Hello everyone and welcome back to the start of chapter 129! Or 128.5, whatever your interpretation of it is.
Anyways, I wont ramble too much at this introduction, so with that said, let's continue!
DISCLAIMER: All of the Nasuverse characters belong to Nasu and are property of Type-Moon, with the exception of the OC's that belong to me, the author
Man of Sin, Beast 0/XIII or even Beast of the Void, proclaimed to the top of his lungs, his voice in plural sounding and echoing.
Everyone gazed in utter disbilief. Even Avenger aknowledge the sheer absurdity and tension of what he was witnessing. "Hey! Who even are those corpses?"
"The mention of twelve blest souls who preached the Messiah's learnings...!" Amakusa's heart stunned in terror as he came to a frightening realization of what it meant. "Don't tell me...those corpses are..."
"...the Apostles!" Molay concluded, he and everyone else having reached to the same conclusion at the same time, altough not as early as Martha.
"They are indeed. Armageddon is a type of forbidden and ancient magic spell. To unleash it, I had to first obtain all the Twelve Unholy Demons that the Messiah entrusted to each Apostle as prevention to keep such evils locked away and the possibility of a doomsday from happening, thus Armageddon could never occur. It took me almost a millenium to find them all."
"To find them? Over the time period of a millenium?" Jeanne did not liked the implications of that, terrified of the Man of Sin's action. "You...You did it, didn't you?"
"You desecrated their tombs." Ritsuka speaked it out in shock.
And Man of Sin, in the face of such serious accusation of such serious blasphemous act, did not deny it.
"Yes."
"Curse you, Man of Sin!" Martha shouted in pure anger. "This is blasphemy, do you hear me? Blasphemy!"
Georgios proceeded to grab and hold his fellow saint back before she could leash torwards the Beast. "Calm down, Martha!"
But Martha couldn't. Not when she was seeing the corpses of the people she was dear to, being disrespected from their peace for the intentions of others. "And you deem yourself a saviour while doing such despicable acts? May your soul rot in the deepest pits of Hell, you monster!"
"I do not mind becoming Hell's sole resident if everyone else gets to be an inhabitant of Heaven. The road to paradise cannot be built solely on good moral acts."
"And the road to Hell is paved with good intentions!" Georgios responded, still holding Martha. "No matter how great the end may be, immoral means like that should never be excused!"
"Sometimes, we are forced to fight fire with fire. Sacrifices and blood are bound to happen in favor of better days."
"You're a madman!" Molay accused Man of Sin. "What even makes you think that Armageddon will work as you planned? We shouldn't throw away what we already had due to an hypothesis!"
"If Armageddon will work or not, it is a matter of belief and faith. One cannot be sure until they try. But are thou aware of what cannot ACTUALLY work?"
Man of Sin said with a more serious tone, sounding somewhat displeased.
"Praying. Begging. Forgiving. Showing empathy. Care. Understanding. Kindness!"
Being a rare thing to happen, for the first time Man of Sin's voice grew gradually angrier, and even frustrated.
"How much does all that matters if the world refuses to heal and improve? When the parents abandon their children. When the children betray their parents. People dying cruelly and unable to protect themselves. Actors exhibiting fake virtues only for personal gain. How much more attrocities do we have to withstand before admitting that this is a decaying reality beyond saving through benignity? In the end, nothing changes but to stay the same in this vicious cicle of suffering!"
Man of Sin progressively raised his voice, the fingers of his hand cracking unnaturaly and creeply to the point his entire hand closed backwards.
"If being honrable and principled does not change the world for the better, what else can but drastic measures? It is only the reasonable outcome if we want true peace and harmony in the end."
"By deleting everything that people know and love currently? It sounds more like to me that you gave up, Man of Sin." Jeanne argued. "While we do wish that the reality of this planet we live in could be a better one, it is not our place to decide whether it is worth continuing existing or not. No one should have that power of judgement. Sins are an ugly thing, truly. But its is due to those sins, or flaws as you might label them, that humanity can learn and improve in order to mature and differentiate the right from wrong. By wanting to erase 'Evil' alltogether, who in this paradise that you want to create will be able to estabish and discern the moral barriers that constitutes a functional society?"
Upon having been presented with a well built argument from the maiden of Orleans, Man of Sin, going back to his more calm voice, laughed softly at her, not feeling annoyed by any means.
"I indulge that righteousness and resolutness to always defend this blemished existence, Maiden of Orleans."
He said, sounding quite friendly to her. It was also noticeable that Man of Sin now was referring more to himself in the singular rather than the plural.
"Alas, the problem that thou presented to me was already one that I hath thought in antecipation already. Which is the why for the motive we brought all of thee here."
Controlling the shadows, Man of Sin molded and shaped them into what looked to be a table.
"What are you going to pull off this time?" Molay got wary, his sword ready to attack if Man of Sin pulled another trick.
"An invitation. Worry not."
Man of Sin responded before ending grabbing the shadows of the table and removing them as if they were a dark mantle, revealing seven cups of wine perfectly in line on top of the table.
"Hm? Drinks?" Musashi looked at it weirdly.
"As there were the Apostles of the Messiah before in order to carry on and spread his teachings, thou, saints and vituous servants that do not cheat on thy morals, shall drink from this wine and become the Apostles of the new world in order to guide the people!"
Man of Sin exclaimed, expressing the purpose he wanted for the servants in here to have.
"You want us to become Apostles?" Molay speaked, almost not believing in what he was hearing. "...I see. So that is what the purpose of this reunion is all about. You are looking for candidates that can instruct and teach ethics and morals in this new existence you plan to create, correct?"
"Indeed. If the population is taught the virtues that they can possess and practice as well as the sins to avoid from the very start, evilness can be avoided. And what better candidates than saints? Thou art going to be the angels and arbiters of that reality once my job is finished and my body perishes in the process of unleashing Armageddon. The beacons of morality that will usher the world."
