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Chapter 127- Battle of The Bridge.
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Alright, tonight's the night. Shit, my inner Dexter is coming out again, which means either I am going to be incredibly awkward tonight, or I am going to do a lot of killing. Knowing me, it's probably both. Anyway, the moon is high in the sky, and it is the seventh day of the month. That's at least two of the requirements fulfilled, I think, at least. The riddle in that book that the random old man gave me isn't very clear, but I think that it is. Let me review it again.
When twin moons rise in mirrored sea,
Seek stone above the storm's decree.
In Furore's throat where old waves chant,
The Heart shall bloom where shadows slant.
By salt and wind, by oath unspoken,
Beneath the vow of bridges broken.
Where time forgets, and tides rehearse,
The Lunar Key unlocks the verse.
Mark the seventh when tide runs red,
When Luna weeps, and stars have bled.
There, in silence, carved by flame—
The Heart awaits, and speaks your name.
It is the seventh day today, the moon is high in the sky, and we are at the Fiorde di Furore, though I don't know where its throat is. Well, I'm sure I can figure out the rest on the fly... because I have definitely had a history of being an intellect and solving great and brain-hurting riddles. Yeah, I've got no hopes, but if original Gilderoy could be in Ravenclaw, then I can definitely figure this out. I am just not familiar with the area or have any of the context clues, but once I am walking around there, then I will definitely figure it out. The only problem is, I will only be able to walk around the area once Patricia's plan commences, and then it will be very much too dangerous to figure out the riddle leisurely.
I'd been scoping the place out for a while, and I'd already managed to pick off a lone vampire guard who had gotten a bit antsy and run off to a secluded area for a piss. A quick knockout and a search through his mind helped me figure out the defences and the layout of the security around the fiorde, and then I sent him back on his merry way, none the wiser. But from my preview of his mind, I had found a few spots that had piqued my interest, and might be the start of the path to the Lunar Heart. And now, it is nighttime, and the moon is high in the sky, the light shimmering off the water.
I keep my position hiding in the nearby forest, keeping an eye out on the surroundings and just waiting for a signal that the plan is in motion. The signal, in fact, is the plan starting, because I had cut off contact with the Dark Force Defence League the moment I left their base. I regret it a little, as I was definitely intrigued by the cold and rough Ivan Dragovitch, but I also really want to get out of the exciting and non-stop heart attack-inducing Italy, and go back to boring old, I know what is happening, England, where I know what to avoid and how to stay unbothered.
Oh, would you look at that, there is an eagle in the sky, circling around the entire fiorde. Well, that is definitely Talbot, the eagle animagus, who is scouting the area and will definitely be reporting back to Madam Patricia Rakepick, who will then commence her plan at the most opportune time. I have to say, I did like her plan. very efficient, but unfortunately, there was no room for me to be a part of it, and that just wouldn't work for me. I need to be involved to make sure that Lucien doesn't get the heart and that he dies, because I know that monster hates me probably the most in the entire world, so much so that he has sent his right-hand woman, his top assassin, his own ruthless daughter to hunt me down. With specific orders to try and bring me in alive to him so he can no doubt torture me to his satisfaction.
So yeah, I have to make sure that the D'Arcana clan is completely destroyed tonight so they cannot get me in the future, even if that means that some others, people arguably also opposed to me, will gain from it, but they are less dangerous than the D'Arcana, and I am less of a priority for them. Ooh, there, Talbot goes, back to the ground. somewhere on the opposite side of where I am. That is no doubt where the Dark Force Defence League is waiting, ready to step in if they have to. But if all goes according to their plan, they won't have to, but then again, they haven't encountered Lucian D'Arcana, whose speed is so fast that he can appear anywhere at any time. Honestly, he gives me Dio Brando vibes, and if I weren't aware this is a world of magic, I would almost think he has THE WORLD.
BANG!
Oh shit! That was a bombarda that just slammed into the middle of a group of vampires and sent them all flying. And now I wash as the vampires all start to panic and look around for where the attack came from, but they don't have the vantage point I do. They can't see the hundreds of witches and wizards in the air above them who have forgone their invisibility and revealed themselves to dive straight down on their brooms and fling countless spells down at them. For a moment, it is a complete massacre, and I find myself stalled, afraid to go in too eagerly and get myself blown up. I hold back and decide to just let the magic broom squad eviscerate the vampires, with their leader nowhere in sight.
Shit, it seems like I might have made the wrong call this time. I thought calling in the Dark Force Defence League was a good idea, but the DFDL is an elite force with few numbers, and not enough to go against a whole vampire clan that rules over the entirety of Italy. So when Madam Rakepick suggested bringing in another force as cannon fodder to contend against the clan, two ravenous forces tearing at each other and allowing us to do the important work, I was all for it. Except that most of the vampire forces are mooks, and the wizards brought in have seen their fair share of combat and are eviscerating entire swathes of vampires every second.
