Fate/Infinity Shuffle: Reshuffled
Chapter 15 – Deadlock Deck:
For many, it was a day like any other.
A schoolmate of Mizuki was a bit confused as to why there weren't any teachers present at school, but once he checked the email's inbox, he became aware of the concert put up by the up-and-coming idol.
"A concert? I think I'll skip it." He said to himself. The boy never liked large crowds full of noise, so it wasn't a loss for him. And with the afternoon free, he decided to partake in his favourite hobby.
He was fond of small, secluded places, where he could just sit down and read a thick book, maybe while taking in a drink or meal. In this case, a simple sandwich and chocolate milk packet he bought on the way over.
Instead of going home, he made his way to a small open field with grass nearby the river. He sat on the cement steps that connected the main street to said field and just continued on reading. "Maybe I'll finally get this one done with…" While he enjoyed many kinds of books, he fully admitted some were just a pain to get through. Maybe it was something about the subject of the book itself ending up less interesting than he first imagined. But once he started, he'd have to see it to the end.
And a sudden notification broke his focus.
"What?" He reached for his phone and opened the link out of habit. For he too was a Player. A recent one, but a Player nonetheless. A boy named Edward, same age as Mizuki. His wide eyes were blue, and his blonde hair had curls and quills while slicked back. Despite being in the middle of reading his book though, Edward decided to, at the very least, check if the match was interesting.
So his surprise was understandable once he noticed that this stream was of the Ranker, Hakuno, seemingly in distress.
"What the…?" The question that came over him was the same as everybody in the concert hall, as the same image was projected on the giant screen.
What's happening? Is Hakuno fighting a rule breaker again? But why is it streaming like this? He didn't seem to be the one who started so, maybe it was hacked?
Not to mention, this would be Lizzie's debut concert. Even if they weren't close, Hakuno wouldn't interrupt the concert like this.
Edward himself wondered… "What's going on?"
"Hey, hey! Let's play!" A beam of light ran through the area, but luckily, it didn't hit Hakuno.
The moment it seized, Hakuno emerged from his hiding spot. "Install!" The Saber Card in his hand vanished and he became adorned in a red uniform after a flash of light.
The location in question: underneath a large bridge, shadows cast over the wide area.
It was time to face the danger head-on. But, admittedly, he never expected for said danger to be, of all things… a little girl.
"Ah! Onii-chan is finally going to play!"
The cute voice of a child echoed throughout the area.
She didn't appear to be Japanese. The child had pure blonde hair and bright blue eyes. She wore a black, silky, round dress with sleeves so long that hid her hands. Beneath it were white bloomers, and her feet had simple shoes on. The dress itself had multiple bows close to the neck, and on top of her head, in addition to a few more bows, she had a beret-like hat on.
"…Alright." Hakuno didn't let his guard down but decided to go along with the child's request. "And just what kind of game do you want to play?"
"Hmm…" The girl placed a hand beneath her chin and looked up towards the sky in thought. "I really like hide and seek, but just two people is boring. House is fun, but there's no one to be the mom… So let's play the game that the nice Onii-chan taught me!" She leapt forward and swung down what one wouldn't consider a weapon: the teddy bear she had been tightly grasped this entire time.
Even if the scenario surprised him a little, Hakuno used his high speed to evade with a back-step. The plush doll hit the concrete floor beneath the floating girl, cracking it as easily as sledgehammer would with a fragile block of ice.
"What in the…?!" Hakuno flinched, rather understandably so. And much to his trouble, it allowed the girl to place her feet on the floor, lean back, and then thrust her head forward with closed eyes, firing a beam of white light from them.
His eyes widened and was unable to dodge. It hit Hakuno's torso, making him roll back at a distance once he hit the floor. Sharply, he exhaled with pain as he managed to recuperate.
"Ahh…" His eyes focused. The Luck stat of his Saber Card ranked at A, so an early Luck Check succeeded, making him able to peer into her Parameters.
STATS:
Strength: B
Endurance: A
Agility: C
Mana: B
Luck: C
"Stats like a Lancer…? No. Maybe a Saber." Hakuno's knowledge over Class Cards was vast enough to make some guesses based on minor things. He'd probably even be able to deduce her Stats one by one throughout battle, but the Luck Check saved him the trouble. In fact, in a situation like this, it only helped even more to have it trigger this early.
"I don't like doing this to a little kid, but it's not like you're leaving me much of a choice." With a thought, red flames suddenly conjured up around his sword. Meanwhile, as they built up and became stronger, his brown eyes focused on her. "Did you play this 'game' with all the other people you hurt?"
"I did! This game is so much fun!" Pure glee with the innocence of a child. And that's what he was fearing the most about this situation: the little girl simply wasn't aware of what she was doing.
"I hate doing this to a kid but… There's not much of a choice. I must force to Eject." The grip on his sword tightened. "Venus Sagitta!" With a swing, the flames from his red sword were shot forward, like a large arrow of fire.
