She should have been elated for this moment, her heart bursting with joy and was once impossible had finally happened for Olga Marie Animusphere. She was a Master now, complete with her own Command Seal and Servant.
The ritual had gone off without a hitch. The proper symbols had been drawn on the floor, the proper incantation spoken with vigor and confidence. When the smoke dissipated, she saw her Servant. She had admitted she was quite beautiful. Her vibrant crimson dress, dazzling cyan eyes and gold jewelry created an aura of mystery and charm. Then, the woman kneeled in front of her and greeted her in the traditional manner. It was during her introduction that Olga heard something unexpected.
Servant Foreigner
She had never heard of the Foreigner class before. She was so shocked that she screamed her lungs out and clutched her braided hairs. She was absolutely certain it did not exist. Her numerous studies regarding the Holy Grail War and related subjects told her about the main classes - Saber, Archer, Caster, etc. There was the Shielder class, but that was a special case. No, this extra class was something else entirely. The gears in her mind spun into overdrive as she tried to figure out how she summoned the Servant in the first place. Every theory and hypothesis led to the same dreaded conclusion.
She messed up. Somehow, someway, Olga Marie Animusphere botched the ritual. Hope and joy crumbled away into the winds of misery, and the familiar awful weight of failure hung over like a hazy fog.
I thought things would go well. Olga getting a Servant should have made her happy, but she's depressed as hell now. I'm guessing the shock of summoning an unknown Servant made her lapse back into her old self.
I shook her shoulder, trying to coax her back to reality, "Olga? Olga, are you okay?"
Her hands covered her face and she was rocking back and forth slowly. Whether she heard me, I had no clue. I glanced over at Foreigner, who seemed very concerned for Olga. She looked at me with wide eyes, bewildered at her Master's state.
"Okay, Foreigner. I call you that, right? Do you have another name you prefer?"
She shook her head slowly and I pointed at the sofa next to me, "Okay then. Foreigner, I need you to move Olga onto the sofa. Stay next to her and make sure she's alright. I will be in the kitchen making some coffee."
Carefully, Foreigner pulled Olga to her feet and walked her over to the sofa. A few minutes later, I placed two coffee mugs on the table. Immediately, Foreigner grabbed the closest one to her and chugged it down. She placed the mug on the table and looked expectantly at me.
I sighed loudly and picked up the empty mug to refill it for her. Over the sounds of the coffee machine, I could hear Foreigner whispering into Olga's ears. Whatever she was whispering seemed to make Olga get out of her depressed mood. Her eyes were very red and puffy, but she seemed more determined than before.
"You okay?"
She rubbed her face with the palm of her hands and wiped away the tears. "Yeah, I'm okay," she huffed and drank her coffee.
Seeing that everything was fine, I grabbed the silver chip and placed it into the slot in the back of my head. A cold freezing chill ran down my spine and the sensation of cold water pouring over my body overwhelmed me and I stumbled onto the sofa, gasping for breath. After a few minutes of sitting on the sofa, I heard a voice speak to me. A deep gravelly voice with soft static and clipped Russian accent in the background.
"Mr. Shawzin, I presume?"
"Yep, that's me," I shuddered as I reclined on the sofa.
"A pleasure to meet you. I am Rasputin and I will be your personal AI "
Well, shit. The only AI I know that's named Rasputin had a complicated history with humanity. I didn't imagine I would be paired up with the Warmind himself.
"Thank you, Rasputin. I look forward to working with you."
"Thank you, sir. I was informed about your assignment, and I wanted to alert you that a total of 100,000 dollars has been deposited into your bank account."
"Hmm," I replied before I stepped outside of the house. Checking my surroundings, I asked, "So, what's the mission?"
"Save Chernobog in any means necessary. Currently, Reunion forces are running amok and the city is on a collision course with Lungmen, the nearest nomadic city."
In the right side corner of my HUD is a mini countdown timer. Six hours left before the catastrophic collision begins.
"Got it, lead me to Rhodes Island's location. Beck out," I terminated the connection and went back inside the house. Olga had finished her coffee and placed the empty cup in the sink. Foreigner was on the sofa and reading a book she procured from a bookshelf.
