Chapter 62: Episode 59

Disclaimer: I don't own Nasuverse or any other franchise that can be found in this fanfiction.

Words Count: 5109

Here's my usual spiel:

You can read 24 Episodes in advanced.

p a tr e on . com (/) LiamThePoor

A/N: Is it just me, or do introverts have like this… Stamina Bar for conversations? I swear, every minute I spend on talking drains like a fifth of said Bar until I feel like going to bed. It’s pretty fucking pathetic actually.

---

Now, it might be my imagination, but the Witch’s rifle seemed to have gotten a buff? It shot faster, the bullets(?) were larger, more destructive and most of all… Infernal Iris grinded against the rifle’s wooden chamber. I had expected my weapon to chip hers at least, like every other time, yet all it did was shoot up sparks, as though the rifle’s materials had changed.

I flew back as Gabriel deflected, letting my sabre slide down the barrel harmlessly, and using the momentum to swing both Invictus and her leg at me.

I had barely managed to recover when the Umbral Witch slapped the rifle on her knee like a bipod and fired away.

The thing about Mana-based projectiles was, it’s much easier to spot them than it was normal, physical bullets. Their sizes made swatting them off the air more effortless too, despite their speed. Infernal Iris crushed the magical bullets with ease, sending particles of violet Demonic Mana veering from me. The ground, the trees, everything those particles touched, burst into purplish flames and withered.

‘That, that doesn’t look good. Probably shouldn’t let those hit me…’ I idly thought, subconsciously allowing [Mana Burst] to coat my sabre. As it would turn out, roaring cyan Mana of the Elder Blood, mixed with the Demonic Enchantments granted to the sabre by O’Dimm, could be quite destructive. What shot out wasn’t quite the Sword-Beam Saber Alter was seen throwing around like candies, but it was of… Respectable magnitude.

Sweeping over the regenerating Demons, it ripped the filthy Hellspawns apart down to the atoms. I didn’t need an explanation to know those were gone for good, their deaths made permanent by the twisting of fundamental Universal factors– Space and Time, plus the Black Magic O’Dimm had imbued inside the ornamented, unassuming sabre.

A shame the Umbral Witch was able to dodge it, leaping up a dozen feet up and doing a backflip as the Sword-Wave grazed her soles of her heels.

‘Fucking show-off.’ Angra snorted in my mind as the Witch landed on her feet with the same grace I’d not expect from a human. If the likes of Ciri and Geralt were predating wolves in battles, then Gabriel… Hunting method, much like myself, was a leisure and sophisticated feline. Her movements were deliberately slow at times– Refined, yet when the actions began, she’s explosive, fitting for an ambush predator. ‘You done stroking yourself and that Witch?’

The Daemon King drawled, distaste audible in his tone as the Umbral Witch’s lips arched up slightly into a smirk. “Surely, surely that’s not all? I expect better from you, Child of Minee–!”

Mana surged in my chest as I bombarded her with [Ansuz] and [Finn Cannon]. “How’s this for better, Witch-Bitch?!”

Despite seeming intensely focused on Gabriel, my gaze did not waver from my MP Bar, which was slowly ticking down as I continued with the barrage. The moment it dipped down to 85%, I immediately stopped, launching myself into the thick smoke. Usually, it wasn’t a wise decision to attack someone you couldn’t see, but that’s only true for normal people… And there was nothing normal about me.

Even through that ashes-choked fog, Gabriel D’Leoncourt’s silhouette was clear as day to my green eyes.

Knowing full-well the Witch would notice my presence, I summoned seven Temporal Clones to confuse her, their actual Stats equal mine, discounting their weaker Strength. Their chances of putting the Umbral Witch down might be low, but it’s still a possibility, and even should they fail, I was hoping they could sap away at her Mana Pool, enough that Gabriel’s trickier Spells were no longer an option.

The Clones, plus myself charged at our enemy. Despite being… Not exactly sentient, the Clones still fought with intelligence, they would not do anything I wouldn’t, thus when I and subsequently them saw large shadows emerging from the grounds, we all backed away hastily. It seemed the Witch wasn’t in the mood to play around today.

