Unlike their previous encounter or perhaps exactly like it, Aston wasted no time in appearing right next to Kirei and smashing his armoured fist into the sadistic priest's chin.
An action that would have thrown the man into the air did he not actually succeed in reacting to the sudden attack, tilting his upper body backwards to avoid it entirely leaving his assailant a bit awed at his physical prowess.
"I see the flexibility in your taste extends to your physical body as well."
Aston drew his spear and swung upwards, meeting Kirei's elbow at a much faster speed than before.
"Hm."
The priest wasn't so lucky this time and the exchange ended with his arm being separated from his body, spraying fresh red blood everywhere as it flew through the air.
Of course the pain couldn't even make the trained Executor so much flinch, Kirei only jumped back to one of the front rows of pews arranged in the Church he'd called home for nearly a decade, "It appears that... the prowess of a knight is not to be underestimated at all." He spoke between troubled breaths, "I must say, you did a bit of a number in our last meeting."
The Lancer had shattered his ribs in such a manner that they were more like scattered dust inside him. The fact that Kirei could even stand up and face Aston as he was doing at the moment was a testament to his prowess as a magu- Executor.
"I must say, you tried to plop off my Master's arm in our last meeting." Aston repeated his own words, looking around as if trying to notice something, "Basement, you'll find what I was referring to there my Master." He addressed the audience he'd gathered with a small smile.
"What makes you certain a deathly trap doesn't await them down there?"
"There's about three servants all temporarily allied here, I do believe such worries would be unfounded." Aston nodded sagely, approaching the blank faced Kirei with slow, heavy steps accented by the dead silence of the night.
Kirei couldn't help the smile that crept it's way onto his face as he reached inside his black trench coat, pulling out three black keys held in the one hand that he had left, "Knights can be quite brutal." He wasn't naive enough to think the Lancer had taken off the arm with command seals without intending to do just that.
"I personally think this is more fortunate than losing to my Master in single combat." Aston shrugged, raising his hands to the sides ever so slightly.
It was the objective truth, the reject of a priest he faced now was substantially weaker than Bazett from what he'd seen so far from the two. Granted the man did manage to sneak in an attack that would have left her on death's door had Aston not intervened so he might be the superior in a battle of wits.
They exchanged no further words, at least Kirei didn't say anything further. He didn't exactly have the habit of conversing in a battle of life and death.
And the results,
Well, they were exactly what one would expect from such a match up.
Kirei had lost an arm and with it, access to the command seals that could, even if temporarily, boost his physical prowess significantly. He did not possess the element of surprise or even a secret weapon that could help him. The icing on the metaphorical shit cake was that his style of combat wasn't even suited for specialised individuals like Aston.
And so, not a moment after he'd moved, an entire side of the Church was blown away by a massive shockwave erupting from within, tearing him up in such a way that nothing but an unrecognisable bloody spray of guts and entrails was all that remained.
Aston simply stood in his original position, staring at the destruction with dull but solemn blue eyes. All he'd done was use but a fraction of his speed and swung his fist at the man.
"People really do tend to underestimate how powerful speed can be."
"'People' don't expect a man to swing nearly a hundred times faster than the speed of sound."
Archer sighed, leaning against what remained of the Church's walls with his arms crossed and eyes closed. This Lancer really was going to be a problem later down the line.
His gaze landed on the bloody mess around them, "A war huh?" He could see where the title came from and was reminded of just how brutal Grail Wars could be if allowed to.
"Indeed, my ally." Aston nodded down at him, appearing right in front of him without making the slightest of sounds. Wars were always like this, they were missing a lot of pained screaming and traumatised young men that had rode along for the glory but hey, the brutality part was accounted for, somewhat.
Archer opened his eyes, smirking, "Are you sure this isn't true for only the wars you're participating in? I think a barbarian maniac can do more grace than this." He was testing if the Knight could take insults thrown back at him.
