"In hoc signo vinces"

Not a sound was made upon her entry. Not a head lifted from their prayers to see whom had entered, as it was meant to be. Augusta scanned the church, expecting more than what presented itself. A hearty disappointment, but one that was at this point to be expected in a piss town like this. Her time in Orchidia, an effort to as much scope out any points of interest, areas in which would enable her eventual conquest of the city to go unapposed, had been a meddling affair, to say the least. With any advantage she may have gathered for herself, at least twice as many obstacles presented themselves. Infuriating, to say the least. Too, if this were any indication of what she had to expect throughout the remainder of Fiore, she was not looking forward to any of this.

Walking past the pews, Augusta looked upon those who held down their heads, examining them. Judging them. Peasants, drunkards, individuals who serve as little more than kindling for the inevitable flame that was to fall upon this city. Upon this country. Before the sermon there knelt a woman, dressed in rags no different than what Augusta had come to view from the workers who slaved away in the fields, racing against the inevitable winter that was to come. The woman prayed aloud, her words quiet enough such to not interrupt the others, but loud enough that Augusta could hear each word that echoed from her mouth, each sin she sought salvation towards.

It made Augusta's blood boil how bastardized the Church had allowed things to become. Their inaction had allowed for this false sense of redemption to exist. This foolhardy idea that a simple repent would abolish an individual of their sins. Augusta knew all too well that this were not how one were redeemed; she had witnessed countless who had cried out their prayers before her, begging for mercy, for some sort of god to save them. They had become so blinded by their false impression of the faith that they had failed to recognize that whatever they believed as a god were standing before them? Augusta had come to offer them salvation; salvation from a miserable existence. 

That was their redemption. Redemption by fire.

The woman who knelt before her got up from her prayer, turning her head to see Augusta, the face of disgust and disdain upon her. Cowering, the woman hastily left from the church as quickly as able, fearful of what might have angered Augusta so much. Turning her head only slightly, she watched as the woman fled, the burning desire to take out the instrument that she so securely possessed and treasured and show this woman the futility of her prayers seething through her.

But, this woman's time would come eventually. There were no need for Levi to waste such a demonstration on such a small matter. Especially not on someone as insignificant as her.

"In hoc signo vinces"

Had it not been for her entering into the church just as the street woman departed, perhaps Augusta would not have seen her. It were hardly as though afterwards she would have paid attention. Few who would have come into a place such as this would have merited such a reaction, and from what she could tell, none of those who had already been present here held that honor. It was in part a reason why Augusta were a bit more pleased to see the arrival of whom had entered, a woman within the Holy Knights, her name one of the few which Augusta had come to remember; since her return to Fiore, the amount of time trying to learn the names and skills of those who were scattered amongst Fiore, let alone other relevant information towards each and putting them to a face that she had never seen, only so much information stood to be processed.

This woman though, Augusta knew there stood some potential within her. They had met once before, albeit a very brief, uneventful encounter. Circumstances though had radically changed since then, not only with respects to both of them, but also within the Holy Knights as a whole. Her reputation within the organization was well-regarded, though her tactics were not quite to the standard that Augusta would have sought in a Holy Knight, she nevertheless stood to be a valuable ally. Potentially, at least. There were still many variables that went within that equation, of which Augusta needed to know before making her move.

When the woman approached her, Augusta could not help but be a bit satisfied. This was a confrontation that had to have happened, and it were better now that they did, people there or otherwise. Surveying those in the pews once again, no new faces save for a pair of children that had accompanied the woman, Augusta reasoned that it whatever risk they may have posed, whomever might have overheard could be easily taken care of. Especially with the assistance of Adelaide.

"Oh, sure, everything's perfect. Just another lost soul, looking for some sort of savior to forgive them, as if any of them deserve something like that," Augusta did not hide the contempt in her voice. There were no reason to keep appearances among those of the same agenda. "You likely know all to well, having been stuck within this forsaken land I imagine. One of these days you will have to explain to me why you haven't led these pigs to the slaughter they so richly deserve."

Augusta shrugged, just as an idea popped within her head. "Or come to think about it, why don't we find out right now." Reaching for something, she pulled out a small staff, cast in solid gold, an intricate ornament planted upon the head of it. "You like it? A little toy I had found while I was taking care of some business beyond the border. You should have been there. We could have used someone of your talent. Heh, but it wasn't as though they put up much of a fight anyways." Pointing it towards the woman, Augusta held an evil smile upon her face, "So, let's see what's happened while I've been occupied."

The staff illuminated faintly for a moment as it read through the memories of the woman, Augusta getting a brief glimpse into what had been happening with this woman, why things had been allowed to decay as much as they have. The reasons for the Church's pitiful state within this country, and why this woman had not done anything to try to and fix it; it was all being revealed to Augusta as the other woman simply watched on.

It only took a moment for Augusta to see just what had happened, and immediately her smile - as evil as it seemed - faded away into that of a disappointing look. An image of this woman, a man before her, and two babies, looking as though they were only a few months old, remained imprinted within Augusta's mind. This woman had put herself before the Church, sacrificing her obligations and mission for the sake of a family. A family that as she was able to see, had become fractured; a tragic ending that were only appropriate for a traitor.


"What a shame. Here I had thought that you might have been of value. And how much I was looking forward to our eventual reunion. Disappointing to see you put your own vanity before that of the Church." She turned her head towards that of the two children still seated in one of the pews towards the far end of the Church, "Were they worth it? Did you feel a sense of pride when you gave birth to them, two daily reminders of your betrayal to us? To what we're meant to do? Is that why you brought them here? To taunt me?"

