Chapter 22: They Go Jumping
When Chiaki approached, Archer was kneeled, evidently in the middle of praying. Chiaki waited for him to finish.
It was noon. The storms that had plagued the town for the past day or two had now passed, and the sun now brightly shone down on the forest and Old Castle Einzbern. In the rain, Chiaki had thought it to be a creepy place… but now that the sun graced it with its rays, it looked more like the ruins of a once holy location.
I suppose that's what it actually is, Chiaki thought to herself.
Chiaki had gotten a little sleep between her reunification with Berserker and now. Once Chiaki had awoken, they decided to spend the rest of the day exploring the town. They never really got to do it when Berserker had first been summoned.
However, they found that they had received a message from Archer overnight. He requested that Chiaki come to Old Einzbern Castle to meet him. He had something to show her.
Archer raised his head and looked over at Chiaki. "You do not need to wait. You can come and join me if you wish."
Chiaki felt a little sheepish. "I didn't want to interrupt and I wouldn't know what to… uh… pray exactly. Not like I knew a whole lot of these people."
Archer nodded. "I have found that there is largely no correct way to pray," Archer replied, standing up and turning towards her. Chiaki walked closer, folding her hands together in front of herself.
He was still really good-looking. Chiaki was hoping that he would've somehow gotten less attractive. Luckily, he was wearing his baggy cape so his abs weren't on full display, but he was still extremely distracting.
Chiaki did her best to look past him and to the castle. It was quiet, and seemingly empty.
"Where's Remia?" Chiaki asked.
Archer didn't respond, prompting Chiaki to look back at him. He had turned back to the grave he had made. Chiaki looked, and saw, among the hundreds that now occupied the space in front of Old Einzbern Castle, there was one grave that had a cowboy hat placed on top of it.
Chiaki's heart sank. She had had a feeling, when she saw him in his sorry state during the fight…
"At least the hat makes his grave easy to find," Archer said, "I think he would have appreciated the absurdity of that."
Chiaki wasn't sure what to say. There wasn't a whole lot she could say, she imagined.
"I'm sorry," Chiaki eventually decided on. "What about Mrs. Tohsaka?"
"Gone. I am not sure where. Her personal possessions are missing. I can only assume that means she has left."
Chiaki nodded slowly. "What was it you wanted to show me?"
Archer turned away and started to walk past the graves he had made. He motioned for Chiaki to follow him, so she did.
They walked around to the back of Old Einzbern Castle, where Archer led them down a trail that led through the forest.
"When I searched for a proper place to bury them… I looked around for any proper burial sites. I remembered Tohsaka saying something about a 'Ley Line' running beneath this place. As I understand, these 'Ley Lines' can absorb the life force of dead things, and turn it into Mana, though only a very little amount. I thought it would be a fitting place to bury him… as a way to return him to the Earth."
Chiaki followed along and listened patiently. When Archer was finished, she replied with what she thought was appropriate. "That sounds like a good way to honor him."
"Yes. But I wanted to make sure I buried him in the right location, so I looked for the exact borders of the Ley Line. There is only a single Ley Line, that runs on the border of the town, through this forest. One end is here, behind the castle."
Archer stopped in front of a tree, looking up. They were quite a distance away from the castle at this point. "I came here and I found this."
Chiaki stepped up next to him and looked up.
And she realized it was not a tree at all. It was a tall pillar of sorts, embedded into the ground. The top, which raised up to be nearly five times her height, was capped with a vertical line, and a loop on top. Chiaki had seen it before, only on a much smaller scale.
"Oh! It's a… it's a…" Chiaki tried to remember, snapping her fingers. She regretted not taking the time to commit its name to memory, but at the time, she was emotionally distressed and had no idea that its name would actually be important to her.
"Ab Reh Sah. A spirit needle. Only far larger than the ones Johnny had."
Helps keep mana in the body when your dyin' by blockin' its flow. Like a dam, he had said.
Chiaki looked up and down the device. "Then… then that means that this is blocking the flow of mana into the Ley Line?"
