F I R S T A R C : B E G I N! [ Opening: Wonderful World by FUNKIST ]
Special OST: The Other Promise (Takashi's Decent)
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Chapter 17: Second Battle With Mitsa! Proclamation To The Stars!
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"I see you decided to join the party, Mitsa."
Mitsa smiles at Karvella almost cockily as she steps back a bit unevenly.
"You are truly ignorant, Karvella. Did you think I would let you kill the King?"
Karvella stands up on the table, releasing the King and turns to face Mitsa. My companion laughs and pulls out her red handled sword.
"You dare let him live? After what he did?"
Mitsa winces slightly and glances at the King who is cowering in the corner now.
"Whatever he did back then was for a reason. I believe that he had a reason to send Strike into Katta."
Karvella's hand squeezes tightly around the handle of her sword and I feel my arm pulsate slightly. I glance down at it and roll my sleeve a bit. Jagged red lines wind up it that I have never seen before. I look back towards where Ryuga is and his eyes have become sharp.
"Everyone get out of here," Chief Nakamira shouts suddenly, his hand holding the blade of his sword, "Get the King and Keys to safety!"
The startled soldiers begin running at the sound of his voice. The King gratefully accepts their help and they head towards the door. Karvella throws her sword towards the King's head quickly but Mitsa lunges in front of it, blocking it with Euclesus. The heavy doors close behind me and Chief Nakamira, Ryuga, Mitsa, Karvella and I are the only ones left.
My arm pulsates violently again as Karvella's sword floats back up towards her and she grips it again.
"I won't let you get away with saying shit like that again," Karvella says softly, "You're telling me that you don't care that our mothers were killed?"
Mothers? I glance back and forth between Mitsa and Karvella. Mitsa has a pained expression on her face, her eyes shifted towards the ground.
"Things...sometimes turn out in ways we don't expect. I had no idea that when I left that day, I would never see my mother alive again. I remember I returned to town with a basket of berries and the church was on fire. People were screaming, running back and forth while uniformed men and women killed unarmed citizens of Katta. I still remember dropping the basket and foolishly running towards my house. All I could think about was my mother. But when I got there, she was already laying dead on the ground in front of our burning house, her eyes open.
As a child, I could not understand why my mother was taken from me. All I could do was cry. That's when a nice old man found me at the edge of town, exhausted and tired. He took me in and raised me until the day he disappeared but by that time I was already old enough to join the royal palace guard service. No matter how I felt when I saw the uniforms were the same as the ones that my mother's murderers were sporting, I could do nothing. And I have learned the true reason why our little town was destroyed that day."
The tense, silent atmosphere is overwhelming. Karvella stares blankly at Mitsa, her sword still held outwards. She suddenly snickers, her mouth curving up on one side, causing me to flinch.
"Reason? Is there even a reason to destroy a whole town?"
"Yes there is and a good one."
Karvella bursts into a fit of giggles that sounded more angry than amused.
"Let's hear what they told good guard dog, Mitsa! Come on! Tell me why they killed Auntie Roan! Why they killed my mom!"
Mitsa lifts her head slightly to look into Karvella's eyes.
"They needed to lure the Caravala King out of hiding so they could kill him. In the end, it didn't work."
"No shit," Karvella roared, "He doesn't give a damn about a bunch of humans! He thinks humans are piles of shit that he uses for entertainment! Was that their brilliant plan? What a joke!"
Mitsa steps back slightly and sighs.
"You wouldn't understand. You choose to see things as wrong. But look at all of the things that they learned about the Caravala King! It will help in defeating him one day!"
"Your logic," Karvella says, tears coming to her eyes, "is what's wrong!"
"What?"
"You could kill a million innocent people and you bastards will only be helping him to dwindle the human population to the brink of extinction! Are you really that stupid? And then dare to call me ignorant?"
Karvella slides a box out of her makeshift sheath and opens it.
"Aunt Hana thought you might want this."
Karvella tosses a silver object towards the blond girl who catches it easily.
"What is-"
She glances down and the words seem to catch in her throat. Her eyes widen slightly and then narrow, her eyebrows scrunching together sadly.
"It was the only thing they brought back that belonged to Aunt Roan from Katta when they reported the incident to Key Kingdom citizens. It's the last part of her that was saved."
