Interlude: Child of Light(ning)
As the kids run away, Lancer turns back to the gigantic enemy in front of him.
"You want to fight against Berserker on your own? There is no point in staying here anymore. Come Berserker, let's get back to Shirou", the little child- Berserker's Master- states. There is no doubt: she does not recognize Lancer as a strong opponent. Berserker follows the little child who is walking away.
However, Lancer jumps forward and attacks Berserker with his spear. To his surprise, it does not affect Berserker at all. The spear is not able to pierce his skin.
"What the-", Lancer exclaims astonished.
He quickly dashes backwards, but Berserker notices Lancer attacked him. He does not move any further and remains on spot.
"Huh, now you've done it. Well, if you wish to die so bad, I can easily grant you that wish", the voice of the child mentions behind Berserker.
Consequently, Berserker attacks Lancer with his colossal weapon, obliterating everything in its way. Lancer can parry it though.
"One thing I can't understand- why did you want to help them out to begin with. You gain nothing from it and even risk your own victory in this Holy Grail War", the child comments further as Berserker unleashes a series of attacks.
"You know, I made a promise to them. Said to the kids, I'd make an alliance with them. Something is wrong with this War and I can't find my Master. Can't let those kids down now. If I make a promise, I'll make sure to pay with my life when I can't fulfill it. Besides, do I need any other reason than appreciating battles with strong enemies? Your Servant is pretty strong", Lancer answers the child's question.
"You really are stubborn. In that case, Berserker! Get rid of this low-class Servant and then we can search for Shirou afterwards", the child commands her Servant.
Berserker roars and throws his blade against Lancer who slides away.
"Why that weak mov-", Lancer wanted to say.
He is unable to end his sentence as the pure brutality of reality hits his face- Berserker punches Lancer with his right fist and is blown away. Therefore, Lancer thrusts his spear deep into the ground to stop himself.
"Heh, now you have thrown away your only weapon", Lancer boasts.
He sprints forward and with his spear he slides beneath Berserker who attempted to punch him again and thrusts the spear against him. Still, the spear does not harm Berserker at all. As irritated as Lancer is, he sees no other way than to evade again. He runs behind Berserker, but Berserker turns around his torso in order to let his arm crash against Lancer's body with monstrous strength. Lancer- fully unprepared for this- lands several meters away from his opponent. He manages to stand up, but realizes his enemy is no ordinary one.
"You… are an extraordinary Heroic Spirit. No normal Servant would be able to repel my spear", Lancer admits.
"See, you shouldn't have been cocky. Now you see the consequences of your own decisions and you will have to take responsibility for that. You are boring. Saber, at the very least, was more entertaining than your little useless spear could ever imagine to be", Berserker's Master says to Lancer.
"My spear… has been admired by a lot of women. You shouldn't underestimate me. Fine, I see no other choice than to reveal my Noble Phantasm"
Lancer grabs his spear very tight and watches Berserker very carefully. Berserker starts running towards him.
Great, this reassures me he won't be able to dodge it, Lancer thinks to himself.
"You might repel all casual attacks, but behold: No living being is able to dodge it, even if they would hide on the moon! GAÉ BOLG!", Lancer casts.
His spear emits strong aura of mana and it is loaded to the brim with magical energy to a point where it becomes ridiculous. It very well might be a weapon to rival those of the Age of Gods. The spear bursts with power. Even the surrounding area is induced by its immense potential. The atmosphere is tense if not death itself. Suddenly, an undefinable red pattern cuts itself through space like a snake and reaches Berserker. It touches the point where the heart should be. Smiling due to his satisfaction, Lancer throws the spear with one determined powerful throw, so powerful it could bring entire skyscrapers to fall.
The red shining spear accelerates at an insane inhumane speed and follows the red pattern until it reaches Berserker. It is Lancer's Noble Phantasm to reverse cause and effect, thus Berserker has already been pierced by the spear before it was even thrown. Basically, it is an attack that cannot be dodged at any cost. There is literally no known scientific or magical way to repel such an attack.
