AC arrives tomorrow.
-
Compared to the utter monsters I'd faced thus far, the homunculus maid fell absurdly short.
Those were my earnest feelings as her halberd rasped along the edge of a blade of shadow. A blade so dark that even the sparks produced were swallowed up in its inky blackness. Throwing her blow to the side, I tried to jam the hilt into her gut.
She stopped me with a palm.
Unfortunately, that left her with no way to avoid my impromptu reverse kick. When my foot met her stomach, it did so with all the weight of a mythical elephant stomping down. She planted her feet, but the impact still dragged her back a good few feet.
Bazett was waiting there.
She locked her elbow around the maid's neck, performing a lariat that fractured the cobblestone under them. The Enforcer refused to stop. She raised her leg high and drove her heel mercilessly into her foe's chest.
"It's strangely arousing to see you take care of business."
I tossed her my sword.
Bazett gripped the blade with both hands and drove down.
"Stop!"
A scream stopped her barely an inch above the homunculus' heart. I placed the voice easily. With a shake of my head, I stared up to spot Illyasviel von Einzbern watching us from one of only unbroken windows on the second floor. There was a second maid by her side. She'd bitten her lower lip so hard that blood was dripping down her chin.
"You've already killed Berserker, haven't you?!" Illyasviel whined loudly, waving around her fists. There were tears in her blood red eyes. "I'm not the one who killed your servant but you still killed mine! Leave Liz alone!"
The audacity was incredible.
I rubbed my chin in silence.
"Did... Did you forget you tried to kill us?"
"That's what you do in a Grail War! I've already lost!"
I rubbed some more, trying to understand her logic.
"Your earlier theory might be true." Bazett explained for me, refusing to remove the blade from 'Liz's throat, "In many nations, mental illness is an accepted criminal defense."
"That's a stupid law."
"The Clock Tower does not have it. And, she broke the rules of the Grail War."
In the Clock Tower, the parties involved were to settle the conflict between themselves, however they saw fit, so long as the veil over the world of magecraft wasn't threatened. Murder, subterfuge, kidnapping, possibly even bombings weren't out of the question so long as they hid well enough.
Wait...
"Sure, I'll spare her."
Bazett gave me a look of confusion.
"But I'm going to need you to do something for me."
The maid beside Illyasviel whispered in her ear. I saw the girl shake her head furiously, upsetting the homunculus beside her.
Then,
"Just put the sword away."
-
Turned out, human hands didn't have the best shelf life when they were rolling in some dark space of inky blackness. On the flip side, the second maid's skill at rituals and the family's magecraft ensured that the questionable shelf life wasn't really a problem.
Nue had been on standby as the maid worked, and I did not deign to enter the actual castle. No, I made all of the residents come outside instead. Bazett stood beside the immense avian, and the both of them together kept Illyasviel hostage while the other maid went away to retrieve what I'd asked for.
"There. The process is complete. The Command Seals are yours."
I couldn't help but grin at the fresh set of command seals on the back of my hand.
"Now, let the young lady go."
My gaze wandered to the young girl a ways to the side, hands locked together in fright.
I derived no real joy from threatening Illyasviel this way. No, I would go so far as to say I had no particular feelings about her at all anymore. Maybe I was a cunt for it, but I was even at peace with my mentor's death.
Indeed, no hate motivated me.
Liz stepped out of the castle clutching a multitude of weapons and treasures in her arms. Blankly, she dropped them, leaving precious swords and spears and axes to clatter against the stone. Then, she turned to me.
"All... are here. They have mystery."
"Is that so?"
Just to be sure, I funnelled mana from my Crest through the new command seals, matching them to the seals on my forearm. There were no irregularities I could notice. In essence, they were the same... save for one section not present within the new ones.
The connection to a servant.
I brought my hands together.
My shadow began to distort.
The smarter of the maids noticed instantly.
"This wasn't the-"
Nue's human-like teeth chomped down on Illyasviel faster than anyone could regret. He raised his head to the sky, tossing the corpse into the air, then began chewing in a disgusting manner. The maids sprang into action, but my wolves were faster, bigger, and stronger.
Two corpses fell to the ground with insignificant thuds.
If left alone, there was nothing stopping Illyasviel from making more people suffer for her stupidity. I wasn't willing to have that on my conscience by letting her go free.
"Sheesh," Cu appeared from the air, "That was cold, lad. But, not uncalled for."
His immense dislike for short women made me curious. There was definitely an interesting story in there somewhere.
That wasn't what mattered most right now.
"Do you disapprove?"
I turned to Bazett.
"No," My cute Enforcer rubbed her nose with a finger, eyes lowered, "She tried to hurt you."
Damn...
Nue gargled and spit a heart into my shadow.
"Way to ruin the mood, big guy."
He jerked his massive head, staring down curiously.
Then, he squawked.
I had never heard him squawk.
With another shake of my head, I got to work drawing down a summoning circle right there in the yard, from memory this time. When I was done, I couldn't help but feel I'd messed up somewhere. Bazett came up to me and tapped me on the shoulder.
I curiously handed her the piece of chalk I was using.
"The command seals. Were they from that boy you healed?"
"I feel a bit bad still, but he's a civilian." I said calmly, watching her fix my messy work, "He'd have suffered much more otherwise."
Bazett only hummed at my answer.
"Though, it was really just about the second servant."
At that, the Enforcer gave a weary smile.
"I... don't mind your kindness. I admire it."
Hm...
Was this what they meant when they said love was blind?
-
My intention with using all sorts of tools of war was not to summon a heroic spirit associated with any one of them on chance, but to draw upon the very concept of making war and battle as a catalyst for the Saber-class.
That was why I littered the circle with all that the maid had brought out.
Bows.
Swords.
Spears.
Axes.
Shields.
Saddles.
Any tool at all that man had used once to wage war upon another in times past.
Waiting for Francesca's catalyst to be delivered had already cost much, enough that I was no longer willing to rely on anyone for anything at all. Well, anyone except Bazett.
Shaking my head to be rid of the thoughts, I knelt down and pressed my hand against the spell formation.
"I call upon war."
As though a dam had broken, my mana rushed into the ritual. An immense and wonderful light made the world go white.
"Altera. I am the Hun..."
Those were the words that made me open my eyes.
A tanned girl stood before me. Her frail body was marked with white, and her pale hair seemed to blend into the white veil falling down to her knees. Her heels clattered when she took a step forward, holding out a wondrous blade made of blue and red and green to her side.
"A warrior that serves the God of War."
The strips of white hanging from her waist flowed in the wind.
I pursed my lips,
"Why did you answer my call?"
Altera's faint crimson eyes found mine.
They were hollow, I realised.
"I want... to be something else too."
-
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