Chapter 187 |
When the gang came to the Abyss, I expected a whole lot of things they would encounter. So far, my predictions hadn't been exactly on the mark, due to a mixture of unforeseen events and them taking some rather unorthodox routes and courses of action. However, if there was only one thing I was sure of, it was that once the action moved away from Critias and into the Abyss, there would be no more long, drawn-out emergency meetings to sit through.
I was wrong on that front, too.
It was fairly late in the evening, and Castle Shamash was, unsurprisingly, the same as all the other castles. Or rather, mostly the same. It was slightly less gloomy than the rest, which may or may not have been because it was, technically speaking, the headquarters of the 'good guys' in the Abyssal civil war. As far as the layout was concerned though? Another bloody carbon-copy.
Once the guys arrived at the castle, this time properly escorted by a procession of Fauns and Abyssal soldier types, the leadership of the Noble Alliance immediately sat down to have a meeting about the recent developments. We had Fidèle and the Ninhursag patriarch there, along with representatives from House Gula and House Enlil, and it took place in a nice conference room with a nice big table with a nice big map. It would've been really neat, if not for all the shouting.
Anyhow, let's just skip over that whole ordeal. It was long and over-dramatic and altogether fairly inconsequential as far as our group's priorities were concerned. In fact, they didn't even listen to Josh and co, and were too busy discussing the greater strategic ramifications of the Ninurta coup and the forces of House Ninhursag joining the fray and whatnot. They didn't really seem to care (or understand the ramifications of) Deus being in the room with them; whether it was because they didn't pay attention to their history lessons, or because they were too preoccupied with their civil war to pay attention to what was happening in the outside world, was something I couldn't tell.
Once the meeting was over, the gang was ushered into the guest quarters of one of the estate's wings, and while they were given separate rooms, they soon converged in Josh's chamber.
"Security?" he asked tersely, and Snowy responded from the corner of the room.
"There probably aren't any listening orbs. The aristocracy has magic to counter those." Just as she said that, she finished finger-painting her Sigil, and it let out a pulse that enveloped the entire room in a thin orange film from the inside. "I set up the privacy spell."
"What about other kinds of surveillance?" Judy asked and tapped on the party glasses tucked into her collar then gestured at the magic coating the room. "My artifact works through that."
"Oh, and what about electronics?" Elly chimed in next, sounding oddly excited by the mere mention of the topic. "You know? Like the ones Leo was always on the lookout for?"
Judy turned to her and patiently explained, "The Fauns back home have been using that anti-surveillance detection kit the Chief bought for a premium, and they've yet to find a single listening device. I doubt we're going to find any down here either."
"That's… a fair point."
My princess sounded a bit dejected by that, and if I were there, I would've given her a hug, but since I wasn't, I could only watch over them as they continued to gather chairs and stools to form a circle in the middle of the room. As for now, the group consisted of Josh, Angie, my sisters, and my girlfriends. Hareng was still recovering (and being cared for by his cousin/fiancée, much to his chagrin), while Ammy was obviously missing.
As soon as everyone was seated, Josh forcefully cleared his throat to announce the beginning of… sigh… another emergency meeting. At least this one didn't have any old, stick-in-the-mud aristocratic politicians. How's that for a silver lining?
"Let's summarize the situation," he started, and pointed at Judy.
"The Chief said Amelia isn't in immediate danger, but she's being held captive in Castle Nergal, which is to the south-east of here."
"The Noble Alliance are… not very cooperative right now," Snowy spoke up on her left, prompting my other sister to let out a huff.
"That's putting it mildly," Josh huffed and folded his arms. "We're effectively in house arrest until they figure out what to do next, aren't we?"
"Those muttonheads! Don't they realize that we hold the key to toppling their status quo!?"
"I think they don't," Angie chimed in, and after a beat, she also added, "Deus keeps saying that we should've just told them about the plan."
Snowy commented on that with a timid, "I'm… not sure they would've liked that. I-I mean… The Noble Alliance opposes Noir and… um… Bel of the Abyss, but it's because they want to hold onto their power."
Elly added a laconic, "Obviously," and seeing how everyone was looking at her, she hastily added, "They're fighting this war because they don't want to become someone else's subordinate, right? They wouldn't like any solution that would mess with the power dynamics of their political system. You would need overwhelming authority to do something like that, like…"
Judy let out a soft hum, her expression simultaneously deadpan and yet a bit mischievous.
"Like when the Chief dissolved the Brotherhood and formed the Ordo Draconis."
Penny responded with a loud, "Right!"
"Or when the Chief formed the Draconic Federation."
"Yes! I just wanted to say that!" Elly exclaimed with a grin.
"Or when the Chief dismissed the Celestial Directorate and reformed the government of Elysium."
Now it was Angie's turn to go, "Took the words right out of our mouth, right, Deus?" Her eye colour shifted, but then Deus only nodded before they went back to blue, and the Celestial girl added, "See?"
While this was going on, Josh's expression was getting sourer by the second, and he eventually blurted out, "We really need Leo to get anything done without being stonewalled by politics, don't we?"
His girlfriend reached out to pat him on the back with a cutesy, "Oh, come on, pal! Don't be so glum!"
"He's not entirely wrong, though," Penny pointed out, prompting Judy to raise a finger to get everyone's attention.
"Which brings us to our current dilemma. We have to provide the Noble Alliance with a viable plan they can stand behind."
Elly added, "Or at least one that would let us move freely again," and my other girlfriend nodded along as if it was self-evident.
"We need to rescue Ammy, right?" Josh proposed on the spot, but Judy didn't respond right away, making him raise a brow. "What? Isn't that the obvious thing to do?"
"From our perspective, yes. Amelia is at Castle Nergal, which naturally has its own Mana Well. Combined with the one we already have…"
"Right here!" Elly declared and showed off the cube she was holding onto.
Judy didn't seem to mind and continued in an even voice.
"… we can still enact the plan to bring in reinforcements, so long as we can rescue Amelia first and take her to the Mana Well Chamber. Then after that, we can march on Castle Inanna and rescue the Chief."
Her explanation was followed by a long spell of silence, until Penny raised a hand and said, "But to do that, the six of us would need to traverse hostile territory and infiltrate the enemy's castle, right?" Judy nodded, and so my knightly sister let her hand down with a frown. "I… I'm an Entitled Knight with a Mantle, so I'm no stranger to going up against overwhelming odds and striking at the heart of enemy fortifications, but that still sounds… um…"
"Bad?" Snowy proposed, and my other sister nodded.
"Yes, bad! Very bad! Wasn't the whole reason why we decided not to just march on Snowy's hometown because going up against an Abyssal Lord in their castle was a bad idea?"
"The Ninurtas didn't have much trouble taking down the Ninhursag Lord," Angie pointed out, only for my Abyssal sister to let out an odd noise, as if suppressing a hiccup.
"Uuu… L-Lord Ninhursag isn't the most… imposing member of the high nobility…"
"And they had a Chimera too!" Elly backed her up, and everyone nodded along as if they just remembered that.
"Wait. Shouldn't Noir also have a Chimera?" Josh blurted out in alarm. "No, scratch that. Shouldn't he have multiple of them?"
