"Men, Elf, Orc, they will all kneel before me!"
Empress Izaza'Kar the Red making landfall on Vermilion shores in the very first war against the Kingdom.
"That was quite the speech Lu, one would think you had a notebook hidden away but no, all improv huh? No wonder Hayden always pushes you so much, you have the fine makings of a bard"
William could only laugh in shame at the praise, he went a bit too far at the end there but it was already past the point of no return.
"A question Lu, these weapons of Idun, we have been tearing through enemies like paper but-"
"They won't do much against the court mage and whatever he summons yes, that man is powerful"
Saa'ryu laughed "For a second I thought you had managed to upset the balance of magic and martial arts there Lu, that would be a fast way to get yourself in a ditch, trust me"
William decided to not reveal the cannon ideas he had, or the mortars, bolt action mechanism, and god forbid a machine gun and repeating firearms, plus armored vehicles, trains, the whole damn industrial revolution for his maid, instead, he laughed and asked: "Liking the pístol so far?"
"It packs a punch, the usurpers who had shit Ki control died like cows to slaughter, the ones that could on the other hand...I think the next iteration of these weapons should focus on penetration more Lu, if you want I can give Idun some ideas"
"You do that Saa, now let's get our priest, we will need him for the push against Father and Mother" the maid nodded and they moved to open the door, but were cut off by Karl himself who looked like he was ready for a fight.
"Chloe here has decided to fight with us Lady Lucrezia" he spoke with conviction.
"My Lady, please allow me to serve you one last time, Karl has told me about the atrocities the duke and his wife committed, Uumaries may have forsaken us but I will not forsake my city and my flock!"
Karl smiled and said "we heard the speech Lady Lucrezia, it was inspiring stuff I must say" William nodded and asked;
"What can you bring to the fight Priestess Chloe? I'll have you know we will be facing both my parents, the captain of the usurpers and the court mage, who will count with support from either the hells or from other dimensional beings"
The older woman took a good deep breath and started chanting, a prayer for an olden forgotten goddess of war who was popular with farmers in the northern wastes. Chloe's robes transformed into a suit of solid steel and copper; in her hand a heater shield and in the other a coppery red morning star.
"I can also cast benedictions that can clear curses and heal My Lady. I'll admit it's been more than a few years ever since I fought but I'll do it!" William nodded, he didn't know the High Priestess was a fighter, she had died long ago in the game, after all. They called for the mares, and off they went to the castle.
----------------------------------------
Preparations were almost over now; every single trap and Killzone set and ready for the upcoming battle. William's party consisted of Wilson and his elite squad, Saa'ryu, and the two priests. he was only missing a single piece to begin the assault in earnest; Serkj and Erwin were with their people. Erwin, in particular, commanding the Dwarven Vanguard to special chokepoints he expected to be a battle of attrition.
William went up the stairs to the northern watchtower, Winter's End getting closer by the day, he could see the faint traces of thunder and lighting in the clouds. Sitting down in a chair near the window, William drifted off to sleep.
He had to speak with Lucrezia before the final fight after all.
A sense of serenity washed over him when he reached the Monolith room. The dreamlike landscape had trees and even a river running through it. The apartment blocks once cold and lifeless, were brimming with greenery and to his shock, animals! he saw birds, owls, deer, and even a big cat- a living ecosystem inside his very soul. He was caught in the smells and sounds when he felt a delicate hand hold his.
"Lucrezia?" Willam was caught off guard, their relationship had improved yes but this was a bit too sudden for him when the young woman hugged him he was paralyzed, he felt tears on his collarbone as she spoke in a soft tone.
"Forgive me, William it's because of me you went through all this bloodshed, I made you kill those people a month ago, and now you almost lost yourself! Please forgive me!" he couldn't lie that caught him off guard, still her feelings were genuine, she was blaming herself for the battle fever episode.
He sat down in the soft grass, Lucrezia stared at him for a while before doing the same. He waited a few minutes until she had calmed down enough and spoke.
"It's ok Lucrezia, really didn't you hear Erwin? we gonna hone the edge! control it with the potions until it's not an issue anymore, It's not your fault and you know that, you didn't choose to get stuck with me here, this is the fault of some God or Goddess out there and we will find them" he tried assuring her to the best of his ability only to feel her getting mighty annoyed by it.
