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CHP 10: Archer vs Lancer
🕑 Added 2023-03-02 19:56:27 +0000 UTCNight once more fell on the city of Fuyuki, coating the regions not illuminated by artificial lighting in a blanket of darkness.
Many of it's denizens, tired from their busy schedules, drifted off to sleep while others only now woke up, intent on enjoying themselves during the night regardless of the consequences such a lifestyle would bring somewhere down the line.
Rin Tohsaka, accompanied by her still unnamed Archer servant, walked through the grounds of Homurahara Academy, the local school with a strangely large emphasis on the Archery Club, "We need to do something about this." She muttered, both hands behind her back. Some sort of ritual was going to take place here and she had more than a few guesses regarding it's nature.
With that in mind, the young magus wanted to explore the buildings for what was sustaining it ONLY, it seemed Fate had not deemed that she realise her intentions.
Rin couldn't help but let out a startled shriek when her still invisible servant grabbed her by the shoulders and jumped away just in time to avoid a dark jagged spear crashing where she'd been a moment ago.
"Was it a trap?" She connected the dots instantly, forgetting her embarrassment in favour of a more pragmatic train of thought. It certainly did make sense for a Master to use such a ritual to lure out the more compassionate of his or her foes but, "Am I being underestimated here?" For that the Master would have to be pretty, or rather, TOO confident in the abilities of their servant.
"I did not make this, nor did my Master. I would rather not assault children to feel myself powerful."
"So it's you." Archer materialised in front of Rin, holding black and white short curved swords in both idly hanging hands. He stared at the dark armoured knight with a small smile, better described as a sneer, on his face. The fact that the opponent was only walking over with slow, powerful steps left Archer free to analyse the weapon lodged between them.
He didn't waste the opportunity and ignoring the clanking of metal greaves against cold hard ground, Archer traced the noble phantasm, instantly recording and completely analysing it before replicating it perfectly, down it's last particle. Of course that also meant inheriting it's history and in doing so, proficiency in the weapon equal to the knight he faced.
That was his strongest weapon, perfect replication of the weapons of those he faced.
And so, with his newfound knowledge, Archer sought to feign the upper hand, "This is unexpected. To think a kn-"
Only to be thrown for a loop when the knight placed a hand over his chest and bowed ever so slightly, "One of the knights belonging to King Arthur's Round Table, I am begrudgingly the one titled, Knight of Atrocity, Aston." He grabbed onto his spear, ripping it from the ground before pointing it at Archer, "What pray tell, drove you to believe I would not attempt to finish a fight you started?"
Before engaging in a proper fight with a figure of legend, Aston thought it par for the course as a knight to name himself, as he'd always done when faced with an opponent. After spending a day relaxing, he'd scoured the city for his attacker and unsurprisingly, found him in a matter of moments.
"Hm." Archer grunted in acknowledgement before gripping his weapons, Kanshou and Byakuya, "I would share my name, if only I remembered it."
"Ah no worries.." Aston waved his hand slightly, "It is not too rare an occurrence that I meet someone.." He hummed for a moment, lodging his spear in the earth once again and putting his hand to his chin, "Challenged?" As for giving away his name, that wasn't too big a problem seeing as not many even knew what his abilities were.
Rin could only stay silent and watch on in apprehension as the two servants exchanged poorly veiled jabs with one another.
She had a much bigger problem to deal with after all.
A knight from the Round Table? Why'd he give away his identity!? Wasn't that counterproductive in a battle between servants?! What had he even done to earn a title like the one he had?!
Her own questions were drowned out by her servant speaking through their mental link, "We need to retreat." Archer suggested shamelessly, "You are staring at a man who single-handedly faced an army over a hundred thousand strong.."
Hadn't plenty of figures do-
"And won."
Oh..
Rin bit her lower lip in frustration, she was expected to beat something like this? Well damn it then, she'd do it! Somehow. Stomping her foot on the ground, the young girl turned to leave only to notice a magenta haired woman in a maroon business suit calmly walking towards her, a stiff air about her stoic figure.
Archer didn't get enough time to warn his Master of the impending threat as Aston had already shot at him, ripping open the earth under his feet from sheer speed, holding his spear up less like a spear and more like a long mace which he then smashed right down, tearing open the earth from raw strength when Archer stepped to the side and leapt back, avoiding a possibly fatal injury.
Leaping away didn't amount to much however when the Lancer shot for him once more, spear aimed right for his chest. This time Archer was forced to employ the two swords in his hands, barely managing to deflect the blow through instinct as he felt his hands shake under the strength packed in Aston's thrust.
