West of Narluc
Chat POV 03
"Don't worry Sis. I didn't plan to!!" Charlemagne jumped into the air and an array of swords manifested into reality behind him, each their own distinctive color,
His main sword, Joyeuse, was aimed directly at Altera's position. The holy knight let out a cry as he shot forth like a rocket.
Altera's foot shifted, and in the blink of a human eye, she evaded the attack.
A white figure crashed into the ground in a brilliant flash of light. His other swords all plunked into the soil moments after.
Altera dashed forward to punish the flashy attack, but Charlemagne recovered quickly and stopped her slash with a slash of his own.
The holy emperor did not let the blade lock linger and attacked again, and again, and again.
Each attack he lashed out with was just as fast and heavy as the last, but this series of consecutive strikes was not enough to catch Altera off guard.
Altera met his blade blow for blow, deflecting each attack from marring her flawless skin.
[BattleMANIAC: Yes!! This is why I subbed to this channel!! Let's go Charlamagne ]
[SonyaYampers: His name is spelled: "CharlEmagne" not CharlAmagne. We've been over this already. They are completely different people!! ]
[BattleMANIAC: Tomatoe Tamato berry, Mr. Cool hairdoo can fight!! That is all that matters!! Besides, knowing him, he wouldn't mind. ]
[SonyaYampers: OMA, you're as insufferable as Leon I swear. ]
Siegfried stood patiently nearby, waiting for the right moment to intervene.
He got his chance to strike when he noticed Altera had been too focused on fending off Charlemagne's barrage of strikes.
His plan failed as the Khan noticed the dragonslayer rushing to cut her.
She evaded Balmung with a jump and pointed her sword at Siegfried, who was still recovering from his failed attack.
Pew.pew.pew.pew.
A hail of energy bullets shot out of the sword.
The shots fell on both men like explosive rain.
Charlemagne, being the squishier of the two, opted to dodge.
Siegfried however? He welcomed the bombardment with open arms.
The tanned skinned man charged towards Altera, swatting the bullets of light out of the air like they were flies.
The few who managed to hit him splashed on his body like water.
His Armor of Fafnir dropped the attack from a deadly laser into a wasp sting. The pain made him wince, but it was something he could push through.
[Kream: Go Siegfried Go get that rebellious daughter of ours and bring her to heel!! ]
[MalasadaMayhem: I see someone still has hopes. I thought you'd give up on adoption after Altera became an adult. ]
[Kream: Altera said it herself, this transformation is temporary. She will revert to her cute self eventually… she just needs some discipline. ]
[MalasadaMayhem: Ok. ]
Altera, seeing that her attacks were not deterring Siegfried into a retreat, stopped firing and allowed herself to touch the ground.
Siegfried narrowed his eyes in suspicion at the sudden cease of attacks. And his suspicions were not unfounded, because as soon as one of Altera's feet touched the ground, she was already gone.
She reappeared in front of Siegfried, her sword was already mid-swing and eager to sever his head from his shoulders.
A more arrogant man would have allowed that attack to hit, thinking the Armor of Fafnir would protect him. But Siegfried was neither arrogant nor foolish.
The Sword of Mars was not something to be underestimated.
Siegfried slapped the tricolored sword away before it struck his jugular.
Altera let out a huff, and to his shock, the deflected sword extended like a snake.
And just like a snake, it struck.
The whip sword clashed with Balmung, which made a noise that could only be described as a laser being fired from a futuristic gun.
However, he did not have the luxury to ponder the sound effect for long.
The elongated whip had come back around once more, then twice more, and a dozen more after.
None of them landed on him, but the skill and grace that the wielder showed when using this attack just solidified his opinions of its wielder.
This Altera was not the same servant that Siegfried had fought weeks ago. Unlike when she was younger, the grown up Altera's strikes are smoother, faster, and more deadly.
She's able to block attacks that, before, would have sent her flying.
Her swings were heavier, and actually made his bones ache with every strike he blocked.
She was an actual threat who could and would kill him if he slipped up.
Siegfried and Charlemagne's only saving grace was that killing him and Charlemagne was not her goal.
Her goal is to keep Siegfried from going over to reinforce Martha and Astolfo who were fighting against Altera's ally.
SMACK.
Siegfried let out a pained hiss as the sword whip hit his shoulder.
