Hey there, here I go with the eighteenth chapter of my story in English. It is finally on par with my Spanish version. Before I start I must warn you that from today I will temporarily pause to rewrite my other version from 0 and I do not think I will publish more chapters in English until I reach where I left off. I'm really sorry.
Anyway, I'm excited for the reviews and followers I've gotten so far despite the bad grammar I did, but thanks. With all this, but you enjoy.
On reviews:
Angelvan105: Thanks for the compliments again. I too would like to write about the banquet of kings and explore more about Mordred and Arturia, but unfortunately I have to temporarily stop.
Chapter 18: The demons of the forest
07/03/2021
"¡Hah!"
Mordred let out a fierce war cry as she charged straight towards her target who was standing there in front of her to several meters doing nothing about it in order to bisect him with Clarent. Sure, it would be a simple task in eliminating that filthy worm once and for all if those strange looking grotesque and horrifying creatures shaped like worms or monstrous slugs didn't get in her way.
The Caster's familiars.
However, for the Knight of the Rebellion this was no problem.
*SLASH* *SLASH* *SLASH*
When the red knight cut the distance between her and those hideous disgusting creatures, she swung her great sword both horizontally and vertically and sliced through the familiars in a bloody spectacle accompanied by screeches of pain from the creatures when they were struck by Clarent. She had slaughtered more than 5 and continued on her way, only to find more of those things on her way.
"Tch." The red knight growled as she prepared to swing her sword and bisect them.
*SLASH* *SLASH* *SLASH*
More bluish blood splattered into the air as more of those infernal creatures were massacred like mere insects and she kept cutting the rest that was coming upon her.
Caster watched the slaughter of his familiars not upset or concerned at the number she slaughtered. He was excited to witness the display of strength, swordsmanship and brutality with which she killed his infernal creatures. Despite not being so graceful and fluid, she made up for it with brute strength and a frenzy to attack head-on like a berserker, and that was enough to fascinate him.
"Merveilleux! Merveilleux, Jeanne! That monstrous strength that you have alongside that tenacious warrior spirit of surely there are no words to describe how wonderful you are. I bet even God would bow down to your power."
"Grrr, shut up!" Yelled Mordred having lost her temper and threw her sword with force and flew like a projectile launched towards her target.
*TAB*
Only to fail when one of those creatures got in the way and took the hit instead. The sword impaled deep into the creature's head like an arrow, and it fell dead.
Mordred growled when she saw that her had missed her goal and quickly ran towards Clarent to retrieve it and she came back with the slaughter of those critters.
*SLASH* *SLASH*
More chunks of flesh and blood flew out, leaving behind a carnage of giant critters on the ground as the red knight tried to find an opening that would lead him to where Caster was as she continued to rid himself of these damn obstacles in her path.
The truth is that the Knight of the Rebellion was doing very well facing alone with a whole swarm of those cursed creatures of that slug and managed to slaughter a good number almost without effort, but the problem was that the number of them did not decrease and instead they kept coming more and more.
'Tch, shit…!' Mordred growled as she continued slicing more giant worms.
"Hahahaha! What's wrong, Jeanne? Is that all you've got?" Caster asked mockingly.
*TAB*
She impaled another creature that stood between her and her target and at the same time heard Caster's taunting. Fed up with hearing him, the Rebellion Knight gathered an amount of mana on her feet to propel her, and she sped through several of his familiars to catch up with him.
*SLASH* *SLASH*
All the creatures that tried to get in her way were instantly knocked down until she had Caster right in front of her and ready to throw her weapon at him, until...
…?
A tentacle managed to coil and cling to one of the red knight's sabatons, catching her off guard and stopping her in her tracks.
"Saber!" Ichigo yelled worried as he saw how his Servant is captured.
Caster smiled before more tentacles appeared out of nowhere and caught the knight's other limbs, immobilizing her.
"Oh sorry, Jeanne. But I think you should save your strength when that imposter shows up." Caster said. Inside the helm, Mordred's eyes widened at that.
"What!?"
"As I told you before, I just wanted to lure you here so that you will fight against that girl who is pretending to be you, and it seems that she will not be long in coming." Caster answered.
Picking up on this, Mordred concentrated on trying to feel the mana vibrations that were in the distance, and after a short instant, she noticed that it was true that another Servant was on her way here at full speed. And he was not just any Servant.
It was father!
Father was approaching this location as Caster surely told him to confront the latter. She grunted in frustration. As much as she wanted to face father again, she couldn't do it with that fucking slug and his worms getting in the way. But this was not the greatest of her concerns.
If father was really going to come here, she couldn't allow her to see her in such a sorry and humiliating state being tied by tentacles to her limbs without being able to do anything to free herself. It would be a great shame to see father see her in such humiliating and powerless conditions as anything, and her warrior pride would not bear it.
And that would not be all. If she managed to break free from the restraints, she would do everything she could to destroy Caster in front of father's eyes to show her incredible combat skills, make a great impression on her and show her once and for all that she deserved to be her heir.
Yes, that would. She would show father that she was worthy!
