After being separated from Xenophanes, she vaguely understood the situation. This must be because of what happened during the throne room.
And it disgusted her. They were attacking them because the knights' egos were hurt.
With that in mind, Rem fully prepared herself as the ones who were helping the other knights showed themselves, coming from the shadows and cornering her.
There were twenty in total, their faces twisted in anger. Some had sinister, mocking smiles as they readied their blades.
"You ready to face execution, bitch!?" One of them jeered.
"James! Watch your tongue, it is improper." The knight beside him turned to him.
"Seriously? Out of everything, that's what bothers you?" James said in disbelief.
"Enough, you two. Let's get this over with."
When the third knight finished speaking, a violent sound of an explosion vibrated outwards.
The explosion made Rem fearful. If her hero was in danger, she needed to end this quickly and go help him.
"What was that!? Did Sir Carlos do that?" One of the knights shouted.
[OST: Dusttale Pyrosomni Version 2]
Suddenly, music began playing throughout the empty marketplace. Causing even more confusion among the knights, and momentary relief from Rem.
Knight: "What the—"
One knight tried to speak, only to have a frail slam into his face, turning it into a bloody mess.
Using this small distraction, Rem went all out, her horn manifesting from her head as she charged in with a vicious smile.
"That bitch! Get her!" The knights charged straight ahead.
...
Carlos pulled his sword from the ground and lightly grazed the burn on his cheek. It stung upon touch.
Carlos: 'That attack... If a normal knight had taken it head-on, they would have been defeated in an instant. And that... thing—' He stared at the dark purple dragon skull.
'That thing isn't magic. I can sense a strange energy emitting from it. I see now.'
Carlos: "You finally showed your true face, you damn cultist!" His face sharpened with disgust.
His assessment of Xeno drastically changed. He was no longer a disrespectful brat, but a member of the Witch's Cult, perhaps even a Sin Archbishop.
Xeno: "Really? I'm a cultist now?" The more Carlos talked, the worse his mood became.
Xeno: 'Whatever. I'll finish this quick. Rem needs me.'
Carlos: "Originally, this was an execution for your disrespect. But now, you filthy cultist, prepare yourself. I will not hold back."
The moment his words finished, he raised his hands, casting earth magic once again, intending to take advantage of his opponent's lack of mobility.
The earth trembled as spears formed at Xeno's feet, intending to impale him. Shards of stone surrounded him. Not only that, Carlos himself rushed forward at a speed much faster than before.
Xeno responded in kind. Several more dragon skulls were summoned, their red lasers vaporizing the magic while blocking the knight's path.
Which proved ineffective, as he weaved around them. With a chant of "Ul Dona," a pillar of earth helped launch him high toward where the newly formed blasters were.
With a precise swing of his sword, he cut through all of them. Mid-descent, he prepared another spell.
Xeno: "Oh no, you don't!"
Dark purple bones rushed toward Carlos at high speeds, colliding with him as he reached the ground, which barely staggered him.
Carlos hit the ground, shouting, "Dona!" A controlled earthquake started.
Xeno: "Woah! Woah!"
He tried to stay on his feet. Quickly, four tendrils from his back stuck themselves into the ground, slightly lifting him off it.
Xeno: 'Pff, that was clossssss—'
His relief shattered instantly the moment a sharp swing of a sword inched toward his neck.
Barely missing its mark, his tendrils sprang back from the attack, lodging themselves into the thick stone wall behind him.
Xeno: 'That was close! Thank goodness these things are automatic.' He let out a tense sigh.
He glared at Carlos, who returned his glare.
The fight was still nigh. Both had the same strategy in mind.
To take the other down as fast as possible.
The fight renewed, but this time, Xeno wasn't going to give him another chance to attack. He spammed his ability.
Bones, Blasters, and various other things locked on to Carlos. While they wouldn't kill him, they would hurt a lot.
Carlos, to his credit, was doing a decent job of fending off the onslaught of projectiles. For someone of his size, he sure was agile, but he couldn't keep this up forever.
Something the knight knew for a fact. He needed to counterattack. How, he wondered.
Carlos slashed at hands popping from various points, all trying to hold him in place. Then he sidestepped bones raining from above, only to be engulfed by the beam of a Blaster.
His once-pristine white uniform had been ripped and torn, scorch marks covered the knight's skin, and his beard was completely ruined.
