The Void's Great Work Chapter 3, a Magic: The Gathering + Familiar of Zero Crossover fanfic

Magic The Gathering is owned by Hasbro and Wizards of the Coast. Familiar of Zero is owned by Noboru Yamaguchi.

Urabrask was walking to the dining hall, where Louise had told him to wait for her. However, armed with new knowledge gained from the Earth mage's class, his mind was elsewhere, considering concepts he would usually never bother with. One such concept was that of destiny.

Destiny wasn't something Urabrask believed in. To him, it was a concept made by the apathetic to justify their own laziness. For the industrious praetor, things don't happen unless beings put in the work to make them happen and to think otherwise was foolish. Sure, he knew about the serum visions and "fatespinning" as the neurok humans called it, but the fact that such things were so easily seen and molded proves to Urabrask that the future isn't as predetermined as people would say. However, Kirche's words about how familiars are supposedly matched with their masters perfectly have given him pause. If there was one thing Urabrask knew, it was perfection, and perfection can't be achieved through random chance, the force that he thought the summoning ritual worked on. But if it wasn't chance that brought Louise and himself together, what was? Urabrask pondered the possibilities.

"If my being here was more than chance, what does that mean for my plans to reforge Phyrexia?" The more Urabrask thought about it, the more he felt that something other than chance was at play with his summoning. After all, if it was just chance at play, it could have summoned anything at all across the whole of the multiverse. There are countless infinities of living beings that exist, yet despite all that, Louise's ritual chose the one being who needed to leave their plane, someone who carried a mission that could only be performed on another world. Whatever force that influenced his summoning wanted him, and by proxy, Phyrexia to survive the end of the failed invasion, and Urabrask could not piece together why.

It's not just his summoning that felt off either. The more time Urabrask spent here, the more this plane seemed off, at least compared to New Phyrexia and Capenna. For example, unlike those two planes, the mana here felt… different.

He didn't notice it initially, being too preoccupied with settling in, but the mana of this plane felt too… loose. On the artificial plane of New Phyrexia, mana came from the five suns, where it would then suffuse through the land, whereas a natural plane like Capenna had leylines through which the world's mana flowed. But here, in this new world? The mana of this world had no direction, nor did it have a source. He only saw mana flowing or moving in such a controlled manner when one of these mages cast their spells. Even then, those mages only manipulate elements with that mana, rather than shaping that mana directly. As far as Urabrask could tell, he was the only one here who could use mana to its full potential.

However, as Urabrask was pondering this possibility, he reached the end of the long hallway that connected the earth tower to the center of the school. As Urabrask walked past the corner on the left side of the hallway, someone accidentally walked into him, causing them to fall backward. Broken out of his thoughts, Urabrask looked down, finding a black-haired girl wearing a frilly black and white dress. Currently, the dazed girl was shaking her head after running face-first into his leg.

"I need to save these thoughts for later. They're distracting me too much from my surroundings." Urabrask then leaned down to the girl to get a better look at the small girl. "Are you alright?" Urabrask asked. He normally was never one to apologize, but since this accident was his fault to blame, he felt that it was up to him to make amends. It is best to avoid making enemies this early into The Great Work.

"I'm fine, sir. I should have been watching where I was going," the girl said, still dazed from the run-in. But when she finally looked up at Urabrask, her dazed look was replaced with one of fear, her skin going pale and her eyes dilating. While Urabrask knew his appearance may be considered unsettling by the incompleat, no one in this world who's seen him has reacted with such horror as this girl is showing to him now. As Urabrask leaned down further to get a better look at the terrified girl, she flinched and shot back up to her feet. But before she could run away, Urabrask stopped her.

"If you are afraid that I will kill you, be certain knowing that I will do no such thing. Unlike the other animals summoned by this school's mages, I am more than some mindless beast." Urabrask's words were as gentle as a phyrexian like him could manage. That is, barely at all. After a moment longer to process the words he said, she spoke.

"Do… Do you swear?" The girl stuttered, obviously still scared.

Putting his hand to his chest, Urabrask made his promise. "I swear to you that no harm will come to you today by my hand." Today was the longest amount of time Urabrask felt he could promise to not hurt the girl. After all, he could end up having to kill her, and he would rather avoid being a liar.

Still wary due to how he worded his promise, the girl slowly turned back to face Urabrask, determined to get some answers. "You said you were summoned. Are you familiar?" The girl asked, trying to figure out why he was here.

"While I do not like the term they use, I indeed was summoned by a mage, a small girl by the name of Louise."

At that name, the girl's face lit up with recognition. "The Vallière girl? I heard she summoned something, but I never heard what it was. I guess I can see why no one had a straight answer." From gossip she's heard from the school's staff, she's heard Louise's familiar to be anywhere from a sapient golem to a wingless dragon. However, she could see now that all those rumors only held fragments of the truth that is Louise's familiar. Speaking of the pink-haired mage, however… "Where is your master, anyways? Did something happen to her?" There was another question she was gonna ask before shutting herself up. "Did he do something to her?" Alas, her fears would be abated with what Urabrask said next.

"A mere incident in her last class that required her to get a charge of clothes. She's tasked me with finding a table at the dining hall for her to sit at once she finishes so that she may eat, and I can discuss my terms for being her… familiar." Urabrask didn't like using that word to describe his new magically-induced bond with Louise, but it was better than the alternative.

"Oh, that explains it…" At this point, everyone at the school knew of Louise's explosions, so his reasoning for being alone wasn't unreasonable. However, with him mentioning the dining hall, the girl realized she still had a job to do herself. "If you would excuse me, I need to get to the dining hall myself and help set up the food. Have a nice day, Mr…"

"Urabrask. And you?"

"Siesta."

At that, Siesta ran off behind him, going as fast as her little feet could carry her. However, before Urabrask could follow her to the dining hall, he felt something, something where Siesta fell. Looking back to where the girl fell, he froze, stunned. There, on the ground, was something that did not belong here.

Lying on the ground was a small, circular object, etched with some design, but that's not what stunned Urabrask. Rather, it was because the small object was made of a certain metal. A certain, black metal.

"What is this doing here, and in the possession of a native, no less?" This only brought about more questions for the praetor and a newly vaunted interest in the girl known as Siesta. Picking up the object, Urabrask started walking down the hallway to the dining hall, intending to get his answers.

After all, there was only one place someone could obtain darksteel.

After finding a table, Urabrask bided his time, waiting for Siesta to reappear. As he was, he thought about how she could have possibly gotten her hands on a darksteel relic.

"She doesn't look like she came from my plane, she lacks the metal that humans of my plane tend to be born with. However, that could mean she's Neurok, as they tend to have less metal on them than the other human tribes. If she really isn't from New Phyrexia, then how did that relic end up here?" The possibility of other things from his home plane ending up here did not escape him either. Thoughts of his home did bring another question that he had yet to ponder. "This world, why did the Realmbreaker not puncture its way here? If it did, I would have been accepted a lot less when I was initially summoned, and yet it was supposed to reach everywhere in the multiverse."

But such questions would have to wait, as Urabrask finally spotted Siesta, who was placing a glass bottle on a table on the opposite side of the hall. "There she is. Let's see if Siesta could spare a moment to settle this matter. " But as Urabrask made his way through the hall, bringing the attention of everyone he passed by, Siesta seemed to have somehow drawn the ire of a blond male who had just been slapped by two other girls. Finally, he approached close enough to hear what was going on…

Siesta was in despair. She was just trying to be nice when she put that bottle of perfume on the table. How was she supposed to know that it belonged to Guiche's partner, Montmorency, and that he was cheating on said partner with a first year? Now, fuming with anger, Guiche set his sights on Siesta. All she could do under his wrath was plead for herself to be spared, but he was hearing none of it.

"When I ignored the bottle, you should have been more tactful and left it there. Now, because you, two lovely ladies have had their reputations damaged!" Guiche yelled.

Siesta was on the verge of tears. "Please, sir, I didn't mean it, I was just trying to be helpful!"

