Original Archive of Our Own Posting Date: September 22, 2020
I sighed with relief as the final bodies of the would-be invaders faded away. It must have been because of the Dragon Witch or one of her lackeys, considering how a flight of wyverns and approached in a formation. She must have somehow found out about the two Servants in Thiers, and decided to deal with them. Too bad for her plans then, I suppose.
The fight had certainly been interesting, especially once the wyverns had shown up. Our two Casters had done their best to re-create a World War II bombing raid response, short beams of magical energy quickly covering the air. Even Ritsuka had joined in, firing bursts of Gandr.
In the front, our three main powerhouses easily demolished the horde, and the fight was over in less than ten minutes, being entirely one-sided. That had felt kinda nice, actually, to have some easier victories and not running in the end.
"Looks like enemy assault has stopped," Mash reported as the inhabitants who had been watching us towards the end of the battle began to holler out in praise and gratitude for our actions. Turning around, I gave them a sheepish wave but only caused the noise to continue as I focused on the two Servants that had sat out on the fight.
Kiyohime and Elisabeth were now standing nose-to-nose, growling at one another. "We can't let those two fend for themselves, can we?" Mash asked wearily.
"I know I can't!" Amadeus said in disgust, glaring at the duo "I've had it. I'm about to vomit. Yes, I'm leaving those people all to you," the Caster said irritably, moving back towards the rear. Nearby Siegfried gave us a sad look, silently apologizing once again for being unable to assist. Apparently, the Saber had a habit of being hard on himself, it seems.
"We can't leave them, if just for the fact that I suspect if they do start fighting, all those townsfolk are going to suffer," I said with a weary sigh of my own. I opened my mouth when Ritsuka spoke up loudly.
"Both of you, knock it off!" He said, trying to sound confidant. To his credit, he didn't flinch when the two girls turned to look at him in unison.
"Huh?"
"Did you just say something?" Elisabeth and Kiyohime asked my fellow Master respectively. Well, at least they're no longer acting like feral she-beasts!
"Well, that you shouldn't fi-" Mash started to say in support of her Master/Senpai when the duo glared at her and Ritsuka.
"Back off, puppy!" The Lancer sneered, while the Berserker crossed her arms in disapproval.
"Recklessness and bravery aren't the same. Are you stupid?"
"It's a mammal, at least," Ritsuka said, a bit awkwardly. Mash blinked at him, while I cupped my face slightly.
"M-Master?" She stammered. "Hey Master, aren't you a little upset?" Whatever his words were meant to do, I doubt that they were meant to escalate the situation. Unfortunately, that was exactly what happened.
Elisabeth pointed her spear at us with a scowl. "Now I'm pissed," she growled, while next to her Kiyohime nodded.
"You said it. You'll regret your words from the bottom of Hell. Elisabeth, let's get started!" I half-hoped that we hadn't just witnessed the two Servants who just seconds ago couldn't stand the presence of one another agree to team up.
"Fine! Just don't get cocky just because you beat some wimpy wyverns," she said, aiming that last part at us. "I'll show you the terror that a Dragonkin can inflict!" Huh, so she is part dragon or something?
"Did they just team up?" Mash asked, stunned. I shrugged as I looked at her while the two Servants prepared to charge.
"It seems so. Hey, Mordred, those two claims they are dragons. Wanna show them the might of a Pendragon?" Mordred gave me one of the widest and toothiest grins I had yet seen grace her features as she readied Clarent.
"I like what you're saying there, Master!" She responded with savage glee. The Knight of Rebellion walked forward briskly, while I stepped back a bit with the others. It seems that our audience had realized we were about to deal with those two pesky girls, and began to jeer at Elisabeth and Kiyohime. Well, at least they won't be in the way.
"Mordred, just remember, try not to kill them please? We need to ask a few questions still, after all," I called out to my Saber, who replied with a lazy thumbs up as her helmet enclosed her face once more
"Five hundred Yen says that it takes her five minutes," Ritsuka whispered to me. I scoffed, crossing my arms as I watched Mordred. My, my, I didn't expect Ritsuka to bet on a fight.
"I say two to three minutes."
"You're on."
The two Servants she was about to fight against exchanged looks to one another before they focused on her, circling around slightly. One at a time or both at once, neither option concerned her. She was Mordred Pendragon, second only to King Arthur Pendragon!
The turquoise-clothed Berserker was the first to attack, spreading out her fan. It seems that she was the one responsible for the fire earlier, for bright orange flames were projected from it, forming an over-sized fan.
The Berserker yet out a battle cry as she swept her fan towards Mordred, and a wave of fire rushed towards her.
