Munetsuchi

[Bloodedge]

In truth, a specific broken vase in the past was entirely Astolfo's fault. That wasn't the point! Even if he'd been the one to break it while no one of major importance was around, it was someone else's fault. "It was the Father's fault!" he blurted out. Now, onto the girl who invaded the protective barrier. She was friendly, yet strange. She spoke frankly, yet with a certain kindness. Astolfo approved of her presence. Moreover, all three could agree that she seemed Japanese... and so did the name of their current location. "Kore wa nihondesu," said Astolfo. If Charlemagne could have managed it, he'd have been nodding or verbalizing his agreement. Alas, he couldn't do either. If mana was to help him though, he'd take any he could get. Ah... but it seemed Sakura had a very specific method in mind. With her already leaning over him, he had to manage something. "Ngh! Wait! I just got married!" he strained. Surely this girl was more normal than his wife. A perfectly normal, functional human girl would understand basic boundaries... right?

Speaking of boundaries, some were soon to be torn down... if they ever existed at all. The 'Lady Guuji' as she was called, was presently sandwiched between a tree and Ayato, both parties casually flirting with their genitals on display in broad daylight. That probably wasn't good. Yes, it would be best for them to show respect to the surrounding area by putting their privates away. Ayato had this thought, and one could assume the woman did as well... since she'd begun urging his lower half closer to her own. "Ah, stirring the paint. Why didn't I think of that? I was thinking of action painting," he joked. Nevertheless, the proverbial brush would be dipped in the closest thing to paint nearby. Of course, the thing closest to paint happened to be the fluids of a certain fox woman's loins. She did have plenty to spare; she could afford to wet his brush a bit. And so, he'd have a hefty dip. "Fufu~. A bit tight for a palette, isn't it? You'll start losing brushes in it if you keep using this~"

[Apollymi]

It was the Father's fault. A great number of things fell into that category presently, even if Anais didn't know all of those things. At the very least, Isabella expected that the Father was responsible for whatever nefarious thing she'd been researching. They saw he was responsible for the fall of Charlemagne and the theft of his name and youth. Ah... there was something else they were about to find out... he'd stolen. Before that though, the words that left Astolfo's face, seemed ones that Sakura recognized well, the sentence structure was right at least. "Oh? You know the language of the land, well... at least one of the versions of it. Sou ka, Kaa-sama will be interested in this," she thought absently. Still there was something to be done before she introduced this group of people to her mother. Charles was literally falling apart his mana not holding him together, so she aimed to fix it with her own. As Sakura leaned down to give this lad the mana she was sure his body needed, he made a strained plea. He'd recently gotten married, he wanted to wait. That didn't make sense, for several reasons... confusion spread across this girl's face as she leaned back to study this boy's face. "What does marriage have to do with anything? And if you got married today then something is really strange, because you don't feel married..." she stated clearly, as if she had some acute knowledge of such things. All the while Anais seemed to be confused as well. "He's definitely married. We watched the ceremony. I saw the rings form... I cried. I always cry at weddings!" she explained of the situation which only made it more confusing for Sakura. Anais had almost outed herself... she managed to avoid explaining the reason she cried at this particular wedding though.

Just the same the pair against the sakura tree were seemingly becoming more discrete over time. Their bodies were drawn together as they started their picture making process. "Action painting? A style like that deserves its own venue~" she mused seeming to have turned Action Painting into a very specific kind of activity in her own mind. Ah, well that didn't really matter. Soon enough that gentle wetting would become a fuller plunge directly into her undercarriage. His commentary about the tight squeeze would be met by a purposeful squeeze of those same muscles as she rocked her hips encouraging his movements. "Umu!♥~ I think a tight fit is good. And if it doesn't work... obviously, I'll just have to keep using this one~" she claimed as if it was perfectly reasonable. Oh... this little act would take them far she was certain of this.