Mitsa picks the silver object up between her fingers and dangles it in front of her face.
"Mom's necklace..."
Hanging from end of the silver chain is a bright yellow stone embedded into a silver circle. She bites her lip and turns away from us for a moment, wiping her hand across her face. A few moments later she nods to herself and turns back towards Karvella. Mitsa lowers Euclesus to her side and stands at attention as if she is saluting.
"I am loyal to the King and no matter what. Even if we must kill to save the lives of innocent people, then we will. We are the King's servants and his protectors."
"Protectors," Karvella scoffs, "The only one you're protecting is a murderer."
I watch Mitsa stick her bottom lip into her mouth.
"I know," she whispers, "But I don't have a choice anymore."
Then, she grips her golden sword and runs towards Karvella.
๑۞๑
Leon trudges through the gate of the castle casually. His mind is on the leftover Brak he didn't have the chance to eat. His stomach growls uncontemptly and he groans.
"Lionhart, Sir!"
He looks up, raising and eyebrow slightly. Two royal guards are running towards him with panicked looks on their faces. He pats his breast pocket, hoping to find a smoke but he remembers they are gone. His eyebrow twitches in irritation as the two guards come to a halt in front of him.
"What is it?"
"T-The king, Sir! He's under attack!"
Leon glances over at the castle as the two guards stand there expectingly. He shrugs and continues down the cobblestone path in the opposite direction. They hesitate, uncertain what to do before they start following him, keeping some distance between them.
"The intruders are this way, Sir," one says, jesting a finger behind them, "Please, help the King!"
Leon quietly walks on, mumbling to himself about smokes.
"Lionhart, Sir!"
"Would you please shut up?"
The two guards shiver as he raises his voice. The courtyard is quiet. Leon turns around with a grimace on his face and takes a stride towards the guards. They start to scream, thinking that he is going to attack them. He paces past them and towards a large door with a golden frame.
"Here."
He says before slipping inside and slamming the door behind him.
๑۞๑
"Karvella!"
My voice explodes from my mouth before I can think. Karvella is already poised to intercept Mitsa's blow. She jumps off of the table and lands a few feet in front of the approaching girl with her blue sword in her hands. A low growl escapes from Mitsa's throat, getting louder the closer she gets to Karvella. Karvella drops her sword to the ground and grins. The blonde girl stops, almost stumbling over herself.
"Pick up your sword!"
"Do you plan on killing me, Mitsa?"
Mitsa frowns and yells for Karvella to pick up her sword again. My violet haired companion lowers herself to the ground.
"Come on then," Karvella says, "Just try to kill me. I have the strength of my mother, of Auntie Roan and even though I hate him...my father."
Karvella's eyes flash a bright red and I feel my arm pulsate again like it had in Haine. I look back at Ryuga desperately, scared of what might happen before I look down. Pain stabs up from my wrist all the way to my shoulder. I pull back my sleeve and see red lines stretched across my Caravala arm in an intricate design. They glow an ominous red, getting brighter before going dull again and repeating.
"Karvella?"
She stands up suddenly and I feel an opressive prescence wash over me. I take an uneasy step forward but I am not trying to. My body is moving on it's own. Ryuga screams out my name but I can't stop moving towards Mitsa. The blonde girl turns towards me and narrows her eyes.
"You...I was right," she says with Eucleuses aimed at me, "You are filthy Caravala scum!"
She runs towards me with a flash of anger across her features. I feel my arm snap upwards but I don't want it to attack her. I don't want it to attack anyone.
"Please no! S-Stay away!"
I shelter my face with my human arm so I don't have to see the blood. The carnage that I cause. I hear metal clash against metal and I flinch at the sound.
"Let go of me! This is treason!"
I open my eyes and see Chief Nakamira with Mitsa's arm in his clutch.
"Now now, Mitsa. You know it's treasonous to engage in battle on the day of the Queen's death."
"Don't tell me that! She's the one who tried to kill the King! Are you just going to let her get away with it?"
"If it's her fault then why are you attacking an innocent boy. And calling him 'Caravala scum' is just plain rude."
She yanks her arm out of the Chief's hand and glares at him.
