And here we are at chapter 14. Not much to say this time, my friends.
Enjoy!
"…Didn't think we'd find ourselves back here this soon." Shirou commented as the group exited the Academy City airline terminal.
"Neither did I… it hasn't changed much… though it feels like a lot more mana is in the air." Rin added to the conversation.
"…There was that incident involving Magic Gods I told you about… their essence may still be lingering in the city because of how powerful they were." Touma stated.
The group now consisted of Touma, Index, Othinus, Leivinia, Mark, Shirou, Rin, Saber, Hamazura, Takitsubo, Mugino, and Kinuhata. The Ruler, Jeanne D' Arc, decided to stay behind in the United Kingdom and observe the Grail War as it developed, as well as look further into the ongoing situation.
"So we're super back… what's next on our agenda then?" Kinuhata stretched as the group walked.
"Well… we're behind the enemy by a few hours or so… We can't make much of a move without tracking them down, right?" Takitsubo answered.
"Well I have an idea for something in the meantime…" Hamazura spoke. "First, I need to restock on some ammo, but more importantly… I noticed these Servants are tough… really tough. But I have an idea involving about two tons of metal; I just need to go pick it up."
"…You know, without that curse Birdway mentioned, Servants won't be vulnerable to typical firearms or tools, right? They'll just shrug it off like it was nothing." Rin spoke. "I'm surprised Esper abilities are effective against them, honestly…"
"It's probably the differences of the laws involved with magic spells and Esper power; it must confuse the spirit core enough to allow damage… but that's just a theory. It'd take some research to find out anything worthy of note." Leivinia shrugged.
"I know; even if it doesn't work how I think it will, I can still use it against the masters we have running around." Hamazura stated. "Have some faith in us shitty level 0's, why don't you?"
"…I guess if you think it'll help…" Rin wasn't convinced, but shrugged her shoulders and went along with it anyway.
"All we can do is fan out and search huh…" Index spoke. "…The mana in the air will make it more difficult; ordinarily it would be easy to track a magician due to the lack of mana in the city… but thanks to those Magic Gods…"
"Kamisato's faction doesn't help things… they're probably still in the city too… and there are some magicians in his ranks..." Touma spoke.
"What's the plan, human?" Othinus spoke.
"…I need to pay Tsuchimikado a visit." Touma stated. "He'll have a good idea for how to move… plus I need a favor from him."
"…If you're going near that one, I'll stay over here." Othinus jumped off Touma's shoulder onto Index's head. "I don't trust that lying cheat…"
"Its fine, it's probably best if I see him alone anyway…" Touma remarked. "…Index, you and Artoria can search around; I'll try to meet up with you both later, ok?"
"I will keep them safe in your stead." Artoria agreed.
"Hamazura is super going to go find something… everyone else is splitting off to go searching… what do we do then?" Kinuhata asked with her hands behind her head.
"All we can do is search too… we know what the guy we're after looks like." Mugino stated. "The other two may be a problem but we'll cross that bridge when we come to it."
"That guy… Lazarus appeared before. With his ability to fly, he very well may get involved too." Takitsubo spoke.
"Sure he can fly, but is he really just going to super soar over the wall? All the way from the United Kingdom?" Kinuhata replied. "Even if he super pulls it off, Academy City will be all over his ass the moment he tries it."
"…He does seem like a problem; don't rule that out." Mugino stated. "Hamazura can handle himself, let's our own job done."
The group then split off. Hamazura and Touma traveled alone, while the remaining four teams divided up to search the city.
-A Certain Apartment Complex-
"Hey, Tsuchimikado! Open up!" Touma beat on his neighbor's door repeatedly. "I can hear your TV; I know you're in there!"
"Hold on Kami-yan…" The door slid open and Touma's sunglasses wearing friend stuck his head out. "Just been marathoning the new game… ah, did you finally swing by to see how far I got? I bet you still don't have it yet, nya!"
