43 The interlude before the finale

The cleaning process is going smoothly. Most of the room are almost clean, although the ceiling still needs some work. The corpses of our fallen comrades have already been neatly lined up, but thanks to the fire, recognizing who is who will be a whole new problem. I should have put a hand to help, but hearing the reason why this happened from the words of the skeleton shopkeeper is more urgent on the long run.

We sit in silent in a corner far away from the eyes and ears of others. Lapidoth is sitting on a pile of stone, near his legs lies the dog Fidus, who has been asleep for a while thanks to the exhaustion that came from surviving a fire. But the most spectacular sight is the skull of the shopkeeper, which is being held by Lapidoth's hand. The soldier now looks like some sort of evil overlord sitting on his stone throne with the skull of his enemy on his hand and his trusty bloodhound by his side. The sheer thought that it might be the truth behind his secrets send shivers down my spine. Though, back to the problem at hand.

"Are you…sure you're okay?"

I can't hold back my concern for the skeleton man who lost everything from his neck down.

"Most of my body had already been crushed by the stones. Keeping them together with me would be useless. As long as a part of my vessel is still intact, my soul won't fade away and the King of Annwn can still restore my skeleton body. It may trouble his Majesty, but that's the only way a humble skeleton like me can continue living, haha."

"I…see…"

I really don't know how skeletons like him can even gain life and exist, so I guess I'll leave his revival to someone else's care like he just said.

"I'll make arrangements for you to go back to Annwn after this is over. I can promise you this."

Lapidoth says his part.

"That's very kind of you."

The shopkeeper's skull replies. This is getting way too spooky for me to handle…

"But let's leave that later, we neet to get down to the urgent matter at hand. Tell us what happened."

"Right…I will get started right away."

The skull sighs. What he will tell us may not be a very pleasant memory for him, but we have no choice but to force him to relive that memory again for the reason behind that dreadful fire.

"It started not long after you left the storage room. Can you remember, Akuma? I was playing 「Sesch」 with myself when you walked away. After I got myself a losing streak, I decided to called it a quit, and together with Fidus, we went back inside with the game board to put it back and sort out my own merchandise as well, which is kind of a moot point considering the fire burned away everything…"

His voice trembles and he falls silent. He might not lose his life, but everything he owned had been consumed by the fire. His future will be a hard one, but still, we need his information to prevent tragedies like this from happening again. The man knows it himself, and continues his story on his own accord.

"Then, as I and Fidus had been busy sorting our stuff, I heard the sound of the glass windows breaking, and from outside, three unknown assailants lunged into this room. They carried shiny knives with them, and with deadly proficiency, they began to silence the ones that noticed their uninvited presence. First, they went after those who could scream, and then came those who couldn't. Swift and silent, all the room barely noticed their existence and could only lie there awaiting their impending death. By the time everybody became a corpse, they brought out some sort of…things. I don't know what to make of those, but their shape were round and small. The assailants threw them at the food and supply crates across the room, and the fire started from there. Our supplies might as well be called firewoods instead. Soon, the fire quickly spread all over the place. When they thought the time was right, they retreated from the same windows that served as their entrance. By the time they were gone, I tried to get out of this place to call for help, but…the entrance had already been sealed off by the fire. Its spreading speed was too unnatural for a fire. I technically could get out of this place safely since I'm just bones…but I couldn't just leave Fidus behind and let him die. Soon after, I heard your voice, Akuma. Fidus replied before I could, then suddenly, a part of the stone ceiling collapsed from the fire and got us stuck inside. But maybe…that was what helped Fidus survive this ordeal. The fire and smoke failed to reach him, and you saved him before the lack of air could kill him off. Thank you…"

"I just…did what was natural to do…"

I reply. There's nothing to be proud about it. People died, and I once again live. It's already a mircale this borrowed life of mine can help save another, even if that life is a dog's.

"Those fire maybe a product made by the alchemists of Ignis. No one in this world can compete against those pyromaniacs when it comes to making deadly and efficient fire. And they called themselves 'scholars of magic'..."

Lapidoth makes his theory. It kinda makes sense, a fire spreading that fast could only be made from alchemy. I've heard about Ignis before, isn't that kingdom practically a kingdom of wizards? I read from the book that their capital is practically a giant magic academy. Such a dreamy place, too bad it's halfway around the world from here.

"Either way, the cause doesn't matter at this point. Do you remember the appearance of the three assailants?"

Lapidoth stares at the shopkeeper's skull. He looks tense, for some reason.

"Yes. An undead's vision isn't obstructed by the night like you living beings. I saw all of them and I can remember every details. They wore dark western clothing, but not the same kind as those Metallumians. They all covered part of their face with a piece of dark cloth, but from their figures, I can guess that two of them were men, and the one leading them was a woman. The most noteworthy detail from their appearance were their left arms, all three were tattooed from the hand to near the bicep. I can't make of the content, but instead of symbols or phrases, their arm were tattooed with exotic characters from an unknown language. I guess that's about it."

A report with important details, but what can we get from these details? How do we know who they are based on what the shopkeeper told us? Another mystery that needs to be solved to make some sense to the war I'm fighting in.

