Showdown at Homurahara

[[Lazarus' fireball 8/10]]

Malphas seized Rider's wrist tight, his claws digging into his skin. His eyes filled with gleeful malice, but before he could pull the Servant any closer, his eyes went heavenward, seeing the rain of arrows coming down on him.

"Now, that's not f--"

He took the first surge of arrows dead-on, the missiles shredding through him one after the other. He let go of Rider and stumbled back, focusing on healing his wounds as he received them.

[[Lazarus' fireball 9/10]]

Rider tried again with a swift kick to his chest with the courtyard waiting below!

She slammed more arrows into him, hoping her gods would truly feel her rage for this man.

Kittenboxxing carried out 4 launched of one (CLASH.) :

, , ,

Malphas tried desperately to jump out of the way of the arrows.

Damascus carried out 1 launched of one (CLASH.) :

He successfully managed to avoid the next volley of arrows, but as he focused on the Noble Phantasm, he couldn't see the mage on the ground below readying a powerful spell.

[[LAZARUS FIREBALL READYYYY]]

Finally, the energy he had been acruing had reached it's peak. Lazarus released the writhing mass of white hot flame at the apostle. It's sparked and smoked as it shot towards the creature like a rocket, spreading all over his entire body as soon as it hit.

Malphas never saw it coming. Even as he tried to dodge the arrows, he saw the fire coming at the last second, but was too late to get out of the way. It slammed into him with full force, wrapping around him and scorching his skin and clothes. As he shrieked in pain, trying to put out the flames, he stood still just long enough for the arrows to pummel him again.

Malphas
HP: 350/500
MP: 0/0
Command Spells: 3

Under the onslaught, he stumbled back and slipped over the edge of the rooftop, plummeting to the ground below.

Rider fell onto his backside, eyes and mouth agape. Where did that come from??

The mage grinned triumphantly, and readied another of the same spell, breaking open another gem for energy.

Malphas tried desperately to get out of the way of the next volley as he hit the ground.

Damascus carried out 1 launched of one (CLASH.) :

The arrows continued to pummel his body, pushing him toward the center of the courtyard.

Malphas
HP: 300/500
MP: 0/0
Command Spells: 3

Even as the arrows hit him, though, the burns covering his body began to fade, and the wounds left the arrows sealed up.

Malphas
HP: 400/500
MP: 0/0
Command Spells: 3

He would not be bested by these amateurs!

He jumped out of the way of the last of the arrows, and the Noble Phantasm finally petered out. She had gotten him where they wanted him, though: in the center of the courtyard.

Malphas laughed and looked down at his wounds, the last of which sealed up.

Malphas
HP: 500/500
MP: 0/0
Command Spells: 3

"If that's all you got, I'm sorely disappointed!" he called up to Archer. "Even with two Servants, you can't even land a scratch on me!"

Suddenly, the floodlights surrounding the courtyard flashed on, bathing the Dead Apostle in light. Six shadows spread from the point where he stood. Malphas covered his eyes with one hand and looked up at the Servants.

"Was this your master plan?" he cackled. "You know it's only sunlight vampires are weak to, right?"

Six Black Keys rained from above, each piercing one of Malphas' six shadows. He jumped in surprise, but when he tried to turn his head to look at the blades, his eyes widened even further.

"What... What's this?"

He couldn't turn his head. He couldn't even move his arms or legs. Somehow, the blades piercing his shadows kept him rooted to the spot.

Atalanta couldn't help but let a smug, bloodstained smile sneak accross her face.

Rider beamed and ran to Atalanta, giving her a hug and checking over her wounds. "It worked! Are you all right? Did you know he could do that??"

"I didn't," she replied. "And yes, I'm alright. If we wrap this up soon it should be simple to recover." she gave him a gentle hug and a kiss on the head, but kept a spare eye on the apostle.

Kirei jumped down from another adjoining rooftop to join his Servants. "It is done." He regarded the Dead Apostle with heavy disdain. "Even with him trapped like this, we couldn't do enough damage to kill him before he could heal. However, I do believe our agreement with the Church gave us 48 hours from when the letter was received." He grinned smugly. "That gives us a few hours of sunlight, doesn't it, beast?"

Malphas gritted his teeth, but then abruptly started cackling again. "You think you've won?! I haven't even started!" He flexed his right hand, which bore his Command Spells. "Lancer, with my Command Spell, I order you! Come to my defense!"

Nothing happened.

"Lancer?" Malphas looked down at his hand, only to see his Command Spells grow dull, then disappear altogether.

Atalanta lit down on the ground and smirked at their trapped prey. "Poor creature. I think I'll use it for target practice."

Rider landed next to her and stuck his tongue out at the Apostle, thumbs by his ears and fingers wagging. "I packed a disguise, I could get food if we're going to be here for a while!"

"That might be wise, since I am very bloody. Thank you Astolpho." She gave her fellow servant a smile and did her best to clean the blood from the closing wound.

The Servant changed into a loose pink sweatshirt and a pair of blue pantaloons, making sure his armor was covered. He walked over to Kirei and asked for some money before frolicking off to the nearest corner store.

Rider returned in short order with one sack of prepared bento meals and a large bottle of tea, and another sack with apples, towels, and paint. "I have a surprise!"

Kirei nodded. "We will be here for a while. I must remain vigilant and ensure the Black Keys aren't compromised. However slim those chances may be," he added with a pointed glare at the Apostle.

Malphas gritted his teeth and hurled a series of insults at the priest, who simply ignored them.

"I hope you don't have a mother to kiss with that disgusting mouth of yours. " Atalanta spat at the apostle. She turned her attention back to Astolpho. "What exactly is this suprise?"

Rider skipped to the vampire with a thin towel in his hands, humming happily. From behind, he hooked the towel into Malphas's mouth and twisted, tying it as tight as he could to make a gag.

He shimmied the surprise sack out from the crook of his elbow and used the other towel to start dabbing on targets, and finally balanced an apple on the top of its head. "There!" He held his arms out in a proud gesture, showing Atalanta her new practice area.

"You are such a sweetheart Astolpho, " she said giving him a quick peck on the cheek before readying her bow. "Let's see...I should try some trick shots." She leaped high into the air, shooting an arrow into the sky, before twisting into a back flip and landing gracefully. A couple seconds passed and then the arrow shot down into one of the targets painted on the top of his hand, where the bastard's command spells used to be. "You're also rather good at making a gag Astolpho. It's almost like you've done it a few times before."