Author Note
Hello there and welcome to another chapter of Avalon Bond.
I'm still in doubt about whether or not Shirou will be able to use Muramasa's noble phantasm. But, I also don't want him to be perceived as Overpowered. So, I guess I shall remain with Shirou's regular skills as well as some of Muramasa's regular skills shown in Fate Grand Order game. Also, since he already has many noble phantasms to choose from, so I guess he already has too many skills to get behind. Now, let's proceed with the questions.
tl34lt12 - No, he won't be one of the servants. As to Muramasa's Noble Phantasm, i have decided not to use it. When Muramasa merged with Shirou in my story, he warned Shirou not to use it, so I'm sticking with it. Shirou has enough skills to use right now. There is no need for more.
Edgar3t - Well, in FGO, it didn't appear that Jeanne Alter had that power over Siegfried. So, I don't think so.
Now on with the chapter.
Avalon Bond
Part II – Fate Grand Order
Chapter 18 – Orleans Part III
Beta: Axel Emiya
(chapter beta-revised)
The nights in Chaldea worked in rotation schedules.
Throughout the day, the entire team of engineers and technicians were on duty in order to feed the field team with information about the on-going singularity of Orleans. At night, however, only a few technicians remained and mostly to oversee the systems' main functionality. Tonight, not only a couple of technicians were on duty, but also the two people responsible for overseeing Chaldea's operation as well as a servant. Well, Da Vinci enjoyed a beauty sleep like any other, but tonight Olga wanted to run some diagnostics on the information that they had acquired from the fights that happened so far between Chaldea servants and the enemies.
Of course, Olga was making Romani work long hours and not for any reason aside from getting to the bottom of one Emiya Shirou's skills, in particular his ability to trace noble phantasms.
Da Vinci had simply giggled at the white-haired woman's desire to know everything about the red-head servant. The Renaissance heroic spirit knew about Emiya Shirou's skills, but the mona lisa look-a-like was comfortable in letting Chaldea's system run its own analysis. The noise of Romani's sigh in dismay followed by probably his tenth coffee refill was like music to her ears. Olga, for her part, was simply getting comfortable in her wheelchair with her arms crossed.
"Once more Romani, repeat it to me." The man rubbed his face and let out a sigh, but this complaint was highly ignored by Olga.
"For the fifth time, Director, all the system is able to gather is that Emiya Shirou is overly specialized in structural grasp and projection. Every one of the weapons he had summoned so far are noble phantasms. Also, his skills as a swordsman probably hails from the heroic spirit that bonded with him, Sengi Muramasa." Like the four times he explained, all Olga did was hum at the explanation as she was fully certain that Romani's explanation while true to some extent, still lacked something.
"Also, for the fifth time, Romani…" The man almost screamed bloody murder at once more hearing the tone. He didn't know this relentless side of the Director.
"Projection mage craft as we know it, is a useless skill. Normally, a projection doesn't last long enough to be remotely considered a weapon and certainly not like he is using."
"Huh, I only tell you what the system is telling me based on the data we received, Director. Sorry, but I'm dead tired, so I'm going to sleep."
Romani got up from his chair as he walked away.
"The field team will wake up soon and I need to be awake by then."
Olga just looked at the doctor's retreating back and let out a grunt in irritation. So far, she was nowhere near in solving the riddle of the pseudo-servant Emiya Shirou and it irritated her to no end. Ever since she was little, her father had given her puzzles after puzzles to solve and so far, she had solved all of them. Not this time, though. It was like a itch inside her brain and she just couldn't scratch it, no matter how hard she tried. Olga then realized that her wheelchair was moving and looked back to see Da Vinci pulling her throughout the barely illuminated halls of Chaldea.
"I don't suppose you have any insight about this subject, Da Vinci."
The servant merely smiled knowingly. She was indeed rather quiet all throughout the system analysis.
"As an enthusiast of knowledge myself, I understand your need to get to the bottom of this. Though, aside from what Romani explained, I don't know more."
Olga truly resisted the urge to pout at that. If even Da Vinci was clueless about it…then Olga was both more and less distraught.
More, because she still wanted to understand and less because she was not alone in this endeavor.
The servant, though, inwardly grinned.
