Chapter 16: This is about the Final Boss

28 June 422

I was spot on with my suspicions as when the morning of the next day struck, I was given a full reveal the extent of the situation from the prince himself.

Maybe a little summarized narration will help.

The first clue that gave more legitimacy to my guess over why he looked this much afraid was the way Fourier had nervously panicked when I informed him that I had decided to join him for this 'simple visit' back to the capital.

I admit the shocked expression was kind of flawless in someone I hardly saw this much awed or surprised by something or someone... but I'm digressing here.

The blond recovered moments later as he tried to make some 'strong cases' about having me to stay in Erindor to work, or to keep watch over the twins.

This last reason actually getting me doubtful for a moment, the kids seriously needing some affection since they got kidnapped by Ivan, but I was stubbornly latching to the red-eyed moron for the sake of not seeing him in a coffin in less than a week from now.

The very image was enough to send some inner shivers to my core, the idea of ditching the blond to that fate was... uncool. And bad in all possible situations.

There was also to consider that if Fourier survived, Pandora's plans about the Royal Elections would be screwed beyond recognition and a large chunk of the canon timeline would be nullified and half of my knowledge would be mostly rendered useless.

Was it a good price to save someone's life? I wasn't Kiritsugu Emiya, but part of my pragmatic self would curiously think about this notion.

Was it worth? Yes, but a small voice was quick to say no.

I was hesitant to venture in unknown territory, especially in a dimension like this one and... still, I decided to go ahead and join Fourier in the Royal Convoy arriving from the capital, ready to take the prince back to his castle.

The carriage was modestly-ample inside and I tried to appear clueless of the inner struggles displayed by the blond while we began our journey to his home, squirming as no proper distraction seemed to come to his head and... he finally surrendered to the indirect pressure.

He started quietly, his voice showing that he was bracing for some ill reaction from my part and, if I had known the full context of the predicament we were running into, I would have seriously reprimanded him for not telling anything about this.

But I couldn't chide him, or at least I couldn't in a realistic tone and manner as I too was hiding stuff from him.

It was the future knowledge that got me to know when things were going to happen, the accuracy a little difficult to pinpoint but it was still some preparation that would have worked if given prior to him.

Maybe to avoid Crusch getting kidnapped and the little conspiration from escalating to the canon standpoint, surely to also get Volacchia to back away for some years rather than see them meddling around with the events in Lugnica.

I decided to use a faux stern tone, the guilt possibly hindering his capacity to notice that I wasn't meaning my words to much and in the end I was dealing with a completely quiet trip that lasted for about two to three hours of utter boredom.

We ended just by the entrance of the strong walls around the capital, some of the guards assigned had requested the convoy to stop as they started to check for anything dangerous or unlisted by the leading figure of the carriages.

Moments of silence persisted but then we were granted permission to enter while also being escorted to the palace. First we had to detour to leave the carriages behind and then we continued our path to the massive fortress by foot, squadrons of armed men keeping things safe during the entire walk.

The palace was immense, humongous and incredibly bright to look at, both inside and out. Red flags showing Volcanica's representation as the 'Dragon' that protected the kingdom from the forces of veil.

Maybe it could have been the case in the past, but with the resurface of the Witch Cult, mabeasts sowing chaos left and right, I reckon that many wouldn't be minding if the dragon was omitted as a part of Lugnica.

Only nobles and high-mages nowadays cared for that legend while the rest of the population just settled in praying for... their own survival each day.

Kind of sad, considering that the legend was true and... the Dragon was sleeping somewhere in the Kingdom.

It was never mentioned much but I reckon that, if the big-ass winged lizard was around in this world, it has to be right in Lugnica, in one of the many forgotten caves or mountains littering the nation's lands.

Just as we stepped inside the palace, we were swarmed by a large group of aristocrats of various ages and ranks, all trying to get the returning prince's attention on themselves and causing quite the flinch-worthy dogpile, the young man almost drown by the mass of eager nobles if not for Wilhelm and the other guards moving to help the poor royal out of that ugly predicament.

I was left mostly untouched, some individuals sparing some brief curious glances that only ended by the time a new splace in that meat-barrier of soldiers opened for them to exploit and get closer to Fourier.

I sighed, partly-aware that this kind of situations had to have been predicted and somehow common for the blond, the prince huffing calmly, a clear distance taken by the previous nervousness he had on his face and core.

Before I could do anything to help the plight unfolding before me, I was interrupted by a gloved hand poking at my shoulder.

The slender finger retreated as I turned my head to greet who had decided to interact with me and- I froze in surprise.

