[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/wCtYMQg.png[/img]
[u][h3]Rooftops - Academy District[/h3][/u]
[@DeltaGenesis][/center]

That arrow infuriated him. He felt a lancing pain as his body erupted into a fire, one that vanished within a moment. But the pain, the pain remained. It was like have a fire ignite in his veins. A fire... A CURSE. He knew exactly what gods would be this cruel. The greek gods who's temples he had burned. It was an insult to his very being. Something had to resist. Something he had to reject! Reject it he did, and the pain... Would not leave so easily despite the curse being broken. 

In the time Xerxes had wrestled with his pain, the boy had already declared himself a winner of sorts. Brat! The only man in life who had earned the right to injure the king like this had been Leonidus. The offer he given was no doubt off the table, and for a moment he was ready to destroy himself in one more attack. He had hardly been exercising his noble phantasm, but in that moment he was tempted to let the pain consume him. 

Then the boy began to retreat, and the voice of god spoke. Do not bother. The list of possibilities on an identity for this Archer had dropped to only one. He knew him by face, by name... Xerxes had nothing more to gain from this battle. He let the Archer flee. But he did not retreat himself. He merely let his soldiers crumble away into dust, and turned to leave. 

He leaped down from the rooftops, and his mount materialized beneath his feet. He had no words. He had only knowledge to take away from this. Any of his advisers in life would be telling him this. Telling him he had won the battle for knowledge, and that the boy's failure to follow through would cost him. Victory though... Was always hollow for Xerxes. He would have to see Archer again someday during this war. When that happened, it would be a short battle, and an inglorious one at that.

[quote=@DeltaGenesis]
[color=8dc73f]"That is enough for now, Rider. Pull back, we've gotten enough from this engagement as a whole. I'm sure you've had a bountiful fill of your fun and spirit, yes? I don't mind how you return to me, as long as you do before dawn. We need to go over what we've learned."[/color]
[/quote]

[color=f7941d]"Very well."[/color] Xerxes replied. [color=f7941d]"I shall be moving to the Mount Enzo location."[/color] His reasoning... It was simple. He was in pain. And Mount Enzo was further from the fighting. In all honesty, the main advantage it offered was a lack of foes as far as he knew. It also contained a powerful magical presence, claimed or not, a servant like him could use the overflowing magical energy to increase the rate at which he healed. Which, he would need to do. Obviously. 

His mount, a rhinoceros draped in armor, could easily chart that path. In the mean time, he would focus on healing. Healing in this case, meant making claim on a skill that could. 
[center][b][Imperial Privilege B][/b][/center] 
He was taking on the skills of a medical expert. While modern day medicine would do little for a servant, as it was physical and a servant was a being of ether, knowledge like this allowed him to focus his healing. Pinpointing the parts of his body most in need of healing, and focusing his magical energy to those points. The singular scrap on his arm was a minor priority. 

[color=f7941d]"Master, I was unable to achieve the enemy servant's name."[/color] He explained, letting his voice be heard over their connection. [color=f7941d]"I have narrowed the list down since the battle started but it's still incomplete. The most telling seems to be the curse attached to his arrows, and the mental interference he tried to apply afterwards. I doubt he's a Caster class, so it's likely the curse is from a third party. Perhaps a god."[/color] The list of gods who had given their blessings to servants was quite large. How many that might have cursed arrows? A great deal fewer, but still too many distinct possibilities. Unless it wasn't a curse, but a blessing out of control? The ground between blessings and curses was pretty much a blurry ground. The only difference was the end result. Same principals applied to both. Maybe he'd have better luck with servants who had blessings? [color=f7941d]"I suspect he is a servant of either the Tohsaka, or the Matou family. The direction he retreated in was the known location of their households. If he is a third party, it matters not. I shall make sure to destroy them all later."[/color]

His beast marched away, leaving the fighting behind. He would have loved to go back and fight against Heracles... But he knew it was best not to. He would only destroy himself in the process. But those other kings... Once Heracles was dead, he would have to fight each of them. Each of them, and he would win. 
Because he knew he must. 

[b]Academy --> Mount Enzo[/b]
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[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/SvOYJne.png[/img]
[u][h3]Shinto Town - City Streets[/h3][/u]
[@Parallel Hearts][/center]

Wait... What? Why was she Paris!? Ariadne could feel her eye twitch at the implication. Was this just a naming thing showing affection? Or was it a stealthy insult? Was Caster implying that Ariadne was like Paris? One who dabbled with gods and as a result of a narrow-minded love obsessed mind he ruined the land he called home and doomed his people to death? Or was the implication that she was stupid, like how Paris fell for a stupid wooden horse? Either way, she wouldn't be asking for the reason. She knew she wouldn't believe anything Cassandra had to say. It really was a curse when you couldn't trust your own servant. Thankfully, she could trust others to be stupid. 

Stowing the wine bottle away, she stepped out from the alleyway. Ariadne smiled, and tilted her head playfully to the side. [color=a187be]"Hello, I'm Paris."[/color] She said, and without warning, she wrapped her arm around Walter's free hand. The two girls now on either side of the half-drunk mage. [color=a187be]"So, who is your friend? Does she have a name? Come on, you can tell us, we can keep your secrets."[/color] She purred out, almost feline-like in her interrogation. Hardly giving Walter a second to think or focus. The trick here? Get him talking. Loose lips sink ships, and with the aura of Bacchus hovering in the air, freedom was everywhere. Freedom that desperately wanted to free all the thoughts from Walter's lips. 

[color=a187be]"Come on, we're all friends here."[/color]
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[@Scallop]