Fool's World: Temperance (ch. 14) (Patreon)

The odds weren't lost on me. I knew damn well that the only thing I would manage to accomplish against the hulking mass of muscle clad in dark leathery skin was to break my fists on him. At best, my blood would be difficult to wash out from his skirt, but he didn't strike me as the kind of guy that minded bloodstains. There was just a stunning lack of fear. A complete absence of it.

It wasn't like I was above running. I was willing to at the drop of a hat if things looked bad. We fled to Fuyuki, after all. But, I couldn't run. I made a mistake. I should have kept Shirou under better guard. Touko, for all the grousing I did about her teachings, had warned about this exact thing -- Magi being cut throat and going for civilians if they thought it would give them leverage over me. She warned me, and I didn't do anything about it.

This was undoubtedly my fault. My mistake led to this. Meaning that it was my responsibility to make it right.

Berserker roared, dropping Shirou to the ground in a heap before the massive creature just /moved/. One would think someone of that size would have to be slow, but Berserker was impossibly fast, moving in a blur, to the point I hadn't even registered that he had moved until I felt a brush of wind on my face as Saber appeared before me, catching a blow from his giant slab of stone beaten into the rough shape of a sword that would have cleaved me in half. Sparks danced through the air, a thunderous impact making my ears ring.

"Stay back, Master! This is my fight," Saber snapped at me, and I realized I had underestimated the raw power her near waifish frame could exert, because she pushed back Berserker's blade to dart forward and deliver a slash of her own. I could almost see what was happening. It was easier to get a handle on things when you watched their shoulders, because as fast as their swings were, their shoulders were mostly still.

I felt the drain on my mana instantly as Saber began to demand more of it to match Berserker. She might have already drained me dry if it wasn't for her scabbard inside of me. My hands clenched into fists as I took off running, doing what I could to avoid the battle, but I only had eyes for the ruby eyed girl that seemed absolutely delighted to see me rushing at her.

"You're a good big brother!" she told me, reaching up and plucking out a strand of white hair. "But it's pointless. Shirou has to pay. I'll start by killing his big brother in front of him." she said, her voice never losing that childish edge to it. As if this was a great big game. Gritting my teeth, I charged forward, trusting Saber to cover my back.

Yet, I heard the clash of something striking metal behind me. The briefest of glances over my shoulder, and I saw Rider catching a blow from Caster, who had fired some kind of colorful blast at Nobara. The drain worsened -- just having two Servants was an immense drain on my magic circuits. Having them both fight was utterly draining to the point that if both of them went all out, I'd be out of commission in no time.

"Leave Caster to me," Rider spoke as the two broke off. Nobara took out her hammer, while Rin went to go help her against Rin's teacher, who I had met when visiting the school to meet Shirou.

I had to leave it to them. Negotiations had completely broken down. Even Lancer was getting involved, moving to engage only to be caught by Archer. All of us seemed to find an opponent to fight in the square of the temple. They would do their part while I had to do mine. With that thought in mind, I looked back to the girl just as the hair took shape into a familiar. The hair became the heart of an intricate looking bird -- not one but two of them.

Touko had spoken about familiars. A woman magi's greatest asset was her hair. And how she had said I should avoid a direct confrontation with anyone that could make more than one familiar with a single hair.

I charged forward, moving to meet the bird head on. I slipped on the brass knuckles in my pocket, and as the bird neared, I lashed out with a fist, catching it in its beak. It looked so deceptively fragile, I noted, as I felt my bones snap as the bird surged forward, barely registering the blow. The brass knuckles bent inward, crushing my fingers in the holes and damn near shearing them off.

Reacting on instinct, I kicked up, catching the wireframe bird in the chest with a foot. I didn't do any damage to it, but I was able to adjust its trajectory enought to send it flying over my head. The second surged forward at the same moment, its wings fanning out, and it just about took my leg off. It would have if I hadn't dove out of the way towards the girl, the fanning of its wings giving me just enough time to react. By that time, the first recovered from its miss and swooped back around, lashing out with its talons.

