FATE/PARALLEL COLORS

Chapter 12: Paternal Love

Carolus Patricius, SE. RA. PH timeline

Connla's mind gradually regained consciousness, and she stirred about to work out the kinks in her muscles. She soon opened her eyes and found herself in a bedroom she had never seen before. She blinked in confusion, then quietly sat up and looked around in a daze. She still felt really exhausted, so she wasn't in the mood to get out of bed and move around. She tried to recall what had happened to her before completely blacking out, but her memories were so fuzzy that she just stared forward with a blank gaze for several long minutes.

That was when she heard the distant sound of cannon fire coming from the window. She looked over and noticed that there was a gigantic fortress hovering a few kilometers away. Numerous explosions dotted the ironclad fort, indicating that there was some sort of massive battle occurring. After a short while, Connla recognized the huge structure as that of the St. Metropolita, where she had been held captive before.

That's right… I lost against Gilles and Lancelot… and then… I think I spoke to someone else…

Her thoughts refused to clear up. She was still so dreadfully tired that she could only lie back down and stare at the ceiling. Instead of trying to understand how she got here, it was better for her to think about what she was going to do now. She felt bad for not being able to participate in this big battle, but she knew that she would just slow everyone down in her current condition. All she could do was pray that the allied forces would succeed in their assault against Rex Magnus.

As Connla remained there lost in her thoughts, she spotted what looked like a small rainbow streak blitzing through the sky between the two flying castles. Glints of red, green and blue danced about until they turned around and headed straight for the place she was at. Anxiety gripped her, fearing that she was about to be under attack. However, the multicolored streak landed just outside her window in a brilliant display of colors. When the lights dissipated, she spotted a tanned woman she hadn't seen before. She was both beautiful and fearsome, wearing as little as possible so she could show off the many tattoos covering her body. On first glance, one would think that her hair was incredibly long and silky, but on closer inspection, it was actually a giant veil she wore upon her short white hair. The prismatic lights emanated from a thin tri-colored sword she wielded.

The woman's bright red eyes made contact with Connla's. The child Lancer's heart jumped, and she seized up with fear. The warrior woman's intense gaze soon softened though, and she calmly hopped through the window to meet her in person.

"I see you're awake," she murmured in a gentle, and surprisingly familiar voice.

"Who are you?" Connla asked.

"You don't remember me? It's Altera, the girl you met while you were imprisoned."

"Al… tera…"

The Lancer tried to think back to when she met Altera. However, her mind was still too cloudy for her to recall anything distinctive, and she shook her head in dismay. Altera smiled a little and said, "It's all right. The process of being turned into particles must have caused a tremendous shock for your Spirit Core. Besides, I was in my larva form back then. This is the first time you're seeing me in my proper form."

"Larva form? Proper form?"

"Never mind that. There's something more important I wish to discuss with you."

"What is it?"

"I need you to accompany me to meet with Karl in person."

"Karl… as in Rex Magnus, the emperor who has been threatening SE. RA. PH?"

"Yes. Though I may be his sister, I have made a decision to stand against him."

Connla tilted her head. "You want to fight your brother?"

"It is because he's my brother that I wish for him to cease committing such atrocities. It is my fault that he has walked such a destructive path in the name of love and unity. I feel it is my responsibility to set things right," Altera said.

Connla didn't really understand what she was talking about, but decided not to ask any questions. Instead, she wondered, "What can I possibly do to help? There's no way I can fight like this. I don't even have the strength to lift a pencil."

"You don't need to. I will be your sword in battle. There's another important job… No, actually there are two tasks that I need you for, particularly once the battle with Karl concludes."

"When it… concludes?"

"Back when you and Karl spoke with each other, I got the sense that you wanted to say something to him, but didn't have the courage to do so. Perhaps once he is defeated, you will have the opportunity to tell him what's on your mind. I think it will be a good thing for him to hear."

