Chapter 18: The End of a Hard Road
“Are you ready to end this for good?”
“As long as I’m standing with you, I’m ready for anything.”
IXH
Haruka scanned Fort Inith’s walls and grounds carefully, memorizing every detail. They had arrived in time, apparently; Black Sun and Areyan soldiers were visible patrolling the place or guarding its entrances, but not too tightly. Everyone seemed relaxed, as if they weren’t expecting trouble, and that would work to their advantage. “It looks like Sayuri wasn’t lying,” she said as she pulled back behind a tree. She had never been happier to see a forest surrounding a place. “And she apparently didn’t betray us, either; they aren’t expecting more than a delivery.”
“We would have been in serious trouble,” Isabella added. “If she hadn’t made the decision she did, I’d be in there in chains and you’d be out here alone, and all these guards would be on alert.”
Haruka nodded. “We have a lot of people to thank for getting us this far. But now it’s up to us; just you and me. Are you ready for this? How are you feeling?”
Bella gave her a weak smile. “I’m alright. Let’s just get this over with so we’re free for the rest of our time.”
Haruka watched her for a few seconds before nodding. She was worried about this; in the week since they’d left the Undercity, Bella had gotten worse. The exertion of their trials beneath and above the surface was taking its toll on the woman’s health and it wasn’t getting any better. Haruka would have asked her to stay behind here if she thought it would be any use, but this was Bella’s fight as much as hers. She just hoped it wouldn’t be too much for her.
Both of them discarded their packs and hid them beneath some brush, keeping on their person what they would need inside. They then began moving, quietly and staying out of sight. Haruka would be doing most of the work outside, as she was much more experienced and skilled in stealth; Bella had usually just walked into any place she wanted, decimating the guards in her way. That was no option here; they were planning for Bella to use only one last transformation, and it wouldn’t be used here. Instead, Haruka directed the knight as they moved through the brush, planning attacks together. A patrol of three Areyan soldiers passed and they attacked in unison; Isabella’s sheathed sword doubled a man over with a strike to the stomach, Haruka silenced another with a strike to the neck. As the third turned Isabella rolled over the back of the doubled-over soldier and swept the man’s legs from under him, sending him to his back. She then turned back and struck the first soldier, knocking him out as Haruka knelt and knocked out the one she had felled.
Gone were the days when they were distracted and uncoordinated while fighting together. Trust and a growing familiarity had strengthened between them and they now moved as one, predicting each other’s moves and filling in weak spots. Each new their limits and presented them readily to the other; with no secrets and an openness most could only wish for, with nothing hidden between them, they were linked more closely than any opponents they came across, and it showed. One by one each obstacle between them and their chosen entrance to the fort was removed, regardless of the size of the group. No words needed to pass between them during the fights, no complicated strategies; each group was dispatched rapidly and silently, and with little trouble.
Eventually they made it to the entrance and, without a moment’s hesitation, headed inside. The first thing they noticed was how dark it was; moreso than outside, even. They had chosen to enter at night for obvious reasons, but had expected more light inside. The complex was an old fort and thus made entirely of stone, and quite cold. Torches sparsely lined the halls and rooms, providing minimal flickering light. This would at least help them remain undetected, but Haruka knew this meant another danger was present. She placed a hand on Isabella’s shoulder to tell her to wait, and crept forward very slowly, her eyes scanning the hallway they had entered intently. Just as she had thought, there was a slight glint of something; she inspected the strand of web, finding where it connected and following it to a web up in a corner where a black spider was resting.
Haruka moved back to Bella and pointed it out. “One of Aranea’s sentries,” she explained in a whisper. “If we touch any line of the webbing it will feel the vibration and sent out a message. If we let them know we’re coming, this will be a lot harder.”
“So we should try to kill it before it can do that?” Isabella whispered back as she watched the arachnid warily. “There are going to be giant spiders here, aren’t there?”
Haruka looked at Bella, who seemed a bit paler now. “I can take care of those if there are. There are going to be… all kinds of spiders in here. Aranea loves them all, and if she’s staying here, there are guaranteed to be… a lot.”
“How many?”
“…Hundreds or thousands, depending on how long she’s been here.”
Isabella shuddered and let out a sigh. “Of course our enemy uses spiders. Of course they do.” She looked down the hallway. “Spiders… Why’d it have to be spiders?”
“Just try to be careful, they’re very dangerous.” Haruka caught her hand and squeezed it. “Let me go first. And… don’t shoot if you see a spider, okay?”
“I’ll try to keep my head.”
Haruka nodded and moved forward, avoiding the webbing and guiding Bella around it. As they reached the end of the hallway she opened the next door, gesturing Bella through. “If we kill the spider she might know; there’s no way to know which ones she’s currently connected to. It’s best to leave it behind.”
