"Positions!"
At the sound of Amelia's voice, I smoothly pulled my spear off my back, gave it a theatrical twirl, and gripped it with both hands.
I spread my legs to shoulder width, twisted my torso slightly to the side, and leaned forward. Four meters ahead of me stood my mother, clad in a set of heavenly enchanted half-plate armor.
She placed her dominant foot in front of her, leaning slightly while silently unsheathing her bastard sword, gripping it with both hands and pointing the tip toward the ground in front of me.
A textbook execution of the 'Fool's Guard.'
As we stared each other down, waiting for Amelia's signal to start, there was a disturbance from the viewers' gallery off to the side.
"Make him bleed, Mama Pendragon!"
My grip instinctively tightened as I felt a small headache forming.
Glancing to the side, I saw our 'dearest' house guest waving a crudely made sign with the words 'Feed me!' in perfect cursive, with our shared 'guard dog' lying lazily on her head.
The words on the sign made my mouth twitch involuntarily.
The damn parasite has been getting half a liter of blood these days. That damn ungrateful mosquito needs to stop trying to – "Start!"
Instantly, my body sprung into action.
This match was a 'make it or break it' moment for me. If all went well and I displayed enough skill, I could kick this 'knight training' to the curb, where it belongs, and focus more on magecraft.
So, it was important that I took the initiative early and curbstomped mum into next week.
I lunged forward, my spear thrusting straight towards Mother's chest.
She stepped to the side with impeccable timing, her sword flashing as it deflected my attack.
The force of the parry reverberated up my arms, but I quickly regained control, spinning the spear around to aim for her legs.
Mother's footwork was flawless; she danced backwards, her half-plate armor clinking softly with each movement.
With a growl, I pressed on, launching a flurry of rapid strikes.
The spear whistled through the air as I alternated between thrusts and sweeps, trying to catch her off guard.
Mother's reactions were almost superhuman.
Her sword moved in perfect arcs, deflecting each attack with practiced ease. Every strike I made was met with a precise counter, her blade always a step ahead.
"Good, Alistair. Keep pushing!" she encouraged, blatantly going against her 'don't talk during a fight' rule.
I gritted my teeth and pushed harder, my muscles straining under the exertion.
I aimed a powerful jab at her midsection, only for her to parry and twist her body, her sword swinging towards my exposed flank.
I barely managed to dodge, the blade grazing my armor with a metallic screech.
"Come on, you can do better than that," Mother taunted.
I clicked my tongue in frustration and charged, my spear a blur of motion. This time, I feinted high before sweeping low, aiming to knock her off balance.
Mother anticipated the move and jumped back, her sword coming up to block my follow-up thrust. The clash of steel echoed through the training ground as we traded blows.
Despite my superior strength, Mother's mastery of the sword and her reinforcement magecraft kept the fight balanced.
She used minimal movements, her defenses impeccable. I could see the concentration in her eyes, the slight glow of her reinforcement magcraft enhancing her agility and speed.
I pressed forward with renewed vigor, launching a series of overhead strikes. Mother met each one with precision, her sword ringing as it deflected my spear.
I could feel the sweat trickling down my back under the armor, my breath coming in harsh bursts. I needed to end this quickly.
With a sudden burst of speed, I closed the distance between us. Mother's eyes widened ever so slightly as I abandoned my usual range, coming in close.
Her sword slashed towards my neck, and I felt a sharp sting as it nicked the skin.
Ignoring the pain, I twisted my body and parried her sword with my spear, the weapon vibrating in my grip.
In one fluid motion, I released my spear and drove my elbow into her helmet.
The impact sent a jarring shock through my arm, but it achieved the desired effect.
Mother staggered, momentarily stunned.
I didn't waste a second.
My fist crashed into her breastplate with a force that dented the metal.
Mother gasped, the air knocked out of her.
Her sword fell out of her hand as she lost her grip, and I moved in for the finish.
My movements were brutal but efficient, an elbow to the chin, a palm strike to the ribs, a knee to inner thigh.
She tried to recover, her hands scrambling for her airborne weapon, but I was relentless.