Once Altera said that, Connla glanced away and thought back to when she was imprisoned. Although the memories weren't entirely clear, her emotions remained vivid. Yes, there certainly was a strong opinion she had which she didn't have the guts to remark on back then. She didn't know how it was going to help Altera, but if it was part of some strategy she had in mind, she had little reason to refuse to cooperate.

The Lancer soon nodded and murmured, "Okay. I'll help you as best as I can with Rex Magnus. But what is the other job you need me for?"

Altera's expression stiffened. "It's Cuchulainn."

"Eh? Father's here?"

"He's assisting SE. RA. PH's Master in his stand against Karl. However, I have strong concerns over his fragile state of mind, considering that he witnessed his own child be turned into blue particles."

Connla immediately knew what that meant, and her skin paled several shades. Under her breath, she gasped, "Oh no…"

"I think you see where I'm going with this. If left alone, Cuchulainn has the potential to achieve his full warp spasm. He may be able to defeat Karl like that, but I have my concerns about whether or not he can discern between friend or foe in such a state. I am aware of the story where Ulster's men were so terrified of Cuchulainn's wrath after your death that they used an illusion to make him fight against the waves for three days and three nights straight. I may be the harbinger of destruction, but I am not at my full power, so even I may not be a match for him when he's in such a feral state."

"I know. I saw Father's riastrad for myself during my fight with him. Once he gets like that, there's not much anyone can do except get out of the way and let him exhaust himself."

"But the Master and his allies will not be safe. They will be too exhausted from fighting Karl to even consider calming Cuchulainn down."

Invigorated by this turn of events, Connla quickly scrambled out of her bed and declared, "Even if I can't do anything about Rex Magnus, I have to at least help Father regain his senses. He must be so upset after seeing me being literally ground into dust that he'll destroy anything and everything in his war path. If he goes berserk and hurts his comrades because of me, I don't think I would be able to live with myself. I have to at least show him that I'm okay, and that he has no reason to be so angry."

"Good," Altera said and scooped the little girl upon her arm. "I'll handle all of the fighting while escorting you to Karl. You keep yourself out of the enemy's sight until the time is right."

"Mm."

With that, Altera leapt back through the window, then performed another mighty hop that sent both Servants sailing in an arc towards an open balcony on the St. Metropolita. Connla squeezed her eyes shut and held on tight to Altera's shoulders as they descended upon the platform.

In the cathedral-styled throne room of the grand fortress, Hakuno Kishinami and his Servants – Nero Claudius, Tamamo no Mae, Charlemagne, Cuchulainn, and Robin Hood – stood together in opposition to the lone king standing tall before his throne. As Charlemagne represented the 'fantasy' aspect of Charles the Great, while Karl was the 'reality' aspect, it was most fitting for the knight to be the one to debate with his counterpart. It was sad for Hakuno to see it, though. His friend of only seven days, Charlemagne, was indeed just a wild story told by bards to earn their keep back in the day, yet he was steadfast in protecting reality. On the other hand, Karl was the one and true king who lived around 1300 years ago, yet was trapped in a fantasy of enforcing love and peace through tyrannical power. It was no wonder the original Charles the Great had been split into two Servants. He must have wanted to make peace with these contradictions, and could find no other way than to have them fight it out, with SE. RA. PH as the battleground of his choice.

Although Karl appeared cornered by the Moon Cell's Master and his Servants, he had consumed a tremendous and terrifying amount of power due to the Monolith that granted him his Oraclization abilities. Hakuno and the Servants were the only ones left in all of SE. RA. PH that hadn't been assimilated into Karl's kingdom. If Karl could just crush this final bastion against his crusade, he would be victorious. Everyone knew he wasn't going to restrain himself any longer.

"Behold! Gaze upon the one true unity I have sought after!" Karl spread his hand out and cupped his fingers around the image of Earth far in the distance, as if boasting his triumph before the battle even started. "If these bestial Philistines, with their limited wisdom and unparalleled depravity, are unable to release themselves from their unending sins, then I shall shine my light upon them as their one and true Savior! God is merciful and loving! I am also merciful and loving! Therefore, it stands to reason that I am God! I have sacrificed this body so that I may stand here as the embodiment of God's will! Those who stand in my way are heretics! But do not worry! It is only human nature to resist what cannot be understood! Once I have assimilated you, I shall forgive you for your sins and incorporate you into my everlasting empire!"

