[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/WtJ9W3l.png[/img][/center][hr][center][color=b1d2d7][h1]Ilya Muromets[/h1][/color][h3]Tomb of Gül Baba, District II[/h3][/center][hr]
	Ilya's face curled into a snarl, mirroring the disgust in Adina's voice as she practically spat insult after insult at the Lancer. Who was she, to act so much better than this hero? The Master across from her did not leave Ilya feeling threatened in the slightest - though her Servant did continue to leave her quite guarded. She didn't doubt the statement that Adina had said. Most masters would have attempted at Kelemen's life, but what none of them knew was Ilya's true driving force. The real, and only reason she decided to fight in this war alongside a child.
	
	[color=e9a7b3]"You know nothing."[/color] Her voice was cold. Still. Guarded yet attacking. Carefully composed yet obviously angered. Her whole body held stable despite how she wanted to quiver with emotion. [color=e9a7b3]"You think I'm endangering him to chase after my wish? You get disgusted by the thought of me being so selfish? Tch-"[/color] Once more, Ilya had to hold herself back from shaking with revulsion. [color=e9a7b3]"You are utterly and completely wrong. I am still here for one reason."[/color]
	[center][color=e9a7b3]"I stand before Kelemen, not as a [i]fighter[/i], but as a [b][i]protector[/i][/b]. I will protect this boy, and I will [b]protect his wish.[/b]"[/color][/center]
	This girl...this girl who knew nothing, of course Ilya couldn't completely fault her for not knowing why it was that Kelemen wanted to participate in the war. Of course Ilya couldn't expect this other Master to know that this child was working to regain what had been lost, what any child would desire if it were stripped from them. It was only Ilya who knew, and it was only Ilya who could be the proper Servant to watch over this particular Master in this war. It was only Ilya who could devote herself full-heartedly to not only fight for her Master, but who could devote her very reason for existing to [i]protecting[/i] her Master.

	If one were to find themselves wondering, what could this wish be that would lead someone as prideful as Ilya to forego her own simple-minded desires to protect, then the answer to their question was simple. This child simply wanted his family back. Though, Ilya only felt the need to explain herself. Whether Kelemen wanted to defend his own wish and his own reason to fight in this war would be up to him, but this was all of an explanation that the Lancer was going to give to the pressuring Master staring her down.

	It would be up to that girl, so filled with disgust and resentment for Ilya, to decide what would happen next, but nonetheless, the Lancer refused to be caught off-guard by whichever decision she made. Once she finished her menacing retort, Ilya finally felt her shoulders relax ever so slightly, one hand slipping behind her back to take Kelemen's small child-sized hand in her own, and giving it a squeeze. Hopefully he could feel her reassurance in her grip, but if not, she sent a single, four word sentence his way between their connection.

[right][i]I will protect you.[/i][/right]
	She did no more explaining, whether it be to Adina to address more of her taunts, or to Kelemen, to actually explain the horrid, gruesome truth of this war. For now, he was still innocent. She didn't know how fully he would accept Adina's words, but Ilya would work on that later. For now - she had one focus. One drive.

	Bending her knees and turning slightly, she fell into a defensive position with one hand lifted in front of her, the other still behind her from holding Kelemen's hand and prepared to materialize her spear at any moment. Her skin tingled, prickles of needle like sensations spreading over her body as she felt it prepare to stand for what her legend foretold. Ilya was a fortress, and Kelemen was her precious treasure.
[hr][sub]Addressing [@ShadowKingman] [@Mr President] [@AThousandCurses][/sub]