The next morning, everyone met in the park outside the apartments as agreed yesterday.
"How are you doing?" Holly asked Lancer. Thanks to his fast healing as a Servant, the wounds were gone, though he was still sore.
"Better than yesterday," the spearman chuckled.
"So what's this meeting about?" Elize asked.
"I was thinking we should check up on Kanbalar," Gaius replied. Holly's jaw dropped.
"Way out in Rieze Maxia?!"
Alvin put his hands lazily behind his head. "Stop being a whiner."
"Do I have to go?" Holly moaned.
Gaius crossed his arms. "Yes. Since the Assassin incident, it would be better for us to stay together when traveling."
Lancer grinned at Holly. "At least we get a chance to sightsee!"
"It's a friggin' icebox there!" Holly exclaimed. "All there is to see there is snow, snow, and more snow!"
Leia put her hands on her hips. "Just bundle up and you'll be fine! You don't need to have such a negative outlook on things!"
Holly turned her head away and stuck out her lower lip like she was pouting. "I'm not being negative! I'm just being realistic!"
After gathering the supplies that would be needed, the group made it to the Mon Highlands. In Marksburg, a man went up to Holly. They talked a bit and he handed her a clear gem. In return, she gave him a bag of gald.
"What was that?" Alvin asked. Holly put the gem in her bag.
"They're for storing mana of a certain element."
Milla put a hand to her chin. "I take it that's what you use in conjunction with your demon arm?"
Holly nodded. "I usually only have one gem for each element. I still need a new lightning-element one, but with where we're going I'll make another fire-element gem."
"So who was that?" Elize asked.
"Just a merchant. He delivers these from a group that digs up special mana-absorbing gems. I pay them for the deliveries."
"What do you even do for a living?" Muzet asked.
"Just bounty hunting, whether it be monsters or people," Holly replied.
In the middle of the Mon Highlands, the sun was down.
"We'd better set up camp," Rowen said. Holly wanted to punch someone.
"We're seriously going to spend the night here?! It's freezing!"
Jude looked over at the woman. "It's better than wasting our energy by trudging through this wasteland blind."
Holly reluctantly gave in and the group settled themselves in a large dent in the cliff wall. Holly started to get out a wool blanket when Lancer came over.
"Ya wanna sit next to each other? I don't exactly have my own blanket."
"You didn't pack one?! Dumbass." Holly unraveled some of the blanket around her. Lancer grinned and cuddled up next to her, wrapping some of the blanket over himself. He took of the armor over his shoulders because he didn't want cold metal on him all night and he knew that if he kept them on Holly would complain that it felt like icecubes were pressing into her. Every hour, there would be keeping watch outside where camp was set up for monsters. Gaius had the first watch. Holly pressed herself into Lancer. The air was freezing and the warmth he was giving off was very inviting. Milla and Jude were doing the same, except Jude had his head resting up against Milla's chest.
Alvin smirked at Holly and Lancer. "Are you gonna sleep with the cryptkeeper's dad [1]?"
Holly just stared at him. "What do you mean?"
"We know when the legend of Cu Chulainn was from. Despite how young he looks, he's about as old as when the schism was created!"
"Oh come on! He's been dead for most of that time!"
After Gaius, it was Alvin's turn to keep watch. Once his shift was done, he got Holly woken up for her turn. Lancer was leaning back against the wall, sawing logs. Careful not to wake the Servant, Holly moved away from him and walked just outside the opening of the indention. Alvin went back to sleep. The only light was the shine from the moon reflecting off the snow.
"Whatcha doin'?" The first thing Holly saw as she turned around were those crimson eyes with the serpentine pupils. They were glowing faintly in the night. At first, she thought it was an enemy. Then she saw the handsome face and realized it was the demigod.
"Just keeping watch. It's my turn. What's up?"
"I'm a light sleeper, so I knew ya had left my side. It's my duty to protect ya."
"I can take care of myself just fine. I'm not a baby," she retorted. Lancer chuckled and wrapped one arm around her. Holly instantly felt warm and snuggled deeper into his chest, his warm breath ghosting over her head.
"I know, I know. I just don't want anythin' to happen to ya 'cause I'm not around."