"It's not about that!" Touma shouted. "Listen, just let me in, will you? I can't talk out here."
"…I don't know… I know Birdway was around you, and I don't trust her one bit, nya…"
"That's pure irony coming from you…" Touma leaned in close. "Listen; I just got back from the United Kingdom, and a lot is going down right now and it looks like it's spreading here… I just need a small favor…"
"Alright, alright… come on in." Tsuchimikado pulled back to allow Touma entry into his neighbor's apartment. It was very clean and tidy, more than likely because of the efforts of Tsuchimikado's step-sister, Maika, who was training to be a maid.
"Thanks… hopefully it'll be quick." Touma sighed.
"So… status of the war…?" Tsuchimikado asked with a grin on his face.
"…I figured you would have known…" Touma rubbed his neck. "…One pair is down, but three of them are here in the city, and I really don't know why yet. I was hoping you might know something."
"…Not much sadly." Tsuchimikado shrugged. "I knew what happened because of that incident yesterday in the middle of London, word travelled fast because of that. They found out there was a Grail War going on, and all kinds of political chaos roll on in. If it wasn't for the confirmation that the Solution to Nothingness was behind it, there would be a witch hunt to find out who started it."
"Damn… so you probably don't know where the three pairs would be..." Touma scratched his head.
"You know… you could just call the golden king and have him solve things for you. You have those fancy command seals for a reason after all, nya!" Tsuchimikado suggested.
"That wouldn't go that smoothly and you know it…" Touma sighed. "…Listen, you used some fake skin before, you wouldn't happen to have any more, would you?"
"It won't stop Imagine Breaker from destroying the seals, nya."
"It's not about that…" Touma replied. "These guys… they mean serious business… one of their Servants already noticed I have command seals and I want to keep that as low key as possible… who knows how some of the others would react… can you help me?"
"I suppose… them finding out you're a master would get some rather inconvenient attention…" Tsuchimikado thought out loud. "…If I do it, we're all square for the School Garden dupe I pulled on you; fair?"
"That's fine, work your magic." Touma replied. Tsuchimikado grinned and led Touma into his bathroom.
-Academy City Streets-
District nineteen. A declining area mostly used for storage; aside from a few industrial based businesses there was little reason for most to come to this location.
This fact is why the mage Hayden Avalon used it as a base of operations.
His mark on the world was still left behind inside a mostly destroyed warehouse.
The Sage of the Wildwood was inside this structure, studying away at the mysterious magician's work, while Albert Radcliff patrolled the district.
"…Saber went off somewhere." Albert commented as he walked. "…Her personality is not efficient, but her strength is effective. In this case, I believe letting her do as she pleases for the time being would be best to keep her mood in check… hopefully she stays under control." He mumbled to himself as he moved.
Suddenly he noticed someone behind him. He turned and the person was gone, but the feeling of being watched remained. Albert narrowed his eyes and suddenly broke off into a sprint.
He was being followed; under no circumstances could he allow Sage to be found. He managed to cross into district six by moving south, but his pursuer remained on his tail. Albert paused for a moment before suddenly turning and unleashing a massive fireball behind him.
A sudden blast of freezing cold air met the flames and the two attacks canceled each other out.
"I am facing south, so Boreas of the north's cold winds will be my weapon…" Jonathan stood a fair distance away, staring Albert down.
"…Boreas represents the freezing cold winds that travel south from the north." Albert stated. "A weapon that unleashes an attack depending on the direction of the user can be useful, but is prone to manipulation to those who can understand its concepts… inefficient."
"Oh yeah…? How so?" Jonathan aimed his blade at Albert.
"Your attack can alter others based on temperature manipulation… so I will use an attack that ignores the concept of temperature." Albert thrust his hands forward and bolts of lightning erupted from the man's fingers. Jonathan saw the movement and moved to the side just in time to dodge the near instantaneous attack. He swung his sword and unleashed another blast of freezing cold wind, but Albert countered it with another fireball.
