Chapter 82: Arc 5: Black Blasphemy (22)

Apolline watched as the Pure Army wrapped Bruno’s blackened remains inside an incensed shroud and carried him away with grim stoicism.

The injured Geneva was already moved. Apolline was under no illusion. Today was a disaster. Ciel busted into their camp, wrecked things, and walked away with everything he wanted. She had lost the most critical tools to stop Etaceh. Truthfully, most of the fault lay with Bruno who meandered off on his own but wasn’t the excuse for her failure.

One of Apolline’s men approached her with fear in his eyes.

“What should we do next, Archangel?”

“I already reported our losses here to Pope Maximus,” Apolline answered. “I believe Micheal and Deluge will be sent here to maintain the frontline. I want you to hold the ground when I am not here.”

The soldier was confused by Apolline’s choice of words.

“Where are you going, Archangel?”

It was then Apolline voiced the decision that would change her faith. Like a pilgrim seeking the harsh journey. The small boat, called Dios Apolline Sfolgorante, headed into the storm.

“I need to meet with his holiness Maximus.”

…

The Prime Intelligentsia wasn’t happy.

Arrogant as she may be, Etaceh was prudent enough to place an observation drone over Montgomery's camp. She had the front-row seat to watch the battle that had occurred a few moments prior. Blanket of confusion, filled with droplets of queries and mysteries, clouded her mind. Those were troublesome enough, but it was nothing to compare to one certainty which arose from those clashes.

Ciel was here.

Like all Lords, Etaceh had her run with Ciel in Risk World, and she lost. Ciel’s peculiar Authority was only to balance out his strategic sense and creativity. It was the truth even Etaceh admitted to. The fact the Unity Lord put his chip in the battle meant he already had ways to win.

She replayed the record of the battle, stopping the video at Betty’s face.

The last time she saw Elizabeth La Louve, she had the princess dead-to-right — broken and beaten. Etaceh believed she had killed Elizabeth, but she wasn’t surprised about the former princess' resurgence. The Unity Lord was one of the few people out there who could move her out of that situation.

Ciel's involvement would explain how Xia killed Slomrath in Cutler. It was clear her old rival had collected quite a number with his Authority. He bagged both Xia and Elizabeth for his faction, plus that girl who bought Geneva down. Etaceh didn’t doubt that Ciel had more cards to play.

But what could be his endgame? Ciel attacking Maximus wasn’t surprising. They hated each other, but the Unity Lord never attacked without a reason. He must have other objectives aside from thinning the number of Archangels and stealing those artifacts.

What could Ciel possibly gain from interfering in this war? He wasn’t one to go for payback for his pawn. Did he plan to rule the continent after taking out both her and Maximus? Yes, that was the most likely possibility.

Etaceh was becoming surer for every second she pondered the idea. Ciel likely bid his times building an underground network to take over. He probably had a thousand waiting to swoop in and take them out.

She needed to shore up the defense around Hecate and upped the surveillance system. However, she must prioritize. Yes, Ciel represented a massive threat, but with so many Archangels down for the count, Maximus was more vulnerable than ever. Etaceh needed to defeat the fanatic as fast as possible and consolidated her force to tackle the most feared strategist of their kind.

The Prime Intelligentsia launched an order to all the fabrication centers. It was time to speed up the timetable.

…

While Etaceh was busily overestimating the Unity Lord’s ability, Carolina was having a hard time coming to terms with the most troublesome subject in the room — herself.

Carolina stared into the cosmic sky of the Residence of Lord from her windowsill. Like a maiden lost in past regret, stewing inside confusion and misery, she distilled her pain in the solitude of silence. In that room decorated like any other in the Harriet House with eastern mat and wooden furniture whiffed in the scent of rosewood, Carolina was trekking on the path to the difficult hill of purpose.

The point Ciel made stripped bare her excuse of a life. Now, with the spark of her life fading to oblivion, the Black mage was left with virtually nothing. Worst of all, she didn’t feel sad.

She just felt empty.

Betty hung in the room's corner. She waited and waited some more for any confession. Some part of her wanted to be Carolina’s confidant. The bond they shared was twisted with rivalry and competition, but it was still a connection between the two.

At last, it was Betty who cut the vacuum.

“You are thinking about what Ciel told you?” Betty said.

“Yes,” Carolina answered without glancing back. “Do you ever wonder what you want?”

Betty laughed dryly, “I know what I want. My problem is I can’t stop wanting more, even if it lights the world on fire.”

“We could be a great friend,” Carolina mockingly chuckled to herself. “Both of us are damn great at burning everything around us.”

“Feeling regret?” Betty said.

Carolina sighed, “Not at all. I don’t feel guilt, Betty. I did what I wanted and paid for it. Your boyfriend only realized I don't even know what I am paying for.”

“Ciel was spot-on like usual,” Betty nodded. “Any closer to working it out?”

“I already did.”

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Betty was surprised by Carolina’s admission. If that major hurdle was clear, why would Carolina spend all this time moping?

“Surprised?” Carolina snorted. “I have received quite a blast from the past lately, so working out my long forgotten dream is simple.” She gazed into the distance void. “The problem is wrapping my head around how it got this way.”

“What is this original dream of yours?” Betty couldn’t help but be curious.

Carolina’s answer was surprising to Betty, but plain obvious to anyone who had observed her past.

The necromancy, a descendant of the Miharl, turned to her old rival and spoke of her dream.

“I want a home.”

It was a simple statement which revealed the truth of that girl raised by an old grave keeper. It belied  the story of a girl who lost her guardian and her place of belonging with him. The girl who climbed the ladder of life, carving her name with ambition to fortify her future. In the misguided belief that power brought security, she chased higher heights and more authorities. Sadly, power couldn’t fix life’s greatest void. Instead of a place to belong and people who accepted her, Carolina marched into a cutthroat world, working for a man who saw her as a tool. She became the target of envy and fear, causing her to seek more power to secure her position, which isolated her further from her goal.

It was a vicious cycle. She searched for power to find and protect a home. She wanted a shore to harbor her heart, but her method only made her more isolated, causing her to search for more power, which dragged her into an ocean of loneliness.

The ending was being stranded in the middle of nowhere with no friendly port in sight.

If White self-destructed by warring with reality, its nemesis killed itself by digging its own grave. One preferred with philosophical manslaughter, another chewed itself inside out by nihilistic suicide.

“You dug a bottomless well, searching for unlimited power for such a simple reason?” Betty said. “What were you thinking?”

“Oh shut-up,” Carolina groaned. “Try being the weird kid out. People keep trying to take things from you, and you need every dreg to stop those things from being taken away.”

Betty wasn’t amused, “That is why instead of a home, you end up with a stone-cold fortress.”

Carolina sighed.

“What should I do now?” Carolina wailed. “I am running out of everything.”

Betty tossed that question around in her mind. “What do you want to do?”

“I don’t know,” Carolina responded to that final question. “But I know I don’t want to give up.”

…

In the following morning, Ciel went through the updated report granted to him by the Fountain of Divination. He was silently contemplating his next move.

Apolline was heading back to Montgomery. In response, Maximus sent Archangel Michael and Deluge to reinforce the Pure Army with extra manpower and heavy infantry. It didn’t take a genius to understand that the anchor and the coffin weren’t the only secret weapon Maximus had in store for them.

Etaceh wasn’t taking this lying down. If the activity in Intelligentsia was correct, cargoes were shipped by levitating platforms through the Forest of Separation. The surveillance system in the area was tightening like Etaceh could produce diamonds from violating personal privacy. 

Soon the major battle would occur in the White Plains. It would likely decide the direction of the Eastern Continent going forward. They wanted an even fight between Maximus and Etaceh, but it was still a tight-rope walk over the pit of a ravenous homicidal water horse.

Ciel sighed. He didn’t want to be a hippo’s food.

Then there was another problem.

Carolina was sitting opposite his desk with a stern expression.

“It took you a day,” Ciel said, brushing up on the report and partially completed gear for Hikari to concentrate on the conversation. “I half-expect you to come to me with only an hour left on your clock.”

Carolina’s answer was crisp.

“I am the type who shoots straight at the point. What do you want?”

Ciel raised his eye-brows.

“Wow, isn’t it you who is supposed to give me an answer?”

“Yes,” Carolina shrugged. “Betty said you are pretty receptive to a sob-story, but that isn’t me. I am more of a type who trades my service.”

Ciel stared and reminded Carolina of the important fact, “Your employer bloody died.”

“Can’t argue with that,” Carolina admitted. “The only thing I can tell you is what I want for my service. I believe Betty or your girl Caislean already tells you about what I seek.”

“Yes,” Ciel knew Carolina wanted a home. “As expected your original goal was quite a humble one.”

Carolina sat there in silence, preparing her words.

After resolving her mind, she spoke the words to decide her destiny.

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