Mordred sat down in a patch of grass in the castle's courtyard to eat lunch. Gawain cooked it so Mordred and several of the Knights were suspicious but the king himself approved it.
Mordred's goal was to become just like the king, but would that even be possible? The king's too perfect.
She angrily spat out the food after she tried to chew it. "Dammit, Gawain! You overcooked the food again! How the hell am I supposed to eat shoe leather?!"
She had been instructed to never remove her helmet in front of people. She followed that order, but why can't she show her face. Was it because she's female? The others seemed to like her, but would they reject her if they found out her sex? Her mother may have given her that instruction in order to protect her from that.
Morgan, watching from the shadows, bit her lower lip. When will Mordred realize her birthright? She should quit playing knight and hurry to destroy Arthur Pendragon and everything the king worked so hard to create!
While conquering all lands that Iskandar and his army came across, they had another goal. For that, they were willing to bleed, lose limbs, and possibly lose their lives to accomplish it. They crossed any terrain they came across, no matter how dangerous. We'll endure whatever we have to. All to reach Okeanos at the end of the world. Unfortunately, that never came to be. Iskandar died before seeing his ultimate goal unfold and civil war broke up his empire, making the journey to have ended in vain.
This is of back when Tenkei Iwafune was still called Seigo Ootori. He was walking down a street when he spotted a certain man. The man had dark brown hair with red highlights. The person was Genji, Kagutsu, the Red King. Dark red eyes turned to the King approaching him. Seigo raised a hand in greeting. "'Morning, Kagutsu."
The Red King growled at the Grey King around his cigarette. "Stop trying to be friends with me. I keep tellin' you that since we're both Kings we should be enemies."
Seigo laughed heartily. "You can be such a joker, Kagutsu! I shouldn't stop looking out for you. Who knows what trouble you'd get into?"
Genji grumbled a string of curses and began walking away, giving Seigo the middle finger. "You're not my dad. Stop pretendin'."
"I might as well be considering how much I have to look out for you..." Seigo muttered. "You may be the King of the Red Clan, REGOKUSHA, but you can be such a baby."
"Kagutsu again?"
Another man walked up to the other King. "Hey, Habari," Seigo said as he walked over to the Blue King. "Kagutsu just gave me a not-so-pleasant goodbye is all. He seems grumpier than usual. Do you know why?" While the Red King does usually bare his fangs like that to people, he's actually pretty tsundere toward others. What he said to the other King is typically said in a joking way. In reality, he and Seigo are on really good terms, with mutual respect between him and Jin, despite Genji being a mafia boss and their occasional scuffles. It was a relief for the Grey King. Because even though Genji had all those Clansmen, he always seemed to be all alone. An air of sadness followed him constantly. Lately though, he's seemed really moody like something's bothering him a lot. The Grey King wanted to deny the possibility that Genji is starting to snap from trying to contain his destructive power.
Jin fanned himself with one hand. "Weather might be getting to him. June's been pretty hot. We'll see if July's any better. You know how he gets when the temperature's too high despite his resistance. You'd think, as Red King, he'd enjoy it. But it seems to be the exact opposite."
"I hope that's all it is..."
On July 11, 1999, when Genji Kagutsu allowed his Weismann level to go out of control, the whole of the Grey Clan, CATHEDRAL, was ordered to assist Jin Habari and SCEPTER 4 to deal with the situation before it gets worse. However, Seigo wasn't with his Clansmen. Then Genji's Sword fell.
On a hill out of blast range, Tenkei was on his knees. "Why is this happening..?" He went out of the city for a job and thought he'd get back in time to at least keep everyone safe from Genji in case the worst happened. What was the point of being King if you can't even save the people in front of you?!
A young Nagare ran after his friends to the roof of an apartment building after seeing two objects in the sky while playing video games with Nagare. This was to get a better view of what they identified as a blue sword and a red sword. A scene while shooting a movie perhaps?
"Hey, looks like the red one's crumbling!" one of the boys exclaimed while pointing at the two airborne objects. Sure enough, the red sword was in a rough condition.
"That sword's going to fall," Nagare said completely unconsciously.
