It was already dusk by the time Haru and Altera had returned to Kuoh. The former had never felt so exhausted in his entire life. His shoulders lagged, his head hurt from processing so much information, and his legs felt like lead. He could swear his bed was calling out to him. While he was at his aunt's house, after awakening to his Sacred Gear, Ilya had taken the liberty of teaching Haru how to awaken all of his magic circuits. According to Altera, he had a portion of them already awakened due to the presence of Boosted Gear in his body.
That said, waking up said circuits, and he cannot stress this enough, HURT LIKE A BITCH.
The process had somehow resulted in his body feeling as if it had been set on fire and electrocuted while being shredded apart all at the same time. He thought he had passed out from the pain when it got too much. Ilya mentioned that his circuits were more or less just as powerful as his own grandmother, which was to be expected given that he was born a Tohsaka. However, like his mother, his had been dormant for some time, so they would naturally be a bit hard to rouse from their sleep.
He wished he knew just how badly it hurt, though! On another note, though, things were looking up for him. It seemed that his grandmother would be more than willing to teach him magecraft alongside his aunt, though it was his decision. He was going to need it if he was going to survive this damn Holy Grail War.
Whether he wanted to be a part of it or not.
It was never a matter of choice for him. He was given these Command Seals because the Grail saw him fit to participate in the war. That being said, he was somewhat grateful for such a thing to happen to him. Because of it, he got to learn more about his mothers side of the family.
So gramps went missing when Sakura-san disappeared… he thought, putting a hand on his chin while closing his eyes, deep in thought. I guess she must mean a lot to him. Still, why is there a new Grail running if the old one got canned?
That was the billion dollar question. If the Grail was destroyed, then why is there a new war going on? Did someone remake it? Unfortunately, Ilya did not clarify for him. They simply focused on unlocking his circuits. Come tomorrow, he would have to deal with the storm that would be Rias Gremory and her peerage. Servants included.
"I already hate tomorrow..." he muttered tiredly, causing Altera to stare at him curiously. "C'mon, Saber… let's go home."
"Yes, master." The servant complied. While she was worried for her Master's emotional state, she would trust his judgment and leave him be for now. It was understandable, given how much he went through within the past few hours.
It must not have been easy for him. However, it wouldn't matter. As his sword, she would remain by his side. Any who dared to stand against him would be cut down where they stood.
It is, after all, her duty.
"Slippery snake..."
The warehouse in which Assassin and his master had been holed up looked as if a hurricane had run right through it. It was no longer standing. It was more or less nothing but a pile of steel beams, iron and debris. The only reason why no one came to investigate was because of the Bounded Field Akeno had set up. Sadly, no corpses were found: merely signs of a great battle.
Rias sighed. "I agree." she said in distaste, not happy either. "It is impressive for a mere human, Exorcist aside, to be able to stand against both myself and Akeno while simultaneously fighting my servants. Assassin is no slouch either." A wry smile formed across her face. "Then again, it is a homonculus blessed by Lord Mephisto. Perhaps we should be thankful it was not summoned as a Caster. It would have made this job a lot harder."
"Agreed." Lancer nodded before turning to find his allies tending to their wounds. Berserker and Rider didn't look much worse for wear, though Akeno was found tending to the large gash across Kiba's back. The blonde Knight gritted his teeth, refusing to scream from the immense pain from a holy weapon striking him on the back. "At the very least, though, they still yet breath."
"Agreed." Rias nodded. Despite them outnumbering the rogue exorcist and servant, they still proved themselves to be tenacious opponents. Not only did they escape, they managed to wound one of her Peerage members.
Kiba was fortunate to have reacted in time. If he had moved to avoid the blade just a moment later...
Rias' hands clenched into fists. She dared not think about losing someone from her household. She would not allow it to happen.
"Master." Lancer called, looking off into the distance. "It seems Saber and her Master have returned."
"Is that so?" Rias' attention was redirected to where her Servant was looking at. It seems they returned from their excursion. "I wonder where he could have gone?"
The Servant of the Spear's eyes narrowed, stroking his beard. "I sense an increase in his magic ability… perhaps he had undergone some training?" A chuckle then escaped him. "If so, this should be interesting. He strikes me as the cowardly type, but perhaps he may prove me wrong."
Rias' eyes narrowed in befuddlement. Magus training? Was this why he refused her offer before? He already had a means to prepare himself for the war? Well, even so, despite his training, he wouldn't be able to stand up to experienced magic users such as herself and Akeno. She gave a moment to think before she shrugged her shoulders. "Well, I'm sure Sona will tear him apart tomorrow morning anyway." she said, smiling in amusement. "Sometimes I wonder which she takes more seriously, school life or her duties as a Master."