Beta read and Co-owritten by Shigiya, Gamercrusher55 and Paragon of Awesomeness
Lemon Warning!
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-Ken?-
Now, that same person stood before her, in her own place, finally. Not in another kingdom, not in another palace belonging to her fellow Princess Knights. "It might not look that different from the ones you have been in before, and in fact, some places may seem lacking because I don't usually pay attention to luxury in general — but I hope you can see it as your own home."
"A bit too soon for that. Either way, I don't mind minimalism. I think it's good enough as it is."
"Why not add a few decorations yourself? Or perhaps do you prefer somewhere quieter? I can arrange that."
"No need to go that far, just give me a room with a single bed, a kitchen, and a window. I'll be satisfied."
Such a simple conversation, where both sides just conversed without bringing up any matters relating to the kingdom or the ever-growing list of challenges that befell them. A nice change of pace in her opinion, and one she hoped would also help him to finally relax for once. But rather than just standing behind and doing nothing this time, she hoped to be a part of it.
It's a couple of steps, Celestine said, standing right in front of Archer, who looked down at her with a raised eyebrow. Her head leaned against his armour, sensing his warmth through it, along with his sense that made her mind go hazy for a bit.
Olga, Maia, Serafina, Prim, and every other woman around them, all of whom were no longer present to ruin the atmosphere. She wanted to save her small moment of quietness and peace.
"Shirou… I… I am sorry for what I have done before, and how I seemed forceful in the beginning. How I approached you, but it was all for your own good. For your future, I just wanted to save you. So please, don't hate me for what I am going to do in the future and for what I have already done."
She had no idea why these words were coming out, but they were genuine, and she poured her heart and soul into them. Laying everything, her entire emotions, on the table. Pain, fear, love, expectation, and so on. Her arms went around his waist to hug his figure until she held on to his back. Truthfully, she expected the usual reaction of rejection. To find a look filled with anger, in difference, or frustration upon him. But the next moment, her body froze, for he proceeded to actually hug her back.
"S-Shirou?"
She did not dare to believe it at first. So caught off guard by his movement that she forgot how to breathe.
"I don't hate you, I've said it before, didn't I? It takes a lot for someone to make me hate them. You came kind of close with how you have probed my memories without my permission — but I figured you did not do it intentionally."
Her heart beat accelerated, never in her life having believed to hear such a thing coming from him. With so much sincerity that the young woman even started to doubt whether this was reality or not.
"Shirou."
Joy rose within her heart, and for the first time in a long while, Celestine put aside any distracting thoughts and fully followed her most honest and instinctual desire. Leaning against him and pushing herself on her toes; The goddess reborn had her lips touch his.
(Lemon start)
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For a brief second, nothing happened.
Her lips brushed against his, tentative at first, as though she expected him to pull away like he did in the past. An outcome she had long since accepted, but still enjoyed the moment. The contact was warm despite the faint chill of his armor between their bodies. She felt the steady rise and fall of his chest beneath the metal.
His hand on her back tightened, fingers digging into the supple curve of her waist, pulling her flush against him. A desperate, wanton part of her wished he'd tear away the flimsy silk ribbons binding her breasts, wished he'd use her, claim her, and vent every ounce of his frustration on her willing flesh. As she was pressed against him, the peaks of her nipples hardened into tight, aching points, scraping against the unyielding steel with every shuddering breath she took.
Her now hardened nipples brushed against him.
The kiss deepened.
Her lips parted slightly against his, a soft breath escaping her as she felt him respond in kind. The way his mouth moved against hers, she tasted the faint trace of tea he must have had earlier, felt the warmth of his breath mingling with her own.
Her arms snaked around his waist, pulling his hard, armored body against hers until her hands could grip the solid plates of his back. Truthfully, she braced for the familiar sting of rejection, for the cold fury or dismissive indifference she knew so well. But the next moment, her body locked up, every muscle seizing as his arms came around her, actually, truly, hugging her back. Felt his hands roam her body, before settling over her rear, feeling the gentle, but strong squeeze that got a soft moan from her.
Her mind emptied.
"I don't hate you," he whispered those same words again as their lips momentarily parted, his voice a low vibration against her cheek as if trying to hammer them in her mind, which was working.
He came back for another kiss, his tongue swept into her mouth, claiming the space as his own and nearly making the Goddess reach pure ecstasy right then and there.
Her body was on fire, and her legs turned to jelly.
Yet despite the wave of pure stimulation, she did not push him away. Greedily inviting for and wrestling her own tongue with his. He tasted faintly like herbal tea. Her own tongue met his, a shy flicker at first that quickly grew bolder, curling and stroking against his in a slick, intimate dance. They dueled and retreated, a wet slide of flesh on flesh that sent jolts of liquid heat straight to her core. She sucked lightly on the tip of his tongue, and a low groan rumbled in his chest, a vibration she felt all the way down to her clenched thighs.
Celestine's fingers scrambled for purchase, sliding over the smooth, cold plates of his back until they found the warm, worn leather beneath. She clung to him, her body arching, molding itself to the hard lines of his frame. She could feel the steady, powerful thump of his heart through the armor, a beat that seemed to merge with her own frantic pulse.
Her mind also turned into a hazy mess. There was only the taste of him, the feel of his tongue stroking hers, the hard press of his body, and the overwhelming, all-consuming fire of the kiss.
The intimate action became a world of its own, a wet, consuming heat that stole the air from her lungs and replaced it with the raw taste of him. His tongue was a masterful force, stroking and curling against hers in a rhythm that made her knees tremble. Every slick slide, every possessive thrust into her mouth, sent another jolt of pure fire pooling in her belly, a unique ache that demanded more. Her fingers, tangled in the cloth at his nape, her body arching against the armor, which soon disappeared.
Just when she thought she might dissolve from the sheer intensity, he broke the kiss, leaving her lips swollen and glistening.
"M-More, I want to taste you more…" she begged, a whimper of loss escaped her, but it was cut short by a sharp gasp as his mouth, hot and open, descended to the sensitive column of her throat. "Ah~! I-If you go there I'll—!"
The stimulation already made her core burn as if on fire. Her soaked nether region was already at the edge of another climax, all the while a thin trail of transparent liquid started to stream down her thighs.
She was going crazy.
'It feels too good! Just from a kiss!?'
His lips were a firm pressure, his tongue a wet, searing stripe against her skin that traced the frantic beat of her pulse. He found that spot just below her jaw, the one that made her entire body clench, and he worked it gently with his teeth before soothing the sting with a slow lick.
"H-hn~!"
Celestine's head fell back, a silent offering, her entire body trembling. The sensation was overwhelming, a direct line from her neck to the throbbing heat between her legs. His hands roamed her back, one pressing her impossibly closer while the other slid down to grip the curve of her hip, holding her steady as she swayed. The pleasure was so potent, so all-consuming, that her left leg, already weak from the emotional torrent, finally gave out.
"Ah!"
She stumbled with a sharp cry, her balance completely gone.
"Whoa there!" Archer moved with impossible speed, his grip shifting instantly. In one fluid motion, he swept her off her feet, his arm a steel band around her waist, and carried her a few steps to her throne. "A Goddess Reborn is already turning so weak from just a simple kiss. Despite this being your first time, that lewd body of yours just keeps begging for more."
He set her down gently, the cool stone a stark contrast to the fire raging under her skin. She sank into the ornate throne, her chest heaving, her heart-filled eyes dark and hazy with lust as she looked up at him.
Celestine's breath hitched. A slow, seductive smile touched her lips. "Yes~! This lustful body only reacts to you! Use it… Use me to your heart's content!" Her fingers, trembling with anticipation, rose to the intricate knot of her cloth ribbons at her shoulder. With a single pull, the silk came undone.
