Quick announcement at the end
Chapter 5
The War They Call Holy
Illyasviel looked at what she presumed to be Lancer. However, in contrast to the blue-clad servant, the uniform he bore was black.
"I see that you lost your handling there," he quipped to Gilgamesh who stood beside Illyasviel.
In turn, the King of Heroes glared at the smug spear-wielding servant. With a mere glare, thousands of Gates of Babylon opened behind him all poised to obliterate them. "Die here, mongrels!"
Thousands of weapons fired in a furious barrage of destruction. All pinpointed on the shadow and Lancer.
The whole area was blanketed in a fury of destruction and dust.
Throughout it all, Berserker put himself between the incoming debris and Illyasviel. I think... We need to retreat, she thought to herself as she felt injuries on her body becoming more prominent.
"Berserker! Make sure they are dead!" she shouted, making her intentions clear to her asshole of an ally.
Complying with her demand, the dust blew away as Berserker conjured a cero between his horns. The chaotic ball of energy whipping wildly at their surroundings.
"Gae Bolg!" a voice called out from just beyond where the dust disappeared. A crimson light shining through the obscurity and catching everyone's eye. Thus, the black-themed servant burst forward from the dust and thrust forward his spear with its tip pointed at Berserker.
In response, the mad servant unleashed his cero with an intimidating roar.
Before the two attacks could connect, a beam of energy shot from behind Lancer and countered the cero, redirecting it to the sky.
In a cacophony of marvelous display of explosions, the air lit up with an angry red color as the air combusted as the cero detonated.
Unimpeded by the near graze of the beam to himself, Lancer's spear gained wild energy of its own. The spear of the Underworld determined to strike the heart of the beast of the damned.
Yet, despite the unique attributes of the spear, Berserker too could bend rules.
He was the blade, and the blade was him.
His blade could cut destiny itself, and so he could destroy destiny.
Therefore, despite Gae Bolg being destined to hit, Tensa Zangetsu severed that fate.
Thus, in a quick strike, the blade that cut the moon into twine fell the spear that was destined to hit.
Impossible! Cu Chulainn thought in utter shock as he recoiled from having his spear being countered and deflected.
Taking advantage of the moment of weakness shown to him, Berserker's energy spiked once more as Tensa Zangetsu exuded the menacing black and crimson energy.
As he went in for the strike, dozens of noble phantasms surrounded them as Gilgamesh let loose on the temporarily stunned Lancer.
Only for the said servant to be consumed by the shadow at the last moment.
"Die, you insect!" Gilgamesh roared as he turned his attention to the shadow, once more summoned hundreds of noble phantasms and firing it.
Yet, the shadow too disappeared leaving nothing but the destruction it inadvertently caused.
Despite the shadow's retreat, Gilgamesh was still on guard as he summoned a longsword from his treasury and spun around with it on hand. His blade met a dagger as Assassin tried to strike him but ultimately failing.
"Die, mongrel," the king said simply as he deflected the blow and summoned dozens of Gates of Babylon around the briefly offset servant.
In one gory mess, the existence of the servant who hunts in the shadows was wiped. "Ah... I am sorry for my indulgence... A-"
The flakes of blue motes wafting in the air being proof of the elimination of the servant.
Yet, despite utterly destroying Assassin, Gilgamesh's anger was not sated as he furiously stomped away as he set his destination, the Emiya household.
Illyasviel, still reeling from the abrupt end to the battle, looking at the king in confusion. "Where are you going?" she genuinely asked.
In response, furious crimson eyes met her dazed ruby ones. "Finishing off the trash," he declared as he walked out to the street and summoned a large portal.
Trash...? Finishing off? Illyasviel asked herself in confusion before realization dawned upon her. "Wait!" she yelled, "not yet!"
The king of Uruk ignored her words and a large golden ship appeared before him.
"I... I want to see what his decision is," Illyasviel revealed as her mind finally caught up to her.
Gilgamesh paused at her words, having considered her intention. "You dare try to deny my righteous retribution? For what? To find the rhetorical answer where you take action either way?"
Illyasviel pursed her lips a bit, trying to find a way to appropriately word her reasoning. Yet, she could only find one solution:
"Take another step and your arm won't be the only thing gone."
Her threat hung in the air as humanity's first hero spun on his heels and glared at her.
