บท 35: 35. Ríastrad
The Master of Raven Tower sent Ren out with a ball of foxfire and Astolfo as her guides, and Hyde followed along. Going down the stairs seemed much faster than going up had been, and they emerged into a sunny afternoon on a paved walkway surrounding a large campus quad.
Young adults in student uniforms dotted the autumnal leaf-covered lawn, some with animals or otherwise inhuman companions flanking them. None of them gave Ren and her companions a second glance, even though she and Astolfo were both dressed very unusually in comparison. Somehow, walking along as if she were just another student in this fantastic school made her very uncomfortable. She didn't belong here and she didn't want to be tricked into thinking she did.
A familiar voice caught her attention, and she frowned, looking into the quad. After a moment, her gaze settled on a cluster of three students she recognized. All of their familiars had shrunk down to the size of housecats, but they were the champions of Lord Kirri all the same. The big bearded Theory looked rather unusual in his student uniform, but Shina and Blue Violet fit right in, even though Blue Violet had managed to hang onto their mask.
Ren paused, looking at them. "Are they participating in the Grail War?"
"Nope," said Astolfo, and tugged on her hand. "Come on."
But the ball of foxfire had more to say, in Jonathan's voice. "No, this environment is serving as a sufficient interface for their part in the harvest ritual, and they're happy here. Happier than I would have anticipated, honestly."
Ren pulled her mouth to one side, dissatisfied. But there was no point in contemplating the fate of her enemies when her allies still needed to be reclaimed, so she kept walking. Eventually they stepped off the paved path and went around one of the big stone buildings and to a small door in a small building in a copse of trees.
Jonathan's voice said, "This leads down to the cave where we've confined the monstrous one. I've notified his caretakers to get out of your way. He's under a secondary spell at the moment, one designed to allow us to all stay safe. It can't compete with the stronger magics bound into him, but while they're passive, it serves. Once he's dealt with his current crop of toys, you'll have your chance to interact with him. If he kills you, it will be quite real, but I assume you can handle him."
"I have to," said Ren, and went through the door. The tiny building contained little more than some shelves, some crates and a large stairwell leading down. Without looking back, she went down the stairs, and felt both Hyde and Astolfo follow her.
The stairs opened onto an excavated stone tunnel, which curved back and forth as she hurried down it. At the far end, there was another door, criss-crossed with chains, but with the padlock that secured them open—presumably left that way by Cú's caretakers. She wondered how they'd departed, for it wasn't the way she'd come. As soon as she touched the door, her fingers tingled hot and cold, and a bestial roar echoed in her ears.
"Well? Go on," said Hyde impatiently, fidgeting with his knife.
"There's an observation booth, Rendidi," said Astolfo reassuringly. "It won't actually stop him from getting to you, but it'll at least slow him down."
That not-very-comforting thought made Ren roll her eyes, but she pushed the door open and stepped through.
The main of the space beyond was a large, round chamber with a shallow dome for a roof, and a constructed stone alcove near the door with tiny windows looking inward. A niche cut into the wall housed a large machine with a life-sized mannequin of clay standing in the cage at the front. And in the center of the room sat Cú Chulainn, Child of Light, in a most monstrous guise.
From his hips down, he'd become almost draconic, complete with a spiked tail and enormous, taloned feet that made his spike-covered legs seem even longer. His bare chest spasmed with too much knotting muscle for his frame, and his face had been contorted by a perpetual grimace.
Before Ren had a chance to do more than blink and take in the room, Cú bounded to his feet, snarling like an animal. In response, the cage containing the clay figure ejected its contents, which began to magically duplicate around the room.
Cú threw himself at the nearest duplicate, tearing it apart and sending chunks of dried clay flying. He left the first barely more than a stain on the ground before moving onto the next, and the next.
Ren took the opportunity to move into the observation alcove, and peeked through one of the viewports. Softly, she said, "Cú?"
Softly, but he heard her anyhow, pausing mid-rend and turning looking the alcove in a way that told her he couldn't see it. Then he howled, and turned to yet another clay person.
Ren remembered him from the night now. He'd come at her call, balancing on the end of her bed and bending down to look at her without a hint of recognition in his face.
"Who are you?" he'd asked, and then gave her a devil-may-care grin. "Oh, I know who you are. You're somebody who's made a very bad mistake."
"I'm your Master," she'd said blankly. "I summoned you."
He'd laughed. "Yeah? Then who's that?" Gesturing with his spear, he'd pointed out the pale little figure standing behind him: the blank-eyed little boy Ichigo, with a small winged humanoid creature riding on his back. Its hands melded with the boy's chest, vanishing into his flesh, and the dark aura that radiated from them had induced instant panic.
"Cú, come back to me," she'd begged, and a Command Seal had vanished from her hand.
He'd stared at her, his eyes widening, and then everything had happened so fast. He was going to kill Ichigo, kill Ritsu's little orphan child, and she'd shouted, "No!" The second Command Seal had vanished, physically wrenching Cú out of his attack lunge. And then he'd changed, writhing against the energies swirling around him, and Merlin and the others had appeared….
The mannequin machine dispensed another enchanted clay figure, and the berserk Cú went to work on those. If a frenzy could be said to be methodical, his was.
"I understand what happened now," Ren whispered, and once again, Cú looked around for her.
"Careful, Master," said Astolfo in a perfectly normal voice, and the mannequin machine promptly dispensed four more clay figures, filling the room with a crowd of duplicates that forced Cú switch to wider, sweeping moves for his massacre. "Even when he hears you, he thinks you're part of the illusion trapping him."
After a moment, Ren nodded and glanced to her two Servants. "I have to talk to him anyhow. Bring him down, Hyde. Astolfo, help if you can."
Hyde gave her a nasty grin. "What's in it for me if I do?"
With an exasperated look, Ren said, "Oh, come on. Are you kill kill kill or…." Another story bubble popped, another legend she never wanted to summon. "Or Edward Teach?"
Hyde laughed, before moving so fast it seemed like he'd simply vanished from the alcove. She heard rather than saw his first strike at Cú Chulainn: the *schnack* of his knife slicing across the other's shoulder back before striking his armplates.
Cú flickered and then blurred backward. Hyde appeared near the mannequin machine, and then kicked a pottery leg at Cú as the bestial berserker charged him. Cú didn't bother to dodge it. It shattered around him, but by then, Hyde had already moved again, slipping behind Cú, striking, and just barely missing.
Once again, they both blurred around the arena, Hyde's knife clashing against Cú's spear in a flurry of blows. Astolfo gave a low whistle. "Wow, they're both really fast! I'm in trouble if you expect me to keep up."
Concentrating on the flashes of movement and the brief flickering exchanges of blows, Ren said, "Do what you can. I need him down but not out."
"Oooh," said Astolfo, and a lance materialized in his hand. "That, I can do. Well, if I'm lucky." He gave Ren a teasing smile, and stepped around the side of the alcove.
Meanwhile, Hyde careened around Cú, twisting impossibly to avoid a swipe from Cú's growing claws, spinning himself around one of Cú's spikes and slashing once again across his opponent's side before tumbling away. Every bit of the movement had seemed like an accident until he landed, laughing, squarely on his feet and made it a dance.
For a frozen moment, the two of them evaluated each other from across the arena.
"Hey hey, big guy," Hyde taunted. "I've got the girl, you know. You thought you could protect her from me but hah! You can't!" He wove to one side as Cú leapt toward him, then leaned in and whispered something Ren didn't catch. Whatever it was made Cú roar and move so fast that Hyde left his vest behind, along with a long strip of his shirt and his skin.
Hyde cackled as he did some fancy footwork. "Yeah, too slow! I'm all full up from tasting the Master while you're drunk on lies and playing with dollies."
Cú blurred again. Hyde hopped on the spear that slashed under him, but he paused to make a face at Cú before jumping away, and Cú caught his ankle as he did.
Even as Cú smashed him toward the ground, Hyde wound himself up and kicked Cú in the face before landing so hard on his own shoulder he bounced. When he sprang to his feet and flipped backward, he listed to one side, as if he'd taken serious damage from the blow.
Eagerly, Cú lunged after him and Hyde, now on the defensive, just barely managed to keep out of the berserker's grasp. But they were both moving so fast that it wasn't until Hyde casually slipped over the spear like a gymnast over a single bar that Ren realized that the smaller berserker was entirely within Cú's guard. But it didn't matter; Cú batted away his wild strikes easily….
…all the way up until Hyde dropped his knife, caught it with his other hand—the hand on his supposedly injured arm—and slammed the knife into Cú's exposed side, leaving it there as he sprang away.
It would have been a killing strike on a human, but Cú hardly noticed, flipping his spear around and pulling his arm back.
"Nyah nyah!" said Hyde, and pulled another knife out of thin air. "Let's do that again!"
That was when Astolfo, circling the edge of the arena, flung his lance wildly. It arced and and seemed about to fall short. Then Cú shifted position to throw his own spear, moving his leg right to where Astolfo's lance could pierce his oversized foot.
Although barely a glancing blow, it had an immediate effect as the wounded foot dematerialized, leaving only a ragged, ghostly edge at around mid-shin. Cú lost his balance, but caught himself almost immediately with his tail, whirling on one foot to evaluate his other attacker.
"Shoot," said Astolfo. "I should get me one of those." The lance reappeared in his hand and he ran around the edge of the arena again.
Cú lifted his spear again, but as he did, Hyde landed on the butt end and sprang from there to one of the spikes growing out of Cú's shoulder plates. He launched a kick at Cú's face. Cú somehow slid sideways and Hyde had to turn the kick into a back somersalt away again.
