In a stroke of good fortune, the direction that Celine told them to go just so happened to be the same direction that Class VII had gone during their previous trip to Ymir. This meant that Rean knew exactly how to lead the group consisting of him, Celine, Toval, and Elise towards their destination and the inevitable encounter waiting for them.
That being said, just knowing where they were going was only part of the problem. They also had to contend with the myriad monsters along the way. Ymir, being so far from the more heavily traveled regions of Erebonia, was home to some fairly nasty critters. And while they had been smart enough to mostly stay away from the massive group that comprised Class VII, they did not do so for the three humans now making the trip.
Fortunately, they were more than up to the task of defending themselves. True to word, Rean kept one eye on Elise as they engaged a group of cryons that attacked them. He needn't have bothered though, as the younger girl seemed to understand her limitations well enough. Generally she held back and relied on her orbment to do the bulk of the work while saving her fencing skills to dart in and pick off isolated targets. She even impressed him when in his distracted state he got blasted by a painful water art and the girl immediately assisted him with a powerful healing ability he didn't know she possessed.
Speaking of being impressed, Rean now understood exactly why Instructor Sara held Toval in such high regards. Rean could safely say that he has never met anyone who could use an ARCUS unit so effectively. Although the senior bracer mostly stuck with low-level arts, his ability to cast them almost instantly made what should have been simple attacks into something truly amazing. He was also quite deft with his baton, deftly bringing it to bear whenever the enemies were too numerous for Rean to face in melee by his lonesome.
Something which he was pleased to notice didn't happen often. Although he still didn't think he was fully back to where he could stand against Laura or Fie in a duel, he was close enough to not embarrass himself and felt he just needed a little more exercise before he was truly back in form. Thus making this the perfect opportunity to practice his Eight Leaves. Many monsters fell to his use of the second, third, and fourth forms. Occasionally he even utilized the stance of the seventh form, although he had not yet perfected any offensive techniques in that style yet.
Before long the group of four reached a Bridge that the feline noted marked the midway point to their trip. Although they didn't have much time to waste with the Magic Knight closing in he still thought to suggest a quick breather for Elise. Unfortunately, the girl was both stubborn and determined, which meant that she was quick to refuse his offer. Toval was absolutely no help as the veteran just shrugged with an amused look on his face before prompting them to continue.
The second half of their journey was much like the first. Lots of snow and monsters, but not a whole lot of interest. The St. Astraia student took the time to familiarize herself with the all-important combat link function of the ARCUS and under his guidance proved to be a quick study. By the time they reached their destination she was at least proficient enough to be able to swap her link between him and Toval fairly easily.
Speaking of their destination, that too was quite familiar to Rean. The direction Celine kept pointing them in just so happened to be the same direction as the mysterious monument that had caused them so many problems just a few months prior. Despite that, Toval didn't think that Bleublanc or Ouroboros was responsible for the current crisis and Rean was inclined to agree.
Even though the monument seemed inactive Rean still had a bad feeling about the place. Bad events always seemed to happen in this spot. Not only was it responsible for the previous situation, but it was also the spot where he first transformed as a kid. Maybe the clearing was just cursed. If that were the case...
Yup, there it was. That same mechanical roar that he was already sick of. And it was close enough that they could hear the heavy footfalls on approach.
A few seconds later it strode into view. Although Rean had been expecting it, seeing it perfectly fine after tumbling down a cliff was disheartening. Still, it was far too close to Ymir for his comfort and it needed to be stopped here and now. Without hesitation the bracer and two students moved to engage.
The swordsman had forgotten just how good it was to fight a dangerous enemy with friends at his side, but got a reminder as the Magic Knight's attempts at swatting him away as he approached were thwarted by a Spark Arrow impacting it solidly. Using the opening that Toval provided Rean was able to land a solid hit with his flaming tachi.
Although slower on the draw than the Zero-Artisan bracer, Elise's own art was no less damaging in its effects, further driving the large machine back. During their trip through the valley Rean and Celine had explained what little they understood about the Magic Knight's capabilities and all had agreed that a relentless offense was their best chance at overcoming its healing factor. If he had been able to hold if off by himself in its weakened state the three of them working in unison should be more than capable of driving it back, right?
