Here we are at Chapter 21. The mission to rescue Yukitsuki begins. I do not own Code Vein. They belong to Bandai Namco. I only own my OCs. Here's chapter 21. Enjoy.
Chapter 21: The Ritual
After going over the details of the rescue operation, Hiei and the others prepared to leave the capital to find Yukitsuki. According to Veronica, Yukitsuki was most likely being held in an old church outside the capital. The church of the goddess, back at the height of its power, had churches set all over the land. However, after the war and the church's corruption was made public, they lost much of their strength. This also included devote followers and finances. Even churches and religions need money to keep their operations going. Thus, they were forced to abandoned a number of their buildings. That would make places such as those the perfect cover for secret hideouts. The group would consist of Ser Iris, Hiei, Hana, Veronica, Sophia, and Anelia. Emilia would remain behind while Princess Iris would go to inform the king of the situation. As they prepare to leave the capital, Iris approaches Hiei.
"Hiei, a moment," Iris calls out to her.
"Ser Iris, what is it?" Hiei asks.
"Your sword was broken in the last battle, correct?" Iris asks.
Hiei nods sadly, "Yes, it was. But, I still have my fire magic. I have no intention of sitting this battle out. Not when Yuki needs me,"
"I wasn't going to suggest you do. Here, take this," Iris hands her a sheathed katana, similar to Hiei's. "I received this as a gift from Hikaru the last time I was in the Dragon Alliance. My sword is still strong, but you need a new one. So, you may use this one. It's better than having it sit around, collecting dust. Besides, if you're going into battle, you'll need a weapon," Iris says.
"Ser Iris... Thank you. I will not disappoint you. I will honor this blade," Hiei bows her head as she accepts the sword.
"The sword is made of stronger materials than your last one. It won't break so easily like before," Iris notes.
With that settled, they catch up to the others and begin their mission.
...
In the royal castle, Princess Iris has met with her brother the king and explained the situation to him.
King Mikhail rubs his forehead and groans, "To think that such a thing could happen in our own capital. We let our guard down far too much after the war. Father and I never considered remnant foes would still linger. Worse, to think that Lady Yukitsuki would be kidnapped. Those bastards from the church made a mockery of us last night,"
"Brother, Lady Hiei and the others are on their way to rescue Yukitsuki now, but they may need aid. Who knows what could await them at the enemy's location? The kidnappers may also have escape routes in case they are discovered," Princess Iris says.
"You are right about that. We need to show that the royal family of Anatolia are not a pack of fools. I'll deploy the royal guard and a contingent of soldiers. I'll see to it that they expedite the preparations. We must be swift if we are to capture the perpetrators. One other thing, about what you said about the demon princess Veronica..." King Mikhail trails off.
"You are concerned about her trustworthiness?" Princess Iris asks.
The king nods, "Yes. I don't exactly doubt the information, but I can't help but doubt the sincerity of her purpose for helping us. Wanting to become Lady Yukitsuki's mistress? She said she fell for her, but I can't outright believe her. The demons were humanity's greatest enemy. The war against them generations ago took so many lives. And she's the daughter of their former ruler. What if she has nefarious plans for Lady Yukitsuki, or her family, or even our kingdom? She has plenty of reasons to hate humans and want revenge,"
"I understand your concern, brother. However, at this point in time, we have little choice but to rely on her and her words. Yukisuki is in danger and time is not on our side. The fact that we, as the royal family, failed to protect her and the royal academy, is not a good picture for us. If she can't help us rescue her swiftly; then I believe we must act now. Besides, we both know the truth about Ser Fuyumi. And yet we trust her," Princess Iris notes.
King Mikhail sighs, "You make a valid argument. I suppose we have no choice then. What about what this Veronica said about Lady Yukitsuki? How she's the 'child of the goddess'? What would happen if this came out?"