So, the spear is about to hit Berserker's body and Lancer is absolutely sure he has won. To his surprise however, the spear does not pierce Berserker. Gaé Bolg never goes beyond Berserker's skin. Utterly puzzled by this, Lancer holds up his hand to retrieve Gaé Bolg and then vaults away from the unstoppable force.
"Impossible", Lancer highlights, "Impossible! Nothing can persist my Noble Phantasm! There is not a single living being protruding from earth that can abide the laws of Gaé Bolg!"
"Mourn about it all day you want, but in the end, you are indeed… an inferior Servant. I can even withhold Berserker's Madness Enhancement. You are no enemy, but another pebble in our path", the little girl boasts.
Lancer cannot accept this. There is no way a warrior like him can get away with this shame. He can grasp the strength of the enemy and Lancer is sure he is inferior. Nonetheless, he will not duck away. All the time, he was ordered to withdraw. Every single time. It hurts his pride as a warrior and now he even has a promise and never ever in his lifetime, Lancer ignored a promise on purpose. Not a single time. He stays true to himself.
He uses the ground as footboard to launch himself towards Berserker. Even faster than a bullet, probably even surpassing Mach two. Lancer stretches out Gaé Bolg. Basically, he uses himself as the missile to strike his opponent. He himself has become the weapon to deliver a fatal blow. Berserker seems- as far as it goes for a Berserker- recollected and just stands there against the incoming attack.
Lancer glares at Berserker and does not hesitate in performing this blow. Upon impact, Lancer is not able to even scratch him. Berserker could go away and it would look like he was in no fight at all. Realizing this, Lancer grits his teeth in frustration.
"Your skin is one hell of an impenetrable armor", Lancer compliments.
He must quickly come up with something or he will be crushed beneath Berserker's raw physical strength. In the meantime, Lancer rotates and twitches Gaé Bolg around like a bored student with his pen in class. He can parry Berserker's attacks and fight on par with him, but eventually he will be defeated by him, since he is the only one who will suffer wounds. Attacking the Master is no option. She is a child and he would never ever say no to such an intense fight.
For now, he has no further ideas and his time to think has run out as Berserker uprooted a nearby tree. Berserker throws the tree at Lancer who cuts it in half to avoid getting hit by it. Berserker follows the tree and rushes towards Lancer and tries to kick him. Lancer can barely evade his attack, but he tries to land another hit on Berserker. As expected, it is useless. It seems like Berserker is as fast and agile as Lancer. Only a handful of Heroic Spirits can uphold with Lancer's speed and agility and he knows it very well.
If he cannot beat his enemy with pure strength, Lancer will need his intelligence and willpower to get past the boundaries. So, he observes Berserker and his attacks. He hopes to find a pattern that might remind him of a specific Heroic Spirit. Between all the attacks from the monstrous beast, Lancer sees no real pattern, but recognizes that Berserker possesses basic knowledge of fighting skills. He can dodge certain attacks of Lancer and even evade feints.
"You must be one of the best and strongest Heroic Spirits ever to have existed on earth", Lancer claims.
"True, Berserker is superior to everyone in this Holy Grail War. It is almost sad how weak everyone else is compared to him", Illya confirms.
I cannot guess his True Name unless he uses his Noble Phantasm… but how do I force him to use it when I cannot really threaten him, Lancer thinks to himself.
He spins his spear excessively fast and throws it against a branch of a tree. It is severed by the tree effortlessly and the branch falls down on Berserker. Unfortunately, Berserker grabs the branch and attacks Lancer with it. The spear returns to Lancer and he grabs it to block off Berserker's attack. The branch is split apart between them two and Lancer looks into Berserker's mad eyes devoid of any sanity.
"▃▃▄▄▅▅▂▂!", Berserker roars.
His screams and menacing appearance do not affect Lancer at all. The two combatants look at each other. Both of them determined to beat the other one. There is just something this specific atmosphere in this fight. It is no ordinary fight between two Servants to obtain the Holy Grail. Nor is it a fight to prove who is the stronger one or a fight of pride. The mood has shifted and the fight itself transcended to another plain.
Lancer, determined more than ever, leaps back and stares at Berserker while breathing heavily. Not due to exhaustion, but pure frustration. A leaf of the destroyed branch lands next to him. It forms a pattern he used to see a lot in his old life. It reminds him of his homeland and… runes!
