"Son of man, you shall drown in the moon's light."
"Lunar song."
For a brief moment, that which was before me, the visage of a dark angel shimmered and disappeared, the violent beating of wings against the sound barrier destroyed my ears. The dark figure appearing at my flank in a single moment.
On reflex my sword arm had immediately slashed towards him, the attack was easily dodged by a hair's breadth, his own sword slicing through the air diagonally, nearly taking a bite out of my arm mid swing.
"Hah!" A lance rushed forwards over my shoulder, blocking the blade, the strength behind the slash caused reverberations up and down the length of the polearm, the shockwaves strong enough I could feel them through the air. Instantaneously my hand moved towards my inner breast pocket, reaching towards my firearm. As quickly as it did, the dark angel disappeared once more, the violent sound of wing beatings reverberating through the dark tower.
"Run. Run. Run. Rats." That ominous tone surrounded the tower in a dark veil. The water suddenly creeping up the steps, encroaching on us, the reflection of the ever-growing light from the moon slightly shifting, more and more light spilling into the peripheries as it did.
My shadow-self tutted once gripping the reins of his horse and guiding the steed further up the stairs, I followed along, taking the steps one at a time, taking note of the water as it raised, step by painstaking step. Keeping an eye out for the appearance of Sariel, who would no doubt capitalise on our retreat. A retreat that could only last so long, when we reached the top, where else could we go?
The quiet continued for a few seconds until I noticed the faintest ripple within the water and a separate... not a reflection.
The sword rushed forth, waves spilling from the figure as he emerged from the edge of the water, diving forth from the depths like a crouching tiger, my sword barely meeting the blade in time, meeting his thrust with the centre of the longsword. My back came crashing into the wall, free hand coming to strengthen my hold against the powerful blow. A debilitating stare sneaking through the visor with his singular blue eye.
Not allowing for the knight's assistance the rock-like wings began beating at the air around him. Each of the appendages sending powerful blows reverberating through the air, it was all he could do to simply dodge and parry them with the lance.
The black skeletal hand free of his sword came towards my face, the sharp talons coming threateningly close to my face, aiming to reap my vision. I weaved aside, letting go of my sword in the process.
"You'll regret dropping that." Another slash came down, sidestepping the restrained angel, his wings constantly beating back the knight allowing his full focus to be directed on me. Another horizontal slash came my way, I ducked under it extending once again in his range using my fully extended arm and palm to keep his weapon at a distance, firing a single kick at his left knee. He raised it slightly using the protective power of his greaves to full advantage, the free skeletal claw scratching the very air itself as they came closer and closer to my flesh. Grabbing the arm free of a weapon and throwing the guard captain to the water, he responded with a slash mid-flight. Briefly scanning the floor I kicked the suspended hilt of my sword, the weapon spun in mid-air both of my hands greeting the handle, beating back the fierce blow with my own in kind. Our bodies separating from the force of the strike.
The same loud bang reverberated through the tower, the sound of his rock-like wings beating against the sound barrier, as if punishing it for trying to restrain him. And once again his figure shimmered for a moment only to disappear the very next.
"We should gain some distance from the water." My shadow-self said, his guard remaining vigilant. The grip on his lance and reins respectively taut.
"No. the rate of flow seems to increase as our distance from the edge does." I had been monitoring the raising water levels as we moved, it seemed to increase whenever we were further from its grasp.
However, the light shining from the top of the tower didn't seem to increase in turn with that change. Curious...
"If we stay too close, he'll get the advantage." The horse trotted unsteadily, its eyes impossibly alert.
"And? You wanted a close fight, didn't you?"
"Fufu. A man after my own heart! I merely thought you might run at the chance of a proper bout." He laughed pompously, yet that alert look never seemed to leave his eyes.
Even if I wanted to run this situation didn't allow for it. The only possible entrance we could leave from was at the top of the tower, threateningly close to that moon. There was also the added worry that we might lose any possibility of retrieving the book. Our entire reason for even coming. That would be less than ideal.
I wouldn't assume there were any second chances here. This would be our only opportunity to beat Sariel and retrieve the book from him. I was even more convinced he held one of those keys on his person or at least in this place. His strength. Personality. Mannerisms. Confidence. They all made me assured of it. He was too real.
The same could be said for Eligor.
Violent wingbeats graced my ears once more, the shady figure dashing through the air, his sword meeting the lance at its apex, parrying to the side, sparks glancing off the lance as he sped down the flank readjusting for a rapid thrust into the rider's liver.
