Chapter 17: Pandemonium
The moment Lancer had seen Rider pierce Archer with his arm, Lancer felt a shock. It wasn't a feeling he was used to. He had been enraged before… but not like this. Not even Berserker had motivated him to kill someone the way Rider just had.
His body moved on its own. He activated his full-body Rune and took off, slicing through Rider's arm, and separating him and Archer. A kick sent Rider out of the tower. Lancer followed quickly.
The scene outside wasn't good. Besides the raging storm that was now in full swing, water was now flooding the streets. Dark water. If anyone was outside at this time, they'd be swept under the current. It was maybe a meter high at the moment, but Lancer would bet that it was rising higher.
Lancer landed on a car hood across the street from the tower. Rider was out here somewhere… likely hiding beneath the waves. He could find him.
He reached out and drew a rune in the air. It glowed yellow for a moment before encapsulating itself in magical energy and flying into the dark water, it's light instantly being diminished once it passed the surface.
Lancer waited. The rune would alert him when it had encountered Rider.
Lancer, I take it that you can deal with Rider? Sakura asked him telepathically.
Easily, was his response.
Rider suddenly rose from the dark water, farther down the street. The rune must've had no effect… perhaps his Magic Resistance was higher than he had thought.
Rider stood on top of the water, dressed in fully golden armor that had glowing sigils on it.
Lancer squinted. If Rider was indeed Davy Jones… then he must've been able to retrieve anything that sank throughout history, and any treasure it had on board. It would explain the sudden appearance of a ship back on the beach, and why that ship wasn't his Noble Phantasm.
Rider reached down and grabbed onto something beneath the water. With a mighty heave, he pulled a massive gilded anchor, adorned with gems and what looked to be a golden chain.
"Gold makes for poor armor," Lancer criticized.
"Shut up. I ain't killed a single hero in this war yet. I want ta see if they die the same way humans do," Rider snarled.
Lancer chuckled and placed a hand on his hip. "Does not proving yourself in battle irritate you? Or are you simply not satisfied with the blood of innocents you've spilled already?"
"Satisfied? Do ye know who yer even talkin' to? I'm Davy bloody fuckin' Jones! I'm one 'a tha devils humans fear most! And ye'll be no exception once I'm through with ye!" Rider spat out.
Lancer threw his head back and laughed. When he brought his head down again, his eyes were closed. "You're spirited. But you best watch what you say..." Lancer spoke.
He opened his eyes and dropped his smile. "...to the friend of a man you've tried to murder."
Rider cackled and hoisted the anchor over his shoulder, sending a shockwave through the waves he was standing on. "Come on then!"
Lancer shot forward, dashing to the wall of the building next to him and running along it so that he was behind Rider before jumping at him, readying a strike.
Rider surprised Lancer with his speed by spinning to meet him, throwing his entire weight into a counter strike with his anchor. The two strikes met, and Lancer was thrown to the side. He regained his composure and landed on a windowsill of the tower.
It was curious… Lancer should've been too fast for Rider to be able to respond with a strike like that, but it appeared that the armor he was wearing, obviously magical in nature, was strengthening him further. It wouldn't be much of a problem, now that he knew it existed.
Rider suddenly threw the anchor at Lancer. It was slow, so Lancer easily dodged along to another windowsill further along on the tower, with the anchor slamming into the spot where Lancer once was and breaking through the window. Rider then grabbed the chain of the anchor and pulled, roaring as he caused the anchor to blast its way along the side of the tower towards Lancer, demolishing any concrete or brick in its way as it did so.
Lancer saw that coming as well and kicked off the side of the wall, flipping in the air as he landed on the roof of the building opposite of the tower.
Rider pulled his anchor back to himself, catching it and turning to face Lancer. He began to twirl the anchor by the chain, it creating a heavy whooshing noise as it spun faster and faster by Rider's rotations.
Rider was left open when he attacked with that thing. It was an obvious weak point.
Lancer readied himself. He moved off to the side and jumped back into the air above the street, making himself an easy target for Rider, but also putting some space between them.
Rider bounded forward, closing this space almost just as quickly as it had been made. He grunted, and let the anchor fly, this time going much faster thanks to Rider's rotational momentum.
Lancer quickly drew a rune in the air and then kicked off it as if it were a flat surface. He spun around the anchor in mid-air and bolted for Rider himself, dropping down to the dark water and skidding along its surface as he came in for the killing blow.
