Fate/Lunasa Fomhar

Chapter 19: Dispelling Zhou's Shadows

FATE/LÚNASA FÓMHAR

"August Harvest"

Chapter 19: Dispelling Zhou's Shadows

With Vlad III and Li Shuwen facing off, as well as Carmilla being challenged by Elizabeth, this left Yan Qing to murderously glare at Wu Zetian. She stood behind Connla as the younger Servant got into her combat stance and prepared to face him. Suddenly, his gauntlets shone a bright gold color as he charged energy into his palms, then rushed in and thrust them at the girls. Connla's daggers likewise flared with pure white light as she reeled back and heaved forth with all her might. Both attacks clashed with each other, illuminating the area around them in a blinding spark. Yan Qing flipped backwards, surprised that such a small girl could counter him, but he refused to relent in his rampage. He ran towards a nearby building and leapt off it, then pounced all over the place to try and confuse them.

Connla glanced back at Wu and suggested, "You should retreat. He's much too fast for you to keep up with."

"You do not need to tell us twice. We have no interest in associating with such a ruffian, battle or otherwise."

The empress ran off just as the Shadow Servant performed a diving kick straight at her back. Connla got in between them and crossed her swords in front of her face to block it. The blow was so powerful that she couldn't resist swearing, "Crap!"

Her toes literally dug into the ground as she resisted forces powerful enough to shatter bones. It would have been much tougher had she been a Lancer, but as a Saber, her strength parameters were apparently raised from C- to B so that she could equally match Yan Qing's B-rank strength. Despite his mind-numbing rage, he was amused by his little opponent's resilience, and he showed it by devilishly smirking at her. Connla was so spooked by the smile that she pushed him off and tumbled away right before he slashed his heel into the ground, cracking the earth around them.

Before Connla knew it, Yan Qing's leg rushed just millimeters past her cheek. She felt the wind brushing her bangs and sidelocks so powerfully that she thought they would be sucked out of their roots. Without thinking, she quickly grabbed his ankle and used his own momentum to flip him over, throwing him several feet away. He quickly recovered and barged at her, using his shoulder to bash her against a nearby wall, stunning her for a second. She looked up, then instinctively ducked low to avoid having her head smashed into pieces by a lightning-fast kick that pierced through the brickwork. Connla was in such shock that she couldn't think about retaliating – she just wanted to get away from there, which she did by somersaulting across the ground for several feet.

Yan Qing would have pursued her, but he had to flip away in a completely different direction. Connla wasn't sure why at first. That was when a series of black daggers peppered the area where he previously was. A moment later, Jack the Ripper landed in front of her friend and asked, "Are you okay?"

"Yes. Thanks for the save," Connla replied.

Yan Qing wasn't going to give them the chance to enjoy their reunion. He ran for the girls, and Jack furiously thrust her larger daggers at his midriff several times. His thick metal gauntlets helped him block each strike, and he grabbed her leg as she whirled to deliver a vicious kick. He hauled her off the ground upside-down and attempted to punch her in the stomach, but a volley of small fireballs courtesy of Connla pummeled him, forcing him to drop Jack. The Assassin elegantly landed back on her feet and took chase while surrounding them in her characteristic thick mist. Connla couldn't see what was going on, so she remained on guard for a minute. She noticed sparks and flashes illuminating the cloud periodically, as if she was watching a distant storm approaching in the sky.