Fluffy, light-brow cat-ears twitched as I found myself staring at a pair of soft-yellow eyes, a small but giddy smirk on his face as Felix Argyle tilted his head in adorable curiosity.

"Hello," His tone was feminine, so much that if I hadn't known that he was a dude I would have certainly fallen for the trick presented by his appearance.

"Hello there," I replied back slowly, my eyes blinking just once before I continued. "I'm John Bukharin, Mayor of Erindor."

I extended my right hand to him and the cat-boy stared down at it with a quizzical look, then without saying much of a word, he had both his hands onto my palm to bring it to his... cheek? He started to nuzzle it, meowling calmly and-

...What?!

A few moments of stunned silence passed from my part but then I woke up and faked a cough with my free hand, ending up managing to get his attention back to the situation rather than just got me to pat his cheeks? What the heck?

"M-Nyah~?" He opened his eyes once again, he blinked twice and then he seemed to realize that I was confused. "What? You gave me your hand."

"To shake it," I calmly returned, frowning at the smug exuding from the knight. "Not to use it to get some free cheek-patting."

"Oh~?" He retracted my hand back, pouting a little but nodding. "My bad then~."

I decided to ignore the playfulness displayed. "And I reckon you are Felix, one of the close friends to Fourier-"

"I prefer Ferris," The cat-boy admitted, interrupting me with a bigger smirk. "But yes, that's me and... you are Johnyah?"

Oh God, no. Please no, I'm not ready for this!

"John-"

"Johnyah!" He suddenly exclaimed with a grin, much to my immense chagrin and dismay. It would seem like dialoguing with Felix was proving to be as difficult as expected. Not in the bad way, but in the strange and partly-fun way.

It was creepy, but it was easy to get weirded out without prior knowledge, which I had plenty of.

But still, that nickname was just cruelty upon me.

"Joh-"

"-nyah~!" He giggled, causing me to facepalm and groan within and outside.

Goddammit Felix.

"You aren't going to... make my life easy, aren't you?" I asked slowly, looking at the smug feline as he shook his head.

"Nope~!" He replied ever-so cheerful.

I sighed. "Well, at least I know that he was correct when he said that you were this much... amusing." I said with a little smile, Ferris pausing a moment in surprise at that counterattack.

"Oh? He spoke about me well, I hope." He nodded, trying to recover from what was just the beginning of my comeback.

"He sure did," I admitted cheerfully. "In fact, I was a little skeptical when he mentioned about your fluffy cat ears."

He tensed up suddenly, the young knight's eyes widening in shock at that unexpected mention. Fourier did mention about Ferris' cat-like features, but he genuinely never stopped to describe the ears.

Which was sad and also quite a curious detail to hide from me. Imagine this character with real cat ears and... I was looking at him.

Those now-attentive ears, those fluffy and cute ears were something that I was having some problem to not stare at.

I am a pet-person, someone that loves both dogs and cats until they didn't try to bite or scratch me up for no reason. To see a pair of cat ears seemingly itching for attention was... quite a difficult need to keep at bay and soon my hand was upon his head.

Instead of reaching out for the ears themselves, which were surely more-sensible compared to a cat since those were 'installed' on a human and Ferris looked panicking about at first, I went for the small spot between them and... started to scratch.

Ferris tensed up even more, his hand hovering by the hilt of his sword but never doing anything about his, his wide eyes displaying an incoherent flow of emotions that started from horror and ended in... delight.

A genuine meowling originated from his lips and soon his posture dropped to a more relaxed one, his eyes softening and his lips twitching happily at the treatment bestowed to his head. I was taller than him as he was a little shorter than Fourier, so reaching out for the top of his head was easy to accomplish.

It took me a few more moments to realize what I was doing, it took me even less to understand the reaction the Demi-human was having at the ministrations and the disappointment appearing as I slowly retreated my palm away in abstract surprise and confusion.

The cat-boy was confused himself, both for what had just happened and his reaction to it. "W-Whyat?" His tone was a little screwed from the little massage and it didn't make him any less adorable than before.

Seriously, someone quarantine this cat and his cuteness!

Before I could apologize for doing something like that, I felt something approaching.

Footsteps, abnormally loud footsteps that were closing in on... Fourier.

I glanced at the prince, still fending off the 'fangirling' nobles with the help of the guards...

But I also saw her approaching him with a petite smile.

WHAT?!

I have seen only a few images of this character, so little was known of her plans and I had almost missed her when she started her approach.

My eyes were fixed on her, as if it was the most terrifying monster ever let out against humans and... maybe she was.

Her hair was a platinum blonde with a little blue ribbon capturing a few locks away, her dark-blue eyes a turbulent storm of mirthfulness and godly childishness.

She was wearing a simple elegant white dress with black decorations, her appearance the one of a child, a clear contrast to how old she truly was.

It was impossible to miss her giddy smile, her elated expression as she continued to approach Fourier calmly.

None of the guards had noticed her, maybe it was because she looked like a little noble girl approaching in a silly manner the possible future monarch and-

She stopped. Or rather, she was stopped.

Her eyes widened in minor surprise, her smile twitching some confusion as I reached out to stop her march to victory by grasping her extended arm.

She turned to look at me and I felt shivers and trembling at the ominous smile on her face. I knew Felix was looking but... he was still distracted.

It didn't matter, she was here and... she knew I was here too.

A giggle left her lips.

"Hello~." She greeted with a mirthful tone, almost eager to see what I wanted from her.

Boredom? Interest? So many variables that I couldn't pinpoint so quickly.

"H-Hello," I replied back, my gloom dripping off the words and seemingly sending the girl for another laughter.

"Who are you?" She asked childishly, curious and amused. Terribly amused, pain-stakingly amused!

"I'm... someone." My response was careful, I couldn't just give her my name. What if she was already aware of it? But still, I had to try and cover every bases.

"Hello 'someone'," The child returned with a nod, her smile widening. "I'm somegirl."

She was playing with me. How cruel, how infuriating!

"Truly?"

A nod, then she hummed. "Mr. Someone, can I ask you a question?"

I was dying inside, the nerves were indeed starting to make me sweat a little. But I continued to display some bravado. "You already asked one."

She giggled again. "I did, didn't I?" The admission was soft-toned, just like a whisper, and then she continued. "But... really, can I?"

There was anticipation, like a kid that had just ended up 'cleaning' some plants with bleach. Why the example? My childhood was an odd one.

"You 'may'."

Another giggle, she looked so much excited but... her next words proven my assumptions wrong.

"Why aren't you dying?" The petulant brat finally asked with a solemn but whispered tone. "I 'killed' you 23 times now."

What?

...WHAT?!

Her words were just... insane. Mad, she was mad but... she was blunt. There was honesty, there was annoyance and... she couldn't kill me?

Her Authority was a mystery, no limit was ever reported by the lore and... it was considered nigh-impossible to measure with the other beings in this universe. Someone far stronger than Satella and the Witch of Envy.

She was the leader of the cult, the one that so desperately wanted to shatter the world. Chaos-bringer, an apt title for the little demon before me.

"Oh? Well, I don't know," I wasn't ready to continue this, the development bringing even more panic out of me. "By the way, you may leave this place, Pandora."

The Witch of Vainglory looked surprised, her eyes widening again as to show some genuine shock at my knowledge of her name.

Names represented power, it was a rule that was always present in those places where magic existed.

And the girl knew it, that is why no one truly knew about her, why nobody of the Witch Cult suspected why someone this 'fragile' was actually a being close to a deity.

I was staring at a little Goddess, one that was bound to a deviated and twisted sense of evil and morality, one that didn't care for anything.

Except someone.

She finally overcame her initial reaction, the Witch pouting at my order. "But I'm having fun, you meanie," Pandora huffed, her stubborn tone leaving me somewhat nervous.

"Go away, Pandora," I sternly added, the news that I was immune to her world-warping powers (there was no other ability that matched up with her fullest capacity to kill this easily) gave me some little more courage. I had to get her to leave this place, now I was aware of what had caused the death of the Royal Family.

It wasn't a curse, it was Pandora taking things on a personal and direct approach.

The blunt witch, she was.

She puffed her cheeks but slowly turned around and walked away. She didn't bother to say goodbye, she didn't even seem willing to spare me one last glance as she left my eye-sight and-

"Ugh-!?" I felt a pair of arms wrapping around my waist from behind, I recognized some of the clothes and-

"H-Help me!" The muffled request was loudly perceived as Fourier started to push me away from this large room, the guards having finally gotten under control the group of nobles but seemingly having trouble to keep the situation stable.

I imagined the barrage of people rushing at us, a stampede of aristocratics that would seriously annoy the hell out of me.

Without hesitation, I decided to comply to the request and I started to pace outside of the area with the prince still latching at my back. Wilhelm followed nearby... with Felix following his example.

The cat-boy looked intrigued, eager to tease and-

Oh right, Fourier had yet to tell him that Crusch has been kidnapped by his father.

...Oh crapbasket!