"..." Silently listening to him, a tantalizing sensation was growing inside Amakusa. He couldn't help but feel more pleased and drawn into the idea and concept of it. "To guide people on a righteous world..."
"In other words, we will have to function as the pillars of that world of yours then." Molay replied, hid mind having already formulated an opinion on it. "Despite how promising it sounds and might be, I reject that offer with all my being." He gave his answer while adjusting the glasses, gaining a glare of surprise from Amakusa. Why would he refuse such deal?
"May we know the reason for it?"
Man of Sin asked, not sounding dissapointed. Rather, he speaked like he knew that it would be the outcome.
Molay agreed, seeing that the Beast was being polite and civil about it despite the situation. "Yes, you may. Besides the fact that I would never attend to the wishes of a Beast no matter the intentions, the other motive is that I simply don't have any desire in wanting to guide and dictate people's way of thought or action."
"Hmm? What a peculiar answer for one who was once the Grand Master of the Templars, Jacques de Molay. Thou who was falsely accused by thy own king in a plot to gain more power and wealth. The templar and his men who were abandoned by the pope. A legacy stained by the defamatory legend of heresy. With all that pitted against thou, becoming a figure of guidance and leadership to the entire planet would certainly wash away all the slander that was made against thou, would it not?"
"Because I know that everything that I was accused of was false. I never had an image to clean if I never sullied it in the first place." The templar said. "Like you stated before, everyone has their own demons, and the one of Philip IV was certainly greed. However, those who followed me and knew me well, would always remember me for who I truly was and not what the king wanted them to believe in. I harbor no hatred for the king or the royal family, as I was aware that God's justice would sort it out in the end as a showing of my devotion to him. And while that might have been the main reason why you thought of me as a good candidate alongside the saints you called upon here, I am of the opinion that people should be free to learn and experience the rights and wrongs in life for themselves as well as I refuse to do your bidding, Man of Sin! "
"Wow! For someone that sounded a bit shy at the beggining, he actually got quite the way to dialogue." Musashi commented inside her own head, impressed with Molay's response.
"..."
Man of Sin stood silent, not objecting the master of the templars choice.
"You can also have my veredict as well." Jeanne stepped to Molay's side, eyeing the Beast. "I do not wish nor I'm willing to become an apostle in order to implant dogmas on others per your own desires. It should be the people who decide what their own creed is!"
Shortly after, Martha and Georgios also opposed to Man of Sin's offer.
"I too refuse to follow the words of a fiend! Your sweet promises do not mask the horrible acts you've committed!" Martha said, having enough than a clear reason to not side with Man of Sin.
"Your intentions might be altruistic, but there is always a way to make things better that doesn't include the end of the world!" Georgios added.
Having four of seven refused, the Beast proceeded to stare to the young japanese saint, Amakusa, aware that his thoughts weren't entirely the same as of his companions.
"Becoming a mediator and peacemaker of a world with no evil...what's exactly the downside of it? A world where people smile and cheer everyday. We can excuse the attrocities if that goal is reached, can we?" In a type of dilemma, Amakusa stared down to his own hand. "To live teaching the Lord's faith..."
"Make it become true Amakusa..."
"This voice...!" Feeling a spiritual presence on his back, Amakusa heard the weak sounds of the voice of a child.
"Make it true...for everyone of Shimabara..."
"Chiemon!?" Amakusa knew that voice sounded familiar to him, being one of the young kids of his village back in the day that he usually would seen playing around. That made the young saint reflect about that fateful event. How many innocents died backing him up and for his cause. How Chiemon's life was probably turned upside down from that day forward. A valliant rebellion that ended up in a fiery bloodshed and nothing accomplished, completly in vain. So many people that died that day on his behalf and dream, himself included. Amakusa thought that if there was a moment to make up for that tragedy and all lives lost in it, it would be by becoming the guide in the world he promised one day to the entire village.
"Yes! I'll accept it!" Amakusa said to himself, closing his hand into a fist. "This is the righ-"
But then, a hand came by and kindly grabbed his fist, taking Amakusa out of his own thoughts. Looking at who it was, he ended up seeing the maiden of Orleans next to him. "Jeanne?"
Having figured out what the thoughts of the japanese saint were, Jeanne had to step in, giving him a comprehensive but sad look. "You have to let it go, Amakusa. Don't let him deceive you with regret."
Hearing that, Amakusa's intrusive thoughts were swept away and put on the line, being reminded of picking the right thing here. "Yes, you're right." Amakusa replied, having closed his eyes for a brief second. "Thank you for the reminder."
Seeing that all five christian servants ended up refusing his offer, Man of Sin then turned around to look at Ritsuka.
"And what is thy opinion in this, master of Chaldea?"
"Uh? Me?" Ritsuka pointed to himself, not expecting that Man of Sin was also referring to him when talking about wanting apostles to lead the people in his new world.
"Remember that thou hath awakened both our interest and Solomon's as that of a resilient human. To have witnessed thy progression and fortitude against the trials where thou were subjugated to sin while being a typical human was worthy of praise. Not only having thee on our side could help with some of the complications to our goal, but the master of Chaldea could also serve as the prime exemple and model of what a human being can be and achieve. An influence to all the rest, almost akin to a venerated figure. Thou would be highly respected by everyone."
"To have everyone's respect you say?" Ritsuka was confused, not knowing how to exactly feel about it.
"A life where everyone would love and admire thee, never to be alone. We are aware of thy childhood, Ritsuka Fujimaru. One that never knew care besides the motherly one. And even that was taken away from thee prematurely. And the death of thy legal guardian also did not make things better by any means. Without them, thou were fated to a life of pure loneliness."
"..." Ritsuka took a surpressed breath, Man of Sin touching on sensitive topics.
"Hey! If you want to try and convince him to join you, how about not pulling an emotional bribery?" Musashi rebuked the Beast's words about Ritsuka's past, thinking he had no right to speak on the past of others.
Still, Man of Sin continued.
"Yet, if thou agrees to my will and become an apostle, that lonely destiny shall never happen. The master of Chaldea will be able to live freely with thy friends without worries or concern of threats on Earth. Mash Kyrielight, Peko and Nala Finsternis, Romani Archaman, Leonardo Da Vinci and much more. All the company thou values, and all that thou could have ever wished since the early days can happen. The perfect life on a perfect world. All that the master of Chaldea hath to do is to drink from this cup of wine and accept a final request."
Man of Sin promised to Ritsuka how much better and heavenly his life could be if he were to become his apostle. To live forever surrounded with people he loved and loved him back. With no danger in sight. A great peaceful life, all that he could ever wanted.
"So you're saying that if I agree becoming an apostle and help you with the 'rebirth' process of your plan, I can live without the fear of being alone anymore?" Ritsuka asked, lifting up his head to look at Man of Sin in the face.
"Indeed. A never-ending dream come to fruition."
Man of Sin reaffirmed to Ritsuka, having a good feeling on what Ritsuka would end up choosing. He was human after all.
"Don't listen to this guy, Fujimaru!" Musashi exclaimed, not wanting Ritsuka to end up taking his side. "You're not about to throw all the journey you made to the trash just because of an endearing promise, will you?"
"I would like to..." Ritsuka muttured, much to the shock of Musashi and the other servants with the exception of Avenger. Underneath the hood, Man of Sin smirked, thinking Ritsuka would choose what any rational being of the same nature as him would.
"F-Fujimaru...You can't be ser-"
"But that wouldn't make it right!" Ritsuka then speaked, interrupting Musashi. "Not when all of my companions on Chaldea have hope on me!"
Musashi smiled happily in relief as the same reaction was occured to all the other servants, even Avenger showing a small smile across his face.
"I could say sorry to you, Man of Sin, because as long as someone that I care about lives on this planet, it will always be worth saving!." Ritsuka told to him. "That and that I also am not ready to die yet or become whatever you want me to become. Same for Solomon! I'm gonna do what I feel is best for me!" He gave cheeky smile to the Beast. "Eh, looks like I am not so 'prime exemple' of a human for being selfish, am I?"
Admitting that his answer ended up being unexpected, Man of Sin let out a soft and short laugh.
"Eheh. It appears we ended up underestimating the human's foolishness. Altough egotistical, I still commend thy honesty. If this is thy choice, so be it. I won't force thee to change it. However, let it be known that since thou hath denied our and the King of Mages chance to join, the master of Chaldea now only leaves us with the option to kill thee if we want our goals accomplished."
"So does that mean you're going to try and kill me now?" Ritsuka asked, since that if he wouldn't take Man of Sin and Solomon's side, there was no longer a reason to keep him alive.
"Pretty much so. Yet, we are going to be fair and still leave the chance of master of Chaldea escaping from this micro-Singularity if thou ends up surviving this fight. But first, there is still one more vote that needs to be known."
Man of Sin replied, only one cup of wine at the table remaining, as none had been taken yet.
"Six out of seven and we're eight." Ritsuka made the calculus, trying to guess who still had to give their decision. "Man of Sin referred that he had planned for all our presences except for Musashi. Which means-"
"Finally. Was wondering when it was my turn." Avenger speaked, walking past Ritsuka as he headed to the table. Not even having given his opinion on the topic, the servant simply grabbed the cup of wine and twirled around his fingers. "These look expensive."
"Avenger?" Ritsuka raised an eyebrow to the servant, wondering why he didn't hesitated nor seemed defiant in heading to the table and grab the cup of wine.
"You're actually considering becoming an apostle?!" Musashi shouted incredulously.
"So? What if I am?" Avenger responded to her a bit coldly. "What are you going to do about it?"
"You shouldn't!" Molay warned Avenger. "You might come to regret it!"
"Regret? I do not know regret. Not even when I killed all the people who schemed against me." Avenger replied, being annoyed. "Whatever lousy or heartfelt advice you might have in store for me, save your breaths. I don't bother hearing them."
"Then why are you siding with Man of Sin? Is it about a deal you have with him and Solomon?" Ritsuka threw the question at Avenger who refused to respond.
"Essentially, yes. Solomon tasked Avenger with being the one to guide thee once thou arrived to Chateau d'If, master of Chaldea. Naturally, this spirit of vengeance would not do it without something to gain in return. That's when the King of Mages and us to some extent, promised that the sins and crimes that riddled Edmond Dantés body would be washed away as well having the lifelihood that was stolen from him if he were to comply. Silently, he accepted it."
Man of Sin explained it to Ritsuka and the others, moving his gaze to the servant near him.
"Ah, Avenger. An irregular class born out of pure hate and spite, full of sinners. Eliminating such ugly concept and flaw would truly make the world a better place. By becoming an apostle, salvation will surely be guaranteed for thee, Edmond Dantés. To have a man full of vengeance become a source of politeness and benevolence would be quite the example and inspiration to the rest on how even the damned can be saved. Thou will be...What are thoust doing?"
Man of Sin questioned in slight surprise as Avenger, instead of drinking the wine, outright let it all slip out from the cup, stenching the table.
"Showing my verdict to 'thee'." Avenger responded.
"We do not get it. Didn't thou wished to be redeemed?"
For the first time hearing him speak, Man of Sin sounded puzzled.
"Redeemed? Me? Where the hell did you get that stupid idea?" Avenger replied, grinning. "Just because I was silent when Solomon proposed a deal, does it mean I accepted it? Whoever told you two morons that I craved for salvation? I am a spirit of vengeance! I do not need nor want to be saved! I loathe even more people who think I should! I only 'accepted' playing along in your little scheme just to see what this master of Chaldea was all about!"
"Avenger..." Ritsuka murmured, seeing that the servant didn't actually had any intention in becoming an apostle.
Jeanne sighed to the Avenger's words. "He is truly a complicated man."
"Then thou art satisfied with being a misdeed creature with nothing but acrimonious revenge, Edmond Dantés?"
"Hell I am!" Avenger smiled conceitedly. "I have pride on what I've become! Like I said, when I think back about all those assholes that I ended up killing in my revenge, I do not feel regret or pity for those actions! I do not mind living as this spirit of revenge for eternity! It bothers me not! What does bother me altough, are incessant preachers that suffer the delusions of a savior-complex! While the idea of me ending up as a virtuous and helping man may sound enticing to you, for me it's purely laughable!" Speaking out all he had to say to the slightly disconcerted Man of Sin, Avenger finished wasting all of the drops of wine from the cup. "So do see this as my 'resignation' to you and Solomon." He said, letting the cup drop on the ground, echoing its fall amongst the silence.
"..."
"..."
"This guy surely knows how to fool someone, doesn't he?" Musashi commented to the side to Ritsuka.
"It sure seems so." Ritsuka replied.
Staring eye to eye, Man of Sin ended up sighing, coming to terms that even Avenger would not become an apostle as well, having to be a scrapped idea of his.
"Fine. Looks like we've misdjudged the prideness within thee. No apostles then."
Without warning, the Beast closed his fist, molding the table into a hundred shadow spikes that tried piercing Avenger on surprise. Thankfully, the servant reacted quick, stepping out of the altar fastly.
"Are you okay?" Ritsuka asked to Avenger as he landed near him and the rest of the party.
"Not a single scratch." Avenger responded as the group proceeded to be entirely circled by shadows that moved like flames.
"We're surrounded!" Georgios exclaimed, entering into a battle stance.
"Watch it everyone! It seems to me we're still going to have to fight!" Molay told to the rest as they positioned themselves, thinking their adversary would be Man of Sin.
"Thus, there is no other alternative for thee than death. We are afraid that this shall be a goodbye."
Man of Sin responded, his body beggining to levitate away from the ground.
"Aren't you going to fight us?" Martha talked to him, having nothing but rancor for the Beast at this point.
"No, we will not. At the moment, this body is yet to be fully restored and we do not want to risk it by getting into unnecessary fights. Still, we made sure to leave thou a gift."
A devilish smirk could be visible on Man of Sin.
"Say, does this cathedral reminds thee of a place?"
"Now that you mention it, it looks a bit similar to that of Notre Dame." Jeanne responded, looking around to the place to see some of the resemblance with the famous holy ground from her country.
"Thou could say it was a bit of an inspiration."
Man of Sin said right before the loud ringing sound of a bell hitting the ground appeared.
"That and a special appearence from one of Victor Hugo's works."
In the distance, from the other end of the cathedral that was dimly lit, the sounds of bells continued to roar, getting louder as they approached. And exiting from the dark, a grotesque, giant and hunchback humanoid monster looked down on the party, having his body all in chains, dragging two giant bells on the ground, his face covered in a dark cloth.
"What a..." Ritsuka looked at the deformed giant man in pure shock.
"We present to you the corrupted soul of the hunchback of Notre Dame: Quasimodo!"
Man of Sin exclaimed almost at the same time the famous hunchback let out an animalistic roar, swinging and hitting the bells on the ground.
"What have you done to him?" Jeanne questioned to the Beast, horrified by the way the Beast twisted and tainted such kind and beloved character of a novel.
"A bit of incentivation as well as highten his monstrous characteristics. A kind person shunned away by society by just his appearence. It's a pity."
"You damn well like being a tad of a sadistic prick for someone who preaches morality and whatnot!" Musashi insulted him.
"Worry not. Very soon, Quasimodo will get to have an happy ending that he deserves once Armageddon happens. Maybe even thou can get to have a permanent dimension to call a home this time, Miyamoto Musashi."
"!" Musashi looked daggers at him, having felt that comment deeply.
"What is he saying by that, Musashi?" Ritsuka asked to the legendary ronin, not having understand it.
"We shall be leaving now. But before that, master of Chaldea, if thou by any chance ends up surviving, make sure to continue caring for the twins."
"Huh? You mean Peko and Nala?" Ritsuka said, confused. "Why would you even-!" Then, a thought popped up in Ritsuka's mind. "Wait! Does that mean...you are their father?" Ritsuka made a crucial question, looking to the face of Man of Sin.
"..."
The Beast however, stood silent, chosing to not respond.
"Answer me!" Ritsuka demanded. If he got the confirmation that it was the case, then that could lead to many clues about the two's past.
Yet, Man of Sin remained unresponsice, instead fadding away alongside his shadows, leaving the altered Quasimodo to deal with him and the rest.
"He went away!" Ritsuka cleenched his teeth in frustration as the entire cathedral got once again covered by darkness, only the small zone that the group and Quasimodo where in being visible.
"Forget about that! We have a more serious matter happening right now!" Avenger called him, wanting Ritsuka concentrated.
Musashi speaked to him as well. "If we defeat him, you're gonna be able to get out of this place in time!"
Being told to focus, Ritsuka nodded his head to the two servants. "Right! First things come first!" He said, looking to the hostile hunchback.
"We shall land you our help as well!" Molay said, he and the other christian Heroic Spirits standing by their side. "If you are the last master of humanity, then that means you're the world's only hope to save everyone! On God's behalf, we all shall make sure that you survive this encounter!" He exclaimed, the party proceeding to clash on with Quasimodo.
