Lemons
Izurich
SilverPaw
Zeroth
Punished GN
Asura
mickilennial
Vampiretwilight
Mira Grace
Dɪᴀʟᴏɢᴜᴇ Cᴏʟᴏʀ ✦ #8AB8E6 || Tʜᴏᴜɢʜᴛ Cᴏʟᴏʀ ✧ #EBB40E
Mentally, Mira cursed herself. She'd been momentarily shamed into silence by Saber's chiding words when it happened - something moved out of the corner of her eye, and she practically jumped out of her skin as, to her surprise, another Master appeared and... Offered her advice? Mira frowned, peering uneasily out from under the brim of her hat, her earlier thoughts rushing quickly through her brain.
This was a Master who lacked a Servant visibly present. That, coupled with the two Servants they'd already identified, only left three likely possibilities: the Servants who favored distance and subterfuge to direct confrontation. Caster, Archer... or Assassin.
And yet, this woman was simply offering her a suggestion, warning her of the danger posed by other Masters. What was more, knowing of that very danger, surely, she herself wouldn't linger longer than she had to... right? She wasn't a danger... She wasn't going to-
What happened next was a blur. The only warning was a metallic click coming from behind her, but by the time she could so much as turn her head, the source of the sound was already gone. In the darkness of her heart, the lid lifted upon a cat's golden eye, and the creeping numbness poured back into her extremities as her circuits burst open instinctively, pouring forth their prana in anticipation of... Of... what?
All of a sudden, a choking fog rolled over the clearing. It was as if the air itself had become solid and was trying to force its way down her throat, deeper into her very lungs, where it burst and roiled into her blood. The oxygen carried by her veins had become naught but a murderous curse, an entity within her bloodstream that screamed with rage against all that she was. No matter, she'd just erase the curse with her Prana, and then-
A voice cried out amidst the smoke, and the next thing she knew Saber was in front of her and then-
A sickening squelch of flesh rang all too clearly in her ears as her eyes went wide in horror, scarlet ichor splattering over her cloak and face. She could feel the warm liquid dripping onto her cheek as Saber staggered, nearly falling to her knees. The blood... The blood was... her Servant was... She had...
The enemy was here, somewhere. Another attack would come. Where? Behind? The front? The left? The right? It didn't matter. Lies, tricks, deceit - she should have known, why hadn't she been ready? Of course her enemies would do whatever it took to win. They wanted her life, would stop and nothing to take it. The outside wasn't safe, nowhere was safe, the whole world wasn't safe! The enemy was everywhere, she had nowhere to run. Fight or be killed, kill or be killed! Saber was going to die, and once they finished her off, then they would...
A wordless, desperate scream burst from Mira's lips. Erupting in a radiant display, the magic crests starting over Mira's heart and spreading across her torso burst to light as prana poured through them, spreading through the link to begin restoring Saber's body and pushing back the lingering influence of the curse, but also...
Red fury, give blood for blood, pierce and spill over!
From above, the eyes of countless circling crows locked onto the fleeing form of the enemy magus. Even if Mira herself couldn't see through the fog, she could feel the connection between herself and her familiars, telling her exactly where to fire. That was enough. Her Servant was yet unseen, but that didn't matter. Just as Assassin had aimed to achieve victory by killing Mira rather than Saber, if she could just exterminate the one giving the orders, then the danger would be gone... right? Saber wouldn't die. She wouldn't die. She'd be safe. The outside... the outside was the enemy. If she could just kill this outsider, then...!
In her desperation, Mira reached for the first thing she could use as a weapon. Placing a hand to her cheek, she felt the twinge of blood that had splattered upon it as the red stained deeply into her skin. This would do. The already prana-rich blood became a vessel, her nerves a conduit for the anger and fear that she felt. It rose up from her fingertips as if of its own accord, and she reached outward. In an instant, the numbness spread through most of Mira's body, and the electrical crackling of her nerves died down to a dull buzz. Her chances would have been better if she'd transported the attack directly to its target, but there was no time for thinking, no time for computations and formulas. The enemy would strike again any moment, unless she took this shot! But... this would surely be enough, right? This curse of overflowing blood, seeking nothing but to split open its target, sinking into her flesh and then bursting her veins apart... It lacked any sort of sophistication or elegance, any higher purpose but to inflict a messy, sudden death. It would definitely do it. Just a little more... If Saber could hold on a little more, everything would be fine again, right?
Her vision obscured by her own Servant's Noble Phantasm, Elizabeth wouldn't even be able to see the Curse winding its way rapidly out of the Mist until it was already almost upon her. Out of the darkness, it came: an almost imperceptibly thin tendril of blood tinged in darkest crimson, winding and twisting wildly like the appendage of some incomprehensible beast. This tiny needle would strike viciously, again and again and again, aiming to pierce and rip her insides apart, as though it were precisely cutting cloth at the seams, then restitching it back upon itself, as if to wring every last drop of blood from the victim's veins. This was a ruthless, simple curse, with few gimmicks, if any - it would simply continue attempting to murder its chosen target until it was either dispelled or its Prana burned out. And yet, in that one goal, it excelled. It was a display of murder honed into an art form, perfected over countless generations of Witchcraft, and streamlined through the constant refinement and perfection of the Grace clan's Magic Crest. Mira had, in her impulsive panic, burned a tremendous amount of even her own considerable Prana on an all-out attack, aiming to tear her opponent's body apart no matter what it took. In order to escape alive, Elizabeth would no doubt need that same kind of resolve.
Saber! Please, don't die! Can you move? Let's run away! Please, hurry! The Witch pleaded desperately with her Servant. She didn't want to use this so early... but if the enemy's mystery Servant made another move, she'd have no choice. A command seal... And the orders would be simple enough, wouldn't they? Saber was the strongest Servant. She had to be, if she was the Servant Mira had summoned. These enemies knew that, which was why they'd chosen to strike once and then retreat.
If that was the case, then one order would be enough to finish the fight. She just had to tell Saber to kill them both, and then she'd be safe... right?
