...Right, she's a Goddess. She's better than this.
She looks back at the Banana Berserker, and speaks.
"You're right. I apologize, I shouldn't say such things where you can hear."
But she won't take it back either.
Ibaraki almost doomed them all, and without Astraea intervening it would have been all over.
"Good Work, at least. Recognizing the danger and acting fast enough."
This... Didn't seem to do it for Berserker. Her eyes stayed fixated on the annoying woman in front of her, causing the oni to let out a growl of frustration...
"You're really pissing me off. If you wanna keep saying it, do it to my face."
Ultimately, it didn't seem to matter to berserker if she was a goddess or not, Ibaraki wasn't one to take such comments lightly, much less from someone that at least in her eyes was more or less akin to prey. Especially not after in her own eyes managing to hurt the forest plenty.
Astraea, with her arms crossed, didn't bother to continue looking at the Berserker. Her Eyes trailed off to their Master.
"I'd rather not pick a fight with you, Berserker. I'd lose, after all. As much as it hurts my Pride as a Goddess to say as much, we shouldn't fight amongst ourselves in the first place."
..Though something in her wants to be petty.
..Maybe an alternative can be found.
"I was just going to say that." Salomón stands up from his seat. He stopped sulking now. "Just spar or wrestle. That's more fun than going back with nothing, right?"
"I may be exhausted from my Noble Phantasm, but don't expect me to go down easy when it comes to wrestling! This Body of mine has memorized each Technique!"
...Not good. She's getting fired up!?
..Well, it's no surprise.
With the sudden attack, Astraea is almost immediately overwhelmed by the Oni's power!
Maybe if she wasn't exhausted she would have had a better chance...
Immedietly coming to pin Astraea to the floor- the oni dragged the woman trough the mud as she trashed, perhaps having come to expect more of a resistance from her before finally-- Sitting on her back and keeping her there.
"..I may have lost today, but the result may change on another day. Such is Wrestling."
She makes no excuses.
She's lost, and she just has to cope with that fact.
After a short moment, Berserker got up and extended a hand out to the woman. "Alright. Let's head back."
Were she to take it however, Ibaraki would immediately let go to let her fall into the mud and laugh.
Suddenly a voice came from behind Orochi, "You're her servant correct? Like the reports allege?"
Behind Orochi was a man in a blue uniform and white gloves with a red inscription on them. He had raven black hair and a flower in his hand.
"With the way you two seemed to act I would have assumed you two were Master and Servant." he looked up at the tree and made a whistle, "Quite the catch."
He stopped for a moment before inhaling slightly, "My apologies I've been so rude. I'm General Vincenzo Camporini. Ignore the rank tags that say I'm a Colonel I just got a promotion. And you would be?"
The Colonel would walk over to one of the boxes before cracking it open, his nose turning at the stench of controlled rot.
"I give y.... how pathetic," he said. "Did he give you any trouble? Put up a good fight?"
"Slightly more then the others but its like comparing an ant to a beetle, unlike the others he took more then two swings to kill and due to his healing even after my Noble Phantasm split him in half he survived."
4:41 AM
"He did say something about your Rank so he might remember you although I think it would be hard to ask him anything."
"I would expect nothing less," He would lift the head of the box while inspecting it with a grin on his face. "So it looked convincing at the very least, it seems that your acting classes in life paid off at the very least, my dear Captain."
"You have the tree don't you? And the samples you needed? Mission success," he placed the head back into the box and put the lid back on, "Don't you think that it was a little too easy? That for all the ruckus you were causing that only three men came to confront you? I'm a little upset you killed two of them, good men, but... that's just the way war is and what I stand to gain from your research expedition far outweighs just two indivuals out of an entire army."(edited)
"Ha if I understand all these events your quite entertaining, I suppose his damning you now makes more sense as final words then I had originally thought."
"He has a right to have emotions but he was loyal to the end." he patted the box and turned around to Orochi, "I'll be taking this I hope you understand. All parts of him."
