I AM NOT DEAD! AGAIN!
Seriously, it's been forever since the last update due to force majeure. I got to writing up to chapter 11, but Toska (WhiteDragonSky) couldn't translate due to a series of commitments and personal events until now, so here's chapter 5, but unfortunately I have no idea when the next one will arrive despite being ready from this one summer at least.
So, considering how much time has passed, I will respond to reviews of the latest chapters:
- SpartanKing J: I honestly don't know. Rereading it now that I have a little more experience and dexterity in writing... I would like to do a remake given the many points that made me turn up my nose (even if I wouldn't change the aspiring Tobi, much to the annoyance of many, given that I have plans for him). However, in addition to the lack of desire, there is also the fact that I am not really as inept as always in English and I have to rely on others to publish things, so I would not like to put too much burden on the people who have so kindly offered to do it for free. I already feel like such a freeloader.
I thought about opening a p*****n or something, but I have absolutely no idea how it works or if readers would actually be interested in at least paying a translator to get the chapters first. I've seen that bigger and more famous authors have it, but...I don't know if I can, I guess. I don't have a discord or anything, just a lot of ideas and not a penny in my pocket to actually afford a translator.
- RedRize: I have absolutely no idea where you read these things, but I highly recommend you go and reread how magecraft works in the nasuverse.
humans have ALWAYS and ONLY had magic circuits, origin and element. Only powerful phantom beasts such as Fafnir, Albion and the like have magic cores, which can be condensed and placed inside humans such as Artoria/Sigurd/Siegfrid who, however, have consequently become more similar to dragons in humanoid form than actual humans. As for the magic crests, the wizards created them when the age of the gods ended and the mystery began to degrade reducing the magical population to what is seen in works set in the modern era of the nasuverse. In my fic, the problem is not that but the fact that 80% of humans cannot use their circuits and in the remaining 20% if the circuits are not unlocked and used over time they become afrotized (unless you are born with circuits already Afrotized), thus making it impossible for an unaware human to use magiccraft.
-GoldStar77: honestly I was a little hesitant because I didn't know whether or not to include Illya and that whole part of the nasuverse, but after talking about it with Old Man of Mountain I decided to keep the Prillya trio complete.
The embodiment of Weirdness: I hope to be able to do this more often honestly, but since I depend on others I can't make promises as much as I'd like to.
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Well, since I'm already done with the reviews, a little note before leaving you with this rather hot chapter: does anyone want to make donations to receive the chapters first (also of other stories if necessary)? I wrote the explanation above while responding to reviews and well, that's how it is. Do you think my stories are worth this small contribution? I don't think I'll ever be able to be a full-time writer, but until I find a job that allows me to do it on my own, if you like what I write, think about it. I was also thinking about starting a discord server where I can let people chat about my fics and maybe talk about ideas that are in my head, but I'm not sure if this whole thing will work out.
Maybe I'll still do the discord server though. I need to look up some tutorials on how to make one.
Immediately after retrieving the class card, we accompanied a dazed Illya to her home and then withdrew as well. Everyone but me was confused by the reaction of the magical girl in pink, who was struggling to remember what had happened in those brief moments of panic. According to her, her body moved on its own, but it was all a blur and she did not understand exactly what had happened, but she found herself exhausted as soon as her lucidity had returned. Ruby had attributed this to mental stress due to the crash, since it was her first battle and on her circuits, which had never been used before, in combination with a near-death experience, and waved it off with a simple 'it will pass.'
Somehow, I found myself both amused and annoyed by the pink wand's reaction. Ruby, like her sister, had definitely noticed that something was wrong with Illya in the final moments of her confrontation with Medusa, but she refrained from saying or pointing out anything without further analysis so as not to frighten her partner, deciding to wash away the concern by acting noisily as usual (in a particularly annoying way honestly). Sapphire, on the other hand, noticed how I was examining the 13-year-old, but refrained from commenting on anything until we arrived home.
Miyu on the other hand, was quite frustrated by what she saw at the end, and perhaps a bit jealous though I am not sure, especially when she saw the last attack that was just a few notches away from competing with an anti-army noble phantasm in raw power. She knew she was more competent in the technical side, but she was still easily outclassed in raw power by Illya without a class card, and she could not understand why, which annoyed her to no end. In the end, she went to sleep irritated when she could not find a logical explanation for it after thinking about it all the way home.
[You know something you haven't told anyone, don't you, Jack-sama?] Sapphire's words were not an accusation, just a statement, as if stating the obvious.
"What makes you think that?" I ask curiously, looking away for a few moments from the screen that showed the progress of the construction of my new armor.
[Insight] responds homogeneously the Mystic code [You didn't even blink an eye when you saw her coming yesterday, as if you already knew her or wasn't surprised by her connection with nee-san. You were only slightly taken aback when she brought out that firepower at the end, but then chased it away as if it was normal]
I looked surprised and curious at Sapphire.
"I didn't think you were watching me so much" with a mixture of amusement and concern from the fact that the wand had noticed my behavior even while wearing armor. Should I be flattered or concerned by the Mystic code's attention?
[I thought it was a coincidence initially, but I decided not to take anything for granted when it comes to you. You have proven over and over again that you are difficult to read and anticipate. Honestly, it's the most complicated and interesting dilemma to interpret that I've encountered since being created ... made exceptions for a few elements] confesses the wand, floating in front of me, watching me with curiosity [I just can't tell what you are going to do after your previous move, and it's both curious and frustrating. With your track record, it could be something so absurd as to be impossible to predict, or something so trivial as to make people feel foolish for not thinking of it first. I can say that it has captured my interest more than any other magus I have been introduced to, even my previous user]
"I see. You are wrong again in your perspective" I reply, not too surprised by her analysis taking into account what had happened in the last few days "I am a much simpler person than you actually think. When you try to analyze me you think I'm like other magicians, only weirder because of my use of technology, but actually the answer is much simpler than you think, to the point of looking stupid: I like to tinker with things; therefore, I developed some skills with thaumaturgy to make my life easier when I figured out how to do it. Nothing more, nothing less."
[The development of your armor? Did it all come about as a mere hobby or a whim?] an extremely anxious Sapphire asks to know the answers to her questions.
"Yes. My biological father introduced me to mecha anime as a child, then to gunpla, and since then the idea of piloting a robot that came out of Go Nagai's series and then Sunrise studio has never left my head" I answer honestly, thinking back to the blurred memories I have of my past life. Unfortunately, those animation studios that I used to follow the most no longer exist for one reason or another "Building a minimum 18-meter tall robot was and still is too expensive for me currently, not to mention that I still don't have a suitable structure to do it; therefore, I was inspired by Iron man and moved on to an armor series taking inspiration from the various designs, which then led me to college and later here. Everything else? Just various steps to get to my goal, or that I plan to do because something is bothering me. Pretty boring and mundane origin story, right?"
[Assuming that this Iron Man has something to do with the mecha genre...I honestly don't know whether to find it incredibly childish and stupid, or to be shocked that it actually worked] agrees Sapphire, not knowing exactly what tone to use to confirm or disprove what I said [Origin story aside, how does this connect with Illya-san?] Sheasks getting back to the point.
"Structural analysis. You can do a lot of interesting things if you push simple thaumaturgy like that to the extreme limits, as I've pointed out to you several times before" I reply with an amused smile, seeing the wand perk up its metaphorical ears "You know how much you can see things at the atomic level, you'll find DNA a rather intriguing thing to see and interpret. In it is written everything a person is, has accomplished or gone through during his or her life, in one way or another, regardless of whether the things the individual has been involved in have to do with magic or not. DNA remembers and records everything. That and my knowledge has been expanded by Archer, who has apparently met other versions of Illya" With a hint of past memories that never hurts, but she doesn't need to know, even if my words are true.
[So you know a lot more about Illya-san's history than she herself is aware of, and this also relates to the strange reaction she had during her confrontation with Rider tonight] Sapphire concludes [Is this something we should be concerned about?]
Again, I'm a little curious and surprised that you didn't question my alleged knowledge or the way I obtained it very much.
"No. Let's say that Illya's little roommate has no hostile Intentions or anything else toward us, and she will continue to have none unless we give her a good reason to do so" I reply with a shrug.
[Multiple personality...no, it looked like something different and of magical origin...].