He had fucked up.
"You...You thickheaded loaf of a man! can you for at least once drop this act! for All-Father's sake William, you aren't ok, I can feel every time you push it down, you didn't complain once about being in a woman's body godsdamn, even a saint would've at least said something!"
"But I've complained enough haven't I?" he tried being polite, noticing a drop in her anger.
"Not about this...this situation no? we both know why you got the battle fever, William, I can feel it down here, and watching you try to suppress it is making me angry!" she wasn't that angry anymore, but another emotion was sharply going up embarrassment.
"When I wanted to talk about it you blew me off Lucrezia, I figured it was a sore topic for you and decided to stay silent"
"Well then I want to hear it, screw what I said before, I want to hear at least Something"
William was dreading this particular conversation, and she knew it, she could feel his fear, self-loathing, and disgust, he sighed deeply and said
"Does it bother me that I'm stuck in a body that isn't mine? It does Lucrezia, Do I feel like a sack of shit when an improper thought comes mid-bath? I do Lucrezia, and I hate it, but all of this is but a drop in the ocean that we are in right now, I know it's bad for me to bottle it up but what can I do? the alternative is getting killed and being under the purview of a God that rules the entire universe Lucrezia, put that in perspective for a second, Look at my memories, see what a world where its gods either left or don't care, and imagine how would I, some random ass kid feel under the All-Father" she looked like she was thinking very hard about his situation, her emotions getting harder to read, William laid in the grass and continued "I had a girlfriend you know? before going to Alberta, I loved her Lucrezia, it was like...like I fully began to be me when we were together, it consumed me like a flame" he sucked up the air, god it felt horrible dragging that up from the pile but he couldn't quit now "And then she left me, one day she was kissing me and the other she was gone, did I do something wrong? did I force myself on her? say something she didn't like? I don't know Lucrezia..." He didn't know why he went on that rant, Lucrezia's emotions were a mess as well "I'm afraid Lu, Afraid the second we stop moving forward someone finds about us and we die, Sorry if I was insensitive, It's just how I trained myself to cope..."
She held his hand tight and said "It's fine...I just got fed up with it all and threw a tantrum like the spoiled noble brat I'm, I would ask sorry again but then we would be stuck in a loop wouldn't we?" she gave a small laugh but it didn't reach her eyes.
"Ritual changed things here didn't? Wonder if the blessings will do the same" it was a hard segue but William had done worse on the internet, She laughed again and said "Your segue are horrible William, I've seen more than a few by now" she laid down a few feet away from him, arms and legs stretched out "Yes it feels nice, alive even which I assume is work from the manastream and Spirits being United once again, sleeping has gotten better as well, a matter of fact the reason I didn't speak much was thanks to that, a decent day of sleep" shes smirked feeling prideful from being able to nap all-day.
"Sorry I delayed this talk for so long, I was afraid of upsetting you in some way," William said, to which Lucrezia responded "Same, but we shouldn't let this become a thing, a visit a day at the very least, so we can air our grievances face to face.
William nodded, he was about to sleep again when he heard her say "I think you will need to keep bottling those "feelings" for a while William if we get blessed by Saal’Xhir..."
William felt cold sweat on his back, he knew what a blessing from that Goddess meant.
"We would be in big trouble"
----------------------------------------
William woke a few minutes later, the talk felt like hours but in reality, he had barely napped. everyone was still setting up last minute prep work in the courtyard when Lucrezia told him to summon the last member of the party
"To think we are blessed enough to have a dragon fight by our side, this will go down in history William" She was brimming with confidence, and who wouldn't be? a pure-blooded dragon, progeny straight from the tat of All-Mother herself, frontline warriors of All-Father in his universal conquest.
Well Kallista was a very particular case when it came to fighting but he knew the Dragoness would come if he called, she was many things, and one of them was being true to her word.
"Kallista," William said to the wind, his voice carrying power he didn't know he had, the air cracked and he heard several sonic breaks, louder and louder.
Kallista had come.
The silvery-gray scales were glittering in the sunlight, she flew straight to the castle without a care in the world, the populace watched as for the first time in ages a Wulfgrem called upon the Oath, some of the old elves who had been around even smiled, what a sight it was!
