[center][h1][color=7bcdc8]Siegfried[/color][/h1][/center]
[h3]Shinto Streets[/h3]
[hr]

“I suggest you stand back, Master.”

So it was that Siegfried would meet his first quarry in the war. Not in the quiet night, softly exchanging greetings before letting their vaunted treasures sing the melody of steel clashing against steel. Not a fight of heroes, of skilled warriors without peer.

But rather, a battle against the putrid thing that revealed itself before him. He could not say it was the most expected event, but he would also not complain.

He was a shield and a sword. That was all there was to him, that was all there was to a Servant. Though his wish had been ‘to take the reins of his own life’, he must also not forget his place. And so, if this was the enemy, then he would cut it down.

…You, who are afraid. Do you think you are alone? Foolishness, for bravery resides in conquering one’s fear. He had been afraid, as well – the moment he had been tasked to defeat the evil dragon, he knew nothing else but the sheer terror that he had felt as he approached Fafnir’s lair. Yet, he had carried out his duty as a hero nonetheless, even if he did not remember how.

You, who deny that which incites fear, why do you show yourself before a hero, wretched thing? You, who wishes to flee from terror, why do you stand against one who would fight against it?

Ah, this body, bathed in the blood of a creature most terrifying, these veins through which runs the blood of a being that would have made lesser men shiver in their boots and surrender themselves to the end.

A smile parted Siegfried’s lips. A growl escaped his throat. It was unnatural, so unlike ‘the hero, Siegfried’ to show something other than a dispassionate façade even in the face of battle with this otherworldly being. Yet the blood of the dragon may sometimes prove that it has not been as diminished as some would think.

Balmung arose, reflecting the rays of the moon, an otherworldly shine to the Holy Blade of the Nibelungs. Muscles tensed like coiled springs, ready to release and do battle against that which was akin to him, yet not. Wait, wait, wait, now is not yet time. Let it approach a tad more. He couldn’t dodge, his Master was right behind him, after all. So all he could do was meet the assault head on.

It suited him just fine.

The moment it reached optimal distance – the falling comet would be answered with a rising star as Siegfried’s blade started its upwards swing, the full strength he could muster. Against lesser creatures, it would have perhaps stepped out of the realm of cutting – perhaps more akin to ‘obliteration’. But against this one, not even he could be certain.

“…Come, then. If you so wish to escape, then let me offer you deliverance.”

The words were spoken – but perhaps not even Siegfried could truly know what prompted them. All he knew was that the thing before him was an enemy. And, as such, it would be slain.

[@ConstantlyComic] [@Moonlit Sonata]

[hr]

[center][h1][color=ed1c24]David Ríos[/color][/h1][/center]
[h3](Southern Miyama, Riverside Cottage)[/h3]
[hr]

Hm. His Servant had posed the big question, hadn’t she? What did he wish to attain out of this entire affair, what would motivate him to enter this deathmatch with only one victor?

He was rather surprised it hadn’t come up earlier, really. Stepping out into the streets, he paused for a second – theatrical, perhaps, but that was just how he was. Allowing his features to relax, he decided to merely tell the truth.

“My wish is rather simple, truth be told – I seek only to further my family’s interests… Is what I should say.” He let the words hang in the air for an instant before speaking again. “Do you know the desire of Magi as a whole, Lancer? To reach the Root, by whatever means the deem necessary, through whichever path they have chosen. It is a timeless task and a thankless one – each will further the family focus as much as possible, and then pass on their findings and the will of our ancestors to the next descendant. Repeat, repeat, repeat ad infinitum or until one of our descendants manages to achieve that goal.”

There is a certain bemusement in his tone of voice – perhaps even a touch of annoyance, as though he dislikes the very notion.

“Can you understand, Lancer? My very family expects me to be yet another cog in the wheel. They don’t require anything from me except that I do my duty and quietly pass the mantle when the time comes.” His tone is more heated with each word. “As if. What is the point of being ‘just one more’, Lancer? Why not be ‘the one’, when the chance so tantalizingly presents itself before me? If the Grail is truly what they have claimed it to be – then, at the very least, even witnessing its effect will propel my work to new heights, let alone what victory would avail me, no?”

There is another bout of silence as he realizes he has spread his arms wide, as though to seize the whole world, coat billowing behind him, and he carefully returns to a calmer position, coughing into his hand in an attempt to retrieve the levity he had lost.

“Well, I suppose in the end, you might as well call me a selfish, ambitious magus – but I make no secret of what I am.”

[@Ijoyen]