I don't own HSDxD and gain no profit from this writing.
Chap 7
Now that he knew this dream belonged to Lancer Issei became curious. What was life back then? What had Lancer gone through to become the knight that chose to protect him? The legend of king Arthur was famous but there was no detail about the king being a female! Therefore it should have something that they didn't put in the book. He was interested in learning those details in her past. It wasn't like he was watching the memories without permission anyway.
Today he and the dragon stood on a tall hill. The sun was about to disappeared behind the mountains. Although the dream played like a movie and he couldn't interact with anything Issei could somehow feel the strong wind that blew over the hills. He wanted to admire this beautiful scenery yet something caught his attention: black smoke rising up from a certain location. When he looked down on the field below there was a burning village, corpses and broken houses could be seen everywhere in that place. The villagers were executed and some of them were taken hostages, mainly young men, women and children. The culprits were dressed in leathery attires, they looked rather huge compared to modern men. Only some of the stronger-looking soldiers had proper armors but to be honest those weren't really armors but crude metal plates that slapped together. In the middle of these barbarians the biggest guy stood out the most. Issei had no doubt that was the commander. His face was full of scary scars and he had a unique set of dark green armor with cracks and holes, in his hand was an axe that almost as big as Issei himself and his body was almost made of muscles. They were standing too far so Issei had no idea what that guy was talking about, not that he would understand their language in the first place.
The barbaric army chatted and laughed. They pointed at the villagers in a mockery manner, the soldiers were shouting one to another to loot whatever could be taken from the houses. The stolen goods were carried to the wagons that were guarded by multiple soldiers. Some of the barbarians began to harass the more better looking women, some even went for the children. Issei wanted to throw up when they did that.
[Humans have never changed no, all creatures that breathe and live always have that domination instinct within their hearts. The strong conquers the weak and is free to do whatever they want. Such is life.] The dragon said in a solemn tone.
I find them disgusting.
[Of course, but that was the way they were raised and lived. The human in your age is raised up properly and is taught the moral codes so they won't act like savages. What you are watching is a distant memory of the chaotic past that is still lurking somewhere in the modern world, of the place where the light of civilization hasn't touched yet.]
Issei sighed. There was nothing the helpless villagers could do. It was hard for him to look at those barbaric acts so he turned his head to the other side, hoping that he would see something that would distract him from these crimes. At the corner of the east there was something coming. It started as a small dot and slowly turned into humanoid figures on horses. They ran faster and faster, speeding up toward the barbaric army. When they finally came close enough Issei could see that they were an army of knights, their flag was of a red dragon symbol. The armored knight in lead was on a white horse, when Issei squinted his eyes he recognized in the knight's hand was the very same lance Lancer had, there was a notable sword on the hips too. The king had come to the battle.
The barbaric army rushed into a simple formation and ran toward the knights to intercept them but there was nothing they could do against the force of the cavalry. Like a raging river the knights charged through them with their lances, killing several barbarians in one attack. They didn't stop there but turned around and continued to charge into the barbarians who couldn't do any meaningful damage to their enemies. Lancer had gone straight to the commander who was swinging his axe around to take a few knights down. With one charge her lance pierced through his neck, ending his life in one strike. The barbarians who saw that became panic and began to run away, abandoning their comrades and all the spoils of war that they got from the village. The ones who weren't fast enough fell to the ground, they were trampled under their comrades and the hooves of the knights without mercy. Soon the field was filled with new corpses and blood.
The captured villagers shouted and cheered to the knights who came to their rescue but their relief didn't last long, for the reinforcement of the barbaric army had come. There were giants, monsters, golems and even more barbarians were coming down for them, an unbelievably large army. With one look anyone could see that the knights of the king were outnumbered. Even if their weapons, discipline and personal attack power were better than the barbarians they couldn't make a dent against this gigantic army. The knights quickly took whoever they could on their horses and retreated. The few villagers who didn't receive help from the knights ran along with them but they couldn't match the speed of the horses and so were left behind. It was a matter of time before the barbaric army caught up and massacred everyone.
