ACT XXXVI - Retreat & Advance
Lorelei jumped and rolled to the side to avoid the charging Rizo's blow, however she was too slow and felt the tip of his blade cut into her shoulder. If she had been a second later, she would have lost an arm. As it was the cut was pretty deep and she looked to see the warm blood beging to run down her arm.
"Hey now, where are you looking? This isn't any time to be resting!" Rizo said as he ran at her again raising his blade to slash horizontally at her neck.
"Damn." Lorelei muttered as she was forced to dodge Rizo's blade again, this time she managed to avoid it completely however he was too fast for her to counter attack at this distance. If she wanted to put up any kind of a fight she would be forced to find a better position, that or find a way to stop that blade of his. "That's it!" She snapped her fingers.
"Hm, you're getting faster just by watching my movements it seems."
If only he were right. It wasn't that Lorelei was faster. That's impossible, no human can match the speed of a Dead Apostle Ancestor. She had spend years working on her timing so she could counter speed. If she dodged at the right time she could give any opponent the illusion that she was faster than them. Lorelei quickly jumped to her feet and a cone of blue flames shot from the palm of her hand and threatened to envelop Rizo.
Rizo simply stood in the flames, raised his sword and swatted them away with his sword. "My magic resistance is second to none, you'll have to do better than that." He began to walk towards her.
Instead of attacking again, Lorelei this time would focus on defending from that blade. If she used her mana to increase the density of her skin and her bones she should be able to do something about Rizo's sword. As she drew on her magic, her skin began to feel dry and her body grew heavier. She flexed her hands.
"I'll admit it honestly, I expected more from you, Barthomeloi." Rizo ran at her. He raised his sword and brought it down over her head.
"It's not over yet!" She smirked confidently raising her hand before the blade reached her head and grabbing the serrated edges with her bare hands. Lorelei winced in pain as the blade still managed to cut into her hand and draw blood. Using her free right hand she balled it into a fist. Turning her pain into rage her fist was set ablaze with the blue flames. "Don't underestimate Magi!" She yelled at Rizo as she plowed her fist through the black armor protecting his torso and connected with his stomach with a loud thud.
Rizo grunted in pain and coughed up blood. His eyes went wide in surprise as he was lifted up off of his feet and slammed onto his head. His skull cracked on the pavement and blood trickled down his forehead. His vision had gone black.
Lorelei released the magic on her body and practically collapsed from the recoil. "Ah... dammit. I overdid it a little." Her right hand was broken from punching through Rizo's armor and her left was a mangled piece of meat from grabbing onto his blade. Blood dripped from off her fingertips and spattered on the pavement below. Just a few feet away Rizo lay face down on the pavement either uncontious or dead Lorelei couldn't tell.
On the sidelines Altrouge had been watching with interest, her facial expression had not changed, even with the beating that Rizo had just recieved.
Struggling and in pain, Lorelei managed to get to her feet. Her legs were shaking, her body was sore, and her arms were dangling uselessly at her side. She looked at Altrouge, expecting her to attack her out of revenge. But she didn't. Lorelei staggered to a street pole and leaned against it to rest a bit. Her breathing was uneven as she glanced at Rizo's body. His body twitched. "What! I cracked his head open!" She exclaimed in disbelief.
Nearby Altrouge chuckled. "You didn't destroy his head completely, that's what you should have done if you really wanted to kill him." By her tone of voice, Lorelei could tell she was smiling even if Lorelei didn't look at her.
Rizo slowly got to his knees and grabbed his sword, the blood from his head trickled all the way down his face to drop off his chin. Slamming the tip of the sword into the ground he used it to help himself get to his feet. "That... was very very good." Rizo complimented her, he coughed again, spitting up more blood. It was then that he noticed her arms and he frowned. "Pity you can't do it again. It's been quite some time since I've been hit that hard." He pulled his blade out of the ground and started to walk towards Lorelei, his wounds healing automatically as he drew closer.
She couldn't fight him like this, her arms were too messed up. Lorelei couldn't do anything now but turn and run if she wanted to live. In the split second she let her eyes wander to find a suitable escape route, Rizo appeared inches in front of her.