Despite the numerical advantage, this fight was by no means easy to them. While Quasimodo was a big opponent who was taking lots of several attacks from the group, he was also a very tough unit, able to tank majority of the attacks. Not only that, but the hunchback moved very abruptly and fast for someone of his frame and weight while having two bells chained to him too.
Climbing and hoping from column to column with the agility of a climbing monkey, Quasimodo jumped off, about to land violently on the ground where the party was.
"Dodge!" Jeanne exclaimed, everyone moving out of the way as Quasimodo crashed the floor once he landed, the infernal sounds of the bells ringing.
"All this sound is already hurting my brain inside!" Ritsuka said, the loud noise of the bells starting to become insufferable to him.
"Like we hadn't enough problems already!" Avenger grumbled, he and Musashi being next to Ritsuka, taking down some small demons that would sometimes exit from the darkness around them to jump and disturb the group's fight against Quasimodo. "These shits aren't making this easier!"
"You can say that again!" Musashi replied, cutting two demons down with her swords. The ronin then stared at the other servants battling off Quasimodo, tryong to bring him down. But no matter how many damage he took, the hunchback would not die. Taking a look at herself and then to one of her swords, she knew of a way to end with this battle. "Guess we have only one option left then." She stashed back her other sword.
"What you're planning?" Avenger asked her, seeing Musashi take an unusual stand, her sword upright and close to her chest.
"This entire darkness, Man of Sin's darkness, is void." Musashi said, her eyes analyzing beyond the dark veil. "It doesn't seem to have an end, going way past infinity. Zero. Nothingness. Heh, now I see why he his called Beast 0/XIII." She smirked, continue to stare to the vast darkness ahead. "I couldn't have asked for a more perfect scenario. One where I'll finally test if I can go beyond Zero or not!"
"Then you're planning to cut all the darkness away alongside the enemy?" Avenger said, wanting to see if that's what Musashi had in mind.
"Yep! If I'm able to cut down Man of Sin's darkness, the demons will most surely dissapear and the opponent defeated! It will be two birds with one stone!" She smiled. "Thankfully, I think I can still have enough time to unleash the attack before dissapearing!"
"Dissapearing?" Ritsuka looked at her confused, feeling that Musashi would put a lot of mana in this next attck of hers.
"Well, if it gets us out of this situation, then go ahead!" Avenger said, believing that the samurai had the triumph card for their win.
"Thank you for the understanding!" Musashi smiled joyfully before shifting her gaze to Quasimodo, tightening her fist on the hilt of her sword.
"Give up."
A voice speaked behind Musashi, the ronin knowing very well who it was.
"You do not have what it takes to surpass the One, much less so to reach Zero."
"Heh. Thank you for the support, dad." Musashi speaked, not letting the haunting spirit of her father distract her mind. "But your daughter is about to show you otherwise!" Resolute in her goal, Musashi was ready. "Everyone, step back!" She exclaimed to everyone who was fighting Quasimodo, the blade of her sword charging up.
"By the sharpest edge, the swiftest of stroke, the precicest of blow, I'll do it! Through all the endless possibilities and outcomes, today is the day I shall cut through emptiness!"
Having one and only objectice in mind, Musashi brought down her sword, the flashiest, most destructive and quickest of slashes tearing through at almost lightspeed. Quasimodo didn't even had time to react as his body was cut, Musashi's attack doing a huge cut on not only him but on the void beyond the darkness, opening a small rift through the demonic emptiness.
"I did it!" Musashi smiled, having made it. Yet, not for too long. Suddenly, the small rift she had created begun to flicker, slowly swallowed by the great darkness surrounding it, much to Musashi's dismay. "What?"
"A notorious execution, Miyamoto Musashi. Alas thou hadn't grasp it yet."
Man of Sin speaked, standing right next to her, having returned silently to observe the samurai's attempt, only present to her.
"The emptiness of the Void goes beyond infinity. Nothing has a start and an end. If thou cannot visualize an 'end' then thy blade will wander aimlessly through the darkness of it until it is consumed."
The Beast of the Void told her, putting the notion that Musashi was still unprepared for such task.
"Until then, the speed of thy blade's light will never trespass the universal bounderies of reality."
"!" Hearing that made the legendary but still unseasoned ronin remember it. Of an important lesson from one of her instructors a long time ago. How could she had forgotten about it at such crucial moment? Unfortunately, she had to admit with a resignated smile. "Ah...I am not ready yet."
As she lowered her sword, entire gallons of blood oozed out from Quasimodo's body, having been critically injured by the blow as the darkness behind him was sliced by a small rift of light, being enough to slow the demons down.
"M-Musashi! You did it!" Ritsuka exclaimed impressed, a huge smile on his face.
"No. It wasn't enough."
"Hm?" Looking at the ronin, Ritsuka saw her turn her head around, giving a smile to him as the weak light of the rift shinned behind her.
"I still have a long way to go." She commented as her body begun to distort from the space she was in, unlike what happens when an Heroic Spirit is at death's doors. A bit of blood came out of her mouth, showing that trying to pull such technique inappropriately could be fatal to her body.
"Are you dying?" Ritsuka asked her, worried.
"None of that." Musashi told him, not wanting Ritsuka to panic about her. "My time limit in this micro-Singularity has reached to its end. I'll not die but instead be teleported to another place. Another timeline. It is a condition that my own body cannot control unfortunately. A shame that I cannot help you anymore in here."
"Uh? But why?" Ritsuka asked, not fully understanding what made Musashi unable to stay at one place for longer.
Altough she was still smilling, Musashi gave a sorrowful look. "Because my timeline has been pruned. Completly erased from the time-space axis."
