[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/zS526FY.jpg[/img]
[h2][b]Sylvester II[/b][/h2]
[h3][i]Outside Apartment Workshop on the Top a Building Near said Apartment, Core District[/i][/h3]
[@Unoedipal][@ManyThings][/center] 
[hr]


The finishing blow.

The one that would have ended this situation and had finished with a victory on the side of Rider never came to fruition. Through clever actions and a more-than-tactical retreat, Lancer was able to keep his abdomen from splitting open with the fires of a phantasmal beast attached to a man’s hand. 

“Get back here Lancer! Master, I shall chase down this foe, but be careful!” 

The first action that Rider did in response to Lancer was knocking away the trash can that was flying towards him into the air, and while the majority of the trash might be in orbit at this point, a few pieces of trash fell upon Rider. And with a disgusted grimace by both him and (presumably) his wife, he threw that trash off of his, according to Sylvester, “super cool trench coat”, and began to chase his enemy in full.  

It was in a single leap that Sylvester was able to make the jump from his location to his opponent’s. In terms of total speed, his opponent might be faster, but Sylvester was certain he would have the upper hand when it came to bursts. After all, he had outrun a Moorish flying carpet for several days when escaping back to Christian Europe. He was certain that his former mentor would kill him, but he eventually overcame that adversity by making an “impossibility” into an “inevitably”.

Atop the rooftop, standing with the wind to his back, Sylvester started to speak to his opponent. His words carried with them no malice, taking an almost somber tone with the person who was his first opponent of the Grail War.  

“I detest fighting Lancer. If there were a more peaceful way to obtain the Holy Grail and make my wish come true, I would take that approach. But if it were between you dying, and my wish being granted, I assure you that your life inconsequential in that comparison. As a fellow Heroic Spirit called upon by the Holy Grail, I am sure you understand. It is just business, after all. I’m sorry if that is a disappointment for someone as skilled with a spear like yourself, but I am no warrior.”

Sylvester was a man of the cloth. He was never a warrior and could not share the “fun” of combat. It was merely a formality; something that he was required to do as a Heroic Spirit. Though he would not fail his Master, nor himself for that matter, Rider felt no true joy in the heat of battle. 

Fighting was detestable to him. Though he was the Pontiff possessed to be a Devil’s minion, he refused that path and chose one where he could smile together with the woman he truly cared for, and if he had to fight to retain this peace, Sylvester would do anything in his power to continue. 

“You are merely stalling the inevitable. I can tell that you are a powerful Heroic Spirit; your skills with the spear are enough to carry you through battles, and your tactics are honestly incredible. But against me, that skill and power are useless. I have considered every move you could do at this point. If you have any more surprises to throw at me, feel free to try them. But don’t be surprised when I corner you again!” 

And with that, Rider began to close the gap between himself and Lancer in order to finish where the two had left off in their previous bout, cracking the shingles between him and his opponent with the power of his movement alone. 

Fight on. 

Live, no matter the cost. 

Destroy those who are before you. 

That is what it meant to live for a dream. If there were those who would take away that dream from Rider, then they would feel the wrath from he who acted as God’s hand on earth!