The others looked at him in confusion. "Huh?" But just as Nagare said, the red sword plummeted to the ground. One of them suggested they should go to the impact site to grab a piece of that red sword, but before he could finish a shockwave of flames collided with the apartment and Nagare's vision went black. He had died as a human. It was when he awoke that he met the Grey King, who uncovered his corpse, and that he was reborn as the new Green King, his power taking the place of his missing heart.
Everyone except Rider was in the room of the Green Clan base to hear what Nagar e had to say. Tenkei facepalmed as soon as Rider entered the room while everyone else, including Kotosaka, was staring with wide eyes. "My god, Rider...Materialize your pants!" Rider was walking around completely naked from the waist down. He does that at night, when he sleeps and typically remembers to put his pants on when he wakes up. This morning, however, that simple task seemed to slip his mind.
Rider looked down in surprise. "Oh!" He quickly materialized them. "Better?"
Sukuna scratched the back of his head. "His pants may be on now, but I dunno if I'll ever be able to wipe that image from my mind..."
Tenkei was grumbling as he opened the fridge. "What an idiot..!"
"The first Master-Servant pair has been eliminated from the game," Nagare said, the only person other than Rider having returned to his usual mood. He's seen Tenkei run around the base completely nude after getting wasted from some hard alcohols. It's the reason the King mostly only drinks beer now, though a repeat might eventually happen. "Along with Archer, Blue King Reisi Munakata has also died."
Tenkei cracked open a beer. "So the kid's dead now? He was way too idealistic for my liking. It might have been best for him to die before he had his dreams crushed."
"So one less pair in the game," Sukuna said without looking up from his handheld gaming console, trying to use it as a way to distract himself from having seen that large thing between Rider's legs. It wasn't helping much. "That means that Blue's completely out."
"Well done with waiting for the Servant to die before killing the Master. After all, it was two Knight Classes fighting," Daikaku said when Assassin entered the Chamber of the Slate. He had been out having fun the rest of the night after killing the Blue King. The owner of a familiar can sync to their senses, allowing Daikaku to see the act through Assassin's eyes.
"All this stalkin' Master-Servant pairs...I wonder if I'll happen to see a pair gettin' it on," the Ghost of Tosa grumbled.
Daikaku turned his face away from Assassin, most likely to conceal his blushing. "I understand its importance for magi and magical beings...but I don't really want to imagine the act..."
"C'mon! You're 95 years old! I'm sure you've done it before!"
"Are you wanting us to do a mana transfer?"
"No way! Even though ya have a lotta mana gathered, ya might have a heart attack!"
"You're one to talk. After all, you're technically older than I am."
"You should only refer to my physical age, 27!"
It's a landscape full of destruction. Ruined buildings dotted the place while magenta flames blazed out of control everywhere. In the middle of all this is Mikoto, much of his skin charred black from his fire. Above him, in a smoky sky, is his crumbling Sword of Damocles.
One day...
Lancer opened his eyes. That one...felt different from the other dreams he had regarding his Master. It must be the thing Mikoto always fears will happen, that he'll lose control of his power and destroy the city.
"'Mornin', Lancer," Izumo said without looking up from cleaning a wine glass. "Ya slept to a later time today. Is Mikoto rubbin' off on ya?"
"I was havin' a dream about him is all. By the way, where's -"
"Goddamn it!" That sudden shout grabbed the attention of everyone currently in the main area of the bar, even Kiba, making them stare at the door leading to the stairway. A moment later, the door opened and Mikoto came out. "I forgot to buy more hair gel..."
The hair normally looking like a red lion's mane with the exception of the two strands of hair hanging on either side of the young man's face was now down. Some of the red locks were in his eyes. This appearance made him look younger. Several Clansmen were speechless. Sure, they've seen pictures of Mikoto's former hair style, but to actually see it in person was something else. The last time he looked this pissy was when he tried, and ultimately failed, to quit smoking by going cold turkey. However, he probably isn't a hair width away from turning the bar into a smoldering pile.
The bar's phone went off. Someone was calling the bartender over his encrypted line. Izumo picked it up.
"Yes?...Uh huh...Oh...Thank you for the information..." His voice noticeably got heavier at the end. He hung up then took a breath. "Everyone, I found out that last night the Blue King and his Servant were killed."
Mikoto grit his teeth hard enough for only Lancer's sense of hearing to pick up but didn't react otherwise.
