Disclaimer: ONE DAY AWAY CAN YOU BELIEVE IT WOULD I BE THIS EXCITED ABOUT FINDING OUT WHAT HAPPENS IF I WERE HOSHINO? NO, BECAUSE SHE ALREADY KNOWS WHAT HAPPENS.

This is going to be a continuation of chapter 3, okay? Okay.

D. Gray-man Countdown: The 219th Night

Day 7 – Blame "Mana D. Campbell, it's all your fault."

The Earl watched Mana stumble back into his Ark with Neah's dead body hanging off his back, and leave Edo. He felt oddly numb towards Neah's death, for he had been like a son to the Earl, but even now, he wasn't sure where the tears were coming from and they certainly weren't welcome. His family was dead, all but Road, and he knew it was Neah's fault.

The Earl floated down from his perch in the sky to the bloody alley where his sword lay, shoved to the side. Honestly, he didn't want to touch it. Having always been his weapon, it never occurred to him it could injure his family, but Neah seemed to have figured that out and used it to his advantage. It'd become the death of eleven Noah.

The Earl stared at the streaks of blood still covering the flat side of the sword, signs of once being buried in the bodies of those he'd come to love. It was Neah's fault. Everything. How could he? Would the Fourteenth Noah return and do this again? Or would the Earl be able to give him a second chance and allow him to live with his true family once again.

Perhaps all of this could have been prevented if the Earl hadn't been so trusting. He gave Neah the chance to stay with his family, even after the transition, in the hopes it would please the Fourteenth, and earn his trust, for the Fourteenth memory had never existed previously, and would have no memories to reassure Neah that the Noah were on his side. The Earl permitted Mana to know their secrets, and sit at their table, and though the mother was mostly oblivious, he allowed Neah to return to Mana and Cornelia when time permitted. It was all foolish, really. The Earl should have remembered that humans corrupt everything they touch.

Of course, it couldn't have been his dear Neah's fault! Even as the Earl watched over Mana as he cried into the shoulder of his dead brother, he admitted there was a promise he held Neah to. Neah, unable to deny his brother, allowed Mana to influence him, and turn him against the Noah.

This was Mana's fault. And the Earl would get his revenge.

The Earl decided to leave Road alone in her dream world instead of taking her along. She was still grieving, obviously, and the Earl knew she'd been close to their estranged Noah. But there was a double side to that reason as well. Road was close to Mana, almost as much as the rest of the Noah. She enjoyed visiting Neah's human family and inviting Mana to dinner, and the Earl could not bring himself to let her take revenge with him, in the fear she would side with Mana and leave the Earl completely alone.

It was easy to locate the Campbell household, for the Earl had gone to fetch Neah from his family to join the Noah in eating dinner and completing a mission. He could even say he'd become close friends with Cornelia during his visits, finding her to be a rather pleasant human, for what they were worth. It'd be sad to see her die.

Although the Ark was rather unstable that night, the Earl used it to arrive in Ireland quickly, a portal to Neah's house already pre-established long ago. The house was a cream white and two stories, far too big for the small family of just three, but the head of the Campbells left a great sum of money to his wife after his death, and she dealt it responsibly, choosing to get rid of all but one servant and manage the house herself, easy for a mother who's children were usually off traveling together. It was in the middle of a quiet countryside, in a village named Straffan. The grounds were large, formerly a farmhouse, but the fields grew into disrepair and only long grass grew, save one tree in front of the house, planted by the Campbell mistress fifty years ago.

The Earl had once hoped to possess it, but Cornelia was a stubborn woman, and refused to sell. The Earl didn't hedge her, because he knew that one day she'd die, and he could convince Neah to give it up for the Noah's use, but it seemed he would be coming upon it much sooner than he'd anticipated.

The Earl was surprised to see Cornelia standing beneath the one tree, looking up at the dawning sky. The tree was dead, and all the leaves were long blown away. The Earl landed behind her a ways away, and then walked to her, leaning on his cane.

"Madam Cornelia?" She jumped and whipped around, her hair frazzled and tears on her cheeks. Then she smiled, and quickly brushed them away, pulling her shawl closer to her.

