AN- this... has been a long time coming. Like, over six months coming. I could have released this sooner... but I've stabbed myself in the foot before by writing myself into a corner. So it seemed like a better idea for this to release when I was ready to, not when the chapter was. A lot of stuff happened over the last half year (covid, moving house, etc), but the wait is over. It's a clean run now to the mid point of this story – the end of 'season 1', as it were, so please enjoy. And if anyone feels like it, we do have a TV Tropes page to fill up.
Chapter 27
"It's time." No point in delaying too much longer. It had just gone 11, the moon was high, and we had an attack on the Einzbern's to execute. There was still a sense of dread in stomach at the thought of what we'd be doing – but it was a familiar feeling now. When dealing with superpowered Servants, there were no certainties. But the only thing worse than a weak plan, is no plan at all. "Anything we're forgetting?"
A round of negatives and head shakes - no protests or points raised. As far as everyone was concerned, there was nothing more to be discussed. Medea had distributed Potions to all parties (as a quick healing brew could be the difference between life and death, and a Mana Pick-me-up could even halt the fading of a Spiritual Core), and Medea's Mystic Codes were all completed too a usable (if rather buggy) state. A shield charm, a minor reinforcement bracelet and a new communication ring. And then I had the most recent addition to my core equipment: Runestones, freshly carved today under the guidance of Scathach. Each thrown stone could have a different effect – I hoped I wouldn't need them.
More than that, we had our plan sorted. Once we entered the forest, we fully expected them to become aware of our presence. No way Einzbern could fail to notice us. We predicted that one of their Servants would come to meet us, and the other would remain behind to guard. We had contingencies in place for either or both. We knew the best lineups, and even had a few ideas for what to do if something unexpected cropped up.
And just because 'why not?', we'd even asked Scathach to do her whole 'fortune telling/wisdom' shtick. And in her words: "there is great chance of success in accomplishing your goal, but expect failure in areas unforeseen". Fortune telling is vague in general, and while I wish the message was a little less pyrrhic, the fact that our base chances of success was 'mostly high' was promising. But if we sat around waiting for the perfect moment, then nothing would change.
So for the first time this War, all seven of us mounted Rider's chariot together – six Servants, one Master. The absence of Kiyohime was very noticeable – in a better world, she'd be here too. The base would lie unguarded; we were going all in. Einzbern Castle here we come! "Okay. I don't have any fancy pants speech. All I want to say is... fight hard. Kick their ass. And make sure we all get back safely. Odd thing to say to a bunch of Heroic Spirits... but I want no 'heroics', alright?"
A quiet selection of agreements. We were all aware of the objectives. Go there. Kick ass. Kill Saber and Berserker of Blue. And finally, capture the Einzbern Lesser Grail.
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Across the town, several parties became aware of the Grey Teams overt movements. Bugs twitched and sensed motion, and relayed the information appropriately. Familiars likewise noticed the chariot and its general direction. A Golden King observed, fully content with enjoying the upcoming entertainment.
Meanwhile, all was quiet at Fuyuki Church. The lights were snuffed out, all doors were locked and the outer metal gate was properly secured. And the woman that had taken residence there was nowhere to be found – as she had left on business hours earlier.
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The chariot cleared the treeline, and below us the Einzbern's forest opened up fully. There was an immediate sense of oncoming doom, even this high up above it all. A feeling of wrongness – a desire to turn back. I flared my prana and the feeling subsided as the passive effect of the Einzberns protections was shrugged off, so we continued on at a quick pace. I was objectively aware that it takes 4 hours to walk from the edges of the forest to the Einzbern Castle.
Even with a flying god-damn chariot, it still took 25 minutes of flying to see the grand structure appearing amidst the parting fog. And there atop the castle was a figure wreathed in radiant, triumphant gold – Excalibur held aloft and swiftly growing in might.
The warning was clear. Turn back now, or face Excalibur, the Sword of Promised Victory. Boudica gave me a quick look and I shook my head. We pressed on, harder and faster than ever – she could fire it if she wanted. She'd just be burning away her Master's very limited resources. We stood better chances in this game of chicken.
