Author's Note
Hey guys, it's been a while since my last chapter. To those who have been faithfully following the updates, thank you all. It really means a lot for me, this being my first fanfic and all.
I must announce that I will be taking a hiatus for slightly over a month because I am heading off for a long vacation to San Francisco. I hope you'll be patient as you wait for the next chapter to be added to this fic. Hope to see you all again in 2016. =)
Chapter 2
The air was tense as Lancer's spear ignited, and flames began enveloping both the spear and Lancer himself. The heat generated by the spear was intense that Bree had to step away from Lancer, and shield her face from the oppressive heat.
"This is not good!" Archer exclaimed, and promptly made his move. He was somehow able to sense the impending danger that they were in thanks to the massive power surging from Lancer's spear. The bow in Lancer elongated and emitted a golden hue as he prepared to fire his Noble Phantasm again.
"A-are you sure this is a good idea?" Luvia asked in an uncomfortable tone.
"It's either I fire first to keep him from launching his attack, or we all die! Master! Lord El-Melloi II! Shield your eyes now!"
Archer's quick reply was understood immediately by Luvia as she gave the order for Archer to preemptively strike at Lancer, and quickly covered her eyes. Lord El-Melloi II was also quick to turn away from facing Lancer just as Archer fired his bow.
"Fly now and strike your foe with Apollo's might."
Lancer's ignited spear seemed to be at the ready, and Archer knew that time was not on his side. Before Lancer could get himself into his stance to activate his Noble Phantasm, Archer fired first.
"Toxo Teukros!"
The golden arrow left Archer's bow, releasing a golden beam of sunlight as it took flight, heading straight towards Lancer's torso. The arrow's flight was swift and deadly, and the beam of light that was traced by the arrow as it flew was bright and its heat seared everything in its path.
Lancer was forced to abort his attack and quickly dodge out of the way, grabbing Bree as he moved away. The arrow shot by Archer exploded in mid air, letting out a blinding flash of light as if one was looking directly at the sun. Lancer was able to get away from the explosion together with Bree, but the resulting flash of light caused Lancer's back to be burnt by the heat. Bree, who was protected by Lancer, did feel the heat from the flash, but she was spared from being burned by it.
"I say, Archer. That was some attack you had there. I didn't know you had something else up your sleeve there!" Lancer exclaimed, setting Bree down on the ground. "Lassie, you'll need to heal my back, since I did you the favour of protecting you from that blast."
"Eh. Ah, yes!" Bree replied dumbfoundedly as she cast a healing spell on Lancer, healing the burns on his back.
"Damn, that was my fastest attack there," Archer said, his voice betraying his frustration. The attack that he used the first time he faced Lancer was more suited to taking out multiple enemies, but Lancer was able to deflect the attacks due to its decreased speed in exchange for its massive area of effect. This one, however, sacrificed all its coverage in order to gain speed and striking power. Even that attack was not able to hit Lancer directly. Despite losing his divinity upon his death, Lancer was still a formidable opponent who wielded a very powerful, yet relatively unknown Noble Phantasm.
Never before in her life did Viola Dajanna Konig, one of the more promising students of the Clock Tower, feel like she was helpless. Berserker, who was already a handful for her to bring under control upon his summoning, was now standing still, unmoved due to whatever psychological stress he experienced upon seeing his brother standing opposite him in the field of battle.
"I thought you lost all your sanity due to the effects of your Mad Enhancement!" Viola grumbled. It may have been true that Berserkers lose their sanity as a result of that trait, but based on rumors and reports that she gleaned about past Grail Wars, Berserkers who meet an opponent which they shared a deep connection in the past could react in strange ways. Perhaps, standing rooted in one spot was the strangest of them all.
"You do not wish to engage in a fight with your brother, do you now?" Viola said quietly, trying to hide her frustration. "Perhaps, all I can do is to just wait until Lancer dispatches Archer and be done with this."
Viola's thoughts were interrupted when a bright flash lit up the sky, drawing her attention to it.
"What could be happening between Lancer and Archer, I wonder?"
Berserker was also drawn by the flash of light, and his head was turned toward the source of the flash.
"...ghhhhhh... uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu…"
"Berserker?" Viola wondered. She waited on, tensed up as she tried to make sense of what was happening, while hoping that Berserker would not suddenly rush off. It took a long time and a lot of effort for her to bring him under her control, and she did not relish the thought of losing control over something that she worked so hard to gain.
A red flame was seen rising up from the location where the light flashed earlier. From where Viola was standing, she was unable to get a good look at the source of the red flame but it was nonetheless a sight to behold. Before long, the red flame leapt forward as it surged on towards the mansion with great speed.
It was at this time where Viola heard a deep throated roar. Turning to face the source of the roar, she was stunned beyond belief to see Berserker move again so suddenly. To make matters more difficult for Viola, Berserker leapt forward, abandoning her and rushing onward towards the leaping red flame.
Lancer's red eyes were ablaze as he lit his spear again. "I survived your attack, Archer. It's my turn to test your might."
The red flames continued to surge as Lancer took aim with his spear. Getting into position, Lancer wound himself up for the shot.
"I have your heart."
The red flame from Lancer's spear burned bright as he prepared to throw the spear. Archer, who saw what was about to happen, quickly tried to fire his bow again, but it was too little, too late.
"Brionac!"
Lancer cast his legendary spear towards Archer, the spear spewing red flames as it hurtled towards him. Brionac: the Five Roaring Stars was a dangerous weapon which could pierce the heart of the target no matter what the target did. It was an attack that could not be dodged, and Archer was now a target of its deadly attack.
Everything that happened in the moments following Lancer's attack felt like it all transpired in a blink of an eye, but everyone was taken by surprise at the impossible sight before their eyes.
The flaming spear was met with a seven layered shield bursting forth with prana, forming seven petals of a flower. The clashing prana from both spear and shield painted the surroundings with an explosion of red. As the participants and spectators of the battle recomposed themselves after that explosion, the impossible sight was then compounded with this latest development.
Berserker stood between Lancer and Archer, skewered through his chest by the spear of Lancer. Behind Berserker, Archer stood stunned by what happened. Despite Berserker's valiant effort to shield his brother, Archer was also hit in the chest by Lancer's spear, and sustained a severe wound. Whether by luck or by some coincidence, both brothers were still alive, but Berserker was in far worse shape compared to Archer.
"An attack of such power… is impossible!" Luvia exclaimed.
"B-Berserker! W-why did he.." Viola stammered as she arrived at the scene to witness the sight.
Lancer sighed. "It's unfortunate, but Berserker somehow managed to lessen the impact of Brionac."
"I knew your attack would be a powerful one, which was the reason why I preemptively attacked you," Archer said slowly, coughing out blood in between words. "To think that this is the extent of your power… You are truly a dangerous opponent."
"Truth be told, I held back a little," Lancer replied. "I can't risk everything into one attack, especially if I know that my Master still has other enemies to vanquish."
"Onii-sama…" Archer said, reaching out to Berserker, whose breathing was laboured. "Your beloved shield was the only shield capable of stopping Hector's javelin, but this attack was something else altogether."
Berserker, despite having been skewered by Brionac, was not bleeding heavily since the heat from the spear cauterised the wound. However, the heat also burned his body from the inside, and he was left in a grave state.
Viola soon came out of her stunned state and rushed over to Berserker's side. "Berserker, you fool…" was all she could muster as she assessed the condition of her Servant.
"By the authority of my Command Seal, I command you to return to me."
Berserker began to fade into his ethereal form, which allowed him to return to Viola despite his grave injury. Satisfied that she was able to retrieve Berserker, Viola turned around and was about to walk away when she was stopped from doing so.
"Stop right there, Viola Dajanna Konig."
Viola turned to face Lord El-Melloi II.
"I'm afraid that I have to prevent you from leaving," Lord El-Melloi continued. Trimmau was also there standing beside Lord El-Melloi II.
"Or else your maid golem is going to attack me?" Viola replied coldly. "I'm sorry, Lord El-Melloi II. At the Clock Tower, I would have done anything you asked, but this place is a battlefield."
"A pointless battlefield, Viola," Luvia continued. "The Holy Grail is corrupted-"
"Spare yourselves from telling me this," Viola interrupted. "Emiya-san tried to tell this to me too before he attacked my Berserker."
"But Viola…"
"I wouldn't try to stop me from leaving this place," Viola continued. "Your Archer barely survived Lancer's attack thanks to my Berserker having a sense of brotherhood still intact although he lost his sanity, and I doubt that you have a conceivable way to stop Lancer from attacking again," Viola said, pointing at Lancer, who was standing casually a small distance away.
"Then I say you and Bree mac Branain should call this a draw and we all retreat for the night, no?" Lord El-Melloi II replied.
"Sir Bram did order us to destroy your Servants, so we won't leave until Archer here is killed, and then Saber as well."
"Ugh, this is not good," Luvia muttered.
"I-I can try my best to hold Lancer off, but in my current state, it's best that you and Lord El-Melloi II retreat while I hold Lancer off," Archer said weakly.
"N-no, Archer," Luvia stammered. "I'm staying right here to help as best I can. I can still use healing spells t-to support you."
"Look at you, Master. Acting tough when you're terrified," Archer quipped before coughing out blood.
"Guh, Archer!"
"Oh? It seems that Sir Bram has called for us," Bree said, calling out to Viola. "He found something very interesting and is calling for us to rejoin on him at the bridge."
"Hmph, so you got what you wished for, Lord El-Melloi II. It would be a shame if I had to kill you, so consider us all fortunate, then," Viola said, walking away with Bree and Lancer.
"Wait, what was this interesting thing that Bram spoke of?" Lord El-Melloi II demanded.
"Unfortunately for you, that's not for us to say," Viola replied.
"This is ridiculous," Rin thought to herself. Saber was meant to be the best class in terms of a head-to-head encounter, but right now, Saber was very evenly matched by Caster in combat.
However, Caster was not the one who was in actual combat.
This fight was eerily similar in vein to the last time Saber fought against a Caster class Servant in the Fifth Grail War.
Mikhel van de Wolff was fighting as Caster's proxy in this fight, and was able to stand toe to toe with Saber thanks to Caster's support from the rear.
"Tch, this is impossible. How does Morgan's Master know about the dimensions of my sword, along with my fighting style?" Saber wondered, grimacing as she tried to find an opening in Mikhel's defense.
"Oho, having trouble now, sister?" Caster goaded. "Surprised that a mere human who has never met you in combat before, much less in his lifetime, would have such intimate knowledge of your combat style?"
"Guh, Morgan! This is definitely your doing!" Saber replied.
Caster laughed heartily. "Indeed that is of my doing! Doesn't all this feel even a little bit nostalgic?"
Images of a blood-stained hill littered with the corpses of fallen soldiers and sounds of dying men began to flood Saber's mind. It took some degree of effort by Saber to prevent herself from being crippled by the effects of Caster's ability to manipulate her mind.
The Saber class usually possessed high magic resistance to the point where a Caster's class abilities would be rendered impotent, but surely this would be considered an aberration, for only one reason; being her sister, Morgan le Fey knows everything about her, and much of their history is intertwined with tales of power struggles, ceaseless feuding, and betrayals being the norm for the two. The Holy Grail Wars have always been fraught with aberrations and suspensions of rules, thus for Saber - having taken part in three Holy Grail Wars including this one - occurrences such as these are beginning to be the norm for her.
She had hardly composed herself from the mental attack by Caster when Mikhel swooped in to attack again. Saber's Battle Instincts were just good enough for her to put up her sword to block Mikhel's magically enhanced fist. Mikhel followed up his opening attack with a flurry of strikes aimed at her vital organs, but Saber was again quick to retreat a step back and get herself out of Mikhel's range.
Saber knew that she had to put some distance between Mikhel and herself in order to make an attempt on attacking Caster directly. In order to do that, she released some of her prana and aimed her sword at an onrushing Mikhel.
The wind around her sword began to swirl violently and as Mikhel approached, Saber unleashed her attack:
"Strike Air!"
To say that a very strong gale had struck would never have been able to do justice to the strength of the attack, but it certainly appeared so as lamp posts and electrical cables located on the roadside were blown down to the ground. Anything that was not secured to the ground was also blown away by the extreme wind. In theory, an attack of such caliber would have easily blown a human being far away from the battlefield.
However, it was Saber who was kneeling on the ground, coughing up blood. Mikhel had dodged the attack with ease, and took the opportunity of the split second after Saber had launched the attack to land a solid hit on her gut.
"Saber!" Rin shouted.
Saber coughed up blood again as she desperately swung her sword at Mikhel in order to keep him from striking again. "How did you..?"
"Fu fu fu.. I told you, sister. Mikhel knows every intimate detail about you and your fighting ability because I have already furnished him with all the knowledge that I gleaned from your years of warfare," Caster said, laughing at Saber.
Saber said nothing in reply as she got up again from her kneeled position, her eyes gleaming with anger. Mikhel was about to move in for the attack again when an arrow struck him in the foot, pinning him to the ground.
"Unfortunately for you, your allies have already left the battlefield," Archer said, preparing to draw his bow for another shot.
"And how would you be if any help, since you look gravely injured yourself?" Caster replied, observing Archer's wound in the chest.
"That scratch? Hah, you'd have to do more!" Archer boasted.
"Your allies have been recalled by Bram," Luvia continued. "It would be wise for you to withdraw too, or else you would probably end up being ganged up upon by us."
Caster looked at them for a moment before laughing. "Fu fu fu.. I did not get summoned by the Master of Rider, but I suppose you just wish to escape this battle alive. Whatever should I do, sister? I want nothing more than to kill you to complete my revenge."
"Perhaps you have been far too focused on the idea of your revenge that you failed to mind your surroundings," Archer replied.
Caster was barely able to react when a blade was placed on her neck from behind.
"Shiro!" Rin exclaimed.
"Retreat now, as per the demand, or I will be happy to oblige to ending your life right here," Shiro said quietly, tightening his grip on Bakuya.
"Could you do so before I end yours?" Caster asked.
"You're at a disadvantage, though. Ending my life would mean that Archer will end up putting an arrow through your head."
"Fu fu fu.." Caster giggled. "Well then, I shall kindly oblige to your demands then," Caster continued, turning towards Mikhel. "We're off then, sister. We shall continue our feud next time then," Caster said as she put her arm around Mikhel and disappeared.
Shiro, Saber, and Archer slumped down to the ground when they noted that their surroundings was clear.
"Lord El-Melloi II," Shiro said, raising his head towards Lord El-Melloi II. "Bram has discovered the locations of our prana regulators buried at the leylines."
"I expected as such, considering how Bram recalled all of his fighting forces," Lord El-Melloi II replied. "I'm afraid we will have to do this all over again."
"But Bram will definitely be keeping an eye on our movements from here on," Luvia replied.
"We still have to get this done," Lord El-Melloi II responded. "It would be far more difficult for us to achieve the destruction of the Grail should we not have these regulators in place!"