Last battle!
Enjoy the Rebellion finale!
Showdown, chapter 11: Conclusion, And...
The Sacred Treasure Fortress Bligh advanced through the marshland. Luna Luna was devoting herself to dancing in the altar located in its heart, to store magical power.
“Magical
power supply, entering threshold.”
On Bligh’s
throne, deciphering the information sent by Vante, who integrated with the
Fortress’ control unit, Yuit added one more order.
“Launching Sealed
Weapon: Magic Lightball!”
The lightball
released from Bligh’s widely open mouth vaporized the miasma on their course,
transforming the marshland into solid ground.
“C, cool…
That was amazing.”
Witnessing
such a dreadful power, a power capable of destroying the world like only legends
sang about, Izumi revealed her honest thoughts with a blank stare.
“If we had
such a thing, why didn’t we use it in the battle against the Queen?”
“The whole
Gainos would have disappeared if we had shot this. Or rather, at that time we
didn’t even know how to use it.”
Yuit
answered with embarassment to Mirim’s question.
“It seems
Luna Luna didn’t know it either until she heard a story from a snake goddess in
a prophetic dream.”
Until just
the other day, Luna Luna didn’t know the location of the altar that she needed
to dance on in order to shoot.
“Tarnyang,
how is Luna Luna doing?”
“Ah, seems
like she can’t do it anymore. She’s at the limit of her fatigue.”
Yuit nodded
at Tarnyang’s report from the altar, and Bligh accelerated. They had to arrive
to the witch’s castle before the miasma they had blown away came back drifting.
“Wait for
us, big bro... You mustn’t be hasty.”
Even with
Annelotte’s strength after changing into a demon of her own volition, facing
the witch by herself couldn’t be said to be anything but hard.
“Older
sister...”
Annelotte approached
slowly to protect Aldra. She needed her cooperation to fight the witch.
“ “We can’t
oppose her”… what do you mean by that?”
She asked
in a whisper. Was there a law from the Netherworld in effect that she didn’t
know about?
“The
Marshland Witch... That body is our mother’s, Werbellia’s...”“W, what did you say?”
Annelotte involuntarily gasped at Aldra’s words.
“S, so that means, if we kill the Marshland Witch...”
“Yes, we’d be killing our mother.”
Annelotte’s parents, the ones who had raised her, were the couple from the Kreutz Margraviate. Though that didn’t feel like a lie, having met her true mother, who wasn’t a human at that, was enough to perturb her.
“What are you whispering about... are you reconsidering if you should surrender?”
The
Marshland Witch wriggled her body in an obscene gesture as she flexed her whip.
“Well,
fine... you should know that any plans are useless before me... just with a glimpse
of my power, behold an Unholy Pose.”
As the
Marshland Witch made a dirty gesture as if to tempt them, countless ghosts
appeared from the darkness.
“Kuh! T,
this is...”
The ghosts
appeared everywhere. Ghost came out from Annelotte’s and Aldra’s shadows as
well, and immobilized the two.
“L, let
goo!”
“What rude
fellows, to make a move on madam.”
The
summoned beasts drove away the ghosts that approached Aldra. But, since
Annelotte didn’t have guardians of her own, there was no way for her to repel
the innumerable ghosts.“Come now, Annelotte. You should kiss my leg to make an oath of obedience.”
The
Marshland Witch stretched her leg in front of Annelotte’s lips, who was made to
kneel on the floor. Immobilized, Annelotte couldn’t even turn her face away.
“What curse
should I cast on you... a curse to “Deny” your way of life... a curse to
“Refuse” everything... maybe I should make you unable to live without my help...”
With a
smile, the Marshland Witch put magical power into her fingertip, gathering
force for the curse.
She
couldn’t attack with her weapon due to the witch’s skill with the whip. She was
no match for the demonic strength of a genuine inhabitant of the Netherworld
like Werbellia… she couldn’t win... at this rate, let alone kill the witch, she
wouldn’t even be able to touch her.
The moment
Annelotte felt close to despair, the sound of a trumpet shell echoed from
somewhere far away.
“Guwaooooooh.”The undead that were immobilizing Annelotte screamed in death agony after hearing the trumpet shell’s sound.
“What’s
that unpleasant sound? Airi, what’s happening?”
The
Marshland Witch frowned in annoyance, and summoned Airi.
“Great
Witch, it’s Bligh! Bligh is in our territory.”
“Damn them...
Airi, suppress them with the undead, you may use an evil god, it doesn’t matter
even if you kill the beautiful fighters as a warning to others.”