Robin rubbed his pinky in his ear and droned, "Whew, and here I thought the Sheriff of Nottingham was full of hot air. Hey, Charlie! Are we gonna do this thing, or did we come all this way just to be an audience for His Holiness' solo performance?"

"Don't worry," the French knight replied with a smirk. "Just figured I'd give him the courtesy of letting it all out before defeating him."

"I don't know if that's supposed to be courteous or an extremely dick move on your part."

"Ha ha ha! It just feels more awesome to put the bad guy back in their place after making such huge boasts, wouldn't you agree?"

Nero's smile beamed as she remarked, "Indeed! One who talks too much will eventually be crushed by their own words!"

"So you regard my conviction as mere pontificating, do you?" Karl retorted angrily. "If violence truly is the only thing you creatures can understand, then so be it! Accept the full brunt of my love and PERISH!"

When he said that, the entire chamber began to shake violently. Tamamo's eyes widened as she cried out, "That's impossible! He has enough mana to use another Noble Phantasm!?"

A door of pure light seemingly opened over the throne behind Karl, and he floated into the glowing portal before the doors slammed shut. More and more magical energy was being sucked in, which caused all of the stained glass windows to shatter and rain pieces around the group. It soon became apparent that the large structure comprising the throne wasn't actually a chair at all, but some sort of machine designed for combat. Mechanical parts whirred and rotated until they formed what looked to be a quadrupedal monstrosity with a huge golden face affixed to the front.

This was Karl der Große's third Noble Phantasm; Karolus Patricius Auctoritas, or 'Karl, the Great Paternal Authority'. It was the St. Metropolita's attack mode, which swallowed Karl whole and turned him into the core that would move the machine known as his 'system of rule'. The five Servants readied their weapons in response and waited for Hakuno's orders.

"Charlie, go forth and claim your victory to your heart's desire," the Master spoke. "Nero, cover the rear for him. Robin, sabotage the Attack Programs and the cannons so they don't interfere with the vanguard. Tamamo, use your Noble Phantasm to augment everyone's abilities. If you can siphon the mana from Karl's reserves, then do so. Cuchulainn…"

Hakuno glanced at the blue-haired Lancer, who had been completely silent the entire time. He never contributed to the debate nor the humorous quipping. His eyes seemed to shimmer with fury the longer he stared at Karl. In a situation like this, there was only one appropriate order Hakuno could give him:

"Fight as you see fit."

Cuchulainn got into his low fighting stance, and growled in an uncharacteristically deep voice, "Roger."

The four attacking Servants ran forth towards Auctoritas as a cohesive group, with Tamamo hanging back so she could activate her Noble Phantasm. Charlemagne and Cuchulainn both took the lead in assailing the mechanical behemoth. Nero offered assistance by fending off the larger Attack Programs that tried to gang up on the two men. Robin remained a relatively safe distance from the main battle, preferring to run around and sabotage the dozens of lesser robots in the background. This gave the two fighters plenty of space to wail away at Auctoritas with reckless abandon.

"Give it up! This is the holy day, when my light shall spread throughout the land!" Karl's voice echoed from inside the monster. Auctoritas swung one of its front legs at Charlemagne, knocking him back with such force that he almost went flying out the nearest window. He took out a spear from his personal armory of twelve weapons and jammed the blade deep into the ground, halting his tumble and allowing him to regain his equilibrium before returning to the fight.

Despite beating back Charlemagne, Karl struggled to keep up with Cuchulainn's rapid movements and flurry of spear strikes. It was understandable to him if Charlemagne was the one fighting with such intensity. What exactly was driving Cuchulainn, of all Servants? He couldn't resist asking.

