“There’s some sort of idea that I’ve had… one where I can’t allow myself to lose…”
Lumière grasped at the Nameless creature’s wrist as his mind returned to him in the present moment, but the figure continued to press its fingers into Lumière’s head. In a split second, his head burst open, spilling blood, skull fragments, and brain matter on the ground below.
The Roses watched in horror as Lumière’s corpse dropped to the ground, Ainsworth forced to stare down the Named who stood before him, frowning, with anger churning in its many eyes that peered through its open skull.
“One bug, dead.”
The Red Roses who stood behind Ainsworth and the others, including Deitrich widened their eyes, backing up from the group of Nameless that slowly approached. Nicole raised his hand, remaining hesitant to act without Lumière’s say-so. Of course, having seen this magician just be killed shook him, but he was loathe to believe such a thing. He had felt like he had seen Lumière die as many times as they had fought battles together. If he were to try and weave the shadows of the Nameless, he did not know if those monsters hiding within would be affected. He did not know whether killing the Nameless ‘killed’ or ‘freed’ those monsters along with them. If it were the case that he killed the Nameless yet freed the monsters, in such a place filled with pitch-black darkness, if they were to recognise that Nicole could sense them, they might attack without him having any awareness as to where they were!
However, in the split second after Nicole and the other White Roses prepared to act, a shadowy figure sprung from behind the Nameless creature.
“Ultimately, I have to create a lie of myself to achieve victory!” Lumière appeared behind the Nameless creature, his mangled corpse on the ground having disappeared completely. In the split second before he was killed, he created the illusion of his own death, causing the Nameless creature to lose its aggression towards him, leading its own thoughts in the meanwhile.
‘If I let it continue on for maybe a second longer without creating an illusion, my head definitely would have burst!’ Lumière sneered as he raised Cerces to the back of the Nameless creature’s head, pulling the trigger. The bullet cascaded through its skull, causing an eruption of greyish brain matter and crimson blood to splash across the Roses’s surroundings.
Seeing the sudden appearance of Lumière, the Red Roses were shocked, Ainsworth and the White Roses scoffing inwardly. This was just the norm for the strange and enigmatic performer.
To them, the magician’s miraculous illusions were somewhat known, but to the Red Rose team, this was something they had never seen before. It was mesmerising, horrifying, perhaps even outright magical. And to those who wielded magic, such a thing was ironic in itself.
Suddenly, the Named, Mammon, swung his massive blade towards Ainsworth’s head, intending to lop it clean off of his shoulders. Due to the speed, Ainsworth was barely able to dodge the blow, the edge of the blade cutting clean into his ear. He recoiled, grasping at the side of his head as blood trickled down his cheek and neck before raising one of the cards from the deck of starlight. Countless twinkles burst throughout the air, surrounding Mammon in an instant, exploding as soon as Ainsworth threw the paper card towards the first star in the chain. The Named was caught up in an explosion of crimson flames, recoiling back as he let out a shrill cry.
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Raising his own power as an Astrologer had allowed him far more delicate control over the starlight weaving. This particular spell was alike to the fireball spell he had previously used in the Astrologer’s labyrinth, but there were a few tweaks to its makeup that caused such an explosion to occur. It was more like rather than summoning one fireball, which consisted of a singular spell. In reality, the card contained multiple runic circles that were akin to smaller, more condensed fireballs, spheres of pure energy that writhed with anxiousness, ready to explode at any moment. Making contact by throwing the now-useless card at the first ‘star’ in the chain caused it to shake rapidly before bursting into bright balls of crimson, echoing this effect until it had engulfed Mammon completely! This was the outcome of his finer control, the ability to come up with and weave far more complex spells!
But just because it had an obvious effect didn’t mean he could relax and sit back! This was a Named, not just a normal Nameless creature!
Ainsworth readied another card, noticing the presence of the magician appearing beside him. The man let out a steady breath and took off his hat, throwing it to the side. His messy head of hair that remained barely kept back by a thin strand of twine began to flutter, giving off a comely yet simple appearance. His eyes- blue as sapphires, fierce as fire. This man, proven a heartthrob, seemed different in that moment. For a moment, Ainsworth saw a back larger than any other, as if he was carrying the weight of the world on top of it. He shook his head and looked at Lumière once more, steadying his heart before glancing back towards Mammon, who had already recovered from the starlight attack.
“How long do we have to delay?” Lumière asked calmly as he stepped beside Ainsworth, manually reloading his pistol with another bullet before drawing his blade with his other hand.
“Five… no, four minutes maybe? It depends on whether Mr. Selaphiel is currently at the Main cathedral or visiting the high borough…”
Lumière pulled a glove over his unmarked left hand, nodding. “Alright. Let’s do it.”
Ainsworth glanced over to Lumière, grinning slightly. This boy he had known his whole life had always been marred by tragedy, always on his back-foot. Even without power, in the face of horrifying beings, he had adapted. He had remained dependable, always. While he had felt they had grown estranged in recent months, perhaps this magician had never changed at all. He was the same Lumière that Ainsworth could count on to carry more than his weight.
Still, now that he had grown more powerful, he couldn’t simply depend on Lumière to carry his own. He would have to support him and all the people behind him. That was his duty as a Red Rose… no, as a member of Heaven’s Roses.
‘I’m not intelligent and cunning like Lumière, I’m not resourceful like Cornifer, or brave like Midas. I’m not entirely selfless like Ramses, and although I said otherwise, Dietrich Reiche is definitely more powerful than I am! But I have the backing of the Church’s most powerful servant! If I don’t give everything I have here, then it will certainly tarnish everything he’s given to support me!’
He raised his blade, placing its edge on his arm as he pointed it towards Mammon.
“You and me, my friend. Like always.”
Lumière smiled slightly as he pointed his pistol towards the Named, his eyes growing fierce and full of determination.
“Like always.”