Act 1: Scene 11
0 Days Remaining
Elimination Battle Ongoing
Live or Die by the Sword.
What power do you hold in your hands…?
Dancing flames, Decaying Earth, Withered Ocean.
'This isn't good-!' He thought as his body convulsed through the cloud of pain.
He was bent over, eyes and teeth clenched shut. Barely an arm's length distance behind him was a long wooden stake, its tip drenched in blood. His hand clutched his side, blood seeping through the makeshift bandage he had made from his outer shirt.
'Another inch to the right and I would have been impaled on that thing...' He thought, not bothering to speak lest he started breathing in the fog of dust and made his pain even worse.
'As it is now, it's just a big, painful cut. I guess I should also be grateful Shun didn't kick out any teeth, though… Ugh, those few seem a bit loose-
'Wait, this isn't the time to start worrying about me! Saber and Caster got hit by one of Rider's cannons, remember?!'
That's right, he thought, shouting at himself for forgetting. His Servants must have taken more damage than he, and unlike himself, their wounds could be healed.
"Saber, Caster, are you alright?" He asked through his mental connection, unmoving from his crouched position.
No response.
"Saber, Caster, can you hear me?!" He shouted again after several seconds.
Still nothing.
"Dammit all!" He shouted, a hand hammering the ground just as pain immediately wracked his body. His chest convulsed as he coughed from the dust.
'I've got to try and find them-!' He thought through the pain. 'Come on, get up.'
Slowly he straightened himself, attempting to find his footing.
"Gah-!" He shouted in pain, the wound in his side sending shockwaves through his body as he collapsed back onto the ground.
'My feet must have turned to jelly again after stopping that fall. Still, dammit, I have to get up already!'
Biting his lip, his body attempted to comply, his hand slowly pushed upwards until he stood in a crouched position.
'Come on, a little bit more! Is there something I can use as a support?'
Slowly his eyes glanced around the wreckage, before spotting a plank nearby. It was approximately the same height as he was, and just within arm's reach.
Looking at it for several moments he reached out slowly, grunting at the strain before he could bring the plank closer to him.
Now prepared, he stood up slowly, putting his full weight on the makeshift walking stick. Wincing with every step, he found an exit from the mass of jumbled wood, his eyes soon taking in the new field of battle.
As well as the wreck that his Servants had crashed into, several tens of metres away.
"Shit." He cursed, biting his lip as he shook his head slowly. "This is going to be a long walk. I just hope my wound doesn't get worse. Have to be careful…"
Finished speaking he stepped forward. Carefully, his feet navigated the packed sand of the ocean floor, hobbling closer and closer to his target.
But by the time he reached halfway though, he could feel that even his walking stick wouldn't be enough to support him.
His energy was quickly fading with each step.
"Can't… stop, dammit!" He cursed through gritted teeth. His body took another hobbling step forward before tripping from the moving sand beneath him.
He barely managed to drive his stick into the sand in time to stop his fall, landing on his knees.
It was little relief from the pain that wracked his body by then though.
"Dammit all…" He cursed between gulped breaths. "Why the hell did this happen?" Slowly he looked up, trying to take in the distance between himself and the wreck.
Just as he noticed a sudden movement from the mangled mass of wood.
With a burst of dust, he saw a large beam of wood thrown several metres in another direction. And though he could barely make out the figures that stood up through the dust, he immediately knew who they were.
"Saber… Caster-!" He muttered. A sense of relief passed through him, making him almost lose his grip.
That sense of relief was quickly lost as the cloud of dust dissipated however.
Slowly Caster stepped out of the wreck, before collapsing forward onto her knees. While he couldn't see through the debris cluttering the area, he could easily tell that she was near the end of her rope.
And Saber…
Saber stood still, her sword buried into the ground with a clear, large gash cut straight across her stomach. Her head bent forward to rest on its hilt, her sword was the only thing preventing her from falling over like Caster.
"Dammit." He cursed, clenching his eyes shut at the pathetic sight.
Even though they had been beaten within an inch of their life, his Servants still found the strength to get back on their feet.
If he were a spectator, he was sure he would be laughing at their feeble efforts, and pointless determination.
"Dammit all-!"
He didn't have that sort of luxury though.
With minute movements he dropped his Terminal to the sandy ground. And with a pained grunt, his fingers reached down to activate his Interface.
"Kuh-!" Saber spat, her brow furrowed as she endured the pain. Her hands gripped onto her sword, propping her up, despite the blood that leaked from her palms.
She knew she had sustained worse however, her vision locked onto the gaping wound that cut straight across her stomach. The pain from that alone was excruciating, not to mention the dozens of cuts that adorned the rest of her body. The dust surrounding the entire area didn't help with the painful stinging either.
"That, and my clothes today are completely ruined now." She muttered, gritting her teeth as she moved a torn sleeve to the hilt of her sword to provide more friction.
'At the very least, whatever sorcery that Archer had inflicted upon me to elicit my migraines has dissipated now.' She thought, just before she heard Caster collapse next to her.
Slowly she craned her neck to see her colleague. Caster was unable to stand as she knelt panting, several large gashes ruining her clear, exposed skin.
"That cursed Pirate…" She muttered after several seconds. In her mind she replayed the last few moments just before those cannonballs struck her. "Seeing the rest of this battle through… will be difficult… to say the least… hm?" Her words trailed off as she noticed something roll next to her feet.
It was a large, green crystal roughly the size of her fist. Slowly she looked up, trying to see where it had come from.
She didn't have to look long, before she noticed a small cloud of sand kick up into the air a short distance away. Within it all, a familiar figure fell flat as holographic screens flickered off around him.
"…You need to work on your throwing arm, Praetor." She said, a forced smile on her face before she lifted a foot up, stamping down the crystal with all the force she could muster.
With the sound of breaking glass, the crystal shattered. The fragments dissolved into green pixels that surrounded her figure like a miniature cyclone.
Closing her eyes she took a deep breath, letting her muscles relax as the pain dissipated. A wave of intense itching wracked her body, forcing herself stay still for several seconds.
Only when it had subsided did she open her eyes, a hand leaving the hilt of her sword to examine the wound on her stomach.
"Closed and healed completely." She said quietly, her hand gently rubbing the torn cloth and the unblemished skin beneath it. "Undoubtedly one of the ones we picked up from the Treasure that bit-player left behind yesterday. This type is very effective. It is good that these Ether Crystals leave no scarring either, the world would weep should such things blemish my body."
Wasting little more time she took stock of the rest of her wounds. And satisfied they had been completely healed, she turned to look at her comrade.
She was still knelt over, her puffy arm sleeves nowhere to be seen, replaced by dozens of cuts and the red liquid that seeped from them. Saber had expected a second crystal to be thrown, yet nowhere could she see the tell-tale green glow.
"Hm?" She asked, surprised. "Then that means-?!"
Her vision darted back to her Master, seeing only a vague figure lying flat on their back in the sand, writhing slightly.
And beside him, she could just make out a small green item.
"You fool- !" She spat, leaping forward to Caster's position.
"Saber?" The foxgirl asked, as the swordswoman slowly draped an arm across her shoulder. "Heh, you're looking much better than I expected you would."
"We have something else to worry about." She replied curtly, standing up before jerking her head to their Master.
"Goshujin-sama!" She shouted before yelping in pain, easily recognising her Master.
"He should have healing items for us on hand." Saber said, rotating themselves slowly. "Do not move, lest your wounds grow worse."
"Kuh… Thank you, Saber." Caster said slowly, flinching from the pain as the swordswoman leaped forward.
"Gah… Saber, Caster…" He gasped, seeing them land, a pained smile crossing his face. "You're… You're both, alright."
"I wish the same could be said for you." Saber said as she stepped forward to scoop up the green crystal left by his side, throwing it to Caster as she knelt. "What in God's name did you do to yourself?!"
"Guh!" He groaned as Saber knelt next to him. Slowly she undid his makeshift bandages and teared off his undershirt into small, clean strips. "Fell through a shipwreck… gave myself a large cut, from, one of the broken, pieces of wood. I think… I think the wound grew bigger since then, though."
"You make it sound so simple." Saber said, shaking her head as she tightened the new knots, her Master gasping in pain. "It would be ill-advised for you to move at all now, considering the amount of blood you would have lost, and this wound that you have."
"I'll… I'll probably need a lot of rest for this to heal." He muttered looking the dressing over, seeing his Servant's torn clothes as well as his own. "Though, I guess we should also look for some new clothes as well… maybe."
"Goshujin-sama! Goshujin-sama!" Caster shouted frantically, having regained her strength as she leapt next to her Master. "What happened to you?! Who did this to you? I swear, whoever even thought about hurting my dear Master will have so many curses put on him that he'll regret the day he walked on his feet!"
"I'm pretty sure we've gone through this before…" He muttered to himself, laying still. "Still though… I don't expect anything, but, do either of you happen to know a way of, at least, lessening this pain?"
"Well…" Caster began, abruptly toning down for several seconds. "I… I do have a charm that does that. It can't heal the wound, but you should be able to move at least a bit with it, Master. Moving too much is still a big no-no though."
"I'll take what I can get, Caster." He gave a pained smile as Caster drew several shapes in the air, a paper charm appearing at her fingertips.
"It would have been useful if you had said you had something like this several days ago." Saber said, raising an eyebrow.
"No comment." Caster replied curtly, placing the charm on her Master's wound before it pulsed gently several times.
"Ah…" He breathed deeply after several seconds of stillness. Though he could still feel some pain, it was nothing in comparison to before.
"Yeah, that should be good." He said, turning his head to the foxgirl and smiling. "Thank you, Caster."
"Anything for you, my dear Master." She replied, returning his smile. Yet, Mihara thought he saw something else behind it for the briefest of moments.
"Regardless, I am surprised that our enemies have yet not taken to bombard us once again." Saber said.
"Maybe they thought we've been completely defeated by now?" Mihara asked, feeling his wound gently, before holding out a hand.
"Are you sure you wish to move, Praetor?" Saber asked, standing up properly.
"Yeah, I don't fancy being a sitting duck for them to shoot at." He answered.
"Very well then." Saber said with a sigh, grasping his hand and letting him pull himself up slowly. "Still though, I do not believe our enemies will jump to the conclusion that we have been defeated so quickly."
"Oya oya, looks like they're still standing!"
A familiar voice echoed out through the plain of sand. In an instant, the Master and his two Servants turned back to look up at the starting wrecks.
And at its edge, their four opponents stood, waiting and ready.
"Dammit, I didn't expect you and your Servants to have survived all we threw at you." Shinji said, rubbing his forehead. "Still, that doesn't matter. We'll just have to do it all over again and pound you to a pulp!"
"I thought this was taking a bit too long." Rider began as she stepped up to the edge of the ship, looking down at her opponents. "So, Shinji, isn't it time for us to win now?"
"What?!" Mihara's eyes shot open as his Servants tensed up at her words. Adrenaline surged through his body once again, his wound completely forgotten.
"Haha, yes it's about time." The blue-haired magus said with a laugh, flicking a lock of hair out from his face before pointing at them. "I'm finished playing around now. Show them my power, El Draque." At the mention of her nickname, the pirate began a soft, menacing snicker.
"It's time for your Game Over, Mihara!" Shinji continued from atop the wreck before Rider began speaking an incantation.
"Remember my name by the death in my wake!"
Rider performed a reverse somersault into the air. As she did so, a dense fog immediately blanketed the entire area, obscuring her and her teammates.
"El Dragón Aterrador!"
"Dammit, what's happening?!" Mihara couldn't help but mutter through the thick fog as he brought up his Interface again, preparing himself as best he could. Beside him he could barely see the figures of his two Servants, just as nervous as he was.
"I am the Woman who Set the Sun!"
The resounding crack of a single gunshot echoed throughout the arena. And in an instant, the thick fog that covered the area was dispelled by a sudden, powerful gust of wind.
As he shielded himself from the sand that blew into his face, Mihara could barely see where Shinji, Shun and his Servant stood.
But that wasn't what caused him to gasp in shock as he forgot about his wound for the briefest of moments.
For above that decrypt hulk, the broadside of another ship floated.
It's hull was made of burnished oaken wood. The triple-masts above it were adorned with proud, pure-white sails that billowed in the wind. With a fresh coat of paint, and not a single speck of grime or barnacle, the ship looked as though it had come straight out of dry-dock.
And standing on the ship's deck, a foot resting on the wooden railing, was Shinji's Servant. To the sky a thin waft of smoke rose from the pistol in her left hand, as her right rested on her knee.
Staring dumbstruck, Mihara needed only scant moments before a name appeared in his mind.
"The Golden Hind-!" He muttered, grimacing as he remembered the name written on those Ship's Logs he recovered two days ago. "What is this supposed to be?!"
"Her Noble Phantasm." Saber answered through gritted teeth as she stared at the ship above them.
"Noble Phantasm?"
"It's the symbol of a Servant." Caster answered as she watched the ship solemnly. "A Servant always has a legend to their name: Noble Phantasms are their legends given form. Simply put, you could say it's their ultimate attack."
'So this is what they truly mean by 'Knowledge is Power'?' He thought. 'Knowing the Servant means knowing about not only their style of assault, but also their ultimate attack, and how to avoid it. But, now, like this-! Agh, if only I realized this sooner!'
"You rascals, it's time!"
As she commanded, Mihara noticed the air around her ship vibrate, as if a thousand raindrops sent ripples over still water. Below her figure, all across the hull of the ship, dozens upon dozens of gun ports opened up, cannons loaded and ready.
To a spectator, sight would have been eerily beautiful, had it not been for the shimmer that shone from within the Ocean Depths.
For from each of the ripples that surrounded the Golden Hind, the deadly glint of steel cannons shone, like a thousand eyes.
A thousand eyes having spied their target upon the Ocean Floor.
"Praetor." Saber said, bringing her Master out of his stupor.
He turned to look at his Servant, seeing her gaze fixed firmly onto the ship hanging above them. But when he expected his Servant to admit defeat, her piercing gaze turned back to him.
"Though your efforts might have yielded comparatively little, what I have seen convinces me to place my trust in you."
His eyes couldn't help but snap open at her words.
Even after all this chaos, even after all the injuries she had endured because of him…
His Servant still saw fit to place her trust in him.
And at that point, he felt a light tug on his sleeve.
Turning, he saw Caster looking at him, a similar expression of defiance in her eyes as she gave him a warm smile.
'Dammit all.' He thought, before clenching his teeth.
'After surviving through all this, I can't just give up now.'
Despite the overwhelming odds against him, he couldn't give up. Not now.
'What can I do to stop this?! Come on, think! There has to be some way out of this!'
At the very least, he owed it to his Servants to fight on until the last moment.
'Physical barriers!' The two words came up in his mind as he remembered the words Rin Tousaka had said in her 'interrogation' with Shinji.
'But what can I use as a barrier?!' Turning his head around, his gaze noticed the wreck that his Servants had crashed into before.
'No, that's too far away- we can't make it there in time!' Mentally he shook his head as his eyes were moving away before a sudden thought hit him, his eyes snapping back to the wreck.
'Wait, maybe-!'
"The King of Storms!"
Behind Rider, the arsenal of cannons continued to appear without pause. The ominous glint of their steel barrels hung in mid-air, waiting for the order.
'It's our only option-!' His fingers began working of their own accord, dancing across his Interface faster and faster.
"A Swarm of Ghosts!"
Slowly she brought the unfired pistol in her right hand in line with her eye, aiming straight at the Master and his two Servants below.
'Come on!' His mind shouted again as his hands wrote line after line of code at almost lightning-speed.
"Now I say-"
"Saber, Caster, stay close to me!"
With a final grin stretching from ear to ear, Francis Drake gave her Final Order.
"-Let the Wild Hunt, Begin!"
Upon her words and the crack of her pistol, the entire Coliseum was engulfed in a thunderous ear-splitting roar of cannon fire. And amidst it all, the only other audible sound was the almost insane cackling of the English Privateer.
Moments turned to seconds before turning into minutes, the area bombarded with a constant hail of dust and fiery iron. All around and through the thick smoke, exploding shrapnel only added to the din and chaos of the Arena.
And finally, after what felt like an endless torrent, the rain of fire petered out and died down. And just as they had appeared, the cannons quickly returned to the void, the Golden Hind sailing back into the fog.
And replacing it all was a stunned, frozen, cowed silence.
"Gyahaha!"Rider laughed raucously as she landed back onto the deck, the Golden Hind sailing off into the distance as fog engulfed it. "Ha! Oh wow, now that sort of adrenaline's better than any sort of rum!"
"Hah!" Archer said, folding his arms. "Had I access to my second Noble Phantasm, I could show you something that would really get your blood boiling! Still, I must admit, the power of powder and shot is worthy of some recognition."
"Heh, you were about five centuries too early for this sort of stuff I'm afraid." Rider said, a large grin crossing her face.
"And that shows you just what it means to challenge a Genius!" Shinji shouted, ignoring them as he stepped up to the edge of the ship's deck. His voice carried through the cloud of dust and sand that blanketed the Coliseum. "All that new power just got to your head at the end, didn't it, Mihara?"
Only silence answered him, the dust of Rider's barrage slowly drifting back to the ground after several long minutes.
And all the magus could see was a completely disfigured battlefield, with craters of every size filling the sand floor as far as the eye could see.
Not even the scattered wrecks and ship hulks stood.
Everything was completely, and utterly destroyed.
"Hah, guess I can't expect any answer from you now anyway!" Shinji laughed, certain of his victory even as Shun stepped up next to him.
"Took a bit longer than I had expected." Shun said, breathing shallowly as he rubbed his chest slowly. "Still though, now that that's over with, I wonder how do we get out of here?
"…And actually, for that matter, shouldn't the SERAPH be acknowledging something by now?" He continued.
"Hah! Who cares about that?" Shinji scoffed just as Rider stepped up to them, rubbing her Master's head vigorously with a wide grin on her face.
"Haha, good to see you're getting into the swing of things then Skipper!" She said.
"Gah-!" Shinji yelped, before trying to beat her off. "How many times do I have to tell you not to do that, you stupid-!"
A sudden explosion cut off the rest of his sentence. Behind them, a column of fire punched straight through the deck just where Rider was standing mere moments ago.
"Gah!" Shinji screamed, nearly toppling over the deck in surprise. "What the hell was that?!"
"Well, that's surprising." Rider muttered, her jovial mood shattered. Without hesitation she grabbed a hold of the two Masters by the scruff of their necks, throwing them to the ship's quarterdeck.
"Ugh-!" Her Master groaned as he hit the deck, immediately getting up and turning on his Servant. "Rider! What the-"
But his sentence was cut off by another belch of fire erupting from beneath their former position. Through the flames, he could see his Servant barely leap out of the way in time.
"Dammit, looks like they managed to survive Rider's Noble Phantasm-!" Shun shouted, running to the edge of the ship, scanning the floor carefully.
"But how the hell did they manage to do that?!" Shinji shouted frantically, paralysed by the sudden events as he stumbled in the wake of another explosion.
"Physical barriers." A familiar voice answered him, barely audible even without the background sound of explosions.
"Mihara!" Shinji screamed, joining Shun on the edge of the deck. "What the hell did you do?!"
"There wasn't any way we could have avoided such a broad-ranged attack." Mihara's disembodied voice answered them. "And there was no way we could have reached a wreck to shield us either, though that wouldn't have been of much help. So at the end of the day, the only viable option was to try and make our own barrier."
"Indeed." Another voice cut in, just as the clang of steel could echoed from the main deck. The two Masters turned to see a crimson swordswoman clash swords with Archer, a red gash visible across his back.
"My Master is quite resourceful. To be able to assimilate information as quickly as he did despite external pressures, I am quite impressed." She continued, as she leapt into a hole, another stream of fire covering her escape as Archer stumbled out of the way.
"Though your NPC inserts were too many for my earlier work to have any effect, I at least got an idea of how you managed to manipulate the Arena." Mihara's voice continued, the two Masters switching back and forth between the battle and the sea floor.
"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Shinji shouted. "Just admit it already, you're just a blatant cheater aren't you?!"
"Though I couldn't do something as complex as directly summoning a barrier..." Mihara continued, ignoring Shinji's accusation. "It was much easier to delete something from the battlefield entirely, namely-"
"You carved a hole into ground-?!" Shun shouted, staring wide-eyed at the pock-marked battlefield.
"Correct!" A voice belonging to Mihara's second Servant shouted, just as another explosion shook the ship.
"Tch!" Rider scowled as she jumped out of another charred hole, a column of flame following soon after her. "Now when the hell did that fox find the time to do that I wonder?"
"What the hell are you doing Rider?!" Shinji shouted, panic overtaking him. "Get down there and kill them already!"
"That Caster's mined the entire deck down there Skipper!" She shouted in reply. "And I definitely don't fancy being on the roasting spit tonight!"
As she spoke she side-stepped a falling piece of debris, the columns of flames easily destroying parts of the mast above.
That small movement was just enough to save her from being disembowelled.
A red blur leaped from the hole in front of Rider, a red sword slicing across her stomach with a second following up her right bicep.
"Gah-!" She grunted in pain, firing in reflex at the Servant who disappeared back down the hole, the debris covering her escape. "Ugh… We're definitely on the back-foot now!"
"He must have extended the hole so that it goes all the way underneath the ship while the dust was settling-!" Shun muttered, gritting his teeth.
"If you know so much then figure out a way to get out of this damn mess!" Shinji shouted at him.
"Shut up you stupid brat! It's your fault we got caught in this mess to begin with anyway!"
"My fault?!"
"Didn't you hear what they just said?! He figured out how to modify the Arena by watching you and your stupid NPC effigies!"
"Geh! Gah, I-I-It's your fault for not finishing him off earlier! And anyway, they can't keep this sort of attack going on forever: That stupid fox will run out of energy soon enough!"
As though to disprove his theory, another violent explosion immediately rocked the ship. Glancing back, the two Masters noticed a portion of the ship's hull having blasted clean off across from them.
"Ufufu, we picked up some interesting stuff from the Treasure Hunt you made us run through yesterday." Caster's playful voice echoed around the ship. "Some of these regeneration items are pretty useful!"
"I would have preferred to roast you here and now for putting my Master through so much trouble this week. Unfortunately the Moon Cell's rules forbid that."
"Dammit!" Shun shouted, stamping his foot down hard enough to splinter the wood. On cue, golden lines of code appeared around his limbs as he held a fist towards his 'partner'. "Everything's going to shit because of your meddling Shinji!"
"Shu- J-Just stop and let me think about this for a minute!" The blue-haired magus stammered. Yet with all the explosions rocking them, he could barely even stand properly.
"Unfortunately, this ends here!" Saber shouted. The two Masters turned back to the deck to see the swordswoman dodging Rider's random bullets. Her figure raced towards Archer, his form hanging limp even as he gripped his scimitar tightly.
"Do you still feign confidence even now, barbarian?" She asked as she swung her sword at her enemy, his scimitar already moving to block it. Behind her a sudden wall of flame drowned out Rider's pistols, now unable to find their target.
"What, and admit my crushing defeat before my Master?" He asked through gritted teeth, a forced smile on his face as his sword-arm tensed. "Ha! As if I would let such dishonour tarnish my name after all I had done in life!"
"I would have expected no less from one the Moon Cell has designated a Servant." She muttered in reply, disengaging suddenly. "Unfortunately I will not have the pleasure of ending you now."
"Huh?" Archer asked, momentarily confused by this sudden development.
Just an ear-splitting explosion erupted around him. As a torrent of scorching flames engulfed him, the immense searing pain overloaded his senses.
He could only mutter a single scream as he realised what had just happened.
That he had been completely fooled by the 'bait'.
'Heh, I didn't expect to be deceived by my foes like this.'
With that final thought, his body dropped flat onto the deck as the flames of Caster's spell ravaged his charred body.
"Well, isn't this a bit of a pickle I'm in?" Rider asked, her bloodied right arm hanging limp by her side even as she nonchalantly twirled the pistol in her left.
"Hmph, your days of profligacy come to an end here, Pirate." Saber replied, pointing her sword to her enemy from across the deck. "And this time, I will be the one to end you for all the grievances you have put me through!"
"Oya, you're still hung up on all those names I called you?" Rider asked, a pained grin crossing her face. "Well, you'll still be a midget no matter what you do anyway, killing me won't change that!"
"Then at least I will have the satisfaction of knowing I had silenced your tongue this day!" The swordswoman shouted back. "Now then, are you prepared to leave this mortal coil?"
"Hah!" Rider laughed, even with the blood dripping down from her wounds, her clothes charred black in places.
"I was ready to die the moment I set foot on this path." She replied, staring unflinchingly at her foe as she slowly moved her able hand to the side of her face, her pistol lining up perfectly.
"I said it before, didn't I?" She continued speaking, a wild grin on her face. "The thrill only gets better when your back is to the wall! The chance to test fate in that moment with only my bullets is the very thrill that I live for!"
"So then, Saber!" She declared finally, raising her pistol with a click before aiming it forward, hand steady. "Here's my final Crown: I'm prepared to go for broke. Are you?"
A single moment of silence reigned between the two combatants as they stared each other down.
Then, Saber shot across the hull, clearing the charred holes that littered the wooden surface.
"Everything's on this!" Rider shouted as she saw her opponent move.
"Lock!"
Four squares abruptly appeared beside her, wooden portholes opening.
"Stock!"
Four barrels emerged from the squares, their steel muzzles shining a dull grey amidst the smoke.
"And Barrel!"
Five plumes of smoke erupted from Rider's position, cannon fire and pistol shots drowning out the silence in the area. Caught in mid-air without any defence, iron balls raced towards Saber's figure as she kept her focus unerring.
"Caster, fire now!"
"Roger that, Master!"
A sudden eruption roared as a plume of flame shot up from the depths of the ship, engulfing Rider's attack.
Immediately the cannonballs exploded, shrapnel sent flying as a thick cloud of smoke filled the area. Instinctively, Rider turned away for the briefest of moments at the explosion, the smoke engulfing her figure.
And as she turned back, she saw the crimson swordswoman barely an arm's length away from her, sword at the ready.
"You've lost your last wager, cur."
With her words, Saber thrust forward, her sword embedding itself straight into Rider's chest.
The privateer stood still, wide-eyed at the sudden addition to her body, before cracking a smile. Almost without realising it, the pistol in her hand dropped to the ground.
"Hah-!" She wheezed, just as Saber pulled her weapon out. For a moment she stood still, before her able hand touched the wound. Several more seconds passed, before blood began to run through her fingers.
"Agh…" She groaned as she fell to her knees. "Ooh, that was a good hit." She muttered finally, before collapsing forward limply, her form refusing to move any further.
'It's over.'
Mihara sighed to himself as he watched the final fight finish, before his vision blurred abruptly.
"Gr-!" He groaned as he fell sideways, his body hitting the sandy wall as he used it for support.
"It's over…" He panted, staring at his Interface screen as the adrenaline continued to surge through him.
His hand moved over to the wound in his side, tracing the makeshift bandage that Saber had made out of his shirt. Beneath it, a dull pain still emanated like dying embers.
"It's over."
He looked up, seeing a gaping hole in the sand that lead up to a wooden section. Past that, he saw the black smoke that tarnished the pristine seawater above the battlefield.
"It's finally over." He whispered, closing his eyes as fatigue began to take hold, his feet buckling slightly.
Yet before they gave way, a bright light shone through his closed eyelids.
Clenching them tighter, he felt his body lighten as the floor beneath him disappeared. Instinctively he opened his eyes, trying to figure out what was happening.
He was engulfed in a column of white, his surroundings similarly bleached-white.
It continued for several moments, before he felt solid ground beneath his feet again.
And in the next moment, he stood aboard a shipwreck, black charred holes scarring its wooden surface.
His head snapped around to view his surroundings, before noticing his two Servants beside him. Tired yes, but well and alive.
He also recognised his opponents across the deck from him. A halo of white light around the Masters vanished, their two Servants lying flat and unmoving on the ground next to them.
"Wh-Wh-What the?!" Shinji stammered, falling down backwards as he saw his Servant's limp form up close. "How the hell did my Servant get defeated?!"
"Tch… Sorry, Manaka." Shun muttered, his fists clenched white.
"I'm the best! At everything! How the hell did I get beaten in the first round?!"
Mihara gasped as he felt a sudden itch surrounding his wound. As he turned to look, he noticed a soft white glow emanating from beneath all the torn pieces of cloth. And amidst it all, he saw scabbed blood flake off into black pixels.
"This is…" He muttered, watching the light pulse several more times before gradually fading away. Slowly he began to undo the bandages that Saber had made for him, only to reveal his smooth, unblemished skin.
"It's… healed?" He asked, blinking in surprise as he felt his shirt-turned bandage completely free of dried blood. Staring at it for a few more moments, he soon noticed several plumes of black pixels also rise up from the wreck.
And after several seconds, he observed not a single charred hole on the deck. Even the ship's Mast had been completely reconstructed. And turning around, he could see the damage from Rider's Noble Phantasm on the Arena also being erased from existence.
He would have marvelled longer at that regenerative power, had it not been for Shinji's shouting.
"Dammit, Rider! It's all your fault! If I didn't get a Servant that sucked like you I would've won this fight in the first five minutes!"
"Oya, oya, flogging a waterlogged sailor now are we?" Rider began speaking. Mihara jumped in shock as she slowly stood up with a grunt, black pixels drifting up from the wounds around her body. "Nothing you do now will help to reverse your fortunes y'know, Shinji."
'I thought she was supposed to be dead?! Or is the SERAPH doing something?'
"Gah! If you've got the energy to talk back then get back out there and fight!" Her Master shouted desperately, pointing at the Servants opposite them who remained completely relaxed. "I can't lose like this!"
"Hmm, I don't think that's gonna happen." She said nonchalantly, shaking her head while gesturing at the wound in her chest, the black pixels rising from it growing in number. "Did you forget? I've been shot in the heart. No way anybody's continuing a fight like this."
"What the hell?!" He continued shouting, jabbing a finger at her. "Why're you running away now! This is all your fault! I lost this fight because of you!"
"My fault eh?" She asked, pulling a pained grin. "Perhaps. Or it could have been carelessness. Lack of tenacity maybe. Lack of ability, supplies, ammunition, bad terrain or weather… the list goes on. Still, there's absolutely nothing we can do about it. Lady Luck is fickle, and all we can do is live with what Fate gives us."
"Tch! Why the hell are you making it sound like this is someone else's problem?!" Her master said, getting up and jabbing another finger at her. "I did everything I'm supposed to do! I'm the best! At everything! There's no way I could have made any mistakes! Everything was ruined because you became my Servant! Dammit! For me to lose like this…! He stamped his foot onto the ground.
"Sorry, Shun." Archer said amidst Shinji's tirade of curses. "We've lost this fight. I'm sorry… That I couldn't give you and your consort the ending you wished for."
"No, Archer…" He sighed, shaking his head even as he looked at Archer's charred form, black pixels slowly rising. "It's alright. Manaka is… capable. I can still support her after all. She'll win this in our place I'm sure."
"Unfortunately, I'm afraid things aren't as simple as that." Archer murmured, a sad smile playing across his lips.
"This is impossible! This game sucks! Suuucks!" Shinji shouted finally, throwing his face to the sky.
"Hmph, a sore loser is truly a most pathetic sight." Saber scoffed, crossing her arms.
"No kidding." Caster echoed her, pulling a face.
"I wish to return back to our quarters." Saber continued. "I desire a change of clothes and a bath. Just watching this abominable display soils my being, let alone my bedraggled outfit. Seeing as how the Lady Pirate is already under harsh treatment by her joke of a Master, I feel it is only correct for me to drop my previous threats."
"Well aren't we magnanimous?" Caster said as she stretched. Her pale, unblemished skin shone brightly without any sleeves to cover them before turning back to her Master. "Still I'll have to agree, I want to go home too. Oh, oh, when we do Master, could you give me a pat on the head for a job well done?"
"…Master?" She asked after several moments of silence.
"…Sorry, just give me a little bit." Mihara replied, shaking his head vigorously before taking a few tentative steps forward.
"Master, no, I, erm, I think we should go…" Caster continued hesitantly.
'Shinji and Shun haven't been deleted yet.' Mihara thought, ignoring his Servant. 'They… They would have been deleted by now, right? Does… Does that mean that Rin was lying before? That all my worries this past week… All of it was just in my head?' He gave a weak smile, his mind clinging onto the thought as tightly as possible.
"Shinji…" He spoke as he reached the middle of the deck, next to the main mast.
"Shinji, it's over now… Let's just go home. We, we can try to find a way out of the SERAPH together, right? We don't have to fight anyone else like this-"
"You shut your mouth!" The blue-haired magus screamed. He turned to his opponent as he stepped closer, a finger pointing forward. "Don't you dare get a big head just because you won this one game!"
"Come on now, Shinji, give him a break." Rider sighed. "He won fair and square already, let him take some joy out of this."
"And you can just shut up!" He shouted back, swiping a fist at his Servant. "We lost this fight because of you! You have absolutely no right to tell me what to do!"
"Gr, dammit, Mihara!" He shouted as he turned back to his opponent, now only a hands length away from him as he jabbed a finger into his face. "In reality, I'm still a champion! No matter who or where you are, I swear, when I log out of this I'm going to find out every single thing about you and-!"
His sentence was cut off as a metal grille cut through in-between them, a resounding metal clang echoing in the area as it did so.
Glowing a fiery red, small sparks of electricity can be seen arcing between the digital wires that composed it. While Mihara had only the briefest of glimpses at it, he knew immediately that it was a firewall that the SERAPH had constructed. Still though…
"Agh-!"
That wasn't what caused Mihara to stumble and fall backwards in shock. No-
It was the fact that the barrier had cleaved straight through Shinji's arm.
There in mid-air, his hand floated, as though suspended by a puppeteer.
"…Huh?" Shinji blinked several times as he stared mesmerised at the floating hand. "Eh?"
Slowly his gaze turned to look at his severed arm, bringing it closer to his face for several long moments.
And then, he screamed.
A blood-curdling scream that froze Mihara's blood. The blue-haired magus clutched his severed forearm as he saw the floating hand dissipate into black pixels.
"What the hell is thiiis?!" Shinji shouted. Ignorant of his incoherent screaming, several lines of words emblazoned themselves onto the Firewall.
The conclusion of this Coliseum Battle has been reached.
Congratulations, Mihara Hakuno.
The SERAPH hereby declares you the victor of today's conflict.
Your wounds have been repaired to facilitate your performance for the next week.
We look forward to your continued progress.
And to the defeated…
Shinji Matou, Master ID Number 19-08-09-14-10-09-MU, farewell.
Your deletion shall now commence.
"What the-Gah!" Shinji's dumbstruck voice took hold of Mihara's attention.
"M-M-M-My body! W-What the hell's happening to me?! I've never logged out like this before!"
His severed arm had abruptly glowed black, as similarly coloured pixels began drifting off from it.
And, slowly, ever so slowly, the same blackness began eating up the rest of his arm.
"No… No! Stop! Stop!" He cried frantically, his living arm quickly trying to brush off creeping blackness, as though it were just a visual layer. "Stop already- Agh!"
His efforts only made things worse.
The blackness immediately latched onto his free arm like a ravenous animal. And without wasting any time, it continued growing along both limbs.
"Shit!"
"Losers die in the Holy Grail War, Shinji." Rider's voice called out from across the deck as she took several steps forward towards him. "As a Master, you should've known that."
Surrounding the wound inflicted by Saber's sword, a similar blackness began to grow, eating into her flesh.
"D-Die?! That can't be right!" He shouted, his blackened hand calling up his interface as the blue bubble surrounded him like a quarantine. Frantically, he tried to find a way to stop whatever was happening to him. "J-Just our Avatars get erased, right?! There's no way you can die in a virtual world!"
"Unfortunately, you can." Rider said solemnly, as Shinji's Interface blackened as soon as his fingers touched the keyboard. "You lose, you die."
At her words, Shinji's Interface immediately dissolved into black mist as he stood, dumbstruck.
"This is a 'war', not a 'game', Shinji." Rider continued unabated, even as the blackness gradually consumed her. "Most everyone ends up dead in any war. And this one is no different; in fact it's even worse. For in this war, only one survivor can leave for home alive." At this she turned to Mihara, still staring dumbstruck on his bottom, giving him a sad smile as her limbs succumbed to the blackness.
"Sorry to burst your little bubble there earlier, Mihara."
"Wha… No… No! No way! This isn't fun- Gah!" Shinji shouted, turning to his Servant before yelping as fell over.
A similar blackness had now begun to crawl up his legs as they crumbled under him.
"T-T-This is a Tournament!" He stammered, shakily getting back up to his knees. "So it's just a game! Right? Right?! Gah! No… No! Why, w-why isn't this stopping! It's just getting worse! Rider! Help me already! Aren't Servant's supposed to help their Masters?!"
"Haha, if it were that easy to break the rules, they wouldn't have made them." She replied with a laugh. "Though I like to bend the rules myself, there are simply some that just can't be bent nor broken. Still, that cloaked man with a scythe comes for everyone, both good and bad, in the end. It's nothing to complain about."
"Sh-Grr, acting like you know so much!" Shinji growled, swinging his hand in frustration even though he could barely stand. Already, the blackness had engulfed his limbs even as he continued shouting futilely. "Aren't you ashamed at all after all this?!"
"Ashamed?" Rider asked, before her voice flared. "Ha! Of course I'm ashamed! How can I hope to face my crew after such a humiliating defeat?! I might as well just strap myself to the anchor and sink to the bottom along with it!
"Still though," She continued after a pause in her tirade. "Remember what I told you when we first made our contract, little boy?"
"Gh-!" Shinji grunted, evidently remembering as the blackness slowly seeped up and around his chest.
"Be prepared, because a villain's final moments are laughably miserable!" Rider shouted, before giving another hearty laugh as a black tendril snaked its way up her throat, eating into her face.
"Speaking of laughter…" She continued, turning to Mihara's figure as his Servants stepped forward. "You folks over there, why aren't we hearing some from you now, huh? It's sad when a clown doesn't get a laugh after all." She shook her head with eyes closed, a sad smile playing on her lips.
"Oh well, my time's nearly up." She continued as a solitary eye looked at her opponents, the blackness having engulfed half her face. Already, the rest of her body was completely swallowed even as she straightened up.
"I wish you three well on the rest of your voyage. It'd be good if you ended up stronger than me, heh, though I won't be around to see it. It's always been against my nature to fight those weaker than me after all."
With her final words spoken, Rider gave them a small smile as the blackness consumed the rest of her face. In silence, her body stood still for several moments as a writhing mass of blackness.
Before her form dissipated into black pixels with a hiss, like a crumbling stone statue.
"Francis Drake…" Mihara found himself muttering as he watched the spectacle.
She was a Pirate.
She was a Privateer.
She was a great navigator.
She was the first person to circumnavigate the globe, and the victor against Spain's Invincible Armada.
And she was gone in an instant, laughing all the way. And now that she has…
There was no doubt Shinji knew what his fate was.
"H-Hey! Rider!" He wailed as he reached out to the rising pixels. "W-Who gave you permission to disappear like that?! Dammit! Help! Help me! Don't leave me like this!"
"Ah… Agh! Oh! Oh god!" Shinji continued, his vision darting around, before seeing Mihara behind the firewall. "Then… You! Mihara! Help me! I-I-I'm only in this mess because of you! W-We used to be friends, right?! Right?!"
At his words Mihara got up. His exhausted muscles screamed as he ran forward to the barrier, hoping that he could stop what was happening before him.
Yet as he reached and tried to thread a hand through its large holes to reach out to his opponent, a shockwave pushed him back.
"Gr-!" He immediately tried again, only to be met with the same results as before.
"Shinji!" He shouted on his third try. He hammered desperately on the wall even as his feet grated against the wooden deck against the shockwaves. "Shinji!"
"No, nooo…" Shinji continued to wail helplessly. His body was wracked by shivering as he reached a hand out to his former friend, his face the only part of him not yet consumed by the blackness. "No, I'm disappearing! Agh… Agh! Help me! Help me! I'm really disappearing! W-W-Why do I feel like I'm really going to die in the real world too!? Help!
"Please! I-I-I'm only eight years old! I don't want to diiieee-!"
Any more of his sentence was cut off abruptly, the blackness engulfing the rest of his face without mercy in one fell swoop.
"Shinji!" Mihara shouted again as he saw Shinji's form dissipating into black pixels like a crumbling tower.
'He's gone-!' He thought, wide eyed as his muscles immediately went slack. Taking advantage of this, another shockwave immediately threw him back.
And at that moment, he noticed the words written on the barrier change.
Shun Fukui, Master ID Number 19-08-21-14-FI, farewell.
Your deletion shall now commence.
He heard a sudden thud from across the ship's deck. The second Master slumped to his knees; his Servant standing by his side, the blackness having already engulfed most of his limbs.
"No… No… This is…" He muttered, wide-eyed as he kept looked between the message, and Shinji's destroyed form.
"I am sorry, my Brother." Archer said solemnly. "You have heard what that Rider has said. You have seen what has happened to both her, and her Master. And, we shall be following shortly."
"No… This, this can't… This can't be happening-! T-This wasn't meant to happen!" He wailed, fists pounding the wooden deck futilely. Already, the blackness began to creep along his limbs without pause, his cries ignored.
"W-W-We weren't meant to wind up in a full-blown war! We weren't meant to actually kill people! We just, we just- Gah!"
His shouts were cut off, one of his blackened fists abruptly breaking off from the rest of his arm. And as he stared at it in dumbstruck realisation, it slowly vanished into thin air.
He undoubtedly knew the rest of him, and his life, would follow.
"I am sorry, my Brother." Archer repeated himself, eyes closed and lips pursed. "This is all because of my own failures."
"Archer, please!" He begged, turning to his Servant on his knees, careful not to lose anymore limbs as the blackness continued to grow. "I-I-I can't end up like Shinji! I can't die here! Manaka's waiting for me outside!"
"I never wanted fame!" He continued shouting desperately at his Servant, who continued to look his Master in the eye. "I never wanted glory! I never wanted money! I never wanted power! I didn't want Manaka because of her family's inheritance! I only wanted to make her happy! Is there really anything wrong with that?! But most of all… Most of all!"
"I didn't want her to end up marrying that bastard of a man her father had chosen for her!" He screamed, before breaking down at his Servant's feet.
Unabated, the blackness continued to engulf him as he wept uncontrollably, his tears leaking into the wooden deck.
'Marriage… An arranged marriage?' Mihara thought. Yet unable to do anything, he stared wide-eyed through the barrier at his remaining opponents.
"I… I am sorry, my Brother." Archer continued, stumbling over his words. "My inability has led to this defeat, and now the one that you had left behind must suffer because of it. Still, as you entered this war, I must say something…"
His Master still knelt before him, his body convulsing in a pathetic heap as he continued to speak.
"Though you have been eliminated this round, you should consider the fact that only one may leave this war alive. And, inevitably, should your consort have survived alongside you…"
His words trailed off as his Master looked up at him. His eyes were reddened and drenched in tears as the blackness slowly engulfed the rest of his chest. Clenching his eyes shut, the Servant forced himself to speak.
"You would have had to face her in combat directly."
"…We… We would have had to kill each other?" He asked after a long pause, looking up at his Servant as he forced his words through his sobs.
"As that Pirate had said, there is no way to break, or bend, that one rule of the Holy Grail War." Archer said simply, nodding his head once.
"…It's true..." Shun muttered after several seconds of silence. He turned his face downwards again as realization dawned about the full problem he had put himself, and his girlfriend, into.
"We… We would have had to kill, each other, at… at some, some point, or another…"
"Exactly, my Brother. My Master." Archer said. "Even now, there is something to be grateful for. And, again… I am sorry."
Closing his eyes, he spoke his last few words to his Master as the blackness quickly engulfed the rest of his face.
And with a hiss, his form dissipated into black mist, pixels rising and scattering through the ocean waters like ash thrown to the wind.
For several long moments, Shun Fukui watched his Servant's dissipating form. Then, he turned his gaze to the wooden deck.
"No… Archer…" He muttered, teeth gritted. "I'm sorry. You… You must have realised this long ago… And, and… And the both of us, were just… Just too blind, to see it…"
At this he slowly turned to look at Mihara, still sat on the other side of the barrier, staring powerlessly. Returning his gaze, they watched each other for several long moments, Shun's blackening body wracked with sobs.
"Mihara…" He spoke finally, a tendril creeping up his neck.
"Mihara, I guess… In a way… you've saved both of us, huh?" He said, his words punctuated by the sobs, a weak smile crossing his face.
"This… This, sounds completely wrong but… Thanks… Thanks to you, I wouldn't have had to go through dying… at her hands. She… She wouldn't have had… to go through that, that, sort of, suffering…"
"But…" He continued again through his sobs, clenching his eyes shut. "But, hey, you're the only… You're the only one I can ask this of, in this last moment."
"Shun…?" Mihara asked, forcing himself to stand up again despite his muscle's cries of resistance.
"I know I can't... That this is, impossible, but... Ugh, this... This is going to sound so... so, very cliché, but..." Shun Fukui spoke slowly before biting his lip, trying to control his sniffles and voice. And with tears streaking down his blackened cheeks, he made his request.
"Take care of her for me, alright?"
"Shun…"
"I… I can't ask you to lose for her, but… Please, help her if… If she's in trouble. Don't… Don't let her, die, too early."
"…I will try, Shun." Mihara spoke solemnly after a pause, giving Shun the answer he was looking for.
His opponent cracked a smile at his words, before speaking haltingly.
"I would… I would like it… If she reached the Grail, and got her wish granted. Even… Even… Guh… "
His voice broke down finally as he collapsed forward into the deck, grief overtaking him. Slowly, with tears streaming down his cheeks, he forced the remaining words out through clenched teeth into the wood.
"Even if... Even if, I might... Not have any part… To do… With that wish, I would… I would be happy, if she could… Finally… Have her wish… Granted for her…"
His voice trailed off as the blackness engulfed the rest of his face, his body knelt frozen for several long moments in a mass of writhing back.
Then, with a sudden hiss, his body dissociated into black pixels.
And without further ado, Shun Fukui accompanied Shinji Matou, and their two Servants before him into the endless Electronic Ocean.
And finally, silence reigned across the battlefield.
His opponent's final parting words spoken, Mihara looked up through the ocean waters. Yet despite his efforts, he was unable to see any of the black pixels that made up his opponents.
'That's it…' He thought wide-eyed, completely ignoring his two silent Servants behind him.
'I've killed them.'
"I've killed them." He repeated the three words to himself as he turned to look at the deck, then to the barrier and the words imprinted upon them.
Congratulations, Mihara Hakuno.
You are the victor of today's conflict.
May the Holy Grail continue to illuminate your way.
For that path is lined with the skulls and bodies of your foes.
For remember: Only one, may hold the Grail.
At this, a sudden wave of nausea began to overpower him.
Gagging, he fell to his knees, a hand over his mouth as his body convulsed uncontrollably.
His Servants stood behind him silently.
Uncertain, or perhaps unable, to think of how to comfort their Master as he retched.
Twilight
"I've killed them." He muttered, trying to convince himself of what had just happened as his Servants stood invisible nearby.
Though his inner shirt was ruined due to Saber's improvised bandages, his outer brown shirt was still intact. As a petty bonus, all the blood that soaked it earlier had also been removed by the SERAPH. That was what he now wore, as he stood in front of the elevator doors leading to the Coliseum.
"I've killed them." He repeated to himself.
The thought alone made his stomach churn again.
"This can't be possible." He muttered, shaking his head vigorously as though to rid himself of the thought. "I know what I saw, but…"
Even then, he could not rid himself of the memories.
He knew that these memories will be burned into his mind for a long time.
'So much so that not even amnesia can rid them for me.' He thought grimly, leaning onto a metal beam nearby as he waited for his stomach to calm down.
"Is this really real?" He asked quietly, half-hoping his Servants wouldn't respond. "Just because I won… Shinji, and Shun, are dead… Just because I won…?"
Clenching his teeth and eyes shut, he forced himself to focus back on where they were instead. He couldn't let himself be dragged even further into the black quagmire of his thoughts.
And slowly, he opened his eyes to survey the area.
He didn't know how long he and his Servants were down in the Coliseum for.
The battle itself- He knew it couldn't have lasted for much more than thirty minutes. The aftermath however, how long he had stayed there, stunned at seeing his opponents die before him…
He had no idea how long that was.
And by the time he stepped out of the Coliseum Entrance, the school grounds were covered in the blood-red hue of the setting sun.
"Master…" Caster's voice echoed in the area, her form still invisible. "Master… We should head home soon."
"…Yeah, you're right, Caster." He gave a deep sigh, before turning to look at the school's entrance, biting his lip. His hand moved up to cover his heart as a strange, heavy weight pressed down on him.
It only got worse as a familiar voice called out to him.
"-Mihara?!"
In an instant his head snapped back to look at the blond woman, who had just run out from the School's main building.
'Manaka…' He thought grimly as she approached. 'The last person I wanted to see. She must have just finished her own Coliseum Fight, using a different gateway, maybe...'
"Mihara?" She asked again as she stopped several metres away from him, her aqua-blue dress fluttering slightly in the wind. "You… You defeated Shun?"
"…Yeah, I guess I did." He answered, pocketing his quivering hands as a sense of unease formed rapidly within him.
"Well…" She began after a few moments, blinking several times. "Well… This was certainly unexpected. Your Servant- No, Servants, wasn't it? They both must have been pretty strong to be able to take out my darling's Servant with Shinji as well."
"I guess, huh?" He said half-heartedly, a twinge of pain coursing through his chest at her words.
"Master, we should leave before you lose your composure." Saber said, clearly aware of the emotions swirling within him.
"Yeah, well, I'm sorry Manaka, but I need to go now." He said at his Servant's prompt, also unwilling to stay any longer.
"Ah, alright- Good luck with your next fight." She replied, as Mihara gave a curt nod before walking away. Behind him, he could still hear her muttering, clearly oblivious to the true fate of her 'dear darling'.
"Hmm, well, I guess I should look for a way to contact him outside of the Moon Cell…"
"I'm sorry." He whispered softly as he continued walking, her innocent, ignorant words carving holes into his chest.
Yet, before he had gone afar, a new voice called out, stopping him in his tracks.
"Well well, I believe that congratulations are in order, Young Masters."
"Kotomine-!" Mihara muttered. His eyes snapped open as he swivelled around to look at the Priest who had just come around from behind the school's main building.
"Let me congratulate the both of you for annihilating your competition this week." He continued, arms open with his snide smile plastered onto his face. "Rejoice, Young Masters. For your first kill, your first skull crushed, your first dream trampled in your quest for the Holy Grail. Continue as you have done, and I am certain that the Holy Vessel will come within your reach."
"Thank you very much, Father." Mihara said, giving a nod to the Priest before continuing on his way, not willing to stay any longer.
"Thank you, Father Kotomine." Manaka said calmly afterwards. "Though, I have a question Father. Is there any possible way to get in contact with the outside world from within the Moon Cell?"
"Hm?" He asked in response to her question. "What may you be insinuating, Young Master?"
"Well, I guess I should clarify." She said. "My darling boyfriend's been defeated in his Coliseum Fight."
At her words, Mihara could feel his step falter, as though he had tripped over something.
"And I was wondering if I can try and get in contact with him outside of the Moon Cell, back on Earth."
At her words, Mihara's step halted entirely, as though an invisible hand had seized hold of it.
"Hm." The Priest gave a knowing, snide smile at her question. "I'm afraid that is not possible, Young Master."
"Oh, so there really isn't any way to contact anyone outside the Moon Cell?"
At her words, Mihara could feel his heart leap up into his throat.
"I am afraid you misunderstand, Manaka Sajyou." He continued. "It is impossible to contact your partner any longer, no matter what method. For he lies in a place that is unreachable by the living."
"…Excuse me?" She asked, clearly confused.
At her words, Mihara couldn't help but turn his head slowly back to look at them.
"He, like all the other Masters defeated while in the SERAPH, has left this mortal coil." Kotomine continued without the slightest hint of hesitation.
"Left this… Mortal coil?" Manaka asked slowly, as though trying to confirm the unbelievable.
"He is dead." He answered her plainly. "He is deceased. He has passed on. His life, and his soul, has been torn to shreds by the Moon Cell in accordance with its rules. He-"
"Wait, wait!" She shouted, interrupting him mid-sentence, her arms flailing. "W-What do you mean he's dead?! Y-You can't die in a virtual world?! I thought the people we defeat just log back out into their bodies back on Earth?!"
"Why, I mean what I say, Manaka Sajyou." The Priest continued. His snide smile still plastered onto his lips, the man known as Kirei Kotomine calmly spoke the painful, searing truth.
"Out of all the four-hundred Participants within the Holy Grail War, only one may remain standing. Only one can emerge alive. Only one may hold the Grail.
"And everyone else, must die."
At the Priest's words, it felt as though the entire world had come to a standstill around them.
One second passed.
It was as though time had stopped. Even the rustling of the wind around them had stopped upon the Priest's calmly spoken words, powerful enough to silence all around them.
Five seconds passed.
All, that is, except for Mihara's thumping heart.
Ten seconds passed.
"No…" Manaka muttered finally, staring wide-eyed at the Priest before her.
Her single word tore at his very being.
"No… That, that can't be true…" She took a step back. "My Prince… He can't be dead… He can't-"
To have to watch someone die before his very eyes was excruciating.
At that point, her head swivelled around to look at Mihara, who could only stand and stare.
"Mihara… My Shun… He can't be dead, can he?"
And now, he had to deal with the lover that was left behind.
"He can't be dead!" She screamed at him, taking a single step forward. "He can't… I-I, I mean-"
And all Mihara could do, was take a single deep breath, and close his eyes.
Without hesitation, he muttered the truth that the both of them least wanted to hear.
"No, Manaka. He is dead."
At his words, again silence gripped the area for several more moments. And, despite knowing it was completely stupid of him, despite knowing it would hurt her more than anything else in the world…
"I killed him."
He continued speaking.
"I watched as his Servant was defeated by my own."
He opened his eyes and looked straight at Manaka. The tiredness of the week came crashing down upon him, unable to stop his words from flowing.
"I watched, unmoving, as your boyfriend died right in front of me, crying at the fact that he will never see you again."
It was as though his words were uttered not to convince her that her boyfriend was dead…
"I watched as his data was torn to shreds by the Moon Cell. As his form disappeared into black pixels, just like the countless number of programs that we have killed during this week."
But rather, to convince himself of the atrocity he had just committed.
To convince himself of the true nature of the Holy Grail War, that he had been purposefully avoiding this entire week.
"I killed him."
He repeated the three words once again.
Several seconds of silence passed, before Manaka regained her voice.
"…He's… dead?" She asked, staring at him wide-eyed.
Biting his lip, he could only nod at her question.
"…You killed him?" She asked, more a statement than a question.
Again, he only nodded in answer, his gaze never leaving her own.
"…No." She uttered a single word after a long pause, her feet taking a single step forward.
"No, you're lying…" She continued as she continued stepping forward, her gaze fixated on him even as she shook her head.
"He can't have died." Several more steps forward.
"You can't have killed him." Even more steps forward.
By now she was only a couple of metres away from him. And despite her unrelenting gaze, he could see it clearly.
Her tears, dripping slowly down her cheeks even as she uttered her denials.
The sight only stabbed at his heart even more. Yet at the same time, he forced himself to accept the painful truth.
"People die when they're killed, Manaka." He answered, repeating the same words Rin Tousaka had told him at the start of the week as she stopped in her tracks. "This is true for all Wars, and the Holy Grail War is no different."
The two Masters stood a few metres apart from each other for several tense, long seconds as a chilling silence enveloped the area.
"You took him away from me." He could hear her mutter suddenly.
And then, the world abruptly slowed around him.
He saw her clench her teeth, the tears still dripping down her cheeks.
He saw her hand ball into a fist, as lines of code spontaneously erupted from it.
He saw the digital dagger that appeared in her hand, its holographic blade gleaming blood-red in the light of the setting sun.
He saw her leap forward from her position only a few metres away, and knew the dagger she held was meant to be plunged into his heart.
And yet, he couldn't bring himself to move.
"Praetor!"
He hated himself for what he had done.
"Goshujin-sama!"
He hated the fact that he had killed this young woman's lover just to prolong his own life. That, because of him, Manaka would never see the face of her boyfriend, Shun Fukui, again.
And it was because of that, that he let her kill him without even an ounce of resistance.
"Everyone, stop!"
Yet in the very last moment before Manaka's blade plunged into him, a new face came between them.
It was like a normal human's head in shape and form. However, the single thing that stood out for him, was its lack of a face, and a lack of all defining features.
No eyes. No mouth. No hair. All covered in black.
The only words Mihara could use to describe it, was an Executioner's Mask.
A symbol of power, of mercilessness, and of death.
And it was standing in-between the two of them.
In that single instant this new figure's body pivoted on its feet. Its hand was sent swinging outwards, striking Manaka's stomach with enough force to send her body flying into the air like a rag doll.
"Mistress!" A new voice called out.
A figure appeared out of thin air to catch her mid-flight, bringing themselves to a screeching halt at least ten metres away.
This new figure had a cloak wrapped around them completely. Not only did it conceal their physique and clothes, but their hood also completely concealed their face. From Mihara's view, not even their gender could be discerned. Yet from the figure's aura alone, he could immediately identify them.
'It's Manaka's Servant-!' He thought wide-eyed, before remembering the black-clad figure that had stopped Manaka's attack.
He didn't have to look around long to find it again.
"This is-!" Saber said in shock, evidently also staring at it.
What he thought was a black mask that covered its head, was actually its natural skin colour: Complete, midnight black. It didn't have a mask, but rather, it had no face at all to speak of. Its body was thin and lean; belying the amount of strength it had just exhibited in sending Manaka flying.
But perhaps what was most distinctive about it, were the set of holographic wings that adorned its back.
"What is this being?!" Saber asked, her Master dumbfounded by the events of the past few seconds. "I can feel so much power from it- Is it supposed to be a Servant of some sort?!"
"No." Caster said grimly. "It's a Seraphic Guardian."
"A Seraphic Guardian?"
"The NPCs that oversee the Holy Grail War need to manage Servants like us after all, Saber. They themselves aren't much more than the humans with a direct connection to the Moon Cell. They still need some muscle to keep us in line, so the Moon Cell created the Seraphic Guardians to act as their bodyguards.
"Even a single one of them is enough to defeat an average Servant. That girl was lucky her insides didn't turn into outsides immediately there. To make it worse, each NPC should have at least two of them at their command."
"Muuu, I thought I told you not to use so much force, you dummy program!" A familiar voice called out, as a black-clad NPC ran up to the Guardian's side.
"Suzuha…" Mihara muttered as he recognised her.
"Ah ha, I thought you'd be the victor of this week!" Suzuha Ikuya exclaimed after a moment to catch her breath. "Hehehe, now Arina owes me a tub of ice-cream!"
'You were really betting on a life-or-death situation for ice-cream?' He couldn't help but wonder, somewhat horrified.
But at that point, his mind suddenly stopped as he heard the faint whimpering of a young woman.
Slowly, he turned to face Manaka, knelt in the arms of her Servant so many metres away.
"Why…?" She asked through her whimpering, her face downturned.
"Why? Shun, why?"
Even though she couldn't physically plunge a dagger into his heart-
"You promised me… You promised me that we'd be together forever…"
Her pitiful whimpers alone were enough to tear it apart.
"You promised me that you wouldn't let me marry that damn jerk!" She screamed. Throwing her head back she looked at the darkening digital sky, tears streaming down her porcelain cheeks unabated.
"You told me that you'd be with me until the end! That we'd win the Grail together! That we would live together forever, just the two of us! That if we won here, even my Father would call off my arranged marriage with him! Shun! Why, why, why why why-?!"
Her words faltered, her body wracked by convulsions as she stared hopelessly into the twilight sky.
"Why did we enter this war just for you to die and leave me alone!?"
With her last sentence screamed to the uncaring heavens, Manaka Sajyou broke down completely. With tears continuing to fall, grief enveloped her small, tiny being.
And by her side her Servant knelt. Its invisible face gazed at Manaka, helpless before that overpowering despair.
And slowly, ever so slowly, it turned to face Mihara.
Even though he could not see its face, he could feel the unbridled fury aimed at him, marking him for death as payback for Manaka's grief.
He felt his eyes sting suddenly as he watched, as a red hue also covered his vision.
Clenching them shut, he turned his face away as he felt a thin trickle of water drip down his own cheek at the sight and sounds before him.
But he made no move to turn away completely, no move to leave the area as he forced himself to listen to Manaka's cries.
And at this point, Mihara realised.
This was War.
This was Cruel, Unrelenting, Unrepentant War.
The death of a person did not mean the immediate end of their story just like that.
For they would have had people they loved, and people that loved them. To take even a single person away, meant the creation of a gaping void in the lives of many more around.
And as he watched Manaka Sajyou cry before him, he carved those thoughts deep into his mind, just as her screams of anguish carved themselves deep into his heart.
'Shun… Fulfilling your dying wish… Is going to be difficult.'
…
And like that, the first round of the Holy Grail War comes to a close.
A/N
Yeah, I'm not cruel enough to leave a cliffhanger for a full month. Still, I would expect a short chapter next month in return.
I felt that Rider needed a sufficiently epic Noble Phantasm, and I hope I have done her justice. Having said that though, the number one thing I wanted to achieve this in-story 'week' concerned Shun and Manaka.
If I managed to at least squeeze your heart while reading the last two sections, I've done the job I've set out to do. So, have I done it?
A bit late but for best effects I would recommend reading it with Fate/Extra's death scene soundtrack in the background. Anyone who guessed her reaction in this chapter beforehand gets a cookie, and I'm sure one can easily guess what sort of trouble she will cause.
For those who noticed, the 'Guardian' is the same unique enemy seen in week 7 in-game. Which was basically a one-off, paper-weak thing which will not be the case here.
Either way, it's been a long and tiring road, but the first round has finally finished. I hope everyone's enjoyed it so far, and will continue to do so.
15/04/2014