Just an Avenger (III)

Once again, night had come to Fuyuki. Perhaps warned by a subconscious feeling, most people had long since retired to the safety of their homes, and there was scarcely anyone out and about. The tension in the air was palpable and could be cut with a knife.

In the deserted streets of the city, only a small number of figures still walked around with a semblance of purpose. One of them was a young, bare-chested man with an intricate tattoo all over his body.

He strolled down the street leisurely, like he didn't have a single care in the world, although the fang-like weapons he had in his hands spoke of gruesome intentions. The road he took led slightly out of the city to a forested area overlooking the sea.

There was a small house there that only a few people knew about. Its owners were an old couple that liked to live in seclusion. They had no children, and no one would be looking for them for a long time if something were to happen to them. Only one person was likely to notice their absence, and that was the priest of the church on top of the hill where they attended Mass every week, who knew of their circumstance.

Unfortunately for them, that was not a good thing.

The young man walking up to the house could smell the blood before even seeing the place. Without a doubt, the old couple were already no longer of this world. The lights were off, but even then he knew there were people inside. Well, there was at least one person, but he knew that he'd find more.

He didn't expect his arrival to go unnoticed, so there was no problem letting his presence be known. He walked straight up to the door and unceremoniously kicked it off its hinges, shooting it down the corridor behind it and slamming it against the wall on the opposite end

"Knock knock! Anybody home?"

"That was entirely unnecessary," said Kotomine from atop the stairs leading to the second floor.

"Well, so was killing the people living in this house, but that didn't fucking stop ya, did it?" "How did you find me?"

"Find you?" the young man asked, tilting his head. "Ohh... you were hiding. That's cute. Dude, there is no place in the world where you can hide from me as long as you've got that thing beating inside your chest. Not that it's actually beating, but you get what I mean."

"Lancer," he called out, causing the Heroic Spirit to materialize at the bottom of the stairs.

"As much as I want this fight, I would be more than happy sitting on the sideline and watching as he makes you squirm, Kotomine," Lancer said amusedly.

"Deal with it," the priest said.

"Yeah, yeah. One can of whoop-ass coming right up," the Heroic Spirit replied, twirling his spear and getting into a crouch. A millisecond later, the ground at Lancer's feet exploded as he launched himself spear-first at the tattooed young man.

The fangs intercepted the tip of the spear, but the momentum didn't stop, and both men flew out of the house.

"So, kid, what did you come up with since yesterday? Did you find a good way to get past me?" Lancer asked as they flew.

"Getting past you? Nah, man. That's already taken care of. You are the one who needs to get past me now."

Lancer had a brief moment of confusion on his face, and his eyes widened as a figure crossed them in the opposite direction. A short-haired woman clad in a business suit with an empty sleeve rushed past them toward the house.

The eyes of the Servant and his former Master met briefly, but she was long gone before either one of them could say anything to the other.

The tattooed man took advantage of this moment to knee his opponent in the stomach, pushing Lancer back and off him. The Servant landed without a problem and was completely unharmed.

They were looking at each other, but Lancer's attention was divided.

"Are you the one who patched her back together?" asked the spear-wielder.

The dark-skinned man shrugged, and Lancer scoffed.

"Well, that's already a thing of the past. I'm in this war to have a good fight. I'm not going to go easy on you because of that."

"Ha! If you were that kind of guy I wouldn't have had to recruit her in the first place. Anyhow... are we going back to killing each other or what? Time's a wasting!"

Lancer barked out a laugh.

"It's almost going to be a pity putting you down," he said before rushing towards his enemy with his weapon ready to kill.

Sparks flew in the dark of the night. [br]

With the empowerment of her runes, Bazzet advanced at a speed that most Magi could only dream of. Enforcers were often looked down upon, but they were the combat force of the Clock Tower for a reason. They weren't necessarily the best Magi, but they were the best fighters.

Bazett was a business-oriented woman. She did her job, period. She had many mixed feelings about being on the opposite side to Cu Chulainn, her former Servant, but it did not matter. It wasn't like she could talk him back to their side. Therefore it was better not to say anything to him at all.

Besides, she had accepted a job, and she had her own revenge to carry out. She was fine with not having to fight her former Servant.

In three steps, she covered the same distance that Lancer had made with a single leap. However, her target was no slouch either. Even if he was no longer in his prime, Kotomine Kirei was still a member of the Burial Agency. The moment she stepped through the door, she was forced to dodge the Black Keys sent her way.

