods, leaving the room with the former Valdomir member. The room is for the deities alone now. When they are finally alone, Randgris began to shed tears again.

0000

The scene in Pegasus is far from the finish line. Emilio, with moderate speed, burst in to the pilot room to find Patricia sitting alone there, "Patricia!"

"Y, yes?" The pilot of Pegasus is taken aback by the words of her superior. It's not often Emilio would yell at his subordinate.

"Prepare Pegasus for a flight right now! We're going back to Odin Temple! I'm going to search every inch of the island if I have to!" A quick order from the explosive captain, who soon looked at his team who's been following him from behind with his father, "You guys prepare your weapons as well, you're coming with me"

Ropera Squad is stuttered, but none of them dares to speak anything that might imply they refuse to do the order given. After Fiorentin, now it's Emilio's time to apparently deny the truth as well. But if Fio had Felicia to keep her dignity, Emilio has his father. "Emilio…" Gen Ed tries to calm his only son down, but the young man shoots it down right at that moment.

"No, don't say anything, dad! Don't tell me you would eat her words just like that!" Emilio is lucky his father is used to him yelling out, so his anger might not complicate the matter even more, "You know Elraven as much as I do! If there is anyone who can survive any kind of battlefield, it's him! You know that!"

"I'm aware of that fact, son" Still with his deep soothing voice and tranquil upbringing, the older Barragan showed what leadership is all about, "That is why I need you to lower your voice. You're not helping anyone"

"Oh, I am. I'm going to help Elraven. I'm going to help my best friend, that's what I'm gonna do" Emilio stood his ground, "And no one here can stop me from doing that"

"Do I no longer exist?" From the surprising response alone, the rest of the gunslingers know Emilio just made the worst kind of an opponent, "I am going to stop you. Even if I have to use my rank, captain"

"So, fire away…general" The younger Barragan locked eyes with the older one. They have fought over trivial matters over the years, but never before they fought over an essential one like this. And certainly, no one has ever seen them using ranks to solve their differences. This is rare, this is new, but no one likes this. And no one is brave enough to even utter a letter. The consequence might be harsh.

And it is indeed harsh.

In a blink of an eye, Gen Ed clenched his right fist and punched Emilio in the face. His sheer strength alone is more than enough to send Emilio flying to inside the pilot room, almost hitting the surprised Patricia in the process, eventually crashing to the wall. The captain of Ropera Squad felt a huge sting in his left cheek, blood is visibly coming out from his mouth and nose. In disbelief, he looks back at his father. The rest of the watchers also fall to the exact same state of disbelief. None of them would have thought the gentle Gen Ed would have the heart to hit his only son. The general in question steps inside to the pilot room, looking at the captain with an angered gaze. All of a sudden, Emilio feels intimidated by the look alone. It's never a good thing angering the strongest gunslinger in the whole world. "I never recalled raising you to be someone who would dare to talk back to your elders. And I certainly never recalled giving you the position of a captain of your own team, only to see you embarrassing yourself in front of your subordinates" Gen Ed spoke up, ever so smoothly with enough depth to capture everyone's attention back at him, "Look at your soldiers, Emilio. Look at them now. What do you see?"

Gen Ed shifted a bit from his position, so Emilio can take a good look on his squad who is standing at the corridor. Sasha's eyes are wet from the tears which don't seem to be stopping at the moment, Martina does not look any different, Clyde must be really confused over the development, and Ty is at lost words. Now Emilio realizes that he deserved that punch. How dare a leader put his interest above his people's need. Instead of yelling at everyone else, he should have tended to his squad first. He was reminded, he is not the only one at sorrow. He hurt them, and he hurt himself, unknowingly. And he must have hurt his father as well. The punch might have hurt Gen Ed's heart more than it hurt his. His action was one sided and egoistical, but he couldn't help it. He's just human. "I…I didn't mean to…" Emilio muttered with an apologetic tone, "I…I just want…to help El…I…"

"We know that, son" Gen Ed returned to his usual self, his fist no longer clenched, "And I wouldn't stop you if the attempt is fruitful"

"Huh? What…do you mean?" Much like Fiorentin earlier, Emilio is now searching for closure. One he is gonna get, but not gonna like.

"When we first arrived on Odin Temple and found Randgris…I quickly detected even the weakest of any living presence through their aura. And there was no one there, son. Randgris told the truth" As heartbreaking as it must be for everyone, Gen Ed chose to no longer cover the truth, "I'm so sorry it turned out this way, but do you think I would have left Elraven, or Frea, if I felt even the slightest hint of their living presence? You know the answer, Emilio. You know the answer better than anyone else"

"But…he…I…" Emilio started to break down, with every word coming out of his mouth labeled by his boundless regret, "He was…my best friend but…the last thing I said to him was…he was annoying….oh, heaven….what have I done? How could I? He was trying to apologize but…I…I…"

And just like any man on the edge, tears trickled down from Emilio's eyes. Like a small rain in itself, the tears poured over the floor. He lost strength to even sit and began to fall back to the wall, so it supports his weight, but it cannot support his crumbling heart, "Oh…what kind of a friend I am? I couldn't even…grant him…one last wish…"

And that feeling is conveyed to everyone else as well. Sasha is unable to stop the waterworks from coming out even more that it already did, her sobbing caught the attention of others. With her eyes wet, Martina hugged her junior, consoling one another as she also bursts into tears. Clyde looked at the two maidens, with the very same warm tears finally making their way out of his eye-socket. Ty put his sight to the window, obviously not wanting to see any of his comrades now. He moved his left hand to cover both his eyes; and then his tears made their way down his cheek. Patricia finally lost it as well; still sitting on her driver's seat, she didn't even try to keep her tears inside.

Emilio started to tremble, his hands are visibly shaking from the sorrow, as if every drop from his eyes reminding him; that he is a terrible mate, unworthy of Elraven's loyalty. He, after all, couldn't even comfort him from a single mistake which wasn't even El's fault to begin with. He could cry, again and again, all night long, but nothing would undo his mistake now. It's too late. The seemingly unending rain adds the coldness from his surroundings; his hands are lost, not knowing what to grab or who to hold, as if warmth is taken from them forcefully. This is the one mistake he cannot correct, even if he begs till his throat can no longer voice. This is the first he lost someone close to him, in his life, and the pain hurts so much like he wouldn't believe it.

Ever since their first inception, this is the first time they ever lost a part of their team. It happened when he was away, far from their reach. It happened when they celebrated, as he chose the path of selflessness. There are for the words left unsaid, deeds left undone. So he'll let them. Even the legendary gunslinger could do nothing but taking a look. The rain seemed to have stolen his voice, as well as his willingness to even begin to say something. He's lost his comrades before, so he knew full well what they are feeling right now. Rather than some petty advice, he knew it's wiser to let them cry their hearts out, because tonight maybe the only chance for them to do so. Very soon, they have to get their acts together and move on, so he'll let them weep for their lost, just tonight.

Quietly, Gen Ed tilted his head a little bit, looking at the raining sky from the window…when a trickle also fell from his eye. He too, lost a boy tonight…

0000

"Oh…is that so?" Helen could only create so little reply when Marcus informed her of the result of the mission upon his return to the inn, "That's…horrible…". Unusual for the stupid guild leader, he was quiet. His face said how much he felt sorry to those who are hurt by the loss of El & Frea. He didn't know them well, but at least by his interaction with Elraven, he was a funny and decent man. He is perfectly capable to understand why his colleagues would riot over the fact El didn't make it back. The atmosphere is very tense now. Gregory, his trustworthy companion, also kept to himself.

Marcus has heard of the rumor that El was actually going to prepare a gala dinner with the help of Helen should he be able to return from the quest. So he assumed Helen deserved to know the truth, no matter how ruthless it may sound. And it was indeed far from merciful; Helen's facial expression gradually turned somber. Anyone could tell she was fighting to hold her tears back; Marcus couldn't figure out a reason why she wouldn't cry in front of him seeing that it's nothing shameful. But he chose to respect her wish and left the corridor back to his room, after giving the lady a polite nod. It's time to tell Kirigi & Wendy their leader is gone, this will be unpleasant.

