I am so sorry this took so long to come out! I got busy with school and a lot of other stuff, you guys get it, right? Here we have the first fight scene of the story, not really cofident with how it turned out but we'll see. Anyway, I won't keep you any longer, enjoy the story! Oh, one last thing. I need to do this because this person was somebody that got me through tough times.
R.I.P Juice WRLD, you and your music will be missed deeply by me.
I'm all, I'm really all in
I fell in love with all your flaws and sins
Your scars are really gorgeous
Ain't that a weird way to give compliments?
~ Flaws and Sins, Juice WRLD
Karna raised his spear and dashed forward, flames blasting off his back to increase his speed.
Jumping back with a grin edging his mouth, five identical arrows manifested into the Greek hero's hand, he wasted no time and they left his bow one after the other with speed and swiftness unnatural for even a servant, it would appear as if they were all released at the same moment to the simple human eye.
Karna stopped his charge suddenly and manipulated the flames bursting from his feet in such a way that they'd burn the arrows that were heading straight at him.
Heracles laughed boisterously at the move and threw away his bow, letting it disappear into blue particles to be resummoned later on. "Well, if my arrows do nothing, let us see about my close combat!" He yelled out as he dashed forward at high speeds while in a Pankration stance.
Karna smirked in excitement and then he moved, he performed continuous stabs with his spear. It looked more as if there was a wall of spears blocking Heracles' path instead of a single spear.
Heracles used his incredible speed, his eyes narrowing ever so slightly in extreme focus as he dodged every stabbing motion expertly even with his large form. He grunted as he finally found it, his hand darted out and caught the spear by the shaft.
Karna's eyes widened in alarm as he saw the huge fist coming straight for his face. Flames burst from his spear, burning the Archer's hand and making him let go of the weapon but not before giving an incredibly powerful punch that threw Karna several meters away.
Heracles paused for a moment as he looked down at his burnt hand, the blackened and destroyed skin regenerating extremely fast. "Those are powerful flames, Hero of Charity." He stated, impressed at the sheer power of those flames.
"Such is the power of flames of the sun, Son of Zeus." Karna replied as he got up from his spot on the ground, his nose broken and leaking blood. "I am impressed that a simple punch did so much damage with Kavacha and Kundala protecting me." He praised in return.
Heracles grinned sheepishly and flexed jokingly. "This body did not hold up the sky by being weak." He slowly dropped back into his stance as the small moment of rest passed.
Karna narrowed his eyes as he gripped his spear tightly. He felt Brahmastra's refusal to activate as he looked upon Heracles with his intimidating glare, denoting the man's superior skill and power. Would he truly have to reveal his trump card and discard his armour so early on in the war?
Heracles dashed forward once more and unleashed a flurry of punches and kicks that shook the earth with their power with Karna blocking every one of them with his god-like skill with the spear.
Karna grunted as he tilted his head, a punch barely grazing his cheek. His eyes narrowed and he opened his mouth to unleash a giant stream of flames from his mouth, much like a Dragon's Breath.
Heracles reacted instantly, bending over backwards to avoid the flames, sweat covered his body at the sweltering heat of the flames. He managed to shift his position so that he could try and sweep Karna's legs from under him but the hero of the Mahabharata saw it coming and went to stab his opponent's leg into the ground.
Heracles grunted as the spear...speared his leg to the ground, the heat of the flames disappearing as Karna stopped breathing out flames. Heracles simply summoned his bow and shot an arrow directly at Karna, the projectile blasting the Son of the Sun God away and blowing a hole through the side of his stomach.
Heracles got up and pulled out the spear from his leg and twirled it idly as the morning rays of the sun started to rise upon their battle.
Karna managed to lift himself from his position on the ground, a large amount of blood leaking from his wound. His eyes widened as Heracles threw Vasavi Shakti back at him, not letting him fight unarmed. He nodded gratefully at the man, who's only response was to look at him with an expectant look.
Heracles summoned his bow along with an arrow with a green liquid staining the arrow tip. "Let us end this with one final strike." He said seriously as he notched the arrow on his bow. His muscles tensed and an aura of absolute divine power started to flood the area with its sheer intensity.
