A Dishonored Demigod

One Step Closer

As soon as I set Sakura down I allow my anger to rise and bark out an order,"Saber's master, find him! I want to know his every move!"
Multiple sets of pure yellow eyes open in the shadows before vanishing silently. My mark glows and Grey Wind's mind connects with mine as I give him a verbal command,"Make sure no one enters unless you know you can't stop them. I'm going hunting."
I cut the link before he can respond and the skin around my shoulders bulges before exploding out in bloody chunks as my wings whip out faster than I'm used to. I hear shoes tap against the stone and glance over my shoulder,"Don't worry Kariya, I'll be by the little master's side in a moment if I feel anything wrong through our link."
He simply nods his head with cold fury in his eyes,"Find them. Make them pay for hurting my niece."
My blood starts to race and a bloodthirsty smile stretches over my face as Thrafsma's tattoos creep over my skin,"Don't have to tell me twice."
I jump into the air, cracking the stone under me before my wings carry me higher into the night sky. As I soar through the chilled air I activate Dark Vision and thoroughly scan the ground for any brighter-than-normal signatures. As soon as I fly over a half finished construction area my glowing eyes land on a literal beacon of prana and silently drop down and use the shadow from a half-destroyed wall to silently slip into the building.
I emerge in the shadows while at the same time commanding them to wrap around me for camouflage and see Lancer's master sitting in a wheelchair,"Well, well, well. Look at what I've found."
I can feel his fear and slowly emerge from the shadows, letting them cling to my skin before ripping off,"Give me one good reason not to kill you right now."
He whimpers and I can feel him trying to summon up his prana, but failing as small rivulets of blood trickle down his face and soak the bandages around his arms,"Not looking so hot right now are ya?"
I stop a few yards away from him and transmute the concrete into a wooden chair with a velvet cushion,"Now now, no need to fear me right now. As long as my little master is in danger I won't risk using prana. She got shot with one of Kiritsugu's bullets, just like you."
He calms slightly,"As long as? That implies you can fix the damage!"
I let a cheshire grin form,"Of course. It might take a day or two, but I'm certain I can reverse what," and the shadow under me rises with a small bronze colored cylinder in its grip,"this did."
Lancer's master eyes the bullet with equal parts fear and disdain,"How did you get that?!"
I shrug,"I got shot by it and two others. Regardless to say, they have no effect on me after I simply erased the power in them. Now though, I'll get onto why I'm sitting here right now. Do you love your fiancé?"
"What?"
"Do you love your fiancé?"
The magnus blinks and slowly nods,"Of course I do."
My grin widens,"And do you want your body to be able to function at its maximum capacity?"
Now I have his full attention,"Are you offering to heal me?"
I don't bother trying to draw out my answer,"Yes, for a price. Question is if you're guy willing to pay."
"What do you want?"
My grin becomes more malicious,"I want Lancer, and the damn cup."
He opens his mouth to yell and I snap,"Let me put it this way: are you an idiot?!"
My words catch him by surprise and I continue on,"With your circuits destroyed you have no ability as a magnus. Even if you did you have to go up against three more servants and masters, all while running the risk of getting shot by Emiya again. Even if you somehow pulled off a miracle and won, it won't matter because the grail is corrupted."
I let him digest this and my voice softens slightly to sell my point,"How do you think someone like me was summoned into what many would consider the strongest class? I'll proudly tell you I'm no hero, if anything I'm nearly what people would call a villain."
He's silent for a few more minutes as he mulls over my words before,"How could you heal me?"
My hands glow gold,"Since you weren't directly hit I can use a healing spell I know that can draw someone even from the brink of death. In this case it will heal your body to how it was before the bullet did its damage. Do we have an agreement?"
He stares at my hands and looks me in the eyes,"You also said something about me loving my fiancé as well. Why did you ask that?"
I lift my left arm so my chin rests on my knuckles,"Why you ask? Because she doesn't love you. It's plain to me and everyone but you. She's only stringing you along for the possible power gain that comes with this arrangement."
His face contorts in fury,"You lie! It's only because of Diarmuid that she acts that way!"
I sigh,"Love...I detest it when it blinds people. It truly is a monster that even I've hesitated to engage. Believe me or not, but I will still give you this."
Once more the shadows next to me ripples and a familiar pink scarf emerges,"Well now, for its purpose it has to become more inconspicuous."
I grab the scarf and shut my emotions down so it has nothing to influence while working it into a loop of corded silk,"Here."
He fumbles with the tossed item,"Use it or don't. As long as I can get rid of it I don't care. Now, I'll ask again, do we have a deal?"
