I don't normally post sequels to other stories in here, aside from archived works, but after posting chapters from my Rising of the Shield Hero story The World is Not Enough, I decided that I would begin posting potential chapters of sequels to my fics, a few of which I have actually started already, but never got around to publishing, if only because they haven't quite gotten up to scratch yet. However, they may yet end up that way, and here's a good example of one, Iuncta Iuvat, the sequel to my Berserk crossover Ubi Amor, Ibi Dolor. While there's no guarantee of it getting enough chapters to be posted as a full-blown work, hopefully, this will whet your appetites.

I didn't just post this chapter for that, though, but to bring out some announcements. Unfortunately, my Eminence in Shadow crossover, Scathach, has faltered for various reasons. However, I do have alternative plot ideas for such a crossover, and I intend to start working on them soon. And it's not the only one on the cards.

Aside from revisiting my Harry/Rias pairing ideas for a High School DxD crossover, a potential Baldur's Gate 3 crossover, and a few Nasuverse crossovers, and even revisiting Final Fantasy VII, given that the second instalment of the remake has finally dropped, I'm also considering some new franchises for crossovers. I recently watched the second part of the new Dune movie duology, and the ending, without going too much into spoilers, has inspired me to potentially do a Potterverse crossover, or even a My Hero Academia crossover, albeit with a hybrid of elements from the film and TV adaptations of Dune, as well as the original novel.

In addition, I am also idly considering a Beast Tamer crossover, and a little less idly considering a crossover with Apparently, Disillusioned Adventurers Will Save the World. I'm also considering a crossover with Call of the Sea, though that will probably be a Halloween oneshot, but seriously, that game is a beautiful one in terms of both graphics and story.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy Iuncta Iuvat...

IUNCTA IUVAT

CHAPTER 1:

REUNION

Jill was not having a good night, to say the least. She knew it was going to get worse, she just didn't know in what way it would. Then again, when you were caught wandering through the woods near her village by a group of bandits who had every intention of selling her off, though not before sampling the merchandise first, you could be forgiven for thinking that rape was going to be the worst thing that would happen to you that night.

Jill had hoped to escape her village, a near-nameless scrag-end of a village near the Misty Valley, subjected to regular attacks from the elves there. And if that weren't bad enough, her alcoholic father, one who claimed to be a military veteran (Jill personally thought he was a deserter, just like many of these bandits doubtlessly were), abused her regularly, and turned a blind eye to his fellow drunkards making advances towards her. He demanded respect he wasn't due.

However, Jill had fight left in her, as the bandit who licked her face with a foul tongue learned when she kicked him in the nuts. Something she was glad Rosine had told her to do if something like this happened. And then, she heard the bulky leader of the group begin relaying a chilling tale about the knotted, gnarled tree behind her. "See that tree? Long ago, you had these pagans who believed in spirits of the forest around here. As a sacrifice to their gods, they'd stake people's guts to a tree and make them walk 'round it once."

"Bullshit!" retorted one of the bandits. "Stop trying to scare us, boss!"

"I ain't tryin' to bullshit you guys." The leader indicated the tree, even as thunder rumbled in the distance. "See those old nails? And those knots and bumps in the wood? Don't they look like faces, those who were sacrificed?"

As the other bandits berated their boss, the creepy one who licked her snickered, and then hauled Jill to her feet. "Sounds fun," he said with a leer. "Let's try it."

The bandits tried to protest, until a spiky seed smacked into the hand of the creepy one, which the boss called 'Dig'. He began screaming for whoever it was to come out. And in a flash of lightning, Jill saw him for the first time. A hooded, cloaked figure in the hollow of a nearby tree, peering at them balefully with a single eye. At first, Jill thought it a forest ghost. But the man pulled off his hood, revealing a scarred face. He could have been handsome, in a brutal way, and when he stood, he towered above everyone else. "Can you idiots shut up? Can't get any shut-eye with you bottom-feeders yammering on." He took Dig's face and slammed him, hard, into the tree. "Just out of curiosity…that story about the tree, is it true?"

The leader scowled. "What of it? Your bowels would do just as well as the girl's wound around there."

The hulking man scoffed. "Figures. I was trying to get some kip, but I got too close to something like this. Lack of sleep's a bitch. I don't really give a fuck about you scum, but let me give you some friendly advice. Things happen around me, nasty things. All sorts of ghosts and monsters come out around me. So, if you don't want to die, get the fuck out of here."

The bandits laughed, and the leader sneered, "You ain't in a position to negotiate, pal. You made Dig bleed. How about I break your arm, take your shit, and call it even?" With that, he twirled a flail, ready to smash it into the man's arm…only for the man to slam his fist into the leader's face. Only, it was metal.

