46 Humility & Diligence

The knightess whose name is both Aurelias and Humility remains as still as a statue. Even kneeling, her form is intimidatingly large next to the even larger greatsword. That she can wield it with such ease is a testament to her strength— which is not someone I want to test my magic on.

King Marcus, unmoved by her words, takes a step towards her. He reaches under his cloak to pull out a golden key and deftly passes to me, just out of the woman's field of vision. I slip it under my sleeves.

"Lady LaRouge—"

"I am no lady, Your Majesty," she interjects. "This one is but a rusted tool of God. I should like that you call me, Humility."

I swallow hard. Something about her feels off. Warped.

The king clears his throat and begins again, "Humility. As you can see, there is no threat of witches here. Your quarry is in the Weeping Expanse, where two rogue witches lay in hiding."

"On the contrary, there is one behind you." Humility finally lifts her head, adjusting the helmet to get a proper look at me.

He comes to my defense. "You're wrong. Ellori is not among the witches you are looking for."

"Ellori Farrowghast is under arrest on suspicions of violating the laws set forth by the Council of Kings and her covenant."

The words come not from Humility, but from another woman who enters behind the knightess. A winged snake is coiled around her staff, hissing in my direction. Long black hair bound in pigtails frame her pale skin and sharp, hazel eyes. This one, I know— the Kingdom of Juna's guardian, Parabelle, the Witch of Wrath.

I notice that she walks with a strange gait, as though her legs are weak and barely able to keep standing.

"Belle? What's going on?"

She puts a hand to her chest. "I am to be your replacement. I would rather not hurt my junior colleague, so I implore you to stand down."

A knight of the Order of Piety is bad enough, now a witch with the strength to rival Mira has come to make this difficult. Belle can't know that I'm being set up, I don't want to hurt her over this.

But…

"There is a misunderstanding, ladies." King Marcus continues to try and deescalate the situation even as his city burns.

"Give up, Marcus. You weren't cut out to be king." A third person enters the room— High Magistrate Semyon.

The picture is clear at last. This whole meeting, the city in flames, how the Order of Piety infiltrated the city unseen— we were never meant to have a fighting chance.

Humility rises to her feet and unveils a scroll. "On this day, the twelfth of Midgaust, King Marcus is to abdicate the crown. The Council of Kings hereby elevates Semyon Arbin to King of Parthun, with all lands and titles granted to him henceforth. During this transition, the current presiding witch, Ellori Farrowghast, is to be detained or eliminated. Signed, Councillor Anora van Theras."

Councillor Anora.

So she won the seat. Much sooner than I expected. Now nothing will stop her.

"Headmaster Anora is misleading the Council, you have to believe me. I have proof!"

My desperate pleas fall on deaf ears. The moment they received their orders, I was labeled guilty without a chance to defend myself.

The air has grown thick and suffocating. I can hardly breathe just standing before Humility and Belle. They say 'detain' but it doesn't feel like I'll be leaving this manor alive.

What's the right move? How do I navigate this so that I can get out of here alive with King Marcus?

"This is preposterous. You will have to pry this kingdom from my dead hands." King Marcus declares, reaching for his sword.

"Your Majesty, wait!"

Humility wraps her fingers around her greatsword. "Councillor Anora's orders are clear: eliminate all witches— "

I see it happen too late, no chance to even retaliate.

A gust of wind. The greatsword crashing to the ground. King Marcus, or what is left of him, crumples to the floor. His head rolls to a stop at Semyon's feet.

"—including their accomplices."

"You…" I can't believe my eyes. The man whom I was to protect, whose kingdom I was to safeguard, is dead. King Marcus' blood pools around my shoes, quickly staining the floor around us.

I failed, and his last words to me replay in my mind— avenge Parthun.

"Rio! Come!"

A blur flies across the room, but Humility catches him by the scruff of his neck.

"What a joke," she remarks, before being engulfed by Rio's breath of fire.

A towering wall of ice surrounds me from all sides. Spikes protrude from it, daring me to impale myself. Magic of this magnitude can only be from…

"Not another step," Belle inches forward, her staff trained on me with another spell.

Rio slams into the wall behind me. Humility somehow survives the inferno with barely a tarnish to her armor.

I cast a handful of magic crystals to the ground.

"Igni vas o'rea!"

Powered by the staff and crystals on the ground, I conjure a hulking ball of flames at them. Belle is undeterred, standing her ground as the fire fizzles out of existence before impacting.

"What…? How?"

From what? Anti-magic?