"We need to go now." I quickly explained the mission and both of them prepared to leave immediately.
"So, how do we know where Rhodes Island is?" Olga asked as we exited the alleyway. I tapped the side of my head and she sighed loudly and mumbled something incomprehensible under her breath.
Dust and light pieces of concrete rained on us as we ran past giant craters and burning cars. We didn't need to worry about any enemies near as the whole place was silent. The sounds of explosions were distant and faint in the wind.
As we got closer to the destination, I could hear angry voices and the metallic ring of clashing steel. I slowed to a jog and we hid behind a bush.
From our hiding spot, I could see the ongoing siege. In the courtyard, the two paramilitary forces were duking it out. Waves of white-clad ragged uniforms with orange bandannas and arm sleeves hurled themselves at a ring of beleaguered soldiers. In the center of the defensive ring was a hooded figure in a black jacket with blue accents directing people through a slim tablet.
"Master, allow me to eradicate the pests," I heard Foreigner whisper and Olga hissed back about tactical presence and stealth.
"No, absolutely not! We don't know the enemy's numbers. There might be a sniper nearby!" Olga tugged on the hem of Foreigner's dress.
The Servant must have noticed the tall building next to us and replied with the following, "Then, we can shoot them down from the rooftop. I am confident in my abilities to protect you."
I turned around in time to see Foreigner scoop up Olga bridal style and she leapt up into the air, a trail of rose petals flying in her wake. I saw her land on the edge of the rooftop and she disappeared from my view.
"Time to do this," I murmured and shuffled the deck. Once it was ready, I drew the first card. A picture of a roaring lion on top of a tall rocky cliff surrounded by a field of lightning bolts greeted me. Beneath the picture was a title written in cursive.
The Brawler
The card burned itself into ash and I doubled over in pain. Nausea, double-vision, ringing shrieks in my ears, and the sensation of slime running over my skin made it a horrible experience. It worsened each passing second until I felt my skin burst. Blood spewed from the wounds and I fainted onto the ground, my vision ebbing into darkness. A pop-up briefly appeared in front of me and stated the following:
[ Transference Verified. Metamorphosis Completed. Restoring User ]
A jolt of electricity awoke me and I gasped for air and quickly stood up. I looked at my hands, which looked translucent and slightly wavy. I turned to my right to see the person who had hijacked my body.
She was a young, curvaceous woman with short blond hair with two long tufts that gave her a lion-like appearance and golden eyes. A black tube top with detachable sleeves, long baggy pants and black shoes accentuated her curves and bust. A leather belt with a hexagonal silver gem sat around her waist.
Attached to her back was a translucent chain that was connected to my chest. I couldn't tell how long it was, but it looked like it was two meters.
She leaned toward me seductively and smiled at me, "Like what you see, boss?"
I attempted to pull her closer to me, but my hand passed through her arms. I sighed and pointed at the ongoing fight in front of me, "Let's take care of that before anything else."
She looked in my direction and clicked her tongue dismissively, "Ah, those guys." She stood up from my hiding spot and cracked her knuckles, grinning savagely at the Reunion fighters in front of her, "I get the gist of the situation, boss. No need to worry."
The gen on her belt glowed fiery orange and several parts of her body transformed. Lion-like ears spouted from the top of her head, a long furry tail emerged from her tailbone, and her hands morphed into giant paws.
She yawned loudly, stretching her arms high above her head. She tilted her head back and forth, the tension melting away into satisfying cracks. "By the way, the name's Leone." She extended a hairy paw out and once again, my ghostly hand phased through her.
With introductions over, Leone launched herself at the nearest grunt and I lurched forward, flailing around wildly. The grunt's back armor shattered into pieces and he was sent flying into the walls. A low roundhouse kick followed by an ax kick crushed another's head into a bloody pulp, painting the ground red.
