A/n: Hello Readers! Psychojack88 here to bring an all new chapter of Holy Nail War. The fight between the many factions is underway, a face off within the Deacon Estate. Chaos everywhere as Honda stands against Deacon, Idores against Mara and Stria with the help of Mordred must do battle against Elias and Ursus. Let's see where this chapter takes us!
--Deacon Estate: Battleground--
Deacon had his arms up in a fighting stance, ready to do battle with the warlock standing in front of him.
Honda remained present with his back straight, looking deeply into the eyes of the opponent that he had to face. To Deacon, the enemy that stood in front of him was the sole center behind everything going wrong thus far. Idores' betrayal, Mara's entry into the estate as well as the defective nature of some of his homunculi under his command. Honda, now without a golem, was vulnerable. As the titan was currently busy still under pressure by the homunculi servants that remained standing, doing all they could to keep it distracted.
Despite this tactic to separate Honda from his mighty weapon, the Warlock remained unshaken, even despite Deacon's own vast energy bursting through his suit, practically shredding it fiber by fiber under the sheer intensity of his honed power.
Deacon gulped internally as he stared at the confident body language Honda possessed.
'He has planned everything up till now since the moment he was brought to his room under surveillance. Just look at his stance. He doesn't even acknowledge me as a threat! Is he bluffing or is just that confident? It's hard to tell considering that mask of his! It frustrates me! What is going on in that tactical mind of yours, Warlock?" Deacon thought to himself as he flexed his muscles ready for action.
Honda stood there staring at Deacon .'Okay! A boss fight! Right in the middle of a battle on epic scale too, man this is rich! I don't want to break immersion though but do we take turns or just go nuts? How does this work anyway?"
-Honda Vision Start-
Deacon stands before Honda. His stance and body structure appeared more that of a gorilla as opposed to that of a normal human being. Deacon appeared to bear a permanent snarl, a lone fang appearing from his lower jaw that was far more prominent than his upper one. Combined with an overreaching unibrow, Deacon appeared primitive.
[Note: Your decisions up to now have led to this point.]
[Deacon: "I will destroy you!" *Bangs against chest!]
[Conflict: A great threat stands in your path!
BOSS FIGHT IMMINENT!]
[DECIDE YOUR FATE!]
-Honda Vision End-
Honda then took a notice of Deacon's burly form. His muscles were in peak physical strength given the firmness of each bulging muscle.
'Dayum! Those are some solid gains! No way do I wanna be near those fists if this guy decides to get into this role-play a little too much. Which means-!
FLAP
Deacon noticed that Honda stretched his arm cape, it now flowing freely off his arm before Honda held it in front of him with two hands.
'It's time for this wild bull to meet his matador!' Honda thought to himself, a grin prevalent beneath his mask.
--With Stria and Mordred--
Mordred stood in front of Elias and Ursus. Stria stood to her right. Elias looked to Ursus, the cloaked assistant looking back at Elias.
They immediately acted. Mordred using her speed to quickly move towards Elias.
"Are you seriously going to take on a servant! You must be either crazy or stupid!" Mordred said.
Ursus clashed his claw weapon against Mordred's blade, intercepting her from reaching Elias. The weight of Mordred's strike completely blasted him away a few feet before the assistant attacked again via his ruby encrusted dagger releasing several nekro kyma (Dead wave in Greek) towards her.
"You're definitely not like your master. Really brave and suicidal!" Mordred mocked.
Ursus then did something unexpected. His red runes enveloped his body when he was near Mordred and released a quick burst. A seal was immediately formed around him, stretching far enough to stretch underneath Mordred.
"What the- he could make seals without having to write it!" Mordred said aloud. She attempted to move away but Elias had already done the same thing to the rim of the seal, infusing it with a blockage seal to keep Mordred trapped. Her attempt to escape was met with a white prana infused force field that shoved her back into Ursus' trap.
