Hinako Akuta POV
"You have decided to watch as well, Hinako?"
"I had some free time." I replied simply to Kirschtaria's words.
"Have you taken an interest in Takao Shimoda as well?" He inquired. "You offered to escort him previously. It is odd for you to take the initiative in such matters."
An interest.
I supposed he could call it that.
Maybe I was too quick to reveal myself to him, but I couldn't just let a Divine Spirit blunder into things and potentially wreck the plans I had. Who knew what would happen if he was revealed what I was. Humans are such capricious animals and Magi were even worse, dangle the right motivation infront of them and they would turn on a supposed 'teammate' without a second thought.
I've already had to run away from Magi in the past and seclude myself away from civilization for centuries. I knew all too well what Humans would do if they discovered me and I wanted nothing to do with them.
I didn't want to have to flee this place after all the trouble I've gone through already. I was so close to being able to summon him. After so long, I would finally see my Lord Husband again and I didn't want anything to get in the way of that.
"A small amount."
"Hmm, it is a good idea to understand the capabilities of the leader of B-Team. And there is the possibility he will be replacing Beryl should the unfortunate occur." The Leader of our team nodded in approval.
"Would it be unfortunate if Beryl recovered or if he didn't." I scoffed at the thought of that man.
I never had any good interactions with Witches the few times I ran into them. Why were they all so demented? It's not like I care about Humanity either, but why do they have to act so disgusting about it. Beryl wasn't even strange in comparison to others of his kind, a mass murdering psycho who's idea of a fun evening is going on a killing spree.
There was a slight reaction from him, but he didn't overly lean into it. "I understand that Beryl is not very well regarded, however, he was chosen by Marisbury for a reason. We should respect that decision above our own opinions."
….Oddly caring for a human, much less a Magus.
Maybe that's why I don't get bothered by his presence.
It made staying in this human facility much more bearable when I had to answer to him and not a more stereotypical Magus with their head shoved so far up their behind that they couldn't see past their own inflated sense of self-worth.
It's not hard to guess Marisbury's thinking process. Despite everything Beryl was suited for the job being an expert in Curses and his unique perspective as a Witch would most likely come in handy. And his lack of morals meant that he wouldn't care about who or what got in the way of solving the Singularity.
Then there's him.
The one standing in the center of the simulation room.
The Divine Spirit who claimed to not be a Divine Spirit.
He had Divinity and an Authority, what else could he be!?
Though, there were other…..things about him. But it was difficult to accurately gauge those when they were drowned by his Divinity, and I just assumed they were part of his Divine Attribute.
I still don't know why I accepted his offer. I feel like a fool for believing him, even if the deal felt genuine on the surface. He swore on things that no Divine Spirit would ever lie about, but still...it was hard to trust that he would keep his word.
I guess it wouldn't harm me either way…..and the idea that I had a 'back up' plan didn't hurt.
Ugh, why did things have to get so complicated. I didn't want to get involved in all this! I just wanted to summon my Lord Husband, not deal with Magus intrigue or a silent fight between whatever Lev was and whatever that person was!
Speaking of….
"It seems that some unexpected ones have gathered." I eyed Lev as he walked into the room, the Director following after him like a lost puppy.
He was probably referring to me. It wasn't a secret I tended to stick to myself most of the time. I rarely took the initiative to gather in a group like this.
"Lev Lainur." Wodime greeted.
"Kirschtaria Wodime." He politely nodded back. "And Hinako Akuta, a pleasant surprise. It's hard to find you away from your room or the library these days." He smiled cheerfully.
However, after the talk with that Divine Spirit, I now had the feeling that he was probing me.
This man was obviously not human, but I never cared about that before. I wasn't one to speak up about a non-human hiding themselves when I'd experience human's cruelty first hand. Admittedly, he gave me an odd feeling, but he never showed a reason to distrust him.
He left me alone most of the time, so I did the same.
"I had some free time."
"Is that so." He hummed. "Well, he is an interesting young man, is he not? I don't fault you for wanting to get a better look at his capabilities."
"I wouldn't know." I shrugged. "But if he's going to be participating, I may as well see it with my own eyes."
"Indeed." He eyed me for a moment before turning his attention back towards the scene below.
Why did his gaze feel unsettling? It felt almost like a warning.
...It wouldn't hurt to keep an extra eye on him regardless.
"Where is the rest of A-Team?" Olga stepped forward, that pitiful girl who tried her best to look authoritative.
