Episode 41 The Fatal War Begins
A coarse wind rattles through the unwelcoming forests outside the valley of Henesys. Far in the distance, at the other end of the valley, a massive castle rises high into the heavens. Songbirds sail through the sky, chirping merrily in the unwavering sunlight.
Kunai, Ryuu, Fayvard, Zack, Cynthia, Rill, Silver, and Wake gather together at the edge of the valley, peering at the wondrous scene laid out before them.
“It’s strange, but…this is reality, isn’t it?” Cynthia mutters. “Our dimension was the false one all this time.”
“Yeah,” grunts Ryuu emotionlessly, narrowing his eyes against the brightness of the sun. He stares straight ahead, at the large and ominous castle in the distance.
Zack looks up at the sky, where the sun has already begun its descent. “Looks like we only got a few more hours of sunlight left. Might be best to avoid a frontal assault at night.”
“You’re right,” Ryuu admits, “I hate the idea, but it’s probably better if we camp out here for tonight and lay low until the morning.”
“Are you sure, Ryuu?” Kunai asks uncertainly, turning to his former mentor. “If we were to be discovered and attacked at night…”
“That’s why I don’t like it,” Ryuu answers, “but if we were to go on an assault in the darkness and get split up, it’d be even worse. It sounds strange to say, but if we’re going to be captured, it’d be better if we were captured together.”
Next to Ryuu, Fayvard stretches his arms, letting out an excited yell. “Wooo weee! Well then, I guess it’s time to set up a camp. I haven’t done this in years, not since my Joukai days, when I was a handsome strapping young lad…”
Ryuu glares at Fayvard. “Don’t shout so loudly. You’ll draw attention to us.”
Kunai sighs, watching as Ryuu and Fayvard enter into a bickering war. He glances at Cynthia, who is standing off to the side silently. Following the others into the forest to set up camp, Kunai passes by Cynthia.
“K-Kunai,” Cynthia says suddenly but softly, her eyes pointed towards the ground.
Looking at her, Kunai comes to a stop. He blinks stupidly. “Hm? What’s wrong, Cynthia?”
“I—” Cynthia suddenly stops. She begins blushing profusely. Shaking her head, Cynthia sighs. “Never mind…”
Gazing at her with his eyebrows raised, Kunai watches her depart. “What was that about…?”
The doors of the throne room are pulled shut with a loud bang. Arai sits curled up in his throne, his head resting propped up against his arm. Something between a frown and a smile is on his face, as he gazes into nothingness, lost in his own thoughts.
Outside, the Fatalists are gathered, dressed in their dark black robes. For the moment, they have cast aside their skull masks, revealing their faces, some troubled, some gleeful, others expressionless.
Torches line the walls of the castle, lighting up the night that has now fallen all around. Their flames crackle ever so slightly amidst the shuffling and posturing of the Fatalists.
Recelo yawns and stretches next to Midori. “Man, that meeting sure took longer than expected!” The green-haired girl glares at her companion with slightly irked contempt.
However, Recelo does not notice. He chuckles slightly, scratching his chin where a few whiskers poke out from under his skin. “Tch, to think they’d actually show up on their own in our dimension…! They’ve sure got guts.”
“Idiot,” Midori scolds, “don’t you know what this means?”
As Recelo continues to look clueless, Midori sighs. “It means that they’ve either captured or killed Flynn and the Shield of Wizet is now in their possession. How else could they have crossed into our dimension?”
“Flynn, huh…?” Recelo mutters, still scratching his chin. “I always thought that pretty boy nobleman was a pain, but to think he let himself get caught by those guys… This is definitely gonna throw a wrench in our plans.”
Midori nods in agreement. “Yes, now that they’ve brought the battle to us, we will have to exterminate them ourselves, in this world. What a pain this is going to be.”
“Fools,” a third Fatalist says suddenly in front of the other two. Fain, the man covered from head to toe in a trench coat and hat stands in front of Recelo and Midori. “The arrival of those meddlesome fools from the false dimension may have been unanticipated, but it figures little to change our plans. They are merely coming to meet their deaths sooner, in our dimension. In fact, this is perhaps even more ideal…”
“Tch, you sure are confident, old man,” Recelo retorts, folding his arms. “Last time we went to the false dimension, you just stayed back in the shadows. We were the ones fighting on the frontlines all the time.”
