Friedrich and α Specter arrived at the foot of an immense arena that resembled a typical ancient Roman amphitheater. Friedrich could sense the flow of magical energy coming from that place. It was a warm but heavy energy; it was not like that emitted by a magus.
Neither of them knew what would present to them once they crossed the many arches, but Friedrich, much more than the Servant, was constantly subjected to the strong pressure of that unforgivable anxiety. It was an anxiety that had haunted him from the very beginning of the journey. It was an anxiety that, like a fog, obscured the sight of reason.
Friedrich needed to stop. He didn't feel like going on.
"Are you all right, Master?" Specter asked, frowning.
"Forgive me... it's just that..." he didn't know what to say to her. He had no idea how to justify himself. Part of him, in fact, knew that his gesture was completely irrational.
"Are you afraid, Master?"
"Not afraid... no. Anxious. It's weird, right? I've already participated in a similar war, and yet I still have these feelings..." Friedrich sat down on the street. "Forgive me, I'll take a break."
"No problem." Specter sat next to him.
"I haven't immunized. I would've liked to have been like a rock, but I still haven't gotten used to these situations. It's really annoying. Anxiety is unpleasant. I would like to be a cold person and act rationally at all times, I would really like to be like an arrow that always hits the target. But I'm not..."
"That's good," she said, smiling. "Cold people can be more dangerous than sentimental ones."
"You say that just to say—"
"No. I know what I'm saying. I've seen, with these eyes, what happens when a person chooses to give up feelings. Whether the feelings are negative or positive does not matter, what matters is their existence. There's nothing worse than emptiness. "
Friedrich said nothing, he was enchanted by those words.
"Did I say something strange?" she asked, raising her eyebrows.
"No, no... it's just that... I never expected such reasoning from a demon."
"You should thank Glasya for that."
His eyes lit up. "Glasya-Labolas? Did you see her? How is she? Did she tell you about me?"
"She's fine, Master, and she's always thinking of you. She wants to see you again and maybe someday she will. I'm sure."
He smiled and a tear ran down his cheek.
"Master...?"
"Forgive me... it's just that... I'm glad she's alive."
"Do you still love her?"
"I've never stopped loving her. Every fiber of my being desires to meet her again... when she is not here it's as if a part of me was dead."
"See?" she said placing a hand on his knee. "You must never give up on feelings. The anxiety you feel can be dangerous, but your love for Glasya will give you the strength to carry on. Trust me."
"You're right." Friedrich got up. "I have to fight for her. I'll see her again someday... and I want to be alive by then."
"That's the spirit!" Specter patted the Master on the shoulder. "But... there is one thing I would like to tell you," she said in a slightly darker tone.
"Tell me what?"
"This place... Adocentyn... I think I've seen it in the distant past. I've never been inside, but I'm sure I've already seen that obelisk and these amphitheaters. But, try to understand, I have not seen it in this world... but in another dimension."
"In another... dimension?" Friedrich was getting worried. "Where is it?"
"Angels, demons and divinities come from universes called Twin Realities, that is, entire dimensions identical to yours, the Anthropocentric Dimension, and, in most cases, they live a life that you could define as 'normal'."
"Therefore?"
"Well, do you know how angels and demons dream?"
Friedrich shook his head.
"When we sleep, our minds enter the Deep Garden. It's a Mirror Dimension, that is, a minor reality that cannot be entered with the body. Matter doesn't exist in this dimension and only minds are translated within it. The Deep Garden is like the starry sky, but the stars are the minds... inside it's also possible to find ideas and dreams, both have luminous and even nebulous aspects." She paused briefly. "All minds arrange themselves in such a way as to form floral designs of various kinds. It's a show that doesn't have many equals."
"So what did you see?"
"Adocentyn. It was there. Alone. Out of any lineup, but big enough to have its own."
"And was it like this city?" he asked.
"Yes. But it wasn't physical, it was like an idea that wandered in that bright universe of minds. But it wasn't a vague idea... it was clear, like a daydream."
