"Now, let us return the show to today's stars. Hit the lights!" I yelled to my invisible stage director. The scene changed to what was once the inside of the Reality Marble.
"Let's see if we can make sense of these stupid strings of fate." I said, as the events began to play.
"Saber, begin charging your attack." Ken Marker told his Servant, using the psychic link that Masters and Servants shared. "We will not allow them to escape, and there will be some time before the Reality Marble fully dissipates."
"We'll use that time to attack." Saber responded. Ken Marker nodded. As soon as the order was given, four wisps of light began to dance around Saber, one green, one brown, one blue, and one red. Each of them symbolized one of the ancient elements, and each of them was supporting Saber in their own way.
This is the speed of the wind; my devastating gale! The green wisp entered Saber's grotesque gray sword, the depiction of the death of thousands of angels. The wind began to blow, at first slowly and then reaching tornado standards.
"Oh~noooooo-" Hashimoto said.
"Calm." The leader of the Burial Agency called. "Do not allow yourself to be swayed."
And here is my strength, that of the wild lands. The brown wisp, more a blob of mud than an actual gaseous wisp, followed the green one into the sword. The earth itself began to rumble, seemingly threatening to cave in.
"He's going to kill us!" Hashimoto screamed. He strained against Joan's slowly weakening binding. "We're all going to die!"
"Hold your ground, soldier!" The leader said. The others behind him nodded.
I would do it myself if Cu Chulainn was not yours.
Do not ever forget the restraint of the serene mind. The blue wisp, again like the others, sank into the grotesque sword. The eye right above the sword's hilt, on its side, opened to its full. Only one more was needed.
But never forget to burn your opponents in purgatory's flame! The final red wisp, the end of the attack, assimilated into the gray angel graveyard that Saber held. The eye, which had been fully dilated, began to spin at a dizzying speed. As if this was the signal, the dome of the French morning sky that was formed above them crashed. Four hands were raised, but they were overshadowed by Saber's final attack. In the background, Rider had taken to the sky, in obedience to her Command Spells.
"This is the strength of the four elements!" Ken Marker yelled. "This is the culmination of our efforts to save the world, Saber!" Saber seemed to be lifted by some otherworldly force as he lifted the sword easily, with enough force to create a sonic boom.
"This is the strength of my wish! A world where humans and monsters can live in peace!"
And as he unleashed his greatest attack, he thanked all of the people who had supported him in getting this far.
Sylph, Gnome, Undine, Salamander, Alice, and of course…
You, the player. Ken Marker, thank you for bringing me to fight.
The white lettering that was death appeared on the top side of the screen. It was a merciless portent of destruction, headed straight towards the men of the Burial Agency.
"Quadruple Giga!" With that cry, and the appearance of a white "Quadruple Giga" on the top of everyone's view, the gray sword that cut monsters cut its path through the air and met a set of dragon's scales. In a second, the dragon was obliterated. The leader of the Burial Agency merely smirked as the Command Spells disappeared from his hand. As he had predicted, the skin of his Servant would not stop his opponent's attack for a second. Arturia's defensive stats were not affected by her dragon transformation, rendering her worthless as a shield.
It would have been a stupid play had that been the objective. But the objective was something different. There was a reason that the others had raised their hands as well.
"Kazikli Bey!" The spear was thrown to strike the sinful opponent!
Let us analyze the situation. Quadruple Giga is still going strong, however, the power of the Four Element Spirits has weakened somewhat due to Magic Resistance A. However, Kazikli Bey is an attack that relies on the sinfulness of the target, ignoring defenses and striking sinners.
Saber's story is that of a man who turned his back on his god in order to pursue his ideal.
Would he not then be a sinner, no matter how good his intentions?
The forest of lances appeared again. Steel, iron, gray, blue, red, serrated, pointed, smooth, poleaxes, lances of every description formed a garden of the weapons of sinners around Saber.
Kazikli Bey, in terms of raw power, would lose. However, going up against the ultimate heresy, turning your back on your god, was the ultimate sin, and because of this, Kazikli Bey could no longer be stopped. The battle of powers beyond compare had been called. As the final spear zoomed down from the sky, the monster called Saber swung his sword.
Pure white. And sound so loud that it deafened the ears to hear it, condemning whoever witnessed the battle between monsters into silence for all of his if anyone was still alive, and had not suffered the pain of destroyed ears, then they would have heard a baritone voice call out the names of the dead.
"Saber, Berserker, Rider, Assassin, Lancer. All of these Servants have fallen."
I gazed thoughtfully over the battlefield. There was nothing left. All but Ken Marker and his fallen Servant's sword were on the little bits of what was once a residential district. The Master slowly walked towards the sword and picked it up.
So Ken's still alive. I thought. Even the lance that punishes sinners cannot defeat the unity of heaven and earth. It's a shame that such an honorable Servant had to die, however. One less good man. I stared over the aftermath for a few more moments.
Then I turned my attention to other matters.
She chased after the train. Madly she ran, covering distances she would never have thought possible in her lifetime. She was not out of breath at all, and barely even felt that her legs were pushing themselves to the limit to carry her.
In other words, she was perfect, as her Heavenly Father was perfect.
Joan, you are perfect. The voice in her head said, as if to confirm her thoughts. Head for the shrine island, and leave nothing alive.
"Understood." She told the voices. Her blade, far from being stayed, was drawn as she ran.
She was a sister no longer. Her faith no longer held her to a position, leaving her free to do as she wished.
Now she was more like a valkyrie.
I closed the line. I sensed that another power was going to take the stage for the meantime.
Appendix A: Taiga Dojo 6.
A note is on the tatami door, stuck with a piece of torn tape.
This Taiga Dojo has been handed over to another Bad End corner, because it is not under our jurisdiction. NPCs are not important enough to be mentioned. Please wait eagerly for the next one!
Appendix B: Ken Marker's Final Destination.
He took up the sword, and for the first time in weeks, he felt his full power surge through him. He felt his artificial body, built both long before and long after today, fill up with power, threatening to break him. Lines of pure green light ran up and down his body, over his arms and legs, forming nodes on his palms, elbows, knees, ankles, toes, fingers, neck, shoulders, and heart. His limbs, long starved of their proper dose of mana, were quickly refilled by his internal artificial power plant. The lines continued to glow their green color, which reminded one of high technology.
I only have a few minutes to get back. He thought. This sword will disappear soon, and I can't let my Servant's sacrifice be in vain. He looked down on the destroyed pavement. I know his pain.
His legs, fully recovered from the lack of prana that maintaining a Servant cost, pushed off of the ground, and let him go faster than the wind. With a running start like that, he did not even need to bend his legs to make his jump across the broken bridge. As the wind ran through his hair and crashed against his body, he ran towards his destination.
The Holy Grail.
I stood to welcome the Master. He stopped and knocked at the door of the church. I threw the doors open.
"Do what you must." I said. "I will not stop you."
Ken Marker nodded and rushed down to the room where the Holy Grail lay. I had already opened the doors to the basement, so the only thing for him to do was to run into the open doors.
He reached the Holy Grail. The artificial man had no hesitation and no fear, swinging at it. He stood there for an instant before he was swallowed by the darkness at the heart of the Origin.
He regained his sight and hearing on the battlefield of his target planet Earth, in an interplanetary battle to decide the fate of the world. He looked down at the sword in his right hand, which was slowly disappearing, as the sounds of battle began to assault his hearing.
For my goal of unity… for my personal salvation, and for my friend Saber…
I will not fail.
The space detective plunged back into his battle.