AN: And here's CH14! Please review :D
Chapter 14:
Battle for the Grail II
"Hah...!"
Heaving her scythe over her shoulders, Gray swung it horizontally as she destroyed several dragon tooth warriors.
As Lancer, Lancer of Black, and Saber of Black engaged the Rogue Faction Servants, the only form of support they had at the moment were Archer of Black and the Lancer-Class Servant that the girl known as Tohsaka Ayaka commanded.
Darting forward, she used reinforcement on her legs, increasing her speed and agility as she cut down every foe who stood before her. Having been trained at a young age to learn how to fight by family members and instructors, her current opponents were nothing more than weed that needed trimming.
Speaking of family...
Her ancestor, King Arthur... she had once more missed an opportunity to speak with him. Well, it wasn't as though it was her fault. There was just too much going on for her to even have a moment with him. Perhaps, after the battle was over...
There were things she wanted to discuss with him, which was mostly small talk in her eyes. Little questions such as what was life like when he was alive. She could find out about it from reading books or the like, but hearing it from someone would be a different experience. And she grew hearing stories of her ancestor when she was growing up. As such, the inner child in her that adored said stories wanted to know more him.
Not to mention that there the matter of that item to give him. It was a task that was handed down from generation to generation in her family ever since her ancestor's fall. Should any one of them ever encounter him, as far-fetched as it was, they were to give it to him as per the request of that person.
She wondered to herself, how would he react to it? He and that person didn't exactly part on the best of terms when they last saw each other. He may even reject it.
*THWACK*
An arrow quickly shot past her head, snapping Gray out of her thoughts as she looked behind her to see a the broken remains of yet another warrior. Looking to the source, she saw Archer of Black smiling at her before returning to supporting the others with his abilities.
"What's wrong Gray? You look distracted." Waver came up to the white-haired girl.
"Ah, it was nothing Master, just a few thoughts."
"Save those for later, we can't afford distractions right now." He sighed, looking at the battlefield that was the garden. Thanks to their enemy's numbers, their group had to split up between sections of the complex. Right now, it was only himself, Kairi, Gray, Reines, Ayaka, Caules, and Fiore. Gordes and Celenike had taken a few golems and homunculi to try and defend other parts of the castle. Darnic himself went on to support Lancer of Black.
Lancer of Red and the Rogue Lancer had taken their fight elsewhere from the garden, as did Saber of Black and the Rogue Rider. Right now, it was just them and the dragon-tooth warriors that were still present.
With the aid of her mystic code, Fiore was taking down enemies left and right, either by choosing to smack, stab, or blasting them away. Kairi noted that out of the Masters gathered right now, she was the most dangerous. If not for her inexperience that is.
"Can't let myself be outdone by a kid!"
He continued his assault as he kept shooting at every single enemy he could see. With the numbers they were facing, it was a viable tactic. Reloading his shotgun and handgun wasn't too much of a hassle. He brought enough spares, and the enemy bones could be used for ammo as well.
*BANG*
The mercenary smirked as he continuously blasted away each warrior with his shotgun. One shot was enough to take one down. He then reloaded and aimed at another.
"...!"
Several black feathers came out from behind the mercenary and took down several warriors. Much to his surprise, he looked to see that the Tohsaka girl was the source of it.
"I can at least do this much, right...?" She said, readying another assault in her fingers. This wasn't the time to be scared. With her current allies, she should at least be able to do something for them, even if it was just a small act.
Caules gazed at the girl in surprise. Just now, she had been acting rather scared of everything that had been happening so far. Even now, one could see that her legs were shaking in fear, but the girl was willing to take action. He couldn't help but feel his masculine pride being broken down by the thought of a girl being braver than he was.
"That's the spirit!"
Lancer cried out as he landed beside his Master and smashed away incoming warriors from above. Grinning at the blonde-haired youth, he spoke.
"You should keep acting like little missy, it'll do you some real good like build your character."
"I knew you'd say that..."
"You are terminated."
An explosion rang out all of a sudden as Waver looked towards the source.
There, Trimmau emerged from it unscathed. He had to ask himself just where in the nine levels of hell did such an explosion come from? He was pretty sure that Trimmau lacked any sort of ranged capabilities that could result in such a thing. Probably best not to dwell on it.
'Things are going well. How are the others doing?'
"The elimination of Angra Mainyu...?"
Jeanne wasn't exactly educated in many of the world's many myths, but thanks to the information from the grail, she had a brief understanding of many topics known to man for the past few millenia.
Angra Mainyu, the Persian god of darkness, considered as the source of all evils in this world according to the religion of Zoroastrianism. Basically, if she had to compare it to Christianity, it was their equivalent of the devil Satan.
Personally, she didn't really believe in such folly. Even if there was one being who was the source of all evils in the world, it was up to people themselves as to whether or not they'd allow themselves to fall to the temptations of sin or rise above it.
If Shirou's wish was for the elimination of it, just what in the world did that entail?
"If that's really the case, if you truly wish for something benevolent, then why is that you felt the need to confirm my death?"
"Because I could not take chances with you around." Shirou replied, still smiling. "After all, in order to obtain something of great value, one must sacrifice something equal in return. Isn't that one of the fundamental rules that magi live by?"
"Unfortunately, I'm no magus so I wouldn't know of it." Jeanne replied, somewhat deadpan. "And when you say sacrifice something equal, what do you mean by that?"
"It is what I said." The young man stated. "People and the world... although they constantly experience change through time, they are instinctively afraid of it as well. They wonder to themselves if change can bring good to the world or ruin it. As such, they try to control it. Arrogance, only god decide such things. When humans try to control change, it will always inevitably leads to ruin."
"And what does that make you?"
Arthur already knew what the white-haired priest was going to say, but decided to ask anyway. While doing this, he eyed his surroundings, keeping tabs on Assassin and the boy that served as their Master. While his comrade was speaking, Julian was doing something to the grail.
"A messenger, here to ensure that his work be done. With the power of the grail, I can use it fully deliver the salvation that many people throughout time have desired but never received. A world without suffering, where no man, woman, nor child will have to suffer again. Wouldn't that be glorious?"
The young saint had to admit, such an idea was wonderful to imagine. While there was doubt in her mind, she felt that Shirou was speaking to them in complete honesty, both the way he spoke and the look in his eyes proved it. There was no hint of hesitation, no hint of deceit. His goal truly was to save humanity, that much she could agree on if someone asked her opinion on the man. No wonder Ayaka had said so herself as well.
She also noted that said goal reminded her a bit about a certain someone, gazing at said person for a moment. Though the scale was different, at the core there were similarities in their respective wishes.
On the other hand, Arthur shook his head as began glaring at the young man. He could care less about what his goals were, he had heard it all before. Right now, there was only one thing at the forefront of his mind. And with that, he stepped forward and raised Excalibur, pointing it the white-haired priest.
