It was a simple precept. After all it was something which followed difficult mythical concepts from times long gone, was what a blond haired woman thought standing inside a destroyed church.
In the rumbles of this relict from the last wars and dark oxidized blood smeared in circles in the middle of the place around her, she stood with majestic glory in the middle of this blasphemous art.
The blood of thousands of her ancestors from the old age to the time of now, seeped into the stone, into the core of this holy place. In this place abandoned by many, each newborn of her family was born in this place received the blessing and lived their lives in ignorant bliss before returning here and dieing.
Yes, here is the place in which her family -her too- was born and this will be the place she will die … but today – tonight – she came for another reason to this forsaken place.
She was wearing the black suit of her late father, in her left gloved hand was a sheathed sword. The sheath, a deep blue color with golden lines decorating. Yet unknown to even her, invisible runes were carved onto it.
A sad sigh escaping her lips as she lifted her face to look at the angel statues embed into the the church's bases, specifically looking at the pure white impersonation of Arch-Angel Gabriel at the altar in the front. The stone Angel with it's otherworldly gentle smile smoothed her heart in the cold and left alone canvas this church was located in.
A warm shining place was something else, but the sight of this statue evokes virtue in even the coldest of hearts.
If it weren't for the sad past this place held for her family…
The land does not belong to them, it was located in a place far off from all civilization. Here everything belonged to believe and nature. Not one word escaped her lips as she found and entered the place of her birth and death…
The only though clouding her mind was the image of her father laying in the middle of these circles. Right in the middle of them. The same place she stood on now. Various images of her past surfaced but she ignored them and concentrated on the formula she was about to mutter.
Today -tonight- was the time to fulfill the blood-oath her family maintained towards her oldest ancestor.
Not much was known of him. Even history itself seemed to disregard his existence. But it was undeniable true for her and for those who came before her, that the founder of their family was a king in another world - another time. And his was this sword in her hands.
She knelt in the middle of the circle, in the center of the church, surrounded by countless angels while holding the sword out before her kneeling form. The moment the tip of the sheath touched the center of the circle, red light began to pour out from the red lines. The blood of her ancestors began to gleam and lines of red light emerged from each circle forming patterns onto the tiles of the church. Fusing, parting and intertwining until each line found the innermost circle in which she knelt onto.
Golden runes shined on the sheath and she closed her eyes. The runes began to peal themselves off from the metallic surface floating through the air like fireflies. Each of them surrounded her swirled around and began to connect in front of her palm.
18 signs began to from above her right fist. The gloved fingers still tightly curled around the hard the swords hilt while the signs organized themselves into the rows of intertwined lines and embed themselves onto her the backside of her hand. From there they originated to spread through her whole arm while staying in their arranged form.
Gritting her teeth tightly she remained in the same stoic position with the same stoic expression marring her face. This formula was passed down through the same blood which scattered this halls, which stained these holy relics…it was from olden times originally part of her oldest ancestors oath to a world long forgotten…a curse binding her and her family to this very place.
But now with the oath finally returning to the sacred blood flowing through her veins, she was finally able to break away from this cursed Fate and that accused Night which haunted her to this day.
Peace. For the first time in many years she felt at peace. Why was unknown to her, after all she was about to go into yet another night which could curse her family yet again…but instead of feeling anxiety or more fitting betrayal towards those who burdened her with this mission, all she felt was pure solace.
Noticing that the primitive spell was behaving strangely, her mind wandered through the memories of her blood, trying to decipher what was happening to the ritual but finding nothing wrong…The link to the other world was establishing as it should, surprisingly easy if she was allowed to say so …
Than again she wasn't allowed to dwell onto these thoughts since she was the first of her blood-line to ever participate in the summoning. It was after all prepared for over a millenia and her procedures made sure that everything will go as it should…
Now she understood. Silent tears fell onto the ground. She felt it. She felt them. Her fathers and mothers. All those who shed their blood onto these holy walls. They all were beside her. Their strength and wisdom. Their paths and oaths. Their pasts and the peace they found to be by her side, finally. All of it and more flowed inside her, pulsed through her veins and guided her and her fate towards the place and companion she needed the most in this very moment. In the following days. In the following battle for glory, might and dreams.
It was what her family desired.
Yet it didn't mean she had to live this way…each of her ancestors followed a life of either bliss or hardships which all ended in the very place she knelt on, but none of them ever forgot the wish they all shared…
A single wish uniting a family through blood and trust to this very day -night-
And it began. She felt a surge of her energy being drained from her body, from the bloodied circles around her, from the life in the forest all around the church itself. But it wasn't as intense as her blood told her it would be…That was strange, she thought slowly getting up from her kneeling. The circles around her still shone in an otherworldly red light but it quietly faded from the outer circles to the inner one.
When the light began to grow inside the last circle, she stepped back and waited for the summoning to finally reach its conclusion. She knew that her ancestor would guide the most suited partner for her to this very place. She felt intense love surround her, just for a brief moment…it felt like her procedures embraced her before disappearing inside the current of light forming in the center of the church.
This will it be, she thought watching with her forest green eyes how the light transcended into the sky. It formed a shining red pillar of light which illuminated at least the church and the few bits of greenery close by.
