Not wasting any second, Rider took hold of her master before making a run for the nearest cover. Once there, she pointed towards the spot between containers.
'Hide there! We can't fly away while these two are this close. I will distract them and come back for you.'
'Rider wait-!'
Before Waver could finish his thought, the servant was already gone. Looking behind his hiding space it was easy to find the woman jumping between two new enemies, throwing a lightning bolt at one while trying to cut another one's leg. The magic attack had some effect, leaving a burned mark on the purple giant, but not stopping it. The slash was less useful, leaving just scratches.
'Tch! Either I'm too weak or I need to find their weak spots.' Rider noticed a moving fist and stepped from its way as the first black machine missed her body.
Three versus one. Her opponents were quick despite their size, but they weren't as fast as a class that triumphed in agility and movement. Especially when she had means of transportation.
When one of the machines attempted to squash her under its leg, it paused as something from behind caught its attention. Its orange eye glanced to the side, only a moment before it was hit by a pair of skeleton wyverns that were harnessed to the chariot. The force of the impact was enough to make one of the purple giants stagger for a few seconds.
The second purple enemy aimed to shoot down the chariot but it was too fast for its arm-mounted machine guns. The one that remained on its fourth meanwhile, didn't pay attention to the new flying object, focusing its attention on the one who summoned it.
"Not going to try to knock my ride out of the sky?! Then show me what you got, metal beast!" Rider taunted emotionally and silent metal golem before it jumped at her.
Rider's multi-color sparkled with excitement as she docked under the huge frame, a lightning bolt already prepared in her hand. Since the smaller one was the only one who was affected in any way, she would take it out first. As she was under it, Rider shot her bolt of lightning, hitting the chest of black armor. Just like the last time, it managed to make the enemy stop in its tracks.
The smaller enemy hit a pair of containers, still working but out of the picture for a few moments. One of the giant purple ones kept trying to shoot down her chariot, while another went to the half-destroyed warehouse. Once there, the metallic monster picked up something from the very first crate she and her master unlocked.
Now, armed with a giant katana that looked just right in the purple opponent's hands, it stared at Rider, its intent clear.
Hephaestion's grip tightened around her sword, her eyes narrowing with resolve as she braced herself for the impending clash. She knew the odds were against them, but she had to protect her Master at any cost. She couldn't let herself lose another one in this life.
With a thunderous roar, Rider ran forward, her spatha aimed for the eye. The purple giant surged forward, its massive hands holding a katana as it was raised high, ready to strike down a puny woman before it. Hephaestion showed no signs of fear, knowing what to do as she leapt forward. She was aiming for the eye, blinding this one before doing the same to another, at least that was what she hoped to achieve.
'These two have the means to shoot us down. The black one with only a blade won't be able to intercept or escape in the air. I need to be quick, if they are controlled or have minds of their own, eventually, they will attempt to find and kill the master.'
She had a few minutes tops. As long as they were focused only on her, Rider could protect her master and create circumstances for their exit out of the port.
Little did the shadow of the king know that the entire fight between her and three metal enemies was nothing but a show for others.
Or that her master was about to meet a monster scarier than a metal giant ever could be.
***
Waver watched the fight from his hiding spot, visibly angered by this fact.
'I'm supposed to stand next to my servant, not hide in the back.'
That's how his king taught him after all.
'...No, Rider is right, we need to escape. I will just get in her way right now. She isn't him, doesn't fight like he used to. We will need to develop better tactics for when we must engage in combat but it can wait until we are free from this place.'
The master of Rider started to look around, seeing perhaps any way to move around the fight. If Rider wanted them to escape, the very least he could do was find a better location for her to pick him up. Waver knew few offensive spells, obviously, they would do nothing against golems of this size, but at the very least they might help set up a distraction.
'Wait, maybe I can do something to help Rider.' Waver looked around him, seeing one empty car. 'Yes, with a little ingenuity and magecraft I might be able to at least make these things get caught on fire. Doubt that will do a lot of good, but it might at least give some time to get out.'
That was the plan at least, the only thing Waver could do at the moment and so he started. First, the professor looked around, trying to see if anything was easy to set on fire. A few papers glued to the container would do as Waver took them off before walking towards the car. Opening the gas cap and placing the folded paper in it, Waver ran towards the cover, but not before aiming at the spot he needed to hit.
'Let's hope my aim won't disappoint here. One good shot and that thing must explode. Now, I need Rider to-'
The sounds of heels hitting the concrete ground made Clock Tower Lord pause, his gaze turning from the car towards the figure that slowly made her way towards him.
Suddenly the noise of fighting near him ceased to exist, and the world itself felt quiet as Waver's eyes went wide.
The sky was black and yet her red hair was visible, as if it was on fire that moved towards him.
Waver Velvet, the boy who saw it before, the boy who was there, now a man could do nothing but watch the fire move towards him.
'No...no...no, no, no nonononONONONONO-!'
His body refused to get up, to start running, to scream. All he could do was watch her walk as his mind reminded Waver of the past, of his last battle from a decade ago, his survival, his defeat.
Memories of that night from ten years ago returned once again, never pleasant, never happy.
