Fate/Division by Zero
Chapter 3
Tutorial Level
Later that evening
Einzbern Manor
"Iri..."
"Kiritsugu, I told you that I'm fine. Stop fussing over me."
The Magus Killer was crouched in front of his sitting wife, his hand upon her face, examining her condition. Irisviel meanwhile was irate, her brow turned downwards at her husband's caring but overprotective manner.
True, he expected that Irisviel would be targeted given that she was supposed to be a Master. For it to happen so suddenly though, without even Saber noticing until it was too late. However, he was surprised to note that Avalon did not heal her on its own. There was a worrying fact in that, despite using the sheath of Excalibur – the legendary sword of King Arthur – for the summoning, this avatar of Saber appeared, and most certainly was not fabled Britain. Since this sheath did not belong to this Saber specifically, perhaps the healing effect too would not be functioning as it should?
The second – and more disturbing aspect – is that no matter how hard he tried to remove Avalon from within Irisviel's body, it would not emerge, as if it were no longer there. Kiritsugu knew that there was something dwelling inside his wife, since he still had the ability to open into the space where he placed the sheath, but whatever lay there was not Avalon.
He could only assume that this unknown relic was providing some form of protection, though what that was he could not ascertain; Irisviel did not seem to be experiencing any detrimental effects either. Since it was no longer Avalon, he could not feel for the new magical signature nor withdraw it to see what was in there.
This frustrated him beyond compare.
"Yeah, the spare Fairy bottle came in handy!"
The annoying bug known as Navi buzzed around Kiritsugu, who tried to shoo it away with his hand to no avail. He was told about Saber's inventory before, but he had no idea about this power. Three vials containing a fairy in each one, now, down by one. Each one can restore health to its user or even resurrect them from the dead if the vial in question was on their person.
He did not wish to test that latter option.
Saber saw how Assassin stabbed Irisviel, and quickly got the fairy to heal her. This was a powerful magic, beyond even his wildest dreams, since a dagger entering your heart was almost instantaneously fatal, leaving you no time to make a potion or chant an incantation to restore your health. The fact that his Servant was using a Phantasmal Species to help him throughout his travels in his previous life, let alone now in the Holy Grail War, meant that Saber was surely a person blessed by the Gods to even have this affinity with them.
In short, much to Kiritsugu's consternation, Saber saved Irisviel from imminent death.
"Saber." He stood up and turned to his Servant, "Bring out the other familiar, the one you used during the battle."
Nodding, the long-eared adult closed his eyes. Navi squeaked as she vanished, and was replaced by the small floating imp with the half-faced mask.
"What's your name?" Kiritsugu asked, ignoring Irisviel's arm clutching his sleeve.
As before, her unearthly tongue incomprehensibly became understandable in his mind.
"My name is Midna." She curtseyed lightly in mid-air, "How can I help?"
"Can you see what happens when Saber is fighting, even when you're not around?"
She nodded, "Our memories are shared in moments when we are summoned, bringing us up to speed. Why?"
He glared at Saber, "I am trying to understand why my Servant would choose to waste one of his precious Fairies to heal Irisviel." Maiya leant against the far wall impassively, allowing her partner to speak for them both. "It would have been much more advantageous to use it on himself later, since the War will only get harder from here on in."
Midna saw Saber turn his head, his cheeks flushing by the second. She wasn't sure if it was due to shame, fear or anger. Knowing that Kiritsugu wanted a response, she turned back to face him.
Her orange hair whipped out and slapped the Magus Killer in the face, enough to make him stagger.
Saber started forwards and grabbed Midna, pulling her back as she protested, wildly thrashing her small arms about as her hair retracted. Maiya leant forward and reached for her gun in its chest holster, ready to remove it if need be. Irisviel gasped and covered her mouth.
The tall man staggered, feeling the impact redden his face. He noted that it wasn't remotely as powerful as anything he saw in the battle with Lancer.
It was to startle him.
Biting through Saber's handguard, eliciting a yell from him, Midna moved closer to Kiritsugu, her long hair coming out again, but this time to angle his face towards her gently.
"Why would Link need a reason to save anyone's life?" Her hair then curled around to caress his injured cheek and pride, "Even if he dies, he would rather save the life of another. Who better than your wife?"
Emiya Kiritsugu was now thoroughly confused.
The concept wasn't that alien to him, to sacrifice one's one life for another. In this case the fairy was a valuable resource which could later be used to achieve victory.
But to such a selfless extent?
Something snapped inside his mind, as two things came back to him, filled with the smells, sights and sounds of his past.
A bloodied chicken pen with his childhood friend struggling against her violent impulses, begging him to kill her.
The sea breeze tickling his nose as he viewed a passenger jet through the targeting scanner of a Type 91 surface to air missile launcher.
Blinking once, he sighed tiredly at the smiling Midna.
"I used to understand that meaning, but I lost it over time as life went on, and ended, around me." He raised his hand to touch her hair on his face, noting it to be soft and velvety, "I won't pretend to think that way again, this world has taught me nothing but cruelty, emotions get in the way of things." He grasped it and lowered the hair, "In any case, I will for now believe that some naive fools still exist."
Midna shrugged, "Whatever, Link's not going to change, ever. You can be sure that Irisviel – and Maiya if needed – will be under his protection." Floating in closer, she whispered into his ear, "And yes, even you, a cantankerous old child forced to mature early. Link will protect you until his dying breath."
Chuckling sardonically, covering his eyes due to the insanity of it all, he nodded.
"Don't speak his real name, the walls have ears."
Midna stuck her tongue out at him, pulling down her eyelid at the same time before she dissipated into hundreds of blue particles.
Her next words came to him inside his head, and this time he knew it was only directed at him since no one else reacted to her statement.
"You're cute when you sulk, Emiya-kun..."
Coughing to himself, restoring his neutral visage, he fully faced Saber and stared down at him, burning into his blue eyes, before bowing down to him.
"Thank you, Saber, for saving Iri's life." He returned to his normal position, "I'm not a person who expresses gratitude often, but you helped my wife to live, even if just for a little bit longer..."
They all knew, but didn't say out loud about the fact that as part of the Holy Grail war, Irisviel's life was nearing its end. Nothing on Earth could change that fact.
Yet, she was allowed to live for another few days, all due to Saber's actions.
"Should you need any assistance, or if you can provide some help in our plans to win the war, I would be... happy to hear them."
Maiya widened her eyes at this statement, and saw the narrowed eyelids of Kiritsugu mellow his features. Whereas the hardened look of a killer wouldn't flinch at the sight of blood, his face now reminded her of the way he looked at Irisviel and Illyasviel, even the lines of age thinning slightly.
Now he was ready to seek advice from his own Servant, something Maiya never considered he would do. She watched as Saber bowed back to his Master, then moved to the table Irisviel sat at and pointed at the map locations giving his opinion on where and how to strike. Maiya smiled and walked over to join them.
Perhaps this War would turn out to be the best for all of them.
Elsewhere
"Damn it..."
Archer materialised inside the home of Tohsaka, feeling his chest throb from the blood pumping out onto his suit. The bleeding wasn't severe enough, even when he was a normal human, but it sure did smart.
"I take it things did not go as planned?" The head of the household came in from another room.
"No..." Archer pulled out a pack of pills from within his jacket, and immediately popped three of them in his mouth, swallowing them in one gulp without any water, "Berserker is even stronger than before, my shots didn't affect him like the last time."
Tokiomi held his chin, "I see, so he is able to adapt to any wounds received." He moved over to the table with the information they had gathered of the existing Servants, "So, any attack on Berserker must be pretty much a one off, instant kill technique, since he can take the next encounter into consideration."
"The others though, they're all strong, apart from Assassin. We simply need to be cautious of his antics." He felt the cuts and bruises heal up, "Caster is most definitely from the future, and far enough that he can generate robots to fight for him, and even generate a shield."
"Yes, that is most troubling."
Tokiomi moved to the window to stare at the ruined garden. Since the manor was breached previously, they had retreated to their secondary hideout. The next day upon Archer's inspection however, no one had taken over his Master's home, so they had returned, with a doubling of the home's bounded fields.
"His power appears to be unlimited; he even upgraded his own familiar to generate more powerful opponents." His smirk returned, "Yet, like with most of the Caster class, he appears weak physically. A few hits from Lancer made certain of this fact."
"Saber concerns me." Archer stated, "He held a sword, as you can imagine, not exactly uncommon, but it held a power inside it, and it was incredibly effective against Berserker."
"Yes, not to mention healing his Master using a Fairy. This Servant may be our biggest danger, and yet greatest advantage."
Archer nodded, "Yes, he seems to be the only one to hold back Berserker. Whatever power he holds, I'm sure that Berserker won't be able to adapt like he did with my bullets."
"Still... Their identities..." The Master paced around the room, "I'm not sure I understand why the Grail has chosen people like this. You yourself state you are from this era, even slightly in the future, and you wield guns."
"It'll be hard to figure out who the others are, but once we do find out, it will definitely be possible to get a weakness." Archer pulled out a pair of glasses, "Fancy a nightcap?"
Watching the glistening ice cubes gradually crack with contact to air, Tokiomi loosened his top button, "Perhaps one will help."
Pouring some of his best whiskey, they both sipped it as the day drew to a close.
That moment
Hyatt Hotel
"Lancer, you imbecile! How could you leave your Master unprotected like that, and be defeated by a mere gunman?"
The male Lancer groaned deeply as it felt itself being healed by Kayneth's wife-to-be Sola-Ui, using her own prana given their connection.
She rolled her eyes, "Don't be stupid, Kayneth, you ordered him to fight. I think even you could understand that if Rider wasn't around and Archer chose to attack Lancer, then Lancer would need to defend himself."
"In any case, if it wasn't for Volumen Hydrargyrum, I would be dead by now!" He waved a hand at Lancer, "So far, you have shown me nothing of value. Even my own Mystic Code is greater than you."
"So, you're going to just ignore the fact that Rider, your student's Servant, saved your life by knocking away Assassin then?" Sola-Ui cast a glaring eye at her fiancée.
"Purely coincidental. Rider attacked the nearest Servant, which was Assassin; it made no difference that I was there." Kayneth huffed loudly, "What I really want to know, but this gormless man or woman can't even tell me, if why Lancer refused to attack Saber while he was healing his Master. More to the point," He moved and poked Lancer in the chest, "Why would you actually dare to defend her against another attack by Assassin?! We are in this War to win, and that means defeating or killing the other Masters."
Lancer didn't move, and was unaffected by his words, only choosing to moan humbly.
"Bah... Pathetic..." The blonde man turned and walked away, "We shall discuss our plans for an attack later, since declaring a wish to fight seems to attract too many opponents to the fray." He waved at them as he left the room without looking back, "Good day to you all."
Sola-Ui spoke just loud enough for him to hear, "It's actually night now, not day." Seeing him bristle at her correction before the door closed brightened her mood.
Lancer turned to face her, his six green portholes seemingly asking a question.
"Don't worry; he's just moody he didn't win as easily as he thought." The script on the ground finished glowing as the restoration had ended, "You fought well today, Lancer."
Moving away to the window, Lancer began to steam up, and morphed into the lankier female figure, placing a hand against the glass of their penthouse suite. The red light of the porthole didn't change to green surprisingly.
"What's wrong, Lancer? Why aren't you relaxed in that form?"
The spherical helmet lowered slightly, before angling at Sola-Ui.
"I guess it must have been tough..." She looked over the city, "You probably saw a sight like this before, but well beneath the sea." Sola-Ui moved and touched the metallic hand of Lancer, "Do you miss your home?"
The figure stood there, thinking about the answer, before shaking its head twice, returning to watch over the lights of Fuyuki City. The female magus chose not to share the titbit with Kayneth about viewing Lancer's dreams, since only the Master should be able to see them. As she provides prana to Lancer, most likely this gave her a link to those memories too.
"Still, for normal humans to have created such a place like that without magical help in the 40s..." She turned to look at the doorway where her betrothed went, "Perhaps there is more to science than we give credit to. Human ingenuity is boundless, and perhaps those obsessed in their own magical prowess are unable to look beyond their own abilities, and especially the abilities of other, less privileged individuals."
Lancer remained silent.
"Just rest for tonight, Lancer." Sola-Ui tenderly put a hand on the tall woman's back, "Kayneth will probably be observing for tomorrow, but if he doesn't, at least you will be prepared for his words."
The Servant's head swivelled to face the mage, and the red porthole faded from red to green, before bowing to her, placing its helmet against her hand.
Mion River
Waver was lying splayed on the ground, as the blanket twisted under one arm. Moving over him, Rider carefully covered the boy and ensured he wasn't exposed.
The small camp made beneath the bridge was thankfully ignored due to the application of a few spells from his Master to make others ignore it.
Rider stirred the campfire, hearing the wood crackle and spit as wet logs dried up.
Behind him, the dragon Meyontpaak was curled up around Waver too, and snoring lightly, with each breath coming a small puff of flame or flurry of snow. He didn't particularly feel like being sent away just yet, and wanted to sleep in the real world for a short while longer.
Rider wasn't educated by any means. The teachings he received in Skyrim was woefully inadequate for the average person to pursue a career worthy of them, unless you were born into nobility or of the ruling Thalmor. People were more or less stuck to their class for as long as they lived. Very few were able to rise above their level to achieve something they wished for.
Rider was one such person, and he knew it. Somehow captured for simply being in the wrong place at the wrong time, he was then made to risk his life to survive the attack by Alduin at Rider's own execution.
He knew everything relevant about Earth thanks to the Holy Grail, and was positive this was not the world he was brought up in throughout his life. The stars at night were different, and even the land masses were at odds with the maps of Tamriel.
"So, I am far from my birthplace." Rider sighed, "I imagined that going on an adventure would take me to many strange places, but for me to arrive in another world completely, that is beyond me."
The knowledge he possessed, if he was able to return to Skyrim with it, would revolutionise his people.
"But... it would all be for nothing in the end."
War and strife were commonplace, and wouldn't be eradicated in a day. Anything new introduced would simply be used to kill instead of the constructive use to improve his lands. If the common person learned of gunpowder, whereby even a farmer could wield a powerful weapon, it would devastate entire cities, and the bloodshed would return.
He flicked his eyes over to Waver, sleeping soundly next to the expanding and contracting of the dragon's belly. This boy had nary a worry in his mind over life, and only for the most mundane of reasons did he fear things, namely for being short and teased by his colleagues.
Yet, in this era, the vast majority of people did not have to worry about random attacks in the wilderness by wildlife, raiders, orcs and the like. Children were taught in school and learned enough for them to choose what to do with their own lives, provided they prove it too. There were also classes of people still, and whilst Waver did seem to be on the upper class scale, there were others much above his level, which served to dampen his enthusiasm.
Rider frowned at the thoughts in his own mind. Fighting went on in many parts of the world still, using guns, missiles, and even people by means of suicide bombers. People still chose to live on despite all this, and they would struggle to avoid these conflicts. There were those who wished to stop all violence, but they were vastly drowned out by those advocating war to eliminate the enemy, even for something as simple as the colour of their skin or which God they worshipped.
Speaking of which, Rider thought to his own God. As a human, he was brought up on the worship of Talos, the human elevated to divinity due to his sheer will and power in the past. He had not prayed in years, wondering if this was part of the reason he was in this war.
The warrior gritted his teeth, recalling his various meetings with the Daedric Princes, or their avatars, during an occasional quest. Could his summoning to this world be due to one of their whims?
There was no way to know, Rider admitted to himself. Even if he was made aware that one of them did this, what could he do? No mortal could kill a Prince.
Watching the water flow in the river, he decided that, no matter what the result, he would ensure that Waver would survive, and that Rider would experience life again through battle, as he had fought throughout Skyrim.
Grinning, he removed his helmet and laid back on the makeshift bed, drifting off to sleep gradually.
Somewhere in Fuyuki City
"Hey, Jack-san!"
The joyfully bloody face of Ryuunosuke beamed widely as he saw his benefactor walk into the room of the now deceased family they happened upon.
"What do you want, kid?" He seemed distracted as he looked out the window.
"Look!" He held up a toddler, and moved his jaw from within the body, "Since your Loader ripped out his spine, I can put my arm inside and move him like a puppet. Isn't it cool?"
Caster watched impassively as his gleefully insane charge pretended to do a ventriloquist show with the broken body as his mannequin.
"A great story..." Caster clapped three times sarcastically, though he knew that Ryuunosuke wouldn't get his gist, "Let me tell you one about how my grandmother used to beat me with a buzz axe..."
"Sounds extreme..." The boy was concerned, frowning lightly, "Did you kill her for it?"
Caster couldn't help but smile back, "Yeah, I hired some goons many years later to take care of her and pulverise her body into paste." He folded his arms, "Serves the bitch right."
As he listened to the story, Ryuunosuke dropped the ragdoll plaything that used to be human, "How's your workshop coming along?"
"Oh, it's all setup now. You can't even tell the difference between it and a normal factory." He waved his finger, "The key is with having so many of these Loaders, I can just use them to stack up pallets and work like the trucks from this era. Easy to camouflage, and even easier to kill deep inside."
"Nice!" Ryuunosuke leapt onto the sofa, crushing the skull of the child's father further, "When can I start to bring people home?"
"Immediately." Caster held out his arms, "I give you full access to deliver as many humans as you can find." He held out his hand to show a small octagonal pendant, "Here, just poke a person you want, either in the street, or by a home invasion like now, and they'll be instantly transported to my workshop. Make sure you don't do it in public of course."
"Duh!" Ryuunosuke winked and saluted at the same time, "I'm not an amateur at this!" He lowered his arm and distress passed across his features, "Can I bring mostly women and children?"
"Doesn't matter, but they need to be alive, at the time you use that pendant." Caster's smile almost split his mask, "They'll be in a soundproof cell, and you can do what you want with them when you get back from your hunting. I'll drug them, and do whatever you need to make you happy." Stepping back and projecting an image from his arm, Caster looked at the spinning frustum, "The Vault Key needs at least thirty souls to be fully charged, a whole lot cheaper than a billion Eridium..."
"What's a Vault Key? What'll happen when it charges up?" The Master cocked his head to one side.
"Hell will break loose." Caster sneered, "Bring me no more than ten people a day, we need to avoid suspicion, but by the time we have all thirty people, it'll be far too late for anyone to stop us."
"Roger!" Ryuunosuke saluted again, "Jack-san, I won't disappoint you."
Putting on the pendant, Ryuunosuke and Caster left the house, leaving no trace of their presence by erasing their footprints and fingerprints, thanks to another spontaneous act of combustion in the home from a HOT Loader blowing flames at the walls.
The next day
Matou Manor
The bleary eyes of Kariya Matou awoke to the sunlight filtering in through the thick curtains, dust particles visible in the air daintily moving about in their own patterns.
A soft rhythmic sound reached his ears, one which seemed fairly melodious and calm. Feeling a weight on his arm, he turned his head to see purple hair flooding his vision, and a vanilla scented shampoo.
"Sakura..."
He saw that her bed was messy, and presumably she moved down to the floor to sleep with him at one point during the night. He must have been so out of it that he didn't even notice.
"Oh..."
How could he forget? He wasn't exactly having a peaceful night himself.
Berserker's dreams... Berserker's past...
"Hurgh..."
Forcing back the bile, swallowing the bitter liquid, he tried to forget the scenes of anguish, blood and pain which went on in that town where his Servant hailed from.
Silent Hill.
Even the name didn't exactly bring a sense of belonging. While it was supposed to elicit memories of a quiet place to live, surrounded by nature, it instead evoked a town trapped on all sides, dead to the world, and that whatever happened in the town, stayed there forever.
An abandoned town with endless fog, and the occasional whine of a siren akin to an air raid; with what limited research Kariya could do, he found that the Silent Hill might not exist, or all records of it were expunged from maps. The closest he could find was that of a town in Pennsylvania, evacuated probably forever due to coal fires beneath it, though he was unsure if it was the same place.
Determining the origin of his own Servant would prove to him its strengths and weaknesses, since it was obvious that Berserker would not be able to communicate this information to him succinctly. It wasn't that Kariya wasn't willing to try, but he was afraid he may get on the wrong side of that blade.
"Sakura... Time to wake up..."
"Mmm?" Rubbing her eyes, the girl looked up at him, "Is it morning Kariya-ojisan?"
"I think so..." He sat up and helped Sakura up too, "Why did you sleep on the floor with me?"
Her innocent and passive face looked at him, "You were screaming in your sleep, a nightmare I guess?"
Kariya closed his eyes; he really didn't know how bad his psyche was in the end...
"Yes, something like that..." He got up and looked to the door, "I'm going to go out today; I have a plan to help make things faster for us." Before he got to the door, he turned around and crouched beside Sakura, "If anyone comes in to see you, anyone at all, tell me about it."
His smile was unnerving in that only half his face reflected it.
"I will Kariya-ojisan." He opened the door and left. "Good luck..." Sakura whispered to the empty room.
In the corridor, Kariya held his body as the crest worms writhed about.
"Looks like Zouken wants more control over my actions." Wiping a stream of blood from his lips, he walked down the gloomy hallway, "Well, that isn't going to happen."
He knew that his Servant was following behind him closely.
"Berserker, we're going to attack. I need you to stay hidden, since we'll be starting the walk outside now."
The grumbling roar met his inner ear; an agreement of sorts.
"I hope you don't mind letting out your rage on someone today, it should be a good match."
They exited the bounded field of the Manor and walked through the streets of Fuyuki.
That evening
Hyatt Hotel
"Maiya, can you hear me?"
"Yes."
"I've scoped out the building, I know where they need to be placed."
Kiritsugu got up, wearing a janitor's outfit and hat, carrying the mop bucket to the locker room.
"Saber is on standby with Lady Einzbern."
"Excellent." He quickly dressed into his normal outfit and left the staff area from a back entrance, before heading out towards the main entrance.
Whilst still on his mobile, he spoke quietly so as not to draw attention to himself, "I'm going to check around the area one more time prior to setting it up. Anything unusual to report?"
"Negative. Everything is quiet here."
Ending the call as he walked by the reception area, he pulled out a cigarette and lit it up, only to pause in the main lobby.
The doors opened up to let in a man with a grey hoodie, and indeed even his hair was whiter than it should be. Continuing his stride, Kiritsugu walked straight by the man, not even brushing him as he left the building.
Once safely outside, he let out a breath he was holding, and withdrew his cell again.
"Maiya, I just walked by someone who looked oddly familiar." He moved away further to a small park area, pulling out a series of photos, that of the Masters of the War.
"Who do you think it is?" His helper asked over the radio.
"It's him..." He pointed at a faded older image of the son of one of the three families, "Kariya Matou. His appearance is much different than he used to look."
Maiya took some time to respond, "We know that Zouken isn't participating in the War, perhaps he helped to train Kariya?"
"I don't want to think about what kind of training would cause his face to wrinkle up like that." As Kiritsugu moved away, an explosion came from the Penthouse suite of the hotel behind him.
"You didn't place any bombs yet, have you?" Maiya gasped through the comms.
"No... I haven't set the fires as yet. This is something else." He looked up at the distance, ignoring the throngs of guests already leaving the main entrance of the building, "Kariya must be up there with his Servant."
"Berserker..." Maiya mumbled, "It may be prudent to make a call now, get as many people out, maybe they'll take each other out."
"Yes..." Moving to a payphone, Kiritsugu attached a scrambler in the receiver and prepared to call the police and the hotel about non-existent bombs going off, "The War has truly begun now."
That moment
Penthouse Suite
"▀██▓██▄▄▬▬▬!"
Lancer was smashed into the ground, the weight of Berserker's Great Knife cutting into his armour, leaking steam and water from the metallic cuts.
The mouldy carpet and crumbling walls grew from Berserker's presence, and promptly interfered and shut down all the traps and wards setup by Kayneth, who seethed at the other Master.
"You dare invade my stronghold, weak as you are?" His Mystic Code hummed beside him, ready to defend.
"I may be weak, I can't deny that." Kariya coughed to accentuate the point, "But I have the strongest Servant of the War, and you cannot stop him." The former Matou heir raised his palm at Lancer, "Incapacitate him, and kill his Master, Berserker."
A high pitched screech rose up as Lancer morphed into her female form; her thin figure shirked out from the power of the blade and leapt back to Kayneth, before readying her syringe and flame-filled fist.
Kayneth began to sweat hard, thinking of all the possibilities. Once he was aware a lift was making its way to his floor, he knew that a mage must have hypnotised the receptionist to grant them access. To protect the prana flow to Lancer, he ordered Sola-Ui to retreat via the lesser used service elevator to the basement, where she could then escape in a rented car.
He couldn't resort to using such a common form of transportation, one which the rabble uses to deliver their goods. He was a rich and powerful magus, and with that comes the obligation to travel in luxury. Either he used the main lift or not at all.
However, his atelier was breached so easily. Due to Berserker's unique power, which Kayneth regretted never taking into consideration, all his fields and bait were discarded in the blink of an eye.
Volumen Hydrargyrum had started up again, attacking the floor which sought to encroach on its master's body.
He bit his lower lip as the options began to dwindle in front of his eyes. Lancer was woefully outclassed by this monster of a Servant. It wasn't that Lancer was particularly weak, even Kayneth had to admit that indeed his or her speed was vastly more than the other Servants he saw the previous night at the dock, and even then it still showed quite a bit of strength, forcing Caster and Assassin to defend themselves from a single strike from her.
No, it was just that Berserker was immensely strong, by an order of magnitude. When fighting Lancer, her speed and strength were just shrugged off by that unfeeling flesh and damned blade.
Much as he hated to concede a point, that other Master was right in his earlier statement. Kayneth didn't even have the opportunity to attack him since he stayed behind Berserker throughout the beating doled out to Lancer.
The strength must be due to his identity... If Kayneth could destroy what's underneath that, perhaps it would break, and then that would give him a crucial advantage.
"By my Command Seal." His hand holding the seals glowed red, "Lancer, with all your power..." His voice rose up in his fury, "PIERCE HIS HELMET FROM BENEATH!"
Lancer's body glowed white, and flashed brightly. The female form shifted to a male one, but this time much thinner and wearing more knight-like armour. The legs were now wearing gold shin and knee guards. The diver's helmet was far more sleek and the porthole smaller with three bars covering it. The arms were gold colours, with no rust anywhere on its surface, and a black cape with intricate sigils flowed from the gaps in the armour. On his back was a thin tank, presumably for oxygen.
He held a small gun on one arm, which he started to grip with both hands.
One single lunge and he was crouched as Berserker's knees. Raising the Ion Laser, he blasted the spear-like beam which plunged into the soft flesh under Berserker's helmet.
"▄▬▓██▓████▀!"
Rage. Pain. Death. Murder.
A flurry of emotions flooded out from Berserker as he struggled to pull out the spear, which had solidified into an unknown metal. The stench of burning meat filled the corridor.
At this choice moment in the battle, the ground started to rumble, before breaking away. Even as they stood still, the wall broke away.
The Atelier was breached already, and Berserker's powers had made the magical structure weaken, though it also applied to the structure of the building itself. The supporting beams had broken up, and the central column began to shatter.
The Hyatt Hotel, while not on the brink of disaster like Kiritsugu hoped for, lost the top three floors, as the very concrete melted away and flowed over the sides, sending those people tumbling down with only 150 metres of empty air to gain a foothold.
Author's Notes
The calm after the madness. Kiritsugu realises that not everything in the world is shit, and Kayneth remains an ass. If you're confused about the model used for Lancer, look up the 'Lancer' model in the Bioshock wikia, and then you'll see how different he looks.
Time for the stats on the greatest enemy to be uncovered…
Class – Berserker
Master – Kariya Matou
True Name – Pyramid Head
Game Series – Silent Hill 2
Alignment – Neutral Mad
Theme Song – Silent Hill, Track 1, Silent Hill 1 Soundtrack
Battle Theme – Betrayal, Track 25, Disc 3, Silent Hill 2 Soundtrack
Base Skills
Strength – EX
Endurance – A+
Agility – C
Magical Energy – B
Luck – D
Class Skills
Mad Enhancement – EX: Rank-Up parameters. Despite the high rank of the skill, it does not seem to affect the mental state of Berserker. Given that he was already connected to an attendant of 'God', one which is geared to violence and insanity, his mental state remains the same, though he gains greatly from the parameter increases.
Personal Skills
Battle Continuation – A+: Makes possible to fight even with deadly injuries and can remain alive so long as one does not receive a decisive fatal wound. Ranked up due to Mad Enhancement.
Demonic Defender of the State – EX: Once Berserker actualises into a battlefield, his surroundings are converted into a suitable plane for his actions. Subconsciously, this invasion of the Real World drains mana from it, and boosts his own Magical Energy to B rank. His Noble Phantasm 'Holy Land of Otherworld' ties into this skill.
Mental Pollution – A: No mortal magic can break through the protection built up in the mind of Berserker, nor shock it in any manner.
Monstrous Strength – EX: Ranked up due to Mad Enhancement. Instead of a temporary boost to his Strength, it is permanent, though Agility suffers a reduction by one rank due to all power going to his strikes.
Protection of the Faith – A+: Living his life under the influence of the Order, his influence was seen by his God and her helper, Valtiel, thus granting him manifestation. Due to the level of the rank, sanity was reduced greatly, and leaving him incapable of coherent words or sentences.
Noble Phantasm
Holy Land of Otherworld – Incomplete Reality Marble
The only power available to Berserker, the forming of a partial Reality Marble. As the Holy Grail War is not in the region of the United States of America, his power is woefully limited to simply corrupting the lands, walls and air of his immediate presence, instead of the entire town of Fuyuki City, so it is only an Anti-Army level. Once engaged in battle, the Incomplete Reality Marble comes into play, bringing with him the rust and decay of Silent Hill. While not the God from that town, or even an Angel of God, he is a manifestation of the powers that be, and as such is granted limited power to reproduce his habitat, and enforce his will upon the world. It expands consistently so long as there are enemies in its boundaries, and Berserker is in attack mode.
While active, it slowly depletes the mana of the world and the prana of any living creature, be it Servant or Mage. If a civilian if unlucky enough to be caught there, their prana would be drained almost instantly due to lack of protection fields on their self. Magi and Servants are somewhat resistant to this; however none can fully block the effects, so there will always be a gradual loss of magical power. All energy is then fed back into Berserker for healing purposes and boosting his skills, hence why they are all high levels. He is able to transport more or less instantly within this boundary to attack enemies. As it is an incomplete Reality Marble, attackers can choose to disengage the enemy by simply escaping the range of his corruption.
Rank: A
Type: Anti-Army Noble Phantasm
Range: - 1-50
Maximum Target: 30 people