by Billy Wong
They embraced again, then Andrew rejoined the waiting Henry. "I see you've changed," Henry said. "I approve of it."
He looked down. "I think I might not have given women their due before, always thinking they need to be protected and kept safe—ironic because my sister was one tough fighter. But after meeting Blackbird, I guess it might be impossible to hold onto that bias.
"I still don't like her that much, though."
"She saved your life several times, including when she took your new arm. You'd have been blown to dust, or I would've had to cut it off."
"I know. I just think she's an annoying immature person. Objectively, though... I admit she isn't too bad."
Since he hadn't shown much negativity towards Blackbird before losing his arm, Henry figured much of it was lingering frustration over that and he would likely warm up to her more with time. "That's reasonable. Now time to say goodbye to her and go."
They passed her on a nearby street corner sitting next to her bag, probably too pained to go much farther or stay standing up. Because she seemed to be in the middle of making a sale to an expensively dressed rotund lady, Henry just saluted to her as they walked by. Recognizing them in their cloaks after a moment, she waved and shouted, "Good luck, guys! Wish I could be there!" And they were off.
Chapter 7
Henry and Andrew traveled to the mining town of Kantz not far from the hill Andrew's exploding arm had collapsed, where most of the attacks had occurred. Despite its small size, the fires of multiple forges darkened the air with smoke and the constant pounding of hammers produced its own distinctive music. Many buildings were damaged to the point of being unusable, with huge holes as if something had torn through the walls to reach inside. People pondered out loud if the hill's destruction was the monster's doing too, although the duo knew better. They rented a room at the inn, the ambient noise from outside forcing them to speak loudly all the time, and waited for relevant news.
"What if the church doesn't send an angel," Andrew asked, "won't we be wasting our time? In that case, maybe we could try taking down the monster ourselves?"
If Blackbird was around, that would naturally be an idea, but as things stood... "How?"
He repeatedly pointed his stump at the window. "Sniper mode! Gatling mode! Rocket mode! Shot mode! Flame mode!" He lowered his arm and sobered. "Or, we could think of a trap for it."
"We could do that. It would feel bad just leaving more villagers to be eaten. Even if we aren't so strong, we can still try."
"I miss my transforming arm..."
After a few days of boredom mixed with nervousness that people might develop suspicion towards them, they heard many of the hammers stop as a commotion began outside. They looked to see villagers gathering in the square to greet a group of new arrivals on horseback. Henry and Andrew exited the inn and hung back in the crowd to observe. Four of the visitors looked to be typical church knights in gold and silver plate, but one commanded extra attention with the engraved lines like rays of light that stuck out from his breastplate and pauldrons and his white cape. He was a youngish man, in his late twenties to early thirties, for the air of authority he held, and unlike his companions didn't wear a helm.
"This is Lucius Sabo, Angel of Light!" a small, chubby man who appeared the oldest of the knights announced. "He has come to deliver you from your plight with his shining blades, so be assured that God is still on humanity's side."
"Shining blades, huh?" Henry said to Andrew. "Maybe he gets his power from a sword stuck inside his arm."
"Ha ha, very funny. That does make me think though, if he shoots beams of fire or something those could be called blades of light."
Lucius spoke in his deep, resonant voice. "People of Kantz! Tell me where this beast is, so I may go to slay it at once and bring you back its head!"
The town cheered. A husky blacksmith stepped forward as if to be its representative. "The monster comes from the northeast when it strikes, snatching away two or three of our youth each time—you must stop it before our next generation is destroyed."
"Fear not, I promise I will. You say it comes from the northeast? There is a lake that way on the map, where do you believe it makes its lair in relation to that?"
"We're not sure," a grimy woman in a brown headdress said. "But as it somewhat resembles a great turtle, some suspect it may dwell in the lake itself."
"Then we will go towards the lake, and track it down from there!"
"He's proactive at least," Andrew commented.
