Trapped in a Web

A few things became clear as soon as Xiv saw the multiple eyes of the colossus spider Nightmare shifting every which way.

There was no hope.

There was no escape.

They were all going to die.

The screech was the very definition of hopelessness. It had taken everyone out, save for the Princess, Frill, himself, and the knights from the Atlas Sid. The Guard Knights and all the soldiers under that rank were helpless against the Nightmare Influence.

Many of them had lost consciousness, while some had begun to transform. The bubbling carnage loomed over the entire army as those who still had the will to fight saw their brothers and sisters in arms twist and contort into abominations that no longer recognized them. Screams filled the air of desperation and confusion as the reality set in.

In order to survive, they would have to kill their own.

The web of clouds was the inescapable prison that they had found themselves in. Apart from Xiv’s A.I.R. ship, no one else had made it out. Even if some of the Sky Knights could still fly on their yumas, the webs had boxed them in, slowly enclosing like a net fishing up dumb schools of fish. Those who were foolish enough to strike it were instantly caught, and the more they struggled, the more webs wrapped around them. Some had already suffocated.

The meteors were their death.

There was no argument to be made against it. While Xiv processed the logic behind their existence and how they seemed to completely evaporate before colliding with the prison web, his attention was forcibly directed to one coming straight for him and Frill, and one of the A.I.R. ships behind them.

“Nidai-Imbelia!” Frill screamed, Drawing a giant film of meiyal water and pushing it out to meet the meteor.

How would that help? Xiv stopped himself from saying out loud. He had seen that Meiyal Art once or twice before. It was used for cleaning without getting things wet. That was pretty much it. He wanted to complain, but he dared not distract the concentrating Aria. She was already busy making sure she was stable on Stiry.

The meteor passed through the film, and the effect was instantaneous. The fire was gone. It didn’t even sizzle out into smoke. Just gone.

But it was still a large piece of rock hurtling straight for them. Xiv had enough time to notice that it was wet, despite his expectations, but it didn’t really help their situation much.

“Kia!” Frill said, flexing her fingers like a claw with a vice grip.

The moisture around the meteor froze, enclosing the entire thing in ice. At this point, the Vyndivalian knew Frill had had a plan all along.

“Voxkia!” Frill exclaimed and completely closed her hand in a fist.

And the meteor shattered. Not into smaller meteorites that could still hurt them. No. It completely disintegrated into harmless powder. Ice dust that was swept away by the wind before completely dispersing into meiyal residue.

“I love you, Frill,” Xiv said in amazement. He couldn’t stop himself.

“What?” The Aria turned, blushing and frowning at the same time. “Why now, all of a sudden?”

“Because you’re amazing,” he admitted. “I’m sure you and the Princess can get out of here, but just in case I can’t, I want you to know that I fell for you from the day we first met.”

Frill squinted at him. “I almost killed you that day…”

“Don’t judge me,” he retorted.

“Hey, lovebirds,” Princess Kristel called out. Her words tried to diffuse the danger they were in, but her twisted frown made it backfire. She noticed and went straight to the point. “Stop gawking at each other and get to work. We have more incoming. Can you sing, Frill?”

“It’s either that or the meteors, Kristel,” she replied while shattering the last meteor from far away. They expected more to come, however.

“Fine. Meteors, then.”

“I don’t think we can kill that Nightmare, Princess,” Xiv admitted, trying to summon what dry humor he technically didn’t have. “It’s too big.”

“That’s right. We can’t,” Kristel responded without batting an eye. “Its name is Velruzen-something-something-something. I don’t know, it’s too long. It’s one of the Four Sealed Ones. If Evanclad can’t kill it, then we have no choice but to run, if we can.”

The Princess Drew an echo Meiyal Art. “We have one objective! Escape! Gather at the bottom of the enclosure. If you’re going to get stuck, get stuck down there. Help everyone you can out of the A.I.R. ships if you can’t cut off the webs. Those you can’t save…”

Xiv saw the Princess clench her fist, pained regret on her face. He felt her pain. A decision like this was never easy. Frill took his hand as they both awaited their future Monarch’s command.

