Both Master and Servant turned their attention to the radio in Heartless' hand. "Taking out a company of guards will not guarantee the rest would swarm their fallen's direction to investigate. Not only would it be the worst move when the entire point of encirclement is to box one's targets in, but it also exposes the flaw that is underestimating one's foe. Wouldn't you think so, Doctor Adashino Kurou?"
"Well, well…" The Doctor, baffled by being addressed, looked to Faker before his eyes snapped back to the device. Clicking the button to respond, he was stopped by his Servant snatching the radio away from him. To that, Heartless spared a wry grin. "I'm a little overreacting to you, Faker? It's clear to me that we've already been outwitted, on account of my not anticipating a tracker. It's a little late for caution."
"And don't you think you're not cautious enough?!" she crushed the device in her palm with ease. "We're not caught yet. We can still flee before—"
THUD
The ground shook as dust and dirt were suddenly thrown into the air, clouding their view. The smell of cratered earth mixed with smoke and burning grass.
"'Before' what, may I ask?" As the dust settled, the same voice from the radio seemingly echoed out across the park through loudspeakers here and there. But most appalling of all was the sudden appearance of a rectangular metal box sitting in the middle of the crash site.
There, a giant cargo container painted red sat in the middle of the verdant greens. It was unmarked, as far as Heartless could point out. And having crashed down from the sky, even stranger still. He knew no magi would dare cause a ruckus so blatantly, less so any non-magi forces that would drop containers from the sky.
"Good day to you, Doctor Heartless." Whoever addressed them, however, was as nonchalant as can be. "I see you're appalled. Did you really think we'd let our target escape?"
"You could hardly blame me, can you? I'm a wanted man, after all." Heartless replied. If the stranger was willing to converse from the safety of wherever they were, no doubt he could also hear him where he stood.
"True. I've noticed the Mage Association has indeed been very curious as to your activities." Proving his guess correct, the stranger replied. "Which is why following your tracks has been far easier than I expected. I believe I must thank them for that."
The implication had the Doctor making rapid-fire guesses. It wouldn't do any to help their predicament of being found, but it'd at least answer who their aggressors were. "You are not one of the Association's lackeys, are you?"
"And what gave you the impression that I'm not? For all you know, I'm hired to help to put down a rabid dog."
"Your methods aren't as narrow-minded as theirs." Heartless didn't see the man's face, nor could he read their minds. But the pregnant pause that followed his words was telling enough. "And if you really wanted me dead, there'd be no need for conversation, wouldn't it?"
"Your perceptiveness precedes you, Doctor. And that is true, I wish to talk. But that'd only be possible if you could rein in your little hound to allow for a cordial exchange." The man didn't name her, but Faker took quick offence to being called a dog. He sensed her reluctance to comply through their bond but waited on his response. "What say you, Doctor?"
"Faker, stand down for now." The Servant didn't protest, but he could tell she wanted to. Nevertheless, she relaxed a bit before lowering her empty sword arm. Absent as the blade was, a Servant need not have their weapon to be threatening. Crossing her arms and staring at the still-unmoving container was as non-threatening as she could get. "We're ready to talk."
The stranger was quick to respond. As soon as he answered back, they heard footsteps against metal before a plate from the container's bottom half hissed and slid open. Like some futuristic mechanized doorway, a hatch the size of two persons standing shoulder-to-shoulder flipped wide and allowed the man holding their attention to make his grand entrance.
Clad in black and purple, a cape with maroon insides billowed against the light breeze. What was most eye-catching to the stranger's theatrics was the full-head helmet he wore that encompassed his entire face and shone a mirror-like glassy surface.
The mask was what caught Heartless' attention the most. While hiding one's identity was one's own preference, calling attention to it with such an eye-catching design was… a bit impractical, in his opinion. Many magi could care less when the evidence could be fabricated or witnesses made to disappear or forget. Assassins from the normal world would predominantly hide theirs as they couldn't afford scrutiny. This man, however, was using his disguise to be the most prominent object in the room. Curious.
Still, compared to the louts from the Clock Tower, this newcomer certainly looked regal AND mysterious without seeming ridiculous, reflective black full-head mask notwithstanding.
"A pleasure to finally meet the one after my head. Sir…?"
"Please, call me 'Zero'." The masked man made to bow lightly, whipping up his cape in the process. "I would offer my gratitude in your laying down your weapons for a moment, but I highly doubt you'd appreciate it after my men intruded upon your home with lethal force."
"Indeed. To request a chat so soon after attempting murder… It's not exactly orthodox. Then again, I see from your equipment and methods alone, you're no normal threat to my life."
Zero's shoulders seemed to shudder lightly as he chuckled to himself. "I believe your definition of normal is quite skewed already."
Indeed it was, but Heartless was not in the mood to explain. "Perhaps. Now, please. Could we drop the pleasantries and tell me exactly who you are?"
"Not a fan of my persona, Doctor?" the masked man asked as if in jest. "Too mysterious for you?"
"Not really a fan of mystery at all, to be honest. But I am intrigued as to who you really are. There aren't that many magi who would concern themselves with modern technology nowadays. Especially when it infringes upon blasphemy."
"Ho? You noticed that?"
"Hard not to when I was being shot by it." The Doctor shrugged. "Magecraft-enhanced bullets. Packs quite the punch. Certainly enough for an average mage to be caught and obliterated unawares by the scale of power alone. And the utility provided to your men… I must say, your faction puts most Enforcers to shame. They're quite competent soldiers, if a little inflexible when it comes to… unexpected engagements."
"Your praise is welcome. That we've impressed one who's escaped the Association's hunting dogs while marked by a Sealing Designation speaks volumes of how effective my troops are. I shall take your words in stride then, Doctor."
'Your troops…' The admission elevated the man's position in the Doctor's eyes. He was correct to assume Zero was part of another faction, but he didn't expect him to openly admit being one of its top brass. That he was confident enough to approach Heartless and Faker alone meant he was either confident in his abilities or he knew not what Faker was truly capable of. "Are you ready?"
"I'm ready to cut his head off as soon as you give me the signal, Mast—"
"I'd recommend you withhold ordering your Servant from doing anything rash." Zero said in a calm tone. Calm, but also terse. "While a Master of your sensibilities is above underestimating his foe, I request you tread lightly when it comes to dealing with me. Especially when you're dealing with me."
"Not a fan of backstabbing, are we?" Heartless mused, knowing he'd been caught but not sure how. He mentally signalled Faker to stand down for now.
"Betrayal can only happen if you rely on someone enough for them to become a weakness." Zero shrugged. "But I say this more to warn your companion with the charming little glare over there. You see, my own Lady in Red has really been itching for a fight with her again. But I'd rather she not lose herself in bloodthirsty rage. It won't do well for a city of innocents, after all."
"I see." The new admission cemented their doubts. "So the fair Lady Lucifer is your Servant, is she?"
Zero tilted his head slightly. It was a motion that would've gone unnoticed by anyone, but neither the faux Servant nor the fake's Master understood why, nor heard Zero's derisive sigh. "Indeed, she is my Servant. And I am her Master."
"All the more reason why Faker's glare has never abated. We had our suspicions, but I'm glad you've finally put an end to that curiosity." Zero looked hardly moved at the statement. It was as though he'd already expected them to put two and two together. Still, that doesn't answer the need for a 'cordial exchange' as he called it. "Why the sudden change in demeanour, Zero? Earlier, your troops seemed hellbent on gunning us down. Why request we talk now?"
"Because I would like to tie up loose ends. Yes, killing you may prove a quicker solution, but I'd prefer to do things the quiet way at times."
If this was his definition of 'quiet', Heartless was a tad curious about what he would do if he went 'loud'. He had a niggling feeling he'd find out soon. "And what exactly do you want to silence me for?"
"Oh, I think you know." From under his cloak, Zero's hand reached out, palm open and waiting. "I'd like for you to turn in your homework, Adashino Kurou."
"Trying to steal someone else's work, are you, Zero?" the Doctor felt his hidden envelope on his person and forcibly hid it further. "Don't tell me you chose the name because you kept failing your English Major."
"Hm? I've been speaking straight English this entire time, haven't I?" Zero's joke fell flat, but what didn't was the sudden threatening aura he exuded from his person. It was impossible for a normal human to make Heartless feel so… wary. "Please, Doctor, enough with the jokes. I doubt you want to prolong this any further. Why not simply take this as me offering you a chance to… abandon the need to submit it to your professors? I'll allow you to pass on peacefully and with flying colours?"
"If it's to spray the red of blood, then it'll be yours to stain the sky, cretin!" Faker had already jumped over to protectively stand between them. "Master, something ain't right. One moment, he was human, the next—!"
"I know, Faker." He could sense it as well. An energy signature on par with the one contracted to defend him. "Zero… You aren't human, aren't you…"
It was unbelievable, but his magi senses were never one to betray him. He could feel the raw mana emanating from this person now that he was looking for it. The subtle, almost human air was there. But at the same time, it was not. It was shrouded by something… greater?
If he had to describe Zero's aura to someone who couldn't see or feel mythical energies, Heartless would've likened it to standing in front of a dark shadow—nay. A void. And in its centre was something posing a human shape but carried not the fragility of a human soul.
"I see negotiations have broken down." Zero shrugged, but the tone of his words betrayed his having expected this outcome already. "Well… better not waste any more time dealing with trash. Get them, Q1."
The sound of groaning metal followed by an explosion and hiss of the ground was all Heartless could process before he was suddenly vaulting to the sky under Faker's arm. It would be demeaning to feel like a sack of potatoes after confronting a demon-like unknown that was Zero, but he couldn't complain when the ground they stood on earlier had been eviscerated by a bone-white, devilishly-jagged metal claw.
"Oh, what?! These things come in red now?!"
Heartless shared his Servant's frustration. The armoured titans in Germany were especially concerning and too powerful for mere golems, mounted modern weaponry aside. The crimson-orange demon that stood before them this time was, by far, the most fearsome of the bunch. Hunched back and horned like a beetle. Sleek modern armour that bordered sci-fi futurism. One of its arms was longer and painted silver to white, making it asymmetrical in balance yet no doubt capable of forcing Faker to act fast just to flee… Not to mention, it no doubt carried enough weaponry and arms to rival a lesser-class Servant's firepower just like all the others they'd faced…
Escaping this wasn't going to be easy, the Master-Servant pair realized.
"Q1, preoccupy the woman!"
At his behest, the mechanical titan suddenly rushed their position. It didn't run or fly, it simply glided towards them like the ground under it was slick as slime and the back of its feet were propelled by rockets. The dust trail it left in its wake had barely flown up to the sky before it already towered over Faker and Heartless. The Servant was left with no choice but to drop her Master and raise both arms to block the bony white claw trying to crush them.
"Dammit!" Faker's eyes flew around her wildly, searching for an opening she could exploit. But not a second later, the red-horned behemoth's foot flew into her face, launching her further into the nature park proper. "Shit! Master—NGH!"
ROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAARRR
If the golem could scream, it resembled the noise of roaring airplane engines as it chased after Faker with its clawed arm held open. The crimson flash that exploded from its palm launched her even further away, completely separating her from Heartless. Leaving him alone with Zero.
"Now that the pest is gone, how about we have a little chat, Adashino Kuro…"
Zero's nonchalance didn't get a rise from the Doctor. His motion to talk after splitting him off from his Servant, however, sparked curiosity. That and a surprise Gandr spell to the face that Zero didn't even move to block. It merely bounced off his mask. At this, Heartless' curiosity peaked as he muttered. "And what do we have to chat about after you yourself declared negotiations ineffectual? Was it not your intent to just kill me and take my dossier?"
"Dead men tell no tales, yes. But unlike the rest of your colleagues that prefer eradicating evidence and creating undead puppets to seal the deal, I find corpses far less useful." Zero's mask, smoking lightly but seemingly unharmed from Heartless' shot, turned to face the perpetually smiling man head-on. "A pawn is more useful on the board than off if it, wouldn't you say?"
"Oh? So you believe pieces that can hardly move or kill as effectively as others are more appealing?" Heartless fired off more Gandr spells and even tried surprising his foe by vanishing and reappearing behind him. Zero did little to retaliate if you can even call whipping up his cloak to intercept the shot to the back 'retaliation'. All the dark orbs of magic did upon hitting the man's purple attire was a fizzle and die out, not even scratching the linen. "You're quite the tough nut to crack, aren't you, Zero? Might you be using specialized equipment to counter magecraft?"
"Such is not for you to know. You only need to surrender!"
"Best kill me then, Zero!"
Spells and shots were fired.