"Sheesh, this fog is thick." Haru remarked as they entered Kuoh. Their surroundings were heavily shrouded to the point where he couldn't see a few feet ahead of him. "How hard did it rain while we were gone? I can barely even see my own nose. Hey, Altera. You okay?"
"I am fine." his Servant assured him. "I can see through the fog just fine. It's strange, though. We are in the shopping district and it is in the afternoon, but I do not see anyone out. I believe they are indoors."
"Wait, really?" Haru asked. Even with fog this thick, surely there would be some amount of people walking about. It was a weekend. Usually there were people in the district at this time. "That is strange. Are they really scared a little fog or something? Granted, I'm practically walking around blind, but it doesn't seem that bad."
"I don't believe that is the case, Master." Altera shook her head, causing him to turn to her general direction. "Despite the fog, I suspect that there should be some people present. But no matter where I turn, I see no one. There aren't even vendors nearby. The district looks deserted."
"Seriously?!" The redhead whipped his head around wildly in vain. Due to the thick fog, he couldn't even see a few inches in front of him, leaving him to rely only on Altera's word. Now that he took a moment to think, he realized something. Silence. There were no sounds of footsteps, no gentle thrums of a car engine, not even a gust of wind. The area around them was essentially dead. "... We should be worried right now, shouldn't we?"
"I believe so, Master." The Saber nodded as she steeled her features and materialized her sword.
Haru panicked when she did. "W-Why do you have to automatically assume this is the work of some bad guy?! Granted, the situation is weird, but on the off chance somebody comes by, how the heck am I gonna explain why you have a freaking—" He got no farther than that when Altera suddenly shoved him to the ground. "Hey! What's the big—!"
At that exact same moment, Altera swung her sword and clashed blades. Sparks flew for only a second before the red-eyed warrior pushed and threw the assailant back. It all happened so quickly that Haru didn't get a good look at his attacker, only that they were wearing a tattered cloak.
"A woman! You're a woman! We thought we recognized that smell!" the voice of a child laughed, seemingly echoing within the fog. "Ooh, but you're so strong. You're a Servant!"
Haru moaned. "Not even a week and I'm already being attacked by another Servant..." he muttered as he got up on his feet. "Saber, got any idea who it is?"
"No, I do not." Altera replied. "If this fog is their doing, then they must be either Caster or Assassin."
Then, it's just like Asia. Haru frowned. Another Servant of the same class. But who is it?
Altera moved again, swiftly reaching his side and deflecting another attack that came directly from behind him. "Aw, we thought we hid ourselves well that time..." the child-like voice whined. "You're pretty fast, miss! But, shouldn't you get your Master out of this fog? He might diiie~"
"What are you babbling about now?" she demanded coldly. If she thought a taunt like that was going to work, the enemy Servant had another thing coming. She soon learned that it wasn't a taunt, however, as the fog suddenly shifted in weight. She heard Haru coughing behind her. She looked behind her and immediately panicked when she saw him on his knee, hand over his mouth and blood seeping through his fingers. "Master!"
But before she could rush to his side, she raised her blade to deflect another knife swing. Meanwhile, Haru remained crouched over. His lungs were on fire as the taste of iron filled his mouth. He couldn't breathe. He couldn't even cough. Every time he tried to suck in air, he felt suffocated.
His vision started to grow dizzy from the pain and lack of oxygen. Don't even get him started on the sensation of several needles stabbing into him from the inside starting with his lungs.
What's wrong with me? I… I feel like I'm dying!
Growing tired of interference, Altera pushed as much prana as she could into her next swing without draining too much from Haru. The result was a powerful swing that cut straight through the fog, briefly tearing open an exit. She swiftly grabbed him and dashed forward through the open cut she made, moving as fast as she could while leaving their assailant behind.
"Aah! Hey, wait!"
The enemy quickly gave chase after the fleeing duo, refusing to lose sight of their prey.
Altera picked up Haru and slung him over her shoulder as she dashed through the gap in the darkened haze. The walls of mist quickly converged to fill the opening, but the small reprieve was enough for Haru to recover. He took greedy gulps of air once he was free from the fog. Altera successively swung her sword again and again to keep the path open.
She continued to move forward, faster and faster while swinging her sword.
This fog goes on forever. Am I dealing with a Caster? No, if they were, they wouldn't try to engage me outright, even with the fog. Could it be an Assassin? But who is it?
More importantly though, why was Assassin even fighting her in the first place? The Overseer had called for a ceasefire, and she had not heard of any news of that order rescinding during the time she and Haru were away.
Whoever the Master to this Servant was, they made a grave mistake going against the order.
No matter how much fog Altera sliced her way through, she was still no further away from finding the limit. That either meant all of Kuoh had become enveloped in a Bounded Field, hence the mist, or the most itself was following her now that the Servant had discovered its target. Perhaps a chance of scenery was in order. With a grunt, Altera changed the direction of her blade and cut her way straight upwards, then leaped up with as much physical strength she could muster without seriously injuring Haru in the process. She sliced and cut her way through the fog until she finally breached, flying all the way up into the air where she could see the orange-red sky hanging above her head, the sun beginning to set.
