"Impressive." A booming voice radiates through the air. As it does, the lights around the park die, and the voice continues. "Show me more."
A bright light then forces Maverick to cover his eyes, and upon looking up, he sees the source. Giant metal arrows in the air, their reflection of the moonlight altering the hour of those that stand under them. "Argh!" Jeanne shouts before scooping up her Master, and as he holds her tight, she begins to move, avoiding the rain of steel.
Despite the destruction that follows her movement, the sound, force, and debris, Jeanne is unwavering, a fact that draws her Master's attention to her. "The schwarzwald falke is untouchable, for her wings can traverse even the blackest of woods." Jeanne says, and her Master's infatuation turns to confoundment.
"Stop looking at me." The woman says in annoyance, and the man she carries does as told, opting instead to cover his face to protect himself from debris.
"Hahahahaha!" The voice laughs after his rain stops, the arrows he launched now a fixture of the park. At his merriment, Jeanne, after letting her Master down, roars into the black void. "Argh! Come out here, shit head!," She then smiles maliciously, "Or you don't have the balls?" After a brief silence, the voice responds.
"Oh, I assure you I am no coward." Shortly after the voice responds, the sound of air being sliced can be heard, approaching, before Jeanne swings her sword, producing an explosion that parries a giant metal arrow. As Maverick stares at the pillar, more sounds echo from the dark.
Maverick watches the dark from which the sounds come, before Jeanne roars, drawing his attention. As he looks at her, she runs to his side and swings her blade, summoning explosions to parry incoming arrows. With the woman occupied, the man she protects continues watching her, breathing loudly as his vision blurs.
Alongside his vision, his hearing also fades, the sounds around him, of flying giant arrows and of explosions, all disappear, leaving behind only a persistent ringing.
"Argh!" Jeanne roars before unleashing another swing, breaking Maverick out of his trance. Then, while continuing to watch her, he smiles, breathing easing as he does, and he begins watching their surroundings. With arrows flying in from all directions, slight pause between each echo, Jeanne continues defending Maverick and herself.
…
Maverick bites his nails while watching his Servant. While she has been successful in her defense, he can feel their energy drain. "I wonder how much longer you can continue." The voice says playfully, "Do not disappoint me."
"Grr…" As Jeanne growls, she parries another arrow. While it drops to the floor like many others, it proceeds to vanish, preventing Maverick and Jeanne from using it and the other arrows as co-
The young man's line of thought stops, and he turns to his Servant. Seeing her focusing on defense, he continues peering at her, till she pushes him to the side. "Move!" She shouts before swinging her blade again. "Damn it." He curses, drawing an angered 'what?!' from her.
"It's nothing." He says before running to her side, and despite the sounds of explosions, he is able to talk with her. After hearing what he has to say, she smiles maliciously and nods.
"Hei, no balls!" Maverick shouts into the dark void, "Is bullying a weak-" Bon! A blast of black flames flies past him. "Scheisse." He hears Jeanne speak, and the voice follows. "I assume you have a strategy in mind?" "Ya." As soon as she answers, fires erupt from Jeanne, spreading in every direction and surrounding her and her Master.
While Maverick wipes his sweat, panting as he does, the shots from the enemy are now halted. And thus, Jeanne begins spreading her fires as she and Maverick move, allowing the flickering black to constantly surround them. Yet, despite the ground they cover, their enemy's form remains elusive.
As Jeane focuses on spreading her fire, something can be heard. Loud sounds, like metal continually clashing into one another. "Ugh!" She and Maverick both grunt at the continuous voice, with Jeanne's fires then reducing in intensity. Just then, an arrow comes flying in, and while she manages to parry, Jeanne grits her teeth as she watches her and Maverick's surroundings.
Maverick's gaze too wanders, before a roar from Jeanne draws it back to her. She continues to swing her swords to produce explosions, and while watching her, her Master smiles, before his eyes widen. As she swings her sword again, another explosion spawns as before. While watching this, wiping some sweat off his brow as he does, the young man smiles before moving towards his Servant.
Then, once again, they repeat the strategy they used, creating walls of flames to surround them as they move.
…
"Ugh!" Jeanne and Maverick grunt once more, the sound that caused the Berserker's flame to weaken returning. Then, as before, Jeanne's flame weakens, and an arrow flies, and Jeanne smiles before swinging her blade.
As another explosion erupts, fires rise, and the flickering black walls move towards where the arrow came from. Then, while matching the dark sky in color, the flames provide some light, at least enough for Maverick and Jeanne to find what they are after.
A giant of a man, one of Caucasian descent, wielding a bow matching his stature and the arrows he fired. He wears a brown metal breastplate, and a red tunic lies beneath, stopping slightly above his knees. A golden colored cape, made of fur, flows down his back, and a bracer surrounds his wrist, the apparel seemingly leather and also brown.
His shins are covered by a piece of metal that is also brown, and the final piece of his clothing is the most eye-catching. The head of a lion, golden like his cape, serving as his helmet. Upon closer inspection, Maverick notices that the cape behind the Archer is in fact the lion's body.
Also, the Master notices that the Servant is of very muscular physique, a fact unhidden by said Servant's clothing and the poor lighting around him.
