Ayanokouji POV
Another week had passed. The problem Class B was having as well as the exams were finally over. Ichinose was able to bring relief back to the minds of her classmates.
A few moments ago, we had just discussed certain strategies to use against Rider. But the trouble lay in locating him and allowing ourselves to take him on in grounds we had an advantage in. That was the problem we had to tackle. We either need to find him in the whole area of Tokyo or for one of us to encounter him. We're very limited on either option so we parted ways still needing a method to locate him.
As we were heading towards the Tokyo Metropolitan Area through the dense forest shrouded in darkness coming from the old veteran's mansion, Hector and I found ourselves halting our trek.
"What is it?"
Euthemia was wondering what both of us were being wary of.
"It seems there's another Servant here missy, I'm sure of it."
"Where?"
"I don't know."
Lancer steeled himself for an ineluctable confrontation. He took and shifted to a guard position, staying close to his Master. I quickly leapt and propped myself on the upper branches of the taller trees. I took off my glasses and pocketed them as well as unsheathing my blade. A faint rustling could be heard. I quickly scurried around and found a disturbing sight.
The darkness of night shrouded the thicket, although my vision was fine, especially with the use of my Mystic Eyes. As I gazed upon the top of the sea of trees, it seemed as if there was an entire section of the forest moving towards us in a wave-like motion. The trees were being hacked down as if they were grass to a lawnmower, as something was approaching at an alarming speed that far outpaces the average car.
"It's coming from the East."
Lancer quickly propped himself in that direction. Second after second, the harrowing sound of the shrubbery was becoming more and more apparent.
"Grrr... rrrrrr... "
A distinct growling noise came from the said direction. As the trees in front of Lancer were shattered into pieces by the incoming ball of carnage, it should have given us a clear view of the source, but there was nothing that could be seen aside from the destruction.
Hector swiftly thrust his spear at his front. However, a flash of light caused it to stop its momentum and pushed him back a considerable distance. No, something had clashed with his spear. And we came to the same conclusion.
"This thing's invisible."
Clouds of dust formed as a result of their heavy clash. The cloud of dust moved along a certain axis, Lancer swung his spear relentlessly as if trying to hit every direction surrounding him. Sparks kept flying as the ground shook and the trees rattled while the invisible beast howled into the night. Was this thing a wolf?
I looked towards Euthemia and saw that she had covered herself with Volumen Hydrargyrum. It was a wise decision. Had she not done that, she would have been shredded to pieces. It would be fine to leave her at that for now. Vibrations travel well through the liquid, so she could hear what was happening on our end.
I once again turned my attention to the ensuing battle and found that the dust was starting to clear. However, Lancer was now in a tight spot. He had gained a general sense of the thing's general direction. It was a skill that he had undoubtedly acquired as a great warrior and tactician. Although... Every attack he had blocked and parried kept pushing him back with considerable force. The enemy's blows would put a heavy strain on Hector. He was simply outmatched strength-wise.
I could sense his carefree expression being long gone.
'Shall I make my way there, my husband?'
Morgan asked if she should join the battle as the battle was leaning towards being one-sided.
"Hold on to tha-"
I involuntarily placed my hand on my head as it started to become painful. What the hell is happening? I had activated Memory Partition. So why is my head hurting?
Moments later, blue light emanated from my back. Suddenly, a barrage rained upon the battlefield. The effects completely obliterated the ground and foliage it touched. The bombardment was composed of a great quantity of something resembling a Gandr, albeit having been accompanied by blackened embers of magical energy, each one carrying a tremendous amount of power behind them. The onslaught completely avoided Hector and Euthemia's locations. The blanket of trees was reduced to mere ash and splinters as they withered and crumbled.
"Are you alright, my husband?"
Morgan appeared by my side, seemingly causing the deluge.
"I'm fine. Although my headache won't seem to go away."
"Don't exert the limits of your mind. Need I remind you that your blood vessels would burst? Try and limit your role in this battle."
Just then, a piercing howl echoed throughout the forest. That beast was still alive. The destructive power of that spell just now was nothing to scoff at and it covered a vast area. As the dust cleared, the ground showed another unsettling sight. There were footprints, belonging to that of a canine. However, it was a lot larger than any living canine could produce. This Servant was a gigantic wolf. It showcased that it possessed immense strength, speed, and endurance. It was a fearsome opponent with just its specs, and yet it was also invisible. But within the rubble, there was the sight of blood. Morgan had managed to injure it with her Magecraft.
Hector also caught sight of the gigantic footprint. This time, he switched to the offensive. The wolf started to move once again. It started to move in the opposite direction. But from my point of view, the creature wasn't trying to escape. It was planning to circle back to the cover of foliage and attempt to attack from another angle.
Hector ran towards its trail of debris, following directly behind it. It was certainly the most viable option in seeking to attack it. That large an animal would have trouble turning around quickly within a small area.
Lancer dashed forward and swiftly lunged his spear towards the invisible monster. The tip of his spear then scintillated as it was propelled backwards. The imperceptible mass then returned to the thicket.
This wasn't just a beast. There was a rider that mounted it. This revelation made the situation a lot more complicated.
The susurration of the undergrowth was getting louder. I scouted its current trajectory and immediately warned lancer.
"It's approaching your Master."
"Hey kid, mind rushing over and saving her?"
"I got it."
Morgan cast a support spell as I made use of Shūgendo and activated my Mystic Code. With my blade in my hand, I jumped off the tall tree and started to rush towards Euthemia, while he positioned himself in parallel to the direction of the wolf and the Volumen Hydrargyrum.
"Noble Phantasm... "
He readied his weapon, braced his feet, and pulled back his arm. His stance was not what was common when throwing a lance. Magical energy then began to pour out of the back of his elbow. It seemed that that would be its method of propulsion. The moment it had been released from his hand. The air trembled and a shockwave propagated through the area.
"Durindana!"
He shot forth the weapon with great speed. It pierced through his Master's Mystic Code with ease. The defensive capabilities of Volumen Hydrargyrum are phenomenal, but the imperceivable Servant's strength was on another level. I, myself, would have used the Lines of Death if the Noble Phantasm hadn't broken through it. The attack was deliberately made to miss Euthemia. On the other hand, I bolted and caught her in my arms as the protection from the ball of metal was down.
In the next moment, blood appeared out of thin air. The attack was able to hit the beast and it seems like Morgan had summoned her halberd upon it as well, while I had saved Euthemia from the collision. The animal let out a shrieking cry, indicating it was injured. The legendary unbreakable spear said to have been able to pierce the shield Rho Aias had lost no momentum from its collision with the beast. From the amount of blood on the ground, the assault wasn't able to fatally wound it because it wasn't hit directly. Being unable to pinpoint its exact location had turned this battle in the beast's favor.
"What the hell?"
The person I was carrying was dumbfounded by the situation.
"Let's escape for now and regroup. We'll need to come up with a strategy."
I handed her over to him, as we both leapt for the trees. Once I was among the branches, I planned to run to the metropolitan while Hector went in the direction of his spear, trying to retrieve it. But there was something else I found interesting. It didn't turn its attention to Morgan at any point in time, even when she was the closest target. I knew she could have escaped easily, and she seemed to have realized this as well.
Bad luck seemed to have struck me as it decided to pursue me and it was about to catch up. Morgan bombarded its path with weapons from afar. I used the Mystic Code's functions for momentary bursts, to only move forward. This time I had to use Reinforcement on myself as well as Iddhi-vidha. The power I put forth in every step increased drastically, and I had to step on sturdier branches close to the trunks. I had never run this fast in my life, even with the pain in my head.
After maintaining the chase for about a minute. We were getting dangerously close to the edge of the city. At our current pace, it would take less than a minute until we approached it. This was bad. I thought that it would slow down as we approached it or its Master would make it retreat. I couldn't sense Hector anywhere nearby. I readied myself and was about to use the Command Spell. When a massive object came hurling in from above. The impact shook the ground as it created a large crater and stopped the wolf in its tracks. The shockwaves uprooted large trees and flung them away. It was deafening. I looked back and saw that the object was... another Servant.