[Bloodedge]

Various languages were confirmed for this land, one of which was Japanese. Hearing that, Astolfo perked up even more. "Version? Are we in mashup land?! I'm getting mainland clothes!" the lad said excitedly. With that, he hopped off the stag, catching his skirt before it blew up. Charlemagne always had something to say after all, and now wasn't a time to make their leader start whining about something again. Besides... he'd soon have something else to moan about, it seemed. From the looks of things, the situation was about to take a rather scandalous turn. That was Astolfo's favorite! Charlemagne was lying under a woman he'd just met, minutes after his wedding, about to be tongued-down! Astolfo was absolutely giddy! "Oh, yes! Mana transfer!" he chanted.

Upon pointing out his married state, Charlemagne was countered in the oddest way. What did being married have to do with it? Oh. Another strange woman had fallen into his lap today. Alright. Furthermore, she claimed he didn't 'feel' married. That simply wasn't possible; he even had the spirit ring of... nothing? He tried to produce it to show proof, but much to his chagrin, nothing happened. Well... something happened. That small effort was enough to cause ethereal cracks all over Charlemagne's body. "ACK!" he yelled. That was a stupid idea. He shouldn't be saying any more, so of course... it was Astolfo's solemn duty to speak for him! "He was married right before we fell here, but don't let that stop you! He'll really appreciate it if you really get in there!" Astolfo encouraged, even offering a thumbs-up to the purple-haired lass.

[Apollymi]

Mainland clothes. This was what Astolfo wanted, meanwhile Anais got a bit caught up in the moment seeming to have caught onto the infectiousness of the situation. "Clothes, no... food yes! It'll taste like home!~" she seemed really excited by that notion. "Clothes and food... those are easy," Sakura mentioned as if there was no reason to do anything else. Ah, but there was a problem, the pink haired lad encouraged her to perform the mana transfer, but the man himself didn't seem to want one. According to everyone in this group, including the man himself, he'd been married earlier this day. "Oh, sounds like the ceremony was pretty. I haven't seen a wedding directly yet," Sakura stated as if this was a perfectly normal conversation. It seemed that trying to show his ring had made it obvious that this man no longer had the ring he thought he should. The use of his mana also caused him to have a problem which brought cracks along his person.

"Sou ka... I don't know what happened with that. You'd have to ask Kaa-sama. But..." she didn't go to kiss Charles just yet... it would be bad to try and force mana into him if he didn't want to take it from her. Acceptance even of her more neutral mana would make it work a bit better. Instead she held a hand over his body and the hand he'd tried to produce the ring on, produced a red thread instead. It seemed to be going off into the long distance, but it was a rather vibrant shade of red. "Hm, this is connected to someone, I assume the wife of yours... it's still bright so it's alright. I won't mess with it, but you should try and accept this, so that you won't break apart while we're moving," she explained calmly. She'd been given the thumbs up by the lad, and the young woman with him was causally looking away as if she was trying to respect some form of privacy. This only made Sakura wonder where they'd come from that they had such strange notions about sharing mana. Still she was leaned over him, fully willing to press their lips together and share it with him. But she wouldn't force it upon him... no she'd leave just a bit of space and let him take it for himself... that seemed like a much better way to let this lad live. Of course, if he did this she'd sink in freely giving but that was simply her nature.

[Bloodedge]

Food was what Anais wanted from this region. Pointless! They could get food anywhere, anytime even. Real, authentic mainland clothes were nearly impossible to locate in Astolfo's experience. "Blah! You don't want food! You want a qipao!" he suggested to Anais, both of his brows wiggling wildly and suggestively. More importantly, there was a kiss about to happen between Charlemagne and this random girl. Kisses led to deeper kisses, and deeper kisses led to... exactly the sort of scandal Astolfo lived for!

