One Piece: Wild Hunt

Chapter 85: Fate

Midway through Thomas's and Caenis's second session of frenzied lovemaking, the latter abruptly pulled away from him, sitting up with a serious expression on her face.

Rising to a seated position, Thomas observed the horizon to find a ghostly blue and black wave approaching them. Since he still had the EMIYA Card equipped, his vision instantly zoomed in on the approaching phenomenon, revealing it to be a veritable tsunami of human, jackal, alligator, bird, and feline skulls.

Furrowing her brows, Caenis muttered, "Spirits of the damned..." before rising to her feet and adding, "Looks like that bitch decided to go all out. If those things touch you, you're fucked."

Manifesting her spear, Caenis was prepared to charge into the oncoming tide to draw their attention. As a Divine Spirit, the wave would invariably be drawn to her to try and devour her. However, while they would be able to drain her vitality, her immortality would allow her to endure. It wouldn't be a pleasant experience, but she would emerge the final victor.

Before Caenis could run off, Thomas called out to her, saying, "Wait. This is a good opportunity to test out True Phantasm Summoning. You've done more than enough as is."

Though she wasn't particularly fond of having someone steal her glory, Caenis only hesitated for a moment before shrugging her shoulders and saying, "Whatever. Just remember, that Crocodile bitch is mine. Man or woman, I'm going to kick their teeth in for robbing me of the opportunity to fight Hector."

Nodding his head, Thomas offered a silent prayer to Crocodile before pulling out a shiny golden card bearing the silhouette of a Saber and the Roman Numeral VII. The card technically belonged to Illya, but he was able to make use of it through a contract with Ruby. He couldn't install it, but he could provide the card with Mana, enough to manifest the Heroic Spirit within.

After fixing his trousers, just in case, Thomas suppressed the feeling of cringe as he held up the card and shouted, "Manifest: Arthur Pendragon!" before throwing the card forward as Ruby had taught him. The card didn't fly nearly as straight as he would have liked, but it ultimately didn't matter. Shortly after leaving his hand, it exploded into vibrant blue light before a petite young woman with golden hair and green eyes popped out. Instead of an iconic blue and silver battledress, however, the woman was wearing subtly pink armor and a skirt resembling the petals of a flower.

Freeing Thomas from his stupor, the petite woman turned to him, her expression and tone emotionless as she asked, "Are you my Master...?"

As higher Grade cards possessed a fraction of their original ego, Thomas wasn't too surprised by the faux Artoria's ability to speak. She lacked the vibrancy of the original, especially for a Lily variant, but it was evident she possessed at least a modicum of personal agency.

Deciding to play it safe, Thomas shook his head and replied, "I'm the one who summoned you, but I'm not your Master. I do, however, require your help."

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Pointing toward the rapidly encroaching spirits, Thomas added, "With your Excalibur, you should be able to deal with those Spirits fairly easily, right?"

Looking in the direction Thomas was pointing in, the faux Artoria fell silent for several seconds before abruptly charging toward the approaching tide without fear.

Seeing Artoria race off, a relieved sigh emanated from Thomas's throat as he softly muttered, "Looks like I get to save my final Command Spell..."

Turning to Caenis, Thomas half-expected her to want to continue where they left off. Instead, she asked, "That's the Legendary King Arthur? That delicate little flower child...?"

Smiling wryly, Thomas remarked, "It's complicated," before asking, "Now, what do you want to do? Crocodile should be pretty close to exhaustion. Want to rush over and deal with her now or wait until Artoria has finished cleaning up...?"

Seeing Artoria cut through the Spirits like a farmer harvesting wheat, Caenis returned her gaze to Thomas, specifically staring below his waist as she replied, "My insides 'do' feel a little itchy..."

Exhaling a light chuckle, Thomas began to unfasten his belt. The thought that Artoria might wander over after she had eradicated the Spirits made him a little uncomfortable, but he suppressed it with the notion that she was more like a machine than an actual person. There was also a chance she would revert to her card form shortly after her task was complete, so he wasn't going to keep Caenis waiting when she was clearly in the mood to fuck...

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Demonstrating how 'basic' her thought process was, Artoria, covered from head to toe in a black substance similar to ectoplasm, became statuesque the moment she had destroyed each of the Spirits. It wasn't until Thomas and Caenis walked over that she moved, staring blankly at the former as if anticipating a new order.

Seeing the condition of the faux Artoria, Thomas's brows creased as he asked, "Are you okay? You look a bit...worse for wear..."

Without hesitation, the faux Artoria replied, "I can continue fighting," as if it was the only thing she knew.

Exhaling through his nose, Thomas replied, "We can handle the rest. You should return to your card form for the time being."

Though it didn't show on her expressionless face, the faux Artoria was apparently confused by Thomas's words, responding, "I'm not sure what you mean." in a dull monotone.

Pulling out the bronze-colored Grade 1 Lancer Card, Thomas explained, "You are a Faux Heroic Spirit manifested from one of these. Once you have exhausted all your Magical Energy, you should revert to your card form."

Catching Thomas a little off guard, the faux Artoria responded, "I cannot abide by your request. While I am unable to recall what it is, I know there is something important I must do. Something that can't be accomplished as a card."

Feeling a twitch in his left eye, Thomas took a moment to massage them while Caenis suppressed her laughter at the side. She wasn't sure what would go wrong, but, as it involved Thomas, she knew 'something' was bound to happen the moment he summoned a cute girl.

In an effort to salvage the situation, Thomas met the faux Artoria's gaze and said, "This won't be the last time you manifest. I'm only asking you to return to your card form temporarily..."

Shaking her head, the faux Artoria replied, "I cannot take that risk. While you do not appear to be lying, I can tell you are troubled by my presence. With most of my memories absent, I cannot trust your words alone..."

Pointing her sword at Thomas, the faux Artoria added, "As far as I know, you are the one that has suppressed or erased my memories. If I return to my card form, there is a possibility you might finish the job..."

Inserting herself between Thomas and the Artoria, Caenis's expression darkened as she said, "Lower your weapon before I take it from you and shove it up your ass..."

Furrowing her brows ever so slightly, the faux Artoria muttered, "How uncouth..." Despite this, she lowered her weapon, stating, "You can often determine the quality of one's character by the company they keep. I will not associate with brigands."

Seemingly finished with the conversation, the faux Artoria turned away and began to walk off. She had no destination in mind, but she was certain she would eventually reach her goal so long as she kept going. Something deep within her, so deep no form of enchantment or magical manipulation couldn't alter it, told her she had an important destiny to fulfill.

Seeing the faux Artoria walk off, Thomas was stuck between the thought of explaining the situation and simply letting her peter out on her own. As a Masterless Heroic Spirit, she had no way of replenishing Mana. It might take a few days, possibly even several weeks, but she would eventually revert to her card form.

Freeing Thomas from his thoughts, Caenis asked, "What are you waiting for? You know you'll feel like an ass if you don't at least try to help her. Besides, she might be a short stack, but she's pretty cute. If you become her Master, you may get to experience her Riding Skill directly."

Suppressing a sigh, Thomas shook his head and said, "That would set a dangerous precedent. It would be one thing if she were the actual Artoria, but this one is more like an empty shell. Just teaching her common sense would be a pain in the ass..."

Staring at the Command Spell on his hand, Thomas considered using it to order Artoria to exhaust her Mana. It would be a dick move, but he wasn't sure how else to address the situation. Having an amnesiac with a strong sense of justice on his side just screamed trouble...

Shaking his head, Thomas decided to let the faux Artoria roam around while he and Caenis finished dealing with Crocodile. He didn't trust himself enough to make the right decision, so he would let Illya, Chloe, and Ruby decide her fate. After all, they needed to assemble the Install Cards to save Miyu's world. If he arbitrarily manifested the Spirits within and started making promises, he would be making things infinitely more complicated than they needed to be...

Though it made him feel like a complete ass, just as Caenius said it would, Thomas adopted a serious expression as he said, "We'll let Illya, Chloe, and Ruby decide the fate of the Grade 7 Saber. Our priorities, at least for the time being, are dealing with Crocodile, ensuring Cobra's safety, and preventing the destruction of Alubarna..."

Crossing her arms, Caenis adopted a serious expression of her own as she asked, "Are you sure about this? You know what kind of person you are, Tom. You would be a hell of a lot happier doing as you please than constantly making concessions for others."

Shrugging his shoulders, Thomas replied, "I'm not the only option as far as Masters are concerned. Illya and Miyu have more than enough Mana to forge a contract."

"Yeah, at the expense of their overall reserves..." retorted Caenis. Then, with an annoyed look, she directed her gaze toward the faux Artoria and added, "If you're serious about washing your hands of her, you should let me kill her here and now. Leaving her alive will only complicate things and make you look like a hypocrite."

Confused, Thomas asked, "What do you mean...?"

Returning her gaze to Thomas, Caenis asserted, "Everyone thinks of you as the type of person that goes out of your way to help others, especially if they're attractive women. Passing the buck on this one contrasts the image you've built over the past few months. I honestly don't give a fuck, but I'd rather not see you beating yourself up before eventually giving in and deciding to help anyways."

"..."

Understanding there was considerable truth to Caenis's words, Thomas fell silent and remained that way for several seconds. He hadn't gone out of his way to make people believe he was selfless, but it was a fact that many of the people closest to him viewed him that way. If he felt like he had disappointed them in some way, he would invariably backpedal to try and fix things...

Exhaling a tired sigh, Thomas briefly regretted not having something like Gamer's Mind to suppress or outright erase his emotions. If he had the mentality of Han Jihan or someone like Ainz Ooal Gown, his life would be a hell of a lot easier. Both cared about what others thought of them, but they didn't have to deal with the emotions such sentiments warranted...

Shaking such thoughts from his mind, Thomas directed his gaze to the now-distant silhouette of the faux Artoria before muttering, "Looks like I'm setting a dangerous precedent..."

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(A/N: Artoria's fate is too powerful...)