“If I don’t have to get near it, that’s good enough for me,” Bella muttered as she followed.
In the next hall they pressed against the wall, listening to two Areyan guards who were approaching on patrol. “This place creeps me out more every day. That woman is crazy.”
“It’s just a few bugs and webs. Haven’t you ever been in an old building with a bunch of cobwebs?”
“Yeah, but none of those buildings had her in them. She’s creepier than any of those things. She talks to them, and they crawl all over her – you can’t tell me she isn’t disturbing.”
“You’re right, but what are we supposed to do? We were given a job to do. Don’t worry, once her friend gets here with the Butcher, we’ll get to go home.”
“I can’t imagine anyone capturing the Butcher, so that might not even happen.”
“I dunno, I heard a rumor she was different now.”
“Different how?”
“Like, turned over a new leaf or somethin’. That was the rumor when she left, right?”
“What – you think killing all her men an’ the king was a new leaf?”
“Good point.”
“Ha! Imagine the Butcher changing ‘er ways. Anyone who remembers her eyes wouldn’t believe that bull.”
“I guess you’re…”
The men froze in silence as the subject of their conversation stood before them. Her arms were crossed in disapproval and her grey eyes focused on them like they were insects as her voice commanded all the authority she’d ever held. “Sigrun… Joliss.”
“Knight-Commander!”
“Your disrespect is… irritating,” Isabella said as her grey eyes narrowed at them.
“I – we – it was just rumors, that’s all,” one stammered.
The other looked around in both directions, but the hallway was empty otherwise. “Where’s the woman’s ally?”
Isabella inspected her nails in boredom. “I killed her.” Her eyes moved back up to glare at the two soldiers. “Because she irritated me.”
“Oh God, you’re not-“
“We’re just following orders!”
“Please understand!”
Isabella seemed to lose her patience as she pointed at the door they’d entered through. “Leave. And take whatever rats you brought with you.” The two soldiers did exactly as they were told, sprinting down the hall to find whatever other Areyan soldiers they could. These men had been present on numerous occasions where the Golden Butcher had slaughtered entire armies, and they knew that if she was here, and free, they had no chance of surviving if they fought her; better to simply leave if she was willing to let them go. They had been sent here to help capture the monk, after all; nobody had said anything about fighting the Butcher.
Haruka stepped out beside her and looked down the hallway. “They certainly listened. Aranea is definitely going to know we’re here now.”
“Yes, but the trade-off is worth it,” Bella said with a sigh. “Now we won’t have Areyan soldiers to fight. I’m glad I don’t have to kill men I served with, even if I was different at the time…” She looked at Haruka. “Don’t you feel that for the Black Sun?”
Haruka shook her head. “I never served with any of them in a war, just on jobs. And on jobs we were all just another asset to each other. I certainly didn’t care for any of them.” She met Bella’s gaze. “I didn’t really care about anything until you. I was like a machine, just going through the motions and following orders. I never made actual decisions or cared what happened to anything or anyone, including myself.”
“We are… very similar,” Bella said sadly. “I wish I could make it more worth it.”
“If you’re the reason for all that I’ve been through, then I’m grateful for all of it. Every hardship and trial just made me more capable of fighting for you now; I’m even willing to thank my father for putting me through such intense training,” Haruka said with a chuckle. “Trust me, Bella; If I could add a single day to our time together by going through all of it again, it wouldn’t even be a hard choice.”
Isabella looked down, shook her head, and then turned and hugged her tightly. “You’re going to make me cry,” she said with a laugh. “Even though… It’s all worth it even though we have such little time?”
“Yes. Never doubt that. In fact, I don’t want you to forget how much I care despite that limited time. So, Bella, when this is over, will you marry me?”
Isabella grinned at her. “Yes! Yes, yes, yes, and yes! We’re basically already married, but if you want to make it official, absolutely.”
“We should; you deserve it.” Haruka ran a hand through her hair. “We have people to invite, you know; they’ll kill us if we don’t.”
“…You’re right! I never…” Isabella shook her head. “I never thought I would be, and especially not inviting…” She cleared her throat and looked away. “Damn it… I’m not supposed to be all emotional.”
Haruka smiled and kissed her head. “I like it. It lets me know when I’m doing something right.”
Isabella looked back at her. “You’ve done everything right, somehow. Even the fact that whenever we talk about things like this, it’s always in some place that isn’t at all safe while we’re surrounded by enemies.”
Haruka laughed. “Forgive me for asking you here instead of some beautiful spot on a cliff or beach somewhere.”
“No, no, this is perfect! It fits exactly what our relationship has been like so far, surrounded by danger and ignoring it for more important things.” Isabella leaned up and kissed her, taking her time before pulling back. “This is one more thing they’re in the way of, you know.”