He was looking at Snowy while asking that, and she thought about that for several seconds before giving an answer.
"I'm… not sure. Our House only had one active Chimera. They're usually kept in suspended animation unless they are needed, because they're short-lived otherwise. Also, um… r-reproducing them takes a toll on the Lord of the House and needs lots of time and resources, so… At most, other Houses should only have one or two Chimeras."
"Let's count then!" Angie exclaimed and started literally counting on her fingers. "Neige's family had one, but Leo slayed that. Josh did the same for the Ninhursag one, so that's two down. On our side, we have the Shamash, Gula, and Enlil families, so that's three, while on Bel's side, they have the Nergals. The Ashurs' Chimera is unaccounted for, but even if Neige's old brother took it, that's still three on two!"
"Yes, but… It's not likely the Houses would mobilize them," Snowy pointed out. "They are… there's a term for that. When nobody wants to use a weapon because it's too dangerous?"
"The nuclear deterrent?" Judy proposed, and while it probably wasn't what Snowy was thinking of, she still nodded along, if tentatively. "Ignoring the Chimera question for the time being, there is something else we have to consider."
Josh raised a brow and prompted her with an intrigued, "Which is?"
"As Penelope has already pointed out, we didn't target the Chasm of Desolation under House Inanna directly due to the presence of Noir Irdu Inanna and his retinue. Now we know for a fact that he's staying in Castle Nergal with Amelia, along with the Lord of House Nergal and potentially even the head of the Ninurta family. We know this, meaning the Noble Alliance also knows this, and they would find the idea of assaulting them at this time a suicidal proposition."
She must've wanted that to sink in first, but Angie immediately responded with, "True, but what other option do we have?"
Josh let out a soft hum and rubbed his chin, visibly intrigued and yet also apprehensive.
"I think I get it. We know where they are, so we also know where they're not. You're saying we should strike at his empty home while he's away, release Leo, and then rescue Ammy?" He continued to rub his chin, and eventually stifled a shallow groan with the words, "I dunno. I mean, don't take me wrong, I would love to have Leo back, and I'm sure he could turn this situation around with one of his big, bazillion-step schemes while acting all innocent, like everything happened by coincidence and stuff, but leaving Ammy in the hands of Lili's bastard brother is…"
"Maybe we should form two teams, like the last time!" Angie proposed on the spot, and a quick switch later, Deus added, "This time, I would prefer if we paired up with the Boy. It's much less hassle."
"Ah? Are we breaking up the party again?" Penny squeaked while simultaneously paling. "I tell you, it's never a good idea, right, Snowy?"
"Um…"
Before my other sister could respond one way or the other, Elly interjected with a peppy, "It worked out fine last time, didn't it?"
Josh scoffed with a quiet, "Barely," followed by a louder, "Shouldn't we consult the vampire lady first before we're gonna decide one way or the other?"
"She would probably also prioritize freeing the Chief," Judy noted, but Josh shook his head.
"Are you sure? Didn't she promise to save Ammy, too?"
"It depends on which promise takes precedent," came the next comment from Elly, causing my Abyssal sister to shake her head.
"Lady Shamash would surely try to fulfil both. She's the paragon of noble virtues all Abyssal nobility is striving to embody."
That comment made a few brows rise, and Elly carelessly asked, "You really look up to her, don't you?"
"Um… I do," Snowy admitted, only to then hurriedly amend, "I-I mean, we've all travelled with her. You've seen how elegant and magnanimous she is."
"Yes, but…" Elly tried to interject, but Snowy continued on in a rush.
"I… met Lady Shamash the first time when I was little. When mother and father were still alive, and she was so pretty back then. She's still pretty, but she looks… um… maybe the same, but she felt so grand back then. I always wanted to be like her."
"You kinda are," Angie said with a delighted grin. "Remember? Everyone in the village thought you must be related."
"Ah… that's just because of my hair," my Abyssal sister whispered, then grabbed the tip of one of her twin tails and showed it off, as if the others needed that to see it. "It's the same color."
"Yeah, it's a pretty peculiar one," Penny mused, only to suddenly raise her palms. "W-Wait! I didn't mean it in a bad way! It's just rare, but it's pretty! I like it!"
Snowy was taken aback for a moment, but then she smiled and said, "Thanks. I like your hair too. Red really suits you."
"Y-You think so?"
"I second it!" Elly cut in while leaning over. "You just need to take better care of it! Once we're back home, I'll introduce you to our hairdresser!"
"Do you mean the shop where I got my makeover?" Judy asked, and that side of the circle was at this point completely lost to hair-care. As for the other side…
"Hey, Josh? How do you think the guys at the village are doing right now?"
"Idunno," the guy answered with a shrug. "With the coup and everything going on, the Ninurtas probably have too much on their plate to bother with a remote place like that."
She hummed and said, "I hope so. They were nice people," in a wistful voice, as if recalling an ancient memory, not something that happened just a couple of days ago.
"Yeah. Except for that old shopkeeper woman," the guy grumbled. "I hope she isn't going to spread any weird rumors."
Angie was just about to say something else, but Josh's words made her stop and cock her head to the side.
"What weird rumors?"
"You know? The whole dating Deus thing."
This time, she narrowed her eyes and said, "That's not a rumor. You are dating me, dumdum."
"No, I mean, I'm dating you, not… You know?"
"And I'm technically Deus, so you're technically dating Deus," she pointed out with a classic 'Um, actually…' kind of tone.
"You know what I mean."
Angie rolled her eyes and muttered, "You see? Now you've annoyed Deus by being a blockhead, so I'm feeling annoyed too. Stop it."
"I'm not trying to annoy her, or… erm… You. I'm not trying to annoy you. I'm just saying that you two are…"
Aaand that side of the circle devolved into a another weird-ass lovers' quarrel. By the looks of it, neither side was planning to continue to previous discussion or going to conclusively decide which 'route' to take towards the finale, and I couldn't really blame them. They were tired after the long journey and the big battle in the morning, followed by a series of meetings, so it wasn't that surprising that they couldn't keep themselves on track.
I figured I would check on them again, later, but for now, it was probably more efficient to do a full roll-call. First and foremost, I checked on the class rep. She was still locked up in the windowless, warded room in the heart of Castle Nergal, and still gagged, but she was surprisingly calm and collected considering the circumstances.
Part of the reason was probably due to not being all alone, as I could see the eye-shaped mark on her forehead flare to light from time to time, but I had no idea just how much of a conversation she could have with Grimmy while she could only gesticulate and moan at best. Nevertheless, they must've found a way to do so, because that was the only way I could explain why she wasn't beside herself with panic.
As for things on Critias, they were the same as always. By this point, the gang's disappearance was starting to become common knowledge, with the Elysian trio of ex-directors in particular kicking up quite a fuss, but Roland seemed to be on top of things. Almost scarily so, in fact. Maybe once all of this was over, I should resign and have him promoted to be the leader of the Ordo Draconis instead of me? That was a consideration for later though, as my going through the motions was interrupted by a door opening.
"I apologize for the delay," stated a raspy voice from the direction of the entrance, and in walked a now-familiar old woman dressed in black. She stopped after closing the door and gave me a flat stare, followed by a mordant, "I still can't believe you had the gall to waltz into the castle like this."