Instead, it surprised them by letting out another roar and the mana energy emanating from it began to glow even brighter.
Their fears that it had just responded to their escalation by raising its own power were well-founded as it once again drove its sword into the ground to cause the earth to quake. Although Rean had faced this attack before even he wasn't expecting the raw strength behind it. It somehow managed to cause the entire valley to quake and all three were knocked to the ground by the attack.
Rean cursed to himself as he discovered that the snow wasn't nearly deep enough to protect his forehead from painfully impacting the jagged rocks beneath. The cut wasn't particularly deep, but the blood seeping into his face would be a major hindrance. Or at least it should have been, had Elise not been there immediately to repair the damage with her powerful healing ability. He was actually quite curious about that, as it was no art and more akin to how Elliot used his staff to heal others, but the battlefield was no place to ask questions like that. Instead he hurriedly wiped the blood off his face before reentering the fray to assist the experienced bracer who had never once relented in his arts casting.
Although the Magic Knight was now seemingly a lot stronger, it wasn't any faster and so the battle didn't play out much differently. Instead of being cut in half by the blade anyone hit would probably be reduced to paste. The only change was that Rean knew he could no longer rely on his transformed self to be able to block that giant sword.
Not that he had any intention of transforming quite yet, as he wanted to conserve his strength for the battles to come. Although the damage they were doing did appear to be surpassing its ability to regenerate, it was only barely so. As long as they looked out for each other the machine wasn't all that threatening, but he wasn't sure they could last long enough to take it down for good.
The stalemate continued for a few more minutes with the Magic Knight doing what it could while being constantly bombarded by arts while Rean did his best to contribute with his tachi. Although he was still feeling fit, he could feel through his ARCUS link with her that Elise was beginning to waver. They needed to finish this soon or else he would have to go to Plan B...
Something which Toval seemed to understand. "Rean! Back off for a sec, will ya?" He wasn't sure what the arts specialist was planning, but he hurriedly complied. "Time to stop holding back..." The swordsman watched in awe as the bracer's orbment began glowing a bright green before multiple large orbs of concentrated wind arts appeared all around the Magic Knight. They seemed to follow the movements of Toval's hands before coalescing into one giant sphere that matched the target's size. Leaping up into the air he gave the attack a metaphorical shove, causing it to descend upon the enemy. "This is gonna hurt... Rebellion Storm!" The second it impacted a massive tornado formed that threatened to blow the three humans and especially Celine away. It was unlike any wind art that Rean had ever seen before...
That was seemingly enough to put the Magic Knight down as it slumped onto a knee. Despite that, Rean didn't let his guard down for one instant. "Think that did it?" Toval asked as Elise struggled to catch her breath after her first real battle.
"Not yet!" Rean felt the surge of mana an instant before he saw the effects, as the ancient golem once again rose to it's feet. That didn't surprise him. What did, however, was the fact that it had somehow doubled the number of arms it had to four, and each of them were now holding blades.
"How can it grow more arms...?" Elise sounded terrified, and rightly so.
Toval, although a lot calmer, was also worried. "You can't be serious..."
It was time for Plan B. "Well?" Celine asked as she turned to him. "Think he's ready?" It was nice to know that the familiar was on the same page as me.
Although Rean didn't exactly know what he was doing, he understood that it was what he needed to do. He closed his eyes and searched inside of him for that feeling. Not the one he used to transform, but a separate entity entirely. One that felt a lot warmer. Readily he found it. It wasn't strong, but instinctively he understood it was enough for their needs. "Ready enough, but he won't be able to fight for very long. Still, he's the best chance we got!" Fighting against one sword was dangerous enough on foot, so four would probably be impossible. "Elise! Toval! Stay back!"
The two were confused by his request, but he was happy to note that they trusted him enough to comply anyways. Although he barely remembered doing it in Trista, as he allowed that warm energy to release itself he replayed the exact same words he used that first time. "Heed my call... Valimar, the Ashen Knight!"
He smiled to himself as he felt the Divine Knight approaching at a high speed. It was an odd feeling, like the return of a missing friend. Despite having only just met Valimar, and it being somewhat responsible for his current predicament, Rean couldn't help but feel some kind of bond with the machine, just like Celine had said.