"I think the one who attacks children and innocents is more of a maniac than someone who likes to be thorough." Aston answered politely, smiling at his grey haired companion before returning to his watch. He wanted to fight that Golden haired young man but at the same time, it would bring more trouble than it was worth.
Aston's reply only served to make Archer's smirk wider, "Look at the pot calling the kettle black." He knew of Aston's legend and as such, of the few that the knight had put to the torch to save the many.
"We all possess our quirks." The Knight of Atrocity shrugged again, not intending to deny the accusation.
But then he straightened up abruptly and walked away, Aston wouldn't be fighting the unidentified servant here, not when it could put both his Master and Artoria in danger. This Archer servant besides him was feeling way too familiar for him to think it was a coincidence, he didn't trust him to protect the two.
* * *
Bazett walked with her face paler than usual, even if she tried her best to maintain her usual professionalism, "I really... Kirei." She'd never expected him to do something like.. Like locking up orphans in his basement and using them as mana batteries!
He was an insane monster.
Bazett Fraga McRemitz learned, once again, the harsh truth that people weren't always what they seemed to be.
She could recite word for word the laws he'd broken with his actions but that didn't really matter anymore. The grey haired Lancer following her right now had already cut him down.
Bazett felt it was fortunate she'd been at the forefront going down into the basement and managed to stop the two teenagers following her from seeing the horrific 'less than dead' state the poor children had been in.
As an Enforcer, she was used to such sights but Bazett didn't want two young teenagers to suffer through the same thing she did. They didn't deserve it and she couldn't bring herself to let them through.
It was the right decision to simply scorch the basement entirely.
That was what Aston had been saying for a while through their connection, perhaps wanting to make her feel less bad about the sudden revelation that someone she believed a friend had done something so downright horrid.
"Kirei huh.." Rin bit her lower lip, walking a small distance behind Bazett, "For so long,.." In her territory, someone had used helpless children as mana batteries for years. It pained her that she'd never investigated the matter more thoroughly.
Shirou Emiya, was faced with a different sort of situation entirely, "You killed him." He muttered to himself, ignoring the ridiculing gaze of the invisible Archer. It felt strange but it wasn't like he didn't deserve it, "..." At the same time, that didn't exempt the heroes of legend from being murderers for killing him.
"I feel like we are to somehow say something that magically resolves the dilemma here." Aston rubbed his chin, having changed into a simple form fitting black shirt and grey trousers a moment earlier.
"I am of the belief this will make them stronger in the end." Or it could break them but Artoria doubted that possibility, they were magi were they not?
That said, they had a problem of their own.
Technically, as the situation would have it, they were supposed to be enemies?
"Shirou Emiya, My Master, what do the two of you say to an actual alliance?" Aston asked what was on his mind.
Rin Tohsaka's confidence wavered, "Wait a second, what?" They were going to have to face two servants if things went in the direction they seemed to be going in.
That and, the Lancer was a little TOO confident discussing such a thing in front of her.
Surprisingly however, "No." Bazett declined the proposition, perhaps affected by the recent turn of events or simply tired of having to carry an ignorant person on her back. Whatever it was, she was DONE for the day.
"Secret scandal time?"
"S-Scandal.." Artoria needed some time to get used to Aston being so blunt with her.
* * *
You can find +7 chapters ahead at patre0n.com/Bleap and support me as well.
All filled now. (<- What was hindering my updates till now)
Bazett Fraga McRemitz was in a bit of a conundrum.
She'd returned to her temporary quarters earlier and after giving Aston permission to go do his own thing, went to sleep hoping that when she woke up next it would allow her to think about all she'd seen with a cool head.
That was a rather simple course of action right?
So,
"Where am I?" Bazett muttered to herself, scrutinising her surroundings for anything that might've given her a hint.
Here she was, standing in what looked to be a town centre from the dark ages.
Plainly dressed common folk were gathered enmasse, their apprehensive yet both fearful and respectful gazes fixed on a beautiful woman on her knees, her dull eyes seemed to long have run out of tears and her gaze didn't move from the ground right since the start.
