Rise of the Inquisition (Arcs 7-9)

Chapter 201: All will (not) be okay

Archer and Jingks both were dead silent. Both of them shocked by what had just happened. Both of them caught off guard by Shakespeare - who murdered Mordred in cold blood. Jingks dropped both of his curved swords, and rolled his hands up into fists - tightly clenching them as he turned to Shakespeare.

"Shakespeare..."

Shakespeare turned to Jingks and smirked.

"Well Inquisitor Jingks, Archer, it seems that the two of you failed in your goal, both of you were unable to save Mordred from me. A real shame for the two of you. You both seemed to have been very close to Mordred - one way or another, and I doubt that either of you will be able to come back from this so easily."

"..."

A black magic circle appeared at the feet of Shakespeare, and Jingks watched as a vortex opened that sent fast winds flying out of the vortex. Shakespeare then slowly started to descend into the vortex.

"I will warn both of you Inquisitors - this coming war in Orion between the Legion of Death and the Inquisition will be harsh on you. This Mordred girl was the first real casualty of this long miserable war that is to come, and she will not be the last."

As Shakespeare fully descended down into the vortex, the vortex closed and soon after the black magic circle disappeared. Jingks didn't know what to say about what had just happened, things just went south for him and Archer within a matter of seconds - he hasn't gotten the opportunity for Mordred's death to fully soak in. So he turned to Archer - who hadn't moved at all. Archer looked down at the ground, looking at the lifeless body of Mordred, his hair covering up the right side of his face. Jingks thought about reaching his hands out towards Archer, but there was guilt building up inside of him that didn't allow him to reach for Archer. Guilt acting as a mental blocker that made it impossible for him to reach Archer. Instead, he could only stand there and watch as Archer took a few steps towards Mordred, and crouched down beside her. Archer continuing to look down at Mordred's pale face, and after dropping the King of Destruction he used his right hand and gently brushed his hand over her hair, before grabbing her hair strands - feeling their silky smooth delicateness. Archer then proceeded to hold the lifeless body of Mordred in his arms, allowing blood from her gashed neck to drip down onto his armor. Jingks sighed deeply as he knew something needed to be said, but he didn't know what could be said.

"Archer--"

"Jingks, you broke your guarantee - your promise to me..."

Jingks couldn't see Archer's face, but he knew that if he did Archer's face would only show the amount of pain he is feeling, his heart truly broken by what had happened. He could hear it within Archer's voice, he was crushed by what had just happened.

"..."

"You guaranteed me Jingks, that Mordred would make it out of High Garden."

"I did."

"You guaranteed me Jingks, that Mordred would make it out of High Garden - alive."

"I did."

"You told me Jingks, to not worry about anything at all. You promised everything would be alright, you promised nothing would go wrong as long as you handled everything, as long as I listened to you."

"I did."

"And I believed in you, I believed in every single thing you said Jingks. I honestly believed that you could bring Mordred back to me - alive, and honestly believed that you could be trusted to handle this delicate matter."

Darkness surrounded Archer, a darkness that for now physically masked the enraged feelings and emotions Archer felt. The only slips through this mask was the way Archer spoke; an eerily calm voice, no longer cursing, no longer showing deep anger. The darkness was hiding Archer's enraged tone.