Watching the confusion on his face was amusing.
Frankly, I would be content to let him think whatever outlandish ideas were currently bouncing around his head, but I decided to take pity on him. Probably due to the gentle nudging by Raikou. She was giving me that 'you had your fun' look and I didn't want to upset her.
"Don't over think it. It's just a joke between Artoria and I." I said simply.
Something told me that he didn't understand, but that wasn't the thing he focused on. "You know my King's true name?!" His eyes widened.
"Do you not remember anything from when we fought?"
"I – I…" He clutched his head. "It's too blurry, I do not recall anything other than the sensations."
I supposed that made sense. He was basically on auto pilot at that point. And he's no Hercules who can overcome their madness through sheer will.
Lancelot let out a low growl as that malevolent mist began to seep out once more. All of us were ready to react, but a faint light pushed it away, allowing him to settle down.
"What…?" He even sounded confused.
"Looks like Avalon is doing its job." I mused.
"Avalon!?" Lancelot once more blurted out in utter shock.
"Are you sure he's going to be okay?" Jeanne asked. "And should we not be worried about the Dragon Witch taking control of him?"
"I'm fairly sure that the Dragon Witch doesn't have the basic Servant-Master relationship. I don't think she has any command seals. Based on the evidence I've seen thus far; I'm guessing that the Berserker additions to each Servant act as a substitute to force them to bend to her will. Now that the additional Berserker overlay had been….suppressed, perhaps even removed from him, then he should be free from her control." I summarized.
"Should the normal Madness not be present though?" Raikou questioned. "We merely removed the extra portion. A Servant's Mad Enhancement should not be so easily removed."
"No, that's still there. Which is why I'm not entirely sure one way or another on his Berserker status completely. But I would guess that it was also suppressed due to everything we did as it is more akin to a Curse." And it was probably a rather low ranking one at that in comparison to other Servants.
Even Avalon couldn't suppress it forever. His basic abilities from his Servant Container would rear their ugly head eventually. Avalon was many things, but something that could alter one's Saint Graph was not one of them.
"Anyways, let's go find this Dragon Slayer so we can get going." I turned to Jeanne. "Can you sense a Servant nearby?"
"It's faint, but I think I can feel one further into the city." Jean furrowed her brow.
"Halt!" Lancelot slid out in front of us. "I demand answers!" His eyes turned serious. "Why do you possess my King's sacred Sheath? Why do you know my King's true name."
"Technically, you're the one with the Sheath at the moment." I pointed out.
"I will not hear your jests any longer." He held his hand up and summoned a very particular weapon. It was blackened, even pulsating with a hint of malevolence, but that wasn't enough to hide what it truly was.
The sister sword to Excalibur.
Arondight, one of three Swords of the Planet. It even had Fairy Letters denoting it as a Divine Construct spoken in the same breath as Excalibur.
That wasn't all, I could feel it targeting my Dragon Aspect.
The Blade was also one that slayed Dragons.
"How knightly of you, to draw your weapon on the people who saved you." I didn't particularly react to the fact that he was pointing a Divine Construct in my face. In fact, I took a step forward until it was mere inches away and pushed it to the side with my finger. I could tell he wavered once I mentioned that as he still had some amount of pride left in his knighthood.
"Master, you should tell him." Raikou gently nudged me again. "It will save us further annoyance."
"I know, I'm just not that pleased with his attitude." I frowned.
"I can understand, Master. But think of how Artoria would wish you to behave to her former comrade."
Ah, that's a critical hit, Raikou.
"She doesn't owe him anything." I grunted. "Why does he deserve to know anything?"
"I share your feelings, but it is not our place to judge that." Raikou again gently guided me. "You know very well how she would desire you to hold yourself in this situation."
"You're right." I sighed, relenting. I was being intentionally abrasive with him, and I was fully aware of that. He just grated on me for some reason, even when he wasn't demanding answers from me. I took out my Kaleidophone and messed with it until I found a set of pictures and flipped it over for him to see.
Lancelot's eyes widened once more as he narrowed in on the device, his sword practically falling to the ground as he took steps forward to really look at what I was showing him.
I flipped through several of them, most of which were rather mundane. Me and her in various settings, her laughing or smiling as I took the pictures. Though, they got progressively more intimate, and I finished onto the last one where it was both of us kissing.
"She is someone I love dearly." It was all the explanation I would give him on the matter as I put the device away.
He was speechless, which I couldn't blame him for. If I were in his shoes, I suppose I would feel the same way. His memories of Artoria were probably full of the emotionless King that put themselves up on the pedestal as some sort of idol.
And here I just showed him a bright and happy Artoria expressing herself more in a few pictures than he had probably seen in his entire life and dropped the bomb on him that we were in love.
"Jeanne, why don't you lead the way." I changed the subject as the atmosphere turned rather awkward.
"Leave it to me!" Jeanne happily accepted the change.
I glanced at Lancelot, but he didn't speak, just silently following along as he stared at me every so often.
Whatever, I would be civil, but I wouldn't like him.
[***]
"Uh…..it should be around here?" Jeanne looked every which way. "Um…it's faint, I don't think this Servant is at full strength. They should be within a few blocks of here, but I can't pinpoint any further. The best option would be for us to split up and search every building. I'll check – "
"You think she may have hid him in that destroyed church over there." I pointed towards said collapsed church. It was still somewhat recognizable even if the roof caved in and half the walls were destroyed.
"….."
"You know, cause she's a Saint and everything?" I spoke again.
"I will check, Master." Raikou volunteered and walked over.
"Well, that was easy." I hummed.
"But we haven't found them?" Jeanne blinked in confusion.
"Please, like she would have hid him anywhere but the church."
"What's that supposed to mean?!"
"I'm saying that as someone of a certain faith, she's predictable."
"We are not!"
"Alright, then hypothetically speaking, if you were to hide someone in this area, where would you hide them, hmm?" I asked.
She looked away, not meeting my gaze.
"Master, I found something." Raikou called out.
I looked at her smugly, and she puffed up with a huff.
"Let's go find our mysterious Dragon Slayer." I gave her a gentle nudge, much to her chagrin. Walking over some debris, we came to what Raikou was referring to, a latch that opened up to the Church's basement and it was obvious someone was down there.
I hoped down first, and I immediately recognized the figure tied up below. His eyes looked heavy, and there were obvious wounds across his body. Fatigue was present in every breath he took as he looked like he was on his last legs.
"I did not expect to see a familiar face in my final moments." He spoke, if haggardly.
"You remember me?" I asked in surprised.
"Strange, is it not?" He chuckled, but it turned to coughs. "Have you come to finish me off?"
"Why would I do that?" I shot him an amused look and even he found it funny considering the grin on his face despite the situation. "Even if we parted as enemies, I would like to think it was on good terms."
"A Dragon Slayer friendly with a Dragon. I believe this is the start of a joke."
Raikou and Jeanne jumped down, and recognition flashed across his face again. "Ruler and Berserker."
"Siegfried." Raikou smiled softly.
"Saber." Jeanne greeted, a small smile as well. "What happened to you?"
"I don't know." He admitted, choking out a cough.
"Hold up, let's get you settled before questioning." I walked over to untie him, but I felt like he could have done that himself at any moment. It was only when I got close that I realized he was cursed quite heavily. "How much Magical Energy do you have left?"
"Not much." He smiled wryly. "If you had not come, I may have lasted another few days."
"Well, you're in luck." I took out a few dust crystals, and basically shoved them into his arms. "You should be able to absorb some from those, but it wouldn't do much due to the curses on you." I paused, turning to Jeanne. "Need you again over here, Penniless Saintess."
"D-don't call me that." She squeaked out with a small stomp of her foot, but she quickly turned her attention to Siegfried. "This should be easier than Lancelot." She knelt down next to him and began praying.
It was actually rather interesting watching her work. I can admit to not being too knowledgeable about the Church's mysteries, even if the Baptism Rite was one of the most common and widespread 'mysteries' of the church, it held certain unfathomableness to it that those without Faith just couldn't understand.
The curses were lifted one by one and his pale complexion began dissipating quickly. If I had to summarize, I'd say the curses were eating away at his reserves of Magical Energy and he was having to sustain himself by burning his own vitality. It would take a bit for him to be back at 100% even if we gave him a steady supply of Magical Energy.
We quietly waited for probably about an hour before Jeanne finished up. The Dragon Slayer stood up, shakily, but he caught his breath after being captured for so long.
"Thank you, Ruler." Siegfried said sincerely.
"I don't need thanks, Saber." Jeanne smiled brightly.
"I did not believe it when I heard about this Dragon Witch that the common folk whispered about. And now I know for a fact that those tales were false." He took a deep breath, and a Dust Crystal shattered in his hand as the Magical Energy inside of it was taken in.
"How long until you recover?" I asked.
"….I am unsure, perhaps in a day or two and I will be in optimal condition to fight. I do not know why I was summoned without a Grail War….but there is something calling out to me. A duty that I must fulfill no matter what."
"We're glad to have you, Saber." Raikou smiled.
"I am also pleased to battle alongside you all against any foe that may appear. But….do you perhaps know what is going on? I only know that I was summoned and tried my best to defend this city, but I…failed."
"Were the enemy Servants that strong?"
Siegfried shook his head. "I feel as though I could have handled the ones that appeared, or I may not have lost in the worst case. They were….wrong, I do not know how but I felt it when fighting them. But they used the people as a hostage to force my surrender."
"To answer your question, this is a Singularity. Someone meddled with the correct course of History and Humanity in the future has been burned away. At the moment we need to rectify this point in the timeline, which is being propped up presumably through the use of a Holy Grail." I briefly explained.
Siegfried awkwardly scratched his cheek. "I admit to not fully understanding, however, my sword will be yours."
"Don't be too hasty, I think your sword would be best served under someone else. There is a group fighting against the incineration of humanity and I'm just a small part. But they could make use of any Servants that they can get their hands on."
Siegfried nodded immediately. "If you speak on their behalf, and if their cause is so righteous, I would not have anything against lending whatever aid I am able."
I pat this pauldron. "Good, because we're going to find them next."
Lancelot stood almost protectively outside as we climbed out of the hole.
He still hadn't said anything, but I didn't particularly care to talk with him either. At this point, he should understand why I didn't like him very much.
"It's good to see the sun again." Siegfried held a hand over his eyes and he looked at everything. Though there was an obvious melancholy as he surveyed the surroundings.
I was wondering if we would be approached by an Assassin Servant as I was fairly certain there was one creeping around while we dealt with the other Servants, but they never appeared.
"Did you deal with all the undead?" He asked.
"Pardon? Undead?" I blinked.
"You do not know?" He tilted his head. "I encountered many while defending the city."
"….odd." Was all I could muster in response. But I eyed the horizon and noticed something flying our way. "But we did encounter quite a few Wyverns."
Everyone else followed my gaze.
"Ah, I also encountered some of those. They were not too strong, but they were difficult to deal with as they kept to the air and attacked from a distance." Siegfried commented.
They were coming in quick, and I had a good idea.
"So…Raikou, quick question."
"Yes?" My Servant replied.
"Your riding skill doesn't apply to Dragons, but Wyverns aren't technically Dragons."
"….are you thinking of doing what I think you are, Will?" Jeanne hesitantly asked.
"Listen, it's pretty far away and I don't want to walk."
"W-we can find horses!" Jeanne countered.
"But can they fly?"
"Will, no!"
"Will, yes." I summoned The Gauntlet onto my hand. "Ddraig, you know what I want, right?"
"[Leave it to me.]"
I took a deep breath as they got closer and with Ddraig's help, I roared.
Wyverns were called Dragonkin, but compared to their greater cousins they were much lower on the proverbial totem pole. Just Ddraig's mere roar sent them into a frightened state and about half of them fell to the ground in the confusion.
[***]
"This is a new experience for me." Siegfried stated, pulling on the rope wrapped around the Wyvern he sat upon. "I never thought I would ride one of the Dragon blood beasts."
"[Don't compare us to these things. They're barely better than mindless beasts.]" Ddraig replied from within my Gauntlet.
"I will take your word for it, Great Dragon." Siegfried politely replied.
I held my hands around Raikou's waste as she pulled on the makeshift reins, or basically just ropes we tied around their mouths.
Frankly, it was difficult to get them to obey, perhaps due to having two riders with the nature of a Dragon Slayer. But Ddraig's presence was actually enough to get them to fall in line.
Wyverns and other Dragon blood species bowed their heads to true Dragons.
"I don't like this!" Jeanne cried out, clutching her makeshift reins tightly.
"It's just like riding a horse." I reassured her over the whipping winds.
"It's nothing like riding a horse!"
I admit I was feeling pretty gleeful while doing this. The childish part of me was genuinely having fun riding on this Wyvern.
And Raikou's riding was handling it pretty well.
Lancelot struggled slightly, but he kept his Wyvern on a straight path which was basically all we needed. Jeanne pointed out the direction, and I could vaguely identify Sir Wiggles there as well.
And flying was significantly faster.
Hell, it would have only been a few hour ride, but with Wyverns it's probably a third, maybe a fourth of that?
Dipping over the cloud, and back under, it didn't take long for us to be able to see our destination far into the distance.
Particularly so because there was another swarm of Wyverns high above laying fire breaths down below.
"Shall I prepare a gift for our reunion?" I asked, to no one in particular. But I began gathering Lightning and bringing together the clouds. The sky above slowly started to darken, but the mindless beasts didn't seem to pay it any heed as we got closer.
And upon closer inspection, there were many other people there. It looked like a complete army was trying their best to fend off the attack alongside some magic being shot up and I could make out the vague outline of a few faces through my Reinforced Eyes.
Two Magic Circles spun in either of my hands, and I clapped, pushing them together, actualizing the same spell I used against those Hollows back in Karakura town.
They could have probably handled it without much issues, but what kind of Team Leader would I be if I didn't help my subordinates?
"Lightning Storm."
My Lightning dropped from the sky. It wasn't as powerful as the last time, but it did its job to cull the numbers enough that the remaining ones began to scatter.
I did have to be careful about the people below.
"Um….how do we land?" Jeanne asked.
"….that is a good question." I replied. "Raikou?"
Raikou didn't respond, instead, she slapped the Wyvern atop the head, and it immediately went to do a dive bomb.
Well, Dramatic Entrance it was then!
I held onto Raikou tightly and she smiled happily as we descended quickly.
She pulled up on the 'reins' just as we were about to hit the ground, instead making the Wyvern fall more angled. We hit the ground hard, but the beast took the brunt of it, completely incapacitated and buried under quite a bit of dirt as it made a new hole into the ground, but we weren't much worse for wear.
I dusted myself off, helping Raikou up while I was at it.
There were many eyes now staring at us. And quite a few of them I recognized, but I don't think they properly processed my arrival.
I was about to open my mouth, but three more loud thumps echoed out, and my companions now joined us.
Siegfried perhaps had the most grace, but he awkwardly had to step out of a crater himself. Jeanne dizzily stepped out and looked shaken at her experience. While Lancelot silently climbed up from his former mount, wobbling to his feat.
"I'm back – "
"Raah!" Mash, with her very identifiable hair color, pushed through the crowd, and launched towards Lancelot, punching him in the face, sending him flying away.
…..well alrighty then.
I chose to ignore that, and instead focus on the bolt of lightning zipping through the air, landing in my arms.
Welcome back, Sir Wiggles.
[***]
Canon-Omake: Father Daughter bonding time.
Yasaka POV
The feeling of finishing the last bit of work for the day was indescribable. Stretching my arms and just letting my head fall onto my now empty desk allowing myself a moment to rest.
"Soma, where's Kunou?" I called out, not bothering to even open my eyes.
"The Princess is with the Young Lord, Lady Yasaka." I felt Soma appear through the use of his Sacred Gear into the room.
"They aren't getting up to trouble, I hope?" Well, a little bit of trouble was fine.
"The last I checked, the Young Lord requested some painting supplies."
"Oh?" I picked my head up. "That could be something completely mundane or I should fear for the mansion." I better check in before doing anything else. "Take me to them please."
Soma bowed and I pulled myself out of the chair I had been sitting in for the past several hours, rubbing my poor butt. I needed to get myself a more comfortable chair.
Well, let's see what those two troublemakers are up to and how much of a mess I need to clean up.
I silently followed behind Soma as the mist of Dimension Lost surrounded us. A moment later, a window opened up into a room on the other side of the Mansion.
Wilhelm looked up very briefly and I knew for a fact that he noticed us but didn't say anything.
"Can I paint it yellow?"
"You can paint it whatever color you want. I'm going to do mine like on the box."
"But that's boring." Kunou replied. "I'm gonna paint fireballs on the shoulders."
Were those…. Gundams? Like those models that you put together then paint?
"What about some Fox Tails on the back?" He chuckled.
"I wanna do a dragon instead."
"Dragons are cool too. Make it a Dragon Gundam."
"Like Ddraig!"
"I think Ddraig will like that a lot."
"I'm not very good at painting though." Kunou's ears flattened and she eyed the model in front of her father. "Wah!? Dad you're so good at it, it looks exactly like the box!"
"You think so?"
"How did you get so good? Have you done this before?"
"Nope, this is my first time. But I've always wanted to do one since I was a kid." He chuckled.
"Why didn't you?" She questioned.
"Well…..we didn't have much money when I was a kid. Your grandmother did the best she could, but she had to focus on essentials." He explained.
"I'm sorry…."
"You have nothing to be sorry for." He stopped to rub her head. "I'm happy that I get to do this with you."
"Do you miss Grandma?"
"I'll always miss her. She was the best mom I could have asked for. And I know for a fact that she would love you just like I do." He leaned over to kiss her forehead.
Kunou smiled happily. "I love you, daddy."
"And I love you too, my little Fox."
Why was my heart beating so erratically? Why was it that seeing him and Kunou like this made me feel this way?
My precious little fox, you're not the only one it seems.
I needed to message the others, because he's all mine tonight.
[***]
A/N
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