Chapter 5: Assault

The lobby of the Central Glass elevator exploded in a burst of fire. From the building, a squadron police girls emerged, rushing over to deal with the inferno.

"Ignition-type virus detected!" The leader of the squadron said to the other girls. "Deploying vaccine program!"

"Roger!"

All the girls faced the fire, and started typing on the virtual keyboards in the air. The fire pixelated, then died down into orange mist.

Behind the rubble from the explosion, the group, consisting of Rin, Saber, Takeru and Emu, waited for the right time to move. The deployment of the vaccine gave them time.

"Let's go! Hurry!" Rin shouted to the three.

"I shall advance first!" Saber said. The group took off towards the elevator.

As they approached, the elevator activated, and the doors opened, awaiting a passenger.

However, out of the side doors strode out the three Berserkers which fought Takeru and Saber the previous night. Rin's face turned to horror.

"Crap, they found us out!"

A hologram of Shinji appeared.

"Commensing the disposal. This is an order from the Floor Master. Kill them all."

The Berserkers charged.

Saber whisked up Emu off his feet and held him in her arms. "Takeru, Maestro, we're going to jump!"

Takeru nodded his head, and the two jumped high off the floor, just in time to avoid a rectangular green cube of cyberwalls from trapping the three Berserkers.

Rin ran forward and started typing into the Elevator's controls. The other three jumped into the Elevator.

"Go up! Get to the top floor non-stop!"

More cyberwalls emerged in layers around them, protecting them from the outside.

The cyberwall box trapping the Berserkers cracked, then borke as Darius smashed his way out of the top.

Saber turned to Rin. "I am gracious. If you have a chance, make an escape!"

The door closed on them, and the elevator started to rise.

The three Berserkers threw themselves at the cyberwalls protecting Rin. She finished typing into the console and looked up.

"Yeah. If there is any."

The Berserkers had penetrated the first wall, and were making short work of the second and third layers.

"Even at the cost of my life, I won't let them be killed! Because…"

She revealed a red and blue Ganma eyecon hidden in the palm of her hand.

"I can still use him some more!"

She activated the Eyecon, and it flared red.

CU CHULAINN

The elevator reached the top floor and stopped suddenly. The doors swung open. The sight that greeted the trio was not something they expected.

It was a school.

Not the weird, futuristic school of the ground floor. A normal Japanese high school. The only thing was it was completely devoid of life.

"This is… a schoolhouse?" Saber asked in confusion.

No kidding.

"Yes it is." Emu responded.

Takeru gulped. This did not look good.

"It's a bit different from the one on the ground floor…" Takeru noted.

"Yes. I think he would be waiting on the roof". Emu said.

"Maestro, how would you know that?" Saber asked Emu.

"I don't know. But I know Shinji. That would be a place where he would stage his final glorious battle."

In truth, he didn't really know Shinji that well. But from what Emu had inferred from the little he talked to him, he was definitely somewhat prideful.

As they ascended to the roof and pushed the metal door open, they stepped out onto a school roof. It was deserted, like downstairs. They walked forward a little, unnerved by the emptiness.

Up above, the sky was raining little white humanoid figures that evaporated on impact with the ground, like falling snow on a December day.

"Are they… Masters who lost?" Saber asked, nervously.

Takeru looked at the multitude of souls falling from the sky. So this is what Rin meant by falling down to lower levels. His upturned eyes moved back to the door they came from, and that was when he noticed someone.

"Look! Over there!"

Sitting on top of a water tank on the top of the structure where door they went through was sat Shinji, reclining on his back hand and looking up on the sky. He noticed the trio and tilted his head.

"Huh? I see that you have come this far."

Saber strode towards him. This time, Emu was not holding her back.

"Matou Shinji! We are to restart the Holy Grail War! Governor of this false city, accept this challenge of mine!"

Shinji's face didn't move.

"False city, huh? Your words put me to tears."

And yet not a single tear leaves your eyes, huh?

"I hate seeing people like you. You know nothing, yet, you still judge."

Emu again gripped his hands. It was as if Shinji was mocking them, uncaring of their challenge. Every fibre of his body was permeated by hatred for Shinji. However, he was not one to lash out.

