"Do you even know where we're going?" Reina narrows her eyes to Raizel who is running ahead of her. He nods his head slightly but that really did nothing ease her nerves.
"For Lazark to be caught at a very fast rate... I don't think it's a trap." Raizel agrees.
"This energy... "
"Hmm... it's a werewolf." Reina furrowed her brows, why would a werewolf be on Kravei's territory. Are they all working together?
She remembers her first sleep... those werewolves that came to watch her die... It was still a wonder how those wolves managed to enter the territory without alarming the shield of Lukedonia. It was probably Lagus... so Reina made sure that it will never happen again... even if that meant continuous use of her life force. It is definitely luck that her mother managed to fully awaken her, it made the pain bearable. Frankenstein still doesn't know about this, in fact, no one knew about this. Reina strictly kept this information to herself. She thought of using the same method around the school and the house but due to Frankenstein's constant hovering, she doesn't have the chance to do so.
"HAHAHAHAHAHA!" A maniacal laugh interrupted her thoughts... this is...
"Frankenstein..." Reina connected her mind with Raizel, and since they are of the same power, she did it with ease.
"M... master..." Frankenstein replied, probably embarrassed, making Reina laugh out loud.
"Why did you connect to our consciousness and start laughing?" Reina flinches, waiting for Frankenstein to ask Raizel something. But maybe because of embarrassment, Frankenstein failed to notice Raizel's use of the word 'our'. Up until now, Frankenstein doesn't know the bond he has with Reina and since it is a bond created unconsciously, the two had a hard time noticing it. If not for Raizel, she wouldn't know of it.
"S-sorry, I got a bit too excited..." Frankenstein quietly said.
After a short while and a few wrong turns, Raizel and Reina reach the said facility. With tightly clenched fists, Reina stares at the three kids with fury in her hearts. Whoever did this to them will definitely die today. Rael, Seira, and Regis are all shackled in what looked like a wall. They are unconscious, bloodied, and beaten, tortured. Their clothes are ruined.
"Hmm? Who are you guys?" A voice asks from behind her. All Reina saw is red after looking at the owner of the voice. She is ready to finish Ignes but stopped when Raizel's hand softly land on her shoulders.
"The kids..." he curtly said and it is enough for Reina to let go of her rage.
"Hey, shouldn't you answer when someone asks you a question? You're really not talking, you came to rescue these guys, right? Did you come here with Lazark?" She asked in an annoyingly friendly tone.
Reina turns to free the kids from the wall and immediately heals them. She cannot wait to kill Ignes but she has to heal them first. The kids always come first. She didn't wake them up, instead, she let them rest.
Ignes' attention was captured by Reina who is healing the three.
"No... you're dead... you cannot possibly be... I saw you die." She said while stuttering.
"Did you do this?" Raizel asked while still looking at the unconscious kids who are slowly being healed. With the number of their wounds and since they are not human, Reina is finding it hard to completely heal them even if she is already awakened.
"And you... you're supposed to be dead. How are the two of you..." she staggers back, still cannot believe that the two of them are in front of her.
"This-this is impossible... " Raizel turns to face Ignes.
"I will ask you again. Did you do this?" Raizel repeated, blood started to appear around them and his aura becomes stronger each passing second.
"...Cadis Etrama..."
"Silence" Reina bit her lower lip, trying to heal them faster but this is the best her ability can do. She can feel the rage that is flowing in Raizel and she thought that it is best to let that rage out.
"Ignes Kravei, you have no right to even utter my name much less... the right to look at me."
Ignes shrieked as blood started to come out from her eyes. She started sobbing while trying to ease the pain that is in her eyes. Raizel raises his hand, ready to finally force the trembling woman into eternal sleep when a man appears in between them.
Locktis Kravei stood shocked as he recognizes the man in front of him.
"Cadis Etrama di Raizel..." he unconsciously utters his name.
"Locktis Kravei..."
