Chapter 535 - Before the Storm

  The crowd was stupefied.

  Their jaws agape, the observers looked between the Vel'khanese queen, the broken barrier, and the fresh, gloveless hand that had sprouted from the god-king's once-blackened wrist. And at least for a moment, that was how they stayed.

  "I do apologize. I had not intended on losing my temper. I understand the unspoken rule, that we are to ramp towards our peak power so as to put on a show, but I have dealt with far too many of Allegra's disciples today and could not stomach the thought of entertaining another."

  It was only as Arciel spoke that the audience regained its wits. One by one, the people in the crowd began to cheer, to wave their hands and roar in celebration of her victory. Though brief, her display was mind-blowing, something that practically left the crowd begging to see more of her in action. They’d already completely forgotten about the Vestudian Spear and anything else that was supposed to come of the battle. Not even as Berius regenerated in front of their eyes did they recall his presence.

  "Now, seeing as my task is complete, I must excuse myself. I am overdue for a moment of respite."

  She curtsied thrice, once to address her opponent, once to greet the crowd, and one final time to bid Virillius farewell, before exiting through the gladiator gate.

  "T-the winner is Queen Arciel!" Octavia, who was still half in a confused stupor, made the announcement after taking a moment to regain her composure. "Vel'khan has evened up the score! We are now two wins, two losses, and one tie apiece!" She was met with another round of screaming and applause, one that was so loud it nearly broke her eardrums even though the stadium's shield had already recovered. "Though it only lasted a moment, we will be running an analysis of the battle and the manner in which it unfolded. Unfortunately, the Grand Magus is busy preparing for her own match and couldn't quite make it, so subbing in we have Sir Acacian Asprenas, son of Baron Asprenas and the headmaster of the North Valencian Academy."

  The crowd cheered again while Arciel, who’d finally turned the first corner, collapsed with her back against the wall. Her chest heaved with every breath while blood seeped from her myriad wounds. Her mind was hazy, threatening to fade every time her heart thumped against her ribs.

  “Mistress!”

  Chloe practically flew down the hall, her face almost as pale as the squid’s, but Claire grabbed her by the collar before she could crash into her master and unwittingly deliver the final blow. She began to complain, of course, but that only led to her silencing—Sylvia put her in a bubble that completely negated her voice.

  “I thought I told you to rest,” said Claire.

  “And I had every intention of following the instruction.” Arciel’s voice was weak, but she twisted her lips into a smile regardless. “Alas, your countrymen met our decision with a vehement veto.”

  “You could have left at any time,” said Claire.

  “Just as how you could have elected to come to my aid, being aware of the situation as you were.”

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  Arciel laughed. “I would prefer your assistance the next time we cross such a bridge.”

  “It looked like you were having fun.”

  “There are many things I would describe as fun. That was not one of them,” said the queen, quietly.

  “Wait, hold on a sec,” said Jules, who had just arrived with the rest of the party sans Allegra. “Let me get this straight. You knew where she was this whole goddamn time? And you didn’t tell us?”

  “Somehow, that doesn’t surprise me in the slightest,” said Krail.

  “I concur. She becomes a rather terrible friend at times like these.”

  Claire rolled her eyes. “You said you wanted to train. I let you train.”

  “I suppose that is one way to look at it.”

  “It’s the only sensible way.” Claire smiled softly as she kneeled beside the still-bleeding squid. “Now let me take a look at those wounds.”

  Arciel raised a brow. “You will? I did not notice any healing magic in your repertoire when I partook in your blood yesterday night.”

  “Because I don’t have any. I’m not the one that’s going to be doing the healing. She is.” Claire pointed at the fox sitting on top of her head. “But I can probably deal with the curse.”

  “Probably?” asked Arciel.

  “Probably,” said Claire.

  “You sure you wanna try?” asked Jules. “Dunno how confident you are if it’s just a probably.”

  “Either I try, or we find a priest that’s stronger than her.” Priests and priestesses were typically supposed to be able to remove curses by beseeching their gods and leveraging their faith. Arciel’s malady could only have meant that the curse was too strong for her to clear.

  “I’m guessing that one Kryddarian guy’s a no go, huh?”

