Descendants of Time (Role-Play Act 5: Revolutionary Moment)

Cinia Pacifica · 2014-12-02T18:25:26-01:00

Update: As of Act 4, many updates to the system was done and it's revamped enough hopefully. You can check the mechanic changes in the List of Profiles doc. Some other docs have more specific information too. If you want to catch up to the story for more recent contents, we've written review posts that goes through the majority of the important story parts of the RP based on each Acts: - Act 1 Review - Act 2 Review - Act 3 Review - Act 4 Review Spoiler: A lost country. A new country. An old country. What is true? What is false? So much has happened. From the sands of time they had arose. When the four representatives of the stars gathered… The wind had brought forth with it steam. Steam that brought with it soot, as well as dirt hated by those wishing to keep up an illusion – their appearances. When the eight representatives of the stars pointed blades… The wind had brought forth with it change. Change that brought with it inventions; elaborate usage of electricity, and fuels – providing more to grasp – so that they may hold onto their delusions. When the twelve representatives of the stars clash… The wind would bring forth with it a miracle. Miracle that would bring with it a gate. Yes, the gate beyond which the infernals live. Or so the prophecy had stated. I wonder if that is worthy of the word †˜miracle.’ Four had already met. As so did the eight. The meeting of the twelve had yet to take place. People have taken this prophecy for granted. O magi – wielders of power beyond the comprehension of mundane – those who suck mana from the realms’ air – are you certain that all the horrors and tragedies are from these Descendants of Time? You people – the magicians sworn to keep the world’s balance in correct order – should you be taking up your armaments against the bearers of the Zodiac? Has conflict truly been the only possible answer? Surely, their meetings had brought forth winds that shook the status quo. Yet I am willing to believe – that all have their reasons. For good, I hope. Instead of taking up blades and staves, take a moment – at least – to put up your hands – for prayers for those who have long passed away, for the mundanes and comrades alike. Don’t they mean anything to you all? Or is the process of generations – and heirs taking up your place – simply a means to extend your ambitions and desires to continue on in the material world? My duty – was never to rally against those descendants, but to be the beacon of peace and stability. I truly wish someone qualified could take my position. However, I too, hold a selfish ambition. I wish to find the answer. The answer to what is true, and what is false. This is the best position to navigate from – for the answer. So what if the Old King had stolen countless hearts of women and left countless hearts of men to cry? So what if the Countess had terrorized masses of people? Or of the matter at which the King of Knights lost his people’s trust? Or of the incident when the voice of the Fortune Teller told of the future that none wanted to know? What of the Thunder Emperor who fought to fend off the colonists to protect his herd? What of the tale of the Heart-Breaker Queen? She now suffers the fate of being locked away in a far, far land. Haven’t we humans done wrong ourselves? Are we to cast a deaf ear to the roars of wars we ourselves fought among each other? Mage’s wars. Civil wars. World wars. I, for one, am rather tired of these. Are we magicians implying that we are allowed to shed blood – so long as we raise our blades against one another? Nay. One should simply look from various directions. Let us look for what lies beyond what was seemingly obvious. Had we all not had our own reasons? The time of steam. The timeless zone. The time of future. And the modern time… Again, what holds the truth? How do we distinguish it – from what is false? If we claim that those from the past eras are but illusions… what of the country – from the modern era that we once knew? Were they real? Had they not disappeared – sunk into the sands of time? Do they even exist anymore? It is truly a mystery – one which I wish to solve. The prophecy spoken by the father of magi claims of the coming calamities to be brought forth by the Descendants, as if paying no care to the many conflicts to come for humans. Would one not see it as mockery? Was it truly a message to the magi, or the Descendants themselves? He who held the power to peer into the future – spoke not a word for the future of man or magicians. The calamities he spoke of were to be brought forth by the warriors of time. Each meeting of a group of them – would bring about great changes. The first would take time away. The second would accelerate time. The third would reverse time. And the fourth would bring about the infernals. Through the gates of hell would darkness come forth. The differences in the described events are rather strange, and do not match up. Magicians may find it credible due to the matching occurrences. I am yet to believe it blindly, however. Far from it. The father of magi cares only for the descendants. He cared not for the mundane. He never did, yet it was addressed to us – as if to use us. It might’ve been a message for the Descendants all along. That is my conclusion on the subject. – Queen Victoria’s Memoire, 1st Entry, 1857, August. ↑Prologue↑ Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to my next Role-Play (RP), the Descendants of Time RP. It was originally inspired by my old Time Warrior RP. At first, I had planned for a simple †˜reboot’ RP, but soon I came up with new ideas based around the concept of †˜Time Warriors’ itself. After which, this RP came out as a result. As such, it is not a fanfiction RP, and anyone with little experience in RPing are welcome to join. This RP may start out a little… mysterious yet normal. However, don’t make a mistake – the story is undoubtedly of a dark fantasy genre. †˜Happy’ moments may seem more scarce than it may be. If you’re looking for some of those boring happy-go-lucky high school RP; kindly switch your computer off. I’ve spent quite a lot of time preparing this RP, for at least a month now. Not everything is done, but it’s good enough for this thread to be up, so that prospective players may submit their character profiles. It’d take at least about one or two weeks before this RP officially starts. Players will still be allowed to join after the RP starts. I’d recommend one to join before it starts, regardless. So this time, I’m incorporating Ars Magica 5th edition into the mechanism of my RP. It’s not fully Ars Magica the tabletop RP game, but it is for the most part – simply tweaked and changed to suit the online RPing style more. You do not have to read the book of Ars Magica, as most of the mechanic is explained in the guidelines below. If you’re a beginner, I don’t think you have to delve into the complications. Just knowing the basic will do. Now, a little about the kinds of character available for play: Time Warriors, this time, are based on the Zodiac Signs. There are twelve kinds of Time Warriors known throughout the world as is the number of Zodiac Signs. Each has features representing their Sign, and must work towards concealing their identity, for the mages are eager to find and kill them. Albeit, Time Warriors are immortal, so they are rather hard to kill, as they’re only killable when using their Time Freeze ability. Then we have the mages. Apparent guardians of the world’s balance. Spiritual balance, to be specific. They refer to the magical dealings and undertakings as part of the †˜Magic World’, which is just a way to separate the mundanes from their activities in context. Otherwise, the Magic World consists of Magic Organizations, and other Organizations that hires mages and participates in the activities of said †˜world’. Most mages have forgotten the main purpose for which they took up this responsibility, and simply practice magecraft for other purposes. However, they do wish to hunt down the Time Warriors. They follow the Father of Magi’s prophecy which implies that Time Warriors will bring ruin to the world. Lastly, we have the mundane members of the many societies throughout the world. The mundanes do not know of the Magic World, and it is only an urban legend or rumors to them. Few mundanes often come to learn of the Magic World and the many magicians who’re a part of it. Those planning to play a mundane character – in other words, an ordinary character – should be striving for such an archetype. Finally, you have the option to start from one of three countries – England, Japan, or Russia, and they have their own settings. England is in the 19th century timeline and has a steampunk setting. Japan is in the 23rd century, and is futuristic. Russia has no sense of time at all, but has a steampunk setting too. Other countries outside these three are still living in the 21st century in the modern era. Rules: To join this RP, you must submit your character profile to me through a Private Message (PM). If you're new to RPing, give the old RP Guide a read, if you feel inconvenienced with reading so much, at least check out the Munch section, please. No spamming. Please don’t post any comments, questions, or a profile in this thread. Use PMs instead, or some other place, as RP posts will be made in this thread, after the RP starts. Write in the Third Person Format, because no one likes to be confused. We’ll be writing in a Google Doc in real time, so First Person Format may confuse other participants and readers. Make sure you have some time throughout a day to be able to write. An hour is preferable, but other participants have to be around at least. You don’t necessarily have to be around every single day. Make sure you have Skype because it will be used for communication. Character Creation: Spoiler: Write up your character profile by filling out the necessary details in the character profile sheet and send it to me via PM. If you have questions, or want to submit a draft profile with a PM for my opinions, go right ahead. So, below is technically two profiles, but merged into one due to my laziness. Basically, you must decide what kind of a character you’re going to play. There’s Time Warrior, Mage, and the Mundane, in other words, the Ordinary. Time Warrior slots are limited. Some of them are NPCs, and the rest are †˜new’. Two of the †˜old’ Time Warrior slots are already taken. Not exactly taken, but my friends are gunning for them. Throughout the profile, you’ll notice something that only applies to either Time Warriors or mages. Exclude the parts meant for the type of character you’re not going for. The character profile sheet is as follows: Basic Information: Name: Your character’s name. It’s not limited to names of a country since your character’s nationality may be from anywhere. Alias: If your character has an epithet or a nickname he goes by; it goes here. Age: Your character’s age. Time Warriors may opt to have their original age hidden here. No characters may be younger than 16 years of age. Birthday: The month and day at which your character was born. Gender: State whether your character is male or female. Nationality: Which country your character originates from. Handedness: Is your character right-handed, left-handed, or ambidextrous? I personally feel that everyone should not go for ambidextrous. Appearance: How your character looks. Provide an image. It may not be a screenshot from an actual anime episode, however. A fan-image that is original is most preferred. You may add any descriptions via text to make distinctions from the image. Character Type: State whether your character is a Time Warrior, Mage, or a Mundane. New or Old: State whether your Time Warrior is one of the newer ones, or the older ones. This only applies to Time Warriors. New Time Warriors have a limit of 300 years while old Time Warriors have no limit, and they must be at least 700 years old. Legends: This applies only to Time Warriors; state your character’s names of legends, achievements, and events of fame (words that defines them). All of them. Remember that you will have to write about them in your character’s background. Affiliation: Which Organization, or Magic Organization your character is affiliated with. Regardless of whether his loyalty is sincere or not. To be a part of any organization, your character must have an appropriate Flaw or Virtue for it. Country: You may pick one of the following: England, Japan, or Russia. Your character will be starting in the country that you state here, when the RP actually starts, so the character may have differing nationality. Personality: How your character acts and whatnot; the quirks of his everyday behavior. You must explain how his mind works, which includes both his demeanor and his inner mind. You must also explain the Personality Flaws that you took for your character here. The actual cause of the chosen Personality Flaws are best described in the background. Background: Your character’s backstory. In other words, his past. Explain how he had lived up to the point where the RP starts. You must include a piece of information about his origin – home, family, bits of his childhood life. You must explain here – how your character got to either England, Japan or Russia (whatever you picked above in †˜Country’), since regardless of his nationality, he must somehow get to the chosen country before the story starts. This is where you may write out why your character has the Virtues, Flaws, and the Abilities (possibly spells, if they may apply) that you chose during this process of character creation. After all, these things shapes your character’s very life. Other than that, you should sum up what your character expects of his life, and what he wants out of it – if he has it all decided, anyway… it may help me to come up with some events later. For the Time Warriors, they’ll have to write about their character’s legends too, and how the actual events differed from the legends told by the textbooks and online webpages. You have most freedom in changing whatever legend you pick for your Time Warrior. Technical Information: Zodiac Sign: This only applies to Time Warriors. State your character’s chosen Zodiac Sign. Not the one from birth, but the one your character is a Time warrior under. Statistics: Your character’s statistics, it measures your character’s general capabilities. You have 35 base Statistical points to spend on the stats listed below: Strength: Your character’s physical prowess. Your character will mostly need this for raw physical damage, or pulling off feats requiring brute strength. Dexterity: How fast your character is physically. Generally, your character would be able to use it to run away from all kinds of dangers with this, as well as outrun others. Endurance: Grants your character 30 HP per point if he is a Time Warrior, otherwise your character gains 20 HP per point. This shows how much stamina and physical tolerance your character has. Mana: It grants 20 MP per level. This is only available to the Mage type characters. Ordinary characters may or may not have it. It measures how much mana your character is able to harness from the appropriate realm to cast magic. Spirit: It grants 20 SP per level. This is only available to Time Warriors, Spirits, and those with only Supernatural Abilities (sometimes Mundanes may have this stat too). It shows how much spiritual energy your character possesses. Intelligence: Your character’s mental capabilities. The five senses all pertain to this, because your character’s brain must process information fast enough for him to react. It also encompassess memory and knowledge. Wisdom: In other words, willpower. Your character’s ability to keep things together instead of going insane and not wetting his pants. This allows your character to resist lies and befuddlement, as well as casting spells. Getting tired lowers it; if this goes down to 0, your character will faint. Charisma: Ability to charm, socialize, approach to simply speak anyone, or catch the attention of the peers with venerating aura of reverence. If it is high, the right people may just come to your character on their own. This is sometimes necessary to talk with certain kinds of people, especially the nobles of England. Luck: Obviously, your character’s luck. When there is no better way to crawl out of a dire situation; luck may be your character’s greatest salvation. However, lady luck is a fickle mistress; it is very unpredictable. The base limit of this stat is 5. If your character is a Time Warrior – you may not use any of your Stat points to boost this stat up. Instead, your character is provided a default Luck stat point (completely free stat points), which you may check in the List of Zodiac Signs below. Flaw: Write up the names of your character’s Flaws that you picked. The points may amount to 10 at maximum. Whether it is free, minor, major, or special should be informed in parenthesis. Virtues: Write up the names of your character’s Virtues that you have purchased with the points you achieved from picking Flaws. Again: whether is it free, minor, major, or special should be informed in parenthesis. Abilities: Write up all the Abilities that you purchased, including their levels just beside the names. Abilities are bought with the base Ability points provided for every characters, which is 35. More may be gained via purchasing Virtues or Flaws, but they may be restricted to particular types of Abilities that you may spend them on – Heaven’s Commandment Virtue, for instance, provides 10 Ability points, 5 of which may only be spent on Time Warrior type Abilities, while the rest may be used freely. If your character specializes in a particular Ability, put “(+1)” beside the original number of level. Keep the Abilities in order. I.e.: General, Academic, Arcane, Martial, Supernatural, Time Warrior. Specializations: Your character may specialize in 3 Abilities. State the specialized Abilities here. Arts: Your character’s Arts – this includes the Techniques and Forms – must be listed here. This only applies to Mage type characters. Certain Techniques are gained from certain Academic Abilities, while certain Forms are learned from the Lore-based Arcane Abilities. Primary Technique: It is the first Technique your character started learning magic with. The first 5 spells that he learns must be under this particular Technique, combined with the primary Form. Primary Form: It is the first Form your character started learning magic with. The first 5 spells that he learns must be under this particular Form, combined with the primary Technique. Other Techniques: Through buying and leveling up certain Academic Abilities, your character may gain access to other Techniques. Other Forms: Through buying and leveling up certain Lore-based Arcane Abilities, your character may gain access to other Abilities. Mage’s Sigil: This only applies to mages. Every mage has their own unique qualities mixed into them. Even if they all use the same spell; there will be a small difference. Someone may cast Aurum spells that blows with wind but leaves a rose scent as an aftermath, another may cast a Terram spell and the earth would be controlled in a very orderly manner. Or a mage casting an Aquam spell could cause the water to glow and turn to ice at one point regardless of her wish. There are many kinds of sigils mages have, and they become more and more apparent as a character gains more Warp Points. Equipments: Information about your equipments must be provided here. Weapon: Depending on the type of weapon your character wields, a base damage is provided. Your character may use a weapon if he has the appropriate Martial Ability to use it. Each Martial Ability is bought for each type of weaponry. Minimum base damage of any weapon is 5. You may purchase the Relic Virtue to have a mythical weapon (usually owned by Time Warriors), but you’d have to talk to me about it before picking a weapon. Otherwise, you may pick the Magical Item Virtue. Attire: Most people don’t really wear armors anyway, they happen to wear enchanted clothing instead. No Ability, Virtue or Flaw in particular is required to have an armor, and the enchanted clothing provides a default 2 Defense value but may break easily from taking damages, while the invisible armors donned by Knights and Dark Knights usually provides 5 Defense value. If you want your character’s attire to be special, pick the Magical Item Virtue (it only lets you pick one item from the list). Treasure Item(s): Usually, crafters and alchemists happen to have these as they make them. Otherwise, you’d need a Virtue that makes your character wealthy to be eligible for having at least one of them. Each social status proving your character’s wealth and power allows 1 Treasure Item. Otherwise, Magical Item Virtue lets you pick one. Confidence Score: Every characters starts with 1 score, but a Virtue, or story events may raise it. Each score raises the point limitation by 3. The limitation may be surpassed temporarily by the effects of a Flaw or a Virtue. Confidence Points: Every character starts with 3 points, but a Virtue, Flaw, or story events may raise them. They may be used to make a dice roll check pass even when they fail. However, they’re lost forever once used, and must be gained anew. There are other ways to gain them, refer to the mechanism section below. Reputation Type: State the type of Reputation and its level your character has. This may only be gained through a Virtue, Flaw, or through story events after the RP starts. Spells: List all the spells your character had learned – this is only for Mage type characters. They must be listed chronologically, but the spells from your character’s primary Art comes first, before the rest. We don’t want things to be out-of-order, especially when we have to look up what spells your character has learned later on. Please put the Technique and Form name combination over the class of spells. I.e.: Write †˜Rego Corpus Spells’ then list off all the spells of Rego Corpus that your character learned. Mages have no real limit to learning spells, but characters are limited by Magical Education and Magic Theory Abilities. List of Zodiac Signs Available: (Update: No more Time Warrior slots available.) Spoiler: This contains all the Zodiac Signs your Time Warrior character may hail from, along with some basic or useful information about them. The full information about the powers will be sent via PM to the player by me. Zodiac Signs that are not taken before the RP starts will be used to make NPCs instead. To be honest, all these Zodiacs except for Aries and Libra are being targeted by my friends already… try taking your pick, anyway. Be careful, though. Once you get the actual full information about the chosen Zodiac Sign; you may not change to another Zodiac Sign. [size=15]Aquarius:[/h] Symbol: The Water Bearer. Color: Blue. Classification: Knight. Element: Water. Physical: Cool and Balanced. Realm Affiliation: Faerie Realm. Ruling Planet: Uranus. Lucky Stone: Amethyst, +2 Luck. Time Ability: Seeing a vision of the target’s past. He must sin after using this power. Vice: Your character’s sin is taking pride in his accomplishments. He is unable to boast, nor is he allowed to make statements that distinguish between †˜positions’ of himself and another. Time Span: January 20 - February 18. [size=15]Aries:[/h] Symbol: The Ram. Color: Red. Classification: Rogue. Element: Fire. Physical: Hot and Active. Realm: Infernal Realm. Ruling Planet: Mars. Lucky Stone: Diamond, +5 Luck. Time Ability: To go to the future. He must sin after using this ability. Vice: Your character’s sin is showing rage and anger through speech and words. He may not raise his voice beyond the ordinary level of speech. Time Span: March 21 - April 19. [size=15]Taurus:[/h] Symbol: The Bull. Color: Brown. Classification: Vanguard. Element: Earth. Physical: Active and Warm. Realm: Infernal Realm. Ruling Planet: Venus. Lucky Stone: Emerald, +4 Luck. Time Ability: Aging. Your character grows older by three years despite being immortal, in an instant. This ability only works if your character sins. Vice: Your character’s sin is hatred. He is disallowed from expressing any form of hate. He is disallowed from speaking words of hatred in any way. Time Span: April 20 - May 20. [size=15]Gemini[/h] Symbol: The Twins. Colors: Sky Blue and Emerald Green. Classification: Summoner. Element: Air. Physical: Cool and Move. Realm: Infernal Realm and Divine Realm. Ruling Planet: Mercury. Lucky Stone: Aquamarine, +3 Luck. Time Ability: Your character constantly see what would happen five seconds into the future. Vice: Your character’s sin is greed. Every time he finds himself fulfilled from self-satisfaction by completing an ambition – he has sinned. This only applies if your character had to step over some other person’s feelings of any kind to accomplish it. Time Span: May 21 - June 20. [size=15]Cancer:[/h] Symbol: The Crab. Color: Silver. Classification: Assassin. Element: Water. Physical: Cool and Passive. Realm: Magical Realm. Ruling Planet: Moon. Lucky Stone: Moonstone, +2. Time Ability: Acceleration of the process of something in an object, say, a cancer, for instance. Your character must sin after using this ability. Vice: Your character’s sin is rest. She must not rest or stop to relax in any case. Even when she has nothing to do, she must find something to occupy herself. Time Span: July 21 - August 22. [size=15]Sagittarius:[/h] Symbol: The Archer. Colors: Purple. Classification: Archer. Element: Earth. Physical: Cooling. Realm: Magical Realm. Ruling: Jupiter. Lucky Stone: Turquoise, +3. Time Ability: Unwind reality – your character is able reverse the time of something. Your character must sin after using this ability. Vice: Your character’s sin is lying. She is not allowed to lie in any way, even about something trivial. She must answer any and all questions truthfully and faithfully. Time Span: November 22 - December 21. [size=15]Capricorn:[/h] Symbol: The Goat. Colors: Black. Classification: Warrior. Element: Wind Physical: Cool and Strong. Realm: Magical Realm. Ruling Planet: Earth. Lucky Stone: Garnet, +2 Luck. Time Ability: Your character may completely stop the time of something. Forever. He must sin after using this ability. Vice: Your character’s sin is food. He must not express his hunger in any way, nor he show his desire to eat. Time Span: December 22 - January 19 Character Features: Spoiler: Flaws, Virtues, and Abilities: The system of Flaws and Virtues provides features to your character that makes him or her unique after you put them all together. When you’re making a character, you should pick Flaws and Virtues, first. A minor Flaw or Virtue is worth one (1) point, while a major Flaw or Virtue is worth three (3) points.. You are limited to 10 points when taking up Flaws. The accumulated points of the Flaws you took for your character grants you the same number of points required to buy Virtues. So if you buy Flaws equivalent to 10 points, you basically gain 10 points to buy Virtues. A Flaw is defined as a kind of issue in your character’s life that is sometimes considered not preferable. However, it is not always exactly †˜bad’. Selfishes is sometimes frowned upon, but it may be endearing for parents. Kindness is often seen as a good trait to have, yet it isn’t always necessarily good for a particular person to always show kindness. You must take the Vice Flaw to play a Time Warrior. Or the Blatant Gift to play a mage A Virtue is defined as something arguably helpful or nice to have, but it can make a person’s life harder. Work, responsibilities, power. They seem nice, but they add a weight to pressure to a person, most of the time. There are times when one may wish that they weren’t particularly skilled in something. You must take the Heaven’s Commandment, and the Mythic Blood to play a Time Warrior. Or take The Gift, or the Gentle Gift, to play a mage. If you wish for your character to be an ordinary, mundane character who is going to delve into the Magic World after the story starts; do not take the Heaven’s Commandment or The Gift (or any of its variations). Instead, take a Virtue or Flaw that justifies your character having supernatural connections. I.e.: Ghost Warder, Guardian Angel, Plagued by Supernatural Entity, etc. Please note that you must pick at least one personality Flaw, and one Social statue Virtue/Flaw during the character creation process for the profile to be legitimate. After you’re done picking Flaws and Virtues – it is time to look towards the Abilities. There are 35 base Ability points provided when creating a character, but several Flaws and Virtues gives extra points, albeit in some cases they may only be spent on particular types of Abilities. You must note that Academic, Arcane, Martial, and some Supernatural Abilities are locked. To unlock them, you must take a particular Flaw or VIrtue. You will come across various Flaws or Virtues allowing you to unlock them during the process of character creation. However, to unlock the few Supernatural Abilities – your character must be a Time Warrior. To buy Abilities, you must spend Ability Points; 1 Ability point per level, up to level 4. For levels 5 or above, you will have to spend 2 Ability points per level. For levels 8 and above, you must spend 3 Ability points per level. Do not forget that certain Flaw, Virtue, or Abilities may have you specify their type in the very names. Here is the list of the Virtues, Flaws, and the Abilities: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ZfRWOvsSi4dOYDP-NUt5FjfouSXXDsC9VY1UMtf0-tI/edit# Abilities your character has not learned may still be used unless it is marked with a * mark. The list may go through small changes as time passes. Arts and Spells: Mages practice the Arts to be able to cast spells. An Art consists of Techniques and Forms. Only by combining a Technique and Form, can a mage cast a spell. The first Technique and Form your character learns is his primary Technique and Form, as they are the first he had studied and understood. Hence, your character’s first 5 spells must be from that particular combination of Technique and Form. A Technique arises from studies of different fields. They’re not particularly related to magic, but they do grant one knowledge and wisdom. Techniques are a set of beliefs that tries to connect with a mystical Realm. Theology, for instance, teaches the Techniques of Creo and Rego. Techniques may be gained from certain Academic Abilities. There is no limit to learning Techniques for any characters. A Form is an element. Through the studies of a particular Realm may one delve into its properties to manipulate it. By mastering a Form, one may draw the mana of its affiliated Realm to fuel a spell. The Mana stat only determines how much Mana your character is able to harness before he drains himself out. A Form may be gained from the lore-based Arcane Abilities. Here is the list of Techniques, Forms, and Spells: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1rbbnHP_X3AI4dBK80Db-vFq2xMxiffEWw7bwbLtbNWs/edit# The list may go through some changes as time passes – I may add more spells… I may not, too. We’ll see. Equipments: Weapon, attire, and Treasure Items – the set of equipments possibly usable in game terms in this RP. Your character may start with any ordinary weapon and clothing, but they may be enchanted. It is possible to have a Treasure Item from the start – but your character has to be wealthy to be eligible. A weapon is obviously a tool meant to wound and kill a target. For it to contain magic, or be a mythical weapon with special properties – you must buy the Magical Item Virtue, or the Relic Virtue, respectively. Weapons usually provide a base damage, which adds a number of damage into every normal attacks your character makes with that weapon. Ordinary weapons comes with 5 base damage. A Strength roll adds more damage to it. To have an absolutely ordinary weapon, say, a sword – you simply need to have a Single/Great Weapon (Sword) Ability for it. An attire is what provides protection up to an extent to your character. Mostly from the prying eyes, however. Ordinary dresses or attire of any kind comes with 2 Defense value. These attires may break as soon as your character is hurt, however. You must pick the Magical Item Virtue or the Relic Virtue if you wish your attire to have enchantments or special protective properties. Defense rolls allows a character to gain lowered damages. A Treasure Item is an enchanted item that usually comes with various effects. They are crafted by Crafters or Alchemists, and usually has mysterious effects. You may pick one from the list if your character is wealthy in any way. The most dangerous yet commonly seen Treasure Items are ones that possesses vis, usually worn by powerful mages. Vis is raw magic that may power up spells, by the way. You may pick more with Magical Item Virtue. Those under Relic type may not be picked during character creation, unless you use the allowance from the Relic Virtue. Remember that the Relic or Magical Item Virtue may not be picked twice. To dual wield a weapon (I.e.: two identical guns on both hands), your character must have the Martial Ability Single Weapon or the Ranged Weapon Ability at the appropriate level (4 for Single Weapon or, 3 for Ranged Weapon) of that particular type of weapon (I.e.: gun.). To use two different kind of weapons at once (I.e.: sword and wand on both hands), you must pick the Multiple-Weapon Martial Ability. However, you will have to purchase Single Weapon Ability or Ranged Weapon Ability (or Great Weapon/Thrown Weapon Ability) appropriately. So if you wish to have your character fight with a sword and a wand at the same time – you’d need to buy Single Weapon (Sword) at level 1 at least, and Single Weapon (Wand) at level 1, at least. Note how this Ability had to be bought twice, but under different type of weapon. You may justify four weapons if your character is an android or a marionette (after buying appropriate Virtues) by claiming that two weapons are fitted into legs or other parts of the body, while the rest are in both arms. Of course, you’d need to invest quite the number of Ability points for them. Those who wants over four weapons should just shoot themselves. Here is the list of Weapons, Attires, and Treasure Items: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1MLNCLQ3geMOHgkFGrlff7E7wTugJNVw7jEJCHz9eSV0/edit If there’s any grammar issues or major game-related issues, don’t hesitate to tell or use the comment function. Protip: Use ctrl + f to find something specific. You may use the Table of Contents add-on to navigate easier, especially for the spell list. I have the Table of Contents set up on most docs.