Bringing in the dark organisation R might just prove to be a massive folly, because it's looking like they are going to completely annihilate the vampires and then take their time looking for the Lunar Heart, and there's nothing I will be able to do about it, given the sheer size of the opposition. Well fuck, this has royally been screwed up. But at the very least, I can be assured that no one will find the Lunar Heart. All the information I gave to Madam Rakepick, and therefore R, is that the Lunar Heart is somewhere here, and the vampires are searching for it. They don't know the riddle, so hopefully, even if they win, they won't be able to find it, and we can all go home having wasted the day.
...But then again, when have I ever been so lucky? I start to see a lot of vampires portkeying in, and I can tell that these ones are far more different from the grunts that had been patrolling. These vampires have magic and wands, and they are also all dressed the same in sleek, tight, fighting black combat gear and white masks that seem to be sewn into the skin on their faces. Watching them, I am reminded of the D'Arcana clan's history that I read about in the old man's book. Where they performed dark experiments on magical children and made their own vampire army. I wasn't too sure about that information, but it seems it was correct. These aren't vampires, these are magical children that were taken by the vampires and suffered through magical experimentation, surgeries and necromantic transmutations.
Now they are a mindless, ruthless fighting force, and they remind me of Danzo's Root in Naruto. The white masks have come in, and they are immediately standing on business. They are immediately fighting back, and the battlefield is even, both managing to come to a standstill, battling and finding no give. Except the white masks are ruthless and completely single-minded, not caring about what gets in their way as long as they can kill their enemy. That makes them extremely dangerous, but it also serves as a weakness, something the forces of R realise quite quickly. They quickly begin to work as a team to take down the white masks. Say what you want about them, that they are evil and disgusting, but they sure know how to work as a team.
Still, with this stalemate with both sides fighting and dying in equal measure, this serves as the perfect opportunity. I make sure my stealth charms are still in place, and then I venture out carefully, making sure not to get too close to the battle and heading to the one place that seems to fit the riddle. I head for the bridge that crosses the fjord, as a bridge is the one thing that is mentioned in the riddle that I know is here for sure. It's halfway on my way to the bridge, which has taken me a good few minutes, when shivers run down my spine. The dreadful feeling in the air, the blood and evil that I can taste on my tongue, and my whole body locks down as I can feel death staring me down once again.
It's him. Lucian D'Arcana is somewhere in the vicinity, and I don't dare move an inch for fear of gaining his attention and ending my life very quickly. I can feel a very irritating bead of sweat sliding its way down my face, from my forehead, down my cheek, and onto my lip, and I can taste the salt of my own sweat. I'm very thankful when I hear a giant explosion further behind me, and I chance a look to see Lucain D'Arcana having been attacked by the entirety of the forces of R.
It seems all of the white masks had been wiped out, and that is why Lucian had shown up, and he is battling all of the R wizards. I can also see Madam Rakepick there, as she is the only member of the DFDL who can actually be seen fighting, given she is undercover in R. She is casting multiple slowing and debuff spells to lessen Lucian's strengths, as I had informed her of his capabilities. But even then, R is losing a wizard every minute or so, Lucian tearing out throats and spreading bloodshed, the wizard's spells having minimal effect.
Knowing it won't be long till they all are dead, I hurry forward towards the centre of the bridge, eager to find the Lunar Heart and to use it murder the piece of shit scary ass vampire ripping limb from limb behind me, a smile on his face the whole time. Knowing at the very centre of the bridge, I look around for any sort of clue, but all there is are elaborate swirls and carvings in the stone railing and floor of the bridge. Nice to look at, but nothing that looks like it leads to the heart. I look up at the moon in the sky, and I am reminded of the one part of the riddle, where it mentions twin moons in a mirrored sea. So, two moons, one in the sky, and one reflected...
I quickly rush over to the railing and look down below at the churning sea, seeing the moon reflected down below. If I am right, then somewhere in that big circle is the clue to the Lunar Hearts location. I look around to see a way down there, but the only stairway down is right there in the middle of the battle, and I need to get down there quickly, which means the fast way down. Gravity. I start to climb up, but then a little tingle in my brain and the feeling of the whoosh of air behind me convinces me to jump to the right, crashing into the ground, and witnessing as the stone railing where I was just standing is shattered into smithereens.
"I knew you would be here. You are a very predictable man, Gilderoy Lockhart." I hearan ice cold tone say from behind me, and I quickly scramble up to my feet while casting a protego to protect me, which seems to be the right decision as several knives bounce off of my shield, and I am sure each of them was aimed for a kill spot. Now, having my guard up and my wand at the ready, my stealth charms have disappeared as I needed to focus on casting the protego instead of keeping them up. But at this point, that is fine, because my assailant managed to find me even with them active.
"Ah, I was rather hoping to avoid you... given your, ya know, general murder happiness." I respond to Celia D'Arcana, who is standing there with a wand in one hand and three knives in the other. How the hell does she have three big ass knives in one hand? Anyway, she looks exactly what you think a lethal vampire femme fatale would look like, dressed in a tight form-fitting black body suit that leaves nothing to the imagination, and her hair tied back into a tight ponytail. Basically, she can be described by a single word: tight. Like, she is the perfect being, from and perfection all in one tight little form that can kill you in seconds.
"Enough nonsense, surrender and submit, and you will eventually die. Resist, and I will make sure your pitiful existence subsists for as long as possible in the most amount of pain. Choose." I respond by immediately sending a Difindo at her, wide enough that she'll either have to drop or jump over it, positioning her to be vulnerable to my next attack. Except that she doesn't drop or jump. She keeps her legs planted, and she does a Neo. A goddam fucking Neo! I feel a shock of excitement run through me asshe sways backwards, limboing under the Difiindo, and then returns to her position. "You chose wrong." Oh fuck!
She waves he wand, and an explosion hits my shield, blasting it apart. I was so impressed with the Neo'ing that I lost focus. "AGH! Fuck!" I scream as three knives impact my chest, cutting deep, right above the kidney, liver and heart. Thank god I'm a coward and scared of death, as while the impacts definitely hurt, they don't cut through all the way, having been impeded by the hardening charm I had cast on my vest underneath my clothes, turning it as hard as stone and saving my life from crucial threats. Still, this gives me a great opportunity to put my splendid acting to work and lure her into a false sense of security.
"Ah, ah, no... I'm- I'm dying!?" I mutter out as I stumble back, leaning against the stone railing and clutching at my chest, my other hand firmly grasping my wand and getting ready to use it to kill this crazy bitch as soon as she gets close. Except, she isn't coming closer, and she is also looking at me as if I am an idiot. Fuck, what is wrong? It can't be my acting, I am a brilliant actor, even having all the experience Gilderoy Lockhart had pretending to be an actual experienced adventurer.
"I can't believe father actually has a problem with you." I look at her, befuddled, and that just seems to disgust her even more. Fuck, I might be a masochist because her looking at me like I am a piece of shit is doing something to me." If my knives actually hurt you, you'd be dead, you fool. One of them literally impacted your heart; you wouldn't be able to do anything if the knives actually worked. Also, I am not foolish enough to get close to the Man with the Dragon Blood." Ah, right. That makes sense. I guess there was a little miscalculation on my part. Still, that is a cool fucking title I have earned.
"Well, if you're not approaching me, then you leave me no choice." I quickly dart my hand into the extendable pouches I have tied to my belt and grab as many of the small glass balls I have loaded in there, and pull them back out and throw them outin a widespread, covering the area all around Celia. "There's no kill like overkill!" I roar as the glass balls shatter on the floor, the dragon blood mixing with the potions inside and the combination proving to be volatile.
BOOM!
The explosion is abrupt and deafening, and it sends the dragon's blood through the air as a mist, something that Celia can't escape as she tries to use Protego to defend herself, but the explosions were never the attack. The shields don't stop air coming through, and she didn't think I would be doing biological warfare, chemical warfare? What does dragon blood count as? "Agggghhh!" She screams, clawing at her own face as she drops her wands and rolls on the ground, her skin burning bright red and pustules forming on her skin. But she doesn't realise that she is rolling on the dragon blood on the floor, and I watch in horrified fascination as, in the end, she explodes, her blood flying all over the bridge.
"... wow." I'm magical Oppenheimer for vampires. That's all I can think as I watch Celia's blood pool and start to follow along the rivets and swirl in the bridge, filling in the connection and then finally pooling together in a large circular groove in the centre of the bridge. And then the blood begins to light up.
Huh, I guess there's my clue.
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Yeah, I am speeding this up a lot. I really couldn't remember a lot of what I had planned, and this little side quest kind of killed my motivation, so I'm fast-tracking it. We are close to the end.
Upcoming Chapters:
Hero: Chapter 128- Screw Italy.
Super: Chapter 130- Get Him To The Three Broomsticks.
Legendary: Chapter 132- Have At Her!
Galactic: Chapter 136- Unhappy.
Mythic: Chapter 143- Snape Change.
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