Chapter 69: The Knot

Earlier…

Shidou could only gawk at the sky, as a literal ship was burning and falling down. There is no doubt that people already witnessed the phenomenon in the sky. What's worse, is that he could identify the ship as the one that belonged to her sister.

Kotori!

Immediately, he felt his legs just move on their own as he grabbed Tohka's hand and dragged her on.

"B-but the ice-cream, Shidou?!" Tohka tried to argue but it just fell into his deaf ears. Nevertheless, Tohka was fully aware that wherever Shidou was taking him was surely something more important than those delicious ice-cream.

Tenka followed suit too. She could feel that something exciting was happening by the distance. She was following closely behind Shidou.

Shidou already tried to deduce the location of the impact and then prayed that there would be survivors from that disastrous flight.

*KABOOM!*

Shockwave burst forth, even at a distance and it almost tripped Shidou along the way backwards. It felt as if the wind slapped his face with such force.

Also, the heat.

So much heat it made Shidou shocked as he tried to shield himself from the heat wave using his arms and he could feel the hotness crawling on his skin. He subconsciously places Tohka behind him.

And then there's the bright light.

Shidou tries to hurry up even if he has to circumnavigate around the house, well actually destroyed, and the road. He hoped that whoever lived in it survived the blast.

Even with the conflicting thoughts disturbing his thoughts, Shidou still completely believes that her sister is still alive and ok. Afterall, he got his regenerative ability from Kotori, right?

Kotori, you better be ok…

He kept on shoving those dark thoughts away as he felt the fatigue digging into his legs. The heat was getting more intense as he ran toward the source of impact and Tohka still in tow, clueless of what was happening right now.

"S-Shidou, why is it burning over there?" Tohka tried to ask but Shidou was seemingly focused enough to ignore Tohka.

When he realized that he was somehow skipping her question, Shidou tried to answer but all of the sudden, he felt his body being taken away by someone and immediately, he clasped upon Tohka, who hugged Shidou tightly a little bit too much.

"Apologies for later but we need to go there as fast as possible, am I right?" Tenka told him while partially dressed in her dark armor, was now flying with Shidou and Tohka in tow. Shidou really wanted to ask how Tenka managed to manifest her armor after being sealed but seeing that they have more important issues to tackle, he was better off keeping his mouth shut.

Already, Ritsuka and her Spirit gangs converged around the impact site, and even managed to quench the fire off the craft, now utterly destroyed. Their attention was set upon the sky but when he was arriving, they immediately acknowledged his presence.

By glancing toward Ritsuka, he could feel the conflicting atmosphere around them. Then his attention was set upon the one being accompanied by Jackie and the Nightingale. Aside from the survivor's stumps covered in bandages, he could tell that she was alright, for now. The only thing bothered him was that it wasn't even Kotori but Reines herself.

His heart skipped a beat. There's no way Kotori would be…

"Shidou!" Ritsuka exclaimed, interrupting him from any dark thoughts. "We need to help her get out of this damn place."

"W-Where's Kotori!?"

"We don't know…" Ritsuka swayed her head. "S-she's not here."

Shidou's widened eyes glanced toward the wreckage again. No sign of Kotori somewhere. And then to the other side, rows of bodies, whom he readily identified and where being taken care of by one of Ritsuka's Servants. Perhaps, they have already salvaged whatever bodies that were crushed by the ships.

His heart skipped another beat and felt his blood run cold. His trembling eyes made sure that he did get quite the details of every body and he admitted that it might be awful for him but thankfully, Kotori couldn't be found.

His wishful thoughts made him think that maybe, whatever violent altercation that Kotori has been involved in, maybe she managed to escape before it gets worse. He felt his eyes trembling, for making himself so awful right now.

"Shidou, are you alright?" At first, Ritsuka's voice didn't register into his ears and when he looked at her face, he saw how tired, concerned and scared she was. He didn't quite notice that Tohka and Tenka were very quiet upon this revelation. Even more so when he was breathing rapidly.

His attention was shifted toward Reines, the sole survivor, who seemed to be peacefully sleeping, despite the amputated left arm and a leg. Surely, she might have any inklings of what happened to Kotori before this.

Then, he made way toward her but before he could reach her, Mashu confronted him, with arms wide open. Shidou really wanted to get angry but pushed that emotion farther down. It was because of Mashu and Ritsuka that they managed to save Reines.

