Seeing The Scales

[Cardwyn Driald]

(~0630)

Less than an hour ago she had been in the basement of the man she had brought justice to. Now, now Cardwyn was in a prison. Not as a prisoner, as her dark dress easily proved, but as a bringer of justice. She stood beside a strangely blank eyed guard, who was leading her down a single uniform hallway, with iron doors and a tiny window on each side. Brynhildr stood beside her as well, her presence heavy.

Lancer had moved fast, faster than anything she had been in before. She had taken a boat rather than a plane to Italy, her father told her she stood out to much for a plane, but it was probably to keep her from doing something unpredictable on it. So she had taken the families personal boat, under command of the same woman who had taught her how to fight with knives. The wind had felt like hammers striking her body, but she did not raise a word at their swift passage. She had been a mess after that, but the angel did not appear to have even a hair out of place under her helmet. And her eyes never changed. It had been difficult to fix herself at least somewhat under that glare.

Cardwyn had been ready to mentally interfere with the guards at the prison but Brynhildr had just walked through, after some small motions. Nothing had stopped her, no guard fired guns. Cardwyn had been here twice before, but from quite a distance. The first time was to find it, the second to capture a murderer who had received a light sentence. There is only one punishment for killing! He had murdered, her eyes had seen the woman, felt being the woman, that he raped and killed. She had seen much worse, many times before. Yet justice demanded death of both him and another man that had murdered fourteen before being caught.

He received justice.

The guard was under complete control of Brynhildr’s magic, and had led them to the most secure wing of the prison. No one else even looked at them. He had led them through wings of jeering prisoners, each serving the penance justice had decreed. Yet they were being led further in. Lancer had said death row, and that was where they were going. The darkest deeds inhabited this part of the prison, and the lighting seemed to give the angel’s face an ominous cast.

Faces loomed occasionally from the small windows, twisted with hatred and evil. Fear may have gripped a normal woman’s heart here, but Cardwyn was definitely far from normal. Where one would expect to see fear, only hatred existed, and a yearning to see regret colour any of these men’s faces. Yet she only had the prana for one Mystic Eye usage. It was as if a hungry man had been placed before a buffet, and was only allowed to take one item from it. They would yearn for so much more, but be grateful for what they had.

And then there was a face she recognized, pressed against the glass.

‘Useless! How long is this going to take!?’ A swift kick hit her in the stomach. 'How long will it take you to stop feeling what they feel!' Another kick. She doubled over, gasping for breath, the tears still falling from her eyes. She had stopped asking why a long time ago, it only made things worse. Two men were in front of the sobbing wreck, one in chains, there was fear, pain, tears, and regret on his face, and the other had a sneer as he kicked the man in the chains ‘Just as useless, why is it so hard to find someone who has committed a decent crime!’ He was almost frothing at the mouth. Fits were not rare for her father.

He shrunk to a corner for a second and then leapt up again. 'You killed her, you did!' Cardwyn had heard that so many times, and yet it still burned. Why was she being punished for something she didn't even remember? The first time she had asked... she could not remember much about that other than pain. 'At least try to make up for it by stopping your failures!' He left, leaving her and the chained alone in the dim light. She was chained too, but not as severely as the man in front of her. Just enough to keep from being able to wrap her small hands around the man's neck, or gouge out his eyes. Just enough. She had stopped trying for that a time ago as well.

She looked up at the man in chains. And burned his face into her mind. The face of a man who had set a woman on fire, slowly burning pieces of her body and cauterizing them afterwards to extend the pain. It had been days in her mind, days with eyes levelled with the chained man’s. She would kill him, herself. Two and a half years this torture had extended, and yet she memorized every face.

The scream came, and Cardwyn hurled herself at the metal door, slamming on it with her strengthened stiletto and leaving great gouges in the thick metal. She screamed with the scream, yet felt no emotion other than hatred. This was the first one she had found, she had looked for years and years. She had even begun to wonder if her father had just killed them when they were done with.

But here one was, and he had to receive the justice that had been prevented! She continued to hack at the door. It was as if he was a piece of her father, a piece that she could strike at him with. He would not remember this, but it was like killing a piece of her past. Perhaps it would rest the accursed scream in her mind. Justice had to be done!

[Brynhildr]

The wind had stroked her face, not much reached her under the armor, but she felt alive. An illogical comment from someone who did not even have a real body anymore, but she was able to spread her wings and be closer to her former home again. It was incomparable, but she could not smile and was too busy to detect the prison, their destination. It did not take too long to find it and land a bit away.

Flying people were quite uncommon in this town and era, and even if this activity would turn out to be more of a stunt than a secret mission, there was a limit to how much attention she wanted to receive. Brynhildr was arrogant and believed to handle whatever may come, but she was not stupid.

Some things should remain a surprise. Now how many souls would return to the root today? The cold-hearted warrior woman took a short glance of her companion. She had not managed to get over the flight unaffected and wasted some time to fix herself.

How long does this take..? were her thoughts before she decided to leave her master alone for a bit. She could not feel the presence of anyone in their surroundings and Cardwyn could handle herself for a bit. Assassins were the only risk, a risk Hildr was willingly taking, while she changed into Spirit Form to get into the prison.

No barriers, no prana interference, an ordinary door, and a couple of weak willed guards. They were just drinking coffee, joking around and at times eventually taking a look at the screen. They were unprepared, unable to realize that a person was soon standing behind them and turning them into useful troopers.

At least for a while, they would believe that Hildr was actually their boss, who was always right. She had found a proper coat and threw it over her tall body, only removing the helmet. She did not care if one of the prisoners might see her, but she wanted to avoid being seen as a lady in armor.

Too many people would need to be manipulated or killed. Wasting prana was not the goal of this trip, but to see what this young human understood as justice. Only a couple of minutes had passed before the door opened and Brynhildr ordered her 'master' to come inside.

Security was tough in the deeper areas, but making people believe that she was the prison chief paid off and most were asleep, taken out by a violet lightning. The angel of death had avoided to send them over to their final destination. None of them should die today... if she could help it. This prana, her source of energy was quite scarce and the limitation on her body dampened her mood. This short flight and the manipulation already seemed more of a burden than expected. She would wisely try to avoid huge scale tactics in the future.

They were lead deeper and deeper, the guilt could be smelled, it did not really require a guide anymore. They had arrived and Cardwyn especially had reached an important point in her life. This loud scream, the first emotion and a literal explosion of anger and hatred that Brynhildr had seen of this young woman came certainly unexpected.

The brows narrowed, giving her a couple of seconds to waste on the door, before she winked the guard away. They did not need unwelcome eye witnesses. It was one thing to make people believe that they are the chief and a VIP from Interpol taking a look at some prisoners and a completely other to convince them that they were allowed to kill.

Barely out of sight, the Fallen Valkyrie put a hand on Driald's shoulder. "Stop wasting your energy. It is unsightly." Screaming helped to overcome pain, crying and whining, aimlessly firing off ones emotion into all directions would still not exact revenge. She remembered well how her cries of anger and despair, and her sobbing noises echoed through the hallways of the castle, while an almost never ending stream of tears fell into the cushion of her bed chamber.

The proud queen was just turning herself into a fool and pitiful woman. She had only showed everyone how weak she was and no one had come to her aid. The cold rage, manipulating everyone with a heart of stone did what her pleadings for support and wishes to be saved could not. The only rescue she had ever thought to receive was the young man Sigurd, who had ended up betraying her and the other, who had tried to save his daughter just to turn their reunion into a scene of mass slaughter that should fill her days until Ragnarok.

"Let your rage consume your enemies of justice and not yourself. But I might enjoy to see a bit more of this pro activity. I will open the door for you."

Maybe there was nothing that could be done to not get consumed by hatred, Brynhildr had failed with this and was spreading wrong wisdom. The wisest of Valkyries was blinded by emotions herself. There were many ways to get the room open, but she decided for the most silent method, the use of keys.

[Cardwyn Driald]

Again, again, again! With each time the thought ran through her head she stabbed at the door. It was doing near nothing. But she could not stop. She screamed, again.

Then, a steel hand gripped her bare shoulder. Cardwyn stopped in surprise. She had forgotten everything but this man’s leering face. The memory, everything but the memory. This man had been part of her past, was part of her father. The door bore gouge marks, and her own hand was damaged from the way she had wielded the knife. She shook her head The scream comes far too easily with no sleep. I have to be more careful.

"Stop wasting your energy. It is unsightly." She was right. The door would yield to things other than her knife. She folded the blade shut, and returned it to the small band that served as a holster on the inside of her upper left thigh. She would need it another, but one that was wielded in rage should not be the one to accept this man. His fate would be decided by the scales.

