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Greyashe chapter 353

Page history last edited by Sakaki 9 years, 1 month ago

 

 

 

Greyashe chapter 353 is entitled 'Advance'.

 

Previous chapter 352: Irrelevant words.

Next chapter 354: Blind sided.

Summary page

 

-Short summary-

 

Reunited at last, Van and his friends put aside their fluctuating emotions and make the trek toward Shrewlund and the final battle with Butcher.

 

-Long summary-

 

Guy inhales sharply and then turns to Van and asks him if he’s ready. The farseeing boy nods and the two bend and right a car that had been flipped on its side. It takes them quite a bit of time and effort, but through perseverance, the men are able to get the car on its wheels. Guy gives the car a once over and then opens the passenger door which has been banged up from the car being slammed on that side by something. The fighter whistles and tries the door a few times to ensure it closes properly, and upon being satisfied hops in and finds the keys on the floor mat. He tries them in the ignition and gives a small sound of approval when the car roars to life. He leans his head out of the window and motions to Van and the girls –Claire and Kani who watch on. Van wordlessly strolls in and sits in the passenger side beside Guy which Claire notices and mentally notes. Not that he can run far, but does it seem like he’s avoiding her for some reason? The girls slide in the backseat and the fighter lightly applies pressure to the accelerator which gets them moving toward Shrewlund.

 

Inside Kani remarks idly about their luck. Considering that people now neatly fit into two categories –victims of the recall and victims of the victims of the recall, it’s not surprising that they’d have trouble finding anyone they could trust enough to escort them to Shrewlund. The Kaiser mage has her own issues back in Dover Tower, and the elect are all but gone except for Libby who hasn’t returned from her mission. Though she is appreciative for the small favor of not having to walk to their final confrontation, she can’t help but warily think about what might have happened to the previous occupants of this vehicle.

 

Guy shrugs this off and points out that there does not seem to be any blood in the car so it’s likely the people in it were driving to escape when the car got knocked on its side by a magician’s attack and they had no choice but to hoof it. Kani wrinkles her nose at his hypothesis, which Guy notices in the rear view mirror. He sighs and asks if she’ll ever be more than just tolerant of him? To be honest he’d prefer to be friends than not quite enemies. The witch starts to say something but shakes her head and to his surprise apologizes. This isn’t the time to hang onto the past anyway is it? They’re driving into an end. Whether it’s the end of them or the end of their enemy isn’t quite clear yet, but she’s choosing cautious optimism over user friendly doubt to keep her fears in check. They had met Butcher once, and things hadn’t gone well –considering he was considerably weaker then as well only gives more credence to the very scary and very likely result to their confrontation.

 

Guy narrowly avoids running off the road after the sudden apology, and gives Kani a look via the rear view mirror, which inspires her own look. Guy smirks and replies that they’ve seen their fair share of impossible situations in a very short time, so what’s one more? Honestly it’s not like they have a whole lot of options here. It’s either they do something about Butcher or…

 

Van finishes the sentence ‘Or Butcher will do something about us’. He then adds that they needn’t worry about that since he’s got that handled. All they need to do is clear a path for him to reach Butcher and he’ll take care of the rest. Kani leans back in her seat and crosses her arms in defiance taking great care to think about her words to him. It’s obvious she would have liked to deal with this matter without talking to Van again, but she also realizes how impossible that is, so she settles on outright scorn. What makes him an expert on dealing with Butcher all of a sudden? Considering they’re about to go toe to toe with a being that’s essentially a God, she’d like a little more to go on than ‘trust me’. Not that she trusts him anyway –but he should expect that at least. Who’s to say he won’t go off the rails and attack them if the recall’s effects get too strong?

 

Although Claire did not know about Van’s acceptance of agape and magic, upon sitting in close vicinity with him she can tell that something has changed, and Kani’s words only confirm her suspicions. So somehow, he had gained the ability to use magic? Yet he seems fairly calm and collected. What secret had he acquired that he can keep sane with the recall’s effects? More importantly, what secret allows a farseer to use magic to begin with?

 

Van huffs and points out that they’re in a car to Shrewlund now….the capital that Butcher calls his stronghold. Although Butcher’s location is practically public knowledge, he knows that they have to take the fight to the sentient. Had she thought about that at all? Kani admits quickly –more quickly than Van expects that she had not as such Van has to collect himself again before continuing. The reason why he had chosen to take this course of action is through all of what he had been through in his travels he had started to understand how Butcher behaves beyond the simple ‘childlike sadist’. To Butcher this isn’t some kind of grandiose game that they are the players in…no. It would be too easy to write off the mad sentient’s actions as such. Rather, he is taking this just as seriously as they are. From what Dio discussed with he and the others in Dover tower the sentients made a deal with the angelic leader many millennia ago. Butcher had observed the rules that were set before him with such intensity that he had completely missed the ones that were ahead. If he had advanced just slightly between the time where he had been defeated by Ambriel and her beau, he might have rethought the deal made with him and his ilk. As such now he knows that he is vulnerable to slaughter at the hands of the very ones he exploits. In a situation like this what is smarter? Utilizing power that is undoubtedly absolute against a foe that generally is unknown to you or teasing out a plan by making them come to you and watching their movements? Butcher’s one clear advantage is not the power he gains from the recall, but time. He can afford to make them come to him while they cannot afford to do anything else.

 

The farseeing boy makes it clear to his friends that this….what they are doing is not a surprise attack in the least. They are marching into the enemy’s territory and he –Butcher is fully aware of it. They will have to fight to save magicians and people from the recall and for survival. It should be clear by now why he can’t do this without them. They represent a unique class among the populace.

 

An angel who has no need for magic.

 

A human woman who has “died” and cannot use magic.

 

A human man who “rejects” magic.

 

And he, a farseer who usually cannot use magic but has broken the rules of both the recall and life as they know it by utilizing magic and remaining calm in the face of the recall. In short everyone has no “need” for Butcher. This weakness will be their strength. Moreover they are...that is…to him the three of them are…

 

Van sighs deeply and apologizes. He didn’t mean to get off track.

 

Kani gives him a quick look of pity, but resigns herself to a defiant gaze out of the window. She excuses him for getting off track, and points out that he hasn’t explained why he has to defeat Butcher…?

 

Van surprises everyone in the car by lowering his voice to a snarl and twisting his face in disgust. Why else? Butcher can’t be stopped unless he is put down permanently, and he is the one with the power to do just that. Period.

 

Guy keeps his gaze on the road as the women exchange glances. There is a lot Claire wants to ask the farseeing boy, but she is loath to admit that she is just a little bit frightened of him now…or maybe she was always just a little bit leery of the boy, but his attitude hadn’t matched what was dwelling inside of him so she had never given it much thought. Now it seems that the person that lurked inside has manifested in the real world and taken the boy she had been so close to away. That alone has garnered her wrath toward Butcher. Whatever it is Van has planned she will be a part of it…no matter what that might mean for her in the end.

 

Meanwhile in Shrewlund Butcher is –just as Van surmised very aware that he has guests coming. The sheer audacity of the group and their silly notion of fighting him directly actually endears him to them more than angering the sentient. So there are still a few foolhardy humans who are willing to throw their lives at him are there? Excellent. He almost wants to allow them safe passage so that he can crush them in person, but that will not do at all. Such heroism should be rewarded with tragedy. It is only fair…besides, he has all of this power and has barely used any of it.

 

Butcher stands from his throne and remarks that he will have to send an appropriate welcoming committee for the extras, and then give the would be challenger a work out before allowing him in his home.

 

Let the crescendo of tragedy begin.

 

 

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