Chapter 12: Three Family Showdown
The deck of the Galleon, the Floating Scimitar, was enormous. But to the seven figures now standing on it, it felt tiny. Magical energy surged as the two sides stared each other down. Saber stood in front, as the rest of his side remained behind. Tatsuya, trusting in Saber's power, while Midori leaned against the bulwark, her sunken eyes staring forward, as her two servants stood between her and Caster.
"The Tohsaka and Matou families come to me, then? How fitting. The three houses assembled once again for this second ritual. But are there not still a few other masters for you to play with? I sense that all the other Servants still live, so it seems odd you would come here so soon. I pose no threat to you." Greed Einzbern stood, imperious, next to his servant, his white hair ruffled by a breeze, the kiss of sunlight - the first anyone else had seen for days - playing across his statuesque face. On his hand shone a single Command Spell - the other two were faded, already having been used up, though why, Tatsuya and Midori did not know.
Midori's servants watched the unfolding scene intently, though seemed content to keep their promise and let Saber handle Caster, as they leaned back as well, soaking in the sunlight shining through the gap in the storm as it cast down onto their golden armor. There, standing next to Midori, their small stature was apparent; their young woman Master was almost a full head taller than the two Servants.
Tatsuya frowned at Greed's comment. "All the Servants? But, Assassin… Never mind that! Why the storm, Einzbern? We can feel the magic, but what purpose does it serve? You cannot hope to win the grail with a little bit of weather."
Greed laughed, a deep, sarcastic sound, and then looked over to his Servant. "Are we ready?"
Saber took up a battle stance at Greed's words to his Servant, and lunged forward, his sword arcing through the air towards Caster's head. A shimmering field of blue magical energy stopped the blade in its tracks, however, as Caster waved his hand dismissively.
"The accumulated power will suffice even for this monster's Curse, I'm certain." Caster replied as he glared at Saber.
Saber stepped back, his tall, lean, elderly frame looking like a stick insect as much as a man as he circled around Caster and his Master, looking for a weak point.
"Do it, then. Let us end this farce."
The sun, directly overhead, was obscured once again, as a huge vortex of wind appeared on the deck of the Floating Scimitar, centered on Caster. Glancing around, they noticed that the storm - the whole storm system, covering the entire Fuyuki area, was coming toward them, spiraling down through the sky, and being absorbed into Caster, his arms held high, his eyes burning with blue energy.
Saber leapt forward, attempting to catch Caster in the middle of his spell, but at the last moment, Caster waved his hand, and Saber flew backwards, a part of the storm in the form of an arm made of cloudstuff lashing out.
Tatsuya, his eyes narrow, grimaced to see his Servant being handled so roughly. "Do it, Saber."
Saber sighed and stood. "Would that we did not have to rely on this." He planted his sword in front of him for a moment, then muttered the trigger for his incredible Noble Phantasm. "Zettel. The Epitome." Those present felt the curse take effect. Time slowed and felt sluggish as Saber dashed forward. His body moved against the laws of physics. Tendrils of cloudstuff, arcing with lightning, lashed towards him, but with only the slightest movements, he dodged, or, perhaps the curse rewrote reality so that they missed. None could act, frozen in place by the powerful magic, except Saber himself, as he lunged forward.
Then, in a surprise to everyone, a wisp of the cloudstuff swirling around Caster managed to touch Saber. Suddenly, the curse was broken. More and more of the dangerous fog reached out, and wrapped itself around the still charging Saber. Tatsuya fell to one knee and groaned.
Saber was being torn apart as a spiritual entity. Caster's magic was tearing away Saber's very being as a Servant. Tatsuya gasped, the link between himself and Saber meant that he was taking damage directly now, his own magic circuits being eaten away by Caster's magic.
Archer, his great vision, was the first to notice, but soon the rest of the group did as well. A spear flew through the air, piercing through the fog around Caster, and then through his skin and chest. The fog began to clear as Caster fell backwards, the spear protruding from his chest. The assembled magi and Servants looked for the source of the deadly weapon and found it atop one of the masts of the great ship. Lancer was there, a dangerous grin on her face. The clouds and storm that had plagued the city stopped swirling in toward the boat, and dissipated into the ether in a matter of moments, leaving a ray of sunlight showing Lancer's position on high.
"To the victor, the spoils." She leapt down, landing on the ship's deck, and thrust her hand directly into the chest of Caster, pulling out his still beating heart as he faded away. His power, however, instead of going to the grail, was absorbed into Lancer's body. The assembled looked on in awe and disgust.
"How DARE you!" Greed looked on at Lancer in fury. "You are.. You are destroying this ritual! That spirit energy must go to the Grail itself!" He looked at the other Masters, pleadingly. "Lancer MUST be stopped. The grail will never form if she continues this!"
However, the assemblage did not move. Midori, somewhat rested, was nevertheless clearly in no shape to support her two Servants for another showdown. Tatsuya was crumpled on the floor, his magic circuits damaged or destroyed by Caster's attack, though his Servant still managed to stand, leaning against his sword.
Greed fumed with rage. "Then I shall take care of it myself!" He reached into his robe, and pulled out a small vial. He pulled off the top, put it to his lips, and then fell to the ground, dead, Lancer's spear having sliced his throat open in a spray of blood.
Lancer, her malicious grin still in place, looked at the other Servants. "Even now, I don't think I will be able to defeat all of you together. But rest assured: we will meet again."
Saber dashed forward, attempting to slice at Lancer, but a bit of the same cloudstuff that had filled Caster earlier appeared around her, and lifted her into the air. She floated away a moment, then turned and flew at great speed back into the city.