Right in the darkest hour Lancer had her horse run back, when she reached a certain distance she made a u-turn and started to charge back at the invasion force. Her white horse ran toward the barbaric army which showed no sight of stopping, they screamed their warcry as they drew their weapons. She too raised her lance as the dozens of metal bands unraveled itself to reveal a pillar of light inside and now she pointed that lance made of light toward her enemies. Her white horse galloped even faster, it moved so fast Lancer and the horse blurred into a single drill of light. When she crashed into the barbaric army there was a second sun on the field and then it exploded, burning everything around it. The explosion sound was so loud Issei felt like he should be deaf by now as he unconsciously shielded his eyes from the light.
When the sun had finally disappeared behind the faraway mountains the pillar of light from Lancer's hand also went off, layers of metal bands slowly covered the core until it resembled the shape of a lance again as she dismissed it. On the large field no barbarians could be seen, even the giants, monsters and golems in the back were completely annihilated by the light of the lance. Lancer was the victor. King Arthur had won this battle.
[Does that look like a win to you?]
…Huh?
[Look again, this time don't just look at the king but also everything around her.]
Even though the enemies were defeated the hills and the field that surrounded the village were all destroyed. The land was now painted black with patches of fire and multiple great craters. No matter how one looked at it the land couldn't be used anymore. No crops, cattles or men could live off this dead land. It was not an exaggeration to say that the lance in her hand for the sake of protecting the people had turned this landscape into a part of hell. King Arthur had succeeded in defending her kingdom but at the cost of losing a part of it.
[Absolute power is a blessing and a curse at the same time. Remember that well.]
Her white horse, cape and armor were dusted by the gray ashes of her enemies but there was no change in her graceful and solid movement when Lancer slowly trotted back to her knights and the survivors from the village. Most of the knights had their helmets on so he couldn't see their expressions but the ones on the villagers were clear.
There was no grateful smile, no admiration, no thankful cheer. Only fear. The only reward for saving them that the villagers gave her was the fear of her power.
How many times had king Arthur gone through this when she ruled Camelot?
The dream was over. Issei opened his eyes to the ray of sunlight, he blinked for a few times to fully adjust to it. His mind was running wild with countless thought that headed into no clear direction. He continued to stay on his futon for a few minutes then he turned his head to the left and saw that Lancer was still sleeping soundly. She showed no sight of waking up but he had no doubt that if he greeted her she would answer him immediately.
Issei quickly shook his head. There was nothing he could do to change her past, he shouldn't think too hard on that but to focus on what he could do.
"Good morning Issei."
"Good morning Lancer." He rushed off to the bathroom to prepare for his workout. There was a strange feeling in his heart that he wanted to wash away immediately.
The workout was similar to yesterday. Issei did a round of 50 pushups and then some more until his arms couldn't take it anymore while Lancer watched over him. They only had little time in the morning so Lancer didn't teach Issei swordsmanship but told him that they would do it in the afternoon. Last night Himejima had told Issei about her plan to investigate the church and their connection with the hostile masters so she left home early with Saber. Before that she had made sandwiches for them so they still had breakfast.
Issei opened the container to check the sandwiches. "She must be in a rush, all of these are premade ingredients." There were lettuces, tomatoes, slices of cheese and bacon. Still Issei wouldn't dare to complain. The sandwiches tasted nice, they didn't have that unnatural flavor of those he bought from a convenience shop. Lancer was definitely having a good time with her breakfast. She ate fast but chewed hard, she had to be enjoying the rich taste of the salty bacon, the creamy cheese and the fresh vegetables. When she was eating Issei decided to use this time to cook lunch. It was a shame that he couldn't buy lunch at school for her but this would do for now.
Issei opened the large refrigerator's door. "Let's see… Ah I should have borrowed a cookbook from the school's library yesterday." Issei totally forgot it even though he planned to cook before lunch. With one look he could see that there were multiple ingredients, some of them he couldn't recognize so he just grabbed those he was most familiar with.
"I can make… omelette rice with these…" It was one of the most basic dishes, just fried eggs over cooked rice. Simple right? Any high schooler could do it! Issei tried to follow what he remembered from watching his mother when she was in the kitchen. First he used the rice cooker to cook the rice, thankfully Himejima didn't go full traditional and used a modern electric rice cooker so it was easy for him to cook rice. While rice was being cooked he cracked the eggs then beat them in a bowl. Next he moved to heat up the pan. "Put garlic and pour some oil in… then put the eggs in."
"Are you cooking lunch Issei? I recall that last night you asked Himejima's permission to use the kitchen." Lancer asked, she should have finished breakfast by now.
"Oh? Yeah, I want to try to cook my meal you know." Better not to tell her that he had to save money for other purposes.