Kallista landed as her humanoid form in the middle of the courtyard, awe, and shock in the face of everyone there, she flexed her wings and folded them, clearing enjoying the attention from the mortals.
"Lucrezia! All-Mother above Look at you! it's been what a week? and you are already killing people like it's nothing, you will make a great ruler girl, now where's the bad guys? I can smell fuckery coming from your castle so I'm assuming there?" William nodded and extended his hand to the Dragoness, who looked puzzled before grabbing it and shaking it "Ahh forgive me Lucrezia, these human customs they slip off from time to time, anyway please introduce me to your team, I wanna know how's the situation here before we go headfirst into danger"
"Afraid?" Willaim teased as they both walked to where Wilson was, the Dragoness laughed and slapped his back "Being afraid can save your life young human, No I'm just curious you know, big fight coming up, we gotta do every check and check them again twice just to be sure"
William nodded, it made sense to do another round of check-ups "Do you want me to give you a tour or...?" the Dragoness smiled a cheeky smile and said "Its ok, I can do that alone" as she walked towards a group of Knights, William watched as she spoke with the men, they nodded clearly in awe but very much focused on their job, she spoke with mages, castle workers and guards, even giving a word to Erwin and Sigrún who looked serious as she spoke, William noticed that the morale was getting better as well, after all, they would fight side by side with a goddamn dragon
"Gods William, Gods, who knows if your planet's gods won't hear you speaking if you damn in the name of them, beware"
"You don't think there-"
"Don't tempt fate William, we know the blockade is legitimate, why would the All-Father and other entities do such a thing to a Godless planet?"
"You do realize the gravity of the information you are giving me right now right Lucrezia?"
"Something you already knew when you wake up here, we can deal with that later, now focus" She went quiet. and William had no choice but to suck his words up, as the weight of the revelation dawned on him, he didn't want to believe but the world rarely cared for what one wanted, he took a deep breath and shook his head, grabbing a flask of water from one of the workers who was distributing goods.
"You trust the Lizard Lu? she's acting a bit too friendly" Saa'ryu popped up from the shadows, the maid now in full assassin gear, the small feather of an Owl embroiled in her hood, a longsword on her back, and small knives to the sides. the form-fitting outfit was in a darker hue of blue, indicating Saa's status as a Master of her shadowy guild of assassins.
"Your father was a good man you know, he saved me when my mission went wrong in the wastes, gave me food and warm clothes, there was a kindness to him, the way he spoke with his Knights and servants" She sat down near William who was still drinking his water and sighed, tapping the table in front of her "Do you remember when I first arrived here? Leanu would always nag at my poor form..." William smiled as a sense of nostalgia came from Lucrezia, he saw a small piece of her memories, both Leanu and Saa'ryu on the main hall of the castle sweeping it "...Gods above woman, how did the duke find someone who can't sweep the ground yet can jump in the chandeliers to get a hat Lady Lucrezia threw there, sweep with your back straight!..."
"The worst maid ever. William said, the words tinged with nostalgia, Saa'ryu laughed a bitter laugh "A year to learn how to sweep that damn room...Leanu wanted to come with us you know, she had Wilson make her an acolyte wand even! I managed to talk her down but..." another sigh this time a feeling of tiredness came from it, William sat down beside the woman, she placed her hands on her face and spoke "Tell me this will all be over once we deal with them Lu, please"
William narrowed his eyes, Part of him wanted to tell her, and Lucrezia that no, things would only get worse after they killed the duke and duchess, that the enemy that would come would put them in a compromising position, but he held his words. until Lucrezia got to the end of the game memories he would not speak of it, lest the reaction is violent.
And knowing what that man did, things would get violent indeed.
"Yes, they will Saa, you can trust me on this" he placed a hand on her shoulder, the woman blushed but didn't say anything.
Wilson showed up shortly after, his elite squad following him like shadows, with a nod he called William who finished strapping the family armor on himself, a superb piece made of enchanted ice, mithril, and blessed silver mined in Kehheim, he also had the Winter Spirit armor running beneath it, akin to a basic shield spell, the crown and sword were also on his person, ready to bear witness to the final battle.