"…Elementalist, huh? That's going to be a pain…" Jonathan clicked his teeth.
"Call forth your Servant." Albert ordered. "I have neither little desire nor the time to spare for games."
"…Master, a Servant is in the area, it is likely a trap." Assassin spoke in Jonathan's mind.
"Getting around him will be difficult then… if his Servant is watching overhead… even you sneaking around won't help." Jonathan replied.
"…I need to lead him astray…" Albert reasoned. Suddenly water erupted from the man's palms and shot him into the air. Albert altered the trajectory with his hands and shot himself over a building, escaping the encounter.
"Hey! Get back here you bastard!" Jonathan was quick to move to take to the air to follow, but a blade made of compressed air suddenly erupted from an alleyway, slashing Jonathan's shoulder with ease.
"…So he got away… oh well; I'll accept one prize." Leivinia Birdway strolled out of the alley and stood proudly with a brown sword in her hand.
"Damn it all… not now…!" Jonathan cursed.
"Minho isn't here to save your sorry ass this time. So you're going to be a good boy, and surrender quietly… or else I'll be dragging you back to the United Kingdom personally."
"…Not a chance. Assassin!" Jonathan called out. Assassin appeared behind the blonde cabal boss wielding a large executioner's axe, swinging it down on Leivinia. She however was able to quickly dodge the sudden attack with an intentional use of her sword to launch herself with a blast of wind.
"Blatant use of magic and Servants in broad daylight… your entire faction just loves tearing apart the rules society has built, doesn't it?" Leivinia smirked, not even slightly fazed by the sudden assault.
"…What direction do you face, Master?" Assassin asked.
"…East, which means Zephyrus of the west fructifying wind now guides my blade… sorry; but the power will only aid Leivinia Birdway in a situation like this." Jonathan replied.
"Then support me with your standard magic then… I shall deal with this girl myself." Assassin boasted, stepping forward.
"Ballsy fucker, aren't you. I hope you won't take it easy on me because I'm an adorable girl." Leivinia aimed her blade at Assassin.
"On the contrary; I have no choice but to inflict a light punishment upon you… for I shall end your life in only a single strike." Assassin shot forward with his axe in hand, aiming to cleave Leivinia in two. The blonde cabal boss dodged, keeping distance away. Assassin noticed that his master didn't follow up with an assault of his own, and turned to look.
Jonathan was suddenly attacked by Mark Space, who struck the magician from behind. Jonathan was quick to retaliate, but was still recovering from the sudden strike. Assassin narrowed his eyes in anger.
"How sad… take your eyes off your master, and he gets punished… but take your eyes off me, and I'll kill you from behind… what will you do?" Leivinia stood ready.
"…I shall eliminate you, and then I will return to my master's side." Assassin remarked.
"Do… what you need to do! I'll be fine! Use it!" Jonathan cried out.
"…As you command." Assassin raised his axe into the air as he spoke a short phrase.
"Reign of Terror: Executioner's Trial!"
A bright light erupted from Assassin's body and it did not stop until it had engulfed Leivinia Birdway in its embrace.
-Unknown Location-
"…Reality Marble…?" Leivinia questioned. She now stood in the same courtroom where Noellia Revan once tried to defend herself. "…So this is how you killed Noellia."
"There will not be an escape for you." Assassin stated plainly. "Here, I will confirm that you are Corrupt, Unjust, and Treacherous, and end your life accordingly. Do try put up a defense… it would be boring otherwise."
Leivinia was silent. Her symbolic weapon suddenly shifted into a wand and she stuck her hands into the pockets of her dress, and then proceeded to stare Assassin down.
Maximilien Robespierre, the Assassin-Class Servant, narrowed his eyes. Something was not right.
"…Very well, then we shall begin." Assassin stated. "Our first charge; Corruption… yes…" Assassin approached the podium. "The manipulation of those around you… the conflict against GREMLIN in Hawaii and your ploy to force a reaction out of the twenty-seven Cooperative Institutions of Academy City, thus creating the Baggage City incident and caused the deaths of those involved by forcing Academy City's hand… all for the sake of luring your foes out into the open."