"Ryu, raise!" The horse whinnied, raising on its hind legs immediately, slipping the blade, the armoured hooves coming down with a crash towards the flying figure, the impacts glancing off his bracers before several thrusts of the lance flew at him.
He withdrew his wings mid-flight, covering his anterior with the rock-like carapace, fully protecting from the attacks, a savage back-kick aimed at me from above. I slipped the greave with a brief flicker to the left aiming a slash at the place where his wings met on his spine, the sword rebuffed from the harsh texture of the rock-like spine protruding from his back. A single wing rushing my way in a backhand motion, jumping off the wall and somersaulting beside the fallen angel my sword found his own. Pressing harshly into the contact, I continued until the hilts met, I placed a single hand onto the pommel of his sword aiming to raise the weapon and his hands for an easy strike... only to find my hand phase through entirely.
What-?
"Fool." An elbow meeting with my face, blood slowly trickling from my nose. Seeing white for the briefest of moments.
Prepared for a front kick, I pivoted, capturing the offending leg between my torso and arm twisting violently to break his ankle. A sickening pop sounding out just before the whooshing of another wing collapsing above me, barely meeting it in time with my blade, the sheer strength behind it forcing me to my knees, my other arm discarding his leg and reinforcing the blade.
"Ryu, rear!" The steed performed a crushing kick with both of his hind legs, sending Sariel barrelling back into the deep.
He slowly risen to the top of the water in the centre of the tower, moonlight shining down on him. A smug laugh erupting from under his helm. His one glistening eye reflecting the half orb the moon cast on the tower below it.
"Waxing Gibbous." More than half of the moon had illuminated, the rate of fill seemed to increase slightly. If I were to take a mental calculation, I suppose this would be about halfway up the tower. Assuming that, then the tower would be full by the time the full moon was reached.
That didn't make sense... Or am I just thinking about it too literally?
A hollow weapon. A different form. More hellish than heavenly. Lust was evident as he had chosen this place. He was in this castle, the pervert's castle.
All of it screamed deception...
And now I knew why it felt so wrong.
With the ever-accelerating rate of water seeping in from who even knows where, the constant attacks of Sariel became more abundant. He flew through the air, appearing every few seconds, attempting another strike, his wings beating furiously and sword glancing through the air, threatening to reap our heads. All the while we steadily made our way up the tower, doing what little damage we could whilst taking our own hits in between.
We had less than a tenth left of the tower, few stairs stood between us and the very peak.
"We're running out of time. If we get caught in that water, I don't have to explain that this is over, do I?"
"What happened to your bravado from earlier? Do you believe we'll lose?"
"Ha! I never believe in my own loss. I merely wish for it." Wish for it? Why would you want to lose? There didn't exist any good outcomes for the losers, by any metric it was clear that winning was better than losing, right?
Confused by my shadow's sudden glibness, I was urged to ask him. "I thought you were here to save them?"
"Can a man not have several motives for his actions?" He said chest swelling with pride.
"..."
"Even if my journey is one that searches for mine own undoing, I would choose to be as much aid to the common people as possible, before I reach that eternal resting point. What about you, one that shares my face? What is it you fight for?" Why... does Kamoshida even think that of me? He should think I want to save them... but wish for my own defeat? I competed against him with the intent to win even if I was assured to lose. Those weren't the same...
Is it just a misnomer? Or perhaps this cognitive world wasn't as true a reflection as I predicted?
I was stuck on his question as we progressed, my mind turning the words over despite the situation.
What do I fight for?
That thought itself... is unnecessary.
I do it because I must. If Kamoshida is a threat to others now, then much like the grim reaper he may find himself knocking on my door one day. I can't allow such presences to continue unimpeded. No matter the pretty words I cover my thoughts with, that's the real reason. In that way Sakamoto wasn't wrong about me. If I can help people then I will, so long as the risks aren't something I have to live with. Otherwise, that's my true nature.
I am a selfish monster that would sooner throw a friend over the hot coals and step on them than take the brunt of that pain.
I would sacrifice anything for my continued existence. Sakamoto, Takamaki, Suzui, Sojiro, Kawakami. It didn't matter.
So long as I was safe, that's all that matters.
I still had so much to see and do, after all...
...
Then why did I...
A similar disorientation blanketed my senses.
