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Chapter 82
🕑 Added 2025-10-01 15:01:33 +0000 UTCLately, Waver often found himself wondering if the world also drew some sick pleasure from giving him one headache after the other like his sister. Reines would surely be kicking her feet in glee if she saw him now. He could even imagine the sadistic smirk playing across her lips.
His attempts at keeping Henry away from the Mystic Eyes Collection Train had been an utter failure. That willful student of his ended up arriving a day later sure, but that changed nothing. Waver was even content to give up and let the situation play out by itself, offering guidance where he could while he fulfilled his own mission.
The search for his greatest treasure.
The tattered piece of his King's mantle.
Yet, he had no clues. Only that an invitation was left in place of it in his safe. He had to hope that the thief was on the train as well or else his treasure was simply lost. Waver didn't like that at all. But, all the same, the hope was answered.
Another letter appeared in his cabin. One requesting his presence in the freight cars used for storage. Against his better judgement, Waver complied. Now, as the cold wind dragged across his face and seeped into his very bones while Gray fought off something that had no right to be there, he wished he had complied with his better judgement instead.
For what awaited him was a servant.
An existence similar to the ones from the war he had participated in a decade ago. A copy of a Heroic Spirit brought into the world to fight for a magus, so that they may triumph over seven others and be granted wish by the Holy Grail that summoned them.
A great hero of legend. An individual who had left a decisive mark on history.
He stood no chance against a being of that nature. Gray was the one to face her. He knew even that was folly. Yes, Gray wielded the sacred lance of the King of Camelot but she was still human. Her opponent, the one she fought solely for his sake, was a great hero.
As a teacher, he was disappointed in himself.
As one who loved mystery, jealousy welled up within his heart.
Yet, here, now, what pained him the most was something else entirely.
"You! Weak-willed magus! How dare you think yourself a subordinate of that great king!?"
The servant's words made him tremble. Her very form reminded him of his King. A woman clad in red, in his royal colors. She was a soldier. He noticed that at first glance, by the boiled leather vest and the skirts and the long boots she wore. She was a general. He noticed that by the crimson mantle draping from her shoulders, joined with long sleeves that flapped in the wind.
He met the hardened gaze of a warrior of old without faltering.
"Weak as I am. I was recognized by that person. I will not let even a hero such as yourself refute that."
Her mismatched eyes of blue and pale grey trembled in undisguised fury.
Gray lunged for her. Her scythe carved through the air only to impotently scratch off the servant's shortsword. Sparks flew into the dark night. She kicked Gray in the stomach, and his disciple fell beside him with a loud boom. Gray clutched her guts, supporting herself with Add.
Waver didn't need to look to know her next attack was coming for his neck. He rose to meet it head on.
"Professor!"
Thump.
The blade stopped an inch from his neck.
Thump.
He heard footsteps.
Thump.
"Another one?"
Thump.
Waver gazed past her shoulder as she turned away from him.
As the world passed them by, blue eyes reminiscent of a clear summer sky shimmered through the darkness. Waver was all too familiar with those eyes. Instead, he wasn't even surprised when they suddenly appeared during a violent conflict.
Gray breathed out a sigh of relief, "…Henry."
"You guys really just left me out of something this cool." His student shook his head from side to side, rolling up his sleeves as he walked. "Professor, are you holding a grudge cause I deleted your save file?"
"…You deleted my what?"
Henry pursed his lips. He did the same thing Waver often did in such situations. That was, he ignored him entirely and pointed a finger at the servant.
"So the ritual was for summoning you."
She held up her blade. "Another challenger."
Henry clapped his hands once, then shook his head and his finger. "No, don't misunderstand. You're the challenger here. Instead, feel honoured. You're the first I'm going to use these eyes freely on."
The servant went silent. The air grew suffocating. Waver clenched his chest. Henry yawned.
Did he not feel the servant's presence at all? No, that wasn't the case, was it? Henry was far more attuned to such things than even Waver was. He felt it. He didn't care.
Lightning crackled over the unnamed servant's finger tips. With a snap of her fingers, thunder reached out for Henry. It covered the distance between them in the blink of an eye. Waver grit his teeth. Henry was good at countering magecraft, but the sheer mystery produced by a servant was capable of outright ignoring anything he could kick u-
He swatted it aside.
The lightning flew off into the world passing them by. For a moment, nothing was heard aside from the train's wheels.
Waver's jaw dropped.
"Hey, don't you think it's a little rude to attack someone without even introducing yourself? Even when I was nice enough to wait-"
"You haven't given me your name either, magus."
If she was surprised, she didn't let it show.
"Henry." He placed a hand over his chest.
Beside Waver, Gray readied herself to help him fight. Waver made no effort to stop her. Even Henry needed all the help he could get when the enemy was a servant.
"Then hear me well, Henry!"
The servant raised her sword overhead. Thunder rumbled, yet her roar was even louder.
"I am Hephaestion! The closest friend to the Great King of Conquerors, Iskandar! Summoned in this age to aid my master with their great ordeal!" Her grey eye shimmered like Henry's, "Magus of this era! Would you stand against me?"
All of a sudden, her anger against him made sense. Hephaestion was the general closest to his king during his lifetime. They had been so close that they were often even mistaken for another by most. In fact, looking at her now, Waver even realized she was likely the reason Alexander the Great was depicted as short of stature and dark of hair.
"You're the one standing against me, lady."
Mana exploded into the air. It came from Henry. A field of nothing but magical energy emanating from himself. It hung in the air and moved with them.
He raised his hand, and beckoned her forth, "Come on, do your worst."
When Waver blinked, Hephaestion was gone.
Her sword cut through the air. To Waver's surprise, Henry reacted immediately. He lowered his head, avoiding the blade, then smashed his fist against her bare stomach. The night flashed red. The blow's impact dragged Hephaestion back across the train. Henry dragged his hand through the air, and the servant jumped back for seemingly no reason.
Waver blurted, "What the fuck?"
A human was never supposed to match a servant.
True, a servant was a mere copy, limited by the mana their master could supply them and nowhere near what they were if summoned completely. Still, even limited, they were far beyond any mere human, any mere magus. The mystery of their being alone negated most spells.
Even Hephaestion's mismatched eyes widened in surprise.
Henry grinned. "A human shouldn't be able to keep up with a servant, right? Look again. You're a magus too, aren't you? Prove you're superior to me."
"I am an exceptional magus." Hephaestion agreed. She looked around, "I see. I understand why my Master warned me of you. You're forcing your body to move with mana… and you're tracking my movements through-"
Henry clapped his hands with a grin. He tapped a finger against his head. The servant's lips twitched when he cut her off.
"I realized my body can't keep up with a mythical creature a while back. But, my mind can. When you move, your very nature and being shifts the mana around you. With an exoskeleton, I can force my mind to push my body to react to those shifts."
That was… absurd.
It was downright manic.
An impossible task.
The sort of magecraft one needed long chants for, proper rituals and even more. Even then, it was what one would expect from a Brand ranked magus and no less. No, this had clearly surpassed even that. That extremely destructive red spell he often employed coated his every blow.
Waver had always known Henry was exceptional. But, not like this, never like this-
"Then, you're not even looking at me, is that how it is?" Hephaestion smiled thinly.
Henry cleaned his ear. "You don't deserve my gaze, servant. I've even noted flaws in your summoning."
Those words struck a nerve. She shot for Henry once again. Her blade gleamed and Henry struck it on the side, blowing it away. She punched him in the neck. He jammed a fist into her guts. A blast of lightning exploded against his face. She cut him again. He forced the blade down with his foot.
An impossible exchange that threw all established logic out of the window.
No level of reinforcement would let him damage her. Yet, somehow, some way, the servant was injured. Her bruises bled freely.
"For a magus, you can hit hard." Henry noted as she reached for her sword again.
"On the other hand, I don't think I'm hitting anything other than empty space. Ah wait, I am just hitting empty air, aren't I?" She smirked from below.
He held up two fingers. A crimson orb took form atop it amongst flashes of red and gusts of air. Through them, his blue eyes shimmered.
There and then, to Waver, his troublesome student looked far more monstrous compared to the hero of legend.
Besides him, Gray watched in quiet understanding. It made Waver feel like he was overreacting but he knew he wasn't.
"If only your mana supply didn't stunt your abilities."
"The summoning system is flawed." She answered. "But, don't think you have me with this. Your strength and your defenses, I'll break through them by force."
Hephaestion wrenched her blade free and jumped back.
She hoisted her blade above.
"I acknowledge you, Henry. Even in our age, surely you would have been a great man. Yet, to stand against me now, in this age, is folly! Observe, magus! A height you may never reach!"
The mystery grew thick and rampant. Lightning screeched across the air in such great volumes the darkness of night became a thing of distant note. Waver recognized the occurrence immediately. She was…
"Henry! She's about to use her noble phantas-"
Suddenly, the mana dispersed. Hephaestion stumbled back with a shudder.
"I guess… it'll have to be next time."
Instead of addressing his student, she turned to Waver instead. She retrieved a tattered red cloth from her mantle and tossed it his way.
"Here. You can have this worthless thing. Remember, I do not accept you as a subordinate of my king."
"Allow me a question…" Waver put a hand in his pocket. "Why were you not there? Why were you not at the Ionioi Hetairoi? Why did you refuse the king's call?"
Once again, rage flashed through her eyes.
"You!"
Then, with the wind, she was gone.
Waver closed his eyes, and fell back in relief. Gray immediately rushed to his side, crouching next to him with a worried expression. Henry made his way over slowly. The youth scratched the back of his head.
"Who the fu-… Who was that?"
"Before that, Henry… You… You just fought a servant."
"Pretty nice if I do say so myself. Though, she didn't even go all out so I'm kind of disappointed. She also ran-"
"That. I'm sure her master just summoned her away."
-
Hope you enjoyed.
'Hephaestion' is technically a Caster servant.
Comments
Bleap
dayum
Bleap
Almost all servants would appreciate a master that partakes in the art of jumping. Though there are exceptions.
DaoOfAnime
SMASH, next servant
Ringard
He needs to summon someone he can jump someone with.
