On Wings of Lore

Just lying there on the ground got boring pretty quickly. I had no idea how others managed to do it. Thus, I browsed through the skill shop. Rather entertainingly, there was a wish list and a shopping cart as a sort of way to note, save, particular skills for later purchase and the shop itself was rather expansive. I could even type in the description of a skill and a skill that was either close enough to what I was after, or exactly like that, would be offered.

[[Total Concentration Breathing Lv.1/50] – An advanced and esoteric breathing technique where a user inhales the maximum amount of oxygen within a specific breath pattern to raise their physical and mental prowess to their utmost limits. Increases HP Regeneration, Strength, Dexterity, Quickness and Magic by 1% per skill level.]

Technically, the skill did not have an innate time limit or duration, but it required concentration and sheer will. The breathing had to be manual at this point, but there was also the Constant variation from what I could recall. A one percent increase at this point was rather… Meaningless, not even giving me a single additional stat point. On the other hand, a possibly constant increase of up to fifty percent of my stats when they reach a point of being in the double or even triple digits would be… Immense.

It was cheap to buy, surprisingly so, but I could not afford any other skills after it considering it left me with only ten LP. The bell ringing reminded me to get back to class either way, which also meant facing the rest of the problems. Issei had abysmally low magic in general, so low that he could not even use the magic circle to teleport. It was also that lack of strength, power, that meant Ddraig could not talk to him sooner.

The chance existed that Melusine would be unable to contact me either. The questions then became if that would need the Magic or Wisdom skill, as well as if the ten I had in either stat was higher than what Issei had at the start or lower. I did not have a lot of options to explore, not even a settings— Wait… I wonder…

"…access terminal." I spoke under my breath as much as I could, being in class and all. A new screen popped up.

[Status

Matrix

Equip

Item

Log

System

Servant

HP: ???/???

MP: ???/???

Master Level: 1]

Fucking hell… Then again, does this mean Melusine isn't the one? …would I have to be summoning another Heroic Spirit? Do I even have an appropriate catalyst to get one? Actually, all things considered, maybe Lancelot will show up. Let's see what else I am dealing with then…

Matrix, the Information Matrix… Was empty. I frowned a little at it, but that did not do anything either, so I moved on for the time being. Equip was… Strangely, an additional wardrobe from what I could gather. It would let me put on additional bits of armor that could be made invisible, meaning I would still be getting the boosts without actually wearing it to be visible, as well as having accessory slots. The problem however was that it had slots. While I could probably shove a lot of rings, necklaces and so on on my body, only one would fit in the Equip menu.

Item was just the Inventory, which I suppose is shorter, yes. Log was… Probably the most over powered option in some way so far for the simple fact that it kept a log of conversations. Everything being told to me or in the vague direction, such as the lecture which was not being told directly at me but still mostly intended for even me, was logged, all the way from this morning until now. There was nothing of interest and thoughts were not recorded. This was… Certainly going to be a very useful thing as soon as I figure out the best way to abuse it.

System was not quite what I was looking for either as it did not have the information I was after. What it did have however was a further option to turn on subtitles. I did not actually speak Japanese, but in the first place, everything around me was being perceived as English so I did not need subtitles for that exactly. Instead, the subtitles gave me a further string of words which were almost an immediate version of the Log.

In theory, between the Log and Subtitles, I would be able to understand just about anyone, no matter how much they mumble or speak in a way that normally shouldn't, wouldn't, be understood. While I really was blowing it all out of proportion, the ability to never need to ask people to repeat themselves and to catch what everyone was saying was very good for my awkwardness.

Doing my best to split my focus between reading back on the two lectures I was there for and not paying attention to as well as manually breathing in a certain way, I felt like the future got just a bit brighter.

Considering things further, maybe this was for the best. Vali wanted to fight strong enemies and probably had the power to double his power, while I had the power to half the power of my enemies and add it to my own, presumably. He could fight his foes at their full power and I could survive, assuming it even works properly. It certainly fit better than the reverse.

o.O.o.O.o

I continued trying to hype myself up all the way to the end of classes, trying to get out of a bleak mindset. "Yo, Ise!" The log also provided me with names as long as Issei knew the names from before. Matsuda approached with a certain look on his face. "I found a great spot." The world suddenly went into desaturation with a particular blue tint.

[>[Alright! Let's go.]

[Sorry, I can't today.]

[Eh? You're seriously still trying to peep? I grew out of that like… This morning!]]

