Fate/ Order of Shadows.
-Chapter IV: For Light Begets Shadow-
Days have passed since his duel with the Black Knight, and even after successfully making his way into the lair of the Lord of Lycans, the death of Claudia remains a heavy weight in Gabriel's heart. Another innocent life under his care he could not save, another woman who got close to him and offered to walk along his path only to be cruelly murdered. And even worse than what happened to his wife, it was a murder by his own hands.
Despite his companions' support, he no longer sleeps and he only eats and drinks under the constant pressure of the Holy Woman and the watchful eye of the Shield Maiden. But he no longer cares about the taste, and only takes enough to satisfy the concerned looks directed to him. In the end nothing can distract him from his guilt, except his mission.
He has armed himself with the gauntlet, he has acquired the medallion of Shadow to complement the one of Light I provided when we met at the Lake. He has learned to rely on his companions, and together there are few things they cannot accomplish. Now besides guilt and sorrow his heart is also filled with conviction and a newborn sense of camaraderie, all seated upon a dark pit even he is not fully aware of.
With all of these strengths combined, he is a force that even the Dark Lord of Lycans will struggle to deal with. One who may break the beast and achieve the first victory to free the world from the Lords of Shadow and help bring plans long dreamt into reality.
It will be this fight which will prove if you are ready for the challenges to come, my friend.
If what you have gained and sacrificed so far will let you overcome the upcoming battle, and the ones ahead.
If you are ready for the terrible truth.
Anno domini 1047.
Sanctuary of the Lord of the Lycans.
Since she the dawn when they had made that oath to their Master, Mashu and Martha had continued supporting the knight as he fought new hordes of Werewolves and Wargs, as well as other kinds of beasts inhabiting the ruins of Agartha. In contrast with those keeping the Saint occupied before, these new enemies came in smaller packs that they dispatched quickly.
But they all knew they could not rely on assuming these brainless tactics would continue being the norm. It took their combined efforts to defeat the Black Knight; should even of them be kept busy as before and leave the other two alone against an even stronger foe, it would spell their doom.
So, as much as both women wanted to give the tormented man a rest (one that even the young Shielder would welcome), they knew that time was of the essence.
Until finally, they reached their destination.
Beyond a gate which required the help of the Faeries to be forced open, beyond an old set of stairs made onto the rock… laid the entrance to the Sanctuary of the Lycan Lord.
Master and Servants made their way inside, wariness and readiness into their minds. Conviction and sorrow into their hearts, and perhaps a small measure of hope.
A great circular platform of rock carved with words and symbols which neither of them recognized right away, perhaps due to the erosion or simply due to having their focus anywhere else.
Like the giant pillar of light, falling from the skies an onto the very center of the ground they were currently standing on.
Mashu was surprised how they could have missed such phenomenon before, while Martha could not help to comment with visible surprise in her voice.
"This light… this light feels like something I felt a long time ago. This is not a work of magecraft, or even one of those infamous sorceries… it reminds me of the first time I met Him, what I felt from Him when He performed one of His works".
Gabriel said nothing, kneeling onto the floor while he examined the very point where it made contact with the holy light.
Mashu turned to look at the hand he was using for this small task, the one covered by the metallic gauntlet that had forced itself on him after their victory over the Black Knight, and refused to come loose despite their best efforts.
But before she could continue pondering on this, however, the sound of steps caught all of their attention.
While the Holy Warrior merely stopped his hand's movements, both Servants turned to look at the arrival.
Standing taller than even Gabriel, his body was covered from his lower torso to his legs by a darker and probably older version of the clothes worn by Gabriel Belmont and the fallen members of the Brotherhood of Light they had encountered since they have joined his quest. This armor also covered his forearms, while both of his hands were protected by his own set of metallic gauntlets, one of them holding onto a great hammer whose size and design spoke of a need for both arms and great strength to be wielded effectively. On his feet he wore a pair of boots with a color reminiscent of gold. The rest of his body was fully exposed, allowing his face to be fully seen.
