Chapter 41- Allen Durandal

Chapter 41

 

Allen Durandal

 

           

            Judicium’s hierarchy was made in a way so there was never a conflict of command. Even if the person above you died, there was always someone to replace them instantaneously, so there was never any debate, with the exception of the Council of Seven. Allen Durandal knew this better than anyone. With Caius captured, the role of Mentor fell on him. Naturally it was the Star Night who would bear the mantle after the Mentor no longer could, so Allen was prepared for this. The real issue he wasn’t prepared for was rooted somewhere else.

As a true born and raised Judician, Allen had little consideration towards his own morals values. What he thought or cared about never mattered. Judicium was the law and way of the world. His duty was to make sure the world stayed that way. Only this time around doing his duty accomplished the exact opposite. Judicium’s Moon was ready to start an all out war against the Church. Officially it was against the Azure Kingdom but Allen knew better.

            His old Mentor had never been a man of faith for as long as Allen had known him. If Charles could’ve had his way the Church would’ve burned long ago. Thanks to Caelum Infinitum, it would seem Charles was finally getting his wish. Though the original orders were to avoid all out war at all cost, with the capture of Caius, their options were thinning. Even so, Allen didn’t know he had it in him to openly go against the Church if it came to that.

“Hundreds will die,” said Allen out loud in distraught. Allen and his fellow Nights all found themselves dwelling on the new orders inside Sia’s room. Out of everyone, she was the most afraid.

            Felicia in the other hand didn’t seem to mind any of what was going on. “So what?” She looked directly at Allen with a smug expression. “Just what exactly do you think we do for a living?”

            “We keep order. Our job is to prevent the problem before it becomes a problem. This is not preventing anything. It’s initiating it.”

            “Well sorry to disappoint you but the problem can no longer be prevented.”

            Oswald looked like a ghost. “Will I…have to fight too?”

            Felicia rolled her eyes. “God save me if I have to fight next to you p*****s.”

            Allen laid Oswald’s fears to rest. “Don’t worry. You’ll stay here protecting Sia and watching over our prisoner.”

            Oswald let out a sigh of relief but Sia maintained her pale exterior. “What about Caius? What are you guys going to do about him? If he dies you might as well not even bother protecting me.”

            “You can trade prisoners,” suggested Saphira. Their prisoner clearly had no notion of value.

            Felicia laughed. “You must be a f*****g idiot if you think the Azure Kingdom will give up a Mentor of Judicium’s Shadow for a junkie b***h.”

            “True,” agreed Allen. “But I do expect you to continue using her as leverage to manipulate Dumas into making sure Caius doesn’t die. Possibly even free him. I’m sure he wouldn’t be opposed to the trade.”

            The ambitious Felicia wasn’t the least bit thrilled about her orders. “You overvalue Caius. If we overuse Dumas the Azure Prince will grow suspicious.”

            Sia answered before Allen could. “What does it matter? The Azure Prince will be dead soon. Along with the rest of the Azure Kingdom.”

            Felicia glared at Sia. “Shut up, w***e. You played your part already.”

            “She has a point,” defended Allen. “You’re the only one that can still get inside the Azure Palace. If you can guarantee Dumas the safety of his sister along with his own I’m sure he’ll listen nicely.”

            “And what about your damsel in distress?” asked Felicia with a smirk at the corner of her mouth.

            Allen tried his best to show no reaction. “What are you talking about?”

            “Don’t play dumb with me. I did my job from inside the Azure Palace just as much as you, and I heard more than one or two whispers about your flirtations with the Azure Prince’s daughter. You have a thing for her, don’t you?”

            “Like you,” argued Allen. “I was doing my job. Yes we had three or four conversations but what of it?”

            Felicia raised a suspicious eyebrow. “Then I guess you won’t mind when I slit the virgin Princess’s throat.”

            Allen’s hands twitched. “If it comes to war, do as you please. I still have my doubts about this reckless attack though.”

            “Your doubts are irrelevant. We cannot defy orders from Dark Charles,” warned Lucia Starfall.

            “No one is defying them,” explained Allen. “I simply question if these are orders from the Fuhrer or orders from Judicium’s Moon. If these are not the Fuhrer’s orders, I’m afraid even Judicium’s Moon cannot order me to do it. And think about it. If we’re starting a war, why aren’t the White Coats backing us up on the attack?”

            “You receive your orders from the Moon as the Moon receives orders from our Glory. To disobey the Moon is to disobey the Fuhrer.”

            “Unless the Moon was disobeying the Fuhrer.”

            “If the Moon was disobeying the Fuhrer, the Moon would be eliminated and instantaneously replaced by the next Mentor best fitting the position.”

            Allen sighed. These new Youths are like talking Judicium Holy Grimoires. The rumor that Dark Charles had perfected the art of creating a soldier solely living to serve Judicium was not a lie. Even this premature Youth lacked entirely her sense of self. At least the Starfalls from Caius’s generation still had a personality intact. Though in most cases, especially with the first generation, they snapped at one point or another. This new breed Dark Charles had created however would never experience that. If the Moon told them to burn Yggdrasil down, they wouldn’t hesitate for a second.

            Felicia couldn’t resist taking another bite at Allen. “Arguing with a puppet now? You must really love this virgin Princess.”

            Allen ignored her. He wasn’t the kind to argue. He just obeyed, like a good loyal Judician. He wasn’t so much hoping he could sway Dark Charles in the mission briefing as he was simply hoping that his heartless leader would find a place for mercy in his heart. To say hundreds would die was an understatement. An all out battle between Judicium and the Azure Kingdom inside the city would erupt the entirety of Eden into calamity.

            It was no secret that the majority of the citizens of Eden were True Believers. It was also no secret that it was the Church keeping the people in line during the quarantine in order to prevent them from enforcing the Fuhrer’s wrath. If Judicium unleashed its wrath on the Azure Kingdom it might as well be an attack on the Church. Allen wasn’t sure they could withstand what they would trigger.

            As Allen departed on his way to Eden’s Tower another dilemma started to torment him. In the case that Judicium and the Church did actually go to war, assuming he lived, where would his allegiance lie?

Allen grew up alongside the world the Fuhrer built as he was building it. When he was a baby, Judicium was still at war in its conquest for the world. He witnessed a man unify a world and heal it. It was that feat that made him believe in Judicium, but it was God that had always kept him going until that moment.

Having a family that traditionally joined Judicium’s Shadow, they were always in the heat of any conflict. Allen was raised solely by his mother. The only image he had of his father for a long time was what he built from the stories his mother used to tell him. Those stories became Allen’s reason for living and every night he prayed to God for his father’s safe return. Allen’s faith was rewarded the day he finally met his father for the first time. It was the happiest moment of his life, and the day he decided he was going to become a Shadow like the rest of his bloodline. So far God had answered all his prayers and Judicium had granted every opportunity. But which could he live without? The world his father helped create or the one being who had continued to give him the strength to keep pushing onward. For people like Charles and Lucia it was simple, they only believed in one thing.

            After numerous flights of stairs, Allen reached the designated floor and was guided to the briefing room. No one paid much mind to Allen upon his entrance aside from a couple curious glances. The room was centered around a round table. Only three of the various people actually took a seat around it though. Most of the people in the room were unfamiliar to Allen but he quickly identified the members of the Council of Seven.

            The only Black Coat with the black and crimson uniform was Kramer Godsbane, Judicium’s Hammer. The only Judician woman in the room wearing a fancy dress like she was going to a rich man’s party was doubtlessly Grace Evergrant, the Queen of Propaganda. And the large mountain with the scar across his face stretching through his neck was the one and only Dark Charles. It had been a little over two years since last he gazed upon his old Mentor.

            There were a few other individuals of note in the room. Allen recognized Mentor Gottfried Calantz from the attack on the Cruorian shelter two years back. Allen recalled from Caius that Gottfried was the man in charge of almost all the tortures and interrogations currently ongoing in Eden. Beside him was a very conspicuous and out of place woman with short hair wearing a boring gown. Allen hadn’t the slightest clue who she was. Allen certainly didn’t get a Shadow vibe from her.

            There was one more familiar face in the crowd. A female Mentor by the name of Triana Myrriah. She was one of the younger Mentors, of an age with Allen. Before either were officially Shadows, they had trained together for the test. Unlike him she was an Illumian with beautiful straight brown hair. Allen found her presence as a bit of a surprise. Last he remembered she still believed in God. To his knowledge, all the Mentors Dark Charles selected for this operation, with the exception of Caius, were atheists. Unless she had a change of faith Allen found it unlikely that the Moon would allow her in his ranks.

            It took four more Mentors to come in before anyone said a word. “Is that all?” asked the Queen of Propaganda.

            Dark Charles nodded and looked to his underlings. “By now you’ve all received word of what we plan to do. On the night of the full moon, we will launch an all out attack on the Azure Kingdom. Without a doubt, many will die. The Azure Kingdom has men and power to match this city’s defenses.”

            Just Kramer took the stage. “Thanks to the efforts of many of you however, we’ve eradicated the majority of Black Coats who converted into True Believers, giving me control over most of the city’s Black Coats again. The traitors that managed to escape have either entirely abandoned their black coats and joined the Azure Kingdom, or hold so little influence that they would not dare betray us. When the attack takes place you won’t need to worry about fellow Judicians aiming their guns at you. To further assure this, on the night of the attack, you will all be wearing the Black Coat uniforms to avoid confusion.”

            Dark Charles took lead again. “Those that I have tasked with individual missions who will not be wearing the Black Coat uniform during the assault, make sure to have your Shadow lockets ready to present if ever you come across an ally ready to shoot you.”

            Individual missions, huh. When they attacked the Cruorian shelter in Lumina, two years ago, Allen remembered his individual mission. Charles had ordered him to capture entire families, preferably a father and his wife or child. Made for easier interrogation he said. He was right. Just thinking of what ungodly individual missions Dark Charles had given his band of atheists made Allen shiver. But as a loyal Judician, it was not his position to question.

            “The attack will be a direct assault,” informed the Moon. “They will be expecting you. You will prove to them that there is no God protecting them. Allen,” he called. “Bring forth the map.”

            Allen reached inside his coat and unrolled the map and handed it to Dark Charles. The Moon placed the map flat on the table. “Allen and his Shadow branch have mapped out most of the interior of the Azure Palace. We will assign specific areas for each of you to attack to assure the best results. Triana.” The female Mentor unraveled her own map. Dark Charles laid it out beside the other map. On it were numerous marked areas. “Triana knows this city better than any of us and has done us the favor of pinpointing alternate roots from which we will attack the Azure Palace by surprise. Meanwhile,” Dark Charles ran his finger to the front entrance of the Azure Palace. “Just Kramer will have his Black Coats do a full frontal attack on the palace which will attract most of their attention. The key to this victory is organization. The Azure Kingdom may have a lot of numbers but they are not disciplined like we are. In the midst of panic they will break and that is where we will prevail.”

            Allen built up the courage to ask the question he’d been pondering most. “And the white ring? Why aren’t the White Coats helping us in the attack?”

            Charles and everyone else glared at Allen, appalled. The insult deriving more from the fact he had the audacity to ask a question rather than the question itself. Judicium at its finest.

Charles was at least kind enough to answer the question. “The white ring has been tainted. Turns out our proud Sun was a True Believer as well. Fortunately his traitorous ways have been put to an end. But who knows how many True Believers are crawling inside the white ring by now. Do you have any other questions? If so, ask them now. I won’t stand for it once this meeting is adjourned.”

            The Bright Edgar…a traitor? “Who’s in command now? Drake Lightheart?”

            “Although that would be the obvious choice, our Glory seems to have lost faith in his men. He’s decided to send his daughter instead. Cynthia Deus Starfall.”

            “The white queen. Will she be here before the attack?”

            “No.”

            “Then what will we do if the people begin to riot when we attack?” asked Allen without thinking. “We’ll be attacked from all sides if that happens.”

            A simple look from Dark Charles was enough to remind Allen where he belonged. “All that has been taken care of. Do as your told and do not deviate from your tasks and we will have a quick and sure victory.”

            Just what exactly are you plotting? Allen decided it was best if he didn’t think about it. Over the course of two hours, each Mentor was given a list of instructions that they were to study over. There wasn’t much tact to Allen’s orders, which didn’t surprise him. Despite serving directly under Charles in the past, Allen was still a man of God. In a war like this, that was more than enough reason to distrust someone.

            As Mentors walked forth to pick up their instructions, Allen noted that the conspicuous girl joined in to point things out in Triana’s map with selective Mentors. Individual missions…

            Once the meeting was adjourned, Allen rushed to catch up with Triana. When he stopped her she hardly recognized him. “Allen? Allen Durandal?”

            Triana was never the most beautiful woman, more man than woman in truth. From behind her luscious hair could deceive you to believe otherwise but from the front she was as flat as a wall and her shoulders were broad. Though her face wasn’t completely atrocious, the fact she never wore makeup made it difficult for the mind to trigger any sexual thoughts. Triana was a genuine person though, and while most men would overlook that for her unappealing physical exterior, Allen knew she was a person he could always depend on for the truth.

            The old friends hugged it out. “I must say, I wasn’t expecting to see you here. I’d heard you joined the Eden branch but I was under the impression the Moon…”

            “Yeah, I know,” she cut him off. “But I haven’t been a pious woman for some time now. Not since the death of my parents.”

            “I’m so sorry to hear that. How did they pass? If you don’t mind me asking.”

            “True Believers. I was here when the Azure Kingdom slowly started taking over. At first we put up a fight but once even our own friends started becoming enemies, things took a big turn for the worst. The day my parents were murdered in their homes my Mentor had tried to convert me too. Despite my faith…I denied him because I knew this wasn’t God’s work. Once they knew I wouldn’t become one of them they killed my parents and tried to kill me as well. I only barely made it thanks to Judicium’s Speaker whom had been looking into the whole situation for quite some time. He had his followers rescue me.”

            “Well that explains why you’ve earned Dark Charles’s trust.”

            Triana smiled. “You’re one to talk. It seems we’ve both worked our way up to being Mentors. Big accomplishment for people our age.”

            Allen shook his head. “My situation is a bit different. And you’d be surprised how young they’re making Mentors these days. I know two that aren’t even thirty yet. Mine being one of them.”

            Triana looked perplexed. “God, now you’re making me feel old.”

            Allen laughed. “Hey, at least we’re not in our forties and fifties like the rest of them.” Allen got serious. “Hey Triana, can I talk to you in private?”

            She looked around both ways in the hallway. “Is this not private enough? There aren’t many people and no one is paying attention to us.”

            “Please,” he begged. “I just need to talk to someone that’s not afraid to speak their mind right now.”

            Triana understood. “No problem. I know an innkeeper nearby that’s faithful to me. I’ll get us a room and we can meet there.”

            “Thank you.”

 

***

 

            Allen closed the door behind him as he entered the room. Triana was sitting on the bed braiding her hair over her shoulder. She was wearing a black nightgown that didn’t cover her shoulders. Allen couldn’t help but cringe at the sight of her manly back. She’s even more ripped than before.

            “So what did you want to talk about?” she asked, innocently.

            Allen wasted no time cutting straight to it. “This attack…what are your thoughts on it?”

            “I think it can’t be avoided,” she answered nonchalantly.

            Allen wanted to hear more than that. “Even with all the innocents that will die?”

            Triana stopped braiding her hair and looked at Allen. “Innocents? I’ve been living in Eden some time now, Allen, and I promise you, there are no innocents in this city. All those you deem innocents are all slaves to the Son of God. Don’t think for a second that they wouldn’t try to kill you if commanded to do so.”

            “So I keep hearing,” Allen commented glumly. “Just who is this Son of God? You were here before he entered the city. What is it about him that makes so many people gladly throw their life away in what is seemingly a hopeless battle.”

            “Can’t say for sure since I’ve never seen him myself but rumor is that he is the reincarnation of the First Man. Crystal and all.”

            “Surely that would require some sort of proof.”

            “Without a doubt. But that’s just it,” she explained. “Everyone who has seen him suddenly converts. And once you have every figure of note swearing by God that it’s indeed true, it’s only natural for the masses to follow afterwards.”

            That alone almost made Allen want to believe it, but he’d already seen Caelum Infinitum throw holy titles around like they were really sent from the heavens. “I’ve seen one of their Archangels. They seem pretty human to me.”

            Triana shrugged. “I’m not the one you have to convince.”

            “So you never questioned the possibility?”

            “Of course I did. Still do. Regardless of the fact however, the Church is now my enemy.”

            “So you would condemn your soul in order to avenge your family?”

            “I would condemn my soul and everything else I still have left in order to avenge my family.” She stood up and walked up to him. “I understand your doubt, Allen. And if you choose God I will not judge you for it. But remember, there will come a time when you will have to pick a side. This world where Judicium and the Church could coexist…it’s come to an end.”

            “That’s what I’m afraid of…”

Author's Note

A much less eventful chapter than the last, simply building up towards the big conflict and giving us more insight into Caius's Star Night. I won't bombard you with questions this time around lol I just have two. What are your thoughts on Allen? And which side are you rooting for in the coming conflict?

Reviews

[Dark Rider]

I am feeling pretty bad for Allen. Having to do something he doesn't really want to do, but at the same time he's loyal enough to do it without questions. I hope you don't have his death planned out anytime soon. XD All in all, it was a really great chapter. It's good to slow down for a minute and let everything sink in and the reader as time to digest all of the shockers that have been revealed and brace themselves for new shockers with this information of what is going to happen. I really hope Caius doesn't see death either, but I still feel like he's going to. XD And Charles is still just that character you have to agree with. Can't wait for the next chapter! :)

[Cynical_Art]

Yeah I know what you mean. The next chapter will be a slow one as well but it'll be a Venir/Malus chapter so I'm sure you will enjoy it :) Afterwards there will be one more slow one before things start picking up really fast.

Anyways, I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter. I have a lot planned that'll be affecting every major character in the story so far, that includes all of Caius's Nights. Speaking of which, I just uploaded a picture of Felicia Mandeville on my photos :)

[Dark Rider]

I can't wait to read it, and I'll go check it out now. :)