Chapter 58: The Savage

"Haha, die trash!" Kotori said as she licked on her lollipop while Kyuko was content on being her chair to sit on. The rest of the staff sans Reine were also cheering for Miku as well as booing on Shiori. It was obvious that they were also afflicted by Miku's mystical voice.

Even though they can't be heard, The Ratatoskr could see and hear what was happening inside the stadium and thus, the unfortunate occurred.

"You will die for tricking our dear sister!" Kotori exclaimed as the system notified her that it was charging the Mystletainn. The initial strike was just to scrape off the wall for a better coverage. Shiori must die as clearly as possible.

No scum should live on earth after disgracing their dear sister. Kotori would like to put the cannon on its maximum output in order to ensure that any traces of Shiori would be gone.

Cue evil laugh.

"Har, har, har, har!"

Only for her to take notice the smoke littered all over the floor and the numerous bodies of the staff laid flat on the floor unconscious while the evil smoke surrounded them eerily. Her seat himself was on the brink of fainting until he eventually gave up and laid on the floor too. The Captain of Fraxinus was rolled away from the controls.

Kotori was shocked that she was too late to recognize the warning signs and felt her body being weary all of the sudden. Left with no other choice, she crawled toward where the button was located and desperately reached for it. The Mystletainn was already loaded to its maximum.

If… only… she could… reach it.

Thus, Kotori failed her mission.

Jackie waited for a minute or two until she eventually opened the door to the command center. She just wanted to make sure that everyone inside that room was already downed by her fog.

As an Assassin, it is a child's play for her to infiltrate the ship, whether it was still invisible or not.

She looked around inside the room as she entered the room quietly.

"Hello, is anyone still awake?" She exclaimed inside the room if anyone was still listening. Of course, she'll just knock them out if they are not yet asleep or pretending to sleep. Assassin is well versed in detecting breath that is not synonymous with someone who is actually asleep.

Her Mother ordered her to knock them out in case they were also under influence of Miku's voice so it seemed that its a job well done. She eventually dispersed the fog for convenience. Jackie was about to exit when something happened…

*WHACK*

A well aimed kick made Jackie instinctively shield herself and jumped away from whoever assaulted her. Jackie felt it weak but nonetheless, did not try to downplay the situation here. Jackie realized it was someone whom she was familiar with.

Mana covered her mouth with a thick cloth and yet she still suffered from the same effects that the staff of Ratatoskr has yielded to. It is a miracle that she managed to stay awake despite the glaring effectiveness of Jackie's smoke. Years of combat training and conditioning isn't enough to stop her from going unconscious.

Her initiating kick wasn't good either. Jackie immediately approached her. "Are you alright? Are you being mind-controlled?" Jackie asked as she sat in front of Mana, who was now lying down due to weakening and yet she tried to look at Assassin's eyes weakly.

Mana's ferocious eyes directed toward Jackie was enough evidence that the former Adeptus wasn't under influence. Assassin immediately disperse the fog for good which made Mana recover quickly.

The former Adepust immediately stood and remained defensive. "You are one Ritsuka's Servant, aren't you?" Mana carefully asked.

Jackie did not answer her, instead she just aimlessly operated the controls connected to the Mystletainn cannon. Assassin successfully managed to turn it off, to the relief of anyone.

Then Assassin turned to the unconscious staff of the Ratatoskr, as well as the captain herself. If things go alright, then they would wake normal as they were before.

Then she turned her sight to the only one who was still awake. "What?" Mana just crossed her arms underneath; she was feeling disappointed because it seemed that she was left out of the scene. Of course, she was aware that there is something not right but she was promptly surprised that the staff and their captain were already going nuts.

"Nee, Onne-chan, can you take care of them, please?" Jackie asked Mana. She also did not forget to say please in front of someone.

Of course, Mana has no other choice as she can't just outright refuse someone who is stronger than her, which she just plainly admitted. It was such a relief that the Fraxinus ship has an autopilot command or else they would be reeling to their own death.

Before Mana could say anything, Jackie immediately dematerialized and made haste back to the stage for her Mother.

Mana scanned the entire room once more and when she set her eyes upon the screen, she realized it was more urgent than she had thought. Origami facing against Bailey's team herself seemed to be sufficient, while using the untested White Licorice but it is more detrimental than what she could imagine.

Luckily, the staff of Fraxinus had prepared her their own version of a combat suit that coincidentally suited for her. Hastily, she went to one of the room where the suit was being stored.

She will be joining the fray above the skies.

Rider has been acutely aware that the stupid ship was trying to make a hole and promptly protected her Master. Ritsuka instinctively covered herself as the debris just made everything near visible.

It is unfortunate that almost all of the mind-controlled people were also injured during the blast and still some of them who were able were just keep on pouring and assaulting them, albeit to no avail.

It was truly a disgusting and pitiful sight.

Rider just recently kicked away an individual with no difficulty, just to keep them out of reach from her Master. Of course, she can always use hostile force to blow them away easily but she was aware that Ritsuka would not allow her to do that.

On the actual stage, the Hurricane Twins were still at large against Mashu while Caster against Yoshino.

The speed of the Twins just made it harder for Mashu to catch on to them but she has enough instinct to guard herself from their evasive attacks, even if there are two of them. Just like the Twins, they have hard time to penetrate into Mashu's steadfast defense and only they could do was to chip away her shield, which doesn't even work. Even their winds have no effects on Shielder either.

It also did not help that Tohka was occasionally swiping one of them as long as she could, making it difficult for them to fight properly, although so far she wasn't successful at hitting either of them.

Trying to hit Tokha just only ended up on Mashu's shield for no reason; perhaps it's one of Mashu's innate ability to protect others passively.

Meanwhile, Caster and Yoshinon were having a bout. Caster easily evaded all of the Hermit's ice attacks but has a difficulty taking her down without resorting to lethal options. Circe doesn't want to end Yoshinon's life without any sufficient reason, that's why she just went on the defensive.

Besides, even without even committing to counterattacks, Circe's magic beams easily melt Hermit's ice without any difficulty.

Despite outnumbering her opponents, it is clear that she was on the losing side. If this goes on, surely she will have no choice but to flee. The maggot named Shidou was waiting for her to surrender, she knew it. Even she would not breathe in the same place as the maggot.

However, uneasiness befalls upon her for no reason.

"Miku, please! Stop all of this nonsense!" Shidou tried to plead. He was exposed. Surely, Miku can sneak a killing blow to shut this maggot's life with this chance.

*PLUNK*

It was coming for Shidou and he didn't even notice it.

*THUNK!*

Shidou was suddenly surprised by the light show that was about to ruin his face. Thankfully, Tohka managed to deflect with her own sword.

"*tsk*" Miku was annoyed, of course, the Sword wielding Maiden is protecting her while giving a helping hand against the other twin of the Hurricane. Multitasking was already a difficult job to begin with.

Shidou realized that Miku was really trying to kill him but he won't budge from his place yet, as long as Miku won't listen to him then he won't scamper away. He steeled his resolve so much, and he won't be a coward in front of her.

He just wanted to save her and stop her from ruining this place.

Scathach was now returning back to the stadium when she sensed trouble brewing inside the building itself. Of course, she is confident that the other Servants will protect their Master fiercely. She wanted to save these fallen Wizards from the sky but going to her Master takes priority.

Her Servant speed will surely not fail-

*CLANG*

Scathach barely parried the offending lightsaber with her hastily created spear and yet she was thrown away several feet away, her feet skidding along the pavement. It should be impossible for a Wizard to be able clash a Servant let alone fighting on equal ground…

No, that kind of thinking will only kill her. She can't let herself underestimate any enemy facing her. Admittedly, she smirked as her thirst for this kind of battle rose. Lancer immediately prepared two spears by her side. She can't just ignore this particular Wizard now since she's already in front of her, waiting for her next move.

For a seemingly powerful Wizard that she faced for the first time, this one looked… so bland in comparison to the point that Scathach can only pinpoint her facial features with those glasses and innocent personality.

"Blocking my stealth attack? Definitely a Spirit, don't we?" The Wizard reaffirmed as she readied her saber. It seems that no one can sway her decision and is very determined to cut Scathach down.

Scathach only grinned in delight for a second. "Spirit or not, it doesn't matter for me...however..." Her eyes glinted with amusement. "It will be nigh interesting if you can tell me your name." Scathach expected her to turn down her own request right away but silence between them means the other way.

"Really? This is the first time someone asked for my name." The Wizard giggle. "Then I will indulge your interest… I am Adeptus 4 of the DEM Industries, Mable Mcintosh… prepare to die!"

The title 'Adeptus' bears some weight for Scathach. This means that she must have earned the title to be one of the strongest in this world. That's good.

Scathach was the first one to initiate this fight as she threw several spears at Mable as she tested the waters. The same can be said for Mable, as she tried to predict the route of the moving spears, each of them she flawlessly avoided with sheer accuracy.

The epic fight between them just started. Little did Scathach know that Mable won't take her seriously.

Maybe it was her imagination or not but it seemed that the stadium was getting more crowded than she could have thought. Rider did her best to push away all those frail-looking humans being controlled by Miku without getting them killed, at least make them disable a little bit.

Suddenly, Rider could feel her instinct kicking in and immediately grab her Master as they jump toward the second platform where Drake deduced her Master will be safe. The sudden emergency promptly made Drake forget about Shidou, who was still left down the ground and left on to be stood guard by Tohka completely.

"We forgot Shidou-kun!" Ritsuka reminded Rider as the Master of Chaldea leaned over and pointed to the said indiviual, but of course it was too late.

*CRASH!*

Another side of the wall exploded. It was so powerful that most of the individuals near it were also thrown away unexpectedly and stopped all of the participants, namely the brainwashed former Spirits, Miku and Ritsuka's Servants, just to witness this explosive scene. Surely, this would result in many casualties.

Tohka was already dedicated in protecting Shidou by all herself by shielding him from the blast with her own body as she made herself wide using her arms in the last-minute but it seemed that it wasn't enough.

Shidou was thrown immediately regardless, and almost lost his consciousness when he bumped to the other side of the wall.

Scathach later on appeared beside the prone body of Shidou, skidding along the floor while her attention was at the newly created hole. With the number of holes littered around the building, it was a miracle that the stadium was still standing.

Dammit! Scathach didn't expect to be thrown straight to the building. It is as if Mable's strength is comparable to Servants with A+ strength. With that realization, she was more annoyed and irritated at the prospect of it.

"Sorry I lied!" Mable apologized. "I did not aim to fight you seriously." She said toward Scathach with a carefree giggle . "I currently have a mission that I must employ and I must not ignore it easily!" She added as she raised her hand.

Scathach widened her eyes from what she was seeing. Shidou, who was still recovering, was also shocked from what he was seeing. Never have they thought that she would be defeated by that particular Wizard in accidental blow.

Mable raised the unconscious [Princess] by her nape with a defined strength, showing off who she was aiming at in the beginning. Her sword dissipated completely, as well as the unfinished battle armor Tohka temporarily made avail.

"TOHKA!" Shidou shrieked in despair as she tried to reach her with his weakened arm, hoping that she would hear him. The innate healing ability of his was taking a while to fully regenerate him and yet he still forced himself to stand up and retrieve Tohka, further worsening his condition.

Scathach stopped him from getting anywhere however…

"If I were you, young man, I would never take another step forward… you might just kill yourself." Mable warned him as she carried Tohka's body by her shoulder. "The same can be said for the rest of you inside, I can pinpoint who's who and who's not."

Nevertheless, Shidou didn't listen to her and kept on shouting at Tohka.

Wasting no time, Mable immediately left the scene in a supersonic speed, leaving only dust and smoke upon its wake. Shidou broke free from Scathach's grasp and made a fruitless chase away to Mable's direction.

"TOHKA!" Shidou shouted with all his might. Scathach attempted to catch him but the all of the brainwashed audience suddenly resumed moving and prevented her from exiting, as they also attempted to catch Shidou too regardless of their safety, which only made her more annoyed than usual.

A cleaning is necessary as of the moment.

Shidou ran and ran outside, regardless of his wounds being repaired by his abilities. He didn't care how it would hurt him later on, as long as he could catch up to Tohka.

...which is proven to be useless. His stamina is still lacking and his clothes were now in tatters. He bet that the Ratatoskr is out of commission due to being controlled by the voice of Miku. He realized that he felt helpless right now because he just left Ritsuka and her Servants that could have helped him.

How foolish of him to run away without any thoughts and now he can't return back to the stadium because of those brainwashed individuals adamantly searching for him.

Now, the only thing he cared about was that he felt it in his guts that he was walking in the right direction, where the Wizard named Mable who took Tohka, flew in that large building. He felt that he could find Tohka there.

He never has the time to think of what will happen next, or what if she's not there, and anything else that he needs to plan and think about deeply. He was a desperate man right now.

He was aware that the stadium behind him was now too far for him to return and any moment his knees will give in.

*SLURP*

Taking another step, his left foot suddenly sunk down and he was unable to raise it. Shidou was taken by surprise and tried to escape and struggle as much as he could with all of the strength he had and yet he only continued to sink further into the darkness ladened on the road. He raised both of his arms, waving them erratically and as if grasping overhead, in desperation.

"*guh* HELP!" He shouted as loud as he could using his already rough voice. Shidou was drowning from this pit of darkness and he could do nothing about. Unfortunately, no individual was near him as he continued shouting until his mouth was eventually covered by the darkness.

It took a full minute before his entire body was swallowed up. The pit of darkness receded into nothingness, as if nothing happened there in the first place.

The poor boy was gone and no one knew what happened to him.

They have managed to sedate almost all of the people being allured by the voice of [Diva] inside the stadium using Assassin's Noble Phantasm The Mist, the same ability she used to make all of the maddened staff of the Ratatoskr unconscious for a long time. Thankfully, Jackie managed to control its potency to a ridiculous degree, just enough to knock down all of the individuals inside the room.

The thick mist behaved peacefully on the ground, floating haphazardly, with the bodies of unconscious individuals decorating the stadium floor and stage. Ritsuka observed all of this while on the higher elevated floor together with most of her Servants.

The Master of Chaldea just furrowed her eyebrows in worry. [Diva] managed to escape the stadium, together with the other Spirits in tow. Shidou attempted to give chase to the one who abducted Tohka and now was nowhere to be found. Ratatoskr was currently unable to provide help. Problems after problems kept on piling up.

"I'm so sorry, I-" Scathach attempted to apologize. She felt that it was her fault that she is responsible for Shidou's disappearance but the look of Ritsuka said it otherwise.

"Please don't, there is nothing to be blamed for, we are all being taken by surprise." Ritsuka surmised and yet she has difficulty accepting the scenario. She doesn't blame her Servants.

"We must move on and resolve this conflict as quickly as possible." She said as a matter-of-fact, it is useless to think about what happened earlier since it already happened, no matter how . All they needed to do was what to do next.

All of her Servants agreed, this seemed to be getting worse every minute passed. They just only recently realized that Miku's voice did not limit itself within the stadium alone, but somehow reached toward the entire city block.

This could be a bit more challenging.

Ritsuka already deduced what she was trying to do next, at least her own idea of resolving this situation. "If we are to assume that Miku is already outside, then we can't totally rely on the officials currently." She then scans the interior of the building, wall by wall.

Ritsuka breathed heavily at first. "I believe that this building is on the verge of collapse, and all of the people inside are in danger. It is a miracle that the stadium still stood."

She then looked at Mashu. "Mashu…"

"Yes, Senpai!"

"We need to evacuate all of the people while Circe-san will reinforce the walls until we secure all of the people."

"Sure, sure..." Circe assured nonchalantly. She admitted that she can fix the building as new but if this is what her Master wants then why not. Surely, she must have reasons.

"Jackie... " Ritsuka called.

"Yes, mama?!"

"You and Rider will have to team up and find Miku-san, and try to stop her..."

"Got it Mastah!" Rider said.

"Also, please don't kill her..." Their Master pleaded back. There's no need to spill some blood, aren't there?

"Ok!" Jackie said obediently as she raised her pinkie finger. "No killing! I promise." She said before both Assassin and Rider disappeared into motes of light as they started their mission.

"...and Scathach-san."

"Yes?"

"I task you with finding Shidou..."

"Of course..." Scathach replied without hesitation. "I will not fail you..."

"There's no need for that, I already trust you a lot, Scathach-san."

Scathach has difficulty accepting that remark. "..." In the end, she never retorted back, so instead, she changed the topic. "In that case, do you need additional help from the other Servants? The ones that are not currently present I mean." Lancer questioned her.

Ritsuka thought for a moment. "I think most of you are enough… Berserker alone can wreck this place any moment." She reasoned. "Don't worry, if things get escalated quickly, I'll do it. Thank you for your concern."

"No worries, I shall be going now." Scathach said before she disappeared like a ninja.

Ritsuka then sighed deeply when she realized that Mashu and Circe are the only who were left with her. She just hoped that wherever Shidou is, he'll be alright, as well as Tohka, who was abducted by a Wizard that might be affiliated toward the AST.

It is unfortunate that she didn't know where she was being held. She doesn't know if not prioritizing the rescue of Tohka is right or wrong, she just hoped that all things will be alright.

…

…

Did she just jinx herself? Nah.

Origami was beyond exhausted. Blood kept on flowing out of her face's orifices; mouth, nose, ears and her own eyes. She doesn't know and doesn't care if she can hold it against them a little more.

She has already downed several members of Jessica's team and yet they are still formidable and has become wary as of the moment. Her vision was getting fuzzy and she wondered if she would die right in the middle of the sky.

She was dead-tired and her body seemed to be protesting against her will. The White Licorice is proven to be too effective, to the point it is quite deterrent to its user. It is a miracle that Origami is still alive despite the allotted time pitted against her.

Again, she vomited a volume of blood.

"This might have come from me, you bitch, but the best thing you should do is to surrender right now!" Jesssica commanded her with so much fury, even if Origami indeed surrendered, she'll just gun her down one way or another. Giving her false hope was just something she could take advantage of.

Still, Origami refused weakly and readied the Licorice once more.

"Your funeral then." Jessica pointed her gun toward the vulnerable Origami.

*PSSHHHH*

Before she could give order to her remaining team, a few of them were now downed by another laser in a succeeding hit that came from nowhere and managed to interrupt her. It managed to penetrate the shield of the Wizards.

Luckily, Jessica is able to dodge the incoming laser that was homing for her, but hit the other Wizard as it continued its assault. Immediately, Jessica scanned the whole sky for the new intruder- and there she is, rushing in the battle as she took its place beside the weakened Origami.

Jessica's eyebrows furrowed with anger. "Of course, the traitor revealed herself all along..." she remarked.

Mana was smirking confidently. "Hmmph, I'm just trying to level this playfield, seeing that you are just bullying this little girl." She teased, which made Origami glanced at her angrily for a moment, but did not decide to act on it any longer. She had admitted that she would be in deep trouble if it weren't for Mana backuping her.

Mana proudly donned a suit that was made by the Ratatoskr and with its sleek design and powerful potential, it is no doubt this is several times better than what she previously wore.

"So ladies and gentlemen, do you have enough ammunition for round 2?" Mana scorned all of them.

Of course, all hell break loose.

He was sinking.

He was drowning.

He was suffocating.

He couldn't see and he couldn't hear anything but the heartbeat of his nervous heart. He felt as if he was below the ocean.

"Help me!" He shouted as much as he could.

Within this darkness, as if someone answered his call, he could spy a fleeting light that was coming to him. A desperate man as he is, he clawed his way toward that little hope. Despite the rigorous task it seemed that it was working. His fingers finally reached the light and something happened to him.

Shidou breathed in deeply, as if recovering from being drowned as he gasped for the air greedily. The darkness around him slowly receded away. He skin crawled for a moment when he witnessed them moving away from him.

Then he found himself within an unknown building. He looked around once more and realized that his body was still weak from being teleported. Yes, it seemed someone or something dragged him to the darkness and led him here.

"Owa? Shidou-kun." A certain female that was awfully familiar made his blood run cold. Of course, it was Kurumi all along and it made himself flattened against the wall due to instinct warning him. "You're lucky that I managed to grab you unnoticed, seeing that the people are willing to rip you apart."

He wanted to argue at this moment, but felt no need for it. He looked deeply toward Kurumi's pair of heterochromatic eyes. "Such blazing desire..." She commented and then chuckled.

Kurumi then approached him closer and kneel in front of her. "I know you want to save dear ol' princess." she said as he clasped both of her hands together and pretended to be in love.

Shidou immediately disliked the tone of Kurumi.

"That's why I have a proposition for you." She said finally.

Yes, in front of [Nightmare], he has no other choice.