"That... and there's a girl I plan on saving." My shadow continued. I should've expected that, I made it happen after all. I just didn't anticipate the reason to sound so earnest. Another memory played in my mind...
They really do look alike...
...
A voice disrupted my reminiscence. "The full moon... is approaching. And so shall the tide come to meet its great lustre. Repent. For you made the foolish choice of rebelling against a King."
"Are you truly content with winning that way? How dull." The fallen angel was silent in reply.
"There's only one issue to your plan Sariel. If you can simply wait for our demise, then there's no need for your constant attacks." He remained silent and elusive as we climbed the steps, the apex within sight.
"Meaning there was a reason you had to attack us." My shadow continued. "And I believe we can see why for ourselves." We reached the final step, a veranda with a single door, the floor had space enough to fill a quarter of the tower, the moon's glow ridiculously bright from our exposure to the celestial body. That brightness only seemed to intensify as we came closer.
The air shifted, Sariel suddenly appearing in front of the door, the glow in his eyes seemed to brighten from the moon's reflective gaze.
"Indeed. You have found yourself with an ocean at your back and the King's might at your front." The water creeped up the last few steps halting to a stop just before it could begin spilling onto the platform all three of us were stood upon. "I shall enjoy dismantling your petty opposition."
"I see that ankle has yet to heal." I sensed a malevolent smirk under his helm, without a warning he rushed forward, sword brandished and wings fluttering violently. Too close, I can't use the other gun. The revolver only has one bullet left, I'd prefer to get through this without resorting to that, but... I'll use anything that I need to.
A slash came forward clashing with my own sword, immediately I felt my body gradually pulling free from the stability of the earth. Dropping the sword immediately and kicking off the ground in a similar direction I crashed into the floor, skidding across towards the wall and impacting once again, coughing up a little bit of blood.
"Argh..." I had discarded the sword immediately, had I held on even a moment longer the force from that blow would've torn my wrist apart from the inside. I shifted myself slightly, feeling across the structure pressed against my back.
My gaze focused on the celestial body that had reached full light. Was that the reason? That force felt even more ridiculous than before. Was the power of the moon aiding him?
My left hand slowly cupped my right flank, two ribs. This is going to be a pain to explain to Takemi. I brushed myself off and prepared to stand with the full acceptance I'll get chewed out by the unorthodox doctor soon enough. For now, something more important took precedence.
I briefly glanced upwards at the towering figure above me, a pale blue glint of light leaking from under the helm, his eye scrunched up in obvious disdain.
"I was hoping to see fear etched into your features, but I will settle with watching your head roll. So long."
"AH, RYU!" I heard the shout from my shadow in the periphery.
Sariel's sword glinted with the full moon's pale light.
Slowly, the sword cut through the air.
I used my entire body weight against the door. The oaken instrument swinging backwards with a sudden vigour, my body rolling with it and lying flat on the ground, my eyes noticing a large metallic construct surging with electricity, the ever-recognisable voice of a certain blonde delinquent ringing out.
"Captain Kidd!"
"THUNDER SLEDGE!" He slammed a Warhammer he had procured into the centre of the large structure, a deafening sound ringing out as a powerful blast rang out from above. A projectile so fast that I couldn't comprehend its movement, the only thing that cemented further confidence in our victory was the unmistakable sound of another crash in the opposite wall of the tower. I lazily looked towards it, the angel Sariel impaled on a large spear stuck to the opposite brick wall.
"T-the other one! You it was d-definitely you two that day!" A huge spurt of blue blood erupted from his lungs. A large crater in the middle of his torso where his once brilliantly gold armour sat. Then there was his dark rock body underneath, but now it was pure empty space.
He pushed off the wall with both hands, trying to free himself from the spear but to no avail.
"What can I say... I forgot you, because you never left much of an impact! Feel good, sneaking in a cheap shot, huh?!" Sariel erupted with anger, his cocksure attitude suddenly turning for the worse.
Rolling my shoulders and finally making my way up from the floor, I had a brief look at my companion, then at the weapon he wielded. Leftover charge accumulated on the body of work beside him. A large gathering of metallic suits of armour forming two plates in parallel. With enough space for a spear to be inserted between them. In other words... a medieval fashioned railgun. With a little help from Sakamoto's powers, that is.
Traces of electricity sparked off of the Warhammer he had taken earlier, fancying it a good enough close quarters choice when his shotgun ammunition needed rationing.
