Lancer
Dɪᴀʟᴏɢᴜᴇ Cᴏʟᴏʀ ✦
#0EB94D || Tʜᴏᴜɢʜᴛ Cᴏʟᴏʀ ✧
#FFFA90
Her deception had failed. As she fell through the clouds, her Rune-enhanced vision caught sight of Archer stopping his flight approximately a mile away. He knocked two arrows to his bow, but as he fired, he twisted his aim, sending one of the two projectiles streaking upward and behind him. So, his perceptions really were infallible. Not only had he seen her discard her spear, he'd managed to follow its movements perfectly without even needing to divert his attention from her. But it was no matter, right? Her spell had already taken effect. Under its guidance, her lance would seek him out, no matter where he ran or how it tried to divert it. Unless... No, wait! As the two projectiles were about to collide, Lancer saw what was about to unfold. His arrow... It was going to strike the runes she'd engraved upon the spear's haft. If those were disrupted, then the entire spell would fail. Damnit... So he'd even seen through her tricks that far? Or perhaps his instincts were simply that good. Regardless, she had no choice. As his second arrow nearly reached her, she called back her spear once more, and it crackled and vanished in a streak of lightning just before the arrow could connect.
Originally, she'd intended to use the array on her right hand - Ansuz encircled by four Sowilo runes - to release a destructive burst of fire and hopefully intercept her enemy's coup de grace. However, he'd done something unexpected. Instead of a powerful shot that was sure to connect, he'd simply fired another simple projectile, evidently falling completely for her deception of being nearly crippled and unable to defend herself. True, his last shot had pinned some of the tendons of her left arm. She couldn't raise it in order to wield her spear. But even so, so long as she had at least one hand to hold her spear, she could still fight. With her first attack having failed, there was no reason to waste a valuable advantage on simply defending herself.
Her spear flashed back into view, appearing within her open hand as she twisted in mid-air, battering his final arrow from the sky. Once again, she'd been underestimated. Rolling sideways, she abruptly stopped her fall, bracing herself against the unseen air and leveling her spear like a knight about to charge. As her enemy crowed out his victory, Lancer's beautiful face contorted into a mask of rage. "Feel no shame," he said. How could she even begin to do such a thing? She'd sworn upon her life that things would be different, that this time, she'd protect her master and achieve lasting victory, no matter what. And yet... And yet...
She couldn't overtake him, even with her great speed. She couldn't strike him down, even with her vast power. She couldn't outwit him, even with her vast knowledge. She couldn't even sway the odds in her favor, regardless of her sacred right. It was disgraceful. Shameful. Unseemly. Disgusting. Her master was watching her, and she was bringing this shame upon his and her cause by being so soundly bested? Utterly unforgivable! She would never saddle her beloved lord with the ignominy of defeat... She wouldn't allow this infuriatingly smug bastard to make a mockery of one such as her...! Even if it all seemed hopeless... there was still one tool she had left at her disposal. There was no longer any reason to be hesitant. If she allowed this prey to escape her grasp any longer, he'd surely be the end of her, if not today then tomorrow, or the day after. This chance to claim his life would never come again. For the sake of her master, and for her pride...!
"You'll pay... You'll pay for this!" She hissed, her fist clenched tightly around her spear as it trembled in barely contained rage. Sparks seemed to fly from the head of her spear, jumping higher up and into the clouds and spreading across the sky. Tempestuous winds flurried around her, as if her fury had become incarnate in a sudden gale.
"Did you think I would simply flee like a dog with my tail between my legs?! I swore to my beloved that I would show him the farthest limits of my power, that I would protect him no matter the cost... I won't be bested by merely the first of his enemies...! For the one who commands my everything, nothing short of victory is acceptable!" Her roars of anger slowly changed their tone as a wild smirk broke forth on her face. Upon the haft of her spear and the back of her gauntlet, nine runes sprang back to life, flashes of fire erupting from her hand and encircling her spear, which seemed to shiver in anticipation as if alive. Miles away, upon a distant rooftop, Edward might already be feeling it. Lancer's prana intake had skyrocketed from almost the moment the fight began, but the amount of energy needed for her upkeep now dwarfed even that. There could be no questioning in his mind what she was about to do.
"You want to exchange gifts, Archer?" She drew back her head and gave a raucous laugh, her golden hair whipping wildly around her and her eyes flashing with malice.
"Very well! In that case, I'll give you oblivion!" The moment she spoke those words, almost too fast to be seen, she dropped into a crouch and hurled herself forward one last time. The distance between them was almost a mile, but as she'd done initially, she accelerated from a motionless stance to her top speed almost instantaneously. To any eyes less keen than Archer's, it would almost have been as if she simply disappeared. This was her only advantage over him - her acceleration.
And yet, even though he couldn't reach his top speed as quickly, she knew. He'd made enough of a distance between them. He had time to dodge. At least, he would have... if this was an ordinary attack. But this blow wasn't just one dealt with the very utmost of her strength, but rather, served to conceal the fact that her earlier runic spell of vengeance was still active. While it lacked the authority to boost the power of this attack by any significant margin, that wasn't her intention. Rather... Even if he dodged, this attack would still seek him out! And unlike before, regardless of the distance between them, this blow was still one she'd deliver herself. His instinctive defense against her cast javelin would do him no good here!
"VALKYRJA DÓMR: EXPUNGING LIGHTNING!"
As she thrust her spear, something changed. The swirling vortex of power around it had previously been drawing inward, as if harnessing the very lightning to incorporate its destructive power into itself. Yet, the moment she thrust, the weapon in her hand could no longer be called a "spear." Rather, it was as if the thing she wielded was "lightning itself." This unmistakable power could only come from the authority of one being. And, even if the weapon she wielded was not the same as the famous Gungnir from which it was derived, its power was still the same: the divine lightning of the heavens! At the same moment, the runes inscribed upon her hand sparked fully into view, releasing a burning wave of flames that surrounded the lightning in her hand, bursting forth in a radiant double-helix that tore across the sky in an instant, thunder booming in its wake as this heaven-spanning spear of lightning sought its prey above all else. The distance between them no longer mattered, and even assuming he was able to move faster than the lightning and get out of the way, it would follow him relentlessly! From this, the peerless blow of a servant of Odin, she would permit no escape!
Valkyrja Dómr: B-Rank, Anti Unit
Lancer thrusts her spear, an inferior derivative of Gungnir bestowed unto the Valkyries, which becomes lightning to strike her opponent, even at great distance. Although seemingly a very simple attack, its power can be boosted through the usage of Runes. Its effects may vary slightly depending on what runes are used to modify it. However, only highly advanced runic chains can actually increase its power by any noticeable margin, although additional effects such as tracking or the like can be added. Despite its formidable power, it still seems incomplete somehow?
Mira Grace
Dɪᴀʟᴏɢᴜᴇ Cᴏʟᴏʀ ✦
#8AB8E6 || Tʜᴏᴜɢʜᴛ Cᴏʟᴏʀ ✧
#EBB40E
Mira tumbled to the floor as her servant fell, barely having enough time to give a shocked cry before she was dropped from Saber's arms and landed roughly on the floor of the entrance hall. She sat back up, rubbing her head, only for her confusion to be greeted by the sight of her Servant lying collapsed and bleeding on the floor. Frantically, she scrambled over to Saber's side and, after a moment of struggling with feeble hands, managed to turn her over. This was bad... Her wounds had nearly opened fully to the surface from her frantic sprint back to the mansion. She had to do something quickly, but Saber's body was so different from that of her other familiars, it was difficult to know where she should even begin working. Her earlier panicked attempts at first aid hadn't helped much, but even now that she had the time to do things more carefully... It seemed as if her container as a Servant gave a defined form to her existence, though... So maybe, if she just input prana into that formula... Sure enough, Saber's wounds began to close where they'd torn open externally, but the internal damage wasn't going to be so easy to fix. She'd gotten back to safety... but at what cost?
Elsewhere, everything was a blur. Her familiars couldn't make out much of the battle between Archer and Lancer - they were simply too fast. But then something changed. An enormous power, and a sudden flash of lightning... That was definitely a Noble Phantasm. She did her best to store her memory of what she'd seen, making a note of investigating it later. For now, though, she had an important job to complete. In the church, the raven caught sight of the blue-haired girl, and immediately hopped down from its perch. Opening its beak, it dropped a small roll of parchment tied with string onto the floor, and nudged it towards the overseer. Its contents were short and simple - as they had to be, given the limited size of the paper. Nevertheless, Mira hoped her message would be clear.
I, Mira, have summoned Saber successfully. I couldn't make it to the church, but I'll be fighting.With that, the raven gave a caw, and fluttered back into the air and out the window. Its work was completed.