VII.
A combination of his own efforts, as well as Madame Fenix's focus being completely centered on the devastating attack Louise had just loosed on her, was enough for Ali to finally dismiss the spell she had attack him with, the wire-frame beast dissolving into nothingness after a brief screech. Though Ali's barrier still continued its lazy rotation about his person, a perceptive eye would be able to tell that there were fewer circles, lines, and sigils than usual, an indicator of the spell's weakening state.
Whether he was aware of this or not, Ali strode across the rooftop with the same bravado that had manifested on other occasions when Louise was around, his sheer self-confidence evident for all to see. As he approached the other two mages seemed to be in a deadlock of some sort, both taking labored breaths as residual magic crackled around them like ethereal chaff floating in the air.
Even with her terror-powered mana-battery feeding her, the last few rapid-fire spells had physically drained Madame Fenix more than she would ever admit. Likewise, Louise had used up considerable energy, both magical and physical, absorbing and reflecting that last powerful strike. As either mage would have to telegraph their next attack in some fashion, be it incantation or hand motion, which would leave them open to a faster rebuttal attack from their opponent, both were choosing to simply stare down and take measure of each other.
"I don't have to kill you. You do realize that, don't you?" Madame Fenix said, gathering her breath and trying to resume her regal composure.
"I beg your pardon?" Louise was more unbalanced by the statement than any form of attack would have accomplished.
"You said, just now, that you were not a Saint-Hermine. Do you renounce the name of your house? Of your illustrious father?" Madame Fenix continued, her tone more matter-of-fact than imperious or threatening.
Louise paused, still unsure of the other mage's meaning or motive, but chose to answer truthfully regardless. "I don't yet know if I will renounce my father. There is still much I don't understand and I want to find out from him what any of it means. As for my house and my name..." Louise shifted her stance ever so slightly, adopting a more defensive posture than she had previously. "Though they are not the ones of my birth, they are all I have ever known. I cannot leave those behind. Tainted as the legacy may be, it is my choice if I let it define me." Louise thought then of Camille, of what she had said about using the power of the Grail to rebuild the Saint-Hermine family from the ground up based on her own idea of what it should be.
"Halfhearted weakness." Madame Fenix sneered. "For a mage, their name, the legacy from which their power is built is everything. You cannot accept the boon of the power born of it, yet refuse to acknowledge what you have to thank for it. Yours is a power born of a twisted man's twisted desire for unmatched control and authority over all others. If someone refuses to submit to his will," She brandished her hand at the burning city below, "they are removed. And you, like a sniveling weakling, cannot even bring yourself to break from his protection, even while you speak against his actions?" Madame Fenix raised her chin and looked down the length of her nose on Louise. "The hypocrisy is fitting for a daughter of Saint-Hermine."
"Now I think that's just enough of that sort of talk." Ali's voice cut sharply into the conversation as he walked up behind Louise, his appearance just as sudden and surprising for both mage's as it was unwelcome for Madame Fenix. "You talk a big game for someone with their back in the corner."
"You and your insolent tongue were not invited to take part in this conversation, boy." Madame Fenix spat back with more vitriol than her regal bearing usually allowed.
"He's right though." Louise interjected. "You, who accuse me of hypocrisy, yet refuse to see and take responsibility for your own."
"I beg your pardon... young lady?" Madame Fenix's voice lowered as she addressed Louise.
"You hold my father to account for the atrocity he committed against you, the bloody and fiery massacre of your clan. Yet you gleefully compare your actions here tonight to it."
Madame Fenix raised her chin yet higher, an instance of continuing to assert her own self-imposed dominance. "There is only a baseline comparison to be made. Those people down there are nothing more than-"
"THEY ARE PEOPLE!" Louise cut her off. "They are people. Human beings just like any mage. And you, you will answer for what you have done to them tonight." Louise abandoned her previously defensive posture for her own assertive stance, her hands curled into tight fists held slightly out from her sides as she lowered her gaze and glowered at Madame Fenix with rigid abhorrence.
"Besides," Ali added, feeling like he needed to add something to the confrontation. "Your barrier is looking rather weak there, I don't think there is even a physical element left to it."
"Oh very astute observation, you impudent fool." Madame Fenix replied. "And what does that matter when I face two mages armed only with their spells? Is one of you going to close the distance and engage me in fisticuffs? Absurd. Laughable even."
"Madame," Ali responded with an impressive amount of patience, "Considering Louise was able to shatter your physical barrier with a single attack, I assure you that the two of us together will be more than enough to finish what she started."
"With one of MY attacks, if you please." Madame Fenix's confidence was more audible than ever. "Still you fail to understand. With a mana-battery this powerful it is impossible that I should fail to win the Holy Grail War, much less face defeat at the hands of two simpletons like you. You!" She pointed a derisive finger at Louise. "You speak of pity for those plebeians down below. But what are they to me? What can they accomplish? Can one of those simple, lesser beings do ANYTHING to stop me from killing and burning every last one!?"
The report of a firearm rang out on the rooftop, solitary and deafening in the silence it produced. Madame Fenix paused and looked down at her stomach where she felt a strange burning sensation, and beheld a slowly spreading red stain, like a flower blooming across her person. The gun sounded two more times, and just the same, two more crimson flowers began to bloom on the older mage's torso and chest. She paused for a moment and looked around the rooftop terrace in strained confusion before she slowly turned and faced the view of the burning city below. She took three mechanical steps towards the glass barrier as a single ribbon of blood poured from her mouth to her chin, and mouthed some silent words before collapsing to the ground.
Louise and Ali, who were both still somewhat dumbstruck by the suddenness of Madame Fenix's death, both turned slowly to see who or what had delivered the final blow. Maria Badeaux stood at the top of the stairs that led from the restaurant below, her sidearm still smoking in her hands. The Juge was somewhat worse for wear, her jacket missing, her clothing torn, and multiple bloody wounds were visible across her person.
Maria lowered the gun and looked quickly between the two mages who stood opposite her. "Huh, I thought mages were supposed to be harder to kill than that."