“Acknowledged.”
Airi
disappeared just like she had appeared. Understanding that Bligh was getting close
from the conversation between the two, Aldra raised her lowered face and looked
at Annelotte and the Marshland Witch.“Are you alright, madam? At this rate, your younger sister will become her servant.”
“Besides,
aren’t the lives of your comrades in danger?... The Witch is merciless,
mada-m.”
They
thought that the Marshland Witch wasn’t supposed to be able to kill the
beautiful fighters, but it had been a big misunderstanding. Like she did with
Captain Liliana and Menace, she could resurrect the deceased and rule over
them. There was no reason she’d hesitate to kill them if she had to.
“I can’t
allow... such a thing.”
Aldra made
up her mind.
“Will you oppose
her? Madam, you intend to oppose her.”
Aldra
nodded and, thrusting out her arm, ordered the summoned beasts.
“Mr.
Belphe! Mr. Dogor! Initiate the attack! Aim at the witch’s underwear!”
“Uhohoho,
what a delicious sounding order.”The two summoned beasts, both the stuffed frog Dogor and the stuffed bear Belphe, jumped out vigorously.
“You
servants are a million years too early to touch me!”
The
Marshland Witch swung her whip when she sensed the summoned beasts approaching,
and knocked down the two animals with lightning speed.
“Oooh,
wonderful!”
“T, this
is, more like a reward!”
Though they
had been struck by the whip and the cotton padding inside them had spilled out,
for some reason the two beasts smiled with great joy and bounced excitedly on
the floor.
“Older
sister!”
Encouraged
by Aldra’s participation in the battle, Annelotte took hold of her lance-sword
and stood up.
“The main
part of the Marshland Witch’s body controlling Mother is that ominous
underwear, if we tear if off from her body...”
“I agree!”
As soon as
she heard, Annelotte stuck out her lance-sword, and charged towards the
Marshland Witch.
“How
foolish, to charge over and over again without a plan.”
The
Marshland Witch faced Annelotte with a defenseless posture.
“What? T,
this...”
The point
of the lance-sword curved without touching the witch’s body, idly cleaving
through the air.
Around the
witch, strong enough on her own, there seemed to be an invisible, peerless
shield.
“Hohoho,
it’s as the witch says. Madam.”
“That’s
right... Around the Marshland Witch, there’s a barrier formed by a huge magic
supply from the Netherworld. It’s because of it that we can’t get close.”
Grumbling,
the summoned beasts pointed at the back of the throne the witch had sat on.
Unless the
radiance from the Netherworld stopped shining on the throne from the depths of
the earth, there wouldn’t be a chance for the two people to win.
Bligh rose
with a roar, pushing its way through the countless undead that loomed like fog.
On its head, Izumi tooted her trumpet shell, raising the allies’ morale.
“That’s as
far as you go. We’re expecting no visitors!”
A huge
shadow showed up to halt Bligh’s advance.
“Geh! What
is thaat!?”
Izumi
exclaimed involuntarily.
The huge
shadow that stood in the way before Bligh was an evil god from the Netherworld
with the lower half of a serpent. On its shoulder, carrying a scythe, could be
seen the figure of the witch’s loyal subject, the Infernal Tempter Airi.
“To send
out such a thing.”
Mirim’s
voice trembled before the figure of the evil god sung about in legends.
“I guessed
as much! Go!”
Coming near
beside the frightened Mirim, Yuit rushed Bligh.
“Thrust
into the castle as is! Maximum battle speed!”
They didn’t
need tricks or plans anymore.
They could
only achieve their goal by striking from the front.
In that situation, how could they cut off the supply of demonic energy from the Netherworld?
(Think,
Annelotte, think)
If the ebb
and flow continued, it would be them who would lose their stamina.
If they
could at least prevent the light from the Netherworld...
The very
moment Annelotte closed her eyes with a feeling as if praying to the heavens, a
miracle happened.
The ground
rumbled with a thunderous roar, and the ceiling of the hall where Annelotte’s
party and the witch were fighting crumbled down.
“W, what is
it?”
Along with
the rubble, a huge foot appeared trampling on a gigantic arm. It was the large
build of the Sacred Treasure Fortress Bligh.
“You’re
telling me you couldn’t stop Bligh?”
The witch
shouted inside the collapsing rubble.
Bligh kept
moving without stopping, and trampled down on the throne, the rubble blocking
the point of contact with the Netherworld.
Unable to
let this opportunity slip, Annelotte started running towards the confused
witch.