Mordred removed her helmet automatically, revealing her face to the outside. Caster saw this and was curious what she was going to do.
Trying to lift her left arm (which was holding Clarent) up still with the tentacle restraining her, she amassed a large amount of mana to unleash her first Noble Phantasm.
"Red Thunder!"
A tempest of crimson lighting erupted from the blade causing a strong shock wave that sent the creatures that kept her restrained flying and the rest that was behind managing to free themselves.
Ichigo and Caster were stumped upon seeing this incredible display of power.
However, even though her strategy had worked, it had a price, and that was that she had spent a good part of her mana to unleash her technique. Now she was panting wearily as if she had been overworked. She shouldn't have gone through this if her Master wasn't a complete rookie and gave her his reserves of mana.
"B-but how?" Caster asked disconcerted.
"Hahaha, it seems like your worms aren't strong enough to stop me." Mordred replied ignoring her exhaustion with a big mocking smile.
Caster grunted at what she said and vowed that he would not let this insult go unpunished.
"Well, where were we going?" Saber commented when she saw that the field seemed clear, leaving a clear path to reach Caster. She smiled when she saw that nothing seemed to stop her from reaching her goal. Or so she thought.
Just when he wanted to realize it, someone else appeared on the scene to challenge Caster, and that was none other than the former King of Britain, Artoria Pendragon.
Everyone was perplexed by her sudden appearance.
"Arthur!" Mordred growled, forgetting about Caster and focusing her attention on the most hated person in her life and the last time he saw her, she had ignored her. Of course, Artoria ignored her son and only focused on Caster.
Ichigo was also surprised by the appearance of the other Saber and was still incredulous as to her true identity.
"So you've finally shown up, you dirty impostor." Caster growled at the 'fake' Jeanne too. "I've been waiting for you to come and you're finally here."
However, the King of Knights was not that enthusiastic about the invitation.
"Caster, I have come to put an end to your misdeeds once and for all." She stated as she put on battle stance. "Prepare to die!"
"You can keep spitting all you want, God's puppet. Your words are empty to me and my dearest Jeanne." Caster retorted with dislike before fixing on Mordred with a bland expression. "Jeanne, my dear. Prove to that imposter that only you are the strongest, and there must be only one Jeanne in this world. Kill her!"
Mordred didn't reply and said nothing at Caster's words while still staring intently at father. Seeing that there was no response and feeling that she was still staring at her like a predator, Artoria turned her attention to Mordred in case of aggression from the latter. If the King of Knights was surprised that her rebellious son had decided to attack her before Caster, she did not show it. But she hoped the Knight of Rebellion would have so much common sense to forget about her and attack Caster first.
On the other hand, Ichigo was also concerned about these changes in events. Is Mordred really going to play along with that fucking bastard just to fight her sister, mother, or whatever, and let him get away with what he did? This is ridiculous! He had to make his Servant see reason.
"Oi, Saber, what the hell are you doing?" Ichigo asked taking a few steps towards his Servant. "Ignore what that bastard says and just focus on him! Are you really going to play along after what he did to him with-
"Shut up!" The Knight of Rebellion suddenly yelled causing her Master to stop abruptly. "Who do you think I am? Did you really think I was going to play along with that fucking bastard?"
Then she turned his gaze to father. "For the record, it is true that my only objective is to defeat the King of Knights, but I cannot allow that slug to get in my way so I will kill him first." She turned again to face Caster who the latter looked at her with wide eyes.
"Jeanne… are you really going to side with that damn impostor against me?"
"Shut up! As soon as I have pierced your heart with my sword, I will turn my attention to father." Then she turned her attention to Artoria.
"Listen Arthur. I'm glad you came this way, but I don't need you. I want you to stay on the sidelines and watch me fight that disgusting beast. I'll show you how strong I am."
The former King of Knights said nothing or nodded while still looking with that damn indifferent look she always hated, but decided to ignore herr for now as she had to focus on other priorities. This was going to be a glorious night!
And so, she charged.
Caster growled as he summoned his familiars again and they rushed towards the Knight of the Rebellion, who the latter prepared to provoke another carnage.
*SLASH* *SLASH* *SLASH*
Despite having lost good power consumption after performing the Red Thunder to rid herself of the previous horde of those creatures that restricted her, the red knight had managed to keep up and keep fighting those slugs. She had sliced a good number of them, leaving the ground littered with mutilated and bloody corpses, and the carnage was not over yet.
Ichigo was staring at the carnage and was still somewhat concerned for his Servant. He knew that the tomboyish red knight was quite badass and strong that she reminded him quite a bit of Kenpachi or Grimmjow at times, but seeing that after unleashing that blast of mana, she had been a little exhausted from the effort. He had remembered what Urahara had told him about that the potential of Servants depends on the source of mana supplied by their Masters. The more mana the Master has, the stronger and more durable his Servant is. But if, on the contrary, the Master did not have so much, the lower their chances of getting out of alive, and Ichigo is no exception.
The former Substitute growled once more in frustration at feeling so helpless for not doing something about it, for not helping Mordred get rid of that plague of giant slugs and not being able to stop that bastard Caster and make him pay for what he did.
