Luxuria: Secundus Pars

The courtyard was silent after Adjutor's declaration. Even Louise was shocked, unable to protest as Adjutor drew his sword.

"Very well!" Mott declared raising his wand, "If an early grave is what you desire then I shall grant it to you. I accept your terms!" The two combatants stared at each other, waiting for the duel to begin, "Girl! Start the damned duel already!" Mott ordered Siesta.

Siesta was still in shock over Adjutor's declaration, was it right for her to let him get killed for her own sake? She looked over at the armored knight, who was prepared for what could be his death. Adjutor looked at her and nodded. "C-Combatants" She stuttered before gathering her courage, "You may begin!"

Adjutor charged towards the Mage, shield raised. Judging by his albeit limited experience, he surmised that preforming magic required immense concentration, therefore Adjutor must do whatever he could to break that concentration. Mott carried no sword or dagger, if Adjutor could close the distance, he would be at an advantage.

Mott smirked as he saw the commoner charging towards him. He had dealt with his kind before, unruly commoners who thought they could defeat mages by catching them off guard. This tactic was no different from the common highwayman. Despite this, Mott was not disappointed, no… he would enjoy this. With a flick of his wand a pool of water began to form around him, from this he would perform his craft.

"Partner Look Out" Derflinger warned as Adjutor continued to charge his opponent. Adjutor was not entirely helpless, as his instincts screamed out to him that something was coming. He managed to position his shield and slow his momentum just as a spear of ice pierced through his shield, stopping just short of his helm. Adjutor was unable to rest however, as a massive wave of water slammed into the knight, knocking him to the ground.

"Is that all you have?" Mott asked mockingly. "I had expected more from one as confident as you!" He laughed as Adjutor lifted himself from the ground. He was now soaked from head to toe, and even worse he was slowing beginning to freeze. "I had thought you would be clever enough to realize The Wave was more than just a nickname! Let's see how much more you can take, I need the target practice"

Adjutor lifted his shield once more as another spear of ice pierced the wood. Then another, and another. Adjutor's arm strained under the force of each successive attack, his mind trying to come up with a plan as he continued to freeze. From the cacophony of noise, the screams of Louise and Siesta, the sound of ice slamming into his shield, and the laugher of the count, he managed to hear the advice of his blade. "Partner, this sounds crazy, but use me."

"I am trying Blade, yet how do you suggest I get close enough to him?!" Adjutor responded.

"No Partner, use me to block!"

"Have you gone mad?!"

"Trust me."

Adjutor looked ahead and released his grip on his battered shield, letting it fall to the ground. Time seemed to slow down as he focused on the incoming projectile. Using the enhanced reflexes given to him by the blessing of the Lord, Adjutor positioned his sword and closed his eyes in prayer.

Nothing

Instead of the characteristic ring of metal and shattering of ice he had expected, he heard nothing. No sadistic laugher, no screams, no tears, the courtyard was silent.

"What is the meaning of this!" Mott shouted

Adjutor opened his eyes. Absent from the battlefield was any sign of a deflected icicle, and his blade was spotless, dry, as if nothing had ever touched it. Mott flicked his wand once again forming another spear of ice. As it flew towards Adjutor, he once again raised his sword to block. Once it contacted the blade, it disappeared, as if it had never existed. Furthermore, there was no recoil, blocking the spear was as effortless to Adjutor as slicing through air. Adjutor noticed that the ice forming on his armor had begun to weaken and melt, this was his opportunity. He pulled himself up off the ground, and advanced towards Mott.

"Accursed heathen!" Mott shouted as he continued to fire spear after spear at the advancing knight, yet his sword continued to erase them from existence. In a panic, he prepared to strike with another wave, yet by the time he had finished the enchantment, he heard something strike the ground, and felt a powerful force impact his leg.

Adjutor lashed out, breaking the Count's shin with his armored boot forcing the man to his knees, as the Count's right hand, wand still gripped in his fingers, impacted the ground. It took the count some time to process what had happened, when he registered the searing pain in his arm and leg, he held back, determined not to show his pain to his foe. It was only when he saw the stump, that he allowed himself to scream.

Adjutor kicked the injured man to the ground, as he held the stump of his right hand in shock. It was only when Adjutor pointed his sword at the man, prepared to deal the final blow, that Mott was able to speak.

"P-Please!" Mott begged, "I yield!" Adjutor's only response was silence, "S-Spare me please! Name your price, do you want land? Money? Women? I'll give you anything! Just please spare my life!"

"Wait!" Louise shouted. Adjutor turned his head, "It will only cause more trouble for us if you kill him. You have taken his wand hand, that should be enough."

Adjutor looked back towards the injured Count, "My God, is a merciful God, there is no sin that he will not forgive." Mott sighed in relief as Adjutor lowered his sword. "But you do not know my Lord."

Mott flinched as Adjutor raised his blade once again, "And for a lustful, greedy soul, such as your own" Adjutor declared as he thrust his blade into Mott's heart.

"There is no forgiveness."

Louise was on edge for the next few days, seldom speaking to her familiar. In truth, she was not angry with him, she understood why he did what he did. No, Louise was worried about the consequences. Once it got out that the daughter of the Duke of Valliere, failed to control her familiar and resulted in the death of a fellow peer. The consequences for her, her family, let alone her familiar would be immense.

Despite her relative silence, Adjutor kept his silent vigil, now watching over Louise and Siesta, who did not hold the same fears as Louise did. Siesta was grateful that someone had come to rescue her, she had all but accepted her new lot in life, convinced that no one would care about the clumsy maid. What really mattered to her was that, at last, someone would be able to tell her more about her Grandfather's faith.