“Those you can’t save, you leave behind.”

No roar, no battle cry. But with a direction in mind, the surviving knights finally projected some semblance of coordination. One by one, people left via smaller ships or outright jumped off, trusting that the web would catch their fall. One A.I.R. ship managed to get loose with Advisor Kento’s help.

Xiv, however, felt the subtle touch of meiyal behind the Princess’s words. Specifically, the last command.

“Was that…?”

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

“Yes,” Kristel admitted, realizing there wasn’t much time for discussion. “Monarch’s Law. I have it, Xiv. I never used it on you, even back then when you were still a prisoner of war. But I did, just now.”

Xiv looked at Frill, whose silence all but said that she knew all along.

“Why now?” he asked. He wasn’t angry. He trusted Kristel enough to believe her words. He was just curious.

“Because I don’t want them to blame themselves for leaving their comrades behind.” Kristel’s eyes were close to tears, but she was determined to see everything through. Back, straight and proud, she was the exact opposite of everything King Urzic was, and Xiv felt proud in return.

“I see.” Xiv nodded slowly. “I understand.”

“I have a different request for you, Xiv,” Kristel began as the skies began to turn fiery red once again. The Sealed One was about to unleash the second wave of meteors.

“I’m at your service,” Xiv replied.

“Can you…” Kristel clenched her jaw hard, swallowing a sob that almost got out. “Can you please put everyone who became a Nightmare to rest? I can command you if it works better on your conscience.”

Xiv understood. She was asking him to kill the knights that had turned. Friends, or even families, of those that were currently struggling to survive. The Princess couldn’t ask them to murder their own comrades. And she couldn’t handle the guilt all by herself. She was asking him to help her shoulder that blame.

“I can help—”

“No,” Kristel interrupted Frill without reservations. “Please. Just you, Xiv.”

“Yes, Princess,” he said firmly, providing her with an Iristan salute. “I can take care of it.”

“Thank you, Xiv. Delolera.” Kristel Drew her battle gear. Meiyal wings sprouted and lifted her from her yuma. “Testra, give him a paw, will you?”

“No, it’s alright,” said the retainer. His mission was as morbid as it got. He didn’t want the poor yuma to live through that experience. “I think it’s best if I do this on my own.”

“Alright. Thanks again, Xiv. I’ll take her to help the others. Frill, just concentrate on the meteors, alright?”

“Yes,” she said. “I can handle them.

Kristel gave one final nod before diving down to help the rescue.

Xiv Donned his Meiyal Armor, Cordralym, before giving Frill a pat on her shoulder. “You sure you can handle them?”

“They’re not actually meteors,” Frill explained while she was concentrating on her next Meiyal Art. “Katherine told me about them a long time ago. It was part of her training regimen. If I can’t handle these, then I have no hope of catching up.

“You, on the other hand, have your own problems. Are you sure you can do this?” She pointed towards the webbed up A.I.R. ship behind them. Kristel had already emptied it with the survivors, leaving only the Grinding Teeth on Living Flesh, a ball of knights who were weak enough to succumb to the Nightmare.

“Yeah.” Xiv nodded once. “It’s my job. I’m the only one who can do this.”

Frill tapped his leg, her way of encouragement. “Please don’t die.”

“No promises.” Xiv pulled himself up Stiry’s saddle, using Frill’s shoulders to help him. He leaped off and dashed through the air as he Flourished his Weapon, Benovrymm. In a single strike, he eradicated the Grinding Teeth into meiyal residue.

At the same time, a large film of Imbelia expanded on top of them. Frill covered the entire enclosure, catching all the meteors with her own net. Each one, she reduced to frozen meiyal residue.

Xiv didn’t let the spectacle stop him from doing his job. He leapt to the next, making sure these soldiers who had served their nation didn’t suffer anymore than they already had.

----------------------------------------

Kristel lived through her guilt with the help of her desperation and fear. Many were the moments she fought against rushing towards the spider and giving it a piece of her mind. Each time, Evanclad stopped her.

“Concentrate on what you can do, Kristel,” said the First Monarch. “Grieve later. Take your vengeance later.”