Stars seemed to circle around the pillar as the light slowly began to change it's appearance. The origin of the glow in the center of the circle where the sword was struck began to lift from the ground, while the line into the sky slowly lowered. The light formed a ball which floated a few meters atop the circle. The stars guided the slowly bulging and pulsating light to take on a living form. If luck was on her side the summon would be either a mythological beast or a hero from the old age…but she knew her ancestors would guide the most suitable partner to her side which was why she patiently watched as the stars guided the light to form something akin to a human.
Two arms, two legs and one head could be made out from the blinding gleam. The form swiftly began to stabilize. Her breath got stuck in her throat for a moment. When the light stopped forming itself, the form of an angel was slowly transcending onto the now blood-free tiles of the church. At least that was what appeared in her eyes.
Pure white hair, pale skin, a white gown so large and so white it might have covered the entire ground if laid out…and an unmistakeable glow of pure white light pouring from every inch of it's form.
She blushed, she had not expected her ancestors to reach out as far as heaven just to give her the most suitable protector. Yet her face remained stoic; maybe she was blinded by the first appearance since what she though were wings, was nothing more than the summons beautiful long white hair.
The being which slowly lowered from the high position it was floating to the ground, had it's eyes still closed, the wings of the Archangel statue seemingly spreading from behind. Upon touching, the gleam around it disappeared and a large cloud of dust residing inside the church was thrown through the place.
She covered her face with her free arm so that not one speck of dust was getting into her eyes. She wanted to see them. The angel, the being, the person she summoned with the blood of her families lifetime. She had to see them. That beautiful being which obstructed her sense of self for the few moments she saw it…
The light faded. She heard loud coughing from the center of the dust cloud. She searched through the cloud with her enhanced eyes, searching for any signs of the white being she saw moments ago.
She followed the sound of he coughing to its origin, finding it -her-. The pale being coughed a little more before the dust subsided and began to look around frantically "Huh? Huh?! Wh-where am I?! What is going on here?" Clearly a feminine voice, she mused silently waiting for the 'woman' to notice her.
Blueish white light scattered throughout the place, probably the seer-stones in the orbit…So they already started, she wondered but stood still, preparing the enslavement chant in the backside of her brain.
Then 'she' finally took notice of her, and she was forced to gulp when their eyes met. An inhumanly red colored those irises. Questions surfaced, yet they stayed buried.
"He-Hello" 'she' said trying to contact her "Might you be able to tell me where exactly I am and what I am doing here?" 'She' composed herself rather quickly, the blond thought. the pale woman was clearly confused, maybe panicked, yet the woman before her with unwavering resolve stood calm and looked at her.
"My name is Arturia Pendragon, I am the last descendant of King Arthur." the blond introduced herself, bowing her upper torso while stepping back with her left leg, holding the blade in front of her "I was announced as the last member of an old rite which might return the world to normal. You heard my calling, which is why I am glad, yet I have to ask of thee if you are the servant I was deemed to receive due to my procedures wishes."
Arturia ended her self introduction with a long last look to her right gloved hand, still feeling the lingering sensation of the runes embedding themselves into her arm. Stealing a swift glance at the woman's eyes, Arturia was surprised to see the shocked expression on that beautiful face.
"B-but…Wait, this doesn't make sense… I was just…wasn't Kiritsugu summoning Saber…wait…" the pale woman was debating with herself it seemed and with mentioning of one of the seven classes the blond tensed her muscles "Sorry, please excuse my impolite behavior…" the one in white mutter hastily, she placed her hand above her chest "My name is Irisviel von Einsbern and…I am sorry to say this but I don't really understand what you mean with me being a Servant."
Now this surprised her. Her eyes immediately shot towards the woman named Irisviel, to which the woman shifted from side to side uncomfortably. Arturia quickly lifted her right hand and pulled off the glove with her teeth, letting it fall to the ground. The marks she felt on her arm had taken on a black color instead of the blood colored one it was expected to be. Holding out her hand in front of her "Hear my word! Reveal your class!" She screamed inside her head.
At the exact same time the pale woman's left hand began to glow in a red light. The light slowly faded and revealed a blood red colored cross mark on her skin. The very moment it did both Arturia and Irisviel looked at it with disbelieve. Furthermore at the same time from both marks on both women's hands appeared a oblong shaped card with a Pentagram and various ornaments on its back, from white particles which fused together.
Swirling around a few centimeters before each of them. Clear confusion marred the pale woman's face and grabbed for the card before her, on it the picture of a female knight with a black sword in her hand and blades of different shapes and sizes around in the background, her eyes immediately looking at the woman across her -resemblance-
Arturia's thoughts couldn't be more confused as they were that very moment. The card right in front of her, she snapped it from its floating place and looked at it over and over again. Though she felt eyes on her, she still denied to look up…
"A blank card…" she finally muttered falling onto her knees. It couldn't be…what had her ancestors thought of when she held the rite…
"Ah!" her ears perked and she saw the white woman hurrying to her side, a worried expression on that breathtaking face. "Are you alright? What happened? Are you feeling faint?" many question spoken out of worry…She wondered how someone could sound so concerned for someone she just met. Getting over her initial shock she got up again before the other woman could see the expression on her face.
"I am alright, please forgive me but it sees I screwed up with my summoning…else it wouldn't explain why someone with a blank card would appear before me here and now…" her voice trailed off.