BANG
Elias took a gunshot to the left shoulder by Stria who used a PKM. It was a portable machine gun which had a long stream of ammunition she had sealed in her back. Elias had ran behind debris as he called out.
"Now Ursus!" Elias let out as bullets constantly shredded the debris he hid behind. The albino was in hot pursuit.
Ursus used his ruby dagger and stabbed into the seals' center, causing it to glow and activate.
A stream of red prana came out of the seals' runes. It immediately traveled and struck Mordred, causing her to let out an airless gasp. It seemed to suck all the air from her lungs. Even her helmet immediately blew off of her head from the impact of the prana.
Mordred noticed that everything in her vision blurred, only white noise being heard in her eardrums as her eyesight was heavily obscured to nothing but haze.
'Dammit!' Mordred thought to herself as Ursus stepped forward, his red dagger prominent from his shredded cloak.
--With Idores--
Idores watched as Mara's veins pulsed with her dark energy. The small sub surface black veins which once laid underneath Mara's face were now sticking out in a sickly prominent manner, spasming as Mara readied herself for combat. Steam emanated from her person in thick wisps, almost like an aura of heat distorting the air around her.
Idores narrowed her eyes. Her black sclera surrounded her glowing red eyes as she focused on her target.
"I'm impressed, Idores. I never would have suspected you to get involved, especially when you seem so willing to do whatever it takes to win the war. Yet the moment your little assistant and Honda are involved you just spring into action." Mara inquired.
Idores eyebrows furrowed in hidden explosive anger.
"I thought you were willing to do whatever to fulfill your wish to the grail, it looks like someone is not being truthful to themselves." Mara said mockingly, a laugh emanating from her as she did so.
Idores blasted a flow of frost towards Mara, causing her to merely sidestep the blast. One side of Mara's body was frozen stiff however.
"I'm sure you would know all about lying to yourself Malga. If you think I'm not above combat then you wouldn't be the first. And no doubt not the last." Idores threatened.
"*Giggle* Many like you have all claimed in some way, shape or form, that they would be the end of me. None succeeded this far." Mara pupils narrowed, a wicked grin plastered on her pale face. The frost that was in her body began melting off, the water reduced to steam as it touched Mara's exposed skin.
"I always did hear rumors about your 'family' Malga. I know that you are a descendant of Witches who lived among man for a time. At least until Salem. No one knows what truly happened there, not even the Clocktower." Idores said, looking questioningly at Mara's repulsive facial expression.
"You are quite the historian! Yes, my family did settle in the west for a time. It was a means of escaping persecution by the many zealots and fanatics back home. We had that in common with the settlers there, and you know what they say 'if you're going to hide, hide in plain sight.'" Mara said, waving her gloved hands as she spoke with calmness
Idores eyes slightly widened. "We? You lived…at Salem!"
"We were wolves in sheeps clothing, it wasn't long before someone discovered us. I was but a girl then, a foolish one at that, thinking things could be different there, that I could be one of them. I was clearly wrong. Of course you already know of the many bastardized 'trials' that took place. They say about twenty were killed. History is so full of errors, looking to blunt tragedy to instill an optimistic view of our past rather than the harsh truth that it was. There were more. Many. More." Mara explained.
Idores seemed to be shaken. Mara's lineage would mean that her age spanded hundreds of years. That and the fact that there were more unreported deaths at Salem could mean that Mara grew in power as a renowned dark mage through the deaths that occurred there.
"My mother paid the price by hanging, though technically, she was innocent, they hanged the wrong witch. I simply took advantage of the paranoia and acted my part. Afterwards however, the many dead had….another use I found quite meaningful!"
"And that's how you discovered the spectral golems." Idores realized.
"What greater means of finding spirit weavers than through the recent dead. We all hear of a grim reaper of sorts, imagine my surprise when I stumbled upon such a being during one of my experiments. A free creature, one that simply exists, evermore connected to the realms beyond. It took over 300 years of tries before I was successful in finally sealing it, but my many 'experiments' carried with it a limitation. You know how it is with magecraft, to excel in one field is to potentially close yourself to others if you're not careful. Youth certainly has a way of chaining you down with your own carelessness." Mara explained looking to the side as if looking into her memory.