"What?" Ritsuka said in disbilief, not being an easy thing to register.
Avenger however took it more easily. "I think I get it. Since your universe has been destroyed and no longer exists, it means you are an anomaly to existence in itself that can hop from universe to universe but can't stay in them for long due to the universal nature of wanting to clean a mistake from a timeline that supposedly does not exists anymore."
"Eh, you comprehend the things quite well." Musashi told to Avenger. "But like he said, I'm an existing mistake that isn't supposed to 'exist' due to my universe not existing as well. Hence why I am about to dissapear from this place. It feels bad that I'm pratically abandoning you in a dire situation." She then went back to smile more with glee. "But don't worry! I am sure we will meet each other again! I'd even say we're destined to it! But before I say goodbye, I think there is a thing you'd like to know."
"What is it?" Ritsuka asked her, accepting that Musashi was leaving.
"Peko and Nala. I think I know who those two kids are." Musashi said with a dead-serious face, much to Ritsuka's pure bewilderment.
"Come again?" Ritsuka said, not expecting that Musashi would just drop a revelation like that. His head was having so many questions now.
"I think I do. Or at least I faintly remember of trainning and sparring with their father a long time ago." Musashi added, smilling again. "Never thought I'd hear those names again but life truly is full of surprises. And I hope meeting with you again can be the next one, Fujimaru! I really like you, y'know? So goodluck and until a next time!" Unable to explain and reveal more, Musashi's body popped out of existence, dissapearing right before Ritsuka's eyes.
"N-No! Wait!" Ritsuka tried to reach out for Musashi, wanting the samurai to tell him what she knew more about Peko and Nala. Unfortunately, she was no longer there.
"Heads up now." Avenger said to Ritsuka, adjusting his hat while staring to Quasimodo. "We still have an enemy to beat!"
Critically injured, the hunchback still tried to fight altough he couldn't do with with the same violence and agility before, his attacks being slower and sloppier. Truly, the only thing keeping him alive were some shadows that were trying to diminuish the gravity of the wound Musashi left in him.
"He's completly weakened! Now it's our chance to finish this!" Jeanne told to the others, dodging from one of the enemy's bells.
"Charge! Let's put an end to his poor misery!" Moley commanded, the party continue to fight Quasimodo albeit debuffed.
And after some more few minutes and persistence, the collective teamwork of the party ended up resulting, finally bringing down the hunchback.
"It's done." Georgios said, panting tired alongside everyone else. "He's been defeated."
"The power Man of Sin must have gave him to battle for this long must have been truly terryfying." Amakusa commented on how much of a slog defeating an opponent enhanced by Beast 0/XIII was.
Standing next to the defeated hunchback, Jeanne crouched down and kindly put a hand on Quasimodo's head, hearing his painful woe.
"He...hE tOld me...hE pRoMIsed mE that I wOuld...sEe EsmeRaLDa aGain..."
"It's alright. It's already over now, Quasimodo." Jeanne consoled the hunchback, Man of Sin's corruptness finally wearing off of him. "May you rest under the Lord's gaze." She said, with the hunchback's corpse fading away, the maiden of Orleans doing a prayer for him.
"Does this mean it's over now?" Ritsuka asked, the cathedral having gone calm, the darkness having went away. "We've completed all the trials?"
"I think so." Avenger replied, looking to Georgios, the body of the saint and dragon slayer about to fade away.
"Guess I'm the first one to go." Georgios looked to himself. "It was an honour having fought through this hell alongside you. Specially seeing your leadership skills, mister Molay." Georgios praised the templar's work as the leader of the group.
"The...The p-pleasure was all mine, Saint Georgios." Molay replied, going back to stumble on his words a bit.
"Take care." Martha added.
Georgios nodded in response. "Farewell, my dear brothers and sisters of God! May we all reunite again under a less stressful situation someday!" And he went away.
Then, it was Martha's turn. "My turn now. Honestly, sorry for the foul language I'm about to use now, but I'm still irked off that I couldn't kick that asshole Man of Sin's ass! He will have to pay and answer to God's judgement for the crimes he has committed."
"Still thinking about the Apostles?" Ritsuka asked, imagining that scene was still well fresh and vivid in the saint's mind.
"Yes. What that fiend done is truly worthy of a 'beast'. He must be stopped!" Martha stated, seeing this now as a matter of restoring the honor to the Apostles.
"He will! You can trust on Chaldea for that." Ritsuka told to the saint, also being his mission.
"Then I shall deposit my hopes on you." Martha smiled to him. "I can tell you and Chaldea must be very capable. Very well and until another time my friends!" Her body also went away.
"Molay." Amakusa called the templar.
"What is it, Amakusa?" Molay turned around to look at the japanese saint.
"Do you think we've made the right choice here? To oppose Man of Sin's Armageddon?" Amakusa asked, still a bit conflicted.
"What do you mean?" Molay asked him as Amakusa was beggining to dissapear.
"I don't know. It is just a sensation that...Forget it. Just mere temptations." Amakusa ended up leaving the topic aside, smiling.
"Siding with a Beast is of no good, Amakusa." Jeanne told him. "Nothing is as perfect as someone makes it sound."
"Yes, I understand. But I guess we as humans sometimes can't help but have these sort of thoughts." Amakusa replied.
"The ones that Man of Sin tries to explore. You were honestly considering being his apostle, didn't you?" Jeanne said, rebuking him.
"If it meant I would get an even greater of a lecture from you later on, I think I was not." Amakusa chuckled a bit, gaining a sigh out of Amakusa.
"Honestly, Amakusa..." She muttured, looking like an older sister tired of her younger brother antics.
"Anyways, turning my back on the Lord is a thing I'll never shall do. If everyone believes that preventing Armageddon is the best outcome for humanity, then I'll lso believe in it." The japanese saint proceeded to stare to Ritsuka. "May you be blessed on the day of the decisive battle, master of Chaldea."
