36

The power grew as new physical information filled my mind. As I walked to flip through the Grimoire, I could feel a few changes in my walking for it to be more optimal.

Flipping to the second most recent page, I started to read through it. What it was saying was strange, and it took me a few minutes to decipher what it was saying.

It allowed me to find 'strange' locations, things, or even people much easier, and the more it is unusual or breaks reality, the easier I could discover it.

It seemed that the faint tugging feeling I felt in my head was pulling all around me. It appeared that it based unusual off-the-base laws from my home and not from any of the new places, given that Komainu was pinging in my senses.

The following page was an all-around physical enhancement, whether improving my already massive strength to something that would allow me to throw trucks or balance on a tightrope.

While nothing flashy, the second power was still beneficial if somebody tried to close the distance assuming a would be helpless.

Snapping the Grimoire closed, I strode back inside. I needed to find Artoria today and kill her. The combination of Lancelot and my prowess should make short work of her.

The current plan was to goad her out in the open with Lancelot using Ardnoight, which would allow himself to be identified; I could then use her discretion to attack her from behind.

If that failed, I could also attempt to find Kiritsugu but knowing him; he would be holed up someplace I can't see. In addition, Artoria could beat Lancelot once she used Excaliber, which meant my plan of leaving them alone was dangerous, but so long as I pulled him out, it should be fine.

Walking out, I started back towards the Einzbern Castle Lancelot by my side, still astralized. The walk through the town was peaceful, but I was on edge; something felt off.

I didn't know if it was my new sense from ANOMNOMNOMALIES, but something about Fuyuki seemed off. I knew that I could sense things that were not natural, but if that extended to things like mana, my life would be hell.

Holding out a hand, I focused and conjured a single word from white magic. I could feel a slight tug from it, yet as I focused on pushing it out of my mind, I stopped feeling the pull.

Releasing the magic, I focused on the tugs surrounding me and pushed them away over the next few seconds. Smiling, I counted to walk my mind free of the constant interference by magical anomalies.

Soon I arrived at the forest that held the Einzbern Castle. Running through the plan one more time, I lifted off the ground and started to fly through the woods.

It wasn't all that much faster than walking if I wanted to conserve energy, but it allowed me to avoid ground-based traps like claymores.

Gliding up to the castle, I was forced to pull apart a few traps of magical origin. They were very basic, and all that was required was tugging at the power source until it snapped. Then I could pass through.

Arriving at the castle's front gates, I could see they were still broken from Iskander's assault. Pulling my staff out, I raised my command seal covered left hand, and spoke.

"By my command, seal unseal Ardnoight." With a wailing groan, he complied and materialized by my side. Flying through the entrance, I arrived in the courtyard where the banquet of kings had taken place.

"Come out, King Arthur; Lancelot wishes to face you!" I shouted. As we waited, I could hear hushed whispers with my enhanced sense.

Artoria emerged from the entrance to the castle proper and strode out, head held high, two hands on the hilt of the invisible Excaliber.

I could, however, see the faint hitch in her steps as she saw Lancelot without his corrupting mist. Floating away, I spoke to her."I'll leave you two at it then, shall I'll?"

Receiving a sharp nod in reply, I settled down far enough away that I could watch the fight as well as keep an eye on the castle windows.

They both hesitated for a brief moment before charging. With another command seal, Lancelot sped up with a roar or primal rage, Ardnoight blurring even to my excellent vision.

With that, the relatively even fight tilted overwhelmingly in Lancalot's favor as Artoria scrambled to keep up with the overpowering assault by the most martial knight of the round table.

Casting my senses out, I looked in the castle windows trying to catch a glimpse of Kiritsugu before he could shoot me. As a precaution, I pushed my personal timeline closer together, so my time sped up.

It would allow me to hopefully teleport out of the way if he shot at me. While a Wall of Force would be a better choice, I didn't have the gas in my soul gem to throw around powerful spells.

Darting my eyes over to the fight, I saw that Artoria had been hit several times and was on the back foot while Lancelot screamed and swung even faster.

With my time sped up, I could hear the crack of a rifle and teleport blindly. Even with my time sped up, I was almost hit, which could have been my end.

My eyes flicked over to where the bullet had hit, and I then looked toward where it could have come. Teleporting into one of the rooms, I saw a figure sprinting through the doors, rifle in their hands.

Raising my staff, I sent a flurry of white magic at their back that splashed harmlessly against the wall as they turned the corner out of the room.

Snarling, I took to the air and flew after them. Despite my relatively fast flying speed, the figure, which I determined as Kiritsugu by the clothing and the way he had folded his timeline fourfold, was able to dart through the castle at high speed preventing me from getting a solid shot off.

Reaching out a hand, I grasped his timeline and started to smooth it out. It was difficult as anytime I smoothed a section, he would scrunch it back up, allowing him to stay ahead of me.

