Anomalies Of A Holy Grail War

Chapter 2 - Part 9 "Invisible Things"

Ayanokouji POV

Another week had passed. The problem Class B was having as well as the exams were finally over. Ichinose was able to bring relief back to the minds of her classmates.

A few moments ago, we had just discussed certain strategies to use against Rider. But the trouble lay in locating him and allowing ourselves to take him on in grounds we had an advantage in. That was the problem we had to tackle. We either need to find him in the whole area of Tokyo or for one of us to encounter him. We're very limited on either option so we parted ways still needing a method to locate him.

As we were heading towards the Tokyo Metropolitan Area through the dense forest shrouded in darkness coming from the old veteran's mansion, Hector and I found ourselves halting our trek.

"What is it?"

Euthemia was wondering what both of us were being wary of.

"It seems there's another Servant here missy, I'm sure of it."

"Where?"

"I don't know."

Lancer steeled himself for an ineluctable confrontation. He took and shifted to a guard position, staying close to his Master. I quickly leapt and propped myself on the upper branches of the taller trees. I took off my glasses and pocketed them as well as unsheathing my blade. A faint rustling could be heard. I quickly scurried around and found a disturbing sight.

The darkness of night shrouded the thicket, although my vision was fine, especially with the use of my Mystic Eyes. As I gazed upon the top of the sea of trees, it seemed as if there was an entire section of the forest moving towards us in a wave-like motion. The trees were being hacked down as if they were grass to a lawnmower, as something was approaching at an alarming speed that far outpaces the average car.

"It's coming from the East."

Lancer quickly propped himself in that direction. Second after second, the harrowing sound of the shrubbery was becoming more and more apparent.

"Grrr... rrrrrr... "

A distinct growling noise came from the said direction. As the trees in front of Lancer were shattered into pieces by the incoming ball of carnage, it should have given us a clear view of the source, but there was nothing that could be seen aside from the destruction.

Hector swiftly thrust his spear at his front. However, a flash of light caused it to stop its momentum and pushed him back a considerable distance. No, something had clashed with his spear. And we came to the same conclusion.

"This thing's invisible."

Clouds of dust formed as a result of their heavy clash. The cloud of dust moved along a certain axis, Lancer swung his spear relentlessly as if trying to hit every direction surrounding him. Sparks kept flying as the ground shook and the trees rattled while the invisible beast howled into the night. Was this thing a wolf?

I looked towards Euthemia and saw that she had covered herself with Volumen Hydrargyrum. It was a wise decision. Had she not done that, she would have been shredded to pieces. It would be fine to leave her at that for now. Vibrations travel well through the liquid, so she could hear what was happening on our end.

I once again turned my attention to the ensuing battle and found that the dust was starting to clear. However, Lancer was now in a tight spot. He had gained a general sense of the thing's general direction. It was a skill that he had undoubtedly acquired as a great warrior and tactician. Although... Every attack he had blocked and parried kept pushing him back with considerable force. The enemy's blows would put a heavy strain on Hector. He was simply outmatched strength-wise.