A Customary Pause in Battle

Hello everyone and welcome to this latest, albeit shorter, chapter of A New Crusade! Though some mild bad news, depending on who you ask, starting next week I will have to put this story on something of a hiatus. The reason being is that, much like what happens to some anime, I have caught up with the show and find myself running slightly low on content. Now I will check out the manga and the LN should the moment present itself, but I have another reason for putting the next chapter or so on hiatus: I plan to continue with the Adventures of Team WA Vol. 2 next week and attempting to keep three stories going all at the same time is a little beyond my abilities at the moment. So once again, starting next week I'll be flipflopping my stories with Team WA one week and Re:Zero the next week provided I have enough content for a chapter.

Oh, and before I forget, the real question you all want answered: Whether or not Ulric gets a harem? After counting the new votes, I appear to have about 15 for and 9 against. So, it seems I shall be attempting to implement a harem of sorts, key word being 'attempting'. So for our initial harem members, obviously Rem will be the main love interest and Emilia shall be along shortly (especially with all the time they've gotten to spend together with this arc). Other possibilities could be Frederica, Crusch, and Anastasia, though I'd like to hear what you all think about that. For now, Rem and Emilia for sure. Now I've prattled on long enough, onto the story!

Nighttime: The Witch's Graveyard

"You've told me a great deal," said Ulric as Shima finished her story, "far more than I ever would've expected to learn, in fact. Though I must also apologize for making you endure the pain you have in order to tell it. For whatever it's worth, you have my thanks Ryuzu Shima."

"For a long time now, I feared removing the barrier would not only go against the wishes of Ryuzu Meyer, our progenitor, but outright trample upon them given all that she did just to erect it in the first place," explained Shima.

"I can understand why you'd follow such a line of thinking," said Ulric, "but you need not fear it any longer. Once Lady Emilia removes the barrier, the whole world will be open to you and the rest of the villagers here. You'll finally have a choice in whether or not you wish to leave this place."

"I sincerely hope you are right, Young Ulric," said Shima, "for now, I shall leave it to you."

"So long as God wills it, you shall not be disappointed," said Ulric, "now, I believe it'd be best if you returned home and got some rest. Ram, would you and Bilma mind tending to her for a bit?"

"You should take her to Old Hag Shi's hideout," suggested Garfiel, "it's a bit better for resting than Old Hag Ryu's place. I can even go-."

"Whoa, hold up a second now," interrupted Otto, "I think the three of them will be fine on their own."

"Otto is correct," said Ram to the confused Garfiel, "if a boar like you charges at Shima, it'll interrupt her rest and defeat the purpose."

"You needn't worry Young Gar," said Bilma, "I should prove capable enough to assist Ram in this endeavor."

"I would greatly appreciate it," said Ram, "I'd feel rather guilty if I left Shima in the care of two men lacking anything in the way of empathy."

"Yes that's ri-wait a second!" exclaimed Otto as he pointed to himself, "you were referring to me as one of those men, weren't you?!"

"Ram's thoughts on the two of you aside, I need your help anyway," said Ulric as he began walking away from the temple towards the forest trail, "so let's be off. There's somewhere we all need to be at this moment."

A Few Minutes Later: Along the Forest Trail

"I guess Ram must have sensed it," said Otto, "what our true intentions were."

"If there's one boast I'll readily believe about her, it's her perceptiveness," said Ulric, "at least in most cases. Her willingness to help us is a blessing, though I do wonder if it's because she believes we won't succeed. But whether we do or not, I imagine she'll act like she knew the outcome right from the start."

"Hey, don't just go talking about stuff that only you two understand," grunted Garfiel, "I'm not that one guy among ten morgrelo, so don't ignore me!"

"As I mentioned before we left," said Ulric as he glanced back at the half-beast man, "I require your assistance in a matter we're going to address at this very moment. While I consider Ram trustworthy in almost anything, only God knows how she'll act with Roswaal involved. Hence, why we decided to send her away for a little while."

