"So, are you ready to depart this life, Father?" Abel could no longer answer Helga's questions. Ice Maiden had completely swallowed up the bottom-half of his body. The frost was slowly working its way up his upper-half. Soon, he would be a statue of ice.
Helga snorted as she watched the priest freeze to death. "Are you afraid to die alone? Or maybe you won't be alone. I'm sure my colleagues will have caught up with your friends in the mountain by now. And Caterina Sforza will soon be following you."
"Caterina?" Abel's voice was weak. His words were now so faint that they were barely audible. "What about her?"
"No one's told you yet?" The witch looked gleeful. She approached Abel and stroked his cold, clammy cheek as if he were a beloved pet. "You're that worried about that woman. Ha, but you couldn't save her. That must hurt."
"Wh-what do you want?" His lungs had started to freeze, and he was losing the ability to breathe. Yet Abel managed to push the words out.
"I have only one aim, and that is to follow His will. By the flame, we will rebuild this world anew. That is all." As she spoke, Helga extended one of her slim arms up to the heavens. The light in the room caught the ring on her middle finger. Out of the ring shot a needle of ice. She pushed it toward Abel's temple. "Unfortunately for you, you will be dead, so you will never have the opportunity to see our new world."
"WAAAAH!"
A sudden scream distracted Helga. "You! You're still alive."
A black ball with whips swinging on either side came rushing toward Helga. The priest, whose upper body was covered in blood, roared when Ice Witch turned to meet his gaze.
"DIE! HERETIC!" She sliced Friedrich's body in two, like a fish. However, Friedrich apparently saw one last chance before he'd lost all control over his body. His burly arms threw one last attack at Helga.
However, she sneered at this. She took the whips in her hand. Ice slowly worked up them; they froze Friedrich in an instant. His body crashed to the floor and shattered into tiny pieces.
"Damn fanatics. Always go one step too far," Helga grumbled as she trod on the pieces of Friedrich. She turned her attention back to Abel. "Now, Nightroad... You're next." She turned around, smiling, but her smile turned to a frown. "What are you doing?!"
Abel, who had been so close to death, was now gripping the ice needle. She was surprised that he had any strength left in his arms. Even more surprising was that he was pushing the tip toward his own neck. It was cutting into a major blood vessel. Fresh blood was dripping out.
"Are you mad?!" Helga screamed.
She jumped back just in time as blood went flying in all directions. Blood hit the floor, the walls, and the ceiling. The Winter Maiden that had swallowed him was also dyed with the red blood.
"You're killing yourself? You're even more of a coward than I thought you were."
"Nanomachines..."
The voice Helga heard was foreboding. It was weak but terrifying.
"Nanomachine 'Crusnik 02' forty-percent limited operation— complete!"
The Winter Maiden started to quiver and shake. Its body, still blood red, started wriggling unusually.
"What is it, Winter Maiden?!" Helga exclaimed.
This was the first time she had seen her pet behave in this way. It was if the blood that had entered Winter Maiden's body was alive. It started glittering a brighter red.
"What is that?!"
The witch stood there, stunned. She didn't know what to do. Helga had easily dodged all sorts of attacks. But now, the red Winter Maiden was coming for her.
"What are you doing, Winter Maiden?!" she screamed.
Winter Maiden had always been loyal. Something must have happened with the micro machines. No, it was the priest's blood that was causing it!
"Crap! This is your power?!"
Helga s face screwed up. Now she understood. The blood had hijacked Winter Maiden. This was an impressive power. She would have to be careful.
"This is not enough to make me flee. As you wish, I will fight you, Crusnik."
With her other hand, she started to wave Maxwell's wand again. She was ready to unleash her full power.
Winter Maiden writhed in speechless pain. The micro machines in its body were destroyed completely by the icy laser that Helga had called forth. Now that Winter Maiden had lost its micro machines, it was nothing more than a ball of water. It spread out and then scattered into tiny drops of harmless liquid.
"Now it is your turn, Crusnik."
Helga once again sent ice shards flying at Abel. He easily shot the shards down, but that was all part of Helga s plan. Changing tactics, she thrust the wand to the floor. In moments, the floor was frozen, and small cracks started to develop. They opened up, threatening to pull the priest down into their depths. However...
"That is impressive. But it's not enough to defeat me," Abel taunted her. He didn't sound like himself, though. His voice was filled with what sounded like despair.
A black shadow ran up the walls and then launched itself at Helga.
"Countess Anhalt—or Helga—I will arrest you in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. Please do not struggle."
The shadow appeared to defy the laws of space and time. Helga stood fixed to the spot. She had no idea what to do. She thought that she could hear two swords coming down at her from above!
But she'd misheard; weapons weren't coming at her. A pearl-colored light shone from above and caught the monster's arms.
"Ngh." Crusnik grunted when he found his arms obstructed.
Mucus covered his arms. Something was happening. The areas that the mucus touched were turning a gray color. His arms were turning to stone. Furthermore, little fissures were growing into the stone.
"I'm being petrified?! Is that you, Basilisk?!" "Yes. It certainly was a close one for you, Countess." Standing next to Helga was a young man. He flicked back his wavy hair and smiled. "Well, even the beautiful Winter Maiden loses sometimes. Shall we withdraw for today?"
Someone else appeared. It was a small girl in a maid's outfit, carrying a sword far larger than her own body. "Let's save the chatting for later. I'll cover you. Leave!"
Crusnik leapt into the air. He deflected the first attack from the giant sword. His body twisted in the air, and he landed like a cat on both feet. He was just about to launch an attack on his prey...
But there was no one there. The young man, the witch, and the young girl were gone. He was alone in the room with a corpse.
"They ran away... or did they let me go?" Abel muttered in pain.
He used his scythe to cut off his petrified arm in one clean swipe. Blood sprayed out and started to take the shape of muscles, finally forming into a fully functioning arm.
Crusnik was alone. "Enemy of the world?"
✦ ✦ ✦
"Take us with you, Your Eminence!"
"I can't! You have to stay here." Alfonso shut the door on the priests. It wasn't that he worried they might be too heavy for the elevator. There were only three of them: himself, Cherubim, and a monk who would act as a bodyguard. The elevator could have taken more people but he didn't want any more people that he had to look after. And, anyway, the more people, the more conspicuous they would be. They wanted to attract the least attention possible and flee Tallinn.
"I'm not finished yet!"
There was a getaway car waiting for them in the basement. With that, they would escape Tallinn and head north. There, they would hide. They could wait for the right time. They might be able to gather support in the northern countries.
"I will fight again. As long as there are people who are dissatisfied with Rome, I will fight!"
Suddenly, though, the elevator ground to a halt. "I'm sorry, it is over for you, Pope," a sarcastic voice spoke. "You must be tired. Now, you can rest up in a nice prison somewhere."
"Who is it?!" Alfonso saw the mouth of a gun directed straight at him. The owner of the gun pulled down his head to reveal his face. Under a pile of long, disheveled hair was the face of a smiling young man.
"Borgia." Alfonso's jaw dropped.
"It has been a while." Antonio smiled cheerfully, as if he had been reunited with an old friend. "I thought I could get you to do as you promised today. Do you remember? At Cologne? Do you remember when you told me you'd make me a cardinal?"
"A cardinal? What are you talking about? That was you?! The one who gave me a gift in the hope of getting a position?"
His distress was interrupted by a dull thud. The young man had knocked him on the head with his weapon. The world went black for Alfonso, and he hit the ground.
Antonio bent down and checked that the former archbishop was truly unconscious. He grimaced then looked over at Cherubim, who was still staring blankly into space, "Well, you'll have to be patient for now, Archbishop. You can reveal your true power later. There is a much higher place." Again he smiled like an animal eyeing its prey.