Moving on…
Chapter 9: The Final Day
"Out of the way, cretins!"
"Saber, we have to hurry!"
Vaporising another enemy programme, Saber and I made a dash to the downward path in the arena. That idiot Shinji managed to get a head start in this stupid race. I could so picture him now, that damned face grinning from ear to ear while he and that slut of a servant looted all the extra stuff inside here.
"Saber, ignore the targets, we're moving on!" I commanded as she idely slashed through another programme. Down the aisle, I could see Shinji and Rider running up to a large space. Clicking my dungeon map open, I noticed the yellow arrow which indicated Shinji moving to a large, shining block.
Oh crap.
"Come on, master!"
Right, no time to get distracted now.
Sprinting as fast as my legs would carry, two of us managed to catch up with Shinji. As he was about to reach for the glowing treasure box, I yelled my next command towards Saber.
"Jump them!"
"As you wish, master!" Saber heaved her blade and, with as much force as she could muster, leapt at Shinji and Rider.
Sensing the two of us were close by, I saw Rider reflexively spin around and blocked Saber's blade with the barrel of her guns, "Ho, ho, Lassie. Trying the sneak attack approach wouldn't work on us. Not at all." In response to the attack, Rider disengaged her pistols and did a backflip, widening the gap between us two masters and servants.
"Hey, Shin," Shinji smirked as he opened the first chest, "guess you were a few seconds too late, I got the first chest. Hah! This is way too easy, I seriously can't wait for tomorrow if all you're going to do is give me boring stuff like this."
I gritted my teeth so hard I felt my jaw crack.
Why this little bastard…
"You know, now that I think about it, its actually not too late for you, Shin," Shinji starts to laugh, "if you maybe, I don't know, you and your servant both go on your knees and beg HARD. I may be a kind soul and forgive you two for all that you did to me. Yeah, I kind of like that deal. What do you say, Shin? A fair trade for my early victory."
"Hey, Matou?"
"Hmm?"
"SUCK YOUR WORDS!"
The moment I let loose my shout of anger, Saber leapt at Rider again, rendering the gun using servant surprised and only narrowly blocking the red empress' second strike.
"AND EAT MY FIST!"
*WHAM*
Since right then both servants were locked in a clash, my moved past the battling maidens (if you could call them that) and made a mad rush towards Shinji, clenching my knuckles as I ran towards him.
"Wa-wait a minute, Shin! This isn't fair! The servants are supposed to duke it out right? This is cheating! This is cheating!" he raised his hands over his face in a feeble attempt to get me to back off. Beside us, I managed to catch a glimpse of the two battling servants. Saber managed to get the upper hand against the gun wielding servant, pushing and hacking away while leaving as little space as possible between them.
"Now bugger off!" I yelled, grabbing hold of Shinji's shirt. Raising my head, I slammed it down and collided it against his. As stupid as this may have all been, I really wanted to get back at him for putting me through all that shit in the prep round. Behind me, I could hear two gunshots ring out and a mechanical voice.
*Battle between servants will be terminated within fifteen seconds*
Aw crap, I'm not going to risk getting a penalty now! I groaned as I pushed past Shinji. Whipping my head back, I raised my hand towards Saber, "Code cast, heal! Saber, through her and let's go! Don't let them get any further than this!"
"As you command, let's go!" Saber leapt back slightly, readying her blade before leaping forward, "veil of petals!"
With a familiar extreme speed, Saber dashed around Rider before lunging through her. The attack caught Rider of guard, stunning her where she stood.
"This isn't looking good, cap'n," Rider managed through gritted teeth, "they managed to one up me on this one!"
"And more to come in the elimination round!" I called back, shoving that weakling Shinji to the side, "Adios, now Saber, let's run like hell!"
Before our opponents could utter anything else, the two of us sped down the hall. As we ran, I reached into my terminal, checking all the possible locations for treasure. In fact, if we were to turn left now, we could reach our first piece of treasure…
"Master, I suggest that we have to ignore this and move on. If you look closely, the time needed to get back on the main path would be long enough for those two buffoons to catch up to us," Saber pointed to some roads on the map quickly, "as much as I don't want to, we need to prioritise."
"Well, you're the expert on the field Saber, I'll count on you for this!"
"I won't let you down, Praetor."
Forcing myself to turn away from the treasure box, Saber and I quickly head down the path. I could only grit my teeth as I heard Shinji's voice behind me.
"Tch, damn Shin, always getting in my way! Oh well, at least he was stupid enough to miss one of the loot over here. I still am the best of the best after all!"
If there's anything that I recall from my fuzzy little memory about Shinji, is that, truthfully, I have never beaten him at anything at all. He lived with a rich family, showered with luxury and wealth. He had some of the best grades in school, I was always somewhere from the worst to the middle. But in this war, none of that mattered. However…
In this war, he was a competent magus, and I was just a fool walking towards my own death.
I would always be behind him…
Always…
"Master, master!"
Huh?
"Master, what on EARTH are you spacing out about again?" Saber sighed in disdain, "you have to learn to be more focused. Look!"
Blinking my eyes, it took me a few seconds to realise that a large, glowing box was in front of me. Placing my hand on it, the box opened the same time a message popped into my terminal.
-Item: Pirate Booty has been obtained-
-Item recorded-
…
OH YEAH!
I let the treasure slowly disintegrate into data as my terminal recorded the glowing orb into its banks.
"You see, master?" Saber folded her arms in pride, "you followed my clear instructions and we were being guided to the treasure. Surely you can take a moment of your life to give me the praise the I so ought to deserve?"
"Maybe later."
"What! Master, I must-"
I merely shook my head as we trotted downwards, only this time at a much quicker pace as Saber started to throw more words of discontentment in my direction. As annoying as I found it, my mouth twitched slightly.
