Fate/Infinity Shuffle

Chapter 259 – Deck Building – Side Deck 3:

Isemi's scythe crossed with a the red spear in the hands of Hugo, the blackened Lancer. The two jumped away from each other as a result.

"You're a persistent man, aren't you?"

"I'd like to think that's one of my qualities." Hugo admitted, taking the opportunity to take a breather.

"If you don't mind me asking," Isemi would make use of this mutually accepted break as well. "why are you and the others working for that woman?"

"I'd ask you to respect her slightly more, but I can't pretend I don't understand why that is. It's as simple as her helping us in our biggest times of need. And for us, she became someone to devote our lives to."

An eyebrow raised. "What if she manipulates you? Or she makes use of you for ill intent?"

"Our faith isn't misguided. I can assure you of that."

"Well…" Isemi took a deep breath and raised his weapon again. "Guess we'll have to see." And he gave a smile to the opponent as Hugo prepared his spear as well.


Multiple Players were confronted by a swarm of werewolves and a Demon Pillar. The sheer number alone was enough to demotivate them.

"T-There's so many of them…"

"How did I let myself be convinced to come here?!"

"We're never going to save the city… The world is doomed!"

"OI!" The many heads turned around at once, spotting a girl with blonde hair, holding a sword and a club in each hand. "The hell are you afraid of?!" Behind her was Mash, the EX Rank Shielder, and a somewhat unknown boy holding scythes, mounted on a giant wolf with an admittedly goofy face.

"There's way too many of them! And that tall thing keeps blowing smoke, we can't approach it!"

"You dense mother…!" Ibuki made her best to supress her anger. "You have the powers of countless heroes from history and mythologies! Start acting like it!"

As everybody fell somewhat silent, a shadow approached Ibuki from up above. It wasn't a werewolf shadow, but rather…

"Ta-dahhhh!" Luvia landed right next to the Berserker, having been hurled by the shadow Berserker she always relied on. "I heard your words. Truly a heart full of courage!"

Mash was taken aback in sheer surprise. "M-M-Miss Luvia?!" Satoshi and Rocket simply tilted their heads, unaware of her status.

"Now!" Luvia drew a Card from her pocket. While she somewhat favoured it over her Saber Card, just a bit, she refused to be anything other than Saber during official confrontations. After all, she is the Leader of the 'Worldly Argonauts'. Sabers are the Leaders! But this was neither here nor there. She flicked her Rider Card. "Install." A quick exchange of clothes.

Gone was the outfit of the Leader of the Argonauts. In its place, an Aztecset of clothes, a fully decorated orange top and skirt. A crown adorned with feathers, a club-like sword in one hand, and a shield in the other.

"Olé!" Luvia had no real idea why she always let out an 'olé' once Installed, but that mattered not. "Now, courageous lady, I'll be as kind as to let you assist me in the defeat of those enemies."

Ibuki raised an eyebrow. "Assist? That's funny: why are you implying that you'll do most of the work?"

"Because I shall!" Luvia pointed out, a hand over her chest to show pride. "After all, an EX Ranker has to set the example."

"Yeah, well, I don't need a bimbo like you to set the example."

Almost simultaneously, the two glared at each other and headbutted each other with an ensuing growl. Nobody dared speak, in fear of what could happen to them. A silent battle began between the two. As they gave up on overpowering the other, still connected, the two began to dash in the swarm's direction. Everybody got out of the way, afraid to get trampled in this odd variation of a three-legged race.

"Are you eager to lose against me?!"

"Shut up! Your voice is annoying!"

As they entered the swarm, multiple shadows flew away from the impact of strikes from the two girls. Ibuki and Luvia attacked as many as they could, resulting into utter carnage to the enemy side, much to the crowd of viewers, Mash and Satoshi's surprise. Once the area was clear, they glared at each other and then at the tall pillar.

Without a word, the two dashed at towering opponent.

"Out of the way, Imma kill it!"

"In your dreams!" Luvia's claim was suddenly interrupted when Ibuki discarded her swords, throwing them at Luvia like a makeshift bola, entangling around her ankles. "Ah!" She tripped over. "What in the-?"

Ibuki clashed her fists together and rushed in. "Grendel Buster!" Once close enough, ignoring the pain from the black smoke, Ibuki delivered a bunch, a stomp, and then a barrage of fists. "Get the hell outta here!" She delivered the final punch, and much to everyone's surprise, the pillar was moved, sliding over the ground.

Only to be caught by someone. A storming tornado erupted around the pillar that lifted him off the ground, hurled upwards with the help of Luvia. She leapt up, arms spread. "Xiuhcoatl!" The flames in the shape of a Quetzalcoatl, the biggest flying creature to have existed, erupted from her body and she caught the target in midair and fell alongside it, the impact creating an explosion that crumbled the opponent away.

