บท 188: Unbroached Subject
Earlier :
Ralf deflects yet another shot from Agnes flintlock, bursts of flame either melting the projectile before it can make contact with them, and or knocking it away in another direction. He glances to his dragon familiar and gestures at the small army advancing on their position, "Halt their advance! Use no lethal attacks!" he commands and his dragon nods, flying off to impede the enemy.
Ralf turns his attention back towards Agnes who was hastily trying to reload her weapon, giving him ample opportunity to country attack. He dashes forwards and jabs his sword in her direction while chanting, short after firing a small burst of fire that strikes Agnes, singing her eyebrows, but more importantly causing her to flinch and stumble backwards.
She loses her grip on her flintlock as she hastily rubs the sot from her face and eyes, leaving her with only her sword left to combat Ralf. Who, just so happens to be charging Agnes just as she finally gets back her vision.
*Crash*
*Thud!*
Ralf charges straight into her, picking her up and throwing her down the hill, causing her to start rolling down it as if she were chasing a wheel of cheese. With that, he grabs the flintlock from the ground and looks towards Tiffania, his brows raising when he notices the Valliere girl get hit by a stray Erase spell cast by the Half-Elf.
Tiffania's clothes and cloak were a bit scorched, but all in all, she was unharmed, if out of breath. Princess Henrietta sprints for Louise as soon as she's disabled however, taking up the pink-haired girl into her arms and trying to awaken her. "Louise! You've got to break yourself from the spell!" she says while gently shaking her, but her expression darkens when she doesn't immediately awaken. "What spell did you cast!?" she exclaims, locking eyes with the sheepish-looking Tiffania.
"I-it was a memory erase spell...I removed an hours worth of memories from her mind." she says while walking over, "I was hoping that removing her memories would remove the Ring's control over her."
Henrietta frowns but eventually relents, nodding as it was probably the best chance they had at removing the Ring's influence. It was an incredibly powerful and famous artifact, originally protected by the water spirit guarding Lake Lagdorian... Mortals were never meant to wield its power.
"I apologize for interrupting, but the rest of your men are still under the enemy's control!" Ralf states from the side, pointing over at his retreating dragon who'd taken one too many musket shots.
Henrietta frowns and looks over at Tiffania, "Can you cast this 'Erase' spell on multiple people?"
Tiffania anxiously tugs on her cloak's hood, "I can, but it takes time and tires me out." she admits,
Henrietta nods and picks up Louise's wand, "Then begin it, I will try to give you enough time to cast it." she says while making her way to a position where she could clearly see her entire mind-controlled entourage.
"I will assist you." Ralf adds, standing a good distance from her and using Earth elemental spells to start obstructing the approaching army... Unfortunately, they too had mages at their disposal, allowing them to reverse whatever alterations Ralf makes and allowing the Musketeer Knights to quickly advance.
"In the name of your Princess, stop!" Henrietta exclaims while waving her borrowed wand overhead, literally sucking vast amounts of water from the vapour in the air. It pools above her like vortex, and sweat begins to gather on her forehead as she draws more and more water.
Her mind-controlled subjects begin firing muskets and spells at her, but Ralf fires gouts of heavy fire to obstruct them, while Henrietta divides her attention and forms a wall of water in front of her.
After a few more moments of Henrietta gathering water, she pulls on it all and gathers it into her makeshift water wall before firing it forward like a miniature tidal wave. It begins sweeping down the hill, picking up anyone and everyone unfortunate enough to be in its path. They wouldn't drown, but it certainly knocks a few of them out.
The enemy mages attempt to stop it with their own spells, but nothing they throw at it is able to do more than leave ripples on its surface. A few take refuge under a few conjured stone spheres, but the rest are swept further down the hill.
With that done, Henrietta drops her hands to her knees while trying to catch her breath. She was neither a warrior, nor particularly practised in using her magic. Sure she was powerful, but she hadn't actually cast a spell like that in years. She glances over to Tiffania who was just finishing up her preparations for the Erase spell but her eyes widen when she spots a familiar face advancing behind Tiffania. "Wait!"
"Erase!" Tiffania finally casts, a large flare of white light firing down the hill and enveloping all of Henrietta's people on it. This does have some side effects however, her skin goes pale and her breathing becomes weak. Tiffania drops to a knee in exhaustion with her vision becoming blurry, making her unable to even spot the attack coming from behind her. She doesn't hear Henrietta's warning as Agnes' sword comes down behind her, directly at her neck.
*Clang!*
Only for it to be blocked by a familiar-looking energy shield, one created by a broach in her pocket that she'd been intending to gift to Michael. It turns to dust upon deflecting the attack, and Agnes is sent stumbling backwards, allowing Ralf to make a swift and fierce counterattack.
*Whoosh!*
A hot stream of fire blows Agnes clear off of her feet, almost burning completely through her chest plate as he runs to protect Tiffania. "No one shall attack my charge! Under control or not!" he roars, glancing over his shoulder at Henrietta who looks too shocked to form any kind of reaction against him, despite his attack greatly injuring Agnes.