"Then we should keep that quiet. However, her origins mean nothing to me. Yukitsuki is my cherished friend. And right now, my friend needs our help. To me, she's not some saint or holy being or anything of the sort. She's just Yukitsuki, nothing more and nothing less. I know Yukitsuki herself would save the same," Princess Iris replies, a hand to her chest.
"Very well then. We'll discuss it further with her after she returns. Let us just pray it is in time," Mikhail looks out the window, much on his mind.
...
In a darkened room, Yukitsuki groans as she slowly comes to. When her vision clears, she finds herself laying on a flat stone table; her limbs bound in chains. The mana-inhibiting collar remains around her neck, preventing her from wielding her magic. She looks around, seeing several lit torches along the walls around her. The room is circular and only two doors are seen. Turning her head to the ground as much as she can, she finds the floor is just like with the walls, made of stone. It's obvious that she's underground, most likely beneath whatever building she was in earlier.
"Could I be under a church building?" Yuki wonders.
Just then, one of the doors opens up and in walks Gregor along with the wolf beastman Ookami, but several other people also join them.
"Lady Yukitsuki, I hope your rest was a pleasant one. I apologize for the accommodations. But, we cannot allow any pesky visitors to interrupt the ceremony. This is a very special event after all," Gregor smirks.
"You bastard. What is it you hope to accomplish with this?" Yuki demands.
"To achieve our long-cherished ambition, my dear," a man with a deep voice says.
The man steps forth, revealing a white beard a little longer than Gregor's. The man's robes are even fancier than Gregor's, which means his status in the church is higher than Gregor's who's a cardinal. Standing behind him is Ookami and a woman with blonde hair going just past her shoulders and eyes the colors of tangerines. She wears a cocky smirk on her face.
"I take it you're the one in charge here," Yuki glares at him.
"Indeed, Your Eminence. I am the high cardinal. You may address me as Jorus," Jorus bows his head.
"Then you'd better let me out of here before either I break out and kill you all myself, or my friends and family find me and do the job instead," Yuki threatens them.
"Ha, pardon me, Your Eminence, but you're hardly in a position to be making threats. I know this must all be overwhelming for you, but I promise you'll understand and join us soon enough. Prepare the ritual," Jorus says.
"Yes, High Cardinal," Gregor bows his head as he and a few others start moving around.
Yukitsuki watches them as they draw strange markings all along the ground around her. From what she can tell, they appear to be creating the inscription for a large and intricate magic circle. Others get pots and statues of the goddess all set around her as well, or lighting candles. The only ones who aren't really doing anything are Jorus and Ookami. Yuki looks around, trying to figure a way out of this place, but that's proving to be a real problem. Whatever this 'ritual' is, it can't be good.
...
Hiei's group leave the capital, continuing to follow Veronica as she leads the way to where Yukitsuki might be held captive.
"Veronica, are you sure this is the right way?" Hiei asks as they race through the wilderness.
"I'm sure. I've been following them for a long time, gathering as much information as I can while also stripping away at their strength piece by piece. Now, I can take a big chunk out of their operations now. And maybe even finish them off completely. Besides, I always wanted to play the role of the hero who saves the damsel in distress," Veronica giggles.
"This is not the time for jokes, Veronica," Iris says, not in the mood.
"Don't worry. I'm plenty serious. Those bastards stole my research, made a mockery of it, and worst of all, they harmed Yukitsuki. If I could, I would ensure they died a thousand deaths for that crime. The disappointing thing for me is that I'll only get to do it once," Veronica loses her smile.
"Then let's move. I won't allow them to hold Yuki any longer!" Hiei says.
They race on, eager to save Yukitsuki. Soon enough, the come across a clearing. Within that clearing is the very old church building they were informed about earlier. However, despite supposedly being abandoned, the place had a lot of strangers in cloaks waiting outside the place.
"Looks like they prepared a welcome party for us," Sophia notes.
"Then let's not disappoint them," Hana said before making the first move.
She fires off her spider silk, ensnaring a few unsuspecting opponents. This gets the others on high alert as they spot the attackers approaching. Hiei and Iri draw their blades and charge right in. The cloaked figures draw blades of their own and meet their attack.
"Out of my way. No one will stand between me and my daughter!" Iris roars as she swings her sword, slicing through two opponents. Hiei jumps over her and swings her blade down, cutting down a third.
"Spirits of water, consume my enemies in your wet will... Aqua Flood!" Sophia conjures up a surge of water towards their foes.
However, they conjure up holy shields to block the flash floods.
"Guess they won't make this easy for us. No matter. Burn!" Veronica fires off crimson flames at their foes, scorching a few of them.
"She used magic with such a short incantation. It was even shorter than Yuki's!" Hiei shows her surprise.
"I told you. I've lived for a very long time. I've studied magic quite extensively and let's just say I've picked up a thing or two," Veronica replies.
From the rear, archers fire their arrows at the girls. Hana fires off more spider silk, trapping the arrows in mid-air. She jumps around the trees, closing in on their foes. The archers turn their arrows towards her, but Hana is too fast. She lands right beside them and swings her daggers, breaking their bows. She follows it up by thrusting her spider legs through the chests of two of them.
"Ah, she's truly a monster!" one of their enemies screams.
"The only monsters here are the scum like you who kidnapped and harmed an innocent girl," Hana growls before slitting the cloaked figure's throat.
Hiei parries a thrust from one foe and kicks him back. A second attacks her rear, but Hiei ducks under his swing. She swings upwards, slicing an arm off. She then makes two slashes across his chest.
"Spirits of fire, burn through any obstacles in my path... Flame Lance!" the kitsune sends out several flame lances at her foes.
Their explosions throw their foes into disarray, allowing Iris to cut down two more.
"Spirits of water, ensnare my foes... Aqua Tentacles!" Sophia conjures up a few tentacles of water.
They wrap around the legs of three opponents. With them caught, Sophia has her tentacles slam them into the ground and then into the nearby trees. The sound of breaking bones rings out before their bodies fall to the ground, lifeless.
"Spirits of wind, blow away everything in your path... Gale Stream!" Anelia sends out a twister of wind.
The wind storm blows away a few more enemies, sending them crashing into the stone walls of the church behind them. As the girls finish off their enemies, one cloaked figure sneaks away into the old church.
"Was that all of them?" Hiei looks around.
"It appears so. I'm sure they heard that little commotion. We need to move, now," Veronica says as they turn their attention to the church itself.
...
Back in the underground chamber, those of the church finish their preparations for their ritual. The religious fanatics then form a circle around her with Jorus at the center at her head.
"Now then, let us begin the ritual of sainthood. Today, we finally finish what we started so many years ago. Today, we welcome our saint who will restore the church of the goddess to its rightful position in the world. To guide all down the proper path and to punish all the sinners who stand in the way of proper grace," Jorus says.
"What do you mean by years ago?" Yuki asks.
Jorus snaps his fingers and the woman walks over and undoes some of Yuki's robes, revealing some cleavage and her scar.
"I'm not surprised you don't remember. The shock and trauma of it all must've destroyed those memories. I'm sure you've wondered about the scar upon your chest. Well, the truth is... that was our doing," Jorus confesses.
Yuki's eyes widen, "You... You were the ones that... that..."
"I admit, we did not perfect the ritual back then. It was an error on our part. But this time, we won't fail again. Now then, let us finish what we started. Begin..." Jorus commands.
The cloaked figures around Yuki fold their hands together as if in prayer and begin speaking in incantations. They mutter their words, so Yuki can't quite pick them out. The magic circle on the floor begins to glow in an eerie dark pink light. Yuki looks around, wondering what's about to happen. A moment later, she starts feeling a warm feeling in her chest, right where her scar is. The warmth rises until it starts to become uncomfortable. She struggles against the chains holding her in place, but still she cannot break free. Her groans turn into sounds of pain and agony.
"Yes, it's working this time. First, we must pull out the gem," Jorus says.
"The... gem?" Yuki mutters through the pain.
Suddenly the pain skyrockets and she screams in agony. Just then, the white undertones in her hair start to glow and then dimmer before turning black. After that, a bluish white magic gemstone starts to slowly float out of the scar without harming her body. Yuki's never felt such pain before, staring at the stone.
"Surprised. That gemstone was in your heart. The core of your ice magic. You always had an affinity with it, but this increased your potential. However, we were forced to stop before we could complete the ritual. This stone was just the first," Jorus pulls out several gemstones from his pockets. "We originally planned to put the stones into your heart one at a time, but that didn't work. After tweaking a few things, we've decided to try something else. We will place them all into you at once, then force them to fuse together within your heart to form a single stone, with all that elemental power fused together, you will be as powerful as your mother, Fuyumi Kusanagi. The one who ruined us and our holy mission. Of course, after the ritual is done, you'll be too weak to resist, allowing us to mold you into the perfect saint that will save the people... By obeying the church's every command," Jorus explains.
"I won't... become... your puppet!" Yuki screams.
"You don't have a choice in the matter, my dear," Jorus says as the ice gemstone is freed from Yuki's chest.
Yuki can feel it. Like a piece of herself was now lost. She can feel herself growing weaker. Once the stone is out, Jorus has all the stones float above his hand. He starts muttering an incantation of his own. A dark aura forms around each stone. That doesn't look good in Yuki's eyes.
"Don't worry, this will only hurt for a few short moments. Then, you will be perfect, saint of the church," Jorus looks a little crazy now.
Yuki watches as the stones hover above her. She fears what will happen next. Just then, the door to the chamber bursts open and in walks another cloaked figure.
"There's trouble. We have enemies outside the church building. They've taken out the defenders outside and are on their way here, now!" the servant yells.
"What? Keep them out. We are almost done with the ritual!" Jorus commands. He turns to Ookami and the woman. "Deal with the intruders. We cannot fail this a second time!"
Ookami and the woman nod before exiting the room. Outside the chamber, Hiei and her allies continue towards Yuki's location, cutting down any who stand in their way.
"Out of my way!" Hiei exclaims as she cuts down another guard.
"Thunder!" Veronica fires off a thunder spell, shocking three goons until they fall to the ground and take their last breaths.
"Just how many of these people do they have here?" Anelia wonders as the fighting continues.
"They must've brought pretty much everyone in their little cult here. Can't say I'm all that surprised," Hana notes, after sticking two opponents to the wall with her silk after knocking them out.
"It doesn't matter. They will all die in the end for daring to harm my daughter," Iris notes as she cuts down another foe.
"I'm afraid it won't be so simple," they all look to see Ookami and the woman approach them.
"You..." Hiei growls as she glares at Ookami.
"You should've stayed out of this, kitsune. At least then, you would've been sparred further pain," Ookami draws his blade.
"You won't win this time," Hiei takes a step forward, only for Iris to stand in her path.
"Hiei, calm yourself. Remember why we are here. Go and save Yukitsuki. We'll take care of things here. I have my own score to settle with this swordsman," Iris says.
"Just go, We'll be right behind you," Sophia says, raising her wand.
Hiei looks around and nods before running forth. Ookami swings his blade at her, but Hiei slides under the swing.
Ookami and the woman turn to give chase, but Anelia fires a spell of wind to keep them back.
"You're not going anywhere. We have unfinished business," Anelia says.
Hiei races through the stone halls, finding a set of doors in front of her. Drawing her sword, she slashes through the doors, coming upon the ritual and Yuki at the center of it all.
"Yuki!" Hiei shouts.
"Hi...ei..." Yuki chokes out.
Jorus turns, "Ugh, it's just one interruption after another,"
Hiei aims her sword at him, "You will never harm her again. Not while I still draw breath,"
And that's the chapter. Hiei and her friends find Yuki, but the battle is not over yet. Will Hiei save Yuki? Until then, please Read and Review.