NOVEL NEXT Chapter 147: Orphan of Cause
The priestess immediately reformed her scythe and attempted to hack away at the huge logs of fallen wood with less than dismal results.
"Come on! Come on! Break, damn you!" Zulema's choked cries rang out as the point of her scythe came down on the thick, coarse bark, only for the tip to miserably embed itself after every swing.
"I don't think you're gonna get through those." Heloise noted, the witch watching Zulema's pitiful attempts to break through. "These trees are like, eerily huge. I know this genus and I've never heard of ones that have ever reached this height. Guess not even your weird ice magic can win against it."
"Please. You have to help me get through here." Zulema begged desperately. "Burn this damn forest for all I care! I need to save Lucia!"
"Sorry, sis. Fire's not gonna do much against a saturated forest like this. But I know an easier way." Heloise wrangled the glove off her hand and brought her fingers to her lips, whistling loudly. Carthas hopped on over from where he had been keeping vigil.
"Oh, yes. The bird," said Zulema in a curious tone. "I believe I recognize him. I would often see him perched outside my parents' house. Though he was much smaller then. And his wings weren't as colorful. It's been a while."
"What's up, Zulems?" answered Carthas. His three eyes glowing hypnotically. "How ya been?"
"Carthas, you little glutton. You look quite handsome now." Zulema smiled sweetly beneath her mask as she tussled and stroked the tuft of feathers along his neck. "Will you please help me fly through this forest to save my friend?"
Carthas bowed his head in uncharacteristic fashion. "Hey, anything for the lady who always brought me food."
"Oh my Dark Gooood, just get out of here already!" Heloise scoffed dramatically, flipping her blonde hair over her shoulder.
A sudden shriek from the forest caused all three to spin on their heels.
"Lucy!" The glacial knightess swiftly mounted the large avian, holding onto his neck for support. "Carthas, let's go!"
The large Star Baron flapped his long wings and took off, rising upward and rushing forward through the space between trees. He flew through the frozen forest of crowded trees with surprising grace, dashing to paths where the giant trunks spread far enough to not graze his enormous wingspan, if not turning his entire body vertically when no other path could be found. His passenger seemed to have no qualms with his tricky maneuvers. Of course, in his extensive vigilance, he had caught word of the existence of the Scarlet Sister order, not that the witch had to be informed of everything, but he couldn't fathom the possibility that Alma's gentle sister would be one of them.
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"Carthas." Zulema's whispering vibrated against his auriculars. "Be careful. I know it's an emergency, but I don't want you hurting yourself for my sake."
Yep, that was Alma's sister alright. "Worry about me after you save your friend."
"Oh no," the ex-priestess muttered. In the distance up ahead, Zulema could see a dark, looming figure standing among the trees. She leaned forward and signaled to Carthas.
The large bird prepared his descent and slid across the snow, stopping a few feet away from the tall, monstrous behemoth he had spotted long before she did.
Zulema quickly hopped off and ran toward it with all her might, calling out to it as she approached. "Derleth! Stop!"
The hideously twisted figure turned around, viscous drool falling from the endless jaw of his rotting, bovine face as he glared at her with those familiar silver glints floating in the lightless void of his empty, sunken eyes. His abnormally elongated arm stretched forward, connected to long, spindly fingers wrapped tightly around Lucia's struggling, naked form. A sharp fingertip pressed dangerously into her neck as he held her in his grasp.
She screamed grotesquely, chipped fingernails digging desperately into the bony prison squeezing the artificial life out of her.
"ORPHAN. YOU FAILED TO KILL THE ENEMY." Derleth's guttural tone grinded its way from his maw as he spoke. "NOW I'M FORCED TO CLEAN UP YOUR MISTAKE."
"Leave her alone! Don't hurt her!" Zulema looked around desperately. "What did you do to Marie?! Did you kill her?!"
"GONE." His words continued to sputter out from a form not meant for speaking the languages of man. "AND NOW THE ENEMY… WILL KNOW WHERE WE RESIDE… THANKS TO YOUR WEAKNESS."
"I will handle them as they come! We'll handle them! You were right! The Church is the enemy and I want to help you take them down! But please! Don't hurt Lucy any more than she's already suffered through!"
"YOUR 'LUCY' NO LONGER EXISTS… SHE IS NOTHING… BUT A MINDLESS ABOMINATION." His ragged voice dragged on the final syllable longer than necessary. "I'VE ALREADY… BROKEN HER NECK AND STILL… SHE CONTINUES TO STRUGGLE."
"Lucy…" Zulema fell to her knees, her hope once again dwindling. As her chin sank into her chest, she felt the sudden weight of a large beak nuzzling the back of her shoulder. It was Carthas.
"The steerfaced flesh parody is right, Zulems. The only help you can give her now is by putting her out of her misery.
"No, but I…" Zulema's voice trailed off. The memory of Lucy straining to call her name earlier flashed in her mind. Was she still there, deep down, begging to be saved? "Damn them. Damn them! Fine! Just do it!"
Derleth's fingertip tore through the tendons of Lucia's neck, severing her head from the struggling body.
"Hgrk—! He…yoo…" Her muscles went slack. The ex-priestess had died for a second time.
Zulema started blankly at the disembodied head rolling onto the snow, its lips still slowly mouthing words. The orphan of Macha rose to her feet. "They won't get away with this. No woman should be forced to go through this torture anymore. We're dismantling this sham of a religion once and for all."