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The following is a fan-based
FICTION
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Chapter 12: Berserka Ga Shinda!
"Ah! Mastah, he is gaining on us!"
I can see that, dammit!
Gritting my teeth, no word left my mouth as I was too focused on moving away from the murderous Berserker. Running had been the first step to what I thought would have been a difficult yet successful hunt. Cu's tankiness was generally dependent on two factors: 1) The damage he was thrown at he could survive through his Battle Continuation; 2) The damage was made by a projectile or 'long-range' as his Protection from Arrow was going to give him the edge in dodge. The attacks to kill him had to be either 'physical' or explosive.
Bombs were employed again as those were the first solution that came to mind. And for a time, those worked. I mean, yeah- bombs do work in tedious situation involing tanky enemies, but in this case I soon found out that it wasn't just enough. Just as Eli and I were enjoying a massive advantage through the distance we had on him, I decided to go ham at him by employing explosives to stick on the walls of a building we were passing by. Just as we left the blasts' reach and I saw Cu move in, I activated the explosives and saw the entire thing come crashing down on the Berserker. That should have at least delayed him. It didn't.
It fucking did nothing to delay the bastard.
With a mighty roar, Cu rushed through the debris and the fire, ignoring the concrete slamming on his back, sides and even head. It was just at that point that I finally asked one thing to Quartz, the one thing that told us how dreadful the situation was.
"What are his stats?"
The Mystic Code hummed thoughtfully and yet managed to provide me with the current problem we were stuck with: Cu's Battle Continuation was ranked EX. It was even stronger than the OG Berserker form it had. This behemoth- this BS of a Berserker was way stronger than his standard self. Like, if normal Cu Chulainn Alter was seen as a potential threat that could destroy the world through his Noble Phantasm, this one could easily do it with minimal efforts.
I knew that small tricks just weren't going to make it, and I had to employ something a bit more extreme. Nuking felt extremely disadvantageous despite how easy it would be to create the process with Quartz. No, it had to be something that could solely damage Cu and spare me and my headpattable singer. Hence why I came up with an idea tied to some brainstorming I had with the Kaleidostick a while ago.
"Quartz, I need you to summon a copy of the Gate of Skye."
There was a brief moment of hesitation from the Mystic Code, but he sighed. "Understood. Give me one moment, Master."
"Uh, Mastah? What are you doing?"
"Just... hold onto me when I tell you. Okay?"
The girl wasn't exactly pleased by the response, but nodded nonetheless as we waited for Quartz to be done with that process. Two minutes later, I was feeling the burns in my leg through that kind of running for my life. Finally, the hopeful closure of this fight happened. I saw something from slightly above our heads, just five to six meters from the ground. The Gate was made of what looked to be stone and its appearance was close to Gothic style with all the engravings and statues of old.
The doors opened, a vortex started to pull through anything in its range. Cu instantly slammed his claws down, trying to hold onto the ground while I reached out for Eli and used Quartz's help to glue my feet solidly on the ground. The mad hound growled in pure fury as he realized, through the Mad Enchantment, what I was trying to accomplish. No words were shared, confirming my theory that his intelligence was crippled by the heightened abilities he got.
Since he was stuck and barely moving towards us, I knew it was now time for me to strike. I projected two Iron Maidens, both slamming into Cu. One of those opened and landed with its spikes onto his armor, piercing the exposed flesh before being slammed away. Small damage, not enough to kick him out of its firm hold on the ground.
That wouldn't do.
I employed at least a dozen more Iron Maidens, but the result was the same. He wasn't willing to ditch that last stand. Funnily enough, I could hear a small 'voice' inside my head repeating, quite earnestly, 'die, die, die!' against Cu each time one of the Iron Maidens hit the Berserker. Ironic, but not really that helpful.
The last push had to be much stronger than this. I felt my body burning a bit as I was looking back at Eli with a single intention in mind. I wasn't sure if she was able to do it since I hadn't asked her about it. Heck, I doubted she knew on the spot if she still had it, but I wanted to hope and believe she could do it.
"Eli?"
"Y-Yes, Mastah?" The pinkette asked and I hummed.
"Use your noble phantasm. Push him through the gates."
Her blue eyes lit in surprise and... delight. Sporting a big grin, the girl channeled some of her energies within her body as she slammed her lance on the ground. She moved away from me, jumping on top of the weapon's tip and manifesting dragon-like wings before turning to look at Cu. For some reason, the vortex's intense pull wasn't affecting her at the moment. The 'Lancer' filled up her lungs with air and-
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
A powerful scream erupted from within, a powerful beam of wind shredding the distance between Eli and Cu, slamming onto the Berserker and effectively Yeeting the bastard out of its half-solid hold and onto the 'caring' yanking of the vacuum that led straight to his old master's domain. That should have been it. The doors closed, I waited for a moment and then had to move as Eli got a bit wobbly and fell off her lance. I caught her and she huffed.
"I'm fine, Mastah," She muttered nervously. "Just a bit... surprised by how strong my Noble Phantasm is now."
I frowned. "It's stronger?" I knew that she used her Kilenc Sarkany NP, which was a weaker version of her Bathory Erzsebet, and I was surprised that even with that she got the job done right.
"Yeah."
"Hmm, we should be more careful next time. Sorry."
"It's alright, Mastah. It sure felt great to blast away that scary jerk," The pinkette rebutted with a smile. "Now, I suppose we won so... can you princess-carry me back home, pretty please~?"
I looked at her with a tired look, her dragon-like tail wagging like a puppy trying to appear its cutest and I was about to give her that since she had been helpful. Still, as I opened my mouth, our attention was stolen away by a loud 'screeching' noise as the gate reappeared and something pushed them open enough to pass through. A bloody Servant passed through and he looked absolutely murderous.
"Dammit," Eli replied, clearly upsetted by this development.
...He fucking escaped the Land of Shadows. Cu actually managed to escape through the Gate of Skye. A feat that was nigh impossible to achieve without permission from Scathach. And knowing the woman's public view on her student and being aware of what reaction she would have at seeing him in such a state of self, I doubted she had willingly let him be. I wasn't sure if I was gawking just yet or not, as the thought had not sunk in my skull just yet. The butchered Berserker was missing most of his armor and he was slowly making his way towards us. Limping, yet ready to fight.
"I got him," Eli huffed, standing out of my arms and getting her feet back to the ground. I was a bit unsure if this was a good idea, but she flashed a confident smirk before retrieving her blade. "I will get him beaten now, Mastah~."
I didn't say anything, not like I had the chance as she bolted for the kill. Cu growled louder, bracing for impact as he tried to stand against Elizabeth's attack. It was all for nothing. Without the thick armor helping him endure any assault, he was exposed for extra damage. And Eli wasn't planning to show him any mercy. Not for 'making her run like that'. She could almost hear her say that as she went on to destroy the weakened Berserker. With one last stab through his chest, the Berserker tensed up, his eyes going wide open as he knew he had been beaten.
...
Berserker got killed!
A blinding light exploded from him, just like it happened with Elizabeth and... there were now two different things standing out. First was the Berserker Card which I grabbed as quickly as I got close to it, and then there was the 'remaining' Servant. This one was a different version of Cu compared to the one I expected.
I think I got the ultra-rare 4-Stars Kid Cu. Gatcha God is merciful tonight... I think.
Like Elizabeth, the young version of Cu Chulainn lacked any clothes but I came prepared this time around. As Eli looked away as her 'chaste eyes' had seen a boy's exposed behind with nothing really concerning or 'corrupting', I proceeded to help Cu through the clothes I brought with me. I had Quartz keep that in his 'inventory' and I had a spare for a boy and a girl, or a man and a woman really. I wasn't planning to have a run in with the cops and explain why I am carrying clothless kids around. I wasn't going to be caught dead in that possibility.
Once that was over, it was finally time to go. Eli huffed as she switched back to her 'human' disguise and we finally started to walk back home, Fuyuki untouched by the sheer damage that battle had caused as the mirror world broke. This was a good victory, but not one that was easily won. I just felt like something about this felt missing and... something was watching us leave. I looked around but saw no one.
Maybe I'm imagining things? ... No, there was actually someone watching and that someone was-
"Why were you outside yesterday's midnight?"
Caren's question came at an incredibly unexpected timing. I almost jumped at her voice as she asked this with a quiet voice and standing right by my ear. It was morning, and it was a school day. Earlier, I had experienced the most amusing and yet annoying situation I could have hoped for.
"Mastah, this cut is trying to steal my candy!"
"Whaaa? I don't see your name there, so I don't see how those aren't yours, Neechan," The boy replied flawlessly, trying his best to not get beaten to a pulp by the irritated idol.
"W-What? My name?! I'll carve it on that billboard forehead you got!"
"I don't have a big forehead!" Kid Cu exclaimed, then looked at me incredibly nervous. "R-Right, Niisama?"
I had expected Kid Cu to be somewhat cheekier than his older selves, I just didn't expect him, as soon as he woke up, to be an utter brat about it and start fights with Eli. I think it wasn't exactly just that. They both had strong personalities with specific quirks that caused them to clash a lot with one another. Sure, it was fun to witness those, but it would be a lie to say they had the maturity to stop before getting to genuine blows.
I had to jump in, stop them from getting too handy against each other, and actually raise my voice while treating them as kids. I think Eli 'suffered' this the most as she had prided herself a polite and respectful lady. When around Cu, that personality was ditched for the sake of matching the level of infuriating smugness coming forth from Cu. To make a comparison: Kid Gil was confident- cocky but confident; Kid Cu was arrogant and quick to get his bravado shred to pieces by the enraged girl dealing with him.
Good news is that they seemed to treat each other with 'reasonable civility' while I was around and in the room they were in. Bad news is that I wasn't sure they were going to behave while I was out to work. I had them promise they would behave at the expense that if they disobeyed, they both were going to get punished, regardless of who is in the right or who is in the wrong. They were upset, truly so, but I stood my ground and they both promised. Was that going to be a good enough deterrent? I wouldn't be sure of it until I got back done to assess for any damage inflicted to the flat.
Still, despite how concerning that topic in itself was , it seems I had other troubles to deal with. Specifically, a very terrifying nurse which was so casually revealing she loved to stalk me around even late at night and trying to start a conversation with that.
"What?"
"Yesterday's midnight. You were wandering the streets. First with just your cousin, then with an unknown young man straddled on your back."
That's not a good portrayal to be painted as. I mean, it was true, but it could have worded better. Or rather, it would have been worded better if Caren wanted that to sound normal. She just seemed to have a way to phrase things in an awkward manner. For the listeners' awkwardness, of course.
I blinked, then flashed a fake sheepish look. "Oh, you mean Setanta? That's my cousin's school friend who has decided to stay with us. He is... an odd case."
"How odd?"
"Odd enough to go missing for a full day and getting my cousin irritated at him when he woke up. He was sleeping on a bench by the park."
"Truly? What an unlucky child," Caren pointed out. "I suppose he is now... well?"
"Yeah, of course. So... anything else you want to know?" I asked back and she slowly nodded before handing out a small document. Reservations for a
"I'm not dating-"
"It's a friendly hangout," She pointed out. "I found this Italian restaurant that my father says has good food to try out."
Isn't Kirei known to have a shitty take on food that wasn't Spicy? Does that mean I am going to lose my tongue to spicy food? Well, shit. And yes, playing on the 'we are both Italians' card. I truly didn't expect that one for sure. Also-
"Did you talk with Taiga about this?"
Caren blinked. "I didn't see a reason. She was just there bragging on how you became her first serious friend."
And the fact I had heard her myself do that just confirmed the case. Taiga was still Taiga, and her loud moments of amusement were part of the life bundle. Never to leave her ever. I sighed, and looked down at the reservation once again.
"It says here that it requires formal outfits."
"A very friendly hangout," Caren remarked a bit more strongly. "I can promise it will be lovely. Maybe we will get closer."
"Maybe." I really put a strong emphasis on the maybe as a neutral response rather than one leaning on the positive.
"By the way... what's your favorite texture when it comes to pillows?"
"I don't think any bedding happens between friends," I brought up and she shrugged before leaving, knowing going further wasn't meant to work in her favor right now.
"One can never be too prepared. And you know what they say, John," She hummed before switching to Italian. "One can never be too prepared~."
I didn't know she could pull a sensual voice like that. She sure couldn't do it that easily in Japanese and...
I shook my head at that. Knowing that this was but just the beginning of more headaches.
AN
Rejoice, Bukharin! You got Kid Cu and also a date with Caren. Many things can go wrong with these two so... have fun~!
...also, did he forget he just got the indirect attention of a Scottish former Queen and witch? That's not a 'closed door' just yet.
REVIEW Q&A!
Dcoon: Cu is not in the harem. :I