"I-I know that this is shocking for us but you need to calm down, Shidou." Mashu explained.

Surely, Shidou was relaxed. He's not in a state of shock, Surely… he's just as shocked as they were. When he became conscious of himself, he felt his heart constricting all of the sudden.

But he remained steadfast. He clasped his chest so hard.

Now that he had calmed down, he needed to see the bigger picture. He can't just be blind to what was happening. He noticed earlier that they seemed to be looking up at the sky, and hoping that whatever scenario was happening in the sky, he eventually looked up and was surprised.

He immediately recognized Saber, perhaps one of the strongest Servants of Ritsuka and the other, it took him a second before he realized who it was.

Ellen. He might not be quite versed on what her armor is but he was quite sure that it wasn't somewhat techy at its finest. In fact, he might have considered it as one of the Spirits.

S-spirit. That crazy lady was a Spirit all along? Is she the reason why the Ratatoskr was destroyed?

There's no point in being divulged in this realization, as Saber is winning in that hopeless fight. But he couldn't help but feel uneasy.

It is as if this is just too easy.

What if this is a whole trap?! Even if there is, Shidou couldn't tell what trap they were clueless of and it made Shidou even more nervous.

Why is he so helpless all of the sudden?

Before he can get things figured out it happened.

It was just too fast. There's no sound registered.

*...*

It is as if he felt his body hurt all over again and again before he was thrown away like a ragdoll. To be more accurate, it is as if he was being swooped violently by a wave, one that was awfully painted black.

*...*

black like particles singed his eyes and burned him inside and out. His consciousness blinked out.

*...*

Broke his bone twice, thrice. Into smithereens.

*...*

Shidou doesn't know if he is still dead or alive.

Ritsuka could only cover her ears, pleading for the deafening, wailing sound of a somber explosion (she wasn't even sure if it was an explosion or not) to stop. Misery after misery, she doesn't know when it will end or if there is still another following her. Maybe, she's just awfully unlucky this time.

Those black mud were awfully familiar to Ritsuka, to the point that she recalled all of the sudden back when they were in Babylonia. A splotch of black substance singed her cheeks, reddening it as a result. Ritsuka subconsciously patted it, pain flaring in retort. She could only feel the dread building up inside her.

It is as if Tiamat haunted her more… There is no doubt that her nightmare is becoming a reality.

*...*

Mashu just only grunted in more effort as she deployed her shield against the relentless mud wave. The force, the impact and the weight all she endured since the beginning of this explosion. Shielder honed it to her danger sense, being repeatedly thrown into any dangerous situation has made her more alert since then.

"S-Senpai, just hold on a bit." Mashu assured her Master amidst the rushing tides. Her sharp hearing could only collect the hot bubbling and the calamitous muds, but not her Master's carefree speech. She just only strained her neck back just to make sure Ritsuka was ok.

"Senpai?" She was worried right now as Ritsuka was currently slumped by her own self, attention was absent with those dead eyes. Mashu could only bite her lips in frustration.

She must first protect her Master from this black watery wave that was now reducing in intensity. The mud was filling up to their legs and they felt them hot and warm. All of the houses and buildings present around them disappeared, might be because they were swept away all of the sudden.

Ritsuka was just there, sitting on the ground, stained by all of this accursed mud, dreadfully reminiscent of what they have witnessed back into that certain singularity. Mashu immediately ventured to her Master, as she was worried about her present constitution.

As if Ritsuka was a delicate doll, Mashu carefully patted her on her shoulder. "S-Senpai, are you alright?"

Mashu insisted that they were ok, but knew too well that if her Master, who is known as somewhat talkative, wasn't responding too well, then she knew there was something wrong.

Mashu then planted her shield away, kneel in front of her Master, held Ritsuka's shoulders and then tried to focus onto both of her eyes. Ritsuka was unresponsive as heck. Mashu could feel her trembling in anxiety.

"Senpai! Please wake up!" She pleaded, tears already welled up in her eyes as she shook her out gently. If her Master wouldn't respond for another minute, she might consider calling Nightingale to enact her Noble Phantasm on her.

A bright glow encompassed Ritsuka already and it made Mashu more alarmed.

