11 Saving a Damsel and Cooking

POV Change - Morgan Le Fay

I watched on as I saw the crowds running and charging away from the Giants. They trampled one another and I could barely contain my disgust for them. They run because they're scared. I can understand that. But to run because you're scared and leave behind your fellow people...it's the height of humanity's hypocrisy. They think life is so important yet cast other's lives away to preserve their own.

But I guess that's just how Humans are. I am one of them, after all, and I, just like anyone, am prone to my own bouts of selfishness and hypocrisy.

I waved my hand forward, calling on the power of the Mana inside of me, molding it into certain patterns and sending it through different routes to produce a blizzard that passed over the heads of the crowd and proceeded to intercept the Giants who gotten passed Gabriel.

I couldn't blame him. He'd already held off the majority of them. The three smallest and, subsequently, quickest Giants ran off to the side before taking the longer way around to the crowd.

Though, I'd also seen that they'd taken the chance to do that after Gabriel was hit by a Giant's hammer. My heart leapt up into my throat when I saw it but a few seconds later, he stopped himself from flying any further, his legs slamming into the ground with such a force that I could feel the shaking from all the way over here, a few hundred meters away.

Seeing his body heal would also mystify me. But seeing as he was okay, I turned away from Gabriel and back toward the three quick Giants who just ran into my blizzard.

I took control of the mighty ice storm and manipulated it to hit the Giants with hail the sizes of a horse's head and to redirect and confuse them on where they should be going.

They were tricky to redirect because of their keen senses still being able to pick up human scents but I kept it up. I only had to wait for the army to come and help. Or worst yet, Artoria. But thinking like that left a bad taste in my mouth.

I wasn't an attack mage and even if I was, I wouldn't try and take down a Giant with magic.

They were horribly resistant to magic. But I wasn't an attack mage. I centered my research into the arcane arts around illusions and ways to use magic to improve my life. That isn't to say I don't know how to use attack magic - I just threw a blizzard at Giants, after all. But my focus is elsewhere because unlike Merlin, we can't all be magical geniuses.

I kept the Giants inside of the ever-growing Blizzard until the majority of the crowd had evacuated into Camelot. But my mana reserved were running dry and the weather wasn't helping me keep the Blizzard active. It was quite the sunny day, after all.

It started as a slight pain behind my eyes. A pain I knew all too well. Mana Exhaustion. It's not lethal but that doesn't stop the pain from escalating until you stop using your Mana.

It spread, from behind my eyes, to the back of mouth and my throat. Then to my lungs and my chest. By now my eyes were already watering from the pain. A physiological action, one I couldn't stop despite having experienced this feeling before many times during my training. My body just wanted me to stop.

But I didn't want to.

I had to prove my worth over Artoria. Over the army. Over Merlin.

...Maybe then...

My thoughts were cut short when my vision went black. I reopened my eyes to see that I'd collapsed to the floor. Looking up, I saw the rapidly withering Blizzard. Lifting my hand urgently, I tried to imbue the storm with more Mana but pain racked through my system, stopping me.

The Giants, now free, looked around in confusion, their ugly, malformed faces contorting and their bulbous noses sniffing. Then they stopped and looked to Camelot...before turning to me.

...Ah. So...this is it?

I felt my body turn cold as I saw the disgusting and hungry-looking smiles on the Giants' faces. They were going to eat me. Chew my flesh off my bones and suck out all the bone marrow once they were done.

I...I really don't want to die but as the Giants slowly took steps toward me, I knew my time was coming and there was nothing I could do about it.

Every instinct inside of me screamed for me to run or to hide or to throw one last attack with my Mana. But I couldn't do any of those. I just...froze. Froze while watching the gigantic humanoids slowly walk toward me, one step at a time while laughing and speaking to each other in their native tongue.

When they got right in front of me, I closed my eyes. I didn't want to see the attack coming. At least this way I know I won't flinch.

But the attack I was waiting for didn't come. Only a smooth, deep voice that filled me with a sense of safety like I'd never known before.

"Now...how could I let these bastards kill my favorite princess, huh?" I opened my eyes and looked up. Just a small crack at first, so all I saw was a shadowy figure standing on top of the middle Giant's head. The sun shining down on him, casting his figure in a radiance that was almost blinding. Almost.

My eyes shot open, only to see the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen.

Gabriel's sword had pierced through the back of the Giant's head but that's not what I was talking about. What I was talking about was Gabriel.

Through the fighting he'd just been through, most of his upper body clothing had been torn off and it showed his iron-cast muscles, tensed and covered in ruby red blood which only seemed to make them look even better.

His musculature and physicality were...perfect. It was like seeing some divine. Like an angel had descended right in front of me.

His face, sharp and noble-looking, was still handsome even as it had blood covering it. But most of all, were his eyes.

They were like mine. A toxic, poisonous green that seemed to glow. His slit pupils were like clean cuts though his irises and just looking at them sent tingles down my spine. He seemed so exotic and pure right now. I could feel it. His enjoyment of the fighting, of the killing...I could feel it all. And I wanted to give him more.

As much as I could. So much that he'd want to thank me and thank me and thank me and never stop thanking me.

Looking into his eyes, the connection I'd been feeling all this time when he drew me...it solidified itself in my brain. In my chest. I don't care if he's one of Artoria's Knights or her mentor...Gabriel will be mine.

Mine.

Only. Mine.

By this point, the Giant's to either side of him had gotten over their daze as well and turned to attack him. But they were too late. Gabriel had already appeared in front of the Giant on the left, his knee slamming into the ugly face that had just been about to murder me, sending a visible shockwave through the air. A shot of elation ran up and down my spine, sending tingles all along my limbs and to my extremities as I saw Gabriel defend me. As I saw him killing my enemies.