Aston realised instantly that he outclassed his opponent in both strength and speed, "Quite the conundrum we're in, this is much like kicking a bear in it's rear and thinking it was a good idea." He thrust his jagged spear forward, shattering the swords Archer had put up to block his attack and piercing through the servant's shoulder, "It isn't by the way. As an experiment, I once managed to convince Lancelot it was."
"You talk too much." Archer smirked at Aston, slamming his leg into the knight's guts only to realise it did next to nothing to the man.
"I do believe in getting along after all, something tells me you've not had too many real companions." The lancer smiled under his helmet, grabbing onto Archer's jaw with the hand always hidden under his cloak and throwing him to the open grounds. He then used the school building as a platform to leap into the air and turn about to enhance his moment before throwing his spear at the servant lying in a crater of his making.
It broke through the sound barrier the moment it left his hands and would have blown a hole through Archer's guts had he not resummoned his blades and thrown them to steer it off it's course. He then jumped to his feet and leapt at Aston, understanding that if he didn't take the fight seriously, he would be toyed with.
Swing both swords diagonally in a singular cleaving motion proved to be the wrong move when Aston jammed the rear end of his spear into Archer's elbows and smashed his own into his chin.
"I can't follow them." Rin whispered in awe, eyes slightly wide. The two battling servants were moving far faster than her eyes could follow, their clashes only noticeable because of the sparks produced when their weapons met one another and the destruction they left all across the grounds.
Craters, cracks, even massive tears.
"That is something to be expected." The other Master, who Rin found had no interest in fighting her, agreed with her thoughts while at the same time, admonishing her professionally, "Servants are meant to be far more powerful than anything we can possibly manage."
As the rules stated, Grail Wars were to be fought between servants and the Masters were not to intentionally harm one another. Bazett, as a Clock Tower Enforcer, refused to break these rules to gain the upper hand underhandedly.
That and it would irk her servant to no end, her servant who was a knight from the era of swords and spears meaning he highly valued chivalry.
"This is pretty good swordsmanship for an Archer!"
Aston let go of his spear just as Archer swung his swords and grabbed him by both hands before pulling back his head and smashing it into his opponent's, cracking his metal helmet from the sheer force transmitted between them.
Forced into taking on a direct blow, it was only natural that Archer was sent crashing into the academy's walls, blowing through them and landing a small distance away. Aston used this moment to crack his neck before lowering himself ever so slightly,
"How about this then?"
He vanished from his position, appearing right over his foe and attempting to impale him through the chest. He failed however when a volley of arrows came raining down from the sky, this only served to make him smirk and stand up straight as the projectiles phased right through his body.
"How fast even are you?" Archer found himself actually surprised as he retreated back towards the Academy grounds, firing off arrow after arrow at the knight.
"No idea." Aston appeared right over him, driving the butt of his spear into his stomach with nothing other than a gentle smile on his face. Archer was thrown to the ground once more, his weapons shattered under the Lancer's superior strength, "But this turned out to be quite the disappointment." He nodded, falling through the air.
"My Master, I do believe these folk are no-"
In the moment Aston appeared next to his Master to discuss the situation, Archer grabbed onto Rin and shot into the distance, employing the uttermost of his supernatural speed to put distance between him and the servant.
"Ah, he ran away." The Lancer assumed a more relaxed posture, putting away his spear and smiling at his Master, "Need we give chase?" As a knight, he had a few things to say about attacking a retreating opponent, one he knew he could overtake.
"No, we have more pressing matters to attend to." Bazett mechanically fixed her gloves and looked in a certain direction, "It appears there was a civilian observing your exchange." They had to deal with that first and foremost, keeping the magical world a secret held precedence over a battle that couldn't barely even be called one,
"Why did you let them run away?" She asked anyway.
"For one, I refuse to attack an unarmed child." Aston held up a finger, "And, I felt the Archer holding back some sort of weapon." He smiled gently when Bazett tilted her head in confusion, "My Master, I am a knight. Attacking a weakened retreating opponent is only something a cowardly cur feigning intelligence would do."
"You know I-"
"But do not misunderstand, I do not say this unknowing of the fact that you would have done it."
"I wouldn't have!"
Aston hoped to face the unnamed Archer at his best, win the proper way. He was certain to have something interesting hidden up his sleeve seeing as he'd lost track of how many weapons he'd shattered only for the man to pull out another.