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Cinia Pacifica Ojou-sama Writer

8 years ago

Svetlana returned to her estate, the New Anmer after her days of assassination ended. Princess Louise gave her a break after the work she had done, albeit the last two targets she went after the last time turned out to be killed by Michael. Regardless, she was back home, and she didn’t really care that she couldn’t kill, anyway. As the job had been forced onto her, she wasn’t very motivated, despite the fact that Isabelle could die if she didn’t do her damndest to work.

“Mistress, where have you been to recently?” Nancy enquired when Svetlana was approaching her room. “For some days, you seemed to be leaving alone without letting anyone know at all.”

“Sorry about that, I have been taking care of some personal training you see.”

“Even then, it is my task to be with you at all times, Mistress. Be it good or bad, be it harmful or safe… I hope you understand my concern.”

Svetlana opened the door to her room and suddenly pulled Nancy inside as she closed the door.

“I am sorry Nancy, I know that is your job, but what I am currently doing is best done alone. I know it is your job to support me, but currently I will feel more comfortable if you stayed home.”

“Why…? Mistress, what are you doing? Clearly it does not sound good when you put it that way. With the assassinations… you cannot be.”

“Can you please put a ward on my room for a bit Nancy?”

Nancy looked at Svetlana with a sad look before she complied, placing a hand of the door, some magical inscriptions formed on the door.

“It is done, Mistress.”

Svetlana burst into tears, hugging her.

“I do not know what to do anymore. I do not want to keep doing this anymore. But if I stop, something horrible might happen to Isabelle.”

“W-What is going on… then? Has someone threatened you, Mistress? Clearly it can be taken care of, seeing as you are in a position of political power as a Duchess!”

“I wish, but this person has the power to take all that away. If it were just me I could care less, but I do not know what they would do to Isabelle.”

“I… I, who is this person? The title of a Duchess is next to the four Royal Dukes or—the Royalty…”

Svetlana simply nodded her head. “I do not know if it is safe to tell you who. As I do not want harm to come to you as well because of this. I would rather keep all this trouble to myself. I do not want anyone else from this house involved.”

“I… I understand what you mean, but please let me help you. If there is anything I may do…”

“Just make sure Isabelle is kept safe. I know you are to keep me safe, but please keep her safe. If anything were to happen to her, I do not know how I would live on.”

“Be safe yourself, Mistress. With all that is going on I would wager that more danger would befall you than Lady Isabelle now.”

***

On the same day, Svetlana received some more documents, sealed inside a parcel. The parcel from Princess Louise made it obvious what was contained inside so she didn’t open them upon delivery from the hands of a maid who received the packages. Most of the packages aside from the parcel consisted of the daily supplies required for preparing food among other necessities.

When Svetlana was about to go back to her room, she found Isabelle before her, staring daggers at her practically.

“What does that parcel contain, Sister?” Isabelle asked, clearly suspicious of Svetlana, it seemed like Nancy wasn’t the only one concerned.

“It is from the Princess, it should just be about some advise I asked her about when I went and visited Her Royal Highness the other day.”

“Is that the reason why you have been missing for several days?” Isabelle’s stare shifted from her face to the parcel.

“Sorry about that, she had asked me to meet someone I fought along with agaisnt Virgo. It seemed that they had some questions for me though they brought up too many things.”

“And why would they need to ask questions after… all this time?” Isabelle asked, stepping closer.

“Well I was away for an entire year, and he could not get access to me while I was in Saudi Arabia. Anyway Isa—”

Before she could finish, Isabelle snatched the parcel and ran off. “I will be the judge of that excuse!”

“Wait a minute!” Svetlana said. She was too late to react to Isabelle.

It was a game of cat and mouse with Svetlana and Isabelle running all over the mansion’s corridors, startling the maids and the few footmen they hired from a year ago. The servants watched in awe as the two ladies completely dropped their manner and conduct required for the Victorian life they led as they sprinted into action.

“You cannot catch me with that snail’s pace, Sister!” Isabelle taunted.

This was one of those moments for Svetlana where she was reminded that the young children were truly energetic when they needed to be.

“So much for being a proper lady! Those papers are not for you to see. They are meant for adults only.”

“That is precisely why you are suspicious, and you would better speak such criticisms after you are a proper lady yourself!”

“Please Isabelle, give those papers back.” Svetlana said in a more worried tone as Isabelle was the last person she wanted to be able to see them.

Isabelle finally stopped. She looked down to confirm the Princess’ name on the parcel, which clearly wrote that the parcel was addressed to Svetlana.

“You are not doing something shady behind our backs… right, Sister?”

“I am just doing what the Princess is telling me to do. Seems there were conditions on me keeping the title of Duchess for our family. If I do not comply, it seems we will lose everything again.”

Isabelle’s expression seemed to ease up. “Really?” That just cannot be, I am more informed about these things than my Sister…

“Yes. It is why I been gone for a few days. Meeting some old companions was one of the conditions apparently.”

“I… see.” Despite her inner turmoils, it was time to stop being a child—even if she still was physically—and become her responsible-self once more. She handed the letter back to Svetlana obediently. “I am sorry, Sister.”

“Do not worry about it, Isabelle,” Svetlana said as she took the papers and then hugged her. I will not let any harm come to you.

“By the way, Isabelle. I was thinking of investing into some kind of alarm for the mansion in case we ever get intruders which has been happening lately. I am worried someone might sneak in at night while we are all asleep.”

“Mn…” Isabelle only nodded. “I suppose… it has been dangerous for the nobles recently after all.”

“If you know of a good system, let us get that. I would never forgive myself if something happened to you.”

“Yeah…” Isabelle murmured absentmindedly.

Cinia Pacifica Ojou-sama Writer

8 years ago

It was around six in the morning when Alek arrived back to his estate. The birds were singing, and the old scent of smoke was heavy in the air compared to the outskirts that he had the luxury to experience a good day ago. If one were to say, the Void Realm had the cleanest of air, but also the most uncharacteristic atmosphere as it lacked the distinct refreshing vibe that, for instance, a garden could provide for a man.

There were the gardeners greeting him as he arrived, and of course, there was Katya. As his hat and coat was being taken off, she greeted him.

“Good morning, my Lord. Welcome back. Has your trip proved to bear fruit?”

“Not as much as I had hoped, but I don’t think it was reasonable to expect to get it all done in only a month. How have things been going here, specifically with the new generation of foals?”

“They have been rather energetic. The spell was too potent and some of them would break past the walls…”

“Mmm… It might be helpful to begin training them early then, to help channel some of that energy in a positive direction. See that the stables are stocked with high-grade oats, I want them in tip-top shape to begin training. How have things been with the rest of the household?”

“Understood. As for the household, it has been fairly peaceful, save for the gossip and rumours like usual.”

“I suppose that’s to be expected, but I am glad that things have been smooth while I was gone. How have you been?”

The final question may as well have been unnecessary, as she faced the glares of others from behind Alek. Katya sighed internally.

“I had been doing well, my Lord.”

“That is good to hear. Can you draft a letter for me? I need to send one to Constance and let him know I’m back in town. Perhaps he can spare a moment to chat with me, or failing that I suppose I’ll see him at the Academy.”

“Yes, my Lord. But would you not be meeting him at the Academy in about an hour or two?”

“That is a good point, it wouldn’t do to miss any more classes than I have to. Could you see that my jacket and pants are pressed and ready? I would like to take a bath, and perhaps eat some food before I leave. The road was rather long.”

“Understood, we shall see to them being prepared.”

“Thank you. You are dismissed,” Alek said, moving to his rooms to begin readying to take a bath and get ready for school.

***

In the Academy now, Aleksander and Constance met each other. The classes for the day had ended, and he could only find time to speak with Constance after all these hours.

Many rumours had been abound the Royal Academy, the death of the family of Lady Violet, and with the lady herself missing, people were all gossiping about the missing Magic Magister. Xenia was apparently missing and not coming to the Academy anymore. Gracie was present, but she seemed more distant than usual. Indeed, the same was with Constance at first.

He hadn’t seen Katya at all, but he had witnessed Charlotte BrontÃ«’s visage once. Albeit, before he could call out to her, she was already out of sight, walking away with Griswold. Such was his mysterious Master.

“Good afternoon, Constance.” Alek greeted his friend. “Haven’t had a chance to catch up with you in a while, how have things been going for you?” He smiled and warmly shook the other young man’s hand, glad to see him after so long.

“Good afternoon, Alek. All has been going well, what about you?” Constance asked back as the two’s hands parted.

“Splendid. I certainly don’t think I wasted the last month, at the very least. Whatever happened to Miss Xenia, and some of our other friends? We all used to be so close, and with everything that’s happening, you’d think that we’d stay closer together, not drift farther apart.”

“Close? Do you really think so?” Constance’s gaze seemed distant as he looked up to the cloudy sky. The two were currently sitting on the bench on the courtyard. “No idea about Miss Xenia. I have not heard much of her recently.”

“Are you doing alright? I worry about you sometimes, Constance. You seem… distant, to say the least. Same thing with Gracie, now that I think about it. I mean, normally we’d at least eat together, and discuss the happenings of each day, but lately you’ve been pretty out of it. Is there something I can help you with…?”

“I do not think it is anything out of the ordinary.” Constance turned to Alek, making a devilish smile that Alek was not familiar with. “After all, you had been delving in the type of work I am involved with, yes?”

“And what type of work is that?” Alek asked, playing dumb for now. “Raising and racing horses?”

“We are going to meet before the Princess regardless, is there any point to hiding behind the bush now?”

“Well, I’m glad that you’re being truthful at the very least. Katya was significantly less so at first. I hope that your efforts have been going well?”

Speak for yourself, would you? “Yes, they have been going well indeed. We are very close now. We are sworn to secrecy so I understand Miss Katya’s resolve.”

“Good, is anyone getting too close to the truth that shouldn’t be?” Alek asked the other man calmly, as if it were a normal conversation. “It wouldn’t do to lose control at this stage of the operation.”

“If there was such a person, I cannot say that I know of them. Princess Louise’s grip on her men are quite tight, if I say so myself.”

“Ehh? Did you set your sights on a new target, or do my ears deceive me?” Alek asked with a grin.

“Sights on a new target, you say?”

Alek gave Constance a deadpan look. “I know you know what I meant.”

“I am not interested in such things.”

“Hmm… if you say so, then I suppose I’ll take you at your word. Anything interesting happen in your classes?”

“I do not have the time for fishing up interesting notes. Do you still take interest in rumours nowadays?”

“With everything that’s going on of late, and so many of our compatriots dropping like flies? It would be downright foolish not to keep an ear to the ground. Are you asking because you have something interesting you heard?”

“Are you alright in the head today, Alek? Why would I ask when I had already expressed my disinterest in such trivialities?”

Alek glared at Constance. “Hardly trivialities. There are things happening around us every day that most people couldn’t even begin to imagine. It pays to pay attention to the goings on of the world around you, lest you find yourself embroiled in something you weren’t even aware of. You should know that as well as I do, at the very least.”

“Rumours are but the most pointless of things for one to pay note to.” Constance did not return the glare. “I am through those pastimes. I would rather keep my eyes on the truth rather than what the people say blindly. There are things going on, but the speculators hardly know any of it.” He turned to Alek and smiled. It was a dark smile. “If I am part of the side that causes these world-changing occurrences, what need is there for further awarenesses? Perhaps you are interested in being cautious. In that case, it is fine for you to invest your time in it. However, do not try to persuade me in your mundane interests. I have grown out of them.”

“Is that so? Well, no matter, I suppose. Shall we talk about something else then, since this is apparently a sore subject?”

“No, it is fine.” He got up. “I shall take my leave now.”

“I suppose that’s fine too. Have a good day?”

He only saw Constance give a wave as he walked away from him.

(GM’s Comment: And so the player was mad because seemingly—Constance changed for “no reason.” Of course, that’s just not true.)

Cinia Pacifica Ojou-sama Writer

8 years ago

Alek strolled down the street without a care in the world, actually quite happy right at that moment. He hadn’t seen her in a month, and today was the day he’d be able to see her again. Even thinking about it made his pupils dilate and his heart beat faster with longing. He’d spent an agonizing month with that ruthless slave driver, and now it was time to relax with one of his favourite people. He wasn’t sure how she felt about him, but he supposed he was about to find out.

Alek stepped into the Ritz, breathing in the fine scent of the only hotel good enough for his Mistress, and shot a withering glance at a bellhop who was ogling the young women in the lobby, wondering if he’d done the same to her in turn, and dismissed the idea. Surely nobody was foolish enough to think to be able to get away with such a thing.

Alek walked into the elevator and rode it up to the correct floor, approaching her door with no trepidation evident in his gait, the gruelling month in the Void having made him even more sure of himself than before. If he could survive there, nothing short of a Representative would even give him pause. After a moment’s debate with himself in front of her door, he adjusted his collar one last time before knocking and announced himself by saying with pride, “Room service!”

“Did not order any,” a voice said from within the room.

“Fine, not room service, but can’t I pay an old friend a visit?” he said with a light chuckle.

The lock clicked and the door swung open, revealing the black clad Representative from behind. Unlike her coat from before, she wore a tight long sleeved shirt and shorts, and she was sweating from head to toe. Apparently she was in the middle of exercising before Alek came around.

She silently raised a brow at the man and wanted to say you again, but instead nodded to him. “Mister Fane.”

“Miss Farris.” He returned the nod before dipping into a light bow. “It’s marvelous to see you again. I know normally it’s not the guest that offers, but can I get you something to drink?” he asked with a smirk.

“Is that supposed to be an implicit way of requesting entry, Mister Fane? If so, just ask that. I only wish you would have called in advance, or sent a letter at least.” Claudia moved to the side and gestured the man to enter. “Forgive how jumbled everything is at the moment. I needed the space.”

Alek had the grace to smile by way of apology. “Sorry to intrude…” he said as he walked by her, noticeably lighter on his feet from some slight endurance training he’d gone through to be able to use Vinea for extended periods of time. “It is fine, Miss Farris. I came here with the hopes of visiting with you, I hope that the timing isn’t inconvenient…” he began, giving her a good moment or two to examine him from head to toe if she wished before turning back around.

He was clad in black cargo pants, and a dark blue hoodie, an excellently casual outfit, and not one he’d be caught dead in at a nice dinner party. He remembered how non-formal she was in the carriage and thought she’d appreciate the small touch of him dressing to match her taste for darker clothing as well. He was as clean as a whistle with his hair done up in a short ponytail to keep it out of his face, and keep his neck clear if she wanted to feed at some point. Over the back of the hoodie, he wore a harness of the same color as the hoodie, which held Vinea with only the very handle visible. Even that was covered by the hood of the hoodie once he took it off, one of the primary reasons he chose to wear a hoodie in the first place.

He wore it less like a beginner and more like someone that was still a novice, but steadily becoming more and more experienced as time passed. “I was… away for a month, but I’ve returned now. I didn’t have much of a chance to chat after our mission together… how have you been?” he asked, turning to face her with some interest evident in his voice.

“Fair. Only the usual search and destroy from our last meeting… other than that, I have been doing some of my own training myself, as you noticed.” Claudia walked over to the middle of the living room, stretching. She wiped herself clean with a towel and turned back to Alek. “You mentioned being away for a month? What were you doing?”

“I took some time away from the world’s affairs to handle some business regarding my Lost Form. I’m far from even a novice, as there simply wasn’t enough time, but I feel like I made progress. Would you like a partner to exercise with? I’ve yet to get my daily exercise in, and I’m sure I still have room to improve…” Despite his modesty, Alek was actually rather fit. This became more evident when he took the hoodie off and revealed his shirt to be a royal purple v-neck. He wasn’t ripped, per se, but clearly he’d built up many of the muscles used in swordplay and acrobatics more than most of his peers would have, which naturally lead to a lean physique that was certainly appealing in its own right.

Claudia shrugged and tossed the towel onto the sofa. She did not exactly ogle the man. She was mildly impressed how someone she presumed to be socially harmless could turn out like this.

“Forgetting about that drink you offered me?” she joked. “Be my guest, then.” She moved aside, giving more space for the both of them to move around.

Claudia stretched, flexing lightly before turning back to Alek. “...I was hoping to do this with Cosette, but she is absent at the moment… I suppose you will suffice,” she said, looking Alek over again. “How about a quick spar while we speak, then? Perhaps that may help break the ice better.”

“I would be delighted, Miss Farris. I must admit concern over the continued integrity of your suite however. I daresay it might be dangerous to swing our respective great weapons around… Might I suggest we use bare hands only?”

“Of course. I would rather we not tear my room asunder with our weapons,” Claudia remarked. “Light hits only, too. Even without our arms, we could still cause some damage with our bare hands.”

He looked almost disappointed at that but nodded his agreement. “Very well. I await your signal to begin.”

Claudia took a fighting pose, her cold expression remaining as she threw a quick punch. “So, Mister Fane, what really brings you all the way out here?”

“As I lay dying in a forgotten corner of a lost plane of existence…” Here he took a light hit to the elbow, letting her numb her wrist on the solid bone there if she was punching too hard. “I thought about what I wanted in life. I made some promises to myself to do certain things when I came back, if I came back, and one of them was to see you again, to properly thank you for your help that night, and to see if you had as much fun as I did.” He shot off a series of snap kicks, testing the range of her defense, and how she preferred to defend, while maintaining a distance too great for her arms to reach.

Claudia had taken the first few kicks head on with her forearm and dodged the last few, parrying with an elbow aimed at Alek’s stomach.

“Is that so? Well colour me surprised, Mister Fane, not too many people are eager to see the Representative of the Blood Countess except for my Mistress herself. I’d say you are either stupid, or you somehow took a liking to me, if I didn’t know any better.”

“Many words could be used to describe me. I doubt that stupid is one of them, Miss Farris. I don’t imagine you paid overmuch attention to me. In fact, I’m sure you were surprised the Princess sent someone so seemingly ordinary…” He subtly fished for her opinions of him then and now even as he realised there was no way to dodge her elbow since it came out of nowhere. He retaliated with a blistering series of punches and a kick to her shoulder that with any kind of strength would numb the arm for a good minute or two.

Grunting from that attack, Claudia instinctively released a flurry of kicks in return. She broke a renewed sweat as she switched from foot to foot, aiming towards Alek’s ribs on each side in a varying speed.

“I did not expect ahead, Mister Fane. I seldom make assumptions about people before I actually meet them firsthand,” Claudia replied. “If anything, I only hoped that you would deliver on the assassination, and to my expectations, you did. That’s all.”

“I see, I see…” Alek was visibly sweating now from the effort of pushing his speed to the limit to flow from attack to defense seamlessly, his execution less than perfect which allowed a kick to slip through his defense and catch him in the chest, which she could feel were surprisingly solid for such a slim build, causing him to hiss lightly through his teeth before grinning.

“You’re teasing me, aren’t you?” Alek asked. “I could barely feel that one, Mistress.” He anticipated one of the latter kicks and did his best to strike her knee with his closed hand, attempting to disable it.

“Again with that?” Claudia scoffed at that strike. She bit her lip to shrug off the pain from within, despite her not appearing phased by it. “You literally came out of nowhere, calling me Mistress so suddenly. Is that a part of your masochism as well?”

“Yes, it is. Do you not wish for me to refer to you as such? If possible, I’d very much like for you to be that important to me… You’re the first to understand how I feel, let alone feel the opposite in a way that so perfectly compliments it. I understand if I’m not to your standard…” He stood ready for her to continue her assault, recognising that she may need a moment.

“No, no. I was taken aback by it the first time around, I will admit. All in all, you can call me whatever you like,” Claudia answered. “To be completely honest with you, I actually liked it. A title like that was something I strived for back then… it is a little disheartening to get it once I stopped caring about such things.”

“I will be truthful as well, I’m… not sure what to say to that. I think that means that you want me to continue?”

“We are having a conversation aren’t we? It’s rude to stop in the middle of a sentence,” Claudia said with a shrug.

“Continue calling you as that, I mean. Do you promise that you’ll use me for your own satisfaction, however that might occur? I won’t resist too much…”

“...Is that truly what you want?”

“Yes it is. I want to walk beside you with pride someday, but I recognise that I must crawl before I can walk, and walk before I can run…”

“Indeed. Rome wasn't built in a day, as Master Rafflesia once told me. In that case...” Claudia suddenly swept Alek’s legs, sending him crashing into the floor. Before he could get up, she planted a foot onto the man’s stomach. “It may be some time before you ever become comparable to my ability alone. You are already on the right track, learning a Lost Form, but it may be years before you master as much. Now, crawl.” Claudia moved her foot just enough for Alek to move, appearing slightly amused by this with a vague grin.

Alek turned over so his face was pressed into the ground, before mustering all of his strength to lift himself up however slightly, and crawled towards her with the happiest smile he’d made in probably most of a year. As he finally got close enough, he affectionately rubbed his face against the smooth leg still on the floor, enjoying the warmth of her skin for a brief moment.

Claudia kicked him again, this time in the forehead with her bare foot.

“I don’t seem to recall giving you permission to touch me, swine. You do not get that privilege, yet.”

Alek’s head jerked back as much as it could, hindered by his neck’s range of motion as he shivered slightly from the slightly painful contact, receiving far more pleasure from it. “Y-Yes Mistress, forgive this one for its transgression…”

The Representative knelt down to the man, flicking his forehead in a toying manner. No doubt Claudia was amused. She had a man simple enough to be placed under her thumb, just from a simple bite in the neck. He was like putty in Claudia’s hands, and she could finally let loose behind the safety of these closed doors. It wasn’t like Alek was going to brag about this to anyone like Princess Louise, was he?

“Good spar by the way, Alek.”

She even dropped using honorifics altogether in that instant. Of course, it was exclusively for this man alone.

Alek gave off a slight sub-vocal purr that she could feel through her foot on his back. “T-Thank you Mistress. That means so much to me… would you like that drink now?”

“Very much so.” Claudia edged closer to Alek and bore her fangs. She hummed with contained excitement as she drank the blood from the man’s neck. Crimson dripped as the liquid overflowed from her lips.

Alek hugged the dark-haired Representative, confused about what they were now, but resolving to enjoy this moment for what it was as he let her drink as deeply as she wanted, unwilling to refuse her.

Withdrawing, Claudia huffed a satisfied sigh and rose to her feet, stretching from the awkward position she had to reduce herself to just to drink from her new toy like a fountain.

“Rise, Alek.”

Alek stood, with a slight grin. “Thank you Mistress…” he ventured, noting the suddenly business-like tone of her voice.

The Representative took the same towel she had been using and wiped her mouth clean of Alek’s blood. She faced the man with her trademark rigid look, regaining her composure that instant.

“On that note, considering what you said was sincere, you are to follow me to the bitter end; until your very body gives out. Your body, mind and soul all belong to me. Your decisions are my decisions—nay, you no longer have decisions. Whatever affection you have for any woman you previously had ties with? Sever them. You are mine, and mine alone.”

“Understood, Mistress… Will you do the same for me?” he asked after a moment’s hesitation, but only for asking the return question, his acceptance of her request was instantaneous.

The Countess came to mind at the drop of a hat. “No… no, I will not… understand you are a mere toy until you prove to me that you are worthy of my true affection. Until then, the Countess shall remain in my sights for the times to come.” Claudia looked away, a distant expression plastered on her face.

