Chapter 10: Disastrous Ambush
I didn't sleep very well last night. It was because I had this really weird dream that woke me up from my precious beauty sleep. It was a dream in which I was standing in a sea of worms and corpses. Every corpse was either of me or Manaka as well. That didn't spook me though cause I mean it's par for the course when it comes to being a protagonist right?
Then in front of me sitting on a golden throne was a girl who looked startlingly similar to what I could only imagine being me and Manaka's love child. She was short with a large poofy white fur coat with a one piece sleeveless mini skirt which didn't leave much to the imagination in any way shape and or form. As her short purple hair was blown gently by the wind her feline-like red eyes seemed to glimmer at the sight of me and she began speaking. Though as the trope goes I couldn't make out a word that came out of her mouth! I'll just assume it was a bunch of slurs or something because what I REALLY remember from that dream is the most terrifying sight among protagonists, there it was in the sky, the face of a man that could most definitely make me rethink my entire way of life, a man so great that even saying his name requires multiple sentences! Sakamoto-Kun himself! Such a high tier protagonist is what I aspire to be, I'd hate to go up against him the way I am now. Luckily though it was just a dream, but I mean if it wasn't a dream that could have been bad…
"Minori."
Anyways after that, I woke up and couldn't get back to sleep you see because whenever I'd close my eyes I'd see his face.
"Minori it's time to go."
Seriously though I mean even now I can't at all get over it, it was only because Manaka was here doing my hair that I was able to get a wink of sleep. I think it's understandable that I don't feel like getting up anymore. Manaka's presence is just too comforting.
"Minori~" The soft seductive coo of Manaka right next to my ear finally forces me to open my eyes and accept that it's probably time to get up. Turning my head ever so slightly only to be nose to nose with Manaka, her clear, intelligent blue eyes taking up all of my vision.
My face can't help but heat up a bit at the closeness of our lips. I just told her I didn't like her too, how come she's so persistent? It's true! I don't like her at all! I hate girls that are cuter than me, although… I don't think I could ever hate Manaka. That because we're friends though, she's pestered me enough over the years to at least earn that much right?
"If you keep staring at me like that I might get the wrong impression you know?" She teases as she tilts her head cutely to the side,
"Personal space Manaka." I respond while gently pushing her face away from my own.
"Okay~"
Slowly I get up along with Manaka and even before we're out the door to the library she links our arms while interlocking her fingers with my own.
"Didn't we just talk about personal space two sentences ago?" I ask incredulously,
"You don't mind though, right?"
"Whatever…"
'Is it just me or is she being super forceful?'
"By the way, can you stay over at my place today?" She asks lightly causing me to snort slightly,
"Why would I want to do that? You yourself said we weren't gonna be on a team." Maybe that's a tad vindictive as I'm actually her only friend, but still, I offered her the chance twice! I don't offer such hospitality to just anyone.
"Minori… your idea of being on a 'team' would be me doing all the work while you watch and eat sweets."
Okay maybe she's right, but I mean what else would I really need to do if she's the one fighting? I don't exactly get how all the magic hokus pokus stuff works but I do know that she could probably steamroll the competition without much trouble at all. You can't fault me for that.
"Just because you're right doesn't mean you're correct… I'm still not going to your house."
"But I have a present for you~" She responds just as we reach the school's entrance where we would normally part ways,
"Say less!" I exclaim letting myself be dragged onto her path home, you know what they say getting even one free penny today is still one more than yesterday! Obviously, I'm probably not going to be getting just a penny but still, the saying stands.
'Is that even how the saying goes?' I ponder.
--
After a while of walking Manaka stops at a suspiciously empty intersection with a small smile on her face and seemingly waits for something,
"Manaka?" I ask as my body starts sparking up with electricity in anticipation of some kind of unseen danger,
"Yes, Minori?"
"Did you lead us into a trap?"
"Yes!"
"On purpose?"
"Yup!"
"WHY?" I exclaim, I'm not angry or anything like that, but come on, I was promised a gift and I want it as quickly as possible! No interruptions from random extras and the like.
"Mmm, I don't know~"
'What a lackluster response. And also DEFINITELY a lie!'
