Where the Dead Lurk, Acre – III
"Can you walk?" The Knight before her asked, who was still busy fighting some Dead Apostles alongside King Hassan. Immediately Waver and Gilgamesh ran to her side.
"Master, did you get bit?" Waver asked worriedly as Gilgamesh carried in a princess carry.
"Help the others out while I carry her inside." Gilgamesh told Waver as he nodded and joined the fighting.
"Master are you alright?" Gilgamesh asked worriedly as he ran towards the door.
"O-Oh," Haruna let out a shocked squeak, but quickly cleared her throat. "Yes, I'm fine I'm just a bit shell-shocked that's all, can you erm put me down."
"Alright then." Gilgamesh placed her down and proceeded in the fight as well.
'Sanson, assist that guy in black armor he seems to be in a tough spot.' Dimitri ordered Sanson who was preoccupied with fighting Dead Apostles as he was decapitating each one with his sword.
'Understood master.' He replied as he ran toward the Knight in question who was busy fighting a much stronger Dead Apostle, upon getting close he swung his executioner sword in a horizontal arc in an attempt to decapitate the Dead Apostle.
But the Dead Apostle in question managed to grip his sword and slammed him to the ground, The Knight in question quickly impaled the Dead Apostle at his side with his sword.
"Move a bit." Sanson replied as he picked up his sword and held it in front of him. "La Mort Espoir!"
Upon invoking those words a thick black fog surrounded the area before them and a massive guillotine materialized behind them and with it several black hands reached out and grabbed the Dead Apostle and dragged him under the guillotine and proceeded to decapitate it, instantly killing it.
The Knight stared at it in stunned silence and then turned to Sanson with a shocked and annoyed expression.
"Why didn't you do that in the first place?"
"You were in the way."
Afterwards, the two stood behind each other's backs and proceeded to fight more Dead Apostles.
"You think you can do that again with a larger group?" The Knight asked as he parried and continued to savagely defend himself against them.
"Not quite, it only works on one person." Sanson replied. "Plus it'll take a while before I can use it again."
"Fair enough." The Knight commented bisecting another Dead Apostle. "I'm Edward of Woodstock."
"Charles Henri Sanson." He replied as he decapitated another one, but failed letting out a spine-chilling screech as it brutally wedged itself into the body of the Dead Apostle causing him to bisect him as well.
Edward flinched as he continued to fight ignoring the screeching noise that Sanson's sword would occasionally make when he misses his strike. But as another Dead Apostle lunged towards the two an unknown shadow appeared behind it and quickly sliced it into several cuts.
Sanson was about to swing his sword at the unknown figure when Edward shouted.
"He's an ally, let's deal with the others."
Sanson nodded as they continued to fight the Dead Apostles. By then the Casters had returned and started assisting in the fight.
"Looks like things are doing well here." Waver commented with a smirk as he released a blast of fire towards a group of Dead Apostles.
"Did we miss anything?" Gilgamesh asked as he fired a volley of spells towards them.
"Not much," Sanson replied as he continued to swing his sword. "Wait where are the Riders? And King Hassan?"
"Went to find the other masters, while we're in charge of the Vanguard." Gilgamesh replied as he swung his ax and cleaved the Dead Apostle in half.
"Right sure send the cunts on a suicide mission…while the stronger servants go ahead with the easier ones." Sanson commented as he blocked another blow from a Dead Apostle.
"Can we talk about this later?!" Gilgamesh shouted as he continued to fire various more spells at the horde of Dead Apostles.
"They what?!" Ritsuka asked turning to Shirou who had just arrived after getting separated from the others prior to their capture.
"Yes, the plus side is that Shiori and her group arrived safely, the same can't be said for Haruna's however. Since they are currently holding off a horde of Dead Apostles." Shirou continued.
"He speaks the truth." King Hassan materialized beside him, startling everyone in the room. "We must move quickly should we want them to survive."
Ritsuka turned towards King Hassan. "Gramps, take Galahad and Shirou with you and have them join in the fight, Mash and I will go find Shiori regroup to your current location."
"Just a heads up, there are several Dead Apostles making their way here to your location Ritsuka, I suggest you deal with that first." Dr. Roman appeared before them, it was there that Karl walked towards them.
"In that case I suggest you bring along Caspar," He explained to them. "He is a skilled Lancer, capable of being on par with your Lancers."
"Where is he then?" Karl looked out of the window and shouted outside.
"Caspar!"
The group quickly heard the sound of footsteps entering the hall it would then reveal to be a man in his mid-20s with greying black hair with a short beard and soft blue eyes, the man wore the armor and regalia of a Pontifical Swiss Guard.
"Yes sir?" He calmly spoke bowing towards them.
"You'll be accompanying them in finding their Allies, protect them with your life understand?" He explained to him.
"Is he a counter guardian?" Ritsuka asked him.
"No," Karl shook his head. "He is summoned here by the grail to assist in the fighting, there are only three of us that were sent as counter guardians."
"Caspar Röist, at your command," He said turning towards them with a nod. "I'll do my best to help out in the fighting."
