"Well, that's one more thing we can add to the list of common ground between our Grail Wars Caster, because the Saber in our war was also King Arthur." Olga noted.
[So, we're finally going to meet the legend himself.]
[Hype!! ]
[DragonMasterLance: Pendragon, you say? Now I'm interested. Is the name purely coincidental, or are they an actual dragon clan? ]
[SoniaYampers: @DragonMasterLance IIRC, their family adopted dragons as a sigil for their house. I also remember something about a red dragon and a white dragon, but again, we didn't dive too deep, as the Arthurian Legends are a complex of epics with multiple authors and interpretations that we had little time to cover. Gudao put a bookmark on it so we could peruse through it later. ]
[Gible_Archeologist: You can blame our lack of knowledge on the egghead Pokémon professors for hogging all of Gudao's attention towards the sciences instead of a deep dive into the rich history of his world. (¬､¬) ]
[Mighty1Oak: On behalf of the entire scientific community, I would like to offer our apologies for that ladies. There were just so many new things to learn, and there was so little time, we couldn't help ourselves.]
[Eh, it was worth it. No apologies from me. ]
[Would you still say that knowingGudao's ignorance in history could lead him to his death? ]
[The-Undefeatable: Hey, don't shame us for wanting to focus on learning everything we could about the thousands of freaky non-Pokémon in Gudao's world. Besides, even with his lack of knowledge, he's still alive thanks to his servants coming in clutch! ]
[SoniaYampers: I'm still mad at you. ]
[The-Undefeatable:@SoniaYampersyeah, I know… ]
Ritsuka looked at Olga in confusion. "Is that bad?"
The question made Olga gape at him in disbelief. "Sabers are the most powerful class of all the servant containers! And King Arthur is legendary for wielding the holy sword Excalibur, that means he was summoned at the absolute peak of his power, the strongest the Grail can possibly summon!"
Cu looked at the tsundere director dryly. "Hey now, I wouldn't say Saber is the most powerful class; there are plenty of classes who could easily contest against them. Take me, for example; in my Lancer Class, I could have easily killed Saber in a single shot." He sighed dramatically, "Alas, I was summoned as a Caster, so I am not nearly as powerful, and I was forced to sneak around like some assassin."
[I'm gonna need to see some feats before I believe you Mr. Hound. ]
[Knowing our track record, it's very likely he could be telling the truth, but considering his personality… it's gonna be hard to know if he's being truthful or just boasting. ]
[I thought Classes were like pokemon types. What gives? Can servants just be any class they want? ]
[It sounds more like if they are summoned as a certain class, they can't change it themselves. ]
The Hound looked to the wolf knight in the room, her gaze placed firmly on the ground.
"You don't seem so surprised by the revelation, do ya lass?"
The small woman pursed her lips, then closed her eyes in resignation. "No. I am not."
The lancer admitted. "I knew that would be the case after I saw that giant valley of destruction outside."
[Oh yeah, I noticed it too. It reminded me of those old black and white pictures taken from the Indigo War after Mahogany got hit by a pissed-off alpha Gyarados's hyper beam. ]
[If that is the case, then that just makes it all the more terrifying. ]
"How could you be so sure?" Gareth turned to face her master, who was the one who had asked the question, "How do you know it wasn't just some other Saber with a similar attack to your king?"
"Because I have seen my king use Excalibur many times in the past, so I can recognize what kind of scars it leaves upon the earth." She walked a bit closer to the table and placed a finger on the wooden surface.
"I am unsure how other saber servants fire their sword attacks." Gareth's finger traced a straight line across the table in a slow and deliberate manner.
"But based on the shape of the cut, the depth of the trench, the distance it covered, and the size of the crater I saw on our way here-"
Her finger abruptly stopped, and without warning, she slammed her fist on the table, cracking and splintering the wood under her fist and startling the people around her.
[Wah!! ]
[Was that really necessary?!! My poor litten got spooked!! ]
"That was all I needed to confirm that my king had been the one who was responsible." Gareth finished her explanation before she made her way back to where she was standing before.
The group stared at the small crater on the wooden table. Ritsuka wondered how it was even possible she could have done that without breaking the table.
"The lass is right. If I were to describe Saber's noble phantasm, it's flashy." Cu remarked, his eyes staring into the distance, as if recalling a memory, "That sword attack was something else, downright unfair if I'm honest. The thing cut through half the city like it was made of butter and obliterated a district to rubble in a massive pillar of light."