Alas, it was not to be just yet. Sakura decided she wouldn't be pressing the issue while Charlemagne resisted. How very boring. Regarding his marriage or lack thereof though, she showed the young man a thread still linked presumably to Angelica. As long as there was something, Charlemagne could rest easy. He'd have to look into the finer details of this situation, but... to do that, he'd have to make it out of the current predicament. Could he do that? Thinking about it, he'd probably never hear the end of it from Angelica if his healthy return was halted by refusing a simple kiss. He still didn't understand why she (and apparently some others) were so casual about these things, but... it was for a purpose, right?

Fine. As long as it was just that, Charlemagne could be accepting of the mana transfer. This Sakura woman wasn't nearly as pushy as the Holy Princess. Perhaps it would have been better if she was, though. Astolfo would agree to that, and so would Charlemagne's body. Why the latter? Well... after that last stunt, even the attempt to lift his head a single centimeter only caused another crack in his person. Moving would not work for him. He managed only a grunt as the back of his head hit the ground.

[Apollymi]

Food was what Anais wanted from the region, and that was what she was planning on getting. Ah, but there was a mention of the qipao. She had one of those when she was back home, obviously a long one, but it would be rather flattering for her current figure. "Hm, I'd probably look pretty good in one of those... wait a minute! Food that tastes like home, no more weird overseas food. Rice, pickled veggies, maybe sushi! There's water here!" she seemed really excited about things in the moment, especially with at least a partial solution to Charles falling apart.

Much to Sakura's understanding the lad seemed to calm down when acknowledging that his tie to whoever it was to was still intact. Sakura wasn't as pushy as Angelica but still she would have pushed the limits a bit more. Charles went to move and she took it as permission and pressed bent down even as his head fell back. "You could have just said you consented... I wouldn't have let you hurt yourself..." she stated, as she went on to press their lips together. It was gentle enough but it would eventually grow in its point. As she aimed to share mana, she'd eventually aim to slip her tongue between his lips and give as much as she possibly could. Her mana was already flowing and it was practically like she was salivating as she aimed to give him a rather deep kiss, for several moments before checking on his physical progress. All the while Anais kept her eyes gently averted, she didn't want to gaze upon something she shouldn't see for everyone else's sake. 'I don't think I can watch something like this for a second time today...' she thought. Just the same Sakura didn't seem to care either way whether they watched or not, she was only trying to help. If he managed something closer to stability they could move on and head towards the place she lived so her mother could figure out what was wrong with this lad.

[Bloodedge]

Strangely, the reserved Anais seemed to be entertaining the idea of a qipao. Astolfo took that information and logged it away for later usage. He'd put her in the most sensual qipao to ever exist in a heartbeat, all to see how things turned out. For some reason, Anais remained more interested in the idea of local cuisine. Astolfo wasn't against this; he was just more interested in the potential fun factor. "You're focusing on the wrong thing! I'm tired of wearing uniforms all the time!" he countered, even as he was currently wearing a skirt ─ one which he'd been wearing during an event he was expected to wear official templar robes to.

Meanwhile, Charlemagne's consent to a mana transfer by kiss was not going as well as expected. He tried to move, but couldn't. Sakura claimed he could have voiced his consent, but that was just as likely to go sour. Luckily, she went on to take matters into her own hands. Soft lips were pressed against his own. Ah, it was all normal and almost platonic... until it wasn't. Charlemagne felt the mana flowing into his body from the moment Sakura's tongue invaded his mouth. It was so very wet, so very... lewd in nature. He hadn't even kissed his wife so sexually when they were having literal sex! The scene overall was so sensual to look at, Astolfo was grabbing onto Anais's head, aiming to turn it forward and peel open her eyes. Everyone should be watching something this hot!

Despite the cracks in his very soul, Charlemagne's eyes widened to their limit. Was it at least repairing him? Well... no. It seemed he was stabilizing for a few moments, but that stabilization became an almost total shattering of his being toward the kiss's end. He couldn't even scream this time. At the very least, there was one positive. The additional influx of mana was making him shatter more. On the other hand, it was giving him a bit more to work with as far as repeatedly breaking himself was concerned. Overall, one could consider it a net positive... sort of.

