CHAPTER 475: WAR OF IRON - PART 5 - HERDING FOXES AND CATS

Kordia switched to her half-fox form as she blocked yet another spell cast from above. The angel pursuing them launched another bolt of force, only for it to shatter a single hex of her shield, which filled as a lower hex slid into place.

From under her shield, Brigit and Darlae lunged out, casting simultaneous spells. Darlae used a simple stone bullet, which travelled faster than Brigit’s wind magic. The angel blocked the first, only to get hit from behind by the second, which drove him to the ground with a hard smack!

"We need to stay off the streets," Darlae said as soon as she returned.

"Gods, I never thought I’d see the day we killed an angel," Brigit said. "But I agree, we should find a location to set up in once Amarena and Cassiel return."

"Why did she even come with us?" Lapins asked, her rabbit ears twitching.

Brigit let out a small sigh. "Look, she said she knew Rainier, our boy’s roommate."

Kordia let out a small gasp. "And you’re telling us this now?"

"That’s all we know about her. That and Heaven tried to kill her to get at our boy," Darlae added.

"We really didn’t have a lot of time to fully tell our stories. But we can’t worry about that. Amarena and Cassiel should have been back by now," Brigit said. The group had agreed on ten-minute searches, but the fight with the angel had taken them more than half past that.

"Do you think they ran into trouble?" Sin asked.

"From how little I know about Amarena? Definitely," Lapins replied.

"Then we should go find them," Kordia proposed. Reiko could do it quickly."

"Reiko?" Brigit asked.

A string of thoughts and questions passed quickly between Kordia, Lapins, and Sin. After reaching a decision, the three of them closed their eyes, and when they reopened them again...

"I am Reiko," Reiko said.

"Whoa. How the Hell?" Stella looked across Reiko’s three bodies.

"It was an accident that led to my creation, but each part of me is fine with that. Together, I am stronger than any part alone."

"And here I thought figuring out Kir is a metatron was the strangest thing I’d ever encountered," Darlae quirked her lips in a concerned expression.

"I’ve heard of this before," Brigit said. "You’re one being in multiple bodies. Like a hive of spirit bees or something. But I’ve never heard of people being able to create something like that... I wonder what you are."

"How is it our son always manages to wind up with the strangest things?" Darlae complained.

Reiko frowned, "I am just as much a person as you. And all the spirits we’ve spoken to have been people in their own ways. So please, do not call me a ’thing’."

"Are there side effects of your merging that we should be concerned about?" Brigit asked.

"We perceive as one. And we have been growing more alike over time." The answer came mostly from Sin, who sensed that she was getting more comfortable as a girl than she’d ever felt before. Lapins was still a bit on the fence about having rabbit ears, but on the other hand she found them adorable. And Kordia felt it was something they all needed so all of them would be safe, even without her, since so far they’d figured out that they could form Reiko within great measures of each other.

"I’m a little concerned that it could mean you’re becoming one person," Brigit said.

Reiko paused. She hadn’t considered such a thing as a problem. Forgotten until now, Crimson slid between Sin’s legs, choosing that very moment to say in everyone’s minds, "Well, it’s hardly her fault. She’s lived less than a couple of days since she was born."

"Did that fox just talk?" Darlae wore a shocked face as she pointed at Crimson.

"You didn’t realize it’s a spirit?" Brigit answered with just as much shock.

"He, thank you very much. And yes, I do talk. So, call me Lord Crimson. I have a plan that will satisfy everyone."

*

Ferro fought with all his might as he hovered about the city wall, building up a wall of ice in front of the smaller stone one being built to seal the breach.

He and Anko had retreated to help with the defense, and while he saw Malzkael directing soldiers, the need to cover the breach had been too pressing for him to stop and check on her. At Malz’s advice, it seemed, the back line of the wall defenders focused their fire on their angelic attackers while the front line worked to repel the army at their door.

When Ferro finished building his wall of ice, he decided it was time for a break, and so he descended towards the fortified gate to find Malzkael waiting for him with Bardoulf and Anko.

