Fate Sovereign

Chapter 30 - The Clash of Leaders

 Rider let out a huff as once more he was thrown back by Lancer, this time being slammed into a wall hard enough to send a wave of accumulated dirt flying from the bricks. He looked up and threw his arm up to defend an incoming thrust from Lancer's short spear piercing the dark bricks above his shoulder. Though to call it that seemed to be a bit of a lie- At first, Rider had thought that perhaps he'd been imagining it, but after several exchanges with the spearman he knew better now.

That spear in his hand may be about as long as Rider's own sword ordinarily, but after fighting him it was clear that it had the ability to alter its length. It could go from a short spear meant for up close combat to a long spear, and even to the length of a pike it seemed in the blink of an eye. That on its own wouldn't be that horrible, but it was the speed at which it did this that made it difficult for Rider to accurately predict how to fight Lancer- He grabbed the shaft of the spear, hoping to keep it from returning to it's smaller form and get in close.

Yet much like his battle with Caster, the usage of the shield was proving to be more than a little obstacle. How that was possible, he didn't know, it was merely a hide shield. So why was it able to fully stop his attacks as though Rider were colliding with a shield of bronze? He struck the hide shield of Lancer, making Lancer's body radiate a blue light and suddenly Rider had a boot buried deep in his gut. He tumbled backwards while Assassin and his clones surrounded Lancer looking to attack from all directions with their shurikens.

Lancer though cracked a smile and stomped his foot. "Zulu!" He roared, while stone pillars exploded from the ground intercepting Assassin's weapons. "Zulu, Zulu, ZULU!"

Without turning around Lancer raised his shield up over his shoulder to block a blow from Saber who had snuck through the stone pillars. In a smooth fluid motion Lancer turned on his heel and with his spear reverting to its smaller form he thrust it at Saber who daftly sidestepped it. Yet even his fancy footwork was made nearly useless in the face of Lancer's shield. It was narrow, yet it was about as tall as the man himself, and he knew how to use it. Saber's rapier couldn't hope to get around it but perhaps-

His left hand lashed out like a rattlesnake, a black flash shot out and the room was filled with what sounded like a gunshot going off inside. The harshness of Saber's whip cracking made everyone wince for a moment but that was the idea. With a surging of blue light from his mana encircling his feet he completely encircled Lancer after he hid his face behind his shield. It was a move of desperate protection, but it also shielded Saber completely from his sight letting him make use of his mask's magic to appear behind him.

"I got you amigo!" He said before running Lancer through with his sword.

"Lancer!" Simone Ali cried as Assassin and Rider both looked on in stunned silence as Saber withdrew his blade from Lancer's back.

Lancer stumbled forward bringing his hand up to the hole going all the way through his chest. They all waited for a moment before Lancer's shield lit up with red light as he spoke a word under his breath, "Isihlangu," and as Saber rushed in to finish Lancer off the wound closed right before his eyes. Lancer stomped on the ground and a pillar of stone shot up slamming Saber right on the jaw, making his head snap back in the process. Lancer meanwhile spun around, this time it was his spear that was glowing with a blue glow.

"Iklwa!" Saber's eyes widened as Lancer's short spear shot forward in a flash of light, extending its length and grazing Saber's side. It was only due to his skill with the blade that the spear didn't run him through like a boar, having swept his blade downward swatting it just enough to the side to avoid a more dangerous wound.

"Lancer," Simone's voice called out to him as Saber backed off from his opponent. "You may use your Noble Phantasm to your heart's content. Just kill them already."