Author's Note:
Wow, lately I've been getting all sorts of ideas, but whenever I start writing they just disappears. We're ten chapters in and it's just been day one of the Holy Grail War. I hope I can get this idea of having two protagonists right. Now that I think about it, I wonder which will come out better, Ira or Akemi?
Chapter 10: Aftermath – Burning Downpour.
"Impossible, he's just not human!"
The piercing sentence ripped itself through the darkness before me. The words are no stranger to me, for I have heard them many times before. No matter how much I blink my eyes, no light comes to exorcise the shadows twisting and turning before me. I wave my hand only to feel nothing. No object, no heat or cold, not even the very wind going against my touch. Everything feels so strange, nothing is making sense. Alarmed, my body jerked to bring myself up to my feet, only to be bogged down by immense aching and the feeling of being drained.
No thought comes into mind, the exhaustion has that function of my mind locked away. I just feel myself staring at the darkness, looking to pierce through the veil, and catch sight of what's beyond. That is, until I hear a clanking sound, as if someone brought a hammer to an anvil. An ominous orange light flickers on, shining through this tiny opening on the wall high above. In symphony the sound chimes, and the light only gets brighter.
Huh?
Right at the end of the room shines a ring of white light, illuminating only that corner. Pale skin and snow white hair, the figure just lies there against the wall, unmoving. It feels familiar. Pushing aside all the pain, the aching, I drag my feet one in front of the other. Before I know it, I'm staring down at it, a strange feeling of pity and sympathy drawing out of my heart because of the sight.
"Ugh... It's horrible."
The figure lies with its back to the walls, naked and soiled. There are wounds on every inch of its body, and I can sense no life pulsing through its veins. It is a dead, mutilated corpse. Dried blood covers and blemishes its pale skin. Its face, carrying a pair of crimson eyes, stares into space even after death, with a painful light. They look... so familiar. I think I've seen them before. Curiosity coming over me, I can't help but bend down to have a closer look. For some reason, I don't mind touching the body at all.
"Crack."
"Augh." My joints, my very bones creak and cracks as I move. Long, white hair that glistens in the light, yet they do not hold enough significance to capture all of your attention. Cold skin as pure as snow, hidden behind the layers of blood and mud. My fingers feels the chill as they gently press against the body, holding it up for a closer look.
… I see...
Her silky long hair, tinted silver that stretches out all around her, looks the same as my hair. My skin is just as pale as hers, they bear the same tone even as I hold her hands to mine, under that circle of light. Her eyes shine the color of blood, and though they stare out in a daze, they look exactly like my pair of eyes whenever I look into a mirror. The resemblance is uncanny, almost freakishly so. The only difference is that my body is that of male, while the body dead in front of me is that of a female's.
"Squish." A wet sound booms out into the silence of the confined space. A dark, muddy liquid starts seeping from where the deceased lady lie.
Suddenly, I feel a grip on my ankle. Cold, bony fingers dig into my flesh, my bone. Despite all the strength I'm capable of, the fatigue in my body lingers, and I can't even budge.
"Come back to us." A lucid, broken voice speaks the words, ringing into my mind. Who is it? I turn from side to side, eyes darting all over the place to hone in on the source, only to find nothing beyond the darkness. In a blink of my eyes, however, the room becomes filled with dozens of bodies, doppelgangers of the deceased lady by my feet. However, the body is no longer dead at my feet.
"You cannot escape! You will not resist!" Dragging it self forward with its arms, the lady moves as if her legs are broken. Only when I see her jaw creaking open and close do I realize it is her who's been speaking. I try to scream, to yell, only to have my attention seized by the dozen arms now cuffed around me, from my neck to my knees. Every one of the bodies I see before now creeps around me, their bodies broken. Their limbs bend into unbelievable position just to pin me down at where I stand.