For a few moments, all I could do was blink. Rather literally. I couldn't actually move my body or speak, all I could do was look, watch, the words "I found a great spot" floating just above the three options. A bit of focus let me move the apparent arrow between choosing the options and I felt like more focus would actually chose the option.

Normally, my experience would lead me to saving at this point, before making a decision this spelled out that could determine the future. However, I did not have that powerful an ability, in spite of this apparent time stop, and the choice was more or less obvious, even if by meta knowledge. Or so it should be. The first option will continue the canon path, the second was neutral and the third might cause a bit of an incident, not to mention it being rather rude, no?

Actually, I wonder if I can… "Sorry, I can't today." The words came out normally. "I don't really feel all that well. I can do lookout though, if you need me there." …the choice did not prevent me from mixing like that.

[Coward.]

Oi!? What the hell was that!? "Hm… Yes, you do look under the weather a bit. Maybe another time then." Just barely concern from him. Even so, I followed along and met the third part of the Perverted Trio I should probably get myself out of.

Maybe I should have peeped, just to see if I could increase my LP some more, but I really did not feel like I was in the mood to look at such things right now. No reason to look at erotic material when this disheartened… Ah… Damn it, the hyping up didn't work. Still, I stood there while the two talked like creeps about what they saw while peeping. It was also a chance to revise the lectures of the day just in case I missed something or get some sort of skill or stat increase for it.

Skills could be learned or purchased. Spells too, apparently. Right now however, I was not fully sure what the requirements were which meant I would have to explore and experiment a little. I did not have a proper grasp of magic just yet and from what I could recall of the local system, it required calculations, which meant I should probably read some books out loud to myself to store the necessary information into the logs…

…I half way expected the system to update itself, but nothing happened. I suppose I should get some skills for better mental facilities then. Which meant getting more LP. A feat that was becoming difficult as the two turned out to be too loud. "They're coming." I warned them.

"Oh shit!"

"Run, perverts, run!" Just as I was about to break into a sprint myself, a new screen popped up.

[Quest Generated: Friendly Shield

Stay behind and take the punishment worthy of a pervert

Rewards: +1 Level

Failure: None]

I had managed to take a single step before turning around and standing as tall as I could make myself. There was no punishment for running away, but the reward for staying behind was… Maybe worth the punishment. I might be able to make the best of this situation, wondering if there was any chance of talking them down and yet still completing the Quest.

"You again?" Ah… That was a fool's hope…

"…Yo." I greeted and breathed in deeply. "Well, I suppose there is no other option. I won't let you get past me, so do your worst."

"This isn't the time to suddenly get honor!" Katase, the one with nice legs and short pink-ish hair, shouted out, swinging her bamboo sword down. To my surprise, I actually did manage to catch it, which was mostly done to try and escape the full pain that would follow. "…Huh?" Both of our surprises did not last long however as the others were not very keen on letting me pass, a dozen or so smacks instantly impacting my body all over.

[-35 HP]

Considering that they were all going back for more swings and how HP usually worked, I quickly realized that they were likely to kill me like this. What a headline that could be, yet would anyone even mourn Issei if he died right now? Maybe his parents. Probably his parents. Whatever the case, I could not actually let myself get hit by the same amount twice again. They quickly impacted again, lowering me by another thirty.

Even with the fact my HP regenerated, I had twenty-six HP left. I would not survive the next barrage and as such, I quickly stepped back a little and threw my arms to the side, feeling and hearing a few of the weapons miss me before another impacted the top of my head.

[-25 HP]

…with one HP left, the world started going a bit hazy. "What the!? Are you bleeding?!" …apparently I was. Well, I was on the very edge of death…

[Skill Acquired!

[Physical Tolerance Lv.3/150] – Decreases pain and damage by 0.5% per Skill Level.]

Mockingly, the System did not give me the skill at level one, but only now, not that it was likely to have saved me. It was just one point five percent less damage and the pain reduction was undetectably low, but it was progress and I would take it, even if I could just barely keep myself on my feet. I knew this was a good choice.

[+25 LP

Due to fulfilling certain conditions, you have earned a new skill!

[Masochistic Constitution Lv.1/10] – Increases chance of being targeted in group battles. 5% of lost HP is recovered after damage calculation. Increases sensitivity to outside stimuli and bonuses to Eros and LP by 10% resulting from pleasure gained from pain. Bonuses increase with skill level]

Oi…

[Quest Complete! Level Up!

HP, MP and Fatigue restored

+100 HP and 100 MP

+1 to All Stats]

With not only my health back to its full amount, but double the amount I had before, I felt a hell of a lot better. "Your swords must really be of a good quality." I got smacked again, but they seemed to be done with that now as they started walking away, leaving with various comments about perverts.

They nearly killed me and even if I was better for the experience, I was still pretty sure that the bitterness I felt was justified. {Hm…} I jolted as I heard a new voice, quickly checking the logs… It was Melusine.

I did my best to focus my thoughts towards her as not to seem like I was talking to myself, even if it probably would have been fine and reasonable to do so after getting hit hard enough to start bleeding… Actually, I was still bleeding… 'Hey…'

{What… Is going on?}

'I am still working on finding that one out myself. Does the word Sacred Gear mean anything to you?'

{Not particularly.} Fuck.

'…Yeah, I don't even know where to start explaining things from. Can this wait for a few hours? Are you comfortable… Wherever you are?'

{This isn't a Holy Grail War?}

'That is… A complicated bit of information as well… No? Yes? Maybe? I… Think that someone else will be in the War, if it is happening, and you are just… With me for other reasons.'

{…is that so…}

o.O.o.O.o

Melusine had went quiet after that and I headed out back home, trying to actually figure out how to truly explain things to her. As soon as I cleaned off the blood I had bled. If nothing else, I was further happy that she managed to start talking to me, considering that left certain other possibilities for going forward. I was not actually sure if she could do the things I wanted her to do considering the fact she did not seem to know what a Sacred Gear was, but once again, I chose to hope…

"U-Um…" Crossing a particular bridge, I did my best not to freeze up. "You are… Hyoudou Issei-kun from Kuoh Academy, aren't you?"

[Information Matrix Updated]

That did not particularly help my situation. "…I am, yes." Splitting my focus, I opened the Matrix.

There was a strange status screen, if it could even be called that. A considerable part of the 'screen' was taken up by a vertical picture of Raynare in a position I obviously hadn't seen her in. Most of the rest was obscured or simply noted as '???'. Her stats, history and so on were unknown while the only things that were actually filled in were name and race. Her skills were also mostly unknown aside for the basic information and implications of her race such as Light Magic and Flight.

To begin with, Raynare was hot. I was pretty sure Fallen Angels were noted to be beings of seduction who are meant to be craved by men and women. Raynare manifested that fact rather nicely with an expression and a disposition that probably would have made any man fall to their knees and ask her to step on them or whatever. In spite of my new skill, I was not that masochistic. Even so, Raynare was absolutely hot to the point where she might actually be able to just force even those who are not sure to their knees and have them begging.

Yuuma on the other hand was absolutely cute and pretty in a softer way. I hadn't caught sight of anyone in the main cast so I did not have many comparisons, but it was inhuman how pretty she was. Raynare was an embodiment of domination while Yuuma was the sort that most men would probably jump at the chance to protect, a duality she manifested far too well, leaving me wondering just how many fell to her tricks already.

Strangely, there was not a skill for Information Erasure or Acting. I expected those to be there, but whatever… {Enemy?}

'Not yet. Potentially in a few days.' "Look… Um…" Neither of us were really talking for a few moments. "You can go back to your friends, or whoever put you up to this… You've talked to the weirdo."

{She doesn't seem particularly strong…}

'Compared to you? She isn't. Compared to me?'

{Why would you be the one to fight her?}

'…that is actually a pretty good question…'

"A-Actually… I wanted to ask… Are you seeing anyone right now?"

"As in… Dating? No…"

"Ah, that's wonderful! I-I mean… Would you… Mind going out with me? I've… Seen you passing by here… And well… P-Please… Go out with me!" The cute way in which she yelled out that last part, the way her body swayed and her hair got picked up by a gentle breeze…

[+50 LP]

I enjoyed it that much? "Of course." Even knowing how it's going to end… I couldn't find a way in which I could have ever said no… At least not right now. She really was charming…

"R-Really?!"

"I… Should probably be asking you that… You're way out of my league, after all… And I don't even know your name."

"It's… Yuuma. Amano Yuuma."

"Then… If you really are serious, is Sunday good?"

"Yes! I will look forward to it." No, you won't. Still, her persona had to say that to keep leading me on. She quickly left with a smile as well.

…all things considered, I wouldn't mind joining the Fallen for a while. Ultimately, the same result would be accomplished as the Peace Conference occurs. Azazel is generally lazy and eventually just quits being the Governor, or he was fired for the Ophis scandal? Whichever it was, he would probably treat me well, maybe better than even Rias. He would also probably take great interest in what is effectively a sub-species Longinus like mine is, which might lead to even better treatment to keep me happy.

On the other hand, Rias might still end up married off or dead. I had to keep her safe as best as I could for everyone's sake. I have to fight on.

Kindness saves the world. Gratuitous levels of violence help, of course, but it is kindness that makes a hero. Some of the greatest heroes had a few other traits as well. Fearlessness, the ability to keep moving forward no matter what, straightforward honesty, the uncanny ability to keep smiling through it all and so on. I knew I could not do that. I wanted to believe I could be kind, to extend a hand even to the enemy, but… The other things? No.

I was not fearless, I already knew I would be lying and twisting the truth and the ability to smile through everything was beyond me unless I get some skill for it. At some point, I would manage to laugh in the darkest of moments, but that point is not now. I had to be an inspiration, a hope. The Protagonist. Because… I had to be that. Maybe someone else can take the spot, but ultimately, right now, everything was on my shoulders even if I did not want it to be.

Chilling with Azazel was not the way forward. Not right now. {Hm.} …I wonder how much of that Melusine actually caught…

o.O.o.O.o

I sat down on my, Issei's, bed until deciding for a change of position instead, laying down on my stomach and forcing my head into the pillow for a few moments, getting out of it before it got too hard to breathe. The position let me manifest the wings, though they could not fully stretch due to the wall. The other wing just barely reached the half way point of the room, meaning I probably could stand normally with them out. They were smaller than feared…

Having the wings out was like taking off a tight shirt I hadn't realized I was wearing. It felt far more comfortable and the very process of letting them out was almost like running my hand along silk to the point I was surprised I was not gaining LP just by letting them out and existing with them out.

That bit of questioning vanished as well as I felt a sudden shift of weight that worried me yet still left me unable to actually move out of some momentary paralysis born from shock. The sort of scene in horror movies when you know the monster is behind you and touching you, when you don't want to turn your head and yet still want to find out just what it is that was going to kill you.

Instead of a horror monster however, I found Melusine. I was pretty sure that she should not have had the capacity to actually leave my body in any real way. Ddraig and Albion weren't able to do so until like… Twenty some volumes into the story and even then, it was with the assistance of high class gods of other pantheons helping make the possibility happen. Yet here she was, on her own.

"Explain." She demanded, sitting down on the floor with… An expression. Even while her face was mostly stoic, I was overcome with a desire to pet her for being cute. For the time being however, I got up from my lying position and just sat down with my legs over the edge of the bed and on the floor.

In spite of certain tropes and the sheer nature of this world, she was not a thicc anime waifu with massive breasts, ass and thighs, instead being… Well, normally I would call her a sort of loli, but her face was mature and sharp, that instead made her look almost like a midget instead of an actual loli. On top of that, she was deceptively short. Some innate feeling told me she would have been eye level with my chest if we stood side by side while I just felt like she would be a lot shorter than she actually was. It was a weird situation over all…

"Are you done commenting on my body?"

"…you can hear that?"

"No, but your face and focus is obvious."

"Ah… Valid enough… Let's see… To start with, were you in Chaldea?"

"Yes."

"So you know about God? The monotheistic one?" A nod.

Melusine herself was from an alternate timeline in which just about all of the World was destroyed around twelve thousand years before Christ by Sefar, which killed almost all of the Gods before being stopped by Excalibur in the Panhuman history. In her history however, Excalibur was never forged and so nearly the entire World was destroyed and the British Isles were made by a kind and fluffy God, which was then betrayed by the Fae and had its body used for even more land.

There were a lot more circumstances to her existence in general, but all in all, in her original history, there was no Christianity. On the other hand, the circumstances of Chaldea as an organization that united Heroic Spirits for the sake of saving and preserving Panhuman history against the Beasts and other threats likely put her in the presence of certain legendary figures such as Amakusa, Martha, Jeanne… Maybe even Jesus himself.

"Well…" Now for the DxD history… "A few centuries back, there was a war between the forces of Heaven, the Fallen Angels and the Devils… The original Four Satans wanted to rule over humanity, Fallen just wanted more land and Heaven… Did not like either side, but none of the three liked the others anyway in general, so it was a four sided war in which most factions joined, I am pretty sure, even if they usually belonged to different pantheons."

"Wars tend to be like that, yes." I was not sure if she was speaking against Wars or just making a general statement.

"At any rate, God made special tools, almost Noble Phantasms, for humanity to use and defend themselves with against the threats beyond it." It was probably the best way to classify Sacred Gears. While some things, like Gram or Excalibur, were actual outside existences, supposedly most of the famous individuals in history had a Sacred Gear. "And well… The Albion and Ddraig of this World got into a fight… And nearly destroyed all three armies by collateral damage. So, the three armies came to a truce and joined together to defeat and seal away the two Heavenly Dragon Emperors, placing them into a Sacred Gear each. Albion's Sacred Gear, the one… I think I should have had? Instead, somehow, ended up containing your spirit, which I do not know how happened…"

Fate's Albion meanwhile was a Grand Dragon that was four and a sixth billion years old, as old as the Earth itself, a pure blooded Dragon that guarded the 'horizon', the boundary to the Reverse Side of the World and ultimately did not cross over himself, instead dying in the process, having missed his chance and trying to dig his way through. The one she was born from however had simply died, flying over the 'sea of nothingness' that was left over after Sefar destroyed the rest of the World. He was a transcended lifeform the likes of which was older than some Gods and far more powerful. The Albion from which she spawned was also technically both the White and Red Dragon at the same time, meaning both Ddraig and Albion at the same time.

"And this world is… Well, I suppose it would be some odd form of a Lostbelt for you… But there isn't a Fantasy Tree, or anything of the like… Though there might be a Holy Grail, just maybe not the one you're familiar with…" As this was not the history Melusine was familiar, or the Panhuman history, calling this a Lostbelt was simply the easiest to have her understand.

A Lostbelt was an 'incorrect' history that was supposed to be kept as merely theoretical and not something that would expand further than that, a pruned timeline that did not exist in the eyes of the worlds that progress. Ivan the Terrible turning all of humanity into Furries, Arjuna consuming the other Gods and becoming the single and supposedly perfect God of the Hindu Pantheon, Surtr winning Ragnarök having killed all of the Norse Gods, Atlantis not having sunk and so on.

A Fantasy Tree was a strange lifeform and landing platform for an Alien God, capable of maintaining the existence of a Lostbelt and preventing it from being pruned. A Holy Grail, as a vessel of nearly infinite magical energy, could also do the same, but I truly hoped Valerie did not have that form of Holy Grail as it would make things even more complicated than they already were.

"…on the other hand, I might be involved in a different sort of Holy Grail War, which might not even be moving toward a direction of a Grail but still has some of the concepts. I truly do not know yet and more or less hope that I am not not a part of it…"

"Hm. And who are you exactly?"

"…A living human that may or may not be classifiable as a Foreigner class servant." Foreigner Class Heroic Spirits had made contact with an eldritch being, something beyond human understanding, usually Lovecraftian. Nyarlathotep, Cthulhu, Yog-Sothoth and so on, but had maintained their sanity even after doing so, instead simply becoming more powerful from the contact. "I am not yet a Magus, but I am going to be starting to try and learn magic…"

"And you are fighting for the sake of humanity?"

"Of course… Well, yes, but not just for that. The actual human factor of the future is… Troublesome… And most of those we will be fighting for are instead inhuman… So let's say I am fighting for the sake of Gaia instead of Alaya."

Gaia is the will of the Earth, the planet's intrinsic wish to survive and prosper. Alaya, on the other hand, is the collective unconscious will of mankind to avoid extinction. As humans are creatures of Earth, Alaya was a component of Gaia. However, as mankind began to develop independent from nature, it became independent. Technically, Angels, Fallen, Devils and so on are not a component of Alaya as they are not 'mankind', thus I deemed what I said to be fitting.

"…and well, I… Have a strange request to make. With the fact that you are now my Sacred Gear, my ally, I can… Give you parts of my body in exchange for power. You can make me a Dragon, physically and so to say, if you are willing. Or you can give me a Dragon Core? I just… Don't want to be weak… Even if you just teach me how to fight better, I would accept it willingly and readily."

She gave me a head tilt. "You want to become strong?"

"…please?" She was my best, my only, hope right now. Maybe Rias as well, but if I had her and this option… I would have to go through with it anyway eventually, but that eventuality would be after Raynare. While the encounter hadn't especially been all that scary, it did hammer in the fact that she was just… Unable to be avoided. If I tried, she would just kill me outright and I had absolutely no intention of dying.

Perhaps Melusine felt that will as he got up and took a pose I found myself wanting to call knightly. Yet not the loyal sort of knight swearing loyalty, but of a high class… Commander? Taking on a new apprentice. "I am Melusine. I was said to be the strongest Fairy Knight in Lostbelt Britain. If even someone as rotten as me, can be of help to you as your Servant, then, even if it's just for a short dream, my wings will fly for your sake."