That attack might not have cut his skin, but he could feel the sharp pain where it struck.
[JigglyWiggly: First blood goes to Wombo-Tera. ]
[Electrical*Streamer_Iono(MOD): Ew. Never call her that ever again, or I will ban you. ]
[JigglyWiggly: Sorry!! (╥﹏╥) ]
[Guardian_Riley: Siegfried may not be my partner, but I felt that smack on a spiritual level. Ow. ]
[La-Primera: He's lucky that he has such a strong defence, or else that would have resulted in a deep laceration. ]
The girl turned woman did not allow Siegfried time to rest and went for another swing, its trajectory aimed for the same spot she had hit Siegfried earlier.
Altera's body blurred to the left just in time to avoid Charlemagne from cutting her down with his sword.
He took a step forward and swung his sword upwards, but Altera was too far from his reach.
Or so she thought.
Spikes of ice sprung from the area where Altera used to be.
The Hun let out a surprised breath as the ice grew large enough that it almost punctured her eye.
Siegfried looked amazed at Charlemagne's attacks, because frankly, he had no idea the King of the Franks could do that. Most fights they were involved in while fighting in Italia finished rather quickly. Simple, but overpowered strikes were enough to put down normal humans.
Charlemagne had spent most of that time cutting them down with an impassive expression. But now that he was fighting a real opponent?
He was being flashier, and he appeared much more eager in his strikes.
It was a tragedy that Charlemagne was forced to fight his sister, but that didn't deter the man from giving it his all.
[TheIcePryce: Oh? So the spry future emperor knows an ice type attack? Interesting. ]
Seeing his attack miss, most would assume the future emperor would pursue, but they would be wrong.
Instead, Charlemagne took a step back, cocking his sword behind him and ready for a thrust.
A yellow greenish light enveloped his sword and it morphed into a war axe.
He thrust the weapon forward, and a green beam of light shot out, eager to pierce Altera's head.
Altera knew what the light wanted, and she denied it with a duck to avoid getting her head punctured and cooked from the inside out.
Siegfried closed the gap between him and Alter, then swung his glowing sword at Altera.
An attempt to block was made, but the accumulated energy that the sword contained was shot out like a jet engine.
The magical energy hit Altera directly in the face, which elicited a groan from the walking disaster.
Altera slid backward, her shoes rutting the ground, but she did not allow herself to stumble and fall.
When it came to fights against multiple opponents, being on the ground meant death.
She quickly recovered from the blast and leveled her sword at Siegfried again.
Siegfried narrowed his eyes at Altera, who didn't look any worse for wear. She was a lot tougher than she looked.
The blinding light had no effect on her vision either, because her red eyes easily caught Charlemagne's movement as he tried to sneak up behind her.
Altera blocked the uncovered sneak attack and leaned into Charlemagne's blade with her sword.
Altera was easily able to overpower Charlemagne's sword, not due to her own strength surpassing his, but due to their positions.
The future emperor jumped back in an effort to evade a mortal wound. He succeeded, but it came at the cost of a minor wound.
A warm liquid flowed from his cheek, cooling the area as the water in the blood evaporated.
[No!! Not his face!! His beautiful face is a treasure!! ]
Charlemagne wiped the leaking blood with his hand and inspected it. Then, he gave Altera a shaky smile, "man, you got me good Sis. If this were a duel, it would have been your win."
"But it's not. This is a battle to the death." Altera's monotone voice was unnerving as an adult.
"Heh, that's true. It is. I suppose that means I am gonna have to try harder don't I?" Charlemagne said, which earned him a monotone response.
"Yes. Like I said, do not hold back, or you'll die."
As optimistic as Charlemagne was, Siegfried knew that at this rate, they would lose. They needed to make it harder for Altera to keep track of them.
And he knew just the trick.
He carefully took several slow, methodical steps in one direction.
He hoped that Charlemagne's banter would distract Altera long enough for him to gain his advantageous position.
Sadly, the element of surprise died in the crib as Altera sent a side-eye at Siegfried telling him that she was completely aware of his intentions.
Unfortunately for Altera, she only had one head and her eyes could not look at both of them at the same time.
Charlemagne caught on right away and matched Siegfried's pace so that he could always have both Siegfried and Altera in his line of sight.