"Extraordinary circumstances beget extraordinary measures."
I tried my best to adopt a mysterious smile and gestured for the Matron to take a seat at the other end of the coffee table set in the middle of this… what even was this room? It wasn't big enough to be a parlour room, it didn't have any desks or cabinets for a study, and while it had some bookshelves, it wasn't exactly a library either. Maybe it was specifically designed for clandestine meetings? After all, the Dracis mansion had one directly adjacent to their ballroom or all places, so it wasn't out of the question.
In any case, the elderly woman walked over and sat down, looking as prim, proper, and stern as she did the first time we met in person. She locked eyes with me, but didn't speak a word. It started to feel a bit too much like a mind game, and I still hated those, so I relaxed my posture and lightly asked, "Have you found it?"
She continued to stare at me, but when I didn't ask anything else, she grudgingly reached up her loose sleeve of all things and retrieved a white box from it. It was about as long as her palm but only about two fingers wide, and she wordlessly placed it onto the table between us. I didn't pretend to be shy and reached out for it, though it took me a few seconds to figure out how to open it. As it turned out, the top half had to be slid off, and inside I found…
"Just as expected," I stated plainly, seeing the simple black choker sitting on the bottom of the padded velvet inner recesses of the jewel box, its surface faintly shimmering with the colourless light of magic.
"We're still tracing the origin of this… item," the Matron noted with a hint of disgust flickering under her calm and collected surface demeanour.
"I'm surprised you managed to find it so quickly," I told her, and I wasn't lying. "Was it in his office?"
"Yes. Inside a hidden compartment only a few of us knew about," she confirmed, and I raised a brow at her.
"The one where he used to keep the Blood Amalgam?"
Now it was her turn to look at me skeptically and ask, "How do you know that?"
I quickly changed the topic with a dismissive, "It's a long story," and pinched the choker between my fingers. It looked like a flimsy little thing, yet I knew it was a devious artifact, and one that was also quite unpleasant to the touch. It was almost like there was a mild electric current running through it, and I had to make sure I wouldn't overreact and accidentally crush its enchantments by squeezing a bit too hard.
Meanwhile, the Matron stopped trying to read my mind through my expression and said, "I've contacted an expert, and he already confirmed the nature of the item. If news of Noir using such… dishonest means gets exposed to the public, it might undermine his support, but I don't know how much good that will do to your cause. Or ours, for that matter."
"Oh, you seem to be mistaken," I told her as I put the enchanted jewellery back into its box. "I wasn't planning to publicise this. In fact, I wasn't even expecting that you would find traces of what he'd done, let alone a second mind control choker. However, when life gives you lemons, you make lemonade."
"… I'm afraid I don't follow."
I waved the box towards her and explained, "Crowy's lapdog is coming to pick this up."
"Lapdog?"
"An overly serious man with a penchant for the colour grey."
"… You mean Ekhtear."
"Yeah, that guy. Please give me a few minutes with this thing, and then put it back where you found it." She looked less than enthused by that, so I added, "Let's throw a wrench into their plans, shall we?"
That's all I was going to say for now. More than that would've been spoilers.
…
Oh dear. Was I slowly becoming future-me already?
In front of the arching main gates of Castle Shamash, a strange situation was unfolding this afternoon.
"My friends! Fellows! Companions! Don't abandon me in my time of need!"
Hareng's heart-wrenching cries were met with a mixture of awkward silence and mild embarrassment from the group congregating at the site, ultimately forcing Josh to step up and say, "Listen, Hareng. We really don't have time for this."
"But I'm not asking for much!" the young nobleman insisted loudly. He was still recovering from his injuries during his very brief encounter with Crowy in the village, and while he was now dressed in proper Abyssal finery, his right shoulder was still in a triangular bandage (though admittedly a slightly more dignified one than the sling Angie made from a floral-print curtain). He was seemingly on the verge of tears and ready to fall to his knees at any moment as he pleaded, "Just two… no, one! One more day, boss! I promise I'll be good as new, just please wait for me! Don't leave me behind like this!"
It must've taken some effort for Josh to stop himself from rolling his eyes, and the only reason he didn't do so was likely due to the many gazes surrounding them. The group around the gates wasn't small. It not only consisted of the entire gang, already clad in their Magiformers and Uniformers respectively, but about a hundred Abyssals and Fauns, all dressed in the dark purple colours of House Ninhursag. They were all looking at the blonde Abyssal with various levels of confusion, second-hand embarrassment and… was that admiration I was seeing here and there?
As if to answer my question, the rather rotund Ninhursag patriarch stepped forth and gently patted Hareng on his good shoulder. He was considerably better dressed and groomed than the last time I'd seen him, with his beard and moustache waxed to sharp points and the top of his head hidden under a fancy, wide-rimmed hat you would see on a musketeer. More importantly, his eyes were practically shining with approval as he firmly grabbed onto the young man.
"Hareng, my boy. You have already proved your loyalty and dedication to the cause."
"Yes, but…"
Before he could interrupt, the patriarch lightly shook him by the shoulder, a rather familial gesture.
"While I'm away, I entrust my daughter's safety to you. Take good care of her, you hear?"
"N-No, you see, that's the problem! She's the one taking care of me, and I—"
"Haha! What a humble fellow, you are!"
It was clear that the rotund man wasn't listening, so Hareng remained quiet and waited until he lost interest and moved on before turning to Josh again.
"You see, boss? I'm being entrapped here! I need you to take me with you, please!"
It was at this point that Penny walked by and she stopped to ask, "You would rather join the battle than be pampered at home?"
"We all have to make strategic decisions in this time of turmoil, my fiery fair maiden," he responded mysteriously, his demeanour turning on a dime. Once she acknowledged that and moved on, his expression immediately turned sour again, and he hissed at Josh. "Come on! Just one day, please? They listen to you!"
The guy let out a shallow sigh and made a vague gesture towards the castle.
"Listen, pal. It was already hard enough to convince these old farts to let us out of our guest rooms and support our plan, and we wasted two whole days waiting for them to make up their minds."
"Yes, so what's one day more?" the other guy insisted with the patented puppy-dog-eyes look in tow, but if anything, it only annoyed Josh more.
"If you're so freaked out by your cousin, why don't you just sit down with her and explain everything to her about that 'accident' between the two of you?"
Hareng scoffed back with an irate, "You think I haven't tried that yet?" followed by a slightly more fretful, "Please, boss? Just let me come with you. I won't get in your way, and then I'll fake my death, get a new identity as a fisherman, and I'll be out of your hair for good."
"… Wow. You've put a lot of thought into this, haven't you?" Despite saying that, Josh didn't sound particularly impressed, and when he saw a red streak of mist descending from the sky, he hastily excused himself with, "Oh, she's here. Good luck with your love-life, I suppose."
"No! Don't leave me!" Hareng exclaimed with the kind of over-the-top anguish one would expect from someone losing the love of his life in a dramatic fashion.
That turned a few heads, but seeing that it was just him again, the people in attendance soon returned to their duties. Which, in this case, meant preparing for one of the larger-scale military operations of the Abyssal Civil War, consisting of essentially the entire remaining forces of House Ninhursag, along with their patriarch, going on the warpath.