"If we want to be precise it is both. It was not born to have personality, or capacity, but over time it has evolved and developed to the point where it can be considered a being in its own right rather than a data processing program" I correct her about Kuro's existence "However, I am surprised. You are not questioning my words at all. You don't even have a hint of skepticism in you" I point out, almost confused by the mystic code's reaction "At this point, people would call me crazy at the very least."
[My creator has an attitude similar to yours in some ways. He likes to do what he wants when he wants, heedless of the headaches it causes, and despite the bad reputation he's gotten for his habits, he's actually not bad, and neither are you] Sapphire responds as if it were the most obvious thing in the world [You have your own agendas and plans, but I've never sensed any malice or malicious intentions toward Miyu-sama or Illya-san...if we don't consider a little bit of the occasional lust that sometimes comes up of course. I didn't think you were a lolicon honestly]
"Just to be clear: I'm not going to take advantage of their trust, nor am I chasing young girls in general. I find the two of them in particular very interesting and pretty, but I'm not going to make any move for at least a couple of years unless something happens that requires drastic measures" I clarify that point right off the bat, not liking at all the innuendo that she so seriously wandered.
[I didn't mean to offend you Jack-dama, but I'm glad you are reasonable. Some people wouldn't think twice about taking advantage of their naiveté for the benefits once they gain their trust] Sapphire apologizes and unceremoniously justifies [However, why I'm trusting you is just that. You have your own agenda, but that's not a reason you will endanger my master or nee-san's. Besides, even if you decided not to fight, you would still help us far more than anyone could have asked or hoped for. That is enough for me to grant you enough trust to not pressure to find out your secrets unless you do something to betray her]
I did not miss Sapphire's subtle threat and warning of repercussions should I betray said trust, but I was actually quite satisfied by hearing how loyal she was to Miyu, enough that I did not doubt her. Then again, I had told her about the reality marble, however for that I had a remedy in the form of a rule breaker should she decide to betray me for some reason and make her existence known to someone particularly unpleasant.
"Well, at least we're on the same page" I hum a little, leaning back in my chair.
[Good. I go back to Miyu-sama's room to rest. You don't stay up much longer, it's late enough already] Sapphire greets me, floating away.
"Yes, yes..." I mutter, rolling my eyes at the dig. My bad habits had been the subject of discussion, among other things, during the brief time of introducing my acquaintances to their new residents. Needless to say, I had been the subject of several rather annoying comments "So, back to the fun stuff..."
My body is shaken.
"Jack"
"Ugggh" I burrow deeper under the covers when someone tries to wake me up, basking in the beautiful, white warmth of the blankets.
"Jack, get up" I am shaken again.
I again ignore anything that tries to make me move. It's too good to be under the covers, I don't want to move...
"Jack, get up, we need to practice."
I had to really force myself to clasp my hands tight enough to keep the blankets from leaving.
[He just doesn't seem to want to get up. I think he went to sleep late again, despite my recommendations]
I barely recognize Sapphire's voice sighing in exasperation, but I ignore it. I'm too sleepy for that crap...
"I see. How do I wake him up?" asks Miyu in her usual monotone tone, though a hint of annoyance was present in her tone.
[Why don't you try a kiss~ It usually works].
"R-Ruby?!" Illya?
[Don't be ridiculous nee-san. You know as well as I do that that Disney stuff doesn't work in real life, especially when Jack-sama is not under the effect of any spell to begin with, and Miyu-sama doesn't know any thaumaturgy apt for healing that involves intimacy of some kind] immediately denies Sapphire, in a tone that left no room for compromise [A sufficiently strong blunt blow will definitely wake him up. I suggest starting with the head]
"N-isn't that a bit excessive?" asks the albino girl, a bit upset by Sapphire's aggressiveness.
[If he were a little more responsible, we wouldn't have needed it in the first place] impassively replies the blue wand.
I sigh annoyed realizing that they would not leave to let me sleep peacefully.
"I get it, I get it, now I'm getting up" I grumble reluctantly. Miyu stops pulling at the blankets when my head pokes out from under them, to look at her irritated "Shouldn't you still be at school in the early afternoon?"
"It's just past 4 p.m." Miyu replied impassively, looking at me with the same intensity of annoyance "Illyasviel skipped the athletic club today, but we wasted time waking you up. We have to train, and you haven't had breakfast or lunch yet."
I went to sleep around 6 o'clock, I think? I don't know, I was too tired to remember exactly all the unnecessary details.
[Yare Yare, it seems that you are not so reliable Jack-'sama'~]
Having no desire to face the most annoying wand just waking up as it floats mockingly in front of my face, I didn't even bother to hide my killer instinct when I projected rule breaker and found myself on the verge of stabbing Ruby with it.
[I-Illya-san, help!] shouts Ruby in her annoying shrill voice that indicates her panic.
"Don't involve me in your messes" sighs Illya annoyed by being called into question.
[S-Sapphire-chan?!]
[You reap what you sow, nee-san].
[M-Miyu-sama!?] implores the wand, hoping her verdict will be overturned.
Miyu lets out an almost inaudible sigh at that, but finally stops me.
"Although it is annoying, we also need Ruby to collect the remaining class cards" she comments rather annoyed at being dragged into this annoying situation.
[Miyu-chama~] whimpers the pink wand happily, sobbing.
"You can break it once this emergency is over" she concludes, impassively, after hearing Ruby's nickname for her.
[Cruel! All of you! Have you no pity for me?!]
"Do I look like someone who actually gives a damn about you?" I ask completely unconcerned, rudely tossing Ruby in a random direction.
[Monster!] whines she as she went to crash into a wall.
[So, why did you ignore my warnings and stay up all night, again, Jack-sama?] Sapphire asks annoyed, putting the equivalent of her hands on her hips.
Miyu gives me a look that gave a good indication of when she agreed with her wand.
"Jack-san, it's unhealthy to have such unregulated schedules" Illya admonishes me a little more gently, making me almost smile in concern mixed with almost indignation at the way I work.
"Sigh, have I launched into a new project?" I use as a weak excuse, which earns me a more intense glare from the first two "No, seriously, I've launched into another research. The new titanium-based alloy is strong enough to withstand three or four heavy blows from some servants, but after that I'm pretty much doomed. I was doing some research on another iron-based alloy with some resins, which might be stronger, and before I knew it I lost track of time" I admit a little embarrassed, both because I actually wasn't the most responsible person in the world and because I was justifying myself to a 13-year-old girl who was apparently giving me a silent lecture.
Miyu stares at me badly for a few more moments before sighing faintly.
"Really, how can you not know how to take care of yourself?" she murmurs annoyed "You go and settle down, I'll heat up your lunch."
"Yes, ma'am" I give a military salute, amused by the responsible way she acts.
Her eyebrow twitches and she gives me another dirty look, but that only made her look more adorable in my eyes, and judging by the way Illya was trying to hide her amused expression as she watches Miyu, she was thinking something similar as well.
That evening we met again to hunt for a class card. Astrea's frame was also converted to E-Carbon, making it, to my delight, considerably stronger. Its physical stats came up to a usual D now. The frame had been created to have the best possible performance without breaking with much more fragile materials; therefore, it was simply obvious that a material ten times stronger and lighter than its predecessor would have this effect, even though not a single screw had been changed in the basic design. It is honestly difficult to make major upgrades to something that was created to have the highest possible performance. The only way I can think of to elevate its performance even more, besides removing the limiters, is to use reinforcement and wield Arondight, which passively increases all stats by one degree when wielded. The problem is that Arondight is not made of a metal alloy, and while I can 'create' it, the cost of projection is tripled.
The equipment remained the same as yesterday, after the repairs you mean. The only difference is the absence of the Excalibur container, which had remained sealed in the depths of my vault since I could not use it. The only real addition to the equipment is the sensor mask, a removable mask also has sensory functions as the name suggests, and thus improves the sensing capabilities of the Astrea, as well as having a better integrated aiming system than that of the MS.
"Even after last night, I find the places where cards manifest strange" says Illya, looking at the old temple, incredibly uncomfortable.
Miyu said nothing, but even she seems to agree, judging by the way she looks around.