"Nice tails," Anko said as soon as he landed, holding up three fingers.

"What?" Ferro twisted about his own body and found that he had three tails. "I thought two was the limit." He’d never heard of any catkin, much less a rust catkin, growing more than two. Yet he could not doubt the evidence of his eyes. "This is..."

"Heya, could you fill up my suit instead of staring at your butt?" Anko asked. "Like, don’t get me wrong, but I’m sure there are plenty of girls who would be jealous of it, but there’s this battle going on..."

"Oh. Right." Ferro blushed. He righted himself before approaching, pushing his mana into Anko’s suit with a continuous stream, truly feeling his increased output for the first time now that he knew to look for changes in his magic.

While he was doing that, a messenger arrived for Bardoulf.

"Council Bardoulf, news from the docks. They’re almost here," the woman panted.

"Who’s almost here?" Malz asked.

"The enemy fleet. One of our fliers confirmed they’re sending in troop ships." The messenger accepted a waterskin from Bardoulf and drank quickly.

"Did they spot any names? Ship names, I mean," Ferro stammered quickly, his tails and ears moving into worried expressions.

After lowering the wineskin and wiping her mouth, the messenger regarded him and his strange suit. "They’re sending their best. The Ironblooded, Ironport Bitch, Unbreakable Ironsides, Ironlash, Queen of Iron-"

"S-stop!" Ferro interrupted. "Who’s the captain of the Queen of Iron?" He knew the answer, but wanted it to be different. If she wasn’t there, she’d be safe...

"As far as we know," Bardoulf answered for the messenger, "its captain is Valera Rubi, the Bloody Razor herself." He regarded Ferro with a slightly hostile scrutiny. "A rust catkin like yourself... do you know her?"

"I-"

"Wait, so just because he’s a catkin, he knows every other catkin out there? That’s pretty racist." Anko stepped between him and Bardoulf, covering for Ferro as he tried to get his shit together.

"He asked for the ship specifically. So quit stalling for him and let him speak," Bardoulf unsheathed his wolfkin claws, which were very razor-like.

"Why? So you can accuse him of running off and joining the enemy? After he’s already killed their general for you?" Malz joined Anko’s side, her wing flaring out aggressively. "They did what you wanted, so leave it alone. Or should I remind you that Kir is still out there!" She pointed out towards the pass.

"Kir’s what?!" Ferro exclaimed, looking in that direction and straining his sight for any sign of him.

"So you claim, but aside from your words, there’s nothing to prove that. Where’s The Hunter? Did she really aid your escape or is she dead?"

"I’ll vouch for them," a new voice, The Hunter’s, joined the argument. "I saw them bury the guy before I planted a forest of rosevines in that same hole."

"Lady Hunter," Bardoulf sniffed once in her direction, "How long have you been lurking about?"

"I just arrived, Council Bardoulf. It took a while to move around the enemy. I will swear on my honor and Rose’s that there’s no way our target survived what happened to him. They even managed to bury an angel with him, someone who might have been important."

"I believe you, but the enemy still charges our gates," Bardoulf snarled.

"A chicken writhes for many moments after losing its head. I was at the last invasion, and this army is hardly as organized as it could be." She gestured past the crenellations. "Someone else might be in charge, but right now their chaos is our opportunity."

As their argument continued, Malz brought herself close to Ferro and whispered, "Run. Go save your sister."

"But what about you?" he whispered back.

"I’ll grab Anko and try to get Kir back with us."

Ferro swallowed. Now that the moment of his prophecy was coming true, he’d realized that maybe it would be better if Kir wasn’t around when he found Val...

And the moment he thought that, a scream laced with mana ripped through the air with the force of a massive blast, its shockwave visible as it exploded outward, flattening and stunning even the defenders on the wall.

Instinct bade Ferro to duck, and so he was not flattened like the rest, but instead was able to activate his flight and slip away before anyone could recover.

Please be alive, Val... Please be sane...

He tried to block out the last thought, but it refused to be denied.

Please don’t let this be the day you die...