"Coffee?" Looking up at the lounge doorway, Nightingale walked in with two cups.
"Thanks."
"So..." Handing Scathach a cup, the mistyrose haired nursed took a seat on the other lounge char. "How's it feel to have such a cute girl use your lap as a pillow?" She teased in her usual monotone voice, pointing at the sleeping girl using Scathach's lap as a pillow, with her crimson coat as a blanket.
In response, she got a glare from the crimson haired woman. "Okay, calm down, I'm only teasing. Anyway, you have a plan B for yelling match round two?"
"I don't need plan B. Chaldea doesn't abandon clients we've agreed to help. She's a client, as the one in charge of her I'll do my job until she's safe. You know as well as I do Olga doesn't want to take this job for another reason entirely."
"Well... you're not wrong. She's been turning down jobs as big as this one ever since... well, you know." Nightingale sighed, closing her eyes as she took another sip of coffee. "But, despite that stubborn streak of her's, I'm sure Olga will at least do the right thing."
"You're probably right. By the way, how's Mashu?"
"Still good for now, though I'm sure she'll try to sneak out later."
*knock knock*
"Good morning!" Boudica cheerfully greeted everyone in the lounge, holding up a paper bag from a local bakery over at Mount Miyama. "Got these fresh and piping hot! Who wants breakfast?"
"Nnnnnmmm..." Stirring slightly, Medusa slowly pushed herself up as she opened her eyes. "Oh...? Good morning, Boudica-san..."
"Morning, Medusa-chan. Care to join us for breakfast?"
"Huh...? Umm... if you don't mind... sure..."
"Right then. Here, this is a local favorite." From the paper bag, Boudica handed the purple haired girl a freshly baked red bean bun.
"Hey, Scathach-san." Tapping the crimson haired woman's shoulder, the redhead moved close for a whisper while Medusa started munching on her bun. "Don't worry too much about later, just leave Olga to me, kay?"
...
"Alright, fine, she can stay." And somehow, the British redhead pulled it off. She managed to get Olga to agree, not that the Director wouldn't have anyway. Right now, a meeting was underway to determine Chaldea's next course of action. "But, this is no longer just a simple protection job. I doubt they'd be dumb enough to attack the same place twice, but they're all kinds of trouble, and definitely gonna be back. So, what do we know about them? Boudica."
On the large office monitor, a picture from security footage came up of the man Boudica and Olga fought. "The Phantom of the Opera, he's the one who caused that deafening sound last night. Real name unknown, he's wanted for the abduction and murder of at least six dozen people. But he's never been seen even once by the authorities, nor did any attempts to capture by the Association ever succeed. There have only even been eye witness reports of a man in a suit with claws for hands or statements where people hear a humming in an empty opera house, usually accompanied by the sounds of meat being sliced. Until yesterday, he was at most an urban legend in parts of Europe."
"What the heck... six dozen? What on earth did he do to them?" Disgust could be heard in Shirou's question.
"Well none have ever been found, not even a body part. But based on what I saw last night from that deranged freak, I can venture a guess or two, so we can also add in psychopath to the list." Olga added.
"Next up, a infamous mercenary known as Eric Bloodaxe."
When security footage of the axe-wielder came up, Kiyohime started hissing at the screen. "Calm down Kiyo-chan, it's just a picture." Patting her head, Ushiwakamaru tried to ease the dragon-girl's anger.
"Also known as the Bloodaxe King, Eric usually took jobs that involved high body counts. But in addition to his mercenary work, Eric was also known as a warlord who terrorized small towns and farms alongside his just-as-infamous wife, a witch known as Gunnhild. Husband and wife have been wanted by the Association for a long time. The bloodied axe of his reputation is thought to be a mystic code or demonic artifact of some kind, while his wife supported him through witchcraft along the lines of shamanism."
"Shamanism? That would explain his unnatural sturdiness to all but extremely lethal wounds." The tactician mused.