Bazett had tried calling out, touching others to see if they would notice her but it failed. Her limbs would phase right through them and her voice would fall on deaf ears. After much trying, she took to simply watching the scene play out.
Armoured knights stood here and there, armed with lances and swords, most certainly there for security reasons. Soldiers were stationed atop walls, bows drawn and ready to fire at any enemy that had the stupid idea of interrupting what Bazett had concluded was a public execution.
Two knights stood by either of the woman's sides.
One was a young girl with short golden hair wearing simple garments, consisting of a plain tunic and a skirt. It was strange that she was completely unarmed, her eyes mostly unresponsive and sorrowful perhaps at the situation. Two tufts of dark hair stuck out from either side, standing out quite a lot in her golden hair. She seemed to raise her gaze time and time again, as if searching for someone.
The other one however was in full dark plate armour, standing a few heads taller than the young girl, clearly a man.
If this was a memory of Aston's, which all things were pointing to, what had changed?
This was not the way the execution of the unfaithful Queen Guinevere had played out in the story.
At least Bazett thought so.
She was right too, Agravain's machinations extended to Aston as well. This was just one among the many things the former had done to test and ruin the latter's loyalty and life respectively because a PERFECT ruler could not desire someone.
Grey clouds covered the blue sky that one sorrowful day and when Bazett found herself distracted by a sudden shout from elsewhere, all hell broke loose.
Multiple shockwaves threw about the gathered civilians as steel covered the sky and many started shouting at the sudden attack.
"Agravain! Merlin! You bleeding sons of-"
Bazett's head shot to the side where a section of the wall had been blown apart by a seemingly invisible force. That voice was Aston's it was hard to miss anyway but it was a first for her to see him curse in such a crude way.
He soon came into view, with nothing but a plain metal spear in his hand, strange considering this should have happened long after he obtained his jagged spear. He wasn't even wearing armour, only a simple tunic and pants, his hair was a dull red, turning grey here and there.
What stood out the most however was his frantic, almost desperate expression as he pushed away civilians and ran for Guinevere, "Lancelot, don't you- Gareth won't fight! She won't so please, don't!"
Bazett looked past the hectic crowd and noticed another knight rushing for the Queen, his long dark purple hair swaying in the mind. His movements seemed desperate in their own but more barbaric and rageful. He killed and tore apart any that tried to stop him, ripping open chests and decapitating soldiers and knights alike.
"Lord Aston, what do I-" Gareth's face seemed to light up but her words were cut off by Lancelot leaping for her.
"Come on, please!"
Bazett noticed that while the Knight of Atrocity was moving far faster than anyone else, it wasn't anywhere near the speed he'd shown her. He also seemed to be bleeding profusely from one arm but ignored that and tried to cut off the other knight, Lancelot.
He failed.
Bazett was forced to avert her gaze as Lancelot crushed Gareth's head into a bloody mess with his bare hands, the knight next to her was the next to fall to the traitor who proceeded to rip off Guinevere's restraints.
That didn't matter to the Enforcer though, her gaze was instead fixed on her own servant. She couldn't understand the sudden expressionlessness, nor how he stopped running and started calmly making his way forward with widening eyes.
Having read his legend, it wasn't hard to understand why it was so.
Gareth had been Aston's squire, had been trained by him and knighted by him. She was one of the few knights who almost always accompanied the Knight of Atrocity despite his terrible reputation.
Oh and the reputation, Bazett felt they had REALLY toned down the fear of the masses.
The people around him didn't dare look back as they ran away, afraid of what would happen to them if they got in his way while some were too fearful to breathe and others begged to be spared.
All of them went ignored by the Knight of Atrocity who broke the ground under him as he shot forward, releasing a shockwave that knocked back many a man.
Why hadn't he done that earlier?