“Mr.
Belphe! Mr. Dogor! Please seal the witch’s movements.”
Seeing
Annelotte’s actions, Aldra gave an order to the summoned beasts. Inside the
Witch’s Castle, now crumbling due to Bligh’s ramming attack, the last battle
had begun.
“What a
delicious body, I’m salivating.”
“Low
lives... you better step back!”
As an
effect of the light from the Netherworld being blocked, the barrier that should
have been formed along the witch’s voice didn’t appear.
“Uhyohyohyo,
this is quite sweet.”
The
summoned beasts pounced on the witch’s voluptuous breasts.
“You
servants!”
As the
witch tore the summoned beasts off herself, Annelotte drew near among the
crumbling debris.
“Annelotte!
I decided on the appropriate curse for thee!”
The witch
tore the summoned beasts off her clothes, and with her breasts exposed, turned
towards Annelotte with a curse on her finger.
“When your
soul receives this “Despair” curse, you’ll surrender before me.”
She risked
being cursed. But even if she was cursed, she should be able to reach the
witch’s body.
“Now!
Anne!”
Seeing the
witch’s opening, Aldra grabbed the witch from behind, immobilizing her.
“What? When
did you...”
The witch
was bewildered by the surprise attack. But, it only lasted for a moment.
“In that
case, you’ll be cursed first.”
The witch
turned towards Aldra, clinging to her, and pointed the cursing finger at her.
“Witch!
Your opponent is me!”
Annelotte
cast aside her lance-sword and extended her hand.
“Did you
throw away your weapon because you realized you can’t make it?”
“No. I
threw it away to win, witch!”
That was a
desperate tactics after noticing how Aldra’s unarmed surprise attack had been a
success.
“Nonsense.”
The cursing
miasma collected around the witch’s fingertip distorted the air. But, the curse
didn’t leave her finger.
“Why? Why
didn’t the curse take place?”
Annelotte’s
fingertips bit into Werbellia’s underwear, and tore it off from her body in
one go.
“Guoooooh!
Damn! Damn!”
Releasing a
screaming shockwave, the jet black underwear left Werbellia’s body, moving its
limbs like a spider.
“Just a
little more... even though I had abolished that annoying Queen’s Blade
forever... Damn…”
At the same
time the witch’s words extinguished, the dark clouds that toppled the marshland
went away, and warm sunlight shone in.
Separated
from the body she inhabited, the Marshland Witch was gone.
“Farewell...
Marshland Witch...”
In
Annelotte’s hands, losing its strength, the witch’s main body became worn-out
and slid down.
Though she
was wounded all over from being hit with the rubble, Annelotte was convinced
that it was their victory.
A victory
she couldn’t have possibly achieved on her own, if it hadn’t been for her
sister Aldra, Yuit who operated Bligh and her comrades from the Rebel Army,
they wouldn’t have triumphed over the Marshland Witch and released their
mother.
“It’s our
victory... Annelotte.”
Annelotte
and Aldra felt the sun on their backs, and ran up towards Werbellia, who was
getting up.
“You did
it... big bro...”
As they
watched from atop of Bligh the joyful reunion between parent and children, the
beautiful fighters realized that the battle had ended.
That day
was received as a big occasion in the history of the Continent.
The nobles
that had long corrupted the Continent had been eradicated by Queen Claudette’s
great political purge, and the technology of instruments operated by magic put
in place during her mandate revolutionized the life of the people.The great political purge had ended in calamity due to the curse cast on Queen Claudette by the Marshland Witch, and thanks to the Rebel Army led by the Princess Knight Annelotte marking the end of the Marshland Witch, the Continent had regained peace once again.
“...I
revoke my own proposal that made me into the Queen here, and I declare a
Queen’s Blade tournament to decide the Queen of the next era.”
It went
without saying that the whole Continent got in an uproar of joy when
Claudette’s declaration was propagated all over by the crystal ball.
A true
Queen determined by Queen’s Blade. That was what the people of the Continent
were asking for.
“Will you
really do this?”
At the
Queen’s Castle, Claudette was talking to Annelotte in the backyard.
“No one
would complain anyways if you got the throne of the Queen.”
“I was able
to achieve my goals. The Marshland Witch that brought calamity to the Continent
was defeated, I reunited with my sister, my mother was saved, and Queen’s Blade
was restarted. That’s good enough for me.”
As
Annelotte said that, she shifted her attention to her comrades from the Rebel
Army gathered in the courtyard.
“Thank you
for all until now. We made it thanks to everyone.”