[Hyper Beam can't do that. ]
[That's because it's not a hyperbeam; it sounds more like Solar Blade to me. ]
[So that means Saber can use the move solar blade on the same scale as an alpha Gyarados's hyperbeam…. WTF.]
[We would have to see what it looks like before we could make any accurate comparisons, but so far that seems to be the case.]
Gareth's doggo hair flaps drooped. "The mere idea that my fair king of knights would commit such atrocities, with Excalibur of all things, it wounds my heart just to think about it," she clenched her fist. "Even now, knowing he's been corrupted, I still don't want to believe it, but I know that I cannot refute the truth."
At this news, the room grew somber.
[SerWikstromE4: Quite the pickle our fair knight has found herself in. She has answered a call to arms to save the innocent and found out it was her king who was one of the parties responsible for their deaths. I do not envy her at this moment.]
"Is there truly no way we can reason with him? To persuade him to our side and have him join our cause?" Gareth looked at Cu with pleading eyes, but Cu just responded to the heartfelt emotion with indifference.
"Do you remember Boudica?"
Gareth looks at Cu with a bewildered expression. "Well, of course I remember; I just fought her."
[And what a fight it was! Yes, it was brutal, but man, did it get my blood pumping!! ]
[Someone already uploaded a censored, HD recording of the whole fight on U-Tube, and it's got millions of views too!!]
[Despite the brutality, I must compliment the camera operator for capturing such stunning camera angles!! Even the professional camera operators can't get dynamic shots that perfect without being caught in the battle themselves!!]
[One of the perks of being a literal ghost that no one but a select few could see.]
The Hound hummed at the response, but he didn't respond immediately; then, after a moment of silence, he asked, "Lass, based on what you saw, give me your opinion of her. No need to hold back; be honest."
Gareth furrows her brows, unsure where this question would lead, but answered anyway. "That woman, Boudica, is an unchivalrous, sadistic madwoman. One who dressed like a harlot and fought like a beast."
"Anything else?" The Hound said, clearly trying to get a specific response from the Lancer.
"She was also resilient, and had a heart weighed down by grief and rage, one which stained her soul and her tongue black"
[Sounds like Boudica alright. ]
[Couldn't have described her better myself. If anything, I would have just called her a dirty hoe and got on with it. ]
"What about motherly?" Cu asked.
Gareth shook her head without a moment's hesitation. "Not at all. She's exactly the kind of woman mothers warn their daughters never to become. Any mother who dressed and behaved like Boudica would set a terrible example for their children"
[Lusamine_Aether: I couldn't have said it better myself. I respect my daughter's autonomy and freedom, but I would be damned if I ever let her go around dressed like that woman in public. ]
[IceCold-Melony361: hmmm, I agree, but to play Giratina's advocate, the woman admitted that Rome was built on the suffering of her people AND her daughters. It makes me ill just thinking about it, much less typing it, but knowing how barbaric people treated women in the distant past, it's not hard to imagine what could have happened to them. So at the very least, her rage is very much justified, but I do not condone her lashing out at unrelated parties. ]
[ (˙◠˙ ) ]
Gareth gave Cu an impatient look. "Is this going anywhere, or are you just wasting our time?"
"I am using an example to show you just how badly grail mud corrupts servants." Cu's expression softens a bit. "Believe it or not, Rider was a woman who was as motherly as they came. When she wasn't fighting her fellow servants to the death at night, she spent the daytime doting on the local children, gossiping with the local housewives about their daily woes, and taking care of her slob of a master."
This news came as a surprise to the people.
[Boudica, as a typical friendly housewife? I am having a hard time imagining such a scene. ]
"It was kind of ironic; the foreign redhead ended up becoming a well-known and beloved member of the community, while her master was someone who was looked down on as an overweight, reclusive loser whose only great accomplishment in life was that he somehow managed to score with someone way above his league. At least that was what the normal people thought, but even if they knew the actual truth, they'd know that their encounter was purely due to sheer dumb luck".
[Heart0f6old: Lucky bastard. ( •̀ ᴖ •́ ) ]
[@Heart0f60ld no duh. ]
[ I'd imagine the guy was ecstatic to have a gorgeous woman appear from thin air and take care of him. ]
[It's every man's dream. ]
[Until it became a nightmare, and he got murked alongside everyone else in his neighborhood. ]
"That woman was warm, loving, and most of all, strong. And she showed it whenever she engaged in battles against other servants."