"You didn't answer my Master's question. I'll say it once: why did you order for her assassination?"
There was righteous fury in Arthur's eyes, it was something Mordred hadn't seen in a good while, even during their battle together at Camlann. It was enough to tell her that her father was truly angry at the boy who had been speaking with them up until now.
"Like I said earlier, people fear change. " Shirou began. "My plan requires taking a heavy risk, but should I succeed, then the method would be more than acceptable. Imagined that the grail knew of what I intended, and summoned Ruler to intervene. As such, she needed to be taken care of."
"I see." Arthur nodded in response. "Now with that out of the way..."
*SLASH*
Shirou quickly leaped out of the way as Arthur closed the distance between the two of them and swung his sword. Such an act caused everyone else to ready themselves.
"Oh my, it seems that you're much quicker to anger since our last encounter King of Knights." The former said as he smiled at said person.
"When my Master's life is threatened, I'll immediately take action." The blonde stated.
"Really? Because I recall your last Master begged to differ."
Arthur froze up at this, catching the other two's attention, before snapping out of it as his glare hardened.
"Wait, what does he mean by that?" Jeanne asked, noticing the disturbed look on her friend's face.
"It's nothing... I'll explain everything later." Arthur replied, with the young saint noticing the somewhat strained tone the white knight was speaking in.
"Now I wouldn't really call it nothing." Shirou stated as he began smirking. "After all, you did betray that girl and kill her yourself."
Wait... what?!
At that moment, Jeanne stared at Arthur in shock. Was it really true? She saw the look on his face, an expression that was between anger and regret, and that was all that was needed for the young saint to confirm that what Shirou had just said was indeed the truth.
Arthur had betrayed his previous Master? Then that meant he lied to her back then?
Mordred could herself hardly believe it either. Perhaps she wasn't one to speak, but just what in the world could have driven her father to perform such an act?
"Indeed, it's true that I betrayed my previous Master..." He confirmed, closing his eyes. "...and in doing so, I have shamed myself as a Knight. But,"
Arthur's eyes snapped open once more, this time filled with a steely gaze within them.
"If it mean protecting this world from the abomination that slept within the Holy Grail, then I'll gladly do it again! Once this body of mine expires, let whatever gods and higher beings judge my soul afterwards."
"Wait, abomination...?"
Jeanne muttered the phrase to herself. Just what in the world was Arthur talking about now?
"Hahaha... I suppose we should leave it at this for now." Shirou stated as he turned to Julian. "Are we ready?"
"I was waiting for you to stop your incessant babbling." The black-haired youth replied in disdainful tone. "You shouldn't waste time on fools who are unable to comprehend what we're trying to do here. It's an exercise in futility."
"Perhaps, but it doesn't hurt to try now does it?" The white-haired priest stated in response. "And you didn't exactly answer my question."
"I'm not finished yet, that bastard Darnic has placed quite a number of security measures here. I'm only half-way through at the moment, and they're getting harder and harder with each seal I break. We won't be going anywhere until then."
"I see. Very well, I'll handle these three together with Assassin."
"Tch, you think you can take us on?!"
Mordred leaped into the fray, Clarent at the ready.
*CLANG*
Her attack was quickly intercepted by two of Assassin's personas, one of whom was a bald male and the other a female with long dark violet hair verging on blue. Both wielded weapons much different from the other personas they had encountered thus far, said weapons looking somewhat more intricate and sturdy than the dirks common to the Assassin-Class.
"...!"
A third came swinging a weapon at Mordred's head, forcing the red knight to leap back to her father's side. As soon as she did, the group noticed that the other Assassins in the room suddenly began manifesting the same type of weapons as their two brethren currently wielded.
Stepping forward, a katana appeared in Shirou's right hand while three blades were squeezed in between the fingers of his left.
"Come then King of Knights, Ruler, Saber of Red." He stated with a smile. "Let us pass the time together shall we?"
Narrowing her eyes, Jeanne realized that fighting was the only way out now. As such, she cried out.
"Arthur, Mordred, on me!"
"Finally..."
After having made sure that there no security measures that could stop him, one of the Assassin personas stepped into the workshop of the Caster and Roche.
Behind a wall, a passage opened up to reveal an addition section of the area. In it where several large glass pods, each of which revealed to contain a homunculus within. All except one that is, as said subject was asleep upon the operation table within the middle of the room.
His task right had been to eliminate them all, as doing so would've cut the power of the Black Faction Servants in half.
Assassin found it to be an ingenious tactic, using several homunculi as living batteries for the Servants so that their Masters could operate at full power. That said, it was also a crutch, one that he and his allies would now exploit. With Caster too busy dealing with his brethren, now was his chance to make a move.
Taking out his dagger, the Servant of the Shadows decided to begin with his task, starting with the one in the middle of the room.
"...!"
Just as he was about to plunge the dagger deep into his chest, a hand grabbed his own as he stared deeply into blood-red eyes glaring at him as mana suddenly began to coalesce from within Sieg's body.
"My life is not yours to take...!"
Sieg opened his mouth and roared.
"That looks like the last of them...!"
Somewhere within the castle, both Gordes and Celenike stood together amidst the remains of a bunch of dragon-tooth warriors. Accompanying the two were a bunch of homunculi armed with weapons and a few golems.
"Celenike, do you know how Rider is doing right now?" The former asked.
"Fine all things considered. He's engaging one of the enemy's Archer-Class Servants." The gray-haired woman replied as he dusted herself. Once this battle was over, she'd need to get something to drink. And perhaps get one of her homunculi servants to entertain her...
Seeing that there weren't any enemies left
"Come, we should-"
"Master watch out!"
A homunculus quickly leaped right in front of Gordes as a dagger struck her in the head, instantly killing her. The two magi quickly went on alert as they recognized the tool responsible to be a dirk, Assassin of Black's weapon of choice.
"Call Saber here quick!"
Gordes didn't need to be told that twice as he called out to his Servant and Celenike to Rider.
Leaping back after another clash of their two weapons, Siegfried eyed his opponent carefully.
Rider was very much a skilled fighter. So far they were in a stalemate, but that could change with but a single moment, and that would be all that would be needed to determine the victor between the two. He contemplated using Balmung, but he needed to make sure that Rider didn't had anything that could be used as a counterattack.
Before he could think on the matter any longer, the Servant of the Sword felt a pulsing sensation from within himself.
"T-This is...!"
As much as he wanted to take care of Rider first, his Master was in danger. Quickly, the Servant of the Sword disappeared in a flash.
"Hmm... I'll admit, that's rather disappointing."
Deciding to sit down, Perseus removed his mask as he sighed to himself.