“Mmm.” Haruka straightened and looked down the hallway. “Then let’s get rid of these obstacles and move on to things that are worth our time.”
Haruka led the way and, though everyone knew they were here now, still no one knew their location, so they went quietly, avoiding patrols of Black Sun members that were looking for them. Somehow they made it to a final hallway deep within the fort; at the end was an open pair of double-doors and beyond them was a huge amount of webbing strung all about a vast room. Only three guards were visible inside, but Haruka’s attention was solidly on her target: Aranea was in view, and still had no idea they were right there…
…At least, they had no idea until Isabella started coughing. Her sickness hit her hard and she slid to her knees, placing one hand on the ground and another over her mouth as she coughed violently and blood slipped through her fingers. Aranea saw them instantly and her eyes went wide. She sent out a fort-wide alert and ordered the three Black Sun monks near her to attack Haruka; as soon as they were out of the room she slammed the doors shut behind them and began warding them. Haruka cursed, looking at Bella worriedly before turning a glare on the three monks and sprinting down the hall towards them. She recognized each one, and they recognized her; each of them was elite, and the one in front held a staff, the second held two curved swords, and the third held a straight sword. And Haruka was going to put them down before they could be a threat to Bella.
As she neared the monk with the staff she slid into a sweep-kick; the monk flipped over her as she’d expected and she spun to her feet and ran up the wall, leaping off and kicking her out of the air and into the opposite wall. Haruka landed as the second charged her and stabbed forward with his two swords. She arched her back and set her hands on the floor, caught his wrist between her feet, and flipped him over her. She landed back on her feet as the third monk arrived and thrust his sword forward. She deflected the strike with an arm guard, smacked the flat of the blade to knock the pommel into his chin, then grabbed her wrist and turned her back to him before turning her body to the left, curling his arm in and forcing him to stab himself in the neck with his own blade. As his eyes went wide she spun back in the other direction, freeing the blade and slashing across his stomach in one movement.
Without even waiting for him to fall Haruka turned to her right and met the monk with the staff, blocking her strikes with the sword. A quick kick hit her stomach and gave Haruka enough time to surge energy into her arms and bring her sword down in a powerful chop. The monk raised her staff to block but the sword cleaved straight through it and through her. As the two halves of the staff fell from her hands, the last assassin was coming back at Haruka with his twin swords ready. Haruka kicked one half of the staff into him to slow him and caught the other half in time for his arrival, using that and the sword to deflect his rapid attacks. Her eyes followed the movements of his two swords before finding an opening; she threw the remaining half of the staff at his face, distracting him for only a moment. In that moment she went low and cut his legs out from under him, sending him to his stomach. Without hesitation she brought the sword back around and stabbed it down into him, pinning him to the ground.
Haruka stood and ran back to Bella, who was kneeling and supporting herself on one arm. Both of them looked back as the sound of a lot of footsteps came from behind them, approaching the hall they were in. “I’m sorry,” Bella said. “I ruined our surprise attack.”
“It’s not your fault,” Haruka assured her, glancing from the end of the hall to the door at the other end.
“Go,” Isabella said. “I’ll hold off the guards.”
Haruka looked at her. “Bella-“
“Go!” Haruka nodded, backing away slowly before sprinting towards the door. “Ruki!” Haruka didn’t know how, but she knew exactly what to do; she leapt into the air and spun around, catching the sheathed Mercy that Isabella had thrown to her. The sword flared with power as she completed the spin and, using the momentum her running jump gave her, slammed it into the door as she reached it, shattering all the wards on it and splintering the door inwards to a cry of surprise from Aranea. The Hand of the Frozen Web was no pushover, though, and three poisoned knives had left her hand before her cry was even done. Haruka knocked them away with Mercy and then blocked a fourth strike that came from a long whip Aranea held.
The woman looked darkly at her, retracting the whip with a crack. “I guess Sayuri betrayed me. Now I’ll have to deal with you myself.”
Haruka spun the sword in her hand, undoing the leather belt and drawing the gleaming blade. “That’s what I was thinking. I never liked you, Lith, and I’m definitely not going to regret driving this into your heart.” Aranea growled and a giant spider approached on the ceiling above Haruka, firing webbing over her; however, Mercy cut through the webbing without any resistance, freeing her as soon as she was trapped. “Your tricks aren’t going to work this time,” Haruka said with determination, unafraid of the roomful of poisonous and giant spiders or the sorceress before her. She was going to end this problem now.
IXH
Back down the hall Isabella stood slowly, forcing herself to her feet as Black Sun assassins entered the hallway. She turned to meet them and wiped the blood from her lips, drawing her iron sword in her right hand and her pistol in her left. There were at least a dozen with various weapons, and more were arriving from around the fort. They looked past her to see Aranea fighting until she stepped into the middle of the hallway. “You aren’t getting through me,” she stated, but she wasn’t going to be able to intimidate them, not when she was already breathing heavily. Her lungs felt like they were on fire and each beat of her heart shot pain through her body, and on top of that her head felt heavy and there was a sharp pain behind her eyes.
