Chapter 39
[TRUE END ROUTE]
RIN returned to consciousness ever so slowly.
She never was a morning person and never would be, but even so the splitting headache she woke up to wasn't a regular occurence.
"Ugh," she groaned. Her mouth felt like a desert. That was definitely not normal. She tried to focus her blurry vision, and eventually managed to see where she was. A bedroom, much like her own back in Fuyuki, except clearly more luxurious.
It looked rather familiar, but she couldn't quite place it. The headache did not help.
Her first concern was her physical conditions. Nothing hurt besides her head, but why did her head hurt then? Did she hit it? Was she hit?
The last thing she recalled was-
be̫͜i̩̖̳͖͉̯̗n̛g̟͇ͅ ̵̟͔̟̮̮o͉̯͔̰n̘͉̘͜ ͕̩̯̟̯̙ͅḩ̜̹̗e͕̠̤ͅr͔̞͙̲͈̱̘ ̱̤k̪̺̠̳̺n̠͚̦̬̗͙͉̕e̻̞͍̤̼̣e̼͎̣͙̻̩͡s,̰͡ ͉̤s̷͖u̖c̥͈k̟̻͔i̢̱̜̖͓̠n͖g͈̯̭ ͘a̴͓̜̩̻̳̠ ͈d͇̰e͏̹̥̗li͚̰̥͈͎̜ͅc͔̳̪̱͇̜͟ͅi̜̣̱̜͠o̗̜̝̤͞u̡s͔͈͓̝͇͞ ̸c̛͓͎̱͚̫̪o͎̱̪̣c̡̞̜̠̱̤̬k̢͚̮͉͔,̖͎̞̰͈̲͔ ̠̻͈r̬u͓̩̥̳̭̞n̦͇̙ͅn̜̞͖̬̙͖i̪̳̹̹n͚̯g̘̬̹͜ ̀h̵͙̠̜̲͓̜͈e̡̤̳̝̙̥r̩͕̟̭͘ ̬̯̝̟̱̼t̶̥͔̳o̭̘͔͎̙ṇ̵͕̯g̨̩̳̼̪̝̱u̢͙͓e͚̞͚͢ ̖oņ ͎̙̙̼i̘̣ͅț̴̩ṣ̗̼͚̀ ̭̳͓̞͓̳̩̕v͔͡e̫̻̦i̪̙͞n̤͉y̠̦̩̙̱͘ ̤̙̟l̙ͅͅẹ̟̫n̙̺g̱͉t͚͟ḥ͓̹͍.͜ ̢T͔à̝̝k͕̦͕͘i̮̯͓͚͡n̳͇͍g͇͚̩̗̤ ̭̦̗͙̪̩i̛̘͚̬̪t̙̜̩̘̀ ̢̳̝͈̪͍̯í͚͓̠̜̥n͉t̯̜o̗ ͕̞̠̥̰̖h̴͍͔͎̮̤e̹̫̜̲͘r̞͈̯̙̺̘̣͡ ͙̺̭͡m͖̖̟̺̖o̡̻̖u͍̫̻̖̣͚t̷̲̫h̷̳͚̖̤̖͔͇ ̝̦̟̺an͙̕d̴͎̘͈̭ ̤̟̰̱͇͜b͔̟͎̰̝͢u̫̖̮̕ͅr̲̩͈͖̼͕̣͡y̰i̫͙͕̮̦͈̬n̬̼͚̱g̢͚ i̼̞̗͠ͅt͘ ͔ḍ̱̰̖e̯e̬͖͖p̡͎̬̘̤͓̞̻ ͖i͢n̮t͝o̬̺̝̹̩̠̖ ͎̞͈̺̝̙͠h̪͖̠͠e̸̬̬r͓̝͓͕̰ ̪̳̳̙t̥̲͕̲̱͘h̢̪̱r̞̤̻̬͎̭ͅo͏͖a̴̬t̡͖̜͖.̬͖̖̤́ ̡M͎͇̝ov͏͓̪ͅi̷̬̭̭͎̘̪n̰̰̖g͎͓ ͍̪̫̪̫̭̝h̗͈è̻̯̫̮̭̗̰ṟ̷̬ͅ h͖͇̕e͢ą̜̯d̴̹̻ ̥̳͎̖̠̪b̩̟͍͚a̞̥̱̟͙̳ͅc̭͙̘͕͓͈k̷̰͉͍̦̫̻̪ ̮̬͔ạ͎̭̦͙͓̭n͏̼̹͇͖̖d̜̜͈ͅ ̸͍̳̣̥̺̥ͅf̰̙̩̯̼̭o͇̬̗̤͍̫͙r̛̤̩t̫h͡,̩̤̣̹̦ ̥͕͍͕m̗̱͓͚͎̦a̺̘͙͕̝̺k̶͉̗̲͖i͎͓̙͙̥͟n̵̮͕̝̯̮̳͙g̷͕̥̝̖ ̶̘̘̝̟̣̙i͏͔̯͎̗̟̟n̕d̀e̼̖c̩̮̩̞e̲̝n̸̯̜̖̘̰̹t̸͖̹̖ ͈̖͙͡ṇ̤͇̳͠oi͝s͚e͉ ̘̤̳͈a͇̪͢s̸̞͕͙̺ ͜h̛̫͓̟er ̯̖͙̞͘t͈̳͔̮hr͕̙̝̰̗ó̱͓̟̼ạ͓̪͈̺ͅt̹̩̬̩̥͈̳͢ ̨e̷x̨͖͙̝ͅp͖̠͍͇̫a̙̬̩̖͈̬̩͘n̘̳̪̥̪͞d͞ͅe̦̣̼̟͎͈d a̙̞̘͙ṇ͙d̶̫͔̭ ̞͇̗͍ͅs̮̭̻̯͉̜h̭̪͉̱̣͡r̡u̞͚̪n͚̪͍͔k̘͝ ͓͓̦̭͇̤̱͡a͓̹̭̰̻g̸̬͓͓̫a̗̩͙i͚̗͜n̜̱̻ ̷͈̻̜̳̣̤̪á͚n͍̟̰̝̯̲d̥͕̣͖̪͓ ́a̹̲g̷̭̦̲̘̺̫ͅa̜̬̺̪̫͍̼i̳̦̯̩͕͈n̡͎͎ ̩͇̩͙̲͜a͕̘t̺̹̲͓͖̟ ̶̺͖̮̫̠t͏͉̘h̹̖̫ẹ̠ ̭̩̟p̻͘a͓͚̭̰͓s̢͎̘s͟a̝̰̥̜g̴̻͈ḛ͎̝̖̼̣̯͢ ̜͚͍͕͝ͅo̙͓͎͙̤̳̞f̗͈̙̟̘͝ ͢t͎̥h̳͚̲̙͉̀e̤̝ ̧̻̦̺̙m̖̘͖̥͙a̘͙̰͕s̡s̳i̹̻v̝̗̥̪e̛̜̳ ̼s̥̣̭̬̥̪h̰̮̜̤̺́a̳͖f̴͍̺͖͍t̸̘̫ͅ.̠̯͘ͅ ̪̲̬͠Un̷̠͍̳t̶̗̤il̗͎̻͔̗ ̞a̱ ̬̫͢t̖̼̳o̺̺̝̹̝̻̲r̤̮͡r͕̭en̢̠t a̝͚̼̖̲̩̗ ͎̟̖̭̤̘͘b̦̼̫̳͢ͅu͉͔̙̖̯̻r̥̘n͇̬̖̤i̤̱͇n̡͇̦͙̜̟͓g͟ ̟̝̞͇c̣̲̩̬u͏̮͉̫m̤ ̯͎͙̲wa͙͈͇ͅs ̭s̮̯͞ͅh̷̟̼̰̩̝o̝͔̤͔̭ͅt̺͖̙ ̖̳͈̩̲̙̕ḭ̫̲̱̤͈̮n̶̬̣̹̣t͏͍o͙̕ ̢h̖̮͞e̡̤̲͎̳̰r̙͝ ͓̙̘͇m̘͔̟̣ơ͙͕̞̦u̫̗͝t͞h̵,̶̣̩͕͚̣ ̬̫͙͓͚͇̖w̸h̳̖͎i̡̙̹̦c̵̯͖ͅh͙̰͉̗̠̗̮ ͍͙̭͉͠ṣ̥̭̻̹h̖e͚̟̙̘ ̨̻̙͙̬sw̟̻̖̥a̺̬̞͍͚ͅḽ͎l̵o̻̤̳̘͖̮we͕͍d͚̠̖̪ ̩͕͖͚̥͕̙w̜̦͈̮͙͕͢i̲̱t̼̩̯͞ͅh̳͖̠͎̱̟̜ ̼̱̭̗g̭͚̲r̤e͓̳̙̲ą̫̤̘̪̜̜t̹ ͉̙̱̲̦̥ͅd̜͓e̺͟ĺ̗̣͎̹̣i͏͇̝͙ͅgh̜̘̯͇t̞̳̩͠ ͍̰̭̲̙a̘͓̜̘͚n͈̗̞d͔̤̻̫̼ ͔͍̗̯g̞͍͔̖͕͞r͏ea̻͍̙͇͚͡t̨̻͔̩̳̦̝e̟̯r ̩̭͉͍̱̥̗͡p̘͞l̥͎̯͕̖e̶̻̯͔͉ą͓͉͚̜̘͕ͅs̢̜ͅṳ̰͔͇͜r̢̭̦͉͙̫͔̤e̮̼͎̼̜
- returning home late in the evening from the Clock Tower and then nothing. Just a blank spot till the present. She didn't know for certain how long it was since then, but it felt like an eternity.
After a few minutes during which she cautiously checked herself, she decided it would be a good idea to inspect her surroundings.
She slid out of the bed and only then noticed that the pajama she was wearing was her own. Whoever brought her here had gone to her place to retrieve some of her things.
It didn't look like there were any restrictions on her, be they physical or otherwise. Her Circuits responded readily when she tried to access them. Everything suggested that she wasn't a prisoner to someone hostile to her.
Appearances could be deceiving though, so she remained on high alert. After all, her own guardian had raised her and taught her just to kill her off later, when it would hurt most.
People could be extremely twisted like that and Magi were ever more at risk due to their peculiar upbringing.