Well, his job was to merely help stall their enemies until their leader and that boy Julian finished up with what they were doing down below. Saber disappearing meant that either they were finished and had moved on to phase two, or that they were found out and being engaged by the enemy.
Perseus wondered if he should go and check. He wasn't really fond of the others in the Rogue Faction, perhaps with the exception of Lancer and the Chaste Huntress. And so far, he hadn't received any orders yet. As such, he might as well sit and enjoy the view for now.
Up above, the battle in the skies continued to rage on between Archer of Red and Berserker. Aside from those two, the fortress was busy being assaulted by the combined might of the King of Conquerors, Rider of Black, and Berserker of Black, with his two allies Atalanta and Robin Hood keeping them at bay with a barrage of arrows.
"I wonder, what would you think of this... Master?"
His eyes wondered, having decided to observe the other battle going on in the skies...
Flying at speeds impossible for normal humans to keep up with on a visual basis, Gilgamesh and Lancelot continued their duel as the former chased the latter throughout the night sky.
After more than a few clashes, the latter's jet was slowly beginning to break down. Seeing this, the former merely clicked his tongue.
"Hmph, as expected."
Whatever ability the Black Knight had, it allowed him to utilize anything as a weapon. It was the main reason why he was able to take hold of the weapons shot out from the treasury of the Golden King.
However, they had one weakness. In utilizing an object as a weapon, the Black Knight's ability also increases the capabilities of the whatever he wielded. But in doing so, it resulted in the weapon becoming more fragile as well since some things were not meant to be pushed beyond a certain threshold. Of course, his treasures were able to withstand the strain.
But as for the contraption that Berserker was flying? A vehicle made for aerial combat or not, it was starting to reach it's limit.
For Gilgamesh, this was rather disappointing. He had wanted their battle to last a little bit longer as Berserker had proven himself, being more than just a mere mongrel who attempted to steal his treasures and use them against him. Alas, it could not happen.
"Perhaps it is time to finish this." The Golden King stated as he uncrossed his arms. "Hmm?"
He saw the jet suddenly going faster, enough to put a significant distance between the two Servants. Not long afterwards did the Harrier made a full on one-eighty degree turn, resulting in Berserker being put on path face-to-face with the Golden King.
"Hahaha! I see, head on. Very well!"
Increasing speed, Gilgamesh charged as ten portals of light appeared beside Vimana.
As soon the distance between the two reached an appropriate measure, Berserker unleashed one final salvo of missiles aimed towards his opponent.
"As if such tactics would work against me!"
Explosions rang out as his treasures intercepted the missiles. Smirking, he knew that it was the last batch Berserker had before he ran out of ammunition. The only thing he had left now were the guns attached onto the plane itself, and he could easily counter said armaments.
Such were his thoughts however...
What he hadn't realized was that Berserker's plane had one last armament he could use aside from the guns. Though his thoughts were clouded with rage and insanity, he retained his martial prowess and some sense of tactics.
Taking care to not slip, the Servant of Madness leaned over into the cockpit, smashing it open to reveal a missile launcher. Having been placed there by Shirou in the event that the Black Knight would need it. Taking it out, he readied it as soon the missiles he launched made contact with Archer of Red's weapons.
"What...!?"
As soon as the smoke cleared, and the distance between the two now far closer, Gilgamesh saw the weapon in Berserker's hands.
"RAAAAAAGH!"
Before he had time to react, Berserker fired the missile.
*BOOM*
Making contact, Vimana was engulfed in smoke and flames just as Berserker was about fly by it.
"NOT YET!"
Suddenly, the roar of an engine echoed throughout the sky as Gilgamesh emerged from the flames riding a golden motorcycle. Had he been sane, Berserker would have been incredibly taken aback by it.
*BAM*
"...!"
The front wheel made contact with the Berserker's helmeted head, causing the Black Knight to be sent flying thanks to the sheer force of the impact. The Harrier that he flew lost its blackened aura and soon began to disintegrate as it and the Golden King began to fall out from the sky.
Using his wit, Gilgamesh summoned a rather lengthy chain, using it to form a makeshift net sustained by the Gate of Babylon beneath him as he fell upon it.
"Heh, you have once again served me well, my friend."
He muttered to himself, looking back towards the Black Faction castle as he did. Thanks to the battle with Berserker he was currently a fair distance away from the main battle itself. He could sense the out pour of mana emanating from it, the battle was still going strong it seemed.
"Well then, time to see what the rest of the rabble are all up to."
A road of chains soon formed, the Golden King riding it down as he drove back towards the castle.
"You annoying little pigs!"
Elizabeth zipped past enemy forces as she continued to strike down any came within range. By now, she was starting to get tired at dealing with so many, especially with Rider having been summoned back by his hag of a Master. She and Rider of Red would need to do something soon, and fast.
"...!"
A thought popped up in her mind. Of course! She could always do that!
"Alright then~! It's time for the star to take front and center~!"
Spinning her weapon above her head, a magic circle suddenly appeared beneath the Servant of Madness as she landed neatly on it, to which the pinkette now stood on thin air.
"Hmm? What's this...?"
At that moment, Iskander felt a strange sensation going through his body. He scanned the area, and quickly saw what Berserker of Black was doing.
"I see, so she's planning on utilizing her Noble Phantasm."
Curious to see what would happen, the King of Conquerors decided to pull back for now as to not get in the way of what Berserker was about to unleash.
Elizabeth smiled as she saw this. Now she had the stage all to herself.
Smashing the spear blade into the center of the circle, a pulse rang out as suddenly the pieces of what appeared to be a castle rose from the red light being emitted by the magic circle the Servant of Madness stood on. On closer inspection, one would notice that they had what appeared to be built-in loudspeakers...
"I won't let you!"
Taking point, Atalanta aimed bow directly at the Servant of Madness, mana beginning to surge within the Chaste Huntress as she held two arrows at bay. If Berserker was about to use her Noble Phantasm, then it was only appropriate that the she would return to favor as well.
"Pay attention now~!"
Taking a deep breath, mana began to surge from the dragon-blooded child. On instinct, the remaining enemy forces in the sky all flew towards her.
"PHOEBUS CATASTROPHE!"
The Chaste Huntress released both arrows in her hand And with that, a sudden hail of arrows appeared from the sky in a downpour directly aimed at the Servant of Madness.
"BATHORY ERZSEBET~!"
Unleashing a bellow akin to a dragon's roar, the sonic attack completely blew away and destroyed all opponents within its range. It was an attack that completely outclassed the multitude of warriors that filled the skies.
The sonic blast also knocked away the hail of arrows aimed at the pink-haired Servant, and continued to make its way directly towards the fortress.
"...!?"
Atalanta quickly hid behind a pillar and covered her ears as the attack surged throughout the complex. For someone like her, whose hearing was more enhanced compared to a human being, it would've proven quite deadly even at the distance they were at.