Karna nodded and lifted into the sky as bright red flames started licking at his armour and consuming it. "If that is your command. You will know the mercy of th-" Karna was suddenly cut off as the sound of galloping hooves was heard across the battlefield.
"Oi! Lancer!" The Rider of Red called out from his place upon his divine chariot. "I know the old man is a nice opponent and I hate to interrupt this but the priest wants you back at the base right now." He says with an annoyed expression, Achilles hated interrupting other people's fights.
Karna simply sighed and slowly floated back down to the ground, the red flames that had been about to consume his armour slowly disappearing. "My apologies, Heracles. It seems we will have to continue this battle another time." His icy blue gaze suddenly changed into a flame of excitement. "And rest assured that we will continue this battle. Make sure you do not fall to another's blade until then."
Heracles chuckled good-heartedly as he relaxed his hold on his bow. "I will make sure of it, Lancer of Red." The man suddenly turned towards Rider with narrowed eyes. "And you. May I ask why exactly you just called me an old man, Peleus?"
Rider laughed boisterously at the Archer's mistake. "I ain't my old man, old man." He said with his laugh slowly turning into a chuckle.
Heracles' eyes widened at the words and he was left gaping as Rider drove off with Karna turning into spirit form and leaving.
-:- Page Break -:-
"Well then...that was quite the terrifying duel."
Darnic's voice resounded through the throne room, only further enhancing the slight trembling that could be heard in it. He had cut the transmission from the familiar he had sent to observe the battle once the gods in human form had finally stopped what he could only describe as a natural disaster of a fight.
The head of the Yggdmillenia was not a man that was easily shaken, but even the Third Holy Grail War did not have any servant that could match those two servants in terms of sheer skill. He doubted even Fionn, his servant during the last war and a god slayer, would be able to match those two monstrosities.
Those weren't Heroic Spirits, they were Divine Spirits brought down to the level of Humanity.
"Calm yourself, Darnic." Vlad's baritone voice cut through his inner monologue and stopped his slow fall into despair. "Truly, those two were heroes of another level. But remember that we also have our own indomitable forces to match theirs." He said calmly, waving his hand to the side to point out the slightly trembling Archer of Black.
Darnic grimaced at the sight of the man, bending down to speak in the King of Wallachia's ear. "My King, while Archer of Black may be powerful, even he seems to lack confidence in the face of those heroes." He whispered nervously to the Lord Impaler.
A savage grin covered Vlad's face at Darnic's words. "You seem to be under the assumption that the Prince of the Pandavas' trembling stems from fear, Darnic, but that is false." He slowly stood from his throne with all the grace of a noble. "He is shaking of excitement."
Darnic's eyes widened in shock as he turned to look back at the dark-skinned servant, finally taking notice of the large grin on his face and the sharp glint that had entered his eyes.
"This will truly be a war that will be carved deep into the annals of history!" Vlad proclaimed loudly to his fellow servants, most of them, with the exception of Berserker and Assassin, had gathered to watch and study the battle that had been reported. "Sharpen your swords, steel your hearts and ready yourselves! For what lies ahead are powerful adversaries that will not be defeated easily!"
The servants remained mostly silent but the atmosphere of the room had changed into something much more intense, so much so that all of the masters that had never participated in a grail war before almost felt suffocated by it.
Vlad's eyes narrowed as he focused on a certain aspect of that fight. "It seems that even the supposedly impartial judge has abandoned her post and taken a place in this war, even having the audacity to summon her own servants!" His spear was summoned in his hand. "The Black Faction will not take this affront lying down." His eyes narrowed as he slammed the butt of his spear on the ground in a clear show of anger.
"Before all else, the Ruler's abnormal faction must be eliminated."
-:- Page Break -:-
Time Skip
Morning to Night
Jeanne sighed as she entered the small room she had gotten for herself for the next week in a small inn on the edge of Trifas. She dropped her suitcase in a corner of the room and let herself collapse on the bed face first. Her body ached in places that she didn't even know existed and she felt dirty, the troubles of having a human body she thought to herself.
A displeased feeling overcame her, causing her to gasp slightly and mentally apologize to the kind owner of the body she was currently using as a vessel. She hadn't meant to sound ungrateful to Laeticia for allowing her control over her body, but she was tired after having walked all the remaining way to Trifas on foot. There might be another reason why she was so tired though.
She hummed lightly as she felt the bed shift a tad bit under the weight of another person, speak of the devil she thought to herself.
"You seem tired, my lady." The young voice of her newly summoned servant noted. "Would you like me to prepare some tea?" The servant offered kindly.
"No, but thank you. That is very kind of you, Ushiwakamaru." Jeanne said with a smile as she slowly removed her face from the bed to look upon the youthful face of her Rider servant. The saint of the flag had been surprised, and quite a bit scandalized when she first saw her, not expecting one of the most well-known heroes of Japan to be such a small and lithe girl.
The younger form of Minamoto-no-Yoshitsune offered her a simple smile and returned to spirit form. "Call for me should you ever have a task for me to complete, my lady." Those were the last words she said before fully disappearing, going out to patrol around the building instead.
"Who knew that Minamoto-no-Yoshitsune would be a small girl?" Musashi's comment slipped out the moment the Rider had left the room as she entered the room with Brynhildr and Gilgamesh in tow.
"If such a small thing as gender can stun you, I certainly fear for the future of this war." The King of Heroes mocked slightly as he gave the room a once over, a slight hint of disdain covering his face. "I shall not even ponder why you did not take the inn I suggested. To replace it with such a...dirty alternative."
Musashi laughed it off and slapped the king on the back, causing him to glare daggers at her much too familiar actions. "Oh come on, Goldy! The room ain't that bad!" She said nonchalantly, jumping on the bed to join Jeanne.
Gilgamesh smirked devilishly at her, a cruel tint to his stare. "That is because your eyes do not see what I see." He said with a light chuckle, deciding to reveal how dirty the sheets they were laying on were after he allowed them to settle in them. It was quite amusing to take a break from work once in a while and enjoy himself by watching mongrels squirm from his practical humour.
Musashi smiled shakily at the look he gave her and cocooned herself in the sheets so that she didn't have to suffer under his stare. She could take a giant snake, Heroic Spirit Swordmasters, but that look he gave her just screamed evil at her.
-:- Page Break -:-
Brynhildr giggled quietly at the interaction between a king and legendary swordswoman. She sat down in the single chair in the room and pulled out a book that belonged to Laeticia. She had asked for permission first, of course, stealing was not appropriate for a queen or a valkyrie.
A small, amused, smile stretched across her face as she felt a presence appear behind her. The man might've been an amazing hero but he seriously had trouble with subtlety, even in spirit form.
"You need not hide if you are interested in the book I am reading, Heracles." She said quietly so that she did not disturb the argument that had started between Gilgamesh and Musashi.
A small chuckle escaped the man as he exited spirit form and kneeled down next to her. "My apologies, Lancer. I did not mean to offend." He apologized with his deep, and yet very gentle, voice.
The white-haired beauty waved him off with a smile. "No worries, we are all friends here." She said easily, simply enjoying the fact that she could finally be free to talk with people without that burning flame igniting inside of her, causing a fire, burning everything, destroy her love, hate, love, hate, love, ha-
She was snapped out of her trance as the calloused hand of the Greek hero landed on her shoulder gently. "Everything alright?" Asked the gentle giant with a concerned look on his face.
"Yes, yes, my apologies, Archer." She laughed it off easily, noting that despite her curse having been erased, she still held some trauma because of it. "Anyway, would you like to read with me? This book is quite interesting."
-:- Page Break -:-
"What in the name of Derketo happened out there?!" An unladylike screech escaped the usually calm and composed Assyrian queen as the injured Hero of Charity limped back in the church with help from the green-haired Rider.
Said green-haired Rider glared dangerously at the queen, making her flinch ever so slightly, not expecting the danger that hid behind the man's predatory eyes.
"I think that we'd be more inclined to answer if you helped us patch up the hole in Lancer's stomach, lady." He ground out sarcastically while helping the Indian hero lay down on the altar.
Assassin of Red sneered arrogantly at him, not feeling any obligation to heal the Lancer. "And whyever would I consider healing a servant unable to complete a simple mission?" She mocked, truly not caring. In the end, he was just another enemy.
"Heal him, Assassin." The serene voice of the Kotomine priest cut into the conversation like a sharp knife. "We are gonna need every last servant if we want to survive what seems to be a budding three-way Holy Grail War."