While all of that was going on, the Shamash matriarch concluded her descent and the black and red blob of mist transformed into her form as she gracefully touched down, as if parachuting down with her parasol. She looked over the crowd in front of the gates and then turned to the gang in the center.
"Children. Is everything all right?"
"As right as things can be!" Elly declared, only for Judy to quietly add, "Considering the circumstances."
Fidèle must've overheard that, because her expression turned cloudy and she exhaled a trepidatious sigh.
"I wish I could accompany you on your task, but I'm afraid—"
She was interrupted by a soft chuckle as the Ninhursag patriarch walked over with a jovial smile on his face.
"Don't worry, Lady Shamash. I'll look after them in your stead. Or, considering what happened back home, maybe they will look after me! Who knows?" His temperament shifted a bit then, and he added in a lower, less boisterous voice, "But speaking of looking after others, I hope you'll keep my wife safe while I'm away."
You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.
"Naturally. She's pleasant company, as well as your daughter."
"Good," the portly man spoke with his back just a bit straighter. "Knowing that they're in safe hands makes even my steps lighter. Now then…" He turned around and raised his voice to address his men. "Retainers of Ninhursag! Let us embark and show our valor and dedication to the Noble Alliance! Let none find us wanting!"
The Fauns immediately erupted in loud, throaty cheers, belatedly followed by the Abyssal cohorts doing the same, though with slightly less enthusiasm. I couldn't blame them, considering that behind all the inspiring words, they were essentially being sent to battle on behalf of someone else. But speaking of which, since it seemed like everyone was getting ready to move out, I figured I might as well use the lull of the moment to ruminate on how the gang ended up in this situation.
Long story short, even though they were directly sponsored by House Shamash, the other two houses of the Noble Alliance were less than eager to let them out of sight, so it took two whole days and a bunch of emergency meetings to arrange this. What exactly was 'this', you might ask? A great expeditionary force gathered to strike down Crowy and rescue Ammy from his grubby grasp?
Nope. The forces of House Ninhursag, as well as some token reinforcements from the Noble Alliance, were gathered here to invade Eanna, the capital of the Inanna territories, in order to rescue me. Except that wasn't really it either. Case in point:
"So, if everything works out as planned, do I have to call you L-Lady Snowy?" Penny poked my other sister, obviously trying to tease her, yet for some reason, she looked more embarrassed than her.
The two of them, along with the rest of the gang, were walking in the middle of the military column, surrounded by Fauns and Abyssals soldiers on all sides. I would've normally wondered why they couldn't at least get a ride for them, but their immediate destination was only a few blocks away. Also, there weren't all that many cars in the Abyss, so maybe they couldn't arrange rides for all of them on short notice, and didn't want to leave anyone out.
"I'm not sure," Snowy responded to my knightly sister's previous question, her brows scrunched up like she was solving a complicated math problem. "Leo is officially acting as my guardian. That makes him my regent, so he would be considered the temporary Lord of Inanna."
Yep. While on the surface this show of force was meant to rescue me while Crowy was away from home, the Noble Alliance was clearly aiming to take over and install Snowy as the new Head of House Inanna. It wasn't a terrible plan: it would undermine Crowy's power base and essentially limit his area of influence to just the Nergal and 'Ninurta' territories. It was also a great opportunity for House Ninhursag to prove themselves, after being neutral for so long, and from what I gathered, their contribution was in exchange for the Noble Alliance promising to help them take back their lands from the Ninurtas. Heck, even the forces on display made sense, considering they couldn't know if Bel would show up with reinforcements at an inopportune time.
It was all sensible… and yet I wasn't exactly happy. I was fine right now, in my cosy little cell with the kid, and if push came to shove, I could leave any time I wanted. Sure, I couldn't Phase, but by this point, we reached a tacit understanding with the Faun Inanna, where so long as I didn't bother them, they pretended they didn't see the 'Ghost of the Hoar Hatter' and moved on with their duties. Rescuing the class rep should've taken precedent, and the guys knew it, yet they still decided to fetch me first.
Sure, I understood the chain of events: they were given two options, they needed the Noble Alliance's support, so they presented the case for rescuing me and installing Snowy in Castle Inanna to get them to move, but I couldn't help but think of this in terms of the meta, and it just gave me a headache.
I mean, as far as they understood, I was not only the only known counter to Bel of the Abyss, but also the resident red-tape-cutter. That was probably what Josh was hoping for, but the issue here was the lack of theatrics. Yes, from their perspective, they were coming to free me, but from the perspective of the narrative (and presumably, the Submerged Ones), there was no tension here, because I could leave any time I wanted.
Maybe I was looking at this the wrong way? Maybe the point was that this gave me Watsonian permission to re-enter the plot. Future-me put me in the time-out corner, but if he wanted me to get out at this time, he would've probably written it in the notes or told me about it. On the flip side, he didn't tell me not to get out of here when rescued either, so maybe this was the plan all along?
…
Bloody hell. I'm simultaneously dreading and anticipating the moment it will be my turn to be future-me and find out whether all of this was a giant, elaborate jigsaw puzzle of a plan with each piece masterfully falling in place, or if it's just another one of those flying-by-the-seat-of-my-pants schemes that miraculously didn't explode in my face. Yet. I hated to admit it, but with my track record, I was kind of leaning towards the latter.
Anyhow, while I was wondering about all that, the procession rounded the corner at the big crossroad near the castle and headed down the left lane, which was leading directly towards the town's train station. For the record, I had fewer data points about them than the castles, but I still found it baffling that those were all the bloody same, while the station buildings were entirely unique.
Even from a distance, I could see the green bronze dome at the end of the road, surrounded by similarly coloured spiral towers. For a change, they weren't covered with gargoyles, only classical stone statues and reliefs, and while the architecture was still clearly gothic in its general style and inspirations, it looked considerably less sinister than the average Abyssal building I'd seen.
The gang and their armed escorts were obviously heading there, and while it didn't look so at the start, by this point their procession essentially morphed into a military parade, with countless civilians lining the sides of the streets and cheering for them as they marched by. There wasn't anyone else on the road either, so… yeah, this was totally planned.
"Smile and wave, children," Fidèle told the guys behind her and led by example, adopting a demure smile and gesturing towards the crowd.
"Uuu… I'm not used to this…" Penny whined, sticking close to my other sister, though she didn't look too thrilled by the attention either.
In contrast, the childhood friend couple were seemingly in their element. It wasn't too surprising, considering that they had plenty of opportunities to get used to this kind of thing in the Elysium during our stint there. My girlfriends were somewhere in between; Judy was tacitly ignoring the cacophonous cheers around her, while Elly was relishing the attention, waving left and right with wild elation.
The noise only died down when they reached the rail station and, after passing through the spacious waiting area dotted with wooden benches and an old-school newspaper stand, they approached a familiar locomotive sitting right next to the platform. It was the same sleek kinda-magitech steam engine that facilitated their escape from the capital of House Ninhursag, though it clearly underwent some startling modifications.