Mara looked at Idores. She smirked.
"But enough of that now. Come morning there won't be anything left…"
Mara extended her black arm length dress gloves, the silver clawed tips of her fingers began glowing an orange glow.
"...of you!"
FWOOSH
A torrent of flame shot through her fingers towards Idores. Mara laughed maniacally as she did so.
--With Honda--
Deacon furrowed his eyebrows at Honda's removal of his arm cape. The way Honda held it seemed to be him readying for combat. If that's the case, Deacon decided to make the first move.
"Matter Deviation: Deconstruction!" The magus bellowed.
Deacon channeled aqua runes through his body to zoom across towards the magician, in the hopes that Honda would not be able to make a solid move. From what Deacon could gather, physically, Honda was weaker than he was, based on the size of his body. Though toned it was clearly not as trained as his, lacking the power his own did. When taken into account of Honda's use of phantom wire and his golem, Deacon deduced that Honda was more of a long range fighter as opposed to a close range one.
'If he likes to fight at a distance the best I can do is keep him close at all times! I won't let him breathe!' Deacon thought to himself as he swung a heavy prana powered left handed haymaker. The swing was powerful enough to practically tear through the air, breaking the sound barrier with its velocity.
WHOOSH
FLAP
Honda raised his arm cape upwards like a picnic blanket, flicking it upwards.
Deacon wasn't sure what was happening, but when Honda raised his cape, he seemed to just disappear, completely gone from Deacon's eye.
Deacon blinked. He couldn't detect any use of prana from the masked opponent, and yet he disappeared as though it were an afterthought.
Deacon's punch had missed, simply brushing against the cape he left behind!
What he didn't know was that Honda used the farthest end of the cape to obscure Deacon's sight and simply used a great deal of speed and dexterity to practically dance around Deacon's punch, specifically from the left side. When he swung, Honda left the cape alone to sell the effect of him disappearing as the movement of the cape would have given away Honda's current position.
Within the quick span of a second, Honda used his phantom wire to pull the cape when it was away from Deacon's sight, his strike causing the magus to be propelled forwards enough to conceal the movement of the cape.
Deacon looked side to side.
'Where is he!' Deacon thought to himself.
Honda snorted to himself hiding behind debris whilst using his hand to cover his mouth that was laughing.
Deacon, in his confusion, noticed that the cape was missing.
Perspiration gathered on his forehead.
'His cape is gone! Where did he go!? Is this some kind of illusion? Am I under a spell without me knowing it?''
Deacon's eyes widened. He pulsed prana in his head. The runes centered on his cranium.
"Abstract Reinforcement: Mind!" Deacon revealed his technique. Reinforcement was normally used for improving the attributes of solid objects. In this case the Deacon family perfected it in such a way that the normal reinforcement could be applied to more intricate and abstract things such as organs to improve their function or to even improve muscles or in this case the cerebral fortitude of one's mind to outside influences such as illusions or false visions.
'That should dispel any debilitating illusions he may have used already. Now where is he!?' Deacon thought desperately.
Honda meanwhile was chuckling to himself.
'Looks like Deacon's an easy customer! What to do next! So many possibilities!'
Honda thought of an idea.
He slipped out an ebony small little notebook laced with silver etchings. It was the ebony grimoire he pilfered off Mara's body when he forst met her. He opened it, scanning the many pages to see what he could do. The pages were written in blood red ink like translations, made for convenience as well as data. It was of phenomenal quality, written well enough for Honda to understand and follow the book and easily unveil its many secrets.
'Wow some of these spells are a bit complex sounding! Let's stick to something with a little more…flair!' Honda thought to himself.
