𝐍𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐱𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬 - Wriothesley x Neuvillette

Hunting down the truth (Chapter 29)

Neuvillette's pov.

He went to Furina, who was deep in a Crème brûlée, and didn't pay much attention to him as he rushed inside. He went over to her, grabbed her, and simply teleported the both of them to Vasari Passage, afraid that if he tried to speak and explain, his voice would betray him. He could feel the dryness in his throat and the pounding of his heart in his chest as he watched Furina drop her spoon at the sight of the massacre.

"Neuvillette..? What happened?" Furina turned to look at him, but he just stood there.

 Wriothesley's words had reassured him before, but without him to hold his hand, the guilt was creeping closer, and he couldn't help but despise himself for not having been able to protect these people who had been so brutally slaughtered.

"Ciel.." He mumbled. 

Furina looked as lost as he felt. The grim scene hadn't changed, death and despair hung thick in the air. Furina's concern and confusion were palpable, but Neuvillette couldn't bring himself to answer her questions.

"Neuvillette, talk to me. What's happening?" Furina pleaded, her eyes searching for his. He took a deep breath, attempting to steady himself amidst the horror.

"It's a sick game, Furina. Ciel is orchestrating all this, but I don't know why. I can't seem to figure out his motive. We need to stop him before more lives are lost."

Furina nodded, looking at the many corpses lying all over the street.Coordinating with the Marechaussee Phantom, they devised a plan to hunt down Ciel. All units were spread over Fontaine, and Neuvillette informed everyone of what to look for. Even though he had to stay composed, he couldn't shake the feeling that the worst was yet to come. Wriothesley's absence was starting to worry him, as he had hoped for a word from the Duke by now.

Wriothesley's pov.

He ran after the man, trying to keep up. Running wasn't exactly a problem for him, and he had thought he would have caught up with Ciel by now, but somehow Ciel was faster. Just like the man who had attacked Neuvillette in court, Ciel was capable of wielding electro and used it to his advantage. He navigated through the streets of Fontaine, and they quickly ended up outside the walls. 

They ran over the hills towards the Liffey region. Wriothesley lost sight of the man, but as he came upon the house Neuvillette and him had searched through and found the tunnel and secret laboratory. He went inside, looking down into the hole he and Neuvillette had fallen into. It felt like ages ago, but it was so clear in his mind. He used his vision to glide down, trying to avoid falling into the pool of water again. As he reached the opening, he quickly threw ice beneath him and walked to the tunnel. He snuck down the dark tunnel, this time not bringing any light, as he already knew where it ended, and he didn't want to bring unwanted attention to himself. He hid in the opening and looked down into the laboratory. 

He didn't see anyone but didn't want to risk anything, so he stayed still and watched. A few minutes later, a person entered the laboratory through a small door. Wriothesley immediately recognized Matheo. His hands clenched into fists as he observed Matheo walk around the laboratory, seemingly preparing small batches of primordial seawater. A few moments later, Ciel stepped inside too. Matheo and Ciel didn't speak, barely even looked at each other. In the rusty old laboratory, they simply prepared the batches of water and packed necessities from the laboratory.

"Ciel," Matheo spoke, and Wriothesley listened closely.

"I've prepared the batches and written everything down. We have 3 people going after the Iudex, but the Duke has disappeared." Matheo spoke, turning his back to Ciel.

"You are truly incompetent. You can monitor the hydro dragon but still lose sight of that little pest?" Ciel said.

 Before Wriothesley could react, Ciel walked up behind Matheo. He saw the metal shine before he heard Matheo's gasp. The blood dripped down onto the floor in a pool, and Ciel pulled a dagger back out of Matheo's back. Matheo collapsed, and Ciel stepped back, looking down at the man bleeding out at his feet before turning away and leaving with all the important things from the laboratory. Wriothesley didn't know what to do. On one hand, he had to go after Ciel. On the other, Matheo was bleeding out right in front of him. He jumped down and went over to him, kneeling beside him and lifting his head up to meet his eyes.

"Wriothesley..."

"Anything you want to tell me before I put you out of your misery?"

Matheo tried to chuckle, but it was a raspy and strained sound. He spoke again, much softer this time.

"I'm glad you'll be the one to kill me. I'd hate to die at the hands of Ciel."

"Is that all?"

"How stupid are you and the Iudex...? Ciel means sky, yet you haven't thought to check the Central laboratory ruins? You know, the laboratory in the sky?"

"Is that where Ciel is going?"

"Yes, unless he's changing plans."

"Why would he go there?"

"How would I know? Go figure it out yourself-" Matheo coughed up blood, and his eyes glazed over.

Wriothesley quickly ended his life. Despite everything, he didn't want Matheo to suffer. He dragged his body through the tunnel and to the water and slipped him down into the darkness, letting him rest in the comfort of the dark waters.

Wriothesley rushed back to the court of Fontaine and went straight to Palais Memoria to find Neuvillette. He went into his office without knocking and locked eyes with the Iudex."In the secret laboratory, I found Ciel and Matheo. Matheo is dead, and Ciel is going to the central laboratory ruins in the sky, carrying god knows how much Primordial seawater. We must go after him," Wriothesley explained. Neuvillette nodded understandingly, and they went to inform the Marechaussee Phantom.

They approached the Institute, looking up at the ruins in the sky. Neuvillette and Wriothesley went first, to be the ones to confront Ciel. The Phantom, guards, Clockwork meka, and Furina stood ready on the ground in formation, covering the area, ready to catch Ciel if he tried to escape. 

At this point, I don't even know where this is going.