The Knight in Blue explodes towards me. I cannot grasp the situation; the absurdity of it all makes it impossible to react appropriately. All I can say for certain is that if he strikes me with that spear, I will die; so naturally the only thing I can do is avoid being hit. He arrives at me in an instant, sweeping my legs with his lance. It hits with enough force to shatter my shins, and I nearly wet myself from the pain. I fall to the ground, and writhe in agony. It must be a pathetic sight.
"I don't understand it." He sighs as he twirls his lance around, ending with it's point aimed at my throat. "You saw what I could do to that woman there; what made you think you'd do any better?" I don't answer. I can't answer, because I know the answer is idiotic; I knew that I wouldn't fair any better. I knew that intervening would be impossible, and it would spell my death, but-
"Shut up," I spit out. "Shut up you bastard!" I try to sweep his legs with my own, in an attempt to trip him; hopefully it would catch him off guard at the very least. He knocks my leg away, unfazed, before delivering a swift stomp onto one of my knees. I choke back a scream. "I couldn't just let you kill her! I won't let you murder that woman in a place like this!" I stare defiantly into his eyes. "I'll stop you!" He gives a small smile, and looks almost sympathetic. Something about that pisses me off even more.
"You've got spirit, kid. I can appreciate that. I'll try and make it quick for ya." I have to do something. I have to defend myself somehow. I'm overthinking this; I'm focusing too much on the impossility of the situation before me. I just need to worry about surviving this encounter. I grip onto my bag, still slung over my shoulder; it's all I have.
"Trace-" The Knight's eyes flash, a beast-like intensity emenating towards me, and he flashes a smile.
"I see."
"on!" I pour my magical energy into the bag, attempting to strengthen it. I need to reinforce it; I need a shield, or a bludgeon, or anything that can help defend against this lance. No sooner then I finish the spell does he thrust his lance forward. In a panic, I hasten the process and allow too much energy through; the over-reinforcement quickly proves too much for the bag to bear and it explodes upon contact with the lance. The contents of the bag scatter about, surprising my assailaint. I take the opportunity to stumble to my feet and break into a sprint towards the woman.
I desperately scan the streets for something, anything to defend myself with. The closest thing I can find is some exposed piping, hanging loosely from the wall where the woman made contact. It's not ideal; a spear of the quality that this man holds is worlds ahead of some improvised weapon, but I can't just lay down and give in. It doesn't take long however to realize that the difference in power between myself and the monster hunting me will make getting around him unfeasible.
"No matter how you try and escape, kid, you're just making this harder on yourself." He appears in front of me, spear pointed outwards; I almost run headlong into it, and stumble to the ground as I try and stop myself. No sooner than my hands touch the concrete, I'm greeted with a swift kick to my chest. My heart feels like it's about to burst from the pressure of the impact. He smiles at me.
"I'll admit, that was quite a surprise. You're a Magus then." He hesitates for a moment before adding, "Well, not a very good one." I attempt to crawl towards the piping. He doesn't seem very intent on stopping me. He knows that I can't escape. I know that I can't escape. This was nothing but an exercise in futility. "Perhaps you were chosen too? It seems like too big of a coincidence to run into a mage that has nothing to do with the conflict. The Grail might have had plans for you." He gives a small sigh as I reach the piping. I reach out and pick up a broken chunk of lead, about two feet in length.
"Trace, on," I cough out. I shudder at the sensation as I pour my energy into it. Success? How many years has it been now since I've last been successful at reinforcement? It's almost funny that the time I would be successful is when it wouldn't really make a difference; a pipe like this won't save me. He eyes it.
"That's a strange magic you're working there. You expect to be able to fight me head on then?" He stands back and creates a small distance between the two of us. I stagger to my feet and hold the pipe out towards him, ready to defend an incoming attack. "Let's see how that spell holds up. I'll admit, I'm interested." Dammit. Even now, he knows I stand no chance. He's playing with me, like a cat who's caught a mouse and hasn't quite decided to finish it off. He swings his lance at my side in an arc. I position the piping between it and with a scream, smack it away. It feels like my shoulder was nearly dislodged from the impact, but the pipe holds firm. He frowns. "Yeah. A really strange magic. That should've been enough to break right through." He hesitates for a moment.
"What's the matter? Losing your nerve?" I swing for a counter attack. He blocks it away without much effort, but he seems to be losing the intensity he had before. The fact that he had to put in any effort at all is sign enough of that. He seems to be noticing it too; he furrows his brow in frustration.
"Today might be your lucky day, boy." His spear seems to fade away into a cloud of mana, before- "I was planning on playing with you a bit longer. 'll have to end this another time," - the man quickly follows suit. "If saving that woman was so important to you, you'd better hurry to her side. You might be able to give her some comfort before the end at least." I feel his presence fade away.
"..." I glance around nervously, awaiting some kind of surprise attack; it doesn't come. For some reason, the Knight in Blue decided to take his leave of us for now. I scurry to the womans side.
"What the Hell, master?" Lancer spits out. He wouldn't admit it to somebody else, but panic was starting to grip him. The flow of magical energy was getting smaller and smaller by the moment. Fighting that boy was proof enough of that. At first it was barely noticeable; a strike that should have broken his legs tripping him instead. A kick that should have broken his ribs leaving him winded and in pain instead. It certainly wasn't a fight the boy stood a chance of winning regardless, but even still, he shouldn't have survived that long to begin with.
Yes, Lancer was weakening and he knew it. His mana supply had been cut off. He arrives at the Edefelt Estate, which they had made their base. A sense of dread slips over him. He feels no sense of life in the mansion. As he approaches the door, he lets out a small sigh of relief; the flow of mana has returned. Whatever happened was bizarre, to be sure, but now-
"... Huh." Something was wrong. This mana is different from how it was. It feels wrong, unpleasant... Corrupted. He enters the estate.
"Lancer, by my command spell, I order you-" A mans voice rings out through the hall as he enters. "You are not to harm me." And so he understands. A wave of despair washes over Lancer as the situation sinks in. The priest standing before him, Bazetts command spells on his arm, her corpse lying off to the side.
"I see."
"Has Caster been eliminated?"
"She shouldn't be a problem any longer."
"Good." Not a moment passes before Kirei holds out his arm once more; "By my second command spell, I order you, Lancer." Lancer tenses up; hearing this bastard command him makes him sick. "You are to fight the others. All of them. Acquire information on them, and bring it back to me." He pauses for a moment before adding; "You are not to kill them."
"You know, Priest. Once those Command Spells are used up, you're in a lot of danger," Lancer hisses, his words like venom.
"I'm not too concerned." The Priest gives a small smile, and rolls up his sleeve.
"That's... A lot of Command Spells." Lancer gives a small sigh. This conflict just became a very unpleasant experience for Cu Chulainn.