"What's that sound?"
"Am I seein' things...?" Both the Schwarzer maiden and arts bracer were shocked as they watched the machine come flying in from the Eisengard Mountain Range before landing just behind the group. Luckily the Magic Knight chose not to attack while Rean and Celine made their way towards Valimar, instead letting out another roar, as if challenging the other robot to a fight.
Once back inside Valimar Rean once again began the instinctive process of taking control of the legendary machine, fingers dancing across the keyboard with unnatural ease. Both he and Celine glanced at the display monitors as they appeared. "Yeah, he's recovered enough to fend off this guy, at least." The cat let out a small laugh. "Try and actually win this time, got it?"
"Not a problem." If her blunt words bothered him he didn't let it show. "I'm counting on you, Valimar! Our target's the Magic Knight right in front of us!"
"Acknowledged." The robot intoned. "However, operational time is limited to a maximum of three-hundred seconds. Caution is advised."
With Valimar fully under his control the pilot turned his attention to the two humans still nearby. "Elise! Toval! I'll take care of this! Stay back!"
"Haha. Roger that!" The veteran bracer was quick to understand his need for space and led Elise away.
Now with room to operate Rean turned his attention back towards the Magic Knight. From their earlier encounters he didn't think it was nearly as powerful as Scarlet's Spiegel, let alone Crow's Divine Knight, but he was on a time limit. Not to mention it had four swords to his zero. "I'll have to rely on the unarmed form this time, too, but that's just fine by me. Okay, here goes!"
He did his best to remember the lessons his master had imparted onto him about fighting dual-wielders as he figured those would still apply even against someone using four weapons at once. Things like the perils of blocking an opponent that could strike from multiple angles in quick succession.
Come to find out those fears were unfounded, as while the Magic Knight did possess four arms, it didn't seem to be able to use them independently, instead swinging them in unison. It certainly made its strikes more fearsome, but far easier to evade. This was proven as he easily dodged a rather dangerous overhand chop before sliding in and punching the evil robot in the face, which felt good doing some real damage after his earlier encounters with it.
Still, he had to grimace as he once again watched the ancient machine begin to regenerate from his strike. Sure, Valimar could do far more damage than what he and Toval could do on foot, but without a weapon he still wasn't sure it was enough. Especially as Valimar didn't have all that long to operate.
Desperately he went on the offensive, unleashing barrages of punches whenever he found the openings. He could feel the metal buckling under each of his blows, but the mana holding the Magic Knight together continued to repair the damage. He was forced to abort his attack before he could score a truly decisive blow as the sword barrage, while easy to avoid, was enough to force him back. A look at the monitor caused him to grimace as nearly three minutes had already elapsed.
"Hey, Celine? Do you know how the Magic Knights generate mana?" He asked as he continued his offensive. "What was the term you used? A mana core? Does it have one?"
"Ah..." Celine seemed to understand his train of thought. She closed her eyes as if in concentration. "It does! I can sense it in the chest area." That made sense, as that was the area on the enemy where the mana appeared most heavily concentrated.
But knowing that point of vulnerability meant nothing if he couldn't reach it. Without a weapon there was no way he could strike that decisive blow without taking a hit in return. It would be just like that fight against Scarlet-
Rean paused. The fight against Scarlet... He raised his hand in front of his face. Flesh and blood, like usual. Valimar copied his action. That arm was something stronger than steel.
He gasped in realization. He wasn't making any progress because he was fighting like a martial artist and not a Divine Knight pilot. If he tried to punch an enemy and got slashed for his efforts he would probably die, but if Valimar did the same... Scarlet's blow barely inconvenienced him, and while Crow carving through his chest with that insanely powerful saber did put him out of commission for a while, it normally should have killed him many times over.
This time when the Magic Knight stepped forward and prepared its weapons for another powerful strike Rean resisted the natural instinct to get out of the line of fire. Instead he placed Valimar's left arm between the myriad of blades and the rest of his body. The impact hurt. It reminded him a lot of those times he failed to avoid Laura's attacks and met the blunt end of her greatsword for his efforts.