"What is your grievance with me, Son of Lugh?" Karl inquired as he made Auctoritas charge up a beam shot and fire it at the spearman. He narrowly escaped being incinerated, although a portion of his bodysuit was burned off in the process. He ignored the pain and kept stabbing away at the robot's armor while Karl kept ranting, "Why do you oppose me so, Hero of Ulster? Is it because your beloved mentor Scathach embraced my assimilation and challenged you in my name?"

"Partly that," Cuchulainn admitted. "But I'm not bothered by what Mistress does in her own free time. You could say that once I defeated her, I buried that hatchet pretty damn quickly."

"Then why do you oppose me so?"

"There's another purple-haired Lancer you and your goons targeted. You probably don't remember her well since she was just a tiny bump in the road on your path, and high-and-mighty kings like you don't tend to pay attention to such trifling inconveniences."

"Another Lancer?" Karl murmured in surprise. Despite Cuchulainn's accusations, he remembered Connla quite well. The fact that the True Name Discernment granted to all Ruler-class Servants didn't work on her stuck well with him. Upon realizing that Cuchulainn spoke of her with such familiarity, he blurted, "That nameless girl, whose name escaped even my infinite grace… Did you happen to know her!?"

The Celt's face contorted with riastrad lines, his teeth practically sharpened into fangs, and his bloodshot eyes widened out of a fury that mortal men could not comprehend.

"'Know her', my ass! She's my daughter, you festering pustule of a savior!"

Karl was momentarily stunned by this revelation. However, he didn't let it affect him as he made Auctoritas bash its leg against Cuchulainn's body, pinning him to the wall so hard that it nearly crushed him to death.

"Then you should be proud to be the father of such a valiant soul," the emperor said. "However tiny and feeble she may have been, she gave up her Spirit Core to protect Scathach, and to further my ends as the Moon Cell's one and true God. She is one of many similar heroes who surrendered to my boundless mercy, and allowed me to turn them into the stepping stones of my conquest. I promise you that once I have complete dominion over SE. RA. PH, I shall erect numerous monuments in their honor. It is the least I can do for them in recognition of their service as my precious tools."

Cuchulainn's mind went blank when he heard that. A horrific rage he thought he had suppressed when summoned as a Lancer swelled within him. Deep fear mixed in with his frenzy. He wanted to stop it. He fought against it so hard that sores opened up on his body. But… he couldn't. There was a beast sleeping within him, and it was stirring to life…

Nero failed to notice the change in her ally's demeanor as she clenched her teeth and snarled at Karl, "You despicable-!"

"Not even the least bit sorry about it, are we?" Tamamo muttered. "Well, you just keep flapping your mouth, big guy. You'd just be giving us more reasons to want to kill you. Isn't that right, my Husband?"

The fox maiden glanced over at her Master, but noticed that he was appearing rather pale and unwell. His hand with the Command Spells twitched and trembled against his volition. She yelped in concern, "What's the matter!?"

"Ngh…kh… W-What's going on!? I'm losing my contract with Cuchulainn!" Hakuno shouted. He screamed, feeling as if the bones in his hands were twisting in on themselves and on fire at the same time!

"My Praetor! Please keep a hold of yourself!" Nero cried out.

Robin Hood suddenly stepped back in pure horror and snarled, "Oh shit. That bastard's done it now."

"What's happening?" Charlemagne asked.

"We're getting the hell out of here, that's what's happening!"

Without explanation, the Archer fled the throne room down several flights of stairs before coming to a full stop and desperately gasping for air. Nero and Tamamo held Hakuno steady as they leapt forth together, with Charlemagne following them. Once everyone ceased running, Tamamo tended to the stricken Hakuno as Nero demanded to Robin, "All right, we've temporarily retreated. Start explaining yourself, Archer."

"Are you daft!?" Robin retorted. "Or have you forgotten about what made Cuchulainn such a fearsome warrior in the first place!? It wasn't just him defeating one of Culann's hounds, or of his tutelage under Scathach and mastery of Gae Bolg, or even the Cattle Raid of Cooley! It's because he's the son of Lugh, and the descendant of the Fomorian god Balor!"