"Eek!" Surprised by the sudden attack, the little girl crouched down, almost curling into a ball, and covering her head. The fiery attack flew above her, unable to touch her, as she had, somewhat accidentally, ducked underneath it.
Before Hakuno could scold himself, multiple purple portals, oozing purple smoke, appeared around him on the floor. From each, a white tentacle from a cephalopod-like creature emerged, all of them winding up to slam into him.
"Gh-!" Hakuno nearly flinched, but his determination allowed the boy to respond to the attack. With fast footwork and tapping into the Imperial Privilege Skill, Hakuno swung his sword around while moving around in red blurs, parrying the strikes of the tentacles that attempted to strike him down in near simultaneous fashion. After the final block, Hakuno fled by allowing his body to be pushed away and slip in between two of the tentacles behind him. Just a few metres in, Hakuno stabbed his sword onto the floor, suddenly stopping all momentum and letting his feet rest in place on the floor.
Once the tentacles retreated, the child stood back p with a pout.
"Onii-chan, that was scary!"
"That's a little hypocritical."
"Hmph!" The little girl pulled her head back and then whipped it forward. "Meanie!" A beam of white light was fired. Hakuno's eyes widened. He wasn't expecting something like that to happen. He got struck and was pushed into the cement wall not far behind him, hard enough for it to crack.
"Ah-!" The Saber Card Ejected from his body and he exhaled once able to breathe again. "Ow…!" He quickly picked up his Card again and glared at the opponent.
But just at that moment, his phone rang.
"Huh?" He glanced at the caller id and showed surprise. "Hello? I'm sorry, but I'm a little busy right now- … Huh? What do you mean?" After receiving the information, he looked around in multiple directions until he finally found it. His eyes looked directly at the camera on one of the drones. "They're streaming?!" He nearly forgot the situation at hand. "We'll talk later!" He hung up the call and quickly drew his Archer Card. "Install!" The Rockstar outfit replaced his clothes in a flash.
"Ah! Onii-chan, you forgot to wear a shirt under your jacket! It's useless now!"
"Trace on!" With a faint but quick flash of his eyes, he initiated a projection. Blue sparks emanated from his hand and joined together, creating the same red sword that he wielded with his Saber Card, the Aestus Estus. However, once it was complete, the red highlights were turned white.
"Ohhh!" For the little girl, she had seen some sort of magic trick. In conjunction with her teddy bear friend, she clapped in praise.
Hakuno stabbed the projected sword onto the floor. "Install." He went back to his previous form and took hold of the white sword again, as the red one reappeared in his other hand.
"White-Hot." He held the two swords, gripping them tightly as Imperial Privilege granted him skills in Dual-Wielding.
"Onii-chan is going to play! Yay!" With a quick spin over a single foot, purple dust manifested from her body and it turned into a swarm of purple butterflies which headed towards Hakuno.
Hakuno placed the white sword in front of his body and made bright flames emerged from it as he spun it like a fan. The fire burned the butterflies into a crisp, protecting himself from the attack.
"Ah! They were so pretty… Why did you burn them?!"
Ignoring the protest, Hakuno whipped his arm and hurled the white sword towards the enemy, still ablaze.
"Eek!" She quickly whipped her arm in self-defence, striking the sword off its path with her plush doll. In fact, the weapon shattered into pieces and faded into dust shortly after the impact, surprising Hakuno. She was strong enough to destroy a projection so easily… "Phew… Thanks, Teddy! I owe you one big hug!" The girl did as she said, giving a tight hug to the plush doll in her arms. The bear raised its arm though. "Hm? What's wrong?" That's when she noticed that Hakuno was nowhere to be seen. "Eh? Where did Onii-chan go to?" And then she understood why Teddy pointed upwards. With a quick glance, the girl reacted by getting out of the way.
"Mars Crepitus!" Hakuno fell from above, clinging to his sword while it fell tip first, with his weight added to the strike. It would've skewered Mary from above had it not been for Teddy's warning, which she took to step away from the targeted area.
"That was close!"
Hakuno's eyes narrowed. His legs let go of the sword, but his hands kept gripping the hilt. He spun around it while still holding on, aiming a spin kick to the girl's head.
"No!" Angry, the girl hammered the doll into Hakuno's leg.
"Argh!" The pain crept through it as he was forced to spin in the opposite direction. He probably would've been hurled faraway had he not been holding onto the sword in the ground.
Making use of the position her teddy-wielding arm ended up in, she swung it again, backslapping Hakuno's body away.
As he let out a grunt of pain, Hakuno flew towards a wall and hit into it. Once he bounced onto the floor, despite the pain, Hakuno quickly stood back up and began to run, getting out of the way of a possible, follow-up attack. "Install!" He swapped from the red uniform to the blue kimono, the red sword for a hovering mirror.
"Ah!He's running away!" The kid pulled her head back and whipped it forward, firing a white beam of light again.