But the blunt end wasn't lethal, and neither was this hit. He did his best to ignore the lance of pain as he closed the remaining distance and got inside the guard of the enemy. It was rather fortuitous that the Magic Knight's armor didn't cover its entire body, as that gave him ample opening to shove his arm right up into its chest cavity. While he wasn't exactly sure what he was searching for, he did find something in there. Thus he grasped it and gave a yank.
Critical hit. The Magic Knight once again roared, but this time in what must have passed for agony, as not a second later the large machine began to dissipate into pure energy. Once finished not a single trace remained. A bit unfortunate as Rean was hoping to snag one of the swords for Valimar, but he had a feeling that another chance would arise soon enough.
Apparently his victory came at just the right time, as Valimar chose that moment to slump to the ground. "I think he's used up every last bit of the mana he recovered." Celine stated, pointing out the obvious.
"Whew..." Rean exhaled as the adrenaline from those battles began to leave him. "That was a close one."
"You didn't have a weapon and yet you still came out on top, Rean. Not half bad." Was that actual praise from Celine? Was the world about to end? "Not that it means you're ready to take on the Azure Awakener. That's a ways away." Much better.
She didn't need to remind him of that. He could recall with vivid clarity just how outmatched he was against Crow. "...Yeah. I'll bet."
"Combat efficiency demonstrated a five percent increase over the previous battle. I look forward to observing further improvement in the future." Valimar too seemed appreciative of his efforts, even if five percent didn't sound like much to him.
Rean laughed sheepishly at the praise. "Sure. I hope I don't let you down. It might take some time, but I promise to one day become a pilot worthy of you. Someone who can draw out your full power... And someone strong enough to even beat Crow."
"I shall await that day." And with that Valimar went silent. Rean and Celine both made their exits from the knight and back out into the snowy wilderness.
"Rean...!"
"Hey there. You did great, champ." Greeted Elise and Toval as they made their way over towards them.
"Thanks." He accepted the praise gratefully. "You didn't get hurt at all, did you, Elise?"
She shook her head. "I-I'm fine! I'm more concerned about you. Are you feeling all right? I'd heard about what happened the last time you fought inside that thing."
How did he feel? Honestly, he felt good. "I'm a little tired, but that's all." He answered truthfully to reassure her. "I probably wouldn't have gotten off so easily if things were anywhere close to being like last time, honestly."
"As I've said once before, all damage taken by a Divine Knight is passed on to its Awakener." Celine repeated. "So take that as extra motivation to continue getting better at piloting him."
Rean nodded as he recalled those words. "Well, I'd have to improve my piloting skills to get things done, anyways. I've got every intention of getting better."
Toval chuckled in amusement. "You're sounding a lot more sure of yourself now."
"Does that mean you're feeling better?"
Rean thought about the bracer's comment and his sister's question. He glanced back at Valimar. While this entire situation was completely unexpected and unfortunate, he simply had to accept it had happened and move on. And Valimar, like the dark power within himself, was simply another weapon in his arsenal now. It might cause him some trouble, but it was also something that could be used to attain his goals. "Yeah. Never better." He finally answered. "If I want to reunite with the others, I need to keep moving forward. Sorry... I've got a feeling I'm just going to be causing you a lot more grief in the future."
If anything Elise looked more relieved by his statement. "Oh, don't you worry about that. I'm plenty used to it. And besides, I'd like nothing more than for you to be reunited with your classmates."
He nodded in gratitude of her support, but they were soon broken from their moment as the familiar let out a sigh. "You can be such a troublemaker..." She didn't seem all that upset about it, though.
"Sounds like things're all wrapped up here." The bracer was right. It was time for them to head back-
They were interrupted by a familiar giggle. "I wouldn't be so sure about that." Rean couldn't immediately place the voice, but he had a feeling it was nothing good.
"Oh, not now...!" Celine however seemed to know exactly who it was, and looked quite concerned. "Grianos!"
The speaker soon arrived at the clearing, but none of the humans were expecting it to be a bird. An odd, azure bird. "It's the bird I saw in the capital!" Both from his trip into the city and that odd vision all of Class VII saw.
"Hello there, darling. Miss me?" While the words came from the bird, it wasn't the same as it was when Celine talked. "It's so lovely to see you again, Rean." No mouth moving or any other signs that it was Grianos itself speaking. While all three of the humans were surprised, only two of them were confused. Rean meanwhile couldn't help but notice how similar the voice sounded to someone related.
"You've got some nerve showing yourself, Vita. Although not enough nerve to show up in person, apparently." Something which Celine was quick to confirm. "So what does Ouroboros' oh-so amazing Second Anguis, the Azure Abyss herself, want with us?"
Rean blinked. He had heard that word before, but realized he had no idea what it meant. "What's an Anguis?"
It was Toval who answered. "One of Ouroboros' top brass." Given his status as a bracer it wasn't all that surprising he knew about it.
An energy appeared over the blue bird, quickly forming into the image of a familiar person. The fact that she was a translucent blue and hovering above the ground made it plain that it was just some kind of image, but standing in front of them was none other than Vita Clotilde. "It's nice to see you again, too, Celine." She glanced towards Elise and Toval. "And while I know of them, I can't say I recall ever being formally introduced to Rean's adorable sister or that handsome bracer with you. I'm sorry that our first meeting had to be through my familiar."
"Misty..." Rean paused. Although that was the name he knew her as, it clearly wasn't her name. "No, I suppose I should call you Vita now. How did you know we were here?"
"We've been trying to find the whereabouts of the Ashen Knight for quite a while, you see." She replied easily enough. "We've been searching for the past month since the civil war began without any luck... but then we sensed an active Magic Knight in this area, and that was what finally led us to you."
Celine groaned. "I wasn't expecting our location to be discovered this quickly."
"I got to see your battle with Crow, too, incidentally." Vita continued with amusement. "For it being the first time you've ever piloted a knight, you did rather well. If we're being objective, though, it was more akin to a tiger swatting away at a cub."
"Ugh..." Her words weren't untrue, but Rean hated being reminded of his own weakness. "What are Crow and that Azure Knight doing now, anyway? And what happened to everyone at the academy?!"
Vita let out another giggle. "Crow's been keeping himself very, very busy. The Noble Alliance forces see him as their little joker. They call him the 'Azure Chevalier' now. I'm afraid I don't know anything about your classmates, though. Emma's in hiding now, too." In this situation her not knowing was a relief to Rean. It confirmed at the very least that somehow they had all escaped Crow and captivity. "Still, if you want to know that badly-"
Whatever she was about to say next was stopped by the terrifying sounds of gunfire from a distance. "That didn't sound good..."
"That sounded like gunfire!" And to make matters worse the direction the sound came from was the same direction as Ymir.
"Uh-oh." Despite being their enemy Vita frowned at the revelation. "I wasn't expecting them to arrive so soon. It sounds like the jaegers hired by Duke Albarea are here. I'm guessing it's only a matter of time now before Princess Alfin is taken into their custody."
They froze. "Jaegers?! In Ymir?!"
"H-Her Highness?!"
"Damn it!"
The projection of Vita let out a helpless shrug. "I can assure that that I have nothing to do with what's happening over there. Heehee. I think you're going to want to hurry, though. Perhaps if you run fast enough, you might be able to get back in time." With that final statement the image faded away, leaving just Grianos remaining. Said bird was quick to take wings, headed in the direction of Ymir.
"How dare she act like this is all some game!" Celine complained bitterly.
"Let it go, Celine!" Toval quickly reprimanded. "We've got to hurry!"
"Yeah!" The swordsman agreed. "Her Highness and the rest of Ymir are in real danger if we don't get moving!"
Fear and adrenaline made for effective motivators as the group took off down the snowy valley at a quick jog. Luckily the area was still mostly clear of monsters from their first time through so they weren't accosted much as they made the descent. That being said, they had been spending much of the afternoon traveling and fighting and adrenaline could only take them so far. Thus it wasn't much of a surprise when midway to Ymir Elise looked too tired to continue moving. As much as Rean worried about the village, he knew that even he and Toval probably needed a couple minutes if they were going to be fighting fit when they arrived, so he called for a brief halt.
"Looks like the Noble Alliance doesn't even care about trying to keep up appearances anymore." Toval noted as the four did their best to recover their breaths quickly. "That Anguis said that she has nothing to do with it, though..."
Celine nodded in agreement. "It's true that this kind of thing isn't really her style. If she were to abduct someone, trust me, she'd happily enjoy squeezing the life out of such a nasty spectacle to the very last drop." The cat muttered with vitriol. "I suppose it just goes to show that the Noble Alliance isn't quite as united as it looks."
Rean thought back to all of his previous encounters with the woman. Nothing Celine said matched up to any of it. That just made him curious. "I guess now's as good a time as any to ask. Just who is Misty – I mean, Vita Clotilde – anyway? I know that Misty the radio show host and Clotilde the opera singer were both just acts."
"She's a member of the Hexen Clan, too. She's known as the Witch of the Abyss, and she vanished after breaking a taboo seven years ago. Think of her as like a sister to Emma. And that blue bird who's usually with her, Grianos, is a familiar like me."
Both Elise and Toval looked quite bewildered by this information and the black-haired swordsman wondered just how much Celine had explained to them while he was sleeping. "Emma's been trying to find Vita ever since she disappeared." Celine continued. "She had to put that on hold when her duty required her to join the academy... but how could we have missed her when she was so close by that entire time?"
"...Wait a second." Now Rean was even more confused. "Misty spent a fair amount of time in Trista, going to and from the radio station building. She was popular among the students, too. And yet all that time, all those months, you never once realized her true identity? Something's off about that." Sure Emma wasn't the kind of student to hang around town often, but Rean had seen the black cat enough to know that she should have spotted Vita...
Said cat looked like she had just drunk some particularly sour milk. "Vita likely used some form of curse to keep us from finding out. Witches are capable of interfering with the laws of causality and the cognitive abilities of others. She probably made it so no information regarding her or her whereabouts would ever reach us."
"That sounds so frightening..."
Unlike the Schwarzer siblings, Toval didn't look as surprised by this news. "Tell me about it. It makes sense, though. She wouldn't be the only Anguis to know how to mess with people's cognitive abilities."
This Ouroboros organization was sounding more and more dangerous by the second. Still, Rean shook his head, this wasn't the time. "All right. That's all I need to know for now. Anyway, have you caught your breath, Elise?"
"Yes, thank you. We can keep going." He suspected that she wouldn't be of much use in any fight, but as long as she had the energy to make it out of the wilderness he was content.
"Good. Let's get to Ymir!" Toval seemed to be in agreement with his thoughts. The four of them quickly resumed their trek. They could hear more gunshots from the town and that only spurred them to greater speeds. As they got closer it soon became apparent that many buildings were on fire.
Rean thought that he was mentally prepared for the worst, but the sight that greeted him upon entering Ymir proved that a lie. There was Princess Alfin being held at gunpoint, near her was his mother lying motionless on the ground. But worst of all was the sight of the Baron – his father – collapsed on bloodstained snow, with more oozing from the multiple bullet-holes on his body.
He barely heard Elise's horrified scream as he struggled to process the image in front of him. Rage welled within as he gazed upon the jaegers responsible for this. He so badly wanted to make them pay for what they did.
Responding to his emotions, he felt the energy inside him bursting forth. He could feel the transformation take hold. A torrential flood of power that would punish those that dare hurt his family and friends if he just ceded control-
No! He shook himself from that train of thought. If he allowed himself to lose control he ran the risk of becoming an even bigger danger to Ymir than the jaegers. He didn't spend so long working to bring his power under control just to give it all up here. He was his own master. With great force of will he clamped down on the energy surging inside him.
That being said, he didn't completely close it off, instead turning it from a raging river to a gentle stream of energy. That power, while dangerous, was a part of him. And it was a part he would need if he wanted to rescue Princess Alfin and stop the jaegers before they could harm his parents any further.
The only jaegers he could sense in Ymir were the four in front of him, but the one holding Alfin was the furthest from his position. He needed to strike quickly and take them all out before the element of surprise was lost. And thanks to his new strength he knew just how to do it.
Arcane Gale. One of the most advanced techniques of the second form. Something that required far more speed than what he was normally capable of outputting. He had used it a few times while training with his powers and felt comfortable enough using it in this dire situation. Darting forward with a great burst of speed that always annoyed Fie when used against her, Rean instantly closed the distance with the nearest jaeger. As angry as he was, he still refused to murder the hired soldier, instead disarming him by slicing his rifle into pieces. This he repeated with the other three, cutting through greatswords and guns as if they were little more than paper. After dealing with the one holding Alfin he spun around and launched a wave of energy with his blade, just avoiding the princess while still connecting solidly with the confused mercenaries.
Just like that, it was all over. The force of that second attack was enough to send them all crashing into the ground unconscious. "Rean?" Both Elise and Alfin appeared worried as they gazed upon his transformation.
"I'm fine." He wasn't sure if his smile was very reassuring while in this state, but his sister seemed to understand the message. He was in control. With the threat eliminated he once again let the energy fade, returning to his original self. "See?"
That was as much time as he was willing to focus on that subject, instead rushing over to where Toval was looking over his father. "He's still breathing." The bracer answered the unspoken question, much to everyone's relief. "Help me apply first aid."
As a bracer it wasn't at all surprising that Toval knew a lot about healing, both with arts and traditional first aid. That being said, Rean had learned enough to be of assistance from Instructor Beatrix, Instructor Sara, and even his master, so he was quick to follow the older man's lead. It didn't take much knowledge to see just how grisly his father's injuries were, but fortunately nothing vital had seemingly been hit. As long as they could staunch the bleeding and get him to a professional healer...
"Lady Schwarzer is just fine, too!" Celine piped up from her own check."
"She was knocked unconscious, but I don't see any injuries. She's ok!" Alfin explained. "Auntie Lucia, stay with us!" She went to assist the cat with helping his mom.
It was a tense few minutes as the bracer and swordsman worked to dress all of Teo's injuries, with Elise pitching in whenever possible. Eventually they succeeded in that critical mission, but it was clear the baron had lost a lot of blood and needed to be moved out of the cold if he was to have any shot of recovering.
They were just about to do that when a very unwelcome voice interrupted them. "Honestly... Some people have no patience." Once again that azure bird, Grianos, descended from the sky to survey the destruction. Celine hissed angrily.
"What do you want with us this time?" Toval sounded wary and with good reason. They couldn't afford another fight here, especially with his parents unconscious on the ground.
Vita seemed unconcerned by the hostility. "I had some concerns about how things were over here, so I decided to come and have a look. Duke Albarea's really gone and done it this time. It's obvious that he really wants to get ahead of Duke Cayenne, but this isn't the most prudent way to do it."
Her dismissive attitude towards the second most powerful noble in Erebonia threw Rean for a loop. "You act like he's not one of your allies..."
"Now, now... There's no need to take your anger out on me. I can't undo what's already happened, but if it will help, I can at least clear up his mess for you." The witch raised her arms and began to incant. "It's time to sleep, my children... Fall into a loving oblivion, cradled in your merciful mother's arms..."
He shared a worried glance with Toval. Although the words were different, this reminded him of the scene at the capital a month prior. What kind of dangerous spell was she weaving?
The answer soon revealed itself as the four previously unconscious jaegers rose to their feet. Rean readied himself for combat, but it proved to be unnecessary. Instead the mercenaries looked completely unaware as they swayed in place, like marionettes being held up by string.
"You will descend the mountain as you are." Vita commanded. "And you will report to Duke Albarea that you found nothing out of the ordinary."
"...Yes, Mother..."
"...We will..."
With those final mutters the four jaegers slowly began to shuffle their way towards the exit of Ymir, presumably to do just as Vita had told them. "Unbelievable... So this is what you witches are capable of, is it?" The power to control other human beings with just a few words. It was downright terrifying.
"It's the least I could do after all the trouble you've been through. Duke Albarea's unlikely to doubt what they tell him, so this village shouldn't be targeted again for a while. Although I'm guessing a gesture like this pales in comparison to what I would have to do to earn your forgiveness..."
Rean was conflicted. On one hand Vita was clearly his enemy, but she did seem sincerely apologetic about the recent events and had even used her powers to help protect Ymir. Despite himself he couldn't help but relax just the tiniest bit. By his side Toval did the same. "Misty, are you...?"