"Tch. Mana Burst!" Mordred grunted in annoyance, fi9nding the opening attack to be rather lack-luster in her opinion. Her body infused with energy, she leapt over the wall of fire, landing just in front of her first opponent.
The Berserker was only able to gasp in shock before she was bent over as Mordred slammed her right knee into the Servant's stomach, forcing the air out of her lungs. If it wasn't for her Master's request, she would have sliced her open with Clarent, but in this case, knocking the breath and the fight out of her would do.
Before the knight could land a follow-up blow, however, a glint of metal that was growing closer had her leaping back slightly as the other loud-mouth brat thrusted forth with her spear. The instant Mordred's feet connected with the ground, she was once more in motion, swinging Clarent in a downward overhead strike.
The Lancer's eyes widened momentarily as she spun her spear around before delivering a counterstrike that saw the shaft of her weapon groaning under the weight of Clarent's heavier mass. The knight leaned into the strike, trying to force the pink-haired brat to drop her spear. The smirk that suddenly appeared on the girl's face threw her for a loop, but she ignored it. Unlike what she felt next, however.
Mordred grunted at the shoulder check the Berserker delivered from the side, however, having apparently recovered at least somewhat. She was sent skidding backwards, her sabatons drawing two shallow furrows along the ground, while Clarent made a third one after she stabbed the blade she had used to kill her father to slow her down.
"Cheap shot," she grunted as she pulled Clarent out, flicking it to the side to rid it off the thin layer of dirt near the tip. It wasn't like the two were real threats like that damn traitor or Martha had been, but that stupid handicap her Master had given her was making it harder for her.
Instead of lunging forth again, Mordred decided to switch tactics. She shifted her posture slightly, taking what some might have thought was a defensive stance. Her two opponents had a brief exchange of glances, before the Berserker gestured at the Knight of Rebellion. Her Lancer counterpart nodded slightly before dashing forward, seeking to impale Mordred.
Tch, as if she would allow for anyone to do such a thing to her ever again, especially if it wasn't that damn holy lance!
Mordred didn't move until the last second, twisting to the side while swinging Clarent down with all her might. Her blow struck true, slamming into the shaft just below the curiously-shaped tip. Said tip was forcibly buried into the ground as its wielder released a high-pitched yelp of dismay.
She eagerly silenced that noise with a follow-up strike that took the form of an elbow to the face. To the Lancer's credit, she didn't beg for mercy, or try running away. Her blue eyes glared at her with anger.
"Don't think I'm out this yet!" Lancer shouted defiantly, leaping backwards into the air. Mordred cocked her head in puzzlement before her eyes widened slightly in understanding. Then her lips twitched upwards into a smirk, and she feigned ignorance until it was the right time.
The Lancer spun in the air slightly, trying to swipe at Mordred with her tail. Mordred didn't flinch, instead bringing up her left gauntlet and blocking the lashing before grabbing it. The smaller Servant yelped in a mixture of shock and pain as Mordred began to spin around, building up speed as Kiyohime began to charge.
Perfect.
Waiting until the last moment, Mordred finally released her grip on Elisabeth's tail, sending the annoying, shrieking Lancer flying into the oncoming Berserker, knocking her off of her feet and causing the two to become a tangled pile of limbs and tail.
Grinning underneath Secret of Pedigree, Mordred leapt forward, closing the gap between them once more. Taking advantage of the inability for the two to move, Mordred planted her feet onto the stomach of the brats, pinning them down as she held Clarent's blade in one hand, the hilt in the other, bending down and causing the withering figures beneath her to pause as the blade hovered inches above their unprotected necks.
"Yield," Mordred said to the pinned girls, pressing Clarent down against their throats as an added precaution. Considering what she had seen of their actions, the Knight of Rebellion didn't agree with her Master's orders, but she had agreed to trust him. If they tried to push their luck, she wouldn't hesitate to slit their throats here and now, but she would give them a chance.
One chance.
"G-gah…" The Lancer gagged, before finally managing to speak actual words. "W-We g-gah-give," the brat pleaded. Her frenemy (the modern vernacular truly was something) didn't say anything, but nodded her head furiously, her cheeks reddened from exhaustion and probably the lack of air.
"Good choice," Mordred said with a sneer, retracting Secret of Pedigree as she rested her sword against her shoulder. She turned to her Master with a pleased smirk.
"All yours, Master."
"All yours, Master," Mordred said triumphantly. I nodded my head in approval and began to walk forward, Mash and Ritsuka close behind as our audience finally started to go back to their daily lives, no longer interested in our activities, thank god.