She knew that what Romani explained was most of the truth about Emiya Shirou, however she had an almost orgasmic like tingling at the thought that the missing link to fully understand Emiya Shirou's skills is his reality marble. Amazing thaumaturgy that resembles the skills of gods. To believe that a mere magus had the innate ability was mind-boggling. And Da Vinci wanted to understand it…wanted to see it first-hand. Emiya Shirou had promised to show it, but only if Da Vinci guaranteed that no one in Chaldea would be able to see it. Da Vinci already had the schematics of creating layers upon layers of bounded fields that would allow Shirou to use it without anyone being the wiser in Chaldea.
The problem was that doing so required large quantities of prana to maintain and Da Vinci needed time to gather this amount.
One thing was for sure, though, the renaissance genius will get to see it in action.
===Orleans Singularity===
While Chaldeans were busy running diagnostics, the field team were recharging their batteries for the night.
All of them fast asleep, all of them basking in Shirou's projected blankets. The house they were in only had one room with a bed, so Arturia, Jeanne and Mash curled up in it while Shirou and Ritsuka slept in the living room. Well, at least Ritsuka did the sleeping. The redhead servant took this moment to rationalize just where and when he was right now. Releasing the blanket that was covering him, Shirou took one last look at the human sleeping next to him and then left the house for a while.
He just stood outside, observing the bounded field that he had summoned with his runecraft.
To the outsider, this house was non-existent. This thought made him know that he could allow himself to somewhat relax for a while.
Of course, if Jeanne Alter had a Caster in her reign, then this bounded field would be discovered and even easily destroyed. However, Shirou would sense the approach and react accordingly. Taking a deep and calming breath, the redhead looked towards the horizon as he saw the slowly shifting rays of sunlight quickly approaching. He closed his eyes and allowed himself to simply feel the earth where his feet rested. He could feel the power of Nature flowing through him, beginning from the soles of his feet. Something he inherited from Muramasa, a passive skill called Communion with Nature.
It made him remember how the energy flowed from the ground, the trees and even the buddha statues when he first got into contact with the heroic spirit in Kyoto.
Opening his eyes and turning back to the house, he smiled upon seeing his beloved soon to be wife at the door wrapped up in the blanket that he projected for her.
"Morning Arturia, had a good night sleep?" The king of knights nodded as she met him halfway. She had to look up since Shirou was as tall as Archer at this point.
"It would be better if you were there with me, but good enough." Shirou concurred as he inclined to give her a good morning peck on the lips.
"I'm glad…is everybody up or just you?"
The couple got inside the house as he saw Ritsuka still fast asleep. Mash and Jeanne then emerged from the room, completely changed and ready to go.
"Morning, Shirou, Arturia-taichou…is Senpai up…oh…never mind."
Mash looked at Ritsuka and smiled while adjusting the projected blanket to cover him better while Shirou went to the kitchen and prepared them breakfast. After defeating Saint Martha yesterday, he and Arturia had searched for food in the wild. While making a regular continental breakfast was out of question for now, Shirou had to compensate with eggs, fruits and vegetables he managed to find close to the house. At least, he would be able to make a reasonable omelet for everyone. The noise from the kitchen had awakened Ritsuka and then the group ate Shirou's considerate serving.
===After Breakfast===
Once everyone was duly served, Shirou had brewed everyone some tea while Jeanne was conversing with the masters, Arturia and Romani through the intercom.
"We should head out to Orleans as soon as possible, but I believe it's better to reach there throughout the neighboring towns and forts." Jeanne was the best in the group in terms of information, since she knew the land better and also was of similar mind to the enemy. "It's best for us to proceed with some information gathering at least until we know for sure about our enemy."
After relaying her thinking, Jeanne appreciated Shirou for pouring tea for her, before the redhead took a seat next to Arturia.
"It's indeed the best course of action." Ritsuka said, concurring as he looked at Mash and Romani's image.
"A good caution for now, indeed Fujimaru…despite Arturia and Shirou Emiya defeating one of the servants, Jeanne Alter apparently has the ability of summoning more servants to her cause. Charging in blindly would only result in our defeat here. In history, France was the first nation to declare human liberty and equality. Many countries then followed suit. Delaying this by 100 years would stagnate civilization." Mash and everyone nodded at Romani's explanation, before the doctor turned to Arturia. "Do you concur, Arturia…being King Arthur and responsible for many war campaigns, certainly you could provide us with valuable insight about how to proceed?"
Arturia, for her part, turned to Jeanne.