"That's it!", he happily shouts.
He draws a sign on the ground with his right hand.
"What, have you now gone completely mad? Drawing circles because you have no other options left? I better end you and get you out of this misery", Illya points out.
"To an untrained eye this looks weird, but I know a thing or two about magic… especially runes", Lancer counters.
As Illya understands what he means, she stretches out her arm to the direction of Lancer to signalize Berserker to end it all.
"▄▅▃▄▄▄▄▅▅▂▅▃▄▄▄▄▄▄▅▅▂!", Berserker screams.
The ground trembles as he charges towards Lancer. He takes a strive to the right to pick up his blade again.
Despite of the unforgiving onslaught of Berserker, Lancer remains self-confident and collected. It is hard to swallow he had to use his runes for this fight, but there is no other chance than to go all out against such an enemy. Extraordinary situations require extraordinary countermeasures. The spear is enveloped by a red burning aura. It is a rune that sets everything around it on fire, but Lancer combined it with Gaé Bolg to buff it temporarily, allowing him to wield an even more powerful and destructive weapon than it already is.
"Watch carefully now. It might the last that your eyes will see. This is the barbed spear that pierces with death! GAÈ BOLG!"
The spear lights up once again and the thread of life and death appears between Berserker and Lancer. It connects to Berserker himself and the spear cuts the thread apart. It is not merely thrown at Berserker, rather launched by itself. It is comparable to a catapult. Gaé Bolg is way too fast for Berserker to dodge or catch it. The course is set and its destiny unchangeable. To Lancer's contentment, the spear is not blocked off by Berserker's skin. It pierces right through him, touring the flesh beneath the skin apart. Berserker, still running, is stunned and looks down at the spear that should not be able to even scratch him.
Gaé Bolg comes out of Berserker's back and on its end is Berserker's heart that has been clearly pierced. From within, Berserker implodes and an inferno is ignited from the place where his heart should be. His own flesh nourishes the flames. In a bombastic implosion, that would cause any bystander to puke due to its obscene sight, Berserker is split in half. The beast falls down as he is no longer able to run. Due to the immense speed though, he still slides over the ground. The area around him lights up while Gaé Bolg flies back to Lancer through Berserker's gaping hole. Trees are falling down and part of the street is still burning. The fire is so hot, the tar has partly become liquid. For normal mortals it would be hard to breath and their clothes would probably begin to light up and eventually they themselves. The smell of burnt flesh and tar is everywhere.
"Impressive", Berserker's Master comments.
She applauds Lancer, but does not seem frightened in any kind. It looks like she is playing with Lancer.
"Hey, your Servant has died. Shouldn't you be a little bit more remorseful or so? He was a tough enemy after all", Lancer points out.
"Come on Berserker, you have seen everything you need. Now is not the time to rest", she tells the corpse.
Suddenly, the corpse awakens to life. A strong magical force emits from within him and the wound from before lights up, brighter than the hazards around him. The arms that were burning down mere seconds ago move again.
"▃▄▄▄▄▄▄▅▄▅▅▂▅▃▄▃▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▅▄▄▅▄▅▅▂▅▄▄▅▄▅▄▄▅▄▅▅▂▅▃▄▃▄▄▄▄▄", Berserker roars.
The throat that should not be able to even give one tone is still fully active. Berserker's head leans forward and looks at the one who ended his life. The eyes are filled with only one goal: Kill the one thing that is reflecting on them.
Lancer promptly creates distance between him and the reanimated Berserker. He still does not understand what has happened and who he is up against.
"Just who the hell are you?!", Lancer bursts out.
Berserker runs on all his four towards Lancer and rams him on full speed like a bull. Lancer is unable to defend himself against such a quick advance. He tries to stop Berserker, but is unable to. Berserker rams him into a tree and together they fall down from the streets. Lancer crashes against another tree, another one, a stone and finally a solid wall. They find themselves again in a forest. Lancer struggles to stand up and Berserker is still breathing hard.