"Not this time!" Hakuno stopped in place and hid behind the mirror, holding it as the beam struck it. The moment he noticed the mirror could hold back the beam on its own, he stepped aside and dashed towards the little girl while paper charms appeared in his hands. "Ao Manto!" He hurled them, gluing themselves in a circular fashion on the floor around the opponent. Suddenly, green winds manifested in the form of a typhoon around the odd fighter, creating a vacuum.
"A-Ahh… Hard to… breathe…!"
"Now!" Swapping Cards again, back to the Rockstar Archer. And immediately, a bow appeared in one hand while the other opened up, a red flame manifesting above it. "I am the bone of my sword!" The wisp grew and took the shape of a spiral sword. Gripping it and nocking it onto the bow's string, turning it into an arrow, Hakuno took aim.
Once she realized it, the girl gasped.
In the following second, a loud explosion occurred, the shockwave and cloud of grey smoke expanding outwards. While the smoke first swallowed Hakuno, the shockwave pushed him out of it, skidding over the ground while letting his bow vanish from existence, breathing somewhat heavily.
"Did it work? That was a Caladbolg Arrow to the face. It should Uninstall almost anyone."
Just then… "Wahh…" The little girl hovered out of the cloud of smoke, holding her nose pain, tears in the corners of her eyes. "Onii-chan, you hit me in the nose! That hurt…!"
He almost gasped. That was probably one of his strongest attacks, and yet she shrugged it off like it was nothing. Maybe something happened within the cloud of smoke that he wasn't aware of. But regardless of how she shrugged off the attack, he knew that it wasn't a good sign.
He drew the Caster Card again and swapped clothes back to the fox-eared Caster. The floating mirror began to spin fast, releasing a purplish haze that began to surround him as he took a more beast-like pose, leaning forward with his arms closer to the floor. "Jinmenken!" The purple moulded around him, making his body resemble more a dog than a human, while his head remained unaltered. With little warning, he dashed towards the blonde child.
However, she had enough. "Hmph!" With puffed cheeks, the girl raised her arms. "Stop being mean!" She waved them down, just as portals opened behind her, with tentacles emerging from them. They followed the movements of her limbs, smashing down onto the Caster.
"Gahh!" Hakuno let out a pained yelp, being smacked down into the floor before he could reach her. But powering through the pain, Hakuno made the poison coating his body disperse and attack the tentacles, making them coil back.
"Eh?" Her blue eyes showed clear surprise.
The Ranker stood up in a flash and placed his arm around his body. The floating mirror flew straight into his palm. "Kuchikase!" With a spin over his feet, Hakuno aimed to strike the girl's mouth with the edge of his weapon.
"Hmph!" She whipped the doll once more, knocking the mirror away from Hakuno's hand, flipping it wards the underside of the bridge above.
"Ow!" He flew out, his hand struck in the process.
"Eat him up!" The girl summoned another swarm of butterflies, which flocked in his direction.
Hakuno didn't falter though. As he backed away, he gave short hop and spun, casting multiple paper charms towards the insects. The Fiery Heaven Charms burst into a wave of fire that burned down the insects into a crisp.
The moment he landed, he swapped Cards. He was back at being the Rockstar Archer.
Bow in hand, he created a special arrow. "Shiritori!" He fired the arrow at the little girl.
"Eek!" Learning from last time, she quickly stumbled aside. "Ah! You missed, Onii-cha-!" Before her taunt could finish, a black, spinning blade slashed her cheek. "Ah!" She was more scared than hurt. The black blade kept on running, clashing into the arrow with a white blade melded at its end. "That was mean! You shouldn't be doing something like that!"
Hakuno did his best not to snap in anger. After all, she was just a kid, no matter how one looked at it. "You've been doing the exact same thing to others. Why exactly should I stop when you didn't?"
The little girl hugged her teddy bear and averted her eyes, similar to how a child would when caught red handed with the hand in the cookie jar. "I-It's not my fault! That's how the game works! Were they all sore losers?"
Hakuno frowned. "What even is this game you're playing?"
"Umm… I don't remember all that well how he put it… ah!" The girl remembered the words. "To beat them into a pulp! Yeah! You just hit them hard. They don't have the right to hit you back. Do it enough, and you win!"
Some genuine concern came to the surface. "And who taught you that game?"
"A nice onii-chan!" The girl replied, with a rather wide smile. "He even gave me expensive candy, and a colouring book with crayons! He didn't want to play though…" She looked saddened with that the last statement.
"I wonder why." Some sarcasm escaped. "Did this 'onii-chan' give you the Card?"
"Card?" Her eyes were genuine. She honestly had no idea what he meant. "What Card? Playing Cards?"
"Huh? You don't… but… that doesn't make sense." Hakuno couldn't comprehend how someone could be Installed, yet not be aware of the Card itself.
"Hm?" The girl looked up. "You don't need to apologize to him! He's the one breaking the rules of the game by hitting me back!"
"Huh?" There was no one else in the area. Which could only mean one thing. "Is the Spirit… Hey!"
"Hm?"
"Who's apologizing?"
"My friend."
"Who's your friend?"
"Oh, she's a really fun person. She keeps apologizing, but I don't understand why. Her name is super cute though!" With an innocent smile and wide eyes, the little girl revealed it. "Abigail Williams."
