Gusion woke up at the shuffling sounds of footsteps. He opened his eyes and saw the retreating back of Lancelot Baroque heading out the door with Alucard.
He scanned the room for someone else.
Guinevere was standing next to the infirmary bed she occupied. He watched her wore the belt sheath of the sword he gave her, and shrugged on her dark cloak.
He sat up too quickly that he grunted as he felt a pain in his side, making Guinevere turn to his direction.
"You're awake."
"Your brother's here?" He managed to ask despite the pain, which was slowly fading. He carefully got off the bed.
"He's here to bring me home. Mother and Father had agreed to postpone the engagement."
"Oh." He merely said, stopping himself from spouting the words he really wanted to say.
Didn't she just say yesterday that she wanted to protect others? That she hated being treated like a lady who couldn't do anything? Then why was she being so obedient as to going home without any sign of protest?
Gusion didn't say anything else. He studied her face for any sign of bitterness.
Her smile seemed to have not reached her eyes. And were they really not glinting the way they used to before? Or maybe he was just imagining things.
He listened to the clopping of her shoes agaisnt the floor as she headed out of the infirmary, leaving him in a bit of confusion.
He couldn't admit to himself that he quite got used to her presence in the infirmary and forgot that she could go home any time. Unlike him, she really ran away and not casted out of the family.
Maybe it was just for her own good. With demons scattered all over the land, there was no place safer for her than Castle Gorge.
He changed into his tunic, vest and armor, but he did not follow after her to the dining area.
He instead strolled around the Monastery just to let time pass.
A few minutes into wandering, Granger passed down the corridor where he was heading. He disappeared out of his sight for a second before the demon hunter came back to look at him.
"Gusion. What are you doing here?"
"Nothing. Just looking around."
"Oh. Guinevere's leaving. You know that, right?"
He nodded as he walked closer to Granger. "She told me earlier."
Granger scoffed. "It will surely be more peaceful around here without that lady trying to argue with anyone she could."
"Right."
"Well, if you'll excuse me. I got to tell Rafaela. She's been locked up in her room for a while that I doubt she knows about it." Granger headed to the staircases ahead and disappeared out of Gusion's sight.
He, on the other hand, went to the top floor, where there was a wide balcony providing a clear view of the grounds below and through the forest. Ahead was the towering form of the Moniyan Castle, standing proudly in its cream painted walls that gleamed gold against the sunlight.
He wondered what the Princess Silvanna was currently planning, and whether it would be effective enough to even just drive the demons back into the abyss.
Whatever she was planning, Gusion knew he had faced enough demons and got enough injuries from them to make him help fight this war. He was determined to kill as many demons as he could wherever he might meet them.
He stayed there for a while, just watching the daily activities of the demon hunters below. Some of them guarded the gates ahead, others training nonstop in the ground and in training rooms.
He had been distracted in his thoughts when something in a color he had lately associated to someone crossed his gaze, making him look at its direction.
It turned out it was just a violet blanket that one of the laundry women was carrying.
He just noticed how Guinevere was so fond of the color, evident from her violet hair ribbon and arm gloves down to the belled-out gown she was refusing to discard no matter how shredded some of its edges were. Even her energy waves were of the same color.
He mentally scolded himself. He wouldn't be staring at every violet stuff he sees and remembering Guinevere at every single one of them, would he?
As if to test his theory, he caught sight of the color at the Monastery's main entrance a few minutes later, and his eyes just did a double take.
It was Guinevere, along with Rafaela. She seemed to be saying goodbye to her. Ahead them, right next to the white carriage painted with golden brown in a symbol of the letter B embedded by a long, slender sword, were Alucard, Granger and Lancelot, talking with a serious look on their faces.
After their conversation, Rafaela went back inside and Guinevere went to join the men, looking around in the process.
Lancelot went first inside the carriage, giving Guinevere time to thank the men. Guinevere gave Granger a hug that he clearly didn't expect, considering the surprised look in his face as he gave the Lady's back a light tap.