She usually had much more patience, I had battled her again and again, but she rarely allowed the Greater Demons to make an appearance. These, these creatures, while immensely powerful, were far less obedient. I had verified [Future Calculation], and the chances of her being able to control them completely were next to none.

It’s just a wild guess, but I bet that’s why Gabriel never joined in on the fights once these guys came out.

Pretty sure she was forcibly puppeteering them to do her biddings and they, being Greater Demons and all, obviously weren’t too happy with it either. During one of our prior battles, it ended with the Witch vomiting up black sludge, since then the Greater Demons hadn’t been summoned again, she’s likely using her Mana and Willpower to suppress them… I lazily avoided a tail swipe from the Greater Demon.

My Clones were already dissipating, they could only be there for so long, once Reality itself found their existences anomalous, no amount of Mana from me could keep them on this Plane.

“You guys–” I didn’t get to finish my sentence, forced to blink away as the Goat-Head blew out a purple, acidic mist. Milliseconds later, the Dragon-Head released a fire-breath that ignited the mist. The resulting explosion was fucking awesome, I must admit, I probably would have lost a few pounds of flesh had I been caught in it. Thankfully, I had the foresight to blink behind the Witch, allowing her and the Chimeric Demon to take the brunt of the damages.

Patting the dust from my shirt, I continued to shout, ridicule painting my features and contempt thick in my voice. I hadn’t tried this before, but the Chimera was a Greater Demon, theoretically it should be able to understand my words, right? “I thought you Demons were supposed to be prideful? Are you really willing to serve this bitch– This lowly mortal for the rest of your Eternal life?!”

The Goat and Snake Heads did not respond, but the Dragon and the Lion? ‘Goddamn, those are some scary-ass snarls.’

… ‘Is, is this bastard eating popcorns in my head?’

‘You want some, Leo-tan?’

My smile twisted into something ugly, angry as I sneered at the Daemon currently living rent-free in my head, literally.

‘Drown in a pit of shits and die, Angra.’ He giggled. ‘Been there, done that Leo-tan. 0/10n would not recommend.’

‘Fuck’s sake–!’ I groaned internally, just as the Lion jumped, clawing at me. I deflected its hits, punching the Lion’s head with a reinforced fist. That, coupled with [Mana Burst] were easily able to send the Great Demon flying back, even knocking out three of its fangs. The Lion, in a daze, shook its enormous head, scattering strands of its mane all over.

These strands, while seeming harmless to the normal eyes, were actually charged with so much Demonic Mana that–

*BOOM

*BOOM

*BOOM

The minute those touched something, anything, both them and whatever they were in contact were immediately consumed in an explosion of Mana. At this point, Gabriel’s lawn, which was once a peaceful paradise filled with colorful flowers and herbs, had become a scene straight out of Hell. The grounds were covered in flaming fissures, the dirt charred and the flowers, if not wilted, then had all turned to dusts.

It kinda reminded of the Fuyuki’s Fire,

Just… Less.

Made sense, the Curses these Demons embodied simply could not stand against what was essentially all of Humans’ malice, past, present and future.

“Come now, you’re a Lion, are you really satisfied existing like this? To live as a mortal’s slave?!” I turned to face the snarling Dragon. A cocky smirk painted on my lips. “What about you, why are you helping Gabriel, she gets you off at nights or something? I get it, she’s beautiful…”

A hint of perversion crept over my expression as I stared at the Witch, mouth starting to list off her sizes. I hadn’t had a chance to use my newest Skill, but this was a good opportunity to test it out. Honestly, I was curious of the Witch’s three sizes too, her top and bottom looked even bigger than Triss. Not to mention, the angrier Gabriel got, the less control she would have over the Chimera.

It’s a win-win, for me that was.

“B40… W25 and H34? Damn, those are some nice measurements.” I clicked my tongue, muttering absentmindedly. “Pretty sure Gil’s are larger though.”