"Caspar Röist…the commander of the Swiss Guard during the Sack of Rome during 1527, if I'm not mistaken." Dr. Roman commented.
"That's somewhat ironic considering he's working alongside you Karl." Mashu tilted her head in confusion.
"I can see the irony very well." Karl replied in a serious tone. "You should better get going if you want to save your friends."
"I'll give them a message on that as well." Dr. Roman said before vanishing.
"They're what!" Shiori asks in shock after learning where Haruna, Liliane, and Dimitri ended up in.
"We have to save them!" Sigmund and Hakuno told her, causing the two to look at one another with confusion.
"Haruna, right?" Sigmund asked in reassurance.
"Liliane?" Hakuno asked.
"Ohh, do I sense a workplace romance for you two." Shiori teased the two, and to her luck, the two had predictable reactions. "Lili for Siggy while Haruru for Hakkun is it?"
"Li-Liliane is my classmate and friend...of course I would be worried about her." Sigmund stuttered nervously as his ears went red.
"I'm just worried about Haruna that's all." Hakuno replied avoiding her teasing look.
The two quickly ignored her teasing and ordered both of their servants to run towards the assistance of the two. Though she was not wrong, Sigmund had a long time crush for Liliane since their days at the clock tower but was satisfied with being just friends with her, even if she has her moments with the others. While Hakuno and Haruna would bond in their free time tending the garden together.
"Anyway, Ritsuka and the others will be en route. Please be on standby." Dr. Roman concluded before vanishing.
It wasn't long after that both parties have arrived where Haruna and her team are, which was holed up at an abandoned house while their servants continue to fight.
"Haruna!" Hakuno said jumping in the window and ran to Haruna's side while Cu and Bryn rush in to aid the other servants outside. "Are you okay?"
"Hakuno!" Haruna smiled at him. "You took your sweet time."
"Sorry about that." Hakuno gripped a hammer from his belt and slammed it into the ground releasing a blast of fire incinerating a group of Dead Apostles. "We got lost a bit."
Sigmund tapped on Hakuno's shoulder and nodded to him towards a group of Dead Apostles as Ritsuka and Shiori arrive.
"Right, I'll explain later." Hakuno continued grabbing the opposite end of his hammer and released a stream of fire while Sigmund fired Gandr at the other.
"What's the situation?" Ritsuka asked Haruna.
"The Servants are still holding them off but there's too many, and they're starting to run out of prana too." Haruna explained and shot a glance at Edward. "Oh, and we have a rogue servant to help out."
"Withdraw for now, meet us at the nearby town square we'll take it from here." Ritsuka ordered.
"On it." Haruna replied as she, Liliane, and Dimitri withdraw.
Meanwhile, the Servants of Haruna, Liliane, and Dimitri had then withdrawn with them, it was the servants of Ritsuka, Shiori, Sigmund, and Hakuno who are currently fighting the Dead Apostles.
Cu leaped at a distance causing his spear, Gae Bolg to glow bright red as prana swarmed around it and trusted it at a stronger Dead Apostle with a shout.
"Gae Bolg!"
As soon as he pulled causing the Dead Apostle to kneel, but moments afterward he still got up and glared at him.
"Shit!" He cursed as he dodged a blow from a Dead Apostle.
"Language!" Shirou shouted as he rolled to the side and fired several arrows at the same Dead Apostle that Cu tried to kill earlier. Meanwhile, Galahad, Mashu, Mordred, and Gareth fought off a smaller group of Dead Apostles.
"Hey Galahad!" Gareth cheerfully shouted as she used her mount to cut down many more Dead Apostles quickly.
"Gareth!?" Galahad shouted in confusion as he cut down many more Dead Apostles using his sword.
"That's Gareth-san?" Mashu asked as she slammed her shield towards a nearby Dead Apostle.
"Yup, that's her!" Mordred cheerfully shouted as she ran next to Gareth and proceeded to help her in the in the fighting. "I'll explain later!"
"Emiya!" Ritsuka shouted to Shirou. "Use it now!"
"Understood." Emiya nodded and extended his arm as he began to prepare his noble phantasm.
Not long after that, they were able to clear out the area of Dead Apostles, making their way into the aforementioned location where the others are waiting.
"We're off to a great start." Dimitri commented as Ritsuka rested at a nearby bench.
"Yeah." Ritsuka chuckled as he gripped his shaking right hand, something that only Mashu and Shiori noticed.
"Is everyone okay?" Shiori called out towards the others.
"Exhausted but we're pretty much okay." Haruna answered, while Liliane quietly nodded. "Well most of us."
"So many dead…" Liliane quietly muttered.
"Can we rest for a bit before we work on the task at hand?" Sigmund asked quietly as he watched their servants dematerialized for a moment to rest.
"That'd be great in that case." Hakuno muttered.
"Yeah, let's do just that." Ritsuka replied as he rested his head on the bench and quickly dozed off.
"Heh, so no one is going to comment on the fact that Emiya just told me to watch my language?" Cu said with a smirk not before dematerialized.
"It was on instinct okay." Shirou said with an annoyed tone as he dematerialized as well, causing the others to chuckle.