Goodbye Astolfo...
Ultima-Owner: Servant fights are startling.
Suzululu4moe: That's a good idea. The only caster in the future though will appear for one arc and then leave. As much as I love Mei and Maijima, the support class won't be getting much spotlight.
Frostlash: Maybe off-screen. There are four boys specifically who will get Pankration training later on. All Might and Endeavor will get spotlights with Magecraft (kinda), but because of laws, Midoriya will not be dealing with it. He'd have to abandon the dream of being a Hero. And yes, Ibara would probably cry then kill Kotomine for being an impure being. And I say Good. End that man.
Nezu had outdone himself this time.
Normally the terrains that were built and used for UA's classes were basic. Empty cities and neighborhoods, rocky plains and empty construction sites, and fields and open amphitheaters.
Nezu, Maijima, and Ishiyama, along with a construction team, had created a replication of Trifas based on images and details of the village and other Romanian villages. For Astolfo and himself, it brought back memories. For Gray? Well, she would have to deal with Astolfo and his sense of direction between the winding streets and numerous buildings.
For Chiron, the buildings and streets wouldn't be an issue, since he hadn't moved from his spot on a bell tower. The gate was behind him, but there was no way from the sides to get there. The area was specifically designed for the Rider and Assassin to attack directly... If they could even get close enough, that is. He was an Archer first, after all and both of the other Servants knew that he wasn't going to go easy on them.
His eyes glowed as he zeroed in on the two Servants, weaving between buildings, and his fingers twitched before an arrow materialized. The Archer shifted before he fired, shooting the ground in front of Astolfo. The Rider backed up, head looking up towards his direction before he grabbed Gray and ducked inside a building.
His eyes narrowed before he materialized three arrows, firing them as three streaks of blue light shot out from one of the windows. Gray had transformed Add into a bow it seemed. It was interesting, though her marksmanship had some skill to be desired.
"Changing up Add's form on the fly, now? Interesting… the extent of that Code… I wonder…" he said with a smile as the arrows collided with one another. His gaze landed on the Rider and Assassin as they made their way through the town. To a normal man, it would be impossible to see them, but he was far from a normal man. From the distance between them and him was far less than the distance that had been between him and Atalanta the first time they had fought in Trifas, but it was still impressive.
He only hoped that the cameras were picking up everything and that a good number of the students were still conscious.
He let out a breath, watching as Gray and Astolfo made their way closer before he fired off several more arrows. The two would have to think of a better way to get close enough, though they were making decent time running through back alleyways and staying out of the open for longer than needed. More shots of blue broke him from his thoughts, though he easily countered them with his own arrows.
"Goodness, I'm getting bored up here," He sighed as he watched Astolfo and Gray move through the town again. While Gray's full range of abilities was still a mystery to him, he knew that Astolfo didn't have anything that could be considered ranged unless he wanted to risk a Class change or injury to Gray. His sword in his Saber form had an impressive reach, but his La Black Luna would have been able to do much more damage— that is, if Gray wasn't with him. The noise from the horn would leave Gray disoriented if she was anywhere nearby, and in an enclosed space like this, she would have to be.
No, Astolfo wasn't suited for Ranged combat during the daylight hours.
"Well, since I'm bored, let's take care of some of these buildings in the way," he said before his hand glowed and a golden light spread from his hand across his bow. The golden weapon shifted color, changing to the same black bow that Atalanta used. Two arrows materialized in his free hand and he knocked them both. He pointed the bow up towards the sky and fired both of them. He spared a glance towards Astolfo and a look of recognition was seen in the Rider's eyes.
"Phoebus Catastrophe," He murmured and the sky flashed. It lit up with a pale, teal-colored light before thousands upon thousands of arrows made of energy rained down on the created village.
Good thing U.A. had the funds for things like this, though he did feel bad about destroying it. But Nezu had told him to go all out, so here he was.
He brushed a hand through his hair, his bow reverting back to normal as the buildings cracked and crumbled under the impact of the assault. The arrows stopped after a few more moments, a cloud of dust and smoke rising up from the remains.
He ducked to the side suddenly as jets of blue shot from the dust and Hippogriff, carrying Astolfo and Gray, flew up from the dust and remnants of the town. Hippogriff rushed at him and Astolfo swung his lance at him. Chiron dodged, falling back off of the tower with a small grin.
He landed, rolling out of the way of an attack from Gray as soon as he did before he grabbed her wrist as she made an attempt at a second strike. He flipped her over his shoulder before he lept out of the way of Astolfo's lance, eyes narrowing.
"Gray! You good?" The Rider asked as Chiron landed, Astolfo and Hippogriff circling above. Gray nodded, getting up.
"I'm alright…" she said before the both of them leaped out of the way of a barrage of arrows. Hippogriff dove and Astolfo leaped off of its back. He rolled back to his feet, rushing at Chiron with his lance and the Archer was forced onto the defensive. He knew full well what even a graze by that lance could do to him if Astolfo wanted it to and he preferred being able to move.
Astolfo swung up and Chiron moved quickly, taking advantage of the opening— slamming his elbow into the Rider's stomach. The boy went flying before he easily dodged another strike from Gray, deflecting another with his bow. Add shifted into a short sword and Gray struck again. Chiron deflected again with his bow before he leaped up, dodging a strike from Astolfo's sword. Black bunny ears and twin-tails signified the boy's Class change as both the once Rider's and Assassin's swords clashed.
He landed behind Astolfo, kicking him forwards and he crashed into Gray. The two both crashed into a half-destroyed wall, though Astolfo recovered quickly. He rolled off of Gray, checking to make sure she was still alive (her eyes were closed, and Chiron could tell that she was knocked out just by the way her head was positioned) before he turned to him. He swung his sword, the blade separating into segments and Chiron found himself on the defensive again as he dodged to the side. The blade caught and wrapped around a chunk of building and Astolfo pulled, picking Gray up with one arm. Chiron leaped back and out of the way of loosened rubble falling where he had been. The rubble caused another plume of dust to rise up and Chiron's eyes flashed.
So Astolfo was going to use a smokescreen to protect them as the two ran towards the gate.
Well, Astolfo was running, Gray was… conscious now, but on his back.
He could let them escape, but where was the fun in that?
Chiron took off after them through the dust. A groan from a nearby building made him leap to the side as Astolfo's sword flashed out of sight. Astolfo was smart in pulling parts of buildings down and tugging loose chunks of rubble in his path. That said, it meant that Chiron would have to dodge more as well. It wasn't overly difficult to do for him as he sidestepped and dodged falling rubble. He leaped over larger chunks of a building that were already on the ground and blocking his way.
Surely Astolfo knew this wouldn't slow him down for very long.
He frowned, slowing his strides. A burst of energy made him startle before he was forced to leap back from the whip-like blade of Astolfo's. The pink-haired boy walking towards him from the dust as his sword reconnected
"And here I thought you planned to escape," Chiron said, "You should know that nothing good comes from seeking glory."
"Yeah, I know," Astolfo said, shrugging as he flicked his wrist again, sending his sword at Chiron, who leaped out of the way. "But I'm irrational."
"So it seems," he sighed as he dodged another strike from Astolfo. The Saber, only grinned again before he called his sword back to him. The segments connected together with a clear 'clink' and Chiron shifted his footing.
He would have to leap up to dodge Astolfo's Noble Phantasm. The boy's skill with the sword wasn't too bad in his Rider class, but as a Saber and unleashing a Noble Phantasm? Stain should've felt lucky he was still alive.
A pinkish-purple glow surrounded Astolfo as the boy held his sword out in front of him.
"Splendidly and sweetly! The beauty under the moon that dances and scatters!" he chanted and Chiron tensed as the Saber flicked his wrist. The Phantasm rushed towards him and the Archer leaped up, dodging the strike and exiting the dust cloud.
"Grave me… Grave... for you…" a voice murmured, though the words resounded in the area. Chiron's eyes snapped to the bell tower and landed on a hooded figure. Gray held Add out in front of her, the cube glowing.
"Exterminate sweet mysteries, all will return to the void," She said as she raised the cube up towards the sky. Golden energy swirled around it as Add's automated voice, lacking all of its usual personality, spoke. His defeat was already locked in place when Astolfo confronted him. He would have no time to dodge what came next.
"Pseudo-personality halt. Mana accumulation rate, non-stationary breakthrough. Second stage, limited release start!"
Gray grasped Add and a pillar of golden light burst forth, seeming to pierce the heavens. She swung her hand back, eyes glowing gold as the pillar followed her direction.
"Rhongomyniad!"
Chiron only could smile as golden energy enveloped his vision.
Those two had outsmarted him wonderfully.
(x)
Midoriya stood next to the rest of his classmates in the monitor room, the teachers standing behind them as they all watched the fight between three Servants.
Principal Nezu had told them that as long as they were conscious he would like them all to watch, so that meant that everyone except for Sero and Bakugou were watching— Sero was still asleep, Bakugou unconscious. Present Mic was also out of it, still catatonic from the bugs apparently.
Midoriya had seen Chiron fight a grand total of once and that was at the USJ. He had proven that he could hold his own, as could Astolfo. He had seen Astolfo fight at the USJ and during the Stain incident, but he wasn't sure what to think of Gray. She was an enigma. She was agile and quite mobile, as seen on the first day she transferred in when doing All Might's rescue course. She had navigated the area easily, though he supposed that was just an advantage of being a Servant.
Still, if he remembered correctly, Chiron had said that the Knight Classes were more powerful than the Calvary Classes. And the Calvary was where Astolfo and Gray were from.
"Of course, Astolfo could change to a Saber, but would he risk it? He said that since he hadn't been doing it constantly it drained him of energy, but if he had been training by shifting between his Classes while we were all studying on our own then that would make it easier right? Still, Chiron has an advantage when it comes to ranged combat. Perhaps one of Add's forms is a ranged weapon? He seems versatile enough to be able to do that. Astolfo mentioned he had another Phantasm that could do ranged damage, but would he use it and—"
"Midoriya, you're mumbling again," Iida said, lightly smacking his head with a karate chop. Midoriya yelped, rubbing his head apologetically.
"S-sorry…" he said before he turned back to the monitors. Astolfo and Gray were both crouched inside a building, though Midoriya wasn't sure how much good that did with Chiron on a bell tower watching. They seemed to have a hard time getting close enough to enter into close combat, and even if they did get close to the bell tower, Chiron was still over a hundred feet above them.
Midoriya gasped softly as three jets of blue light shot from one of the building's windows. Chiron fired his own arrows, knocking them out of the sky with a smile. So he was right, Add could change into a ranged weapon. Gray leaped from the window as golden arrows whizzed past her face, Astolfo following her out before they moved behind another building, slowly gaining ground.
Chiron wasn't letting them get close very fast as he fired off arrows from his spot at the bell tower. Midoriya had to wonder if it was training or his Servant abilities that let him become so precise when it came to sniping at others.
He watched as Chiron countered a few more shots from Gray with his own arrows, though the Archer seemed to be getting a bit impatient. Astolfo and Gray were still weaving in between the buildings, along with entering and exiting them if they needed too.
"Well, since I'm bored, let's take care of some of these buildings in the way…."
Midoriya startled, watching as Chiron shot two arrows into the air. The arrows spiraled around each other as they shot towards the sky in a way that only magic could do.
"Phoebus Catastrophe."
In a flash, Midoriya and the rest watched with wide eyes and surprised faces as an entire rain of arrows showered the created town.
"I know you said for him to go wild, Principal, but that seems like a bit much," Cementoss said and Midoriya had to agree as he heard Uraraka and Yaoyorozu gasp. Ashido squeaked and Midoriya felt some of the others tense up as buildings crashed down.
"He really does have power, doesn't he?" Midnight murmured and Snipe nodded, grunting a bit.
"A bit overkill for two kids, but I suppose if you are playing the villain than damage and victims are the point," Thirteen sighed. "Should we have given Chiron more weight bands?"
"Do ya really think those things would do a thing ta him?" Snipe asked, leaning back a bit. "Ain't done much ta All Might, hardly think that Bronco wouldda been hindered."
"They survived that!?" Mineta yelped, pulling Midoriya's attention back to the screens as blue jets of light shot from the dust cloud. Midoriya could only watch with wide eyes as he glanced at the camera in charge of tracking the two Servants. Both Gray and Astolfo seemed to be a bit scuffed, Astolfo had a quickly dissolving arrow in his shoulder, but he didn't seem to be paying it any mind. He shifted, holding his hand out and Hippogriff was summoned. The Rider climbed on, pulling Gray up before the beast shot into the sky.
It was amazing, watching the three fight as Chiron was forced into close combat. He knew that his teacher was insanely strong— he took that Nomu down, after all— but he didn't know how. He seemed to be effortlessly dodging and countering and Midroiya found himself gasping as Astolfo changed classes and Chiron kicked him into Gray.
He winced and heard Iida inhale sharply as Gray's head hit the wall, eyes widening before closing. The hit must have knocked her out.
"That looked painful, kero.." Asui voiced and a few others nodded, watching Astolfo grab Gray and flee after he pulled part of a building down.
"Looks like they're gonna make a run for it instead," Ectoplasm noted. "Is the power gap between those two that great, I wonder?"
"Chiron said that he could take on Astolfo confidently," Midnight noted. "He also told us that Gray's sheer destructibility outclassed them both. If Gray's out of the picture, I have a feeling that Astolfo has no choice."
Aizawa shrugged and Nezu just hummed. The Principal definitely knew something the rest of them didn't.
"What is Astolfo doing!?" Kaminari cried, watching as Astolfo set Gray down and took back off into the dust cloud. Midoriya held his breath, watching as Chiron and Astolfo clashed before Uraraka shook his arm.
"Deku, look!" she said, pointing to another monitor. He glanced over, watching as Gray's eyes opened and she stood easily. She had only been pretending to be unconscious? She seemed too coordinated to be just coming out of unconsciousness, he noticed as she turned, taking off quickly towards the exit gate.
Or so he thought.
He watched as she leaped up, rocketing off the side of another building and onto the wall of the bell tower. With what seemed like impossible physics, she ran up the side, swinging Add out in his scythe form when she got close to the top. The blade caught in the clay-tile roof and she hauled herself up.
She stood there, pulling Add up into her hands before the scythe collapsed into Add's standard, cube form. She took a breath before she started speaking softly.
"Gray. Rave. Crave. Deprave..." She murmured, eyes closed and he felt chills go down his spine. It wasn't the light, soft-spoken tone she normally had, but something that carried weight. A tone that had authority.
"Splendidly and sweetly! The beauty under the moon that dances and scatters!" came from Astolfo's monitor and he spared a glance over. The boy had his sword out in front of him and he, Iida, and Todoroki held their breaths. They knew what was to follow if Astolfo finished his chant.
Only, he didn't. He swung his blade forwards like he would have anyway, but the chant didn't finish, the glow faded.
But, Midoriya realized, it didn't matter as Chiron leaped up, dodging the assumed release of the Rider's Noble Phantasm.
His eyes moved to Gray's screen.
"Grave me… Grave... for you…"
Chiron seemed to be just as surprised as he gazed at Gray, golden light emitting from the cube.
"Exterminate sweet mysteries, all will return to the void," She said, eyes snapping open. They were glowing an orange color, different from her usual green, as she raised the cube up to the sky. Golden energy swirled around it as a new voice sounded from Add.
"Pseudo-personality halt. Mana accumulation rate, non-stationary breakthrough. Second stage, limited release start!"
Gray grasped the cube and a pillar of golden light burst from it, the pillar going so high up, it seemed to pierce the heavens. The light was bright and even the teachers seemed stunned as static started to fizz on the edges of the monitor screens. Gray shifted, swinging her hand back and the pillar followed her command.
"Rhongomyniad!"
Midoriya and the rest of the students and staff watched in shock and awe as she thrust her hand forward. The light blasting Chiron with such ferocity that the monitors in the area all flickered out.
"She didn't kill him, did she?" Satou whispered to Kirishima and he shrugged. Midoriya glanced back to the teachers. Aizawa had the biggest grin on his face as Cementoss and Midnight handed him a few bills. Nezu looked pleased as well, though Thirteen seemed to have an air of worry around them. Snipe, Cementoss, Powerloader, and Ectoplasm glanced at each other before looking away and back to the monitors as the connection was re-established. Only Thirteen seemed to be a bit worried, but Midoriya knew they had a sympathetic heart towards any of the 'good guys' in general.
The sheer destruction caused by the gray-haired girl was obvious, as everything in the direction she had pointed it in had been reduced to dust. Astolfo, back in his Rider form, summoned Hippogriff and caught Gray as she staged and pitched forwards off the bell tower.
Midoriya glanced over the monitors before his eyes landed on the one closest to Chiron's location. The Archer had smoke rising off of him, body splayed out over rubble and eyes closed. His chest rose slowly and a collected sigh of relief was let out among the students and a few staff members.
"Good job with restraint, Gray," Astolfo said as Hippogriff landed. Gray just gave him a tired smile and the boy slid off of Hippogriff's back, holding the handcuffs. He easily cuffed the Archer's unconscious form before the buzzer sounded.
"Team Astolfo and Gray pass the examination!"
A cheer went up from the students and Midoriya noticed the staff looking relieved as Recovery girl stood, walking out of the room.
Before anyone starts yelling that Chiron would have been able to tell that Gray was conscious, you're right. But she had been unconscious before. Servants, from what I would assume, recover a lot faster than humans do.
And before someone says that Chiron could have dodged that and also realized what was going on, maybe. But not to the dodging part. Dodging while airborne is hard enough on its own. And the blast zone of Rongomyniad is fucking massive. And there's also the fact that when it comes to Gary and Astolfo, they're only going through the school as part of cover/in order to get licenses in Japan. They're already more powerful than most heroes, they don't need the training so to speak. If Chiron let them pass instead of getting beat is up for you all to decide.
I'm shaking up the update schedule ahahahaha. You'll still get your friday chapter, though. I'm just posting this one early. We have one chapter before the I-Island Arc, which will be a new story and I will not be updating Sagittarius until that arc is done.