"Hahaha! Now that girl has one powerful set of lungs!" The King of Conquerors grinned at the pink-haired Servant as he came up beside her. "Berserker, would you care to join my army once this is all over? Someone like you would be a welcome addition!"
"Can I hold a concert every now and then~?" The girl asked.
"Of course!" The red-haired man replied.
"Hmm~" Elizabeth crossed her arms. "I'll think about it for now."
Looking back towards the fortress, the two noticed that they now had a path open towards it. Berserker's attack had eliminated what was left of their aerial forces, but it didn't seem to affect the building itself.
"Should we go in?"
"As much as I would like to, we don't know yet the full capabilities of our enemy." Iskander replied. "Perhaps if our friend the paladin hadn't left us, we could, but I still don't like our chances. At least not until we have more of our allies with us."
He once again contemplated using his Noble Phantasm here, but decided against it. While his army could certainly help deal with individual soldiers and the like, they were still going up against someone who had control over a flying fortress of all things.
As the two Servants floated in the sky, several dozen spheres of light began to manifest around the fortress.
"Ah, it looks like that thing is about to attack again."
"Oh? Then I suppose we should get out of the way now."
Feeling a strange sensation overriding his thoughts, Caules realized that Berserker had just used her Noble Phantasm.
Looking up, he saw it. Much like Berserker herself, it was an absurd construct. Just what kind of castle included built-in loudspeakers in the walls?!
"Well, maybe hers..." He chuckled to himself.
Soon enough, thanks to the Servant of Madness' attack, the enemy numbers began to dwindle in the sky. And as for their ground forces, things were about to wrap us well. That said, it was as though the Rogue Faction decided to pull some of them back.
Seeing this, Waver couldn't help but think that something wrong was going on. That said, he didn't have much time to dwell as he someone called out to him.
"What do we do now?"
Kairi came up as he reloaded his guns together with Fiore, Gray, and the others.
"I'm going to check on both Gordes and Celenike." Waver replied before he began issuing commands. "Shishigou, you're with me. The rest of you, stick together and don't do anything rash. Lancer, you can take care of them can't you?"
"Hey, don't be insulting me."
Saying that, Lancer casually approached the group as he destroyed another warrior with a smirk on his face.
"I can't be much of a Heroic Spirit if I can't even do something as simple as that." He said. "Just leave the kids to me."
Honestly, Lancer would have preferred taking on any of the Rogue Servants. But when it came down to it, he was Ayaka's Servant. As such, his first order of business was to make sure that she was safe at all times. Adding a few more to the list didn't really bother him all that much.
Said statement also got a mild reaction out of said kids, most especially Reines as the youngest one in the group.
"Heh, I'm counting on you Lancer."
"Hey kid!"
Hearing the mercenary calling out to him, Caules looked up in surprise when he saw a handgun suddenly being thrown right at him. The young man panicked as he tried to get a proper grasp of it, sighing in relief once he did so. Afterwards, he began glaring at the older man.
"Watch it will you!? A gun can go off if you throw it like that!"
"Hah!" Kairi merely laughed. "Anyway, keep that on you. Right now, you're the only one without something to defend yourself with right?"
Caules wanted to rebuke that statement, but he knew it was true.
Looking down on the gun, Caules saw that it was a Beretta M9, slightly modified from its original appearance. He immediately knew its name because he saw it once in a gun magazine he decided to buy on a whim one time. The benefits of being a modernized citizen of the world.
"Be sure to aim carefully when you're about to shoot. The thing packs a bigger punch than normal guns thanks to a few upgrades I made to it."
"R-Right." Caules nodded in response. This was the first time he held a gun in his hands. It had a certain weight on it that he couldn't really describe.
"Let's not delay any longer." Waver stated.
"Lead the way." Kairi responded.
And with that, the two adults quickly left the area.
*THWACK*
Taking care not to miss, Chiron continued to shoot down the remaining dragon-tooth warriors that flew right above the castle.
Gritting his teeth, he held his right arm for a moment.
"An injured arm? I suppose that would make things easier then."
Turning around in a split second, the Servant of the Bow released another arrow aimed at the source of the voice.
Said voice belonged to none other than the Rogue Rider, the masked Servant slightly adjusting his head as the arrow flew past it. Accompanying him were over twenty Assassin personas, each wielding a weapon that didn't look like it belonged to them as part of their standard arsenal. He was wondering to himself just when Assassin of Black would try to eliminate him, their betrayal having been revealed by Caster. After all, with his injury, there was a higher chance of them succeeding.
As for the former, there was strange sense of familiarity present when Chiron first laid his eyes upon the masked Servant during his arrival on the scene earlier, but he wasn't able to make a deal out of it.
"The wise and great teacher Chiron." He began. "As unfortunate as it is, I have been ordered to eliminate you."
"Yet clearly you decided to show yourself first instead of striking with my back turned." The bowman replied. "Is it honor or pride that drove you to that? And judging from the way you speak to me, you're not just someone who has heard of my name, but rather you know me."
Indeed, there was a sense of formality when Rider spoke to the green-haired archer. It wasn't just him being courteous, but something else entirely. That much Chiron could tell.
"Perceptive... I expected as much from you."
Placing a hand on his mask, he removed it together with his black cloak, revealing himself to Chiron who blinked in surprise and shock.
"It's been too long, my old master."
"You are... Perseus." He said as the said person merely smiled.
How long had it been since he laid his eyes upon the eyes of the youth, whose own sense of brashness eventually resulted in him venturing to the island of the gorgons to prove himself despite his training being incomplete at the time? And despite those flaws, eventually overcame the gorgon and became a great hero?
As expected, he looked older than when he last saw him. He noted that Perseus' voice sounded strange earlier, and Chiron attributed that to the mask his pupil had worn. After removing it, he returned to sounding like the young man he had taught millenia ago.
However, when Chiron gazed into his former pupil's eyes once more, he no longer saw the eyes of the heroic youth, but a haunted soul who was but a shell of his former self. Just what in the world had happened to him?
"Perseus, just what in the world...?"
The green-haired archer began but was cut off when Perseus raised a hand.
"Let's not make this more difficult than it already is." He replied, raising Harpe. "I am here to kill you. Nothing more, nothing less."
Pausing for a moment, Chiron merely shook his head. Smiling as he readied himself for the coming conflict.
"You've grown haven't you?"
He said in reply, not expecting an answer. Indeed, there wasn't any point in asking his former student about anything else. Right now, the two were simply warriors, Servants, who were fighting for the ultimate prize. Still, Chiron couldn't help but admit that it made him feel a bit lonely...
"Very well then. Come Perseus, I'll take you and your companions on at the same time."
Having moved the site of their battle away from the castle, two heroes found themselves fighting in the nearby forest.
"Hahaha! Is that the best you got?!"
"...!"