[Apollymi]

"You never wear your uniform to start with!" this was Anais's comeback. An absolute truth. But soon enough she was dealing with an entirely different problem. While Charles and Sakura kissed to give him more mana, it seemed like he was stabilizing for just a moment as the kiss evolved into something rather invasive. Yes, that was the word Anais would have used for that, but as someone who was only sure she liked one of the people involved, she definitely wasn't going to put a great amount of detail into watching this exchange. But...

Astolfo.

That lad was something else entirely, with almost inhuman logic. He aimed to turn her head and peel open her closing eyes. Now she was watching and her own face was blushing because why was she watching this? Why was he watching this? What happened to privacy and human decency? Ah, it seemed that Charles and Anais could at least agree on the lines of decency for the most part, though probably for different reasons in this case. At the same time, Sakura pulled away having noticed the many changes to Charles physical form and his new breaking. "That isn't right..." she murmured as she pulled her tongue back into her own mouth. She seemed to be tasting a bit of him in that exchange, though she'd given him a decent amount of mana, it seemed to only give his breaking form more to work with, instead of fixing the cracks in his person. "I don't understand... mana should fix this. It has to be a deeper problem..." she stated knowing she couldn't ease this part of his pain. "He tastes like three people, that's a bit odd, considering his reaction to the idea of kissing..." she stated seeming to give it a bit more thought. "Kaa-sama should be able to help. He has enough mana to work with that moving him shouldn't cause him to disappear. Can you use a fire horse to move him?" she asked of Anais. Traumatized though she was and suddenly feeling strangely attracted to the girl in this situation she seemed to gather herself rather quickly. "Uh... it's not a horse, it's a deer. Like a white hart... you know what it doesn't matter. Yes, we can use that, help me get Charlie onto the horse. Shit I mean deer," she said to Astolfo, obviously fully flustered enough for another swear to slip past her lips. At the same time she looked at Sakura who continued observing Charles frame as if confused by his very existence. At the very least a bit of extra help couldn't hurt.

[Bloodedge]

"Eh? Oh, I guess you're right," Astolfo said as if Anais had produced a totally new truth. What would his response be? Of course it only made sense for him to reach down, taking his skirt by the edge with the apparent intention of peeling it up slowly. One hand would suffice, and he was already putting forth the effort of making Anais watch things. Why shouldn't he add one more? "Give me half of yours, and take this half of mine. You want to anyway, right? Right? I feel you not looking away from that hot stuff over there~" he teased.

While Anais was being tormented to some extent, Charlemagne was in a similar... maybe worse situation. Once more, he found his problem was the amount of personal enjoyment he got out of something. For the duration of a kiss, the pain of shattering didn't register to him. It hadn't gone away at all, but it wasn't a problem at the time. Why? Well, maybe that was something to worry about later... or never address it again. Yeah, that was a better idea. Since it didn't work, he'd have to be brought to Sakura's mother. Why she was looking at him the way she was during that mention, he didn't know. Was it that bad? It was probably that bad. She said something about feeling like three people, which there was no reason for unless... Father An had done more than he thought. Maybe that had something to do with why he'd stabbed the Holy Father without even knowing he'd done so. It did all seem to be part of the old man's plan, after all. . .

[Apollymi]

Half. Astolfo wanted half of Anais's uniform. "Absolutely not. Do not lift your skirt sir!" she exclaimed. Of course, she found herself drawing away from this lad by a great deal. This was why they'd all agreed not to get involved with each other's craziness. That being said Astolfo was the type to pull you into his recklessness without thinking much about it. "I haven't even decided yet, stop confusing me~" she said running off. Of course, this was only because she'd been given the reprieve she needed. That reprieve mostly surrounded moving Charles to the back of her white hart and dispelling the barrier. As far as she could tell they were mostly safe in this place and they were about to meet someone else so it was probably for the best not to seem hostile at all.