Rider suddenly pulled his arm in front of Lancer's strike, meeting it. The sigil on his gauntlet glowed for a moment before sending a pulse of energy out which ripped Lancer backwards, causing him to crash through the wall of a building.
Lancer picked himself up and saw that he was now residing on the floor of a restaurant, one which now had a large hole in the wall, allowing dark water to gush in. Lancer got to his feet in a flash and jumped on one of the remaining tables.
He glowered. If this went on much longer, there would be massive amounts of collateral damage. He didn't like it, but… he'd have to swallow his pride. He had been playing with fire this entire time… with his tattoos active and him having to dance around this water that sapped his magical energy… it was like he was giving Rider every opportunity to fight him on an equal level.
And Lancer was perfectly aware of all that. He just wanted to see the best Rider had to offer and show him how little it meant. Lancer got into his fighting pose. It was time to get serious.
He launched off the table to a car outside, then off the car to the sky. He threw his spear with all his might directly at the ground below him. It crashed into the dark water and then the street, the sheer force of doing so causing a concussive blast that forced all the water in the area to recede back up the street.
Rider, who had been standing on the water the whole time, found his feet swept out from under him. Lancer didn't waste the opportunity. Rider may have gotten faster due to the armor… but he was still no match for Lancer's speed.
In a flash, Lancer was behind Rider, drawing a rune on the back of Rider's chestplate. He dashed around, drawing another rune on his gauntlet, then his helm, then his greaves. All this before Rider had touched the ground.
Lancer backed off and let Rider regain his footing.
"Davy Jones… you said you wanted to see if heroes died the same way ordinary humans do. Allow me to teach you an important lesson."
Rider instantly threw out his anchor, directly at Lancer's head. Lancer calmly reached out an open palm and caught the anchor with no issue.
"Know the difference between a hero and a god."
Lancer twisted the anchor, crushing it in his palm before he darted to directly in front of Rider. In less than a second, he drew the final rune on Rider.
All the runes he had drawn around Rider all glowed red before shattering, breaking the armor off Rider immediately. Lancer reached out his hand, and his spear returned to him as fast as it had left him. He twirled his spear three times, striking Rider with each pass. He threw a punch into Rider's sternum, making his skeletal body blow apart, revealing the Spiritual Core beneath.
Lancer flipped his spear and hooked the core onto the end of it. He forced Mana into his spear. Berserker had failed to ensure Rider's death last time. He would rectify that.
Lancer pulled his arm back, aiming the spear high up into the air. His spear inflamed with a light blue aura. "Gun-"
Rider's Spiritual Core vanished in a flash of red light, interrupting Lancer. Lancer halted his attack at once. He deactivated his Runic Body, and leapt to the side of a building before the water came rushing back on him.
Lancer had seen that light before. It was the same red light that Berserker had when he was powered up by Chiaki's Command Seal. That must've meant that Rider's Master had used a Command Seal to teleport him away in this crisis.
It was odd… even though Rider had managed to escape… he felt… good.
He remembered often counseling younger ones as the Elder God Odin about vengeance. It rarely ever played out how one expected it to. And yet in this case, he was happy that he was able to defeat Rider so soundly, even if he wasn't able to finish him off.
Lancer looked down at his off-hand.
No… this wasn't done for vengeance. This feeling I have now is… pride. In my ability as a warrior. I had forgotten as an old man… how to enjoy a fight.
Lancer closed his eyes. This wasn't good. Now… he could feel it welling up inside him now… the desire. He wanted to defeat Berserker at his full power. It was the same desire that had begun building inside him after he had fought Berserker on the first day of the war.
Lancer shook his head. There would be time for that later, once Caster and Assassin were dealt with. He had likely taken more time to ponder on these things than he had taken to defeat Rider. It was unbecoming of a sage, even one as hot-blooded as he, to forget his objective before completing it.
He turned and looked up at the tower. There was a bright light. Something was happening. Whatever it was, it wasn't good.
Lancer bounded off, climbing his way towards the top of the tower.
Remia followed Tohsaka out the door of the stairwell. He whirled around and slammed it shut, finding a stray board and propping it against it. He placed a hand on the board and closed his eyes. He strengthened the components with Reinforcement. He leaned against the wall next to it to catch his breath.
Despite his efforts, he knew it wouldn't hold them for long. He didn't realize that running from an entire army of zombies and looking for an enemy Master at the same time would be so difficult. It was made even more difficult considering he wasn't willing to kill these people…
Of course, maybe they were already dead. Maybe Rider hadn't just infected them with his dark water, but had actually murdered them with it. But Caster was still able to extract their souls for mana… that meant there had to be a way to undo what Rider had done. Even if there wasn't… even if Remia was a fool for trying… the fact that the possibility they could be saved meant that he had to try.
"Damn… whatever place he had been hiding in before is at the top of the tower," Tohsaka growled, withdrawing her vision from Imaginary Number Space. "If he's there, we still have a lot of climbing to do. The familiars are searching the rest of the building as fast as they can, but they can only move so quickly."
Remia shook his head. "So we ain't gained any ground after all that runnin'?" Remia panted. Inwardly, he was a little irritated that Tohsaka wasn't as tired as he was, especially since she had been carrying that case with her the entire time.
"We've covered some ground… just not very much. We have to find out where we're going first in order to figure out how far we've made it."
"I swear, Ms. Tohsaka, if we get to the top of this place and he ends up being at the bottom somewhere, I might have to kill someone," Remia shook his head, taking off his hat and wiping his brow.
"If you were looking for me..." a voice called out at the end of the room.
In an instant, Remia's hand was on his pistol and pointed at the Master of Caster as he entered their view.
"...you could have said so. I am gracious in accepting visitors."
"Well, glad you're so gracious, considerin' we're here to murder you," Remia replied. Then he realized it. This man was different.
"What in the goddamn…?"
The Master of Caster raised an eyebrow. "Did you not properly brief your associate on my status as a Servant? For shame, Ms. Tohsaka."
Remia glanced Tohsaka's way before returning his attention to the enemy. She was currently knelt down, opening the case she had brought with her.
The fact that she hadn't told him this meant one of two things… either she didn't think he'd find out, which meant she wanted to face him head-on… or she herself didn't know. The former was far more likely. She said she had seen him when they invaded his tower way back when, and Remia didn't take Tohsaka as the unobservant type.
"I thought you said he was a Master of a previous war…" Remia murmured over to her.
"He was," Tohsaka replied as she unlocked the case successfully and opened. "He was a Master in the Third War. Then he got summoned into the Fourth as a Servant."
"A former Master and a Servant? Who the hell would be famous enough from the Third War to…"
It hit him suddenly. Staring at the Other Caster's face this entire time, he hadn't realized just how different he'd look if he weren't bald and clean shaven.
"Oh, you have gotta be shitting me six ways from Sunday."
"Frankly, I wasn't sure you'd believe me if I had told you our opponent was Adolf Hitler," Tohsaka explained, pulling something out of the case.
Remia glanced at her and then back at the man in front of them. "Well, all things considered? Getting to punch Hitler in the face is never a bad thing to put on a resume."
Hitler gave a slight shrug. "I suppose so. It is such a shame that I have such a bad reputation in this era… it has made my attempts at gaining power significantly more difficult. However, there are more than a few people willing to see my side of things, so long as I refrain from sharing my True Name," Hitler pontificated, seemingly disinterested with the two before him.
Remia cleared his throat. Hitler was one thing. But this was Hitler as a Servant. "Okay, now that we're well acquainted with one another… exactly what are we goin' up against?" Remia asked Tohsaka, still busy preparing herself.
"He has a very low level of Witchcraft he can use, essentially only a few lower level curses and wards of protection. It looks like he utilizes his Caster-class Item Creation skill to materialize weapons. Other than that, he has the general immunities to modern weaponry that most Servants have."
"Well, he may be immune to the bullet, but he sure as hell ain't gonna be immune to the Detonation," Remia growled, aiming down his sights.
"I had planned on fighting him alone, but since you're here… focus on making him sit still. I'll take care of the rest," Tohsaka replied, standing up.
Remia glanced at her again. She had undone her ponytail, letting her long dark hair loose. Around her left arm was a black garment with red stripes, and a single red ribbon hanging off it. Clutched tightly in her hand was a matte black straight bow. It looked to be made of some strange material Remia had not seen before…
She reached into a satchel she had slung onto her side and pulled out a gem, holding it in the palm of her hand. She calmly clutched the string of the bow and pulled, the gem suddenly morphing and becoming a crystalline arrow.
"Remia," Tohsaka stated.
Remia didn't realize he had been staring. He quickly turned his gaze back to Hitler. He couldn't help it… she had shown off her abilities like this before, when they had first met back at the Mage's Association. It terrified him just as much now as it did back then.
Unfortunately, Hitler had taken Remia's distractedness as an opportunity. He formed a grenade in his hand and threw it at them before vanishing into the darkness of the room.
Remia aimed and fired, blasting the grenade apart before it reached them. The temporary flash of light blinded Remia, making him cover his eyes with his forearm. As a precaution, he rolled to the side before righting himself on one knee and looking around the room.
Hitler was nowhere to be seen, but Tohsaka still had her bow drawn, and her eyes were focused as if she could see him. She let her arrow fly, and sailed into the darkness before exploding into a massive ball of prana.
Hitler came flying out of the darkness, his trenchcoat now in tatters. It looked as though he had a few scratches, but he was mostly unharmed. He landed on his feet.
"Hm… I wasn't sure before… but now I'm certain he's gotten better at Witchcraft since we last met," Tohsaka spoke, calmly reaching for another gem, never taking her eyes off Hitler.
"A lot can happen in twenty-five years," Hitler responded, taking off the remainder of his jacket and straightening his button-up shirt underneath.
"More than you could possibly know," Tohsaka responded.
She let loose another arrow. Hitler seemed to move in a strange, otherworldly way, sliding out of the path of the arrow without taking a step. He reached out his hand and created a pistol in it.
Remia took action. He shot, aiming for the pistol. The bullet ripped through the steel, letting out a metallic shriek, and piercing Hitler's hand, creating a hole in it. Remia then sprinted forward as Tohsaka took out yet another gem.
Hitler quickly retaliated, moving back and creating an automatic rifle of some kind. Bullets rained at Remia, who fired back a single bullet. The bullet flew to the left of Hitler, stopping his progress for a moment.
Remia flicked his finger and Detonated the line. Suddenly, a light exploded out, following the exact path that the bullet took. Hitler, caught unaware, was flung back towards his initial position.
Remia smirked. Hitler looked at him with an irritated look. His arm had been mangled by the explosion. "Prana detonation? But how…"
"Oh, you've heard of it? A special magecraft that no self-respectin' Magus would be caught dead doin'. Detonates vessels of magical energy like Magic Circuits and whatnot. The more mana inside, the bigger the boom. Tends to backfire if you ain't careful," Remia bragged, twirling his pistol. "I made myself a special gun that can carve itty bitty Magic Circuits into the air itself. Ain't no Magus ever thought of that since they tend to not like guns."
Hitler growled and materialized another grenade in his hand. He flung it towards Remia, who intercepted the grenade with his own shot, making sure to cover his eyes before he got blinded again.
Shortly thereafter, Tohsaka jumped, firing an arrow at Hitler's feet. It exploded, throwing Hitler into the air. Remia aimed again and fired. Hitler reached out his hand and attempted to perform some kind of Witchcraft, but the bullet moved through the hole in his hand from Remia's shot earlier.
Remia flicked his finger, and Detonated the Magic Circuit that was now pierced through Hitler's hand. Another flash of light, and Hitler went twirling through the air across the room, slapping against the concrete wall with a missing arm. He was bleeding profusely now.
Tohsaka had prepared another arrow, but wasn't firing. Hitler was in a perfect position to be killed here… and yet Tohsaka wasn't taking the opportunity to do so.
Remia gritted his teeth. Well, if she ain't gonna take the opportunity to kill 'im… Remia thought. He turned and aimed his pistol again. He fired, but Hitler's body suddenly became a manikin, and the bullet hit it uselessly.
Remia's eyes widened. It had always been a manikin. Tohsaka had said that Hitler's skill in Witchcraft had acceled… and it looked like it had acceled enough to make a manikin look and act like Hitler. Which meant this had all been a distraction.
"Hold on," Tohsaka spoke suddenly.
Tohsaka said something inaudible and removed the gem arrow from her bow. She tapped on the end of it, and it shrank back into an ordinary gem. She moved her clothed arm, the one with the black garment on it, and shadows came off of it, dripping like liquid. The liquid hit the ground, forming a puddle before taking the form of one of her shadow familiars. "Find him," she ordered.
Remia took off his hat and scratched his head. "Well damn. What do you 'spose he was distractin' us from?" Remia asked, replacing his hat and moving back over to Tohsaka.