*CLANG*
Parrying the incoming strike with his shield, Karna's spear merely bounced off from it as Achilles quickly went on the offensive once more.
Five straight thrusts, all aimed at his vital spots. The armor given to Karna by his father protected him with ease from Lancer of Red's spear. As far as he could tell, it was a weapon that held no special attributes other being a finely crafted one. A reliable weapon for a great warrior such as the man he was currently fighting.
*CLANG* *CLANG*
Two strikes, one parried by Achilles' spear and the other once again with his shield.
Karna quickly found himself evenly matched with his current opponent. Through the combination of both the latter's shield and sheer speed alone, most of Karna's attacks were being parried by the warrior. Karna had seen the shield being used in tandem together with Ruler's own Noble Phantasm earlier. Whatever it was, it was quite strong as even with one of his stronger attacks,
Charging forward with a burst of flames, Karna swung his spear downwards as Achilles dodged to the side, the attack swiftly creating a small crater. Not done yet, the white-haired Servant swung it once more to the side, his foe quickly spun around in a leap before it hit him.
*BAM*
As soon as he landed, Achilles found a golden armored foot smacking him right in the face. An action that resulted in the Hero of Troy being sent crashing through a few trees. Looking closely, he saw the warrior on the ground hunched over. It was only for a moment however as Achilles quickly rose his head with a large grin on his face.
Standing up, his spear de-materialized as he took hold of his shield before throwing it right at the white-haired Servant.
Seeing the incoming projectile, Karna prepared himself to intercept but was taken aback when it suddenly disappeared...
...Just as its owner closed the distance between the two.
Reacting as he fast as he could, Karna shifted his spear forward for a stab, missing by a few inches as the Hero of Troy grabbed his spear by the handle.
"Let's have a chat shall we?"
Pulling him close, Achilles clenched his fist and sent a right hook landing clean on Karna's face. Unfazed by this, the Invincible Hero returned the favor. Both then began to trade to blows with one another, at speeds that could be described as only be described as lightning fast.
"Haha! Real heroes should talk with their fists!"
"Is that so? Then I suppose we can also kill with a stare."
Before he could even ask what that meant, Achilles felt a strong surge of mana gathering. He quickly realized that his opponent was about to utilize his Noble Phantasm.
Karna's right began eyes glowing brightly, turning his attention completely onto his foe. At this range, there was only a minimal chance of him missing.
"Ah shit-!"
"BRAHMASTRA!"
"Hehe~!"
Watching the huge explosion occur on the side of the mountain, Manaka smiled as she sat atop one of the buildings of the castle, wondering to herself as to what would have caused such a beautiful scene.
Currently, the young blonde decided to take a break from trying to find Saber as she found the current battle a bit too interesting to miss. After all, even if she did take a break, it didn't mean she would miss her chance of finding her Prince didn't it?
Looking down, she observed that battle that was happening right now. She passed by it earlier when she first entered the premises, but found herself a bit distracted with everything that was going on to care. It was obvious to her that Lancer was going to win the fight, he just had that many advantages over Berserker.
That said, her interest was once again piqued when she saw Lancer's Master arrive in order to support him.
She then quickly realized that he was someone she had met a long time ago. And just like her, he hadn't aged at all for the past sixty years. She actually found it a little creepy that he would look so young despite being human.
Of course, in Manaka's view, she was an exception to this since she was a girl.
"Hmm~" Her smile suddenly began to widen. "Perhaps I should say hello~?"
"Rrrrngh...!"
Trapped in place by a dozen spears and stakes impaling him, Berserker of Red growled at Lancer of Black who casually walked right in front of him.
The courtyard was now in complete disarray, scorch marks, remnants of broken spears, and craters filling it. That said, Vlad himself was only midly scratched up from their battle with one another. The Berserker-Class truly were ferocious heroes.
"You are truly a magnificent warrior Berserker." He praised the Servant of Madness with a smile. "It's quite a shame that you've been driven to such a state. If not, then perhaps the two of us could have had a more exciting battle. One befitting our status as a heroes of a bygone era."
Summoning his own personal lance, Vlad stood right in front of Berserker.
"Perhaps another time then."
Thrusting his spear forward, he impaled the Servant of Madness right through his heart. And with said act, he also destroyed the class-card serving as Berserker's spiritual core.
Soon afterwards, the mad Servant began to dissipate back into nothingness. Raising his head, his sanity returned, the red-haired warrior spoke for both the first and last time.
"I am Lu Bu... Remember my name, Lancer."
This wasn't really a bad end. Although he lost, he had quite an entertaining time. The last time he had felt such fun was when he had fought against the three sworn brothers, but he had to cut that short due to circumstances. This time though, it didn't. And though his pride would've normally gone against it, dying at Lancer's hands didn't really trouble him in the slightest. In the end, a warrior's death was the highest honor that someone like him could receive, and Lancer gave it to him.
With that, one of the mightiest warriors of China disappeared from the world, a satisfied grin on his face. The only thing remained were the pieces of the class-card Vlad had destroyed.
Having watched the entire scene from the sidelines, Darnic stepped forward and called out to Lancer.
"Is everything well?"
"Yes, though I find myself needing to take a moment." Vlad admitted. "I take it you're disappointed at the fact that I destroyed that card of his?"
"Somewhat." Darnic admitted as he crossed his arms. "We could've taken his card and studied it, used it for our own purposes... But I suppose it couldn't be helped, at least not with Rogue Faction still running amok."
"Indeed, we cannot risk it yet." Vlad replied with a nod. It was the reason he decided to go right ahead and destroy the card after all. "Now then, with our task done here. Let's go and support Ruler. So far the Grail is still there correct?"
"Yes, having Caster create those seals on it have truly benefited us." Darnic replied. "If not, I believe that the grail would have already been taken by now."
"Oh? You're leaving already~?"
Just as the two were about to leave the area, the voice called out to the two.
Turning around, both saw a young blonde-haired girl, most likely around her early teens, walking up to them with a smile on her face. The most unusual fact about her was that she wore a bloodstained blue-dress opened up slightly to reveal what appeared to be...
"A Command Spell...?" Vlad wondered aloud. What was strange about the Command Spell on the girl's chest was that it was black in color. As far as he knew, Command Spells were always red in color. That's what the grail provided him with, and so far each master in the grail war did indeed share the same color.
Add to the rather serene smile that the girl had, there was something about her that made Vlad wary, but he couldn't tell why...
Looking towards his Master, the Servant of Spear could only gaze at him in surprise as he saw his Darnic's expression.
"Impossible...! You're...!"
The blue-haired man could only widen his eyes in shock. But that was impossible! How could she be here?! Last he had known, she had died towards the end of the Holy Grail War sixty years ago. He did some investigation some time after said war, and her sister was confirmed to be an orphan and last remaining member of their family after the conflict. Did he miss something!?
