From Harold’s slumped shoulders, I could tell he wasn’t impressed, either.
The unnatural “smoke” curling up from the floor, while a different color from Lars’ that I saw in the neighboring kingdom of Orion, was unmistakably miasma. I could only assume it was densely packed with mana.
“Why have there been so many of these lately?” I muttered discontentedly.
I’d been far removed from all forms of monsters and familiar summoning for most of my life, but something about these past few years had ruined my good streak.
“Enough grumbling!” the catlike creature hissed, jabbing a pudgy paw at me. “You, boy! Are you or are you neowt the descendant of Mariabel and Gaius?!”
Harold looked back at me as well.
I recognized the names—the Beautiful Mercy and Lord of the Continent, as they were. Not only did they sound familiar, I’d known them since I was a little boy.
“Those names…” Harold muttered.
“Mother and Father?” I wondered aloud.
“Aha! The son! Nyo wonder you looked just as handsome as Mariabel! Well, I have neowt forgotten what they did to me! I’ll nyever forget!”
Evidently, the cat had a history with them, and Father’s odd warning made significantly more sense now. I sighed and cradled my head in my arms. I desperately wanted nothing to do with this mess, especially as I believed no child should have to pay for their parents’ sins.
“Let me show you to Mother and Father,” I offered. “You’ve no grudge against me, I gather, and I’ve no time for this.”
Harold nodded. “Selling out your parents to magical entities, I see. Interesting how quickly the thought came to you.”
I pretended not to hear him. I really was too busy to be embroiled in this mess, but given the cat’s disposition and my experience with similarly obstinate individuals, I doubted it was even listening to me.
The cat pointed an imperious paw at me. “I am the long-sealed king cait sidhe, Lord Plum!”
Uh-oh.
“Flikker Licht!!”
Almost as a reflex, I recited the incantation for a spell, letting the mana escape my lips on my words. It was a near-perfect defensive spell that could shut out any offensive spell. On a more personal note, Lady Lecia put a great deal of effort into learning it last year as a facet of her “saint training.” Elizabeth praised her casting back then, so I picked it up myself.
I’m rather glad I did.
It was as good as a declaration of war, however, and it was clear I was prepared to fight.
“Neow you will suffer the same pain and anger I did! Your greatest treasure is mine, nyahahahaaaa!”
“What does that even mean?!”
Regardless, I had no time to think about it. The cait sidhe—Plum—launched itself further into the air to attack from above. It was clearly used to fighting humans. Its claws lashed out at me from above, colliding with the Divine Wall that surrounded Harold and me. The wall held for only a moment before violet mana seeped out of Plum’s claws and corroded the light at a startling rate. Its pupils dilated momentarily as though it were expecting no resistance whatsoever, but its shock shifted to jubilation as it broke through.
“Nyot half bad…but I didn’t spend twenty dull years preparing to defeat Mariabel for nyothing!”
Twenty years? That’s before I was even born! Why don’t you go take your anger out on Mother? I won’t stop you, I swear!
“Neow, I have nyo shortage of mana!”
“W-Wait, I’m only her son! I know nothing about any of this. Why can’t we talk it out?”
My second attempt at diplomacy failed, however, as the cait sidhe simply hissed. Mana rippled through its short fur, rapidly accumulating in its claws again. The razor-sharp tips grew large and laden with magic as it forced its way through.
Its mouth split into a demonic sneer. “Tell mew, boy, what do you hold meowst dear?” it whispered into the depths of my heart.
The question had an incredibly obvious answer, given the massive number of portraits in the room. And yet, at the creature’s question, I wavered and found myself thinking about Elizabeth.
With a thick criiick, the wall began to wail under the weight of the cait’s assault, sending a radius of hairline cracks throughout the wall. I hadn’t run out of mana; rather, I was being overpowered through sheer force. Then, with a catastrophic crashing sound, the Divine Wall burst, sending fragments of light through the air and making it nigh impossible to see. The cait alone was visible through the shower, diving toward me.
Harold intercepted it, delivering a punch and a high-arching kick, but the creature nimbly wove through his assault.
“Your greatest treasure is mine neow!” it hissed, claws splaying mere inches from my face.
I braced, but no pain came. Instead, I felt a sudden violent twisting of mana, paired with a distinct fracturing sound.
Oh, drat. There goes my magic-nullifying ward…
Through my swimming vision, I glimpsed an angel with long, flowing ribbons in her hair. I attempted to reach out to her, to call her name, but my body was stiff and unresponsive. Something about the ordeal felt gut-wrenchingly familiar. I tried to fight against it, but my head was growing heavier, my thoughts foggier with each passing second.
E-Elizabeth…
Then, I blacked out.