"Don't be taken in by her sweet talk!" Celine chided harshly. "She doesn't do things like this out of kindness!"
"Targets in sight." Perhaps Aidios had a sick sense of humor, as almost immediately after the cat gave her warning it was already too late. In shock the group turned to the origins of the voice directly behind them, only for the new arrival to appear as if out of thin air.
There was a brief instant where Rean could have successfully intercepted the newcomer as it approached the group, but he hesitated. It was a young girl, clad in black, riding on a black combat shell. Perhaps it was the fact that she reminded him so much of Millium, but by the time he understood the peril it was already too late.
With a single sweep of the combat shell's arm, both Princess Alfin and Elise were already captured. Hurriedly the two men approached, but the machine retreated upwards a safe distance. The swordsman gritted his teeth, knowing that attacking her now was almost impossible as to do so from that height risked the hostages. "Elise! Your Highness!"
"Shit. Was she here the whole time?!" Toval too seemed to understand the hopelessness of the situation as he grasped his ARCUS unit so tightly his knuckles turned white.
Unlike the rest of them, Vita seemed to find the entire situation amusing as she began to laugh freely. "Now that was silly of you, wasn't it? You should never take your eyes off the princess you're meant to be protecting. As far as knights go, I'm afraid you've failed spectacularly in nearly ever regard."
The two girls struggled to free themselves, but Rean knew just how unlikely that was. If this black shell was anything like Airgetlam, it had strength to spare. "Targets apprehended successfully." The unknown girl spoke in monotone. "Targets identified as Objective 1 and Objective 2. Mission complete." The combat shell made a noise of agreement.
"Who are you?! And what do you want?! A-And why does that thing you're on look just like Airgetlam?" He didn't think they would actually answer, but Rean was panicking and couldn't think of anything else to say or do in that moment.
"...It really does." Toval agreed thoughtfully. "I take it you being with her means you're an Enforcer or somethin'?"
The girl just looked confused. "I don't comprehend your question." Another difference between her and Millium was just how lifeless the former sounded.
"She's not with Ouroboros, actually." Vita answered, surprisingly. "She's a behind-the-scenes helper of sorts who was donated to the Noble Alliance by an anonymous benefactor. Think of her as yet another ally of the alliance's, much like ourselves, Zephyr, and the Imperial Liberation Front."
"Couldn't ask for a more terrifying lineup right there..." The bracer assessed grimly. Rean couldn't help but agree. Although he had only really had run-ins with the ILF in the past, the stories he had heard about Zephyr from Fie painted them in a terrifying light. Not to mention the mysterious society...
"If you'd like," Vita continued with visible amusement. "you can think of me as the wicked witch... while she's the black rabbit guiding my steps with every adorable hop."
Celine growled like a normal cat. "Stop messing around!"
"Lady Clotilde, please give the order to retreat." The black-clad girl suggested lifelessly. "There is no need to remain here any longer."
"Teehee... Yes, I suppose you're right. Let's be going." With that the projection of Vita faded away and Grianos once again took flight, not that Rean, Toval, or Celine were paying them any focus. Instead they were all staring on hopelessly as the mysterious girl, the combat shell, and the two prisoners took flight.
"Rean! Reeean!"
"Rean!"
It was agonizing listening to the two girls calling out for him while being completely unable to help them. "Elise! Your Highness! Stop! Stop! Bring them back!" Naturally his words went unheeded.
"Our story is well underway." Vita decided to leave one parting comment as her bird soared away. "There will be many obstacles waiting for you, but struggle on and overcome them... and I'm sure that, eventually you'll reach the stage where the Azure Chevalier awaits. Don't let me down, Rean Schwarzer."
By this point Elise and Alfin were almost out of hearing range. All he could do now was to reassure them. "I won't let it end this way!" He yelled. "Hang in there, you two! I'm coming for you. I promise!"
He meant it, too. He was done with losing those he cares about. For now he needed to get his parents to safety, but once that was done...
He would get them back. He had promised it after all. But he couldn't do it alone. It was time to find Class VII.