Ralphos, Juno, and Saten were equipped and ready to fight later that week. Ralphos had come to his senses a bit, shame burning his heart at his behavior and excitement from what just occurred.
“Ah, it feels like it wasn’t that long ago I was just bored alone in my room…” He whispered it to himself. Spending all of his time around the girls was great, but he for some reason felt exhausted.
“Am I ready for this? This isn’t something I can do without putting everything in. Cruci, that time we fought,” he remembered back then, the overbearing presence. How Juno looked. More than anything, that was the only thing pulling him. If it was just him alone, he’d rather avoid the fight, but after having gotten involved with Juno he couldn’t let it go. After getting involved with Saten, he couldn’t let her go either. He felt distaste but couldn’t place it as they reached a stone building. Heading into the sky, there were carvings in the stone and a long staircase leading up a hill.
Saten was looking worried. She looked to Juno, then up the stairs. The villagers had told them Cruci might be there, training recruits in the hill temple area. There was offices buried into the mountain, little windows peeked out at them from around the paladin stronghold.
“Juno. I’m sorry but, even taking Ralphos with me might be too much of a handicap. Would you stay here?”
Juno read from her face that this wasn’t a suggestion. She had come to respect her judgement, and nodded. Ralphos turned to Juno and patted her on the head.
“Don’t worry. I’ve got this.” Ralphos said. Juno didn’t believe him, but kept silent.
“Remember, follow my lead here, Ralphos. This isn’t my first command,” Saten said. Her blue eyes hard. They went up the steps, hoping to catch Cruci in the late stages of training. The sun was setting. The red spilled over the horizon, painting the inside of the open temple, framed through the pillars that stood guard. Cruci was talking to a remaining student, instructing him on his magical shield. It was called an aegis, a standard protective spell for those among the Sanctus Sancti. The paladins and saints, they were separate orders under different masters, but served the same magical system. A failed saint would end up a paladin, like Cruci did.
Cruci’s eye caught the approaching Ralphos and Saten. He smiled, patted the student on the back, and told him to go get some sleep in the barracks below. He had a hard day. Watching his instructor get taken out would be bad for morale. He adjusted his armor, took off and folded his shiny glasses. Cruci wiped off some dust, ashamed he didn’t have a mirror to check himself out.
“I’ve been waiting, Saten. What took you?” Cruci said.
“Oh, I’m sorry. You must have heard I was in town. I had no interest in seeing you, only finding a way to end the Lord’s rule. Then I heard the rumors, investigated, and found a grief claimant. He’s quite the character, you know?” She gestured to Ralphos, who was wielding the bulletblade.
“Who’s that?” Cruci was confused.
Ralphos’s face tightened, and he yelled out.
“Drive 4, Soul Breaker!”
Cruci made a shield appear, vast and grey with many eyes and bubbling grey goo falling to the ground and evaporating on touch. The aegis. Fearful to behold, the ultimate sign of defense of Saints. Few paladins master it, Cruci had to or he would have died in the war. The bulletblade bounced off, a bit of grey goo staining the blade before disappearing.
“Saten. Did you train this guy? Even though you’re here to kill me, that’s no reason for you to get sloppy.” Cruci was flabbergasted, staring at Ralphos as the bulletblade whirled back to him.
“Ah, I did. I didn’t know he would do that. He’s rather unpredictable. Ralphos, never call out an attack. Why would you do that…” Saten said.
Ralphos balked, then narrowed his eyes as if a veil was being lifted from a beautiful woman in front of him.
“Oh, so it’s like that huh…” Ralphos said.
“Drive 4? What is that, lord-class? Not that I mind, Saten alone is enough for me. I’m disappointed, couldn’t you just come alone?” Cruci said. He summoned a wheel above his head, blades of light forming it. He picked one in each hand, flourishing them. A ball of light in the center of that wheel glowed and dimmed. Cruci sighed.
“I’m...you must think I’m a coward, Saten. That I would give up so easily, even though you must have heard of my exploits and reputation. Was I just chasing you, this whole time? How pathetic. This ends here,” Cruci said, “that I wouldn’t take down that bastard Ros myself was a failure. Can you blame me?”
“Ah, well, you...you were really stuck on me, huh?” Saten giggled.
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“Please be serious. At least when we’re about to fight, for the first and last time…”
“No. You think you’re the only one who’s been through a lot? You could have asked for help, Cruci. Didn’t you know I was in town? That I’m the only saint?” Saten said.
“You know about the war. The buildup. You think this country will survive that, if Locos isn’t in tip top shape? Let Ros live. Don’t put your puppet there in charge. He’ll mess things up, even if you’re around you can’t stick around forever!”
“And if I do? What will you do? If he actually makes this better? We don’t have to fight, you know?”
“I...I can’t back down. Your judgement is flawed. Saint or no, the girl I liked or no, I’ll fight. Even if I can’t win. Hey, puppet, introduce yourself!”
Ralphos jumped then regained his aura.
“Heh, Cruci. Do you remember beating someone up? Or is that just what you do everyday, now?”
“What are you talking about. Introduce yourself!” Cruci was yelling, his face red.
“I’m just a passing dragon man. Saten, you think you can handle this alone, or you want some help?”
Saten tightened her hands. A pure light spread over her hands from her sleeves over her wrist. They looked like gloves, glowing, matching her thighhighs. She gestured with one hand, waving Ralphos off.
“Help. You need battle experience, why do you think I brought you?”
Ralphos readied his bulletblade. The few weeks training weren’t in vain.
Saten started closing the distance to Cruci at a walking pace.
“Oh, make sure you keep distance and only support me with ranged attacks. I’ll handle melee…” She stamped the ground, that leg covered with pure light. It carried her forward, the other leg lighting up as it made contact with the ground. The stone buckled under the force of her steps.
“I see, you went that route. You never were good at holy swords. Beautiful.” Cruci said. He sighed and shot a volley of light swords from the wheel spinning above his head. Saten was able to deflect them with just her hands and a daring spin kick while still closing distance. From the pulsing light orb, a few lasers shot out, and Saten dodged them without calling up her own aegis.
“I’ve got nothing, huh. I’m afraid, Saten, that I wasn’t only working on ranged attacks.” Cruci said.
Ralphos was rapid firing the bulletblade and used Drive 1. All of the shots were just getting absorbed, but from his experience fighting Saten he knew that the aegis could only withstand so much. Cruci wasn’t budging.
Cruci’s aegis took a long extended leg kick, a sphere of light appearing around him, dense gold in color. Little decorative writings flowed around it like fish in a fishtank. Saten’s punches and kicks pummeled the shield and sphere, grey goo splattering off from the shield and sparks of light from the sphere around Cruci.
“I did pull out the swords. I should head on the offensive. Pressure the enemy, dodge attacks, save the aegis for later. But, I wanted to show you. If nothing else, the pride I gained surviving. At least remember that, Saten.” He said, admiring her form.
Saten stopped, sure that he wasn’t going to attack, watching the bulletblade pound on his shield mercilessly from afar.
“Come on. If you’re not going to give up, give it everything you’ve got. I’m not here just to punish you, after all.” Saten said. Her golden hair swayed, her stance strong.
Cruci weighed his options. In the end, he wasn’t content. He wielded both light swords, dismissed the wheel and ball of light above his head, then attacked. His form was a strong left and right swipe, heading into Saten’s body. Saten blocked every attack with her hands, taking them head on. She gave a few snap punches to his face but they were absorbed into the light sphere.
Ralphos felt something behind him and turned in a shock.
“Oh, Juno. Fight’s going fine. Looks like he’s stalling. Saten should have him down if she gets serious.”
“Give me the bulletblade.” Juno said. Her face dark, emerald eyes shining framed against her white hair. Her cat ears twitched.
“What are you going to do? Come on, the fight should be over soon…”
“That’s not good enough. I’m not going to back down. Not this time. Give me the bulletblade.”
Ralphos was pondering her intent, as the flurry of attacks behind him were growing more fearsome and disruptive. He was more worried about her behavior than Saten.
“Just, be careful okay? If you get hurt, I’ll be sad. You don’t have to do this.” Ralphos said. He handed her the bulletblade handle first. Juno took it and unhinged the latch, set it to Drive 2, and took off. A red aura surrounded her, a strange energy with a menacing feel. She hefted her drill with one hand and stuffed the bulletblade into her sash. Ralphos watched her with joy.
“Saten! Make way! I’m coming through, straight through!” Juno shouted.
Saten was stepping back without any surprise. Calm, she gestured at Cruci, who was in the midst of a complicated sword movement. Juno snapping her spinner trigger and unhinging the safety, set it to maximum drive, pushing the button. The drill droned on with a massive whine as she lined it up with Cruci who was giving her a dumbstruck stare. Juno was plowing straight into him, the aegis buckling and wobbling in an instant as the drill spun out bits of evaporating grey goo all over the temple. Cracks were starting to form in the aegis shields metal, and it separated apart. The sphere, holding tight, pushing Cruci with it back. He dropped his light swords in a panic and focused on maintaining the aegis. He couldn’t even grunt as an “Oh, my” is muttered by Saten. Juno drove straight into him, against the stone wall, out into the air, then falling on top of his sphere while drilling downwards. Sparks of light scattering into the sunset from the sphere as they dug into the street together. Juno on top, she broke through the shield scattering light and dug straight into his armor before letting off the spinner trigger. The ground broke around them, villagers looking on in shock and scattering from them. Juno points the bulletblade she whirls from her waist at Cruci’s head, and held her finger on the blade not the trigger. She watches him silent.