"By the way, I've been meaning to ask… What's that rabbit-dog thing that has been following us around everywhere?" The Hound of Chulainn asked with an inquisitive tone in his voice.
"Is this really a good time to be asking stupid questions?!! We're being attacked!!" The white-haired woman, Olga Marie, shrieked as she saw dozens of arrows falling from the sky, akin to rain. The woman's pupils shrank as she noted three distinct arrows were making their way for her face.
Two would strike her eyes and penetrate her soft spheres, piercing through her brain and killing her instantly, while the third would penetrate her neck, cutting her trachea and silencing her screams into wet gurgles.
Luckily for Olga, before the deadly arrows could even scratch her, a strong gust of wind deflected them away.
The close call with death left Olga's face so pale that it matched her hair color.
[Oh my Arc, I was so terrified we were gonna see Olga die a gruesome death. ]
[Crisis averted. ]
[But by what?]
[Wide_OpenSky-la: That looked like a Gust attack to me. But how did Mr. Chulainn use gust without wings? ]
[@Wide_OpenSky-la the answer, like always, is magic. ]
[Frisky1ntheFlowers: Ey, ^this guy is getting it! I'm so proud of you! ]
"Protection from Arrows Rank A lass, none of those dinky kitchen knives will hit you as long as you stick real close to me. "
Color returned to Olga's face, but this time it was red with fury, "Y-you asshole!! Why didn't you say anything?!!"
Cu gave the best shrug he could muster with one shoulder and responded, "You never asked, so I never elaborated. Kind of like that critter of yours just being there and no one saying anything about it, even after you introduced yourselves and spent all that time guarding that boy as he slept."
[He's not wrong. No one bothered to introduce Fou. I'm disappointed in everyone for forgetting such a crucial member of Chaldea's team. ]
[I love Fou as much as the rest of chat does but that doesn't make it cool to pull that kind of stunt. ]
[ShortShorts_QUEEN: Meh, Olga deserves it. ]
[Man, you have such a strong hate boner for her don't you? ]
[Its common knowledge my guy. She got timed out for it earlier. ]
[Protection From Arrows? That sounds like the ability Bulletproof. Except for arrows?]
[Kinda lame if I'm honest. Someone pulls up with a Glock, what's it gonna do?]
[Die maybe?]
The girls were working overtime to block, deflect, or dodge out of the way of the arrows that aimed to kill their Master. Luckily for Ritsuka, their synergy was good enough to keep him safe.
Unfortunately, that was all they could do, as they had no way to stop the attacks that came towards them. Which was why Cu was occasionally backing them up by sniping a few arrows out of the sky when he saw it was getting too much for them to keep up with.
[Geez, are we sure it's only one guy shooting these arrows? ]
[You weren't here at the start, so you don't know. But yes, this is all the work of one guy. ]
[After seeing it a bunch of times, you can tell that there's always a pause between volleys. It's most likely because he is manifesting new swords and turning them into arrows. ]
[I still don't get why that is a thing. Why use a sword to make an arrow? Why not just make an arrow and be done with it?! So many unnecessary steps. ]
[Servants are confusing creatures. Ones who we just barely discovered exist. We can't expect to understand their weird quirks right away, but I am sure that will come with time. ]
[If Gudao lives to escape this hellhole of a city that is. ]
[Yeah. True. ]
"Why are you so fixated on it?! Can't it wait?!"
Olga couldn't see Cu's face, but she didn't need to, as his smug response told her exactly what it would look like.
"Nope." He drew a rune; the character glowed a dull orange-red before it shot out and split into dozens of smaller flames, all moving to intercept the arrows in the sky. However, before they could make contact, the projectiles made impossible movements in the air, avoiding the flames and continuing on their path.
Mash saw the arrows that slipped Cu's attacks and threw herself at them. They slammed into her shield, the impacts sending shockwaves that rattled the bones of everyone nearby.
"Shit! These things have auto-aim?!!" Ritsuka cursed outwardly as he tried his best not to fall off Gareth's back.