"Call me scum however you like. The fact I have my own intrests with Chaldea that are the sole reason I allow your operations against the Forest in the North to continue," he snapped his fingers and several men in masks jumped out of nearby trucks in order to pick up the boxes, "I've had to deal with several Chaldeans already like your Peter Stumpp who've been annoying enough to not die and allow me to tie up loose ends. I trust you won't mention this conversation to anyone else?"
"OH HO?" IS THAT YOUR ATTEMPT AT A THREAT?"
"I was tempted to let you leave but that pathetic attempt at intimidation has made you much more boring and these fire arms have already proven so ineffective against me."
stood up and walked towards Vincenzo and looked down at him
"Please do tell me what you believe would happen if I didn't do what you want."(edited)
He looked ip at the Berserker calmly withouth any emotion not shifting his footing, "No. Just an observation if I look at things from a realpoltik stance. And besides, do you really think I would supply my men with normal mortal weapons considering what I'm dealing with?"
The General sighed heavilyand shook his head, "You're a servant. And as you said earilier you class container has limits so its possible but I have no inclination to waste my resources, my manpower and ammunition, on you. If you did reveal the contents of this conversation to Chaldea there will be no difficullty. If you said anything to anyone else that would compromise my oh so comftable position of leadership, then that would prove difficult to our relatsionship and the status quo."
"Do you even truly know what I am? It seems you fail to understand a single word I speak, every time you stupidly speak you make me less inclined to enjoy how this plays out."
"I fail to care about your human jobs or your boring politics so hold your tongue and leave before I sever your heads from your bodies and let just what you've done slip out, Do I make myself clear?"
"Get your putrid face out of my sight before I decide to stop holding back like every other conflict I've been in, this container is quite limiting but I never said I was limited to just This container. Take your sacrificial Lamb's corpse and go."
He chuckled and crossed his arms, "Impressive. You Chaldeans are a brave bunch even in the face of something that could end everything just at the snap of a finger, I'll give your lot that. I like you, Berserker, I can see you've more then earned your Class Container. You would make a fine man to discuss with over a brunch tea. I should have asked my dear Captain to do a lot more just to see what you refusing to hold back looks like."
Two of the masked soldiers flanked the General as he spoke. Not saying a word they just stood there.
"But, really, as much as I appericate this dance of words I will need you to keep quiet about this. The current status quo is advantagous to Chaldea is it not? And it's in my intrest to keep it that way. So even if you do suffer from Madness for being a Berserker I do hope you can realize throwing away a great advatange for brief statisfaction from running one's tongue would be truly foolish."
"I already said you could go, I see no fun in stopping you here. I wish to see this play out."
" I find politics boring but human failings and violence are truly fun to observe, so now take that Captain paste and go so I might see these results."
"Be aware while I consider Chaldea not really an enemy but rather a tool to use in my persuits, sometimes one must repair imperfections in that tool. I may not be able to harm you with an efficient expenditure of my resources, trust that others in Chaldea may serve as approiate penalty," he began to walk away with his hands in his pocket as his men loaded the crates onto the truck, "Oh, and don't bother asking about the soldiers and knights that went with you. I'm afraid that they fell valiantly in combat against the forest. I'm actually off the give one of their mothers a Purple Heart so I apologise for not being able to stick around."
"And before I forget," he was at the cab door with that arrogant grin still on his face, "I'm aware you communicated all this to your Master so I trust they keep their lips shut if possible."
He added as he closed the door.
"I wish he was as receptive."
"Another loose end I'll have to tolerate or deal with in the future." he muttered and leaned back in his sedan as the trucks began to jostle away down south in the direction of Genoa.
"Ha, now that would be something entertaining to watch, I wonder what the look on his face would be once he sees the divined spirit I placed within them."
One of Orochi's heads exited from the the back of his jacket it and rested upon his shoulder
"Fufu, perhaps I should have told him that the killing blow wasn't with the sword."