Anna turned her head to fix her red-violet gaze on Mikoto and Lancer. "You two won't die, right?"
Misaki quickly answered her. "No way! Mr. Mikoto's the greatest and Lancer can handle himself just as well!"
"You guys don't need to worry. After all," Lancer materialized Gáe Bolg and gripped it tightly in his right hand, so hard that his knuckles turned white and crimson liquid dripped from his palm. Some sparks of his red mana flew up from his body. He looked like he was ready to seriously attack someone, "anyone who tries to kill Mikoto will need to manage to get through me first. And I promise that I won't make it easy..." The other Clansmen had to admit that the Servant having his demonic spear out and looking like he's ready to kill someone was a tad unsettling, even though the Celt still wore his modern clothes instead of his armor.
"Lancer, I know you're bein' protective of me, but I can hold my own against a Servant for a bit," Mikoto said.
"I'm sure the Blue King thought the same."
"We don't know the details. Don't let this change how we work together. It'll be a pain in the ass to have ya breathe down my neck."
"I won't go that far. My purpose is to keep my Master safe, but some of that will be on you. Just remain alive 'till the end."
"Same to you."
Berserker was cooking breakfast. She puffed her cheeks out in a frustrated pout. "Hrr..!" The meat wasn't cooking as fast as she wanted. That's when Berserker breathed out a small stream of fire, heating the pan even more and getting the steak to the desired temperature. She removed the steak from the pan onto a plate, looking proud of herself.
Kuroh nervously gulped. It reminded him of the time Berserker would breathe her fire at him when she was still trying to kill him. He had to admit Berserker is great at cooking, better than he was in fact, but her using methods such as these every now and then is just...unsettling.
Izumo was the only one in the bar, everyone else who frequents it out doing their own thing or walking Kiba. The bell rung, signalling the front door being opened.
Izumo turned to the person with a smile. "Wel - Seri?" He immediately knew why she had come into the bar. He was actually expecting this as soon as he got that information from one of the Mage's Association informants he hired to spy on the other contestants of the War with the exception of the Green and Grey Kings. "What can I getcha?"
"The usual..."
"Right..." While he was preparing her drink, he spoke up again. "Heard what happened to the Blue King. I'm sorry for your loss."
Seri buried her face in the back of her hands that her chin had been resting on. She was probably trying to conceal the tears building in her eyes. "We'll be holding a funeral later today..."
"What're ya guys doin' now?"
"I'm in charge of SCEPTER 4 until we get a new Blue King."
"What about Fushimi?"
"He's staying with us."
"I'm glad to hear he won't be turnin' against the Blue Clan." He set down Seri's martini with anko in front of her. "Here ya go. And don't worry 'bout payin'. It's on the house."
"Thanks..."
"How are you guys holdin' up?"
"Benzai turned 25 yesterday, so we were going to celebrate when Captain Munakata and his Servant returned...He and Akiyama ended up drinking themselves out cold last night...I have no idea when everyone will get over it...On that note, I thought the worst part would be calling Captain Munakata's family to inform them of his death, but his mother began screaming and crying for him to wake up during the visitation as soon as she saw his body, with his father trying and failing to calm her down. His nephew and niece were bawling their eyes out, his brother and sister-in-law were clearly torn up..." Seri's shoulders shook; she was clearly trying to keep from crying hard.
Izumo placed a hand on her shoulder. "It's alright. Just let it all out."
The woman's head was down, her shoulders shook even harder, and teardrops were rapidly falling from her face and hitting the counter. "He died...He fucking died as I held him! I actually felt the life leave his body!" She screamed that last part, hands covering her eyes as she managed to cry even harder.
Izumo went around the counter to stand beside the Blue Clan no. 2 and wrapped his arms around her tightly. "You looked up to him a lot. This has to be hurting you quite a bit. I'll help ya in any way I can."
"If only I could turn back time then I might've been able to prevent what happened that night!"
What Lancer said about war a few days ago resounded in Izumo's head. "War is hell. I know since I went through it when I was alive. And even though this is a small-scale one, you can still be subjected to psychological trauma. You can lose people you're close to."
It completely took him by surprise when the blond woman pulled the bartender's head down to capture his lips in her own. But instead of pulling away he closed his eyes and got more involved in the action. It would be really bad if a Red Clansman walked in and saw two members from opposing Clans kissing.
