Rin slammed on the brakes and the car skidded to a stop near one of the many gaudy strip malls in Valencia's bustling downtown shopping district. Berserker got out but quirked an eyebrow at her inquisitively.
"We aren't going to fight," Rin replied to his unspoken question.
"This mission is strictly reconnaissance. It's best if we continue in on foot from here."
Berserker nodded and fell in behind Rin as she hustled off in the direction that the magical disturbance had shown on the map. Whatever it was it couldn't be too flashy. It was dark but not really that late at night, couples on dates and shoppers after late night items were still wandering around. It wasn't as crowded as it would be during the day but hardly deserted enough that a Master would feel comfortable unleashing his Servant there.
After several minutes of fruitless searching Rin pulled Berserker into a small alcove.
"This isn't working. Whatever that magical disturbance was we aren't going to find it just by wandering around here all night. Keep an eye out, I'm going to try something." She said.
She closed her eyes and chanted quickly, pulling on her natural prana supplies to cast a mid level clairvoyance spell. She had several of her mana storage gems with her but she used her native prana whenever possible since it would quickly regenerate. Casting a detection spell this close to another Master was risky. If he had any kind of active magical scan running her spell would pop up like one of the neon signs on the shops around them. However, if her risk paid off and he was casting something else she would be the one who found him.
"This way." She said and started off again.
She detected two magical beacons on the other side of the strip mall, one weak enough to perhaps be an average magus and one reading as strong as a Servant. Just as they were about to round the corner Berserker stepped forward and put his arm across Rin's path. He held his finger to his lips to indicate silence and then moved stealthily forwards, keeping himself between Rin and danger. Rin followed closely on his heels and peeped around the corner.
They were behind one of the strip malls looking out across a largely deserted parking lot. Loading bays, dumpsters, and stacks of pallets from the shops lined the brick walls of the buildings that framed the large empty space. There were two cars, nondescript dark sedans, parked underneath a streetlamp in the center of the lot. Three figures were standing between the cars having some sort of conference. Two of the figures were talking in low tones which Rin couldn't overhear, their faces shrouded in shadow. She considered using magic but discarded that thought immediately. To cast a spell so close would surely let them know where she was.
On a hunch she blinked her eyes and pulled up her magically enhanced grail vision. She quickly skipped past Berserker's glitched page and Assassin's page with a shudder as she remembered the confrontation. She paused on Lancer's page, realizing that she hadn't taken the time to check it since her meeting with Magnus.
CLASS: Lancer
TRUE NAME: ?
MASTER: Magnus Barthomeloi
WEAPON: Harpoon Spear
NOBLE PHANTASM: ?
CLASS ABILITIES:
Tempered B: The Lancer is resistant to heat based attacks.
Tireless A: The Lancer is not subject to fatigue and can fight indefinitely barring injury.
Military Tactics C: Knowledge of troop movement, logistics, and strategy.
STRENGTH: C
ENDURANCE: A
AGILITH: A++
MAGIC: E
LUCK: E
NOBLE PHANTASM: C
The information on the sheet was interesting. Heat resistance, perhaps to counter the friction caused by Lancer's super speed? Military Tactics, some ancient general? But it was largely irrelevant to the current situation. Rin quickly flipped through to the next five pages. They were all completely blank.
Damn. So much for my grail vision telling me which of those three are Servants. I suppose it only works once they've revealed themselves. Rin thought.
But she had detected two magical beacons. One of servant strength centered on the group beneath the street lamp. And the other, fainter one. It had emanated from an area that Rin could now see was across the parking lot from the shady conference. Obviously another watcher. She strained here eyes against the darkness, fighting the temptation to use her magic.
"There, on the roof." Berserker whispered.
Rin was surprised that his vision was so sharp with just one eye. Still, he was a Servant. Even an E rank in all of his stats made him stronger than an average human, if not by much. Rin narrowed her eyes until at last she spotted what Berserker had seen, a crouched figure silhouetted against the moonlight. Rin's blood chilled. Could it be Assassin, waiting for the right time to strike? No, his Presence Concealment ability would have prevented him from showing up on Rin's scan at all. A Burial Agent, maybe even Carlos the Wolf himself? Then why would he read like a mage?