I dodged to the side, my one working hand going to the gun at my waist. With little hesitation, I pulled it out and lined up the shot, my gaze meeting the amused eyes of the albino Master. The gun bucked in my hand as I pulled the trigger, but even before I had finished squeezing, I knew that it wouldn't work. She was just too relaxed. Berserker seemed to appear between us, the bullets sparking when they hit his skin. The giant of a man not even bothering to lift his sword to block them.

I met his furious gaze, which only seemed to intensify in ferocity as he glared at me. He took in a deep breath and howled, the inhuman sound imparting his rage and hate for me. He had already been ordered to kill me, but I think it was personal now. I stood up, the gun heavy in my hand and, just for the sake of it, I fired at Berserker again, uncowed by the display. Again, I was only saved by Saber, who caught an overhead slash from that giant slab of stone that would have taken me down the middle. The ground buckled underneath Saber as the smaller woman took the strike on the flat of her blade, nearly knocking me on my ass.

I reacted by dodging to the side so Saber could divert the blow without taking my head off. Rolling to my feet, I once again saw Shirou weakly laying at the girl's feet. My good hand clenched into a fist as she set her familiars to circling around me while Saber once again did her best to hold off Berserker. Grabbing my busted brass knuckles, I worked them off of me before tossing them to the side along with my empty gun. The damn thing was useless against Servants.

Taking in a deep breath, I made a snap decision. Conflict was happening all around me. Saber and Berserker, Caster and Rider, Lancer and Archer, Caster's Master and Nobara and Rin. Caster and Rider had vanished into the forest, but I could feel the drain from the two of them fighting -- using my mana to augment her strength and to heal her minor wounds.

"Nobara! Rin! Switch!" I shouted, pivoting and turning around. I wanted to save Shirou. But, fact of the matter was, Berserker's Master was a bad matchup for me. I couldn't do anything to get near her between those familiars and her Servant, so I would only get in Saber's way trying. To that end, "Saber -- Kill Berserker and save Shirou." The Command Seals on the back of my hand turned, the maze shifting so another ring was in place. One more Command Seal until the maze would be completed.

What would happen then, I couldn't even start to guess.

Rin looked surprised, but Nobara backed off immediately as I rushed towards Rin's teacher. The man looked at me dispassionately, having taken an odd stance -- legs wide apart, hands folded rather than clenched into fists. "There's something weird about the guy. He's really strong, Majima," Nobara informed, and it was then that the man dispassionately tore out a cold iron nail that had been in his shoulder.

"He's reinforcing his body," Rin informed, backing off far more cautiously. "But Caster's elevated the magecraft. He's almost as strong as a Servant." She informed me, catching my attention.

"Reinforcement? How'd you do that?" I asked her, earning an oddly bewildered look. Her jaw dropped and I would have found the expression hilarious if it wasn't for the situation. Already, I was breathing hard. Saber and Berserker were moving further away into the forest on the opposite side of Rider and Caster -- because of it, I realized how much both of them had been holding back. That familiar bone deep ache was returning as the pressure on my magic circuits returned. I felt my body create another one to prove just how high the demand was even with a Command Seal helping with Saber.

"It's- you haven't been using it this entire time?!" Rin questioned in a high pitched voice, and I shook my head, both to answer her question and to dismiss my own.

"Nevermind, I'll just figure it out," I said, striding forward to Rin's teacher, who regarded me with complete and utter indifference. Looking at him… I didn't have a whole lot of experience fighting. I was pretty good at it, but I didn't have a lot of practical experience. In this life, at least. However, instinct was telling me that I was a deadman walking -- that my life formally ended the moment I decided to fight him. A quiet, yet menacing aura filled the air around the silent man. I could feel it in my gut just from looking at him -- he could kill me without batting an eyelash.

"You- where is that confidence coming from?! Magecraft isn’t something you just learn on the fly!" Rin protested, but fell silent when I reached into my jacket and pulled out some of the grenades that I had picked up from the Yakuza thugs earlier. "What are you going to do with that?"

"Don't worry about it. Just help Nobara, okay?" I requested, pulling the pin on the grenade. Rin gave me a lingering look before she did as asked and went to support Nobara. I wish I had the time to watch the fight or help them out, but the man before me required my full attention. "Got a name?"

"Kuzuki Souichirou," he answered, his tone just as even as it had been at school.

"Mikoto Majima," I returned, letting the trigger on the grenade pop. "Think fast!" I said, hurling the grenade at him before I darted forward. The only hint of surprise at the action was his eyes narrowing by a fraction as he kicked the grenade up into the sky just as I neared. Summoning all of my strength, I drove my fist into his ribs hard enough that he bent around the punch as he caught air for a brief moment. No sooner had the attack landed, I backed off, another grenade appearing in my hands.

Kuzuki weathered the attack well, a hand going to his side as if to check the injury. "Do you have so little regard for your own life?" he asked me as I pulled the pen, the grenade exploding in the air above us harmlessly. Shrapnel shot into the ground, but it was dispersed enough that we didn't have to worry about it.

"I don't want to die," I told him, keenly aware that I had precious few grenades. "But if I gotta, then I gotta. Why worry about it?" I told him before running forward, knowing that the strategy was my best bet. I had seen it -- the man was faster than me. Stronger than me too. Probably a better fighter. But, a hand grenade was one hell of a distraction. The grenade became his focus, meaning that his guard slipped elsewhere, or we would both blow up.

I was completely reliant on him saving me. I hoped he was a big damn hero, because every opportunity he gave me, I was going to kick his ass.

Lashing out with my fist, the blow was caught by Kuzuki, prompting me to drop the grenade at our feet. It diverted his attention, but when he kicked out with his foot to knock the grenade away, I interfered. The action cost Kuzuki precious seconds, making him abandon all defense to knock the grenade away, opening himself up to an uppercut to the chin and a high knee to his diaphragm. As the blows landed, the grenade exploded nearby, making my ears ring with the conclusive force. But, Kuzuki had protected us both in saving himself.

He countered with a strike of his own, his fingers darting out as a mystic aura surrounded them. I caught the blow with my forearm instead of my head and I felt every bone in my arm shatter into a hundred pieces. Tsking to myself, I dropped another grenade just to drive him off, letting Avalon fix my busted arm. Yet another small drain on my mana.

That was Reinforcement, was it? I could see the difference. The grenade exploded and I was mildly surprised to see that he didn't take the opportunity to kick the grenade in my face. "By the way…" I started, feeling my bones mend in my arm while I tried to puzzle out how to use Reinforcement on myself. "Why are we fighting again?"

"Caster does not care for your preventative measures against betrayal. Lancer still possess the vial of her blood, and he has labeled you an enemy," Kuzuki helpfully explained. And that made more sense.

I hummed, feeling more magic circuits forming. With Avalon's help, they were forming faster and with better quality. Before, I had three magic circuits that produced one and a half units of mana each. Now, I had thirty that each produced closer to fifteen units of mana. And with more on the way -- Servants had an insane upkeep cost because it still wasn't enough.

"So, we're just enemies of circumstance? Then do you want to team up to get the vial back?" I asked, earning a small shake of the head from Kuzuki as an answer.

"The offer is appreciated. However, Caster will not consider an alliance or truce unless she faces you as an equal," he informed. Given that we had an alliance of three Servants, joining the makeshift alliance of Berserker and Lancer made sense. But, there was no formal alliance between them. Right now, they just shared a common enemy. Either Caster would wait until my alliance broke down or until I lost a Servant.

"Hm. Worth a shot," I said, taking out two grenades from my jacket. I had a dozen of them. I already used three, so just nine left. About to be seven. At the same time, I pulled a trigger in my own mind, activating my magic circuits -- I used my first memory for the trigger, getting punched in the face. The flash of pain, the sense of impact, and the snap of clarity that came with it. The action strained my already strained circuits, but I ignored their protests and tried to use Reinforcement.

I had absolutely no clue what I was doing, but it sounded simple enough in practice. You used magic to strengthen your body. Simple. Easy peasy. There was that one, small, caveat that I never actually used any kind of magecraft before, but I was feeling confident. So, I just directed that mana to my body with the desire to make it stronger. Or something.

And, despite the clumsy and crude method, I felt my body strengthen. My magic circuits were taxed at the increased demand, but I ignored them and demanded more even as the exhaustion of mana depletion hollowed out my bones.

Kuzuki shifted, sensing the change in me. I flung the two grenades at him before sprinting forward at far faster speeds than I had previously been capable of. The magecraft strengthened my body, but more than that, it sharpened my eyesight. My hearing became more sensitive, and even my sense of smell was heightened. It was as if I had spent my short life living with muffled senses and hadn't realized it.

My opponent reacted quickly, kicking one grenade up before going for the other. At that moment, I punched him in the face hard, and unlike the first time, his head snapped to the side. Yet, he didn't let that stop him from moving to kick away the second grenade and I punched him in the gut hard enough that I felt him fold over my fist. The power behind my blows was beyond anything I was capable of before. Kuzuki was knocked off of his feet, grunting as he lashed out at the grenade despite being airborne, and it exploded a second after he knocked it away. I followed up my attack with a spinning kick that caught him in the face, sending him to the ground.

He effortlessly flipped to his feet before landing, his back never touching the ground, but his eyes narrowed into slits when I tossed three more grenades at him while charging forward. The added difficulty made him cut the close calls even closer, but it took his attention off of me in a way that he really couldn't do anything about. Because, if he didn't focus on the grenades, then we were both dead.

He diverted one that I punished him for. I pulled more mana to my body, forcing it to create more magic circuits to keep up with the insane demands I was making of it, and channeled it into my arm. Striking him at the elbow, I shattered his arm, repaying him for the one he dealt me. He suffered the injury without complaint, his expression not so much as twitching as he kicked another grenade away.

I felt the bones in my arm creak dangerously when I dealt the punch, as if my muscles hit with more power than my bones were capable of handling. I crudely reinforced them, but it wasn't enough when I lashed at Kuzuki's ribs, breaking them and reducing my hand to a bloody pulp with the same action. The third grenade went unattended for a second too long. Kuzuki knocked it away, but it exploded in the air close by, and I felt something tear through my leg as I went deaf in one ear.

Landing in a heap, I rolled to my feet with some difficulty. Kuzuki was on his feet before I was, the shattered arm and ribs doing nothing to stop him from kicking out with a foot that nearly took my head off. I ducked under the kick, Avalon and Reinforcement taking care of my injured leg, that I just now noticed looked like it had a nasty run in with a cheese grater. My hands went to the remaining grenades in my jacket and I used the last four that I had.

Pulling the pins while rolling to my feet, I looked up and saw that Kuzuki looked almost annoyed when he realized what was about to happen. He didn't have a choice, however. He went for the grenades to save us both, and I made him suffer for it. I brought down a fist on his thigh, breaking his femur and shattering my fist and forearm in the process. The first of the four grenades was kicked away, but despite the growing list of injuries, I pressed on, as did Kuzuki. I kicked out just as he struck out at the second grenade, my one good hand propping me up as I fell to the ground to deliver a powerful kick to his ribs, and I felt them break under my heel. My own leg was dislocated, the tendons not reinforced enough to prevent my knee from tearing out if it's socket.

Still, I just kicked out with my second leg, slamming it into his collar bone in an axe kick as I pivoted on my hand. In the meantime Kuzuki succeeded in knocking the third grenade away. I was down to a single arm, and a single grenade. Using Reinforcement, I strengthened it as much as I could, throwing myself up into the air, my shattered limbs flapping in the wind as I spun sharply like a human disco ball, delivering a powerful punch to the side of Kuzuki's head just as he kicked the last grenade away.

I landed in a heap of broken bones. Kuzuki hit the ground harder, and this time he didn't get up.

"Damn," I muttered, feeling my bones shift under my skin. "What a tough bastard," I added. That hadn't even really been a fight. I had just beat on him as he was knocking away grenades. It had been a really dirty way to win, but I didn't really mind that. Especially when I understood that there was absolutely no chance in hell that I could have taken him in a straight fight otherwise.

Especially with my glass bones. Reinforcement was a lot trickier than I thought it would be. But, after that little trial run, I think I had a better grasp on it. It was important to spread it evenly across my body -- bones, tendons, muscles, and even skin. However, my body also had a point where you just couldn't Reinforce it anymore. Some of my shattered bones and torn muscles weren't because of the blowback of my own blows. They hadn't been able to take in all the mana I was pumping into them and tore themselves apart. It was almost like a steroid -- there were diminishing returns. If I did one, then I was strengthened, but if I did a hundred, then I wouldn't gain the effect of a hundred steroids. I'd probably just die.

I probably would be dying right now in fact, but Avalon was a literal life-saver. It mended my broken bones, my overstretched tendons, and my torn skin. And I felt it. Each broken bone was healed back stronger than before. My muscles capable of more than they had been a moment ago. My body was broken, and when it was healed, it was better than ever.

"That was so incredibly stupid," I heard Lancer call out to me, proving that he kept an eye on the fight even as he clashed with Archer. "I love it!"

Archer tsked as he broke off, his two swords ready to attack or defend. "Should I give you two a moment?" he asked, sounding irritated. Which, honestly, seemed to be his default state. Lancer just grinned as their own fight continued again. I left them to it. I was pretty useless right now on the account that every limb that I had was kinda shattered, but Avalon was fixing me right up, it was just taking some time. Instead, I focused on the sounds of battle. I couldn't see anyone else -- Rin, Nobara, and Berserker's Master all headed down the steps.

Leaving Shirou where he had fallen.

Pain assaulted every sense that I had as I began to drag myself across the ground to the steps where Shirou laid. My leg popped back into place as the bones were mending somewhere along the way, allowing me to crawl towards him instead of flailing forward. Pain was a lot easier to accept when you knew it was temporary. Avalon could be the biggest edge I had in this Grail War, and that was including having two Servants. It took a long minute to reach Shirou, but by that time, I was almost completely healed. It went a bit faster when I focused my mana to the sheath. I paid for it though, my limbs shaking as the hollowness of mana depletion ate away at my insides.

Shirou was out like a light, and my lips thinned when I saw that he hadn't been treated with kindness. Both of his legs were broken, one of his arms had been reduced to a fleshy sack of bone shards and blood, while his breathing was slow and intensive.

"Come on, Shirou," I muttered, placing a hand on my chest and pulling at Avalon. I wasn't sure how to get the sheath out of me, but I'd tear it out with my bare hands if I had to. Shirou needed it a lot more than me.

Avalon responded to my calls for it, my mana expelling the glowing sheath from my chest. Instantly, exhaustion hit me like a truckload of bricks. Still, I fought against it and pressed the sheath into Shirou's back, urging the sheath into him. The sheath glowed before it sank into Shirou's body, and nearly instantly, his breathing evened out.

This magecraft stuff wasn't so hard, I thought, collapsing into a heap next to Shirou, unable to find the strength to so much as lift my head from the top step towards the temple. You just had to focus your mana and tell it to do something. No problems to it. Why Magi ended up as a bunch of sociopaths that took generations to accomplish anything was beyond me. I'm starting to think they were just idiots making things way more overcomplicated than they needed to be.

The triumphant thought was cut off with a flash of light that I saw in the corner of my eye that was accompanied by the shout of, "Excalibur!"

The mana demand skyrocketed and the color leeched away from the world, before everything went dark. The last thing I felt was a gentle breeze on my face and the creation of a dozen new magic circuits.