Words Count: 4173
A/N: The first counterattack doesn't go as well as Leo thought it would. What should he do now? Find out next time on Dragon Ball Zee! Seriously though, I kinda miss those skits. The way Goku just took a shit when everyone's being murdered was super funny, and kinda accurate.
(The Sky was dyed red by the coming of Dusk- fitting for a day as tragic as today.
Once again, an entire small Town had been wiped clean by experimenting Magi- Nay, that thing was a Magus no longer. It might dress, talk and act like a human, but it's the farthest thing from one- its fangs dripping with freshly-spilt blood, its eyes veiny and bloodshot as it choked and gargled incoherently, its dirty black claws reaching for the gaping wound I had left on its torso- a desperate attempt to stop the blood-loss.
But it's too late, even Apostles had a limit to their seemingly endless Vitality, and it had met its. Wordlessly, I rested my the sole of my foot on its head, slowly increasing the pressure 'till it began to croak and groan. "Wai- Wait, please I- I can give you anything you want! Women, money! I even have connections to the Tower! Spare me, spare me Milord!"
Glancing at our surrounding, I took in the sight of corpses littering the ground. "You do this to anyone." It's not a question, merely a fact.
This Apostle had been wanted for but three months, yet his Kill Count had already been estimated to a staggering five to six thousands. Everywhere he went, he left a trail of bodies for the Tower to clean up. If not for our- or more specifically my quick response, the Moonlit World would've long been revealed by this idiot's actions, though what I was most upset about was… "NOOO! Please- *Sob- Please save my son, I'm begging you!"
Clinging to my leg was a mother- someone I was… Somewhat familiar with. The pair of mother and daughter I kept encountering on planes, I remembered them still. I wasn't sure what had happened to the daughter- probably in highschool or something along that line. Ever since, the daughter was changed to the son- a boy barely eight at most. "Please, I am sorry about how we treated you before, but he- he is just a boy!"
Keeping my gaze leveled on the boy's prone form, I swept over his injuries to find a bite-mark. There was no cure for Vampirism, and it largely depended on whether you'd be lucky enough to even turn into a fledgling. In many cases, they'd lose all semblances of rationality and their sense of self- becoming bloodthirsty Ghouls- mindless slaves who'd do whatever asked by their Master. "I'm sorry…"
Raising my gun- the first handgun I ever got my hands on- sold to me by a sketchy dealer I met in the hospital, I took aim.
"No-" Confused by the turn of events, the mother sat- shell-shocked even as the barrel of my gun stared her in the face. "I'm so sorry."
"NO! Don't–"
* BANG
"What do you want, Leonis? What do you truly desire- deep down in your heart, what is it that you seek?Is it this?"
"I don't know."
I answered the unfamiliar voice, truthful for the first time in years.
"I don't know anymore.")
Waking up, gasping for air, I lowered my gaze to my hands- both clenched as though holding weapons- a handgun on the left, and a rapier on the right. Sweats drenched my forehead at the memory. "Leonis, are you alright? I heard whimpering." From the dark out came Artoria- a worried look marring her features as she took in the sight me- pale, shivering and sweating profusely.
We had stationed here in anticipation of daylight. While I wanted the Elites to have a good-night rest, as Servants and a High Human- both needing much less sleep than even the highest-caliber of Soldiers- Artoria and Archer had agreed to come with me to scout Swan's hideout.
Honestly, I was expecting her to hide in the City- surrounded by the comforts of Modernity, but I guessed even I could be wrong at times. In fact, they were nowhere near one other. The Map showed three types of Dots: Red for those with hostile-intentions towards me and mine, Green for allies and Blue for the…
Well, irrelevant mass.
In other words, those who had no emotional connection to me or mine whatsoever. After covering a fifty-miles radius of Fuyuki, I was able to determine a few spots I believed they were hiding in. This one was the furthest away from the rest, which's why I had gone for it first. Unlike us, Swan didn't have Spells for the sole purpose of transportation. There was no way she should be able to respond to in time.
Picking them off one by one- leaving naught but destruction in our wake was my expertise. "I wasn't whimpering… Just-"
"Having a nightmare?" A voice- gruff and warm, tinged with a touch of sarcasm and concern- cut me off, finishing. "Yeah… Just something in the past."
"Are you fit for combat?" As expected of Archer, even his question was based on logic and rationality. "I'll be fine–" I replied, patting my bulging biceps- straining the shirt I had on. "– As fit as a bull, see? Besides, mental issues won't affect my prowess. Never has, never will. I won't allow it."
As David Goggins once said, no men liked to torment themselves, but they still did it. Didn't matter how much they hated working out or fighting, or training…etc. If something needed to be done, you could bet your ass no amount of anguishes- mental or physical- was going to stop me from accomplishing the goals I had set… And that goal- for today at least- was the utter annihilation of one of Swan's Faction.
I wanted her demise to be a slow, painful and as agonizing as possible- like cancer.
I wanted her to watch while everything she had built up to this point crumbled around her.
Obviously, gathering a group of likeminded Magi couldn't have been easy, nor cheap.
House Glascheit had likely poured all of their resources into this plan. With or without the Grail War, they'd have tried this regardless. I wanted them to regret every fucking decision they had ever made from the moment those fools chose to stand against me. "… You don't look fine."
Artoria gently chided. "It won't affect my performance, you can rest assured."
"It's not your performance I'm worried about." Unlike Shiro or Rin, both of whom would have stuttered at the show of concern, the blonde said her piece clearly and loudly- almost like a lecturing mother. Eyes rolling, I taunted. "What are you, my mom?" Rising to my feet, I cracked my fists, turning to the small… Hut(?) in the distance. "What time is it anyway?"
"3AM- just two hours before we strike." Archer- his steely grey eyes glinting slightly- replied, falchions already held readily in his grasp. Of course, I didn't draw all my forces here. That'd be stupid. Two Servants and myself were more than enough to handle one pair of Servant and Master. Illya, her two maids and Berserker had their own target to take down.
Yes I wanted this to be slow and agonizing,
But it would be incredibly wasteful to not utilize all the resources at my disposal… Plus- as horrible as it might sound to some, Herakles especially- I didn't care for Illya the same way I did the girls. As for Enkidu, I had him stationed in my Castle in case of an emergency.
My means of communication- magical or technological- could still be intercepted, but the Link between a Master and their Servant? Now that's one tough nut to crack. Palm clumsily swiping down my face- an attempt to rid myself of the bouts of sleepiness- I slowly, side-to-side, shook.
"Did anything happen while I was asleep?" It was more of a nap than a proper sleep, but it had somewhat eased the mental burden I was suffering from due to sleeplessness.
"Not much. No one has left or entered the hut. Everything is quiet- too quiet." Archer concluded- a look of suspicion crossing his face.
"It's probably a trap." I said, voicing the thoughts that must have been plaguing them both. "To be fair, what isn't a trap these days?" Chuckling, I ignored the odd, judging looks the Servants had briefly shot me. "Sorry, sorry. It's an inside joke of sort. What about the Bounded Fields? Was any of them triggered?"
"A few were." The dark-skinned Servant explained, adding after a short sigh. "But it's just the wildlife."
"… You wanna enact the plan ahead of schedule?" We had agreed to attack at the same time in order to force Swan to split her forces, but on second thought, perhaps it'd be wiser for us to go in first- draw the attention from the Elites and the girls. They were at a worse risk than any of us was. Even in the very unlikely scenario where both Artoria and Archer failed to protect me, I could always run using [Blink] or [Portal].
The same couldn't be said about Taiga and Rin, who're basically the weakest links in our Ranks. Shiro had been training with Archer for some time now, and while their difference in experiences and gender proved to be a large hurdle to surpass, she had done wonderfully. Sakura's the Antithesis to Servants, she would- should be fine unless it's a Master she faced, which left us with Rin and Taiga who were at a disadvantage.
At least the first had a lot of gems to waste- courtesy of Shiro- though the latter. She'd get utterly annihilated in combat, not because she didn't train just as hard, but because of who she was- or rather, what. Martial Artists' sole advantage over Magi was their number, which was staggeringly higher. Without that... She was basically a walking, talking punching-bag at best. Although I had excluded them from the attack, their safety was still at risk. Hopefully, my presence would divert Swan's attention far, far away from theirs.
The two Servants blinked, before nodding. ""I don't really mind, the quicker we get this done with, the better. / Procrastination isn't a virtue.""
"Then let us begin." Putting my hand up, gorgeous swirls of black and red gathered at the tip of my fingers- the first ever Spell I managed to learn, destructively beautiful as always- mercilessly shot forth- barreling through every Barriers, every Bounded Fields set to intercept it like a cannonball.
An inferno consumed the tiny structure in Cursed Mana, raining Hells in its wake.
Simultaneously, Artoria- who's wearing her iconic white shirt and blue, knees-length dress- was enveloped by a flash of particles, before showing up in her stunningly-crafted Armor.
"You two handle the Servant, I'll get the Master."
Just another day in my Life- another Kill, another number in the statistics. "Let's get this over with."
— [Fate: FS] —
They were highly-respected once- once their House stood atop of the mountain, looking at the starving peasants beneath with naught but disdain and loathing.
Now, they were a laughingstock. Their position- their worth usurped by a man- a boy who likely couldn't groom a proper beard. Yharna hated it- he hated that for a time, he had foolishly believed it's possible to work with Leonis Magnum and why wouldn't he? The Gardner was a fallen House, controlled by an idiot with a boner for trees and grasses, as if his 'precious Pride'could ever compare with the monetary benefits and status a true Noble House should possess.
Regardless of what others might say, House Gardner was filled with fools and idiots of the highest order, and Yharna had relished every moments of his blade digging into the late Lord Gardner's arteries, when the life finally faded from his ever-mocking eyes, nothing on this Earth could compare to the genuine happiness he felt then.
With his only source of materials in shambles- the Head replaced by his twenty-years old daughter, Yharna had expected- hoped Leonis would come crawling back to them- forced in a position to be controlled and taken advantage of.
Oh-How wrong he was.
He remembered it as clear as day, the night the boy's somehow able to locate his Family's fields- how they were burnt down- how in mere minutes, his went from the wealthy, prestigious House it was- respected by all- to broke.
He remembered how fast their 'supposed allies' turned on them- how quickly they were barred entry from establishments which once treated them like Gods- how they're blacklisted by Leonis and those aligned with him- or were simply too afraid to speak out against 'the King of the Clock Tower'. He remembered how his father's forced to take up Enforcer duties just to provide for his decaying family and- eventually- lost his life.
He remembered how his mother's harassed- physically, sexually and mentally- by those who worshipped the grounds they walked on once.
Yharna remembered it all, though none of it stung nearly as much as Leonis' words when they finally managed to pull back from the brink thanks to his contributions to the Department of Creation. Through a combination of Magecraft and Technology, he was able to create a new and improved versions of those Potions Leonis seemed so proud of- the Potions which allowed him to strut around like a damned peacock.
"He has found one of our dummy-hideouts."
(Yharna- just barely in his mid-twenties then- had arrived to Leonis' Office, carrying with him his patented researches. "Who are you?" The bastard had asked, lazily skimming past years of hard-works without a change in emotion. "If you wish to work with me, I don't mind. We can split the cheque… Let's say, 30/70- 30 goes to you, obviously."
"No, no! I'm not here to work for you, you cocky twat!" Yharna screamed, slamming the papers on the immaculately-crafted desk that must've cost a minimum of thousands of Dollars. "Look. Look at my face, I want you to carve it deeply in your mind. I'm the man who'll dethrone you." He had growled, expecting a violent response to the threat.
None came, just a lazy wave which brought forth years-worth of rage. "So have many said, yet here I am still. Trust me, you don't want to do this. I will destroy you." Leonis had said so lightly, he might as well have been speaking about the weather. Even without anyone to point it out to him, he realized his position in his opponent's eyes- less than a bug. "You–!" He went for the collars- enraged, forehead bulging with veins as blood rushed to his brain- before being body-slammed against the wall.
He looked back- equal parts embarrassed and wrathful- only to find a maid restraining his arms. "Let- Let go of me, you filthy peasant!"
That, wasn't the correct response for soon, he found himself pressed to the floor- his neck clamped upon by a sharp heel- sharp enough to penetrate his spine at the slightest motions. Never had he been so still, yet his eyes spat fires as he kept his gaze on the younger man who had dragged his entire House to complete ruins for a foolish, overly-prideful drunkard. "… You can't even fight my maid–"
The loathing in Leonis' voice was clear, even through the constant buzz in Yharna's ears, it was so clear. "– What makes you think you can challenge me? You." A slap landed harshly on his left cheek and he suddenly found himself spitting blood, yet the rage wasn't extinguished at all. If anything, it only came back stronger than ever. Spinning his chair to face the desk, Leonis sat, feet resting on his hands. "You know… I can kill you right now. A bullet in the head, and you're gone. I am curious though, what exactly brought this on- who did I kill this time?"
Tauntingly, he turned to the maid, arms spread as though he felt offended. "No, no. I'm being serious, who did I kill? I haven't gone out for months and it has been years since my last rampage."
"Orianna DeBartolo, Lord DeBartolo–" The realization dawning on his face was gold to Yharna. "Yharna DeBartolo! Do you remember any of these names, you fuck?!"
Closing his eyes in what Yharna perceived to be defeat, Leonis hummed. "You're him, you're the son of the man who killed a defenseless man- a man I cared for greatly. Have you learnt nothing from your father's mistakes?"
"Oh-Oh I have learnt. I've learnt that any attempt at negotiation is wasted on a barbaric twat like you!" Laughter bubbled up Yharna's throat as madness crept into his expression. "You've lost, I made my researches free to the public, it won't be long until everyone can brew better Potions than yours, and your efforts will all be rendered obsolete." Victory was already in his grasp, this was merely him giving the last laugh.
"Is that so? Is that really the case?" Grabbing his scattered notes, Leonis grunted. "There is a reason I didn't seem that enthusiastic when you gave me the researches. I will admit, you are talented, but already I can see a flaw in your recipes, wanna know what it is?"
"You won't break me." Yharna scowled, aging-lines covering his face. He'd like to think of those as battle-scars in his 'battle' against the Tyrant. "Your Healing Potion artificially induces cancer." He said- again, his tone lighter than feathers. "Now, I'm not sure about the rest, but who do you think will ever use these recipes if it's… Accidentally discovered the first of your Potions gives people terminal illness?"
"It's more efficient!" Coldness grew in the bottom of Yharna's stomach. It's the truth, and while he had added to it to rectify the issue… "To make it worse, the materials for these recipes- while cheaper than mine- would create long-term issues. You use plants of different natures, hoping the two would suppress one another which is smart, but not nearly as smart as you think."
Crossing his legs, Leonis tore Yharna's hard-works to shreds. "It's a sound theory on paper, to create something out of oppositions, but it's useless practically. It might work as healing-salve, I suppose. Though for a severely injured man, this recipe will cause enormous damages to his already compromised immune-system."
"I've tested it!"
"Have you? Have you really?" Each word caused Yharna's confidence to plummet. "I can kill you now, it'll be so easy. Nobody will know, and I can defame your recipes- leave you with naught besides a legacy of disappointments, but that'd be too easy."
He felt himself being lifted up by the neck- hovering above the ground as toxic green eyes bored into his Soul. "You shall live to face the consequences of your actions. A life for a life- I killed your father and spared you all because the punishment needs to fit the crime. Clearly, it was a mistake on my part to have spared you.
Illaoi, have our researchers look into these papers. It's available to the public, right? I want every sentence broken down and every flaws spread on tomorrow's newspaper. As for his mother- Orianna, correct?"
"Don't you dare!" Yharna tried to stop it,
But the sentence had already been issued. "Put a knife at the base of her skull."
.
.
.
"I've won." I read out loud the words written in blood, eyes landing on the stumpy, humanoid thing on the operation-table just seven- maybe six feet ahead. "It's a Flesh Puppet… We have been had."
They lured me here, the question was: Why? There was nothing to be found, no Bounded Fields- none worthy of attention at least- no trap, no encirclement. Just an empty hut with what I could only describe as a… Severely-mutilated Homunculus. Goddamnit, what a waste of my time. To think I was so cautious when entering to be greeted with this. "I found something." Archer's voice echoed from the other Room. "It's a wire-cutter."
""A wire-cutter?"" Artoria and I whispered in confusion. "Where did you find it?"
"It's just lying there on the table." He explained with furrowed brows. "I think whoever set this place up wants us to find the wire-cutter."
My mind whirled at an astonishing-speed as I considered every possibility until-
"It is a warning." I had swept the entire place, and there's no bomb, which could only mean one thing. "It's not for us."
""Shit.""
It's that exact moment that a Bounded Field- bigger and hundredfold more complicated than the rest enveloped us, blocking interferences from going out and in, meaning no coms was available to us. "These guys are pretty good… They've made their researches." Immediately, I contacted Enkidu to be careful and to warn the other Team of dangers, just to receive a reply which made my mood dip. "Master, something is blocking the coms."
"Fuck! Archer, get Rule Breaker out. We need to get the fuck outta here."
— [Fate: FS] —
On the other side of the City were Illya, her maids and Berserker. Truth be told, she hadn't wanted to join the War at all after the revelation that everything told to her by her 'grandfather' was completely and utter nonsenses.
Nay. She wanted to enjoy her last months on Earth in peace, until Leonis convinced her. Not only did the teenager use her affection for her newly-found sister to his advantages, but he had also dangled the hope of a new life- a new body in front of Illya and in spite of her brain telling her otherwise, she's inclined to believe him. "Something's wrong." She muttered.
While Leonis said he had scoured the City and these two locations were supposed to be 'hideouts', there was this nagging feeling at the back of her mind- that something ain't right. They hadn't begun the attack yet, and already she could see how sketchy the place was. For one, it's too calm.
There hadn't been any activity from the enemies whatsoever.
Secondly, why'd any Magus worth their salts ever pick such a remote, obscure location to be their Base when they could choose perfectly nice place like the Einzbern or Magnus Castle? It just didn't make sense. Still, she trusted in Berserker and the maids' ability to protect her, not to mention the dozen-something Elites who had been sent to escort her. "I don't know how he does it, but he always seems to know where his enemies are. Relax, Lady Illyasviel, they're probably just lying in waiting for us."
Confidently, one of Leonis' many underlings approached the Bounded Fields, and with naught but a few touches here, a few there, the Bounded Fields had fallen. Yes, it might not be the best she had seen, yet the fact remained those were decently-made Bounded Fields. It's no wonder Leonis was so-feared across the Supernatural Community. The man himself had proven to be a menace- putting up quite the fight against her Servant, even his underlings were expertly-trained as well.
"Yeah…" In spite of her best judgements and blaring instincts, Illya agreed. "It's probably just nerves."
She hadn't fought or gone on Missions, maybe it's her paranoia kicking in? "How long will it take again?"
"Just a few more minutes and… Done!" The Indian man rose to his feet, a proud look crossing his face as he broke one Bounded Field after another. "The place's now ours to pillage."
"Let's go in then."
She said, yawning lazily as she skipped carelessly into the structure, but a large hand stopped Illya- Berserker's to be precise. The Demigod shrugged, before gesturing for one of the Elites to enter first. "TrAPs!" He growled, and sure enough, a tired voice answered. "I'll check it out, I'm more equipped to deal with non-magical traps."
Made sense, the Bounded Fields had been destroyed, leaving only booby-traps as a final concern. In no time, the man found three wires on the floor- a rather primitive traps for the guy apparently as he disarmed each and every one of them with ease. "You guys can enter now. I am almost done, just one last wire to cut and–"
He was confident- they all were, to the point it also tricked Illya into trusting them. It's her first mistake. "There!"
As he cut the last wire, believing he had disabled the bombs, something from the ceiling sprung down- a piece of spiked wood hit him in the face. It didn't even scratch him, the force delivered the trap hadn't been enough to hurt a normal Magus, let alone an Elite or a Servant- or so Illya thought until 'the trap' was tearing the entire ceiling apart to reveal, "BOMBS!"
""[Reinforcement] up! / Be careful–!""
The words had barely escaped one of the Captain's mouth before everything in sight's consumed by the enormous explosion- one tainted by Mana and would have killed even a prepared Magus. It's only through sheer luck that Berserker's near and was able to draw the stunted-woman in his embrace, protecting her from the fires, the heat and the flying shrapnel. The rest weren't so lucky.
"Leysritt!"