Guiche wasn't moved, however. "Enough out of you! I think it's time you were taught a lesson. While my honor as a noble disallows me from striking a woman like yourself, it is not above getting the headmaster to end your contract with the academy. And if I can't get them to do anything about it, I'll personally make sure you get the proper punishment. A fair price to pay for sullying the reputations of nobles!" He turned to leave the maid in her misery, but to his surprise, someone was in his way. A certain, large someone. After a moment, Guiche made eye contact with Urabrask.

"Hm? You're Louise's familiar, right? Step aside, I need to go report this inconsiderate maid to the headmaster."

But Urabrask didn't budge an inch. "I couldn't care less about what you want me to do. What I do care about at the moment is that maid, and having her thrown out of here because of your childish tantrum goes against what I want." Urabrask then leans in close and puts a clawed finger to Guiche's neck."So here is what you are going to do. You are going to drop this little complaint of yours, or I will melt you into slag."

Of course, Guiche didn't take such a threat lightly. "Hmph, it seems Louise has yet to put you in your place. But what else should I expect from the familiar of that Zero?" Guiche then brandished a rose and did a little flourish. "So it falls to me to discipline you! So you want me to spare the maid? Here's your chance!" Guiche then points the rose at Urabrask. "I challenge you to a duel at Vestri Court! If you defeat me, I'll let this little incident with the maid go." Guiche sounded confident, but the students around him seemed less so. One of them wanted to point out the obvious.

"Guiche, aren't duels forbidden?" The student said.

"Only duels between nobles are forbidden. The familiar is not a noble, so a duel should be a perfect way to put this miscreant in his place." Guiche then turned back to Urabrask, the blonde fop's smug face not dropping in the slightest. "So do you accept, or are you going to run away like a coward?"

That last comment struck a nerve within Urabrask. He already intended to accept the duel, seeing it as perfect leverage to get Siesta to tell him what he wanted to know. But now, after the fool insulted him with that accusation... after he was called a coward…

Now he just wanted to kill the idiot bastard.

"Accepted."

"Good, then meet me there in ten minutes."

As Guiche turned away to head to the courtyard, he was stopped by a tight grip from Urabrask, his claws nearly carving into his shoulder. "But know this, fool: you will regret not dropping the matter now. I do not take challenges lightly, even more so if that person dares to insult me." Urabrask then let the blonde go, walking back to the table he was originally at.

Guiche, while seeming unmoved by Urabrask words, was inwardly feeling slightly panicked. "Shit, shit, shit, shit! Why did I have to go challenge that monster!" As soon as Urabrask grabbed his shoulder, Guiche began to regret brazenly declaring a duel. He was glad Urabrask let go when he did, or his skin might have started blistering under the familiar's red-hot grip. It seemed calling Urabrask a coward had awakened a literal blistering hot anger in the familiar. As Guiche walked to Vestri Court, he had to do all he could to focus himself on the challenge ahead. "I can not let myself be controlled by my emotions, I must focus on the duel. I am still a noble, a mage! A mage who is the son of a great general for that matter! It doesn't matter how big he is, I am still superior by my birthright!

…Right?"

As Urabrask expected, as soon as Guiche left the dining hall, Siesta approached Urabrask at the table he reserved for Louise, no doubt curious about why he wanted to save her from Guiche's tantrum-fueled punishment.

"Uh… hello again, Mr. Urabrask." Siesta greeted him. "I just wanted to come and say thank you for standing up to Guiche for me. But…"

Before Siesta could ask the question Urabrask was waiting for, she was loudly interrupted by a certain pinkette.

"FAMILIAR, WHAT DID YOU DO!" A freshly dressed Louise marched up to the table and slammed her hands onto it, her eyes full of wrath once more. "I am gone for ten minutes, and as soon as I get back, I hear that you not only accepted a duel from that blonde fop Guiche, but you also actively threatened to kill him if he didn't follow your demands beforehand!"

