Chapter 661: Bad Blood

Chapter 661: Bad Blood

“I suspect the man’s head burst into gore due to the pressure of containing Gerechtigkeit, not out of any deliberate act,” Raven said as he studied the corpse.

Anneliese looked at him as he turned the body over in his hands. “I might concur—that force, that pressure... it strained against the vessel until it could deform no more before bursting free. But how do you explain the image on the wall?”

All three of them gazed at what could only be called a painting of a fire. It lost neither shape nor color no matter how long it persisted.

“A final message, perhaps. Or a demonstration he is incapable of suppressing what he really is. Fire; uncontrolled destruction that eats all it can to grow, and leaves scars in that which it cannot burn. It may signify that preparation he so grandly boasted of.” The Alchemist raised his huge gray hand to the image, ruining the piece with a stroke of his hand. “Let this swipe of my hand demonstrate what his plan should mean to us.”

Argrave found himself clenching his hands together, and relaxed with a deliberate deep breath. Anneliese watched him, asking, “You look like you’re holding back from saying something.”

“Well.” He looked up. “It’s clear from the rumors surfacing about me that he listens to all we say.”

“And?” Anneliese raised a brow. “He is not yet here on this realm. He cannot respond to our plans as we can to his.”

“It’s not a plan, it’s...” Argrave closed his eyes, reimagining the brief exchange of words he’d had. “If that was a mere fragment of his being, I find it hard to imagine how all of us will face that.”

Raven put his huge hand on Argrave’s shoulder. “Face him as Orion did. Raging against the end, defiant in your steady pursuit of a fate unknown.”

Argrave took the rare comfort from Raven in stride, nodding until he remembered something. “We have to go see Orion,” he told Anneliese, and her eyes brightened at the reminder.

“Of course,” she nodded firmly. “He’s with his mother.”

#####

Orion sat just beside his mother, Valeria, looming over her bedside like a Great Dane beside a child. Her blonde hair was wispy, thin, and bore some signs it might never grow back in some areas. She was thin, almost dreadfully so—Argrave’s thigh might’ve been thicker than her waist. But in her sapphire-like blue eyes, there was a brightness that Argrave had never before seen, and she did not thrash at unseen demons as she had locked in the palace cresting Dirracha.

If ever there was a demonstration victory over Gerechtigkeit’s mental influence, it was this woman.

Valeria stroked the back of her son’s hand as she laid there, a faint smile on her thin, scarred lips. According to Orion, she had fully returned to her old self. The madness, which was almost assuredly inflicted on her by Gerechtigkeit, had been remedied. In particular, putting the mental-warding ring on her had essentially closed an open wound. Once closed, it allowed old scars to heal. Allowed her mind to come back to her.

Without exception, all paid them some manner of respect—bowed heads at the least, and kneeling at the most. Orion looked between them all like a proud father.

“Mial.” Orion focused on the pale elf, who seemed like a kitten before him. “I instructed you to collect information from the group. Do you have it prepared?”

“I do,” Mial said, casting uneasy glances at the royal pair.

“Wonderful. Everyone, gather around.” He waved his arms all around, and slowly this disparate collection of talented strays coalesced in the center of the room. There seemed to be some small rapport between them, and they were united in their shared caution toward Argrave and Anneliese. “I shall give you the bare bones of it all. My compatriots shall fill in where my knowledge is lacking.”

Orion cleared his throat. “To begin with, I realized that we would need a foundation to build upon, as had taken place in the team guided by the late Llewellen. Ours is the only family descending from the Gilderwatchers, but not the only family descending from things not fully human.”

“Truly?” Anneliese asked in surprise. “What manner of beings?”

“Mial,” Orion looked toward her with a smile. “You took charge of this.”

The pale elf fixed her dark hair uneasily. “As you know, the... the following that my father gathered was a very disparate group, united by faith.” She couldn’t meet Argrave or Anneliese’s eyes. “It was never practiced in Vasquer, but we had those among us with the blood of drakes, dragons, or most commonly, the monstrosities native to the underground. Its stone vipers, spider matriarchs, or ancient basilisks, by example. I could not prevail upon my former flock, as my father’s death has led them to view me as a deceiver, yet I did manage to track them down for others.”

“Excellent,” Argrave praised. “What was learned from it?”

Mial finally looked up. She had her father’s purple eyes, and after the praise she managed to meet Argrave’s gaze as she said, “The method by which people achieve monster lineage is manifold. It is often a ritual done during conception, or while the child is in the womb. I’ll spare the unpleasant details, because they’re irrelevant—the power in their blood is unlocked by slaying the creatures they’re related to. In the end, it allows them to manifest powers that are sadly overshadowed by magic.”

Argrave nodded. “In the end, they have a trace amount of black blood, like myself. That was something you could’ve come to me for. I could’ve scoured the wiki to spare you some time.” He looked at Orion.

Others looked confused, but Orion knew what he spoke of and answered decisively. “You are more than busy enough as is.” Orion shook his head adamantly. “I meant to ease your burden, not add more thoughts.” He gestured back at Mial to continue.

“In the end, we narrowed it down to a family descended from dragons. It took a lot of work—from all of us.” Mial looked around at her allies. “Dario and Georgina tracked down living descendants. Ingo sought out methods by which they’d unlocked their power.”

Orion leaned forward and grabbed Argrave’s shoulder. “In the end, we’ve found a path, Argrave. We need only time, and we may discover a way to shield the people from Gerechtigkeit’s influence. We may be able to stop these fruitless cults, and these divisive leaders, from rending Vasquer asunder. More resources are needed, however. The fine souls that have pledged themselves as my retainer do fine work... but it cannot be compared to the totality of what you and Elenore command.”