“S, so
this... is goodbye?”
“No, we’ll
meet again. In the next Queen’s Blade, we’ll fight properly then, aiming for
the throne of the Queen.”
Before
Annelotte’s declaration, Claudette showed a smile no one had ever seen before.
“I’ll look
forward to it, rebel Princess Knight... no, Patriot Princess Knight.”
The era of
the rebellion that had caused many calamities in the Continent had passed, an
era where the new Queen would be decided in a fighting tournament was about to
begin.
The sisters
gathered under the flag of the Rebel Army, each with their own goal, separated
to fulfill their dreams. Some people will carry out the mission they were born
to, and some people will improve themselves...
They’d meet
again in the great competition Queen’s Blade to decide the next Queen, but
whether that victor will be Annelotte, or it’ll be someone else entirely, they
won’t know that unless they fight.
One girl
was wandering through the wilderness, not knowing where to go.
The girl,
whose body was clad in maid clothes and who didn’t look like either an
adventurer or a traveler, was holding a black piece of cloth that released a
sinister miasma.
“Please
wait a little... I’ll find a suitable body for you, Mistress...”
Where was
Airi heading to, and which plans she had with the piece of cloth, that’ll be
another story.
-END-
>That was the story, but now a little bonus:
The
Marshland Witch’s Secret
Roughly 100
years ago. The Marshland Witch who appeared suddenly openly hated the living
things and Queen’s Blade, and building a gigantic castle in the Large
Marshland, begun spreading the marshland through her magical power.The Marshland Witch was a bodiless spirit, if she didn’t possess anyone, she couldn’t display her full power. Although the witch had tried many bodies so far, none of the bodies could withstand the use of her mighty magical power for long. Therefore, the witch set her eyes on Werbellia. She was a beautiful high ranking demon, daughter of the Demon King of the Netherworld. The Marshland Witch summoned her from the Netherworld under the pretense of helping to conquest the world.
On the
other hand, a man known as Pope Stephan, the supreme leader of the religion, got
to know that the Marshland Witch was cooperating with the daughter of the King
of the Netherworld, and went to subjugate them. Although the Pope lost the
battle facing Werbellia in the marshland, he actually succeeded in sealing her
power. That is, Werbellia fell in love at first sight with the Pope and gave
herself to him.
The Marshland
Witch was stumped. As long as Werbellia continued her sweet married life, let
alone her body, it’d be near impossible to borrow her strength.
5 years
passed, husband and wife had two daughters, and they formed a happy family. Then,
the witch eventually kidnapped the two daughters, luring the Pope to her own
castle and sealing him alive in the Netherworld forever.
Though the
Marshland Witch tried to usurp the body of Werbellia, despaired at her
husband’s disappearance, her plan failed. Werbellia was a mightier being than
she could have imagined. She got angry, and went back to the Netherworld. Her
two daughters escaped secretly to the town by the hand of an identified human.
And then,
time passed, and the moment came when Aldra was defeated at the tournament. Once
again, the witch summoned Werbellia. The witch had obtained the “Controlling
Treasure” handed down by the Amara Kingdom from Menace, and using the treasure on
that body, she controlled Werbellia. As Werbellia, the Marshland Witch first
cast the “Amplification Curse” on the new Queen. If she amplificated her
personality that respected the order to an abnormal degree, it’d be easy to
manipulate her in the future. Placing Melona (a fake Ymir) as a supervisor, the
Queen substantially belonged to the witch. She was made to declare the
abolition of Queen’s Blade, calamity befell and a “Beautiful Fighters Hunt”
began to erase the people according to the prophecy. But the prophecy said that
she couldn’t kill them. Then, the witch rendered them powerless, casting on
them curses crueler than death. This way, the witch’s preparations to rule the
Continent were complete, without her actually finding herself on center stage. She
was keeping an eye for a chance to depose the Queen, and seize the throne for
herself.
But the two
daughters of the "vessel"Whew, so that was the whole thing... Guess there's a lot to comment about, but I'll just highlight a couple of things for now:
The Witch does have 4 "Unholy Poses": Control, Corruption, Despair and Pain. We'll have to wait for her book to actually see them, but unlike the Holy Poses, seems like they require the user's own energy.
Also, I was rather convinced the summoned beasts would turn on Aldra sooner or later. It was rather refreshing to see them staying beside her (and staying as perverts, while at it), truth be told...
Still, the Continent was saved, and the Witch was severely (fatally?) weakened, but what happened to our heroines...?
Next: Rebellion endings, start!