Across its curved sides, faint blue light pulsed in patterns, visible even to the naked eye. They were similar to Snowy's Sigils, but on a much bigger scale, and maybe just a little bit cruder (though that might just be my big brotherly bias talking). The lines ran together like rivers on a map, and wherever they met, there were geometric symbols shining brighter than the rest. Circles inside triangles, squares with lines pointing outward, those kinds of things. They flickered, one after another, down the length of the engine.
In my eyes, the heavy metal machine was glowing like a Christmas tree, but I bet it must've looked jarring even to those without magical sight privileges, because my dear assistant let out an impressed hum as she beheld the black steel behemoth.
"You have warded the train engine rather… excessively," she noted, and it was clearly aimed at Fidèle. Yet, the one who responded to her was the stocky Ninhursag aristocrat walking beside her.
"It is but a necessary precaution, young lady," the patriarch noted with altogether too much gratuitous gravitas. "This machine is currently my family's last remaining asset and our home away from home. It was pivotal to ensure it would not get damaged, or worse, in this operation."
Everyone in attendance seemed to share the sentiment, except for the childhood friend couple in the back, who were busy whispering, "Hey? Does this count as a jinx?"
Josh shrugged his shoulder and told his girlfriend, "I really hope not. We kinda need it for the way back."
Angie nodded along at first, but then her eye colour shifted and she let out a haughty scoff, followed by a weirdly playful swipe at Josh's shoulder.
"Don't be silly, Boy. Once we rescue Polemos, there won't be any reason to hide and bide our time anymore! We can spread our wings, both figuratively and literally, and nobody, and I mean nobody, will be able to do a damn thing about it! It will be awesome!"
…
Was it just me, or was Angie really rubbing off on Deus as of late? Before the big retcon, it was kind of the other way around, which was admittedly much more dangerous than just odd and awkward, so I probably shouldn't be complaining. It was still a little weird though, especially with their recent insistence on the two of them being the same person and the UST between Josh and Deus of all people and whatnot. Then again, let sorting that out be Josh's problem. I didn't need to be the one solving absolutely everything, did I?
…
Hold on.
Maybe that's the problem. I've been looking at this from the wrong angle. I mean, I didn't think anyone could blame me for being a tiny bit self-centered, considering everything that's been going on around me, but maybe it made me develop a blind spot. Instead of considering why future-me would want me to get back into the plot without much fanfare, I should've thought about this in terms of opportunity costs. He went through a whole lot of trouble to get Ammy kidnapped by Crowy (which was going to be another of those 'was that intentional, or was I just scrambling for solutions for some out-of-context problem' things I wasn't looking forward to finding out), so it had to be for a reason.
What if this isn't about me, but about ensuring that the gang and their little army wouldn't crash the events going on around those two, meaning… maybe I should pay more attention to the class rep instead of the them?
Based on that logic, I shifted my attention away from everyone boarding the train to took a peek at Ammy, and what I saw made me pause.
"Oh, the beauty of youth! I wish you all the best!" the familiar voice of future-me echoed in the huge dining room of Castle Nergal, a place I was nominally familiar with due to just how many plot-relevant discussions would be happening around the dinner table in the Abyss. It was almost as bad as the Celestials with their hidden rooms and their stupid cowls.
Anyhow, my future self was sitting on an oversized throne of a chair at the head of the impractically long table, surrounded by all kinds of local delicacies (mostly fish and meat dishes, by the looks of it), none of which he was eating, because he had his mask on. On his right and left, Crowy and the class rep were seated on fancy dining chairs that were only a teensy bit less grandiose than the his one, and while the former looked the same as usual, Ammy's appearance made me have a second take.
Her current outfit was, in one word, flamboyant. It was a deep blue dress with a bunch of gems and pearls attached to its many folds, its edges rimmed with delicate black lace, and somehow looking both flimsy and impractically heavy at the same time, kind of like one of those concept-clothes from a fancy fashion show. Maybe most importantly though, she was wearing a familiar piece of black fabric around her neck, its pale, colourless light barely visible next to the sparkliness of her outfit.
"Thank you, My Emperor," Crowy spoke in a languid voice, his fingers carefully cutting a piece of fried meat on his plate.
At the same time, his eyes remained glued to the class rep, and when she noticed, she stopped anaemically poking her own food with a silver fork and muttered, "Thank you."
"I think I have heard a term for this. Was it 'machinegun wedding'?" future-me mused with a finger tapping on the table, and it was at this point that Dimas made his presence known.
"I believe the correct term is 'shotgun wedding', Your Imperial Majesty."
He was standing behind Crowy, like a faithful butler, and partially hidden by his overside chair. Future-me glanced at him and continued to tap on the table.
"Really? Is it because of the scattershot approach? Or is it a reference to sitting at the passenger seat of a car?" He shook his head and leaned back in his seat. "Ah, language used to be so much simpler back in my day. No chance for silly miscommunication like this."
Crowy nodded along, pretending that this was the most interesting thing he'd ever heard in his life, but as soon as future-me stopped talking, he forcefully cleared his throat.
"My Emperor? May I have a request?"
"Oh? You mean, in celebration of your engagement?" There was an odd emphasis in the way he said that. Was that meant to bring me up to speed? I mean, he would know that I would be watching, so it made sense. "I'm in a great mood today, and it's an occasion worth celebrating, so out with it! Do you want a gift for your pet… oh, pardon. Your lady? Maybe an actual pet! I've heard Siberian tigers are really popular right now. Or how about a polar bear?"
"No, My Emperor. I was thinking of something much less… extravagant." He gingerly picked up a wine glass and took a quick sip before continuing. "You see, my bride is rather shy. May I request that you refrain from your… irregular visits for the night, so that we may get to know each other more… intimately?"
The class rep let out a hiccup, but remained surprisingly composed, considering the circumstances. It didn't escape future-me's notice, and he turned to her with a gleeful, "Is that true?"
She responded with a flat, "Y-Yes."
"My Emperor," Dimas chimed in from the back, and Ammy hastily corrected herself.
"Yes, My Emperor."
Future-me let out a low chuckle, followed by a just as gleeful, "Ah, what a cute little nokedli you are! You two are a perfect match, aren't you?" That was followed by a low chortle, and then he said, "Sure. I promise I won't be peeping. I'm not a voyeur, you know?"
"Thank you, My—" Crowy started, but got cut off by future-me snapping his finger.
"Ah, but isn't that too plain of a favor for such a joyous occasion? I know! Let me just quickly hop over into the future, and I'll make sure everything will work out just fine between the two of you!"
"There's… There's no need for that, My Emperor," Crowy insisted on the spot, looking oddly spooked by the prospect. But then again, if he believed that Bel of the Abyss could time-travel, then why was he planning stuff behind his back? Because this was clearly him doing just that.
The two of them continued to politely argue about the proper betrothal gift for a while, during which I focused on the class rep, and the more I looked, the more confused I felt. She was never the type who stayed cool under pressure, yet the way she was casually eating her greens while all of this was unfolding around her spoke otherwise. Sure, she was wearing the mind-control choker thingie, but I already took care of that, so what gives?
"Fine!" Before I could get anywhere with that train of thought, future-me sprang to his feet and declared, "I won't bother you until tomorrow morning, and you get a tiger cub! Take it or leave it!"
"I… thank My Emperor for his generosity."