"Marvel, Ellori. For I am no mere witch of wrath. In order to prove my allegiance to both the covenant and the Council of Kings, I have become Diligence itself."

Belle clenches her fist, shattering the wall of ice into a battering hailstorm. Hundreds of icicles shred into me like a flechette of knives. I'm surprisingly unhurt. The living clothes absorb most of the impact and cuts, and reform itself with each tear.

"Rio, stampede!"

I grab his tail, and we both launch out of the nearest window. I cast another handful of magic crystals on our way out.

"Aqua vas o'rea, vanis sleuth!"

Water floods the chamber and freezes over, sealing the hole Rio had just made.

Keeping them trapped up there should buy us some time. We need to get out of the city fast, but first I have to find Eileen and Cammy.

Which is easier said than done. Lotherain is crawling with Piety knights and Juna soldiers. Women and children are being corralled to the lower ward's city square. The guards and any men who so much as raise a hand are cut down on the spot. To call it a one-sided slaughter is more appropriate than a battle. The bastard Semyon must have done something to move Parthun's standing army.

As much as it hurts to admit it, Lotherain is lost. I have to retreat back to the Weeping Expanse. King Marcus' vengeance will have to wait.

When I reach for my satchel to grab a stamina drought, my hand finds nothing but the fabric of my robes.

"Well, shit."

My robes may be alive, but the other accessories of my outfit aren't. The only thing unscathed is my pouch of magic crystals, but I'm running low on those.

I spot the tavern we've been staying at. The rooftop has caved in and smoke is billowing out from an opening. Eileen bursts out of the entrance with Cammy in her arms pursued by a number of soldiers.

Rio swoops down, knocking the pursuers off their feet. They go limp as I shatter a slumber vial to the ground.

"Mama!" Cammy climbs onto my shoulders.

"What's happening? Why is the city under attack?" Eileen is just as desperate for answers as I am.

"No time to explain. We need to get out of here—"

"My colleagues call me weak; I am inclined to agree with them."

A chill runs up my spine. Humility walks towards us unimpeded by the giant weapon in her hand. I'm convinced that her strength is supplemented by elixirs or magical enhancements from Belle.

She grips the greatsword with both hands and strikes the ground, creating a fissure where we're standing.

"Clearly, I still have much to learn."

She's considered weak?

I dread to think what the others are capable of.

We'll need to flee. Even if I take on Humility, we'll be surrounded by her reinforcements soon. And when Belle catches up, we can kiss our chances to escape goodbye.

The distinct sound of metal greaves scrapes against gravel warns me not a second too soon.

"Shit—"

I cast a wall of ice, stopping the greatsword from bisecting us. Humility hops on top of the wall and dives right for us.

"Rio, sic 'em!"

Dragon wings spread on his back, and he shoots up to meet the knightess head on. Despite his overwhelming strength from consuming a dragon and centaur, a single swing from her weapon craters Rio into the ground.

Humility lands in front of us and says, "give up."

"How about no? Cammy, tie her up!"

"Yes, mama!"

Thick roots sprout from the ground, entangling Humility's legs and arms.

"Vanis blanchet." The ice behind her partially melts into a slush at my command, coating Humility's entire body save for her head. "And for the coup de grace, vanis sleuth."

The liquid freezes, encasing her in a block of ice.

"Rio, to me." My familiar crawls out of the hole and shakes the dirt from his fur. "Time to get out of here."

We each clutch onto Rio's limbs and take off in time to see Humility break out of her icy tomb. She plunges the sword into the earth and puts her hands together in prayer. It's then that I feel it.

The sensation of perverted magic.

The latent mana I sense around us is being drained into a single point— Humility's sword. My living robes writhe in agony, and the staff's magic crystal dims just a bit. Whatever she's trying to do, it can't be good

"Get us out of here NOW!"

Rio's wings beat harder and with more intensity. I grab on to Eileen who's having trouble hanging on. Lotherain is getting further and further away, but in the corner of my eyes, something glitters.

"Ellori, watch out—" Eileen pushes me off her.

A beam of light brighter than the sun itself cuts across the sky and pierces Eileen's chest. Her eyes widen with terror as she coughs up blood, clawing at her throat for air. I take a hold of her before she loses grip on Rio's leg.

"No, no. Stay with me!"

My free hand grasps for the alchemy satchel that isn't there. All my potions are gone. Eileen puts a hand to my face, I hadn't realized that tears are streaming down my cheeks. She musters the last of her strength to smile one last time, and her hand falls limp to the side.