AN: Here comes CH8! Please read and review! :)
Chapter 8:
Red vs Black II
If there was one thing Jeanne had to say about the man standing in front of her with his arms crossed and glaring directly at her with his crimson-colored eyes, it was that he was extremely prideful.
Given his identity, she suppose she couldn't judge him for it. The King of Heroes was one of the oldest figures, if not the oldest figure, in human history to be considered a hero. In a world where age was equivalent to power, one could say that he was indeed the most powerful being to ever live. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say it, not with his capabilities that is. And from what she had seen during his battle with Berserker, that was only the tip of the iceberg as they say.
As such, she decided she would approach him as peacefully as possible, with her asking Arthur that he too behave.
And that led to their current predicament.
"Hoh? So you are here to tell me that you are accusing one of my allies of treason against myself and the others?"
"Not accusing, telling." Jeanne replied. "According to the information from the grail, one of the Masters from the Red Faction is responsible for the strange events that caused my summoning in the first place such as the rogue Servants."
That caught the attention of the Golden King, remembering the other night where he had fought the Black Knight. He still had a score to settle with him, but for now he focused his attention on the matter before him.
"Do you realize that there's one problem with that logic of yours woman?" Gilgamesh began, catching the young saint's attention. "You said it yourself, you received the information from the grail, the very same grail that is in the hands of the ones my Master and her allies call the Black Faction."
Seeing her freeze up slightly, he smiled as he continued.
"So tell me woman, how is it that you are sure about that which you received is legitimate in the first place? That it's just not a fabrication that the Black Faction themselves have created in order to turn you against us?"
"..."
Truth be told, even she wasn't sure of how to respond to that. There was always a nagging feeling in the back of Jeanne's mind that told her that perhaps the information given to her by the grail could perhaps been mistaken or even an outright lie forged by the Masters of Black in order to turn her attention at the Red Faction. However, she decided to ignore said feeling and decided to follow up on it since it was the only lead she had at the time.
However... when she had spoken with Lancer back at the Castle, she also felt like she could trust him. Not because he was a fellow believer in God like her, she had already met many people like that who were still her enemies on the battlefield, but because she felt like that despite his reputation and how he presented himself, Vlad the Impaler was above all else, a soul who believed in good.
Even if some of the actions he took in life were considered extreme or brutal, she doubted he would be part of a plot that could potentially endanger a great number of innocents. All it took for her to know that was just speaking with him. Even if the way he presented himself left much to be desired, she could still feel the noble soul hidden underneath.
As such, she was sure that he and his allies did not try to mislead her in any way. And so, she now knew how to respond to the Golden King's inquiry.
"No, I believe they wouldn't attempt such a thing." Jeanne began. "You forget something Archer. A Ruler-Class Servant is only summoned when the Holy Grail War's outcome could potentially endanger the world as a whole. You should know this by now. Your allies do, your enemies do, I doubt either side would wish harm on the entire world just for the sake of their wish."
"You are naive. You would do well to remember that evil exists within the hearts of all men and women in this world, and that humanity itself is a selfish lot by nature. Some would go to the darkest lengths to get what they desire." Gilgamesh stated.
He knew better than anybody else as to what lengths someone would go for just to get what they wanted.
"So too does people's capacity for good and selflessness exist. That is something you yourself cannot deny either King of Heroes." The female blonde stated resolutely, to which the Golden King merely gave her a look before huffing in annoyance.
"Hmph. Indeed, fools commit foolish acts that can either strengthen humanity or destroy it. I suppose it's merely a matter of how much either one would go far in the end." He mused.
Jeanne looked at him slightly confused. The way he had spoken that was as if he was remembering something from his past, but she couldn't be too sure due to the expression on his face being the same it was since he first gazed upon her. Which was an angry frown to be exact. She noted that unlike with Lancer, Archer of Red was someone more difficult to read though she already understood the basic nature of his being.
"So then, pray tell, name the one who you are accusing of having committed treason against us and thus broken the rules of this Holy Grail War."
"Does this mean that you are willing to hear us out on this matter?"
"Did I stutter?" Gilgamesh said annoyed. "If I asked for the name of the one you believe to be responsible for the strange events, then I believe the answer to be quite obvious. Or is it that I need to simplify my dialogue so that your mind can understand?"
Jeanne only let out a quiet growl. There was no need to be so rude was there? She was only reaffirming his intentions just to be sure.
Unfortunately, Arthur took the Golden King's words the wrong way as he spoke out.
"Continue to insult my Master Archer and you will have to deal with me."
"Hoh? So the so-called King of Knights is issuing a challenge to me?" Gilgamesh smirked. Ever since their first meeting, he had been wondering how powerful an opponent the Knight in front of him was. Just by looking at his sword, he could tell it was one of superb quality. No mere warrior would be able to wield such a magnificent blade. As such, he believed that perhaps Saber would be able to provide him some suitable entertainment should they fight.
"Stop it Saber! We're not here to fight remember?" Jeanne reprimanded, calling the Knight by his class name instead.
"I know that, but if he continues to act as he does, I have a feeling I won't be able to restrain myself any longer." Arthur replied.
If he were to describe the feeling he had right now, perhaps it could best be called as "Hate at First Sight". Though perhaps hate was too strong a word. That said, Archer's attitude just annoyed him to no end as brief as their interactions with each other have been. He respected him as a warrior after the night with Berserker, but other than that there was only the irked feeling he would get everytime he looked at the Golden King, likely being the result of his attempted attack on Jeanne. Yes, that was probably it.
"That's the spirit!" Gilgamesh praised with a wild grin. "Do not allow a mere woman to command you, one who calls himself a king. If wish to strike me down, then so shall it be! Though be warned that there will be consequences for making such an attack on the one true king of this world."
"That's laughable coming from you Archer. Have you forgotten that your Master is also of a woman?" Hearing that caused the Golden King's smile to sour as he gave off an annoyed growl.
"Though she may be a woman, Reines is a respectable one. As such, I don't mind following her orders." He then eyed Ruler with a smirk and glint in his eyes. "And until she fills out the way your Master has, she is but a child in my eyes."