"Let your rage consume your enemies of justice and not yourself. But I might enjoy to see a bit more of this pro activity. I will open the door for you." Cardwyn came close to what one might call perking up at that. The angel would let her deliver judgement on the man! She felt… excitement, as her body heated in anticipation. Her breath was heavy as Lancer raised the keys to the battered door.

Will regret stain his face again? The key turned with a click. Her breath caught, excitement, anticipation, and enjoyment raced through her body. She shook, not in fear, but with yearning to judge. But her face did not change. The man looked insane, but one had to be insane to commit murder. The door clicked open and the man, no the murderer, lunged out at her.

Instantly her training took over. With a spin she grabbed his arm and slammed her full weight into his elbow. There was a sickening crack, as the murderer’s joint bent a different way than was intended. It dropped to its knees, with pain.

She could have used her magic to stop him, but she was not certain right now how much prana she had left. One Mystic Eyes was certainly possible, but more than that… who knew. She didn’t have time to think about that in between the lunge and her actions anyways.

He yelped in pain. What he felt would be nothing, compared to what was next.

Licking her lips, she dragged the man back into his cell, by his broken arm. His howls of pain were not what she sought, but they were somewhat satisfying. She did not care who was watching her now, as long as they did not interfere.

The man recognized her and clamped his eyes shut. She could have laughed. He was on the ground, struggling. Her heel slammed into his broken arm and sat there. He had to be restrained.

She leaned her face down towards the yelping man, and drew the stiletto nestled between her breasts from the front of her dress. He still had his eyes closed. That was too bad; the eyes of men when she did that were often a strange mix between lust and fear, their facial expressions often contorted. It bore some strange resemblance to regret, perhaps that is why she enjoyed it.

With her left hand she pried open the man’s eye, and when it became apparent that he would not open his other one, even to threats, she put her blade between her teeth and knelt down on his arms, straddling him. Her body was on fire as he twisted in pain underneath her. She pryed open both of his eyes, restraining a laugh when he attempted to roll them back in his head. He kicked and struggled, trying to shift her off of him. She dug her knee in harder, in response.

Then she met his eyes. Prana coursed through her damp body in an instant, fuelling the ‘mystery’ that was her eyes, her whole family’s eyes. They ripped into the man’s mind, and the same memory she had seen so many years ago began again.

She was chained to a wall. The scream started almost instantly, she hated chains. A man, she did not even know his name, held an oil lamp in one hand, and an acetylene torch in another. Tucked into his belt was a long knife, cruelly serrated. Cardwyn had seen this before, but this time no emotions registered on her soul. She felt nothing from the woman, and would not. The scream did though, she was already in a panic, even knowing what was coming.

The fire from the torch leapt into existence, burning with a brilliant blue-white light. She screamed, fear leaping through her heart almost to the point of physical pain. She promised the man anything, everything, if only he let her go. She would do whatever he asked, whatever he wanted, just if he did not kill her. There was only a smile in response.

And he emptied the oil lamp’s fuel onto her bare left leg, carefully spreading it out with his hand. The torch was still alight. He tied off a piece of rope, just below her knee where he spread no oil, and covered her in a flame retardant blanket, except over her left leg. She had started screaming, and the scream within Cardwyn yelled in unison with her. Her wrists were bleeding from struggling, but the pain was nothing compared to the fear. Fear, until the flame touched her soaked leg. Then, then there was only pain, pain and screaming as the fire consumed her flesh, filling the air with the smell of smoking flesh.

After her leg burned down to the bone. She didn’t even notice, only seeing pain. Every sense was pain. Everything was pain. And yet Cardwyn felt nothing. The scream was breaking apart, fighting for control, fighting to stop what she saw. The torture continued for months, until he finally let the fire consume her. Months had passed in her mind, months of being another woman, and yet she had not even blinked in the interval. A small tear dripped out of her eye. The scream still has too much control.

The man underneath her body was screaming, crying, begging to stop the pain.

Regret! Her body convulsed as she flipped open her knife, and slammed it into the murderer’s’s neck. He bled onto her black gloves, and gurgled something. He felt regret, that was enough.

Her body felt somewhat differently, as instead of calmly removing her knife, she ripped open the man’s throat with it. He would drown in his own blood. She calmly wiped off the blood on her knife on the man’s jumpsuit, then flipped it closed, and returned it to its hiding place. The whole thing took less than a minute. The body made some attempt to feebly reach up and her, then died.

She was soaked, and gasping for breath. Bringing justice to such a man had brought out her darkest insanity, and her passion for seeing regret on their faces. She had not felt like this, since the first she brought to justice. She smoothed her dress down and looked at Lancer.

“I have brought justice, Lancer.” She bowed her head. “Thank you, we can continue. I would very much enjoy seeing your justice.” She could not wait. A woman like this could do so much…

[Brynhildr]

"Hmm....," was Hildr's answer as much as one may call this thinking gesture a proper response. The woman who had been chosen by some crazy Norn as her supplier had indeed dealt justice in a very personal way.

It did not take a consultation of the Runes of Wisdom to understand that Cardwyn had been one of his victims. The question was only what he had done to her. Put into a team with a rash, crazy girl, one may be glad about the strings on her, but she also had some impressive, noteworthy traits.

Her desire to bring down justice was one of her better traits and that magic ability... mystic eyes..? That was definitely another. The Dark Valkyrie could have felt its use, thanks to their shared connection. She did not know too well what had actually happened, but the huge down of her puppet's prana was hard to oversee. Another reason to keep one's use of power in check.

She wants to see my justice? Was this an order!? Brynhildr shot a brief glare to Cardwyn, before calming herself. No, of course just a request. There was no need to get angry over this. The prison trip was a good environment to take a deeper look into Cardwyn's personality and the city's population. What could be better than a place who showed the prime of that slum of human desires and greed? They would certainly run into more of them on the open street, while others would be here on false accusations. So far the system had not failed.

Maybe they were less incompetent than assumed. "Fine.. the ultimate justice can only be dealt by those who had suffered. None of them had ever been involved with me. What is more interesting for me is if they did it or not, the rest is systematic." There were no personal feelings involved. She would just pierce them emotionless. No great display of creativity or motivation. An adequate solution had to be found. That was the extent of her efforts.

"Like this one in that cell. You can hear his knees shaking in fear, whimpering prayers to a non existent god, but still remaining quiet. He does not smell of blood. For someone who had killed his boss and putting the head on display a rather unique behavior. He could go...."

'Miss Prison Chief' Browsed through the files of the prisoners and found someone who seemed like a proper candidate for a display. It was no problem to obey just once and get this foolish, childish curiosity of Cardwyn under control. How old was that girl again? For someone completely unemotional, she suddenly acted like a little child that hoped to get some candy. A rather bloody one at that. Well, Lancer would not be the one to clean the mess.

"A man who killed his neighbor and the entire family in cold blood, because he wanted to get their house for his own family. A father of 2 children. A rather caring individual, isn't he?"

She opened the door and stepped inside, the man trying to retreat into the next corner on all fours. There was no way he could have overheard the noise from the young master's emotional outbreak and the gurgling end of one of his death row 'friends'.

"I read that you might get out and yet I know clearly that you did it. This room reeks of guilt. What would a proper punishment be? Slaying your entire family in front of your eyes?"

It seemed proper for a man who killed another person's family for the benefit of his own, but she saw no enjoyment or sadistic tendencies in her threat. It was a simple decision for the most befitting punishment and yet cruel and unfair to the family and its innocent children.

"But you get a chance to repent. End your life right here and right now."

The confused look on his face was quite sweet for a sinner, but not cute enough to forgive him his sins. But in the end he could be the most adorable being in the world and she would not move from her decision, not with her sheltered heart. The worn armor was not the only one near Brynhildr, another thick armor carefully locking up her heart. Just at this moment, her armored glove pointed at the next wall to offer a way out.

"I don't care how you do it. You have everything you need." It seemed crazy, difficult, but it was an option and her eyes and tone of voice were telling well that she would turn her threat into reality if he did not comply with her 'offer'. Even this scared individual, barely able to move, had absorbed this cruel reality well enough to obey. In one moment to the next he ran up against the wall and hammered his head straight at the next hard surface.

He was lucky enough to have succeeded at the first try.... "At least he was a proper father. Your sins are forgiven."

What now? Freeing the innocent?

"This is how I do things." Unmoved by the broken head and the clear insight on its content, the winged servant turned around to leave the suicide scene. It was adequate enough to not feel regret about his abrupt end. There would be more...