With the reveal of the name and a Luck check… everything became clear for Hakuno. Which in turn just raised even more questions.
CLASS: Foreigner
IDENTITY: Abigail Williams
STATS:
- Strength: B
- Endurance: A
- Agility: C
- Mana: B
- Luck: C
- Noble Phantasm: A
CLASS SKILLS:
- Existence Outside the Domain: EX
- Insanity: B
- Divinity: B
PERSONAL SKILL:
- Prayer of Faith: C
- Loss of Sanity: B
- Witch Trial: A+
NOBLE PHANTASM: -UNKNOWN-
"Fo…reigner?"
The idea of an Extra Class wasn't unheard off. Beyond the standard seven, he had seen at least two more possible Classes. Ruler was one of them. But this was the very first time he had come across a 'Foreigner'. The name didn't seem to hint at anything either. While they weren't sure-fire ways to tell everything about the opponent, the Classes often gave an idea. Saber are those who wield swords, Riders possess steeds, etc. What in the world could Foreigner be?
"Onii-chan, let's keep playing!"
"Wait."
"Hm?" The little girl stopped when the teen raised his hand.
"What's your name?"
"My name? Ah! I didn't introduce myself… I'm Mary. Nice to meet you." She even bowed and everything.
"She might be unhinged, but at least she's polite…" Hakuno said to himself. He thought about the Skills she possessed, the ones named 'Insanity' and 'Loss of Sanity' worrying him the most.
The insanity exuded by the evil god within her can easily break down the fragile common sense and morals of humans.
"What is that supposed to mean? Evil God? But Abigail Williams was just a little girl involved in the Salem Witch Trials. How is she even a Heroic Spirit?"
"Hah-yah!" Multiple portals appeared, surrounding Hakuno, ready to release tentacles.
As if by reflex, he dropped down to his back and raised a hand. "Rho Aias!" A flower-shaped shield with seven petals appeared above him. The tentacles slammed down on the large shield. Hakuno was surprised to see two of the petals shattering. However, they didn't seem to be able to break through any more of them.
Once the tentacles withdrew, Hakuno rolled back as the shield vanished. He stood back up, with black and white blades already projected into his hands.
"Spirit and technique, flawless and firm. Our strength rips the mountains." With a quick motion, he spread his arms, hurling the spinning blades sideways, in opposite directions. Then, sparks manifested into his hands. "Our swords split the water. Our names reach the imperial villa." With a new pair in hand, he leapt up high. Mary was following him with her eyes, but noticed that the previous pair were changing path, curling the trajectory and moving towards her.
"E-Eh?! H-How am I-?!"
"The two of us cannot hold the heavens together." Hakuno was pulled back to the floor below by gravity. His descent allowed him to slash the girl with the two blades in his hand, as the first pair struck her simultaneously.
"AHH!"
The four swords shattered, but Hakuno was already projecting a third pair. "Triple-Linked Crane Wings!" He slashed her twice more, once with each blade, while dashing past her.
Kakuyoku San-Ren 'Triple-Linked Crane Wings': Anti-Unit C
"Ahhh!" The girl wailed in pain as the swords in Hakuno's hands shattered apart. "That hurt!" More enraged than anything else, Mary turned to the Archer and fired a beam of light from her forehead.
"Install!" He swapped back to the Caster and hid behind the small hovering mirror. Just like before, it blocked the attack, allowing Hakuno to think of a follow-up attack. Once the beam subsided, he drew a paper charm and glued it onto the mirror. It burst into a flash of light, blinding the blue eyes for a second.
"Ah! My eyes…" She rubbed them for a second and then opened them back up again. Hakuno was nowhere to be seen. "Eh?! Where did he-?!"
Teke-teke-teke-teke-teke-teke.
The sound of wooden sandals running across the hard floor reached Mary's ears.
"Behind!" She turned around, spotting a dashing Hakuno. "You're not hitting me anymore!" She readied a swing with her toy companion, but Hakuno did something she didn't expect: he leapt over her. With no sign of attacking, he jumped over the swing, placing a hand on her head for added support as his body flipped over.
"Teke Teke." The moment he spoke, Mary's eyes widened as the hovering, spinning mirror slashed her toroso.
"Kyah!"
Hakuno's feet reconnected with the floor and he quickly spun over one foot to roundhouse-kick the stunned girl.
Much to his dismay, her plush doll blocked the attack in her place.
"Huh?" He was taken aback by the doll suddenly sprouting insect-like wings and moving on its own to protect Mary.
He quickly cast a Frigid Heaven Curse Charm onto the floor behind him, freezing a strip of it behind him. The moment the bear retaliated by pushing Hakuno's leg, the boy spun over the ice, sliding on it while creating distance between himself and the little girl. He finally braked once the ice ended.
"Install!" Back to Archer, he readied the boy and created a long, pitch-black sword. After nocking it onto the string of the bow, red sparks surged through it, making it change shape into a coiled, spiked arrow. "Hound of the Red Plains!" He let go of the string and a blur of red crossed the distance between him and the target.
"Too fast!" Mary was unable to react to it on time. The sword pierced right through her body. It struck the faraway wall and exploded into a red fog. "My tummy…" The girl placed her hands over the hurt area and held back tears.
Hakuno couldn't help but be confused. "She's not even bleeding. Surviving a Hrunting arrow like that…" He had no idea of what could be going on. "Trace on." With those quick words, a red sword appeared in his hands. He stuck it to the ground and swapped back to Saber. Once he gripped the identical sword, it went from red to white. "White-Hot." He let out, ready to dual-wield again.
The Players in the concert hall couldn't look away from the giant screen. Many of them didn't hesitate in saying they wanted to help in the battle, but it was almost a crime to miss a single second of the battle to them.
"You can do it, Hakuno!"
"Beat her up! B-But not too hard... she's still a kid."
Mizuki approached the stage and called for Lizzie.
"Hm?" Lizzie approached and crouched down so she could be closer to Mizuki's eye level.
"I'm guessing Hakuno stole your spotlight." She giggled awkwardly. "Are you mad?"
"Hmm... Not really." Lizzie answered. "It kinda sucks that more people will be leaving thinking about Hakuno than my songs, but I still got to perform. And it was tons of fun! Besides... this isn't Hakuno's fault. He didn't start the stream himself. Not to mention, he clearly planned this so nobody would know."
"Huh?" Mizuki blinked, confused. "What do you mean?"
"If you want to fight something completely alone, where do you put everyone else?"
"Oh." Mizuki realised what Lizzie meant. The concert was a way to kill two birds with one stone. Make it so everyone is distracted to take care of a problem alone, while at the same time helping a Player out with a problem of her own. Why he wanted to take care of the problem alone was most likely something they wouldn't find out. But at the very least, it avoided most of the Low Ranking Players from possibly getting hurt.
However, there was one unanswered question in Mizuki's head.
"Who started the stream?"
"Onii-chan, that hurt!"
"You think smashing people with tentacles doesn't?"
"It doesn't hurt me!"
This was beyond innocence. The Insanity given by the Class was twisting the little girl's morals to an extreme.
He knew from the start that talking wasn't going to be the solution. If he wanted to stop her, he would have to forcibly Uninstall her Card. Brute strength.
No holding back.
Hakuno dashed forward, both swords enveloped in flames of their respective colours.
"T-Teddy!" Mary called for her friend to act. And it did. As she held her stomach, the plush doll sprouted insect wings again and flew in front of her. Is face split open into a purplish void. It suddenly shot out multiple red chunks of glowing rock, a maelstrom of rubies.
"Hah!" Hakuno swung his swords, slashing at the chunks of rock to either cut them apart or deflect them away with. Getting them away from touching his body was the important thing to do. However, despite the speed of his arms, he wasn't able to protect himself completely. One ruby slashed his right cheek, while another struck the left side of his waist, causing bleeding wounds on both. "Gh-!" He made his best not to stop. The flames surrounding the swords began to subside as a glow both swords began to emanate. "AAAARGH!" Bracing himself and utilizing Imperial Privilege to protect himself, he flash-stepped past the plush doll and right in front of Mary.
"Eh?!" Mary gasped as the bear turned around. Hakuno's appearance in front of her gave a scare.
"Saevus Jupiter Nebula!"
Hakuno cross-slashed with the two swords. At the moment of impact, the concentrated energy within the two swords burst in the shape of a red and white explosion, creating a large cloud that hid them both. Hakuno leapt out of the smoke, clearly having taken some damage from the attack himself. As he breathed heavily, he used the Imperial Privilege Skill to slowly heal some of his wounds.
"Did that… Did it work?" He asked himself, hoping that it would be the end of the confrontation.
Much to his dismay, it only made things work.
Between the pain, the fright and the confusion…
"W-why is he hitting me back? That's not how the game works!"
"..."
"What should I do? I don't want to lose! And I don't want to feel pain anymore! I don't like this game anymore..."
"...Then he should die."
A small flash of light came from the cloud of smoke.
"ASCENSION!"
"W-What?!" Hakuno stepped back in surprise as the smoke suddenly disappeared, revealing Mary's new form.
Her dress turned into multiple strings of silk with a butterfly pattern in its shape. One of her legs now wore a long, black stocking with multiple bows sewed onto it. Her beret turned into a large witch-like hat, decorated with bows just like most of her body, and the teddy bear she held so closely now rested on the border of the hat. In each hand, she held an oversized black key, and a large keyring floated behind her, with multiple keys of the same kind as the ones she held attached to it. Her forehead now possessed a black keyhole, and the child-like expression was replaced with the coldness of a witch.
"What in the…?" Hakuno couldn't help but be stunned.
The floating girl placed her feet on the ground, approaching the stunned Hakuno. With a smile that seemingly mocked him, the Foreigner swung her right key into the side of his waist.
The blunt weapon struck Hakuno with such force that, for half a second, he couldn't feel anything.
He was thrown aside, snapping back to reality. With a quick roll over the floor, Hakuno recovered and took a stance.
"Whoa…" He coughed out a little bit. The way Mary was fighting was no longer the same as a game like before. She had actually become serious in the matter.
And, as much as he didn't want to admit it, it genuinely frightened him.
Swallowing his fear, he stepped forward again and swung his swords down, but the girl retaliated, locking them both by placing a key horizontally, while slipping the other underneath all blades, thrusting it into Hakuno's stomach, going into a purplish opening that manifested.
"W-What the…?!"
Mary smirked and twisted the key. Multiple purple tentacles emerged from it and slammed into Hakuno's body, the impact being strong enough to push him away.
"Ghhh…!" Hakuno rolled over the ground and lied on it with pain running through his body, looking up to find multiple tentacles moving towards him. The tips began to gather light. It was similar to how Mary fired beams off her forehead before. "God damn it…!"
"Go!" Much to Hakuno's surprise, someone intervened. A set of insect-like bombs flew over and attached themselves to the tentacles. With the snap of the fingers, the attachments exploded, driving the tentacles away.
"Eh?" The witch was a little surprised.
"What?" Hakuno had the same reaction. He looked up, noticing someone had moved and stood in front of him, as if protecting him from the girl.
A Player for sure. A red top hat rested atop his blond, slicked back hair, with a pair of purple horns attached to it. Teardrop-shaped purple face pain underneath the blue eyes. A cape of dishevelled fur, resembling the wings of a beast. Skin-tight colourful outfit, a devil-like tail that plit into three halfway through, and a pair of straight, pristine, sharp shears in one hand.
It took him a little while, but Hakuno recognized him.
"You're… You're Edward, right? You joined the Game recently, if I'm not mistaken." He spoke while standing up.
"I'm surprised you remember me, Ranker." He sounded rather serious, even if a little hesitant.
"Why are you here?"
"I saw you were in danger in the stream. I… happened to be nearby." The bridge wasn't far from the place he had decided to eat lunch and read his book at. A mere sprint shortened the distance.
"I don't want to sound rude after you saved me, but I'd appreciate if you'd go away. This is my responsibility."
Edward gripped his weapon harder. "Ranker!"
"W-What?"
"You don't have to do this alone!" Edward pointed out, raising his shears. "I know I'm new to this and you don't want anyone like me getting hurt, but you don't need to do this alone either! You could've called for an A Ranker or something! I can't go away in good conscious knowing you're just here, fighting on your own! At the very least, let me help!"
Hakuno had a reason. One that he was going to keep for himself. He scratched his head a little bit and then let out a sigh. "Thanks." He placed a hand on Edward's shoulder and pulling him back, though not too roughly. He turned with a smile.
"Sorry for being stubborn, but it's true: this is my responsibility. I'm the Ranker. If there's some sort of mess to take care of, it's my job to intervene. I don't dislike your help or anything. But this is my job. So allow me." He stepped forward, letting go fo Edward's shoulder.
"B-But Ranker!"
"After all!" Hakuno smirked. "Pretty sure my girlfriend is watching. Now, I need to look super cool! I don't want her to be disappointed in me or anything of the sort.
"B-But wouldn't she want you get help for this?!"
"Oh, totally. But I need bragging rights for whenever she calls me lame." He took a stance. "So I'm gonna see this job through till the end!"
Edward was a little annoyed. It was clear that Hakuno was just giving excuses to do it alone. So, at the very least, they'd reach a compromise. "…How long do you need?"
"Huh? What do you mean?"
"If you were at full power, how long would it take you?"
"I-I don't know. Five, maybe ten minutes tops?"
"Don't move." Edward requested, placing a hand on Hakuno's back and focusing a little. Suddenly, a purple glow coated Hakuno's body for a few seconds. Afterwards, all his wounds had vanished. In fact, he felt like he had wwasted no Mana at all, and he could swear he was little stronger than he should be. "You have 15 minutes."
"Eh? You… gave me strength?"
"But in 15 minutes, you're gonna feel a lot of pain and be intoxicated! So make it count!"
(BGM: GALNERYUS - HUNTING FOR YOUR DREAM)
Hakuno was a little surprised, but then smirked. "Thanks. I'll make sure to make it count." He readied both swords and suddenly dashed forward at top speed.
The witch narrowed her eyes. "Teddy."
The plush doll jumped off the hat and flew over with its insect-like wings while splitting its face open, revealing the purple void once more. A swarm of more nefarious-looking butterflies emerged from the portal.
"No time to waste, huh?!" Hakuno spun the white sword over his hand twice and then held it pointing straightforward. "Fax Caelestis – Light Version!" He thrust the sword forward while leaping forward. He almost seemed like an arrow, aimed at the obstacle in front of him. The white blade released white-hot flames that took care of the insects.
The moment the sword struck the bear's head, the tip having entered the unending, swirling void.
"What the..?" Hakuno was a bit confused. Suddenly, multiple tentacles burst out of the doll's head, gathering momentum to strike. "Whoa!" He let go of the white sword and spun aside, evading the strikes. His sword was no longer present within the world, having been shattered and swallowed by the plush doll through the tentacles.
But Hakuno didn't feel discouraged. He took a step forward and readied the red sword. "Laus Saint Claudius – Light Version!" He moved forward as his red sword erupted with powerful flames to slash at the Foreigner.
She raised a key in order to block the attack, and while successful at it, she felt the weight, pressure, and heat of the strike. "Gh…!"
"Hai-yah!" Hakuno quickly spun back and swung his sword upwards, striking Mary's key from below, forcing her to let go of it.
"Ah!" Somewhat panicked, she attempted to slash Hakuno with the one in her other hand with a downwards strike.
"Hmph!" With a smirk, Hakuno was struck. But Mary felt no weight, no resistance. It's like she had struck air. And it became evident that that's what she did once the after-image vanished. In the following second, her key became heavier. Much heavier. Hakuno stepped onto it after backing away, burying its head into the ground.
"Eh?!"
Hakuno swung his sword sidewayas, aiming for Mary's neck. Maybe a fatal injury like this would finally have her Eject the Card.
"Crap!" He didn't count on such a thing to happen. A tentacle was headed his way to knock him away at full force. The key he had knocked off her hand had stuck itward onto the nearby floor and opened a portal that manifested the limb that was about to strike him.
He jumped sideways, flipping over the tentacle and landing on the ground aside from Mary.
"HMPH!" Mary glared at the boy as multiple tentacles appeared behind her and followed her gaze. Their tips and the keyhole on her forehead suddenly fired glowing beams, all aimed at him.
"Install!" With a quick swap, Hakuno used the floating mirror as a shield again. The beam was definitely stronger, as it pushed both him and the mirror back, his feet ddragging over the floor. But he was still undamaged.
Just like before, he stepped aside and made his way towards the Foreigner.
Mary stopped the beam and called for the key to be returned to her hand. "You can't injure me with that!" She wasn't lying. Physically speaking, Hakuno couldn't do much as the Blue Caster, and his spells proved somewhat ineffective so far. And he wouldn't be able to use his mirror to attack if he kept using it for defence.
Good thing he had an ace up his sleeve. "Overlap Install!" In a flash, Hakuno's clothes changed in colour, going from blue to red. Aside from that, he appeared more or less the same, with the glaring exceptions that his wooden sandals had been swapped by paw-shaped fluffy boots, and his hands were hidden within paw-shaped claws of the same kind.
With the use of a damaged Berserker Card, he had gone from a Caster to a Berserker. "Aka Manto!" Suddenly, a set of kitchen knives appeared in between his fingers. He hurled them at Mary, but two tentacles took the hits instead, protecting her. However, that wasn't the end. The Berserker leat forward with sharp claws extending from his gloves, aiming to slash at her neck.
"Teddy!" The girl called in a panic. Hakuno was close to reaching her, but the plush doll that felt like it was made out of concreate flew to the rescue, tackling into his chest from underneath and veering him off course.
"Argh!" Hakuno flipped backwards multiple times over to create distance after the hit, landing on all fours on the final one. "Alright… let's try this then." He stood up and raised a palm. Multiple Fiery Heaven Charms appeared and spun in a circle. Eventually, they turned into a ball of fire, which Mary was careful about. "Fiery Heaven – Chef's Recipe!" But then, with a pink flash, it became… a giant omurice serving. It even had a small flag decorating it, and a drawing of a cartoon cat's face in ketchup on it.
Just then, Mary's chid-side came to the surface. Her eyes glittered and her smile became as a wide as it could.
"O-Omurice! It's so big and everything! I haven't eaten one in so long!"
Hakuno flung over the dish towards the child. Her smile was always present until the very last second before impact. Te collision result into a burst of fire that enveloped her.
"I feel bad for tricking a kid." Hakuno admittedrotating one of his shoulders.
Suddenly, the embers and smoke were driven away, and a rather angry Mary revealed herself, covered in some soot. "…You burned it."
"Chef's secret: a bit of spice can make a meal more enjoyable."
"MEANIE!" She struck the keys into the floor and twisted them, creating multiple portals all around Hakuno.
He already knew what was coming. "Install!" The Rockstar Archer returned. And multiple, wavering, strong, blue sparks ran throughout his body. "Limited Blade Dance!" As the tentacles grew from the many portals, multiple legendary swords were created from thin air. Durandal, the Peerless Sword. Hrunting, the Hound of the Red Plains. Cladbolg, the (Fake Spiral) Rainbow Sword. Joyeuse, the Radiant Sword. Aestus Estus, the Original Flame. Those stood out the most among the dozen swords that 'danced' around him, slashing, stabbing and striking the tentacles before they could reach him.
"W-What?!"