"Troublesome…" A familiar voice says tiredly in front of us,
"Is that Kuu?" I ask as I see the cloaked girl who just yesterday kicked the crap out of me standing at the other side of the intersection.
"You must know why I'm here Manaka if you would so willingly enter this bounded field."
"You want Minori right?" She asks with a small smile, though it's clear she thinks she already knows the answer,
"No." She states flatly and in the same instant, she disappears from her spot in a burst of speed that made it clear she wasn't very serious when we fought previously. If not for a black and purple blur suddenly appearing in Kuu's path and stopping her in her tracks.
"Gorgon."
"I already don't like you." Lancer says coldly before charging at Kuu with her Scythe, a slight 'tsk,' is all Kuu can manage as she draws a pitch-black sword to block the sudden strike.
With that they initiate their epic battle of legends, dashing all over the place striking here and there with superhuman feats of power!
"Such speed! Such power! Such mastery and skill! At least that's what I like to think because like… WHERE DID THEY GO!" I scream the question as if it were to the big G himself only to get two sets of giggles in response.
"Shouldn't be more worried about that crossdresser over there, Minori?" Manaka questions pointing to the furthest corner of the intersection, tilting my head slightly in confusion as a beam of yellow energy whizzes past where my head once was leading my gaze to the second set of giggles far down the street.
"She's right you know~" The blond haired girl- err, boy, nun, priest, thing
"What did you mean crossdresser?" I ask Manaka,
"Well, it's exactly what I mean."
"You mean that miss is a mister?"
"That's correct!" Confirms the person in question, I feel almost ashamed, to think I watch so much anime yet still can't recognize a trap when I see one! Next time I get the chance I'll have to go through an intense training montage to rectify this glaring weakness.
Another beam of energy shoots towards me from Akina forcing me to dodge slightly to the right. I'd like to attack back but she- he's completely out of my striking range.
Quickly as he prepares another volley of blasts I dash towards him electricity buzzing from my forehead as I move, as I start to get into range the blond haired boy thrusts his hands forward sending five beams my way and forcing me to sacrifice some of my momentum in order to dodge to the left.
Recovering from the dodge I immediately pivot my foot and step into range while sending a blast of electricity towards Akina. Rather than dodge this sudden attack he doesn't even flinch and right when it's about to hit him the electricity seems to split in half and flow to either side of him.
This makes me hesitate slightly in my approach leading me to be too slow to fully dodge another set of incoming projectiles, a few skimmed me a bit in the legs and the side of my stomach.
Firing another stream of lightning this time amped up I'm met with the same result.
"Hey Minori, what exactly do you want?" The boy asks me,
"What do you mean?"
"Well I mean, why are you even fighting? This isn't your war unless you have a wish."
Attempting a different approach I stomp my left foot and send a burst of electricity through the ground. Looking down slightly he clumsily dodges back just as the attack reaches his former spot and erupts in a brilliant blue flash.
'So he's not as good as me in the physical department huh'
"I'm a main character. If I want something I can always get it no matter what. Why in the name of Sakamoto-Kun would I need a glorified beer mug?" I ask somewhat dubiously,
It's not entirely true that I don't have a wish. My wish is far lesser than everyone else's though, at least if Shirou is anything to go by.
My wish is simple. I want to live and enjoy myself while always winning when it matters most. In essence, it's the same thing I already am, a protagonist. My wish was already basically granted when I was reborn in the overly complicated and possibly maybe even just a little convoluted world of FATE. Anything else I might want or need I'll just obtain with my own two hands and then they'll turn into adventures and future story arcs by themselves perpetuating my desire to have fun! I sometimes scare myself with my own overwhelming brilliance, like one of these days someone's gonna give me an IQ test and it'll be over 500!
"I see, I can understand that sentiment." He says though his voice seems slightly disappointed by my answer,
"What about you since we're on the topic."
"My wish? Mmm, I wish to meet God. I want to know the truth about everything so I can make a completely accurate Bible."
"I'm not religious or anything but I'm pretty sure that goes against the holy doctrine." To this, I get a slightly sad look from Akina as he cups his hands slightly over each other forming a large ball of energy.
'Ah crap, I fell for my own stalling tactics!'
