"I ask of you, why attack my master?"
Those were the unreasonable words the newly summoned Saber chose to use as we stood across from one another. And, admittedly, for a slight moment, they did manage to confuse me. After all, I really had no reason to go after the confused boy she was protecting. Even if he was a Master, targeting one outright was strictly forbidden by the rules.
"Because I'm a Master too. And, we're at war."
That was the flimsy excuse I gave the armoured girl, for if I made my real intentions known, she wouldn't fight me at all. I couldn't have that. I desperately wanted to fight this hero of legend, no, this knight from my own homeland. Her accent gave it away, instantly. She was addressing me in English, not Japanese.
She nodded calmly, "I understand. I do not hold it against you then."
I blinked. She was upon me. Her weapon, though hidden in air, did not escape my understanding. I couldn't see it, but that didn't mean it had no physical form. It was a longsword. When it cut down, it forced the mana I'd expelled aside by the sheer weight of its existence. In turn, I saw it come down as though it were in slow motion.
Holding my hands close like a boxer, I stepped forward and forced my body aside with that same mana. The blade flew past my shoulder. My fist came rounding to smash clean against her face. I heard a crunch. The stone of my gauntlet shattered, but the hit landed. She didn't even get to see the other arm clothesline her.
She flew. Her back first struck the wall. Then, sheer force blew her right through it. She twisted and buried her sword in the ground, halting her trajectory right into the kid's home. Her face was bruised where my fist hit it, and her lip bled. Her expression remained unpreturbed.
That was good.
Blue deleted the distance between us. Her eyes widened. My fist was already inches away from her face. She raised her sword in a hurry, quickly enough that I hit it instead. She struggled a moment, but was unable to hold against a combination of reinforcement, Red, and the Istari Living Stone. But, she did manage to divert the blow just enough that only her arms were flung to the side.
With a grunt, she swung the sword back at me to cut my body in twain. I already understood that I couldn't take a hit from her either so I forced my body to jerk backwards, beyond what my spine could even handle. I heard a crack, then a snap that told me it'd already fixed itself. With the same momentum, I fell back entirely, on one hand, and kicked her in the chin. She placed her gauntlet between my foot and chin, forcing her own forearm to take the brunt of it.
I threw my weight on my other hand, and in doing so, forced the rest of my body to spin just enough that I could kick her with my other foot. She was faster this time, and her blade tore through my flesh, spraying blood onto the blue of her dress.
By the time I jumped to my feet, the leg had already grown back.
She grunted and stepped back.
I flashed my teeth. "Not bad for a magus, huh?"
"A magus... shouldn't be able to hold this well at all." She admitted, wincing as she raised her blade. Yes, she'd diverted a lot of my blows... but, that didn't mean she hadn't felt the force behind them. Her arm trembled. Her lips bled. "But, this much, I can bear."
She raised her blade. Mana surged. The winds wrapping around it turned turbulent and kicked up dirt and dust. When she abruptly swung it, those same winds came striking forth. In the blink of an eye, they ripped through the earth between us. But, I was already standing overhead by the time they reached me.
Flames erupted around me. They hung in the air.
"Great. Awesome."
I snapped my fingers.
They roared forth. Saber pulled her blade behind her and swung it. The winds came bursting forth once again. They tossed my measly flames aside like mere flies, before coming to me. Grinning, I carved a finger through the air.
The winds themselves were carved in twain.
Saber grabbed Shirou by the neck and jumped back just in time to avoid a dismantle that sliced into the very earth.
"You saw it?" I questioned. "No. Instinct then?"
The night before, I'd launched one at Berkserker as he battled Nobunaga and he too avoided it in much the same way. I was also certain there was no way to actually see them coming since there was nothing to even see.
I brought my hands together.
For a moment, I considered launching hundreds of them but ultimately decided against it.
That'd be too much. She was already struggling to keep up.
The distance between us blurred once more. I appeared between the duo, a hand on my chin. She noticed me instantly and left with no real way of defending, she once again brought the hilt of her sword to bear. I met it halfway with my own palm.
That was not the right decision.