The fabric cascaded away, pooling around her waist in a waterfall of ivory. Her breasts were bared to his gaze, full and pale, the rosy peaks drawn into tight, aching buds from the chill of the air and the heat of his stare.
"Hah… hah… hah…"
She didn't speak, merely panting with just how hot her body felt at the moment. A grin on her face that would make any common man defile her on the spot. There were no words needed as she arched her back slightly, offering herself to him.
He understood.
Lowering himself to one knee before the throne, his eyes never left her bared flesh. He leaned in, his warm breath ghosting over her skin a moment before his tongue made contact.
"Huuung~!"
The first touch was electric—a wet circle around one taut nipple. Celestine cried out, her back bowing off the cold stone.
"Mmm... slurp... chu... slurp... chu..."
Little by little.
"Puha…"
Then his lips closed around her, his mouth began to suckle, a deep pull that sent shockwaves of pleasure straight through her.
His tongue flicked and teased the sensitive peak while his hand came up to cup and knead her other breast, his thumb rolling over its nipple in a perfect, maddening counterpoint. She tangled her fingers in his hair, holding him to her, her body lost to the exquisite, worshipful attention of his mouth.
"Ngh! Hn! Haaangh!"
The suction of his mouth was relentless, sending bolts of pure pleasure shooting from her breast directly to her clit. His tongue was a wicked, swirling demon against her nipple, flicking and lashing before he'd seal his lips around her again and suck, hard.
The wet, obscene sounds of his mouth on her flesh filled the silent hall, mingling with her broken cries and panting breaths. His other hand was just as cruel, his fingers pinching and rolling her neglected nipple, sending sharp, stinging jolts of pleasure-pain that made her entire body jerk.
"Hngh!"
Her hips began to rock on the throne, a frantic, helpless grind against the cold stone. She could feel the slick heat soaking her inner thighs, the desperate, empty clenching of her cunt crying out to be filled. "Gods above, Shirou... yes," she sobbed, her voice a ragged mess. "Don't stop... please, don't… stop!"
No response came from her partner other than him biting gently on her peaked nipple, his teeth scraping the sensitive flesh just as his tongue gave a final, ferocious lash.
And that served as the final push.
"Hnn-aaaaaaan~!"
A strangled scream tore from her throat as her orgasm crashed over her, a violent, convulsive wave of ecstasy. Her back arched into a painful bow, her toes curling. Her cunt spasmed violently, clenching around nothing as a gush of hot fluid flooded from her, soaking the stone beneath her and the silken ribbons around her waist.
"I'm cumming! Oh fuck, I'm cumming!" she wailed, her vision exploding in a blinding white flash. The pleasure was so intense it was agony, a fire that consumed every nerve, every thought, leaving her a trembling, sobbing wreck in its wake.
He released her breast with a wet pop, his lips glistening, his chest heaving as he watched her ride out the last waves of her climax. Celestine slumped against the throne, boneless and spent, her body slick with a sheen of sweat, her breasts heaving with each ragged breath.
"We're not done here. You still need to take care of this."
Archer rose to his full height, unbuckled his leather armored pants, the metallic clinks loud in the aftermath of her cries. He freed his cock, and Celestine's breath caught in her throat. It was magnificent—thick, long, and heavily veined, the flushed head already beading with a pearly drop of precum. It jutted out from his body, a rigid, demanding spear of flesh.
He stepped forward, closing the distance between them, and fisted his hand at the base to present it for her.
"So warm…" she whispered, pressing her face against the shaft, admiring it and letting herself get lost in his scent.
The man simply angled his hips forward and angled his hard, throbbing dick at her lips. The musky, masculine scent of him filled her senses, and her mouth watered. She knew exactly what he wanted.
"Mmmph~!"
A hungry, guttural moan escaped Celestine's lips as she leaned forward, her eyes locked on the magnificent, rigid cock he offered her.
She didn't hesitate.
Her tongue darted out, flattening to lick the pearly bead of precum from the tip, the salty, musky flavor exploding on her taste buds and making her ache with renewed need. "More," she whispered, her voice thick with lust. "You taste so good."
With a desperate whimper, she parted her lips and took the head of his cock into her mouth. She sealed her lips around the thick crown, her tongue swirling in a frantic, wet circle, probing the sensitive slit.
The sheer weight and heat of him on her tongue was intoxicating. The Goddess Reborn began to suck, her cheeks hollowing with the effort, creating a tight, wet vacuum that made him groan deep in his chest. The sound was like fuel to a fire, and she took him deeper, relaxing her throat to accept another thick inch of his hard shaft.
"Mmmph... slurp... gag..."
The wet, obscene sounds of her enthusiastic sucking filled the hall. She was a woman possessed, her head bobbing back and forth, her hair a wild halo around her face as she worshiped his dick with her mouth.
One of her hands snaked down her naked body and plunged inside between her wet legs.
Her fingers found her swollen, slick clit and began to rub in fast, tight circles, the pleasure immediately coiling deep in her belly again. "Oh gods, yes," she moaned around his thick cock, the vibrations making him twitch in her mouth.
She pulled back with a wet gasp, a thick string of saliva connecting her lips to his flushed head. Her eyes were wild, her chest heaving.
"I need more," the woman panted, her voice a ragged plea. She leaned forward and spat a thick wad of her saliva onto his shaft, making it gleam. Then, she cupped her own heavy, slick breasts, pushing them together to create a soft, warm channel for him.
Looking up at him, her gaze pure sin, and wrapped her tits around his cock. The feeling of his hot, hard flesh sliding between the soft mounds of her breasts made her cry out. She began to move, rocking her torso to slide her tits up and down his length, her tongue darting out to flick the head every time it peeked through the top of her cleavage.
"C-Celestine!"
"Yes, say my name! Scream it, the name worshipped by countless, a symbol of purity now turned into your own little pleasure toy!"
The friction was incredible, the sight of his dick disappearing into her flesh an erotic masterpiece.
"Fuck my-my breasts, turn them into an unholy mess," she gasped, her voice breaking. "Use them... fuck... Oh my, you feel so good between my tits..."
Her fingers on her clit moved faster, dipping into her dripping cunt to gather more wetness before returning to the frantic rubbing. She was lost in a haze of sensation — the hard heat of his cock between her breasts, the taste of him on her tongue, the wet sounds of her mouth, the squelching of her fingers in her own soaked pussy, and the deep, masculine groans of the man standing over her.
She was a mess of spit, sweat, and her own juices, and she had never felt more alive.
The dual sensations were overwhelming. The slick, hot slide of his cock between her compressed breasts, the way the head would emerge for her to greedily suck or lick, and the frantic, desperate circling of her own fingers on her throbbing clit were pushing her to the edge, fast.
Her whole world had narrowed to this: the taste of his skin, the sound of her own wet sucking, and the squelch of her fingers in her soaked cunt, and the deep, guttural groans he was letting out above her.
"Oh gods, oh gods, I'm gonna... I'm gonna cum again!" she wailed, her voice muffled by his flesh as she took him deep into her throat one last time.
She wanted to make him experience a world of pleasure that not even Maia could offer. Her lustful body that made countless men dream of ravaging her again and again to be used as fuel. To forever burn within his memory her taste, her body, and her scent.
Celestine's fingers became a blur on her clit, rubbing with a frantic, almost violent need. The pressure in her belly snapped, and her fourth orgasm tore through her like a lightning strike. Her body seized, a powerful, full-body tremor wracking her frame.
"Hyaaaah~!" A high-pitched, broken scream escaped her lips as her pussy convulsed, gushing a fresh wave of her hot juices down her thighs and onto her throne. She collapsed back against the seatthrone, her tits falling away from his cock, sticky with saliva and precum, completely spent and gasping for air, her limbs trembling uncontrollably.