"Thanks I suppose." Ritsuka said, perceiving Amakusa Shirou as a bit of a sly character.
"Can you go away now? That stupid smile of yours is bothering." Avenger told to Amakusa to already go away.
"Hehehe, don't be so sad for seeing me go, Avenger. Even if you think otherwise, I'm sure salvation will come from you one way or another. Kyrie eleison, Edmond Dantés." And so Amakusa also went away.
"Tsk! Annoying guy!" Avenger said to himself after Amakusa's farewell comment.
Out of Molay and Jeanne, it was the master templar's turn to leave.
"Well...I think that...uhmm...that it is my time." Molay speaked, trying to think of what to say on his farewell. "Sooo...thank you m-master of Chaldea for the help and..."
"Do you have a mode for fluent dialogue or something?" Ritsuka questioned, seeing that Molay had once again gone back to stumble and be a bit shy on his words.
"Jacques de Molay just seems to speak and express himself much better under serious situations rather than informal and normal ones." Jeanne told to Ritsuka about Molay's peculiar condition. "Still, he's a nice person. It was a pleasent surprise to have fought side by side with the last grand master of the templars."
"T-Thank you Lady Jeanne but...y-you shouldn't be the one speaking for me." Molay told her before lightly coughing and eyeing Ritsuka. "What I would like to say is, thank you. Thank you for having fought by our side even if it was for a short period. Thankfully, Man of Sin got out of here without getting what he wanted. But like Martha said before, he needs to be put to a stop! Both he and Solomon!"
"Sure thing!" Ritsuka smiled, giving out his hand torwards Molay in order for a handshake. "You were a cool guy! Hope to see you in Chaldea sometime!"
"Hm!" Initially caught off guard, Molay surpressed his introverted behaviour and ended up handshaking with Ritsuka, smiling back to him. "You seem a very upstanding guy. If that is the type of person the master of humanity is, then I think the world is in save hands. Until a next time, were we can battle together and know each other better, master of Chaldea. But whatever you do, do not summon me on a friday-" But the knight templar vanished before delivering the final message.
"What was he about to say?" Ritsuka pondered.
"Dunno. Something about hating fridays I guess." Avenger replied, not thinking deeply about it.
"Then only you remain, Jeanne." Ritsuka looked to the maiden of Orleans, being the last one of the servants, besides Avenger, left. "You might not have any idea why I'll tell you this but, it ain't the first time I'm saying farewell to you."
"Yeah, I could tell." Jeanne smiled kindly to Ritsuka as her body begun to fade. "That stare you give is the same stare that somebody gives to a beloved one after they met again. Whatever adventure or journey I've went with you, it must have left you with a good image of me."
"You could say that." Ritsuka chuckled. "And I sure hope this wasn't the last time."
"Curious. I too want that to not be the case. Guess you also left a bit of an impression on me, master of Chaldea." Jeanne told him. "Altough a human like you, who've already went to so many places and met so many people makes me think I was not the only one."
"No you weren't." Ritsuka confirmed.
"Then, next time we meet, I'll make sure that me and all those people you've met and connected with during your entire journey shall come in aid at your greatest hour of need, like thousands of stars in the sky." Jeanne told to him, sounding like a promise. "I can feel the battle against Man of Sin and Solomon is neigh and Chaldea will need all the help it can get. Until there, may everyone's prayers watch over you."
Ritsuka nodded. "Thanks, Jeanne."
Before going away, Jeanne gave one last glance at Avenger. "I know you'll also be rooting for him, Avenger."
"I'll root for whoever I want." Avenger replied, seeing Jeanne completly dissapearing out of sight.
And then, there was only Ritsuka and the avenger, Edmond Dantés, left.
Seeing that the room was awfully silent, Ritsuka had to wonder. "So? What happens now? Will I just wake up all of a sudden?"
"Now we fight to the death." Avenger told him.
"What?!" Ritsuka exclaimed almost comically.
"Or we SHOULD fight if I already hadn't picked the winner." Avenger added.
"Care to explain?" Ritsuka eyed him a bit weirded.
"There was a bit of a 'crucial' detail that I hadn't told you at the time. While escaping from Chateau d'If is possible, to mirror the legend of the Count, only one can escape however." Avenger revealed. "Not three. Nor two. But one."
"Then...you're going to kill me?" Ritsuka questioned, taking a step back. If they were to fight, Ritsuka knew he'd have no chance as a normal human against an Heroic Spirit.
"At the very beggining? I admit I was considering that when we first me. But now?" Turning his head and giving a sharp smirk to Ritsuka, Avenger did the unthinkable and pierced himself in the chest with his own hand, blood coming out from his mouth and body.
"W-What are you doing!?" Ritsuka exclaimed in shock, seeing Avenger remove his own heart in true agony.
"I think...that letting you escape is better!" Avenger said with a wide smile. "Just the thought that you...a mere human...was able to surpass all these trials without succumbing to despair or giving up...it is amusing enough! And I...I...Edmond Dantés, the vengeful spirit who does not know love...was the one guiding you through this infernal prison!" Avenger exclaimed in ecstasy. "This feeling, of being a guiding light to a person's freedom...Was this what it felt like, Abbé Faria?"
"Are you actually feeling okay?" Ritsuka asked, thinking Avenger was going crazy.
"I am more than okay, master of Chaldea...! Don't you get it? You were...in the same position I was all those years ago...which makes you the seaman! And if you're the seaman...then I'll be the 'old man' who keeps pushing and pushing for you!" Laughing, Avenger calmed down a bit, his mind going back to what Jeanne told him earlier. "Yes...You're worthy of my protection." He said with an evil yet pleasent smile on his face. "That...and that I also want to see you foil those two bastards plans!...You did great escaping the trap Man of Sin and the King of Mages had in store for you! And they thought it would work with my aid...that's what morons like them get for having picked me to do the job, muahahahahahahahahahaha!"
As Avenger threw out an evil laugh to the air, Ritsuka couldn't help but feel that the servant was in someway fascinating. That even if he didn't had his usual companions and Chaldea by his side on this sole small 'adventure' of his, that he still ended up bonding with the likes of Avenger and Musashi. The experience he wnt through this hell with those two, made Ritsuka desire he could see more of them again.
"So from here onwards..." Limping his way torwards Ritsuka, Avenger put a hand on his shoulder, stil maintaining his impeccable evil smile. "...Allow me to become your shadow, master of Chaldea." Not lasting longer, Avenger's body begun to fade away.
Ritsuka didn't even know of what to respond to the comment the servant made, but he felt that it was a special type of vow. "Will I...Will we ever see each other again?"
To that, the evil smile of the Avenger reduced, turning into a more amicable and reassuring smile as Dantés decided to leave with this message of expectation to the master. "Attendre et espérer. Wait and hope."
And so, the vengeful spirit that denied salvation, that was prideful of his own actions and nature, that always craved vengeance, took a rest.
"..." Continue looking at the same direction as if Dantès was staring at him, Ritsuka stood a bit still in place at the lonely chatedral, all by himself now. Not long after, he heard the sounds of doors moving, turning around to see the giant entry gates of the sanctuary opening up for him, a huge and bright wall of heavenly light awaiting for him at the other side. It was his way out of here.
Looking to himself, Ritsuka took a minute to process and take in all that happened on this prison. From the new servants he met with to the sinful trials trying to persuade him, the revelations and now the goodbyes. The master of humanity hoped that once he woke up, all of the memories of this 'dream' would not vanish away from his mind like that of a normal one. If there was an effect that this entire experience made on him, was the reinforcement that no matter what, humanity needed to be saved so that they could live happily. That he couldn't give up on life.
With that duty and desire in mind, Ritsuka walked through the gates.
"Only one more Singularity remaining."
To be continued...
And that was it for chapter 129!
There we have it! Man of Sin's/Beast 0/XIII overall plan and goal revealed as well as Armageddon explained. And yeah, you read that right, the dude digged the graves of the Apostles of Jesus Christ in order to gain the power and control of ancient demons locked within them. And honestly, that to me sounds like the type of shit someone would do in the Nasuverse. You know that universe must have quite alot of mages that probably go aorund scavenging graveyards and this chapter served as a way to develop more and go a bit into the character that is Man of Sin.
And Musashi also knows who Peko and Nala are. Or at least she has the impression she knows the two due to having trainned with their father. Why? Important plot points guarded for later. But yeah, this is why I wanted to introduce Musashi in here at this point in the story since she 'might' have a connection to Peko and Nala. That and the 'contract' made between Ritsuka and Dantés. If you want my opinion, I think Dantés is pretty much TOP5 servants when it comes to personal connection to Ritsuka. Like, dude's basically the bodyguard of the MC, that alone show his importance in the game overall.
Now, like I said before at the start of the previous chapter, I want to adress a bit the case of these recent chapters coming out a bit delayed as of late. It will be a bit of a vent so if you want to ignore it, that's fine.
I think I'm exhausted. As in, I can hardly concentrate or get the motivation enough to keep writting a chapter for hours straight that I had on the past. And it frustrates me so much because I try and do my best to deliver a chapter in time within the week schedule. A thing that is becoming even more difficult due to collage and hardly getting any free time during the days apart from when its already late and I have to wake up early the next day to attend class. And when I do get the time to write the chapter, I either can't get the energy to keep writting for a longer period or I just get a blank on what to write for some dialogue or actions. It gets to the point where I'm still awake on 5AM of a friday to try and release within the expected time period of the chapter's launch which ends up leading me to some dialogues not being in the way I wanted due to the fatigue in my brain. And the fact I am also currently writting an Honkai Star Rail fanfic simultaneously hinders a bit since I now have to divide my attention and energy between the two stories.
That paired with the fact I end up miscalculating the chapters lenghts make me feel awful. That I am failling to you readers and not giving you my best. That if I wasn't feeling tired or uninspired that I could write these past few chapters way better. That I can improve so much more but my body and mind can't. I've honestly even considered in taking a short hiatus of a month, but I still have a will and desire inside of me that makes me want to keep on writting and delivering chapters to you weekly, specially now that only Babylonia and Solomon are left. I hope with all my heart that it is just a creative drought that I am experiencing at the moment. That, and that I can come back as the usual me when I wrote all the other one hundred chapters down after the break week I'm planning to take after the release of the next chapter. For now, I'm sorry if I made you feel that my writting was being subpar during these last chapters. I know that no one is forcing me to deliver them weekly, that I shouldn't impose these things on myself, but writting this story has become a part of my life now that I simply cannot think breaking away from it nor its characters. I still want to keep writting it and see you enjoy where the plot and development goes and how it concludes.
Anyways, that is all I wanted to say. Next chapter will be the last one before Babylonia, so look forward to it. See you next time on chapter 130! Peace!
P.S:
Ritsuka (Finds Medusa Lily): Oi Ana, Ana!
Medusa Lily: What is it, master?
Ritsuka: Do you know what year thissss isss.
Medusa Lily: Humm, judging by the event that released last month, it's the Year of the Snake.
Ritsuka: Yesssss, it'ssss the Year of the Sssssssnake. Sssso, I think that all the ssssnake trait sssservants should have a ssssort of commemoration thissssss year.
Medusa Lily (Sweating a bit embaressedly): Could you at least stop hissing at every word with an 'S' please?