  “I cannot speak for his strength, but Griselda is unlikely to be pleased should I resort to seeking out one of the sun goddess’ priests for aid,” said Arciel. “I would prefer to enlist Claire’s assistance even if that were not the case. I trust her judgement and ability.”

  “Yeah, I mean, she can be a bit unreliable, but it can’t hurt to depend on her when things actually matter,” said Sylvia.

  “And what, exactly, is that supposed to mean?” asked Claire, as she pinched the fox’s cheeks.

  “I was just telling the truth!” said Sylvia. “And I even complimented you! Why the heck are you so mad!?”

  “I’m not mad.”

  “That’s a blatant lie and you know it!”

  “It’s true. Now shush. I need to focus.”

  Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

  Removing her helmet, and its fox-shaped decoration along with it, Claire closed her eyes and stretched her ears, moving them all around before raising them directly overhead.

  When she opened her eyes again, they were alight in gold—not the violent mix of reds and golds that had filled her pupils when she faced Olethra, but a warm, celestial glow. It was only the surrounding sclera, which had darkened in response to the sudden influx of divinity, that seemed even the slightest bit alarming.

  “That’s weird.” Claire blinked a few times and tilted her head as she looked Arciel up and down.

  "Should I be alarmed?"

  "No. Now be quiet. I’m trying to focus."

  Claire could see everything. She could see all the circuits and veins that were integrated into Arciel's flesh, as well as the way that she condensed down her true form. Most of her body was like an angler fish's tackle, a half-magical construct that extended from the rest of her flesh. Said flesh was hidden away quite expertly, drained of water and compressed into a tiny mole in her pelvic region.

  Her organs seemed to be shared between the forms. A quick system analysis revealed that they would shift into the back of her head and grow into a mantle whenever she returned to her original shape. Though, that wasn't to say that the two shapes shared the exact same set. Her humanoid transformation kept only one of her three hearts in her ribs. The rest were stashed away with everything else. Of course, Claire had known all that already. Her ears were of a high enough resolution to pick out the details, but pouring divinity into her eyes and layering the system's messaging on top of her already absurd vision had bombarded her with enough information to solicit a brief pause.

  But even after recovering, she did not immediately take action. It wasn't because she couldn't find the curse. Existing as a dark, swirling mass wrapped around Arciel's body, the maleficent cloud was almost painfully obvious. The filthy blob clung to her soul like muddy wool to a sheep, invading it and establishing its presence within.

  The problem was the method of removal. Claire had no idea as to the formal process. Sure, she'd been responsible for afflicting a fair number of curses, but back then, they'd always been invisible to her, seen only through the symptoms inexplicable by any other affliction. The only thing she could say for certain was that she needed to somehow dislodge it. And as Vella had so graciously and accidentally warned her, the soul could only take so much tampering before it ultimately succumbed.

  A sudden flash of inspiration led Claire to query the system, but unable to find any information on curse removal, she eventually grabbed the mist with her vectors and gave it a solid yank, which, of course, didn’t work. The forced displacement came with too large a disruption to Arciel’s essence, so she stopped shy of committing to removal.

  Frowning, Claire reached to grasp the mist between her fingers, thinking perhaps a closer examination could provide the necessary detail, but it shied away from her touch. She tried magically holding it in place, but that hardly proved any more effective. The dark cloud recoiled and squirmed, finally slipping away only as her fingers closed in.

  Grabbing Arciel’s hand revealed much the same result. The curse retreated from the places she touched, often evacuating the area only to return when she moved her hands elsewhere. When paired with standard methods of cleansing, the solution became obvious. Still holding Arciel’s hand, Claire channeled a wave of divinity through the squid’s body.

  Sure enough, the malediction retreated, vacating her body in the blink of an eye and dispersing into their surroundings.

  “Strange,” said Claire, quietly. It almost seemed too easy. But in a way, it almost wasn’t surprising. Even low-level priests could cure simple curses, even though high-level healers could do no more than managing the symptoms.

  “S-strange?” asked Arciel, with a bit of a squeak. “Would that be on account of a complication? My log dictates the curse was successfully removed, and I do feel a fair bit better.”