There was a brief pause as both factions stared in confusion at the newcomer. Neither one knew where or how she came near them, but the fight resumed quickly. White trench coat-clad Reunion grunts hurled themselves in a frenzy against the black-clad and battered Rhodes Islands operators. In the midst of the chaos, I tried to test out what I could do as a ghost, which was almost nothing. I couldn't possess anyone or pick up any objects on the ground. But, I could surprise them by screaming at them. It was kind of amusing to see them jumping around at my shouting, but that quickly got boring. All I could do was observe and warn Leone of any surprise attacks from her blind spots, which seemed to be non-existent.
She was a hurricane of blonde fury, sweeping away her foes with claw slashes, punches, and kicks. Every attack resulted in another grunt's death, which led to having less enemies to deal with.
Meanwhile, crimson energy bolts rained from above as Leone continued her violent whirlwind. They weren't accurate shots, but they were dangerous enough to severely wound or kill them outright. Thankfully, Rhodes Island had the wisdom to retreat into a nearby alleyway. Peeking around a corner, I could see the Doctor and Amiya watching Leone's fight with awe and intrigue. The rest of their group were sitting on the ground in various states of tiredness and tended to by the feline Medic.
"And that's the last one!" Leone hauled the grunt above her head and slammed his back against her knee. The wet crack of a broken spine and a scream of agony rippled across the silent courtyard as she tossed the grunt on the ground.
"Not quite" I reply. The only one left was their leader, Mephisto. The little insane twerp appeared to be furious and in a tantrum.
"Oh, him? He looks harmless. I mean, what can he do against us?" Leone crossed her arms under her breasts, pushing them up slightly.
"He's a necromancer."
The moment she heard my words, her eyes widened in surprise and she lunged toward him, who shouted a name loudly. Leone must have noticed the sniper as she dodged sideways mid stride, avoiding a steel crossbow bolt that cracked the ground.
"Snipers to your left and right!" I warned her. She leaped into the air and landed to the left of Mephisto, who was in the middle of raising the dead.
"Get away from me, bitch!" Mephisto screamed and raised his arms to protect himself from her. Before Leone could reach him, a gust of wind knocked her down. Blinding red light, waves of searing heat and thick black smoke surrounded despite me being a ghost.
I floated through the smoke and found what looked like Mephisto's charred remains on the ground.
I could hear Leone groan painfully behind me. Her dirty face was framed by a frazzled puff of semi-burned blonde hair and she wiped the dirt from her eyes.
"Well, I guess that solves our problem"
The soft clicking of heels announced Foreigner's presence, who was carrying Olga on her back. Olga climbed off her Servant's back and she was covering her nose with her arm sleeves.
"I am taking back my body for a moment," I dove toward Leone before she could protest. It felt like I was breaking the surface after being underwater for a long time. Everything came to me at once. The smell of burnt body and acrid smoke, the sound of crackling flames and the slight sting of open wounds across my transformed body was a strange sensation that was simultaneously welcoming and terrifying. Floating next to me was a ghostly Leone, who was pouting at me.
"Hey! You can come out now, Rhodes Island," I hollered at them. A pair of brown bunny ears twitched and disappeared behind the corner. A second later, they came out from the shadows. Some of them hobbled into the center of the courtyard, tired from their ordeal. Others were less injured and aided their wounded comrades.
It was no surprise that all of them were cautious of me and my companion. A mysterious random woman that kicks your enemy's ass for you leads to a lot of unsavory conclusions.
The Rhode Islanders huddled into one big group, whispering amongst each other while glancing at me suspiciously. Finally, the group dispersed and their leader approached me.
She was a short girl with dark brown hair and tall rabbit ears. A dark blue coat covered her sailor-like uniform and teal crystalline jewelry sat around her neck, fingers and right ankle. She bowed deeply toward us, "Thank you for saving us."
I waved at her nonchalantly, "Don't worry about it, kid. Besides, we share similar goals."
The bunny girl frowned at me, her ears drooped slightly, "What do you mean 'similar goals'?"
I walked over to a nearby sewer hole and yanked the metal cover off with my paws, "You want to get out of the city. I want to save as much of the city as possible. So, that makes us allies, right?"
The frown grew deeper and I could tell she was troubled by what I said. Just because we had similar goals didn't mean we were real allies.
"What do you want from us, mercenary?" a cold, sharp voice barked.