Still, Berserker gives Lancer no time to recover and grabs the next stone. He splits it in two halves and throws one against Lancer who can dodge it and the other one immediately afterwards aiming at Lancer's head. However, Lancer can use his spear to destroy the stone before it can hit him. He has not taken into consideration that the stone will be split into smaller pebbles that all hit Lancer at full speed.
"AAARGH!, Lancer shouts in pain.
He is bleeding from his head and some parts have hit his torso.
"I killed you, we killed you before already. You should be dead long ago. I ask of you, who are you?", Lancer speaks to Berserker.
Berserker does not make a move.
Soon, Berserker's Master joins the two.
"There you are Berserker. I must admit, you put up a good fight. In the end, you will die more heroic than you deserve to. Finish him Berserker!", she dictates her Servant.
Lancer takes Gaé Bolg and thrusts it into the ground.
"Oi, you still haven't answered my question. I ask of you, who are you?", Lancer repeats while ignoring the girl.
Berserker does not answer. Nor does he attack.
"I will tell you my true name. I am Cú Chulainn from Ulster. Many legends have been created revolving around my life. It's a wonder though I was summoned here in Japan, no one really knows me here", Lancer announces.
Berserker does not say anything nor does he attack.
"Berserker, why aren't you attacking him?", the girl requests.
He does not move. Berserker looks to his Master.
"Are you serious? You really want to tell him your name?", she mentions.
Berserker nods.
"Do I have to use a Command Spell, so you attack him?"
He nods again.
His Master sighs, but shrugs it off.
"Fine. It would be a waste to use a Command Spell for something like this. Besides, if that is your dying wish I am grateful to fulfill it. Since he can't really speak, I will talk on his behalf", Berserker's Master declares, "Berserker is my Servant. His true name is Heracles, the legendary hero from Greece. He is unmatched in every aspect. I have heard of Cú Chulainn, though. He is said to be the Irish equivalent. Seems like Berserker found it out when you called your Noble Phantasm. It would explain why he fights so fiercely. He is probably facing his archnemesis. In that regard, you disappoint me, Cú Chulainn. You are nowhere in Berserker's league. You can't even harm him without going all out"
Cú Chulainn grabs his spear and pulls it out from the ground.
"I see. This explains a lot", Lancer expresses, "only a great hero like Heracles could wield over such monstrous strength. Only a beast like Heracles could still stand after having died. This might be the greatest fight I will ever have. Even my fight against Fergus or the never-ending armies of Medb could pale in comparison to tonight. Make this fight worth its name, Heracles!"
Cú Chulainn launches himself into the air. He throws himself at Heracles who dashes towards Cú Chulainn. Lancer rams his spear against Heracles, but it has no effect. To Berserker's irritation he cannot retract his arm. It is frozen. Lancer used a rune to freeze anything Gaé Bolg touches. He draws another rune into the air to reinforce his spear.
"If I am correct, you will need to die at least twelve times! Your twelve labors have made you famous. I will make sure to surpass everyone of them and be your thirteenth! GAÈ BOLG!"
The clouds above them shuffle over each other and atmosphere around the two is crackling. The spear bolts towards Heracles once again and thunder causes the earth to tremble. A giant thunderbolt crashes to the earth and chases the spear. It blinds everyone on the battlefield and the treetops tremble due to the sheer power. Just before impact, the thunderbolt unites with Gaé Bolg and it hits Berserker. Heracles still stands, though.
"W-what?!", Cú Chulainn stutters in surprise.
The thunderbolt hurls away from Berserker in a circular shape and vanishes to nothingness. It smells like grass has been burnt from every direction.
"See, you are no enemy anymore. After one death, Berserker can't be killed by the same attack. I think you understand", Heracles' Master explains.
"So… every attack must be stronger than the previous one", Lancer concludes the thought.
He cannot defeat him. There is no way. He already went all out, so there is nothing he can do to kill Heracles. He is the weaker Heracles. After all, the original is destined to be the measure of things. Still, Cú Chulainn will persist. He cannot retreat from such a battle. This goes even further than any normal fight. It is literally a fight for their very being, their names and pride as Heroic Spirits. This battle marks their final stage. It is the legendary fight that should never have happened. Those two were simply not supposed to even come together. It is a strange twisted fate that led to this very occasion once in a million universes. It is a battle to the strong.