"Why didn't Alaya stop Kagutsu's Sword from falling?!" Tenkei demanded, almost spilling his beer. Rider had just reminded him of the Kagutsu Incident. "Then all those people wouldn't have died!"
"Alaya only looks to save the human species, not individual people," Rider replied. "That's why Counter Guardians will kill people if deemed necessary. Alaya isn't opposed to, for example, killing a city's worth of people just to off one person or killing both sides to end a war. The Force will do absolutely anything, even acts seen as evil, if it means the human race is safe from extinction. Like Gaia, Alaya has no concept of right and wrong. While both Counter Forces can display empathy, they'll do what needs to be done in the end. Anyway, the Kagutsu Incident must not be on a series of events that would lead to humanity's destruction, which is why Alaya's Counter Force didn't intervene."
"I guess that's another reason why idealism is pointless."
"So why don't you like idealists?" the large king asked.
"Like the Blue King at the time, Jin Habari, I used to be a stupid idealist, obsessed with protecting the powerless and striving to create a world where everyone's safe." Tenkei smirked as he took another drink of his beer. "But then Genji Kagutsu's Sword fell, which opened my eyes. For all the power we Kings have, there's no way we can accomplish something like that. One thing that looks to be true, the larger your ideals the more it hurts when you fail. We're all playthings of this goddamn Slate. But Nagare will steal the Slate and make it his plaything instead, so people have a chance to fight back against a tragedy like in 1999. That's something I want to see even more than my wish to bring back everyone who lost their lives in the incident."
Misaki entered a mall's food court and recognized Saruhiko in his casual clothes at one of the tables doing what he does when he's stressed out; eating a lot. But it seemed more...intense than usual. The skateboarder couldn't quite put his finger on it.
Misaki sat down across from Saruhiko at the table. "Hey...I heard that your King was, well..."
"Killed?" his former friend replied without looking up.
"Yeah..."
"Are you here to laugh at me for being on a losing team?"
"Of course not! I...I can't imagine what you're going through...If we ever lost Mr. Mikoto..." He placed his hand on Saruhiko's. "The fact you stuck with SCEPTER 4 for so long...the Blue King must've been your true King..."
"It's funny. I felt no sadness when my dad died. I wasn't related at all to the King, but...but..."
Plip.
Misaki's eyes went wide. Is he crying?! I've never seen him do that during our time in middle school, even with his dad constantly abusing him!
More tears hit the table. Saruhiko took off his glasses to cry into his hand, shoulders shaking as he did so. It was as if he could no longer control his sorrow. Misaki's grip on the hand he was holding tightened as he grit his teeth, angry at himself for being unable to actually relieve Saruhiko's pain. All the skateboarder could do was be there for him.
"It's all this stupid War's fault!" Misaki snarled. "Why the hell does it even exist?"
Mikoto was walking in the city. With him were Tatara and Lancer. Some people near them were talking.
"Someone told me the leader of SCEPTER 4 just died."
"Are you serious?! He really kicked the bucket?!"
"He was pretty young. I wonder what could've caused it?"
"Hold on. Is it just me or is the air starting to get hot?"
That's when Tatara noticed the blaze sprouting from Mikoto's body. It was quickly beginning to grow with the temperature rising along with it, causing any snow within about a few dozen meters from the redhead to instantly melt. Lancer quickly traced a rune in the air to create a bounded field that would make the outpouring red mana invisible to anyone outside it. But this wouldn't solve the hot summer temperature being created.
Reisi Munakata...That guy drove Mikoto up the wall just by being in the Red King's line of sight! He had never met someone he found to be so infuriating! So then why did it feel like someone was using a knife to repeatedly stab him in the chest? He was suddenly finding himself having to resist the urge to punch something as hard as he can.
"King..." Tatara murmured, placing a hand on Mikoto's shoulder. For a reason unknown to Lancer, the hand wasn't being burnt to a crisp by those roaring magenta flames. Does he have the same temperature resistance Servants do? No, he was showing signs last night of getting cold. It must only be a resistance to high temperatures just like with Mikoto. "You need to calm down before you accidentally set fire to a few buildings."