"Roswaal," said Garfiel, "just what in the world are you two planning now?"

"It's more like the next phase of the plan we've had in motion for some time," explained Otto, "we're actually on our way to speak with Margrave Mathers right now. And since you've got plenty of strength and reason to be suspicious of him, you were a natural choice to bring along."

"What, are you two planning on having me fight that Roswaal bastard," questioned Garfiel.

"I pray it doesn't come to that," said Ulric, "the hope is that your presence will prove a deterrent. After all, we'll be negotiating. If all goes well, the three of us will return in time to witness Lady Emilia's success."

Main Village Cottage

"How iiiiinteresting," observed Roswaal as he sat on his bed, "I never would've expected a visit like thiiiiiis at such an hour."

"And yet here you sit, fully dressed and even wearing your makeup to greet us," observed Ulric.

"I thought it would be appropriate for me to be preseeeeentable the next time we met," said Roswaal, "besides, I consider this makeup I'm currently wearing as a form of preparation for a battle that I cannot looooose."

"War paint," said Ulric, "I've only heard rumors of such a practice. The Woads who hailed from up North in my land seemed to be fond of it."

"Perhaaaaps you can tell me what you know of them at another point in time," said Roswaal, "for now, let us not beaaaaat around the bush. What brings you all here at this hour?"

"I believe you and I have both arrived at a point in this battle of sorts where chivalry or at least custom demands that I ask something of you," said Ulric, "as you may have noticed, the situation has shifted out of your favor."

"Given the presence of Garfiel here, the situation is most certainly different from what it was before," said Roswaal, "they've certainly succeeded in taming you, haven't they Garfiel?"

"They just drug me along for this," retorted the half-beast man, "if you're wantin' a better explanation, they'll give you the finer details."

"Indeed," said Roswaal before shifting his attention, "but the one here who concerns me the most would be." His gaze settled on the merchant in stood in the middle of the three of them.

"You're, referring to me," said Otto in a surprised tone.

"From the moment you entered, I couldn't help but wonder," said Roswaal, "'who in the world might thiiiis be?'"

"Such a travesty," noted Ulric as he turned to Otto, "it appears you weren't deemed important enough to even be mentioned within his tome's writings of the future."

"Well It's certainly not making me any happier to hear it," said Otto, "and I still have to say how little of this actually makes sense!"

"I did warn you it would be hard to believe," said Ulric, "and I imagine it will only get more complicated from this point on."

"I do agree with him to a point, though," said Roswaal with an actual frown, "you brought a person like this to serve as a witness to the battle between us, Sir Ulric?" He put a hand to his chin then. "Hmm, it must mean he…."

"You are correct if you're assuming what I think you are assuming," said Ulric, "you may have set up this chess match, but you didn't account for quite all of the pieces. As you can see, my seemingly insignificant friend here, who didn't even bear mention in your original predictions, has found a flaw or two in your strategy."

"So you say," replied Roswaal before turning his attention to the merchant, "why not tell me your name again?" Otto looked to Ulric who simply nodded his head before the merchant stepped forward and removed his hat.

"My name is Otto Suwen," said the Merchant with a slight bow, "I'm honored to finally be meeting you in person, Margrave Mathers. Though I'm only a humble merchant, I'd like to thank you for granting me an audience."

"A merchant you may be," said Roswaal, "but I will remember your name, Otto, and the next time we meet, I shall not overlook you."

"And a short apology from me as well, Otto," said Ulric with a glance in his direction, "it took longer than it should have, but we finally got you your meeting with Roswaal."

"I do wish you'd let me meet him a little sooner," said Otto, "but as long as I made a good impression, I don't suppose I can complain."

"So it was Otto who gave you the idea for this little wager, and helped you find your footing again," observed Roswaal.

"I must confess that I overlooked his value myself," said Ulric, "I did not believe involving him in our personal affairs would be beneficial in any meaningful way. But as I said before, such is the sin of pride and arrogance."