--With Stria--
"You won't get away from me!" Stria let out as she unsealed from her armpit a grenade before tossing it near Elias. It exploded, causing debris to rupture and hit his side as he ran, some shrapnel hitting his back in the process.
Elias hid behind debris as Stria laid a constant stream of bullets wherever he went.
'This homunculus! She's like a walking armory!' Elias thought to himself before Mordred attempted a clumsy strike at Ursus, her senses dulled to the point that even sensations such as touch did not register to her.
'That cloaked bastard. He messed up my senses! I can't hear properly, I can't even see!'
Mordred thought to herself as Ursus had already cut against her exposed back, her armor giving way to Ursus' ruby dagger. Mordred was still able to feel pain however and back handed Ursus to the side like a ragdoll. Ursus would stagger back up and unleash more attacks, slowly chipping away at Mordred.
Stria noticed Mordred being attacked before aiming her sights at Ursus, unleashing a constant barrage of bullets at him.
Mordred grabbed Ursus as she could still force her eyes to see the hazy black robed figure and held him, noticing the muzzle flashes of Stria's gun to deduce that Stria was aiming for Ursus and held him tight to make that possible.
"Sorry! But if you're gonna pull cheap tricks like that then I'm just gonna pull cheap tricks of my own!" Mordred mocked as Ursus was laced with bullets, tearing his robe up as he was powerless to remove himself from the Avenger's grip.
Ursus' rune encrusted protective armor that he had under his robe began losing its neon red glow, indicating a lack of power to fuel its efficient nearly perfect protection.
Stria noticed it and began to fire.
CHLICK CHLICK
It was empty!
Elias charged her and tackled the chauffeur, using his strength against her own over the empty rifle.
Mordred couldn't hear but her eyesight held enough to notice a figure tackle Stria. Mordred had to limply walk, dropping Ursus as her body felt extremely heavy.
'That spell! That really did me in. Practically sapped me of all my strength! Hold on Stria!' Mordred said.
Elias was headbutt by Stria, the tough albino doing so three times in rapid succession against Elias' nose. Elias nursed it as Stria unsealed a fish gutter knife in her right shin and stabbed Elias' heart area. The knife broke off its hilt. Under Elias' suit, was a runic armor much like Ursus' albeit with white runes running across his torso.
"You sniveling bitch! You fucking slut!" Elias snarled as he slapped Stria across the face with his uninjured arm, before elbowing her gut. Stria gasped out before using her legs to grab Elias in an MMA style triangle twist. The red eyed fighter had her thighs and legs wrapped around Elias' throat whilst his right arm was pulled away from him to force him into her thighs. Due to his broken nose as a result of the vicious headbutts, Elias couldn't breathe, causing him to suffocate. He did use a Sternenkugel with his left hand to blast her right side, causing white embers to burn against her. He was originally trying to aim for her head but the bullet in his left shoulder made it near impossible to aim, least of all move his arm.
Stria held on tight. Some blood dripped from the corner of her lips.
"I won't allow you to hurt Idores or Honda! You are finished!" Stria said to Elias.
Stria tightened her hold, steadily increasing her strength output due to her increased strength as a homunculus.
"No! No! Not…by…a…" Elias gurgled out as Stria strangled him.
"…dirty…homunculus…"
He channeled white runes in his left arm, forcing a punch to Stria in the side she received a blast from, causing Stria to unintentionally release the choke hold.
SNAP
A spine tingling snap could be heard. Stria had snapped Elias' arm with her remaining strength.
Elias' eyes were twitching as both arms were in different states of uselessness. His left arm had a bleeding bullet wound in his shoulder whilst his right forearm was snapped like a twig.
He would scream but his voice came out as a whimper due to the sheer amount of pain he was in.
Stria was struggling to breathe herself as she laid down limply. Her side was burnt by Elias' Sternenkugel to her side. Along with that he hit her gut extremely hard, making it hard to breathe.
Mordred rubbed her eyes as her eyesight had improved a bit. She could hear a bit more, though everything was muffled.