Sakura for her part in this seemed relatively confused, but would still lead the group along across the large bridge and towards a huge structure. It looked like an oldstyle temple of sorts and the walkway leading it up it was under several torii gates. That being said it was several stories high and seemed to be the centerpiece of this particular place. Munetsuchi it seemed had something of a royal disposition. In fact as they entered doors opened by various means including magical and people simply moving them. Several people they came across seemed to be bowing and moving out of the way as they approached the center most chamber of the palace. A conversation could be heard as they approached. "You don't understand, to learn about a magic from the person who created it... that was something I didn't expect. I understood it, but it had so many extra details involved. Besides I got confirmation of another of my theories~" mentioned the rather feminine voice. By the time they walked in they saw something strange.

A slender woman was sat atop an ornate throne. Her hair was dark enough to be considered black and her eyes were a startling shade of blue. Just the same she wore something that appeared to be wisps of cloth instead of any specific amount of clothing. She had a great deal of skin showing and it was obvious that she wasn't wearing underwear. Just the same Sakura approached as if this was a perfectly normal situation. "Kaa-sama! The falling stars were people... and I can't figure out how to fix one of them!" she explained the situation. "Hoh?"

[Bloodedge]

Anais always managed to be both boring and entertaining at the same time. Her innocence itself was boring, yet the way she reacted to deviance was one of the most entertaining things Astolfo had ever seen. He thought that if he could corrupt her, he'd have a rather good time of it overall. "Boooo~ live a little! Today's the perfect day to decide. Look, even Charles is getting into something new! Besides... I see you watching~" he teased further. If he had to hazard a guess, Astolfo would assume Anais enjoyed watching Sakura's approach to their leader. Nothing else happening could have reddened her face so efficiently. He had a plan now... but now wasn't the time to execute it. Now was the time to move Charlemagne to this unknown girl's mother.

Onward they went, up a long path and into a place of obvious royalty in this area. Past numerous doors closed in different ways, a conversation seemed to be reaching its climax. With that slender woman was a man with extremely long hair, dark primarily with white streaks and a teal undertone. Between his robes, long, claw-like nails and the three specifically placed jewels on his forehead, he looked to have modeled his visage after a phoenix. The truth was even more pointed than that. While that woman stretched across her throne, he stretched across her body. Those long nails were tracing her jawline, his face mere centimeters from her own. It looked like something could start at any given moment. "We don't understand. Our magic is innate. We suppose that one may be one of the origins we hail from. But what theory?" Just as the man spoke, Sakura and her crew of unknowns arrived. The girl immediately spewed two facts: that some falling stars were people, and that she couldn't find a way to fix one? Ridiculous. "Sakura. We've told you, there is nothing you cannot do. Use everything at your disposal."

[Apollymi]

"I wasn't looking until you forced my head that way! And I live plenty, shut up!" that was Anais final retort. She lived plenty, she was just starting to understand things herself, she didn't need Astolfo confusing her. Besides all that, she was certain there was a base amount of confusion applied to everything happening right now. She might not have been physically falling apart but she could have understood it from an emotional standpoint given the rollercoaster that Charles had already been through this day. Though she'd heard from tales of the women's circle that men were dogs most of the time, she imagined Charles being a pretty honest individual and she'd even watched him try and resist life-saving measures for the sake of propriety. She didn't imagine this as an easy going new experience for the man. 'I can't add myself to this...' she thought willing to bow out gracefully knowing that life was probably already confusing for Charlemagne.