"…yes. I am Issei. May… My fate be your sword as we face the dark together. Or something of that sort. I should probably revise the summoning words…"

"It is fine." She offered her hand and I shook it. "Do not forget however. The weak must obey and follow the strong. So be sure to listen to me, okay?"

"Yes, of course. Then… For the time being… Why don't we… Replace my bones?" Biologically, that may have the best effect. "And whatever else needs to be adapted along with it. And if I can obtain your swords somehow?" The wings aren't particularly combat focused and I could only do so much with Dimension Slicer due to its sheer size. "I don't really know how all of this works, I can just imagine that it will be very painful."

"Yes… Let's see how this works exactly." She was almost excited by the whole idea as she climbed on the bed and pressed her hands to my back, somehow entering me once more.

As a Heroic Spirit, Melusine used Fairy Sword Arondight, a pair of blades on her wrists that are used for slashing but also punching by using the other end… Or was it piercing? Said gauntlets each contain an Arondight which she retracts out for her Noble Phantasm, her ultimate attack. Therefore, if I ended up with that, I would still have a pair of weapons readily available, one that needed less space and had less of an environmental danger component.

The bones however were just a little of the biology I did know from various research back home. At least I assumed, strongly, that she would completely replace my bones, which would include bone marrow, where blood is made, meaning, in theory, I would get the blood and bones of a Dragon in one go! …which might cause some organ failure. But at this point, I was willing to give her my entire body if it meant avoiding direct death or the edge of it.

At least I would be perishing and being in pain under my own terms.

[Skill Level Up!

Masochistic Constitution: 1 -> 2]

Ah shut up! This isn't masochistic! …is it? No, it shouldn't be.

[Race adaption started]

The instant that message appeared, in one absolutely horrible moment, it felt like every bone in my body broke at the same time, from the smallest to the largest. I did not even get to yell out in pain before I saw the ceiling, my eyes shooting up from the pain as I simply collapsed from what I well and truly hoped would be the greatest pain I would ever experience in any of my lives, past, future and present.

My vision went white, then blue, then dark… It swirled around until I found myself standing on a strange stone floor. The pain followed me and every part of my body still felt the effects of what was happening to it. Yet here I stood in front of an ornate floor pattern, three glass… Doors… Ahead of me in front of a deep darkness. The air itself felt heavy in a way I could not place, which further strained my body, making it hard to stay on my feet.

Even so, I found myself taking a step forward… And two of the glass doors broke, shattered into fragments and falling down into the void, the darkness around this floating platform instead changing to a bright blue reminiscent of pictures of the deep sea, even having strange patterns I was not fully sure about the reality of. Plankton, maybe? The bright light shining down on the third door took my attention however…

And I slowly realized. Though it was only as she started to appear. Fluffy orange ears, a tail swooshing a little behind her. She appeared with her back facing me, yet quickly turned around, framed by the last glass door and the light that had shined down on it, wearing a blue kimono, if that was the proper word, ridiculous sleeves and a blue bow tying her hair. The sheer bounce with which she turned around with should have forced her shoulderless outfit to just drop down, or her sleeves to fall off as they were not attached to anything, yet it all stayed there and I had to watch and keep track of her face instead anyway as not to actually be extremely rude.

…Melusine was a part of me and Raynare had been hiding herself in a certain way. She was not. Her presence was foreign and direct, inhuman, a level of power emanating from her that surpassed any other I had felt, leaving me with a feeling that simply standing there could vaporize someone if they got too close, yet it touched and swirled within my body, further aggravating the wounds which I was ignoring through the sheer shock of the further situation.

"Even if you weren't exactly clear why you need one, I've brought you a vulpine wife from the imperial tomb!" What a way to introduce herself, taking a fighting pose and saying something like that… "Ah… You seem a little… Apprehensive. Um… You are my Master… Right?"

"…I am, yes." Apparently so.

"Yay!" She did a twirl. "Contract established! I look forward to fighting by your side, my dear Master! To be honest, I, the mighty Ta— I mean, I hoped that I could be a Servant to someone like you! My abilities might be a tad limited, so you might not be happy with me, Master, but… I will try my best!"

Apparently I could feel even more pain. The back of my hand started to hurt as if burning, a pattern appearing over the back of it, taking the shape of a… Heart? A very elaborate heart with another heart inside it as well as wings…

Holy fucking shit I was in the Moon Holy Grail War with Tamamo-no-Mae while having Melusine as my Sacred Gear. And fainting again. Yay…