"Hey Stria! Are you okay! Where the hell are ya!" Mordred demanded as she squinted her eyes.
Mordred flinched as she reached out with both hands to feel out Stria. Instead, her hand grabbed Elias by his hair, the man whimpering from the increasing pain to his head. His glasses slipped off.
"My eyesight is shit right now! Please tell me he's dead!"
Elias had to suck in his cries as the slightest giveaway of his voice, may just result in his immediate death.
Stria mumbled. "I'm right here…"
Mordred heard the muffled sound of Stria's voice.
She smirked, knowing that she was in fact grabbing Elias.
Elias felt his heart drop.
--With Idores--
"Ahahaha!" Mara's voice bounced against the walls as she constantly spewed liquid hot miasma from her fingertips, Idores using her frost as a counter.
The white magus and black magus were surrounded by both flame and the wisps of frost.
A clash of Frost and Flame.
Idores used a few ice spikes with her right hand as her left was busy countering the magma of Mara.
One lodged itself in Mara's bodacious chest, ink ooze spewed from the wound.
"Ahhhhhh!" Mara let out as she grabbed the sharp ice before two more lodged into her. One through her stomach and one right between the eyes.
Idores had a seal imprinted on her left hand.
"Album Gelu Ruptis (Latin for 'white frost burst')!" Idores roared out her spell. Causing Mara to freeze in place via a ball of ice wind that encased her before the ice spikes exploded, causing Mara to rupture in a black tainted ice explosion.
She went towards Mara's disembodied head, noticing how the Black mage was still alive. Her laughing gave her away.
Idores stared in shock. Mara's power was insane. She had to keep her down somehow.
"Ligare!" (Latin for 'bind')
Mara stared with a smirk. "You may…hold me for now…but you can't stop what comes next…Idores. Just like…with your master…you cannot protect…anyone…" Mara mocked laughing an echoed laugh. It was a wicked laugh, one as wicked as the witch herself.
"You're just a waste of my time!" Idores snarled before heading towards where she thought she would find Honda. There's a lot of smoke obscuring her vision, plus the constant sounds of explosions made it hard to decipher exactly where the street magician was.
--With Honda--
'Page 8!' Honda thought to himself before rising up to stand behind Deacon, the rumbling of battle blocking the magus from detecting Honda by sound.
"You seem distracted, Deacon. Come now we are far from finished." Honda spoke with his Warlock voice, chiding Deacon while doing so.
Deacon flinched and backed away from Honda, now dressed with his cape again in its proper place.
Deacon's hands shook.
'He's still playing me! Mocking me as if I'm some sort of novice!' Deacon analyzed, back in fighting stance.
Deacon noticed the grimoire in Honda's hand, causing the aqua clad magus' eyes to widen.
'A grimoire!'
"Ah! I see you noticed this little book. It's quite a magnificent find don't you think? Why don't I just show you it's contents? Page eight!" Honda said.
Honda stood arms outstretched. He let out a deep, and echoing chant that rebounded against the ears of all present.
"Meteor of the cosmos! Unleash thy fury!" Honda spoke with great enthusiasm, as it sounded like a great spell was at work.
The golem heard its master and raised its arms upwards as if on instinct, reacting to its masters' call. Homunculi could be seen dangling, holding on to the golem as they fumbled trying to restrain it.
Several small indigo colored portals of prana appeared surrounding Honda
From further away, Mara's eyes widened. She knew that spell. It was her own after all.
Idores looked to the sight of Honda using a spell. Her eyes widened as a big bright flash filled her vision. She had to cover her eyes in the blinding light.
Deacon could stare only in shock as before him were meteorites colored in lavender drenched prana heading straight for him. The gravity of his environment seemed to shift, propelling the meteorites towards his position.
