Fate-Rongodamiant

by Legends Storyteller

Twelve years after the fifth Holy Grail War, a new one begins. However, the rules aren't quite the same. Twenty-one Servants. Twenty-one Masters. Three Factions striving to gather the Grail Shards scattered around the world: the Masters of Red from the Mage's Association; the Master of Black from New Edge; the mysterious Masters of White.

100. Chapter LXXXII: Wind, Fire & Steel

* Umineko – Life

* Mahoutsukai no Yoru – Flat Snark

* Fate/Apocrypha – Before Dawn

* Fate/Empire of Dirt - Clashing Prides

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Chapter LXXXII: Wind,Fire & Steel

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* Umineko – Life

On one side, Elena Bujart and the Archer of Black.

On the other side, Hatsuyo Toriyama and the Lancer of Red.

Words no longer had their place here – the first to act was Odysseus.

The bowman seized his Master and lept far back, putting as much distance as he could with their opponents. Not only was it safer for Elena, he most likely wanted to maintain an advantage. Hatsuyo and Lancer's issue was that they had no way to fight beyond close range. Against a magus and a bowman who could both use long-ranged attacks, they were at a clear disadvantage.

It was only natural then that they would give chase; Hatsuyo and her Servant both dashed forward at the same time. Although he could move faster yet, Lancer went at the same pace as his Master in order to stay close, thus making sure that Hatsuyo couldn't be singled out.

It may not have been ideal when chasing after a mobile target but it was actually perfect for this situation: Odysseus would not run away forever. After all, the archer and his Master wanted to eliminate them – playing tag would only maintain a stalemate. For if Hatsuyo and Lancer couldn't attack over long distances, the same wasn't true of their defence. Odysseus' arrows would be detected and instantly taken down by Lancer. Elena's fire was strong but it lacked speed and accuracy; Hatsuyo boasted enough agility to deal with that.

Odysseus would always look for the advantage in a battle and he was sharp – Hatsuyo was counting of that sharpness in order for this approach to work.

And she won her bet: the Master and Servant of Black didn't run away. And they didn't stay idle while their opponents were getting closer either; Elena revealed as many as four cross-shaped jewels and hurled them to the ground in front of her.

"Südwind Leuchtkäfer!"

The jeweled erupted into a fiery blue wall rising high. That was not all though: after his Master had cast her flames, Odysseus unleashed his wind and had it blow into the fire to fan it. The wall grew larger and surged forward like a gigantic wave of flames crashing onto the Ark's edge. It had become so large in fact that there was no space to circumvent it.

"Lancer, get me over it." Hatsuyo ordered.

"Then we're splittin' up already!"

The spearman slowed down for a second and prepared for a kick. What it really was, however, was Hatsuyo's transportation method: without hesitation, she lept onto his leg and, with just as little hesitation, Lancer launched her into the air. He had used enough strength to propel her over the advancing wall of flames, and with flawless precision so that she was heading straight for their two targets on the ground.

Of course, even with the cover of the fire such an action wouldn't escape Odysseus' eyes. The bowman spotted her while she was still soaring and was ready take aim at her. But Hatsuyo knew he wouldn't take the shot – not if he wanted to keep his head on his shoulders.

"Think ya can afford to look away?!"

Hatsuyo wasn't crazy enough to cross through the fire, but the same didn't go for her Servant. It seemed as though the wall of flames was split apart for a second, and in that time frame Lancer rushed to Odysseus. Caught in a pincer attack, the latter had no choice but to prioritize his fellow Servant. In other words, Hatsuyo was perfectly free to go for her real target: Elena Bujart.

Her katana was ready to cleave that woman in half but the magus' reflexes weren't half bad: she too quickly understood the situation and darted back in anticipation. When Hatsuyo landed and attacked, she missed by a hair's breadth. It didn't matter if she ran away though, Hatsuyo only had to pursue.

"So you have managed to split us apart already." Odysseus was locked in struggled against Lancer; he had avoided the spear's head but had nothing other than his bare hands to immobilize the samurai. "You say that I shouldn't take my attention away from you; far from me the intention to look down on you, but you have gravely misjudged me if you think I won't lay my life down as well. A moment is all I need to eliminate your Master."

But retort came from none other than Elena.

"Archer, you take care of her Servant. I trust that you won't lose." The magus was staring Hatsuyo down without a sign of fear. "Meanwhile, I'll kill her."

"Is that really how you should go about it...?" Odysseus sighed but obeyed.

Hatsuyo wasn't too fond of her implications, however.

She didn't know whether Elena was weak or strong; regardless, the swordwoman felt looked down upon. She had just fought and rivaled a being vastly beyond humans, so the thought she could lose against someone with a few magic trick simply didn't exist in her mind. Elena was slipping away and so Hatsuyo ran after her with the speed and ferocity of a predator hunting a prey. She didn't believe Lancer could lose either, but she wasn't going to let go of the advantage they had won by separating their opponents.

But even though she should have caught up easily, Elena showed she at least knew how to watch her back: she revealed a black powder from inside her coat and threw it in Hatsuyo's direction.

Thanks to the wind, it spread quickly and Hatsuyo saw it was like soot. Elena took out another gem and Hatsuyo finally understood what she was doing – and so she rolled away sideway, as far away as she could from the soot.

" Leuchtkäfer."

A flame was lit and, in a heartbeat, the soot was set ablaze. The one covering Hatsuyo was also set on fire but her quick reaction managed to extinguish it before it could do any harm. The spot where she had stood just before had turned into an inferno though, before the flames suddenly vanished without trace.

So this soot was a temporary booster to make up for Elena's lack of preparation. It was certainely frightening for someone without good reflexes but...

(All she's good at is showing off.)

Hatsuyo had noticed that Elena seemed to specialize in high-firepower, large-scale attacks. Nothing could be said about efficiency but it was a strategy that lacked in flexibility. There was the cost and setup required for such powerful attacks in the first place, but also the consideration of range and space. If a spell that covered a wide area missed from the get-go, it took more precious time to react. Against a speed fighter like Hatsuyo, that difference became huge.

However, it was also because of this deduction that Hatsuyo was puzzled when Elena used the time she had bought to disappear into an alleyway.

She couldn't stand around and ponder about it all day though; if she let her out of her sigh, then she would be a major issue. And so Hatsuyo followed after her into the street. But Elena wasn't hiding – Hatsuyo found her deeper ahead, facing this way. From her crossed arms, it looked like Elena was waiting for her.

"You should have kept running." Hatsuyo said.

"From a lowly pile of waste like you?" Elena clicked her tongue. "It sounds like you have the wrong impression. Did you think I'm scared of you?"

Hatsuyo dashed forth.

Elena wouldn't have had the time to lay any trap, so she was confident with just bolting toward her and giving a killing blow. The magus had moved to a place where she didn't have much space to run away. To make it even harder to avoid, Hatsuyo planned to bisect her at waist level – a couple spears of fire came her way but she easily ducked below them and, with a simple roll, she was close enough to swing her blade toward Elena's side.

"...!" However, the katana didn't manage to cut through. It had been stopped dead by something hard underneath Elena's coat. "Armour...?"

Sparks were lit around Elena and Hatsuyo pulled away frantically. She used the walls as jumping support to increase the distance between them to what it had been before. Unlike what she had expected though, Elena had not unleashed another deluge of flames.

Rather, she had set herself on fire.

It was not an exaggeration: Elena Bujart was burning as though someone had poured oil on her. But instead of being scorched alive, the magus was perfectly fine; she wasn't even flinching. Some of her clothes were reduced to cinders in a matter of seconds but her skin, her hair and her fur coat were intact.

There was only one notable change: maybe the flickering of the flames were playing tricks on Hatsuyo, yet it seemed to her as though Elena's eyes now had slit pupils.

"You're invulnerable to fire." Hatsuyo said. "You're not scared of getting caught up in your own attacks, so you brought me somewhere narrow."

"And you only realize it now. Did you really think I would corner myself?" Elena's voice had become deeper and when she spoke it sounded like the fire around her was crackling in harmony. How did she even speak when all he oxygen around her was burning up? "Because of you people, I was forced to sit most of this War back. I had to endure the shame while healing my wounds, like a poor little girl! I won't forget this disgrace..."

Something black covered Elena. It wasn't that her skin was finally burning – although it really seemed that way at first – but instead something was forming on top of it. Since it was the same colour as the soot she had used earlier, Hatsuyo assumed that's what it was. But why was it coating her like this? She had thought the soot was only meant to burn.

Then, Elena's black shell hardened and spiked until it ressembled a lizard's scaly skin.

"...But at the very least, I've had the time to fine-tune this." Elena opened her coat; beneath the ashen surface, something was pulsating with a crimson glow. "The prized Mystic Code of my clan – Dragon Core Replica."

The temperature rose drastically; Hatsuyo predicted an attack.

It was too reckless to go on a second assault without knowing the nature of it. Thus, she decided it was best to get out of the alley Elena had lurred her in. The magus visibly had no intention to run away, so it was fine to switch back to an open area.