"Well, not quite." Using her tablet, Boudica switched the image to a report from the Association. "Eight years ago, seven enforcers sent by the Association had finally cornered the couple. Gunnhild was killed, but before she died she placed a shamanistic curse on her husband, granting him his pseudo immortality. After he killed every enforcer that day, Eric started taking on jobs without pay for the sake of killing for sport. He also holds a grudge with the Association and has crossed paths with them from time to time, usually ending in bloodshed."
"Leave it to the Association to be good at making enemies." Nightingale sighed. "So who's crazy number three?"
"Right, this one." Security footage came up of Mashu fighting her opponent. "We don't have any information of this one. Identity unknown. All we know is that he got in a punching match with Mashu. Although she didn't have her mystic code with her, he still stood his ground with her. He got the upper hand when he used some spell that shut down Mashu's magecraft. We think it's some form of counter magic using moonlight to nullify magecraft.
Ushiwakamaru raised her hand. "Using the moon? Is that even possible?"
"Possibly. Maybe it's some form of magecraft that manipulates light that comes off the moon, or perhaps he has some sort of moon related blessing." Scathach explained. "Regardless, use of that nullification seems only limited to a small area determined by the caster, and as its description implies the spell only functions at night when the moon is out. Remove that from the equation and you just have someone who is extra strong."
"And the last one-"
"Boudica, let me explain this one." Marie stood up, taking the center of the meeting room.
"Wait, Marie. Are you sure about this?" The redhead asked again."
"Yes. I've discussed this with Chevalier. We won't get anyway if we hold back information, it'll only put us at a disadvantage considering our situation and the kind of people we're up against this time." Nodding, Boudica used the tablet to display the man the royal guard clashed with first. "His name is Charles-Henri Sanson, former fourth head of the Sanson House and an executioner from France."
"Wait, executioner? Hasn't that been abolished way back when before I was born?" Shirou asked.
"It is. Charles is actually a assassin, but only in name. He specializes in assassinating people for money, but only ever did so in one way, a guillotine-style beheading using his custom made claymore. There are apparently some people in this world who get a kick off putting others through this sort of thing, so Charles took on such jobs for those who could pay him. Be it a random civil worker, a member of the mafia, other assassins, mercenaries and even magi if it ever came down to it, there was never an execution he failed to pull off. Until he met me eleven years ago, on a job that escalated his reputation to a whole new level.
The screen switch to a picture of an old news paper. "I may not look it, but I used to be a ignorant simpleminded rich girl who cared naught about the world around me. My family, the Antoinette's, was one that lived in absolute luxury, my parents were each contenders to be the wealthiest person in France. Naturally, an arranged marriage was decided for me while I was still young, but the man who would've been my future husband fell in love with someone else. Turns out, the girl he was in love with was from a magus related family. The Antoinette's may have been rich, but we knew nothing about the world of magi, so you can imagine how that turned out for me."
Although Marie remained as positive as usual, everyone else in the meeting room wasn't the same. "In just one night, Sanson executed everyone in my family, maids, butlers and guards included. I was only sixteen back then, and Chevalier had just been hired as my new bodyguard. Fortunately for the both of us, the magus family that hired him was a rival of the Animusphere's, so the Director at the time caught wind of it and intervened, saving us both. After that, we were placed under the protection of the Mages Association, forcing Sanson to give up on the contract. Turns out I had the potential to become a magus, so I started studying as one while Chevalier trained under the guidance of Association combat specialist. Years later, after I graduated as a full fledged magus, we both decided to join up with Chaldea."
"Alright!" Olga got everyone's attention. "Basically all you need to remember is that Sanson, like his other freaky friends, should not be underestimated."
"So in other words, business as usual." Shirou added.
"Huh?"
"Emiya-dono is correct, Director. It doesn't matter what happened in Antoinette-dono's past, Chaldea will operate as per usual." Ushiwakamaru said. "Right, Kiyo-chan?
"Of course. And if anyone messes with our little family... " The cyan haired girl snuggled closer against the tacticians arm. "...we'll give them hell."