"Because I'm your Master?"
"'Cause yer important to me." Holly looked up, staring at his face. Lancer was grinning like he was joking, though his eyes were gentle and full of affection.
"You're important to me, too. That's why I hate seeing you get hurt for my sake." She cupped the sides of the Servant's face and pulled his head down so she could kiss him. Lancer's eyes widened for a moment. He thought he would be the first to make a move! He closed them and caressed the left side of Holly's face with one hand, moving it up under her black hair.
"'Bout time we get a show!"
Holly abruptly broke off the kiss with Lancer. Alvin was sitting with his back against the wall, grinning like an idiot. To the Master's horror, she saw the other eight were up as well. Teepo was floating to the left of Elize, eyes wide just like the mage.
"...How much did you see..?" Holly asked tentatively.
"Starting from when you kissed him," Leia replied, a little shaken. Rowen chuckled. He could see this coming from a mile away.
"Are you guys...going to be like Jude and Milla?" Elize asked timidly.
"If you are, don't do anything more with the rest of us around," Ludger said.
"GO TO SLEEP!" Holly shouted.
Muzet smirked. "Alvin couldn't, so he woke up the rest of us when you two were about to kiss."
At least Holly knew who to kill now. "STOP WATCHING AND SLEEP!"
The next morning, the group got ready to head for Kanbalar again. Lancer was sticking close to the black-haired woman and it didn't go unnoticed by the others. The wind was howling and the two couples, Lancer and Holly, and Jude and Milla, huddled together.
"How do you get over these whispers about you and someone else?" Holly whispered to Jude.
Jude shrugged. "You just get used to it, I guess. I barely even notice anymore."
"You two kissed, which is farther than Jude and I have gone," Milla pointed out.
"What about those stories about what you and Jude did on top of that waterfall?!" Holly demanded.
Jude turned red. "T-That's a secret!"
Alvin smirked. "I bet they went to third base."
Jude looked mad, but his face was still red from embarrassment. "Stop saying that's what happened!"
Gaius looked to be at the end of his patience. "Will you five please be quiet?!"
"I didn't even say anything!" Lancer protested.
Rowen sighed. "Since Holly said something, as her boyfriend, it counts as you saying something too."
"We just kissed! That doesn't make us boyfriend and girlfriend!" Holly exclaimed.
Alvin grinned. "You two are living together and work together, so we'd only assume you two are in a relationship."
Holly glared at the merchant. "Oh shut up!"
A little ways further in, they could see the entrance to Kanbalar. It was just a little ways away.
"About time!" Holly exclaimed. She ran ahead of the group.
"Watch out!" Lancer shouted. He shot forward so he was right next to his Master, Gae Bolg in his left hand. He held it up just as a tail came sweeping from the left. It collided with the shaft and Lancer grabbed Holly, jumping back with her.
There was a roar and a white-blue body spun around. It was an Arctic Wing [2]. It was shaped like a much bigger version of the Snow Dragons, except it had two giant horns sprouting out from right over each eye and they were straight and white-grey. Two wings came from its back. Each had a full hand where the thumbs are supposed to be. The webbing in the wings and the underbelly were light blue. The underbelly looked like massive scales, except they had white fur on the left and right edges. In the middle of each was a blue claw that curved up and had red tips. Each eye was red, though both had a smaller version of it under each one. The tail that trailed behind it had claws that curved in the direction of behind it. They ran up the dragon from near the tip of its tail to the back of its head. Like the ones on the underbelly, they all had red tips. White fur was on the ends of its cheeks closest to the back of its head. The bottom of its chin had four horns, two near the front of the bottom jaw and two right behind them. It grinned, revealing sharp white teeth.
The dragon roared and four ice daggers, two on each side, formed. It fired them and Milla ran in front of the group.
"Efreet!" The Great Spirit of Fire appeared and flames came out of his mouth. It was aimed at the arte. The flames engulfed the ice and melted them. Even though it was her last one (She had just infused it the other day), Holly had her demon hand devour the red gem, covering the hand in flames. She shot past Milla and Efreet and jumped up, hand reared back behind her to slash down. As she did so, the right wing of the dragon blocked it, flames shooting out above the ends of it.