Before Mashu could warn the Berserker of the Master's current transformation, she was immediately thrown back by some kind of invisible force over a considerable distance, landing her on the same filthy mud. Glowing tendrils suddenly sprung out of Ritsuka, whom the last Master of Chaldea just ignored as she continued to clasp her legs together.

Mashu could only bear witness to her Master at a distance. When she attempted to get up and fetch Ritsuka, she immediately sensed immediate danger and leaped away from her current position, black, mud-like substance staining her suit further.

*SPLASH!*

Looking back, she almost realized that she would be almost crushed by some kind of a sludge monster. When she became aware of her surroundings, other than her Senpai transforming, she realized that monsters are now sprouting everywhere.

*GRRROOOOWWWLLLL!*

The one that was adamant to strike her down growls at her and charges at her head-on. A couple of skips and jumps, Mashu recovered her shield and placed it in front of her.

*SPLASH!*

She grunted with effort as the beast was blasted into liquid as it impacted Mashu's shield. Shielder was fully washed by the sludge all over her body and it was getting annoying for her.

When she was sure that there are no inky monsters nearby, she shifted her attention back to her Master, whom she suspected was the source of the monstrosity, despite the contrast of her Master's light visage.

Her Master was now sporting a pair of wings that originated from those glowing threads and might be forming more based on a thousand tendrils sprouting nonstop out from her.

When the surrounding monsters that suddenly mobbed around the Ritsuka, Mashu realized that maybe the inky monsters belong to someone else, perhaps an enemy Spirit? Mashu could only worry in uncertainty.

She wanted to clear the monsters away from Ritsuka, or whatever kind of a container made of wings but those same tendrils shot away at any beast that dared to touch the Master of Chaldea, melting them back to the mud.

Thanks to that, Mashu managed to find an opportunity to cut the gap closer to Ritsuka. While she might have intention to approach her curled up Master within the wings, which was floating up, she doesn't know what to do next.

She was still in a dubious state when suddenly she needed to raise up her shield when her instincts demanded her.

*BONK!*

A rather meaty impact pushed Mashu a distance away from her Master again, skidding her feet against the mud with a grunt. Shielder slightly lowered her shield in order to glance at the perpetrator that intended to separate her from her Master. She has this suspicion that whoever it was, was too familiar to her.

Mashu could only heave in concern.

Right in front of her was Nightingale herself, with her fist raised already against her. It was smoking due to the recent impact she had. She was also drenched in the same mud-like substance that was already prevalent everywhere. For someone who was obsessed with sterilization, Berserker seemed to be awfully ignoring it.

Mashu really wanted to be relieved that one of the Servants that could possibly calm her Master had arrived and yet her gut feeling was telling her otherwise.

"Nightingale-san?" She tried to reason by calling her out, hoping that the Berserker was just acting like, well, a Berserker.

Nightingale, meanwhile, seemed to be out of focus. It took her a full minute before she could respond before Shielder and before that, the two of them just stood there warily at each other."I am sorry, Mashu but I intend to prioritize Master's safety."

Mashu could assure her that Nightingale is still within the bounds of reason but the way she told her has tipped her off of something else.

"W-What do you mean, Nightingale-san?" She wanted to make sure, since any hope that her Master would return wanes drastically once the Berserker was acting strange right now.

Berserker was preparing a fighting stance. "I am being ordered to stop you from approaching Master from now on." She tightened her hand into a fist and then punched her left, where it happened to have another monster, which proceeded to melt. . "...or at least that's how she feels that she wanted me to do."

Mashu was now terrified of what Nightingale could imply. Maybe, her Master has used a command seal subconsciously while being transformed. What's worse is that maybe it would be broadcast to the other Servants.

Nevertheless, she has no other choice but to raise her shield.

Shidou woke up and blinked for a moment when he realized that he was currently submerged in some kind of a blackened mud. He was still wobbly when he tried to stand up and it was a bit difficult because the strange mud was still clinging to his body.

He was a bit busy trying to clean up the heavy muck on his own body when he was about to be attacked by some kind of a mud monster.

He shrieked in surprise.

"Gaaaahhh~!"

*SLASH*

and it melted after being separated into two pieces. Shidou was hyperventilating. He was not confident that the next time managed to get him, his regeneration might not be fast enough.

