Chapter 143: 7-24: Epilogue

7-E1: Felicity: Dreaming, Shortly after the Siege of Zesten.

The strange fox lady waved at Felicity again, both of her tails flitting to and fro curiously. Felicity had never seen another of her kind having two tails beside herself, and had even been a bit worried about it. But she would never say as much to Claire Oneesama or Stali Neechan; they would both be very concerned. But this fox lady had been appearing in her dreams ever since she ran to follow Stali Neechan.

And Stali Neechan was so mad at Felicity for that.

It had been kind of scary; Stali had never seemed quite that cross before, even if Claire Oneesama assured her that Felicity had done nothing wrong. But now, now Claire Oneesama was doing her best to keep Felicity safe, keep her asleep. That was fine; it gave Felicity more time to chase the Nibii fox.

As always, the fox lady moved away from Felicity, always dancing at arm's reach. But eventually, Felicity would catch her, and force her to tell Felicity why she was appearing in Felicity’s dreams. Rosial Imoutochan had taught Felicity lots of fun games for getting people to talk like the tickle game or the finger-pulling game.

“Hahaha! Can’t catch me!”

That was strange; the fox lady never talked before, but now she was speaking to Felicity, taunting her in a melodic chanting tone. It made Felicity a tiny bit angry.

“Just you watch! Felicity will get you, and then you’ll tell Felicity everything!”

Ok, perhaps she was furious. But, she did not understand quite why that was.

The fox lady leered at her for a moment, but she must have imagined that; a second later, the malevolent grin was replaced back with a pleasant, if taunting, smile.

“Well, I doubt both of those things, but come on, let’s do this chase.” That said, the fox-lady turned and began to sprint, the moonlight reflecting off of her tails, giving them a silvery sheen. Always she ran first toward the forest and then cut left to go over the mountains.

Felicity snarled and gave chase, herself dropping onto all fours to run a bit faster. Rosial called it cheating, but Felicity figured since her adversary this time was also like her, it was fair. They continued to run, with Felicity never managing to gain ground except when she thought she might give up; then the fox lady would slow down, and let Felicity almost catch her. The scenery passed by at a speed only possible in a dream, though Felicity imagined that, were she to try very hard and become as good at magic as Stali Neechan, then maybe she could run this fast in the real world as well.

Up the mountains now, around a winding trail, dodging sheets of snow and ice; careful not to slip as had happened the first few times. Proof that if nothing else, the dream was something a bit more than a figment, if the recurrence night after night was not enough. Even if Felicity was not convinced that this was important, Claire Oneesama had thought it was.

As they neared the peak, the sun rose to meet them, its light forcing Felicity to squint from the dancing rays, reflecting off a massive body of water spread out as far as the eye could see. This was where Felicity had lost the fox lady the last few times; her quarry having jumped from the peak without hesitation while Felicity lingered, afeared as she was of the great height.

But not this time. This is a dream, so if Felicity wants, she can do it.

It had taken a few repetitions and much coaxing from Claire, but in the end Felicity knew she would make it. She had to make it. Sure enough, after cresting the peak of the mountain, the fox lady leaped off it and plunged toward the waters below. This time, after just a moment, Felicity followed her.

“AAAAAHHHHHH!”

Not that it wasn’t still scary. The fall took nearly as long as the climb, but in the end it was broken by a giant splash and the embrace of the cold water. Cold water and the bitter taste of salt.

“Pituh! Pituh! Gah, Felicity has to keep going…!”

Felicity strained her arms, and legs, attempting to follow the fox lady, but try as she might, the distance between them began to grow. It didn’t help that Felicity didn’t really know how to swim and was relying wholly on instinct. In fact, the fact that she was not panicking was already a very good show of herself Felicity thought.

But guts and determination would only get her so far; the fox lady was a magic fox lady and seemed to be able to run on the water as if it was land. Compared to Felicity’s own method of moving, the fox lady’s escape was a forgone conclusion.

“Well,” the now-distant fox lady stopped and turned, “This should be enough to get the message across, please tell your ‘sister’ all about what I’ve shown you.”

Her voice was nothing like what Felicity had imagined it would be; it had lost the melody from earlier, and was now dull and lifeless.

“Don’t worry, I’m sure you’ll see me soon, looking forward to it.”

Then, the dream faded.

“Well?” Claire’s voice echoed in Felicity’s head.

“Ugh. Felicity doesn’t know! The lady was scary, and the water was too much! Felicity got farther though; Felicity jumped down into the icky water.”

There was a pause before Claire responded, “All right. I’m going to guess you were shown the ocean then, but ‘scary?’ Earlier it was ‘beautiful’ and ‘mysterious.’”

Felicity wanted to nod, but Claire was the one controlling her body right now so Felicity had to settle for only talking.

