[h1] Siegfried[/h1]

Siegfried’s eyes had slid towards the towering behemoth that addressed him, more akin to a giant than a human in size, if not in demeanor. Looking at everyone else and then at his choice of attire, he realized that, yes, he was quite out of place in that regard – but well, there was not much that could be done regardless. He would catch the eye of normal people either way, and it was not like he could conceal his back, so it was simply less of a headache to just carry on like this. That said, there was no reason not to be courteous.

“I—”

Until there was, he supposed. The breeze kicked him first, the hair in the back of his neck stood on end, almost like a jolt of electricity had shot through him, his eyes turned towards the source, a hand making its way towards the handle of the greatsword at his back.

His fist clenched, his heartbeat stilled as he observed it draw closer and closer upon them, almost a single moment stretched into infinity. This was. . .

No good. No good, no good at all. Ah, damnation, he had expected a simple affair and he should have known better than to tempt fate like that. But those were thoughts for another place, another time – what mattered now was that Ruler’s sole warning had not fallen on deaf ears.

Indeed, he moved. With quickness beyond normal men, he turned and practically lunged towards his Master in an attempt to get her out of the line of fire. Certainly, it would be a somewhat disorienting experience, but better be alive to lament that than dead, right? His features bled into a frown, looking over his shoulder towards the newest monstrosity to have arrived. In spite of himself, he felt his heartbeat quickening yet again, but he reminded himself – before engaging, it was paramount to ensure his Master’s safety. If it was required, he would fight, but not until he completed that task. Good thing, too, it would give him time to formulate possible strategies to employ in his head.

That said – he had a feeling he would not particularly enjoy this fight at all. Give him an enemy his own size to battle one on one against, he would be a happy man – or he would have, a long time ago, before he bathed in Fafnir’s blood.

“. . .But a literal moving fortress? That is not nearly as fun.”

The irony of the statement did not escape him. He just failed to care for it. Regardless, now it was not the time to either jest or dawdle. His eyes narrowed as he noticed it taking in the Prana of the surroundings, almost greedily, accruing that light. . .

That. . . Could not possibly mean anything good.

“Master, apologies if I was too rough, but will you be fine by yourself? I don’t believe we can let that thing be, so it seems we will be rushing into battle sooner than I would have liked. At least this time it won’t be by our lonesome. . .even if the enemy seems far harder to take down.”

Well, at least this one seemingly did not insult him with its mere presence. Small steps. Even then, however, he knew those words rang true. Balmung could be said to be overkill against one individual opponent, his own greatest weapon was something suited to battle armies with, but even if this was one individual opponent, he could hardly say it was the average. So. . .he was not particularly certain about its capacity to take the castle down. For the first time, he felt that perhaps a different kind of Holy Sword would have been better suited to the task than his own.

To say nothing about the unease he felt as it absorbed more and more magical energy. That did not bode well, at all.

“That said. . .I think the first order of business should be trying to stop it from gathering more mana. Or kill it before it does.”

A disgustingly simple plan. Then again, he did not have much else to go on.

Of course, it was easier said than done, considering the amount of question marks said course of action still left them with. Ah, well, he supposed he could think as he fought, or at trust his Master to figure something out.

At the very least, he would not allow her to fall here.

[@ConstantlyComic]

[hr]

[h1]David Ríos[/h1]

He froze for an instant, feeling as though the world slowed down around him. The wind caused him to stumble, almost fall, but his Circuits opened and, with single word spoken almost in a trance, something he had managed to accomplish after turning it into a true reflex, he felt magical energy flood his limbs to an extent, giving him the ability to stand on his feet.

Fat lot of good it would do him if that thing managed to catch him. Without even thinking, he ran, dignity thrown out of the window in the face of a much more pressing need – that of surviving to see another day. He knew which battles to pick, and right now, as he frantically sought to put as much distance as possible between himself and that golem, that castle, he knew it would do him no good to try and stand his ground, fight here. It was not an enemy he could take advantage of, at least that he could see, and therefore, the most efficient course of action was to not get killed and leave Lancer without a Master.

At least they were not alone, and even though a small part of his mind told him they could be put at a disadvantage if they revealed too many cards right now, he told that part to shove it and retreat into the darker recesses of his conscious. For the moment, what mattered – what actually mattered – was dealing with this uninvited guest in whatever manner was the quickest and easiest. 

They just had to find it.

Considering its lack of care for discretion, they had to do it fast, as well.

Ah, he had hoped his first battle in this ritual to have been perhaps a more dignified affair, instead here he was, running for his life, his back to the enemy and already going on tangents. Mother and Father would be – actually, he was not sure. At least it seemed to work out, as far as getting out alive went, so maybe they would not mind too much. Decorum was secondary right now, and he hoped they would agree.

“Lancer!” He said, perhaps heard perhaps not. Who could tell, amidst these roaring winds? “I’ll be counting on you today, too!”

Nothing wrong with relying on his partner, he guessed. He did feel a little disappointed that he would be unable to provide much aid beyond healing, but it was better than nothing. Or so he hoped. 

[@Ijoyen]