"I've only got the one arm," the hulking man said. "And you've got a face that looks like it needed panel beating. Hmm…doesn't sound as funny compared to when Harry said it." He looked over at Jill. "Girl…you'd better get behind me."

Jill nodded mutely, having managed to spit out the gag, but the other bandits were readying their weapons. "You bastard," snarled one of them. "We're going to turn you into mulch for these trees, and take your arm. It's too late to beg for mercy."

The hulking man sighed. "Well, that tree is looking to make its own mulch. So yeah, it is too late to beg for mercy."

There was an ominous creaking noise behind the bandits, and Jill stared as the tree they were discussing seemed to grow eyes and mouths, its branches becoming tendrils. It slammed a branch down on a couple of the bandits, blood and guts flying everywhere, before it grabbed the remains, and began to eat them. The surviving bandits fled screaming. Jill, however, was paralysed with shock and fear, those emotions exerting an icy grip on her.

But then, the hulking man reached beneath his cloak, and whipped out…something, something that tore through the tree, causing blood to spray from it, as if it had cut a man's limb off. As the tree screeched, Jill stared at the sword he had used. No, it was too big to be called such, too large, thick, heavy and rough. It was closer to a lump of raw iron, shaped into a facsimile of a sword.

"Sacrifice…" hissed the tree in an eldritch voice. "Sacrifice…"

"Fuck off," the hulking man snarled, before he went to work, swinging that sword so quickly, Jill wondered how strong he was. At one point, the man got his metal arm trapped, only for him to unleash a small cannon within it, annihilating a good chunk of the trunk. The tree began to burn, and then, the dawn began to break through the clouds. Ghosts seem to waft from the tree, disappearing in the dawn.

The sound of hooves sounded from nearby. Jill whirled, only to find a frightening apparition galloping towards them. If Death was a knight rather than a robed figure with a scythe, this was it, a knight with armour like a skeleton, eyes glowing balefully within the sockets. And yet, the rider was not riding alone.

"Guts!" yelled a woman's voice, and the horse slowed to a canter, only for a young woman with dark skin and short black hair to leap off from behind the rider, a sword by her side, armour covering her form. A young man in lighter armour and holding a spear that seemed rather like a staff followed, his messy black hair framing attractive features, emerald eyes peering at them behind lenses, a faded scar like a lightning bolt just visible snaking out from beneath his fringe.

The hulking swordsman seemed to recognise the three of them, and even smiled. "Casca! Harry! Bonehead!" he called out. "You came here?"

The horse-rider in skeletal armour spoke, in a deep, flanging voice, "Struggler…you look hale and hearty, despite the trials and travails of your journey. I brought these ones to you, as difficult times lie ahead."

"I've been through difficult times before, these past couple of years," the swordsman said. "What makes this any different?" He looked to the new arrivals. "Don't get me wrong, I'm glad to see both of you. You'd make better company than Puck. But Casca…are you sure you're ready to face these things?"

"I'm as ready as I ever will be, Guts," the dark-skinned woman said. "We've learned all we can about the Godhand, the Apostles, and the Behelits…not that there's much more to learn than we already did."

"And it was I who suggested they come, Struggler. You come here to confront one Apostle. Another hunts you." The skeletal-armoured knight then looked at Jill. "This girl is key to dealing with one Apostle…whether it by death or redemption is up to you. For by redemption, you may save many other lives."

"…What's that supposed to mean?" Guts asked.

"He's being enigmatic and manipulative. I swear, did Gaiseric teach Dumbledore or something?" the young man, presumably Harry, remarked, before he turned his attention to Jill. "Hi. I'm Harry Potter. That lovely lady knight is Casca, and that walking mass of scar tissue and anger management issues is Guts. Oh, and we call that guy the Skull Knight for obvious reasons. What's your name?"

"…Jill," she said, hesitantly.

Harry smiled, tiredly, but genuinely. "Hi, Jill. Sorry if Guts scared you, he tends to do that. But as long as you're not an Apostle or one of their minions, or someone like those bandits, he's fine."

Jill looked over to Guts, who rolled his eyes. "Just don't expect me to coddle you, girl."

"Aw, Guts, drop the act. You do care about her," spoke a high-pitched voice. And before Jill knew it, a small, glowing figure, naked, but without any definition on its features barring its face, flew up to her face. "Hey, the name's Puck! Good to meetcha!"

Jill's eyes widened. Elf! Elf! ELF! "ELLLLLFFFF!" she screeched. "An elf from Misty Valley!"

And that's when the startled people present exchanged looks, save for the Skull Knight. It was Casca who stepped forward, and put a hand on her shoulder, gently. But her tone, while gentle, held all the authority of a command. "Explain."

As Casca gently coaxed Jill to talk, Harry found himself lost in his thoughts. Years ago, he had ended up in this world, after an attempt to escape the Goblins' enforcers went awry. He didn't realise it until later, but the girl he had met in his dreams was very real, and he soon met her, shortly after he intervened in a clash between Guts and some idiots from the Band of the Hawk.

Even now, he couldn't think of them without a pang of pain. He effectively used them as a substitute for his friends from Britain, gaining new friends and comrades. Rickert, Judeau, Pippin, Gaston, Guts…and Casca.

Until the Eclipse. Until Griffith, crippled and in the depths of despair thanks to the King of Midland's torture, agreed to a Mephistophelean pact: his comrades' lives, in exchange for power. And the survivors were all scarred, in one way or another.

Harry got off lightly. He'd been resting when Griffith had fled to the lake where he found his Crimson Behelit. So did Rickert: he'd survived an Apostle attack on the rearguard during the rescue mission. But Guts and Casca both got branded, with the Brand of Sacrifice, a damned seal that attracted demons and evil spirits to it like a dinner gong. Guts lost an eye and an arm, and Casca…she was raped into near-insanity by the demonic being Griffith became, Femto of the Godhand. Only their link between their souls allowed Casca to retain her sanity, or a vestige of it.

Soon after they recovered, they parted ways. Rickert remained with Princess Charlotte who, with her handmaiden, now resided at the smithy of Godo. Guts intended to slaughter his way through the Apostles, hoping to get the Godhand's attention that way. Meanwhile, Harry and Casca had headed to the domicile of a witch called Flora, and her protégé, Schierke. There, they hoped to learn more about this world's magic, the Godhand, and the Apostles. They learned more of the former than the latter, but the two years they spent there also helped Casca heal, and regain her confidence.

Eventually, Jill said, "East of my village, over three mountains, there's the Misty Valley. It's called that because there's a mist there all year round for some reason. Legend has it that elves have lived there since time immemorial."

"Clearly, something's happened recently," Guts said. "I heard rumours of disappearances and deaths nearby. Is that it?"

"Yes. Crops are devoured in the fields, and storehouses are raided. Even livestock are killed. But that's not the worst of it. Humans get devoured too…and sometimes, they abduct children. Those who see it see elves, small, glowing people with insect wings."

"…Well, that's crazy!" Puck said. "Elves don't attack villages! Hell, we try to go out of our way to avoid being seen in the first place!"

"I know!" Jill snapped. "I mean…there's something wrong about it…but I've seen them. Our village has been attacked a few times already."

"While it is true that elves have caused problems in the past," the Skull Knight intoned solemnly, "this kind of wanton destruction is beyond all but the most malevolent of elves, and even then, I suspect your problem has a more diabolical cause. These are not elves, but the spawn of an Apostle."

Harry suddenly came to a chilling realisation. "…If an Apostle abducted children…could they convert them into Pseudo-Apostles like elves?"

"Indeed. And the mind of a child can be the cruellest of all, for many are yet to understand morality or consequences." With that parting shot, the Skull Knight turned to leave. "I have matters to attend elsewhere. But we will meet again soon enough. Good luck, Struggler, Warrior, and Wizard. And you, girl…your friend yet lives, but not as you know her. You are the key to her salvation, or her damnation. But know this: you yearn for a haven to flee to. There are no truly safe havens in the world. Those that seem that way are ephemeral dreams at best. But…the Wizard and the Warrior know of a place you may find respite, perhaps even somewhere to learn anew, should you survive this ordeal. Farewell…" And with that, the Skull Knight galloped off.

Harry groaned. "Can he stop being so fucking ominously enigmatic and actually give us a straight answer?"

Casca rolled her eyes. "If he's Gaiseric, he probably does it out of boredom."

"…I don't understand," Jill said. "Who are you people?"

"We're pest controllers," Guts said. "And it seems you have a problem. Now…how about you lead us back home? We'll make a stop there, and then, we'll head to Misty Valley. But tell me…what did that bonehead mean when he brought up your friend?"

Jill seemed confused. "…I don't know. But…I did have a friend who disappeared years ago. Her name was Rosine. But if she's alive…where has she gone?"

Casca looked grim as she considered this question. "…Maybe that's what the Skull Knight meant. Maybe Rosine is linked to this mess. Let's get going."

"Aye-aye, Commander," Guts said, a little sardonically, but they fell into easy step, escorting Jill as they headed back to the village. Harry just hoped they weren't walking into disaster…

CHAPTER 1 ANNOTATIONS:

So, there it is. The first chapter of the sequel.

No numbered annotations this time.