Augusta at this point was fuming, irate at this woman, for how callously she had come here to confront Augusta. And to bring those two children along, reminders of the potential value Adelaide stood to Augusta, to the Church, only to have been befouled and wasted. What good was she to Augusta at this point? Nothing, so long as those children existed.

"You're no better than any of these. And those two," she pointed at Adelaide's children, "What good do they bring to us? You betrayed us. You compromised all of the glory that is to come for what, to be abandoned? Tell me, was it worth it? Traitor."

MP: 1000/1750

Name: Mind Reader
Rank: S
Mana Cost: 500
Requirements: Millennium Wand
Type: Supplementary
Element: Arcane
Range: 5 Meters
Cooldown: Once Per Topic
Duration: Sustain
Effect: The user grips onto the Millennium Wand and angles it slightly towards their target. After this, the user can read the target's memories. Every post the user sustains the spell, they can read the events of one particular topic or a specific memory of the target’s past. The user can read even forgotten memories of the target, so long as it has not been lost or locked away by magic. This spell cannot be used to predict the actions of the target during combat.

"In hoc signo vinces"

Augusta smirked at the woman. Almost on instinct, the woman drew her hand towards her sheathed weapon, enough of proof Augusta needed to see that this woman had betrayed everything she stood for, what she had sworn to carry out when she joined the Holy Knights. Whatever value that Augusta might have had with Adelaide before, there was none of that now. She was compromised. Broken. Useless.

Neither she nor her children deserved to live anymore.

"God's will!? You think it was God's will to have allowed yourself to be defiled!? To turn your back on your destiny!? They should not be here!" At this point, Augusta found herself irate, yelling with not a single care for anyone in the church who might have heard, whether it be Adelaide, her children, or the other people who had lifted their heads out of shock, some no doubt terrified over what was going on, stunned that this turn of events was occurring, in a church no less!

Suddenly then, a wicked thought came into her head. Her furious disposition changed suddenly, from that of fury to that of one of a more sinister idea. "No... No, maybe you're right. Yes actually you are right. This was his plan all along..." She began to laugh slightly, it not taking away from the dark tone in which seemed to overshadow everything happening between her and Adelaide. "You were meant to come to me. To show me how far you've fallen. God has brought you forth to me for you to be redeemed. While so many have been brought before me to only see their salvations in the gallows or upon the pyre, this... This is different." She held the rod in her hand still, in full view of Adelaide, with her hand still upon the hilt of her blade. "This toy of mine, it can do far more than just into your mind. Much more than that. Perhaps, you bring out that blade of yours, perhaps you bring it to your childrens' throats. It can happen, just like that," Augusta snapped the fingers of her free hand to illustrate just how easy it would be.

"But no, that would be too easy. Your kids were not meant to die here. Not today. But they will." She looked right into the eyes of Adelaide, seemingly able to see the rage in her eyes. "Don't worry dear, it won't by my hand. I've slaughtered hundreds of children in the name of God, but I wouldn't do that to a fellow Holy Knight."

Beginning to walk away, Augusta put the wand away again, having no further need today for its usage. Taking some steps towards the exit of the church, she turned her head one last time towards the woman, "But your husband, I'm sure it wouldn't take much convincing. I likely wouldn't even need this toy of mine. He'd probably welcome the chance to put down the little bastards. Maybe they're why he left you to begin with..."

"In hoc signo vinces"

For so long, Augusta had carried herself as though she were untouchable. The voice within her head, the voice that she had so long perceived to be God, it had led her through conquests that one would only imagine being able to carry out, let alone survive. Thousands lay dead at her feet, cities were razed, utter destruction had carried her. There had never been a reason to believe differently that things stood to change. The voice of God had protected her from this point. It had guided her, guided those who followed.

But in that instant. It was silent.

She didn't register at first what had happened. She felt the sting, but it did not register. Augusta had heard the woman yell first, followed immediately by that of the piercing pain that at first did nothing but stop her in her tracks. Looking down, she saw it, though her eyes could not believe it. A sword, rather the sword that Adelaide had so frequently held at the hilt before Augusta, shoved right through her chest, as if she had stabbed her right through the back. Blood poured from the wound as she fell to her knees, in as much disbelief as she felt the life beginning to fade out of her.

Turning her head as much as she was able, the feeling of such a motion appearing to be fading from her as each second waned, she could see the woman, the rage upon her face. The anger she held towards Augusta, and by extension, the one whom she had yelled about. Augustos. A name that Augusta had heard once or twice, but much like those whom she had heard save for Adelaide, did not care much about. Their name did not matter though. In the end, little more did.

Augusta knew she was done. She never anticipated it to be this way. To have happened so early. So much that she still had to do, countries that yet to fall to her forces. Despair reigned through her at never seeing the end of days that she had for so long wished to achieve.

Her eyes glinted at the woman, the faintest of a smile upon her face, "You'll... end up just... just like me..." Her eyes shut as whatever leverage or strength she had left in her body faded away, her body slamming to the ground with a thud, the sword that had been pierced through her being forcibly ejected by the force, falling to the ground beside Augusta.

It was a tragedy. For so much hope and promise that Augusta sought to carry out only to be erased away in such a poor manner. With her last moments of her life, Augusta wondered what could have been, how much worse of a world she will leave behind, and just what will Adelaide carry out in her wake.