Greyashe chapter 347


 

 

 

Greyashe chapter 347 is entitled 'One's greatest ally is the haste of an enemy'.

 

Previous chapter 346: Negotiating in bad faith II.

Next chapter 348: A series of unfortunate events.

Summary page.

 

-Short summary-

 

Baker's revelation causes Butcher to realize just how little control he has in his 'victory scenario' and that an enemy thought to have no fight is in fact the one to be the most wary of.

 

-Long summary-

 

Butcher asks his partner what his comment is supposed to mean? 'The ones who do not fear dying at our hands'? Does he mean the humans? Being suicidal is not an ability last he checked. Even if they do not fear his power killing them, that does not mean they have the ability to face him in combat. For every one of them that has the gall to charge at him, he has two more magicians who would make their foolish folly a short and painful lesson. So what does he mean? What in the world did he see out there that could cause such a change in him?

 

Baker recalls his fight against the swordsman who had been in the group of humans who had opposed them--at the time that Faulkner had been killed by that angel's 'Angel Fall'. He had gone looking for the man since it had been apparent during their next encounter in Rexcist that he and Candle seem to be close in some regard. Baker looks up at Butcher realizing what the other sentinent feels about Candle and her betrayal, but Butcher says nothing, prompting him to continue. He had grown curious as to what happened to Candle after the events of the Angel fall and Faulkner's death, and had found that Van's group had separated, and the swordsman had struck out on his own. Baker leaves out a sizable bit of the reasons at this point, but does confirm that he engaged the swordsman in battle. It's then he realized something....

 

Baker's power roars loud enough to leave Reid's ears ringing. So this is a being of pure magic huh? It hadn't been apparent to him during their last fight that this guy is dangerous, perhaps both times Baker had been pretty calm, but now that he's quite intent on finishing him off, he can tell this is an opponent who can easily leave him as nothing but a very messy stain on his list of nefarious deeds. He gets why Baker hadn't used this power before, since it seems in some odd way he hoped that they'd be able to reform Candle? Yeah, he's still trying to figure that one out. If he survives he'll be sure to spend a long day thinking about it. For now though....

 

Baker lunges forward at a speed Reid's brain doesn't even register until his fist is inches away from his nose. Luckily the ex-kaiser mage select has been in enough fights to know to trust his instincts, and raises his swords just before the punch makes impact which sends him flying back a few feet. Baker follows up with another lunge, and Reid is able to stumble inelegantly out of his way. He slides back a bit and swings his sword in an upward arc hoping to catch Baker off guard and maybe take his arm. Baker is indeed surprised, but the sword passes through his arm with no noticeable effect. Baker looks at the damage --or lack thereof, seemingly surprised as well, which gives Reid all the time he needs to get to his feet and slash at the sentinent's belly meeting resistance only when he gets to where his spine should be. Baker yells out in pain, and Reid draws back out of satisfaction and a bit of surprise. He actually managed to harm this guy?

 

Baker slumps forward, his eyes a maniacal range of colors as he flops back and forth, a black substance eerily like blood blorshing about as he moves his upper body back and forth. He mutters in a hushed voice that he hasn't felt this 'pain' that Butcher seems to be obsessed with before, and is surprised that it is something like 'this'. Could this be it? Passion? Passion? Fear? Fear? Fear? Pain? Pain? Pain? This is the same feeling, that his partner Butcher had felt at that time when the angel struck him? Passion, Passion, Passion, Passion, Passion? Fear, Fear, Fear, Fear, Fear, FEAR? PAIN, PAIN, PAIN, PAIN?!

 

THIS IS IT?

 

Reid is not surprisingly becoming more and more uneasy when watching the sentinent before him flop back and forth while muttering and now yelling incoherently...what should he do now? Finish the guy off? Or get the heck out of here? Both sound like really good options at this point, but the swordsman can't help but be a little curious too. From what Van and the others had said, this 'recall' thing had made the sentient scary strong right? Yet this guy --Baker was it? Had gotten sliced like any other person, and other than the fact that he seems to be alive for a little too long, is reacting like anyone else who had been cut in the torso. Far be it for him to be disappointed at this reaction, but it's definitely not what he expected from an almighty being who has the power to crush the world as he knows it as if it's a mere afterthought.

 

Reid finally decides that running is the best course of action and begins to flee, when Baker flashes an unholy hue of purple and seemingly calms down. He then says in an audible tone that even the 'recall' isn't enough to stave off this feeling of 'pain' and 'fear' is it? A weak human like him still has the ability to cut him as long as he does it with 'passion'. What was that passion though? The passion to simply 'live'? or to 'live and protect Candle'? Reid coughs as the air around him becomes thin suddenly. What does he mean? Does that even matter at this point? He doesn't even know if he'll see Candle again at this rate, so obviously he's trying to 'just' live. Everything else comes second to that.

 

Baker's multicolored eyes cycle through hues for a moment, and then they flash an unholy red before the sentient mouths 'wrong answer'. He then rushes at Reid so fast that even his instincts aren't able to keep up. Baker passes him, and suddenly returns to his normal colors. Reid turns to see the sentient who has begun to walk away. The swordsman is more confused than ever, but remains quiet afraid to speak up and get Baker's full attention once more.