[Cardwyn Driald]

A glare shook her to her very core. It was quick, but still demanding, daring her to tell Lancer what to do. Anger accompanied it, and Cardwyn felt a strange urge to apologize, to beg forgiveness.

"Fine…”

A deep breath. She was going to show Cardwyn her justice! Calm down, she almost looks disgusted. Her face regained its neutral tone, and she began to notice the blood that soaked her. The tearing knife had been far too violent, too far beyond what justice requested. He had regret, so he could die, experiencing the punishment for his wrongdoing. She had gone too far.

The Angel would not make the same mistake.

In fact, she could see guilt much easier than her own Mystic Eyes. She did not even look at the man behind one of the doors, before seeing that he was falsely accused. Lancer just knew. Who was she? Cardwyn would not ask such a thing, however. If Lancer ever told her, it would be her own choice. What did it matter anyways?

Lancer browsed through a folder. Cardwyn could barely hide her anticipation. She needed her eyes far too often, and if such a being could tell guilt without even looking at the man, what could she do to one who demanded her attention?

She decided on one, and opened the door while listing his crimes. Cardwyn peeked inside and saw the man crawling on the ground.

Fear, not regret. Fear. That was what was in his eyes, and written all over his face.

"I read that you might get out and yet I know clearly that you did it. This room reeks of guilt. What would a proper punishment be? Slaying your entire family in front of your eyes?"

What? Was she lying? Cardwyn could not see her face, didn’t even know if servant’s had the same tiny tells as humans. Lies were so common in her Mystic Eyes that she had learned to recognize them easily. Yet Lancer did not sound as if she lied. It was simply a decision, simply the truth. But that was too far!

"But you get a chance to repent. End your life right here and right now."

Killing himself? She had wanted them to do that once, so her hands would not be stained with blood. It had never worked, even after being Mystic Eyed. They would just attack her instead with weapons, or try to run. Could she really do such a thing? Lancer’s voice was commanding, and Cardwyn knew that when this woman spoke in that tone, she would obey. Even to such a thing as that.

And he did. After a slight moment of decision, and maybe regret, she barely caught the expression; he dashed his head against the wall, with a sickening sound. It was satisfying, and yet unsatisfying at the same time. She supposed justice was done; the man was dead, most certainly, by the look of his corpse. At least he didn’t suffer, that was always more than was needed. They had to feel their life reft unwillingly, quickly. Slow deaths often gave them time to accept mortality, to mask the regret.

She almost did not like this way of doing justice, but it was done; there were no complaints. Just… the lack of regret made her heart twist in sorrow. Nothing showed on her face.

"This is how I do things." Lancer’s face was just as free as Cardwyn’s from emotion, at least about the dead man. She almost trembled, this would be the way these sentences were carried out. It was much faster, certainly, but… No, it was the way things were to be done now, and she would do it. And the angel could not judge all the criminals in this world, yet at least. She would still have her own judgements to deliver.

What now? Would they deliver more justice? Would they cleanse this place as it should be cleansed? Her own prana was no longer enough to Mystic Eye anyone. But it had been worth it. She still felt the aftereffects of what she had felt in that room. Cardwyn could hold out for a while, at least.

Maybe the angel could be convinced that regret, such regret as the Mystic Eyes granted was a part of sentencing. But Cardwyn doubted it, Lancer was unshakable, at least she seemed so.

Then a thought, what if they stayed in this place? It was easily defendable, somewhat unsuspicious, or would be with some simple mind altering boundary fields. She could probably do that, herself. Then it would probably slow down judgement, leaving more regret.

She had no workshop so far in the city, and this place was covered in stone walls, and with armed guards. Although they did not serve well against a Servant, as Lancer had proved.

They would still make a magus second guess, like she had. There could be other uses, but there were also dangers. She would probably be limited to move with Lancer at best, or they would need a second way out. Moving without Lancer just seemed like a bad idea anyways.

And the food was probably not going to be great.

There was justice to carry out here as well, and making this her workshop would allow for them to take time, instead of just rushing through them. Cardwyn did not know how many were here, but judging them all in one day seemed too much, too sudden.

Lancer would surely see any holes in the plan, however. How would she phrase this? “Lancer, what do you think of remaining here? Would it be too taxing on your prana to remain here? Justice does not have to be done all at once here.”

Truthfully, Cardwyn would follow whatever she said, even if she sounded as if asking for advice, rather than direction.

[Brynhildr]

The trip was successful in Brynhildr's eyes. The puppet's mechanism was not completely dismantled and analyzed, but the insight would suffice for now. The eyes of this human were quite unique, but relying on them all the time would dull her other senses, inevitably falling victim to something, maybe even herself.

It certainly would cause problems if Cardwyn had another emotional outburst on the battle field. Masters were not growing on trees, and this one, although probably raised in some cellar or just a cave underground, was now her supplier.

There would be problems and it did not take a skill like foresight to know that. What kind of magus would choose a prison as their so called secret hideout. Maybe some highly skilled Caster could turn some shrine with great leylines into his or her possession, but the Valkyrie was still a Lancer.

Although... could her magic abilities be enough? She may not use the most potent magic in this war, but still more than enough for turning some human fools into her marionettes. Hah.. her sisters would probably just laugh at her for failing with this easy task. It was an interesting challenge, if planned out correctly.

"...So you want to tell me that you don't have a workshop in this town."

This was a serious problem and a good reason to get angry, but Lancer decided to skip over the insults and get straight to the root of their problem.

"Your lack of preparation came unexpected, but this prison can serve as a base. Not everyone has contact to the prison chief, but a small hand of people. Manipulating or removing them will be easy."

The real chief had to disappear, albeit the dark haired woman would need some time to think about a proper method. Killing, it was such an easy option, but the point was that it was easy and not necessarily just. If innocent got hurt for the greater good, this was just a price that had to be paid, but killing to get his position...?

Perhaps I will just convince him to take a vacation without anyone knowing...

"We can stay here for a bit, but don't get too comfortable and stay in the security area or the office of the chief. The less people see you, the better."

It would not take ages for some people to realize that prisoners were disappearing, rotting within their cells, especially when Cardwyn probably would like to increase her sphere over the other areas of the prison.

[Yang huang Long]

(~0930)
Lucca Vecchio or Old Town Lucca is the tourist center of Lucca and it’s easy to see why. The way is paved with buildings that are filled with culture and the despite the amount of tourist in the area the Old Town possessed a feeling of tranquility and peace. All this made almost any visit to this place very relaxing.

Huang Long sighed, very loudly and wondered why he was on his way to the prison.

Well, like I said almost every visit here.

As he walked down the path to the city’s prison with Bai Hu following on the roofs and Guan Yu in spirit form by his side. They were all following Carlos, who was at the front and who would occasionally look at Guan Yu’s direction at some reason. No idea why, since the guy isn’t a magus, he’s probably checking that there isn’t anyone trying to ambush them.

"So, tell me, Carlos," he asked "why are we going to jail again?"

"I’ve told you ten times already!" Responded the annoyed friend "Why, should I tell you again?"

"Rumour me" Answered the magus who thought that he was being a smart ass.

Long story short, Carlos was planning on going to see a friend who is in jail. Of course after what happened to the guy last night, Huang Long couldn’t let him go alone and volunteered to go with him. Yes that’s the reason why they’re heading straight to an imminent fight, I know its sorta lame.

"So anyway what did that friend of yours do?"

"He send a guy, who smashed a metal bar at his head and try to kill him with the help of a dozens of lackeys, to the hospital. I think that the attacker died from his injuries days later." Came the answer. "Of course, that guy had rich parents so the authorities send Marlo to jail"

Huang Long whistled "Damn"

After that, there was an awkward silence.
That was until; Guan Yu tensed up and whispered something urgently to Huang Long.

[Guan Yu]

It seemed odd, journeying to this... prison.

In theory, it was safe enough. It was early morning, but people were still up and about, they were just a part of a crowd, this was no place to fight, hopefully other Servants and Masters would feel the same way.

Still, it was not the most wise cause of action. Helping a friend is all well and good when it's a life or a great vision at stake. But this seemed trivial, and while the danger was slight, it is still a danger easily avoided.

But it was understandable. Life goes on, even in war. He knew those who lounged around drinking alcohol and talking with friends even when they were in dangerous territory. A drunk man does not fight as well as a sober one, but they took the risk because it was their only chance for amusement, and they deemed the risk worth it.

It was not something Guan Yu would partake in, but it was understandable.

He was beginning to grow wary of Carlos' gaze. It was impossible for that man to see him, but a bit of his old paranoia was trying to use it to wriggle it's way into his mind.

But it vanished the moment Guan Yu realized with a chuckle that Carlos was probably being more careful then his Master. Keeping an eye out on the surroundings. Course, Yang was probably just trusting him to keep an eye-

Almost simultaneously, Guan Yu sensed two things. First, and most prominently, another Servant. Second, death.

This was not good. A servant was killing this early? Not a good sign, not at all.

And of course, considering he had no advance abilities in detecting Servants, if he could sense them, it was clear that, unless heavily distracted, they could sense him.

And that would be too much to hope for.

He felt tense. While the idea of fighting was great, the situation was not.

'Master, i'm sensing another Servant in the jail, and even from here I can smell death.'

Yes, he would like nothing more then a fight, but he didn't want others to get in the way either. What will his Master order? Guan Yu wondered as he eyed the prison, half-expecting some monstrous Servant (what other kind would do this?) to burst out and attack. He would have already materialized, but considering Carlos was right next to his Master, and he is suppose to silence anyone who learns of the War and is not a part of it, it probably wouldn't be wise.

[Cardwyn Driald]

She accepted. Even if she had berated Cardwyn, she had decided to remain here. Here, where they could administer judgement! Cardwyn would have listened, had the angel said no, but she was almost feeling joy in the fact that she had been permitted to stay.

Lancer had laid a few ground rules, after criticising her lack of preparation. Cardwyn probably deserved it, but she had had no time. She had not been in the same place two nights in a row, for the entire week and a half she had been in Lucca. They had almost tracked her first justice to her; she had actually been in a police car, handcuffed, until she had time to mentally interfere with the officers. Sloppiness like that… she had never been caught like that before.

Why did they interfere? Why did they get in the way of justice?

Cardwyn had been thinking about that a lot recently, as she sat in the chief’s office. Lancer had told her to go there, and she went. She sat across from the desk in a less comfortable chair, lost in careful thought and marvel. Lancer’s… existence was in the back of her mind. In fact she could almost tell how far apart they were.

How long had she been in this room now? How many times had she paced it, waiting? Cardwyn had carefully combed the room a few times, removing anything that could be used as a weapon. She had found a gun under the desk that she emptied the bullets out of. She had no idea how to disable it any more than that, so she tossed it in the wastebasket, and hid the bullets under a cushion.

As she stood to pace the room again, looking for anything hidden, something crossed the link. A sudden shot of emotion, perhaps. Was it intended? Wariness shook her core; there was someone out there that the angel had sensed.

There was a standing order to remain in this room, but at least she could prepare herself. She would not be able to get any prana, but sometimes things like that were not needed. She did come from a line of minor alchemists, not suited to combat. For that she had her beautiful knives. Since this was combat, she drew the one from between her breasts she had used earlier. With a tap it flipped open, and locked. The other one was easier to draw, in case she lost this one. And if she was captured she still had one more where few would look.

A thought that almost stung cut across her mind. What about the other six? Lancer would probably let her retrieve them, carefully hidden in the house she had appropriated.

No time for that now. Cardwyn crouched carefully by the door, ready for someone to enter. Her knife would strike first at an average height, based on the sound of the footsteps, if someone came, and her left hand would strike at the eyes, once she had a fraction of a second to look.

Anyone above dirty tactics like that was deluding themselves; anyone calling them dirty tactics was deluding themselves. A fight ended quickly had less of a chance to kill you, why waste time striking the strongest parts of your opponent’s body? Without sight, or damaged breathing, even the strongest man was easily finished.

A Servant though… Her best bet there was running, but even that would not work, if the Servant was anything like the angel. She would wait, and find out. Lancer had told her to do so, and so would she do.

[Brynhildr]

Justice... that was an important question for Hildr. She believed in knowing the truth, but one specific moment during this extended trip made her sc.. no of course not scared, worried. Only a bit. Valkyries knew no fear, even of themselves.

But the knowledge of her smile worried her after she realized that she had smiled for a brief moment. It was not even worth mentioning, but the dark smile was a sign of emotion. She had felt pleasure when one of the criminals had killed another. Maybe this place was a bad influence for her and Cardwyn's motivation was not the best either.

The people inside had already been judged, spoken guilty for their crimes and would get killed. Relieving them off their pitiful existence was not judgement. They did not judge them, they merely were the last part of a system. They had played the executors and nothing more, albeit Hildr not even laying a hand on a single one of them.

Four had so far lost their life by Brynhildr's decision. The first had split his own head open, the second managed to hang himself with his own trousers, a remarkable feat, if she may say so. And the last two.... well she had promised them to ignore their past sins and allow them their freedom. This would equal to set them on free, but it was of course not that easy.

The promise was worth nothing. After killing the other criminal, he would had performed another sin which equalled death. The winner's price was only death. But the lance was not required. They had done well in killing each other, or rather one was still barely alive, probably able to survive another couple of minutes. His death was slow and painful. That was the moment when she had smiled. Not because of his slow death, but because of the irony that further involvement was unnecessary.

It reminded her of the past, watching those fools killing each other on the battle field again and again and turning crazy while seeing them slaying each other. An important person killing another important person, until it seemed natural for Hildr, almost a requirement to live on. She had later joined them to not be left out and some times killed all of them by herself. The good old times... life and death, but this place was only death. It was boring and the cold walls hemmed her freedom. Not able to see the sky was unpleasant as much as the injustice in those walls.

She was honestly surprised at the number of innocent people. While the monsters had dared to call her monster before killing themselves off, those she had set free were very thankful. Only 3 in number, and it would only be a question of time, until the regular police would get wind of this, just as their stay was time limited, but it felt... good. An angel.... hmph. She had heard this twice in only a couple of hours, one was her weird master, and the other was one of the prisoners.

His exalted behavior and his bubbly personality were quite clearly the reason for getting into this mess and Lancer would have preferred to not get kissed on the cheek by that moron. For an instant she had considered to slay him. A human was not worth to touch her, but he had already paid for that insolence with his stay in prison and she had forgiven him. Besides, if stupidity was a crime, then her master would make a great target for her spear.

"What in Odin's name is she doing...?" Yes, she had clearly stated that it was unwise to run around freely, and also that the office of the chief would be the best place to wait, but this girl was a magus or not!? Everything so far had been in the valkyrie's hands. She had barely finished with the required enchantments and was fortunate enough to take a bit of rest after that waste of prana and she should consider her use of energy wisely with that kind of master.

Lancers were in most cases not costly, and Hldr too did not use much, but the regeneration in this short time was not up to her desired standards, although much higher than expected. Something was wrong with this city. There was much more Mana in the surrounding than the current era should have. Could it be because of the grail? A possibility and yet so unlikely. Why would the grail appear in an incomplete form, wasting prana like this? It was supposed to get filled with the energy and souls of servants to grant the winners wish, wasting it like that would only make it weaker.

Hildr desired a strong and powerful grail. The wish to become god would take some power. Yes, the original wish of reviving Valhal had moved a bit into the distance. She did not think that her sisters or her father could understand her new ideals of justice. It was better to rule alone, and replace Justica, Odin and all other concepts of a god. Order had to be restored.

"!?" How much time had passed? Roughly 3 hours and she could already feel a servant nearby? She had expected to stand out, especially when her master was either too lazy or too incompetent to create a workshop or some barriers, which was clearly not the task of a Lancer. Especially when she was busy with other things.... It was almost as crazy, like the walls were staring at her. She felt visible and vulnerable, like in that night, when some invisible force hit her until she lost consciousness. The gauntlet was maybe all that prevented her from clenching her fist strong enough to bleed.

Maybe that servant already had his or her eyes on the Justice Couple since their arrival, otherwise it seemed odd for a servant to visit a prison. It could be a Caster Class Servant, which would make staying inside a terrible choice. A lance was not the ideal weapon for this environment. A building with some narrow corridors and thick walls. She had to warn Cardwyn! With fast steps, Brynhildr moved to the office and opened the door. "We have unexpected visitors, human."

[Yang huang Long]

'Master, I'm sensing another Servant in the jail, and even from here I can smell death.'

At those words, Huang Long tensed up, as he suddendly felt a trace of prana that was leaking from the prison.

A magus?

A master?

A servant?

In the prison?

Right now?

Just his luck.

But why would they set up a base in a prison?

Because no one really cares if criminals die or not, most people wouldn’t even notice if a prisoner died. Any competent magus could easily slip inside the prison and remain unnoticed, and nowwith the war going on well, there’s no need to say how easy it is for a magus with a servant to do something like that and add in the fact that the Church is willing to and will ignore any and all atrocities just to keep any trace of the conflict from reaching the eyes of the public. The combination of time and circumstance make this, the perfect place to set a up a secured, nicely hidden, easy to defend territory and a abundant source of prana for a servant as a bonus.

When one considers all those facts then that mean that the most likely possibility for the enemy’s class would be Caster and probably the one who sent those creatures from last night.

Huang Long looked at Carlos as he suddenly tensed up as well.

Well the good thing that’s coming out of this situation is that he may have a chance to stop whoever is targeting his friend.

Shit, speaking of friends...

What about Carlos’s friend, Marlo?

Damn it, he needs to check on him.

He sighed.

Damn it, his life was turning into a RPG and he kept getting sidequests, which he couldn’t and didn’t want to ignore.

Wait a second, something’s not right here. If the enemy was a Caster who was good enough to bypass the field that protected the apartment and sense Rider’s summoning, then why hadn’t it concealed its presence with a powerful and subtle magic already?

It could be that the enemy had only set up base here recently, and has thus not had the time to make any bounded fields, or that this particular Caster just didn’t know how to do that. It could also mean that this wasn’t a Caster at all.

Tch, how troublesome.

Still, this doesn't change the fact that he needs to go in right now. He turn towards Carlos.

"Hey, man we need to talk."

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The magus stood in front of the prison, with his head and top part of the face covered by his coat’s hood, while the rest of his face, minus the eyes, the glasses and the nose, was hidden by a dark blue scarf that he just bought, before entering.

In front of him was Bai Hu.

By his side was his servant.

The master began to chant Second Shell.

Their weapons were ready to be drawn at any moment and they were all ready to fight.

Just before they entered the prison the way that Guan Yu said was the safest way to enter, Huang Long felt a small bit of guilt for leaving Carlos behind, he really didn’t want to remember how he managed to shake his friend loose. That was a story for another time. For those who are curious about what happened, well, needless to say, that it was a quite clever and guilt inducing plan. Oh well, it’s safer for everyone this way.

[Guan Yu]

It was difficult to believe they were still going through with this. After all that talk of avoiding conflict except when needed, his Master was going into this building knowing full well an enemy Servant awaited. It seemed rather foolhardy, but Guan Yu wasn't going to complain.

His master certainly was interesting, one moment he made this somewhat foolish mistake of being close to an enemy Servant, the next he managed to convince his friend to leave with an amazing yet somewhat disturbingly effective method.

If he wasn't certain that Zhuge Liang was in the Throne of Heroes, he would have sworn that this man was a slightly insane reincarnation of him.

And to think he had thought before (and slightly after) he had been beheaded that he would not have to bite his tongue and serve someone like that again.

Yes, their relationship had been... Strained to say the least, and his Master kept bringing back those unpleasant memories. It seemed every second thought was about Zhuge Liang.

He tried to think of something else. He was most likely about to face an enemy Servant. He had no knowledge of who they were, aside from them not being an Assassin. He couldn't even be sure that they weren't a Rider, he had felt something... Odd when he had been summoned, the feeling of others like him.

In retrospect, he probably should have told his Master that. Maybe after.

But back to buisness, he would fight with all his might. Eliminating a Servant now would be good for the morale of himself and his Master.

It was a risk, but every fight is one. Unless his Master desired otherwise, this would be a battle to the end.

...Of course, knowing his Master, he would want this to be nothing more then a short skirmish to determine any strengths and weaknesses the opponent had to be used in a later battle.

It made sense, but it seemed somewhat... dishonourable.

Then again, considering the location of their fight, would they be able to retreat? Guan Yu hoped his Master had considered that wisely enough, if he had to retreat, it had better be done well at the very least.

[Cardwyn Driald]

… Her waiting had been useless. Quite possibly worse than useless. For some reason, Lancer did not seem particularly impressed that she had stayed in the chief’s office. Was that not what she had been asked? Did I misunderstand her somehow? Anger was clearly visible on Lancer’s face, even through the shadow cast by the angel’s helmet as she entered the room.

"We have unexpected visitors, human." Was that... anger in her voice?

The knives were already returned to their hiding places. Cardwyn had known it would be Lancer that opened the door; there was no need to keep them out. They may have even been construed as a threat perhaps. That was something she wanted to avoid. However had she not been able to feel Lancer’s approach…

No matter. She had not done so, and Lancer appeared to have a serious want to leave this place. Even Cardwyn knew that they would not be able to return here, even were they to defeat the Servant here. A fight on the level of Magi alerted those nearby to their presence. Surely a fight between two beings of that calibre would attract that much more attention. She wasn’t really sure, but it seemed to her it would be like a signal fire… even if it was daytime.

And that was another problem. From what she had read, they were not supposed to fight in the day light. If she believes that it has to be done, it has to be done. This woman’s commands had far more priority than the written word of a man she detested, even if he had to be obeyed.

A thousand questions burned in her mind, but she voiced none of them. Instead, she would need instructions. In a battle like this, doing the wrong thing could hinder Lancer. And that was the last thing she needed to do. In fact, she wasn’t even sure the person would be an enemy, but that was Lancer’s choice. Her judgement was beyond belief. If she saw and recognized someone as an enemy, they were one.

They had probably come prepared to kill. Those with martial skills were apparently able to read killing intent from a person, and Cardwyn had no doubt that the angel was capable of that. So, she had to be ready.

“What do you want me to do?”

What could she do? She was nearly empty on prana, and had little resembling combat skill with magecraft. Although, she might be able to lie her way close enough to the other master… but that might have some serious drawbacks. Like death.

What could she do? She would do whatever she was asked to do.

[Brynhildr]

The human had done well in being obedient, like a child trying to learn something. But as much as Lancer had welcomed the ownership over a puppet at first, she now began to wonder how effective her war would be with something that you needed to program for every single task. A puppet had strings and they needed to be pulled. As nice as this may be, in a battle she would require free hands to hold her lance and pierce the enemy.

At least she is breathing on her own...

Another thought entered her mind, the moment she could end her worries about a dead master. Her power was just too limited in this form.

"Did you actually eat anything so far...?"

It might seem amusing, if not absurde to worry about such banal factors with a master and servant couple approaching, but it seemed more important at the moment than the threat from outside. A weakened master would only be more of a burden and she had no time or the patience to play the kindergardener, and feed her. Not that all of those kindergardeners were devoted enough for their job. The list already had a sentenced kindergardener who enjoyed the company of kids more than in just the normal way, and his cooking skills were subpar.

Definitely a disgusting subject. It deserved a slow and special death, but Brynhildr's lack of creativity during the long and work intense day had given him some extra time. He should be grateful. Concerning the intruders, what would the best method of dealing be? The layout and form of the building itself was quite unfavorable for a battle with lances or spears against some enemies, and yet against others gave a clear advantage.

It would be difficult to avoid the fast thrusts in a narrow corridor. The warrior in dark armor was aware of the risks and had tasted defeat in the past, but just as back then, she did not intend to be defeated by anyone other than him. She would carve this into the dead body of anyone who dared to claim a victory from her, just adding to her long list of victims.

"What I want you to do? Be of use. There is not much you can do right now or have to do. Maybe I am a bit curious about the people who wish to storm a prison at this time of the day."

Lancer herself had been careful in her approach and used magic, that would not even be known in this time and age anymore, although she did not doubt that the enemy might have a more skilled magus and would be capable of turning people to his or her side. But there was a serious problem with the approach right now. Unlike before, the prison was at this time of the day full of guards and someone could not just move freely to the Chief of the Prison.

"Will they behave civilized and ask to meet or will they just try to force their way through and kill the guards?"

The men of the prison were not guilty, except for one who already smelled like he made a living from the pain of others, and Hildr saw no benefit from getting them killed. Nonetheless, their duty was to be faithful loyal soldiers and soldiers just died at times. It was an inevitable fate, and for certain a necessity, if they were to witness anything about the Grail War.

Lancer could not help but feel a bit of guilt, if not shame for dragging them into this. She would eventually revive them after her victory in this war, but for now she had to remain firm. No wavering of the heart, warriors felt no sympathy, and duty stood above all.

"You seem to have many questions. Do you eventually desire to speak with them? If they are evil, we can strike them down. We are the empty void swallowing the chaos, we are steel, we are divine justice. Their end will arrive.

Saber, Archer, Caster, Berserker, Rider. What class would face her?

[Yang huang Long]

When he first decided to enter the prison Yang had expected the place to be filled to the brim with armed, well more than usual, guards under the influence of some sort of mind control spell and who would gladly try to stop and kill his group. But, as it turns out, everything seemed to be pretty normal.

Conscious to the fact that they looked rather suspicious right now with their coats, scarf and masks; he started and maintained a small single target mind tricking spell that made the affected person see everyone in his group as his or her's long time friends. It wasn't a perfect spell and to everyone else they still looked pretty strange, but as long as he keeps the spell active and acted friendly enough, then the guard that he tricked should be enough for his purpose here.

So far, he had managed to find out a few interesting thing, through a few conversations with the guard that he persuaded. It seems that the some of the prisoners had been unusually quiet while other seemed to have gotten much more agitated to the point that some had actually committed suicide.

Wait.

Crap, what about Marlo? I doubt that a master and servant pair that would resort to using people as prana would care about his life. Damn, what if he’s already dead?

He took a deep breath.

All right calm down, if they don’t care about who they’re killing then there’s a good chance that he’s still alive. For now the best way to help Marlo would be to find and confront whoever is behind this. Let’s see, if I was a fairly skilled magus and I decided to set up workshop in a prison, where, why and how would I do it?

Impersonating the warden? No that would require far too much work and it could fail spectacularly, unless the enemy or his servant specialise in stuff like that. The more likely scenario was that the warden was actually the master. Yes, that makes sense, if one was a powerful magus that had control of what basically amounted to a fortified fortress that comes with its own personal army of moderately trained soldiers. Then the master in question would logically set up his base inside said fortress. He’d know his way around the place, know the best places to attack and he would have ample time to set up plenty of defenses.

But then, why didn't the guards nor any field of any kind, try to stop them from entering and why didn't the magus or the servant put up anything to stop Rider and him from sensing them? Was this intended as a trap? If so, then it was poorly executed. Or was the enemy just unprepared?

Either way, they’re probably set up at the most secure area inside this place, the warden’s office.

Now, the question is should they continue? Rider certainly seems worried about going farther. Wouldn't it be better if they back out for now and return later when they were more prepared?

No, They're already inside the prison, and backing out now could open them up for an attack. The best way to deal with this would be to do a Blitzkrieg style strike and besides trap or not trap there’s a chance to quickly finish up an opponent and possibly gain another servant and if they were to leave Marlo here, then he might as well just order up the guy’s funeral services right now.

"Servant, we’re going inside. Don’t attack anyone unless they prove to be hostile and keep a lookout for any way to get out of here fast."

Of course if these guys are willing to talk, which he doubted, then things would be different and it would open up a lot of interesting possibilities. But first things first, survive, find Marlo then, and maybe then he could afford time to think about other things.

"My friend", he said to the guard, "I need you to help me"

[Guan Yu]

"Servant, we’re going inside. Don’t attack anyone unless they prove to be hostile and keep a lookout for any way to get out of here fast."

Was Yang paying attention to him, or too busy plotting to notice the surrounding area? The moment he had detected an opposing Servant nearby, he had gotten into a battle ready stance, keeping in front of his Master at all times with his weapon brandished, on a hair trigger alert to materialize.

As much as he wanted to fight, Guan Yu wasn't too happy with the current situation. To fight in here would most likely condemn many of the lives here.

Liu Bei would have flat out refused. Guan Yu... Was hesitant to do so.

Hell, it wasn't even practical to fight here. His weapon may look like a spear, but it was more intended towards sweeping cuts. He could try using it for thrusts, but using a weapon in a way it wasn't intended didn't seem like a good idea against a heroic spirit, who could be equal to or greater then him even in the best case scenario.

At this rate though, it looked like there would be little choice in the matter. His master was worried for his friend, and honestly Guan Yu couldn't bring himself to leave someone to die.

Still, when they find his friend, Guan Yu was probably going to suggest they hurry out of there, probably via an exit of their own creation. Yang seemed to know some mental manipulation spells, so it probably wouldn't matter if his friend saw him so long as his memory was erased after.

The presence of the other Servant grew stronger as the guard his Master was manipulating showed them the way to Marlo's cell. Perhaps a coincidence, perhaps not. The jeers from some of the more unsavoury prisoners echoed through the narrow corridor, as if the walls themselves were taunting them. Sure, Guan Yu knew they weren't insulting him, considering they didn't even know he was there, but it still wasn't the most pleasant experience.

Still, this could well become the arena, he best accept it and move on. Even a small skirmish to hold off whatever opposing Servant there was to allow his Master and friend to retreat would most likely require all his concentration. There was always the chance that the guard would take a turn and suddenly they would be moving away from the opposing Servant, but Guan Yu wasn't taking chances, already strategizing on how to make sure his Master got out of harm's way and to make full advantage of this... rather disadvantageous arena.

And so they moved on.

[Cardwyn Driald]

"Did you actually eat anything so far...?"
…How did she know? Was she… did she surpass the bounds of her order by eating part of the man’s lunch in who’s office she had resided?

“I am sorry, I took the food that was already in this office. I… was rather hungry.” The angel did not look as if she had been expecting a response to that, and just continued as normal.

"You seem to have many questions. Do you eventually desire to speak with them? If they are evil, we can strike them down. We are the empty void swallowing the chaos, we are steel, we are divine justice. Their end will arrive.

We? She, she was a part of it? The angel considered her a part of justice? Nothing flickered across her face as she listened, waiting for a pause, but her heart was filled with… acceptance? No, more of a willingness… a belief that this woman was right. She had a use, after all.

But there was a question in that statement, a question she felt a need to answer.

“Do I desire to speak with them? No, there is no desire to speak to anyone within me. Instead, it is only a necessary talk to determine if they need justice, as you have said. If you wish for me to talk to them, I can ascertain their guilt.” There was a need for her to not only listen to Lancer, but to seem useful. She had been not in the greatest of moods upon discovering her here in the office still. She lowered her head, judging by the time they had waited here and the steely look on the angel’s face the people outside were not going to enter the building with permission from the judge, the new owner of this prison.

While she did not leap to the conclusion that her opponents were evil, for that remained unproven, if already weighing against their favour, but they definitely did appear to be stupid. Asking entrance or leaving should have been the correct decisions. Pushing on recklessly, no matter their need… she had little doubt how this would end.

It would end that way no matter how they were challenged. But now they stepped within a web, a group of controlled humans lacing the corridors. If they even survived. Getting to them it would be a miracle, with the men in here likely ready to shoot. However, no gunshots rang out; in fact she heard no trouble at all from the corridors of this stone fortress.

Still, it once again begged the question why they were here. This was not a place for fighting, as the letter had said. She was not to, as normal, do anything that could reveal the existence of this fight to normal humans.

And that was what this place was filled with… no, not normal, despicable criminals, as well as the wrongly punished, though there were few of those. Despite the fact that the system was too weak in its punishments, it seemed to do a good job at not wrongfully imprisoning the innocent.

However it was unlikely that the people coming would be considered innocent. She wanted to see them herself, and wondered when they would arrive. Speaking of that… would they stay in this room? Wait for civil conversation? From people who broke into a jail with a deadly being inside, at a time they were not supposed to, for now foreseeable reason?

Well, whatever Lancer decided was what she would do.

[Brynhildr]

Brynhildr was quite unnerved about the incompetence of those humans. She had taken a good deal of time and preparation to walk through the prison unseen and take some of the guards under control, single handedly chosen and prepared. Now the prison was full with them, the night shift had ended hours ago and they were doing absolutely nothing to stop the stranger. Those were trained guards and not an old couple greeting a friendly looking stranger who knocked on their door..... Was it normal that anyone could just walk into a prison and talk to armed guards? That was more like a walk through the park, and the Valkyrie's irritation could only be hidden under the unmoving mask she called face.

"Guards in this time and age are surprisingly useless. Is this normal?"

She asked her 'external prana tank' uncertain as to how correct her own knowledge was. Maybe she should have just progressed in a similar manner and saved some energy and troubles. How ironic that her careful plans might now be a disadvantage. Brynhildr had just wasted prana for almost no benefit. Cardwyn did not wish to speak with them, and herself had only a minor interest in a meeting at this point. Not face to face and not so easily. Apparently the trial they were supposed to go through was a joke. How could she have assumed that a wall of some mortals could even hope to stand up a mild comparison to the divine firewall her father Odin had once created around her living place!? How foolish. The dark clad Lancer's opinion about Humans had taken a dive to the worse, once again.

"Time for a little change."

Technology was not her metier, but pressing a button did not take much knowledge. One moment later the head-guard in the monitor room answered the call and received a harsh complain about not acting properly, and another moment later, loud sirens, their sound annoying and enjoyable for Hildr at the same time finally came to life.

"Intruder Alert."

That was her answer to the extremely rude entrance of the master, before turning on her heel and heading towards the door. She had lost her interest in this place and its people. At least for now they would need to redeem themselves in her eyes. It had turned into a test, a little challenge and game, one that might claim lives if not played carefully. Proceeding with caution or rushing ahead like a madmachine. That master should show her his determination and his justice. Time to look forward to it, the heavens would not judge this nightly activity, but the Church and the Magus Association and all the other participants, including herself would have their eyes on this 'battle'.