Altera was not a fool, she knew that they were trying to overwhelm her by splitting her attention in different directions. It would not be enough to best her.
Charlemagne approached first, attempting to stab her leg to immobilize her. He rolled away in a panic, avoiding a stab to the neck that Altera had retaliated with.
Next, Siegfried aimed for a cut to her exposed arm, but the dragon slaying sword was denied his meal of flesh and blood.
Altera had had enough of being hunted and took a more aggressive approach.
She darted towards Siegfried, who tried to meet her with a downward slash.
A quick sidestep was enough to evade the attack, but Altera did not stop.
She kept sidestepping around the dragonslayer with a single goal in mind.
The hairs on the back of Siegfried's neck stood up as he realized her intentions.
He turned away just in time to avoid getting a sword through the back, but not the dozen rainbow colored slashes that Altera threw at him.
SMACK. SMACK. SMACK. SMACK.
"Cheh!"
He had managed to avoid fatal injuries, but Altera did not let up and kept trying to attack his weak spot.
[Kream: Siegfried!! ( ˶óᯅò) !!]
[MalasadaMayhem: Aw shit, I forgot that Siegfried has an easily exploitable weakness. ]
[Is it honorable for a person to do that in a fight? ]
[SerWikstromE4: Not in this case, no. If the opponent is too slow to stop their opponent from circling behind them, then it's their own fault.]
[CasCu: And this is why we don't reveal our real names during a grail war. Altera knows who Siegfried is, which means that she knows about the leaf shaped weak spot on his back. ]
[Kohga: Knowledge is power indeed. ]
Charlemagne saw that Siegfried was in peril and rushed in to back him up.
Altera was forced to abandon her targeted attack and engage with Charlemagne.
Their bodies blurred and the battle turned into a shower of sparks and explosions from the speed and impact of their attacks.
Siegfried joined the fray a moment later, making the frenzy even faster and more violent.
Any trees that got in their way exploded into splinters.
Soldiers who wandered too close to their fight found themselves either cut into pieces or turned to smoldering corpses whenever any of them decided to use their beam attacks.
It was absolute mayhem, but it wouldn't last forever.
The longer this fight dragged on, the more likely that Altera would run out of steam and revert back to her weaker self.
Altera was intimately aware of this fact as well, she had been the one to reveal it after all. Which meant that she was also doing her best to exhaust her opponents.
She refused to bend, and not only matched them blow for blow, but also surpassed everything that both men could throw at her.
Suddenly, all three of them disengaged and stood facing each other in a stare down.
Both Siegfried and Charlemagne were panting from the pain and the exertion of trying to keep Altera at bay.
Siegfried physically was doing fine, only his clothes showed signs of damage.
The same could not be said for Charlemagne, as his body was littered with cuts and bruises, his white clothes stained red with his own blood.
The sweat stung as it passed over his damaged skin, but Charlemagne did his best to not show weakness.
Altera was not invincible, as she too was sporting a few cuts on her body, but she was not out of breath.
Suddenly, the woman took a relaxed stance, which sent the two men on guard.
"It looks like we are far enough away from the town now."
Siegfried wasn't sure what Altera meant until he sensed that his allies were now much farther away than they had been prior.
Despite being the enemy, Altera seemed to care about the safety of the town. How unexpected.
Within seconds of his attention drifting, Altera had already flipped her sword and pointed the pommel at the sky.
A beam shot out and struck an invisible ceiling above them. The light dispersed and ignited a series of magical circles into existence.
[Uh oh! She's doing the butterfly fairy thing!! ]
[Not the butterfly fairy thing!! ]
[ILiekQTThings: I LOVE the butterfly fairy thing!! ]
Altera narrowed her eyes and pointed the tip of her sword at them.
"Teardrop Photon Ray!!!"
Siegfried's instincts warned him of the danger and he ran.
Charlemagne did not lag behind either as he beelined in the opposite direction.
A light of judgement fell from the sky, cooking the earth into slag from the intense heat.
Siegfried groaned as the blistering heat slapped him in the back, which caused him to stumble to the ground, but he recovered from the fall with a roll.
Charlemagne meanwhile, could not avoid being thrown like a ragdoll by the secondary blast of power that the beam created.
The beam of light dimmed soon after and faded into nothing, leaving a crater of superheated dirt and carbonized grass serving as its corona.