The men in the courtroom whispered amongst themselves, but Leivinia Birdway didn't flinch even slightly. Aside from the rise and fall of her chest, she made no movement, nor did she try to defend her actions.
Assassin's unease grew.
"…No response…?" Assassin questioned, doing his best to hide his uncertainty. "Then we move to your unjust actions… do I even need to reiterate the previous events? Or should I go into more detail about your tendency to cause widespread destruction and chaos as long as it benefits you? Even if you must ruthlessly slay others? Fräulein Kreutune may have more in common with beasts rather than men, but did that really give you the right to attempt to take her life? You continue to abuse and use people until everything they have is gone, then discard them… like you have done to so many people… just like the Hawaii incident."
More whispers flowed through the courtroom, but Leivinia stayed silent. Once more, she did not even move in the slightest; her hands remained hidden in her dress' pockets.
The nervous feeling grew in Assassin's mind. Did she not know that she would die? Or was she prepared for death?
…Or was she plotting something?
"…Order in the Court!" Assassin shouted. A shockwave rippled through the room violently. It covered every inch of the courtroom, except for one place.
The podium in which Leivinia Birdway stood.
At any time, Assassin has the ability to shout, "Order in the court!" and upon doing so, any assaults existing outside of the podium where the victim is placed will be destroyed by a violent shockwave. If the victim has left the podium, they will be restrained and dragged back to it by the mysterious force. In this instance, if the victim was trying to attack Assassin or anyone in the courtroom, and instant Guilty verdict will be rendered by the jury.
However, in all other instances, the trial will continue as normal. The jury did not react to try and render a verdict, so nothing must have been wrong.
Leivinia Birdway truly was not trying to do anything.
Rather than relieve Assassin, his paranoia started to spin out of control. She MUST be doing something, he thought, but his Noble Phantasm failed to pick up anything unusual.
Nothing was amiss. Leivinia continued to stand silently with her hands in the pockets of her skirt pockets; the sudden shockwave didn't seem to even slightly bother her.
There was only one thing he could do now.
"…Treachery." Assassin stated. "…I feel sorry for Kamijou Touma for having such a terrible ally."
Finally; a reaction. Leivinia's brow furrowed as she began to glare at the Assassin.
"You betray him time and time again… in Hawaii you purposefully betrayed his trust for the sake of your mission, leading him into the Baggage City Incident as well. And then, again with the Magic God Othinus… you betrayed him even though you knew full well what he must have undergone during his clash with the Magic God, yet you still insisted on turning your blade against him… he continues to trust you, yet you continue to betray him at every turn… you endlessly abuse his kindness all he receives in return is pain and suffering… how sad."
Leivinia's glare told Assassin everything he needed to know; she was furious with him.
Yet, she still did not act.
Assassin's fears still plagued him, but the court was on his side. He only needed to say one phrase further to end the life of this malicious little girl. His racing heart grew steady for a time as victory was within his grasp.
"What says the co-"
He never finished as a gunshot rang out in the courtroom. Assassin felt a searing pain in his chest as he coughed up blood, and felt around to discover a noticeable bullet hole in his chest. It had pierced a lung, the sudden blow stunning and interrupting him.
"B-but… normal fire-arms can't…!" Assassin began to speak as his mind raced to deal with the sudden attack. Before he could even attempt another usage of his power, Leivinia pulled out her Symbolic Weapon in its wand form and unleashed a massive wave of fire, enveloping Assassin in its raging flames.
-Academy City Streets-
"…Assassin…? Assassin!?" Jonathan called out. Assassin and Leivinia Birdway were now back in the real world, with Assassin on his back, heavily burned and suffering from a gunshot, while Leivinia in the same place she was prior to the attack. The second attack left him unable to maintain his Noble Phantasm any longer, so it naturally dispersed and the two returned to the normal world.