"He smells like Caravala blood! I'm not the wrong one here! Karvella brought these people here in an attempt to assassinate the King!"
"N-No she didn't!"
Mitsa glares at me.
"Then why did she bring you here?"
"I," I think but realize that I don't know why she brought us here, "I don't know."
Ryuga puts a hand on my shoulder and pulls me back a bit, staring at Karvella who is slowly walking towards Mitsa and Chief Nakamira.
"Karvella?"
Mitsa turns back around, her sword extended.
"You shall be executed for your sins against the kingdom!"
Karvella snickers quietly, almost too low to hear.
"Sins? Do such things exist if we are all sinners?"
Mitsa keeps her sword aimed at Karvella, her eyes two thin slits.
"Even if we are all sinners, that does not mean you can keep on sinning and not expect repercussion for your actions."
"Enough talk," Karvella growls, "Lets get me kicking your ass over with."
"In your delusional dreams, Karvella!"
They both take off like a flash. Chief Nakamira almost falls over because of the gust of wind that Mitsa causes. I swear that these two girls are super human. They clash with a spark of metal, one that I had seen in the last fight they had. Grunting and metal clashing sounds from between them. The rest of the room is completely silent.
"Ladies, please stop!"
The door creaks open from behind me and I turn and face a man leaning against the doorway. He's thin with glasses on the end of his nose. He pushes it up gently and peeks at us from over the brim.
"I thought I heard a disturbance."
"Yata, is that you?"
"Indeed," he says with a sigh as he takes small steps forwards into the room, "I was looking for my superior when I heard commotion from in here. What is going on?"
Mitsa and Karvella both look at the man out of the corner of their eyes but don't stop facing each other. Chief Nakamira shakes his hands wildly, laughing nervously.
"Absolutely nothing! This is all just a huge mis-"
"This girl tried to assassinate the King!"
All of us turn towards Mitsa in shock. She has a firm glare set on her face and her sword extended towards Karvella.
"I see. So shall I handle the problem?"
He extends his right hand in a horizontal line and bends his wrist downward.
"No! She's mine!"
Yata exhales and drops his hand precariously.
"If you insist then. It's none of my concern if your pathetic King dies or not."
He waves his hand up and down and turns to leave the room.
"W-What do you mean? He's the ruler of all of the land!"
Yata pauses in between Ryuga and I and glances back with a smug grin.
"Is that what you think? I feel awfully sorry for you."
He glances down at me and tilts his head, his eyebrows raising slightly. I glare up at him unsure of who he is exactly. He snickers under his breath and whispers:
"How interesting..."
Yata pats my head slightly and then continues to leave the room. I stand awe-struck for a moment before turning back to look at Ryuga. He shrugs and gives me a strange look. As Yata grabs the handle to exit the room, Eucleuses launches across the room and embeds into the door inches above his outstretched hand. He curls his fingers with a slight grin.
"Good day to you as well."
Then he leaves. Mitsa groans and pulls her sword from the door.
"This isn't over, Karvella! You will hang for what you have tried to do!"
The blonde girl pushes past me roughly and out the door. Karvella looks a little peeved that her opponent has disappeared but she puts her sword back into her sheath. Chief Nakamira sighs and clicks over towards the window on his heels. He opens the window, listens for a moment and turns around with worry on his face.
"I never really realized how quck the Royal army can pull their ranks together. That's good to know for me but you guys should get out of here immediately."
"Why help us? Can't you lose your job? Maybe even die?"
He leans back for a moment and taps his finger against the surface of the window.
"This castle is corrupt; only a slight fraction of the beautiful, vibrant life it used to contain. No matter what happens I will serve the Ninomiya family. Even if it means that I must die. I owe them that."
I look at Chief Nakamira in desperation. I'm terrified of the idea of him dying for us.
"Why? You can run away! You don't owe them anything!"
"If only it were that simple, young one," he smiles, his eyes staring out the window, "If only..."
I know he sees nothing but at the same time I know he sees everything. He bends down and runs his hands along the wall slowly and appears to find what he's looking for. Chief Nakamira pulls part of the wall back and reveals a dusty small corridor.
"Now you all should be off before the royal guard gets here. It won't be pretty if they catch you all."