"You guys... Thank you!" Tearing up, Marie quickly bowed. "Thank you all so much!"
Entering the rooftop, Scathach finally found Medusa, the purple haired girl so engrossed with her novel the she didn't even notice the roof door open. At least she was in a better mood than last night. "Medusa." She called out to her.
"Scathach...-san? Is this about what happened last night?"
"There's no need to start adding honorifics, you can just stick to 'Scathach' if you'd prefer." Taking a seat next to her, the crimson haired woman started unpacking the plastic bag she brought with her. "Well I do have to talk to you, but before we get to that..." She held up a bento box she got at the nearby convenience store. "How about we have lunch first?"
"Oh. Sure, thank you"
"Well, I'm just gonna keep this brief but for starters..." Taking a bite out of her bento box, Scathach continued. "You're officially under Chaldea's protection as one of our clients, and we'll do everything in our power to keep you safe. Skipping all the other long boring details, we'll help you sort out your current situation until you're safe for good. I'm the one in charge and responsible for you, so if you need anything at all, feel free to tell me."
"Client? But I don't have any money to pay for that! And-"
"You don't have to worry about payment, we aren't doing this for the money. You're in danger, and we can help, nothing more, nothing less. And after last night, whoever's after you has now made an enemy of Chaldea, and they won't get away with attacking the office or my colleagues that easily. The other thing I need to ask you: do you remember defending yourself from Mashu's attacker?"
"A little, it's still a little fuzzy. I recall is hearing my own voice, saying some... nasty things. Then I... attacked him? Everything after that is still a blur but when I came to, you where there and... Scathach, am I... a danger?"
"No! You're not!" The crimson haired woman almost yelled. "You probably have some magic ability you can't fully control. Everyone is the office is a user of magecraft, you're no different from us. You're not a danger, trust me. I'll help you figure this out, help you learn to control your abilities, so don't worry to much, okay?"
"Okay... Is... is Mashu-san fine?"
"Yes, don't worry about it. She may not look it, but she is one of our toughest. Knowing her, she's probably already on her feet by now even though she shouldn't be." Both finishing up their bento boxes, Scathach pulled out the two bottled juices from the plastic bag. "Here- Medusa, hold still a moment." Grabbing a napkin, she reached out for the tall girls cheek, wiping of a bit of leftovers rice. "There."
"Oh... umm... Thank you... Scathach..." The purple haired girl looked down, face flushing as she received a bottle.
...
"Nightingale-senpai, this really isn't necessary."
"You wanted out of the clinic, this is out of the clinic." The nurse replied, pushing along the wheelchair into the pantry.
"Florence-dono, Kyrielight-dono." Ushiwakamaru greeted them before continuing eating her kitsune udon.
Wheeling Mashu towards the table, Nightingale then started preparing for her a extra-healthy-recovery-meal, consisting of...
"Okayu...? Senpai... You know my bones have pretty much already mended right?" The lavender haired girl sweat-dropped.
"I don't care if you recover faster than the average human, Mashu. Until you've fully healed, I'm in charge of your care. And I'm also having okayu as well, so stop complaining and eat." Taking a seat next to her, the mistyrose haired lady notice something was missing. "Ushi, where's you girlfriend that never leaves you?"
"Oh, well... She and Emiya-dono went out to be the welcome crew."
"Welcome crew?" Mashu tilted her head.
"So that's why you didn't seem bothered..." Nighingale had noticed as well.
Two blocks away, on the rooftop of one of the many artificial looking office buildings, two men were utterly failing at hiding themselves. Correction, they would've been doing fine if they were spying on anyone else, but when it came to Chaldea, they'd need another century of training to even pass the hiding part. From the pantry window, even Nightingale could spot them without giving herself away.
"So... Are the two of you enjoying the view of my ever-lovely-Anjin-sama?"
"What the-" Turning around, the last thing the man sees was a fist inches before a hard impact.