While she thought this over they were lead to an obvious palace. Within there was a woman stretched out atop a throne which was more like a raised dais. And strangely atop her was a man who seemed rather like a peacock and a phoenix had a baby and it was a person. They seemed like they were mere seconds away from starting exactly the sort of act which should not be witnessed and then they suddenly had visitors. "Oh well it's about a..." she paused, Sakura seemed rather distressed and she turned her head gently towards their visitors. Sakura for her part, heard the words of the man and would address him with similar respect that she did of the woman she called her mother. "Chichi-ue, I know but this is different," at the same time, the woman sat up a bit straighter and looked at the man known as Charles cracking apart and gained light in her eyes as if she was excited. "Iie, I think this is something new for Sakura and me too! Technically it would only be a theory on what to do about it. After all, his core looks like an egg that was dropped and had all of its insides fall out." she claimed looking over, seemingly excited just by the appearance of this lad. Just then she began wiggling from under her husband because obviously this situation was fascinating. At the same time Anais bowed. "Sorry for the interruption," Anais managed.

[Bloodedge]

"Ehhh~? It's not like I made your eyes stay in the same direction! You could have still looked away, but you didn't~♥" The more Anais spoke, the more Astolfo became sure his train of thought was a good one. Anais would be in for quite the hefty surprise at some point. When? Even Astolfo didn't know the answer, and it was his plan! They'd all be surprised soon enough~

Speaking of surprises, a 'normal' conversation between spouses was fated to encounter a sudden interruption. Sakura had both parties' attention from the onset of her arrival, at least. Oh Well. This little invasion wouldn't be enough to stop the male's advances... until Miwa, the black-haired goddess herself, decided to shift and focus her attention. "Hmph. Different, it is not. You need not be so reserved. We don't think you've exhausted all options with this... boy," the male said. He'd been watching the group through the corner of his eye, moving to erect his posture only when forced to do so by the woman's movement. He didn't seem too pleased about the shift, but alas... she seemed excited about that broken lad's conundrum. He was not, but this interruption could only last so long.

Well, that wasn't true. They'd be interrupted again by a tall, blonde male with long ears and a black ensemble covered in green belts. His hands were clasped behind his back, his posture flawless and his expression curious. "Oya? Has our little petal been making friends? I expected to interrupt a different sort of excitement when I arrived," he said, looking toward the male at the throne. "It's a bit early for Qin, isn't it? Ara... I suppose there are things of greater importance here. What's this I hear about a core?"

[Apollymi]

Astolfo was right. After catching a glance she couldn't really look away. Still she had no intention of saying anything about that. She already had enough on her plate to deal with, she didn't want to add anything else to her potential problem. No, she had too much to deal with, and now they were in front of a king and queen maybe and talking about the issues of Charles. She didn't like the way that sounded.

According to the man addressed as honorably as one could address their father, Sakura was being reserved and hadn't exhausted all options she was capable of. This was true to an extent, she was capable of providing the lad more mana, since his was leaking out and breaking his body but he didn't seem to want that. "I did give him some mana, but when I did... he fractured more. The quality of his being didn't negatively react to me, and he wasn't rejecting me. He tastes of a trio of mana sources, his own... a goddess and a god... but he also can't talk right now. Everything he tries seems to break his body more, but I feel like he wouldn't merely die if he broke apart," Sakura expressed her understanding of the situation based solely on her observations of his mana and what she got out of him a moment ago. First the black haired goddess looked at the bowed girl who'd offered an apology. "Aren't you an uncommonly polite child. No matter, if you happened to witness the majesty of a goddess you should watch and learn something... but I am more interested in finding out what happened here..." she said. "Goddess??" there was abject confusion on the fact of Anais. But it would be put aside for a while.

