Chapter 180: Get Ready to Rumble!
"Claude…?" Mutters Iris as she saw the one who emerges from beyond the gate in the Night Blades' side. Claude is smirking ominously unlike how he usually was in their memories. His every steps cause Iris and company to become more and more nervous as they didn't expect Claude himself to appear and face them in the arena. His presence alone makes them nervous, especially since he is on the other side.
They notice that he's wearing an amulet with a sapphire embedded on it and is also wielding his family's heirloom, the lightning sword Durandal, which they noted to be dripping with blood.
The biggest fears of Iris, Alexia, Christina and Charlotte are realized as they gaze upon his grinning face and the glint of blue upon the gem on his amulet.
"Lord Claude…" Mutters Christina, who noticed the amulet he now wears, the same amulet that Eliza gave him the night he rescued her.
"Th-That's Lord Claude! B-But I thought he's a hostage! What is he doing here!?" Mumbles an unassuming black haired girl as she gets confused by the blonde's arrival.
"Brother!" Shouts Charlotte, calling out to her brother, who does not respond.
"Brother! It's me! Charlotte!" She calls out again, only to receive no answer again.
The others also couldn't believe it. The brocon, Claude, treating his sister coldly like that? Unbelievable. Thought everyone who knows him.
In the VIP booth the Night Blades present are also bewildered by the sudden appearance, which causes them to start arguing amongst themselves.
"What's going on? Who let him in!?"
"Did Lady Eliza bring him in?"
"Who else? She's the only one who can control him!"
"I thought she's still in her room with him!"
"What should we do?"
"We must find Lady Eliza and tell him to retreat before that killer clown arrives."
"Agreed!"
"You there! Go find Lady Eliza and bring her here at once!" One of the Night Blades orders a subordinate "Right away, my lord!" who bows deeply before leaving the audience seat to search for the daughter of Marquis Despoht.
"What should we do in the meantime? How do we make him withdraw?"
"No. Let him fight. And if the clown decides to appear, let the boy handle him as well. If he intrigues even Necromancer, then he should be able to handle that clown." A youthful but commanding voice is suddenly heard in the VIP booth, turning all attention to the source, where they see a silver haired youthful figure wearing a kingly cape entering the VIP booth. His presence makes a certain wolf beatskin nervous.
"P-Princess Alexia… That's him…" Gettan whispers towards the platinum haired princess.
"Who?"
"Fenrir." One word. One name, and yet it shocks Alexia to the core, making her turn her attention to the newcomer. "So that's him…" She mumbles nervously.
"Wh-Who are you to tell us what to do, boy!? Get lost before-" One of the Night Blades rudely exclaims towards the youthful figure before being silenced by a man who stands behind the youthful figure.
"Silence, you fool! This is Lord Fenrir, one of the Knights of Rounds! Show some respect!" Scolds Marquis Despoht, the leader of the Thirteen Night Blades. His words cause his fellow Night Blades to hastily bow down before the youthful figure, who ignored the earlier outburst to take his seat at the top of the VIP booth.
"So… This is the boy, Claude Normann, that I've heard so much about." Says Fenrir, who analyzes Claude with his gaze.
"Y-Yes, my lord. It took some time but my daughter has finally subdued him using the Artifact that you lent us." Replies Marquis Despoht.
"Why did it take her that long?"
"A-According to her, she had difficulties subduing him even with the mind control Artifact and… she has to resort to seducing him in order to lower his guard."
"Hmph. Let us see how special he is, shall we? Announce the battle at once!" Orders Fenrir, whose voice reaches even the announcer who needs no further prompts.
"Hailing from Everick, the prodigal son of the illustrious Duke Normann who rose in fame and political influence in a short time and was even betrothed to princess Iris and WAS the candidate to be the king of Midgar after the demise of Klaus Midgar… who has also relinquished that title and his betrothal to the princess in order to be wed to Lady Eliza instead! Please welcome the future king consort of Lady Eliza, Claude Normann!" The announcer announces loudly for all to hear, intentionally picking words that he knew would infuriate Iris, something that worked immensely judging from Iris' pained expression.
The audience on the red side are now silent as the audience on the opposite side are now cheering in their stead.
