C236: Caster Makes a Move
Alt Title teaser: Lost Hope
Date published: 7/6/2025.
I apologize if I got my days all mixed up and forgot to make/post this chapter yesterday.
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As Washio's mind is filled with new spells, he chooses to try some out. He takes the moment when the purple robed swordsman in front of him knocks him back due to Washio blocking the strike with the scales on his arms.
Washio waves his right hand in a semicircle while his left does a 'V' type movement. It's pretty confusing for Washio as he has to multitask both movements but luckily there are no incantations for it as he would be overwhelmed by the magic.
In truth, these movements are only part of the training wheel aspect of his newfound magic. Once he becomes far more proficient in it, he could simply stimulate his dragon heart to cast the magic for him which is how Alaba does it.
The swordsman frowns at the unconventional movement as his instincts scream at him to dodge when he witnesses that Washio's upper chest, neck and part of his face around the mouth begin to grow dragon scales. The boy himself seems to breathe in and then open his mouth to exhale a fume of deadly dragon breath at the mysterious man before him.
Taking the early warning, the man narrowly dodges the expansive breath attack with only a part of his left arm being burnt, this includes a portion of his robes on that arm which he decisively tears a portion off to not be further injured from the fire spreading.
The heat makes breathing hard for the swordsman as he chooses to retreat a fair bit out of the blast zone of the breath. On the other hand, Washio is more so shocked at the devastation of his breath attack, seeing the nearly molten steps but also seemingly becoming more confident in himself as his body takes in the heat akin to a fish in water.
Sure his clothes are affected but he finds that simply coating his body in his mana, that he can protect them from the melting heat. Martha on the other hand just goes around the burning pit as she stays a certain distance away from her Master to protect him in any emergency situation.
The battle soon resumes though with the swordsman's power decreasing due to his grip faltering slightly under his new injury, yet his gaze is ever resolute. He can slowly witness the 'creature' in front of him growing steadily under each blow and impact. He certainly wonders how far the individual in front of him can go while facing him.
While not a duel, it brings the swordsman some joy to see such a talented young man to grow under his 'tender' care. Yet he can feel the pull of his 'master' which makes him sigh in agony over having to stop holding back.
"Prepare yourself" The man named Sasaki Kojirou warns as his stance shifts while he ignores the pain on his arm to release a sword swing that then shifts to an inverse swing twice.
"Tsubame Gaeshi" The swordsman states as Washio blocks the first strike but that leaves him open as his arms are sent wide from blocking the blow. As such, the followup slashes all land on his chest and send him flying backwards, down the stairs.
"MASTER!!"
Martha rushes in to grab the falling Washio as the boy groans in pain, panting ever so as his arms shake from the force of the strike. Blood coats his hands as he weakly is terrified from the pain and blood he experienced.
Yet as Martha examines the wounds, she only finds a few minor cuts as the dragon scales from the previous breath attack have not dissipated yet. That is because for draconic spells that allow a non full blooded dragon to cast, they last for five minutes instead of being single use like human spellcasters.
"Master, you're alright, please calm down, Ill handle it from here" Martha attempts to calm Washio down yet as the Assassin class servant is stepping towards them with swords still drawn, she knows she must step in instead. Even if it was against her master's wishes, he is in no state to fight at the moment as his life likely flashed before his eyes just moments ago.
Martha stabs her staff into the ground just in front of Washio as she cracks her fists and initiates her charge. With mana coating her hands, her fist collides with the blade of the assassin's blade that is also coated in mana.
Typically, a Katana would have directly shattered under this force but since Sasaki is both the servant of caster as well as enforced by the Ryuudou Temple, he has an abundance of mana that surpasses his default 'E' rank potential in mana. This combined with his swordsmanship allows him to counter Martha who is only using her fists.
BANG BANG
The steps shatter under the powerful force but a strange state encompasses Martha. The mana coating her fists seem to gain Draconic scales and around her knuckles is a pair of eyes. As if her mana took on a new draconic form and perhaps even a bit of sentience.
Martha already knows that she possesses the power of the Tarasque that she had defeated in her mortal life. Yet other than summoning it for a powerful attack or using it's shell for defense, she had never been able to do something like this.
She can only assume that somehow her masters mana had triggered something in her, or his own mana, which is flowing through her had simply taken on a draconic nature due to his partial transformation. Regardless of the state, now when she punches ,the dragon aura around her fists bites down on the target.
This further deprives the Assassin of his meagre mana as he is gradually overwhelmed by the super powered force. Yet Martha does notice how the bracelet on his arm turns a different shade. From the original red color that she did not know was possible as their bracelet had been gold. Yet that red color flows down tic by tic until it becomes golden like the original.
Soon enough, Martha's fist soon shatters the blade as her fists are about to continue to jam into the swordsman's chest when Martha feels a disturbance.
She quickly turns around to find someone just next to Washio, a jagged purple linked to a red and black hilt is held by this person as they rest just beside Martha's master. The figure bears a purple dress only overshadowed by a noxious green cloak that hides the person's body.
"Stand down servant, unless you wish for your master to die" The hooded person commands as they maintain a binding spell on Washio, akin to fabric that constricts his movements. He struggles against the bindings but his lack of control and movement ensures that he can't attempt to cast any other new spells.