"Welcome back, Boss." Mark greeted, holding off Jonathan's sword strike with both of his hands together on the blade.
"I was gone for about… say… five, maybe ten minutes right?" Leivinia asked.
"Correct." Mark answered. He suddenly kicked Jonathan in the stomach to send him back and then drew cards from his pocket.
"Damn it all… what the hell did you do to my Servant!?" Jonathan demanded. Leivinia ignored the sword-wielding magician and turned her attention to the Assassin below her.
"How did you like that enchanted bullet?" She taunted.
"Curse you… that's how you managed to wound me…!" Assassin spat. He noticed a bullet hole in the girl's dress; she had stored a gun in her pocket, and used the time created by his Noble Phantasm to cast a spell on the bullet to enhance its power.
Leivinia pulled the gun she had hidden away, revealing it to be a golden flintlock pistol.
"You know… I originally intended to hit your head to destroy your spirit core… Kamijou would have been saddened that he didn't get the chance to tear into you himself, but in a situation where I would have died otherwise, I think he would have accepted it…" Leivinia began the process of reloading the pistol, as it was an old-fashioned weapon that could only hold one round at a time. She finished the process then began to walk toward the downed Assassin.
"You little… such deceitful tricks to damage me- AGH!" He suddenly cried out in pain when Leivinia stabbed her heel into the bullet wound.
"But you just HAD to go and mention that, didn't you!?" Leivinia shouted. "You think I enjoy having to do that to him? To shatter his faith in me EVERY SINGLE GOD DAMN TIME!?" She stabbed her heel in deeper, twisting it as Assassin further cried out in pain. "You think I get off on doing that to him? That I have to fucking hurt him in order to accomplish my goals!? Of course I don't… and I really didn't like you insinuating that I do!" She stomped violently, nearly breaking her heel off as it stabbed deeper into Assassin's body.
"Get away from him you bitch!" Jonathan shouted as he continued to clash with Mark, who proved more than capable of handling the man.
"If I could avoid it… I would; believe me I would." Leivinia continued. "If I had it my way, he'd be right at my side, so I can keep him away from miserable pieces of shit like you… but I think we have a mutual understanding that the world isn't that kind."
"…So you continue to break him just to satisfy yourself?" Assassin suddenly shot up to try and grab Leivinia, but her wand shifted into the form of a sword and she stabbed it right into Assassin's shoulder, stopping him cold due to the pain.
"…Clearly, your Noble Phantasm can pull memories from people, but you can't read their minds all that well. Otherwise you would have seen my attack coming… and you would have realized by now that bringing him up in front of me is a bad idea…!" Leivinia twisted the blade and pulled it out. Assassin tried to grab her but he just barely missed as she leapt backwards.
"…What the hell is he to you…!? What is it that you want with all of this…!?" Assassin slowly rose to his feet.
"I don't honestly know… So I see him as a friend? So I see him as an older brother? Or have I fallen for him completely… I don't know." Leivinia answered. "As for what I'm after here… I'm just trying to manipulate the events of this Grail War into my favor, just like every other magician in this conflict. That should be easy to understand… right?"
"…You use people… even the ones you love… you manipulate everything so that you'll be on top every time…!" Assassin formed the executioner's axe in his hands. "You… are the kind of person I despise most… my natural enemy as long as I stand here Maximilien Robespierre…!"
"How unfortunate… to me; you barely qualify as an obstacle." Leivinia aimed her gun at the Assassin. "Now; I'd like to close the chapter of my life involved with those betrayals of his trust if you don't mind…" She tensed her finger, ready to pull the trigger. Assassin didn't know if she had the time to enchant another bullet, or if the gun was just a front to disguise a different attack.
All he could do from that distance was wait for the gunshot to ring.
"No! Assassin!" Jonathan finally managed to shake off Mark and soared over his Servant in an attempt to dive-attack the blonde cabal boss. However, Leivinia simply raised her gun and shot the magician out of the air, Jonathan crying out in pain and landing with a loud thud.