My future self nodded with apparent satisfaction, then promptly disappeared from the room without saying another word.
That caused the class rep to stop eating, and after making sure he was gone for good, Crowy turned to her and uttered, "Eat. You'll need all your strength for what's to come."
"Y-Yes…"
…
Okay, putting aside how creepy that sounded, there was clearly something brewing here. I was sure that the gang were going to get up to some shenanigans during their train ride, but no matter how I sliced it, keeping a close eye on this situation should take priority.
"Yes. Like that. Remember, neither of us is going to be sleeping tonight…"
I was only hoping that Crowy would stop spouting creepy innuendoes before I get an aneurysm of second-hand cringe…
Okay, so I know I said I would keep a very close eye on the class rep and Crowy, but there was something I simply wasn't accounting for: it was boring. I mean, really boring. Like, 'listening to Lord Grandpa's principal-speeches at school' kind of boring.
First, they ate in silence. Then they ate some more when the second course arrived. Then they continued to do that with the third course, except at this point they were obviously full, and so it was most just the two of them (plus Dimas in the background) awkwardly staring at each other and occasionally pecking at a dish or another. They were simply going through the motions, as if it were a rehearsed scene from a drama, except that in those, something should've happened already.
How did that famous quote go? Have a bomb suddenly explode under the table, and you give the audience fifteen seconds of surprise; show the audience there's a bomb under the table that'll explode in a quarter of an hour, and you give them fifteen minutes of suspense. Something along those lines, just paraphrased.
Anyhow, the problem was that there was no bomb under this table, so there was neither surprise nor suspense. As such, I, the audience, decided to look for something more riveting (and maybe plot-relevant), and shifted back to the gang's side.
By this time, everyone was packed onto the train cars. The last original car, damaged during the final scuffle with the Chimera, was replaced with a pair of smaller second- or third-class passenger cars, meaning they didn't have any fancy salons or restaurants in them, allowing for more seats and, consequently, more soldiers to be squeezed in there.
As for Josh and co, they settled down around the front of the train, making themselves busy in various ways. Judy and Elly took a passenger cabin, and they were discussing tactics with the Ninhursag patriarch, Josh, and an unfamiliar middle-aged man. From the context, I figured that he was essentially a liaison officer in charge of the token reinforcements the Noble Alliance provided for the cause.
I listened in on their planning for a while, but it wasn't exactly deep. Just 'rush in, capture the castle, free Leo, figure out the rest from there', which meant that either Elly was in charge of the battle plans, or everyone was getting really impatient.
At one point, Judy asked, "What's our ETA?"
"Do you mean when we'll arrive at Eanna?" the patriarch asked back, and when she nodded, he lightly tugged on his pointy beard and then aimed a finger towards the window of the cabin. "We're traveling at full steam, so with some luck, we should arrive right after sunset."
"I'm still not sure how much of a tactical advantage that's gonna give us," Josh griped, his arms already folded and his brows furrowed. "It would make more sense if Miss Fidèle was with us, with her being allergic to the sun and all, but…"
"Don't worry!" Elly chimed in, doing her best to look self-assured. "It'll be fine! They won't be expecting a sudden attack like this! Probably!"
"It's a war," Judy pointed out, then put down her notepad. It's been only a week, but it was already full at this point, and it visibly annoyed her. That reflected in her tone when she stated, "It would be foolish to assume they won't be prepared for a surprise assault. We're lucky if they didn't cut the rails already."
"Nobody else did," Josh mentioned off-handedly, followed by a sigh. "Whatever happens, we're just gonna have to rely on Lili's familiarity with the terrain and blitzkrieg them."
"Yes. Quite."
That last comment came from the aforementioned middle-aged liaison, and he even nodded along like he just heard something profound. Needless to say, even if he wasn't effectively a placeholder, it was clear he was the odd man out, and as the third (or in this case, fifth) wheel, he didn't seem too eager to add anything of value to the conversation.
Anyhow, these guys weren't going to change the world any time soon, and since she came up in conversation, I shifted my attention over to my Abyssal sister. Surprisingly enough, I found her in the driver's cap of the locomotive, along with Penny and Angie. Or rather, Deus, who was staring intently into the magic-fuelled firebox of the steam engine.
"So if I added more fire, we could get to Polemos faster?"
Her question made both my sisters and the hapless driver, yet another placeholder I'd never seen before, tense up with apprehension.
"I'm… not sure it's that straightforward," Snowy told her in a mousy voice, but it only made Deus stare at the orange flames inside the firebox even harder, as if that alone could make them burn hotter.
"But the other companion… Amelia, was it? She made it go faster."
"Maybe, but…" Penny chimed in, only for Deus to immediately let out a triumphant huff and pretend to be rolling up her sleeves.
"That settles it then. The quicker we get to our destination, the sooner we can free Polemos, then the sooner we can rescue our companion! Now, if you just—"
"Um… L-Lady Deus!" Snowy called out in a near-panic, and that finally made the Celestial stop in her tracks. "Or, um…"
"Just Deus will do for now," she said as she turned away from the fire and faced the two. "We're all dear companions on this journey, practically family. There's no reason for pretenses."
"R-Right?" my Abyssal sister nodded in a hurry, then asked, "Wasn't there something you wanted to discuss?"
Penny exclaimed a loud, "Ah, right!" as if she just remembered something, and she dropped her fist into her other palm with a satisfying smack. "That's why we came over here! Before we got distracted, I mean!"
Meanwhile, the train driver sneakily closed the round metal hatch of the firebox, lest the three girls would get sidetracked again. As for Deus, she put her hands on her hips, a very Angie-like pose, and let out a soft huff.
"Right! I wished to procure some advice from you, while the Boy is busy with the others." Right after saying that, she shifted her posture again and crossed her arms. "I'm aware that you possess a special constitution, do you not?"
"If you mean that I'm a Seducer then… um… yes?"
"Good!" Deus stepped up to Snowy, her body language changing again for the less confident as she whispered, "Can we step outside for a moment? I need your advice on something personal."
"By outside, do you mean…?"
Two minutes later, the two of them were sitting on top of the first passenger car, feet dangling off the front end, with a peevish Penny glaring at them from inside the driver's cab. I had no idea how she was planning to have a proper talk with the wind blowing past them and the noise of the engine from below, but Deus was hell-bent on having a 'private' talk like this, and Snowy was too polite (or just shy) to tell her it was a dumb idea.
Anyhow, once they settled down, Deus raised her voice and asked, "So, since you possess this rare constitution, I'm certain you have a deep and personal understanding of attraction between the sexes."
"Y-Yes, you could say that…" my sister responded a touch sheepishly, her voice nearly drowned out by the wind.
"In that case…!" Once again, Deus started out with some bravado, but then after a long silence, she… lightly tapped her index fingers together in front of her chest? Wait, wasn't that one of those cutesy gesture tropes? I'd seen Angie do that before, but not Deus, yet her eye colour was still amber, so…
"In that case?" Snowy prompted her, and she let out a soft groan.
"Listen, little sister of Polemos. You know that the Girl is lovers with the Boy, right?"
"D-Do you mean Angeline and Joshua?"