“Who is this Countess you speak of, Mistress?”

“My Mistress. The one who made me into what I am today,” Claudia answered. “...Since you are now in my possession, I will have to introduce you one of these days.”

“I would like that, if you want to introduce me. I will endeavor to be respectful, and not let you down, Mistress.” He nodded as if affirming the validity of his statement, his eyes finally slipping however briefly to finally get a decent look at what she was wearing when she answered the door, before they snapped back up to her face. Ahh… she really is beautiful… Did she notice?

Claudia nodded, patting Alek on the head. “Good.”

Alek smiled happily. “Ahh… Mistress really is the best…” he complimented her without hesitation, enjoying the head pat.

“And just so you get the message that you’re mine…”

Claudia grabbed the man on both sides of his face and closed the distance between him and her as she planted a rough-hewn kiss on his lips. She didn’t give the man the chance to react before pushing him onto the ground without even using a quarter of her strength.

This seemed like something Claudia would do in her crazed, axe murdering state rather than now. Perhaps it was repressed long ago.

Alek hummed slightly in surprise. “M-Mistress?”

“That’s what you desired, yes? Some sort of gratitude for this new development? There you go. It is not my body, but it should suffice until then.”

“Ahh… yes, thank you for your kindness, Mistress…” he colored slightly, breathing a little more raggedly, “I will treasure this moment forever… “

The vampire turned on a heel and yawned. “I think that will be enough for now. My body aches,” she said. “Feel free to visit again. We will speak more until then.”

Alek rubbed at his neck lightly. “Mistress’ mark… it’s mine…” He smiled softly. “I’ll see you again for sure, count on it!” He picked up the towel that was on the couch and used it to wipe his own sweat off as well, making sure to get all of it before he put his hoodie back on, and made sure to conceal Vinea once more.

Claudia hummed, waving to the man. “Farewell.”

“Good afternoon, Mistress. May our next meeting be as pleasant.” He smiled happily, pleased with how well it had gone. With his farewells made, he stepped outside of her room and skipped down the hallway, drawing a few odd looks from other hotel patrons.

Cinia Pacifica Ojou-sama Writer

8 years ago

George III had granted the Queen’s House to the charity at the beginning of the century. The Royal Naval Asylum was granted to the orphans of seamen as charity by said King. All of this had changed until recently, when Princess Louise had other plans for it.

In the Queen’s House in Greenwich, the revolutionaries were gathered and under the Princess’ banner, there would be a call for dethroning her very own mother.

An entire week had passed since Michael spoke to Rose and Charlotte about their plans to deal with the Church, while Claudia spoke with the Blood Countess, Aleksander found out the grave change in Constance’s personality, and Svetlana convinced Isabelle that all was to be well.

Michael found Charlotte BrontÃ« and Weiss with him.

Claudia found Aleksander with herself.

While Svetlana was simply in a lone corner.

Constance and Gracie seemed to stand together in another corner.

They all faced Princess Louise, who stood before a board with the map of London laid out before her. There was a large piece that seemed to mark the Queen’s spot. There were several other pieces placed atop the spot signifying the Buckingham Palace.

Michael still hadn’t activated his Commandment. He had fought people beyond his capabilities even as Virgo’s Representative, killed people in their beds, even killed some innocents; yet even now that he faced the eve of a revolution, his power hadn’t awoken still. It frustrated him, and at times pushed him to the brink of despair. When he saw that mage who got his partner killed, Svetlana, all he saw was his reckless disregard that almost got them killed. How could he bear a grudge then?

But still, he was here, standing amongst these people. He skirted despair and kept walking, he carried all those deaths he caused among the nobility and the servantry, and he endured sacrifices he did not know he could take. He had been furious, powerless, defeated; but he continued to survive, for he could not falter. Even to the very miniscule part of his being, he would not falter.

Alek stood in silence, mentally preparing himself for the coming fight. Probably the only person that could get him to say more than a few words right now would be Claudia. He went over a series of checklists in his head, hashing out contingency plans based on what he knew of the various people they could expect to fight, which was admittedly far less than he wanted to know.

As he did this, he absentmindedly polished Vinea, taking care of the sword while he waited. He spared a brief glance for Constance and Gracie, but didn’t move to speak with them, since now was clearly not a good time for such frivolous activities. Alek thought on everything that had happened over the last months, from the shock of seeing Constance and Katya performing a ritual after-hours at school, all the way to sparring with Claudia, and finding that even despite his intensive physical conditioning there was still someone better than he was. He pondered how he’d lost a friend or two over the last year from simple growing apart, as well as how he’d met a few new people that he wasn’t sure what to think about. His teacher for Lost Form for example was a surprisingly energetic literature girl, who was able to hand Alek his ass with no problems, but still seemed to be a fairly nice person, all things considered. Eating her pancakes was still one of his fondest recent memories, and she’d treated him pretty well, considering how things would have doubtless went if it were Louise doing the teaching.

(GM’s Comment: Wish he’d ease up with the language in narrative, especially as the writer of a British character raised in Victorian England.)

Which brought to mind the Princess herself, naturally. Alek had precisely no idea what to think about her right now, but he had resolved to see this through, and so he would. Regardless of what happened today, he wasn’t entirely sure that he’d be sticking around England for too much longer. Doubtless there was another country looking for a Magister to teach at their school, and probably some that wouldn’t even mind if he was a rebel in this conflict.

The fantasy that came to mind was relaxing on a tropical beach somewhere with his cute Mistress, enjoying her company, and her swimsuit choice as the waves lazily lapped at the shoreline, where hopefully he’d be able to apply her suntan lotion for her. Like that, he was lost in fantasy, though keeping an ear out for things happening around him.

(GM’s Reaction: insertjonhere)

Claudia looked on as everyone prepared, awaiting the Princess’ word like lobotomized zombies. She could feel the tense energy in the air. At this point, operations were common for her, and she did not worry so much of the outcomes compared to the high-strung and uneasy.

(GM’s Comment: Can you have a more normal and sane choice of words for once? Goddamnit not you too.)

The only thing that managed to unsettle her slightly was Alek, who sputtered and drooled like a fool. What was he thinking about?

Now that they’ve come this far, the Representative began to wonder her place in this revolution. Was there even a place for her to begin with? Was she just a pawn, volunteered by her so-called mother to lay waste to the Queen? Then again, that was her plan, remembering that she was a Descendant as well, after all. Something only told her that this would end up in a similar fashion of what happened to New York—a blood bath, as it were.

Why am I even involved in this? She has plenty of supporters already, Svetlana thought as she looked around. She felt that it was pointless that she was made to be a part of this scheme, but she could not afford to have Isabelle’s life ruined because of her. I just have to hope nothing goes wrong.

(GM’s Comment: I’m sure every good strategist wouldn’t want a collection of strong people to form their army, Svetlana.)

While looking around, Svetlana noticed a woman who seemed oddly familiar to her. She looks like that bratty French girl I fought back in Japan. Before letting it go, she felt some kind of darkness from her. She could not put her finger exactly on it but to her it just felt she would bring trouble to the world.

Another great war, huh? But this time we’re the villains. Weiss sighed. As long as it pays well and the sooner I finish this, the faster I can go and meet my daughter.

“Ladies and gentleman, I commend you all for having come so far with me, in our aim to create a better future for the country,” Princess Louise began. “There are those of you who truly care for the country, and there are those who only seek to make profits from my actions,” she added, giving Michael, Weiss and Claudia a glance. “Whatever the benefits the parties gain, my promises shall remain. If we succeed tonight—a new dawn shall herald the rebirth of the British Empire. The reclamation of the lost glory of the empire shall soon be complete.”

With this speech complete, there was a resounding cheer from the audience.

One of the members from the gathered individuals approached and joined Princess Louise. The silver hair was of a deeper shade, and Svetlana was reminded of the type of hair that Prince Leopold had.

“As some of you may know, this here is my Sister, Princess Beatrice,” Louise introduced. “She shall lend us aid in our mission tonight.”

“†˜Tis the present of the British Indian Western Company, Sister. I shall lend to you revolutionaries the product of the Project Mordred,” Princess Beatrice said.

“As you all may soon learn, Project Mordred’s product—Mordred—will be essential to victory.”

“We can guarantee that Mordred was designed to withstand powers rivaling that of Descendants,” Griswold said with a smile, coming out of the crowd and joining beside Princess Beatrice. Constance made a face full of contempt seeing this.

“Anyway, the plan itself is quite simple,” Princess Louise began. “We will have the palace surrounded at exactly ten tonight. After the palace is surrounded, we shall enter. Make note that not everyone will be fighting the same battle. There are different targets aside from the throne.”

“The Diogenes, yes?” Griswold guessed.

“Many are not aware of who and what the Diogenes are, so allow me to explain,” Princess Beatrice began. “The Diogenes are the four individuals that create a magical protective system for our mother, Queen Victoria. Each of the Diogenes are very powerful mages. However, they are too cautious.”

“Indeed, the Diogenes are too cautious. Send an assassin or two and they would go to safer places, or leave altogether. Duke Lewis Honeysett has left the country, while the Earl of Aberdeen has likely left for the Buckingham Palace, and the Duchess of Edinburgh has gone there too. We have them just where we wanted. The last Diogene will likely not show up… that is fine for our plans.”

“Our objective would be to take down the two appearing Diogenes, then?” Griswold questioned.

“Yes.” Princess Louise nodded. “If two out of four are gone, it would be enough for Beatrice to break the barrier that binds the throne room.”

So that means we must make it our mission to snuff more than the expected amount… the less to protect, the better the result, Claudia noted mentally.

We can’t afford to let a single one escape then… Alek made a small hum.

Two of them were my targets… That explains their individual strengths. Michael wished he had brought wine with him.

“Judgement Sniper,” Princess Louise called out, looking up to Weiss. The nickname drew far more attention than one would think. “Your job will be to take out the Earl of Aberdeen as fast as possible. As long as he loses his conscious from exhaustion or injuries; consider the job done. The Diogenes’ system becomes inoperable when the Diogenes themselves are incapacitated, or take leave.”

“Affirmative, I shall do as best as I can.” Weiss bowed at the Princess.

“Miss Claudia, Charlotte, and Mister Michael—all of you will be tasked to put an end to Duchess Frederica of Edinburgh, using any means necessary,” Princess Louise added.

“Just us three?” Charlotte asked.

“Yes,” Louise answered.

“Very well, Your Royal Highness.”

“With pleasure, Your Highness.” Claudia nodded.

“It will be done, You Highness,” Michael affirmed, noting that he would now kill someone he fought with a year ago.

“Charlotte’s power should be enough to deal with the Duchess,” Princess Beatrice said. “Theoretically speaking, it should be simple to take her down after she is unable to cast any more magic.”

“Princess Louise, wouldn’t it be better if more of us accompanied the force that will fight Duchess Frederica of Edinburgh?” Alek asked. “The sooner that fight is over, the sooner we can make use of Master Charlotte’s magic-cancelling ability in the throne room. I would like to request to be allowed to fight alongside my Mistress, if it’s not problematic for you…”

“Mistress, you say?” Princess Louise asked.

Alek nodded once. “Yes. I have no doubt she can handle herself, but if it’s all the same, I’d like to lend what help I can.”

“Who are you speaking of, specifically?”

“Miss Farris, Your Highness.”

“If you are aware of who she is, magic cancelling should be enough to seal dozens of tricks that the Duchess holds—it would be a walk in the park for your Mistress when she is aided by Mister Michael.” Princess Louise was clearly not fond of the suggestion. It would only divert a portion of the force where she didn’t need it to be. However, it was just one person, and it was only Alek. The selfish person never changes, even in situations like these. “Well, what do you think, Miss Claudia?”

That idiot, I should have made it clear not to call me that in front of others… Claudia thought.

Alek glared slightly at the thought that he wasn’t good enough to help and had to bite back a sarcastic reply, settling for thinking it instead. Definitely not going to stick around in this shitty kingdom, even if we do win…

Charlotte had the urge to palm her forehead, while Louise only looked back down to the board. Michael’s face, however, enjoyed the comforts of his palm.

Claudia sighed. “I don’t care what he does. As long as he is out of the way, I will be content.”

Alek looked between Louise and then Claudia, and finally just hung his head. “Whatever, I guess I just can’t win. It’s pretty clear that no matter what I do I’m just going to be in the wrong irregardless… Can’t believe I even bothered showing up, I’m sure nobody would have noticed if I hadn’t…”

The people just glared at Alek wondering why he was here to make a fool of himself. Even the lowest of the lowest from the group could tell with common sense why he was only making himself look worse before his would-be comrades of the revolution.

“I do not see the issue. You swore to fight for the corruption that you supposedly did not prefer to see in this country. Mister Aleksander Fane—despite the words of your †˜Mistress’—are you claiming that there could be a better tactical action based on the information we have so far? Mind you, this is not the place for emotional outbursts. Plans are crucial things. If you wish to fight for your Mistress that badly, why not go ahead? Your Mistress apparently does not mind.”

Alek seemed more tired than anything else, no particularly strong emotions present. He just sighed with a shrug. “I will fight to the best of my ability, as I am a man of my word. If you think I am most useful in the throne room, then that’s where I shall be.” He clearly just didn’t care enough any more, tired of her schemes and games, and overall lack of care towards the people under her. Would she really be a better ruler, if she lacked such basic empathy?

After hearing this, Claudia could somehow feel Alek’s emotions. Though they were minimal, the sensation alone practically smacked her in the face. Was this the ability Master Rafflesia possessed? To read minds?

“Causing an outburst like that in front of the Princess—in front of me—in an important meeting. I expected better of my new subordinate,” Claudia chided, whispering as low as she could manage like an irate mother to her child.

Alek looked down at his feet, nodding slightly. “I… yes, Miss Farris.” He matched her volume, if having a meeker tone, and mentally kicked himself for causing trouble for her.

While Alek continued to receive the glares of the men and women gathered, Princess Louise continued.

“Mister Constance, Mister David, and Miss Gracie, the three of you shall perform the spell that you all have practiced for the past year for the fight against the Director of the Royal Academy. The rest shall move onwards to the throne room with my Sister and I. Those who defeat—or lose—their targets should simply make way for the throne, too. It is expected that the biggest battle will be either just outside the throne, or inside it. Likely, some guards and prominent mages may be located there. The faster Miss Charlotte BrontÃ« gets there after the Duchess is dealt with, the better.”

The vampire buried her face into the bottom of her scarf and hummed. She had no more to say, only acknowledgement of her mission. She passed a glance to Charlotte and Michael, internally affirming that they were standing there, for some reason. She still had no means to trust either of them. But for the sake of this operation, she would do anything.

“I have taken measures to temporarily dismantle most of the activities of the Royal Council. There will likely be a few Enforcers and some members of the nobility regardless. The reason why we surround the palace at ten is to make sure that the most loyal of subjects to the Queen will gather in the palace before then. After this, they would be locked inside. We should have the higher number to handle most if not everyone inside. The only remaining concern is my mother… I shall say this once and I hope that it will be enough—if you lack the conviction, you are welcome to run for your life. My mother is more powerful than one can imagine and it would be foolish to underestimate the Queen who is known to be an Archmage.”

“If it had not been obvious enough, the war with Japan would have ended long ago if not for the current Queen prolonging the inevitable,” Princess Beatrice added. “Think of all the people dying due to this conflict that has remained unresolved for long. Currently, the system is corrupted by the ruler and the poor are in need of help the most.”

Alek made a face of disgust, this being precisely what he’d thought for some time.

“The list of issues simply goes on.” Princess Louise looked up from the board, the Buckingham Palace now surrounded pieces, and the piece of the Queen fallen from its place. “That shall be all, ladies and gentlemen. I wish everyone luck. Let us bring good tidings with our own hands tonight. Dismissed.”

They’re even going after Duchess Frederica? Svetlana thought as she continued to feel conflicted. I really hope she is not there. Even then I doubt she would even want anything to do with me if she finds I’m with the rebels. Even if she was doing this for Isabelle, she wondered if her sister would even look at her the same way if she knew what she was doing.

I guess I’ll go and prepare. Weiss snuck away.

“Mistress, huh?” Michael asked Claudia in a hushed whisper. If one were to look at him, he was trying to contain his smirk. Badly.

Alek frowned slightly, but knew it was a bad idea to chime in after so recently disappointing her, and chose to suppress the can of whoop-ass he was sure he could bring upon the silver-haired pervert currently harassing Claudia. He chose instead to make a face of disdain.

“Don’t remind me. He’s some sort of masochist,” Claudia replied, rolling her eyes.

“He did want you as a Mistress. I assumed so.” Michael saw the Royal Princess’ former guard and smiled cheerfully at him.

Alek raised his eyebrows in surprise at being discovered, before they narrowed even more. He wasn’t sure why, but something about this Michael unsettled him. This was the final straw, there was no way he could trust this guy to keep his hands to himself, Louise’s orders be damned.

“I really should have made it a priority for him not to call me that in public. Now the Princess, and her entire army might think that Alek and I have some sort of S-and-M fueled relationship... so much for casting off my former self, huh?”

“Ah. What a good way to start the revolution,” Michael said, his voice filled with enthusiasm. He then stretched his arms out as he looked at Charlotte, whose beautiful face was graced with a small smile.

Shaking her head, Claudia began to depart as well, mumbling something about Charlotte having to put up with that man when he got like that.

Alek followed a measured pace behind her silently, practically broiling with feelings of protectiveness, his training as a bodyguard coming back to him almost sub-consciously, though he was infinitely less talkative this time, choosing instead to wait to be called upon, or for a chance to act on his Mistress’ behalf in protection of her interests.

With passing moments, the rest of the men and women started to leave, already gossiping about Claudia and Alek.

Michael spotted the Royal Princess, who stood out amongst the crowd, and decided to approach her. He bowed his head in front of her as he called for her attention, “Your Highness, there is a matter I would like to raise concerning one of our more… temporary allies.”

“Go on, I am listening,” the Princess responded.

“Could we move to a less… busy location? I would not want to affect our comrade’s morale.”

“No need,” Louise looked up as she replied. The hall was already close to empty.

Charlotte BrontÃ« joined Michael as he brought up the matter, while Princess Beatrice seemed to listen with some extent of interest.

“Ah, Princess Beatrice, Miss Charlotte. I was just informing Princess Louise, about my attempted assassination of Duke Honeywell. Specifically how it seemed the object of persuasion Your Highness is using for Miss Svetlana’s compliance seems not to be working well.” Michael tried his best to be polite, but he felt constrained with the honorifics he had to use.

“Hm… my method is not working, you claim? What did she do? Surely you would not claim that she simply stood there?”

“She did not. But the mission was still compromised by her refusal to commit fully to the assassination. She flaked at the first offer of retreat from the Duke. I would have engaged him alone if he wasn’t stabbing my neck at that moment.”

“Our condolences for the wound he inflicted upon you,” Princess Beatrice said. “We did not quite expect him to go down, but hoped that a Representative would suffice.”

“It was indeed my fault, You Highness. It was my own lack of ability that necessitated her coming along with me in the first place... What makes this a concern in my observation is that there might be a good chance of her turning sides in the most crucial of moments; unless of course, we give her a more solid incentive not to do so.”

“Colour me surprised, this person winces not at the possible loss of her so-called Sister.” Princess Louise took a moment to think and a smirk crept up to her facial features. “That is fine, I would rather keep her Sister than the Duchess herself. In the worst scenario I shall deal with her—in case there is a need to. She would be a good distraction for Prince Leopold.”

“Oh, yes. I have heard that Prince Leopold has taken an odd partiality to the new Duchess of Norfolk,” Princess Beatrice said.

“One would think that the one who fought against my Mistress and possessed a demon would be more useful for a pawn,” Charlotte added. “I suppose not all plans are perfect.”

“Indeed they are not. We never know when fate decides to toss such surprises at us,” Princess Louise said.

“That is all of my concerns, Your Highnesses. My Mistress sent me to aid your revolution, and I will not compromise on these matters. I thank you for your attention for this matter,” Michael said as he bowed once more.

“I thank you for sharing your concerns, Mister Michael.” Princess Louise, likewise gave a lighter bow.

“What about my… apprentice?” Charlotte started. “His heart seems so out of place, Your Royal Highness.”

“Your Highness’ former guard seems to be overly protective of his so-called Mistress, if his staring while I talked to Claudia was any indication,” Michael added.

“His soul gives it all away to us,” Princess Louise said. “I can understand what either of you are trying to claim… he has been problematic since the time he was assigned to me by my mother.”

She could not tell whether the Queen was being particularly mean, sending a person like Alek to her to †˜observe’ her, which he mistook for †˜guarding’ instead. Albeit, the chances were low, her mother was likely ignorant of his terrible attitude. Even Michael, who lacked proper manners was better, much better.

“At the very least, he seemed enthusiastic.” Michael shrugged, surprised Charlotte had taken an apprentice. “I did not know he was your apprentice, though, Miss Charlotte. Not that you are obliged to inform me. I just find it particularly interesting.”

Charlotte placed a finger on her lips. “It was a small deal between the Princess and I. We are both users of a Lost Form.”

“Ah. Just so.” Michael chose not to intrude on that matter. “How was he? It would be a great boost of confidence to know there is another user of Lost Forms in our ranks.” Even if a bit eccentric, that is.

“He is certainly not as talented as a Representative. He at least has something going for him, which is the fact that he was able to walk down on the path, but… I am not sure—there is an important substance simply lacking.”

“I would rather have Duchess Svetlana’s Starlight than another Lost Form that I have mastered,” Louise tersely said.

“Starlight? In any case, I hope that we both find what it is we are lacking, in time to help this revolution succeed. Even with the help of Heavenly Sacraments, I believe being able to use my Commandment would of great help.”

“Well… that aside, Mister Michael,” Princess Louise faced Virgo’s servant properly this time. “We can sense his clear resolve to be rid of you—for his so-called Mistress, I assume—so be prepared to erase him in times of urgency.”

“We helped him back into the court and accepted his participation because he had the background that made it look as if he had a concrete reason to aid our cause. However, we cannot maintain this possible liability indefinitely,” Princess Beatrice added.

“He can try.” Michael smiled softly towards the Princesses. Over his career as an Executioner, this would not be the first time someone bore a grudge toward him. However, at those times it was about revenge, or him being a thorn to their side. He admittedly enjoyed that. “I’d make sure that the disposal would be a matter of discretion. Dukes and Duchesses seems to be dying quite a lot these days.”

“Indeed, we are not exactly looking to be simply rid of them, most simply happens to be in the way now,” Princess Louise replied.

“Well then, shall we be off?” Beatrice suggested.

“I suppose, we do not have much more time left.”

The Princesses walked away and Charlotte patted Michael’s back.

“It seems like we have another assassination target now.”

“Hopefully, she goes down as easy as last time. It worries me, however, that the Queen won’t make it so.” he replied, fixing his cuffs. “That said, I wish to take a little more of your time, Miss Charlotte.”

“The Queen is indeed strong… well, whatever the case, I am here,” Charlotte said with a chuckle, running a finger into the air to make a portal open.

“Ah, well… I figured I should ask some pointers about some spells I have in mind.” He watched with interest as his senior Representative opened a portal.

“I would be happy to help. Anyway, come, this is a shorter path to our destination. We can wait while the others—including my mother—carry themselves slowly. Hoho.”

Michael chuckled, offering an arm to Charlotte as he stood by the portal. After the lady accepted it, they departed and the portal closed.

Cinia Pacifica Ojou-sama Writer

8 years ago

Alek had already gotten his preparations out of the way and done with, showing that he did have a serious side as well. Once they were away from the other people, Alek asked quietly, “Would you like to drink and recover to a hundred percent before we fight, Mistress?”

Claudia turned on a heel and faced her subordinate after not speaking for quite some time, her expression irritated.

“What I would like for you to do is to keep your mouth shut. Need I stress of how much importance this operation is? For a so-called Duke, you simply have no respect for your own reputation, or the Princess.’”

The man nodded, accepting her rebuke wordlessly. “My opinions of the Princess have no bearing on this operation, you are right, of course.” He simply had no reply for the rest of what she said, or at least none that he was stupid enough to give voice too.

The Representative of vampires found herself sighing. This man is more trouble than he is worth… deliberately fucking up then acknowledging it. “Well, as long as you know of your mistake, I hope for your own well-being that you do not commit it again,” Claudia said. “And since we have come to this subject of me drinking your blood, you will be deprived of that for one week.”

“...” He sighed wearily, knowing that there wasn’t much ground for him to argue from, nor should he. Hey, at least he would get to murder someone within the next few hours, that should at least help vent some of his frustration without causing unnecessary conflict. “As you say, what shall I call you then, if not what you are to me? I don’t feel worthy of calling you anything else…”

“You may still refer to me as Mistress, just not in public, or in front of others we conform to as allies. I would prefer Claudia, if that is fine with you,” Claudia supplemented with a scratch of her scalp.

“I would be happy to, if it would make your life easier. You are of course welcome to call me what you would like to. Please allow me to be of use to you though, it’s not good to starve yourself…” Alek implored of the Vampiress, more concerned for her well-being than he was about missing out on such a fun and pleasurable pastime for a week.

“Trust me, even if I wanted to, I manage to keep myself fed as of late. Are you implying that I am incapable of finding my own food?” Claudia crooked her head to the side and raised a brow.

“I…” Alek realised that was a dangerous question and bowed his head. “Of course I wouldn’t imply such a thing, Mistress. If you have found better food in someone else then I guess you don’t need me any more…” He smiled weakly, and clammed up, feeling decidedly melancholic now.

“Shut up,” Claudia almost snarled. “That kind of talk is unattractive in a person. Of course I will still need you, as you are my subordinate after all.” She plucked Alek in the forehead and scoffed distantly. “Why else did I tell you to sever all connections? So you would not feel this way.”

“Then tell me what your will is, and I will execute it without delay.” His expression was completely blank, if not just a little bit sleepy-seeming, and he seemed incredibly lethargic now.

“Was I not clear the first time?”

“Ahh… you were.” Alek’s sleepy face intensified, leaving his eyes nearly completely shut as he focused on seeing with his other eyes, repeating the exercise Charlotte had instilled upon him as he took advantage of that moment to get some practice in, trying to visualize the Buckingham Palace, and more accurately, being there. His mind was nearly completely passive as he enforced a state of incredible laziness on himself, far too lazy to walk, or do anything to arrive there under his own power. Or at least that’s what he was trying to do.

Slightly frustrated, Claudia rubbed at her temples with a single hand. “Come... we have a big operation ahead of us, and I’ll not have you jeopardize the mission because your feelings were hurt.”

“M-Mistress?” Alek asked, surprised, but not unhappy. “You’d really do that for me?” He successfully fought back tears of happiness and instead favored her with the most genuine smile she’d seen him make yet. He saluted her like one of the guards at the Royal Palace would the Queen.

“Tch…” Claudia bit at her lip for a moment, mind teetering back and forth if she should drop this whole thing, give this man a swift strike in the groin and be done with it. But then again, she would rather not be pestered by him later. Claudia quickly went from feeling sorry for Alek to outright becoming annoyed with him. He was like a puppy. A mentally scarred, emotional puppy.

“Sure, whatever,” she finally said, turning away to walk.

Somewhere in an alternate universe, Alek submerged his head in a toilet bowl and screamed himself hoarse, while dying on the inside. Outwardly, he nodded once. “Thank you for your kindness Mistress…”

Cinia Pacifica Ojou-sama Writer

8 years ago

The pair of Witnesses from the Space Police Organization—namely, Witness DKD and Witness DAD—worked hard to find traces of the Boundary that was said to cause the disappearance of the mundanes. It was a long term case that had evaded the eyes of the Space Police for about a year now and it wasn’t surprising that it was hard to crack even for DKD, who was famous for getting her work done swiftly.

To Aramus, this was a case very similar to the case the pair had solved back in Tokyo, but it seemed to be of a much larger scale.

The two were often forced to skulk about at night in search of the Boundary. With the curfew of Queen Victoria in effect past eight in the evening, the two were granted a pass to survey the streets of London at night—courtesy of the Queen—to be able to identify the root of the issue. So far, it seemed like many people were violating the Queen’s laws. For reasons personal, civilians would often be found walking the streets of London at night. It wasn’t strange that people were thus disappearing. Who knew what lurked in the depths of the darkness?

Even Aramus was aware of the many rumours that surrounded the darkness of London. The talks of the infamous Steel Demons that haunted the people in the dark corners. Those poor and without shelter were apparently the first to speak of their horrors before it spread all the way to the High Places. However, no proof was ever provided.

Perhaps everything was linked. Perhaps they weren’t.

Even if the two would find wandering people in the streets, however, they weren’t allowed to detain them due to the curfew, as they were the police for handling different matters.

“Hm, this seems like another fruitless night,” Amelia commented with a hint of boredom.

The two Witnesses sat above the tiles of the roof of a house. They kept a good look at the city centre around the area of Thames. Which was reported to be one of the prominent disappearance spots.

“Something will turn up eventually if we keep our eyes peeled. Still, it’s a little irritating for the civilians to just wander around even with the curfew in place. Night after night, we’ve kept watch and they just keep walking around like nobody’s business.”

“It seems like nobody understands the Queen’s concerns nowadays. The timing and the placement of the law… I feel like she intentionally placed it for this case alone.”

“It’s a shame. They do not know the horrors that lurk in the dark like we do and hence, do not heed the warnings. Ignorance is bliss indeed.”

“Horrors that lurk in the dark? You don’t suppose the rumours they speak of are true, do you?”

“Could be. I used to live on the streets and… the rats don’t tell no lies, especially not when it concerns their lives.”

“What do they say?”

“The pack may squabble but we need each other to survive, we all knew each other. Heard down the grapevine it’s a monster of sorts, covered in steel or some kind of similar metal. The killings are particularly brutal as well.”

“Brutal, you say? Any description you’ve heard before?”

“Blood, lots of it. Smaller articles of clothing are left behind but as for the body, it’s gone.”

“That is oddly similar to our case. Do you think they are related?”

“Perhaps. That worm, she mentioned it was the first of many. If we were to say that the cases were related and considering the amount of time the disappearances have been going on in England, I’d surmise there could be millions of those insects crawling around if it were the same. But judging from the description, it could be another type of creature entirely. Just in a similar vein.”

“Hmm… I see, that could make sense but basing on the history of cases we’ve had so far, I feel like it could still be a completely separate situation. This case of Mariam—dubbed as the Mariam case now, by the way—is still relatively new information. Out of the last hundred cases, it seems like at least twenty of them feels familiar to the one we solved in Tokyo.”

“Which is a very bad trend. I can’t say for sure if they’re linked, but it must have been in the planning stages for a long time. They would have hidden their tracks well enough. If we can’t find them, I doubt many others can.”

“Well, whatever the case, tonight we’ll keep watch on this location—”

Amelia stopped and stood up from her sitting position and turned towards the River Thames.

“A song… a song this late at night?” she asked, not particularly expecting an answer.

“Shall we investigate? At this point, I’ll take any leads.”

Cinia Pacifica Ojou-sama Writer

8 years ago

Aramus and Amelia hopped from roof to roof, making the tiles almost tilt as they did so. They looked down at the streets as they passed. They were relatively empty, devoid of pedestrians breaking the law. Which was rather odd.

The two stopped on a house that seemed to face the river itself. They looked down. The river was long and wide, and its water appeared to be black. Whether it was due to the evening cloudy sky or the wastes that corrupted it, they didn’t know. There were several bridges that seemed to connect to the other side of London. The big Clock Tower came into view as they heard the bells toil loudly across the city.

According to the clock, it was now midnight.

“Least the pedestrians have cleared out. It’s late and I want to go home,” Aramus muttered, stifling a yawn. He blinked again as he tried to activate Aural Vision but ended up rubbing his eye as a speck of dust entered his eye, the spell failing.

“Look at the bridge.”

They two found a sort of light that seemed to move atop the bridge. On close inspection, it turned to be someone, but from their distance they could hardly make it out due to the bright light surrounding her. Regardless, she was nothing mundane from what it seemed like.

“Aye. Plan of action?”

“It seems like we’re not alone here,” Amelia said with her eyes closed, using her Mind’s Eye spell. “There are guards, watch dogs, whatever you call them.”

“You have to teach me that sometime. Well, what do you want to do with them? We can neutralize them, maybe keep one to talk.”

“Hoho, that makes me want to keep it to myself.” She looked down at the bridge again. “Likely guards of The Society. We’ll have to be more careful than that. Hm… I’ll let you investigate her directly. Let me go on cleanup duty for once.”

“Heh, I’ll have to get it by bribing you somehow. Hopefully this’ll take us somewhere, I don’t want to trigger The Society and then leave empty-handed,” Aramus said before vaulting off the roof.

He stepped into the cobblestone streets, looking up to the bridge, and walked up to it. Despite only walking, he was moving much slower than the entity, who was also seemingly walking. It seemed like she possessed unnatural speed.

“Definitely not normal,” Aramus muttered before picking up the pace.

The figure suddenly stopped, as if waiting for Aramus to catch up, the song that seemed to be sung in ancient Latin stopping with it.

“Hmm?” Aramus approached cautiously, wondering why she had stopped. He moved close enough to be in visual range, just for observation until DKD returned. Who knew what this creature was.

“Sad, it is so sad,” the entity spoke with a child-like voice of a girl, turning to Aramus. He found a girl with black hair, looking at him with teary eyes. “I can hear the voice of your heart… you are crying.”

“Sadness is something I am well acquainted with, yes. What of you?” Aramus asked, his brow furrowing slightly. She seemed to be able to read his emotional state, perhaps a passive ability?

The light intensified around her, and she seemed to float up from the bridge. It was slowly taking her away—away from Aramus.

“What… of me? I wonder…”

Aramus leaped after her with Flash Step spell, but it was nowhere near enough and the distance between them kept growing.

Slowly, as DAD pursued the light that seemed to move farther and farther away, the houses on both sides that he passed by started to change in shape and colour. He noted various images of the city warping, going up and down as if being out of balance. He was in the state where equilibrium had not met, located between the two dimensions. The girl had vanished, and now he knew not where he was.

“Now where the hell am I?” Aramus grumbled as he put on the monocle, scanning the area for any peculiar signs. It looked like a Boundary, that was for sure. Just, what in blazes was going on?

With a blink of his eyes, he found himself in a completely different world. The skies were hidden not by the clouds, but darkened by the curtain of the night regardless. He saw only a path straight ahead of him, with houses on both sides. The houses were different than the ones he remembered from London. They had no windows or doors. It was peculiar.

Straight ahead was a large clock tower, something he had seen some time ago, but it was completely black, only the clock itself shined gold. It reminded him of his mother’s golden eye.

Taking a step, he noted the steel floor, something he found reminiscent. Memories came back to him, memories of watching his mother fighting the demon Sasha, and defeating it with ease. At the same time, he remembered the nightmare he saw before going to Tokyo, a vision of his mother’s sufferings.

“Ah… Back again. Let’s see what secrets you hold this time.”

Walking along the path towards the clock tower, Aramus kept watch on the houses for any irregularities or if any of that confounded mist was around. He didn’t fancy turning into a toad again.

He soon started hearing the grating noise of steel. It seemed to come from every direction. A sense of fear arose in his heart, which was unexpected even to him.

The air sparked and crackled around Aramus as he employed the spell Lux Tempora—one of his new spells—in the Boundary space. The mana being spread by the spell granted him an awareness of all that happened within visual range, though it was not the best at detecting anything minute, not yet at least.

He looked up to the glaring eye of the clock tower that was the clock itself, and felt warmth from behind, as if something fell on him. He quickly turned and jumped back, and a loud roar took place, brushing onto him a hot wave of breath.

(BGM: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DqnHO1L52Ec)

Aramus looked up to a beast that was larger than he could imagine. It stood on the ground with legs made of steel, almost appearing to be something like a spider, however he could make no sense of its body. Red gleaming eyes peered down at him, an eerie roar given away again. It seemed like towers of steel protruded from its face, rather, it was as though they were struck forcibly to its black skin.

Upon careful examination, it seemed like it was a creature with a large head, and a black lizard-like creature mashed on it, which also had eyes, and they repeatedly flickered and rolled about every moment. There were countless arms of steel wringing about too.

With a monstrous voice it spoke, “It smells… smells like… the golden eye!! Give us… the eye…!!”

“Oh no. I hate to disappoint you but I possess no golden eye. You’ve probably mistaken me for the Scholar Mary. May I inquire if you are indeed the †˜Steel Demon’ that is spoken of in these parts?” Aramus said as he looked up at the gargantuan creature.

“Mary… that sacrificial wench. Give her to us…!!”

“I suppose you wouldn’t know anything.”

Before the monster could react, Aramus kicked off against the ground as magical wings sprouted from his ankles, the spell Hermes’ Wings activating. Thorns latched onto his arm as Alptraum was summoned and he raked the underbelly of the creature with a slice, pivoting mid-jump to land on his feet. Black blood showered out on the ground as the monster groaned.

The monster tried to bite on Aramus, moving unnaturally fast, but since his spell was still in effect, he could leap away from it.

Retaliating immediately with a brutal swing, Aramus was shocked to find Alptraum stopped by a multitude of steel hands as they rose up to guard against the blade. Surprisingly, it didn’t cut through, and metal screeched against metal. Aramus tried to push forward but it was in vain. He thought of moving back, but it was too late. The maws of the monster opened and bit into his body, half of it being crushed under the fangs. He bones cracked most audibly, but the fangs couldn’t cut past the fabric of his suit. Thanks to said suit, the fangs slipped away from him and he could fly free off the monster, coughing up some blood.

“God damn it!” Aramus yelled in pain, staggering backwards away from the monster.

That single bite had pulverised more than a few bones and he was worried if there was more internal bleeding or damaged organs. The monster hadn’t done anything significant yet and he was already in this state. It wasn’t something he could defeat by himself. Turning towards the clocktower, Aramus boosted himself with another new spell—Transient Burst—as he made his escape.

The monster pursued Aramus as he dashed with lightning. Despite his speed, he could foresee the thing catching up to him eventually. His mana borrowed from the Realm of Faeries was not infinite and it was particularly harder to draw mana in a Boundary Realm. He stopped at the base of the clocktower and heard a voice.

“Come up!”

The Magister found his partner, Witness DKD, standing on top of the tower before its golden clock.

Aramus scaled the tower easily, but he could feel his energy leaving him as the spell expired. The sudden burst of energy could also not be maintained for long and coupled with his injuries, would probably have slightly deeper repercussions later. However, it was enough for him to finally reach DKD, and he flopped down beside her, groaning in pain.

“Are you okay?” she asked. The two felt the force of the Steel Demon when it crashed against the base of the clock tower.

“I’ll manage. Your suit is the only reason I’m still in one piece.”

“Stop… your sadness. I feel the sadness of your heart.”

Aramus looked down at the young girl from earlier, standing just before the large clock behind DKD. She seemed to be writhing in pain, crying. The light was not with her.

“I don’t know how…” Aramus admitted, feeling broken as well. In a more physical sense at least.

“What is she—” Amelia stopped, her mouth agape as she turned and watched the child, having only noticed her now.

“The… sadness…!!”

The girl started vomiting, black liquid substances falling down from her mouth and onto the floor. Another Steel Monster seemed to come up from the black liquid, as if it was a sea of sorts and the monster was simply rising up from it. The scene was surreal to the two Witnesses.

The new monster had a brown head looking like a mix of a cow and a raven of some sort. It grew, and the size seemed like it would only get bigger.

“We’ll retreat for now!” Amelia responded swiftly with urgency for their life, opening a portal behind that floated in the air. She held Aramus’ hand and pulled him into it before he could even react to the horror he witnessed.

The Magister’s eyes moved up from the little crying girl, or the monster that seemed to come out from the vomitted substance. On the very centre of the clock tower was the Virgin Mary—locked down with chains on what seemed like a mini-black cross. Many blades and spears had marred her body, a sight reminiscent of Jesus Christ from the many depictions he had seen in his life in Churches.

“Mother!” Aramus reached out a hand towards her, a look of anguish on his face as he was forced to leave, swallowed up by the portal.

“Your mother?!” Amelia could hardly catch her breath as the portal behind them closed in the Void Realm. “Whatever the case, that looked very bad. Even I cannot take on two of those.”

“We have to go back with more support. I must free her!” Aramus cried, a look of desperation in his eyes.

“Not now… we do not have the people required for this… operation. Most are still doing other missions. We underestimated that Realm, whoever made it has placed lots of… crazy guard dogs in there.”

“So long as we go back… I can’t leave her there,” Aramus said, doubling over from both physical and mental stress.

Cinia Pacifica Ojou-sama Writer

8 years ago

Aramus and Amelia came out of the portal and found the aristocratic abode of Duchess Frederica, appearing before the doors. One of the Battle Maids seemed to sense their presence and cracked the door, taking a peek before opening it in full to let them inside.

The two sat down on the sofas of the parlour some moments later, letting the tension leave their body.

“Hahhhh, I have never felt this tired from a mission before. Not for a long time anyway,” DKD said absentmindedly. “You feeling alright there?”

“Probably will need some medical attention,” Aramus wheezed, struggling with the buttons on the suit. “But nothing hurts more than having to leave her behind again.”

DKD tossed a potion at Aramus.

“We’re gonna need to do something about that, but the time constraints worries me more at the moment.”

“I’ll be good once the potion starts kicking in.” Thumbing the cap off, Aramus drained the potion bottle just as he took off the suit. He searched it for any damage and found none, much to his surprise.

“Hmm, now what do I do…” As Amelia looked straight up to the ceiling in thought, she suddenly looked back at DAD. “Right, you have a rebellion on your hands, and a mommy to save. What are †˜ya gonna do, kiddo?”

“I will deal with the rebellion first. By no means do I want to abandon my mother, but if the coup d'etat succeeds, I might not be able to return to England to save her with the rebels in power. Secure the safety of the Crown and then… I will save her.”

“Alright.” She shrugged. Aramus indeed cared more about the country than family. Seeing him make decisions like these would always remind her of that fact. “I’ll have to be on my way, unfortunately. The reporting to the Administrator of Space Organization will be made and we’ll discuss the matters regarding your mother and the Boundary we discovered soon.”

“I entrust that to you, Amelia. Hopefully we will receive a favourable outcome.”

“Good luck, you know where to go to if all looks south. The bar -should- be a safe zone.”

“Aye. I’ll go there if the stress gets too much but I’ve got kids to look after again. How nostalgic.”

“Bring them along in the worst case scenario, in the case you need to, anyway.”

“That really is the worst case scenario. I don’t think either are really ready for war.”

“Give my regards to Master Christopher and the Duchess.”

Amelia gave a nod and opened the portal, giving the Magister a wave for the last time before she took leave.

The door burst open as soon as the portal closed. Christopher Bradley entered, a grim face mixed with rage.

“Where’s DKD?”

“She just left. What happened, Master?” Aramus asked as he sat up straighter, noting that this was the first time Christopher looked this way.

“It’s Duchess Caroline, son. Dark days now. She has been murdered.”

Aramus opted to punch the sofa instead of the wall, letting out some of the anger. “Damn it! Was she the only one? What about Elizabeth!?”

“No news, she wasn’t even living there apparently… no idea where my niece went at all. I can only think this place could be next very soon.”

“Then we must protect it at all costs. We can’t afford to let the rebels get to Duchess Frederica… or my Sister.”

“I fear for the Queen at the same time. We don’t have enough hands for everything it seems.”

“Do you think they could be aiming for Her Majesty as we speak?” Aramus said fearfully.

“Some of my intel says that it’s gonna happen soon. They’re almost done wrapping up the loyal nobles of the Queen apparently.”

“Should we consult with the Duchess on our next course of action? I think it would be wiser to gather what we have remaining instead of being scattered where they can pick us off.”

“Let’s go. I’m itching to teach those jerks a lesson anyway.”

Cinia Pacifica Ojou-sama Writer

8 years ago

“Ah… Mister Linfield, what brings you here this evening?” the Duchess questioned.

As soon as the Archmage agreed, Aramus and Christopher came over to the Duchess’ bedroom. She was still resting, but according to her maids, her condition was quite literally back to normal, almost.

“I’m sorry to be the bearer of bad news but… Duchess Cavendish Bentwick has fallen,” Aramus said gravely.

“...I suppose it was a matter of time. What of her daughter?”

“Missing. I would like to know her whereabouts as well. My suggestion would be to consolidate whatever we have remaining lest more of us fall to the rebels.”

“I believe there is hardly anyone remaining other than me by now, if the plans are going as I had heard. Regardless, it may be the time that I take action.” The Duchess pulled herself up from her bed. “It would be a shame, though, to leave this abode of mine.”

“We will return to it. I shall have to bring the young ones along as well, that is going to be most troublesome.”

“Where would you want to take your sister? I am not sure whether my mansion is safe anymore. My maids are skilled, but we cannot gauge their forces.”

“That is… a good question indeed. There is no place left in Britain for me but as for them… Do you know any places, Duchess Frederica?”

“I doubt it. They could be found anywher—”

“My lady…” one of the maids spoke up from the doorway.

“Come in.”

“The lady Mister Linfield brought over to the mansion has vanished… we found the gentleman beside her unconscious. What shall we do? There are no visible or magical clues whatsoever.”

Aramus threw his hands in the air. “Of all the bloody times! Excuse my language, Duchess. Argh, I can’t deal with so many problems at once.”

“God damn!” Chris seemed to curse as well alongside Aramus. “What now?! We’re getting more and more thinned out like this.”

“If you are to pursue your sister, Mister Linfield, I believe you should. Family is most important. I shall head for the Buckingham Palace. Unless the enemies wants to raise a ruckus in the streets, I should make it,” Frederica responded.

“But my Lady, it is dangerous at night!” the maid protested, but Frederica shook her head.

“Even so, I have a duty to Her Majesty.”

“Master, what will you do?” Aramus asked as he held his nose between his fingers.

“We cannot thin ourselves out any more than this. I’ll go. This has gone on long enough.”

“Very well. Then the three of us will protect the Queen. I will ask Akihiko about his choice when he wakes up.”

Christopher wasn’t very surprised by his decision, but he couldn’t complain now that they needed all they help they could.

***

“Urghhh… wher—where is Aozora?!!” Akihiko woke up, immediately calling out.

He woke up about ten minutes after it was announced that Aozora was gone, finding Aramus beside him instead as his vision stabilized and blurriness left. To say the least, he was extremely disappointed to find Aramus there, and didn’t expect to hear any good news.

“Taken,” Aramus said bitterly. “You were found unconscious in the room. What do you last remember?”

“I… I saw some bastards in black cloaks. Dogs of some Organization I’d bet. I need to go find her again…”

“Likely the underlings of either the rebels or The Society. We will be heading to reinforce the Queen in this desperate time. After that matter is finished, I will look for Aozora. What will you do, Akihiko?” Aramus said as he checked himself once over, ensuring there was nothing out of place before departure.

Akihiko gave Aramus a look as if he had went mad, much moire than himself.

“Unfortunately, the Queen’s business doesn’t concern me. For me there’s only one thing to do and that’s to look for Aozora.”

“Where will you look?”

“I don’t know, but I have to go. Even if it’s a blind search, I will go and look for her.”

“You will be killed before anything happens. Is that alright, knowing that your death will not change anything? The Society is not to be trifled with.”

“If I can’t even die for the girl I love, then what good is it for me to even live?! Stop questioning the obvious, Magister. My decision is made.”

“Will you not wait a few days for the rebels to be dealt with?”

“How could you even think that?! It’s your sister, for God’s sake!”

“You think I don’t? I just had to abandon my mother because I’m not strong enough! How do you think I feel? I felt it was safe to bring you two here, and look where that got me. Yes, I’m responsible. Hate me for it but I will not die a meaningless death. I will go back for both of them. It is every man’s dream to die for his woman but then… who will take care of them afterwards? If you think your death can make Aozora happy in the future then go ahead. I have heard your conviction so I will not stop you but… spare a thought for the woman you love. That is also the duty of a man. I bid you good luck.”

“Presumptuous much, mister-wise-guy? She doesn’t know about my feelings and nor do I think she sees me the same way, so I don’t think it really matters in the end.” Akihiko got off the bed, straightening his attire with a sigh, but still holding the look of ire. “If it’s not me then that’s that, she’ll probably find a better man. My will is bent on saving her. If I succeed, then I can think of taking care of her afterwards. Otherwise, I’m sure she’ll find a way, or a better person will come along. Maybe you will by then. As long as I can get her out of the fire for now I am going to be content. Goodbye, and good luck dealing with your country’s problems.”

“Don’t you dare die on me,” Aramus whispered under his breath as Akihiko left the room.

Cinia Pacifica Ojou-sama Writer

8 years ago

Into the Buckingham Palace now, Aramus walked past the familiar halls and corridors. They reminded him of the Queen’s Meeting and the various times he had come here to visit. It felt like humour in poor taste now that he was here for something that he had never thought would occur in his lifetime before. It was a strange feeling to come back to England on these terms, and the irony was not lost on him.

Nevertheless, he would perform his duties as a Magic Magister and a loyal subject of his Queen. It mattered not who the opponent was. Even if they were a member of the Royalty, he would not hesitate. Personal feelings did not matter at this point, not when Her Majesty was in a crisis, yet Aramus clenched his gauntlets at having to leave behind Aozora and Mary. Life was not as simple as when he had simply lived for the Crown.

“There are so few guards that it feels eerie…” Christopher commented as they crossed the many cloisters in the Buckingham House. “What is Her Majesty’s intent?”

“As few guards as possible,” the Duchess claimed.

“Why?” Aramus felt strange about the lack of security.

“You of all people should realise, Mister Linfield, judging from Her Majesty’s kind heart…”

“I don’t like it though… this vulnerability.”

“This is Her Majesty’s way of limiting the amount of people sacrificed for this petty revolution, and we all know it. There is no way I will let such a great ruler go down without a fight, though… and if I know what is to come, I actually fear for the rebels.”

“What is to come? Kindness? I know the Queen is kind but maybe now is not that time…” Christopher said with a grimace, still not taking the loss of Duchess Caroline well.

“We will see what Her Majesty has planned for the rebels. Until then, I plan to fight to the last breath,” Aramus growled.

Some members of the Royal Council were found assembled before the throne room as they finally arrived. Aramus surveyed the place, finding many pillars on both sides. The pathway was wide. This place would likely become the battlefield.

“It seems like Her Royal Majesty the Queen is missing from the throne room at the moment…” the guard stated. “I have orders to disallow anyone from entering.”

“The Queen gave such orders…?” the Duchess questioned and looked back to Aramus and Chris.

“Move out of the way, we have to speak with Her Majesty, now,” Christopher said with a tone grim and dark.

“I am sorry, but we cannot do that,” the guard said, adamant.

“Well, this seems like it will not go anywhere,” the Duchess stated.

“If that is Her Majesty’s wish. What remains of those loyal?” Aramus asked.

“We are not aware, perhaps those who were dismissed were…”

“No, Her Majesty must have a different reason…” the Duchess said, not letting the guard finish.

”Is this all that remains of the Royal Council?” Aramus asked in disbelief.

“Unfortunately… this is all of whom who were allowed to stand guard. We do not know why ourselves… with the rumours of rebellion we recommended more guards for Her Majesty and the Prince Consort. So far, those words have fallen on deaf ears.”

“We have no choice but to make do with these numbers,” Aramus said as he put a hand to his forehead, feeling a headache coming on. “This is even worse than that time with the students…”

“I shall lend my aid too.”

A man dressed in a long black overcoat walked up them. His silver hair was long and similar to that of Aramus, but of a different shade.

“Your Highness Prince Leopold, I would recommend your saf—”

“Now, now, I shall have none of that and you know it, Duchess Frederica. I cannot possibly allow my mother to face all these enemies with so few people,” the Prince immediately interrupted the Duchess, despite it being bad manners to do so, as it was unthinkable for him.

“…Understood.”

“Glad to have another at least,” Christopher added. “It’s good to see you again, kiddo.”

“Ahaha, I am glad to have the opportunity to battle alongside you, Archmage Christopher,” the Prince said. “And of course you too, Mister Magister Aramus Valmark.”

Christopher smiled wryly. “I’m honoured, Your Highness.”

“Your Highness! The honour is all mine,” Aramus said sharply, surprised that Prince Leopold would speak to him at all.

“And I suppose you would be there for us as well,” the Prince stated, turning around.

Particles of blue gathered and thus a man formed, and his appearance was known. Aramus once more met the man who took down Virgo in the end from a year ago. The Director of the Royal Academy.

“Yes, I shall do what I can. I will hold back the great evil that is approaching as we speak.”

“The great evil?”

“I do not know who it is… but I can feel it.”

“I see.”

“A great evil…” the Duchess whispered, looking up to Aramus with worry. “Does this mean…”

“Possibly another one of them,” Aramus responded. “We are all that stands between them and our Queen, Duchess. Failure is not an option… Not anymore.”

“Perhaps Her Majesty anticipated this outcome and had most people out of the way. This means that the lackeys will be up to us once more.”

“As before except no one will be coming to help us this time.”

“No one realises the true good until their passing is witnessed.”

“I will go ahead,” Christopher said. “Gonna hold down the front halls I guess.”

“Perhaps the time has come…” Frederica said with her eyes closed before she faced Aramus. “Take care. I shall join Mister Bradley.”

“Be safe, Duchess Frederica,” Aramus said solemnly.

“I shall stay here,” the Prince resolutely stated, giving the Duchess a nod. “I wish you both well.”

The Director’s form started to break apart. “I will just wait for the great evil and take him on when he arrives. I shall pray well for the Crown.” With those words, King Arthur left.

“I will not let you do as you please, Louise…”

Aramus twitched upon hearing Prince Leopold’s words but otherwise said nothing. It was not his place to meddle in the Royal family’s affairs as a mere Magister. However, if the Royal Princess had indeed instigated this rebellion then it was another matter entirely.

Cinia Pacifica Ojou-sama Writer

8 years ago

Kaitlyn followed Earl Aberdeen across the halls of the Buckingham House. The interior of the palace was simply picturesque. There were large chandeliers hanging from the ceiling, ornate pillars on each side of every hallway she could see; the intricate designs of the architecture literally dazzled from the Engine lights illuminating their path.

A man in his thirties approached them, showing a fist embraced by a steel gauntlet with a star symbol. His skin was dark, and Kaitlyn noted that he was foreign. He was an exotic man. Beside him was an aristocratic lady with chestnut coloured hair in a rich silver dress.

“He is no intruder,” the lady said, and the fist was taken down promptly.

“One of those Diogenes †˜ya mean?” the older man asked and the lady gave a nod.

Aberdeen seemed to smile at them. “I did not know that you would choose to be a vanguard, Lady Duchess—I wish you luck.” Aberdeen gestured Kaitlyn to follow, and they pressed onwards.

Some time had passed as they crossed the corridors and got to the doors of the throne room. There were several figures guarding it.

Aberdeen gave a graceful bow to the handsome and younger man who stood before the rest.

“May I state before any words of welcome are presented—that it is an honour to know that I shall be fighting alongside Your Royal Highness?”

“I am glad to know that one such as you has made it to this house, Lord Haddo. I would like to claim that words of welcome still hold more priority, would you not think?”

“Surely you jest, Your Highness.”

“May I know about the case of Lady Cavendish Bentinck? I believe my mother had sent you instructions regarding the matter?”

Aramus perked up from behind the Prince at the mention of the Bentinck’s, tilting his head slightly as he regarded the two newcomers.

“Lady Elizabeth Cavendish Bentinck was retrieved from quite the battlefield today… I have placed her in the care of Kaitlyn Mercer,” Aberdeen answered, gesturing towards Kaitlyn behind him. “She rests in her abode now. Hopefully, no danger befalls her for now…”

Kaitlyn bowed. “I’ve let Your Highness down. The Earl would not have needed to intervene had I done my job and kept Lady Cavendish Bentinck safe.”

“With how elusive the Lady Cavendish Bentinck is, I suppose this was simply how it was meant to be,” Prince Leopold stated. “I doubt that you would be standing here to fight for Her Majesty—my mother—if you had attempted to… get her out of what she got into.” He turned back to the Earl and smiled. “I commend your work. Stand proud and firm, both of you—we have work yet to finish.”

“You are too kind.” Aberdeen could only do as told, smiling in defeat. All words of formality fell flat against the Prince.

The Prince’s words rang hollow for Kaitlyn, but he was right. There was work yet to finish. She couldn’t let herself get distracted with what was in the past.

Aramus felt some of the tension leave his shoulders after hearing that Elizabeth was safe, even if she had been bloodied. She did have a knack for getting into trouble, yes indeed. He made a mental note to thank both the Earl and Kaitlyn later, if he survived the upcoming fight of course.

The Duchess of Edinburgh came up to them from behind. With her, a younger lady with violet hair approached them.

“It seems like Miss Violet here was a target for assassination,” Frederica reported. “She also demands to take part in fighting for the Queen… she retains an injury, however. What shall we do, Prince?”

“Lord Aberdeen?”

“Of course, Your Highness.”

“Thank you…” Violet relaxed while the Earl casted a Creo Corpus spell to heal her wounds. There was a clear wound on her chest that was visible through her cleavage revealed from the dress. According to her, a vampire had attempted to assassinate her.

“A vampire holding a large scythe… you would not suppose she is the Representative of the Blood Countess?”

“Pardon my intrusion into the conversation,” Aramus said. “That would be Claudia and she is indeed the Representative of the Countess. We crossed blades not too long ago in Saudi Arabia.”

“It likely is the Claudia we have heard of from the previous Queen’s Meeting,” Frederica said before giving a nod to the rest of the people. “I shall head back to my position now.”

“Watch out for her Commandment, those silly dogs can be a pain to avoid,” Aramus advised.

Kaitlyn turned toward this man. She didn’t know why, but there was something about him that seemed vaguely familiar. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

Aramus nodded to Kaitlyn. She had been his senior in the Royal Council as an Enforcer in the past, but he hadn’t actually crossed paths with her on assignment. Unfortunately, now wasn’t the time for pleasantries.

“I too, shall take up to the other hallway that link to this place,” Aberdeen claimed after treating Violet’s wound. “The rest of you should remain.”

“Earl, at least take someone with you, or would you claim that they would get in the way?” the Prince said, making a wry smile.

“Your Highness catches on fast.”

Cinia Pacifica Ojou-sama Writer

8 years ago

The black winds formed and rotated. Wisps of flames formed and shrouded the Buckingham Palace. With the tornado in place, the palace was wrapped in an unceremonious curtain of darkness that locked all of its exits on the surface. On the palace grounds, the guards fought against the revolutionaries, the courtyard soon to be littered with the crimson of fellow countrymen.

“So it begins…”

“Yeah…”

Frederica and Christopher braced themselves for the coming battle, only sparing the clouds a glance through the windows.

“So, you have come…”

King Arthur looked down at the main halls which was once the vibrant scene of the previous year’s Queen’s Meeting.

The great evil—as the King would prefer to call it—entered.

“Mordred…”

“Father…”

A shining golden blade formed, and the King of Knights brandished his golden shining relic sword—the Excalibur—while his son took up a black sword.

“To think they managed to bring you back from the dead… Heh, I suppose I should give it to those people. Those prying fools.”

“This time… I will best you, and become the King, Father.”

A resounding clash of steel was heard as three mages prepared to cast magecraft to stop time around King Arthur. The floor surrounding Arthur and Mordred started to lose its colour.

The King of Knights faced Mordred, the Earl of Aberdeen could already feel the presence of a certain assassin, and Duchess Frederica was soon to meet the arsenal of Princess Louise along with Archmage Christopher—Prince Leopold tightened the grasp on the hilt of his sword, tense and alert.

Beyond the throne’s doors was the Queen—Victoria of the Heavens—burning with a just wrath that she was desperately trying to keep under the reins of her sanity. The sacrifices made for the culmination of efforts would pay off tonight in favour of Princess Louise, or she would go down by Her Majesty’s own hands.

Either way, the results would not be pretty.

Cinia Pacifica Ojou-sama Writer

8 years ago

The revolutionaries progressed through the palace floors in haste. The group was largely comprised of the aristocracy that desired the disappearance of the Queen and welcomed reforms—Princess Louise’s efforts had indeed bore its fruits at last. Not all aristocracy wished for the beneficial outcomes of the revolution skewed. Some had joined the fight with their own beliefs in justice in mind, especially for the most oppressed working class population of the country that suffered due to the inequality. The rest that made the group truly overbearing were cold-hearted mercenaries.

It may have been a case of noblesse oblige from the nobles that initially inspired this revolution, but now it was a mixed mould of many ideas and promises by the Royalty conspiring against the Queen. For example, some of those not from the nobility came from the military instead.

This great group of a grand size was mostly packed across the hallways, and of course the battlefield was not friendly enough for them to utilize their force to the maximum. However, Princess Beatrice was confident that they would make their way to the throne room tonight, which was known to be very spacious.

Among the mercenaries resided Michael, Charlotte, and Claudia, the three Representatives tasked with defeating Duchess Frederica. Those traveling with them revered the trio with respect simply because Princess Louise specifically chose them for the task out of all the other people that were quite skilled too.

“Oh? Well, this is unexpected,” Princess Louise nonchalantly remarked, finding Archmage Christopher standing beside Duchess Frederica of Edinburgh.

An army so large would easily be able to overcome the two vanguards in any normal situation, but now they faced an Archmage alongside a Diogene whom they needed to be rid of no matter what.

“Your Royal Highness… why?” Frederica asked in a tone as if she anticipated this outcome. “Even you, Lady Svetlana…” she added, finding Svetlana behind Princess Louise along with her army.

“Because it is necessary,” Princess Louise answered.

“I am sorry. I have my reasons for being here,” Svetlana said as she looked away. She was hoping Duchess Frederica wouldn’t be here.

“Traitors, the lot of you. I had honestly expected better of you, Lady Svetlana.” The Duchess looked over the army that the Princess had gathered with ire. “You have turned on the hand that attempted to give you a peaceful future.”

“I wanted that peaceful future. Until I was told it would be all taken away from us if I did not come.”

Frederica only gave Princess Louise one glance and realised what might’ve taken place, and gave up speaking with Svetlana. She was a lost cause to her now.

“Even if it is Your Royal Highness,” Christopher took up his right fist as he spoke, “I will show no mercy.”

“So be it. We shall press forward regardless.” Princess Louise gave Michael, Charlotte and Claudia—the trio of Representatives—a glance and they stepped forward.

“Archmage or no, Representatives are nothing to be frowned upon,” Princess Beatrice spoke to Louise with telepathy.

The two nodded off to each other.

(BGM: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dThByuApVuU

“You need not kill the Archmage, get the Duchess however you may,” Princess Louise commanded.

“It will be done, Your Highness,” Michael replied, voice garbled from taking on the form of a wraith. He summoned Caladbolg and shifted into a stance.

“At once, Your Highness.” A black blade materialized under the grasp of Charlotte BrontÃ«.

“Understood. Exterminate the Duchess…” Tucking her face into her scarf like usual, Claudia summoned Lachesis’ Fang.

Alek didn’t say a word, stepping forward and summoning his own blade as he took up his stance. No words communicated his intent as well as the sword he held.

He was attired in a mask made of black-painted steel to protect his identity, as well as the finest suit he wore, which he’d had tailored to be as form-fitting as he could without sacrificing flexibility. He’d even had all of the parts of it that didn’t need to move much reinforced with a steel mesh under the outer layer of cloth to act as a very lightweight suit of chainmail. His pants were similarly reinforced and made of the same pitch-black shade of cloth as the suit jacket with the whole thing offset by a blood-red tie.

All in all, he was nearly unrecognisable from his appearance during the planning session. Over his shoulder protruded the handle of Vinea, which was kept in a sheath on his back, with a black leather strap running over his shoulder with shiny silver steel rings on it to prevent it from getting damaged.

For a Duke, you are most pitiful indeed. “I suppose I should have expected this.” Princess Louise shrugged. “Come, we change our course now.” The group turned to the right, taking a different path to reach the throne, leaving the four behind to deal with the two enemies.

With the force of a thousand angry spirits, Claudia summoned the power of her Commandment. Shadows spread throughout the room—more than anyone else could count on their fingers—and gained shape. Claudia’s eyes glimmered bright red as her Infernal dogs came to her side, outnumbering the Duchess and the Archmage.

By her command—which was a single pointed finger—she sent them all in a pack towards the two, destroying everything in the room, and tearing upon their prey’s flesh.

The Infernal beasts of Claudia were howling as they were supposedly continuing to tear their targets up to send their two adversaries to their demise. The clouds of debris rose and filled the air. Moments later, however, Claudia only heard the cry of the Dragon instead of the demons.

On Christopher’s hand was the eyeball of the ghastly creature. It was squashed momentarily as he walked out of the smoke, extremely furious.

“I hope you brats are ready for this.”

The cloud shifted abnormally due to the pressure in the air that was created due to Michael and the Duchess clashing. Even if the Representative was cloaked in his strange shifting form, the Duchess could clearly anticipate his attacks due to her spiritual sensing, albeit for some reason it was very difficult to pick up on his trail.

Michael saw it, every twitch of the Duchess’ muscle as she made a stroke with her oversized sword. He anticipated her every movement, and reacted accordingly but even then, he failed to turn the tides to his favour. He managed to give her shallow cuts here and there, proving that she was having a hard time fighting against his spell. Pure white clanged against blackish silver as their blades crossed paths once more.

The smoke cleared when they clashed fiercely once more, both trying to overpower one another.

It was then that Michael saw something that he would not have noticed if he perceived time at a normal speed: the Duchess’ sword was subtly pulling backwards on her right. He increased his pressure on the Duchess’ sword and pushed harder and harder for her to concentrate on blocking his blade. Suddenly, he stepped back and grabbed Caladbolg by its blade and thrusted to her side as she stumbled forwards. Crimson blood stained the Duchess’ silver dress and dripped onto Michael’s pure white blade, until he pulled it out once more to dodge a retaliatory wild swing from her.

The blue wind blew past the Duchess and before she knew it, the cloaked figure whom she fought but a moment ago had vanished, summoning his speed once more.

While the Archmage was showboating, Alek was quietly chanting, “Ades Iovem imperium rex... fremunt lamina insistit priscosque deos immortales!” His sword crackled to life with electricity as his hand fairly danced along the length. Alek pointed the blade at Duchess Frederica, and chanted another spell, “Exaruit fons vitÃ¦, fons lucis, fons spei!” A shimmer passed through the air, headed towards the Duchess, and barely missed her, instead crashing harmlessly into the wall behind her.

“Claudia?” Alek began. “Focus on the target… I’ll hold the Archmage back long enough for you to focus on our target, okay?”

“Sort of what I was doing already but… alright,” Claudia said, taking a moment to scratch at her scalp.

Alek turned to the Archmage, and shouted at him, “You gonna get over here and fight? Or are you waiting for us to die of old age first?! Because I got a spoiler for you! We’d still win that fight!”

He chanted, “Duplicationem obruere , fucus, deducuntur stulta!” and tried to fool the Archmage’s perception as his image seemed to shift in the time it’d take one to blink. Alek charged forward, sparks trailing in his wake as his sword transcribed an arc in the air, slashing at the older man, determined to protect his allies’ flank at any cost. Christopher vanished just as his blade passed by.

(GM’s Comment: Player was totally off the handle at this point doing whatever incantation he wanted. So, eh, not one to disrupt his little fun I guess, but I haven’t really decided if that was how I wanted incantations to go in general in this world.)

To any ordinary warrior, the reflections off the spell would definitely confuse the senses, but for one who was a true master of the wind and the Dragon, the most subtle shift made it apparent to Christopher where the body of Alek was, especially due to all the rough and heavy chains he wore with him.

“That’s giving yourself away,” the Archmage coldly said, a downward blow striking at the back of Alek’s head as he struck with the side of his hand. To Alek who held the steel of the gauntlet granted to the Archmage by King Solomon, it felt as though the bones of his neck would sever. The Archmage’s knee brushed against his stomach next.

Aleksander wheezed out, “Intuentes in profundo veritatem et lumen animi,” and his original spell activated, allowing him to see strange wirings of mana all over the body of the Archmage that he couldn’t comprehend. He saw the Dragon howl at him when he looked at the Archmage, and his body froze at that moment. A punch on his cheek sent him flying from the hallways and into the wall all the way back.

He tried to rise up. His chainmail having absorbed most of the blow, he still felt relatively fine, albeit his cheek was swollen, and his helmet broke and fell apart from the brutal force of the Archmage’s fists.

On the other hand, Claudia swooped in close to the Duchess with a dash, drawing an arc as she attempted to bisect the her. The blade met against the darker blade of the Duchess with a clang. Sparks flew in every direction before they were carried by the navy-blue wind of Charlotte BrontÃ«’s Commandment.

Michael came down from the air with his blade facing the earth. The Duchess—who was preoccupied—did not notice in time and was stabbed in the back.

As Michael retracted his white sword, Claudia’s scythe dug past Frederica’s flesh, and her blood coated the floor. Charlotte’s black blade seemed to come afterwards and with unimaginable might, she pushed the Duchess away, who rolled across the floor.

“To think you of all people would be doing this…” Frederica stated with a hoarse voice. She picked herself up using her sword like a cane against the floor.

“To save her… I’d do everything.” Michael looked the Duchess in the eye as his wraith form dissipated. He raised his sword once more and charged, aiming to cut the Duchess’ head off. However, he overestimated the damage they had done to the Duchess as she still managed to parry his attack.

Michael tried to follow up with another slash, and it was still evaded.

Claudia’s scythe was about to draw another arc, yet a gauntlet firmly planted itself over her guts, making her gasp for air.

Christopher appeared without any warning, his speed unmatched even to the Representative of vampires. He opened his mouth and in place of air, flames blew out and swathed over the three Representatives, despite the navy-blue wind of Charlotte.

The magic fizzed out of existence as the spiritual energy devoured the spell, but by then the two had vanished.

“Did he just breathe fire on us?” Michael sat down on the floor, taking this moment to rest.

“Seems so,” Claudia replied, carelessly dusting soot from her coat sleeves with a grimace. That much power made the vampire sting all over. “They are more trouble than they are worth.”

Alek picked himself up off the ground with a grin. “I’m going to be sore for a couple of days at least…” He seemed oddly happy given what he’d just said. “A little bit of pain never hurt anyone though… Didn’t we sort of need to kill the Duchess so we’d have a shot at the Queen?” he asked as he jogged over, grasping his stomach gingerly.

“That was the plan, yes. Meaning we need to catch up with her, and fast,” Claudia answered.

“Him.” Michael stood up as he felt like he had rested enough. “Not her. She’s going to bleed to death unless he brings her to someone who can heal her. Unless he can. Then… In any case, we might need to fight him too.”

“Hey… this might not be the right time, man, but I wanted to let you know that I don’t have any hard feelings, alright?” Alek said. “I wouldn’t go as far as saying that you seem like an alright guy, but at the least I can respect your strength. I’m glad to be fighting with you, rather than against you.”

“Huh. Thanks?” Michael replied, surprised by Alek’s sudden apology. He was not sure what he was apologising for, but this was not the time for him to clarify.

“Alright, cool. I was being kind of a bitch earlier, so I’m glad we got it sorted out.”

Michael nodded towards Alek, unsure how to respond.

“The Duchess is gone from this plane,” Charlotte said, her left eye glowing navy-blue. “They escaped into the Void Realm. According to Princess Louise, our mission is complete as long as they are far away from the premises.”

“Do we have a method to make sure they would take some time to go back?” he asked his fellow Representative.

“No, but we need not apply such a thing. The Space Time Act already forbids the Archmage from casting the Astral Venture spell again.”

“Space Time Act—then I suppose we should head to the throne room now?” Michael replied, and then looked at his two other allies. “If we all are ready, that is.” His Wraith shroud reformed around him.

“We should move onwards,” Charlotte added.

Alek nodded. He collected the shattered pieces of his mask and quickly, and roughly, welded them back together with Ignem before using Aquam to cool them. He placed it back on his head, the glass lenses of the mask cracked to the point that he took it back off and just knocked them out with the point of his sword. He placed it back on his head once again, now without the lenses to hide his eyes. The end result being that everything except his pale blue irises were hidden by the black steel. “I am ready when you are, Miss Charlotte.”

(GM’s Comment: Oh shit. I call bullshit.).

Finally extracting the rest of the excess soot from her coat, Claudia nodded to Charlotte and the rest of her team.

“I certainly hope that you lot can keep up, especially you two.” She glanced to Michael and Alek, as if challenging them both—well, Michael in a challenging sense and Alek because she wanted more obstacles to throw at him, since he did opt to join the three after all.

“You know I can.” One could hear the smug tone of Michael’s voice.

“Of course, Claudia, It would take much more than that to put me down for good… That was really more of a pleasant Tuesday evening than anything serious,” Alek said.

“After you then, perverts.”

Alek simply smirked in a cocky manner, knowing it would trigger the sadistic side of his Mistress to take him down a few pegs. “With pleasure, fair lady.”

Michael just smiled to himself as he started walking.

Claudia pursed her lips at Alek, pausing for a moment. Did he just…

(GM’s Comment: Yep, he totally tried to copy Marco, having observed Marco in the past from some alternate dimension. Maybe.)

Cinia Pacifica Ojou-sama Writer

8 years ago

The final hallway that was the passage to the throne room in the Buckingham Palace was where Weiss found the Earl of Aberdeen, a Marquess. He was a famed magician, one of the best in the world for sure. He only smiled as Weiss hid behind a pillar. It seemed like he knew of her movements before she even entered the corridor.

He...already knew. There goes the element of surprise. Weiss stepped out with her rifle ready, aimed at the man’s head. She pulled the trigger as soon as possible, sending hot led at his face.

“Eager, are we?”

The wall behind the Earl received a hole, and Weiss found that his head was tilted. The Earl took up his hand. Through the palm shot out white, blinding flames. It exploded upon contact with Weiss, and the floors and the pillars were burning. However, Weiss was gone from sight.

Weiss did not respond to his statement. Instead, a loud screech could be heard from above. Weiss came down with her sword’s chains spinning fast. He tried to defend using his arm and succeeded, blocking the attack. She somersaulted back away from him.

With a snap of his fingers, more flames assaulted Weiss, and this time she found herself followed. Squashed against a pillar, she was forced to feel the full heat of the fire. Her skin was scalded and burnt, revealing some mechanical parts of herself.

Tch. She dashed in with her sword held by both of her hands. She stopped right in front of him and delivered a heavy downward slash, followed with a thrust and a kick. The only hit that connected was the kick. She jumped back, confused with what just happened.

“You lack discipline in swordsmanship.”

“Lack what now?” She holstered her sword on her back.

“Common sense required for a fighter, apparently.”

“I see. Fine.” She sank into the ground and traversed a few meters behind him. She reappeared and punched him in the back. The punch met with a wall of flames, and her knuckles were thus burned.

“You have to try harder than that.” With a flick of his hand, a new wave of flames ravaged Weiss’ body.

She sank in the ground to subdue the flames. This is getting really annoying. The room started to get covered by a strange white mist.

The Earl took out a handkerchief and covered his nose. The mists seemed to cause the flames to extinguish mysteriously.

Weiss reappeared from the ground and dashed in again on the Earl. She punched his gut and gave him an uppercut directly to his jaw, sending him flying. The Earl sent a beam of flare at her. Dodging, Weiss heard the noise of shattering glass and found that he had escaped through a window.

Tch, he ran away. Weiss followed him out to the courtyard. There he is! She saw him fly up using the winds from the black tornado that surrounded the palace. She jumped into the tornado and followed him. She used the winds and attempted to punch him from below, but it fell short.

Finding the assassin within his vicinity, the Earl kicked, and she fell back into the torrent of air and was swept away.

Cries of steel echoed as a pair of warriors fought high up in the air above the palace. They were seemingly in their own league, but this distracted didn’t last long for the Earl and the assassin.

When Weiss looked down from them, she found the Earl sending down flames at her. Weiss easily evaded the fireballs aimed directly at her. She spun fast and used it to get closer to the Earl. She tried to punch him again, but this time on his face. It was a direct hit and it made the Earl go down further.

Escaping from the black tornado, the Earl leapt out into the city. Flames and ice hurled past him, and he looked down at mages stationed across the Buckingham Palace by Princess Louise’s orders. The Earl scoffed and used the spell Hermes’ Step, wings blossoming at his feet before he leapt again from the walls and into the city just as a streak of lightning attempted to burn him down.

Weiss followed him down to the city after he disappeared. She remembered that if the Earl would escape, the barrier would be weakened. He’ll be dead before he returns anyway. She looked at the map that was given by her before. The throne is right here, if I go after him I won’t make it. Charlotte is there too. I should help her. She folded the map and leaped towards the Buckingham House to get to the throne.

Unfortunately for Weiss, little did she knew that the black wall of winds would be quite time-consuming to break through.

Cinia Pacifica Ojou-sama Writer

8 years ago

“You would reclaim the throne? You? Your worth is as good as mud after all these centuries.”

“You are blinded by the time, Father. I have arisen once more—this is the will of destiny. Nothing can stop me. Not even you.”

The two legendary relics struck against one another. Repeatedly, the blades sliced through the air and met with a resounding cry, the air surrounding the two heating up due to the friction and sparks. They displayed mastery over ancient swordsmanship and were in a league of their own. Spiritual energy thus danced with them at every turn in the space that was lifeless; black and white. If anyone would stand close to the vortex that swirled around them; they would surely be shred to smithereens.

Even with the spell for stopping time in the space where King Arthur was, it proved to be nigh ineffective when the King himself was not falling.

The ancient King of Knights and his son flew up, breaking past the roof as they clashed, dancing and alternating before they tore through the obstacles that kept them bound inside the palace. They created loud and bright sparks across the skies as steel collided with steel. It almost looked like shockwaves could be creating the light shows, but it was indeed the Descendant and his son.

They were thus embraced by the dark winds of the tornado, the vortex of spiritual energy, and their own blades in the sky atop the residence of Queen Victoria.

A wave of black mass was generated by the sword of the ancient knight, and a wave of blinding light formed from the top of the ancient King. As the Royal residence bathed in the light of the battle, more battles were to wage on below them.

When Constance, Gracie, and David attempted to follow, the assistant of Arthur—the Director of the Royal Academy—approached them, forcing them back from pursuing with magic, an obstacle of ice forming all around them, sealing the exit in the ceiling.

“Students shan't be loitering here so late at night,” Amrita began, wearing her black suit like she would in class, holding a tome under her small arm. “Go to bed, children.”

“Out of the way, runt!” shouted Constance.

“What was that…?”

The tome flew open before Amrita, and ancient runes floated about beside her. The tiny body of the teacher grew in size tremendously, giving out an ear-piercing roar as she grew white fur.

“What in the name of…” David said, looking up to what Amrita turned into.

“Say that again?” Amrita said with her monstrous voice, having become a Yeti clad in a black suit, unleashing the power of the Lost Form of Heartbeast. The roar generated from her words froze their shoes and heels to the floor, and they were unable to take evasive measures.

Before the three could react, the paw of the beast fell upon them and the wave tossed them away in differing directions before debris masked the surroundings.

“None shall stand in the way of my King.”

Cinia Pacifica Ojou-sama Writer

8 years ago

“Oh my, dear brother, so you were here indeed.”

“…No, my Sisters… why would you both—of all people—do such a thing?”

“You should know by now, my dear Brother—regarding the state of the British Empire and its lost radiance.”

While Princess Louise and Prince Leopold’s exchange took place, the atmosphere was tense with bloodlust and alertness between the guards and the revolutionaries, both sides glaring down at one another.

The Enforcers eventually couldn’t help but feel nearly powerless despite their facade of bravery. There was a myriad of enemies, and the members of the temporarily dismantled Royal Council were clearly outnumbered. In fact, some of the rebels were members of the Royal Council from what it seemed, making matters even worse. Through various means, Louise had raised her followers exponentially over the past few months, or had she been raising her numbers for more than a year now? The Enforcers could hardly tell, for they were the least privy with politics.

“Indeed, with the corruption and our mother’s policies—and perhaps her lack of will to finish this war with Japan—this chain of suffering will only repeat,” Princess Beatrice stated.

“Scheming and plotting as ever, I see,” Prince Leopold remarked as he eyed over the army that Princess Louise had brought with her. His eyes fell on Lady Svetlana Astakhova Alicia, the Duchess of Norfolk, a woman who had been granted the privilege of nobility and a supposed peace by his mother. “Lady Alicia… even you?” he said with a lighter tone, making a grimace afterwards. He looked back to Louise with a frown. “Is involving people against their will a part of your new policies to come too, my dear Sisters?”

“Oh dear, I wonder what you speak of, Brother,” Princess Louise calmly replied, shrugging, making her trademark smirk.

Svetlana looked away, hating that Prince Leopold had to see her on the rebels’ side. I am sorry, Svetland said in her thoughts, wanting to tell him directly.

“I cannot believe that you would work for the revolutionaries too… Mister Griswold, even if I had my doubts. You were still a great teacher to me,” Leopold said, and Griswold shrugged.

“You are free to cast away your doubts then, Your Royal Highness,” Griswold replied.

The Palace shook from distant forces wreaking havoc, and the walls carried these pressures far, making it very evident that battles were taking place elsewhere as they were speaking.

“Regardless of your agenda, this is treason—Louise, Beatrice… and I must see to it that you and your army of rebels be stopped—regardless of our siblingship.”

“I hope you are prepared for the consequences then, Leopold,” Beatrice said, also making a smirk like her sister.

These words inspired a cheer from the masses behind the two Royal Princesses.

(BGM: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3h2TR0aby0M)

The Prince drew his blade that shined against the Engine lights of the chandeliers that hung from the ornate ceiling, just as the revolutionaries behind the Princesses did. The Enforcers also drew their weapons, as did the Magisters—Aramus Linfield and Violet, the daughter of the Marquess of Abergavenny.

Princess Louise produced a silver wand while Princess Beatrice drew her rapier.

Svetlana readied herself, still not wanting to fight as she felt conflicted. Even though she was doing this for Isabelle, she wondered what her sister would think of her if she knew she was fighting for the revolutionaries.

Kaitlyn hadn’t expected to face the people before her, not ever. She didn’t know what was more shocking, the Royal Princesses or Griswold.

The amount of traitors deepened Aramus’ frown as he tried to gauge their forces. They were outnumbered pretty badly. There were even a few familiar faces from his time as a student scholar and an Enforcer of the Royal Council, such as Griswold, one of the Royal Academy’s teachers. As much as he’d love to personally deal with each of them, either his fists would give out from exhaustion or he’d die first. Anger smouldered beneath the surface as he turned his attention to the ringleaders. Not one but two of the Royal Princesses had taken up arms. How many others had joined hands but not revealed themselves? However there was one face that struck him greater than the rest of the pawns, the presence of the one known as Svetlana Astakhov Alicia. Fists clenched tighter and Aramus felt disappointment join the mix of emotions in his heart as it sank. Had she played him all along?

Svetlana noticed Aramus among the Queen’s men and felt worse about what she was doing. But she knew she couldn’t do anything about it now.

“Prince Leopold, orders?” Aramus voiced, not taking his eyes off the rebels.

“Please allow us to take action,” Lady Violet stated.

“I’ll go where Your Highness needs me,” Kaitlyn said.

The Prince gave only a glare full of coldness at the enemies now as he was urged by the Enforcers behind him. He took up his blade and pointed it at Princess Louise and Princess Beatrice with great ire.

“For the charge of treason against the Royal Queen of Britain, I authorize the usage of Supreme spells—even for those lacking the appropriate title. Lay waste to the rebels—take down their numbers however much you may. The leaders are nothing without their tall number,” Prince Leopold thus commanded. “I shall hold off the Royal Princesses. Now go!”

“Today we reclaim the throne from the Queen. Let us show the enemies the determination we hold for our country!” Princess Louise too, commanded.

With a warcry, both sides erupted with fury and anger as they warred against their fellow countrymen. The air was defiled by Ignem and Aquam first before Aurum and Terram took the stage. It was no surprise that the Enforcers were overwhelmed in but moments as the enormous amounts of spell clashed against the three Enforcers that stood vigil before the throne’s gate. These three Enforcers were indeed skilled, but the Prince would’ve preferred more of them by his side, as they created both a barrier and sent forth a flurry of spells in return towards their adversaries.

“Supreme spells…” Lady Violet repeated the term, and a rare smirk crept up to her face while the chaos ran rampant in the hallway. Her right arm transformed and became lightning itself, violently sparkling about. “Holy Wrath—God’s Hammer.”

The air shimmered and distorted around Kaitlyn as she called forth her mana as she stood behind the safeguarding barrier created by her comrades. The first boulder started from nothing, a red-hot dot that crackled as it expanded in the span of a second. Steam spilled off it as it cooled. At her will, it launched forward, colliding with a man head on. The momentum sent him crashing backward into another rebel.

“With pleasure,” Aramus replied as he pumped both gauntlets, twin spheres of flame flaring to life. As the flames burned brighter, so did his expression. A sadistic smile a mile wide accompanied a surge of bloodlust as Aramus leaped into the horde from the grounds covered by the barrier. He would burn away all the filth until nothing remained.

Princess Beatrice’s fencing sword danced, and she sent thrusts that made the air itself quiver as per her will. Intercepting the blows, Prince Leopold nimbly parried and countered. Evading a beam by a single inch he survived the Void Ray of Princess Louise, who was embraced by the darkness of her Lost Form but only momentarily.

“To be able to use the Void without using the stance spell…” The Prince narrowed his eyes at Louise who seemed to have transcended the known boundaries of the Lost Form. A miraculous feat. It dawned upon the Prince that he may not best the Princesses alone after all, but the circumstances presented to him no other choice. “But without the stance it would not be enough!” With a swing, he cut the next Void Ray in two. He ground his teeth, looking at the aftermath as the stray magics damaged the barrier that he stood vigil before.

At the same time, an explosive thunder was heard and Lady Violet flayed dozens of men alive with her lightning arm. She hacked and slashed at the revolutionaries with her Supreme spell, dancing as though it was a party to her; some of her sister’s traits finally started to show in her.

The Prince cut through a series of spells casted by the revolutionaries behind Princess Louise, but his efforts didn’t go rewarded as the barrier behind him finally fell. Leopold spared the three guards a glance. “I shall hold the fort, go!”

The three Enforcers of the Queen thus leapt forth into action, fluidly letting loose the cold steel they hid under their sheathes. Cries of the revolutionaries thus filled the halls but were soon drowned out from the booming noises of the spells that both sides casted repeatedly.

Kaitlyn formed another boulder and sent it flying only for it to meet a gust of razor wind and shatter. She didn’t hesitate. She formed another one and attacked, this one more successful. Even as it crashed into a group of rebels, she created yet another boulder and launched it. She repeated this several times over, some finding their marks, others getting destroyed in midair.

As the guards came attacking their flanks, Griswold parried the many attacks of the Enforcer who wielded a sword with practiced grace. Before the sword could hack him in two, a snake caught the blade, rushing out of his sleeve, before slithering down the blade and eventually biting at the Enforcer’s hand. The snake jumped up and bit repeatedly into his neck before he fell, coating the red carpet a deeper shade of crimson.

When one of the guards of the throne came before Svetlana, a ball of flame formed beside her palm and she set ablaze her opponent before he could lay his weapon down on her.

Bodies trailing vital fluid were sent flying, some in pieces, others ablaze as Aramus worked his way through the rebels. The mad grin remained plastered on his face as he darted from group to group in no particular order and very soon, the stench of cooked flesh began to fill the hallways they were in. He was forced to leap back as lightning passed too close for comfort.

“I’ll show you some [b]real[/i] firepower!” Aramus yelled as he focused mana into his palms, culminating in a fluctuating orb of energy just in front of his chest. A quick Tornado Veil deflected most spells aimed his way as he began to charge the Tesla Sidewinder, pouring an overwhelming amount of his energy into the spell.

Lady Violet jumped out of the crowd, some droplets of blood raining before she landed beside Aramus, noting the powerful spell being prepared. The Prince pushed Princess Beatrice back with a slash of his sword, and everyone on their side was behind Aramus now. Their numbers had undoubtedly dwindled by now.

With a blinding flash and discharge of air, Aramus released a wide, slicing beam of energy into the middle of the enemy forces. Everything in its path melted and disintegrated into nothing as a swath was cut, colliding against a powerful barrier lodged before Princess Louise and Beatrice. As the energy waves broke out from the barrier and flew past it, many of the rebels were burned to death instantly.

When the plasma subsided, Aramus saw a spirit of a lady in white cradling a man he found very familiar—his very own brother, Michael. Protected by Flora’s spirit, he had withstood the Tesla Sidewinder and protected the Princesses. Pure white light shrouded both the spirit and Michael, similar to his sigil.

“Magister.”

Beside Michael stood Claudia and Charlotte BrontÃ«. Aleksander was of course beside his so-called Mistress, with his face masked.

Lady Violet leapt, her face full of disbelief at the barrier that blocked the Tesla Sidewinder of Aramus. Like a hammer, she brought down her arm of lightning against the barrier of Flora but it was for naught, as her lightning was disrupted. She blocked some stray spells launched by the revolutionaries from behind the barrier and thus fell back to the Prince’s side, frowning at the powerful barrier that protected them.

Now that their own barrier was lost, and the numbers of the enemies were still greater, they were at an even greater disadvantage.

Aramus snapped forward, raising his voice in anger and confusion. Why the hell was he aiding these fiends?

“Michael! What the hell are you doing?”

“You were right,” Michael started, as he raised his hand to touch Flora’s cheek. His hand felt a familiar warmth, but it failed to touch anything solid. As sudden as she appeared, Flora dispersed into a swarm of particles as he tried to touch her. He closed his hand into a fist and lowered it as he faced his brother once more. “I shouldn’t let my hate control me. I needed her power.”

“Who? Whose power?” Aramus demanded of his brother.

“When she took me… and wiped it all out. It was the first time I felt peace after a very long time.” He turned his gaze upwards wistfully. “But I sought her power. Even when faced with the might of an army, and against two Descendants… she lived. That is what I need to save her.”

“TRAITOR!” Aramus thundered, lightning erupting from his person as anger got the better of him.

The revolutionaries seemed rather confused by the exchange of words. Thankfully, Michael was being vague to keep the matter private to an extent. While Princess Louise was aware of the subject, the rest of the present Royalty did not understand the exchange.

Suffice it to say, Princess Louise viewed the banter with amusement, a fitting distraction for the stage for her plot to succeed.

“Why? What have you done to save her?” Michael pointed, raising his arm towards Aramus as Caladbolg started to form.

“Do you always talk this much?” Aleksander asked, finally unsheathing his greatsword and hefting it in one hand, even if it was soon to make his arm feel like dropping from the weight. “You’re in the way, Aramus Valmark. So move.”

Aramus said nothing to either of them as the greatsword was drawn, his eyes widening as he recalled who had previously owned it. She who had saved his life, given him a temporary home and for a brief period, treated him like one of them.

“Duchess Caroline…”

“So it was him…” Prince Leopold said, his view now shifting to the masked Alek from the Princesses. “You dare hold the blade—the heirloom—of the Cavendish Bentinck’s household?”

Kaitlyn took an involuntary step forward. “Does that mean he’s the one who…”

“Oh? You recognise this blade?” Alek asked, gripping it in two hands now. “Then I’m guessing you know how I got it…”

Svetlana stood still for a second before she was filled with rage. “Then… you are the one who did that to her!” Svetlana’s relic blade Gram materialized and thus she made way for Alek not caring for anyone else or the revolution at that moment.

Princess Louise pulled Svetlana by her shoulder to stop her.

“Now is not the time, Duchess Alicia.”

“You were the one who had Duchess Caroline assassinated!”

“And? I had you assassinate others too. Problem? If you have a problem with Mister Fane, deal with him later.”

For his part, Aleksander did seem remorseful that she had to die and that it had made so many people upset. This much was evident to Svetlana at least. “I am sorry, Duchess. I don’t regret following orders, but I do regret that someone who clearly meant quite a bit to so many people had to die.”

(GM: What a paragraph… it’s so full of contradiction.)

“I could care less about what you have to say, you are dead once this is over!”

“Really? Well that’s too bad, I suppose. I guess you’d better do your best to help us, so that you can kill me afterwards, right?”

“That little head of yours is gonna be rolling on the ground soon,” Svetlana said as she put her Gram away.

“If you say so, Svetlana.” Alek smirked. “I know not why you take such grave offense to my actions, to the exclusion of my compatriots in that deed… perhaps you’d care to take all of us on at the same time, if you’re so eager to avenge the late Lady Cavendish?”

Claudia scoffed. “You are welcome to exact your revenge,” she said simply. “But such an endeavour is to be saved for later. Right now, the enemy is staring down our throats.”

“Is this even the place for such a talk?” Charlotte said, a little annoyed by Alek’s unnecessary banters. Some of the others behind her burst out into a laughter at last, unable to stifle any longer from the childishness that was put forth in the stage of revolution.

Why am I even working for them now! Would Isabelle even be happy if she knew I was working for her aunt’s murderers?! Svetlana thought as she wanted to strike at Alek. Even at Princess Louise, but she refrained since if she failed, and the rebels succeeded with their plans, she feared the worst would happen to both Isabelle and herself.

A resounding crack echoed across the room, effectively silencing any more conversation. Aramus grasped the hilt of Alptraum as it cratered the ground, his eyes blazing with anger at the masked rebel. “You… You will be begging for death by the time I’m done with you.”

“Hah… only one person is allowed to make me beg, and you aren’t her.”

Claudia’s face almost scrunched up with disgust. “Enough already…”

The boulder formed even before Kaitlyn realized what was happening and hurled at the masked man’s face. It sailed harmlessly past, burning into nothing as a razor sharp wind clashed against it from an enemy behind Alek, who laughed loud, long, and with more than a bit of sincerity.

“Since I feel bad for you, I’ll go easy, and use my other sword. You’re more than welcome to take Vinea… if you can.” Alek sheathed the greatsword, and once more summoned Colada.

“Should we all help him?” Griswold whispered the question to Princess Louise. “Rather, shall we allow this… nonsense to go on?” You are rather a petty man, Mister Fane.

“This may be a good opportunity to strike seeing as most are lost to the current quarrel,” Charlotte advised. “I am a little ashamed, however… to think my student—who is supposedly a Duke—is a person like this…”

“Is this… what they call †˜a battle of words?’ Because I am dying,” Michael deadpanned.

“No, the Prince still has his eyes on us,” Princess Louise said. “However, even he would not suspect it… Beatrice, you know what to do. Let us use this man to distract them. It is the least that clown may do for us.”

“I shall do just that then,” Princess Beatrice replied. “Just make sure their foolishness lasts.”

Michael quietly unsummoned his relic and took this opportunity to disappear in the crowd. All eyes would’ve been on the quarrel and the Royal Princesses, and without a relic in hand he would just be another face in it.

Aramus scrutinised the new sword after that swine had sheathed Vinea. If he could not summon it, then he was not its master yet, but that sword—he had seen it before. One year ago, in the fight with Virgo. The one who had callously spoken to the Queen whilst Aramus had laid his head to the ground—Princess Louise’s so-called guardian. Aramus recalled their brief conversation and only now realised it was another pack of lies.

“FANE! You scumbag!” Aramus yelled at the top of his voice.

Lady Violet looked at Aramus as he addressed Alek and then back to him, the traitor. “And here I was trusting you… how could you?!” she exclaimed in surprise, before giving a most disappointed look. To think I was his date… Disgusting.

Alek shrugged. “I am sorry Miss Violet. I must continue the work of my uncle, and fight to see the men and women of this country unbound from that tyrant’s shackles.”

“Your uncle was a power hungry man unlike the ideals you speak of, Mister Fane,” Violet replied. “He would be the epitome of a tyrant if he could attain greater power.”

“I do not agree with his selfish reasoning for doing what he did. With that said, it is fair to say that I too, wish to become more powerful. It’s a shame that you’re so hung up on your Queen, since we could have been so good together.” Alek then turned to Aramus. “Valmark, still the dog of the Liar Queen, I see.” Alek taunted the other Magister that was helping the Queen, a shit-eating grin under his mask. “Lay down your arms and leave, you don’t have to die tonight.”

Aramus thought of all those that stood against him. Michael, Claudia, Alek and Svetlana. Friends and enemies alike. The betrayal sundered his heart and it was an almost physical pain. The Witness harnessed that pain to his advantage. “You know nothing, runt. You fight ONE Descendent and you think you’re such hot stuff? Don’t make me laugh.”

As Aramus was talking, Alek quietly muttered spells, preparing for a fight. “Sit ne introducas motibus errant, ut veram iustamque percutiat et prudentia hostis animum cognoscere…” His emotions deadend at this one. “Videte vocationem , servus flammam!” A being of purest flame sprung forth from seemingly nothing, standing at an imposing eight feet tall and glowering down at the other Magister.

“Magister,” Kaitlyn called. “You melt his face off, I’ll break his knees.”

“Call off your attack mutt. I will not condone her spoiling the honour of our duel,” Alek said in a near monotone, already predicting Aramus’ first line of attack. “It is the strength of my conviction in my patron that gives me such confidence. I will not die today, for there is too much yet to be done for her glory.”

Speaking so highly… was this really how I behaved? Claudia’s face truly did scrunch up that time. Never before had she been so appalled from a single person in her life. Perhaps Alek was somehow a tad too much like her. Disgusting fool…

“I don’t think you understand,” Kaitlyn said. “There’s a certain lady I know whose mother you murdered.”

“Miss Mercer, I will handle this. It’s personal,” Aramus decided arbitrarily. “The Prince can’t afford to waste both of us on him.”

Michael came down from the air behind Aramus, attempting to stab him in the back. He took the time while Alek distracted their opponents to slip out of their vision, masking his presence as they continued bantering, biding his time to seize the opportunity for a perfect strike.

The Prince’s sword intercepted, however, saving Aramus and deflecting the white sword.

“Tch.” The Representative leapt away when a counter was made, but by then it was too late.

The ominous creaking noise of the door opening was heard.

“Beatrice, you…!” the Prince snarled, seeing the spell that seemed to go off from the Princess’ hand. “Has the Diogenes fallen?!”

Princess Louise raised her wand. “Playtime is over, dear brother.” With a powerful blast of wind, the Prince and his allies were pushed back into the throne room.

By this time, only the Prince, Aramus, Kaitlyn, and Violet were alive, while the rest of the Enforcers had been killed by the other revolutionaries.

Cinia Pacifica Ojou-sama Writer

8 years ago

The Queen only stared down at the arrival of the people into the room from the throne.

Her Majesty donned the proper dress of that of a Royal Queen. It was long and gorgeous beyond compare even to the Royal Princesses, with graceful frills at the ends of her long and airy sleeves. The dress was a mix of red and gold, accentuating the majesty and regality of the Queen of Britain.

There was a stark contrast compared to the other times one would meet Alexandrina Victoria.

At this very moment, Victoria was truly a magnificent figure befitting the throne, and there was no hint of fear in her facial expression whatsoever, only facing the rebels with a cold and intense gaze. They were the enemies of the British Empire, and she would render upon them holy judgement.

Aramus scrambled to his feet before his monarch, a tad slow as Michael’s last act weighed on him, placing himself squarely between Her Majesty and the revolutionaries.

At the same time, Kaitlyn rolled to a crouch. She kept her focus on the enemy as they strode in after them, a task made more difficult than it should have been at the realisation that the Queen was just behind her.

Aleksander strolled into the throne room, and saw the Queen on her throne. Tonight… tonight she gets what she has coming to her…

Michael walked into the room nonchalantly. His surprise attack had failed, but at least they had the numbers to hopefully survive this fight.

Unlike the others who walked in on the floor, Claudia was on the ceiling high above, entering as casually as the wind. The Representative dislodged and landed next to her comrades, glaring at Victoria as she would do anyone.

Charlotte walked with grace, her figure and expression carrying with them her solemnity. Why was everyone else so focused on being casual in an important occasion concerning their country? The logic of that was lost to her.

(BGM: http://www.infinitelooper.com/?v=ff2tM4-nZA0&p=n)

“Mother, good evening,” Princess Louise began with a smirk. “How does it feel to be at the comfort of your throne while your loyal subjects’ blood rolls over the floor?”

“I find in me no words appropriate to grace your question,” the Queen answered, no hint of emotion in her voice.

Princess Louise felt a tinge of disappointment as she made a wry smile. She believed her mother would show at least a little bit of despair at her daughter’s betrayal. Even with Princess Beatrice beside her, it seemed to not make a difference.

“How boring,” Her Highness thus expressed.

“Mother!” Leopold called out. “You must make your escape, I do not think we can protect you at this rate.”

“Escape…?” The Queen looked down at her son as if he was speaking nonsense. In fact, the Queen probably held such a belief. “No, this is a burden for me to bear alone, Leopold. I have a duty to this throne—the land and the people of Britain. It is you who should escape.”

“M...Mother?” Prince Leopold looked at his mother with confusion, his expression eased and he was lost for words. Her calmness in the face of such an army was unnerving. Is this truly what it meant to be a monarch?

“About to drop your petty farce, my dear mother?” Louise asked, stepping forward.

“Your rule shall end tonight, Mother,” Beatrice stated, standing beside Louise. “No longer shall you be the tyrant that rules the Magic World.”

There was a cheer loud enough for it to echo throughout the halls beyond the hall of the throne. The rest of the army stopped a pace behind the two Princesses, all of them ready to cast magic at a moment’s notice.

“I shall gratefully accept the title of a tyrant if that is what I am for catering to the safety of my people.”

The Queen’s eyes took on a golden shade. Nature would abide the Queen tonight for it was the will of the Heavens. Spiritual energy began to spike up and if Frederica were to sense it, she would likely feel a sharp headache—for this power was already comparative to what Virgo had displayed in her invasion from a year ago.

“You have quite the gall for speaking such words. Who was it that caused the war to be prolonged? I know what you did, mother—casting us mere human beings off the plane of the Dominion Realm! Is that not correct, God? Or would it be more appropriate to call you a Goddess now considering the gender?”