"Jon…! Why did you…!?" Assassin asked in shock.
"…If… you go down… neither of us… get what we want!" Jonathan spoke. "A bullet is a temporary injury… but if I lose you… I…!"
"…Mark, prepare for transport; we're taking these two in." Leivinia ordered. The two moved into position around the master and Servant pair.
"…I must thank you for saving me master… but it looks like we've reached our end…" Assassin spoke.
"I have… one last ace in the hole… or did you forget the power I have as a master!?" Jonathan held up his right hand, a command seal visible and shining bright. "By the order of this command seal, I order you Assassin to get us away from here as quickly as possible!"
One of three seals vanished, and Assassin was suddenly brimming with power. His wounds did not heal, but he was now rejuvenated in terms of his stamina.
"Mark! Stop them!" Leivinia moved in and so did Mark, but they were forced to stop.
Not by Assassin, however.
Several beams of light rained down upon the two as Assassin picked up Jonathan and made his escape. The duo still attempted to give chase, but the onslaught of attacks prevented them from moving.
Assassin and Jonathan vanished down an alleyway, and after that, Assassin's presence concealment skill went into effect; they had effectively escaped. The only trail they could follow would be Jonathan's if he was using a spell, but the man was likely unconscious after the injuries he sustained.
"…Who… the fucking hell just stopped me!?" Leivinia snapped her head around, looking at a rooftop.
Rider, Ramesses the Second, otherwise known as Ozymandias, stood proudly with his arms crossed.
"I hope you don't mind… but I have my orders to carry out," Rider began. "And for our plan to work, I need those two alive and active…"
"You… insolent…!" Leivinia's rage was building as ten cards suddenly fell from her sleeve. Instead of falling to the ground however, they hovered around her wrist as each one fell in succession.
"Boss, you're not going to-" Mark's words were ignored when Leivinia screamed in a fit of rage and thrust her palm towards Rider.
Telesma summoning is a technique that both Mark and Leivinia use in combination with their tarot cards; Mark uses the minor arcana, the suite of swords, while Leivinia uses the major arcana, which does not have a suite. Mark purposefully scatters his cards around to set up a ritual in order to summon Telesma, for example.
Leivinia Birdway has the capability to summon formless Telesma to cause an explosion.
However, this time she was doing a proper preparation, using ten cards of the twenty-two major arcana.
The only thing Mark was happy about at this point was that she didn't use all twenty-two cards, as the Telesma was indeed summoned, but not in the form of an orb or something similar.
But in the form of a massive blast of energy; a large focused beam easily the size of Leivinia own torso. It raced toward the Rider who crafted his own offensive attack to retaliate, but it was overpowered due to the massive amount of energy channeled into the assault.
When it faded, a large section of the building was destroyed, but Rider was nowhere to be found.
"…That bastard…! He survived that didn't he…?" Leivinia cursed.
"…At least you forced him to retreat." Mark commented.
"Next time I'm using the Twenty-Two Tarot Combo... that guy was the Rider if the Meltdowner's description is accurate… I don't know who the hell he is but next time he's going down." Leivinia huffed as she let out her rage.
"What will we do now?"
"…Hamazura said he had an idea for something creative. Let's go track him down." Leivinia began to walk down the street as did Mark. The cards Leivinia had used flew naturally back up Birdway's sleeve.
Rider was watching from an alleyway he had escaped into using the brief time his attack resisted Leivinia's powerful assault.
"…She's… a dangerous one." Rider commented to himself. "A Servant could take on fifty mages with ease… but she almost killed me, the King of Kings, in a single blow…"
He continued to watch silently as the two magi wanted down the street and eventually out of sight.
Rider grinned.
"…This war is going to be interesting indeed."
-District 7-
"Man… that took longer than I thought…" Touma sighed. He looked at his left hand; the command seal completely obscured. He may be complaining about the time but he couldn't question the quality of Tsuchimikado's work.