The older knight who had spoken before said, "We request five witnesses to behold God's glory! Who will volunteer?"
"Should we go?"
Henry considered it for a moment, but, "If we volunteer, the townsfolk will probably ask 'Who the hell are you?' and draw scrutiny we don't want. Let's just follow them and try not to get caught."
The blacksmith and woman who had spoken were chosen, along with an old man, a fancily dressed girl who might be minor nobility or an influential merchant's daughter, and a burly mustached fellow who represented the miners. They all headed off, and Henry and Andrew followed a good distance behind. Hiking through the hills proved rough on the younger woman, and after she complained about her feet hurting Lucius offered her a seat on his horse. Despite him being of the church, Henry didn't dislike him too much yet.
Past some gnarled trees, the lake came into view, its waters dark and reminiscent of ooze. The girl looked scared, and the blacksmith said, "We'll be alright. We have God's protection now." Andrew seemed annoyed just to hear that as they watched from the trees, but Henry appreciated the message. If only the church acted like he thought God would want them to.
"Lucius, I see huge tracks on the shore," one of the knights, a thick-shouldered man with long hair, said. "The monster appears to have entered the lake recently and-"
Water splashed up high into the air behind him, and they heard a great shrill keening. The girl screamed, and the villagers stared. Towering twenty feet into the air, though it was considerably longer than tall, stood what looked like a beaked and saw-toothed turtle on legs like an iguana's. It snapped its head down, catching the knight who had just spoken in its jaws and shearing him in half instantly, armor and all.
"Percy!" one of the surviving knights cried, brandishing his axe while he prepared to spur his mount forward. "In the name of-"
Lucius touched his arm. "There's no need."
"But it killed Percy!"
"I know. He will be avenged." The turtle turned towards them and bore down. "Run!" The others dispersed, but Lucius didn't move. When the creature bit down at him, he jumped, soaring high into the air over his steed. Henry expected the horse to run at any moment, disciplined though it might be. Still airborne, Lucius took on a serene smile. "This is God's glory."
Spears of golden light formed between his fingers, three in each hand. He hurled them all at the turtle, and they pierced it right through what must be an incredibly thick shell. It threw its head back, choking on blood as it wailed in agony. Light shone in Lucius' grasp again, this time taking on the form of two slender swords. As he dropped towards the ground, he sliced both of the beast's eyes before landing neatly back on his horse. It thrashed about aimlessly, then tried to drag itself into the lake.
Lucius raised his hands together over his head. An enormous beam of light shot upward, forming a blade over twenty feet high. He brought it down, splitting the turtle's head, neck, and half its body down the middle. Its mutilated corpse flopped down into the mud. "As you see, God blesses his faithful with victory."
"D-damn," Andrew breathed. "Could even Blackbird deal with that?"
Henry didn't know. Rodrick was supposed to be the church's mightiest warrior, but could the new angels' abilities make them even more powerful? "In any case, it looks like it came from within him..."
They hid while Lucius and the group turned back for town. The girl looked sickly pale from seeing the knight bitten in two, but to her credit she hadn't fainted and the b
urly miner had vomited. "What should we do next?" Andrew said. "I think we should follow the knights when they leave so we can get a chance to see if the 'angel' does anything to recharge his powers in camp."
"Good idea, let's do that."
Returning to Kantz—luckily, everyone was too busy watching Lucius to notice them slip in—they were greeted by loud chants of "Lucius! Lucius!" from the townspeople gathered around the knights.
The angel raised a hand. "Calm. It is not me you should be thankful to, but the Lord whose power I am only a vessel of!"
"It was really amazing," the older woman who had accompanied them said, "the monster was as big as the mayor's house and he slew it in seconds!"
"Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord!"
Andrew asked, "Not that I believe in God, but what would you think if it turns out the angels' powers really come from him?"
Henry felt conflicted. "I'd think maybe He did choose them, yet they act against what He would wish. Well, probably not in this case, but like when Rodrick came after Blackbird."