Care for collateral damage? Hesitance about having to fight someone who was like his brother? Hope that the man wouldn't do just what he feared? Or something else entirely?
Bazett's questions were answered when she noticed a pale haired woman with a veiled face disappearing into the shadows and at the same time, a spell being broken.
"Gareth.."
The fact that Lancelot was about to make off with Guinevere seemed lost on Aston and Bazett felt great annoyance when KING Arthur found HIS way into the area but only stared at the chaos in complete silence, with not a hint of emotion on his face.
Aston knelt down next to the corpse and nudged it in silence, "Gareth.." He put his spear down to his right and nudged the corpse again, "Hey Lancelot, you.. Gareth... I said she wasn't going to fight."
The rampaging knight seemed to regain clarity at those words, first looking at his surroundings and then at his own bloody hands, "Sir Aston..I.." His eyes widened in shock as they landed on Aston's kneeling figure, his face paling further than it already had.
Bazett saw the regret and sorrow in his eyes but frankly, it didn't matter to her.
"M..My King, Gareth died." The Knight of Atrocity slightly trembled, putting a hand on his spear.
He slowly rose to his full height, a few tears streaming from his closed dull blue eyes. It was unlike him to express sorrow so visibly, an understanding everyone there seemed to share in that one moment, even Bazett who was but a witness to something that had already passed.
"Sir Gareth served splendidly." KING Arthur expressed his condolences as a King would, having neared the two standing knights earlier and ordered others from approaching or trying to fight.
Gareth was undeserving of her grim fate, she was a loyal, cheerful and upright knight always ready to help those in need and fight for them. She'd worked hard for her position, trained hard to attain the approval of the knight she'd been squiring for and worked even after becoming a knight herself, to gain his attention, respect and approval.
"My brother died too."
King Arthur closed his eyes, "I understand." It meant that he, she, would not interfere in what was about to transpire before her. It meant that she would not stop Aston from passing judgement on a man that was his brother in all but blood.
Lancelot lowered his head in shame, brandishing a massive sword he'd picked up from the ground, "I am..sorry." He apologised in earnest but it didn't matter, "Aston, the Queen does no-" He was forced to stop speaking and block a lance almost blowing through his chest.
"This was her execution, and the show must go on."
The ground cracked under them as the two knights exchanged blows, shockwaves pushed away any foolish enough to approach. They fought through the city, bringing down buildings and ruining infrastructure as they passed through, abandoning their weapons for their fists somewhere along the way.
The conclusion to that fight was one Bazett didn't get to see as her vision shifted and a sight that almost made her puke came into view.
She stood in a field of corpses, limited not only to men in armour but also of beasts used for travel like horses and mythical creatures like giants. Detached limbs lay here and there, the few patches of grass were dyed red by blood.
Some corpses seemed to be burnt.
The pungent smell of rotten flesh forced Bazett to pinch her nose, her other hand over her stomach.
It was a disgusting sight.
She didn't know how many there were but corpses were all she could make out in any direction she looked.
It was amidst this that she spotted a single knight with broken armour and a bleeding body forging through with a jagged spear as his crutch, a hand on his ribs. One of his eyes was closed, his colourless hair dirtied by blood and he walked, with a dull gaze deprived of any and all emotion.
And of course, Bazett Fraga McRemitz recognised him.
It was the Knight of Atrocity and she, pitied him.
And, she no longer held respect for King Arthur.
* * *
Feedback please, really need to know what you think of this chapter..Please?
* * *
It should be clear enough but Aston was cut off from his speed in his lifetime, if not that then the presence of spells and curses.
* * *
What do you guys like more?
A) When a main character is granted or uses his wits to acquire power and capability native to the world he finds himself in.
B) When the main character acquires or is granted a power foreign to the world he finds himself in.
P. S: Anyone know a fic where the mc has hyper-intuition?
* * *
You can find +7 chapters ahead at patre0n.com/Bleap and support me as well.
All filled now, even if it's a chapter or two behind that only lasts for a day max.
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