Fourth Morning (3)
"Ok, I'll admit that was pretty slick, but you realize this isn't going to hold me forever, right?"
Caren merely smiled with angelic grace as she gave a sharp tug on the Shroud of Magdalene, causing the Servant to grunt as he was bound even tighter.
"It needn't do so. It will merely restrain you for as long as it can. In the meantime, well...perhaps a miracle shall occur."
Kneeling on the ground, ignoring the dirt Caren clasped her hands and bowed her head, beginning to pray as she heard Lancer incredulously ask, "Seriously? You're going to just leave me hanging here with no one to talk to while you go off and do your thing?"
"The barking of a dog is an unpleasant noise and disruptive towards quiet reverence for the lord. Please desist."
"Oh yeah, just go ahead and pretend I'm not even here, that's fine!"
Mightily struggling against the Holy Shroud Lancer was thoroughly ignored by Caren, the young woman instead offering up a heartfelt plea to the Lord that her friends and allies would be victorious in their trials. She had done her part...she hoped they would do theirs.
"On your left, Mommy!"
Following Jack's warning Sakura expertly slapped aside a descending poleaxe, stamping on one of the odd creatures toes as it yelped in pain, cry seamlessly turning into a gurgle as Black Keys were rammed through its face.
The Matou had taken up guard duty along the leftmost edge of the castle, Jack creating a wall of mist as she darted and whirled through it, cutting and slashing with wild abandon as dozens upon dozens of the bestial soldiers were turned into bloody corpses, the Executor handling the few that made it through.
...A workable situation had there only been the soldiers themselves and their number was a few hundred rather than a few thousand but that was unfortunately not the reality of the situation. Berserker's initial few seconds of defense had brought them a chance to take up position but after that events had been chaotic and frantic...not to mention-
"Mommy, Mage people moving towards you!"
"Understood. Let me deal with them, Jack. You focus on the soldiers."
"Okay..."
Obviously not pleased by the order Assassin nonetheless followed instructions, Sakura readying herself as three pairs of feet could be heard moving through the corroding mist-
-and she promptly threw herself into a rolling dodge as the air was filled with Gandr curses, streaks of black and crimson energy barely missing.
"Ah. Ranged Magecraft, then."
No sooner had that thought crossed the Matou's mind than a suit-clad figure burst into her line of sight, launching a blisteringly fast punch at her skull that Sakura barely managed to dodge, the follow up kick grazing her abdomen as the air filled with more Gandr curses, not allowing the young woman so much as a chance to catch her breath.
"This could be a problem."
Resolving to take a slight risk Sakura waited until the close range woman charged forward once more...and matched it, letting muscle memory take over as she slipped under the other woman's lethal fist, landing a palm strike against the center of her opponent's mass that carried a great deal of force behind it.
While she had never been anywhere near as proficient as Shirou or Kotomine Kirei in the physical arts she was by no means inept, her blow carrying enough power to crack a strong mans ribs and leave them crippled and gasping for breath.
The pink-haired woman she was facing merely skidded back a few meters, still mobile and features expressionless as her suit glowed with Rune energy.
...No matter. A killing or crippling blow would have just been an unexpected bonus, Sakura's main goal had been to buy distance and force her foe into the line of fire of the other Magi, which she accomplished.
In the absence of the Gandr curses and fast-paced blows from who she assumed to be the Enforcer Sakura concentrated, spreading her arms wide-
-and the Holy Shroud of Martin she kept wrapped around her body unwound itself, faithfully encircling her waist as she felt the untamed malice and corruption of the Lesser Grail fragments within her body stir to life, tendrils of filthy energy infecting her very core...and a very twisted, very unnatural smile split her lips, shadow attached to the soles of her feet wavering like some manner of oceanic floor dweller.
"You needn't hide your face, Onee-sama...I know you're there."
As if on command the mist surrounding them thinned, one unfamiliar face and one very familiar one coming into focus. A blonde woman that Sakura assumed was the Edelfelt Master...and her esteemed sister, none other than Rin Tohsaka.
"I've been waiting to met you for a very long time, Onee-sama...how have you been, these past-"
A storm of ominously glowing curses flew at Sakura from the hands of the expressionless Magi, the Enforcer leaping forward once more...and the shadows at Sakura's back snapped forward, the Gandr spells harmlessly absorbed by the void-like shadows as the physically inclined woman, correctly sensing the danger, leapt backwards at once.
Now the purple-haired woman's grin was positively feral.
"A shame you don't seem to be in possession of your wits, Onee-sama...but perhaps I can knock some proper sense back into you through the application of a fraction of the pain I once suffered~!"
"Sella, Leysritt, duck!"
A storm of mundane swords and ravening blasts of compressed Prana from Illya's floating familiars eased the pressure off of her handmaidens for a brief moment, yelps and snarls of pain issuing from the muzzles of the bestial soldiers assaulting them.
"Thank you, Milady! Now please, get yourself to safety!"
Gawking at Sella's pleading tone the smaller Homunculus scowled, sharply retorting, "And leave you two here?! Not a chance! Now get ready!"
Throwing more strands of her hair into the air as they snapped into the shape of birds of prey Illya stood right alongside Sella, Leysritt preparing her halberd as nothing less than a hundred of the strange soldiers bore down on them, plenty more waiting in the wings.
They had taken up position at the front of the remaining walls of the castle, holding down what had once been the main doors of the estate and fighting off the invaders that swept towards them in a howling and baying tide, the bestial creatures far stronger and faster than a Human but thankfully not on the level of a Servant, they never would have stood a chance otherwise.