"And while it is an interesting turn, it still does not answer the question I posed you earlier," said Roswaal, "so I shall ask once again, why have you all come here?"

"Ah yes, my apologies," said Ulric, "You see, we've come to a point in this battle where it would be customary back in my land, to ask for one's surrender. You see, Shima was kind enough to tell us the true reason for the Sanctuary's creation, and with that we have you cornered."

"She did, did she," replied Roswaal, "and what did she tell you happened exactly?"

"Your first meeting with Echidna was her telling you about something called a magic release period, which many thought was a sickness at the time," began Ulric, "then she expanded upon the time Ryuzu Meyer spent at the Sanctuary with Beatrice, you and Echidna. They were happy times with lots of laughing and teasing and you all generally being a handful for the Witch of Greed, who showed you how to overthrow your parents and siblings, allowing you to take your place as the head of the family. You even convinced Beatrice to teach Ryuzu how to read and write."

"Oh, so that's the story she told you," said Roswaal, "and how might Shima have come across this information?"

"She happened to see the memories of the real Ryuzu Meyer when she entered the graveyard," replied Ulric, "that place is quite accurate when it comes to depicting the past, as you well know."

"I am quite familiar with it, yes," replied Roswaal, "and if you know all of that, then I assume she also told you what happened next? The day that this Sanctuary, was truly born."

"I believe his name was, Hector," said Ulric, "or as most knew him, the Warlock of Melancholy. I suppose I shouldn't be surprised that in a land with witches there are also warlocks. But I digress, Hector came here looking for Echidna for whatever reason and even with the both of you and Beatrice there it was deemed likely impossible that you could stop him. Something I find a bit hard to believe given that all three people there including you, wielded a fair bit of mystical might even if it was in your earlier days. Then again, it wouldn't be the first time Echidna deceived someone into thinking she was sweet and harmless, now would it?"

"In any event, the result was convincing Ryuzu Meyer to descend into the lab with Beatrice where she became one with the crystal that now powers the barrier protecting the Sanctuary. The same barrier that still somehow allows monsters in but keeps its own populace from leaving. That is the story of the Sanctuary, as I was told."

"And assuming everything you were told about that story is true, what of it?" Questioned Roswaal with his arms crossed.

"As mentioned at the beginning of our discussion," replied Ulric, "the events you were told about have changed course, one might say drastically. Once the barrier falls, we'll be capable of dealing with those you have sent to the mansion and I doubt it will take long to find a solution to the other problem. So I'll make my offer again, surrender and save all of us a good deal of trouble." Roswaal's response to this was to smile confidently.

"I politely refuse, Sir Ulric," said Roswaal, "I did not spend these last four hundred years planning and working to simply bend to a change like this. You may have brought in an unexpected pawn from outside the board and removed Garfiel from your path, but do not delude yourself into believing that gives you an advantage."

"What'd you say," said Garfiel with mild irritation.

"Am I wrong in what I'm implying?" Questioned Roswaal, "you snapped at outsiders so vigorously for so many years, Garfiel, and now you're suddenly one of this Knight's companions. Even I'm surprised at the speed with which you changed your tune."

"Hah," laughed Garfiel, "don't speak to me like your word means anything anymore, Roswaal."

"My words mean nothing, you say," said Roswaal with a frown, "you clung to a single desire everyday for the last ten years, then let it go so easily and 'my' words are the ones that don't mean anything? Such a pathetic joke, a wish does not simply go away. If you truly loved your Mother and Family as much as you claim, would you really change so readily? Or did you not really love them at all?" Is a wish that folded the moment your fangs were broken really what you spent your last ten years on?"

"Don't get the wrong idea," said Garfiel as he narrowed his eyes.

"And what do you mean by, 'the wrong idea'," questioned Roswaal.