"I expect heavy resistance in the middle of the wing, that's where Kapha'tur has his ritual set up, according to our divinations" Wilson placed a map in the table where Saa'ryu was resting, the maid removing her arms from it "Deeper in the sanctum is where your parents are Lady Lucrezia, I and my people will need to run a constant high level dispel matrix to break through the inner sanctum defenses" he waited for questions, no one spoke so he moved on "Erwin and Sigrún will be leading at the tip of the spear, the vanguard will bolster them as we defeat the dimensional beings that will be throw at us"
"What kind?" William asked if what he remembered was true, they would be fighting gore freakshows made from the blood sacrifices required by whatever evil deity Kapha'tur found and used those Uumaries pillars.
"Flesh Abominations my lady, non-undead variant" one of the elite acolytes spoke in a rush, Wilson glared at him but Lucrezia raised her hand
"Your name Mage?"
"Hideo My Lady, Sent here from the Shogunate to learn the magic from Vermilion hehe" he laughed nervously, the exchange program probably didn't cover fighting against the horrors beyond the cosmos, William smiled at the man and said "Trust Wilson and we will make it Hideo" He nodded and then Lucrezia turned to Serkj, who had just joined the table "The traps and Killzones?"
He saluted "All set Lady Lucrezia, if anything comes out from the wing, it will have to drag itself through an entire castle of angry pikeman and Knights, plus some nasty traps we got from Master Idun and the Elves"
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Everyone saw the map once more time and they looked at William, the boy couldn't help but feel excited, maybe he did have a savior complex after all huh.
Still, it was either him or them and as far as William knows it, it might as well be him, he didn't feel the need for another stolen fancy speech, or even a cheer, no all he did was drawn the single-edged blade and say.
"It ends today, one way or another it ends"
Everyone nodded, the final preparations were done by the time Gabriel came alone, saying his people weren't needed for this part.
The crew walked to the final checkpoint, William saw everyone getting ready, but it was Gabriel who caught his attention the most, the old elven druid had ditched its robes and now was packing a full set of crystalized amber armor, a huge claymore strapped to his back, he smiled when he caught William looking "Sometimes young human, sometimes not even druid magic will cut it, that's when old fashioned steel is called to do its ancient bidding"
"Form up" Erwin called and the door was opened to the private wing
"May all Gods above and Below bless us, for we cleanse this world from the blight beyond the stars" Karl prayed together with Chloe, a rare prayer that acknowledged the Fallen and the Lordless devils from the hells, when it came to these types of enemies, even them would lend a hand, depending on the severity of course.
The hallway was covered in blood, immediately Gabriel, Karl, and Chole cast spells and miracles to clean it and purify it, as the first rotation of spells began to fade, Hideo pointed his staff to a far off wall and blasted a ray of red lightning on it, the wall screeched and from its dozens of flesh and bone abominations came flooding in, their heads glowing with ethereal light
"FIRE" screamed Erwin as both muskets and magic flew, William conjured a spear of ice and lobbed at the middle of the horde, breaking their momentum, but it was Wilson together with Hideo and the third mage who finished them off, the man slammed the staff on the ground and a huge pannel of arcane was conjured, Hideo threw more red lighting at it while the third mage began summoning small round marbles that glowed white light, once these marbles reached the monsters they ceased to be, turning into dust as a flood of light happened.
"We must purify the entire Wing to disrupt the ritual!" Screamed Wilson after Hideo finished casting divination spells "Its Blood magic, All-Father above the amount of blood in this place is brimming with energy enough to fuel a city" Hideo said eyes bulging, William nodded only to hear Erwin speak "Lady Lucrezia the guns were not as effective as I'd hoped, it took your spell to break the enemies charge" He began changing the formation, putting the mages near the middle of it, moving Serkj's men to the rear and wings as they switched to sword and shield, William moved up, leaving Saa'ryu to defend Wilson should the rear fall for an ambush.
"Priests, Master Gabriel, What is the maximum range on your purification spells?" William asked "100 meters for me and Chole Lady Lucrezia" he nodded "200 meters here human" he turned to Erwin who said, "We won't need to clear room by room then, the private wing is just a long corridor that has rooms to both of its sides, then we reach the first ritual site where the court mage will be waiting" to which Wilson nodded tapping his staff twice "Magic first steel second, save your ammo" he spoke to the men around him that were still loading their muskets.
"Forward my good men, Forward until a better dawn" Erwin said and they went forward.