"... Not enough… s-still not enough…"
But the ache inside her was now a screaming void. Her cunt, freshly spent, clenched with a desperate, hollow need that only one thing could fill. She needed his cock inside her. Now.
"I can also keep going," Archer said, his member still standing tall and filled with energy.
At that moment, something within her snapped.
With a surge of adrenaline, Celestine grabbed his hand, her grip surprisingly strong. "Come with me," she commanded, her voice a husky, breathless demand.
"Whoa! W-Wait, where are yo—"
"Just come with me!"
She pulled him to his feet and tugged him, stumbling, towards the grand archway that led to her private balcony. The cool night air hit her sweat-slicked skin like a shock, raising goosebumps across her naked body and making her achingly hard nipples stand out even more.
Below, the city of her faithful stretched out, a sea of torchlight and cobblestone. Citizens milled about in the courtyards and plazas, and near the grand fountain, a group had gathered, their faces turned up towards her balcony. Their hands were pressed together in prayer, their expressions filled with pure, unwavering reverence for their goddess.
'Aaaah~ Praying to me… praying to their dirty goddess who is covered in cum… their pure goddess…'
And then they saw her.
A collective gasp seemed to rise from the crowd.
The reverence on their faces curdled, morphing into wide-eyed, jaw-dropping shock. They saw their goddess, Celestine Lucross, not in her regal robes, but completely naked, her body flushed and glistening with the aftermath of pleasure, standing beside a tall, imposing man whose hard cock was still jutting out, slick with her saliva.
'Yes… yes! Look at me! This is who I am!'
A dark, wicked thrill shot through Celestine, so potent it made her dizzy. The shame, the shock on their faces — it was the most intoxicating aphrodisiac she had ever known. Her arousal, which had just crested, roared back to life with a vengeance.
She turned her back to Archer, planting her hands on the cool marble balustrade and looking down at the stunned faces of her people as she spread her legs and leaned over while looking back at him. "This is perfect~! Look, I kept this waiting just for you… it yearns for your shaft… to be pounded and moulded by it… look how wet I am…"
She slowly, deliberately, pushed her ass back towards him, rolling her hips in a slow, seductive circle. Then she reached back with one hand, spreading her ass cheeks wide, exposing her dripping, swollen pussy to his gaze and, implicitly, to the world below.
"Look at them," she moaned, her voice thick with pure, unadulterated lust. "They're watching. They're watching their goddess." She looked over her shoulder at him, her eyes burning with a feral hunger. "But this goddess' pussy needs your cock, far more than I ever had need of their prayers. It needs you to fuck it hard, right here, right now."
"You can't be serious…"
Oh, she was very much serious!
She screamed then, her voice carrying over the stunned silence of the city below, as annocing a grand proclamation. "BEHOLD, MY FAITHFUL! WATCH YOUR GODDESS REBORN BEG FOR THIS MAGNIFICENT MAN'S COCK! WATCH HIM FUCK ME AND MAKE ME HIS HEAVENLY SLAVE WIFE!"
She shook her ass, a wanton, desperate invitation. "Please," she begged, her voice cracking with need. "Fuck me. Let the whole world see who owns this divine pussy!"
He didn't need a second invitation. With a deep breath, Archer gripped her hips, his fingers digging into the soft flesh hard enough to leave bruises. He positioned the thick, flared head of his cock at her dripping entrance and, with one brutal, powerful thrust, buried himself to the hilt.
The moment his hot, hard shaft stretched her open, ramming deep into her clenching cunt, Celestine's world exploded.
"Haaaang!"
Clutching the cement rail tightly, she couldn't hold back her cries.
'Feels... so good... too good...'
The unfamiliar intrusion melted into pleasure bit by bit.
Squish—! Squish—!
With the world's loudest friction sounds, her pussy lips stretched wide around him, her bumpy inner walls forcibly contracting and relaxing over and over.
"Heeuk! Yes! Nn...!"
Her overheated body welcomed his cock joyfully, adapting to the pleasure with surprising speed.
Her sensitivity was incredible.
She came instantly.
A violent, shattering orgasm ripped through her, her scream tearing from her lungs as her pussy spasmed wildly around his invading cock.
"Yes! I'M CUMMING♡~!"
Her vision went white, her knees buckling, but his iron grip on her hips held her up, impaled on his massive length.
He gave her no time to recover.
He pulled back, almost all the way out, only to slam back into her with even more force. The sound of his hips smacking against her ass echoed across the balcony, a wet, percussive beat to the symphony of her cries.
Plap! Plap! Plap! Plap! Plap! Plap!
Squelch! Squish! Plop! Splat!
As his thrusts grew more intense, her body rocked helplessly.
He set a punishing rhythm, fucking her with a raw power that stole her breath and remade her insides with every stroke. His cock was a piston of hot steel, driving into her again and again, hitting a spot so deep inside her it was a blinding mixture of overwhelming sensation.
Through the haze of her relentless pleasure, her eyes found the crowd below. Their faces were masks of pure shock, and no small amount of uncomprehending horror; their prayers forgotten, their devotion shattered by the sight of their goddess being fucked like a common whore against the same balustrade from which she had bestowed her decrees to her loyal devotees.
"Hahaha… hahahaha♡!" A wide, wicked grin stretched across Celestine's face, a feral display of utter triumph and depravity. She was no longer their untouchable deity; she was this.
"Yes! Watch me!" she shrieked, her voice cracking with ecstasy as he continued to pound her without mercy. "I'm his personal toy to be used for his pleasure alone! His love! His wife! His slave! Everything!" She pushed back against his thrusts, meeting his brutal rhythm, her ass jiggling with the force of his impacts.
"I'M A SLUTTY GODDESS, AND I CAN'T GO A DAY WITHOUT HIS COCK REMAKING MY INSIDES!"
She felt his hold tighten wonderfully on her at the declaration, and to her further joy, his cock pulsed hard even as she continued to thrust in and out of her. And so she joyfully screamed out his name.
"Shiro—mmph!"
In a flash, his hand shot out, grabbing her jaw in a brutal grip. He yanked her head around, forcing her to look at him, his face inches from hers, his eyes burning with a terrifying, possessive fire. He leaned in, his teeth sinking into the sensitive shell of her ear, making her cry out.
"Don't you dare shout that name, least of all for them to hear," he growled, his voice a low, dangerous rumble. "If this is truly what you want, then you'll only give them the name that I allow. Shout my real name. Let them all know who owns you."
The command, the stingpain, the sheer dominance of it, sent her spiraling into a new dimension of lust. She understood. "Yes," she gasped, her eyes wide with submission. "Yes, Archer!"
"ARCHER!" she screamed at the top of her lungs, her voice echoing across the city. "ARCHER! Fuck me, Archer! Your cock is so good! Archer! Harder! Please, Archer! Ruin this goddess!"
"Again, louder!" he commanded, slapping her ass and having it ripple with a mind-numbing amount of pleasure and pain, turning the blonde elf's mind into pure goo.
"Archer! Archer! Archer!"
She became a chant, a screaming, sobbing mess of pleasure, shouting his name over and over like a mantra as he continued to ravage her, his cock a relentless force claiming her body and soul for all the world to see.
Her screams of his name became a constant, desperate prayer, a litany of pure, carnal worship.
"ARCHER♡! YES, ARCHER, RIGHT THERE♡!"
His pounding was merciless, a brutal jackhammer that was shaking her very soul. Each powerful thrust drove the air from her lungs, his thick cock stretching her to her absolute limit, the wet slap of their bodies a lewd symphony for the horrified crowd below.
She was nothing but a vessel for his pleasure, a screaming, writhing sheath for his magnificent dick, and she loved every fucking second of it.
'He is mine! NO! I am his! His! His! HIS! No more Maia… ah~! No more anyone but me!'
Suddenly, his grip on her hips shifted. With a display of inhuman strength that made her cry out in shock and delight, he hooked his arms under her knees.
"Hnnnngh♡!"
In one smooth, powerful motion, he lifted her clean off the ground. Her arms flew back to grip his shoulders for support, her body now completely suspended, her weight held entirely by his powerful frame. Her legs were spread wide, bent back, leaving her dripping, red-fucked pussy completely exposed to the entire kingdom as he held her aloft, impaled on his cock.
This new angle was devastating. He could drive into her even deeper, his cock hitting places so profound it felt like he was fucking her very soul.
The world spun, a dizzying kaleidoscope of the starlit sky above and the sea of shocked faces below.
"Oh fuck! Archer! You're so deep! YOU'RE SPLITTING ME OPEN!" she wailed, her head lolling back against his shoulder.
He used his new leverage to fuck her with short, impossibly deep, upward thrusts, grinding into her with each one. The pressure on her clit was unbearable, the friction sending her skyrocketing towards a climax that promised to be her undoing. She could feel his own control beginning to fray, his thrusts becoming erratic, his breathing ragged and hot against her neck.
"Cum with me, Celestine," he growled, his voice a possessive snarl. "Cum all over my cock."
That was all it took. Her nth orgasm, a cataclysmic wave of ecstasy, crashed through her.
"I'm cumming, Archer~! I'm cumming♡♡♡♡!" she screamed, her voice a raw, broken thing.
Her entire body convulsed, her cunt clamping down on his pistoning shaft like a velvet vise. A gush of fluid erupted from her, drenching them both as her vision dissolved into a blinding, static haze of pure pleasure.
At the exact moment her pussy began to spasm wildly around him, Archer roared her name. He buried himself to the hilt one last time, his cock swelling and throbbing deep inside her. A thick, searing heat erupted from him, flooding her insides. He came in powerful, endless jets, filling her womb with his hot, potent seed until it overflowed, trickling down her inner thighs in a lewd testament to their fucking.
He held her there, suspended and trembling, his cock still twitching inside her as the last of their shared climax faded. They were both panting, slick with sweat and cum, a debauched tableau for their silent, horrified audience to witness. Celestine went limp in his arms, a thoroughly fucked, utterly claimed goddess, her body buzzing with the aftershocks and the exquisite feeling of being completely and utterly his.
"I love you…" were the last words she heard him whisper.
Gathering her last embers of strength, she whispered back while gently caressing his face.
"I love you, Arch… no, I love you more, Emiya."
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(Lemon end)
-Fullstar-
(Present)
"Gah!"
It was then her eyes snapped open, the goddess reborn jolting upright in her bed, sweat clinging to her from head to toe. She gasped for air, lungs working unevenly, her mind in disarray as she struggled to make sense of her surroundings.
"hah… hah… hah…"
The sky outside remained clear, sunlight pouring into the room and casting a steady glow across the walls. From the angle of the sun, it was still early in the afternoon. From the moment she arrived here until now, barely an hour should have passed. Yet what she had just experienced felt as though it had stretched across half a day.
"Was that…"
The word fake nearly slipped past her lips, but she stopped herself at the last second. It lingered at the tip of her tongue, refusing to be spoken for several reasons she could not easily sort through.
Dreaming of a specific event, whether from the past or a possible future, was not new to the goddess reborn. Such visions often carried fragments of history or warnings of what might come. They served as lessons meant to prevent mistakes, subtle guidance for her and the nations tied to her rule, so they might avoid a worse outcome.
Her previous visions had shown her a broken hero, a man whose soul and mind had long since begun to fracture under the weight he carried. She had witnessed his sacrifices, his ideals, and the betrayals he endured. More than once, she had wept, screamed, and prayed for him. Just as in many dreams before, he had appeared again. But what they had done there…
"I-I… I did that?"
It was difficult to accept. Even if she had abandoned hope of truly understanding or saving those who unknowingly sought Archer's death without grasping his purpose, they were still her people. They were the kingdom she had devoted her entire existence to protecting. Though her eyes had only recently opened to certain truths, that did not mean she would openly act against them before everyone.
Her own people… seeing their Goddess in such a state…
The level of mortification from that vision would have made even a composed person flush with shame. Yet the smile she had worn in that dream had not been one of regret. It had not been guilt. It had been a smile filled with clear satisfaction, unrestrained and without fear.
"Is that… is that a possible future?"
She asked no one but herself. Once again, she found no answer. While her thoughts struggled to steady, her body reacted to what she had seen. A heat lingered beneath her skin, stubborn and present, as if a small flame had been lit inside her and refused to go out no matter how much she tried to suppress it. It did not fade. It only grew more noticeable.
"I need some fresh air. I need to get out of this place."
Without hesitation, the blonde woman rose from the bed and moved toward the door, leaving the room at once. The phantom pain and pleasure lingering within her body, his strength behind his grasp on her body, and how every bit of her turned into clay to him, playing with it as he pleases.
'No, t-that's not Arch—Shirou… it can't be him!'
Part of her felt repulsed by the stark difference, by the name she kept shouting at the top of her lungs.
Yet strangely enough, her body felt completely otherwise.
The echo of it brought back the sensation she felt at that time.
She shuddered, with pleasure rolling off her being.
{Break}
Collecting the remains of the insects proved to be simple enough. Even if their bodies were revolting to look at, Astrid forced herself to crouch down and gather every piece without hesitation. The smell clung to her sleeves, and bits of the shells cracked under her fingers, yet she did not slow down. She worked quickly, stuffing them into the bag Archer had given her. The sooner she finished, the sooner she could return to her research. Speed mattered more to her than comfort.
The real problem surfaced when it came time to store them. Her house had been reduced to debris, leaving her without a workspace or even a proper container. All her materials and research notes she'd had, they were gone. The street still carried traces of the earlier chaos, as the lingering pedestrians kept their distance, whispering at them in curiosity. Astrid felt mortified at how she must look, being with a strange man as they carried bags of insect remains to a house that was now a pile of rubble.
Her comrade glanced at the scattered remains of what had once been her home before turning to her and asking her something.
"Don't you at least have a dorm room provided by the school?"
He regretted it the second the words left his mouth. With her situation, that question sounded careless. She kept her gaze lowered and answered, "Sorry, I don't… t-too expensive."
"It's fine. I should have known better. Speaking of which, considering what just happened, Kaguya must have gotten targeted as well."
"What?!"
The young mage novice stared at him in shock, worry overtaking her expression. "How did you…"
"I'm not one hundred percent certain. It's just guesswork. But if that insect felt comfortable attacking us in broad daylight in a crowded area, what exactly is stopping them from going after Kaguya, too? If anything, since she's the one who they know is actively pressuring them, she would be the one they label the prime target."
That was the truth; the largest obstacle in their path was not him or Astrid. Even if his recent display might push him higher on their list, their primary interest likely remained tied to Kaguya's side. For all he knew, the two gods backing each faction could have been locked in conflict for as long as Olga and Celestine had been at odds. Mortal pieces rarely saw the full board.
"Is there anything here you can salvage?"
"Uhh, let me check."
They searched through the rubble for anything useful. Some time later, they collected all that could be scavenged effectively in more bags, Archer Projected. Tying firmly and latching them onto his shoulder.
"Do you have somewhere safe where you can stay?"
"Uh…" The way her lips pressed together, and the tension in her shoulders gave him his answer before she could finish.
"Never mind. I'll just carry you."
"What? Kya!"
He did not wait for permission. He bent slightly, hoisted her under one of his arms like luggage, and with a single jump took off from the edge of the street. Wind rushed past them as he leapt onto the nearest building to the next as he continued across the rooftops.
"So high? How are you able to exert so much force that you can jump across buildings like this? Is it a form of physical enhancement? A-Also, can you slow down? I'm go-going to vomit at this rate."
Used to rapid-fire questions, he only focused on the last one. "Endure it for a bit. We're almost there. Kaguya took the eastern route when she left. She was likely heading back to Temple Karma. Keep an eye out for a black carriage."
"Yes!"
He did not truly need her help. His vision could single out a small insect on a distant wall without effort. The request served another purpose. If she focused on searching, she would spend less time noticing how fast they were moving.
"Uuuuuh! I-Is this going to be a regular thing with you?" Astrid asked once her breathing evened out, her voice raised over the wind.
"I should be asking you that. Everything today happened because they were aiming for you."
"It's because I have my studies to attend at the Mage Academy. I can't keep up with them if I'm attacked like this every week."
"You signed up for this knowing the danger."
"Hah. I guess I did."
"Look, we're done just like that. Blast, we arrived a bit late."
He landed on a rooftop overlooking the main road. The tiles shifted under his boots, but he kept his balance and carefully set her down. Astrid stumbled forward, bracing her hands against her knees as she fought back nausea.
"I'm not fit enough for thi—Oh my god!"
She straightened and turned toward the scene below, and seeing what she saw, he understood her reaction. The road that would eventually lead back to the temple several blocks away had been torn apart. Sections of stone pavement were cracked open, and one of the nearby stalls had collapsed onto its side.
People are panicking, and several elven guards are rushing over to calm them down. A few even cast several spells to put out the fires that was scattered aroundseveral fires; many were hesitant to even approach the blood-soaked figure in the middle. A black carriage could be seen having crashed against a brick wall, completely shattered, with only one wheel still on its frame.
The horses were nowhere to be seen.
He had considered several outcomes while making his way here. Kaguya's death would have complicated matters beyond repair. Captured, or even if she and the others were heavily wounded, may have forced him into negotiations he had no intention of entertaining. What lay before them did not immediately answer which of those possibilities had taken place, but it confirmed one thing without doubt. They had not arrived in time to prevent another confrontation.
Out of those options, he had never even considered that none of them would occur, and that the woman would instead be found completely spotless. Not a trace of injury marked her skin or clothing. She stood in the middle of the street as if nothing had happened, though a shattered carriage lay in the distance, its wooden frame split open and one wheel broken clean off. Around it sprawled hundreds, perhaps thousands, of insects. Every single one of them lay dead across the stone pavement. Many of their small bodies had blackened shells, thin smoke still rising from a few that had not yet cooled.
"No signs of slashing attacks. Most of them are charred. Most likely a fire spell of some kind," he thought while surveying the scene more carefully. There were no cut marks on the cobblestone, no gouges consistent with blades. The damage only remained contained around the carriage and the swarm.
Within the grasp of the Princess Knight, several talismans rested between her fingers. She held them loosely, almost lazily, though the faint tremor in her hand betrayed the effort it had taken. If those had been the source of the attack, then he had truly underestimated what they were capable of. He had only ever recalled Maia using such charms to reinforce herself to enhance her own physical parameters or to create seals that didn't seem to be effective enough, rather than unleash any destruction of this scale.
"Though it does not seem like it came without cost," he noted internally. She was reaching her limit. Kaguya was clearly trying to hide it. Still, exhaustion had begun to settle over her features. The slight tremor in her fingers and the faint delay in her blinking gave it away. Whatever spell, or series of spells, she had invoked had drained a significant portion of her reserves.
"I have to admit, you have proven me wrong about your capabilities. I was under the impression that you were not the type to respond so efficiently and effectively," Archer said as he landed beside her. The area did not reek like the previous battlefield. Instead, the air carried the scent of charred wood and burnt lacquer from the destroyed carriage. It was unpleasant, but tolerable.
"The explosion from earlier. Was it you?" she asked without turning toward him.
He gave a short nod. "If this is going to happen again, we cannot afford to waste time. We will need to find them as soon as possible."
"I know. This is the first time he has dared to attack me so openly. In Fullstar of all places."
"Either he no longer cares about retaliation, has grown strong enough to ignore it, or has allies among the higher ranks who are willing to look the other way."
"None of those possibilities sounds reassuring."
"They should not," he replied.
She attempted to step forward, only for her foot to falter against uneven stone. Her balance gave way, and she pitched forward. He caught her before she could hit the ground, one arm securing her back while the other steadied her shoulder.
"In your current state, you need to return to the palace immediately. We cannot risk another attack while you are vulnerable."
"Put me down. I refuse to be held in such an embarrassing manner," she protested, struggling to maintain her calm facade as her body's exhaustion continued to refuse her.
He ignored the complaint and lifted her properly, shifting her weight with minimal effort. Astrid stood several paces away, watching with an uncertain expression.
"Sorry. You will have to walk on your own," he told Astrid.
"I am fine with that. Let us leave before I end up vomiting again from the stench alone. I have had enough of it for the rest of my life."
That earned a faint smirk from him. "You should get used to it. I have a feeling this will not be the last time.
.
.
.
"At least they did not attack the palace," Archer commented, as they arrived back at it, feeling like this was starting to become a regular occurrence; him rushing into castles, holding on to someone who needed care. Still, he ignored the questioning looks of those staying in it, making his way as he kept going. Eventually, a group that recognized Kaguya approached him, wondering what happened, as he set her down to give her care.
"We must find Celestine-sama; she could be in danger," Kaguya said, trying to pick herself up and stay on her feet. The others insisted on taking her somewhere to rest, but she ignored them.
Archer shelved her stubbornness, feeling a mild amount of respect; she was still willing to see this through. "Why would the cult of the insect God even aim for her? Isn't the animosity between your God and theirs?"
"It may be so, but that does not change the fact that if Celestine-sama were to be gone, it would only serve them. Without her peacekeeping initiatives and the union of her allies, they could spread their reach further than they ever have before. It would benefit them tremendously and weaken my side even further."
He raised an eyebrow at that. "We practically destroyed an entire army's worth of insects. If they are not willing to press their attack after that, then we can assume we gave them a big enough dent for now. This place is already heavily protected and full of competent people, hopefully. Celestine will be fine here for now, so it's best we use this opportunity to rest, recuperate, and prepare for the next confrontation."
So he said, but the look the priestess gave him made it clear enough that she knew that he was just trying to get her to rest, and he did not believe those words at all. It was one thing to trust these people not become hostile towards them and attack in the middle of the night, but it was something else to trust them being capable enough to handle this particular sort of enemy.
Archer did not doubt that these elves and this kingdom had definitely shown themselves to be more capable than any of the other kingdoms he's been to; most likely, they had plenty of life experience both in diplomacy, and if he were to factor in combat, they were probably a level or two above a standard human soldier. But insects were not the kind of enemy one would face regularly, too small to see properly, too fast to see properly, too uncommon to develop tactics against. Even if they had more combat practice and training, these enemies were too unusual. He feared that their confidence, their pride, and even their arrogance would come and bite them in the ass if they gave them the slightest opening.
'Those things are magical in nature to boot, no different from Zouken's familiars. Underestimating them is the same as courting death.'
Speaking of which, something else came to mind. "Your temple, we don't know if it has been attacked or not yet. We should send a party to confirm its safety."
"It's fine." Surprisingly, Kaguya waved his worries away, looking fully certain of what she just mentioned. "The barrier I put around the temple is still active. Even if they found a way to bypass it, upon the temple's destruction, it would have also fallen, and I would have noticed. Shamuhuza only sent those insects after you and me."
'Very confident for someone who barely managed to make it out herself. Couldn't the barrier have been circumvented? He'd underestimated her combat potential, but from prior experience, her sealing techniques were actually weaker, so isn't there a chance her barriers were as well?' Archer thought all that to himself, wanting to be extra certain they had all their bases covered, as Kaguya continued.
"But you're right about one thing… I can't guarantee he will not attack it during my absence and kill my subordinates just to get to me. Right as I am physically incapable of doing anything, no less!" Her tone could not be any more grating. "No! I need to go now!" She even tried to get back up, only for him to push her down again.
"Stop it! You won't even be able to walk out of this castle, let alone to your Temple, as you are now. You're no good to them until your wounds heal. Hah… leave this to me. I'll head straight over there after checking up on Celestine's status. Is that good enough? I'll ensure it's properly handled."
"..."
The silence sufficed as an answer. He asked if there was a place she could rest, and was directed to the room they had set aside for her as a guest.
Asking the castle's maids and that old elf butler, often with them to look after the stubborn priestess, he made his way out of the room.
After what happened, he got worried about everyone in Fullstar, putting in mind to see if Radomira, Mistiora, and Olga's group were doing okay.
Archer strode down the grand corridor, the echoes of his boots on the polished stone. Right as he was about to turn a corner, the former Servant of the bow froze.
A certain blonde Goddess Reborn could be seen ahead of him, walking with a strange, stiff-legged gait. Her face, when he caught a glimpse of it, was flushed a deep, blotchy red, and she was breathing heavily, as if she'd just run a marathon. She swayed violently, her hand flying out to brace against the wall as her legs threatened to give out from under her.
"Ah!"
"Careful!" In a blur of motion, he was at her side, his arms shooting out to catch her before she could collapse. "Whoa, easy there," he said, his voice low and steady as he held her upright. Her body was tense, trembling slightly against his the moment he touched her. "What's going on?"
Suddenly, it felt like everyone was getting bedridden. He hoped this reaction did not come from poisoning by a bug.
Celestine's head snapped up, her green eyes wide with a look of sheer panic. The color drained from her face, replaced by a pasty white. "N-Nothing!" she stammered, pulling away from his touch as if burned. "I'm fine! I'm perfectly fine, just... a small headache. That's all." She straightened up, forcing a pained smile that didn't reach her eyes. "I-I was just on my way to have a chat with Evelyn. About... important goddess business. Very urgent."
She didn't wait for a reply, turning and practically fleeing down the hallway, her walk still an awkward, pained shuffle. "Well, I'll be off then! Goodbye, A-Archer!" she called over her shoulder, her voice an octave too high.
Archer stood there, watching her retreat.
Something was wrong, deeply wrong—
"Huh?"
He was glad he confirmed she was safe, but something about her demeanor was definitely wrong. He was about to follow when the word she'd used finally clicked in his mind.
Not 'Shirou.'
She had said, 'Archer.'
His brow furrowed, a flicker of confusion crossing his features. He replayed the sound in his head. 'Archer.' Had he heard that correctly?
Why would she… eh?
The path she had taken from both sides, the man realized that there were some strange marks of water droplets. And a particularly familiar sweet scent in the air.
Before he could unravel what was in front of himthe knot in his mind and come to a conclusion, two voices shouted from the far end of the corridor, cutting through his thoughts and putting it out of mind.
"Archer!"
Radomira and Mistiora were running towards him, their faces alight with an urgency that eclipsed even Celestine's strange behavior. They skidded to a halt in front of him, panting.
"It's Maia," Radomira gasped, her eyes bright with a desperate hope and a big smile on her face. "She's awake!"
Well, at least there was some good news to be found amidst this whole mess.
{Break}
Stealth was never her strong suit. Chloe admitted that without doubt or shame. When she had been tasked with protecting the queen, she was told by others to use the shadows, to hide like a rat, and to let their enemies believe she could not face them head-on. It was always something she despised, wishing to face those monsters head-on.
'But then again, that is the past. I have already failed my queen enough times to no longer cling to that pride.' The thought came without resistance now. It no longer stung the way it once had.
From the moment she caught wind of Mandeville's activities, finding out that the bastard himself remained holed up somewhere safe, restraint became impossible. The need for revenge pressed at the back of her mind, steady and constant, but forceful to a point she could no longer stand by and do nothing. It was taking all her inner willpower to keep herself from being discreet rather than let herself rage at them; She let out a short breath through her nose as she pressed on.
"Running away again would only prove to all those who thought she couldn't hack it, and had told her to hide, right in the end. At the end of the day, if she left her queen undefended against filth like that while she cowered away or rushed in to expose her to danger, then she would truly fail her." A faint smirk tugged at her lips, though it carried little humor as she psyched herself up. Similar thoughts had been circling her mind again and again lately, especially after her conversation with Archer. His words had not been gentle, but they had been honest.
This was not the time to sink into self-hatred. She forced her shoulders to relax and focused on her surroundings instead. The compound stood ahead of her, wide and enclosed by high stone walls that showed no cracks or easy handholds. Guards stood at fixed intervals, some near the main gate, others patrolling along the outer perimeter. Torches burned even in the daylight, likely more for display than necessity.
"Damn it, with this much security, not even a rat could get inside."
After following the group all the way to Mandeville's residence, this had been the first real obstacle. The sheer number of guards plus the height of the walls made it impossible to see what was happening beyond them, much less identify a clear entrance point.
"Hey, move it. What do you think you're doing, getting so close? Do you know whose house this is? Scram." The guards barked at anyone who wandered a little too near. It did not matter whether the person was a curious traveler newly arrived in the capital or someone who had simply taken a wrong turn. They were harshly shoved back without hesitation. Chloe doubted they would show her any more patience as she watched them in her alley from afar.
"Front entrance is a no-go. There has to be another way."
She was not in a hurry. Rushing would only create mistakes, and the last thing she wanted was to draw attention that might lead this man to discover the queen's presence in the capital. If his eyes turned toward them now, the consequences would spread further than just this estate.
She inhaled slowly. "Take a breath. Think. What can I do? What would he have done?"
In moments like this, her thoughts drifted to that man. It was irritating how often that happened. Yet picturing how he would approach the situation steadied her. She knew how ruthless and efficient he could be.
"Knowing him, one of those weapons of his would have blasted a hole straight through the wall. He would have walked in without asking permission."
She clicked her tongue and pulled her hand away from her mouth, realizing she had started biting her nails. Despite telling herself she was not in a rush, she could not spend the entire day lingering near the estate either. Standing still too long would invite suspicion.
Without drawing attention, Chloe began to circle the property. She kept her pace natural, blending into the flow of pedestrians moving along the street. To anyone watching, she was just another cloaked refugee minding her own business.
As she walked, she observed everything. More men were stationed along the outer roads than she initially thought. Some leaned against posts while others stood upright with practiced discipline. They carried crossbows, each one already strung and resting within easy reach. A few guards even watched the rooftops of nearby buildings, suggesting they were not only concerned about threats from the ground.
The estate itself extended farther back than it first appeared. Delivery carts were inspected before being allowed through a smaller side gate, and even then, the drivers were questioned at length. The security was layered, not just concentrated at the front.
"Very thorough. He is being extremely cautious."
That alone confirmed her suspicions that there had to be something major going on behind those closed doors. Whatever Mandeville was planning, he expected interference.
Chloe lowered her gaze slightly as she passed another pair of guards, keeping her expression neutral. Every step she took mapped the area more clearly in her mind. There had to be a blind spot, a routine, a weakness in the pattern. She only needed time to find it.
"Just who really is the ruler here?" Chloe muttered under her breath as she kept her hood low and her eyes moving. Even Fullstar's palace itself did not have this much security posted around its walls. No matter how carefully she scanned every corner, no matter how many times she tried to spot even the slightest opening between patrol routes, she always ended up back at the same conclusion and back at the same spot she started from. The guards did not slacken, and their routes did not overlap in a careless way. Even as nearly an hour passed, the patrols around the estate did not lessen in the slightest. That man most likely kept a constant rotation, each group switching out at fixed intervals so that even late at night, someone would remain on watch.
