Fate/Infinity Shuffle
Chapter 270 – Cards Speak:
The many Players had come for the common cause. It wasn't so different from the event of many weeks before, when the two Rankers got overturned by the Golden Archer Cards. The main difference lied in numbers. While the Golden Archers were intimidating, the natural aura of the Demonic Bodhisattva intimidated many. If not for Mizuki and Ibuki's efforts, not nearly as many people would've come.
And even then, not many came. At least, to the woman's standards. A still-growing anthill. That was what was beneath her. But the idea of taking care of it herself sounded… amusing. Entertaining, to say the least. She had to fill the time until midnight, after all. There wasn't much time until then anyway. The red sky had darkened in the meantime.
"Excuse me." Someone tapped on Mizuki's shoulder. The girl turned around, spotting a somewhat familiar face.
"Issei?" Assassin of the Fuyuki Defenders.
Somewhat casually and relaxed, the boy spoke back. "I've been told you have something of mine. If you wouldn't mind receiving it back as a returning favour for helping you with your Avenger Card."
"O-Oh! Sure!" Mizuki grew nervous for a moment. She quickly drew the Assassin Card Sayuri had given her after Phoenix's defeat.
"Thank you. If you see my other Card, I'd appreciate to have it as well." He seemed to be the most level-headed person present in the vast group of people. "Install." Purple Japanese clothing and an overly long katana.
"Helloooo!" A much higher voice spoke while pulling on Sayuri's shirt. "I believe you have an Archer Card that is very well suited for me."
The Devil Saber didn't really question it. Chloe was known enough to figure out that what she was saying was true. A passing of the Card followed by a word, Chloe joined in. and she wasn't the only one. Just like the other members before, the Fuyuki Defenders without Cards were offered theirs in order to participate in the battle.
The tension became tangible. None of the many Players knew who would move first.
"Get out of the waaaayyyyy!" A single woman dashed through the crowd. Her brute nature made Kiara giggle. Mongami gripped the katana with both hands. "SHIN!" When close, she leapt forward and swung down her blade with brute strength. Kiara's casual sidestep was so fast that if it had not been for the Berserker-like state, Mongami would've taken the time to gasp about it. "SEN!" She swung the sword diagonally upwards, attempting to slice Kiara again, but the target made an impossible move once again. But maybe, this was to Mongami's advantage, as Kiara was right in front of her. She drew the riffle with a spin on the trigger and aimed it right in between her eyes. "GUMI!" The pulled the trigger, firing a bright red blast out of the single-barrel firearm.
Kiara's hands had moved in front of her body and blocked the path of the blast with a bright glow on her palms. The red began to dwindle more and more, the flame extinguishing as she closed her palms together. In a quick motion, she stepped forward, separated her hands, and lightly pressed them against Mongami's cheeks. Her stun came from how Kiara simply shrugged off her attack.
"Huuuu…" Kiara let out a gentle breath of air. The moment it reached Mongami, the Berserker was propelled backwards like she had been punched by a powerful brawler.
"Mongami!" Edward yelled in worry before glaring at Kiara. "Ticktock Bomb!" He yelled. The woman was confused at first. Nothing seemed to happen until she looked down to her left arm, where a string of parasite bombs had attached itself.
Julius Harwey dashed towards the opponent, reqady to use his Noble Phantasm to defeat her in one strike.
Kiara's right arm stretched out and she chopped her left arm. The sound of crunching bone made a few shiver. With a strong grip, she took a hold of the left arm and ripped it off her body with a strong pull. Without a sense of pain or fear, she threw over her own arm towards Julius. All of a sudden, the parasite bombs burst, and the explosion consumed Julius instead of the intended target. Like she did before against Mizuki, the arm grew back through pillar-like tendrils.
"Install!" Edward swapped Cards and dashed forward with a pulled back first, which he coated in rainbow-coloured energy, a mystery cancelling ability. The punched was stopped by an open hand, much to Edward's surprise.
"Harpe!" Behind Kiara, Isemi swung his scythe coated in a purple glow. He swung it to slice her apart, but the woman caught the balde and stopped it in place by catching it in between two fingers. Both Isemi and Edward were completely stuck in place.
"Install!" Shoutarou moved in. He needed some additional firepower, so he asked for Karen's Ibaraki-Douji Card and Installed it himself, to attack with a flaming sword of bone.
The woman let out a gentle sound as she simply moved her arms to stop Shoutarou by sandwiching him between Edward and Isemi. With a quick motion, she let out another soft breath, and the three were blown away.
"Ciel! Take them!" Akiha hurled her two katanas and the Berserker surrounded in black fog caught them in mid-air while leaping over the three teenagers. Her feet connected with the floor and she dashed further forward.
Kiara smirked and set up another attack using a Demon pillar as a basis. "Phenex." A pillar turned into a red fire ball and was hurled forward once it took the shape of a vermillion bird. Ciel sliced the flame in half with her strengthened swords and dashed past it in the division. But the moment she took two steps, the same flame appeared and swallowed her.
"Ahhhhhh!"
Kiara grew a sadistic smirk, but it suddenly retracted when someone spun out of the flames.
"Hai-yah!" The red turned into blue as the Steely Avenger, Tetsu, spun underneath Ciel, his blue and black flames combating the red ones. Once out of danger, he pulled back one fist of iron and was ready to ram it into Kiara's face, had she not block it with a swift struck of her open palm.
Akemi appeared from the right to attack with Baritsu strikes, but Kiara reacted first. Her hand closed over Tetsu's and she spun around over a heel, slamming the Avenger against the Ruler. Once the twirl was complete, she spoke. "Andromalius." A minor pillar grew in front of her and he grabbed it. With a twist of her arm, the pillar turned into a snake and she whipped it at the two for added damage. The serpent slammed down against the two, driving them more into the floor.
Akane and Kuroko approached from either side, their swings fully wound up and ready to cleave through her body with their swords. However, once their attacks took place, instead of cutting through flesh, it clashed against metal.
"She's gone?!" The girl in armour asked as the boy with black eyes clicked his tongue.
The two instinctively looked up above, where the woman hovered in a rather unnatural position, standing horizontally compared to the two Sabers. She extended a hand, where a purple flame lit up. "Amy." It blasted forward, and once it reach the ground between the feet of the two fighters, it burst into a heat wave, spreading strong.
"Grahh!" Kuroko let out a gasp of pain. Despite his Noble Phantasm 'Armour of Fafnir', the flames bypassed his protection. The same applied to Akane, ignoring her Magic Resistance.
Kiara landed again, casually stopping the swing of Leo's sword with a hand.
"Do you really expect to injure me?"
"You can't be immune to everything!"
"Hmph." Kiara smirked. "That is not up to you to decide." She stepped forward and slammed an open palm of her free hand into his chest. The blast sent him away and shattered his chest plate.
Every time one was pushed back, another stepped forward. This time, Kazan, Rider of Red, a dash of green with his spear thrust forward for clean strike. And in fact, it worked. The tip of the spear had been driven into her sternum.
"Gotcha!"
Kiara couldn't help but giggle. "Aww… you're adorable. You really think one attack is enough and that I didn't let you do it to begin with."
"What?!"
"Achiles. The fastest hero of all eras. If I tried to block you, your speed would become above mine. But why outspeed when one can simply trap the cricket up close?" She giggled again before flicking his forehead with her fingers. The Rider was driven away in a blink of an eye. The wound on her chest was already healing. Due to 'Goddess Metamorphosis', her strike inflicted damage to the mostly invulnerable Rider.
Suddenly, her eyes caught the glimmer of multiple jewels around her body. If Kazan hadn't been thrown far away, he would've said that 'Acting is an important part of fighting, you know?'
The gems shattered and the ground beneath Kiara began to shake. The dirt beneath the concrete erupted and a structure made out of earth constructed itself to imprison her. Completely surrounded in soil, solidiefied so she couldn't move her fingers, arms or chin.
"She shouldn't be able to cast anything for a moment." Rikuko pointed out. "Ready?!"
Miyu spread her cape and flew up high, conjuring multiple magic circles charging their beams.
Sieg overlapped a Caster Card. "Akafiloga Argrise!"
"Antares Snipe!"
"Phoebus Catastrophe!"
"Hanging Gardens of Babylon!"
"STELLAAAAAAA!"
"Tri-Star Amore Mio!"
"Durindana!"
"Mjölnir!"
"An Gal Tā Kigal Shē!"
"Kur Ki Gal Irkalla!"
And finally, two Lancers without golden armour… "Vasavi SHAKTI!"
The multiple Noble Phantasms released all at once towards the prison of rock. The unified impact of the destructive powers created a tower of burning light and a crater right beneath it. No one stood behind Kiara, so she was the only target in the wide radius.
Gudako, remaining present through the power of the Philosopher Stone of her teammate, breathed heavily as she looked over and couldn't find anything within the crater. "Did… Did we do it?"
"Silly you." The Players' eyes widened as much as they could from hearing the voice right above them. "Just where do you think you're firing?"
Mizuki quickly fired a spiral from her eyes to twist the woman into pieces, but Kiara vanished without a trace. She reappeared in the newly created crater. A light blush appeared on her face as she delighted the looks on everybody's faces.
But they couldn't stop. There was a time limit!
Karen leapt up high and swung down a golden axe at Kiara. A simply sidestep and a kick to the stomach to drive her away. The second Karen swung her red katana coated in fire, and the third a blue spear of ice, but Kiara stopped both attacks by trapping the blades between her fingers. Just like she had done before, she intercepted the upcoming attacks, a green arrow of wind and stream of lightning, by using the two Karren's as body shields.
"Gaaahhh…" Once the doppelgangers vanished, Karen dropped to one knee in her original position, bleeding from her mouth.
The moment the copies disappeared though, Kiara was met with the glare of an Assassin.
"Tsubame Gaeshi!" An omni-directional attack in blinding speed. Blocking wouldn't work. It was too late to trigger special teleportation. The only solution was to get stung by the mosquito. Kiara raised her arms and the three slashes occurred. A gash in both of her forearms and on her forehead.
In retrospect, it was rather silly to be afraid of Issei's pressure. His strength didn't compare to Kazan's, regardless if she was expecting it or not. She stepped back and the blood leaking out of her began to move against gravity and gather in front of her body. "Vepar." Multiple bullets of red were fired from the pool, piercing through Issei's flesh. He retreated as he knew any more damage would defeat him.
And in his place, someone took the chance. "ORA!" spinning around the red liquid and ending up in front of Kiara, Ibuki stepped down on Kiara's feet with a strong stomp. No swords in hands and the strength of a dragon slayer. "Grendel Buster! ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA!" She delivered a barrage of fists at great speed, but Kiara didn't worry. With quick movements of her hands, each fist came into contact with a palm. Once Ibuki wound up the last and strongest of punches, Kiara moved. Going back and forward, she struck Ibuki's body multiple times with thrusts of her palms before delivering a final one charged with pink mana.
The Berserker was hurled away.
"So, as I pray… Unlimited Lost Works."
A bullet pierced Kiara's hand. Her eyes widened when multiple swords burst ouf of her flesh without any warning.
She staggered back, and multiple blades of white and black began surrounding her.
"Triple-Linked Wing of the Crane!" Shirou and Chloe performed the same attack, but in perfect unison.
"Hmph." Kiara's smirk vanished. She struck the ground with her foot and multiple minor pillars sprouted, shattering the blades heading her way. The two Archers dropped in from either side, but demon pilalrs blocked their way by shifting into giant, woomanly hands and swatting them away.
Once her arm grew back, Kiara leapt back. "Zepar." A pair of black arrows outlined in gold and red flew over and struck Shirou and Chloe in the stomach, obligating them to cough out blood.
Illya leapt over them to swing down her massive axe, but it was easily caught by the pole. "Hm. You might be troublesome." Kiara flung her around back to the swarm of Players.
"Overlap Install!" Mizuki changed into the Saber version of Shiki, wearing the white kimono.
"Last chance…" Sayuri leapt forward to have a clear shot of Kiara. Black and gold sparks surrounded the katana. "Majin Beam… Zekken - Mukyuu Sandan! Decisive Blade - Eternity Three Stage!"
An attack that reached infinity. A certain death technique, three beams of light formed into one. Immeasurable and free of obstacles. And attack capable of killing even unkillable existences.
Kiara's hand traced her stomach and slit opened. The beam, somehow, was deviated from its path. Instead of swallowing Kiara whole and defeating her, the opposite happened. The was drawn into the hole within her stomach, where multiple demon pillars and the mythical golden grail swirled around in chaos.
Sayuri couldn't understand what was happening. Nobody could.
Kiara's lips formed the most malicious smirk ever plastered on a human being's face.
Anybody with a sense of future sight knew that whatever was coming wasn't good.
"Everybody, we need to get out of here! Transport!"
"Whatever is coming, I can defend it!"
"You can't, we need to go now, or we actually die!"
Sayuri keapt firing the beam in order to at least keep the woman distracted or busy, to an extent as everybody panicked. Many argued to stay, but those were dragged over. Those that could see ahead knew that if they stayed, everything that would remain was darkness.
The beam ceased and the many Players either Transported on their own or dragged people into transporting with them.
"Amitābha Amidala." The winds began to rise as the blackhole within her body began to draw in more. "Heaven's Hole."
Amitābha Amidala - Heaven's Hole 'All the World's Desire': Anti-Unit / Anti-Grand (?) / Anti-Human Order (?) EX
Had it not been for the warnings, human lives would've been lost.
The Noble Phantasm which breeds a virtually infinite amount of demon pillars within Kiara's body. But additionally, the inside of her body became a single universe, the Sukhavati.
Those brought inside her will disappear from reality, having their egos removed and their reason melted away. No matter what kind of robust body or defensive armour one might have, they are meaningless inside Kiara's body; they are all rendered powerless like a new-born existence and liberated from earthly desires and the woes of man.
A vacuum that would absorb those that hadn't fled. Of course, all Players escaped once they were told what could be happening.
Except for one.
Kiara opened her eyes and almost gasped. "Eh?"
A girl in a white kimono, kneeled on the ground, glaring with eyes of blue and a katana stabbed into the floor.
If it exists, it can be cut. A concept as simple as that. The suction existed, therefore, it could be cut. If it no longer existed and it no longer did what it was supposed to do, Mizuki would firmly remain in place. The reach of her sword would only go so far, so it could be applied solely to her.
"Hm. Out of all of them, you're the most stubborn, huh?" Kiara closed the hole of her stomach and the winds ceased. "To find a way to resist my Noble Phantasm… Do you find yourself special?"
"…No." Mizuki stood up, drawing the sword. "I'm not special."
"Pretending to be humble, I see."
"No. I'm really not anything special." Mizuki's grip on the hilt tightened. "I'm just a person using a Card. Even compared to other people, I'm not special. I'm not smart like Sayuri, ambitious like Lizzie, brave like Mongami. I can't smile as much as Isemi, I don't read as much as Edward, and I can't really teach people anything like Karen. I don't even have any real hopes for the future, and unlike Shoutarou, I don't feel fine with that. I'm definitely not as strong as either Mimi or Rumi as well. I don't even want to compare myself to anyone in the Game." She glared at the demon with the blue eyes that gave a stronger headache the more they were active. "I just joined the Game because I wanted to have fun. And even if I didn't reach the top… I was fine with that. I'm no one special." Suddenly, her voice raised. "But! You don't need to be someone special to do amazing things! You only need step forward!" A wind carrying white petals surrounded her body. "ASCENSION!" In a flash of light, her white kimono suddenly changed into a multi-layered one, carrying a pink floral pattern underneath a more decorated soft-yellow layer. Her hair grew far longer, a hair ornament in the shape of a blooming flower now on the side of Mizuki's head.
Kiara smirked. "Are you saying all that to me or to yourself? Because those words are meaningless to me." She was ready for whatever could come.
"Mukushiki!"
Amalavijñāna (Mukushiki) 'Boundary of Emptiness (Kara no Kyoukai)': Anti-Unit EX
Mizuki dashed. She could close the distance between her and Kiara in a flash if she really wanted to. But if she were to do that, the plan wouldn't work.
Kiara was ready. No matter the reach of the katana or the speed, she would use the power of the Holy Grail the keep her vital organs safe from the attack, and simply restore them via Demon Pillars. With her close, she could swallow Mizuki whole into her Noble Phantasm. There was nothing that Mizuki could do to truly defeat her. The Saber approached, and…
"Yo, Kiara."
That voice…! The Demonic Bodhisattva's eyes widened and immediately watered afterwards as she turned around to the Shadow Avenger standing behind her. "Angra!" She exclaimed in pure joy. No ecstasy, no lust, simply joy. While still taller than her, Kiara couldn't help but notice he was 'shorter' compared to the last time she had seen him. She grew in height, after all, that much was obvious. He looked a little different. He had eyes now! That was… He seemed to be getting taller…
A stroke of the afterlife drawn on her body.
Mizuki breathed incredibly heavily. In a matter of a second, while dashing past the Alter Ego, she had cut all of the lines of death that coated Kiara's body.
Her body fell apart into pieces, her eyes becoming blank once her head hit the floor.
Uninstall. Kiara laid unconscious on the floor.
THUD
Mizuki fell onto her body, trying to catch her breath. It wasn't a bad sensation. There was a sense of pride and worth emanating from her body. She opened her eyes over to Angra Mainyu. "That was… so… risky…"
"Yeah. Swing at the wrong moment and the woman would've reacted to you. Too early or too late would end in death for you."
"Thanks for… helping me…"
"Hey, I'm your Card. If I'm gonna be a tool, I might as well make a good job." The Avenger chuckled. "But a tool is only as good as the one who uses it."
"I may have been… stalling, but…" She gulped down a full breath of air and her lungs finally managed to calm down. "but I meant what I said."
"You think that really matters at this point? Who cares if you're special? As if anybody has ever truly been special." Angra walked over to her. "Only matters what you did." And he disappeared in a puff of smoke, the Card landing on her stomach.
Mizuki looked at the sky above. The red tinge had vanished. When midnight were to struck, her world wouldn't be in danger. She couldn't help but smile, even if it was only to herself. "…My feet hurt…" She admitted, letting out a giggle, again, only to herself.
She decided to rest for just a bit longer.
Well guys, main antagonist has been beaten. But what kind of ending is this? It isn't! There are a few more chapters to go through!
In case you are interested, Discord Server Link: discord .gg /e7Qznvb (remove the spaces)
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Until next time!