"Have you forgotten what I had said to you, doll?" he asked dangerously low as he started to walk back towards Illyasviel.
"I have not," she resolutely replied as Berserker growled in preparation of her command. "And from your performance today, I can see your power does not match-"
She was cut off as Berserker appeared before her and deflected a spear aimed for her throat.
"Tell me, doll, are you truly in any condition to threaten me?" Gilgamesh intoned with an edged tone.
Illyasviel pursed her lips as she looked down at her bodily state and she must admit, she was quite battered up. From the top-down, she was covered in dust and slight burns had opened gaping holes in her clothing. There were also numerous scratches littered around her body and she felt her back throb as the adrenaline wore out.
"My physical condition does not equate to my mana supply," she boldly proclaimed as her body flared with the intricate red lines of her command seals. "Besides, I would be more worried about your physical condition."
Gilgamesh paused in his stride as he looked at the stump of an arm. Blood oozed from the cut-off arteries, dripping down his clothes and onto the ground.
He then looked back at Berserker, his eyes staring into the mad servant's very soul. Tension hung onto the air like a mistress as both of them stared each other down.
If one were to press a hot knife against the tension, they would find that it was so thick that the knife would lose its heat before taking a centimeter off.
Yet, as they stared the king reconsidered his proposed actions and their consequence. Thus in this retrospection, he back off.
"Tch. Do what you want," he growled with annoyance as he turned heel and walked away.
Meanwhile, Illyasviel couldn't help but collapse as her knees gave out and forcing her to lean on Berserker's back for support. "Let's go home, Berserker..."
Shirou Emiya sat on the wooden flooring with an expression of weariness. His eyes kept themselves fixated on the twinkling stars above as he thought about something.
"Hey, Sakura," he said out loud as he looked behind him. "Can't get any sleep too, huh?"
Sakura, dressed in a sleeping gown, looked at the ground with mostly despondent eyes. "Yeah..." she said silently, her toes fidgeted a bit as she pressed her lips.
Shirou blinked at her composure a bit before his eyes softened. "Did you wake up because of me?" he asked as he gave a weak sheepish smile. "Sorry if I was a bit too loud, I was rummaging through Kiritsugu's stuff."
"Oh... I see..."
He frowned a bit at her despondent responses, a feeling of growing concern welling up within. "Are you feeling tired?" he asked as he fully faced her.
"A bit..."
He sighed in exasperation as he thought on the matter for a bit before coming to a decision. "Want to sit over here?" he asked as he patted right beside him. "Don't worry, I cleaned it this morning."
"I...!" Sakura started, raising her voice as if she wanted to say something important. Yet, she bit her lip to stop herself. "I'm sorry, senpai," she said a bit more silently as she made her way to Shirou.
"For what?"
Sakura walked next to Shirou and took a seat as she deigned to not meet his gaze and instead looked at the shed. "For... For dirtying the floor you cleaned."
Shirou remained silent at her words as he stared at her. Then he looked to the stars. "I don't know why," he said, changing the subject, "but the most memorable moments happen to occur under the stars, weird right?"
At his words, the purple-haired girl looked at her senior with puzzlement. "What do you mean, senpai?"
"When I was a child," he explained as a small, sad smile formed on his lips, "I talked to Kiritsugu about becoming a hero of justice."
Sakura looked away from him, preferring to look at her fumbling hands.
"I said to him: 'I will become one in your place!' Back then, I said that just to cheer him up... To make him smile, you know," Shirou said as he clutched his hand into a fist, creating an audible crunch as the item in his hand was crumbled.
Sakura looked at his crunched hand with sadness, her hand wanting nothing else in the world but to hold his in hers. Yet, she restrained herself as she refocused upon her own hands.
"I guess, I just accepted his ideals without fully knowing what it exactly means. So, Sakura..."
She looked up at his eyes with slight hesitance and reluctance. But when her eyes met his own, she saw the solace and sincerity within the two golden orbs. "Senpai..."
"If you ever do something bad... I'll be there for you."
Illyasviel sighed in relief as she submerged herself in her massive bath. Her sigh causing bubbles to appear.
She felt all the stress and grime float off of her as the steaming bath provided a sense of warmth not unkin to that of her...
M̵̘͙̱͈̘͒̇̆̒̑̍́̔̈́͘ơ̵̤̠̺͋̒̾͆̌̀̆t̶̡̩̠̫̟̱͔̭̼͓͉̤̑͂̀̐̈́̈̕̚͜h̴͚̩͌́̔̂̓͗̑͘͝ȩ̸̱̤̖͇̝̰͍̱͖̞̱̙̖̜̀̇̐͊̅̈́̀́̆̐͠͠͠r̸̛̠͍̤̝͓̩͙̹̻̗̠̅̌̉
She clasped her head in pain as her head panged with a sudden migraine. It felt as if she was... Repulsed?
Why? All she thought was just M̵̘͙̱͈̘͒̇̆̒̑̍́̔̈́͘ơ̵̤̠̺͋̒̾͆̌̀̆t̶̡̩̠̫̟̱͔̭̼͓͉̤̑͂̀̐̈́̈̕̚͜h̴͚̩͌́̔̂̓͗̑͘͝ȩ̸̱̤̖͇̝̰͍̱͖̞̱̙̖̜̀̇̐͊̅̈́̀́̆̐͠͠͠r̸̛̠͍̤̝͓̩͙̹̻̗̠̅̌̉.
̵͒̇̆̒̑̍́̔M̵̘͙̱͈̘͒̇̆̒̑̍́̔̈́͘ơ̵̤̠̺͋̒̾͆̌̀̆t̶̡̩̠̫̟̱͔̭̼͓͉̤̑͂̀̐̈́̈̕̚͜h̴͚̩͌́̔̂̓͗̑͘͝ȩ̸̱̤̖͇̝̰͍̱͖̞̱̙̖̜̀̇̐͊̅̈́̀́̆̐͠͠͠r̸̛̠̅̌̉M̵̘͙̱͈̘͒̇̆̒̑̍́̔̈́͘ơ̵̤̠̺͋̒̾͆̌̀̆t̶̡̩̠̫̟̱͔̭̼͓͉̤̑͂̀̐̈́̈̕̚͜h̴͚̩͌́̔̂̓͗̑͘͝ȩ̸̱̤̖͇̝̰͍̱͖̞̱̙̖̜̀̇̐͊̅̈́̀́̆̐͠͠͠r̸̛̠̅̌̉M̵̘͙̱͈̘͒̇̆̒̑̍́̔̈́͘ơ̵̤̠̺͋̒̾͆̌̀̆t̶̡̩̠̫̟̱͔̭̼͓͉̤̑͂̀̐̈́̈̕̚͜h̴͚̩͌́̔̂̓͗̑͘͝ȩ̸̱̤̖͇̝̰͍̱͖̞̱̙̖̜̀̇̐͊̅̈́̀́̆̐͠͠͠r̸̛̠̅̌̉M̵̘͙̱͈̘͒̇̆̒̑̍́̔̈́͘ơ̵̤̠̺͋̒̾͆̌̀̆t̶̡̩̠̫̟̱͔̭̼͓͉̤̑͂̀̐̈́̈̕̚͜h̴͚̩͌́̔̂̓͗̑͘͝ȩ̸̱̤̖͇̝̰͍̱͖̞̱̙̖̜̀̇̐͊̅̈́̀́̆̐͠͠͠r̸̛̠̅̌̉M̵̘͙̱͈̘͒̇̆̒̑̍́̔̈́͘ơ̵̤̠̺͋̒̾͆̌̀̆t̶̡̩̠̫̟̱͔̭̼͓͉̤̑͂̀̐̈́̈̕̚͜h̴͚̩͌́̔̂̓͗̑͘͝ȩ̸̱̤̖͇̝̰͍̱͖̞̱̙̖̜̀̇̐͊̅̈́̀́̆̐͠͠͠r̸̛̠̅̌̉
M̵̘͙̱͈̘͒̇̆̒̑̍́̔̈́͘ơ̵̤̠̺͋̒̾͆̌̀̆t̶̡̩̠̫̟̱͔̭̼͓͉̤̑͂̀̐̈́̈̕̚͜h̴͚̩͌́̔̂̓͗̑͘͝ȩ̸̱̤̖͇̝̰͍̱͖̞̱̙̖̜̀̇̐͊̅̈́̀́̆̐͠͠͠r̸̛̠̅̌̉
"Mother!" she screamed as she clutched her head like a madwoman.
"Lady Illyasviel?" Leysritt called from the bath door, the steam obscuring both of their view of each other. A large halberd in her hand, ready to defend her master.
"Leysritt..." Illyasviel said as she looked to her loyal emotionally-stunted maid. "Can you please prepare my towel..."
"Yes, my lady," Leysritt obeyed, closing the door once more to fetch the said item.
Alone once more, Illyasviel buried her face into her hands as she tried to wrap her head around as to why felt so...
"Your mother became the grail and yet your father chose to not respect her wishes."
She looked to the steamy ceiling, her eyes displayed her growing sense of loneliness. Why weren't you there for me, dad?
Her hatred for her adoptive brother may have waned but her hatred for her father has not.
She laughed maniacally as tears welled up in her eyes. Why was I so stupid?
No wonder she hated the shadow... After all, it was her mother.
Or the shadow of her mother.
Rin Tohsaka gripped her hair in growing frustration as she went through another book. "Why isn't there anything on Berserker?!" she screamed in absolute annoyance. "Archer! Are you sure that the true name is Ichigo Kurosaki?!"
"Rin, I think you're making me go deaf," Archer said coyishly as he materialized leaning against a bookshelf, "I mean, I never leave your side."
"Well, excuuuuse me, princess!" Rin raged as she marched over to her servant and thrust a book at him. "But I think that this Ichigo Kurosaki isn't real! He isn't even in any literature!"
Archer sighed as he put the book on the shelf. Calling me a princess? How ironic. "Have you ever thought that he was a servant from the future?"
Rin's rage merely became enflamed at his words. "Eh?! He's a damned monster! How could he become so powerful in this day and age?! Think, Archer! Think!"
The poor servant merely huffed in annoyance as he weathered the relentless assault that was the heiress of the Tohsaka. His mind slowly wandering to Berserker as well.
The thing about his ability to see the history of weapons especially blades was that he was always limited to the confines of what other men forged. Therefore, a divine construct forged by non-human hands was always out of his analysis with only one exception.
But the thing about Berserker's weapon is that it was forged by a person who was not a human but yet a human. Therefore, he could see part of the story and could glean who this Ichigo Kurosaki person was.
He paused for a second. No, Berserker isn't Ichigo Kurosaki... He's Tensa Zangetsu itself. And Tensa Zangetsu...
He took another moment to take a hesitant pause in his thoughts. May awaken Alaya or Gaia to take action...
In a far distant place to Japan, a small fluffy-looking animal barked at the changing of winds.
In the vast expanse called space, a supercomputer encased in a planetoid processed the ongoing events with growing interest.
An elderly man looked to the ever-changing colors around him and thrust his sword into it as a grin formed on his face.
Identifying anomaly... Assessing threat level...
Ichigo Kurosaki has been identified... Determining required force...
Setting to highest priority...
Utilizing destiny to guide the annihilation of threat...
Commencing...
Kirei Kotomine closed his bible as he looked at the mess that the bout in the previous night caused. "Quite a ruckus you caused," he said without turning to the person he addressed.
"The mongrels didn't know when to give up nor when to die," Gilgamesh said with a dismissive tone. His left arm of a stump wrapped in bandages. In his right hand, he held a curious-looking herb as he contemplated using it.
"I see... Rather unfortunate you hit a gas pipe while during that scuffle," Kirei dryly joked as he watched as workers tried to move around the rubble to clear it out. "So, how do you think we should approach Berserker?"
Gilgamesh frowned as he stared into the bright sky. "It's unfortunate but perhaps we should let it run its course."
"You concede defeat?" Kirei inquired curiously as he looked to the king with a critical eye.
In response, Gilgamesh scoffed. "Hardly. If anything, I find the challenge amiable but I believe if we let the beast and the doll run amok, the results may be more than appetizing."
He took a brief moment of pause to ponder on a small item. "Therefore, would it not be more interesting to see if the Counter Force responds to Berserker?"
"You seek to witness the upcoming war?"
The kingly servant grinned as he swallowed the herbs. "Let us see a truly holy war."
Chapter 5 End
A bit short but I needed to set up the upcoming conflict that I plan to implement to make this Holy Grail War utterly bombastic.
Also, I am getting sidetracked by me trying to create an original story of my own.
Uh, nothing else to add but if you want to see me doing a writing stream so you can see me write and my thought process then put your vote onto a poll on my profile page!
SaveTheWeak, out.
