(8)
"Rin, I've been wondering. you have any plans on how we're gonna get back to Riyadh?"
Rin was particularly waylaid about the answer. The fact that they somehow managed to get as far as this in such a tight period was a blessing.
Being in an absolutely no man's land and a peculiarly harsh environment of the Mesopotamian desert, it was truly remarkable. Within a space of a week they trailed their way into this cave. From then on they managed to punch through the tunnel in the matter of one week.
Everything went on smoothly without any detrimental facets to their master plan... Well, for a period of time they thought of it that way. But by now they found that they were missing this one obvious element in their conquest for Ea and that had to do with something obvious called Transportations.
Of course, the said mistake wasn't something as easily as avoidable as one might think. Being a highly concealed site, the place was far away from any traditional trade routes. initially they tried taking a jeep, but in this rugged terrain, there are so many a place that even conventional modern technology won't work out it's magic.
It wasn't long before they began hitchhiking for traders, the traditional camel merchants that occasionally pass the empty stretch of sand. Whether by sheer luck or an act of fate, they somehow managed to do just that. But minor glitches such as rigid geography and language barriers took them on their feet and a march to this land of nowhere.
Now the serious problem of transportation began haunting their success. If the thing goes bad they'll have to somehow wake the unconscious professor from his slumber and regain his help, but that puts them in this one serious problem.
Generally, people who are exposed to suggestions develop an immunity that makes repetitive application of suggestive technique a nearly impossible task, seeing that Rin's eyes weren't exactly something that fell under the category of far-fetched, this sure was a very real threat. That's what Rin had been quiet for all along and certainly this isn't a very pleasant topic to pick up along the way.
"...Depends on how much you're going to get your butt to work. screw up, and things won't be as jolly as you are."
Rin huffed, It was something pretty harsh to say to someone who was carrying her on the back all the way to the long rendezvous point,But she really had to, her husband's sudden inquiry left her in another spontaneous stress.
"Hah... so there was no plan B? For a moment there thought you might have figured out something, being quiet all the way there."
Muttered Shirou as he walked his way up the dark tunnel and into the Chamber of Ea where saber was in. The ease in Which Saber found the unworldly sword left him baffled for a bit. The location was so obvious yet how didn't he figure it out? It was just behind the throne, right in the middle of all the chambers! The odd number 11 represent symmetry, ten rooms plus one alpha. like he learned back at the Magi association, Ancient civilizations like singular phrases like one or middle, a single entity ruling above all must have the rest of things to revolve around the singular being. Anything important is supposed to be in the middle of everything!
"The very very obvious... "
"The Basics... damn, why didn't I think of that! Being a five star mags!"
Rin beat herself for that. periods of absence from the association certainly stained her genius brain.
"Well, at least nobody died for that, and plus, it's probably saber's luck. Remember, she almost won us a lottery."
Shirou chuckled
"just one number, and you were the one who really had to screw that one up."
"That hurts..."
True, Shirou was never lucky in anything; it was as if he used up all his remaining luck points in the grail war ten years ago. Even the word beginner's luck never existed in his vocabulary, Every time he engages in luck based games he'd lose ninety nine out of a hundred of those, and that's just against facing Rin. To him, someone like Saber was like an ORT of gambling. The fact that he nor Saber was never into that stuff was something to be relieved of, for the good of society and for the good of all underworld syndicates.
"Ah, Rin, Shrou. I've been waiting for so long. What took you?"
Shirou stepped inside the rather tight chamber to find Saber laying her body by the display.
She was peeling splattered blood off her armor. Her invisible air was visibly stained by the red liquids. The monster was nowhere to be seen, although, the tiny scattered remains of what seemed like the scales of a lizard loosely indicated the fate of the poor beast who had to fight a hopeless battle against an eirei.
"Things happen and things slow you down. Things like Rin gaining weight is such."
Shirou smirked like some crimson guy and soon, a hard knuckle came landing straight on Shirou's head. Forcing him to release his hands and rub his head. His wife though made a gentle landing on the ground.
"Ouch! Rin! That was just a joke! A joke!"
"That's an inevitable fate of sarcastic bastards, never do that again you hear? Now, time for some strict scrutiny."
