From the Other Side

[ ~ Chapter • Start ~ ]

While the Kingdom of Discordia had begun to grow and Celestine had just found out about it, many were very concerned about the said kingdom, as most thought that Olga Discordia had begun to take over Eostia once again.

And that was definitely fact.

Due to this, the seven fortresses's rulers, including Celestine alongsife their retainers had begun their meeting inside Geofu.

More specifically, in a chamber somewhere in the Temple of Laurentia.

The leaders have gathered here, sitting on grand chairs surrounding a round table, though not looking as grand as one Celestine sat on.

These chairs were tall, and were made that each fortresses they have ruler over have their emblems on it, allowing for each other to familiarize easily.

"We have come by your command, Lady Celestine." The other rulers of the Seven Fortresses, with the exception of Celestine herself, spoke in unity.

These rulers, were as follows:

"....." 

Florence Arcturus, former Princess Knight and Ruler/Queen of Feoh, a strict warrior who was said to have defeated two hundred men in no hands barred combat. She had a consort whom was a Duke who was capable enough to manage the fortress and towns when she is away.

"Glad to see you again, everyone!" 

Provence Fiorire, figurehead and ruler of Ur, and a close sister of Florence, known for her kindness and foresight, and was responsible in making Ur prosper. It's safe to say she was very popular amongst Eostia.

"Is there something in your chest you need to let out, Lady Celestine?" 

Nicholas "Klaus" Hansen, Figurehead of Ken, the man who who has created a system where all knights were to be educated and trained strictly to meet current standards, and was the best in leadership. Also was Klaus from the Canon timeline.

"Let's keep this meeting short, shall we? I have certain things to do back at Rad." 

Luu-Luu, The current Princess Knight of Rad, having the responsibility to maks sure all weapons and armor are of good quality and even fairly ruling the was the second oldest of the Princess Knights.

As childish as she was, physically and mentally, she is the wisest of them all.

"What? Is there a new enemy? Hope he's powerful and skilled!"

Sieg Falkenheim, the supposed Warrior King of Ansur, and unlike Nicholas, he preferred combat, allowing for the growth of mercenaries and having the most warriors on his Fortress, focusing on Quantity instead of Quality unlike Nicholas. He loves fighting, handling women, and all sorts of alcohol.

Obviously a stereotype.

"Umu..... May the insect god guide me...." 

The last but not the least, Mutsuki Geppei, an old man in monk-like robes who was under the current Princess Knight of Thorn. This man preferred peace over war, and was more neutral than all of his fellow rulers.

Now Celestine, not intending to waste her time, began to speak.

"You all know why you were here, so I'll be at least brief; the Lands of Darkness have been liberated by the hands of its new rulers." She said, rousing the attention and curiosity of her fellow rulers under her.

"I am feeling a 'but' coming...."

Provence was intrigued, so was her fellow rulers.

"But the new rulers were still Olga Discordia... and she has been betrothed to the new King clad in black with intelligence surpassing most of us.

Both of them commanded thousands of Demons fully loyal to them, and both of them are beginning to grow in power." Celestine debriefed the other rulers, and even the knights and the Archbishop inside this chamber were surprised.

They've heard of the news, but to be debriefed by Celestine about the full details must have been something else.

"Did you see the future?" Luu-Lui asked, and Celestine shook her head.

"Olga is actively blocking my Clairvoyance. I cannot see too deep into their growing kingdom."

In truth she had lied, maybe because of her kindness the moment she saw Olga look quite happy with Jonathan, along with her being pregnant with their child.

It was a strange sight to see.

'Ah, you've finally found yourself a real companion, Olga.' Celestine commented with some happiness on her, before lightly shaking her head and focusing on what was in front of her.

Her expressions alone were worrying a few of the rulers, and they were all thinking of ways to possibly fight against the new Kingdom which was invading them slowly.

And then, Florence stood up, with her hands rested on the table, almost wanting to split it open as she stared at Celestine.

"We should fight back, before they grow too strong and begin taking over Eostia by force, and soon Fuchswald, Eldonia and Chymia!"