Queen Victoria departed from her throne as she heard the claims of her daughter, not denying any of them. Instead, she cast her glance down at the Princesses for a moment—that plotted against her—and the rest whom followed her here, all the way to the throne. There was a momentary look of disdain—no, pity.

“Regardless of your excuses to seize the throne, I shall not approve of the indiscriminate act of taking the lives of people.” The words of the Queen thus echoed, her voice filled with Divine grace. It inspired a fear for the so-called Goddess that she was upon the revolutionaries in that instant. “All those members of the nobility you have murdered were innocent. There lies no sin in loyalty and sincerity. The blood of the innocents that wept across the grounds of Britain could surely pave the way to a greater future if not for your sinister actions.” Victoria paused before she enquired, “What is the type of future you wish to safeguard, dear Louise… and Beatrice?”

“Of course, a very different future.” Beatrice’s smirk grew wider.

“If that is what you really believe, I have no more words to spare. Die for the sake of England!” Louise announced.

“What… what is wrong with you people?” Leopold said, confused, taking a few steps back towards the throne. He looked at his mother—accused of being a God?—and the rebels. None of this made sense. However, one thing was certain, his heart told him that he should trust his mother more, and not waver now.

“I, Victoria of the Heavens call upon the wrath of the Divine. May the Sun show itself. My loyal retainers of the Heaven—sally forth. By the name of the holy God—Odin—I summon thee!”

A powerful, invisible wave was given away from Queen Victoria, making the individuals across the throne room crouch due to the intensity. The Queen of Britain was embraced by a holy light—her Spiritual Energy.

The Godly powers of the Descendant had been unleashed.

“So you show your true colours at last… Leo!” Louise declared, leering at the Queen’s eyes. “O courageous revolutionaries, know your adversary of the night—a Descendant of Time who played her countrymen for fools for centuries.”

“The Queen is… Leo…” Violet looked down, but she did not feel anything negative about the Queen. Even now, the one who appeared more antagonistic was Princess Louise to her. Despite her teachings from childhood, this was simply how she felt. “If it is a ruler, it is better for someone with great power to be in place.” After having lost her parents who were both loyal to the Queen, there had to be something about the monarch that they had placed their trust in. If that was so, then she too would place her trust in the Queen.

Cries of confusion turned to cries of rage and anger towards the Queen, and their morale was boosted by the truth they witnessed, and the speech they had heard. They all thus called her the †˜Liar Queen’—shouting the new nickname at her to insult Her Majesty—a name coined in by Alek.

Kaitlyn’s mouth dropped open. The Queen, a Descendant. There was a Descendant standing behind the Enforcer, and she was offering to defend her. May as well try to bust a door down with my head. It’d make just as much sense. Yet she held her ground. It was as the Queen said, Descendant or not, she was trying to help. Right?

Michael rested his blade on his shoulders as he stood up. So the Queen is the Descendant of Leo, and ruled the Dominion Realm. He finally understood how she had managed to order Uriel around, and a tinge of worry painted his resolve. Would he be able to use Heaven’s weapons against their ruler?

“We planned for this, yes?” he asked to no one in particular.

Not necessarily starstruck, nor impressed by the sight, Claudia gave a pained scoff for the third time today. If she hadn’t already known of this information, her reaction would had been a lot more amazed.

“Tch… and it finally comes out,” the stoic vampire said.

“So Her Majesty finally reveals herself…” Charlotte commented, marveling at the Queen’s powers. “Was this the power you used to once save Mary…?”

I suppose I must try if I do not want to die, Svetlana thought. She already knew the Queen was Leo herself, but never thought that she would face Her Majesty this way.

Alek gave a pointed glance at Aramus as he pulled himself back up. “Still feeling self-righteous?”

Aramus made no move to answer Alek, instead turning his attention to Queen Victoria. His eyes shone with admiration and he smiled. “My Queen.”

“You really are a bloody fool, aren’t you…?” Alek sighed and attempted to rub the bridge of his nose, forgetting about his mask.

“Focus. We do not want a repeat of last year’s events. We must win this one,” Michael coldly stated.

“Not while I draw breath.” Aramus levelled a glare at both Alek and Michael.

Michael just frowned back at the Magister.

“Then I imagine you won’t continue to do so for much longer…” Alek sarcastically commented, levelling Colada once more.

Alexandrina Victoria held her hands before her chest as if in fervent prayer. The environment started to warp as Queen Victoria’s spiritual energy spread across the room. However, the change stopped moments later. The Queen herself appeared to be perplexed for the first time in the evening.

“We came prepared, just so you know, Your Majesty.” Princess Louise laughed.

A strange phenomena countered by another that couldn’t even be identified—this was indeed unexpected for the Queen.

“Finally, Sister. We came so far…” Princess Beatrice said from beside Louise. “A step more left for our liberty.”

Princess Louise gave a nod. “Indeed, now Her Majesty here is all that is left.”

The Queen took her arm up and had it face the heavens above. Spiritual Energy seemed to materialize, shrouding Her Majesty with a gold radiance.

“By my grace I call upon thee—the blade bound to cleanse the world anew—to cleave all evil in existence. O Gungnir, come to my side.”

All commotion was dispelled as the revolutionaries witnessed a Divine sphere of light forming before their very eyes. This blazing form warped into the shape of a lance, thus the ancient relic was brought into existence. The Queen took hold of the golden lance when its light subsided, revealing its ancient, ornate designs. On the lance that was said to be the symbol of power of Odin—one could see at its very peak a round blade fashioned similarly to a drill.

There was a glint in the golden eyes of Victoria that burned with power. Her Majesty was indeed serious as she gave the residents of the hall a choice to make: “I shall not condone those who would turn away from my side. Nor shall I deliver judgement to those rebels who would leave now. Make your decisions wisely, children of man.”

Immediately stepping towards Queen Victoria, Aramus renewed his pledge to Her Majesty with a bow. “I will be with Your Majesty till the very end.”

“I shall not leave. Regardless of its downsides the country has indeed prospered, and lives were saved in the war,” Violet said. “We shall not allow Your Majesty’s reign to fall.”

The Queen’s offer was tempting, but Kaitlyn needed to only look once more at the masked figure of Fane. “If leaving means surrendering to a crooked man like him, then Your Majesty may have my sword on her side.”

“I shall not leave your side, Mother,” Leopold said resolutely, drawing his sword once more. “I would regret it all my life.”

“I am assuming Dana would want us to see this to its bitter end?” Michael asked Charlotte.

“The Queen is our Mistress’ nemesis, after all,” Charlotte replied, remembering how the battle had ended with Virgo from a year ago. The war that Virgo waged was fought against Leo’s forces, after all. Just that no one knew they were fighting for Leo, the Queen who ruled over Britain, and all of the Magic World.

“Just making sure.” Michael shrugged.

“Doesn't matter. Just more heads to cleave.” Claudia readjusted her grip on her scythe and scoffed. She was disappointed to see how indoctrinated Aramus—a man she once referred to as her brother—had become to the Queen’s twisted will.

(GM’s Comment: “Twisted,” she says. [Irony intensifies.] On a more serious note: I love to make fun of Claudia, but it’s actually a good thing that she is in-character at important times like these. Kek.)

“I will fight for my countrymen who cannot,” Alek stated, tone completely flat.

“Is that why you killed the widow of the Duke who got you your status back?” Kaitlyn asked.

“I did not kill her out of spite, or even any particular desire. The real snake here is our so-called Queen, and Caroline could have simply been a good person deceived by her trickery. I bear no ill-will towards Lady Elizabeth, and if she should desire it, I am willing to return her family’s sword.”

Kaitlyn spat. “So you’re saying you did it for a higher purpose, huh? Sounds like a pretty damn good excuse.”

Alek shrugged. “I won’t explain myself to you. I don’t even know who you are, and yet you demand answers of me. If you’re so determined to break yourself upon my blade, then come forth.”

“Bastard makes no sense. Drop it, Kaitlyn. Let’s just kill him and be done with it, I don’t think my ears can take any more of the drivel that he’s spouting any longer,” Aramus said with a wave of his hand.

“My thoughts exactly,” Kaitlyn said.

“I granted the revival of your household and returned to you your nobility, Dukedom, and privilege. Lord Alek, I had not expected you to stoop so low as to defile it,” the Queen stated. “Do you not possess a shred of honour and goodwill to feel remorse?”

Alek was ninety-nine percent incapable of emotion at that moment, so his voice remained neutral. “I’ve seen how the commoners live, drowning in squalor and filth while you idle away your days in this palace. I’ve been there myself, due to your judgement. Giving back that which you stole does not excuse the theft in the first place.” Alek thought on what he’d said for a moment before taking Vinea out and stabbing it into the ground point first. “With that said, I cannot in good conscience keep this blade when it does not belong to me. If I live, I will return it, if I die, please see that it is given to Miss Elizabeth.”

When Alek put the blade of Vinea down, the Queen took up her lance.

“Theft, you claim? You have quite the gall to speak of the poor while you yourself requested me to shower your household with the privileges.” The glow of the Descendant intensified. “Your hypocrisy devalues the righteous notion that you have tried to proclaim. Your actions have proven the incompetency of your household and your relatives, and thus I shall return dishonour with dishonour, and confiscate the heirloom of the Cavendish Bentinck’s before you are executed.”

The Queen raised her lance high up to the heavens. Portals thus opened in every direction one would look throughout the hall room.

In less than a second, all the revolutionaries were struck down without mercy—save for the Princesses—while the rest observed angels floating up from the victims.

Michael got up as he found an arrow buried deep into his chest and cough out blood, finding Zophiel looking down at him with pity for a moment before ascending above and reaching behind the Queen, joining the other angels.

Likewise, Aleksander was on the floor after the blow from the angels, and Claudia, who tried to move before realising she was too, stricken by blades, fell flat onto the ground.

Aramus strode up to Vinea and pulled the blade free, shooting one last hate-filled glare at Alek before retreating to his former position. “Bloody fecaloid imp.”

Archangel Uriel and Zophiel flew behind the Queen in vigil, keeping a fair distance from their Goddess.

Uriel and Zophiel had blonde hair. Except their eight wings, everything else differed in appearance.

Archangel Uriel donned a simple armour. He regaled with the majesty of a commanding tone, almost like a general. His facial expression gave the form of a handsome but serious man.

On the other hand, Zophiel only wore a one-piece, but her beauty was beyond compare other than Her Majesty the Queen who was brimming with Spiritual Energy. Her body was littered with excessive jewelry, and a large ornament hid half of her face. She appeared to be an enchantress, and was starkly different from Uriel indeed.

“The humans have betrayed Your Majesty. It is as we had expected,” Uriel claimed. “My Queen, please come back to the throne of the Heavens, it is much safer.”

“No,” Victoria answered, shaking her head. “I have a duty to fulfill to humankind.”

“…We shall do whatever we may to provide aid,” Zophiel stated.

The angels behind the Queen lined up in the air, forming an assembly. They took up their trumpets and blew on their horns. As the melody filled the halls, they praised the very existence of the Queen herself. A glistening sparkle showered from the angels, making the battlefield that was the throne room an even brighter place.

Victoria took up her arm, and a large orb of light formed. The Spiritual Energy compressed in but a moment. The ability to suppress so much power into a sphere in so such a short time was testament to her advanced level as a Descendant. The hall brightened up particularly due to the activation of this Commandment, so much that a mundane would go blind as if they would gaze at the sun. Devoid of mercy now that they chose to remain—Her Majesty levelled the Gungnir down at the revolutionaries who were barely picking themselves back up from the strike of the heavenly beings.

Michael’s body tensed up as he felt the next attack coming. He activated his spell, Chrono Phantasma. Perception of time began to drop dramatically as the spell came into effect.

A sharp and piercing noise reverberated across the throne’s hall. The angels’ prayed, while the revolutionaries had no God to pray to now that they knew the truth. To be deprived of their faith—it was a cruel truth. The faith would now be placed upon the Royal Princesses… whom had no way to deflect this unstoppable force of supernatural power.

Faced before this ancient celestial power, man could only resign to their destiny—to meet their end for what they thought was right.

Indeed, the beam burned through most of the revolutionaries as if they were as soft as cheese, the heavenly light delivering divine punishment; melting through their blood and flesh with disturbing ease, leaving a crimson marred floor in its wake—the Goddess’ wrath was known.

The Princesses understood this well long before they began plotting—for great benefits to their ends, sacrifices must be made to even the scales; none could leave unscathed before the might of an experienced Descendant. Despite the risks, their resolution were solid—that was how much they wanted to retrieve the throne of the Magic World and Britain from Leo, who was now branded a villain like the rest of the Descendants.

Princess Louise attempted to protect the rebels by creating a barrier with her Royal Magica spell, but it was insufficient to protect most of her forces. Princess Beatrice was beside her, while Svetlana and Griswold were just behind her as it broke, with Alek and Claudia still on the ground.

Cinia Pacifica Ojou-sama Writer

8 years ago

A male angel flew up to Aramus.

“We shall safeguard the sword, and return it to its rightful owner, as per the will of our Queen.”

“You have my gratitude.” Aramus entrusted the sword to the angel with a bow.

Alek stood from the ground with a slight shake of his head to clear the fuzzies from getting owned by Victoria's Commandment and offered his hand to Claudia to help her up as well.

With a stroke of frustration, Claudia slapped the man’s hand from her path and stood up on her own accord.

“You have a big fucking mouth, Fane,” the vampire spat, the anger clear in her monotone voice. “What's more, your needless trust in your own morals over logic cost you a relic. Laisse-moi souffler un peu.”

Alek had no words and let his hand fall limply to his side. Even the one percent of his emotions he still had were enough to almost bring a tear to his eye. As he blinked it back, he turned to face the enemies, glaring.

The rest of her amassed troops were slaughtered by the Queen’s Gungnir just before Princess Louise was about to speak out her command. It appeared that those who had lost their sanity before the Divine being that was Leo were already lost completely, and she was only left with a few people. However, they still held the higher number, but it was not as great as before. Her Highness cursed the power of the Queen mentally.

“To think she took out most of our numbers so fast…” Princess Louise lamented before turning an eye to her so-called comrades. “I shall face the Queen myself. Beatrice, fend our brother off, please. As for the rest of you ladies and gentlemen—please pick your targets. I want them gone. Particularly, we need the Magisters out of the fray—the faster the better—they are a threat to us.”

“On it already, Sister,” Beatrice replied, taking up her rapier and placing its tip before her, taking the stance of a fencer.

“I shall aid with attacking the Queen, Your Highness,” Griswold answered.

Already cross, Claudia wanted to see blood. Any target would do at this point, and who else would be better to snuff out than Queen Victoria herself?

She shook her head.

No, she couldn’t face her alone. She had learned from those mistakes. If she wanted a chance at her head, Claudia had to stick by her comrades for the time being.

“…Yes, Your Highness.”

“I will hold the line against Valmark, Princess Louise,” Alek affirmed, glaring at the Magister who had so casually strode over and taken the sword, violating the terms of their duel.

(GM’s Comment: Lol. “Violating the terms,” huh?)

The black blade materialised under Charlotte’s grasp once more. She was without any particular stance—reminiscent of Virgo—but those who had fought her before would know of her true, deadly skills.

It was because of such stout allies that Princess Louise was able to continue with her ambition against Leo. Those without their sanity had become liabilities and Her Highness couldn’t help but be relieved to be rid of it. Albeit, Princess Louise still felt the burden of loss, she just wouldn’t word it, for now was not the time.

“Would my magic-cancelling be required for anyone dealing with the mages?” Charlotte asked the others around her.

“No, not yet,” Michael replied as he took on his Wraith Form. The silver shroud enveloped the Representative of Virgo, but this time its appearance remained as that of a figure enveloped by a silver cloak, with pieces constantly flaking off and turning into dust. While its form remained stable, it appeared to the lesser mages as noise to sight, something their brains failed—and refused to understand.

“I will just deal with the lady over there,” Svetlana said as she looked towards the Viscountess that was Violet. Placing her hand on the ground, a tree in the shape of a man began to form. The Ent by her side now, but the noble only frowned at her.

“Why… Lady Alicia? I looked up to you.” Violet’s arm furiously thundered, bursting into electricity itself. “For a Russian who received privilege from Her Majesty, it must have been a great honour… and yet you turn against us?”

“I am sorry. I do not want to be doing this either, but there’s someone I have to take care of.”

“You could have asked Her Majesty… but I suppose that is an ideal way to resolve it.” The electricity in Violet’s arm intensified. “Come.”

“I wish I could have done that, but because of me, her life would have been ruined,” Svetlana said as she charged at Violet, summoning her Gram after she commanded her Ent to follow.

Svetlana’s sword sailed from up to down—hence injuring Violet. This was only possible due to the Ent’s fierce attack as it roared, brushing the lady away. In her moment of being distraught, Svetlana drew blood and tarnished her dress. However, Violet lashed out in return with her right arm, and the electricity ran across the body of the Duchess.

“Aahhh!” Svetlana shouted in pain as she could feel the electricity numb her body. “Guess it is what I get for recklessly charging at you…”

“You are… not the fighter I expected you to be, Lady Duchess.”

The arm mercilessly crossed through the flesh of Svetlana as she spoke. Before long, Svetlana found herself behind her Ent, which was struck down by her opponent all the same. Violet fought fearlessly now that she knew that she was backed by the calamity of the Magic World—a Descendant of Time. It was somewhat ironic, but it gave her confidence. The situation was no longer bleak.

Svetlana made a grim face as she could feel the pain from the attack. She was unable to move her body due to the flow of electricity that numbed her nerves. “I suppose I should not have let my emotions get the better of me right now. Even if I do not want to fight, I still cannot afford to lose my life.”

(BGM: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1fwoQh0Jxy8)

“I pray for the valour in the hearts of men and women to rise once more—so that they may slay the impurities of the world, so that they may walk the shrouded darkness of Ragnarok without harm, so that they may alight their path with their virtuous hearts. O, Seven Heavens, hear my pleas—may the einherjars be blessed.”

With the Queen’s chanting, those who remained on Her Majesty’s side gained a supernatural radiance that brought forth their inner virtues to their surface, empowering them greatly. The Commandment made them feel as though they could take on the world now.

“That can’t be good.” Michael shifted into a stance with his relic sword, preparing for any sudden attacks.

A surge of power welled inside him after he spoke his thought out loud. It felt familiar yet foreign at the same time.

“My dear Oppressor—repeat after me.”

The voice of his Mistress—Dana—whispered into his mind.

How are you doing this? Wait. Now’s not the time. I am ready.

Thus, the words of power—the chant required for the activation of his Commandment—were whispered unto the latest Representative of Dana.

“May the ruler’s gaze be cast to mete the folly of those guilty—”

“...all raising armaments against the judge shall learn to fear the conqueror.” Michael—Judgement Oppressor—completed the chant.

The activation of the Oppressor’s Gaze Commandment was complete.

The right eye of Michael glowed navy-blue, much like the navy-blue left eye of Charlotte that one would usually see when her Mana Buster Commandment would be activated. With this power, his perception of the world around him had been heightened greatly.

Prince Leopold and Princess Beatrice faced each other with their swords drawn.

“Mother… I shall fight.”

Feelings of disbelief and doubt were replaced with admiration and resolution as His Highness faced Princess Beatrice who stood before him. The Prince felt energised and he felt as though he could take anyone on for the sake of protecting the throne and his mother.

“Come,” Beatrice started.

“Ladies first,” Leopold replied.

“I shall make you regret that, Brother!”

With a dash, Princess Beatrice made a straight lunge at the Prince. Leopold intercepted it gracefully and thus he faced a flurry of thorns latching out from the Princess, displaying her mastery of fencing. The songs of dancing steel thus echoed throughout the battlefield; the Prince was left with no other choice than to parry most of the blows.

“Do you think relying on that demonic power will truly help?”

“Oh, you realised? How sharp of you.”

“Long ago. Sister—that thing is twisting your heart and soul!”

“Surely you jest, Brother. Power is the only thing one may trust. For it is absolute, and delivers just results.”

“Only for your ego and dark ambitions to feed upon it. Learn some restraint.”

The eyes of Beatrice flashed red. “Whatever do you speak of?” The thrust finally connected with Leopold; his blood was drawn. However, the Prince had delivered a cut to her shoulder at the same time.

The Prince and the Princess alternated with their positions as they danced, a storm of steel surrounding them, their speed alienating them from the battlefield. The two’s steel clashed and one showed a smirk while the other—a face full of frustration. Graceful, vigorous, daft, and full of poise—they were slicing away more and more of each other’s flesh, and it was only a matter of time till the dance would end in one’s fall.

Palms of both were brought forth eventually—as their swords were pulled back—and they competed with power desperately. The glowing Prince overflowing with the holy power of Leo’s Commandment and the Princess seething with evil, Infernal mana granted by a demonic contract—the concentration of differing energies reached its climax and they were both pushed in opposing directions, reaching a draw.

Kaitlyn grew lightheaded, as if she had stood up too fast. At first she thought she would faint, but it passed a moment later. She no longer felt like she had spent the whole day on her feet. It was as if she had just gotten up after a good night’s rest.

Did the Queen do that just now? She shoved the thought from her head. There’d be time to think about it later. She dropped to a crouch and placed her hand on the floor. Concentrating her mana, she felt the faint vibrations of her spell taking shape mix in with those of the struggle breaking out around her.

She focused on Aleksander Fane and the two Princesses—they needed to be dealt with as soon as possible. Geysers of steaming water erupted through the palace floor, striking her targets. Beatrice and Louise weren’t so much as fazed, and moved out of the way instead. Fane, however, was blasted into the air.

As the Queen's Commandment took effect, Aramus pounded his gauntlets together to activate the Lost Form—the Ancient Dragon—and let loose an animalistic roar. He felt at the peak of his form, body light and limber as both Lost Form and Commandment worked in tandem.

He was just about to rush into the thick of things when he saw Aleksander flying overhead. Boosting up with a kick, he hefted Alptraum and sliced downward once he was above Alek. A number of mirror images surrounded him, but it was all for naught as Alptraum afforded Aramus the ability to see through any and all illusions.

Alptraum should've rended him from end to end yet Aramus found his blade stopped by an invisible force just as Alek’s relic glowed brighter. Switching tactics, he smashed instead with an open palm. A disc of air planted upon the traitor’s chest as he was sent plummeting downward.

Even as he fell towards the ground, Aleksander cast a spell in desperation, launching a barrage of fire that seemed to burn onto the back of his gauntlets, making him ground his teeths.

Barely a moment had passed since Alek hit the floor before Aramus flashed into his field of vision, gauntlet locked into a claw as it pierced downward with crushing force, enough to crater the area around both the combatants.

Alek cried out in pain. He cursed at Aramus mentally, but could no longer do so verbally, for his lungs were crushed due to the force of the geyser that struck him at an inopportune moment earlier.

A descending fist silenced Alek’s shout as it plowed into his mouth through the mask, the metal painted red as Aramus pulled it back. Parts of the mask stabbed into Alek’s face as he took ragged breaths, drawing red furrows across his skin. Any more movement and blood would flow.

“Your cries of pain sound so much better than anything you have to say,” Aramus said as he rained a couple more blows onto Alek, feeling flesh give under his fist.

Kaitlyn turned her sights to Griswold. The air shimmered around Kaitlyn as she formed a chunk of solid gold before her. It stretched out into a javelin and shot forward, striking the traitorous Academy professor. “You’re not getting to the Queen on my watch!”

Blood dripped from the flank of the old teacher, and Griswold made a smile full of pain.

“Something the matter, Miss Kaitlyn? You are awfully upset today. How unlike you.” As he spoke with a grin, a snake lashed out from under his sleeve and bit at Kaitlyn’s skin.

She swatted at it, but it was too late. Pain lanced through her thigh. She covered the bitemark with her free hand. It was already beginning to burn.

“You all collectively ruined my day,” Kaitlyn said. “As far as I’m concerned, you can all drop dead.”

“Or you could, with your old Queen. I am sure the country would be better off without either of you.”

Truth be told, Kaitlyn doubted the country cared much at all about a lowly Enforcer. She glared at Griswold. “I hope for your sake you have a lot more than snakes up your sleeve.”

Princess Louise whispered to the air, chanting to bring forth mana from the Void Realm. Black vines started to form and swarm all across the floors of the throne room. The vines hissed, it was as though the floor was on fire. The Lost Form’s spell Void Garden held a deep contrast to the angels—as if rebelling against the angels, as if insulting the heavens by reigning freely.

Michael was almost overwhelmed by what he could see now that he had activated his Commandment. His vision was flooded by a multitude of particles which he correctly assumed was mana, and something else. He could also †˜see’ all the combatants on the enemies’ side, all of them making a small glow as they used mana; the Queen noticeably shined radiantly.

He pulled himself together, just in time to see his ally launch a serpent to bite a red-headed mage allied with the Queen. He barely hesitated as he flanked her while she bantered with Griswold. As quickly as he arrived, he planted his feet to the ground and turned his body around, making a powerful upwards slice against the female mage.

Kaitlyn whirled. She called on her mana to bring a wall of solid rock surging up between them, only for his sword to crash through it even before it fully formed. Debris exploded into her face. She grunted as the blade sliced into her shoulder and stepped back.

Michael pushed onwards as he retracted his blade. He was surprised when she suddenly summoned a rock wall. He followed her with an overhead slice after his Caladbolg broke the wall but missed her by an inch. He turned his head towards the mage as he glared towards her, his right eye shining brightly blue.

Breathing heavy, Kaitlyn regarded her new foe. She met his gaze and was only able to hold it with effort. “What are you?”

