[h2]Saber - Benienma[/h2] "Ah..?!" No! She'd been cut off from her Master, and the others! That made it far more difficult to effectively defend them... Benienma clenched her teeth. With any luck, perhaps they wouldn't face any threats now that they had left the room... it was all she could hope for, when there was no room to retreat. Indeed, before she could even complete a single thought the puppet Hijikata had lurched forward, swinging his sword down and forcing her to counter just as swiftly. What he had lost in skill, he made up for in mindless fervor. No sooner then she had deflected his first attack, Benienma was forced to deflect another. And then another...! Undeniably, she was capable of defeating this opponent, but the fact that the second Kiara was also present, also a potential threat... she had to end this fight as swiftly as she could. She had to cut down this mockery of a proud Servant and then cleave the monsterous woman's head from her shoulders, then return to her Master's side! And so...! "I am Benienma, and I swear that I shall deliver judgement upon you, whatever manner of beast you may be!" Allowing the next attack to send her skidding backwards, the diminutive Servant sheathed her blade once more. She had to take the puppet down in one more blow, to eliminate one of her opponents as swiftly as possible...! [@RolePlayerRoxas][@PKMNB0Y] [hr] [h2]Mihama Nanako[/h2] From her vantage point, Nanako could see the fight progressing. The fact that Meltryllis was the more powerful and skilled fighter was only natural, her opponent was nothing more then a shadow. It was just like the last time. Where were these shadows coming from...? She could only hope that this one hadn't hurt anyone else on its way here. The shadow did't make a sound, even as it was tossed by its weapon to the ground. Even at the sound of an ugly crack, one of its limbs clearly breaking as the Alter Ego dragged its head in the opposite direction. It was disturbing... these things... how had they come to be? They were nothing like true Servants, even if they were some sort of phantom version of them... Indeed, one of its arms twisted at an angle that seemed altogether unnatural, the shadow lay prone on the ground for a moment. But only a moment. The crossbow snapped up and fired the instant Meltryllis stopped speaking! But that wasn't all. Charging down the street towards her was another shadow! This one was tall, wielding a massive axe, features entirely impossible to recognize beyond these facts, even as it roared. [@PKMNB0Y] [hr] [h2]Saber - Arturia Pendragon[/h2] There were still far too many people at risk...! The sheer number of these shadows made it difficult to account for the density of their forces. Where had they come from? How could something like this have happened? The King of Knights buried her blade in the chest of a shadow that had been attempting to fall upon a young mother and her daughter, ripping Excalibur free of its chest as it crumpled to spin and slice the head of a shadow raising a large axe over its head from its shoulders! Yet another advancing shadow was met with a swing that severed one of its arms, and the tip of Arturia's sword piercing its skull. The Saber had already killed so many, and yet their numbers were unrelenting... Across the arena, she caught sight of her other Knights. Lancelot, calling a blue light along his weapon... Gawain, radiant as the sun, cutting shadows down left and right... Bedivere, his one-armed spear technique piercing multiple shadows with a single thrust. And this did not even account for those out of her line of sight. She knew not a single knight that was present would fail to act! They had to save as many of these people as possible...! As Arturia cleaved a shadow in half from shoulder to hip once more, she began to channel magical energy across her sword. Killing them one by one wasn't enough! And so...! "Get down!" she demanded, the order ringing in the ears of the civilians nearby. The moment all of them heeded her order, she allowed her magical energy to flow upwards and from the tip of Excalibur! With a grand, ringing sound a burst of light exploded from the tip of the sword! It pierced a dozen shadows in an instant, vaporizing their bodies! Twisting her body, the blonde knight dragged her weapon sideways, the beam of light following and burning its way through several dozen shadows all at once as it did. In a matter of seconds, Arturia had cleared a vast patch of the stands of darkness, all that left of her opponents a cloud of black vapor disappearing into the wind! [hr] "Haaaaah!" Holding her shield in front of her and her lance pointed forward, Gareth charged her way up the stands! As she ran, she slammed into the shadows with bone-crushing force, driving the tip of her weapon through at least a dozen of the dark figures, their dissipating corpses clearing the way for her as she went. There were so many people in danger, and even if the majority of them were still alive, far too many had died already... She had to protect everyone she could! And that included that Servant with a quill! Shakespeare, that was it! Just as a wiry shadow with a long dagger lunged for him, she reached his side, driving the tip of her lance through the shadow's head and obliterating it in a single blow, smacking another a shadow away with a swing of her shield. "Help the others escape as best you can! My fellow Knights are going to clear out as many shadows as we can! All of them!" [@PKMNB0Y][@ghastlyInc][@1Charak2][@Raineh Daze][@RolePlayerRoxas] [hr] [h2]HECATE's Chamber[/h2] Carefully ignoring anything pertaining to the initial appearance she had displayed, HECATE considered what she had been asked "Hmm... My databases indicate that the alteration or interference with the function of command seals is extremely difficult," she said, finally, nodding to herself as she adjusted her glasses lightly. It was nearly impossible to change how command seals functioned, no matter how capable the mage attempting to do so was. If they weren't involved in the actual construction of the ritual... "Based on the information in my logs, I can safely assert that the only possible perpetrator is a magus originating from the age of gods. Records indicate there are multiple Servants who fit this description currently active in Fusang. However, their whereabouts are all currently accounted for." She cleared her throat, an unnecessary but very human-like behavior, before holding up what looked like a clipboard projected in her hands. "My information on likelihood of interference is sadly lacking. If particular traits could be established for magecraft capable of this level of sabotage, then perhaps it would be possible to identify likely culprits?" [@PKMNB0Y][@Raineh Daze][@DocRock]