"Actually, I feel it is preventing the flow of mana out. It is keeping it within the Ley Line. If I had to guess… there would be another one on the other side of Mt. Ganz. Or perhaps beneath Mt. Ganz," Archer replied, placing a hand on the Ab Reh Sah.
"But… why?"
"With a Servant as powerful as his… I doubt there would be enough mana in the world to keep him summoned, unless you were to gather every last scrap of mana remaining in the world and gather it into a single place."
The only reason she's still alive right now is because he wants her that way. The Man Under the Mountain.
"Uhlan… he planned it all from the very beginning. He was hiding underneath Mt. Ganz the entire time," Chiaki realized.
"Likely so."
"It was all planned for him to summon Saint Michael… but why? What does he need the Grail for when he's already the ruler of the world?"
Archer thought for a moment. "I think… only those closest to him would know."
It took Chiaki a second to realize that Archer was looking at her. She pointed at herself. "Me?"
Archer shrugged. "I would not know. But if it is true… that at one point he was your friend… then if there is an answer, you would be the only one who could figure it out."
Chiaki furrowed her brow. The last thing she needed to do right now was to start pitying someone like Uhlan…
"I don't know… it's been a long time since I've thought about anything we ever did together."
Archer nodded and looked back at the Ab Reh Sah. "Then perhaps the answer is truly lost."
His arms moved within his cloak, and he soon pulled out a pistol, much to Chiaki's surprise. She recognized it as the one Remia carried around with him.
Archer held it out for her. "Remia wanted you to have this."
Chiaki took a step back, looking at the pistol, and then back to Archer. "What?"
"He said you were the only one who knew how to use the Detonation now."
Chiaki looked closer at the pistol. She gingerly reached out her hand and picked it up. It was cold, and heavier than she thought it would be. The way Remia twirled it around made it seem weightless.
"I… I don't know what to say…" Chiaki spoke.
Archer nodded, moving past her and back towards the castle. "That is usually how it goes."
She turned and looked at him. "What are you going to do now? You've buried all the victims, right?"
Archer didn't turn around. "Yes. Now all that is left is to honor them."
Chiaki watched him walk away for a while. She tightened her grip around the pistol.
She took a step toward him. "Archer."
Archer stopped walking.
"You said… back then… that the real me was trapped inside my soul. Well… I know why she was trapped. Now I know how to let the real me out. It's just… I'm afraid because I don't really know who she is. I've lived as this pent up version of myself for the past five years, and I don't know what kind of a person has been building inside of me."
Archer chuckled and turned around, looking at her. "I did not say you were trapped in yourself. I said there was passion trapped inside of you. You are the same person you've always been, Chiaki. It is only when you thought of Uhlan that you stopped having the drive to be that person."
She processed his words… but she didn't think that she understood them at all. "I guess… I just don't know who I am, then."
Archer smiled a sad smile at her and turned around. "You will know very soon. I promise you that."
"Archer!"
He didn't stop walking, and made no sign that he had heard what Chiaki said.
Chiaki continued anyway. "I'm glad I met you!"
He raised his hand in a wave. Maybe it was to say 'me too'. Maybe it was to say 'of course'. Chiaki didn't know, and it was likely she'd never find out.
She knew that they'd never see each other again.
"All set?" Berserker asked.
"I can't help but feel there's a better way to go about this," Chiaki replied, placing her arms around Berserker's neck, getting up onto his back, and looking over his shoulder.
"Just remember, don't let go. It's as simple as that."
"Oh, so all I have to do is 'not do the thing that will kill me'? Good advice."
"I'm from Ancient Greece, it's better advice than you think."
They were standing at the foot of a mountain. It was a smaller mountain than Mt. Ganz, and was, in fact, less than half its size. It was a bit of a ways away from town, as well, but it was the only other mountain in the area.
"Let's just get this over with," Chiaki sighed.
"As you wish."