"It's a pity, but you're just a human after all so I suppose I shouldn't expect much more than that." He raised his sword to slash her from neck to torso.
The second before he brought his hand down, a long, thin bit of light as long as an arrow streaked towards him and knocked his sword out of his hand. The next second, several more arrows came for his head followed by several beams of blue magic light. Rizo had to duck and jump backwards several times to avoid them.
"Altrouge, we're heading back." Rizo called to her and jumped to the side to avoid more arrows and magic blasts. He picked his sword up off the ground and rushed with Altrouge out of the area. They were without a trace in a split second, leaving only the bodies of the Magi that they'd killed in their wake.
Lorelei was left alone, she turned around in the direction that the arrows and the bolts of magic were fired from and she saw Aoko Aozaki and several people she didn't recognize running towards her. "Vice Director, what happened to you?" Aozaki asked.
Lorelei looked up, one of the men was holding a strange looking bow. He was dressed all in white with reddish brown hair. "You fired the arrow that disarmed him didn't you? Thanks, I owe you one. What's your name?" She asked.
"Emiya Shirou." He answered with a cheerful smile. "But come on, we need to get those wounds of yours taken care of before anything." He kneeled down and gingerly picked her up in his arms, careful to avoid touching her arms.
Lorelei's eyes gained a bit of color back upon hearing his name. "Did you say Emiya?" She asked groggily.
"Hey, you shouldn't talk so much right now. If you've got anything to say, please tell me after you've gained a bit of rest alright?" Shirou said.
"Shirou, if you will permit me let me take this woman back to the Tower. I can get her to help quickly by using my Noble Phantasm." Rider suggested.
Shirou nodded in consent and allowed Lorelei to slip from his arms to Rider's. "Alright, careful though her arms are pretty bad."
Aoko tilted her head curiously at the mention of a Noble Phantasm. She watched as Rider used one of her daggers to pierce her own neck, causing blood to pour out and form a seal. From the seal lept Bellerophon, the shining white Pegasus that earned Rider her Servant class. "Now there's something you don't see every day." Aoko mumbled in interest. Out of the corner of her eye she noticed that Shirou had turned away, refusing to watch Rider cause her own body harm.
"Sakura, what exactly is Rider?" Aoko asked. She hadn't been told much about them since they'd just met before coming here.
"I think we should save that for later. I don't want to stay out here any longer than we have to. I'd rather not run into whatever did that to the Vice Director." Ciel suggested.
"I'm in agreement there. Let's get out of here, we can meet Rider back at the Tower." Shiki nodded in agreement.
()()()
Rider had made it back a good while before the others. She had to deal with quite a bit of trouble and questioning before Lorelei vouched for her. Lorelei was taken to the large infirmary inside the Tower itself, her hands bandaged, and she was given some muscle relaxant to ease her pain a bit. Unfortunately she would have to be fed by someone else, seeing as she wasn't allowed to use her hands. Rider sat silently by her side.
A few minutes later, Aoko and the others walked into the room.
"How you feeling Lorelei?" Aoko asked.
"I hope I don't have an itch any time soon." Lorelei joked with a small chuckle.
"So, what happened out there?" Narbareck asked.
"Yeah, you must have messed up pretty big to have your hands mangled and all your men killed." Arcueid frowned and put her hands on her hips.
"Arc, be nice." Shiki scolded her.
Saber stood silent next to Shirou. Keeping a straight face and having no input. Lorelei had been brought to safety, that had been her priority for the time being. It seems as if the ending was being pushed further and further away. The Magi in the tower couldn't help but stare when either she or Rider walked by one of them. No doubt they could feel the powerful magical energy flowing from them light a water faucet turned on all the way.
Lorelei sighed. "Everything was going perfectly fine until those Dead Apostle Ancestors showed up."
"Did they say who they were?" Merem asked as he took his seat upon one of the chairs.
"Before that... has anyone seen Enhance?" Narbareck asked and looked around the room as well as poked her head out into the hallway.