But he had no time to think. He blocked a barrage of bones with his broadsword. Some were deflected, while others hit their mark, staggering him once.
Carlos went down on one knee, panting. Xeno used his appendages to remove himself from the wall and settled at a safe distance away from him.
He snapped his fingers.
Shadowy hands emerged from the floor, restraining Carlos's limbs. He wordlessly made a Gaster Blaster to finish him off, knocking him out for good.
Carlos: 'I understand why he was able to stalemate the Bowel Hunter now. An enemy that can overwhelm his opponent while exerting no effort, control the surroundings, defend himself from all angles, and have high mobility, if he wasn't crippled.'
If he was to defeat this cultist, he needed a plan, and fast.
The Blaster opened its maw as red energy spiraled within, charging up before shooting out a beam directly at him.
Carlos: 'Even so, I still must take this cultist down.'
With renewed vigor, he broke free from his binding, and before the beam could hit him, cast Earth magic again to make a giant dust cloud.
Xeno shielded his eyes just in time when the cloud hit him. He wasted no time trying to remove it.
Within the dust, a volley of earth shards approached the unsuspecting Xeno, and by the time he noticed them, it was too late.
While he managed to block the first few, via a dome to protect him. Still some shards made it pass and dug into his body.
One struck his shoulder, another his thigh, and another his forearm. They weren't deep, but they were more than enough to draw blood.
Xeno: "Ahhhh!!!"
That wasn't all, Carlos himself charged forward, swinging his sword and hitting the glass dome hard. A relentless fury of swings ensued, cracks spreading through it.
Xeno gritted his teeth, ignoring the pain and focusing on creating distance.
With a flash of light in his eye, bones once again swarmed Carlos, forcing him back, but not before unleashing one last "Ul Dona."
A large boulder flew at Xeno.
Xeno's eyes widened. He reacted by reinforcing his shield, unable to dodge due to the close proximity.
It crashed into his shield, making it creak, then reforming and holding up nicely. But that wasn't the main problem.
Due to the speed of the boulder, it dragged Xeno back a few meters, his spine and new injuries screaming in protest.
When it stopped, the dome shattered, and two of his tendrils knocked the boulder aside.
The dust cloud had finally scattered, returning his vision of the surroundings.
Xeno collapsed onto his knees, holding onto the stone lodged within his shoulder, sweating.
Amidst this, he didn't stop his assault, making a fair bit of distance.
With that advantage, Xeno slowly and painfully removed it from his shoulder, silently screaming. Repeating this process.
Xeno: 'Fuck, that hurts!' His next step was simple. He started using Water magic on himself.
Targeting his shoulder and thigh, he hadn't slacked off on his Water magic training. Well, mostly. He could use it to mend wounds, but he still wasn't good enough to fix them alone.
Good thing he wasn't alone.
Xeno: "To me, my spirits."
His ten contracted lesser spirits answered the call. Five had the Water affinity, while the others had different affinities.
Carlos couldn't hide his shock at seeing lesser spirits helping heal Xeno.
Carlos: 'Why are they helping that vile creature?' He shook his head.
While this was unexpected, the result was within his predictions.
Xeno had let his guard down, and now, to make sure it stayed that way.
Dodging another barrage, the places where he could avoid Xeno's attacks were getting scarce.
Carlos roared, charging forward and tearing anything in his path apart.
Xeno: 'Is he insane? Doesn't he know that won't work?' He questioned while steadily his wounds were getting better.
He didn't question it. He paid more attention to the knight's charge now.
Which was exactly what Carlos wanted.
From behind, another Carlos emerged from the ground, his fists joined together and crashing down on Xeno like a hammer.
Xeno, unprepared for this, was unable to react in time. The clone's fists connected.
The sheer strength of the attack rumbled the earth beneath him.
Both the clone and original let out a frustrated growl. Once again, Xeno was protected by a purple barrier.
It was getting on their nerves.
Xeno's tendrils wrapped themselves around the clone's legs before he was struck squarely in the jaw by a floating hand. turning to rubble.
Behind Xeno were seven skeletal hands, each with a hole in their palms.
Xeno: 'Again thank goodness these things are automatic. I don't think my tendrils would have absorbed the force of that. I could have died there.'
Xeno stopped attacking, focusing on healing himself. His hands could handle the rest, considering how expensive they were, with each one taking 20% of Envy to manifest.
Six of the hands rose from Xeno's back, spreading out to attack Carlos, while one stayed behind to protect Xeno.
All of them did separate things.
One rapid-fired red bullets. Another made two buzz saws.
One, high above the rest, released strings from its fingertips to capture Carlos.
One made copies of the Earth magic Carlos had shown before.
The fifth hand summoned tiny orbs which exploded on command.
And finally, the sixth one simply fired beams from the hole in its plam.
Despite being nowhere near as numerous, these were much more coordinated. He would deal with one, only for the anothers to take advantage of it, keeping him on his toes.
Destroying them was a difficult task. They kept a wide distance from him and each other.
Maybe if he had been dealing with them in the beginning, he could have handled it.
Not in his current state. His magic was nearly exhausted, and his injuries were finally taking effect.
Xeno recovered and decided to finish this.
He snapped his fingers.
The seven hands executed his plan.
The hand with him blinked red, trapping Carlos inside a bubble, while the others simultaneously attacked at once.
Carlos, seeing his hopeless situation, finally admitted.
Carlos 'I... lost.' He thought bitter.
'But I won't give up. I can't! That cultist will have to move over my dead body before I let him go free.'
His eyes sharpened as he dragged his body to continue fighting. pouring all his willpower and mana into strengthening his body.
Landing a series of strikes against the barrier, he shattered it before quickly jumping away.
All of the attacks collided together, causing a huge explosion, the shockwave pushing Carlos even further into the air.
With a well-timed roll, he minimized his fall.
Getting to his knees, his sword was long gone thanks to the shockwave.
Carlos: 'I need to get out of here and—' He got up, his limbs shaking from the strain.
Xeno: "Got ya!" His voice rang out from the side.
Carlos turned just in time to block two tendrils as they slammed into his arms before coiling around and separating them for a clean attack.
A third tendril whipped diagonally, whistling through the air and across Carlos's chest, intending to launch him back.
But Xeno had made a massive miscalculation.
Because of Carlos's consistent physical display, Xeno assumed his body would be just as strong as before and applied extra force.
So instead of knocking him back and breaking some bones, it sliced across his chest, creating a fatal slash wound.
Both of their eyes widened in shock.
Xeno released his grip on Carlos, taking a step back.
The knight immediately began losing strength, his hands hesitantly cupping his wound as blood rushed from it.
Then he fell, losing consciousness almost instantly. But not before seeing one last image of Xeno's face.
Carlos: 'He's... paralyzed by fear?' That was his last thought before darkness took him.
...
On the other side with Rem.
Things were not good for both sides.
Rem managed to defeat half of them, but at a cost. The dress that her hero brought for her was covered in dust, ripped, and even burnt.
She was injured too, but that isn't important.
The remaining knights, on the other hand, were tried and bruised.
They were at a standstill, both trying to hurry up. Even with their fight going on, everyone could hear the destruction beyond the wall.
The two sides calculated their next move.
Their tense standoff ended when a section of the stone wall behind Rem was destroyed, allowing a figure to step into the ring.
It was Xeno, eyes empty, a crutch in one hand and a bag of clothes in the other. From his back, four tendrils were visible.
Rem: "Xeno-kun!!!"
She radiated with joy upon seeing him alright, ignoring what two of his tendrils were holding.
The knights, however, did not. They gasped in shock.
"Sir Carlos!" a few of them shouted.
Two tendrils were bound around Carlos's limp body. Anger and, most importantly, worry overwhelmed them.
Xeno: "Here, catch." He gave them a heads-up before throwing Carlos at a group of them.
The three knights reacted in time and caught him, being thrown off balance due to how large Carlos was.
Gently lowering him, one of the knights checked his condition, fearing the worst.
Xeno: "Alright, this whole charade is over. Now scram, or else you'll end up like him."
"It's bad, everyone!" Everyone turned to the knight checking on Carlos.
"Sir Carlos is in critical condition. If we don't bring him to a healer, he could lose his life!"
"Everyone, fall back, now!" one of them, probably the one leading them, commanded.
"But what about them?" James said.
"These scum can be dealt with later! The health of Sir Carlos and the others comes first. Move out!" he ordered.
The other knights nodded, carrying their companions away.
Before long, Rem and Xeno were the only ones left in the empty plaza.
...
Rem: "Xeno-kun, are you alright?"