“Stay still,” he responded, his speech slurred so much it was barely recognisable. Not waiting for her reply, his white blade once again sliced through the air. The sound of metal hitting against metal rang through the air as his strike was once again blocked. Rather than pulling it back again, he put his weight onto his already-heavy sword as his misty shroud slowly crept up around their feet, as if it had a mind of its own.

When Kaitlyn still refused to budge, Michael tilted Caladbolg to the left and moved to her side as her blade slipped along his. He pulled his left hand back and let go of his blade as he stepped forwards, sending her to the floor with his fist before her blade hit him.

Kaitlyn’s head rang from the blow. She tried to roll clear, but something latched onto her ankle, causing her to smack against tile. Pain shot through her shoulder. She looked from her opponent to the writhing black vine that held her in place. She brought her sword up to hack it off only for another vine to shoot up from the floor and grab her arm.

As Kaitlyn struggled against the vines on the floor, Michael picked up his sword once again as he charged towards the incapacitated mage. A resounding cry of steel was heard. Michael faced Prince Leopold, who held back his clear white blade once more.

“I do not think a gentleman should strike a lady when she is down, instead of helping her up.”

The Prince’s long suit was adorned with blue crystals, as Michael’s Caladbolg struck against a shield made out of what appeared to be crystal too.

“Shouldn’t you be in a ball someplace else?” Michael pulled back his blade and held it in between him and the Prince.

“I shall let you know that Balls do take place in this house.”

“Tch.”

Michael focused and seemingly retracted his shroud, which appeared like a normal silver cloak now. Suddenly, a giant mass of compressed particles made out its pieces shot from Michael, moved around the Prince and enveloped Kaitlyn. Michael had concentrated the effects of his shroud towards her, and they only perceived this action like that.

Kaitlyn’s eyes widened. Her heart hammered in her ears. All else vanished around her, shoved into a corner of her mind until it was only her and the cloaked figure.

“Snap out of it, Enforcer!” Leopold said, but it seemed like it was too late.

“Eyes front, Prince,” Michael spoke as he made another attack towards Leopold.

The Prince blocked the sword with his own, which was now covered in crystal just like his suit. The blades of the two clashed over and over again as they fought.

The crystal-adorned blade started to glow as the Prince readied his next spell. Michael quickly responded by inverting his grip and bashing the Prince with his sword’s handguard. He saw that this blow dazed the Prince, so he immediately returned to a normal grip and stabbed Kaitlyn with a two handed thrust. She howled with pain. Michael pulled his sword out of Kaitlyn, satisfied that she wouldn’t be helping with the battle anytime soon.

Before the Prince could assault Michael, Beatrice returned with a surprise lunge, drawing away His Highness’ attention once more.

Cinia Pacifica Ojou-sama Writer

8 years ago

Griswold brought together both his hands, Infernal mana burning on his person. A prism formed around the Queen in the form of black smoke before it seemed to fall into place.

Noting the opportunity, Claudia’s urges got the best of her and she outright targeted the Queen. Digging her foot into the floor, her grip tightened around Lachesis’ Fang and she sprinted towards Victoria, wanting only to get this over and done with. The vampire swung the blade in a descending arc, slashing a curve towards the Descendant’s chest.

As the pointed edge of the blade fell, it pierced the skin of the Queen’s arm that she used for defending herself. Willingly taking the strike, the golden lance glowed. The lance sailed vertically—burning through the flesh of Claudia with holy light—traveling from her shoulder to her stomach. Almost at the same time, a thrust was sent through her navel, the tip of the lance rotating wildly as it did so. The scythe fell from her hand as she felt pure agony from this utterly powerful attack. These were the effects of a Commandment weaved into a straightforward yet impossibly fast counter attack.

An unidentifiable heat shot through her chest. Claudia let out a pained yelp through the cracks of her teeth. The Divinity of the Queen’s Commandment would make her suffer for the times to come. She wanted to scream so bad. It all happened so quickly; she had attacked the Queen—she was sure of that, but how in nine hells did she managed to counter so efficiently? Glaring into Victoria’s glowing eyes, Claudia used both hands and struggled to pull the lance from her gut, grimacing as her palms felt as though they were melting from touching the golden lance of Odin.

Scum...trash...vermin. Exterminate. I must… kill.

Bolts of black lightning clashed against the Queen from behind Claudia as Griswold continued his assault, giving some time for the vampire to bring herself back to a safe distance to recover.

“Keep the Queen occupied,” Princess Louise told Claudia from behind.

Gazing at her hands with disbelief, Claudia simply set her own safety aside and lifted her scythe. It made her wince to touch anything with the way her palms were now.

“Yes…”

The Representative of the Blood Countess added onto the pressure against the Queen, following Louise’s order. Claudia added another swing of her scythe towards Queen Victoria, however, her blade clanged with that of an angel’s—not one, but at least five stopped Claudia. A mysterious energy pushed her back.

“What—?”

“It seems like the angels are particularly hostile of you,” Charlotte said, coming up to her side. “Let us use that to our advantage, shall we?”

“Shield me, o guardians of Asgard.”

The glorious glow made Victoria’s form resplendent, making it apparent to the revolutionaries that the next grand Commandment was well on its way to wreak havoc. At the same time, a portal opened above them across the ceiling, slowly expanding upon Louise’s mental direction. Her eyes black as the Void’s Evil Eyes were active.

Claudia glared from across the room and scoffed at the Queen’s angelic minions. They were eager, for sure. She glanced at Charlotte at her side, humming.

“What do you suggest? I lure them while you attack Victoria?” she asked, appearing doubtful.

“Miss BrontÃ« and I, yes,” Griswold corrected, walking up to them.

Claudia shrugged. “Very well.”

The vampire dashed in towards the angels, taking them all on collectively with her scythe in hand.

Spheres of black, crackling thunder formed atop the palms of Griswold, and he shot them out at the Queen while Charlotte took up her black sword and dashed in. With a thunderous explosion, they succeeded. Charlotte drew blood and Griswold managed to let the lightning hit Her Majesty, yet something was odd, as the Queen didn’t appear to be fazed at all by their efforts.

A loud noise rang as if a bell of a church had toiled, and a powerful holy force blew away Charlotte BrontÃ« and Griswold.

The swords and lances that Claudia took on intensified and with hundreds of blades against her, it was impossible to hold the angels off.

“Tch… make it easier for me and drop dead…” the vampire mumbled.

“Pray, grant me passage to the stairs leading to an eternity beyond the stars and the lone space.”

Seeing the Queen chant, Princess Louise widened her eyes in realization.

“Stop her, now!” Princess Louise commanded immediately.

With haste, Claudia dashed towards Victoria, disregarding everything else including the angels in front of her. She managed to slip past their lot and made a beeline for the chanting Queen, intending to interrupt her Commandment. Usually a chanting Descendant would mean dire consequences if one were stupid enough to allow them to finish.

“O ruler of the skies, descend, for I beseech you to bestow upon me your wrath.”

The resplendent shine on Victoria intensified, heralding the accumulation of Spiritual Energy. A massive amount of it—once more.

Charlotte followed Claudia, noting the worsening situation. The black thunderbolts from Griswold fell upon the angels before they could come back to Claudia, and he made an expression most displeased, as his body was starting to reach its limits with the demonic powers.

The Representatives of the Countess and Dana both slashed at their ultimate adversary, Queen Victoria—not once but several times with great speed and utter desperation. However, what wrought their expressions with disbelief was the fact that their blades smoothly crossed past the visage of the Queen. As if the sovereign of Britain was a ghost, an ephemeral figure, the edges of the blades sailed with ease—ceaselessly.

“So that your holy flames would cleanse all that is evil, so that I may purge the impurities from the Realm.”

Like her usual madwoman manner, Claudia continued to swing her scythe into the Queen, albeit fruitlessly. She did not appear phased by her efforts at all. Whatever happened, Victoria must not complete chanting this Commandment.

Noticing the futility of their attempt, Charlotte backflipped, taking distance from the Queen, when Gungnir mercilessly slashed Claudia with unbelievable speed that couldn’t be followed by the naked eye. There was only a shower of gold, a light as bright as the sun.

Claudia realised only when she saw her left arm falling onto the floor—burning into nothingness in less than a moment—that a very familiar event had taken place with her once more, reminding her of the night when Mary Shelley had turned against her.

“Again?!” Finally breaking her composure, Claudia yelled to the heavens, holding the socket where her arm used to be. “You shall pay dearly, Victoria. I swear it!”

Princess Beatrice ran up to the Queen from behind Claudia and leapt with grace—leaving the Prince behind herself—about to make an aerial attack with her rapier thrust front, but all was lost for she was too late.

“O heavens, aid me!”

A white, purifying holy light swept across the hall, and Claudia was the first to experience the agony delivered by the Commandment, with her skin itself melting and burning. The ceiling of the Buckingham House crumbled into nothing but mere dust when a pillar of light was erected from where the Queen stood. It pierced the sky and the clouds were sent away, showing a clear, starry night sky. Rings of light were sent across the sky as they purified the world. The same ring was then released from Victoria, sweeping across the halls, crushing her enemies in but one moment with an unavoidable impact.

Despite the Commandment’s usage, it was seemingly not as strong as it should’ve been from the Queen’s perspective and the clouds were already closing away the open sky. However, those who had faced this unrelenting force would never want to face it again, even if it were a weaker form of the Commandment.

The Princesses only grunted but they managed to hold their ground as Beatrice released tendrils of blackness from her body. Louise thrust her wand up, concentrating on her spell, while Beatrice sacrificed much of her powers for the sake of their goals.

One thing was for sure to them, Louise’s black tornado that shrouded the palace was completely dispelled by the Commandment.

“What power…!” Leopold gasped. Even if the Commandment hadn’t directly damaged him, he was still forced to a crouch along with his few comrades. The top of Buckingham Palace crumbling to a mere shower of debris like this was surreal, and it was only now the fact was soaking into him that his mother was a Descendant of Time—one who was certainly at least on the league of the likes of Virgo. Many questions naturally came to mind, such as why his mother hadn’t stopped Virgo herself if she was so powerful. However, he had to shove such thoughts aside.

“If Her Majesty is this strong… I reckon we can win this after all…!” Violet said to no one in particular in awe, still facing Svetlana who had been struck by the Commandment. “This is simply too incredible.” No wonder they were feared by the Magic World, this power was simply beyond the scope of imagination.

I can’t even move and now this. Svetlana’s body was still numb from Violet’s attack, and now she could feel it burning up.

Cheering inwardly at the display of power, Aramus felt his respect for Her Majesty rise further as the hammer was brought down on their opponents. She had used it before, but it was never so devastating, not even against the intruding Descendents at the Meeting. If that was the case then Aramus needed to up the ante as well.

Claudia peered towards the sky where the angels sang still, with pain piercing both her eyes and very skin. Feverishly rubbing her pupils, she fought through the agony to finally gaze upon the magnificence of the Queen’s Commandment with disbelief and morose.

“No, I failed…”

The vines around Kaitlyn withered and died from the brilliant light of the Queen’s Commandment. Trembling, she climbed to her feet, gritting her teeth against the pain. The knuckle of the hand around her sword was white.

Michael fell to his knees as the air itself started to feel like it was roasting him. He felt the wave of holiness but paid it no heed until he felt the burning sensation all around him. Even with the layers of mana and clothing covering him, he felt it on his skin and was unable to mitigate the damage that he felt was being done to his body.

“Stand firm and straight, Oppressor,” the voice of Dana beckoned in his mind.

“...Yes.” As if a machine that was cranked anew, Michael shrugged off what he was feeling at Dana’s command. He stood up straight and headed towards his fellow Representative of Virgo.

Leopold’s body was lifted from the floor with Beatrice’s arm being outstretched, the Princess exuding Infernal mana as she held the Prince’s heart at her grasp. It was unexpected, for the Prince had assumed that the Princess was also rendered inoperable. Instead, there were only tatters on her dress and some skin seemingly red from the burns, yet she was standing. Such was the resilience granted by the Infernal powers residing within her.

“This is your end, brother.” Beatrice’s eyes shined crimson, similar to that of a vampire.

A boulder struck the Princess’ arm, neatly cutting off the spell in the nick of time. Kaitlyn was bent over, supporting herself with her thigh.

Leopold fell back to the floor, palming his chest for a moment as he panted. He coughed a copious amount of blood, feeling a sharp pain due to the internal ruptures that took place thanks to the Forbidden Spell. It had almost succeeded in taking his life.

“I thank you, Enforcer.” The Prince gasped, trying to catch his breath. Using his sword as a cane, he pulled himself up.

Kaitlyn grunted though she doubted the Prince heard her.

Violet moved up to the Prince with worry. She took out a potion, but the Prince shook his head.

“But Your Highness—”

“Keep it, Lady Violet. You may need it more than I would.”

“Your life is of great import, compared to mine.”

“That is no excuse for me to accept the potion that could save a lady’s life later tonight.”

Deflecting another blow from Alek with a slide of his gauntlet before thrusting it into his opponent’s chest, Aramus spared a brief glance over to Her Majesty and Prince Leopold. Things were going south and all things considered, Alek was more trouble than he was worth. Cocking a fist back, he hammered it into Alek’s stomach and doubled him over before taking off to support the others, a series of gestures activating the Ancient Dragon’s Mudra as he did so. He became a bit more clear-headed and felt like he had a second wind, making a beeline towards Claudia seeing that she now had a disability without an arm.

Electricity boomed and crackled. The portal above Louise started to expand and it rose up to the clouds. The size was enough to envelope the entire palace. Thankfully, it wasn’t acting like a black hole to suck everything into it. The utter blackness reminded Aramus, Alek, Charlotte, and Michael of the Void Realm.

Princess Louise was shrouded in darkness as the power of the Void filled her being.

Above the clouds and the portal to the Void, the ancient King of Knights and the ancient knight—his son—continued to dance with their blades in the air with great intensity, defying the force of gravity as they fought endlessly. Sparks flashed as they collided, vying for supremacy, but this was something the residents of the palace could not spot save for the Queen whose foresight was unrivaled.

The Queen’s hands met for a resounding clap, and the angels—equipped with blades now, rather than the trumpets—struck against Alek, Charlotte, and lastly, Princess Louise. As if not wanting to give them a chance to pull themselves together, Victoria raised Gungnir up to the heavens—now blocked by the Void’s Rift—and spheres of bright and gold flames were summoned. They were the Divine flames of purgatory.

The two users of the Void—namely Charlotte and Louise—were put against these spheres of fire. The last of the fireballs fell upon Claudia, but Alek protected her. A layer of water fell flat as his Arctic Guard—his barrier spell—fell apart as a result.

As Charlotte pulled herself together, she focused on her very soul, an emerald light embracing her figure as she focused on the spell of rejuvenating. When the Wellspring of Life—a Supreme spell—was activated, the Princesses were the first to feel its soothing effect, followed by the Representatives, Michael and Claudia, and of course, Charlotte herself, as all the burns and wounds started to close. If it was one thing the spell couldn’t heal, it was the burning pain from the Commandments of Queen Victoria.

It was without a doubt that the amount of persons the spell could heal was limited, thus the near-useless were ignored in priority of the greater warriors.

“Thanks.” Michael turned towards Charlotte and raised a hand as a gesture of gratitude. “I thought I incapacitated my opponent, but it seems like she had the energy to save the Prince.”

“I do not sense much energy in her. That was likely a desperate action. I would commend you,” Charlotte replied. “We are lucky, though. The Queen is not as serious as she could be with us. It gives us a window of opportunity with this revolution.”

“I should’ve killed her already.” Michael looked towards the Queen who glowed radiantly thanks to his Commandment. “Not serious, huh?”

“The Queen is as strong as Jesus Christ if you would ask me,” Charlotte told Michael in a hushed tone.

“That’s a few plans down the drain then. You think the Queen could beat him?”

“I would say a fifty-percent chance. The highest probability you may have.”

Michael just grunted. It was a setback, surely, and a huge one at that. It did not change his goals at all.

“Halt,” Louise exclaimed, as the Queen’s lance was taken up. “Are you sure you do not wish to stop now, dear mother?”

The wand that Louise held was cloaked with the aura of the Void, pointed directly at Violet. A shadow likewise cloaked Violet. The more she resisted it, the greater it covered her figure. The Prince tried to pull the lady out of it immediately, but the energy of the Void rejected him and His Highness grunted.

“No, Your Majesty! You must not listen to this threat!” Violet shouted from the shadow and the curtain of darkness eluded her vision, effectively locking herself away from the world. The Queen only looked down at Princess Louise, then at Lady Violet.

“I hold no mercy, Mother. You know that much, yes?”

“Even if I step down now—you would show no mercy in the future regardless—to either of us,” Victoria responded, closing her eyes for a moment in acceptance of the loss.

“If that is how it is, then so be it.” Princess Louise gave her wand a flick, devoid of mercy just as her mother was.

“Sister… be safe.”

This was the last murmur of Violet.

The shadow crunched at the her figure, and thus the daughter of the Marquess felt the power of the Void Lost Form. Her death was soundless, for when the shadow dissolved—there lay only her dress on the floor with nary a drop of her blood, or signs of her body left.

From the sky came a terse breeze due to the lack of a ceiling. It carried the familiar stench of blood that most of the combatants in the throne room were used to.

Kaitlyn went cold at the sight of the noble lady’s death. There one moment, gone the next, as if she had never existed.

Aramus cursed as he looked upon what was left of Violet, his eyes blazing with anger as he turned them upon the rebel group.

Why am I even still fighting on this side?! From what the Queen said she would still have killed her even if she stepped down, Svetlana thought as she wondered now if Princess Louise would even keep her secret at all. She forced me to fight for her while it seems everyone else just simply joined on their own. Will we really be okay if I continue fighting for her?

“I believe that is enough with the rest.” Princess Louise’s wand faced the sky once more, sparing Princess Beatrice a brief glance. The gathering of mana had resumed in the portal above them. “We shall handle the Prince, so go after the Queen.”

Alek ran over to Claudia, worried despite his own wounds. He wanted to offer his blood for nourishment and thus spoke, but no words could be formed and he could only murmur noises no one could comprehend.

“Fuck off,” Claudia spat, shoving Alek out of the way with her only arm.

He moved aside reluctantly, having no words to offer his Mistress, literally. He uncorked the bottle of the potion he had, and drunk from it. His lips hurt as he did so, as his face was a mess thanks to the bits of steel plunged into it by Aramus. The recovery was underway but it’d take time before he could be rejuvenated by the magical effects of the potion.

Bringing both his hands together, a ball of flame formed in-between them. The entity of fire was born as the spell Crimson Avatar was cast, its shape resembling that of a man, its eyes shining brightly. Alek would follow his Mistress silently with the elemental of fire that he had summoned.

Getting herself to a state feasible enough to fight further, Claudia eventually stood on quivering legs. She took up Lachesis’ Fang with her only hand and sighed for how much of a mess this operation had become. She had expected as much, but misfortune could not always be shrugged off easily.

She felt like dying right there. Albeit, she was not that far from keeling over and getting her wish anyways.

“Yes, Princess,” she said plainly—her voice quivering from the burns she felt in each and every moment—padding towards her target with weak steps.

Being able to move again, Svetlana began casting the spell Emergency Aid followed by the spell Healing Hand, her wounds closing albeit slowly, but it was better than nothing. That was just too reckless of me earlier. I wonder though should I really continue fighting? She should have just used her magic to damage the Queen. I would imagine a spell like that eats up quite a bit of mana.

(GM’s Comment: I can’t help but wonder if her line of thought would’ve changed if things didn’t turn out the way it did at the end of this event. This confliction was just repeatedly mentioned over and over again. And yes, I got really fucking bored of it because of how shallow her character appeared thanks to it.)

“What about the Magister, Princess?” Michael readied himself to charge at any moment.

“Take him out,” the Princess answered.

“Alright.”

Cinia Pacifica Ojou-sama Writer

8 years ago

(BGM: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NT4UYdP21Fs)

As Michael proceeded towards the throne itself where Aramus was fortified before the Queen, Uriel descended upon him, standing vigil with a blazing sword.

“I see the truth has corrupted you instead, Michael.”

“You knew all along… and kept silent. You knew I was nothing different from what I hunted.” Michael pointed his Caladbolg towards the Archangel. Somehow he didn’t feel particularly angry towards him. Rather, he felt a weird sense of camaraderie.

“No. You were different. You were different. Your madness has tainted you—and your very soul—now, you are but a shell if your former being. Love is painful—however dear it is—but that gives it worth to bear, the strength to live.”

“He created a monster, but taught us it was for good. The only difference now is I see who he really is. Who I really am.” Michael readied his stance, raising his sword to his eye level and pointing the tip towards the angel. “You will not get in my way.”

“Hah. Perhaps he did, but it justifies not your excuse. Hide behind his teachings not—you possess your own perceptions now. Yet you chose to wield power for reasons wrong. Killing and vengeance will only serve to repeat the cycle—thus your Commandment is tainted by ill will.” The burning blade of Uriel faced Michael’s Caladbolg. “Hence, I shall stop you here and now.”

“You cannot stop my vengeance!” Michael charged in towards Uriel, putting all his weight and momentum in a single thrust.

The two clashed.

The flame faced Michael like a wall, erupting from the holy sword, making him sweat naturally. Michael’s sword was being pushed back.

“Pour more of your spiritual energy. Use your feelings—reminisce how it felt to utilize my Commandment.”

Virgo instructed him in his mind.

At his liege’s behest, Michael channeled his power into his own body. He recalled that moment when he activated his Commandment. It was his power. She granted it unto him, and like a wild stallion he would tame it and seize it for his own. His right eye shone with a blue light as he pushed back with a renewed vigor.

Caladbolg shone with his spiritual energy and vibrated.

“…I suppose this was inevitable.”

Led by his instinct, Michael drew an arc with his sword, generating a powerful wave of blinding light that pushed Uriel back. He only took a moment to be in awe with this power, and immediately attacked with his blade.

Pain blossomed in Claudia’s armless side and she jerked up in response. Turning her head slowly to face her aggressor, she found Aramus and his sword almost running her through. He twisted the blade in her body, relishing in the blood that spurted forth as the cutting wind did its work from the inside out.

“The downside of having such a resilient body is that I get to cut it more,” Aramus said.

“Where is that anger directed towards? Me? Or the man who killed the Duchess and took her weapon?” Claudia asked, coughing blood.

”Don’t think I’ve forgotten what you did to my mother,” Aramus snarled as he shoved the blade in deeper. “Both you and him can burn to ashes for all I care.”

“I don’t expect you to forget,” Claudia said. She extended her neck towards Aramus, panning her head closer to him. “I hope she is rotting with that fool, Jesus Christ…”

Aramus wrenched the blade out with a sickening sound and backhanded Claudia across the face, sending her sprawling.

With a howl, Alek’s Colada clashed with Aramus’ silver gauntlet. With his lips and lungs in better condition, he spoke but just barely.

“Our… du…el is… not… over… yet!”

“Sod off, dickwad. I almost pity Claudia for having you as an attendant,” Aramus scoffed even as his arms ached from the blow, blood running down where he had unsuccessfully deflected the sword. The exchange between Claudia and Alek had not gone unnoticed.

Of course, Alek’s announcement for the duel was not only ignored by Aramus but by the rest of his so-called comrades, as Charlotte made a sweep with her black blade from the side, making a clear cut around Aramus’ left shoulder. Displaying clear mastery of swordsmanship, Charlotte was easily overpowering him.

Stumbling backwards from the blow, Aramus grabbed the wounded area, and it seemed to be bleeding profusely. A small sphere of flame burst to life and he pressed it against the cut, cauterising the flesh with a sizzle. He grit his teeth through the pain. It would only be a quick fix till he managed to get some medical attention if they ever made it out.

Claudia hefted herself upwards, gritting her teeth as the bleeding wouldn’t stop, nor would the pain. So much for such feelings being dead to her. Leaning over to grab Lachesis’ Fang, the vampire nearly stumbled over.

Despite the fact that there were several individuals battling before the Queen, she looked down at Claudia particularly.

“I have been bearing the enquiry in mind throughout the past year—why have you chosen to serve the Blood Countess of Hungary?”

“Your enemy is right in front of you, and yet you choose to converse? My decision to have ties with the Countess is none of your concern, Your Majesty.”

Charlotte’s blade pushed Aramus back as Claudia spoke. Alek pushed against him just as Charlotte’s barrage ended. Aramus fell back beneath the onslaught, slowing down as more of his blood stained the ground. He fell to a knee, supported by Alptraum as he gasped for breath.

“Does that imply that your resolve is not strong enough—that you are unable to claim it proudly? Surely, each of the Representatives of the great Countess would have the want to spread their agenda?”

“It simply implies nothing,” Claudia replied. “I work under the Countess. I kill for the Countess. If the Countess wants me to crawl, I will. If the Countess wants me to jump, I will ask how high. That is all.”

“I see. You are truly a one of a kind gem that the Countess had stumbled upon.” The Queen momentarily closed her golden pupils. A misfortunate kind.

Claudia only hummed in response. She would rather not accept that as a compliment nor an insult, as dragging a conversation in the middle of a battle had been one of her biggest downfalls in the past.

“Just lay down and die…”

“Very well. I have heard your will—I shall render upon you holy judgement—meet your demise and bond with the mother earth your Countess so cherishes.”

The golden light in Victoria’s pupils intensified.

“Magister Aramus,” the Queen simply addressed.

“Your Majesty,” Aramus gasped in-between breaths, struggling to stand.

“I command you to stop the aggressors at all costs from reaching me.”

“I will fulfill that order till my last breath.” Aramus stepped forward to face down all who would try and strike down Queen Victoria, resolute in his loyalty. He raised both gauntlets and pounded them together, knowing this might be the very last time he’d take up arms in service to Her Majesty.

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