"Heh." Archer sniggers upon being discovered, with him then looking around, smiling and surveying the walls of flames that trap him. "I see. So you used the raised temperature to conjure your fire faster." He then laughs again, and while still smiling, turns back to Maverick and Jeanne and preps for a shot.
"Very well. Come!" He shouts, and Jeanne speaks up. "We need to go." "What?" Maverick stares at her as her fires surround Archer, her scooping him up as they do.
"Wait. Are you out of mana?" Maverick asks in a panic as his Servant carries him. Meanwhile, said Servant looks behind before stepping to the side. An explosion of force and wind proceeds to pepper Maverick, a result of one of Archer's arrows decimating the ground next to Jeanne. Seeing Jeanne continuing to run, her Master looks away, chewing on his thumb as he does.
…
"I have an idea." Maverick says before Jeanne proceeds to drop him, and as he grunts, she turns around and swings her sword, summoning an explosion to protect them both. "And?" At her questioning, and after he soothes his pain, the young man continues.
"Items?" Jeanne asks after her Master explains his idea. "Ya. If I can't restore your mana, maybe we can use items?" "Hm…" Jeanne hums as she spawns another explosion. "Actually," She continues, "This could work."
As another arrow flies, the Berserker swiftly picks up her Master once more and continues running. As she runs, her Master, despite his situation, can't help but stare at her, with her smiling as her focus shifts between the road ahead and the danger behind. Soon, something pricks at the Master.
"Wait! That magic thing!" Maverick shouts. "Whatever!" His Servant shouts back, "I think it's supposed to keep people out! At least this should slow that asshole down!" While Maverick stares at Jeanne, she continues to run, and soon…
"Ow!" Maverick shouts after being dropped to the floor one more time, Jeanne having done so after arriving at a road. As he lets out a sigh, a car comes down the road, and he stares at what happens next. The young woman jumps in front of the car, and the tires screech as she is pushed back slightly, but she manages to stop it.
"Get out." Jeanne says to the passengers, a couple who stares at her. "I said, get out!" That does the trick, and while the couple leave, Jeanne tells Maverick to drive. In response, he stares at the scene before sighing.
"Hold on." Jeanne stops her Master as he moves, studying the vehicle she just robbed. "I was thinking, I will stay outside so that asshole won't fuck us up. Just, ain't sure I can stay on the car." Jeanne's statement causes her Master to study her and the car, and as his gaze moves to her swords, his eyes widen.
After Maverick sits behind the wheel, the tip of Jeanne's Chinese sword pierces the roof, and her katanas follow. Seeing this, he takes a deep breath before stepping on the gas.
…
"Ugh!" Maverick grunts after a while of driving, and his eyes widen. "You got that?!" He hears his Servant shout from above the roof, with him giving the confirmation of receipt. "Ya..." He says to himself after the response, sighing as he does, "This could work…"
Then, he continues driving, led by the information Jeanne provided telepathically, before the sound of an explosion startles him. "Jan?!" "I am fine!" She responds before another explosion sounds, and he takes a deep breath while continuing to drive. Meanwhile, on the roof, Jeanne grits her teeth, glaring into the night as she holds onto the handles of her swords.
She then turns, and with one hand holding onto one of her swords, a black fireball forms in the other. She throws the orb, and it flies through the black sky before clashing with a giant steel arrow, exploding upon impact.
And thus, the drive and pitch continue, the young man taking deep breaths to stabilize himself, the young woman continuing to defend them, her swords ensuring her stability. As she throws another black burning orb, she feels her balance slip, but she holds onto the handle of her third sword to stabilize herself.
With her footing regained, she unleashes another ball of fire.
Meanwhile, in front of the wheel, the young woman's Master, after taking a deep breath, grins as he drives, with him then wiping the sweat off his brow. Despite the night's cold, he no longer feels winter's assault, but is instead blanketed by a sense of lightness, one he feels in control of.
As the drive continues, a sight soon causes Jeanne to stare, and she proceeds to curse as Archer's arrow flies. "Rargh!" With a roar, she chucks another fireball, and the ensuing explosion, one of larger magnitude than before, erupts next to a car driving after the one Maverick commands.
While the vehicle goes into a frenzy, Jeanne grits her teeth, but another arrow, one smaller, flies and hits one of the car's tires, seemingly preventing it from steering off the road.
Jeanne lets out a sigh as the car she stands on continues moving, and her focus goes back to the night sky.
…
"What is it, Jon? I know things were bad, but you said you had it under control." A woman asks Jonas Jaeger, the former Master of Jeanne, in German. Joined by another woman in the living room of his mansion, the German man, still well dressed, proceeds to down some alcohol.
"Oh, don't worry about it. We will figure it out. For tonight.." "Herr!" The voice of one of Jonas' security guards comes from a speaker as things are about to get good, prompting an angered "What?!" from his employer. "I will show you the feed!" As soon as a hologram appears in mid air, Jonas hears it, both from the feed and outside his house.
An explosion, a car, and the mansion gate broken down.
"You assholes better let me in or I am burning the place down!" The sound of Berserker comes from the feed, the Servant currently atop the car making its way to the mansion door. "Herr Jonas?" The mage's security guard asks, and the mage sighs before taking a drink and answering.
"Fine. Let that hundin in.