[Junior_Researcher: I see Altera's noble phantasm has changed from metamorphosing into a butterfly into calling an orbital strike.]
[Za-Warudo: HM, THAT ATTACK DID NOT ORIGINATE FROM HER SWORD ITSELF. SHE GUIDED THAT ATTACK TOWARDS THE DRAGONSLAYER AND THE TOOTHPASTE HAIR GUY.]
[@ BestKohai-BB(MOD) ???]
[BestKohai-BB(MOD): … I don't want to answer that question. Ask Charlie-san if he survives this fight. ]
[Za-Warudo: LOL, SHE'S STILL SALTY ABOUT LAST TIME. ]
[BestKohai-BB(MOD): (¬､¬)]
Siegfried narrowed his eyes at the display.
Altera had escalated their fight by using her noble phantasm, so now he had to respond in kind.
Siegfried brought his sword to his face and recited his noble phantasm's chant for the first time in this fight.
The winds swirled around him as pure ether flowed out of his sword like a tornado.
He focused on Altera, who was already doing evasive maneuvers to avoid the imminent sword beam.
His eyes briefly looked at the future emperor of the western roman empire as he lay on the ground, alive, but groaning in pain.
Charlemagne lifted his head up and was about to ask what happened, but froze in awe as he saw Siegfried charge up his noble phantasm.
"BALMUNG!!" the dragonslayer swung his noble phantasm horizontally, creating a wide arc of energy.
It was high enough that Charlemagne would not be struck, but low enough that it would be hard to dodge for Altera.
She still jumped anyway, the attack missing her completely.
The landscape and the unlucky soldiers around them were not as lucky,
Siegfried had a feeling that the maps would have to be redrawn after this battle was over.
✦✧✦
East of Narluc
Chat POV 02
"Emperor Nero!!" Mash threw herself in front of Nero with her shield raised.
The beam of light struck the shield with an unexpected amount of force. After a moment, it faded allowing Mash a moment to breathe.
"I thank you for your help, but I could have taken it," Nero rebuked but those words fell on deaf ears as Mash was focused on Boudica and Gareth's fight.
Their fight was highly reminiscent of their clash in Fuyuki. Shadow Gareth was a fully armored knight and she was able to block or deflect most of Boudica's attacks.
Boudica meanwhile, was covered in dozens of wounds. Some of them from Gareth, others from Mash and even a few from Emperor Nero.
Boudica was not strong.
Her sword was holy and shot out beams of light, but she was lacking when compared to King Arthur, to Lancelot, and especially her daughter.
She was also fighting three servants at once. Jalter was too busy dealing with the enemy soldiers to help, but if she joined in, this battle would be over.
Boudica was also distracted. Her eyes consistently drifted to Nero, and that was a habit that had cost her.
Boudica winced as she barely managed to evade the sharp end of her shield.
She looked down at her injury and cursed when she saw a thin line of red blood leak from her belly.
Fortunately for Boudica, the wound was not deep so her guts remained intact… for now.
[She's lasted a lot longer than I expected. The lack of crazy really saved her ass a lot during this battle. ]
[ACinnamonRola: Not that it matters, since she got hit in the same place she did last time she died. Seriously lady, you're a literal queen, invest in some breastplate!! ]
Seeing that she was getting cornered, Boudica sent a desperate spam of energy shots at the group, mainly at Nero.
The Emperor of Rome swat the projectiles away, although she was unable to retaliate due to the sheer effort the Emperor had to exert to deflect them.
For some odd reason, Nero had been able to keep up with the fight even though it should have been impossible.
But just because she could keep up, didn't mean Chaldea trusted her to keep herself safe against a servant.
A group of enemy soldiers rushed Nero and Ritsuka, which forced Mash to divert her attention away from Boudica and shadow Gareth.
The two warriors of Briton continued their dance to the death.
Thrust, parry, thrust, block, thrust, parry.
From the outside, it looked like the battle was about to have the same result as the fight in Fuyuki. Unfortunately for Gareth, this did not end up being the case.
Unlike the previous Boudica, this one had her senses. She was not blinded by hatred of everyone and everything that resembled Rome.
Her focus was sharp, and precise.
When Boudica found a gap in Gareth's defense, she took it.