  “It’s nothing. Sylvia, can you patch her up?”

  “Okay!” Sylvia leapt on top of Arciel’s head and started to hum a tune.

  “Surely it is not nothing if it was worth mention?” The healing effect was immediately apparent. Her wounds closed and her complexion quickly regained its colour. No longer restricted, her mana soon returned as well, restoring itself by the bucket.

  “It was just easier than I expected. Don’t worry about it,” said Claire. “How tired are you?”

  “I was on the brink of exhaustion, but I am feeling much better now, thank you.” Arciel slowly pushed off the ground. “I admit, I am still somewhat out of sorts, but I am not so exhausted that I would miss my own victory celebration.”

  “We don’t have to start immediately. You can nap first, if you want.”

  “I require no such thing,” said Arciel, with a huff. “Now let us be off. I would prefer we wasted no more time. I have had nothing to eat or drink since last night, and I wish to correct that immediately.”

  “What abou—”

  “The blood of my enemies does not count.” Arciel cut Claire off before she could object. “That was for sustenance and recovery, not enjoyment.”

  With Arciel in the lead, the party soon made its way into town, everyone but Chloe walking at a leisurely pace. The maid, still trapped in Sylvia’s bubble, floated behind them. No one had quite asked for her to be released in spite of her vehement silent protests. Though, that was at least in part because everyone but Sylvia had already forgotten.

  “Wait, so what the hell happened anyway?” asked Jules. “Claire didn’t tell us jack shit.”

  “I was attacked by a pack of rabid Cadrian nobles,” said Arciel, with a sigh. “They soon realised that they could not defeat me and resorted to strategies meant to waste my time. I believe their goal was to force a forfeiture?”

  “Couldn’t you have just teleported out?” asked Krail.

  “Unfortunately not. There was some manner of magic restricting my ability to displace space. I believe they mentioned it was some manner of artifact?”

  “That… sounds bad,” said Jules. “How the hell did they manage to work that shit out already? Pretty sure the first time they saw it was when we opened up the gate.”

  “Canterbell’s always been known for working quickly,” said Claire. “I’m not surprised. Even if it was probably just a prototype.”

  “Do we needa put him down or something? I dunno if I like the idea of some random guy being able to completely negate one of our trump cards, and especially not with tech. He can basically make as many of those things as he wants.”

  “Relax,” said Claire. “His artifacts are too weak to block my portals.”

  “I do believe they worked when I made the attempt to escape,” said Arciel.

  “You could’ve brute forced it by adding extra mana.”

  “Really?” said Arciel, with a blink. “I suppose, on further consideration, such a solution does fall within the usual logic.” Defensive spells prepared in advance had the upper limits of their protection defined at the time of their casting. Surpassing said limit was all it really took to force one’s spell to form.

  “Yeah, and it’s super easy with portals,” said Sylvia. “All you need to do is make them bigger since that also ups the amount of mana they eat.”

  “The cost increases exponentially with the size, which then drives the ability to readily overpower the device,” said Arciel. “I cannot believe I overlooked the simplest solution.”

  “That’s enough reflecting,” said Claire. “We should be enjoying the festival, not grumbling over our mistakes.”

  “There are times where I see the Cadrian influence in your upbringing, and times where I find it impossible to track. This is one of the latter,” said Arciel. “Should you not bask in the opportunity to discuss the intricacies of my approach to combat?”

  Claire didn’t bother using her words. Stepping in front of the squid and spinning around, she simply gave her forehead a solid flick.

  “How cruel! I will have you know, I just suffered a series of horrific injuries that left me fearing for my life.”

  “You’re fixed now.”

  “I remain thoroughly exhausted. And even if not, I would strongly prefer not to be attacked.”

  “You said you weren’t that tired. And you started it.”

  “I led with minor teasing. You raised the bar with the inclusion of violence.”

  “It was a flick.” Claire sighed. “Whatever. Hurry up. We’re going to be late if we stall any longer.”

  “It is not the precise action that matters, but the intent behind it.” And so, with Arciel still playfully complaining and Claire repeatedly flicking her, the group stepped through the portal in the middle of the city and returned to Vel’khagan, where they happily enjoyed a feast at the castle.