Alright, no real mysteries here. We got ourselves a climax, ladies and gentlemen!
Before we jump in, we have some reviews to reply to!
Maxim7: Yeah; it's different when your facing an ultimate end like that. As for your second question; mana is a naturally occurring resource pool (In Index, at least), that everyone has. It's the refinement with one's life-force for magic that is supernatural. But Servants can feed just in the raw mana, so the "Burning of fuel" so to speak happens in Medb, not Touma, so it's a very strange work around that just so happens to work.
D N Works: He has revealed his trump card... or as he!?
GG Vegito: Yeah... trust me; it happens.
Kamijou Touma1: Glad you liked it! I was worried that it wouldn't click in the way I wanted, but it sure seems my fears were unfounded.
WuhanCorona9000: If you consider Medb's indication of giving Touma his own harem to possibly recruit him into her own reverse harem, creating the ultimate harem singularity of infinite density... then yes.
craytherlay: Not a bad guess! Let's see if you're right! What your thinking is that he'd just have to touch his arm, but rather, he'd have to touch the bomb, and of course, get it all done in such a short span of time while in a very real panic. Stuff gets rough when death has come knocking on your door!
MrQuestionMark: I'm really happy that their moments together worked out; that is a very big thing to make sure it goes juuuust right to make work, considering Queen Medb's nature. Knowing I was able to make this strange relationship between the two like this feasible is really reassuring. And yes; ten pounds of crazy have arrived! Kuhahahahaha!
Guest (1): Hah... so I've become predictable!? Damn it!
sawtooth44: Sounds like you have some crazy ideas.
G-inerder: Imagine Breaker wins; Rule Breaker ends spells and the like, but Imagine Breaker ends all abnormal supernatural events without exception... plus is a naturally occurring thing if my information is right. Not a bad comparison though; to Magic, Rule Breaker really just is Imagine Breaker in dagger form, isn't it?
cbustroyer: Hah... I'll leave it up to those more sexually inclined for lemons like that. But jokes aside, I'm glad you liked the set-up! All Touma wants her to do is meet him half way, and it sure sounds like she's on the right track, huh? As for your questions: 1) Sorry, but I really don't. My writing situation has drastically changed and I barely have enough time to write for myself now, so I'm afraid I must decline. 2) More than likely, but since Touma himself is the anchor along with the Geas Bond, an intangible spell, it's likely the same as before; he'd need to get into her Spirit Core for Imagine Breaker to do major damage. 3) For me, it's a Ruler for sure. By the by, I saw your Servant Sheet; it wasn't bad! Though it was kinda just his character in Servant-Sheet form, but still; not a bad show! 4) Touma managed to stop Gungnir, but it had already done so much damage to the reality marble that it collapsed on its own; think like what happened when Gilgamesh used Ea inside Iskandar's own reality marble. 5) I was already working with so many characters! Though he was in my initial plans, he unfortunately was cut as the cast got too large. 6) One more after this as an epilogue. 7) That is up to a lot of factors I can't really describe right now due to my life situation.
And as for other Servant pairings... it all depends on whoever's writing the story. You'd be surprised what can click if you craft it just right!
Mr. X: 1) Medb has grander plans then just that! 2) You'll see. 3) ...I cannot answer this one at this time. You'll understand when the time is right.
TheAzureKnight: Probably, but I don't know if I'll be the one to pen them. Inspiration and availability is a set of cruel mistresses.
Guest (2): Ninteen.
Dog: What a good boy!
Sora with an S: I can actually respond to all of these this time around! The first is more Touma's outward perception; the outside looking in, as it where, even if Kamisato isn't actually interested in them all. The second... yeah, looking that over, I see the problem. Sometimes stuff like that slips through. For the third... you'll see. For the fourth... yup. And the fifth, yay Beetle-san! First time writing him, even if he didn't play a very big part.
AkumaESPer: Medb has ways to fill her tank, so to speak... and of course, there's the big you-know-what lying inside him that could be a pretty useful battery of sorts. As for the goings on... you'll see! I still like your predictions, my friend!
5had0wHand: Someone has some ideas, eh?
And with that done... enjoy!
There was silence there. A realm to call his own, cut off from time and from the world. His workshop, where his familiars tirelessly worked to gather energy for his grand plan, while he observed and managed it all. Even should his minions be bested and killed, they would simply revive there as if nothing would ever happen.
As long as at least one of the seventy-two Demon Gods lives, the others would revive without fault here. That was the nature of their existence, their bond, and the state of the workshop itself.
And he sat upon there with the authority as their master. King Solomon, known as both the Grand Caster, and the King of Magic.
He sat in silence upon his throne in his Temple of Time in solitude. There was little noise; nothing but the Demon Gods moving on occasion. There was a small rumble whenever a Demon God was slain, but other than that, the king enjoyed a humble silence. He rested with one arm propped up supporting his head with his eyes shut; to the uninitiated, he might have appeared to have been sleeping.
But then sound came. A footstep followed by another. The pattern repeated quite often, growing louder over time. His eyes opened in an instant; someone had managed to reach his temple. Sitting up, he looked upon the intruder not with anger, but intrigue.
He looked like an adult, yet also like a child. He appeared as a man, yet also as a woman. The aura of him was akin to a saint, yet also a criminal. Long silver hair decorated his form, along with a long and simple green hospital gown. In his hand, he wielded a unique silver staff, ending with several long metallic frills that alternated between silver and green at the very top.
"You are a very difficult individual to find, Solomon." He spoke in a mocking tone.
Solomon returned it. "And you are rather talented, Aleister Crowley. Few will ever see this place. You will be the last, I'm sure."
"Confident, are we?"
"Of course. I have been very meticulous; the select portions of history to target, the energy gathered and where it's appropriated, those I have commissioned to my side. Even if only one singularity survives, I have little to fear. You have come here for naught, Aleister Crowley of a foreign world, for your presence here will do nothing."
"Look at that ego swell; do you fancy yourself a god?"
"If what ushering in a new age and crushing the old is what that makes me, then yes, I do."
"Then I have every reason to be here, you rotting carcass of a man," Aleister fired back. "I can read in-between the lines, I know exactly why you turned up where you did, and why you were so curious about us."
"Oh? Do tell. Enlighten me, Silver Star; what was my plan for you?"
"The time you picked was deliberate; you cannot interfere with times ahead of your own, even if you're free to do what you will with the past. You probed things several times, didn't you?"
The King of Magic remained silent as he continued his march.
"Then, I wonder; who was it that stopped you? All those snooping attempts; ones to plant seeds for what would come later, all failed. You know who undid your plans before they ever began, don't you?"
"The beings you call Magic Gods, yes," Solomon remarked. "There was little I could do about them, but they were satisfied with the resolution of whatever I passed on. I remember… but of course, you took care of that for me by making them vulnerable."
This time, Aleister Crowley kept to himself as the other spoke.
"My plan is perfect; flawless, just as much so as what I intend to build," King Solomon pushed himself up from the throne. "A new, better existence not fearing death will be born, you see. You are no threat, Chaldea is no threat; my victory is already here, and I have foreseen what my gift will bring. I can be generous; I was already thinking about where to spread my gift next."
"Some place vulnerable and exploitable, just as this one?"
"Some place desperate and damaged, in need of renewal. Yours fit perfectly with those pesky deities dealt with. However, I must consent that, unlike my plan here, my investigation was flawed; I saw the banishment of gods, but did not see the might of you, Aleister Crowley. You and that demon of a woman in the United Kingdom."
"And so, you struck at me first, did you?"
"Don't patronize me; I and you both know that you started this. Stealing my magic formula and crafting your own grail… I was as impressed as I was enraged to see my power so easily replicated. And then, to crash your existence into my own? You invited me there, old mage."
Aleister glared. "Better you die in the cataclysm of two worlds rather than succeed in one and infect a thousand."
"Quiet; you care little for the others, only your own matters. You cannot lie to me, you wretch."
"What I want is selfish, yes; a humble form of revenge, but what you plan to bring strongly opposes my own desires. If you'd keep to yourself, I'd simply ignore you and your little plot; I'd have no idea it was even happening. Nevertheless, you started looking around, deciding who 'needs to be saved,' regardless of whether they wanted it or not, and ignoring whether the 'salvation' you'd bring they'd even be interested in. It is enough that you trample over the desires of this world, but I will not have mine put under your heel."
"And if I agreed to spare yours? To abandon it in the trash destined to be forgotten; will you back down?"
"If that was truly in the cards, you would have avoided this conflict entirely."
Solomon smiled. "You are smart, mage. Too smart. I see that the title of 'Greatest Magician in History' is one very well earned," The small grin faded. "But you have wasted your time; your arrival here has left the power source of this manmade singularity you crafted vulnerable, and I shall collect it in due time. I care not that you called Chaldea there; your singularity is not one of my cherished seven, thus it can be pruned away with not a tear. You will die here, I will claim the grail, continue my plan, and eventually, I shall return to your world with my gift. Once my engine has started, even the beast that lies in your world's United Kingdom will not be able to stop me. Your revenge shall become irrelevant and pointless. I know you will not see my side, but what I bring is for the good of mankind; that much I promise you."
"So says the man turned god," Aleister argued. "…Of course, that's not really right, now is it?"
"…Figured it out, have you?"
"You're implying that it was hard. Even an average mage could figure it out if given time, yet you're fighting a losing war against a subpar one at best. You're not afraid of me? If all you can do is sit and twiddle your thumbs, then I have nothing to fear from a decaying corpse like you. As long as one singularity exists, you win? Sounds like someone who's losing and can't see the writing on the wall."
"Even if they reach it, none shall clear the final singularity. A beast without compare slumbers within; no Servant, not even the King of Heroes himself, could best it on their own."
"Is that why you stuck it in front of him? As some kind of challenge?"
"And you were angered by me prying."
"Your perfect plan is sloppy; if you had the option to rid yourself of any opposition, you should have done so. Simply hoping that the plan comes together in the end is what separates the wolves from the sheep."
Solomon reached the bottom of his throne. "I do not expect a mortal man to understand my tactics, my reasons, or my conditions. You forget yourself, Silver Star. Return to your world and crush your grail; that is the one time I will grant you mercy."
"Spoken like a true dead man with his back against the wall and no way out."
"Is that why you challenged me here? So I'd have nowhere to run?" The King of Magic laughed. "My! That's actually accurate, isn't it!? Too bad there is no one who can challenge me here and survive! Had you been someone more substantial, I might have been intimidated!"
"I did not come here to die, Solomon."
"You may not have, but it is the only fate allotted to you now." The Grand Caster lifted his arms from his side, and then, spoke with a grin. "Let us see who is more suited to judge the fate of the world! The King of Magic, or the Most Powerful Magician in history!"
A violent war of occult and sorcery had begun.
Ritsuka and company stared on as the light faded. It struck fast and without warning. The scene before them overpowered the stimuli from the surrounding battle; rainbow beams, fireballs, the distinct sound of Charles Babbage shouting "Piston Slam!" as loud as he could. Nothing could rip their focus away from the sight before them.
The ground was scorched black, and two individuals resided where the attack had landed. One got up, but it wasn't the one they expected.
"ARCHIMEDES!" Kakine shouted. His wings proved to be quite effective at dealing with the attack, as he, while injured, was in no way inhibited from standing. At the very edge of the Windowless Building, the mathematician stood with his arms crossed. Kakine took off in a rush, his eyes red in rage from this betrayal. The Dark Matter entities he commanded fell apart, their master seemingly dismissing them, leaving a clear shot forward for coalition of humans and Servants.
"A-Accelerator!" Touma ran out, followed by most of the group. The number one of Academy City had seemingly been felled.
"H-hold on! I got a healing spell!" Ritsuka quickly used a mystic code, a dull green light covering the downed esper's form. His skin was seared, but appeared to be breathing, although with some difficulty. He didn't move an inch, even in reaction to the possible relief that the healing spell had.
Medea made her way over with the rest of Chaldea. "…Yes, he's alive. Albeit barely; that alone is impressive against such an attack."
"H-how could they make it through his defenses though!?" Romani called out. "I thought his whole thing was to be invincible!"
"…I have a theory," Da Vinci chimed in. "That was very clever of Archimedes; he must have come to the same conclusion."
"And what conclusion is that!?"
"All known values in existence have vectors; a magnitude and a direction for it to travel. Light is no different… but if his ability rejected all vectors entirely, then that would mean his eyes would receive no light, thus leaving him blind, much like how rejecting those belonging to sound would leave him deaf. Therefore, there must have been some vectors his ability automatically allowed through. If the light's reaction to Kamijou-san's Imagine Breaker is anything to go by from before, then there is likely at least some natural light in that attack that went unrepelled, causing this degree of damage."
She was very accurate, although she did not know that Kakine Teitoku had come to this conclusion as well in a previous encounter, using the beams of light that'd refract through his Dark Matter to injure him. The number one had already considered his altered lights when dealing with the number two and had calculations in place just for them.
However, that still left natural forms of light, such as focused sunlight, unaffected.
"If I had to guess, he probably made the changes necessary to reflect the attack to save himself, but as it was a strike as fast as light, much faster than any normal human could hope to achieve, it still managed to damage him. A case of too little, too late." Da Vinci concluded.
"Is he going to be ok…?" Touma was afraid to touch him.
"He's out of the worst of it, but most of it will be up to him. Burns that bad could leave permanent scarring, among other things due to such an intense heat ray, but…"
Romani stepped in. "Putting an end to the singularity will return everything to normal. The best way to heal him would be to get our hands on that grail and do something about the Demon Gods. It'll be like he was never injured."
Kamijou grimaced briefly but nodded. Seeing the most powerful person he knew left so vulnerable definitely made him feel uneasy, but if resolving this was the best way for him to recover…
"…I'll watch him," Robin Hood stepped up. "I'll get him out to safety just in case these Demon Gods decide to pick a fight. Just hope he doesn't bitch about the pain when he comes to."
"I don't think you'll have to worry about that," Romani stated. "Still, taking care of the Demon Gods will likely be just as important here."
"Well then! I guess I know where I'm headed!" Hector commented with a small grin. "Durindana I know for a fact can kill these things if that whole Sabnock fiasco is anything to go by!"
"…Words cannot describe how many times your indestructible lance could have saved us," Ritsuka blinked at him. "Are you sure about this?"
"Well, I'll probably be exhausted by the time I'm done, but a job is a job. I can probably take out three, maybe four if I don't have much to worry about in defending myself."
"Then allow me."
The multiple pure Kakine duplicates seemed to fade as the one from up above dropped down. He carried their same soft outward appearance, and even wore a smile.
"Volunteering huh?" The Trojan hero raised an eyebrow.
"If it will resolve the mess my other self has created, then I'll gladly help," He even bowed. "Beetle 5 is my designation. My ability is Dark Matter, just like Kakine Teitoku. I'd answer any questions you have, but I am led to believe we have very little time, correct?"
Romani nodded. "Believe me, I'd be willing to let Da Vinci have a field day with you, but we have a job that needs doing. Thank you for your help… erm, Beetle 5."
"Think nothing of it!" The pure white Kakine nodded, but then turned his attention to the spiky haired teen. "Kamijou Touma; it has been a while. It might seem strange to request this of you, but can I trust you to deal with my other self?"
"I guess…" Touma rubbed the back of his neck. "Wasn't that what you're here for, though?"
Beetle 5 nodded before turning toward the Windowless Building. "It was, but I have reason to believe that he is about to receive his comeuppance for this affair rather shortly."
The real Kakine flew fast, soaring toward the rooftop of the pure white building. He gritted his teeth, a low growl escaping his lips as he approached.
"Archimedes!" He bellowed again. "What is the meaning of this!?"
The Caster didn't shy away. "Why, me dealing with your greatest adversary, of course. I figured your resourcefulness and familiarity with my capabilities would allow you to survive such an attack."
"Bullshit," Kakine spat. "You think I can't judge intent!? You wanted us both out of the picture, you piece of shit!"
"Oh? Are you certain?"
"Light is light; all you needed was a few mirrors for something like that, yet you released your full Noble Phantasm on us! What happened to charging up the satellite, Archimedes!?"
"…Truth be told, I was hoping to envelop the lot of you, Chaldea and all. Unfortunately, such a sudden shift in aim for a split-second discharge threw off the angle. Still, at least the big problem child of Academy City's number one has been neutralized. He really was going to be a major challenge with this. I think I did quite well with a sniping job for not being an Archer, don't you?"
"You son of a… you really trying to kill me!"
"Oh, I was quite confident in your survival, even if you have outlived your usefulness here," Archimedes decided to drop all pretenses. "I thought that if you survived, you'd be ecstatic that your enemies were so quickly routed, and that if you perished… well, acceptable losses."
"Acceptable losses!?"
"Yes. The big thing we needed from you was for you to throw that spear of yours, you see. But you never did, aside from in that Reality Marble. You might have done so here against Accelerator, but he was already in your guard and ready to kill you, thus I acted. If you'd actually do your damn job, it wouldn't have come to this."
"You…!" He gripped Gungnir in his hand tightly.
"Oh, I am quite fine with dying like this if you intend to hurl it at me. If I end up being that catalyst, you are very welcome to do so."
"Don't you…!" His body began to tremble. "…Screw with me!" He shot forward, spinning the spear in preparation to run the Caster through. "I won't let a single person use me again! Not Aleister! Not that god! And certainly not you!"
"Oh, my poor, poor, Kakine. How I pity thee," Archimedes smiled slightly. "You misunderstand your status as a Servant; you were being used from the start."
Two massive contraptions spawned next to the Caster, looking like massive cranes with massive, bladed claws at the end. They swung down, and Kakine's wings moved to intercept. His Dark Matter could overpower his strange machines any day, something they had proven in the past.
But what he was unprepared for was a beam of light suddenly piercing his stomach. He looked and saw mirrors all around the mathematician; even in low level lighting such as this, it was still that powerful!?
"You might be wondering where I got enough sunlight for that… well, remember a certain something in the sky?" Archimedes pointed up.
The answer was so simple; the moon reflected light from the sun. If an overcast sky blocking out the solar system's star wasn't enough to deter his mirror's reflections, then moonlight likely could provide a sufficient enough substitute. Especially on a full moon like this; even just the twelve percent such a moon could reflect must have been enough.
"You… bastard…!" Blood dripped from Kakine's lips.
"Farewell, Kakine Teitoku, he who touched the territory of god. One last thing I will promise is that I will carry out your revenge. Rest easy, O' great Avenger of Academy City; your purpose in this land has come to an end, and you may now rest in peace. When I am finished, there will be no one left who could ever possibly use you."
The two cranes came down and slammed into the Dark Matter's back, spiking him into the ground instantly. His task complete, Archimedes dusted off his hands and went back to the center of the roof; he had a satellite to charge.
Chaldea and company saw the events unfold as they raced over. They heard Kakine crash, the loud boom being audible as the impact broke apart the pavement.
Touma watched it happen, frowning when the esper hit the ground. He glared up briefly at the enemy Caster.
Cú whistled. "Down one bad guy, one two go! Always makes things easier when the enemies take each other out!"
"Don't get overconfident; he likely did that for a reason!" EMIYA called out.
Touma thought for a moment; EMIYA's statement seemed to resonate with him. "…Hey! Ritsuka!"
"Yeah!?" The Chaldea master answered.
"I have an idea; it's probably going to go south, but I want to give it a shot anyway! You guys go on ahead; me, Index and Medb are going to check on our fallen angel!"
"If you're sure! Just don't wait too long, or you'll miss out on the action!" Ritsuka grinned. From there, they broke off; Ritsuka's Servants made use of their superior physiology to quickly speed ahead to scale the building while Touma, Medb, and Index went for the crash site.
"Alright, I'll bite; keeping the nun with us is probably to keep her safe, but what about me?" Medb asked.
"Plan B," He answered flatly. "I want to try talking to him first, but if he feels like being petty…!" He then made a drinking motion toward her.
She figured it out instantly. "You sly dog, you! I didn't think you'd go that far!"
"Well, he pissed me off, so if he doesn't feel like cooperating, I say we make him cooperate!"
"I love it! Let's make some magic happen, baby!"
While the two groups split, Archimedes had turned his attention away from the ongoing battles below. His focus was much more on the device in his hand; the key to his little plot. The Windowless Building was durable indeed, but it seemed that even Magic failed to scratched the buildings outer shell; its owner must have left a defense behind in order to directly counter the Demon Gods. While it was possible for them to break through if given the time to do so, the attack upon them by those who resided within the city meant that such a task would take time. Moreover, if Raum had not been reconstituted yet, then...
Yes; Aleister Crowley had likely departed to confront King Solomon directly. Just as he planned; with the owner of the little white castle gone, all that was left to do was to break into the building itself and steal the Grail; that would bring an absolute end to this mixture of worlds. But that was the challenge; how does one break into such a structure? If the Demon God's lacked the capability to do so and reinforcements were likely not inbound, how was one to solve this puzzle? How does one break into a building that was by nearly all means indestructible?
Fortunately, Archimedes liked puzzles. And the operative word here was "nearly." While a teleporter had been considered, capturing and brainwashing one wasn't in their short agenda now that Aleister was gone; his window of opportunity was likely very small. And if it had defenses in place to counteract the Demon Gods, then it was just as likely that defensive measures had been put in place for Servants as well; something as simple as phasing through the wall in Spirit Form was likely far too easy. No; if he wanted the grail; he'd have to break in from the outside. But considering that, he was left where he started: a problem without an answer... or was there one?
He had likely undersold Kakine Teitoku a little; his knowledge of UNDER_LINE and the necessary requirements to break into it were absolutely paramount. In this, he discovered a few... chinks in the armor, so to speak. There was no scientific way to make something capable of dissipating all incoming factors and remain standing without so much as a scratch without the ability of Accelerator, thus, there were a few ways. They were few, hard to exploit, and one would need intimate knowledge of the Windowless Building's defensive structure to be able to abuse. Although ultimately, such tasks were well within the scope of the legendary mathematician, and he just needed to find the perfect one to destroy the building in one fell swoop...
...And he found it in HsSCS-00-AMATERASU.
You see, to withstand something as devastating as a nuclear blast, one would need to defend against all three factors of it: force, radiation, and the important one here; heat. Such an explosion by modern-day bombs can burn as bright as 100,000,000 degrees Celsius, even if it would only be that hot during the flash of the explosion. But those first few seconds were paramount; endure that and you'd be completely safe. Its walls had the ability to withstand its force, and the closed-space nature of it would naturally protect against radiation, but what about heat? There was no known material alive that could withstand such levels, and to have it so cleanly interwoven with the defensive structure too made the puzzle even harder to break open... but what if it didn't have to endure it all on its own?
A cooling system of some kind could certainly aid in such a feat. It wouldn't need to perfectly match the 100,000,000 degrees Celsius; it'd just need to reach levels cold enough for the material to withstand it for but a few seconds. It was unlikely to withstand multiple atomic bombs in rapid succession with this method, but with such destructive power, most governments would only consider dropping one anyway; due to its own explosive force, a carpet bombing of nukes would likely send them all across the entire nation, rendering a multi-drop pointless anyway. And by the time the detonation had faded to a point where they could safely deploy another, the building could have likely cooled enough to withstand the next, considering it could counteract a nuclear bomb at all.
But therein lied the weakness; heat. If it could only endure such temperatures for a few seconds, then anything beyond that would likely lead to degradation. With enough of that, the outer wall could be breached and, as such with a widespread enough of an assault, could break apart the Calculate Fortress in its entirety. All they needed to do was chip it just a little to allow the effects of their assault inside to break apart the entire thing; once a hole was made, the cooling system responsible for enduring it was under threat, and chaos would spread throughout its systems as it was destroyed, eventually resulting in its destruction.
Thus, the HsSCS-00-AMATERASU was the corner-stone of his plan. His Noble Phantasm could only reflect the suns rays; while hot, it wasn't even close to the heat generated by the atomic flash, but that satellite was a different story. Meltdowner itself was a ability that fired beams of electrons in such a strange state that they produced vast quantities of heat; not unlike an atomic blast. It wasn't quite as potent, but what interested Archimedes more was its sustainability; beams could be maintained as long as the satellite had power, which he was using his actual Noble Phantasm for. It wasn't the most efficient method, but aside from his Demon God batteries, which would mean getting to space in the City of Science, there was little option. But one shot was all he needed.
On a full charge after a brief warm-up period, the HsSCS-00-AMATERASU could fire a sustained beam for approximately two minutes. While not meant to be used like this, rather to fire then change to targets, a sustained beam was exactly what Archimedes needed. Two minutes of near atomic-blast levels of heat would burn right through the Windowless Building's Calculate Fortress, and the best part? Unlike an esper's ability, it was completely generated through the power of science; as a Servant, he would be completely unaffected and be able to watch the destruction of the structure right from it's rooftop. Then he'd be in the prime position to take the Holy Grail and be done with this farce once and for all.
It provided an excellent learning experience and applicable testing scenarios for his devices, but he felt that Academy City had lost it's luster, and was interested in something with a little more flair to him.
Then footsteps came, causing him to smile. How rude; he had forgotten that he was expecting guests.
"Greetings, Chaldea," He even bowed upon turning to them. "I suppose it was only a matter of time before you reached me here on this final stage, but still; well done!"
"Archimedes…" Ritsuka spoke with venom. "Is there even a conversation for us to have? Or should I just let my Berserker go to town?" Heracles stepped out from behind the Chaldea master, roaring as he did so. It sounded like he enjoyed that idea very much.
"And have a repeat of the Ten Legs? Surely you jest?" Archimedes laughed briefly. "…Although, you are just a two-bit mage relying solely on other people's work to get things done, so maybe you are being serious."
"Try me." Ritsuka fired back. Heracles stepped forward, only to suddenly lean back and dodge an incoming beam attack from one of the Demon Gods around them.
The opposing Caster wagged his finger. "Ah, ah, ah; don't get to overconfident now. It's not just me, but me and the nine demon gods together, remember?" He then paused and looked around. "Or… eight now, I suppose. They really are getting chewed through, aren't they? I suppose 'Armory' really is different from 'War Room' or something of the like. I predict that in a minute or so, they'll have to focus solely on their own survival…" He then pulled something from his robes, looking like a cellular phone of some kind. "Only ninety-five percent, huh…? They weren't kidding about its power inefficiency problems…"
"…EMIYA?" Ritsuka called out.
"Want the device in his hand? Or to shoot off his arm?" The red Archer was ready.
"Dealers choice."
Archimedes sighed. "If you had interest in sniping me, you'd have done better finding a perch somewhere. Coming right to me was a horrible, horrible decision, Master of Chaldea."
"Your little companions aren't immortal, you pest," Medea called out. "Bide as much time as you want; it just brings you closer to being left vulnerable. You must know that you cannot defeat all five of us alone, right?"
"…Indeed," He nodded. "In a stand-up fight, I likely would lose; the Berserker and Archer I can deal with, while your Shielder is exclusively useful for defense, but you and your Lancer is another problem. But that's exactly why I have no intention of playing fair."
He clapped his hands. Five strange balls of machinery spawned from the ground, only to uncoil and reveal sophisticated humanoid beings made entirely out of the materials the Caster had been using for all of his devices. They stood as tall and bulky as Heracles proper, and their pieces and joints seemed to rotate and shifted on occasion.
"What are these things…!?" Mashu demanded.
"I've been doing research into Academy City's technology, you see! Their advancements with robotics, discoveries, and their weaponry. So, I decided to play around with all this newfound knowledge a little bit," Archimedes grinned. "I call them 'Archimedian Golems,' my dear. Chaldea, could you please kindly help me test them?"
"As long as you don't mind them being thrown right back into your face!" Ritsuka hollered, and his Servants moved to engage.
The final battle of this conflict had begun.
"…You sure he's still alive, Touma?" Index asked.
"If not, then we leave and ditch the guy." The spiky haired teen replied.
"Are you in a bad mood perchance, human?" Othinus asked.
"That doesn't even begin to describe it."
They approached the impact sight at a brisk pace. They couldn't see him at all from their position, meaning he was deeply embedded in the ground. It was starting to look more and more like a longshot, but the unlucky Kamijou felt the need to at least look.
The four gathered around the site with curious gazes, peering down into the pit.
"Well, he's got a hole in his stomach," Medb commented. "But he hasn't faded yet, so he's not dead. Plus, there isn't a spirit core in the gut, so if he's half decent at self-recovery with that ability of his, he'll be fine."
"Then down I go…" Touma climbed over the side and jumped down. It wasn't much of a drop, but the blond's harsh landing did leave behind a bit of an indentation.
Moreover, Kakine Teitoku resided in the center, stuck in the pavement and dirt. Touma wandered over to him to find the boy face down. He pulled him out of the groove and set him on his back. After a few attempts to rouse him, he looked back at Medb to see her preparing her mead, giving a thumbs up when she noticed him looking toward her.
With that settled, he went for about the only thing he could think of.
"Alright, time to wake up from your nap, blondie!" He then reeled back his right hand and slugged the Dark Matter as hard as he could. He didn't snap awake immediately, but his eyes did flutter open after the hit.
"…You…?" He groaned. "Where is… Archimedes…?"
"Up top, hopefully getting his butt kicked," Touma looked up briefly. "But just in case he's not, that's why I'm down here talking to you. Get it?"
So, he hadn't been down for very long, Kakine thought. Maybe a few minutes at most. And he was down here for him, huh?
"…Piss off." He grumbled out.
"About what I expected…"
"What is it that you even want?" Kakine demanded with a sneer.
"Your help," The unlucky Kamijou stated. "That Archimedes is planning something, isn't he? After a show like that, you two likely wouldn't be particularly fond of each other, right?"
The blond closed his eyes. "…Not interested. Go find someone else to pawn your dirty work off on."
"I'm serious!"
"And so am I!" Kakine fired back. "It keeps happening time and time again! One person after the other! All people are fucking doing is trading me around like a fucking disease! I'm sick of it, god damn it!"
"So, you're just going to sit there and let this be the time it breaks you!?"
"What the fucking hell do you know!?" Kakine reacted poorly, spawning his wings and swinging them towards the unlucky Kamijou. Touma jumped back with his right hand outstretched, nullifying the attack. "You don't know shit, you piece of garbage! You don't know what it's like being constantly used, like you're some kind of fucking drug everyone wants for a high, but is more than happy to toss you to be someone else's little dog the moment they think your slightly inconvenient!" He gripped his face harshly. "Aleister… the god… and now some stupid fucking dead mathematician! I'm sick and fucking tired of it! I'm not trading down to just some little shithead like you!"
"I'm not here to use you!"
"Then what the fuck are you here for!?" He demanded. "Let me have it! Speak your plot! Your promises! Say whatever kind of fucking thing you want that that the Dark Matter can do for you!"
"I want your help to stop that bastard on top of the building from killing everyone I know!" Touma fired back. "You're not the only one going to suffer if he isn't stopped, you selfish jackass!"
"Give me one good reason I should even listen to the dribble falling from your god damn mouth!"
"I don't have one!" Touma bellowed. "I don't; I'm not some kind of almighty esper, I'm not some high-class hero from beyond the grave, and I'm not some hot-shot magician either! I'm just some guy with a strange power who everyone keeps flocking to!"
They stopped yelling for a just a moment. With the adrenalin dying down, Kakine seemed to finally notice the hole in his stomach, falling backward due to the pain and grunting upon impact.
"…Look, I know that feeling," Touma lowed his arm. "I'm not going to say I've experienced it as many times as you, or that I've had it worse, because I probably haven't. But I know that feeling; someone using you for some kind of plot and just tossing you aside like a piece of trash the moment you're not useful anymore. That empty pit of powerlessness, like everything you've done just amounted to nothing. I get it, ok?"
Kakine scoffed, but the teen continued.
"I won't waste your time with stories, with what I could have done versus what I did, or lessons I learned. Right now, I want your help. I didn't come down here because I wanted to gloat, I didn't come down here to use you; I came down here because I need to know what his plan is, and I need your help to stop it!"
The blond turned slightly, eyeing the person across from him.
"Please," Touma pleaded. "Right now, you're the only one who knows what he's planning, and how to stop it. I want to put an end to it, but I can't without knowing what it is, and even then, I don't know if I can. Please, even if all you can give is information, I'll take it! Without your help, we can't make Archimedes pay for what he did to you!"
Kakine stared Kamijou Touma down with a heated glare, as if he was trying to burrow a hole into his skull with his anger, with the sounds of war still erupting around them. Destruction was everywhere, and the man responsible was so close to his goal.
Without warning, the Dark Matter stood up. "…Do any of you have a method to reach the planet's atmosphere?"
"I don't think so, why?" Touma answered honestly.
"Shit," Kakine cursed. "Then the only way would be do intercept it directly…!"
"Hold on, I'm not following you here!"
"You want to stop Archimedes?" He spoke sharply. "Then I need to know exactly what you and that woman can do, understand? Leave a single fucking thing out and we're dead!"
"You got it!" Touma smiled. "Medb! Index!"
The pink haired Queen was already on her way down, carrying the silver haired nun. "Already ahead of you! We got a plan?"
Kakine eyed them as the descended and then turned toward the Windowless Building. Rather, he looked above it more than anything else.
"…To do something about the HsSCS-00-AMATERASU from annihilating the Holy Grail."
Up above, a hard-fought battle was quickly unfolding.
"You know, for a bunch of golems," Cú grunted as he deflected a blow with his spear and kicked the machine back. "These things are actually really strong!"
EMIYA was having similar problems as he dodged repeated strikes from the strange golem in front of him, only to have his famed twin-blades bounce off the machine's hide. "Hardy too; I'd classify them on the same level as a Shadow Servant!"
"Yeah, except they don't have a spear for me to tear out!" The blue Lancer tried to run past after a swift deflection but was forced to rethink his strategy when the golem's chest opened up and started ejecting wires from it in an attempt to trap him. The lines were electrified and designed to act like a series of nets to capture their pray. Moreover, while Gáe Bolg could deflect the wires, they were dense enough to endure strikes from the spear. The action left the blue Lancer open to a follow up assault but the golem, and it did so with surprising precision.
Mashu wasn't fairing much better, defending Ritsuka from a third golem's wrath. Her shield proved more than capable of deflecting the machine's blows, but she lacked an offensive option to properly damage it. Ritsuka attempted Gandr but found that the spell just bounced off harmlessly without so much as denting its steel frame.
Heracles, the mad lad, was taking on two of the mechanical beings at once. He howled like a behemoth and charged into them, knocking the two side before turning his attention to Archimedes. As he moved to engage though, one of the Archimedian Golems' hands opened up, shooting a thick cable to wrap around the Berserker's right leg. In a swift motion, the machine rose up and flung Heracles across the rooftop, quickly releasing it shortly after to avoid being hauled and assaulted by the Son of Zeus himself. The other's arms adjusted themselves, revealing small cannons that began opening fire on the Berserker. The shots were powerful; enough so to stun Heracles briefly, but a far cry from putting him down as he charged ahead with a roar.
This arrangement left Medea without a golem to battle, which was remedied by her flying towards Archimedes himself.
"You call that magic you pencil-pushing prude!?" The former called out as beams of light shot from her robes.
"Spoken like a true witch! As if any spell I used would impress you!" The latter's response was to summon his Archimedian golems to act as shields, although they were swiftly destroyed by the powerful spells. In a contest of magic, Archimedes lost outright to her, but had a bit of resourcefulness in his unusual methods of attack as two sets of mirrors formed, reflecting beams of light in what seemed like a cage all around the Greek woman before turning to focus on her.
"You little…! Argos!" With a flick of the wrist, a large barrier had formed around her, blocking the prison of beams completely. They expanded out, breaking the network her opponent had made, only to find that he had made himself scarce, putting significant distance between him and her. She flew ahead to close the gap when Archimedes snapped his fingers.
"Syrakouson Harpage Partita!" Four massive cranes, much like the ones he used against Kakine, spawned all around Medea. They swung one after the other, each one trying to cut off the Greek Caster on her approach, and did so with frequency high enough to do just that. She took to the sky to bypass them, only to be forced to dodge powerful pressurized streams of water fired from newly formed devices at the mathematician's sides. She did so rather easily, but Archimedes flipped the script by turning the devices around and allowing them to propel themselves toward her like rockets. These proved to be a little hard to avoid, as they seemed to operate automatously, moving in the air to give chase like heat-seeking missiles.
Archimedes, sure his opponent would quickly find an escape route soon, checked the device he held while he had such a brief opportunity. Ninety-nine percent. Being so close was just as agonizing as being hopelessly far away here.
"Archimedes!" Ritsuka called out. "Why are you doing this!? What did King Solomon offer you!?"
"…I do not expect someone such as yourself to understand the feeling of being murdered," He concluded. "To be so close to your next discovery; so invested in my circles that the world around me ceased to exist. To be so tantalizingly close to revolutionizing the world… only for soldiers of Rome to break down your door and run you though, destroying your carefully crafted diagrams in the process. I could not even reach my conclusion in death because of them."
"So, this really is just about petty revenge, isn't it!?"
"Yes, but something much greater on top of that!" Archimedes answered. "Not one person shall ever have the opportunity to disrupt my circles ever again! To endlessly cycle, discover, prove, and to do so again; not only shall I be undisturbed, my circles shall never again be disrupted for something as simple as war! You call me petty!? Those men killed me for my designs, thinking I'd just be a hindrance to them! They thought they could kill me, Archimedes, and turn a profit of my work! How can something be pettier than just murdering for simple wealth!? Answer me that, Chaldea!"
It was a combination of factors. He was murdered, not allowed to die peacefully. His work was tarnished, not allowing him to finish it even in death. And the reason was a bunch of dull rubes who simply wanted to make quick money off his discoveries, thinking that if they just killed him and took it, they could make far more than simply capturing him alive.
He saw human avarice firsthand. He had always been aware of it, but this time it had come to his front door. It was the reason his work was butchered. It was the reason he was killed. He was angry in death; he cursed the unknown soldiers endlessly, holding his sliced open stomach as he approached his work, only to see men stomping all over it.
Thus, the phrase "Do not step on my circles!" for which he was known for rose to prominence as his last words.
Thus, his appearance here; the desire for a world were filthy commoners like those soldiers would not disrupt his circles.
Medea managed to destroy the water jets and was flying down toward him. As he prepared his defenses, he glanced down at the device in his hand.
One hundred percent.
He grinned and pressed the button on the device. The Greek Caster must have recognized that something was amiss, as she redoubled her efforts to kill Archimedes with her beams of light. However, the mathematician called forth more golems once more to block as he laughed.
"Now you'll see exactly what I'm talking about, you fools!" He cried. "Witness the avarice of humanity; absolute proof that the way humans conduct themselves is flawed and disgusting! The way that the strong trample over the weak like it's their God-given right, and the lengths they will go to ensure their power is absolute! Watch and weep as you are utterly annihilated by mankind's own sins!"
The sky quickly lit up a thick, green light as a scientifically generated Meltdowner beam fell, and all Archimedes did in response was laugh It was easily large enough to encapsulate the structure in its entirety. Even if his Servant's would survive, Ritsuka himself would not be so lucky; thus, the singularity would be vanquished and Chaldea would be brought low in one fell swoop. Straight to the end; everything went just as how he planned it would; a grand finale that would secure the Grand Caster's success and turn this miserable incident into an magnificent boon, fully reversing whatever the Most Powerful Magician in History had plotted.
Amidst his cackling, something shot up straight toward the impending wave, however. White wings swelled in size from the individual's back, quickly growing at a rate that it'd soon be capable of catching the beam in the sky. It crashed down onto the pure white angel wings, and a horrendously gruesome howl erupted from the one blocking the electron wave.
Archimedes' face paled. "K-Kakine!?"
Kakine Teitoku was singlehandedly fending off the assault, but clearly with a great amount of difficulty if his voice was anything to go by. They spread and multiplied, seemingly covering the entirety of the heavens themselves in seconds. The lights reflected through their holy visage, making the scene appear as though it were an act of God to the few believers that watched the scene unfold.
This was an unknown factor; Kakine Teitoku was just as much of a Servant as he was. And with his Dark Matter's ability to mess with the laws of physics...!
"You… won't get away… with this!" The blond bellowed. Despite the awe-inspiring sight, it appeared that containing the blast was a struggle, even for a Servant. Sure, it'd do no damage to him, but actually restraining the attack so it wouldn't land was a different story.
"Stop! Stop at once!" For the first time, Archimedes lost his cool. Desperate to regain control, he called out quickly. "Stop it right now, Kakine Teitoku! You'll ruin it all! The worlds will be destroyed, and your thirst for revenge will never be sated! You'll ruin everything, Kakine!"
"So… what!? Should I just let you toss me aside…!? Should I just let you get away with using me like a god damn tool!?" He roared from above the Windowless Building. "Let this be a lesson to you, Archimedes! This is what you get for underestimating a level 5!"
The great mathematician's eyes widened before quickly turning to anger; he had to kill him immediately. He quickly formed his mirrors to attack but found them suddenly destroyed by flying blades.
"I am the bone of my sword…!"
Archimedes looked down; EMIYA was free from the opponent, as his golem was shattered and left in pieces across the rooftop. But how; nothing short of a Noble Phantasm Medea's beams of light should have been enough to destroy one of his Archimedian Golems!?
Then he saw Kamijou Touma running straight toward him, looking as if he had just ran from him.
"You…!" He growled.
"Medb!" Touma called out. "You get set up to do something about that beam; leave the bastard to me!"
"You got it!" The Queen of Connacht was on a different course, aiming for the center of the building.
Archimedes' gaze turned from shock to rage as he locked onto the approaching spiky haired teen. "You miserable pest!" He formed more mirrors, only to find them once more intercepted as EMIYA took to the field of battle once more.
"Steel is my body, and fire is my blood!" He called, Kanshou and Bakuya appearing in his hands as more blades spawned, this time following behind him briefly before shooting them off towards the great mathematician.
He formed more of his golems to block, which was successful, but by then he started to panic when he noticed a certain someone not assaulting him; where was the witch Medea!? He was horrified to find that the Greek Caster had moved to destroy the machines he had deployed to keep both Heracles and Cú Chulainn at bay. He formed more to try to intercept but found that the opposing Archer sent his blades straight into their joints, restricting their movements.
EMIYA continued his chant. "I have created over a thousand blades, Unknown to Death, nor known to Life!" Once more, weapons of all kinds appeared, only to fly toward Archimedes. They were appearing behind him now, trying to abuse his blind spot. Quick formation of his cranes and having them swing around protected him.
His mind was racing; he had to find a way to kill Kakine Teitoku before they broke through!
As if to make his fears manifest, he heard Heracles' roar as the Berserker barreled through his golems, followed by the blue Lancer. Of course he could make more, but splitting his attention like this was taxing on the man's mind. He did so, making a miniature platoon of them so that he may turn his attention once more to Kakine, but just as he turned, the sound of metal crashing into metal forced him back, bearing witness to his own golems fighting amongst themselves.
The visage of a single Nun chanting with a small blonde girl in an eye patch on her shoulder could be seen through the chaos. With the Demon God batteries powering them, it could be deduced that they had unknowingly been made vulnerable to Index's Spell Intercept. With his newly fashioned constructs rendered moot, the charging forces marched right on by as if they weren't even there.
"No… stop! Stop!" He formed his cranes once more to intercept, knowing they would do little against the Son of Zeus leading the charge. "Stop it! Stop stepping on my circles!" He put his Item Construction skill into overdrive; he made more golems, cranes, gears, scales; whatever he felt could slow his enemies down.
"I've withstood pain to create many weapons… yet, those hands will never hold anything!" In response, EMIYA made countless swords, spears, and arrows to match them, giving them all the breathing room Chaldea's charge needed.
Archimedes didn't care as swords pierced his form; he had been through worse. He had suffered through worse. Made a solid wall of machines; so thick that an atom bomb would have difficulty breaking through, and sent it all hurtling toward his attackers like a tidal wave of metal. But the sound of breaking glass shattered that illusion as Touma leapt through.
He did not speak, he only roared.
"OHHHHUUUUUAAAAHAHHHHHHH!"
He clenched his fist tightly as he closed the gap, and Archimedes gritted his teeth as he tried to back up. With his chambered punch, he dived for the wizard of balance, thrusting his fist with all of his might straight into the man's face, sending him spiraling backward.
As said, Touma did not speak. There was no speech, for all Kamijou Touma understood was that this man was murdered. He did not hear much more than that, but that alone was something he understood full well. It made sense to lash out like he did, but making sense didn't justify his action.
Touma didn't understand every single reason behind why he did what he did. So rather than trample on those ideals Archimedes held, he did something ever so simple.
He packed all of his emotions into his right hand and let it fly, hoping it would reach its mark.
That was the opportunity: now that Archimedes had been knocked down, something could be properly done about the green death beam in the sky. "Hey! Unless you want to die, you had better move your butt! RIGHT! NOW!" Medb called out to Kakine as loud as she could.
The Dark Matter wanted to argue but felt his strength wane. He disconnected himself from his wings to let himself drop, and the massive Meltdowner beam once more made its decent as his Dark Matter broke away under the strain.
"Eat this! FERGUS! MY! LOOOOOOOVVVVVVEEEEEE!" Medb unleashed the full strength of her variant of Caladbolg, discharging a powerful rainbow blast into the sky to match the descending green light. It rippled out like a spiral drill, shining like a glorious rainbow as it slammed into the horrific green light.
Fergus barely noticed when Caladbolg left his grip, but quickly saw the lightshow above the Windowless Building, as did the surrounding people as they fought.
Medb gritted her teeth roughly, finding the full unbridled might of the spiral sword to be more than she could withstand, especially with such a powerful attack bearing down on her.
"I'm not…!" She managed to keep herself standing. "Going to… let this golden opportunity… slip through my fingers!"
Her perseverance was rewarded when the brilliant rainbow lights finally started to dig into the massive Meltdowner beam, drilling through it like bedrock. Once the initial breakthrough occurred, the rest was history; Parts of the electrons shot off in random directions, but now that they had been separated from the core device, they were able to return to normal harmlessly.
The massive rainbow lightshow continued to push upward, soaring high into the sky. It didn't stop until it hit the HsSCS-00-AMATERASU as it hung in orbit. The wave drilled right through it with ease, ripping apart on contact and spreading shards of its frame throughout the atmosphere, letting it burn up on reentry.
It was completely and thoroughly destroyed.
Archimedes groaned as he sat up from the impact he felt from Kamijou Touma's right hand. His head was pounding, perhaps the stress from the battle was finally getting to him. Finally, he opened his eyes, finding the area around him oddly silent.
He was no longer on top of the Windowless Building. All he saw was a vast wasteland with giant gears off in the distance, and numerous blades left sticking from the ground. Where was he?
"…And so, as I pray," Archimedes heard that voice, speaking rather calmly. "Unlimited Blade Works."
Though he had only been punched, his entire body felt off balance as he stood up. He searched for the source of the voice, finding only a single other person in the entirety of this strange world.
"…This…" He questioned. "What is this…?"
"Your associate likely told you: A Reality Marble. My Noble Phantasm." EMIYA answered calmly. The wind picked up, creating a small cloud of dust across the vast wasteland.
"…You'd waste your resources on deploying such a spell? At this stage."
"The people of this city, as well as the people in this fight, have seen enough death and destruction," He answered. "This isn't just a mercy for them, however. But for you; there is no one to disrupt your circles here, Archimedes."
The mathematician looked around; there wasn't a single soul to be seen for miles. Just two men in a vast desert.
"…So, it would seem," Archimedes had lost. "So, what I wanted was so close all this time, hmm?"
"Just a stone's throw away. It's a pity, isn't it?"
He nodded. "…Overlaying one's inner world on reality. A place where none may reach you, a workshop where none may interfere," He paused briefly and turned back to the red Archer. "…You're going to kill me, aren't you?"
EMIYA didn't answer, but he didn't need to. The look on his face spoke much more than words ever could.
"…Very well," Archimedes relented. "So, this is your mercy? A death in an ideal world for me… well, not exactly ideal, but certainly rather close."
"If you have any final words, I'll hear them and pass them on." EMIYA stated.
Archimedes shook his head. "No, that's quite alright. You may do the deed whenever you were ready. Just… let me enjoy this solitude for a moment longer."
In this realm where time did not pass, the red Archer obliged his captive. It was rather unusual; this was the first time anyone had thought positively of this place; his inner world. The desolate wasteland that was the Unlimited Blade Works.
Looking back and reflecting on himself… maybe he wasn't that different from the man before him.
But the time had come. EMIYA closed his eyes and closed the palm of his right hand.
The last thing he heard was the sound of metal rending flesh, and the demise of the Wizard of Balance.
And thus, the final conflict has come to a close. Archimedes' plan to burn the Windowless Building with a replication of the rank 4's Meltdowner was foiled, and the last agent of King Solomon was silenced, all at once.
Bit of a chaotic one, I must admit. Making sure all the pieces fit just right was hard, and even then, I'm not fully certain everything is quite in place, but I certainly tried. Hardest part was dealing with Kakine switching sides, even if it was just to fuck Archimedes over just for betraying him.
Either way; that's the climax folks! Next chapter will be the epilogue, where it'll be the last time I'll be replying to reviews! If you have any last minute thoughts/questions, now's the time!
I hope you all enjoyed. Please, review at your leisure; I still enjoy feedback.
Have a good day, my friends!
Sincerely,
ArmoredCoreNineBall, your friendly (not)robotic (not)overlord (possibly)person who occasionally writes things.