The Third Holy Grail War (Part 3)
Slash!
The younger Lancelot gritted his teeth and clenched Arondight. "We'll delay the Servants while our Masters take out theirs. The ladies shouldn't lose since they are many times stronger than an average Mage." He turned to his older counterpart and nodded.
The black knight nodded slightly in understanding and dashed towards Fionn, indicating that he would be taking on the more troublesome foe. The purple Saber calmed down his mind as the world seemed to slow down. He glared at the red-haired woman and bolted towards her.
The Unfading Light of the Lake came down on Boudica head. She quickly raise her buckler to defend her while her long sword aimed for her opponent's unprotected neck. No words were exchanged since this was a life and death battle.
Lancelot tilted his head and avoided the incoming blade. He stopped his sword arm because he knew that he could be temporarily stunned if he were to hit the shield with all his strength. He then instead grabbed the buckler with his other hand and tried to yank the shield out of Rider's grasp.
Seeing Saber's attempt at disarming her, Boudica merely raised her brows and waved her sword. A small Mana projectile materialized from her swing and shot towards the purple knight's face.
Alarmed by the unexpected attack, Lancelot took the strike directly and was knocked back by a few inches. Nevertheless, as the smoke settles, no injury could be seen on the younger Saber's face.
"Magic Resistance?" Boudica frowned. The small Mana projectile she shot was not strong enough to kill a Servant in one hit, but it is able to be fired repeatedly and at a low, convenient cost. However, the bane of such an attack was Magic Resistance since it could literally reject magical energy and cancel spells.
"That's right, and you are a powerful swordmaster as well. You must have been a famous hero in life. Although I will not ask for your name as it will reveal your identity, I do hope to exchange more blows with you. You have the respect of this knight, My Lady." Lancelot nodded and smiled.
"I appreciate your compliment, knight." The red-haired queen smiled in response. "Then, let us fight to the death." She swung her sword and a barrage of Mana blades shot at the purple knight. She didn't want to unleash its True Name, so she has to make do with firing them one at a time.
Lancelot avoided the torrent of projectiles with ease and aimed for Boudica's leg. From the earlier exchange, he knew that his parameters outclassed her by a level. It was bothersome to deal with her shield, but if he could disable her and slowly wear her down, the victory would be his.
However, Saber was caught off guard when his opponent leaped at him instead of raising her buckler. Boudica quickly counterattacked the surprised Lancelot by parrying his sword with her own. She then used her shield and smashed him right in the head.
The purple knight was beaten to the ground and temporarily stunned. Boudica lifted her buckler and hammered the man once again rather than using her sword to finish him off. It would have costed extra time if she were to use the long sword, and every second mattered in a battle between Heroic Spirits.
Lancelot widened his eyes and raised his sword. His Skill Eternal Arms Mastership helped him at that moment as his temporary incapacity was completely negated. He shielded himself from the second shield bash and gritted his teeth.
Prana leaked out of Arondight and Lancelot slammed it to the ground. The earth caved in and a giant hole was created while the area those two were in instantly exploded in a brilliant firework.
"Ugh." The figure of a charred Boudica came out of the hole. She had narrowly avoided the strike since she saw the shining Arondight and detected the overflowing magical energy. However, she was still wounded as her left thigh was deeply cut and bleeding because her D-Rank Magic Resistance didn't protect her from the entire attack.
The purple knight moved out of the hole and stared at the injured woman. 'She's doesn't seem that hurt?' She wasn't even limping...
It was Rider's Skill, Battle Continuation, a Skill that allows for the continuation of combat after sustaining mortal wounds. At A rank, she can remain alive so long as she does not receive a decisive fatal wound and it is possible for her to fight even with deadly injuries.
'Any longer and I'll start affecting Master. Even though she has a large magical reserve, it's definitely not infinite... Should I use Arondight and finish this in one move?' Lancelot frowned and glanced at the holy sword in his hand.
Noticing her opponent's determined look, Rider face turned solemn. If the purple knight was going to use his Noble Phantasm, which was clearly his sword, then she will have to use hers as well. Having decided mentally, she narrowed her eyes and prepared to call for her chariot.
It was at that moment. A black figure came from the sky and crashed down on the Knight of the Lake. "Argh, what the-" Lancelot grimaced and pushed whatever crashed into him off. He then glanced at the 'thing'. "Huh?"
It was his older counterpart.
At the same time the younger Saber was struggling to push off his older self, Fionn stepped out of the thicket nearby. He scanned the battlefield and discovered the silhouettes of the red-haired queen and the fallen enemies.
"Oh! My beautiful lady, I see that you have also beaten your enemy." Lancer raised his two-meter-long spear and greeted Boudica. "Hah, look at yourselves. Are you sure you are of the Saber class?" He chuckled seeing the two knights that were standing up awkwardly.
"Lancer, I thank you for your assistance, but please do not mock them. They are skilled heroes from the past, and the one I faced is an honorable knight. I'd like to believe that the other one must also be as great as the one I faced." Boudica frowned and rebuked Fionn sternly.
"As you will, O'Beautiful lady." Lancer shrugged his shoulder.
"I thank you for speaking up for us, My Lady." The younger Saber glared at Fionn and clenched his fists. "And you, Lancer, for someone who is this powerful, you must also have a minimum amount of resp-"
Bang! Whoosh! Crash!
At the sounds of explosions, all the Servants shut their mouths and all the eyes went to the direction of the city.
-x-X-x-
"I apologize for failing, Master." A deep voice sounded out within the puppet master's mind and he simply acknowledged it by nodding his head.
"It's fine, I personally didn't expect the opponent to possess something like a Command Seal either." Isaac replied to his Servant through their mental link. It was fine. Although they might have not taken down the Asian Servant, they now know that someone has broken the rules of the Holy Grail by summoning a forbidden class.
'I should form an alliance with one of the other Masters, and this information can be use as a bargaining chip... If I am lucky enough, I can meet up with multiple Masters and offer to kill Ruler together before continuing the war-'
At the same time the pair was walking down the streets and back to their base, far, far away, were two figures that were silently waiting on two different buildings. One of them who was lying prone noticed the pair and immediately whispered to his partner.
"Archer." Fenric spoke to Arash.
"Yes, Master?"
"250 degrees, southwest, muscular man, four french dolls surrounding him. Do you see him?"
"Hang on... Yes, I see him."
"That's the Master of Assassin, Isaac, and the doll that's closest to him, the one with blonde locks and a white skull mask... I want you to take out that doll with... maximum firepower." Fenric said gravely.
"The doll, and not the Master?" Arash responded with surprise in his tone.
"The doll is Assassin."
"Ah, I understand. Then, on your mark."
"In 5 seconds."
Oh, Isaac, your back looks very defenseless right now. I would have missed you if I didn't monitor the entire city for the past months, and you would have definitely survived if I didn't know that one of your dolls was actually the midget Hassan-i-Sabbah in disguise.
This is your end.
Whatever my you do, Desperate is modeled and built after the purpose of highest lethality. It has been boosted with maximum penetration power, and if you don't suffer an immediate death, you will still be stunned by the lightning while the bullets that are laced and saturated with the deadliest poisons I can find will take effect instantaneously.
Heh, I'd even make the bullet explode through Magecraft. Sadly, I can't waste any Prana right now since my low reserves must be used to maintain Archer and any unexpected fight against other Servants.
I do not fight fair, and I will never fight fairly. There are no rules on the battlefield. Honor and glory are just fancy beliefs of the fools that do not know the truth of war. Reality hits where it truly hurts, and those that idolizes war will suffer for it one day.
I will fight dirty, I will throw sands in my opponent's eyes, I will kidnap their loved ones and threaten them, I will show them their worst nightmares and hit them when they're at their most vulnerable times. As long as I survive the encounters and benefit from the conflicts, all is fine.
This is me, Fenric von Leiqritus.
"Farewell, Isaac." The moment the bullet traveled through the barrel and came out of Desperate, it was immediately boosted by the wind and its speed increased tremendously. The muzzle flash was completely hidden and the sound greatly dampened. The blue lightnings on the bullet buzzed and it headed directly for the muscular man's head.
He didn't even feel it.
Isaac's head exploded into a shower of blood and gore while Assassin stared at his dead Master in shock. All of a sudden, tens of arrows broke the sound barrier and bombarded the midget without delay. The streets was wrecked and the surroundings were obliterated as they suffered an attack similar to an artillery barrage.
And this is how I kill.
For killing a Master during the Holy Grail War +5,000,000,000 EXP
You have leveled up! +5 SP
For killing a Servant during the Holy Grail War +30,000,000,000 EXP
You have leveled up! +5 SP
You have leveled up! +5 SP
For killing a Servant during the Holy Grail War, you will receive a random Skill or Noble Phantasm from the defeated Servant.
I stared in surprise as something similar to a fortune wheel appeared in front of me. There are, however, only five choices, and they weren't as powerful as what the other Servants have because it's from an Assassin.
Class Skill: [Presence Concealment A+]
Personal Skill: [Projectile (Daggers) B]
Personal Skill: [Information Erasure B]
Personal Skill: [Shapeshift (Infiltration Specialization) C]
Noble Phantasm: [Zabaniya: Cyber Phantasy C]
Despite being the ultimate attack, the Noble Phantasm occupied identical spaces as the Skills, no more, no less.
There's no time to waste, I touched the wheel of fortune and it started spinning. After a few seconds of anxious waiting, which includes me getting off the rooftop and away from the building I was in, the arrow finally landed on-
You have received the Skill: [Information Erasure B]!
[Information Erasure]
Rank: B
The skill for the removal of information regarding the perpetrator's true identity, abilities, and appearance from the records and memories of all eye witnesses, including the opponent, following the conclusion of an engagement.
At this rank, this effect is enforced even if the battle took place in broad daylight or was recorded by devices such as digital recordings of a closed-circuit camera. However, evidence of the engagement is not removed from the scene, and by way of logical deduction, the perpetrator's identity may be revealed by examining those evidence.
Ahhh, what about my Noble Phantasm? Oh well, that's good enough.
"Archer, please switch locations and continue monitoring the battlefield. The other Servants and Masters must have noticed what have happened considering the scale of our assault. I'll be returning to our house right now."
"I got it. Good job back there, Master. Guess we're the first ones to defeat an enemy Servant, eh?" Archer joyful voice came through our mental link.
"Yes, and we'll kick the asses of many more later."
"Hahaha, that's why I like you, Master. Calm and collected, yet decisive when you need to be."
"Thanks, Arash."
...And now there's a new objective for me in this war: To kill as many Servants as possible.
-x-X-x-
"Interesting..."
A giggle sounded out within a dim and dark room. A young woman was watching a floating orb at the room's center. Various unique and exotic tools laid on the tables around her, making the place look extremely gloomy.
The giggling woman has long pink hair, blue-green eyes, and fair skin. Notably, her ears are pointed, giving her an elf-like appearance. She wears a golden tiara, a light tunic with a short skirt, and gladiator sandals.
It was Caster.
"Interesting. Very interesting! Somehow, I can't remember anything about him... or her? Why, I wonder why? They were clearly a Master, and a mage of the modern era. Then... why can't I remember him? Interesting! I am sooo curious right now~!" The elf-like woman squealed in fascination.
"Ahh, I can't find him anymore. It's like his entire presence have just disappeared! Why? I wonder why? Why can't I locate him? I can clearly see the Archer that attacked Assassin, but why can't I remember or find him anymore?" Caster scanned the whole city with the orb. However, she simply couldn't discern her target's location.
"I should tell the pig- I mean Master, to let me out of this gloomy basement. The workshop's not bad, but I don't want to establish my temple at this tasteless place. Ahh, I want to know~ I want to know why can't I find him... Ahh...!" The pink-haired woman frowned and started throwing a tantrum, before finally settling down.
"Yes, I'll widen my surveillance! The war is still ongoing and I should be able to see him again!" An innocent yet twisted smile formed on her face as she tenderly caressed the floating glass orb. Her long pink hair floated up by the sudden influx of magical energy and she whispered her thoughts out in a pure and ominous voice. "I'll see you soon..."
"...my piglet."