"I've worked hard to build this city. I created this eden for those trash. I did it voluntarily. What else was I supposed to do at the time?"

"You could have ascended." Takeru responded. "You could have continued the war. Why stop here and take the weapons of the other masters?"

"The Holy Grail War, now, of all times?" His face turned exasperated.

"Hey. Is it some kind of joke?"

So he is mocking us.

Emu's expression hardened. A flicker of purple flashed in his eyes. Takeru saw this and shruddered.

"I came here just to kill you. You won't refuse a newcomer, will you, Wakame-hair?"

"Huh?" Shinji sneered.

"You're the Game Champion, aren't you?"

Shinji's face turned to anger. He remained motionless for a while. Emu could see in his eyes that he was reliving earlier memories. Was it when he started building the city? Then, Shinji's eyes turned to Emu, a malicious smile creeping along his face.

"Yeah. Try to kill me!"

He jumped down.

"You have the right to do so! That's because…"

He raised his hands to the sky.

"I am the champion!"

Suddenly the floor beneath them rumbled. Around the perimeters of the city, huge marble wall started emerging from the floor, rising in clouds of dust. Then, when they reached their fulles height, their sluice gates opened, and water started pouring out of them, drowning the town in its torrential flow. The screens which showed people rejoicing sank into the water, and the buildings crumbled under the stress of the water.

On the bottom floor of the elevator, Rin had returned to her human form in a flash of red light. She looked around, unperturbed by the sounds of the water.

"There's no going back to this floor anymore. Prolonging the age of this floor any longer is humanity's last justice. But, if someone who has the will to fight and survive appears in from of someone who has forgotten something that they should have, this moratorium will soon be over. Isn't that so, Shinji?"

And the water washed over her, dissolving her into the blue liquid below.

Out of the water, in a golden bubble, emerged a gigantic red galleon.

"Now, this is a battle I've been waiting for!" a familiar female voice cried out. "Let's do it with all our might, Shinji!"

The water cleared from the bubble, revealing the galleon's sails and deck, and on the helm of the ship stood the red-haired woman from the bar earlier, now dressed in a Captain's red coat.

"Set sail at full power!" Shinji commanded.

The ship sailed forward towards the schoolhouse roof.

Emu and Takeru equipped their drivers. "Well, I guess that's time for us to fight" Saber said.

Emu reached into his pocket, but as he touched the Dangerous Zombie gashat, he hesitated.

No. Not now.

Instead, he took out his Mighty Action X gashat alone.

"Saber, would you like to fight with me again?" Takeru asked.

"No. I believe that for a large vessel like hers, we should split up. We each attack a different part of the ship. She cannot handle all of us at once."

Takeru nodded in understanding, took out his Ghost Eyecon, and activated it, placing it inside his driver.

EYE!

BATCHIRIMINA! BATCHIRIMINA!

Emu activated his Gashat with his right hand.

MIGHTY ACTION X!

The game screen manifested itself behind him, and blocks flew out of the screen, landing in various places around the vicinity.

He swung the gashat to the left, then slammed it into the Gamer Driver.

GASHATTO!

Both the Riders yelled out their transformation phrase in unison.

"Henshin!"

Takeru pulled the lever of the driver in and out, while Emu opened the Gamer Driver's lever.

KAIGAN! ORE!

GACHAN! LEVEL UP!

LET'S GO! KAKUGO! GO GO GO GHOSTO!

MIGHTY JUMP! MIGHTY KICK! MIGHTY MIGHTY ACTION X!

The Ore Damashii, a black parka-like ghost with orange highlights, emerged from the Ghost Driver, while a pink game screen enlarged itself from the Gamer Driver while the different Rider faces spun round Emu. Emu picked his one with a flick of his hand and it moved backwards into him so that it collided with him at the same time the game screen backed it him as well. Pieces of armour flew off him as his pink-and-neon-green armour appeared. He summoned his Gashacon Breaker in sword mode and prepared himself.