"Let go of me!" In defiance, I yell, but that is all I can do. From their eyes cries rivers of mud and ooze, whole slobs of the horrendous substance pours out of their moves as they open. By now, it's already up to my knees. Staring into the swirling substance, there's this feeling of endlessness, as if I'm getting swallowed by the void.
Wait... I am getting swallowed! I can feel myself sinking!
"You will meet your destiny! It is what you are coined for!" In a broken cacophony of voices, now twisted into shrieks and cries, the bodies scream into my ears from all around me. Mud gushing forth faster than ever.
"No!" As their fingers grip down on my skull, partially covering my sight, their weight crushes down on me, pushing me further into the oozing substance. An insane cold breaks my touch, seeping into my bones. I think my body is all but devoured. Staring into the white light with my one, open eye, I can't help but feel afraid, confused and despair. What can I do? I don't even know what I'm supposed to do. I have no desire of my own. I have no future to look forward to. I am lost.
Perhaps I should just accept this, and go with the flow...
"Not this one..."
"He is incompatible..."
"He is denied..."
"Not one of us!"
"Hah!" Out of the black pile of mud, I find my head forced out, gasping for air. The many banshees at my side now chants a different tone, hostile compared to before. Their fingers dig down into my flesh harder now, so hard that my skin is torn and I've begin to bleed. My whole body burns as the black mud comes into contact with my skin every second. I don't understand, what's happening? The black ocean around me, so calm and accepting before, now churns and crashes with a violent beat.
It's as if it's rejecting me, denying my very being.
"Why are you even here, Ira?"
A high pitched voice, that of a child, now speaks above the rest. In my struggle, my eyes catch sight of a little girl standing beside me, staring down at me through crimson eyes that bear demonic light. White long hair fall to her waist, and she stands with pure white skin, just like the dozen banshees behind her. But, shadows envelops the rest of her body, their tendril waving, slithering out of her chest, where her heart should have been. Unlike the others, she just keep staring at me, motionless from where she stands.
"Gah!" A sharp jolt of pain comes as an open hand tears off my ear. Another bout of shock comes when I feel my knee ripped off of my body, the joint snapping off cleanly. Then, the pain just explodes in rapid succession. So this is what it feels like when my body's being torn apart... Before I know it, my vision gives out as immense pain tear at whatever that's left of my body.
"Aaaahhh!"
I awake to the sound of my own voice screaming and the falling of raindrops, my feet now pressed against the cold grass as before. My fingers are still there, bits and pieces of gray stone falling off of my hands as I move them. A familiar ache ravages my body as I put motion into my muscles once more. Looking around, I catch sight of the orange hue lighting up the night, burning in the distance. The school is still burning, the roaring flames unfazed by the pouring rain that has been going on throughout this particular night.
"Kuh... that dream again..." When all of the petrification leaves my body, I find myself falling to my knees, pressing my hands at the cooling soil. The blades of grass tickles me as they scratch at my palm.
I'm feeling... pain.
"I'm... still alive?" Muttering the words, I try my best to hone in and detect whatever prana signature I can find, particularly that of the blue blood's. In my mind, the field expands, taking into account my surroundings, the open field I'm in and even stretching out to the burning school.
"Nothing..." The words comes out of my mouth with a strained tone. Unconsciously, I find myself clenching down on my fists as I'm struck by this revelation. "He's gone..." With another breath, my anger and frustration only boils.
Why am I so angry? So annoyed? Shouldn't I be happy or at least relieved that I'm still alive?
In the field I stand, tired and disoriented, with a gnawing anger within me. The night sky is filled with countless dark clouds, swallowing up the light of the moon. From the heavens above, rain pours as if crying at my defeat. The smell of soot and ash is mixed with that of the raindrops falling. Heat lingers from the burning school while the cold wind howls. And before my eyes, my Servant stands, unmoving.
… That's right... I remember what happened... I saw all of it...
Berserker's body is left ravaged, broken.
Gungnir is the name of the Noble Phantasm invoked.