Jeanne covered herself slightly in embarrassment, giving a look of disgust towards Gilgamesh in the process, as Arthur replied to his statement.
"That's not an excuse." He pointed out, together with Excalibur being directed at the Golden King's throat. "And turn your eyes away from my Master you fiend less I cut them out myself and burn them."
"Oh? I dare you to try then King of Knights."
Both men glared at each other for a good long minute, waiting for the other to make a move. They only snapped out of it when a voice called out to both of them.
"If you're both done, can we get back to what were discussing?" Jeanne spoke out in a somewhat weary tone. Hearing that, both decided to stand down for the time being but not before giving each other a glare, which was added by a smirk in the Golden King's case.
Seeing this only caused the young saint to sigh to herself. What was it with men and their need to pick a fight with others? Even those they barely knew? Even Gilles had been prone to such things and he was a gentlemen for most of the time they served their country together. At least, he was always presented himself as such whenever she was around that is.
"Fine then, what's the name of the traitor...?" The Golden King stated, and the blonde-haired girl spoke out.
"According to the Holy Grail, his name is Shirou Kotomine."
Dust began settling after Mordred and Siegfried's Noble Phantasms leveled the entirety of the front gate of the castle.
"Ugh... damn it all!"
There stood Mordred, her armor now somewhat dirtied and ragged thanks to the clash. Though her attack was able to overpower her opponent's due to it being more concentrated, the explosion caused by the impact was still strong enough to cause damage to herself.
But that wasn't what was upsetting her at the moment. It was the fact that her foe had survived her attack.
"You really should be more careful alright~?"
Looking up, she saw Saber of Black being carried from behind by Berserker of Black, the pinkette giving her comrade a rather sly look. The two of which were currently floating in the air thanks to the latter's ability to fly due to her dragon wings.
Just as he was consumed by the crimson lightning, Siegfried was pulled away from the blast by Elizabeth, the latter of which was able to temporarily shake off Berserker of Red for the time being and come to his aid. Still, the explosion caught them, and she would have been caught up in the attack as well, but since her comrade was in front of her when it hit, he took the brunt of it himself.
"My apologies, I underestimated the full extent of my opponent's power." Saber, or rather, Siegfried spoke in reply. Truthfully, he was somewhat embarrassed by it but didn't show it on his face. "However, now that I do know, the end result will now be different."
"Bastard...! Are you insulting me...?!" Mordred clenched her free hand into a fist while tightening the grasp she had on Clarent.
Siegfried also noticed something off about her. Just now when his opponent had spoken, he could hear faint gasps in between. Looking closely, he noticed that she was actually breathing in heavily. Though it didn't look she was injured all that much, something was troubling her physically. Perhaps using her Noble Phantasm proved to be quite taxing on her?
Mordred on the other hand was only thinking about what she should be doing next. She could try using Clarent once more, but she decided she should save a second blast for another time as using twice in a row may end up affecting her ability to perform well. Clarent Blood Arthur was an attack that caused her great pain everytime she used it.
Luckily for her though, her Master was a competent enough magi. Using it once only made her somewhat tired but strong enough to put up a fight if she had to. She only needed a moment to catch her breath before her fatigue would go away. However, using it twice in a row would probably pushing her luck, and she decided not to test that right now, not in the situation she was in at the moment.
In contrast to her however, Saber of Black looked no worse for wear. Other than his armor looking slightly singed and broken thanks to the blast, he looked to be okay enough to continue the battle despite taking the brunt of the explosion.
'Just what the hell is he...!? This just like that time with Lancer...!' She thought. Though Berserker of Black's aid may have factored into it, but she was sure her attack made contact with him! So why was it that he seemed okay!?
"It looks like that charm you gave Saber earlier worked to his advantage." Darnic commented as he and Caster observed the ongoing events through the latter's crystal ball.
"Truthfully, I initially thought that it would have been a waste of time." Caster replied. "The great hero Siegfried was said to have been an invincible hero during life, with his only weakness being a specific spot on his back. Giving him a charm that would make his defenses even stronger than what it already is seemed like a fruitless endeavor, but now I see that it was not."
She noted that Saber of Red was quite powerful in her own right. Had her attack connected without her protection charm, she doubted that Saber of Black would have been as alright as he was right now. Perhaps he would have been still capable of fighting afterwards, just not looking as pristine as he did at the moment.
Either way, she proved herself to be something of a threat. That said, she was also rather beautiful and cute looking. Once her helmet came down, Caster had not expected that someone so violent and hot-blooded as the blonde to look like that. Then again, considering who her father was, perhaps she shouldn't be surprised. Though she had a distaste for men due to her past, she had to admit that the King of Knights was rather handsome.
She found it a shame that he was part of a neutral party alongside his daughter being part of the opposing team. Though in the latter's case, she had the ability to perhaps get her to fight alongside her and her allies.
Caster continued to ponder to his idea within her mind as she continued to observe what was happening outside.
"RAAAAAAAAGH!"
With a mighty roar, Berserker of Red leaped into the air as he was poised to strike both Saber and Berserker of Black.
*CLANG*
"I don't think so my raging friend!"
Appearing from the sky on his hippogriff, Astolfo threw his spear at Berserker of Red, causing a direct hit as the Servant of Madness was blown back by the unexpected assault from the young paladin. Berserker quickly recovered from his stupor and landed right beside Mordred.
"Saber, Berserker, are you both alright~?" The male pinkette asked as both he and his two comrades landed on a spot a distance away from their two foes. "I saw what happened and came as soon as I could, but it looks like I didn't need seeing as you both look fine to me."
"We're both fine, there's no need to fret my friend." Siegfried replied as Astolfo looked up in wonder. This was the first time he had heard Saber speak. To be honest, he sounded just like what he imagined him to be.
"Speak for yourself!" Elizabeth stated in annoyance, gesturing to her wounds. "That oaf has violated my beautiful smooth skin... He's going to pay for that with his life!"
"Oh my. Well I suppose we can collect on that debt now~" Astolfo stated with a smile as he glanced back at the other two on the field, who were now just joined by the King of Conquerors himself as he landed beside them.
"So then... should we now turn this into a team battle as this war is supposed to be fought as?" The large man said as he grinned. The thought of a three-on-three battle between him and his allies versus the Servants of Red excited him somewhat. It reminded him of one of the reasons he liked riding into battle with his army during his life, as there was an undeniable thrill that one would feel during such an event that even pacifists probably couldn't ignore themselves.
*BAM*
Looking up, all saw a blur of green and black shoot past them and crash into right into a pile of debris next to the Servants of Red. Continuing with their gaze, they saw Lancer of Red standing up while dusting himself off and cricking his neck.
"Damn... you're as tough as I remember you Master!" He spoke out as Chiron landed on the ground beside his allies with a smile on his face.
"All that I am is a result of my training, the very same training that I applied to you as well, Achilles." Hearing his name spoken out caused the others to look on in surprise, especially Mordred as she understood as to why she was unable to harm him during that one spar they had with each other.
"That it is...!" Twirling his spear, Achilles got into position once again, not at all bothered that his identity was revealed. "Ready to continue?"
No words were spoken as Chiron got into stance and aimed his bow at his former disciple, the action of which also cued in everyone else to ready themselves for the second bout to begin. A moment of silence passed as neither side made a move.
Said silence was finally broken by the arrival of another onto the field.
The doors to the castle behind the Servants of Black slowly opened. There stood a man with pale hair and skin wearing black clothing. A spear in his hand of unique design. There was only person he could be and who would appear at a time like this.
Lancer of Black...
"Hoh? So you finally show yourself eh Lancer? It's about time you showed your cowardly face. And if I must say, you already look like a dead man." Mordred was the first to speak up, and she spoke in a tone of polite mockery.
"It's a pleasure to meet you as well Saber." Vlad replied, ignoring the obvious attempt at goading him. "I must say, I'm impressed with the fight you and your allies have put up. Truly, all of you are heroes worth your name and reputation."
"Of course we are! It's the reason why we're all called Heroic Spirits after all!" Iskander boasted with a grin on his face. "Now then, I assume you wish to join in on the fun Lancer? Or do you perhaps wish to surrender to us?"
"I'm afraid I have no intentions of surrendering to you and your allies King of Conquerors." The Servant of the Spear replied once more. "However, I am willing to accept the surrender of your group instead. Those who do will be treated amicably and those who don't will meet the end of my spear."
"Hahaha! I'm afraid that won't be possible my friend, for I intend to take my conquest beyond that of the grail and towards the grand stage that is our world." The larger man declared. "As such, surrender is not possible for one such as me."
"Hmph, in other words you wish to conquer the world." The pale-haired man stated. "Why is that I am not surprised?"
"Well it's in my title after all." Iskander pointed out.
"Indeed. Then I suppose talks are now at an end." Vlad said as he tightened the grip he had on his spear. He looked at his allies and they all immediately understood. Saber and Archer were to remain with him while Rider and Berserker were to chase after any who tried to escape.
Seeing that he was about to ready himself, Iskander said one thing that was loud enough that all his allies could hear.
When he makes a move, get on...
Before Mordred and Achilles could even ask what he meant by that, she was cut off as Lancer stabbed his spear into the ground.
"KAZIKLI BEY!"
*SHNNK* *SHNNK* *SHNNK*
"Wha-!?"
The earth suddenly broke apart as hundreds of spears and stakes suddenly pierced through it aiming for the Servants of Red. Taken off guard, Mordred was unable to react properly when one appeared below her.
"Coming through! HYAH!"
Grabbing Mordred by the collar, Iskander threw her onto his shoulder and spurred his chariot into action as lightning burst forth from the divine bulls, stomping through the stakes that tried to pierce them as they flew into the sky.
"Hey! Who asked you to do that?!" The blonde-haired knight demanded as she glared at the King of Conquerors. The way she was saved right now made her feel like she was being treated like a helpless damsel! That was an insult of the highest degree for someone like her!
"Yell at me later! For now we stay clear from being stabbed!" The large man stated in response as he observed the ever growing amount of stakes and spears the suddenly rose from out of nowhere the moment Lancer stabbed his spear into the ground.
"What!? What about those two!?"
*SLASH* *SLASH*
Currently, Achilles and Berserker of Red were slicing their way through each stake aimed at them. The former of the duo not even feeling anything from the stakes that did make it through thanks to his invincibility and the latter just swatting away anything because he was... well, Berserker.
"As if I'm running away from something like this!"
"RAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!" Both men bellowed out into the night sky.
"Those two will be fine! Worry about our friends in the sky!"
Hearing that, Mordred looked around and saw Rider of Black and Berserker of Black chasing after them.
"Damn it, with such limited room, this may prove difficult even for someone like me!" Mordred pointed out. Since both she and Rider of Red were standing in the limited space that was his chariot, there wasn't much room to maneuver herself in order to attack, especially since she was a swordsman and not a bowman.
"Hehe, think your father could do better than you?"
"What?!" Smirking as he heard her reaction, Rider knew that the mere mentioning of her father and a comparison to him would spur her into action.
"Haha! What do you think the King of Knights would have to say should he see you fretting over your situation like this?"
Mordred could only respond to him with a glare, clearly angered by the implication that her father would be able to do better than her in this situation where she herself was worrying about the situation. As much as she wanted to stab the King of Conquerors for the insult, she held herself back and focused her attention back towards their two pursuers.
"What should we do about them?"
"First we put some distance between ourselves and Lancer." Rider began. "That ability of his has a one kilometer radius. Outside of it, he can't summon those things to stab us to death with."
"And you know this how?"
"I read the file!" The large man grinned as he noted that they should have been far enough by now. He then spurred the bulls to fly upwards. "Now then, when I give you the signal, jump!"
"What!? What do you mean by-!?"
Turning about in a way that could've caused whiplash for some, the King of Conquerors grinned wildly as he charged their pursuers head on. Looking back and forth between them and their opponents, she realized what the large man was planning as she formed a grin of her own.