“Child, you do not know how to show respect…” Fain growls, reaching for his bow.
“All right, all right,” Midori interrupts impatiently, stepping in between the two. “No matter how you view things, it doesn’t change the fact that we now have to deal with these intruders.”
Nodding, Recelo pumps his fist. “Yeah! Now things are finally gonna get serious…”
“WAHHHH!” Kunai howls, running away from the campfire circle and nearing crashing face first into the trunk of a massive evergreen. He holds his nose desperately, eyes widened, tears in his eyes, as he hugs the tree.
Fayvard bursts into a raucous cackle in front of the campfire, while Cynthia and Silver, both sitting atop their respective logs, shrink away from him as well, holding their noses.
“Sorry ‘bout that, guys!” Fayvard howls, slapping his knee as he tears into a large drumstick with his teeth. “I’m only gonna warn you guys just one time, I live, breathe, eat, and fart poison!”
“Fart…” Rill mutters beside Silver, his eye twitching slightly.
From behind Fayvard, Ryuu suddenly emerges, pouncing on the former and whacking him across the head with a metal frying pan. “I told you a long time ago, didn’t I, to never do that again!” he shouts.
Fayvard rubs the side of his head, where a massive bump has already started to form. “Haha, you mean that one time in El Nath with the red bean soup? I’d forgotten about that one…”
Ryuu sighs, plopping down on a log next to Fayvard and proceeding to prepare some sausages with his pan, which now has a dent in the shape of Fayvard’s head.
Kunai crawls back towards the campfire from his escapade in the bushes. He reclaims his seat, glaring at Fayvard first and then at Ryuu. “You know, Ryuu…it’s pretty impressive that you didn’t even react to Fayvard.”
“Yeah, well,” Ryuu mutters distractedly, as the sausages sizzle merrily, “when you hang out with Fayvard and have a kid at home, you get used to all sorts of unforgivable smells.”
“I…see…” Kunai breathes.
Zack and Wake suddenly drift back into range of the campfire. Ryuu looks up as they approach. “Well, just got done checking up on the Rift Army!” Wake announces, taking a seat on Silver’s other side. Zack takes a seat as well, squeezing in between Kunai and Cynthia.
“Good,” Ryuu says, putting aside his sausages. He suddenly turns serious, as he gazes at the seven gathered around him at the campfire. Ryuu clears his throat.
“I’ve taken the liberty of grouping the eight of us into teams of two. After thinking it over, I’ve decided that we’ll be much more effective moving in smaller units. Therefore, each team will attempt to achieve a separate objective.”
“I see,” Zack notes, nodding his head. “Separatin’ us and going covert will definitely make it tougher for the Fatalists to take us out at once. It’ll be to our advantage t’spread their resources thin.”
“Are you sure, Ryuu?” Kunai asks. “At least make the groups larger. If two of us were to get caught up in a fight, who knows what could happen—”
“Yeah,” Silver cuts in, “not only that, but the Rift Army was specifically designed to fight large-scale battles.”
“No,” Ryuu says firmly. “Hear me out. Two member teams are more than enough. With the objectives we have to accomplish, any more will be too inefficient.”
“Objectives, huh…” Zack muses. “And what may those be?”
“Like I said back in the Maple World,” growls Ryuu, “our goal in this mission is to start a coup d’鴡t. In that regard, some of us will have to lead the rebellion. Some of us will have to pick off the Fatalists in order to clear the way for the others. And the most important mission, the one that absolutely cannot fail at all costs…is to cut off the beast’s head, Arai. Let it therefore be known: the primary objective of this mission is to kill Arai Mage.”
“And after that, the dominos will fall and the Fatalists will be thrown into chaos, huh?” Fayvard says, scratching his chin thoughtfully. “Definitely a gutsy plan.”
Ryuu nods, staring thoughtfully into the fire. It crackles merrily, oblivious to the dire circumstances to come. He shakes his head, staring at the group gathered before him.
“Anyway, the teams are as follows: Kunai and I will form Team One. Team Two: Silver and Wake. Team Three: Fayvard and Rill. Team Four: Zack and Hyacinth.”