At the same time, Artoria was still staring in her place her rebellious son fight the hordes of monsters on her own and without the help of anyone, she had managed to charge quite a few. There was no doubt that she was not employing any tactics or strategies to fight as she was only using brute force attacking head-on like a rampant madwoman. It wouldn't surprise her if she was summoned as a Berserker. In Camlann, she also fought in more or less the same way except that she also had good determination to carry on despite her flaws, and that was something the King of Knights could respect about her despite her stubbornness and temerity.
She also could not doubt that Mordred was also one of her most capable and loyal knights she had ever had, although she had not personally ranked her as one of her favorites. In fact, her dedication to her was genuine, but even if she was so willing to follow her despite her relationship with Morgan, Mordred was not the type of person who deserved to be on the throne since she only saw the throne as a right and not a responsibility, because of what she had determined that her son did not have what he had to have to be king and that is why she rejected her without hesitation. It was thus that she later retaliated and plunged Britain into a bloody civil war that uprooted the country.
Now, even though they are currently enemies for the Grail, Artoria only focused on Caster but took no action to intervene and only temporarily observe. She intended to intervene if the Knight of Rebellion was only in trouble, but she will not save her just out of respect or something else that was related to her in the past. She was just trying he not to kill her so early just for them to have their second duel. Apparently, Mordred still bragged about being her rightful heir despite what she did in life and being better than her even despite how she ended up in Camlann. Well, if so, she will gladly correct her again so she can learn. She just needed to wait for her son to make a mistake.
In a moment of inspiration, Artoria noticed the supposed Mordred's Master a few feet away to the right and was surprised that it was the same boy from that time in the harbor when he stepped between Berserker's attack that was going to end Mordred's second life, but he had gotten in the way taking the blow instead. He was supposed to have died and not survived such a fatal blow, and yet here he was among the living. He has been saved with the help of his associates? Well, it doesn't matter. She had to focus on combat first.
*SLASH* *SLASH* *SLASH*
More agonizing screeches could be heard as the red knight was still easily eliminating the creatures Caster summoned. Up to this point, Mordred had lost count of how many of these critters she had killed, but none of that mattered as more and more monsters kept coming to replace their place. No matter how many she killed, others always appeared out of nowhere and this course was repeated over and over again as if nothing. And the strangest thing was that Caster's mana didn't seem to be depleted in the least since they started the combat, and he was still as fresh as a rose!
Instead, Mordred did not appear to be in good condition after an indefinite amount of time of cutting and tearing apart many of those larvae. She could feel her energy reserves running low.
"What's wrong, Jeanne? Have you already reached your limit?" Caster asked mockingly.
"Shut up!" Mordred bellowed before bisecting a slug and moving on. Even so, despite her stubbornness and determination, deep down she couldn't help but feel worried about the situation and wondered why this bloody pack of monsters was not ending no matter how many she killed.
It also became clear to Ichigo that this was not ending and still more of those giant critters kept coming and he worried that Mordred would consume her last strength and finally succumb to them.
Artoria was also taken aback by this and wondered why Caster's mana was not decreasing. It was then that, in a moment of inspiration, she realized the possible reason.
'No way… Could it be the book?'
It could be a possibility. Ever since she had arrived, she had noticed that Caster's mana was emanating from somewhere and that was the book he held in his hands. That was the source of his power. If she managed to destroy it, that monster would be at her mercy. With that in mind, Artoria prepared to intervene taking advantage of the fact that Caster's attention was focused on Mordred so he will attack him unawares by surprise.
Without waiting a minute, the King of Knights gathered her mana on her heels to increase her momentum and bolt towards her target. Her strategy had worked well, having managed to avoid the horde of familiars focused on Mordred, giving her free rein to Caster.
"Haaah!"
"Hmm." Smile.
…?
Just as she was about to reach her goal, some tentacles suddenly appeared out of nowhere and wrapped around each limb of the blue Saber, catching her off guard. Everyone was taken aback by this.
"Hahahaha! Poor fool. Did you think that I had forgotten about you?" Caster sneered as Artoria tried futilely to shake off the restraints. "Now you are at my mercy!"
Mordred froze in place upon witnessing what that monster had caught. Father the great King of Knights been captured that easy? She grunted in disgust. She must have should have stayed out of it when she told her. A knight must-
Unfortunately, that momentary distraction caused Caster to take advantage of it to capture the Knight of the Rebellion again in his tentacles.
"SHIT!" Mordred screamed cursing her carelessness.
"SABER!" Ichigo yelled in concern as he saw his Servant being captured again.
"Hahahaha! Got you too, Jeanne!" Caster laughed with fun. He had positioned both Artoria and Mordred at a height of 20 feet from the ground while they are being at the same level. "Let's see, I wonder what I can do with you two now?" He asked as he looked at the couple with a deranged smile. Artoria and Mordred flinched slightly as they pondered what this monster had in store for them.
Ichigo also looked just as helpless when he saw how that bastard had captured the 2 Sabers and they couldn't do anything to free themselves from it. Time seemed to be cutting short for the former Shinigami as he saw that monster laugh shamelessly at seeing his opponents captivated between the tentacles of his familiars and he knew that he had to do something immediately before it is too late.
Noting that he only had a single weapon in his hand lent by Ishida for both attack and defense, he knew that this was the only weapon he currently had to fight and try to save both Servants from that murderous maniac. With that in mind, he made his risky decision.
Just as he took a few steps to enter the battlefield, he was abruptly stopped when a hand caught him from behind, grabbing onto his jacket, surprising him. The orange haired boy didn't have time to see the identity of his captor when he was forcefully thrown backwards crashing into a tree.
"Ittai!" Ichigo complained as he felt the pain from the impact on his back.
"You know, if i was an inexperienced like you, it would keep me on the sidelines." Ichigo heard a manly voice smugly from his captor. When he looked forward, he saw to his surprise a rather familiar figure, being that of a man with a rather athletic build, handsome expression, and wearing armor from ancient times. A Servant without a doubt. But the weapons he carried told him more.
2 spears.
"You are… Lancer?"
Lancer did not respond as he turned towards the battlefield where Caster seemed to be distracted by his 2 captivated opponents and had not been aware of his presence.
"You must be the Master of the Knight of Treachery, right?" Lancer spoke without looking at Ichigo. "The truth is that you surprise me that you survived Berserker's attack the other night. But I doubt that such a miracle will happen again. I really admire your bravery for wanting to help your Servant, but don't let recklessness kill you, boy."
Without saying anything else, Lancer launched himself onto the battlefield leaving a bewildered Ichigo alone.
"Let's see, I think I'll start with you." Caster said viciously as he turned his attention to Artoria. The latter flinched when she saw a series of tentacles approaching her. Mordred growled in anger when she saw that this bastard was going to do something bad to father. It wasn't that she cared at all. She was supposed to be the one who should end the King of Knights life!
Just when he was going to put his tentacles on top of the former king ...
*SLICE* *SLICE*
Suddenly all the restraints that bound the King of Knights were cut out of nowhere, freeing Artoria and the latter landed on the ground.
…?
"How disappointing, Saber." Lancer said mockingly when he landed on his back in front of Artoria. "That fencing was far from captivating enough to do the King of Knights justice."
Artoria raised her head to see, to her surprise, that her savior was Lancer whose identity is one of Finna's Knights. The latter smiles at her.
Mordred, still restrained elevated into the air, is also surprised by Lancer's arrival to rescue father. She would have mentally scoffed at how the undefeated King of Knights had to be rescued like this all of a sudden had it not been for remembering her encounter with that fucking spearman who had insulted her saying it was the disgrace of knights. It had served to enrage her and swear to herself that she would make her pay for such an insult. Yes. She would have her terrible revenge against that bastard and father at the same time. Unfortunately, he had other priorities.
"Who are you?" Caster asked not happy with Lancer's intervention. "How dare you interfere!?"
"That's my question, fiend." Lancer responded as he stood guard with his spears, and Saber rose to cover the spearman's back. "It will be my spear that takes Saber's life!" He declared glaring at the former serial killer.
"Non!" Caster declared suddenly. "That filthy impostor is supposed to be the sacrifice of my real Jeanne."
"You mean that traitorous knight?" Lancer asked as he glanced at the bastard son of the King of Knights still captive. "You can do whatever you want with her, I don't care. But if you're set on subjugating Saber and making her yours no matter what, then go ahead and try. However... I, Diarmuid, won't let you defeat a weakened Saber before me!"
This caused the former French marshal to grind his teeth in anger at what he heard. H-how dare that bastard interfere with his sacrifice and challenge him just like that?
"You will pay for this!"
And responding to their master's anger, his familiars rushed toward the knights like a rabid pack. This is how another carnage began.
Mordred was truly irritated at the universe. She was still tied to these same tentacles in midair putting her in a slightly embarrassing and humiliating position. She had only been limited to watching how that damned spearman intervened to save father and now these 2 have made an alliance to end that dog and his giant slugs. She saw how that spearman had no problem fighting alongside father and seemed to get along well to her.
At one point, she remembered the identity of that lancer bastard as an individual who shared the same tragic history as father's lapdog. It did not seem strange to her that the King of Knights had accepted his cooperation surely because he would quite remind her of the adulterous bastard who also had to do with the donwfall of the first.
It would have been even more satisfying if aside from father, her lapdog was also in this Holy Grail War so she could kill him as well. However, he is not here, so she would settle for the other knight. Sure, she could if it weren't for Caster's presence. She couldn't remain trapped here until the combat is over with either Caster retreating or finally being defeated by father or Lancer, as it would be a humiliation to be rescued by either of the 2 and her pride would not bear it. She had to get rid of these restrictions as quickly as possible and end this combat to prove to everyone that she was the strongest warrior.
Meanwhile, Ichigo didn't really know what to do. It was a real relief that that Lancer showed up at the right time and came together to fight Caster. However, he seemed not to care much for the Knight of Treachery, and instead of helping her, he just allied himself with her sister or whatever, and so began another slaughter of critters. He saw how his Servant was still trapped between the restraints, unable to get off.
He was undecided what to do despite his first instinct telling him that he to save her once and for all. With the distraction of Caster and his familiars with the other Saber and Lancer, he could use the occasion to get closer to the restrictions and cut them with Ishida's strange weapon and thus free his Servant. Yes, he knew exactly what he had to do to rescue Mordred, but he also didn't know if that would work.
"Dammit, I don't have an option either!" Ichigo growled finally making his decision.
And with that decision made, the former Substitute ran as fast as possible, passing among the remains of the relatives that Mordred had previously bisected and was lucky that no one will notice him move until he reached the stem of one of the restraints. Once there, he prepared the Quincy's weapon and swung the blade of light toward the stem like an ax about to strike the bark of a tree.
...?
He didn't know why, but he was hoping the blade will go through the entire tentacle like a true Star Wars lightsaber, but instead got stuck having only penetrated a little deep and nothing more. Ichigo just looked at this in puzzlement and confusion.
What the hell is going on? He had swung this hard the same way he swung Zangetsu on many occasions. What the fuck is wrong with this? Is this really good for cutting?
"You have to use it like a chainsaw!" Ichigo flinched at the familiar scream coming from behind and turned to see to his surprise that it was his friends who had just walked in and witnessed what had happened. Needless to say, they didn't like it.
"Ishida!"
"Remember what I told you when you came in here! Remember how to use Seele Schneider!" The Quincy called again to remind Kurosaki how to use the weapon.
This had immediate effect on how Ichigo processed what he had explained to him about the operation of this thing.
'He said I don't have to force it too hard and use it like a chainsaw.'
With all that assimilated, he decided to give it a try. Although he had never used a chainsaw before, he knew how it worked and how to use it, and he decided to do it the same way. With that in mind, Ichigo inserted the blade inside the cut that he had made earlier and then pressed inside for the blade to do its job, and it seemed to be working as the cut was deepened further and he noticed the tentacle shake violently as if it feel pain. He had to ignore the blood splattering all over him.
Mordred noticed that one of the tentacles restraining one of his legs began to wobble and lose his balance. When Ichigo managed to cut the first tentacle, he wasted no more time cutting the other one causing Mordred to descend to the ground almost freed. The other 3 Servants realized what was happening and hardly noticed them.
"Ichigo, what do you think you are doing?" Mordred asked surprised by the intervention of her Master, who had finished cutting the tentacles from her arms. "You shouldn't be here!"
"Shut up!" Ichigo replied with some weariness. "Didn't you see that you couldn't even free yourself? I need you here to take on that bastard for what he did."
"I don't need your help for that!" She snapped in a voice of authority. The only thing she would have to endure was being saved by her Master again considering that he could not supply her with enough mana for her to perform a Noble Phantasm and that.
"You better go to-
"I won't allow it!" Caster bellowed as he sent a small horde of familiars towards where the eighth Master and his Servant were still standing. In reality, the slugs were heading towards the Knight of the Rebellion, who the latter was still somewhat exhausted.
It was clear that with the speed with which the familiars were moved, Ichigo and Mordred would not have time to avoid it and all they could do was withstand the onslaught. However, before such a thing happened, suddenly they heard a voice screaming.
"Santen Kesshun!" A large golden triangle-shaped barrier appeared in front of Ichigo and Mordred, intervening between the familiars. When the vanguard of the creatures came into contact with the shield, they suddenly fell back as if hit by a small shock wave just like the rest. Caster's eyes widened in perplexity.
Once the creatures were clear of the shield, Uryū summoned his Ginrei Kojaku bow and unleashed a wave of luminous projectiles that annihilated the horde of monsters. Once out of danger, Orihime undid the shield. Those who never saw the Quincy in action could only gape as the familiars were suddenly struck down by the rays of blue light.
"Are you two allright?" The Quincy asked both Kurosaki and Mordred. The latter was at a loss for words upon seeing the withering attack of the boy with glasses. The first time she saw it was before reaching the city where the War for the Grail was taking place, when a horde of some ghostly monsters or something went to attack them, but the boy with glasses annihilated them all with that strange luminous weapon. The second time was in her first fight after her Master had 'died' at the hands of Berserker, when that boy again used that technique to distract the Servant of Madness.
There was also that talkative girl who could summon little fairies and cast strange spells like heal serious injuries and even raise the dead, something she didn't think possible. Actually these people with her Master are quite strange phenomena that she still did not understand. Every time she tried to ask them about their abilities, they eluded her every time. Not that she cared too much about the matter, just that she couldn't help but be so curious about this.
Putting aside her confusion, anger and indignation replaced the above when seeing how her Master had returned to do what she had previously forbidden.
Once again, she had been saved by her stupid Master. What the hell is wrong with him? Why has this inept had to save her so selflessly again? And if that weren't enough, she couldn't bear the thought of being saved by someone weaker than her, either. That would be a wound to her pride!
At the same time, Caster watched as his horde of familiars had been eliminated by that strange boy and he did not seem happy at all.
"Comment oses-tu? I don't know who you are, but you will pay for interfering." And with that declaration, the Servant of Witchcraft sent another swarm from his familiars towards the group of teenagers.