His hair and beard were gray and long, neatly organized despite completely covering his jaw and cheeks. His pointy ears managed to stand out even amidst this sea of gray, and revealed his inhuman status alongside a pair of long fangs and his sunken yellow eyes regarding those invading his domains.
And the presence he exuded spoke of great power, the kind Servants would do poorly to ignore.
This was the one enemy they had been looking for, the very reason behind Pan's insistence in acquiring the accursed gauntlet.
The Dark Lord of Lycans, one of the three Lords of Shadow who were responsible for casting the magic that isolated Heavens from Humanity, letting the forces of Darkness rampage freely across these lands.
Turning to look at their enemy but still remaining on his position, the Brotherhood's Knight spoke and in doing so broke the five seconds of tense silence between all gathered.
- (Lords of Shadow OST: Cornell)-
"I have come to fulfill the prophecy"- he said simply, making the Lord of Lycans direct his focus to the sole full human in the group.
"My acolytes were not lying - a warrior from the Brotherhood, here on Lycan soil!"- exclaimed the Dark Lord while spreading his arms wide, his voice filled with disgust at a perceived travesty, his eyes sharp and attentive to any sign of movement from the ones invading his domain, but mainly focused on Belmont– "I wonder warrior if you know where you are and who I am…"
"We are on desecrated land; and you, and those of your clan, do not deserve to live."
The Monster laughs at the reply briefly throwing his head back, before simply giving his back to all of them, and then continued speaking - "You say you are here to fulfill a prophecy…"
"You and the other Lords of Shadow are protecting a power in your sanctums; I have come to reclaim that power."
"You? Alone with but a pair of diminished Heroic Spirits?"- mocked the Lord, surprising both Gabriel and the two women close to him.
"How do you know about us?" -asked Mashu, making their foe redirect his sight onto her if only to give her a reply.
"I have known of the likes of you for centuries, child. And I have lived long enough to recognize auras such as those of that holy woman there, or even the one hidden beneath your living flesh. A mere human and a pair of spirits lacking the power and presence of their true selves… with only that, you dare enter my inner sanctum and dictate your mortal terms to me?"
For a moment, he directed his attention to the Rider Servant and scoffed at her, before looking once more at Gabriel.
"You think you are here because you were good enough, cunning enough, to fool me within my very domains? I know of the fight between my sons and this holy maiden, and while impressive when compared to the rabble we have encountered before she is not a match for me. I don't need to corner you with my children and acolytes in order to gain an edge for a fight I can easily do on my own.
I am immortal, little human, and your pathetic prophecy is known to me. But you, Gabriel Belmont, are ignorant… ignorant of the real truth of your situation…"
"It is you who is ignorant, ignorant of the pain and suffering you have brought to this land."
Showing his annoyance at the kind of reply given by the warrior, the Lycan Lord clenched both of his hands, his eyes slightly narrowed and his voice gaining an even tone as he continued their exchange.
"Hear me… centuries ago, three great warriors founded the Brotherhood of Light, the order to which you belong. Their sole purpose was to serve God and defeat the Devil… For decades the Founders fought fiercely against the spawns of Satan, and finally tipped the scales in God's favor… Such was their commitment to their crusade, that their studies in enlightenment led them to three sacred places, where the power of God converged with such intensity that it forged a bridge between the spiritual and the real.
The Founders used that power to purify themselves, abandoning their human forms and transforming into spiritual beings whose power was only second to God's."
"You tell me nothing I did not already know, beast."
"Little did they realize that what they left behind were not their carcasses devoid of souls, but instead the dark sides of themselves. Don't you see? That is how we came to be, we who you call the Lords of Shadow!"
At this revelation from the Lycan Lord, self-proclaimed dark self of one of the Holy Founders of the Brotherhood of Light, denial was not a surprise.
"No! you lie!" -said Gabriel, while Martha gave a longer refusal of her own.
