Well, I wasn't able to write the last couple days cause, I was on hospital duty again.
Yay.
I think it's cause my entire close and extended family seem to have this idea that I'm a jobless bum addicted to games who leeches off his mother or uncles and does nothing but lounge around and sleep all day. Well, over half of that is true I guess but, remote work just isn't a thing apparently.
Meh, it's not like I earn any less for it.
-
When my initial confusion subsided in a mix of adrenaline and cold hard reality slapping me across the face, I managed to recognise both the individuals approaching me.
The garbed witch was clearly Medea, the caster-class servant summoned in the Fifth Holy Grail War. The other no-nonsense businessman kind of person was... Kuzuki Souichirou. Though the exact details of their relationship eluded me, I did 100% recall that the latter had thrown hands with a literal servant and even came out on top so easily that the entire confrontation couldn't even be called a fight.
He was some sort of super assassin trained by monks.
"Command seals?" I murmured, feigning confusion.
"Oh come off it now."
Medea. Medea, the Witch of Colchis. The twisted princess from the tale of Jason and his Argonauts. Her life was pitiful. She faced the sort of injustice I would fight tooth and nail against. Medea had been beguiled by the Gods to fall in love with him, sacrifice her own family for his sake, and then ended up abandoned by the 'hero' to marry someone else.
She'd had no freedom in life.
Yet, here and now, she sought to intrude upon mine for her own sake. Selfish as it was, I refused to hand over mine no matter how much pity I felt for her.
"You've summoned your servant. I can tell." She laughed aloud, assured of her victory, "I've prepared accordingly. That class doesn't stand a chance against me."
...
My eyes wandered to the bridge. The dark waters of the Mion flowing underneath seemed depthless. The lights of the Shinto District's massive skyscrapers glinted in the distance. Then, a sudden weight fell upon my being. Hastily, I tried to jump off, only to collide against a soft cloth-like membrane that threw me back to where I was.
"Right, of course you'd cut off escape."
I turned to face them again. Kuzuki hadn't moved an inch. Medea stood right by him, although she was having a much better time with how hard she was laughing at my miserable attempt to flee. Kuzuki calmly removed his glasses, stuffing them in his coat. When he took a step forward again, I unconsciously stepped back.
And then he was on me.
I couldn't even begin to understand how he'd crossed the distance so quickly. There were several metres between us a moment ago. But, I did manage to react. Only barely. Just enough to make the blow that would've torn through my neck nick it instead. My neck burnt. I reinforced my fist and slammed it into his elbow from the side. He easily caught it with his free hand in a vice-like grip.
Medea had reinforced his fists.
Before I could process it, he tried to twist my hand in a way my wrist really wasn't meant to.
The Divine Dogs leapt from my shadow. The black wolf chomped down on his shoulder. Whether the bite had done anything or not, the sudden appearance of the Shikigami loosened his grip enough for me to wrench my hand free. Toad's tongue stuck to my back and flung me into the air where I made the sign for Nue.
"Familiars-"
Purple lightning rained down from behind me, ripping through the asphalt and melting the red steel supporting the great bridge. Kuzuki was nowhere near fast enough to react to literal lightning but when the smoke cleared, he stood unharmed, with a disturbed Medea holding her hand my way.
There was sweat on her lip, and a certain haste to her words.
"I underestimated you, magus."
The mana in the air swirled atop her palm. The white wolf charged her way. Kuzuki saw it coming this time and moved to intercept, but Nue dove down at the same time. My Shikigami never even made it to them.
How could I, as I was now, possibly stand any chance at all against an actual servant?
No, long before my familiars reached them, the air seemed to zoom and bound, then screech as if someone had taken rusty nails to steel. The air exploded near Medea's side and the Caster was flung away. In her place, now Shuwen stood with a hand behind his back, the other was raised in challenge. Kuzuki tried to smash his forearm into the old man's neck but he merely tapped him with the side of his hand.
That simple action had Kuzuki crash into the bridge's safety railings. The thick iron bars bent under the sheer impact. His chest had caved in.
Shuwen never even considered Kuzuki after that. No, he raised his head to a figure stood in the sky. Medea's cloak had unfurled completely. Many incredible and fantastical demonstrations of pure supernatural power manifested all around her as massive patterns that had strange words I couldn't understand etched into them.
"Hm, I'd intended to destroy your heart with that." Shuwen said calmly, unperturbed by the sight before him. Perhaps it was the adrenaline, but I didn't linger on them for long either. My Shikigami retreated into my shadow as I stepped closer.
Now that I looked, Medea was clutching her chest. Blood smeared her pale face.
