[Altair Brando]
My eyes landed on the youngest of the Gorgon sisters, who was lying on the ground with half her torso destroyed.
Blood seeped from her wounds, pooling slowly on the cold floor. The sight of the crimson liquid made my hand tremble as I gripped the shaft of the stone staff.
I bit my lip hard, fighting the nausea and the nearly uncontrollable urge to look away.
I breathed deeply, digging my nails into my own skin as the Ruyi Jingu shrank until it disappeared.
The fact that there wasn't even a drop of blood on my body helped me maintain control. This wasn't the best moment for certain memories to resurface.
However, when I saw one of my favorite servants in this deplorable state, a complex expression formed on my face.
"Hey! What's with that face?" With blood running down her face, she raised her eyes to me, a fragile smile forming on her lips. "Come on, smile! You defeated a monster."
Trying to ignore the bright red staining her lips, I sighed at her words.
It wasn't the first time I'd taken a life, but I still felt a strange melancholy... perhaps because of the affection I held for Medusa?
Even the circumstances were different this time.
Things had become really complicated.
Even with the revulsion I felt for the scarlet liquid, I approached her without lowering my guard, crouching to her eye level.
"Like I said... I don't think you're a monster."
"Hahahaha! You say that, but you can't even look at me." She let out an amused laugh.
"No, that's not it." I raised my hand, timidly touching my cheek. "I have a slight... aversion to blood."
Medusa blinked her eyes in disbelief.
"I didn't expect that one, kid... especially considering your savage appearance."
"I'll take that as a compliment." I tilted my head, offering a slight smile.
"A savage charm is always welcome." She winked at me before parting her pink lips again. "This was a fun fight, but if I were in my Rider version, the combat would have been fantastic. It's frustrating that in this form, all my attributes were reduced, including my Noble Phantasm, which was sealed. It's a shame I couldn't properly entertain my partner." A slightly melancholic smile formed on her lips as blood continued to flow.
[She's right.]
[Compared to her Rider version stored in your mind, she seems much weaker.]
During our brief exchange I was able to confirm that.
The proof was that I never felt pressured by her. Perhaps the fact that I could predict some of her movements, thanks to Nahida's advanced thinking, helped a little.
Even so, it wasn't pleasant to see her in this state.
"Kid, you don't need to feel sorry for me. At least I got to have one last beautiful dance." Medusa rested her only arm on the ground, sketching a smile. "But as the winner, you deserve a reward." Gathering strength, she tried to move toward a wall.
Avoiding the blood, I moved my hand to help her.
"Truly a knight." She leaned against the wall, facing me with her golden eyes. "About your reward... first, some information. Compared to the Servant who did this to me, I'm just a grain of sand. In short, be careful with Saber. She's also in her alternate version, but unlike me, she's tremendously strong."
I widened my eyes slightly at the new character taking the stage.
The chance that this alternate version is the girl who pulled the sword from the stone and became King of Britain is quite high.
"By your expression, that doesn't seem like good news." A slight sadistic expression rose on her face.
Coming out of my stupor, I turned my gaze back to her and clenched my fist. A resolute expression formed on my face.
"Not really. It's more like someone dropped a brick on my head... but it doesn't matter... I'll defeat her in the third act." I raised my head arrogantly. "Think of it, Mademoiselle Medusa, as a form of revenge for her contaminating you."
"I didn't know you had such a romantic side." Her tone of voice was gentle and serene. "But there's still one last reward... kid, come closer."
Though a bit confused, I brought my face closer, only to feel her reddened lips brushing against mine.
Along with the soft touch of her lips, I couldn't help tasting blood.
My body froze as the simple kiss began to intensify. Her tongue slowly invaded my mouth. Her tongue coiled around mine with desperate hunger, exploring every corner, every nook, as if she wanted to devour me.
For about ten seconds our lips remained united in an intense kiss until they slowly separated, leaving a delicate thread of saliva between us.
A slight blush colored Medusa's cheeks. "That was a memorable kiss." She slid her tongue over her lips seductively. "Until next time... I hope you summon me properly, so we can have fun again." She threw me a wink as her body began to radiate a golden light. The glow enveloped her entire silhouette and, in the next instant, she dissolved into countless luminous particles.
The only evidence of her existence was my lips still marked by the metallic taste of her blood.
I pushed myself up and, with a trembling hand, brushed my lips, feeling the texture of the blood. At this moment, I was in a conflict of emotions... my first kiss tasted of blood... my breathing was ragged.
"You kissed her..." I heard Ritsuka say as she stepped forward, then felt her hand hit my shoulder.
But seeing my body frozen, as if time had stopped, she blinked her eyes.
[Altair, calm down and breathe deeply.]
I tried to pull in air, but it seemed too heavy and dense to breathe. The sticky heat stained my mouth, dripping at the corner of my lips.
There was only a small trickle of blood on my lips, but I felt as if the blood... hers was in my entire body again, like in the past.
Memories of when I destroyed my own life came to my mind in the same way they destroyed my existence.
I swallowed hard, distinctly feeling the metallic taste in my mouth.
My mind screamed, but my voice failed. The only thing I managed to do was back away, stumbling, while trying to wipe my lips.
Before my brain processed anything, I felt a soft touch on my lips.
With trembling eyes, I saw Raikou running her fingers over my lips, cleaning the blood.
"That insect violated the sanctity of my son's mouth." Though her face was gentle, her voice carried a clear murderous intent. "My son's purity belongs to me."
As she wiped the blood from my lips, she cupped my face, pressed my head to her ample breasts, and held the back of my neck.
My face disappeared between her generous and firm breasts, the soft skin yielding slightly under my weight, while the intoxicating perfume of her body filled my senses.
Feeling the warmth and natural scent of her body, my breathing began to stabilize.
At the same time, her hand squeezed tighter, fingers intertwining between the strands of my hair in a possessive gesture.
But at the moment, I didn't care one bit.
"Altair-senpai, are you okay?"
In the midst of nirvana, hearing Mash's voice pulled me from my enlightenment.
As I came down from the panic attack and grew calmer, I reluctantly pulled away from Raikou. "I'm fine." A little embarrassed, I nervously fiddled with a few strands of my hair.
Ritsuka looked at me for a few seconds, seeming a bit worried. She was probably the only one who saw my reaction.
But soon after, she wore a smile, moving to my side, giving a small elbow nudge.
"Hey! You kissed her."
"Senpai, I believe it was the other way around." Mash tilted her head to the side while Olga, with a cold expression, crossed her arms over her breasts.
Not paying much attention to them, with my head a bit dazed, I raised my hand and ran my fingers over my lips.
My first kiss tasted like blood.
Even with all the melodrama of the crisis... it was good... her lips were soft. But still, I would have preferred it to be a normal kiss.
I'll just blame my luck, which isn't the best.
While I was thinking about this, Mash took a step toward me, looking at me with her pink eyes.
"But Altair-senpai was amazing." Her eyes held a shine of admiration too pure for this world. "Even though I could see it, I still couldn't fully understand what was happening."
This girl had the power to calm any heart. She was practically a pink-haired angel.
"Thank you, Mash." I raised my arm to pat her hair. "In a short time, you'll be able to keep up." With my words, she gave an angelic smile.
Being illuminated by her smile, I pulled my hand back and looked at Olga.
"How are you?" I smiled, putting my hand on my chin, looking at her.
"...I'm fine... thank you..." She murmured, with her hands still holding the Monkey King's Robe. "But here's your..." She tried to hand it to me, but her hands trembled.
Apparently, going through the process of near-death affected her much more than I thought... or perhaps there may be more things accumulating in her than I know.
"Hey, it's okay for you to keep it for now." I just shrugged. It's not like I'll melt without my armor.
"For someone who sees the enemy, you're surprisingly lenient." Ritsuka gave a slightly provocative smile.
Before I could defend my honor, Olga's eyes gleamed strangely, staring at me with intensity.
"A kiss..." Olga murmured. "That's not good." She raised her gaze to me, almost with a pathological gleam passing through her eyes. Not just her, but also Raikou at my side crossed her arms over her chest, staring at me with an intense look.
"Why does the air seem colder?" Ritsuka hugged her own body, looking around, confused.
I rolled my eyes. Whose fault do you think that is?
"But setting that aside, I felt a bit useless." Ritsuka moved her hand, scratching her cheek.
"Senpai..." Mash turned to the red-haired girl.
"You don't need to pressure yourself. You were thrown headfirst into all this, just go at your own pace." I looked gently at the redhead.
"If our amazing personal Hulk says so, then it must be true." Ritsuka moved her hand, placing it behind her back with a smile.
I just got called Hulk again, didn't I?
I have nothing to do with him. As far as I know, my skin isn't green.
[Al, there's a magical energy signal very close to you!]
Before I could react, Raikou turned her head to the side, summoning her bow and arrow.
Without saying a word, she fired an arrow that whistled through the air.
"Hey! Hey! Mature woman, careful with that thing!"
A male voice echoed, and we saw a tall, muscular man, dressed in blue furs and carrying a wooden staff, raising his hands in a sign of surrender. The arrow had hit the ground right in front of him.
"Who are you?" Raikou asked, pulling the string back, while my claws extended from my fingers.
"Are you by any chance on your period?" He gave Raikou a mischievous smile.
She pulled the bow back even further, ready to fire again.
"Easy, My Lady!" He said, without any concern in his tone of voice. "I'm the Servant summoned for the Caster class in this Holy Grail War. Usually I'm a Lancer, but this time..." He used his free hand to lower his hood, revealing bright blue hair in a ponytail, crimson red eyes, and a silver earring hanging from one ear. "I'm Cú Chulainn. How about we have a little chat?" He smiled casually, showing all his teeth.
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A/N: Well... this isn't the end of our Medusa.
Don't forget to throw power stones and leave a review or drop a comment to motivate me.
(Cú Chulainn | Caster - Character Image)