Meanwhile, Ghost's Transient form materialised from orange dust and formed itself around Takeru's body, its blank face awaiting the Damashii's Persona. The Ore Damashii landed onto Takeru, equipping itself to Takeru like a coat. The Ore Persona, simply orange with two black ovals for eyes, flipped up onto Takeru's face.

Emu and Takeru had transformed into Kamen Rider Ex-Aid Action Gamer Level 2 and Kamen Rider Ghost Ore Damashii.

The three observed the approaching Galleon.

"That ship reminds me of the warship Argo from Greek Mythology. Such an amazing vessel." Nero said. Then she smiled.

"That means you must be a Rider-class Servant!"

Emu remembered what Saber told him about the classes in the Holy Grail War. The Rider Class was the class of Heroes known for riding mounts, living beasts or human constructs during their lives. It should be obvious what her class is.

The red-haired woman laughed. "Do you want my introduction first?"

"That's a strange attitude of yours." Saber responded, materialising her sword.

Takeru spoke up. "You could have attacked us in the bar last night. Why didn't you?"

"The only person who decides is Master." The woman responded, gesturing to Shinji.

"No, you must have already known that." Saber cut in.

"Something that can be obtained after conducting a fair battle and betting everything in line…"

Saber struck a pose, ready to jump forward. Emu and Takeru saw this and prepared themselves as well.

"That is the joy of battle!"

And with that, Saber charged.

Sticking to the plan, Ex-Aid and Ghost split up, jumping along different buildings to reach different parts of the boat. Ex-Aid used the blocks set up by the Game Screen to platform his way towards the galleon on the left towards the bow, while Ghost, thanks to the stat boost given by him being a Servant-like entity, ran along the walls of the buildings toward the stern. Saber meanwhile charged straight towards the boat, leaping from building to building to get to the ship's wheel.

Rider cocked her flintlock pistols, and cannon barrels materialised over her. The cannons on the ship also activated.

"If you get hit, you'll get blown to pieces!" she cried.

She aimed her guns at Saber and fired. The left-side cannons automatically aimed themselves at her and fired energy beams at her. Saber dodged them nimbly. Keeping one firing at Saber, she aimed the other one as Ex-Aid and fired again. Ex-Aid saw it coming and leaped out of the platform he was standing on before it was blown to pieces. Out of the pieces came an Energy item coin. Ex-Aid picked it up.

SPEED UP!

He felt a surge of energy in his legs. He crouched down and jumped forwards towards the ship, streaking at intense speed.

"Naïve!" Rider said with a smirk. She aimed her guns and fired. The cannon beams hit him straight in the chest and he fell backwards onto another block on a building. It broke, revealing another Energy Item coin, which flew into Ex-Aid

RECOVERY!

The pain from the impact disappeared. Catching his breath, Ex-Aid got up.

Talk about protagonist armour he thought.

Rider was annoyed by Ex-Aid surviving the hit by luck. She readied another shot. Suddenly, the ship shook. She whipped around.

"Where did that come from?" she shouted.

It was Ghost. She had completely forgotten about him in the stern, and he was assaulting the ship from the back, trying to cause damage to the ship to sink it. Shinji also caught on to that and, thinking quickly, turned to Rider.

"Deploy your Noble Phantasm!" he commanded.

"It's time, you scallywags!" Rider announced.

"King of the storms, the flock of ghosts,

Let the Wild Hunt begin! (The Night of the Golden Hind and the Storm)"

The area darkened, and the ship glowed purple. Out of similar purple-white portals emerged many smaller, ghostly ships.

Saber, in the middle of another charge towards the ship, heard her NP chant and was caught off guard.

Wild Hunt…?

So that means…

That moment of hesitation was enough for Rider to target Saber with the ships' cannon fire. Beams of purple and yellow shot out from the cannons in all direction, scoring a direct hit on Saber. She fell down into the water below.

"Saber!" Ghost yelled, and jumped into the water to catch her.

Saber, still recoiling from the shock of the impact, looked down. On the sea bed was a shipwreck, possibly also conjured up by Rider's Noble Phantasm. She swam down to it and landed feet first on the ground. She walked up to the shipwreck.