Berserker kicked off the ground, jumping above the trees and smashing down into the ground a few meters from where they had started.
"Woah… woah! Don't start off like that!" Chiaki protested, flipping her now befuddled hair out of her eyes.
"Start off like what? This is how you jump."
"No, you start with a small jump."
"That was a small jump."
"...I am regretting this."
"Nope, too late, here we go."
"BERSERKER!"
Tearing off the ground once more, Chiaki felt her stomach rise in her chest as the two went sailing even higher than before. The sheer wind resistance scraped at her eyes, and she shut them and buried her head in Berserker's… whatever the part between his shoulder and neck was called.
Having her eyes in darkness while her body was in motion, particularly during the part in which they were falling back down to the Earth, made her want to throw up.
She felt a sudden stop, signifying that they had landed.
"Huh? You can't hide your face like that! It defeats the purpose."
Chiaki unburied her face and gave Berserker a dirty look.
"I can't see when you're up there. The wind is too strong."
"You can't see when you're down here, either."
"I should've brought goggles or something."
"That would've been smart. Just keep your eyes closed, and when we're at the peak of the jump, then open your eyes."
"Right, so I can see for two seconds before the air rips my eyes out of their sockets."
"Now you're getting it."
"I was being-"
Berserker blasted off into the sky, cutting Chiaki short. Her head, momentarily ripped backwards, quickly found its way back to being buried. She didn't have a problem with motion sickness, but feeling the rush of movement without being able to see was possibly the most terrifying thing she had ever experienced. She wondered if having her eyes dried out was really worth that.
"We're at the peak now! Open your eyes!"
Chiaki lifted up her head and opened her eyes just as Berserker's upwards movement slowed. For a moment, she felt weightless, hanging off Berserker's back. A beautiful landscape greeted her, and she realized that she could see the top of the mountain directly ahead of them. If they were to jump while there… who knows how far they'd be able to see?
Such thoughts occupied her mind as they fell back down, which distracted her from the horrifying thought of crashing and dying.
"Well? How was it?" Berserker asked as he jogged along the forest floor.
Chiaki's heart was still racing. She felt… something up there. "I mean… it wasn't awful. The view was actually kind of nice."
"So, you want to go again?"
"I didn't say tha-"
Berserker took off again, cutting her off. This time, they sailed even higher than they had before. Chiaki didn't close her eyes, and found that actually watching their ascent truly alerted her to the terror of how high they were going.
"Wow! You can see the horizon over the mountaintop!"
"I AM GOING TO DIE!" she screamed past the raging winds.
"Oh, don't be like that."
Berserker came back down, and Chiaki was annoyed that she had been so panicked that she didn't even get to take in the view that time around.
"Stop. Jumping. Without. Telling. Me."
"Fine, I'll give you some proper warning next time. But listen, we've got to get a move on if we want to get to the mountaintop anytime soon."
"...Fine. But start slowly, then get faster so I can get used to it."
"Heh heh."
"Grow up, Berserker."
"Make me. Alright, here we go. You should still be able to keep your eyes open for these first few jumps, but I'll be sure to tell you when we're at the peak of the jumps after a while, sound good?"
Chiaki didn't like how casual he was being with the fact that they were jumping somewhere in the range of a hundred meters into the air. She growled in discontentment. "Alright, then, as long as you give me a warning."
"Okay. Here comes the next jump."
Berserker took off, and he sailed high, but not as high as before. Chiaki's eyes suffered from the wind… but she found herself somewhat less terrified than before. She could feel her heartbeat rising as she saw them seemingly leave the world behind. She felt that weightlessness again.
It really did feel like they were flying.
But it came to an end all too soon, and they came back to Earth less only a few seconds later. Chiaki didn't want to admit it… but she felt a bit disappointed it didn't last longer.
"...Well, you probably don't have to ramp up that slowly. I can handle more than this."
"Oh? Are you actually telling me to jump higher?"
"You want me to change my mind?"
"Ha! As if that were possible. Here comes jump number two!"
Berserker's legs sprung him and Chiaki into the sky. As they left the planet momentarily, Chiaki felt that same feeling build up inside her. It was exciting. Still a little scary… but a good scary. She didn't think that feeling was possible.
The horizon in front of her greeted her once more, and Chiaki found her eyes wandering to the horizons off to the side of themselves. The trees that made up the forest became scarce on one end, eventually leading to a grassland plain. On the opposite side, the ocean mirrored the sky perfectly, and it was like the world itself had gone missing, and Berserker and her were just flying through an infinite space.
It was spectacular.
"Woo! Now we're getting somewhere," Berserker laughed as he landed.
"Yeah, that was a little… exciting."
"Aw, is Mrs. Prudy von Angry-Eyebrows actually having fun back there?"
"I will kill you with a Command Seal."
"It'll be worth every jest!" Berserker replied, taking flight.
They soared even higher. Maybe higher than they had before. Chiaki didn't notice. She was too busy looking at the world around them. She had seen the horizons in each direction… except behind her. She twisted her head, looking back. Her hair threatened to block her vision, but it was luckily kept out of her face by getting stuck on Berserker's face.
As he tried to fight off the attack by Chiaki's hair, she was able to see that now they even sailed over Mt. Ganz behind them. They could touch the clouds if they wanted to. Not that there were any left in the sky right now.
They came crashing back into the Earth, slightly rougher than before considering that Berserker had been multitasking.
"...Wow. Geez, it's actually kind of nice up there. You can see straight over Mt. Ganz, back towards the town," Chiaki noted finally turning forward again.
Berserker gave her a look.
Chiaki shrugged. "What?"
Berserker just shook his head and gained a smile that Chiaki didn't trust. "If it's such a great view, I'll have to have a look for myself, won't I?"
"...And what does that mean…?"
"Spinning jump!"
Berserker jumped, spinning himself like a top as he climbed into the sky. The world around them was a blur of movement, and Chiaki found it harder than ever to hold on. She closed her eyes tightly, trying to shut out the spinning. She involuntarily found herself screaming until they finally secured themselves on solid ground.
Berserker wavered about for a moment or two. "Ha ha! I could barely see anything! That was damn fun! I'll have to try that again…"
"Don't or I might throw up," Chiaki immediately protested, looking at the path in front of them and trying to convince herself it was straight. She noticed that the summit was within sight. "In any case, we're near the top."
"Oh? So soon? Well alright… let's end it off with a big finish," Berserker replied, getting that distrustful smile once more.
"What are you planning? It better not involve any spinning!"
"How do you feel about flipping?"
"Positively terrifying."
"What about being upside-down?"
"Worse than flipping."
"What about… you only hold on with one hand?"
"That's the worst thing you've suggested so far."
"Got it, so do anything but the last one."
"Right."
She realized only too late what she had done. "Wait, n-"
Berserker rocketed into the air, flipping end over end and laughing the entire way.
"I HATE YOU, BERSERKER! I HATE YOU SO MUCH!" Chiaki shrieked as she clung ever tighter to him.
The cyclone of chaos and movement that encircled them came to a sudden halt. However, Chiaki's head was still spinning, so she wasn't sure that they were on solid ground just yet.
"Well? That wasn't so bad, now was it?" Berserker said as Chiaki flipped her hair out of her eyes, looking to see that they were, indeed, on the ground.
The first chance she got, she let go of Berserker and fell to the grass. She just let herself lay there, staring up at the bright blue sky for a few moments. "You jump the same way you drive."
"Excitingly?'
"Recklessly."
"Close enough," Berserker replied, sitting on the ground next to her.
Chiaki sat up, taking a look around them. They were next to a cliffside, one that gave a nice view of the town.
She was thankful for the nice weather today. It was a bit chilly up on the mountain, but the sun and the summer breeze warmed her.
Her attention turned to Berserker, who placed the bag he had been holding down in between them. "I hope nothing got damaged in all that jumping nonsense."