"…Rouge Moons."

And of course, Lapidoth just have to instantly know the answer for our problem. Praise to be him (yay!).

"You know who they are?"

I ask, despite knowing he will naturally explain who they are without my input anyway. But well, someone has to keep this conversation going. Communicating isn't a game you can play alone.

"On the farthest land in the West lies the 「Kingdom of the Moon – Lunae」. They are famed for their army of incredibly skilled assassins, called the 'Moonlight Assassins' whose existences are meant to serve the will of the kingdom. Some, however, don't like to be mere tools of the king and nobles, despite the indoctrination they recieved from training. The law allowed those who wish to leave to exile themselves and become 'Rouge Moons', Moonlight Assassins in name only, with affiliation only to themselves and their pocket. The tattoo on their arm is a sign to show that they are legally exiled and allowed to leave the kingdom. Rouge assassins without that sign will be hunted down by the Moonlight Assassins without any mercy, and those assassins are well-known for a reason."

"That's a veteran soldier for you, haha. You know the most trivial titbits."

The skull laughs, while I stumble in silence to try to stomach Lapidoth's own information dump.

"Are those assassins Origen's men? Maybe we let them slipped by because we were too busy dealing with the man himself…"

I reply the man.

"They may work under his army. But I don't think they are his men."

And he just has to rebuke me like that.

"You fought him once. What do you make of Origen, Akuma?"

Lapidoth suddenly asks.

"He seems to be an honor-bound kind of guy. He's a Paladin, after all. The type who sticks to his principles. Someone with his own standard, who lives and dies by it."

He even offered me a quick kill when I was mortally wounded. Too bad someone saved me before he could deliver his mercy kill.

"Yes, and that sort of man wouldn't be easily swayed to let assassins do his dirty works. This was orchestrated by someone else. Though, whoever they are, they were not very wise in their moves."

"What do you mea…"

Suddenly, it hits me.

"Is it because of the burned supplies?"

Supplies are a resource in war. An army marches on its stomach, no matter if they are humans or demons. Burning the supplies in the middle of a war is like dumping a bunch of solid gold to the sea when you're in the middle of financial crisis. The loss of our supplies is a bit hit to the demon army, but…

"Yes, you caught on quick. Assuming Origen's objective is the capture of this castle, and destroying the castle's barrier is only the first step, then what will he do after he have this castle in his pocket? The human army hurriedly rushed to this place in the span of a day, I doubt they gathered enough supplies for a long siege. If they manage to take control of Melas castle, Origen obviously know the demons will throw everything they have to take it back. Consider the position of the pieces in the war, the reserved armies inside the Demon Realm will reach this castle faster than the Alliance forces fighting at the Dark Line can, assuming they can make it through the demon armies defending the place. Origen will be isolated and face a counter siege if that scenario happens, yet how can he deal with an impending army trying to reclaim this castle without anything for his soldier to eat or medicine to heal their wounded? Which brings us back to the original question: Who's crazy enough to burn out all the food supplies when capturing an enemy castle?"

"That's…"

Nothing that I can answer, I know next to none about Origen's army, how can I know what to say to the guy when he's in the middle of overthinking scenarios?

"…is for later. We still need to deal with our most urgent matter – Origen himself."

"Of course…"

I reply to the man. Thank goodness it's over.

"Which brings the topic to the reason why despite all my speech about duty, I easily abandoned my search for the Headmaster to come to your aid. My reason is simple enough: I found Origen."

"What!?"

I yell out loud. Even the shopkeeper's skull looks surprised.

"…Or rather, where he might be. I didn't see him with my own eyes, but I saw a single soldier of his guarding an entrance leading to some place I presume the barrier's core. The location is the castle's chapel. I failed to find the Headmaster at the walls because she went away to survey other parts of the walls. But rather than reaching the Headmaster by the walls' road, I went through the castle once more hoping for a chance to find Origen's location, and I got lucky."

"Finally, some good news!"

I'm almost filled with joy. Now we know where Origen is, we need to strike him down before his ambition brings further tragedies upon us.

That is what I thought, before I realize Lapidoth's presence here…in this place, next to me and talking to me about all these important informations. He doesn't look like the type to do something without a good reason. Our gaze meets, and I can hear a chuckle from beneath his skull-shaped helmet.

"You caught on quick. Maybe almost being killed by Origen has finally put your brain to work."

"You…don't you mean…"

Says the shopkeeper, but his words fail to stop Lapidoth from announcing his true intention for coming here.

"I will continue searching for the Headmaster as planned before. We need her help to stand a chance at stopping Origen. But, I do not know whether Origen will remain there by the time her reinforcement arrives. Which is why…I have a mission for you to fulfill."

"You need a distraction, to hold Origen at bay until Nilrem comes and finishes him off, right?"

The man chuckles, confirming my theory.

"I once asked to you run, but you chose to fight nonetheless. Now that I ask you to fight, will you run away?"

"In your damn dream!"

I yell out loud to refute Lapidoth's attempt of mocking me. Nonetheless, this mission is just want I wanted.

"It's too dangerous! You're almost died once because of Origen. Don't let him finish the job, Akuma!"

The shopkeeper yells. I know his concern has a good reason, but I need to finish what I started.

"If I refuse an important mission just because the fear of death, then the life my teacher paid for mine is wasted forever! Lapidoth, I accept this mission, and I will fulfill my duty! I will keep Origen at the chapel until you bringt that old hag's ass over there! Heh, I may not look like this, but I'm an expert at annoying people. Origen won't know what hit him!"

"So it would seem."

Lapidoth stands up and prepares for his departure. I also turn my back against them to prepare for my own departure as well.

"Your enthusiasm, is it recklessness or courage, I wonder?"

"How about you decide after Origen is defeated?"

I smirk and without a proper goodbye, I let my feet guide my way to the room's exit.

"Defeated, heh…?"

-------------------

Before I fulfill my mission, I need to prepare myself to the utmost of my power. The chapel is located at the main castle, and the path leading to the chapel also lead to another place, a place that I have every reason to get sidetracked.

That place is the student council room, or to be more accurate, Kardia's own little workshop. I would like to say it's 'our' workshop, but it maybe too personal to name it that way. But despite that fact, I have come to think of this place as my own workshop as well, another reason to give it another visit.

"Hello again, Mr.Cat."

I greet my beloved Mr.Cat as he stays silent on Kardia's desk, just like how I put him there at the start of my little war. I guess no one have any reason to go to this place if they don't know its purpose.

"I have a lot to tell you, but sorry, I'm pressed for time. Maybe later, then."

I search for my own creations that are kept at the bottom of Kardia's bookshelf. Most are useless junks I created and experimented, but I also hid dangerous items that may harm Kardia at this place, the most ideal hiding place I can think of.

"…if later exists for me."

The thing I search for and bring out of the bottom shelf is my remaining RG bomb. I used up all of mine for mundane tasks prior to this, and since it's the most powerful firepower I have at my disposal, I need one if I hope to stand a chance at fighting Origen. I'll need all the firepower I can afford.

"You may think of this as foolish, Mr.Cat. But I'm going to fight someone I cannot win."

After I secure the bomb, I stand up and watch the spare handgun Kardia made still neatly kept inside its glass showcase. Unlike mine which is black, her gun is white in color, like a huge contrast between our abilities as alchemists. But I don't mind losing to her, I still have a lot to learn from her on how to be a better alchemist.

"It's foolish, I know. But it's not my only foolish act that I made today. I had one earlier, fighting that very opponent, and lost. My failure cost the life of my own teacher, and he traded it for mine. That's why I'm still able to be here, to talk with you."

I use my hand and crush the glass showcase. The broken shards spread everywhere, it will be a pain to clean all these, I'll clean them…later.

"Then why do it again? You may ask. Well, the thing is, that foolishness was because I was ordered to run, yet I stood ground and fought instead, when I had absolutely no reason to. I was arrogant, and overconfident in my own ability, thinking I can win just because I'm from another world, a modern, better world. That's where I failed...But this time, it's different…"

I grab the gun away from the showcase, and try holding it with my hand. It's a weird feeling, putting my hand on another's gun, but I have to quickly get used to it if I want a chance to survive this ordeal. I need all the firepower I can afford.

"This time isn't because of the impulse of a kid who wants to be special, who wants to be of use for others, who thought it doesn't matter to sell his life away if it can gain something of value, no matter how little…"

"This time…is because I have a duty to fulfill, and I intend to live and fulfill it."

I load one of my bullet magazine into the new gun, leaving me with two spare magazines left. The sound of the gun cocking is so satisfying. It's ready, Kardia's gun is ready. Wielding her creation by my side makes me feel at ease, as if Kardia herself is by my side, supporting with all her power. With two guns, I feel like I can defeat anything. Arrogant, I know. Still feel good nonetheless.

"So, that's about it! Nothing to worry about! And nothing more to do!"

That's what I say to the immobile Mr.Cat, but as the thought of leaving for battle run across my head, my eyes catch gaze at the mini cauldron on Kardia's desk and put that thought to a halt.

"Though maybe there's still one thing left for me to do."

An idea sparks inside me. It is something I have never thought of before, but maybe…it can prove useful for the upcoming fight.

"This might be my final synthesis, but let's hope I'm wrong."

-------------------

Dawn seems to be nearby as rays of early sunshine shine through the chapel's glass windows. It's a good thing the glass windows seem to be intact, if not, the perfect piece of art of a dark angel hovering in the sky holding a black heart in her hand won't be available for the spectators like me to witness.

The single armored soldier guarding the entrance still stands firm with hands on his sword pointed down to the floor, even when I have already made my presence known. With him standing in the middle of two sides of the wooden pews, the human soldier looks like a reverend preparing for a sermon to preach the power someone with a sword can wield.

Either way, he still has yet to make any reaction, until I am halfway away from his position.

-You…

Through his helmet, the soldier speaks. I simply reply my enemy with a smirk and my own vocal announcement.

-I have arrived.