Chapter 178: Chapter 170
I was practicing the breathing technique that Jinn had taught me, my Aura flowing in and out gently, just barely off from filling up to the peak.
"Haah." I let out a final breath as I openedmy eyes. I was still a bit fatigued, but that should go away by the time I needed to fight again.
"Hey, Ddraig." I let myself fall back into my bed, staring up at the ceiling. "We haven't had the chance to talk in a bit."
[That's true. You've been busy.] Ddraig replied. [Achilles, Vlad, Karna, Siegfried, Chiron, Mordred, Raikou. Quite the lineup of powerful foes here.]
I let out a snort. "Not all of them are enemies."
[Oh yes, your Mommy and your Son.] Ddraig taunted.
"Bite me." I rolled my eyes.
[I'm sure if you ask your Servant, she'd be into you.]
"Funny." I turned my head, looking out the window. "However, I don't want to take advantage of her mental state."
[You humans.] I practically felt Ddraig roll his eyes. [Just take her, she wouldn't say no.]
"Can we not right now?"
[Fine.] Ddraig grumbled. [You did good last night. You've come pretty far from the brat that had trouble with a single undead.]
"That felt like a lifetime ago." And every time I thought about it, I continued to miss my cane sword. I really do need to look into getting another.
[It was neat to finally see that spell as well. I know you've been thinking about it for some time, but to actually see it in action was spectacular.] Ddraig gave some rare praise. [Even if there were some issues with it.]
"Yeah, it was a bit 'forced' for lack of a better word. I need to fix some of the Runic sequences for a smoother casting. I also didn't take into account certain variables in my haste – like the time of day. Making the World Tree bloom at night, that made it harder than it should have been. Not to mention using both Muspelheim and Asgard together, they kind of grated due to the hostile concepts of their origins."
Not to mention I had trouble supporting just two of the Nine Realms at once. I guess it's to be expected, I was bearing the weight of the entire Norse Cosmology for that moment of casting. I would get better at it as I practice some more.
[A bit excited to see it all in action. But you're still missing a few pieces to bring out the full power of everything.]
"Yeah. Gae Bolg is probably the perfect catalyst for Asgard, and The Sword of Destruction is adequate for Muspelheim. But I'm missing the right vessels for the others." I sighed, thinking about my growing collection. While there were some stuff that might fit, it was barely better than casting without a vessel for the Myths to descend into. Well, mostly anyways. My Staff of Magnus fit into one very well, but it was also used to help facilitate the entire casting so I didn't want to 'sacrifice' it to a single Realm.
I could cast the spell fine without any ancillary means, otherwise that would just be a huge design flaw on my part. But adding things to bolster each realm means they can bring about more 'weight' to each part.
My spell.
This was a spell I created, not Zelretch.
Mine.
And it was magnificent.
[You need to work on your Lightning Spells too.]
"Yeah I can't argue with that." I nodded at his words. "They were more spur of the moment kind of things, but it just went to show how much work I still have to do." Always something on my plate. "The power was fairly decent for the equivalence in casting ease. Not to mention the range and area of effect."
[Well you won't be taking out any Servants with that 'Lightning Rain' or 'Lightning Arrow' you thought up on the spot, but they might lead into something stronger in the future.]
"That's a very good point." I rubbed my chin. "I'll check the Old Man's library for any ideas. Hell, I'm sure there's stuff over at the College of Winterhold that I still haven't even considered yet. Jinn can definitely help me there."
[How do you feel about the Dragon Slayer?]
"Siegfried, huh?" My thoughts drifted to him. "Well, the real Siegfried, anyways." I let out a chuckle. "But...I don't think I can get out of fighting him. Not that I would want to. We'll probably settle things tonight along with the remainder of this war."
[Any plans on how you're going to approach this? At this point, both sides are going to be gunning for you, and your tricks were revealed, for the most part.]
"Well, my plan didn't really come through last night. Admittedly, it wasn't that complicated of a plan. Distract everyone, blow up fortress, Sir Wiggles scouts, I steal grail when found. The Red Faction beat me to it. This time, fuck it. We're going in from the front. No tricks, no schemes, we'll fight them all."
[Well said.] Ddraig seemed pleased. [Make them pay for hurting our rabbit.]
"Our rabbit?" I raised an eyebrow.
[....He grew on me.] Ddraig grumbled. [We need to get him stronger so that doesn't happen again.]
"Haah." I let out another long breath. "I should probably stop procrastinating."
[Mmm, that little dragon deserves to know.] Ddraig agreed. [Out of all your women, I think she's my favorite.]
"You're just saying that because she has your Dragon Core inside her." I deadpanned.
[Hehe.]
"Regardless, I should stop putting this off." I looked out the window, the sun was shining on the town spread out below.
After we got back to our 'hideout' I realized the Red Faction wouldn't be in the town anymore, so I brought us back here and rented a room. No reason to rough it when we don't have to. And I managed to convince Raikou to take a bit of time to herself, relax in a nice warm bath. I felt bad about manipulating her like that, but I didn't want her to be here when I called Artoria.
Even the mention of anyone I was involved with kinda of put her in a 'mood'. I don't know how she would react to actually 'seeing' my girlfriend.
With a flick of my hand, I held the Kaleidophone between my fingers. It was a bit....amateurish, even as I continued to look at it, but I had nothing but praise for Rin in creating this thing. She's still walking around with training wheels with regards to using the Kaleidoscope. Being able to create something like this just exhibited her natural talent.
Alright, stop procrastinating.
It wasn't difficult to connect to Artoria's, it was very similar to calling another phone.
I felt the faint fluctuations of the Kaleidoscope being manipulated, pulling on my own Magical Energy to facilitate the process.
The device flashed a few times before an image came into view.
"Wilhelm?" Artoria appeared on the screen, her voice coming in clear.
"Hey there." I couldn't help but smile at seeing her face. It was hard to resist the urge to jump over to her and wrap her up.
"Are you okay?" She sounded concerned. "I am prepared for battle if you require assistance."
"I'm fine, really." I reassured her. But it was nice how quickly she was willing to jump in if I was having a difficult time. "I just wanted to talk to you about a few things."
"A social call?" She tilt her head, her bright smile appearing. "I'm glad you are not troubled then. If you wouldn't mind, I was like to hear about how the War is going."
"Well, good, I guess. I don't think it will last past this next night." I replied.
"Have you figured out the other servant's identities?" She inquired.
"Mhmm, some heavy hitters here. Achilles, Karna, Siegfried, to name a few."
She blinked. "Are you sure you do not require assistance? I am aware of those names, and they only fill me with unease."
"It's fine. I've already faced them all at some point. Besides, my Servant is a monster herself."
"Herself?" Artoria raised an eyebrow. "Something you wish to tell me?"
".....It's complicated?"
She pursed her lips. "I expected you to just outright admit to it. I suppose there is something wrong if you are hesitating. You are usually very upfront about these sorts of things."
"She's a Berserker, her Madness Enhancement is not the traditional kind." I said simply. "I don't wish to elaborate due to personal things on her end."
"I see....then I will not ask further. But I suppose I owe Jinn twenty septims now."
"D-did you bet on me?" I was a bit taken back.
She actually let out a small giggle. "We all made a small wager on the outcome. Jinn was adamant that your servant would be a woman. I thought the odds would be in my favor for you to summon a man."
"Well..." I scratched my head. "She kinda is the same as you in that regard..."
Artoria blinked again. "Oh, is that so? I will further look forward to meeting her then."
"You're so sure I'm bringing her back with me?"
"Yes."
"You're lucky you're not within my reach right now." I pursed my lips.
"I fear my rear would not leave unmolested if you were in my presence." She gave a little smile, her face faintly dusted pink. "Mayhaps I should give you an incentive to return without any problems?"
"Careful there, I may just take you up on that." I smirked.
She didn't reply, instead it looked like she set the phone down, and I heard her moving around for a few moment, unable to actually see her. The visuals flashed all over the place before they settled back on Artoria, her holding the phone up to her face again. This time, she was sporting a bright red complexion and she held her hand up for me to see, a pair of panties dangling there.
I raised an eyebrow. "Someone's being bold. And consider me incentivized." It's great how much she's opened up since we started our relationship. Maybe this method of communication was also giving her some confidence to be a bit more forward since I wasn't immediately there.
"Are you ready to speak about the true reason you called me, then?" Her demeanor shifted, catching me off guard.
"Am I that easy to read?" I let out a sigh, running a hand down my face.
"I'm not a fool, Wilhelm. I can tell when you're holding something back." She gave a gentle smile. "If I had to guess it's something to do with me? Perhaps someone from my past was summoned?"
"Saber of Red is Mordred." I decided to just rip the Band-Aid off.
She paused, her expression stiffened. "I see." She managed to eek out. "Has Mordred caused any issues....?"
"The opposite, actually. She's been a great help and I've been working with her and her Master."
Fuck, the look she had on her face. I wanted to jump over and hug her this instant.
"I admit, this possibility was something I considered, but to actually hear it has brought up feelings within me I thought I had long since buried." I could see her kind of shrink back, like she was unsure of herself. It reminded me of when we first met and she was still very self-conscious about everything. "I am unsure of what to say, Wilhelm." She said quietly.
"Do you hate her?" We might as well start from the beginning.
"Hate?" She repeated the word to herself. "I do not think I can bring myself to Hate my.....son. I am aware of the many failures I conducted during my life, Mordred's situation being among them. I have had time to consider all my mistakes, and I realized that I had been the cause of many of them." She clutched her chest. "I feel an anger inside of me, when I recall her wielding Clarent against me, when she incite a rebellion to overthrow me. But most of all.....It is almost completely overshadowed by regret."
"Would you like to meet her again, once this war is done?"
".....Does he not despise me?" She muttered.
"Mordred worships the ground you step on. When I accidentally blurted out your name when I first saw her, she got super defensive of you. Not to mention when I said you were my girlfriend. She was ready to take my head at the perceived insult."
She let out a depreciating laugh. "That reckless boy. He always acted without thought, charging in like a berserker in the midst of battle." She shook her head. "Do you know her wish? No.....don't tell me, I don't believe I deserve to know."
"It's a good wish, I think you would approve of it."
"If—if Mordred wishes it.....and it would not be too much trouble....mayhaps there is a chance for me to apologize for all the wrongs I've done to him."
"Artoria, I would help you no matter what." You silly girl, do you really think I would deny my help in this situation? "I plan on talking to her later today, so I can bring it up." She did perk up at my words. "Is there anything in particular you want me to say?"
"Yes." Artoria looked firm all of the sudden. "I will await for him to return – victorious from this battle.
I could imagine that she was hesitant to say anything too personal or any kind of apology. But I think Mordred would be ecstatic to know that Artoria was waiting and believed in her victory.
"How about I tell you everything in more depth?"
"Yes, please start from the beginning." She nodded.
***
First off, thanks to TheMadLad for another awesome cover image.
So Artoria has been 'alive' for a couple years now since the Grail War before meeting Wilhelm. She's had time to process some of her own issues and come to her own conclusions.
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