"It's hardly nonsense. Jumping is a fine art that only those that can jump can really appreciate," Berserker replied, beginning to dig through the bag. After several seconds of rummaging, he pulled out a book and handed it to her.
'Athens - the Legendary Stories' the title read. She cracked the book open and flipped through, guiding herself to the 'Theseus' section.
Berserker then produced two plastic cups in one hand and a bottle of wine in the other.
Chiaki gave him a look. "Where the hell did you get that wine?"
"Winery."
His response earned an eye roll from Chiaki.
"Don't give me any attitude," Berserker defended himself, pouring the wine into the cups, "It's not my fault you kept forgetting to get good wine. I simply took matters into my own hands." He handed one to Chiaki, and she took it, returning her gaze to the numerous pages dedicated to the 'Wise King of Athens.'
"So, do you want to start or should I?" Berserker asked, taking a sip of his wine.
Chiaki still hadn't found something to ask about quite yet. "Go ahead."
Berserker nodded. "Alright. What was the first Magecraft you stole?"
"Magecraft or Magic Crest?"
"Magecraft."
"It was back when my dad was still alive. He kept forgetting the keys to our penthouse and getting us locked out. One day, he took me to work and I wandered around in an office, waiting for him to finish, and I happened to see an incantation for unlocking simple locks laying on some professor's desk. I figured I'd swipe it and return it before he even noticed it was gone."
"Did he?"
"Yup. Since our penthouse was within the Clock Tower itself, his door not only resisted the incantation, a signal was sent out to Magi Defense that I had even tried. I nearly got incinerated for my trouble."
"Fun story."
"Not for me. It was the first time I learned that the Clock Tower doesn't take kindly to asians."
"How did your dad even land a job at the Clock Tower if he was asian?"
"Well, it's not like we can't work there, it's just that people tend to look down on us. A lot of higher ups and well-respected members were Japanese, if I remember correctly."
Berserker processed the information. "Alright then. That's a little disappointing, but I've got my next question lined up. Your turn."
Chiaki's eyes scanned the page for a few moments, and she found herself struggling to really find something on him that she wanted to ask about… she'd ask something unrelated to the book for now, just to keep the conversation rolling.
Hmm… Unrelated to Athens…
"So… Do you have any fun Argonaut stories?"
"What does that mean? Isn't the Argonautica itself a fun story?"
"I mean… something they didn't talk about in legend? Surely something crazy must've gone down that was deemed not important enough to go in the book."
Berserker looked up to the sky for a moment. "I can't really say. I wasn't exactly in a good state of mind when I went on the Argos. I only volunteered to go since Pirithous wanted to."
"I don't think I've heard of Pirithous."
"Mm. He was… a friend, I suppose."
"You suppose?"
"He was a hedonist, even more so than I was. It was him who suggested we try to abduct daughters of Zeus as our brides. His solution to everything was either drinking, fighting, or having sex."
"What, like you?"
"Like me but on steroids."
"Aren't you already on steroids?"
"Magic steroids, maybe. Listen, Pirithous was an asshole, through and through. But… he was also the only one who saw that I was hurting after Ariadne. And maybe he thought what he was doing was helping."
Berserker drank the rest of his cup in one gulp. "...maybe he didn't know how to help me."
"Maybe you didn't need help. Maybe you just needed time."
"Regardless… whether what he did was right or wrong-"
"Definitely wrong."
"-he was still my friend. My… only friend, at the time."
Chiaki let the book rest on her knees for a moment, and she looked directly at Berserker. "Surely you've made more friends than just that guy. What about all the Argonauts?"
Berserker thought for a moment. "I'll be sure to give you an answer after you answer my next question."
Chiaki gave an aggravated sigh. "Fine then. Go on."
"What was the first Magic Crest you stole?"
"The first one I got or the first one I stole?"
"There's a difference?"
"Yes."
"Fine then. Stole."
"Borzak. She was locked up in the Clock Tower for trying to destroy the Association. Originally, I just wanted to ask if I could have it, but she hated the world of Magecraft so much that she refused. I decided to lift it off her while she was asleep and moved on."
"How'd you get in to see her if she was locked up?"
"Lockpicking. The Association prides itself on their magical security, but their physical security has slipped somewhat."
"So what's the first Crest you got? Or were you just referring to the Unification Circuit?"
Chiaki put up a finger to silence him. "You need to answer my question first."
"Oh, right. Wait, what was your question again?"
"Your attention span isn't that bad."
"You underestimate me."
Chiaki just shook her head and rolled her eyes. "Were you friends with anyone besides Pirithous? What about the Argonauts?"
"Ah. Well, aside from Pirithous… no. We were crewmates, and I respected each and every one of them, of course. I suppose I enjoyed watching them be, more than actually interacting with them. Jason and Medea were a happy couple… it killed me to hear what had happened to them when I was summoned here."
"You mean you were never told what happened while you were alive?"
Berserker shook his head. "Maybe someone somewhere brought it up with me, but I'd've been through the Underworld by that time. I can't say I was particularly conscious of my life after that. I had 'checked out', so to speak."
Leaning forward and resting his elbows on his knees, he turned to Chiaki. "Your turn. First Magic Crest you got."
Chiaki arched an eyebrow at him. She set the book beside her and leaned back, resting on her elbows. "Guy named Matou. He was at the Clock Tower, just visiting, I believe. When I asked if I could have it, he said that he had no use for it since Magecraft was coming to an end anyway. He told me something about having to remake it after his Grandfather died, which is why it looked so small and pathetic."
"Which one is it?"
"The small and pathetic one, obviously," Chiaki joked. Berserker sighed and shook his head, which made Chiaki smile. "It's greyish-blue, on my left shoulder blade," Chiaki answered.
"Alright then. Your turn to ask me a question."
The wind blew, moving the hair in Chiaki's face. She brushed it off to the side thoughtfully. "How…" she hesitated. "How did you die?"
Berserker blinked. "You didn't see?"
"No. I saw you trapped on that… rock, or whatever it was. I never saw how you died for real."
After a few moments of consideration, Berserker stood up. "I did die on that rock. I know that Heracles pulled me off it, but… the person that walked out of the Underworld wasn't really me. I'd… been broken, I guess. I didn't need someone to pull me off the rock, I needed someone to help me walk out on my own. When he took me out, I was just an empty shell. Perfect for Athena to fill my mind with her words, and for me to pass them off as my own 'wisdom'. That's what she wanted for a King of Athens - just a puppet to do as she said."
Berserker folded his arms and got a serious look in his eye. "I regret not beating her to a pulp when I met her on that beach."
"You would've died."
Berserker turned and looked at her with that serious look. She didn't fall for it. She could see the pain behind it.
"Then I would've died doing the right thing."
Chiaki felt the guilt rising up in her again. She looked away, towards the town.
She wanted to change the subject, but she stopped herself. She only wanted to avoid it because of that feeling that Uhlan gave her. The sense of betrayal she got whenever she got close to someone. But he didn't have anything to do with this.
Chiaki stood up, placing her cup on the ground where she had been sitting, and walked towards Berserker. She placed her hand lightly on his arm, the one encased in the Ariadne Thread.
Instantly, all the built up guilt she had vanished, replaced by outrage that she even needed to place her hand on Berserker's arm to speak her mind. She buried that anger and returned her mind to the task at hand.
She looked up, directly into Berserker's eyes.
"Why do you have to die at all? Why do Heroes always need to sacrifice themselves? Why couldn't you just… run away, and be happy?"
Berserker didn't shy away from her gaze. "Because that's the deal. A hero is someone who saves others in their time of need. In order to do so, your own happiness is forfeit."
Chiaki shook her head. "But why is it that way? Why couldn't you have taken Ariadne and run away, and lived with her? She'd be happy, you'd be happy."
Berserker shook his head. He knelt down, placing his other hand over Chiaki's. "You're not listening, Chiaki. A pup will always grow into a dog, otherwise it is not a pup. Rain will always fall from the sky, otherwise it is just water. There are fundamental attributes that are a part of any given thing, inherent to its nature. Inseparable. Saving one person means not saving yourself. If I ran with Ariadne, Athena would hunt us. Even if, by some miracle, we were to escape from her, there would still be so many people that Athena would hurt in our stead. She would've found a new King of Athens. A new wife for Dionysus. We… I bear these sufferings so someone else out there doesn't have to."
Chiaki just listened, her heart dropping with every word. She shook her head when he had finished.
"But you don't even know those people."
"That doesn't mean they're not people."
She let her head dip, and her gaze fell to the ground. The worst part of this whole situation was that she was asking questions to try and understand. And unfortunately, she did.
"Why'd my best friend have to be some dumb Greek asshole from over two-thouand years before I was born?"
Berserker nodded. "I could ask a similar question."
They were silent for a time, and the wind came to break the silence. It passed.
"...Can you beat him? Saber? The real one, I mean?"
Berserker smirked. "Uhlan's Saber isn't 'more real' than Loyuffon's Saber. He's powerful, sure, but…"
"I couldn't comprehend it."
"Hmm?"
"That energy that he shot out of his sword that killed Caster… it was like… I was staring at something infinitely more important than anything else. Like it'd be around forever. And the garden being destroyed, and Caster… they weren't destroyed by it, they were just impermanent in comparison to it. I can't even… describe it right, I don't think."
Berserker furrowed his brow, and closed his eyes.
"It's nature is just something we aren't meant to know," Chiaki continued, "How do you beat something like that?"
Berserker opened his eyes. "The same way you'd beat a god, I'd imagine."
Chiaki smiled. He was never short on confidence.
Berserker patted her on the shoulder. "Ah, but it's no time for sulking. We've got the rest of the day ahead of us, and it'd be foolish to waste the sun while it's out by merely coming up with strategies!"
He turned and moved back towards the wine bottle and his cup, pouring himself a second drink.
Chiaki took a deep breath. He was right. There was still time. She'd enjoy it while she could. "Your turn to ask me a question," she said to change the topic.
Berserker took a sip of his cup and sat down again, looking up at Chiaki. "Well… tell me about another Crest you stole. What's your favorite?"
"I don't have a favorite Crest. They're all the same to me."
"And yet you remember where you got each one."
"They're all important, I just don't have one more important than the others."
Berserker put a hand up to his chin. "Then what about the Lightning Cestus? Where did you get those from?"
"D'Astrapi. I remember him. He was an outcast, even in his own family. Just didn't keep things very well organized in his room."
"That's it? No special story? Why do you use them?"
"'Cause they're easy to use. Just call lightning to your hands and then punch idiots."
Lightning suddenly curled around her hand and she bolted forward, trying to slap Berserker, who easily dodged.
From the top of the church belltower, there was a strange being encased in silver armor, looking at the street below. On the side of the street, just under the tower itself, were a group of drunkards and vagabonds singing Kumbaya.
The place of worship beneath them was abandoned, and just outside, there was a group of people singing a hymn developed after his time. Uhlan wondered what was going through True Saber's mind at this sight.
"Are you ready?" Uhlan asked.
A moment passed before True Saber replied. "I am always ready."
Uhlan waited for him to elaborate, or to speak further. He didn't. Uhlan hated lulls in the conversation.
"I'll be ready as well. For everything." The lack of a response from True Saber prompted Uhlan to fold his hands behind him and walk up beside True Saber. "Did you find the answer you were looking for? Out on your 'pilgrimage', as it were?"
"A pilgrimage is only the journey towards Jerusalem. Not away from it," was True Saber's cryptic reply.
Uhlan sighed. "I had forgotten about your usual no-nonsense attitude."
"Why did you not alert me sooner to Rider and Caster's actions?" True Saber suddenly spoke, turning to face Uhlan fully. "Had I not told you that Humanity's survival took precedence?"
The sudden action by True Saber surprised Uhlan. He took a moment to think about what True Saber had asked. He wondered if he could truly lie to him…
"I did not want to reveal our hand too early."
True Saber kept his masked stare focused on Uhlan, betraying no emotion or thought. He was totally unreadable. Uhlan felt, in his very presence, the same power most heard in his voice. He was mightiness incarnate, directed towards 'justice'.
"Was your 'strategy' truly worth the lives of so many?" True Saber spoke.
Uhlan felt the sting of jealousy rise in him once again. If only he was more open-minded… then Uhlan wouldn't have to run around him and lead him along.
But then again, Uhlan didn't want him for his ideology… he wanted him for his power, and his image. Uhlan had the entire might of the world at his beck and call, and he had spent the last five years hunting down the correct rituals and relics for the perfect Heroic Spirit to complete his plan.
Saint Michael was that Heroic Spirit. Uhlan knew that it was dangerous to summon him into the world… but Uhlan's 'special situation' made him the only one suitable to be the Master of such an unequivocally powerful Servant, and he felt like that fact was a sign of universal providence.
Uhlan avoided Michael's nonexistent gaze. "Perhaps it wasn't. That's not for me to judge."
True Saber tilted his head. "You recognize your sin, yet you perform it anyway."
"I've done worse. At least the evils I perform now serve a greater good," Uhlan responded, turning and walking away. He was getting more and more irritated by this exchange.
But True Saber persisted. "What greater good can come of any evil action?"
Uhlan turned. "Not all of us are as perfect as you," he snapped. "Would you have me die for my past mistakes?"
True Saber was suddenly in front of him, bearing down over him. His tone did not change.
"Without question."
Uhlan crumbled under the weight of his aura, faltering and stumbling back. His foot found some random piece of debris and he tripped, falling backwards.
True Saber reached out and grabbed Uhlan by his collar before he fell. "Monsters deserve no pity," True Saber spoke.
There was silence between them for a moment. Uhlan knew that True Saber was about to kill him. There was no other recourse. All his life would be reduced to nothing in an instant before this man. No… this being above mankind.
Uhlan found himself back on his feet and stable. True Saber let him go and slowly walked back to where he had been before, the clinking of his armor echoing out across the room. It was disrupted only by the singing of Kumbaya.
Uhlan's breathing slowed, and he realized how panicked he had been. He truly believed he was going to die. The idea that True Saber wouldn't kill him because he was True Saber's Master hadn't even crossed his mind.
He straightened himself out and quickly turned to leave the room. He placed a hand on his chest, where his Command Seals were. He knew they would do nothing to him. Even if Uhlan tried to reinforce them with his own Mana… it would be useless. There was no reasoning with someone like him. Which is why Uhlan hated never knowing what he was thinking.
Uhlan found himself relying on his cane for the first time ever as an actual walking stick. He found his legs weak.
Uhlan gritted his teeth and pulled his cane up, forcing his legs to walk by themselves. He tumbled to the ground not a moment later.
How pathetic, he heard Kayneth say.
"Shut up!" he screamed, struggling to his knees.
He was the foremost powerful Magus in the world, due in no small part to his heritage. He was not weak. He was not a frail, impotent person like that bastard, Kayneth. He was so much more.
The image of that night… finding Kayneth in a crumpled heap on the floor, clutching onto a photograph of his mother…
There was no end to the anger he felt for that moment.
You made my life hell, as if it would somehow free you from your own hell. Why should I suffer for your weakness?
Monsters deserve no pity, True Saber had said.
Uhlan placed a hand on his knee, gripping his cane and standing with it. He looked down at the red, ornate cane.
It was the only true legacy he chose to bear. It would support him through these trying times. He had made it from the very same spearhead he used to kill Kayneth with. The very same he had used to kill Kenshin with, as well…
Uhlan closed his eyes. He shut out that night. It would be time for that very soon. Very soon.
He opened his eyes, and continued down the hallway.