53 Any Takers?
Fuyuki, Japan,
Shinto District,
"Well then, now that that's done with..." Roman Trambelio turned about abruptly, an amused smile on his face and lightly clapped his hands together, completely ignoring the fact that he'd torn asunder the very ground, "Wo waren wir?" The Magician's tone was relaxed and completely calm, as if his actions just moments ago were only par for the course.
"..." Kiritsugu, having earlier attempted to disrupt Roman's actions, now fell to his knees, his arms limp and his gaze downcast... No words came out of the Magus Killer's mouth, what was he even supposed to say?
Reality had forced Kiritsugu Emiya to understand just how outmatched he truly was, he had never stood any chance against the man to begin with.. How could he have? Roman Trambelio... was a Magician and he, Kiritsugu, barely passed as even an average Magus... There was no way to delude himself any longer, no one, not even servants would be stopping the Trambelio now staring down at him.
"Though, I suppose I'll admit I might have gotten just a little bit carried away." Roman placed a hand on his chin, the other behind his back, and surveyed the 'collateral damage' of his attempt at felling Gilgamesh..... unfortunately, the death was a waste.. Complete erasure meant no magical energy would be given over to the Grail, "This was a failure...."
The Magician was even willing to bet that Gilgamesh could have somehow survived even that had he seen it coming... Thankfully, he was too arrogant to do so.
"What man... could do this?" Saber, Artoria looked around in mild shock... No, that was a severe understatement, she was well aware of the potential damage certain beings could cause, she'd seen something resembling this when battling her uncle Vortigern for the throne but still... Her uncle hadn't been a human then. Precisely why it was shocking that a 'human' could accomplish such destruction... It was unbelievable.
The British King looked around slightly lost, trying to but failing at rationalising what had happened... There was just no way right? Or was she the weird one? With Excalibur in hand, Artoria Pendragon walked forward with slow, heavy steps soon arriving right at the edge of the newly created 'ravine'.
The rain sliding down her face was barely registered and her Master went ignored, she knew Roman wouldn't harm him.
"..."
A bottomless pit and darkness, that was all Artoria could make out even with her heightened vision.... It made her sick to imagine what this would do in a populated region, or Roman truly ran wild.
Artoria's grip on Excalibur loosened and none could really blame her, her Master had already lost hope for any kind of victory and while she was ready to fight to her last, the British King knew to realise that anything she did would be well and truly futile.
"Oi....Ooiii... Yo dumbass... No? Oh ja, yo cuck."
A bit to her side, Roman could be seen crouching down next to Kiritsugu, poking the man's forehead with a pensive smile on his face.
"Doesn't seem to be working... Hmmm.. is he broken?" Roman mused by himself, not really concerned with how it would look to others, "Well Kiritsugu, you're going to be of use yet. You lucky you, cheer up." The Magician continued his useless attempts at getting a reaction out of the dull eyed Magus Killer. Not now of course, Kiritsugu would be of use to Roman a decade or two later, granted he survived.
"Rom-...R... What?"
"What happened here?"
Roman ignored the two new arrivals, namely Waver and Iskander, instead narrowing his gaze at Kiritsugu, "This is rather pathetic isn't it? Imagine PTSD, couldn't be me."
"What the.....hell?"
Roman again ignored the new arrivals, instead opting to press a finger against the Magus Killer's forehead, "That's really all the time I have, can't really fill in for your father... Here's a vision of the future. I hope it... persuades.. you to just take Irisviel and return. You can try again at the next war, actually give yourself a chance at winning.. Hm?" Closing his eyes, the Magician smiled warmly, patting the dark haired man's shoulder, "Good luck and, stay out of trouble ja? Say hi to Irisviel for me, you'll find her to be healthy again..."
"R....Roman, do you know what...."
Ignoring the lost Waver, Roman stood up, having hidden his magical presence again, and picked up his cane. With his other hand, the Magician fixed his dark coat, "I think that's the longest I've ever spoken."
"Master! Master! You alright?! That priest did something with his command seals!"
Nagao Kagetora crashed into the ground just as Roman whispered something into Artoria's ear, and bore witness to the Saber nodding absentmindedly and picking up her own Master before leaving, "What was that?" The Lancer asked, a pleased smile on her face.
Sharply contrasting with the reactions of most other servants, Kagetora was only excited by the grand scale of the destruction that had taken place in her absence.. Of course she'd instantly decided that it was caused by her Master. Who else could do it?
Roman looked at his servant only for a moment before, "If it isn't Miss I Always Cost Others With My Lack Of Caution, you've failed quite badly this time. One would think you'd learn your lesson after how you failed in life." The Magician sighed, opting to make for Waver instead, a slight limp in his step due to the fact that he was again walking with the help of a cane.
Her Master's words struck the Lancer like thunder, glueing her to her spot and freezing her smile, "I request that you be more reserved...." It wasn't like she didn't realise that was her fault now was it? Why'd he have to be so damn stingy about it? Oh well.. She probably deserved it.
"Nein."
"..." Kagetora sighed loudly, walking off to the corner and drawing circles on the ground with her finger, the War God of Echigo oozed a depressed aura, depressed at having her confidence get the better of her once again.
"Waver, I have a secret to tell you..." Roman all of a sudden talked seriously, clasping both hands together as he stood in front of Waver Velvet.
The young Magus stuttered a bit, stumbling a step or two back before looking up to meet Roman's gaze. It was something glaringly noticeable yet often unnaturally ignored, Roman was tall, taller than most of his peers but then again, it did make sense. The man's father was absolutely massive, some of that had probably slipped through. Waver strangely remembered the time Lord McDonell had passed by him, making him feel like a child next to a bear.
"I'm actually...."
Waver gulped, "You're actually...."
"Your father."
Waver Velvet audibly slapped his forehead, groaning in annoyance, "Roman, grow up, come on. You're too old for this."
"You know you love me."
Waver groaned again, choosing to ignore the very existence of the man he called one of his oldest friends..
Roman shrugged, his 'joke' had done it's job. Bringing Waver out of his shell shocked state had been a rather easy task for the Magician, "Now then, we're enemies aren't we?" A small grin etched itself across Roman's face as he raised his hand, the finger tips catching crimson fire, "Is it safe for you to stand here like that?"
"Yeah, that's not going to work." Waver deadpanned, barely amused and well aware of the fact that Roman would never actually try to seriously injure him, "Let me guess the motives here."
"Oh?" The Trambelio slightly tilted his head, visibly amused.
"You got bored of your initial attempt at the war and thought it'd be 'cool' if all servants just fought and killed each other."
Roman averted his gaze, "...Not really..." The brat was learning!
"..." Waver sighed, done with his fellow magus' childish antics... No, calling them that felt wrong, they were too organised and well controlled to be called that, "Ugh, whatever. Rider, engage Lancer, win." He relented, burning away a command seal to give Iskander access to the full extent of his abilities, "No matter what."
"You got it!" Iskander flexed his biceps, grinning widely, "Oh and Magician, no hard feelings... I had seen this coming. One with ambition such as yours, it never would have made sense for there to be a peaceful resolution!" The King of Conquerors raised a hand to the heavens, drawing his blade and taking a hold of the reins of his bull drawn chariot, "For what it's worth, I much prefer this outcome!"
There was no way he would be satisfied with an unconditional surrender!
"Kagetora, here's your chance to redeem yourself." Roman looked down at the crouching Lancer with an unfeeling gaze, "Spam that NP." He gave her a thumbs up.
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