Martha holds still as she certainly can't let her Master be killed due to her inaptitude, she should have retreated the moment her master was injured, they were here after all, just to scout, not fight. Her master's inexperienced but hopeful demeanor had influenced her. It certainly didn't help that Martha's own combat experience is related to a single large scaled event where she fought a dragon monster of all things. She lacked in multiple ways compared to Sasaki Kojirou. She was simply…too pure for such a battlefield.
Contrary to what she thought would happen, the hooded figure did not order Sasaki to kill her with his broken blade but instead the figure approached her while dragging Washio around. "Know this child of dragons, I am Caster, the master of Assassin. You have failed against me and now the Grail shall be mine."
She spouts as she lets go of the bindings as Washio quickly gets up, only for the dagger in the cloaked figure's hands to stab Martha in the chest.
"MARTHA, NOOO" Washio cries out as he nearly rushes forward to save Saint Martha, only for a barrier to block his destructive attempts. The dagger in fact did not stab Martha but the Solomon circle binding her to Washio. The boy feels a pain in his hand as the command seals fade but not vanish. He is still a master, he simply lacks a servant for his seals to be effective on.
Martha feels a sense of powerlessness as she only possess a small fragment of Washio's mana in her. She would soon be relegated to being in her spirit form unless she got a new source. That source soon comes in the form of Caster creating a new seal and branding it onto Martha. It is the same seal she placed upon Sasaki Kojirou when she summoned him as her servant.
Martha feels a sense of shame as she failed in her duty but she can feel that due to her own overwhelming mana capacity, Caster is left a fair bit short on fully controlling her.
"You know, I might be considered a ruler class, but I am only a servant of my lord. I bring about victory under the light of my lord, his eternal radiance is where my life moves towards. Master, RUN." Martha harnesses the last bit of draconic influenced mana before unleashing it.
BANG CRACK "GAHAH"
She raises her fist and strikes Sasaki Kojirou in the chest. His guard dropped the moment his master arrived and took control of the situation, as such he didn't expect the sudden betrayal and he was gravely injured by the blow he almost had taken earlier. Though, the mana here is far less, it is still a powerful mana enhanced strike that shatters his ribs as well as internal organs while he is sent flying into the distance.
The commotion of the situation allows Washio to shamefully choose to heed Martha's words as he retreats to safety. Caster is locked in a battle of mana to claim full control over Martha which is a winning battle for her as Martha can only rely on Caster's mana to fight against her.
With all the enemies preoccupied, Washio retreats through the forest until he finds his home. He soon mentally breaks down as tears flow down his face. He had failed, and horribly at that.
Like a ghost in the wind, Axel appears besides his son, resting his hand on the heartbroken boy. The child soon passes out from both mental and physical exhaustion. Axel lifts the child up into his arms and brings him inside where Murasaki Shikibu is waiting for them with a treatment kit. She begins to write down all the issues she found before beginning the treatment on his injuries. Axel sits nearby as he goes over the whole situation in his head. His attitude is quite gloomy that when Kaoruko finishes, she moves to hug Axel from behind.
"Don't blame yourself for your inaction. You made a promise to be impartial. It's not as if the Clock Tower provided a list of all the masters with a 100% guarantee. You were shocked as well when you found out Washio was amongst those you mailed. " She comforts him yet Axel cant help but response with a guilty tone.
"I could have stepped in, using the excuse that Caster was about to use the Rule Breaker on him, shattering his seal. To prevent all danger from rising up due to his seal breaking. He is pure of thought for once. His wish is not for destruction or formed out of anger, but love." Axel vents his frustrations and regrets
"Then would it not be better to allow that love to shape his resolve?" Kaoruko responds in turn with compassion. Axel lifts his head in realization. "You mean" he questions with a hint of worry in his tone.
"Yes, let us train him as he should have been" She helps Axel up and away so that washio can rest up for the time being.
They begin to work out a proper plan for Washio's future. Knowing the importance of rest and training, but also the intensity of the current war they must set a proper time limit as Axel himself had set a single week for the current war. Which means that many are creating preparations for a grand finale at the end of the week. Washio must be ready by then as well.
The day passes into evening when Washio awakens. He experiences a flashback to his failure earlier today and tears flow down his cheeks once more as he covers his face with his arm, letting his sleeve absorb his tears. He is still wearing his tattered shirt but his injuries are now gone. He looks around the room and finds that it's the newer guest building connected to their home. He vaguely remembers arriving here before passing out.
He slowly gets up, before grunting a bit. While his external injuries have healed, his ribs were still injured. His muscles also remain sore from the extreme exertion he put his body through fighting the swordsman. Yet he still forces himself to get up and go see his family.
He opens the door to the courtyard where he finds his father standing in the middle of the space. He has a wooden sword in hand as he nods.
"Good, I didn't have you call you here. Come on over, your training begins now"
"Training?" Washio calls out confused as he is unsure what purpose training could have now that he already lost his servant. Yet his confusion only mounts as the half sleepy Sakura is brought in by his mother.
"Yes, we will be weakening the power of your seal. It is your job to learn to control it and take back your servant"
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Word count: 2353
Drop a comment if you wanna judge my writing or the story. I'll try to respond, especially if you're confused or anything.