And there wasn't any doubt in her mind that this was a Magus's abode. The obvious wealth was a dead giveaway, in combination with the thick ambient Mana.
Looking out of the window, she saw that she was on the third floor of a mansion in the middle of a forest.
She could easily jump down from there with a bit of Magecraft, if needed be. The windows itself wasn't warded in any way she could discern, but there was no way for her to assess if there were traps down below, or around the mansion.
Staging a break out without knowing the circumstances would be more dangerous than staying put.
But she could still see if the only door was unlocked and where it led. She put on a pair of slippers that had been left next to the bed, and cracked the door open just enough that she could look outside.
There was a corridor, of course. Lined with suits or armor every few steps. RIN would not bet against them coming to life at their owner behest.
She took a tentative step out, holding her breath just in case that scenario came to pass. However, nothing happened.
Yet, it was far too early to let down her guard. She still didn't know where she was. The first order of business then, was filling up that gap in knowledge.
Carefully, she walked down the corridor. Every step was measured and attentive. Mortal danger could lurk behind every corner and inside every shadow.
However, no matter how far she went from the room she woke into, nothing jumped out at her. Unfortunately, she wasn't any closer to finding her way out. The place was positively massive and she found herself at a dead end more than once, forcing her to recount her steps.
Surprisingly, her nose came to her assistance. At some point she picked up the faint smell of something edible being cooked.
Her stomach let out such a loud growl that it echoed throughout the corridor, making her suddenly aware of how hungry she was.
There was the possibility that she was cleverly being lured somewhere, but seeing how quickly she was getting nowhere on her own, and how famished she was, she decided that it would be wise to follow this trail.
Prompted by her hunger and somewhat reassured by the lack of response to her roaming, RIN tracked the smell back to its source, down to flights of stairs to the ground floor.
She passed in front of a double door, which clearly led to the courtyard. Briefly, she wondered if she should take her chances and make a run for it. However, the smell of food had gotten much stronger now that she was closer and her cautiousness had been reduced somewhat.
She decided to stay and possibly get something to eat. If she had to fight her way out afterward, she would not do so on an empty stomach, at least.
Crossing an enormous living room, RIN approached the source of the smell and as she did so, her ears picked upon the sound of people talking.
She knew those voices. She knew them all too well.
The last shreds of caution evaporated all at once and she barged into the next room and its occupants.
"RIN!" Saber shouted, standing up for her chair so fast that it fell backward.
"Saber… Saber…"
A sudden feeling of relief washed over her at the sight of her Servant turned lover. She rushed into her arms without paying any mind to anything else.
"Thank goodness you are alright, Rin. Thank goodness."
"Saber… what… what's happened. What place is this?"
"That would be mine, Rin."
Only then did she recall that Saber had been talking to someone else, and finally turned her eyes towards him. She blinked several times, as she realized the identity of the Magus who owned the mansion.