Cu snorted, "Though her state of dress was similar to how you saw her, it was significantly more tame. I even tried to woo her once, but she flatly rejected me. A shame, she had some huge knockers I would have loved to bury my face in." Cu shrugged his shoulders and shook his head.
[( – ⌓ – ) Of course the horndog would fixate on her boobs. ]
[Tbf, they were very nice, but just because she had a pretty face and huge knockers don't excuse her rotten behavior.]
Noticing the impatient glares from the women in the group, Cu got back on track: "Yet despite how sweet of a woman she was, once corrupted, she started acting like a typical savage in the roman sense of the word, an uncivilized, cruel and brutal person."
Cu gave a lazy, one-eyed stare at Gareth. "If the gentle, kind, and loving Boudica became ruthless, hateful, and sadistic, what makes you think your king will be any different? Are you willing to put our lives at risk just for the possibility that your Mad King would listen to reason, girl?"
[So it really is like The Shadow Affliction, but for servants. ]
[Poor Boudica. It's a shame Gudao doesn't have access to our Purify chamber or a Relic Stone. He could have saved her and had her join their cause. ]
[There's no guarantee that would have worked even if he had them. We don't know how magecraft would interact with our stuff. ]
[Cu does make a great point. It's one thing to be loyal, but being blind and foolish is another. ]
[Hopefully Gareth won't be the latter. ]
The Wolf Knight's fists clenched harder; if she was not wearing her gauntlets as she was, it would have been easy to see that the inside of her fist had gone white due to the lack of circulation.
She met the eye of the Celt with resolution and loyalty. "My king is a just man, blackened or no, I trust him to see reason."
[TheIcePryce: Foolish it is then. ]
"And what will you do when they fail to meet your expectations?"
Without flinching or cowering, Gareth stared back and said, "Then I will do what I must."
Cu stared into Gareth's eyes for a long moment, like he was staring deep into her soul and judging her, then he sighed, "Well, do what you like. Just make sure that at the end of the road, you don't drag us down to Hel with you."
[How ominous. ]
[I really hope this doesn't mean Gareth will refuse to help in the final battle. Gudao needs all the help he can get. ]
[DrahoonRuleZ: I trust Gareth will do the right thing when the time comes. ]
Gareth responds with a firm nod before turning to address Ritsuka, "I apologize, master, but I hope you will forgive me for being selfish, just this once."
Ritsuka waved away her concern. "I understand, Gareth. If I were in your shoes, I would do the same. Just know that whatever happens, I'll support your decision."
"Are you brain-dead?!" Olga said, her voice shrill and laced with disbelief, "You're just going to let your servant do what she wants because of her past loyalties?! We can't afford to lose her if she ends up getting herself killed trying to negotiate with a crazed King Arthur!!"
[And of course it's Olga who comes in to ruin the mood with her pessimism.]
[She's been rather calm in recent hours, but alas, a few hours is not enough to undo a lifetime of bitchiness. ]
"Would it hurt to try? I mean, so far, every corrupted servant we've encountered has been a stranger to us. Gareth was one of King Arthur's knights, so whatever madness that servant is suffering under, hearing a familiar voice could be enough to get through to them."
[You tell her, Gudao!]
[It's a common trope in media that even when someone is lost in darkness, the voice of someone they were close to will bring out a sliver of their previous selves.]
[Don't forget, it's also a common trope that the person who is lost in darkness just refuses to listen or cannot hear what their loved ones say unless they get the stuffing beat out of them. Something that Gareth hasn't given a clear response to. ]
"Hmm… It's definitely a risk, but if it works, then it might be worth a shot. I say, let her do it, Director. If it fails, then it's no big deal, so long as Gareth fights back if her king refuses to negotiate. Isn't that right, Gareth? "
"If my king refuses to see reason and there's no option but to fight… then I shall fight."
[Oh, thank Arc, Gareth has a brain. ]
[Yeah, I would have been disappointed if she had said she won't fight at all. ]
"Heh, you had me worried there, lass; for a second I thought you would just straight up refuse to fight your king due to loyalty." Cu said.
"I may be loyal to my king, but I am no fool. I will protect my master until my dying breath, even if it means raising my sword against a corrupted, evil version of my king."