It took 20 minutes of purification to get another wave, this time the abominations were twice as big and worse still, the shock troopers were using bone shields, they tanked the first 4 spear salvos William threw, until he jumped in the air, landing on a chandelier and dropping both ice spears and a huge Javelin formed from his iron halo, the third mage, who had vaporized the earlier enemies threw a huge sun tinged disk in the middle of the formation, making the enemies freeze for a solid minute, to which the Knights surged forward like a coiled spring, their swords brimming with Crimson Ki.
William had his breath taken away, the men and women that Erwin commanded were cutting these freakshows down with cold fury, their slashes and thrusts ending the horde by the dozens, when they finally were done with the rift raft, a huge monstrosity armed with a Warhammer barreled into the corridor, clearly guarding the entrance to Kapha'tur, it roared like a beast possessed, which stunned a few of the guards that were beside the mages, the Knights, on the other hand, screamed their war cries and went forward, Karl and Chloe cast favor of the devoted, an AoE spell William was a fan in-game, for it increased both attack speed and stamina, the miracle stacked as well, Bolts of arcane flew from the mages, with Wilson conjuring a huge fist of stone right on top of the huge monstrosity "Hammer of Stone!" the Knights and priests jumped backward, and the fist dropped, slamming the thing down flat.
Gabriel swooped in, in full Pheonix form, with a flap of his wings he cleared the dust and saw that the thing was still alive, he then threw his head back, which caused Wilson to panic and scream to everyone to get the hell out of there, 5 seconds later he cast another panel of arcane, just as an inferno of flame and magma came from the druid, who burned the monster, the ground, and even the godsdamn foundation, to which Lucrezia cursed him
"Bloody old fart, that's marble from the dynasty, you can't even get it nowadays ugh"
William laughed as the bird began to speak, he dropped down from the chandelier to hear it "...the human mage was personally powering this horrible monster, Had I not burned to ash, we would be stuck here for days" Wilson cursed and spat but said nothing, he turned to Hideo who nodded, confirming what Gabriel had said, Erwin, on the other hand, said nothing, simply dusting himself off and speaking with Serkj whose face was pale as fresh snow "All-Father's balls If that flame killed anyone here Leanu will have my hide, thank you Wilson" he sighed as the mage waved him off, turning to Karl "I expect we being nailed by magic the second we open that door, can you dispel priest?" Karl and Chloe nodded "Trust us Master Wilson, whatever the ex-court mage throws we will stop it" Wilson nodded and turned to William.
"Lady Lucrezia?"
William smiled, Turning to Kallista who had not moved a finger so far.
"Ready for a good fight?"
The Dragoness grinned, her pointy teeth in full display.
"Can't let you hog all the fun now can I? Let's go soon to be duchess, show me a good time"
=====
Erwin narrowed his eyes, William figured the man would say something to the Dragoness but he kept quiet, instead, he raised his voice and said "5 minutes, Mana and Ki potions if you need them, anyone hurt?"
"One of my men lost a hand to that final wave, we will need a greater miracle to fix it," Serkj said from the back, the wounded Guard had a glazed expression on his face, Erwin's face twisted in a frown and said "Save the miracles, use the superior one" Serkj saluted and gave the potion to the man, who managed to glue his hand back together in seconds, William's eyes bulged as he heard Saa'ryu speak from the shadows.
"That's one from his stock, Erwin gave to Serkj before we went in, can you feel it, Lu? there's evil beyond that door, it's like mana and Ki are being twisted"
Wilson who overhead the maid spoke in a clear tone, for everyone to hear it "He's avoiding Necromancy and twisting Blood Magic to make fodder, that's why it feels wrong First Maid, no sane mage would do this" he spat on the ground, William saw Karl and Chole going around casting minor miracles and cleaning the battlefield, he then turned to Wilson and asked
"You think?"
"Yes Lady Lucrezia, the citizens that were in the dungeon and in that ghoulish prison were being used as a live sacrifice to whatever entity your parents made a pact to, Gods willing their souls will find peace in the Long Queue"
Karl's face twisted in anger, shit William thought, that wasn't good news
"I'm afraid that won't happen Master Wilson" and he cast as Miracle that made the whole corridor shine blue and red, William gasped, Jesus fuck the souls! they were funneling into the room beyond the door"
"Non sanctioned Necromancy!, All-Father above this just keeps getting better," Serkj said, Chloe placed her hand on the souls and said "This must be an emergency trigger on whatever ritual they are running, Now they are doubly sure we are coming for them"
"Kallista, be the tip of the spear and shield us from the first salvo," William said in a commanding tone, he then placed his hand near his heart and chanted.
"O Armor. A stalwart defender of the north, lend me thy boon in this hour of need"
A ghostly armor shimmered into existence, drawing gasps from everyone around William, he knew that while many were believers of the gods, Spirit Worship was still strong in the north, Gabriel came in Pheonix form and sat on William's shoulder, muttering a small prayer to the Spirit.
Kallista nodded and slapped both hands together akin to a prayer "Thyrie Broodmother, Champion and General, Look upon me and watch as your Daughter fights for her land and people" the whole room grew quiet, snaps in the air could be heard around Kallista as her scales grew, her tail as well, and even her body, the Dragoness was towering above them, high as a troll.
"All-Father's balls to speak the true name of a God like that" Serkj said trembling, he shook himself a bit, a gesture mimicked by many bar Gabriel, Sigrún, and Wilson, William on the other hand went pale, fear that the All-Mother would cast her gaze towards him, luckily he knew that the Goddess only really cared for her dragon children, viewing the other species as less than perfect.
Kallista looked back to everyone and nodded, as the people formed up in a tight unit, she walked to the doors and roared a mighty roar, blasting them to splinters, Immediately a lance of sickly green force slammed into the Dragoness, who took the hit like it was nothing. another roar and William heard Kapha'tur scream in fury.
She threw a huge fireball at him, only for the mage to summon a huge bone aegis, the fire melted a third of it before it was snuffed out, at this point, everyone flooded the room, Wilson and his men firing lances of fire, fireballs and even a firestorm at Kapha'tur; Karl and Chloe's miracles smiting him with Holy Light and Pure Darkness, Kapha'tur screamed again and the sanctum he was in was flooded with Peacebringers, that was when the Knights and Castle guards surged forward from behind the magic fire, Erwin giving a mighty warcry tinged with Ki to further boost morale, the Peacebringers didn't go down easy on the other hand, and the fight was quickly becoming a battle of attrition, William's Iron Halo was firing off steel rods like crazy, his mana sharply dropping, Saa'ryu threw him a bottle and he managed to top himself before a Peacebringer came upon him, William summoned the Winter Spirit sword and quickly dispatched of the foul thing. that was when he heard Erwin scream for Wilson, the mage once again slammed his staff on the ground and every Peacebringer went to the roof of the sanctum, with a word the Knights summoned spears made of pure Crimson Ki and lobbed at the monsters.
Shit William thought, if they used that much Ki that means even Erwin will take a few minutes to get back into the fight, the man nodded and the Dwarven Vanguard surged forward, using a shorter musket they began firing at the remaining Peacebringers, while the Knights used the muskets, things were looking good when a huge explosion knocked William down, he saw Gabriel and the priests cast a dome around them, a few of Serkj's men went down, but it was the dwarfs who took the biggest hit, more than half of them dying or gravely injured, William screamed in rage, and lobbed a huge Ice spear, nearly running out of mana at Kapha'tur, who was still inside his bone aegis, the mage turned his empty sockets towards him, dark flames burning where his eyes should've been and he laughed.
"Got you" Kallista said as she threw herself with such force and speed William was sure he heard a sonic boom, the aegis went down and William ran faster than he had ever done in his life, slamming himself into the mage as he fell in the middle of the room, Erwin screamed to stop the barrage as William grabbed the man from the ground and slammed his blade right into his neck, Kapha'tur tried to speak but was too slow as William decapitated him with a swift motion, he was gasping for air when he felt Erwin's hand touch his face.
"Focus Lady Lucrezia, Focus" William centered himself for a second, he could feel the fever inside begging to let out but he held it down, he opened his eyes and nodded. Kallista went back to her dragonkin size and said "I don't feel much beyond here, But there's someone with your parents"
"Eustace," Erwin said with steel in his voice, Sigrún placed her hand on his shoulder "No magic coming from their part of the wing Wilson?" she asked the mage who was currently plopped down on the ground, having run out of mana in that last spell. the third mage who far hadn't speak a word and was under a hood removed his cloak, William heard some gasps as the face of a Magi-folk greeted them, this one he knew only from in-game lore texts.