The flames vanished in an instant and Lancer dissolved his bounded field. "Sorry."
"Brace yourself for more heartache. The game's only just beginnin'," was all Lancer murmured.
Kousuke had just brought a stray dog to the bar. It was a tad aggressive to everyone else but immediately took to Lancer. Saburouta was staring at Lancer playing with the dog, his deadpan expression hidden behind his shades. "...You guys know what I'm thinking for the reason that dog likes him, right?"
"Yeah, but we won't say it because we enjoy being alive," Eric replied. Lancer backed away from the dog and allowed the other a chance to get the animal to warm up to them.
"That thing bit my ass!" Rikio exclaimed after a bit. There was some snickering. Then the fat Clansman looked at Lancer. "Mikoto says you can talk to dogs. Can't ya tell it to lay off?"
The knight chuckled a little before pushing himself off the wall. "Alright -"
The front door swung open, with Anna, Mikoto, who'd gone out with the Strain, and Kiba entering the bar. "We're back," the Red King said. The dog took one look at the massive wolf between the two humans and created a yellow puddle on the floor.
Ichigen was currently attending a village meeting. It took a lot of effort, but he managed to convince Berserker to stay behind the house with Kuroh.
Berserker looked up from feeding the pond's koi. The Black Dog was only a short distance away, using his katana to practice sword swings. "You seem to be really obsessed with sharpening your skills. It can't just be for your rematch against Yukari. So why do you keep doing it?"
"You're right. It's not just about Yukari. I need to get stronger to protect Master Ichigen...like how he always protected me when I was growing up."
"No offense, but he's a King. Do you think protecting him will be possible for you?"
"That's why I'm training." He looked over at the Servant. "Are you able to use swords? I wish to spar with you using the wooden ones to see how I would fare against a Servant."
"Sorry, but I can't. How much were you wanting to be knocked on your ass? I could do that bare-handed. I can even send you to the hospital!"
Kuroh sweatdropped. "...Do you even know what sparring is?"
Jingle, jingle.
Kuroh instantly froze. That was the bounded field Ichigen set up to detect intruders. While it couldn't repel anyone, two hidden bells would ring if someone with hostile intentions entered it.
As a way to eliminate some competition that seemed unwilling to participate, Assassin will attack the Colorless Clan. Daikaku had offered to provide his Servant with a strength boost, but Assassin was too cocky to accept as it was deduced that Ichigen's Servant is a Cavalry Class. So the Gold King will be watching the battle through Assassin's eyes to see when he needs to use a Command Seal to teleport the beaten idiot back here. A mage can sync to the senses of their familiar. The Usagi and even Daikaku himself made bets on whether or not the Gold Servant will get his ass kicked. A majority said he will.
Berserker suddenly flashed behind Kuroh, her fan materializing in her right hand in a mist of yellow-white mana and having it block Assassin's katana, which went for Kuroh's neck after the Servant went out of spirit form. The two jumped back, the female Servant picking the Black Dog up and taking him back with her.
Assassin wore a sneer on his face as he unsheathed the katana at his hip leaving the shorter one, his wakizashi, sheathed. "You should consider yourselves lucky to have front row seats to see the genius swordsman in action!"
Berserker giggled. "I don't think you'll manage to get through me." Assassin's eye twitched as the other Servant giggled again. Sparks of crimson leapt out from under the pale fingers on the fan's base. While her expression itself didn't change, the look on her face seemed to get darker. "Husband will be so proud of me for getting rid of this problem. Although he might get mad at me if I accidentally scorch the house. Well, I'm sure I can get him to forget all about it!"
Kuroh glanced at Berserker. "Shouldn't you call Master Ichigen? It may take all three of us to drive this Servant off."
"I can do the clean-up just fine on my own. There's no need for me to disturb Husband over such a minor thing."
"Ya think takin' me out will be that easy?" Assassin growled. For Kuroh, it suddenly felt like a sword impaled him through the back and out his chest. But when he looked down at it, there was no wound. What even happened just now?!
Berserker's voice reached him. "It's okay. You were only hit with powerful killing intent." The sparks became little flames. "Just so you know, Kuroh, I unfortunately have a mana output that's really low for a Servant. So my magecraft won't be very powerful. But I swear I'll grill this person who threatens my home!"