They could see this, and she could tell; they knew she was half-dead already. That angered her and it showed on her face as she took a step towards them, gritting her teeth and tightening her grip on her weapons. “I am Isabella Enyo. Though I am at death’s door, none of you will be a threat to me until I cross his threshold.” She struck her sword across the ground, sending up a shower of sparks from the stone. “I am Isabella of Two Faces, and this will not be fair.” They decided to call her bluff and attacked; she met them.
IXH
Haruka flung another spider from her arm, purging the area of poison again. She was then forced to abandon her current position as Aranea warped it with dark magic, rending the air and bending light. Haruka went up onto the wall of the cylindrical room, sprinting around it before launching herself off at Aranea. The sorceress managed to raise a barrier but Mercy smashed through it, nearly cleaving her as well if she hadn’t managed to teleport a few feet away. Haruka would have to thank Isabella for lending her Mercy; the sword was giving her an advantage she never would have had. It seemed to hate Aranea’s magic, destroying it with a single blow in most cases while the sheath protected her from it.
Isabella had told her that, before her change, the sword had been named “Merciless” instead. Because it was tied so closely to her it had changed with her, and it seemed to hold her emotions as well, including a hatred for people like Aranea along with dark magic. Haruka could feel Isabella with her as she wielded the sword, cleaving the legs from another giant spider and piercing its head easily. She purged the poison from her body once more and rushed back in, increasing her speed in an attempt to catch Aranea, her hand tight around Isabella’s sword.
IXH
Isabella slid around a sword strike and placed her sword against the man’s neck, slashing it open before kicking him into his ally and using the distraction to gun down his ally with her pistol. Isabella hated killing, she truly did, but monks were ridiculously hard to knock out or injure enough to put them out of the fight because they could self-heal, and if any of them made it to Haruka it would be that much harder for her to win. Bella had no choice but to kill here, especially because her condition made it so much harder to fight. Eight minutes, she had told Haruka; I can fight at full ability for eight minutes. She was at three minutes now and there were twenty assassins in front of her trying to kill her. It was getting harder to breathe but she ignored it, she ignored all of it, throwing it aside.
It drove her insane. Back when she was doing horrible things she had the power and skill to destroy armies, but now, when she was trying to fight for something truly worth it, she could barely fight. As she narrowly avoided an axe that would have taken her head, she realized that there was no option. Either she did something now to turn the tide, or she was going to die. She couldn’t use Mercy, Haruka needed it. Her only option was the same method she’d used against the Triad, but could she handle it another time? Whatever the case, they were at the end now; they were going to end things today. It was time to pull out all of the stops.
Isabella leapt back down the hall and fired rapidly, forcing her enemies to back off. She then tossed the empty pistol aside, having used her last rounds, and slashed her hand open before sheathing her sword. She watched the blood drip from her hand as the assassins came charging down the hallway and she shoved her hand forward. A pulse of power came from the blood and echoed down the hall, throwing them all back to give her more time. Isabella ripped off her leather bracers, then rubbed her hands together and began painting runes along her arms in her blood. She added a few more as the assassins recovered and returned to their feet, charging again. Isabella held Haruka in her mind this time, using her as a barrier to retain her mind as she drew her sword. Bale… Bai… I need your help again. I have to protect Haruka. She looked up as the first assassin leapt at her with his sword raised over head. There was a flash before his upper torso hit the ground behind her and his legs landed in front of her. She raised her dripping sword as red and white flames began to lick over her skin, turning hard eyes on the increasing number of Black Sun fighters. “I am Isabella Enyo, and you are in my way.”
IXH
Haruka spun through the air and slammed into the stone wall, groaning as she dropped from it and landed on her feet. Aranea sent another wave of force at her and she hacked through it, protecting her from another brutal throw. Still, she was winning; the last spider had finally been slain and now it was between her and Aranea. The sorceress was enraged and throwing everything she had at her, forcing Haruka to focus on evasion for now. She was wearing Aranea down, though, and they both knew it; she would have to do something truly desperate in order to win this. Aranea, however, was willing to do so. She threw her hands down and the room began shaking, and Haruka’s eyes went wide as she realized what she was doing, dodging a falling stone from the wall.
Haruka looked down the hall and noticed stones there dislodging near Bella as well. Aranea was going to bring the entire place down; it was already done. She’d had this planned just in case, a spell in place that she could trigger to demolish the fort with them inside it. However, Aranea wasn’t the type to kill herself; she had an exit. Haruka knew she and Isabella had only one chance to get out of here alive. She smashed the wall behind her, then let out a cry as the stones that fell from it buried her. From a small hole between the stone Haruka watched Aranea grin; the sorceress looked down the hall before moving to a spot on the wall and performing a short spell to open a hidden door. Beyond it Haruka could see a Teleportation Circle, the only thing in existence that could transport someone instantly across great distances; perfect.
With a surge of strength Haruka exploded from the pile of debris and shot across the room in an instant. Aranea had only time to turn around before she was pinned to the wall with a blade against her neck. “Where does it lead?” Haruka demanded with eyes full of cold anger. “Tell me and we’ll take you with us.”
Aranea didn’t even attempt to struggle; it was useless. She glared at Haruka as if she was wishing a thousand different deaths upon her. “It leads to your father and King Reis,” she said with a dark smile. “It’s what we had planned to use to transport you two to them. You can go through if you like, though,” she said with a laugh.
Haruka growled and released her, but a second after she did, the sword pierced the sorceress’ heart. Aranea’s eyes widened and she looked at Haruka questioningly, but the monk’s expression was cold. “I am an assassin,” Haruka stated as she removed the blade. “And you are a threat to Isabella. You have tried to kill us on multiple occasions, you would certainly try again, and after we went through the portal you would help our enemies against us. And you really expected me to let you live?” Haruka watched Aranea slide down the wall, leaving a line of blood on the stone. She then sheathed Mercy and left, sprinting down the hall to Isabella, who was still fighting as the Black Sun support here was seemingly endless.
Haruka slid up beside her and slammed her fist into a monk, sending him flying back and into the crowd. She met Isabella’s eyes and noticed the runes along her arms and the familiar glow, but Bella smiled to see her, having none of the rage that had consumed her after the fight with the Triad. “You’re okay!”
Haruka nodded, then looked to the Black Sun monks. “This place is coming down. You should get out of here.” Knowing they had no chance of winning anyway, the survivors decided to take her advice. As they disappeared around the corner Haruka grabbed Bella’s hand, leading her back towards the room. “They’ll never make it out in time; this place is huge, the entrance is a long way away, and we have less than a minute until this place is buried under two thousand tons of stone.”
“So what do we do? Is there an exit?”
“There is, but it leads to Reis and my father.” Haruka looked at her. “Are you ready to end this for good?” she asked as she presented Mercy to her.
Isabella took it and held her gaze for a long moment before giving her a nod. “As long as I’m standing with you, I’m ready for anything.”
Haruka smiled and turned towards the Teleportation Circle. “Then let’s finish this.”
IXH
When they arrived, Isabella was hit with a wave of memories. She recognized this place, sadly, better than any other – it was the keep she had spent so much time in, the place she had fought to make the capital of Areya. It looked old now, older than it should have as it had only been twenty years since she was last here. “Were in Areya…” she breathed, standing up and looking around the great hall they were in.
“Indeed.” They turned to see Reis walking down the steps towards them, and both of them were surprised by his appearance. His hair bleached white, his skin drawn and pale, his movements jerky – he looked like a kind of undead more than a young man.
“Reis…?” Isabella took a step forward. “What… happened to you?”
“YOU!” Bella and Haruka covered their ears as his voice echoed around the chamber at a deafening pitch, even seeming to shake the ground beneath them. The air seemed to thicken with his anger and his voice lowered to a hostile whisper. “You happened, dear Isabella. All of this is your fault. You helped unify the land of Areya under one rule, but then you killed the king and left. Did you think that would have no consequences? The land split! Infighting began and chaos spread! Areya is now a fractured ruin and civil war rages across every border! Many have tried to fill the power vacuum you left and none have succeeded. You betrayed me.”
“I never did anything to you,” Isabella declared firmly. “Your father was a cruel dictator; the land would have suffered more under his hand.”
“My father?” Reis chuckled, giving a grin that unnerved the both of them. “So, even you don’t notice…” Before she could ask he twitched and shuddered, and an ethereal presence filtered out of him and coalesced into an image over his shoulder, a visage she would never forget.
“Faust…?” Isabella looked horrified, actually taking a step back. “You… Your son…?”
“My son quickly ran out of uses,” Faust explained. “Eventually his body proved a better tool for my use than he was.”
“Your own son.”
“He wanted to help me, and he has,” Faust said darkly as the body he controlled took a jerky step forward. “And now he is going to help me execute you.”
“I’m not going to let that happen,” Haruka said as she stepped in front of Bella.
“You do not have a choice, Haruka.”
The monk’s jaw and fists clenched in reaction and she turned around to look at Kazuki. “I knew you’d be here. I wish I was surprised that you would work with this scum, but I’m not.”