While she was puzzling out the new developments Rin focused her attention on the three men in the parking lot just in time to see the two who were standing side by side pass something off to the third man, a heavy manilla envelope by the looks of it. Suddenly an idea formed in Rin's mind. If she could provoke them into a confrontation she could at least get the Servants to reveal themselves. If she was really lucky they would do battle and the victor would be weak enough for Berserker to finish off.
With baited breath Rin reached out a hand and started threading a needle thin stream of prana along the ground towards the three. It was virtually impossible to cast a spell from one location and have it appear to originate from another, any spell that you use to mask what you're doing will be detected instead of the spell you're trying to mask. But if Rin could get a link of prana to the right location without it being detected...It was risky and if anyone noticed it they would know exactly where she was hiding. Rin's gamble paid off though and she managed to get a prana link beneath one of the cars without anyone noticing.
The next part was going to be tricky. The link was only strong enough to cast a very weak spell, and as soon as she cast it the string of prana that lead back to her would light up. She just hoped that the magical fallout from the spell and the ensuing confusion would allow her to make good on her escape. She held her breath as she forced a nugget of prana down the conduit that she had formed. It raced to the end of the line and then ruptured into an air blade spell, neatly slashing all four tires of the car from underneath.
The result was immediate. The tires burst loudly and all three conspirators jumped. More importantly than the popped tires was the magical aura that any mage would be able to detect as an attack.
"It's trap!" One of the figures cried loudly in a thick Russian accent. "Kill him!"
He dove over the hood of the intact sedan and as he did so his face passed into the light. Rin recognized him. Kirill Roschenko, the up-and-comer from a minor Russian family. The Roschenko lineage was tangentially related to the Edfelts by blood but they offered them no allegiance. They had a reputation amongst the Mages Association as mercenaries and enforcers with strong ties to the Russian mafia. Rin didn't know Kirill except by reputation, a dangerous mage who killed whenever it suited him.
"Kirill." She hissed under her breath.
"Who?" Berserker whispered.
"I'll fill you in later. For now we need to move, that spell will lead them right to this spot eventually."
Berserker nodded and led the way towards a nearby service ladder with access to the roof. It was secured with a grating designed to keep vandals from climbing it and secured with a padlock. Berserker smashed it open with a nearby rock and motioned for Rin to precede him. Within a couple of moments they were on the roof with a good vantage point and an easy avenue of escape should they be spotted.
The scene in the parking lot was quickly deteriorating. Kirill had ducked into cover behind the car while the remaining two conspirators circled each other warily, keeping the lamp post between them.
As if on cue they both leaped backwards. A bath of otherworldly orange light filled the empty parking lot as they called on their powers and after a surge of Grail energy they both stood in their full Servants regalia.
Kirill's servant was clad in a dark woolen tunic under a long shirt of ring mail. He had no helmet, his face was stern and handsome with a thick crop of blonde hair and a full matching beard. The rest of his garb was fairly simple, consisting of thick boots and pants cut loose for easy movement. He held a massive, gleaming two handed claymore sword with a heavy pommel and intricate carvings all along its blade. He looked like a viking warrior that had strode from a picture book, proud and tall.
The other servant was taller still but much thinner, altho his frame was made all of wiry muscle. He had the long facial features and reddish skin commonly associated with Native American Indians. His hair was black and strait, cut in a short mane that came down to his shoulders. Feathers and beads were worked into it giving him a tribal appearance. He was bare chested, wearing only a tasseled pair of leather breeches that gave him the appearance of a stereotypical Indian brave. Across his back was strapped a wooden longbow.
Quickly Rin pulled up their reports in her Grail vision.
CLASS: Saber
TRUE NAME: ?
MASTER: Kirill Roschenko
WEAPON: Longsword
NOBLE PHANTASM: ?
CLASS ABILITIES:
Magic Resistance C: Cancel spells with a chant below two verses.
Dragonslayer: Grants a bonus to combat against mythical beasts.
Bravery B: Negates mental interference.
STRENGTH: A
ENDURANCE: B
AGILITH: C
MAGIC: E
LUCK: D
NOBLE PHANTASM: B
CLASS: Archer
TRUE NAME: ?
MASTER: ?
WEAPON: Bow
NOBLE PHANTASM: ?
CLASS ABILITIES:
Independent Action B: The Archer can survive without prana for an extended period of time.
Battle Continuation B: The Archer remains at full strength despite injury or the length of battle.
Disengage B: The Archer can return the conditions to what they were at the beginning of the fight.