 

Baker talks while walking and explains that while the 'names' Butcher had given he, himself and Candle may have come from a child's rhyme, they hadn't just kept them over millennia for the sake of sophistry. The truth of the matter is they had come up with 'base' abilities to match their 'names'. Candle has the power to produce 'heat' without 'fire', and even he doesn't know what Butcher can do....but as for him...

 

Reid's nose suddenly inflates in size and explodes painfully. The blood splashes all around the ground of the abandoned road in front of him. The swordsman gasps in pain as he begins to vomit. Baker keeps walking as he comments that the 'fats' in his body must be melting, which in turn is dissolving the materials in his body and causing them to die. Soon the gases in his body will dry out and deactivate the enzymes in his body which will lead to death. In short he is 'baking' him from the inside out. The reason why the air around him had become harder to breathe in is because he had changed the particles in the air ever so slightly so that every time he breathes them in he's activating enzymes in his body that react like mini 'ovens'. Honestly this way of killing humans is far too slow for his liking so he keeps this ability a secret, but because the swordsman had taught him something important he decided to make his death as 'slow' as possible. Sadly 'slow' and 'antagonizing' seem to go hand in hand, so he will have to suffer a bit. It seems that even with the powers of the 'recall' the humans still have the means to bring them harm....how interesting.

 

Reid tries to choke out something at Baker but his body inflates and explodes again causing him to scream in agony. Baker doesn't turn around as he comments that he won't be alone in his 'death' soon. He's sure that once Butcher finds out what he is about to tell him that his rage will capsize this world in death several times over. So he should consider himself the vanguard for the 'banquet of darkness' to come.

 

'Bon appetite'.

 

The sentient disappears leaving the swordsman to die in agony.

 

In the present Butcher leans on his fist and asks again what this is supposed to mean? He knows already about this 'passion'. While he was out dealing with that, he managed to overwhelm a pissant human's 'passion' with his own and won handily. Why should he fear one 'other' human? Baker shakes his head and reveals that he encountered an 'angel' while he was out. Butcher interrupts him and reveals that he knows this as well. It wasn't the 'right' one, was it? Although now they don't have the 'Ten Commandments', to worry about which means killing that angel wouldn't be an issue, he shouldn't waste his time on frivolous pursuits. Besides, that one is his to deal with. He appreciates Baker's efforts to keep his mind focused on the end result, but taking his prey is tantamount to treason. Baker cuts in and points out that they are not the only ones to benefit from the dissolution of the commandments. He found an angel --yes, not the one who had begun this fight stirring up the humans to rise against them. While perhaps one human with passion is of no concern, what if several were to come at them?

 

This catches Butcher's attention. However, this is impossible as the humans rely on magic and he has taken that from them. There's no way they can possibly....

 

He then remembers it, and a new emotion unlike the fear or even pain washes over him.

 

The humans that he had thought so lowly of had devised a means to kill Goddesses had they not?

The humans that he had thought so lowly of had waged war with and without magic and had come to a stalemate had they not?

The humans that he had thought so lowly of had caused him to learn of passion had they not?

The humans that he had thought so lowly of have the angels on their side now do they not?

 

Suddenly the reason why he was unable to kill that 'girl', --Mist is now clear. The deus had subtly written the rules not out of foolishness, but because he too was patient. Because he had subjugated them with rules, Butcher had only thought to break them...how could he have known that his plan could have only succeeded due to those rules?! If the humans had been allowed to mobilize sooner then he would have been killed. The deus had only allowed him to think he was in control so that these people could live and develop....and now they have to a point where they could actually kill him....

 

Kill a God!!

 

Butcher rises from his throne nearly frothing from the mouth. So the deus thinks he has won has he? The deus thinks that he's figured everything has he? He has only been taking thing leisurely because he can....but now that needs to end.

 

Raising a hand to the heavens, Butcher screams in primal fury.

 

The word around the palace quakes and magicians everywhere despite what they are doing come to a complete stop.

 

In Aerhaart, Van awakens in his cell and finds his mother curled up beside him as his father stands outside the cell with a darkened expression. Colin comments that while he can't use magic, he's definitely getting the heebie-jeebies. He asks his son if it's happening? Van's expression hardens and he nods.

 

In the dining area of the Kaiser mage's abode,Dio whistles as Azha gives him a look. The ex-deus smirks and comments that 'That guy finally figured it out'. Azha asks if this is what he was talking about? Dio nods and says that it was a long time coming really. It would have been nice if things could have continued the way they were for a bit longer, but you can't just keep sweeping a mess aside in hopes that it'll disappear. He and his people have given the humans long enough to get ready, and now it's show time. Butchers going to start making up for lost time, but there's an old saying. 'An enemy's haste is one's best ally'. He asks if Van Rayleigh will be ready to enact his side of the bargain? Azha sighs and replies that she hopes he is. It's their final gambit at this point, and she'd rather not be the one who looks foolish if he's to fail miserably. Honestly though his plan is so simple and thorough that it has to work.

 

Butcher's eyes are white with fury as the sky above the palace grows as black as blood. Hiram peeks around the corner of the corridor he's in, and whispers something right before he is struck by something from behind and blood explodes from his chest. He slumps over and dies before his body lands on the floor. Butcher stands and snarls that he should have known better than to give the cattle solace. Fortunately for that foolish deus he has much more tragedy in mind for him, and the other angels that dare make a fool of him. This world will know his fury and the tragedy it brings before long.