"I don't understand what's the problem with that."
"Human minds, dreams and ideas cannot even approach the Deep Garden and, if they can, they're a weak presence, like a candle about to go out. I realize these are complicated things, but—"
"What do you think that means? In short, what if Adocentyn appeared in the Deep Garden?"
"I have no idea, actually. I only know that that was an anomaly... a dangerous one. I wish you were careful, that's all. I don't know this place, I don't know why it was built, but I know that it goes beyond the common human mysticism."
Friedrich was speechless. He had no knowledge of the Deep Garden or how demons perceived some realities, but the fact that Specter was worried was enough to worry him too.
The two advanced into the amphitheater. A thin noise put Friedrich on alert, the boy saw a magical barrier rise and it surrounded the arena. Neither he nor Specter could go out anymore.
Friedrich raised his head and saw that that barrier extended up to the sky. "Strange," he said.
"Why?"
"Spherical magic fields are the easiest to maintain, this leaves the sky uncovered. It's unusual and expensive for a magus."
Friedrich then noticed the presence of two other people: Valfredo Otto Herrmann and ω Assassin.
"Those who don't die will see themselves again..." Valfredo said with a hard expression. "We finally meet, my old friend."
"We're not friends, Valfredo, not anymore," Friedrich asserted gravely.
"We were both disciples of Sigwald Stein..."
"Do you play that card with me?" I thought you were smarter. We both know why he took his own life—"
"Let me guess: House Richter's fault?"
Friedrich sighed. "Are you going to protect them to the end, huh? Apparently they were very good at buying your loyalty, a man without a soul has a value that can only be counted in coins."
"Said the traitor—"
"Yes, I am a traitor, but at least I have my own dignity. What do you have? You're just a puppet of the House of Richter."
"I'm not a puppet, Friedrich. I am me. I voluntarily chose to help my family and Alda too. Do you know why? Because I know what loyalty is. I respect the Rote Mäntel, I respect our customs and I respect authority. You, on the other hand, are a disrespectful ingrate. Where is your gratitude for the Rote Mäntel? You thanked your teacher with the betrayal—!"
"Don't you dare!" Friedrich shouted. "You don't talk about him. You don't have the right. You, Valfredo, you abandoned him in his time of need! You agreed to be bought by the Richter family and you left behind the paternal love that the man had shown you. Don't talk to me about gratitude, you don't even know it!"
"You hurt me, Friedrich, but I can accept that things between us have changed up to this point. In reality it was not my intention to confront you, I would've preferred to leave this task to Alda."
"So she's here too. You brought your family, huh? And tell me, how is your dear half-sister? Has she found a new teacher to fuck with?"
"You really are an asshole, do you know that? Especially considering you killed Herbert Schmidt—"
"I haven't killed anyone. You know me—"
"You're wrong. I used to know you, now I don't know who you are anymore. As far as I know, betrayal can go to the head. You probably killed Herbert just to feel better about yourself."
"These are things you would do, not me. I'm glad the brainwashing was successful, but I don't want to waste time on bullshit. Get out of the way, Valfredo, or I'll force you."
"But have you seen my Servant? Does it seem like I'm only here to talk? No, Friedrich, I'm here to fight."
"So that's what you want to get to? You really are a good dog, Valfredo. Call me when you're promoted to footstool."
"You haven't lost your sense of humor, I'm glad... but you won't be joking so much when I kill you."
The two approached, they were both ready to fight.
At that moment, the center of the amphitheater lit up blue and an inscription in Greek appeared on the floor.
Neither of them knew what would present to them once they crossed the many arches, but Friedrich, much more than the Servant, was constantly subjected to the strong pressure of that unforgivable anxiety. It was an anxiety that had haunted him from the very beginning of the journey. It was an anxiety that, like a fog, obscured the sight of reason.
Friedrich needed to stop. He didn't feel like going on.
"Are you all right, Master?" Specter asked, frowning.
"Forgive me... it's just that..." he didn't know what to say to her. He had no idea how to justify himself. Part of him, in fact, knew that his gesture was completely irrational.
"Are you afraid, Master?"
"Not afraid... no. Anxious. It's weird, right? I've already participated in a similar war, and yet I still have these feelings..." Friedrich sat down on the street. "Forgive me, I'll take a break."
"No problem." Specter sat next to him.
"I haven't immunized. I would've liked to have been like a rock, but I still haven't gotten used to these situations. It's really annoying. Anxiety is unpleasant. I would like to be a cold person and act rationally at all times, I would really like to be like an arrow that always hits the target. But I'm not..."
"That's good," she said, smiling. "Cold people can be more dangerous than sentimental ones."
"You say that just to say—"
"No. I know what I'm saying. I've seen, with these eyes, what happens when a person chooses to give up feelings. Whether the feelings are negative or positive does not matter, what matters is their existence. There's nothing worse than emptiness. "
Friedrich said nothing, he was enchanted by those words.
"Did I say something strange?" she asked, raising her eyebrows.
"No, no... it's just that... I never expected such reasoning from a demon."
"You should thank Glasya for that."
His eyes lit up. "Glasya-Labolas? Did you see her? How is she? Did she tell you about me?"
"She's fine, Master, and she's always thinking of you. She wants to see you again and maybe someday she will. I'm sure."
He smiled and a tear ran down his cheek.
"Master...?"
"Forgive me... it's just that... I'm glad she's alive."
"Do you still love her?"
"I've never stopped loving her. Every fiber of my being desires to meet her again... when she is not here it's as if a part of me was dead."
"See?" she said placing a hand on his knee. "You must never give up on feelings. The anxiety you feel can be dangerous, but your love for Glasya will give you the strength to carry on. Trust me."
"You're right." Friedrich got up. "I have to fight for her. I'll see her again someday... and I want to be alive by then."
"That's the spirit!" Specter patted the Master on the shoulder. "But... there is one thing I would like to tell you," she said in a slightly darker tone.
"Tell me what?"
"This place... Adocentyn... I think I've seen it in the distant past. I've never been inside, but I'm sure I've already seen that obelisk and these amphitheaters. But, try to understand, I have not seen it in this world... but in another dimension."
"In another... dimension?" Friedrich was getting worried. "Where is it?"
"Angels, demons and divinities come from universes called Twin Realities, that is, entire dimensions identical to yours, the Anthropocentric Dimension, and, in most cases, they live a life that you could define as 'normal'."
"Therefore?"
"Well, do you know how angels and demons dream?"
Friedrich shook his head.
"When we sleep, our minds enter the Deep Garden. It's a Mirror Dimension, that is, a minor reality that cannot be entered with the body. Matter doesn't exist in this dimension and only minds are translated within it. The Deep Garden is like the starry sky, but the stars are the minds... inside it's also possible to find ideas and dreams, both have luminous and even nebulous aspects." She paused briefly. "All minds arrange themselves in such a way as to form floral designs of various kinds. It's a show that doesn't have many equals."
"So what did you see?"
"Adocentyn. It was there. Alone. Out of any lineup, but big enough to have its own."
"And was it like this city?" he asked.
"Yes. But it wasn't physical, it was like an idea that wandered in that bright universe of minds. But it wasn't a vague idea... it was clear, like a daydream."
"I don't understand what's the problem with that."
"Human minds, dreams and ideas cannot even approach the Deep Garden and, if they can, they're a weak presence, like a candle about to go out. I realize these are complicated things, but—"
"What do you think that means? In short, what if Adocentyn appeared in the Deep Garden?"
"I have no idea, actually. I only know that that was an anomaly... a dangerous one. I wish you were careful, that's all. I don't know this place, I don't know why it was built, but I know that it goes beyond the common human mysticism."
Friedrich was speechless. He had no knowledge of the Deep Garden or how demons perceived some realities, but the fact that Specter was worried was enough to worry him too.
The two advanced into the amphitheater. A thin noise put Friedrich on alert, the boy saw a magical barrier rise and it surrounded the arena. Neither he nor Specter could go out anymore.
