After Amarenzu left the battle, she went back to that one tree in that small park from before. Climbing to a high branch once more, she already started to review the things she saw. At first glance, she figured the Archer was either Greek or Roman, but after a back side view of him, she was leaning more towards Greek. There weren't many Roman centaurs after all. Given that there aren't many well known centaurs either, Amarenzu guessed the Archer was Chiron, the famed centaur teacher in Greek mythology. The knight, however, was a bit tricky as there were several famed knights in history. Obviously there was King Arthur - well Artoria - and his (her?) knights of the round table.
Artoria... Now that Amarenzu could think about it, that knight did look a little like Artoria. The King of Britain never really mentioned family, but that was common for most of the heroes in the Moonlit Plains. No matter, Amarenzu would find out eventually.
The knight's Master could cause her a bit of trouble with whatever inventions he has up his sleeves, but Archer's Master didn't seem difficult. Evaluation over, Amarenzu gazed at the star covered sky.
A Servant was getting closer, but Amarenzu could tell it wasn't one of the two from before. His or her presence was... different. Amarenzu went through the oddly familiar reflex of hiding up in the leaves of the tree before a blonde girl walked down below. Gazing down, she subtly masked her presence. The girl below made no such move to mask her own: Ruler.
"There was definitely a Servant around here, but…" Ruler looked around, frowning. There was a time and place for fighting and this wasn't one of them. Amarenzu had never fought a Ruler; subsequently, she didn't know how Rulers fought or their skills - passive or otherwise. At such a close range, Amarenzu's magic may as well have been a double-edged sword.
After several minutes of searching passed, Ruler finally gave up and left. Amarenzu's shoulders sagged, she wasn't gonna get a break anytime soon, was she? Holy Grail Wars were always so fast paced. She understood that the Masters and their Servants wanted the Grail with a burning passion, but can't there be at least a few days of respite? With the amount of Servants involved with this War, a grace period seemed slim if not non-existent. Amarenzu just hoped that there wasn't some sixteenth Servant somewhere out there, fifteen was more than enough.
The appearance of Ruler was questioning. One would think that he or she (a she in this case) would be closer to the Grail - Amarenzu being one of those people. The Grail was still a few towns over at the minimum. Was Ruler searching for something instead of heading to the Grail's general vicinity?
Amarenzu let out a groan, rubbing her temples. This was so confusing. For right now, it seemed best to wait and watch where the chips fell for this Grail War.
}-o-{
The sun rose not long after Amarenzu's train of thought met the full force of a headache. Now with people out and about, roaming around in the streets wouldn't be as suspicious as it would for her to do so at night. During her exploration of the city, she came across some civilians towing away a wrecked car, the very same from last night. There were also holes littering the stone road. The damage was surprising for a fight between two Masters without their Servants' aid, but it wasn't as impressive.
She heard someone pause nearby to look at the damage as well. Taking a glance, her eyes widened a fraction at the sight of the blonde teen from before. Amarenzu watched as Ruler analyzed the damaged car. Watched as she gazed at the surrounding damaged. Watched as Ruler turned and walked away.
Against her better judgement, Amarenzu followed Ruler, loosely as to not arouse suspicion. If Ruler stayed in the city overnight, then there had to be span style="font-style: italic;"something/span here. Ruler stopped at a four-way intersection and crouched to place a hand on the cobbled road. Amarenzu herself had moved to the rooftops after almost being caught minutes prior. A sigil appeared briefly before a pathway of light shot out in one direction. Amarenzu eyed the path of light, inspecting the direction it went down. Not waiting for Ruler to continue, Amarenzu paralleled the path.
The path came to an end at… a church? The white-haired demi-god stared at the building in front of her, what was so special about this place? She was expecting some evil lair or an entrance to somewhere below ground. Despite the anticlimactic find, she kept her guard up. Ruler's magic wouldn't have led here without a purpose regarding the Grail War. Amarenzu placed a hand on the wooden door. The faint presence of magic made itself known, causing her to pull back.
It's a trap.
Once again, she examined the church in front of her, only this time she was looking for traces of magic. The traces from earlier vanished. Her blue eyes narrowed, was the trap set for a Servant? The church didn't seem like it was expecting humans anytime soon. She pushed the door open and moved to take a step forwards.
A gasp was voiced from behind her. Blue met purple as the demi-god turned around. Amarenzu mentally kicked herself for forgetting about Ruler. She could pull off some innocent-bystander lie, maybe. A silence encased the two as each stared at the other.
"Need something?" Amarenzu asked, voice steady. Her question brought Ruler back from her stupor.
Ruler hesitated before shaking her head, "No, um… excuse me." The blonde proceeded forwards into the church. Amarenzu grimaced. Warning Ruler about the trap would have given away Amarenzu's status as a Servant, but now Ruler was going to take the brunt of whatever the trap was. Whelp.
"Hey, wait-" Amarenzu called out, but she was too late as chains formed around Ruler. Ruler looked down at the chains in shock before breaking them. Now in her Servant armor, Ruler inspected the innards of the church. Amarenzu swiveled on one foot and took a step forwards; now was her chance to leave. She froze upon feeling a tip of chilling metal graze her neck.
"Stop where you are!" Ruler exclaimed. Amarenzu turned slowly to meet Ruler's fierce gaze. "What was your purpose in being here? Who are you?"
"I was just leaving," Amarenzu offered, shrugging, "after all, I have a Grail to find." Instantly, she cursed her choice of words, why did she mention the Grail?
Ruler's eyes narrowed, "You are a Servant then." Amarenzu gave a halfhearted grin in reply, no point in hiding that fact now; her attire swapped for her Servant armor. The blonde's eyes widened and she lowered her spear - wait, was that a flag?
"I'll be off then," Amarenzu stated, giving a mock salute. Sadly, it would appear that fate had other ideas.
"By the power of the Command Seal, I order you to cooperate!" Ruler declared. Amarenzu was quickly ensnared by magic binds. She grit her teeth together at the force exerted on her that came from said binds. Lowering her weapon, Ruler placed a hand on her chin in thought. "I wish to speak with you; however, I must find someone else."
Amarenzu gave Ruler an odd look, "You would waste a command seal on something so trivial? No matter, who is this 'someone' that you are looking for? I am known as Amarenzu." The bindings dissipated into particles, and Amarenzu rubbed at where they had bound her upper arms. Ruler regarded her for a moment before shaking her head. Whelp, that's what she got for having all records of her existence erased by some no-good magus.
"As a Ruler, I receive revelations, and this man has appeared in several. I must speak with him, to you as well," Ruler explained before looking off to the left. "We must hurry."
Before Amarenzu knew it, the two were dashing through a forest. Suddenly, Ruler skidded to a stop, causing Amarenzu to awkwardly halt a few feet ahead. Amarenzu shot Ruler a questioning look before the ground started to rumble. The demi-god scanned the surroundings for a possible source for the shaking.
The ground ahead erupted, showering the area in dirt, as a structure reached for the heavens above. Amarenzu's eyes widen at the sight before her. A palace took to the sky; trees falling like rain in its path.
"The Hanging Gardens of Babylon?!" Ruler exclaimed in shock. Amarenzu side-glanced her temporary companion. Rulers could tell what a Noble Phantasm was by just looking at it? She supposed that was fair given that Rulers were supposed to act as a referee. The two could only watch as the castle in the sky took off in one direction.
Just as Ruler was about to run after it, Amarenzu caught her wrist and picked up the shorter woman. Ignoring her shocked expression, the demi-god kneeled slightly before leaping up into the sky and shooting forwards. Ruler glanced down before quickly returning her gaze to the Servant carrying her. It was obvious to her that this white-haired Servant was skilled in magecraft, at least enough to be able to fly. Ruler felt a hand maneuver from behind her back and watched as it wrote out some symbol that she had no knowledge of. A pair of blueish wisps formed from the symbol and circled around them like a ward or a shield.
The sun quickly set as a building appeared as a speck on the horizon, and the castle ahead started spewing darkly shaded objects onto the ground below. Amarenzu frowned upon seeing the dark flecks glow before morphing into skeletal warriors. Shortly after, two parties meet: skeletons vs. humanoid figures and golems. Chaos followed.
Two teal lines streaked across the night sky. Arrows rained down and hit a cluster of each side's soldiers; however yellow lightning sparked before arching up to meet the barrage of arrows. Amarenzu, with Ruler in tow, landed on a hill a few miles behind the floating castle as green lit up the surroundings. Looking up, Amarenzu spotted a three-horsed chariot race through the night. The same green appeared this time on the ground as it swept through some of the humanoid soldiers.
"Ruler, go find whoever it is you're looking for. I'll keep heading forwards, though you may find me fighting when you get back," Amarenzu suggested as she put the blonde down. Ruler looked hesitant, but nodded in response before she ran off while Amarenzu headed towards the battlefield.
The white tails of her jacket flapped against the wind as Amarenzu bee-lined for the battlefield. Warping from the edge to a central part of the many battles, Amarenzu created a shock wave upon arrival. Now at a closer range, the humanoid figures from before were identified as homunculi. Amarenzu felt the energy rush through her veins as she let off various forms of magic - though that could have been the occasional lightning spell.
Amarenzu didn't discriminate, launching spells at both parties. Her targets mainly consisted of the skeletons and the golems, only attacking the homunculi if they attacked her. A cluster of golems surrounded her. Slamming her fist to the ground, the earth trembled before erupting in a circular ripple. The golems were diminished to the dirt that they were made from.
Mid battle, Amarenzu paused in her killing spree. Holding her hand out in front of her, a sword materialized from blue particles that had congealed together. She gave the sword a few spins before pointing it up at the star-speckled sky, "Balalaq Saika!" Blue lightning arched down and hit the point of the sword. With the sword charged, she lowered it slightly to parallel the ground, and the lightning shot out from the end of the blade, diminishing the forces in front of her to mere particles. After seeing that purple-haired boy do it so often, she hoped she had gotten the calculations correctly; the results did not let her down. Giving a satisfied hum, she rested the flat side of the sword on her shoulder. With no one else coming up in challenge, she let the sword disappear in a cloud of blue specks.
Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted a new arrival: a homunculi. He took in the aftermath of the fighting before rushing over to another homunculi amidst the rubble. Across the way, Amarenzu noticed that one of the Servants from before took off to chase after some skeletons into the forest. Looking towards the forest, Amarenzu noticed the presence of a higher grade of magic, enough to pass as a Noble Phantasm, but there wasn't any trace of a Servant. Ignoring the glance that the homunculi tossed at her direction, Amarenzu dashed after the Servant who had chased after the skeletons.
Sadly, amongst the flora, Amarenzu lost the Servant from earlier. Now, she cautiously watched for any movement as she ventured onward. She was so far into the forest that she couldn't tell which direction led back out. It was oddly silent in the forest; any movement calling for her attention. At this point she was starting to think she was becoming paranoid, but there was an occasional rustle among the leaves that seemed to be getting closer. This was like that typical clique horror scene where some stupid teen gets killed.
Shink. Thud.
Blue eyes darted between the blade that now imbedded itself into the bark of the tree to the right of her head and the wisps of white hair that floated downward. Turning around while conjuring a blade, Amarenzu had just enough time to parry a blade identical to the one just off to the side. Now on guard, she stared into the depths of the forest ahead. The glint of another darted towards her. Sidestepping, she dodged the projectile and gripped her own blade. Yet another was launched towards her, and she once again attempted to intercept it. Her blade fractured upon impact before shattering.
Amarenzu's eyes widen as a second blade had followed closely behind. Reflex took over, and she caught the blade with a shaky grip, wincing as blood trailed down from her hand. She tossed the bloodied blade to the side and let her wounded hand fall to her side. Healing it would have to wait; the nerve that was severed had to be healed correctly if she wanted to use that hand properly. It was no surprise when a blade sliced through the leaves yet again. This time it was aimed towards her heart.
The blade tore through her jacket, but the armor underneath blocked it from damaging anything vital. Her jacket started mending itself when she filled the space around her with fire balls. The spheres of fire clustered together into larger ones before bolts of electricity combined with them followed by concentrated air bubbles. With the combination of all three elements, the spheres around her flickered between purple and red with a hint of navy blue. Who dared to lurk in shadows for so long? Amarenzu snapped her left hand's fingers as a scowl contorted her face, and the spheres shot forwards. Upon impacting objects ahead, the spheres combusted sending any unfortunate trees flying or completely erasing their existence.
Smoke and dust filled the surroundings. Ash from the disintegrated trees fell like black snow. Minor abrasions covered any exposed skin and her clothes were tattered at the edges before they started to repair themselves. Amarenzu glared into the smoke clouds, daring something to move.
"Set."
"What?!/span' Amarenzu's head whipped around at the sound of a male's voice. Purple light illuminated the dark clouds. Pain coursed up her left leg as something else lodged itself in her shoulder. She heard metal shatter. Looking down, she saw pieces of metal scattered on the ground and a larger piece going through her knee. Amarenzu yanked the piece out along with the blade in her shoulder, stifling any sound of pain as she did. The wound in her shoulder wasn't that lethal, but her knee had shattered along with the blade that wounded it. Without the support of her left leg, Amarenzu fell into a kneel. She pressed her left hand to her shoulder, a faint light shined from underneath. Removing her hand, the shoulder showed no sign of ever being injured.
Amarenzu let out a shaky breath - from anger or pain she didn't care to note - before struggling to stand. She stumbled back a step or two, putting most of her weight into her right leg. The faint sound of something being thrown barely registered against the pounding of her blood. In the moment of imminent danger, Amarenzu acted on instinct.
Dashing forwards, she caught a glimpse of her opponent. White hair and glowing gold eyes. The sword that had been thrown earlier whooshed past her ear. Those golden eyes widened as she drew closer. Barely a few feet apart, Amarenzu leapt into air, sailing above the black-clad man. The man simply watched as the demi-god made her escape.
As far as Amarenzu could tell, the man (Servant?) did not give chase to her relief. However, adrenaline could only take her so far. Upon breaching the edge of the forest, Amarenzu collapsed to her knees, blood soaking through her clothes.
"Amarenzu?!"
The white-haired demi-god looked up from her position on the floor - it was Ruler. In her purple clad, flag-holding glory, Ruler came dashing towards the downed Servant. Failing to stand, Amarenzu sat on the grass covered dirt, dust and blood staining her armor. Waving Ruler's concern off with her working hand, the demi-god replied, "I'm fine- I think. Nothing any regular Servant would perish to."
Despite the physically younger's dismissal of her injuries, Ruler still examined her battered form. "You are clearly not," Ruler pointed out, "Your hand is severely damaged and-"
"Look, I'm fine, really!" Amarenzu explained, pushing herself off the ground. Subconsciously dusting herself off, Amarenzu stood tall despite the aching of her wounds. Ruler looked as if she wanted to comment on it, but she decided against it. Amarenzu sighed, muttering to herself, "there is no way I am healing a severed nerve on a battlefield…"
Overhead, the fortress from earlier loomed. In the distance, the battle between skeletons and homunculi plus golems continued. Just out of hearing range, the rumbling of an engine and a streak of beige yellow traversed the open field at an alarming rate.
A/N: So I forgot to put this last time. Whoops. Anyways for the few who decide to read this far into my story, thank you; the fact that you guys even read the first chapter is appreciated. I'll try to put out the next chapter in a week or so. For the people who caught the Magi reference, kudos to you. (May or may not publish the actual crossover, depending on how much of a failure/success this fic becomes) And wow, I was not expecting that many follows/favorites already... By the by, when I was editing this, the formatting got all weird, so there may be some parts missing or coding somewhere. I tried to clean it all up, but if any of you spotted anything while reading, please let me know, thanks in advance.
Also, disclaimer: I do not own anything except Amarenzu, the rest belongs to their respective owners.
SMV Aria2: Creative criticism is always welcome here. :) Thanks for the review; it reassures me that I am not a complete failure at life.