He didn't waste any time jumping out of a window and into the forest behind the house. Even with just one arm, she was more than his match in a direct confrontation. She followed after him, just in time to see his coat vanish through the trees, and without a moment of hesitation, she gave chase.

However, by the time she had made it to the tree line, there was already no longer any trace of him.

She stopped and focused her senses. Kotomine couldn't just flee. Moving made noise, and running all the more so. He was hiding, waiting for his chance to strike. She only had a split-second warning before more Black Keys flew at her. She knocked them out of the way with her gloved fist, but they were only a distraction.

There was movement behind her.

She threw a kick at the dark figure coming at her from behind and while it connected, there was no resistance. The figure of a person was just that— a figure. Her foot was buried in the empty coat of Kotomine.

A shadow fell over her face and the gleam of a blade coming from above caught her eyes. Behind it, the stone-cold expression of a killer like her coming to take her life. Her fist came up to intercept the attack as she desperately twisted her body to get out of the way of the attack. She barely managed to do so by dropping and rolling on the ground of the forest and immediately got back to her feet with her only fist in a defensive position in front of her.

They stared at each other while they circled one another, looking for an opening to exploit. Even though he was right in front of her, Bazett could smell the trap waiting for her. Kirei wasn't so naive as to openly stand in front of an enemy if he didn't think he had a good shot at coming out on top.

The first to move was likely the first to lose, but time wasn't on her side. The opponent of her companion wasn't someone he could hold back for long. At least, she didn't think so. Every second was vital, and she had to make it count.

[br]

The striking of metal against metal echoed through the forest as the two figures clashed in the dark. Lancer's crimson spear flashed and was intercepted by the twisted weapons of his opponent.

This wasn't their first tango. Lancer knew exactly how strong the kid was, even if he now fought in a completely different way. He wasn't going to make the same mistake twice and leave him an opening that he could exploit.

In reality, he could finish it in a moment. The gap in their strength was that wide, but Lancer had come into this conflict with the desire for a fight, so he had every intention of making it last as much as he could. He was in no hurry to rush back to help Kotomine. The least he could do for his former Master was to let her have a shot at his current one after what the bastard did to her.

Besides, it wasn't like he wasn't having fun. While significantly weaker in terms of raw stats, his opponent was an experienced fighter around which Lancer couldn't afford to get distracted. He already experienced firsthand what would happen if he did.

That alone made it worth his while.

"Come on kid, show me something nice. The trick you played on me the first time was pretty awesome. What do you have up your sleeve this time? Don't tell me you thought you could hold me back just with this? If this is the best you've got, I can finish it anytime."

"Ohhh? Why don't you go ahead and do it, then? Your Master is in a tight spot right now."

"Like I give a shit," he snorted. "If she kills him, I'm just going to make a new contract with her. Looks like things have turned pretty shitty out there, and your plan to stop the Grail War went down the drain."

"Hahaha! Yeah, that it did," he laughed.

Lancer narrowed his eyes. The kid was really like a completely different person. From the way he held himself to his mannerism and ways of speech and combat alike. Of course, the looks as well but who was Lancer to judge another person's fashion choices?

Ah, well. Not like it mattered.

"Anyway, if this is the best you've got, I'm going to wrap things up," he said.

He hoped the kid would show him something new, but that didn't seem to be the case.

Just as he was about to deliver a blow that would tear through the kid's defenses, his instinct kicked in and Gae Bolg spun to deflect two attacks coming from different angles. He immediately took a few steps back, not because he was pressured, but because he wanted to see what his opponent was doing.

"Oi, oi, oi, what the hell?" he asked.

Swords. There were swords hovering in mid-air above the kid, And they weren't just mere swords. They were Noble Phantasms. It was all too reminiscent of that Golden asshole.

"What? Didn't you want to see a new trick? How about this one? It's called... TRACE BULLET!"

The Noble Phantasms exploded in his direction at the same time, much like it had happened with that other Servant. Lancer had no trouble deflecting them all, but his opponent didn't just stand still with his arms crossed like that asshole. No, he charged at him with his fangs, ready to get down and dirty.

Lancer's Protection from Arrows made him capable of intercepting any projectile coming at him as long as he could see the point of origin. Still, every fraction of a second he used to deflect the flying swords was detracted from the window of time he had to fend off the melee attacks and retaliate.

For the first time since the battle had started, Lancer was being pushed back slightly. His face split into a grin.