*SLASH*
However, they didn't get very far when the creatures were split horizontally by Clarent wielded by Mordred.
They all looked puzzled to see how the blonde still had the energy to continue fighting. "You two, make sure this jerk doesn't get in my way again. I'm going to settle accounts with that bastard." Mordred stated half looking at Uryū and Orihime. That phrase was not overlooked by Ichigo.
Then Uryū stopped her.
"Wait. I think it would be better if you fight alongside Rider and-
"No way!" She bellowed, making her opinion of fighting alongside the giant Servant very clear. "I'm not going to fight alongside that huge jerk no matter how kingly he may seem. I am only enough to kill that scum myself. Just Watch me!"
And so, the Knight of Rebellion charged again, leaving Uryū, Orihime, and Ichigo behind. The latter growling at his Servant's stubbornness.
The infamous red knight charged like lightning toward Caster, ready to bisect him in one fell swoop. Of course, unless the familiars stood in his way as a huge nuisance. An annoyance that she will gladly put aside.
*SLASH* *SLASH* *SLASH*
A new carnage loomed as more blood and screams of agony rang out around her.
Meanwhile, Artoria and Lancer also continued their own team sword and spear dance, tearing apart a large number of separate familiars. Even though both warriors were still rivals for the Holy Grail, there was at least one thing that united them as allies; and that was defeating Caster and ending his misdeeds once and for all. This was something that the 2 warriors did not care about at all since as knights or allies of justice, it was an honor to fight with an equal to him at his side. But honor and stuff aside, they both had to focus on the main thing.
Swinging his invisible sword diagonally, the former King of Britain split one of the creatures in half and went for the next target, dispatching more creatures alone despite her useless left arm. It was obvious to say that Gae Buidhe's curse was not preventing the King of Knights from continuing to fight effectively.
Lancer couldn't help but smile to himself as he continued to fight. Actually, the skills of the Saber class are not mere stories. She is undoubtedly a great warrior of renown, since otherwise, she would not be the strongest Servant. However, he will not be left behind!
They both did their job well in annihilating quite a few of those disgusting creatures, filling the entire field with shattered bodies and blood on the ground. However, despite this, the number of the creatures did not decrease in the least and Caster's confident attitude, as well as his lack of concern, showed that this was still far from over.
"Heh, poor fools. You will never be able to beat me." Caster said mockingly. "I am capable of summoning all these creatures from the depths of hell, and no matter how much you annihilate. You will never defeat me! Hahahaha!"
Meanwhile, Ichigo and the others on the sidelines could only watch with horror and concern as the battle unfolded in front of their eyes and didn't know what to think. It seemed like both the 2 Sabers and Lancer were doing a good job annihilating those things smoothly and it wouldn't require someone else's intervention to help, or so it seemed. But no matter how many they took down, or how much time passed, those things still kept coming back and forth out of nowhere and their numbers were not diminishing in the slightest.
"But does this never end?" Kon asked a little anguished.
Ichigo also thought the same as he watched through clenched teeth the endless carnage happening in front of his eyes and he worried that his Saber and the rest would reach their limit if this didn't end right away. It would have been easy to finish off Caster to finish this if those damn monsters didn't get in the way. Damn it, what the hell was going on here, and how can that bastard summon so many demons?
"The truth is, it's amazing how Caster can keep summoning more familiars without draining all of his mana." Rider commented as he looked expectantly at Caster's familiars coming.
Everyone immediately turned to the King of Conquerors thinking that he knew what was going on.
"But that cannot be." Waver exclaimed in disbelief while still considering the fact that Caster kept summoning an unlimited number of familiars. "If what we've learned from Caster is true, his mana reserves should have been depleted a long time ago."
Uryū heard that and reflected to himself.
If that was indeed the case, then it was just as the young Brit had said before, and Caster should have been exhausted. But there he is, fresh as a rose and without any sign of exhaustion. This didn't make any sense!
"Wait, you said that a Servant's strength also comes from their Master, right?" Ichigo said suddenly. "So if we find his Master and kill him, then..."
Everyone focused their gaze on the orange haired boy and registered what he said. They could not help but be astonished at his words since of all the people participating in this war, he did not want to resort to this very low method of taking a life from someone, especially a human. However, Uryū was the only one who felt quite sympathetic about it. It was not the fault that his friend / rival was forced to resort to this since after all, Caster's Master was a serial killer who had murdered many families in cold blood, and on top of that he was abusing his power and the of his Servant to wreak more indiscriminate havoc. On the other hand, Uryū also thought that what Ichigo was doing was fine as he would be doing justice in trying to get rid of someone worse than hollows.
"That would be a good option, but unfortunately I don't feel the presence of his Master." Rider replied a moment later. "It surely won't be here."
Hearing that, Ichigo and the others couldn't help but feel frustrated that that monster's Master was not present to confront him and thus end this quickly. On the other hand, Ichigo felt somewhat relieved that he didn't have to go kill a human (physically in appearance) in front of his friends, but this didn't solve anything.
"Wait a minute, what if we destroy that book?" Waver said suddenly, catching the attention of the others.