The runes on the weapon glows and charges with power. The spear itself seems to jump to life, the very air around the holy spear grew restless. My eyes fall on the enemy Servant in the distance, catching sight the best I can as the rest of my body freeze over, turning cold and lifeless. Nordic armor adorned all over him, finely decorated with horns and fang. The viking helm atop of his head resembles more of a crown than anything else. Fine robes inscribed with runes all over masks his body behind his armor plates. And among his features, the white hair, beard and of course, the runic eye...
How could I have been so oblivious to the clues before me?
Unbelievable, Odin, the All-father of the Aesir, is in this war! He brandishes his spear before my Servant with skills befitting that of a god, backed by centuries of experience! That explains why he can keep up with my Berserker, when technically no other Legendary Soul can!
"Nnnyyyaaaggghhh!"
Oblivious to what is happening, my Servant responds with the same piercing howl. As Lancer primes his weapon, taking a stance and pulling the holy spear back, Berserker pounces with sheer ferocity. With great force, my Servant's long arm comes crushing down, clad in metal and armor. Massive strength coupled with inhuman speed, even by the standards of Legendary Souls, cracks the air and splits the earth with the backlash of his attack alone.
But, can my Servant's legend match that of a god?
"Crack!"
One step forward and Lancer shatters the ground at his feet. Rocks and stone defies gravity as the mere presence of Odin pulls them up from the ground. In the split second when my Servant's attack is about to hit, I watch as Lancer thrusts his spear into the ground by his feet. My eyes wince at what happens next, my vision flickers as if my mind refuses accept what is happening. Donned in shadow veil, the runes of Gungnir is all I can see, glowing azure blue as the spear twists and contorts like a serpent pouncing at its prey.
The pointed head of Gungnir roars as it bends upwards, now piercing towards the arm of my Servant.
"Clank! Sletch!"
"Splash!"
The bladed Noble Phantasm chews through armor and flesh with ease, and the blood of Berserker squirts onto the soil and grass. The clean green grass at our feet is instantly stained with blackened blood.
"Uuurrraaauuuggghhh!" Berserker's voice saturates into the sound of the rain, sounding more like a cry than one of feral anger. In a blink of my eye, the spear has now gone through Berserker's palm, penetrating its way through flesh and bone. Blood trickles down from the wound as my Servant struggles to pull himself free. With a pulse of force, a glow of light envelops Odin as he rips out his weapon with one hand. The air howls as the long spear is pushed to his back with great dexterity, blood splattering out as the weapon flies back to him.
H-how is that attack possible? One second the weapon is flying towards the ground, looking to stab into the soil, the next it's already lodged into my Servant's hand! The light... Don't tell me it bent in its flight!
His glare stone cold, Odin moves like a mirage, leaving afterimages behind him as he lunges, spearing to the side.
It's as if he's missing his attack on purpose, jabbing into the open air!
Then, the same low hum boom out as the Noble Phantasm rumbles with fervor, swallowing whole piles of prana as the air begin crushing down on my back. Azure blue blinds me as the holy spear jumps to life yet again, shooting and bending in a zigzag pattern in crude, savage turns. In shadow, the dreadful weapon seeks and hones in on my Servant like a predator on the hunt.
"Klauch!"
Blood and rain falls in tandem as the red liquid burst from the wound. I open my eyes to see Berserker's neck torn and ravaged by the spear, which now cuts into my Servant's throat. After that, my Berserker roars no more.
No way!
Silenced and petrified, there is no way to vent the frustration of my mind. The questions pounding through my mind screams, demanding answers!
It defies the concept of causality! The target is to be pierced, and the Noble Phantasm bends fate to its will, forcing it into reality! Is this the power of Noble Phantasms? I can't believe this... And the most ridiculous notion is that Odin only expelled a small pint of prana to wake his weapon, that second strike costs absolutely nothing!
But, Odin's wrath continues.
