Chapter XV
The final fight dawns as the sun finally sets. Archer's mana is replenished and Oliver's Holy Grail nears completion. Although the Servants' original plan deviated for longer than anticipated, the three kings stand their ground against the largest threat against the magical world that has ever existed.
Berserker IV
As the two Servants crashed their holy weapons together and continued to distract Oliver, they both heard a Noble Phantasm cry out in the distance: "Apollo's Bow!" The arrow found its mark at Oliver's thigh and lodged itself soundly into his flesh. With a cry, Oliver yanked the arrow away from his body which left a trail of blood on his pant leg.
Berserker spared no time and offered Oliver no reprieve. It was clear to him from Archer's attack that he had regained some mana from Caitlin. "Wukong! Wait!" Lancer yelled as Berserker dashed towards Oliver.
"I'll end this now!" His veins still pulsed with Qing's command seal as he brought his staff up to crush Oliver.
"Motion!" was all Oliver needed to call to pull Berserker off to the side. With a grunt, Berserker continued his attack. Archer took the opportunity that Berserker had made and readied his bow again from afar:
"Apollo's Bow!"
"Gravity! Motion! Refract!" cried Oliver as he unleashed many spells to try and curve the Noble Phantasm. Although it stayed true and hit Oliver's left arm, it did not do so without being curved through Berserker's right shoulder from Oliver's myriad of spells to distort it. "I'll just have to pit you all against each other, then!"
"Archer!" Berserker yelled with a snarl. Although unintended, Archer knew now that he would not be lucky enough to get a seamless hit again without doing additional damage to his fellow Servants. Even if he could, Caitlin did not have limitless mana to do as he pleased. Archer joined alongside Lancer from his vantage point and Berserker backed away from Oliver as well.
"So this is what it looks like, huh?" Oliver asked the trio. "Three holy Noble Phantasms and none of them are able to kill me. By all means, Archer, keep using that gifted bow of yours. I'll be sure to put it through every one of your allies." Archer squinted. Perhaps he became overconfident when Caitlin had restored his mana.
"What you're looking for," Archer started, "this isn't what it looks like. Oliver Storgaard, surely you must know - " Oliver cut Archer off by casting a Melting Bolt in his direction, which Archer dodged swiftly. "Magecraft doesn't end here, on this day. Someone will pick up a tome. Someone will learn. And once again, everything you've sought to undo, takes fresh root."
Oliver hung on Archer's sentence. It was what happened to him in a direct fashion. The mages' world thrust into him as if he had no say in the matter. It circled him, engulfed him, and under no reason other than the fact that it existed. It made Oliver snarl and bite his lower lip. He refused to have that fate pushed onto anyone ever again.
"Now!" Archer yelled. Berserker dashed to Oliver with his staff in hand as he brought it down over Oliver's head.
"Do not take me so lightly, Wukong! Refract!" Berserker's staff crashed into the dirt below Oliver to his left, but immediately behind him was Lancer, and behind her Archer. "Refract! Refract!" Oliver warped their weapons around as the three attacked him in close quarters until he could no longer deduce where the weapons were coming from. With a final spell, Oliver had transposed Lancer's holy blade into the stomach of Berserker himself.
"Wukong!" Lancer yelled.
"Motion!" cast Oliver to push the trio away into the trees. The plan to use their weapons as their guiding force had been done against them. Berserker crashed into a thick, newly sprouted tree and lost what remained of his breath. He seeped coughs and breaths as a hand went toward his gut.
"Puh," he let out as Lancer recovered. She went to his side as Archer followed. "Stupid Lancer..." he waited, but she did not refute. The damage had already been done. Berserker looked at Archer out of the corner of his eye and with a final breath said nothing at all as he faded away.
Archer IX
"We're out of options," Archer said to Lancer as the Holy Grail neared completion. It sent a pulse through the canyon as Oliver stood by its side.
"Archer, no! He still has the command seal!"
"There's no time! Tell your Master to use a command seal. Stall him while I cast the spell. This is all that's left. Japan, Greece, both of our lands will fall if we don't do this right now!" he yelled at her. Lancer gripped her spear as she silently asked Mai. Within the moment, her garb shone red and her muscles tightened. Without any more words, as Lancer understood Archer's tactics, she dashed back into the canyon to assault a barrage onto Oliver, met with nothing but dirt and air.
Archer stepped away from the trees. The insects that had finally returned to this land under the night sky had once again grown silent. The pulsations from the clashes Noble Phantasms had already wrecked the new landscape that Lancer had designed. The sky let the deep Chinese stars illuminate the ground they walked as Archer took a final deep breath.
"This is the final call,"
The green spell circle encapsulated the canyon. Sparks latched onto the trees and the river that surrounded them. A wave of wind gushed out towards the onlooking Masters while Oliver kept his attention on Lancer.
"What is he doing?!" Mai asked Viktor.
"This is it..." Viktor replied. "Right, Kristof?"
"It's the same, uncle!"
"For the path of your fall,"
Chains from the spell circle gripped Archer's limbs and pulled him down into the dirt, but the Servant stood tall. His eyes never left his target and he did not falter.
"To claim this pact,"
The words reached Oliver as he continued to dodge and push Lancer away. He noted the spell circle and the ominous voice that coursed through the valley.
"I...this..." Mai started with a hand out towards Archer. "I know this spell..." Viktor turned to Mai sullenly.
"My vision does not end here today, Archer!" Oliver shouted as he raised his fist and burned his final command seal. "Gravitational Field!" The entire canyon fell under Oliver's cast. It reached out as far as Mai and Viktor and they fell to their knees with Kristof behind the trees. "Melting Wave!" In the same fashion as how he killed Erica, his wave crashed through the landscape towards Archer. Unable to speak, Archer faced the heat wave fly towards him. Unable to defend, unable to stop, locked in place by chains and gravity, the air took Archer away into nothing but the sparks and chains that no longer had anything to latch onto.
Mai VII
Mai stared at the Grail as it shone through the canyon. Light pierced the foliage and reached up to the dark, clear sky in a glorious fashion. There was nothing left on their side. One Servant, not even strong enough to defeat Oliver when combined with two other kings. Although Lancer had shown great skill and prowess with her Noble Phantasm, there seemed to be nothing that could pierce through Oliver's defenses.
Lancer had retreated to Mai, Viktor, and Kristof as well as Qing. The last of what remained of the mages' defense.
"Where is Caitlin?!" Qing asked Lancer.
"It looked like she gave all of her mana to Archer. She's gone." The group looked at the ground. There wasn't much mana left collectively within the group. Qing could still barely walk, and without her Servant, she held little to give. Viktor barely stood, awake, but manaless. Kristof took Qing's hand and began to transfer as much mana as he could with the light touch, but even then, it would certainly not be enough. The King of Monkeys had fallen. The King of Ithaca had fallen. The Empress of Japan would certainly be next in line as the final Servant in the war.
"I can't believe it...Archer would have used it," Viktor started.
"Do you know what happens when someone uses that spell? I haven't heard of anyone else who knew it!" Mai yelled at Viktor. The Holy Grail began to pulsate across the canyon.
"The real question is why...do you know it? Of all people? After all this time and searching, I never found another mage who knew about its existence. Then Archer chants it, and now you, some girl, knows it as well?"
"It...it was in one of the books in my parent's basement. Its notes said to never use it. That was all."
"Your parents?" Viktor asked. He had but one thought, that possibly, someone who stretched out a hand to him with no cause other than to help might have been next to him this whole time.
"Ayumi! Aya and Jun Ayumi!" His name. His name pounded Viktor's temple as he raced back and forth in circles in an attempt to remember Jun's surname. It had to be. This Greek spell, lost in time, lost to the wayside of the Hall of Heroes, resided finally with this girl. Jun's final gift to the world was not to save it one time. It was to save it again. Always, just like he said. Just like he told him twenty years ago.
"Your father..." Viktor said with christened eyes.
"What?"
"Twenty years ago he was in the war with me. He used that spell and saved the world from Assassin. Surely..." Lancer stepped between Mai and Viktor.
"You cannot expect her to go through with that. She has more life to live."
"No. I agree. I will not let the daughter of my true friend be subject to such disaster. It is clear to me that I need to do everything I can to keep you safe, Mai. For Jun."
Time had run empty. Bursts of sounds crashed through the group as Oliver held his arms out wide to accept the Grail as his own. The ground began to quake as Lancer looked back to him. "There isn't any more time to discuss. Mai, use another command seal. I need to try to stall him."
"Lancer..." Mai started as she had just about given up hope. But she saw the determination in Lancer's face. Even against all odds, after Oliver had killed many Servants and orchestrated the entire war to his benefit, Lancer had yet to waver. She had grounded Mai in every section of this war, and now, perhaps, it was time for Mai to protect her wishes.
"By power of command seal, Lancer, delay Oliver Storgaard." The second petal of her command seal faded into the sky as Lancer cast her spell.
"Final Harvest!" Lancer dashed into the maelstrom of dust that now hovered over Oliver and the Grail as Mai kept her hand raised.
"By power of command seal...Lancer, you will not stop me." The final petal fell softly through the canyon, and as Lancer heard it, she did not turn around. Not because she couldn't, but because she had seen Mai grow over the course of this war. Mai had come to the decision herself, not from an observation or suggestion. It was her choice, and her choice was to protect not only Japan, but all lands from the devastation that surrounded them. It made Lancer proud.
"Mai, no! I refuse!" Viktor said.
"I'm ready," Qing said as Kristof let go of her hands. "I can fight for about five minutes. I will help Lancer."
"You as well? Berserker is gone - you can survive if you leave now! Go back to your family!" Viktor couldn't stop himself from the gesture. It was long embedded in his mind that there was always another day to fight.
"The only one I called family died moments ago. I will support you here until I cannot anymore. Are you doing this, Mai?" Mai nodded in affirmation. "Good luck. Blitz." Qing cast with what little mana she had now poured into her legs. Magical energy set her circuits ablaze as she dashed to Lancer's side.
The two met Oliver as he reached out to grab the Grail himself but the fighters forced him to curve them around yet again. "You all return like moths to the flame! Motion!" Qing's fists and Lancer's blade dodged Oliver in every fashion. His spells, as displayed numerously, gave him an impenetrable defense against all offensive properties. Only Archer's bow's holy properties had forced arrows to land when all else failed.
"Mai, please, let me keep you safe...don't let me make the same mistakes I made before..." Viktor pleaded. Mai shook her head confidently.
"I've decided. Please protect me while I prepare, Viktor, Kristof..." she added a final line, "I am depending on you."
"Mai, stop!" With a hand in slight trembles, she began:
"This is the final call,"
The same spell circle that had once engulfed Archer formed beneath Mai. The Greek etches stretched and curved along the boundaries of the event. Viktor did not want to believe that she had learned it, but alas, Jun's daughter knew every spell that he had.
"What? Again?" Oliver said as he pushed his two combatants away from him. "I don't know what that is, but it's not coming near me and my Grail! Melting Bolt!" he fired at her as Kristof moved to intercept it.
"Disperse!" he cast to send the bolt in an off direction as it ruined a boulder.
"For the path of your fall,"
Sparks latched onto Mai's fingertips as the force tossed her hair back. The chains began to form beneath her as the chains whipped around in search of their host. Mai winced from the shock, but held her arm outright with her other hand to steady herself.
"To claim this pact,"
Oliver raised his arms and with a surge of energy cleared the space around him. "Melting Wave!" The heat wave soared its way through the canyon towards Mai and Kristof when a supporting chant came from behind them.
"Icy Wind!" An opposite burst tossed Oliver's spell around and dissipated it into the air as if nothing had happened at all.
"Caitlin!" Kristof said, surprised.
"I couldn't hear anything from Archer so I turned around...I'm here. I can be here," she declared.
"An ending price,"
The chains tugged at Mai's limbs and snapped at her bones. Her muscles tore with every new line, her fingers started to break and collapse on themselves. "It...ugh...it hurts..." Mai pushed out as black winds erupted from the circle. They flowed into the canyon floor prepared to take in the accused at Mai's discretion.
"Revitalize!" Kristof cast on Mai in an attempt to keep her standing longer. Her muscles might have regenerated but not at the pace the shocks and chains damaged her.
As Mai stood against the spell, the Grail had reached completion. It pushed light through the canyon against the dust and black winds while Oliver continued to dodge Qing and Lancer.
"Melting Bolt! Gravity!" Oliver had sent towards Qing, as it grazed her legs and stopped her quick movements. Oliver used his Motion and pushed her far back near Caitlin into the dirt. She stopped Qing's tumble and held her upright while Lancer continued her onslaught against Oliver's parade of spells as he said, "this is my achievement! The Grail recognizes me!"
"I hereby enact..."
Oliver pushed Lancer to the cliffside as he spun and reached for the Grail, just meters away as Mai concluded:
"Ardent Sacrifice."
The chains circled Mai and launched themselves towards Oliver. Angrier now more than ever, he continued to use his array of spells to force the chains into the dirt around the Grail, but they did not relent. One chain after another surfaced from beneath Mai's spell circle and flung themselves at Oliver constantly with no end. Eventually, Oliver missed one. Then another. And soon his ankle had been caught by the spell. "Unhand me!" he writhed, but the chains spoke no language. They tripped him, and pulled him across the dirt of the canyon towards Mai. In a gargle of obscenities, they dragged Oliver down through the circle as it began to close.
Mai was not ignored. The chains continued as they grabbed her shoulders as well, slowly, dragging her down into the hell that lay beneath the spell circle. She struggled at first, but realized that she had resigned herself to this fate before she began her chant. With one final ounce of strength, she looked to Viktor, smiled, and fell into the closed circle.
Viktor VII
"It's over, then..." Kristof said softly. The canyon was far from quiet as the Holy Grail roared for its winner. The golden glow pierced the thin clouds that remained after Mai's spell concluded.
Caitlin stayed on the ground with the unconscious Qing, exasperated by the events that unfolded in front of her. "What did Mai just..."
"She's gone...she did it..." Viktor concluded. He fell to his knees. Two Masters gone to the same fate, twenty years apart. His hands came up to his face, frustrated and confused. Not only was he blind to Jun's actions, but he could not convince Mai to make a different decision.
Lancer pushed herself up to a knee from the base of the mountain she had crashed into as she incessantly scanned the canyon for Mai. She knew Mai was gone, but couldn't help but search. As the seconds rolled, she felt her connection to Mai separate. One thread of mana at a time, one centimeter closer to the Hall of Heroes. She looked down at her hand as it began to slowly go off into the air. The Holy Grail stared her down as she was the closest to the spoil, yet she did the unthinkable. She stood, and turned her back to the relic. As close as she was, it was not hers. With what little connection she had left to Mai, she could put her blade through Viktor and Qing on her own. One manaless. The other, asleep. The Grail was hers. But she did not want it if it meant she needed to betray everyone who had worked with her Master in her final act. It would be tasteless.
As flurries floated off of her shoulders, she walked back towards Viktor, still on his knees. He looked up to the Servant, still strong. Still strong enough, he thought.
"What did you wish for? Ten years ago?" Lancer asked. Viktor stopped his trembles and took a slow breath.
"Prosperity for my family." He waited as Lancer continued to fade away. "What would you have wished for, Lancer? If your Master was still here?"
Without a second wasted, Lancer said, "prosperity for Japan. I have many regrets, but Japan is more important. As are Japan's allies when I was Empress. I suppose that was part of my regrets after all. If the Grail would have it, I would wish for theirs too." Lancer held out her almost-faded hand and helped Viktor to his feet. "But now, after all of this, I think I would wish for only one thing."
"What is that?"
Lancer smiled gingerly, softly, and faded away into the dusty air.
"Uncle..." Kristof started. "It...it's yours again..."
How absurd, Viktor thought. He had failed, utterly and thoroughly. This Holy Grail had fallen into his lap without any help of his own. His foolishness had brought about the death of Erica Weiss. The severe injury of Orso Belvedere and Qing Shan. The permanent emotional damage to Caitlin Weiss. And the uncertain fate of Mai Ayumi. He had been so old and tired while she was so eager and talented. He had no reason to fight, and she was too young to be gone. He had waited and watched and paused for the duration of this war. This Holy Grail War. He had lost his Servant, his mana, his true friend's daughter. He had maximized his previous wish to its fullest potential.
Why was he even in this war? He thought back to when he summoned Caster. His legacy, he remembered. His family's request to win again. More prosperity? More wealth and power? What does that even mean?
He remembered his Aunt Rita and her philosophies. Family will come first in every scenario. The frustrations and issues that come along with the decision to always put family first were secondary to the longer game that spanned generations.
He remembered Caitlin Weiss, Orso Belvedere, and all of the harm his family had caused theirs. Parents and siblings stomped into nothing over the past half decade due to the Conrads' own selfish ploys. The other families of The Clock Tower were pawns to them in the grand scheme to achieve something magnificent.
And Jun. How he wished to be like Jun. Family always. Trite, at best. Did it not mean the same thing? Was it not what Viktor did when he single handedly rebuilt his family over the past twenty years? But then he realized. Family wasn't just blood, no. It couldn't have been only the riders off of Viktor's success who jeered him into another war for more of the same. It had to be more. It was those who held an outstretched hand along the way.
The Holy Grail had ceased its pulsations and directed its light to Viktor. He approached it slowly, much unlike his attitude ten years ago. He grasped its handle and made the only wish that he truly wanted.