I brought my hand up as multiple [Finn Cannon] broke the Hypersonic barrier and shot at her chest, waist and next to her feet.

The first two aimed at her upper-body were easily blocked by hair-tendrils, but the third was able to slip past, since its trajectory was purposefully off. It exploded near her feet, forcing the Witch to leap backwards, and that momentary lapse in concentration was just enough.

For what, you asked? For the Chimera to reel and struggle against the unseen chains Gabriel had put on it of course. Or, at least, the Lion and Dragon Heads were, the Snake and Goat both appeared surprisingly okay with the whole ordeal.

The Umbral Witch doubled over, looking every bit as miserable as she was feeling and I laughed, pointing at her. “Look at her, do you really, really want to serve… That? She’s fucking pathetic.”

The Chimera was immortal, like actually unkillable. Trust me, I had tried to kill it on several occasions. It served both as the Umbral Witch’s unstoppable spear, and immovable shield. My hope was that if I could rile them up enough, they would be caught up in the confusion and I wouldn’t have to deal with their bothersome ass anymore, but… “Enough! I’ve had enough of thy antics, Leonis!”

It seemed Gabriel was not happy with it.

Tars blacker than a starless, moonless night streamed down Gabriel’s face, bubbling from all her orifices as she sneered. “I didn’t want to use this, I had wished for us to be a family, but time and time again, thou have tested my patience! Thou forced mine hands, remember that, Leonis…”

The Witch began to hum an unfamiliar tune that somehow calmed the Lion and Dragon pair in seconds. In a disturbing manner, the Heads all turned to her simultaneously, as though hypnotized by the melodies. Everything grew eerily silent, the only sound that could be heard was her tune which slowly started to transform from serene and calming to haunting and Hellish.

Its effect was almost exactly the same as my own [Hell’s King Engine], minus the cries and screams for help usually found in my first ever Skill. Then a thought occurred to me, what would happen if I disrupted her rhythm with my heartbeats? In response to my command, Hell’s Engine began to thump angrily, each heartbeat harmonizing with the Witch’s tune as she frowned.

“And thou still say thou art not my Child?”

The Chimera, who was slowly approaching Gabriel stopped in its track, looking back at me in confusion, as though it couldn’t between the Umbral Witch and me. I did not know why, I knew [King’s Engine] had been modified by Angra to operate as a psychological Curse, but the effects of such a Skill shouldn’t be able to affect a Greater Demon.

I could understand if the Lesser Hellspawns were confused, but a Greater Demon was leagues above those. It’s like doing a disappearing card trick for a monkey and a human, that’s how big the difference was! Unless... ‘Angra, are you–?’

‘Helping? Yup.’ The Daemon cut in my words abruptly, cackling madly as a vision of him leaning on his tattooed arm flashed in my mind, appearing almost proud. ‘I think I know lil’ D’Leoncourt over there. I was there when her parents killed her first love for, and I quote ‘Not reaching their expectations’. Little Gabby harbored a grudge against them since, murdered them in their sleep and stole the Family Crest actually…’

I heard him lick his lips as a twisted fascination entered his tone. ‘She never wanted to become the D’Leoncourt’s Heiress, what she has always desired is love. True, epic love... That, and a family– Children of her own. She hated them for taking that away from her, but to be fair–’

He whistled. ‘Her parents were right. Little Gabby has always had a horrible taste in men, her so-called love coveted their Crest and Magecraft, he was planning to stage an accident after their marriage to steal the thing and escaped to the US. He was sadly found out and subsequently executed by her late father and Family Head at the time.’

My lips twitched. ‘… I don’t care about her bloody history! Can you defeat her?!’

He grinned, mouth widening to his ears. ‘All the World’s Evils could, but I do not have the capability. I’m merely tricking the Demon by imbuing her Mana fluctuations in your heartbeats… Speaking of which, you should probably take this chance to kill her, half of her defensive Spells, beside the hair-thingy is down right now. Quick, I can’t confound the Chimera for long.’

