From that moment onwards, I intended to keep my word. The opening blow was the only blow either of them were landing tonight. My magic circuits surged to life, greedily scarfing down any and all ambient mana.
The enemy was a servant of a knight class. I had no intention of underestimating him.
By the way he scoffed and leaned forward, he seemed to think the same.
I'd already lost interest in Bazett. She possessed nothing of value. No, I decided to avoid her entirely. She was a fool dancing to the tune of a corrupt aristocracy that wanted her gone. She refused to see that… for now.
In other words, Lancer was about to get jumped.
At least, that had been the plan.
Long before we ever even started for one another, the terse silence that hung there then was driven away with the chill wind by the heavy thuds of a man's footsteps. We all turned at the same time, though our reactions were the farthest thing from one another.
"Who the hell are you?!" Lancer barked out with a glare, irritated by the intrusion. "Scram!"
I, on the other hand, couldn't help but whistle in awe, "Holy… aura farming."
There, on the dimly lit road leading up to the Fuyuki Church, marked by blinking lamps, was a man walking down towards us. No, not a man. A priest. Dark hair swept back, his dark coat fluttered with the weather. In his hand, was a book. The Bible, I would assume. His other hand was behind his back, and his eyes were steadily fixed on us.
"Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the sons of God."
Holy shi-
"Conflict between masters should be kept to when the city sleeps, I understand this." He said, "But the House of the Lord is meant to be a sanctuary, even amidst the fiercest of conflicts. I would prefer if you did not intrude upon the rules."
Honestly, I was too speechless to talk back, humbled by the sheer aura of a human who saw two servants fighting, and had seemingly decided he was going to tell them to stop fighting near him. It was downright insane. The sort of thing I'd do if given the chance… but I was certain he'd even dropped a Bible verse in there somewhere.
That went HARD.
"Your rules aren't being broken, priest." Lancer held out his spear. "We're fighting outside."
The priest stopped a moment and looked at the hill rising beside us before again turning to face Lancer, "The spirit of the Law needs to be respected as well. Fighting in the backyard might not constitute being 'inside', but all will say it is. Regardless, Masters are prohibited from injuring one another."
I stared down at the gaping hole in my shirt. Bazett stared at it too.
"You pervert~. I'm like ten years younger than you." I hid my body with my hands from her gaze. "Why I feel violated just by your eyes-"
"What-… no, and I'm not that old!"
"I doubt that." Nobunaga observed, "Surely, you must be at least 30."
"I…I'm…"
Somehow, those words damaged Bazett far more than my earlier punch to her face. She took a step back, mouth hung open.
"I'm 23." She said.
"That's a bloody lie!"
The older woman stepped back again, as if struck by lightning. Then, she turned to her blue-haired servant with pleading eyes, "I don't look that old… do I?"
With pursed lips, Lancer averted his gaze.
When she gave out a silent cry and hung her head in defeat, he put a hand over his mouth, struggling to push down a laugh. Unfortunately, I wasn't as keen on not embarrassing her. I pointed my finger. Then, I laughed my ass off with not an ounce of shame.
"It almost feels as though you were companions." The priest interrupted. A thin smile crossed his lips. One that made me shiver somewhat. "Again, I feel I must insist that you stop while you're ahead. I will be forced to assign penalties for infractions should you continue to target one another instead of leaving it to your servants."
Sincerely, I doubted that rule was ever obeyed in any Grail War till now. Magi had eccentric personalities and terrible egos, there was no way they wouldn't fight one another in some way at such an occasion. This was like believing armies tended to follow the 'no civilian casualties' rule during wars and they most definitely did not.
Or, like most rules in our magical society, it was fine as long as the lawmakers and enforcers 'didn't' find out.
Bazett cleared her throat and spoke plainly, "He is not one of the masters, Kirei."
Oh?
They knew each other, it seemed.
"Miss Bazett, he has a servant. I would say, Archer, from…"
"Nah mate, she's clearly supposed to be a saber."
"Indeed! Indeed!" Nobunaga held aloft her blade, "This is clearly a sword. Or has your faith clouded not just your mind or your eyes as well?"
Woah.
Nobunaga was downright diabolical when it came to hating anything even remotely religious. She'd even burnt down Mark's Church just to 'send a message'. It felt odd, because she hated literally every single one without any exception.
Kirei nodded, "Be that as it may. He possesses a servant. Thus, he is a participant in the Holy Grail War, and subject to the rules."