Helen could still recall it; it was two nights ago Elraven asked for her help to assist him in making yet another 'bizarre but tasty' steak. He said he wanted to apologize to his friends, but now it's long gone. There will be no dinner, no steak. Nothing at all. The smile he had when he was trying to add his extra ingredients will never be seen anymore. The kitchen won't explode again as well. It's weird, they spent so little time together but it feels like she lost someone very important. With the tears coming out of her, she silently made her way back to the room, crying all the way down.

Not far from the corridor, stood Iris who was listening to the whole conversation between Helen & Marcus. "Hm…so Elraven & Frea died?" The kafra employee restated the news for herself, "I don't particularly care about that bloke…but Fio must feel very sad right now…"

0000

Fiorentin ran outside Pegasus, without a care of the rain, with her eyes in shock, her looks in disbelief, her hands in search of anything to grab. She doesn't want to believe a single word Randgris told her, it hurts so much she wishes for it to go away. She didn't pay attention to the wet landscape due to the heavy rain and it cost her, only slightly, but she soon slipped and fell. Normally it would hurt, especially since she is still recovering from her grave wound. But the pain is soon taken, by a greater one lying inside her heart. She didn't even bother to get back to her two feet at once. She just lied there, with her face down to the mud, with endless trickles of waters literally pinning her down there. Her world just got turned upside down; she could care less about rain whatsoever. Right now, there's a relentless literal sting of being crushed from the inside raging in her. With her speed she could outrun this rain to wherever she wants it, but her heart was too torn to even think of running. Her feet cannot bring her away from this hurtful truth. No one can, nothing can. It's been long since she lost someone she held dear. The last time was her parents, and now this. She is reminded by the unpleasant feelings she felt after losing her father and mother in matter of days. She once told Elraven the feeling was unspeakable, she lost her will to live, her appetite, and she almost lost her sanity. But she was finally able to gather herself back at that time. But now she is hit with the same lost, again. To make matters worse, "I couldn't do anything six years ago…but now I could….why didn't I do something?"

And the fact that makes it even more unpleasant is the fact that they separated on a bad term. Fiorentin hasn't accepted his apology for the things he did under that dreaded spell. She could have, but she chose not to. So that Elraven learned something. But it turned out for the worse, "My…foolish pride…now I ended up paying the price…"

When she heard Randgris' story, she couldn't even begin to picture what an agony it must have been for him. To feel every spot of his flesh melting, reduced into ashes, one by one, every second of his life is taken away from him. She doesn't even want to try imagining it. Because the more she attempts to, the more she realized how devastating it is now that their chance to make up is zero.

"Is…this a divine punishment for my pretentious act?" She clenched her fists, saying things to comfort herself, even if it does otherwise and hurt her even more, "Can this not just be a nightmare? Can I not wake up and find out everything is fine, that no one died? That Elraven survived?"

But the teary sky ensured her; none of this was parts of nightmare. It's as real as you can get it.

Much to the kindness of destiny, Fiorentin is far from being alone. Again, trying to support her was Felicia, who's been following Fio from behind but was unable to catch up with her speed. Only this time, unlike the last, Felicia didn't bring the umbrella. No time to get it, not now. She stopped by, not far from the smaller lady, focusing her eyes on Fiorentin. Her weak legs are bend, her shoulders look tired, and she just receiving perhaps one of the worst beating her lifetime. Not physically, but mentally. Felicia is well aware that despite her small feature, Fiorentin is physically capable. More than capable, even. She, after all, defeated Naght Sieger after receiving a broad sword into her torso; that alone speaks volume of her resistance to physical pain. But her heart is a different matter. She's not even fully mature yet, but she carried perhaps the heaviest burden anyone in Sagramore has to carry. The weight of that burden has been pressing her all this time, but she yielded. Her heart was supported by many things, and now that she lost one of those supports, that strong heart begins to tremble. The burden feels heavier than ever. And if this keeps on going, things are going to head for the worse. Felicia will never let that happen.