He had told her about Jesus the Savior, and of the 12 men that followed him. She was fascinated by the miracles he performed, his acts of healing and wonder. However, she felt that there was much Adjutor was not or could not tell her.

Of the three, it was Adjutor that was acting the strangest. Louise had noticed that he had been praying much more. When she had asked why he answered simply, "Penance". Louise had retired to her room for the night, tomorrow was a big day, the familiar exhibition. She was much too worried to prepare, but it's not like it would have mattered, how could a commoner compare to a dragon.

"Familiar, there's something I need to as-" Louise was interrupted by a knock on the door. Louise was confused, it was much too late at night for it to be anyone she knew. Adjutor stood up and motioned for Louise to stay where she was. He slowly opened the door, hand on the hilt of his sword as he prepared for whatever lied behind it. His suspicions were seemingly confirmed, as the cloaked figure who lied beyond the threshold began chuckling.

"My my… has my old friend's life become so perilous that she needs to hire such an imposing bodyguard?" the figure said.

"It can't be…" Louise stated in disbelief, "Familiar let her pass." She demanded

Adjutor stepped aside allowing the woman to pass, "Familiar? So it seems the rumors were true." She said as she threw off her cloak, revealing a young woman with purple hair adorned with a crown.

"P-Princess Henrietta!" Louise sputtered, "W-what are you doing here?"

The Princess chuckled, "Louise, none of that here please. Do I really need a reason to visit a friend?" She said while giving Louise a hug. "Now, why don't you introduce me to your friend?" She said, motioning to Adjutor.

"Friend? Oh, you mean my familiar…" she said.

Henrietta let out a small scream, "Oh I'm so proud of you Louise!" she said hugging the girl even tighter. "We were beginning to worry that you couldn't use magic."

"Princess… can't… breathe" Louise strained

"Oh my… Sorry!" Henrietta said as she backed off from Louise and turned to the Familiar, "I am Princess Henrietta de Tristian, heir to the Kingdom of Tristain and Louise's best friend."

Adjutor responded with a small bow, "Your majesty I am known as Adjutor de Vernon."

"A pleasure, and please, none of the 'your majesty' right now, a friend of Louise's is a friend of mine." Henrietta laughed.

The two friends sat down to talk after so long. After a while Louise asked "Princess, why are you really here?" Louise asked.

"Well… My guards thought it best for me to leave the castle for a few days, for my safety." She answered

"What's going on?" Louise asked concerned.

Henrietta sighed, "Are you familiar with one Count Mott." Henrietta asked. Louise gulped, this is what she had feared. "Judging by your reaction, I see you have." Henrietta chucked, "A few days ago he was found dead in his courtyard, none of his staff would tell us what happened. Of course, an investigation into his death immediately started but not long after its focus… shifted."

Louise was confused, "What do you mean?"

"It turns out whoever killed him did this country a far greater service than he realized." Henrietta began, as Louise seemed to relax a little. "We found evidence that Mott was involved in something… something, treasonous."

"What!" Louise nearly shouted.

"I'm afraid I cannot tell you, besides, let's not focus on that now. Unfortunately, I should be going now, but I cannot wait to see what you and your familiar have planned for tomorrow's exhibition." The Princess said as she got up to leave the room.

"Oh yeah… the exhibition" Louise said, the nervousness quickly returning.

"Good luck Louise, and Adjutor, I hope to speak more with you another time!" She said happily as she left the room.

Louise and Adjutor were left in silence, one less thing to worry about…

"So… what's this exhibition?"

"Sire… I bring ill news from Tristian." The messenger stated.

A man with dark skin looked up towards the messenger. The man was aging, clearly passed his prime, grey streaks showing themselves in his impressive beard. Yet the man did not care. In his old life he was dying, a mere sickness would steal him away from his world after all he had accomplished. This new life gave him purpose, restored his strength, and while he would never step foot on the battlefield again, his mind was intact.

"What has happened?" He said, his voice heavily accented.

"Sire, one of our spies in the Tristianic nobility has been murdered." He handed the man a stack of papers. "It was the Wave sire."

"No matter… he served his purpose." He muttered quickly writing a short letter before handing it off to the messenger. "Take this to the King, quickly" He ordered

"Yes sire!" the messenger bowed and quickly left the room, leaving the man alone with his thoughts.

He and his master had their disagreements, and it was difficult to adjust to this world. However, he had been given the opportunity to conquer anew, such was a gift he would remain forever grateful towards. Now was the first step of their plan, working alongside this Reconquista.

The man laughed softly, the irony of the name was not lost on him. Despite this, his knowledge would be indispensable to their cause. A Glorious revolution! A Glorious Struggle!

A Glorious…

Jihad

AN: Kept you waiting huh?

So... it's been a while. I apologize for that. Like I said my computer died a painful death, and by the time it got fixed… well classes were in full swing. But I managed to get this to y'all before exams started, so not all is lost.

I ended up starting a new story to tie me over. Wanted to see if they could save anything that I had written before I started rewriting this (they couldn't), But I am very excited about my new story (Don't worry this is still my main focus).

By the way, that little tease at the end was supposed to come much later in the story, but I pushed it ahead to reward you all for being so patient (I only got 1 "when's the next chapter" review Good Job!). That character will be the only other new character from our world. I will be adding no one else. Also, once the next chapter is uploaded, I will be changing the order of the chapter slightly. The two halves of Luxuria will be back to back while Besieged will come right after.

BTW of course I listen to Sabaton and Powerwolf! But full disclosure, Angra's Temple of Shadows is objectively the best metal album about the Crusades.

Thank you for your patience and see you next time!