A quick jab to her midsection followed by a sweeping kick knocked her off her feet.
She landed heavily on her back, the breath forced from her lungs. I stood over her, panting heavily, my fist raised for the final blow.
"Yield!" she gasped, her hand coming up in a gesture of surrender.
I froze, the adrenaline still coursing through my veins.
Slowly, I lowered my hand and stepped back, giving her space to rise. She sat up, wincing slightly as she felt the dent in her breastplate.
Gingerly, she took off her helmet, releasing her long blond hair and revealing a bruised face along with a busted lip. Yet despite all those wounds, she held a bright smile on her face.
"Well done, Alistair…" Her words trailed off as her face hardened a smidge. Her gaze seemed to fix itself on me before drifting from me to the viewers' gallery.
Frowning slightly, I followed her gaze.
On the sidelines sat the now smiling Ancestor, a wine glass in hand, filled halfway up with a red liquid.
Not too strange on its own, but the red string-like thread slowly filling up her glass, connected to the cut on my neck, was a bit more concerning.
And she wonders why I keep calling her Mosquito. Little midget needs to learn not to snack on me while I'm sparring.
Instantly, I reinforced the area around the cut on my neck, flooding it with Od, cutting the blood-string at its roots.
The floating stream of blood quickly made its way into Altrouge's glass. She lifted the glass to her mouth, taking a dainty sip while flashing me a smug smile.
Taking a deep breath, I removed my helmet, placing it under my armpit, and flashed my mother a million-dollar smile.
"Ignore the parasite, Mother," Rosalind swiveled her head to gaze at me, and there was a faint sound of glass cracking at my comment. "I'm rather interested in the prize you promised me."
My words seemed to fix her mood, as a radiant smile found its way onto her bruised face. "Let me freshen up a bit first," she said before starting to push herself off the ground.
Quickly, I extended a hand, which she grasped onto like a lifeline, before pulling her to her feet. A soft wheeze escaped Rosalind's lips, but she flashed me a reassuring smile.
Her gaze swerved to the side, resting on the viewers' gallery again, but this time, it was fixed onto her friend.
"Amelia!" she said aloud, making her raven-haired assistant raise a lone eyebrow. "I'll be needing an extra pair of hands to get out of this thing. Be a dear and lend me a hand, would you?" She accentuated her question with a dazzling smile.
"As long as it counts as overtime pay," Amelia responded flatly.
Mum's smile seemed to momentarily cramp up before her eyes slid into slits. "Or you could take the 'dog' for a walk," she said in a sickly sweet tone.
Instantly, Amelia's posture went rigid, followed by a smirk of satisfaction finding its way to Rosalind's face.
A strained smile found its way onto Amelia's face before she spoke. "Of course, I'd help you out of that thing." Her tone was noticeably strained, but her answer was more than good enough for Rosalind.
"Good that you can see things my way. Let's go!" Mother said while gesturing towards the exit. Nodding begrudgingly, Amelia followed her lead and proceeded to leave.
Mother gave me a wave before she, too, took her exit.
Sighing, I knelt down, picked up the two discarded weapons, and walked over to the weapon rack, gently leaning them against it while hanging my helmet on the rack.
"Fu."
Looking down at the floor, I saw the adorable Cath had made his way over to me. His fluffy tail gently swayed as his beady purple eyes peered up at me.
Smiling, I knelt down. Seeing his cue, Cath jumped up to my chestplate, but thanks to it being newly polished, he started to slide down my chest.
Cath's eyes comically widened as he started to panic. "KYU!"
In the blink of an eye, his claws started digging into my chestplate, and with remarkable speed, he climbed up to my shoulder before jumping up to my head and sprawling himself lazily atop it.
"Fou." He said with satisfaction, while rubbing his head against mine.
Sighing softly, I raised a hand and gave Cath a few scratches while idly peering down at my ruined chest plate. Using my other hand, I trailed a finger along the claw marks.
As cute as he is, the little shit's claws are stupid sharp. This is probably the twelfth of my Mystic Codes to have been turned into his scratch post.
"Well done, you broke another one," came an amused voice from the side.
Swiveling my head to the side, I met blood-red eyes filled with amusement.
I instantly threw on the fakest of smiles. "Oh dear, you seem to be mistaken. Senility seems to have finally sunk its claws into you. Your pet broke it, not me, so it's your fault," I dutifully explained.
There was a minute twitch in her expression before her smile returned. "I seem to recall you arguing that he was 'our' pet. Are you throwing him away so soon after a little mistake? And here I thought that the Pendragons cared for their own."
I hate it when she has a point. Time for Plan B: shit talking.
"Screw you."
She raised a single brow, before her expression turned teasing. "You'd like that, wouldn't you?"
She was not meant to do that...
"Actually, I'd be afraid of you biting my knob off." I said with a straight face.
She gave a soft giggle, before covering her mouth. "Not much of a loss then. Are you sure you'd even notice?"
Game, set, match.
The hell am I meant to respond to that?
Fuck, that was an absolute slaughter. Maybe it wasn't the best idea to try to verbally spar with a 1500-year-old vampire with no shame.
Pinching the bridge of my nose, I could only release a sigh in defeat.
"Please stop."
Her expression morphed into a look of surprise, and she leaned in closer. "Oh my," she said in her fakest surprised voice yet.
That look and that tone. She's not going to stop, is she…
She slightly tilted her head to the side while looking up at me. "Are you begging?"
Nope, not dealing with this.
I plastered a smile on my face, which felt strained.
"I need to go shower, see you later," I said before swiftly turning on my heel.
"Oh, running away already? My, you make your family name proud." Her tone was a masterful mix of irritating and infuriating.
Little shit seems to have taken the parasite comment to heart. Good, guess I'll just poke at another one of her buttons.
Turning my head to look at her, I flashed her a wide smile. "Are you really one to talk about making your family proud, shorty?"
The minute twitch of her eye was immensely therapeutic after the metaphorical beating I'd just gotten.
"You're an inch taller than me," she said rather defensively.
Not the remark I thought would garner her annoyance, but I can work with that.
"Imagine living for 1500 years, only to be shorter than a 15 year old," I said aloud, before turning my head and started walking through the exit.
"Hey! I'll have you know, I can change my form if I want to!" She yelled back indignantly.
Not bothering to turn around, I raised my hand and gave a dismissive wave. "Mhm, sure. Anyways, toodles!~"
~~Fate/False Order~~
Standing at the furthest wing of the manor, I vacantly stared at the ominous door in front of me. It was made of dark oak, with numerous bolts and latches, and a small metal-barred window at eye height.
It would take a moron not to connect the dots: the door was clearly the manor's dungeon entrance.
The only real question was, why did Mum want me to meet her down there?
"Fu." Looking down, I saw Cath cradled in my arms, wagging his tail excitedly.
"You're excited?" I asked, raising a brow.
"Fou," he responded energetically, making me nod.
"Of course you'd find excitement in entering a dungeon," I said while threading my free hand through his fur.
"Hmph." Cath indignantly huffed, moving his head to look in a different direction.
Seeing his reaction, I moved my hand and started scratching him behind his ear. "Aww, no need to be like that. I'm not one to judge," I said soothingly.
And like clockwork, my words and scratching seemed to have some effect. Cath's leg started to twitch in delight, and he adjusted his head to get a better scratch from me.
In the middle of my pampering session, the dungeon door swung open, revealing an empty, dimly lit cobbled staircase.
Totally not creepy…
Sighing, I started walking down the stairs. The walls had lit torches lining them, giving the already creepy atmosphere an even more eerie feeling.
Reaching the bottom of the staircase, I was met with a damp cobblestone room filled with medieval cells. At the end of the room stood Mother, sending me an unimpressed look.
"Did you have to bring 'that'?" She said, pointedly looking at Cath.
At her negative reaction, I could only hug him tighter. "He's a good boy," I instinctively defended him.
My words were met with a flat stare. "He humped Biscuit to death," she pointed out, making me internally cringe at the memory.
During Cath's first year here, we learned firsthand that Cath has a heat cycle and a hard time figuring out what he can mate with. And apparently he could grow about however big he wants, this is important, or else the next part makes no sense.
Pair that with the fact that it lasts about a week, and you get a sad story of three animals having their bowels spontaneously blown up.
It's a sad fact that the Pendragon household has had three animals fucked to death by Cath Palug while in heat. Luckily, that was a one-off thing, as he only enters it once every decade.
"No one liked Biscuit anyway," I deflected.
Mum's brow seemed to twitch at my flawless argument.
"He's dangerous," she pushed, making me feel annoyed.
While that is true, his cute points outweigh any danger he poses. Plus, he loves me, so I'd happily put my trust in my cute guard dog.
To prove my point, I lifted him up under his armpits, making him squirm in annoyance before quickly catching on. As Cath looked at Mother, tilting his head cutely, his tail gently swishing from side to side.
"How can such a cutie be dangerous?" I said while gently dangling him.
"Kyu?" he said, tilting his head the other way.
My mother, however, seemed to be heartless. "He's not cute."
The reaction was instant.
"GRRrrr….." Cath's growl gave me an involuntary shiver as he bared his teeth at Mum.
Mother's expression became as white as a sheet, sweat visibly appearing on her face.
Seeing where this was going, I started to fix the situation.
I brought Cath back into my embrace while giving him a few pats. "There, there. Mother's sight seems to be failing her in her old age, no need to take her seriously," I explained in a soothing tone.
My words had an instant effect as Cath stopped baring his teeth and nuzzled back into my embrace.
I shot Mum a 'you owe me' look, making her give a begrudging nod before straightening back up again.
"Well, how about we get going," she said, pressing her palm against the wall.
A small pulse of light emitted from the spot she touched, and suddenly the spot started to crumble.
Watching the spectacle, I walked up to Mum, who took a calculated step away from me after hearing Cath grumble in displeasure.
"What's down there?" I mused, peering at the slowly forming staircase.
"One of our vaults," she explained offhandedly, before judging that the entrance was safe to use.
Seeing her walk down the stairs, I quickly followed.
"Thanks for the detailed answer, Mum. I now know exactly what's down there," I drawled, making Mum look over her shoulder and send me an amused look.
"Sarcasm is unbecoming of you, Alistair," she said, facing forward again. "But to answer your question, it's mostly filled with Mystic Codes, a few heirlooms, and the like."
Now that was a bit juicier.
"Do I get to pick and choose one of the Mystic Codes as my reward?" I asked with unmasked glee.
I have yet to get a proper Mystic Code, other than the sets of plate armor for training, so it's about time I get my own. And if they are anywhere near as good as the ones Mum has been using, then I'll be a happy man.
My question received a contemplative hum from Mum.
As we reached the end of the staircase, Mum decided to answer my question.
"If you're unlucky, then yes," she said cryptically while stepping into the room at the bottom of the staircase.
Frowning, I followed her into the room.
Having stepped into the room, I stopped in mild surprise.
The room was set up like a medieval armory. Lines of armor lined the walls, along with various swords, shields, spears, and other weapons.
In the middle of the room were tables and podiums, displaying various items in cases or atop display racks. From jewelry, gems, and things made of precious metals to miscellaneous items like tomes, glasses, and clothing.
"Damn," I mumbled while giving the room a once-over.
As I gave the room a better look, my eyes instantly trailed onto something that stuck out like a sore thumb.
"The hell is that," I said in a deadpan tone, pointing at a pink dress with a criminally short skirt, and tons of frills and bows.
Mum didn't even look at me as she moved her head to look at the dress, releasing an uncomfortable grunt before turning to face me.
"Please don't ask. You don't want to know," she said with an uncomfortable expression.
I could only give her a blank stare at her plea.
If you ask it like that, then like hell am I going to drop the subject.
"How about no?" I said, raising a brow.
Sighing, she glanced over at the dress before giving me a tired smile.
"Once upon a time, the younger sibling of your great-great-grandmother decided they wanted to reverse-engineer one of, if not our family's oldest Mystic Codes…" She began, looking somewhat regretful that I had asked and making her retell the story.
"Of course, they decided that they didn't need permission, so they started pulling it apart to study it—"
Oh, I can see where this is going…
"Unsurprisingly, it broke." Mum gave me an annoyed look, probably thanks to being reminded of the loss of such an old Mystic Code.
"Interesting. Now, what does that have to do with the dress? I doubt it's the Mystic Code you spoke of." The story was interesting, but the dress was even more so. That thing should be in a magical girl show or something.
Mother gave a sly smile. "Patience," she said, wagging a finger before continuing. "To make a long story short, the then matriarch of the family sent our would-be Mystic Code defiler to the warm embrace of the Wizard Marshal for the honor of becoming his new student." Her last words made an involuntary shudder run down my back.
Zelretch was not a man one wished for as an enemy, even less so as a teacher. If the words of Altrouge were anything to go by, every single one but one had come out of his tutelage insane or worse.
Apparently, a requirement for becoming a true magician is to be clinically insane or something equally as bad. At least according to Altrouge.
"That was the last we heard of them until we found him standing atop Big Ben, wearing that." She pointed with her thumb at the dress over her shoulder.
Hold the phone, did I hear that right?
"Him?" I questioned nervously.
My question seemed to make the light in Mum's eyes dim. "Yes," she said in a tired tone.
Well, shit.
"Apparently, he was a bit 'unhinged' after one of his lessons. He started spouting some nonsense about 'the power of love' and his 'transformation sequence' before jumping off Big Ben."
Oh dear…
"He missed the Thames and landed on the fencing surrounding Parliament…" She seemed to grimace before continuing. "Apparently, he looked like a victim of Vlad the Third post-landing." She explained, making me grimace as well.
Sighing, she glanced back at the dress. "We got to keep the dress as an apology gift from the Marshal, along with a small favor to be cashed in with him due to the bad press we got." At the end of her explanation, she looked back at me.
I nodded slowly at her words. "How kind of him," I commented, making her roll her eyes.
"Indeed." She said dryly.
Waving me off, she gestured for us to move on. "Anyway, your prize isn't in here," she explained while moving deeper into the room.
Frowning, I followed her. "Is there another hidden room?" I probed, getting a nod in response from my mother.
"Of course. This room could be loosely described as a 'decoy,' as nothing here is too irreplaceable," she explained, before promptly crouching to the ground.
Her hand moved to grip the corner of the carpet and fluently folded it onto itself, revealing a wooden trapdoor. Mother proceeded to pull open the door before standing back up, gesturing for me to enter while shooting me a smug smile.
"That's so dumb," I exclaimed in a bored tone, making her brow twitch.
"It's practically invisible to most scanning magecraft, as it's completely mundane among a room filled with mysteries," she defended, making me give her a blank look.
"What happens if the intruder takes a fancy to the carpet, or they're clumsy and trip on it, revealing the trapdoor?" I pressed, making a few creases form on her forehead.
"Get. Down. Now." She said, trying to look menacing while pointing down at the staircase.
Apparently, she didn't have an answer, so she resorted to threats.
Naturally, I shot her an unimpressed look.
How am I meant to get cowed by her after she nearly pissed herself from Cath's growl? And I all but beat the shit out of her thirty minutes ago, all while handicapping myself from using reinforcement. Like hell I'm going to show fear.
Seemingly catching on thanks to my blank expression, she sighed and shot me a look.
"Please." Her tone was bland but good enough for me.
At her words, I walked down the staircase. This one lacked the torchlight like the ones I went down earlier; however, it made up for it with creepy glowing crystals.
As I made my way down, Cath started to get more and more restless as we neared the bottom of the stairs.
He kept squirming around in my arms, sniffing the air, and looking alert.
Reaching the bottom, I was greeted by a small room with a large ornate door.
Mother had apparently reached the bottom as well, as she proceeded to walk past me, pulled out a triangular-shaped key, and placed it into the keyhole. Before she unlocked the door, she shot me a look filled with anticipation.
"The things inside here are our family's greatest treasures. To give you some perspective, four shards of Caliburn are in this room," she said, shooting me a smile. "And if all things go well, our most prized weapon will fall into your hands."
At her words, I felt my pulse increase. After all, shit just got real. This was clearly a much bigger deal than what she had eluded to.
I could only nod dumbly. After all, what was I supposed to say?
Seeing my reaction, Mum smiled patiently before turning the key. The door's lock gave an audible click, simultaneously allowing the door to creak open.
As the door opened, the air of the room, dense with mysteries, flooded out like a tsunami, hitting me like a gust of wind.
The feeling was nothing like the outside, as the air was so mana-dense, making my body feel lighter, and my Magic Core seemed to be working overtime to suck up the mana in the air.
But thanks to the intoxicating feeling of the mana-dense atmosphere, I wasn't able to react to Cath jumping out of my arms and darting into the room.
Mum's face momentarily paled as her eyes followed Cath entering the room before they fixed themselves on me.
"If he breaks anything in there, then I'm sending you to learn under Kaleidoscope for a few years," she said in a deathly serious tone.
At her threat, I internally grimaced. After all, that was something she could actually follow through with. So I gave her a salute. "Yes, Ma'am," I said before darting into the room.
The inside was set up like a corridor, lit by a dark blue light from the crystals decorating the walls and ceiling. Display tables lined the walls, protected by crystal casings, with nameplates identifying the objects inside.
Deciding to have a look at the first display case, I was surprised to see what looked like a collection of extremely large white shark teeth. Each one was around 12 inches long and 8 inches at its widest.
Raising a brow, I looked at the nameplate, only to recoil in surprise.
'Albion's Scales'
Blinking in surprise, I gave them another look. While they were indeed shaped like shark teeth, upon further inspection, they looked more like scales rather than teeth. But I'll stand by that it was a good guess.
Deciding to look at the next display case, I was interrupted by Cath's insistent barking.
"FOU! Fu! FOOO!"
Sighing, I tore my gaze away from the displays and fixed my eyes on Cath.
He was sitting a little further down the hallway, gently leaning his two front paws on the glass of a large rectangular box.
There seemed to be a see-through panel on the side Cath was leaning on, as a soft golden glow emitted onto Cath, making me frown slightly at the odd sight.
"Fou!"
Riveting commentary.
"I'm coming," I said as I walked up to him. Seeing him energetically swishing his tail, I decided to have a look at what was inside the box.
As I peered inside the box, I saw a vision.
Golden light stretched far into the horizon, as far as the eye could see.
A golden tower, unmatched in its radiance.
Blinking, the illusion disappeared, and I felt my pulse rise.
My hand had instinctively unlatched the keychain keeping the box's case shut.
Upon removing the crystal cover, I felt even purer mana wash over me as I was bathed in the light found at the end of the world.
Inside was the Lance that Shines to the End of the World, the Anchor of Storm that fastens the planet together.
Rhongomyniad.
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A/N
Welcome back, my reader Overlords, please add this to your library and give me some comments, stones and Reviews, as it would be much appreciated.
Now that the mandatory begging is done, time to ask the hard hitting questions.
Who didn't see this reveal coming from a mile away? For those of you in the affirmative, get a pair of glasses. From spearmanship training, instead of the traditional swords training, to Rosalind flat out dodging the question to why he isn't learning swordsmanship, like a rich man dodges taxes.
I thought it to much of an opportunity to waste, seeing as Rhongomyniad exists in the modern era as Add. There will be backstory on how it ended up in the vault in the next chapter, so keep your curiosity to yourselves.
Now, few of you will have concerns, so I will address them.
Alistair wont be able to use the spear to its fullest for a while, like not in this, or the next volume. So he wont go 'Brrrr' and blow shit up with its name release willy-nilly.
For all wants and purposes, the spear is, as of now, more of an extremely pointy stick, good for poking holes in whatever strikes Alistairs fancy.
Now, if there are any good suggestions or comments, please fill me inn, I love learning of how stupid I am.
As for now, I must leave. Ciao