What the hell am I worried for?
-Item: Pirate Booty Obtained-
"Yes, another one!"
-Item recorded-
"Master, I did it! I led us to the next treasure!"
"Hey, waddya mean YOU?"
I still don't know what the hell all of this means.
-Item: Pirate Booty Obtained-
"Damn Shin, you cheated!" I heard Shinji shout from far behind, "you tricked me and went ahead to collect the rest of the treasure, didn't you? I have enough of you and your stupid tricks! Rider, put some holes through them both!"
I whipped around, finding Rider and Shinji once again right at our tails, with Shinji looking utterly pissed and ticked off.
"What is it, can't accept the fact that you're finally losing to me, Matou?"
But, for now…
"Saber, let's give them a duel!"
"That's the spirit, Praetor. Prepare, Rider!"
The least I could do, the least I could do with the limitation that I am.
"Veil of petals!"
…is believe in my 'sword'!
With familiar speed, Saber dodged Rider's shots, slicing across the pirate with one swift motion. Not letting up the fight Rider and Saber started exchanging blows. Gunshots, slashes and weapon clashes resounded near the end of the corridor where the last pirate booty stood.
It was either a draw, or a tide in my favour now.
"Hup!" I heard Saber cry as a bullet grazed her as she jumped back towards my side, "master, the last pirate treasure is behind us, and we seemed to have been driven into a corner…"
-WARNING. HOSTILITY DETECTED. BATTLE TERMINATED IN 15 SECONDS-
"…and I don't want you to be going off doing anything reckless and stupid like the previous time. But I must ask of you, do you have a plan."
I looked back at the enemies, and considered carefully. I don't want to offend my servant again, but…I cant let her get hurt.
Alright, I'll give it a shot, but if this screws up, consequences equal to my previous attempt. In short, it may get really painful.
"Saber, use your last of your mana for veil of petals!"
"Praetor, I must digress, it is unwise to…" before Saber could finish, I shot her a knowing glance. I knew what I was doing. I'd trust her this time. After all, she did tell me that I shouldn't do anything to get myself potentially hurt.
"I just hope this works. Come, Rider!"
I know, before Saber uses veil of petals, she would start to dodge the attack that are shot at her. If I can get the timing right.
*BANG BANG BANG*
Knowing that the battle could not drag on for long, Rider unleashed another hail of bullets, forcing my red servant to go into a defensive stance immediately. Using that chance, I quickly made my way to the final item folder.
-Item obtained: Pirate Booty-
"Damn you Shin!"
"Master, I cannot find an opening!" Saber called out as she parried a bullet away, "this narrow space allows me little use for my skills."
"Then its beddy-bye, little girl warrior!" Rider smirked, jumping behind Shinji and causing the three huge towering cannons to appear.
The time is now!
"Saber, to me, and defend!"
"Master…!"
"Just do it!"
Despite her initial reluctance, Saber flipped back, shielding herself with her blade.
"Not gonna work, Shin!"
"No…it will!" I reached into my shirt pocket, pulling out a small little crystal, "adios, Shinji!"
With my previous trick, I smashed the return crystal against the ground, causing white vapour to engulf both Saber and I.
Night time
"I told you not to do anything reckless, master! What made you so sure the same trick would work twice on that boy
"I didn't! Look, none of us got hurt right? And it was Shinji, he's an utter dumbass, of course it would have worked!"
Saber rubbed her temples and slumped against her makeshift throne as I lay down on the floor, my heart still beating rapidly from my kind-of-daring escape. Turns out that it was quite a success and neither Saber nor I got injured.
No doubt that I would get an earful from Shinji soon enough when I meet him again. By this point in the game, I couldn't really give a care anymore. I turned and looked at Saber.
I could see her in the recent battles we were up against. Against the monster programmes and against Rider and Shinji most of all. Her power, speed and endurance have really improved quite a bit since we first started out some days ago.
Maybe going to the arena everyday was a good thing.
"I must say master," Saber suddenly beamed, "I have gained back quite a measurable amount of strength. Though most of it was my hard work and effort, I thank you for assisting me in this preparation period, master."
"Uh huh, most of your work, as usual. Pfft…"
"Were you attempting to supress a laugh, master? Are you STILL belittling my abilities?"
I didn't bother to hold it in the second time as I let out a full blown laugh at her reply, with Saber chiding and scolding me even more.
Reaching into my pocket, I whipped out the two cipher keys and stared at their glowing figure. Only a week…it seems like this war had gone on forever, and in order to stay alive, I must kill people.
Kill…
I can't kill someone, not even Shinji. I hated him to the very core, I did! However, the thought of taking the life of another human being was just,
Sick.
"Do not forget that tomorrow is the elimination round," Saber's position straightened once more, "remember, before we do anything, we will meet in this room once more to do any final preparations we should have, namely gathering the identity of Rider."
"Remember master. Tomorrow is where any shred of friendship the two of you ever had will vanish, and into beasts you two would become: Killing for the sole thought of survival. Remember that, or tomorrow will be the last day we ever speak. Doubt will kill YOU instead."
I know, I wanted to shout back at her. I know that Shinji would have no second qualms, he thinks this is all a game, but I don't. I still refuse to believe that killing is the only way out.
But what choice did I have?
The only thing that comforted my troubled mind was the quick sleep that followed after, unlike a restless night that I would expect.
'Doubt will kill YOU instead."
Right the moment before my eyes closed, I prayed to God for the absence of dreams, because really, the last thing I needed was nightmares.
Ugh…
I've been hit hard with life recently, and couldn't update. Namely: I've been hit by depression very hard, but I'm working my way back up to my usual, cheerful self again. I thank everyone who waited for this chap, crappy as it may be.
Virus Chris my friend, I hope you're still there ^^
Read and Review please.