Wish Upon a Sin

Arc 2 - Chapter 16

The city was on edge.

The citizens had known that their capital had been infiltrated, but on some level, it must not have sunk in. They had continued living their lives, sparing only the occasional anxious thought for the murders hidden in their midst.

Until now.

Smoke plumes were rising silently over the city, not the least of which was the one behind Subaru. They reached up like hulking titans, promising to bestow ruin upon all who witnessed them.

Subaru had seen more than one shocked look as someone spotted them for the first time, the sight rendering them pale-faced and speechless. Though, that had mostly been in the early stages of the attack. Now they all kept their gazes low, uneasily eyeing everyone they passed on their way back to their homes or families.

Subaru had wandered through the city under attack once before, all the way back in the time before he knew the scale of the threat he faced. Then, the invasion had been met with confusion and fear.

But this time, there was a marked difference. Now, there was certainty. Certainty, and a deep, all-consuming dread.

The Witch Cult had come for Lugunica. And woe betide any who stood in their way.

"My, it is an appa!" a voice called out, her cheerful voice cutting through the terrible atmosphere.

Subaru slowed his steps.

He was in the right place, but that voice...

They were clearly in the middle of an invasion. Wasn't she too relaxed?

"Yes, princess," Subaru heard a gruff older man said in response. "Usually, either I or the servants peel them for you, so you've never seen the skin."

There was a rustle, and the faint clink of a disturbed helmet. "But if you're satisfied, can we start moving back to the estate? I don't like the look of things here. It's making me jumpy."

Subaru glanced over to Huginn, and whispered, "Is that her?"

Huginn bobbed. Red hair. Red-black cloth.

"Dress," Subaru corrected. "The word is 'dress'."

He glanced around to take stock of the layout of the surrounding streets. "Keep an eye on them, I'm going to try and go around so I stay ahead of them. Tell me immediately if a boy in cultist colours approaches."

Huginn bobbed, and flickered out of sight, going to orbit far above their targets' heads.

Subaru backtracked far enough that he'd be out of sight of the candidate and her entourage, then started circling around through the back streets. In better times, it would be dangerous to try and go off the beaten path this far close to the city walls, but with the threat of the cult hanging overhead, even lowlifes and thugs had retreated to their nooks and crannies.

Not that would help them. The cult was planning on being especially destructive to draw the upper strata's defenders out of their shell.

As if to punctuate Subaru's point, there was a low rumble, and a flash of light from the east.

That's in the direction of the gate. Looks like everything's on schedule.

He cast his mind out through his contract with Huginn, and called out, How are they? Have they made any moves?

Huginn seemed exasperated. Denial. Red-black troublesome.

Some of Huginn's thoughts were leaking through the connection, and Subaru caught a glimpse of the red-haired candidate, surrounded by armoured figures.