Within a second, Gungnir pulses with power and hunger once more. When my Servant's crippled arm reach out for Lancer, he just takes a step back before the spear is pointed upwards into the air. The same thing happens. It twists and contorts in a flare of blue light, and plunges into Berserker's right arm, severing its joint. This act repeats itself for six more times, each attack as erratic as before. So fast my eyes can barely keep up.
The serpent bathed in light pierces through my Servant's chest.
A streak of azure bores through Berserker's groin.
The weapon leaps at my Servant's shoulder-plates, cleaving itself through skin and flesh, before shattering the bones.
No mercy is left for my Servant's right arm, the spear tearing off the muscles in rapid succession. Blood splatters on the ground where Berserker stands, dyeing the floor completely red.
With a single thrust to the sides, Gungnir chews through the pale and stony skin, ripping Berserker's stomach open. Entrails and organs droop out, slobbering onto the soil and grass.
And finally, the holy spear lunges at my Servant's beating heart, piercing it as it is still beating before finally tearing it right out of Berserker's chest.
Tossed to the sides, the heart still holds a faint heartbeat as it burns with fire from the runes emblazoned all over Gungnir. The sight comes clear to me, despite the rain smothering my vision. Even so, Lancer's runic eye grows even more intimidating. Odin throws down his gaze with a twisted smile on his face, almost as if he is getting excited from what he's doing. His glare is that of a demon's. So shaken by the sight of Lancer, I didn't catch Aleister making his way to the front.
"Good job, Lancer." With his face covered by shadows, the blue blood, to my bewilderment, gives his Servant the order to cease. The dangling horns, fangs and ornament ringing, Odin's eyes flare up in an instant, mad with rage and disbelief, before the light of sanity returns. Taking a glance at what he had wrought, the humming stops and the azure light begins to fade.
"... Of course, Master. I... Apologize." As his weapon fades out of the physical realm, Lancer's fury all but vanished as he makes his way back to his Master's side.
Next thing I know, Aleister burst into my sights, staring down at my frozen, helpless face.
"Hey, not to say you're bad, You did pretty good." His deep, brown eyes softens before mine, as a playful smile stretches across his face. It's as if the fight for our lives hours before never even happened. As he leaves the field, not drenched with rain and blood, Aleister throws out his final words together with a casual wave of his hand...
"You're the last of your line. Don't waste your life away, Ira."
"Ah... Hah.. Hah... Gah.. Hah.."
Ba-dump.
Is it over? Just like that?
Ba-dump.
Seating down on the cold ground tainted with Berserker's blood, I find myself at a bit of a loss. Disorientation prevents me from moving. Every time I think, my mind draws only a blank slate. Amidst the night and clouds, my eyes only stares into the glow of the burning school in the far distance as convulsions wrecks whatever is left of my body. The sound of my own heavy breaths and feverish sobs breaks into the silence of the open fields.
Am I afraid? Is this what they call fear? My first fight with my life on the line... And I nearly threw it away out of my own pride...
Moving away from the orange lights flickering, my eyes lands on my Servant at my side. With his body broken, he stands in silence, still as a statue. I just can't get the images of what happened tonight out of my head no matter how hard I try. Every time I do, they just flash across my mind with greater clarity than before. The face of that blue blood keeps popping up...
"Aaaarrrrgggghhhh!"
As the rain comes to a stop, I find myself screaming into the shadow of the night.
"Eeeeyyyyaaauuuurrrrgggghhhh!"
Dammit! Dammit! Dammit all! How is this fair? My heart aches as the feeling pushes its way into my body, crushing down on my insides. I went through the pain, the suffering! I spent nights locking myself away with my tomes! I even decided to speak the lines, to command the chains of the beast... I spit on the legend that is my Servant just so I can have an edge in this war! As the frustration churns, I throw my arms to the sides as I fall to my knees, slamming them down on the cool, wet grass.