Night was starting to set in.
"…I guess things will be starting up soon…" Touma stated. "I wonder where I should head… maybe I can call Index and find out where she is…" Touma pulled out his phone and began tapping away, but a red light from behind him caught his attention, as well as the crackle of lightning.
Touma abruptly turned, holding out his right hand to negate a sudden blast of bright red lightning. It crashed into Imagine Breaker with a roar, but was completely destroyed as a familiar shattering sound rippled out.
"…Even against a sneak attack you can react that fast huh."
"…I don't want to hear about silent-kill tactics from someone claiming to be a knight." Touma responded to the voice. The Saber-Class Servant, Mordred, stood a fair distance away, holding her sword Clarent in one hand. Despite her attack failing, Mordred had a noticeable smirk.
"That right hand of yours infuriates me to no end, boy… but even I must acknowledge its power. You wouldn't be able to handle attacks formed from my own hatred without some strength backing it up." Mordred spoke.
"…Part of me wants to tell you to leave this poor Kamijou alone… but I'm back here looking for Servants like you, so now I'm rather conflicted…" Touma sighed. "Such Misfortune."
"How ironic; because I came here looking for you too; I figured you'd show up somehow. According to my master this is your hometown, if I recall." Mordred aimed her sword at Touma.
"…Looking for me? I figured you'd be trying to track down Artoria…" Touma cocked his head to the side.
"You see… I fought her in the mansion… but she only got serious when your life was on the line… I see that otherwise she won't fight me with her best." Mordred explained. "So… I'm going to kick the shit out of you, and drag your nearly lifeless body over to her… then I'll finally be able to prove my superiority!"
"…You're single-handedly killing the mental image I have of knights being pure and good people." Touma replied.
"…Just for that I'm cutting off a limb." Mordred's eyes narrowed.
"Sorry; but I'm not interested in your revenge plot. Find another way to have your family argument settled…" Touma sighed.
"…Well then, you better be ready to fight, or run away like a coward, because I'm not the kind of person to just take no for an answer." Mordred grinned wide, holding her blade with both hands, aiming at down at Touma.
The unlucky Kamijou considered his options.
Fight back or run away.
Touma clenched his fists as his legs began to move…
…as he proudly endorsed option number two, booking it down the street.
"…W-what!?" Mordred stood stunned; she actually hadn't considered Touma running away as a possibility.
"Sorry, but I don't want to spend a month in the hospital just because you have daddy issues!" Touma shouted.
"Why you…! Get back here and fight like a man!" Mordred shouted.
"I don't feel like you are in any position to determine what constitutes a man!" Touma shouted back.
And just like that; Mordred snapped once more.
"You insufferable piece of shiiiiiiittttt!" Mordred burst forward in a full run after Touma, her sword arcing with red lightning. "Fuck dragging you to my father partly dead! I'll just kick your worthless corpse in front of him and be done with it!"
"You jumped from incapacitation to murder that quickly!? Are you really a knight or just some cosplayer who pretends to be one while not understanding them at all!?" Touma shouted.
"DIIIIIEEEEEE!" Mordred swung her Clarent, discharging arcs of lightning with each swing.
"Why is every electricity user I meet some kind of weird archetype with a violent spin thrown in!? Such misfortune!" Touma shouted as he continued to run, narrowly dodging Mordred's anger-filled attacks
As Touma ran across Academy City avoiding death by electricity, he couldn't help but feel a nostalgic emotion flow in his veins once more.
If there is one feeling I am going to try to push, it is that "Cabal Bosses Are Monsters." Hopefully after Leivinia almost one-shot a Servant, I hope that I ahve started planting the seeds of that theme.
That's it folks, Thank you very much for reading. Review at your leisure; I still adore feedback.
Have a good day everyone!
Sincerely,
ArmoredCoreNineBall, your friendly (not)robotic (not)overlord (possibly)person who occasionally writes things.