Urabrask was undeterred by Louise's anger, only returning a flat look that hid a smoldering wrath within. "I gave him an out. He could have dropped the matter. It was his decision to sign his death warrant." As he said this, Urabrask stood up from the table and began to walk towards the exit.

"Where do you think you're going, Urabrask!?" Louise scowled, who ran ahead of the praetor and did her best to block him from leaving the dining hall. "I am not letting you kill Guiche!"

Urabrask was starting to get annoyed by her insistence on sparing those who, in his eyes, did not deserve such mercy. "When did you care about the other students? From what I could gather, until I was summoned, the rest of the student body treated you like worthless scrap, and yet you insisted on me sparing them! First, it was your rival. Now it's this blonde fool who bit off more than he could chew by challenging me!" As he was ranting, Urabrask could feel his temper rising, an anger born from frustration with this tiny pink-haired human. With smoke coming out of his back and drips of magma beginning to drip from his maw, Urabrask was visibly angered. "Why in the Nine Spheres should I even think of not gutting that spoiled child where he stands!?" Urabrask roared.

"BECAUSE YOUR ACTIONS REFLECT ON ME, IDIOT!" Louise yelled back.

This gave Urabrask pause, if just for a moment. While he didn't necessarily care about Louise's reputation, he was curious how his actions could make her look bad.

As Urabrask was intensely watching her, Louise took a breath to calm herself down, not wanting to bring any more attention to herself than she and her familiar already had. "Remember when I said I can't kill Kirche, because I would possibly cause a war and disgrace my family? That doesn't apply to just me, but you as well. While I know that you don't want to be referred to as such, you are still my familiar. Whatever actions a familiar does is reflected on the master, so if a familiar does something bad, it's the master who takes the blame. If you go and kill Guiche, it's going to cause my family to get into deep trouble with Guiche's family, and considering his family's deep connections with the military and therefore the government, it could end up ruining the Vallières."

Urabrask thought about the implications."This complicates things. If I don't do the duel, Siesta will be forced to leave, and she will most likely never open up about the darksteel," But then, he had an idea. "So if I kill him during the duel, it would end up leading to more trouble than it's worth, yes?"

"That's what I've been trying to tell you!" Louise said, exasperated.

"Do all duels in this land have to end in death?"

"Well no, a duelist could forfeit, but-"

That was all Urabrask had to hear. "Then I will make him forfeit. The fool doesn't look like the kind of man who values his pride over his life. Then, much to Louise's chagrin, Urabrask swerved around the short mage and made his way out of the dining hall. As he walked out, Louise ran to his side, not done talking with him.

"Do you even know where you're going? You've only been here for a day, and you spent most of it in that dirty forge!"

Despite the insult, Urabrask decided to placate the raging mage. "I figured the maid would lead me there, considering she's the reason why the duel is happening in the first place." Urabrask reasoned.

That's when Louise realized that there was one extra person with Urabrask, the black-haired maid He was talking with before.

Louise was confused by this reasoning. "A maid? What did a simple maid do for you that made you want to protect her?"

Siesta was curious as well. After turning to Urabrask, she decided to fulfill both her and Louise's curiosity. "That's actually what I was going to ask you before Miss Vallière arrived. Why would you help me out? We only met just a few minutes before the incident happened, and yet you still stopped Guiche from getting me fired, or worse."

"At last, the question I've been waiting for." Urabrask thought. "Because, in exchange for dealing with Guiche the Idiot, I want you to explain to me how you managed to get your hands on this." Urabrask then opened up one of his hands, which both girls realized had been clenched the entire time, to reveal…

"My lucky charm!" Siesta exclaimed. She patted herself down, realizing the pocket she kept it in was empty. Louise, however, was more curious about what it was made of. The material looked like metal, but it was unnaturally pitch black. Stranger still was the little golden streaks of light that orbited the metal plate.

"What is it made of, maid?" Louise asked Siesta, assuming she knew since it was hers.

"I don't know, It originally belonged to my great-grandmother, and I just felt safe when I kept it around…"

"It's called Darksteel. It's a magical metal known to be completely indestructible."

Surprised at his knowledge, Louise and Siesta turned to Urabrask. "Darksteel?" Louise asked. "A rather uncreative name, if you ask me. So, besides it being magical and not being able to break, what's so special about some chunk of metal that's gotten you so protective of…" Louise silently messaged the maid beside her to give her name.

"Siesta, my lady," the maid responded.

"Because there is only one place one can obtain Darksteel from…

My home, New Phyrexia."

"What's taking that beast?" Guiche thought. "Did it perhaps change its mind?"

Guiche was currently standing in the middle of Vestri Court, waiting for Urabrask to arrive for the duel. It had already been about 9 minutes, and Guiche assumed Louise's familiar would want to get the fight done with as soon as possible. The fact that it wasn't here yet gave Guiche some hope.

"Maybe Louise actually managed to discipline that familiar after all…" Guiche couldn't help but give a small snicker at that thought. "As if, what could she possibly do to control it? No, something else must have delayed it. Maybe it decided protecting the foolish maid wasn't worth the effort in the end." But before Guiche could say anything to the gathering crowd, the large familiar could finally be seen over the heads of the students. As he approached, the students nearby moved out of the way, letting Urabrask through. Guiche could see he was flanked by the maid, as well as Louise. Wanting to look brave, Guche posed again, putting his left hand on his hip and using his right to point his rose wand at the familiar. "So you finally arrived! I was wondering if you changed your mind, but I see you aren't one to back down from a challenge." He then looked at the Zero. "I also see you brought your master along with you. Say Louise, I would think that you would want to avoid risking your familiar's life. Do you perhaps want to be rid of it so you have an excuse to summon something more manageable?"

"As if!" Louise retorted. "The only reason why I'm letting him fight you is because I made him promise that he wouldn't kill you. As annoying as you are, I know that your family would come after mine if Urabrask killed you!"

Guiche was confused by the name for a moment before realizing that's what Louise's Familiar was named. "Urabrask? Louise, how did you come up with a name like that? It has no elegance to it!"

That's when Urabrask decided to speak up. "My name was not decided for me, for Urabrask is the name I chose upon my birth. And while I reluctantly agreed to spare your life, I can not promise that you will walk out of here without maim or injury."

"If you think you'll be able to make me forfeit before we have even begun shows that you have no idea who exactly you're facing!" With a swipe of his rose wand, four petals began to float in the air. "I, Guiche the Bronze, son of General Gramont, will see this fight to the end!" At that declaration, a magic circle appeared at his feet, and the petals transformed into bronze statues of winged women wielding spears, which began to move into defensive positions around their creator With another pose, Guiche decided to explain the presence of the golems to his opponent, as if to gloat about his skill. "As I am a mage, these Bronze Valkyries will serve as your-".

Unfortunately for Guiche, his current pose had him look away from Urabrask, which led to Urabrask summarily gut-punching the blonde idiot, who crumpled like a puppet with their strings cut. Before the Bronze Valkyries could retaliate, Urabrask jumped back out of their spear's reach. It took a long moment, but Guiche got back onto his feet and gave Urabrask a furious and pained glare.

"WHAT *cough* WAS THAT!?" Guiche got out with a strained voice. "Couldn't you at least let me finish my explanation first!?"

"This duel began the moment you summoned your golems, I merely took advantage of your gloating."

"Fine, if you're so eager to fight," Guiche then thrust his wand forward, "ATTACK, MY VALKYRIES!" At once, the Bronze Valkyries moved forward, surrounding Urabrask on all sides, though this didn't bother the praetor. With his superior speed, he spun back and forth, attacking and blocking each golem at once. This dance of metal lasted for a few moments, but eventually, one of the golems swung wide and was left open, which Urabrask wasted no time taking advantage of. With a rising swipe, Urabrask used his claws to rend the head off of the golem's body, launching the now inert metal up high towards the central tower.

"But Osmond, Guiche could die!" Colbert exclaimed.

"I know the danger, but we must know what Urabrask is capable of." Osmond calmly replied.

Colbert and Osmond were in the headmaster's office, using a magic looking glass to spy on the duel occurring below them. Colbert had come to the office to show his findings on Urabrask's familiar runes when he found Osmond spying on the familiar, who had accepted a duel from Guiche de Gramont. While Colbert had wanted to stop the duel, Osmond wanted to use the duel as an opportunity to see what Louise's Familiar could do.

Colbert continued his argument. "Is that information really worth risking one of your student's lives!?"

"From what the mirror has shown me, once his master told him what killing Guiche would bring upon him, he now intends to make Guiche forfeit the duel and spare his life."

"But we don't know how far Urabrask will go before finishing the duel! What do we do if Guiche gets dismembered or otherwise disfigured? The Gramonts will do everything in their power to get this school shut down!"

"Colbert." Osmond stood from his chair and gave the bald professor a serious look. "If what you told me about his familiar runes is true, then it is of the utmost importance that we can gauge the kind of being Urabrask is, and be prepared if we find that he holds ill intentions for this school and beyond. But to do that, we have to know what he is capable of, and this duel could be our best chance to get even a small glimpse at what Urabrask can do in battle."

And then at once, the serious look vanished. Osmond sat back in his chair and gave Colbert a smirk. "Besides, he already knows what will happen if Guiche dies, so he'll most likely hold back anyway. What's the worst Urabrask can do when he's forced to hold back?"

It was at that moment that the decapitated head of one of Guiche's Bronze Valkyries crashed through the window behind Osmond, smashing into the ceiling, then promptly dropping onto the headmaster's desk, leaving decently sized craters in each. After a long pause, Osmond slouched and let out a sigh of defeat.

"Fine, go downstairs and keep an eye on the duel. If it looks like Urabrask will take it too far, stop the duel."

Colbert gave him a brisk nod. "I'll do what I have to if necessary. Should I bring the Bell of Sleep?"

But Osmond only waved off Colbert's question. "There's no need to use such an important artifact for this, and it would take too long to open the vault anyway. Your presence should be enough, and I know you'll be able to handle it if it's not."

Once Colbert left, Osmond went back to watching the mirror, intent on learning as much as he could about Louise's familiar.

"Hmm… let's see what you can do, Gandálfr…"

Back in Vestri Court, things weren't looking up for Guiche. Surrounding Urabrask with his Valkyries had done nothing to pierce his defenses, and already one of the Valkyries had been taken out by the familiar. Urabrask himself was doing rather fine, though the active combat had caused him to start spewing smoke from his venting tubes.

Guiche was starting to get frustrated with his Valkyries' failure to pierce Urabrask's defenses. "At this rate, he's going to destroy the rest of the Valkyries, and I only have enough willpower to summon about three more." But then Guiche had an idea. "Maybe if I summon the rest of my Valkyries, I can go for a frontal assault and attack the gaps in his armor!" With another flick of his wand, three more petals were transformed into Valkyries. "My Valkyries, advance and attack the gaps between his chest armor!" As the bronze women marched forward, Guiche felt his confidence begin to rise once more. "As tough as he has been, surely Urabrask can't handle this many Valkyries attacking him at once!

But then, something odd happened. As Urabrask went to punish a thrust gone wide, he grabbed the offending spear and disarmed the Valkyrie holding it, using it to knock it and the two other Valkyries around him backward. Before he could continue his assault, Urabrask suddenly felt his mind get bombarded with information. Foreign visions of spear forms and techniques filled his mind, and his body was suffused with an unknown energy.

"What is this feeling? I'm not even trying to push myself, and yet I feel as though I'm in overdrive again…" It was then that Urabrask noticed something glowing on the back of his left hand. Turning it towards himself, he saw the familiar branding runes glowing with white light, quite literally illuminating the source of this foreign knowledge and power. "It looks like the bald professor left out a few details on the rune's abilities. Let's see how well this new power holds up." Using the disarmed Valkyrie as a test dummy, Urabrask threw out several piercing thrusts, testing the effectiveness of the techniques thrust upon him, as well as determining the strength given by the rune's energy. Said Valkyrie was very quickly turned from a living golem into inert scrap metal, the rapid thrusts piercing through the bronze statue. Urabrask's utter destruction of the Valkyrie shocked everyone watching, causing even the other Valkyries to halt their assault, mirroring their creator's bafflement at this new development.

It would be Louise who spoke up first. "What was that Urabrask, I thought you said you would hold back!"

"I was holding back before. It seems this familiar rune you branded me with does more than signify our connection."

"Hey, I didn't brand you, the rune is just a part of the familiar contract!" Louise retorted, disliking the implication that branding carried.

Urabrask didn't let up, though. "Directly or indirectly, it's still a brand. The heat that came with it searing onto the back of my hand confirms what it is."

"That doesn't mean I wanted you to get branded!"

As the two continued their argument, Guiche was shaking in his boots at the implications of Louise's words. "Urabrask had been… holding back? All this time? Even being assaulted on all sides wasn't worth his real effort!?" Now the panic was really setting in for the blonde fop, who decided to make what could be considered an "unnoblelike" decision. "VALKYRIES, ATTACK HIM WHILE HE'S DISTRACTED!" Guiche screamed out, hoping to catch Urabrask unaware. However, on top of the fact that screaming doesn't make for a good stealth attack, Urabrask wasn't one to let his guard down.

"Enough of your excuses, Louise. We can talk about the familiar rune later. Now, I have some scrap to clean up." Turning back to the group of Valkyries charging him down, he decided he was done playing around. It was nice to get the oil pumping again in battle, but he had other matters to deal with. Using the spear he stole, he dispatched each Valkyrie as they came. The first one got whacked with the butt of the spear before being decapitated by the follow-up strike with the tip. Dodging two retaliation strikes from the Valkyries behind the first, Urabrask used his tail to trip up the retaliating Valkyries, which opened them up to be shish-kebabed with their own spears. As he was pinning them, however, Urabrask noted that the familiar rune's effect was only active when he was holding a weapon, and it ended as soon as he let go. "Curious, but I can test the limits of this ability later." Finally, the last two Valkyries got close enough for combat, though unlike the first three, they came in a lot more carefully. As one, the Valkyries would attack as a unit, throwing out jabs aimed at his chest. With each thrust blocked, another one would follow. This dance of blocking and attacking would continue for a moment longer, neither side giving up ground. Finally, one of the Valkyries slipped up, an eager stab putting it out of sync with the alternating stabs of the other Valkyrie. Once again, Urabrask punished the Valkyrie by taking the overextended spear and disarming the Valkyrie, though this time, the disarming was quite literal.

Guiche was now desperate. Knowing who would be next once the last Valkyrie was destroyed, he tried to change plans. "Valkyrie, fall back and defend me!" This action would be the last mistake he would make however, for the moment the Valkyrie stopped attacking, it was left wide open. With a roar, Urabrask charged forward, impaling the retreating Valkyrie and skewering it on the ground in front of Guiche. Stepping around Guiche's last bastion of defense, Urabrask quickly lurched forward, consequently forcing Guiche to fall to the ground. With boiling magma dripping from his maw very close to where Guiche was sitting, Urabrask only asked one question:

"Do you forfeit, earth mage?"

"I… I give up…" Guiche said as he raised his hands in defeat.

Osmond breathed a sigh of relief. "It seems Colbert's assistance was not needed, after all." Even then, he couldn't help but think about what he witnessed during Urabrask's duel. It took no time for the metallic familiar to understand and take advantage of the rune's blessing, and if what he heard was correct, Urabrask barely used any of his power to finish the fight. "If the power of Gandálfr can let a normal man fight a thousand-strong army, what does that mean for him? How powerful is this modern-day Gandálfr, truly?" Osmond wasn't quite alone with his ramblings as he thought, as outside his door secretly listening in was his Secretary, Miss Longuevuille, who could only grimace at the implications of what Osmond was suggesting.

"it looks like this will be more difficult to pull off than I thought…"