"Apparently you aren't being taken as much of a threat, Skull." The look in his eyes was slightly different from usual. I suppose he had steeled himself for this when I had told him the plan earlier. It wouldn't do any good to feel sympathy for the enemy.
"Shut up." Lightning struck the flying guard captain as he stuck impaled to the wall. "Where's the book?" Traces of charge travelled down the impaled angel, a small amount dipping into the water...
As I thought.
"Book? Go to the library if you want to read, brat." Sariel spat out. All four rock-like wings pushing off of the wall to dislodge his crucified figure.
Fallen angels, they were always supposed to be tricky. 'Angels make themselves terrifying to ward off evil, whereas demons make themselves appealing to corrupt humans.' A fallen angel posing as the real thing, it was almost obvious considering the place we were in, yet I couldn't have pictured it beforehand.
Quite a few discoveries are credited to religious figures, supposed angels and disciples were no different. The name Sariel was actually familiar, he was credited with teaching the sons of man the lunar cycle. He was often conflated with another. The leader of a band of fallen angels which lusted after the daughters of humankind.
It was all much too convenient.
You could never say for certain whether a person should or shouldn't know a piece of information. But Kamoshida never registered as a particularly religious person. He didn't seem stupid, but I also wouldn't have attributed him as a history buff. So... why did this mirror reality so accurately? I was worrying about things that wouldn't affect this battle, however, I couldn't shake this uneasiness in my mind.
I looked up, the most obvious place was often counterintuitive to search, however...
"Skull, thunder. Enough to shake the room."
He looked at me for a second with a grimace, sighing, however he soon relented. "...Captain Kidd." Thunder rumbled and shook the top of the tower, the moon swaying in the air, a book falling from the dark side of the moon. Large golden lettering emblazoned over the cover page. The King's collection.
That's two of three.
"How- my deception was seen through? Impossible?! This- never not in several millennia! By a simple common man, a human?!"
"It's simple really. Fact trumps belief."
"As scary as those wingbeats might be, if you were really supersonic you would've hit us before I heard a single sound. Besides... you didn't teach humans the lunar cycle, you couldn't have if you didn't even understand it yourself."
"...You-"
"New moon and full moon are the arbiters of spring tide. When tide is the highest due to its gravitational pull. There's no reason the water should be at the bottom of the tower if we started during the New Moon..." I kicked the damaged ramparts causing a huge amount of rubble to fall down into the water. To which the response was unexpected, the splash that should've rendered was delayed, the disbelief evident on Sariel's face. "Not to mention obvious physics. The water isn't causing damage to the tower as we progress upwards, no damage to other structures, it doesn't leak anywhere. The lighting Skull used didn't travel along the surface, you were too damaged to notice. But above all, where's all the water coming from?"
"Wait, so from the start... even then you were-!"
"I had my suspicions. But I wasn't sure of them yet, of course there were other reasons amongst them. But those are unnecessary. Your deceptions were hardly impressive, you might be the one that needs to read more, Sathariel." The look in his eyes darkened for a fraction of a second. Before I retrieved the revolver from my inner breast pocket, the last bullet the arbiter of the false angel's departure.
"HA-HAHAHA! I DON'T MIND FALLING HERE! IT TOOK A WHILE TO GET THIS READY... BUT IF I'M GOING TO FALL, THEN THE REST OF YOU CAN JOIN ME!" He reached upwards gouging the other eye from under his helm, immediately popping it, blue essence erupting out from under his fingers, a sudden shaking taking the tower by force. Tremors travelling up the entire length of the tower. The water no longer even bothering to follow the tremors, eerily still.
"God's hand." He said with an eyeless grin, blue blood leading tear trails from each of his gouged eyes, coalescing in a pool on the destroyed tower steps. Seeping through the still water as if it weren't there, like oil it poured into a slick puddle.
Rubble began to fall from the ceiling, immediately covering the door, our only escape lying in the depths of this fake ocean.
"Grab on!" The brilliant gold of my shadow self's gauntlets flashed in the light of the near full moon. I gripped the harsh metallic surface with all my strength, my free hand ditching the sword and grabbing a hold of Skull by his jacket.
The sound of a string snapping followed the moon literally falling to the Earth.
"Oh shit! It's catching up! We're too heavy!"
"We'll make it! I trust in Ryu. Go, my golden stallion!"
"AAAAAHHHHHHHHH!"