When the coast was clear, Rem retracted her horn and checked up on Xeno, rushing to his side.
His torn clothes and new scars, she noticed them the moment he showed up.
Her delicate hands brushed against his body, searching for any serious injuries.
Xeno: "I-I'm fine, Rem. I already healed myself." He told her to stop. The sensation was weird and too improper for the situation.
Xeno: "Forget about me. You're not hurt, are you?"
Rem: "Xeno-kun doesn't have to worry. Rem is 'fine and dandy.' But she unfortunately was unable to save your gift." She straightened her ruined dress, disappointed.
Xeno: "Oh... That's fine. It's just clothes. You can always just resew it." He comforted Rem and himself. He literally spent gold coins on them.
Xeno: 'Also, did she learn that from me?' He thought, removing his tendrils and passing the bags to Rem.
Rem: "If Xeno-kun says so." She gratefully took them.
Rem: "Shall we go home now?"
Xeno: "Yeah, but I think I changed my mind. Now seems like as good a time as any to get myself healed... After we take a nap, that is."
Rem: "Excellent suggestion, Xeno-kun. Rem will make sure you're comfortable during our nap."
Xeno: "..." He was kinda dense, but not even he could miss what she meant.
Xeno: "Ah, screw it. We're on a date, so sure."
Rem: "In that case, it's better we get back soon." She grabbed his hand and tugged him along, filled with glee.
Xeno: 'I really did hit the jackpot with her.'
He let out a smile as he was dragged along by her.
...
Crusch Manor. It's sure is a manor alright, but it's nowhere near as grand as Roswaal's. Though that is expected, after all.
Crusch is a serious, composed, disciplined, and other things to describe a military woman.
While Roswaal... He exists. That's a compliment, by the way.
We're getting off track here.
After Rem and Xeno took a nice, relaxing bath, not together, and napped, together, totally not cuddling with each other, they reached Crusch's Manor around dusk, which was a pleasant surprise for the residents.
Regardless, they welcomed them anyway.
Within the guest room, four people were present. Those being Xeno and Crusch, who were seated on either side of each other.
Rem and Felix stood by their respective sides. Rem stood by Xeno's side, wearing her maid outfit once again, while Felix stood by his lady.
Crusch: "Emilia has already notified me of the details. I welcome you two into the Karsten Mansion. Though I never expected you to come at this hour."
Felix: "Glad to meet ya again, nya."
Xeno: "Well, the plan was to come tomorrow, but... I decided to change it. Hope that's alright with you."
Crusch: "I... see. It is no problem. As Felix heals your spine, please make yourself comfortable."
Xeno: "Thank you, Lady Crusch."
With that out of the way, Felix soon showed the two the room they would be sleeping in.
As this happened, Wilhelm passed by the group.
Wilhelm: "Greetings, Xeno-dono, Rem-dono." The old man in his pitch-black butler uniform executed a bow Xeno never could.
Rem: "Greetings to you as well, Wilhelm-sama." She curtsied.
Xeno: "Hi, Wilhelm, sir. I hope you've been doing well lately." He gave a salute, not in the mood for a bow or curtsy.
Wilhelm: "Time has been treating this old man well as of late. Is that the case with you as well?"
He raised a brow, his eyes discreetly drifting toward the patch of scarred tissue on Xeno's left forearm.
Wilhelm: 'Did he get into a fight recently?' It looked fresh.
Xeno: "Sadly, no. Me getting my spine healed is going to be the second-best thing that happens to me this week."
Wilhelm: "That is unfortunate. Excuse this old man, will you? He has some business to discuss with my Crusch-sama."
Xeno: "Go ahead. We can always talk later."
Felix: "Ahem! If Xeno-kyun is done, can we move along?" He coughed, reminding them about what they were doing.
Xeno: "Right. Goodbye, Wilhelm, sir." He waved at him, then the three moved on.
Wilhelm's gaze lingered on Xeno for a second before he moved on as well.
...
Wilhelm entered the room, now alone with Crusch.
Wilhelm: "Crusch-sama. I have finished moving their luggage to their respective rooms."
Crusch: "Thank you, Wilhelm. So then, what do you make of them?"
Wilhelm knew exactly what Crusch meant.
While they may be guests, they were still people under one of her rivals for the throne.
She would uphold her side of the contract she made with Emilia and treat them as valued guests, but she would be a fool not to at least try to learn more about the manpower under one of her rival's command.
Wilhelm: "Crusch-sama, if I may be frank, the two currently staying within this mansion are unique, to say the least."
Crusch: "Unique?" She could see it. Xenophanes had the word unique written all over him.
Wilhelm: "In terms of combat experience, the maid of Roswaal Manor seems to have the most of it. But if I may be so bold..."
Wilhelm thought back to the brief moment he had passed with Xeno.
That... red eye of his.
The feeling of being exposed under its gaze. He could still remember it as clear as day.
While Rem may have the most combat experience, he had a feeling that Xenophanes was the dark horse of the group.
Wilhelm: "While the maid is the most combat experienced, I believe Xeno-dono is the one we should be caution off."
Crusch: "Can you tell me more about him?"
She was interested in Wilhelm's assessment on Xenophanes.
Wilhelm: "As you wish, Crusch-sama. Xeno-dono is a lazy, naive young man, yet one that means well. From what I observed, he seemed relaxed around us. I do not believe he has any intention of gathering any information on us."
Crusch: "It seemed that way to me as well."
She nodded in agreement.
Wilhelm: "But I believe he is much more capable than we can imagine. Crusch-sama, do you perhaps know about the incident that happened today?"
Crusch: "Yes, I received the news. A skirmish of sorts happened in a plaza. The surroundings were devastated. Magic of all types was unleashed, primarily fire and earth, from all the scorched marks found. And from the looks of things, someone might have died, if the investigation is to be accurate. As of yet, the culprits haven't been found."
She repeated the information told to her, looking at Wilhelm and realizing where he was going with this.
Crusch: "You don't think!?"
Wilhelm: "Call it intuition, but I feel as if Xeno-dono was involved somehow. From my observation, he had recently been in a fight, and the scar on his forearm was fresh, likely formed by something stabbing him, and only three happened to be tipped with blood. Their timing would make more sense."
"In the end, it is all speculation. But I believe, dispite his laid back and oblivious personality, he is someone we should be careful of." Wilhelm concluded.
Crusch processed the information.
What Wilhelm and Crusch saw of Xeno was completely different.
In her experience, Xenophanes was highly reckless and protective of his Lady, willing to pick a fight with the kingdom in a blind rage.
Which Wilhelm seemed to agree with as well, but had seemed to seen a different side of him, perhaps he feels that way because Xeno processed some form of Divine Protection.
Nonetheless if Wilhelm said so, she would choose to trust his judgment.
...
Within a private medical bay lay a large figure on the bed, his chest wrapped in bandages.
The man stared at the ceiling, deep in thought. One moment... One moment of today had him feeling very conflicted, something he didn't know what to make of.
This person was Carlos Jaspmen himself.
A lot had happened today, with the highlight being him almost dying. Which was one of the things that caused his current state.
One question kept repeating in his mind.
'Why?'
Why did that... man, whom he suspected of being a cultist, heal him? His mind tried to come up with a rational explanation.
Was he trying to hide his cover? Trying to fool him into thinking he wasn't a cultist?
No, that would be too convoluted. He had no way of knowing Carlos wouldn't report him. Killing him would have been much simpler.
So why did he heal him? Was it some sort of master plan?
No, that couldn't be it either. He prided himself on being observant.
That didn't characterize him at all, nor did he plan this midway through. In fact, he didn't look like a schemer at all.
Every explanation Carlos came up with would always hit the same problem.
Killing him would have been much easier.
And that... look on his face.
It was blurry, but he remembered it. During the healing process, his consciousness had faded in and out. He was surrounded by countless lesser spirits.
He could barely make it out, but he was sure of what he saw.
In that moment, he had no reason to keep up his mask, and what he saw wasn't a cultist or even a disrespectful brat.
But a young man terrified by his own actions and desperately trying to save him, despite what he had done to him.
It didn't even look like he had thought things through, instead acting on instinct.
And that was what was consuming Carlos's mind.
He had finally reached a conclusion that could satisfy his own ego.
Carlos: 'I can't judge him as a cultist yet, not until I find out the answer as to why.'
Some part of him was disgusted by this.
One part wanted to execute him for his crimes, while the other felt guilty despite the evidence still choosing to condemn him. How ungrateful could he be?
He couldn't understand it. Truly, he was stuck on the question.
'Why?'