"So? He's a demigod. Nothing too particularly noteworthy there, as far as Servants go," Tamamo said.

"His warp spasm, you idiot! What about his warp spasm!? That's what he inherited from his Fomorian lineage!"

Charlemagne gasped and realized, "You're right! Cuchulainn's riastrad is so legendary that it's practically one of a kind! It's said that he would morph into a horrendous monster so ugly and dangerous that it was impossible to describe in words. Even his own allies became afraid of him for that reason. But he wouldn't enter that state just on a whim – it happened either when he wasn't getting his way, or when someone he loved and cared about was killed."

Nero exhaled a breath of realization as she understood what this meant. She murmured, "On top of everything Rex Magnus did to Cuchulainn's only child, he also insulted her sacrifice."

"Yeah… Which means if we didn't follow Robin's advice…"

The pain in Hakuno's hand finally subsided, and he nearly fell over while staring up the stairs at the battlefield. Sweat dripped all over the gobsmacked Master's face as he and the Servants watched a once-in-a-lifetime spectacle unfold before them.

From their perspective, Cuchulainn appeared as a black silhouette with pure white eyes, but it was more than enough for them to comprehend the transformation he was undergoing. His body throbbed like there were multiple hearts beneath his muscles, until his mass swelled in size and he grew large enough to rival a titan. One of his eyes fell out of the socket, while the other was sucked into his cranium so deep that it rendered him blind on that side. A series of additional eyes and mouths with sharpened teeth opened up all over his face, extremities and chest like sentient sores. His hair stood on end so fiercely that his ponytail was undone, now so sharp that apples could be skewered on them. His knees twisted so badly that his kneecaps faced the wrong way. His body temperature was so high that all of the shattered glass lying within the huge chamber melted into piping hot slurry. His body mutated and contorted in so many ways that describing it any further would practically be redundant.

Even Gae Bolg underwent a dramatic size increase to match its owner's gargantuan mass. Probably the only thing that allowed the others to recognize him as Cuchulainn were his ruby eyes and ultramarine hair. Karl was likewise taken aback with the Ulster hero's grotesque mutation, and had come to realize how huge his blunder was for mistreating Connla so blatantly. If this was Cuchulainn's reaction to seeing his child suffer, then maybe Karl could interpret it as a form of love that he failed to understand. The instant he realized this though, he grew furious with the whole thing.

"You… You will never win, Hound of Culann!" the emperor taunted. "Though you may love your child with such fervor, you cannot resist devolving into some form of monster to express it! I, on the other hand, am human! I will love everyone with equal passion, and I will do so as a human being, not as a debauched creature like yourself! Come on then, you spawn of demons born from the blackest womb imaginable! I accept your challenge! Just TRY to overcome my love, if you dare it!"

Cuchulainn couldn't speak coherently enough to retort. Instead, he threw his head back and unleashed a piercing scream before charging headlong towards Auctoritas:

"EEE~EEEYAAA~AAA~AAA~AAA~AAAHHH~HHH~HHH~HHH!"

Altera stormed through the grand halls of the St. Metropolita with frightening ease and swiftness, carving her multicolored sword through a horde of Attack Programs that had spotted her. Countless robots flew everywhere, as if caught in an explosion. The majestic harbinger of destruction stood poised within the epicenter of this chaos, barely fazed by this pathetic attempt at resisting her advance. However, she couldn't be too complacent. She needed to restrain herself for multiple reasons; to conserve her power, to not be detected by Karl during her infiltration, and to ensure that Connla didn't get caught up in the bedlam.

Speaking of which, the child Lancer kept herself hidden behind a pillar at least 100 meters away from the battle. She watched Altera fight with both fascination and worry in her eyes. She wished she could help, but Altera explicitly told her to not assist in any capacity. Given the amount of raw power she witnessed the Saber unleash, she had a gut feeling that she'd be in serious trouble if she disobeyed that order. Besides, she was already struggling to breathe properly just from running behind her at a regular human's pace. All Connla could do was hang back and wait for Altera to beckon her over once it was safe.

As she watched the Saber cleave through another group of incoming enemies, she thought she heard something unusual and quickly darted her eyes back. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary though. She returned her attention to Altera… which was when a dark tentacle wrapped itself around her torso and pulled her back!

"HYAH!?" she screamed.

"What the-!?" Altera blurted and looked over to see what was wrong. To her horror, Connla was being restrained by a gathering of pseudopodia wriggling their way out of black portals conjured from the floor. They were too large for her to fight against with her own strength, and she was too weakened to resist anyway. One tentacle coiled itself around her throat and squeezed, but not enough to properly choke her. It was more an expression of dominance courtesy of the creatures' conjurer.

"Fu hu hu hu hu hu," Gilles de Rais' overly familiar and repugnant giggle echoed through the halls as he revealed himself from around the corner to Altera. "It's been a while, spawn of the alien demon Velber. I let you go for a little walk, and what do I find but you dragging this poor mouse back into the cage!"

"Unhand her this instant, swine," Altera commanded, pointing Photon Ray at him.

"Why? Her flesh shall be the feast, and her blood the wine that will celebrate Rex Magnus' glorious ascension into the realm of the divine! I don't really know what your intentions are, but to allow such a succulent morsel to fall into the hands of a beast of destruction such as yourself will not do at all! Please do not worry, for I will take good care with flaying and quartering this cute rabbit into a meal that would make even the gods moan with pleasure!"

"Don't you dare!"

Connla feebly gasped for breath as the tentacle wrapped itself tighter and tighter around her neck, coming dangerously close to snapping her spine.

SLASH!

"… Huh?"

That tiny yelp escaped Gilles' throat as he felt a strange pain searing his back like lava being poured on him. He soon realizing that the scalding fluid soaking his robes was his own blood, spewing out of a massive diagonal cut that violently opened up. The tentacles restraining and choking Connla suddenly lost their rigidity and released their collective grip on her, allowing her to collapse forward and cough for breath. Altera immediately ran up to her and got her away from the stricken Caster.

"Wh… What… just happened?" Gilles whimpered as he slowly turned around to see who had attacked him. To his absolute horror, he came face-to-face with a familiar knight clad in entirely black armor. He instantly recognized who it was and snarled, "La… Lance… lot!"

Connla looked up at the knight and squeaked in an equally surprised tone, "S-Sir Lancelot?"

Altera was also quite astonished to see him betraying his own comrade, but instinctively knew what the reason was. She said nothing, and Gilles flew into a ranting tirade as he screamed, "What are you DOING!? Have you forgotten that *I* was the one who took you in when no one in this entire Moon Cell would!? Do you have NO gratitude for me convincing Rex Magnus to induct you in his forces!? Or are you so consumed by your useless self-loathing that such concepts fly over your head!? I KNEW IT! I KNEW it was a mistake to make a rabid DOG do God's dirty work for Him! If that's how it's going to be, then I'll feed YOU to the dogs, you worthless pile of feces!"

Lancelot didn't care about what Gilles was raving about. He had seen the Caster abduct Connla and attempt to kill her. A strange image of a cute blonde-haired, puppy-eyed girl superimposed over the Lancer's. It tormented him so much that he wanted to make it stop. Between labored breaths, he managed to utter three distinct words:

"Don't… touch… Gareth!"

"Y-Y-Y-Y-YOU IDIOT!" Gilles howled, his eyes practically falling out of their sockets in sheer disbelief. "DO YOU STILL NOT GET IT!? THAT'S NOT GARETH! THAT'S JUST A NAMELESS WHELP SACRIFICED IN REX MAGNUS' NAME!"

"I… don't… CAAA~AAARRR~RRRE!"