I instantly bolted towards the Witch, screaming internally. ‘Why didn’t you fucking start with that?!’

‘And lose this chance to anger you? Nah.’

This bastard–! ‘I’ll let this slide for now, but once we get back!’

‘What are you gonna do, think me to death?’ I did not deign him with a reply, opting to focus on the immobile Witch instead. “Thou, thou dare?!”

“Why wouldn’t I dare, old Witch-Bitch?!”

Just as Infernal Iris was about to clash with her tendrils, dozens of my Temporal Clones slashed themselves into existence at the same time. Two were hit and dissipated, the other eight barely managing to keep up with their weaker Strength. Sweats poured down Gabriel’s head as the battle raged on, yet she did not stop humming.

You are reading story Fate: Dead Man’s Lament at novel35.com

The Chimera was beginning to show itself now. The other Heads retreating as the Lion climbed out, forcefully widening the portal with its… Body? I hadn’t gotten to see the Greater Demon’s full body before. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t the least bit curious about its appearance, but once it had entered my view, I could only wish I hadn’t seen it.

The Demon was… I’d say grotesque, but that alone could not describe how absolutely disgusting it looked. Its main body was that of a Spider with eyeballs that seemed ready to fall out at the slightest touch, the Goat, Snake, Lion and Dragon only possessed their upper-bodies, which were glued(?), or rather sewn into the hairy main body, the places in which they joined together were bubbling with watery boils.

“What the actual fuck–?!” I jumped, doing a split to kick away the two approaching tendrils, at the same time exchanging locations with one of my Temporal Clones who was in the process of slashing at the tendrils holding Invictus. I overcharged Infernal Iris with Mana, then activated [Critical Strike] to barely cleave through the steel-like tendril. But, just before it was cut in twain, the tendrils still managed to shoot my rapier into the Chimera?

‘That thing’s most definitely not a fucking Chimera!’ Angra continued. ‘I’ve never laid eyes on anything as ugly as that fucking thing. Kill it, kill it with fire Leo!’

I paid him no mind as I raced towards the blade, finally able to feel its comforting hilt in my grasp once more. I nearly let out an exhilarated moan, grinning ear to ear as the connection between us was re-established, growing stronger than ever. I caressed Invictus, feeling it vibrate in my hands and whispered.

“I know, I miss you too.” I did not care that the Demon was coming closer, nor did I pay attention to Gabriel’s loudening melodies. All I knew was that I could sense and feel Invictus, thus Gil by my side again. “I know, I know. It’s been hard for you–”

It had been hard for me too. Even knowing Gil and Nasu were a Star-Gate away, the loss of Invictus felt like someone had ripped out a piece of my Soul, and the longer it went on, the deeper I was sinking into a pit of quicksand. But, everything was okay now.

I felt whole again, calm.

Involuntarily, my eyes teared up as Invictus’ reassuring presence washed over me. “I will never let anyone touch you again, I swear on it.”

I swallowed the a weak, thankful sob seeing the disgusting, pulsing cracks filled with Demonic Mana on the rapier’s tang. My wrath reared its ugly head as my grip on Invictus’ hilt tightened. Chuckling, the distraught expression on my face disappeared to allow a more serious, bloodthirsty one take the stage. “Let’s use that bitch’s blood as an offering.”

The Monstrosity leaped on me as I unknowingly turned off [Hell King’s Engine]. I slammed my elbow into its underbelly, forearm pressing on the bumpy and rigid exoskeleton. I used the Demon’s own force against it, throwing it skidding away upside down, its… Legs, all eight pairs of them flailing madly in the process. I’d have to change the instance I went home, probably have to burn this outfit too.

“Christ, I’ve seen some repulsive, stomach-churning shits since the Great Fire, but this has got to take the fucking cake.” Seriously, of all the animals in the World, why did it have to be a Spider?!

Which ungodly fucker was turned into something so, so horrifically disfigured?

Gabriel most certainly wasn’t responsible for its existence, from what I could see, she’s merely at fault for bringing that revolting creature to the Mortal Realm. In spite of her repertoire of Spells, Curses and overwhelming magical might, I sincerely doubted the Umbral Witch was capable of creating such a thing.

Not just because she was magically incapable, but because she clearly had tastes, and this thing looked like it came from the Witch’s fever dream. I supposed I understood why she only let the Heads out, instead of the summoning the whole Demon now.

Tactical advantages thanks to the moving portals aside, I stared at Gabriel’s twisted visage, she understandably wasn’t fond of the Demon’s appearance herself, shuddering in her heels as the… Disturbing fusion of a Chimera and Arachne pushed off the ground onto its legs. It took my utmost effort to not vomit as dark, yellowish puss spilled from the eyeballs lining its head.

Surprisingly enough, it did not continue with the assault, despite clearly wanting to. It just stood there protectively over Gabriel, it’s then that I began to hear the rampaging steps of the approaching hordes. ‘This bitch’s summoning the Lesser Demons as well? What exactly are you planning, Gabriel?’

The sounds weren’t simply coming from the direction Ciri and I had taken, they were all around, on four sides. The screeches above notified me to the presences of the winged Demons, some looking like a Wyvern, others a winged Demon-Bat with its snout jutted forwards, their fangs filled with drools. “Well, this has been fun, but I’ve got to go. Got a date planned tonight.”

I had accomplished what I first set out to do, which was to annoy the shit out of the Umbral Witch and retrieve Invictus. Actually killing her could wait for another day, only… “Thee still believe thee can escape? It matters not where thee run, the connection between us shalt lead me right to thy location. But I shalt not simply stop at corrupting thee, everyone thee have conversed with shalt die gruesome deaths should thee attempt to flee.”

I chuckled, amused by the threats. “Please, you and I both know you can’t leave these Islands, O’Dimm will hunt you down like a dog!”

Her eyes gleamed ominously as she stalked forth, her tendrils suddenly lashing to impale a small, winged Demon that was resting just a tad too close to the Witch. To my shock, the Demon did not resist, it did not struggle, its Vessel transforming into a pile of sludge that flowed down to Gabriel’s feet, coating them in this sort of… Weird, fleshy liquid. “What the–”

‘– Hell?’ Angra finished lamely in my head, humming to himself. ‘That’s new. Never seen little Gabby do that before. Then again, it has been centuries since her disappearance and the subsequent destruction of the D’Leoncourt.’

‘Any idea what she’s doing?’ I questioned. With my stockpile of Mana in [Energy Storage], I could afford to stay and watch. What? I was curious, alright?! Beside, having more knowledge on her Spells and trump-cards would be help me plan out future visits better. ‘Nope, I’ve got not a clue, but it looks like she’s…’

‘Looks like she’s what? Don’t let me hang now.’ I responded, irritation in my tone. ‘It looks like she’s fusing with them? Body and Soul. The process reminds me a lot of that one Dead Apostle– Nrvn- Nr… Uhmm, what’s-his-name Chaos.’

‘Nero Chaos? The Apostle Ancestor?!’ Angra laughed proudly. ‘Yup, yup. That’s the guy, this fusion is almost a scene for scene replication of his transformation from a human to a Dead Apostle actually. Only, he used the corpses and Souls of normal animals with the occasional Phantasm Beasts, while little Gabby is–‘

‘Is, is the Boss Fight seriously entering its second phase?’

Another, and another, and another Demon charged to their demises, allowing the awaiting hair-tendrils to suck them up and add to Gabriel’s mass. I should probably stop her… I launched myself at the Witch, blades ready, only to be blocked by the Spider. Its legs, while seeming pretty lanky, were unexpectedly tough as they clashed against Infernal Iris and Invictus. [Phantom Edge] flared to life in angry flame-like pattern as I cut at its underbelly.

The wound spilt out acidic blood, because of course it would.

Each droplet down to the smallest one the size of my pinkie could melt a hole four, five inches in diameter.

The blood clung to Invictus, even eating away at its [Phantom Edge].

While Invictus indeed had an [Unbreakable] Enchantment on it, there was also a Rank to the Enchantments, meaning damages that exceeded that Rank could and would cause it damages, which I couldn’t bear to witness.

Making an [Igni] Sigh, I burnt all the excess blood from the edges. The Chimera-Spider thingy was proving to be far more troublesome than I had initially expected… It healed too fast, its defense too high and now I must worry about dulling the blades!

“Doth thee truly believe O’Dimm is stopped by the leylines under these Islands? Foolish! That Merchant’s the Devil in disguise!” Gabriel D’Leoncourt laughed, her voice, which was once enchanting, slowly shifting into animalistic growls. “ The pact between us states that he may not attack me directly, he can only send his agents– Idiots like thee to offer up their lives…”

The Witch who used to stand a head over me, had now grown just as tall as the Chimera-Spider thing. Her torso seemed normal, if a tone paler than before, but from her ankles down to feet were completely deformed, changing into mass upon mass of bubbling boils. Grotesque as she was, there was beauty to the Last of the D’Leoncourt still. The eyeballs covering her upper thighs were more cool than they were disgusting.

“Shit!” I looked at our surrounding, there were many Demons in the process of being assimilated, and many more waiting to join the mass. Mouths began to open up on her skin, leaving just her belly, chest and face unaltered while other areas hardened into a layer of shiny exoskeleton. It’s odd… To leave the most vulnerable areas on her body unprotected. But I supposed even a centuries old Magus cared about her appearance still.

Made sense, she wouldn’t have kept her youthful look otherwise. “… Ah-fuck this.”

I muttered as the Demons hordes grew thinner, while Gabriel only got bigger and bigger with each passing second, until finally she was larger than the mountain of Kaer Trolde. “Okay, fuck this, I’m outta here.”

I resolutely turned to the trail where I had come from, covering my blades with viscous Mana, even dipping into my reserve in [Energy Storage] and swung with all my strength. The Field split open, mending almost instantly, but that was enough time for me to blink out. Hopefully Ciri had fled by now… She had, right?

Oh, who was I kidding? She’s probably out there fighting Demons or looking stupidly at the Giantess in the distant! “Gotta look for her…”

I blinked upwards, soaring through the sky with [Petal Burst]. There she was, on her knees… No, not like that you perverted buffoons! The Witcheress’ hands were clutching her ribs as pain marred her features. Ciri seemed shocked. An understandable reaction given the current situation. Never had I heard her mention a monster as large as Gabriel had become, it must be quite new to her…

As for me? Well, I wasn’t exactly scared or afraid. Surprised, yes. Annoyed, sure. But I had seen scarier shits traveling through the Void. In fact, this was kinda tamed in comparison to those Cosmic Horrors. Despite the obvious… Changes, Gabriel remained both humanoid and beautiful. Not exactly the spaghetti-looking Cosmic Entity you’d expect.

I blinked next to the kneeling Witcheress, sheathing Invictus to avoid scaring her. “Princess, Princess! C’mon–”

Sweeping her in my arms, I spoke. “– We gotta go.”

I was just about to perform a long-distance blink back to Novigrad, I felt her arms tighten around my neck. “Bu- But what about the Witch? She’s–”

“Too powerful for us to handle right now.” I grimaced, staring at the raging Giantess. “We should make a tactical retreat to Novigrad and plan our next move.”

“If she’s left to rampage, thousands will die, Leonis! I have friends, family in Skellige, we can’t just–” I hushed, rolling my eyes as I replied sarcastically. “What do you propose we do then, Princess? We fight her with swords which might as well be toothpicks? Neither you, nor I have the Spells to put her down for good. That new form’s comprised entirely of Demons. Ya’ know, the filthy Hellspawns that heal from fatal injuries and dismemberments in seconds?”

