Fate/Curadh Beag

Chapter 19: Endless Tragedy's Resolution

FATE/CURADH BEAG

"Little Champion"

Chapter 19: Endless Tragedy's Resolution

The grotesque spirit of Ulster's final king loomed above the group like an approaching thunder cloud. Once Naoise identified the name of this vengeful spirit, everyone was immediately on high alert.

"Ooooh... That repulsively brave voice... Naoise! You have some nerve, trying to take my prized possession away again!" the spirit, now identified as Ulster's final king, seethed at his mortal enemy. "You still don't understand, do you!? I claimed Deirdre as mine long before you ever came into the picture! Even when she was an infant prophesized to be the most beautiful woman around, I held her fate in my hands! I decided what her future was to be! You have no right to swoop in and take that privilege away from me!"

"SHUT YOUR FILTHY MOUTH, YOU FESTERING PUSTULE!" Naoise howled, nearly on the verge of tears. He wasn't experiencing sorrow or grief for himself. It was pure, unbridled rage that he had trouble keeping under control. "Deirdre is not a toy for you to play with! She is a human being! A woman with a heart that's more beautiful than her face! That's why she is my bride! I'll never, EVER forgive you for this! Not what you did to her in life, nor what you did to her in death! I'll rip you into so many shreds, you'll be begging for death, you useless waste of space!"

"Naoise..." Deirdre shuddered. She had never seen her husband lose his temper so ferociously.

"FWAH HAH HAH HAH HAH! Look at you, being defiant! It's almost adorable!" Conchobhar laughed. "Did you forget how pitifully you and your brothers lost against Eogan and his troops!? You couldn't protect Deirdre from my influence then! What makes you think you'll do it this time!?"

"Joke's on you, asshole! Eogan and his men aren't around to do your bidding, are they!?"

"How laughable! I don't need an army! I have all the power I could ever want at my fingertips!"

"What do you mean!?"

"Now that I am a spirit, I can tap directly into the magical energy that dwells deep within Ireland! The Leyline, and the many souls that Deirdre so graciously sacrificed to it, is my new source of power! Compared to that, you maggots are nothing!"

Connla then stepped forth and pointed her spear at him, declaring, "Yeah, I'm going to have to stop you right there."

"Hoh? Who has the nerve to interrupt me when I-" Conchobhar demanded, but then stopped mid-sentence when he took a closer look at her. He became visibly confused as he uttered, "... Deichtine? Is that you?"

She paused, trying to think of where she heard that name before. Then she recalled what Fergus told her when they were traveling to Emer's home – Deichtine was Conchobhar's sister, and...

Although it was difficult for her to say it, she nevertheless shook her head and responded, "No. Deichtine is my grandmother."

"Your grandmother? T-Then you're... Setanta's child?"

"Yes."

Naoise and Deirdre's throats went dry when they heard this. Conchobhar murmured, "My word... You look so much like her..."

"Conchobhar," Connla murmured. "I'm sorry to have to do this, but I can't allow you to usurp the Leyline for your own purposes any further. The way you tricked Lady Deirdre into sacrificing those innocent women to feed the Leyline is also inexcusable."

"To feed the Leyline? What does that mean?" Deirdre wondered.

"He was haunting you for the express purpose of strengthening the Leyline by feeding it magical energy from human beings. I'm not sure why he wants the Leyline to have so much mana, but it's clear you were just a pawn in his scheme to gain all of Ireland's magical energy for himself."