Chapter 2: 02 - [Azi Dahaka]
"I, uh, I'm Shirou, sir, Saber, sir...Emiya Shirou..." He didn't even know why he instinctively addressed the man as sir, but it just felt that he needed to.
"You got stabbed in the heart by Setanta, did you...?" Abel said as he pointed at Shirou's bloodied shirt.
"Yet you survived, lucky you..." He praised, though, for some reason, he shook his head in disappointment at the same time.
"Even with that bulging gay spear of his, that kid can't even get the job done. What a failure..." The man muttered just loud enough for Shirou to hear.
"Uhm, are you going to kill me...?" Shirou said with a gulp as he tried to take a step back, his hands clutching the bloodied part of his shirt as the teenager briefly looked down at the wound, wondering why it had stopped bleeding.
"Hey, I said don't be afraid!" Abel said as he casually slapped the teenager's back with a laugh, though the force was enough to disorientate him.
"We'll work on your posture later, kid..." Abel said with a grin as he backed off and paused, looking around as if he had heard the flapping of a nearby mosquito's wings.
"Seems like there's still 2 other goons left nearby, want me to take care of them?" He said, glancing slightly at the still dizzy Master.
"Oh, uh, they're dangerous...right?" He asked quickly, apparently realizing that this strange tattooed man was actually on his side.
"No shit," Abel responded immediately as he drew his great blade.
"Stay here for a bit, I'll finish them off." He briefly said before walking out of the storage room.
"Wait!" Abel heard the teenager's shouts behind him but couldn't care less.
The tattooed ancient man casually strolled outside at a quick pace as the sound of his big black sword scraping against the floor could be heard.
He was just dragging that damn thing like it was an ordinary hunk of metal and not some legendary weapon of draconic power.
"Oi, come out, come out, you! This Saber ain't gonna satisfy himself, ya know!" Abel shouted with an overly excited grin.
It didn't take long for a response to be made as a few silent moments later, the tattooed man suddenly swung his great blade with deadly speed and precision.
-Clang
The collision of metal resounded in a clang as Abel swatted a projectile out of the air with his blade.
The sound of lightweight metal crashing against the floor attracted his attention as the marked man gazed down, the projectile that had been used against him revealed to be a kind of Asian throwing knife...one that was the size of a short sword rather than a mere dagger.
"So you must be the Archer, huh...?" The man said with a maniacal wolfish grin as he tightened his hold over the black blade.
Opposite the man with many marks was another individual, a warrior of some stature, Abel instantly knew for certain.
It was a heroic spirit in red clothing, the Archer-class Servant of this Holy Grail war. He stood tall, not that much shorter than Abel himself, with tanned skin, vaguely Asian features, a lean yet muscled appearance, and pure ashen white hair.
And in the Archer's hands, was not the expected bow or ranged weapon for that matter, but rather, a silvery sword gleaming with a soft purplish aura.
"I thought the Archer class was supposed to be filled with Archers?" Abel mused out loud with a soft chuckle, "Do you just throw your swords or something and call it a day?" He asked, genuinely curious and a little amused at his opponent's choice of weapon.
"Yes, actually." The Archer said with a nod as he adopted a battle stance, "And who the hell are you supposed to be...?" He continued with a question of his own, a confused frown marring his tanned face, obviously curious regarding Abel's true identity.
"Saber, duh. Nice meeting ya." Abel responded with a grin before his form launched into action, the blade moving so fast that it slashed through the very wind.
-BAM-KABAM
Bursts of wind splashed against the surroundings as if they were a pair of pirate ships bombarding each other in the Pacific Ocean, the blades wielded by the pair of Servants moving faster than the human eye could properly keep up with as cracks spread through the earthen floor.
Archer slashed quickly, aiming for the Saber's left thigh but was only met with air as he immediately took an instinctive step backwards, narrowly dodging the kick that would have surely broken his jaw had he been more careless.
He held out his sword in a defensive manner, the blade made to protect his face and torso as it was soon met by the much larger black blade wielded by Abel in a loud clang.
Archer gritted his teeth as his hold on the sword's hilt tightened, resisting this overwhelming strength that was pushing down on his blade.
The Saber showed a predatory grin as he saw a sliver of opportunity, one that he immediately took advantage of by pushing with all of his strength and releasing a howling roar like a wild beast.
