53 Assassin 2.

Mordred barely acknowledged the knife that protruded from her side as she turned around to make her way towards her master.

"NO" She roared as her master was staring at the arrow coming his way.

It's not that he was too scared, or even taken by surprise. By the time he noticed the arrow, it was already too late. A servant's arrow isn't someone a normal magus could dodge without more time.

As the arrow approached, only a couple feet out, from some distance away, another arrow was shot out. Smaller and less powerful that the first, it managed to knock the first arrow off course and it plunged into the master's shoulder.

Mordred felt a sharp pain as the small assassin had plunged another knife into the back of her shoulder, right in between two metal platers that made up her armor. It wasn't a perfect fit, the blade grading against the two plates to make its way into her flesh, but she definitely felt it.

Her eyes widened as another few arrows were launched. Her master was not in a good spot, the smog was taking its toll and now he was bleeding out with an arrow in his shoulder.

The other Archer that was hiding in the distance also let loose a few arrows, connected with them but one was different than the rest. One of the initial arrows was charged with quite a but of prana as it destroyed the arrow that was to intercept it on contact.

Mordred saw it coming down, she wouldn't make it in time as the assassin was still hounding her. So she did the only thing she could do, She threw her blade.

While the arrow was super charged, it was still just an arrow, when it met with her noble phantasm, Clarent, it easily withstood the arrow and knocked it away.

The assassin didn't let this chance go to waste, she pulled out another knife, one of the four she always carried. This one was more of a cleaver as Mordred could feel the power pulsating off of it. Like she was activating her noble phantasm or something similar.

Mordred's armor was strong, her legend had a much stronger effect on it than Alex's own. But at the end of the day, her armor was still only a mystic code and would not be able to withstand a full-on noble phantasm. Mitigate damage? Yes, but she would still take the full brunt of it. And with her master's current state....she didn't like the current odds.

She was not very proficient in hand-to-hand combat, she never had the patience to learn it. Sure, she would kick and punch all day but there was no rhythm or rhyme to her attacks. It was more of a brawler's style and she doubt she could match up to a servant that was as agile as the one she was facing, especially in this smog.

And that smile the assassin had on, it enraged her. That sinister smile like she was some sort of prey.

Mordred flared her mana burst, the red lightning bolting off as she threw a punch.

The assassin just laughed as she jumped back to gain some distance.

Jack the ripper's noble phantasm, Maria the Ripper.

When activate it can deal physical damage to the target, though if certain conditions are met then the power is increased substantially, if all conditions are met...then it is an instant kill. The blades will manifest inside the victims, vivisecting them according to Jack the ripper's legend.

The conditions are; It's night out. The mist is present. And….the victim is a female.

Though it's called an instant death, its actually a curse that can be fought against with high enough magic resistance. How much damage it would do though, that is up for debate.

The biggest downside to the noble phantasm, besides the conditions, is its 'wind up' speed. It takes a few moments to actualize.

It was in this moment that Mordred felt something whiz by her and impale itself into the ground.

An arm's length away, a sword was sitting there. Protruding from the ground and calling out to her.

It felt familiar to her.

She knew this blade yet at the same time, she didn't. Its form wasn't something she ever saw before, but it called out to her all the same. She didn't have time to think as her instincts were screaming at her to do something otherwise, she would be in a world of pain.

She grabbed onto the hilt and felt something permeate her body. Like the blade was judging her for some reason.

As she tugged, a part of her was expecting some kind of resistance, yet she didn't know why. But the blade…..it was pulled free like it wanted to be wielded. Like, she had been judged worthy and the blade would lend its aid.

A word appeared in her mind. An actualization of a legend. A noble phantasm.

Her helmet receded, something she did out of habit for her own noble phantasm.

She always trusted her instincts, so she would continue to do so. The blade demanded a large portion of her prana and she happily obliged.

She could feel the power in the blade, and she only needed a single word to unleash its holy wrath.

The assassin could also feel the power, maybe she was scared? Mordred didn't know as the assassin forcefully deactivated her noble phantasm, and tried to get away. She jumped onto a nearby roof and was about to make a break for it.

Assassin wasn't an idiot, she knew her noble phantasm better than anyone. Sabers were known for having very high magic resistance and she doubt that it would be a true sure-kill if she used her noble phantasm. But the power that new blade was putting out…..Assassin didn't want to risk it. She was already running on fumes since her mom wasn't a magus. She had to subside off of taking prana from magi in the city to sustain herself.

Her body began to astralized, but it would do her no good. Astralizing does not protect one against another spiritual being.

Mordred swung the blade upword in the assassins direction, a single word leaving her mouth.

"[Merodach]"

The blinding light was launched forward. A similar attack to it's descendant, Caliburn and even the mighty Excalibur. A blast of light to burn away anything in its path.

The sky lit up as the light shot into the clouds.

Mordred looked at the blade in her hand, confusion written on her face even as the blade disappeared back to where it came from.

She didn't question it for now, but instead went to check on her master. The mist had been forcefully eroded at the blast and now that Assassin was dead, she didn't have to worry about a knife in the back again.

Alex was standing a bit of distance back on a roof. A proud smile on his face as he watched his daughter.

He learned awhile ago that he could 'lend' items from the gate. There was no reason why another person couldn't activate the effect of a noble phantasm if the weapon in question acknowledged them. It was a small gamble, but he also had other avenues to protect her in the current circumstance.

His smile turned to a frown as his eyes looked upward. A bell tower in the distance. He could see the Archer servant up there. Their eyes met and Archer could easily see the glare being sent his way.

Chiron could take a hint, he dismissed his bow and astralized himself.

He then turned to look at the other archer.

Atalanta had been the one firing arrows to deflect Chiron's.

He gave her a quick nod as she turned around and astralized herself.

Alex convinced Ruler to head out with him as he discussed the current issue with Assassin. She had agreed that she needed to be stopped as she was in violation of the rules. Though the way it was handled, Ruler was not all too happy. He was really skirting the line of 'noninterference'.

He was aware at the 'anger' that Ruler had at the moment, but he was more concerned about Mordred.

Nothing had been fatal from what he had seen, but her master wasn't in good shape.

He took a few glances at Ruler then back down to Mordred. This wasn't lost on the saint as she just sighed.

"Just....go." She said with exasperation.

"Thanks master" He said with a smile as he jumped down.

He didn't take any precautions to hide his presence as he approached. Mordred still on guard, but her situation awareness was still as abysmal as ever as he got rather close before she noticed.

She was surprised to see him, then she realized what happened.

"…..That sword was you?" She asked.

Alex just smiled. He hadn't had the chance to explain his gate, they were more preoccupied with their own issues when the last spoke.

Alex held out his hand and a vial containing a red liquid appeared.

Mordred just looked on curiously as he poured it on the wound that had been opened by the arrow. The arrow itself had gone away when Archer left the area. As it was made by his prana, it could be dismissed when he left.

She visible relaxed as the wound seemed to close and some color came back to her master's face.

She dismissed her own armor before slumping down to the ground, she was exhausted. Her prana was running low already and her master needed time to recharge.

"Thank you…..father." She said after a moment.

Alex couldn't hold back a smile as he reached over and placed a hand on her head. She had a visible reaction, but accepted it nonetheless.

"It was a good fight." He replied.

He was being honest. It was probably her worst match up and if Archer hadn't interfered, he was confidant she could have come out on top.

She looked a little embarrassed, not used to being praised.

"I'm….not technically allowed to interfere, this was extenuating circumstances because Assassin had broke the rules...if another servant came around…." Alex said awkwardly.

Mordred could take the hint. She quickly picked up her master and walked towards where he sword flew off to.

While a servant couldn't auto-retrieve their weapon in normal circumstances, it also couldn't really be stolen. They could force it to astralized and retrieve it later.

She looked back at him one last time.

Alex gave her a small smile as she too felt her lips tug upwards.

"I'll see you later Mordred, go get some rest."

The knight of treachery disappeared into the distance as Ruler made her way down.

"I feel like you planned this." She said.

"I have no idea what you're talking about." Alex replied.

"You have many weapons from what I understand, and you just so happened to give her one that heavily drains her prana. It seems to me like you wanted to take her out of commission for the night, like you know something big is going to happen." Ruler stated, eyeing him.

"You're making it sound like I know the future, isn't that your job?" Alex replied with a chuckle and walked away.

She looked at his back as he walked away. "You just didn't want your daughter to get hurt….." She said quietly.

Ruler received a few revelations about what was going to transpire later tonight. Truly, this would be a war.