Saberfes!

Chapter 97

Chapter 97

If attacks of magic wouldn't work, then he'd have to go with physical objects. It looked like he'd have to bring out the Mystic Code he had prepared, though whether he'd actually land a hit was another matter. Still, all he had to do was distract Ruler.

She was still standing next to the emergency escape, keeping a firm stranglehold on Caules, though he was no longer gasping for air.

"dOn'T M-Ove."

It was the first time they had heard her speak, her voice unnaturally gravelly and pitched, like she had just emerged into the human world after years of isolation and was learning how to speak normally again. It was obvious to the three mages that she was being controlled at this point, and that her mind was most likely impaired due to it, lowering her skill and physical prowess. Otherwise, Ayaka would have gotten caught a long time ago.

Caules looked at her slack face and glazed eyes, then glanced at Org and winked at him, tapping the Primeval Battery at his side. Org nodded, readying himself to act as soon as possible.

The gesture didn't go unnoticed by Ruler, as her eyes lowered to the object at his waist, her hand reaching down to confiscate the device.

A dazzling glow lit up the underground room, sparks flying from the purple core as the blue rings around the Primeval Battery flashed an incandescent white. Shielding her eyes out of reflex, she was unable to avoid the worst of it, her retinas seared from the light as her hand loosened around Caules neck, dropping him on the ground. Throwing the battery into the air, he rolled away on the ground as far as he could, reinforcing his jacket as much as he could, dragging it over his head as he did so.

*DZZZYKUN!*

The whir of electricity reached a fever pitch, the buzzing reaching new heights as the energy inside overloaded, courtesy of Caules special design when he made it. The metal container grew red-hot, the bars around the core buckling and melting, ozone filling the air. With a sharp crack, it burst apart, showering Ruler in molten metal and electrical discharge as tendrils of electricity extended from the core, slamming into the metallic surfaces nearby, as well as Ruler and Caules prone body on the ground. Thanks to the crystal that had harboured an electrical type Elemental in it, the capacity of energy it was able to hold was vast, and it could be easily channeled for Caules purposes. In this case, to explode.

Ruler was fast enough to lift her arms to shield herself, half-dazed though she was by the flash, and her body only suffered minor wounds, more tears appearing in her blue tights, with the collars on her arms blown to pieces. A deep wound from the metal scorched all the way to her bone, but with the dulled sense she possessed, it didn't hurt at all.

Zouken paused, then redoubled his speed, his insects hurrying down the long elevator shaft downwards.

Even so, she was a Servant, albeit with reduced abilities and parameters, so she was able to recover quickly. Just in time to hear footsteps rushing for the doorway leading to the corridor outside.

From the steam that Org had produced with his water magecraft, Ruler burst forth, aiming straight for Ayaka's back as she rushed at the doorway.

The growling of the engine was all the warning she received before she twisted her body, slipping cards into her hands to block the grinding teeth of the chainsaw that bore down on her, golden sparks leaping between the two as the cards defiantly withstood the custom teeth of the chain, each tungsten carbide teeth going 300 miles per hour on the motor, the inner mechanism driven by a unique system of Org's magecraft, with water inhabiting much of where the engine was supposed to be.

The flash and explosion, coupled with her impaired mind and senses allowed Org to catch her just as she jumped out, intercepting her and allowing Ayaka to dash out of the door.

Seeing Ayaka leave, Ruler flexed her arms, planting her feet firmly on the ground and pushed. With barely any effort, Org's chainsaw lifted into the air, repelled with pure strength. Dropping the ruined cards in her hands, Ruler swiped two more cards from the air, the edges glowing a brilliant green.

"Huah!"

Throwing his gun-like Mystic Code at her directly, Caules used as much strength as he could muster, reinforcing his arms to give it just a little more speed.

With two targets, she was forced to throw one card at the gun to deflect it, while the other card zipped through the air into Org's wrist, cutting into it deeply, a gush of blood immediately seeping across the face of the card and dripping onto the floor.

Org stumbled back, reinforcing his arm to close the muscles as they became rigid, water flowing around his arm and around the card to pull it out and plug the wound, the clear water turning red from the profuse flow of blood.

While Org was busy dealing with the wound, Caules charged forward, aiming to physically tackle Ruler.

He had nothing left, grabbing a nearby rock paperweight in the hopes of at least distracting her, even for a second. The more time they bought Ayaka, the more likely she was to be able to contact El-Melloi or Tohsaka and have them return.

"LiOns..."

A burst of light no unlike the explosion Caules had made earlier threw him off balance as he swerved away from the source, Org's eyes dazzled as well as a lion of light appeared, summoned by Ruler. With a jerk of her head, the lion bounded off in the direction of Ayaka, chasing her down.

"विस्फोट"

A bullet of water burst from his fingertips, Org banking on the hope that the lion didn't have Magic Resistance like Ruler did. Sure enough, the spinning cone of water lanced into its flank without disappearing, the lion stumbling before it reached the door, dragging its back legs behind it.

Without wasting the chance, Caules went straight for the lion, rushing with as much speed as he could muster, but a hand lashed out and slammed into his stomach, throwing him back into the wall.

Meanwhile, Ayaka sprinted down the corridor, her black hair swinging wildly as she tried to remember the directions to the second escape passage placed at the far back of the underground complex.

*skreeee*

Skidding to a halt, she stared as hundred of insects, large and small, converge into a large blob in front of her, a teeming mass of writhing and wriggling bodies that gradually changed until it became something more humanlike, an old man wearing robes and holding a cane to support his hunched back.

"Looks like I came just in time."

With an aged voice that belied his true age, Zouken's gleaming black eyes stared her down.

"Why don't we have a little chat, hmm?"