"I didn't decide to follow boss here just because he beat me in a fight," explained Garfiel, "those ten years weren't spent clingin' to a desire, they were spent clingin' to the past. And now for the first time in ten years, I faced that past."

"You actually confronted your past," said Roswaal mockingly, "you, who were too scared to enter the graveyard after your first disastrous failure?"

"I ain't interested in tellin' ya what all I saw in there," said Garfiel, "or why I decided to start followin' the boss here. Instead I'll just tell you one of the big reasons I decided to follow him over you." He pointed his finger at Roswaal then. "Because he didn't tell me to stay weak and fearful forever, he told me I was strong and capable of facing my problems. Why wouldn't I want to follow someone like that?"

"You give me too much credit," said Ulric, "I merely told you the truth of the matter much like it had been told to me. Regardless, I'm grateful for both of you helping me," the Knight turned his attention back to Roswaal then as his expression became stern, "what Garfiel saw was the past. But make no mistake, he loves his family as dearly now as he has for the past ten years. A simple change of his views on the outside world, doesn't diminish that in the slightest."

"In much the same way, just because you don't follow every word of that book Echidna left for you, doesn't mean you love her any less. After all, wasn't it you who told me that it is sometimes necessary to trample upon the feelings of the one you hold dear in order to protect them or to sometimes go against what they want? There would be no shame in turning from this path you are on now."

"Now it is you who seem to misunderstand the situation," said Roswaal, "I still have the advantage here."

"Oh, and how might that be?" Questioned Ulric with his arms crossed.

"Per the terms of our wager," repliec Roswaal, "you bound your greatest weapon, making you little more than an ordinary knight with a blade and some magic. You do not possess the skill of one like Julius or the power of one like Reinhard, so what can one of your level hope to accomplish? The answer, is that you cannot do anything at all!" Roswaal stood up then with an actual expression of anger on his face, "in the face of such overwhelming odds, you are nothing! In this Sanctuary, no one can violate the feelings carved into us by time! That will never change! My 400 years spent here will not be overturned by a simple person like you!"

Ulric was quiet for a moment after hearing the Margrave's outburst, a frown crossing his face before he spoke. "Have I ever told you about the twelve apostles of Christ?"

"What does that have to do with anything?" Questioned Roswaal in a low voice.

"They were twelve people chosen from among Jesus's many followers," explained Ulric, "their names were Peter, Andrew, James, John, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James, Judas, and another Judas with the last name Iscariot. At the time of their choosing, they'd be considered about as ordinary as you could get. Many were fishermen, one was a tent-maker, and Matthew was a tax collector of all things. Not a single king or knight or warrior of any kind were among them, and yet they swept what my people now call Christianity through the world, debating with the wisest of scholars and philosophers and had the ears of even royalty itself."

"Perhaps in your land such a thing was true," said Roswaal, "but this isn't your land, this is mine. And what's more, does that not prove my point? Your people are still clinging to beliefs that I assume were introduced to them long ago. By that logic, are you not admitting that feelings don't change?!"

"Wrong," Ulric shot back, "if anything it is proof that feelings do change. The people did not simply accept the spread of Christianity, in fact many persecuted it and put to death those who preached it. But the disicples and their followers persevered and even turned some of their staunchest opponents to their way of thinking! One of their worse persecutors was the apostle Paul, and he turned and became one of Christianity's greatest supporters. I do not believe I am capable of besting you now because I am beyond ordinary, no, I believe I will best you because God so wills it!"

"If that is what you believe then so be it!" Exclaimed Roswaal as he put a hand over his heart, "As for me, I believe all people remain weak, so weak and fragile in fact that instead of clinging to one precious thing, they aren't even capable of fulfilling their own desires! That's what I believe! I've spent the last 400 years only loving a single woman which is far longer than the time we spent together. Even after going so long without her, the image I have of her is still burned into my mind and never stops burning my soul!"

