Amelia's Prize

“...Farewell, Child of Eventide. I will await you at the top of the Spire.”

Emrys’ last words only served to confuse Viviane further, but she didn’t have time to try and comprehend them. The noblewoman gasped as she sat up, her ears ringing with the sound of combat, explosions, and steel piercing flesh. Ki circulated through her body once more, and she felt strength flow through her muscles despite the dull ache in the back of her head.

“Medrauta!” Viviane shouted as she watched Medrauta stab Ritya over and over again, opening countless wounds in the black-clad knight’s body just as quickly as they regenerated. Now without a weapon, Ritya was hard pressed to defend against Medrauta’s animalistic but crazed assault, and though her body refused to allow her the comfort of death, it did nothing to soothe the constant pain she was forced to endure.

Despite Bastiche’s best attempts to free his knight from Medrauta’s assault, the nobleman’s weapon of choice wasn’t exactly suited for support or bailing his allies out. While his blasts held incredible destructive potential, they affected a large radius which would no doubt be highly dangerous if he attempted to ward off Medrauta as the silver-haired beast stuck close to her prey.

“Medrauta, stop! What are you doing!?” Viviane cried desperately. Bastiche and Ritya were their enemies, there was no doubt about that. However, the senseless violence that Medrauta was engaging in right now made absolutely no sense. The silver-haired beast had Ritya pinned to the ground, mounting the black-clad knight while continuously stabbing her head rapidly as Ritya screamed in pain, wishing for death while being unable to die.

Meanwhile, Bastiche was forced to watch in horror as Medrauta continued mutilating his precious knight’s regenerating body. His hands trembled in rage, but he could do nothing even if he risked his own suffering. After all, he’d already tried rushing toward the silver-haired beast in an attempt to push her off, but his paltry strength couldn’t even budge Medrauta, much less force the crazed creature to take notice of him. Had Medrauta not been so close to Ritya, he would’ve used his blasts without a second thought, but he knew that not even the gift of regeneration would allow Ritya to survive one at such close range.

Viviane had no idea what was going on with her knight, but she knew it had to stop. She had promised to pull Medrauta out of her darkest moments, after all, and this was certainly one of them. Enhancing the whole of her body to its limits, Viviane burst forward with strength comparable to that of a squire, causing a small indent in the slate floor as she pushed off.

Her acceleration took her straight into Medrauta, ramming into the knight and throwing her off Ritya’s prone body as she and Medrauta tumbled across the floor before landing in an awkward heap. Before the knight could react, Viviane brought all her strength to bear, flipping Medrauta over and mounting her. The noblewoman knew she couldn’t overpower the knight for long. Viviane had one chance to snap Medrauta out of her abnormal state, and she had to do it fast.

Viviane thrust her hands around Medrauta’s face, gripping her cheeks tightly as the knight thrashed beneath her, bucking like a crazed bull in an attempt to throw the noblewoman off. Viviane knew she only had just a few more seconds to act before she was inevitably dislodged, but she didn’t falter even for a second. Lowering her head, she pressed her lips against Medrauta’s in a sudden but gentle kiss.

For a moment, Medrauta continued to struggle against Viviane’s ministrations, but the knight soon relaxed as the light slowly came back to her previously dull eyes. Twin red spots appeared on Medrauta’s cheeks as she struggled for an entirely new reason now, wincing as she momentarily forgot how damaged her left arm had become.

“W-What are you doing!?” Medrauta broke away from the kiss, glancing around the chamber in panic. There was absolutely no time for the two of them to be taking a break, much less engage in acts of intimacy during what had been a pitched fight. The very thought stunned Medrauta as she stared up at Viviane, utterly confused at how her lady had somehow ended up mounting her.

“Welcome back, Medrauta.” Viviane grinned. She wasn’t sure what Medrauta had just gone through, but she was sure the knight had fallen into some kind of trance. From the looks of it, Viviane could tell that she had been unconscious for several minutes, but the situation had changed drastically in that brief amount of time.

“I... Nevermind.” Medrauta pushed herself off the ground as Viviane dismounted her. There were a whole host of questions darting about in her mind at the moment, the first of which was answered the moment her gaze fell on Ritya and Bastiche.

The black-clad knight clutched her head as if she were in great pain, her brow furrowed deeply as she appeared to be fighting back the urge to scream. The last thing Medrauta remembered was kneeling over her lady’s unconscious body after having lost the will to fight. She heard Ritya’s sword whistling through the air as it descended toward her neck, and then there was only darkness from that point on. Clearly, Medrauta had somehow managed to survive the blow, and judging from Ritya’s current state, she had dealt some serious damage to her opponent as well.

“...Let’s finish this, Medrauta.” Ritya said through gritted teeth. Though her wounds had long closed, their pain was still fresh in her mind. It fueled her rage, and she drew strength from that as she advanced toward the silver-haired knight. Despite having lost her sword, Medrauta was now similarly disarmed, and though Ritya had been utterly dominated by her opponent thus far, she was confident that she would be able to win. After all, Medrauta couldn’t decapitate her without a weapon.

“Agreed,” Medrauta replied, clicking her tongue in an expression of annoyance. The fact that she had almost allowed herself to be slain by Ritya frustrated her endlessly, but she also couldn’t imagine fighting for a world without Viviane. Even now, the only reason why she had regained consciousness was thanks to her lady’s efforts.

Behind Ritya stood Bastiche, a twisted amalgamation of hatred and rage plastered across his face as he glared at Medrauta. The silver-haired knight had no knowledge of the violence she’d enacted upon Ritya’s body, but that did little to change the fact that Bastiche had been forced to witness it all. Four black-red orbs crackled to life around the nobleman even as Viviane bestowed her Crest upon Medrauta once more.

The moment Medrauta’s silver armor burst to life around the knight’s body, Ritya charged forward with all her strength. Though they were long gone from her body, the countless incisions Medrauta had made into Ritya’s head still throbbed painfully and the black-clad knight swore she would return that pain tenfold. With no weapon in hand, Medrauta was hardly a threat.

Leaving herself wide open, Ritya shot straight at Medrauta, lobbing a hard punch at the knight’s head. Of course, she didn’t expect it to connect without consequence, but she doubted even Medrauta could avoid such an attack when she was devoting all of her body’s resources to making sure it landed.

“Aaaaugh!” Ritya screamed in pain as Medrauta slipped to the side and threw a hard cross counter that shattered Ritya’s jaw and sent her stumbling backwards several feet. Her own attack had grazed the knight’s cheek, but aside from a light bruising, Medrauta was unharmed.

It’s fine... Ritya seethed. I’ll regenerate in a moment.

Ritya eyed her opponent warily, stepping backward several paces as she waited for her regeneration to kick in, but even after several seconds, her jaw showed no signs of recovering from its damage. Instead, the pain only intensified with each passing second as it overpowered the adrenaline coursing through her body.

Medrauta dashed forward, taking advantage of Ritya’s confused state to hammer a flurry of blows into the black-clad knight. Though she only possessed one functional arm, her speed more than made up for it, and as each earth-shattering strike shot into Ritya’s body, the witch-sworn knight finally gave way to her injuries and fell, collapsing onto the floor.

“Ritya!” Bastiche shouted in alarm. He cursed the explosive nature of his attacks, but most of all, he cursed his very own arrogance. As far as he knew, the ability Amelia had given to him was not one that remained fixed. It was an ability that could evolve and grow with training, developing as he increased his skill at manipulating dark mana. Unfortunately for him, he had only mastered the basics of his ability, believing that the overwhelming destructive power of his blasts would be enough to overcome any foe.

While technically true, the destructive blasts were a terrible tool for supporting his knight thanks to their large area of effect. In that regard, Viviane’s arrows were a far superior option when it came to fighting as a pair, but that was also something Bastiche had never considered. As a tried and true noble, Bastiche had always believed that his place was on the dais, high and safe in the rear while he supported his knight with his Crest. It was only after Aluvsha took away his gift that he began realizing a noble functioned as more than just an almighty observer who gifted powerful abilities to their chosen warriors.

Now, he was paying the price. He had no idea why Ritya fell to what simply appeared to be unarmed strikes. Amelia’s gift of pseudo-immortality should have taken care of whatever injuries she suffered as a result of Medrauta’s onslaught, but even now, Ritya did nothing but writhe in pain as she coughed blood onto the slate floor.

“It’s over, Bastiche.” Medrauta said simply, walking toward the nobleman who trembled with both fear and rage.

She wasn’t sure why Ritya had ceased to regenerate either, but she suspected it had something to do with Viviane. Though the noblewoman’s Crest hadn’t changed at all, there was something about her that Medrauta found unfamiliar. Perhaps it was her lady’s newfound sense of inner confidence, or perhaps it was the somewhat otherworldly feeling that Viviane now gave off. Either way, it was a question for later.

“...No. I won’t let it end here!” Bastiche’s eyes snapped wide open, an almost haunted stare in his eyes. Ritya was slowly expiring before him. His dreams and aspirations had been crushed by the knight he despised the most. There was only one thing he could do now. One last act of defiance.

“The conditions are right! She will have her prize!” Bastiche roared, his chest tearing open as an enormous beam of black-red mana burst forth from the very core of his body, shooting toward not Medrauta, but Viviane. In doing so, he had condemned himself to death, but not before he fulfilled his last act of vengeance and his promise.

The beam hurtled toward the defenseless noblewoman at an incredible speed, but Medrauta had begun moving even before she realized what Bastiche was about to do. Gathering all the strength she still had in her body, Medrauta pushed off against the ground and leapt. She had already failed to save her lady once, a failure that she would never allow again.

This time I’ll protect you for sure, Viviane!