Tohsaka didn't respond. She had her head slightly down, and a hand on her chin. She was obviously thinking.
Suddenly, Tohsaka spun, throwing Remia out of the way and throwing a gem out towards an empty part of the room. The gem expanded into a vibrantly glowing wall as bullets suddenly came flying in, bouncing harmlessly off of it.
"From wherever he had hid himself," Tohsaka grunted. Quick as a flash, she had pulled another gemcraft arrow out and had it knocked. She fired the arrow through the shield, and the shield folded around the arrow, strengthening it. It launched towards the side of the building and exploded, causing the silhouette of Hitler to appear for a brief second. Black shadows formed under Tohsaka's feet, and she bolted after him.
He felt something. And it wasn't good. He pulled out his revolver and turned to the opposite side of the room that Tohsaka had moved towards.
"You're not coming with me?" Tohsaka shouted back at him.
"Wasted all my bullets. Not gonna be a whole lot of help. I'll meet up with Archer, try an' figure somethin' out," Remia replied.
Tohsaka nodded and resumed her pursuit.
Remia adjusted his hat and cleared his throat. Then he reached into his breast pocket and pulled out a little case. He opened it, revealing twelve more Line Bullets neatly packed within. "Nice of her to let me lie like that…" he spoke aloud. He loaded up six bullets. Then he raised his eyes to the imaginary horizon.
"So… are you gonna just sit in the dark the whole time?" he asked, clasping the case shut and sliding it back into his breast pocket.
Out of the shadows came a man wrapped in leather, with a hood that hid his face. "You knew I was here?"
Remia gave a half-shrug. "Tohsaka was too busy thinkin' of strategies an' whatnot. Figured I'd let her go and take on Hitler. Tohsaka was being more conservative with her arrows while I had been firing without constraint. Maybe Hitler knew that would happen and just wanted to waste my bullets with his fakes… and Tohsaka had seen through it. She's a lot smarter than I am."
Assassin tilted his head. "And the way you speak makes it seem as though you know you're about to die?"
Remia through his head back and laughed. "Is that what it sounded like to you? Hitler ain't a foe I can take on. I'd only be gettin' in the way, sad as I am to say. Tohsaka is powerful enough on her own to take care of that guy. It ain't an admission of my death, it's a statement o' confidence in my ally," Remia explained.
Assassin dipped his head. "You're all so very funny. Talking about allies like they matter…" Assassin responded, summoning his crossbow to his hands. "And what if I kill you in an instant… and sneak up on her?"
Remia gave another smirk. "Sorry man. I don't deal in 'what ifs'. You an' me. Right now. That's what I deal in."
Assassin shook his head. He lazily moved the crossbow to a position in which it could hit Remia before firing. Remia quickly Reinforced his legs and dashed to the side. Immediately he felt a cramp build up in his leg.
It had been a while since he had used Reinforcement on himself… usually he used it on his Line Bullets to help them pierce shields and survive the process of carving a Magic Circuit into the air. Using it on his own body tended to make him cramp up, and if he used it too much, it'd lead to his limb of choice being paralyzed.
"Mm. I see," Assassin said, as if he had a revelation. "So you're not as much of a fool as I thought you were."
He grasped his crossbow with a little more zeal. "This'll make for good target practice."
Remia took off as another bolt came his way, blowing open a hole in the concrete behind where he had been. Remia fired his first Line Bullet. Assassin easily stepped to the side, letting it fly past him. He seemed to be unconcerned that the Magic Circuit had been carved into the air beside him…
It was like he hadn't seen the fight before. But Remia knew that he had, he was just trying to psyche out Remia. But that was fine. Because with six bullets, he could fire enough Lines to cover the entire floor. Not from one position… but by causing a chain reaction in each of the Magic Circuits he created, he might create an explosion large enough that it could pierce Assassin's "Servant armor" and cause the Prana inside his Spiritual Core to explode. Considering just how much Magical Energy there was in a Spiritual Core… it was unlikely that Remia would survive.
So yes. Remia did know that he was about to die. But he was at least going to kill this asshole first.
Remia poured more Magical Energy into his legs and eyes, taking careful aim as he darted about the room, creating an intricate web of Lines. Assassin seemed to watch him carefully down the stock of his crossbow, only moving enough to dodge out of the way of Remia's bullets.
Remia could see Assassin tensing up. He was about to fire. Remia reinforced his feet and flicked them sideways. The crossbow bolt left the crossbow.
Despite Remia's attempt to dodge, the bolt still hit his side, tearing him backwards into the wall. Remia felt bones crack and the burn of the bolt leaving through his back. Blood spurted out of Remia's mouth. He nearly blacked out from the pain. As his head dropped, he saw a large chunk of flesh now missing from the side of his abdomen. His vision started to darken.
He forced his eyes to stay open. He needed to stay in the fight. His grip hadn't failed him. He still had his gun in his hand. He needed to use it.
"Huh. Once I got used to your speed, it wasn't that hard to pin you down. My bad. Now I wish I had played with you a little more."
Remia lifted his gun to fire, but Assassin was immediately in front of him, slapping it out of his hands. He was too slow again.
He slumped onto the floor, making a wet thud against the concrete. He hurt like hell.
Assassin looked down at him and made his crossbow disappear. A serrated knife appeared instead. "Then again, I didn't hit your head. That would've been a real test."
Remia coughed up blood. "What say you… let me get up... an' try again?"
Assassin kicked Remia in his wound. An excruciating wave of pain slammed into Remia and radiated through his brain. He let out a wild scream.
"Can't say I appreciate fools. What did you think would happen, taking on a Servant? Even one as weak as I am is far greater than anything an ordinary human could defeat…" Assassin mocked, crouching down to him.
"I… thought you'd… monologue for a bit… since you're a dick. And give time… for Tohsaka to get to… your boss…"
Assassin pulled his knife up to Remia's neck. "You like monologues? Well then, listen up. I do not serve the Other Caster. And had you not called me out, I would have stayed hidden. I want his defeat as much as you do. You threw your life away to protect someone who was never in danger. And as you die, I want you to curse me. Curse the man who did this to you… the man who will bring about the end of the world… curse the name of Robin Hood."
A blade suddenly sliced at Assassin's neck. His leather hood blocked the attack, but Assassin still jumped up and sliced at the opponent who did so.
"Damn… I was hoping I'd be strong enough to pierce that hide…" Saber whimpered, having parried Assassin's strike. A spear made of stone suddenly sailed in over Saber's shoulder. It hit Assassin square in the chest, but instead of breaking or stabbing into him, it melted, as if made of mud. It then moved with a mind of its own, wrapping itself around Assassin and cocooning him in stone.
Assassin broke out easily, but it gave Saber enough time to charge forward and ram into Assassin, taking him into the darkness of the building, the sounds of their struggling fading as they got farther and farther away.
Shortly thereafter, a man and a woman came running to Remia. The man was quite old, with a moustache and a monocle. The girl was a teenager, and looked very pale and weak, with dark rings forming around her eyes.
"Travick… will you be able to heal him?" Trussa asked, catching her breath.
Travick took a knee and examined Remia's wounds. "I can assist… but that wound pierced entirely through him. He'd need healing magecraft of a higher order than I am capable of to heal it properly. All I can do is apply First Aid," Travick replied.
"Then please… do so," Trussa replied.
"H… hold on a god… damn minute here. Don't talk like… I'm already dead..." Remia sputtered out.
"Quite right," Archer said, appearing behind them.
"Oh… where the hell... have you been?" Remia grunted. Archer placed a hand on Travick and moved him to the side gently. He summoned Bloody Cloak to his hand. He placed it over Remia, and he felt a cooling come over the burning sensation that had been ripping through his stomach.
"I apologize… I had been keeping an eye on Lancer and Rider… I had neglected to consider that Assassin would attack you, even though Tohsaka had said such a thing was a possibility," Archer spoke.
Remia shook his head. "Better late than never, I say," Remia spoke.
Archer looked grim. Remia knew why.
Travick cleared his throat. "We should go ensure Saber is fairing well…" he said, motioning for Trussa to join him. Trussa nodded slowly and followed, leaving Remia and Archer alone.
"Listen, you were injured, man. Ain't no way you'd be in any shape to fight Assassin. Hell, I doubt you're in any shape to not have this cloak around you right now," Remia consoled.
Archer looked him in the eyes. "You do not need to comfort me. I am not the one who is…" his words stopped suddenly. He looked down, shying away from Remia's gaze. That worried him more than anything Archer would've finished that sentence with.
"What? What's wrong? I ain't in too good a shape, but this cloak-"
"Cannot cure poison," Archer interrupted.