I wanted more.

The Giant he'd stabbed through the head finally fell to the ground with a colossal boom that sent up a dust cloud that was quickly cleared when a head - the head of the Giant he'd just kneed in the face - went flying and collided against the Giant on the right, exploding in a bloody mist of gore and brain matter.

But that seemed to be a diversion as Gabriel dashed to the ground, barely a blur with the only thing about him showing up being a glowing green line that seemed to be his eyes' afterimages.

Once on the ground, Gabriel tore the sword from the collapsed Giant's head, lifting the titanic weapon like it weighed nothing before charging and crossing the distance to the last Giant quicker than I could react.

Two slashes. One across the stomach and a second that slashed from the face all the way to the groin.

And then the Giant seemed to collapse and go into shock. Gabriel walked up to it and with a smile that made me feel weird inside, he lifted his foot well above his head in a feat of flexibility that I didn't think was possible* before his foot blurred down and cracked open the Giant's head like a rotten wooden barrel filled with meat.

(*A/N - He's doing an Axe Kick. Something Doppo Orochi and Yujiro Hanma do a lot. Yujiro Hanma has some insane flexibility as well - the guy doesn't even move from his relaxed position when he lifts his foot and leg well above his head. Absolute monster, man. Which is why the MC is a monster as well~)

Then he turned to me.

Flutters and more tingles assaulted my body and I found myself torn in two directions:

Looking away and averting my eyes from his intense gaze while blushing, and unabashedly stare at him and all his perfection.

I settle on the former when I realized I was acting like a bitch in heat. How embarrassing.

"Princess Morgan," I heard him say, extending his free hand to me, an intoxicating smile across his face, "You okay?"

...Maybe I should act more aggressive?

I took his hand and he easily pulled me up, the act making me weak in the knees. The indecent thought of how this strength would feel being used on me in more...lewd ways, went through my head as I felt the hand and rough hands holding my own ever so gently. The very thought and possibilities that went through my head made me feel a little...well, I don't need to think about that any longer.

"I'm just fine now that you're here, Sir Gabriel~" my words came out as more of a purr if anything, my eyes being half-closed as I looked up at him.

He just smiled with understanding in his eyes. He seemed to understand my intentions and my thoughts, and I felt like I was laid bare before him.

...What an oppressive and yet simply wonderful feeling.

. . .

POV Change - Gabriel

...So she's finally decided to try and 'get' me, huh? Well, more power to her. I wonder if she could handle me? Haven't had much time to test out the downstairs department what with all the fighting and most civilians being deathly afraid of me because of the rumors going about Europe.

Though it wouldn't hurt to try, would it? Nah, I'm sure it'll be fine.

...Should probably check to see if 'that' stuff is acidic though. That's be a pretty gruesome way to go. Don't want a part of that.

Whatever.

"Do you wanna go back to Camelot, then? You look pretty exhausted," I said before letting go of Morgan's hand, though the blonde seem to reluctantly let go herself which made me chuckle. But when she realized what I said, she looked to me before behind me.

"You've dealt with the Giants?" she asked, looking into the distance but seeing nothing.

I put a hand on her shoulder and turned her around, "Yep, I dealt with 'em. Though one or two got away during the havoc toward the end, I'll go and hunt them down later. For now, let's get inside the castle, yeah? I'm pretty hungry after that," I laughed before walking forward and pulling Morgan along with me though the princess didn't seem to mind the contact very much.

I'd had the suspicion for as long as I'd first met her...but she really was attracted to me now. It's surprising, honestly.

Not because I'm ugly or anything. I'm about as handsome as they come. Especially when compared to men nowadays - hygiene standards are terrible in the 5th century, as you probably guessed. What I was surprised about was how she could still act the same way--no, how she seemed even more enthralled after seeing me fight and come back covered in blood. Though, I guess this is Morgan Le Fay we're talking about here. Not some common wench you'd find at any old tavern.

I guess it makes even more sense when you think about it like that. I mean, I doubt she's the most stable person upstairs...but then again, neither am I. I enjoy fighting strong things and killing them. Soooo...birds of a feather flock together, maybe?

Yeah, seems about right.

"Gabriel...how about I cook for you?" Morgan asked and my danger senses began to tingle. Looking down to her I smiled before chuckling.

"You aren't thinking about putting a love potion in it, are you?" I teased, seeing no need to beat around the bush when both of us clearly knew what Morgan wanted from me. But despite that, I was joking.

Which made Morgan's embarrassed blush and her averting her gaze quite troubling, "N-no! Why would you think I'd resort to such dishonorable means?!" she gave an indignant shout, pouting while she did so. Though while that was cute and looked especially erotic on a woman her age, she was about 20, it didn't erase the fact she got flustered over such a simple question.

Could it mean...

...Oi.

Noting to myself that I should try to not eat Morgan's food from now on, or to at least test if that type of magic works on me and my level of Physique, I replied with a laugh, "Well that's good to know," I said, patting the blonde princess' silky soft hair before I went into thought, "Morgan...I've never cooked for any of you, have I?"

"Hm?" she looked to me, her embarrassment fading like it was never there, as she went into a thoughtful pose with her hand on her chin, "No...I don't think you have. Why? Are you a chef as well as an artist?" she looked at me with shining eyes, to which I shook my head.

"No, no, I wouldn't go as far as to call myself a chef. But I could no doubt show you some good food that I've seen," I smiled, knowing that I hadn't seen them during this time--

That's right, I was going to show them food from the 21st century!

Now all I need is to find a crude frying pan and some beef...Ah, this is going to be fun.