"He's a criminal on the run." Bazett retorted, narrowing her eyes.
"Sinners and saints are all as one under the eyes of the law, Miss Bazett. As mere servants, we do not get to hold prejudice."
This priest was spitting straight fire. I whistled again, spurring him on mentally.
"Not a criminal by the way. Even your Lord allows for self-defense." I waved my hand. "I was attacked, I was. And you're stupid enough to be an attack dog for the ones who did."
"I am an Enforcer under orders. My own thoughts on it are not-"
"So you ARE just a good little dog~"
Her expression tightened. She made to move closer, but Kirei stepped between us, his Bible still perfectly balanced on one hand. Gently, he closed the book, and brought it to his side before turning his complete attention towards the Enforcer.
"Miss Bazett. Do not force my hand."
"Kirei. You know you can't stop me."
"As overseer for the war, I am allowed to… incentivize other masters." His gaze briefly lingered on me. "Postpone this conflict. You are not one to break rules."
Lancer… just walked over to the sidewalk and plopped down, spear resting against his shoulder. He watched the priest and the enforcer bicker back and forth with one eye shut. I stepped over to sit beside him.
"Politics always ruin a good scuffle." I sighed.
"Damn right, kid." He groaned. "We could've been pummeling each other by now but they just have to talk it out. I mean, I understand diplomacy but… it ruined the mood."
"I get you~" I shook my head. "I'm all for bothering others but not when the alternative is a fight."
He rubbed his nose. "Hah, you're half-decent. When I hear criminal, I think someone misunderstood by the local lord or just vile but… you just like the thrill, don't you?"
I didn't answer.
"Haha! I'm right! I knew my nose wouldn't lead me astray. Maybe next time you and me have ourselves a proper fistfight, yeah?"
He held up a fist.
After a moment of thought, I bumped it with my own, chuckling.
"I knew legends wouldn't be boring. Henry Smith."
"Cu Chulainn! The Hound of Ulster."
…
…
…
He seemed to realise his mistake right the next second judging by how his eyes widened and his mouth snapped shut. Alas, it was already too late. His master went silent at the same time. She stared at the spandex-clad hero with a dead face.
See, one wasn't meant to reveal the identity of their servant. Those same legends that solidified heroic spirits as people far beyond the norm and of supernatural prowesses also, more often than not, held a terrible weakness that usually spelled doom for said legend.
For example, the infamous Achilles' Heel.
An opponent could easily capitalize on the legend.
Well… a learned opponent at least.
"Don't worry." I waved my hand at Bazett, stifling another cackle. "Books are for nerds. I don't recognize the name anyway~"
"You know," Cu Chulainn closed his eyes, "That feels a lot more insulting, somehow. Come on, Master! We gotta leg it now that it's come to this."
"But I-"
Bazett's protest was gone with the wind when Cu threw her over his shoulder like a sac and promptly vanished into the treeline.
Honestly?
I looked forward to facing the duo again. Poking at Bazett's nature promised a fun time. Fighting her summoned hero was several leaps more enticing than even that. But, it also made me realise something incredibly boorish.
Most magi were no longer going to present any challenge.
That… took away a lot of excitement.
Oh well, that was a problem for the future. I had a war to ruin-… err, fight, yes, fight.
"We're not going to chase?" Nobunaga asked calmly.
I crossed my arms, "Not after he styled on you."
"He did not. I was about to win!" The Demon King whined, "You just ruined the moment!"
"Sure you were."
I shook my head, turning to the priest. Kirei. The night had turned out to be pretty interesting thus far. Yet, something told me it was about to get a lot more interesting still.
With his hands behind his back, the designated overseer for the Fifth Holy Grail War smiled amiably.
Then,
"How may I help you, my son?"
-
Hope you enjoyed.
Aside from that, we've hit a hundred chapters! I hope you guys have been enjoying the story even more as we've gotten into it instead of the usual interest fizzling out. For me, this has been the case. I started writing this on a whim and boy, I get properly jumpy if I don't write it for even two days. That's to say, I LOVE this story. I managed to dive farther into the lore of the Clock Tower and magecraft itself than I've ever seen, and I couldn't be prouder of that.
You can find 5 chapters ahead at patre0n.com/Bleap
I intend to double this by the end of the week so rest assured. It's only 5 cause I was sick af.