It was none other than Gerard DuFall, the man who was-
he͉̻̣r ͇̱p̹̭̘i̪͕͖̹͈͟m̤̟̰͉̮p͎̫̗͉̻,̥ ̝̯̯h̰͈͘e̴͚͈̗̣̞ͅr ̯̫m̶̥̟̭̗̭͉a̵̤̣s̙̺̱̝͟ṱ̟̱ę̞̥̱r̡̭̰̜͖͉,̞̳̗̻̖̯ ̷͕̞hḛr̛̼͈ o͔͖͕͈̼͎̙͘w̧̰̤̯̼n͏̼̺͚̝ęr̺͓͎.̵ T̰͈̞̝̕ͅh͎̺̪̳e͇̜̬̳͡ ̠̺̥̥̘͉̳͞m̹ḁ̷͚̬n̟ ̻̠̯̝̗̺̘͞w̗͍̣͉h̥͎͕o̥̜̜͈͉͡ṃ ̺̯ş͔̝ḫ̻̬͠e ̟͉͚̫ͅw̥͎o̶̺̣̞r̠̺̻͖͎͎͓s͔͙̀h̪͙̼̦i̲̻͡p̢̹̙̣͍p̖̳̯̹̼e͚̥͡d͓̺̙̙̭͚ ̧͖̥̥͍̻ͅw̞͍̗ͅi̸̱t͙̙̫͚̼̩̳h̲̤̹͈̣̬͠ͅ ͓̩͔̩̝a̶̞̦̤͍l͔l̵̖̞̻̤̰ ͏͙̙̙̣͈͕̖o̟̟̫f̣̞͘ ͇̙̺h͉̹̹̼̱e̻͚̯̥̩͡r̭̜̕ ̺͔̠͞s̘͕̭̟̳͙ǫ̺͓̱̥͖̯̳u̶̥l͕̤̮̯͉̱̩.̴̭̥̰̺̤͚͍ ̮͈̮̺̞̹T̲͓̯̹ͅh͞e̜͞ ̘̜͇m͙̱͖͝a̝̘̙̱̬n͏ ̹w͖͔h̖o͖̟̲̩͟ ̸͕̥̠̖ͅͅm͍̣̬̣̩͞a̳d̥̞ͅé̠̮̭͈ ͓͉̗͖̟̯̩h̩͖ḛ̮̘͇ͅr ̘͇̹͓i̥͙̘̩̹n̨̯͕̠̩͖t̯̺o̴͖̟̦͔͕ ̹͍̤̝̣̘̥͟a̯̟ ̗f̡i͕̗͕̜l͚̫͇͈̬̣̞t̰̹̭̰̼̮̬͢h̞̘͈͚̲y͕ͅ,̬̖̻͘ ̤̤c̝̫͔h̨̗͔e͙̙͕͙̝̗ạ̸͍t̼̖̫̬̜̰́i̸͇̰͕͔̦̤n͓͇͎̙g̦ ̤͕̝̯̱w̥͙̳̫͘h̸͕o̥̘̩ṟ͓e͈̱̥͈̘̮͓.̖̭͘T̡͎̜h̡̹̳̯̯̰e̢̦̪̮̰ͅ ̰̩̼̪̯̣̗ma̱̼͙ͅn̠̜̠͇̦ ̴̜̬͉̥w̼̪h̰̞o̗̙̖̥̟̦ ͘ṭ̭̘̭̥̹ͅw̯̞i̙͚͕s̺͉̫̠te̪̫̣͍̕d̼̙̕ ̪̞̫͈̦̜h̟̹͝e̳͉̰̝̙͟r̷̘͙̣̠͓̫ ̱̤̼̰̻̰ͅd̘̻͖͉̙̟e̜s̞̙̝̕i̞r͈̩̞̭̮̮͕e͖͔͚͉̘͖͜ͅ ͍̬̲to̳͚̙͖̗̺ ̧͙͇c̸̞r͍͕̥̞̭ͅa̝̲͓̦ͅv̭̝̤̲̱̳͈e̶̞̘̪ ̠͉̥̹͎m̘͚̰̼̺̺o͚n͕̺e̫y̨̻̯̯ ̹̙͚ͅa͚̫̗͇͚͇͝n̶͖͖̼̙̻d̪̱̺̣̞̺ ̴̞c̻̠͍̥o͉c̻̤̠̹͟k ̹̝̤͖͕̺̫m̫̗̯o͈͎̭r̥͍̙e̘̼͕ ̠͈̯͕̳͜ͅt̞̘̰͓̺̀h͙̥͖͎̱͈̀a̡̙̘̲̣ń̹̘̣̲̩ ̷̦͕̪͈͍a̸̦͎̱n͉̺̲y̯̣̱̙͚̱͟tḥ̹̭̭̹̕i̳̪͇ṇ̛̬̦̣g̼̞͍̭͝ ̰͉̠ͅe̸͉l̮s͡e͎͎͝ ̘̩̗͙̲͙͇͞i̜̠͙͚̣͞n̴͉ ̵̲͙̣̲̠̭th̷̪̩̺̟͉̤̜e ̱̫͍w͖̳̯͉͍͞o̶͎͇r̮͙l̰ḓ͇̲͔̮͟.̖̯͕̙ ͏̣̗̹͈̻̦͇T͖͖͙̖͇͍͟h̷̫͈̭e͏̻̱̫̙̻ ̞̩ṃ̺͙̻a̰̱͍̜̘n̼̘͕̲̲̬̪ ̧͔̥̯̲̩̘w̝̜͚̳͔̖h̤̠̫̟͕͡o̯̮ͅ ͎̞̦͈́s̗̟͍̦͙̞h̬̰̯̲̝́e͜ ̶̖͔͇̗l̵̩̣̯̬o͕͈ve̹d̵̪͕̝͉ a̭̘͍̬͍b̭̺̜̦͕͇̤o̸̗̩̲̪̱v̛̞̘͙e̟̦̰̺̪̝͉ ̬̭̠̻̰a͔͙̮̠͖l̙̥̥l ͅe̗̭̟̪lṣe͙̟͍͔̮͝.̺̝͕͈̙͍͞
- her research partner. The only person other than Saber that she could trust her back to in these trying times.
"...Gerard? What… What am I doing here? What happened?"
"You don't recall?" asked Saber, who in turn looked at Gerard. "You have been kidnapped, Rin. You have been gone for weeks. Gerard and I have searched for you all over and managed to rescue you some time ago. Gerard, you said that she would have recovered completely. That her mind had not been tampered with."
"And I stand by my word, Saber. However, if they got the drop on her and kept her unconscious the whole time, she might not have realized her circumstances at all."
"Alright…. alright, I need you to explain everything to me from the beginning," said Rin. "While I eat something, possibly."