[Swift-flavored arrows. My favorite. ]
[Except unlike the move Swift, these things pack a meaner punch. ]
[And they can somehow barrel roll away from obstacles. ]
[How fun. ]
"Annoying, aren't they? Bastard just loves to spam these things when he's far enough away. Anyway, you guys never answered my question!"
"Mr. Cu, I don't think this is the appropriate time to be asking such questions!" Mash said, panic laced in her voice as she scanned the skies for more arrows to intercept.
"Well, if your Master doesn't think of a plan soon, we are all going to die. So I thought I would ask before that happened; otherwise, it's going to bother me for who knows when."
[But if he dies, then how will he be bothered? Won't he be dead?]
[When servants die, they return to the Throne of Heroes. I assume that Cu will be left wondering what Fou is when he gets sent back. ]
[What's the Throne of Heroes?]
[What? It was explained earlier. How do you not know?]
[¯\_(ツ)_/¯ I just got here. I only know Gudao in passing. I heard something crazy happened to thousands of people, and I came to check it out. So far it's pretty wild seeing real people run for their lives. ]
[Oh boy, you haven't seen anything yet, new guy, trust us. ]
Ritsuka finally gave in and said, "We don't know. Mash said he was a privileged life form that can wander the halls of Chaldea as he pleases! Chat thinks he's a Pokémon, though!"
[That's because he is a Pokémon!]
[Unless proven otherwise, of coarse. However, the evidence is heavily in favor of that being the case. ]
"Ah. That makes sense. Well, now I can die with some peace of mind. "
More arrows rain down, and once again they were parried and blocked.
Ritsuka looks around in a slight panic, but still composed enough that his mind could function and attempt to come up with a solution to his current dilemma.
He spots a building up ahead; perhaps they could hide inside?
Before he could give the order, an arrow shot out from a street exit in front of them. Much to his shock, the arrow suddenly whizzed toward him, forcing Gareth to make an abrupt stop to deflect the arrow away.
He would be lying if he said he didn't puke a bit in his mouth when she did that.
[Shit, that arrow jump scared the shit out of me!!]
[That thing just made a perfect 90-degree angle!How the fuck did it do that!?]
[They can't keep going like this! ]
He swallowed the gross lump in his throat and forced his mind to keep thinking.
'No. Those arrows are like homing missiles; it would be too risky to go indoors if they followed us. Besides, even if we took cover inside and managed to block the attacks, we would still be sitting ducks.'
His mind flashed to the first time they encountered the Red Archer, to the massive explosion that missed them by a literal mile. The one that was powerful enough to reduce buildings to dust.
What should he do?!
How are they supposed to fight someone like that from a distance?!
How can they expect him to come up with something!!? He was just a university student who worked part-time and did streaming as a hobby!!
[Poor Gudao looks stressed af.]
[Of course he's stressed! He just got put in a position where his choices could lead not just to his death, but the deaths of others if he doesn't choose carefully. That is a lot to ask for someone who was a civilian just over a day ago! ]
[Pull yourself together, man!! Stop being a wuss and do something!! ]
[SurgeOfLightning: Easy for you to say bub. You are sitting in the comfort of your own home yelling at a poor sap that is fighting for his life in a literal battlefield. I'd like to see you try to do the same in his shoes. ]
Ritsuka then looked to the direction where Archer was perched and grit his teeth in frustration.
'Fucking camper, how the hell does he keep managing to pull off these trick shots?!!'
The word camper resonated in his mind, a simple word that reminded him of those Call of Duty sessions he played in his younger years. The same word that was used by the literal toddlers in his sessions as an excuse for their lack of skill. It was at this moment that he realized, he was acting just like them.
Taking a deep breath, his blood cooled, sharpening his senses and cleared his mind. Anger and panic were not the answer, he couldn't let them cloud his thoughts. He then took a moment to observe his party. The girls didn't look tired in the slightest, partially because they just took a long rest and partially due to the fact that their nature as servants allowed them to be that way. Though, he could see that they too were getting frustrated by having to defend him from so many attacks.
[TheIcePryce: Good, Gudao is already adapting. There's hope for this boy yet. ]
[@TheIcePryce??? But he just breathed?]
[TheIcePryce: He recognized his panicked state of mind wasn't going to help his situation, so he recentered himself and is assessing his environment.
Panic is the enemy and as the commander of his team, he has to have a cool head during the heat of battle to achieve victory. ]
[SurgeOfLightning: ^this ]
Ritsuka focused his gaze forward; the charred and destroyed buildings nearly blurred as they ran by them.
It was then he noticed something.
He had almost missed it due to the speed at which Gareth was running and the surrounding gloom, but he had spotted an oddly placed mirror on the side of a building nearby.
Ritsuka took a closer look around him, and he saw another mirror, then another, and another, and another; yet, many of them shared a similar trait: they were all aimed towards the ground.
His mouth fell agape when it finally clicked in his head.
"I figured it out!" Ritsuka yelled to the group, who turned their gazes to him.
"Figured what out, senpai?" Mash asked him.
"The Red Archer is tracking us by using our reflections in the mirrors he placed all around the area!"
[O_O ]
[Wow… I hate to compliment the guy, but damn, shooting moving targets from kilometers away using only their reflections? That takes some master level skill to achieve. ]
[Junior_Researcher: For that to be the case, the Red Archer would need to have the eyes of a bird of prey Pokémon like Staraptor or Pidgeot. Weird, but probable. ]
"Huh?! Just how many insane preparations did he make?!" Olga shouted, pausing to glance around—then spotted the very mirrors he had noticed.
"I don't know, but we can't keep going like this; we need to close the distance!" Ritsuka said, his grip around Gareth tightening as she had to flip away from a swarm of arrows that tried to pin her, and by extension him, on all sides.
"And how do you plan to do that?" Cu was the one who asked, and he could feel the weight of his judgment on him, but Ritsuka didn't let it bother him.
"The only way I can think is just to Leroy Jenkins our way toward him."
"Make sense, you idiot!!" Olga said as she started to grow tired of hearing terms and phrases she couldn't understand.
[Leroy Jenkins?]
[Wut?]
[Olga is right, what do you mean?!]
"I mean, the only option we have is to bullrush him head-on!"
"B-But that's suicide!!" Olga said, fear in her voice.
"It's either that or we hit him with a long-range noble phantasm. Gareth and Cu's are close combat, while Mash can't use hers."
Hearing this caused Mash to falter slightly, which almost allowed an arrow to slip by her. Thankfully, she was still fast enough to deflect it away safely.
"Which just leaves Chiyome…"
He looked in Chiyome's direction and suddenly his arm tingled, like it was being prodded by blunt needles. The phantom sensation of Chiyome's agony still burned deep into his psyche.
Feeling his discomfort, Chiyome spoke up, "Do not worry about me, my lord. It is a shinobi's duty to do what it takes to keep their lord safe, even at the cost of my life."
[That is not a healthy mindset. ]
[Kohga: For a civilian? Yes. But for a shinobi? It is the best mentality to have.]
Ritsuka gritted his teeth, unable to accept such reasoning, but arguing with her would be a waste of time. They needed to get out of this situation alive first before he could talk to her about it.
"Fine. Then we will count on you once more, Chiyome."
Without hesitation, the petite ninja woman replied with a firm response in Japanese.
He nodded at her before he looked back at the buildings where Archer was. He gulped as he realized that the closer they got, the easier it would be for Archer to hit him.
Then, he paused when a stray thought came to mind.
'Maybe we don't have to force her to use her noble phantasm after all.'
His focus shifted back to Chiyome, a smile on his face.
"Say Chiyome…. What kind of ninjutsu do you know?"
✦✧✦
Archer POV
High above the city, the lone Red Archer stood on top of the tallest skyscraper in Fuyuki, his brows furrowed as he saw the bright flash of light illuminate the dark skyline.
He wondered if they figured out his little set up of mirrors around the city.
When the light died down, he saw the lavender-haired shielder, Saber's knight, and their Master charging at him.
His face fell flat in disappointment. , "A suicide charge, really?"
He had no idea if the boy was reckless, dumb, or if he had something up his sleeve. Perhaps it was all three.
"Heh, then again, it's not like I gave them much of a choice." Archer materialized another sword, and using his magecraft, he twisted and bent the sword into the shape of an arrow. An action that was now second nature to him after countless years of servitude under Alaya's employment.
The counter guardian aimed the tip of the arrow at the foolish master and his servants below him. His aim adjusted to account for wind, gravity, and the rotation of the earth. If this shot is not blocked, it will pierce the boy's head and splatter it like an overripe watermelon.
He pulled the string back and was about to release the tension when the image of a certain redheaded moron overlapped the boy's frame.
Seeing the master fight alongside his servants brought a wave of nostalgia to him.
The feeling was quickly squashed and replaced by gleeful sadism.
"Very well, if you are so eager to fight alongside your servants like some suicidal idiot, then who am I to stop you?"
He released his arrow, and once more they split off into multiple attacks, all honed in on the suddenly infuriating-looking master.
The Shielder and the Wolf Knight, once again, stopped them before they could hit their mark. Archer was disappointed his attacks were so easily blocked, but he expected as much.
He didn't allow himself to mope about it and repeated the process again.
And again.
And again.
Each and every time, the loyal wolf and the shield fended off his attacks.
This was starting to annoy him.
Unlike other servants in this grail war, he wasn't fully corrupted; only half of him was. That meant he had enough sanity to plan out attacks, set up traps, and the like. However, even if he could shake off the madness, there were times when it did overwhelm him.
This was one such moment.
Seeing his options run out, he was left with no choice.
Archer dematerialized his bow and traced his signature twin blades, Kanshou and Bakuya. Then, he walked to the edge of the building and let himself fall at just the right angle before he crouched and shot himself towards the group. Air condensed in a cone around his body, a loud bang trailing behind him as he aimed his blades directly at the group.
The sudden change in attack pattern had thrown them off guard, just long enough to provide a window for him to separate their Master's head from his shoulders.
Even if his attack fails, that does not mean it is the end. He may be outnumbered, but currently, only one of them was capable of fighting him head-on; the other one would have to sit out the fight or else risk getting their Master killed.
Not like they would get the chance, as they had clearly wasted their precious reaction time gaping rather than trying to intercept him.
His manic grin returned as he felt the sheer bloodlust overpower his rational thoughts.
However, something unexpected happened that put a damper on his mood.
The master who was on the Shielder's back suddenly pulled himself up on the girl's shoulders in a shocking display of athleticism he didn't expect from the boy.
Archer's eyes shot open in shock as he saw the errant master suddenly mirror his move and shoot towards him, but at a much more accelerated speed than he was.
The sheer feat of superhuman strength baffled him. How was it that a master could have this much power?!
His questions were answered the moment the boy conjured a tanto out of thin air and pointed the unsheathed blade at him. Instantly, the history of the weapon and its wielder flooded his mind.
The Red Archer cursed at himself for not seeing through the ruse sooner. The little shit had pulled the wool over his eyes by having his ninjutsu expert don his clothes and pose as him, drawing the attacks away while he, the Hound, and the woman scurried off to hide like vermin. Typical master behavior.
"Ninjutsu. How annoying!"
His twin blades clashed with the lone tanto.
A second later, the sonic booms collided with each other, forcing the air to tremble before the might of the impact.
His superior weight should have been enough to throw the petite woman he now knew was Chiyome backwards. But there lay the problem: the woman was Japanese. The woman's strength was boosted by virtue of being in Japan. Even with all the humans dead, it still was enough to give her the edge over him.
The weight of her strike proved too much for him, as the force launched him backwards towards a nearby park.
Archer tumbled in the air, unable to catch himself midair.
He made a rough landing.
His body crashed on the paved area below, scattering rocks of all sizes in every direction.
The momentum caused him to roll uncontrollably until he sunk his blades into the ground below him, and even then he could feel both his arms dislocate as he forced himself to a stop.
He groaned as he forced himself up, the wounds in his body being stitched together by his inner reality marble.
By the time the kunoichi landed in front of him, he had already healed.
The woman herself seemed to have given up her disguise, as the illusion fell and now all that was left was the comical sight of a petite woman who got out of bed wearing her boyfriend's oversized clothes. Yet that image was in itself a deception, as the woman was just as deadly as before.
Without bothering to utter a single word, the woman continued her assault.
Now he was on the back foot as he parried, blocked, and dodged blade swings aimed at him.
The attacks were relentless, uncompromising and heavy. Much heavier than they should have been for a woman her size. If this fight had taken place in any other place outside Japan, the fight would have been more in his favor and he would only have to worry about her speed, but due to the fame boost, he was now facing a much tougher and dangerous adversary.
Using his signature fighting style, he left himself open for attack. The assassin woman's eyes looked at him in surprise for a moment before she frowned at him in suspicion.
'That one has great instincts. As expected of a ninja.'
Suddenly he felt a sense of danger, and he jumped to the side to avoid a massive snake from swallowing him whole.
Archer attempted a retreat, but it was too late.
The shield and the wolf knight had arrived, their metal boots hitting the stones in unison behind him.
He moved his head just enough in both directions to catch a glimpse of his opponents without taking his eyes off the ninja.
He was surrounded.
And to make matters worse, a certain annoying dog decided to make a late appearance.
Just as he suspected, the dog was carrying the loud girl on one shoulder and the now lightly dressed boy master on the other.
The Hound gave him a smirk.
"Yo, Red Boner Guy, long time no see!"
✦✧✦
The Archer merely raised a brow. "Red Boner Guy? Seriously?"
The man smirked at Caster, "My, my, it seems like Ireland's Child of Light has finally decided to embrace his title and learned to use playground insults. Then again, I suppose I shouldn't be surprised—a dog's breath is bound to stink after feasting on his own feces all day."
Cu's grin faltered into an annoyed frown.
[Oh wow, the guy took our crude joke in stride and actually had a great comeback. ]
[Red Archer exposed Cu as a poop eating child, and it actually shut him up (≧▽≦)]
[Red Archer is too edgy for Cu's childish jokes. ]
Cu snorted, clearly bothered at the boring reaction,"Well, as you can see, you are outnumbered. Four servants and one Archer. If you give up, we might just give you a quick death."
The Red Archer narrowed his bicolored eyes, "I might be outnumbered, but we both know I sure as hell won't go down without a fight."
He crosses his blades together, causing the rest of the servants to tighten their postures.
[Damn, that black sclera looks scary af up close like this.]
[So that's what the corruption looks like. It's actually making my skin crawl a bit just looking at it. ]
[Once again, I ask, Why is a supposed Archer using swords as weapons? ]
[Don't judge. Pokemon, and servants by extension, don't need to adhere to our expectations. They can be what they want! ]
[I still think its weird. Pick a lane Mr. So-called Red Archer! ]
After a tense moment in silence, the Red Archer did something unexpected.
"Overedge."
The blades instantly sparked with energy, causing the twin shortswords to grow into elongate into longswords.
[(O 0 O)]
[Those swords look so SICK ]
[He wasn't kidding when he said "Overedge" those things look so pointy that my eyes got cut just looking at them. ]
Without hesitation, Archer chucked the blade at Chiyome, who was forced to dodge the windmill of death headed right for her.
In that same moment, Archer blitzed Mash and struck her with his other blade. The overly long and pointy blade shattered like glass once it clashed with her shield, but the weight of the strike remained and pushed her away and into Gareth's arms, who had been running to aid her.
This opening was enough to allow Archer to gain some distance.
And run.
Much to the frustration of his opponents.
[Wild Red Archer fled.]
[Hey!! Come back!! ]
[Gudao forgot to carry a Pokémon with mean look or shadow tag. He can only blame himself for this. ]
Chiyome immediately ran after him, followed by Gareth.
Mash tried to follow, but she was forced to block the incoming blade that Archer had tossed earlier.
[Swords as arrows, and now swords as boomerangs? ]
[I'll give him this, the guy is versatile. ]
[And here I thought he just sucked at using swords. Because who the heck throws their weapons away so easily? ]
Chiyome chased him through the streets, dodging or deflecting arrows as her superior speed quickly started to bridge the gap between them.
However, what she didn't realize was that in this tactical retreat, he hadn't been wasting time.
"I am the bone of my sword."
A dense cloud of magical energy swirled around Archer, even as he continued to run away.
[Ah, he said the thing! ]
[Something is different this time.]
"Steel is my body and fire is my blood"
Chiyome's senses started to scream at her. Something was coming.
[There's more?! ]
[So he's a steel/fire type? Neat. That means he's 4x weak to ground type moves!!]
[Do the girls even know any?]
[Sadly no. As far as we know.]
"I have created over a thousand blades."
[Considering his main form of attack is turning swords into arrows and swords into boomerangs, that doesn't surprise me. ]
Chiyome clenched her tanto in a tighter grip, a hint of fear in her eyes. She couldn't let him finish that chant!
The kunoichi sped up her sprint and was on him in the blink of an eye, her blade aimed at his back.
But as soon as she did, he twisted and met her tanto with a single, hastily forged shortsword.
The blade cracked but it held just enough to block the attack.
Chiyome grit her teeth as more magical energy spewed from Archer.
[Oh crap. I know why Chiyome is looking panicked, the guy is going to use his noble phanatsm!!]
[Uh oh! ]
[Someone gag him!! ]
"Unknown to Death, Nor known to Life."
The pair to crashed on the street below.
Chiyome was barely able to land on her feet, while Archer lay prone on the ground. She loomed over the him, her tanto aimed at the man who was slowly raising himself up.
"Have withstood pain to create many weapons-"
"Shut up."
The Red archer paused as he felt a strong urge to vomit. He grabbed his throat like he was chocking on something.
[Is Archer ok? ]
[He looks like he's choking. ]
[0ffDoodyJoy: Normally I would advise someone to administer abdominal thrusts, but I don't think Chiyome would agree to do that. ]
His cheeks puffed up and in a scene straight out of a horror film, a snake popped out of his mouth.
[(˚☐˚")]x2483
[Ewewewew!!! (ᗒᗣᗕ)՞]
[Chiyome could do that all along?! Why didn't she do it earlier?! ]
[I hope she never does it again because oh my arc that is horrifying!! ]
"You've caused quite the headache to my master and his allies. This is where you shall meet your end, Archer."
Chiyome raised her blade high into the sky and was about to split his head in two. Just as she was about to cut him down, a golden light shone bright and blinded her.
She squinted her eye and she caught sight of something that was headed right for her.
Her tanto clashed with another blade,except, this time it was different.
The blade in his hands were not the twin swords, but rather a single ornate western sword. It glowed brightly with a holy light.
[Woah! So pretty! ]
[What a majestic looking blade! ]
[Frisky1ntheFlowers: Faker indeed. The guy truly does have a talent for making cheap replicas.]
[Frisk, do you know this sword?]
[Frisky1ntheFlowers: For once, I will oblige you. That blade is Caliburn, The Sword of Selection. The first blade King Arthur owned before Excalibur. ]
[SoniaYampers: Wait! I though Excalibur was the sword in the stone?! ]
[Frisky1ntheFlowers: Gudao showed you a wikipedia article. A site infamous for being a bad source for essays. Expecting anything in that site being accurate is foolhardy. ]
[Gible_Archeologist: (III╥_╥) ]
Chiyome looked at the archer, a snake corpse dangling from his mouth.
Meanwhile, the snake hissed as it writhed on the ground in pain after it was cut by holy light.
This was a shock to Chiyome as she did not expect Archer to have such a weapon, this small lapse was enough to allow Archer to catch her off guard to use his foot to kick her away from his personal space.
Chiyome righted herself and glared at the red Archer, who had managed to pull out the snake from his mouth.
He spit on the ground next to him, "What a disgusting power."
He got into a stance and pointed the holy sword in her direction, "this might not be the Ama-no-Hahakiri nor the legendary sword Excalibur, but as you saw, it's still good enough to decapitate snakes, wouldn't you agree… Mochizuki Chiyome? "
[Uh, how did he know who she was? They barely spoke to each other?! ]
[Red Archer sure does have a lot of secrets, much like our resident Flower mod.]
Chiyome narrowed her eyes, and did not respond. Instead, she ran towards him, her tanto poised to strike his heart.
Archer parried her blade and cut her midsection. Blood spurted on the ground, staining the concrete red with her blood… or at least that's what he expected, instead, Chiyome burst in a cloud of white smoke and a log took her place.
It clattered on the ground, echoing in the dark street that was barely illuminated by the glow of Archer's sword and the surrounding fires.
[Wow, it's like it came straight out of that ninja show Gudao likes to watch. ]
[NinJanine: Actually, since this is Chiyome's technique, it actually predates Naruto. Which means this is the OG technique. ]
Archer suddenly turned around and blocked a strike to his back. Chiyome clicked her tongue as she saw her fake out fail.
Despite Chiyome's advantages in speed, Archer was able to keep up somehow, and that blade of his just made her more bold attacks riskier to pull off.
Chiyome bit her lips in frustration, ninja were not meant to fight head on like this, they were meant to strike from the shadows and kill their opponent in one hit. A prolonged fight meant death the longer it dragged on.
Thankfully for her, she wasn't fighting alone.
With a shout of defiance, a furious looking Gareth jumped over to Archer's location, her lance ready to skewer him.
[Whoo! The cavalry has arrived!! ]
Archer dodged out of the way and tried to run, but he clicked his tongue when a giant snake cut off his path.
Archer dodged out of the snake's attacks, cutting and slicing through the beast with his holy blade;however, by the time he managed to kill it, his opponents were already on him.
[Nowhere left to run Mr. red Archer. ]
[Not so tough now that you aren't out of range are you? ]
Gareth's eye landed on the blade in his hands and a bared her fangs at Archer.
"Where did you get that blade?!!!" Gareth was mad at seeing the red Archer use the sword in his hands. A blade that was not meant for him, but rather her king.
[Oh boy, I don't think I've ever seen Gareth this mad. ]
[DragoonRuleZ: Makes sense, the bastard is using her king's sword for nefarious deeds. ]
[IliekQTthings: She is still cute even when she's this mad. ]
Archer merely smirked, "what? This blade? Last I remembered, He who pulled this sword from the stone got to keep it. " He made a flashy swing of the blade for emphasis.
"So by your culture's rules, this blade now belongs to me and by extension, that makes me the true king of-"
Archer was not able to finish his sentence as Gareth attacked him with the ferocity of a pit bull.
Her opponent barely managed to deflect and dodge the flurry of attacks coming his way.
It only got worse when Chiyome joined in and began a two on one assault against the Red Archer.
Meanwhile, the man himself, despite wielding the legendary sword of selection, could not hope to fight against two opponents at once, let alone unleash its most powerful attack.
Every parry, block or dodge now left him with a new wound.
Yet despite his body being covered in dozens of cuts and bruises, he didn't give up and continued to do fight back in spite of that.
[This guy just won't give up. Taking on both Chiyome and Gareth at the same time? I'm impressed.]
[It's like watching a weedle fight off a gang of pidgey. Except bloodier and less sad. ]
Archer was so focused on defending himself, he failed to notice that Mash running towards him until it was too late.
His blade was in an awkward position and would be unable to properly block or parry the incoming attack.
Chiyome's presence prevented him from running away. She was too close and she was too fast.
This was the end.
The shielder lifted her massive shield in the air and sunk its sharp end into his shoulder. The sharp blade cut though skin, bone, and organs, leaving behind a deep slash in his body.
The man didn't cry out in pain, nor did he curse them. He merely looked to the sky, his black sclera receding as his dull pupils stared to cloudy gloom.
"Until the next time we meet, Saber...."
Those were his last words as he burst into a flurry of lights.
✦✧✦
Gareth stood silent, watching the place where Archer had vanished.
Her lips were pressed thin, as if upset, but her eyes were somber.
Despite her feelings about Archer's affections for her king and his disrespectful use of Caliburn, and his attempts to kill them, she has to admit that she had allowed her feelings cloud her judgement.
He was simply doing the same any loyal retainer or knight would do for their King.
To Protect and to Serve.
Gareth clenched her fists.
"I can't say that I approve of you being with my king in a romantic sense…"
Gareth's eyes stood firm as she stared at the last mote of light as it returned to the throne of Heroes.
"But I will acknowledge your conviction and loyalty to him."
With the final word said, Gareth walked back towards her group, who were waiting patiently for her.
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