Purple and Pink
{Knowing my luck, I'll probably regret posting this, but it's the only thing I've written that I'm even partially satisfied with, other than a few scenes here and there in other things. There are some asspulls, so beware. I left some major plothooks(?), loose threads, and such, but I probably won't expand on them. I made a few edits, in part due to typos and in part due to awkwardly-worded sections. And yes, I posted this on fanfiction.net a while ago under a different name.}
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The Springtime Familiar Summoning Ritual. A source of both great excitement and great trepidation.
What will I summon? What is my true nature as a mage? How will I compare to my classmates?
Questions like these ran through the minds of many of the second-year students at the Tristain Academy of Magic. Some prayed to the Founder for aid, while others studied the details, aiming for a perfect summoning. It simply wouldn't do to have a bad summoning in front of all their peers and shame their noble families.
One example of a student doing both was Louise Françoise Lu Blanc de La Vallière. No matter what she did, she couldn't successfully cast any spells. Each and every one simply blew up in her face. Explosions, explosions, all were explosions! Every night, she would pray to the Founder, pouring her heart out, hoping for his divine guidance. After that, she would immerse herself in studying the details of the summoning ritual and researching its history. She would succeed.
No, she had to succeed. If she failed, she would be expelled. If she failed, she would bring shame to her family's name. If she failed, she would begin a life of disgrace. If she failed, she would be married off to some random noble.
Failure was not an option.
But the day arrived far too quickly. Already, everyone had summoned a familiar. She was the last and her nerves were fried. The dragon curled up around Tabitha, a quiet, blue-haired girl, certainly wasn't boosting her confidence either.
And so, Louise Vallière walked shakily into the summoning circle, doing her best to ignore the jeers coming from her classmates. Raising her wand with a trembling hand, she began to chant.
"I beg you, my slave, who lives somewhere in the universe..."
Her small voice gained strength as she spoke, her intense focus blocking out unwelcome voices.
"Oh sacred, most beautiful and strong familiar spirit... I desire and here plead from my heart! Answer to my guidance!"
Nothingness.
That is what should have awaited her after her death at the hands of that man. Instead, she found herself in the Throne of Heroes.
How Medusa became one with a seat for legendary heroes baffled her. She did nothing heroic. She was a monster. Yet, she knew that her soul had taken the form of her original self: still beautiful and not monstrous. But that part of her, the legendary Gorgon, still existed within her. She would never be able to able to abandon it.
No, she mustn't abandon it. She needed to remember her sisters' love, no matter how strangely it had manifested. She needed to remember their sacrifice. But, most importantly, she needed to remember what she had become. She needed to remember how an ideal goddess was corrupted and fell into monstrosity.
Forgetting that would be unacceptable. It would not be an exaggeration to say that forgetting that part of her life would be tantamount to denying both her own existence and her sisters' existences, for she carried them and their memories within her soul and body.
The darkness that surrounded her now, however, was removed from time and space. She would be here for eternity, but stagnation would be the only thing she felt. She was not a hero. She would never leave. She had no reason to be called for. If anything, Perseus would be the one called forth. She would just remain here, free from the restraints of time and space, unchanging and unneeded.
That's how it should have been.
That's how it should have been, but she felt a tug. Her soul had been copied, duplicated. That could only mean one thing. She was being summoned. Someone needed her. Her, Medusa, the Gorgon. A monster only capable of being brought down by a true hero receiving backup from the gods themselves and carrying 5 Noble Phantasms.
Someone needed her.
That was the only reason she would be summoned. She would not be called for if a hero was desired. No, someone had to need her. Someone had to have called out for her from the deepest part of the soul. Such a summons, heartfelt and sincere in the need for a guardian and companion, was the only thing that could possibly summon her. No ordinary person, seeking only power, could call for her.
And so, she answered the summoning.
Unsurprisingly, an explosion occurred, filling the area with a great cloud of dust and smoke. Already, the students were laughing, having recovered from the noise and their coughing fits...again.
"Louise really is a Zero!"
"She even failed the summoning ritual, not once, not twice, but thrice!"
"Is there anything she can do, other than making stuff explode?"
"Now now," the authoritative voice of Professor Jean Colbert rang out, silencing the crowd with little effort. "Give it some time. Some familiars take longer to reveal themselves."
That was, of course, a lie. Mr. Colbert had never heard of a delayed summoning, but, given Louise's record, he couldn't rule out that possibility. She may not have been very successful in her practical magics, but she definitely had power and a drive to back it up. The force of her explosions proved that. If she were truly talentless, she wouldn't have been able to do anything. Explosions of that magnitude would certainly be impossible.
As long as the ability lay there, Jean Colbert would not abandon his student. He would believe in her when nobody else did.
No, that wasn't entirely accurate either. Both Kirche Augusta Frederica von Anhalt Zerbst and the taciturn girl known simply as Tabitha seemed to believe in her, even if their expression of that belief and their reasoning differed.
Kirche teased and taunted Louise, but there was true concern behind her harsh attitude, even a want to push her forwards to success. Tabitha, on the other hand, didn't express anything, but Mr. Colbert's perceptive eyes noticed that she focused more on Louise than anybody else, except Kirche. The quiet girl only paid attention to those who interested her. Kirche, as her best and perhaps only friend, was understandable, but Louise the "Zero"? Tabitha had to have a solid reason to be watching her, even if Mr. Colbert didn't know what that reason was. That alone was enough of a reason to believe in Louise.
The teacher focused his attentions back to the clearing dust cloud. Framed within that cloud was a distinctively human silhouette. This proved it. Louise Vallière had magical ability. Unfortunately, the students didn't seem able to realize this. Their jeers only increased. Their eyes only saw a commoner, even if this tall woman was certainly...attention-grabbing. She wore an indecently short dress that barely covered her ample breasts at the top, but much of her skin was hidden by other means. Her shoulders were bare, but she wore high boots and strange gloves that didn't cover her fingers and extended up most of her arm. A few purple bands circled her arms and legs and she wore a tight collar around her neck. She appeared to be blind, however, due to the wide blindfold over her eyes. A strange symbol marked her forehead and her pale purple hair cascaded down onto the ground, even from her upright stance.
She was a beautiful woman, a fact that many of the boys present, and, oddly, several of the girls, had clearly noticed, if their redder faces were to be believed.
However, Louise noticed none of their reactions. Her attention was focused solely on the tall woman before her.
She had succeeded.
Sure, her summoning may have been a lot louder than all of the others, but she had not failed. For the first time ever, a spell she cast had worked properly! Her familiar might not be sacred or strong, as her apparent blindness suggested, but she was at least beautiful. So overcome with joy was Louise that she didn't notice Mr. Colbert calling out her name.
"-plete the ritual. Miss Vallière! You need to complete the ritual!"
That brought her attention back to reality. She had summoned a commoner. There was no way this woman was a noble, no matter how beautiful she was. Summoning a noble was impossible. Summoning a commoner was unheard of, but it wasn't impossible like summoning a noble. Commoners could never compete with mages. That was the truth that had been pounded into her head by society and her upbringing.
"W-wait, Mr. Colbert? Can't I redo the summoning? This is just a commoner!"
"I'm sorry, Miss Vallière, but the Springtime Familiar Summoning Ritual is sacred. Redoing it would be mocking the Founder. Please complete the ritual."
"But-"
A stern look from Mr. Colbert silenced the protesting pink-haired girl.
"That is...umm...yes, I'll f-finish the ritual, Mr. Colbert."
She turned back to the silent woman, only now realizing just how tall she was. Louise was more than a head shorter than her. That was going to make the next part of the ritual...awkward. Her gender too. Doing that with another girl was unheard of!
"B-bend down, familiar." Louise commanded in as strong of a voice as she could. The tall woman didn't move for a few seconds, but then knelt. Even on one knee, the woman was a bit taller than Louise, the tiny mage noted with some annoyance.
She looked straight at where her familiar's eyes should have been and said, "Be grateful, commoner! Normally, you'd never get something like this from a noble!"
Louise then raised her wand and chanted, "My name is Louise Françoise Lu Blanc de La Vallière. Pentagon that governs the five powers, give this being your blessing and make it my familiar spirit."
That said, she leaned forwards and slightly upwards, grasped the woman's face with both hands, and kissed her lightly on the lips. Oddly, the woman didn't react, nor did anything occur.
Soon, however, a glow became visible from the woman's left hand. Glowing through the odd glove, the runes being carved into her flesh were revealed to the world. A small grimace was visible on her otherwise stoic face, but the pain of the rune carving was masked well. Of course, the fact that her face itself was masked might have helped.
"Looks like Contract Familiar succeeded on the first try, Miss Vallière. Well done." Mr. Colbert said with a pleased tone. Louise had actually taken several tries to successfully cast Summon Servant, but that wasn't important. Summoning a human familiar was unheard of (even if that familiar's clothing was a bit...scandalous), so that feat probably required more magical energy and power to accomplish. And this also proved that she was a proper mage, disregarding her other...failures. Summoning a familiar was the mark of a mage and noble. All had one, whether they publicly displayed them or not. Speaking of which, Mr. Colbert wished that Old Osmond didn't constantly use his familiar to peek up his secretary's skirt...
Louise nodded dumbly and remained standing there silently, just staring at the back of the covered left hand of her familiar. Her summon wasn't very impressive, but...it was something. And, even if the "strong" and "sacred" parts weren't there, her familiar was incredibly beautiful, even with the mask over her eyes. It was something, at least...
Neither summoner nor familiar moved, even as the crowd around them levitated away, back to the castle to pass the rest of the afternoon. They just stood there, awkwardly staring at each other. Well, for Louise, it was awkward. For the tall woman, it was unknown, as her expression didn't change. Actually, could this woman even speak? Was she both blind and mute?
"Familiar!" Louise barked in what she hoped was an authoritative tone. "Let's go!"
That night, Louise sat in her room with her new familiar standing in a shadowed corner. She had been trying all evening to get the woman to say something, but nothing was getting through. Put simply, she probably would have had more success making a tree do a backflip. For some reason, Kirche had suggested that the woman couldn't understand her earlier before dinner, but that just seemed stupid. If that were the case, the woman probably would have said something, even if they couldn't understand each other, right?
Then, an idea stuck her.
Names.
Why hadn't she tried that yet?
Standing, she pointed at her chest and said firmly, "My name is Louise."
Then, she pointed at the silent woman.
For a short moment, it seemed that that had failed. Then, her lips moved. "Mihi…nomen est…"
Medusa was conflicted. Should she reveal her true name? This land was an unfamiliar one, as evidenced by the openness of magic and of the dual moons, red and blue, hanging in the night sky. As for her silence thus far, well, to put it simply, she didn't understand a word her Master was saying. There was only so much that could be gleaned from just reading her body language and the situation. Also, if they couldn't communicate, there was no reason to speak in the first place.
That in itself was odd. Normally, the Holy Grail would provide linguistic information in addition to basic information for the time period in order to facilitate the War and communication, but, here, she got none of that—although, for whatever reason, in addition to her original Greek and Latin, she had received knowledge of both English and Japanese when she was being pulled from the Throne. She didn't even receive a class, although the only real option for her was Rider.
But, most importantly, her Master possessed no Command Spells. In fact, she was the one who was marked! And, if her knowledge of magecraft was correct, they were runes of some sort. What they did, Medusa didn't know, but that could be discovered later.
When all was considered, this most resembled an incomplete summoning. Well, she was still receiving more than enough magical energy, so it didn't really matter too much.
But, now that her Master had asked a recognizable question, Medusa needed to respond. The term "Rider" didn't really fit in this context for, as far as she could tell, there was, oddly enough, no Holy Grail War which might need her to use that name. She wouldn't need to reveal much either.
"…Medusa."
Louise blinked. Her familiar could speak, after all! But, now that she had, Louise found that she had no idea what was said.
At this point, her frustration with her failure to communicate properly finally boiled over and she unconsciously snatched up her wand.
"Dammit, why can't I understand you? You're supposed to be my familiar and yet you still can't talk to me properly even though you're human and—huh?!"
As she had been yelling at her familiar, her wand lit up and an explosion lit the area.
Coughing, Louise waved smoke out of her vision and went back to berating her familiar.
"Anyways, familiar, you should be glad that you were summoned to be a noble's familiar, instead of living the life of a commoner! So show that by talking to me properly!"
"Oh," the woman spoke softly, "I can understand you at last."
"Don't interrupt me, famili—huh? Hey, I can understand you too!" Louise said in shock, before recovering herself. "But if you can speak, then why didn't you say anything? I thought you were a mute!"
"There is no point in speaking to you if you cannot understand me, Master."
"W-well, as long as you properly answer me from now on, I can overlook that…" Louise muttered. Inside, however, the lonely girl was oddly pleased with herself. The woman she summoned was calling her "Master," even if it had taken more than a little whole to make her say anything! It seemed that she wouldn't have to remind her of her place after all!
"Anyways, now that you can understand me, let's talk. Is there anything you wish to ask me?"
"Yes. What defines a 'noble' and a 'commoner'?"
Louise almost fell out of her chair.
"You…you don't know? That's common knowledge!"
"That is correct. I am not familiar with those terms in the context of your society."
"Okay, familiar, I'll only say this once, so pay attention. A noble is a person who can use magic and a commoner is one who cannot. Easy, right?"
"It is."
Short and straight to the point. In a way, that was ideal, but it still annoyed Louise. She'd finally gotten someone to talk to, other than that blasted Kirche, yet her familiar's speech patterns were hardly better than Tabitha's... Her classmates didn't count because they just taunted her because of her talent, or lack thereof, but Kirche…would occasionally talk about other things, even if she just flaunted her superior figure all day long.
"A-any other questions?" Her words came out in a wobbly tone because of her shock at her familiar's abruptness.
"Yes. Where are we?"
"We are in the Tristain Academy of Magic. Tristain itself is on the continent of Helkegnia. Anything else?"
"No."
"I-I see. Now it's my turn."
What could she ask? From the outfit that somehow managed to be more scandalous than Kirche's, it wasn't an unreasonable assumption that the woman came from a house of…ill-repute. No, Louise refused to accept that her familiar was from such an undesirable place! Then again…that might be why she was able to call her "Master" with such ease…
…Speaking of which, when she asked for her familiar's name earlier, she got back a reply in a strange tongue. Well, that was a good place to start.
Looking directly at her familiar's face (the woman couldn't see her anyways, so there was nothing to be worried about, right?), Louise asked again, "What is your name? I didn't catch it earlier."
"Medusa. My name is Medusa…"
For some reason, this Medusa seemed a bit…depressed when she said her name. Still…
"Medusa, huh? That's an unusual name. Well, mine is Louise, okay, so just call me that."
"Yes, Louise."
"Anyways, Medusa, you're my familiar, so what can you do?"
"…I will protect you."
"Of course you will! I'm your master, but what can you DO?" Louise stressed the last word, intent on discovering her abilities. If she knew those, she could maybe learn something about herself. A familiar reflected the master, after all.
"It is best if you don't know."
Louise ground her teeth in frustration, but her familiar wouldn't budge. Eventually, she gave up and ordered Medusa to wash her clothes, stripping them off and burying herself in her covers. Before going to sleep, exhausted from the ceremony earlier that night, Louise told Medusa to wake her up at dawn.
Washing the clothes was fine and all, but where would she get the necessary materials? If there were nobles and commoners, there had to be some servants running around the academy, right?
Ignoring the flirtations of some blond haired boy and a brown-cloaked girl, Medusa swept through corridor after corridor, carrying the small pile of clothes, her long purple hair flowing behind her like a strange cape. As she was about to round a corner, she abruptly stopped. Not more than a second later, a teenaged girl hurried out of the hallway, turned, and ran into Medusa's chest.
"Ah, forgive me! I was being careless and—Oh! Are you Miss Vallière's familiar? They were talking about it earlier."
At the taller woman's nod, the girl's gaze seemed to lock onto the clothing in her hand.
"Laundry? I'll wash that for you and deliver it later," she said, giving her no time to reply as she snatched it up and began to walk away, only to find her progress halted by a strong hand on her shoulder.
"Y-yes? What is it?"
"What is your name?"
"M-my name? It's Siesta, Madam."
Medusa released Siesta and turned around, heading back to Louise's room, shifting into spiritual form as soon as she was out of sight.
The next morning, Louise was awoken by a hand on her shoulder shaking her somewhat roughly. She flew awake, narrowly missing a collision with an outstretched arm as her eyes scanned the room. Good. Nothing was out of place. The door was closed, the curtains were partially closed, her clothes were neatly folded in a stack on her dresser, and her familiar was standing at her bedside.
Her familiar?
"GYAHHHHH!!!" she shrieked, thrown off by the strange presence, effectively driving any complaints about the method of awakening from her mind.
"That's right…I summoned a familiar yesterday…"
After some confusion, Louise managed to get dressed and headed downstairs with her familiar. Unfortunately for the pink-haired girl, as she was rounding the final flight of stairs, she ran into a certain redhead.
"Oh, Louise~ Good morning to you. I see you've got your commoner with you today. Have a look at mine for a proper example of a familiar~ Come out, Flame!"
From behind her black cloak, a large lizard scuttled out, a dark red color adorning its armored body and a small flame burning at the end of its tail.
"As you can see, I have summoned a rare fire lizard from the Fire Dragon Mountains! It's incredibly suitable for one such as me, a flame mage known as the Ardent! But, you, Louise the Zero, have summoned a commoner. I'll give you points for taste though. She is rather beautiful, perhaps even a match for me, no?"
"Kirche, do you really have to give me a headache this early in the morning?" There was no real point in arguing. No, Louise wouldn't even give that girl the opportunity to argue.
"Awww, but you're so cute when you get flustered~ Well, seeing as this looks to be boring, I'll be off. Bye bye~"
Kirche walked off, with her familiar trailing behind her. Louise harrumphed and beckoned Medusa to follow her. However, she declined entrance into the dining hall. Eating wasn't necessary and the atmosphere within the hall didn't suit her. With a muttered "Suit yourself", Louise disappeared inside.
For some reason, Louise seemed to feel that it was necessary to bring Medusa to her next class. And so, the tall woman found herself standing in the aisle near a wall, with Louise seated at a nearby desk.
The lesson really didn't interest her too much, but Medusa did learn something about the magic system here. Mages were classified by how many spells they could stack, with Dot mages being the lowest rank and Square mages being the highest. All said, it was a decently logical structure.
However, when Louise was demonstrating the transmutation spell, Medusa felt a spike of a strange magic and wisely dematerialized just as an explosion rocked the classroom, soon followed by the jeers of the other classmates.
"Ah…that is why she is called the 'Zero'," Medusa muttered to herself. Still, something felt wrong about that statement. Clearly, Louise had succeeded in summoning her, a mythical figure, so she had magical power and plenty of it, if her overflowing prana reserves were to be believed. Filing that away for later consideration, she rematerialized to go help her Master.
Emerging from the dissipating dust cloud, Medusa helped Louise up and stayed behind to clean the classroom with her. It was the least she could do for not pulling her out of danger in time.
Medusa was escorting Louise in for lunch when she halted mid-step, her foot about to come down on a glass vial that had rolled out from somewhere. Kneeling down, she picked it up and followed its trail to the source, a familiar looking blond boy with extravagant clothing sitting with a bunch of boys boasting about something.
She turned to her Master who distractedly said, "Just give it back politely."
Guiche was chatting away when he found his eyes drawn to a pale patch between two dark objects. Upon refocusing his eyes, he noticed that he was oogling the Zero's familiar's…legs.
"Wh-what is it?" he asked, a bit unsettled by her silent stare.
"You dropped this."
Louise was eating her salad when she heard a sharp crack, some raised voices, and another sharp crack. Raising her head, she saw Montmorency and a first-year girl storming off in opposite directions, Guiche sitting with a dazed expression and two red patches on his cheeks that resembled hands, and her familiar standing slightly off to one side with a neutral expression.
It didn't take a genius to figure out what had happened.
Guiche slowly lifted his head, his gaze settling on the odd symbol on Medusa's head. His face contorted in anger as he said, "You...you have disgraced me, familiar! I should teach you your place beneath my feet."
"Wait, Guiche!" Louise cried out, but he ignored her cry.
"Familiar of Zero, I, Guiche de Gramont, challenge you to a duel!"
Siesta, having been serving desserts, heard this on her way back to the kitchens and dropped her (empty) tray with a loud clatter.
The once loud dining hall fell silent.
All heads, noble and commoner alike, turned towards Guiche's loud voice.
"...In this land, the familiar represents the master, correct?" Receiving several confirmations, Medusa continued, "I merely returned an item to its owner. There is no wrong or disgrace in that. Thus, I see no issues in my actions. This means that you have just challenged my Master to a duel."
Louise froze, having risen from her seat to drag her familiar away. While her familiar's words made sense, that was not what stopped her. What stopped her was simply the length of Medusa's answer. Judging from Louise's interactions with her, her familiar spoke only a little more than Tabitha, and that girl barely said anything!
"I do not like fighting. If this had been only a challenge to myself, I would gladly forfeit. However, I swore to protect my Master, and that includes her honor as well. I accept your duel."
"You've got guts, familiar," Guiche said boldly. "I'll meet you in the Vestri Court in 15 minutes."
"Medusa, are you listening to me?" Louise hissed as she hurried after her familiar, only to almost run into her hair when she abruptly stopped. "It's not too late to back out, you know. I appreciate your efforts to defend my honor, I really do, but there's no need for you to get killed!"
"Killed?"
"Yes, killed! A commoner can't beat a noble! That's common knowledge around here!"
"...I see. Pardon me."
With that, Medusa continued walking towards the site of the duel.
"Are you certain about this, Mr. Colbert?" an old man asked the balding professor standing at his desk.
"Yes, Old Osmond. Miss Vallière's familiar's runes are undeniably those of the legendary Gandalfr. They are a perfect match to the ones in this book."
Mr. Colbert set an old tome on the headmaster's desk and opened it to a bookmarked page, unfolding a sketch within.
"As you can see, these are identi-"
A loud pounding on the closed doors interrupted Mr. Colbert's explanation.
"What is it?" Osmond called out.
"Forgive my rudeness, sir, but there's word of a duel on the grounds." came the answering voice of Miss Longueville, Old Osmond's secretary.
"Just another petty squabble between restless kids, then," he muttered dismissively.
"No sir," she said, her voice still muffled by the thick door. "It seems to be between Mr. Gramont and Miss Vallière's familiar."
"Hmm... Head down there and make sure it doesn't get out of hand."
"Yes sir." With that, footsteps were heard clicking away from the office.
"Mr. Colbert, we can try to see if your theory is correct now, but please do not speak of this to anyone, regardless of the results."
"Yes sir."
"I must commend you for not running away, familiar." Guiche haughtily said, rolling a rose between his fingers. A large crowd had gathered in the court to see this one-sided match between a noble and the commoner familiar.
"..." Medusa said nothing.
"Of course, being the kind and gracious man that I am, I don't expect you to go into this unarmed, as I use my wand as a weapon. Therefore, I grant you this sword." He waved the rose dramatically and a sword grew out of the petal that fell from the odd wand. Guide picked it up and tossed it at her. Catching the sword with ease, Medusa began examining it.
"H-hey, Medusa!" Louise whispered to her familiar, tugging insistently on her arm and repeating her earlier words. "You can still back down! I really appreciate this, I really do, but it's not worth getting killed over!"
And she did appreciate it. For the first time since she had come to this school, someone had actively sided with her. Sure, the teachers would support her, but that was their duty anyways. It reflected badly on them if a student failed. Her classmates? Forget it. Only Tabitha didn't taunt her, but that was mostly because the blue-haired girl never really said anything anyways.
"Do not worry, Louise. I will not die here." Medusa murmured.
Of course, she was technically already dead, but there was no need to mention that. She lifted the new blade--bronze, it seemed--and held it up. Grasping some of her long hairs, she sliced them from her head, drawing several odd looks, and tied them around the hilt. The loose ends were looped and knotted before she wrapped them around her palms.
When she was done, a makeshift approximation of her usual nail-like weapon was held in her hand, reverse-grip. A Gorgon's hair wouldn't break too easily. Guiche looked puzzled at her action, but covered it up quickly by posturing again and waving his wand. He proudly declared, "My name is Guiche de Gramont and my runic name is 'the Bronze'. As such, these Valkyries shall be your opponents!"
From the fallen petals of his rose-wand rose three vaguely feminine forms, all armed with swords and spears. The so-called Valkyries quickly flanked Medusa as Guiche called out, "Let us begin!"
The constructs quickly lunged at her, but Medusa threw the sword tip-first with so much force that it buried itself up to the hilt in the spear-wielding golem. Grasping some of the hair with her other hand, she swung it into another Valkyrie. A powerful back kick caved in the third's chest and knocked it across the yard. A strong yank pulled the sword free and back into her grasp as a stunned silence filled the area.
Flustered, Guiche waved his wand again, this time summoning seven new Valkyries. "You may have gotten lucky there, commoner, but let's see how you do against these!"
Medusa ignored him, choosing instead to focus on the strange boost she was feeling from the moment she grasped the sword. It felt like all of her parameters had gone up at least a rank, something she had not thought possible. In her base form, Medusa was, for all intents and purposes, a relatively strong Servant. Add to that the amount of energy her Master was currently feeding her and the result was a decently powerful combatant. Yet the runes grafted to the back of her left hand somehow managed to increase all of that even further. It truly was a fascinating phenomenon.
But that didn't eliminate the fact that seven new Valkyries were about to rush her. Certainly, trying to overwhelm a single foe with superior numbers was a good idea against most ordinary opponents. However, Medusa wasn't an ordinary opponent. She was a formerly divine being that became a monster. Her existence itself was of a greater magnitude than an ordinary mortal, mage or not, and his metallic constructs.
With a shout, Guiche sent his golems charging at her, once again trying to surround her. In truth, while competent in straight-up battles, Medusa preferred stealthier methods more suited to an Assassin. Out in an open field like this, she was at a slight disadvantage. This was, of course, ignoring her steed, as combat with him was always a different matter entirely. Still, winning wouldn't be a problem.
A strong punch knocked one golem out of the battle and a swift follow up with the sword, held normally this time, cleaved another in half. Medusa kicked out at one enemy that had rushed at her open side and successfully knocked it into another, giving her time to slice both of them into pieces. A swift jab from a spear forced her to dance backwards and into the range of another. She stabbed it with the sword and ducked under the outstretched weapon arm, reaching its back. Grabbing the protruding blade, she bent it in such a way that the sword wouldn't leave the body easily, if at all.
Grasping the hairs attached to the sword's hilt tighter, Medusa pushed the Valkyrie towards an open space and spun. It looked rather silly, but the reason for such a move quickly became apparent. Contrary to the gathered students' expectations, the makeshift rope did not break or snap, but held and pulled the impaled construct. And it was with that motion that the remaining two golems were smashed aside, victims of the heavyweight flail that Medusa was now wielding.
It was only then that the hairs connected to the sword finally snapped, but the damage was already done. 10 golems had been swiftly defeated by the commoner familiar of Louise the Zero. And that familiar had not used a drop of magic. Was she some kind of soldier or assassin? The idea that she had formerly been employed as a prostitute was rapidly losing credibility.
Still, the upbringing of most of the students prevented them from fully accepting the result. Nobles were naturally stronger than any commoner, right? That was the truth of their world, as enforced by tradition and teaching. They had been taught by society that nobles, magic users, were superior by nature and by the teachings of the Founder Brimir.
Medusa took advantage of the stunned silence to leave with Louise following after her, sputtering all the way.
Meanwhile, up in the headmaster's office, Old Osmond found his voice first. "Looks like we have an interesting familiar here. You may be right, Mr. Colbert."
Much time had passed.
Louise had grown to accept that there was something unnatural about her familiar. However, here, about to face down the entire Albion fleet with just her familiar and herself, she had to wonder about her sanity. The Dragon's Raiment she was currently sitting in was just one device, facing down hundreds, if not thousands of dragon and griffin riders. Prince Wales had been killed by her former fiancé who was probably leading the forces of Albion and, by extension, Reconquista. Princess Henrietta was on her way with a miserably small force, hoping to slow the advance of the massive air force now converging at the border town of Tarbes.
Speaking of Tarbes, that maid, Siesta, had somehow become an odd sort of friend to Louise and her familiar, in part due to a good word from Medusa. It was for that reason that Louise stood here preparing to make a suicidal stand with this strange contraption. A Vallière always helped her friends, even if that friend was a commoner.
Still, right here and now, there wasn't much choice. If Tarbes was taken, the rest of Tristain would soon follow.
"Medusa?"
"Yes, Master?"
"We're going all out."
"Yes, Master."
Louise tightened her grip on an old journal, the Founder's Prayer Book. Apparently, according to the letters now appearing after donning the Water Ruby gifted to her by the Princess, this was the very journal in which the Founder himself had recorded his spells. Louise apparently was a Void mage, something considered to be impossible, but, under these circumstances, she was willing to try almost anything to protect her friends and country. Normal magic failed for her, so abnormal magic was a perfectly viable option. She had to succeed.
With a roar, the Raiment sputtered to life and took to the air. The unfamiliar vehicle proved to be little trouble under Medusa's capable hands. Still, it wasn't quite as responsive as she would have liked. Almost no mount could give her trouble at her skill level and her piloting showed it. Twin machine guns spat lead fire at approaching riders, knocking several out of the air permanently.
But it wasn't enough. The invasion force was massive, unbelievably so. It was like watching a storm front rolling in. Medusa knew that she wouldn't have enough ammunition to take them all down. She didn't know how she knew. She just knew. And so, when the guns clicked out, barrels spinning uselessly, she wasn't surprised. Louise clearly was though, and her shocked outburst showed it.
"That's it?-! We barely took out any!"
Medusa nodded noncommittally and took the Raiment down again, letting it land on the edge of a forest.
"We're going all out." her Master had said. This was a good chance. He hadn't been able to spread his wings in ages. It pained her to make him do this, but, well, Medusa couldn't fly, nor was she equipped to take out such numbers unaided.
"Master," she said quietly to the girl staring at the Prayer Book.
"What is it?-!" Louise snapped. "The Raiment ran out of those...bullets, so now what do we do?"
She hesitated at the unfamiliar word, but her fierce expression betrayed the flames in her soul. Medusa allowed herself a small smile before answering.
"I will unleash it, my power, my one true mount."
"Your one true mount...?" Louise repeated, a look of confusion crossing her face.
"Yes. Please continue deciphering the contents of that book."
"How did-" she started to ask, before deciding that her familiar wouldn't give her a straight answer. "Never mind."
Medusa turned and summoned a large, wicked nail attached to a long chain into her hand. Louise's eyes widened, but she kept her silence. However, she was not able to keep her shriek of terror in when her familiar unflinchingly plunged the nail through the side of her neck, blood spewing out of the fatal wound.
Just as quickly though, the blood coalesced and inscribed a complex sigil into the air in front of Medusa. Before Louise's stunned eyes, an eye seemed to blink in the circle and a blinding white light filled her eyes.
When she could see again, Louise saw a majestic, white, and winged horse. It positively glowed with power and her familiar sat upon its back, seated in a golden saddle, a matching bridle fitted on its head, the reins held in Medusa's hands.
"Come, Master," Medusa said, holding out a hand, "The grounds are not safe."
"Wh-Wh-What?" Louise eloquently managed to say. "How is that safer?!"
"My Pegasus... He possesses defenses at a level rivaling those of the dragons of my homeland. No ordinary spellcaster can hope to touch him. Your dragons...are weak compared to him. None can harm him. Now come."
Speechlessly, Louise accepted the hand and was pulled up in front of the taller woman.
With a shout, the Pegasus galloped down the field before taking to the air, the backdrafts from the flapping wings gouging out scars in the landscape, shooting like a comet towards a leading ship, smashing through all the defenses and boring a massive whole through the center. The entire craft broke into two pieces under its own weight and began to sink.
Louise stared.
The soldiers on nearby ships stared.
The soldiers arriving from Tristain stared.
Then shouts and yells cut through the sky. Thousands of airborne soldiers turned their attentions to the shining star soaring through the sky. Turning her attentions away from the enemy army for a few moments, Medusa addressed her small Master.
"The Prayer Book. It contains strong magic. You can use it."
Louise blinked.
She looked back at the book. Sure enough, the details of a spell were forming on the page.
"Use it. I will buy you time, Master."
Louise felt her familiar's arms tighten around her as the Pegasus shot odd towards another warship. Not one to be left behind, Louise started reading from the book.
"Eoruu Suunu Firu Yarunsakusa,"
The comet turned, leaving another ship in ruins and falling from the sky.
"Osu Suunu Uryu Ru Rado,"
A squad of dragon riders was destroyed, bodies of man and beast alike spiraling downwards.
"Beoozusu Yuru Suvyueru Kano Oshera,"
A larger ship now joined the rain of debris.
Medusa could feel it. The power of this spell was unlike any she had ever seen before. While none had managed to even scrape her using magic beforehand, this spell, cast by her seemingly incompetent Master… It was strong enough to wound her, perhaps even kill her. Medusa smiled. 'See, you can do it.'
"Jera Isa Unjyuu Hagaru Beookun Iru…"
Louise slashed her wand violently at the line of remaining ships as Medusa steadied her Pegasus in the air.
"EXPLOSION!"
To Tristain's soldiers marching on the ground, a new sun had been born in front of their stunned eyes, expanding to engulf the fleet, leaving utter wreckage when the blinding light finally faded away.
A comet descended from the heavens, stopping a fair distance away, leaving deep cuts in the grass. The Pegasus trotted towards the assembled army to a backdrop of annihilation before vanishing in a flash of white light, leaving only Medusa carrying a sleepy Louise in her arms.
The princess stepped forwards smiling gently, put a hand on Louise's head and said, "Welcome back."
Then the cheering started.
OMAKE:
Louise nearly cried in relief when her familiar landed in front of her. In fact, she did once she reached Medusa's arms, burying her face in her chest and sobbing quietly with total disregard to the small crowd with whom she had just been sharing tea.
When Medusa had stayed behind to stall an army of 70,000 and hadn't returned in a fortnight, she had thought her to be dead. Not that she would ever admit that she had been worried, of course. It was only natural for her strong familiar to come back! It would have been nice if Medusa had sent word though. Naturally.
Still, one piece of information was on the minds of the welcoming party.
"Say, Medusa," Louise murmured, "Do you know why there are rumors of a field of statues numbering 70,000 back in Albion?"
Medusa just smiled and adjusted the visor covering her eyes.
It probably wouldn't be a good idea to mention that interesting half-elf she met either.
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Originally Posted by Hymn of Ragnarok
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