I bit back my retort as I saw Rhodes Island's lead combat instructor approach me. Dobermann uncoiled her whip from her belt loop and pointed it at me.
"Nothing. Like I said, I want to help you," I said fiercely and gestured impatiently at the open hole, "Now, are we going to get out here or are we going to stand here all day?"
The stern Columbian colonel sighed and muttered something while . One by one, the operators climbed the sewer while me and my companions kept watch. I was the last one to enter the manhole and slid the cover over my head.
The brown sewer water splashed beneath mine/Leone's boots and I grimaced from the smell. "So, what and where is your destination?"
"The northern dockyards," a heavily armored operator in medieval-like knight armor with blond hair and eyes replied. The moment she said their destination, my HUD updated and an invisible white line projected onto the ground.
"Follow me, y'all" I drawled and jogged through the water. The sound of splashing water grew louder as I changed my pace. Clouds of dust and debris rained down and I could hear the rumbling of thunder above me.
The path twisted and turned, but we were past the halfway point. I stopped jogging when I heard someone cry out "Stop!"
Everyone turned to see who had shouted. I wasn't surprised to see it was the leader, whose ears were standing up straight. She pointed at the ceiling above us, "Someone's crying."
Almost immediately, Dobermann hissed at her, "No, Amiya. We can't risk it -"
"We have to, Dobermann!" Amiya pleaded, "If we leave them behind, we are no better than Reunion."
Her words made several operators grimace as they remembered the carnage wrought by their enemy. A tall burly man armed with a thick riot shield interjected, "It's a worth a shot, Dobermann."
"Not you too, Ace!" the female canine growler and jabbed a finger into his chest. Instead of batting it away, Ace gently grasped the woman's hand, "Just a peek, Dobermann. A survey of the land."
"A survey that will escalate to a full-blown rescue operation that we are not prepared for!" she countered angrily.
"Now is a good time for you to interfere, Contractor" Rasputin's accented voice whispered, "But, first, you must make a rule."
You should have told me that earlier, Raz.
"I apologize for my mistake. Now, what is your first rule?"
Can I change the rules later or are they permanent the moment I make them?
"You may change them at any time, but they must be made permanently as soon as possible. The Company's RD is expecting a foundation of sorts that they can work upon."
I sigh inwardly, annoyed at everything going around me. So much for a simple mission. "Fine. Here is my first rule: At the beginning of every battle or situation, the user must draw a starting hand of five cards. The user cannot draw an additional card until they have used a card or multiple cards from their starting hand."
The card deck attached to Leone's belt vibrates once. I opened the pouch and drew my five cards. Like Leone's card, they had beautiful illustrations followed by vague titles.
The Calamity. A demonic bull-like human with curling horns, clawing its way out of a fiery pit.
The Jester. A Venetian jester mask painted in shades of white and blue sat in the middle of the card. Behind it was an array of golden hands in several gestures. A closed fist, an open palm, and others in strange gestures that reminded me of the hand seals from Naruto.
The Slayer. A flaming katana with a chipped edge and tattered handle buried in the ground. Above it was an ominous thunderstorm on the verge of breaking.
The Huntress. An elaborate, futuristic crimson javelin with gold accents and a golden circular shield with scooped indentations on either side laid against a tree.
Finally, the Marksman. A brown cowboy hat sat on top of a gravestone, while a rusted revolver was placed in front of it.
How about a compromise?" I wade my way through the volatile argument, and all eyes were upon me.
"I can send some friends to scout around the location while we go our merry way. If there are any civilians, they will escort them to your evacuation."
"Deal," Amiya replied.
With the trouble averted, I chose two cards to summon into existence. They floated into the air and began to spin rapidly. Motes of light spilled out of the card and coalesced into a swirling tempest that resolved into a humanoid shape. The card dissolved into nothingness, and the humanoid shape of light dimmed to reveal their identity.AN: Glad I could get this out before the end of the year. Updates will be sporadic, but I can guarantee the word count will be greater than 3k. Thanks to everyone for reading!
As always, I look forward to your review. Here's to 2024, CHEERS!