"I couldn't believe it... you were alive? The fifth Elder said that the Noblesse she faced is a woman... " and that is when Loktis finally noticed Reina who is busy healing the three kids.
"No... " he staggers a few steps back. Reina turns to glare at him making him shiver in fear.
"Ignes..." He called out behind him.
"Father... my eyes..." she cries.
"Ignes... pull yourself together. Even though you can't see, don't panic and focus on using your other senses."
"What do you mean... ?" Ignes asked, completely confused since they have a better chance at winning if they are together. With the power of the stones inside their bodies, it's easy to take down Raizel and while Reina is healing and protecting the kids she cannot really fight back at the moment.
"I will buy you some time, so get out of here."
"Father--" Ignes is about to tell him his plan but Locktis immediately cut her off.
"There's no time for this. Get away from here as far as you can." He shouted then blasts a ray of his power toward Raizel. Reina raises her hand slowly and the three floats above her with a protection circle around each of them.
Raizel is able to stop Locktis' attack with one hand. The traitor attacks again but this time, it is Reina who stopped it.
"I believe this is my duty now, Raizel." He nods at her and steps back.
"Erga Kenesis di Reina... I'm sorry." Reina was startled at his apology.
"I cannot let my daughter die... so I have to do this to you... again... I will have to commit another sin towards you." Reina bit her lower lip and closes her eyes, preventing her tears to fall.
"Locktis... I cannot ignore the fact that you sacrificed many nobles and human beings." she whispers.
"Is that... so wrong? We all know that humans like to rule over others in their bouts of greed. Humans believe that it's perfectly fine to dominate others below them. It's written in their history, not to mention they will keep doing that regardless. Is it so wrong that we did what they do all the time?"
"We are not humans." Raizel told him.
"But we live in the same world as they do. We still exist in this world like humans. I have behaved in a way befitting of a noble for a long time. I have protected and helped humans for a long time. But my child, Ignes, I could not punish. Even though she's killed some humans do humans not do that to each other all the time? Why should I punish Ignes for hurting some humans?" Locktis clenches his fist. He is losing his grasp on himself, he really does love his daughter.
"Do you not already know how pitiful humans really are? Why should we protect them?!" He angrily asked.
"Because we possess powers much greater than those of humans. That is... what it means to be a noble." Raizel calmly states. Reina didn't talk, Raizel is more sensible in words than her, she'll probably make the matters worse if she is to open her mouth.
"You were always like this. After... I decided to betray you, I abandoned everything. Don't preach to me about the rules of being a noble. I am no longer a noble... not only in mind but in body as well." Locktis' upper clothe along with his coat disappears, showing the bloodstone and his modified body with his Soul Weapon, Lantheart, in his hand.
"Even so, as a being with power, you have to answer as such." With every anger in his body, Locktis whips his Soul Weapon towards Raizel.
"You will be fighting me." Reina states stopping his attack before it can reach Raizel and the kids.
"You... you don't need to concern yourself into this matter." Locktis glares at her.
"I do." Reina said curtly. Locktis stares at her and slowly, realization finally dawns at him.
"The title..." he murmurs to himself then looks at Raizel.
"You passed it to her?"
"I don't think you need to concern yourself in that matter. Just like what you said, you're no longer a noble." Locktis whips the Lantheart at her with full force, the impact results in a huge explosion but Reina manages to protect Raizel and the kids behind her. The explosion ruined the facility and all of them were forced to levitate.
"Even so...you were dying that day. You should be at your limit now..." Locktis decided to tap into her power that the bloodstone contains. Others had discovered that the power in the stone is too great to be used, that it can possibly kill them if they are to use the said power. This is why their body needed modifications for them to properly use the power with limited repercussions.
"Remember this?" Locktis gestures the stone in his chest while grinning. Reina tilts her head at him, mocking him.
"I will kill you with your own power."
"Locktis Kravei, is this the road you chose to walk?" Raizel asks from behind Reina.
