22. Hanako Heads Off.

I can’t attack them. So what do I do?  Hanako thought.

Looking around the Church ceiling, an outline of an idea started to take shape.

Right! I don’t have to kill them; I just have to hold them down! 

The girl dropped the Javelin at the altar and drew Bee-Eater. She deliberately made sure a glint bounced off the thin blade and shone in the eyes of the Hounds.

All three hounds were winding up for another attack, but this time she was all too happy to oblige.

Hanako waited for them to get closer before pouncing. Timing it just right, she ran onto a wooden pew, grabbed a rope and sliced it, letting the weight of the Chandelier carry her up, while trapping a hound underneath.

'Three stars' was unable to move. 'Five stars' was caught in much the same way, with the heavy Chandelier pinning the Hound to the dusty flagstones. That left one more: 'Eight Stars.’

With no more big metal hoops, Hanako looked around for something else and could only see the big crossbow suspended from the ceiling.

Nice. 

She stood on top of the benches and waited for the hound to circle around. Luckily, the beast was acting on instinct, for if it had any smarts, it would have disappeared long ago.

Swinging her blade around, the beast took to the air with a great leap. Hanako was ready; she ducked down and detached its head from the body. That's all she needed.

After kicking the Hound's body down nearby stairs, she locked the door and ran over to several benches. Leaping onto the rope attached to the crossbow, a giant spear shot out, impaling the floating head. Wasting no more time, she used Rat-Nail to activate three bells.

~ Three! Five! Eight! ~

Every target produced a sprinkling of gold dust, until a bright dome lit up in front of the altar. In the middle, a silver sword stuck out from the stone floor. Hanako gripped it tight and felt the vibrations in her hand.

The blade started to spin in a perfect circle, all the while leaving traces of blue light in its wake. Hanako held the sword up and was suddenly launched through the church roof, high into the air.

Still gripping the sword, she could see the entirety of the Thankless Burgh, which resembled a tiny model town; such was the height she was scaling.

At once, the sword slowly turned and started to dive at a velocity that would have flung anyone attached.

Nearing the floor, she landed safely inside a spinning bubble, laced with gold ribbons. The bubble spread to the walls of the church, before exploding into drifting embers.

All that was left were astrological symbols scorched into the smooth and uncracked dirt. No sword, no Church, no displaced earth. The village she knew was completely restored.

Feeling numb, Hanako picked up Chain-Maker and fell on one knee. Through ghostly wisps of blanket smoke, she saw the outline of a solitary figure.

It was not over.

Before she could react, Isaac swung the great sword from back to front, firing an energy blast that sent her crashing into the fountain head. Slightly dazed, Hanako vaulted out from the basin, narrowly avoiding another attack which brought down a chunk of stone.

Bracing for another assault, she was suddenly alone.

***

The hard dirt was soon pelted into a shiny mud, as droplets of rain drummed against the girl’s armour.

Hanako pushed up on all fours and crawled toward the broken fountain. Taking a break, she sat there for a few minutes, topping up the reserve levels of energy needed to carry on.

Reluctantly, she got up and found a nearby alley. Pressing against the wall, Hanako figured that at the very least, it would prevent Isaac from using his sword

Peeking out, she spotted a couple of slates falling from the rooftops.

There you are. 

Making her way out from the hiding place, she quietly opened the far gate to cobbled backstreets. In the middle was a small pyramid structure like an Aztec temple.

On either side, a wall of purple fire blocked both exits. No matter. She didn't wade through a ship full of human slurry to give up now.

Stepping out, Hanako's train of thought was suddenly interrupted by the appearance of a huge sword. It was thrown from the rooftops and wedged into the ground.

Isaac followed, but did not advance.

It was a stand-off, with two fighters staring down at each other from the other side of the backstreet. She had seen it in movies, but finding herself at the end of one was disconcerting.

***

Once again without a plan, Hanako started to panic as Isaac took a few paces forward and immediately burst into a sprint.

The girl lifted her shield, as the Demon Knight charged with the Great Sword held high, she launched the Javelin straight toward his heart, but he batted it away with his a flick of the blade. With a huge lunge, Isaac hurled the Claymore into a spin, throwing her off balance.

Reeling from the blow, Hanako tried to stand up and realised her left hand had been sliced clean off. Horrified, she shifted onto her elbow, but the wet stones made it hard to dig her heels in. With her other hand she lifted the shield, in time for Isaac to bring his hunting sword down upon her.

Hanako held up the shield as much as she could, but the tip of the sword was inching ever so slowly toward her neck. Isaac hammered the pommel with the base of his fist, forcing the blade further in, between the planks of wood.