I guess we need to fight fire with fire.

She touched the shipwreck's mast and closed her eyes.

Imperial Privilege.

A golden glow spread from her fingertips over the ship. The entire boat glowed gold for a second. However, it started to recede. Saber opened her eyes.

No! The mana requirement is too high!

Saber's body weakened, and she felt her limbs go limp.

Then, as she looked up, she saw Ghost swimming down towards her.

Takeru…

Ghost hurriedly made the triangle sign with his hands, then drew the eye symbol. Saber once again felt the pull of the symbol as she returned to her Eyecon form.

Ghost caught the Eyecon, and quickly opened his driver, taking out his own Ore Eyecon and replacing it with Saber's. He closed it, and changed Damashiis.

KAIGAN! SABER!

WIELDER OF THE HEROES' BLADE! LET HER TAKE THE STAGE!

Ghost had now once again become Saber Damashii.

Inside Ghost's mind, Saber regained consciousness.

"Are you OK, Saber?" Takeru asked.

"Umu. I am fine, thanks to you.

I believe I know who we are fighting."

"Who?" Takeru had been wondering about that every since they started. The Noble Phantasm chant gave him a bit of a hint, but her name was on the tip of his tongue.

What was it? The Wild Hunt…

Then it suddenly clicked. The Galleon. The Wild Hunt. They matched a single name he remembered from his book on Heroes back in Daitenkuji Temple.

No! It can't be…

"Indeed it can. There have been many times in history where famous figures have been recorded as male. It is entirely possible."

So it seems she does know.

"Anyway, what were you trying to do?"

"One of my skills is Imperial Privilege, which means that I can take the skill of an enemy I face as long as they are standing. However, the mana I require to transform this ship is too high for me right now."

"I see." Takeru said. Then, he had a flash of inspiration.

"Saber, let me try it."

"Umu. I shall lend you a hand."

Ghost turned to the ship again. He closed his eyes and touched the mast. In the Damashii, Saber activated Imperial Privilege one again. Ghost envisioned in his mind a ship he once had. He didn't use it much, but here, he will have to let it take centre stage again.

The ship glowed gold and shrunk in size, until the process was completed with a blinding flash of light.

Above the surface of the water, Ex-Aid continued fruitlessly to make progress on the ships. The ships' cannons instantly annihilated any new platforms that were constructed by the game. He could barely dodge the insanely dense onslaught of beams, and it required all of his energy and concentration.

His gashat holder grew heavy. Come on. You have no choice. Use our power. Or fall like the others.

Shut up. I can do this myself.

"Not fighting for a long time sure took a toll on my aim" Rider said as she continued to fire on Emu.

"Well, I do like doing big attacks."

"Stop the firing, Rider. I want to talk to Emu." Shinji commanded. Rider obeyed, slightly disappointed. Emu, exhausted, fell to his knees.

"So, Emu, how is this? You thought you could defeat me?" Shinji shouted at Emu. "Your servant lies full fathom five under the surface of that water! The sea is my own Servant's domain! How can you hope to defeat me here?"

Emu grimaced. The anger raged inside him even more. This taunting is driving me mad. Beneath the mask, his eyes flickered again. He reached out his hand towards his gashat holder.

Suddenly, Saber's voice rang out from below.

"The water may be your domain, but your domain will be mine!"

And out of the water burst a black and green ship, with claws on its side, and frayed sails handing on its mast. It was about the size of the smallest ship in Rider's fleet, but its appearance was more menacing than even the most menacing of her ships.

Captain Ghost had appeared, and on it rode Ghost Saber Damashii.

Rider merely looked at the ship in curiosity, but Shinji turned livid. It was less the appearance of the ship, but the reappearance of the Damashii that beat him which made him mad.

The ship flew towards Ex-Aid. "Jump on!" Takeru shouted, holding out his hand.

Emu got up and took Ghost's hand, and jumped on board the ship. It flew upward to the level of Rider's ship, so that Rider and Ghost were face to face.

"The battle recommences!" Saber shouted, looking at Rider straight in the eye.

"Rider! We know your true name!" Saber and Takeru spoke simultaneously.

"You are the captain who united the world!" Saber shouted.

"The one who defeated the Invincible Armada!" Takeru announced.

"The woman who brought down the sun!"

"The commander who was called the Devil!"

"You are…"

Then Ghost pointed a finger at Rider.

"Francis Drake!" they shouted in unison.

They stood in place for a second, holding their pose. Then Saber broke Ghost's pose and turned to Ex-Aid.

"How was that! Was that showy enough!" The eagerness in her voice very apparent.

Ex-Aid responded with a nod.

Rider, Francis Drake, laughed.

"Good, good! My battle spirit rises! Then, once more!"

She spun round and posed, her backs to the trio and holding her guns out. Ghost reacted quickly, steering the boat to pick up speed.

"Remember my name! Temeroso El Draque! The woman who brought down the sun!"

Once again, the ships reappeared from the portals, firing their gold and purple beams at Captain Ghost. It quickly and nimbly dodged all the beams fired at it, heading straight for Rider's flagship.

Shinji was even more angry. "Fire! Fire! Fire!" he yelled at Rider. Rider obeyed, a smile still on her face. The shots came in even more densely.

"Maestro, we cannot dodge this for much longer. We must end this quickly." Saber said to Ex-Aid. "I suggest we go in for the final strike."

Emu nodded. He understood what she meant. It was time to end this.

Ghost took the wheel of the ship and drove it forwards into the barrage. The cannon shots focused themselves on the ship, assaulting its front intensely. Ghost kept the wheel pushed forward, bracing himself against the impacts. Captain Ghost maintained its forward momentum as it inched slowly towards Rider's ship, but it was taking a lot of damage in its front.

Rider aimed her guns at the ship, smirking. One more shot should do it.

"It's over!" she shouted.

Saber was waiting for this moment.

"Now!" Saber told Takeru. He pulled back on the wheel and the ship pulled upwards. Now released from the force of the beams, it shot forwards rapidly towards Rider's ship. As they approached it, Ghost and Ex-Aid jumped off the ship high into the air. The ship crashed into the front of the galleon, throwing Rider off balance.

Ghost pulled and pushed the lever on his driver once more, while Ex-Aid took out his gashat and slammed it into his Gashacon Breaker.

DAI KAIGAN!

KIMEWAZA!

As they reached the height of their ascend, Ex-Aid hit the trigger on the Gashacon Breaker, and Ghost materialised Saber's sword.

SABER OMEGA DRIVE!

MIGHTY CRITICAL FINISH!

Saber's sword glowed red with power, lighting itself on fire, while Ex-Aid's sword started to spark with cartoon pink and green lightning. They leant forwards and charged towards Rider.

Rider, having regained her balance, raised her guns and pulled the trigger.

Both of them clicked.

Her eyes widened in surprise. Then, her mouth turned upwards to a final smile.

"How unfortunate for me… Oh well, things like these happen pretty often."

The two Kamen Riders struck their targets, and Rider flew backwards onto the deck of her ship. She hit the floor and lay there, motionless. The smaller ships vanished, leaving only the galleon.

Ex-Aid and Ghost landed on the ship's deck and pointed their weapons at Rider.

Rider opened her eyes and breathed in. Then, she rolled over the Shinji, who had walked up to her body.

"There goes our contract… If you don't break it, you'll also vanish."

"No."

Rider tilted her head quizzically.

"That's because you haven't lost yet. If the Servant hasn't been defeated, what kind of master cuts their contract?!"

That's rich coming from you.

"Haven't been defeated, huh?" Rider relaxed, her legs going limp.

"That was just bad luck!" Shinji cried, but the sounds of defeat had already creeped into his words. "It's also because you didn't fight often!" Then he stopped.

"And also because of… my idiocy."

"A Champion is what you call the winner, no?" Saber said within the Damashii. The two dehenshined, Saber regaining her physical form, and watched the Master and Servant pair in front of them.

Shinji remained looking at Rider.

"I am me." He stood there motionless. "I can't do anything." He looked up.

"Ever since god knows when my head gone strange, I've seen everything that has been going on in this city, including how worthless humans are. I refuse to accept that. But…"

He reached his hands towards the golden ring in the sky.

"The power to prove it, the answer I've been looking for… it's all been for naught."

He let his hands go limp.

"That is why I'm staying here. Because if everything disappears, humans will be deemed as meaningless beings. That's why, at least…"

He hung his head.

"…for those useless cowards, as long as I live on, my hopes for something that will happen-"

"You aren't wrong" Takeru cut in. Shinji turned to him.

"Humans may be cowardly. They may push others into the ground to go higher. They may build things which eventually collapse. But, even if they destroy everything they create, even if it was all for naught, it is the effort that counts. And…"

He stepped forwards and put his hand on his heart.

"Humanity has infinite potential. They will always rise above the ground like lotuses in mud. Besides, what you did was not for nothing. You tried to keep peace in the lower floors. You tried to build a respite for those tired of fighting. You tried to preserve life in the face of death. That in itself is commendable. And your defeat is not in vain. We will stop this fighting. We promise."

Then Emu stepped forward. This was what he was waiting for. The moment that Shinji lay defeated at his feel. That was what they wanted.

And yet…

"Shinji. I cannot forgive you for what you did to me on the lower floors. However…"

He paused for a second, trying to think of the right way to put how he felt. Then he spoke.

"… I won't hate you more than this."

Shinji put his hands over his eyes. "What the hell was that?" he asked. It wasn't malicious. It was more confused. "Why do you still have faith... even with this war…"

"Shinji" Rider spoke up. "It seems you haven't hurt your friend after all." She was slowly dissolving into orange mist as they spoke. Shinji was as well.

Shinji gave a small smile.

"He's not my friend…"

And with that, he vanished into the wind.

Ghost walked up to Rider.

"Just hold on for a minute, Rider."

Rider also smiled.

"Make it quick, if you have to."

He made the triangle sign and drew the Eye symbol over Rider. Her body glowed red, counteracting the orange of the mist she was dissolving into, and she was sucked into the eye, emerging as a Damashii. It was her coat, except a hoodie was attached to the top where her head was. Two lights like eyes glowed in the darkness of the hood. The Damashii made the pose Rider made when she was activing her Noble Phantasm earlier, then it flew into the Ghost Driver. Takeru put his hand under the eye of the driver and out came a Red eyecon. It was darker than Saber's red, similar to her coat, and the scelera was black. On the plate on the top of the Eyecon was written ES-02 and Rider, and the picture on the top was the front of a Galleon, again shaped to appear like a face, with the sails as eyes.

Takeru held up the Eyecon and looked at it. Suddenly, the Eyecon glowed. It hovered, and then all of a sudden absorbed Takeru through its iris. Emu and Saber rushed forwards, but it was too late. Takeru had entered the Eyecon.

Takeru opened his eyes. He was not concerned at all, as he has done this before with Eyecons. He felt the gentle rocking of the floor beneath him and took a few seconds to get accustomed to its rhythm. Them, he looked around.

The inside of an Eyecon represents the mindscape of the person whose soul is housed inside it. In this case, it was in a wooden office, which appeared to be for a naval officer. The room had a desk, on which were maps and navigational charts. Behind the desk was a wooden chair, humble in its design. There were shelves on the walls, on which were chests overflowing with gold and a small wooden model of the galleon.

Takeru walked up to the desk and looked at the maps. They were of the world, with a path marked out in black which went around it.

"I see you have found my maps."

Takeru turned around. Leaning on the door was Rider, only she was wearing a pirate's hat in addition to her jacket. He backed away from the table quickly.

"I'm so sorry, I didn't-"

"It's fine. I made that journey already. That map is not as important as it once was. I still keep it around, just to remind myself of the adventures I used to have."

She tossed her hat onto a hook on the side of the wall.

"Come with me."

She walked outside. Takeru followed her.

Outside, he could see the sea stretched out endlessly in all directions. The sea was quiet, save for the sound of the waves hitting the bottom of the boat. He turned around and saw Drake leaning on the wheel of the boat, waiting for him to come up and join her. He obliged.

"When I went on my expeditions, this was all I see for months on end." She sighed. "I grew accustomed to the sea. So much so that I eventually saw this as my true home. My home in England was comfortable, for sure, but It was here that I felt most at ease." The steering wheel started to turn. She grabbed it and held it steady.

"Do you remember how I died in real life?" Rider asked.

Takeru thought for a second.

"You died of dysentery, and you asked to be dressed in full armour and dropped into the sea…"

"Well done. Am I really that famous even in this age? Ah well…" She looked out into the sea wistfully.

"I chose to die like that because I felt like it was the place which I loved the most. I loved the open sea, and the adventure. It seemed like the most appropriate place to end my voyage through life.

She turned back to the wheel.

"All I ever wanted was to chase after gold to scatter it into the wind like a storm. Nothing more than the fleeting pleasures of riches that do not last, the finite luxuries of life. Therefore, when I was forced by my Master to lay down my gun and rest, I accepted, but I quickly grew uncomfortable. Enduring treasures like the city he made are not for me. This was not who I was. Therefore, when he commanded me to set sail again after so long, I couldn't have felt happier. However, I betrayed my own nature for too long. As a result, my gun became rusty."

Takeru understood.

"So that was why your gun jammed…"

Rider took her hands off the wheel and turned towards Takeru.

"I like you and your friend. You haven't given up, haven't you? You are true to your nature. It just so happens that your nature is to fight for justice and your friends, while mine is to continuously search for treasure. Your friend proved himself at that tavern. He stuck to his ideals and wouldn't give up his Servant, even for eternal happiness, and for that I praise him. You, too. You refused to believe that humans would be meaningless without Shinji's city, and you sought to defeat Shinji, even with this "paradise" at stake."

She then paused for a second.

"However, I can sense your friend has made some difficult decisions. I saw what happened in Shinji's compound. Your friend had to kill, even though he does not want to. Even though they were NPCs, he struggled to kill. He had to kill Shinji to ascend. Just like Shinji had to kill another. I wonder how long your friend can go on like that…"

She then relaxed, and leaned again against the wheel.

"Anyways, you should get going. You got six more floors to ascend. Don't keep your friends waiting."

Takeru turned to go.

"Oh, and by the way."

Takeru turned to her again.

"When you meet him again, be sure to tell him that he shouldn't lose himself as he ascends, otherwise he'd end up like Shinji. That'll convince him." She said, giving a mischievous smile

Takeru nodded.

He emerged from the Eyecon as quickly as he entered it. Emu and Saber recoiled as he came out.

"Takeru-san, are you alright?" Emu asked.

Takeru looked round. He was inside the familiar Entrance room of the elevator, and it was ascending.

"Umm…"

"Where did you go?" Saber demanded. "Answer me!"

"I… went into the Eyecon to talk to Rider. She wanted me to tell you something."

"Well, what is it?" Emu asked. Saber also leaned in to listen.

"She said… umm… don't lose yourself as you ascend, otherwise you'll end up like Shinji."

That caused Emu to pause.

Don't lose yourself…? Does that mean… she was aware of… that?

From the little he experienced of using the dark power within him, he could already see the effects it was causing.

A power that leads me to kill… without discrimination?

The words of hatred that filled his mind were definitely not his own. But already they were integrating themselves deep into him thoughts. If he lost sight of who he was…

"I'll become as useless as Shinji…"

No. Worse.

Shinji never actively killed anyone. Even when he did, it was to survive. He was just water.

But if I do lose myself, I would become poison.

It doesn't matter! He still killed you! Is that not reason enough for veangance?

"Emu-sensei." Takeru cut into Emu's thoughts. Emu raised his head.

Takeru was looking out of the window. Emu looked down as well. The first floor was shrinking below, the last few ruins which stood above the water getting smaller and smaller.

"That is what the real first floor looks like." Saber said, also looking out of the window.

"So that city of joy was just an illusion…" Emu muttered.

Still, what needed to be done was done.

As the ladder elevator ascended, a hoverbike chased after them, flying in from the outside of the city walls.

"Wait for me!" Rin cried as the bike followed the elevator's path upwards.