"It's been a while hasn't it?" The girl greeted. "You're looking well. Say, you wouldn't happen to know where Saber is do you~?"
"Saber?" Vlad muttered in confusion. Just who was she referring to? He highly suspected that it was the King of Knights that the girl was talking about though...
"Hmm~ Judging from your expression, I say you do know." The young blonde stated as her smile widened. "You don't mind telling me where he is right~?"
"Lancer!" Darnic quickly called out as he raised his hand. "By the power of my Command Spell, I order you to eliminate this girl at once!"
"What?!"
That was all Vlad could say as his body began to move on its own, the power of the Command Spell overriding his sense of self-control as he summoned his weapon.
Stabbing his spear into the ground, thousands of stakes rose from it as they all aimed themselves right at the young girl, who was quickly enveloped within a pyramid of them. Seeing this, Darnic relaxed himself. Even she couldn't have survived that in one piece.
"Are you out of your mind?!" Vlad demanded as he glared in anger at his Master. "You would dare waste a Command Spell for such a-!"
"No, trust me when I say this." Darnic began in reply. "That girl... she isn't someone that can be allowed to live. She's just too dangerous."
"Well that's a bit mean~ I haven't even done anything yet."
Both men quickly went on the alert as they heard the voice of the girl call out from within the pyramid of spears and stakes.
Within the next few moments, it was quickly destroyed, revealing the young blonde smiling at them.
Behind her stood a large behemoth of a man. Dark skin and wild barbarian hair, a muscular entity that would have put to shame the most physically fit man in the current world. He wore little armor, mostly on his waist, wrists, and legs. His torso and right arm wrapped in slightly in chain, with a lion's head accessory on the former, and red markings on his body. In addition, the black giant wielded a large golden axe of simple yet intricate design.
"Berserker...?!"
Vlad was in shock, albeit for different reasons. Just who in the world was this girl?! For her to command a Servant, whose presence and appearance alone told him that he was a very powerful warrior and under the Berserker-Class no less... it should've been impossible! Wait, could it be that she was part of the Rogue Faction?! That was the first thing that quickly came to mind.
On the other hand, Darnic himself was in shock for another reason entirely...
"He was your Servant from before right?" The girl asked, revealing a rather surprising piece of information for the Servant of the Spear. "Maybe the two of you should have a little reunion?"
Turning around to look at the giant, Manaka continued to smile as she called out to him.
"Go ahead Berserker, you can go play with your old Master for a while~!"
"▂▂▃▃▄▄▅▅!"
Letting out a mighty roar, Berserker charged.
"What was that...?"
Still remaining within the gardens after Waver and Kairi left them, Caules muttered to himself in wonder as to what could possibly create such a disturbing noise.
"I don't know, but I have a bad feeling." Fiore said as she closed her eyes for a good few moments before snapping them open once more. "Caules, you stay right here with the rest, I'm going to go find Archer. I'm worried about him."
"You sure that's a good idea? I mean with everything that's going on..."
"I'll be fine, I know my around the castle after all." Fiore smiled at her younger brother, finding it sweet that he was worried about her. "I'll be careful, and I feel Archer close by anyway, so I shouldn't run into too much trouble."
"How about we all just go together?" Lancer suggested, walking towards the sibling duo. "Besides, it's better than just standing here doing nothing."
"Is it alright with the rest of you?"
"I have no complaints." Reines replied, as did Ayaka and Gray. There no point in asking Caules as he was going with her no matter what, Fiore knew him well enough that he would do such a thing with or without her permission.
"Very well, let's go together.
*CLANG*
Their swords clashing against each other, the two Rulers stared each other down when suddenly an overwhelming sensation clouded both their senses. Both momentarily halted their battle as they raised their heads, wondering to themselves as to what it was they were feeling.
"T-This is...!"
"But it couldn't be...!"
Rather, they already knew it. It was more of a matter of questioning how it was possible. If not for the surprised look on Shirou's face as well, Jeanne would have assumed that it was the doing of his group, but clearly it wasn't the case.
They weren't the only ones, Arthur, Mordred, and the Assassins stopped what they were doing as well as they too felt the overwhelming sensation. The former in particular looked felt that said sensation he was feeling was actually familiar to him.
'It can't be...?'
"Kotomine!"
Julian suddenly called out, catching everyone's attention. In front of him, the greater grail suddenly began glowing brightly.
"We're done here, ready your Servant for the package!"
Shirou nodded as he called out to Assassin of Red.
"...!?"
Semiramis felt a shiver go down her spine. Something had just happened down below at the castle, and she intended to find out what.
"What has happened O Queen of Assyria?"
Entering the room, Caster of Red appeared together with one other individual. A young red-haired girl, wearing clothes akin to the gothic-lolita fashion.
"Don't bother me, I don't have time for your nonsense." The raven-haired beauty curtly replied. Caster alone was a headache to deal with, especially when he began to rave on about his stories. But add the girl as well...
"Hey lady, mind telling me where your Master is?" The girl wearing the gothic-lolita dress demanded before she suddenly began smirking. "Don't tell me he finally decided to run away with his tail between his legs? What a lame guy he is~ I knew Lord Julian was mistaken in deciding to work that bastard."
"You do realize that by saying he was mistaken, you're indirectly calling your Lord Julian a fool as well."
"Wha-?!" The Assyrian Queen smiled in delight as she saw the girl's panicked expression.
"That's enough Beatrice."
A voice called out, and entering the room was a young woman with blonde hair and a rather curvaceous figure dressed in a white blouse and long skirt. Her hair had been done up in long twin tails. She had a serious expression on her face, showing that she was a no nonsense person.
"Angelica..." Beatrice muttered as she frowned at her.
"Lord Amakusa has taken it upon himself to aid our Lord as they extract the grail together. Insulting him as you do serves no purpose other than to make you look like a fool." Angelica revealed and then reprimanded the girl.
"Yeah, yeah..." The latter merely turned away in a huff and clicking her tongue.
Sighing at this, Angelica turned to face Semiramis.
"Back to the matter at hand," She began. "Did something happen?"
"I was about to check when you lot interrupted me." The raven-haired beauty replied as she began to gaze into her crystal ball, looking for answers for the strange feeling she had just received.
Her eyes quickly widened in shock as she what it was.
"There's a new Servant...!"
Said statement quickly got a reaction out of the others in the room, most especially Caster of Red who began to smile.
"Hmm~? What is this? A new character has taken to the stage?" Shakespeare said in delight. "Perhaps I should go out and observe this newcomer~!"
"Now that I think about it, just what the hell are you still doing here in the first place?! Aren't you a man?! Go down there and help the others!" Beatrice suddenly began to shout at the Servant of Magic, who merely laughed it off as he replied.
"Haha! I'm afraid that's not possible. For you see, I have no combat capability whatsoever! I'd be terribly useless if I were to enter the battle as I am now." He said, a jovial grin on his face. "Not surprising considering that I am a writer of course. My battlefield is the literary world!"
'So he admits to being useless...' The three women simultaneously thought.
At that moment, Semiramis felt her master calling out to her via telepathy.
"We're finished here Assassin, get ready to position the gardens directly above us!"
"But of course~"
The Assyrian Queen replied as she began smiling and looked towards the others in the room.
"Ready yourselves, those two boys are now finished." She said. "I'll call for the others to retreat. Considering that the newest addition to this battle is doing battle against Lancer of Black, we can leave the rest to their group."
Angelica and Beatrice nodded and left, while Shakespeare merely sighed in disappointment.
"Tis a shame we have to leave so soon. I would have liked to watch this scene to play out to its very end."
"Stop your complaining." The raven-haired beauty scolded.
"You lot aren't going anywhere until I say so!"
Swinging Clarent, Mordred easily knocked away the Assassin personas that surrounded her as she made her way towards the white-haired priest with her blade at the ready.
Seeing this, Shirou merely smirked as he intercepted her attack, using quick footwork to move around the red knight as she missed him, before using his knowledge of martial arts to push her back with two quick blows to the back using his elbow and foot.
Stumbling, Mordred gritted her teeth as she regained her footing as she spun around and swung at the young man.
Once again countering, Shirou used his katanas to intercept the red knight's attacks, their blades clashing against one another. An idea suddenly came to mind as the young man began smirking. Mordred didn't like said look and prepared herself.
"Compared to your father, you're a far easier opponent to deal with."
"Wha-!?"
That statement was enough for the Knight of Treachery to lose focus, and gave enough time for Shirou to punch her away with surprising strength, sending the red knight flying into a wall. But, just before she made impact...
"...!"
Mordred felt herself being caught by someone.
Looking behind her, she was surprised to see her father, who, after settling her down, began to glare directly at the white-haired priest, who himself began to speak after having witnessed what the white knight had just done.
"Showing fatherly affection are you?"
He got his answer in the form of Excalibur being swung at his head, an act which Shirou evaded as the white knight got into a stance.
"I'm your opponent." Arthur said, turning to look at Jeanne. "Master, I leave Assassin to you and Mordred. This is a fight I need to settle for myself."
Jeanne wanted to say something, but considering Arthur's history with Shirou, she conceded. There was the matter of what the latter had said about the former, as well as the new presence that she felt, but that could wait. Right now, they had to defend the grail.
"Mordred, can I count you?" The young saint asked as she and the other blonde stood back-to-back. More Assassins appeared within the room as they did so.
Hearing her question, the red knight merely smirked at Jeanne.
"Let's just cut the chit-chat and kill these bastards shall we?"
"▂▂▃▃▄▄▅▅!"
"Tch...!"
Summoning thousands upon thousands of spears and stakes, the Lord Impaler was currently fighting the hardest battle he had taken part in yet.
His actions were futile, as Berserker's quickly powered through the armaments as he came after the Servant of the Spear. Just one swing of his axe was enough to destroy them, and Vlad was sure that the Servant of Madness wasn't even trying and did it more as an afterthought.
Not only that, but for some reason his attacks could not penetrate Berserker's skin. Did he somehow have a defensive Noble Phantasm similar to Saber of Black? That would explain the trouble he was having right now.
"Darnic, what can you tell me about this mad beast!?"
While saying that, Vlad barely had enough time to dodge an incoming swing from Berserker's axe. For someone so large and muscular, the Servant of Madness was incredibly fast, far more so than Berserker of Red, and perhaps even above the others he had already seen in combat as well.
"Berserker..." Darnic was still in shock, still unable to believe that his former Servant was now doing battle against his current one.
Snapping out of it, he replied to Lancer's question.
"Be wary milord! For the one you face is none other than the Greek hero Heracles!" He revealed much to Vlad's shock and surprise.
"You have got to be joking!" The latter exclaimed incredulously as he countered, albeit with effort, a heavy strike from the mad Servant.
"Ahahaha~! Of course he's not joking, he was his former Master after all~" Manaka laughed like the young girl that she was. Currently, the young blonde was seated atop a large piece of debris that came from the previous battle. "Oh, and you better think of something quick. Heracles has a Noble Phantasm that makes him immune to anything below A-Rank attacks, and that's not even getting into the rest."
While saying that, Heracles' axe was trapped in place when Vlad summoned several dozen stakes to bind him temporarily. Seeing a chance, he aimed a bunch directly at the mad Servant's mouth.
"▂▂▃▃▄▄▅▅!"
Another futile effort, as the Greek Hero bit down hard and destroyed them. Afterwards, he freed himself from the binding as he sent the Servant of the Spear flying into a wall.
Standing up, Vlad held his arm as it began to ache. Even with all his bonuses, it looked like it was all for nothing when faced with the mightiest warrior in all of Greece. The son of Zeus truly was a formidable foe.
That said, Lancer could not accept his opponent for a single reason.
"As if I could lose to the so-called son of a pagan god!"
His belief in the Abrahamic God was part of what made him the man he was. Seeing Heracles, a so-called demigod, standing before him and defeating him in combat wasn't something he could accept at all. As such, failure was not an option for the Lord Impaler.
"Come Berserker! It would take more than that to kill me!"
"▂▂▃▃▄▄▅▅!"
As the two Servants once again clashed, Darnic couldn't but curse the current situation as he turned his gaze towards the girl responsible.
"Sajyou Manaka...! Just in the world do you want?! Just why are you here?!"
Hearing her name being called out, the former Master of Saber stared at the blue-haired man as she began speaking.
"What I've always wanted, to grant my darling prince's wish of course~!" The girl replied, smiling happily. "Ah, but you shouldn't worry about me. You should worry about what that thing in the sky is about to do."
Confused for a moment as to what she could have meant, Darnic's eyes snapped wide in realization when saw the flying fortress now directly above the castle itself. Until now, it had maintained a distance between its location and the castle. But now that it was above, there was only one reason he could come to as to why that was.
The seals on the grail had been broken, and the Rogue Faction was now going to secure it.
Unable to accept that outcome, and seeing no other way for Lancer to win over Berserker, Darnic raised his hand and called out.
"Lancer, by the power of my Command Spell, I order you to use your second Noble Phantasm!"
"What!?" Vlad demanded as the power of the seal began to dominate his being.
Resisting it as much as he could, the Servant of the Spear glared murderously at the head of the Yggdmillennia clan.
"Darnic you bastard! What have I told you about forcing me to use that?! Do you truly wish to suffer my wrath?! I'd sooner die at the hands of Berserker than become the abomination that my name has been associated with!"