Everybody let out gasps of amazement except for Ibuki. "Oi, I had him done for."

"Hmph! Your punches might be impressive, but they lack compared to my attack! Without it, that demon would still be here haunting us. Ohh-hohohoh!" The rich lady's laugh made a vein pop on Ibuki's forehead.

"…Yo, Satoshi!"

"Yes?"

"Gimme a ride. Let's hunt more of these bastards!"

"Sure thing!"


Sayuri and Mongami slashed at multiple Shadows with their katanas as the multiple rifles shot the far away ones that attempted to approach. The two ended up back to back during a backwards jump.

"Tired yet?"

"Hmph. As if."

Mongami grinned. "Good to know. … Hm?" Her eyes caught sight of something at a distance. "Alright. I'm letting you use your combo."

"My combo?" Sayuri turned around in confusion, spotting Mongami swapping Cards. Her military uniform was replaced by the outfit of the soldier of the Shinsegumi, and handed her Archer Card to her teammate.

"I spotted something funny in the distance. And you haven't used this in a while, right?"

"…" Sayuri was taken aback, but then smirked and took the Card. "Alright. Have fun doing whatever it is you're gonna do."

"Kick their ass!" Mongami cheered before dashing her way out of the swarm, much to the Shadows' confusion.

Sayuri raised the Card. "Overlap Install!" A flash of black and white came off her body as her clothes change from white and blue to red. Her skin turned tan and her sword was replaced by a blade of much greater length.

Mongami stopped once she spotted the one that caught her eyes. An out of control Berserker running around, swinging her sword-axe in random patterns and roaring like a lion. Devotee Patricia, in possession of the Blackened Heracles.

"I may be with the wrong Card, but" She drew the katana and rifle. "it's been a while since I've put my 'God Killer' status in practice."


It took her a while, but Mizuki finally Transported, clad in a red jacket and a blue kimono. She gasped and looked around. "This place is in ruins…" After effects of the battles and the swarms of shadows were more than obvious: pavement and concrete cracked beyond belief, damaged and toppled over buildings, hurled cars; just overall destruction. "Well, the source of all this is that Kiara, lady, but… where is she?" Mizuki looked around, trying to find signs of life or potential targets. She did spot someone, off to the side of the building. He was yet to notice her. "Ah!" Her mouth widened into a smile and she dashed towards the tall boy, waving. "Oooooiiii! Kabeyama!"

"Hm?" The man turned to the Leader of his team. "Ah, good afternoon, Mizuki." He greeted the girl with a slight bow. Once she had made the turn on the building to see him closely, she spotted Raiji and Akari sitting with their backs against the wall.

"Hey, leader."

"Guys, why are you just sitting around?!" She was surprised, to say the very least. The world was at stake!

"They're just resting. They've used their Noble Phantasms multiple times over in a short amount of time."

"Yeah…" Akari let out a tired sigh. "If I have to yell 'Wicker Man' on more time, I think I'm gonna pass out."

"And using Bucephalus to ground pound is like riding a mechanical bull…"

"Aww." Mizuki felt sorry for the sub-members of her team. "A rest after hard work makes sense. What about you, Kabeyama?"

"I'm making sure these two are safe while they recover. My Mana is very low from the start, so I'm saving my Noble Phantasm for whenever we come across one of those Pillars."

"Pillars?"

"Yeah! These creepy towers full of eyes sometimes pop out of nowhere!" Akari's description, while accurate, made Mizuki think of a completely different design.

"It looks like they crumble into dust once they've received enough damage, but they release an odd smoke. I'd say about half the Players have trouble dealing with it."

"But I didn't see any towers."

"They must've been taken down, but they sprout out of the ground from the looks of it." Kabeyama pointed out. "I saw it happening."

"Really? That sounds… weird." Once again, her imagination gave away the wrong design. "Have you seen that lady with the horns and the… umm…"

"I think it's a 'naked-apron' thing." Raiji pointed out. "That's the vibe I get from it."

"That woman? I haven't seen her anywhere since I got here." Kabeyama pointed out. "But perhaps you can spot her from the top of these buildings?"

"Oh yeah! Good idea!" Mizuki turned to the tall structure in front of her with a smile, only for it to be replaced by shock and terror at the realization. "H-How many stairs will I have to climb…?"

"Perhaps none." Kabeyam's answer confused all three of them. "Are you light, leader?"

"Eh?! I-I don't think you should ask that to a girl… I know Sayuri can get mad."

"That's not what I'm trying to say." Kabeyama corrected, as he raised his drill-sword. "I believe that I may be able to swing you all the way to the top."

"That's… Huh. Alright, it's a nice shortcut. Thank you."

"No need to mention it." Kabeyama assumed position to act as a catapult, sword above his head, completely horizontal. Mizuki climbed up and stood on the sword, her two feet in a line and her knees bent. "Ready?"

"Ready!" …And then it hit her. "W-Wait, this might not be a good ide-!" But it was too late. Kabeyama's arms swung and Mizuki flew up like a rocket. Raiji and Akari were rather impressed, clapping at the Saber in admiration.

"Did she say anything?"

"No, nothing." The fact the two answered in perfect unison was suspicious.

Mizuki's heart almost jumped out of her body through her throat, the wind going through her body at an amazing speed. An enjoyable but terrifying experience, not too different from a free-fall attraction in amusement parks. Slowly, she felt her body slowing down as gravity worked its way against Kabeyama's throw. Just a few inches of building remained above her, but she was already in that split second where a thrown object remains stationary in the air before finally being brough down. In an act of instinct, her knife was swung and stabbed through the material, allowing her to hang by the side of the structure. She let out a long breath to calm her body and heart down.

"I'm never getting on a roller coaster again…" Mizuki said to herself before climbing up to the very top of the building, reaching its flat rooftop. She took a few seconds to recover, and even then, she knew her heart wasn't supposed to beat that way. "Well, no time to lose." She said to herself in an act of focus. She walked towards the opposing edge of the building to look over the city, but once close, a loud sound made her jump backwards. "EEK!" Once recovered from the scare, she looked forward, spotting the towers Kabeyama had mentioned. She blinked twice, looking at it in its entirety with its multiple eyes looking in multiple directions. "You're… weirdly cuter than I was expecting." A deep breath, knife ready, her eyes turned bright blue.


Mimi and Rumi approached Sakura slowly. They were slightly concerned.

"Our previous attacks did very little."

"I think that's refusing the truth." Mimi pointed out. "She doesn't look like she got a scratch."

"But you stabbed her stomach, right?"

"I'm pretty sure I did. Illusions don't have weight, right?"

Sakura cared little for either besides the slight annoyances their appearances gave.

"Excuse me, do you mind if I join?" A voice familiar to Sakura spoke. She went from stoic to astonished.

Mimi and Rumi turned around an recognized the person approaching. They had never met her in person, but it was hard to forget the appearance of an EX Ranker.

"Sister…?" Sakura's emotions shook slightly.

Mimi's composure changed slightly. "You're her sis?"

"Yeah. People say we don't look like it though." Rin chuckled a bit awkwardly. "It's a family matter, so I'm assuming you'll let me chip in, right? I have a little sister to take care of."

Mimi let out a chuckle of her own. "I know how that feels. Be my guest."

"W-What do you mean by that?!" Rumi felt like Mimi was talking about something she had forgotten.

Sakura's eyes narrowed. "Rin, I thought you had a good head over your shoulders. Why are you here? I stole your Card and gave it away: you can't fight me."

"Ah, thank you for reminding me to scold you for that too!" Rin didn't look like she was taking her sister seriously. "Stealing other people's things and giving them away. Seriously, I thought you were a nice girl."

Sakura's hands tightened in anger. "I'm not going to listen to you if you're just here to mock me."

"I intended to speak with actions anyway." Rin drew an Archer Card from her pocket. Sakura was surprised.

"Did Chloe lend you her Card?"

"No, she lent it to Shirou. This is something of mine."

"But you don't have any other Cards!"

Rin continued to look rather relaxed for the situation. "Correction: I don't use any other Cards."

"W-What?!"

"Yeah. It's a long story. Only Shirou knows about these besides me. Once we found out what they were, we agreed these were Cards for emergencies only. I think we can all agree that this is an emergency. After all, my cute little sister seems to have joined some deranged cult of sorts." Rin smirked, saying 'Install' and becoming surrounded in a golden light that began to hover. A flash occurred, revealing Rin's new appearance. Gone was the red top and the black skirt. Now, her body wore little: a bikini-like set, with black bottom and white top, sleeves on the left arm and right leg, a black tiara and a wide choker. Everything was in one way or shape decorated with gold, her shoes inclusive. In her right hand and odd rod, most likely a wand. She hovered above the floor, with a bow-like structure, quite taller than her, floating by her side, blue and adorned in bright gold. Her eyes kept their aqua colour. She smiled like a devil. "I've got to take her out of there, right?"

Sakura's eyes narrowed. To think a Card like that would be here…

The Bridal Duo and the Red Devilish Angel VS The Black Blossom


Final chance people, bets are still acceptable!

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Until next time!