"There are no more dimensional rifts or Peacebringers after this room" she walked forward standing face to face with William "My name is Hraax of the Diamond Reefs, I was sent here after the deep-sea port was blown to bits" she bowed "I'm sorry for not revealing myself earlier Lady Lucrezia, but it wasn't just your people they were kidnapping, these abominations we fought were also my own" more gasps, William grimace, and he heard Lucrezia swear again, her work with the Diamond Reefs kingdom was one of her biggest source of pride, even having the chance to visit their underwater city, an honor few had.
"And you wanted to make sure I wasn't in with them?" William asked and the merwoman nodded, her small fin bobbing a little "Wilson here didn't know I was masquerading as one of his Acolytes but I had to..." He could see her trembling in rage, William raised his hand and placed it on her shoulder, she sucked up tears and spoke "Once this is done mother will want to speak with you, with me vouching for your innocence we will be able to rebuild the port and get trade started again"
"We will trust me on this" he said reassuring the young princess, he then turned to Serkj and said "Send the bodies to the outside fast, have their names noted down and buried in the enchanted ice coffins if the families agree to it" he saluted and started moving the bodies with his men, that was when Karl and Chloe ran up to him, announcing the whole wing was purified, William called for Gabriel who confirmed, and then summoned the Crown of Winter.
"The evil is purged, yet its perpetrators remain"
the room went silent as the Spirit spoke its final words
"Kill Them"
William could feel Lucrezia's dread rising, she wanted to talk, so he decided to fake sleeping, telling Erwin he had to rest to top his mana reserves, the Knight nodded as if he was going to suggest the same thing, but it took some time for William to get alone, for he was accosted by many, some to congratulate, others to point out where he could've used his spells better, the Dragoness was the last before he finally managed to delve into the Monolith room.
"Lucrezia hear me on this, If the Spirits are demanding blood, you best not get any second thoughts about it, if you don't do it, they will, and then they will come for you next" she said before going over the remains of Kapha'tur together with Gabriel, the men's head was frozen by Hideo as proof for the populace, there were talks of putting it on a spike in the castle's plaza.
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He had arrived in the innermost part of this shared soul space, but not near the Monolith, William walked along for a while, seeing the birds and animals move among the brutalist buildings, wondering why his part of this whole magical environment was so unique, Maybe became his family from dad's side came from Poland?
It didn't take long to arrive at the hill leading to the Monolith, that was when he caught Lucrezia...singing? and not a song from Vermilion even, no he knew the song she was singing, it was from Earth
"To their trespass"
"We are Witness"
"Here to pass this"
"Final sentence"
"No forgiveness"
"No deliverance"
"Only Justice"
"Only Vengeance"
She didn't stop as he came up to her, walking towards the Monolith and placing her hand on it, William felt a shiver on his back as she finished the song
"Guide us, o mighty Fury"
"Guide us to victory"
The silence dragged on, the young woman sat down and placed her face in her hands, William could feel her distress, her sadness, and angst they bobbed and weaved, he sat down right beside her and spoke.
"You want me to spare them don't you?" she sobbed and slammed her first to the ground speaking in anger
"Of course I want you, daft boy! they are my parents, my family!, there's no Wulfgrem besides us, they die and the Clan dies! everything we did, millennia of history, of fighting and bleeding for this stupid country gone!"
William tried to keep his cool, Lucrezia punched the ground again.
"My father was a good man! he loved my mom! he didn't keep mistresses or anything of the sort, he saved Saa'ryu! helped the duchy grow rich and made sure that wealth went to its people! he...he isn't a Villain..." she couldn't hold the tears anymore, William could feel Lucrezia wanted to say more, likely to defend her Mother as well, he knew it was hard to accept having shitty parents, William always felt loyalty to his own before he got kicked to Alberta, and when that trust was broken, there was only bitterness, resentment and anger.
William also knew what would become of the Duchy and its people should her parents not be dealt it, he had seen it many times in playing the game again and again, even if it was an alternative/different reality from the one he was in he couldn't let it happen, it had been just one month, yes but for him, it felt like years already, the friendships he had with the people in this world were legitimate for him, plus the fate that would befall the woman sitting beside him should they survive.