"Blank -…card?" her summon must have been confused about the term, another indicator that she probably indeed failed the spell. She held up the white side of the oblong card, nothing was printed on it. It was utterly blank from anything that existed "A card like this should not appear…it means a person like yourself can not be placed in either of the seven categories for the upcoming ritual or that you are someone of no importance in the history of your world…which would mean I fai-…" Arturia explained to the white haired woman, standing firmly in the same place, until she saw the card similar to hers in the others hands.
Her eyes widened as she saw the object and the pale woman looked from the card in her hand to the card held before her…
The whole situation was turning into a rather uncomfortably mess and the blond didn't really know what she has to make out of it. She wondered briefly what all this meant…until she suddenly felt an impaling sensation going through her body. Judging by the look on the other woman's face a similar feeling also alerted her. Her head immediately shot towards the hole at the ruins walls in the direction the sensation originated.
From atop the trees behind a distant mountain a blue light could be seen.
The smell of blood invaded the forest.
"A blood-trail?!" she screamed spinning around to face the sudden sensation. She could feel it. The trail of blood following her to this place. But it couldn't be. This forest was protected by her ancestors spirits or at least she was told so. There was no way for them to find her…unless…
"It couldn't be…the church?! Did they decide to send out their enforcers just for this?!" she slightly panicked. With her being only moderately capable of fighting and a quasi servant with no attributes whats over…what chance would she have staying here?
Then she saw it.
Its large shadow. The object was moving with an incredible speed through the forest. Muscles size, possible amount of stamina, powers…it was probably something that with tremendous amount of strength and velocity…But with that build? Her eyes couldn't make out any details after all it was at least a few kilometers away…but it was approaching fast…and did she just see a giant cutlass in the being's hand?!
It couldn't be. 'That' wasn't human…at least not entirely…But another thing bothered her…
They couldn't have located this place already. It was the holy sanctuary of her family
Unless…
In the far distant dark sky, a rather unique vehicle was carrying itself through the air. It had an aerodynamic body shaped like an arrow with two hollow wheels horizontally on each side of it. Within each them where three glowing triangles shaping and reshaping into the forms of regular triangles and variations of other forms. Every time the glowing objects rearranged them space distorted leaving a black particles between the glowing forms and the wheels. The flying vehicle got a rectangular main body right behind the wheels. The side was open and revealed the inside of the object, thought it was completely dark except for the person standing on the edge of the orifice.
It was a woman with white wavy hair and petite constitution. She wore a black dress like coat which went down to her knees with a white neck piece and a red long scarf waving in the air, a symbol ingrained on it, black tights and white boots. She wore an unreadable expression on her face while whisking strands of her waving hair off her face.
She knew it. Since they had the same type of eye. Yellow eyes intently watched her squeezing green ones.
The blond paled.
Caren Ortensia
The churches greatest hound dog capable to find any demon and any magical ritual around the globe…or others with the same type of enhanced eyes. Though her accuracy only grows when she's within a thirty kilometer radius. Which was sadly the case in the forest covered mountain trails… and what made matters worse was the dark presence looming behind her…something utterly sinister which did not belong into this world….
A servant…
This wasn't good "Sorry it seems like we were spotted by the churches hound dogs. We have to get as far away from here as possible now!" she exclaimed, trying to stay calm but failed at the end of her sentence.
Then she felt a soft hand on her shoulder, in her panic she nearly forgot the one she summoned. She looked back now staring into completely calm red irises.
"Calm down, I may not know what is happening right now but by the way you are acting I would say that we are in danger right?" Irisviel asked her, the tone in her voice did not betray any hints of panic or fright. The woman before Arturia was nothing short but the incarnation of calmness.
She nodded without knowing it.
"I see" the pale woman muttered before looking strongly into her green eyes "Do we have any ways of escaping?" another nod. Somehow the woman before her knew how to handle her.
"There is an vehicle close by…the problem is, even though it's not far away, I fear that we might be traced" Arturia explained stepping aside and motioned for the summon to follow her "The greatest problem is that an hound dog of the church is getting closer…And from what I know, she is said to hunt down her prey until its either dead or captured and I fear that that isn't our only problem…" she quickly checked the location the enemy she saw in the beginning -the giant- paling when she realized that it came too close to their current location.
What kind of monster was able to cross over thirty kilometers on foot in this unstable footing in such a short time, she berated with herself picking up her speed. She stopped herself briefly when she remembered the long white dress her summon wore. Turning around she intended to tell Irisviel that her clothing might hinder them in their escape. But before she could open her mouth and suggest her carrying the albino, Irisviel already tore the dress around her knee area.
"Your… dress…" she sputtered stopping herself before sounding like an idiot. But Irisviel was already by her side by then, revealing a good portion of her slender legs to the blond.
"It's easier to escape that way" she reasoned shocking Arturia with her adaptability to this more than strange situation. "And by the way…I noticed it too…that thing approaching us, its probably an Heroic Spirit…am I right?" the pale woman was walking up beside her. Did she have some sort of sensory skill, the blond wondered leading the way once more hurriedly.
But before she could say or do something a loud scream resounded from the forest …worse, it wasn't just close by…it was above them.
To be more precise, the being with its extraordinary senses probably noticed that they wanted to escape used its heightened deviant leg strength and closed the missing distance.
Without thinking she spun around and readied the sheathed sword holding it upwards while Irisviel ran ahead just a few steps before she too stopped "Wha-…" but when the pale woman tried to question the action, a dark shadow landed.
An ear shattering scream filled the air, the room, the forest. An earth breaking impact happened breaking most of the churches foundations making it crumble and fall apart even more. Water drops – or rather sweat – flew through the air.
The being was tall, incredibly tall with black skin, an dark eye with red pupils gleaming dangerously in this dark night. A black giant, radiating immense power and a giant combination of a rundown ax and sword…
Judging by his appearance, I'd say it was tainted by some kind of forced reinforcement the blond thought. But before she could formulate a plan someone shoved her aside…just in time as the giant ax-sword slammed itself into the place she stood.
The tiles broke from the weight of the iron, the force of the impact caused an air disturbance - a shockwave – carving everything in the line of the sword with an enormous scar.
She was thrown through the room by the air wave, unknowingly letting go of the sword, landing close to one of the angel statues which still were intact from the sudden tremor. Coughing heavily since all air was pressed out of her lungs when she was thrown through the air…worry, her mind instantaneously shot to her summon.
She knew that the woman she summoned was the one to push her aside, but she was just a blank card, which meant someone unimportant in the other worlds history. Yet she was by far not ordinary and even brave enough to put her life on the line for the blond…Arturia pulled her away from her life…her ancestors did…she did…
The red light of the giant's eye drew a faint line as it turned at faced her.
She had to do something. Anything. She needed to think up a strategy to escape this situation.
Any.
But facing two servants and probably half of the churches elite army was rendering any form of plan useless in the long run even before she could think of it.
She couldn't think straight and nearly dived into the second oncoming attack of the giant when she evaded yet another slash.
The blond was to occupied by the sudden attacks of the beast that she didn't notice that it paused whenever it attacked…it probably studied her movements and or whether she was going to be a threat to it.
Doing a heads down rolling to escape the next slash Arturia was left with only two options: Either fight and die without achieving anything.
Or she looked through the rubble and dust for Irisviel and run away as fast as possible.
Either option wasn't favorable and she was more than sure that this won't do anyway. The giant was not only fast but its strikes could cleave even the earth with a single strike…
What could she do?
What can I do she screamed inside her head looking with her eyes directly at the red glowing orb.
Her muscles tensed when the giant began to move to her direction. It was moving rather slow as if it knew that she was no match for it…or it might be…
As realization struck through her mind, the giant lifted its weapon and charged at her with incredible speed.
Not much time allowed to think, a quick jump followed. Pain shot through her back when she was once again throw trough the air due to the slashes force.
But it was clear what the giants objective was…
It was buying her time.
Thought she couldn't be sure of it, but the giant with it's power and speed should have been more than capable to kill her, yet it paused whenever it moved, giving her a chance to catch her breath.
There probably was another reason. She was sure of it. Whenever she got attacked, large clouds of dust were sprayed into the air. While the instances she evaded were in actuality in-between seconds since the giants first appearance, to the once on the battlefield it was more than enough to check out their opponents.
The dust lifted from the ground actually wasn't caused by the impact the chunk of iron had onto the ground, but rather from the air pressure it put to that. That automatically makes each hit look more destructive than it was.
And that would drive certain other factors out of a certain way.
The churches troops?! That thought clearly manifested in her mind The servant is probably trying to throw as many heavy blows onto the ground as possible so that the churches troops don't surround me…Does it intend to hunt me down on a path I myself carve? It was a legitimate question from her point and she had yet to find her summon. Only five seconds into the sudden death fight and her left sleeve as well as a few bits of her pants were torn. It was a wonder that she wasn't bleeding…but it didn't mean that she might not have other wounds.
She panicked once more when the giant charged at her with an uppercut that split the tiles where it moved.
Barely escaping the enormous fist with only a minor cut on her arm when she landed on the ground again.
As her green eyes shot up once more…she saw it…the black vehicle from flying through the sky with unsaintly light from its wheels…it came closer…
But before she could focus on anything else, yet another strike followed.
On the jet-black flying machine, still far away in the distance, "What do you think Father?" Caren asked into the space. Aside from her only two others were occupying the room. Behind her stood a taller red haired woman in a red suit. The other was a figure obscured by the shadows.
"Do you really want to know what that 'thing' has to say?" the red haired who remained still normally practically barked. Her eyes looking more than despiteous at the servant while clenching her gloved fists. She didn't like it. And she didn't like those insane dead eyes and that smirk.
The figure stepped out of the shadows. It was a man clad in a black attire, a feeling of nostalgia and schadenfreude made its way onto his face. He didn't say anything and he surely wouldn't do anything that would make the red head any more suspicious of him then she already was.
"I was not aware that you cared for a puppets opinion... and I wasn't aware that you knew that I was a holy man." it was quiet visible that he had to hold in his snickering. The red headed woman wondered just what really lies within those dark orbs.
"But if you would excuse me. Could you tell me just why we are sending out a few hundred men and two monsters to catch only two mice?" his voice was void of any emotions, fully aware that the scale of this happening was larger and more sinister than any of the vehicles occupants were allowed to know.
"It does not matter!" the red head screamed at him. She shot the dark clad being an angry look, "Quit making Caren loose her concentration! You were already briefed about that."
Holding up his hand with a calm expression on is face, "I am sorry I was only told that we were hunting an enemy Master with their family, but after reading that she was the last in her line…do you really expect that much of a thread from her?"
He clearly did not try to hide his bemusement with his last question to which the red head reacted violently. The silver haired thought paid none of the two any attention.
"Bazette could you please stop being jealous and let the servant do its job? I promise to give you enough of me later at the dorm." though she didn't miss her chance to tease the red head who blushed profusely.
The servant merrily chuckled, stepped past Bazette and Caren until he reached the edge of the opening.
"My Master. Tell me. Order me. Force me. Use me as you please to finish any and all of those who deny ye. Send me ou-" he was pushed over the edge. Falling "-t and I fulfill your wish." the ghost of his last words lingering in the air the silver haired girl stretched her right arm upwards Red Marks in three lines began to glow. Each line consisted of countless words in an unknown language.
"Finish them."
Those cold words where thrown after the falling man.
His mad smile shining brightly in the ever dark night.
"He really is inhuman." the red head whispered holding the silver haired around the waist. "Is that why you pushed him out?" the cold eyed girl asked, leaning backwards into the embrace, her eyes still focused onto the scene at the destroyed church.
Just a few hundred meters below them, on the forest ground. The shadow of a man was soaring through the branches with an outmatched speed. It wouldn't even take him so much as a minute to arrive at the old crumbles of the Pendragon families holy ground.
His smile full of unnatural evil.
Yet currently at the madman's desired destination a desperate fight took place.
Once again Arturia was thrown through the room and once again she landed close to an angel statue. She was breathing heavily. Just when she noticed that the enemy was showing mercy to her, for whatever reason their might be, her own stamina wasn't holding up.
Great amounts of dust ad rubbles were clouding the area. She could still see the ominous shadow of the black colossus. And with the last bit of her energy she did a quick search for any individuals close by, relieved that the attacking force wasn't getting closer.
A gentle touch on the exposed skin of her injured arm alarmed her momentarily yet she relaxed the moment her forest green eyes laid upon the ruby orbs of Irisviel.
Without a word the albino motioned for her to follow her behind a boulder close to an angel statue. Risking to follow her summon while the dust was still not clearing up, in that situation it was the best possible solution.
Without a word after the two of them hid behind the boulder, the giant began to scream. Words of an old language were spoken affirming her earlier suspicion of it being from a long gone age.
She breathed heavily, feeling the ripping sensation of her muscles which probably came from the consecutive evading and the tremors caused by the giants attacks.
That was until she felt a flow of energy on her arm. A warm and gentle sensation. Pure. Her eyes shot towards the woman beside her. Forest green eyes meet the determined red orbs of the pale woman. They wandered and watched how a blueish light came from those delicate fingers, woven around her wound. The wounds closed without leaving a scar.
"I hope this feels better" Iriviel started, from the tone of her voice Arturia could guess that she had been worried "I was thrown through the air from that attack just then and landed around here." she began to explain, keeping on with the treatment of the blond's wounds "I tried to hide behind some of the boulders and statues and looked for a way to escape with you but it kept on attacking and I could not see a way to get out of here…" she paled a little "It also appears that we are surrounded by an unknown force…"
She probably both confused and frightened Arturia reasoned, but was impressed with the way her summon was handling those feelings and kept her outwards appearance and influx of Mana to heal her wounds.
"So you're a mage in your world…" she whispered, not knowing if Irisviel heard her, but kept on the conversation "I wouldn't have put it past you to escape…and I wouldn't have minded if you did …" She stopped her ranting the moment her eyes meet the angry pouting expression of Irisviel.
"How could you think that? I wouldn't leave you here alone against that. I will never abandon a comrade no matter how short we have known each other!" the blond cringed from the scolding, closing an eye in the process. But she relaxed when she felt the white haired beauty touch her shoulder. Then something was placed atop her lap. She looked down.
Irisviel held the sword of her ancestors in her right hand. "I found this close to the angel statue there" Arturia received the blade, holding it close to her, shame in her eyes. She hadn't noticed that she had lost it in all that confusion.
"What do you think of our situation?" Irisviel's curious voice called out for her. Shifting her attention to the pale woman Arturia began to ponder about this whole predicatment.
"I wonder…right now we have that giant monstrosity on our necks. Its not only strong enough to break the ground with only a swing of his cutlass but it's also so fast that it would be insane to go up against it head-on…but it also appears that it keeps away the church's forces with its swings." Arturia looked into the direction of the giant, leaning against the boulder.
"But there is more" Irisviel suddenly began, the blond looked at her curiously "I sensed another being on its way here…but I lost its trail…I'm sorry."
"I se-…No it is alright…thank you,…sorry…I don't really know what I can do or say. I can only apologize for dragging you into thiiiiiissshhhhh-…!" her cheek got pinched and Irisviel's ruby eyes told her everything she needed to know "Don't apologize. Instead of feeling sorry try to resolve the situation first. I may not know what I am doing in this world. I may not be able to fight alongside you. Nor do I know what it is that is tormenting you" Forest green eyes widened "But I know that I have to help you and you have to help me. We are going to get out of this…together…"
Her heart was beating. She felt confused yet this woman was calming her down in a strange but comfortable way.
"My, my, you truly are a trouble some woman."
Several blade like objects came spinning through the air.
No time for anything.
She immediately grabbed Irisviel around the waist and jumped out of the way.
The swords embed themselves into the boulder, slicing and cracking it.
Arturia managed with Irisviel in her arms to jump close to the next possible hideout, which happened to be an angel statue. But it too got stabbed swiftly. But instead of falling apart blood-like substance flowed from the cuts.