Before Gilles could do anything to retaliate, Lancelot swung Arondight about in a furious frenzy, cutting into the Caster's body so many times that the pain was simply too much for him to process anymore. He slowly fell backwards, unwilling to stare at anything except the majestic murals painted on the ceiling. He thought he could spend his final moments blissfully gazing upon such beautiful artwork, depicting the many angels populating Heaven, and cursing God for propagating the farce he so despised.

However, Altera would deny Gilles that joy. Without warning nor mercy, she ran Photon Ray through his back. His eyes became transfixed on the colorful sword protruding out of his chest. She concentrated her power on the blade, and pure energy coursed through his head and torso.

"Ah… Agh… AguguGUguGUGUguGUGU-"

POP!

His remains bloated and popped. Connla didn't quite understand what was being littered all over the place, but she was so stunned by the spectacle that it was better to leave that question unanswered. She sat there in stupefied silence as Lancelot approached and kneeled before her.

"Uh… um… I, uh…" she stammered, unsure of what to say to him.

"…"

He just stared at her so quietly that she couldn't even hear his breath beneath his helmet. Soon, the tension between them was broken when Altera said, "Lancelot. I thank you for your help. The fact is, Connla and I are on a mission to meet with Karl. Do you intend to assist us, or do you still pledge loyalty to Karl?"

"Guh!" Lancelot grunted as he helped Connla stand back up.

"Heh heh… I see. You always did have a soft spot for ladies who were in trouble."

"…"

"Then I shall resume my advance. Can I ask you to handle the rear so something like this doesn't happen again? I'm afraid our little Lancer here is in no condition to fight."

"Bwah!"

As they agreed upon this, that was when a bizarre scream echoed throughout the entire fortress. The mere sound of it practically made the huge structure shudder in terror. Connla almost dropped back onto her buttocks as she whimpered, "Father…"

"There's no time to waste! We must hurry to the throne room!" Altera shouted and ran forth. Lancelot picked up Connla under his arm and dashed after her.

Now having fully succumbed to the terror and chaos that was his riastrad, Cuchulainn abandoned any semblance of sanity and let his carnal instincts dominate his actions. Even though his legs had been twisted backwards, he somehow managed to dart toward Auctoritas and engage in a titanic contest not too dissimilar to sumo wrestling. The two giants struggled with each other, using all of their might to push back against the other. This got them stuck in a stalemate, with neither willing to budge. Blood vessels ruptured all over Cuchulainn's body, but the fluid quickly evaporated into red steam due to his incredible body heat.

Hakuno and the other Servants couldn't believe what they were seeing. Auctoritas represented Karl's love for all of humanity, while Cuchulainn's warp spasm resulted from his concern for just one person. Despite the huge difference in scale, both of them fought on equal grounds. Even Karl was having trouble comprehending how he was being outmatched by such a feral beast.

"GRAAA~AAAH! BEGONE, YOU FOUL MONSTROSITY!" the emperor screeched, commanding Auctoritas to pin Cuchulainn against the wall, pick him up with its fore legs, and toss him to the ground before crushing its full mass upon him. Bones snapped, extraneous eyeballs popped, and blood spewed everywhere… and yet, Cuchulainn's rabid smile never waned.

"EEE~HAH HAH HAH HAH HAH HAH HAH HAH HAH HAH HAH!"

As the Celt belted one hell of an epic laugh, he squeezed his fingers around the metal plates covering one of the arms, then ripped it off to expose the bright blue core shining beneath. As his original hand grasped the scrap metal, another right arm and hand materialized out of the back of Cuchulainn's shoulder like a snake emerging from the grass, then gripped Gae Bolg pinned beneath Auctoritas' weight and jammed it right into the core. It exploded, incapacitating that limb and forcing Karl to make the robot retreat out of Cuchulainn's range. It unleashed a mighty roar, pushing everything and everyone who was nearby backwards.