"I'm looking forward to your cooking." Lancer smiled.
Issei looked at the clock and saw that he should be going to school soon, he quickly put the rice onto the omelet and wrapped it up. The final product was put into a plastic box so he could put in his school bag along with two water bottles in the refrigerator.
After locking the door Issei rode to school on his bike with Lancer who was in spirit form on the back seat. It would be nice if she could hug him from behind while they were on a bicycle. Issei really wanted to feel those divine breasts on his back. He got to try that one day.
After parking his bike Issei walked to his class. It was more lively than usual, his classmates were chatting about a certain topic. They were loud about it so he didn't need to eavesdrop them.
"Hey did you hear about the gas leak incident last night?"
"Yeah, it was terrible! A dozen of people were killed and more were hurt! I'm glad that my family don't live in that area near that place."
Since there was no television in the Himejima's residence and Issei didn't have the habit of reading newspaper he had no idea what was going on.
"Wait hold on a gas leak?" Issei asked that classmate.
"Yeah? It was over the news channel this morning dude! A gas leak which led to an explosion incident in the residence area. You know the place with that convenient store where they sell huge takoyaki? Yeah that place. Speaking of which isn't your house somewhere nearby? Are your family alright Hyodo?"
"Y-Yeah we are fine." The truth was that he had no clue of what happened. For a second he feared that his family was hurt. Thankfully the teacher came so the classmate didn't ask him more.
"Well as you know there was a terrible accident last night. When you come home remember to check everything for the sake of safety. We don't want another tragedy because of our negligence now do we?"
"Teacher teacher I heard that it wasn't a gas leak but an act of terrorism! They were there last night to destroy-"
"Be quiet! Don't spread nonsense around like that to scare off people! Now class open your book to page…"
What that student said made him even more cautious. During class Issei's mind was filled with many things from Lancer's history to his family's safety. He knew it was best to minimize the contact with them but he couldn't help but worry for his parents. Were they fine? Did something happen to them? He knew he had to go back to the shrine to watch over their base so he couldn't visit his parents but still. It was difficult for him to concentrate on the lessons as he kept thinking about what to do.
When break came Issei headed straight to the tea club room only to find out Himejima had left school earlier. Obviously she wouldn't spend the entire day at school if she wanted to investigate about the other masters. With no other choice he reluctantly went to that empty room to have lunch. After making sure that the door was shut tight and the windows were closed Lancer entered her physical form. Issei pulled over a cardboard box and put his lunch on. However he didn't eat it but pulled out his cell phone to call his parents. Usually at this time they would be both outside so it was a slim chance that his mother took the call.
"Mom! Are you alright? I heard that there was an explosion near our house last night!"
"We are both fine Issei! We didn't hear the explosion last night but the neighborhood was fine."
"Thanks Heaven that both of you are fine." Issei left out a sigh of relief. There was no way he could be participating in this war when his parents weren't in safety.
"Don't worry about us. Focus on your study alright? Remember not to read your porn when someone is around you."
"Mom!"
"I have so many things that I want to ask you, especially about what you have done in the last two days. Since my son is a useless pervert I can't help but worry when you live with your senior at school. You didn't fool around her did you?" His mom asked.
"No! Stop thinking about me like that!"
"I gotta go shopping now Issei. Remember to come home this weekend! If it's possible do your best to invite the senior over for dinner!" His mom said jokingly then hanged up.
He put his cell phone back into the pocket. Now that his parents were safe he didn't have to worry too much about them.
"It's a good thing that your parents are safe Issei." Lancer smiled to him.
"Thanks, although… Well I will think about it later. For now let's dig in." Issei divided the omelette rice into two parts and gave one portion to Lancer. Now that he had a clearer view on his product he could see that the omelette wasn't beautiful as he imagined. Some parts were overcooked as they had the darkish color. He also forgot to bring ketchup and soy sauce so it was a bit bland to him no, in fact it was bland because he forgot to season the eggs with salt. He just remembered the big parts and forgot the small details in cooking. Turned out cookery wasn't simple as he thought even for simple dish. When Lancer took a bite he could only scratch his head in hoping that it wouldn't taste too bad for her.
"H-How is it?" That was embarrassing for an attempt to impress Lancer with his cooking.
