C235: Draconic Growth
Alt Title teaser: Rider
Date published: 7/2/2025.
For the rider class, I had a few ideas for it but in the end I chose this one as its natural prowess and absurdity fits well with the current theme of the holy grail being different. So no, it's not medusa from the heaven's feel movies.
A little shorter chapter but still decently long. On the brink of passing out at my desk while writing this.
*********************************
While Rin had done her duty, there was another who had been off scouting for information.
Washio and his Rider class servant, after having breakfast, had traveled just a bit outside the city to reach a hill that overlooks it all. While on the trek, Washio attempts to make small talk with his servant.
"Um, Miss, If it's not too rude, may I ask what you wish for with the Holy Grail."
The servant wields a staff in the shape of cross while the bottom pommel also bears a smaller cross shape. The top half cross is a silvery white with the handle being red and the upper part wrapped by a piece of rope, The bottom cross bears a mix a color with the majority being gold with some red fabric mixed into it. She patiently speaks back to her master after choosing her words.
"Master, I have two requests for you, the first being not to be so nervous with me. I shall not harm you if you wish to speak more casually with me, we are afterall master and servant. Though for my second request, I ask that you not refer to this grail as 'Holy'. It does not possess the beautiful light of god nor the holiness of Jesus and thus is unworthy of being called a Holy Grail. To this point, I have no desire for it."
The servant lowers her cowl, revealing blue eyes with long purple hair that reaches down to her waist. Her outfit is a mix of conservative as well as revealing. A Short golden frilled veil rests upon her head which partially hides her perfect beauty. A white dress with pieces of red revealing her midriff and top of her chest. A short blue cape with pieces of golden thread covers her shoulders. With her previously mentioned staff, her simple but perfect appearance naturally demarks her as a Saint.
"Oh, I see, then may I ask why you had chosen to answer my call then?" He asks another question as he is truly confused now.
"I have chosen to appear instead of rejecting this contract due to the sincerity and purity I had sensed from you as you called out to me. I might still have had to answer your call regardless but I at least do not have to worry about your personality as you are now." She places her hands together in prayer as she happily chats with her master while they reach the peak of the big hill and she perceives the view of majority of the city and most certainly the waterfront from the harbor. She has a close fondness to the water, having traveled across a perilous ocean with the grace of god to help her as she was denied any other tool to row her small boat.
"It's beautiful, this land has truly not wasted the light my lord provided to them. Though there is a smudge near the water."At first she starts happily admiring the view but as she takes a closer look, she finds an assortment of factories near the waterfront. Her anger peaks a bit as she raises one of her hands which are clenched into a fist while her other hand holds her fist down. Giving an impression similar to the "we can do it" working Woman poster from ww2, "Master, I ask to go there and introduce my 'love' to the people so they stop polluting."
"AH, Miss Martha, I ask that you please calm down. You would only make a ton of enemies, ruining your saintly prestige. The workers are innocent but it's the companies themselves who are guilty. Besides, isn't it better to cherish it as it is now than ponder its loss later. I'm certain my father will do his best to ensure we maintain the current situation and not suffer in the future. Besides, we came here for another purpose." Washio works to calm Saintess Martha down as she does turn to look at the scenery, she takes a few deep breaths to calm down and accepts her Master's words.
"Very well Master, why have we come here in the first place?" She states with a tilt of her head.
"I am planning to sense similar magic signatures at or around your own level which is why I had you come with me. I also hope you can keep me sane as I do all this, I don't have full control of this power." he explains a bit as he also gives her a warning. She takes up her staff as she readies herself for whatever happens.
She watches as washio sits down to meditate at the front of the hill with his eyes closed, towards the city. He soon snaps it open and an oppressive aura begins to emanate from him as his normal human eyes have shifted into 2 slit-like scaleras. Martha recognizes the origin of the aura and begins to think to herself about her luck at defeating a dragon only to now become the servant of another.
Her fists clench in anticipation as Washio's head begins to shift from left to right as he memorized the most noteworthy mana signatures, he does take note of how his home is like a desert which only makes him mentally remark on his parents capabilities to completely hide their mana.
He begins to speak out loud on areas that he notices certain abnormalities though he does pause as he actually spots from far away, Rin leaving her home as one of the signatures also leaves her behind. He still notes it down as he can at least warn his father that his potential sister in law might be targeted by Assassin, and if not then perhaps he can negotiate with her.
His body trembles the longer he utilizes the dragon eyes he possesses until he slumps over himself, taking a few minutes to reorganize himself as he holds his head and slowly gets up.
