Fate/Curadh Beag

Chapter 29: To Kill a Friend

FATE/CURADH BEAG

"Little Champion"

Chapter 29: To Kill a Friend

AUTHOR'S NOTES: Well, I'm not going to mince words – I have serious writer's block. Ever since joining RetroAchievements and playing some games, my focus on writing has been severely affected. I'll do the best I can, but I can't promise that my updates will be as frequent as before. At least NaNoWriMo 2024 is coming, so I'll be pumping out chapters then. Hopefully it'll be enough to wrap this story up.

For those of you reading on FFNet, the system seems to be really glitchy, so I'm not getting any messages or story reviews. If you wish to send any private messages to me, I'll update my profile with contact info and websites I frequent. Reviews really do encourage me to keep writing, whereas things like AO3 kudos or Wattpad favorites kind of don't. Thank you for your continued patience, and please enjoy the chapter.

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Fergus and Conall raced away from the burning village at top speed, refusing to acknowledge the searing pain in their lungs as they commanded their legs to carry them away as fast as possible. Even without saying anything, they had agreed on a destination; Mioruilt's hut. They were especially afraid that the two girls would wind up getting involved in the chaos somehow. However, the sight that greeted them was as dreadful as their feared, if not worse.

"Connla!" Fergus cried out when he spotted her slumped on her knees in a languid pose, with Mioruilt's corpse strewn before her.

"Hey! Are you okay!? What happened here!?" Conall shouted, shaking Connla's shoulders to try and get some kind of response out of her. Unfortunately, she was so traumatized that she didn't acknowledge him whatsoever. Her vapid gaze genuinely terrified him, and he tightly embraced her without thinking.

Fergus examined the scene, noting the blood on her spear, then said, "Mio must've tried to kill her."

"Shit! Why did this have to happen!? What the fuck is wrong with these godforsaken faeries!?" Conall raged, unable to hold back his tears anymore.

Fergus couldn't give him an answer. He was just as confused as Conall was. He cast his eyes on the peculiar blue cloth that Connla had on her lap. He retrieved it from her and asked, "Is this the Cloak of Mists?"

"... Yeah," she finally murmured. "Mio stole it. She was the true culprit. She wanted to escape with me."

"Don't try to talk. I can hear the full story from you later. Right now, we need to get the hell away from the village."

"Yeah... Yeah, you're right," Conall gulped, choking back his tears as best he could. He picked up Connla, then followed Fergus as they ran further into the woods. Connla couldn't keep her eyes off of Mioruilt's dead body as it vanished in the distance.

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Cuchulainn stood over the creature formerly known as Fand, staring down as it wriggled in agony from suddenly having Gae Bolg thrust through whatever remained of its heart. The black monstrosity writhed about like a fish flopping out of water for a few seconds, then lost its energy and twitched uncontrollably before gradually going limp.

"Cu... chul... ainn..." Fand's voice murmured as her hollow white eyes glared at him. A few moments later, she ceased movement and melted into the dirt as black sludge.

He sighed in resignation, then clenched his hand around Gae Bolg and yanked it out of the ichor, cleaning it off the blade with a single strong swipe. His glare was bitter and somber, but it wasn't directed at Fand. It was more of a disgust with what he had become – a monster clad in human skin, only capable of destroying everything around him. It had been the same before the Cattle Raid of Cooley, so why should it be any different now? He could only think back to the prophecy that he heard from Cathbad way back when he was known as the energetic boy warrior Setanta.