"No need to hold back anymore. Berserker, I unleash your full potential and relinquish every barrier of your Madness Enhancement. By the power of my Command Spell, I directly order you to obliterate Lancer!", Berserker's Master yells.
"▅▅▂▅▃▄▃▄▄▄▅▅▂▅▄▄▅▄▅▄▄▅▄▅▅▂▅▃▂▅▃", Berserker screams.
He leans forward and grabs a tree to rotate it around him tremendously fast. Then, he sprints towards Cú Chulainn who jumps up into the air and draws another rune. Berserker comes to a halt right before Cú Chulainn; his attack is rendered useless, hence he gets rid of the tree. This time, it is a rune that summons the forces of the earth. However, he adds the rune of fire, so stones shoot upwards to Gaé Bolg and reinforce it with literal lava.
"The spear that can pierce fifty enemies in one throw; meet Ireland's strongest weapon: Gaé Bolg!", Lancer shouts before throwing the spear.
This time it is even more cataclysmic than before. Cú Chulainn's spear accelerates up to Mach four and could easily reach the other side of Fuyuki without losing much of its initial speed. Everything the lava hits on the ground is immediately turned into lifeless soil. Gaé Bolg effortlessly pierces Berserker's heart and he clearly dies. The lava bursts open the rib cage and every internal organ is reduced to ash within a second, but Heracles instantly recovers and grabs Cú Chulainn's foot. He is smashed onto the ground, but Berserker does not stop there. Lancer is pulled along the ground and then thrown into the air. Berserker grabs two giant trees and clutches them against Lancer who is obliterated by both sides. He falls down onto the ground and Gaé Bolg comes back to him just in time to avoid getting crushed by Heracles' foot. However, Heracles grabs Lancer at his neck and chokes him. He then repeatedly punches him in his stomach and then throws him against a nearby stone wall just to unleash a barrage of punches against Cú Chulainn.
He falls to the ground and remains lying there.
"▄▄▄▅▅▂▅▄▄▅▄▅▄▄▅▄▅▅", Heracles roars at him.
"Seems like… I have lost. Heh, here I thought I could defeat the most legendary hero in a duel. I will not give up no matter what. I will die here, but at least I die satisfied. A good fight and good women were always the things I sought for most", Lancer confesses.
He stands up again and points his spear to Heracles. Heracles seems… to enjoy himself as well. After all, his life was filled with battles, so he probably feels the same about the fight.
However, this night might be the luckiest in Cú Chulainn's entire existence. The ground lights up a little bit.
"What the…", Lancer says amazed.
"This magic… It feels unfamiliar. No, the ground itself feels not the same. It's not from here nor from anywhere else I know of!", the girl confirms.
She looks around as the area slowly lights up. Even the trees and stones and all other plants are getting brighter. The eyes of the girl widen as she came to a conclusion.
"On a second thought… there is one place I felt something similar. It is… the same magical energy that I used to feel… back then. At home. In the Einzbern Castle. The Leylines! They are somehow connected to western European Leylines! H-how is that possible?"
The young Einzbern is too confused and even frightened about what is happening.
"Western Europe you say?", Cú Chulainn questions.
Heracles looks around as astonished as Cú Chulainn. No one knows what is happening in this very moment.
"I don't care right now for the origin of this. Remember from before when I introduced myself? Well, in Western Europe, I am quite famous. It is one of the many reasons why I never reached my peak. Told ya, this Grail War is odd! Now I can rival you with ease, Heracles", Lancer elaborates.
"He is right, every stat of his have elevated at least two to three ranks. Even his Noble Phantasm has a rank of A++. He is now a real threat to Berserker", Berserker's Master analyzes.
Now I can really go all out. I have waited for this moment since I was summoned, Lancer thinks to himself.
Lancer attacks Heracles with speed and power that blows away the Master of Heracles. Cú Chulainn inflicts a wound without even using his Noble Phantasm. Right now, he is on par with every attack of Heracles. Understanding the new situation, Berserker tries to counteract Lancer, but he is too fast. They are fighting equally now. Now that there are two, only one can remain, only one can be the true one.