To evade another round of blades swirling towards them the blond threw them to the ground, with the hilt clattering against the ground loudly.
That in turn picked the attention of the giant whose red orb shot towards their direction. Giant ax-sword raised into the air.
But it stood still were it was watching Arturia and Irisviel falling to the ground close to the Arch-Angel Gabriel statue. Then its red glowing light turned its attention to the shadows behind it.
While slowly getting up on her knees the blond did a quick check on the white haired beauty. But when seeing her relatively unhurt, a small sense of relieve flashed through her.
"I hadn't expected that you were able to adapt to the situation so quickly. You truly are an interesting woman." it chuckled revealing itself from the embrace of the night, where it came from, into the barely light ruins close to the giants current location at an shattered angel statue.
The dark figure of a man walked alongside the giant, though he only reached the giants torso in height yet he felt far more dangerous to Arturia. Feeling the shivering hand of Irisviel and seeing that normally calm face shift to a concerned expression made the blond nervous.
She watched as those dark eyes look at her and her summon, those eyes widened slightly and something akin to nostalgia flashed through them before a smirk appeared on his face that made her insides feel like freezing up. And worse, with the surrounding boulders pierced with various numbers of sword like objects, it was pretty clear that escape wasn't possible unless one of the opponents was defeated.
"My name is Kirei Kotomine, as you might have guessed I am a servant in the name of god as well as a servant of the summoning ceremony." That took her by surprise. She did not expect that the man would introduce himself and what's worse that Kirei was the other servant she sensed earlier.
A member of the church? Was he some holy man from the other world? She thought but dimissed that thought entirely, especially since the pale woman beside her keep chanting 'It can't be' over and over again No he has no life in his eyes at all and I do not sense any divinity from him…Her eyes involuntarily shifted to the black giant …But I sense it from that…
Putting an arm before her summon, she attempt to at least shield the woman whose life was put in immediate danger because of the blond. The man's eyes began to laugh, as if through watching them despair was making him more and more delighted. Such vile evil it was now more than important to form an escape plan, knowing the enemies classes too, might give her the advantage needed to formulate the necessary actions for even the slightest chance of success. She had to protect Irisviel or else she could never forgive herself or her ancestors.
Focusing her enhanced eyes towards the dark clothed man beside the giant.
Reveal your class!
In that moment, she instantly screamed inside her mind. It wasn't possible…No it shouldn't be possible! There was no way that was true…But there was no denying it…
"A-a Blank Card…? Wha-What is going on here?!" she whispered, not noticing the slightly quivering hands of the pale woman holding her shoulder, barely audible but it seemed that the self proclaimed priest heard her.
"My, my, I fear you are under the impression that being a Blank Card means the same as being classless or weak." the vile man's mouth sputtered, his jet-black eyes fixated onto the woman beside her. He lifted his left hand, showing the red marks similar to Irisviel's. The symbols began to glow in a dark red light, emitting red particles into the air which began to manifest into the form of a Tarot Card.
It was a blank card.
Arturia's eyes widened. Such evil was just a blank card? But then something changed on the surface. Dark letters began to run across the blank surface. Dark lines traveled from side to side, forming patterns. Finally the once blank surface filled itself with a picture of the vile man with in an attacking pose, three blades in hand, and the classification name: EXECUTIONER
"These cards are blank for a reason." his voice was becoming more sinister. The giant across from him eyed him suspiciously "It is for us to earn our class." he said barely above a whisper "And by my classification, I am more than able to kill you anytime…"
She panicked. Not even in the worst case scenario had she expected to encounter so much malice, though it was even worse since they had to face two servants at once. Both were able to kill them anytime. Both had powers which made them survive through whatever they encountered in their age. Both had unknown or immense stats on the physical, magical and intelligence department. Especially that man, Kirei Kotomine, was foreshadowing even more sinister. The situation couldn't be worse.
What could she do? Once again she was forced to face that question.
Two servants with unknown and over the top stats…What can I do?! How can I save us?! She closed her eyes in desperation, grabbing the ground below her so forcibly that the tiles began to crack. Her nails dug into the ground further, until she felt the gentle touch on her shoulder warm up, pulling her out of her misery.
"Don't worry" that reassuring voice gentle tickled against her ear, those warm eyes meeting her forest green once in such a beautiful contrast, for a brief moment all worries forgotten "Don't worry, right now they think we can't do anything and I am pretty sure I have seen that person before, but no matter what when we do it right we might get out of this situation. Let's surprise them!"
That enthusiastic cheering. This woman, Irisviel was surprisingly calm about the situation. Those words, they fueled something within Arturia. Something warm began to pulsate from the place touched by Irisviel through her whole body. Gentle waves rocked her entire body, the light of an obscured moon resonated from within her origin.
Thou shall not lose ye hope
Immediately the giant jumped backwards, as if all its senses screamed for it to back off. And even Kirei eyed the two women suspiciously.
It vibrated.
Whatever was before them, around them, within them.
Everything began to resonate.
Arturia shifted her right arm, placing it atop Irisviel's. Her heart pulsating faster slightly.
Yet all she could care for right then was the warm feeling slowly growing in her palm, and the softness of Irisviel's hand.