The temple, the monster. The flames, the burning sands. Waver was there, standing next to him before his friend entered that temple. Then everything vanished, gone from this world.
Except the Demon.
Ten years ago, the boy stood before the Demon who took away his king.
'-let it be known that I, Iskandar, will not disappoint you who have chosen honor!'
His last words, Waver heard them, remembered them well. He wouldn't dare to forget his friend's final moment.
And neither could he forget the Demon who almost took his life on that night.
The same Demon who pointed her gun against his head.
And now she was standing before him. She didn't take her red eyes away from him, and yet a rifle formed in the air above her. It quickly aimed at the car Waver planned to blow up before it fired and its car's tank. The explosion was immediate.
The image before Waver. This Demon stood there silently as fire and smoke covered her background.
The same face, the same red eyes were staring at him.
On that night, Waver Velvet, who was once the master of Rider in Fourth Grail War could only stare this Demon in the face and wait for his last moment. Tonight Lord of Clock Tower El-Melloi II and master of Rider in Fifth Grail War could only stare this Demon in the face and await the same.
"I-agh-D-" the boy couldn't say anything, words dying down before they even left his mouth. Tears were as clear as the moon on the port's water surface, but Demon continued to watch.
The Demon smirked, baring her teeth.
She raised her right hand as she made a finger gun and pointed it against Waver's head
"Is that surrender, boy? Or a challenge?"
Demon King Oda Nobunaga asked with a hint of mocking curiosity.
"Click."
The mock sound of pulling the trigger, the taunting expression on her face, and the silent stare of these red flame-like eyes.
The boy couldn't take it anymore. With a raised hand all he could do was run, escape. And so he screamed.
"FAKER! WITH MY COMMAND SE-!"
***
Hephaestion dodged another strike from the katana as giants attacked.
Block with all her might upcoming blade attack.
Jumping away from a storm of bullets and repeating everything once more.
This was getting exhausting. Rider had to send away her chariot, the chances of her wyverns getting shot were getting more likely the more she used to harass the giant golems. She was supposed to distract them and create opportunities for escape, but these things were relentless and wouldn't give her room to breathe.
'Worst is, I'm getting low on energy. Master can't support me indefinitely, I need to do anything before -'
"FAKER! WITH MY COMMAND SEAL I ORDER YOU TO GET US OUT OF THIS HELL!"
"Huh?" Hephaestion froze mid-air as she felt a sudden urge for power like she never experienced before. Perhaps with this power, she would have been able to defeat her opponents, but with new power-ups come the exact order, one she couldn't refuse no matter what.
Her body moved on its own as time froze around Rider. One moment she was in the middle of fitting three metallic giants, and the next one she was standing before her kneeling Master. Hephaestion was about to ask what was going on, but she immediately felt another presence.
The redhead woman from that forest. The one who proclaimed herself to be Lucifer manifested in physical form.
"Oh, my! Seeing two old friends of mine on the same night, in the same place! It truly must be Fate, won't you agree, Faker?" The Demon King asked coyly, her smirk big enough to piss off Rider.
"You-!"
However, before any words could be said, Hephaestion's new surge power made her move. She picked up Waver, his body was shaking, Rider could feel how weak he was right now as if his heart would stop any second. Without even knowing what to do, her body moved once more, nay, it would be more appropriate to say if the world around them moved since master and servant were gone from the port-
From Hell, Waver felt once again after all these years.
***
"Well, well, that was a truly interesting performance."
Nobunaga could barely hide her grin, then again why bother hiding? The show these two put up was more than worth it! Everything went according to their plan and she even got a bonus out of it in the form of that boy shivering in fear.
"Ahh! If all reunions will go in such a way, I can't wait to see the stupid expression on that girl's face!" Oda Nobunaga raised her hands at the side, pleased with herself.
Their Knightmares moved around her.
The black Alexander that was meant to act as a guard hound for the port jumped on top of the port's containers. The metallic guard dog was still trying to find the trespassers from a moment ago.
Two Akatsuki Command Zikisan models took a defensive position next to her, even though there was no one to defend Nobu from, or who could attack her. This port, this city was a Demonic domain and now all spectators would be aware of it.
"I hope you enjoyed the show, Lelouch. I bet guests centrally felt something watching it! HAHAHA-!"
Demon King laughed as she stared at the drone flying over the port, the one that captured every moment of this beautiful play and sent it to the temple. And once the said drone moved away from the port, Nobu allowed herself a moment to collect herself before lazily watching over the port that was a little bit roughed up.
"Hmm, we will need to pay for the car I, well, that boy destroyed." Nobu giggled before turning towards the waters that led out of port. "Hmm, if I remember correctly, the next shipment must be in a few hours. This one is important, Lelouch made sure this bunch of Knightmares was fully kitted for the time the war started, Let me see… which toys will be on it, I wonder…"
Nobunaga was sure they were all important chess pieces under the temple already, if not then around Fuyuki's underground warehouses. Seconds later, Nobu snapped her fingers as she remembered which special Knightmare her Lulu was anticipating the most.
"Oh, yeah! The massive gold and black titan! What was its name again-ehh."
While the Demon King was remembering trivial matters, the back in the holy temple Demon Emperor was making sure their guests were having a great time.