"Kapha'tur together with your parents would force you into a ritual, not unlike the one we saw in the sanctum, you would've lost your mind and soul, only to be cut down like an animal by the protagonist," he said, keeping his tone even and face clear of emotions, she got up and screamed "LIAR!" slapping him in the face, William was surprised, not by the violence itself but the fact that it hurt, and that Lucrezia could feel the pain as well.
"That's what you wanted didn't you, to rule over the land and raise your army, to plunge the kingdom and world into chaos! Violent, GREEDY as any other Terran" she spat on William's face "Kill them! do as any Terran does and kill them!" she was sucking air now, face red with tears "say something you...you, godsdamned it say something..." she said plopping in the ground with a thud and crying.
What a shitshow William thought to himself, he wasn't ready for this, how could he console her, when both knew he was gonna sack her parents the second he got out of this space? he cleaned the spit in his face and sighed.
He was no savior, no matter what the dwarfs told him, no hero either. he didn't ask to be sent here, to fix this bloody mess of a situation he was put in, but goddamn it. he was gonna do it, even if his attachment to this place and people were short, he felt it, deep in his bones that it was the right thing to do.
The only thing to do.
"It's a hard choice Lucrezia" he spoke, at last, the woman look at him, shame burning inside of her, he felt that she wanted to protest, to sway him but Lucrezia was smart, deep inside her she knew, the Parents she knew and loved were long gone, it was only her now.
Her and a Boy from another Universe that is.
"It's the only choice"
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Erwin watched as his Lady slept, the young woman looked restless, he was reminded of his older daughter who used to have night terrors, more than once he stayed up to soothe her, to much teasing from his wife's jokes of spoiling her rotten.
Gods he missed them, the memories of the day they were caught and defiled still burned in his mind, he wanted to calm Lucrezia down but he held himself back.
He wasn't her father, He was her Knight Commander.
She awoke with red eyes, at this point much of the small force had already gone back to reinforce the sentries outside of the wing, there was only Wilson, the Magi-Folk princess, First maid Saa'ryu and the Dragoness
Gabriel and the priests were healing the wounded, with the Arch-Druid saying he would get his fellows to help him on the ordeal.
Erwing called his men to his side, they formed up having already recouped their Ki, the Dragoness was by his side this time, But it was Lucrezia who took point, they opened the door to the inner sanctum where the Duke and Duchess were, together with the man who killed his family and many others.
There was no gore or blood on the walls this time, but Erwin saw the three kneeled in front of an oddly shaped obelisk, muttering insane words he couldn't comprehend, he saw Eustace raise and rush at Lucrezia, He was ready to order his men to shoot the son of a whore down when he saw Lucrezia parry his blow and disarm him in a single smooth motion, she then placed the man in a chokehold, enough for the mages to cast a sleep spell on him.
Erwin saw Lucrezia hesitate when she neared her parents, he knew they were the cause of it all, and gods be damned if she doesn't do it he would, his family would be avenged even if had to break the Oath.
"Duke Amadour Wulfgrem, Duchess Malar Wulfgrem, by the Oath of Spirit and Dragon both I Lucrezia Sommer Wulfgrem hereby remove your rights of rulership"
The duke laughed like a madman, his wife still praying to the obelisk, her voice rising"
"...Save us O mighty Star, smite our foes! we offer you blood and soul we offer you blood and soul!"
the Duke kept laughing as he produced a dagger, pointing to his throat, Erwin saw Lucrezia twist her hand and send the dagger flying, she then slammed her foot in his left leg, making the man fall to a kneeling position, the duchess sped her chanting, but the obelisk did nothing, Lucrezia pointed to it and slashed the thing with a rod of iron.
"By the powers invested unto me, I sentence you both to death by execution, tomorrow by high noon the whole duchy will see your heads roll, by my hand"
Erwin felt a chill run down his spine, Parricide! All-Father's ball if Lucrezia does it she will be cursed by Uumaries herself!
The man sheathed his sword, there was no doubt that Lucrezia would forgive her parents now, and Erwin knew the second she upset the Goddess patron of nobles, the war would come soon after.
Let them come Erwin thought, God or Mortal alike, all will break under steel and fire.
The north will not fall again.