“Nods. Scary. She sounded like the scary lady in the city.”

“Did you just…? No, no time for that. She sounded like Eris…? Alright, I think it’s about time to put a stop to this; Stahlia’s already mad enough as is…”

“OH! Felicity is supposed to tell Stali Neechan about the dream!”

“Huh? I mean, I was already going to, but she’s sleeping right now.”

Felicity didn’t quite realize what Claire Oneesama meant, until it suddenly dawned on her, “Oh. How long this time?”

Felicity was unamused.

7-E2: Aaron: The Art of War, Shortly after the Siege of Zeston.

Two people sat across from each other in a small plain room. Not that the room wasn't decorated, simply that it was bland. Every piece of furniture, every decoration, even the plant in the corner, all were flat and bland. Each on their own might be fancy or at the very least pleasant to look at. Instead, all together they amounted to a false image.

Their combined aesthetic was fake, tacky, and gray. Not that it mattered to the two individuals within the room proper. One of them, a man of average build and appearance, was staring intently at the other; a demi-human woman with silver-white hair and sporting a pair of fox tails. Likewise, two ears sat on her head, immobile. Her eyes were closed but she was not sleeping. Rather, her face was contorted into an expression of intense focus.

Suddenly, those same eyes snapped open and the woman exhaled a breath she had been holding for a long time.

"Haaaaaa… That was a lot harder than it had any right to be, that girl is barely connected to me anymore."

The man shrugged, "Well, it is what it is. But, you were successful then, Leviathan?"

The woman gave him a pouting look, but answered the question nonetheless, "Yes, I was successful; Felicity should give the Rulebreaker the push she needs. Aaron, I have to ask, you are certain this will push her to our side?"

Aaron did not answer, instead he stood and moved to one of the room's walls. Staring intently at something beyond vision, he asked another question, "And Zesten?"

"...I've ordered Eris to withdraw while giving a false resistance, and I've abstained from executing the Champion of Summer."

"Good… yes, this will push events in the right direction. As long as I can locate spring before the Rulebreaker, and control the flow of the war."

"And what does that child have to do with anything?" Leviathan reacted to the mention at the mention of the sole remaining champion.

"That child? Then, have the demons located them?"

"Haaa… if only; spring has always ever been a child, the damned champion. Then, assuming we're done, what do you and Faust need next?"

Aaron turned back toward Leviathan, away from the wall, "Tell me," he said, "for a queen of hell you're being awfully accommodating to me in this. Why?"

Leviathan snapped her fingers, and a cup of tea appeared out of the ether. She took a sip, then sighed. It was not a contented sigh, however. No, it was a sigh of resignation.

"Boredom, desire for revenge, the answer varies. Me? I'm tired. Oh so very tired. I have near unlimited power to create whatever I want, do whatever I want. But it's always a copy, a fake. It lacks the spark of the original."

As she spoke, she began to morph and change. Her ears retracted into her head, the silver-white hair began to turn brown. The tails shrank and retracted, and her clothes changed to a drab brown top and skirt. This was her true form; utterly forgettable and unassuming in every way.

"I'm envious, and yes, the joke makes itself. I want to regain what was taken from me, and I believe that the Rulebreaker can grant that to me."

"I take it the others have their own reasons? Well, in the end, it matters very little." Aaron shrugged, and walked to the opposite wall, behind Leviathan, "What about the newbie, Baal?"

"He's… we'll deal with him." Leviathan hesitated before answering, her tone betraying her unease.

"Well, I suppose it would be too much to ask Hate to put aside his… this changes things, but not drastically. Thank you, Leviathan." Aaron nodded his head in acknowledgment of his own point.

"Then, what do you-" Leviathan was about to ask what else was needed from her, but was cut off by the sudden appearance of Aaron's fist, protruding from her chest, clutching her still-beating heart.

"It's a bit cliché, but I need you to die." He clenched his fist, crushing her heart, "And, I mean for you to truly die, not return to the Nine Hells."

Leviathan's body crumpled to the ground, and a translucent double lacking the freshly created hole sat up out of it, "W-what, what is this? I'm… why am I still here!?"

The whole situation was anathema to her. Leviathan was old, and this was not the first time she had died. Normally, she would have arisen from the bed chambers of her palace in the Hell of Envy. This was new, and new was scary.

"I'm sorry, really, but I need your seed to reenter the game. And for that, I need to break the rules myself… Invoke Authority." 

Leviathan's ghostly eyes widened, "You can't use a god's Authority in the war!"

Aaron nodded, "I know." He raised his head, "But the war hasn't started yet, now has it?"

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A Hell King may indeed be strong, but against a God's Authority, even they could not refuse. Not without forsaking the System that granted them their strength. Omnipotence within. Aaron gripped at the essence of Leviathan, and wrung it out. The death was incredibly painful for her, but there was little he could do to blunt that. Truly, if he could, he would have made the death painless. At least he could make it quick.

From the true corpse, Aaron straightened and then doubled over, coughing blood. Authorities were strong, but using them with a mortal form bore severe consequences. Consequences which even he was not immune to. But  it was not the time to rest. Now, now was the most critical of juncture.

Aaron opened a telepathic channel to the greatest of his progeny.

Leviathan is deceased. Execute the Originals; they cannot be allowed ascension. 

7-E3: Emmanuel: A New Day Dawns, Immediately after the Siege of Zesten.

“Sir Emmanuel…?” The estate maid knocked tentatively on the office door, rousing me from an uneasy sleep.

How long…? No, I don’t have time to be sleeping now. Not until her highness wakes up.

It was strange, that I was more concerned about the well being of a foreign royal than my own father who had so recently predeceased me. In fact, he had died in this very room not forty-eight hours ago. But, that may have something to do with the gravity of that royal, or the power she had demonstrated, or the loyalty of her subordinates, or…

“Come in.” I needed a distraction before lack of sleep drove me insane.

The maid entered, bearing a tray of light biscuits and a beverage acquired from across the eastern sea called ‘coffee.’ She had been one of the few staff that I had kept without any hesitation, if not completely by choice; the rest had been put on leave until their loyalties could be ascertained. I could not risk being poisoned by my caretakers, not when there was so much left to do. Whatever her previous duties, this one had now fallen into the role of my personal assistant by necessity.

Now, what was her name…? Oh, right.

“Dollany, thank you. Please send in the esteemed Lord Alriss when he arrives.”

Her majesty’s shadow had seemed quite keen on this particular maid and in no uncertain terms had informed me that I was to do no wrong by her. Her flat delivery, as though simply informing a child of one of the facts of the world, had been enough to make even my own resolved heart waver. The notion that this was the same woman who had, just the days prior, infiltrated this same estate and executed its former master played a role in that as well, no doubt.

“The Lord Alriss has already come and left; he instructed us not to wake you. Now, eat.”

I stared blankly at the rather impudent woman. Even from my seated position, my above-average height caused me to be nearly looking down at her still. Where had she gotten such a tongue? Perhaps she was a plant, someone placed to manage me. That would certainly go a long ways to explain why the shadow had been so inncescant. In that case, I could assume that instructions from her were instructions from my new liege.

“...Very well, please, open the windows and let some air in; it grows humid.”

She curtsied awkwardly, and moved to fulfill my request without comment, then stood to the side awaiting further instruction. For my part, I began to eat slowly, and reached for a stack of papers; casualty reports.

“Choo!” The sound of a sneeze.

My eyes darted to the source of the noise; Dollany, now embarrassedly covering her mouth with a handkerchief. The message was delivered though; “don’t work, eat.” I set aside the papers and focused on my meal. There was still much left for me to do, but it would take Her Majesty some time to wake up according to her aids. Considering the feats accomplished, that was understandable.

I wanted to present her a city reformed, but it would be a great disservice were I to kill myself in the process.

Hosting the Drakan delegation, rooting out my father’s remaining ardent supporters, sending my own delegations to the neighboring cities, replacing the deceased palace guards… I have much to do, but for now, these aren’t half bad.

The future was heavy with work yet undone, but that was the future. For now, the present called.

“Thank you, Dollany. I should think I will be relying on you for some time yet.”

“Y-y-yes, As you say, Sir Emmanuel.”

7-E4: Franklin: The Witch Queen, Shortly after the Siege of Zesten.

George, er, Stahlia was still sleeping. It had now been nearly three days, but her close confidants in Miss Sasha and Miss Jacqueline both seemed to think she would be awake soon. As such, this would be the last real opportunity I had to question Lord Alriss.

Of course, Lord Alriss wasn’t really giving me any room to talk, “You have good form, but you lack ingenuity!”

His blunt training sword swung down from the right, only to seemingly melt in mid-air and reappear on my left. There was no way for me to adjust my guard in time.

SMACK!

That would be the newest in a long string of very painful welts.

“Again.” His command echoed hollow in my ears, and I dully re-took my stance.

As a pretext to get him alone, I had asked to spar. That had turned out to be a fool’s request. Lord Alriss had been all too pleased by the request, remarking that he dared not ask me himself on account of my status but had been curious to see how things went.

As it turned out, things went poorly, and our sparring session quickly turned into a very painful series of lessons on the finer points of swordplay. My gifted Talents and Skills made me downright lethal when facing a normal opponent, but my lack of experience in battle left me vulnerable. All I could do was blindly flow through series and movements, I had no instinct for battle. Faced with the master that was Lord Alriss, I was at a complete loss.