Upon touch both marks on their hands began to glow. From the colorless light burgeoned lines, the lines formed a rune with two strokes, one vertical while a diagonal from the left lower corner to the upper right one crossed the first. The symbol spotted itself on her right palm and onto Irisviel's chest, close to her heart…
A feeling welled inside of her. She felt calm even relaxed…as if an unspoken bond was formed between the white haired beauty before her and herself…it brought her conflicted mind to rest and her hand holding the blade loosened slightly.
She stood up.
The sheath began to vibrate visibly.
Unrestricted.
She turned around facing the gigantic colossus.
One step at a time.
"Please do not worry anymore. We can do this now, but I need your help to reverse the situation." she whispered with doubtless certainty that Irisviel could hear her.
The plan was already formed inside her head and she was certain that her summon would trust her… all that was missing now was.
"I do not know who you are in your world and what you did to be called here" she spoke to the giant half her face obstructed by her blond hair "same goes for you" clearly directing her words to the man on the other side of the room, who claimed himself to be a Servant of the 'Executioner' class whatever that meant…
Her eyes closed.
Her breath evened out.
Lifting the still sheathed sword before her face letting the hilt meet with her right.
The mark on her hand began to glow once more.
More, more intense.
It brightened the air around her filling the crumbled room of the shattered chapel.
One line of pure red color ascended from the glow distorting the space around while two smaller lines emerged from the top, forming an upwards pointing arrow before it too spotted itself onto the skin of her left hand's middle finger.
And as if resonating with the symbol…
The sword too, began to shine.
Pulling the hilt with her hand, no strength needed, the blade revealed its first bits of fineness.
"I will stop you."
The air filled itself with unspoken vehemence.
Both enemies felt it.
One reminiscing at the familiar feeling on his skin, remembering the wildness and struggle he encountered in his time.
The other felt maddening joy pulsing through every vein of his body. He knew this feeling. He encountered it so many times in the decades he was alive that her would never mistake this feeling. The feeling of being torn to shreds in an abyss deeper than the darkest hellhole.
Neither of the two noticed it though, too overwhelmed to feel something so familiar from the woman before them, that Irisviel managed to get up from her position hearing the whispered instructions from her comrade. Still staying in Arturia's field of attention the pale woman hurriedly went into the shadows outside the churches destroyed walls.
If her plan was in motion now, all she had to do was buying time.
She pulled the sword farther out revealing it's blue ornaments and the Rune Tree carved onto the black strut with golden lettering.
The air tensed and the rune ebbed onto her left hand began to glow more fiercely.
She allayed herself.
Imaginary palms gently strode over her shoulders calming her nerves.
Her origin called.
Gently stroking her cheek.
All will be well
Do not fear
All will be well
Thou shall prevail.
She had nothing to fear. She knew this voice. She it was as if she had heart it before. As if it was her own. Yet she knew who it was that spoke to her. She knew. She felt.
It was her own blood -her line- that spoke to her.
Her heart beat slowly.
No hesitation.
No Fear.
And she released it.
Like a fierce storm raging through a wasteland. Gentle as the water devouring the isles. Bright like the never changing moon hidden within the night sky.
The moment the sword of her ancestors touched the air.
The giant was charging at her leveling his weapon down onto the earth she stood. The impact crashed the ground. shook the mountains. Dust and rubbles were lifted off the ground from the fierceness the chunk of iron possessed.
Kirei stood still and marveled at the other servants prowess and destructiveness. The swift course of action the moment its opponent posed a treat, that smug expression on the false priest told everything it needed to tell. He was impressed and curious.
The chunk still where it was with its wielder patiently looking where Arturia was supposed to be, unmoving…
Until the sword began to crack and shatter.
The giant was thrown off balance, eyes widening. Jumping backwards. Landing. Falling to its knees from the unexpected strain. A trail of blood escaping from a gush on its torso.
Kirei's eyes widened. Mad smile at place. He looked into the cloud of dust and rubble casting a spell onto his eyes to see what couldn't be seen. His eyes released an even more dangerous gleam when he saw it. Something he hadn't thought of seeing ever again.
Within the rubble she stood. Her ancestor's sword firmly in her hand together with the sheath in the other. She stood still within the crater with her arms raised. She wasn't aware that she managed the unimaginable.
Opening her eyes she stared at the ice cold amber orbs of the still approaching hound dog. Within her green eyes shone the rune tying her to her origin, a thin red line with an branch going into the right upper corner.
The runes light traveled across the marks on her right arm, resonating, creating power, with the black sword dying it with golden light.
Her eyes immediately drew towards the giant. The symbols still glowing. The light of her sword still intensifying.
…3
Kirei pulled out three hilt-like looking objects from his sleeve, holding them between his fingers. The moment they were in place, the hilts got their blades. The sword each had a whole arms length and had a black gleam to them.
…2
The giant stood up from its forced kneeling position. It smiled an inhuman smile, positioning itself sideways. It shifted its weight, building up it's energy. The wound on its torso disappeared. The glowing read eye focused solely onto the blond.
…1
Arturia lifted the sword upwards. Light intensified and reached upwards for the sky. The hand holding onto the sheath positioned above her chest. Gritting her teeth. Growling, then releasing her scream as she moved the glowing sword downwards.
"GAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH"
…0
The air cracked and endless light blinded the whole area. Both servants covered their eyes.
At least it appeared so.