At that statement, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
"Well, before we take on your king, we first have to deal with 'The Red Boner Guy' protecting them," Cu said, a smug tone of amusement as the words left his lips.
"Ugh, can we not?" Olga groaned, much like someone who had been forced to listen to the same song on loop for hours.
"Hah! No way! I'm going to keep calling him that even after I go back to the throne."
"Great." The poor Director's eyes looked exhausted, hearing Caster's intentions.
" As funny as that joke was at the start, repeating it, so many times will just make it go stale. So let's just call him Red Archer from now on. " Romani said, "After all, it's going to be hard to have our reports taken seriously if we refer to the Archer servant as 'Red Boner Guy' "
[Yeah, Romani has a point. The humor in that joke is starting to run thin. ]
[Alright, he'll be Red Archer from now on, but the meme will live on regardless of what we call him here.]
The Hound of Ulster scoffed when he saw everyone but him agree with Romani, "You guys are such prudes, but you make a good point." He crossed his arms. "That being said, the name is rather fitting, considering how much the bastard has the hots for Saber."
The room fell silent.
All the occupants turned to Cu, their eyes wide with shock. For a moment, no one could speak, as they were too stunned by what Cu had just claimed. The first to recover Gareth as she finally broke the silence with a confused: "Huh?"
Seeing their reactions, the man's mouth twitched in amusement as he began to spread gossip like a bored housewife, "Well, it's true! Even before he got blackened, it was obvious that the bastard wanted to use the Bone of His Sword on King Arty."
[Oh do tell~ ]
"Like the way he stole glances whenever he thought no one was noticing, the way he smiled whenever they were around- "
[Aww. That's so romantic! ]
"But it became pretty obvious just how much he liked Saber after they got smashed by Heracles that one time. The guy did his best to hide it, but he was a distraught mess when he found out. He even went as far as to stalk their home just to 'check up on them'."
[KicksYouIntheFace193: Did someone say Smash?! ]
[Not that kind of smash ]
[Smash? ( ͡º ꒳ ͡º )]
[Not that one either! Geez, guys, get your heads out of the gutter; he was obviously crushed by Heracles and was gravely injured! Archer was just checking to see if he was ok!! ]
[I dunno. It still sounds like the red Archer couldn't stomach the idea of someone else being with someone else and decided to stalk them from the shadows. ]
[IliekQTthings: Okay, it was cute when it was the innocent things, but stalking is not cute. ]
"Heck, and it wasn't even one-sided either. The last time I talked to saber uncorrupted, Saber referred to him as 'my sheath'."
Romani nearly spat out his drink as the dark, roasted liquid went down the wrong pipe and burned his lungs.
[Oh my. (⸝⸝0⸝⸝0⸝⸝) ]
[Giggity ]
Gareth slammed her hands on the table, "Cease your cow pies, Caster!! My king… My King is a married man and would NEVER betray Lady Guinevere!! Especially not with some man whore who talks about being the bone to his sword!!" The knight was visibly repulsed by the notion her King would be in a relationship with another man, however, the blush in her cheeks and the lone drop of blood coming from her nose showed how she really felt about the affair.
[Oh wow, the love story just got juicier. ]
[A boy's love romance between a married man and his multiple lovers? What is with this soap opera scenario lol ]
"Perhaps, but do keep in mind that the vows specify 'till death do us part,' so by your God's own doctrine, King Arthur is in the clear to find another partner."
[He's got you there, Gareth. ]
[It's not cheating if they have both died and moved on. ]
[What if they both get summoned, though? Would it be cheating then?]
He gave her a smug grin. "Besides, even if it still counted, that woman did it first, remember? So it's only fair that Saber gets to have their own boy toy, even if they deserve so much better than that white haired loser."
Gareth flinched at his words, and she struggled to send a rebuttal.
[Gareth is finally catching some Ls after taking that big W against Boudica. ]
[I was just kidding about the soap opera bit, but somehow it got worse!! A love Pentagon of infidelity and passionate romance. Make it happen PokeStar Studios!!]
[Chatter donated 100 bits]
["Saber is GAR for Archer."]
Cu looked at the orb and raised a brow. "Gar?"
["I'm stupid. I meant GAY."]
Hearing that just made Cu burst into a mad cackle that was so loud it shook the building they were in.
Meanwhile, Romani looked like he had no idea if what was happening in front of his eyes was real or a simulation.