"It's not bad, certainly not something on Himejima's level but it's much better than what I had back when I was alive. You have no idea when you had to go through the same tasteless dishes everyday." Lancer took another piece of the omelette. "For a knight it is important to eat, the nourishment and the life within the food remind him that he is alive. By consuming food he becomes stronger in order to protect what is holy and precious to him. That is my belief. However the quality of the food we had was horrible. Actually 'horrible' isn't sufficient to describe the food. Even though I should be grateful that I had something to keep my stomach full there was little joy in meal times. We had to resort to stuffs like vinegar to make some of the food edible and really Issei, I don't want to use vinegar as sauce anymore. Sometimes I became too worried that my people had to go through meals like what I had everyday and they still had to farm and work to keep up the tax." Lancer made a sad face when she told her story.
"It was hard to think that you could eat such nice food with multiple types of sauces to enhance the taste everyday in this age. I'm glad that in the future people don't have to suffer the same thing as we did in the past."
"I see." Issei knew the food was crappy back in that age but to hear it from Lancer really opened his eyes. Still despite having terrible food Lancer's body definitely had absorbed all the nutrition in the most efficient way so those breasts could grow to their maximum potential. Praise be the divine breasts of the king!
"I'm happy that my master spent his time to cook lunch for his servant so please do not feel discouraged that your cooking skills aren't as good as Himejima's. If you keep learning with time you will improve for sure. I will be looking forward to having the same dish when you have mastered the culinary arts." Her smile lightened up Issei's heart as they continued to eat.
Because Himejima wasn't at school the activities of the tea club seemed to be less lively. There weren't any loud chattings in the next room. They had finished lunch and started on their drinks. Occasionally he would glance at Lancer's face. The image of the people cowering in fear when Lancer came to them after the battle kept playing in his head. He wanted to hate them for doing that: rejecting their savior after she just saved them but he couldn't. Because anyone would shake their legs in fear for their lives when they witnessed that display of power. The lance in the king's hand was a formidable power-the light that brought absolute destruction upon her enemies. There was no denying that she did a good job as a king to protect her people and yet the people couldn't stop thinking that if they did something wrong they would be the next victims of that very same lance.
It didn't matter if the king had no intention of punishing her civilians. People naturally thought the rulers with powers would lash out at them if they weren't pleased with what they did. They had no way to know what was on the king's mind and neither the king was capable of completely understand her subjects. The people would continue to live in fear for their lives because of the enemies and the king.
That was why even though the king had fought hard to defend her kingdom people wouldn't accept her with all their hearts. On that day she had the helmet cover her face but it made Issei wonder what she was thinking when she saw the people she saved returned her with that kind of expression.
Was she sad, or angry? However there was one certain thing.
'She must be hurt inside when they acted as if she were a brutal tyrant.'
"Issei?"
"Eh yes? What is it Lancer?"
"You seem to be in deep thinking, what is on your mind?"
"Ah um… I'm worried about the incident that happened last night near my house. Also-" He quickly changed the topic. "Earlier my mother told me to come home on weekend. It is not out of expectation that I should go home once in awhile. However I don't think this grail war will be over by then." He scratched his head.
"I see. You are afraid that you might be spied and the hostile masters could take your parents hostages."
"Yes… Currently we are living in that shrine for that very reason. I don't want my parents to get dragged into my problem. Anyway let's leave it for now, I will think up something by the weekend." That was for the best. He wanted to hear good news from Himejima after her investigation but to be frank that was asking too much. It was hard to believe that they could defeat both Berserker and Assassin's masters before the end of the week.
"Issei, I have a question for you."
"Yes please go ahead." He took a sip from his bottle.
"Issei, is there any accident like this one before in this town?"
"Hm… I don't think so. This is the first time I heard that people died because of a gas leak. There weren't any accident as serious as this one before. Even the worst ones usually resulted in wounded."
"Then I am afraid that it's not a normal accident." Lance said in serious tone.
"What do you mean?"
"We servants usually take mana from the masters and the grail. In a battle the ones with more mana will have an advantage over the ones with less. As you know servants use mana to move, to fight, to heal, to perform skills and to use noble phantasms-"
"Therefore the ones with a lot of mana will likely win a fight. It is similar to resources such as ammunition or gas."
"Correct. But there are other methods to get more mana, one of them is murder. By killing human servants can absorb their lifeforce and gain a supply of mana."
Issei was shocked to hear that.