"I'm afraid I no longer care for you opinion." Darnic replied unfazed by the former's threats. "If I must, I'll force you too!"
"Damn you!"
"Ah, I'm afraid we can't have that."
Without warning, Manaka appeared right in front of Darnic as she placed her hand over the arm where his Command Spell was located at. He froze up as the girl smiled sweetly at him, continuing to speak as she did so.
"Really now, having an argument like this when your enemy is right in front of you~?"
Heracles stood behind the young blonde, his red and gold eyes gleaming under the night sky.
Fiore decided to go on ahead of the others once she felt Archer's presence more clearly. She soon reached the area where she knew him to be, atop one of the many towers of the castle. Thanks to her mystic code, she easily climbed up the side of the building with ease, making for quick travel.
She could feel the presence of another Servant there, and she knew that it wasn't one of their own. As such, she needed to ready herself.
"Archer...!"
As soon she reached at the top, Fiore called out to her Servant...
"Hehe...!"
...Only for her to widen her eyes in horror.
There on his knees was Archer, the green-haired warrior impaled by a number of swords and bleeding all over. Numerous bodies surrounded him, each having been one of Assassin's personas. The sight of them as they began to dissipate into the air told her enough. Archer had been surrounded, and he fought with them all.
She would've assumed that he won... if not for the other Servant standing right in front of Archer.
With one arm bleeding and broken and the other holding a strange looking spear that resembled a sickle, Perseus stood over his former teacher with an emotionless expression on his face... a stark contrast to the smile that Chiron directing at him.
"You've truly grown, Perseus..."
"I have you to thank for that, my great teacher..."
With that, Perseus pulled back Harpe, severing his former teacher's head.
*CLANG*
Evenly matched in their swordplay, both Arthur and Shirou leaped back from each other as they found themselves in a stalemate.
Both waited for the other to make a move, eyeing their respective body movements carefully.
For Arthur, fighting against an opponent using a light blade such as a katana, two of them in fact, was more difficult compared to other opponents he had to face. Thanks to the build of the weapon, his foe could move and strike faster than he could.
For Shirou, he noted that the King of Knight was as difficult an opponent as ever. And pitting a pair of katanas against a broadsword such as Excalibur really wasn't the best idea thought up as the two blades, despite their short usage, already began to wear down after continually clashing with the legendary holy sword.
As for Jeanne and Mordred, the two had just finished cutting down the rest of the Assassin personas. Only three or so were left within the room, including the bald male and the violet haired female. Those two in particular were more skilled compared to their counterparts.
"Tch, useless bunch...!" Julian clicked his tongue in distaste.
At that moment, an explosion occurred at the ceiling right above the greater grail. As the smoke cleared, a large hole leading to the outside had been created. The first thing Jeanne saw above had been the flying fortress belonging to the Rogue Faction.
"Ah, it looks as though our ride is here." Shirou suddenly smiled at the trio. "As much I enjoyed our meeting, I'm afraid I have to cut it short."
"Do you really think we would allow you people to get away?" Arthur stated as he readied Excalibur.
"Perhaps not, but-"
"▂▂▃▃▄▄▅▅!"
Hearing an inhuman roar coming from above them, those within the room looked up to see a person being thrown into the chamber through the hole. Said person was revealed to be none other than...
"Darnic...!?"
Julian stared incredulously at the mangled form of the head of the Yggdmillennia clan. Bloodied and bruised, life no longer filled his body. Although they were now enemies, he couldn't help but be shocked at his former ally's appearance. What had happened to him...!?
His answer came in the form of a huge black giant suddenly jumping into the hole, forming a small crater on the floor as he landed. Both Arthur and Shirou widened their eyes in shock as they realized who the newcomer was, for they both had fought against the black giant in the past before.
"Ehehehe~!"
The chilling laughter of a young girl could suddenly be heard throughout the area, one that caused Arthur to freeze up as the voice behind the laughter was one very familiar to him, belonging to a person he won't soon forget about.
"Humans are so fragile... maybe that's why we're so prone to being emotional. Or maybe not~?"
Turning around, the Arthur saw the girl once more... the very same girl he had sworn to protect all those years ago. There was no mistaking this time, it really was...
"Manaka."
There, the girl stood at the entrance to the room. Her hands behind her back and an angelic smile on her face. And as soon she laid her eyes upon her the white knight, her smile widened even more. Much like she had imagined, he hadn't changed at all thanks to being a Servant. He was as handsome as ever!
"Wait, what...?"
Hearing Arthur speak up and seeing the stunned expression that he had, Jeanne allowed her gaze to fall upon the girl known as Manaka.
So she was Arthur's former Master? She looked to be rather young, perhaps around the same age as Caster of Black's Maser, not at all like the elderly person that she should have appeared as that the young man said she would've been had she lived longer.
He had chosen to betray that girl...?
As for the girl in question herself, Manaka was unable to contain herself any longer as she called out to the white knight.
"It's been a long time... hasn't it Saber~?"
END
Author's Note:
And so ends CH14. You know, I feel that this chapter is weak compared to the last one, especially since I had to cut back on other fight scenes since I felt that including them didn't really do favors for the flow of the chapter anymore than when they were originally there. For anyone disappointed by this, I apologize.
Anyway, onto the chapter itself.
Atalanta's NP vs Elizabeth's NP. I actually cannot see the former winning out over the latter despite the higher rank. Elizabeth's NP is basically a sonic roar while the former's NP is an arrow barrage. I cannot see it beating a sonic roar, so it resulted in that. The thing with Brahmastra being shot from Karna's right eye is something that I actually took from Fate/Extra CCC where he does the exact same thing. Vlad being unable pierce through Berserker's God Hand is because his NP actually tanks out as B-Rank.
Speaking of which, Heracles appears XD From the very start, I've been planning on adding him into the mix as one of Manaka's six Servants. I mean, while I like Jekyll/Hyde just fine, I really wanted to add the former into the mix. Speaking of which, Paracelsus was also replaced by another Servant from the franchise. No one from FGO, but someone who already made their debut before that game. Oh, and Heracles' appearance is based off from his Third Ascension Form in FGO.
And this time around Gilgamesh won the dogfight. There's a reason why I decided to bring in his motorcycle from Carnival Phantasm, and that was so he could smack Lancelot right in the face with it XD Granted, that scene could've been written better, and believe me I'll improve on it in the future along with other scenes I feel are lacking.
As for those who had questions:
Cain: Just wait and see. It's better I use the story to explain stuff like that than do it in a Q&A section.
Orpheus: For the love of god, stop talking to me and asking me about things that don't have anything to do with FMB. And yes, I'm at least pondering the idea of a sequel to FMB. As for a prequel, not yet. And I will not take requests for either of them XP If you want to talk to me about other stuff, get yourself an account on this site.
Anyway, that's it for now. Please review :D