It had been abandoned for a few years. Since we should now face Caster, I can't help but agree with her. We find ourselves in the place where Himejima Shuri, or, as she called herself in this world, Yaoyoruzu Shuri, was killed. As it turns out, a branch of the Himejima family had broken away several over two hundred years ago, when quirks began to appear because they were initially thought to be 'unclean monsters,' 'mutants,' 'infected,' and many other derogatory terms that anyone can imagine out of common ignorance. The fact of the matter is that with the quirk factor propagating at an unprecedented speed, even in the big five clans they began to appear and considering how conservative old retards of any race usually are, it is not hard to imagine how it ended.
I had found this place a while back when I was studying quirks, and the names of the Nakiri, Himejima, Kushihashi, Doumon, and Shinra families are practically despised in today's society, which I find rather ironic, given the blatant prejudices against certain types of mutant quirks that people still carry around, among many other things. Normally, ancient, incredibly long-lived families that appear over and over again in history books would be held in high regard, given the whole issue of Japanese culture, but having been among the groups that most persecuted quirks in general for coming from overseas, almost more so than the church in Europe; starting at least two civil wars in the process; aiding and abetting the outbreak of World War III; and committing numerous crimes against humanity including human experimentation, concentration camps and other such crap, to say they were no longer well regarded is an understatement. They are currently among today's groups that vilify the quirks, although they no longer incite hatred as blatantly as before, and have lost almost all the credibility and public support they had. I honestly wouldn't even be surprised if some of them were part of Umarise or other similar organizations at this point.
Himejima Shuri had been banished from the family and adopted by the Yaoyoruzu family as a teenager, after losing control of her quirk once she had just started puberty, when it had suddenly become stronger. I did not need to know about the supernatural to understand that they despised quirk almost as much as sacred gear. After being adopted she lived as a normal civilian, married Baraqiel and had a daughter, Akeno, however, in an attempt to take over the famous family business, an associate who learned about the supernatural tipped off the Himejima clan about the real identity of her husband (who had introduced himself by another name in the human world). In an ambush that no one expected, they made an attempt on the lives of the mother and daughter while the father was away, since he had left on a diplomatic mission somewhere. I don't know what kind of quirk she had, since it was classified and I had no initial reason to investigate, but Shuri had died before she got to the hospital from her wounds while all the assailants had been killed by her during the assault. Their daughter's guardianship had subsequently passed into the care of her maternal grandparents, at the cadre's request, because with his enemies it was dangerous to have them near him.
Initially other than the name Himejima, I did not remember well the names of the five largest and oldest exorcist clans in Japan, but after the talk I had with Ajuka I went to double-check and delve into some topics out of curiosity, such as Shuri's history, and found out what I currently know. A year after the incident, Akeno became very close to Rias Gremory, who became a frequent guest of the human family. The teenager began to travel frequently with the redhead 'abroad'. At least officially. It doesn't take a genius to figure out that somehow they met and she was reincarnated as a devil.
However, I am going off topic. This abandoned temple is strongly related to the Shinto faction, as it was once owned by the Yaoyoruzu family, who were blessed by the gods of the Shinto phanteon and lived here with their family before the incident. Maybe I'm just paranoid, but I don't think it's a coincidence that Caster of all classes is located here.
"Sapphire, how strong are the ley lines at this point?" I ask rather uncomfortably.
[Very much, it is the second strongest in the city. Even from the real world I can feel the influence of a rather alarming amount of incredibly strong curses. It is certainly an uncomfortably appropriate terrain to maximize the performance a caster-class servant, especially if Japanese and related in some way to the temple] agrees Sapphire, confirming my suspicions.
"So I wasn't just imagining it, huh?" I mutter annoyed, feeling that something was wrong in the exact spot we're in "Get ready for anything you two. I'm pretty sure we're going to be bombarded with magic of some kind as soon as we enter...probably converted to curses...?"
Wait, shouldn't Shuri have some blessing that allowed her to manipulate fire and exorcise spirits, or something like that? How many fire deities are there in Japan? I know there are too many to remember them all, but the ones that have to do with fire are mainly Fudo, Futsu-Nushi-no-Kami, Hi-no-kagutsuchi, Ho-Musubi, Kagu-Dzuchi...
[Copy. We'll raise the magic barriers to their maximum capacity, they should hold up pretty well to the effects of curses as well. I don't think Miyu-sama wants to repeat the same experience she had with Archer] agrees Sapphire, causing Miyu to nod rather intensely and make Ruby huff annoyed.
[Hphm. Why does he have to be in charge?] grumbles the irritated pink wand, catching a dirty look from Illya, who did not help her nervousness with her attitude.
[Because, unlike the others present, he has a modicum of experience as a leader] Sapphire replies wearily, beginning to lose patience with her sister's constant complaints [Besides, so far his plans have worked and he has contributed significantly in all the events that have happened so far, unlike you]
In Japanese mythology, many deities were inadvertently created and are somehow related to Amaterasu...and with such strong curses...what are the possibilities?
I didn't register the transition to the mirror word in the slightest, but I saw exactly something I didn't want to be confronted with at all. The area of this mirror word is not a couple of kilometers wide like the others, but almost ten. And we are stuck in a huge dome that covers at least half of this dimension, which is sprinkled with countless bull gates everywhere arranged in a circle on the boundary of the dome, with numerous seals hanging on them and in their vicinity. On the ground, countless violet lines pulsate, carrying alarming amounts of mana toward a single direction, the temple. Where a figure sits on the roof, three tails swaying in an almost hypnotic dance and a mirror floating lazily around her, much to my discomfort.
Aaaah, shit. It didn't take me long to figure out what's going on, just a few glances to realize it's one of Tamamo's most knowing skills. She has activated her noble phantasm, to create an area where she doesn't need to spend mana to use curse or cast spells, and judging by the inordinate amount of power she is absorbing, all the talismans hanging on the bull gates actually serve to absorb power from the ley lines and direct it to her, which then doesn't waste mana to keep Eightfold Blessing of Amaterasu active and constantly accumulates excess mana, which has allowed her to continue to expand the area of effect. In all likelihood, caster did not manifest tonight, but remained in the mirror world doing its thing until now. Unlike the original kaleid world, this one is still full of true ether after all, it is not absurd that the various servants had only needed at most a couple of days to manifest, even if weakened. This still left two days for caster who, guided by instinct imbued in the class card, even without a mind had turned the place practically into a suitable environment to recover.
This also explains why her base stats have not dropped one degree beyond as in the other 3 class cards, and how the fuck does she have more than twice the energy that Astrea can produce...
"Shit, we appeared right in the middle of her trap" I say, feeling a drop of sweat roll down my forehead from nervousness when the beautiful kitsune turned her gaze toward us, rather than gazing at the moon in the parallel world.
[Y-yes, it seems that the enemy has prepared well...] all of Ruby's bravado left her body, sensing the absurd amount of power concentrated in a single servant.
Not that I could blame them, it produces more power Tamamo now than any power plant in the world...
"FUEEEH!?" Illya lets out a startled squeak as she sees a dozen fireballs the size of three-story houses create themselves out of thin air and come shooting toward us.
[Maximize the strength of the magic barrier! Deploy Kaleidoshield!] says Sapphire quickly.
Two bubbles, one pink and one blue, stacked up when Illya and Miyu raised the barriers. However, that was not enough. The barriers cracked easily when the enhanced curses crashed into them.
"Are they breaking already?!" gasps Miyu with mild panic when she sees the defenses about to give way after only three blows.
I wasted no time in reinforcing the bit staves and using them to create a shield between the broken barriers and us, clutching the two magical girls to me, since the area covered in theory should accommodate only one person at a time. Considering how small they are though, it was no problem.
"It B-burns! What is that?!" comments Illya when all the fireballs collide against my shield, and she is touched by the hot air.
[How does she break a Grade A barrier so easily, but not melt a piece of metal like that!?] asks confused and a little irritated Ruby seeing that my defense actually holds up.
"She converted magic into a curse to circumvent magical resistance" I reply, moving the bit staves upward a few seconds before several violet lightning bolts crashed into our cover "Since I used magic to reinforce the structure of the bit staves and their capabilities rather than creating them with magic, the physical phenomena it is causing you can't get through the force field until they actually have solid bodies."
"Maximum Power, Shoot!" taking advantage of the moment between the series of attacks, Miyu released a blue torrent with all the magical energy she could release at once.