I teleported next to him to rectify this issue, causing Kiritsugu to dart back and drop his rifle. Whipping out another gun, he raised it to fire, only to be stopped as I lunged forward. My own timeline shorted and grabbed his wrist.

I didn't know any fancy moves, so I wrenched his arm to the side, ignoring the loud tearing noise as his tendons snapped and his arm was dislocated.

I then used his lack of focus to slow him down. This time he could not speed himself back up as his thoughts and casting were slow enough for me to counter.

Reaching out a hand, I grasped his right hand and focused on the three bright sparks. I then pulled on them, relieving Kiritsugu of his command seals. The downside of this method was that the servant contract did not come with it, but Artoria would fade in a few minutes.

As I raised my hand to finish him off, the castle wall distorted, and a pillar of stone slammed into my chest, knocking me back away from Kiritsugu and leaving me barely hurt. I faintly registered a few of my mental barriers going down.

Casting my senses around, I didn't see anything and was forced to duck as another pillar sprung out of the stone and missed me. Stumbling to his feet, I noticed Kiritsugu lunging for the gun on the ground.

Darting towards it, I was much faster than him in his slowed state and picked it up, having to avoid another pillar after I grabbed the gun and tucked it in my robe.

As I was distracted by getting the gun, I looked up to see Kiritsugu running strength at a wall. He was now moving at his accelerated speed, and as I raised a hand to alter his timeline, another pillar swung at my head, forcing me to abort the change and duck.

Looking back at him, the wall he was charging toward split open and enveloped him leaving behind the same castle wall he had been charging at. I felt a few more mental barriers drop as I spun on my heel and flew back towards a window.

I didn't know who was attacking me, but it was not good. They were proficient in mental attacks and some method to warp stone fast enough to use as a weapon.

Peering out the window, I saw that the fight had turned in Artoria's favor. A small figure had joined in on her side, and it seemed he was helping despite her not wanting to collaborate.

On the other hand, Lancelot was staggering around like a graceful drunk. While able to block a few of Austria's swings, he was still alive mainly because Arotria was more engaged in arguing with the other figure than in fighting him.

Teleporting down, I slammed my staff on the pathway and cleared my throat as Austria and the other figure, now revealed to be a young boy, turned to face me.

"I thought this was a one-on-one fight?" I asked, tilting my head while looking at Artoria. "Unless King Arthur can't win her own fights and has to rely on others to win duels." As this happened, I burnt a command seal to get Lancelot to stand down.

Gritting her teeth, Artoria's hands tightened around the invisible hilt of Excalibur. Ignoring the obvious signs, the other person stepped in front of her and politely bowed.

"It is truly a pleasure to meet you, Caster." He said with a mocking tilt at the word Caster. "I must say you have done a fine job of messing this war up, and my Master is not pleased one bit."

My hand tightened around my staff as I looked at the child, I didn't know who he was, but given what he had said, I could assume he was Caster and had been summoned by an outsider in the war.

"I do apologize for almost single-handedly winning the war." I drawled out, leaning forward and allowing the green flame that made up my eyes to flicker merrily before standing back up.

"I do suppose that is a big deal for Casters." He said while grinning. "Anyway, just came by to check up on these fellas and see if they want to join us." Turning to Artoria, he asked. "Do you want to join us?"

Her eye's wavered back and forth between me, Lancelot, and the child before said child intervened. "I have your Master safe and sound; give us a bit, and we will have a new contract up and running."

With that assurance, Artoria nodded and turned back to face us. This was going south fast; we had King Arthur and a real Caster against Lancelot and me.

While Artoria will fade away in a bit, the contract was still connected to Kiritsugu, which meant all they needed was a command seal or something of the sort to pin Arotria's existence in place.

The bigger problem was that a real Caster could hand me my ass. I was powerful, but that was only because I was an out-of-context problem able to win fights if a vast array of impossible or strange magics.

A proper Caster could see through all of that in an instant and counter me. As the four of us stared off, the Grimoire swelled again. I could feel a strange connection with the land surrounding us, somewhat like the understanding of where Anomalies are from ANOMNOMNOMALIES.

Pushing that to the side, we started off ready for a fight as I went through my plans. I would try to fight, but if worst came to worst, I would flee and come back another day.

Powers Gained

Landscapist

There are many anomalies that cover this world, their magic gleaned but not understood. You, you understand it. You have listened to the voices of the Rumbling Stones. You have won a staring contest with a Wizard's Eye. You have eaten the fruit of the Life Tree, and you understand. Whenever you are within an anomaly, your magic is more powerful, growing with the strength of anomaly. Inside a chroma land, your spells would be rainbow hued and blinding. While standing within the whispering confines of the Ice Sculptures your spells would deafen your foes and sound as music to your allies. If you stood upon the Dust Tree, maybe, just maybe, you'd be on par with an Endless. You also have a better understanding of all anomalies, and how to best benefit from them.