Perched atop the hotel his Master was staying in, Aston stared at the setting Sun with a strange expression on his face.
Something had been bothering him since his run-in with the priest overseeing the war, this whole war simply felt wrong. As if something was incredibly off, or vile in nature, moving in the shadows and the Lancer trusted his instincts a fair bit, they'd saved him too many times for him to not, behaving like a supernatural sixth sense.
"Uninvolved civilians are turning up missing, dead or worse in several parts of the city."
Aston answered without looking back, his voice slightly subdued, "My Master, not all legends are as cordial as I." He smiled noticing how discussing things on the roof seemed to have become the norm between them, his creed demanded he see the wishes of the one he served through, no matter the cost, "There are still two if not three unidentified servants, it wouldn't be strange for one of these individuals to be the perpetrator."
Bazett, having approached him in silence, nodded shortly, "I suspect it might be a Master with insufficient magical energy or.." She gave a short pause, "Caster, didn't you say you found him?"
"Her, Caster is a her." Aston corrected her with a small smile on his face, tapping his fingers against the ground in thought, wondering how there were so many women involved in a war. Admittedly, this was the first female servant he'd encountered but the same couldn't be said for Masters.
Bazett released a small sigh, "Of course, woman, witch, why not?" It even made sense now that she thought about it. The fact remained however that she was probably the one behind the growing incidents, "Let's go after her then."
"As you wish." Aston was already on his feet and bowed with a hand over his chest, holding out the other to his Master, "Let us do as heroes do and fell the evil witch."
Bazett could only resign herself to the fate of being carried in her servant's arms, understanding that the Lancer wasn't willing to compromise on something that should have been, for all intents and purposes, inconsequential, "Do you enjoy embarrassing me?"
"My.." Aston feigned a gasp, "It is sad that you would think of me in such a way."
"You're weird." He was weird, he was weird about things.
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A dreary atmosphere encompassed the arguably majestic temple built atop Mount Ryuudou, a hill in the central area of Fuyuki City whose residents had a strange dislike for women in their midst and so, it was mostly looked after by men.
On this particular night however, these people were nowhere in sight. The lights were out and it would be difficult to even see in the dark of the night if not for the moonlight.
All this combined barely seemed to bother the master-servant duo walking up the concrete stairway leading to the main temple compound.
Aston's metal armour clanged against the ground as he calmly climbed the steps, a jagged spear held out to the left just in case someone attacked Bazett who was walking a small distance behind him, her gaze stoic and focused as usual, he even felt she was too serious sometimes but not at the moment, the situation called for seriousness.
She'd told him this temple erected right above a leyline and as such, granted whoever was here access to the vast amounts of magical energy flowing underneath. With their current adversary being of the Caster Class, it served to make the situation far more dangerous than it should have been.
The only reason Aston took a frontal approach was because bounded fields were magus homefield 101, there was no way they could realistically sneak in even if they wanted to.
An all too familiar glint ripped Aston from his thoughts, forcing him to swing his spear less like well, a spear and more like a sword, moving it in a horizontal arc to deflect a blade aimed right at both his and Bazett's necks.
Metal clanged against metal and sparks momentarily lit up the surroundings as a testament to the raw physical strength of the two clashing individuals.
"I take no pleasure in attacking in such a manner but my Master seems to be far too wary of you." The newly arrived servant leapt back, standing on one of the higher steps with a massive thin, slightly curved sword held in one hand resting on his shoulder, "I do apologise." He slightly smirked.
Standing a few centimetres taller than Bazett, the servant had long purple hair tied up in a ponytail and wore similarly coloured somewhat baggy clothes reminiscent of 16th century Japan. He stared down at Aston with barely concealed curiosity in his eyes, having caught a glimpse of his opponent's prowess through the singular exchange.
Aston only smiled gently, standing up straight, "I accept your apology, the inadequate have to make do somehow after all." The Lancer shrugged, prompting his opponent to let out a small amused chuckle.
The servant lowered his sword and stepped to the side, shrugging, "I am not against letting your Master proceed however." He suggested cordially, displaying no intention of stopping Bazett if she walked past.
"Surely you jest, I would want to bury myself alive if I even made such a suggestion." Aston replied with his head slightly tilted, it was such an obviously stupid ploy that the knight felt there had to be something more to it, "It would mean letting my master face a servant."
Bazett observed the exchange in silence, understanding that humans had no place in a clash between such entities.
"You would be surprised." The servant smirked, "Humans from this era are.." He hummed for a moment, scratching his chin with his free hand, "Let us say, full of surprises."
"I concur." Aston nodded his head, there were magi like his master and Archer's master here, it was completely astounding to bear witness to such an alien thing.
Seemingly no longer interested in idle chatter, the still unidentified servant held out his blade, grabbing the hilt firmly with both hands and did something that left Bazett wide eyed, "Class Assassin, Sasaki Kojirou. Let us fight splendidly."
Aston smiled, genuinely pleased with the servant's actions and introduced himself as he had done a number of times before, "The Knight of Atrocity, Aston. I was summoned as a Lancer." He saw nothing wrong with this, honorbound to share his name before a confrontation with a legend.
"Oh? I am ashamed." The now identified servant slightly lowered his head, "I fail to recognise that name." His words were truthful and not mocking, even if it may have seemed as such.
Aston waved his apology off, not even slightly offended, "No matter, I fail to recognise yours as well." The name suggested he was a hero of the land they were in right now, it made sense then that they failed to recognise each other.
"I will never understand why you share names."
Weren't names supposed to be important? Weren't they supposed to stay concealed? Didn't they risk giving away weaknesses by sharing them?! What was wrong with these servants?
"My Master, you disappoint me." Aston shook his head, as if genuinely disappointed.
"I find your lack of culture disturbing." Sasaki joined the Lancer and expressed his disappointment too.
A simple leaf flying through the air and landing peacefully on the ground was what signalled the start of their battle with both servants lunging at one another, leaving cracks on the concrete underneath.
Aston possessed superior strength and superior speed, Bazett easily noticed that with a single use of the Master's Perspective that revealed a servant's parameters but found herself taking a step back in awe when Sasaki met the knight's thrust, using his almost awkwardly long sword to make it slide to the side as sparks flew about.
In the same instant, the Assassin changed grips and using the opportunity he'd made for himself to the fullest, Sasaki swung down diagonally from the other side, aiming to slash apart Aston's armoured neck only for the latter to, for the first time since his summoning, draw the thin sword concealed by his cloak in reverse grip with his right hand and deflect the blow completely, forcing his opponent to leap back, understanding that he'd lose a contest of raw strength to Aston.
Aston corrected his posture, sheathing his sword as a smile crossed his face, "What splendid swordsmanship." His main weapon was a spear and so, he more than understood the problems using one brought.
It was a good weapon, no doubt about that but in close single combat, a sword just possessed far more mobility and effectiveness than a spear irrespective of skill. The cherry on top were the Assassin's next words,
"I have spent my entire life honing my blade yet you drove me back, your skill in combat is praiseworthy." Sasaki praised honestly, even if his now idle posture suggested he didn't find this battle to be much trouble, "But.." His gaze sharpened and the air instantaneously became tense, "How long do you intend to believe me unworthy of your fullest?"
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