Even so, the cover of night would definitely help her get in without being noticed, the shadows hiding her and making her less likely to be detected. Darkness reduced visibility, softened footsteps, and made it easier to blend into corners and rooftops. But if she waited until night, her queen might notice her absence and follow. That would defeat the purpose of coming alone. Chloe did not want that to happen. She was already acting behind her queen's back just by being here in the first place. She had to at least find something to make this all worth it. "I'll keep looking. Maybe I'll find something," she murmured to herself, adjusting the cloak around her shoulders.
If there was nothing close to the main gate, then she would have to widen her search. She began walking at a slow pace, making sure not to draw attention, blending as thoroughly as she could with the movement of the street, though she worried that if she kept repeating this process over and over, a guard would eventually recognize her cloak, and tried to mix it up.
The city remained lively despite the hours that passed, merchants packing up while others still tried to make a final sale. Before long, she noticed something worth considering.
"There is a regular stream of carriages going inside with supplies. Maybe I could use that." The carriages all bore the same symbol painted on their wooden sides, making them easy to identify from a distance. Barrels, crates, and sacks filled their backs. However, getting in would not be simple. In such a crowded city, any attempt to climb onto one would likely be seen. The drivers remained alert, and as expected, guards followed behind several of the vehicles, keeping pace with steady steps and hands near their weapons.
"I'll need a distraction," she said quietly.
But what kind of distraction could she cause without exposing herself? Anything too obvious might draw attention to her, and if someone described her as a blonde dark elf wandering near the supply route, word could reach that bastard. Even if the city claimed to welcome every race, the looks she received said otherwise. There was still discrimination beneath the surface, subtle but present. And if her description reached him, especially after the resources he had already poured into Leona, he would not ignore it.
"Get your fresh bread here! You there, lady! Care for some fresh bread? Just made it less than an hour ago and it's still hot!"
The call interrupted her thoughts. She glanced toward the source and recognized the vendor. She had bought food from him before, earlier that week, when her queen had secured a place for them to stay, and she had gone out alone to purchase supplies.
As she looked at his stall, something else caught her attention. Next to his stand stood a tall stack of flour bags, piled high and leaning slightly against a wooden frame. She stared at them for several seconds, her gaze lingering as an idea slowly formed.
"One, please," she said calmly.
She did not rush. Instead, she approached at a normal pace, keeping her breathing steady and her posture relaxed. She pointed at a random loaf resting on the table among several others.
"Good choice! I just made a batch of those. These are the freshest you'll find around here!" the vendor replied with a grin as he turned around to get something to wrap the bread.
While his back was turned, Chloe shifted her position slightly toward the stacked flour bags. From beneath her cloak, she drew a small dagger, keeping it hidden by her sleeve. With careful movements, she pressed the tip into several of the lower bags, making small punctures along their sides. Fine streams of flour began to leak out, thin lines at first before settling into a faint but steady trickle. The cuts were small enough that they would not burst immediately, but enough to weaken the seams.
No one around paid her any attention. The street noise covered the faint sound of fabric tearing. By the time the vendor handed her the wrapped bread, she had already concealed the dagger again.
"That'll be one bronze."
She placed a single bronze coin on the table without hesitation and took the bread in return, stepping away as though nothing at all had happened.
"This should work."
While munching on her lunch, Chloe kept her head lowered and her posture relaxed, leaning lightly against a nearby wall as if she had nowhere important to be. She chewed slowly, giving off the impression of someone simply enjoying a midday meal. Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted another carriage approaching, following the same route as the previous ones. The wheels rolled over the stone road with a steady rhythm, the horses trotting at a controlled pace. Whatever cargo it carried did not matter to her. Crates, grain, tools, it was all the same. As long as it passed through those gates, it served her purpose.
She waited until it drew close enough, making sure the guards' attention remained on the road ahead. Timing mattered. When the carriage reached the stretch directly in front of the vendor's stall, Chloe casually shifted her weight and delivered a short, precise kick to the base of the stacked flour bags.
The flour tilted.
"Neigh!!!"
"Oh shit!"
The bags toppled into the middle of the street, one after another, bursting open as they struck the ground. Flour exploded into the air in thick white clouds.
"Look out!"
Several voices shouted at once as the horses reared back in alarm. The sudden movement of the merchants and the powder filling the air caused them to panic, their hooves scraping against stone. The cloud spread quickly, blanketing the street in white and reducing visibility to almost nothing.
"Cough, cough! What the hell is going on here!?"
Elven guards rushed forward from their posts, hands already raised as they began casting. A controlled gust of wind swept through the street, pushing the flour aside and clearing the air within seconds. The haze thinned, revealing the mess scattered across the ground, and the carriage halted at an angle.
"What is going on here? Are you the one responsible?!"
Two guards approached the vendor directly. The man had gone pale, both hands raised as if surrendering to a crime he did not understand.
"I'm so sorry, I don't know how this happened! Please understand, I-I did not do it intentionally! They just fell by themselves! I swear I had them secured properly!"
"Secured properly?" one of the guards snapped. "You must have stacked them on top of each other without support, that's the only explanation this could have happened. A strong gust would have been enough to knock them over. Do you understand the risk you caused? This calls for an investigation. Your stall may be shut down."
"Please, don't do this! I-I swear it won't happen again!" the vendor pleaded, glancing around in panic. "Ah, there was a witness just here who can speak for me! She was near the sacks, it must have bee—eh, where is…?"
His voice trailed off as he searched the crowd.
By then, Chloe was already gone.
"I swear she was there!"
While the guards and the vendor continued to argue back and forth, Chloe's figure had long since disappeared from the side of the road. With the driver of the carriage cursing under his breath, covered in flour, along with the horses, who were barely brought back under control. "Fucking idiots! Always getting in the way, if something breaks, then it's my neck on the line!"
Quickly checking over the merchandise, he let out a sigh of relief upon seeing everything still being in good condition. He set off quickly, heading over to Mandeville's estate, where the soldiers at the entrance stopped him as usual, giving him a strange look.
"Hey, old man, has age finally gotten to you? What's with all this mess? Did you ride through a windmill?" The entire carriage still had been fully coated with a thin layer of light white and brown flour. "Looks like dried up mud but doesn't smell like it."
"Hah… I still got ten years under my belt, boys! Just some idiot on the street who messed up and dropped his sacks of flour. Just let me in so that I can drop these supplies and get myself a nice shower. I don't want my body to be covered in mite bites. I can already feel the itch coming."
The men on the ground chuckled, rolling their eyes while one of them went ahead to do a quick tour of the carriage. "Still gotta follow procedure, you know how strict our boss can be." Taking a look around her saw nothing but bags and crates. Opening a couple up, he found fresh food that had been preserved. "Eh? More meat? Didn't we already get a carriage filled with them?"
"Don't know what to say to you; I'm just the transporter."
The man hummed, not arguing his point.
"Well, we did get a new batch of those dark elves, maybe he found a few new favourite toys and planned a feast to celebrate. Not the first time he has done this; hopefully, we get to have a taste. Alright, never mind, just get in." With that said, the gates opened, and the horses went inside while pulling the carriage in. The inside of the compound showcased itself to be what one would expect from one of the richest men in all of Fullstar. The ground below is all paved, with lush greenery all around, finely trimmed grasses, fountains, and even a giant pond in the distance.
A handful of maids tended to several tasks while the old man just followed the same path he had always taken and brought the carriage inside a wooden coach house with two other similar carriages already parked there.
"Finally, I can catch a break." Getting off and freeing the horses a bit, he left the area, knowing those guards from earlier would send servants to clear his cargo.