Kazuki Saito looked at his daughter like a disobedient dog, with disapproval and anger clear on his face but under control. “I use what methods I must.” He met Isabella’s glare. “Ah, your friend… Isabella. You have caused me a great deal of trouble. You are not content with ruining your own life, but must ruin hers as well?”
Isabella set her hand on Mercy’s hilt and her grey eyes burned into the man. “I never made a choice for her, unlike you. She chose me over you on her own.”
“She doesn’t know what she wants. Once this is over, she will be corrected.”
“And it is soon to be over,” Faust added as the body he controlled sent a pulse of power throughout the room, beginning to shake the building as he poured his power into it. Reis’ body began to twist and contort, growing larger; his limbs lengthened and white armor plating grew over them. His neck lengthened and his head shifted into a mockery of Faust’s face in a cruel expression. What stood there at the end of the transformation was no longer even humanoid but a nightmare of a creature. It stood ten feet tall and its body was narrow at the waist and wider at the shoulders; its arms were nearly long enough to reach the ground and ended in long claws. Its legs went further forward than they should and had a large bend in them like a man crouching down.
Kazuki removed his cloak and clenched his fists, his muscles bulging as his considerable energy rapidly multiplied his speed and power. He underwent no transformation, but his body glowed with the pure amount of energy he summoned. It looked like a single strike from one of his limbs would bring down a building, but he did not enlarge his muscles too much; he kept his body streamlined like a martial artist, and thus kept his speed.
Haruka looked at Isabella and saw familiar hatred and rage, but when those grey eyes fell on her she saw a strong desire to protect as well. Isabella’s emotions were on overload, every bit of feeling that she had experienced over the past year was culminating in this. In Isabella’s head, Bale was raging at Faust while Bai wanted to step between Haruka and Kazuki. It came to a head when Faust moved like lightning and, in a surprise maneuver, actually tried to pierce Haruka’s back with his claws. With a yell Isabella drew Mercy… and everything went white. When Haruka’s vision returned she found herself against the far wall; the bright light that had filled the room began to fade enough for her to notice that Faust and Kazuki had been pushed back as well.
In the center of the great hall was an orb of light, and from it came a scream of the purest agony that resounded off the walls and seemed to go on forever, unbroken. The pain in the sound was tangible, it sent shivers through Haruka’s body and made her hair stand on end. The orb of light then suddenly shredded, filling the air with white and black feathers. In the center stood a form of Isabella none had ever seen; the hair that framed her face on either side was white, but the rest was black. Her eyes were simply pools of light with no visible iris or pupil. In her right hand, Mercy transformed into a jagged black longblade; in her left, her iron sword had been changed into a white version of the same. The air around her seemed to flicker and bend, as if her presence was warping reality. She seemed to be in great pain, but was ignoring it.
For the first time, Isabella’s two faces were showing at the same time. She seemed incredibly unstable at the moment, but the power it gave her was clear; even Faust and Kazuki seemed surprised. Isabella wasted no time in launching herself at Kazuki, moving like lightning and shredding the stone behind her as she moved fast enough to release a shockwave from the original point. Kazuki began to move for the fight until Haruka appeared in front of him, her green eyes tinged with gold. “Your fight is with me.”
Kazuki stopped and took in the scene, turning fully to her. “You would fight your own father?”
“Nothing would please me more,” she answered, but a slight smile touched her lips. “Actually, that isn’t true; virtually anything including Isabella pleases me more than even thinking about you does, but even mentioning your name in the same sentence as hers feels unworthy.”
“I will no longer suffer your disrespect,” Kazuki said as he took a step forward in anger. “I will teach you your place once more. If you struggle beyond that, I will have to kill you myself; please do not force me to do so.”
Haruka growled and threw herself at him; she couldn’t stand and listen to him anymore, she could barely even look at him. However, he caught her fist with little trouble, giving her only a disappointed look before his other fist connected and she shot back through the air and into the wall. Kazuki dropped down off the steps and began to walk towards her. “She does nothing for you but weaken you.” Haruka sat up and pushed herself away from the wall, shaking the debris from her shoulders and focusing on him. She would silence him, no longer for herself, but for Bella.
Isabella, in the meantime, was moving with incredible speed, changing direction rapidly without even slowing. Unfortunately, Faust’s new form was more than well-equipped enough to deal with this; it turned out that his streamlined form and elongated limbs made him perfect for quick, unseen strikes and evasion. Isabella’s teeth were clenched in anger as she twirled around the stabbing claws and ran up his arm, hacking at it along the way but failing to pierce his white armor. His left arm curled around behind his head and shot at her, forcing her to cross her blades and block the hit. The impact still sent her flying but she caught herself on the wall and stabbed a blade into the stone, using another to cut a circle around it before ripping the chunk of wall free and hurling it at him. Faust leapt over it, but Isabella was hidden on the back of the debris and launched herself up at him, dragging her blades along his back. It managed to do a little damage, but Faust caught her, his claws piercing her body before he flung her into the ground below.