"Fiorentin" The tall maiden called out to her leader. She didn't shout, but even the rain couldn't belittle her voice. She put her feelings into her words, make them unstoppable, "Let's get inside. You'll catch a cold like this"

"I…I don't care…" The weeping girl didn't even bother looking at Felicia, "Illness…or whatever…maybe I deserve it…"

"Don't be silly" Felicia sighed, before slowly advancing to the rune knight, "Stop saying things like that, we're going back to Pegasus"

"I…I don't want to….let me stay here…" Fiorentin's spiritless reply put a hold on Felicia's steps, this is getting pretty tiring, "I…don't want anyone to see me like this"

"Alright, no Pegasus, then. Let's go back to the inn, I'll take you to your room" The golden haired placed her hand on girl's shoulder, but quickly feeling her resisting. It doesn't even need to be said, Fiorentin does not want to stand up, let along walking back to the inn. And Felicia really hates this condition, "Fiorentin, please stop this"

Forcefully, Felicia brought her back to her knees. The clear distinction in strength, height, and weight put so much difference into the attempt, add to the fact Fio did not even try to fight back. Felicia took a good look at her dirtied face, which she cleaned rapidly with the help of the relentless rain, just like washing a child's face, "You're right, no one should see you like this. Let's go back to the inn"

Felicia grabbed her hand and tried to take Fio with her, to no avail. The latter acted like a statue, she doesn't move. Or more like, she doesn't want to move. The heartless rain poured so much water into Fio's face that her hair began to strand and cover nearly all over her face, giving her the impression of a typical ghost woman in asian horror stories. She looked down, not wanting Felicia to stare into her eyes. Enough of being pierced in the heart tonight. Even without a slight look, Felicia knew, Fio must be shouldering a huge guilt. So huge and heavy it pummeled her usually straight and proud face down. To the point she is not brave enough to even take a mere look. And Felicia also knew, it's up to her to stop this.

"It's not your fault, Fiorentin" One more time, Felicia's puissant voice pierced through the endless stream of water, and not even a fiber of it was taken by the flowing current, "It's not your fault that Elraven didn't make it back. There was nothing you could do"

"Yes, there was" In a similar fashion, Fiorentin's voice also escaped the rain. Still, she's not looking up, "I could have forgiven him for what he did. I should have accepted his apology before his departure, but my pride didn't allow me to. And now…now he's gone…"

The younger maiden started to sob again as she struggled to resume, a feat Felicia does not disregard. This is not the time to cut her off; this is the time to listen to her to her heart's content. Her guilt needs to be freed, this is the way. "Now…he's gone…forever!" Her tone just raised a bit more, retelling how sorry she is for the thing she did, "And no matter how much I regret what I have done, my words will never reach him! I should have forgiven him! I should have given him that privilege! But he died knowing I was upset at him, despite the fact I was really not! But there's nothing I can do now! The last thing I told him was unjust! And it was all because of my ego! It's...It's horrible, this pain…it's so shocking, so sudden…I don't know how to bear it…"

"Not alone, that's for sure" An unexpected answer, so much Fiorentin finally lifted her head and saw Felicia at her eyes, "That is why I'm here, so I can carry the cross together with you. And it's not just me, Fio. Every one of us here is more than willing to do so"