"Dammit! My first night into the war and Odin hunts me down?" My hands smashes the ground with no relent, not even as my bones started cracking, the sound throbbing in my mind. Still, the trembling don't stop.
The fact that I'm alive did little to hide the shame, the helplessness I find pulsing and pouring out of me. I feel so vulnerable, even the cold wind blow against my skin. It's as if I never left the Einzbern castle...
"Hah.. hah.. I'm pathetic... hah..So much that the Blue Blood don't even bother finishing me off..." In between my distorted breaths and heavy panting, my fists strike the ground one last time as my skin tear at my knuckles. A single tear flow down my cheeks. This outburst of emotions is... troubling.. And yet, I can't help feel... driven. My heart dances as it pumps the artificial blood in my veins. Suddenly, the command seal snaking down my neck starts to heat up, and from the strokes comes a crimson light.
"Chik. Chik. Chik. Chik."
"Fear for your life is not a sin. There is no wrong with the preservation of life, particularly your own. It only shows that you possess humanity within you, despite not being a human yourself..." The sullen voice takes precedence over everything else, kindness masked by its cold, blunt tone.
She's here...
Turning around, a figure clad in olden robes meets my eyes. Numerous holy symbols is adorned over the cloth, as the mysterious figure approaches me with a hood over her head. The dangling of holy artifacts she brings with her chimes in tandem with her footsteps, the sound of metal pacing through the grass. From the edges of her hood, I can see her golden blond hair flowing with the wind, her face hidden by shadows.
"Ira von Einzbern." Immediately, the figure's voice grows colder with her words. No doubt she's just here to do her job. "I regrettably inform you that you are no-"
"longer in this war?" Her appearance calmed me down. The urge to correct her miscalculation grew too strong. "Whatever are you talking about?" I boldly state my claim, seeking to preserve my role as Master as I walk in front of her, looking to the distance. The sound of siren howling slowly escalates in volume. Before long, the sight of red firetrucks and black police cars seeps into existence, their lights rushing in from the far roads.
"The corpse of your Servant lay torn and mutilated. The flames of life, no matter how different, no longer beats in his heart. He will vanish soon enough..." Taking on a morbid tone, the holy figure speaks as if she is grieving for her own child.
If it was any other Servant, I would have probably agreed with her. But...
"Nonsense. Time to wake, Berserker." Not my Berserker. Stopping at my Servant's side, I gladly defy whatever verdict she is planning to give me.
The ground shudders at my call. Tremors seems to pulsate out from where my lithe, towering Servant stands. Within seconds, the figure watches as the gauntlets begin to twitch, before clenching into a fists. Veins throbs and rises on the surface of Berserker's skin. His muscles bulge as life makes its way back into his body. With a giant step, the beast shakes his head like an animal just waking up from a nap, crouching down as he rapidly recovers from his trauma and disorientation. Before long, Berserker takes another step forward, shoving his entrails and organs back into his body, his wounds slowly closing.
"Ggggrrraaaggghhhh!" His piercing roar shattering into the sky, my Servant walks again.
"Impressive. It seems my visit is uncalled for." The figure clad in holy attire bows in respect after realizing her error. Really, they couldn't have asked for a better judge for this war. With a turn, she disappears into the shadows as quickly as she arrived, her heavy steps clicking behind her. The police is already on the move, scattering to surround the burning school while their attack hounds prances into the open field. According to my will, Berserker slips into his spirit form. The transition easier because of his desire to heal.
Taking one last look at where Legendary Souls clashed tonight, I mutter out a promise to myself, before breaking to a sprint.
"Tonight is only the beginning... but... I will have that Grail.."
The end of a very long night and the first real battle in the war! Each Servant is rightfully strong on their own, but can any of them stand up against Odin, the All-father? And how did Berserker survive after that horrendous defeat? Well, you'll have to wait for my updates to find out! What do you guys think about this chapter, and Ira's performance? Tell it all to me in your reviews, I really wanna know! Till next we meet!