"Now this is what I'm talking about!" he laughed.

He was liking this kid more and more.

[br]

Bazett had underestimated Kotomine, or rather she had overestimated her ability to fight proficiently with just one arm. Kotomine had mastered a form of Bajiquan enhanced by Magecraft that made him an extremely dangerous close-quarters fighter.

The impact of his blows sounded like thunderclaps, even when she parried them with her arm and legs.

That is not to say that it was a one-sided fight. She gave back as much as she received, and Kotimine was forced to dodge and deflect rather than parry her attacks. Her enhancements were far superior to his own, but she had to admit he wasn't inferior in any other aspect.

Besides the sound of their strikes, they didn't exchange a single word, but that didn't mean there wasn't any communication between them. Bazett's rage was evident in the way she fought, just as Kirei's amusement was at the emotional wound he had inflicted on her with his betrayal.

There was no need to ask him to justify his action. The truth was apparent. Their friendship was one-sided and he took advantage of her trust to steal her right as a Master. That was the extent of the use he had for her, and once her purpose was exhausted, he threw her away.

She wouldn't hold a grudge against an enemy that tried to kill her. That was the nature of her profession. But she would hunt a traitor to the end of the world. Kotomine understood this. He knew that he wouldn't be allowed to rest in peace as long as Bazett lived, and for that reason, he had to eliminate Bazett once and for all.

There already wasn't a future in which both of them could continue living.

Naturally, Kirei could call on Lancer with one of his Command Seals, but it was a dangerous proposition. It wasn't like he had the loyalty of his Servant. If Kirei forced Lancer to kill his former Master, Kirei would be the one to die next. Or Lancer if Kirei managed to mount off another Command in time.

They both knew this. No matter what else happened out there, this was between them. Or at least that's how it should have been.

[br]

Lancer's blood was pumping. He wasn't expecting that he would face any kind of pushback from anything other than another Servant. Yet, here he was having to actually put up an effort against... well, he wasn't sure if his opponent was entirely human at this point. His physical changes seemed to hint otherwise, and that he gave the creeps to a creep like Kotomine spoke volumes.

But ultimately, he didn't care. The only thing that mattered was that he was having a fight worth calling such. It was because of this that he started getting a little bit serious to the point that he shattered his opponent's weapons several times, only for an identical set to take their place a split-second later.

That was oddly familiar, though he couldn't recall ever fighting anyone like that.

Judging by this, one might think that the fight wasn't going anywhere, but that wasn't the case. Even putting aside the difference in stamina, every time Lancer got through the kid's defenses, he landed a glancing blow that was added to the shoulder wound he had put on him the previous night.

But it wouldn't have been any fun if he beat his opponent by chipping away at this strength little by little. He wasn't an asshole that played cat and mouse with an enemy just because he was stronger. He respected and wanted to see their best. So he turned up the ante every time he got through the kid's defenses.

The wound he inflicted on him went from shallow to deep until he managed to shatter one of the kid's arms with the shaft of his spear. When that didn't stop it, even though it slowed down how fast he attacked, Lancer was happy.

Happy enough to go about it even harder and turn the tide again, putting the kid on the back foot again. In his excitement, he went a bit too far, a bit too soon, and shattered the other arm too. In a way, it was payback for their first fight.

Did that stop the attacks from coming? Heck no.

The kid made up with his Projected Noble Phantasms for what he could no longer bring to bear with his hands, but that didn't stop him from still coming at Lancer with everything he had. Honestly, it was a shame this kid wasn't a Servant. With a fighting spirit like that, it would have been a glorious fight for the ages.

Alas, that wasn't the case, and Lancer wanted to wrap it up before the kid could no longer fight because he ran out of energy. So with the next attack, he shattered one of his femurs. When he lost his balance because of it, Lancer hit him in the stomach with the back of his spear, sending him flying with his back against a big tree. The impact was hard enough that the thick trunk shook, and the kid dropped to the ground.

As he approached him, Lancer took a good look at his wounds. His arms weren't just broken. They were twisted horribly from him continuing to use them, even though they had shattered. The bones were sticking out from his flesh, and he was bleeding profusely.

"That was a good fight, kid," he said, tapping the ground with his spear. "Any last words?" The kid looked up weakly from his sitting position against the tree.

"Yeah... actually," he groaned. "Two of them."

Lancer titled his head.

"Verg Avesta!"

"???"