“What?!” Cynthia cries unexpectedly.
Ryuu turns to her. “Unsatisfied with my arrangements?”
“But…” she murmurs, her eyes darting briefly towards Kunai.
Ryuu continues to look puzzled. “I arranged the teams by considering fighting styles, familiarity with each other, and individual strengths and weaknesses. The idea was to make two-man groups that would be as effective as possible. Teamwork is crucial considering the kinds of opponents we’re up against.”
Zack slaps Cynthia across the shoulder as a disappointed look remains on her face. “Guess ya just gotta make do with me, Hyacinth! Our Ryuu here may be married, but he’s not that great at pickin’ up on this sorta thing!”
“Eh?!” Cynthia bursts out, blushing profusely.
“At any rate,” Ryuu goes on, “Team Silver and Wake will coordinate the military. They will provide the militia power we may need for a frontal assault. Team Fayvard and Rill will act as the reconnaissance team. Their jobs will be to gather intel, provide cover for the other teams, and take out enemies from behind the scenes. Team Hyacinth and Zack, as the craftiest and most agile team, will be responsible for leading the coup d’鴡t. They will gather support in the towns and lead the popular uprising against the Fatalists.
“Finally…as the ones who are most familiar with him, Kunai and I will be the ones to take out Arai. It will be our duty to kill him.”
Kunai looks up as Ryuu finishes speaking, noting the cold resolve in Ryuu’s eyes. He returns the look, nodding in comprehension. ‘Yes, maybe this is how it should be after all. Ryuu and I…will be the ones to end Arai’s life.’
“Hmph, reconnaissance team, huh…” Fayvard says aloud, staring down Rill from across the campfire. Rill merely stares at the ground, having remained completely silent during the whole meeting.
Fayvard now catches Rill’s eye, as the former looks over the Hermit. “To be honest, I don’t trust you that much. Where were you when that blondie Fatalist attacked? Then you mysteriously come back injured and everything. How do we know you’re really on our side?”
“You’re one to talk,” Rill mutters back in a low voice. “I don’t trust you either. You put on a mask of being outgoing and loud, but I can see right through you… You’re hiding something, aren’t you?”
“Why, you…” Fayvard growls, jumping to his feet. “I’d do anything to help our side win! I can’t say the same about you…”
“Calm down, the both of you,” Ryuu says commandingly.
However, neither of them listens. Rill leaps to his feet as well, raising his claw threateningly. “Oh?” Fayvard smirks, placing a hand on the hilt of his sword.
“Hey, come on, stop this!” Wake cries, attempting to restrain Rill by wrapping him up with his arms.
Ryuu stands as well, stepping in between Rill and Fayvard, nudging Fayvard back with his arm. “Do I already have to rearrange the teams because of this? This is the last thing we need right now, fighting amongst ourselves. Do not forget who the enemy is! We have to cooperate if we are going to succeed.”
“Tch!” Fayvard spits, removing his hand from his sword and walking away.
Rill continues fuming, but he remains still, as Wake tentatively releases his hold on him.
Meanwhile, in the middle of the hubbub, Kunai remains sitting still, staring at both Fayvard and Rill. ‘It’s definitely true that Rill tried to kill me…from the looks of it, he hasn’t told anyone else. It might be better to keep that a secret for a while. And despite Ryuu’s trust in him, Fayvard is definitely a suspicious person. I still don’t trust him fully. However, if we’re all here, fighting against the Fatalists, then none of that matters…’
Three Fatalists stand together silently, side by side in the castle looking down upon the valley. The night is dark, with a few clouds in the sky.
One of the Fatalists reaches for a Doombringer strapped to his back. He pulls it free from its sheath, gazing at his reflection in it. “Guess the war’s about to begin…” he sneers with an air of arrogance.
“Yes,” agrees another green-haired Fatalist, “we do not need to hold back this time.”
“Fufufu…” sniggers the last one with relish, a sheathed katana at her side, “I cannot wait!”
“All right, let’s get this party started then!” the first Fatalist shouts. “It’s time for a little bit of spring cleaning!”
—END FORTY-ONE—