What came from Berserker was a display of a variety of fire magecraft, ranging from miniature meteors to tendrils of fire like spider legs. Each were cast with a single wave of her fan, heat being thrown up with each spell. In contrast, Assassin didn't use any magecraft. But even though the other Servant is the enemy, Kuroh had to admit the sword techniques to block and attack were quite graceful.
Berserker allowed Kuroh to attack the enemy and the two started exchanging slashes. It didn't take the teen long to realize both of their sword styles were mirroring each other. Those sword techniques are Master Ichigen's! Did he...copy them from me..?
Berserker took note of this oddity slightly before Kuroh. Magecraft? No, I don't sense any being invoked.
It's part of Assassin's Noble Phantasm, Settlement Sword. With it, he can perfectly replicate any sword technique after only seeing it once. The only exceptions are Noble Phantasms with special characteristics or aren't Anti-Personnel and Mystic Sword techniques.
The Servant snickered. "These are pathetic, but it should be enough to finish off a pathetic person."
"Cut it out with the mocking!"
"I'm only statin' facts. Now, let's get back to it!" The two began clashing swords again, no attacks managing to get through.
That one took me months to master and he did it perfectly on his first try!
That's when one of Assassin's attacks broke through. Kuroh's katana shattered and his right forearm was severed. The teen cried out and retreated. A fireball from Berserker stopped the enemy swordsman from pursuing. Kuroh tied a makeshift tourniquet above his elbow to help with the bleeding.
Ichigen suddenly appeared behind Assassin and slashed with his katana, cutting the Servant's left arm. There were some red splatters on the ground and the King quickly moved in front of Kuroh and Berserker.
I didn't sense him until it was too late! Does he have Presence Concealment somehow?! A Servant can't be possessing him. He wouldn't last even a second without the Grail's help. Is it part of his Origin?!
An Origin is an aspect that slipped from the Root along with souls. As such, anything with a soul has an Origin and it has a little influence on how someone goes about their day-to-day life. While most beings die without having ever awakened to theirs, those that do awaken to their Origin find themselves consumed by it, unable to fight it like an order from a Command Seal. Ichigen's Origin is why he's lived as a recluse who has stealth abilities, such as a type of Presence Concealment. But the Origin conflicts with his instinct as King to have Clansmen, which is why he only had two.
"What is this?!" Ichigen demanded, the look of panic betraying his normally calm features. He had attacked merely on the instinct to defend what was being attacked. After all, he could hear a fight going on while almost to his house. Once he registered this is actually a Holy Grail War fight, he gripped his katana, Kotowari, tighter in his left hand and held it evenly at the manslayer. The blade reflected the sunlight in a brilliant white light. No, the white wasn't coming from that. It was the colorless aura running through the weapon, activated just now. Which means...
He was able to cut me even without his mana in that sword?! Then it must have sufficient Age. That was correct. Kotowari, handed down through the Miwa lineage, is 500 years old, accumulating enough Mystery to even cut this Servant without augmentation. Unfortunately, it'll only work on those less than 500 years old. The Age has to be greater than that of the mana or magecraft it's trying to cut. And if it becomes broken all of its accumulated Mystery will vanish. Even being repaired won't allow it to regain what's been lost.
Assassin doesn't want to admit it, but this supposed "weakest King" stands a decent chance of killing a Servant.
Kuroh was just staring at Ichigen. He was always staring at Ichigen's back. And to him, that was the best thing. Because it always motivated him to become stronger.
"Master Ichigen...Is it alright if I leave this to you?"
"Yes. Just rest now."
"I'll kill you with your own sword style!" Assassin snarled. He and Ichigen exchanged sword blows, each clash looking beautiful, while Berserker backed up her Master with fire magecraft. The two were fighting together in perfect sync. Assassin eventually found an opening and kicked the King back enough to have him out of the way. After Ichigen was pushed away, Assassin grit his teeth as he blocked Berserker's fan, enveloped in flames and made at least three times larger.
Assassin prepared to do a wide-area slash. Thinking quick, Berserker picked Ichigen up in her left arm and turned to leap away with him. The enemy stopped his attack and flashed behind the little girl. "Wasn't smart to turn your back to me." He rammed the butt of his katana into her upper right arm, a crunch resounding.
"Berserker!" Ichigen exclaimed as the female Servant squealed in pain. She succeeded in getting him away, however.
"I'm okay!" She faced Assassin. Blue flames bloomed from the ground around her feet. "I didn't want you to see me in this form...But to protect you...Samadhi Through Transforming Flames!" Berserker waved her fan, her body being enveloped by blue flames. A massive serpentine dragon comprised of those blue flames burst from the blazing twister - No, more like grew out of them. Its size easily dwarfed everything else, including the house. The height of the house was shorter than the height of the dragon's belly to it's back. The temperature had shot up so much that even the grass was curling a bit. Pure white eyes were fixed on the other Servant.
"Ber...serker..?"
This form is from the part of her legend where she turned into a dragon to chase down Anchin. Her other stats are abysmal, having an E-rank in four of her skills and a C in Agility, but her Noble Phantasm stands out the most. It's an EX-rank Anti-Personnel that utilizes her Shapeshift (Fire Dragon) Personal skill. As she doesn't actually possess dragon blood, this was only made possible due to her undying devotion to Ichigen. She'll only be able to maintain it for 30 seconds, but that'll be plenty of time to char this guy.
"I won't allow you to harm my Master!" a distorted voice screamed from the blazing azure dragon.
Assassin grinned. "Good! Let's see just how interestin' ya can make this!"
Berserker spat out azure fire like water coming out of a hose. The other Servant jumped to the side to avoid it, the attack instead downing several trees, then jumped up. He created a platform of violet mana under his feet to land on and used it as a way to move around in midair, a new platform being created each time he stepped down and it vanishing once the foot left it, avoiding the dragon's tail slams and beams of fire. She was quickly becoming irritated.
"Trying to run?!" Berserker roared as she breathed out another stream of fire, coming close to roasting Assassin while he tried to dodge. Dancing azure flames were blocking all his escape routes. Storm clouds were starting to form, indicating that rain will be coming soon. The entire time this was going on Ichigen and Kuroh weren't budging so as to not accidentally become the victims of friendly fire. But the intense heat caused both to sweat heavily.
Berserker quickly wrapped her flaming tail below where Assassin was, flames growing more intense, and her head dove down with open jaws. Instead of retreating, the Ghost of Tosa held his katana firmly with both hands. He jumped back to avoid the dragon trying to bear down on him then leaped at her face, swinging the katana down. Berserker, sensing incoming danger, used her tail to shield her face. But it wouldn't help.
Settlement Sword. An unranked Anti-Personnel Mystic Sword Noble Phantasm that gets stronger with the more sword techniques he's copied, both before and after summoning. This doesn't include anything he's picked up during prior summonings. Because he had spied on the battle between Reisi and Mikoto, he could copy the Blue King's sword style, something he wouldn't have been able to do if he only had the night before that to go off of because of the fog. So that'll also be added. The unleashed attack would also cleanly slice through any weapon or shield that attempts to block, including a mere dragon tail. The only things it can't cut like a hot knife through butter are concepts.
The tail easily separated and the intensity of the strike blew the two humans away, a miracle that those slicing winds didn't rip up their clothes, and also cutting the house in half. Berserker jerked back with a deafening bellow then returned to normal form in a twister of those blue flames, falling into the house through the new hole in the roof. Along with slicing off her tail, the strike had also skimmed her left side and cut it. This was reflected with her left horn, ear, and arm being cleanly severed. Her legs had been sliced off mid-thigh, so she could no longer stand. Lots of blood coated the left side of her face. Berserker was weakly attempting to crawl away, yellow eyes glazed with pain. Her broken right arm was abruptly twisted behind her back and the girl's face was roughly shoved to the floor. Assassin sneered and leaned down to her ear. "This is your punishment for bein' a weak Servant." He stabbed her through the back with his katana, damaging her spirit core. Berserker screamed in agony. Having an injury to their spirit core is incredibly painful for a Servant.
"Leave her alone!" Kuroh shouted, he and Ichigen having run back to the yard. He picked up his katana in his left hand and charged at Assassin. His blade lifted a little and Kuroh's belly burst open, he and his intestines hitting the ground in grotesque, bloody heaps.
"Kuroh..." came Berserker's faint whimper. "No..."
Ichigen took a step forward. "Kuroh!" That's as far as he got. A long slice suddenly appeared on Ichigen's neck. When did he..? That's when he collapsed onto the ground.
"Master Ichigen..!" Kuroh gritted out as tears escaped his eyes. He was unable to keep his King safe in the end!
The female Servant weakly reached out her hand to the two humans. The men slowly crawled beside her. Tears were spilling from Berserker's yellow eyes. "It hurts a lot..."
Ichigen firmly grasped her hand along with Kuroh. "It's okay. We're...here for you...We're a Clan...We're a family...We'll always...stick together..."
Her type of Madness Enhancement allows her to see If someone's lying to her. Should it be her Master, she would remove his Command Seal, meaning she's a Servant able to break a pact on her own. The fact she didn't meant that he had never lied to her. That made her truly happy. If they had won the Holy Grail, Berserker would've wished for a world where everyone told the truth but...she would be satisfied just continuing to live in peace with the Colorless Clan. How many lifetimes has she desired to remain with the humans she found herself with? Perhaps all of them. At least...that's what she wants to believe.
Her eyes closed as her body dissolved into motes of blue mana. "Thank you...so much..."
Ichigen closed his eyes while smiling. After a bit, his body stilled. Kuroh's eyes went wide. "Master Ichigen, open your eyes..! Master Ichigen!" He shakily lifted his left hand to send out the spectral one at the enemy Servant, blind with rage that this one was the cause of this death, but Assassin stabbed the hand down before the attack could emerge.
"Should I be merciful and grant ya a swift end? Or will I let ya bleed out like the Blue King?"
Kuroh turned his head and glared at Assassin through tear-filled eyes. "You're a monster!"
"Call me what ya will. You'll be joinin' him soon." With that, Assassin went into spirit form.
His eyes flicked over to where Berserker used to be and finally to where Ichigen sat, looking at peace even in death. Tears escaped his eyes. "Forgive me..." He reached into his kimono and pulled out a recorder. He used it to record many of Ichigen's haikus and would often play them back. He just needed to hear his King say another to bring himself comfort. He pressed a button on it.
"The freezing rain falls. But the clouds will part in time. And light will shine through."
Kuroh smiled as the device slipped from his grasp, clattering into the large puddle of blood, and his eyes slowly closed. Thank you, Master Ichigen...
Meanwhile, a parrot took to the skies and a mouse scurried away.
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Anna was hunched over the toilet, dry heaving. Tears were spilling from her squeezed-shut eyes.
"Get out...Please...Get out..." She had no idea what she was pleading with to remove itself from her body but she knew she wanted it gone.
"I learned Assassin has just killed the Colorless King, Ichigen Miwa, and his Servant, Berserker," Nagare said when the others returned to the room after finishing training.
Yukari's head was down with his hair hiding his expression. "And what of his Clansman, Kuroh Yatogami?"
"The Black Dog has also been killed."
"I see...I need to go to my room right now."
"Yukari!" Sukuna shouted but Tenkei put a hand on the boy's shoulder.
"Leave him be for now."
"He must still respect his former King," Nagare said simply as soon as Yukari left.
"So, Berserker's dead? I never got to ask that one to join my army," Rider murmured.
"Given their Mad Enhancement, it probably wouldn'tve been possible," Saber replied. "Wonder who's next to go down?"
Adolf was at a loss for words. Caster had repaired and reanimated some dead mice and linked them to the Silver King so he can use them as familiars to spy on the bases of the Gold, Red, and Colorless Kings. The one for Ichigen alerted him that something was happening. This means he saw the attack on the Colorless Clan.
"Lieutenant...Just how far have you sunk..?"
Tenkei: Fuck! Don't try to defy the laws of physics!
Tamamo: Actually, he's just as vulnerable as the other Masters when up against a Servant.
Adolf: Are you looking to get Heaven's Feel?
Daikaku: At least I'm not running, Weismann.
Cú Chulainn: Since we can both hold our liquor well, let's play a game.
Okada: You fake magi can't even scratch me!
Nagare: Because of these two, I have enough knowledge about a Servant's physiology to make a trap that'll still grant me the desired effects.
Mordred: Man up, ya crybaby. It's only a hand.
Daikaku: I order you with a Command Seal.
Next chapter: Break In