Author's Note:
Hi everyone,
As the fic draws to a close, I
I want to say thank you to everyone who has read what I've written. I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I did writing it.
I did receive comments asking for me to write a SYOA fic. In response, I have plans to write a sequel featuring YOUR Characters and suggestions. Please comment on which Servants/Masters you would like to see in a possible sequel for this series, and I'll be happy to include them so long as they make sense. Also, reviews to critique the story are welcome.
Once again, thank you everyone!
Chapter 48: The Fire In Their Eyes
(Day 13 of the 6th Grail War)
Aasaa and Hou Yi arose from their resting positions atop a skyscraper as the 13th Day arrived. Constant attacks forced them to establish a safe-zone to rest between battles. They had 2 days of fighting behind them. Another cloud of dust approached, the tell-tale sign of a cavalry group. In Aasaa's hand, shimmering light solidified into Gordafarid's scimitar, a weapon Aasaa grew used to projecting as its advantage against large groups of enemies proved indispensable. With dashing strokes he zipped towards the nearest Mongolian warrior. They recognized him, a testament to his lethal reputation on battlefield. Aasaa dodged their ranged attacks. Flaming arrows chipped the ground, ricochets of granular fragments of rubble erupted where the tips struck. Aasaa dodged them all, as he closed the distance to face over 30 cavalry.
The Mongolian warriors tugged at a rope that sent a wall of rubble collapsing on Aasaa. It landed right on top of him. Their trap sprung on the reckless and aggressive hero, who assumed this battle resembled the others, simple brawls he could overcome with ease. Aasaa brought his hand to shield his body from the falling rocks, descending into a plume of dust which cleared to reveal a bloodied pile of debris. Aasaa's broken arm stuck out of it, the only recognizable part of his mangled corpse.
"Did you really think we would fall for that?" A voice spoke from behind the cavalry. Hou Yi stood with his Piercer Of Nine Suns beside Aasaa, alive and well.
The corpse in the rubble vanished, revealing to be an illusion. Aasaa set that up earlier, taking notes from Rin's illusion that guarded his apartment in the Clocktower. He smiled as he judged the Mongolian warrior's shocked reactions.
A golden flash, followed by a wave of heat, as bright, effervescent flame blanketed the warriors. When the dust settled, only a scant few remained. Aasaa leaped from the building and struck one dead with his projection of Gordafarid's scimitar.
The rest of the enemies offered little resistance. Aasaa drove his Projection of Gordafarid's scimitar into the last Mongolian warrior on the battlefield who let out a roar of defeat as he collapsed. Another victory to add to his name. Hou Yi himself ran out of space to add notches to his bow. Their exploits on the front line had no value. Aasaa lost track of how many times he won. Genghis Khan's forces continued to come, no number of losses inflicted on their ranks gave them pause. Pain and death did not scare them, defeat only motivated them to try harder. He once held unflinching certainty that his conviction trumped all others. The battles he faced only proved that his foes had the same strength of will.
The endless fighting wore away at his conviction, and he knelt on the ground, shouting to release his frustration.
What use did slaying 30 of them have when thousands more streamed into Helsinki every hour?
His inability to end the war unshackled a fear he had fought to hold back until now. The thoughts of Shiori's departure haunted him. He had not seen it coming, the end of their alliance, and more importantly, friendship.
"Master, is anything the problem?" Hou Yi put down his bow.
"I don't know-" Aasaa drove his scimitar into the ground in frustration. "I just feel angry, unsatisfied. I can't stop thinking about what happened to Shiori. Is she safe?" Aasaa's tired hand let go of the grip of the scimitar, its edge caked in dirt and blood.
"You let her go when you knew without Florence Nightingale's Noble Phantasm, we would have less of a chance. Why?"
"Forcing her to fight would not be right. The values of a hero must remain, even if everything else is lost." Aasaa stared into the distance, wondering if he should have tried harder to change her mind.
So much destruction, so many places torn by chaos, so many more fights to go.
"We will find her, after this is over, and when you do, you will have the glory of slaying that son of a bitch." Hou Yi placed a firm hand on his shoulder, inviting him to rise to the challenge. The rays on the Sun illuminated their outlines and cast shadows behind them. Aasaa gritted his teeth and got to his feet, the wrecked roads before him bathed in the glow of the morning Sun. Their objective stood before them. They had to strike deep into Mongolian territory, and bring Genghis Khan down.
Aasaa and Hou Yi found another perch to observe from. The view from there granted them vision over the entire front line. With tense muscles and a tight grip on his weapon, Aasaa waited for his Servant to finish surveying and report. He expected another battle, or someone in need of saving. Hou Yi instead returned with a disbelieving smile. "Master, Shiori, and Florence Nightingale are a distance away. They have returned to fight." His voice carried the rush of victory.
What are they doing here? Did they turn back?
Hope returned to Aasaa. They had a chance now and made their way to them at once. Now getting closer, Aasaa smiled as Shiori burned away her foes with fire orbs while Florence Nightingale shredded groups of Mongolian warriors with grenades, gunning down the survivors. They fought with incandescent hearts, for defeat was not an option.
They fought against Mongolian general Chilaun and his warriors. Florence Nightingale sent another group of them flying with a grenade, though Chilaun proved to be a vicious foe. He sent cascades of rocks tumbling down upon them.
"Where are these rocks coming from?" Shiori ducked to the side, hands covering her head.
"Item Creation. Get out of there!" Florence Nightingale pulled Shiori to safety as boulders collapsed on her position.
Aasaa gave Hou Yi the order, and he charged his Noble Phantasm. "Piercer Of Nine Suns."
A stream of light left his bow, and found its way to Chilaun. His body glowed with fire as the energy of the Noble Phantasm rippled through his body. His remained clattered to the ground, reduced to little more than ash.
"Too easy." Hou Yi slid down from his perch. He fired arrows as he went, at the remaining Mongolian warriors. They made a suicidal charge, and received multiple arrows embedded in their bodies.
Aasaa emerged from the building, having climbed down the long way.
"Nice of you to claim all the credit." Florence Nightingale folded her arms. "You did not have to fight that." She pointed to the remains of massive golem, made out of rocks. Its broken body rested on the ground, tucked under a mound of rubble.
"Heh, I guess you have a point," Hou Yi conceded.
"Aasaa, I'm so happy to see you. What do we do now?" Shiori ran to Aasaa and hugged him. "I'm so sorry for all the things I said. I was selfish, and Simo Häyhä still came to save me."
Aasaa remained silent in the embrace, as tears flowed down her face, her emotions running free. Words failed him, as he reunited with her. The warmth of her jacket melted away his weariness. Shiori's spirit prevailed against the horrors of the Grail War, and overcame the fear of death. With her at his side, he felt ready to storm Genghis Khan's headquarters. Anything seemed possible.
They moved to another battlefield, where Florence Nightingale sensed a disturbing mana signature. In a rat filled alley, dozens of Finnish soldiers lay dying in heaps. Their bodies had black lesions and they were vomiting. Shiori inspected one of the infected soldiers. His skin tore easily and blood flowed from it.
"I-what is this illness?" Shiori's eyes widened with trepidation.
Florence Nightingale took a closer look. The large number of rats brought her to a solemn conclusion.
"Florence, you know what it is?"
"I'm afraid I do. This is something your era has never had to witness."
"Get behind me." Aasaa had a sword in his hand, and behind him, Hou Yi had his bow drawn. Shiori and Florence Nightingale fell back.
"I dared not dream I would draw you here," a shadowy figure spoke.
A Mongolian General stepped forward, revealing himself to them. His armour smeared with blood and puss. Pestilence oozed from the chinks in his armour. He wore a complete war mask, shaped in the visage of a terrifying warrior.
"What are you?" Aasaa raised his scimitar.
"No one remembers what happened to the Il-Khanate." A forlorn voice called out to them. It echoed through the blood-soaked walls.
"Your section of the Mongolian Empire fell to the plague," Aasaa said, remembering the research he conducted.
"So you do know. I am Abu Sa'id, last ruler of the Il-Khanate."
"Free these people now," Florence Nightingale spoke.
"Have you not noticed that they are not restrained? I did not need to remove their weapons. Such is the lethality of the plague." Pained noises called out for help, or the relief of death. It accentuated his statement, as the curse of suffering sucked life from all within its clutches.
"Then we will stop you," Shiori spoke, raising her palm, and clasping her other hand around her wrist.
Hou Yi fired an arrow at him. It dug into his shoulder, causing black, thick blood to ooze. Abu Sa'id ripped the arrow out, allowing his blood to flow. He smeared blood over his mask, and then stretched his hand forward to command a swarm of rats towards them. Shiori burned them as they came. The rats became balls of fire that scurried in disoriented masses before fading into mana.
Kneeling beside on of the dying, Florence Nightingale tried to cure him, only for the infection to come back seconds later. "We must kill the one casting this." Florence Nightingale apologized to the dying soldier who gripped her, his pock-marked hands refusing to let go of her. He let out a hacking cough as his clouded eyes rolled backwards. With a final breath, he collapsed and died. The other sick ones would soon follow.
Seeing the Finnish soldiers dying of the Bubonic Plague drove Aasaa to action. He charged towards Abu Sa'id, eager to cut him down. He had to save the infected. His opponent took out a shield and a scimitar. Abu Sa'id moved sluggishly, debilitated by disease. His attacks posed little threat to Aasaa, who with rapid strikes, tore and dented his armour.
Abu Sa'id opened his war mask, revealing a face mutilated by disease. He cursed Aasaa, pointing an infected finger at him. "Rot away." He sprayed infected blood at Aasaa. The black blood stank of all things foul, forcing Aasaa several paces back.
Hou Yi shot him in the head with an arrow once his war mask was off. The Mongolian general did not flinch, even as an arrow stuck from his forehead. The rotting figure continued to lumber towards Aasaa, preparing another bout of infected blood. Hou Yi activated his Noble Phantasm, intending to use its golden flames to purify the pestilence.
Meanwhile, Shiori and Florence Nightingale fended off increasing numbers of rats.
A second Mongolian general approached them from behind, blocking the alley's exit.
"I am Hulagu Khan, grandson of Genghis Khan. First ruler of the Il-Khanate."
He dual-wielded axes, each one glowing orange. He too wore the same war mask as Abu Sa'id, though the rest of his armour did not carry the taint of disease.
Hulagu Khan unleashed a torrent of fire from his position, nearly catching Hou Yi in it. From the other side, Abu Sa'id continued to spray infected blood. He coughed out a rat from his mouth and threw it at Aasaa.
The sight of a rat, fur coated in dried blood and other fluids disgusted him. Dead air filled his nostrils with the scent of decay. Shadows darkened and the bloodied walls seemed to be closing in, while the coarse moans of the dying infected ripped away at his courage. Aasaa found himself facing psychological and biological warfare at its worst. His stomach churned as his grip on his sword loosened. He felt numb and began to break out in a cold sweat, succumbing to disease and fear.
Hou Yi engaged Hulagu, avoiding his fire attacks while responding with strafing shots of arrows. His performance remarkable in-spite of the disadvantage of fighting a cramped alley as a ranged Servant. Fire collided with the brick walls on each side of the alley, sending fragments ricocheting at Hou Yi. He cursed and spat out powdered brick from his mouth.
Abu Sa'id closed in on the weakened Aasaa, who had started to vomit. He fell to his knees, sword falling from his twitching fingers. The alley grew darker, as his vision began to go blurry.
Hulagu caught Hou Yi and sent him falling to the ground, singed by a particularly strong fiery attack.
Shiori and Florence Nightingale remained. "We must take Aasaa and Hou Yi and run," Florence Nightingale said.
"No, I have an idea," Shiori said.
"Whatever it is, do it quick before we get overrun."
Shiori closed her eyes, clasping her wrist, and she opened her palm.
She channelled mana, spreading it all over Abu Sa'id and Hulagu. Abu Sa'id grabbed Aasaa, his gloved hands coiling around his neck. Hulagu got within an arm's reach from them, ready to unleash a searing inferno.
Mana infused into both Generals. When the fire came from Hulagu, Shiori cast her fire orb, right within Abu Sa'id.
"Ich zünde, wie ich will!"
Shiori stole the heat from Hulagu's fire torrent and poured it into Abu Sa'id. Hulagu took a step back as she siphoned his fire away. "What is this?" He responded by increasing his fire, only to watch it drained again, like before.
She set Abu Sa'id ablaze. His insides cooking within him. He opened his mouth to scream, only for a stream of fire and melted flesh to pour out. He collapsed soon after, his body turning to ash within his armour. His scattered pieces of armour rattled emptily on the ground.
Hulagu watched as his hand froze over. The ice spreading up his arm, turning his flesh solid. The cold grasp of her spell drained of every bit of heat within him. He stumbled backwards, moving awkwardly as his tried to position his frozen arm. Hou Yi regained his footing, healed by Florence Nightingale. An arrow shattered Hulagu's arm, causing him to scream in shocked agony. Another salvo of arrows ended his life.
Aasaa regained consciousness as Florence Nightingale poured healing magic into him. The Finnish soldiers were healed next, vitality returning to them as Abu Sa'id's virulent spell faded with his death.
"I see an angel," said one of the soldiers, as his eyes opened once more.
Shiori helped Aasaa to his feet. "I did it, I killed both generals with my fire spell."
Aasaa smiled faintly. The news she had mastered her Magecraft filled him with accomplishment. He could hardly believe that the accomplished magus standing before him, fresh from mastering her Magecraft, once cowered in fear and regarded herself as incapable of fighting.
Shiori now stood proud, as a fully trained magus. Aasaa smiled, elated that his efforts paid off. They rested for a while once all the infected were taken care off and sent back to safety. Hope of victory returned to them. Shiori's determination today, showed him he would not be facing Genghis Khan alone. For all his cruelty and destruction, Genghis Khan failed to break them. Shiori returned braver than ever, Simo Häyhä came back to lead the armies, Misa carried on Don Quixote's legacy. Every time he struck them down, they got up stronger. Their steadfastness refused to fade or falter, and looked forward to striking down Genghis Khan once and for all.
Elsewhere, at a devastated part of the city, Genghis Khan arrived at the front-line followed by more generals. He ordered Qasar, a master bowman, to hunt down the other Masters, while he would go on to break the Finnish army completely. His army swept across the streets of Helsinki, advancing along a wide front. Arrows and trebuchet projectiles rained from behind, just ahead of the advancing horde.
Genghis Khan's Flail Of God activated. He smashed through fortification one after another, as his army followed him. Entire defensive lines crumbled before his Noble Phantasm. Trenches closed back, walls tumbled down. Makeshift bunkers and hold outs caved in. Nothing could withstand his Flail Of God.
With no fortifications, the Finnish army lost their defensive advantage, and found themselves forced into a constant state of retreating. The Mongolian army advanced south, towards Helsinki Old Church.
Hou Yi watched all this unfold from atop a lookout. What he saw made him tense up and recoil. "We need to run. Genghis Khan has emptied the forests in the distance. His entire army is on the move."
Aasaa's expression turned grim. Genghis Khan ordered his army to raze the entire city. For all their efforts, they only succeeded in infuriating him. Genghis Khan needed all Servants dead. To draw them out, he unleashed his entire army upon the city, causing the death of innocents, and wanton destruction. Aasaa understood this, and prepared for the inevitable show-down with Genghis Khan.