Karsten estate was abuzz with activity. Hedin watched all of them with a silent gaze; his crimson eyes gleaming in the night. He had donned his trench coat and hat again and raven sat quietly on his shoulder. Behind him rested his trusted cleaver and the revolver was at his hip, ready to be used.
Glory churned beneath his skin, asking to be released and the cradled miracle inside him reverberated with untold power.
Raven is tracking the white whale. It's still heading toward flugel's tree. By it's current speed, it'll take anywhere from 4 to 5 hours for it to reach there. And previously, the witch cult started to move by the time the clock struck 9. There's still 2 hours left for it... We might be late or we might not. I'll just need to trust Roswaal with this.
Suddenly, he felt someone grab his hand. He turned his head and found the familiar blue haired maid smiling sweetly at him. Hedin smiled back.
Standing side by side, the height difference was certainly a bit comical; but it gave the situation a unique kind of charm as well. He felt someone approach from behind him as well, and already knew what it was.
Patrasche nudged Hedin's back with her head, letting out a soft roar to garner his attention.
Turning around, Hedin patted the ground dragon's head affectionately.
"Things are gonna be pretty hectic for some time." He said. "Hope everything turns out well."
"It absolutely will!" Rem exclaimed with conviction.
Hedin nodded to her words, but couldn't misplace the gnawing sensation at the back of his mind. His instincts had always saved him in many many near death situations.
He was not one to doubt them. In fact, every hunter had some sort of powerful intuition. Glory was just that kind of power.
And now, when the same intuition told him that he was missing something, he completely believed it. But the question remained. What was he missing?
He could not use the miracle to find it.
Drawing information from the world's memory took too much cradled miracle in the first place. And when it was vague, such as finding out what information he was 'missing,' the cost would skyrocket.
Information to be divined needed to be anchored to another piece of information or an object in question. When he divined about the origin of his ability, the anchor was himself and his ability in question.
The anchor was easily defined.
But when dealing with the current situation, it could not be used. 'Missing information' could virtually be anything. The anchor was so vague that it would take an astronomical amount of miracle to find a response; or there might not be any answer at all.
Thinking about all these things, he was approached by a sharp presence.
Hedin didn't need to be told who this was. He had grown all too accustomed to this figure.
"Sir Wilhelm." He said, bowing a bit. "This is the first time I've seen you in battle gear. It is an honour."
Wilhelm was dressed in his normal butler suit but above that, he had a leather guard that covered a part of his chest and on his hip were various forms of swords. His steps were measured and powerful and he seemed ready to jump into action at any moment.
Seeing Hedin greeting him, Wilhelm stopped for a moment.
"Hedin..." Then, he bowed. It was not the traditional bow, but a full 90 degrees one.
Hedin was a bit surprised, but did not choose to comment on it.
"Thank you, Hedin." He said. "Thank you for giving this old man a chance to take revenge. And thank you for telling us of the whale's powers. This is something I'm not sure I can ever repay."
"Please rise, Wilhelm." Hearing his words, Wilhelm rose to his normal height and thanked him again.
His incessant gratitude made Hedin chuckle. "Aren't you thanking me too soon?" He smiled.
"Save the thanks for when we take down the beast. And then, when we take care of the witch cult, I will be the one to thank you. That way, we'll be even."
Hedin sensed no maliciousness, no political scheming or second thoughts in Wilhelm's gratitude. What he sensed was genuine. And Hedin, being weak to being thanked reciprocated his feeling.
He did not wish to manipulate Wilhelm into owing him, nor did he wish to make him second guess his own camp. He simply accepted his thanks, and in return, he hoped Wilhelm would accept his own.
It was a stupid thing, some might even say simple minded. But Hedin found meaning in that.
Wilhelm held his gaze for a moment before his eyes softened. He momentarily glanced at Rem and back at Hedin.
"I see you're just like this old man huh." He laughed.
"Don't jest. You still have some good years left before you."
...
Not long after all the preparations were done, Crusch came forward and introduced Hedin to everyone. And then, after a speech from Crusch, everyone was off!
Rumble!
The ground rumbled beneath them as they stormed out of the Ducal Estate. Rem and Hedin led the charge, seated upon Patrasche. Rem held the reins and Hedin sat behind her, holding onto her slim waist.
Although Hedin could have maintained his own balance no problem, Rem insisted that he take the proper security measures and hold her waist just in case. Hedin wasn't able to resist very long.
And so, in just 4 hours, they had reached their destination.
Flugel's Tree.
The tree loomed overhead as they made stopped under it. It's branches spread about like massive fingers feeling through the clouds and it's giant bark was wide enough to encompass the entirety of the army and then some.
Crusch, Felix, Wilhelm and Hedin were perched atop one of the extended roots, looking to the sky.
"Are you certain it will arrive here, Sir Hedin?" Crusch asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Certain as can be." Hedin nodded with conviction. Beside him, Felix narrowed his eyes and spoke with a sing song voice.
"Nyaaa~ Hedin. Nyou sure have plenty of strange abilities. To even be able to track the White Whale~ Where do you come from?"
"Ferris!" Crusch instantly reprimanded him, looking at him with a sharp glare.
"Both our camps are currently in an alliance and about to face the white whale! Do not pry into needless information without thought! Even in jest!"
Felix flinched under her yelling and his ears drooped low. He stayed silent for a moment before he muttered with a nod, "...understood, Lady Crusch...
Turning to Hedin, she offered a small nod. "I apologize if my Knight's words offended you in any way, Sir Hedin."
"Not at all, lady Crusch." Hedin shook his head with a smile. "But I do hope this will not happen again. I am someone who values my personal information quite a lot."
The Karsten heiress nodded stiffly.
Hedin understood that although Felix had stepped out of line of his own accord here, Crusch had used the opportunity to gauge his own reaction. It was simply testing the bottom lines and figuring out what was worth prying into and what wasn't.
Even after staying with them so long, they're still figuring out my bottom lines... they really aren't good at scheming. I guess that's Crusch for you. Mostly straightforward and honourable.
Amongst all the royal candidates, Crusch, he felt, had the largest chances of being chosen as the next ruler of Lugunica. She was also one who he liked the most. Right after Emilia, of course.
They talked some more, discussing final preparations before Hedin gave the signal.
"It'll be here in a short time."
And that was the signal.
Crusch alerted everyone and they all began to line up into formations. The men holding the cannon with the night banisher began to move to the middle of the formation and Hedin hopped atop Patrasche with Rem.
And so, they waited.
Sweat began to pour from many people's temples and the tension in the air was palpable.
Hedin activated his glory, feeling strength surge into him in small waves.
And then came a sound.
A croak of a raven.
"It's here! It's here!" Everyone looked up. There was a black feathered bird in the sky.
And then, something blotted out the moon.
Everyone's eyes widened. All of them collectively turned to the moon.
There, far into the sky; a mountain was floating.
No, it was not a mountain.
It was a whale.
Bwaaaahooooo!
The battle was about to begin.
...
...
...
A/N: I might transition fully to writing the Chainsaw Man fanfic after getting done with this and finishing the TOG fanfic.
Idk tho.
I might start working on a PJO fanfic halfway through CSM, but we'll see.
Cheers~
(IMAGE HERE)