Arms Race 5
V. CALL TO ARMS
After numerous delays, the people of Kentenau finally received word that Shin Makoku's army was on the march, and had with them a weapon powerful enough to counter the gene mutation cannon. The nature of this weapon was said to be so top-secret that not even the Maou knew what it was, but he had authorized it because it was the work of the great Poison Lady Anissina herself! Shouts of joy resounded throughout Kentenau and its neighboring villages when they heard.
The past few days had passed in a frenzy of action as the villagers did all they could to prepare for the army's arrival. Their best riders were sent out to survey along both sides of the road, ensuring that they would know when either side's forces were nearby. On the side leading to Dai Shimaron, they set out sandbags and broken doors as a makeshift blockade. A few detached arms wound up sandwiched in there, but that was just as well. It did make the blockade appear more frightening…
Within the village itself, Conrart Weller, famed war hero and commander of the Maou's personal guard, was preparing himself also. Many people didn't understand that it wasn't merely natural talent that made him the best swordsman in the country (and arguably the world). It was also hard work and proper training. All three were necessary. He'd started honing his skills at a young age, and he'd never stopped. As such, Conrad vowed to overcome his current disability and regain his former battle prowess.
First, he had mastered chopping his extra arms off in quick succession - this was tricky because it required that he rapidly shift sword arms when it came time for the one holding the sword to go - and then he had figured out how to dual-wield sword and torch to cauterize his wounds fast enough that the arms couldn't grow back right away. It took a lot of energy out of him to perform this, though, so Conrad was still unsure of his ability to participate in battle.
That, and the arms still grew back eventually. Conrad insisted on staying in the barn for fear of another uncontrollable arm-splosion. He was never able to get rid of all of them, but these days he was down to about a single coating of twenty-something arms, which was much better than the hundreds he'd had before.
Speaking of which, the hundreds were going missing more and more often these days. Conrad would close his eyes or look away for a second, and an arm that he could have sworn was right there… wasn't. Before, he had wondered if they were crawling outside, but now he was almost certain this was the case.
It was nearly mealtime, so Conrad resolved to ask Miss Vickers about them when she came in with dinner. As he thought this, however, the door opened and the little girl from before rushed in, unexpectedly flinging herself at Conrad. "I'm sorry I was rude to you, Mr. Weller! I'm sorry, but please don't steal Daphne away!" She sobbed into his arms.
"Sylvia! Is this why you wanted to help me bring his meal?" Daphne Vickers bustled in and set her basket down beside Conrad.
"Please, Daphne!"
"Lord Weller and I have important matters to discuss, and you have chores to do."
"But sis!"
"Go, Sylvia."
Sylvia puffed out her cheeks, her eyes watering and looking like they would shed tears any moment now. But in the end, she nodded at her sister's admonishment and shuffled out with her head bowed.
"Please don't think too badly of Sylvia," Daphne said. She didn't meet Conrad's eyes as she laid out the food on the makeshift table. "She's been acting out like this ever since our mother died."
Conrad smiled as reassuringly as he could. "I understand completely, Miss Vickers. I was the same way after my father. I'm sure it's just a phase."
"Yes, I hope it's just as you say… Ah, I…"
"There was something you wished to discuss with me?"
"Y-yes, sir…" Daphne looked up at Conrad, then immediately glanced back down with a heavy blush staining her cheeks. "It's a-about the other day, what I told you, about how… About how I was slapped."
Conrad nodded for her to continue.
"He struck me, you see, on the cheek…"
"And for that I sincerely apologize."
"No, Your Excellency, you don't understand. I have always been a romantic fool, dreaming that someday my prince would come. And he has, don't you see? I accept the proposal! I want to get married!"
Conrad's eyes widened at her exclamation. Could it be that Father Vincenzo had been correct? Conrad had thought she didn't seem the type to take advantage like that; she had never given him cause to suspect she could have such opportunistic designs on him. "Miss Vickers, I hope you are not presuming that I wish to settle down."
"Oh, no, sir!" Daphne gasped into her cupped hands. "I would never dare! I… It's not that you are not… very dashing… But it is not you."
Conrad raised one disbelieving eyebrow. "I slapped you."
"Your arm slapped me."
Touché.
Daphne brushed aside the thick waves of her hair then, and revealed that she had a hitchhiker on her delicate shoulder. It was one of Conrad's fallen arms, and its fingers were curled around her collar to prevent it from falling off as it rode along. Daphne stroked its knuckles, and it gently flicked hers back.
They were flirting with their fingers, Conrad realized. It was quite endearing, in a horrifying sort of way.
"This is Robert," Daphne said. "Robert Weller. He says that he is one of your ancestors, or, well, was one of your ancestors. Upon his death, his soul was placed into his arm and given to Shinou - that is how the flesh was preserved for so long. Then Shinou gave that arm to you, and it was only when you started growing more arms that Robert could transfer his soul to one of those and detach himself from you. You see, Robert has been living with you for some time now, and gone on many patrols with you. One day, he… noticed me…"
Daphne blushed a bright pink, and Robert gave a thumbs up to his great-great-great-great-grandson.