"Hell Fryer!" Alvin's arte made the monster stagger back. Holly jumped off, casting a spell as soon as she landed. The one she was casting was high-leveled, so it would take some time. Jude used Maxwell and the enemy exhaled a large amount of freezing air, nullifying it. The dragon spun to the right, whipping its tail as it did. Elize jumped back and Leia jumped up.
"Soaring Blast!" The attack knocked the enemy's head down, chin colliding with the ground.
"Endless Waltz!" Ludger slashed the downed enemy and jumped back just as Gaius came in.
"Beast!" He rammed his shoulder into the dragon's face. A moment later, a red lion's head came from it. The monster reared back, eyes screwed shut. At that time, Holly finished casting.
"Flame Dragon [3]!" The flaming dragon bashed into the enemy one. The Arctic Wing had both wings against the ground, shoulders heaving as it panted. It opened its mouth to fire another attack. Lancer went in front of Holly to protect her and Muzet prepared for Spire Throw.
What happened next took everyone by surprise.
A half-naked giant with brown-grey skit came down on the dragon's head with its ax. Blood gushed from the wound and painted the snow deep red. Before it could recover, the behemoth turned to the left in a full circle, bringing the ax with it. The edge smashed into the Elite Monster's chin, making the head be thrown back and for it to rear back it recoil, exposing the underbelly. Without missing a beat, the beast flicked the ax up, slicing the underbelly open vertically. The dragon gave a mix between a cry and a whine and fell sideways, the right side of it hitting the snow hard as blood flowed from the cut in the underbelly like waves, hitting the ground as the four red eyes glazed over.
Fire still enveloped Holly's demonic hand. "I've never seen that before! Is that a Servant?!"
Lancer snarled. "Yeah. Berserker, by the aura I'm readin'."
"It killed that Elite Monster like it was nothing!" Jude exclaimed.
Holly checked Berserker's stats. "Be careful! He's crazy strong!" She glanced at Lancer. "Are you sure you'll be okay?"
Lancer grinned. "Don't forget who yer talkin' to! Either way, I have ya watchin' my back an' backin' me up!"
"Just don't go getting yourself killed!"
Berserker roared and charged. The ax came down hard as Lancer pushed Holly away, holding his spear up and sideways so the blade hit the shaft. The earth shattered under the demigod as he grunted, trying to withstand the pressure.
Gaius jumped up and tried to cut Berserker's right shoulder. The katana hit the skin without cutting it. It was like rock. The beast kicked the king away. Blood exited his mouth and his chest ached where he had been kicked. It was clear a couple of ribs were probably broken.
Alvin and Ludger each fired their guns. The bullets bounced off Berseker's skin. The giant raised his ax off Gae Bolg. Lancer immediately slashed at the neck, but the Servant bent over backwards, the spear cutting the air above him. He jumped straight up, flipping so he landed on his feet before punching the man in the gut. After he flew back, the giant turned to the two gunmen. Red covered his body as he brought the ax up over his head with both hands. He brought it down, shattering the earth. The path of the destruction went over to the men. A smokescreen of dust appeared when it hit them. When it was gone, Alvin and Ludger were a few meters away from the end of the trail of risen earth and on their backs, several bleeding cuts over both.
'This'll graze those too slow to move out of the way fast enough!' Holly looked around and realized Muzet was missing. She looked up and saw the spirit in the air, forming an enormous ball of gravity. "Catch!"
Muzet threw the orb down, the others reacting fast enough to dive for cover away from the attack. Berserker didn't even make a move to try evading, just stood there as purple enveloped his body. At that moment, Rowen finished casting.
"Air Pressure!" With those two attacks, Berserker wouldn't be able to move until they were done.
"Overdrive!" Milla tried to bore through the behemoth's abdomen with her sword, but couldn't even make a scratch in it.
Holly swiped with flaming claws horizontally. Berserker held his ax to the side, blocking them. At that moment, the mana ran out and the flames vanished. The giant knocked the woman down with a stomp to her gut. Blood flew from her mouth from it. Before she could react, Berserker brought the ax over his head with one arm, ready to bring it down.