"That's why my instinct told me that it wasn't an accident but someone, could be a servant or a master, was going on a killing spree to gather mana to prepare for this war."
"But that means people will know about the homicide! The police would conduct an investigation and-"
"They won't. Remember why the church is involved in this holy grail war Issei? It is their job to cover these cases. To the mages who only care about themselves common folks are but a nuisance. If the action benefits them in certain ways they wouldn't hesitate to deploy it. This gas leak incident did kill civilians… Forgive me but it doesn't look like a coincidence when we are in the middle of a holy grail war."
He couldn't believe it. It was one thing when the masters would use dirty tactics against other masters to get an upper hand but to drag innocents in just like this was unbelievable. It was too cruel.
The bell rang so Issei hastily cleaned up his lunch to return to class but he had no interest to focus on the lessons, not when he just learned that his parents could be in danger. He had met all the masters but Archer's and among them it seemed like either Berserker or Assassin's master was the culprit if Lancer's instinct was true. The nun didn't look like someone who could harm a fly if she could help it. Caster might be a bit rude but they were more of a naughty type who likely would pull a prank on someone than killing innocents. Besides they should be using the leyline what in the hill right? No reason to kill people to gather mana right? Archer's master… He had not met that one so Issei had no idea, if they were the culprits then he would feel very cautious even if Himejima said that they weren't the enemies.
Sometimes he would look out of the window to see if there was any black cat but there was none. Perhaps Caster and her master stayed true to their words of staying neutral until one side was weakened. When school was over Issei was still debating what to do. It was impossible to tell his parents the truth, obviously. To convince them to leave this town for a few months or so would be insane.
'So… The best way to protect my parents is…' He moved his bicycle to the school gate.
"Issei, someone is watching us." Lancer whispered.
"Who?" He didn't search for that person, knowing that anyone would get suspicious if he acted out of place.
"That guy over there. If my memory serves me right it is the same person who kidnapped you."
He had a chill hearing that. Before that mage had planned to kill him to summon a servant and now he had come back. Issei had no doubt this guy was going to do something terrible.
"For now let's lead him away from the school. Lancer are you sure that guy is stalking us?"
"Yes, he has just moved now. He's following us."
Issei slowly rode his bicycle. There was no way he could return to the shrine now. If this guy learned about their base then he could sell the information to the hostile masters. After all Issei was the one who 'stole' a servant from him, no way this mage would let him get away without a fight.
"Lancer I'm going to get to the abandoned warehouse, when you see no one in the vicinity go grab him." The hill was closer but that was the territory of Caster now. They shouldn't cause a ruckus there if they wanted Caster and her master to keep up the neutral stand.
"Understood master. I will give you direction if needed."
The journey to the abandoned warehouse wasn't pleasant. Issei could pedal faster but he was afraid that the mage would grow suspicious and do something unexpected. Sweat rolled on Issei's back as he continued to ride through the town. Occasionally Lancer would remind him of the road and whether the mage was still following them or not.
30 minutes later Issei could see the warehouse. 'Just a little bit more.' He told himself. When he was almost there Lancer shouted to him.
"Issei he just ran now! He must have found out about our intention!"
"Shit! Do not let him get away!" The mage had known that Issei was a student in Kuoh academy. It was a matter of time before he broke into the school to search for his files and his house address would be found out. No way he would let them harm his parents!
The mage was fast. Even with his bicycle on maximum speed Issei could barely catch up to him. The mage had to be using magic to run at such speed. However that was nothing before Lancer. When she was sure that no civilians were watching she dismissed her spirit form and easily grab the mage's neck then quickly ran back to the warehouse.
Issei parked his bicycle at the corner then he walked to the mage who was being held at the neck by Lancer. However before they could interrogate that guy Lancer dropped the mage and pushed Issei away. Before he realized it Berserker had come out of nowhere to hit Lancer with his axe, she wasn't fast enough to equip her armor when the attack came. Lancer took the swing with her body and crashed into the other side of the warehouse.
"Oh look at me I'm so smart! I will lure this guy into an abandoned place then interrogate him! Has anyone ever told you that you are the stupidest fucker in this world you little piece of shit?"
Another man came into view from the door. He had a look of a psycho, in right hand was a light…? No that looked more similar to a hilt of a sword while his left hand had a handgun. Next to him was Rider and his master Argento. So Argento was with Berserker's master…
Rider wasn't in his priest robe but a bronze armor and a white cape with red crosses, in his right hand there was a sword. He didn't come with his mount but without doubt once they fought Rider would summon it.
The mage who managed to escape Lancer's grip picked himself up and ran to the psycho guy. Berserker's master however didn't seem to like that, he shot at the ground where the mage was and he had to jump back.
"What the hell you are doing Freed!?"
"The hell I am doing? Hey need I remind you what did we agree on?"
The mage seemed to want to kill Freed but Berserker was right there so he couldn't.
"Good. Remember that you are borrowing my servant so you could kill this piece of shit to take back your servant. But holy shit how could a mage be so fucking incompetent that you lost to a shitty brat? Even rookie exorcist could kill this brat in 6 ways to hell!" Freed laughed like a mad man. Even Argento became uncomfortable with his laugh.
"T-That wasn't my fault! I didn't plan to summon that servant! My catalyst should let me summon-" But he was cut off as Freed shot him. The mage had no choice but to dodge and block the bullets with magic. "Yada yada oh just shut the fuck up. My servant will kill Lancer while you kill this guy. You can do that yeah? No trouble killing a piece of shit no?" Freed said in an incredibly mocking manner.
On Issei's side Lancer had come back in full armor but he had no doubt that her wound had reduced her combat capability. If only he knew it was a trap for Berserker to follow them Lancer wouldn't take that sucker punch in order to protect him. Their enemies wanted the mage to fight Issei while Berserker took on Lancer. Issei knew the mage could kill him and even if he couldn't the psycho named Freed would just shoot him. He could only survive if Lancer protected him but with Berserker as her opponent it would be almost impossible to do so. Berserker was strong, his stats proved that he could kill Lancer if she didn't focus all of her attention on him. Issei being a burden to Lance would end up killing them both. Therefore there was no time to waste now.
[Boost!] He called out Boosted Gear and instantly activated it. Fatigue flooded Issei's body he held it back. Freed had stopped laughing and even Rider had Argento stay behind his back when Lancer confidently stood with swirl of power around her. Berserker turned to Lancer with his axe in ready. Issei had no doubt the biggest player in this room right now was Lancer. They couldn't underestimate her now.
"To me Duh Stallion!" Lancer grabbed Issei and jumped on the white horse that answered her call. Lancer knew he wouldn't be able to move when he used his Sacred Gear so this was the best way to protect him. In her top form Lancer wouldn't lose to any servant. Moreover her horse would give her maximum mobility and momentum force. This was the same horse of the famous Arthur after all. Berserker grunted and dashed toward Lancer with his axe raised.
What happened next was too fast for Issei to comprehend. All he saw was different images of Berserker being stabbed and flung away. He tried to block Lancer's attack with his shield but it was easily pierced by her lance. Soon Berserker was on his last leg and his master Freed was definitely in panic. Rider had already taken Argento farther from the battle between Lancer and Berserker, he was ready to defend any unwanted attacks from both sides.
"Fuck fuck fuck where did you get this strength!? The last time you could barely escape my Berserker so what the fuck!? How the hell could that Twice Critical of yours do all this shit!?"
Lancer charged into Berserker again but this time Berserker slammed his axe hard to the ground. The quake halted Lancer's pace a bit and Berserker was able to use that chance to escape her finish move. He landed not far from the mage and Freed. Berserker wasn't in good condition anymore. Issei and Lancer knew if they could just hit him one more time he would be out of the battle.
"By this command spell I order you to use your Noble Phantasm!" Freed screamed.
Berserker let out a shocking scream as he spun his axe into a black and red tornado. Somewhere in that tornado the mage was caught in the middle and shredded into minced meat. Freed had run away to Rider and Argento's place first to avoid Berserker's attack, he cared not for the life of that mage.
However that move wasn't needed. A noble phantasm right now would be overkill. Both Issei and Lancer fell on the ground as the white horse disappeared. The time was up, the Boost went away and so did Issei's Boosted Gear. He could hear Lancer's heavy breath under her helmet yet she didn't give up. She quickly put him behind her back and stood up to face the incoming tornado. Issei glanced to his left and saw his phone had been crushed. It had flew out of his pocket when he was on Lancer's horse during their fight against Berserker. He couldn't call Himejima for help now.
Lancer didn't have enough strength to block or parry that attack from Berserker. Even if she was in her top form the best thing she could do was to avoid it. However she couldn't afford to do it. If she dodged the attack Issei would get torn into pieces, her current strength and agility didn't allow her to carry Issei and dodge the attack. If she did that both of them would die in vain.
That's why… To charge forward was the only way to get out of this alive. Their objection was to survive and Lancer would make sure to complete that order. She raised her lance toward Berserker and ran into raging tornado. When Issei saw that he knew what to do.
"By this command spell I order you to use your Noble Phantasm Lancer!" He screamed. The command spell on his left hand burned for a second as the lance in Lancer's hands unraveled itself.
"Rhongomyniad!"
Yes, it was just like his dream. Lancer became one with her shining lance as she crashed into Berserker. A second sun appeared inside the warehouse, albeit smaller. When it died down only Lancer remained, Berserker and a large area of the warehouse had been burned to little particles. They had finally defeated that monstrous of a servant. However their victor didn't come without a price. To charge into a murdering tornado was unthinkable. Lancer was heavily wounded, blood was dripping all over her body. Her armor had too many cracks to count and a large chunk of her helmet was gone. Her legs was shaking and she couldn't hold her lance properly. It was only her will that she could stand up to continue to protect Issei.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The first thing Lancer did afterward was to block Freed's gun as he aimed for Issei. Even when she was almost out of mana Lancer could casually kill Freed with little trouble. Issei wouldn't worry about that now, he had other things to worry about.
"Fuck fuck fuck! How did you fuckers kill my Berserker just like that!? Fuck now that bitch is going to scream into my face for days! Fuck! And what the fuck are you two fucking doing!? Go kill that guy!" He told Rider and Argento.
That was what Issei feared. If only Boost lasted longer and Lancer managed to kill Berserker without resorting to her noble phantasm then they could still use it to defeat Rider. Issei had no idea who was Rider no, even if Rider wasn't a famous servant Lancer had no chance to come out of this alive. Argento mumbled something… Issei couldn't hear her, she held her cross in her hands and looked down as Rider walked toward Lancer who was breathing heavily.
"I'm sorry we have to fight in this state. If it's possible I would like us to engage in combat on horses. May God have mercy on you and forgive me for this." He raised his sword.
"I will be going out from the start to finish this as fast as I can. Ascalon!"
Rider pointed his sword at Lancer as some kind of magic hit her. He then rushed toward for the kill. Lancer tried to use her lance to block his sword but he pushed it away and slashed through her belly.
"Guh!" Lancer jumped back to avoid Rider's second attack but she wasn't fast enough as the last of her helmet and armor was crushed by Rider's sword. Issei used the last bit of his strength to crawl to where Lancer was. He knew it would be useless. A normal human couldn't do anything to a servant after all. He knew Rider's sword would just cut through his body and Lancer if he took the attack yet he couldn't stand it. Issei couldn't just sit in one place while Lancer fought for his sake.
Lancer almost fell down but she used her lance as an anchor to continue to stand. It was the end. Issei couldn't save Lancer, even with his Sacred Gear he couldn't do anything in real combat. He could feel tear in his eyes as Rider prepared to stab through Lancer's heart but from above something crashed through the roof and fell down on Rider. Immediately he jumped back and used his sword to block the newcomer's flurry assault on him.
"Rider!" Argento called out to him.
"Come forth Bayard!" A horse appeared behind Rider and he jumped on it, Rider returned to grab Argento and ran away. Now Issei noticed that Freed wasn't in the warehouse anymore. Bastard had escaped like a rat.
"Sorry I'm late. Let me carry her back to the shrine."
"You... are not going to chase them Saber?" It was Saber who came to their rescue.
"No, if we chase after Rider you two might get killed by Assassin." Himejima appeared. "Saber quickly carry Lancer and Hyodo back to the shrine. I will try my best to heal her."
When they returned to the shrine the first thing Issei wanted to do was to sleep but he couldn't do that. He forced himself to stay awake despite the headache to watch over Lancer. She had saved his life again and again, there was no way he could act selfishly when she was on the verge of death.
Himejima removed Lancer's shirt, underneath it was a huge wound that was darkened by blood. She pulled out multiple pieces of charms to heal Lancer but Issei couldn't see the gap of the wound closed. He was hoping that it was because he was tired that he couldn't watch the healing process properly. Himejima continued to use her charms and several kinds of magic to heal Lancer for almost an hour but it didn't look positive at all. When she was done Himejima let out a sigh.