"Ahem. I can see that," Conrad said. "The ar- Robert seems fond of you."
"He does, doesn't he? It's the most amazing thing!" She sighed dreamily, leaning her cheek down to nuzzle affectionately against the arm.
"And you want to marry… Robert."
"We're soulmates," she said with absolute certainty. "It's obvious that we are, since we have the ability to speak directly into each other's souls. And since you're the closest relative we know of, we'd like for you to give us your blessings."
Daphne's words had the ring of truth in them. It did make sense, in a way. Shinou liked to play these types of games, so it wouldn't surprise Conrad that the deceased Robert Weller's soul had indeed been residing in his arm the whole time. Robert had been a human in Dai Shimaron hundreds of years ago, and even Conrad had not known of him until the dead man's arm was magically attached to his bloody shoulder stump. If not from Robert-the-arm, how else could a Mazoku peasant girl have come to possess such knowledge? Still…
"You're sure of this, Miss Vickers?" Conrad furrowed his brows in concern. Daphne Vickers was a sweet, hard-working young woman. Had she been born a noble, or even a merchant's or innkeeper's daughter in one of the larger cities, there would have been no shortage of offers for her hand. But she never complained about her circumstances, no matter what they were. She mucked out her father's stables, helped rear her little sister after their mother's death, and yet never once looked at the city girls with envy.
Conrad felt a twinge of guilt at the thought that such a nice girl was now to give her hand to a hand. This guilt was almost strong enough to overpower the satisfaction he felt at coming up with another great pun. Almost.
"Do not be concerned for me, sir. Robert is very kind; he treats me very well."
As if agreement to those words, the bodiless limb on Daphne's shoulder stroked her hair, twirling one finger around a soft curl. It was this gesture that cemented the truth in Conrad's mind: Daphne and the arm were in love.
And who was he to stand in the way of true love? Conrad nodded his assent. "All right, then. I hope your union is a happy one."
Bam!
Daphne and Conrad both spun to face the door, with Robert still clinging to her shoulder to avoid being shaken off with the sudden movement.
"Oh god, they're coming! They've got the cannon with them! Dai Shimaron is coming!" It was one of the men sent to keep an eye on the border. He breathlessly shouted his warning to them before running off to alert the rest of the village.
"Oh, no… W-what shall we do?"
Conrad pressed his lips into a determined line. "We must fight. Daphne, help get the children and the elderly out of the village. I'll coordinate the defense."
With this said, Conrad trundled over to his sword. He thought he did pretty well this time, only losing two of the arms that had sprouted out from his legs. Once he reached the blade, he swung it down and chopped off a few more, sending blood spraying over the bales of hay. This made mobility so much easier, though he was still hindered by the woozy feeling of blood loss that always accompanied his arm-chopping sprees, and had to lean against the wall for support rather than just to look cool.
Daphne apparently didn't think Conrad was doing so well, though. She stared at him with a pained expression on her face. "Perhaps you should, um, rest up a bit more…"
"I'll be fine, " Conrad said. "It's a soldier's duty to protect civilians."
"That may be so, but-" Daphne cut off in the middle of her speech to cock her head to the side. It seemed as if she was listening to someone, though the barn was silent.
"Miss Vickers?"
She looked up and met Conrad's gaze. "Robert says he'll lead the charge."
Conrad was too stunned to protest this change in events.
The arm crawled down from her shoulder and into her arms. She cradled it to her chest while it waved its fingers about in a mysterious sign language. Then there were shuffling sounds coming from the shadowy corners of the barn, and Conrad saw movement coming from under the hay and behind the farming equipment.
An arm dropped down from the rafters and landed with a soft thud right in front of Conrad. Soon, others followed. They came from all directions; even from outside. They dragged themselves along with their fingers, wriggling across the ground to gather at Daphne's feet. She let out a shaky breath and slowly made her way outside, the arms following behind their leader - Robert.
Conrad shuffled out as well, since he was curious about the situation. Once outside, he could see more arms pouring out of the bushes, and some even peeking out from tree branches. Decaying zombie arms crawled up from under rocks, and half-chewed arms yanked themselves out of dogs' mouths.
"Everyone!" Daphne shouted. "The arms have agreed to help us! If you're able to fight, but don't have a weapon, please grab an arm!"
The villagers stared in shock. It was perhaps the largest collective jawdrop in the history of Shin Makoku. But then they spotted the shadow of a large army coming over the hill, and there was no time for further hesitation. They looked to Daphne once more for confirmation.
She gave a jerky nod. "Y-yes, we can do this! Um, t-to arms!"
The army of arms burst forth to meet Dai Shimaron's invasion force. Heh. An army. Made of arms. People using arms as arms. It was a wonderful pun.
Conrad was smiling as drew his sword and followed his arms. Behind him, the villagers glanced at each other, shrugged, and drew their arms. Literally.