"Alright then, I'll listen to you this one time Rider!" She declared. "Don't let it go to your head!"
"Haha! That's the spirit!"
On the other hand, on Black Servant's side...
"Should we be this far out from the castle?" Elizabeth questioned as she sat behind her ally on his mount. Though she had the ability to fly, she wouldn't have been able to catch up to Rider of Red's chariot on her own. Thus, she decided to hitch a ride upon the young paladin's hippogriff. That, and she really wanted the chance to be able to ride such a wondrous beast. This was the first time she had seen such a thing with her own eyes!
"Who knows~?" Astolfo replied. "All I know is that we're going to keep them busy while Lancer and Archer take care of our friends back at the castle.
It was then that both saw the chariot they were chasing suddenly turn about and heading straight for them.
Seeing what was coming, Astolfo and Elizabeth quickly avoided being rammed by the chariot, both stopping mid-flight as they saw observed what Rider of Red was suddenly doing.
"What was he thinking? As if ramming us like that would have worked!"
"I agree... Huh!? Berserker, watch out!"
"Huh? WHAT THE-!?"
*CLANG*
With an audible sound, Saber of Red fell and crashed into Berserker of Black with her weapon poised. Luckily enough for the female pinkette, she was able to react just in time and parry the blow with her spear. However, said action caused by the former resulted in the latter falling off from her spot behind the young paladin.
"Yo Berserker! Shall we dance!?" Mordred declared as she held on tightly to her opponent, in the process preventing her wings from spread out and thus causing both of them to fall down to the earth below.
"We can't dance in the sky you idiot!" Elizabeth retorted as she struggled to release herself. "Let go of me you damn tomboy princess! Girls shouldn't even have this level of strength in them! Especially someone as small as you!"
"Hah?! What was that?!" Did this bitch just call her a "princess" of all things?!
Seeing what was happening, Astolfo motioned to rescue his friend, but was cut off when he was suddenly cut off from doing so thanks to Rider of Red's interference.
"Not so fast my friend, we still have to finish our bout from earlier wouldn't you agree?"
"Hehe, I suppose that's true. " The young paladin stated with a crooked smile. It looks like he would just have to have faith in Berserker's own abilities being able to pull her out from her current predicament.
And so, the battle between the Servants of the Mount resumed.
"This is the best humanity had to offer...?"
Inside the castle, Julian Ainsworth stood by a window that overlooked the battlefield. While he was impressed by the abilities of the Servants, he was off put by some of the personalities, with Rider of Black and Berserker of Black being his two prime targets. The former was very much a happy-go-lucky fool while the latter on the other hand was something of a spoiled brat.
Still, he noted that they were useful when they were needed. That said more about them compared to others who were similar.
'Continue fighting on as you wish, nothing shall change the fact that we are the ones destined to win...'
Suddenly, Assassin appeared before him while kneeling. Julian looked her over as his mind began thinking about his Servant.
Though to be precise, it was Servants in a sense. His Servant's identity was Hassan-I-Sabbah, but not the original, just one out of the nineteen people in history who took his name. The Hassan that he summoned was one who mastered a great deal of skills and learned various forms of study in order to help with his profession. However, in doing so, he ended up creating various split personalities within himself in order to contain the knowledge he had gathered within his mind.
This would later end up manifesting as Assassin's Noble Phantasm, Zabaniya: Delusional Illusion, which granted him the ability to manifest as over eighty different people at the same time. A very useful ability for those who wish to deceive and observe their enemies with numbers.
"Master, I have news to report." The Assassin before him stated, this one in particular being a female with dark blue hair who called herself by no name. In order to differentiate her from the others, Julian decided to call her Asako. It was derived from Assassin and the Japanese habit of adding "-ko" to some girl's names, the latter of which he learned while studying in the backwater country of the east.
He wondered to himself why he even did that, but perhaps was being influenced by a certain someone he knew. Said someone came from the oriental nation where he studied, so maybe that had something to do with it. Either way, he decided to ignore his thoughts and focus the matter before him.
"Go right ahead."
"One of our counterparts has fallen."
"What?" He said, an incredulous look on his face.
"It seems like he encountered the enemy Masters, and brashly decided to take a chance in order to kill one of them only to be caught and executed by Archer of Red." She explained as Julian merely sighed.
"Serves him right. Honestly, such fools are worthless to me in this war." He stated as Assassin spoke up.
"To be precise, Lord Darnic ordered us to find out the whereabouts of the enemy Masters."
"Do not try to shift the blame of his failure to others. And Darnic ordered to find out the location, not attack did he not?" He retorted. "Tell the other Assassins to never engage the enemy without my permission unless absolutely necessary."
With that, Assassin nodded and disappeared back into spirit form. It was only then that something came to Julian's mind as he smirked slightly.
"However, we may be able to use this to our advantage. With him dead, the Red Faction will believe that a Servant has finally been taken out. That should give us the element of surprise along with increasing our surveillance capabilities. Perhaps I should be thanking him instead, hehehe...!"
It was then that Julian's cell phone suddenly began ringing in his pocket. Though he like many other magi held a distaste for modern technology, he knew enough that such inventions had their uses. Thus, he decided to keep a phone in his pocket for the times where he needed to communicate with someone through non-magical means, especially after one of his allies insisted on it.
Taking it out, he looked to see who it was and widened his eyes when he saw who was calling. Immediately, the young man answered it.
"What is it?"
...
"He wants me to do what?"
...
"Very well then, I'll see to it." The young man hanged up and made his way through the castle.
Back to the two Servants of Red, the duo were currently fending off Lancer of Black's assault.
*SLASH* *SLASH*
Both Achilles and Berserker of Red quickly moved about the battlefield avoiding stakes upon stakes upon stakes that rose from the ground aimed at them. And in the former's case, aimed directly at his heel. Given that Lancer of Black now knew of his identity, he wouldn't have been surprised if decided to keep aiming for the one spot that caused his own downfall in life.
"RAAAAGH!"
"Hahaha! Is that the best you've got!?"
That said, Lancer of Black's attacks was merely inconveniencing the two warriors as they moved about.
"I see that your student is quite the battle maniac." Vlad commented while glancing at Chiron, who merely smiled in response, before turning his gaze back towards the two warriors before him. As expected, Lancer of Red was quite agile. With his given identity, it was not that surprising. What surprised him even more though was that Berserker of Red was incredibly agile for someone of his size.
Much like his fellow Servant of Red, the mad warrior was easily cutting through and avoiding the stakes aimed at him as he moved. And said movements were not those of what one would expect from an insane warrior, but from an ace of combat.
'How magnificent...!' Vlad thought. Though they were enemies, had to give the two Servants of Red the respect due to them. Had they not been on opposing sides, he would have liked to have them as his allies. It was a shame they had to die.
"Archer." Vlad began as he gazed slightly towards his ally.
"Yes." Knowing what Lancer was about to say, Chiron nodded as he aimed his bow at his former pupil.
*SHNNK* *SHNNK*
*SLASH*
"Hah!" Not losing a beat, the green-haired spearsman struck down the incoming projectiles aimed directly at him all the while continuing to evade the numerous stakes directed towards his heel.
"It's gonna take a lot more than this to kill me Master!" Achilles called out before grabbing a broken stake and throwing it directly at his former Master.
Chiron merely tilted his head as the piece beamed past him and burying itself into a wall. Smiling, he saw Achilles leap high into the air and poised to strike him directly.
*CLANG*
His attack was intercepted by Saber, the latter of which had just recuperated enough to take part in the battle once again. Taking advantage of Lancer's surprise, Siegfried used everything he had and threw a hard punch directly at the Hero of Troy.
While it didn't result in any damage, it was strong enough to send the green-haired spearsman flying into a wall. Once he recovered, Lancer of Red grinned wildly at the two.
"Hahaha! I'll take the both of you on!"
Seeing that both Archer and Saber were taking care of Lancer of Red, Vlad turned his attention towards Berserker of Red was now currently standing right in front of him.
A large imposing figure, he noted that the Servant of Red right before him was someone who was greatly feared in life. The amount of destruction he witnessed Berserker perform, his general battle prowess, and the state of his madness all confirmed it for Lancer. Judging from his armor and general appearance, he was able to deduce that Berserker was a man born in the far east, perhaps in the country known as China or Japan.
"It seems that you are my opponent." The pale-haired man began. "Isn't that right, Berserker?"
The larger man only responded by swinging his halberd. Seeing, this Lancer parried the incoming blow before leaping back and raising his hand forward.
*SHNNK* *SHNNK* *SHNNK*
Several stakes quickly rose from the ground aimed directly at Berserker's vital spots. Seeing this, the Servant of Madness twirled his massive weapon around himself as he destroyed all incoming dangers aim directly at him.
Several soon turned to a dozen, then turned to a hundred. It didn't look like Berserker was tiring out at all.
"RAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!"
"Hmph!" Seeing getting close, Lancer began parrying blows with the Chinese warrior. Combining his own martial prowess and his ability to summon stakes from the ground, Vlad the Impaler displayed a great amount of skill as he held off the Servant of Madness.
Meeting him blow per blow though, it was a tougher experience than what Lancer expected it to be. Quickly, he summoned more and more stakes from all around his foe in order to pierce him.
A futile effort as the latter's reaction speed allowed him to dodge each attempt at stabbing him. Despite how he appeared, a tactical mind was hidden underneath all his rage and insanity. Berserker would not allow himself to struck in any form due to his Master's orders. As such, his body instinctively performed to its very best in order to avoid any sort of damage.
"RAAAAGH!"
*SLASH*
"Tch...!" Lancer leaped back once more as he narrowly avoided being beheaded. He would need to end this soon less Berserker get the better of him. Leading him to an open space, the pale-haired man readied himself with a single thought going through his mind.
'Let's see him cut these down!'
Stakes were once more raised from the ground. This time, they were not in the hundreds, but within the thousands. Despite his skill, Berserker was quickly surrounded and encased in a cone of them.
*BOOM*
It was not meant to be. The mad warrior blasted apart his imprisonment much to Lancer's shock. There stood Berserker with his weapon in a different form compared to what he just saw. Earlier, it was a Halberd. Now, it was in the shape of a bow.
A bow which the mad warrior then aimed at his opponent...
"RAAAAGH!" He roared as he energy began gathering at its tip, and the Servant of the Lance quickly deduced that it was Berserker's Noble Phantasm. Readying himself, he was about to summon more stakes when he noticed something.
So focused on his opponent, the Servant of Madness failed to notice several constructs heading straight for him.
"...!"
Unable to react in time, golems grabbed onto Berserker and rendered him unable to move due to their combined might. Seeing an opportunity, Lancer made his move.
*SHNNK*
Stakes rose from the ground and impaled the mad warrior in the gut. It didn't stop there, as once more the Servant of Madness was encased in a cone of stakes together with his captors. Lancer then smirked and motioned his fingers one last time.
*SHNNK*
"RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!"
The sound of flesh being impaled multiple times in a row echoed from the spot where Berserker was trapped, a loud roar coming from the Servant of Madness as light from the moon shined brightly upon the castle.
"That went well I suppose."
Walking back towards the sight of the main battle, Jeanne pondered the result of the meeting they had with the King of Heroes.
"Are sure this was a wise move?" Her partner asked. He doubted that the Golden King was part of the group responsible for events going behind the scenes of the Grail War due to his reaction to the Black Knight. What he saw then was genuine anger, and he knew that the King of Heroes would most likely try to eliminate the Black Knight once he saw him again.
"Perhaps not, but I guess we'll find out soon won't we?" She replied.
After revealing the name of the suspected traitor, the young saint asked that the Masters of Red take caution with him. The King of Heroes on the other hand merely laughed off her concern and said that should that none would be able to threaten him. Truly, his arrogance knew no bounds. But that was to be expected of someone like him.
At any rate, Gilgamesh agreed to keep an eye on him on the condition that Ruler was to remove the Command Spells that she had which held dominion over him. When asked that, she quickly retorted that she could not do such a thing. Because of her response, the Golden King replied that he would make no promises and left.
Sighing, she hoped that he would continue to do so in spite of what he said. For now, she needed to focus her attention back to current events such as the battle that was ongoing between Red and Black Factions. A good amount of time had passed since it all began. So far, she had sensed nothing that required her and Arthur to take action. And that was something of a relief as that meant that there was
"Jeanne." She stopped in her tracks when Arthur suddenly laid a hand on her shoulder.
"Hmm? What is it?" The young man merely pointed his finger upwards, causing the saint to look up into the sky.
There, she saw something falling down. Said something was a combination of pink, black, and red. Said combination were none other than Berserker of Black and Saber of Red, the former of which having successfully released herself from the latter's grip on her.
*BOOM*
An audible sound, Mordred landed right in front of the duo, the strength of the force at which she landed caused a crater to form. Dusting herself up as she stood, she shot an angry glare at Berserker of Black who was currently floating in the air thanks to her wings.
"Hey you! I dare you to call me a princess again!"
"What? Aren't you one? I mean, isn't your father King-" Elizabeth began but was cut off by the Knight of Treachery.
"He's got nothing to do with this!" She yelled again in response as she pointed her blade at the pinkette. "Call me a princess again and I will end you life very slowly!"
She then felt something off. It was only then that Mordred noticed both Jeanne and Arthur standing right behind her, with both blondes sporting rather incredulous looks on their faces as they witnessed what just happened. Clearly, the latter of the duo did not expect to see her like this. She too was frozen slightly in shock as she also had the exact same thoughts.
"Why are you here...?" The Knight of Treachery demanded, directing Clarent at the duo. Seeing this, her father narrowed his eyes at her giving her a hard stare.
"Calm yourself before you do something you regret." Arthur replied, his tone somewhat scolding. "Do remember that myself and my Master are a neutral party in this Holy Grail War whose role is to ensure that a certain amount of order is held during it."
"Tch, I suppose you are." Mordred clicked her tongue while turning her attention back towards her flying opponent. "If that's the case, then stay out of this!"
"I never intended on interfering." The white knight replied, causing Mordred to scowl even more. A scowl that was unseen by the former but not by his Master who was frowning at the two, not liking the tense atmosphere between parent and child.
...!
"Ah! A Servant has just disappeared...!" Jeanne suddenly cried out, catching the attention of all those present.
"What!? And which Servant is that!?" Mordred demanded.
"It was... Berserker of Red." She revealed, causing Mordred to flinch slightly.
Having lost him, that meant that the Red Faction was now one Servant short of their total fighting strength. Berserker had proven himself to be quite a fierce warrior too, something that even she respected him for. Did someone like Lancer actually take him down?
"Haha~! I knew uncle could do it!" Elizabeth cheered, childishly sticking her tongue out at her blonde foe just to rub the fact in her face.
"Don't get a big head! You still have to deal with me!" The red knight retorted as she aimed her sword at Berserker of Black, not taking kindly to her insults. Seeing this, the latter also got into a fighting position as the other two present began distancing themselves for what they believed to be the beginning of a fight.
"That's enough Saber." Mordred froze when she heard the call of her Master's voice.
"Hah...!? What do you mean that's enough!?" She yelled aloud, causing the other three to pause and look at her confused.
"El-Melloi is calling for a retreat for now." Kairi began. "After losing Berserker, he doesn't want anymore casualties on our side unless he can help it. He already ordered both Rider and Lancer to come back to the hideout with us."
"Then let me at least finish this! Allow me to even the score!"
"No need, Archer took down Assassin earlier when he tried to jump us, so that already makes us even with them." Her master explained, causing Mordred to frown at the mention of the Golden Servant. Whoever he was, she didn't like him. It wasn't just because he called her a little girl, but something else. Something which she couldn't explain very well at the moment.
"Tch... alright then. As you say Master." She complied telepathically as she turned her back on both her opponent and the other two present.
"Hey! I thought we were going to fight!" Elizabeth called out.
"My allies have called for a retreat, so be grateful that you won't have to face me." She stated, before turning to look at her father. "I will settle things with you some other time. Do not forget it."
Arthur didn't respond as she disappeared into spirit form. Afterwards though, he only sighed as his mind began thinking.
'Well, I suppose I should have suspected as much...'
"If that's the case, then I'll be heading back too." Berserker of Black stated as she flew off into the sky, waving a little goodbye to the two blondes. Jeanne stared after her for a few moments before turning to face Arthur who was looking rather moody once more. Seeing this, she laid a comforting hand on his shoulder and smiled.
"Let's look around the area before we head home shall we? I would like to make sure nothing is left that would prove the existence of the Holy Grail War to the people." She said, causing the young man to look at her and smile back at her in response.
"Of course, just lead the way."
With that, the duo went on their way.
"Aw~! It's over already...?"
Inside a cave and seated upon a pile of skeletons, a blonde-haired little girl watched the events unfold and end at Yggdmillennia castle through a crystal ball. A pouting expression on her face that showed her annoyance at seeing her entertainment for the night had ended.
"Oh well, I suppose things played out well enough." She said. Things were a lot more different now compared to the Grail War she fought in. Fourteen Servants, even she hadn't thought about the possibility of such a thing. There were a lot more interesting Servants running about too. Such as the one known as Rider of Black who looked like a girl despite being a boy. She found him to be quite entertaining.
"Still, none of them could compare to Saber. Ah, my prince~!"
Fantasizing about the white knight, the little girl began rolling herself across the ground like a lovesick maiden. Had she done so in any other location other than a cave filled to the brim with skeletons, perhaps one could call the sight adorable.
"But, those two girls..."
She stopped rolling about and sat up with a half-lidded look on her face as her mind began thinking about Ruler and Saber of Red. Thinking about both caused the little girl to smile to herself as she laid back down with her arms spread out.
"I suppose I can let them play around with Saber a little bit since it looks he's fond of them both. It would be bad if I hogged him all to myself~"
Grabbing a skull that was close to her hand, she brought close to her face and began speaking to it as though it were alive.
"Besides... when everything is set and done, he'll come back to me eventually... Ahahaha~!"
The sweet laughter of a little girl echoed throughout the cavern, the laughter of a girl named Manaka Sajyou, the very same girl who had been stabbed in the back and left for dead by her most beloved Servant all those years ago...
"Looks like the fighting's over." The blue-haired Lancer mused as gazed at his Master. "Where she should we be heading next?"
"Who knows?" Ayaka replied, adjusting her glasses slightly. "I was hoping to meet Ruler tonight, but I don't know where she is. I think she would have been somewhere near where the fighting was taking place, but if we get close to the castle, then the Black Faction may mistake us for an enemy and attack. And I can't go to the Red Faction either considering that he's there."
"Speaking of which, you sure this Ruler is even going to listen to us?"
Lancer had a point. Just because Ruler was the mediator for the Holy Grail War, it didn't mean there was a chance of he or she helping them out. Legitimate speaking, that person was part of the Holy Grail War. Meaning that there was a chance that because of that, there could have been a chance that Ruler would not make a move until after he or she is convinced of the threat that person represented to the world.
"I don't know either. But they're the best person we've got in stopping that person from making his wish come true." She sighed to herself. "But, if worse comes to worse, I guess we'll just have to fight this one by ourselves."
She slightly dreaded the idea. Even if she readied herself for such an event, what were the chances of her and Lancer succeeding if that were the case?
"Fine by me. I think I like the idea of being the underdog in a big fight." Her Servant grinned happily, causing Ayaka to roll her eyes at the blue-haired man standing right beside her. Her Servant really was entertaining the idea wasn't he? She could see it in the look on his face.
"You would like that wouldn't you? Idiot."
"Haha!"
Soon enough, the duo left the rooftop by leaping off it with Ayaka being carried in Lancer's arms. Given their circumstances, it was better to be on the move than remain any longer after all.
'Now then, what should we be doing next...?'
Back inside the throne room, the Masters and Servants of Black were all gathered together as Lancer spoke.
"Well done everyone. We have successfully driven off the invaders from our land tonight." He declared with the tone of the sovereign that he once was. "And aside from losing one of our Assassins to the enemy, all Servants are ready and accounted for. On that, I praise you all and call this night a victory!"
It truly was a cause for celebration. Not one of them had died, and the enemy had lost Berserker of Red. Having lost a powerful ally, the Masters of Black were sure that the Red Faction was greatly decreased in their fighting capability. Knowing that, how else would they react other than one of happiness? Even Gordes and Celenike, who Caules found to be both tense in their own ways, were both smiling.
"But of course, was there any doubt?" The latter commented as her smile turned into a smirk.
"You didn't do anything though~" Astolfo pointed out, causing the grey-haired woman to glare at him. Such a scene only caused Caules to chuckle quietly to himself along with Elizabeth, Chiron, and his sister.
"I must thank you for the assist Caster." Vlad said to the hooded woman who stood beside Roche. "Without you, Berserker would have taken longer to deal with."
"I wasn't responsible for those golems Lancer." Caster replied as she gestured to the only non-member of Yggdmillennia. "Assassin's Master took control of a few that were already beaten but functional and made them act according to his will."
"Is that so?" Lancer glanced at the young man known as Julian. "Well then, I suppose I should be thanking you then young man. Without you, victory against Berserker would have taken me a bit longer than it already had."
"Think nothing of it, I only acted according to our pact as allies chasing after the same goal." Julian waved off. "Besides, it was young Master Roche and Caster that created those golems in the first place. I only made them move beyond their limits is all."
"True. It was a team effort." Darnic came forward and looked at the trio with a genuine smile on his face. "For that, I commend all three of you. With this, we are one step closer to winning this Holy Grail War."
The others all nodded at this. Soon afterwards, the group meeting was dismissed, and everyone went back to their respective rooms.
As he walked through the castle with both hands in his pockets. Stopping when he was sure that no one was observing him, he took out his right hand.
In said hand was a card, a card that held the image of what looked to be a horned werewolf looking creature dressed in simple garb in a hunched over stance. The word "Berserker" was written upon it. At first glance, it would have appeared to be a simple card. But the word imprinted on it implied something else.
'Closer indeed Darnic. With this, the first phase is complete...'
"Welcome back, I assume everything went according to plan?"
Inside Shirou's personal room within the Red Faction's villa, Assassin of Red sat on her Master's bed as he entered the room.
"I suppose it did in a way." The young priest said as he sat down on a chair and allowed himself to relax, taking off his red cape in the process. "We've managed to make an estimate of their total combat strength from what we've seen, but at the cost of Berserker."
"Oh my, that is a dear lost." Assassin smiled as she got up, walked around, and stood behind her Master's chair. "It would have been better had it been that mad writer was the one whom we lost. It would have been more beneficial to us wouldn't you agree?"
"Now now Queen of Assyria, there's no need for such cruel remarks." Shirou replied, smiling somewhat at her words. "Caster may have his eccentricities, but he's at least loyal enough to our cause in his own unique way."
"But I only speak the truth~" The raven-haired woman smiled as she began massaging her Master's shoulders. Shirou couldn't figure out for himself why she would do such things for him when he wasn't asking for it, especially given her background making it somewhat more difficult to understand. But at the same time, he didn't mind it all that much. Such a thing helped relax himself in both body and mind.
"At any rate, what should we be doing now? With part of the plan now complete, should we move on to the next phase?" Assassin asked, causing Shirou to contemplate for a moment or so before smiling.
"Not yet. I believe it to be too soon to go that far just yet." The young man replied once more. "For now, we take a moment for ourselves and rest."
"If that's the case, then shall we take a tumble~?" Assassin teased, smiling at her Master's reaction who looked to be greatly perturbed by her words.
"I'm afraid I'll have to decline." Shirou responded politely to the beautiful woman before him. "Whether I be a fake priest or not, I'm still a man of God after all. And I intend to keep it that way. Thus, I have no desire to participate in any quick trysts."
"Oh? Such a boring man you are~"
"Drinking already Archer...?"