Out of desperation, Hanako kicked out and caught him in the shin. Losing balance, he fell onto one knee. Sensing her chance, she stabbed the Rat-Nail into his side and rolled out of harm's way.

Isaac howled again, drew the sword from the shield and swung desperately. The girl was ready this time, backing off from every feral thrust and swing, Hanako knew this was not the actions of a veteran Knight, but the frantic swat of a cornered beast.

It was all a matter of timing and eventually the fight gave way to a clear opening. Hanako took the hint and with one hand, drove the misty blade through Isaac's unprotected neck.

It all went quiet.

Hanako watched the feathered helmet clatter onto stone. At first, she felt nothing, until the heat of the moment quickly bled into a trembling shock.

I'm so sorry! I'm sorry! 

Despair began to set in. What if this were her future? What if she somehow ended up the same way? An unstoppable fiend, who forgot her past? Daphne warned about 'losing everything you know about yourself'. Was it powerful magic keeping her from slipping into darkness? Could she be strong enough?

Headless and unsteady, Isaac got to his feet.

Hanako couldn't believe it. She watched him lean to one side, somehow managing to stay upright. After a few steps, the Old Knight stopped and sank to his knees. He began to remove gauntlets, bracers and the breast plate, until he was just a body in chain mail.

Hanako followed him at a distance. He could have easily gone for his sword, but for some reason, she could feel no hatred coming from him, no rage.

It was the quiet acceptance of defeat.

Up close, she saw the Old Knight sagged apologetically. He raised his hands, as if to reassure her with a truce.

Hanako felt compelled to give him a hug and to her surprise, he returned one in kind. As she let go, Isaac gently cupped her face; as if the good part had returned momentarily to push back against the darkness. 

And without so much as a warning, he slumped down.

The girl waited for him to pick himself up, but nothing happened. She even punched him just to make sure, but there was no response. He was gone.

Hanako felt a pang of regret fill her chest. It was the first time she had felt true loss, the first time she had been responsible for the death of someone close. A cold emptiness filled her being as she went off in search of his head.

Crouching down, Hanako lifted Isaacs's visor and saw how the inside was filled with a rich, velvety darkness. She could sense the power of the void; feel it draw her in.

It was quickly snapped shut by the end of a staff. Hanako looked up and was surprised to see Jenny Lewis, who gestured at her to back away. To her left, Daphne held up a sign reading:

Danger! Do not touch.

Hanako got up and brushed herself off. The Mouse's expression quickly changed from kindness to one of concern, as the misty black sword levitated from her side.

"Where did you get this?" Jenny asked. "You should not 'ave this." The girl looked around and pointed to a Church.

“ A Church?” Daphne said. “What Church?”

The Mouse paused, cocked her head and smiled.

“Big Knight? Covered in Moss?"

Hanako nodded.

"Vann." The other two said in Unison. .

"That big dummy." Daphne said, with a snort. "He never knows what he has."

They left the Bard to exorcise any trace of abyssal darkness in Isaac's body. The arms shook violently, while twisting streams of black mist snaked into the staff. Daphne helped Hanako into the cart, glancing at the hole near her wrist.

"Oh my girl," The Witch said. "Look what you've done to yourself." Taking out an acorn, she dropped it into the gap. After a few seconds, the wrist began to shake. "Give it a moment." Hanako was surprised to see a tree branch creep out, forming two large fingers and a thumb. In no time, she could feel movement again.

How is this possible? She wrote.

"Magic, my dear." Daphne said. "It's not perfect, but good enough to work with." She got a hug in return. "Oh, you're welcome."

Pulling her purple tweed jacket together, the Redhead helped Jenny bring the Old Knight’s body into the Cart.

"He was a good man." The Bard said. "Probably the best in all of Perdita. Granted, there's not much competition."

Hanako could only nod in response and got ready to leave.

***

Setting off, the cart rocked gently while Hanako watched the surroundings slip by.

Isaac was gone, without his mentorship and guidance; she would not have survived a week in these lands. She would not have survived the village itself, had he not stepped in and now her only chance of getting home was lost.

Home. It seemed like an Alien word. To go home meant going back to a charred prison of a body and not being able to move, except for a single eye. Some reward.

On the bright side, Hanako couldn't wait to see her family again. But what if they never came? She would be alone for the rest of her life. She would be alone, regardless.

At least here, she had two friends to look over her: A crazy witch and a giant Mouse. Not the best, but she could do worse.

The girl so very much wanted to see Minokamo, with its calm lakes and sideways rain. She would sit on a swing-bench, feeling the glow of a summer sun paint orange lights against the farmhouse lawn.

Hanako missed bike rides to the hills and playing the garden piano, even though it was covered in moss and wildflowers. She forgot how the evening always smelled like a dying campfire, broken up by distant howls of neighbouring dogs.

In contrast, this new world was like a sterile dream, with its dead scenery and strange people. A place where all the towns looked the same and everything felt fake and dry.

One day she would return home and stay there. For now, she had to be the best she could be and make everyone proud.

***

Jenny slowed the wagon to the outer edge of Chalk-Henge, while Daphne handed out Scarves and leather goggles to the other two.

Keep it on until we get to the centre. She wrote.

Hanako gave two thumbs up and they disembarked.

The trek toward the centre played havoc with the senses. It meant passing five rings of tall white rock, whilst being buffeted by a ceaseless cloud of chalk dust.

The centre was dead calm and perfectly still. There was a marble table with smaller stones used for chairs. Once everyone was seated, Hanako set the crystal ball on the table.

Where were you guys?

"We would have got here sooner," Daphne said. "If Isaac hadn’t knocked me out with a frying pan. By the time Renée came over, he was long gone."

"To be honest, I thought she had indulged herself again," Jenny said, gesturing with a cup motion.

"I object to that attack on my character."

"You have a drinking problem."

"I don't have a drinking problem, I have a stopping problem. The drinking part I can handle."

"It doesn't help."

Hanako knocked the table twice, trying to get the conversation back on track.

What happened to Isaac?

"Foul magic," Daphne said. "He must have been desperate, because it doesn't lead anywhere good, hence the name."

"Neither of us had any counter spells, since Foul magic is something else. Only those with cursed books can ever think to channel that power. Those who walk the path of shadows are destined to become them."

So these beacons will show us the Throne Room?

Daphne shook her head. "I don't know what Isaac told you, but he left out one important detail. The Beacons don't show the way to the Throne Room, only to a place that will decide if you are worthy of an audience; usually in the form of a seemingly impossible task, where you must bring back proof of victory.”

A fetch quest?

“Pretty much.”

Satisfied, Hanako handed the ball over to the Witch, who spun it clockwise. A small storm began to emerge inside with flashes of lightning.

"Nothing." Daphne said, gazing into the cloud. “Open. Sight. The Empress. The Soul Chasm. She who watches and waits. We beseech thee Lady Darkflower; hear our voices.Behold this candidate, so she may prove herself and fight in your name. By the nine eyes of the nine towns, let ancient magic awaken: Morgen, Moronoe, Mazoe, Gliten, Glitonae, Gliton, Tyronoe, Thiton, Thiten.”

"Not all see the Empress,” Jenny added. “She is from a place beyond all human imagination. Any attempt to peek through with cauldrons or divination would bring about immediate insanity, assuming the architecture of the mind survives."

Daphne closed her eyes and stopped the ball dead. Peering through her fingers, she saw the inscription read: 'XII'.

"We have our location," Jenny said.

They searched for the correct stone and placed the Beacon inside a rectangular gap. The pyramid began to spin at an incredible rate, projecting an image of a cliff, filled with many holes like a beehive.

Seconds later, the Pyramid disintegrated into fine powder and was taken away with the breeze.

***

Braving the hellish dust clouds, they moved on to a high peak above Chalk-Henge.

Jenny took out a pair of opera glasses and scanned the landscape. She quickly spotted a familiar cliff face, somewhere to the east.

"They're not even trying anymore."

Daphne extended a telescope. "Well, if you know, you know."

Returning to the cart, they took a perilous mountain road across the range. On approach to the cliff, Jenny stopped outside a boarded-up cave.

"Did you see our friend on the way?" She asked.

"I saw it," Daphne said. "Not exactly subtle." She moved the small telescope down toward a clearing in the woods, where the Headless-Nameless was batting at invisible enemies. "Looks like we've picked up a stray."

The Mouse followed her line of sight.

"Ah, we cannot have uninvited guests."

Can't we avoid it?

For the first time, Daphne gave Hanako a serious look.

"This is your fight now," She said. "Something you have to face alone. Impress the Queen of the Waste Lands, and she will get you back."

"Here." The Bard said, handing over a Tennis ball. "Use this as a last resort, and I mean last. You don't want to be around when it goes off."

Hanako looked unimpressed. ~Am I supposed to fight an army of Golden Retrievers?~

“Don’t give me that look,” Jenny said. “It was a last-minute thing.” She pointed to the wooden entrance. "Take the lift to the Andolusian Mines. If you are worthy, you will be shown the rest of the way." She kissed the girl on both cheeks and got a hug in return. "One more word of advice: Be wary of lures. Some things will tempt you to stay, so you MUST resist. The comfort zone is a prison that only serves to feed off your apathy. Now go, don't look back or you will never leave."

Determined to finish this once and for all, Hanako headed toward the cave entrance. Pausing at the door, she disappeared inside.