"Advanced Reinforcement!" Deacon bellowed as one after the other, the meteorites slammed and exploded against his person. Purple coated flames singed against his suit, tearing it off bit by bit until Deacon was top less. The more he blocked the more his body boiled at the heat of miniature novas struck him. His arms were held in front of him to protect what he could. The blasts became too much, launching the magus warrior off his feet, straight into a wall as the meteorites swarmed and exploded against him, debris spewing everywhere.
When the light show was over, Idores looked at the battlefield. Purple flames filled the arena that was Honda's and Deacon's fight. Her ears still rung from the sound of interstellar space rock roaring through the battlefield.
Honda stood there, his frosty eyes glowed through the mask of the Warlock. He slipped off his mask, a confused look on his face at what just happened.
"Holy shit!" He let out. His face shifted from confusion, to acceptance to full on rapturous pride.
"Woo-hoo! Take that! Kicked your monkey ass into next week!" Honda roared out clicking his heels as he spun around, his cape flowing as danced in victory. He cleared his ears as he couldn't hear himself speak.
"Goddamn! That was loud! A man could go deaf from all that noise." Honda cringed as he picked his ears clean.
Once his hearing was in check, he cleared his throat before getting back into character. He slipped on his mask and posed hand outstretched with his cape flowing.
Stria came upon the battlefield, limply walking above the rubble leading Mordred by hand. Mordred in turn was dragging Elias by his hair.
"It is an honorable attempt to stand in my way, but remember this well. Know the depths of my power as you rot in the abyss!" Honda echoed towards the rubble where Deacon's last position was. An arm stuck out of the rubble.
The homunculi servants that rose from the ground witnessed the loss of their master, and the victory of their enemy.
"I am the shadow of the east! The walker of the void! The keeper of the great secrets of man and gods alike!" His majestic voice reverbed throughout the field, this dialogue being the line Idores actually heard once the ringing in her ears stopped. Deacon revealed himself as he struggled to rise up again. His body battered and scratched up.
Idores couldn't help but feel her heartbeat thumping harshly against her chest as she saw the magician speak. It was a grand display of strength, of resilience and sheer power.
Mara heard Honda's voice from afar. She witnessed her creation as it moved in his direction, running her over like she was nothing as it reached its proclaimed 'master'. Even to her, Mara couldn't deny the power Honda possessed.
'You are a unique one…Honda!' I now see why Idores would sacrifice herself for a man like you!' Mara thought to herself, sickly smiling as her body reconstructed itself.
Honda stretched his arms, his golem now joined on his back once more, its form prominent in a magnificent show of power for all the combatants here to see.
Deacon miraculously stood upright. He looked at Honda with fear as he was on his knees originally, trying to reclaim his strength.
"W-what are you!?" Deacon let out, delirious by the awesome might possessed by the clueless entity in front of him.
"For you my opponent, I am your messenger of death. Let my name riddle you with fear! I am Honda! The Warlock!" Honda said with dramatic flair, as the golem channeled an aura of royal purple through its body behind Honda.
Idores' eyes couldn't fathom Honda's display. She knew who he was already without the mask, and yet the stupid bastard was standing in pride.
Deacon raised his fists.
"If I had ever had my doubts about you…I…apologize…" Deacon said before rising again. He took a deep breathe before runes lit throughout his body.
"I am ashamed of thinking you a fool! Should this be my death, then remember my name Honda! My name is Darius of the Deacon family. I will fight you with the pride of my families' strength and the power of all that bears my mark! Come! Warlock! Let us fight!" Deacon charged his prana, a torrent of teal colored prana matching the intensity of Honda and his golem. A central rune appeared on his chest where his heart was. The power of the estate which once ran through the very ground was refocused, infusing Deacon with all the strength his family name possessed.
The other magi didn't think of it before. It was clear to them now. All of the facilities, all of the power that kept the Deacon estate running, that kept the lights on and powered the forcefields day and night, wasn't from a core or from some machination of magus construction. All of it stemmed from Deacon's own gargantuan strength.
"...The fuck…" Elias mumbled as his pupils twitched.