"Yes. This may be a dangerous gamble but I chose this to help Ignes' research, to use the power that's been in our possession for a long time. This may be just a test run but this will have to do for now. All of this is for her, for Ignes' protection." Locktis states, the color of his veins are turning darker and darker.
"You are still going to protect your daughter even though she killed thousands of innocent humans to feed her own greed?" Reina clenches her fists and gritted her teeth.
"Yes. For Ignes... I will do anything."
Reina shakes her head in disappointment. This man is blinded by his love for his daughter that he cannot see what is right and what is wrong anymore.
Locktis made the first move. He rushes towards her with anger and cracks his whip, her power flowing in the weapon. Reina stays in her position, letting the Lantheart kiss her skin. The skin of her arm immediately split open and the blood gushes out from her wound.
"Hmm... not bad." Reina grins as she ran her tongue on the long wound.
"You are indeed better than Zarga and Urokai, but it's a shame that you cannot report this result to your beloved daughter. You should have exchanged hugs and kisses since that'll be your last time meeting her."
Locktis watch the blood drips out of her wound. That should have been impossible, he really did become stronger. And that ignites a small fire in his heart that was immediately extinguished as Reina summons her blood demons.
"No... you should be at your limit... how can you... "
Reina spreads her wings so wide and that intimidates him all the more.
"Show me your true power, Locktis. Fight me with all that you have, because your life is depending on it."
"Reina!" Frankenstein shouts as he notices the long wound on her arm.
"Frankenstein, it's been a while."
"Reina leave him to me." Reina raises one of her eyebrows.
"You see that stone in his chest? You can never have a chance on him with that." Frankenstein gritted his teeth, knowing that she is indeed right is what's making it annoying all the more. But he cannot help himself but be worried because of that wound on her.
Locktis' form grew larger and his Lantheart became longer as more power flows into it. He cracks his whip towards her continuously while Reina kept on returning the favor with her own power. The Lantheart crackled with so much power while his veins became metallic in color.
"Just kill me already! What more do you want?!" He shouted when he realized that he doesn't have a chance of winning this fight. And all this time, Reina is only deflecting and swatting his attacks.
"I just thought you were warming up." Reina shrugs innocently.
"If that's what you wish..." The princess of the nobles summons hundreds of blood fields around them. The blood painted the atmosphere along with the land red. It causes the earth and the sky to shake while the beings near them trembles.
"Locktis Kravei... I, with the authority given to me as the Noblesse... sentence you to eternal sleep." Locktis tries to hold the blood in his mouth as he pushes his body at its limit. He cracks his whip again but this time he summons the blood shark, the symbol of the Kravei Clan. The shark is enormous in size and made up of his red energy.
Reina summons her phoenix, it rushes towards him, and the symbol of the Kravei Clan was destroyed like nothing. The phoenix continues at a speed of light like nothing happened.
The blood phoenix landed on him and a stray of light and a big explosion that blew a lot of trees away from the area. Raizel was fast enough to create a protecting sphere around them but it cracked under the pressure. The werewolves tried to brace themselves but the impact pushes them back a little.
"This is the power of the Noblesse?" the one Lazark fought asks himself.
Raizel walks towards the kneeling traitor as his body is slowly being blown away by the wind.
"So... it's come to this. I had no choice but to throw away everything in order to protect that child. I had to give up all that trusted me... my family, my clan, and other Clan Leaders as well... even my mind and body... I did not know what to do when I first find out about what she was doing. I could not stop her even though she committed more and more horrendous crimes. I tried to tell her to stop but she would not obey. I could do nothing to stop her actions." Locktis weep while kneeling in front of Raizel.
"Locktis Kravei... I may not experience how it was to be a parent..." Raizel looks at Reina who is in Frankenstein's arms.
"However, I know that protecting your child isn't the only role of a parent."
His eyes widened as he realizes what Raizel is implying. He clenches his fist and places it in his chest.
"You are right. I have forgotten the most obvious thing. Though my body vanishes... I will engrave your words unto my soul, Sir Raizel."
Author's Note:
Ahh... Reina is... kinda...