"What book?" Ichigo asked not understanding what the young Brit was saying.
"Oh yeah, it's true. How did I not realize?" Rider said also realizing now. "It seems like all the mana comes from that book."
In a moment of inspiration, the Quincy turned its attention to the book Caster was holding, and it was true. All the enormous energy it released came from that book and it seemed like it was somehow connected to the familiars.
"If it is true that this individual was never a magus in life, then he must have performed an alternate method to be able to perform magic and I suppose that book is the key to that."
"The Prelati's Spellbook." Waver said identifying by his link with the Throne of Heroes the book that Caster is holding. "Yes, that must be his Noble Phantasm which acts as a huge mana pool and a guide to whatever spells he can to cast."
Ichigo analyzed what he had heard (in addition to identifying the book), and then came to a conclusion.
"I see. So, if we destroy that book, Caster won't be able to summon any more of those things, right?"
"In theory yes." Rider replied in confirmation.
Ichigo nodded upon hearing that. Inwardly she wanted to call his Saber and tell her to destroy the book that bastard was carrying in his hands, but unfortunately, she was too busy to do it like the other Servants. That only left him and Ishida who were the only ones fit to continue fighting and catch up with that bastard now that the latter was distracted seeing how his creatures were entrenched. This left them as a free way to reach it and make a quick attack to destroy that book. However, that would be a risky gamble considering there were likely more of those critters lurking awaiting the arrival of a new guest.
However, given the situation, he had no choice but to do so if they wanted to get out of this alive and kill that demon once and for all. With everything settled, Ichigo took a step forward to prepare and-
"Wait, Kurosaki." He didn't get very far when he felt a hand land on his shoulder, and he turned to see that it was the Quincy looking at him seriously. It was obvious that he had anticipated his plans.
"I better go."
Ichigo hoping for this, he couldn't help frowning in disagreement. "But what do you say? I-
"Do I have to remind you that you are no longer a Shinigami?" Ishida exclaimed suddenly causing Ichigo to freeze in his statement. Seeing that he could no longer protest, the Quincy continued. "You can't move so fast, do a shunpo, and much less have a zanpakutō. The only thing you can do is get killed again like the other night, and Inoue-san will risks trying to save you again."
Following this statement, Ichigo couldn't find the words to counter of the Quincy's arguments upon realizing that he was right. As much as it pained him to admit it, this damn four-eyed was right about his current situation. He once again had forgotten that he no longer had his Shinigami powers to be able to fight supernatural beings.
He was supposed to be happy that he didn't have to wield a sword and fight hollows to protect the souls of the deceased while at the same time leading a normal life as a human.
It was a very happy 2 1/2 years for him, now that he could lead a life as a normal high school student without worrying about the supernatural, but the call of the Holy Grail War had interrupted his illusion of peace, and now he was forcibly dragged down to here to engage in a war on a supernatural scale, and without his powers.
Despite that, his determination had not hesitated to participate alongside his Servant if it was to get out of this and return to his world, but it was not that easy. The fact that he don't can have done anything to protect his Saber from a rampant Berserker except by using himself as a suicidal distraction was the most pathetic thing he'd ever done.
And right now, he could no longer help his Saber fight and clear the way to catch up with that psychopathic bastard. However, the worst part was how Ishida had told him that he could do absolutely nothing, making himself feel powerless.
Orihime could only stare in shock at Ishida's direct words to Kurosaki, and she knew that would make Kurosaki a little worse.
Ishida looked at the former Substitute with pity for what he said. He knew that this was a low blow to his morale and did not want to resort to that, but it was necessary to tell him in front of him so that he would not commit any recklessness like last time.
As for Waver and Rider, the former just looked at the other teenagers without understanding what they were saying. Shinigami? Shunpo? Zanpakutō? What the hell were they talking about now?
Uryū focused on the battlefield and saw Caster watching the 3 Servants without paying attention to them, thus leaving the book unprotected to a surprise attack. That would be very easy said than done, since if Caster realized what he was up to, it is possible that he would send more of his critters to attack him, and he would have no chance to get out alive. He just needed someone else's help, and it was a shame Renji wasn't here to back him up like he did during they confrontation with the Octava Espada in Las Noches.
He noticed that the only one he could turn to was Mordred, who was still fighting even though she was almost close to her limits. This is then Uryū finished working out his plan and entered the battlefield leaving behind a grieving Ichigo, a worried Orihime, and an intrigued Waver and Rider.
It was only a moment later that Caster noticed another fool entering his battlefield and decided to remove him like an insignificant insect.
"Mourir!" He screamed as he sent another wave of familiars toward the location of the Quincy. Uryū saw them coming and paused momentarily to prepare to mold his reiryoku into the Rei hassei-ki to make enough reishi. Having gathered enough reishi, he performed a Licht Regan, but on a smaller scale than the original. He managed to unleash strong shrapnel of projectiles towards the familiars, annihilating them on the spot. Everyone was stumped by this.
But the Quincy was not finished yet. He immediately turned to where Mordred was still fighting the rest of those creatures and prepared to intervene.