"Let's leave. This place has lost its charme."

And with those words, she waved the young woman sharing a place in the Justice Team, recalling the carefully studied layout of the prison for the shortest route outside. Fortunately everything went according to plan, the guards had taken the order to heart and proceeded with caution towards the allocated positions, clearing her retreat path off unnecessary personnel. She had no time or interest to deal with those nuisances and share the same problems as those annoying intruders. Lancer looked like some person with a hood to outsiders, rather than a servant, but certainly suspicious to anyone but the manipulated people in charge. The prison seemed empty at their location, only the faint echo of her steps showing signs of life. Even the prisoners did not dare to utter a single word. Perhaps the fear of sharing their prisonmates carved into their bodies until their departure to hell. Brynhildr could not care less.

[Cardwyn Driald]

“Guards in this time and age are surprisingly useless. Is this normal?

Were they truly useless? To a normal human being, probably not. To a Magus? Most likely. She had only ever met one guard with the capacity to overcome mental interference, probably being from some dead family, with circuits almost gone.

So she had rendered that man unconscious instead. That had been far simpler; he was rather overweight and completely untrained regarding hand-to-hand combat. The result had been obvious to the both of them, but he still fought back with useless courage. He may have not needed to have his bones broken had he instead surrendered.

Honour like that was useless. Had always been useless.

However, that was not what she was going to say to an angel. To her, so far above a Magus, the guards were worse than useless. Although, it did indicate that the opponent was a competent Magus, or perhaps even a Servant did this.

“I…” The alarm blared as she opened her mouth to respond. She had pressed something, an emergency alarm of some sort, and instantly sirens were engaged, shouting out into what had been an eerie silence.

She tried to speak again, but the angel waved her to get moving with a cold dismissal of any want to remain in this place.

That was… regretful. Not only was this intruder’s unwelcome entrance depriving the both of them from bringing justice to this place, but it also halted the process they had begun of freeing those innocents that were falsely accused. Truthfully there had only been a few of them, but this man was still going to end up placing these precious few back into their cells, because of this alarm, to remain the rest of their false sentences.

He was no ally of justice, apparently.

She began walking slowly through the halls, careful at every corner. Her presence was beyond obvious, after all, and the other Magus catching sight of her would only be a negative. Her dress, and small heels were not the garb of a prisoner, nor a guard after all. The woman of justice beside her had likely seen him through the security cameras, and there was no need to show her face to the other Magus.

In fact, it seemed rather likely that there would be no need to take care of the man after all. These guards that were on high alert now had guns, and would fire as needed. Even if he did escape, he would be plagued by the law searching after him.

No… the church is likely going to erase anything to do with this. Then hopefully that Magus will fall tonight. The Servant that was with him would surely not be harmed by this day’s weapons, but could he always cover his Master? It only took one shot from those filthy weapons, after all.

She followed delicately behind the beauteous angel, who, even in a situation such as this, walked with an air of superiority. Cardwyn tried to emulate the calm, and her face certainly showed no expression, but her heart still was beating far faster than its norm.

Still, she was silent as they walked through the stone and iron corridors, the only sound aside from the siren her heels clacking on the ground, and the greaves of the angel shifting and contacting the solid concrete floor. Even all the prisoners were huddled in their cells, not even moaning or yelling. Yet there were no guards here, likely the work of the woman in front of her.

The prison had many entrances, and thus many exits. One in each cardinal direction, and they were exiting through the opposite gate that the opposing, chaos-inducing magus had entered. Of course, there was only supposed to be one exit and entrance to normal people, but they were far from normal.

“…Thank you for giving what justice you,” She did not dare say we, it was this woman who had done everything but one of the ‘trials’, “Could here. I apologize for the intrusion of that other Magus.” There was a bit of her that wondered if they could come back, but the stern gaze when the woman had led her away from the central office had answered her back then.

In her breast was a smoldering of anger in her towards this intruder. That Magus had doomed innocents, and let the guilty remain behind, still in life. So many of them too… it was pathetic. What a vile Magus the intruder was, and would she meet that Magus again, she could easily see the end of him by her hands.

Those who defended the guilty knowingly deserved the same fate as them. And there was only one fate for the man who had knowingly defended so many.

Death, by her own hands, should he live past this day.

[Brynhildr]

Moments later they had stepped on something that seemed no different than anything else in this boring prison, a mere stone panel. Yet, there was something fundamentally different about the one Lancer had chosen, and the difference became clear as the day when runes began to shine and the surrounding faded, just to be replaced by another scenery, the outside of the prison. One could easily call it teleportation, but it was not nearly as versatile as an actual spell of the Age of Gods. Brynhildr had begun to see some weaknesses about Runes after receiving input of the Grail about Casters.

Nonetheless, they also had some benefits, after they were set up. ...... how long had it taken to place some of them, and how costly had they been.... The woman in dark armor was really about the nuisance. All the time and effort spent into a base that had to be abandoned the very same day. But maybe it was better that this cocky magus appeared before she had done even more. It was regretful, but Hildr had clearly lost a good part of her skill, regarding the use of runes. She assumed it to be a downgrade because she was not summoned as a Caster, and sent a silent thanks to Odin for allowing her to fight properly like a Valkyrie was supposed to, with sword and lance.

Certainly... that she could not use her magic abilities to their full extent was a bit of a handicap, but it would have been worse to fight a war without battle skills and even downgraded, one would first need to have her knowledge about Runes before criticizing her abilities. And their were other than Odin and the Lady none who could say that about themselves. So far so good, they had managed to escape. It was necessary to abandon their temporary hideout to avoid follow up meetings with other curious magi. There was no need to doubt that the insolent ground dweller would have decided to leave as well, but a battle left unpleasant side effects.

Everyone could clearly notice the battle and track the location and the prison was not a great fortress, which took care of outsiders. Especially not with one of those lousy guards. Quite unfitting to her pre-modern armor, but in color only, Lancer held up a Tablet Computer which had once belonged to the Prison Director and used it with a precision that had also taken some time to learn. Yes, it was a modern device and yes, magi hated those, but for Brynhildr it was a useful tool to check on their 'friends'.

Although the range was limited, she could use it like a remote to check some monitors. Just like a worried father could remote control the Television to stop them from watching unbecoming content. ...Well, that was spying and quite stupid. Did Odin also use his eyes to spy on his children? Brynhildr briefly thought about some scenes that she really did not wish to share with anyone and almost blushed in shame. The thoughts had clearly drifted off into an unpleasant direction, and this while she could enjoy a nice show on the screen.

There was no need to involve her master into the action, but they happened to be partners. She would never attempt to call them equals, the difference between their roles was apparently very big, and Lancer did not desire to change this. Nevertheless, she lowered the screen a bit that Cardwyn could see the current situation by herself.

"At least he can run faster than his brain processes new information."

And he was really one of a kind when it came to inanity, arrogance and ineptitude. The servant with long dark hair could not deny his skills in combat and was a bit surprised to see the difference between a magus and a common guard, but he was stupid. Going on and fighting battles that were meant for a servant, he was just pushing himself over the limits and burning prana. How inefficient, or did he have such big reserves? Brynhildr doubted that, but it reminded her of her own 'fortune' and briefly glanced over to her own master. The memories of seeing the mystic eyes in action were still fresh, as well as feeling how the prana had vanished along with the shortlived effect of those eyes.

"A wise choice to run, but I actually thought that he had at least a form of plan for a more ... refined form of retreat."

Yet, after seeing him wander into the prison and playing 'Guard Whisperer' without the slightest worry in life, she should have known that he had never considered to fail and fighting that many people in this disadvantageous area was a big problem. The area itself had been Lancer's first problem about choosing that place as a hideout. Too many people to control on long terms, too highly frequented by commoners and inside a real problem for long weapons. A single mistake can compromise master and servant and end up in a critical situation with both surrounded by guards. Nobody would be able to scratch her and it was a given to be futile efforts that only had one outcome for the enemies, death.

But despite Brynhildr's own arrogance, that could count as a sin, she knew too well that the chances of protecting Cardwyn in such a situation were close to Zero. Who was the poor servant who had been chosen to form a team with that fool? As for sins, that master was really overloaded, albeit some were known that they can be forgiven. Only one was really becoming a problem, especially when they were mixed together how they were in that battle crazy metal boy. Many sins can be forgiven but one, foolishness. At least someone that had left a bit of an impression on the Rune Using Warrior once said those words.

Bryn and her own master were also just a team formed out of necessity, but while watching the action scenes unfolding before her eyes, she noted too well how important it was for master and servant to cooperate and act together. Whoever those two were, they might have had a contract, but were clearly not in sync. Rather than fighting side on side, the magus always rushed ahead, giving his servant problems to cover for him. Trust in one's strongest weapon was for one a good idea, while being unable to see the limits would turn into the biggest weakness. Just like when a team began to fight as two parts, splitting apart and so also reducing their battle potential considerably.

Unfortunately, they both held themselves better up than she wanted to and also did fairly well in not killing the guards, thus only fueling the Valkyrie's disdain.

"Further and further apart... oh."

Her voice remained calm and unemotional, but she was actually pleased to see a chance. Lancer was not able to produce a complete working network to escape outside, but the used extraction point was not the only one and Yang had in the midst of battle carelessly stepped on one and so directly played into Hildr's hands. Not wasting a single second, she pushed the device forcefully into Cardwyn Driald's hands, uncaring if she would drop it or not, and activated the rune to bring the undesired guest to a face to face meeting.

His carelessness and insolence would be punished greatly, or would it be an honor for winning the price with the daughter of Odin without a servant. Oddly enough he did seem to be happy at first. Maybe he was thinking that it was his own doing to reach her and get to his enemies, after the little running work out, which must have burned a lot of his prana resources. Of course his order to his own servant remained unanswered and his expression changed.

Hildr could care less about what he was thinking, all that was required was to silence this fool for good and her lance rushed out to pierce his throat, before his brain could realize what had hit him.

"You have served as your own distraction. Well done...", she stated coldly, and clearly not praising him. However, he did not deserve any and Hildr had grown tired of waiting, especially when his servant could appear any moment to protect him. It was time to free the other warrior that he could follow his own wishes, instead of being commanded around by some random idiot, who was better off serving his Servant - Master as a side character, and slowly growing into a proper man.

Lancer honestly liked his guts and conviction, he held on some noble form of combat and she respected that, but the rest was unacceptable. Had it been another life, before Brynhildr had begun to learn to hate, they could have eventually become friends, but Lancer was just eagerly awaiting to end their relation. No need for stalkers...

"You were unsuitable for this war, and too reckless," she gave him a final notice before drawing a symbol on his helpless, while he clung to his own throat, staring down at the lance and his own feet that were a good part off the ground. Brynhildr's beautiful, but fierce and cold eyes were the last image burnt into Yang's vision. A deep hatred flared in her deep eyes, but the magus' eyes would shine with an even greater light any minute and the result did not take long. His eyeballs began to melt.

"Now!... we are done." Lancer highlighted the first part of the sentence to say that she had some unfinished business earlier and that this human's entrance into her spear range had solved this little problem and kicked the impaled man off the ground sending him flying against the next deeply rooted tree.

The strong impact might have broken some bones, as the Valkyrie thought to have heard some cracking sounds. It also had done well in shaking the tree and some leafs were gently falling down while the magus fought against death and his inner suffering. The eyes no more than cream streamed out of the sockets and the skin seemed to burn from the inside, the tissue softly detaching from the skeleton. The entire surface of his skin was full of holes leaving spectators a clear look on the insides that were ablaze, producing enough heat to set the leafs on fire.

Without the proper back up prana he stood no chance against Brynhildr's magic and exploded into a neat little firework. Yang had gone how he lived, with a big bang and very flashy. One gone, 5 to go? The dark clad woman wondered about this turning her attention back to the pink haired girl in her presence.

"That was really enough waste of energy for today."

[Cardwyn Driald]

A laptop. She knew what it was, her father hated them. She hated them. One of the ones in the past had chosen his victims using something like that.

But now, instead of showing words, it showed surveillance of… someone. She wasn’t sure, but it definitely was a magus, so it had to be the Master in the jail. He was… fighting the guards?

“A wise choice to run, but I actually thought that he had at least a form of plan for a more … refined form of retreat.”

Did the angel want her to respond on that matter… she wasn’t sure. Probably not. Contempt was obvious in her voice as she-

“Further and further apart… oh.”

He was separating hims-

Suddenly she found the whirring screen in her hands, and quite nearly dropped it. It had been thrust into her hands by force, as the woman turned and did… something.

Something that made the man from the screen, the magus on the other side of the prison appear here. Alone! Incredible… it was magic. It had to be magic. She was capable of miracles!

He was bewildered. Confused, clearly. Shocked. Perhaps wondering if he had been hit on the head, and this was a dream. It would be something I thought. And if that were not enough… the angel slammed her spear, manifested in an instant, through his throat.

That was something she had seen a lot. The man was already dead now, nothing could save him anymore… he was pathetic. Where had been his call, why had he abandoned his Servant? Glory? There was no such thing.

And his eyes betrayed that. He knew too he was dead when he could no longer use command seals. Not that it would have mattered in the end, nothing could win against this woman. Justice had always prevailed in the end, always would prevail. There was no way to escape it.

She closed her own eyes, heard blood drip and gurgling sounds as the angel lifted the lance. While there was no need to watch this anymore… she… she wanted to. Flames were next, as intense heat burned into him, and in a hiss, his eyes were gone.

He had to already be dead. If not dead, he must have passed out from the pain. But she hoped he was not, that he had not. That he still felt every ounce of the burning feeling that would wrack him from the inside. A kick too followed the burning as the angel sent him hurtling at a tree, that caught fire with him.

The voice... the voice did not like what she saw with her own eyes. It never liked anything Cardwyn did. That mattered little, however. It never did, it was merely annoying.

“Ni edrych angau pwy decaf ei dalcen." She muttered, more for the tree than the man himself. Her father had said it once, about her mother. But it was every man’s right to have it said to them, especially if it was a taunt, rather than a proverb to calm one’s grief~

“That was really enough waste of energy for today.”

Cold.

But was it a… waste? Perhaps it was. Had they been more careful, had she been less fervent… Her circuits. Had she not known her power… she should have known. She was better at it than her. Far better, of course. How had she ever expected something else? In fact, she had wasted herself. The man who had burned, what if he had come by her of a way other than the teleportation. The weapons he had held on the screen against her knives.

The only defense would have been her eyes. Her eyes that she lacked the prana to use now. But mana… mana was thick here. She would recover, and she could return.

She had all after this war to judge… if there were any left to judge after this.

“Yes. I… apologize again. I wasted myself, did not believe as I should have. These eyes…” she did not look at the angel’s, fearing what they might hold. “…they should not be used so easily, when others can judge. I will attempt to use them more sparingly, angel.”

Their point was to punish, to bring justice. And if she could do so without the their use, perhaps they could be used in more threatening situations, in ones that could harm her. She didn't have to bring it, if others could. The problem had always been no one else would! They were simply content to let them live lives out of mind. That was not justice.

Was that even what she was talking about though? Was it the day, maybe? How had they wasted time when they defeated one of the other six, though? Did she waste her own prana? Was she over assuming?

That thought made her instantly brace herself, the laptop closed and pulled up against her chest, remembering the last time she had leapt to conclusions, and ended up with her face bruised for a week. Bracing herself would do little against one who could deliver such a kick as she had just witnessed however…

It just… made her feel safe for a second. But she would accept whatever the armoured woman did. Because whatever she did, whatever she had done so far was right. And would be right.

[Guan Yu]

It was foolish to try and follow those who had done this.

So Guan Yu thought as he stared coldly at the remains of his Master, suppressing such unsightly emotions such as rage. No, any attempt at revenge would get him killed, whether he defeated the murderer or not. Revenge was a mistake he had previously learned his sworn brother had made on his death. He would not make the same one; it would be an insult to his memory. This was war, casualties were to be expected. In all too many battles Guan Yu had killed those who had never really stood a chance against him, it was hypocritical to expect mercy to him or his Master. The enemy had taken advantage of a mistake he had made. Nothing more, nothing less.

He would die for his cause, but this was not it. There was still a chance for survival, and he would take it.

So with a tinge of guilt, he grabbed his Master's hand from the horrific remains and tore it off. The Command Seal still glowed dimly and remained unblemished by what had happened to the rest of it's owner's body. With the Command Seals, there was a chance to find a new Master, one he would not fail. There was no denying what had happened here was an error on his part, he should have always been at his Master’s side, always ready to defend him.

…And why had he not? A million thoughts buzzed in his mind. But action was required now. So, hand in... hand, Guan Yu ran.

He had forgotten which way the entrance was. Nor did he care, the walls were no match for a hasty Servant, and for a brief moment Guan Yu paused, now outside, taking in the scenery and contemplating the most likely location of a new Master.