"What is this shit!?" Idores said to herself, not believing that a normal man would dare challenge a magus family head so openly, and yet convincingly made a powerhouse like Deacon display his full strength so willingly.
--Deacon Study--
Blonde hair flowed about as Saber felt the room shake. The very estate that contained her and Assassin was currently shifting as if an earthquake was happening nearby. Some debris from the rooftop rained down, crashing down against the floor near them.
They both had nearly fallen on their knees. The force of the impact was enough to topple their balance, given their currently imprisoned state.
Saber's eyes widened. The seals that had held them captive, and helpless to outside attackers, was shut off. Before the seal practically forced her upright, preventing the most minute of movements of her body. It seemed that as of now, she was able to shift her joints unrestrained.
The power that once flowed in the study was becoming steadily lessened with each passing moment.
"The seals! They are weakening!" Saber said aloud.
"I've noticed something earlier. There is a disruption of the prana that coursed through this estate. Something has interrupted its flow. I just don't know what." Assassin said
"Honda! We must get to him quickly!" Saber exclaimed to herself as she regained her posture, her back stiff from being in a proverbial fetal position for so long.
"Saber! Do not overexert yourself! That seal has sapped a lot of prana, especially from you!" Assassin warned.
"She's right, you know." A voice called out.
The two servants looked towards the voice. It was a woman who wore beautiful green clothing, clad in verdant green with her cold, sharp eyes containing a beastly glint. Her hair is stretched out long and unkempt, and it is completely lacking in the silkiness that would be found amongst those of noble birth.
It was the Archer class servant, Atalanta.
Saber narrowed her eyes at the servant assigned to their further captivity.
Assassin remained silent, simply studying Atalanta.
"You're the Archer class servant." Saber acknowledged.
"I am. Just as you are a Saber class. To be honest, I never did understand why my master insisted on keeping you two alive. A Holy Grail War is not to be taken lightly and yet he would rather forge an alliance an alliance with your master." Atalanta explained.
"An alliance! What kind of alliance would demand us as tribute!?" Saber asked, appalled at the dishonorable methods used to get Honda and the others here.
"The kind that would win us the Holy Grail." Atalanta retorted.
"Where is Honda? What has your master done to him?" Saber asked, concerned for her master. Her patience as a knight took a standstill as she was more concerned as to his safety. She wasn't one to stray from the vow to protect his life with her own.
Assassin noticed that Archer had her bow already drawn, an analytical expression on Atalanta's face.
Atalanta narrowed her eyes. "It is obvious that whatever happened to the estate was all because of your master. He has saw to it to make things rather difficult now, leaving me conflicted."
"And what would that be?" Assassin asked.
"If it were up to me, I would kill you both right here and now. The reason I don't is because my master has commanded me…" Atalanta said, clearly not liking having the servants still alive.
She drew an arrow.
"But when I think about it…I am not bound by any command seal with my master. This war has done a great deal of unexpected changes in regards to the rules of the Holy Grail War. No command seals, weakened strength and an eighth master, the likes of which I have only heard of in stories! One who would unleash devastation wherever he goes, and has the power to make entire alliances fall apart from within as well as from the outside." Atalanta explained.
Saber stared at Atalanta.
"Honda? You're saying, he's that much a threat?" Saber noticed the focus of Atalanta's gaze. She was serious. What exactly happened while she and Assassin were sealed in the study.
"Then there's you two! Your prana is not normal! Your strength was practically spewing out like a flood when I first found you! All that prana, its as if someone just pumped it into you two!" Atalanta said, with something akin to caution.
Saber and Assassin blushed. Its technically true.
"Whatever method you use to gain so much strength in such short a time, it has left us exposed to the other masters who have yet to reveal themselves. And now without the estate, we are left vulnerable! To be honest…given the circumstances, this is a risk I have to be willing to take!" Atalanta said as she drew her arrow and prepped it to fire right in between Saber's eyes, her face red with the realization that Honda's 'activities' were more effective than she had guessed.
CHAPTER END