"But if it was like that, wouldn't it make God kind of stupid for not choosing well?"
He didn't have an answer for that. The knights departed and they followed. When it became clear they were heading north and east, Andrew said, "I don't if this was such a good idea. They're going farther from Septapolis."
"Who are you worried about back there, Blackbird?" His friend scowled at his joke, and Henry added, "We won't follow them all the way home probably. Maybe we can just tail them for a day or two and see what they do."
Night fell and the group made camp just off the road. Henry heard one of the other men comforting the knight who had wanted to avenge Percy, and felt sympathy for him. How many of the reward seekers they'd killed had been decent folks just trying to feed their families too? Even Rodrick hadn't seemed so bad in the end. But if the church continued to hunt them he and his friends would have to defend themselves, and learning about them might be key to doing so.
Lucius took the first watch, and Henry kept a close eye on him in hopes he'd do something to shed light on the nature of his abilities. But he just stood guard, frustratingly doing nothing while the others slept in their tent. Eventually he went inside and the older knight replaced him. "Maybe we should sneak up and take a closer look," Henry said.
"No, it's too dangerous."
"We could sneak around to the back and just try to look through the fabric without getting that close."
Andrew looked to the hill behind the tent. "If he is doing anything, by the time we get there he'll probably be finished."
"Yeah, you're right. We'll do it tomorrow then."
Another day passed. After the knights set up the tent this time, they quickly snuck around behind it and waited for Lucius to take his watch. "Feeling sleepy," Andrew said with a yawn.
Henry didn't feel his best either, since there were only two of them to take turns watching instead of four, but this should be the last day and then they'd be off even if they hadn't learned anything. The longer they followed while getting more and more tired, after all, the more likely they would be to slip up. Lucius' shift ended, and he walked back to the tent. They moved closer. The fabric was somewhat opaque, enough to see a bit through it. Lucius sat down... and drank something.
"Maybe that's what gives him his power!" Andrew whispered. "When Grendel turned me into an angel, I remember him making me drink some 'holy' water, and when I woke up..."
"But you got your power from the metal arm."
Andrew's features fell while Lucius laid down inside. They backed away. "I guess he probably doesn't get his from drinking. We could still keep it in mind. Drinking, metal arm, and whatever gave Rodrick his... I know! We could go back to the mountain and examine his body to see if we can figure out anything."
That would take a long time. Henry didn't really look forward to it... but, "What if we sent Kara with Ronald to retrieve it? It shouldn't be as dangerous as other missions that the church might interfere with—unless they want to retrieve his body, but if they did they should've already gotten it."
"And she might find nothing there?" Andrew laughed. "She'd be mad, but I guess it's not a bad idea. That is, if she hasn't gone on another mission already."
Sensing or at least hoping they were one step closer to solving the mystery of the angels, they headed back.
#
Blackbird skipped lightly down the darkening street in the direction of the restaurant, feeling good. She had managed to sell all her goods—except for two bracelets and a circlet Pete had suggested she kept—and Kara had already come back with a new artifact less than a week after starting her first mission. It was just a top-shaped device which drew moisture out of the air to automatically water plants in a small area, probably nothing that would change the world... but Blackbird felt good for her new friend, whose smiling face had looked so proud. And, Uncle Pete was so nice to her. She loved the food he let her eat, and the way he had told her to wash her face. Nobody else suggested that before, and now that she had, she looked much better and could sell stuff faster! Even though she wasn't wearing any of those cosmetics, she still felt more like a girl. Maybe she could try getting guys to go on dates with her soon. She might not have been in society for long, but she was probably twenty by now or close to it and most women had experience in courtship before that...
The restaurant came into view. All thoughts of looking pretty or dating flew from her head. Church warriors ringed the storefront, facing out rather than in as if to prevent any interference. So their comrades must already be inside...
"What are you doing?" she demanded, drawing her sword.