Karvella walks over towards him and pats his shoulder gently.
"Thank you, Takashi."
"It's no problem!"
"Seriously," she says, no trace of her usual goofy smile on her face, "I really appreciate it."
He looks a bit surprised by her seriousness but nods.
"Tell your father I said hello."
Karvella tenses slightly but ducks to go into the corridor. Ryuga follows her with long steps and I trail behind him, looking at Chief Nakamira. Just as i'm about to slip into the corridor, he grabs my shoulders suddenly and bends down to my level, a finger over his lips. I stare at him in surprised, unsure of what he's doing and he grabs my hand gently.
"Here. If Karvella ever loses her temper, use this. Don't even hesitate, you hear me?"
I look into his pale, milky eyes and nod even though I know he can't see me. I think he feels me move because he lets go and smiles.
"I remember when I was your age," he chuckles, "You and I aren't so different. I can tell...you're a survivor, Sole."
I open my mouth to speak but I can't think of anything to say. I just walk out the door, contemplating what he said as he closes the passage door behind me.
๑۞๑
Yata taps down the hallway, a grim smirk on his place. He had seen something interesting indeed. He chuckles as he turns the corner but suddenly feels impeding danger. Yata dodges to the right just as Mitsa comes flying at him. He rolls to the side, landing perfectly on the balls of his feet. Mitsa grits her teeth, upset that she had missed. She collects herself before standing to face Yata.
"You made such a big fuss about that girl being your opponent and then you just let her go? Are you that idiotic or did she not try to kill the king?"
"What the hell did you mean that it doesn't matter if the King dies?"
Yata stands up, almost five feet taller than Mitsa and fixes his glasses.
"Oh that silly matter? Ever heard of the expression 'I mean what I said and I said what I mean'. Your pathetic King could die and it wouldn't affect anything at all."
Mitsa raises her sword again.
"Stop calling him pathetic! You are commissioned under him to fight Caravala!"
Yata hunches over laughing as she says this. Mitsa growls in frustration, annoyed how arrogant he is.
"Can't I call him something that he is?"
Mitsa gasps and throws her sword at him in a flash of anger. He doesn't try to dodge this time. Instead he extends his hands and as the blade reaches him, slams his hands on either side. A vibration rumbles throughout the room and Euclesus drops to the floor, snapping in two. Mitsa's eyes widen in shock and she runs towards her sword, collapsing to her knees in front of it.
"Imagine that happening to you? Don't ever do that to me again."
Yata's voice is almost as cold as ice now and makes Mitsa shiver from the floor.
"Goodbye now."
He walks off but Mitsa is too worried about her precious, broken sword to chase him down again.
๑۞๑
I use my coat sleeve to cover my nose from the horrid smell of the passage. It smells like the familiar scent of trash and sewage water. Ryuga coughs and waves his hand in front of his nose.
"Why the hell does it smell so bad down here?"
"It's probably under the castle's sewage system," Karvella grumbles, "Just deal with it. Rather be stoned to death?"
Ryuga gets quiet, only mumbling beneath his breath occasionally. We slush through the unidentifiable muck and cobwebs in the passageway. I run into one and wave my hands around to try and get it off of my face. Ryuga laughs at me but then runs into a cobweb himself, freaking out worse than I had. Karvella swipes her hands through each cobweb she comes across, not looking anywhere but straight ahead. We come to an intersection of paths and Karvella automatically goes to the left.
"Are you sure this is the right way, bounty hunter?"
Karvella doesn't say a word, which is unusual to her usual, argumentative character. Even Ryuga realizes that something is wrong because he becomes silent and follows behind her. I watch her violet hair swing back and forth in the darkness, the silence becoming almost unbearable. We take a sharp right turn and come to a dead end, overgrown with leaves and ivy.
"Great..."
Without hesitation, Karvella pushes through the end of corridor that opens out into a thick forest area. She slips out and her head snaps back and forth, then she motions to Ryuga who follows her. Just as i'm about to climb out of the passage, Ryuga flips around and shuts the door on me, knocking me backward onto my butt. I'm about to yell at him, confused about why he would do such a thing, but a ground shaking explosion shakes the sides of the passage, making all my word disappear and become replaced with a silent feeling of dread.