[br]
While she had breakfast, Gerard and Saber explained to her the details they knew about her disappearance, their search and her rescue.
There were several things that she found amiss about their recollection, but she trusted them both implicitly and she chalked it up to mere misremembering. Knowing Saber, she must have been worried sick until this moment, so it was to be expected that she wasn't in her right mind a hundred percent of the time.
Gerard on the other hand had been involved only afterwards, so there weren't many details that he could corroborate.
"And you haven't been able to track that warehouse back to anyone?"
"Sure I did. Just to no one who has any connection to the Clock Tower, but you know how it is. It takes very little effort for a Magus to convince an ordinary human to let him borrow something. It's basically foolproof."
"Yeah," Rin sighed. Magi were extremely adept at covering their own tracks. There was little to no chance that they would be able to find the party responsible unless they tried again and got caught in the act. "What did they do to me?"
"Nothing permanent, fortunately. From what I managed to gather, well… my conclusion is that they were setting you up as an artificial womb."
"... what?" she asked numbly.
"They probably wanted you to birth an heir who could get both their family Crest and your own. They would have kept you sedated the entire duration of your pregnancy, then they would have stripped your Crest and disposed of you some way."
Suddenly, Rin's appetite was gone.
"Damn those curs," growled Saber. "I can't accept that they will just get away unpunished. There has to be a way to find them."
"I have exhausted all of my connections and haven't found the slightest hint as to their identity. I'm sorry, Rin."
"It's not your fault, Gerard. You did more than enough. If not for your help, I would have been done for."
"That is true," agreed Saber. "I didn't mean to imply your support hasn't been sufficient. You went over and beyond what was asked of you."
"Nonsense. I wasn't about to lose my only research partner to the scummy ambitions of another Magus."
RIN smiled, finally feeling safe among trusted allies. She wasn't over what had happened to her, yet, and she probably wouldn't be for a long time. She probably never would, unless she could find the perpetrators and express her displeasure to their faces. Through their faces.
"The important thing is figuring out how to stop them from doing it again," she said. "I can't let their threat prevent me from going about my business. They have already cost me too much, in both time, money and reputation."
"Rin, there are more important things than those. Especially more than money," Saber objected.
"Nevertheless. Staying on a perpetual defensive would only wear us out, and since we can't pursue a counter attack, that leaves us with no course of action other than carrying on as normal, with additional precautions, of course."
"Rin, I'm not sure that's wise," Saber insisted.
"Yes, you do. No other course of action makes sense at present. If I hide, the only thing that's going to happen is that my position at the Clock Tower will weaken and that will only make coming after me much easier."
"She's right, Saber. The Clock Tower doesn't officially condone Magi killing each other, otherwise the association would crumble. It's one of the reasons why they have been so through in cleaning after themselves. However, that only holds true if the administration cares enough to get riled up. A Magus without influence turning up dead or worse wouldn't deserve an investigation. Rin's best bet is to become so important that they won't dare target her again."
Saber let out a long, frustrated sigh.
"Fine, but you won't ever come or go to the Clock Tower without being escorted, and that's final."
"Yeah, that's fair. In hindsight, It was pretty careless not having any protection set up on the shortest route between there and our apartment. I basically set myself up for that ambush."
"Can you be certain you'll be safe at the Clock Tower, Rin?" asked Saber.
"As safe as any Magus could possibly be surrounded by their peers," she replied sarcastically.
"Rin…"
"I'll keep an eye on her while she's there," Gerard reassured. "I'll make sure to let everyone know that anyone that messes with her will be making an enemy out of house DuFall."
"Gerard, that is not necessary," Rin protested.
"Of course it's necessary. It wasn't only your time that was wasted, Rin. I had to put on hold all of our common projects and I don't fancy that happening again."
"You will burn important bridges if you put me under your aegis."
"Those bridges don't advance my Magecraft as working with you does, so what use do I have of them? If they are a hindrance, then I'm better off without them."
"You idiot," said Rin, but there was no bite to it. She was genuinely touched at this show of support. He really was a great-
- friend, that much was certain.
"Thank you, Gerard," said Saber. "We are even further in your debt."
"I'm sure there will come a time when I'll need you to return the favor. Don't sweat it."
"God, there are so many things I'll have to catch up to," Rin sighed. "It will probably take me months to get everything back where I left it. I should get started as soon as possible."
She pushed back the chair she was sitting upon and made to stand. All of a sudden her vision swirled and her legs gave out from under her.
"RIN!" she heard Saber shout. She braced herself mentally for the hard impact, but it never came. A strong arm caught her before she could hit the ground.
"Hey, take it easy," Gerard whispered in her ear. "You have been bedridden for weeks, your body isn't as strong as it used to be."
"I… I was fine a moment ago."
"I'm afraid that eating solid food after such a long time has put your system under too much stress. You should probably take a few days to do some light exercise and recover before you go anywhere.
"I can't afford that. I…"
"Stop being so damn stubborn!" he said, and picked her up bridal style effortlessly. "I'm on your side, Rin, but that's no reason to make things more difficult than they are for Saber and yourself."
"I…"
"Rin, he's right," said Saber. "You are in no condition to do anything strenuous yet. A few days to recuperate are needed."
"If you really want to work on something, I can have Saber access your Workshop at the Clock Tower and retrieve your notes."
"We are only worrying about you, you know?" said Saber.
"That's… alright. It seems I can't win when the two of you team up against me."
"Indeed you cannot," agred Saber, with a smile that RIN found to be strangely mischevious for the circumstances.
"I'll take you back to your room," said Gerard, taking off with RIN still in his arms.
"Uh, I can walk on my own," said RIN, unable to keep the blush from her face.
"Except you really can't," he disagreed. "Just this once, put aside your pride and simply accept other people's kindness."
"F-Fine… there is no point arguing with you," she huffed.
She wanted to protest more, but she felt incredibly weak as of that moment, Being carried like that by someone other than Shirou, or Saber…
No. There was no use having such pointless thought. Saber was right there and didn't seem to object to Gerard carrying her.
It appeared that the two of them had struck an unusual friendship in her absence.
That was somewhat of a relief to RIN. Saber used not to like the usually arrogant Magus, and RIN had started working with him without letting her Servant know.
If there was one good thing that came out of this misadventure was that it solved the issue of breaking the news to her girlfriend.
Thank God for small blessings, right?
[br]
After laying her back in the same bed she woke up into, Gerard excused himself and let the two women alone.
"S-So…" RIN stuttered, not knowing what to say.
A great number of things had happened, that Saber did not know and had to find out from Gerard, just as a lot of things had taken place that she only found out about.
The two of them did not have an open conversation in months and there was now a certain awkwardness to them.