"Holly!" As the beast slashed downwards, Lancer grabbed Holly, moving to the front of her and shielding her. The ax hit the man's back and cut him from his right shoulder to his left hip, slicing flesh deeply and blood spraying everywhere.
"Lancer!" Holly screamed. She had both hands on his chest, holding him up as he started to fall forward. His back was already soaked by the red liquid.
"Damn, that hurt," he grunted. Sweat was making some strands of his hair stick to his face. Jude and Elize ran over, trying to heal the Irishman.
Holly had settled her Servant down so his face was in her lap. His back was facing out so the two healers could tend to the wound. Hot blood covered Holly's hands and made them feel sticky. The sickening red matched Lancer's eyes, which were shut as he lost consciousness.
Milla charged at Berserker, swinging her sword. The Servant grabbed it in his left hand. He quickly slashed the spirit across her abdomen with the ax in his right hand. The spirit was knocked far back. Her back was in the snow and she was breathing heavily, blood saturating the snow as her gut went up and down with each breath.
"Milla!" Jude cried out. He ran over to the spirit, leaving Elize to handle Lancer.
"Dammit..!" Alvin spat as he used his sword to support himself as he got up. Berserker's attack really sliced him and Ludger up. The other man had taken more of the attack than he did. The front of his shirt was almost entirely blood-soaked. Ludger was unconscious and blood surrounded him. Alvin ran at the giant, swinging the broadsword. "Cross Cleave!"
Berserker swung the ax to the side, knocking the broadsword out of Alvin's hands. He blinked a few times in surprise before the ax came down, slicing his right shoulder deeply. The man fell to the ground with a groan, his blood painting the beast's skin. Leia and Rowen ran over to Alvin and helped the man away while Muzet used Sharpened Roots to drive the Servant away. The weren't as good as Jude and Elize when it came to healing, but they would try their hardest.
Muzet used Sweet Heart to heal Gaius enough to where the king charged at the giant. It didn't matter. As he jumped up to bring his katana down on the beast's head, Berserker punched the man down in the abdomen. The king lay on his back in the snow at the feet of the Servant, eyes squeezed shut and teeth grit against the pain. Berserker stabbed the ax down, forcing the end through the man's abdomen. The beast ripped the ax out, blood bubbling from the king to pool around him, joining the blood coming from his back. Rowen reacted to this.
"Your Highness!"
Muzet flew down and stopped him from going over to to the king. Gaius had lost consciousness, massive trails of blood leading from his mouth where he coughed it up. Leia was trying her best to heal Alvin on her own.
"Get out of the way, Muzet!" the old man demanded. The spirit shook her head.
"I can't. It won't help if you end up just like Gaius."
Rowen growled and started casting a fire spell. "Fireball!"
It hit the snow and steam quickly rose up, blinding Berserker. When it vanished, all eleven opponents were gone. The only thing left were several pools of blood.
The group had hightailed it to the entrance to Kanbalar. Holly carried Lancer, Muzet carried Gaius, Leia carried Alvin, Elize helped Jude carry Milla, and Rowen carried Ludger.
"Is that guy invincible or something?!" Leia demanded. Alvin's blood was staining her clothes.
Holly was panting. For someone made up of mana, Lancer sure was heavy. "I don't think so...There must be some sort of trick..."
"I hope we figure it out before we face Berserker again," Elize fretted. The stench of blood was heavy.
Holly glanced at Lancer. She had one of his arms wrapped around the back of her neck and one hand around his waist, hoisting him up. The blood loss made his skin paler than it already was. "I hope so, too."
"We can talk about this later! We need to find a doctor!" Jude pointed out.
"I can just see the people of Kanbalar freaking out over the state of their king," Muzet murmured.
"Regardless of that, these people need help," Holly said. They went into the city, not at all prepared for the sight that greeted them. Most of the houses were smashed. Broken pieces of wood littered the roads. In some buildings, smoke billowed from the holes in the walls. The entire city looked like the aftermath of war.
"What happened here?" Jude gasped.
[1] I called an old lady celebrating her 109th birthday on the news the cryptkeeper's mom.
[2] Elite Monster I made up.
[3] Spell from Tales of Vesperia. Elize, Rowen, and Milla have many different spells so why not Holly?