"From a military standpoint, if we had a bigger group or servants of equal strength, we could perform a pincer movement with Orleans as our final target. Jeanne Alter would have to spread the servants to defend. I could move through one side with Mash and Ritsuka while Shirou and Jeanne could go from the other side. Problem with this strategy is that one group could face Jeanne Alter and her dragons. I believe it's best for everyone to stick together and follow Jeanne through Orleans's neighboring cities."
One thing that Arturia left out was that the group had weaker servants who needed protecting. Certainly, Mash felt that way.
"If only I could fully use the shield, then I could provide more assistance, Arturia-taichou." The king of knights turned to see Sir Galahad's demi-servant.
She could very well see the downed look, but her vision in this manner had little to do with her actual skills.
"Mash, you have grown since we first meet, however we are still due to meet the strong servants in this singularity. Saint Martha was strong, but her class is not one of the knight class servants. You held yourself admirably against a Saber servant in Fuyuki Singularity, but it was one servant, nonetheless. We have to presume that Jeanne Alter had summoned at least five more servants. Caster, Assassin, Lancer, Saber and Archer. We are four in total…if we were to follow a pincer, we would have to split in teams of two. One group would be at a disadvantage."
Mash heard it all and nodded, though she still held reservations about the King of Knights' opinion of her skills.
"Not to mention that Ritsuka is our main priority. As our master, his survival is key here Mash. You are above all responsible for his protection."
Mash turned to Shirou and couldn't help but agree. She then looked at Ritsuka and blushed when he smiled at her, giving her a thumbs up.
"I will be in your care, Mash…"
Eventually, the group left the house, knowing that they wouldn't return to it. They would be travelling towards Orleans, which was a long distance from their current location.
===La Charitte===
It took a good while for them to travel as all of them were on foot. Well, the servants could travel at high speeds, but Ritsuka could not. Mash could carry him, but they needed to be ready in case of an attack. As such, it took a good two hours until they reached one of the cities that was close to Orleans. However, as soon as they arrived, like the fort from yesterday, all they could see were fire, destroyed buildings and bodies littered on the ground, dead. The sight was rather gruesome as most were burned to death. Shirou became angered at the sight before him, needing Arturia to keep him focused on the task at hand.
Ritsuka and Mash looked around, searching for any clues about the singularity they could use.
Jeanne was suffering the most, no doubt.
As she placed her hand on the ground, she could feel a similar energy to her own noble phantasm, a torrent of molting fire. This had her darkened self's signature.
Jeanne could not help but conclude that her other self was not of her right mind. Jeanne Alter could be considered a completely different person from Jeanne if she had committed these atrocities. Arturia had expressed that her own Alter version, despite corrupted by the dark influences of the Grail, never lost her core, that which made her ideals. So, Jeanne naively thought that her own Alter would be somewhat similar to her way of thinking. Jeanne would never even consider entertaining the thought of killing civilians, much less so considering that they were her own people.
"Doctor, is there any life detection?" Mash was seen talking to Ritsuka's bracelet as Shirou and Arturia approached them.
"No, Mash. There's nothing alive left in this town…"
The group looked around and were about to leave, knowing that nothing would be learned when Romani's desperate tone emerged from Ritsuka's bracelet.
"Shit! You must all leave immediately. Four servants and wyverns are on your way this instant. They must have realized you are all here."
Romani's warning came on too late as the land trembled at the number of wyverns that arrived followed by five individuals, all of them servants no doubt. The group from Chaldea noticed the wyverns feeding from the corpses on the ground and were appalled by the scenery. Meanwhile, a woman similar to their own Jeanne, with white hair and black armor looked at the scene and grinned in madness. Everyone could see the resemblance and even the power-up from this Servant as it rivalled Saber Alter in strength.
Arturia and Shirou also observed the other three.
From appearance alone, they could spot a Saber and a Lancer type servant. The Saber actually had a beautiful face and was wearing a blue hat and French clothing. Shirou could see the sword strapped on her waist and waited for the sword to be drawn to analyze it. The Lancer wore a black overcoat and had long white hair. They could see the big canines on his mouth, dripping in blood. Last but not least, they could also see a woman in long black dress with white hair and a black mask.
"Well…well…would you look at that…" They all shivered at the tone and way of talking coming from the black Jeanne. "who knew, such a thing could happen? That you of all people would be before me!"
Jeanne, for her part, looked at her counterpart and could not comprehend the mirror like image before her. Even less so as Jeanne Alter started laughing.
"Sacrebleu…could someone please pour some water on me, this is bad. I think I'm starting to lose it. It's so funny!"
"Who are you?" The question was legit. It certainly looked like Jeanne D'Arc, but she looked so twisted…Jeanne Alter continued laughing at the question.
"Oh mon cherry, I could ask the same of you…well, I'm Jeanne D'Arc, the saint devoted to France."
Jeanne Alter even used a sarcastic tone in the end, earning a snicker from the other berserker servants.
"That's nonsense…you are no saint, just as I am no saint. More importantly, why did you destroy this town? Why did you kill our countrymen like this?"
"Well, I thought you would understand…if you are me, then you would understand. Why I attacked this town, you ask…well, for the single purpose of destroying France. Other methods would take too long, so why not simply crush everything and everyone, right? Why would you desire to save these people, though, that's a good question. Why would you want to save this country? They despised us…they spit on us, betrayed us! I do find myself wondering if you are of sound mind if you are asking me this nonsense."
The conversation went on and Shirou, Arturia and Mash switched between focusing on the conversation and the other servants as well.
The Lancer servant and the lady dressed in black all looked deranged, but the Saber servant appeared calm, which was weird considering the mad enhancement.
Jeanne looked down as she saw the dark mirror in front of her explaining about her reasoning to destroy this country. She wondered if this thought ever appeared in her own mind. She wondered if she had suppressed this amount of hatred in her mission to be God's voice in this land. She could feel anger and resentment and wondered if this Jeanne was really tainted by the Grail or if she was just Jeanne's true colors. Jeanne Alter took her counterpart's silence in dark laughter as she then observed the rest of the competition.
Unlike Jeanne, Jeanne Alter could feel the strength of the other two servants. The girl holding the shield, though, had strength, but Jeanne could feel the girl servant's unease.
"Well, I shall not waste my precious time with you, my mission is to destroy France. You know, lots of towns to burn to the ground, fools to be burned. So, I shall leave you in the care of my wyverns as well as Lancer and Assassin." Both servants turned to their leader as she gave the order with a wicked smile. "Berserker Lancer and Berserker Assassin, finish everyone off. You're getting tired of small prey. Well, rejoice, since those two are quite strong. Among all the servants I summoned, your thirst of blood is the strongest. You are free to devour them to your heart's content." Jeanne Alter then left La Charitte along with the Saber Servant, leaving Lancer and Assassin to look at their opposition.
Arturia and Shirou got into position in front of the group as Shirou turned to Ritsuka.
"How are we to proceed, Ritsuka?" The only human in the area stiffened and turned to Shirou. Arturia was also waiting for his call as their master.
"Ah…" Ritsuka was literally feeling the responsibility in this manner. This was a battle between servants and he was struggling to come up with a strategy.
He was also looking at the tons of considerable sized dragons behind the servants.
Ritsuka was alerted when Mash positioned her own shield in front of her as she eyed her senpai.
"Master!"
Ritsuka turned to Mash and saw her looking at him with conviction. He could see a confident look on her face, showing trust. It helped alleviate his concern, making him think more clearly. For some reason, the image of an irate Olga screaming bloody murder at his indecision rang in his head as he turned to his servants.
"Mash, Shirou, Arturia, let's do this! Arturia and Shirou, please face the servants. Mash and Jeanne, keep the wyverns away from us."
All four servants nodded as Jeanne looked at the group and then towards the direction in which Jeanne Alter left. The holy maiden narrowed her eyes, but she couldn't really allow herself to falter right now. This team from the future came to save her timeline and they were right now facing the fight that she was supposed to have. The least she could do was provide support for them. Swirling her staff, Jeanne closed her eyes as she then slammed the spear on the ground with the flag open. The rest turned to the sudden use of prana as the flag glowed yellow before Shirou, Arturia and Mash felt the sudden energy invade their bodies.
They felt their strength rise, while Lancer and Assassin observed.
"Huh, it's not every day that we find ourselves amongst such delicious blood…" The woman Assassin's comment brought everyone in high alert.
"Our leader is most generous, isn't she…let us partake in this fine dining of blood, flesh and their insides as well." The Lancer Berserker simply smirked at the comment as he adjusted his lance to face the enemy.