Then the big berserker staggered again as Astolfo crowed, "Got his tail! Annnnd….."
Cú swept the arena with a murderous, hate-filled gaze, before falling over heavily as his other foot also dematerialized.
"Quick!" shouted Astolfo. "We have to hold his arms! Master!"
Ren jumped out from the alcove and ran over to where Astolfo and Hyde each held down half of Cú. Avoiding the spikes on his thrashing legs, she knelt down between Hyde and Astolfo and clapped both hands on Cú's tattooed cheeks, feeling the prickly scruffiness even male Servants apparently acquired after a long day.
Ren breathed, and let herself feel his skin, his warmth, as she looked at him upside down. He snarled at her, twisting back and forth, trying to bite her, but that didn't matter. She breathed again, letting the adrenaline that filled her fall away, carrying off Astolfo's frantic chatter and Hyde's harsh breath. She was simply there.
"Cú Chulainn," she whispered, and he froze, panting, only his eyes moving wildly as he tried to find her. So she closed her own eyes and reached out to him with her mind, as she had before.
Ren, he cried in crazed anguish, driven by the contradictory Commands she'd given him: Return to her, without killing the boy to break the spell. So he'd tried to destroy the world around him, and couldn't see it to save it.
She felt what he felt: her hands on his cheeks, and the terrible nature of the madness they'd inflicted on him. They'd not just warped his mind, but poisoned his bodily sense of where he was. What he observed in his surroundings and what he felt never matched up: not just in the individual sensations, but the skinsense of place. It was a sense Ren had never even imagined before, a sense that told a body and soul what world it was in.
Ren touched his face and looked at herself through his eyes. She felt her breath on his face, and he felt what she felt. His thrashing stilled, but his breath came hard and painful.
"No spikes, Cú," she murmured, and the most aggressive parts of his armor dematerialized. She slipped over his arm, past Hyde, maintaining physical contact with Cú and straddled his stomach. She found as she ran her hands down his torso that Hyde's knife had vanished, but the injury remained, raw and gaping.
Ren sighed and ran her hands back up to Cú's spiky hair, far too stiff for her to finger comb. She gave it a try anyhow, vaguely conscious of Cú's scarlet eyes fixed on her. But seeing from either set of eyes wasn't her priority, and so it was both difficult and uninteresting. If she could fix his skinsense, every other part of the madness enchantment would break in turn. And if she could bring him back to her, that would resolve the contradiction of the Command Seals.
She could see now why Jonathan had said cancelling the ritual would be tricky. If the victims didn't want to be free and have a guide back, the dismissal of the dark fairy's power would simply leave them even more lost and confused than ever. The Command Spell could have been the guide, if she hadn't countered it. Now, she had to do it herself.
Carefully, she stretched out along Cú's body, pressing herself against him. She hoped that somehow sharing her sense of her own skin, and her sense of his skin, and vice versa, would help. As she dug her fingers under his shoulder guards, she muttered, "And this isn't a seduction attempt, either."
Cú gave a rusty, pained laugh. I kind of wish it was, he whispered into their shared headspace. Better than this. Hyde and Astolfo must have decided he was no longer an active threat, because Cú's arms closed around her heavily. It was a hopeful realization.
"Shh," she told him. "You'll be okay. Can you dematerialize and stay with me until we get home? Once we get out of this spell, everything will be better."
Not yet, he whispered.
Ren scratched his shoulders instead of answering, resting her chin on his chest. It felt very nice against the confused exhaustion still twisting his body. Dreamily, he whispered, This would work even better if we were both naked. Skin to skin, ah yeah…
Ren listened to the obscured sound of Astolfo talking at a high rate and at a higher pitch, contrasted with the low rasp of Hyde's annoyance. She murmured, "Not a good idea right now."
Right, he whispered a moment later. Motivation. And few moments after that, he said creakily, "Get up. You're going to wear my spirit form like a really tight sweater."
With a tired sigh, Ren released her mental connection with Cú and rolled off him. He promptly dematerialized. She could only tell he was near, not if he was indeed nestling around her so intimately, but when she opened her eyes, Hyde was looking down at her. Accusingly, he said, "I wanted to do that."
Ren reached up to tweak his nose and then sat up as he scowled. For some reason, every muscle in her body ached, even in her face, and there was a particularly bad bruise on her side.
"Good job, Rendidi!" caroled Astolfo. "You're the best!"
"You're not too bad yourself," Ren told him. "And you, Hyde…" She smiled at him, even though her cheeks hurt, and his scowl deepened. It reminded her of Merlin, a thought she promptly pushed away. "You were wonderful. Thank you."
Hyde's scowl softened into a smirk. "I'm thinking I want a manicure, too. Total spa package."
"Hot springs!" said Astolfo enthusiastically. "I'll find some. But what are we doing now, Master?"
"Jack," said Ren simply. "Next, I have to save Jack."
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