For a moment, the world slowed down as Boudica and Gareth stared into each other's eyes.
Shadow Gareth looked shocked at the incoming attack, while Boudica looked at the girl in pity.
If she were younger, Boudica would have closed her eyes to save herself from watching the brutality, but she didn't.
She wasn't as innocent as she used to be, not anymore.
The Sword of Boudica cut Gareth's right eye in two as its wielder drove it into her skull.
The shadow servant's body went limp.
She liberated her sword with a wet shlick.
Shadow Gareth fell on the ground, her undamaged eye rolled to the back of her skull and was already dissolving into motes of light.
There was a moment of silence that fell over the battlefield, the shock of the sudden death catching everyone by surprise.
The silence was broken by Mash letting out a pained roar as she charged at Boudica.
[DragoonRuleZ: Gareth No!!!]
[Beaumains: Oh man, she got me good there. ]
[Girl, she just killed you, why are you not more upset?!]
[Beaumains: Eh. It was a shadow servant, so it's fine. Besides, that headshot killed me instantly but I gutted her last time. So out of the two of us, Boudica had it worse. ]
[Beaumains: Also, now I know what to look out for next time we encounter her, so all good. ]
Boudica heard the rapid footsteps of the shielder girl and turned around to meet her.
Her eyes shot wide as she felt something strike her midsection, causing her muscles to seize.
She couldn't move, but she followed the direction where the attack came from and her disbelieving eyes met the outraged ones that belonged to Ritsuka, who had a finger gun pointed in her direction.
[Potshot Poll Results:
90% chose Sand attack.]
[Chat redeemed Sand Attack.]
Boudica let out a cry of surprise as a stream of sand hit her face. Her eyes watered in a vain attempt to wash away the grains of sand stuck between her eyelids.
She coughed as the sand made her way into her lungs.
CRACK.
"Ah!!" Boudica cried in agony as a heavy shield struck her in the knee, shattering it to pieces.
The iceni queen fell on the ground, her leg bent in an unnatural position.
Mash disarmed Boudica with a sharp kick to the hand, ending the fight.
Seeing she was in no shape to continue, Mash took out a bottle of water and squirted the contents over Boudica's face.
Boudica hacked and coughed at the unexpected waterboarding.
Soon those coughs slowly turned to chuckles.
"Well, it's my loss…" She looked up and saw Mash standing over her with the empty water bottle, which she dutifully put away in her storage.
Boudica's defeat proved to be the final straw for the enemy soldiers as they all lost their nerve and scrambled away.
Nero, seeing the armies desert the battlefield, let out a satisfied 'Umu.'
"Good job everyone, this battle has come to a conclusion. Though I ask forgiveness from the audience, while I can give Mash with a reward directly, there is not much I can offer you… well, aside from more entertainment of course." Nero said as she gave Boudica a smug grin.
"So Boudica, how does fighting against a gauntlet of beasts from faraway lands sound to you? Of course, you will be dressed in rags and only given a dagger to protect yourself, but I am sure it would even the odds given your special nature."
Boudica grit her teeth at Nero's mocking words and forced herself to sit up, but a cold prick on her neck stopped her before she could lunge at the emperor.
She could feel the cold stare of death from behind her.
"An assassin? Heh, so all this time I really stood no chance after all did I?" Boudica said with a frustrated tone in her voice.
"That is right, you are a powerful warrior Boudica, but you stand no chance against the mighty boot of Rome."
Nero looked in the opposite direction of chat, exposing her butt cleavage again," Now what say you chat? Lions or Bears?"
Boudica was staring at Nero like she was a crazy person.
"Who are you talking to-" Boudica jumped in place when a pinging noise interrupted her.
[Mighty1Oak donated 100 bits]
["We kindly thank you for your generous offer of throwing Boudica into a death match against wild apex predators Emperor Nero, but we'd rather not see the poor animals get unnecessarily killed.
Preferably, it would be for the best if we just captured her rather than kill her. She likely has valuable intel on the enemy." ]
"Well, I suppose mauling would be too easy of a punishment for a rebel, but if that is what the people wish then I suppose I will allow it."
Nero crossed her arms, "be grateful Boudica, the people have decided your life shall be spared!"
Boudica snapped out of her confusion and her face formed an annoyed frown.