"Indeed, I can feel their strength…my veins are already pumping in excitement. I will face the blonde knight; you can have the redhead that's frowning at us." Assassin's eyes were then fixed on Shirou as she smirked with full vampire canines at him, salivating at the prospect of the taste of his blood. Arturia saw this and snarled at the woman enemy. Looking to her lover next to her, he was focused on the enemy. Arturia took a calming breath, before embracing her sword, while still hidden in the wind.
Her eyes settled on Lancer.
She knew that Shirou could handle himself and with Jeanne's boost, they could overcome this.
The Wyverns all roared in fury and attacked the group, so Mash met them head on with a battle cry, followed by Jeanne, pounding on the dragons with the blunt of her shield and slashing them with the weapon's base. The sheer number of creatures, though, didn't allow Mash to aid anyone. Lancer swirled his staff and charged against Arturia with a battle cry, forcing the king of knights to parry it, before they danced in sparks away from their location. Shirou traced a katana as he fell into position, while observing Assassin who was carrying a staff of some kind and kept on smiling at him. He clenched as the woman vanished in thin air and Shirou remembered the skill peculiar to all Assassin servants, presence concealment.
Assassin could use her agility and strike Shirou without him being any wiser.
Still, Shirou had his feet firmly on the ground as he could feel the energy shifting. Assassin's presence appeared by his blind spot seconds before attacking him with her staff and the redhead parried with his sword, before Assassin laughed and vanished once more. Shirou flinched as he felt a slight slash on his arm, drawing blood.
"Oh, so delicious…I can feel the strong scent of iron in your blood from afar. Oh, I can't wait to taste you."
The same pattern repeated over and over again and Shirou would block her staff before she would vanish once more and he would feel a small slash in another part of his body. His healing mage craft was working overtime to close the multiple small wounds. Despite Shirou knowing her position, it appears that she is using some sort of projectile from afar to injure him. He could also feel that the projectiles are laced with a strange substance that hindered his movement. He was able to remove it from his bloodstream through Avalon and healing mage craft.
When Assassin tried once more the same movement, Shirou did the same, but this time he surrounded himself with projected blades that served as shields.
He heard one of the swords reflecting the projectile from his left position and smiled at his plan just as Assassin revealed herself from afar.
"That is becoming annoying, Assassin. You won't be able to hit me anymore!"
===Arturia x Lancer===
Arturia and Lancer were battling it out, parrying blow for blow. Arturia found herself comparing this Lancer with two others that she had fought in the past. The two Ireland Lancers she had fought against had agility and malleability in spades, but this one had strength above all else. She was able to draw blood, but because of the berserker attributes, Lancer's wounds were less severe. Still, she found herself pressed in defensive as Lancer was superior in strength. Arturia also was worried for Shirou's fight. Facing an assassin in open battle would usually be a quick victory, but the vile woman that Shirou was facing was crafty.
It reminded Arturia of Hassan, who would strike abusing of presence concealment.
Shirou would have to be patient in this and strike the minute she appears closer to him. Though, that was proving hard, apparently.
"I can see that you worry for him, knight." Arturia cursed as she telegraphed her indecision to the enemy.
"Don't worry, though, both of you shall fall victim to my stakes soon enough."
As Arturia parried his lance once more, she became curious.
"What do you mean by stakes…who are you, Lancer?"
He smirked at the question as they danced. Her concealed sword was proving troublesome to parry, but he was able to parry the most lethal blows.
"You shall have the opportunity to see soon enough what I mean…"
Arturia snarled and swung her sword with a battle cry and Lancer tried parrying it with his lance, but was sent flying because of the strength behind it.
The king of knights was about to follow through with the attack when she saw her opponent's lance shining in blood red, before he slammed the spear on the ground. Suddenly, black stakes emerged from the ground in a straight line towards Arturia who used her agility to get out of the way. She realized though that the spikes were following her path. Narrowing her eyes, she focused prana on her sword and turned at the black stakes and slashed it all in half. She couldn't celebrate her victory, though, as Lancer came barging once more, keeping on her toes. One strong attack from Lancer managed to get into Arturia's defense and slash her stomach. Lancer smirked and focused energy on the wound and Arturia felt her insides swirl as a stake emerged from within, forcing a scream in pain.
