Chương 8: 8. Cú Meets An Old Friend
At Cú's announcement, Merlin clapped his hands once, holding them together in front of his smile. "How astonishing," he murmured, in anything but astonished tones. Then he strode away to redon his jacket and cloak.
Ren followed him with her gaze, noticing how his overgarments made him look…smaller, somehow. Between the staff and the long sleeves, he managed to appear spindly—something obviously not the case.
More trickery, Ren thought, and returned her attention to Cú, who nobody could ever mistake for anything other than a warrior. "So you encountered another Servant? How? Who?"
Cú spun his spear absently, his gaze roving around the castle ruins. "I went out to take the lay of the land, and the measure of these Irregulars. This area is… a mess. Whatever the source of the problem, the local gang is just the smallest piece of it." He frowned. "It's odd in other ways, too. Very clear, regular borders, and it's obvious this is the last local territory still holding out against invaders."
"Obvious how?" Ren asked, glancing at Ritsu, who had been nodding along.
"There's a pillar of darkness rising from each of the territories bounding this one," said Cú bluntly. "Like a marker on a map made manifest."
"I bet those are the fallen summoners' castles," said Ritsu. "I heard that once they catch all the summoners, they get into the castle and corrupt the summoning portal somehow, so there won't be any new summoners except the ones the Sovereign Council makes."
Ren considered this and nodded. "But now there's me. Or, well, him."
Cú scratched the back of his head. "Uh, yeah. And you know, just surveying the mortal troops, I was inclined to agree with you. They're badly trained, barely more than the bandits they look like. Even when I was alive they wouldn't have been much of a challenge for myself and, say, a nine year old girl, and now…" He shrugged, and Ren understood. The Servants she could summon tended to be significantly more powerful than the versions that had once walked her original world.
But Cú went on. "Now, those familiars are a different story. They're a lot more powerful, but there's not that many of them. Most of 'em seem to serve that woman in the red and gold armor."
Ritsu's face darkened. "You saw Tora?"
"Was that her name? Yeah, I saw her." Cú paused, his brow drawing together as he looked down at the young girl. "You two… she a relative of yours?" But when Ritsu only looked away in response, he shook his head and returned his attention to Ren. "Well, I figured you'd want to be involved in taking down the local leader, but it'd be helpful to get rid of the dragon ahead of time. Ritsu said something about it sniffing out the castle. So I went ahead and did that."
Merlin rejoined them. "So casually, Child of Light?"
Cú gave Merlin a sideways glance. "Well, it would have been if…. Tora, was it? Hadn't gotten involved. She at least kept it from being dull. But in any case, I didn't exactly have to get fancy. The dragon faded like we do when defeated, and I made sure to leave Tora in a state she could heal from."
He frowned again as Ritsu, still looking away, made a stifled sound. "I hung around after I dematerialized to make sure none of her incompetent subordinates stabbed her by accident, but they didn't really have a chance. She pulled out this mirror…"
Merlin's gaze sharpened. "What did it look like?"
"A hand mirror, made from blackened silver, I'd guess. Ornate. Even the glass had been blackened. She smeared her blood on it. And her dragon rematerialized." He let out a breath. "And then the black dragon went inside of her, and, well…" He gave Merlin an inscrutable look. "She turned into a Saber. One in black armor, with a blackened Holy Sword."
Merlin's eyes widened and then narrowed. He tapped his mouth with a finger, his gaze going faraway.
Ren grimaced. "An Alter-type Pseudo-Servant? Can you beat her?"
"Oh yeah," Cú assured her. "I'm pretty sure I can, one way or another. Alters aren't exactly known for being flexible thinkers."
But Merlin chortled suddenly. "All the same, you got out of there in a hurry once she showed up, didn't you?"
"Um," Ritsu inserted herself with a small voice. "What are you all talking about? What happened to Tora? I've never heard of a familiar going inside somebody. Well, not in a good way."
Merlin tugged on her ponytail lightly. "Your Tora has basically been replaced by somebody faster, stronger, smarter and definitely better-looking than the Child of Light here. I don't know if it's permanent or not. We're in a whole new world."
"Does that mean we're going to lose?" asked Ritsu, still bewildered.
"Oh, probably not. Ren will just have to summon another Servant to help our Lancer out."
Ren's mouth pressed together tightly as Merlin gave her a saucy, sparkling look. He was trying to provoke her somehow, but she wouldn't rise. She had more important things to think about, anyhow.
Meanwhile Cú, his spear across his shoulders, looked unimpressed with Merlin's teasing. "We'll see." He cast his gaze over Ren. "Unless my lady also doubts my strength?"
Maybe it was the way he called her my lady instead of the more traditional Master that made her want to respond to Cú's query with a courtly gesture. Maybe she thought on some level it would annoy Merlin the way he'd annoyed her. Whatever the reason, she stepped close to the Lancer, put one hand on his chest to steady herself, stood on her tiptoes despite the ache in her legs, and pressed her lips against his.
She'd intended a chaste kiss, a kiss of confidence, but as his hand settled at her waist, she had a split-second of realizing she had no idea what to do if he misunderstood. But although his mouth softened against hers and his hand tightened on her hip, he took no liberties. And when she disengaged, he only looked at her warily.
"I… I have the… the utmost faith in you, my Servant," she said, and cursed herself for stumbling over her words. Her cheeks flamed. So much for her courtly gesture.
She dropped her gaze so she couldn't see Cú's expression. "Um, Ritsu, would you come back to the portal and tell me more about the Summoner's Castles? They seem… important." Then, without waiting for an answer, she hurried away.
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