“I- I-” The Witcheress stuttered, her expression slowly hardening as she tried to calm her fears and emotions. “I don’t know, but we can’t let her get to civilizations! If you won’t stop her then–”

Ciri struggled out of my embrace, throwing herself onto the ground. “If you won’t help, I- I’ll do it myself.”

I palmed my face, releasing an exasperated sigh. “Princess, you can’t be fucking serious. There’s nothing in our repertoires that can inflict fatal wounds on her. Holy blades or not, you’ll be lucky if the Black Keys manage to scratch the surface of her skin! I’m sure she will return to normal once we leave, we can take that time to create better, more explosive Spells!”

I could tell Ciri’s conviction was wavering already. Sadly, “I’ll scourge the Lands and Seas for thee, Child of Mine! Don’t thou dare flee!”

Of course, the Witch-Bitch just had to take the time to fuck up my plan, because why wouldn’t she?! Like that, the conflicted expression on the Witcheress’ face disappeared, replaced by anger and desperation. “Leonis, I know a few abandoned Worlds, we can send her there!”

That’s not a bad plan, to be fair, but… “Mana–”

I paused, correcting. “– Magical Energy twists the Laws of Reality by nature, Princess. The Demonic version has an even worse effects, as they are naturally destructive. You won’t be able to throw her off-planet.”

She nodded with a knowing, confident smile. “I won’t, but we together will definitely succeed.”

Ciri grabbed my hands, her calloused palms caressing my skin. “You’ve asked me to trust you time and time again. Now you must return the favor… If you do not have faith in yourself, have faith in me. We can do this, I know we can. But you must believe.”

I frowned as an ugly, self-deprecating smile snuck its way to my lips. She had already said that, what else could I do but relent? “Cringy speeches are my thing, Princess. I’ll let it slide this time, but don’t do it again or I’ll have to take you to court for infringing on my rights.”

Huffing, Ciri smiled. In that moment, she was no doubt more beautiful than anything in this World, to my eyes at least. To the point that no treasures and sceneries could ever hope to compare. “So you agree?”

“Yes, but if we die, I’m gonna haunt you for the rest of your unlife, if only to tell you I fucking told you so.” I spoke patronizingly, tapping her lightly on her forehead just as Gabriel decided to strike, slamming her giant fist on us. I took the Witcheress and blinked away as the part of the Island fractured. “Christ! We’re having a moment here! Learn to read the fucking room, Witch-Bitch!!”

Facing Ciri, I began. “Alright, you can’t deal with her, she’s too powerful. What she wants is me, I’ll keep her occupied long enough for you to channel the Elder Blood, then I’ll come help you. Do not, under any circumstances, attempt to throw her off-planet on your own, do you understand?! And don’t throw her on a barren World, set course to the Sun. Let the bitch burn to ashes.”

I put her down on the shattered ground. It was big enough to float on the ocean surface, and a bit away so Gabriel wouldn’t target Ciri. Once that was done, I drew Invictus and Infernal Iris. I was about to blink towards the Giantess when I felt her hands reach for my shoulder. “Wait, let me–”

She pressed her lips against mine.

It wasn’t anything intense like I’d expect from Gil, or passionate like Triss’ gentle kisses were.

In fact, if not for the duration alone, I’d hesitate to even call it a kiss, but still, it was enjoyable nevertheless. “Good luck, Leonis. And, don’t die on me.”

Loath as I was to admit, I couldn’t quite contain the happy, dopey smile that pulled on the corners of my lips. “I won’t, Princess. Scout’s Honor.”

With that, I swiftly made my way to the Giantess, whom I was pretty sure had grown twenty feet taller while we were talking. ‘Huh, didn’t think I’d have my first Kaiju Fight this soon, oh-well. Time to face your end, Gabriel D’Leoncourt!’

You can find story with these keywords: Fate: Dead Man’s Lament, Read Fate: Dead Man’s Lament, Fate: Dead Man’s Lament novel, Fate: Dead Man’s Lament book, Fate: Dead Man’s Lament story, Fate: Dead Man’s Lament full, Fate: Dead Man’s Lament Latest Chapter