Friedrich raised his head and saw that that barrier extended up to the sky. "Strange," he said.
"Why?"
"Spherical magic fields are the easiest to maintain, this leaves the sky uncovered. It's unusual and expensive for a magus."
Friedrich then noticed the presence of two other people: Valfredo Otto Herrmann and ω Assassin.
"Those who don't die will see themselves again..." Valfredo said with a hard expression. "We finally meet, my old friend."
"We're not friends, Valfredo, not anymore," Friedrich asserted gravely.
"We were both disciples of Sigwald Stein..."
"Do you play that card with me?" I thought you were smarter. We both know why he took his own life—"
"Let me guess: House Richter's fault?"
Friedrich sighed. "Are you going to protect them to the end, huh? Apparently they were very good at buying your loyalty, a man without a soul has a value that can only be counted in coins."
"Said the traitor—"
"Yes, I am a traitor, but at least I have my own dignity. What do you have? You're just a puppet of the House of Richter."
"I'm not a puppet, Friedrich. I am me. I voluntarily chose to help my family and Alda too. Do you know why? Because I know what loyalty is. I respect the Rote Mäntel, I respect our customs and I respect authority. You, on the other hand, are a disrespectful ingrate. Where is your gratitude for the Rote Mäntel? You thanked your teacher with the betrayal—!"
"Don't you dare!" Friedrich shouted. "You don't talk about him. You don't have the right. You, Valfredo, you abandoned him in his time of need! You agreed to be bought by the Richter family and you left behind the paternal love that the man had shown you. Don't talk to me about gratitude, you don't even know it!"
"You hurt me, Friedrich, but I can accept that things between us have changed up to this point. In reality it was not my intention to confront you, I would've preferred to leave this task to Alda."
"So she's here too. You brought your family, huh? And tell me, how is your dear half-sister? Has she found a new teacher to fuck with?"
"You really are an asshole, do you know that? Especially considering you killed Herbert Schmidt—"
"I haven't killed anyone. You know me—"
"You're wrong. I used to know you, now I don't know who you are anymore. As far as I know, betrayal can go to the head. You probably killed Herbert just to feel better about yourself."
"These are things you would do, not me. I'm glad the brainwashing was successful, but I don't want to waste time on bullshit. Get out of the way, Valfredo, or I'll force you."
"But have you seen my Servant? Does it seem like I'm only here to talk? No, Friedrich, I'm here to fight."
"So that's what you want to get to? You really are a good dog, Valfredo. Call me when you're promoted to footstool."
"You haven't lost your sense of humor, I'm glad... but you won't be joking so much when I kill you."
The two approached, they were both ready to fight.
At that moment, the center of the amphitheater lit up blue and an inscription in Greek appeared on the floor.
Ἀστερόπη
Vergil's voice rang in the minds of all present:
"Asterope. One of the daughters of Atlas and Pleione." Vergil appeared in the center of the arena. "Tell me, are you ready to kill each other to get the Grail?"
"I take it that you're Vergil..." Specter said worriedly.
"Yes, right. My name is Vergil, Miss Demon, and I am the one who organized this splendid war!"
"You'll be happy, then," Friedrich asserted sharply.
"Quite. However, I would be much happier if you killed each other. After all, if I'm not mistaken, that's how it works in a Holy Grail War, right? We kill each other just to get an object capable of fulfilling any desire."
"You're playing a dangerous game, Vergil," declared Friedrich.
"There's a problem, however, my dear: I'm not playing," he said with a demonic grin. "Here, nothing is a game. It's all part of my destiny and, by extension, of yours. You two, now, will fight and, if one thing is clear to you, you cannot leave this arena if one of the two doesn't die." He concluded: "Good luck, may the best live."
Vergil disappeared like a ghost leaving the two Masters face to face. For two full minutes, silence was king.
Valfredo was the first to strike. "Feuerwolf," he exclaimed.