Ciel growled. "Why that no good..." She mumbled angrily and stormed out of the room. "This time I'll really kill him." Her voice could be heard from outside the hall.
Sakura giggled. "I think they get along quite well." She said with a smile.
Lorelei turned her attention back to Merem and nodded. "Yes, one of them even introduced himself. It was Rizo Waal-Strout and Altrouge Brunestud."
"Now before I answer any more questions, who are you people?" She asked. One by one they introduced themselves.
"And the one who just left after Enhance was Ciel, another member of the Burial Agency." Narbareck finished.
"It's a pleasure to meet all of you" Lorelei smiled faintly. A feature which looked out of place considering her serious demeanor but was not otherwise unpleasant to look at.
"What was that you wanted to talk to me about earlier?" Shirou asked cuirously.
"Ah yes, I met someone briefly who was named Emiya. Emiya Kiritsugu. Was he a relative of yours?" She asked.
Shirou scratched the back of his head. "He wasn't a relative exactly, but I guess you could call him my old man." It had been quite awhile since he thought about the man who rescued and raised him, hearing his name brought about feelings of nostalgia. About the happy times they'd spent together before he died.
"Oh so it was THAT Emiya." Aoko exclaimed. "I've always known him as Magus Killer Emiya."
"Magus Killer?" That was the first time Shirou had ever heard such a thing. "What do you mean? I've never heard of any Magus Killer."
"With all due respect, there is an army of vampires on our doorstep. Should we not be focusing our attention there?" Saber interrupted.
Rin who had been leaning against he back wall and listening with interest about Shirou's father decided to speak up. "As much as I'm interested Saber's right. We've got a crisis on our hands, we shouldn't get distracted while we've got an army of Dead Apostles on our doorstep."
Lorelei nodded. "Very well. Unfortunately I won't be able to take part in the battle. I've fought Dead Apostles before, but nothing like that Rizo. I'd be very careful if you ever run into him." She explained.
Aoko sighed and crossed her arms. "I guess that means I'll have to take your place."
"Oh? So you're not going to skip town?" Arcueid said with a smirk.
Aoko shrugged. "I thought about it, but with the Vice Director out of service I figured maybe I'd stick around to blow up a few Dead Apostles."
"Glad to hear you're staying here, Sensei." Shiki grinned widely.
"We've talked enough for now. We should go meet the Dead Apostles with these Magi that you've been gathering." Narbareck suggested.
"Yes, you're right. Aoko, you must take the Magi back to where you found me. The Legion is bound to be around there. It's easy to hide an army in the city like this, especially with the weather we've been having recently so please be careful." Lorelei said.
"And what about the Ancestors? One I could probably handle just fine, but I have a feeling that we're not going to be running into them one at a time." Aoko asked.
"Leave that to us." Shirou said and jabbed his thumb into his chest.
At that moment the door to the room flew open and Enhance was violently pushed through with Ciel at his back clutching a Black Key. "Wander off again, and I'll make sure it's the last thing you ever do." She sounded very frustrated and the vein in her forehead was popping out. Shirou looked at her and wondered if Enhance had been giving her any trouble.
"Hey, I was thirsty so I went across town and got something." Enhance frowned as he sipped through a straw on a clear pouch full of red liquid with a large bold "AB" on it. It didn't take everyone long to figure out that Enhance had went to a hospital and picked up a pouch of medical blood.
Merem looked up at Enhance, his eyes wide like a cat looking at something that it wanted.
"Relax kid, I thought about you too." He reached behind his back and tossed another pouch in Merem's direction.
Merem caught it easily and poked the straw through the pouch and took a sip of it. He held it with both hands which made him look rather like a sweet, innocent child sipping on a box of juice. Upon seeing this Ciel seemed to forget all about Enhance and looked at Merem like a mother would do as she watched her child.
"So when do we leave?" Enhance asked.
"Now. You, Arturia, Rider, Merem, Arcueid, and I will be handling the Ancestors while the others fight the Legion." Shirou informed him and brought him up to speed on everything that happened.
"Alright, if that's how it is then I'll follow you." Enhance nodded as he finished the last of the blood packet.