In front of him was Tenka, half dressed with her astral dress and already wielding her sword Angel. She looked determined already.

"Stand up, Shidou, Stand up!" Tenka was deadly serious as he pulled Shidou up. "There are so many and they are coming!" She warned him.

Shidou looked around and there were already three more that appeared and were ready to face them. Tenka didn't give them a chance and swung her sword at them. Shidou instinictively ducked.

*SLASH*

They too were melted in similar fashion.

"Where's Tohka!?" Shidou asked Tenka wearily, and all she could give him was an uncertain expression.

"I don't know. I still need to deal with these monsters as efficiently as possible." Her eyes sharpened with lethality. "And I think I knew where they came from."

Shidou was still deep in his grief to follow up with what Tenka had said recently as his sister is still missing and now Tohka was nowhere to be seen. Tenka already pulled him in as she expertly sliced a monster into four pieces in one slash.

"Shidou! Don't you dare sleep on me." Tenka warns and immediately Shidou concedes.

"F-fine then." He swore he just felt weak right now. Tenka gathered all of her strength before she jumped and flew, in great bounds with Shidou into while obliterating a couple more of the monsters from their awakening.

He was dangling from Tenka's stronghold as it seemed they were propelled into the air for a minute before Tenka landed with a crunch. Shidou was thrown away as a result as Tenka inflicted more air slashes around them, destroying any remnants of the monsters that were near them already.

It seemed that the number of mud like beasts multiplied and Shidou doesn't know if Tenka can still defend them or not. Shidou willed himself Tohka's sword and immediately, Sandalphon appeared in his hand.

"Good. You better defend yourself." Tenka remarked as she slashed diagonally, obliterating another horde of monsters. She was already stained with pitch-black mud all over her body.

Shidou already slashed those fiends with one swing and another with a follow up strike. It seemed that he was faring well but feared that whatever this new found strength might be exhausted sooner or later if the monsters kept on multiplying for unknown reason.

Recently, he caught a glance to some kind of a truck earlier which seemingly Tenka was now approaching while defending herself from the sudden assaults of these mud monsters. It took him a minute to figure out it was the same ice cream truck near their house.

'C-could it be something related to these monsters?'

Shidou slashed another from getting too close to him. He was already bathed in this unknown mud from the top of his head down to his submerged legs. It seems that whatever Saber has taught him made him fair well with surviving the explosion.

Once near the wrecked ice cream truck, Tenka ripped away most of the metal. Being curious, Shidou was approaching already while taking advantage of the path few of the monsters which he easily took down.

Tenka was just standing there, watching in disgust at what she witnessed inside the wreckage while her arms seemingly moved her blade to intercept and slay those mud monsters that kept on pouring around her.

Shidou already reached Tenka and stood beside her.

What he had seen made him reel back in horror. Luckily, Tenka hasn't let down her defense around them as Shidou was still terrified of what he had seen.

An emaciated form of a naked girl, with various tubes stuck on her, various parts of her others are already detached away from her, with those holes overflowing with the same pitch black mud. She has long ash coloured hair that tangled with her lanky limbs and her eyes were deadened even though it seems that she's barely alive and that her ribs are already poking out.

Shidou wanted to puke but Tenka kept him straight enough.

"Shidou, we need to shut her down." Tenka commented and it didn't take for Shidou to figure out what it means and yet he has difficulty accepting the reality. Tenka still keeps on defending themselves that well, even if the inky like monsters are now agitated. She wanted to make sure that Shidou would be the one to release this poor woman from her torment or else she would do it once she saw him hesitating.

There is no room for pity if they were in the state of being attacked.

This just confirms that the semi-alived woman was responsible for the mud-like monsters attacking them.

Shidou could only raise the Sandalphon's tip and briefly touch the lady's sternum, who was responsive enough to turn its head and look straight at his eyes in peace.

It seems she was smiling weakly, accepting of her fate right here right now.

'...Thank you…'

She managed to whisper those words to him in her creeping breath.

Shidou momentarily cried and felt his heart heavier any moment. The Sandalphon seemed to be heavier any moment he sustained its weight. Maybe, he's pitifully weak after all.

His limbs were shaking terribly.

…

Why am I so pathetic?

Why is it so unfair?

…

…and Shidou drove the sword into her chest, ending her instantly.