A Journey Unwanted

[Realm: Álfheimr]

[Location: Heart Kingdom]

[Pulchritudo]

[Banquet]

"Oof."

The sound escaped Gretel almost involuntarily as her body was suddenly thrown backward. There had barely been enough time for her to understand that she had been struck before her back and shoulder slammed into a banquet table.

The heavy wooden table buckled beneath her weight before splitting apart with a sharp crack. Its legs kicked outward, the tabletop snapping down the middle as plates, cutlery and the remains of the banquet were launched into the air. Loaves of bread tumbled end over end. Roasted meat slid from platters and scattered across the floor. Bowls overturned, spilling sauces and crumbs across the already chaotic room.

Gretel disappeared beneath the collapsing remains for only a moment before she moved.

One arm shoved a broken section of wood away from her body. She rolled onto her side, caught herself with one hand, and pushed herself upright, her breathing briefly unsteady from the force of the collision.

She shook her head sharply.

The impact had left her dazed, but not for long; her silver eyes focused and immediately widened.

A large shard of ice was already racing toward her.

There was no time to wonder where it had come from.

Gretel reacted on instinct; she pushed off the floor and bolted sideways.

The ice passed through the space where her torso had been a fraction of a second earlier. It struck the ground behind her; the impact sounded like a hammer smashing into rock.

The floor cracked outward from the point of impact as frost rapidly spread across the surface. A pale layer of ice crawled over the stone, freezing everything it touched. Fragments of a broken table became trapped beneath it, while stray pieces of food hardened against the floor.

Gretel continued moving for several steps before finally turning her body enough to look back.

She had avoided the attack, but barely; her eyes swept across the room.

Several guests were already fleeing.

Some were scrambling toward the exits with whatever dignity they could still maintain, while others had abandoned any concern for appearances entirely. Nobles who had probably spent the evening worrying about etiquette and status were now pushing past one another simply to get away from the destruction.

The battle outside meanwhile was impossible to ignore; the constant tremors caused by Mikoto and Trismegistus’s fight were still travelling through the estate. Every so often the floor gave another shudder, followed by a distant crash somewhere beyond the walls. Flashes of light intermittently illuminated the openings created by the destruction.

Gretel watched several more guests hurry outside; she could hardly blame them.

("At least they’re smart enough to run away.")

As much as she disliked the way some of these nobles behaved, as arrogant and self-important as many of them had seemed during the banquet, there was a difference between disliking someone and wanting them caught in the middle of a fight that had nothing to do with them.

("I’d rather not have some idiot get themselves killed just because they decided watching this was more important than running.")

Her attention returned to her opponent.

Iphigenia was descending from the upper floors.

There was something strange about the way she did it; she did not fall. Her body simply descended gradually, almost as though invisible strings had been attached to her and were lowering her toward the floor.

Her gown moved gently around her legs, and her expression remained untouched by the destruction around her.

Gretel watched as the princess’s heels finally touched the floor.

The ground beneath her feet was covered by a thin layer of ice. Broken furniture and scattered food surrounded them; it clashed with the princess’s otherwise dignified appearance.

Iphigenia looked at Gretel and studied her for several seconds.

Then her expression shifted by the smallest degree.

"So those reports from the Retorta Guild weren’t nearly as reliable as they claimed, were they?" Her voice remained calm. "Your true Null Schema wasn’t blood manipulation at all. I suppose they simply couldn’t identify what they were looking at. From what I’ve seen now, I gather it’s merely an extremely versatile ability, one capable of producing effects they couldn’t properly categorize."

Gretel tightened her grip around the rapier as her breathing settled.

"I don’t see how knowing that helps you."

Her stance lowered slightly as one foot slid backward across the frozen floor; the rapier came up. Her shoulders relaxed despite the tension running through the rest of her body, and her eyes remained fixed on Iphigenia.

"If anything, all you’ve learned is that their report was wrong. That doesn’t tell you how to beat me."

Iphigenia regarded her without answering immediately.

"Indeed." Her tone was conversational. "But I’ve spent months in the Black Forest, surrounded by fairies who make a sport of deception and trickery."

Her pale hand slowly rose, and Gretel’s muscles tightened immediately. The movement was small, but she had already learned enough about Iphigenia to know that even a small movement could precede something devastating.

"Trickery was never going to be enough to even begin besting me."

The moment the princess finished speaking, two blue glyphs flared into existence behind her.

Gretel’s eyes shifted toward them.

They were circular and distinctly different from the earlier formation. Their patterns seemed erratic at first glance, swirling lines running through the glyphs in uneven paths while geometric diamonds occupied their centers.

Gretel barely had time to register them before a bolt of light erupted from one, then another.

They shot forward.

The first tore through the air with enough force to make the surrounding atmosphere crack.

Gretel moved, her body dropped and twisted sideways at the same time. The bolt passed over her as it struck the ground behind her. The resulting impact cratered the stone, fragments of masonry exploded upward, while another section of the nearby wall was ripped apart by the force.

Gretel did not stop as another bolt came. She pushed herself into another direction, twisting around the attack as it passed close enough for her to feel the heat and pressure of it. It struck behind her, and the floor ruptured; a section of wall collapsed outward.

Gretel’s boots skidded against the frozen floor before she recovered her balance.

Then another bolt came, and another; the two blue glyphs continued firing.

The attack quickly became a barrage.

Gretel ran, moving through the wreckage by using broken tables, overturned chairs, and damaged sections of the room as temporary obstacles between herself and the incoming bolts. One struck a pillar, and the pillar cracked; another hit the floor, and stone erupted beneath her feet.

Gretel jumped over the broken section without slowing, but another bolt came from her left. She twisted her body sideways, and it passed within inches. The blast tore through the wall behind her, and another followed immediately.

Gretel ducked; the bolt passed above her head and detonated against the far side of the room. The impact sent fragments of stone scattering across the floor.

Then suddenly the glyphs stopped; Gretel noticed it immediately. The two blue circles behind Iphigenia vanished.

Gretel’s eyes narrowed as she continued moving.

("Is she changing spells?")

Another glyph appeared as that thought finished; this one was much larger. A circular green formation unfolded directly before the princess, its outer ring spreading outward while markings assembled across its surface. Unlike the erratic blue formations from before, this glyph seemed stable.

Gretel’s instincts reacted before she fully understood what she was seeing.

She changed direction as the air intensified; at first, it was only a pressure against her clothes. Then it became an intense force; a violent gust swept through the ruined banquet hall.

Gretel’s eyes widened; the wind struck with enough force to make the remaining furniture jump across the floor.

Then it hit her.

"—!"

She winced as the pressure slammed into her body; for an instant she managed to resist. Her boots dug into the damaged stone, and her rapier remained clenched in her hand. Her entire body leaned forward against the force, but it was useless.

The wind caught her completely, and Gretel was lifted from the ground and hurled backward. She crashed through the nearest window; the glass shattered around her. Pieces scattered through the air as her body passed through the opening, several pieces catching against her clothing and leaving shallow cuts across her arms, shoulders, and legs.

The impact knocked the breath from her; for a brief moment she could do nothing but tumble. The estate disappeared beneath her, and the night air rushed around her as she fell away from the damaged building, her silver eyes struggling to regain focus.

Her body rotated as she saw the ground; she quickly tucked her body and turned her shoulders while extending one leg.

Her rotation slowed as she angled herself downward and her boots touched the stone of an enormous courtyard. The impact was surprisingly light as she bent her knees.

But her breathing was heavier; several thin cuts marked her skin. None were deep, but they stung.

Gretel glanced briefly at one of them before looking back toward the building.

"It’s hard to dodge the wind. Who would have thought?"

For a moment, she thought the attack had ended.

Then she looked up.

Iphigenia had stepped toward the broken window; the princess stood several floors above the courtyard, and she looked down at Gretel as she raised one hand.

Gretel’s eyes narrowed.

Something changed in the estate; a red glow began spreading across one of the towers.

Gretel’s gaze shifted; the tower was enormous. It rose high above the surrounding structures, its foundation deeply embedded within the estate grounds. Stone, reinforced masonry and countless tons of material had been holding it in place for who knew how many years.

The red glow spread across its surface, then the ground shook. A deep grinding sound rolled through the courtyard as the tower moved.

Gretel’s expression changed.

"You’re kidding."

The foundations cracked, stone split beneath the tower’s immense weight, and the supporting structures collapsed as the entire building began to tilt.

Gretel had enough time to understand exactly what was happening as the massive structure was being torn free. Its foundations were ripped apart as if they were little more than loose debris. Great sections of stone broke away from the ground and fell into the courtyard, smashing into the surrounding structures.

The sound was deafening as the tower continued to rise. Its enormous weight should have made the movement impossible, but the entire tower was lifted. It tore free from the estate, the base of the structure dragged across the ground before finally breaking loose completely, sending a wave of shattered debri outward.

Then it began moving toward her, fast, much faster than something that massive had any right to move. The wind produced by its movement rolled across the courtyard, throwing dust and loose debris outward.

Gretel’s hair snapped violently behind her as she planted her feet.

The weight of it became apparent as it moved. Even suspended by magic, the tower did not appear light. Every shift in its trajectory displaced huge amounts of air. Loose stones bounced across the courtyard. Broken windows shattered from the pressure. Parts of the tower itself continued breaking away as the magical force holding it together struggled against its own mass.

"Oh dear."

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