I hold a clawed hand out and the magnus looks at it before lifting his free arm and his hand joins mine. My grin must resemble something akin to a demon's since his face pales drastically,"With this, the terms of the agreement are set and I will abide by them. Lancer for your life back."
The words come out in a purr as blue fire explodes from my hand and wraps around both our limbs before sinking into our skin without a indication of what just occurred. I let go and back up,"Brace yourself. Figure of death, banished by the spirit of the living clothed in white. An empty coffin who's purpose is thwarted and death is swallowed up by the faceless being who surveys all creation. Avatar of light that descends to those long deprived of joy, and raises the dead to their feet with only a word. Fumetsu no komando!"
The scream that pierces the air would've made my human self cringe but I simply watch with morbid fascination as the glow of the dome covering him sinks into his skin and illuminates his circuits in agonizing white. He thrashes about in the wheelchair he's confined to and spittle flies from his mouth before his eyes roll back and his head slumps forward. I simply wait and summon a book from my shadow on formalwear that I'd taken from the Einzbern's. About two hours after he'd passed out the magnus stirs and I mark my page with the ribbon sewn into the cover and snap the book closed before depositing it back in my shadow.
"So, how do you feel?"
I'm honestly curious as I've never worked with anything as delicate as magic circuits. He makes a fist with each hand and manages to push his upper body off the wheelchair and puts weight on his feet. I barely hold back my snicker as he nearly falls and breaks his nose on the concrete,"Not too bad then."
He glances at me and goes to speak when one of the mental connections I have with the creepers hums to life and alerts me to what it's found,"Quiet!"
The word come out as an angry hiss and his mouth snaps shut as my fear aura saturates the air,"And get back in the wheelchair! The bastard is here!"
I quickly dash into the shadows and the chair I was sitting on crumbles to dust without the constant energy supply. A few minutes after the bastard walks into the room and without saying anything points his gun at Lancer's master and motions to the entrance of the abandoned building. Said man glances at me out of the corner of his eyes and I let my red eyes glow just barely so he can see me nod. He rolls his way to the front and I silently follow to see Lancer squaring off against Saber with the white haired homunculus standing at the edge of the yard.
I silently deploy my Darklings around the yard and the encompassing ten miles just in case he has a sniper while I watch the fight go on. I watch as Emiya blackmails Lancer's master with his fiancé's life and see him sign a geas contract. I watch him raise his hand and note the two faded command seals and the single clear one before it glows and fades away completely with the other two. The moment Lancer's spear turns and pierces his own chest I make my move,"Bang."
His head jerks to the side as my aim is spot on and lower my gun before Blinking up to the roof of one of the buildings scattered around,"Beautiful night isn't it?"
I had put my mask on mid Blink so Saber is looking up at a metal skull,"It's peaceful nights like these that get my blood pumping. Such peace just begging to be ripped apart."
The skin covering my left arm withers away with the organs and I beckon with my pointer and middle finger,"Come."
The soul exits Lancer's body and the metal mouth of my mask unhinges so I can eat without trouble. After a few chews the soul slides down my throat and enters the grail stored away in The Darkness. With that done I drop down and my wings snap open to gently set me on the ground,"I was under the impression you'd be licking your wounds for a few days after I let Anzu beat you down. So how are you standing in front of me then?"
She just glares at me but a quick use of Dark Vision reveals the golden scabbard at the center of her being,"Heh," and I start laughing,"hahahaha! Oh, that's clever! Relying on Avalon just like you did when you lived!"
Now my anger reaches its boiling point and I'm sure my eyes are two red beacons,"I want to kill you so much...feel your blood passing through my fingers...rip you organs out one by one...heh."
The single chuckle breaks the tension as I pull back the fear aura I've slowly released,"But I made a promise that I wouldn't kill you yet. Still, it doesn't mean I can't rough you up a bit."
Dyrnwyn exits my shadow and the white flames burst to life as Irisviel opens her mouth,"Woman, if you say one word I'll cut you down here and now."
Her mouth snaps shut and I don't react when my tail knocks one of the bastard's bullets away,"And if you try anything I'll make your daughter an orphan."
My full attention returns to Saber,"So what do you say coward? Care for a quick bout?"
She settles into position and waits for me to do the same,"If you hold back then you won't live past this."
I raise an eyebrow,"Oho? That's a bold statement coming from anybody, or is it arrogance that I detect? No matter."
My face hardens behind my mask,"You say you want to face me at my best as a Saber? Very well. I do best with two swords, and my other blade has been itching to spill some blood ever since I was summoned."
The shadows throw my other blade into my right hand and I lazily swing it through the air before getting into a relaxed stance with both blades pointing at the ground,"Come then Arthuria. Show me who's Excalibur is the superior one!"