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บท 189: Torment
Ralf and Henrietta stand there silently waiting for the other to make a move, but they are interrupted by an explosion occurring a distance away. They turn to face it and eventually spot Michael on another hilltop standing over Sheffield, who was looking thoroughly ravaged by their battle.
Ralf shakes his head and helps Tiffania up while continuing to ignore the injured Agnes, "Come, we've got what we needed. Let them clear up the mess." he states before making his way over to Michael's location with the anxious half-elf in hand.
Henrietta doesn't stop them, and instead runs to Agnes side while levitating the unconscious Louise with her, immediately beginning to cast diagnostic spells and attempting to heal Agnes injuries. Michael had already recovered the Prayer Book, so there was no point even broaching the issue, especially with her entourage exhausted or unconscious, her personal guard injured, and her best friend down for the count. For all intents and purposes, they had won this altercation, all the while dealing Tristain a serious blow that it might not recover from.
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Ralf and Tiffania eventually reach Michael, but arrive at a rather grisly scene with him standing over an utterly butchered body that could only belong to Sheffield. Her eyes had been haphazardly pried from their sockets, her ears and nose had been cut, she was missing all of her limbs, her scalp had been sliced off and tossed to the side, and there were even stab wounds in non-lethal areas.
Michael could be seen grinning down at his work, almost as if he was in bliss or some kind of fugue state. Blood covered his hands, and there were spatters of it on his face and clothes, showing just how 'enthusiastic' he had been.
"How could you do this partner! She wasn't an enemy! And I thought we agreed not to swing me at corpses! How does hacking off limbs fit into that!?" Derflinger exclaims belligerently, sticking upright in the ground next to Sheffield's body.
Michael wets his lips, "She isn't dead yet, and you're under her control. Hmph, maybe I should have learned some healing spells. I've not even begin to pay her back for what she did to me." he growls while glaring down at Sheffield.
He wasn't sure if she was still alive or not, to be honest, the occasional rise of her chest made it seem like she was breathing, but maybe that was just wishful thinking on his part?
"You're sick! What's the difference between this and that Grimpt fellow!?" Derflinger angrily retorts, clearly not amused by Michael's rationalisations.
Michale scowls at being compared to such a person, "The difference is, I would be Grimpt's victim, coming back for revenge." he says but glances over when he hears someone make a quiet gasp.
Ralf and Tiffania were standing not far from him, looking between him and Sheffield's body with disgust, wariness, and not a small measure of fear. "Michael, you-... What have you done?" the bearded warrior asks in a low tone, wishing for a valid explanation.
"He's gone mad, that's what! Take him down before he butchers another town or something!" Derflinger exclaims, but Ralf and Tiffania ignore him and continue looking at Michael.
"Be quiet, Derflinger." Michael grouses before turning to the duo, "What do you want me to say? That some unseen force made me do this? No. This was all me, she got what was coming to her." he states while giving her body a light kick.
Ralf shakes his head, "I have seen warriors consumed by bloodlust, but this goes far beyond that, Michael. It takes a twisted sort of person to be able to willingly do this to someone, even if you despise them." he gestures at the corpse, "Have you done this to more people under our noses? How many victims are there? How can we trust that you are in your right mind!?"
Michael squints in irritation, Sheffield deserved far more than what she got as far as he was concerned. Instead of debating Ralf on the sanctity of life or some other bull shit, he turns to Tiffania who had lowered the hand shielding her mouth at the sight of Sheffield, "How about you, Tiff? Do you think this was unwarranted? You've seen first-hand how this monster haunts my sleep, do you think I'm losing it as well?"
...
Tiffania shrinks slightly under Ralf and Michael's gazes, but after a moment her spine straightens as she looks with determination at Michael, "I-... I trust you. If, if you think she deserved this, then she did." she affirms, though, not daring to look at Sheffield's body.
Ralf is scandalized by this, disbelief clear on his face. "Tiffania, you would ignore him torturing to death a downed opponent? A woman no less!? This-this is madness! Abominable!"
Tiffania frowns at him, "So what!? Did being an innocent woman stop Tatiana Baschet from burning me at the stake!? Did being innocent stop the villagers from burning down my home!? No!" she exclaims, thinking back to all the times she was attacked for the crime of being born part elf. All those times she'd Erased her attacker's minds and sent them on their way, only for them to eventually come back and do the same thing. "Maybe if I'd done this to them, they'd have learned their lesson and left me alone!"
...
"I... This... I cannot be a part of this," Ralf mutters with a hand on his face, mind in overdrive. Was Tiffania truly worthy of being a Void Mage if she was willing to allow acts such as this? He didn't know, Brimir had committed genocide in the past, yet he was renowned as the pinnacle of power, honour, and kindness... "How much longer until this kind of activity becomes commonplace? Would the smallest slight welcome torture? Would any with differing opinions be a target?" he murmurs to himself, glancing at Michael. He knew of Michael's dislike of Brimir and the Brimiric faith, but seeing his actions against Sheffield just now illuminated that there were still things about Michael that Ralf didn't know about. Didn't want to know about.
With his mind in turmoil and his own faith in Brimir shaken, Ralf whistles for his dragon and jumps atop it to escape and gather his thoughts, all while Tiffania and Michael watch with slight shame mixed with determination, and indifference respectively.
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