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Clarent Blood Arthur: A Fate/Stay Night Fanfiction
Chapter 11: The Right to Rule
"GAE...BOLG!"
Upon hearing Lancer call upon the name of his Noble Phantasm, Berserker reacted almost immediately and shifted to defense. It would only take a split second for the scarlet bolt to reach her, so she reacted accordingly by raising Clarent to defend.
Sure enough, it crashed against the blood red sword, Berserker doing her very best to stand her ground against the enemy. The blonde knight gritted her teeth as she felt every ounce of killing intent behind Lancer's deadly blow.
"I will not be deterred!" Roared the Servant of Madness as she began to forcefully push her way through with each step. With a mighty roar did she push past the attack and wasted little time closing the gap between her and Lancer, her sword raised high with maddening gleam beneath your head.
"Your head is mine, Lancer!"
"I wouldn't be so sure, Berserker"
It took one second of staring into his smirk to halt her attack mid-swing and see that something was off. He didn't seem to be putting any effort to defend against her blow despite her blocking his Noble Phantasm, so why didn't he-
"BERSERKER, BEHIND YOU!"
Responding to Ilya's frantic shriek, Berserker whipped her head around to see that the red bolt of lightning arced from when she blocked it, keeping it's lock on the target. She quickly shook off her shock and attempted to raise a defense, but was a split-second too late as the bolt penetrated her armor and pierced her chest.
"Urk!" The Knight of Treachery gasped in pain, her eyes wide open beneath her helm, as she was paralyzed due to the fact that Lancer had impaled her chest. For his part, the Servant of the Lance swung his spear with both hands, flinging the shorter Servant over his head before sending her soaring right into the one of the walls in the castle, a resounding crash following after.
"Berserker!" Ilya was about to break into a run towards her Servant, only to be stopped by Sella who scooped up the tiny Master in her arms. "What are you doing?! Let me go!"
"It's too dangerous right now, Ilya-sama." The Einzbern maid did her best to soothe the child who was struggling in her arms "If you are to get rashly involved in a battle against Servants, then your life is forfeit. As the Vessel of the Lesser Grail, it is your duty to survive until the very end!"
"But...b-but..."
"If you two can quit it for a few seconds," Lancer would be the one to interrupt the conversation, both Ilya and Sella turning their attention to the blue-clad spearman "You'll see that she actually survived."
"W-what...?"
"It is true." Sure enough, the red-clad knight emerged from the rubble, breathing heavily as her left hand clutched the wound on her chest. "Though I regret to say that I did not come out unscathed."
"Berserker!" Ilya squealed with joy while Morimoto and Sella breathed a sigh of relief "You're alright!"
"My apologies for worrying you, Ilya. I underestimated the power of his Noble Phantasm." Her eyes peered through the helm's visor as she gave her opponent a steely gaze. "If I may be honest, you almost had me, Lancer. A few inches closer to my heart and I would have been dead. I'd expect nothing less from the mighty Cu Chulainn, after all."
"Damn, that makes you the second to survive my killing blow. Doesn't do wonders for my reputation." Lancer sighed in dismay before he slung his spear over his shoulder and turned on his heel.
"Leaving already, Lancer?" Berserker asked as she staggered to her feet, the obvious bloodlust she was experiencing lacing her voice
"I was ordered to retreat if my Noble Phantasm fails to kill an enemy." Lancer explained with obvious disinterest with his orders "As I have said earlier, my Master is a coward that way. If anything, the little lady over there has more balls than he does."
"Thanks...I guess?" Ilya blinked in surprise while Morimoto chuckled from where he was.
"While I appreciate the compliment, don't think that I will let you off that easily." As Berserker held her sword with both hands, Secret of Pedigree began to dissipate into small particles, revealing the feral grin upon the features that so closely resemble the King of Knights. "Seeing that you have revealed yours, Hound of Ulster, it is only fair that I show you MY Noble Phantasm!" As she said those words, she raised her sword above her head and the earth began to tremble at her very feet as the blood red mists of prana began to condense around the blade.
"Oh no..." Ilya murmured worriedly, her eyes widening at the realization that her Servant was going to use THAT in her current condition!
