Chapter 25: How to Kill a Monster
Berserker had walked for a while through the wasteland just outside of Mt. Ganz. His mind was occupied. There were so many things he wanted to be doing instead… but he knew what he had to do.
He looked up at Azi Dehaka. It was getting closer to the town. Soon, it'd be on top of them. Berserker could already hear the screams and panic of the people as they ran from it. He'd heard these screams many times. And faced monsters like this many times more.
Berserker cracked his knuckles and his neck. "I apologize for the wait, Saber… I had to say my goodbyes. I'm a little disappointed you got started without me, but I should've expected that kind of rudeness from you. Now then…"
He got low to the ground, ready to fire off. "It's time for that rematch of ours."
Berserker launched off the ground, charging directly at Azi Dehaka.
The man had thought that getting assaulted by that strange person in a red cape in the park was going to be the strangest event of his life.
Unfortunately, he was wrong in the most terrifying way possible.
Now, he stared up at an impossibly large monstrosity as its bulbous body absorbed the buildings that existed on the outskirts of town. The ground beneath him rumbled and the earth cracked as the thing forced its way forward.
People were running in the opposite direction, but of course, they were trapped on the coastline. There was an airport nearby, but who knew how long it would be able to handle the pressure of the entire population of the town trying to escape what was, to their eyes, the apocalypse?
He didn't waste time as he called his fiance and told her to get out of the town. He didn't really need to explain why. Everyone could see the ungodly creature that consumed the horizon.
"There's a man on the docks here that's getting people onto boats. How far away are you?" she asked, panicked.
"I'm at the airport. Get on a boat and get out of here. I'll be along shortly," he replied.
"I don't want to leave without you!"
"I'll be okay, I promise. Just get away from here, and we'll meet after we're both safe."
"...Okay… I love you."
"I love you, too. Goodbye."
And just like that, she hung up. The man was surprised he was able to keep his voice from cracking. It was the most calm he had ever been in his life. He dropped his phone and looked down at his crushed leg. The old abandoned church tower had collapsed on him. He was going to die.
Maybe it was the mere fact that he could do nothing to stop his oncoming demise that made him so calm. If he couldn't do anything to stop it, why try to fight?
He looked back up at the monster as it lumbered closer. There was a roar in his ears, and he wasn't sure if it was the beast growling or the Earth cracking beneath him.
Now that he looked at the strange monster in front of him, the muddy and seemingly formless body of the thing was colored a deep red… a similar color of the cape of that strange man from the park. An odd coincidence.
He closed his eyes. He didn't like watching it come.
There was a surge of pain in his leg. He cried out and his eyes shot open to see yet another odd sight.
A large man with a golden string wrapped around one of his forearms stood over him. He lifted the large stone that had crushed his leg and tossed it aside with a single hand, as if it were no heavier than a crumpled up piece of paper.
The man found himself being pulled up. He was steadied onto his one good leg, and a large wooden stick was thrust into his arms.
The large man looked at him with piercing red eyes and pointed back towards the coast. "Go!" he shouted.
And with that, the large man turned on his heel and exploded off the ground, leaping at the monster.
The man could only stare, dumbfounded. There was a sudden thunderous noise from an impact of some kind, and it snapped him back to his senses. He needed to get out of here.
He turned, keeping his leg off the ground, and hobbled in the opposite direction.
Momentarily, he was indignant at the fact that no one else had stopped and tried to lift the stone off him, or that no one was trying to help an obviously crippled man escape danger.
Then he wondered if he would've done the same.
Berserker let loose a punch into the beast's jaw. It recoiled, not in pain, but from the sheer force of Berserker's punch.
A second head swirled around and snapped at him. Berserker flipped in the air and kicked out, knocking the second head aside. It didn't stop the third head from smashing into him with its jaws open. Berserker was quick enough to place a hand each on its upper and lower jaw, keeping it from crushing him, but he was forced back in the air.
He grunted as the head of Azi Dehaka clamped down harder on Berserker. He forced it open, and started to reel back a kick.
His blows had done nothing to harm the monster. Anytime he landed a good hit, the flesh would bend from impact and reform, as if he were fighting a piece of rubber with infinite elasticity. Whatever this thing was, blunt force had no effect on it.
The jaw loosened a moment, and Berserker took that moment to rocket his kick into the roof of its mouth, flinging it back and propelling himself backwards at the same time.
Another head came swinging in from the right. Berserker twisted to meet it, but it swerved off to the side before it came within striking range.
Berserker hit the ground and slid, getting back into a fighting position quickly.
The head that had been kicked suddenly started to spasm and gurgle. Berserker kept his eyes on the two other heads, but they seemed to hang back and just watch from a distance.
He watched in horror as large bulges in the flesh started to pump their way up the neck of the third head. Berserker took a few steps back. If this thing had fire breath, he was going to be seriously pissed.
The third head suddenly snapped forward and a deep red mud, the same that this thing seemed to be made of, vomited from the things mouth. It came down in a cascade, aimed directly at Berserker.
Berserker jumped back and turned, starting to run. He heard the sickening sound of the sludge falling on the ground behind him, felt the heat from it strike at his back.
Not quite fire breath, at least.
Whatever it was, he had no doubt in his mind that it was dangerous. The way it seemed to swallow things in its path was evidence enough of that.
He bent his knees and jumped, flipping to see the creature. The mud had stopped coming en masse out the creature, but it was still slowly pouring from the monster's mouth in slow slops.
Berserker gritted his teeth as he landed on his feet.
He took a moment to analyze the situation. Azi Dehaka was focused on him at the moment… but that mud could change everything. It could flow forward and burn the town while Berserker was preoccupied fighting.
He'd just have to make sure its focus, and its mud, was aimed away from the town. He couldn't draw it too far back towards the mountain, either… but there didn't seem to be a better solution right now.
Even using God Hand right now wouldn't help much. It would allow for a more complete distraction, but it almost meant eating up any Mana he had left. The distraction wouldn't last as long, and Berserker would disappear afterwards. If he disappeared before he could stop this thing, it was quite literally the end of the world.
Right now, delaying Azi Dehaka long enough for the townspeople to escape was his priority. Stopping this thing altogether would be a task for later.
Berserker cracked his knuckles and ran back towards Azi Dehaka.
Chiaki was still in the cave, looking at the stars in the sky through the entrance. She could hear the sound of battle. She knew she should probably go to the entrance itself, and watch the fight that would decide the fate of the world.
And yet she couldn't. She wasn't even sure she could move right now if she wanted to. She was frozen, just pondering.
She didn't know what to do. She didn't know what she wanted. She didn't know who she was.
She had a brand new life displayed out before her, and she was frozen with indecision on what to do with it.
Well… she didn't know that she had a brand new life. There was a monster just outside that was fighting to end any chance of that life being real.
In an odd way, she almost wished Berserker would fail in defeating Saber. She didn't want Berserker to be hurt, of course, but… she wanted Berserker to come back, defeated, needing her help to stay manifested. But she also knew that that would mean putting the town and all the people in it at risk.
No, what she really wanted was for Azi Dehaka to have never existed. She wanted the Grail so that she could join Berserker when he went to the Reverse Side of the World. She wanted to be with Berserker in this sleepy little town forever, with Remia and Archer and Tohsaka and Lancer as their neighbors. That would've been nice.
But because Berserker had a different goal… it couldn't be that way. He needed to see Ariadne. And because there were people in danger… people he didn't even know… he had to go and save them.
And now she was alone again. Without a clue as to how to continue.
You are the same person you've always been, Chiaki, Archer's words returned to her.
Not like you've known me my entire life, Chiaki lamented. Her legs were getting tired of standing. She wondered if she should go out and sit on the rock that Saber had been sitting on outside the cave.
Or maybe she should go further back in, find a place to sit in the compound.
She continued to stand and think.
Berserker rolled to a halt, but he had to embed his fist into the ground to stop himself from rolling into the mud. He scrambled to his feet and immediately jumped to the side as a head came roaring at him, blasting past him and into the space behind him.
Berserker took the time to punch at its neck, but the same result occurred. It bended, but reformed immediately.
Another head came at him, and Berserker took off, running to get some distance between them.
Berserker hadn't taken much damage. Neither had Azi Dehaka. The two were far from evenly matched, they just lacked the means to hurt each other.
Or rather… Berserker lacked the means to hurt Azi Dehaka. Azi Dehaka only lacked the accuracy to hurt Berserker.
Berserker took a moment and looked the beast up and down. "Are you still in there, Saber? Somewhere, fighting to get out?" Berserker asked no one in particular.
Azi Dehaka regrouped its heads and looked at Berserker, immediately lurching towards him.
Berserker shook his head. "No, I imagine not. Fighting, that is. You might be in there somewhere… which means you might be at the core of this thing. Or maybe you really are gone. Maybe there's really nothing left of you."
Berserker huffed as Azi Dehaka closed in. "Yeah right. Like you'll ever stop showing up, just to annoy me."
Berserker folded his arms and waited for Azi Dehaka as it reared its heads back. "Would that have been so bad, Saber? Just living, coming around to annoy us once in a while? No… I suppose that life is long gone. You gave it up."
The heads converged on him at once, and Berserker easily rolled out of the way, and they collided, but they continued forward in a demented charge. Berserker curled his lip and reached his hands out, clashing with the thing as it easily pushed him backwards through the wasteland.
"What were you after?" Berserker snarled. "Why did you ruin everything? For us? For yourself?"
Berserker threw a punch into the beast's "eye". It didn't flinch, and continued to press forward, nearly overcoming Berserker in his moment of being off-balance. Berserker recovered quickly and heaved the head upwards, sliding beneath it as he let it pass overhead. He rolled out from under its neck and jumped, moving towards the body.
"Were you looking for an easier life? One where you stopped failing? That life was always impossible."
Berserker's anger grew in himself and he assaulted the body with a barrage of blows, pushing the flesh back a few inches with each strike. He nearly pressed in a whole meter before the flesh resurged and nearly consumed him.
Berserker gritted his teeth and grabbed at the flesh, trying to tear it off. "Say something, damn you! Don't you have a defense!? Don't you have some reasoning, some excuse!? Say something!" Berserker roared, ferociously ripping into the rubbery body with his bare hands.
Berserker felt the sting in his hands, and sensed the movement behind him. He jumped, letting the head of Azi Dehaka crash into its body.
Berserker flipped off to the side, avoiding the strikes from the other two heads as he retreated, eventually getting clipped on his shoulder and making him roll to his knees to disperse the impact.
He got to a single knee and caught his breath. The beast seemed unstoppable. Its defense too thick. Its power too infinite. What could he do against it?
Berserker wavered. "Saber... say something, or I'll have to kill you. Please. I don't… I don't want to end it like this again. I can't let it end like this again. I want to save you, don't you see that?"
Azi Dehaka said nothing, and renewed its pursuit of Berserker.
Berserker looked down and shook his head. "Of course not. Because you don't want to be saved, do you?"
Berserker clenched his fists and looked up at Azi Dehaka, standing. "Your selfishness angers me to no end. I'm not going to let you hurt anyone, Saber. I'd sooner die than let that happen."
He got into a fighting stance, staring at Azi Dehaka as it got closer. Berserker let it come to him. The longer he could make it fight against him, the better.
Berserker's eyes wandered to the sky behind the beast. The moon had risen, casting a silver shine onto the land around them. The stars were out, and clearly visible in all their glory.
Behind Azi Dehaka, Berserker spied a shooting star, making him smirk.
That shooting star reminded him of that man's spear. It gave off that beautiful light and the way it grew brighter…
...and moved towards Azi Dehaka...
Berserker's eyes widened as he realized why that shooting star reminded him of Lancer's spear.
Because it was Lancer's spear, having completed its orbit around the Earth. It was cracked, and barely holding together as a Broken Phantasm, but the energy it radiated was proof enough that it still had power.
Gungnir Proto slammed into Azi Dehaka's body, exploding in that dazzling blue light. Berserker shielded his eyes as the blast from it radiated through the land around him. Berserker dug his heels into the Earth to prevent himself from falling backwards.
When the light faded, Berserker could see that there was now a sizable chunk of Azi Dehaka's body now missing, and its three heads were flailing around savagely.
Berserker was still in awe of the sheer incredibility of the event, so he did not react right away.
Lancer had seen the future, and aimed his spear to hit a target that was removed by the span of the Earth and a day. And more incredible than that - it worked. For the first time in the battle, Azi Dehaka had taken damage.
And Berserker was just standing there, completely wasting the opportunity.
Berserker shook the fog around his head away and bolted around Azi Dehaka, desperate to see the damage for himself.
He doubted that even Gungnir would be capable of damaging Azi Dehaka permanently. It would begin to grow its body back. And Lancer had to have known that. So why attack as he did? Why here, and why now? There must've been a reason.
Berserker was able to move himself around to see the wound now. It stood, gaping and wet with mud.
Inside, illuminated by the light of the moon, was Saber, who looked to have been grown into the living insides of the beast. His face was dull and expressionless, and his gaze met nothing. His skin was molded in with the mud itself, though he looked far from fused to it.
Saber was at the center of Azi Dehaka. He was still in there. And unfortunately, in the time it had taken Berserker to get around Azi Dehaka and realize what he was looking at, the flesh of the beast had begun to reform around Saber.
Berserker tore forward, flying through the air and into the hole. He reached out for Saber, trying to grab him.
"Saber!" Berserker cried. Saber's eyes, even glazed over as they were, seemed to flinch, but did not move.
The mud closed over Saber's face and threatened to consume Berserker's arm.
Berserker retracted his arm, cursing. He began tearing at the mud, trying to get to Saber. But it was regrowing faster than he could tear it away. Berserker gave a cry of frustration.
He looked over his shoulder and saw the hole begin to close, slowly. He gritted his teeth and flew back out the hole, tearing through the small tendrils of mud that had started to close the gap.
He got out just in time for the head of Azi Dehaka to crash into him, knocking him into the ground and making him slide backwards. Berserker picked himself and spat blood and dirt out of his mouth. He rubbed his jaw, the point of impact. It hurt like hell, but it didn't seem to do any permanent damage.
He looked back at the hole in Azi Dehaka. The wound was taking longer to close than he expected. So it was possible for him to tear back in there… but without a form of attack like Lancer's, an attack based solely in magical energy, there would be no point. That was the only way to make the flesh retract faster than it could recreate itself.
Berserker sighed.
Sorry, Lancer. I wasted the opportunity you gave me. At the very least, I know now that Saber is in there.
Berserker growled. Lancer probably had seen Berserker failing, too. Maybe this was all Lancer's way of laughing at Berserker one last time.
Not like Lancer wouldn't have been the more optimal choice to fight a monster like this. Even disregarding Lancer's magical abilities, he had far higher speed, which was more useful against a cumbersome foe like this one.
But Lancer had gotten his Spiritual Core pierced. That was why he bet it all on Berserker. Lancer wouldn't have been able to make it here either way.
Berserker cursed his luck. In order to win, he needed to have some kind of Magical based attack on a massive scale, like Lancer's Gungnir… he simply… didn't...
Oh... but he did.
Berserker placed a hand on his chest and looked at Azi Dehaka. If he could blow that wound open again, before it fully had time to close, then he could get to Saber and finish this. He didn't have a choice. It was the only way.
He gripped his chest tightly. He didn't know why he had such a moment of hesitation. Sure, going through with it was like admitting that this really was the end for him, but…
He gave a look full of regret to the cave on the side of Mt. Ganz.
But he'd known it for a while. He said it himself. That life was always impossible.
He turned, tightening both his hands into fists. He blasted forward once more.
Assassin's Master had felt better the moment that the Archer-class Servant had placed the cloak of his on her. She assumed it was a Noble Phantasm of some kind. Slowly, she felt her strength returning.
She had pinched herself numerous times on the path here. She had had dreams similar to this situation. Someone was able to find her and take her away from Assassin. At first it was her mother. Then it was her teacher. Then a stranger she remembered seeing earlier that day.
She remembered being so relieved. Then she'd wake up.
She had stopped having those dreams. And then this happened. She still wasn't certain that it was actually real.
But the farther and farther away she got from the mountain… passing by the church tower… and finally seeing the town around her, with strange looks from the people on the street… the more it solidified the idea that, maybe... just maybe...
But then the ground started to rumble, and her heart dropped. She knew it was a trick. It may have been real… it certainly felt that way… but there was no way she was getting away from Assassin.
Her mouth quivered in fear for a moment, but then she was distracted from her fear. Something was different. Slowly, she reached a hand up to her mouth. There was a lump in her mouth. It took a moment to recognize it.
It was her tongue. She had her tongue again.
She didn't understand at first, but she soon realized that it was the cloak that Archer had placed over her. It healed her. She had her tongue back.
The Archer suddenly lowered her onto a bench, surprising her. She looked at him to see what was wrong.
He looked so tired. His eyes looked like they were dead. And furthermore…
He had begun to fade away.
The Archer removed the cloak from around her shoulders and returned it to his own… but it, too, began to disappear into golden particles.
She looked up behind herself and saw that she was in front of the hospital. He had taken her to a place she could get help.
She looked back, intent on speaking to her saviour. She wanted to thank him, she wanted to tell him her name, or ask for his name. Anything.
But her voice got stuck in her throat as she saw a monster on the horizon. A small golden dot seemed to be jumping around it, blasting into it, running away, and then coming at it again. She wasn't sure what she was looking at. A battle of some kind.
"Get… away from here…" the Archer murmured, stumbling towards the battle. In his hand, he clutched his gun.
But his cloak vanished from his back. And his gun disappeared from his hand. He looked down and saw his hands dissipating.
He closed his eyes, the smallest hint of anguish appearing on his face.
"I am… sorry. I… can't..." he gasped out, seemingly looking at the monster horizon.
She wasn't sure what it was he despaired over… but she knew that she didn't want him to die in that state. He had saved her, and given her voice back to her.
Assassin's Master stood up, strength renewed.
"Thank you," she proclaimed. "Thank you so much."
The Archer heard her words, and looked at her. There was just a small moment that occurred. It was a moment where his anguish disappeared. It wasn't replaced with happiness. Or satisfaction.
It was a moment of relief. Knowing she was okay.
And in that moment, he breathed out a long and slow breath, and he faded away entirely.
Berserker jumped, clearing one head's charge completely. He continued towards the wound in Azi Dehaka by running along the neck of the monster.
But the two other heads came rushing at him while, at the same time, the neck he was on suddenly bent and threw him skywards. The two heads crashed into him and threatened to crush him, but Berserker quickly blasted one head away with a punch. The other head took the opportunity to clamp down on his leg and swing him, flinging him towards the town.
Berserker tried to stop his momentum, but couldn't succeed before he crashed into a building, crumbling the walls around him. He struggled to stand up and step out of the ruins.
It was getting stronger. Or smarter, rather. It was like it was finally getting used to the body it had.
Berserker gritted his teeth and brushed the concrete and dust off himself.
He didn't have much time. He needed to get to that wound before it closed entirely. He doubted that what he had in mind, as powerful as it was, would be powerful enough to pierce through the whole body like Lancer's Gungnir could. If the wound closed over entirely, all hope was lost.
Berserker took a step forward, and his leg buckled. He found himself on a single knee, and breathing heavily. That couldn't be right. He had taken some damage, for certain, but not enough to…
He struggled to his feet once again. He looked at his hand, and his eyes widened.
At the edge, there were a few specks of gold beginning to break away from his hand. He closed his eyes.
Not yet, dammit... not yet!
He opened his eyes and clenched his fist, willing himself to stay anchored, if only for a little while longer. The glow around his fist disappeared.
He looked back at Azi Dehaka as it swayed its heads back and forth, seemingly taunting him.
Just a little longer…
He launched forward, sprinting as fast as he could at the beast.
The heads came at him. Berserker dodged around one, avoiding its neck this time. The other two were already waiting of course, but Berserker hung back, letting the first head miss its mark. He reared up and punched the third head away, moving forward once more.
He felt the first head spin back in on him, causing Berserker to jump and slam a heavy kick into its forehead, knocking it back and propelling him through the air directly at the body itself.
He could see the wound itself now. There were a plethora of muddy strands across it, but it still looked weak. He lifted his shoulder and smashed into them as hard as he could, snapping most of them as he went through.
Unfortunately, he only made it halfway before those muddy bands succeeded in killing his momentum. He could see the back of the wound now, where just about a meter of flesh covered Saber.
It was now or never. The only way he could reach Saber now…
He reached a hand up to his chest. He shook his head, but gritted his teeth. It was a long shot, but it was better than nothing. This was going to be painful.
He reared his hand, the one that didn't have the Ariadne Thread on it, back. He thrust his hand forward and around, plunging it into his own chest.
The pain that wracked through him was immeasurable, and Berserker cried out past his clenched teeth. The bands of flesh started to burn hotter, as if responding to his pain. But nothing burned hotter than his own chest, being pierced by his own hand.
Despite that pain, he forced his hand deeper, searching for its target. The further he drove his hand in, the more his arm grew weak. The more his body screamed at him to stop. But Berserker pushed forward.
His hand scraped past the bone of his ribcage, making every nerve in his body pulsate in response, paralyzing Berserker with pain. But he couldn't stop here. He was nearly done. Chiaki was nearly safe.
But his arm no longer listened to him. It rebelled, refusing to cause anymore pain to the body it belonged to. So, with his other hand, the one with the Ariadne Thread wrapped around it, he grabbed his elbow and forced his arm deeper, until it touched the thing he was looking for.
The greatest source of Mana he had.
His fingers wrapped around it, tunneling through the flesh surrounding it. The pain stabbed at him, but at this point… there was no pain that could match what he had already done.
Now grabbing hold of the crook of his elbow, he pulled. Working in tandem, his two arms pulled the object he desired out himself. It was still attached by a few strands of muscle and flesh, but Berserker had no time to really care. With one last pull, he screamed as he successfully pulled his heart out of himself.
His Spiritual Core bubbled with magical energy in the palm of his hand, hypnotizing Berserker for a moment. His vision started to cloud over. Everything grew darker for a moment. He shook his head, trying to focus himself.
Not yet, damn you! Berserker shouted in his head.
Almost in a trance, Berserker realized that the darkness was caused by something blocking the moonlight.
He turned, and gazed at the head of Azi Dehaka peeking in on him. It opened its mouth and started gurgling. He could see that it was beginning to vomit mud as it had done before. Only now, he was trapped inside the beast itself, and wouldn't be able to dodge.
A voice spoke in his head. You need to move. Now.
His hand, as if possessed, came alive and slapped him. His focus sharpened, and he turned towards the wall of flesh dividing him and Saber.
Berserker stretched his hand, holding his Spiritual Core, as far towards the wall of flesh as he could.
Like pushing a marble, right? he thought.
Chiaki spoke to him a second time. Like pushing a marble.
He Detonated the Spiritual Core.
The world around him filled with light. He felt the magical energy sear into his face, and his wound, and his arm.
He also felt the bands of mud burn away, liberating him. He felt the walls of flesh push back, receding as if they were water being repulsed by a gust of wind. He also knew that the blast of the Detonation would at least repulse, if not destroy the head at the entrance.
Though he was blinded, Berserker pushed himself forward into the blinding light, knowing he wouldn't have long to do what he had to.
The light finally died, and Berserker found himself standing in front of Saber, only his knees down being contained by the body of Azi Dehaka. His body was slumped forward, and in danger of being consumed by the mud once again.
Acting fast, Berserker reached forward, but soon saw that the arm he Detonated his Spiritual Core with was mangled beyond recognition. He reached his good arm down and picked Saber up by the nape of the neck. He lifted him as high as he could, and saw Saber's eyes, cloudy as they were, beginning to look around.
"W… what?"
Berserker then slid his hand around to the front of Saber, holding him by the throat for a moment.
Saber finally saw Berserker standing in front of him. His eyes recognized Berserker, but did not change.
"Are you… going to… kill me?"
Berserker just gave a disdainful laugh.
Berserker then, as fast as he could, transitioned his arm to underneath Saber's arm, propping him up somewhat and supporting him to stand on his own.
"L… leave me… Why are… you trying…?" Saber murmured to him.
"Did you not hear me before? I said I wouldn't let you hurt anyone. And there's a little girl out there waiting for you."
Berserker met Saber's gaze as he gripped him firmly. "And I'd sooner die than watch you break her heart."
Saber's eyes finally seemed to wake up. They just stared at Berserker in confusion.
And with that, he heaved Saber out of the mud beneath him. He tossed Saber over his shoulder and turned towards the gaping hole in Azi Dehaka.
But as soon as Saber had left the body, it started to melt. The walls of flesh, once rubbery, turned to sludge, and started to slip off the roof and off the walls. Even the floor began to sink.
Berserker ran forward, jumping out of the hole. He did his best to make the landing soft but the grunt from Saber told him it wasn't soft enough. Not like he had time to make things comfortable.
Berserker looked back and saw the heads of Azi Dehaka lying lifeless on the ground. The body had begun to melt in a similar fashion.
"You... you moron! You simpleton idiot! What the hell do you think you're doing!?" Saber screeched at Berserker.
Berserker growled and set Saber on the ground. "What in Hades do you mean?"
Saber recuperated and looked at Berserker, bewildered. "You should've killed me. Don't you see what you've done? You've endangered every-"
Berserker slapped him, sending him flying several meters.
Saber skidded to a stop and stood up, rubbing his cheek where Berserker had struck him.
"Trussa asked me to. Because she cares about you. And you're just going to toss yourself away like your trash, even though you know how much you mean to her?"
Saber looked down. "You don't understand… I can't be around her without hurting her."
Berserker took a moment, just looking at Saber. Eventually, he sighed, and stepped towards him. As he raised his hand, Saber recoiled, probably expecting a second slap, but Berserker merely placed his open hand on Saber's shoulder.
"I don't know what it is you did, or are afraid of doing, but running away and hoping someone will take you out won't fix the problem. She wants to talk, so go talk to her. If you really are incapable of being around her without hurting her… then tell her that. She's smart. She'll understand."
Saber looked up at him. "You really don't-"
There was a sudden and very loud noise, interrupting them. It was like rumbling, but the earth was still.
Berserker traced it to its source, and saw, in the midst of the melting Azi Dehaka, there was a massive black orb, spewing mud out endlessly, seemingly coming from nowhere and flooding onto the ground, spilling over and combining with the corpse of Azi Dehaka.
"What? More mud?"
"It's… All the World's Evils. Azi Dehaka was just a container, a shape to give those curses form, and transport them across the globe. You pulled me out, destroying the shape, so now the curses are just coming out unfiltered."
"Endlessly? How long will it last?"
Saber shook his head. "However long it takes for the Grail to turn all the Mana its stocked up into curses."
There was a pressure building in Berserker's chest. He didn't like it.
Berserker looked to the coast. There was no way everyone was out. He looked back to the flood of mud beginning to spread from the center of the wasteland.
"Run," Berserker ordered, "Find Trussa and escape."
"But-"
"Go, dammit!"
Saber hesitated a moment before turning and taking off.
Berserker began to take a step forward, but faltered. "D-dammit..." Berserker felt short of breath. His vision began to darken, and he fell to one knee.
His hand started to glow once more. "N… no…" Berserker growled. "I… I can't…"
He could hardly move. He looked up helplessly at the wave of evil coming his way.
She had stood there and pondered her options. She had gone over them over and over again.
But neither of her options were ideal. Either watch Berserker fight and, whether he won or lost, watch him fade away… or walk back into the mountain and abandon him. Those were her two options.
She hardened her gaze.
There had to be another option. One other than not making a decision at all. She wanted to help Berserker.
But how could she? She had done well so far, but fighting world ending monsters was just a little bit above her abilities. Whenever she had fought anyone in this war, they had underestimated her. That was the only reason she was alive right now…
Well… except Assassin. Assassin killed her quite quickly. The only reason she survived that was because Remia had those Ab Reh Sah things.
That's right. Remia.
Chiaki reached back and grabbed Remia's gun. She had Remia's gun now. She could use this to help somehow, right?
She climbed toward the cave entrance slowly. She stopped halfway.
But did Berserker want her help? The way he talked… It was like he wanted that to be the goodbye. The easiest and simplest way it could be. But… even if that was his intention… she wasn't going to let it end like that.
Chiaki tightened her grip around the pistol. There was no way she was just going to sit here and do nothing while her hero was out fighting for the sake of the world. She always helped however she could. Just like Berserker.
She continued to the entrance. Her eyes, having adjusted to the darkness of the cave, could now easily see the battle with the lights from both the city and stars above.
And she saw a giant hole in the side of the beast. Its heads thrashed around, and Chiaki could see a golden glow jumping between them and ramming into them. Berserker.
She smiled, seeing him fight.
Suddenly, the golden dot sprung off one of the heads of the monster and sailed into the wound. Did he have some kind of plan? Maybe there was a core in there somewhere that he could destroy. Maybe he didn't need her help after all…
Then she saw one of the heads moving. It slinked through the air, bending in a seemingly unnatural way to look at its own wound, peering in on wherever Berserker was right now. Its neck began to bulge at the base. The bulge started to slowly pump its way towards the head.
Did that thing have some kind of fire breath? That wasn't good.
Berserker's Mana started to fluctuate wildly.
Not yet, damn you! Berserker suddenly shouted in her head.
Chiaki let out a yelp, having been startled by the sudden shout.
Was that… was that Berserker? But…
That monster's head was about to unleash whatever it was building up onto Berserker.
You need to move. Now, she spoke to him telepathically.
They were still connected to one another. She had no more Command Seals, but… they still had a contract. She could still communicate with him.
Like pushing a marble, right? He asked.
She was a little confused. She didn't know why he was asking about Detonation… but she did know that she had the answer he was looking for. And she trusted him.
Like pushing a marble.
A massive explosion suddenly ripped through the body of the monster. The light and magical energy exploded right into the face of it as it began to unleash its mass of sludge, and the mud seemed to ignite and burn back into the head itself. The head flailed and spasmed, clearly in some form of pain.
But then it fell, and, after a spasm or two, moved no more.
The beast was defeated.
Chiaki's heart fluttered with several emotions. Was that it? Where was Berserker? What the hell was that explosion and where did it come from? Did Berserker Detonate something? What did he do? Did he… Was he…
Was it all over?
Not a moment later, the golden dot flew out of the wound. All the weight in the world lifted off Chiaki in that moment.
"Yes…! Yes!" she cried, nearly jumping in excitement.
Of course he had made it out. She should've never doubted.
But her joy was curbed all too quickly. The wind picked up, as if there was a sudden change in weather. The cold whipped around her for a moment before reversing, making the wind hot and fly towards her, brushing her hair back.
She soon saw that the source of the wind was a strange black hole in the center of the melting corpse of the monster. And this hole was throwing out both blazing winds and a torrent of deep red mud.
It splashed over the edges of the corpse, consuming and blending with it before waving outwards, toward the town.
It only took a moment for Chiaki to realize that Berserker's Mana was nearly depleted. And he hadn't moved for some time from the spot he had landed at.
Berserker? Are you alright? She asked.
There was a harrowing delay before his response.
Chiaki… stay in the mountain. The mud won't be able to reach you there.
What? Why? Are you not able to move?
I can… but not very fast… I don't think I'll make it to the mountain in time. You need… to stay safe.
Chiaki looked back at the black hole. It wasn't slowing in its release of mud. Her eyes moved to the coastline.
He couldn't stop it. He had pushed as far as he could go and now… right at the end… everything was falling apart. All the people he had fought to save were going to die.
Chiaki looked down at Remia's gun. What could she do? She didn't want to just stay here and survive. She wanted to help. But the gun wouldn't be able to burn away all that mud, like whatever Berserker had set off to burrow his way to the core of the monster…
She needed a larger source of Mana. Something big enough to destroy that black hole…
Chiaki's heart fell for a moment. She had an idea.
She looked to the northeast. Old Einzbern Castle was in that general direction… she didn't know if it was a straight shot from here to there… but it was her only shot at this point.
She measured the trajectory. The black hole was slightly off-center, but it should've still been okay. The mud itself had yet to crash into the town. Now was a perfect time, but she'd have to be quick.
She turned on her heel and bolted back into the cave.
Berserker, can you move to the west?
Why? It's hard to… I can move a little bit that way.
Good.
She didn't slip as she flew through the entrance of the bunker hidden beneath Mt. Ganz.
Chiaki… I don't have any strength left… I can't stop... All the World's Evils.
Chiaki didn't reply. The wind rushed in her ears as she jumped over the uneven and cracked ground of the damaged bunker, headed directly towards the office once more.
Chiaki, do you understand?
Yes, she replied, surprising herself with her own resoluteness.
With Remia's gun in hand, she entered the office. She moved around the desk and saw it once more.
The window to the Ley Line.
She knelt down to it and started looking at the edges, seeing if there was a clasp or handle that she could use to open the window. It didn't look like there was. She was running out of time.
Chiaki, what are you doing?
She pointed the barrel of Remia's gun at the window, directly at the center. She braced herself and pulled the trigger. The glass seemed to bounce, and cracked, but the bullet didn't penetrate.
She reached forward and pulled the bullet from the glass, and re-aimed the pistol, directly at the same place her first shot was at.
Chiaki, talk to me!
She pulled the trigger, and her second bullet ripped into the barrier.
I'm saving everyone, she finally responded.
What are you talking about? What are you doing?
The same thing you would.
She removed the second bullet, placed the gun, and pulled the trigger. The third bullet tore into the glass.
You're not… you're not going to Detonate the entire Ley Line, are you!? Chiaki, don't be absurd, there's no way you'd survive!
Chiaki tried to swallow the knot in her throat.
I know.
Just… just wait a little bit, don't do anything!
There's not that much time.
ChiakI!
The fourth bullet fired.
You know… Chiaki spoke to him, smiling to herself shakily. ...you were right. I don't need you. I'm free to live however I want.
Chiaki, please…!
But… it's not about what I need. I'd have wanted you in my life. No doubt about that.
The fifth.
Please, listen to me… you can't do this. What will all of this have been for?
You know that better than anyone. So do I.
Don't! Just… stop and be safe. Please.
The sixth and final bullet ripped through the window in its entirety. Chunks of the glass ripped open, leaving a hole in the center of the glass. Chiaki reached out her hand. It was small enough to be able to fit, but just barely.
Her hand touched the earth beneath the window, and she found it surprisingly cold.
But the searing heat of Mana suddenly devoured her hand, sending pain all the way up her arm. She let out a gasp.
Chiaki!
It burned her. It burned everything inside of her, and threatened to burn her very soul. It was too much for her. It was too much for anyone.
But she didn't need to take it. She didn't need to absorb it. She just needed it to save the world.
Or at the very least, a lot of people she didn't know.
She shut out the pain. She shut out the view into the Ley Line that put her state of mind in peril.
"Berserker, I'm… I'm okay," she forced the words out her throat.
She stopped herself, her gaze looking off into nowhere, generally in the direction she assumed Berserker was.
"I'm..." she repeated. "I'm okay."
She could see him. Wounded, perhaps. The faint glow of the Ariadne Thread illuminating him. That look of concern on his face.
What did he see of her? Was she wounded? Did he see her angry eyebrows? Could he see her face?
She smiled. She knew. Maybe he did, too.
You're my best friend, and my hero, and I love you, she said to him.
Chiaki… I…
So thank you, she continued as the light beneath her vision began to grow brighter. She kept her eyes on his phantom, in front of her. Thank you for everything.
There were no tears at the end. She had rushed in so quickly that she didn't properly have the time to consider the ramifications. Her incoming destiny. It didn't matter to her.
But that's just who she was.
That's why she was a hero, too.
The ground rumbled. The earth opened. The world stopped, just for a moment, to bear witness.
There was a crack that opened between Mt. Ganz and brushed the side of the town before heading off into the forest. Unbeknownst to most, at the end of the crack lay an old castle from an age now passed.
Crack opened into a chasm. The Mana within the Ley Line erupted out, ascending into the sky and touching the stars.
The red, monstrous, evil that flowed forth was at once both thrown into the air from the force of its eruption, and began to be incinerated. Purified by destruction.
And the hole at the center of things could not keep its place in space and collapsed in on itself. But the chain reaction from the Ley Line affected it, reaching far back into the recesses of the hole before its closure. Inside that otherworldly place, in a realm that human eyes could not comprehend, every last bit of red was burned away. Nothing remained.
And when the dust settled, and the lights reaching into the heavens began to die down, the world returned to its rotation as if nothing had happened.
There was still some residual blast and sparks here and there, ensuring that every last piece of Mana was dried up and used. Ultimately efficient to the end.
The scar in the Earth, stretching from the mound once known as Mt. Ganz to the absolute nothingness that once marked a cowboy's grave, was the only memorial left to this phenomenon.
The last memory of the world of Magecraft, ended today.
There was a man with a wounded leg reuniting with his fiance.
There was a weak-looking woman, talking to anyone and everyone, as if the mere act of speaking elated her.
There was a sickly girl being attended to by two men, one older and one younger, but despite her coughing, she looked happy.
And then there was Wilfred Mannheim, the former owner of the Mannheim Yacht Charter, sitting and watching them all.
It was the day after. He had done his best to use the yachts in his docks to ferry people away from the town. People heralded him as a hero. Not that he got people out quickly enough.
He had gotten a thousand, perhaps two, out before that brilliant light that erased the monster from the horizon.
At sunrise, the Harwey Plutocracy arrived, claiming to be relief services. Apparently, the Harweys had bartered the land away from the former government by the promise of saving these people from disaster.
Had the light from the earth not shown up and destroyed the monster, the Harweys would've arrived about three hours too late to save anyone. At least by Mannheim's calculation. Not that he was well-versed in math and such things.
Still, he was heralded as a genius. All he had done was give away the yachts to those that wanted to get out. He hadn't even saved a tenth of the population this way.
Mannheim didn't feel like a hero. All he had done was what he had assumed those four would've done.
The tall man with a golden string around his arm, the girl who could heal with a touch, the man with the lightning bolt tattoo on his face, and finally, the clever and mysterious Mr. Horse. He would've been willing to bet his life on them being at the center of that battle the night before.
Compared to what they had done for him, and likely everyone here, Mannheim's actions were absolutely nothing.
And yet he was the one the people accredited for saving people in times of crisis. None of these people knew the truth. That he was just an overweight, middle-aged, moderately-skilled businessman with a stutter, attempting to replicate the heroism of the true saviours of the town.
A passing man who he didn't even know grasped his hand. "Thank you! Thank you!" he said, before turning and moving away. Mannheim didn't even have the time to respond before the man was lost to the bustling crowd of people.
Mannheim swallowed and went back to looking at the crowd. He spied Harwey's medical workers helping people. He also spied their private military brandishing weapons. Herding people like cattle.
It was obviously a power-play by the Harweys to grab up more land and people.
Mannheim bristled. No… if he wasn't careful, the Harweys would take credit for all this. He was thankful for their medical support and relief services, of course, but them propping themselves up as the true heroes?
Mannheim stood up, straightening his poorly tailored suit.
If anyone was going to take credit, Mannheim was going to make certain that the Harweys weren't the one to do it. He didn't like the idea of taking credit himself, either.
So until the day that he could meet them again, and thank them properly… he'd look after these people. As best he could, anyway,
Before the sun had risen, however, on the night previous…
Berserker was knelt, looking up at the night sky. He smiled to himself. He reached out a finger.
"Orion, there. A good hunter, and a powerful warrior. He never got many stories about himself, of course. Mostly remembered for dying, sadly."
He looked down to his lap. Chiaki lay there, eyes closed, hands by her sides, resting.
Berserker looked back up. "You already saw Chiron. He's responsible for half these stars even being in the sky. Including that one," Berserker smirked, pointing over at Heracles. "I suppose I shouldn't be so judgemental. He did do some truly incredible things. Highly improbable."
The gold aura showed up again, and he felt himself slowly coming apart. He snarled and closed his eyes, grunting. The glowing stopped momentarily once more.
He had been holding it off for about an hour now. He wouldn't let it take him just yet. It was draining of him to do, physically and mentally, but… no, not yet.
He'd keep her company for as long as he could.
He opened his eyes, and the stars greeted him once more.
"You know… even the Minotaur was put into a constellation. He deserves it. A truly fearsome opponent. I wonder what would've happened had he been taken to Chiron to be trained instead of being locked away in some god forsaken box."
He looked down again. The wind gently brushed her hair into her eyes, so Berserker picked and moved them out of the way. "Yeah… I'm not terribly entertained either. Not every constellation is a winner."
He looked back up. "But there's no more room for stars up there. Nor for anything substantial or recognizable like Orion or Heracles."
The golden glow interrupted him once more. He gritted his teeth. It slipped from him for a moment, and he faded away a little more. He growled in frustration and focused, keeping himself stable. In the same place. He wasn't going anywhere.
He opened his eyes once more. The wind alerted him to the fact that they were alone. Just them and the stars.
"Though you know… I think even just single stars would be nice. Just tucked away in some forgotten corner of the sky. That would be… wonderful, wouldn't it? And some curious person, eons from now, would look at those stars and look up their history out of curiosity. And they'd find one star named Remia, and learn about some fool with a hat and a gun. They'd find another named Tohsaka, a powerful archer and mage. And of course… there'd be one named Chiaki. Chiaki Nakazawa. The girl who held lightning in her hand, and never turned down a person in need. Who looked angry… but was truly the most wonderful human being I'd ever met…"
Tears blurred his vision, obscuring the lights in the sky.
"My hero… who I… I couldn't…"
Something touched his cheek, startling him. He didn't understand it at first. He furrowed his brow and looked down, the tears clearing and letting him see.
Chiaki, eyes closed, but with a smile on her face, had reached up and zapped him with her Lightning Cestus.
"Got you…" she murmured.
Berserker just stared at her.
Her hand fell back, resting on her stomach. She nestled her head slightly, as if just adjusting herself in her sleep.
There were no words Berserker could speak. Not right away.
He smiled. His hand, wrapped in the Ariadne Thread, slipped into hers. He leaned down and kissed her on her forehead before straightening up once more.
"Right… sorry. I suppose you've finally earned a good night's rest," Berserker whispered.
He felt tired. A result of his defiance. He had been holding on too long.
The gold returned. He let it come. It was alright. It would be alright.
"I think… I'll join you…" Berserker muttered.
And there, together, they disappeared, sailing into the sky one last time.
The cloud of golden particles lifted up, and got lost among the stars.
The door opened. Saber saw Travick exit, close the door behind him, and walk over to Saber, sitting next to him.
They sat in relative silence. The hospital was still quite busy around them.
Saber was wearing torn up jeans and a plain white t-shirt. It was what the relief services had given him.
It had taken him a while to understand that the Grail… or Angra Mainyu, either one, had incarnated him. He got to live on, without the need of a contract or Mana. Whether or not his Noble Phantasm was still capable of operating was a mystery to him. He didn't want to risk it.
"So…" Saber eventually asked, "How is she?"
"...She's recovered excellently. The little time she's spent away from you has allowed her body to heal somewhat. She's not back to full strength yet… especially after all of what just happened… but she's better than she has been in a long time," Travick answered.
"I see," Saber replied.
"At least, that's how she's doing physically. She's still quite distraught over losing one of her only friends."
Saber nodded. "It's what's necessary."
Travick nodded. "She knows."
Saber stood up, picking up the backpack lying beside him and putting it on. "Then I guess that's that."
"Saber…" Travick spoke, looking at him.
Saber turned and looked at him, meeting his gaze.
Travick blinked. "I'm sorry."
Saber arched an eyebrow. "You really shouldn't be. You did what was best for her."
"Yes, but I didn't do it in the best way. I threw you out. I should've given you the opportunity to explain yourself to me, and to her. I've… failed her twice the same way."
Saber thought for a moment. "Well, I've literally done nothing but fail since I got here, so I think you're good."
Travick, for the first time in Saber's recollection, smiled. "Yes. But a true failure is one who refuses to learn when he falls. You were her friend. You treat her like she's a person… and I did not understand that. And for that, I am sorry. To you and to her."
"Being sorry won't fix anything, believe me."
"No, but it is the necessity that allows for growth."
"Are you just keeping me here so you can spout one-liners at me?"
Travick actually laughed. "That does sound like me, doesn't it?"
He stood up, showing Saber the case he had been carrying. Now that Saber got a better look, it looked quite familiar.
"You forgot this," Travick explained, holding it out for him to take.
Saber slowly reached forward and took the case. He unlatched the lock and peeked in.
His sword.
"You… why…?" Saber asked, truly confused, looking at Travick.
"You wouldn't be much of a Saber without a sword. Trussa insisted."
Saber looked down at it again. He closed the case and locked it. He shook his head.
"Why are you doing this? Why did Berserker save me? Why would Trussa… after everything I've done… I mean, I literally just tried to end the world. Why are any of you giving me the time of day?"
Travick was busy fishing something out of his jacket pocket. "Must I explain it over and over? She enjoys your company. You are her friend, Saber. Is that a concept that is so difficult to understand?"
Having found what he was looking for, Travick pulled out some mysterious device and handed it to Saber.
Saber looked at it. "And what is this? Some other magical device that will protect me?"
"It's a cell phone, imbecile. Her number has already been put in, so all you have to do is type her name and select the button that comes up. Trussa would like you to call at least twice a week."
Saber blinked. "What?"
"Daeva Avesta draws Mana from the people around you. As long as you aren't around Trussa, she will be safe. You can still talk to her from a distance."
Saber arched an eyebrow, reaching for the phone. "She insists on a lot of things, huh?"
"This time, I insist. I quite like the sound of her humming. She's decided that she wants to try and become a singer."
Saber just looked at the phone before sliding it into his pocket. "Right. Okay. Anything else?"
Travick thought for a moment. "Take care of yourself, Saber."
Saber scratched the top of his head. He eventually nodded. Then he turned and walked out of the hospital.
The sun bore down on him hotly. It was going to be a hell of a walk to… wherever he was going. Maybe he should just pick a direction and start going, see where he ends up. Then again… he wasn't even sure there was a way out of this town that wasn't by boat.
He quickly picked the phone out of his back pocket as he began to walk down the road. Just as Travick had said, her name popped up, and he pressed it.
"Hello? Saber?" she spoke through it after she had picked up.
"Uh… hi."
"You're calling already?"
"Yes. Well. It just occurred to me that I have absolutely no idea where I am going or what I am doing. I don't even have a firm grasp on what the world is like, what nations exist, or how to get out of town. So… I was wondering if you could help."
He heard her giggle through the line. "I can tell you quite a bit. My education about the world was… extensive. I always wanted to travel around the world. I never got the opportunity."
Saber nodded, and looked toward the coast. "Travel the world, huh? And you'd do that… by boat?"
Trussa giggled again. "That's one way."
"Alright then," Saber replied, heading towards the dock. "Tell me about everywhere you've ever wanted to go."
Trussa was quiet for a moment. Saber could hear the rustling of paper in the background. When Trussa came back, she sounded excited. It made Saber smile.
"Well, first of all, there's Iceland…"
Their conversation lasted for hours.
THE END