She managed to land an attack on him with her sword, which forced the attack to stop. She spilled blood from her mouth and felt Shirou's energy heal her wounds.
If she had not attacked him, she would be a goner.
===Shirou x Assassin===
Shirou was having difficulty in his fight against the elusive assassin.
While his swords shield managed to stop the projectiles from hurting him, he was still having trouble pinpointing Assassin's position to strike.
His eyes were able to check the fights so far. Mash was handling herself well with the Wyverns and Jeanne was helping the lilac girl. Together they would finish the fight soon enough. His chest clenched the second he saw Arturia getting hit and hearing her scream of pain from Lancer's attack. He had used a lot of prana into their link to heal her instantly. Shirou needed to deal with his foe quickly ang go assist Arturia. Thus, keeping the swords around him at all times, he turned into offensive and even traced a second katana, using a dual sword style. His feet on the ground at all times, in order to search for Assassin's position. Assassin, for her part, was now busy in her own little world licking her fingers as she was able to draw some of Shirou's blood.
Shirou could see in disgust as the woman bent over her head in blind ecstasy at the feeling of his blood dancing inside her mouth, taking as long as possible to swallow it.
"Delicious, simply delicious. There is no word that could describe it better. Now, I yearn for your veins, swordfighter. Oh, to feel your blood running through your veins and arteries. To feel your heart pumping it all through your body, oh my…it's been ages since I last felt this excited."
Assassin was right now in delirium as her body was convulsing in anticipation for the feeling of Shirou's blood jerking inside of her mouth. She was licking her mouth in anticipation and the action made everyone take an involuntary step back at the deranged look on the black mask wearing servant. Arturia was battling Lancer, but she couldn't help but hear the woman's threat to Shirou. Her eyes darted back and forward, but she was confident that her lover would emerge victorious.
Just from that look of concentration in his eyes, made Arturia know that he will win.
Shirou decided he had enough of this banter.
"You aren't getting near me anytime soon, Assassin. You're responsible for the deaths of the citizens and for that I can't allow you to continue."
Assassin merely smirked at the bravado.
"Oh! what a hero, so you're here to take care of the monster. Well, little hero, it's time for you to give me your blood…"
The redhead was surprised when Assassin opened her arms as blood red energy siphoned from below her like a red vortex of energy.
The vortex soon enveloped not only her, but Shirou as well and he found out that he was trapped, unable to move.
"It's useless to struggle, hero. My noble phantasm targets the blood inside your body and binds you to my will, you will not escape my Phantasmal Iron Maiden!"
Assassin let out a wicked laughter as a contraption appeared above her head. It appeared to be made of wood and enveloped by chains. It's Assassin Carmila's Iron Maiden, a torture tool that Carmila used to murder innocent girls in fear when she was alive. Soon, the iron maiden emerged from behind Shirou and opened up, showing rows and rows of dangerous spikes. She smiled once more when the torture tool embraced Shirou's position and closed it, making a gigantic noise; Everyone in the vicinity flinched and Arturia's chest tightened in dire concern for her soon to be husband.
Assassin was about to move and see the results of her technique when she saw the maiden's door not all the way closed like it should be.
She was even more surprised when hundreds of swords from all shapes and sizes emerged from within the iron maiden, shredding the wooden contraption into nothingness.
Assassin had to shield her eyes to protect herself from the wooden debris that flew all over the place. The woman then flinched once she saw two katanas pierce her chest admist the debris. Everyone was simply astonished, with the exception of the smirking (and relieved) Arturia who increased the attack on Lancer.
"Sorry about this, but I can't let you continue to attack this country's citizens, Assassin."
Shirou then reverted his swords and spilled a pool of Assassin's blood on the ground. The servant known as Carmila was finished before she had the chance to say anything.
===Arturia x Lancer===
Relieved that Shirou had dealt with Assassin, Arturia had increased the odds against Lancer, forcing him on the defensive.
The dragons and wyverns were already dealt with by Mash and Jeanne, so the only enemy remaining was Lancer. The man cursed Assassin's weakness and he knew that now he was at an extreme disadvantage. The servant knight was already a formidable opponent to face against and the enemy group had three other servants to join the battle if needed be. Lancer knew he had not much to do here and realized that he would at least take her away from the equation.
"Huh, it looks like there is only one move for me, here!"
Arturia was about to charge once more, when she saw the same red blood vortex envelop Lancer's body, before all of the energy surrounded his lance.
"Try dodging this, Knight!"
Lancer swirled his lance from behind him and threw it straight at Arturia. The sheer speed of the lance was incredible and Arturia's eyes turned briefly to see Mash a few inches behind her.
"Mash, shield up, now!"
The demi-servant was observing the fight raging on and sprang into action the second that Arturia asked for her assistance. Mash wanted nothing else than to show the king of knights that she deserved to fight against the powerful servants out there. Mash saw Lancer's spear travelling in high velocity towards the King of Knights and charged, already focusing as much prana as possible into her shield. As soon as she reached Arturia's position, Mash slammed the narrow end of the shield on the ground as she activated her incomplete noble phantasm. Energy poured from the shield and it expanded until it became a tall brick wall. Lancer's spear slammed in Mash's defense and Mash backed away instantly at the power of the blow, but she held strong.
Arturia took the advantage of Mash's assist and charged from the side until she was inches from Lancer's position.
Focusing energy on her sword, the King of Knights placed the tip of the sword towards Lancer's exposed chest and thrusted it.
Lancer felt the sword impale his chest, going all the way out of his back.
As soon as she did so, Arturia was able to see the man reverting to normal somewhat just like it did to Saint Martha. Lancer's spear was on the ground as he kneeled on the ground, holding his bleeding chest.
"Ah knight…despite this being my loss, this was a fight that I shall treasure. At least give me the honor of knowing the identity of the one who defeated me."
Mash observed as the King of Knights positioned her sword towards the ground as she placed her hands above the hilt. As Mash observed her senior, something within her stirred upon seeing the King of Knights standing like that. The king's charisma had already drawn quite enough of her attention. But now as Mash observed the King of Knights standing there proudly, Mash couldn't help but want to follow her whenever she went. And it was strange, considering that they had known each other for less than a week.
Such is the level of leadership that Arturia commanded.
"You honor me deeply Lancer. My name is Arturia Pendragon…formerly known as King Arthur of Camelot." Lancer's eyes widened, before he smiled in content.
"Ah, no doubt, history has displayed much of your righteousness and prowess in battle, King of Knights. Truly, I could not have asked for a worthier adversary to lose against. You have acquiesced to my request, so I shall extend the same courtesy. A king introducing himself to another. Vlad III the Impaler is my name, former King of Romania." Arturia then crossed her right arm around her chest and bowed in reverence. Truly, she has been fortuitous that all of the Lancer class servants were honored fighters.
"Indeed, it's has been an honor, King of Romania."
The long white-haired man nodded, mirroring Arturia's reverence to one another just as Shirou arrived by her side.
Vlad III's core was destroyed, so the servant turned into dust soon after.
With the dragons killed as well as the servants, the group gathered around as Romani was busy with Ritsuka and Mash collecting the data from the fights as well as scanning the area for more enemies. For now, it is imperative that they took some time to rest before moving forward. They had already dealt with three of Jeanne Alter's servants, but that didn't mean that they had the advantage. After all, Jeanne could summon more to her cause any time. The group would only relax when Jeanne Alter herself was taken care of. As Shirou was busy healing Mash and Arturia, Ritsuka and Jeanne were conversing amicably, when Ritsuka's bracelet hummed to life with Olga's voice patching through.
"Everyone, we're receiving information about two other servant's presence…it's a few miles to your right, a church by the looks of it. Go check it out!"
It was somewhat strange that whoever these servants were, they didn't appear by Jeanne Alter's side to attack the group from Chaldea.
Fifteen minutes later, they were in front of a landscape in the area, called the Priory of La Charité. Like the entire city, the church building was in ruins. As the group entered inside the church, they were surprised upon hearing what appeared to be an organ playing ominous music. Shirou and Arturia went in in advance and the rest remained by the church entrance. Right now, Mash needed to cover for Ritsuka and Jeanne in case one of Alter's servants came in and attacked them. Soon, Shirou and Arturia saw a staircase that led downstairs. As they descended, the sound of music became louder and louder. When the staircase ended, they were in a place that was just like a church floor, though much more decorated with paintings on the walls and statues. Also, they could see the piano on the far side of the wall from which they came from.
There playing the piano was a man with black hair that slightly passed his shoulder. He was wearing a mask that covered parts from his face and he was wearing what appeared to be a long black cutaway.
Both Shirou and Arturia could feel the use of magical energy in the song, though both had enough resistance. Though, they now found the presence of the servant. Shirou saw that Arturia signaled him to another presence. Behind the servant playing the orchestra, there was a woman from the looks of things, strapped on top of an ornamental table. Shirou could see that she was struggling to get out of the bindings, though the music must be hurting her. They could see a slender figure, with long pink hair tied up, blue eyes and a round-looking hat of some kind.
"Do you think he knows we are down here, Arturia?" Shirou whispered as he approached her lover to come up with a rescue plan.
"I would say no, but we must account for the possibility. Do you have any idea who he may be, Shirou?" The redhead appeared pensive, though. Unlike the other servants, the man's image was somehow familiar to him.
"It's from a story called Phantasm of the Opera." Romani's voice from within their link to Chaldea surged as they observed. "I can't say how it could possibly be a servant like him in the Thrones of Heroes. He is actually a creation of fiction. Well, it was actually a creation from a French writer called Gaston Leroux, so I guess it fits in the singularity." Shirou and Arturia needed not much else. In a strange sense, it was similar to Sasaki Kojiro, the assassin from their Grail War, who was also a fictional character.
"Romani, do you recognize the woman strapped on the table?" Romani negated Arturia's question, though.
"Afraid not, Arturia. It could be anyone from French history. If you can save her, then we can have her as an ally against Jeanne Alter."
Shirou and Arturia looked at one another and nodded as they moved silently from where they stood. Arturia called for her projected Caliburn from her mystic code, hence it would not consume any prana to warn the enemy of her presence. They would have to time It perfectly or else this Phantom of the Opera would use something to attack them and they needed to rescue the woman servant strapped on the table. Shirou quickly navigated towards the table where the woman was strapped and emerged, making himself known to her. The sudden presence made she gasp, before Shirou placed a hand on her mouth and urged her to stay quiet.
Seeing that she nodded, Shirou then turned to Arturia and gave her the signal.
The King of Knights nodded back and swiftly got behind the assassin servant, before thrusting her sword straight at his heart.
The Phantasm gasped and stopped the music as he turned to look at the one who dared come in between him and his beloved.
"Who dares…" The man, however, stopped talking as he took one look at Arturia's angelic beauty. "Oh, such beauty. The Dragon Witch had provided me the Queen of Versailles as reward for helping her destroy the city of Lyon. But, you…" Arturia saw as the man's claw-like hands caressed her face. She knew that her sword had pierced his core and that he would be removed from this plane. "Your beauty reminds of me of an angel of death…an angel that came to collect my darkened soul…" The phantasm by this point had blood leaking from his mouth as his eyes were busy focusing on all of Arturia's figure, admiring her. Arturia at this point had enough and removed Caliburn from the man's heart and watched as the man fell on the ground, before transforming into dust.
Arturia snorted at the scene and turned to Shirou only to curse. Shirou had released the bindings of the captured beautiful servant. However, Arturia could very well see the look of adoration coming from the woman towards her beloved as he carried her weakened body bridal style. The only thing that stopped her from yanking her from her beloved's grasp was that Shirou looked annoyed at the pink-haired servant's attempts of advance. As soon as the redhead approached Arturia, he placed the servant back on her feet and Arturia could see the disappointed look from her at leaving his arms.
"Who are you? And why were you captured by him?"
The pink-haired servant turned to the voice and flinched at the fierce gaze of the blonde knight.
By this point, the group from Chaldea had approached them as well.
"My name is Marie Antoniette, mon cheri." The introduction made Mash gasp in surprise. "As to how I was captured and brought up here, I was attacked by a group of servants led by the Dragon Witch. When I came about, I was here and strapped on that table. For sure, I believed that that monster would take advantage of me, do all sorts of nasty things to me, until my hero came to the rescue." Arturia visibly snarled as Marie Antoniette once more approached Shirou and started suggesting herself to him like a damsel in distress. "Please, tell me the name of my hero, mon amour."
To this, Shirou visibly backed away and deflated.
Not at the advance, but at the knowing look his beloved was throwing the new servant as Arturia's hand was itching for her Excalibur.
It was hard enough having to come to this dimension and work though this mess without having to deal with this situation every now and then.
Author Note
Ok, that is about it for now.
Next update: Fate Shadow Spear