"Oh joy. Thank you for your mercy Emperor Nero. " The sarcasm in Boudica's voice was laid on thick, but Nero did not seem to notice or care for it.
"You are very welcome, although if you wish to avoid becoming part of the triumph, you can always swear your fealty to me and lead my armies."
"...You're messing with me, aren't you?" Boudica asked in a disbelieving tone.
"I am not, I could use someone like you and would rather not waste talent where I see it. While I know we have bad blood between us, I will do my best to accommodate you."
Boudica looked at Nero the same way a person stared at a pile of dung left in the hot sun, "I would rather you slit my throat and toss me into a ditch before I join you."
Nero fell silent at that, her signature "umu" smile turning into a frown.
"Why?" She asked, which elicited a growl from Boudica.
"Because the last time I trusted Rome, my daughters and I were raped, my people were slaughtered, and our peaceful lives were shattered…"
The redhead narrowed her eyes, " all because you couldn't control the greed of one of your trusted subordinates."
[MalasadaMayhem: She makes a good point. She would be insane to join the very empire who murdered her people. ]
[ThunderCles: Guys... Are we the baddies? ]
[Not really. We are a neutral party who is being forced to help the bad guys to avoid an extinction level genocide. ]
Nero sighed, "I see. The wound is too deep to mend between us. A shame. However, I already gave my word to keep you alive, so bear with it."
A massive explosion caused the great emperor Nero to let out an undignified yell.
Everyone turned to the West just in time to witness another beam of light carve the ground like it was made of cake.
Nero, seeing the cataclysmic battle raging on on the other side of the battlefield let out a nervous umu.
"Perhaps it will be for the best if we send reinforcements to our allies." Nero declared though the shakiness in her voice showed that this level of combat had gotten to her.
"Humph, about damn time. I was starting to get bored killing all these weaklings!" Jalter stuck two of her fingers in her mouth and let out a loud whistle.
In the distance, Biscione perked up at the sound and immediately beelined towards their direction.
Lou Carcohl warbled at Jalter, but the Avenger waved him off, "sure sure, you can go home now. You were a great help Lou."
The dragon serpent garbled a happy noise before it slid away at a speed that was surprisingly fast for a snail creature.
"Truly what a magnificent but unsettling beast you have tamed Jalter. Tell me, why are you dismissing it?" Nero asked.
"Lou doesn't like being in the sun too much. He's more of a nocturnal predator who lives in damp, moist caves. He's done his duty and I dismissed him."
Jalter grinned, "he's a sweet guy, but I am more of a fire breathing dragon kind of girl."
In record time. Biscone landed in front of the group with a loud thud, "sorry I am late Boss!! I came as fast as I could!!"
"Don't worry about it Biscione, you made it just in time." Jalter jumped on top of her dragon intern with little effort. Just as Jalter was about to leave, Ritsuka called out to her.
"Thanks for your help Jalter, you really did a great job!" the Avenger perked up at her Master's praise.
"W-Well, I'm just doing my part… it's not like I did it to hear your praise or anything. " She mumbled out.
"What was that?" Ritsuka asked, unsure what she had said.
Jalter coughed, "it was nothing. In any case!"
She tapped the butt of her banner on Biscione's scales.
"Let's go Biscione, we have some damsels in distress to save."
"Yes Boss!!" The dragon flapped her wings and rose into the air and headed North.
Jalter meanwhile allowed herself a beaming smile at her master's praise once he couldn't see her face anymore.
Her happy moment soured a bit when she saw Chat's camera follow her like some nosy stalker.
'Why are they even following me? They already have a camera watching Martha's fight… unless...'
Suddenly, something deep in her core started screaming at her.
Something was wrong.
A laser beam struck the section of the sky that was just in front of her. The same magic circles that had been firing pillars of light on the other side of the battlefield was now aimed straight at her.
"That little bitch." Altera had shot one of her attacks at her when she had gotten far enough away from Master and the others.
She couldn't evade the attack, which meant she had no choice but to take it head on.
"Uwah!! We're gonna die!!" Biscione cried out in fear of the incoming death beam that would fall on their heads.
"Calm your Dragon tits Biscione, I got this!" She twirled her flagpole and slammed it on top of the dragon.
An attack of this level would have been impossible for a normal servant to stop, but she was no ordinary servant.