The beam of energy zooms towards me so speedily the only thing I have time to do is trip and fall flat on my back causing the beam to just barely fly over my head.
"You know what Minori? Me and you probably could've been friends if it weren't for this stupid death game."
"What makes you say that?" I question as perform a stylish rising handspring,
"Despite your arrogance, you're a pretty pure person. Though maybe that's just because you're too stupid to be wicked." He responds while giggling a bit,
Taking this chance I instantly close the distance between us with the help of electricity and send a high kick straight to his face only to pass right through.
'NANI DA FAUQ!?!?!' I think while dodging back in order to avoid a beam of energy coming from my right.
"Minori, your face just then was pretty priceless." The sound of Akina's laughter can be heard from all directions,
"What kind of Tomfoolery is this?"
"You want me to just tell you what my psychic power is?" He questions as yet another volley of beams comes from my front, dodging I send I put my hand on my forehead and send a weak bolt towards where the attack came from though it simply continues forward until it's out of my range.
'Ugh his range is extremely annoying, and I can't even tell which direction he actually is in.'
Taking a breath I allow energy to flow into my eyes and in an instant two mirror like fragments appear in front of me each reflecting an answer to a different question.
"By chance, have you ever heard of a super electromagnetic cannon?" I ask, smirking a bit as I put my hand down the front of my shirt and pull out a gold coin before tossing it lightly into the air.
At that very moment a beam of light rockets its way towards me, however in anticipation of the attack I tilt my body to the side and send the coin hurtling in a flash of light towards Akina with a simple wave of my hand.
"Railgun"
'Try and stop that with Photokinesis!' I think smugly,
Despite my arrogance, the aftermath of the attack left a lot to be desired as I was expecting to see a girlish looking blond boy with a gaping hole in his chest and what I got was the wall directly behind him was completely burned through and Akina was gone.
"Thanks for the save Kuu! I really thought I was a goner for a second there." Akina sighs to my left, looking over I find him on all fours next to the Kuudere.
"Za Warudo?" I mutter slightly confused, that little teleporting trick now that I'm seeing it from the outside is definitely not done with my mystic eyes. In fact, it looks a lot more like magecraft though I could be wrong given my limited knowledge in the subject.
"Is that a Touhou reference?" Kuu asks,
"Excuse me? That's Dio from JoJo's. What the hell is a 'Touhou'?"
"Oh, that show. Never watched it."
'How could she have never seen it? I mean I wouldn't just forget about something as grand as JoJo's no matter how much time passes!'
"Alright, then Kuroko's teleport."
"Are you referencing another one of those Japanese cartoons? I don't watch that stuff, Calico."
You know what. That's understandable, anime isn't for everyone, but referring to it as mere Japanese cartoons! That's a sin that could only be washed away by the blood of three whole generations of one's family line!?!?!
"You wanna repeat that Kuu?" I growl while tossing another coin in the air which hovers in the air while enveloped by lightning simply waiting to be fired at the sinner that stands before me.
"Video games are better." Though her voice is still as cold and flat as usual a hint of defiance can be heard,
Without a shred of hesitation I fire another railgun this time with a great deal more force behind it causing even the ground it passes over to melt.
Gripping her pitch black sword Kuu with both hands she positions the flat of the blade and blocks the attack albeit with some effort.
Just as the attack dies down the slight pattering of feet can be heard as Lancer slashes her scythe from the side. Letting go of Arondight with one of her hands she tosses a green gem at Medusa causing her to stop her attack mid air as if she had been petrified, this gives Kuu the chance to drag herself and Akina out of the way of the slash just before whatever spell she used wore off.
Without missing a beat Lancer takes off again slashing at Kuu who parries awkwardly clearly having trouble wielding a sword so big. In some kind of vain last ditch effort, Kuu jumps back while tossing the sword at Manaka with all her strength. Unfortunately, though, it misses.
'No wait it didn't just miss, she moved a while ago as if she were already ready for it.'
"To think that I'm going to resort to using that pervert's noble phantasm." She says her voice filled to the brim with disgust as two pairs of Kanshou and Bakuya appear in both of her hands.
