It was pain. The incomprehensible pain brought before death. Pain that would unite two individuals, by contract, rather than blood.
Contracts are what bind the master and servant relationship, and the similarity with one another is what determines how successful it can be. The lone child, was brought to a forced contract with a small girl with hair of equal color as his, most likely the work of the mage he had met in the Reverse Side of the World.
"I recognize you as my equal, therefore our contract is made. But please don't address me as your servant, treat me like you would a lover. Do that and we'll live a happy and healthy life." The girl said quite joyful. Despite her child like appearance, her way of speaking was definitely more mature.
"Huh..? Did I get shoved in the middle of a Holy Grail War? What am I getting myself into? And where are we? But most importantly.. Who are you?" Like rapid fire, Albion shot out those questions to the girl, expecting an answer, and it was given right away.
"Holy Grail War? Sorry, those stopped existing ever since some association took it down a long time ago. And even if one was supposed to happen now, it's impossible. Why? Because the Throne of Heroes doesn't exist anymore. Something happened.. And it banished every single Heroic Spirit back to the world of the living. Some managed to make a contract, others weren't so lucky.. The worst case scenario are the heroic spirits who now kill for survival, their origin became corrupted, and now.. Um.. Anyways! Your other question. Where we are. This is known as The Spiritual Tomb of Albion. A pretty fitting place for our reunion, don't you think? This is the place where our progenitor began to dig so he could reach the Reverse Side of the World, but however, died before that was possible. Now it's just a place where humans excavate for minerals." The girl stopped talking, waiting to see if he had any questions, and so he started speaking after her.
"This is probably the fourth or fifth time that I've been called this dragon's.. Um.. Son? But I'm only 17. If I was the son of a dragon, shouldn't I be alive a long time ago? Were my memories erased? Am I actually dead and just reliving my past self? Is this an isekai?" Even though his questions seemed to be stupid, the girl didn't waver with her response.
"The answer to that is.. Avalon. You existed, and didn't exist at the same time. You were nothing and everything, waiting for the right time to manifest yourself as Albion's successor. Did you get constantly told that you had no magic circuits? The truth is, your magic circuits are so unique and powerful, that they couldn't be seen by the average magus. Your high concentration of mana made it impossible for people to detect it, or even feel it's pleasure, making it seem like it didn't exist. Now, before I start sounding like a teacher, I believe that's all your questions answered." She puffed out her chest proudly and nodded twice.
"No.. There's still one more." Albion intervened.
"Oh? What's that? I don't remember having a bad memory." The girl tilted her head.
"Who are you? Your name, and your class of course. Are we going to fight other people?" He asked, swallowing with a dry throat.
"Apologies! I forgot about my introduction. Here I go." She took a deep breath, suddenly shifting her mood to a more serious one. "Servant, my class is Lancer. Even though it's not my real name, please call me Mélusine. It's a very precious name, so I'll allow you to use it when addressing me. And regarding your other question.." The girl who identified herself as Mélusine got closer and gave Albion a tight hug.
"Don't worry, I'll protect you. I'll kill everyone against you. Fighting will be a reason for us to live starting today, but I'll fly you to freedom, and we can live together until we die."
Such dark words came from a small girl, truly, it could only be a heroic spirit who could say such things with a calm face. Albion's knowledge of a Grail War is as basic as the next magus, knowing that it's seven masters fighting for a wish granting cup. However.. Such thing doesn't exist anymore. And so, his curiosity grew ever more.
"Um.. Alright. I guess I can go along with this. However, I'll be treating you like a younger sister from now on. I've always wanted one." Albion sighed, knowing there was no running away from that new life of his. Taking the opportunity, he gave Mélusine a few pats on the head.
But in return, she returned a pouty look, obviously not pleased with how he's treating her like a little girl. Discarding this thought, she took his hand and started guiding him through the cavern. Like she knew where to go, each corner of the maze seemed to lead to a better place, the thought of freedom drawing near. However, the minerals who'd been glowing all this time inside the cavern, slowly started to seem more and more decayed. As if the life was being sucked out of them, but the cause of it was unknown.
It was unknown until he noticed that the floor was covered in red liquid. That thickness, that smell, seemed to be all too familiar to him. That was blood. Blood that came from the corpses who were hanging from the walls of the cavern. The wounds were small, however, they fully went through their bodies, leaving them full of holes. One could say that they were bullets, and they were shot a good amount of times. Their chances of survival were incredibly low, and so they perished in eternal silence in that cave. But still, the bodies were warm, meaning that their deaths were recent. The killer could be there, waiting for the right time to make the duo their new prey.
"Hey.. Mélusine. I know you said fighting would be inevitable. But I really don't want to fight someone that could do this to a person so easily. Can we just get out of here?" Albion asked, but got no response. His partner was standing still, trying to keep herself composed but her shocked expression didn't make that possible. But her shock wasn't because of the dead bodies, but rather at the person she saw not so far from them, weapons pointed and ready for the kill.
"You two must be big monkeys to just walk casually in my territory. I guess I'll have to make you two understand what it means to get on the bad side of the Demon King of the Sixth Heaven. Fire!" The voice yelled from a distance, the energy behind the voice of a leader, who mercilessly decimated enemy armies, and conquered all the land they could find. With a snap of the fingers, the weapons began firing. The sound of bullets echoing throughout the cave brought back too recent of memories, reminding him of his near death. Knowing that a bullet could be the reason of his actual death, was unacceptable in every way he could see. But no matter how you looked at it, a human cannot be faster than a bullet, even if you have draconian ancestors. Luckily enough, a trustworthy companion was next to him, and the blades she wielded were resistant enough to withstand the bullets fired at them, keeping them protected temporarily.
"Master! This is our first servant encounter, I can't see them properly, but the bullets are easy to predict and I can protect you from here, so don't leave my side!" Mélusine's words blurted out in a panic. Seeing that side of hers made him believe in her, for they were one and the same, in a way. But all they could do for the moment was wait until the bullet barrage stopped. Even if it did stop, risking to go on the offense would leave Albion vulnerable for an enemy attack. Defensive maneuvers were the only thing they could do until the master revealed themselves.
"Instead of attacking me, you decide to prioritize your master? I have to praise your decision, you're not a self centered imbecile like other servants I've met. Before you die, I'll make sure to remember your name. Though I'd doubt I'd give you enough room as to even speak to me." The shadowy figure came closer, and so did the weapons, and now that the light of the cavern returned, the assault of multiple weapons was orchestrated by a single person. Floating guns, that were controlled by that.. Woman.
Clad in red and black. Representing red and black. Coloring her enemies in red, and leaving them in the darkness of the valley of death. That individual's existence was enough to emanate fear.
"Mélusine.. As soon as she stops shooting, I'll run to cover, and you can attack her while she focuses on shooting me. I can trust you to be fast enough to reach her before I get shot, right?" Albion asked, giving her an assuring smile. The girl, feeling her chest tighten, nodded and waited for the right moment.
The woman who had been shooting eventually stopped, wanting to save herself from doing more than necessary. Or perhaps, she was waiting for something. Her expression indicated that she knew about something. But the other two weren't concerned with that, and instead, with a loud "NOW!" coming from the male, he started running to the left, with Mélusine ready to charge towards the enemy.
However..
The sound of flesh being slashed gruesomely was heard. They were completely cut off. The necessary limbs he needed to run, were taken away from him in an instant. This wasn't the work of bullets, but rather.. A golden weapon that appeared out of nowhere, and cut them clean off, like they were paper.
And a loud scream echoed through the cavern. Albion's voice grew strong, the pain being completely new, and much worse. Mélusine felt awful, knowing she couldn't even react in time. The one responsible for this, finally showing his face.
"Hearing the screams of an insect is unpleasant to my ears, but running away from the king is absolutely unacceptable. Now that I've taken your right to walk, I shall make you perish as you face the floor. Know your place…
… Zasshu."