"Good job, Mordred. You fought well," I said with Ernest praise. To my surprise, Mordred's cheeks reddened slightly, though it seemed to have been in pleasure of being praised.
"Eh, it was little more than a workout," Mordred responded with her usually cockiness, trying to sound dismissive of the fight. I merely shook my head in amusement at her as the two defeated Servants finally started to stand back up once more.
"Y-you got me," Kiyohime wheezed, rubbing her throat with one hand. "Oooooh," She moaned in pain. Elisabeth wasn't looking much better.
"N-not bad, you know…" She gasped, bruised and battered. "I'll let you call it a day now…" she said before falling flat on her butt. Mash stepped forward, a stern expression on her face as she gazed at the two.
"Now that things have settled, I'd like to hear from you. Would you mind?" The defeated duo looked at Mash wearily.
"….What?"
"I'm a loser snake, in other words, you're kicking a defeated snake when it's down?" Kiyohime complained.
"Loser snake?" Mash repeated in confusion, before shaking her head. "Um, have you seen any other Servants besides yourselves?"
"Well, I've seen crazy Servants," Elisabeth said, gesturing at Kiyohime. "Like this one." Kiyohime glared at her frenemy(?), pouting slightly.
"Would you mind not lumping me in with them? I'm a Berserker with my reasoning intact," Kiyohime retorted. Elisabeth rolled her eyes at the Berserker's response.
"What's your problem?" She whined, and Kiyohime's glare intensified as Amadeus walked over to us once more, a sound of understanding escaping past his lips.
"Oh, now I remember. When I was alive, I saw them often. Catfights!" He scoffed in derision. "They were beyond loud. Just you wait, in time they'll latch onto your head and make noises like 'gyaggggegggo!'" Amadeus added, throwing his hands skywards for added effect. Elisabeth pouted at the Caster, still sitting down on the ground.
"I will not! But that's called shamisen, right? Shamisen?" Oh, great. I think Mordred had knocked a few screws loose. Now they weren't making any sense!
"Anyways!" Mash said loudly, refusing to allow the bickering girls to continue their verbal assaults once more. "You haven't seen any Servants other than the 'Dragon Witch' or Carmilla's group, right?" She asked, before sighing and looking at Ritsuka and I. "Master, Jacob Senpai….I fear that it looks like we've just wasted our time." I shook my head at that.
"Not entirely. We prevented another town from being razed to the ground," I chided the Demi-Servant politely.
"Yeah, but it is still a shame. It wasn't exactly a party having to listen to those two go at it," Ritsuka grumbled, gesturing over his shoulder with his thumb at the aforementioned Servants.
"Elisabeth aside, treating me like that is a little bit rude, don't you think?" Kiyohime asked us. Even if that wasn't the best way to handle the situation earlier, it wasn't exactly like either of the two dragon-girls had been shining paragons of manners.
"We're looking for a saint. It's a matter of great importance," Ritsuka answered the Berserker. She blinked at him in interest.
"Oh. It takes guts to make that comeback," she said in a thoughtful tone before shaking her head. "But in any case, a saint? I only know of one saint, if you mean someone whose teachings took root deep within this nation," she said. I snapped out of my irritation, feeling a surge of hopeful excitement flood my body.
"Really?" Mash asked cautiously. Kiyohime nodded at the Demi-Servant.
"Yes. I met him before coming across Elisabeth." Well, at least she had told us it was a guy, meaning it wasn't going to be Jeanne d'Arc she had seen. "I almost fought him, but he realized I was a genuine Berserker and sheathed his sword. His True Name is Georgios. I believe he is quite a famous saint around here," Kiyohime finished. I activated my commlink.
"Did you catch all that, Doctor Roman?" I asked.
"Yes! Georgios! Better known in England as Saint George. He would be perfect for this," Roman said excitedly. "Do you know where he went?" He asked Kiyohime. The Berserker look surprise at how we were communicating, but shrugged before answering.
"That's the real shame. He went the opposite direction as me, to the west." Not quite a shame then, seeing that was the same direction Jeanne and Marie had gone when we had split up this morning. I switched the channel I was on, with the intent of contacting the two Servants in question.
I tapped my foot impatiently as I waited for the link to be established. Finally, I heard the voice of my temporary Servant. "Jacob? Is everything ok?" She asked in concern.
"Yes, we arrived safely in Thiers. There was an enemy host that tried to attack the town, but we defeated it. We didn't find a saint Servant, but we did find out that there was one who had gone west, in your direction," I said rapidly. "Also, you and Marie are doing well still?" I asked, being rewarded with a soft sound of laughter.