When she entered her room after a hot shower, Reines did not expect to see Archer, dressed in his casual clothes which consisted of a black jacket, pants and a light-orange shirt, to be drinking wine on the sofa and table within the room. And judging from the bottle casing, the wine came from this villa's own storage cellar rather than her the Golden King's own personal treasury.
"Passing the time by drinking has been one of my many hobbies in life." He mused, lifting the glass in his hand and staring at it. "A friend would often tell me otherwise, saying too much of something is bad for one's health."
"Oh? And how did you respond to this?" The young blonde asked to the elder, sitting beside her Servant as she did so.
"How else? I called that person a fool, saying that there is nothing that I, the one true King, cannot handle! Whether it be ten bottles or a hundred, a thousand even, I will not fall pray to any ailments that plague the common folk when they pursue the same interests as myself."
"Hehe, I suppose that would be something you'd say." She giggled briefly before standing back up again and heading over to her closet. "No peeking alright?"
"I have no intentions of doing such a thing to a mere child." The King of Heroes waved off rather casually as Reines threw a shoe at him. At which he dodged it rather easily as it hit the wall in front of him and fell to the floor.
It always annoyed her greatly that Archer would call her a child despite being already fifteen years old. True, her looks begged to differ, but Reines took that in stride in her belief that just meant she retained her youth a little longer compared to most others.
Still, compared to what she expected of Gilgamesh, the King of Heroes, he was somewhat decent for all the arrogance that he held within himself. He was far more decent to her than some of the magi she had met during her young life, especially the old ones whose sense of morality and proper conduct were all but gone from the recesses of their mind thanks to their pursuit of the Akashic Records, otherwise simply known as the Root to others.
"Tell me something Reines," Gilgamesh began, the younger blonde noting that he was calling her by her first name. The only time he did that in the short time she knew him was when he was serious mood.
"What is it?"
"Why do you wish for the Holy Grail?" The Golden King asked. "The Grail only chooses those with a strong desire which they want granted. If so, pray tell what is yours? What could a child like yourself wish for from an all powerful artifact such as the grail."
"You ask me that now of all times?" She stated as she began putting her sleep clothes for the night.
"Call me curious I suppose."
"Well if I were to be honest, I suppose it would be reaching the Akashic Records just like everyone else." Reines began. "To be frank, I've never really believed there to be a root to all things in the complete sense. But, if there's a chance of it existing, I can't help but be curious to see what it would be like."
"You believe in such nonsense? Do you not wish for something even greater?"
"Don't misunderstand me Archer, of course I have greater desires." She stated. "However, I believe in achieving them with my own abilities rather than relying on an artifact like the Grail. There's pride to be held in accomplishing something on your own terms after all. My desire to use the grail to see the Akashic Records is only me using a shortcut for a goal whose path would take too long for me to walk with my own life, and which isn't originally my desire to begin with."
"I see..." Gilgamesh smiled as he drank his wine. "I praise you for your honesty with me Reines. You have earned yourself more of my respect."
"Enough for you to stop calling me little girl?"
"No." The Golden King smirked as he avoided another shoe being thrown at him.
"Man, losing Berserker so early in the game..."
Inside Waver's office, he, Kairi, and Rider sat apart from one another. The former two looked to be quite tired, with the latter of the trio looking rather disappointed with the outcome of the events that happened.
"We all knew the risks going in." Waver stated. "At least now we know what the fighting capability is, and we've taken down Assassin as well."
It was both a victory and a lost as they say. Though they found the lost of Berserker to be great, they at least found consolation in the fact that they still had the likes of Archer, Lancer and Rider himself in the fray. Waver knew that with both the former and the latter on the same team, victory was all but assured. It was only a matter of making sure that Archer would follow orders during any future conflict. Last thing he wanted was the latter getting killed due to carelessness and arrogance along with any unnecessary mayhem the Golden King would cause if sufficiently angered.
"I really wanted to finish my fight with that paladin." Rider sighed in disappointment. "As much as I found him to be an interesting addition to my army, fighting against him in the sky proved to be quite enjoyable."
"You'll get to finish that one day. For now, we lick our wounds and study what went wrong." His Master said in response to his words.
"Agreed." The other two replied. Soon, the trio began discussing with one another, when suddenly...
"Say, does this place have something to drink?" The necromancer asked. "Sure could use one right about now."
"Oh! That sounds like the perfect way to spend the night of a failed assault!" Rider grinned.
Waver only sighed as he directed both men to the cellar. So much for reviewing the night's events. Well, not like he could scold them for it since he too decided to partake in some drinking. What better way for three men to spend the night after all?
END
Author's Note:
And that's it for CH8. I'm surprised I got this out as quick as I did. Probably had something to do with me playing FGO a lot lately.
I heard from a friend that a few guys on Beasts Lair Forums gave some critique about this fic on the day I last updated. I'll spare you guys the full details of what I read, just know that one in particular made my heart cry. I'm a very sensitive person XD
I'm just kidding XP Anyway, I don't know if those guys have read all chapters before now, but I'm thankful for the criticism. As an aspiring writer, it helps me work out my flaws and do what I can to improve on them rather than just let them be.
Just know that I didn't think that writing a fanfic with a lot of Servants would make it cool or anything, I just thought it would be a really fun thing to write about. I do things for the entertainment value I find in them. And as a reader of fiction, I know that my writing isn't actually all that great, with the characters and story probably being bland as a result, but I try to improve as I move along. The story of FMB is just one of those attempts. Sucky at first, better in the end. At least, the latter is what I aim for anyway.
Oh, and the sound effects are actually the result of me reading manga a lot during my spare time. I don't even read Batman all that much. I mostly watch the animations and movies about superheroes. Anyway, the sound effects thing has always been a thing of mine ever since I began writing. I try to get rid of that habit as I move along in the future and get better. But until then, its here to stay as it helps me envision the fight better. Without them, I can't think about fights or events as clearly as I would like.
Anyway, that's it for now. Again, please read and review :) And if you can, criticize me. Just not too harsh less my heart start bleeding XD
