Chapter 39: Running out of patienceNotes:
#FuckPuck
EDIT: 14.000 Hits!
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Chapter 39
Things were not looking good. When Tanya arrived at the small village near the mansion the streets were already painted red with blood. She lowered her altitude and touched down on the ground to properly take in the destruction. A little bit of investigation would be necessary to accurately judge the strengths and weaknesses of her new enemy.
Men, women and children all seemed to have found their unfortunate ends in equally brutal fashion. Some were cut in half or disembowelled. Others had their necks twisted or their limbs ripped off. The cause of these injuries appeared to be blunt force which was disconcerting to say the least.
Curiously a few corpses on the town square were either totally crushed or had obviously been thrown high into the air. That was clear to see, because their ribs and faces had been destroyed from the impact and their blood had splattered in a pattern that was impossible to fake. A few even laid on nearby rooftops or were now imbedded into the walls of the surrounding houses.
Seeing as not all casualties had occurred this way the logical conclusion was that some members of the cult were significantly stronger than others. If through magic or pure physical strength remained to be determined.
Satisfied with her findings Tanya wiped her bloody hands at the shirt of a little child and stood up to survey the massacre one last time. It truly was a shame for all these innocent, productive members of society to be wasted. These hopeful children would never gain the chance to prove themselves and take control of their own fate like she had. Instead their last living moments had only been filled with agony and the knowledge that that they would be undone by a moronic and utterly brainless terrorist organization.
Tanya had always been a rational person and as such had accepted the reality of her eventual death early on. But when she left the living world (for the final time) then she intended to do so on her own terms. Not to please Being X or her employers. Her death should be one of natural causes and without regrets. She wanted to leave a better world behind where all her work had been completed and all her affairs were put in order. A world where she had done her best to spread reason and progress to uplift the entirety of civilization.
Furthermore, Visha had shown her that life was also what you shared with others. If possible she would like to die with her closest friends and confidantes by her side and a smile on her lips. Emotions were rarely beneficial for anybody, but without them a life would ring hollow. Tanya was more than the sum of her work after all. She lived for the small pleasures like a freshly brewed cup of coffee or the gentle summer breeze against her skin and she just worked really hard to secure herself these indulgences. Life was precious for her so she fought constantly to keep it. Years of war and poverty had taught her that enjoyment could be found in the simplest things, yet was so easily missed if you were unobservant.
The children of Irlam village would never grow up to understand all that.
They had died for nothing.
Not for their ideals or out of their own free will.
Not for the good of humanity or even their own country.
They had not ended their existence full of satisfaction or a sense of accomplishment, but with terror and confusion.
What a pity.
War had forced Tanya to do many atrocious things, but she regretted none of them. She could say in good conscience that she had always done her best to minimize the loss of life by quickly and decidedly turning the tide of war. Never had she received pleasure from the loss of human capital (with the sole exception of Mary Sioux; that bitch could rot in hell). Yes, she had seen many a dead child and family, but their demises had always served a purpose. They had been unfortunate casualties that got in the way to bring peace.
This slaughter of the small village was the opposite of that. Here these none combative civilians had been the target without reason or restraint. An act of senseless violence, of war in a time of relative peace. It was absurd, revolting and unforgivable.
The witch´s cult had been active since centuries ago if the stories she had read were to be believed. They acted from the shadows without agenda or goal. Only the sowing of discord and chaos counted for them. Members who joined allegedly even gave up their minds in order to serve the jealous witch better. Perhaps this witch was Being X´s sister? She certainly sounded like the bastard.
If there was one thing that Tanya truly hated then that were people who contributed nothing to society and excused their parasitic exploitation with the divine right to do so. Charlatans and madmen who hid behind petty lies and leeched of the accomplishments of their betters. Scum who wanted to receive without giving in return. Priests, communists and now also these cultists. They were absolutely worthless and the whole system would in fact be better off if they would just disappear over night.
Sadly such lowlifes rarely had the curtesy to remove themselves so people like her would be forced to do that for them. In her first life as a salaryman she had managed human resources and laid off those with no potential or willingness to change. In her second life she had taken a more... direct approach in disposing of them.
That trend would continue it seemed.
As long as these crazed murderers threatened the people of this country, Lugnica would know no true peace. There was no negotiating with religious fanatics, she could attest to that from experience. If they had completely and willingly given up their freedom of choice then they counted no longer as humans in her eyes. Where she had resisted they had fallen. Without individuality they were no sentient beings worthy of respect any more, they were just obstacles. The only option of dealing with them would be to exterminate them all.
With violence on her mind and now fresh out of mercy Tanya took to the air and rushed in the direction of the Mathers estate.
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Emilia was shaking. She couldn't remember if she had ever felt as afraid as in this very moment. Absolute fear was flooding her veins and made it near impossible to think. Puck was not responding to her call and she was perhaps for the first time in her life completely and utterly alone.
In the morning she had said goodbye to Tanya and Subaru and the mansion had already felt empty after their departure. Who would she talk to when they both were not present? Roswaal had always too much work to do, Beatrice didn´t leave her library and Ram mostly ignored her. The only other person available was Puck, but for some reason he had refused to leave his crystal.
Then a few hours ago they had heard strange sounds from the nearby village and Ram had gone off to investigate only to return a few minutes later out of breath and bloodied.
"The witch´s cult is here." was what she had said.
Witch
Witch
WITCH
Even after years of hearing that word it still sent shivers down her spine. Would she never be able to escape the shadow of the devilish half-elf that looked like her?
Why were these cultists here? She hadn't done anything to anger the cult. In fact, she hadn't done anything to anger anybody! She just wanted to live a quiet life with her friends and help people! Was that so wrong? Was she perhaps really cursed? Because her luck never seemed to get better.
Well, that wasn´t entirely true. She had Roswaal who provided for her and Subaru... Her dear, silly, stupid, fantastic Subaru. He always had an idea regardless of how terrible it was. He would make her laugh and strike ridiculous poses in one moment and in the other he would listen to her and tell her pretty lies. Really, how could anybody believe that she was beautiful? She looked like the stupid witch!
The one person who had ruined her life without the two of them ever meeting. Emilia´s appearance only brought her scorn or disgust from the citizens and she was tired of it. Even at the royal selection event the councilmen and the audience had insulted her. They had only really stopped when Tanya had made her debut...
Out of all the royal candidates she was the one who had actively approached her with respect and constant friendliness. Puck had told her that some of it had been faked, but that she also played that charade with everybody. Tanya appeared like a person who would not easily open up on her true feelings and who could honestly blame her after what she had been through? (Emilia would never admit it to Tanya, but the images she had showed at the royal selection still haunted her nightmares sometimes.)
She had even been willing to form an alliance and help her with freeing the elves of Elior forest. Also... Tanya was simply adorable. The urge to hug her had somehow grown over the last week until she couldn´t hold back anymore. She simply had to squeeze her one las time bfore she made the trip back to the capital.
All in all, Tanya and Subaru were shaping up to be the two best friends imaginable. One of them was dependable and the other was approachable. The thought of finally having real friends terrified and excited her in equal measure. What could she do for them so that they wouldn't leave her? How could she properly show her gratitude? What did friends do in their free time? It was all so confusing, but also exhilarating.
Sadly, none of them were here at the moment to help her with her current predicament.
She was all alone.
Again.
"P-Puck, come out. I-I´m s-scared. Please. If I offended you s-somehow... I´ll d-do anything! Please!" she begged for the hundredth time. Her contracted spirit remained silent. She could feel the connection to him. He was obviously sleeping. But why wasn't he waking up! Why!
Suddenly anger overtook her. Everybody was leaving her behind and she had enough of it. If Puck didn't want to answer her then fine! That dunderhead should not complain the next time she refused him sweets or a belly rub!
If she could only rely on herself at the moment then she would just do it herself! The damned witch´s cult thought they could make her cower in fright and invade her home? Well then they had thought wrong! They would be the ones begging for their lives and after everything that they had indirectly put her through she was not in the mood to grant them their wishes.
Her legs hadn´t stopped shaking, but instead from fear they were now quivering from anger. When she slowly rose from her hideout in the barricaded room that Ram had locked her in, her eyes had darkened. What once had been a bright shade of purple was now nearly looking like black to an outside observer.
Ice began to crawl up the walls of the room and turned the air she was breathing into mist, but she didn't mind. The rapidly dropping temperature escaped her notice altogether. Raising one hand and drawing on the vast power of her elven magic she shot out twenty large shards of ice that ripped the barricaded door to splinters and carried on to obliterate the wall on the other side of the hallway.
She would not be weak.
She would not be powerless.
She would not suffer wretched murders in her home any longer!
Her shoulders' tensing was the only warning before she broke into a sprint that would put most athletes to shame. Due to her elven heritage she was significantly stronger and faster than the average human. Even without training she eclipsed almost everybody she had come across in physical power. A fact that she normally made sure to hide careful in order not to unsettle or outright frighten the people around her. They were hostile enough when they thought of her as a weak little girl after all.
Corridor after corridor blurred right past her as she strained her hearing to pick up any sound from the possible intruders. The mansion was eerily silent until her senses picked up rumbling from the floor beneath her. (Those pointy ears were not just for show.)
Instinctively more icicles formed in the air behind her and floated there like a giant halo. The air became unbearably cold for a normal human and large sheets of ice soon covered every surface in her immediate vicinity. Anybody else would have likely frozen to the floor had they tried to walk where she did, but to Emilia it was not a hindrance at all. Rather, the ice made her even faster, because she could slide on her feet to gain continuously more momentum.
Had she been thinking clearly she would have never attempted such a stunt, but in her boiling fury she ignored all the restrictions and limitations she had set for herself. For that reason she continued to speed up and up along the linear hallway until she created a enormous shield of ice in front of her and simply used it to burst through the wall at its end. Ice and stone exploded into a cloud of debris and deadly shrapnel, but again she paid it no mind.
Down the stairwell and to the left and she arrived at the door where she still heard loud sounds originating from. She was about to pulverize the barrier in her way with her magic when to her mild surprise Ram threw it open from the inside and tumbled out of the room. The distraction only lasted for half a second though before her razor-sharp icicles streamed into the room and pierced multiple purple robed silhouettes, pinning them to the tapestry.
Rem was still staring at her in shock and Emilia finally noticed that the maid had blood all over her clothes. Way more than last time she had seen her. Judging from the body parts strewn around the room it was safe to assume that she had not held in combat.
"L-Lady E-Emilia... Why a-are y-you here?"
The arctic temperatures were causing Ram to violently shiver and her teeth were loudly chattering against each other. Emilia had to make an active effort with her fire magic to melt the ice and raise the temperature so that the pink-haired maid wouldn´t freeze to death.
"I'm done with hiding. They will regret ever coming here." she growled.
Ram shivered again, but not because of the cold.
Notes:
Disclaimer: Not everything happens at the same time btw :)
Just wanted to let you know so you don´t get confused.
Also, I measured that I can write roughly 3000 words per day if I do nothing else. If any of you are writers... how much literature can you produce in one day?
I´m just curious how slow/fast I am comparatively.