"Yes, we are fine. We arrived at a small town," was Jeanne's response. "We detected a Servant over here as well. I'm about to make contact right now."
"Good. Hopefully it is our mysterious saint. Good luck. Our meetup point is Thiers. Jacob, out," I said before ending the connection.
"Jeanne and Marie found a Servant," I repeated, louder. "They are also safe," I said, the second part intended almost solely for the sake of Amadeus. The composer's body relaxed slightly. "The plan is for them to make contact, and if it is a saint, possibly even Georgios, to return with our saint in tow to Thiers. Hopefully they will be here by nightfall. Does this plan sound ok to you all?" I asked, gazing at the others. Seeing no sign of disagreement, I turned to Ritsuka.
"We should start making a camp. I am sure that the citizens of Thiers would be happy to accommodate us after everything we did for them, but I don't want to push my luck when Jeanne arrives, and someone recognizes her. Saviors or not, I doubt we would be welcomed to stay in town for much longer once that happens."
"That makes sense," Ritsuka said in agreement. "I don't suppose we could go visit the market and see if they have any good food available?" He asked hopefully. I couldn't help but chuckle at that.
"I think that would be fine. Honestly, it'll be nice to have something other than emergency field rations. Do you want to come along, Mordred?" I said, turning to my first Servant. The Knight of Rebellion simply shrugged in response.
"Eh, not like there's a fight going on or anything. Might as well see if they have anything decent to eat," she said casually. With that said, the four of us walked into Thiers.
It was honestly uplifting to see the townsfolk going about their day. It meant they were alive. The fact that we had helped maintain that state further helped in reducing the burden of witnessing such devastation like Lyon or La Charité. After some haggling, I was able to procure a generous slice of beef from a butcher. The eyes of Ritsuka, Mordred, and Mash all lit up at the sight and smell of the fresh meat.
Another stall yielded some fresh vegetables, and soon we were back at the camp. Kiyohime and Elisabeth sat silently with the other Servants, as they had been when we left an hour or so ago. Seeing no reason to request their departure now that they had stopped their aggravating fighting and were silent. Better they be bystanders than more enemies, after all.
Chulainn grinned at seeing the fresh food, which was actually enough for all of us, and had offered to cook the meat, an offer I happily accepted. I sat on the ground near the Lancer, watching eagerly in the hopes of picking up some lessons on how to cook in these situations should I ever be in the position of having to do so on my own. Mordred and Siegfried were in the middle of a quiet discussion, perhaps about their shared War they had been summoned in?
I had lost track of time when Mash's cry of alarm shattered the air of serenity that had developed.
"Jacob Senpai! We've lost contact with Marie and Jeanne! Last thing we heard, Jeanne reported she was under attack!"
"What?! Damn it!" I snarled, my good mood torn to ribbons. The other Servants stopped what they were doing, looking at Ritsuka and I, awaiting our orders. Damn, damn, damn, damn it!
"We have to wait here," Ritsuka said glumly. I clenched my fists and looked westward. Damn it all to hell.
"We wait until dawn. If we haven't heard word, or Jeanne and Marie don't arrive by nightfall, we go westward. Until then, we must wait here," I said grimly, gritting my teeth.
Please, come back to us alive, Jeanne and Marie.
Original A/N: And done! Hope you enjoyed seeing a fight from Mordred's perspective! It was honestly fun for me, and it felt like it would be refreshing to see a Servant battle from a point of view other than Jacob's. As for Elisabeth's and Kiyohime's performance, I personally felt that the two Servants are some of the more weaker ones typically, and so that's why it wasn't as much a challenge. Do you agree or disagree? As for important news, this might be a slight spoiler. I was originally going to write the scene between Sanson and Marie, but after refreshing my memory, I find myself unable to do so because of the sexual manners Sanson injects into the conversation. While I could replace it, I feel that it would detract from the scene, but again, I can't write that dialogue do to personal discomfort. I hope you, my wonderful readers, can understand and forgive me for that, but as the writer I do have the right to maintain my personal zone of comfort with what I do with this story. Now that is out of the way, I just realized that we're about two/thirds of the way done with the Orleans Singularity! What has been your favorite part that I have written so far? Now for the question(s) of the day: Do you think that the Assassins of the first singularity were especially creepy? Carmilla's blood, Phantom's whole aspect, and Sanson with the aforementioned issue... Second question: Of the Servants we currently know about in the nauverse, which do you find to be the most bizarre? Thank you as always for reading another chapter, and I look forward to reading the feedback and responses! Have a great day, and see you in the next chapter!