'I don't know what I've been told!'

'I hate you. I hate you so much.'

'Someone here is looking cold!'

'You wouldn't let me wear a jacket! It's snowing, Lancer!'

'The faster you run, the warmer you'll be. You'll also get to the magically controlled atmosphere of the warehouse faster if you run faster.'

Taylor looked like she wanted to growl at me, but she didn't say anything, speeding up to a near-sprint as she ran down the road.

It wasn't difficult for me to keep up with her, especially in my astral state, but her speed was becoming a problem. Not in the sense that she was too slow. No, it was the opposite.

Taylor had improved by leaps and bounds. She was getting a handle on her magecraft and was now able to use certain aspects of magecraft with ease. She still had a long way to go until I'd consider her training complete, but she was able to take care of herself now.

That was why her running speed was becoming a problem. She could enhance herself now, and even when she wasn't enhancing her physical abilities, she was still running close to the pace of an Olympic athlete. Give her another week, and I was pretty sure she'd be outrunning Olympians without the use of her magecraft. If someone from one of the gangs, PRT or Protectorate saw Taylor running that fast, they might realize there was something special about her and begin to investigate. I'd need to figure something out to keep Taylor's identity hidden.

"Well done, master." I said, materializing in front of Taylor as she shouldered her way into the warehouse. She was shivering, her arms pulled tight around herself to fend off the cold.

"I hate you." she said, holding up a shaking hand to summon a slew of runes to warm herself. She sighed as the runes banished the cold.

"So you've said, master." I leaned against the wall and waited for her to collect herself.

Taylor took her time, warming up and stretching out her legs before walking up to me. "What are we doing today?"

I pushed off the wall and snapped my fingers. From the corner of the warehouse, a wooden broom flew through the air to land in my hand. "You're almost ready, master. Another couple of weeks, and I'll be content letting you go out and get some experience."

Taylor's eyes lit up. "I can patrol?"

"I still don't see the appeal of patrolling, but yes, you can go out and look for trouble. Not alone though. Any time you go out, I will follow you in my astral state. If I think any foe is too strong for you, I will deal with them myself."

"I haven't made a costume yet. I've been so busy training that I didn't even plan one out."

"Well, I suppose you've progressed well in your training, and you did run here through a snowstorm. How about we get a costume made for you?"

"You can sew?"

I chuckled. "I'm no master seamstress. I can manage, but I don't need to in this case. I had something else in mind. But that isn't what I wanted to talk to you about. Sit with me." I plopped down onto the ground, crossing my legs beneath me. Gae Bolg appeared in my hand to tap the ground in front of me before I laid it across my lap.

Taylor sat in front of me, sighing as the runes I cast warmed her up. "Okay, maybe I don't hate you."

I chuckled. "I'm glad to hear it, master. Now, I've thought over the issue of getting you a spear, and I came up with two possible solutions. Both have problems. I wish I could tell you I have a perfect solution, but I don't."

Taylor's lips thinned into a focused line. "What are my options?"

I held up a finger. "First, we continue as we have been. I'll keep supplying you with spears actually designed for war and let you reinforce them. One of the main problems with this is that people in this modern age don't really make weapons to actually fight with – they are all ornamental pieces. I can make spears designed for war, but I don't have a wealth of materials available to me. It might be difficult to keep you supplied as you break them, but I will make it work if that's what you want to do. Maybe sometime in the future I'll find some material we can use to make you a proper weapon, but I'm not optimistic on that front."

Taylor was frowning. "What's the second option?"

"The second option is something I'm not sure will work. I met a heroic spirit during my last Holy Grail War that could project weapons. I also met his past self which was interesting, but that's beside the point. He was able to conjure noble phantasms like my spear. I think you might be able to do the Projection magecraft that allowed him to do so because Artoria had a trick she used to hide Excalibur that was somewhat similar and appeared effortless for her."

I held up a hand as Taylor opened her mouth. "Before you ask, no, you will not be able to conjure my Gae Bolg. The reason he could do it was because his soul was predisposed to allow him to do it. He was a terrible magus, but the trade off was he was exceptional in a single area. You're not him, so you won't be able to summon my spear, but you'll likely be able to summon a spear. There's a lot of problems with that though. First, I'm not sure you'll even be able to manage it because it is an incredibly advanced application of magecraft. Then there's the fact that anything you create will be inherently weaker than anything I could find for you. You would need to reinforce spears you conjure about twenty times as much as you would a pre-existing spear."

"Why?"

"Because the spear wouldn't be wholly real. It would be a copy of something that was real. Since it doesn't exist, it would be a lot more flimsy than something actually grounded in reality."

"But I would always have a weapon, right?"

"If you are able to master the ability, then yes."

Taylor looked determined. "I want to do that."

"I'm not trying to dissuade you, but if we go this route it will be longer before you can go out. I won't let you patrol until you can summon a weapon effortlessly."

"That's okay. It will give me time to get a costume made. Besides, if we find a material to make a spear like yours in the future, I'll still be able to conjure spears to use as projectiles or something. Having more tools in my arsenal would only be a good thing."

"Alright then." I flipped Gae Bolg into my hand as I hopped to my feet. "Let's get started, master."

X

Once more, Taylor surprised me with her progress. It was only a week later and she was already able to project the basic shape of a spear. The projection faded in moments following its creation, but that kind of progress typically took years. Taylor had been at this for just a few months. I wasn't sure if the reason for her rapid growth was her Magic Core or something else, but I wasn't complaining. The sooner she got stronger, the safer she would be in this world.

'Why won't it hold together, Lancer?' Taylor asked in my head. She was getting frustrated. Despite how fast she was picking things up, she was struggling in comparison to everything else she'd picked up. This was the first time magecraft was proving difficult for her.

'It will with time, master. You just need to be patient. Put it out of your mind for now. Just focus on getting home and getting some rest.'

Taylor huffed, but kept walking. We were half-way home when several clairvoyance runes I kept active at all times triggered.

'Master, you need to duck into the alley to your left. Right now.' I ordered, my tone leaving no room for argument.

Recognizing the serious tone of my voice, Taylor hurried into the alley, poking her head out to look in either direction. 'What's going on?'

Before I could answer, a tall man in a dark costume turned down the road, running far faster than a normal human would be able to. The sound of titanic footsteps followed in his wake as another figure followed him down the road. She was taller than the buildings around her, carrying a shield and spear she used to stab down at the man beneath her.

I hear Taylor sharply inhale. 'Vivace and Fenja.'

Fenja was a member of the nazi gang, the Empire Eighty-Eight. Her and her twin sister were able to grow their bodies, increasing their strength and durability as they grew.

Vivace was a man I didn't know from Worm. Taylor had filled me in on him and the other members of the Chorus when I got here. Vivace could run faster than a car and had a minor brute package to go along with it. His main trick was building up speed and punching people as hard as he could. Crude, but effective.

Taylor's fists clenched as she saw Fenja's spear miss wildly and drive into a nearby building. 'We have to stop them. They're hurting people.'

'No.' I instantly denied.

'Lancer, they–'

'Master, my first priority is you. You are not ready to face either of them. Getting yourself killed now will only leave all those you would have saved in the future to die.'

Vivace leapt up, tearing through the second story window of a nearby building. Fenja began stabbing into the window after him.

'But, Lancer, they're going to kill somebody!'

'I will stop them, but not while you are here. Go back to the warehouse. Run directly there and do not stop for anything. Do you understand?'

'I can help.'

'Taylor, go back to the warehouse. You will have your time, but it isn't now.'

Taylor was glaring at the fight across the street. She madly smacked her fist against the wall next to her, but she turned and ran back towards the warehouse. I watched her until she was out of sight before materializing.

Taylor may have been my first priority, but that didn't mean I was content to sit and watch these two morons slaughter civilians wantonly. They both knew they were stronger and more durable than the people around them, but neither cared one whit what happened to anyone during their fight.

My rune-enhanced senses picked up a duo cowering in the building where Vivace was hiding from Fenja, and I sped off, the concrete cratering as I rushed forward.

A woman screamed, a man shielding her with his body as Fenja's massive spear stabbed right towards them. I interposed myself between them and the spear, Gae Bolg appearing in my hands to deflect the strike away

I smiled at the couple over my shoulder as Fenja retracted her spear. "The two of you should probably get going now. There's a fire escape a little ways in that direction. Just go through the hole in the wall. Can't miss it."

They were staring at me in disbelief. I left them to flee and dashed behind Vivace. The cape was running through the halls and rooms of the apartment complex to dodge Fenja's strikes, but he didn't seem interested in escaping, otherwise he would have left by now. That meant he was stalling for something.

Vivace jolted in shock as I suddenly appeared behind him. He spun around to punch me, but my foot connected with his gut before he could. The cape wheezed as the air was driven from his lungs. My kick blasted him back through the wall and out onto the street below.

Fenja stabbed down towards him the moment she saw him lying sprawled on the ground, but Vivace was able to roll to the side and kick the point of her spear away.

"That's enough of that!" I called, hopping down from the destroyed wall to the street below, Gae Bolg propped against my shoulder.

Fenja and Vivace squared off against each other, keeping a close eye on me as they did as we entered a bizarre three-way standoff.

"As much as I'd like to dance with you, you caught me at a rather bad time. So how about we all go our separate ways? There's too many buildings that will break if we keep fighting here." Unlike a Holy Grail war where the worst person alive is my master, I'm not forced to kill civilians here. I'd been itching for a fight since arriving, but fighting Fenja would lead to a lot of collateral damage even if it would be pretty easy. I could tell she relied mainly on her size and strength advantage rather than skill. Her stance seemed designed to be imposing rather than functional.

Fenja stared down at me. "You're awfully brave to not wear a mask. I wouldn't have expected someone in this town to be open with their identity."

"Must be a New Wave bastard." Vivace said.

Fenja whipped her head to Vivace. "If you weren't such a fool, you would understand what I was saying."

"Alright, I'm going to cut in." I said, drawing their attention back to me. "How about we all–"

"Fenja! Vivace! Stand down!" a new voice called.

I sighed, turning to look up. A figure in bronze armor reminiscent of a spartan was slowly descending down from the sky. Across the street from me, a red blur materialized into a man in a red suit and visor.

Vivace and Fenja both tensed as the duo arrived.

"Surrender now!" Dauntless, the Protectorate hero, called.

"Fat chance. Have fun, bitch!" Vivace called up to Fenja before turning and bolting away. The red blur of Velocity followed after him.

Dauntless finally seemed to notice me. "Another new Empire Cape? Do you nazis grow on trees now?"

"Use your brain for five seconds and you'll figure out that the statement you just made is abundantly stupid." I deadpanned up at him. Seriously, he arrives on scene and his first thought is to accuse the parahuman he's never seen of being a nazi?

Dauntless didn't reply, both of our attention had been drawn to rhythmic stomping sounds coming from around the corner. Fenja was grinning beneath her helmet.

A second titan rounded the corner, darting forward to stand shoulder to shoulder with Fenja.

"Took your sweet time." Fenja said in good humor.

"I had to squash a bug. Who is the spearman?"

"I don't know. He's not with the Chorus, but the heroes don't know him either."

Dauntless seemed a lot less hostile as he turned to me once more. "Are you a hero or a villain?"

I sighed, rubbing my forehead with the hand that wasn't holding my spear. If this was the caliber of people that was referred to as a 'hero' in this time, there was no wonder why this world was so diseased.

"I'm a hero." I said, mostly to appease Dauntless so he didn't try to attack me. "I'll take the one on the left."

Menja was grinning down at me. "You seem confident. Are you sure you can handle me?"

"A false valkyrie stood in the road.

Though by her looks, you'd think her a toad.

Feigned menace so shrill,

Will not grant her skill.

Alas, this fake's fate had been sowed."

I charged forward, an eager grin on my face as I finally got to fight something.