"Sister. He looks like he's been brainwashed. We need to work together to subdue him and take that amulet off of him." Whispers Alexia towards Iris, who ignores her sister as she is burning with rage right now.
Claude simply smirks as he points his blade challengingly towards Iris, a provocation that works.
"No. This is my fight. This is our rematch. And this time… I will… I must win!" Declares Iris with determination as she adopts the Royal Bushin stance, which prompts the smirking Claude to adopt the familiar Schlüssel stance.
Iris may sound confident but she is still panicking internally. She has grown stronger ever since she received guidance from Beatrix but her last defeat at his hands still haunts her. Still, her anger at the knowledge of him being manipulated into betraying her erases her doubt quickly.
As she is unable to stop her sister from doing it on her own, Alexia stands back to make room for the two combatants, hoping that Iris' Artifact will at least give her an edge against Claude even if he's carrying an Artifact himself.
Iris takes the initiative by charging in to deliver a full powered strike with her blade, which is engulfed by a red tinted magical energy, making it look like it's bursting out flames.
The red arc of her strike is stopped by a blade covered in yellow lightning.
Alexia and the others have their jaws dropped as they just saw Iris' full powered strike being blocked so easily.
"Tch… you're as strong as ever, Claude." Iris mutters in a frustrated tone as she jumps to the side and unleashes more flashy magic on her blade to attempt another seemingly full powered strike.
Claude attempts to block her strike but the bright red light emanating from her blade slightly blinds him, making him almost unable to react when she redirected her strike from a downward slash to an uppercut. Still, he managed to dodge the attack by a hair's breath.
"What!?" Exclaims Iris as she receives his counterattack, which not only slices her shoulder but also electrocutes her, causing said shoulder to be slightly paralyzed as she jumps back to retreat.
"Sister!" Shouts Alexia with worry.
"I'm not done yet!" Instead of reassuring her worried sister that she's okay, Iris ignores her as she forces her paralyzed shoulder to move in order to parry an incoming strike from Claude.
*CLANG*
As their weapons clash, the magical aura coating their weapons also clash, generating a shockwave that shakes the whole arena in addition to the light from both the red flame-like magic versus yellow lightning illuminating the place.
Iris holds her ground as much as she can but the earlier paralysis makes her unable to, allowing Claude to push her away.
The crowd on the Night Blades' side cheers as they see the crimson haired princess getting pushed away by the blonde once again while the audience on the red side is silent instead.
"Sister!" Shouts Alexia as she catches her sister midair before she collides with the wall.
"Sister! He's way too strong! Let's fight him together!"
"I need no help!" Iris replies whilst pushing her sister away.
Alexia can only grit her teeth and curse the blonde internally as she watches her sister walking forward to face Claude once more.
Iris didn't get close to him though, opting to extend the flame-like aura on her blade in order to increase her range and attacking him with it.
Claude jumps in order to dodge but Iris, not putting full weight into that strike, immediately redirects her strike in order to catch him midair, prompting him to slice away the flame-like strike with his sword.
As he lands on the floor, Claude grins as he grabs the lightning coated blade directly with his left hand, shocking everyone except him.
Gathering the lightning in the hand grabbing the blade, he forms a lightning javelin which he would then throw at her the way a certain Greek god would do.
"What!?" Iris hastily jumps to dodge the lightning javelin but her earlier tactic is now used against her as she notices another javelin that Claude has thrown towards her while she's midair.
"Haaaa!" Instead of panicking, she thrusts her blade, sending her flame-like aura to burst forward, not only eliminating the javelin in front of her but also launching the red magic towards Claude, who dodges the attack by side stepping.
She has grown as a spellsword. No longer is she focused on overwhelming her opponents with superior power, she also tried to fight more cautiously. But her tactics are easily thwarted by Claude, who hasn't even received a scratch during their brief skirmish.
Even her attempt of engaging him in a long distance combat was countered by him using ranged attacks of his own.
"Truly… how terrifying you are, Claude. Even now I can't tell how far I've pushed you." Iris mutters while clenching her fist with envy and self hatred.