The mage calmed down then as he spoke his next words. "My heart is still the same shattered mess it was as the day we parted. Nothing at all has changed for me! So I'll say it one more time, I refuse to surrender because I still have the advantage. And if parts of my story and Ryuzu's don't match, what shall you do then? For both you and me, so long as that one crucial person remains, the battle will never end."

"You seem to forget," said Ulric as he set his features to one of determination, "I have more than one person that is crucial to me. One whom, like you, I love more than life itself and another who I've sworn my life to as a knight. Do not underestimate the latter, because Lady Emilia will no longer be a part of your petty schemes. All the obstacles you've placed in her way, she'll overcome them and then some."

"Do you really think so," questioned Roswaal, "she's on her own in there with no one to turn too, ready to be crushed by her own regrets and very soon she'll be sorry she ever attempted to change. And then, she'll come running back to cling too you while crying her eyes out, not that it doesn't suit-."

"It is a tragedy to see tears come to the eyes of any good woman!" Ulric exclaimed as he cut off the mage, "you sit here whining about the pain in your heart and then turn around and laugh at those suffering through the anguish in theirs, you understand nothing about Emilia!"

"I know that she will be hurt and then held in contempt," said Roswaal, "that is the fate which awaits the half-elf. She was born with the curse of sharing the same lineage as the Witch of Envy, so it is inevitable that she will be scorned as a witch for all time!"

"And what have you done to change any of that?!" Ulric practically yelled, "All the power you possess and yet you can't even offer any help to the one you claim to support for the throne! You want her to remain as she is because you believe that'll fulfill your goals, but she is not a tool for you to use nor am I! So if you will not accept surrender, then you leave me no choice but to let you suffer defeat at the hands of her ladyship, because she will conquer this challenge and you will be brought low!"

"So perhaps my suspicions were correct after all," said Roswaal, "you and I are alike. In a sense, we both force our ideals onto the women that we love."

"You allowed Echidna's ideals to influence you," said Ulric, "I influenced Rem and Emilia and they in turn have influenced me. I will agree on the point that people can be quite weak when standing alone, but the only one standing alone in this scenario at the moment is you." Ulric turned to leave, signaling for Garfiel and Otto to follow him before stopping to leave one last word for the Margrave. "I'll leave you with a passage from Luke 6:25 verse 2: 'What sorrow awaits you who laugh now, for your laughing will turn to mourning and sorrow.'"

No other words were exchanged as the door closed behind them and no one spoke again until they were well away from the cottage.

The Witch's Graveyard

'Mother Fortuna, Betelgeuse,' thought Emilia sadly as she awoke from the trial. It had been hard, seeing them all again and remembering just what had happened. Even harder knowing that she was the one, who'd frozen the entire village after watching the Witch of Vanity, Pandora, trick Betelgeuse into killing Fortuna. It'd brought tears to her eyes for several minutes, but now she knew it was okay to cry every now and then.

So she wept until she was finally done weeping, and then she dried her eyes and stood up. 'Don't worry everyone,' said Emilia as she took a deep breath to calm herself, 'I won't let myself be stopped by this anymore. I'll find a way to help you all and then apologize over and over again until you forgive me. First things first, though, I need to pass the remaining trials.' The silver-haired girl then set her face to one of determination before turning and heading out of the entrance of the graveyard.

Though even with her resolve set, she was still mildly surprised by what greeted her upon exiting the graveyard.

Whew, this amount of dialogue reminds of an episode of the Monogatari series. Despite that, I hope you all enjoyed it and with luck, things will be moving a bit faster next chapter. At least when I get a little more to add to it. Again, I'll be taking a mild hiatus on this story in order to give the anime time to advance a little more. But, I'll also be resuming Team WA Vol. 2 during this time, so feel free to check it out while you wait. And while you're at it, feel free to leave a comment or review about what you liked/disliked or if you've got any neat ideas for future chapters. Be sure to stop in next time as our heroes tackle the next challenges of the Sanctuary! 'Til then.