Mash was bashful, and her head spun just thinking about the famed King Arthur being in a relationship with another man.
Olga had a small frown, her eyes closed in discomfort, but her blush was telling.
Gareth looked livid, her teeth bared, and her face scrunched into an oddly cute scowl, like an angry chihuahua.
Ritsuka, meanwhile, was too exhausted to emote anything aside from sleepiness, as he let out a loud yawn that drew everyone's attention to him.
"Ah. Sorry. I didn't mean to interrupt your comedy skit; I just… feel exhausted."
"Don't worry about it, Ritsuka. You've done more than enough today. Go get some rest—you need to recharge your magical energy for the battle ahead." Romani's hologram then turned to Mash.
" The same goes for you. You might be a Demi-servant, but you are still human; go to bed. And I don't want to hear any arguments, doctor's orders."
"Very well," Mash stood up from her chair and looked at the bleary-eyed Ritsuka. "Come on, senpai, let's go."
"Ah, just remember to sleep in different bedrooms you two! I am too young to be a grandpa! "
Mash's face suddenly turned a deep shade of red. "Doctor Roman, I am simply escorting my master to his room; I have no plans of sleeping in the same bed as him. Just because you saw a similar scenario in one of your dirty cartoons you like watching every night doesn't mean I will act that way. So please keep your creepy thoughts to yourself."
[Hah! Burned!! ]
[The poor guy was just playfully teasing his daughter, he didn't deserve to get shanked like that. ]
[Heart0f6old: He had it coming. He wasn't as slick as he thought and got caught with his pants down, like always. ]
[Oh Arc, don't remind me. I still haven't shaken that image of Romani yet from my memory. I don't even want to know what kind of horrors Mash was subject to when she caught him. ]
Romani was too stunned to respond to Mash's words, which she took as an admission of guilt, and left with her senpai in tow upstairs for the night.
✦✧✦
Gudao's live stream, for the first time since he woke up in Chaldea, had gone dark.
Seeing this brought relief to many viewers across the Pokémon world, and many decided to go outside to help soothe the trauma that they had endured.
Many also logged off to go to sleep themselves, or get something to eat.
A small group of people stayed behind, content to make some commentary on what they had seen.
However, no one could have expected what would happen next.
The stream came back on.
But instead of the usual location where Gudao was resting, the image displayed on screen was of a candlelit dojo.
This sudden event prevented the remaining people from logging off.
[What is going on?! I thought the stream was over?! ]
[Where even are we? This isn't Gudao. ]
[Looks like we have a shift in point of view, like when we saw that archer earlier. ]
[NinJanine: it looks an awful lot like the interior of a dojo. ]
The viewers stiffened when they heard the sniffling sounds of a young girl. The camera's angle made it clear they were seeing through her point of view.
"It hurts…" The girl whimpered, her tears falling on the hardwood floor as the girl embraced her body in agony.
It goes without saying that witnessing a child in pain evoked urgency, terror and sadness in its viewers. However, those emotions turned into righteous fury when they heard a new voice respond to the child's suffering with indifference.
"It can't be helped. You were born with the cursed blood of the Yamata-no-Orochi. You must bear with it for the rest of your life." the man who said that was dressed in a cool colored, traditional Hakama. From the perspective of the child, the man looked like a giant.
[Asshole. Did you really have to word it that way? That's no way to comfort a child! ]
[0ffDoodyJoy: Cursed blood? Is that child poisoned?! ]
[Gible_Archeologist: Yamata-no-Orochi, the eight-headed serpent dragon, was the inspiration for Hydreigon in Gudao's world. As you might guess, the inspiration is well deserved. The serpent dragon was known to have tormented a family of deities, who devoured one of their daughters each year with one of its heads. This happened for 7 years until the god Susanoo came and slew the dragon before they could eat the 8th daughter. ]
[(O∆O) ] x518
[It never ceases to amaze and unnerve me that Gudao's world manages to make even our most vicious Pokémon seem chill compared to theirs. At least Hydreigon keep to their habitats and don't go out of their way to torment some poor schmucks in the woods. Violently murder perhaps, but never torture like this Orochi dragon. ]
"Chiyome, one day this power will overwhelm you. It will devour you from within and turn you into a monster. But until that day comes, you will serve the Takeda clan, just as every Mochizuki before you has. Do you understand?" The man told her, uncaring for the cruelty in his words.