Friedrich knew it was not smart to stand still against those summoned beasts and therefore, after ordering the Servant to eliminate ω Assassin, he escaped from the fire wolf.
"You know what, Valfredo? In these situations, you understand who the amateur is and who the expert is."
Friedrich found himself in front of a high wall. He jumped, a short run up the wall and grabbed the edge; with another leap he reached the empty seats for the spectators. The fire wolf, of course, managed to reach Friedrich in one leap, but the boy kept running.
"If I had been chased by an ordinary wolf, I would've already died. Wolves are faster than a human, but this fiery creature isn't a wolf... it's just a copy. It has no muscles, but then how does it move?" Friedrich stopped. He turned around. The fire wolf was about to bite him, but it suddenly disappeared. "They use mana."
Valfredo was confused. "How did you...?"
"You never listened to Sigwald Stein's lectures, huh? The greater the distance between you and the summoned wolf, the greater the dispersion of mana. Complex movements require mana, and summoned creatures need to be in close proximity to the summoner. These are not Servants, but only familiars. If you leave them alone... then they become fragile like autumn leaves."
Meanwhile the two Servants were fighting each other. The Specter's curved blade moved fast, but no attack could break the invisible shield that protected ω Assassin. The woman attempted to attack him from all angles, but Assassin was never injured. Not even once.
As soon as Specter's offensive was over, an imperceptible attack sent her flying to the ground. The demonic woman immediately stood up and was hit a second and third time. There was something invisible that was hitting her, but she couldn't understand what it was.
It couldn't be something magical, her class gave her a high resistance to magic; so those attacks were normal. Specter, therefore, wrapped her weapon in blue flames and, with the utmost speed, attacked the opponent; the blade did not pierce the barrier. The woman jumped back, but she was hit anyway and fell to the ground.
"So you're protected by your Noble Phantasm..." murmured α Specter.
The demon, therefore, used her ability to create a magical territory.
Assassin found himself within this area in which the opponent had an advantage, but he did not panic and continued to attack. Specter, within that territory, enjoyed greater physical resistance and therefore was not overwhelmed by Assassin's offensive.
"Do you think you can defeat me?" the man asked with an evil grin.
"I don't think so, I know that I can."
"You're an idiot, then... you can't kill someone like me!"
Assassin's manic laugh was followed by an anomalous weakening of the magical territory created by Specter. The woman, although worried, did not miss the opportunity to attack the opponent.
The blow was stopped again, but this time there was something different: the blade was closer to Assassin. This meant that this kind of invisible shield was probably weakened. Specter grabbed the opportunity immediately and, with a quick movement, kicked the opponent's head; Assassin fell to the ground. As soon as the man stood up, ready to fight back, he was wounded in the belly by Specter's blade.
"Bitch...!"
"I love you too," she said with a smirk.
Specter braced herself for another attack, but something grabbed her from the leg and threw her against the wall.
The magical territory disappeared.
"Haha! I won!" ω Assassin exclaimed. "Apparently I managed to destroy your only trump card." The wound healed. "And now I'm ready to kill you."
"Invisible hands, huh?" Specter said, standing up. "So that's the trick."
"It's not all that different from creating magical lands, is it? Obviously there is no magical area that can imprison me. All the cages are destroyed by my Noble Phantasm."
"Well, I have to compliment you... you're a strong enough opponent, but you will not win this battle."
"We'll see—"
Assassin didn't have time to finish that sentence that Specter had already attacked him; the man could count again on that impenetrable defense. The advantage was again handed over to Assassin and Specter was forced to remain on the defensive.
"You're dead!" the man exclaimed with a laugh.
One of those invisible hands grabbed and broke Specter's right arm.
"Now let's see if you'll play with that ridiculous weapon of yours again!"
Specter was hit four times and, in the end, she was thrown to the ground with force.
"Did you really think you were stronger than me? Don't make me laugh! I cannot be defeated by an inferior demonic creature!"
"You're... really annoying... ω Assassin..." Specter's arm regenerated. "Luckily my Master has a lot of mana... I wonder if the same goes for yours. You're having a lot of fun, aren't you? You feel joy in killing, of course, but you're not a professional... you are just an amateur."