Just like her goody two shoes self, she had tge ability to block really powerful attacks. Unlike her other self, however, she could also amplify those attacks and reflect them back at the enemy.
Sadly she is too far away and could not reflect it back at the girl, so she had to settle for another target
"La Grondement Du Haine."
Her flag glowed brightly as a tornado of fire enveloped her and Biscione.
The beam struck the flag, but contrary to what Altera might have anticipated, it didn't kill Jalter.
The attack swelled with power, making it more dangerous and explosive.
Jalter aimed her flag away from her master, the town, and the direction her Lou had slithered off to.
Northeast.
She had spotted many rebellious humans running away in that direction, thinking they were safe from their inevitable deaths.
She proved their relieved conclusions wrong as she released the overwhelming blast of magical energy at the ants below her.
KABOOM.
A massive pillar of fire rose to the sky like a beacon, large enough that it could have been seen for miles.
With her enhanced hearing, she could hear their final screams of anguish as they burned into ash.
The surrounding forest had caught fire, while the epicenter was reduced to charcoal.
When the attack had finished, the consequences were immediate.
Jalter fell to her knees, her body instantly drenched with sweat.
That took a lot more energy to reflect than she had expected.
"Are you okay Boss?"
"I'm fine, I just need to catch my breath and recover some energy."
Jalter reached into her outfit and took out a box. Inside the box revealed a set of buns that were adorned with an edible angry tickmark painted on it.
A rage manju, or Rage Candybar as her master Ritsuka knew them.
It held healing properties, but they were small, however, the manju was filling and that still provided a much higher replenishment of mana than normal food.
Jalter shoved one in her mouth, and she let out a blissful hum.
Also, Jalter just really liked them and she would gladly tell anyone who criticized her for eating these instead of something stronger to piss off.
[Dragon's-Iris: Curse you Jalter!! Now I am hungry!! ]
[Electrical*Streamer_Iono: This stream is not sponsored by Ecruteak city's rage manju vendors… but they should be.]
[It's fitting that out of all the pokemon folds that JAlter has eaten, it's Rage Manju that she likes the most. ]
A loud, unsettling laugh interrupted Jalter's manju snacking which annoyed her.
She looked down to stare at the speck ahead of her and raised a brow.
A servant built like a bodybuilder was running towards them like a maniac.
Her eyes widened in surprise as she saw Astolfo and Martha run behind the madman
"Sorry!! We couldn't put him down!!"
That surprise turned to anger as she heard Astolfo's incompetence was the cause of this situation.
"Ah yes!! There you are!! The miasma that reeks of oppression!! Prepare to feel the weight of freedom as I use your head to smash open the shackles of the people you enslaver, oppressor!!!!"
"KYAAA!! ANOTHER PERVERT!!!" the dragon girl cried out while doing her best to cover her face with her scaly hands.
Jalter let out a sigh at the incoming bullshit she was going to have to deal with.
✦✧✦
Chat POV 03
Siegfried stared at the pillar of flame in the distance and let out a sigh of relief.
Charlemagne, meanwhile, let out a whistle, "wow, I thought for sure that would have been Biscione's end. Good thing that moody Jeanne came in clutch."
Siegfried nodded, "she never fails to exceed expectations."
He still found it surreal that the woman who was once their enemy was now a valuable ally for their cause.
"Man, I know that attack almost killed us a few times but I can't help but admire how cool that was!!" Charlemagne stood up, his legs shaking a bit but he managed to not fall on his butt.
"Alright, now I am pumped up! Time for me to show you my cool noble phantasm too, Siegfried!!"
Charlemagne got into one of his "cool" stances and his sword lit up like it had done many times before. Except this time, the man did something he did not see coming and began to float.
"O everlasting Holy Light"
Translucent wings of light emerged from behind Charlemagne's back with a powerful flap.
[⊹ ࣪ ˖ ꒰ঌ ໒꒱ ] x 532
[Charlie can fly?!! ]
[What a twist, and here I thought all he could do was jump good. ]
The differently colored swords that had been orbiting around Charlemagne now took a circular formation behind his back.
Every sword sharply twirled to the front, their points aimed at Altera.
"O infinite colors, O my peerless knights! Demonstrate my royal prowess!"