Isabella hit and shattered the stone floor, feeling bits of it rain back down on her as the wounds from his claws slowly healed. She forced herself to stand quickly and shot out of the hole moments before Faust landed on it, cracking it further. She hadn’t managed to get her footing before his backhand struck her and once more sent her flying towards the wall. This time she spun in the air and stabbed her sword into the ground, ceasing her momentum and coming to a stop on her feet. Faust let out a dark laugh as he stomped towards her, his stretched visage grinning. “You should just give up and make this easy! Either I’ll kill you or you’ll kill yourself with that unstable power – there’s no winning!” What made his words worse was the logic they carried – this unstable form was, in fact, tearing her apart, and every moment she stayed in it there was a larger risk of dying. However, like with so many other things in her life, she had no choice. She pulled her sword from the stone and ran forward to meet the monster, the only one she could blame for her situation.
Haruka skidded across the floor and flipped to her feet just before her father’s fist struck and shattered the ground where she’d been. She reversed her direction and slammed her knee into his face, successfully knocking him back, but he caught her leg and spun in the air, smashing her into the floor. Haruka threw a heel up into his chin and freed her foot before rolling to her feet and spinning to meet him just in time for his fist to connect with her cheek; her mask saved her from a broken cheekbone but his next punch hit her stomach and knocked all air from her lungs, even taking her feet off the ground. Kazuki finished it with an overhead slam that made her hit the ground so hard she rebounded back into the air before landing a second time. Haruka slowly pushed herself up to her hands and knees as Kazuki stood over her. “This is pointless rebellion. You do not have the ability to defeat me or to change anything.”
Haruka yelled in rage and shot to her feet, throwing a punch at his face. As he leaned back she dropped and swept his legs from under him, and as he fell to his back she brought her leg back around in an axe kick. He managed to block the kick and shove her foot away before flipping back to his feet, but she met him with a flurry of blows that he was forced to deflect. With a feint she forced him to block high before her right leg slammed into his left side, then she spun back the other direction and delivered a roundhouse kick that knocked him back. He set his hand on the floor and reversed his direction, swinging around into a flying kick that connected with her chest and sent her back the other way. Haruka skidded across the floor and flipped to her feet only for him to catch up and smash a fist into her, slamming her into the ground. Before she could even recover he gripped the front of her clothing and hauled her off the ground before throwing her across the room.
Haruka landed somewhere in the center and felt a hand grab hers, opening her eyes to see Isabella picking herself up off the ground as well and helping her up. They stood together back to back, breathing heavily, injured and having inflicted little damage. Kazuki came to stand nearby and folded his arms, while Faust stood opposite him, enjoying this far too much and unable to stop laughing. “Isabella of Two Faces, the great Golden Butcher! I had remembered you as more of a challenge.”
Kazuki shook his head. “Despite their age and ‘experience’, they’re still just children.” He looked down at Haruka. “I can still make you into a worthy challenge if you just give this up.”
Isabella looked over her shoulder at Haruka, who met her gaze. They shared the look for a long moment before turning back to the others. “You two… are such fools,” Isabella said as she stood straight, looking at Faust.
Haruka straightened and cracked her neck and knuckles. “You still don’t know anything.”
Faust just laughed as if they’d told a joke, while Kazuki shook his head. “You can use any words you like, but this remains a useless endeavor. You simply aren’t strong.”
“We’ve been doing it wrong, and you still don’t understand,” Isabella said as she looked over her shoulder at Kazuki.
“Our strength no longer comes from ourselves,” Haruka said as she looked over her own shoulder.
At the same instant they spun and took off in opposite directions; Faust’s eyes widened as Haruka’s fist slammed into his face, and Kazuki’s confusion was obvious a moment before Isabella’s sword nearly cleaved him in half. He managed to avoid it but her foot slammed into his chest and shot him back, and she went after him. Faust growled and shot a clawed hand at Haruka, but she twisted around it and caught his wrist, spinning around and kicking his chin before dropping from his arm and leaving a Death Mark that exploded a few seconds later, cracking his armor and causing him to release a howl of pain.
Kazuki was enraged and even looked offended as he fended off Bella’s attacks with his bracers and unleashed his own, but Isabella was deceptively calm. There was anger visible beneath the surface, but there was a steady determination that was keeping it in check. Her expression didn’t change as she twirled around his attacks and unleashed her own, her twin longswords preventing him from ever getting close enough to deliver real damage. “I’ve heard what you’ve done,” Isabella said coolly as she twisted a blade around his block and cut a gash in his arm, forcing him to back off. “You forced her into a life she never chose; you put her through pain and torment under the guise of ‘improvement’ instead of caring for or about her. You are not worthy of having Haruka as a daughter,” she continued as she barely missed a stab at his head.