Sweeping strikes from the alchemically enhanced halberd Leysritt wielded kept the more adventurous and daring creatures at bay while Illya and Sella burnt them down from a distance, the smaller Homunculus also providing additional defense in the form of spiraling swords that guarded their flanks.
"Onii-chan, what are you doing?!"
Sparing a glance to where her brother was standing immobile among the carnage Illya was at a loss as to what he was thinking, the young man glaring with narrowed eyes around the battlefield, as if searching for something that wasn't readily visible-
"Time Alter: Triple Accel!"
-the albino's eyes widened, her peripheral vision dominated with the image of a blur of movement as something raced towards her at breakneck pace, a humanoid shape disgorged from a rift in space-time that had appeared without warning, fathomless black eyes boring into hers as the young woman froze, mind locked in a moment of indecision and panic as she realized the Apostle Ancestor was moments away from closing the distance.
Illya twitched, body unsure on what course of action to take as the Apostle's eyes switched from midnight voids into concentric rings that stretched into an infintly deep iris, the Homunculus finding herself wilting beneath the weight of that gaze-
-at least until a pair of knives embedded themselves in the Ancestor's sockets with wet scrapes, Shirou's accelerated body smashing into the midriff of the Vampire and carrying them both into the distance, the duo smashing through a weakened wall and disappearing from view.
It took Illya a moment to remember how to breath, to realize she had almost been removed from the fight just like that.
"Milady, focus! Go after them and ensure that the creature is disposed of, the battle can be ended that way!"
Her legs carried her a single step after her brother and the Apostle, resolution burning in crimson orbs...and then she whirled around, familiars sending a storm of condensed prana blasts into a squad of the creatures that had been trying to flank Leysritt, Sella disbelievingly shouting, "Milady?!"
"Onii-chan will have an easier time if he doesn't have to keep track of me and worry about others interrupting the fight, we'll make sure he can do so!"
It filled her with endless anxiety to set her brother against a Dead Apostle Ancestor all on his own...but of all their available forces she believed he stood the best chance of doing so and she knew thinking through things rationally was the infinitely better choice, even if it felt like someone was crushing her artificial heart.
"Sella, Leyristt! Let's show these intruders what happens when they try to rudely take over Einzbern property!"
"Yes, Milady!"
Gilgamesh considered himself above the petty machinations and concerns of those who were not a part of his kingdom. It was only natural, that the King's law transcend lesser disputations and even the citizens who had fallen under his aegis knew that the King was who they paid tribute to, most certainly not the other way around.
Which was why current events were so...vexing.
He was honestly considering and giving credence to the plans and ideals of others, allowing their consequences to sway his current actions. This state of affairs could not be tolerated.
Reclining in the cellar of the Church Kotomine had often replenished with various vintages of wine-on the rare occasion he wasn't investing the majority of his time and effort into that student of his-Gilgamesh thoughtfully frowned.
The start of this Grail War had promised to be quite the interesting affair. Kotomine's pupil had proven to be remarkably skilled, killing his teacher and offering Gilgamesh the prospect of a curious individual to observe. Then had come the presence of none other that Herakles himself, one of the few Heroic Spirits the King of Heroes considered even distantly comparable to him in strength.
The bit of observation that had truly piqued his fascination was the appearance of none other than Arturia herself, a crossing of paths that had the King grinning in anticipation. Would she continue to so willfully defy him? Was she still grappling with her soul-rending ideals? So many questions that he had been looking forward to having answered.
And then he had been left unpleasantly surprised.
True, any manner of surprise was novel to the King of Heroes but this unexpected twist of fate had certainly worn out its welcome.
Not only had a lowly Vampire been selected as a Master it had almost immediately turned the war on its head, enslaving most of the idiotic Magi within hours and assuming control of their Servants...including the Master of Saber, something that irritated Gilgamesh to no end.
Someone else, possessing and coveting what was rightfully his?
Only the fact that the Apostle has shown almost no interest whatsoever in Saber and had let her do as she pleased outside of combat stayed his hand. A decision which, in hindsight, had been a mistake.
Several battles in highly visible portions of the city, in broad daylight, had attracted all manner of Magi and other Moonlit World denizen's attention, wondering just what in the world had gone wrong with the war.
...And here was the crux of the matter.
With so many eyes of varying power and influence now gathering on Fuyuki it was merely a matter of time before someone took note of his glorious presence, a Servant from the last Grail War still existing despite all evidence to the contrary stating that such a thing was impossible.
What would follow would no doubt be an exhausting and incredibly boring series of one-sided slaughters as he fought off those foolhardy enough to believe he could be brought low, never mind the countless others who would grovel and kiss his feet just for a sliver of his wealth and prestige.
And as unlikely as it may seem...they were plenty of skilled and powerful individuals walking the planet, it wasn't beyond the realm of possibility they would consider the return of the King of Heroes to be a bad thing. Were they to band together he could conceivably be defeated, if only because he still relied upon mana to sustain himself, if to a lesser extent than what he had once required.
And now this.
Growling in irritation as he sensed the titanic battle occurring just barely outside the borders of Fuyuki Gilgamesh accepted the fact that he was going to have to do something he found supremely grating and demeaning...respond to someone else's actions and machinations out of necessity rather than curiosity.
Downing his wine and letting the bottle lazily roll across the floor the King of Heroes resolved to put an end to this farce, right here and now.
I gave Sakura Executor training and turned her into a crazy dangerous yandere that wants a piece of her sister.
...
Am I a bad person for doing that to Rin?