"What proof do you have of this, dark one? Seeding confusion in the hearts of your enemies is not outside of your possible tactics regardless of your boast of being the strongest"
Her voice was stern and showed not doubts of her own convictions, but deep within her soul she could not help but worry. Ascension of pure souls to Heavens was not unheard before, but the aftermath was something completely baffling, though not impossible.
Sin and Virtue were part of human life from the moment of birth to the moment of passing, and it was by doing one's best to live with the later instead of the former that judgement upon the soul was passed. Living was a constant struggle, in a greater or lesser degree, to live up to the great expectations that God had for all of Humanity. Even they so called Saints, hailed by the many believers of Christian Faith throughout history, were not impossibly incorruptible characters that never wavered, but instead those who did their best to selflessly live up to their convictions and the tasks commended to them by God.
To choose to forcibly remove those dark traits of human nature in order to become a purified soul by using sacred locations would certainly put said soul closer to the nature of Angels, considered unable and unwilling to even consider Sin, with but one exception. And unfortunately, Martha could imagine that such process could end up turning the discarded traits into something else, for this Founders had not ascended by passing onto fully, but by dividing their very selves onto Virtue and Sin, Light and Darkness.
And Light beget the Lords of Shadow.
It seemed the Lycan Lord could guess her current concerns and the inner turmoil most likely affecting her Master, for he smiled at both of them before his expression turned to something close to somber.
"This place is where one of your Founders, Cornell the Brave, ascended to Heaven and where I was born! This is the place where, according to your prophecy, a warrior of Light will reclaim the power of my beloved brother in Heaven and I too will diminish… If that were to occur, he would die with me, because we are still the same being, he and I… still connected…
Kill me, and you kill him. Kill us all, and you will kill the saintly founders of your own order!"
Without waiting for further replies, the Lycan Lord turned to look at the skies, laughing for the second time as he once again spread both of his arms.
"Ah, brother. Even you have to smile at the irony of it all."
Martha saw as he once more turned to look at her Master, the Lycan Lord now bearing a different air on him. One that spoke of hostility.
She turned to her fellow Servant and was glad to see the young woman also reacted to the change by taking position close to their Master.
"Perhaps he is willing to sacrifice himself for you? For the Greater Good? I however, am not!"
And as he lifted his great hammer, their enemy announced aloud his very identity.
"I am Cornell, Dark Lord of the Lycans!".
(Fate/Grand Order OST: Barbatos Extended)-
Even as an immortal creature of darkness, Cornell was still the youngest amongst the Lords of Shadow. But he was also stronger and faster than his fellows, which was shown at his charge at a speed that easily surpassed that of the Black Knight and even some of the Servants she was familiar with.
But the Mashu Kyrielight standing her ground against him was not the novice who had just formed a contract with Galahad from the Round Table, and barely managed to block the strikes of the blackened King of Knights before properly using her Noble Phantasm for the first time.
This was the Shielder who had gone through the Seven Singularities and different other sort of strange timelines. The one who stood her ground in the face of Demon King Goetia himself and managed to block his greatest attack, even if it the price at the time had been her life.
She was the first Servant of Fujimaru Ritsuka, and one of the only two Servants assisting her new Master, Gabriel Belmont.
And in contrast with the hesitation weighing her down when they had faced the grieving and vengeful Black Knight, Mashu had no sympathy nor personal doubts when facing the enemy attempting to attack her master.
The rushing missile met Camelot's Shield, and while it succeeded on pushing her back it could not break through her defenses.
Even without calling forth the True Name of her Noble Phantasm, and even having barely finished taking the proper position to withstand the impact, Mashu Kryelight had stopped the warhammer of Cornell, and denied him the advantage of a successful first move.
And unfortunately for him, there were other two combatants on her side.
"Haaah!"
Cornell avoided the charging Rider on his left at the cost of abandoning his contest of strength with the Shielder, but that still did not protect him from the barrage of silver knives aimed at him by the Brotherhood Knight.
Not all of them struck true, but silver was a natural poison for most werewolves, even their own very Lord. And even if they missed inflicting any serious damage onto his body, the blessed silver still caused injuries.
And yet, Cornell smiled grimly at them.
"First blood is yours …"
Moving with his great speed to avoid them once more, he raised his hammer with both hands, his weapon covered with the red light of Shadow Magic.
After her encounter with the Black Knight and the last days alongside her Master, Mashu knew what to expect.
And as the hammer impacted the ground, she opted to abandon her footing and jump to avoid the shockwave released, a move replicated by her fellow Servant and Master.
Unfortunately for them, the Lycan Lord had been expecting this, and was already upon them on the very air.
Unable to properly maneuver without a proper foothold, none of the three challengers could do anything to cover each other as they did on ground.
And while her agility, strength and endurance were high enough to allow Martha to put on a guard, Cornell only needed one hand to wield his own weapon and used the other, coated in Shadow Magic, to follow through with clawing at her exposed belly.
The Rider was able to protect this part of her body, but at the cost of a hasty block with her right leg that still got injured in the exchange.
To Mashu's relief, Cornell could not continue his pressure on her fellow Servant as he had to evade the strike of the whip coming from the Combat Cross used by their Master.
They all made it to the ground, with Martha forced to rely on her right leg due to her wounded left.
The second exchange had lasted seven seconds in total.
Cornell smiled again, this time more of his fangs showing.
"As I told you, your Holy Maiden is no match for my skills, and now you have a cripple among yourselves. I wonder, will I take a full limb next?... or perhaps I will simply crush your bones and put an end to this game, Belmont?"
"…"
"No more heroic words from any of you then?"
Mashu turned to look at her Master who was regarding his other Servant without showing any change on his own visage.
Suddenly his body was covered in a pale blue aura, the sign of use of Light Magic. This confused both Mashu and even the Lycan Lord, for they both knew the Brotherhood's warrior had yet to sustain any damage from the fight.
Their answer was an aura of a more vivid blue covering the deep gash on Martha's leg and healing her wound in a matter of seconds.
Both Mashu and their enemy widened their eyes, though Mashu was feeling surprise and elation while Cornell was no longer smiling. Still…
"You still stand no chance against me!"
His boast said, the Lycan Lord threw himself at them for the third time, and the battle between Light and Shadow continued.
It was a difficult fight for all involved.
While the hearts of the champions of Humanity were fully committed to this encounter, the Dark Lord was their better in terms of speed and raw strength, which meant he would not be easily overcome by number alone. Even with the additional protection of one of Mashu's personal skills, his ability to cause considerable injury to someone like Martha with but a strike was proof enough of the power he held.
And in contrast with the blind charge of the Black Knight, he was able to use his brains for combat.
But Cornell himself experienced his own problems.
(Fate/Grand Order OST: Grand Battle Extended)-
After the first two clashes, he had failed to do any significant damage like before, but not just because of the healing provided by the Light Magic. His own physical prowess was not enough to provide an absolute edge against the Saintess, much less to avoid being put on the defensive when pressured by the combined efforts his opponents.
As the fight progressed, Cornell failed to put pressure for long on any of them, and even his previous tactic lacked the same effectiveness since the Master possessed the means to support his teammates on the air with his Combat Cross.
More importantly, Gabriel Belmont had discovered the weakness of the Lycan Lord's fighting style after minutes of combat.
Despite surpassing the speed of any of them, Cornell didn't seem able to maintain such rhythm permanently, much less for long periods between his bursts. In fact, there was a telling sing in his posture and a slight gleam in his boots before he increased his speed, something that Gabriel was able to exploit the more they clashed.
Cornell should have found an opportunity to corner the Belmont like he did with the Saintess, but the Knight was able to preempt his attacks more often. And the few times he did outmaneuver the Shielder and the Rider and sought to deliver a powerful strike with his hammer, enhanced by his magic…
Gabriel Belmont managed to compete with the Lycan Lord in a contest of strength and skill.
Shadow Magic was both a powerful asset and a double-edged sword. It allowed its user to increase the output of the damage dealt on their targets and those skillful enough in these dark arts could do much more than reinforce their attacks if they used the right tools. It was, however, considered a school of dark arts because it also reinforced the negative traits of the user's personality, and those foolish enough to underestimate Shadow Magic would end up consumed by it.
Only those strong in will and skill could put it under their command. And those like Cornell, who were embodiments of the darkness of humanity, could use it without any concern about a possible corruption of their selves.
However, Cornell's very nature denied him the use his human self once boasted of Light Magic, leaving him without its benefits.
And his lack of exposure to actual challenges for centuries, as well as his absolute belief in his position as the strongest of the Lords of Shadow, had both fed his arrogance and dulled his mastery abilities he was so proud of.
Gabriel Belmont had been one of those trained in both Light and Shadow Magic, and his natural talent for the arts of combat showed as he quickly mastered both the improvements on his Combat Cross and the recently acquired Dark Gauntlet in the span of days.
The artifact which reminded him of his latest failure had become in fact what Pan foretold. Alone, the Gauntlet allowed Gabriel Belmont to match the strength of the Lycan Lord, and its benefit were more easily to use than those empowering Cornell's speed.
And as was the case with his other tools, when the Gauntlet was combined with either Shadow or Light Magic, Gabriel Belmont became a much bigger threat.
Strong enough to use a synchronized block with the Gauntlet to parry a powerful blow from the warhammer, coating it with Light Magic to blind the Lycan Lord and forcing him to loosen his stance slightly. An opening taken by both him and his companions to deliver punishment onto the exposed flesh of their enemy.
Cornell was still able to avoid any fatal wound on his body, but the teamwork of the champions continued improving and pressing him into a defensive position.
After exchanging a brief look with their Master, both Servants rushed to the Lycan Lord, who started moving with his superior speed to avoid the upcoming pincer attack.
However, the attack proved to be a faint as suddenly both women abandoned the ground with a jump, just as their Master finished punching it with the Dark Gauntlet, its power seen by the burning symbols engraved on its metal and the effect it had on the flow of the battle.
Before he could stop himself, the Lycan Lord saw his dash affected by the ground trembling as if an earthquake was taking place. His loss of equilibrium affected his speed, enabling Martha to get a proper hit with her prayers to further distract and hurt him.
The Lycan Lord growled in pain at the new injuries but was nevertheless able to continue. But as he instinctively turned to the one responsible for hurting him further, he missed failed to prepare his guard in time for a Gabriel Belmont in the middle of his own charge.
And so, Cornell got hit fully by a Ground Cutter, with the chain-whip of the Combat Cross spinning in front of him like a chainsaw and covering his body with ever deeper cuts and slashes of a weapon extremely effective on dark creatures like him.
This time Cornell did scream in pain and lashed out in anger, but Camelot's Wall struck him from the side and pushed made him jump back to gain his lost ground.
Huffing to recover his breath, Cornell realized for the first time that he could actually lose this fight if he did not use all he had.
At one point he would have laughed, even welcome the first challenge he had in centuries.
Now, he was just furious at being forced into such state, at the wound he had sustained from the idiots playing another's game and blindly following the bread crumbs.
Once again, he used his speed, but instead of merely evading his enemies or pressing trying to gain the offensive, he positioned himself right under the holy light bathing the center of his sanctum.
Turning his warhammer with its head looking bellow, he used both of his arms to bury it as deep as the could until only the end of the handle was visible.
As he released the roar of a beast, the whole ground was bathed in the light, blinding the four characters present.
And when the Champions of humanity could see once more, what stood in front of them no longer resembled a human.
Now easily towering over the Champions of Humanity, his whole body covered in a dark brown fur with the exception of the palms of his hands and feet. No longer wearing any piece of armor, his claws and fangs longer and deadlier. And in a manner similar to the Dark Gauntlet, his body was covered in glowing patterns as if they were burning onto his very skin, signaling the full use of his Shadow Magic.
Standing in front of them, was the true form of Cornell, Dark Lord of the Lycans.
(Lord of Shadow OST: Besieged Village)-
By unleashing his true form, Cornell increased his supernatural strength to compliment his already high speed, turning himself into a being capable of ramming into the Shielder Servant and breaking her passive defenses.
His strikes and claws broke and carved through the ground, his body soaked unenhanced damage and even normal prayers without issue, and his bigger size and reach made it harder to gain distance in order to avoid his attacks.
He became truly a force worth of his rank as the pinnacle of werewolves and as one of the Lords of Shadow.
And yet, despite this unraveled power, Cornell still failed to crush the warriors opposing him.
He managed to grab onto the chain of the Combat Cross that tried hitting him, and pulled in order to drag Gabriel close.
"I'll enjoy dismembering you, Belmont!"
But Gabriel pulled back and instead dragged the Dark Lord closer to his side, in the process exposing him to an upcoming attack from his behind.
Cornell tried using his speed to escape the attack and drag along Gabriel, but the Knight stood his ground and denied him such tactic.
He blocked with his free hand a strike from Mashu using the edges of her great shield, making Cornell realize he was exposed to the third member of their team just in time to receive a barrage of punches from Martha right on his face.
Mighty as he was, the Dark Lord of Lycans was not above being injured by a direct attack from a successor from the martial arts created by Jacob.
Howling in pain as he was forced to the ground by the unrelenting strikes, Cornell tried using both of his arms to grab the Saintess and rip her away from him, having by then released his hold on the shield and the chain-whip.
Due to the awkward position they were in, he was able to grab onto both of her arms without an immediate intervention from her teammates and started pulling.
Martha delivered a headbutt right on his nose, hoping to have him release her. But ignoring the pain, Cornell continued his pull, seeking to tear out both of her limbs with his great strength.
Despite her own endurance and strength, Martha still suffered under the strain her body was put through and would have eventually lost the contest had she been alone.
But she wasn't, and the Combat Cross snaked around the Lycan Lords neck and started its own pull.
Enhanced by Shadow Magic and the power from the Dark Gauntlet, this hold was easily able to cut off the air from the snared Cornell and burned onto his exposed skin as Gabriel continued his pull with a growl.
And as the Shielder descended upon his head, Cornell finally released his hostage to protect himself and pull against the hold chains.
Using his speed, he weas able to quickly punch the shield away and then used his other hand to send his powers onto the effigies surrounding all of them.
And as they glowed in the same way as the markings covering his body, Cornell became free from the hold of the Combat Cross and his body impervious to harm.
(Lord of Shadow OST: The Warg)-
It was then that the last phase of the battle took place.
Hits from either Servant or Master barely bothered him, prayers and magical enhancements could not pass through either.
"My sons will feast on your corpses!"
And for a while Cornell believed himself invincible once more.
But it was not to last…
The magical trick was not missed by Gabriel or his companions, and after a trial at destroying one of the effigies they realized the protection was dependent on these and took turns in getting rid of them all.
Until finally, the last effigy crumbled under a powerful strike from the chain-whip, and a successful uppercut from Martha confirmed their enemy was vulnerable again.
Not wasting time, Gabriel threw his whip to pierce through the skin of the Lycan Lord and grab onto his body.
Like before, Cornell tried pulling his foe to him, and this time had some success in his efforts as he the Knight was forced into the very center where the light fell.
But like before, Gabriel pulled back with his enhanced strength, and this time he dragged the Lycan Lord to the ground.
Cornell tried getting back on his feet, but Gabriel pulled a second time and once again made his foe smack on the ground.
Desperate to set himself free, Cornell jumped as high as he could, but Gabriel pulled for the third time on the chain-whip and with a roar of his own forced down Cornell and made him kiss the ground even more painfully than the last time.
Gabriel caught sight of the handle from the warhammer and quickly put his Combat Cross on his belt in order to use both of his arms for his next move.
As his foe tried pushing himself from his humiliating position, Gabriel used his right hand and with a single mighty pull threw it in the air, an action noticed by the Servants he was contracted to.
As the hammer fell onto his waiting hands, Gabriel and Cornell stared hatefully at each other for just a second, before both moved.
Before Cornell could even finish, he was hit by the personal staff of Martha, with enough strength to create the distraction needed to ruin his block.
Gabriel struck true at the face of the Lycan Lord and pushed himself up, followed with a falling hit on the head and finally spun two times quickly to gain enough momentum to smack his enemy away.
Cornell had not even finished rolling onto the ground when Gabriel was on him one last time, and after a high jump broke the weapon on his head and forced him to kiss the ground for the fourth time.
Quickly getting in position, Gabriel turned his body to his right to gain momentum before plunging what was left of the handle of the hammer with all of his remaining strength into the open mouth of his dreaded enemy, twice to make sure he could pierce through the skull.
The Lycan Lord made one final moan resembling a growl before his body collapsed on the ground for good.
The First of the Lords of Shadow was dead.
In a repeat of the fight with the Black Knight, the body of their foe vanished in dark mist, a potion of which shoot out to the Belmont and stuck on his legs.
Mashu and Martha watched as the warrior from the Brotherhood struggled under the pressured as he was elevated in the air, before a magical circle in red confirmed the end of the process and released him on the ground.
Martha immediately kneeled at his side an checked his feet, paying attention to the newly acquired pair of boots her Master had apparently stolen from the Lycan Lord.
Frowning, yet relieved, she shared her findings.
"These are not enhanced by dark magics. You should be able to take them off without issue and use them without concern. That said, I am concerned this will become a tradition every time we defeat a powerful enemy" -she finished with humor.
Before her companions could reply, another presence appeared in front of them.
The spirit of Gabriel Belmont's deceased wife, Marie.
She looked at the other women and gave them a soft smile before bowing slightly and reaching to her husband's face with her right hand.
-(Lords of Shadow OST: Love Lost)-
"Make haste my love. Reclaim the power before it is lost".
And with her message delivered, she disappeared again.
But it was enough motivation for him.
Pushing through his weariness, Gabriel Belmont accepted the supporting shoulder from Mashu Kyrielight and made his way to the pillar of light.
Nodding at her, he got free from her hold and kneeled in front of the light, before uttering the prayer necessary to complete his task.
"Oblivium Sempiternum Daemonis"
Answering, the light shone brighter as an unknown object began its slow descent to the ground.
A metallic sound confirmed it had finished its journey, and Gabriel used his left hand to pick it up.
A portion of a mask, bearing one eye and a portion of the nose, and fit to be easily worn by an adult person.
"This is it then, Master?"- asked Mashu.
He did not smile, but replied with kindness and some of his old enthusiasm.
"Yes, my friend. This is the embodiment of the portion of power held by the Lord of Lycans, Cornell. A portion of the power that must be united for the curse on our world to be lifted, and fulfill the prophecy".
His reply surprised the young woman.
"…friend?"
This time he did offer a smile, not unlike that of his wife, to both of his companions.
"Yes, both of you. You had no obligation to go this far, and you know of the crime I committed just days ago. You know of my selfish desire besides fulfilling the prophecy. And yet, you have stood with me and fought this great foe fully trusting in my abilities, as I have come to trust yours."
Mashu felt herself blush at the genuine thanks, given to them by their new Master, and a small part of her could not deny that smile did look much better on him.
Looking back to the center of the pillar, she suddenly had a realization.
"Heavens and maybe even the Counterforce may have been cut from Humanity due to the spell, but what about Humanity from Humanity itself?"
Understanding her line of thought, her fellow Servant widened her eyes before commenting.
"Are you suggesting what I think?"
Excitedly nodding her head, Mashu replied.
"If it is from this location, we may be able to make contact at last."
A/N: Hello there, my fellows. Its been a long while, and I did take some time to deliver this for I finally stole some time from my obligations to get this idea out of my head. I hope the quality has improved since the last chapter, and would like to read you comments about the story so far. I need to finish something important before going back to the next updates, but they will start coming more often now.
Enjoy and review, and please be careful but have a good time during. See ya!