Caren Ortensia, still looking onto the scene, was also blinded by the overweight amount of brightness. So much that she nearly fell out of the flying vehicle, if it hadn't been for the red haired woman's quick reflexes, holding onto her with those enhanced arms of hers then it would have happened.
The invading light effected anything before it.
During the chaos caused by the sudden outbreak of light, an white object drove right next to the blond. Only visible for the sword-bearer.
"Get on!" the pale woman called out for her. She obliged and swung herself onto the object. And without stopping Irisviel pushed onto a foot pedal to accelerate the vehicle, driving away from this place.
When the light subdued all groups, the servants at field and the churches troops, stare in disbelieve when the blond woman disappeared from the lights origin.
"An diversion?!" Caren muttered. She momentarily closed her eyes. Opened them and used her eyes to search for the newly chosen enemy.
But she found none.
A few kilometers away from the old churches location, a white object drove through the lines of trees with impressive speed. Atop the vehicle sat Arturia. With her back towards the driving direction. The blade once again sheathed was embed into the metallic surface of vehicle so that she wouldn't fall off.
"I honestly didn't think that you were able to do that…" Irisviel asked her from inside the white vehicle. Hands on both sides of the steering wheel. Concern was in her voice, but Arturia wasn't listening. She also wondered how she could do that and where that sudden power came from…but right now she was more focused on their save escape.
"I am actually more surprised that you were able to drive this car." deciding to easy the tension the blond voiced out her astonishment.
"Well this car looks and works just like one of my favorite toys back home…" Irisviel said from inside the car, driving through the woven forest "…and this is actually my first time…" Arturia looked up, then inside the car to the driver. The blond could see her summons bright red ears Is she trying to hide her blush she wondered, not noticing that she too blushed.
The albino farther tried to hide her face "Wha-What I mean is,this is my first time being outside my home and…and…By the way, don't you think that they can find us?" changing the subject before embarrassing herself further.
"Do not worry about that" the blond said, leaning her back against the cars cool exterior. Her muscles attaching up now that she could relax "The car is magic coated and doesn't let out any Astral from within, so they won't be able to trace us through you. Also, its one of the few vehicles that doesn't need Fluid Astral, its one of the most suitable escape cars out there." the blond explained.
"And since I'm also out of Astral, searching for me will only hinder them." she mused, seeing Irisviels eyes looking at her questioningly "Please drive the car farther away and look out for any Seer-stones in the sky. It would be better if we reached a town, fortress or cave soon." a smiled played on her lips, the first time since a very long time "And don't worry, we will talk about the situation of this world when we have found a suitable hideout."
"Okay, but I still think it is safer if you rest a little inside the car,…please" Irisviel, Arturia decided with a gentle smile on her lips, was a very pleasant, bright and caring person…and she felt strangely at ease with her by her side.
To be continued…Maybe(?)
Disclaimer: I do't own anything from Type-Moon, only the plot of this story.
Soundtrack for each part of the chapter, you may decided yourself which you would like to listen to:
Hiyoriki Sawano - Home ~in this corner~
- βιοζ-δ
Koji Nakamura - Welcome Home
- Broken wings
- OP Signal LIVE
Hiyoriki Sawano - Hill Of Sorrow
- eye-water
- Rittai Kidou
Nobuo Uematsu - Destruction
- Demise
Masashi Hamauzu - Those For the Purge
- Snow's Theme
- Saber's Edge
- Blinded By Light
- Lightning's Theme
- Serah's Theme
- Born Anew
Nobuo Uematsu - Liberi Fatali (FINAL FANTASY VIII)
Masashi Hamauzu - FINAL FANTASY XIII - Miracles
Hiyoriki Sawano - counter attack-mankind
- Aramy Attack
- Kamisama wa Nichiyoubi ni ED
I'm currently running on stress, energy drinks and sleepiness. All of that only to finish as much as possible!
I swear I will only continue this story when I have finished my on-going story "Bride Runner" until then I will only upload one other story/one-shot!
If you want this story continued, please give me reviews, critics and/or pm's!
And if you want to know it: I am using a magic system that I myself though of, based on Norse Runes, and instead of Mana/Prana, Astral is used as fuel.
Oh and here a few little spoilers to keep you interested even if you don't like Yuri:
Astral is a sort of Energy that exist within the Universe for free. And since it exists in great quantities, all living must consume as much Astral as possible and it is the natural sweeper of Mana/Prana...the rest will be explained if I ever write more…
Mana/Prana is poison to the world. The more it is used, the more the world is dieing. In the Age of gods too much Mana was used, nearing the world to its end…There is a reason why I leave the most important information out: It's called Plot Device XP
And from here on out, I can only tell you that Arturia isn't in possession of Excalibur. Now guess what sword was handed down in her family.
[What I can promise you though is the following: If you want me to continue, then be prepared for Yuri (it's obvious who (and Bazette really needed her own Yuri Route in the VN (or so I heard))) ; Violence; Plot-twists that will beg you to stop me; Many Characters of the Fate-verse as Servants or Masters; Cliff-hanger that will make you cry; Counter Guardians who are living normally in that world (Yes you will see EMIYA in this story (somewhere));
AND I WILL NOT throw Emiya Shirou into the fray! (Maybe as his Alter Ego/Maybe as an Antagonist but not as a Main Character)
But This Will Be An Arturia/Irisviel!]
Please R&R
Yours dear,
Sha Yurigami