Lancer's shoulder exploded as a hole appeared in it. Cuts appeared all over their flesh, and following that, both his arms shattered and twisted, with the bones tearing out of his flesh. Lastly, he felt one of his legs snap, and if he wasn't leaning on Gae Bolg, he might have even dropped to a knee.

It didn't take a genius to understand what had happened. A curse of retribution. A Noble Phantasm that returns the wound to the person who inflicted them.

Lancer was momentarily stunned, but he laughed as he stood up straight, ignoring his wounds.

"Nicely done," he said, not at all upset by what had been done to him. "But it doesn't even the playing field at all. Even if we have the same wounds and you could still get up and fight, I would still have the upper hand."

But to Lancer's surprise, the kid was grinning. "You sure about that?"

A squelching noise came from the kid's arms, as a sword appeared to push out of his flesh followed by another and another. The same thing happened with his legs. The swords fused together, twisting his limbs back into position as he got up to his feet.

Lancer was stunned.

"Did you just... Project swords inside of your own body to prop yourself up?"

"Yuuup!"

"That's going to kill you, you know?"

"Fuck, did I accidentally put on my give-a-fuck face this morning?"

Lancer's face twisted into a smile, this one far wider than anything he thought he would show in this war, even against one of his fellow Servants.

"That's it, kid. You have more than earned this," Lancer said as he took a crouching stance with the tip of his spear pointing toward the ground. An ominous red aura started to emanate from it.

"If you still have any more tricks up your sleeve, this is your last chance to show them." "How about... this one?"

In a flash, another red spear appeared in his hands as he took the same crouching stance as Lancer, and the same red aura exuded from his copy. In a different situation, Lancer might have been disappointed by a cheap trick like having his Noble Phantasm copied and used against him, but not this time. This kid was punching way above his weight class and had managed to push someone as vastly superior as Lancer to this point, having earned his respect with every blow and every wound they traded.

"Let's see who dies first, Lancer!"

"You took the words out of my damn mouth." "Gae," both of them called out, "Bo-"

"!!!"

Just before they could gouge each other's hearts out, the entirety of the forest shook with an inhumane roar. A gargantuan black figure appeared from the darkness, seemingly painting the night even darker with his shadow and the shadow from which it had appeared.

"Berserker?"

The giant had been stripped of his skin, blood dripping from all over his body. And while his eyes looked like they had been gouged out, that didn't mean he was blind. Sensing the powerful presence of another Heroic Spirit, the Mad Servant pounced.

The two opponents jumped back as the giant landed where they had stood a moment prior. He didn't pay any mind to the feeble human, focusing instead on Lancer's presence.

The blue-clad Heroic Spirit grinned.

"This night is getting better and better. Come at me, Berserker! Let's fucking do this!"

His bloodlust was already ignited. He didn't care that he was at a disadvantage with all the wounds he had just incurred. He'd give anyone a fair fight, but he'd rather fight one where the odds were stacked against him.

He stole a glance behind Berserker's body, but his previous opponent was already no longer there anymore. It was a pity that they didn't get to finish each other off, but what he got in exchange was much better.

'That asshole better not call me back now,' he thought as he charged Greece's greatest hero.

The much fiercer battle tore the forest apart, figuratively and literally. It was a great night to be Cu Chulainn.

[br]

Illiya was in her tiny cell sitting patiently on her bed. She was aware that something was going on outside. Someone had come knocking, though she couldn't be sure if it was Zouken or someone else.

It wasn't until she felt the familiar roar that shook even the foundation of the house she was being kept prisoner in that she got up to her feet.

"Berserker?"

She couldn't mistake him for anyone else. Zouken had done something worse than killing her Servant. He had taken him for himself. She went to the door and tried to open it, even though she knew it was locked. She wanted to go out and see him.

Unfortunately, she didn't have the strength to break out and more importantly, she could hear footsteps approaching from the other side.

The door handle shook but didn't open. The person on the other side didn't have a key, so it was not Kotomine.

She took a step back, instinctively putting a hand on her chest in a defensive manner. It didn't really matter who it was. Her role was that of a tool from the onset. But a part of her still wanted to rebel. A second later, the door was pulled clean off its hinges, and a person stood in the doorway, with only the light coming from the room to illuminate his figure. It was not whom she had expected.

"Found you."

Despite everything that had happened. Despite the years she had spent hating him, Illya's eyes filled with tears.

"Let's go," he said, holding out his hand.

How could she not take it? How could she abandon him now? The two of them disappeared together into the night.

[XXX]