Remia furrowed his brow. He looked at his hand, and saw a green coloration seeping into his veins. "Well… I'll be damned…"
Chiaki fell to the ground and tumbled, rolling to disperse the impact, and got to her feet, fists up in a Pankration stance like Berserker had taught her. A side effect of stealing so many Magic Crests over the years was that she had developed a knack for picking up skills pretty quickly. She was still nowhere near a level that she could call herself "good" with Pankration, but she had enough that it would give her an edge over someone who had no experience in close combat, which she prayed was the case with Lilith.
The surroundings stunned Chiaki out of her train of thought. She was somewhere completely different than where she thought they would be. They were in some sort of meadow, with trees, springs, and the sun coming down on her. The air was dry, and warm enough to comfort her, but not so hot that she would begin to sweat. Most of the trees were bearing fruit of some kind, though they looked very alien. It was like she had somehow wandered into a paradise.
"What… is this place?" Chiaki asked abset-mindedly.
"It was my home… a long time ago," Caster lamented, kneeling some distance away. It looked like she was trying to mold something into existence from some strange clay-like material.
Chiaki was caught off guard. This was much different than what she was expecting. Of both this place, and of Caster.
Chiaki looked at what Caster was making. Another mask, shaped like a face. Chiaki furrowed her brow and moved slightly, leaning around to where she could see Caster's face. Chiaki's eyes widened.
She was absolutely and irrefutably beautiful. She might've been the most gorgeous woman Chiaki had ever seen in her life, her present beauty only marred by her distress over not wearing a mask.
Caster, not aware of Chiaki's gawking, finished her mask and put it on, taking a sigh of relief as if she had been straining with something heavy.
It raised the question in Chiaki's mind. It had to be asked. "Why are you wearing a mask when you're so… uh… not ugly?"
Caster turned her head slightly. Chiaki assumed she was now looking at her, though she couldn't be sure, thanks to her mask.
"Because my face was given to me by someone else. I'd rather live wearing a face that's of my own making."
Chiaki raised an eyebrow. "And… who gave you that face?"
Caster turned her head more definitively at Chiaki. Chiaki took the moment to examine her masked face. It was, without a doubt, molded into a different face than the one she actually had.
"God," Caster stated simply.
Chiaki nodded. "Should've guessed."
"Yes."
Chiaki glanced around. "Then that would make this the Garden of Eden?"
"As close as I remember it. It had been thousands upon thousands of years since I had last seen it at the point of my death. Truthfully, I don't think I could genuinely remake it's splendor…"
There was a silence. Chiaki was still holding steady in a fighting position. Caster was still kneeling, unmoving. Chiaki was ready for her to make the slightest move...
"Oh, stop. You know you're not going to actually be able to defeat me alone," Caster sighed, standing up. She looked down at her dress and saw it was stained with rainwater and dirt. She snapped her fingers and in a green flash, she was perfectly restored to her former, pristine self.
Chiaki moved her tongue around her mouth, but didn't move. "So… what happens now?"
Caster shook her head. "Nothing, really. I've summoned the Samael Descent, my ultimate Noble Phantasm, down upon the city outside. Now, I simply wait for the angels to begin reaping the souls of the humans and the Mana to start flowing in."
Chiaki tensed up. "Samael?"
"Oh yes. My husband. He has a couple different titles now, the Morning Star, the Enemy… but his real name was always Samael. He'll be joining us as soon as I have the mana to summon him. For now, his army will gather what I need from the life force of the people in town," Caster explained.
"And to think I was starting to feel sorry for you," Chiaki growled, tightening her fists.
Her eyes shot to Caster's feet and stance. Given her body positioning… she could come at her from three… four… a lot of different ways. There was no way for Chiaki to close the distance fast enough, so she'd let Caster make the first move. Correctly predicting that move would be the key to warding her off.
Caster giggled. "Oh, there's that uptightness again. Hm. Since we have some time on our hands…"
Chiaki threw her fist out in a jab, towards where she determined Caster would be coming from. She was correct, but her fist was too slow to connect, and Caster simply backed away before it could hit her.
Caster made a humming sound. "Seems like you've been learning a thing or two from Mr. Muscles," Caster spoke, walking around Chiaki and sizing her up. She had felt this pressure before. When Berserker had first been summoned. And oddly enough, she felt Caster's purpose in doing so was largely the same as his… which meant-
Chiaki whirled and threw her hand into a backfist that accurately slapped Caster's head as she attempted to dash around Chiaki. Caster, taken completely by surprise, recovered and jumped backwards, creating a large distance between them.