"Ugh, my head hurts, and my eyes too, definitely used it too long when I've barely even gotten used to it." he groans as Martha does notice that his eyes are back to normal and his aura has been suppressed again. She lowers her fist of 'love' and the two make their way back into town once more.
"Where are we heading now?"
"I've detected a few mana signatures and I hope to investigate them before taking any proper action, at least, I hope we don't have to."
"Fufu, why does it sound like my master wishes to join in the fight?" Martha chuckles to herself as Washio rubs the back of his head.
"I need to pull my weight too, I can't just rely on you for my own wish when you have none of your own. Besides, I've got my own pride on the line. My wish shall be the culmination of all my effort in this war."
"Hmm hmm" The saintess nods in approval as she follows along, their first and closest mark, Ryuudou Temple.
The journey is overall not very long but most certainly tedious as for some reason, no one had been taking care of the surrounding grass and that turns it knee high which makes traversing slightly harder, it even affects the hiking paths towards the temple. Nevertheless, they arrive at around the same time that Rin's plans finish off Lancer.
Martha is in her projection state, aka invisible and semi formless to make it less taxing on Washio to traverse. She is walking in front of him, partially scouting and partially to be ready for any enemy ambush as they are moving towards the enemy territory.
As they approach, Martha distinctively feels the increase in mana as she acknowledges that this historical temple must have been built over the towns fallen ley lines, which demark it as a keystone location in Fuyuki. Though Martha understands that plenty of mana/Prana flows through this place, she can't help but feel something is wrong and the energy levels are not as high as she should recognize for such an important location.
"Master, if you were to take over this place, I could fight with ease and far less pressure onto your shoulders" She informs her master to which he just nods as his draconic senses are also informing him of a similar conclusion but even more as well.
"Show yourself gatekeeper. I have no pleasure to find a blade in my back if I continue up." Washio stops about halfway up the long staircase as his senses are warning him at full blast, a sharp sensation pressing against his invisible scales. As such he demands an explanation which in fact does draw out a certain someone. Martha reappears as the unknown servant also takes the stage.
A relatively tall man (5' 9") possessing deep blue hair and wearing a purple kimono and an Indigo haori over it with a sword strapped against his back. "You have sharp senses yet I find no sword on you. Can either of you even contend with my swordsmanship? No matter, depart from this place and you shall not fall under my blade." The kimono clad swordsman waves them off as he does not believe the blunt staff that Martha is holding could be a possible match against his katana.
Seeing his enemy appear, Washio contemplates if this is supposed to be Saber, yet he gets a strange nagging sensation that he is wrong. Contrary to the expected scenario, it is not Martha who steps forward with her fists raised but Washio himself. He speaks up as he takes a few more steps forward.
"Since you reject me from entering, you won't mind if I test myself against you to sharpen my claws?" he asks as his arms morph to grow scales and sharp claws.
"Some sort of demon? No matter, if you continue stepping forward then I shall only fulfill my duty and slay you. I shall not hesitate in my role as I only have a singular duty, and that is guard this gate"
"Relegating a servant to a door guard, how luxurious. HUP" Washio gets into a combat stance that his instincts tell him is most optimal for his draconic arts.
The swordsman does not make the first move and thus Washio must rush in first with his aura in full blast now due to entering the 'release' state of his inherited power.
CLANG
A sharp noise is heard as the manifested claws on Washio's hands clash against the unknown swordsmans blade. With a simple twist and turn, Washio is knocked back and sliding down the stairs. They exchange blows a few more times with similar results, though the kimono clad swordsman does grit his teeth in the final exchange before knocking Washio back once more.
"Do not shame me any further, I shall only recognize a proper duel, not whatever this fanciful sharpening you requested of me. Raw strength is unbefitting of such power that desires to draw me to my knees."
The swordsman vents his frustration but it's as if Washio never heard him as he rushes forth once more. With each exchange, Washio can feel his control getting better as more scales show themselves on his arms. Originally they only manifested up to his wrists but now after a total of 4 exchanges, it has spread up to his elbows. While his strength has not increased dramatically, his mind is gradually filled with new draconic spells as the hidden divinity within Washio starts to rise in anticipation. His inheritance shall soon reveal the truth of his heritage. The full divinity of Alaba which Axel inversely possesses as the owner of the territory.
**********************************
Word count: 2063
Drop a comment if you wanna judge my writing or the story. I'll try to respond, especially if you're confused or anything.