Unfortunately, we were too far away and Tamamo saw it coming. She casts six talismans forming a hexagon, which contains a magic circle, which in turn contains many symbols I do not know, large enough to cover the face of the building on which it is currently placed. The fact is that Miyu's attack, once she comes in contact with it, is effortlessly dispersed within seconds.
[Did she create a scheme for deflecting magical energy this large in a matter of seconds?] gasps Sapphire alarmed, causing a frowning Miyu to clutch her handle.
More fireballs are thrown at us, and as before I again parry them with stave bits. The explosion caused by the collision raises an annoying dust cloud that blocks the view, but still does not prevent the Astrea's sensors from detecting fast-approaching objects. I grab the two magical girls who had taken cover behind me and fly away to avoid huge blocks of ice that would have hit us.
However, the night is illuminated by a giant flaming globe four times larger than the previous one, which was approaching at dangerously high speed.
"My body is made of steel" those words had come out of my mouth faster than my brain processed the information, for some reason I couldn't explain but it made the next step much easier and faster "Rho Aias!"
Seven flashes of converge at one point, where the iridescent flower that creates the bounded field blossoms, manifesting the seventh layers of the shield each stronger than a fortress. Unfortunately, I had to use a noble phantasm to defend myself this time, since the reinforcement on the bit staves had run out. They were already heating up from Caster's attacks, and I didn't want to lose them right away if I might need them later.
Tamamo's attack, powerful as it was, did not pass through the first layer of Aias the Great's shield, but managed to crack it slightly.
I frown seeing that the corrupt servant was already preparing more talismans for another attack. I leave the girls and pick up the already loaded railgun and fire without hesitation toward her, having reinforced it. It wasn't loaded with a broken phantasm, but that doesn't make a bullet from a railgun flying at mach 10 speed any less dangerous. As I expected, she changed the circle she had composed on the fly to reuse a magic-deflecting wall again; however, this time she had a problem she didn't expect. The projectile, after a millisecond of breaking when the magic is repelled by it, pierced the magic circle and passed through Caster's stomach from side to side, leaving a hole the size of a head.
The kitsune let out a choked cry after being swept away by the impact of the blow, but she balanced in midair again, landing on all fours. She wobbled a little, but her wound closes in seconds, much to my annoyance.
"Did it work?" Miyu asks puzzled and somewhat surprised, almost stunned by the sudden reprieve.
"No, unfortunately" I reply with a grimace "Although with two shots I could potentially kill her, she regenerates too quickly. We have to hit it directly and take it down with one shot if we can't break it out of the formation it created."
Honestly, it was quite disheartening to see a head-sized hole close in less than a second. My weapon isn't a Noble Phantasm, but the impact and piercing damage it does is still high enough to kill a servant if I hit the right spot and if it doesn't have a high resistance like Tamamo. I doubt it would regenerate like that if I took heart or head or if she didn't absorb all the power she has now.
I loaded another shot and fired. This time, Tamamo does not try to parry but dodges, albeit barely and thanks to all the upgrades she currently has. The railgun bullet destroys the building behind her thanks in part to the shockwave caused by its passage.
"W-what do we do?" asked Illya, nervous seeing the enemy's strength.
"Archer and I have a dagger called the Rule Breaker. It is an anti-magic noble phantasm that nullifies all effects created by magic, regardless of whether the effect is a spell, a relationship formed through a contract or even life created through magical energy" I quickly explain as I load the railgun, firing the third shot "It has no effect if we aim it at the earth or bull gates, we have to hit Caster as soon as the opportunity arises."
If I could have used Excalibur I would have finished her off in a heartbeat, but if other supernatural beings can feel her power, then it is best to avoid unless strictly necessary, since I have little doubt that the church will have someone infiltrate the city to check if what Serafall said is true. Also, if for some reason Tamamo survives, I don't want her to walk in the real world in that state if the mirror world collapses again.
If we hit Caster, we will break her connection to the bounded field and perhaps turn off her noble phantasm as well. If we are really lucky, it will directly break the connection between the card and the corrupted manifestation, dispersing her body. In any case, it is the easiest way to stop her, without prolonging the confrontation too much, since we will not be able to kill her in a firefight now that she is on guard.
"While Miyu and I keep her busy, you approach her and install Archer at the last moment to stab her" I order, firing the last round from the magazine, which is narrowly avoided, for the third time.
"Y-yes!"
"Rider, install!" Miyu activates the card and a magic circle appears beneath her feet, which, as she rises from the ground, changes her dress into a perfect replica of the one worn by Medusa. Below her, a white pegasus appears and she jumps on it, ready to charge.
I boost the Astrea with reinforcement before charging forward with Miyu as I reload the railgun, even though the magical girl is faster than me. Tamamo growls and shoots several fireballs toward Miyu who nimbly avoids attacks in the air thanks to her mount.
My weapon hums as I fly close to the ground and fire. The recoil shakes me a little since I am not anchored to the ground, but it does not stop me and prevents the servant from continuing his assault on my half-sister and her classmate. Tamamo snarls a dozen talismans toward me, raining fireballs, lightning bolts, and spears of ice.
I reinforce the bit-staves and use them to protect myself from non-physical attacks, before firing a single railgun shot that manages to wipe out with the shockwave released by the shot and the extremely high heat a large part of the ice poles. Not making time to dodge, he uses his mirror to deflect the shot. The impact and explosion send him flying in a random direction, and Miyu takes advantage of the opening to dive on Caster, who, however before being hit again raises a shield that cushions the blow. She manages to hold on for only a few seconds before being swept away and rolling for several meters. Giving her no respite, she launches herself at her again; however, this time Caster was ready and dodges the attack, moving behind Miyu fast enough to attach herself to the pegasus' tail.
Miyu tried to shake her off in the air, without much success, as the kitsune wouldn't let go, so she launched herself into the trees. I followed her with my gaze and watched as she tried to hit the magical girl with a flaming talisman, but Miyu used her chain to bind Tamamo's arm and forcibly pushed her away, knocking her off her mount. Moving quickly, the pegasus spun back into the air, allowing Miyu to use the centrifugal force of the movement to pin Caster to the ground.
"Illya!" I call to her, seeing how the servant has landed on her head and is stunned.
"Install" her eyes change color, while her clothes switch and become Archer's.
Faster than Tamamo could react, Kuro using Illya's body stabs her with rule breaker. Then something happens that I had kept in mind.
Emitting a choked scream, Tamamo's black mist-covered body glows before exploding. Literally. Her body, which was filled to the brim with more prana than it could hold, releases a strong shockwave when she no longer has a form to contain it, jolting the possessed girl away, which I catch on the fly.
In the small crater, the card instead of having an image with a tarot mage, there is a black spot that spreads like a crack over the whole image. A sign that the thaumaturgy with which it was created had been destroyed; therefore, the servant who was trapped in it had returned to the throne.
I put the ARC back on my back and turn off all power-ups as I land, leaving the girl looking at me with a blank stare and continuing to focus on me.
[Illya-san? Are you all right?] Ruby asks, confused and slightly concerned by her silence, though she tries not to give it away.
"..." Kuro dematerialized the jagged dagger in her hand and after a few seconds, the class card exited her body, causing Illya to return to command in her magical girl's dress.
The young Einzbern wobbles, but I hold her and help her sit up.
"Oow, my head..." she mutters, confused and rather bewildered "We...did it happen again?" she asks confusedly, looking at the paper on the ground.
Before I could respond, Miyu lands at our side and uninstalls the rider.
"What happened?" she asks a little confused "Wasn't the dagger supposed to cut the connection with her noble phantasm? Why is the class card...so?"
I think about it for a moment, remembering the specifications of the dagger, before reaching the solution.
"It did, but the effect is much more powerful than I thought despite Rule Breaker being only a copy" I confirmed, looking around. The gates and bounded field broke the instant the shadow servant was stabbed, beginning to disperse "I didn't expect it to explode like that though..."
Miyu picks up the card and looks at it, curious.
"What do we do with this now?" she asks, observing its state.
"Let's take it home with us. I'll try to examine it in my lab and see if I find out more about how they work and where they came from now that most of the safeguards have been destroyed" I reply, honestly curious to see what had changed, since there was interference before that prevented me from properly analyzing it.
