Lancer
Dɪᴀʟᴏɢᴜᴇ Cᴏʟᴏʀ ✦ #0EB94D || Tʜᴏᴜɢʜᴛ Cᴏʟᴏʀ ✧ #FFFA90
As the clouds scattered from the force of her aerial leap, Lancer could see her prey. He wasn't even facing her. It should have been easy to take his head, and yet... There were three arrows already knocked to his bow, and it was drawn back ready to release his shot at any moment. But how could he hope to aim three separate shots in the blink of an eye? Was he panicking, hoping he'd catch her with one of many arrows wildly loosed? There was no way that was his intention. She'd seen countless great warriors upon countless battlefields, and none would so hastily resort to such risky tactics, even against a powerful enemy such as herself. But then, that could only mean that...
He's bluffing! He knows exactly where I am!
This realization came not a moment too soon, as at the next instant, Archer spun into a rapid dive to the side, loosing all three arrows vertically as he did so. She'd already begun twisting her spear to defend herself, and intercepted the middle arrow almost without thinking, catching it between her lance's blade and its axe-like edge and shattering it to bits with a crack like thunder. However, the other two shots weren't aimed at her, but rather... Another deliberate miss? He was going to box her in! With her own remaining momentum carrying her right into the line of fire, there wasn't any way to pull back and disintegrate them as she had done before. If she spun with her remaining momentum, then she might be able to bat one out of the air, but just as likely, they'd bend around her and strike her directly. At the very least, there was no way to escape unscathed. Damn. She hadn't wanted to resort to this so early, but she couldn't risk being injured and picked off by this enemy. She'd have to use it. Her eyes shifted, focusing entirely upon the form of the retreating Archer. A shimmer of gold seemed to ripple through the air between them, as if the nature of the battlefield itself was being replaced by something else. Almost two miles away, Edward would momentarily feel a vast tug upon his energy as Lancer's true power was unleashed. She opened her mouth to speak its name, and then...!
Luck: E
The gold light faded before it could even reach its target. Lancer's eyes went wide in disbelief. There was no way... Why did she have to be matched up against such an unfair enemy?! Even if she tried to use her Noble Phantasm, she couldn't even activate it! Even she, who should have been able to resolve a battle such as this easily, could do nothing? Who the hell was this Archer?!
There was no time. The arrows were almost upon her now. She'd just have to do what she could. Twisting with the momentum of her initial swing, she released another burst of energy to flip her sideways, bringing down her glaive to strike the arrow aimed at her from beneath. It, too, shattered to pieces, but as she tried to raise the haft of her weapon to deflect the arrow striking at her from above... Only narrowly did she escape having her throat pierced completely through, as she managed to partially deflect it at the last second. However, it still wasn't enough. It lodged itself in her shoulder, burrowing cleanly through the scales of her armor and drawing blood. She stifled a cry of pain, but pressed on. The moment she let Archer get distance, this would all be over. She'd shown herself willing to use her Noble Phantasm, and it had been completely ineffective. He had no reason now not to just finish her off the moment he got the chance. There had to be something, some way she could strike him from the sky... And yet, he seemed aware of her every move, even if he couldn't see her. His arrows would seek her unfailingly, making evasion impossible, and she couldn't close the distance...
Eyes that unfailingly tracked their target. Projectiles that would seek her out no matter what. But what if he could only see her with his eyes? In that case... Instead of fighting as she was accustomed to, why not try her luck on his terms?
She leaped forward, reaching up and pulling out the arrow lodged in her shoulder as she did so. She'd be needing this. Once more, she darted upward into the cloud cover, as if trying to break line of sight to make her getaway. However, in the moment she disappeared from sight, she ran the bloodied arrowhead along the haft of her spear, tracing four runes upon it in her own blood.
ᚨᚦᛊᛒ
A simple rune chain. Ansuz serves to awaken the power of the inscription, while Thurisaz, the rune of giants, converts this energy into raw physical force. Sowilo here stands in opposition, serving to invoke revenge and retribution, which is given a vector by her blood. Berkano is used as a "seeking" rune, giving direction to the spell. As a result, the goal of the spell is "vengeance," and it will seek the one who drew first blood, aiming to deliver a blow with tremendously amplified force. However, it has low conceptual priority, as the hastily constructed runic chain doesn't have any particular meaning to lend power to it.
She reached the apex of her flight, and cast her spear violently upward, before kicking back off and rebounding downward as though falling. As she fell back through the clouds, she began drawing more runes upon her gauntlet, hoping that she'd have enough time to complete her defenses before he struck. She'd play up her injury, make herself an easy target, and prepare to receive his finishing blow. If she could just withstand or evade one shot, then while his attention was fully fixed upon her, he might not even notice the spear descending from the heavens, already turning about to round upon him, its edge stained with her blood and thirsty for his...
Mira Grace
Dɪᴀʟᴏɢᴜᴇ Cᴏʟᴏʀ ✦ #8AB8E6 || Tʜᴏᴜɢʜᴛ Cᴏʟᴏʀ ✧ #EBB40E
Mira gave a quiet squeak of surprise as Saber hoisted her up. She wasn't used to being approached by others, much less being bodily carried, but the sensation wasn't necessarily unpleasant. Even so, that wasn't what she was worried about. Saber had been so badly wounded defending her, and yet she was still struggling to carry her to safety. Was that really alright? Nevertheless, she couldn't bring herself to protest. The Lancer-class Servant had only been stopped from killing them both by the intervention of a third party - was it Archer? There were so many enemies, they were almost surrounded... There really was no choice. The outside wasn't safe. Retreat, regroup, heal Saber's wounds before it was too late...
"Just a little further," She murmured to herself, the familiar woods giving way to the grounds of her mansion. They were almost there now. Soon they'd be safe...
Elsewhere, the flock of ravens that had circled over the crater quickly began to disperse across the sky. A few headed towards the Church, while others scattered over the city, and three of the swifter members of the flock began circling around the tops of nearby skyscrapers, their red eyes watching the unfolding battle with keen interest.
At the church, a single, large raven fluttered in through an open window, keeping its distance from the altar and perching instead upon one of the far pews. She'd had a feeling they might not be able to make it to the church, so she'd prepared a brief message in advance, which the bird held in its beak. Now, if she could just find the overseer and give it to them...