The Hun saw the display, but rather than be impassive or show despair, she actually smiled. A genuine smile that a warrior would give to his equal.
Altera, contrary to her previous behavior, stood her ground rather than run away.
She pointed her sword up and shot out another beam at the sky.
The same circles appeared and returned a much larger beam that fell to deliver its judgement. Except, unlike the last time, it struck her sword.
Translucent fairy wings emerged from her back and her Sword of Mars became saturated with so much energy it extended into a larger sword of light.
[ILiekQTThings: Woah!! It's just as breathtaking when she's an adult!! ]
Charlemagne saw this but still chose to hurl himself at Altera like a comet, his swords trailing behind him as streaks of light.
The streaks of light all twisted around the central pillar of light that enveloped the King of the Franks.
Altera met him halfway.
"Fairy Snow Photon Ray!!"
"Joyeuse Ordre!!!"
The siblings crashed into each other, both of their noble phantasms pushed but neither yielded.
Siegfried could only admire the scene for a brief moment before he had to squint his eyes to protect them from the blinding light.
KABOOM.
The collision of magical energy and kinetic force created an explosion that rattled the bones of everyone in the battlefield.
The shockwaves created a wall of wind that punched the face of all the spectators who were close enough to feel the blast.
The light dimmed and two figures fell to the ground like used up fireworks.
Twin plumes of dust were the result of Altera and Charlemagne crashing into the ground.
For a moment, the world held its breath, unsure of who had won the bout.
Then, one of the prone figures moved.
Siegfried's muscles tensed as Altera picked herself up off the ground first.
Charlemagne did not get up, but he wasn't vanishing into motes of light, so he was still alive.
Siegfried took a deep breath and prepared himself for the worst.
Whatever god was watching the fight had been satisfied by the battle and awarded some mercy to the dragonslayer.
Altera's body shone.
Based on the look of shock Altera was showing, she had not expected this to happen so soon.
The light intensified in a brief flash before it dimmed into nothing.
The formidable Altera was gone, in her place was now the tiny terror that she had been before.
The little girl's surprised eyes drooped and her body fell backward, unable to stand on her own two feet anymore.
Altera had run out of time.
"Looks like… you're out of juice… sis." a haggard Charlemagne said as he shakily stood back up from the crater he had made.
"You alright Charlemagne?"
"I'm good, I just need a nap… and perhaps some of those pastries that you guys brought over."
Siegfried gave the man an arm to help him on his feet. Charlemagne had the will to stand, but his feet betrayed him.
"Give me a moment, I need to take five… why don't you go check on sis? She's in the same shape I am."
The dragon slayer acknowledged his partner's suggestion and walked over to the other crater.
Siegfried pointed a sword at the tiny terror and said, "yield. You are no longer in any shape left to continue. You may be an enemy, but I do not wish to dirty my conscience by killing a child if I do not need to."
Altera glared at Siegfried, and she was about to refuse but a ding from TTS gave her pause. Then, the voice that came from nowhere caught her completely off guard.
[BestKohai-BB donated 100 bits]
["Altera-chan, stop being so stubborn and give up!"]
"BB?! How are you here?" Altera asked, surprised to hear a familiar voice that should not have been here at all.
["Don't worry about it. Just listen to what onee-chan says and give up!! Hakuno is going to be sad if she sees you get killed. Besides, Chaldea beat you and Boudica so you have to give up now, that is the rules."]
Altera looked like she wanted to protest, but upon hearing that Hakuno was going to be sad she stopped herself. She closed her eyes and grumbled something under her breath before she gained a remorseful look in her eyes.
"Ok. I give up."
[Kream: YES!! Daughter get!! ]
Siegfried let out a sigh of relief while Charlemagne just hummed.
"Good choice Sis," he turned to look at Siegfried.
"Let's go help Master, I'm sure he can charm sis into joining. That kid has a way with words." Siegfried nodded and went up and scooped the small girl in her arms.
"Thank you…" Altera said.
Siegfried gave her a reassuring smile then looked back at the exhausted Charlemagne, who still struggled to get back on his feet.
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AN: Sorry for the delayed chapter, I underestimated how much work I could get done last weekend and I ran out of time.
Hope you guys enjoyed the chappie, we are very close to the endgame of Septem. I'll try my best to avoid extending the arc beyond necessary.
See you next time.