She nods and I help Illya get up. Then I notice something.
"The mirror world still shows no signs of letting up. Do you want to see that-" I didn't have time to finish the sentence.
An icy chill run down my spine when an absurd killer instinct suddenly appeared in the area. Illya and Miyu had also frozen, pale as corpses when the overwhelming presence made itself known. I turned my head toward the direction where in the tomblike silence footsteps ticked and approached, making her aura even more suffocating.
She is a beautiful tan-skinned girl with red eyes and white veil-like hair under her real white veil. Her body is sculpted with the white marks of war and combat tattoos known as Crest of the star.
The only significant difference between her normal and blackened version is that her skin is a little darker and her tattoos are distorted to the point that they look like red veins pulsing at the home of the mana running through them. In addition, her white clothes have blackened, appearing more threadbare, with the black veil worn and torn at the edges.
"Was that bounded field to keep her out?" I ask distractedly to no one in particular, not at all amused by what I was seeing. Altera is a monster normally, but now we have to face her at full power? Whether she has a functioning mind or not doesn't change shit with instinct to the ridiculous degree she has "You two, get the hell out of here immediately."
I order deadly serious, seeing that Altera was about to begin her assault. I didn't hesitate a second to project Arondight this time, to get a rank up to all stats, because I'm going to damn well need it, activating trans-am and Astrea reinforcement as well.
[Miyu-sama, please pull yourself together!]
[Illya-san we must move, the enemy is coming!]
Attempts by the two kaleidosticks to get the attention of the two girls, who by this point had hyperventilated, despite being shielded from most of the pressure by the physical and magical protection of the two mystic tails, were to no avail. Not that I could blame them, the absurd pressure emanating from that servant seemed to crush me. Even the kaleidosticks were beginning to move noticeably uncomfortable because of Altera's presence. The only reason I could probably keep my mind fairly clear, despite the fact that my hands were literally trembling, was because the unexpected but very well-intended side effect of the Alaya-Vijnana System was forcing me to stay awake otherwise I was pretty sure I couldn't handle the pressure.
The fact still remained that I was the only one who could do anything. Forcing my body to move, I stood up and grabbed the two girls to throw them away. With most of the stats above A, it was so easy to throw them away over a kilometer. Unfortunately, my enemy was still much faster than me.
I barely had time to parry the incoming blow, as my opponent was quicker than me this time that it was not even fun to compare. The Astrea and Arondight squeak noisily as Photon Ray encounters the Fae-built copy of the sword, but I couldn't hold my ground as the veins on her body and the alien weapon glow red and pulsate. Her STR and DEX stats reach A+. I am thrown like a rag doll in the opposite direction of the two girls, fortunately.
I crash several hundred meters away, rolling for a few more meters when I finally manage to stabilize a minimum and get back on my feet, but Altera was already on me, giving me no respite. I tilt my projection to deflect the incoming slash, charge the mana sword and try to counterattack.
"Arondight Overload!" I swing the projection, which is stopped with barely any effort by Altera.
She probably would not have made this mistake if she had been conscious, but she did not seem to have taken into account the effect that came after the cut, which lights up and explodes, releasing a shockwave that pushest the Saber back a hundred meters, giving me time to create bullet-shaped Caladborg directly into the ARC magazine and fire it at the corrupted servant. I wouldn't have been able to do this normally, but with the trans-am active the Alaya-Vijnana increased my reaction time a bit to keep up with the increase in performance, although I can now though I feel the effort weighing pretty hard on my brain and circuits. I fired the Broken Phantasm without hesitation, which Saber crossed mid-swing. The projectile explodes on contact with the blade, creating a strong shock wave and raising a lot of dust.
Honestly, I'm sure she's not dead, but I have to get away before-.
"!"
I don't know whether it was luck or survival instinct. All I know is that although my armor's detection systems failed to pick it up in time I was barely able to take a step to the side in time when a deadly rainbow streak sliced through my left arm cleanly, like a hot knife through butter would, along with the ARC. I didn't have the luxury of wincing or making a noise when the pain kicked in though. Altera came charging back, forcing me to parry again, however, still off-balance and a bit dazed from the unexpected wound, I barely managed in time to deflect the incoming lunge, but Phaton Ray's rainbow blade still sliced through Astrea's shoulder like butter, sinking into the armor and frame, coming dangerously close to my skin, sending the metal fragments that once made up the shoulder strap flying around. I try to decapitate her with a clean cut, but she dodges with an agility I didn't think were possible despite the position and speed with which she had launched herself forward. A kick to the side and the armor squeaks noisily one more time, barely withstanding the impact, and I am flung through the forest, falling down the slope behind the temple for nearly a hundred yards before I can get my bearings again.
Too slow, I accessed the thrusters and flew off as the world stopped spinning, managing to keep Saber from impaling me to the ground and allow me to get back up, just as I saw a crater open up over the spot where the dark woman landed, twenty meters deep and just over fifty meters wide. Altera stares for a few moments at the spot where my body is not, before getting up and walking briskly out of the crater.
I gasp as the sensation of the blows that came so quickly reach me, and I regain oxygen. Honestly, I feel like my body was made of lead. Hard to move, I probably had several broken or fractured bones, but there was no bleeding going on yet, not even from the stump that was my left arm, as the wound is cauterized. Things had moved so fast that I almost forgot to breathe because of the overwhelming force of my enemy.
This is not good at all, I am still too slow. The power gap is so great that even with Mind's eye I can't think fast enough to put a plan together! I can't even put enough distance between us to move to a firefight! I have to think of a way to push her away...
"Veda, do it."
I feel something coming down from my eye and nose as the taste of copper invades my mouth and nostrils. The pain begins to be felt, but I can bear it, it means I am still alive and can continue. Although the feeling of my brain being pulled in three different directions is incredibly uncomfortable, the extra computing power I need as the Alaya-Vijnana limiters are further loosened to improve the connection to Astrea and further increase performance. My reaction time is not enough, I have to anticipate it if I want to avoid being used as a punching bag, and with the equivalent of an extra brain I will not succeed.
"My body is made of steel."
I feel my circuits pulsing when something in my soul resonates with that verse. I dig deeper into my mind, drawing out the blueprints of the sword of the lake. I knew the concept of its creation and the basic structure, had duplicated the materials that make it up and imitated the skill of its making. I sympathized with the experience of its growth, reproduced the accumulated years and followed each production process.
However, I decided to dive deeper into the memories. I needed the techniques of the strongest, bravest, and truest knight of an era, representing the peerless Lancelot among all who sat at Camelot's Round Table. I scanned his techniques, his strategies, the approaches used during his confrontations to create a plan that I hoped created an opening for me to counterattack. I couldn't win if I couldn't get away, so I had to do something to create an opening for myself.
Altera reverses the grip of her sword and makes several slashes through the air. This time, however, I can see her movements end before they do, and I do not hesitate to launch forward, realizing what kind of attack was coming. Photon Ray's blade glows rainbow and distorts as if it were a snake and creates energy blades in the air in an attempt to tear me apart. I could not yet see her attacks clearly, however by harnessing Mind eye as I had never done since learning that skill through Archer's experience, in addition to the extra computing power gained by removing the limiters to the Alaya-Vijnana, I could calculate with extreme precision and clarity where, when and how her attacks would come, preparing to move accordingly. I slide between the rainbow slashes before they hit with a few milliseconds to spare and avoid being torn apart, managing to pass towards the barrage with barely a few superficial scratches.
With a quick mental command, the pieces of the Astrea's left arm disassembled, leaving the remnants of my arm exposed for a few seconds before they were covered by a new projected arm. One peculiarity I had put into the basic design of the Gundam Frames was that I could make repairs on the fly in the field, given the effectiveness of my projections. Even though I no longer had my physical arm, through feedback from the human-machine interface I could still move it.
Ignoring how the blades of light then exploded, I pushed the thrusters to the limit, giving myself a boost comparable to that of a mana burst, with which I broke the sound barrier. Taking advantage of my sudden speed as much as I could, I tried to hit Altera, who thanks to her instincts nevertheless parried the attack, although she let out a grunt from the effort, being knocked off a few meters. It was no problem for her, as she got her balance back without any trouble.
I, on the other hand, in spite of the nanosuit under the armor, the Astrea suppressors, the touki to make me stronger, and the reinforcement to keep me from turning into a red smoothie because of all the force involved in the movements, grit my teeth, feeling all the pressure that was being placed on my body.
Without uttering a sound, the corrupted servant launches herself at me, swinging her sword downward, but I dodge the incoming blow, throwing several direct slashes at her throat, lungs, liver and kidneys, trying to hit points where I knew she would take the most damage. She being a saber class for a reason, manages to intercept all incoming blows.
Not a surprise. Although I was borrowing the techniques of the most skilled knight of the round table and using them to the best of my ability, my skill with the sword is amateur at best compared to his. Simply knowing the information did not make me good at applying it. I could not compete with a heroic spirit who uses a sword as her main weapon. I couldn't have competed in a skill contest anyway even if she was in another class, after all, she is the king of fighters and I just an engineer who just started fighting, with barely any real experience. All my fights had been won by strategies using the best advantages and disadvantages of the situation. Which is not possible to apply here, given the overwhelming strength of my opponent. However, it was still okay, I didn't have to win a deadly clash between swordsmen, but to execute a plan that required using a sword for a given period. I just had to be good enough not to get killed first.
Altera performs a heavy horizontal swing, which I parry with my sword, tilting it to deflect most of the force behind it, even though I am still pushed back. I launch myself at her again, giving her no time to perform other attacks that are difficult to parry or unpredictable. I try to decapitate her but she deflects my sword and tries to saw off my legs; therefore, I jump and spin in midair using the thrusters scattered on the Gundam to put more force into my movements, using centrifugal energy to hit her hard enough to destabilize her position at least for a few seconds and give me time to continue my assault. Our swords become blue and red trails on either side of my vision as we continue the exchange of blows, sending sparks flying everywhere, until I am pushed back again by a particularly strong blow, when Altera again activates Crest of the star.
Her figure blurred, becoming a blur, but thanks to structural analysis I could follow her. I quickly analyzed her body, which although made of mana, still has a structure composed of the equivalent of bones, muscles and blood vessels, more or less, giving me a clear idea of how she would move. Photon Ray's fragmented data gives me data to work with regarding his fighting style. From the ground I sense the changes that were happening those seconds, understanding how hard she would strike by how she stamped her feet on the ground, while the air displacement informed me from what direction and how that rainbow monstrosity would bend.
I couldn't follow her with my gaze, but I could clearly anticipate her movements, moving to deflect her attacks, I feel my limbs becoming increasingly sore and numb as I deflect the corrupt servant's sword, which with its absurd strength mows down the environment with ease, slicing through trees, earth and rocks without a hint of resistance. A particularly strong slash unbalances me, causing me to retreat a few steps, which Altera takes advantage of to try to cut me in two, but I jump and her weapon nails the ground. Knowing that the rainbow blade's peculiar properties allow it to literally cut through almost anything from planet earth, I don't even try to touch it. Not that she gave me the time.
Altera pushes more mana into the crest of the star, pulsing her veins with all the power that was passing through her, increasing her stats by another degree. With a broadsword she flings me away as if I were some kind of particularly large rock. She easily caught up with me in midair ready to continue my attack, but this time she was in my territory. The thrusters of my armor ignite and I move in an instant behind her, causing her to cut through the air.
My sword glows as I again release one of the lake knight's strongest techniques.
"Arondight Overload!" and I strike by activating the noble phantasm again.
Altera manages to avoid being cut in two, but she evidently could not move freely in midair; therefore, I manage to make a long slash across her back, and the blast of mana released by my sword hit her, although it was nowhere near strong enough to kill her because of her insane resistance.
She emitted a half cry from the sudden pain, and with a snarl swung her sword, which twisted like a whirlwind. It was unexpected, but I managed to avoid most of the attacks, although a couple hit me, piercing my right side from one side to the other and leaving a cut dangerously close to my left eye, though more superficial.
I grit my teeth as another myriad of fire, ice, and wind attacks force me to lower my altitude to avoid being hit. Within seconds, Altera resets the distance again, forcing me to activate my noble phantasm again. Our swords cross and after a few seconds, Arondight's energy explodes again, pushing her away, but she does not give up. I deflect three blows that came in quick succession because while she was in the air she stretched and retracted it unnaturally, before a final fourth blow was strong enough to hit me when she managed to nail her feet firmly to the ground. The shot came too fast and I was able to move only slightly, but Altera aimed and hit the Astrea's back, destroying the backpack and thrusters, even though the GN condenser had remained mostly intact and functional nonetheless. I fall, no longer having the thrust to keep me in the air.
At that point, I feel a very strong twinge in my head and my balance falters as I land on my feet. A black and red humanoid projectile crashes into me at a speed that even though I could calculate I still could not avoid. I manage again not to be torn to shreds by Photon Ray, but I am pushed back and thrown nearly three hundred meters, ending up crashing into the remains of the temple Tamamo used to attack us when we arrived. I didn't have time to regroup though, the white titan shard wouldn't give me a break, and was again halfway through its new attempt to finish me off.
"Arondight Overload!" for the fourth time, I unleash one of Lancelot's deadliest attacks and stab the ground; however, the target this time was not Altera, or at least, not directly.
Her constant jolting me here and there had the drawback of causing Arondight to slash and slam just about everywhere on the path it was following. The peculiarity of this technique, however, is not to explode the accumulated mana in the sword, but that of widening the cuts by a rather considerable margin, as if a second hit reaches the target by way of an air blade.
That's why the dozens of ruts and cracks in the road that I had demolished while cosplaying the wrecking ball light up and widen, buzzing for a few seconds, before causing a chain explosion all the way by running over and hitting Altera over and over again, causing deep gashes everywhere.
At least, that's what I would have liked to say.
God's scourge, surely warned by her instincts of danger, jumped to a considerable height, thus managing to avoid the improvised trap. Her sword glows red and catches fire then swings it as it moonlights with such force that it opens the ground in half. Although I managed to jump away and avoid getting cut in half or being caught up in the explosion when the powder is detonated by the flames, I could do nothing about the ensuing shock wave and was thrown off.
However, this did not stop me from defending myself against yet another attack by Altera.
*Crack*
Cracks form and extend on Arondight and my left arm. It was obvious, these are projections, they would eventually succumb to the strain they were under, especially considering who I was up against, but they were still able to protect me one last time. I am thrown away again and go crashing into something that in my daze I had not recognized, falling sitting up as the blue shards of light scatter.
A second very strong twinge in my head hits me, and I feel nausea wash over me as the life support activates forcibly put the limiters back on and the rank up to stats fades. My vision gets a little blurry and blinks, making scurs at the edges as my ears ring loudly, before my senses returned to normal, a sign that the Alaya-Vijnana System forced me to stay awake when I was on the verge of passing out, again.
"Trace-Grk?!" a wave of pain swept through my body, stopping me before I could finish the spell. I could hear my heartbeat rumbling in my ears as never before. My vision flashes again "Aah, shit..."
I tried to get back on my feet, to no avail. My body couldn't get up, and my circuits are so tense and numb that I couldn't really feel them. I guess I'm starting to feel all those blows.
Altera, on the other hand, was not having any particular problems as she approached.
A few minutes earlier, away from the crash, Miyu shook her head to shake off her stupor after crashing more than a kilometer from where they were before.
[What the hell was that idiot thinking?!] shouts Ruby, almost making Illya jump from the sudden outburst of rage [What if we hadn't activated the physical protections in time?! My lovely master would be a red stain on this stupid grass!]
A very violent explosion shakes the earth, raising a cloud of dust high enough to be seen even from their distance. Miyu's eyes widen, feeling the power of the corrupted spirit flare up violently, and the start of the last-ditch confrontation with her foster brother. Needless to say, she did not take it well.
"Jack!"
[Wait for Miyu-sama!] Sapphire immediately calls her back, stopping her before she can run in her direction [Rushing recklessly into that fight without a plan is suicide!]
