Last Crack At Hope

Debris & Concerns

—Chapter 10—
Debris & Concerns

"... Do jog my memory once more on who and why again?" The snow crunched beneath the heavy boots and echoed through the horrid mana-induced weather as the female furrowed her brows. Puffs of white clouds escaped her lips as the two travelers trudged across the land.

"Celenike Icecolle—a member of the Icecolle family pertaining to the practitioners of the dark arts." The white-haired male spoke with disdain. "Her crimes... torture, murder, abuse of children, usage of curses, and many more. I have only heard said crimes from my sources, but this " Emiya heard the footsteps behind him stop and turned around.

Frustration and anger fumed the female's face as she heard the crime descriptions. "What you're thinking is probably along the lines of 'Why would she be associated with this weather manipulation?', am I around the ballpark?" She collected her thoughts as she breathed in before breathing out with a more calming appearance.

"Yes. With how you describe this heinous being, it doesn't make sense how a dark arts practitioner would have access to changing the weather." The white-haired male scoffed. "Let's turn this around. How does someone who deems themselves a florist have access to magic and is well-rounded as a fighter?"

Her brows frowned in discontent as he stifled some laughter. "Not at all funny, to the least Em. All of that is self-defense so I'm an exception." Emiya shrugged at the comment. "Whatever you say, Yuu-san." He casually waved his right hand toward the East, indicating to head towards there as both of them changed directions.

"That's not the only concern we have here for this witch. I can infer that she's using someone else's abilities to manipulate the weather. As to who has this particular ability... no one was reported missing in any of the countries." The male sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Only way to find out is to get to the core of the problem and that's about..." He paused and intensely glared into the distance for a few seconds. "...about 800 meters (0.5 miles) from here."

The brunette furrowed her brows as she attempted to glance in the direction her companion was staring at. "...Em, I don't see anything there. Are you sure we're in the right area? Even within my powers, I don't sense a single thing due to this weather." Satou looked at him in discontent and confusion as she had no idea where she is going... After all, this job of his was something she just caught onto recently after that dilemma she was in a week ago.

"Just follow my lead." The white-haired male responded. "You're still recovering from your stupidity earlier." She huffed, smacking the male on the back. "Shut up, Emiya. That wasn't my fault entirely." He chuckled, sensing the familiarity returning from the female as she has pretty much recovered to her original state.

"Let's get going, shall we?"

--- --- ---

The female finally saw something which seemed to be a building–medieval-like of the sorts. It was pretty worn down, looks like it was abandoned for hundreds of years. The ground has been battered, and stone pillars were disheveled and worn beyond one can imagine. Despite it being a relic of the past, it was surprisingly... clean. Dust seemed to be non-existent on the pillars.

"This doesn't look right." The female whispered to her companion. "Of course, it doesn't look right," he sarcastically retorted back. "We're looking for someone that abuses humanity for their pleasure and satisfaction. What else is not looking right?"

Satou grimaced at the heavy sarcasm that oozed out from the white-haired male. "Really, Mr. Not-Egotistic-Over-My-Head?" Both stared at each other for a brief moment. Sarcasm radiated from both of them as if it were a normal thing. "Alright, enough about my ego, woman." The white-haired male sighed before looking back through the desolate hallway. "You first, Emiya."