"Triple-Linked Crane Wings!" With the utterance of the noble phantasm's name, she throws both sets of the swords in such a way that they almost seem to surround Lancer, and in that same second Kuu teleports behind Medusa with another set of blades. Rather than attempt to defend against all of the blades coming her way she twists her body and positions her scythe to block the devastating attack from behind while allowing herself to be cut by the other four blades.
Realizing she's let herself get far too close to Harpe, Kuu attempts to distance herself only to be pulled in by a chain, quickly as Lancer brings up her weapon Kuu leans to the left slightly in some vain attempt to dodge the strike which doesn't work.
When Kuu finally frees herself from the chain and gains the distance she so desired her right arm has already hit the ground severed cleanly from her body.
"That was my right arm." She says not at all attempting to hide her annoyance, she seems more mildly irritated because it was her dominant arm rather than in any actual pain.
Staring at Kuu a bit with my mystic eyes turned on I begin to notice something I couldn't last time due to being beaten up so badly, multiple mirror fragments float around her reflecting very familiar items like Kanshou and Bakuya, Gáe Bolg, the sword she was using previously Arondight, and even Excalibur! Though I wasn't looking for any of that stuff so I look further and find my precious ribbons tied to the heretic.
As if feeling my intrusive gaze Kuu's head twists to look me dead on her single eye now glowing red.
"A good thief always has an escape route." She states while bringing her left hand up to her eye patch to take it off.
'Oh, it's the hidden super amazing eye behind an eyepatch trope. Should've guessed' is the last thought I have before another noble phantasm is called by the kuudere.
"Cybele" with that simple utterance a purple beam comes my way far too large for me to evade. Flinching, I cross my arms in front of my face and close my eyes tightly in some attempt to somehow stop the pride and true one-shot ability coming my way.
After a few painstaking moments of apparently not being turned to stone, I slowly open my eyes to find the area around me devastated and both Akina and Kuu gone.
"That wasn't me right?" I ask somewhat stupidly I'll admit,
"Do you believe in your own hype that much?" Manaka asks in return now next to me,
"Yes?"
"Pfft, alright Minori." She seemingly tried keeping a straight face before saying that but a cute little giggle still manages to seep through.
"Even though as the protagonist I didn't need your help, thanks for the save Manaka."
"Minori."
"Yes?"
"Sometimes I wonder where you store all that arrogance of yours when you are just such a…Minori."
"W-What! Don't use my name like it's an insult! I'll have you know the audience thinks I'm smart!"
"Alright Minori." She says yet again,
'I'm starting to think she just says that to placate me.'
"Let's stop for donuts," I grumble,
"What about my gift?"
"I'll get it later, like next episode or something. For now off screen donuts!"
"Whatever you say Minori." She says with a slightly confused tilt of her head.
--
Medusa (Child):
Strength: C
Endurance: D
Agility: A
Mana: E
Luck: C
NP: A+
--
Class Skills:
Magic Resistance (B) - Having at first been a god turned monster she is immune to most mediocre magecraft.
Divine Core of the Goddess (A) - "A skill preserves the absoluteness of the mind and the body, repels all mental interference"
--
Personal Skills:
Alluring Euphony (B) - A skill that works as a kind of fascination magecraft towards men. It can be defended against through magic resistance and willpower.
Monstrous Strength (C) - Allows Medusa to temporarily increase her strength though the rank is lowered by her demoniac disposition being lower than her adult counterpart.
Sentiments for the Beyond (A) - "The feelings towards those beloved days that support her struggle to the very end."
--
Noble Phantasms:
Harpe (EX) - Medusa's scythe with the capacity to kill immortals and create wounds that never heal.
Caress of the Medusa (B) - Medusa attacks with Harpe a few times before turning her opponent to stone instantly by using the mystic eyes of petrification "Cybele." Scythe attacks aren't needed though.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
AvaDumont
AvaDumont Early Chapter as I have started to type on my phone and therefore can pace and think while I write. Nothing revolutionary obviously but you know, it's the small things we sometimes take for granted.
Also, a big hint to what Minori's Mystic eyes do was in this chapter and technically the last one too but that was more so something else. Hope you enjoyed the long over blown fight by the way!
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone