"Darnic, it seems we have a conundrum." Kiritsugu announced as he entered the throne room, where most of the servants and Master's have gathered to discuss strategy after their near defeat at the hands of the Red faction and the surprise attacks by the rogue servant.
"What is it?" Darnic asked with a twinge of annoyance in his voice at how Emiya casually referred to him by his first name. "It is rude to enter without knocking."
"No time. I have important news." Emiya said as he held out his hand. At his command, Maiya stepped forward and pressed a small box with an optic lens into his open hand. To any normal person, it was a simple video camera. To the mages and servants, however, it was like introducing fire to a caveman.
"This... is a camera." Kiritsugu explained, earning whispers amongst the others.
"Dear God..." Gordes whispered under his breath. As a magus, he had never been in the same room as a technological product like this. In all honesty, he hadn't even thought he would ever lay eyes on one.
"There's more." Kiritsugu continued.
"No..." Gordes muttered dramatically, causing Kiritsugu to shoot him an odd look before continuing on.
"My Assistant was out scouting earlier using her familiars when one of them came back with... something interesting." Kiritsugu said as he tossed the device over to Darnic, who caught it in his hand. "The video will be able to explain things better than I."
"That is quite convenient Emiya, but..."
"Yes?"
"How do you play the video?" Darnic asked. To the man's credit, his face was devoid of emotion instead of looking like an embarrassed idiot who didn't know how to work a simple camera. Truth be told, Darnic didn't even know how to work a regular house phone. Instead, he had to contact Kiritsugu through Caules because the kid was the only one in the family who interacts with technology like this on a daily basis unlike his sister.
And luckily, the same boy decided to intervene for Kiritsugu's behalf.
"It's this button, Grandfather." Caules said as he leaned forward and pressed a red button on the side of the camera. When he pressed it, the picture on the monitor began to move as the device played the video.
"Thank you, Caules." This time, a hint of embarrassment came out of the clan leader's mouth. As the video began to play, the rest of the servants and masters began to huddle around the man as they tried to see what was going on in the video.
It was pretty normal a couple minutes in. The camera had been one of many devices that had been tied to familiars and scattered throughout the forest, allowing for efficient use of recon without having to place themselves in harms way.
When it hit the 3:18 mark, Darnic's eyes widened in shock as the camera caught a clear view of several people dressed in combat fatigues and were racing through the forest at high speeds. Quickly hitting the button, he paused the video as everyone stared at him in confusion.
"It can't be..."
"What is it, grandfather?" Fiore asked with a slightly worried expression as she had never seen him act like this in front of her. He studied the image in front of him for a few more seconds before he nodded as if confirming something to himself.
"Yes... that's definitely them. I'd recognize those combat fatigues anywhere. Those are dead apostles from Germany's 666 Battalion!"
At those words, everyone's eyes widened at that. As far as magecraft was concerned, utilizing the number of 666 in any way was a sign of misfortune and dark magic that would make most magi shy away from it. Of course, it was a superstition, but anything can be feared as true if enough people believe it to be so.
"What are you talking about? 666 Battalion? Sounds like the name of a metal band." Caules said as Darnic looked up at them.
"They're a secret battalion of soldiers handpicked by the Fuhrer himself to undergo the process of vampirization. After their secret sector dedicated to the supernatural managed to capture a dead apostle, they forced it to bite the candidates and begin the process of transforming them into dead apostles themselves. Of course, some of them didn't survive and simply remained as ghouls, but the majority of them managed to survive the process." Darnic explained.
"Wait... So nazi Germany had a secret vampiric army? But that's preposterous! That's a risk of revealing magecraft to the public!" Gordes exclaimed, obviously disagreeing with such methods. In the minds of most magi, keeping magecraft a secret was the only rule they had to follow when it came to their profession. So long as that rule is kept at top priority, all other methods are fair game. That includes performing acts that could be considered monstrous by many.
"Magecraft back then wasn't as secret as it is now." Darnic said. "Of course, it wasn't known by the public as such knowledge would certainly get out of hand. However, it soon became known in the most secret government positions, especially on World War 2 where countries were trying to get a leg up on each other."
"So you're saying that most of the world governments know about the existence of magecraft?" Kiritsugu asked. He had been hired by many foreign governments as a freelance mercenary for hire. If they knew about the secret side of his life, it could certainly lead to problems later.
"As of now, no. All traces of it were destroyed when Germany lost the war, and government officials who knew about it have already died. As far as the clock tower is concerned, the secret of magecraft has been kept safe.
"But what is your connection to these abominations?" Lancer asked, obviously interested in his master's past.
"Back then, the members of the battalion didn't see much action due to being established very late in the war. When I asked for assistance in stealing the Holy Grail, the Battalion were sent in as my backup and quickly began to help behind the scenes. Even if they couldn't match the servants, they were exceedingly close to them in terms of sheer power. While I had made my escape along with the Grail, I remember leaving them behind as they fought against the executioners that were sent by the church." Darnic muttered.
"Seems like they missed a spot." Kiritsugu said with annoyance. "But it doesn't make any sense... If what you were saying is true, the Church would not let a single one of them leave the city alive. An entire battalion of dead apostles in one of the most famous battle grounds in the magi community would earn the most extreme of responses by the Church."
All of them remained quiet as they thought about this predicament. Suddenly, the door burst open and Archer strolled into the room with a tense expression on his usually calm face.
"Ah... Archer? Why are you here? Shouldn't you be upstairs?" Fiore asked with a curious look. The last thing he had said to her before heading up to the tower was for complete and utter solitude so he could focus more on the task that was given to him.
Translation: "Make sure that no one comes up here so I can pretend to work but sleep instead."
"I have come with news. We have visitors." Archer began before a loud voice suddenly came from the hallways outside, silencing anyone who tried to open their mouths to ask why they would be having visitors at this hour.
"What is this filthy place?" There was silence for a moment before the voice spoke again. "A castle?! How is this filthy place called a castle?! It is just a shack that you peasants simply call a castle!"
An insulted look crossed Lancer of Black's face upon those words.
"Now, now, Goldie. This place certainly has its values even if it's a little bit rusty at the moment!" Another loud voice that was much deeper and gruff responded.
At this point, everyone turned to stare at Archer, who was fidgeting slightly under all the stares.
"Archer... Who did you let inside?" Lancer slowly asked, realization dawning on his features as he recognized the smell of power outside his room.
"Mmm." Archer hummed, looking slightly uncomfortable. "The red faction, sir."
At this point, Lancer just about had enough. His castle had been nearly destroyed, he had a bunch of new enemies to worry about, and he had several red servants outside of the room right now who were mocking his home! At this point, you could hardly blame him for snapping.
Shooting to his feet, he raised his hands to activate his noble phantasm and obliterate the unseen servants. Looks of panic flashed through everyone's eyes and they quickly hit the floor to avoid being team killed by their leader.
"Kazikli b-"
"Wait!"
The counts rage abruptly stopped as Jeanne quickly peaked her head into the room. Looking slightly nervous as she found all eyes on her.
"Um... Hey? Don't shoot?" Jeanne said lamely.
Closing his eyes and taking a calm breath, Lancer sat back down in his chair and his rage subsided, much to everyone's relief.
"Ruler... What brings you here with... Them?" Lancer asked as the red servants and masters entered the room with high tensions from Lancer's near temper tantrum.
"Well... It's complicated." Jeanne began.
"Complicated?" Lancer intoned.
"Complicated." The red masters and servants said at the same time.
"Then explain. Depending on your answer, I may or may not impale you on my stakes for trespassing on my property."
"Nobody wants to get stabbed by your hard stakes." Lancer muttered, earning smirks and snorts from their companions.
Seeing as her words were going to be the only thing keeping the peace between these two factions, she had to be careful with how she worded it. One wrong misconception and the two groups would go at each other's throats before she could stop them.
So she decided to speak from the beginning. She talked about her and Naruto infiltrating the hanging garden, the revelation of Shirou kotomine's past and plans for the war, and their betrayal and escape.
Despite most of the events happening in the past hour or so, it still took several minutes for Jeanne to finish speaking. When she had finally finished, everyone seemed to take the news hard. Especially Darnic himself.
"It's just one thing after another these days." Darnic muttered, shocked that his old nemesis seemed to have survived the war.
"Absolutely preposterous! The holy artifact that we kept in our basement is nothing more than a cursed weapon of mass destruction?!" Gordes spoke with an appalled look.
"Hmph. An almighty wish granting artifact sounds too good to be true." Gilgamesh muttered in annoyance.
"There goes another cup. It's no different than the rest." Kiritsugu grumbled with Maiya nodding in agreement.
Lancer pounded the seat of his armrest with anger. "So you're saying... None of us may have our wishes granted?!"
"That is correct. Shirou kotomine has made it quite clear that any wish made upon it will result with destruction and chaos. Yet, he has also stated that he would utilize it to bring about salvation for humanity." Waver said as he drew a cigar
"Yes... He did go on about that in the third war...ludicrous it may be." Darnic muttered as he thought back to the last time he had meant the Apocryphal Saint.
"It may certainly be crazy, but what worries us is how he said it." Iskander said with a serious look in his eyes. "The look in his eyes when he proclaimed his plans were ones of belief and seriousness. We had originally thought it to be a form of insanity, but we could all agree that it definitely was not it."
"Even in the face of several opposing servants, he never once lost his composure." Reines said, recalling how the boys smile never left his face.
"It was creepy as hell. A third rate bastard like him shouldn't have been able to stand there like that. He insults me!" Mordred growled.
"He insults all of us." Achilles nodded in agreement. "We must quickly shore up our defenses. He plans to strike all of us down tonight."
"Tonight?" Darnic's eyes narrowed at the news. "Most of our magical barriers have been destroyed during the battle. I fear it won't be enough to do more than hinder our-"
Suddenly, the room shook as a loud rumble reached their ears. Quickly summoning their weapons, the servants took battle stances as a homunuculus entered the room.
"Lord Darnic! We're under attack!" The homunculus reported with a panic expression.
"Get me a status report!" Lancer barked as a spear appeared in his hands.
"Maiya!" Kiritsugu ordered.
"I'm on it." Maiya muttered as she closed her eyes to connect with her familiars. To her surprise, she found that nearly all of the familiars that she had stationed had gone dark. However, she found one that was still alive.
Quickly connecting, she found herself above one of the walls to the castle. Looking below her, she saw several men putting explosives on the wall and detonating it, blowing a hole wide enough for them to get through.
One by one, each of the men dashed inside in orderly formation. Before the last one went through the hole, it turned towards her and pulled out a gun. Pointing it towards her familiar, Maiya flinched a little bit as her connection was abruptly cut off.
"Shit." She muttered.
"What is it?" Kiritsugu asked with a concerned look.
"They've breached the outer west wall and have killed all of my familiars. I believe they're trying to trap us inside."
"Then it seems we have no choice. We shall have a truce until we get rid of these filthy monsters." Lancer growled as he stood up and pointed his spear. "Factions! To war!"
With a roar, the servants charged directly out of the room.
(Break)
"Geez... Must you be so troublesome as to break out of your container?" Helena asked with a sigh as she finally managed to stabilize the Homunculus that Jack had given to her.
"He wanted to live really badly, Caster. It's not his fault." Astolfo said with a pout, causing the pink haired mage to sigh.
"Yes, yes, I know. I'm just on a tight schedule, you know?" Helena said as she watched Little jack prod the homunculus with a dainty finger.
"Are you alive?" Jack asked with a tilt of her head as the homunculus twitched.
"I... Believe so. I was never supposed to be alive in the first place... I think." The homunculus replied.
"It was a close call. Though thanks to my amazing talent, you'll at least be able to live for a couple more years, possibly more if you're lucky." Caster said as she dusted her hands.
"Thanks... I guess." The homunculus muttered.
"Yeah, thanks Caster!" Astolfo said with a grin as he bounded up to the homunculus as he began to sit up. "Now... Wha should I name you?"
The homunculus gave him a confused look. "Name?"
Astolfo nodded. "Yeah! It'll be a pain if I don't have a way to separate you from the rest of your brethren. I've already given them all names, so I just need to come up with one for you!"
The homunculus remained silent as Astolfo stared at him in thought for a moment before snapping his fingers and grinning as an answer came to him.
"Eureka! How about, 'Sieg'? That's a nice name, right Jackie?"
"Sieg is a nice name." Jack nodded in agreement. "He also looks like Siegfried."
"Well, all of the homunculi look like Siegfried." Helena said as she washed her hands in a nearby sink.
Suddenly, the doors were forced open and all of the servant's faces scrunched up in displeasure. Walking inside was Astolfo's master, Celenike. As usual, she smelled of death which had stuck to her due to her dabbling in dark sorcery that usually required human sacrifices.
She was such a bitch, that pretty much everyone dislikes her. Even Darnic himself, someone considered no longer human, doesn't seem to enjoy her much. He just never voiced his opinion.
However, their looks suddenly turned to concern as they saw an expression that they had never seen on the woman's face.
Panic and fear.
"Astolfo! Get the hell out here and help me defen-"
Whatever she was going to say was cut off abruptly as her chest suddenly exploded into a bloody red mist. Before she had even hit the floor, the servants were already on the move as a flurry of bullets flew into the room.
"Master!" Astolfo called out on instinct, but he already knew it was futile. The shot had pierced directly through her heart and killed her instantly. She was dead before she even hit the floor.
Under any normal circumstances, he wouldn't have really cared. However, her death threw him into a troublesome problem. Since she isn't alive, no one was there to supply him with magical energy. Of course, he was still getting some from the Homunculi that Gordes had made as their batteries, but it wasn't as efficient as Celenike herself.
This obviously meant that he was going to have to be extremely selective. If he wasn't careful, he could drain himself faster than what could be supplied to him and dissipate from the world.
"Teacher! What is going on?!" Roche asked with a panicked expression as he appeared from behind another door. Reaching upward, Helena quickly pulled the young master to the ground as another hail of bullets flew threw the spot his head had been a second before.
"We're under attacked." Helena said simply with a serious look in her eyes. "Whatever happens, stick by me. I'll take care of you, alright?"
"Owie..." Jack muttered as she rubbed her head, having hit her head on the side of a desk as she dove to the ground without thinking. "Who is attacking?"
"They look... Old." Astolfo whispered as he crawled over to them with Sieg, who had been able to muster enough energy to dodge. "Their weapons aren't anything modern... They have rust and all sorts of icky stuff on them."
Peeking over the desk, Helena saw several of the attackers enter the room while the rest continued down the hallway. Her eyes narrowed when she realized what type of enemy they were dealing with. No experienced magus would mistake such a foul aura. It wasn't as bad as Celenike's, but it was much more sinister in a different aspect.
"Dead Apostles. Are they grunts from the Red faction?" She muttered as she eyed them with a critical eye. She could see that each of their weapons had been enchanted to the level of a D-ranked noble phantasm, evidenced by the purple glow they had.
"V-vampires?" Roche whispered, shaking slightly. "I've never seen one before... Do we have any silver on hand?"
"You're thinking about werewolves." Helena corrected. "Normal weapons should work perfectly fine on them. Baptismal rites also works wonders on them."
"So do we just attack them?" Astolfo asked as his leg twitched with built up anticipation. "There are at least six of them there. I'm sure we can deal with them easily, right?"
"Perhaps, but with creatures like these you can never be too careful." Helena said as she released a bit of her prana. At once, the dead apostles immediately stiffened and turned towards the overturned desk. As they raised their guns and walked forward to inspect what was behind it, one of them was sent flying with a scream as a stone fist smacked him sideways and through a wall.
"Golem!" They screamed as they twisted and opened fire on the machine that had just activated.
The golem groaned as it was peppered with bullets. Lashing out with another fist, it smacked 3 more dead apostles straight out of the room using its enhanced strength. However, the construct soon crumbled under the assault of the final two soldiers.
"They're behind the desk!" One of them growled as they ejected their empty magazines and grabbed another from their waist.
Helena inwardly cursed and quickly prepared a short spell that would obliterate their target. Of course, it might blow them all up and set the entire room on fire, but such was life. Luckily, she didn't have to blow the entire room up when there was a sudden flash of steel and the two vampires were cleanly sliced in half from the waist as a girl in heavy armor stepped into the room.
"Oi... Black servants, you can come out now." The girl said in a gruff tone as she shouldered her sword.
"Isn't that a red servant?" Astolfo asked as his hand drifted towards the sword that was strapped to his waist.
"Oh no... Don't tell me the red faction killed everyone else here!" Roche panicked, causing Helena's eyes to roll.
"I doubt it. She wouldn't have saved us like this. Still, just keep your head down until we know for sure." Helena ordered silently. Slowly standing up, she earned a raised eyebrow from the girl as their gazes met.
"Hm... Caster of black I presume?"
"That is true facts." Helena said, shoulders remaining tense in the even that she had to lob a spell.
Seeing how tense she was, the knight smirked. "Relax. The situation has changed. As of now, the red and black factions are working together."
"Together?" Roche and Astolfo shared confused looks.
"And why is that?" Helena asks with narrowed eyes.
"I'll explain when we meet up with the others. Right now, we're about to be overrun by a bunch of corpses, so I suggest you get off your asses and follow me."
And with that, the knight turned and jogged out the door before Helena could reply.
"Do we follow scary woman?" Jack asked as she peaked out from behind a couch.
"Well, it's not like we'll get any information by waiting around." Helena said with a shrug.
"Well, I'm not going anywhere. I just lost my master, and Sieg is in no condition to be moving right now." Astolfo declared while Sieg simply groaned from his spot on the ground.
Helena rolled her eyes. "Fine. I'll go on ahead. Roche, stay here with Astolfo and jack, and prepare some of the golems in my stead. You two "
"Y-yes, teacher!" Roche exclaimed as he ran off to do his task. Nodding in satisfaction, Helena followed after the red knight, but not before sending a serious glare to Astolfo and Jack, causing them to tense up as they read what her stare conveyed.
'If there is a single scratch on the boy, I will give you a fate worse than death.'
(Break)
"Damn demons!" Achilles roared as he swung his fist and swatted a nazi vampire out of the air who attempted to bite into him and convert him into a vampire.
When they realized that their weapons weren't working on his divine blessings that protected him from harm, they decided to switch tactics instead and began to try and bite him in an attempt to convert him to their side.
His Andreias Amarantos noble phantasm protected him from any ill will and killing intent. Only if he were to be struck in the heel or by someone with the blood of the god's in their veins will be able to bypass the defense and harm him. However, attacks such as being bitten by a vampire were considered acts of friendship that were meant to make him a comrade rather than kill him.
He had hoped to find opponents in the Graik war who were capable of giving him a challenge, but these walking corpses were an annoyance.
"Watch your left." Siegfried warned as he slashed another vampire apart.
"And your right." Arjuna added as he blasted another vampire apart with his bow.
"You know, if things had gone smoothly, I think the three of us would have had a great time together." Achilles said with a sigh.
"Perhaps, but we all know that I would win, right Dragon slayer?" Arjuna asked with a grin, causing the man to sigh. As much as Arjuna tried to be humble about himself, everyone knew that he holds his position in high regard. If given the chance, he will pretty much brag about how he's the hottest shit to ever stand under the sun.
"Save your breath. More of them are coming. And this time..." Siegfried trailed off as they made it out onto the castle walls. The Hanging Garden of Babylon was hovering slowly off in the distance. In front of it, however, was a floating vehicle that Siegfried remembered clearly.
It was Blackbeard's ship.
"I have come for to get ye scaly wags!" Blackbeard shouted from the prow of the ship while waving his hook around dramatically. "Now, let the invasion commence! Attack, my brethren!"
Immediately after he said that, even more dead apostles appeared on the battlefield and clashed with the Homunculi army that had been deployed below. In a few seconds, the entire area had been converted into a full scale warzone.
"It seems fate has decided that we should meet again on the fields of battle, Arjuna."
Descending from the sky and crashing onto the castle wall, Karna made his appearance known to the three servants as he twirled his spear and blew away the smoke.
Guess who reacted first.
"BROTHER KARNA!" Arjuna roared as he immediately began blasting arrows at machine gun speeds.
"...You haven't changed a bit." Karna muttered as he began swatting the projectiles out of the air using his spear.
"I WILL MURDER YOU!" Arjuna yelled with a crazy look on his face as he charged towards his brother, earning glances from his allies.
"Geez... Talk about brother problems. I didn't think there would be anyone crazier than Heracles." Achilles muttered.
"I believe this is what you would call a brother complex." Siegfried muttered before his eyes widened when he detected a presence coming from the side. "Achilles! Behind you!"
"What?!" Spinning around, Achilles eyes widened as he saw a black blade descend down on him. Quickly raising his spear, the pavement under his feat cracked as the power was transferred to his feet.
"RAAHHHHHHH!"
The wielder of the black blade roared. Getting a good look at him, Achilles could see that the man who attacked him was most definitely a knight, but he didn't carry himself like one if the amount of madness coming off him was anything to go by. His entire body was covered in dark armor that hid anything noticeable from him, effectively hiding his identity completely.
"Berserker I take it? You're a savage dog, aren't you?" Achilles gritted as he fought to keep his footing. "And I can tell your weapon is special. Some kind of divine construct, eh? I'm not sure even my protection will save me from that."
"Keep your guard up." Siegfried warned as he swung his sword at the dark knight's back. Reacting with surprising speed, the knight quickly kicked Achilles back before spinning around and expertly parrying the blade with technique an unstable killing machine shouldn't have.
"GRAHHHHHHH!" The knight roared as he quickly stepped in and punched Siegfried with enough force to send him stumbling backwards as the wind was knocked out of him.
"What incredible strength..." Siegfried gasped as he quickly renewed his stance.
"Hmph. Perhaps the mad dog can give us a challenge." Achilles said with a grin as he stepped behind the black knight, boxing him in an unfavorable position.
"Not just him, Invincible hero."
Descending from the sky in a cloud of steam, Charles Babbage arrived in the same manner as Karna as he cracked the pavement upon his landing. Quickly brandishing his club, he quickly smacked Siegfried backwards and stood back to back with the black knight.
"Hmph. I have a score to settle with the Dragon Slayer. You take care of the Greek, Lancelot." Babbage rasped as he watched Siegfried stand back up.
"So the greatest knight of the Round table is my opponent? Excellent! This is getting better by the second! Siegfried!"
"Right!"
The two of them charged forward while the black knight and robot roared in challenge, not backing down in the slightest despite the disadvantage they were in.
(Break)
"Foolish beasts, how dare they attack my territory after it has been beseeched by a siege!" Vlad growled as he watched the battle below.
"It seems the priest intends to give everything he's got into this battle. The grail in the basement is his target. And if he's anything like I remembered, he won't stop at anything until he gets it." Darnic said as he watched from beside him.
"You being here perplexes me. Why aren't you evacuating with the other masters? You are most likely going to die here."
Down below at the front of the vanguard were Frankie and Iskander, who were the only ones preventing the Homunculi from being overrun.
"Guoh!" Frankie roared as she smashed a vampire flat and blasted a wave of lightning towards another, frying it entirely.
"Ahahaha! That's the spirit, girl!" Iskander roared with laughter as he ran over another group of unfortunate soldiers. He had several bullet wounds that marred his shoulder, but he didn't even seem to notice them in his crazy battle high.
His eyes suddenly widened when he felt a familiar sound of the air being cut. Quickly drawing his sword, he deflected an arrow that had been aimed at his head. Looking in the direction it came from, his eyes landed on a girl glad in green with cat features, holding a bow that was taller than her in height.
"Oho! A maiden archer! Tell me, could you consider coming to my army? It's turning into quite a handful out here, and we already have enough to deal with!"
"Stop wasting your words." Atalanta sighed as she notched more arrows and began firing at machine gun pace. Quickly spurring his chariot, Iskander released a battle cry as he followed after the archer.
Behind him, Frankie gave him a glance as she saw him get drawn away from the battlefield. She suddenly jumped back as a red laser impacted the spot she had just been standing on.
"Good reflexes."
Landing in front of her was the demon warlord herself in all of her black and red glory. Summoning two rifles into her hand, she leveled them at the machine in front of her.
"Let's see if you can make all this worthwhile, shall we?" She said with a grin.
(Break)
"Come on. We've only got a few more miles to go." Jeanne said with an encouraging tone as she guided the remaining masters through the woods towards the city.
"Gah! This is a waste of our time! What's going to stop that dastardly priest from destroying the entire city to get to us?" Gordes complained as he struggled to keep up with the rest of them. He was silently cursing himself for not being more fit when he was younger.
"Despite his intentions, I can only hope that he's not willing enough to blast the entire town to pieces." Jeanne said with a grimace. "Although, I can't really say for sure. It's a fifty to fifty shot."
"How the hell did he even qualify for a saint?!" Kairi asked with an exasperated look.
"He's only a saint to the people of Japan. The diocese have only canonized him as a blessed." Kiritsugu explained as he and Maiya began reloading their guns as they ran.
"The legend of the Shimabara Rebellion... He was a leader there. Other than that, there wasn't much to be know about him other than the fact that he was a genius commander and was able to perform miracles." Maiya muttered.
"Even then, he still lost." Fiore noted, keeping up with them using her bronze-link manipulator. "Wasn't he still a young boy at the time?"
"I believe so. Even by most standards, he didn't live very long. Perhaps a year younger than me or so." Jeanne said. She hadn't exactly lived a long life. Joining the front lines at a young age of 18, she died a year later at 19 when she had been captured and burnt at the stake.
"So he's around the same age as me?" Caules thought with surprise at the prospect of a hero the same age as him.
"It doesn't matter how old he is. The fact that he had planned this shows how dangerous he is." Waver said with a grim look.
"By the time the Association and the Church hear about this, it'll be too late." Reines muttered as she thought about the uproar the hierarchy would be in at the prospect of a church member nabbing the Grail for themselves.
"They'll be too busy arguing with each other to get anything done." Gray muttered.
Politics in the magical world was a serious pain. Sometimes it could take many weeks or months for them to even come to a mutual agreement.
"Wait, sister, aren't we missing someone?" Caules asked as he suddenly paused, causing everyone to stop and look at each other.
"I don't think so..." Fiore frowned. "Do you think we're missing anyone, uncle?"
"Bah! I'm 95 percent sure we left no one behind. Celenike is dead, and Darnic decided to stay behind for whatever reason. Who could we have possibly left behind?" Gordes asked with a frown as he crossed his arms.
"I can't remember anyone either." Kiritsugu said as he looked at Maiya. "What about you?"
"..." She was silent for a minute as she thought about it. "Wasn't there... Some orange haired kid? I don't remember his name but... I'm sure I've seen him once or twice."
The Yggdmillemia looked at each other for a second before their eyes began to widen.
"Oh shit!" Caules cursed
"Roche!" Fiore exclaimed.
"Stupid kid!" Gordes moaned.
"We left someone?!" Jeanne asked with a panicked expression at the fact that the person she had just left behind was a kid. Meanwhile, the rest of them were just face palming and groaning in annoyance.
Suddenly, a voice resounded from above them.
"Have no fear, Astolfo is here!"
Kiritsugu, Maiya, and Kairi immediately drew their guns and pointed it at the source. However, all amounts of hostility vanished when a certain pink paladin descended from the sky.
On the back of an eagle.
No... Wait...
"What the hell is that thing?!" Caules screamed as the beast let out a shriek that resembled the caw of an eagle.
"Eh? It's a hippogriff! Isn't it cool?" Astolfo said with pride as he stroked the beasts fur.
To everyone, it was quite the odd sight. For one, it had the head of an eagle and the body of a mare. Which, of course, isn't something that should be able to exist in the world.
So it would only make sense for the oddest servant to be in possession of such a creature.
"Anyway, I got Claues and Sieg for you! How could you even forget about them?" Astolfo asked as he dumped Roche and Sieg's body off the back of the Hippogriff.
"So... Fast." Roche muttered with swirls in his eyes alongside Sieg, who looked like they had been spinning around for the past 5 hours without stopping. Seeing this, Astolfo gave a sheepish grin.
"Ah... It seems I went too fast. No matter, they have arrived here safely!"
"Indeed they have."
Spinning around in surprise, the group saw Naruto step out of the shadows with a look of approval on his face as he regarded Jeanne.
"Seems you have things under control. That's good. At least I don't have to waste time."
"You're alive?!" Waver, Reines, and Gray exclaimed other than Jeanne, who didn't look surprised in the least and had a grin on her face.
"Duh. You think I'd let that Hassan beat me? I mean, he was pretty strong, but it wasn't too big."
"Nothing too big?!" The red camp looked exasperated while the Black camp members looked like they were trying hard not to prostrate themselves before him.
"Eh." Naruto shrugged. "Anyway, I'd best be off. Someone other than the priest has to get the Grail."
Everyone stared at him.
"Hold up. Did you mean to imply that you're going to take it for yourself?" Waver asked with an agape look.
"Well... Yeah. I don't think humans should have this kind of thing in their possession. I'll just dump it off in a place that no one will find it."
Reines moaned. "The council is going to have our heads... The greatest invention of magi, suddenly lost AGAIN without a trace."
"Well, not my problem. I've always hated politics." Naruto said with a shrug. "Anyway, gotta go!"
And with that, the shinobi disappeared in a blur, running off towards the castle before anyone could say anything. Watching him leave, Jeanne's heart sank at the thought that this could be the last time seeing him. This entire war will be settled in this last night and she will return to the throne of heroes either way.
Her posture straightened. It doesn't matter now. What mattered was getting everyone to safety. That was her duty as a heroic spirit of the Ruler class.
But...
This time, she decided to be selfish for once.
"Alright everyone, keep running in this direction. I trust that Astolfo can guide you." Jeanne said as she followed after Naruto, much to the surprise of everyone.
"Wait, what?!" Astolfo exclaimed, clearly not having expected to be put in charge. Seeing everyone's gaze fall on him, he began sweating profusely. "Um... Alright... Follow me!"
Cue sighing from everyone.
(Break)
"They just keep coming!" Mordred cursed as she sliced another vampire in half and kicked it's remains into the crowd. At this point, only the combined forces of the red and black servants were the only ones left to fight. The rest of the Homunculi had been slaughtered at this point by the vampires and the occasional missed attack by the servants.
"They'll have to end at some point. I'm just glad that our masters have gotten away." Helena said as she blasted another vampire away with a magical blast that came from the numerous magic books that surrounded her and shot at anything in sight.
"Humph. At least the Paladin was good for something and the young girl seems to be able to hold her own." Mordred grumbled. Jack had vanished on her own and could occasionally be found backstabbing unsuspecting enemies from the shadows. Suddenly, her eyes widened as she sensed something approach. "Dodge left!"
The two of them dove to the left as a golden axe flew out of the sky and smashed into the earth, hailing them with rubble as it exploded in a golden flash.
Flying above them, Gilgamesh flew in his golden jet as he initiated a dogfight with Blackbeards pirate ship. Moving with speed and performing maneuvers that shouldn't have been possible, Gilgamesh avoided being shot down by the numerous cannons.
"Hmph. What a shabby looking ship. Compared to those from Urk, it is but a board." Gilgamesh taunted with a smirk.
"Hey! I didn't have the budget for a bigger ship!" Blackbeard growled as he trained all of his cannons on the golden King.
"Stop talking and focus!" Atalanta yelled at him in annoyance as she avoided being trampled by Iskander's chariot.
"Ahahaha! I've almost got you!" Iskander laughed as he spurred his chariot on, launching lightning everywhere as the Bulls went berserk.
"With all that talking, you'd think they'd be having fun." Helena muttered.
"Lighten up a bit, will ya? This is the last stand any of us are going to make. We should have some fun before we tap out, eh?" Mordred said with a smirk.
Helena just sighed. "I'll never understand you people."
(Break)
"GRAHHHHHHHH!"
Achilles quickly jumped backwards as Arondight smashed into the ground in front of him. Immediately landing on his feet and exploding forward, Achilles quickly aimed a thrust that was meant to pierce the knight's heart.
However, he was suddenly launched backwards as Lancelot's hand smashed into his face. Of course, his divine protection prevented his body from breaking, but he still recoiled slightly from the force. Unfortunately, that small distraction was enough for Lancelot to pull his sword back up and slash at Achilles unguarded midsection.
"Shit!" Achilles cursed in his head as he watched the cursed sword swing towards him. Despite his protection, the sword was still a divine artifact forged by Faeries. Even if it was corrupted, it still had enough divine attributes to bypass his noble phantasm.
Luckily for him, the blade was deflected as a wall of wooden stakes rose from the ground and countered the sword swing. Of course, they were still cut in half, but the resistance slowed the strike enough for it to miss.
"Hmph. Now you plan on joining the battle?" Achilles grumbled as Vlad lanced beside him.
"I had expected you to do fine on your own, but I see that I sought more than I should have." Vlad said with a sigh as he pointed his spear at Lancelot, who had paused at the mere sight of the prince. "Let us hurry and destroy this mad dog. Our allies may need help soon."
"Tch, whatever you say." Achilles said as he raised his spear in agreement.
Before the three of them could resume their battle, however, the castle walls next to them exploded in an inferno as Arjuna and Karna tumbled out with burnt clothes and numerous wounds.
Arjuna's royal white garb was torn in numerous places alongside a fester of burn wounds that had worked its war across his right arm. Karna, on the other hand, looked absolutely burnt. His normally pale skin had turned into Arjuna's in the span of their fight.
Though, Karna looked to be in much better shape. Despite looking like total trash, he stood tall while Arjuna was panting in exhaustion. Probably because of his armor.
"Son of a bitch..." Arjuna muttered as he stood up and glared at his brother. "Damn it all... Why won't you die?! I've killed you before!"
Karna remained silent as he stared at his younger brother. Instead, he chose to just grip his spear and settle into another fighting stance.
"You may have killed me long ago, brother, but things are different now." Karna finally spoke, breaking the silence. His eyes widened in surprise, however, when multiple stakes jutted out of the ground and stabbed into him from all sides.
"Vile Lancer. You would be wise to stay where you are." Vlad spat as he raised his hand towards him.
Karna looked downwards at the stakes with a blank look on his face. While the stakes may have been part of a sure-kill noble phantasm, they had failed to pierce through the golden armor that was draped in his skin. Raising his spear, he casually shattered the wooden poles like they were sticks.
"Weak attacks like those won't do anything to me."
"You are certainly just like how I remember you, Karna."
Showing up besides Vlad, Darnic stood proudly with the regal air of a proud man. Narrowing his eyes, Karna eyed the blue haired man with a critical eye.
"I do not know you."
"No surprise. Heroic spirits aren't supposed to remember their past runs, are they?" Darnic said with a chuckle.
"Master, please stay behind me. This man is dangerous beyond compare." Vlad said, causing Darnic to smirk.
"Yes... I know."
"If you guys are done talking, let's get on with our fighting, shall we?" Achilles said with an annoyed tone as he took on a stance.
"Yes, indeed. We must purge such anomalies quickly." Vlad said with a savage grin.
"The both of you stay out of this, I'll be the one to kill my brother." Arjuna spat as he grabbed his bow.
Karna and Lancelot simply hefted their weapons and moved to each other's sides to regroup. Before they could even attempt to throw themselves at each other, they were interrupted once again.
"New orders."
The two servants stopped in their tracks as Babbage appeared above them. His metal body was torn in numerous places, the red eye flickered occasionally, and his left arm didn't look useable.
"I see... So they're going with that plan..." Karna muttered.
"Yes. He wishes to settle things now." Babbage rasped.
"Don't think I'll allow you to escape."
Siegfried suddenly appeared behind Babbage with his great sword in hand and a fierce look in his eyes. At this close of a range, there would be no way for him to dodge such a strike.
Yet... He didn't make a move even as Sieg swung his sword.
"All of your lives have been forfeit. There is no escaping what comes next." Babbage groaned as there was a sudden bright flash and the giant mech disappeared, causing Sieg's sword to bite into air.
"What? A command spell?" Siegfried muttered with a surprised look on his face.
"Coward... Are you running away?!" Arjuna growled as he aimed his bow at Karna and Lancelot, who was also glowing with the same light.
"Hm... I guess." Karna replied truthfully. "This is where we part ways, brother."
Arjuna roared as he let go of his bowstring, letting out one last projectile with all of the energy he could muster. Unfortunately, it simply soared through empty air as Karna and Lancelot vanished in the same manner.
"They've run away..." Achilles muttered as he lowered his weapon.
"And it seems the rest have too." Darinc muttered as he saw the rest of the black and red factions appear in front of them.
"My target has escaped me." Iskander reported with a grim look. "She has retreated along with the rest it seems."
"Me, Helena, and Jack have taken care of all the dead apostles." Mordred said with a scowl on her face. "Still... I do not understand the reason for their retreat. They still had enough power to at least make this an even fight."
"Humph. They just know better than to take a stand when I, Gilgamesh, is on the playing field!" Gilgamesh declared proudly with a smug smirk, causing everyone to roll their eyes.
"Somehow, I doubt that." Helena muttered as she looked around. The entire area was now empty and there were no soldiers for either of them to use. They were the only ones there to protect the Holy Grail. With no one else on the field, it would be easy for all of the servants to go all out without issue. So why...
"A ranged attack."
All of their eyes turned towards Helena at her declaration.
"What are you talking about, Caster?" Vlad asked with a frown. "The entire area is surrounded by thick trees that obscure lines of sight. I don't believe there are many archers out there who are capable of aiming through thick shrubbery at a threatening pace."
"Are you dense? I'm not talking about the Archer class. I'm talking about the Hanging Garden of Babylon that is hovering over there!"
All of their eyes widened as they turned their attention back to the floating fortress. Indeed, it has somehow managed to get closer to them in the span of their entire fight despite its slow traveling speed.
"That bitch! To use such an artifact that isn't tied to her legend is unforgivable! Truly, she reminds me of the wench of a goddess!" Gilgamesh growled with rage as he stared at a model of the original seven wonders of the world.
"Uh... Are we safe down here?" Mordred asked, finding herself fidgeting slightly at the sight in front of her. At the bottom of the fortress, a glowing purple ball of energy was slowly forming. A clear sign that something bad was about to happen.
"Damn that bitch... She plans to unleash it here?!" Gilgamesh cursed as the purple ball grew bigger.
"What the hell are they planning?" Achilles asked as he quickly materialized his spear.
"The hanging gardens aren't used as a defensive noble phantasm. It's one that is meant to attack and destroy by carrying weapons of mass destruction. Modern firepower doesn't even come close to the power it wields. None of us can outrun this, not even you, Lancer."
Everyone remained silent while Darnic was beginning to panic in his head. If what the king said was true, then they were all going to die! His wish, his goals, his dream! They were all going to die with him!
"Shit! Here it comes!" Achilles announced as he braced himself behind his shield. A second later, the purple ball of energy shot a powerful beam towards them with a power that was compared to hundreds of magical hydrogen bombs.
"Ea!" Gilgamesh called out in panic as his most treasured object appeared in his hand. However, it would be too late for him to charge it up.
"Pashupata!" Arjuna roared as he released his noble phantasm in a desperate attempt to counter the blast. From his bow shot a powerful beam of his own that was said to destroy everything it came into contact with, a weapon of mass destruction used only by the champions of the gods.
Unfortunately, it wasn't enough. If he only had more time to charge...
The two attacks collided, but it was clear who the winner was.
Within moments, the servants and Darnic could only see white as they felt themselves melt away from the overload of magical energy that surrounded them.
(Break)
Naruto skidded to a stop as a blast lit up the horizon, scattering shockwaves and winds that were compatible to a tailed beast bomb or Might Gai's Daytime Tiger strike.
"Oh no..." Naruto muttered with dread as he resumed running. Jumping out of the tree line, he was met with the sight of a charred wasteland. The castle of Yggdmillenia was in complete ruin with only very few parts of it remaining.
The charred landscape brought back memories of the great shinobi war with Madara. Only this time, the ten-tails was replaced with an ancient floating fortress that was planning to get the Grail.
Landing amidst the rubble, he began heading towards what remained of the castle while keeping his eyes on the Hanging Garden as it hovered overhead.
He grimanced as he stepped over a skeleton. Apparently the beam hadn't been able to melt everything it had struck. Instead, it seemed to have left a very high trace of magical energy in the area. This much would have been like radiation poisoning to a normal Magi.
Suddenly, he froze as he felt several high powered entities closing in on him. Quickly moving his head to the side, he avoided several arrows that had been aimed to pierce his skull. Twisting his body at inhuman angles, he dodged several lasers that had been fired at him. Summoning a black rod into his hand, he swatted away a spear strike that aimed to split him in two, and quickly jumped to the side as a sword strike slashed at him from behind.
Skidding to a stop, Naruto looked up and saw the familiar faces of the rogue servants alongside two ones, presumably fill in units for Billy the kid and Asterios deaths.
"Of course all of you would be here." Naruto muttered in annoyance. "How about all of you go ahead and hightail it out of here already. I have bigger fish to fry."
"Can't let you do that, Maelstrom." Karna said as he hefted his spear.
"Kotomine has ordered for us to take you down." Atalanta said as she notched several arrows into her bow.
"Long time no see, Sempai!" Oda said with a grin as several rifles materialized above her.
"Master's enemy is my enemy!" Babbage declared as he lifted his club with his working hand.
"GRAAAAAAH!" Lancelot roared in his usual tone.
Naruto blinked as he stared at them. Odd. It felt like he had heard something like that in a video game somewhere, but he couldn't really remember where.
He shook his head. That was irrelevant.
What mattered now was to educate these youngsters on a real lesson of violence.
"That's a bold declaration." Naruto spoke as he jabbed the black rod into the ground for show, causing the servants to fidget slightly. "Truly, with all of you here, I can't afford to go lightly. However..."
The smirk he gave them next made their skin crawl with anxiety.
"...You should have brought more."
And with that, Naruto quickly activated his chakra cloak and threw himself at his opponents to initiate the final battle of this Holy Grail War.
(Break)
Nowadays, one-sided battles weren't really his thing. He wanted to face beings that could be actually give him a challenge, but he found very few that could actually do so.
He had travelled all over the world, fighting dead apostles, phantasmal beasts, and also once fought the spider that resided in Africa. Out of all of them, the spider was the only one who could force him to go all out briefly. Even then, he crippled it so badly that he expected it to take at least 1000 years for it to recover.
Right now, however, was a different story. He was looking to show off his power to people who had been acknowledge as high class beings.
Immediately, he had already chosen his target. Rushing forward, he immediately grabbed the Indian demigod and began swinging him around, much to everyones surprise.
The demigod could do nothing but struggle uselessly in Naruto's iron grip as he swung him around. Since he was too close, his spear had been neutralize.
It was at this point that the rest of the servants began their attack. Apparently deciding that Karna was alright since he had his golden armor to protect him.
Atalanta launched her arrows, Oda began firing her beams wildly, and Babbage began spewing gas everywhere.
They did nothing as Naruto held Karna in front of him, forcing him to take the full force of the attacks as he charged towards the servants.
Karna's stunned face took on an annoyed look as he saw what Naruto was doing. Quickly closing his eyes, he activated his mana burst skill and exploded into flames, surprising Naruto who dropped him abruptly.
Quickly rolling to his feet, Karna began to take a stance to initiate a piercing thrust, but he was suddenly sent flying backwards as Naruto kicked him in the chest towards Babbage before turning towards the next incoming threat.
"GRAAAA!" Lancelot roared as he charged at him with Arondight drawn.
"Begone, mad dog. I do not have time to deal with you." Naruto scowled as he summoned a truth seeking orb into his hand. Channeling his chakra, a purple hue began to form around the weapon.
"Grah?" Lancelot's growl turned to confusion as his sword broke in half when it came into contact with Naruto's weapon. Before he could even react, he soon found his body bisected in half as Naruto's rod easily cut straight through him and obliterated his spiritual core, destroying him instantly as he exploded into mana.
"One down..." Naruto said with a grin as he turned to the rest. "Four to go."
"Brahmastra!" Karna announced.
"Three thousand worlds!" Oda shouted, summoning three thousand arquebuses above her.
"Phobeus Catastrophe!" Atalanta yelled as she shot two arrows into the sky above.
"Dimension of Steam!" Babbage roared as he over clocked his suits limitations, spewing steam into the atmosphere.
Naruto simply raised an eyebrow as the barrage of four powerful noble phantasm so smashed into him. Beams of red bombarded his position, arrows of light rained from the sky, scalding steam washed over him, and a beam of fire comparable to a nuclear bomb exploded directly on him.
"We got him!" Oda cried out with a grin as she watched the explosion envelop him.
"That should have done it. No normal person could possibly-"
Atalanta was cut off abruptly as a grinding sound reached their ears. Before the explosion has even settled, a spinning blue object immediately shot straight out of the fire and slammed straight into the huntress. A yelp rose from Oda's throat before it was also cut off as the sphere expanded and exploded outwards, swallowing her but falling short of Karna and Babbage who had moved backwards out of the range of the attack.
"Lol. Jk, not dead." Naruto joked as he stepped out of the smoke without any signs of injury other than being covered in black soot from head to toe.
"What... what kind of monster are you?" Babbage rasped as he looked at the spot his comrades had once resided.
"Human. What else would I be?" Naruto said with a shrug before he disappeared once again. Babbage's suit suddenly began emitting a loud siren sound as he soon found Naruto grabbing his arm.
"How about giving me a hand for a bit?"
Babbage let out a screech as Naruto proceeded to rip his metal arm off. With brute strength, he smashed it directly into Babbage's metal head and pierced the spiritual core, shutting him down and toppling him to the ground as he began dissolving.
"Now that leaves you, son of the sun god." Naruto said as he turned towards Karna. "I don't enjoy taking a heroic life such as yours, but it seems I must end this now. Your master is already excavating the grail it seems."
Indeed. Using some kind of reverse gravitational field, the Hanging Garden began to uproot the remains of the Yggdmillenia castle. Seconds later, the glowing form of the grail soon emerged from the earth and slowly began to move upwards toward the Garden.
"I know I can not beat you." Karna spoke as he raised his spear. "But I will not back down. To do so would bring dishonor on my father's name. That is something I can not allow."
"Honestly, you remind me of that Mifune dude." Naruto muttered as Karna began to glow with a golden light. Seconds later, there was a tearing sound and Karna's skin seemed to peel off his body. However, Naruto knew that he was removing the golden armor that his father had given him. Attaching itself to the spear, it suddenly morphed into a completely different form, turning into an impossibly large weapon that should not be called a spear.
More like a work of art.
Or a surfboard, to be honest.
"This is the legendary god-killing spear that was given to me by Lord Indra himself. It may not be as powerful as it was in life, but..."
He rose into the air and drew his arm back.
"...This will at least give me a chance to go out in a way that won't dishonor my father! With this single strike, I shall inflict extinction! Vasavi Shakti!
He thrusted the spear forward in an attack that was so powerful and fast, Naruto could only blink before it was upon him. Sacrificing his indestructible armor, he transformed his spear into a force that is said to kill even the gods. A weapon that even Indra himself couldn't handle perfectly on his own.
It purifies everything it touched and kill anything. Demons, heroes, phantasmal creatures, even gods.
But the person in front of him was no mere god.
Even as the blast died down, sweltering heat remained. The earth turned red from the flames, and nearby trees and plant life caught on fire. No normal being could stay standing after such conditions.
And yet, the counterattack that came didn't even give him an opportunity to dodge.
Karna grunted as a black object shot out of the smoke and impaled itself in his chest. Looking down, he saw that it was a black rod. The same one he had been wielding earlier. And once he saw it, his body began disintegrating.
Still, he smiled.
"It was always... inevitable."
He muttered before finally disappearing. Stepping out of the smoke cloud, Naruto eyed the spot the demigod had been with a sad face before turning towards the rising Grail. Just as he began to approach it, a familiar voice stopped him.
"Naruto!"
Turning around in surprise, Naruto saw Jeanne run up to him with a worried look on her face. Breathing slightly, she gave him a concerned look as she ran up to him. Looking around at her surroundings, she could only fathom what had just happened here.
"So..."
"I won." Naruto clarified, but he didn't seem particularly happy. "All that's left is to take care of the death cup up there."
"I see..." Jeanne muttered as she looked up at the cup. "What do you plan to do?"
"I plan to take it far away. Somewhere where no one will ever reach it. After that, I'm going to destroy it." Naruto said as he placed his hands in his pocket as he realized something. "Shouldn't you be with the others?"
Jeanne's demeanor suddenly took on a shy turn. "Well... yes. But... I just wanted to..."
She trailed off with a slight blush on her face, causing Naruto to blink at her for a couple seconds before a genuine smile shined on his face. Reaching up, Jeanne gave a short 'eep' as Naruto ruffled her hair.
"That's sweet of you. I was originally going to send a clone to give you my farewells but this is much better." Naruto said warmly, causing Jeanne to blush. "As you expect, this will be the final time we see each other. I can't really give you any heartfelt advice before I leave, but I don't think you'll need it. You're already good at that."
"Ah... I probably won't remember you anyway. Spirits like us don't remember anything when we go back to the throne of heroes. Not our time here... past experiences... or faces." Jeanne muttered sadly as she looked down.
"Hm... I believe that isn't true." Naruto said with a smile, causing her to look at him once again. "Friendship is a strange thing, isn't it? It can break at any moment, but you remember them better than anything else. Even if you do not remember me, I will certainly remember someone like you."
He pulled her into a hug, and Jeanne gasped as she felt his arms around her. Within seconds, she couldn't help but tear up as the feels train caught up to her. Returning the hug gratefully, they finally pulled away.
She sniffed as Naruto began wiping her tears away, his smile turning sad. "Do not cry. I hate seeing people do that. I can cry enough for the both of us."
"But... this isn't fair to you..." She muttered. How could she ask of this from him? A god he may be, but tampering with such a curse is dangerous to anything that walked on this earth.
"I'm a hero and a shinobi. I'm trained to do anything for this world, no matter the cost." Naruto said as he turned towards the rising Grail. "You're a saint. You would do the same."
She pursed her lips and looked down.
"Goodbye for now, Jeanne-chan. However..."
He turned and gave her one last foxy grin.
"...I believe we shall see each other again in the future. Somewhere where countless other stars gather to light up the world."
And with that, Naruto took off running in the form of a blur towards the grail while Jeanne watched him go with a heavy heart. Still... she couldn't help but feel pride and joy as she watched him run.
And deep in her heart, she believed it to be true. They would meet each other again one day.
But until that day comes, she will wait patiently.
Waiting for the warmth of the light.
(Break)
"Oh no..." Semiramis muttered.
"What is it?" Shirou asked as he looked at her alarmed look with a sense of concern.
"That idiot! What does he think he's doing?!"
"Semiramis, explain to me what is going on!" Shirou ordered in a calm tone.
"Our pest has just decided to punch a hole directly into the holy grail after jumping straight onto it!" Semiramis exclaimed, causing Shirou's eyes to widen in panic.
"What?! But the curse will-"
"The curse will not affect the earth today, catholic."
Suddenly, as if appearing out of thin air, Naruto appeared with the damaged Grail. This time, it was glowing extremely bright with a newfound hole opened in the center.
"You fool!" Semiramis screeched with unfamiliar fear as she scrambled away from the volatile Grail. "What have you done?! You've just allowed a way for the contents inside to spill out! The entirety of Earth will be covered in the curse as Angra Manyu awakens!" she paused for a moment. "And how did you even get in here?!"
"No. I will not allow it. I'm simply giving you the Grail that you desired." Naruto said as he kicked over a desk, revealing a Hirashin seal that he had placed there before their escape. "You understand what this means, boy?"
Shirou remained silent, but there was now a familiar look in his eyes that Naruto recognized easily.
It was the look of defeat. The same look of defeat that Madara Uchiha had when he realized his plans were for naught.
"This Grail War is over." Naruto said with a smirk before his eyes switched to the Rinnegan.
"Amenominaka!"
Naruto closed his eyes and smirked as he thought about what was going to happen. Sure, he may survive this, but he certainly wasn't going back to earth anytime soon. He needed a break.
And... he needed some time alone with his thoughts.
"We had a good run, Master Jeanne..." He thought as he tuned out the sounds surrounding him. The yelling and cursing of Assassin, the shriek of the Grail, and the slow warp of reality around them.
Suddenly, the door flew open and Shakespear ran into the room.
"Master! Great news! I have just finished my latest master piece! Do you want to re-"
He was cut off as they were transported to a different dimension. No more than a second later, the Grail exploded and showered them all in cursed light as all the world's evil spilled everywhere.
And yet, Naruto smiled contently.
(Break)
That's the end guys...
.
.
Just kidding! I'm having way too much fun with this story to simply quit after this! There will be a next chapter, with the setting of Fate/grand order as the centerpiece!
Of course, the developers haven't finished with the game yet, but we should be getting more story by the time the other chapters roll around.
I just wanted to let you all know to stick around. This road is far from over.
Also, my schedule will be getting busier with school and whatnot, so don't be discouraged once updates start slowing down. School is more important after all!
Thank's for being with me on this journey. See you all soon!