Kazuki grunted and ducked a swing, connecting a punch with her stomach that doubled her over. “And you aren’t a-“
Isabella cut him off with a vicious knee to the face that broke his nose and sent him reeling. “Shut up,” she said in a disgusted voice as she strode forward and renewed her attacks.
Haruka slid beneath Faust’s feet and placed a Death Mark on each leg before hopping up onto his back and sprinting along it, placing more and vaulting off before his claws found her. All of them detonated and he yelled in anger and pain, spinning around and lashing a claw at her that she avoided. “My battle is not with you! My enemy is Isabella!”
“Same thing,” Haruka responded as she sprinted up his leg and smashed a knee into his chin. He managed to catch her leg, his claws piercing it through. He growled and slammed her into the floor, planning to do so repeatedly; however, she placed Death Marks on his wrist, multiple of them, and the ensuing explosion severed his wrist and set her free. She moved back and knelt, wincing as she pulled the claws from her leg one by one until the hand dropped to the floor. As she focused her energy on healing her leg she kept her eyes on Faust, who was gripping his new stump. “I’ve heard all about you,” she said as she stood and shook her leg, feeling the wounds closing up and knitting together. “You used Isabella. You took advantage of her broken state and wielded her as a weapon for your own gains. You didn’t deserve what she did for you.” He shrieked and lunged forward, and Haruka yelled in response and actually leapt forward to meet him, crashing both feet into his head and flipping over his counter.
Isabella wasn’t getting out of this without injury; Kazuki connected with punches, and kicks, and throws. She just didn’t care. No matter what he did she kept coming, and injuries were adding up on both of them. Isabella had bruises covering her body, and Kazuki was bleeding from dozens of places. This was going to end soon, and it seemed like it could go either way; but Isabella had something to fight for. “Six!” She shouted as she attacked with incredibly ferocity, forcing Kazuki back towards the center and ignoring his confused look.
Haruka delivered an axe kick to Faust’s shoulder, flipping back off of him and hitting the ground running as he rushed after her. “Five!”
Isabella spun low and swiped her blade at Kazuki’s legs, forcing him to jump; she used this chance to deliver a kick that knocked him back further, and she leapt after him. “Four!”
“Three!” Haruka replied as her side was torn into by Faust’s claws. She spun away from the worst damage and in between his arms, her arms blurring as she suddenly hit the monster with a lightspeed flurry of attacks, his chest taking dozens of hits per second.
“Two!” Isabella responded as she brought her heel across Kazuki’s cheek, spinning him around. She was pouring everything she had into this, every bit of effort and energy she could expend in order to overwhelm him and push him back. As his face flared with rage she stabbed her swords into the ground and used them as leverage to deliver a powerful kick that sent him flying.
Haruka narrowed her eyes and ducked Faust’s strike, sliding beneath his legs. He looked down and his eyes went wide as he saw the hundreds of Death Marks appearing across his chest and torso. With a cry of anger he spun to face her, and Haruka charged her fist with every bit of energy she had until it flared with a bright golden light. “One,” she finished as Faust’s claw went for her. Moments before it connected Kazuki slammed into his back and knocked him off balance. Isabella landed, pulled both swords free and took off with all speed she could; her feet left the floor in the same instant Haruka’s did, and in the next instant, Haruka’s burning fist and Isabella’s crossing blades cut through both Faust and Kazuki simultaneously, putting an expression of surprise on both faces. Isabella and Haruka landed on opposite sides of them at the same time, and less than a second later, every Death Mark Haruka had placed on Faust detonated.
The resulting explosion incinerated not only Kazuki and Faust, but a large area of the floor and ceiling; the following shockwave shattered the remainder of the keep and sent debris in all directions. As the stone and dust rained down around them, Isabella and Haruka stood and turned, looking at the crater between them. Isabella’s energy instantly faded; her swords hit the ground as their normal forms and her appearance returned to normal as she fell. Haruka caught her mid-way and cradled her gently as she knelt on the ground. Isabella took a deep breath, looking up at the cloudy sky above them as rain fell on them through the hole the explosion had created. “Rain… It’s always… always raining, isn’t it?”
Haruka brushed the rainwater from Isabella’s face with a gentle hand, nodding. “It’s our luck,” she said with a smile.
“I’ve never felt… so tired,” Bella said softly. “I’m… done with fighting.”
“There’s no more to be done,” Haruka assured her as she lifted her up in her arms. “We’re finished. This is our time now.”
Isabella smiled and closed her eyes. “Just… Promise me something.”
“Anything.”
Isabella rested her head against Haruka’s shoulder as they left the ruins of the keep. “On the way back… Let’s pick a route with less mud.”
Haruka couldn’t help but laugh.