"I apologize, Director, I did not anticipate the attention this would receive. I did not give orders for my Team to assemble." Kirschtaria replied.
It seemed that every time Kirschtaria opened his mouth the Director got annoyed.
It almost made me feel bad for her. She was basically abandoned by her father because she lacked the aptitude to be a Master or to Rayshift. He put all his effort into nurturing Wodime as a pseudo-heir in her place. Then he suddenly dropped dead, leaving Olga to pick up the pieces and try to hold everything together when she never was properly set up to do so.
Pitiful.
Barely more than a figurehead.
But it was none of my business.
"Hmph, fine." The Director scowled. "It doesn't matter. Let's see how Shimoda handles Servant Combat."
It's surprising she's even here. She usually stayed far away from anything involving Servant training. She always had a clear look of jealously whenever she was forced to be near.
"He's shown splendid combat aptitude against Beryl. I read his file on which Crafts he has competency in. I can't say I have any meaningful knowledge on Onmyoji, but Runecraft is not a very popular method of application inside the Clock Tower." Wodime commented.
"Thankfully, we have our own expert in the field." Lev smiled, gesturing at me.
I was annoyed that he drew attention to me like this. "I wouldn't call myself an Expert. I have some knowledge about it, but it's rare to see outside of Japan."
"Don't sell yourself short, Miss Hinako." Lev's deceptively gentle smile ever present. "I'm sure you have quite a bit of experience. More than enough to call yourself an expert on such Eastern Crafts."
I did not like the way he was being so direct with me.
"How about we make this a little more interesting." Lev suddenly changed subjects.
"Do you propose something, Professor Lev?" Wodime asked.
"Only that we increase the difficulty just a smidgen." He said rather innocently. "If I'm not mistaken, you intended for the Fake Servants he commands to be randomized. Why not lower their parameters a few degrees compared to his opposition?"
"I can see the reasonable logic. However, are you sure you wish to do that on his first encounter with Servants even if they are merely facsimiles of the real ones?"
"I fear that I may have done him a disservice beyond simply having Beryl act as he saw fit. I do not wish to see such a promising young Magus walk the path of arrogance that blinds him. I believe it would be a good lesson that he understands the degree of difficulty he will potentially face."
It was….well-reasoned, but after talking with the man who called himself Takao Shimoda, I couldn't help but see the underlining scheming. Maybe if he never brought it up previously, nor if I had watched them interact, I may have just ignored it.
I don't know why they seemed to be antagonizing one another, and I wanted nothing to do with it.
"I don't see the problem." The Director spoke up. "Lev's thoughts are reasonable. Shimoda has shown to have a good head on his shoulders, it's best to not let it swell too large."
….That girl was just wrapped around his finger. I wondered if she even gave it a second thought or just agreed with him immediately.
"...By your will, Director." Wodime, just bowed his head in acknowledgement.
Really, that guy is surprisingly gentle.
It's probably out of respect for her father that he put up with her attitude and borderline hatred. He's not so oblivious that he can't see how envious she is of him and he just lets her lash out and doesn't do anything to stop it.
Well, it doesn't matter. It's not my concern, and I won't butt into something that's not my business.
"May as well see what he's capable of." I added my two cents.
Maybe he'll show off something he's hiding? Divine Spirits' aren't really known for being subtle with a few exceptions.
[***]
Wilhelm POV
What an interesting place.
I had to hand it to Chaldea, when I was told their facilities were state-of-the-art by Gramps, I didn't know by what standard he meant. Now, after seeing it, it was a genuine compliment by his own standard.
I looked up to see my Team sitting in an observation room to the side, clearly excited and waiting for the show to start.
And in another observation room above, I saw a few more faces. The True Ancestor – correction, the Incarnated Elemental. Pretty much an Academic difference, but she got annoyed when I called her a True Ancestor. So, I suppose Elemental would be the more correct terminology.
Hinako Akuta, a name I could guess was probably fake.
And there was Kirschtaria Wodime as well, or as expected I should say. Our eyes met and he gave me a gentle nod of encouragement.
I was pleasantly surprised to be wrong about someone. I expected the quintessential Magus, but I met one of the rare good ones.
The Director also showed up. I flashed her a smile and a slight nod, and she seemed very pleased with my acknowledgement.
I was still trying to understand her more, but I already picked up that she seemed to preen when her authority was respected, so I made sure to do so when I could.
And then there was Lev, looking right at me.
"Sir Shimoda." Wodime's voice carried over the room from where he stood above. It was a very polite and respected greeting, especially when Nobility was still a thing among Magi. "We will begin when you are ready. This is your first time, please don't hesitate to ask questions."
He already explained to me how this place operated. A combination of many different field of Magecraft, it basically made a fake battlefield and produced simulacrums in the form of Servants. From what he described, they used the gathered data to create very generic Class-types to fill in the expected slots.
A very impressive training method since actual Servants would be used in combat in the future. While not a perfect representation of Servant capabilities, it was darn near impossible to come as close as they managed to.
The last benefit was that you couldn't really get hurt here. Everything was a simulation, by the literal definition. You might feel sore and get a little tossed up, but these projections couldn't kill you or meaningful harm you in any way.
"I'm ready to begin." I replied.
"Very well, we will being the 'summoning process'." He stated as my vision around the room changed. Solid illusions took hold, Bounded Fields in such massive quantities that the area became much larger than the room was before. We were now in the middle of a destroyed city, rubble and flames filled the distance. "Randomized summoning commencing."
Three figures materialized next to me. Blank expressions on their faces, but I could guess their summoning based on they were holding.
"Archer, Berserker, and Lancer are the three Servants you will be leading in this battle. You have Three 'Command Seals' to use. And each of their Noble Phantasms can be activated one time. You have five minutes to familiarize yourself with their Statistical parameters, and their Noble Phantasms before the enemies will attack." His voice was abruptly cut off as soon as he finished.
I looked down at my left hand, Three Command seals appeared on it.
Funny, considering my Magic Resistance shouldn't allow this to happen. But they weren't real Command Seals. They were basically an illusion to represent the real thing.
He did explain everything like this to me as if I were new to handling Servants.
What a marvelous piece of Magical Technology they created.
I wonder If I could create something like this back in Kyoto to help train everyone?
Thoughts for later.
For now, I mentally pulled up my Servants statistics. And by that, I basically just called upon the spells intertwined with the room to send me an image of their layouts.
They were…lower than anticipated. The highest was a 'B' stat, which was my Berserker's Strength. Everything else was more or less at 'C' across all their boards with a few'D' Ranks mixed in.
Their Noble Phantasms were very straight forward as well.
Berserker could basically become Immortal for a fixed duration. Archer could release a very powerful volley of Arrows. And Lancer could strike with a near unblockable attack.
I see what he meant by generic in their application.
I more or less had a plan after seeing everything. I reached into my sleeves, taking out a handful of Talismans, slapping a couple dozen onto my Lancer while also putting some on my other 'Servants'.
"Archer, take the high ground." I stated, and my Servant immediately moved, jumping up the nearby building a couple dozen stories tall. "Lancer, hide nearby in one of the destroyed shops."
The Lancer Servant immediately bolted off to the side, dashing into the collapsed storefront.
"Berserker, immediately attack the first melee orientated Servant that appears. Otherwise, shield me from any projectiles."
A strange grunt was its response.
Unfortunately, it's not my Raikou here with me. I would much rather stare at those amazing legs of hers as she fought.
A large timer appeared above in the sky. The countdown began until the fight started.
Once it hit zero, a few lights flashed in the distance, obscured so that I couldn't place any figures, but I could easily tell there were new presences around.
Another admirable creation was how these Servants felt real to the senses.
I stood behind my Berserker, as something approached quickly
It was another Lancer that covered the distance down the street in the blink of an eye. My Berserker roared in fury as it pushed off the ground to meet it.
The collision sending shockwaves out in every direction. I frowned as I noticed the enemy Lancer equaled my Berserker in strength, not giving an inch.
My Berserker was at a large disadvantage. No real weapon except its large fists, and sub par stats.
From the other corner, another figure ran forward. The generic form of a Knight, sword in hand, as it's metal greaves cracked the ground beneath its quick steps.
"Archer, keep the Saber at bay!" I called out as arrows immediately began raining down from the sky. The enemy Saber dashing to the side, stopping its momentum to parry and dodge the hail of arrows.
Though, I didn't see the third servant anywhere. I was assuming it would be an even match, three versus three, but I suppose I couldn't make any assumptions.
My eyes darted around until I felt a presence distort the wind behind me.
"Lancer." I called out and he moved right as I commanded.
A Dagger appeared from the shadows, coming right for my back, only to be intercepted by a spear.