"But Jack-"
[Jack-sama is not even remotely like an average magus, he can handle himself while we think of a plan] Sapphire reassures her, trying to reason with her [That heroic spirit is on a completely different level from anything we've encountered so far. Worse, that was definitely Saber, the strongest class among the seven. If we don't have a plan to help Jack-sama we will only get in his way and make the situation worse. Think about the options we have and act accordingly]
Miyu frowned, but did not openly challenge the advice of her wand. She knew she was right, but she didn't like it. Once again, Jack was doing most of the work and she was not with him to help. Worse, she was completely frozen in the face of the unexpected second class card, and it forced him to pull her away to protect her, again! She grits her teeth, trying to calm herself. She checks on Illyasviel, who was still shaking slightly but had gotten up.
"W-what do we do?" she asked worriedly and incredibly frightened, as the shots became more distant, but still loud enough to shake the ground even from that distance.
Looking at her, Miyu calmed down slightly. She had changed her mind a little about her fellow magical girl, reluctantly. Although she was not very good at controlling her powers and loses her composure easily, she proved useful in combat and under stress could fire even stronger shots than her own. She...needed her help...
"...The only options I can think of are to hit her with the lancer's noble phantasm, but it's too destructive and I'd end up involving Jack in the attack, so we'd have to retrieve him first; or grab him and get out of here, but we'd have to somehow get away from her quickly, and I think you've seen how fast she is" Miyu reasons quickly, trying to put together a workable plan that wouldn't end up killing any of them somehow.
She had tried the Lion King card, and although she had the skill riding she doesn't have her horse. Rhongomiyad is less powerful than Excalibur when used by her, but Jack surely won't survive anyway if he gets caught in the crossfire, and she doesn't want to risk hitting him even by accident.
"Um...can't you use Rider's class card to catch him and fly away? The pegasus is incredibly fast" asks Illya confused.
Right, Illyasviel knew the workings of class cards even less than her and Jack.
[When a card is included or installed it needs to cool down] Sapphire briefly explains [The time varies depending on how much and how you use it, but having summoned one of her Noble Phatasm it will need at least fifteen minutes to cool down]
[The only card we could use is Archer, since it was used for barely a minute] Ruby concludes [I don't know if we can get away without taking her down considering how powerful she is. It might get free long before tomorrow night, but right now we have no chance to face it head-on unless that mechanical monster can use Excalibur. And considering how things are going on that side, I'd say Saber won't give him a chance].
"So we are forced to fight" murmurs Miyu, deciding on the plan of action "I will attract her attention. You try to get around her covered by the trees, install the Archer if you can, and use your bow to hit her from behind. If you can't it doesn't matter, use magic. We have to block her in a pincer attack and give Jack time to use Excalibur no matter what."
"Y-yes" hesitantly but trying to work up the courage to save her new ally, Illya nods.
So the two magical girls flew toward the direction of the confrontation, trying to hurry, separating at one point as Miyu rose in altitude. There was a shot much louder than the others and then an uncomfortable silence, leaving all the girls present in the mirror word unquiet.
Then, much to Miyu's horror, she saw why.
Jack was on the ground in a pitiful state. She couldn't see him inside his armor, but it didn't take a genius to see that his condition was critical just by looking at the Astrea. The entire plating of the Gundam was filled from head to toe with dents, cracks, and cuts almost everywhere. The backpack was almost completely destroyed, leaving the battered frame underneath exposed, as well as on part of the helmet. His left arm was missing and he has a hole in his side. Because of all his injuries, a pool of blood was forming underneath him.
She could see him trying to get up, unsuccessfully, as the person responsible for his condition was approaching him from just over 50 meters away.
Miyu saw red.
"SHOOT!" putting all the power she could muster into a magic circle, she threw at Altera a torrent of mana almost ten times more than she had thrown at Tamamo, putting so much prana into her that even though she was wielding Sapphire, she still felt her circuits pull a little.
Velber's shard notices her immediately, but she doesn't even bother to dodge. The tattoos on her body flash once, and when the blue laser hits her, she just stands there, watching it as the stream of mana slips over them like rainwater would.
[Enemy does not even have a scratch] reports Sapphire the state of the target [The attack seems to have had no effect].
"How?" growls Miyu gritting her teeth, preparing another attack. She charges her most powerful attack again "No, it doesn't matter, now I just need to stall..." she reminds herself, before doing something rash and further endangering Jack "Shoot!"
Meanwhile, on the ground, Illya was bypassing Saber to get behind her, using trees as cover as planned.
"What's going on?" asked Illya confusedly, seeing that Miyu's attacks had not the slightest effect "Is it another reflective barrier?"
[No, the enemy is not using any magic] denies Ruby, scanning the servant [It has basic very high magical and physical resistance, probably an ability that has to do with those veins...no, tattoos? Either way, that's probably what got the mechanical monster in such trouble]
Ruby's voice is deadly serious and with no trace of cheerfulness, lightheartedness or sarcasm, not even when she insulted Jack, so much to Illya's growing discomfort.
Altera, perhaps fed up with waiting for her opponents, swings Photon Ray and releases a rainbow vendor that flies so fast toward Miyu that she was barely able to move out of the way in time, and avoid getting cut in two, even though she got a cut that goes from just above her wrist to her left shoulder.
"Miyu-san!" cries Illya worriedly when she sees blood gushing from the wound.
That, however, was a mistake.
Altera, hearing Illya's voice, swings her weapon toward her, releasing a blade of crimson mana that flies toward her too fast to be avoided.
[Dodge!] shouts Ruby worried that she had not moved in time. Realizing immediately that physical and magical protection would do no good, she physically pulls her mistress by anchoring her hand to the handle.
She was able to save her from being cut in two, but she still gets a glancing blow to the side.
"Haaah!? Kuhhh..." she holds onto the deep cut, which was beginning to bleed profusely, dyeing the pretty pink dress red.
[Illya-san, I know it hurts, but you have to move, saber is coming!] Ruby quickly warned her, seeing how the blackened servant was heading toward them, completely ignoring the other magical girl's attacks as if they weren't even there [Move Illya-san, she's about to attack again!] the wand urgently, unsuccessfully, urges her.
Illya, however, was petrified. Between the overwhelming presence of the servant, the fear of battle completely out of her reach, and the excruciating pain she was not used to caused by the wound, she was not able to move at all.
"Sapphire, defense and physical enhancement to the max!" shouts Miyu, launching herself forward as she saw Saber raise her sword to strike again.
She was distant, but she tried anyway. As her mystic tail executed the command, she created a trampoline and stretched it to its maximum, while giving herself a boost to shoot forward as fast as she could. To increase her launch speed more, she created a slight barrier layer by condensing mana around her to reduce friction with the air, and tried to create a magic circle to draw her gravity toward her grounded companion.
She closed the distance in seconds, managing to catch Illya, however Altera was just as quick hearing her coming, and launched her attack changing her trajectory just a bit to try to hit them both. She swiped at her, but Photon Ray cut through her physical protection as if it were paper, leaving a deep cut on her back.
"Gah?!"
Both magical girls are thrown off by the air displacement caused by the servant's attack, rolling for several dozen meters before stopping.
[Miyu-sama, are you all right! I'm already taking care of you, just wait a moment-] Sapphire is interrupted by another shockwave, this time sweeping away the trees, leaving the two girls completely uncovered and without cover.
Amid the destruction, Altera watches impassively at the two opponents.
Miyu, grits her teeth when their plan failed in a few moves and tries to get up, unsuccessfully. The wound is deep, not hitting her spine fortunately and not paralyzed by some miracle, but she is still losing a lot of blood. She can feel her limbs getting weaker and her body heavier as seconds pass. She certainly will not bleed to death, but she is practically on the verge of fainting if her somewhat blurred vision is any indication.
A gust of wind, and a surge of magic soon after attracts the attention of Miyu and Altera.
The blue magical girl wearily shifts her gaze to her companion and sees Illya with the class card Archer installed. No-
"Sapphire?"
'Illya' is different from before. Her skin is darker, her hair has shifted to pinkish, and her eyes have changed color, again, to orange. The dress she has with Archer, however, is different, more worn and slightly more revealing.
[I...don't know what's going on anymore...] the wand weakly admits, unable to keep up with all the events that were happening in rapid succession.
The problem was not so much the appearance, but the fact that Illyasviel von Einzbern was behind what the two assumed was Archer, unconscious.
She has to defeat it.
That was the first thought she had after she regained consciousness again after the seal was finally broken, and looked at the alien woman holding the divine construct. She had no idea how to do it, but the most logical step was to use the card she is familiar with to fight. The problem, however, was that her body was in no condition to do it properly before Altera kills everyone because of the wound in her side, and the enemy would not give her time to recover. She needed a suitable body to fight with, so that is exactly what she did.
With her powers now out of alley, she used all the prana that 'Illya's' body and wand could provide her, made a container in which to harness the power of the class card that she could inhabit, and entered it without a second thought. Her appearance did not change that much, as the Grail made sure to give her a compatible body into which it was easy to fit. It fits her like a glove; it is almost the same as the one she was imprisoned in by her beloved 'mother' years ago, in her infinite wisdom...
Altera swings her sword, disinterested in whatever just happened, as she pulls from the Rho Aias card and projects it. Not as efficient as she would like, since only four petals are formed instead of the flower's seven, but it did not matter much. The corrupt servant's blow was not very powerful compared to the force she put against Jack. It does not even break the first layer.
She quickly projects six swords and throws them at Altera, who breaks them with another swing without any trouble and also intercepts her next attack when she creates copies of Kanshou and Bakuya, trying to cut her in two. The sword of the god of war intercepts her assault despite using a teleporter to move behind her. With her strength nothing short of monstrous, Altera almost barely needed to thrust her sword to destroy her projections, and she had to jump back and retreat to prevent it from separating her lower body from her torso.
She creates two more projections of Kanshou and Bakuya just as Altera dashes forward, ignoring the semi-conscious Miyu and the two mystic tails who watch her stunned, and intercepts Saber's attacks. She does not even try to parry, she deflects them by sliding Photon Ray in various directions when the enemy tries to hit her. She was heavily exploiting the fact that Altera does not have a mind to understand that the openings she leaves are deliberate, not flaws in her style, allowing her to attack in turn, but this is the only way she has to keep her busy. Other parties, on the other hand, wondered if Jack would really be able to get back up after the brief deadly encounter.
Honestly, she knows she cannot defeat it. Just deflecting those precise and deadly sword blows made her arms shake to the point where she could hardly feel them, making a part of her wonder how on earth the human she was protecting from the servant had survived long enough to even manage to wound her. She doesn't have a weapon strong enough to counter Photon Ray once it is activated as an anti-fortress weapon, and the only reason she hasn't been killed yet is that she can easily predict any incoming blow thanks to Mind eye. If Saber would see her as a legitimate threat rather than a nuisance, she would be dead with the first exchange of blows, she had no doubt about that.
Deflects a series of uneven cuts when the rainbow blade warps and elongates, which destroys her swords. She avoids three attacks that leave her with shallow cuts on her right cheek, shoulder, and neck. Creates more swords and tries to exploit openings in her enemy's guard, but her weapons shatter when Altera, increasing her speed, intercepts her blows.
A top-down slash splits the ground, but with a second teleport she moves into the air and plucks several Broken Phantasm to throw them verse Altera, who destroys them all with no problem, raising a lot of dust. She tilts to the right to avoid being impaled, but that was no problem, it was the opening she needed.
Something breaks the sound barrier and crashes into Altera, throwing her several more than a hundred meters away. The woman gets up, and on her side was indeed a gash, although she was regenerating quickly.
"It took you long enough, onii-chan" she comments casually, trying not to show too much relief as the armored hunter walks wearily past her when he lands.
"Sorry, I needed to catch my breath" I reply exhausted.
More like I needed to actually pass out. I was forcibly rendered conscious by my armor, and while Life Support had momentarily patched up the most serious wounds, I wasn't sure it would do it fast enough to keep me from bleeding out, or to keep Altera from killing me if I didn't die first. Surprisingly, it was my reality marble that saved me from bleeding out, even though it was horribly painful, to the point of making me wonder if I would have died from shock instead. I was too paralyzed even to scream when the process suddenly began. The metal present in my inner world manifested inside my body in a form that was not harmful to my body, converting, rejoining and repairing the internal organs damaged or collapsed during the crash, as well as repairing all other bodily functions. It took me almost a full minute to recover enough to regain my motor faculties. I felt my insides still stiff from the rather traumatic event, especially my stomach which is still moving to put itself back in the same place as before.
I still wobbled a bit groggily as I walked, since even though it closed my most serious wounds, it does not change the fact that I still lost quite a bit of blood from the hole in my side. As sore as they were, my circuits were still usable and no longer as tense as when my reality marble tried to stitch me up, allowing me to use them again. i was then able to project a new Astrea and railgun to prevent Kuro from being sliced in two.
"Trace on"
Once again I dig into my reality marble, searching for a new weapon that could lead me to victory. There are a variety of choices available, with varying requirements between them, some I could achieve one way or another, others not. I was still of the opinion that using Excalibur was not a good idea despite the fact that it would allow me to finish the fight for sure, provided I had time to release the seals, but I did not want to risk it. Taking into account only the circumstances inside the mirror world, Miyu and Illya were too close to the shooting trajectory. They would not be hit directly, I still did not want to expose them to the amount of heat and radiation emitted by the holy sword when it emits its light, which was incredibly dangerous anyway.
I found the right option for my situation though. One that would have definitely suited my case, one that I don't have the requirements to use properly without compromising, but I decided to take advantage of anyway. So I traced the weapon I needed. A crude, iron-based creation infused with various altered resins, samples of which I had recreated from adamantium of varying quality that Archer had found in some weapons during his missions. The result was a slab too think, rough and thick to be called a sword. It is nothing more than a large block of metal. It is not an elegant weapon or anything comparable to a noble phanstam, but that was no problem, it is not designed or thought to be, it was just a container. So I have imprinted the memories and years of experience accumulated in it from the original source, to excel in the production process and enable its stable realization.
The prana flows into my arm and builds up, flaring up as it took the form of a huge axe-sword-shaped block of adamantium, which I would not normally be able to wield.
Then I focused on the Astrea. I know every part of my armor having designed and built it myself. So I reinforce its structure at a deeper level than normal, going through every piece that makes it up, down to the smallest screw rather than applying enchantment at a more general level to push its functions to a higher level without it breaking from the strain. This was not my goal. The gundam frame was created to be used to its maximum performance without the latter breaking down over time, but that didn't mean I couldn't push it further. And that's exactly what I did. I kept reinforcing each piece, even to the point of wearing it down to achieve the highest possible performance for a brief moment despite the fact that this would consume its durability.
Veins appear all over the structure of the mobile suit and pulsate with power when mana permeates it.
Altera, sensing the incoming danger immediately activates her noble phatasm. A red laser starts from the hilt of her sword and touches the sky. A series of circles and squares filled with unfamiliar symbols flash through the air and arrange themselves in fewer to point at us. A hole in the cloudy sky pares as a giant pillar of light crashes into the glorified targeting system in the air.
Honestly, with the speed with which she charged her attack, if it weren't for the fact that I knew the technique I was going to use very well, I wouldn't have believed I could pull it off.
"Nine Lives-"
Feeling the power pervade my body using the projection of my armor as a medium, my vision turns gray when in the time of one breath I move faster than my retina can perceive colors and deliver as many blows as I can throw simultaneously.
"-blade works!"
Forearm, clavicle, trachea, temple, diaphragm, rib, thigh-
Before I could deliver the last two blows, however, the Astrea replica shattered under the strain of having used Nine lives when I slowed down slightly as I saw the servant's now shattered body begin to fade. I watched the card slowly fall to the ground in a bit of bewilderment because although I was supposed to theoretically give 9 hits at the very least at the same time, my armor could not handle the strain and slowed down at the end, two hits before the ninth.
Not surprisingly, the projections I create go up to a maximum of 70 percent of the original's duration and efficiency. Even pushing mine beyond the limit, I knew I still could not match the power or mastery of Hercles in his highest form of martial art. It was still frustrating to see my armor give out almost at the end though.
If my enemy had been Heracles, or if Altera had been just a second faster, I would be dead now. Shirou in HF was saved only because Berseker had been blocked by Illya, otherwise he would have been turned into a red blob on the floor before the end. I would not have had that luxury.
I received further confirmation that simply having the parameters and knowledge to use a technique does not guarantee that I can use it properly, which is frustrating, because I have no one capable of teaching me how to fight better, and it is obvious that I cannot simply continue to rely on luck to get me out of shitty situations.
Luck always runs out in the end.