"I'm sorry for not telling you that I partnered with Gerard," she eventually said.
"You don't have to apologize, Rin," said Saber, squeezing her hand. "I understand your reasons."
"Really?"
"Yes. There would have been no way I could have come to respect that man if the circumstances had not forced me to put aside my prejudice. Had I known you were working closely with him when you disappeared, I would have gone for his head. Even if I did not kill him I couldn't have trusted him enough to accept his help. Well, I still tried to kill him anyway."
"How did he survive? You haven't said."
"I was running low on Mana and I was extremely weakened. So much that he was able to restrain me."
"How did you… how did you survive without my Mana?"
"There are more ways for a Servant to acquire Mana than there are for a human."
"But…"
"You don't need to worry. No one got hurt in the process, and while it was somewhat distasteful at first, I've gotten used to it."
"You've gotten used to drinking the blood of humans?" she asked, a bit skeptical.
"Surprisingly enough, a person is capable of getting used to many things they find revolting."
"That's not necessarily a good thing," RIN sighed.
"It was, this time. In any case, Rin, I understand that sometimes secrets have to be kept even from the people that are closest to us. As you recall, I've done so my entire life."
There was that. Having concealed her true gender even to her closest comrades, Saber knew that sometimes there was just no helping it.
"Thank you, Saber."
"Don't mention it. You would have done the same for me," she said. "Now you should probably get some rest. I'll leave you in Gerard's care. Try not to drive him crazy with your incessant demands. He's nowhere near as… accommodating as Shirou."
"Hey! I'm not like that, am I?" RIN asked, wondering what that small pause in her speech had been about.
"You can be at times. Now rest, I'll be back this evening."
"Are you going to work?"
"Yes. Unfortunately, we still have rent to pay."
"Ugh. I'll make it up to you when I get better, I swear."
"Just worry about getting back on your feet. Nothing else matters right now. I'll see you later."
"Later, Saber… I love you."
"... I love you too, Rin," Saber replied before closing the door behind her and leaving RIN alone with her thoughts.
What a complete and utter mess. Weeks of time completely wasted with nothing to show for it, except a closer relationship between Saber and Gerard.
The worst part of it all was not having any idea who the culprit was. She didn't have any specific enemy at the Clock Tower. As an oriental monkey, she was universally despised by the families of old. Her recent string of successes and breakthroughs must have given at least one of them enough motivation to take a shot at her.
Unfortunately, if Gerard could not figure who they were with his extensive network and wealth, she would likely not fare any better.
Although their ultimate goal had been foiled, this was a complete loss on her part, and it would take twice as much time to get back to where she was.
Unfortunately the damage was already done and as such there was no use dwelling over it any further. RIN was the type of person that didn't really worry about things that couldn't change, so after fuming for a while, she just sighed and decided to put it behind her and get a bit of sleep.
[br]
"I'm sorry Kotomine, but if a wound like that instantly did me in, I wouldn't be much of a Heroic Spirit," said the mortally wounded Lancer.
The fake priest's eyes turned dull as life slipped away from him through the hole carved into his chest by Gae was nowhere near as durable as Lancer and died in a matter of seconds, dropping lifelessly to the ground the moment the spear that nailed him to the wall was removed.
Lancer, however, didn't fare much better. Battle Continuation or nor, his heart had been pierced by his own Noble Phantasm. It was a cursed wound that even a demigod could not survive.
He took a step back and leaned against the pillar, slowly sliding to the ground.
His body started to disappear, leaving Rin, tied up to a chair with Kirei's bleeding corpse and a shell shocked Shinji.
"Eh… Ah hahahaha!" the purple haired boy laughed at the sudden turn of events. He then started disparaging the dead priest, kicking his corpse a couple of times for good measure.
Only when he was satisfied with the abuse, did he return his attention to the bound Magus.
She tried to convince him to leave. To get out of there and from the Grail War, but he would not listen to reason. He threw her to the ground along with the chair to which she was tied to and wrapped both hands around her neck.
"Grovel for me Tohsaka. If I like what I hear, I might just spare your life."
She couldn't die. Not like this, not while he was fighting to get to her. She had a duty to live, at all costs.
"F...Fine. I'll do it. Just please… please don't hurt me anymore," she squeaked with a small voice. To be a Magus it to walk with death, she accepted that, but that didn't mean she was any less scared.
She didn't want to die, even if that meant abandoning her pride and begging for her life.
Shinji relented his grip around her neck a little bit, granting a bit of oxygen to rush to her brain again.
"Haaa? I wonder if I can really trust those words," he said, still not letting go of her. "How do I know you won't just turn on me at the first opportunity?"
"I- I won't! I swear I won't! I'll do anything, so…."
"Anything, you said?"
He got up, letting go of her neck entirely. She let out a sigh, but her relief was short lived. He grabbed a fistful of her hair and pulled her back up along with the chair to which she was bound.
"Ouch," she cried. "Why did you do that'"
But rather than answering, Shinji unzipped his pants and took out his cock, right in front of Rin's face.
It was a horrid looking thing, as crooked as the boy to which it was attached.
"Suck it!" he said. "Do it and I'll untie you."
Rin stared at the ugly thing. Did she really have to do something like that? Was there no other way out of this predicament?
"I… I can't. My torso is tied to the back of the chair. I can't move an inch. You'll have to remove some of my bindings."
"I don't think so," he told her, walking to her side, grabbing her head and forcing it toward him. "Just open your mouth and I'll do the work myself."
"Kuh," Rin cursed silently. Her attempt at tricking him didn't work. Shinji was an idiot, but he wasn't completely stupid. There was really no way out of it.
Reluctantly, she opened her mouth. Immediately, he placed the tip against her lips.
"Watch the teeth. If you scratch or bite, I'll kill you."
"O...Okay," she said meekly. Doing any of those things wouldn't get her anywhere closer to freedom.
He slowly slid it inside her mouth and she could do nothing but let it happen. Against her wishes, she had to taste it and feel its texture on her tongue.
It was smooth, despite the veins that covered it. She thought that she would gag right away, but it didn't feel or taste as disgusting as she first thought.
The humiliation was by far the worst part of it all.
When his cock touched the back of her throat, she forcibly suppressed her gag reflex. It took less effort than she thought.
Unfortunately, Shinji took it the wrong way.
"Not even a little bit of gag, Tohsaka? I knew you wouldn't have let me down."
She glared at him, wanting to deny everything that came out of his mouth, but with her own so full she didn't have the possibility.
'Endure. I must endure. If I can just put up with this, I can get him to lower his guard, maybe even release me.'
Of course, there was a chance that Shinji was privy to her thoughts, but currently he was busy holding her head and bobbing the chair on its side legs in such a way that he could use her mouth
"Ghk! Ghk! Ghk!"
Rin's throat made disgusting noises every time that Shinji's cock pushed in and out. Something like this couldn't be called a fellatio.
'This bastard is using my mouth like it's an onahole. Am I nothing but a sex toy to him? Does he consider me as nothing but an object to sate his lust with? This is so humiliating.'
There was no doubt that Shinji wasn't having any consideration of her at that moment. No, in fact, he never had any interest in what she wanted. When he asked her out, weeks before, it wasn't because he was interested in her as a person. He only cared about her reputation at school and the fact that she was a Magus.
He wanted her solely to bolster his own status and self-esteem. This kind of guy would treat every woman like that if he could get away with it. He was precisely the kind of scum that thought that women existed solely to please him. He was the worst of the worst.
She understood it all too well now.
'Then why?' she wondered. 'Why is this turning me on? I don't want this? I don't. … Do I?'
Despite her mental reservations, she felt her pussy get increasingly hot. So hot that she would have squirmed in her seat if her legs weren't so firmly tied up. Her arms twitched in her bindings, restrained from rushing toward the burning pit between her legs.
She wanted to be freed even more than before, but for entirely different reasons.
'Oh my god. I've never been this horny in my entire life. Am I really like this? I need something inside of me. I need it now!'
Although she didn't want to admit it, the heat radiating from her womanhood was more powerful than her denial. She could already feel a wet spot starting to form in her underwear.
'Heavens forgive me. I do like this. I enjoy being treated like an object by a guy like Shinji. What's wrong with me?'
Her traitorous body didn't have an answer to that question, and she couldn't even run away from the situation. Therefore, she was forced to accept the facts as they were.
'Am I a deviant who enjoys abuse and humiliation? Am I a freak?'
She hated that knowledge as much as she was enjoying that treatment. Unfortunately as her arousal increased her presence of mind dimmed and her intellectual reluctance was slowly being chipped away.
'Hmm. Oh god. I didn't know that having my mouth raped would feel this good. Harder. Do it harder. Fuck my skull harder!'
Her sanity had been completely drowned by her arousal.
"It looks like someone is enjoying herself," grunted Shinji in between thrusts.
It was only then that Rin realized she had stopped just taking it and had firmly wrapped her lips against his shaft, applying suction to his cock.
"I knew it. I knew that under that pretty face you were hiding a filthy slut, Tohsaka."
"Hmm. Hm!" she objected.
'I'm not a slut. I'm not!'
But even inside her head, the protest was half-hearted at best. Who would believe it when she was willingly clinging to his cock like that?
Imagine her surprise, though, when Shinji came into her mouth without even a warning.
She groaned as steaming hot semen spread into her mouth with nowhere to go except down her throat. Completely unprepared she could only swallow it all.
"Gk! Gk! Gk!"
Her eyes fluttered as the fish-like smell filled her nostrils, making her brain already drunk on arousal even more addled. For good measure, Shinji pinched her nose close and kept his cock deep into her mouth until she had drunk the last drop.
Only then did he deign to pull out.
"Fuahhh!"
Rin breathed in a lungful of fresh oxygen. However, as much as she needed that, it helped little to clear her brain.
She almost didn't notice when the rope that tied her to the chair was cut. She only realized when he grabbed her by the hair and threw her to the floor.
"Ouch!" she cried. Her wrists were still tied together behind her back, so she couldn't have put her hands forward to cushion the fall and simply hit the ground hard.
She looked at Shinji, who was now completely naked somehow. He had a remarkably unimpressive physique, lean and dry.
The only exception was his cock, bulging and throbbing angrily. It looked even bigger now that he was naked.
This was her chance to fight back. Even with her hands tied up, she could still kick the living shit out of Shinji, or at the very least run away.
She did none of those things. She just laid there, looking transfixed at his throbbing manhood, without making even a token effort to get away when he approached, or when he grabbed her hips and turned her so that her face was on the cold ground and her butt was pointing up.
"What do we have here?" he asked rhetorically as he flipped her skirt to reveal her panties, soaked in so much arousal that it was trickling down her thighs.
"I knew I smelled a bitch in heat."
Whap! he slapped her ass lightly, making it bounce a little. Obviously satisfied with the firmness, he peeled down her underwear and exposed her wet pussy.
"What's wrong, Tohsaka? No denial? No protests? No fighting back? You could have kicked me in the face ten times over by now."
Rin didn't answer. Her face burned with shame but that had the only effect of making her hornier.
'I want this. I want this to happen. I want Shinji to violate me.'
"Well, that's just no fun," he sighed. A moment later the ropes around her wrists were also untied, feeling her completely.
"Wh-What?"
"I got bored with you. You can leave," he said. "Go back to Emiya or whatever."
She did not move.
"W-Why?"
"Why what? You were the one who wanted to leave. You can do that now."
"But…"
"Unless, of course, you actually want to stay. Unless you want me to finish what I started. If that's the case, you only have to ask Tohsaka."
She did not answer. She wasn't stupid. She knew what he was doing. He wanted to make her admit to it with her own voice.
Her pride wouldn't allow that.
"Y… yes. I… I want it."
But her battered pride wasn't enough to silence her arousal.
"Well then, ask for it properly," he taunted, putting both his hands on his hip and making his still hard cock bounce in full sight.
She swallowed thickly.
"P..Please, Shinji."
"Please what?" he asked, cupping his ear as if he was having a hard time hearing. "You have to be more specific. Otherwise I'm not going to understand."
'This bastard really wants to humiliate me to the last,' she thought and, gods forgive her, that made her every little bit as horny as it pissed her off.
She gritted her teeth in both anger and frustration. In the end, however, there was only one thing she could do.
"I WANT YOU TO FUCK ME, ALRIGHT? I WANT YOU TO STICK YOUR COCK INTO MY PUSSY AND FUCK ME HARD! I NEED IT!"
Shinji sighed. "I see that you can't give up your bossy behavior even when you ask people for help. Ah, whatever. I guess I'll just have to fuck the arrogance out of you."
He walked up to her and once more grabbed her hair, dragging her in such a way that she was forced to crawl on all four. When he reached the window, he forced her to stand and pushed against the glass pane.
He took position behind her. He already took down her panties earlier and they had slipped off entirely during the crawl so when he brutally tore away her skirt, her perfect ass and pussy were entirely exposed.
The draft made her incredibly aware of every inch of skin between her thigh-high socks and her shirt. The chilling sensation only highlighted the heat of Shinji's dick pressing against her entrance.
"Hn!" a moan escaped her lips at the touch. He had yet to put it in and it already gave her quite a shock.