The girl meekly looked down at her hands, which had a strip of snake scales etched on her skin. The flickering dim light caused her visible shadow to dance rhythmically like a snake winding in the darkness.
[:spit drink emote: ]
[Hold the Phone!! That little girl is Chiyome!? ]
[Does that mean we are seeing Chiyome's memories right now?! ]
[How is that possible? ]
[I don't know!! ]
[Those scales on her arms…. I believe they match what we saw earlier when she showed herself. ]
[If this is Chiyome, then that means that she was cursed and has aHydreigon's blood in her veins. ]
[DragonMasterLance: Huh. And here I thought she would just be a poison type, yet she was a dragon type all along. ]
"Good. Now, steel your resolve." The man pulled out a wooden blade and pointed it at Chiyome, "Now come at me again and don't hold back."
[Huh?!! What is this man doing pointing a weapon at a child?!! ]
[Again?!! What do you mean again?!! ]
[Kohga: I see. We are witnessing Chiyome's early Shinobi training. More specifically, the man is trying to get her to get used to fighting with the beast inside her. ]
[But why? She's clearly in pain! Why does she have to do this?! ]
[Kohga: I am afraid I do not have the answer to that question. Perhaps paying attention to what is happening might provide some insight. ]
The girl gritted her teeth as she pushed her body through agony; the shadows under her body started to emerge from the floorboards until the giant silhouette of a multi-headed snake appeared, looming over her.
Chiyome sounded like she was in agony, but she pushed herself to grab a nearby wooden blade.
She pointed it at her father, who smirked at his daughter's resilience.
"Start!!"
✦✧✦
Ritsuka wakes up with a start, reeling from what he saw in his dream.
He cleans the gunk out of his eyes and stared down at his hands. His normal hands didn't feel agonized in the slightest, only a lingering numbness where the scales were.
He brushed the thoughts aside and got up from the bed he was resting on.
He pressed a button on his wrist and a hologram appeared before him.
Five hours had passed since he fell asleep. Normally, he would have gone back to sleep, but after experiencing that dream, he can't.
With nothing else left to do, he got up from bed and put on his shoes.
Unbeknownst to him, his chat was currently freaking out.
[What even is happening right now? Was that a dream? ]
[I can't believe it. Is the stream going as far as to intrude Gudao's dreams? Really?!! ]
[Whoever the hell decided to give Gudao these powers, this is too much!! Let the poor guy have some privacy for fuck's sake!! ]
[Never mind the dream!! That dream sequence only lasted a like 5 minutes!! How the hell have 5 hours passed already?! ]
[Junior_Researcher: Time Dilation. That's why there are time discrepancies. ]
[*shivers* That is horrifying. Just the idea that we can blink and miss hours, days or heck, even years of Gudao's life is scary. ]
[PerfectlySaneHex: Silver daddy Gudao is within my reach… but at what cost? ]
Ritsuka left his room and made his way down the hall downstairs. However, he felt a small pressure in his gut.
Turning on his heel. Ritsuka walked back where he came and instead of going back to his room, he opened the door opposed to it.
The dark room was hard to see in, but there was enough light filtering from outside for him to recognize that this was a bathroom.
He stepped in front of the toilet and gently removed the tank's lid. The faint blue light from his wristwatch's hologram illuminated the interior. A quick glance confirmed what he'd hoped — the tank was full. He let out a quiet breath of relief, then got down to business.
[Oh no. ]
[Gudao's going to use the toilet!! Everyone look away!!]
[PerfectlySaneHex: eheheheheheh (˶ᵔ ᵕ ᵔ˶) ]
However, just before he took off his belt, he remembered that he wasn't the only one in the house. So he went to the door and closed it shut.
To the relief and dismay of many, the camera did not follow him inside. Instead, as if pulled away by an outside force, the camera violently went to the end of the hallway, far away from any sounds they could have heard if they were close to where their streamer was.
[Thank you sweet, merciful Arceus, I promise I will make sure I give a generous donation next time I visit one of your shrines. ]
[PerfectlySaneHex: Awww, I wanted to see!! ]
[Heart0f6old: and they call me a perv. Smh.]
[@PerfectlySaneHexstop it. Get some help.]
After a few minutes of teasing Hex for taking her degeneracy a bit too far, the sound of a toilet flushing redirected everyone's attention to Gudao.
The bathroom door swung open, and the man of the hour stepped out, drying his hands on his white shirt after he washed them with the water from the tank and casually made his way down the hall and then the stairs.
Ritsuka saw a chipper looking Mash having small talk with Gareth, but in a hushed tone since the Director was resting her head on her arms over the dining room table. Her soft snores echoing off the walls of the room.
Finally, across from her was Cu Chullain, enjoying a can of beer. Actually, he could see a clutter of empty cans nearby.
"Morning everyone…" Ritsuka finally said.
"Yo master! You look like crap. But hey, it's much better than what you were a few hours ago." Cu said before taking another swig of his beer.
"Thanks, I guess."
"Are you okay, master?" Gareth, who had stopped her conversation with Mash looked at Ritsuka with concern.
"Yeah, I'm fine, I just had the strangest dream." Ritsuka responded.
"By any chance, did this dream involve one of your servants?" The Hound asked with a curious tone to his voice.
Ritsuka lifted a brow. "Yeah. How'd you know?"
"That is something servants and masters do. It comes with the contract. You get to experience their memories as dreams and vice versa." Cu gave him a look, "so just a warning, don't share your dreams with others so causally."
[Chatter donated 100 bits ]
["Too late. We already saw." ]
"Wait, you guys saw that too?!!" his exclamation caused Olga to startle awake.
Meanwhile, he could feel a wave of distress coming from not just Chiyome, but also Gareth and Mash through their connection.
"Oof. Yeah, that is going to be a problem. If there are that many people watching, then that is going to cause some friction between you and your servants." Cu said taking the last swig of his beer, "it's extremely personal stuff and to have so many people see that would bring discomfort to even the most sociable and accepting hero."
He levelled a one eyed look at Ritsuka, "if I were you, I'd figure out a way to disable that little feature if you can, or failing that, just be upfront with any servants you summon in the future. Many of our kind are not so forgiving or tolerant after all."
"I'll… keep that in mind. " Ritsuka said with a gulp, then he turned to where he felt Chiyome was standing and bowed, "I'm sorry Chiyome! It wasn't my intention to show off your life in public."
Chiyome materialized, looking bashful and full of panic, "my lord, please raise your head!! I am not upset. Rather, I expected such a thing to happen the moment I found out about your abilities!"
Ritsuka raised her head, and stared at Chiyome, who had a resigned look on her face.
"While I cannot say that I am happy about the circumstances. It cannot be helped. A Shinobi must adapt, and if that means I must serve you while having my every move observed by the masses, then so be it."
[Kohga: An admirable trait for a shinobi. ]
Gareth chips in her opinion, "I don't like it either, but it is what it is. Although, I do have one request."
"What is it?"
Gareth turned to the camera, then to Ritsuka, "please, do not judge Ser Lancelot too harshly."
Ritsuka furrowed his brows, unsure of who she was talking about, before he shrugged, "ok. I promise."
[Ser Lancelot? ]
[Her lord perhaps? ]
[DragoonRuleZ:That is sus af. What did thjs Lancelot do that would warrant such a response from Gareth? ( •̀ - • ) ]
["We will be fair, but I can't speak for everyone else. I hole you understand. "]
Gareth nods, "that is all I ask."
Everyone turned to Mash, who had been doing her best to avoid everyone's notice.
Ritsuka looks at her worried, "Mash?"
She pursed her lips, looked down at the floor before she let out a quiet sigh.
"There's no helping it. Senpai. It is part of our contract as master and servant, so we can't turn it off… even if I wanted to… but if you can, please try and figure out a way to disable it like Caster said. I don't exactly feel comfortable having people see my past."
Ritsuka felt his guts twisting again at seeing Mash like this again, so without hesitation he said, "Don't worry, Mash, I promise I'll find a way to do that."
The girl meekly nodded, still a bit pale at the revelation that her senpai had dropped on her lap.
[Fuck. Now I feel like a piece of shit. ]
[I think it would be in everyone's best interests to not watch Ritsuka's dreams from now on. ]
[Why tho? You forget, Ritsuka played our lives through his games. Now that suddenly its our turn to watch it's wrong? Fuck that, I'm sticking around! ]
[You forget, asshole, Ritsuka has been respectful of us after the initial doxxing incident. Sure, he experienced our world through the games and knows some of us without having met us, but this is different. We are seeing someone's life play out before our eyes. We are invading his privacy on a much deeper level than he did ours because unlike him, we are seeing every detail of his journey while he only got snippets from the media he watched.]
[Sadly, no matter how much we might try to stop it, I don't think its going to be possible to persuade everyone to follow this rule. ]
[I know, but I'd much rather miss out on Gudao content if it means he gets to keep some privacy in his life. ]
"Well, now that you have recovered your reserves somewhat, it's time to get a move on." Cu grabbed the last unopened beer and opened it with a loud click and hiss. Before anyone could reprimand him for his excessive drinking, he chugged the entire can in one go then crushed the can on his head and chucked it on the floor.
The group just collectively shook their heads and followed the man out the door, still weary but more refreshed than hours prior.
Ritsuka listened closely as Cu explained the route they would take. However, just as he was about to step outside the bounded field, Mash suddenly yanked him back.
Before he could process what was happening, his eyes were blinded by an unexpected flash of white light. He felt himself fall as the ground beneath his feet stopped being able to hold him steady.
When his eyes finally adjusted and the ringing in his ears stopped, he found Mash was now on top of him, her shield covering them like an umbrella. She was so close that he could feel her warm breath on him.
"Are you okay, senpai?" she asked, to which he responded with a nod.
She got up from where she was, and he felt his breath hitch when he saw the massive crater where he had just stood a moment ago.
If Mash hadn't protected him, he would have been a burnt splatter on the dirt.
Cu clicked his tongue in annoyance, "Cheh, sneaky bastard. He's not going to make it easy for us."
""What happened!!" Romani asked, worry and fear in his voice.
"That Red Bastard happened. He probably got bored licking Saber's boots and came to deal with us directly."
"The Red Archer is here?! Where?!" Olga looked around nervously, and Cu merely answered by pointing his staff at a faraway skyscraper.
"Over there. "
"No way, that building is 4 kilometers away!!" Mash exclaimed in horror.
[4 kilometers? Damn, that's Impressive.]
[I can't see SHIT! ]
[Servants must have excellent eyesight if they can see that far away. ]
"Yeah, that's him, all right," Gareth said with a disapproving scoff. "Coward."
No sooner had the word left her lips than her dog-like ear flaps perked up—just as a volley of arrows came flying toward them.
However, before they could hit their mark, Cu had already drawn some runes in the air. A shield of light manifested itself, protecting everyone that was behind it.
"Let's get moving. That barrier won't last forever."
In a brazen, and unexpected move, Cu grabbed Olga and placed her over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes.
"Hey!! What are you doing, you brute!? Put me down!! I do not consent- Hiiii!!" Olga's protests were cut short when Cu gave her a firm smack on her ass, shutting her up.
"No time for that!!" He turned to the bewildered Ritsuka and his servants, who stared at his display in disbelief.
"What are you staring at, kiddies?! Time to move! Lass with the armor, get the boy, and Shielder, cover us!! You're getting some hands-on experience on how to fight an Archer servant!"
The next volley of arrows slammed into the barrier again, and this time, the cracking sounds were enough to snap everyone out of their heads and do what Cu said.
And just in time too, as they had barely managed to avoid another massive broken phantasm exploding them into oblivion.
✦✧✦
Archer's POV
Archer stood on the top of a skyscraper, his pitch black eye tracking his targets like a hawk does to a mouse.
He released the tension in his bow, and his arrows flew towards the anomalous servants and their masters, who cowered behind the Dog Chullain and the cover of the buildings.
He clicked his tongue when he saw the Hound with them, no wonder it had taken him so long to find them, that dog knew too many annoying tricks.
Archer hadn't thought much of the errant master and shielder servant at first, aside from a mere curiosity. They were weak, directionless, and green.
However, that all changed when he had found out that they had taken out Rider and Lancer.
Now they were a threat.
A threat who he needed to weaken before they reached the greater grail.
So he decided to take a stroll through the city to find them, which had taken him hours to do.
That's why he moved to the tallest skyscraper he could find to scope out the area for signs of their presence. It was pure luck he had found them, as he had seen them carelessly step out of their shelter in full view for him to pick off.
And he had almost managed to nip the problem in the bud if it wasn't for that pink shielder.
"Taking you down with just arrows might be tricky… but you've only got one shield, girl. Let's see how well you can dodge a rainstorm while keeping all your friends dry."
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IceCold-Melony361: Melony, the Ice Type Gym leader of Galar(if you bought Shield.)