She pulled away and looked around before hesitantly heading to the carriage, where she disappeared from Gusion's sight.
The carriage pulled away, the black and white horses galloping as fast as their hooves could make.
"So you're just here." Rafaela's voice startled him as he turned to the door where she was hovering. She was staring at him with a slight frown on her forehead.
"What do you mean?" He feigned ignorance as he stared at the woods where the carriage disappeared.
"We'll surely miss her." She said, joining him in leaning against the railings and staring at where their carriage had gone.
"Right." Gusion agreed.
He could have said goodbye. But since last night, she had been making him feel things he could not explain, and he was afraid to face her. He was afraid he might become foolish enough to ask her to stay, just as his foolishness made him even dared to...
"I thought...that after the days you've spent together...that you might have grown a bond."
"We did...just as you did with her. Just as she did with Granger. And Alucard."
Rafaela smiled, her eyes staring at him interrogatively. "You know what I'm trying to say, Gusion."
He shrugged. "She's a good comrade in battle. But a lady should be kept safe inside her home."
"You know she's not just any lady, Gusion."
"Well, we all know that our stay here had always been temporary. This was expected, Rafaela." He headed to the door, leaving Rafaela.
"Gusion." She called.
"I have more important things to do, Rafaela." He said in a bored tone, expecting Rafaela was just being nosy again.
"Gusion!" Rafaela snapped, more urgently, making him turn to her.
Her face was horrified with the sight below that he quickly ran next to her and looked down.
Up ahead, heading to their direction from all around the woods, were demons of different sizes. He spotted about four large ones towering over the tall poplar trees of the woodland.
He hastily leaned against the railings as everyone below just froze, still figuring out why the earth seemed to be shaking.
"EVERYONE, BRACE YOURSELVES! DEMONS APPROACHING!"
His scream got everyone moving quick, grabbing their weapons and heading to the gates.
He saw Granger and Alucard sprinting towards the frontlines with their weapons gripped in their hands, and only a couple of seconds later, the gates and the walls around them crumbled with just one smash of the demons's giant fists.
Gusion was about to run down when Rafaela grabbed him by the arm.
"You are in no condition to fight-!"
"Let go of me! Everyone needs to help!" He tried to get away from her clutches but she gripped it tighter.
He started feeling something familiar; the relaxing shift of heat and cold running through his body made by Rafaela's healing.
She was giving her all to heal him as fast as she could, her palms glowing gold against his arm. "Listen to me. You have to go to the stables, grab a horse and call Lolita and Bruno. I'll be calling Kimmy and Tigreal from the palace."
"I can't leave while you're all here being attacked!"
"You have to, Gusion. You've fought one of those giant monsters, and it took a lot upon fighting one. We know all too well it would take more than this number to fight off four of them with half a hundred distracting smaller ones."
Gusion frowned and clenched his teeth, but knew he would be the only one to do it considering how busy everyone were already.
"Fine!" He ran towards the door but stopped right on the door, looking over his shoulder at Rafaela. "Try not to get those guys killed until I return."
"We're counting on you."
Gusion nodded and ran as fast as he could towards the stables, where he hastily mounted a chestnut colored horse and galloped out of the city through the attacking demons.
As he expected, there were ones who chased after him. He gripped the reins with one hand, trying his best not to fall off the horse's back, his other hand tossing and retrieving blades every now and then towards attacking demons.
One got to close and he slashed it through its neck before it could burry its pointed teeth against his leg.
He was heading towards the City of Scholars, knowing all too well that Bruno and Lolita would come running without a second, when he realized something that made him pull the reins, making the chestnut horse backed up in its rear legs upon halting.
He looked at the other road over his shoulder. It was where the Baroque's carriage was headed, the trails of its wheels still fresh in the soil. But also in the pathway were foot prints of different forms that were definitely not human.
The carriage hadn't left too long, which meant they could have intercepted the demons on their way.
Gusion looked at the path he was supposed to take, his teeth clenched in urgency and irritation.