Rin dropped her bag down on the ground and started searching for the tools for her examination. The first thing she got out was a bonded mass of paper, slung with a single tarnished metal string creating a product like some old thick thesis paper, the cover read.
'Encyclopedia of general archaeological knowledge, ATLAS. Authored by Sion Eltnam Atlasia'
The second she pulled out was a magnifying glass, a mandatory tool for every established detectives. And lastly an illustration picture of Ea she personally took out from the papers.
For a brief moment she compared the picture to the actual thing. The picture in the illustration paper depicted Ea to somewhat like that of a golden metal pointy drill head attached to a golden Rotary hilt. The picture had almost no relevance with the actual thing but it has to be noted that the alchemists in atlas calculate everything to a degree of perfection.
Seeing that the sword was forged from a material unknown to earth and the design was rather reminiscent of a futuristic version of a black tomahawk missile, the degree of implication in it was enough for it to be called a fine work. The description of it's usage was also almost exactly as same as the real thing.
"Shirou, think you can trace it?"
"I'll try."
Shirou bent his knees over and directed his palms over towards the sword. Rin and Saber stayed silent as they observed Shirou doing his thing.
"Trace-on."
His magic circuit glowed as he channeled his prana to two of his twenty seven Circuits. Every information were to be interpreted at lighting fast speed. First he tried the Hilt, Most of it's part was made of Gold with an exception of few minor impurities.
Next, he held his breath and moved on towards the darker part of the Noble phantasm. His condition was at his peak despite the prior battle, a hundred percent focus and commitment was put in his search. The substances he initially found were metallic, unlike the prior encounter with Gilgamesh he was able to find as much of it.
He tried delving deeper but the more he did the less the vision became clear, soon his brain was starting to hurt and the clear map was starting to disseminate into small white dots, one more push and his brain started feeling stings. A moment later, a blackout followed and total nothingness took over.
(A bit more...)
"That's enough Shirou, anymore push and you'll fry your brain."
Rin shook Shirou out of his trance as she started seeing twitches on her eyes and cold sweats gushing out of his forehead. As she thought, the substance of this Sword was something out of this world, a thing that has descended from other planetary system.
"Strange... Concepts of different planetary territories discord the general establishment of concepts of Gaia. It's supposed to be impossible even for the People in atlas to interpret it's substance, let alone understand them."
Murmured Rin taking her time to sort out the details. The plan had been strange from the beginning. For ATLAS who knew the nature of this noble phantasm better than them to ask her agency to retrieve this peripheral. Who is the one pulling the strings behind all this? What's the ATLAS... No, the Mage's Association's goal?
Just to purify this place? She thought about that but things didn't fit. They could just use Professor Eltnam and Kill him in the end instead of letting him live just like they did... it would've been easy for the Association; he's an alcoholic who is possessed with finding mystical beings! Heck, She would've bet her money on that they'd been monitoring his activities long before this all happened!
"Sorry I haven't been much of help dear."
Contrary to Shirou's expectation, Rin replied with a small smile and nodded quietly. Her face seemed to be in deep thoughts. Her unusual mood and behavior gave a sense of worry to both Shirou and Rin of her condition.
"Is there something wrong Rin?"
Saber broke the awkward silence after two minutes of Rin Spacing out.
"Eh? Oh, nothing Saber just thinking about what we'll do with the money. Nothing much"
Despite her excuse none of her co-workers bought it, they knew there was something wrong but decided to stop going further when Rin seemingly came back to her usual self.
"Anyway, Examination complete! This one is the real deal and a sure ticket to our success!"
Hiding her anxiousness Rin clamored. Just because her mind is in an unrest that doesn't mean that they'd have to abort this. They deliver this Item, The money comes in She and Shirou finally gets to afford to have children and live on a new, much more satisfactory life,anything that happens after is secondary to the money.
"Thank God! Finally!" Shirou Clamored " A delicious course of French delicacy at Cafe de France ?" And Saber smiled
"Of course Saber! You'll have as much as you want!"
"Alright! Let's get this thing wrapped up and move away!"
Ending the last word with a jubilant exaggeration Shirou stretched his hand at the Ea. Rin, who had virtually no time to react was horrified to see this for some reason.
"No! Shirou! The Pressure Switch! God Dammit!"
Rin jumped to Shirou in an attempt to prevent the unpreventable.
"Eh? A pressure switch?"
Shirou's hand stops a just millimeter off the Sword
"Oh God."
But Rin's Body failed to react and Shirou was pushed rather roughly by the weight of his Wife. Causing Shirou's body to collide with EA.
"Ah..."
The Noble phantasm fell off balance and was thrown out of the column.
To Shirou and Rin the second felt like minutes and the minutes felt like an eternity as they helplessly witnessed the Noble phantasm fall down in a slow motion show of graceful free fall. All Shirou and Rin could do at that was gasp in panic. A hundredth of a second later the heavy sword crash landed with several streaks of metallic sounds splintering off the thumps. The Ea has graciously landed just in front of their nose. And... uh...Nothing, Nothing happened. Much to Shirou's relief...or is it right?
"Ha...Hahahaha! That was funny Rin, for a moment there I thought you were being serious!"
He laughed, looking almost like shouting. But Rin's face wasn't exactly telling the same story.
"L...look..."
The display column's flat facets suddenly cracked, seconds later the cracks collapsed, exposing an intricate network of countless gyros, rotating and creating creaking sounds of metals.
As the Gyros rotated, the column sank deeper into the ground until with a loud thud, submerged flat within the ground, disappearing from the surface completely. As Rin said, that definitely looked like a pressure switch, Shirou just couldn't think of anything else to describe them...
Battle phase III: Excalibur + Zelretch, the ultimate Combo
"Rin! I sense the presence of Mythical beasts. It's Vague... But I can definitely sense them! They're all awake! The remaining seven beasts!"
Saber's Grip on her Sword strengthened, using her Prana, she immediately Steeled invisible air. Her facial expressions tightened, the forehead was soaked in cold sweat. There were seven mythical beasts coming this way , each of them stronger than the one she fought inside the room. An A rank Mythical beast, A+ rank mythical beast, you name it, they were all there. The Prana of the beasts slowly drew in towards one another. Slowly converging towards one spot.
"Seven?"
Rin asked with a sense of urgency painted all over her. For a moment there was absolute fear. The muscles on her body lost strength, the Cold Sweat formed on her forehead like raindrops, Her right fist shook.
Every one of her senses reverted to survival mode. Seven mythical beasts... that's an amount of strength incomparable to anything she's witnessed before. Even Saber's power wouldn't get them out of this situation...
Excalibur? It's A++ output is staggering but it is a question whether it will break through a straight formation of the beasts, more so if they're on the level of A and above. Suddenly, Rin dropped down her knees, as the sensation of fear became unbearable.
"Saber, how long can you hold them back?"
But in the midst of that hopelessness Shirou stood tall on the ground, his eyes glimmering with courage and strength. He didn't fear death, he faced it straight ahead and had the courage to directly confront it.
"Five minutes, Ten minutes Max. Even then it is a question as to whether It'd be enough to defeat all of them. My Excalibur might break through three beasts but there is the remaining four, and I can only use my Excalibur... Once...Two, if I sacrifice myself... Shirou, I..."
"Don't even think about it."
Shirou Stopped Saber from further letting a word. His Hands tightly grabbing onto Saber's Shoulder. He didn't want to see her Sacrifice herself... Is it because of his ideal? Probably. But the true reason behind it wasn't in that fact. Saber is his family, for ten years they've gone through hell side by side. As a friend, a companion... but most importantly, because she has become a part of his familly.
"Shirou..."
Rin's strength slowly returned. Her fear was soon replaced by determination and her determination was soon replaced by a strong sense of will, a will to savor the moments they will have in the future, a will to save her loved ones. A will to continue her life with the idealistic boy she had fallen in love with.
(Compose yourself... think...)
"Saber, you try and hold the beasts in place, I'll land support fire with my broken phantasms."
Saber Quietly nodded, there was no emotion in that one, she won't use her trump card twice. The odds are low, but it's a path they need to take nonetheless as she isn't sacrificed. The mind must focus on the battle, there mustn't be emotions, for emotions hinders battle capacity and it will consequently put Shirou and her Master Rin in danger... an odd that's close to nil...
"Saber, Shirou"
Rin lured their attention to her as Saber and Shirou were busy devising a tactic. Rin's face wasn't with th fears she had just a while ago. She was confident, and as fearless as she could be, She was sure of herself, whatever circumstances she might be in ,she'll make it
"I have a plan...a plan that will save every one of us."
Where there is silence, there is malice. It is a thesis that has been proven time to time again since the very dawn of mankind, there is an interval of dead silence between the moment when the predator starts launching itself onto its prey. There is silence before the ruthless bombing of a stealth jet plane. A silence is what they've encountered in this chamber of the golden king. The silence started crumbling to pieces and showed its true nature to them in the form of marauding beasts.
The Earthquake like stomping sound gained volume after volume. First the sound was vague, first there was a low grumbling sound of scattered bumps. Moment by moment the scattered sound started combining into one giant noisy parade of monstrous stomps and growl. Time, if there is any, now is the second to react.
"Are you sure about this Rin?"
Shirou's palms closed to make a fist, the plan was simple yet brilliant. With this... it will definitely work!
"Yes,I'm sure. Saber, your prana load?"
"Enough to devise your plan."
Saber's eye demonstrated a full sense of relief. The grip on Invisible air tightened, ready for their final blow.
"By the way, wouldn't it destroy this whole complex?" Shirou muttered half anxious half excited.
"I'm sure we'll somehow slip off it...by the way, which is better? Your life or a thousand grand that will end up being used in your funeral?"
Rin Sighed and shrugged, feeling no obligation to explain further.
"Stating the obvious..."
"Alright, let's get started."
The beasts congregated in the main chamber, just front of the King of hero's long lost throne. The combined forces of the beasts equaled the strength of a ten thousand full armored infantry men of the middle age.
The collection of the king was staggering, the very model of each and every known mythical beasts available in the ancient Greek tale, the mythical beasts of the ancient time gathered in a magnificent display of power and loyalty towards the long deceased king.
Their seals have been broken, the king has gone to the other world but they have a duty they must accomplish, the Ea is their sensor, and the single escape route meant their trespasser's death is a thing inevitable.
Three of their brothers didn't show up in their homage tribute, something clearly unexpected. The strength of their trespasser is daunting, but with the seven of them united under the will of one king of all heroes, their victory is assured, the fate of their foe, sealed under the curse of Hades.
The homage ended with the earth shattering growl of the dragon god of the sand, in charge of the defense of the mighty chariot Vimana. Gilgamesh's might has brought even the aid of a dragon to his cause, the daring and foolhardy opponent has incurred the combined wrath of Gilgamesh's ten beloved pets.
Following the dragon's signal, the rest stood up on their knees and cried a cry of battle. The ritual is done; the rest is to feed off the dead flesh of the worthless humans.
"Saber, is the trap set up?"
"Yes Rin, neatly placed inside the tunnel."
Saber's five second absence was well rewarded with a major progress in their plan. The simple method of placing Ea in the middle of the tunnel was a brilliant idea, the beasts' main purpose is to safeguard the treasury of the king. Their senses should be attracted to the Noble phantasm. It will give them a few second of added time, just a conjecture but it was a carefully calculated one.
"Saber... have the beasts started their move?"
The beasts have paused their advance for a moment there, but not for too long... A gigantic dragon like growl struck their ear as Rin, finished with her inquiry, the rest had been answered with that noise.
"That was definitely a dragon... Saber, will our plan still work?"
Saber who had a share of her fight with a dragon in the past, gave it a brief thought. And shook away all her doubts, if this is their trump card so be it, there is no turning back.
"It's a thing we need to wager on, If this is our trump card then we'll have to give it a hundred percent trust in it."
"Fine, Shirou get to position. We'll start."
"As you wish dear."
The Team made a triangular formation, with Shirou on the back while Rin and Saber on the fore front,facing the dark tunnel straight ahead. The stomping sound of the beasts gained volume by volume as seconds passed. The time, if there is any to act,... it is now
"Saber, Get ready."
Without further talk, Saber wrapped the hilt of her invisible sword and drew it on her front. A brief time of meditation and the Winds of the invisible air peeled itself in a graceful show of blue light, engulfing the room in a beautiful torrent of wind and light. The burst of wind created a pressure rivaling that of a powerful hurricane which almost knocked both shirou and Rin off their feet.
In the end of this ritual emerged an angelic alabaster sword, created by the will of Gaia and forged to a degree of perfection by the long lost species of imps.
Excalibur, the sword of promised victory.
The strong burst of wind traveled through the tight tunnel and into the position of the beasts, the wind briefly stopped their march, the strength of the wind hindering their pace. Even the dragon was caught by surprise by this massive pressure of wind. This was nothing he's ever seen before .Even the sandstorms never put him down to his knees. There was going to be a commotion, something that won't end up pretty for him and the other beasts. Another battle cry and the monsters pick up their speed.
"Rin! Their pace is picking up!"
"Alright, calm down, we'll make it."
40 Magic circuits, the legacy of the Tohsaka bloodline. A number so vast and quality absolute that it allows even the release of potential power rivaling that of Excalibur.
Rin started releasing the valves of her magic circuits one by one in an exponential pattern, first from one to two to four then to sixteen and so on. Like incantations of high speed aria, Rin loaded her Prana to its maximum.
Each of the glowing mass started filling in a massive surge of Prana. On her right fist was Zelretch, A jeweled sword perfected to eighty percent it's maximum potential. The maximum output of it is enough is enough to rip off the very bind of space. And its power is about to be unleashed together with the full blast of Excaliblast.
Another surge of pressure. this time from the gust of Pana engulfed the tunnel like a wind. But it's too late, The beasts are few steps away from the source. Everything doesn't matter as long as the first blow is landed. In a battle between forces of similar strength, all that matters is speed and agility. They have clinched victory in their hands.
...or did they?
The beasts halt, a few second hindrance. On the ground lay the most beloved treasure of their master, Ea. A few Second of pause, a pause that will prove decisive in this battle.
"Shirou!"
A second and a half passed Shirou opened his bare right fist. In a split second a giant Lavender energy block formed, the eight petal shaped energy block released from the middle of his palm, forming a giant shield impenetrable by any form of projectile, each petal representing the strength of a single fortress, the ultimate shield of all!
Rho Aias-The seven shields that cover the fiery heaven
Now the formation was complete, Rin and Saber will land their attack. Rho aias will prevent them from falling down from the sheer pressure of the blow. The combined power of the blast will Rip through the beasts and grant them assured victory.
"EXXXX-!"
Excalibur started emanating in a swirl of golden light, emulating the shine of a sun in it's zenith. The invisible wind engulfing Excalibur dissipated, replaced by a sheer stream and glow of light. Saber swung Excalibur to it's limit and readied herself for the final chant to unleash the full blow of her noble phantasm
"This had better work!"
Rin released the prana Stored on her forty magic circuits. A total mana of a thousand flowed inwards towards the Jeweled sword.
a mesmerizing rainbow glow replaced the rough crystalline surface of the dagger. And soon the dagger reached it's maximum input, next Rin braced herself for the maximum output.
she has never done this in actuality before, if it's too strong it would create a dimensional distortion which would suck her and everything around her in it, but such risk was secondary to their immediate survival. If it actually happens then there's no turning back, but in this situation, there was no other choice.
"CALIBURRRR!"
Saber swung the Holy blade in full motion, a seemingly endless stream of golden light radiated from the blade tip, hurling at an incredible speed towards the enemy.
"Jeweled Sword -"
following suit Rin drew a horizontal line on the air with her dagger, as it passed through the empty space a dark rift in space opened and with it a whirl of golden beam crossed through the tunnel and onto the approaching beasts.
That slight moment of hindrance decided the outcome. The beasts cringed as they sensed a powerful Beam cutting through the thick suppressive air towards their position.
And soon they tasted the full horror of the massive blast, but one wasn't enough, it was an absolute killing technique that reminded the dragon of EA, but as a dragon that had withstood the full force of EA this wasn't going to end it.
The dragon held her ground as the beam made contact, a few of his comrades were wiped out from that initial blast but it wasn't enough to take him down, far from it. If this was the best they could manage then it's settled it's going to inflict him much damage but that's it, the rest, his minions will take care.
As the blast wave from Excalibur started to glow dimmer, another much powerful ray appeared right behind. It was different, much different than the first initial blast, as it hurled towards them, the blast created a torrent that seemingly ripped through the binds of space, the walls crumbled as they were sucked inside the eye of the blast, everything crippled, The visions distorted.
Soon enough, the second impact blew away everything. As it punched through the ceiling and out towards the sky, everything blew off the face of this ground.