The pair of blades were pushed down and into the side, as Abel stepped forward and delivered a devastating strike of a fist, one that instantly made a cracking sound as it collided with the Archer's left cheek.
-BAM
Archer stepped back to make some distance as he gripped his jaw and frowned heavily, releasing a spit full of saliva, blood, and a few broken teeth.
"Your way with the blade is rather familiar," Saber remarked with an acknowledging smirk as he deflected a sword strike only to redirect his blade mid-slash straight to the Archer's torso.
-Shing
Blood painted the tip of Abel's black blade as a piece of bloodied flesh and red cloth fell to the side. The Archer had successfully dodged most of the attacks, yet obviously did not in that instance as the bloody wound was out for all to see.
"Who taught you, kid?" The Saber asked with a curious tone, searching his memories on who it was that he remembered fought like this.
"...A knight did." The Archer gave a short answer as he eyed the blade wielded by Abel with an appraising gaze.
That thing...Archer could swear that there was more blood and gore on it just moments before, was the sword absorbing his blood? Drinking it? What Noble Phantasm was that? A sword that drinks blood?
It seemed familiar, maybe this Saber was a recognizable figure, after all...
What Archer knew for certain was that this Saber was most likely a heroic figure from either the Bible, some Mesopotamian legend, or Zoroastrianism.
It was a pretty obvious fact considering the Saber's distinctly archaic appearance and choice of fashion, there was also the marked man's overwhelming physical strength, a common feature of Biblical heroes, and his unpredictable way of fighting...
"A knight? Huh, well, what a piss poor job that guy did." The Saber said with a chuckle.
"You fight like a village bum, and you're not even using any of your Noble Phantasms properly..." He said, viciously lampooning the enemy Servant as if they were a countryside donkey.
"...But that's the thing, I know you're doing this on purpose...why?" Abel asked with an innocent smile. Archer didn't know why, but he felt a chill crawling down his spine when he saw that damned smile.
"I don't know what you're talking about, and I don't even know what my Noble Phantasm is..." Archer said with a completely straight face, but couldn't help but sweat slightly as he felt that the man in front of him could see past his deception like it was a mere layer of transparent glass.
"..." Abel didn't respond, but his hold over the black blade visibly tightened.
"...You think I'm joking?" He said, gritting his teeth in a terrifying grin.
"Excuse me?" Archer said, baffled.
"Well, if you're not gonna use that Noble Phantasm of yours..." Abel paused as his grin widened. Using both of his hands, he lifted the great black blade and pointed it to the sky.
"I will." He said with a disturbing calmness as the blade spasmed and vibrated.
Archer widened his eyes as he realized the obvious and imminent threat before him. This guy, this Saber was going to use his full-power Noble Phantasm just a few moments after first contact...who the hell uses their special attack right away, what the hell?
"The dormant seal that will cease..." Abel started the chant as Archer tightened his hold on his own sword, getting ready to book it.
But it was at that moment that the Archer in red stopped dead in his tracks.
"Archer, there you..." A teenage Japanese girl with jet-black twin-tails said after she approached the scene due to all the loud commotion, though her eyes widened as she paused, witnessing the marked man holding the giant spasming blade in his hands.
"Rin, no, damn it, you need to leave, NOW!" Archer's form blurred with inhuman speed as he rushed to his Master's position.
Not letting the girl voice her opinion on the matter, the red Archer yoinked her up in a princess carry and attempted to vacate the locale with a frantic pace.
But it was far too late.
The sword continued to vibrate as several fleshy growths appeared across it, these growths then began to open one by one, revealing a dozen many bloodshot eyes with golden irises.
"The function of the heart and lungs will release!" The tip of the blade began to split apart, revealing what seemed to be a valley of gnashing teeth, the maw of a draconic beast.
Sprouting out of the maw like a blooming plant, were dozens of semi-transparent colourless vines, each of them adorned with many sword-like thorns.
"All reduced to ashes..." The vines started rapidly whipping around at speeds incomprehensible to the human eye, it was so fast that the slashes produced by their thorns burned the very winds, creating heat that could match even against a dragon's flames.
The vines sprung out, spreading out as they covered the whole perimeter in a boundary of metallic thorns. They spun, the flames created by the slashing thorns painting the sky like many tornadoes of fire.
"Azi..." The ground started to shatter as everything was simultaneously slashed into tiny little pieces and burnt into absolute oblivion.
"DAHAKA—"
"SABER, STOOOOOPPP!!!"
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone