"Talking"
'Thinking'
"Master/Servant Link"
Noble Phantasm
Chapter 23: Shattered expectations
The flash of red was all that consumed Shirou's vision, in the split second before it had impacted he had been able to swing the sword in his hands.
Only barely clipping the shoulder holding the strange sword before the weapon exploded with power, it had barely been enough to move the arm so the weapon wasn't pointing directly at his face.
No that it had mattered much, and was probably the only think which prevented him from instantly dying. Not that he could focus on that silver lining much right now. The red beams of energy tore into his body, lancing their way across his chest and face, burning his skin and leaving marks across him.
Then the winds hit and his body was blasted away, glowing as the Berserker card was shunted from his body and slamming into the ground. The red winds did not stop with him, exploding outwards and shattering the ground where Gilgamesh stood, swords implanted within the ground were obliterated and blasted away in all directions.
Archer covered his eyes at the brightness as the shockwave hit him, he lost his concentration. The reality marble shattered, returning them to the remains of the street.
Shirou's unconscious body was unceremoniously slumped nearby a wall, burns across his skin and his shirt ripped and bloodied, his eyes half-lidded and glazed over as he drifted into his sleep.
Ruby threw up a barrier the instant the winds had hit, and if she had a face she would have paled that the barrier had barely lasted a second before it shattered and sent the young girl hurtling through the air before she crashed into a tree.
Archer slammed into the ground, gritting his teeth at the pounding in his head and soreness that spread across his body.
"Tch." Gilgamesh clicked his tongue at the display, a bitter feeling in his gut. Despite calling out its name, he hadn't had enough time to properly charge Ea before the thief had been upon him, it had only been a snap wind. But even the lowest setting on Ea at close range should have still being more than enough to kill the boy, and indeed he did, had the thief been wielding any other card, he would have died instantly. It was only the Berserker cards impressive regenerative qualities which had saved his life, albeit barely. Restoring his body at the instant of his death, but not before the weapon had scarred him.
Whether or not he survived was a matter of luck now.
Gilgamesh however, was silently raging. It had not been a demonstration of his power over the Faker. It had been a snap decision in a panic which had caused him to fire of Ea prematurely, in fact it was only because the Faker had lost his concentration that the Reality marble had even vanished.
This was...vexing.
Gilgamesh stared at the haggard remains of his opponents, the boy was unconscious and near death, the doll was barely awake and the Faker was writhing around in pain. Which was satisfying to see, but it was still vexing that he was still alive to begin with.
Gilgamesh closed his eyes, breathing in and then exhaling, Ea vanishing into motes of light "Consider it a victory that you forced me this far. Mongrels." he spoke, although none were in a position to hear what he was saying "Die with that-" he paused, turning his head and narrowing his eyes as he sensed something "Stupid Dog." he snarled.
As he regained his coherence, Archer couldn't sense anything that would have caused Gilgamesh to ignore him and the other two, but he wasn't about to question his sudden change in luck now. Whatever Gilgamesh had sensed, it had apparently warranted his full attention.
"Tch." Gilgamesh clicked his tongue, sending a brief glance at Archer and the other two before turning away "Remain there, Mongrel. I shall be back to deal with you later." he ordered, vanishing into motes of light as he left.
Archer wasn't in much of a position to care, he felt like crap and the other two weren't much better. He groaned as he pushed himself to his feet, both Illya and Shirou were in need of aid right now. He didn't care what Gilgamesh was doing, but he was off to fight Berserker for some reason or another, and for the moment, Archer was grateful for the mad servant.
With luck it would give him some time to recover, the Berserker was a perfect foil for him, so he would be a foil for Gilgamesh to.
"Illya…" Archer grunted as he hobbled over to the girl, her eyes were hazy, clearly still disorientated by the blast. He sighed "Ruby?"
"Yes?"
"How is she?"
"A little bit of damage." Ruby explained "I was able to heal the wounds done earlier, but she probably has a concussion right now." Archer could not help his sigh of relief "But...I don't know about Shirou." she went on, sounding more hesitant.
Archer looked over at the boy, and the small pool of blood now surrounding him.
"We need to get them both back to the House." He grunted "Irisviel can do her best for him."
"No weapons to heal people?"
"Not for the damage he's taken." Archer grunted, moving towards the body and then picked him up, Shirou remained silent, save the quiet breathing occasionally interrupted by a slight cough. Archer frowned when he noticed something else, something in Shirou's cuts were gleaming under the moonlight, for the moment he dismissed it, not important right now.
"Archer…" Illya murmured "Wha-…" she rolled over, trying to stand up but failing "What happened…" her eyes moved over to him, then widened in alarm at what he was carrying "Onii-chan!? Shir-oof!" she made to stand up, then fell on her face.
"Illya." Archer called to her "We need to get back to the house, that's the only way to help him now."
"R-Right…" She muttered, hobbling herself over to where he and Shirou were before Archer took off, carrying the boy while Illya flew behind them and moved back into the direction of the house.
'Honestly' Archer bitterly thought to himself 'What a horrible turn of events.'
Miyu was slammed through a tree, Berserkers sudden strength seemingly coming from nowhere as he shunted past her defence as if it didn't exist and then delivered a savage gut punch. She coughed out blood and spit before slumping, her eyes glazing over and the class card being ejected from her body.
"Miyu!" Luvia cried in alarm, then ducked when Berserker backhanded a tree in her general direction, throwing down several gems and forming a green barrier in front of herself as the debris and splinters shattered against it.
"This strength-!?" Bazett cried in alarm as she delivered several punches to Berserkers exposed back, the servant stumbled forwards and then span around with a roar of anger, swinging the branch up at the woman in a lightning fast arc, Bazett had barely enough time to block the strike with her fists before the blow connected, the force behind the attack being more than enough to launch her off her feet and into the air and out of sight deep into the undergrowth.
Berserker then turned his red visor to Chloe and Luvia, growling as his grip on his pseudo weapon tightened considerably. Both girls began to sweat heavily, Chloe still leaned up against the tree with her bow pulled back.
The tanned girl then allowed a smirk to form on her face as the sword she had traced was altered, it extended outwards from its spiral shape and formed a long projectile.
"Bye bye." Chloe let out a huff as she fired the weapon, Berserker tilted his body to the side and lashed out with his free arm, gripping the arrow as it sailed past his body and stopping it dead in the air.
Chloe pales as the creaking of metal signalled the helm slowly turning back towards her, then the servant snapped his arm out.
Throwing the blade back at her, Chloe used what little strength she had left to kick herself away from the tree she was leaning on moments before her own weapon slammed into it, releasing an explosion which threw her away and into the bushes, slumping over unconscious as she made contact with the ground.
Leaving only Luvia, stood protectively in front of Miyu as the servant turned to her again and then began to march forwards.
The blonde haired magus prepared several gems in her hand, although couldn't help the trembling in her body as the servant closed in on her, she moved her hand to throw out the gems before a voice called out, bringing both her and the Berserkers attention away and into the sky.
"It seems there are Mongrels of some minor skill." The Golden servant spoke mockingly down at them, he scoffed as he stared at the Berserker "It is embarrassing for you to be delayed by mere mages and Fakers, but it is to be expected from a mere mutt." he raised his hand and several portals opened up over his shoulder "However...I did not give you permission to gaze upon me, dog." he fired the weapons.
Slamming into Berserker and instantly covering his form in a cloud of dust from the impact, Luvia covered her eyes to prevent dirt getting in her face, she lowered her hands as the dust settled, then widened her eyes in alarm and took a nervous step back as the shadowed Berserker was still standing and looking no worse for wear.
"If my treasures are not being counterfeited, they are being stolen?" The Servant asked, seemingly to himself as his face grew into a scowl "This summoning taxes the limits of my tolerance." he clicked his tongue, red eyes flickered over to Luvia briefly, the girl froze under the weight of his gaze "Mongrel, take the Vessel-" he pointed at Miyu, causing Luvia to send the girl a confusing look "-and leave. I will not have it damaged during my culling of this dog. Ensure it is not too damaged for when I claim it later." he waved his hand "Begone."
Luvia wasn't stupid enough to argue against him, or to question his choice of wording about why he called Miyu something like that, but it was enough for her. Luvia span around and picked Miyu up, carrying her off and into the woods back the way they came.
"Where is-" Bazett made to speak as she emerged, then looked behind Luvia as the sounds of explosions and flashes of gold filled the forest behind the blonde haired Magus.
"Fighting the other servant." Luvia quickly explained "Grab the copy of Illyasviel and follow me."
Bazett looked like she wanted to argue, but decided against it. Figuring that it would be best to do what the girl was saying for the moment, her mission had gotten far more complicated then she had been led to believe and certainly far beyond whatever she had been expecting when she had arrived in this city.
The door to the Einzbern residence was slammed open as Luvia barrelled inside, she then paled as she saw the state of everyone else.
Shirou was splayed out on the dining table, body littered with burns and cuts and completely unconscious while Irisviel was working tirelessly to stem the damage to him. Rin was busy checking Illya over, the girl herself had suffered multiple wounds to her body and a nasty lump on her head, although nothing even remotely close to how her brother looked.
Archer was slumped against the wall, his clothes were torn and there were bruises all over his face and dried patches of blood on his body. He turned to see Luvia enter with Miyu in her arms, Bazett trailing behind her with Chloe in a similar state.
He raised a single eyebrow and looked behind her "...Ran into Berserker did you?"
"Yes." She confirmed, grimacing "He focused solely on Miyu, I believe it had something to do with her card. A personal grudge perhaps." she shook her head "Either way, she needs treatment." she moved through and placed her on the sofa "We would have been finished had the Golden Servant from earlier not arrived."
"Golden servant?" Rin blinked, looking away from Illya and furrowing her brows "There was another one?"
"There still is." Archer grunted "Whether or not we'll see Berserker again is not something I can predict. Either that golden ass will go all out, Berserkers master will retrieve him, or he'll just get bored and leave with some threat." he groaned "Either way...we're in no position to fight anyone tonight."
"I concur." Bazett nodded, handing Chloe over to Sella, the maid stared down at the injured girl with a grimace before she took her off to where Irisviel was "We are at a disadvantage."
"We?" Kiritsugu blinked, looking over to her and scowling "Who are you?"
"Bazett Fraga McRemitz." She introduced herself "Sealing Designation Enforcer."
"...Why is there an Enforcer in my house?" Kiritsugu turned to Luvia and narrowed his eyes, the blonde haired woman looked away from Miyu and towards him with a frown.
"I didn't bring her if that's what you're thinking. She was here for the Class cards." She clicked her tongue "Although, loathe as I am to say it, it is a good thing she is here now. She was able to defeat two of the Shadow Class Cards by herself before myself and Tohsaka were dispatched."
"Hmph." Kiritsugu grunted, looking away as Bazett stared at him in confusion.
"I was only aware of the Matou and the Tohsaka families in Fuyuki." She frowned "...Who are you?"
Kiritsugu stared at her and then looked away, walking through over to Irisviel and speaking to her silently.
"Sapphire." Luvia asked the Mystic code "How is she?"
"Miyu-sama has suffered significant injuries, Luvia-san." The Mystic Code replied "Even with healing Magecraft, she will need at least several hours to recover."
"Illya is the same." Ruby sighed "That servant...that was something else."
"He was Gilgamesh." Archer grunted "And he used his most 'precious' treasure on us. We're lucky to be alive." he frowned "But I don't understand why…"
"He came to us." Luvia sighed "Told me to take the 'Vessel'" she gestured at Miyu "And leave and that he would come to claim it later."
Archer froze, looking over Miyu with narrowed eyes "Vessel?" he stood up and moved over to the pair "That was his exact wording?"
"Yes." Luvia nodded "Why?"
Archer, however, bit his lip and looked away. Suddenly things were making sense to him. He sighed "I don't know, but I have suspicions." he shook his head "Either way, we're going to need time to recover." he chuckled "Good news is that we're probably going to get it, those two are going to waste enough magical energy fighting that they won't be able to do much for around a day."
"Won't he retrieve magical energy if he or Berserker survive?" Rin asked, then frowned "For that matter, where did he even come from?"
"Zouken summoned Berserker." Archer recalled, then clicked his tongue "But that doesn't help us, who else besides Zouken would know about the ritual and even have time to summon a servant to them?"
Rin and Luvia shrugged their shoulders while Bazett remained stoic, her expression cycled through several emotions before it became stern "We will need to discuss this with the nearest Church official."
"He's already on his way." Rin sighed, then turned to see Kiritsugu stare at her with narrowed eyes, she huffed and threw up her arms "What the heck were you expecting me to do? It got out of control when Berserker turned up and now we apparently have...Gilgamesh." she paled as she suddenly recalled the name and then slowly turned her ashen face to Archer "G-Gilgamesh? King of Uruk and Demi-God?"
"Yes." Archer scowled, rolling his shoulders "And apparently he thought he had more important things to do than finish us off, and for once I'm grateful for that arrogance." he clicked his tongue "Although it will make dealing with him harder in the future, he'll be prepared for us."
"What does he even want?" Luvia threw up her arms in a huff "What could possibly have motivated him into action?"
"What motivates all servants." Archer responded cryptically, then turned to see Irisviel and Kiritsugu stiffen, the former pausing in her healing of Shirou and looking over to him in shock.
"N-no." She shook her head "That's not possible...I...I would have known!"
"You would have." Archer nodded "If you were the one affected." his eyes turned to Miyu's unconscious form and narrowed "But he was after something else instead."
"What?" Luvia blinked, then gave Archer an incredulous look "You can't possibly think that-"
"Its mere conjecture so far." He rolled his eyes "However, when she awakes we are going to need answers." his eyes turned away from Luvia and towards Illya, or more specifically, Ruby.
"What?" The Mystic code asked, tilting her body to the side.
"Why was Illya not away from harm?" Archer asked with a scowl "I trusted you to protect her, in fact, what was she even doing out of the house in the first place?"
"...I may, or may not, have encouraged her to help Sakura." Ruby hesitantly admitted, then gave a panicked add on when Archer's expression darkened and he advanced on her "But I told her repeatedly that we should flee the second that the Golden Servant showed up! She didn't listen, even after all that!"
Archer paused, scowl still on his face "Tch. Because she's stubborn." he sighed "For now, you represent an advantage." he looked around "We're going to need a plan."
Before he could continue further, there was a knock on the door. The occupants of the house, all the conscious ones, all turned their attention to the front door.
"I'll get it." Sella called out, rising from checking over Chloe and moving to the front door, then opened it up. "Miss Maiya." she replied, then looked over her shoulder "And company."
"I encountered them on my return." Maiya replied, stepping into the house "They told me they were contacted by the Tohsaka Heiress to meet them here."
Sella narrowed her eyes at the larger man as he stepped into the house, golden cross dangling from his neck and cassock fluttering in the slight breeze. His empty hazel eyes scanned the homunculus in front of him "I am expected, I believe?"
"…Enter." Sella replied in a strained tone of voice, stepping aside to allow the trio into the house, the smaller white haired nun following after the older priest as they were led into the living room.
"Rin." Kotomine nodded to her, the corner of his lip twitched upwards "I see that your night did not go as easily as was expected."
"Very useful for us right now." Rin huffed, crossing her arms "And the situation has gotten worse."
"Ah." Caren nodded her head "Nothing new then, perhaps you are bad luck." the white haired girl went on in a monotone voice "Everytime you appear, bad things happen...like a black cat."
Rin's eyebrow twitched and Kotomine closed his eyes in exasperation, turning his head to get a better look at the occupants and then froze when he got to one, raising an eyebrow at the purple haired woman.
"Bazett."
"Kirei." The woman nodded back, a small smile on her face which quickly vanished as suddenly as it had appeared.
"I was unaware of any visiting Magi into Fuyuki." He replied, then slowly looked over to Rin "Is this another piece of information you neglected to inform me of? Dear me...perhaps some of your fathers lessons have not been properly learned."
"Don't start with me!" Rin hissed "I didn't know she was coming until she came through the door just now!"
"I see." Kotomine nodded his head "Still, this makes for a rather unfortunate situation." he replied "I have already informed the association of a minor disturbance in Fuyuki."
"...Already?" Rin asked in a quiet voice.
"Yes." The priest nodded "I also happened to catch a glimpse of some of the damage on my way here." he sighed "You are quite fortunate that the excuse of 'rampant gas leaks' is still acceptable, the American branch is having issues with that one."
A figure entered the living room again, Kotomine flashed a glance in their direction and then widened his eyes ever so slightly "...Emiya Kiritsugu."
"Kotomine Kirei." The man replied in an equally serious tone of voice, Kotomine looked behind the man and towards Irisviel tending to Shirou, then down to Illya before his lips curled down ever so slightly.
For the barest of moments, a flash of disappointment filtered through his eyes, as if truly realising something for the first time before they returned to their usual hollow gaze "I would offer my aid in healing." Kotomine spoke "I am familiar with the process." he paused "Although there would be...discomfort."
"He just likes seeing people scream." Caren dully spoke up, staring down at Miyu's body, a gleam of amusement in her eyes.
"We're fine." Rin answered with a frown "Although it is...useful you are here."
"Ah, yes." Kotomine nodded "This added complication in regards to your investigation into Matou Zouken." he tilted his head and stared down at the girl "I was under the impression you were investigating him for personal reasons, and now I hear that a servant went tearing through the street and has, I assumed, successfully crippled a number of you." he raised an eyebrow "I do not see how the two are linked."
"It wasn't Zoukens servant." Archer grunted, Kirei turned his attention to him, looking for him to continue his point "Another servant arrived and destroyed the street."
Kirei blinked, slowly, and then turned back to Rin "Another servant, Rin? This is turning into quite the catastrophe."
"I know that!" Rin snapped "Can you do something more than just tell me how badly I've let this situation degrade to this point!"
"I am honoured you hold my skills into such high regard." Kotomine chuckled "However, I am not quite skilled enough to fight servants."
Rin gave him a bitter look "We don't need that, we just need Zouken dead and Sakura...incapacitated."
"Incapacitated?" Kotomine parroted, then frowned "Is Zouken not the more present threat."
"Matou Sakura is the Master of the Berserker servant." Kiritsugu answered, Rin winced as Kotomine sent her a dull look, realising she had hoped to conceal that point from him.
"Would it not be simpler to kill Matou Sakura and exorcise Zouken?" Kotomine raised an eyebrow, Rin narrowed her eyes at him.
"No." She scowled "You're skilled at Spiritual healing, you can remove her command seals, can't you?"
"...I can." Kotomine admitted "And Caren would be skilled enough to deal with Zouken." he frowned "However, it would take time for me to do so and more than enough for Matou Sakura to recall her servant to kill me."
"We can worry about that." Rin answered, Archer looked over at her with an incredulous expression.
"Sakura has already demonstrated where she stands." Archer replied "It would be simpler to kill her."
"No." Rin answered "I am not going to let that happen and damned if I let you do it." she gave a vindictive smile "Not to mention that Illya wouldn't let you either."
"And neither would I." Irisviel called out from the kitchen, a stern tone of voice with none of her usual humour.
Archer sighed "I was merely offering the simplest option."
"And the most logical." Kiritsugu finished, although both Archer and Kiritsugu grimaced at the thought of agreeing with any point raised by Kotomine Kirei.
The man in question merely shrugged his shoulders "Very well. If you wish to follow the most difficult path, that is your choice."
"Regardless of that." Archer cleared his throat, drawing everyone's attention back to him "We need everyone healed up and then focus on a plan."
"Maiya." Kiritsugu looked over to the woman "Were there any further signs of movement at the Matou house before you left?"
"None." She shook her head "The house remained silent after Berserkers attack of Archer and the Matou girl's combat with Tohsaka."
"Combat?" Kotomine sighed, giving Rin another dull look "You seem to be making this a far more difficult request by the minute, Rin. How unreasonable you have grown up."
"Tch." Rin clicked her tongue, looking away from him and back to Illya, the girl now coming back to as Ruby continued to heal her up.
Luiva inhaled through her teeth and then turned to Kirei "You said you could heal through spiritual means?"
"I can." Kotomine nodded, then trailed his eyes over to Miyu "Oh...I see." he nodded his head "I can do what I can for her. But there will be pain."
"To be a Magus is the walk the path of death." Luvia muttered under her breath, then turned to Irisviel "Is there a spare room we can use?"
Irisviel nodded her head, then turned to the side "Leysritt." she ordered the homunculus, the pale woman nodded her head and then walked out to where Luvia and Kotomine where, gesturing her head "Follow." was all she said, then moved upstairs.
"letting a priest lay his hands on a young girl." Caren shook her head as the four left the room "How shameless…" she then blinked as if realising something, then looked as if someone had taken away her favourite toy "Oh...I'm going to miss it." she muttered under her breath.
She received mixed looks at that before everyone looked away from her, Archer moved away from the wall and towards Irisviel.
"How is he?" He asked, the woman had a pained look on her face as she turned to Archer.
"I've stabilised him." She sniffled "But some of these wounds will take time to heal and I need to tend to Chloe as well."
"I can look after the girl." Caren offered, the glare she received from Irisviel merely had her shrug her shoulders in mild disappointment before she looked away.
"Is he going to live." Archer instead went with, Irisivel was silent for a few moments before she nodded her head "Then see to Chloe before you run yourself ragged." he nodded at Shirou "He can live a few more moments." he turned to Rin "Can you do anything?"
Rin rolled her eyes and sighed "Do I look like I have anything on me that can help him right now?" she scoffed "I went out expecting an investigation." she sighed, standing up "I have a few gems...that's it. They'll take care of a few of his injuries at best."
"Please…" Irisivel murmured in a hushed tone of voice, tears forming at the edge of her eyes as she sent a pleading look at the younger girl "Please just...do what you can."
Rin sighed, moving over to where Shirou was, Irisviel having been able to heal over some of the worst of his injuries, although they had only been moved from life threatening to scaring at best.
Kotomine placed Miyu down on the bed, Sapphire having detached from her to reveal a multitude of bruises on her body.
"I will be working to heal the worst of her injuries." He spoke to Luvia "She will likely scream, I suggest you set up a bounded field to muffle the sound." the woman turned to Leysritt, the woman nodded once as Luvia began making her preparations. "I will then require privacy."
"I will remain with her." Luvia replied "She is my responsibility."
"I see." Kotomine non-committally replied "I would ask you remain silent, even if she begins to scream. I will require concentration to heal her effectively, it would be unfortunate if I were to slip."
"Do what you need to." Luvia responded back, Leysritt stared at the pair and then quietly left the room, standing outside the door and holding a guard pose, the blonde haired magus quickly shut the door and finished up the remaining work on the spell. "How long will it take?"
"That will depend on how injured I find her to be." Kotomine responded "Anything from a few minutes to half an hour." he then looked over to her "She may begin screaming, are you comfortable hearing that?"
"All Magi must become accustom to pain." Luvia replied "Miyu will have to learn this the same as any other."
"Hmm." Kotomine grunted, then looked over at Sapphire "And you?"
"...Miyu-sama's well being is my priority." The mystic code replied in a hollow tone of voice "Heal her wounds to the best of your ability. I will not distract you."
"Very well." Kotomine nodded, then stared down at the unconscious girl "I shall proceed."
Explosions filled the forest as swords flew in all directions, Berserker slammed a halberd into the ground as he span on his heel, gripping a spear as it sailed past his head and swung it upwards to block a broadsword.
Through the Shadowed Berserkers impressive display of agility, Gilgamesh's frown worsened.
"Your parlour tricks are barely an amusement, Dog." He snarled "They border on insulting." he fired more weapons, clipping the Berserkers knee with a hammer.
The servant grunted and went down, only to grab the halberd and rip it from the dirt, swinging it in an arc and deflecting several more blades aimed at him.
"You…" Gilgamesh hissed "You must long for a painful death, cur!" dozens of weapons fired forth in rapid succession, to the point where even Berserker was looking hard pressed to keep up with them all.
As the servant slammed an axe into a broadsword, his head jerked as if reciveing a command, the servant then growled and span on his heel, backhanding a tree with enough force to shatter it and then gripping the trunk with both hands before turning back to Gilgamesh.
Hefting the tree over his shoulder, the Berserker cocked the improvised weapon back and then hurled it forwards like a javelin towards the golden Archer. Gilgamesh scowled, and swung his arm to the side, several weapons shot down from the portal above and obliterated the tree, leaving behind an explosion of splinters and the view of Berserker's back as it sprinted away from him, armour dented and covered in scratches.
"You dare flee your punishment Dog!" Gilgamesh growled, then made to advance when he noticed that for the briefest of moments, his hand became translucent. He growled and clenched his fist, the limb returning to a more solid form.
He'd expended far too much magical energy tonight and he would likely burn himself out before he could kill the dog or even think about claiming the grail. He clicked his tongue, he should have killed the Faker when he had the chance.
It was only because he had realised the rabid dog was likely going to destroy the grails Vessel that he even opted to postponed judgement. More crimes for the dog to answer for. However, his more pressing concern was finding magical energy.
His form vanished into Golden motes of light and wafted away into the breeze, the astralised Servant began to make his way back to the city.
He'd find some source of Magical energy there.
AN: Happy new year!
And we're back after the cliffhanger last year. Now, before anyone goes on about 'Why isn't Shirou dead?' let me explain what people noticed about Ea in the reviews.
It takes time to charge up. Yes, Gil can use it snappy, but it isn't anywhere nearly as powerful as if he gives it time to spin and Shirou survived it in UBW and he was basically just a normal human at the time.
But yes, being closer to Ea at activation also messed him up pretty good even with the Berserker card and it burnt through the remaining lives and injured him.
Also let me explain that killing Shirou, purely for the sake of killing him, would serve nothing beyond shock factor right now. Killing people doesn't make a story good and I can get more or less the same result by just having him horrifically injured by Gil.