He rubbed its crown against her slit but did not put it in yet. The teasing friction was driving her crazy.
"Pu… Put it in already!"
Whap! He slapped her butt again.
"Ah! What are you doing?" she asked.
"Let's make one thing perfectly clear. You don't get to give me orders. I'm doing you a favor here. If that doesn't suit you, you are free to walk away."
"Kh. N..No…"
"Good. Manners are important, aren't they? You need to learn to ask politely."
He was a complete and utter bastard. She would never forgive him for putting her through this, just as she would never forgive herself for wanting this even more.
"P…Please, can I… could you… could you please fuck me? I want it bad."
"Yes, I could tell," he laughed. "Here you go."
She felt the pressure increase as he pushed his hard cock inside her pussy. There was pain, and a lot of it, but she was used to much worse.
The pleasure, though… She had no defense against that.
"Ohhhh!" she exhaled, eyes-wide.
Only when her hymen tore did she realize that she had lost her virginity, to Shinji of all people.
There was another person she wanted to give it to, but he wasn't there. He didn't get to her in time so….
She forcibly suppressed that line of thought. She didn't want to think of him. There were too many emotions that involved him and she couldn't deal with them at that moment.
There were far more alluring things at present than a man who wasn't even there.
Of course, that didn't mean Shinji was equally inclined
"Oh? You were still a virgin, Tohsaka? I thought that Emiya already had his turn with you. He had plenty of time."
'Yes, Yes he had,' she agreed bitterly, despite herself.
"Oh, who am I kidding. That guy wouldn't know what to do with a woman even if she came with an instruction manual."
Rin winced, because she couldn't help than agreeing. Shirou barely understood what she wanted when she spelled it out for him.
Not like Shinji, who clearly knew what she wanted and how to handle her. Apparently better than Rin herself did, because she never thought she would love being abused and humiliated.
'Maybe… Maybe I was wrong about Shinji, after all.'
She always thought there was no merit to a guy like him, but that obviously wasn't the case. He definitely knew a thing or two that she could appreciate.
"Well, that's not a mistake I'm going to make, right Tohsaka? I know perfectly well how a bitch like you ought to be treated."
She bit her lip. He wasn't even moving inside her and he was still making her feel good simply by insulting her. He was right, who other than a bitch in heat would feel good from being called out as such?
It was no surprise then, that her legs buckled when he actually started thrusting his hips.
"Ohhahhh! Hmmm. Yes. YES! Shinji. Oh, My. Goooood."
"Ah, Tohsaka. Now your true colors finally shine. Do you understand now who you truly are, hmm?"
"Yes. YES! I'm a bitch. I'm a bitch in heat!"
"Damn right you are! Now cum, bitch! Cum! CUM!"
"AHHHHHNNNN!"
[br]
"Ah!" Rin woke up with a gasp, curled on herself and with her hands clutching the shirt of her pajama. She was sweating lightly and her hair was stuck to her forehead because of it. "Why did I dream of that? It's not-" her gaze became unfocused for a moment. "- [not the first time I have this dream]?"
Things had gone quite differently in reality. Lancer had killed Kotomine and then sent Shinji running for the hill, but everything else was real, down to the way she felt when Shinji nearly strangled her.
Back then, she chalked it up to her survival instinct kicking into high gear. For all that she walked with death, like every other Magus, she had been extremely afraid. If Lancer had been any less resilient, Kirei would have killed her or Shinji would have had his way with her.
Later they barely got away from the burning mansion and the King of Heroes.
It had been one close call after another. It was hardly surprising that she had sex with Shirou that same night. She liked him and wanted to do it with him, of course, but she was also already quite horny all on her own.
It was highly improbable that two virgins could achieve simultaneous orgasms their first time together, if she hadn't been so high strung all on her own. It worked for the best, and she had her first time with the guy she loved. There was no need to second guess the chain of events.
Except that some nights she dreamt of that day with a twist. No one came to rescue her and Shinji had his fun with her body, making her squeal like a slut.
It was horrible, in the way that she woke up unbearably horny. When it happened, well… there was no ignoring it, it had to be dealt with.
This time it was no different.
She threw off her cover and rushed to the adjacent bathroom closing the door behind her. She leaned against it and slid down to the floor, hands already reaching inside the bottom part of her pajamas and into her underwear.
"Damn it," she cursed, upon finding how soaked she was.
She hated that she became more aroused from having these disgusting fantasies than she did with her two lovers in real life, but she didn't really have any other choice but get the edge off it.
[Rin wasn't a stranger to exploring her own body. She had a rather vivid imagination. When all of her duties as a Magus and as a student were taken care of, mastrubating was her favorite hobby.]
But that could be said for billions other teens. She was hardly weird in that regard. Or at least she thought so. It wasn't like she could compare notes with her peers.
What if that wasn't the case though? What if the long evenings that she spent playing with her body were the sign that she was a pervert from the beginning?
She never gave this theory much thought, but it would explain why she was plagued by these fantasies even though she had not one but two exceptional lovers she could choose from. Worse yet, there was absolutely nothing she could do about them other than hiding in shame to satisfy them.
Soon enough, the bathroom was filled by her stifled moans and by the sound of her fingers exploring the folds of her womanhood.
She stubbornly refused to think of anything while she took care of this unpleasant piece of business. She neither wanted to indulge in disgusting fantasies nor whe wanted to sully the thought of her lovers by using them to sate herself.
Like a good Magus she just put her entire focus on the act itself and nothing else. Because of it she was acutely aware of every inch of her body, inside and outside.
Soon enough she felt her climax approach.
Toc! Toc! Toc!
In the moment someone knocked on the door against which she was sitting. She very nearly jumped off her skin.
"Rin! Are you in there? Are you alright?" asked Gerard from the other side.
Rin wanted to stop what she was doing, but she was already past the edge. Trying to forcibly prevent herself from climaxing only had the effect that her pussy clenched even harder around her fingers.
The only thing she could do was suppress her voice.
'He's going to find out. He's going to realize that I'm mastrubating in his house. He'll know that I'm a pervert.'
Terror gripped her, or it should have. Instead a burst of heat went through her body
The climax that crashed upon her was unlike anything she ever experienced.
"...ohhhhh." Even though she bit her lip, she couldn't keep completely silent. A low moan still escaped her.
It would have been too low for anyone to pick on it, if they weren't standing right on the other side of the door.
'He heard. He definitely heard. There's no way he hasn't heard. He knows, he knows, he knows.'
That did not help, another climax, faster, stronger than the previous took her, making her squirt arousal all over the floor and even on her pajamas.