And then there was a new entry into the room, a tall elf who was quite frankly a gorgeous man. It seemed that he was known by all in the room, and acting rather familiar, there were even pet names. "Tou-chan, these are the stars that fell from the sky a bit ago... Kaa-sama was saying his core his broken. I was trying to help, but the problem became complex," she said clearly. All the while Anais was staring at this new man and her confusion was only growing in several directions and none of them were good. Miwa would begin speaking again, as she casually walked circles around Charles body. "We all know how he is, I was just going to shift the schedule around a bit... but this is strange. This lad's core is broken so far that he barely has anything of himself left. I am actually surprised... and you were right Saku-chan~" she said giving an approving look to her daughter. "If he shatters and can't bring himself back together, he won't die, he'll cease to exist. Death would be much more pleasant, she's a very nice girl," she explained. "But I should be able to..." she stared at the lad and began writing a magical formula. One which she'd use to create a form of stasis around Charles. It would stop the flow of his mana, stop the movements of his individual pieces and make it so he'd be capable of physical movements but not that which required the use of his magic circuits or anything related to his core. Basically it'd make him live like a broken human. He'd probably still experience something of an emptiness in his chest, but he should at least be capable of communication. "Can you talk now? Tell me how this happened..." Miwa said seeming to leave no options.

[Bloodedge]

Sakura went on to explain the situation to her parents. She'd done what she could, but to no avail. Both members of Charlemagne's group could attest to that after seeing it first-hand. Upon hearing her explanation though, the male of that pair seemed slightly displeased. She was so far beyond this nonsense; she could have at least tried a few other options. Ah, but there was more. That boy she spoke of had the feel of three individuals, two of whom were divine. That was interesting. "A goddess, a god, and a pitiful human boy? That is an unusual combination," he said while floating from the throne toward Sakura and the others. At this point, he was simply following Miwa to the group's location... albeit with a special interest in Sakura's decisions. "Now tell us what made you decide to save a mutt like that."

Of course, even five people wasn't enough for a meeting in this place. Another male whom Sakura addressed as her father appeared, much to the chagrin of the one called Qin. "Ailen. You will address us properly," the dark-haired male demanded. Ah, but the other man seemed to be paying him no mind. From the moment he arrived, most of his attention was solely for Sakura. He listened intently as she spoke of stars that were in fact people ─ said people being the ones standing with them now. Well... two of three were standing, at least. The other one apparently had a broken core, according to Miwa. Immediately, the man called Ailen fell into deep, deep thought. Those who knew him could surely expect many words to fall from his mouth as a result. "A broken core? Well I do wonder how he's even with us. Hmm. You neither confirmed nor denied friendship, though. Why? Perhaps you're not sure. Perhaps the truth is more than that. Is he your lover? No, he seems a bit immature for that. Besides, that girl has the eyes of someone who's recently taken an experimental love potion. Is it her? Are they all your lovers? You know, I've been waiting for the day this would come. I'm curious to know a few things about some new mixtures, so if they would be willing to try─... no, that is in bad taste. That boy is one wrong movement away from being erased; you should deal with that first. Afterwards, though... no. Still in bad taste. I'll have to gather some information before any of that is worth entertaining."

Regardless of a rather long tirade from Ailen, Miwa went about trying something on the broken lad Charlemagne. He didn't know what was happening, but some magical writing created a veil around his person. It sank in, and though it didn't seem to be merging with him or anything, he could easily feel its effects. Rather... he stopped feeling the pain of exploding 100% of the time. "I..." Charlemagne stammered. A bit of movement could be managed, it seemed. He hazarded standing up for the first time since the fall. It took several moments to do so, even causing an ethereal fracture in his leg for a moment, but lo... he was up. "Augh! That's still unpleasant! But... a thousand times better. Thanks, all of you," he said. He had no shortage of gratitude toward Miwa, Sakura, Anais and even Astolfo. He'd have even bowed to the group if he thought it wouldn't snap him somewhere else. Regardless, an explanation was requested. "I... was at my wedding, in the Holy Templar Order's headquarters. I'd just been coronated as Holy Emperor when... ngh! I somehow stabbed the Holy Father himself. Nobody imagined that. I didn't do it, but my body did somehow. He... he grabbed my arm; that's when I felt drained in some way. It didn't become all that breaking until after we fell and landed here. I can't remember much else. Honestly, I'm kind of stuck on the whole 'he's supposed to be un-existing' thing. By the way, uh... can we not? I can still hear you guys."