Damn. Shuwen had hit her hard enough to make her spit blood like a cultivation novel.
"You're unexpectedly tough, o' witch." He laughed shortly. Then, all the emotion drained from her face. "My master had no intention of fighting this soon, but if you insist, I won't hesitate to kill you."
"You can't-"
His eyes flickered to the gravely wounded man lying to his side. "Perhaps not, but I can hold you off long enough for that one to take his last breaths. You may leave with him."
The words had more of an effect than I'd expected. The witch's lips trembled.
"I have your word?"
"Begone."
The temperature seemed to plummet with every word Shuwen uttered. Clicking her tongue, Medea closed the distance between her Kuzuki. She placed a hand on her shoulder.
"This isn't over."
"Obviously." I sighed, a hand on my mouth.
Was there really no way of killing them here and now?
Resolving myself, I brought forth the Great Serpent from their own shadows. Sadly, the two phased away right the next moment, and the snake's massive jaws snapped shut in empty air.
I couldn't help but sigh.
"How'd you know that would work?"
"When she noticed me, Caster tried to cover that man with her own body." Shuwen straightened up, putting both hands behind his back. "She confirmed my suspicion just then. I don't know how long she'll be put off, but she should leave you alone for now."
I clicked my tongue but quickly pushed down the frustration. The optimal outcome was not having to fight at all, so this was even better. Still, I couldn't help but ask.
"You couldn't have killed her?"
"Unlikely. My blow surely rent her beating heart. She began healing before the damage was even complete." Shuwen stroked his chin, "To best that one, we would have to first deprive her of her magic."
That was a tough ask.
"But she is connected to the Dragon Vein."
Shamefully, it took me a while to put together that he was likely referring to something called a Leyline. Channels of energy that flowed underneath the earth, teeming with near inexhaustible amounts of mana. If memory served, those were the very reason Fuyuki was chosen to host the Holy Grail War to begin with.
"There are multiple convergences in this city. The Church we visited and another," He gestured towards the distance with a nod. To me, it just looked like he was pointing towards a massive black lump far away. "deep within those mountains."
All in all, it looked like Caster was going to be an annoying enemy.
No, actually, most of the servants were going to be massively annoying to face. My best hope was to take advantage of my knowledge of the anime to join in on other battles... but if Kirei never acquired Lancer... hm... I didn't know how useful knowing the events was going to be anymore.
"What now?" Shuwen interrupted my thoughts, "Master, the Sun should rise soon."
"We need to find a hotel in a busy place."
"Not a secluded one?" He tilted his head, curious.
I shook my head. "The other rules aside, everyone's going to follow the one about keeping the war a secret. If we're in a busy area, the chances of getting attacked-"
"Are much lower, I see. This lets us be the ones to seek out conflict instead. Kakaka! An interesting decision, to be sure."
Finding a good hotel proved easier this time. Actually, I managed to find one smack dab in the middle of the Shinto District. It was a high-rise skyscraper, built ten years ago, frequented by locals and tourists to the point where I could easily go unnoticed in the guest list.
Booking a room for two weeks was a tad costly, draining nearly a third of my total funds, but at least I'd live like a rich man for said two weeks. Being in the early 2000s meant that the room came with food included. There was even a buffet for breakfast and dinner.
I only had enough time for a nice warm bath before breakfast so I left Shuwen with the minibar to soak in the spacious bathtub for a while. When I came out, he was sitting on one of the reclining sofas next to the window wall, watching the city spread below with a bottle of sake on the low-table beside him.
Sighing, I plopped down on the massive double bed and stared at the slate-grey ceiling.
The room was much more luxurious than I'd expected. There was a proper walk-in closet right across from the bathroom, and massive LED TV in direct view of my bed. The granite floor was spotless, to the point where I could even see my own reflection in it.
Maybe I was tired, or my brain was working on over-time because of the supernatural fight only half an hour ago, but I all but passed out the moment I let myself relax.
...
...That poor receptionist.
I'd been rude and dismissive to him for no reason.
-
Hope you enjoyed.
Please do comment.
P.S: Just when you think he might be something, he proves that he's a fraud. THE FIRST THING HE DID WAS TRY TO RUN AWAY! FROM A WOMAN! AND HE CALLS HIMSELF A ZEN'IN!!! IMAGINE GETTING YOUR SHIT KICKED IN BY A HUMAN WHEN YOU HAVE THE TEN SHADOWS! HE WAS DEAD IF DADDY SHUWEN DIDN'T SAVE HIS FRAUDULENT ASS! RAHHHHHHHH!