[center][h2]Theseus[/h2]
[h3]Homurahara Academy, King's Banquet[/h3][/center]

[@yankee] [@Aoko Aozaki] [@phonic] [@reflection]...[@ Wine and Dine] 

Looking down at the costumed man with profound pity, his gaze moved toward the one who claimed to be "Hercules", clearly disapproving. 

To take on [i]his[/i] name was one thing. To some degree, even if he found the idea of taking the "glory" associated with that man's name without having earned it distasteful, it was ultimately an act that would not have harmed anyone, and Heracles was one that could fight his own battles. Perhaps Saber would have challenged him in his place, considering that he had clearly not been summoned if the charade had been allowed to propagate for this long, but that would've been the end of that.

But endangering and abusing an innocent man for the simple purpose of showing off? He was not merely stealing that name — he was tarnishing it. And so, he spoke, words to challenge and condemn. If he wanted to be that titan so badly, he would give him a task at least worth the name.

"Why claim to be someone you are [i]not[/i]—"

He began to speak, but he trailed off before he could complete it. His intuition kicked in, and he felt it before he saw it.

Indeed, as a demigod blessed from the moment of his birth, Saber possessed not only a strong body, but also inborn talents that already fell beyond the reach of most as a matter of course that had only been heightened throughout a storied lifetime. That he could not "see" the attack meant little to such intuition. There was "danger" aimed this way. That was enough.

The swirling torrent of magical energy was noted, his Master hurried to stand behind him as he took the sword in his hand. 

...As it turned out, he needn't be so alarmed. Of course, Orpheus' intervention was as expected, and as effective as he remembered it to be from the days in that ship, so the "power" had already decreased enough that he felt confident that dealing with this kind of thing would be easy, and that did not even account for the actions that the other "kings" gathered here took in order to punctuate their own words.

It was a shame that of all the people here, he could only agree with one. At the very least the one to have posed the question also had a clear understanding of a king versus a petty despot — a tremendous relief. There was only so much nonsense he could take before simply leaving.

Regardless, their intervention made things easier. Between the Caster lowering its output, and then the barbarian thinning their numbers, Theseus simply stepped forward, in front of his Master and keeping an eye on the only other king here he could at least respect. Weak as they now were, there was no doubt that between all the abilities he had been blessed with, knocking them aside would be as easy as breathing.

"A Noble Phantasm, yes," He answered his Master's question without breaking his stride. "Whatever Servant launched it probably thought they could take advantage of this gathering to score as many kills as possible in one fell swoop."

Still, his annoyance simply increased, gaze sharpening. First the fool masquerading as a friend, now another barbarian in addition to the other two...

No, wait. At least the other two understood and respected Xenia to some extent. This one did not. So they clearly were an even greater savage. A brute-er. A barbarian squared.

There was the nature of those javelins, as well. Yes, "barbarian squared" was an appropriate appellation for whatever Servant had decided to launch them, but more than anything, Saber found himself vaguely intriged in addittion to revolted.

Because there was some form of "familiarity" there. The concept carried by the attack was obvious, but there was something deeper. The question then was—

He put his hand to his head, stumbling for a second, gaze unfocused.

"Something" slammed into him. Not words — nothing so civilized. A more apt term would be a ceaseless torrent.

For a second, the hero could not breathe. And then, it was gone, almost as if it had never been there at all.

But there was something "different".

[color=0072bc]"Master."[/color] 

Theseus' voice had not changed from its usual candence, but there was an undercurrent of something that had not been there even when he had spoken with that barbaric king and his demands. Something that had been lacking even when he was speaking with the fool trying to appear as Heracles.

He turned to look at him and the difference was only ever clearer.

[color=0072bc]"I suggest that we immediately leave to hunt that Servant down. At the very least, not only have they interrupted a meeting, but they have used their Noble Phantasm, so that must mean they clearly desire a real battle, no? Let us give it to them."[/color]

They were not intended toward just the boy in front of him, but rather everyone who could be called an attendant to the banquet that dared to hear him. Regardless, without waiting for answers, Saber turned in the direction the Javelins had come from and began to move.

Sword in hand and fire in his eyes — Theseus no longer smiled.