STRENGTH: D
ENDURANCE: A
AGILITH: A
MAGIC: C
LUCK: D
NOBLE PHANTASM: D
Rin's quick scan was interrupted as Kirill called out.
"What are you waiting for, attack!"
In a split second Saber charged, sword held high. Rin expected Archer to dodge out of the way but he didn't, instead ducking forwards under the blow and unlimbering a pair of tomahawks from his belt. With the grace of a hunter he parried Saber's devastating blow, sending the massive longsword cleaving into the asphalt. It was only trapped there for an instant but that was plenty of time for Archer to quickly circle and drive both of his tomahawks into Saber's flank.
Saber grunted, tore his sword free, and let lose with a wild backhanded swing. There wasn't much chance of it connecting but it did what it was intended to, sent Archer dancing back several steps and gave Saber a little room to maneuver. Rin could see two tiny gashes where Archer's attacks had connected altho they were much smaller than she had expected them to be. Puzzled, she pulled up Saber's report once more and was surprised to see that a new item had appeared in the Class Abilities section.
Damage Reduction B: All attacks are reduced by three ranks.
This told her that the status reports she saw could be altered and updated as she saw more of a servant's capabilities. They didn't give the whole picture right off the bat. It also told her that unless Archer had some ace up his sleeve there wasn't much chance of him winning. He simply didn't have enough power to deal damage to Saber consistently. There was a crash of steel on steel from below and Rin focused back on the fight. She quickly reassessed Archer's chances.
He was like a ghost, flitting back and forth, never standing still for the time it would take one of Saber's devastating attacks to hit. He took advantage of how unwieldy a massive weapon like Saber's sword would be at extreme close range, either fighting right beside him or backing off out of range to send an arrow or two to compliment his assault. He switched from his bow to his twin tomahawks and back faster than Rin could follow, alternating between ranged and melee attacks as he kept Saber either too far or too close to do any damage.
Against a less agile servant Saber would destroy them in minutes. Against Archer he simply couldn't land a blow while Archer was able to skip in and out, landing a nick here and a cut there. Already Saber was bleeding from a dozen small wounds. How long would it take Archer to wear him down? And could Saber get in one lucky swing before that happened? It turned out to be a moot point.
Kirill leaped up onto the hood of the car in a rage as he saw his Servant being chipped away at. He tore the sleeve back from his forearm, revealing the deep red tattoo of his command seals. He held them up like a ward.
"Saber, use your Noble Phantasm!"
Saber grinned and for the first time Archer hesitated, unsure if he should weather the coming assault from within Saber's defenses as he had been or to back out of range. He opted for the cautious route and danced back several steps. It didn't matter.
"GRAM, COME TO ME!" Saber cried, thrusting his sword towards the heavens. The blade began to emanate a deep blue glow. He paused for a split second, his gaze fixed on Archer, and then he swung.
A massive explosion rocked the parking lot. Rin didn't even have time to throw up a shield, she was slammed off her feet and thrown backwards. The building behind where Archer had been standing was blasted into smithereens. Rin sat up, head shaking, ears ringing, blood streaming from her nose. She coughed in the rising debis cloud that was mushrooming above where Saber stood.
"What was...what was that?" Berserker asked, pushing himself to his knees beside her. It took Rin a moment but eventually she regained her senses. She quickly brought up Saber's report, filling in the blanks.
TRUE NAME: Sigurd
NOBLE PHANTASM: Gram
Type: Anti-Army
Description: Gram was struck deep into the heart of Barnstokkr by the gods and then pulled forth by a mighty hero. It was shattered and then reforged for Sigurd to slay the dragon Fafnir. The blade is so sharp that it can cleave the very atomies of reality, releasing their energy.
Rin read the description and then read it again. Saber was the legendary Sigurd of the Nibelungenleid. His blade was Gram, gifted to his father by Odin himself. And it was sharp enough to cut atoms in half causing mini nuclear fission explosions.
"We need to go. Right now." She said.
"Did Archer survive?" Berserker asked.
"I don't see how he could, but I think it would be best not to find out."
"And the man in black who was watching?"
That gave Rin a moments pause but then she hurried Berserker towards the ladder.
"Whoever he is, he's either dead or running. Just like we should. We need to get home, there's a lot to think about." She said.
The explosion had sent crowds of screaming people scattering from the vicinity. It was easy to get lost in the crowd as Rin and Berserker made their way back to the car.