"I understand that, however, a greater threat is coming soon, and that threat will not come from them." Replied Celestine, nodding her head as she thought about what she saw in her dreams.

Klaus and the other rulers nodded their heads.

"Even with their forces beginning to take over several villages and a few towns? Should we solve that problem soon enough?" Spoke Provence, being a voice of reason that convinced the other rulers to overlook something else.

By the look of it, they have decided to agree with Provence's words.

"We should built a long set of border towns with the most warriors, mages, knights and sellswords around the former Lands of Darkness, or enhance those towns with enough forces." Suggested Klaus.

"Perhaps we should make peace with the rising Kingdom of Demons? If that is possible, I presume." Geppei suggested, only for that request to be shut down by a disapproving stare from both Florence and Sieg.

"You serious? Fuck off. As if someone leading mindless demons would try to make peace with us. I will stand true to my words, until my death, okay?" Sieg rebuked, rolling his eyes and even grumbling to show his disapproval.

And then, in the span of a moment, Klaus remembered something.

"Hmm.... I did hear the news of a powerful assassin named Dark Raven. He was very mysterious and had been active around Ur, Feoh, Ken and Thorn, at least that was what I found out. The Princess Knight Claudia was also looking for him, but we disallowed her from doing so." He spoke, making a few of the people nod their heads.

Yet Sieg was just angry at this information.

"Tsk! That asshole murdered my men at regular intervals, how can we trust them?! You should just hire the best and biggest of my mercenary groups, the Black Hounds (Kuroinu), instead!" Sieg rebuked, crossing his arms.

"Even with their questionable acts? That alone is debatable, Sieg. They've done as much harm as good." Provence spoke, shaking her head.

"I don't trust them! At all!" Luu-Luu interjected, even as her curious self wondered who Dark Raven was as she was in favor of such a mysterious individual. "But how would we hire Dark Raven?"

The seven continued their debate for a long while.

There were many arguments that were made, but they had agreed to create border towns with impressive amounts of forces and find a way to have Dark Raven ally with them.

Not just that, but they did also accept the conditions that the backlines of the Fortresses will be weakened militarily as a consequence too, but that wasn't much of a problem for Ansur's forces.

The newer border towns will take a long while to build, preferably a few months and under a year, but it seems like imp shadowstalkers, certain imps who developed an ability to hide in the shadows without being seen and become useful espionage assets from the Kingdom of Discordia notified the leaders immediately once they saw and heard enough information in a few weeks.

Meanwhile...

[ ~ Line • Break ~ ]

In Ken, Claudia stood on the backyard of the mansion owned by her family, who was just her and her father, staring at her wooden sword.

"Ridiculous armor, huh....." Claudia muttered, recalling the unintentional insult Jonathan/Dark Raven had given to her the first time they met, then admitting something else.

".... Yeah they do look ridiculous, and I would get wounded so easily...."

She planned on arranging a meeting with Luu-Luu, and even thought of spending a lot of money, even her savings just to have the her fellow Princess Knight forge armor that will definitely make her look more knightly, maybe something similar to a Valkyrie from those stories would help her, too?

While she had learned a few tricks from Jonathan's persona, she still wondered when she would begin looking for him, but right now she thought he was somewhere in Eostia, helping people under the shadows.

She even obtained a few clues relating to ruins that were around the Far North of Eostia through books or paying people enough money.

And she wasn't happy because she was commanded that she will stay around Ken for that was her duty: to safeguard the Fortress and its people.

Now, she continues her training, her blessing from Celestine proving to be boosting the results.

[ ~ TO • BE • CONTINUED ~ ]

Author's Commentary: Wait, you're possibly here to see Vult getting eradicated? Uh... sorry, I'm still writing until the moment where he is introduced, and spoilers, he's going to be a parody of Berserk's Guts while facing a Dark Fate given to him by Jonathan and....

;)

I won't be revealing some spoilers I have in mind. It would spoil you and ruin what will be set up.

Oh, and remember when I said I removed Klaus? I just recycled him.