With him gone, a moment of silence fell upon the area. Soon, that got interrupted with rustling coming from behind the carriage, from where a certain blonde pushed herself out of the pile of bagged meat she had used to cover herself and hide from sight. On the one hand, it worked surprisingly well. But on the other hand… she reeked.
"—!"
Seeing several figures making their way towards her, leading Chloe to quietly take the first path she found, which she hoped was the inside of the mansion.
Where… maybe… that man resided.
'I'll finally kill him, he's so close.'
In the past, her hope had been to invade the kingdom where he hid away like a rat. Burn down its walls and torch all the houses in order to force that slimy fool out of his hole. She'd envisioned the fucker crawling on all fours, begging for mercy before she cut his head off.
She fantasized several other ways she would have killed him, tortured Mandeville while he remained stuck at the edge of death, and then some. She thought about all of those things as she navigated as stealthily as she could while making her way through the halls and rooms within the mansion, all the while using anything to cover herself, hiding away from any servants and passing guards.
' Where is h—!?'
Sounds of footsteps coming down the stairs caught her attention, leading Chloe to hide behind a big pillar in a corner. Her heart felt like it would pound out of her chest and kill her. For at that moment, she had seen him, his figure still recognizable despite so many years having passed. Even with his face having gotten uglier and filled with more wrinkles due to age, she recognized him…
She'd never forget him…
Mandeville.
Her hand on her dagger tightened so hard she worried she'd spill blood if she had a sound mind.
"How are the preparations going along?" the man asked with a bored tone. "It's been a month, surely our men can't be that incompetent."
"I can assure you, everything is going just as you have planned. Though we are having some setbacks due to the queen acting strangely as of late. Progress is still being made, though, so no worries."
"Good, then what of our matters in the seven kingdoms?"
That brought a different expression to the middle-aged man's face, accompanying him. "I am sorry to say this, my lord, but it is very likely that all of our informants and any other people who have worked for us have been compromised. With the fall of the Kuroinu, the incident in Feoh, the pig brothers' unknown whereabouts, and to top it all off, now even the Princess Knights are taking an entirely different approach to how they are dealing with their kingdoms, which goes counter to the plans we had set up… It's very likely that all of our progress there has been utterly lost. At this point, I know how much it may irk you, but we may have to consider abandoning it until things have cooled down."
"Hmph, anything lost can be recovered with enough time and coin. No matter, I'll deal with it myself later on. This month has been terrible, one failure after another. I feel like I have been plagued by a terrible curse."
A terrible curse? That was one thing she agreed with him on, that same curse now would come back and plunge a dagger right into his rotten heart. Yet as she prepared to lunge towards him, the girl stopped riding her tracks.
The words of a certain white-haired Archer were playing in her mind. 'You don't need to do this by yourself.'
Why now, why at this moment exactly, was she thinking about him? He was right there! If she just stabbed his heart, the nightmare would all be over. Was it fear or was she chickening out? No, absolutely not, if anything, her drive had only hardened at the sight!
He wasn't like Archer, who is so much more skilled that he can easily dodge all of her attempts. Urgh, she can already hear his voice in her head, telling her to examine all the possibilities just like he always did. She could feel something deep within her telling her to be cautious.
That man next time did not seem like an ordinary person, but still, surely he would not be fast enough to react to her, right? A single throw of a dagger would also be enough to kill that detestable bastard. But… but…
'I told myself not to come here for the sole reason to kill him today…'
While her chaotic thoughts continue to swirl within her mind, the other two continue their conversation. "Speaking of which. We have gotten confirmation at the very least from one of our clients that a certain blonde dark elf did not return to Feoh."
As soon as she heard that, chills and goosebumps spread across her skin, and for a moment there, Chloe found it hard to breathe.
They were talking about her.
"Oh? Now that's interesting."
"Those men from the white wolves, one of them mentioned that both their leader and the cargo disappeared at the same time within those ruins, which, if our sources are correct, just so happened to be an ancient elven teleportation relay point."
It was no different from having a dagger be placed right under her throat, for the last thing she wanted was for him to know she was here. Yet fate proved to be a cruel mistress, for in the next moment, she heard a disgusting chuckle come out of his mouth.
"Hehehe, so there is a large possibility that she managed to evade capture from the queen's troop and sneak her way inside this kingdom?"
"Most definitely. But it's just guesswork; our only lead is to keep a close eye on the newcomer who accompanied the Goddess Reborn."
"Yes, find me everything you know about him."
As their footsteps went further and further away till she no longer heard them, she finally relaxed her tense body. That did not make her feel any better. It felt like all the tension just collapsed on her as if she was that steel bow of his that just released how taut it was without firing its arrow.
Her worry only increased at that man's new intelligence. For she knew that at that moment, they were also talking about Archer. The sole consolation was that no mention of her queen was made. But if they decided to target Archer of all people, then nothing but destruction awaited.
At worst, it would be both sides. That man would never openly challenge Archer if he knew he couldn't win. Oh no, he would merely scuttle away like the rat he was whenever a hint of danger showed itself, while he just kept sending more people to ruin their lives.
It was too early; she could not target him without potentially making her queen's life harder. And in that moment, as much as she hated to admit it, Chloe wanted to cover all of her bases. There could be no doubt of that man's utter defeat, and none of it could go back to her queen. She hoped to reveal to Archer her plans to kill Mandeville, and that he would support her and offer her aid. Now that she knew how to get inside his estate.
'I could have killed him right now, but I want a better method later, I'll just have to accept that for now, accept it, I need to accept it now.'
Her teeth ground so hard that she felt a chipped tooth.
No, she needed a surefire way to get rid of him. To first make him suffer, break him bit by bit until he drew his last breath, the last thing he would see would be her foot coming down on his skull and crushing him into pieces. At this moment, she did not have the confidence to achieve such a thing, especially if the slightest mistake could have hundreds of armed people come at her and prevent her from such a thing. If somehow her capture were to endanger Olga, she could never live with herself.
'But there is still one more thing I can do.'
Remembering those slaves from earlier, the least she could do was find a way to help them before leaving. That was what Olga and Archer would have done. It was what her Queen did for her. She knew what it was like; she couldn't leave them like that.
Doing the same thing as earlier and exploring the mansion carefully, it did not take long for the dark elf to find the place where they took their slaves. Just like the entrance, it happened to be guarded by several people.
But these guards proved to be more mobile than the ones outside. Rather than staying in one place, they would move about from one point to another. It was almost as if the cage was more well defended than the manor itself, as if even those inside it were an even greater danger. All it took was a single second where their eyes were no longer gazing at the passageway that she sneaked in quickly, running as fast as she possibly could, sweeping into the door before she was even seen.
And just like she expected, the inside of the basement was nothing but cells filled with dozens of dark elves, along with no shortage of women from several other species. Humans, elves, and demi-humans alike. Their current states were something beyond mentioning, even though she knew it should. To cry it out to the world, as if to declare such a tragedy should never be repeated, and for righteous rage to burn all who thought differently.
They were broken, skinny, and their eyes were so traumatized that none even acknowledged her presence, most likely treating her as just another guard.
Just seeing them in such a state, Choe's fists tightened, but before that anger could explode, it was soon replaced by pure shock when she saw a familiar face amongst the slaves.
A person whom she hoped to never meet.
'L-Leona?'
Wasn't she supposed to be in the dungeon at the palace?
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The next 5 chapters of Snafu, and my other Fate fics (Fate Coiling Sword with 3 chapters, A Fake Familiar Reborn with 3 chapters, Steel Eyed Faker soon to be 3 chapters, Taimanin with 3, Hound having 3 and To love a sword having 4 chapters) are already available on my P@treon. With 4 more Broly chapters at /NimtheWriter. Also, I post commissioned arts on each story, already posted a few on an Archer's Promise, Broly and Snafu.