"What?! How dare you—?"
"If you had been a real killer, an expert, you would've killed me already… but you're there bragging and laughing like a madman. You're like a teenager pretending to be a sex expert just because he just learned how to masturbate... you're really pathetic."
"Impudent whore! I won't let you talk to me like that—!"
"Stop talking, Assassin, and let's get it over with."
"You want to die? Then die!"
Assassin's attack missed the target.
Specter grabbed the weapon and started running towards the opponent.
"Die! Die! Die! Die!"
Assassin's attacks were no longer able to hit the woman, she had managed to make him lose focus and now he was attacking randomly.
"Die, damn it!" he yelled.
Specter jumped and came in front of Assassin.
"Checkmate," she said.
Specter slashed. Assassin walked away. Her blade cut his arm.
"You're dead, ω Assassin!"
The woman prepared to deliver the coup de grace, but she stopped. Something, under the man's skin, was moving.
Valfredo had used a Command Seal to order his Servant to use the Noble Phantasm... this explained the terror in ω Assassin's eyes.
The Servant began to scream in pain. He writhed in pain and started coughing up blood. His whole body was crossed by unusual movements that tore his muscles and split his bones. The man fell to the ground screaming and crying. Then, that expression of pain deformed into a monstrous smile... the man stood up and laughed with tears in his eyes.
"Admire! Admire, α Specter! Admire my curse! Furies (The Hungry Beasts inside my Head and Heart)!"
A few drops of blood flowed from his chest and then became endless red rivers. The man pulled back his back and his head too, there was a noise like that of breaking bones. Gushes of blood from his chest were followed by laughter of joy.
Then a bestial cry.
It sounded like a hyena's cry, but much more terrible.
The body of Assassin, crossed by convulsions, continued to spit blood and then, from his chest, a red hand came out. An arm followed and then an anonymous, liquid female figure appeared, she was made of blood from head to toe. A second creature came out, she had the same features. Then a third.
Specter found herself in front of these three monstrous figures who were floating and who had neither eyes nor nose... but only a large mouth.
"The Erinyes..." Specter said worriedly. "Now I understand... this is the origin of your Noble Phantasm... you are the Matricide... Orestes."
The three creatures shouted in unison. The sound was so loud and painful that Specter and the two Masters were forced to plug their ears in order not to lose their hearing. But even with the hands in front of the eardrums the sound could be heard.
That loud scream was peppered with terrible crying, infant laughter and distant whispers. Listening to it meant making a pact with madness. It was a constant scream, pounding and pressing. The simplest movements became extremely difficult; the legs and arms went numb and standing was impossible.
Friedrich felt his head get heavy, it was as if something was crushing it. He turned and saw that Valfredo was staggering like a living dead; he fell to the ground shortly after.
"What an idiot..." said Friedrich. "He had no idea what the potential of this Noble Phantasm was... it's practically like a suicide...!"
He raised his head and saw that Specter was about to give in too. Friedrich then decided to use a Command Seal to strengthen the Servant.
Specter felt a new energy flow through her body and, little by little, managed to get back on her feet. With all her strength, the woman swung and struck the three creatures of blood. She didn't kill them, but temporarily stopped that terrible scream.
"Now no more bullshit, Orestes, now I'll show you how a great infernal marquis fights!"
Specter threw her weapon to the ground. The woman's body was engulfed in blue flames. From that fire arose a gigantic demonic wolf covered in coal-black fur. The beast had two immense skeletal wings embraced by celestial flames, its eyes were ice and its fangs were stained with blood. This infernal monster had an iron collar inhabited by spines adorned with skulls. This wolf, at least six or seven meters tall, roared:
"Marchocias (The Winged Hell Beast)!"
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| 'The Erinyes' by BikoWolf |
I love the Erinyes. The drawing is so cool, right? However, if you're interested in reading the Adocentyn prequel, I suggest you click on this magical link.