Altera looked down, lips thinning as she saw that nearly all of Kuoh was enveloped in the fog. "That is annoying." She looked down at Haru. The rough departure and sudden burst into the air was hell on his lungs as he coughed, but he sounded better than before. "Master, please hold your breath when we enter the fog again. It is dangerous to breathe in."
"What makes you think you'll escape?" a new voice called out before they too joined the fray. A crescent arc of flames was aimed at Altera's head, though she quickly sliced straight through it and dispelled it with ease before glaring at the new foe and possible Master.
Looking down on the Master and Servant was a young girl, likely in her first year of high school. If Haru hadn't been in agonizing respiratory pain, he would've make a comment on her beauty. She had a light, clear complexion that somewhat resembled porcelain. Her dark blue eyes were harrowed with a hint of condescension. Her blonde hair was long and tied into twintails with large, drill-like curls kept in place with blue ribbons. She was garbed in a pink, victorian-style dress that highlighted her well-developed curves. But what stood out most was the pair of fiery wings on her back keeping her airborne.
It almost drew away attention from the girl's hand.
More specifically, the red markings on the back of her hand. There was no mistaking it. Two of the three sigils resembled widespread wings while the last appeared as a ball of fire. They were Command Seals.
Altera's suspicions had proven valid. This girl was a master.
Altera descended and landed atop one of the water tanks, her eyes never leaving her target. "I assume you're the Master of the Servant?"
"Correct." the woman smiled arrogantly as she performed a curtsy. "Ravel Phenex, how do you do? If you would do me a favor, would you kindly allow me and my Servant to kill your Master?"
"If you think I would obey your orders, you are sorely mistaken." Altera answered coldly. "You dared to harm my Master. I will see to it that your head rolls at my feet."
"You're so loyal, aren't you? I can't understand why. If you just let me kill him and contract with me, you would have much more power at your disposal. As you can see, I am a Devil. We have much more innate magical energy at our disposal than humans like your Master. Would be able to access your full capabilities. Winning this war would be a cakewalk." Ravel attempted to negotiate. Her goal was to kill a Master and take their Command Spells. If she so happened to come across a Servant who would willingly join her and Assassin, then it would simply be a boon.
"I refuse." Altera glowered at the girl for making such an offer. "As I said before. You shall not harm my Master as long as I draw breath." Her expression was fierce and unyielding. Nothing the Devil could say would change her mind.
"... I see. Seems like negotiations have failed." Ravel huffed before smiling. "Oh well. Assassin? Be a dear and kill them both please."
"Okay, Mommy!" The child-like voice chirped up from behind the Saber.
Haru, who managed to recover now that he was completely out of the fog, snapped back to reality and realize what was gonna happen. He reacted almost immediately and raised his hand, circuits running along his arm.
"Gandr!"
Assassin was caught off guard and was struck dead-on by the attack, though the damage wasn't lasting or severe. If anything, all it did was repel her as all his attack seemed to do was blow off her cloak. Without the fog obscuring her, Haru now had a good look at the Servant… and promptly gaped.
Oooh, Matsuda would be having a field day with this one.
He thought that Assassin sounded childish back in the fog. Now he saw the reason why.
Their enemy was a young girl, likely in her pre teens or even younger. She was even shorter than Koneko-Chan! She also bore a slight resemblance to her with her short white hair. She had green eyes that gleamed with childish innocence. Not even the scar on her cheek or the one below her eyes detracted her cuteness. She had a pair of knives in her bandaged hands. What was most shocking is the attire a child her age should not wear. She wore a black buttoned vest-like shirt that exposed her stomach. The only things that covered her lower half was a pair of skimpy black panties that were more akin to a thong and black thigh high socks.
He looked at Ravel questionably. "Please tell me you are not the one who put her in that outfit."
"Of course not!" Ravel's cheeks turned pink as she huffed and crossed her arms. "That's how she was when I summoned her! Believe me, it's not like I approve of her choice of attire, either!" Okay. Haru could see that happening. When Altera was summoned, she wasn't exactly dressed conservatively either. Ravel blinked rapidly. "Wait, what am I doing arguing? Assassin!"
"Die for us!" Assassin cheered as she leaped. At the same time, Ravel conjured another volley of fire.
"Saber!" Haru ordered. Altera swung her sword at Ravel's flames while he dealt with Assassin. He sucked in a breath, then threw his first forward. Assassin giggled at this, wondering if he knew he was trying to punch a pair of knives that could easily carve through his flesh. She continued without a care in the world and aimed to slice off his hand completely, right down the middle—
[BOOST!]
—Only for a crimson red gauntlet to impede its progress, followed by a green light emanating from the jewel on the back of the boy's hand. "Huh?" Assassin tilted her head in confusion and quickly retreated as he attempted to throw another punch.
I don't think I'll be able to handle Assassin, but we don't actually have to fight her. Haru thought logically. All we gotta do is take out the Master, or at the very least incapacitate her.
"Reinforce." Haru muttered under his breath, soon feeling his body change subtly. "Okay. Let's try this again!"
He was told time and time again by his grandmother that it was impossible for a human to fight a servant and expect to win. It was basically suicide to fight one in the first place. But he wasn't aiming to win. He just needed to buy time for Altera to beat down Assassin's Master.
He quickly ducked underneath a jumping knife swing and rolled away from his opponent.
… Assuming he doesn't get carved up like a turkey first.