Chapter 137
Avenger toppled over just as Kirei reached her, in an effort to dodge whatever he was going to throw at her, but instead the red-hilted blades flew past her and stabbed into the long shadow stretching behind her. One pinned her head, two pinned her hands, and an extra two was added to the center and waist for good measure. With the Black Keys in place, she wouldn't be able to move effectively in conjunction with the armor inhibiting her.
Then Kirei's hands filled with the Keys, four in each hand gripped between the knuckles, and he hurled them at a phenomenal rate. From all sides, a rain of steel converged on Avenger. The semi spiritual metal sacrificed physical attack power in exchange for being able to harm spirits and other monsters regularly hunted in an Executor's line of work. As such, against Servants, they also worked to some degree.
Try as she might, she wasn't able to avoid them, not with the Keys pinning her shadow and Angra working through the armor to immobilize her. Kirei's hand blurred, the insides of his frock emptied as he drew out Key after Key, sending them flying at speeds exceeding a bullet with the special martial technique of the Burial Agency. Steel swords flew straight, spun, curved or rebounded off the sewer walls and ceiling to attack from many different angles, some of them coming all at once, some of them coming one by one quickly following each other. Kirei had set up the pattern to make it difficult to dodge and anticipate, sealing off all paths of escape, and against a frozen target, it was more than enough.
With a superhuman effort of will, Avenger did manage to evade a few, twisting or shifting slightly just in the right directions to avoid being hit even while being restrained, but most found their mark. In seconds, the Servant became a human pincushion.
But the pain of almost a hundred Keys piercing her body failed to break her concentration.
Drawing in all the mana and energy she could find within her beaten body, she released every scrap of it in a ear-blistering howl that simultaneously blasted lightning and spiritual pressure off her body, halting Kirei in his tracks as he tried to get close, the armor cracking further and flaking off as more and more parts of her body inside was exposed.
Kirei idly noted that his eardrums seemed to have burst, but for now he knew that if he didn't make it, Avenger would break loose from Angra's armor, and then she would be free to do whatever she liked. Which would most likely delay the child's birth into the world through the Grail. After all, they needed Avenger as a puppet to ensure that revenge was meted out, and all obstacles were removed, before she was used as fuel too.
Steeling his body with reinforcement, he charged at her.
"Rest, in the name of God."
At the same time, his fists sank to waist level and his whole body dipped lower, settling into a horse stance typical of bajiquan, knees bent while the legs were spread wide apart as the user faced the enemy sideways.
Dust fell off the walls of the sewer as Kirei stamped the ground and launched Avenger backwards, his elbow sending her off like a missile until she slammed into the wall more than fifty meters away, cracking the concrete as well. The Black Keys pinning her shadow were shattered, the blades tinkling to the ground in small fragments. The Black Keys stabbed into Avenger's back were pushed even further into her body, the silver edges poking out the other side with how long they were.
Avenger slumped over, her head lolling to one side, giving no indication of being conscious at all. Without taking a pause, Kirei strode slowly but purposefully towards her, throwing a couple of Black Keys onto her shadow just in case.
When he got close, he could see Avenger glaring at him, slowly reaching one hand out towards him, even with her muscles shaking from fatigue and pain. Her eyes burned red, refusing to shut and lose to the wave of unconsciousness that threatened to engulf her mind.
Kirei simply batted it aside and knelt next to her, his hand turning to a semi-translucent state as the color faded slightly from the sleeve and skin. Running the blade of a Black Key across his palm, he pressed it into Avenger's chest, the hand passing through the armor and flesh like a ghost. As a spiritual doctor, he could at least do this much to 'reset' her state back to what it was before.
His blood that was primarily composed of the Grail mud flowed out of his palm, his hands touching that which could not be seen with physical eyes, interfering with constructs from the spiritual realm. Leaking into her Saint Graph, it distorted it once more, the already blackened container filled with the mud from Kirei's own body. Once more, her body began to fall under his sway again.
Until Kirei found a Black Key stabbed into his sides, his free hand only reacting fast enough to push the blade lower when Avenger stabbed him.
Catching a blade while it was being thrown at her, hiding it in her hand and using her other hand to distract Kirei when he came close, she waited until his guard was lowered, then struck.
While it was no fatal wound, it was enough for Kirei to pause momentarily in his alteration of Avenger. She seized the chance to punch him with her other hand, even with her muscles weakened and her body unwilling to respond. The fist socked Kirei square in the jaw knocking him back and sending him tottering a few steps backwards before he quickly righted himself.
At that point, she was already moving away, dragging her body away from him despite the Black Keys cutting more and more into her body with each centimeter she traveled, the contraction and loosening of her muscles aggravating their positions. Even so, she just needed a little bit more time, just a bit more effort, to finally break through the armor keeping her captive. The armor had fused to her skin, the underside like liquid sinking into the pores of her skin as they linked to a system of mud running throughout her entire body. Whenever she was injured however, it was inevitable that mud would leak out of her body, and without being given the chance to replenish, the amount of mud in her would gradually lower until she was able to resist. At this point, all she needed to do was to purge the remaining corruption of her body, the few pieces of armor that stubbornly clung to her flesh, and she would be free.
"Grrkk-raaaahhhhh"
A guttural growl rose from her throat even as she clawed her path, crawling on her belly through the sewers like a lizard.
Lightning surged through her body, the outpouring of mana burning her body, but also breaking apart the mud and dancing across the black armor, sizzling as what seemed like metal armor turned to thick liquid, dripping down her body as black sludge. A pool of tar like substance formed around her body, spreading as more and more armor disappeared from her body.