However, the Celt just kept pressing forward with no care about how hard his enemy was fighting back. Now that one of Auctoritas' legs was out of commission, this made it easier for him to keep up with it. He held the virtually truck-sized Gae Bolg in a throwing position, then hurled it at the other leg's metal plate. Not only did it cave inward, both weapon and plate relentlessly punctured the second core with one stroke.

"This can't be happening! I am so close to achieving my life's goal! I won't let my dream be ruined by a freak of nature such as yourself!" Karl fumed.

"DIII~IIIEEE~EEE~EEE~EEE~EEE!" Cuchulainn screeched.

Before he could continue fighting the emperor, that was when a second emperor lithely flipped over the mad warrior and slashed her sword at the arm holding Gae Bolg. This severed the nerve and made him drop the weapon.

"That's enough, Cuchulainn! You've weakened him enough for us to finish off! Persist in this rampage, and not even you might make it back alive!" Nero shouted. "Do you want to make your daughter sad, making her hear that she lost her father at the end of this long and bloody war!?"

"SHUT… UUU~UUUP!" the mutated spearman cried out and slammed his other fist against Nero's entire body, making her fly clear across the huge throne room to the opposite wall.

"Saber!" Hakuno yelped.

"Oh my. Is this what we call escaping the freezer and running straight into the frying pan?" Tamamo wondered worriedly.

"You're a goddess, aren't you?" Robin asked her. "Can't you transform into your Amaterasu form and do something about that guy?"

"You make it sound like it's the easiest thing in the world to do! Besides, I already swore off that life and devoted myself to my Husband!"

"Gh!" Charlemagne snarled as he kept himself hidden behind a dilapidated pillar. When neither Karl nor Cuchulainn were looking, he managed to sneak his way through the huge chamber by hiding behind the many statues and columns that were still standing. Even though he was so close to assassinating Karl himself, he didn't want to risk getting caught in Cuchulainn's frenzy, especially after seeing what he did to Nero.

If only there was some way to calm him down just enough for me to-!

That was when Hakuno, Tamamo and Robin heard several footsteps running up the stairs behind them. The fox maiden tried to shout Altera's name upon recognizing her, but she, Lancelot and Connla ignored the stunned trio. Lancelot set Connla down as Altera told her, "Hurry and stop him!"

The child Servant ran into the chamber and screamed with all of her soul, "FATHEEE~EEERRR~RRR!"

"EEE~EEE-uh!?"

Cuchulainn instantly stopped what he was doing and turned to look back at the entrance. Within the many lines of sight his extra eyes managed to process, all of them focused on the purple-haired Lancer standing in the center of Hakuno's group. His entire body shuddered uncontrollably as he cried in desperation, "C… CONN… LA! WH… WH… WHAT… ARE YOU… DOING… HERE!?"

"I'm fine! I'm still alive! There's no need for you to riot like this anymore! Please, come back to your senses!"

"B-BUT… YOU'RE… SUPPOSED… TO BE… RESTING!"

"That's not important right now! You need to calm yourself! If you don't, you might wind up hurting Master or his allies without realizing it! If you did that because of me, I wouldn't know what to do!"

"NGH… GH!" Cuchulainn grunted and fell to one knee. "THIS… BASTARD… INSULTED… YOUR DEATH!"

"He is defeated. His conquest is over. If you keep fighting, you'll just be beating a dead horse. Besides, this isn't like you at all. I didn't take you for being so thin-skinned."

"THIN… SKINNED…"

As he said this, a sense of mirth overcame him.

"PFFT… HAH HAH HAH HAH HAH! YEAH… WHAT THE HELL… AM I DOING?"

Believing that Cuchulainn was gradually returning to normal, Connla ran up to him. As she darted through the throne room though, she suddenly heard Nero's voice shriek, "LOOK OUT!"

"Huh-?"

From her peripheral vision, she spotted a large white light gathering in front of Auctoritas' wide open mouth. The behemoth robot's eyes focused squarely on her, and she was rooted to the spot in pure fright. Milliseconds later, a concentrated laser beam as wide as a house fired upon her. She couldn't do anything except stare at the intense light for a moment before blacking out.