"Hmph, sounds like we have a plan then. Let's get to it. Shirou you and the others head outside, I'll inform the Magi that we're moving out." Aoko said and turned around to look at Lorelei. "Except for a choice few to stay back and look after you."
"Don't worry about me, nothing much can be done about my hands anyway." She replied.
"Miss Aozaki is right." Rin interrupted. "You need to be protected since you're the Vice Director, if you get killed..." Her voice trailed off.
"If she gets killed I supposse they'll want me to take her place." Aoko finished for Rin. "You hear that? I'd rather not have such a troublesome job, so you've got to live." Aoko frowned and left the room to go tell all the magi about the plan.
"Alright, we're heading out. You take care of yourself Miss Barthomeloi." Shirou nodded and followed the others out the door.
"You too, Emiya." Lorelei called after him.
"Senpai, you're sure you won't let us come with you?" Sakura asked Shirou out in the hallway as they made their way downstairs.
Shirou shook his head. "No way, I didn't want to bring you and Rin into this mess in the first place. There's no way I'm letting you fight the Ancestors. It's way too dangrous for any human to fight The Dark Six."
Sakura hung her head dejectedly. It just didn't register in her mind that Shirou was no longer what one could consider human. He looked the same as he ever did, acted the same. Something had changed inside of Shirou, but Sakura wouldn't see it. No, she didn't want to see it.
Rin put her hand on Sakura's shoulder to comfort her. "Hey, I know what you're thinking. But you know as well as I do how stubborn Shirou is about things like this, besides he is right it is too dangrous for us to go with him." She said with a smile. "Look at it this way, Saber and Rider protect his front while you and I protect his back."
"Protecting his back, huh?" Sakura thought. She liked the sound of that. It was about time that she was the one protecting him. She cracked a very faint smile. "Thank you Nee-san, you always know what to say."
Rin smiled widely. "Isn't that what sisters are for?"
Pushing open the doors of the Tower entrance Shirou and the others returned to the streets. Aoko was standing just outside to greet them.
"You ready for this, Shirou?" She asked him.
He nodded. "I've been ready." He turned around to face everyone behind him. "This is where we have to split up for now."
Rin tossed her hair. "Hmph, just take care of yourself alright? If you die out there I'll never forgive you."
"He'll be fine. We've gotten this far, we're not going to fail now." Ciel said with a smile.
"It's a pity you couldn't be a member of the Burial Agency, you'd make a fine Executor." Narbareck nodded.
"I think I've had enough of fighting. I hope this is the last time." Shirou replied.
"Senpai, whatever happens promise me you'll come back?" Sakura asked, her eyes pleading.
Shirou smiled. "Of course, and then we'll all go home together. Don't worry, I'll end this."
"Hey, Shirou." Shiki called. "Hisui really liked meeting you, when we're done here, how about we have a big party over at your place. I'll bring everyone."
"Sounds good Shiki, I'll hold you to that." Shirou held out his hand.
Shiki grabbed it and the two of them shook hands before clenching their fists and bumping their knuckles together.
"This has all been very touching, but I've got a score to settle. Can we get a move on?" Enhance crossed his arms and looked bored.
"Alright then. Merem, Arturia, Arcueid, Rider, you all prepared?" Shirou asked.
"All set here, but remember that Altrouge is mine." Arcueid smirked.
"Anytime you're ready, Shirou." Rider responded.
"As always I am ready if you are. This is our last fight, let us make it one to remember." Saber was eager to get this over with. She was no longer a Servant, and she wanted to make good use of her time with Shirou while she could. These past few days have gone by so fast. She and Shirou had finally confessed their love to one another at the beach in Hawaii, now all she wanted to do was go home and live her life. After this she would put away her sword, she would no longer be Saber. She would only be Arturia Pendragon.
"Let's go, Emiya we're wasting time." Merem urged.
"Okay. We're leaving." Shirou began walking with the others, but he turn around. "Miss Aozaki, make sure nobody gets hurt." He said to her before continuing to walk down the street until he disappeared into the fog out of Aoko's vision.
"Hmph, like he needs to tell me that." Aoko mumbled.