"Sorry Hyodo, I have tried my best but her wound… It looks like a curse, Rider's sword has done something to Lancer that my magecraft can't heal her."
"... I understand..."
Himejima and Saber then quietly left him and Lancer in his room. Obviously to them it was the last moment for Lancer.
Issei bit his lips. Why he was so useless? It was because of him that Lancer suffered. He was too weak, he couldn't contribute to the fight. Now Lancer lay on the futon, her beautiful face winced from the cross-like gash on her body. A servant used mana to heal but Issei's was too pathetic and he couldn't provide enough for Lancer, that was the main reason why the wound just didn't close on top of Rider's noble phantasm effect.
For a moment Issei fell into despair as he watched Lancer slowly died away. He screamed from the bottom of his heart that he would pay for anything to save Lancer.
[I see.]
"Huh!?" Issei looked around for the source of the sound.
[Do not worry. It's me Ddraig. Your desire has reached the Sacred Gear and allowed more freedom to me so I can see what's happening now.]
"Ddraig please tell me if there is a way to save Lancer! Please I beg you!"
[These wounds… They are from a dragon-slayer weapon. Who did you fight against?]
"It was Rider, I think he said 'Ascalon' when he attacked Lancer."
[That is the name of the dragon-slayer sword of Saint George! No wonder why she is in such bad state. To someone like Lancer dragon-slayer weapon is a bane that she must avoid if she doesn't want to suffer heavily.]
He had no idea that Rider had such a noble phantasm. "Anyway can you save her?"
[Hm... ]
"Please just say it! I will accept any condition!" Issei became more impatient when he sensed Lancer's breath became weaker.
[A devil could save her, potentially. However you don't have anything to pay for that devil and at worst you could lose your soul. Another method would be sex.]
"What?"
[You didn't hear it wrong. The semen is a clump of mana and you can inject it directly into her body to provide resources for her body to heal.]
Sex with Lancer would be amazing but no way he could agree to it. Certainly Issei did have such a fantasy because Lancer was a beautiful girl. However he didn't want their first sex to be like this, not in this state when Lancer was on death's door... He didn't want to just have sex without love. Besides he was sure Lancer wouldn't agree to do it with someone like him and with her wound she could be hurt more if they did it.
[Or you could wank it off and make her drink your semen, that also works.]
"Is there really no other way?" He decided to ignore the dirty idea of having sex with Lancer.
[...There is. But you will have to face a consequence that lasts as long as you are alive.]
"Tell me about it."
[I am not joking when I said the word 'consequence'. You should not take this option lightly. How far will you go to save this person before you? I will remind you that you could still hide in one place to survive this war without her.]
Issei glanced at Lancer's painful face, he remembered her smile and their moments together. There was no way he could back down if he could save this wonderful person. It would be pathetic if Issei couldn't risk his life like Lancer had risked her life for him.
"For her. Anything."
1. Servant: Lancer
True name: Arthur Pendragon
Master: Issei Hyodo
Strength: C
Endurance: B-
Agility: B-
Mana: B-
Luck: D
NP: Rhongomyniad-The Lance that shines to the End of the World
2. Servant: Saber
True name: ?
Master: Akeno Himejima
Strength: B
Endurance: B
Agility: B
Mana: C
Luck: C
NP: ?
3. Servant: Berserker
True name: ?
Master: Freed
Strength: B++
Endurance: B++
Agility: C++
Mana: D++
Luck: C++
NP: Spinning Axe (?)
4. Servant: Assassin
True name: ?
Master: ?
Strength: ?
Endurance: ?
Agility: ?
Mana: ?
Luck: ?
NP: Iron Maiden (?)
5. Servant: Rider
True name: Saint George
Master: Asia Argento
Strength: D
Endurance: A+
Agility: C++
Mana: C
Luck: A+
NP: Ascalon-The Blessed sword by which Force is slain
Bayard-The Phantom War Horse
6. Servant: Caster
True name: ?
Master: Kitsune? Nekomata?
Strength: ?
Endurance: ?
Agility: ?
Mana: ?
Luck: ?
NP: ?
AN: Back to back events really killed my time to write so I'm sorry for being late. I still haven't finished Camelot and now I have to farmed the daily too. I also didn't get Lancer Artoria from the Knight gacha so I'm depressed. Anyway hope you guys enjoy and continue to read this fic.
