The Red Hand

"So... I was right..." Camilla smirked, trying to put on airs as she faced Alice, the blade skewering her, stubbornly refusing to come loose despite her best efforts. "There is a Monster Queen. How kind of you to come and greet me yourself, your Majesty. I'd give you a curtsy if there wasn't a FUCKING SWORD IN MY CHEST!"

"It's cute how you're able to continue to run your mouth despite the situation." Alice giggled as she hid her curled lips behind her fan, mimicking the mannerisms that Kana had shown her. "Is that bravado or simply fear? Sometimes it's hard to tell with people like you."

Alice had instructed the other members of Black Company not to intervene unless instructed or if Camilla attempted an escape. She wanted to end things herself and prove that, as the Demon Lord's daughter, she was more than capable of bringing things to a close, not to mention she took a certain level of satisfaction in dealing with Camilla herself.

"Quite the precocious kid, aren't ya?" Camilla laughed as she tried to remove the blade, still finding it still stubbornly embedded in her chest. "What's say we call things a draw? I beat up your big bad monster, but I'm a bit tired now. How about we swing back around for round two later after I've gotten a bit of rest?" She said, trying to keep Alice occupied as she used what little magic she had try and remove the blade.

“Hmm... I think not." Alice said lazily as she snapped her fingers and summoned a second fan in her off hand. "You will meet your end here, Lich. You've exhausted your usefulness, and there can be no loose ends. Sorry, but I'm going to need you to disappear."

{This is not good... My magic is almost empty after dealing with that monster, and while this girl doesn't seem to be that powerful, her bodyguards definitely are. I guess I don't have a choice but to leave. It'll mean abandoning the Dwarves, but fuck it, I'm not dying here.} (Camilla)

"Loose ends... Yeah, I don't really like those either." Camilla laughed as she summoned the two halves of her scissors and used them to forcefully shatter the blade embedded within her chest. "But unfortunately for you, this loose end isn't going to get tied up without a fight!" She roared as she dove toward Alice. Camilla wasn't expecting to kill her but figured that attacking would provoke the others into responding, which would distract them for just enough to allow her to dissolve her body and retreat. Few things could harm her in an incorporeal state, but with everything she just witnessed, she didn't want to take any chances. The Lich didn't need much time to vanish once she'd retreated into her ghastly state and it would only take a split second for her to disappear from the Cave.

"Fool." Alice said as a barrier of lightning blocked Camilla's blades just as they reached her.

*ZAP* *CRACKLE*

"What?!?" Camilla yelled in surprise as her attack was easily stopped. "How did you?!?" She paused as she noticed the paper talismans floating around Alice and generating a barrier that protected her. “Those are!”

{Are you telling me this girl is a Temple Monk?!?} (Camilla)

"Oh? Do you recognize my talismans?" Alice asked playfully as Camilla was tossed backward by the barrier. While they were primarily used to summon the Orochi with its unique summoning method, the pact formed between Alice and the great beast granted her the ability to those same talismans offensively and defensively as if they were magic spells. Though, as a Summoner, she was still a poor fighter against any dedicated combat class despite having a slight boost due to the Miko's power.

{They weren't unique in FWO since a dedicated class got them as a primary method of attack. Though compared to the real thing, what I'm borrowing from the Orochi is nothing more than cute decorations. But, it should be more than enough to end her...} (Alice)

"Of course I do!" Camilla growled, biting her lip in frustration. She knew that disappointing her body when someone could use those talismans was suicide sine they'd easily block her attempt to flee and were more than capable of killing her in that state. "The Zhou Temple Monks are the only ones who use those things!"

{Argh! I should've noticed from her attire! The robes aren't the same, but they resemble something they'd wear. But why in the Hells is a Temple Monk on the Western Continent leading a legion of monsters against the Dwarves?!? And how did we not have any intel on this?!? We monitor their monasteries constantly for any movement! There's no way one of them could've-} (Camilla)

"No, that wouldn't make any sense. You're not a Temple Monk, are you?" Camilla said with certainty as her stress levels skyrocketed. "There's no way. Those guys don't involve themselves in worldly affairs, let alone lead an army of monsters to kill random people."

"Does it matter who I am or why I'm doing what I'm doing?" Alice said as she tossed several dozen talismans toward Camilla, encircling the Lich and causing her to panic as they formed a barrier around her. "After all, you won't be around long much longer."

