Chapter Text
“I should have known that I couldn’t fool the nose of a dog.”
Karol’s heart felt as though it were shattering into a million pieces as he watched the eldest member of their group stride into the deepest chamber of Baction Shrine. He looked so different from the Raven they had come to know; the one Karol had come to love. His eyes held none of the jovial light that they normally contained, his movements had lost their laxness, even his hair had been let down from its usual ponytail.
"Raven?!"
The man stood at attention and stared straight ahead, refusing to look anyone in the eye. "I am Schwann Oltorain, First Captain of the Imperial Knights. You shall go no further. It is my duty to ensure the success of Commandant Alexei's endeavors." His voice was practically a monotone.
Karol saw Yuri unsheathe his sword but he couldn't hear what the swordsman said over the pounding in his ears. They couldn't really be about to fight Raven, could they? And Raven- no, Captain Schwann... he was really going to keep them from saving Estelle?
“You... you can’t mean that you intend to die here?” Judith asked in dismay.
“I am always ready to give my life in the line of duty.”
The group immediately leapt into the fray. Swords clashed, artes and magic lit the chamber in brief bursts, and Karol held back his tears with each hit they made against their foe. He grunted as Raven- Captain Schwann blocked his attack, their arms trembling as they pushed against each other.
"Dammit... I really liked you, Raven. I couldn't tell you before, but I wished you were my dad."
Karol saw Raven's- no, Schwann's- eyes widen ever so slightly before they went cold again.
"How unfortunate. "Raven" isn't here."
The 12 year old was shoved back before Schwann activated his overlimit and attacked the others as Karol pushed himself to his feet.
He watched his friends fight with all their might against each other. This wasn't how it was supposed to be. None of this should be happening. They should all be sitting together in an inn somewhere, laughing about whatever recent argument Raven and Rita had gotten into, not fighting each other like they were enemies. But this was how it always turned out, wasn't it? Karol always ended up fighting against those he cared for most.
The battle raged on until Yuri finally got a lucky slash that exposed the blastia on Schwann's chest, causing the older man to stumble back with a gasp. He clutched at the blastia while he panted, sweat dripping down his face from the exertion of battle and pain from his wounds.
"Impressive. Being on the receiving end of your blade is about as pleasant as I had expected," Schwann straightened.
“A blastia?!” Rita gasped. “My god, it’s replaced his heart. It... runs on human vitality? But that’s impossible!”
“So that’s how you survived the Great War,” Yuri murmured as he lowered his weapon.
Karol bit his lip as he watched the blastia’s light pulse like any heart would. “It looks painful.”
Schwann glanced at him in surprise. “You think so? I suppose it was painful at first... the pain of a life I shouldn’t have. Alexei cursed me with this body and as a result, it has been my duty to carry out his orders no matter what they may be,” He sank down to the ground as the walls around them shook. "And now my duty has come to an end. I shall not block your way any longer, and I shall accept my fate."
"Wh- Raven, you can't mean that you're just going to stay here and die?!" Karol exclaimed, his grip tightening on the handle of his axe.
The captain's gaze fell heavily on him, a faint glimmer of the Raven he loved showing in Schwann's eyes. "I'm sorry, kid, but Raven does not exist. I used you for my own purposes under Alexei's orders. Whoever you thought I was, it was a lie."
"That's not true! Raven, Schwann, whatever your name is, it doesn't matter!" The ground shook again as boulders began falling down around them. Rita shouted something but Karol ignored her. He took a step towards Schwann. "Please, Raven, you can come with us. We can go back to the way it was before all of this happened."
Schwann closed his eyes as if in pain and opened his mouth to respond but Flynn's shout cut him off. "The ceiling! Karol, move!"
Both of them looked up as a large chunk of the ceiling fell towards them. The next moment, Karol was flying through the air straight into Yuri's arms.
"Get out of here, you idiots!" Schwann snarled at the group. His body trembled with the effort it took to hold the boulder up; a boulder that would have blocked the path to the chamber exit as well as squashed Karol like a bug if Schwann hadn't caught it or pushed him out of the way. "MOVE!"
Yuri wasted no time in scooping Karol up as he raced towards the exit, not reacting in the slightest as Karol desperately tried to escape the swordsman's grasp. "No! Raven!" He screamed, raw terror and grief pushing the words out of him.
"Karol," Schwann met his gaze as Yuri passed by, time seeming to slow down. "Live. Grow up to be a better man than me."
Tears stung Karol's eyes and he reached for Raven. His fingers barely managed to grab onto one of the medals pinned to the captain's uniform but it did nothing to stop Yuri's movements or pull Schwann along with them as the medal tore away from cloth.
They barely made it out of the chamber before more boulders closed up the door behind them. The group stood in stunned silence except for Karol's sobs as he buried his face in Yuri's neck, only barely aware of Yuri's hand cradling the back of his head in an attempt to comfort the boy.
"I'm sorry, Karol."