Assassin never stopped running, not even after sundown. Her Constitution may be a measly rank D, but something like running and staying awake overnight was within basic Servant specs. She had to keep running, because there was nowhere to hide. Her Stealth Skill,
Hunter of the Dark Woods, would be of no help; she was chased by a superior Assassin.
The Italian peninsula south of the Po was drier, more barren and lacking in the large forests where she thrived. She felt completely exposed running in the open, but she had no choice. Even she could not see her, Assassin could feel Chiyou behind her; her ill intent chokingly thick like syrup. Chiyou’s overwhelming presence suffused her surroundings, making Assassin’s skin tingle, the back of her neck sweat, and her mind play tricks on her. But the distant explosions and surging gouts of flame were definitely not a construct of her mind. The summoned Archer was still harassing Chiyou, all the way from Avernus. The Archer-class Chiyou…was probably dead.
No, not thinking! Running!
Even her thoughts had been reduced to sentence fragments; as much energy as possible had to be pumped into her legs. The sounds of violence behind her were growing in intensity.
Oh shit!
Like a rocket aiming for the stratosphere, a minuscule figure shot into the sky, leaving a trail in her wake. Assassin found her own legs weakening, and her steps slowly coming to a halt, as she understood this was not Chiyou suddenly deploying her hidden
Mana Burst Skill; Chiyou simply pushed herself that far.
Chiyou’s determination to reach her surpassed Assassin’s own determination to get away. And that terrified her.
The Chinese Assassin landed less than fifty yards away. Facing the painful awareness that there was simply no escape, Assassin felt her body shudder.
She was
prey.
There was nothing more loathsome than that.
It was that feeling of disgust and dissatisfaction that smothered her terror and triggered
a part of her that she did not understand. That she despised, but nonetheless needed at a time like this.
That which was also her washed over her trembling body, halting the tremors and vaporizing her cold sweat. She was still; falsely calm.
I hate this. If I am a cornered rat, then I’ll die like a cornered rat!
She turned to face the grinning Chiyou, summoning her musket to at least die fighting—
“No.”
A hand rested on her left shoulder.
“You must not make your last stand here.”
Invisibility magecraft had concealed a succubus—indeed, her appearance was so modern pop culture Assassin felt almost insulted by it. However, her beautiful eyes showed not a trace of lust, and the white of her tight dress somehow gave the impression of uncharacteristic purity. If anything, the succubus’ eyes grabbed Assassin’s attention because she could not imagine being looked at with eyes as tender and loving as those.
The conclusions were obvious.
This person knows me. This person cares about me.
Assassin (re?)discovered a new feeling.
“Caster.” There was a new, but not entirely unexpected, derangement in Chiyou’s voice. Her overly wide grin reflected not humor, but irritation; her raised voice revealed not elation, but impatience.
“You, too, betray me? You break your Master’s heart.”
“You are no Master of mine, Chiyou,” responded the newcomer, standing protectively in front of Assassin. “My Master commanded me to be true to myself, and that is precisely what I am doing.”
“Hoh, so now you’re best buddies with the Queen of Whores? Hilarious.” Chiyou did not laugh, though. “Well, I guess it is to be expected of fellow succubae.”
“Your ignorance shows, Chiyou,” curtly retorted Caster. “Then again, you showed superlative wisdom in not acting against my Master.”
Chiyou gritted her teeth, reminded as she was of the irritation caused by that one Servant responding to her mass summoning ritual. But she was good at concealing those feelings, or rather, she was very confident about her own strength.
“I’ll deal with that problem in due time,” she said dismissingly. “I could get started on that if you just handed me the Cornucopia, little girl.”
Assassin’s dry mouth could not speak a witty or taunting retort this time.
“You underestimate us all: my Master, myself; even worse, this child.”
“A powerless queen and half-baked demon shrimp? Gee, I’m trembling in fear.”
Chiyou took a cocky step forward. Assassin took a step back. Caster steeled herself.
“It’s too early for you to know this child’s strength. Not before she realizes it herself.”
A sudden buildup of mana. Chiyou’s grin became predatory, and she lowered her posture like a prowling beast.
“A Noble Phantasm? Like I’ll let you—!”
Chiyou struck an invisible wall three yards away from Caster, and its massive bulk pushed her backwards before revealing its true appearance. Assassin gasped; her knees became weak again.
“A demon pillar—!? No…”
The initial moment of surprise was quickly dispelled as she immediately realized there was something wrong. Rather, this demon pillar, with all its gargantuan bulk, still felt lacking somehow. Hollow, was perhaps the better word. Nonetheless, this demon pillar’s appearance stirred something in Assassin’s chest…
“Please watch over us for a moment, Gusion,” Caster warmly requested to the many-eyed monstrosity, which promptly began its magical barrage upon Chiyou.
“You are really laying it thick here, Caster!” complained the Chinese Assassin in the midst of dodging. Meanwhile, pure white light coalesced on Caster’s left hand, where, Assassin noted, she wore a ring that also seemed familiar—
“The Time of Parting Has Come, He is the One Who Lets Go of the World,” murmured Caster. “That’s too unfair. That’s too painful. To the very last moment, he was an inconsiderate idiot.”
The light in Caster’s hand expanded, washing away the dark colors of night.
“This is my challenge to that King of Fools: even if there is nothing left of him in this world, nothing can take away this feeling of love in my heart!”
The light became overwhelming, and Chiyou cried in pain when the false demon pillar landed a few hits in her moment of blindness.
“I will show everyone, that there once was a foolish man named Solomon in this world!
Ars Nova
The Time of Mourning Has Come, She Is The One Left Behind in This World
!”
The light exploded into thousands of motes like fireflies, and then quickly dispersed into nothing. Chiyou, who had put some distance for safety’s sake, quickly relaxed her posture.
“Nothing happened,” she said.
“Nothing you saw,” retorted Caster before turning to the smallest Servant present.
The young-looking Assassin stood still like stone, only blinking every once in a while, a single tear traveling the curvature of her left cheek. Her upper body tilted backwards, and she almost lost balance but quickly corrected herself and stayed on two feet. The stumble did bring her back to reality, helped her regain her bearings and face the smiling Caster in front of her.
“You-your Highness…”
“Run.”
“B-But—!”
Caster placed a gentle hand on Assassin’s hair, stroking like one would a beloved pet.
“You’re lovely.”
“Bwe—eeeh!?”
Caster giggled at the sight of the flustered girl.
“Yes, this appearance suits you the best.” After one last encouraging pat, she pushed Assassin away. “Now, run! And live! Desperately, pathetically, but live nonetheless! Live, and
understand.”
Assassin opened her mouth to say something, then held herself back, glanced at Chiyou off the corner of her eye, closed her mouth, tightened her jaw, clenched her fists and ran away. It took her ten whole steps until she could say the words stuck in the dark place in her heart.
“I’m sorry! I’m truly sorry, my Queen!”
“You’re not getting away a second time!” Chiyou’s attempt at chasing after Assassin was interrupted by an arrow of flame exploding dangerously close to her left flank.
“Aaaaaaaaarrrcheeeeeeeerrr!”
Caster seized the moment to bolster both her resolve and her own firepower.
“Orobas, Ronové! Move in together with Gusion!” She commanded as more magic circles announced the invocation of more demon pillars.
“Forneus, Barbatos, Buer! Provide cover fire!”
“How many more—guh!—worthless dolls do you plan to conjure, Caster?”
“No, no, these are all of them,” admitted the succubus-looking magus. “It would be wrong to call them ‘friends’, but these six are my dear companions.”
While dancing amidst the bombardment from eight directions, Chiyou thought on what happened since the invocation of Caster’s apparently-powerless Noble Phantasm. She was quick-witted enough to figure it out.
“She remembers,” she said. “You made her remember!”
“It might have been selfish of me, but I wanted her to remember me,” confessed Caster with a sad smile. “Watching her display such emotion for the first time…it was wonderful, but also a little sad.”
“Damn it, idiot! Now she might figure out she can escape this singularity! I could really lose her for good—damn it, if she somehow makes it to Chaldea—!”
“You said some interesting things just now, Chiyou,” Caster said. Her eyes shone with a new blaze of determination. “If what you said is true, then standing in your way here becomes all the more important.”
The attacks on Chiyou stopped for a moment, the result thus far minimal in effect. She was just very agile. Chiyou took the moment to cool down her heated thoughts.
“Fine. I’m done with you nuisances. I’ll crush you in an instant, then I’ll hunt down that disloyal Archer. Then I’ll go after your darling girl and crush her like the worm she is.”
“Yes, that is likely to happen,” said Caster. “But standing here has worth, even if I can only give that child one more minute.”
“Gods, I can’t stand your goody-goody bullshit. Fine!” It was Chiyou’s turn to build up magical energy for a Noble Phantasm. Almost immediately, Archer’s and the demon pillars’ barrage resumed with renewed intensity.
“You have been a thorn on my side long enough, Solomon’s Queen!”
“I shall strive to stay a thorn on your side for as long as this body still stands,” replied Caster as she began casting spells.
Already a considerable distance away, a certain Assassin,
rediscovered but not yet complete, ran even as her mind struggled with a burden she understood as little as the tears still pouring down her cheeks.
Originally Posted by venomking
A stone formation resembling Malin Kundang and his ship, at Air Manis beach, Indonesia.
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