"Berserker-sama! I implore you to consider your actions! What you are doing is reckless!" Morimoto called out to her in desperation; he had only heard second-hand accounts from Sella, but he was well aware that the first time the Servant of Madness used her most powerful trump card caused her unspeakable amounts of pain (though she did well to hide it in front of Jubstacheit von Einzbern). While this would have been fine in other situations, since Ilya's competence as a Master would allow her to remain active, the fact that she was already badly injured makes this less than ideal.
"Well, well...I'm going to have to ask Saber how you two are related when I get the chance." Lancer smirked as he spoke, the mere mention of the Servant of the Sword serving to enhance her madness "Seeing as you look like her and all."
"...You have just signed your death sentence, LANCER!" Berserker growled as her weapon radiated with a crimson glow that bathed the foyer. The blade she bore fit the Knight of Treachery perfectly; The name alone illustrates the fierce hatred she bore towards the person she once believed in, the king she once pledged her life to follow. How that hatred twisted her much like it twisted this once holy sword. And much like that hatred, it served to strengthen her, give her blade it's much needed edge as she faced down the one she called 'father' in that final battle at Camlann.
Though it also threatened to consume her, she couldn't care less.
"Whew, looks like I hit a nerve." Lancer chuckled walking the opposite direction, taking a few small steps before breaking into a sprint before Morimoto could stop him.
"Curses..." muttered the old butler when he tried to give chase, only to find that the wound on his shoulder was burdening him more than it should.
"You won't get away!" The Knight of Treachery roared as she was ready to bring the full might of her demonic blade to bear. "CLARENT-"
"BERSERKER, DON'T DO IT!" Ilya shrieked as she wrenched herself free from Sella's grasp and ran towards her Servant in a frantic attempt to use a Command Seal and stop her, but she was too late to stop it.
"BLOOD ARTHUR!"
Berserker brought down her sword with a mighty swing, the energy gathering within released in a massive wave that obliterated much of the foyer. As Lancer attempted to escape through the forest, the red glow behind caused him to look back and see the surge of demonic light coming straight at him as it demolished every tree in it's path. He knew that even he couldn't outrun such a wave. As such, he had only one course of action left.
"Technically, I'm not disobeying orders." He rationalized as he took a great leap into the air, shifting his body so that he faced the oncoming wave "I'll be testing Berserker's Noble Phantasm, after all!"
He raised his crimson spear over his head, holding it much like one would hold a javelin, and reared his arm back.
"To think you would make me use this." Lancer let out a small grin, an indicator that he actually enjoyed this turn of events, before he yelled out the name of his Noble Phantasm one more time "GAE BOLG!"
While it is indeed the same spear, the thrown variant is quite different from the first one. While it does not carry the concept of "piercing the heart" with absolute accuracy, the power output of the spear is increased, instead warping space to multiply the number of thrown spears. As a result, this form of Gae Bolg was designed not kill a single unit, but to deal with entire armies in one throw.
How fitting, then, that it would be used to counter Berserker's own trump card. The collision created a pillar of red light that consumed a huge chunk of the forest in an explosion that left nothing in it's radius left standing. Fortunately, Lancer's luck finally won out as the impact propelled him far and away from the war zone. His landing was rough to say the least, hitting the ground just outside the forest with so much force that he left a crater in his wake.
"Damn...I'll be feeling that tomorrow." Lancer chuckled as he went into spirit form, too weary to seek another fight "I'll be looking forward to fighting you again, Berserker..."
Meanwhile, Back at the Castle...
"It hurts..."
It was taking all of Berserker's willpower not to writhe in agony from using Clarent Blood Arthur. She remained in her current posture as rigid as a statue, but Ilya, Sella and Morimoto could see from her trembling form that using her Noble Phantasm, in addition to the injury inflicted on her by Lancer earlier, took a serious toll on the Servant of Madness.
"It hurts so much...Father...help...me..."
Sure enough, Berserker dropped into the ground like a rock in a pool of her own blood, the red of her battle garb blending in quite nicely.
"BERSERKER!" Ilya shrieked as she immediately ran towards her, instantly kneeling beside the fallen Servant. She placed her hands immediately over her wound, doing all she could to heal her. "Don't do this to me, Berserker..." She murmured as tears began welling in her eyes as her hands glowed with restorative light "Please don't leave me alone..."
"Ilya-sama..." Sella was about to walk over her mistress when she felt a gloved hand on her shoulder. She turned to see Morimoto, the butler looking more haggard than usual, shake his head with a somber expression.
"Leave Ojou-sama be." The elderly man sighed deeply "I know this is a trying time for her, but this is exactly what she needs. This will become a true test of the bond she and Berserker established as Master and Servant. I only hope that they will succeed."
"But Morimoto-dono-"
"Our duty as vassals of the Einzbern is to tend to the household." He smiled in his usual sagely way as he gestured to what was left of the foyer "As you can see, we will have quite a busy day tomorrow. And there is also the matter of Leysritt-san's injuries."
"Of course. Forgive me for losing sight of our goal." Sella nodded before glancing at the deep gash Lancer's spear left on the old man's shoulder "I only ask that you follow your own advice."
"I shall do just that." Seeing this as an end to their discussion, Sella nodded towards the butler before walking over to where Leysritt was. He then walked towards where Ilya was to check on her progress. What he saw was not the haughty, strong-willed child who willingly entered the War out of a personal vendetta; her rich red orbs were reddened even further, her cheeks stained with fresh tears. He would later note that he was seeing the vulnerable, child-like side of his mistress that she rarely ever showed.
"How is she?" He asked in a kind tone.
"I...I-I managed to heal most of the damage using Clarent Blood Arthur caused." The young homunculus answered with a shaky, croaky voice that was hoarse from all the sobbing. "B-but that wound from Lancer's spear...there must be some kind of curse on it 'cause I couldn't close it completely..."
"I see..." Morimoto sighed as he glanced on his own wound; if Ilya's words were to be believed, his own wound will not be closing up any time soon.
Morimoto sighed before putting a hand on his mistress' shoulder. "Allow me to take Berserker-sama to one of the spare rooms. After such a tumultuous nice, you will need all the rest you can get, Ilya-sama."
With small nod did Ilya comply, slowly but shakily getting up to her feet before she began walking ever so slowly to her room.
"Forgive me for not being a help to you, young lady." He sighed while carefully carrying the gravely wounded Knight of Treachery in his arms. As he did, he winced slightly at his own wound, but chose to not let it bother him. Even if it may complicate matters.
"So it means that I don't have much time left..."
Kotomine Church, Around the Same Time...
"I wonder how L and G's endeavors are doing..."
Leticia, still clad in her battle garb, had just exited the church and began to make her rounds. As the Grail War would undoubtedly resume tonight, it was her duty as Ruler to lay down the law and make sure that neither Master nor Servant goes out of line.
It was for this purpose that she descended from the church on the hill, the road thankfully devoid of any bystander the street lights illuminated her way. As walked down, her thoughts turned to the other concerns she has regarding the war. Out of the many, one weighed on her mind as a top item on her to-do list.
It was the issue of Caster. She had to begrudgingly give the Witch of the Argo credit for her resourcefulness; her Territory was established at the top of Mt. Ryudou, the richest of Fuyuki's leylines, and she had two Servant-class protectors in Assassin and her Master, Kuzuki Souichiro. Which brings Ruler to the reason behind her concern: Caster bent the rules of the Grail War by slaying the original Master of the Assassin class and summoned a fake as opposed to one of the Hassans. Not only that, but her actions in draining the townspeople of their life energy was something she, as an Overseer, cannot ignore. She wasn't too worried, as she can easily shrug off Caster's spells while her helpers engage with Assassin and her Master.
"So we finally meet...Servant Ruler."
At the bottom of the hill was a man clad in a black jacket and pants with a white long-sleeved shirt underneath. His golden blonde hair matched his earrings perfectly, and his blood red eyes did well to give him a rather otherworldly and mystifying look about him. Leticia could immediately tell from his sinister smirk and the fact that he knew her identity that he was in fact bad news.
"This one is also a Servant." Leticia's eyes were locked on the golden haired man, as if she was analyzing every little thing about him "But his appearance does not match the ones from this War. I also neither know his identity nor his Class..."
"I have to admit, your beauty does match that of Saber's." The mysterious Servant smirked as he took a few steps forward, the smug look on his face not diminishing even for a second "And yet you and I are similar...we both are Servants in mortal vessels. Am I wrong?"
This small remark enticed a reaction rarely seen in Ruler; her purple orbs widening in shock while her mouth was agape due to the revelation "How did you-" was all she could stammer before he interrupted her.
"So I was right, then. Such is the wisdom of a true king." The golden man chuckled "I have many questions for you, admittedly. However, one comes to mind: Why were you summoned as Ruler? What is your role in the Grail War?"
"I only have one purpose: To maintain order." Ruler answered him with resolution in her voice "My current goal is to ensure that tragedies like the one at the eve of the last war never happen again. As Ruler and a hero much like yourself, I have a duty to the Masters and Servants, those I consider under me, to see this mission to the very end."
While she kept her ground, never wavering in the face of her foe, the man could only sigh.
"Spoken much like a true knight. How wonderfully naive."
"What did you just say?!"
"How fitting then, that you and Servant Saber are so much alike: both little girls dreaming of lofty, unattainable ideals. I admit that there is a certain...attractiveness about it." The man laughed pompously, spreading his arms wide in a gesture "To be ruler is to place the self above those beneath you. To be he who ensures that his laws are absolute. And that, Servant Ruler, is the gap between you and I. While I applaud you for your bravery in assuming such a lofty title, I simply cannot let you live. For you see..."
As he spoke, Ruler noticed several golden ripples in space manifest behind the golden-haired man. Out of each was a weapon. Some of them were swords, some were spears, axes, war hammers and the like. There was one thing Ruler could not deny...
"All of them are Noble Phantasms..."
"Only I, Gilgamesh the King of Heroes, can be called Ruler!"
With that proud declaration did he send said weapons at her with only a thought. Thinking fast, Ruler materialized her battle standard, the sacred flag that she carried with her in battle, in her left hand while unsheathing her sword with her right. As it was, she looked up to see that her opponent had sent five weapons at her person.
Her goal right now was to parry each one minimal damage to self. As such, her body reacted almost instinctively, as if she had foreseen the best course of action to take. She twirled her standard like a baton, batting two broad swords away in mid-air. From the corner of her eye, she saw the third weapon and fourth weapons, two axes spinning like propellers and used her blade to deflect them with two graceful strokes. The last weapon, a spear, would prove more challenging to block, but she responded by crossing her sword and standard together in an x-formation. She managed to catch the weapon by it's shaft inches away from her neck. With a battle cry she swung her weapons upward, causing the spear to turn about face, before swatting it with her sword and sending it back to her attacker.
The King of Heroes never lost his smirk, leaning her head towards the right while the spear zoomed past mere inches away from his face harmlessly. "Impressive, Ruler." Gilgamesh grinned malevolently as more ripples manifested behind him, weapons of all kinds emerging from them "But can you keep this up?"
The volley began anew without warning, forcing Ruler to act quickly. With almost godlike movements did she swing her weapons around, intercepting every projectile sent at her to the best of her ability. Even as she kept her defense, she wondered just what kind of Servant she was facing.
"Servants generally have at least one or two Noble Phantasms, yet this man fires them by the dozens! Is this the strength of the fabled God-King of Uruk?!" She wondered "Nay, I cannot let this continue. There is only one thing I can do now!"
"By the authority bestowed upon me by the Command Seals," She began as she barely parried the last weapon, the stigma at the back of her right hand glowing ominously "I order you, Gilgamesh, to cease attacking me at once!"
So she uttered her absolute command, the red flash of light indicating that her Command Seals had been activated. She watched in anticipation, expecting Gilgamesh to freeze up and be bound by the stigma.
Imagine the look of utter shock on her face when all Gilgamesh did was laugh. "Well, you have certainly proven interesting, Servant Ruler! For you think that I would be bound by naught but your words?! Fool!"
"Impossible..." For the first time in quite a long time, Ruler began to feel fear brewing deep in her gut "But how? The Command Seal's hold over a Servant should be absolute! For it to have no effect on you would mean-"
"That I would have no longer have a connection to the Grail?" The King of Heroes interrupted her, leering at her while his blood-red eyes glowed ominously in the night "That is partly true; it's contents did give me physical form. However, in granting me my physical form, I am no longer bound to it as I once was. Your Command Seals would have worked on any Servants in THIS War but me."
"Of this War..." Ruler murmured as she slowly began piecing the puzzle together "Then you are remnant of the last War...Then tell me, did you cause the Great Fuyuki Fire?! Were you behind the destruction in it's wake?! "
"Ah, that was not my handiwork, but it was for the best; the humans of this era are without worth in my eyes. But enough talk." Instead of summoning multiple weapons, Gilgamesh reached into his treasury and conjured a single spear. The shaft was an ivory white with golden trimmings along it, a blue tassel ran along the head where a slim, silver blade was also attached. To many who would behold it's brilliance, they could easily see that it was a holy weapon.
"From your standard, I can easily tell that you are a pious knight of faith. As such, I am sure that you may recognize this weapon, Ruler." Gilgamesh began speaking while the spear glowed with a white light that can only be described as pure "Will it not be ironic, then, that a warrior of God shall be pierced by a weapon the Church considered sacred?"
"My God..." Ruler trembled for the second time tonight, recognizing that spear all too well from the stories she had heard at church as well as the vast knowledge granted to her by the Throne "For you to possess THAT weapon..."
"All the treasures of the world came from my treasury, and this spear is no exception." Gilgamesh relished at Ruler's discomfort as he hefted the spear for the throw "Come forth, Longinus: The Spear of Destiny!"
With one mighty throw did he send the spear at his opponent, the mana gathered within the Holy weapon just about ready to burst upon contact. Ruler had to act now, lest she be destroyed.
"Luminosite Eternelle!"
Raising her standard up high, Ruler formed a barrier around herself to protect her from the attack. Within seconds of doing so did the spear connect, engulfing her and the area around her in a pillar of blinding light that could be seen from even the other side of the Mion River.
Once the light faded, Gilgamesh could see the crater he had left behind. He knew that Kirei was going to have a hell of a time covering that up, but chose to ignore it. After all, the king did not concern himself with such frivolous matters.
"For you to survive a blow from the spear that has pierced the Savior's side. You have impressed me, Ruler." He grinned when he saw Ruler standing at the center of said crater unharmed.
"Praise from you disgusts me, King of Heroes!" She spat in the ground in disgust while panting heavily, the battle taking it's toll on her "Mark my words, you WILL tell me of your involvement in the last War, you fiend!"
"I believe you are in no position to make demands, Ruler." The Golden Servant kept his grin as two more swords manifested behind him "It would be a shame to kill you, for you have won my affections as well. Perhaps you can join Saber in my harem?"
"It will be a cold day in hell before I do!"
"Your words wound me." Gilgamesh smirked at her blunt rejection "Perhaps I should wound your legs for you to reconsider?" With a gesture of his hand he sent the two weapons hurtling at her. She raised her banner to defend, though she expected at least one to hit her due to the fatigue she was experiencing in keeping up with the King of Heroes.
Thankfully, she didn't have to worry about it when a single figure in jet-black armor went in front of her and intercepted both blades with one swing of his ebony sword. Ruler looked up to see her savior stand tall against the intimidating King of Heroes, his eyes locked at him with dangerous intent.
"Lancelot..." She murmured, her lips curling into a small smile of relief.
"Well, well..." The King of Heroes's eyes twinkled like rubies in amusement "It's been a while...mad dog."
End Chapter 11
A/N: Okay, I was supposed to have finished this before the New Year, but real life happened. That being said, welcome to another chapter of Clarent Blood Arthur!
Morded: I take offense to the beginning of this chapter!
It won't be fair if you're depicted as an unstoppable juggernaut every time you show up. Besides, I'm sure a lot of people are happy that Lancer's luck finally improved...even if Gae Bolg didn't kill you.
Lancer: Eh, I'll take what I can get.
'Sides, at least you managed to belt out your NP, right?
Morded:... I suppose.
Atta girl! Anyway, other than the aforemention Morded vs Lancer, Ruler vs Gilgamesh finally happens! As usual, the King of Heroes was hax, but you can't fault Jeanne/Leticia for trying!
Also, I have to say thanks for all the support you guys have shown me so far. I wasn't expecting 175+ reviews and 45k+ views when I wrote this, so it's pretty humbling to know that people like this. Now if only I can get a TVTropes page for this...xD
Kidding aside, thanks once again for all the support and kindly leave a review when you're done reading. With that, I'll be seeing you all in the next chapter!
Mordred: Next Time on Clarent Blood Arthur: Dog Fight II!