Thinking of Lancelot and Guinevere getting attacked by those lot, he grew weary and uneasy. But he also needed to go to Eruditio fast or everyone in the Monastery might get thrown out of the gates with the building burning inside, like what they did to the City of Scholars.
He would've trusted that they could defeat the demons on their own. He knew their potential, and it wasn't to be underestimated. They both excell in their own fighting styles.
But Guinevere wasn't well yet. She even injured her arm again last night. Spellcasting would be harder for her.
His mind was spinning, his chest racing. But he knew he had come up with a decision.
"Damn it!" He seethed and turned the horse towards the pathway leading to Castle Gorge.
He silently wished Rafaela and the others would be able to hold long enough for him to help the Baroques and then go to the City of Scholars.
He saw a glimpse of violet light ahead, letting him know he was close. He urged the horse to go faster.
He took a turn in the bending pathway and immediately pulled the reins the moment he saw the Baroque carriage lay ruined in the ground, its back wheels useless a couple of feet from it on the ground.
Lancelot was fighting off about five demons with his long sword while Guinevere sat on the ground with her back against the overturned carriage, blasting demons who got too close to her while also keeping her brother in check.
Gusion immediately flitted towards her, tossing his blades as he leaped.
The blades pierced through five of the demon's stomach attacking Guinevere, and the blades turned back to one and flitted back to his hand as he landed in front of Guinevere.
"Paxley! What are you doing here?! The Monastery's been attacked!" Lancelot yelled.
"I know!" he answered, slashing a monster who dared came close to him. "That's why we have to kill these fast so I could call reinforcements!"
"Get Guinevere and go!"
"To hell with that!" Guinevere snarled, clenching her teeth as she got to her feet despite the pain she was feeling. "We're going together!"
She grunted as she gathered energy waves in her right hand and tossed them towards a bunch of demons advancing in her left.
But Gusion caught how she threw it. She was limiting her movement, the attack not strong as it usually was.
He tossed his sword again in the air and with a swish of his hand in front of him, the sword followed his movement and slashed through the demon's waists, spilling blood all around as it cut in half.
As soon as the demons started disentigrating, Gusion turned to Guinevere, only to get his face suddenly turned to the other side as he felt a strong fist hitting him in the face.
"You dare show yourself now?!" Guinevere spat.
Gusion turned his face back to her, feeling pain vibrating in his face where she had just hit him.
His temper kicked up his head, but he chose to push them back into his head.
This was not the time to argue.
"We gotta go, Lady Guinevere." He grabbed her by the wrist despite her violent protests and dragged her towards his horse's direction.
"Let's go!" He called Lancelot.
"Go ahead!" Lancelot yelled back at Gusion. He leaped in three directions in a second, sending slashes and thrust with his slender sword in every step, demons exploding to ashes in his every. "I'll follow in a second."
Gusion mounted over the horse's back. He gripped the reins in one hand and held the other out in front of Guinevere.
"Come on."
"Guinevere, GO!" Lancelot commanded urgently, blocking a couple of demons who were heading towards them.
Guinevere shot a piercing look up at Gusion but reluctantly took his hand anyway. He stepped on the stirrups and pulled herself up the horse's back.
"The Monastery's being attacked! Head straight there!" He told Lancelot, who swung his sword up before slashing through a demon to gesture that he heard.
Guinevere had no choice but to wrap her arms around Gusion's waist as he kicked the horse's side and it galloped fast along the pathway of the forest.
She grunted when she felt her arm hurting at exerting force to hold on.
Gusion glanced at her over his shoulder, hearing her suppressed sound over the horse's gallops and the whiff of wind past his ears.
If Rafaela didn't do her best healing his injuries before sending him away, he was certain they would be as good as a dead weight for the task.
"You're gonna have to endure it." Gusion said to her.
"Just go as fast as you can."
By the time they had led the reinforcements to the Monastery, it was pretty much as bad as what happened to the City of Scholars.
Despite the presence of many trained demon hunters, they seemed to be having a hard time killing a single one of the huge demons.
Guinevere slid off the horse as soon as it halted right in the middle of the training ground, which was now turned into a battleground.
