Fate/Laoch Gan Finsceal

Chapter 3: No One to Blame

FATE/LAOCH GAN FINSCEAL

"Hero Without Legend"

Chapter 3: No One to Blame

The daylight hours gradually shifted to nighttime, cloaking all of Erin in a clear dark sky dotted with countless shining stars. Regardless of the change in hours, Cuchulainn and Connla remained engaged in their intense struggle without respite. Most of the men who had been watching the battle turned in for the night, although Concobhar, Laeg, Conall and Emer remained awake the whole time to see if the outcome would be decided. Periodic bursts of sparks were all the spectators could see in the darkness however. They dared not go any closer for better visibility lest they risk being dealt a stray blow.

The duelists' eyes were well-adjusted to the darkness already, so they could read each other's moves as clearly as if it were a sunny day. Connla lured Cuchulainn to the lake, lithely hopping and vaulting over rocks while making sure she was ahead of him. He took chase, preferring to rush through the shallow water since he knew Connla was too short to do the same at such speeds, and she could hear the furious tempo of his splashing footsteps not too far behind her. She found a boulder large enough to support her as she whirled around and swung her spear at his torso. He blocked it and jumped above to try and smash Gae Bolg upon her shoulder, hoping to dislocate the joint.

She narrowed her eyes and instantly flipped back in the air, leaving him to exert such force on the rock she was previously on that he shattered it into pieces. She spun her body around to gain momentum, then hurled hundreds of small pebbles she had secretly picked up during the grueling fight. They shot for Cuchulainn like miniature comets, but he noticed them coming and twirled his weapon about to repel them. Connla landed at the shore, feeling off-kilter from the ferocious spinning movement.

"You idiot!" Cuchulainn wildly grinned and dashed at her. His body streamed over the surface of the lake and parted the water just from his sheer speed. They got into another round of spear clashing for a few minutes until he knocked her spear out of her hands with a vicious blow. She gasped, realizing that she was wide open for him to pierce her. He let out a battle cry to show her his intent. Instead of panicking, Connla reached into her skirt pocket and carelessly threw more pebbles at him. He wanted to laugh at her foolishness, but he noticed multiples of a familiar sigil etched on them and scowled in rage instead.

"You cheeky little-!" he seethed.

The Ansuz-crested rocks exploded like small bombs and lit up the darkened atmosphere with momentary bursts of fire. While they weren't as accurate as the one spell she cast earlier, they provided both an attack to blow Cuchulainn back into the lake and a distraction for her to escape. Once again, he found himself submerged beneath the water and tried to swim back up, but Connla fell knees-first right onto his chest, completely forcing the air out of his lungs. The force was so potent that it knocked him unconscious for a second. Any longer than that and he would have drowned for sure.

Connla vaulted off of Cuchulainn and hopped over the walking stones back to shore. She looked back to see if her opponent had followed her, but once the ripples over Lough Neagh's surface thinned to perfect stillness, she couldn't see any semblance of movement. She realized that the first signs of sunrise were lighting up the sky, covering the lake with deep colors of indigo, pink and gold.

It's almost been a whole day already?

A sudden splash caught her attention. Cuchulainn broke through the water and stood tall, leaning his head back so he could inhale the deepest breath of his life. Once he was satisfied, he glared at Connla with a glare he reserved for the worst of villains. His demonic expression told her everything; he was not going to mess around anymore. He clutched Gae Bolg tighter, and a red energy swirled around the polearm. In a flash of blue, he instantly jumped out of the lake, churning the water in his wake. Connla readied her weapon to parry whatever was coming, but she couldn't see where he was.