This time she didn't let a peep out, mostly because she had exhaled all the air in her lungs on her previous orgasm, but she threw her head backward and she ended up hitting the door rather loudly.
"Rin? Rin, what's going on? Answer me. I'm coming in!"
"N-No," she managed to say with a barely audible voice. She was still climaxing, spreading her fluids all over the floor, but it was winding down. "I'm… fine don't… don't come in…"
'I don't want to be seen like this. I don't want to be seen like this. I don't want to be seen like this."
"Are you sure? What was that noise?"
"I… just.. I just slipped."
"Are you hurt?" he asked.
"No… no. I'm fine. Did… did you want something?"
Slowly she was regaining her bearing. Fortunately, it didn't seem he had figured out what was really going on right behind the thin wooden barrier that separated them.
Utter shame was finally trumping over her twisted arousal, as it should have done from the start. Never in her entire life she had found herself in such a ridiculous, humiliating predicament.
She wanted to crawl into a hole and die.
"I just came to bring you your notes and a light snack. Are you sure you are alright? Your voice is strange."
"Yes. Yes, I'm fine. I was about... to take a shower and I slipped. It's nothing."
"If you say so. Sorry for bothering you then. I'll be back in a while to check on you."
"Tha… thank you," she said, and sighed in relief aas she heard him walk away.
"Oh, by the way, Rin," he called out.
"Wha- What?"
"Make sure to dry up the floor when you are done. It's wet even on this side of the door. How did you manage to do that?"
"Fi-Fine. I'll clean up. Now leave me alone."
"Alright, alright. Calm down," he sighed before leaving for good.
Rin remained seated there, red face for several reasons, none of them good. Her heart was still racing madly and her fingers were still buried in the depths of her womanhood.
She did not have the words to comment on what she just experienced, nor the shame she felt in the wake of it.
She numbly got up from the floor, discarded her clothes and stepped into the shower, although she already knew that no amount of water could wash away the dirt she felt upon herself.
[br]
"Are you having fun?" asked Gerard as he walked into a secret room deep beneath his mansion.
There was a king sized bed against the farthest wall. Upon it two figures were kneeling, slamming their butts against each other and thus impaling themselves with the double-sided dildos that penetrated both their asses and pussies.
"Ahhn! Yess!"
"Oooh! Fuck!"
Two Rins. One with bleached blonde hair and tanned skin and the other with fiery red hair and a fairer complexion.
"I'll take that as a yes," said Gerard amusedly.
These two bodies were the surrogate of Gerard's creation. The original Rin was the one who had been fingering herself in the bathroom upstairs.
Though to be fair, they were all three the original Rin. Strictly speaking, the body exists simply as an anchor to the material world. Everything that made up a person was the soul, right down to their memories.
For that reason, if one were to connect a soul to several bodies, it was possible to give each brain separate rights of access to a person's memories.
The RIN above could only access some of her memories, while others were fabricated in real time by the other two.
For all intents and purposes, they were split personalities that had access to different bodies, but they were ultimately just one person.
"Geeerard. It's awesome. We can experience everything she feels."
"It's incredible," said the other one. "I never thought I would know the pleasure of being corrupted all over again."
Because that was the whole point of this charade. There was no need to brainwash Rin to make her fall as per Saber request. Rin had already fallen a long time ago. All they needed was for her to pretend to do it as a result of the Servant's request.
But Rin had other ideas in mind. She loved corrupting people and she loved degrading herself. The natural step was doing them both at the same time.
So they partitioned her mind and released a RIN with no memories of her whore self into the world, just for the pleasure of ruining her all over again. Indeed this was nothing more than an elaborate form of masturbation for the degenerate Magus.
"Now you get why I do things a certain way?" he asked.
"Oh, shit, yes! She's so pure, so proper. I'm getting wet just thinking about how she'll break into a cock loving bitch all over again."
Gerard nodded. That was exactly it. It was the transformation that was exciting, far more than the end result or the carnal pleasure he could get out of it.
This was art, plain and simple.
"I'm glad that you understand. Now, how about you wrap it up? There's other things I need you to do."
"Do you… ahh… do you have a job for me? Are you going to whore me out?"
"Yes. I need to extend my Mana network, so I want you to have sex with as many people as possible."
That was the foundation of Gerard's Magecraft. When he had sex with a woman who wasn't a Magus or possessed other natural immunities, he could connect to them and add them to his network in such a way that every person contributed their Mana to him.
Granted, normal humans had very little Mana to give unless he squeezed their soul out. Gerard had no reason to harm anyone, he only needed to add people to the network, making them something between a Mana battery and a familiar.
Of course he could not influence them as he would with an actual familiar. The connection wasn't strong enough without a permanent brand like Rin had on her tongue and Saber in her uterus.
The best he could do without was seeing through their eyes, or use them as exit points of his Magecraft.
Howard was one such person, and Gerard used him to brand Saber at her weakest. Her defeat had been spelled in that moment, even though she never knew.
The connection acted as a sexually transmitted disease up to two persons removed from him. A woman that he fucked would infect any other man she had sex with, but it stopped with them.
That put a limit to how fast he could expand his network on his own, since he didn't want to have sex with other men, even by proxy of a woman.
However, as a Magus, Rin could autonomously add to the connection without Gerard's intervention and even fully brand others in his place.
Granted, she wouldn't brand just anyone. It was extremely consuming to put up even a single brand, and it wouldn't benefit him to mark average humans either.
It was to be said, though, that those who received the mark would become putty in his hands and he could alter their bodies however he wished, given enough time.
Not that he would, though. Gerard much preferred that people shaped themselves as he had done with Rin, by simply causing the subject to have a positive feedback when they did something lewd.
"What are you going to do in the meantime?"
"I have other projects that require my attention. Now that you and Saber are both autonomous, I can turn my focus on those.
"Oh? Are you going to tell me about them?"
"You wouldn't be able to keep your nose out of them, so not a chance. Besides you don't need the distraction. With three of you running around, one of which with limited awareness, you have plenty of things to keep you busy."
"Eh, fair enough. I guess I'd better get started then."
"Damn right you do. I want those holes making Mana and money twenty four-seven."
"Mou! Are you not going to leave anything for me?"
"Spare me the pouting. You wanted me to be your pimp, Rin. That means I get the lion share of the profits. You accepted the conditions I layed out for you. Now live with them."
Rin huffed, but there was nothing else she could say. She had agreed to giving him eighty percent of everything she made, be it mana or money, in exchange for him to be her pimp.
There were benefits to that, of course. Multiple bodies for her to use, for one thing, as well as access to high profile clients she could sell herself to for more.
The turn on from being profiteered upon was just icing on the cake.
A cake that Rin, and now Saber, enjoyed very much.
[XXX]