One of the demons swang its large hand down, sending away about 3 demon hunters who wasn't able to jump out of its way.
Alucard sprinted towards it, lunging himself into its bent hind leg, diagonally to its swinging arm and towards its neck, where he slashed his sword with all his might.
The glowing red sword sliced the demon from the neck down to its torso as Alucard held onto it to minimize his impact when he landed at the ground.
Just when the new comers thought it was dead, their eyes widened as they watched the sliced flesh slowly grew closer, mending itself, until its back was fully healed as if it had never even been sliced in half.
"That's impossible." Gusion muttered, dumbfounded.
But Guinevere saw how the demon raised both its fist up, his growling face looking down at its enemies below.
Guinevere had read about it once in a book. About a regenerating spell being stocked in stones, rewinding time for its receiver so its flesh would be in constant regenerating process.
Alucard jumped away from the demon's fist, apparently analyzing what just happened.
Granger came into Alucard's assistance, his black coat with high collars covering up to his chin being blown back as he sidestepped into a better angle, all the while firing his gun.
They saw how his bullets just got absorbed into the demon's scales like stones sinking into mud.
Guinevere headed towards them urgently, but Gusion blocked her by the waist and pushed her back before she could go any further.
"Stay back. You're not fighting this time."
"It's a regenerating stone." She was telling him when another demon bellowed all over the Monastery, making them turn to its direction.
They saw how demon hunters were being thrown away, others running away upon realizing there was no chance of elimination the big ones.
Guinevere faced Gusion again, feeling the urgency of the matter.
"We have to find the spot where that stone is burried somewhere in that demon's scales and destroy it."
Gusion nodded and headed towards Alucard and Granger, still facing her direction. "Keep yourself away from those big ones." He ordered and suddenly flicked a blade right past her head.
She turned around and saw it pierced through the head of a smaller demon who had the looked of surprise before it disentigrated and the blade flitted back go Gusion's hand.
"You can fight those ones." He said, gesturing the smaller demons running rampant.
She frowned. "Are you mocking me?!" She stopped when he ignored her rants and ran towards Alucard and Granger's aide.
She glared at the back of Gusion as he threw his blade towards the demons when he got close enough. The blades pierced against the demon's scales and flitted back to him.
He seemed to have told the other two about what she discovered because they started hitting the demon at wherever they can, spluttering blood at its place before healing back.
Gusion jumped towards its knees and shoulders and finally landed over its head, where he pierced his sword full into it with all his might.
But the demon just growled angrier as it shook its head, tossing Gusion away.
Guinevere ran to their direction, following Gusion with her gaze. She only stopped when he landed in the ground in both feet and caught a glimpse of her.
He saw how his brows furrowed upon seeing her. "I told you to stay away from the larger ones!" He yelled as he went attacking again.
Granger was aiming anywhere at the monster's back but to no avail. The demon just got angrier as it swung its arms around, trying to swat them away, and tried to hit them with its fist.
Alucard was slashing and piercing through its stomach. He was moving so fast that his legs eventually got tired and got a little slower that the demon succeeded in hitting him with its fist.
"Alucard!" Granger yelled from behind.
Gusion sprinted to where Alucard was. He was lying on the ground but stumbled to get back on his feet, Gusion pulling him before he could be hit by another attempt of the demon's fist.
Guinevere watched keenly, staying away at some distance as she sent magic balls at smaller demons who tried to get near her.
Alucard aimed at its legs this time, dodging its feet as it attempted to squash him under it. Gusion, on the other hand, was slashing through its chest.
But the demon just raised its fist into the air and growled loudly, its voice echoing back from the Monastery building.
Then she took a wild guess. A guess that seemed to be logical enough that she ran closer to it.
"Gusion!" She yelled.
He glanced down at her from the demon's shoulder. Unfortunately, the demon swung a hand to him and sent him flying away again.
She had no time to see if he was fine because it stomped its large muddy foot to her direction. She jumped away, grunting as her broken ribs reminded her again that she had to be careful.
"Alucard!" She called.