"Oh, Earl Millennium! I did not hear you coming. And I must admit, I did not expect company at such an early hour."

"I'm afraid I bring some sad tidings this morn, and I decided you should be the first to know." She was in reality the last to know of what happened, but she did not need to know such things.

"Please, would you like to come in for tea? I'll have my maid put on a kettle for us while we speak."

"No, I wouldn't trouble you. I have business to manage concerning this news later, and I cannot stay long." Cornelia nodded and ran her fingers through her hair. She looked like she hadn't had a wink of sleep.

"Does this news have something to do with my sons?" The Earl raised a brow, and rubbed his thumb on the head of his cane.

"Tell me, have you already heard the news?" The Earl already knew she hadn't, but the flustered look on her face was quite the sight.

"No! I wouldn't presume to know what happens in your company, but-" She trailed off, and glanced at the rising sun. "I would call it a mother's intuition, Milord. I know not what has happened, but I could only feel dread last night that something was happening to one of my sons. Please, tell me, are they alright?" The Earl took a moment to pause, perhaps enjoying making her wait. However, she didn't seem to need for him to speak, as her dread was all over her face already.

"I'm afraid your son has died this night. Neah and most of my family was attacked, and only my niece Road and I survived." Her face went pale and the grief was plainly visible. The Earl himself had to force his face to stay under control, for the rage flowing through him was threatening to leak out and betray his identity.
Cornelia dropped to her knees, and brought her hands to her face, trying to hide the rivers of tears erupting from her eyes. She was quiet, however, and was very quick to pull herself together. Her voice quivered as she spoke.

"And Mana? Where is my only remaining son?" Another tear fell and she bit her lip.

"I know not the whereabouts of your son, but I do know he is still alive. I expect he should be coming here soon to bring you the news. I suppose I beat him in that regard, for I was already nearby." Cornelia breathed out as if she had been holding her breath, but her eyes closed.

"I apologize for holding you, but I appreciate that you have brought me this news. If you would leave me, Earl Millennium, for I have a son to grieve." Her eyes remained closed, and thus she missed the grin spilling over the Earl's face.

"I'm afraid I have one more thing to do." Her eyes opened, red rimmed and tired.

"And what is... that?" Cornelia noticed the grin and the strong grip the Earl had on his cane. He snickered as he brought the cane up and plunged the foot of it into her chest, pushing her against the dead tree and shattering her ribs. Her voice caught in her throat as she tried to scream. Her tired eyes were suddenly wide.

"I'm afraid you and young Mana led Neah astray and you brought the death of my family upon me. You shall not live after such a crime." She was clearly confused, but the Earl pushed his cane harder, shoving the tips of her ribs inward, puncturing organs in the way. The blood spilling from the corner of her mouth proved her lung was definitely damaged. Growing tired of her startled and horrified eyes, the Earl brought the cane up and hit her harshly against the head. She drooped and her eyes closed. She was likely not yet dead, but the injuries were far too large to recover from without surgery, and the Earl would be assuring she would stay in this empty field as long as she still had air in her lungs.

He stared at her face, suddenly soft and lighter in death, and the Earl found her beautiful. A tragedy that beauty could be gifted to such despicable creatures such as humans. It must have been twenty minutes that the Earl stood there, lost in his memories of Neah, when he felt a disturbance in the air and discovered the presence of Mana. He knew he would arrive eventually, seeing as the only place he could go was to his mother. The Earl predicted this, and made his move first. Now Mana arrived and the Earl could almost feel the pain coming from him as he spotted his mother's body. The Earl's shell melted out of him, covering his human form and growing a top hat over his horns.

"M-Mother?" The Earl turned.

"Now all is as it was." A tear fell down Mana's cheek. "Mana D. Campbell: This is all your fault."

"This is the tragedy you invited."

Sooo, I just found out I sorta ship AdamXCornelia? I was just writing her death scene, and then I started to think of Sheryl and Tricia, and then BAM! I ship it. But she's dead, so nothing will come of it. Yeah, just go ahead and call me weird, alright?

Abyss-chan out~!