...
"Anjin-samaaa~ I'm baaack!" As soon as she saw her, Kiyohime latched onto Ushiwakamaru faster than a hungry wolf towards meat. Nuzzling herself against her neck, she started taking deep breaths of her scent. "Ahhhh, Anjin-sama's smell!~"
"K-Kiyo-chan! Don't do- please, that tickles!"
"Welcome back, Shirou-kun, Kiyohime-chan." Boudica greeted them from her desk. "So, did our guests tell you anything?"
"Not at first. But after treating them to a few stories of what Fuji-nee and her yakuza do to get information, they were more than happy to spills whatever they knew. The eaten by tigers one was the straw that broke the camels back. Unfortunately it wasn't much, apparently they were hired by a someone else who was hired by someone else and so on. Whoever sent them is being overly cautious about hiding themselves." Shirou explained. "On Fuji-nee's side though, she mentioned that there was a increase in traffic of unsavory types entering Fuyuki. Might be worth looking into."
"Right, well I'll brief Olga later, you guys can go home for today if you've finished your work." The redhead said as she headed for Olga's office.
Six days had passed since Chaldea was being spied on; a week since the night attack. The lack of activity has been a little odd, but not of major concern to the company. Everyone was ready for something to eventually happen, but until then they'd continue on as per usual. 'Just because we have work doesn't mean we can't have fun.' As Boudica would put it.
"You didn't have to come along with me, Scathach. I have the phone you bought me if anything happens."
"It's fine, I had nothing else to do today. So better safe than sorry." The crimson haired woman replied. "Plus I figured we could grab a bite there."
Stopping by the bookstore first, Scathach followed along after Medusa, letting the tall girl peruse and choose for as long as she wanted.
"You really do like reading don't you?"
"Oh... umm, yea. My sisters told me that too. I suppose I could go a little... overboard sometimes."
"Well I don't see anything wrong with it. Acquisition of knowledge is never a bad thing. If you'd like, I wouldn't mind letting you visit my personal library sometime." Her castle library had a sizable collection of books and tomes, Medusa would definitely be thrilled if she visited. It'd also be a first, she's never invited anyone to her castle before. "And personally, I think a hobby like reading really suits you."
"Huh? Oh, umm... thank you." Medusa flushed slightly at the compliment.
After having lunch at a nearby cafe, Scathach and Medusa decided to take break on a bench. Being seated in front of a glass wall on the third floor granted them a rather nice view of the city. "You didn't have to treat me to lunch as well..."
"It's fine, I offered after all." The crimson haired woman replied. "I wouldn't have offered if I didn't want to."
"I suppose so... thank you." For the past week, Medusa had spent quite a bit of it with Scathach. The crimson haired woman struck her as strong and proud, mysterious yet kind. Scathach could've been showing her kindness out of obligation or pity; they had only met each other a week ago after all. But that clearly wasn't the case, the kindness Scathach showed her was none of those things. She may not know much about the crimson haired woman yet, but one thing was clear: this heartwarming feeling, it was nothing but genuine.
"By the way, Medusa-" Whatever Scathach wanted to say was cut off when the lights died off. Screams started coming from the first floor, and ominously following after it was the sound of...
"That was... gunfire?!"
"Goddammit..." Olga couldn't believe this. A hostage situation, in broad daylight no less, at the mall where Scathach and Medusa just so happened to be at? Yea right, coincidences like this never happen. "Please tell me you have something for me." Placing a finger on her earpiece radio, she called over to the others.
"Well... cell signal's still being jammed." Shirou responded, positioned at the highest point of a radio tower several blocks from the mall in question. "Trace, on." Materializing a grey bow in hand, the boy applied reinforcement to his eyes, his now hawk-like vision giving him a clear and precise view of the mall. "I have eyes on the group who thought pulling a stunt like this in the middle of the day was a sane idea, as well as..." Like security footage before the blackout had shown, he spotted Sanson and The Phantom alongside the armed men with them. "I count at least two dozen gunmen."
Arriving a block back from the mall, Boudica and Mashu quickly made their way to a neighboring building, jumping the gap onto the mall's second floor exterior. Making their way inside, they easily took out two unsuspecting guards in their way. They were wearing body armor and armed with rifles she easily recognized, the same ones the two were using in the forest. "Boudica and Mashu here, we've made our way inside."
"Ushiwakamaru here, Kiyohime and I approaching entrance point." Down under the city, the tactician and dragon-girl were making their way through the sewers for a basement entrance. "Kiyo-chan."
"Yes, Anjin-sama." Using a fireball, the dragon-girl seared off the lock on the basement door. Drawing her katana, they both entered ready to meet any resistance in their way.
"Tch... Alright." Olga clicked her tongue. "Boudica, Mashu, the two of you secure the hostages. The rest of you, getting Scathach and Medusa is our top priority, but civilian safety is still important. The only ones leaving in body bags are the enemy, got it?"
"Yes, Director!"
...
Pulling Medusa along, the crimson haired woman quickly led them both towards a back area of the mall, spotting a storage room, they both quickly hid inside. Looking at her smartphone, cell signal was being jammed. "Great..."
"Scathach, was that-"
"Medusa, calm down. I need you to trust me and follow my instructions. I promise I will protect you, okay? Now-" Hearing the sound of approaching footsteps, Scathach pushed the tall girl up against a wall, hiding themselves with a concealment rune.
As the door swung open, one man entered, armed with a rifle quickly scanned the room. Gesturing to Medusa to keep quiet, the second he dropped his guard, she quickly attacked, killing the helpless fool. Looking at his rifle, it wasn't the first time the type of gun. It was already obvious, but this confirmed it; they're the same group from back in the forest.
"This..." Scathach sighed. "Alright, Chaldea will definitely be on their way. If we can make it to the basement, there should be an entrance out of the mall and-"
"Scathach, behind you!" Medusa pointed.
"Huh? What the hell?!"
Turning around, the mercenary's body started moving. As his skin started turning grey, blue tendrils sprouted out from underneath. Extending across the entire body, it started explaining in size. As the body began standing up, it started mutating, arms and legs extending in length. Covering the entire body, the humanoid figure stood up, three spots where it's head would be glowing red.
"Anzus!" Firing a rune flare, the fireball blasted off one of its arms, knocking it down. But it only got back up, more tendrils extending from its partially destroyed shoulder, regrowing back another arm. Two more rune flares blasted off parts of his torso and its head, but the creature continued moving. Raising it's arm, the tendrils extended as it swung. Pulling Medusa out of the way, the creature's arm buried itself deep into the wall behind them.
"Increased physical strength, limb regeneration... this is..." Running up towards it, Scathach tore into its chest with her rune-enchanced arm. As expected, beyond the flesh on its torso, there was a red glowing organ. Dropping a runestone inside it before regeneration could complete, lightning burst forth from the creature's entire torso, frying it from the inside out. With it's core destroyed, the rest of the body slowly broke down into grey sand-like substance.
"Is it... dead? What was that?" Medusa asked.
"A homunculus. Well, a failed one anyway"
"Ho...mun...cu- what?"
"Homunculi. Artificial humans created through the use of alchemy. But they aren't usually like this. A properly created one would at least look like a human; Mashu is technically a homunculus." Scathach explained as she examined the creatures remains. "But this one... It was genetically mutated while still an embryo, most likely on purpose. And as you saw, this is the result. Disposable soldiers that turn into even stronger ones upon death..."
Note:
Bento boxes are single-portion takeouts or home-packed meals in box-shaped containers, usually containing rice with fish or meat, along with pickled or cooked vegetables.
Udon is a type of thick wheat flour noodle often served with hot soup. Kitsune or Fox Udon is topped with sweetened deep-fried tofu pockets called aburaage.
Okayu is the name for the type of soft and easily digestible rice porridge.