Alucard glanced at him as he dodged the demon's fist.
"It must be in its palms. You have to pierce it in the hands!"
He nodded and lunged towards the demon, leaping from its knees and hauled himself towards its swinging arm. He balanced himself along it as he headed to its hand.
He swung his sword through its wrist, and a big hand fell towards the ground, blood spluttering.
Alucard landed on the ground, staring at the dismembered part, only to be squashed to the ground by its other hand.
Guinevere gasped as she saw Alucard disappeared from her sight under the palm. By the time it lifted its hand up, Alucard was lying flat on his back, grunting and attempting to move but failing.
And claws sprouted where the dismembered hand was supposed to be.
"Granger!"
"On it!" Granger came in front of the demon, firing at the other hand.
But it was too hard for him to hit when it was flailing its arms wildly.
Granger sighed impatiently and holstered the gun he was currently using, quickly changing into the longer one he had across his chest.
He aimed and fired easily, successfully hitting their target.
But the demon just turned to them and roared at them, flinging them away.
They landed twenty feet away, grunting.
"That's it. I'm gonna kill you." She seethed, ignoring the piercing pain in her side as she got to her feet and ran towards it.
She unsheathed the sword Gusion gave her, casted her magic thump. She bounced off the ground and into the air, right next to its arm.
She knew the blade couldn't slide the which wrist, so he slashes it all through its fist.
It bellowed again, but this time in pain. She landed in the ground along with a three large and muddy fingers and grunted loudly as the force ran to her injured ribs.
"I see it!" Granger yelled as he ran past her.
She followed him with a gaze and saw a green glow right in the center of its palm.
Granger took the shot, and a green stone went with the bullet as it past through its flesh and out.
Guinevere was about to leap to finish off the demon, but Gusion came sweeping past through her in a blur.
He got into the demon's head, pierced his blade into against its forehead and leaped down, not letting go of the hilt, the blade sliding through its flesh from the face down to its stomach.
When he landed in both feet and pulled his sword, the demon collapsed into the ground, its stomach bleeding wide open.
"I told you it'll be useful." Gusion said to her as he passed by her, glancing at the sword in her hand.
She sheathed it and followed him. "And I told you I'll be useful."
"We still have 3 more demons to kill." Granger reminded as he ran past them.
"You get Alucard to safety." Gusion ordered and ran after Granger before she can protest.
She turned to where Alucard was lying in the ground, blood gushing out of his mouth.
She bent next to him and scanned the ground for Rafaela. She was flying around, aiding other demon hunters and casting them a boost as they fought the other huge demons.
Guinevere got to her feet and was about to head towards her when she saw something in the corner of her eye.
She turned to it and saw a green glow on the ground. She went to pick it up.
It was a round marble stone with the top part chipped off probably by Granger's bullet, but the fact that it was still glowing gave her an idea.
A crazy idea.
She headed back to Alucard, who was panting in pain as he looked up at her.
"Don't..mind me. I'll...get myself..to safety." He muttered.
But Guinevere unsheathed Gusion's sword and stared at Alucard, whose eyes went wide.
"What are you doing?" He asked in a hoarse voice.
"This is going to hurt." She pinned Alucard's injured arm against the ground and forced the stone into it.
Alucard flailed and screamed in pain, but she clenched her teeth and held it down with all the force her broken ribs could allow.
A few seconds later, Alucard stopped resisting and his scream died down. So she got her hands off him.
He was frowning in pain, but his face seemed more relax than seconds ago as he stared at her in bewilderment.
"I'm sorry." She said, sitting on the ground and back in away from him, afraid that it had failed and she only gave him a few seconds of torture.
But Alucard got up and stared at his arm where she had forced the green stone. The skin where the cut had been a second ago was now smooth, no sign of even a scratch or a bruise.
The painful expression in his face was gone, too, and he looked brimming with energy. Even his sword started glowing a strong shade of red with the feel of his rage just a couple of feet away from him.
He looked at her, astonished. "You're crazy."
But he picked up his sword again and ran to battle.