But in that regard, Hatsuyo was one step behind: when she looked behind her, she saw lines of soot stretching across the street. She could swear they had not been there when she had first entered – and before she could think about crossing over them, they erupted into walls of fire.

"You're not going anywhere." Elena took out more jewels and threw them in front of her; instead of falling the ground, the small crosses floated and formed a circle. "You're just a little wretch who pretends to use thaumaturgy... and you think you can turn your coat whenever you feel like it? You must have lived a pampered life if you believe you can get away without consequences. I will let you have a taste of them!"

"A pampered life...?"

Every muscle in Hatsuyo's body contracted. The heat didn't matter to her, for it felt as though her blood was boiling even hotter; caution flew out of her mind for a second and she didn't pay attention to what Elena was trying to pull off. She really should, however: she also hadn't noticed it before because of how distracting the magus' burning body was, but there were more soot drawings right beneath Elena.

Instead of simple lines, it was forming a complexe magic circle.

"Feuer und Zertörung. Magen und Kehle."

The concentration of magical energy around Elena was increasing at an alarming rate; even someone like Hatsuyo could feel it. The jewels that were floating before the magus glowed a bright red and exploded, leaving behind them a magic circle made of fire. The temperature rose even higher – even from a distance, it was worse than the hottest summer Hatsuyo had ever known.

"Entfesselt deinen Zord, Große Feuerschlange! Atem des Drachen!"

Finally, when Elena finished her incantation, the air shook and all the energy she had gathered were released at once into a blaze of inferno. It wasn't just flames – this was the fiery breath of a drake, a beam of pure heat and destruction. There was no point in wondering what would happened to anything caught in its range.

But then, all Hatsuyo had to do was to not get hit by it: her retreat path to the Ark's edge was cut off but there was no roof over her head. For all impressive that attack was, it only went in one simple direction.

"It's true, I received more help and care than I deserve..." Hatsuyo had lept up and out of the street before it could be engulfed by the fiery blast. From there she dashed and then dived back down, straight toward her target. "But what do you know about consequences?!"

She brought down her sword with both hands onto Elena's head; the magus clearly felt the weight of her attack, but the steel didn't manage to penetrate the scales. It was a familiar feeling – so this was the armour she had struck earlier. It covered most of Elena's body save for her eyes as well as her mouth and nostrils. Just like a regular armour, it most likely didn't cover the hollows of the arms and legs. But since it had been made from scratch in a matter of seconds, maybe those areas were also protected in a different way.

There was something more problematic than the magus' scaly skin though: the fire permeating her body. Hatsuyo had made sure to keep just enough distance to avoid getting burnt, but the heat was like standing in a sauna. Elena grabbed the blade of her katana – the spot where her hand was clutching the steel became bright white. Thankfully, that damned sword was too sturdy to break even from that.

In this instance however, that fact played against her: with a firm grasp on her weapon, Elena pulled Hatsuyo in and buring her knee into her stomach. Hatsuyo should have been strong enough to resist it or at least retrieve her sword, and yet...

"You're looking down on me, aren't you? You thought I was another weakling you could dispose of without problem."

What Hatsuyo felt wasn't just the impact of Elena's knee, it was also a scorching sensation on her belly.

It was much more painful than being cut or hitting a wall.

She tried to keep her composure at all cost and she stepped back, although it meant abandoning her sword in Elena's hands. But the heat and the pain were getting to her head; she hadn't expected to be struck with this much violence either.

This was different from the other magi she had fought before.

"You have strength. You have speed. And you can swing that knife well enough to cut through most people." Elena spat out.

The magus didn't stop there: she threw the white hot katana at Hatsuyo who just barely managed to catch it by the handle; but when she did so, she felt the brunt of Helena's punch against her cheek. The contact had been too short to burn her face but Hatsuyo's ears were ringing. That woman, the same one who had done nothing but cast her flames from a safe distance before, was now battering her opponent with her fists and her legs.

"But you need to pay a cost for all of it. I understand how your magecraft work – you can't do permanent changes to your body too fast, that would put too much burden on it. But you can still push it to new heights for a certain amount of time. Past that limit, the drawbacks will be felt."

Hatsuyo caught Elena's fist when the latter tried to land an uppercut, but in doing so her hands became red and was covered in blisters; she bit the inside of her cheek so hard that she tasted blood. She was already burnt to varying degrees in multiple places because of the onslaught.

"You've already reached that limit. It wouldn't have been a problem if you had just stood back and let your Servant do the fighting. But you went and fought that vampire. I bet you've already been feeling the sequels for a while now."

"So what...?!" In answer to being attacked, all Hatsuyo could do was strike back. But even if she put her back into it, the scales were too tough to cut through in one swing.

"So you're weaker than usual." Elena swung down her arm like a hammer; Hatsuyo blocked it with her blade but was still pushed back. "And you made another mistake: you thought you were the only one here who's strong. But you're just a pathetic little girl – all you do is borrow power as it's handed to you on a silver platter! You never had to fight for it! You never had to wrestle the right to be strong from others! You're wielding a power you don't understand or deserve, you're just an inferior rat who pretends she isn't weak!"

With each sentence filled with a burning hatred, Elena was swinging her fists with formidable vigor.

But each of them were landing with less and less efficiency.

"So what?!" At last, Hatsuyo managed to stand her ground and deflect one of Elena's attacks, upon what she rushed in closer.

"...!"

Elena winced (or at least she seemed to under her armour) when she received the full brunt of Hatsuyo's kick into her side. Up until now, the swordwoman had stuck to her sword – it was her most reliable way of attacking and it spared her having to burn herself on Elena's shell. But she had eventually been forced to accept it wasn't enough.

A sword was meant to cut. What she needed in order to get through those ridiculously hard scales was blunt power. Hence why she had gone with a kick, as it was the most strength she could put out in one blow. The hotness of the flames and the hardness of the scales made this a thoroughly painful experience, but it was rewarded: cracks appeared in Elena's armour.

Tough though it might be, it was still not proper armour. It was easily created and repaired, which meant its weakness lied in its frailty. It was by no mean bad protection – far from it – but if Hatsuyo applied enough strength on the same spot repeatedly, it would crumble.

"My power can be borrowed from others or from myself, I don't care! I never wanted it! If you want to parade yours so much, that's your problem!"

Now that she had weakened the area around Elena's side, she thrusted her katana with all her weight. As expected, the scales didn't offer as much resistance as before: the blade stabbed into Elena's side. The latter couldn't contain a grunt of pain and promptly shoved Hatsuyo away with her foot.

Hatsuyo didn't mind it though, she had enough burns as it was.

And besides, even if the flames might already have cauterized the wound, the sight of Elena holding her side with pain on her face was a gratifying one.

"You're running your mouth about power, but you're not that strong." Hatsuyo gave the thumb down. "The vampire was a lot tougher than you. If I could beat him at my best, there's no reason I can't beat you even at my worst."

"You little..." The magus held her hand toward Hatsuyo and summoned what looked like birds of soot and fire. "Don't compare me to the likes of you and him...!"

The birds flew toward Hatsuyo like missiles. A spell like that was simple to avoid though: once again, she took to the rooftop. The birds changed their trajectory and homed in on her, but that was no issue since they had a physical body. That was easier to deal than just fire, since she could cut them down.

"Also, you said my ability is flawed because I can only use it for so long but you're the same. You're like any mage, you'll run out of mana eventually. You keep showing off big spells even though basic ones would be enough to kill me. You're wasting your energy even faster!"

"That's where you're wrong. I'm not relying on the limits of this body! My Dragon Core Replica converts regular magic circuits and increases the output exponentially. It took years and years and years and years, but it's finally attuned to my body! My circuits are far greater than anything humans can be born with!"

Whenever Hatsuyo was in the magus' field of sight, flames poured in her direction. From he vantage point she could easily go in and out of sight as she pleased. the desire to get back at Elena as soon as the latter showed an opening kept her coming back to edge, and another barrage of blaze and ashes greeted her. Hatsuyo's burnt skin ached with every movement, yet even so she escaped the Burning Lady every time. If only she could be given the opportunity to strike back. Elena's patience didn't last until she managed to catch Hatsuyo, hower: she came to a sudden halt.

"Look at you, running all over the place like a rat..." Elena growled. "You've realized you can't win, so now all you can do is escape."

"As long as I'm alive, I haven't lost." Hatsuyo retorted. "You're the one who's actually running out of patience. You feel that if you don't crush me fast, it'll be my victory."

"I don't appreciate wasting more time on an issue than I have to." Elena removed her fur coat, the sole piece of clothing that had survived her fiery cloak, and she threw it in the air. "Große Feuerschlange, Wache auf, Iß und stirb auf mein Kommando."

The coat cast a bright light before combusting – somehow, a mass emerged from it, larger than the original article was. A cloud of sulphur and molten rock which kept enlarging and stretching until it had taken the form of a gigantic snake floating above Elena's and Hatsuyo's head. With every passing second, its features were becoming more detailed: a maw filled with lava opened; two glowing eyes staring at their prey; even a pair of arms emerged from the blazing body of this creature.

The drake of fire belched a low roar that was like a growing storm.

"Let's see how long you can run."

---

* Mahoutsukai no Yoru – Flat Snark

"So what's the big idea, Archer?" Lancer asked. "Are ya gonna stay like this 'til we both grow old and die~?"

The two Servants were still locked in a struggle of strength, with Odysseus grappling the spearman in such a way that the latter couldn't use his spear or break free. However, if Lancer was simply able to move a little, he'd be able to get away. So Odysseus must have decided it was better to maintain a deadlock rather than to be at a massive disadvantage.

"The moment I leave any window open for you, I can expect you to slash me with that spear of yours." The bowman replied.

"Bull's eye! And since ye don't have anythin' to figh at close range with, ya would just hate if that happened, wouldn't ya~?" For his part, Lancer wasn't as grim as his opponent. "Though, I don't mind if ya want to pelt me with your little darts~! Hey, what d'ya say I give ya a little head start? If you let me go, ya can run away while I'm countin'."

"What a troublesome man you are." Odysseus sighed. "For sure, you are a handful to deal with for an Archer like me. I haven't prepared the terrain nor do I have the initiative; that would be a battle to run away from."

"Aw, c'mon, c'mon, c'mon! Who was talkin' big just a second ago, 'bout how he was sure he could get rid of little ol' me?"

"I was not lying nor boasting – the possibility of victory is already there, it is only a matter of reaching for it. But if I had a choice, I wished it hadn't come to this. I was truly hoping to call you two my comrad-in-arms in this War."

"L-i-a-r~." Lancer hummed. "No matter how ya put it, yer a double-faced bastard. Not a cowardly one, that's for sure; yer really someone men would want to follow and entrust their lives to. But yer still a deceiver through and through!"

"Are you saying there was never a chance for it to happen?" This question sounded surprisingly earnest coming from the bowman; but a cheater was still a cheater.

"Obviously! If yer really surprised by what my Master did, there ain't a chance in hell it'd have ever worked out! Ha! I know that look in yer eyes, Archer; in the turbulent times I lived in, many men had the same look as you. Ya only care 'bout what can serve you. When ya looked at my lord, ye only saw what ya wanted – what could help or hinder ya! Ya never understood what kind of person she is!"

"Her personality and emotions, in short... And because you had access to that information, you knew such a time would come."

"Nooo waayyy~, I ain't got any idea what goes on in my lord's head. I just believed in her!" Lancer stuck out his tongue while grinning ear to ear. "Anyway, I'm startin' to get bored, so if you don't mind..."

"...!"

Lancer didn't want to sit his ass down and chit-chat. While they were here hitting it off, their Masters must have been killing each other. Not that he believed Hatsuyo could possibly lose – he just really wanted to fight. It was a shame that this feeling wasn't mutual. He had hoped Odysseus would give in and act first, but since he was showing no sign of doing so Lancer took it upon himself: while they had been talking, the spearman had been moving stealthily.

Millimetre by millimetres only small and insignificant movements which Odysseus had been too busy speaking to notice. And although they didn't amount to much by themselves, by now Lancer was in a position where he could get out.

And so, with a sudden forceful movement, he undid Odysseus' hold for good.

And while the bowman was taken off guard, the spearman also gratified him with a high kick that sent him flying back.

It took less than a second for the Archer to pull himself together but by that time Lancer was already upon him with his weapon at the ready. He made a straightforward yet deadly thrust of his spear – however, he had already prepared to follow up with many more attacks to cut off whatever route Odysseus would take to evade the first. He could unleash that many in the span of a heartbeat, so no matter what his opponent was cornered.

Or so he thought, but in the end he didn't get to attack more than once: Odysseus dashed forth and accepted to be stabbed.

It was better to suffer an attack you could predict than to risk losing your head to an unforeseen follow-up. The bowman understood this and controlled the way Lancer wounded him splendidly: the spear only inflicted a minor injury. On top of that, its razor sharp edge seamlessly cut through Odysseus' flesh and bones, failing to impale him.

At the same time, the bowman drew his fist back and used Lancer's momentum against him to punch him in the throat. Lancer hadn't expected his opponent to read his intention and could only let out a stangled croak of surprise. Then, Odysseus struck him in the stomach and in the side of his head. Lancer's vision whited out for a second, until he felt another heavy blow to his leg. Finally, he was lifted off the ground and made a few spins in the air when the bowman hurled him away.

The spearman somehow managed to land on his feet; when he looked back at Odysseus, the latter had summoned his bow and was ready to fire.

"Ughh, that stinged!" Lancer wiped off the spit on his chin. And though he was still reeling from the beating he had just taken, he couldn't help but smile. "I only gave ya one small openin' by accident and here I am. And the way ya hit my shin, ya were tryin' to break my leg, weren'tcha?"

"You're awfully cheery even so. This is a battle, you know?" Odysseus was piercing through him with his gaze, observing the slightest movement.

"On the contrary, that's the minimum of appreciation it needs! Ya might not get it, but it's a big deal for me. When we fought on that island, that was the first time anyone had ever managed to put a scrape on me. T'was then that I thought I'm the luckiest man on the surface on the Earth – what kind of gratitude would I be showin' if I had a sour look on my face!?"

"Oh? That reminds me of someone I've known in another life. He couldn't help making troubles however..." The bowman mused. "People of your kind certainly have it easy, don't they?"

Odysseus unleashed the arrow he had drawn – Lancer didn't bother to step aside though. His senses were telling him it was off the mark already. It had probably been meant to get him to move... but another part of his brain was telling him something was off. He understood when he paid a little attention to the arrow in question: it was loaded with magical energy. When the projectile flew next to him, Lancer bolted toward the archer; not even a second later, the arrow blew up into a violent gale.

The wind blew him off way a little but Lancer still ran straight to his opponent. In answer to his approach, Odysseus aimed his bow skyward and fired a few arrows in the air. That was a really strange move, and dangerous: he was wide open. Odysseus didn't manage to avoid the next swing aimed his way; he only had the time to move just enough to avoid fatal damage. Even so, Lancer had drawn a deep and long gash in his torso (and so thin that it seemed like the bowman's armour was the one bleeding).

Not minding his injury, Odysseus stepped in closer to ram him with his elbow. But Lancer dodged it as easily as he breathed and took the opportunity to inflict a second wound, one that ran from the hip up to the shoulder. This did nothing to deter the bowman though: by expelling wind through his ankle, Odysseus spun around at an imposible angle; then, by twisting his body he managed to put his hand against Lancer's chest. Another gust was unleashed through his open palm and Lancer was propelled backward.

But even if it was a surprising move, it hadn't really done much aside from moving him.

"Oi~, d'ya really have the time to waste yer mana in little tricks like that? It's really cute but I barely felt a thing. Yer not lookin' so good yerself, ya know?"

"You needn't worry for me. I can feel an overwhelming efflux of energy, more than I've ever had. I would be a fool not to use it while I can." The corner of Odysseus' mouth curled up. "Besides, I need at least that to get you where I want."

"Nnhh...?... ... ... Wait a minute, ye bastard...!"

Lancer felt something approaching from above – those were the arrows Odysseus had fired earlier. So this had been his plan right from the beginning? Regardless, Lancer only had an instant to decide whether he should take them down or avoid them; he chose the latter.

However, when he dashed aside to avoid the surprise downpour, Odysseus was there to intercept him.

Somehow, that damned bowman had also predicted which path he would take, for he had closed the distance before Lancer could even notice it. And while the spearman was still diverted by the arrows, Odysseus delivered a kick which landed with full force. It was a splendid attack both in terms of speed and power; on top of it, he had powered it up with his Mana Burst. The result was an explosive attack which struck Lancer with such force that he was launched high into the air.

The spearman vomited blood while soaring and a quick check told him he might have a few broken bones. But now wasn't the time to dwell on that: he hurriedly looked down below for his opponent.

As expected, the bowman was already making his next move.

"Your ability to counter projectiles is bothersome. However, if you can't move around, you make as good a target as anyone." Odysseus calmly said while aiming.

Two arrows were released, both infused with the power of storms. It was like two miniature tornadoes were closing in on Lancer; just as the bowman had said he couldn't move out of the way to dodge them. There was no choice then than to take them head on. That was easy to say though: it wasn't just the kick just now; Lancer had been taking quite the beating since the start of the fight. No matter what he said, for someone who was used to never getting hit, this amount of damage wasn't neglectible.

In other words, he couldn't afford to hold back.

"I'll cut it down. No matter who or what it is, no matter what it's made of, no matter how precious or mighty..." He dropped his usual smile and focused. Holding his weapon with two hands, he prepared it for a single stroke. "...if it stands in front of me, I'll cleave it clean in half!"

The spear glowed a bright green.

A strange vibration could be heard – this buzzing noise came from the blade. It wasn't a sound many people would hear in a lifetime: that of a hundred, no, a thousand dragonflies flying together. Nevermind the noise though, what truly mattered was how he swung his weapon. After all, this wasn't a power inherent to the spear. On the contrary, it was a result achieved when this spear was in his hand, when the two of them reached the extremity of their potential.

Become a spear.

Then, simply, cut.

"Tonbokiri: As Two Halves of a Dragonfly, Separate Heaven and Earth!"

And at last, he swung his spear horizontally and everything in its path was cut.

Not only the arrows but the wind as well – if anything existed in front of him, it had been sliced in two. Incidentally, Lancer had also made sure that he was turned toward his opponent; if Odysseus was smart, he had moved. If not, he was dead. Lancer quickly got his answer though: while the two twisters were cut apart and faded, a third arrow soared in between them.

"Bastard, ya hid it behind the other two...!"

The turbulent gales and his focus had allowed this single arrow to escape his notice until it was too late. The projectile lodged itself in his chest, right above his left lung; meanwhile, Lancer landed onto the roof of some house. By the time his feet touched solid ground again, the bowman had joined him.

"That just now... was your Noble Phantasm, correct?" Odysseus passed a hand over his face with a cryptic expression. "I was finally able to see it. All I could tell was that 'space' itself was cut through. I had a feeling that was the case before, but that spear's essence truly is nothing more than being sharp. Exceedingly simple – and thus exceedingly efficient."

"Yer damn right." With a grunt of pain, Lancer pulled out the arrow and threw it aside. "I'd like to call it a technique but I didn't train my whole life to perfect it; I didn't even dedicate myself to any art of the blade. That's just the expression of my existence: there is something I need to split in half, and so I will!"

"How come then that you do not rely on it more often."

"It's 'cause I don't need to, duh!" Lancer rolled his shoulders and stretched to see how his body was holding up. Despite how much he'd been roughed up, he could still fight normally. "Tonbokiri's sharp enough most of the time; how often d'ya think I come across somethin' I can't slice right through? But if ya want it so badly, I can show it so close to your face that it's the only thing you'll see!"

"A Noble Phantasm to cut that which cannot be cut. As usual, you are too carefree when sharing information... unless you have more tricks up your sleeve. No, I have no doubts about it: you have at least one more card to play." Odysseus materialized a large, black arrow in his hand. "Will you choose to reveal it to me, or will you die first?"

So that damned bowman was also planning to use his own Noble Phantasm. Naturally, Lancer hadn't forgotten the properties of that annoying arrow and how he had gotten tricked before. But now that he knew it could change its path, it wasn't nearly as dangerous. It was faster and stronger than any regular arow, that was for sure. But it was still just a dumb pointy stick.

"Telemachus: Arrow of the Twelve Axeheads."

But when Odysseus fired, Lancer opted to run away.

Not out of fear, mind you – simply, he didn't trust that his opponent would just let him step aside and avoid it. And this expectation was spot on: no sooner had he fired that Odysseus was summoning more normal arrows and moved notched them as though he had never fired the first one.

He was very much counting on its presence though: Lancer had avoided Telemachus where it had been fired but soon enough the black arrow changed direction; he had to jump frantically to the side to avoid being skewered. The bowman took this opportunity to fire a volley and forced him to move away again. Then once again, the spearman had to look out for the Noble Phantasm which came flying his way for the third time.

(Tch! He's not lettin' me focus on either one...!)

Lancer wanted nothing more than detach Odysseus' head from his shoulders, but that was exactly why the Archer was pressuring him so much. By using the black arrow to keep him in check all while making sure he couldn't use the downtime to approach, he was effectively trying to lock Lancer between a rock and a hard place until he made a fatal mistake.

There was a simple way out of this situation – use Tonbokiri.

With his spear he could easily take Telemachus down. He had done so before, actually, in the Azores. He didn't know whether Odysseus was aware of that fact; but it was exactly why Lancer didn't dare use his Noble Phantasm willy-nilly. If that was what Odysseus expected, he wouldn't give him that satisfaction. He had been forced to accept by now that the bowman was better at thinking ahead than he was. If Odysseus was pulling this tactic all while being perfectly aware of the spear's power, then he had to be confident he could deal with it.

No matter what, he couldn't let that bowman do whatever he wanted.

That was why, after dodging the black arrow for the fourth time, Lancer dashed toward a street as to get away from the rooftop. If his opponent couldn't track him, he couldn't force him to run around.

However, before he could slip away, Odysseus fired a quick arrow toward the ground near Lancer's feet. Upon impact, the mana dwelling inside it burst into an updraft which lifted Lancer off his feet. Telemachus changed trajectory two more times to home in on him, and this time around he was in no position to jump out of its way. Instead, the spearman used all of his vigor to twist his body around while in the air. The arrow fortunately only grazed his back and flew by without impaling him.

"That makes six." Odysseus was still hot on his heels.

"What are ya countin'?!"

"It is the countdown to your death."

"Ha! I get it, yer tryin' to make me die of laughter!"

Lancer made a sharp turn and swung his spear, but the Archer used his wind to get away. In the meantime, it was time to yet again watch out for the black arrow's return. Something was striking Lancer as off though; was Odysseus really the type to rely on attrition tactics? When he was faced against someone like Lancer who only needed one good hit to win?

There was a finality that the spearman wasn't grasping.

"Well, whatever – I just have to kill ya before anythin' happens!" Saying so, he spun toward Odysseus and dashed without hesitation. "If ya wanna stab me in the back with your oversized toothpick, let's see ya do it!"

If the black arrow chased after Lancer, then Lancer would chase after Odysseus. It was a matter of how comfortable the bowman was with being on the path of his own Noble Phantasm. People like him who liked being in control generally hated it when others abused their plan – Lancer was just going to pretend the only thing he had to worry about was the man in front of him, and he bolted spear first for a killing blow.

Odysseus seemed like he wanted to get away but his reaction was strangely delayed. Lancer approached him in a flash and cleaved through the arrows he had been about to fire. Then, he brought his spear down and carved a line starting at the base of Odysseus' neck and ending in the middle of his chest.

With the depth of the wound, there was no doubt possible: he had successfully destroyed Odysseus' heart.

However.

"If that is what you wish for, I see no problem. We can end the count at eight." Even though he was vomiting blood, Odysseus smiled.

When Lancer wanted to pull his weapon out of his chest, the bowman seized his arm and prevented him from getting away. He should be dead already and yet he still had the strength to spare to hold his opponent in place – even though Telemachus was soaring toward the two of them, he was ready to have them both skewered on the spot.

"Kh...! Why are ya so damn annoyin' even in death...?!"

There was no time; Lancer resorted to a nonsensical plan. If Odysseus didn't let go of him, then he was going to help him instead – Lancer lifted the weakening Archer up and put him in the path of the black arrow. There was no way a flesh shield was going to slow it down. That's why, when the arrow pierced through Odysseus like a hot knife through butter, Lancer used the bowman to forcibly alter the Noble Phantasm's course.

Now that he was actually doing it, it really was a dumb idea. The momentum behind the arrow made it something that couldn't simply be brushed aside. But the spearman was about crazy enough to pull it off: just barely, he managed to modify its trajectory so that, when it left Odysseus' body, the arrow passed an hair's breadth away from Lancer's face instead of impaling him. Though it had only grazed him, his cheek was split open and part of his skin had been torn off.

Even so, Lancer had survived.

The same could not be said about his opponent – Odysseus now had a gaping hole in his guts and he was dangling from the spear like a hanged man from a tree.

Yet, he still drew breath.

The bones and flesh that had been carved by Lancer's spear rejoined as though they had never been cut. Even the hole drilled by Telemachus filled up and, in the blink of an eye, it was as good as new. Even though Tonbokiri was still stabbing his heart, the bowman had returned from the brink of death.

"I shall not die." Odysseus declared. "Not as long as I have a say about it."

"How many damn immortals do I have to face?" Lancer gritted his teeth. "But yer not a god or some weird monster – why is a human not dyin' when they have a spear through their chest?"

"This is no immortality but 'survival', if you care about the difference." Odysseus corrected him. "I have yet to end my journey; I have yet to return to my dear Ithaca. That is my third Noble Phantasm – Odússeia: Ten Years-Long Struggle for Respite. Counting when you used your Noble Phantasm before, that is the second time you've killed me."

Then, the bowman pointed toward the sky.

"Do you want to see one more trump card I have?"

"...!"

Telemachus had continued its vain course through empty air, but when Lancer looked at it he saw it changing course. Not to attack them yet again; it simply changed direction several time without apparent objective. When finally it stopped, the arrow was soaring toward the heavens like a midday shooting star.

"The twelve axeheads have been pierced; the final test has been overcome!"

When Lancer looked back toward Odysseus, the latter was aiming his bow at him and had drawn the string, yet no arrow was prepared.

But the spearman could feel a concentration of energy: not within the bow but inside his own body.

"Bastard, what are ye–!"

"Secret Noble Phantasm – Telemachus: Reward at Journey's End."

The bowstring was released.

The black arrow vanished from the sky.

The next instant, there was an explosion with Lancer at the centre of it. There had been no projectile, no attack he could have detected – simply, without any warning, the spearman blew up. Odysseus was blown away by the deflagration's blast and landed on his feet while the hole in his heart closed up.

As for Lancer...

"Shit...! Damn thing hurts...!" Despite what had just happened, he was still in one piece. "What kind of Noble Phantasm is that?!"

Fortunately for him, the explosion hadn't actually happened inside his body, or else he might not have walked away with his life. Still, he had taken it at point blank range; if he seemed fine on the outside, he had suffered quite a lot of internal damage.

Odysseus sighed.

"If my other Noble Phantasm is 'survival', then this one is 'victory'. Did you really believe that all it could do was change a poor arrow's trajectory? Quite the opposite, that is merely a condition to activate its true ability: to claim my victory and strike without giving the option to defend... but as you have just seen, it is not that reliable. In the end, I am measuring my fate to that of my opponent – at that time, because you were able to defy your fate, you survived."

"Heh! Sounds like me alright!"

Lancer was grinning smugly on the outside; he wasn't so cheery in his mind unfortunately. He didn't care what that bowman had to say about reliability and whatnot, the hit he had just taken had not been one he could afford. His body being half-ravaged was not going to stop him from fighting, that wasn't the problem. The real issue was, Lancer couldn't heal no matter what. Not with his own power and especially not with Hatsuyo's assistance; they were both the pure fighter type through and through.

Every bit of damage he took might as well be permanent until he found someone who could use healing magecraft.

He had started this fight on equal footing with his opponent, but the balance was starting to tip in his defavour. The worst part was, Odysseus didn't have to worry about the same problem at all. If he could really cheat death over and over again, then wounds meant nothing and there was no way for Lancer to defeat him.

But no matter what, Lancer couldn't think like that.

There had to be a solution – he wasn't going to die here, so it was goddamn sure there was one. In the first place, if he truly accepted the idea that Odysseus couldn't die, something felt very out of place.

(That's not the way a guy who can't kick the bucket would be fightin'...)

If he hadn't seen it with his own eyes, Lancer wouldn't have believed it. If Odysseus were truly immortal, he would act like it, much like Ravana did. It could be that his fighting instinct from his life were still deeply ingrained in him, but seeing how calculating the bowman was, that couldn't be such an issue. He could afford to risk his life more often.

Yet, he didn't.

In other words, his Noble Phantasm wasn't so convenient. Maybe there were specific criteria he needed to fulfill in order to use it; maybe he could only come back to life a set amount of times; or maybe it was something as simple as the cost of coming back. Maybe it wasn't a passive ability but one that had to be used consciously. Whatever the case, Odysseus wanted to use it as little as possible.

(Right, that guy's also completely paranoid.)

Just now, Odysseus had not only shown that ability in front of Lancer's eyes, he had also blathered about two of his Noble Phantasms. Coming from a man who liked to keep his cards hidden, that was an awful lot of confidence. Lancer didn't have to believe that any of what he had said was true but that was all the information he had to work with.

"My, that is an unusual face for you to make." Odysseus said, perhaps tired to be staring at each other in silence. "You must be racking your head if you manage to look this serious. I can guarantee that you are not reaching any satisfying conclusion, however. Am I wrong?"

"That ain't said yet. For all ya know, I might have ya aaaallll figured out by now." Nonetheless, Lancer was gnawing his teeth at the bowman's cheekiness. "An' anyway, what did ya show off yer secret trump card for? Ya didn't even manage to take an arm or a leg from me; are ya just getting off from your little presentation?"

"You aren't very bright, are you?" Odysseus shook his head. "If I had only wanted to unleash Telemachus' true ability, I did not need to wait for so long. All it requires is passing through the twelve axeheads. So ask yourself – why have I made you run all the way here, Lancer?"

"All the way... here...?"

All along, the spearman had been focused on his battle and his pesky opponent. If he had paid more attention to his surroundings, it would have been obvious: blue flames arose from a nearby street. More than that, there was a lot of activity – a massive snake-like creature was slithering about, and in the midst of flames and explosions, Lancer caught sight of a familiar silhouette.

"Son of a...!" He cursed out loud but Odysseus only smiled to his face and took off.

Lancer rushed after him at full speed; no matter what, he couldn't let that man lay a finger on Hatsuyo. In terms of speed, Lancer had the edge and he managed to catch up faster than you could say it.

But even so, he didn't attack Odysseus.

It would be easy and yet his spear didn't move.

Because even if he cut him apart or drilled his brain, that wouldn't be enough to stop him and Odysseus knew that.

Then... what?

Then what?

What should he do?!

A strange emotion was taking hold of Lancer. He had never felt fear and his heart wasn't one that could be brought down. Then, how should he describe this surging feeling of nausea?

He was... desperate?

Despair?

It was so nonsensical that this word sounded alien to him. A fight was something he could enjoy and an experience through wich he felt alive. And yet... and yet... 'All you know is how to maim and kill; this is an opponent you are helpless against.' – this reality was now fully hitting him. There stood a man he couldn't kill and who seemed to hold him in the palm of his hand. And what could Lancer do?

This was hardly the first time he was faced against an unkillable enemy though. So what was different?

Lancer was scared he might now understood why Odysseus had shared all this information with him.

And this dreadful omen revealed itself to be true when the bowman held out his hand – three large, black arrows materialized out of thin air.

"It's simple, Lancer: if any one of those go through, your little Master dies." Odysseus stated calmly.

"Kh...!"

Lancer wanted to stop him before he could fire but he was one step behind still.

"Telemachus: Arrow of the Twelve Axeheads!"

* Stop music

The bowman drew all three arrows at the same time on his bow and fired them together into the sky. Just as he had said earlier, the three of them began shifting their course at a much faster pace as they spread out over the battlefield. Lancer couldn't keep count of how many turns they each had made already – he only had about a few seconds to make a decision.

Killing Odysseus to stop his Noble Phantasm was impossible.

Even if he relied on Tonbokiri, he wouldn't be able to line up all the arrows in his field of sight – destroying them was impossible.

If he couldn't do anything himself, then perhaps he could at least warn Hatsuyo via their mental link. But for what? Warn her about an attack she couldn't dodge or see coming? Tell her to disappear from sight when she was in the middle of a deadly battle and couldn't move as she wished? All Lancer would manage to do would be to make her lose focus at a crucial time.

Then what...?

Then what?!

An image was creeping up in Lancer's mind, the sight of a poor girl blown to pieces. This detestable idea was only seconds away from becoming reality. Despite all the efforts she had poured in to get here. Even though she had finally...

...

...

Then, there was only one way.

"I'm a sorry sight, losin' my nerves like that." There was one thing Lancer could effectively do. "Can't let my lord see me in that state!"

The three black arrows had most likely fulfilled their duties, for Odysseus drew his bow and took aim toward Hatsuyo, who was unaware of everything happening on this side. But before he could release the string and fire his Noble Phantasms, something blocked his view of the girl. It was none other than her Servant – Lancer stood between Odysseus and Hatsuyo with his arms wide open. He had understood that the target of Telemachus wasn't whoever the bowman wanted, but whoever he was aiming at.

"..." Odysseus' mouth curled up. "As you wish."

And finally, he let go of the string.

"Telemachus: Reward at Journey's End!"

The three arrows vanished.

Lancer only had the time to feel mana concentrating in three points inside his body. At this point, it was pointless to hope that they would all miss. The next moment, the Noble Phantasms activated simultaneously and the spearman's silhouette disappeared in a massive blast of heat. It only lasted an instant – all that was left afterward was a belch of smoke rising up from where he had stood.

"...No one could question your loyalty, warrior." Odysseus lowered his bow and nodded to himself. "Although, I'm afraid I cannot even honour your resolve by sparing your Master."

Saying so, he turned toward the other battlefield where flames were raging.

"It's fine – 'cause I'm here to make sure ya never lay a hand on her."

But he didn't have the time to look away for long: by the time the bowman noticed a green glow in the corner of his eye, he had already been bisected vertically. And not only him but also the building he stood on and the building behind him.

* Fate/Apocrypha – Before Dawn

Of course, Odússeia activated and made his body whole again.

But now his gaze was turned toward the man he had thought dead and gone. However, the one he saw standing there was not Lancer – or at least, not the same Lancer he had clashed with. The figure who emerged from the smoke was shrouded in black from head to toe. Whether it was tangible or an ethereal shadow covering his entire body was hard to tell.

However, it was definitely shaped like an armour.

The size of it made Lancer appear larger and bulkier; in fact, the first impression it gave was that of vertiginous height. He wasn't really taller though, that was only his aura. This was the presence a general had to maintain on the battlefield. The most striking part of his new gears was the helmet adorning his head: two horns like a deer's antlers were sticking out of it. Any who laid eyes upon it would instantly recognize him – no, even those who didn't know him would realize who stood there.

"Shikazunowakidate no Kabuto: He is the Man Who has Surpassed Death Itself." Honda Tadakatsu said. "Ya were wonderin' what else I had in store for you, Archer. Then feast yer eyes, 'cause it's the last thing ya'll see."

"...All three arrows have hit you, I know it for certain." Odysseus frowned. "Did you activate this armour in time to...? No, be it shields or cuirass, they cannot defend against an attack from inside. What in the world have you...?"

"Unlike ya, I gotta pay mind to what I use and when. Well, I'd be a terrible Servant if I couldn't fight with just my spear. I hope yer happy, ya made me use my last resort." Honda cracked his neck and brandished his spear. "Yeah, ya hit me with all three of 'em, and let me tell you that hurts! But that don't mean nothin' to me – see, this 'me' right here iss unscathed."

Indeed, Honda hadn't escaped from Odysseus' secret technique. One arrow had destroyed his flank; another had torn a hole in his gut; the third one had claimed his entire right leg. But none of that mattered, because the one who took that damage was the Honda inside the armour.

Shikazunowakidate no Kabuto – that Noble Phantasm was not merely the fact of putting his armour on. This shadow surrounding him was also 'Honda Tadakatsu'; or rather, it was the legend of the man who had stood in the midst of battle again and again without suffering any injury. This was the image soldiers on each side of the battlefield had of him.

It didn't matter if he had lost a leg: his shadow had both of them and therefore he had lost nothing.

It didn't matter if chunks of his body were blown up, if his head was ripped apart or if his heart stopped beating – 'Honda Tadakatsu' was the proof that he was completely fine.

In a way, this too was a form of immortality.

From now on, this was battle between men who refused to die.

"By the way, I killed ya just now, so that brings the number of death to three, ain't it?"

"What of it?" Odysseus grumbled.

"Who knows, who knows~, it might be important. There's somethin' I want to check."

And to do that, Honda went on the offensive. It really was something compared to before: the bowman barely had the time to react that they were face-to-face and that Honda threw a punch. Odysseus blocked it with his forearm, to little effect since he was sweeped off his feet and sent flying away. The spearman was only getting started though: he dashed to Odysseus' landing spot in a single leap and greeted him with a kick before he could hit the ground.

But Odysseus wasn't going to take another trip through the air.

He used his wind to control his trajectory and glide away from the spearman. Seeing as the latter was charging straight at him still, he fired a volley of supressive fire. Honda didn't bother dodging or deflecting them however – he let his body be turned into a pincushion without faltering or slowing down. He could have swiped them aside just as easily but he had wanted to send a message to Odysseus: no matter what, wounding him was a pointless endeavor.

In turn, Honda swung his spear but only to hit his opponent with the back of it. Odysseus managed to leap away, but not before the spear handle left a nasty nick in his armour.

"So I was right after all~!" Honda showed a toothy smile. "Yer weaker than before."

"...I suppose it was only a matter of time before you figured it out." Odysseus shrugged but he couldn't hide his annoyance. "Although, I do wonder how you've come to notice. I made a point to avoid showing it."

"That's exactly why – ya changed yer fightin' style as soon as ya died."

Although he said that, Honda truly hadn't had a clue until a minute ago. At the start of their battle, Odysseus hadn't hesitated to use brute force to immobilize him or strike him directly. And yet, every since their had moved their battlefield up here, he had only used his arrows. It hadn't struck the spearman as strange because he had applied pressure even so, but it was hard to miss it in hindsight. The answer was that, in between, Odysseus had been killed once when Honda had revealed Tonbokiri.

Afterward, the bowman had been killed a second time in order to bring Lancer down with him. Following that, he had stopped fighting Honda at all – he had flaunted his immortality and used nothing but Noble Phantasms.

Now there was no more doubt about it; Honda's armour was also giving him a small overall boost but Odysseus had definitely grown weaker.

"That's the price ya pay each time ya die: ya lose power!"

"Nothing but a temporary setback." Odysseus retorted.

"Temporary maybe, but I wanna bet it doesn't wear away fast. And ya already died three times – in other words, if I keep killin' ya, ya'll be as good as dead eventually!"

"Hmph." Odysseus dematerialized his bow and raised his fists. "Watch your words, Lancer – you speak as though it is already done."

If one got stronger while the other only got weaker, then the outcome should be inevitable. And so Honda swung his spear faster than his opponent could react and he severed Odysseus' arm along with a part of his rib cage. In truth though, Odysseus didn't react at all; he didn't so much as flinch even while his limb was cut off.

Seeking the moment the spearman's guard would be open, he then lunged forward to grab him with his remaining arm before sinking his knee into his stomach with all his strength. In order to make this compensate for his weakened state, he was making full use of his Mana Burst to boost his speed and power.

But even if that was nothing to sneeze at, Honda swatted him aside with one arm and thrusted his spear with the other.

But the blade missed the bowman's head: Odysseus seemed to fall to his knees, when in reality he was only stooping before springing up. In his hand, he held an arrow which he stabbed into Honda's shoulder like a dagger; using that as a support, he lifted himself up and passed behind the spearman. Even though he only had one arm, using his entire weight he managed to make the samurai bend backward before smashing his head against the floor.

This was Honda's first time being caught in a piledriver; he didn't have the time to enjoy the experience though. From his lying position, he kicked Odysseus with enough force to propel him away. Then, he jumped back to his feet and swung Tonbokiri with such power that the stroke cut Odysseus in half despite the distance.

"That's another death for ya!"

"..."

The Archer regenerated again while Honda rushed over to him. But looking in his eyes, you wouldn't believe he was on the losing end. Odysseus held out his hand and summoned his bow. That wasn't all: somehow, he managed to one-up himself and materialized no less than five black arrows, which he drew all at once on his bow.

The Lancer tried to slice them off before they could be fired; but that was a move the bowman had predicted. It didn't matter in which direction he fired his Noble Phantasm after all, so he twisted his body to avoid the spear and released the arrows at an awakward diagonal angle. Following this, he danced around Honda to gain some time.

On his end, the spearman wanted to kill him to see if what effect it would have on Telemachus. A task that was made unexpectedly arduous by the bowman's slipperiness: Odysseus would take punches or kicks, but when it was the spear coming at him he would use small bursts of wind to dodge.

This way, Odysseus managed to bid his time until the black arrows had made eleven turns.

In order to take aim though, he stopped moving all over the place; at that moment, Honda hit him in the chin with a blow which dislocated his jaw and nearly tore it off his face. He couldn't use a Noble Phantasm if he couldn't speak. Odysseus' answer to that was drastic: summoning a normal arrow, he proceeded to stab in into his own lower jaw to reunite it with the upper one.

"Telemachus!" He called out his Noble Phantasm between gritted teeth.

Honda was blown off his feet by the five explosions which then occurred at the same time. At this point, he couldn't even care about the pain anymore. If he had been a sorry state before, how to describe what was left of him now? He had lost more of his body than he had kept. Even so, he lived. It had been obvious from the start that, once Shikazunowakidate no Kabuto would deactivate, he would bite the dust for real.

"Makes a man wonder..." 'Honda Tadakatsu' got back up on his feet. "If all of my body gets destroyed, will I keep movin' still?"

"What is the matter, Lancer? Were you not supposed to kill me again and again?" Odysseus pulled the arrow out of his jaw and waited for it to heal. "Is that all your words are worth?"

"I'm just gettin' used to bein' in pieces, that's all! Unlike ye lucky bastard, I don't get better each time."

Well, he also had to mind how much he exerted himself. There really was a reason why he would only rely on his base abilities normally, and that was because neither him nor his Master were mana batteries. That was something his opponent had probably guessed already, so it was annoying.

"I have a question for you, if I may." The bowman said. "You who also had to command men into battle, what value did their lives hold in your eyes?"

"What's with ya all of sudden?"

"It is nothing, I suppose. When I look at you, I cannot help but see someone who stands alone on the battlefield."

"...Well, 'tis what it is. If you wanna win a war, of course lookin' after yer troops is important. But the best times were when I had only enemies around me and I could butcher them in every direction. I ain't gonna pretend this ain't who I am – I was just enough of a monster that people would want to follow after me. If they got killed though, well, that's just what happened in that time."

"I see. You must see your Master as someone of the same ilk as you then."

"Watch yer mouth, would ya." Honda's brows furrowed. "My little lord – that child ain't nothin' like me, not quite yet. I'm not a saint but yer someone who'll only understand people when they suit yer tastes. Don't go around preachin'. And don't look down on her future."

"My bad." The corners of Odysseus' mouth stretched into a smile that felt oddly genuine. "As I thought, you and I can't see eye to eye no matter what."

Then, he charged at Honda.

He was coming straight at him with seemingly no precaution and no trick. After dying four times, his Saint Graph had degraded to the point that, if the spearman counter-attacked, Odysseus wouldn't even be able to dodge anyway. And so Honda didn't hesitate and welcomed him by plunging Tonbokiri straight into Odysseus' heart. But far from stopping in his track, the bowman kept pushing forward, even though it was driving the spear deeper through his chest.

Eventually, they were so close it looked like they were in an embrace; ironic for two people who had just agreed they were nothing alike.

There was nothing sweet about it though.

"It is a shame then, that I have to shoot that future down." Behind Honda's back, Odysseus drew his empty bow and aimed it at someone in particular.

The spearman couldn't see it from his position but during her battle against Elena Bujart, Hatsuyo had somehow been thrown high up into the air; in a position where there was a perfect visibility on her. He understood what Odysseus was doing though: only now did he notice there was something soaring above their head, ascending toward the heavens like a midday comet.

"You...!" Honda's eyes shot wide open.

"Earlier, when you were hit by my Noble Phantasms. At that time, I was able to fire another without you noticing."

"As if I'd let ya...!"

But this position Odysseus had forced them into was too impractical to fight back. Tonbokiri was stuck and the proximity between them meant Honda had very little freedom of movement. Thus, he settled for the best alternative he could and seized Odysseus' neck to crush it.

He felt the bones break under his grip – yet even so, Odysseus managed to force his voice out in a strangled gurgle.

"Telemachus: Reward at Journey's End!"

---

Let us backtrack a bit.

The tide of the battle between Hatsuyo and Elena had not changed after the latter had summoned of her giant snake. Or at least, that was what Hatsuyo stubbornly wanted to think. The fight had not truly been in her favour before but she had been able to get back at Elena nonetheless. Now though, she was forced to look out for not only the magus but also for her pet.

Simply put, if the drake touched her, she was dead.

And if not outright killed, she would be taking enough damage that it wouldn't make a difference. After all, that thing seemed to be made of molten rock; in other words, it was at a temperature where a human would burst into flame simply by approaching. Although, perhaps it was not as hot as naturally occuring lava, but there was no doubt what would happen if she touched it. The burns from being punched by Elena would feel like a soft caress in comparison.

The good news was, it was quite slow.

The bad news was, it was quite large.

In a narrow space, it would be a nightmare to deal with. Thankfully, Hatsuyo wasn't obligated to stay down there, but she still had to be on the lookout for Elena's flame. They were just as deadly as the snake since they would burn her to a crisp anyway. At this point, she was trying to avoid any attack possible. Doing that wasn't the issue; the problem was that she had no window to strike back at Elena and she couldn't even get close.

She could run away all she wanted but if her objective was to win, that meant she was losing. She hadn't had the time to recover from her previous fights either, so she was slowly running out of stamina. Frankly she was already pushing herself to her limit – ignoring her injuries, every muscle in her body was screaming in pain as a result for overexerting herself against Savrance.

Things couldn't get much worse and that was why she had to convince herself that she was still capable of making it.

(If at least I could get closer...)

Now wasn't the time to get reckless, however.

For a moment, Hatsuyo considered hurling her sword at Elena as an effective way to end this battle. It was definitely possible since the katana was impervious to harm. But she had quickly discarded the idea nonetheless: if such a desperate move failed, it was definitely over. She doubted she could even get through Elena's shell, let alone kill her in a single throw.

She had to bid her time.

Sprinting along the rooftop of the City, she was escaping the drake's relentless pursuit. Instead of running in circles around Elena though, she was increasing the distance between them as much as possible. One reason for that was to test the range the molten snake could go. It didn't look like an actual familiar so much as an elaborate spell, so it might not be able to autopilot. Hatsuyo would throw a glance over her shoulder from time to time to check the situation; Elena was actually following her as well, which seemed to confirm her theory.

The other reason she was running away was to change the battlefield. Not that she had any concrete plan by leading the magus deeper into the City, she was just hoping to find a terrain that was more favourable. The narrowness of the streets was working against her for sure, but it could be used to her advantage. Even if she were fighting in the middle of a plain, her opponent wouldn't be more approachable.

Before soon, she found what she wanted: a crossroad.

The real problem with the street she had previously been lured into was that it was a straight path. Once that changed however, it became possible to hide and set up an ambush. It might be a predictable move but an efficient one nonetheless. It was a bit early for that though; Hatsuyo would have to wait until her opponent got closer. What this meant was that she stopped running and turned around to face the lava drake.

"You must have a weak point." She glarred at the giant lump of molten rock as it was rushing forward to swallow her. "Even if it isn't one I can take advantage of..."

Even with plenty of space to move around, its sheer size made it a real pain to skirt around. More than twice, even though she managed to get out of the way before being eaten, Hatsuyo had almost been incinerated because the rest of its body was in the way.

However, she still achieved some form of success through this constant hopping around: eventually, the drake became 'entangled'. Because all it focused on was pursuing Hatsuyo, it wasn't bothering to move like a real snake would and got stuck in its own body. That was only a temporary problem: it was made a liquid to begin with, so it just merged the entangled parts and reformed. But that took time and it was visibly confused.

It was the moment for Hatsuyo to escape its attention and put her plan into execution.

Thus, she prepared to leap into the street that ran perpendicular to the one Elena was in. However – when she looked down, she saw red magic circles which shone brightly and erupted into flames. Hatsuyo managed to grab the edge of the roof and to pull herself back up before rolling away from the deluge of fire, but she cursed under her breath.

"The rat has learned to hide and run like she should." Elena's voice resounded from below. "Did you really think you could outsmart me with such an obvious tactic? In terms of control of space, I am superior to you. In terms of firepower, in terms of defense and in terms of magecraft, I am superior to you. You are nothing."

At the same time, something strange happened: Hatsuyo heard the sound of explosions far behind her. When she looked back, all she could see were some silhouettes in the distance. She didn't have the time to take a good look; immediatly she had to refocus her attention on the battle in front of her. She was even more confused now, and an ominous feeling was creeping up in her chest.

But she had to shake it off.

No matter what, she couldn't think too hard about the situation she had found herself in.

It was a strange thing to think about now of all time, but Hatsuyo Toriyama was definitely not a warrior. Barely more than a year ago, she had still been living an average (if empty) life. The only battle experience she could rely on was the one ingrained in her genes and the one she had accumulated throughout this Holy Grail War. When she had killed, when she had beheld heroes of yore in action, when she had fought against foes on a different plane than her, she had relied heavily on her inherited instinct and had turned off her common sense.

No matter how strong her body could be, her mind was still that of someone who had trespassed into a world they didn't belong in. All she could do was take in in stride. But the more desperate the situation became...

"Don't think about that...!" She admonished herself. "Think about how to defeat her..."

Seeing as her attempt as setting up an ambush had failed, Hatsuyo was growing impatient.

If she played it safe forever, she would never get an opportunity.

Thus, she took a reckless risk and made a long jump. It wasn't only to pass over the snake; she had lept in such a way as to land inside the street, as close to Elena as possible. She came very close to be set on fire by the drake slithering over its owner but she made it through nonetheless. She made a hard landing and looked at her opponent. The magus seemed slightly taken aback by this change of approach but she was ready nonetheless.

But something was amiss.

"Kh... you don't have to take this much all at once..." Elena faltered for an instant and for a reason Hatsuyo didn't know.

But it looked like an opportunity.

It seemed her boldness had been rewarded – she bolted toward Elena. The latter noticed it and raised her arm to cast flames. Certainly, if she approached like that Hatsuyo would be reduced to cinders before she could even reach her. That was why, she would reach her faster.

In the end, she could only rely on the abilities borrowed from her ancestors. She had to push her body further even though it was already past its limit. She clenched her teeth and endured the pain to focus; this was a technique someone a long time ago had spent their life away mastering. Not that their existence had been more fulfilled by it, but now it was within Hatsuyo's reach.

She focused on the next step – Elena's flames filled the space where the swordwoman was standing. But they didn't scorch anything, because she was not standing there anymore: Hatsuyo was right in front of the magus.

"Wha–!" Elena's eyes opened wide.

Shukuchi; the art of reducing space between oneself and the opponent. Considering this was the first time she even attempted to use it, Hatsuyo had done an excellent job of pulling it off, but her body was hating her for it. She had to make this chance count.

To that purpose, she swung the katana at her opponent's throat with all the strength she could muster. She had figured that not every part of the soot cuirass protecting Elena could have the same thickness. In order for her to move her head freely, either there had to be some opening around her neck or the latter was covered in softer scales.

That assessment turned out to be somewhat correct.

When her blade collided with Elena's neck, Hatsuyo felt the resistance was different from before. It was softer for sure – yet even so, the sword didn't cut through. It was softer, yes, but also a lot more flexible, not unlike chain mail. However, it also meant it wasn't as good at absorbing the impact: with the force applied by the katana, Elena's neck almost bended.

"Hhhh...!" The magus reeled and had to keep herself from toppling over. "You... dirty little...!"

She swung her fist in retaliation but Hatsuyo easily ducked under it and prepared her second assault. This time, instead of a swing it was a thrust. More specifically, Hatsuyo was trying to replicate what she had done before, to pierce a part of the shell that was already weakened. Elena realized this as well – she raised her arms to catch the sword.

"I won't let you... ridicule me...!"

Her hands successfully grabbed the blade and stopped it before the tip could stabbed into her throat. But Hatsuyo was not deterred and kept pushing, pouring all her remaining strength into driving her sword into the magus' neck. They were both struggling and it seemed as though they were equally matched in strength, but Hatsuyo was the one winning. That was because she was even more desperate than Elena: if only a little, she managed to approach the tip of her sword closer, enough to lightly pierce through the already-damage scales and draw the faintest drop of blood.

She could do it.

"You can... stand right here if you want...!" Elena vociferated through her clenched teeth. "Meanwhile, I will melt you with my Wyrm...!"

"You can't." But Hatsuyo refuted her. "That giant worm is dangerous but you need to use a lot of focus to move it around. You can't both use your spells and control it at the same time. If you shift your focus and make it attack me, I can claim your head before it can reach me. Am I wrong?"

"You... kh... even if it takes up a part of my concentration... I can still make it attack...!"

"Then, there's the question of whether you can afford to. Since I'm so close to you, you'd also get caught up. You may be able to survive being on fire, but that doesn't mean you can resist all of your attacks. Actually, the reason why you immolate yourself is to trick people into thinking you can."

"Y...ou... you... you, you, you...!" The fire in Elena's eyes was blazing more ardently than any of her flames. "Don't you... look at me like that! You think you've already won? Don't you... look down... on me...!"

"...!"

Was that wrath enough to match Hatsuyo's own?

At any rate, it was enough for Elena to double down: blue lines ran across her body. That was something even Hatsuyo could recognize, a basic taught as early as the first year at the Clock Tower – Elena was using her magical energy to strengthen her body. The steel between her hands was burning hotter and hotter as though she wanted to melt it, but that wouldn't happen. So instead, Elena seemed to pour her all into pushing Hatsuyo back, and more: after letting out a roar which seemed to contain all of her anger and frustration, she lifted Hatsuyo up and tossed her into the air.

Hatsuyo had been pushing forward and as such she hadn't been prepared to resist a force coming from below. To say that Elena had thrown her was an understatement – Hatsuyo ascended high, high enough to fly out the street and hover for a second above the City.

She had completely failed.

She had gotten an opportunity and had blown it.

Her body ached; her mind ached; in a way, her soul ached as well. Hatsuyo had mustered her strength for that ditch effort but now that strength was leaving her. Right now, it seemed like she was just a leaf blown away by the wind.

A memory floated back up to her mind.

That day, when had almost given up and let that typhoon take her away, it had been the same kind of feeling.

"Feuer und Zertörung! Magen und Kehle!"

Down below, Elena had created a magic circle out of soot and was charging up a great amount of mana. She was going to use her Dragon Breath spell again. This time, there were only three jewels in front of her, so perhaps it would be weaker; but what would it matter at this point?

Hatsuyo couldn't dodge.

She wouldn't even have the strength to do so.

A bit farther away, where the battle between Servants was raging, Odysseus was aiming his bow at her. Even if she wasn't aware of it, she was stuck between a rock and a hard place; no, she was pratically crushed beween them already.

Still...

It was frustrating...

'And if that's what you are, then I'm also a monster!'

What a monster she made, she couldn't even win after all the resolution it had taken to come this far. And what had that resolution been for in the end? If it was to end her miserable existence, then she didn't have to do anything. But that wasn't for that. That wasn't it.

She had wanted... to make this power worth it.

For once, she had wished to use this monstrous strength in order to save and protect, not destroy and forsake.

'I won't let you be alone!'

"Alone... so I'm supposed to count on more than myself, you say...?"

She could do this, at least.

She should have enough strength to reach out and grab on the last strand of hope she had.

"Entfesselt deinen Zord, Große Feuerschlange!"

Actually, she had been carrying it on her back from the start.

"Atem des Drachen!"

"Telemachus!"

Elena unleashed the accumulated mana into a beam of pure destruction. As for Hatsuyo, she simply seized the only luggage she had aside from her katana: the one left behind by Völundr. She had no idea how to use it, so she only followed her instinct – when the Dragon Breath was about to vaporize her, she swung the blacksmith's gift toward the beam.

What noise would it make if a metallic object and heat collided? Realistically, the only sound you would hear would be that of the metal melting; it was impossible to hit something intangible in the first place.

* Fate/Empire of Dirt - Clashing Prides

And yet, Hatsuyo did.

When she held the long object wrapped in fabric between her and the beam, there was a deafening sound as though thunder had struck right where she was. But that wasn't the sound of it breaking – Hatsuyo wasn't vaporized, no more than her makeshift shield. The only thing that burned away was the fabric: it was reduced to cinder and blown away in the wind, revealing another sword.

Unlike her katana, it was a European-style double-edged sword. It was a bit plain, as it had no special characteristic or decoration, but that very simplicity gave it a strange beauty. Besides, even if it didn't look like anything special, in this very moment it was shining splendidly. Or so Hatsuyo believed; she didn't realize that this light was emanating from her, not just the sword.

In truth, she had always known what was inside – she wouldn't have been carrying something without taking a look at it first. But she had decided from the start that she would never use it. Whether it was the size or the weight, it was all too different from what she was used to and could only be a hindrance in battle. More importantly, she didn't deserve it. She couldn't accept to borrow for herself the strength of someone she had killed.

Those doubts had still lingered in her mind before seizing that sword. But now that she held it with the resolution to use it, all worries vanished from her mind.

The strain and the pain disappeared from her body.

In fact, she had never felt this light in her entire life.

She pushed back against the Dragon Breath and, with one large swing, she dispersed the beam of destruction. It didn't feel like she had fought it back with raw strength; rather, she had cut through it. She wasn't sure how but she had done it.

And the look on Elena's face was priceless.

"What's the meaning... of this?"

"You're next."

---

By the way, if one wondered what had happened to Odysseus' Noble Phantasm, the answer was simple: it hadn't activated at all.

It wasn't the same than with Honda. Back then, although Telemachus: Reward at Journey's End hadn't turned into a killing blow, it had hit the spearman regardless. It was a matter of how optimal the damage inflicted would be. But the arrow he had tried to use against Hatsuyo, even though it had fulfilled all the criteria, did not activate.

In other words, when their fates had been matched against each other, she had thoroughly outclassed him.

"It failed...? Against a mere human?" He muttered to himself in disbelief. But he was forced to acknowledge it: the bowman felt a sharp pain. "Gh...!"

The reason why his secret trump card was unreliable wasn't merely because it wasn't a sure-kill. In the event that Telemachus failed, there was a price to pay: a black thorn appeared in his chest. Even if it was only one, the pain he felt from it was a humiliating one. And while he dwelled on it, Honda pulled Tonbokiri out of the bowman's chest and grabbed his face.

"I told ya..." He proceeded to smash Odysseus' head against the ground. "...not to look down on her!"

Then, he lifted his spear and stabbed it into the bowman once again. This time though, the blade penetrated even through the roof below Odysseus, effectively pinning him down.

"Yer gonna stay here quietly now." Honda looked down at him with the widest grin he could offer. "It's 'bout time this battle ends – with our victory!"

---

Elena manipulated the molten drake so that it would intercept the falling Hatsuyo. But the latter was afraid of it no longer; some would call it a complete lack of sense, but in reality it was nothing more than sheer confidence. Ever since she held the nameless sword, Hatsuyo was feeling something of a high.

Now she didn't care about the limit of her abilities or how to use them – she simply thought of what she wanted to achieve and set out to do it.

The lava snake stood between her and her target, and it lurched forward to swallow her.

Just like before, Hatsuyo attacked normally as thoughs he was merely trying to cut through a sheet of paper. And although she could never have imagined doing so before, she successfully sliced the drake apart with a single swing. But because it was so large, one time wasn't enough; and so, she hacked through it again and again until she had cleared a path to the other side.

She didn't notice it but with each stroke of her new sword, the blade was thining and bending slightly. It was starting to ressemble her katana a bit more.

This hybrid weapon which was neither one nor the other, she raised it again as she dived toward Elena Bujart. And when she brought it down, the scaly figure of black soot was cleaved in half from her head down to her toes. However, Hatsuyo immediatly felt that something was wrong – the silhouette she had just cut was empty; merely a shell. The magus had left it behind as a decoy to make her escape.

But she couldn't be far: Hatsuyo saw her further ahead, her back turned as she ran away.

"You really look like a rat right now." Hatsuyo couldn't help but comment. Elena's skin was still black with soot but she had nothing left to cover herself with. It was in the most deprived state that she was fleeing. "You have no business running or hiding though."

But that pitifulness wasn't going to reach Hatsuyo's heart and make her stay her hand. On the contrary, it brought her an uncanny joy. Seeing that woman running for her life, she felt powerful. That too was something she hadn't felt in a long time; without realizing it, Hatsuyo was smiling.

She took aim and hurled her katana like a javelin toward the running rat. She hit Elena dead in her leg and made her tumble to the floor. There was no way she could escape her now. All that was left was catching up and finishing her off – in high spirits, Hatsuyo rushed forward.

---

However, the sky darkened and a black rain fell.

---

Thank you for reading.

You know, this battle was something that had been planned for a very long time. It had always felt like something in the far off future, something that I didn't get to write yet. So it is a strange feeling than to have finally penned it. And maybe I'm right to be sentimental, because this chapter is quite the milestone. Ignoring the weird numbering of the chapters throughout the story, this is exactly the 100th chapter I'm uploading. Moreover, with this chapter the story had officially reached over one million words. And last but not least, today is exactly Fate/Rongodamiant's 6th anniversary!

To celebrate this triple milestone, I will do absolutely nothing in particular. I think that marks the occasion quite well.

~Legends Storyteller