Those words cease the fiery temper raging underneath; so gently, Fiorentin took a better look at her loyal companion. It is almost hidden by the rain, but Fio can see it clearly now. Just like her, Felicia is also crying. But she doesn't look sad, not at all. In fact, she looks proud, over the fact that her queen was shouldered by a selfless man who was willing to throw his life away for a weakened comrade. Knowing that he knew that man, saw that man, and befriended that man alone was an honor; it was even a greater a honor to know her queen has liked the man. To know he was once a part of their band is enough reason to not remember him by regret, but by respect. With one look, it was all clear to Fiorentin now. And above all others, she finally realized she's glad to have Felicia here. She would have been destroyed without her; the rain would have shattered her to pieces. But Felicia found her, and pulled her out from that darkness. And there is no need for words, because just by one look alone, Felicia knew Fiorentin has calmed down. Of course the pain is still there, and maybe will be there for a long time, but at least she gets a better hold of herself. That should be adequate for now. But her quest is yet to be finished. She still needs to free her queen from something else. So she takes action. Tranquilly, Felicia wrapped her arms around the rune knight, hugging her. Right at that point, Fiorentin could feel transferred warmth. Even the stubborn rain couldn't decrease the warmth one bit. They're so close; they could feel each other's heartbeat. More, it's as if the burden is shared to half. There's a certain delicacy in the way she hugged, it's not so tight it's hurting, but it's not too loosened up it feels half-hearted. It is proper enough so that Fio relaxes a little bit, but gripping enough to ensure the rune knight of one other thing, "Let it go, Fio. Let it all go out, you can cry as much as you want. The rain will hide your tears with theirs, they will cloud your sorrow with the mist they create, they will wash your pain away as soon as they hit the ground, they will swipe the regret in your heart. Cry it out; don't let your wings get clipped away by the sadness lying dormant inside your very soul. This is not the place where your journey ends, there are things still need to be done. But we'll keep that for later, so cry your hearts out now, until no more anger can be felt inside iyou until the flame of your guilt fades away. Cry it out"

Almost instantly after the golden haired warrior finished her speech, her queen let it all out, for the first time in years, showing her vulnerability as tears burst from her eyes. But Felicia's words are kept true, the rain hid the wail she let out, the whimper she couldn't hold, the regret she bore. His name was whispered, but it could only last so much in the watery atmosphere, it didn't even become more than a whisper. At long last, Fiorentin finally broke down…

0000

Several hours later…

The tears have finally died down for everyone. Night is at its darkest. The town and most of the alliance have fallen into their slumber. Just like Eremes said, it's been a long night. The only two still awake is Gen Ed & Patricia. The highest ranking officer of the Military of Einbroch is sitting in a chair inside the conference room, with nothing to do or to say. Patricia accompanied him, just as silent. Earlier, Gen Ed told Patricia to keep all the communication lines open in case any important news should hit them. Who knows if it might have been a desperate attempt from Gen Ed to alternate the currently very sad point of view to another POV?

And a message comes indeed, in the form of a landline communication. Gen Ed signals Patricia to open the line and connect him with the caller,

GE: This is Eduardo Barragan, the highest commanding officer of The Military of Einbroch speaking. Come in, Einbroch.

CM: General Eduardo, this is private Carlos Munoz of the first Division Branch, serving as one of the communication supports for Ropera Squad. I would like to report an emergency, sir!

GE: Come in, private!

CM: The headquarter of The Military of Einbroch is under attack, sir! I repeat, we are under a direct and heavy attack!

GE: What? Who's attacking?

CM: It's High Minister Jose Martinez, sir!

GE: Martinez? How did he?

CM: I do not know the exact information, sir! But from what we have gathered, the High Minister gathered and persuaded the entire high council of Juno to agree to launch this attack for the crime of treason, sir! Our military is declared to be enemy of the entire states and is to be dealt with as soon as possible! The council and high minster had secretly collected over 800,000 soldiers consisted of the prisoners from all over the continent over the years, sir! We have been fending them off for four hours, sir!

GE: Four hours? Do we not outnumber their soldiers? We have 2,000,000 million gunslingers on standby.

CM: Yes, that was what we originally thought! But they have another support, sir! Their soldiers are supported by Valdomir Kingdom! They have near countless numbers of the incantation of Morroc , sir! The soldiers are led by three notable figures from Valdomir: a man identified as Albert Gahn, a giant demon that appears to be the full and complete version of Great Demon Baphomet, and…what looks like to be the Fallen Bishop Hibram, sir!

GE: What? So Martinez has been working for Valdomir all along? And…the real Great Demon Baphomet & Fallen Bishop Hibram? Such fleets…

CM: Please, sir! You have to do something! We have been able to secure the civilians to the underground bunkers, but we cannot stay like this! We will not be able to hold out for more than thirty days if this keeps on going!

GE: All right, calm down. I'm going there with Ropera Squad in the next 24 to 72 hours. In the meantime, enhance the defense of the headquarters by activating the Apocalypse prototypes we designed. I will also tell my trump card to head to Einbroch immediately. Trust me, he will be an incredibly great help. And while we're at it, private, I would like you to inform me whether or not there has been a development related to ARMAS? I doubt Martinez would choose to attack us if he failed to secure the location to the key of ARMAS.

CM: I see, our contact informed us Martinez did send a group of his troops to…Einbech, the mining village, which is also the entrance to Einbroch Dungeon.

GE: So that where the key is located. Good job finding it for us, Martinez. Alright, I will send three of my soldiers there to secure the key. Do your best until we arrive, Munoz.

CM: Roger, sir! We're not going to give up until you and Ropera Squad arrive!

GE: Roger, and out.

Bewildered, Patricia quickly asked when the transmission is over, "What do you mean your trump card, general? I thought we have gathered the entire Ropera Squad right here?"

"Not quite, Patricia" The highest commanding officer of the military picked his phone and dialed a number, but still directing his words to Patricia, "I will explain to you later about this trump card, but meanwhile can you teleport pod number V-0023 in our infirmary? The coordinate of the destination is ein_in01, it's going to be a great help.

"Well, sure" Patricia headed to the infirmary as she was told, the moment Gen Ed connected his communication line to a certain someone,

GE: Hellion?

T: Speaking, General Eduardo.

GE: Well, son, I think your premiere showing to showcase your worth as the newest addition of Ropera Squad is coming sooner rather than later.

T: Affirmative, general. Where should I head?

GE: Where is your position right now?

T: El Mes Plateau, as you ordered, general.

GE: Alright, I will need you to head south to the mining village of Einbech. Martinez's troops possibly have been trying to secure the location of the key to ARMAS inside the Einbroch Dungeon.

T: Einbech, copy that. Am I going alone, general?

GE: No, two of my soldiers are coming with you. The first one is on his way, the second one…

Sadly, General Eduardo just remembered none of them is available right now, especially mentally. But he already promised two, not one. It's not like Gen Ed to break his promise…and of course not this time.

"Uncle Ed?" A soft, yet comforting voice resounds from the corridor, where Akari, the youngest daughter of the royalty, is standing tall, "I'm sorry, I was taking a walk inside your ship. I…couldn't help but overheard your conversation. Are you in need of help?"

"Actually, yes, Akari-chan. I really am" Gen Ed must be seeing her like she's a savior now, "I need one of my men to go to Einbroch…but I forgot they are all unavailable right now"

"I know, I'm sorry to hear about your soldier" Is it just me or despite being the younger sibling, Akari is already showing more sign of maturity than Hikari? "If you do not mind, I will take the spot you need to fill. I will be more than glad to lend my power if it can help my family"

The oldest of the Barragan feels like God just reminded him, even in the time of fear and despair, there's always a guiding light of hope that will show them the end of the road. Maybe Akari is one of those guides, "Akari-chan…you're an angel. Thank you so much for this, dear. Look how much you have grown ever since the last time I saw you"

"Don't say that, Uncle Ed. I have not been doing anything worthy from the start of this war due to my trainings in the mountain. If this can be my first path into goodness, it would serve as an honor to me" Proudly, with a smile, she answered.

Gen Ed cannot stop smiling as he throws the good news to the new guy, "Hellion? I got you two good comrades to accompany your journey. The first one is so tough and dependable….and the second one, you will see for yourself"

"I cannot wait to meet them, general. I will be waiting in Einbech" The new guy ended his communication line, "Over, and out"

Now, Gen Ed can feel it. There's still an array of hope after all, for all of them. He would not want to start this emergency mission another way.

0000

Well, The Knightfall just celebrated its 3th birthday, and yes, since this is a rather depressing chapter I deliberately ended it with a small hope for our heroes. I hope I caught the moment perfectly.

Thank you all for reading, reviews are appreciated. C u next chapter!