Saber of Blue shifted, the angle of the light changed. She was gearing up to fire. So we acted too. Medea threw several vials of grey liquid against the floor of the chariot, and from the vials burst thick, dark smoke that rapidly reproduced and expanded – I was protected from it, but I knew that if I breathed it in, it was thrice as deadly as normal smoke.
"ομίχλη!" Declared Medea. I couldn't see, but all I could trust in my Caster's abilities. The smoke should be serving to muddy the waters and make it harder to directly aim at us. Giving us room to work, in other words. Then, I felt the strong arms of Lancer grab me. Her hold was remarkably gentle despite her strength. I shut my eyes, knowing what was coming now. I felt her leap, and the weightlessness of being away from the ground. As we were doing this, everyone else should be abandoning the vehicle.
Then, even with shut eyes, I saw the awe inspiring, triumphant gold that cleaved through the darkness.
["She took the bait!"] Rider communicated to me. ["The chariot is lost, but it was unoccupied."]
["Moving to intercept Saber of Blue with Assassin now."] announced Saber. So once they had closed in on Saber of Blue, my Rider should be able to join up with them once more. That should leave a matchup of Saber of Blue versus my Saber, Rider and Assassin (Mata Hari only to support, and only if needed).
["We'll get started on our side of the operation now, then."] I sent out myself. "Caster?"
"Here." The smoke parted, and I saw her cheerful thumbs up.
"Stick with me."
"Until the end." Then, I was weightless once more, this time because Medea had rendered my body weightless and was levitating me alongside herself as we shot towards the Castle. Lancer and Archer needed their hands free to deal with Berserker.
BANG!
"Speak of the devil..." I muttered, my heart beating rapidly as the front doors to the Castle and much of the brickwork around them were blown out of the way as the hulking hero impatiently rushed out to meet us. Clutched in his hands was not the slab like sword I'd seen him use before, but instead a thick gold and black axe.
Had Shirou started picking up Projection or something? I hoped not – nothing worse for your health than when the protag starts becoming competent.
I couldn't worry about that though, because the demigod was shooting right for me with literal madness in his eyes.
SMACK! A pair of crimson lances batted him aside at a full 90 degree angle – I'd describe the act of deflecting such a charge as impossible, if it hadn't been Scathach doing it. "Berserker, I will be your opponent tonight. Despite your insanity, I hope to see your very best performance, you understand?" Lancer declared.
Berserker had no words to retort with – only a mindless roar to show his focused rage. Even this far away and not being the direct target of his ire, I couldn't help but let out a shudder.
Cue him fucking back-flipping like a ballerina to dodge a barrage of crimson shots launched by Archer. "Go on ahead, Master. We know our roles."
"Thanks." With that, me and Medea carried on alone into the now open 'doorway' of the castle.
She deposited me on the ground once we were inside as the final line of defence made itself apparent.
"Welcome to my castle, Master of Grey." Illya's voice rung out through the grand foyer, magically projected as there was no sign of her. "My Berserker will get around to you once matters outside are dealt with. Until then, please accept my hospitality."
Smack. Smack. Cut to an Einzbern combat Homunculus, and her more Magecraft-driven partner. Sella and Leysritt.
"Try not to kill them." I ordered Medea, taking a step back and reaching into my pocket, ready to throw if necessary. "But if you can't, don't worry too much."
"No problem." she said, getting her staff into a combat ready position. "Just leave this to me!"
Then Leysritt was charging, halberd at the ready, while Sella supported with a trio of wire like birds, and there was no more time to chat.
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"We meet once again!" cheerfully called out Chevalier d'eon, fading out of spiritual form, blade already thrusting even as they bantered.
"Indeed." Saber of Blue deflected the attack masterfully and struck with her own. A familiar back and forth reminiscent of their last duel proceeded. "We were interrupted last time. I am eager to... settle matters."
"I think I was winning!" Lily winked, teasing the woman, probing for weaknesses. "You fight like a brute – all strength, and no finesse! No beauty!" Then, a hard strike that could kill a lesser man. And there, as she blocked, struck Rider. Boudica ploughed through the underside of the roof, having entered the castle purely so she could strike from underneath.
"Sword of Boudica: Sword Without Promised Victory!" Energy balls struck Saber head on, and she fell down, twisting as she did and already counter attacking. She didn't show even a single sign of weakness or damage as she slashed at Boudica's guard with a Mana Burst-ed strike hard enough to send her crashing through several corridors worth of walls.
"A little stronger, I see!" Lily dropped down from above with a barrage of thrusts. "But my parameters are still superior due to the quality of my Master. Ah, but if you had become a Servant to the Einzbern girl! Then I'd be worried!"
Saber of Blue almost seemed to smile, blocking and deflecting each blow. "My Master is perfectly respectable, thank you very much. And I didn't earn my accolades through brute force alone, no matter what you believe. I wouldn't be here today if I didn't have the skills to match each and every one of my Knights."
"Unfortunately so." Boudica sighed, lashing out with a lunge and quickly retreating from the inevitable counter strike. "While on a certain level, I am pleased that my cute little descendants are so competent and that I left my nation in stabler hands... in this case, I do wish you were a little less proficient."
"A King must strive for perfection." Noted Arturia, swinging faster and more confidently than before and actually pressing forwards despite facing two foes at once.
Now, Lily frowned. They were on the back foot. There was a shift in their clash. While before it had been a repeat of their first match, now it was something else. "You've comprehended my style."
"Correct." Swing, clash, duck, parry, strike. "I've had time to understand your abilities. You are a tricky opponent, but you are only a lowly spy. Experience wins out, and I have forgotten more about battle than you have ever learned. You cannot match me."
"Not alone, anyway." Boudica was back in the fight, and slipped into the clash effortlessly, supporting Lily and this time focussing on hindering Arturia's offensive actions and providing openings for Lily. This was the best role Boudica could play, due to her skill: Protection of Andraste. A group battle is more favourable to her, and as a result her allies could only benefit from her support in a defensive battle. "A spy cannot match you, but a spy and a queen might."
Arturia inclined her head. "Come, then. Come with everything that you have, so I might crush you and return to aid my own ally against the rest of your Team."
"Then the two of us shall endeavour to give you a fight worth dying for." Lily smirked, and then the two of them charged the King of Knights from either side – one thrusting high, the other slashing low.
Luckily for the Grey Team though, it wasn't a two on one battle at all. It was three on one. Assassin of Grey remained as concealed as she could be, waiting for her opening.
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A living mountain sought to crush Scathach beneath its rugged axe-blade. She effortlessly batted it aside once more, keeping pace with the titan, staying out of reach. An opening there that she could take, several more potential ones, all rejected in favour of falling back and retaining momentum.
Playing her cards early would only be detrimental. While she could likely strike now and claim a life or two before he gained a resistance to it, it seemed like a poor choice. So instead, she fought for time – biding her time to unleash the overwhelming force she was capable of applying.
The immortal-killers eyes flickered briefly to where Ereshkigal was providing support by the edge of the clearing and close to the extensive forest. The goddess was providing a strong barrage of red projectiles to buffet Heracles and hinder him, but wasn't aiming for kill shots either.
She was buying time too; actively flexing her Authority. More specifically, she was attempting to manifest a Territory through her Territory Creation skill. Lancer supposed that it made sense, especially concerning her Noble Phantasm.
So she would continue to delay.
Berserker of Blue screamed, and changed targets, aiming for Archer of Grey. Perhaps his honed instincts could sense their lack of effort, or perhaps he just wanted the arrows to stop. Either way, the landslide was now coming for Lancer.
But she wasn't helpless. She was a goddess. Even if she was slower, she saw the Demigod coming from a mile away. At her gesture, bones comprised of mana burst through the disturbed dirt and rapidly grew taller and sharper. These did little to stop the mad demigod, whom ploughed through the bones effortlessly, but it slowed him down, letting Scathach step back in.
"You forget yourself, child." Scatach spoke firmly, sharply. Her lance traced a set of symbols through the air, a binding array, which coiled tightly around him. His strength was too great, he was breaking free, but for a moment he was unable to defend himself. "Do not forget the real threat here!"
With that, runes blazed around Scathach's limbs, briefly raising her strength from a measly B rank to A rank. And then she thrust the lance into the dead centre of his heart, blowing him away from Archer, sending him crashing through even more bone pillars.
"Oops. I seem to have killed you." Scathach mused, twirling her weapon as the Demigod bled steam and rose to his feet again after just having had his chest caved in, ignoring the skeletal cage that had begun growing around him. "In my defence, the opening was just too good."
Heracles roared, and once again set her sights on the god-slayer. Just as she wanted him to.
"I do hope you finish setting up your territory quickly." because it was growing harder and harder to keep the Berserker's attention solely upon herself.
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"This really couldn't have ended any other way." I said sadly. Before me were the battered, burned and tattered bodies of two Einzbern homunculi. Clearly I needed to spend more time with normal people, because hanging around with Heroic Spirits was seriously fucking with my expectation of normality.
They had been impressive. Sella had practised some form of Alchemy Magecraft, and was decent enough with the wire Magecraft I knew Irisviel and Illya could use to be able to kill me effortlessly. She was weaker, yes, but she still knew enough to kill me with it. But she couldn't get past my shield charm, and frankly, wasn't built for combat. Leysritts was a hell of a lot more capable, but she also fell first. She might have had the stats to be able to pick a fist fight with a Servant, but she made the mistake of breaking her might upon trying to bring down my own Shield first.
And Medea was very competent with her spellcraft. If she'd been tackled up close first, then perhaps the maid could have pulled off something similar to what Rin did to the elder Medea in the Unlimited Blade Works route. But this didn't happen, and Medea was able to rain spells down upon her after her one and only attack broke through my shield.
"Mistress... Illya..." Sella said softly. Half her face was melted from fire and she was in no condition to act against us – she was kinda pitiful looking.
"Stay down." I advised them. "If I kill you, then you definitely can't help your Mistress. If I let you live, then there is at least a small chance you will be able to aid her later."
At my words, Sella stilled. Meanwhile, her fellow maid also stopped trying to get to her own feet. There were done, out of the fight, calling it quits.
Good. Because I didn't want to have to kill them. That would just be wasteful and tasteless. I couldn't fault them for doing their duties in guarding their home or their Mistress, especially when I was the aggressor here. In and out, I'd do what I need to do, and nothing more.
"Nice going, Caster." I praised her. "Now we need to find the Masters. I'm guessing that if they aren't here to meet us, then they'll instead be in the Workshop." All Magus' require a Workshop to work from and the Einzbern's aren't immune to this fact. If Shirou and Illya were playing it safe, trying to draw out this fight, then it would make sense that maybe they were waiting in the most secure place in the entire castle.
"Probably an underground basement level then." Medea confirmed. She then cast several spells in quick succession, and I felt the mana she was pouring into them.
About a minute of awkward silence followed as Medea scanned the building. I think she started with some form of Structural Analysis, but swapped over to a Wind based detection spell midway through. Offscreen I could hear the sounds of battle, most prominently Berserker's screams. I took this chance to check in with my Servants.
No changes. Archer and Lancer were stalling out Heracles properly, while my other Servants were at least keeping pace with the King of Knights. All was going well.
"Okay, I think I've found the entrance." The little witch announced brightly. "They warded the contents of the basement well, I couldn't even feel any Mana from them. But they couldn't prevent me finding their physical presence. And there is definitely a draft behind a bookcase in the library."
I nodded in agreement. "Seems remarkably in line for a rich aristocratic family, to have a hidden passage behind a book case."
"Lets get going then. And quickly." Medea picked me up in her arms (a process still no less awkward this time than any of the previous ones), and quickly shot towards the library.
We were making progress. We'd find the Workshop, bust open its defences, and then we'd find the Blue Masters. The quicker we could end this before something unexpected sticks its nose in, the better.