"Of course I do!" She leaned back, propping herself up with her arms behind her back, and exhaled a more overt groan. "The Girl and I are the same, and as time goes on, I can feel it all the more acutely. My memories as the Archon of Elysium feel more distant, while everything I shared with the Girl is vivid and alive. I have learned so many things and had to get used to many a new sensations."
"Is this about Joshua?" Snowy pried, and Deus nodded along.
"Indeed. I have fully accepted that the Girl and I are one and inseparable, and that is fine, but we're now at an impasse. Men change, and the Deus I am is not the Deus I used to be. I experienced things and wrestled with wants and desires that the me of the distant days of the past couldn't even fathom, and I wish to come to terms with them before they would cause discord in a moment of crisis."
Snowy suddenly cut in with an awkward, "W-Wait… let me think for a moment…" followed by a very long beat of… not exactly silence, considering the background noise, but something like it. "Does that mean you… like Joshua?"
"I certainly don't hate the Boy," Deus responded in a quick, almost snappy manner, making my sister blink.
"Is that… a yes?"
Deus grumbled something so quietly I couldn't hear it, then firmly stated, "Listen, sister of Polemos. My shared philia with the Girl is only one facet of this problem, and one that we can resolve with time. Unfortunately, we don't have much of it before the next battle, so I was looking for advice about how to approach the subject with the Boy, so we could hopefully reach a mutually satisfactory agreement."
"… Meaning you want to know how to… confess to him?"
"No!" Deus denied at once, and it was hard to tell if her face was red only because of the setting sun. "I simply wish to have a mature conversation about my place in this relationship, and that he needs to be more considerate about my— I mean, the Girl's feelings. We're stuck with each other's company either way, so I don't think it would kill him to be a bit nicer, right?"
"Have you tried telling him about this?"
"No? I mean, he's the man. Or boy, at any rate. He should pick up on these things."
"But you just said you wanted to have a mature conversation."
"Yes! It's precisely because he's not picking up on…" Deus fell silent and frowned, then hissed, "Stop it! Stop making fun of me!"
That was probably aimed at Angie, who was no doubt listening in on the conversation, and once my sister realised this, she hesitantly proposed, "So… Um… I'm sure there's a lot on Joshua's mind right now, so I'm not sure he will recognize what you wish for unless you're direct. If you want to resolve this quickly, you need to sit down with him in private and tell her how you feel about the situation."
She also muttered something along the lines of 'That's what Leo would've said, right?', which made me feel a bit self-conscious, but not as much as Deus was feeling at the moment.
"Are you sure? I was expecting something… different?"
"Different?"
"Yes. The Girl's head is full of these books of drama of the young adult variety, and in those, they never do that. It's usually all about coy looks and thinly veiled hints and the men taking the initiative to act on their desi— I mean, mutual favor."
"I haven't read any of those, but… um… I-I'm not sure they are entirely accurate when it comes to depicting attraction and s-seduction."
"Truly? Then, can you enlighten me about the accurate means of allurement? F-For the sake of not making any mistakes when interacting with the boy, of course!"
…
Okay, time out. I'm not listening to any more of this. Not only because it's just suuuper awkward, but also because this is Josh's bloody relationship drama, and the further I stay away from it, the better. Last time I got involved with something like this, the whole Naoren/Rinne/Yseult triangle nearly blew up in my face, and I had to play matchmaker to make sure it wouldn't cause a rift in the Draconic Federation. I had my fill with weird love-triangles, thank you very much, so let's let Josh and his girlfriend(s?) figure out this one on their own. I wash my hands of this whole malarkey.
Speaking of which, I glanced over at Josh, who had just finished the impromptu strategy meeting with the others and was looking for Angie, meaning there was a good chance the discussion between Deus and my sister would soon morph into a UST-laden, melodramatic scene between those two instead. As such, since there was not much else to see here until they arrived in my neck of the woods, I bid farewell to the train and the romance dramatics that were sure to follow, and returned to the side of the class rep, who was currently being led back to her room by a pair of handmaidens.
Or at the very least, I presumed that's what they were, based on their fancy gowns, and… on a closer look, they seemed somewhat familiar. It wasn't until they returned to the 'guest room' and one of them started to merrily comb Ammy's hair that I finally figured out where I'd seen them before: they were two of the Seducer girls from back when I came to the Abyss, and Belette Nergal tried to stall and distract me with a magical honey-trap.
They must've been kept around in the castle afterwards, then got assigned to the class rep. Speaking of which, despite being pampered by two chatty girls, she remained completely expressionless while sitting in front of the dark wood vanity desk in the corner of the room. It wasn't there the last time I checked, so I was pretty sure it was moved in to maintain the illusion of Crowy taking care of his brand new 'fiancée', which was… frankly, a rather odd development.
I mean, sure, the last time they interacted back on Critias, during the kidnapping incident, he made a few rather disturbing comments about her, and as the Conduit of the Grimoire, marrying her would've definitely lead to some political and metaphysical advantages, but I wasn't even sure he knew about that. From the looks of it, I was about eighty percent sure that this was just part of some kind of charade the bastard was putting up. For whom? The Nergals? The Noble Alliance spies? Bel of the Abyss? Take your pick.
My money was on the latter, but since I knew about it, then it meant future-me had to know about it by definition, so it had to be accounted for. Of course, considering our recent track record, I couldn't decide whether I should feel more or less worried, so I just shelved that whole dilemma and listened to the conversation unfolding in the room.
There wasn't much of it though. Mostly just chit-chat about how impressive Crowy looked, and how pretty the class rep was in her flashy dress, and other girly stuff I couldn't care less about. On the surface, Ammy seemed to share my opinion, but the more I looked, the odder I felt. It was almost like she really, really wanted to take part in the conversation, but forced herself to remain silent and adopt this stone-faced ice-queen persona in front of the handmaidens.
The minutes kept ticking by, and I was just getting impatient and ready to move back to the train, where Josh and Angie/Deus might or might not have been trapped in some kind of romance-dramedy Mexican standoff kind of scenario, when the door unceremoniously opened and in walked the grey-clad right-hand lackey of Crowey.
"Please get ready," he spoke mirthlessly, not even bothering with greetings. "My Liege is waiting for you."
The handmaidens let out a series of tinkling giggles, accompanied by cheerful, 'Best of luck!'-s and 'Tell us about it in the morning!'-s, neither of which was appreciated by her. Or Dimas, for that matter, because he directed a disparaging look at the two girls before impatiently gesturing for Ammy to get moving. She didn't need the encouragement, and the two of them soon left the 'involuntary guest room' and headed down a series of familiar corridors. Familiar not because I'd seen them in particular, but because they looked exactly the same as the ones from Castle Ninhursag during the guys' chaotic break-in attempt.
Passing through, they took a much more official-looking staircase down, and the moment they entered the basement, Crowy immediately greeted them with an impetuous scoff.
"What took you so long? I told you we need to get this done while the Lord of Nergal is scheming with Bel."
Wait. Did that mean that Belette was also doing some skullduggery of his own? Or rather, why was I even surprised about that? He was the one who set me up when I officially came down here, so it shouldn't have been surprising. I marked him back then, so I was tempted to Far Glance over, but this looked more important, so I focused my attention on Crowy and Ammy.