Instead of replying, Claude takes the lighting from his blade into his hand once more… but instead of forming a javelin with it, he inserts it into his chest.
"What!?" Iris and everyone watch as the lighting flows through his body, though instead of electrocuting him, it seems to strengthen him.
Lightning sparks surrounds his body as his blonde hair rises up slightly and glows the same colour as the lightning, making him appear almost divine.
"What is he-" Iris' words are cut as Claude instantly appears in front of her, catching her completely off guard as she tries to hastily slice him off, only for him to appear left... no… right… no… behind, above, below… he seems to appear everywhere.
"I see. So that lighting has increased your speed." Iris says as she tries her best to predict where he would strike.
He appears at her left side, prompting her to hastily react with a slash, which is parried by his blade. But on such a close range, he is able to send a spark of electricity on her direction through his free hand, electrocuting her.
"AAAAAAGHH!" Screams Iris painfully as she endures the electrocution.
"Tch!" But instead of taking the hit without the ability to move properly as expected, she headbutts him, sending him away and cancelling his electrocution attack.
"Haaah… hahh… hahh…" Iris' labored breath can be heard as she tries to recover from the electrocution as much as she can. Her forehead bleeding from the headbutt, but so is Claude's, earning Iris a slight smile as this is the first time she has made him draw some blood.
"At long last… a drop of blood." Claude says as he simply smirks while letting the blood decorate his face. His words surprise not only Iris and company but also their enemies, particularly the ones sitting on the VIP booth.
"Claude… I thought cat got your tongue. Did that impact woke you up?" Mutters Iris as she frowns, though she is a little happy that she finally heard his voice for the first time in weeks.
"I've been awake the whole time."
"Brother!? You're… still…"
"Yes, Charl. I'm still here. I'm not hypnotized." Claude replies to his sister with a gentle smile.
"Then… what's this deal with you and Eliza?" Iris asks with rage, clearly displeased at what she heard from the announcer.
"Heh heh heh. That's what they wanted you to believe… and what I wanted them to believe." Says Claude as he turns towards the VIP booth.
"Then… you didn't…" Iris mutters with a feeling of relief, knowing that Claude hadn't betrayed her. The relief causes her to fall into her knees.
"And thanks to that, all of them are finally gathered here. Even the infamous Fenrir." Claude continues, facing the VIP booth while smirking defiantly.
Before the gathered Night Blades can respond, the subordinate who was sent to find Eliza earlier enters the VIP booth hastily.
"M-My lords! Lady Eliza… she's dead!" Shouts said subordinate. His words cause the Night Blades to panic.
"What!? What do you mean dead!?" Shouts Marquis Despoht as he furiously grabs the subordinate's collar.
"I-I meant what I said, sir! She was already dead when I found her in her room! She was stabbed!" The subordinate replies. His words make them remember that Claude's sword was soaked in blood the moment he entered the arena.
"He killed her…!? How…?" Marquis Despoht glares at the blonde hatefully while the blonde returns the glare with a defiant stare.
"You all thought she had me under control while in fact it was me who controlled her the whole time."
"Lord Claude! So it was all part of your plan all along!" Shouts Christina happily as her admiration of the blonde grows even more.
Even Alexia exhales in relief as she's glad that Claude didn't truly become their enemy.
So he really had a plan. A damn good one too… Although… Thought Alexia as she reminds herself of the presence of a certain member of the Rounds, which could be a problem for this plan of his.
"Huh? Huh? What?" Kanade in the meantime, is confused as she lacks the context about what everyone is talking about, though she is at least glad that Eliza is dead.
"What!? How did you…!?"
"By being better than her." Claude declares as he takes off the amulet he's wearing and throws it to the floor before crushing it underfoot.
"You bastard! Do you have any idea how hard is it to raise a child to be my successor!? Now I have to do it all over again!" Shouts Marquis Despoht, angry at the loss of not his daughter but the successor to his dynasty.
"You're not lamenting the loss of your daughter but the loss of a tool instead?"
"Shut up!"
"Ha ha ha! That whore was annoying and no one will mourn her passing. Good riddance!" Claude replies with a taunting laugh, making the Night Blades leader's hatred of him to grow even more. The other Night Blades also grits their teeth hatefully at the blonde, until their growls are broken by sounds of hands clapping.
*Clap Clap Clap*
Everyone's attention is turned towards the person who is clapping, which is Fenrir, who unlike the Night Blades, is actually smirking as he stands up from his seat after clapping.
"Well done, Claude Normann. Well done. I was hoping that you wouldn't fall so easily for Necromancer's Artifact and… you certainly didn't disappoint. Both your willpower and your martial prowess."
Fenrir's words alone seem to have chilled the spines of almost everyone present. But as if it wasn't enough, with speed that almost none of them could see, Fenrir appears right in front of the blonde. His sudden appearance causes Alexia and company, even the tired Iris, to adopt their respective combat stances.
"S-Since when!?" Gettan, who paid close attention to Fenrir the whole time with his sixth sense, was unable to detect Fenrir's movements. According to his senses, even Claude's lightning enhanced speed was no match for Fenrir's own.
Naturally Fenrir noticed the wolf beastkin's presence since the beginning but he chose to ignore the former member of the Cult in favour of turning his full attention towards the blonde in front of him.
"Ha wa wa wa… He's just a kid but he's scary!" Mumbles Kanade as she didn't adopt a proper stance and can only tremble in fear.
"With such talents, I believe you would fit to become one of us." Fenrir continues.
"You mean becoming one of the Rounds?"
"Indeed. A position many would kill to obtain. Just ask your old friend Zenon and the late vice principal… or better yet, ask that mutt behind you." Says Fenrir without averting his gaze from Claude though the very mention of his existence causes Gettan to tremble.
"It comes with many benefits obviously. Power, influence, immortality…"
"Brother! Don't listen to him! He's the bad guy!" Charlotte tries to cut off Fenrir's words before he could persuade her brother, but…
"And most importantly, the power to oppose your most hated enemy, Necromancer himself." Fenrir drops a bomb that shocks everyone.
"But… isn't Necromancer your…" Alexia mutters but before she can continue…
"Surely you've already heard from Willow that the Rounds is at war with each other right now thanks to that conjurer. There is no need to hide this fact anymore. It is true." Fenrir replies to the platinum haired princess, confirming what she heard from the former head librarian.
"Which is why now I extend my offer to you, Claude Normann, future king of Midgar. Join the Knights of Rounds. Join the Cult. Together we shall eliminate your most hated enemy and bring peace to your kingdom." Fenrir says while extending his hand towards the blonde.
A few seconds of silence passes as Claude seemingly contemplates on whether to accept the offer or not.
But before he could reply, both of their attention is taken by a tall figure wearing clown costume who suddenly appeared in the VIP booth without anyone else noticing.
"Well… it seems that we should continue this conversation another time." Fenrir says as he turns to watch the clown as he produces six cards from his pocket.
Author's Note:
Claude VS Iris Round 3 has ended. Iris at least has made him bleed. All that for a drop of blood. ;)
JacktheRipper has joined the server. What will happen now?
EightEyedOne: Whooo!I'm excited for the new plans you're willing tell us for the future of this fic?
Answer: You have to wait and see. No spoilers ;)
DerTrap: Finally another chapter, man more than one week of waiting time surely is too much for my addiction to this story.
Finally we see the start of Iris's fall to the dark side.
Whenever I read Necromancer's lines in this story I can't imagine anyone voicing him but Junichi Suwabe(Sukuna's japanese voice actor), when it comes to Japanese Voice Actors.
Answer: I'm glad to have an avid fan of my fic. I actually imagined his voice as Claude to be Kenjiro Tsuda (Seto Kaiba's voice actor) and was it Jouji Nakata (Kotomine Kirei's voice actor)? as Necromancer, although with distortion effect.
Guest: Thank you for the update and it was great to see Marie again I'm glad she has more confidence and now working for Yukime and Necromancer hope to see more of her and it was awesome getting to see Iris kicking ass in the arena, wondering who's the new comer in the arena
Answer: Now you have the answer. Also, I suppose I need to draw Marie's new appearance one fo these days.
TheVirtualPug: All I care about is Imouto.
Imouto must be safe!
Answer: No promises. :)