The turbulent winds around her blade tore my hand to shreds, and she tried to sweep my own feet from under me with a sudden kick. That was also the wrong decision. On her end, this time. I barely budged.
To her credit, she immediately noticed her winds were more effective than anything else. A little too late, however.
Her eyes widened ever so slightly as she stared up at my grin moments before I snapped my fingers. An invisible force, much like-... no, exactly like the winds around her weapon struck her, tossing her against a wall that cracked under her weight.
Those winds were a product of magecraft.
Magecraft of the highest order, made by someone with unquestionable skill.
Compressed turbulent winds meant to wrap around her sword, to hide it, but also manipulable for both attack and defense.
Magecraft I could replicate and... improve.
I swung my hand, her invisible air smashed against her own chest, burying her deeper into the wall. She grunted, and bled from her mouth. That was when I realised that maybe I'd gotten a little too excited.
"How about it, Saber? Am I a good enough opponent?"
"Your strength... warrants respect, but-"
"I noticed. This kid doesn't have the mana to support you." Glancing at the awestruck youth, I stepped closer to Saber just as she wrenched herself free. She raised her blade again, but lost her footing and fell back against the wall.
"You're fighting me on fumes." I crouched down. "Say, how about contracting with me instead? You'll win the war if you do. It's a guarantee."
She stared up at me. Then, past me, at her Master. I saw in her eyes that she was considering my offer... but only for a fleeting moment. No. Her answer was no. I knew it before she even said it.
"No. I will stand by him."
There was a reason she was a fabled hero, summoned in the strongest class. I suppose conviction and loyalty was the least I should've expected, even in the face of utter domination. I admired that, because I doubted I was ever going to have that sort of look.
"A shame." I hung my head. "It was bad luck, Saber. You got spawn-camped by the strongest while nerfed."
"...What do those words... mean?"
I pursed my lips, lowering my aviators over my eyes.
She wrapped her dainty fingers around her sword, and made to stand again. Then, something truly surprising happened. The injured boy she was fighting to protect forced himself to his feet. He... made a pipe from Gradation Air and... charged me.
The idiot charged me.
"SABER!"
He even let out a battle cry.
"Master, no!" Saber cried out, showing emotion for once.
I lazily swung my fist his way. He got tossed weightlessly into the air.
"...Oh."
My fist was still reinforced. It was still covered in a weakened version of Red and Living Stone.
His blood sprayed.
My face dropped.
I really hadn't meant for that to happen.
Saber grunted and shot to her feet, swinging her blade at me with all the strength she had. I backed away with raised hands. Infinity spilled out to hold her in place.
"Wait, wait, Saber! That kid's gonna die."
We both looked at the ginger lying several feet from us. His white shirt was torn. His chest had a long gash and bled profusely, staining the grass and what remained of his clothes. Yet, he was still breathing... weakly. His eyes were slowly losing focus.
"That was your intention!"
"The bloody hell it was! I don't have any kind of murder boner, lady. If you keep fighting me, he's going to actually die while you do. I was just messing with him!"
"T...Then what?"
I stroked my chin, racking my brain for ideas, "Well... I don't really have anything that could heal that kind of injury."
Saber positioned herself between us again. With one hand, she held her Master, with the other, she pointed her blade at my face.
Ugh, he really was going to end up kicking the bucket with how deep the wound was, and how much blood he'd already lost. The one healing rite I knew worked by enhancing the body's own healing rate. There was no shot it'd heal him from this. The Curse of Restoration wasn't just a thing to pass around so casually... and he didn't even have the mana for that anyway from what I could tell.
Killing him was never the plan. I wasn't about to follow in the steps of what made me hate the rest of my peers.
Wait, every magus knew a way to heal.
I raised my hands. "I'm not going to have an idiot kid on my conscience, woman. I have an idea."
"Why should I trust what you say? We are enemies." She bit out.
True. We'd been at each other's throats not a second ago, for all intents and purposes. Still, if I could, I had to try.
"You don't exactly have a choice at the moment. Take him inside and bandage him up. I'll come back with someone who can actually help."
Saber's eyes narrowed. She opened her mouth to protest, but I was already gone before any actual words left her mouth.
-
Hope you enjoyed.
A reminder that I am still sick.