SMACK!

SMACK!

SMACK!

Three more welts along my ribs began to take shape, and I finally through away the sword, “Enough! At this rate, even this dull thing will kill me!”

“Hahaha, Agreed, no offense. You have talent, and you know the basics, but you’ll never beat me like that, let alone Her Majesty.”

Lord Alriss made a rather dangerous proposition there, and I quickly moved to deny, “I don’t intend…”

He waved his hand, “Of course not, I name her only as a point of comparison; she is the best swordswoman, and swordsman, in this company. But even she would be hard-pressed to face one of our greatest enemies.”

That was rather curious; I hadn’t yet seen George, er, Stahlia, fight with a sword, but her magic had been impressive to a layperson like myself. According to the classic convention, she shouldn’t be all that with a sword though, not when she could use a few words to level a city. It would seem that Lord Alriss had given me the perfect segway to get back onto my original plan.

“Forgive my ignorance, but my understanding is poor; exactly how impressive is her magic, compared to the average. And, for that matter, how skilled is my blade?”

“And your speech as well; Sir Franklin, none of us expect you to use the words of a high noble. But, to answer that… Will you swear on your life, no the life of miss Taya, that you will speak of this to nobody?”

What does Taya have to do with…? Nevermind.

Keeping in mind his observation about my speech, I nodded, “I’ll swear.”

Lord Alriss beckoned me to follow, and walked off in the direction of the command tent. Upon entering, a single glare and jerk of the head from him sent the adjutants and knights scurrying to leave. We were alone.

“[#######]” Lord Alriss said something in the magic tongue, and I recognized the diffusion of magic into the air. My surprise was written plainly on my face, because he chuckled, “Ha, yes, I can use simple spells; most high nobles can. But do not be fooled into thinking I hold even the dimmest candle compared to a true and studied mage.”

After casting about, he picked up a waterskin discarded by one of the fleeing soldiers and took a long drought before passing it to me, “Hydrate; after working up a sweat like that you must be thirsty. Now, as to your questions… This company is made up of some of the best knights and Soldiers Drakas has to offer. Among their ranks, you presently stand at about the level of the officers and could give challenge to the unranked knights.”

I signaled my understanding and waited patiently for my other question.

Lord Alriss paused for a moment and took a sip from his own water skin before proceeding, “Her Majesty, on the other hand, that display drove two of the company’s more skilled spellcasters to insanity. They could not comprehend anything of what they were seeing and knew enough magic of their own to recognize the insanity of what she was. I do not plan on informing her of this; it would cause her a great deal of needless worry.”

“The men,” He continued, “Have begun calling her foolish names behind my back, ‘Witch Queen,’ ‘All-Element,’ and others. It would be futile to stave off, so I am ignoring it, though I suspect she won’t like it when she finds out.”

I couldn’t contain my laugh; knowing George and Claire, those nicknames were bound to cause the former a headache while the latter would find them hilarious.

Lord Alriss shrugged, “Most people do not truly know what they saw, and the spell casters are under orders to hold their own council. Franklin,” He turned deathly serious, “I do not know her level, skills, or talents, such is not my place. But, if a master spellcaster were to have attempted to replicate her feat, forget sleeping for a weekend, they would be dead thrice over. If the average, ten times. The mana potions alone would have killed her from Mana Overload. Of course, she’s not normal.”

The event to which Lord Alriss was referring came back to me; that vampire guild master in Zesten had called her his niece. At the time, I hadn’t quite realized the significance of that, chalking it up to some quirk of the world I didn’t yet understand, but now, after several more days and learning all I could at all times…

“Her mana crystal.”

Lord Alriss nodded, “Yes, that. There is another name that I’ve heard in whispers, and one that I am trying to quash.”

Something about this, be it the setting, his sudden shift, or just the knowledge that this was now about a dangerous knowledge, something made my mouth run dry. I took a deep draught of the water skin given to me earlier, and coughed.

“Careful. Well, among the high nobles, there is a rumor spoken behind closed doors, in whispers, and under cover of the silence spell. A rumor that says Her Majesty did not survive her encounter with the traitorous Count Francois. A rumor that says she died there, and then came back. Some of the knights, those with connections to high nobles, have taken to calling her the ‘Revenant.’ From legends, an entity once human who has returned from across the veil, gaining great power in the process.”

A shiver down my spine caused my arms and legs to jerk slightly, and out of the corner of my eye, I could swear I saw a flash of white frills, like the hem of a maid’s apron.

Best not to linger on a subject like this. Especially since I know that’s exactly what happened to her.

“Lord Alriss, not to change the subject, but would it be possible for you to set up a proper training regime for me? I need to get far stronger than I am if I hope to stand alongside Her Majesty.”

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