“It’s always later,” she shot back, but she left it at that. Just words. All her efforts were to get everyone she could to safety.

That meant dealing with the webs.

The only similarity those meiyal webs had with household cobwebs was the flimsy look. These cursed things were all but soft. They deflected all manner of Meiyal Arts, not to mention that they were sturdy enough to withstand the Sealed One’s own meteors.

Speaking of, Velruzenshup’nertoroliz took its sweet time. Confident and arrogant. That was part of the reason why the Princess was full of rage. It knew they couldn’t do anything against it, and so it decided to make them its plaything. Silently, she swore to find a way to end this hideous otherworldly monster.

“But first—”

“I know!”

Kristel Drew her Sandai-Kaimera and cleaved through a web-cage with the power of her Sandai-Siffera. It felt like slicing through rock with a dulled knife, but her strength and expertise prevented the web from catching her weapon. She unleashed all her frustrations on it, sending a combo of slashes into an inanimate, conjured object, until it finally collapsed. It released the only A.I.R. ship full of knights that haddn’t succumbed to the Nightmare Influence.

“Move now,” the Princess commanded. “Get everyone you can to safety. Get them below. Now!”

The flow was quick, and everyone knew what to do. Especially Kristel.

Her attacks had worked against the web, and so she dove down to tear open a hole for everyone to escape. She swung with all her might against the solid web, each strike tempering her meiyal blade. Sharper, faster, stronger. She cleaved through layers of web like she was digging through earth. And from atop, Velruzenshup’nertoroliz realized what was happening.

The Sealed One let loose another screech.

Everyone fell into despair, clutching their heads as the Nightmare Influence assaulted them once more. Kristel pleaded for them to hold on. They couldn’t afford to lose more people.

“Stand tall!” she commanded, pouring every bit of meiyal she could into her Monarch’s Law. “Do not give in to the Nightmare! You are proud Iristans! You’ll return as Iristans!”

Her will clashed against something and it pressed its will on her in return.

“Disappointing, utterly disappointing,” Velruzenshup’nertoroliz said.

Everyone stopped and looked to the Spider In The Sky. Eight heads emerged from the clouds, surrounding the main ninth. Pincers from its hairy maws were the size of castles, as if the monster could feast on mountains and cities if it wanted to.

It was laughing. All nine heads were laughing.

“Not a single one worth hunting,” the Sealed One continued. “Tell me: where is Frein Nivan?”

Kristel froze. Not because the creature spoke. Of course they can speak… She froze because it was looking specifically for the Visitor. It looked down at them, expecting an answer, not a question. No one could say anything. For one, most of them didn’t even personally know Frein. For another, they had no idea where he might have been taken. Including Kristel.

But she wasn’t one to back away from her role. She proudly raised her sword, reaching as far as she could despite being the farthest one away. With all her might, she responded.

“He’ll hunt you down when he’s ready!”

Everyone looked at her, faces aghast. All of Velruzenshup’nertoroliz’ eyes turned towards her. The invasive scan dissected her very being as the Sealed One gathered all the information it could, as if she was an opened book. Its laughter became more sinister.

“What a tiny, little Princess, you are, Kristel Irista,” it said, chittering voices echoing on top of one head to another. “A shadow of your former ancestors. You don’t deserve to be named after her. You’re barely worth the laugh I’d spare a poor joke.”

Kristel blinked and stepped back. The sting from her own words being spat right back at her was nothing compared to the fact that the Sealed One had seen her past. It was reading her Destiny, and she couldn’t do anything about it.

“Fine,” it began. “But only because I hold Evanclad in the highest regard. I will spare the rest of you, for I shall savor what morsels are left on this pathetic world. And if the Visitor dies without providing me the entertainment I’m owed, you shall find my wrath as cold as the shadow of the clouds cast upon your very nation.”

Just like that, Velruzenshup’nertoroliz let them go. The Sealed One vanished. The clouds began to move. And the webs dissolved as if they were never there in the first place.

People began to freefall, but this problem was trivial compared to the deathly promise that bonded around Kristel’s Destiny. Even more pressing than that, however, was the slowly expanding Nightmare Incursion in front of them.