Caster tilted her head. If she had felt any pain from Chiaki's strike, she didn't show it. Chiaki repositioned herself, taking another fighting stance.
Caster wasn't taking her seriously. Chiaki was fine with that. She'd let her continue to underestimate her for as long as she wanted. It just gave Chiaki more of an opportunity to...
...do what? For the first time, Chiaki realized how grave a situation she was in. There was no way for Chiaki to really defeat Caster. She had no offensive spells besides the Lightning Cestus, and the only reason she had lasted this long was because Caster was playing with her. Had Caster the mind, she could likely incinerate Chiaki before she even knew what she was doing. Which lead to the obvious question:
Why on earth was Chiaki so calm about this? For some reason, her hands didn't shake. She wasn't indecisive at all. She knew that, for as long as she could, she was going to fight Caster. And why?
Because that's what Berserker would do.
Chiaki narrowed her eyes, calmly keeping a careful watch of Caster's limbs. A slight movement in any of them could tip Chiaki off about where she was attacking from next.
Caster's left foot shifted. It likely meant she was going to try and swerve around for that angle, and attack from Chiaki's blind spot. Chiaki was ready for it.
Caster suddenly started to walk slowly in the opposite direction.
Misdirection. She's trying to call my attention away from-
Chiaki twisted her hips, pivoting her power into her arm as she threw out a punch straight at where Caster was coming at her from. And unlike the one before last, this one landed heavily into Caster's chest. Caster stumbled back, likely more surprised than damaged.
"How the hell…. There is no way you're able to see me!" Caster shouted, lunging forward.
Her stance was sloppy, and Chiaki saw the perfect opportunity. She stepped in, placing her right foot between Caster's legs. Chiaki whipped her arms around Caster and leaned back, letting Caster's own momentum help Chiaki swing her up and over Chiaki's shoulder.
Caster may have been a servant. She had special defenses against non-magical attacks… but that didn't mean that she was heavier than an ordinary human.
With a heavy grunt, Chiaki slammed Caster down onto the ground in a single, fluid motion from her shoulder, like Berserker had taught her. She knew better than to let her attack end there. She quickly raised her right fist above her head. Lightning struck her hand, and she bellowed as she brought her fist down onto Caster's head. As the impact landed, she heard the crack of thunder, and saw lightning course through Caster's body and into the ground below, creating an imprint of lightning bolts spiraling out from underneath Caster's body.
Caster exploded in green light, throwing Chiaki off her feet backwards. Chiaki rotated in the middle of the air, rolling as she hit the ground and getting to her feet immediately. Caster was already in front of her, her claws now aimed directly at Chiaki's face.
Chiaki tried to slip her head around the attack, and throw out a jab to stop Caster's forward momentum. Unfortunately, rather than Chiaki successfully dodging around the attack, she felt the claws pierce into her cheek and tear into her face.
Caster violently ripped Chiaki backwards again, throwing her off her feet. Chiaki felt the hot pain in her face. Chiaki rolled again, trying to right herself before Caster could follow up with another attack.
Much to Chiaki's surprise, she wasn't already attempting to attack her again. She was simply standing there, evidently looking at Chiaki. She was still standing as if ready to attack… but she was stopped for whatever reason.
"What? How did you…?" Caster asked in bewilderment.
Chiaki blinked. The hot pain in her face faded away almost instantly. She reached up and touched her face. There was still blood on it… but there were no wounds whatsoever.
She took her hand away from her face and looked at it. She hadn't used any healing magecraft to heal herself… and anything she could've done would've taken much longer.
"There, all better," a voice somewhere to her left spoke. She looked in that direction.
And there he was.
Chiaki blinked. She blinked again. Clearly, she was hallucinating. There was no possible way that she was seeing what she was seeing.
He wore a long forest green coat, had red wavy hair, and held a blood red cane behind his back, where his hands were also folded.
He stepped in front of Chiaki, facing Caster. "I'll take care of this."
Caster straightened up, and summoned her staff to her hand. "Who are you, and how did you get in here?"
"My name is Uhlan. And I got in here because, simply put, I am the most powerful Magus of this era. It is a pleasure to meet you."