{Fuck. Fuck. Fuck! I can't handle this shit right now! Even if she's not a Temple Monk, she's got those talismans, which means she can probably use their magic! And if she can...} (Camilla)

"Since you know what these are, then I take it that you understand what I'm going to do." Alice said as Camilla tried to break free from her prison, only to be shocked and knocked back again. "Lichs are quite the annoying opponent. Destroying their body does nothing but send them back to their phylactery, only delaying them a bit, and we can't have that." She said as she summoned dozens more talismans to her side. "So I think I'll purify you instead." Alice said as she snapped her fingers, forming the talismans in a second layer around Camilla, who looked downright terrified. "I might not be as powerful as an actual Miko, but I'm pretty sure a high-powered Turn Undead will be good enough to eradicate you in that weakened state." She smirked, which made the members of Black Company see the visage of Akagi in her daughter for a moment.

{She's thoroughly corrupted.} (Black Company)

"Dammit... Dammit!" Camilla roared as she tried to break out of the cage Alice had ensnared her in, each time being bounced away and shocked. "You won't get away with this! When I get out of here, I'll-"

*ZAP* *BOOM*

"Be quiet." Alice said coldly as Camilla was struck by a large bolt of lightning. "I have no interest in listening to your ramblings. So just sit quietly and be erased from this world."

"No... No... No..." Camilla panicked as she struggled to sit up due to the sheer pain. "I won't lose... Not to you... Not when I was so close!"

"Close?" Alice tilted her head cutely, once again reminding Black Company of Akagi. "Camilla, you were never close to anything. Don't you see?" She said as she held her fans out to her side and allowing her clothing to flutter. "Everything you've done has been in service to our goals." She smiled as she channeled more magic into the talismans, activating holy magic to start the purge of the Lich. "You played your part well, but now you are of no further use to us... So goodbye." She said as she snapped her fans closed, unleashing the Holy power within the talismans, which blasted Camilla with a tidal wave of power.

*WOOSH*

"AHHHHHHHHHH!" Camilla screamed in pain as her body and soul were bombarded with Holy magic. Ordinarily, a Lich could not be destroyed as long as their phylactery remained intact. However, sufficient holy magic channeled into a Lich would destroy that connection, resulting in their destruction. It was not an easy process, and if not for the fact that Camilla had exhausted most of her energy, Alice would not have had sufficient strength to overpower her natural resistances.

*SIZZLE* *POP*

"Man... That looks painful." Elma shivered as Camilla's screams echoed inside her head.

"It's a hell of a way to go, that's for sure." Sabia said, her eyes locked firmly on Camilla. "But such is the fate of those who stand in our Master's way."

"You... I won't..." Camilla tried her best to resist Alice's magic and its purifying effects, though it was ultimately a losing battle. "This can't..." She paused as her body began to dissolve, the black haze within burning away as it met the holy power around her. "You... Not now..."

{Not yet! Not when I-} (Camilla)

"Be gone from this world. Rondo of Purification!" Alice spun in place before snapping her fans shut, using the last of her power to put everything she had into purging the Lich as her Miko appearance faded.

"Who... Who... Are... You?!?" Camilla yelled as her body continued to dissolve, rapidly reducing her to little more than a torso and a head. "Who the in the Hells are you to have such power to control these creatures! To summon that thing! To purify me?!?"

"I don't give my name to people like you." Alice said as she turned back to Camilla. She'd reverted to her Erika appearance, which only confused the Lich even more as her mask was placed back on. "But, it shouldn't be hard for you to figure out what's going on at this point, should it? Just think about it for a second." She smirked.

"What... You..." Camilla's eyes went wide in realization as she continued to be burned away. "You're... You're not the Demon Lord... But... You work for her!" She yelled as she was reduced to little more than a head. "Now it all makes sense! The Demon Lord. The Dwarves! She set this whole thing-"

"Take that information with you to the next life." Alice cut Camilla off as she tossed one final talisman onto Camilla's head, which exploded in holy magic which exploded into the ceiling of the cavern like a pillar of light, finishing the Lich off and purifying her soul for good. "Such a noisy woman. I can see now why Mama wanted to kill her when they first met." She giggled, though the sharp look under her mask would've sent chills down anyone's spine had they been able to see it.

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