An Assassin servant.
I frowned as it was difficult to sense. Something I chalked up to the way the systems here replicated Presence Concealment. I wondered if it simply didn't exist in a tangible form until right as it came close.
The Assassin tried to jump back, slipping back into the shadows, but I ordered my Lancer to pursue.
The Saber jumped up, as if to climb the building and seek out my archer. I flicked my hand, taking three Talismans between my fingers and they shot off, like shooting stars, they slammed into the Servant's footing of the building, making the Saber Servant fall off.
It caught the Saber by surprise, clearly struggling to find a foothold as its sword slammed into the side of the building to stop its descent. My Archer didn't let the opportunity pass as it began unleashing a barrage of Arrows, several burying themselves into its body as it tried its best to defend.
Lancer appeared back at my side as it appeared he lost sight of Assassin. I was assuming at this point that the Assassin servant had some kind of passive Noble Phantasm that allowed it to slip under detection easier.
My Berserker was struggling with the enemy Lancer, cuts covered its body as it continued to roar furiously, large hands slamming down trying to get a hit in, but the Lancer kept dancing around the attacks.
"Hold here." I told Lancer as I eyed the situation, waiting for an opportunity.
I began Drawing Runes in the air, it wouldn't do me good to show how adept I was at Runecraft. Better make it look like there was effort on my part.
I held my hand up, signaling several of the Talismans on Berker's body to explode.
The impact sent Berserker stumbling, but the Lancer was taken way more off guard by the sudden attack. My Servant was the one to recover quicker due to his mind clouded by madness, grabbing the Lancer with one hand and furiously attacking with the other.
It was at that moment that Assassin reappeared, Dagger striking at the back of my Berserker. I actualized a couple more Talismans stuck to its skin, a transparent shield covered its body stalling the Dagger for a moment before shattering, giving my Servant enough time to swing its large arm around, slamming the Assassin Servant to the ground.
"Bindings of Gaia!" I finally cast my Runic Spell, massive vines burst out of the ground, enveloping all three servants where they stood.
"Lancer, use your Noble Phantasm on Saber!" I called out as Archer was retreating from the Saber Servant, avoiding its attack. Saber's Magical Energy gathered together, and I was assuming it was about to release its Noble Phantasm.
Immediately, Lancer shot off, enveloped in a large quantity of Magical Energy as it scaled the building in a split second, turning into a blur as its spear seemed to multiply, only to condense into a single point.
The Saber Servant, seemingly sensing the impending attack, jumped back, Sword up in a guard as it braced itself and the power it had gathered a moment ago dispersing.
With my Archer Servant no longer harassed, I continued. "Archer, use your Noble Phantasm on Lancer and Assassin, don't worry about Berserker! And Berserker, use your own Noble Phantasm!."
My Bindings of Gaia only needed to hold for the moment. The Servants easily ripped themselves free, but it was too late. My Archer gathered up a not insignificant amount of Magical Energy and released a barrage. Different than Atalanta's Noble Phantasm that was like a torrential Downfall. This was more like a condensed stream as the much smaller area was bombarded in a countless number of arrows.
The two enemy Servants fell to the ground, dissipating into Magical Energy.
I quickly threw out two more Talismans towards Lancer and Saber, arching around my own Servant who had just used their Noble Phantasm.
Saber was hurt, but still going strong. It was about to counter attack my Lancer when my Talismans whipped through the air at it, causing Saber to halt their steps to slash at them.
It was in that moment that Archer changed targets, making the Saber Servant retreat, but only to run into my rampaging Berserker who stopped it in its tracks. It only took a few more moments before the Saber was cornered form the triple assault of my Servants and fell as well.
With the enemies defeated, my Servant went still and the area around us started to fade away and my Servants disappeared as well.
I was greeted with the sight of a pristine white room. The only indication of anything having occurred was where my own spells damaged the ground.
I dismissed the vine that grew, and I could see the ground visibly begin to repair itself.
Impressive.
After another moment, the door to the room opening up, the faces from the room above were all present except for Lev.
"Well…" I looked at the Director with a small smile. "How did I do?"
The Director was speechless for some reason.
[***]
The chatper over on p.a.t.r.e.o.n. was giving me a lot of trouble yesterday, so I couldn't get it out in time. Here's Thursday's chapter, and I'm probably going to crash when I get home from work since I was basically up all night finishing up, so it'll be a little later.
If you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone