Diclaimer: I own neither Blazblue nor Type-Moon.
Above the Hyatt hotel the sky shone from countless lights that came into existence only to vanish an instant later, raining ceaselessly upon the flying chariot. Compared to her battle against Lancer, the rate at which Archer fired was ten times higher.
In fact, Waver could only occasionally make out her silhouette through the blinding light. Undeterred, Rider continued to charge ahead, turning as fast as the chariot would allow to keep her in front of him, continuously charging toward his opponent as much as the awkward angles would allow.
…No, now that Waver thought about it, it was more that Rider had no choice but to press forward.
The divine power of the bulls made them impervious to Archer's barrage, but it wasn't the same for the chariot's occupants. If Rider stopped his charge, the lightning that surrounded them would dissipate and with it their only protection.
Of course the chariot's movement speed was more than ten times that of Archer's, but that became irrelevant when she only needed to get out of its direct trajectory while Rider was forced to change direction while keeping his speed as high as possible.
The end result was that the battle currently stood at a stalemate.
Fist clenched as he held on, Waver did his best to contain his frustration. It was frustrating, to be so powerless. If only he had the power to slow down Archer even for an instant, the battle would be over.
But he lacked that power. If the last three days had taught him anything, it was to acknowledge his own lack of experience.
In a battle between Servants, his only weapons are the two Command Seals that remain on his hand. However, perhaps because of exhaustion or stress, he couldn't think of a command that would change the tide.
Simply recharging Rider's energy for a moment wouldn't help, nor would increasing his chariot's speed even further; it would simply make it harder to adjust the trajectory when Archer moved out of its path.
Even as Waver pondered darkly on his own powerlessness, the man next to him once more adjusted their trajectory, doing his best to keep the silhouette that he could barely see through the lightning and flashes of light in his path. Contrary to his Master, Rider smiled brightly despite the poor situation. Never before had he been challenged in the skies! It was as if the stars themselves were arrayed against him, attempting futilely to push him back as he charged ahead.
In a way, Waver found it reassuring; as long as Rider retained that kind of childish excitement, the battle was far from lost. Still, there had to be some sort of plan.
Doing his best to ignore the perpetually roaring thunder, he attempted to put himself in Iskander's shoes.
He was faster, but Archer had greater mobility. Small attacks like the ones she was using didn't present a big threat, but since she knew that as well her trump card had to be something significantly greater.
At this rate, they wouldn't be allowed to catch her unless she stood her ground.
Since that was the case, best situation to strike would probably be the moment when Archer recovered, just before she used whatever her trump card was. There should be at least a moment of vulnerability before an attack powerful enough to rival Rider's chariot could be unleashed.
Even as the thought came to him, Rider suddenly gathered the reins to whip the divine bulls, the chariot charging forward with even greater speed.
Squinting, Waver could barely see a silhouette through the lights that crashed futilely against their charge. Had something happened to immobilize Archer? If so his thoughts had been wasted.
For an instant the speed of the divine chariot rivaled that of lightning as it charged toward the shadow behind the countless lights. In less than a second, they closed in on their target and the figure was mercilessly scattered to the winds, metallic reflections betraying its true nature.
"Nothing but a decoy, huh?"
The deep voice next to him echoed out roughly at the same time as Waver's own thoughts; by gathering her devices together, Archer had created a silhouette to take Rider's attention off of herself. However, the tactic wasn't without its price – as the lack of attack testified, her offensive capabilities had effectively been crippled for the moment.
Taking advantage of the lull, Rider stopped the chariot as they searched for her in the night.
Naturally, the Servant found her first; she was barely a hundred feet away, floating above a house.
What was she doing? Surely she could have escaped further than that, or at least hidden herself. Even Waver knew that the swords that surrounded her wouldn't be able to do anything against Rider's charge, and she wouldn't even be able to blind them now that her ability to fire rays of light had been crippled.
The answer came when the slim girl stretched out her left arm, taking hold of one of the floating swords.
"She's already recovered?"
He couldn't quite hold back his disbelief. No matter how quickly Servant could heal, it couldn't have been more than a minute since Lancer's death; for a wound grave enough to incapacitate her arm completely to heal in that time...
"Humph, I don't like this." With a sigh similar to that of a disappointed child, Rider spoke loudly for the first time since the beginning of the battle. "Archer, you should at least make it interesting. All you've been doing is running away!"
Waver threw a surprised glance at his Servant. Was Rider...taunting her? Surely he couldn't be serious; it had been clear from the start that Archer couldn't hold her ground while wounded.
"...I won't apologize for that." From her tone, it seemed even Archer couldn't quite believe what he'd just said. "But I'm ready now, so before it ends, Rider, I wanted to ask you something."
Weren't they past the point of talking already? He was certain that they had crossed that line around the time they'd begun to try to kill each others.
For his part, Rider smirked confidently.
"I'll answer it."
"You said you were going to conquer the world..." The girl didn't sound like she thought it was real and Waver had to admit that if he hadn't spent the past few days learning how eccentric Rider was, he would have shared her doubt. "But...a lot of people will get hurt if you try. So...why? Why would you want to?"
Silence fell on the night for several moments as Rider stared in complete bewilderment.
"You ask...why?" Slowly, he gathered his composure again. "That's obvious, isn't it? Everyone wants something, I just want more than anyone else. It is the most distant, most difficult objective and so it is the only one worth pursuing."
The perfectly natural desire of wanting more stood at the basis of the King of Conquerors' existence. The wish for domination, for conquest, was so ingrained in everything he did that it didn't even bear questioning.
Waver himself while he had originally derided that wish, couldn't have denied that 'conquering the world' was something worth pursuing.
The fact that Archer had so earnestly asked such a strange question was the reason why Iskander's reply had lacked his usual energy.
"I see." Deflating in face of the simple answer, the girl's swords gathered in front of her. "I didn't think so at first, but...I think I might hate you."
"Oh?" Shaking off his confusion, Rider smiled brightly. "Well, I doubt we could settle this by talking anyway, just tell me everything with your next blow."
This was finally it.
His earlier frustration entirely forgotten, Waver felt his heart pump loudly in his chest as he started to shake nervously.
Calm. He had to stay calm. He only had to wait for the right moment again; he might be the deciding factor once more.
Yes, he would do it, he would show his-
Two large hands fell on him and shattered his train of thoughts as he felt himself being lifted off the chariot to be dropped on the rooftop below.
"W-what the hell?"
As soon as he landed, the chariot began to rise further into the air.
"Rider, what do you think you're doing?!"
His angry cry echoed in the night.
He had begun to think that he could make sense of the man. What in the world could have possessed him to throw him off?
"It's a strategic decision." Unperturbed, the loud voice came from above. "If her attack damages the chariot as I take her down, I might not be able to protect you."
That made sense, in a way. It did require Rider to be oddly confident that Archer wouldn't target Waver instead.
Without reacting to the change Archer rose higher in response to Rider's approach, her armor reflecting the moonlight.
Did she intend to gain some distance in order to resume her dodging tactic?
"As if I would allow that!"
With an excited bellow, Rider snapped the reins, sending the chariot crashing in pursuit.
At that time, the seven blades above Archer shone brilliantly as she raised her hands to the side. Her image wavered in Waver's eye as the air around her distorted before she vanished entirely, reappearing far above Rider.
"Collapse!"
Facing the seven falling stars, Iskander only laughed defiantly.
"Via Expugnatio! The glory will be mine!"
The lightning around the chariot intensified to a blinding level, charging at the seven blades.
The crash caused a sound that Waver couldn't quite comprehend, a mix between crackling energy and crashing metal.
When the lightning abated, he witnessed the outcome; the bulls had been wounded, large gashes opened through the flank of one of them as it struggled to continue its charge. From the distance, he couldn't quite tell if it was bleeding.
This was the signal that Waver, staring up at the sky, had been waiting for.
Raising his hand, the second of the three marks shone.
"Keep going with all your strength!"
The mark shone and vanished as the power of the contained miracle gathered around the chariot, reigniting the lightning of the invoked Noble Phantasm as the wound was forcibly closed.
A mad grin on his face, Iskander bellowed his victory to the skies.
"AAAALaLaLaLaie!"
At that time...
"By desiring more, you'll lose all that you have."
The cold voice cut through the night, rising above lightning and shout alike.
To the side of the girl who faced the chariot, the night twisted and shook as a handle emerged.
Waver, who stood far below the battle, couldn't ascertain the appearance of the blade. But at that time, the Master's ability to witness the strength of a Servant failed him.
He who had been clearly aware of Archer's parameters, now saw only a girl in the distance.
The cause was that the existence of Servant Archer ceased at that moment.
As she took hold of the hilt, Rider could only frown in displeasure.
It was now too late to avoid him, and he felt none of the gathered energy that would accompany a powerful Noble Phantasm. Compared to this, the previous attack was a much more satisfying opposition.
Was that really her last effort, just another sword?
"...It looks like I win, Archer."
And yet what came after the hilt wasn't a blade of steel, but a flame that consumed all things.
Before it, light and darkness vanished from the night sky, leaving behind only an empty monochrome.
The remaining seal on Waver's hand lost all splendors.
...And the divine lightning that was on the verge of reducing her to ashes was silenced.
"We were forged to kill God."
Against the approaching Rider, Noel Vermillion offered only a single blow.