CRASH! Rubble fell from all around, the moon that hung at the top of the tower, suddenly falling to the ground, as if gravity had decided to try once more. The large orb destroyed the stairs with little effort rushing towards us.
"Ryu. Fly!"
Ditching the stairs Ryu and by extension the rest of us jumped from the battlement, the strange feeling of being enveloped in water but rushing downwards as if freefalling had trouble registering in my mind as we descended at rapid pace.
We're so dead.
I shifted, prepared to jump at the last moment. The same way you might try to escape certain death in a malfunctioning elevator. But it was unnecessary. A force gripped me by the coattails.
"Make it across. You must finish the job!" My body experienced a sudden change in momentum. He threw me, the both of us, towards the door to escape from the clutches of the collapsing tower. The atmosphere changed slightly, what felt like water encasing our bodies was displaced with air again. A bubbly barrier over where the door was situated.
"Huh? Wait!" Sakamoto suddenly shouted. His back resting on the floor a distance from the tower door.
"I LEAVE THE REST TO MY BROTHERS IN ARMS, BRING DOWN THE DESPOT!" A chivalrous roar drifted on the air. Despite their broken figures, they looked nonetheless proud and chivalrous, like a great statue of a hero brought to life.
However, reality soon set in.
Heroes were just that. Remembered.
The whinny of a horse and the final sounds of squelching meat under the pressure of tons of coarse brick. Rubble tumbling forwards and covering what was once the entrance to the left-wing spire.
"H-He..." Sakamoto choked out.
We really aren't alike.
I brushed the dust off of my coat, pressing up from the ground and off my laurels. "...We should get moving."
"...Is that all you've got to say? That guy sacrificed himself for us, we wouldn't be alive right now, if not for him!"
"All the more reason we shouldn't dawdle around here. We got what we came for. We need to get the last book, that might give us a clue to end it all."
"That guy was more human than you, wasn't he? Answer me, damnit!" He grabbed me by the collar of my long coat.
"...We're wasting time. Join me if you want. It needs to be done either way." I tucked the book away into a pocket throwing his hand aside in the meanwhile, pacing in the general direction of the main hall. I needed to find the last book, judging by the fact that captain didn't have the rest of his guard, they must have separated to retrieve or protect the last piece of the puzzle.
A troupe would be easy enough to find even in a large castle like this. First, we should find our supposed allies...
That guy was stronger than I would've thought. All three of us and it still took that much to put him down. I might have to recalibrate just how I assess this metaverse. I certainly can't continue like this...
---
Word count: 4229
Didn't want to split this fight up further, honestly because fights are hard. I don't know how some people do this from chapter to chapter without declining in the actual writing. There's only so many ways I can write 'he swung the sword real hard' or 'he parried the blow magnificently'. Hopefully the choreography was at least somewhat enjoyable, I tried.
Kind of stretched the edge of believability with Kiyo knowing about the difference between Sathariel and Sariel. I was looking at figures that would fit the image of the guard captain who was an archangel in canon, Sariel being one of them. I felt like Sathariel fit the mould even more, as the angel of deception he would conceal even his own identity. As Sariel is apparently the archangel responsible for teaching man the lunar cycle, he might be a figure that Kiyo has learnt about. But who knows, up to you whether you believe it to be plausible. I just thought it would be interesting, it was also useful for setting some things up in the future regarding the metaverse as a whole.
P.S: This is all from Wikipedia. I'm not religious nor am I well-read on these topics. The start and end of my mythical and religious knowledge is from games like Persona and some of the God of War series. Maybe that'll change with time, but hey we all start somewhere, right?
As for Sathariel's powers I didn't go into depth because that wasn't really the point of the fight. But as the angel of deception he can make very convincing illusions. If he makes a sacrifice beyond that he can make the illusory thing real. He gouges one eye to manifest the sword, the other to make the fake moon real. He led them to the top of the tower because he has the best odds there. He can fly, he knows the water's fake, so he can restrict their movements and possibly throw them from the top of the tower into the fake water without them knowing etc. Of course he just wasn't anticipating Sakamoto lying in wait.
He could've made the water real instead, but in that case, they simply would've escaped using the door they were near. I hope I explained that the water wasn't real clearly enough in the actual fight but let me know. Hopefully it didn't feel contrived or like an asspull, that would be unfortunate.
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Hopefully you all enjoyed the chapter let me know your thoughts below.
Until next time.