8,900 meters... 9 kilometres...
I'm now far away from any residences...
That means...
"SINNER ARGEEEEEEEEEEEENT!!!!!!!!!!!!!-----------"
"Engage."
Nemesis, the DAEMON of KARMA...
They're a rather overzealous individual. Always serving their master. And for my transgressions alone - I am now their priority target.
My stakes and their sword clash with each other. Their tenacity can be admired, but...
"Tch... No matter from which angle I attack, you are always ready to deflect."
What they have in tenacity is lacking in precision and discipline.
"I'm a daemonic exterminator. Your behaviour is rather... Lacking in cunningness even for an average kin."
"SHUT UP!!! I'll bring your head to our master and put it on display!!!"
"Hmph. Let's dance then."
=ACT 1: PERSECUTION=
"All that is moral and immoral; good and evil; admirable and heinous - is arbitrary. To whom it's a daily procedure - to other it's a crime against life itself."
=ACT 1: OF ALL THINGS EVIL=
"Ego is the most abhorrent trait of a being. Only thinking about itself, willing to put down the others. That is evil predefined."
The scenery changes around us to be a giant open court of the old. Columns rise up from the ground and the sky darkens to pitch black - and the scales above us turn to the left, heavy with tainted flame.
"You're merely being iniquity! Only following orders without any sort of moral compass! I shall lead the world to the path of righteousness."
"Righteousness of your own meaning."
Righteousness... Can lead to bias. It will delude someone into thinking they're a "hero" of their story. And this is all driven by one's pride - that their judgement is superior to all.
It is much honest to not care about such things at all. It is better to admit that you're wrong than pretend to be right.
Squall of silver stakes rain down upon Nemesis and they attempt to deflect it all.
"No...! I won't lose...! Not again...!"
"..."
No matter how much I fight them or how much they fight others; they don't seem to learn at all.
Justice, or whatever its form is, shouldn't be blind. It should be able to analyze every angle of the issue and make fair judgement.
I lunge my stake at their heart and they are sent flying towards a column, being pinned against it on the impact.
"... Tch... I wasn't even given a chance to use my attack... Alright, next ACT..."
=ACT 2: NO GOOD DEED=
"Do you think people do good things just because they're that holy? Of course not. In each kind act lies a hidden urge of praise, of being bailed as a hero. That's why we punish those who are haughty."
The sky shifts to being pure white and scales shift once more to the right side, now filled with pristine fire. It began to spit the fireballs and I began my maneuvers to duck and weave away from them.
Sliding through the battlefield, I begin to take down the place of judgement.
In barren land there are rules of morality - survival of the many; merely of primality - survival of the fittest.
They managed to dislodge themselves from the stake and in the moment of rage they threw it towards me and I easily absorb it.
"You're a rather amusing person. Metals were always my domain; what did you think would happen? Trying to beat fire with fire."
"YOU'LL BE DEAD, ARGENT!!!"
Their remains of rationale have eroded completely it seems. Their master must've gotten too lax with managing a rabid mutt of his. The only thing that remains is their unstable judgement.
They lunge towards me and we begin to clash with each other. And as our clash went on - the columns fell on by one, until there was nothing left - and I manage to deal the finishing blow.
"GHHHHAAAAAAA!!!!"
But of course, the battle is not over yet.
=FINAL ACT: REPENTANCE=
"Rid of your ego by repenting. Suffer for everyone. Make it so everyone sees it. Make it that they know that you're ridding yourself of it. Ego is a filth that shouldn't exist!"
In the barren land that we found themselves in, the sky turned tumultuously gray, with strong winds whipping us. That means only one thing.
=ACTSTOPPER: SENTENCE=
"Only in death all sin is cleansed; as what you and what you amounted will be null and irrelevant"
"GWWWWWWWGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHH?!?!?!?!?!??!?!!?!?!?"
I launched a thick stake into their face and they tumble away from me. However, with it I only intended to weaken them, sentences don't work on things that already amount to nothing.
They look at me, dead in the eyes; now fully intent on killing me.
"UAAAAAAAAAAAGGHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!"
"... Come at me, right hand of Court."
We clash once more, now I must deflect with acute precision against their sheer rampage of attacks. With each strike they become faster and faster; more ferocious and tenacious. At this point, I can't deflect them all...
Guess I have to resort to that after all
=ACT 2: OF DEATH (WEAKEN)=
"Because we'll be equal in it"
Stakes appear from all sides and begin to pierce Nemesis, slowing them down
"No!... No!! I can't lose! I can't lose again to you!!..."
"... How can you be so inferior to me? The one who decided to leave it all?"
"DON'T ASK ME THAT QUESTION AGAIN!!!"
They pierce my stomach with their sword.
...
Damn it.
=ACT 3: PRECISION STRIKE=
"I'm an executioner after all, not a punisher"
"Gha!..."
Stake strikes precisely on the nape of their neck and they fall down before me.
"You... You..."
"See you later."
They sink into the ground and the scenery goes back to normal.
Gotta treat my wound under the sun...
---
"Hmm... Leonid doesn't speak much?... I mean he is a rider and all, so maybe?..."
"Nah, Leonid is just not talkative in general. Seems to only hit it off with Virgilia." Aden explains once again, now back to being his casual self.
"Because they're old?" I tilt my head and Aden gasps
"Hey, bud, that was rude." Aden reprimands, but Virgilia stops him
"It is the truth though..."
"Well, it's not like Leonid is here to stay anyway." Émile points their index fingers against each other "He's just kind of here temporarily."
"... Then who's driving the carriage if he's gone?"
"Ah, that's Bijou Bellamy. She's actually in a different carriage with her peers. She's technically not from our troop either, her affiliation is with her thieving group; but she's a very close friend of Virgilia it seems."
"Hmm..."
This all feels like a scam and I'm just dragged into a life of crime.
You did murder your father, you look like you would fit right in!
Shut up.
"Uuuuuuu~, Virgilia, I'm hungry..." Émile wails at Virgilia's side and she sighs "Help yourself up." She tosses a big round mushroom at them and they catch it, eating it raw. I noticed that as they bite, the area around it becomes more crystalline.
"Um... Sorry for my rudeness, but what is wrong with them?" I ask and Virgilia takes a deep breath
"They're a... Unique specimen, that's all..."
However Émile didn't seem to be bothered and just smiles "I'll tell you later! Right now I'm very hungry. I mean, I finally found my kin!"
Okay but what do we have in common?...
That child... Is truly cursed. This thing is equivalent to poison to us. I bet even their sanity is impacted by their state of being.
Cursed... How?
Nuh-uh, not telling you. Did you forget why I'm inside of you?
... Right.
"... We're approaching the site." Leonid breaks the silence and we look outside.
"We'll be having our proper extermination job, Fortune. Now it's as good as time to show what you're capable of." Virgilia explains and Émile's irises shrinken
"Oh-hoh-hoh~, wait till I get my guns~! I can get rather destructive!"