The men spotted her. "It's the Blackbird! Run!"
"Let the angels take care of her!" another said, and they scattered.
She cracked her neck. "And I thought I was going to have to fight. Guess you're getting wise about me." She reached for the door. When she opened it, a strong gust of wind blew out from within, pushing her unexpecting form back a step. "What?"
A tall, slender woman holding a rapier walked out through an obscuring wall of gray wind. "I am the Angel of Air, Muriel Lansie. And today, monster, you will die at the end of my graceful blade."
"Wait, are you implying my blade's not graceful?" She tried to enter holding it out to her side, and accidentally took a long chunk out of the wall next to the door. "So what? Now you'll-" The woman waved a hand at her as if to shoo. Strong wind blew against her. "As if that'd stop me..." She began pushing forward through the gust, but then Muriel cupped her fingers and spun them. The wind focused into a spike which plowed into her solar plexus like a battering ram, driving the air from her lungs. She doubled over gasping for breath, and the woman was on her attacking with the rapier. Blackbird frantically parried a few slices and pokes, then she struck the thin blade with her own so hard it momentarily coiled around hers. As Muriel's eyes grew huge, she gave her a straight punch that sent her flying into a bunch of chairs. The rapier unraveled itself from around Blackbird's giant sword and clattered to the floor. "Didn't see that coming, did you?"
Muriel wiped blood from her mouth. "You knocked out my teeth! I'm not beautiful anymore..." She smiled. "But since I'm a warrior, I'll still have my pride when I finish you."
"Yeah? What are you going to do without this"—she picked up the rapier and threw it out the window—"tickle me to death with a breeze?" Muriel used wind to blow two chairs at her, but she smacked them aside casually with her forearm. "Nope!"
Blackbird felt the heat before it reached her. She tried to turn, then pain flared up all over her as she was thrown across the room by a wave of fire smashing into her from the side. She looked up as a darker-skinned man in furs stepped over to Muriel and helped her up. "This is my husband, Atticus the Angel of Flame. Together, we're stronger than Rodrick himself."
"You think so? Oh, that's cheap!" Blackbird stood with a grin and thrust her sword at them, making them stare. "But! Since there are two of you, I won't
be sporting."
#
The instant he heard Blackbird was here, Grendel knew he had to hurry up. The two angels who accompanied him had been confident they could deal with her once and for all, but he... wasn't. Already he heard the sounds of frenzied battle downstairs, and knew the couple encountered more resistance than they anticipated. A young girl's scream of pain heard through the open window of Pete's bedroom gave him hope—but then the louder screams of a more mature woman and man made him cringe. "How can she do this?!" Muriel could be heard saying. "Our combined attacks... she should not live!"
"I live for my nakama!" Blackbird shouted, and there was a loud crash.
Atticus' voice sounded pained. "W-what the hell is a Nakama?" A howling wind sounded, then a boom. "Yes, got her!" Grendel's spirits rose.
They plummeted again when she replied, "It means friends. I just like saying it in Nipanese to honor the mangaka."
"How is she not dead..." Muriel said despondently.
More banging, wood cracking, and metal whining as it bent could be heard from below. Grendel pointed his glaive at Pete, who he'd shoved onto his bed. "Where is the spear? Tell me or die."
"And if you kill me, who will tell you then? I won't do it. Monsters like you, you'll murder those who defy you either way once you have what you want!"
Grendel felt insulted. "Why do you call me the monster? I spared your Henry's life before. I could have killed him when I had him at my mercy. I let him live, because I thought he would grow up and learn to view the world in a less naïve way than he did. But now I see why he hasn't. It's because an older, yet childish and stubborn idealist like you eggs him on."
"So what if you let him go once? You think just because you have a shred of good in you, that makes you a decent person? Even the worst tyrant can feel love. It's what you do overall with your life that counts! You are a monster, Grendel! You think it's justified for your church to bully the entire world, just because you won over the other sects? You don't have any special access to God."