"I only fall for the same trick so many times!" Hakuno pointed out, raising his right hand and holding the wrist with his left. He took a deep breath and the air around him began to swirl, multiple embers appearing out of seemingly nowhere. The swords slowly faded into dust as circuit-like lines travelled up his right arm. They started out as green, but the longer they remained in his hand, they flickered into gold more often, to the point that they'd turn completely. Hot sparks manifested in Hakuno's palm as he showed off a pained face.
"I can't project a Divine Construct… Those materials just don't exist within that world. But I don't need the real thing either! Somewhere in there… there has to be a sword that's similar to it! If I find it… I can replicate that sword closely enough for what I need!"
In his shut eyes, Hakuno saw a tall hill of swords. Almost as if travelling though it, the swords appeared clearer and clearer in his mind. He saw some familiar weapons within it, but not what he was looking for.
That was until… that golden sword for the victorious.
His eyes opened and the hot sparks took shape. After gripping the hilt, he let out a heavy breath.
Mary's eyes widened slightly out of amazement. That sword was… "So beautiful."
A simple blue hilt. A golden guard shaped like a semi-circle. And a double-edged blade that radiated in splendorous gold.
"Too hot…" Hakuno felt like his hand was holding a rod of hot iron. The steam emerging from it only confirmed it.
Excalibur Image 'Forever Distant Golden Sword' – Faker Model
He took a deep breath and lowered his arm, holding to the sword with all his strength. After composing himself from the Projection, he hurled the sword upwards, much to Mary's confusion. Her eyes tracked the sword. Once it returned to Hakuno, he had swapped to his Saber Class Card and aimed the weapon at Mary.
"Noble Phantasm Activation!" Upon his words, a burst of spiraling windsurged around him, carrying rose petals that appeared out of nowhere. The redsword n his other hand struck the floor and a ripple of red coursed throughout the area. "Aestus Domus Aurea!"
A circular golden theatre rose from the ground beneath. Using the same mechanics as a Reality Marble, yet different, a golden theatre was summoned! A beautiful building beneath the rain of rose petals, with sealed exists and its surroundings ablaze.
The identity of Hakuno's Saber Class Card was revealed right away.
CLASS: Saber
IDENTITY: Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus
STATS:
- Strength: D
- Endurance: D
- Agility: A
- Mana: B
- Luck: A
- Noble Phantasm: B
CLASS SKILLS:
- Magic Resistance: B
- Riding: C
PERSONAL SKILL:
- Imperial Privilege: EX
- Migraine: B
- Thrice-Setting Sun: A
NOBLE PHANTASM: Aestus Domus Aurea 'Golden Theater of the Flamboyant' – Anti-Team B
"An artist who rivals Apollo! A charioteer that rivals Sol! Roar, thunderous applause!" Hakuno took a swinging stance, the golden sword placed behind his body.
His body let out a golden glow, most likely the use of his Imperial Privilege. "Hold out and let me use you, just long enough for this…!" The golden glow of the sword began to grow and grow, to the point that it began to manifest as a wild, uncontrollable light. However, the theatres rose petals began to surround it like a typhoon, and the glow became tinged with red, becoming a pink-gold of sorts in colour. On to of that, the spike of light began to wave, becoming more akin to quivering flames, giant enough to swallow a part of the theatre.
"Ex-calibuuuuuur… IMPERIUM!" Hakuno let the light emanated from the fake sword push him forward, closing the distance between himself and Mary in the second it took for him to swing the sword.
Excalibur Imperium 'Golden Flame of Promised Victory'
It was like time stood still for her. The massive flame of pink-golden light was going to swallow and incinerate her completely the moment Hakuno swung his sword down onto her. It would incinerate her for sure.
Or at least, that's what she thought was going to happen. Much to her surprise, she didn't need to do anything at all. Someone assured her that it wasn't going to hurt at all.
An eye opened within the keyhole.
The gate was opened.
The sword swung down and the flame-like beam descended upon Mary. Hakuno could feel the sword break apart in his hands, but that wasn't important. Its job was over.
But… how come she didn't release any sound of pain? While it wasn't something he looked forward to by any means, he was… right in front of her. Some sort of sound should've come out of her as the inferno swallowed her.
That's when it was made clear that the flame weren't hitting her. The waves of pink-gold were being sucked into the keyhole on her forehead.
"W-What the…?"
Her eyes were cold. They narrowed down on him. "That was mean, Onii-chan. I'm going do the same to you."
Almost as if on cue, the keyhole released the attack that it had just absorbed into another realm. The potent hit, the dancing flames, swallowed Hakuno whole and shit the far wall of the golden theatre that began to disappear.
In what looked like a flash, Edward found Hakuno, Uninstalled, rolled over onto the ground in front of him, seemingly unconscious, and with some light wounds all over his body.
"R-Ranker?" In a scare, he looked forward, and found Foreigner, with multiple keys above her head, ready to fire them at the two. He quickly crouched down over Hakuno, stabbing the scissors on the ground and yelling "TRANSPORT!", returning both him and the unconscious Ranker to the regular world, escaping Foreigner's grasp.
Mary let out a giggle. Then a laugh. And then a cackle of a witch.
The stream ended.
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