He waved his hand, sending out a couple of wispy black tendrils that seemingly formed from the shadows surrounding him in the poorly-lit anteroom of the Mana Well Chamber. After just a few short seconds, the heavily warded metal door leading in there opened to a crack, bathing the whole room with blue light tinted with the colourless hues of mana.
He didn't even wait for the doors to fully open and squeezed through, and Dimas urged the class rep to follow right behind him. As soon as they were inside, the guy waved his hand again, and while it didn't immediately close the entrance, it stopped the doors from flinging any further. The insides looked the same as all the other mana-well chambers; smooth stone floor, domed ceiling, lots of decorative columns, and a round pedestal in the middle with the cubic Mana Well lazily floating over it.
"Do it," Crowy ordered, making the class rep flinch, but after a moment, the eye-shaped mark flared up on her forehead, and the golden-yellow shape of Grimmy materialised between the two of them.
"Final Warning: Forceful connection to the Mana Well System as a Reservoir could lead to unforeseen consequences. Query: Are you certain you wish to proceed?"
Crowy gave the holographic woman a flat stare and growled, "Haven't I made this clear enough? Do as I command…" He extended a finger towards her, or rather, pointing at Ammy behind her, his fingers coated with the inky substance of his unique magic. "… or she will suffer the consequences."
Grimmy looked over her shoulder (though I had no idea why, maybe just for theatrics), and when Ammy weakly nodded, her attention returned to the man.
"Response: Confirmed. Please stand by for coupling. Reservoir Designation: Onoképhalos. Already existing connections confirmed. Initiating…"
As soon as she said that, the faint aura around Crowy burst into life. Not just that, but it looked like his transformation was triggered as well, because in a few seconds, his original clothes disintegrated and he spread his wings as his whole body was enveloped in purplish flames.
The colour spread in the room, and before long, the pale, piercing blue of the Mana Well was being tainted by it. The light slowly but steadily shifted its hue until it matched the bastard's, and then after a sudden burst of radiance, the room settled down.
Meanwhile, Crowy was groaning as purple streaks were dancing across his body, like small electric arcs. He grit his teeth, then roared towards the ceiling. There was another flash of light, and then the aura surrounding his body finally settled. He didn't look too happy.
"What is this? This feeling of… restraint…?" he muttered, then reached right through the holographic woman and grabbed Ammy by the throat. "What have you done?"
"I… did exactly what you asked for, L-Lord Noir," the class rep answered, sounding rather… meek?
Okay, this was really starting to bother me. Why was she helping him? I mean, sure, mind-control choker and all, but that was something I had already tweaked, so I was expecting her to screw him over at some point. It looked like maybe she did, but I was expecting something a bit more… dramatic, I guess? From here, it looked like she was just obediently following his orders, so… Was there a second choker I didn't account for?
No, that's stupid. The law of Chekhov's Gun doesn't just mean that an already established plot-device had to exist for a reason, but also that if a plot-device wasn't established, it shouldn't exist. Otherwise, it's that other trope: Deus Ex Machina. Or, as colloquially known, a bloody ass-pull.
That meant it had to be the same choker, meaning it should've given her lots of wiggling room, meaning she was helping him on her own accord, meaning… was this part of some kind of ploy? Was she maybe trying to lull him into a false sense of security? Was everyone scheming right now?
In any case, Grimmy's form rematerialized next to the two of them, and she calmly stated, "Report: Connection efficiency at sixty-seven percent due to interference from unconnected segments of the Asphodelòs Sub-System."
"Explain!" Crowy barked and finally let go of Ammy's throat. She only continued once she caught her breath and was standing again.
Grimmy raised her palm, and over it, a three-dimensional model of Critias (or rather, probably the Abyss) materialised from the same translucent yellow holographics as her main body. On it, there were seven bright dots; three of them purple, the remaining four a familiar shade of bright blue. They were connected by straight lines vaguely matching the elevation of the terrain, and they were also colour-coded for Crowy's convenience.
"Report: Due to a lack of regular maintenance, the Asphodelòs Sub-System's synchronicity rate is below seventy-two percent. Direct connection to Reservoir: Onoképhalos is negatively affected by interference and backflow errors caused by the anti-tampering protocols limiting throughflow at Mana Well Node Four."
One of the dots on the map lit up, and when Crowy looked closer, his eyes shone with a mixture of revelation and something approaching madness.
"Yes. Yes! I understand now! That's why the Mana Wells rejected my control before!" He let out a harsh laugh that was as relieved as it was manic. "Haha! I should've known! The Mana Wells form a structure, all interconnected! They must be bent to my will in a set order!"
Grimmy looked at him dispassionately and stated, "Correction: The conjecture is—"
Before she could finish, Crowy's violet aura burst forth again, and he turned his back on them, a finger pointing at the man by the half-open doorway.
"Dimas! Mobilize everyone! We're going to Castle Shamash!"
"But… My Liege?" The man tried to object, but Crowy walked past him with a gait that said if he tried to stand in his way, he would get trampled, so he wisely stepped aside first. "Most of the men stationed here belong to the Lord of Nergal. We must first talk to—"
"It matters not!" Crowy bellowed, his aura growing bigger and more violent by the second. "It is the Herald of the…!" His words trailed off into silence as he pulled back his hand. He stared at his palm for a second, then snapped his fingers shut into a fist. Simultaneously, the violet power surging around him flared up, making the flames hovering over his crown of horns take the shape of an actual, giant crown as he bellowed, "I AM THE ONE WHO COMMANDS IT!"
All right. So Crowy was going into his megalomania phase. Neat, but much more importantly, did he just say he's going to invade Castle Shamash? As in, the headquarters of the Noble Alliance? The one Josh and co just left?
…
There's no bloody way that's a coincidence. Was this a part of the plan? Whose plan?
No, wait. That's not important right now. I mean, it was important, but I had to tell Judy about this first. Except…
"Oh, come on, Dormouse…"
She just put the glasses away! Why!? I mean, I get it; those things need to charge on ambient Mana and she probably wanted them to be full during the upcoming battle, but this timing was just the worst! Or maybe just another facet of the plan. Oh, god. Was Josh right all along? Are my plans really going to be this bazillion-step mind-melting schemes in the future?
Speaking of him, future-me still didn't give me a heads up, so I was on my own. The question was, what do I do?
Let's apply some deductive reasoning here. On one side, the gang was set up to get me out of jail. On the other hand, Ammy was set up to give Crowy another power-up and direct him towards Castle Shamash. Josh and co were taken out of there at this point so that when Crowy would show up, they wouldn't get trapped in battle there, ergo, they were supposed to get here and rescue me. Combining all that, it told me the final battle would be taking place in Castle Shamash, and we, including myself, would need to make a late heroic entry to change the tide, which also meant I wa expected to officially get out of the Chasm of Desolation at this point.
Did all of that check out? Was it logical enough? It was good enough for me, so…
"Hey? Beansprout?"
As soon as I called out, Ollie pattered over to my cell and peeked in with excitement.
"Yes?"
"Change out of your pyjamas," I told him as I got off my bed and slapped my belt buckle (mostly for theatrics), shifting into my Polemos outfit, much to his surprise and intrigue. "We're leaving."