"Saber, get down!" Mordred heard the warning shout from the Quincy and turned to see him aim that strange light weapon and knew immediately what was going to happen.
Capturing this, the red knight took a good leap away, giving Uryū free rein to fire again and annihilate the rest.
After that, Mordred landed next to the Quincy not very happy about his intervention.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?" She angrily asked her Master's friend. "I thought I had said-
"Listen." The Quincy said ignoring her temper. "I have figured out how to finish off those familiars at once. All I need is your help to get those bugs out of the way while I will try to shoot the book Caster is holding in his hands as it is the source of his power. If I destroy it, this will end."
"I don't need your help to do it!" Mordred snapped, reluctant to be backed by the Quincy. "All I have to do is kill that scum!"
"Look, this is not the time to think about pride. Even if you keep annihilating those things, this will never end, and it is necessary your help to clear the way to take a direct hit at the book."
However well she considered the Quincy's words, the red knight still despised the idea of being backed up to beat that scum of Caster, plus she wanted to deliver the coup de grace, and now that archer boy was going to take the glory from her. Her pride would not bear it.
Seeing that she was still reluctant to cooperate because of her stupid pride, which annoyed him a bit, Uryū decided to correct her.
"If you really want to kill Caster, I won't stop you, but I need your help to destroy the book and make all those critters disappear!" The Quincy yelled trying to convince the Knight of Rebellion to cooperate.
Mordred grunted at this and then looked to her around. Certainly, they were surrounded by more of those damned infernal creatures. She saw that despite having slaughtered quite a number of undefined numbers including father and Lancer, the number was still dwindling, and they kept coming back as if nothing had happened. The situation had started to get screwed for her as she couldn't find an opening to attack Caster directly, and the worst part was that she was almost running out of power after unleashing her first Noble Phantasm. Just like her Master's partner said, they had to get this over with as soon as possible.
With all this, the red knight reluctantly made a decision.
"Very well, do what you want." She finally relented.
Uryū smiled seeing how she decided to cooperate and put pride aside. "But… once we've dealt with those critters." She stated as she looked at Caster like a predator. "It will be my sword that ends the miserable existence of that thing!"
The Quincy barely flinched at the statement. It was clear that she had not completely shed her pride.
"Alright, I'll leave it to you at the end."
With everything planned, the 2 set off.
"Well? Have you finished giving your prayers?" Caster asked mockingly. "If so, would I better end this now?"
"The one who will end this will be me!" The infamous Knight of Rebellion bellowed as she leapt forward to slaughter the familiars that stood in front of Caster. The latter growled but he did not care since at some point, she would be pasture for them.
Meanwhile, Uryū annihilated the familiars to his right with his Ginrei Kojaku. It was not difficult for him to do so since most of the arrows had hit their target, but just as he predicted, more were still coming, and if that were not enough, the drain from absorbing his reiryoku to make reishi was starting to do nicks on his body. He didn't know how long it was going to last, but he couldn't think of that when he had to jump to the side to avoid being hit by a tentacle, and then responded by taking down the tentacle monster. Then he realized that they were going to attack him from the other side, and he fell back to the opposite side to counter.
On the sidelines, his friends could only watch worried as the Quincy was fighting alone surrounded on each flank by those hideous monsters and although it was doing a good job, he was not going to last that indefinitely until the strength was exhausted. At the same time Ichigo also watched with jealousy as his friend / rival took all the action, and as far as the former Substitute's memory reached, there was no action that Ichigo didn't have to participate in as he was always there, backing up to his friends and beating the main bad guy.
How he hated that he put him aside.
Orihime and Kon also looked worried about Ishida's condition. He was alone while Mordred was busy dealing with the creatures guarding Caster, and the other 2 Servants were also dealing with the rest without going anywhere.
And that what there was still one more Servant left.
"Hey Rider, what are you waiting for? Aren't you going to help them?" Waver replied to his Servant for having been on the sidelines for a long time without doing anything.
"I don't think it is necessary to do so." Rider replied simply while still observing the combat with no intention of intervening. Of course, everyone was surprised by his refusal.
"What do you mean is not necessary!?" Waver protested incredulously. "Are you really going to sit idly by while this happens?"
Rider barely suppressed a sigh before answering. "Boy, in a fight you have to respect the decisions of others. Right now, the Knight of the Rebellion and that boy with glasses whose skills are like those of an Archer, they are doing their teamwork very well and I want to witness what they are doing." The King of Conquerors replied with some interest as he continued to carefully observe the combat.
However, his Master did not entirely agree with his views.
"But this is not the time to think about that nonsense that-
He couldn't finish when he was hit on the forehead.
*SLASH*
Mordred had split 3 of those creatures in half at the same time with a fleeting flick of his sword horizontally.
Meanwhile, Uryū had also struck down a hundred more around him ... and they kept coming.
*TAB*
Clarent's tip dug reached and pierced the head of a creature lying on the ground. Mordred felt that he had almost reached her limit when she released a number of exhausted gasps as she tried to relax her muscles from the enormous strain she had suffered from exhaustion. This had cost her a lot, but in the end, it would be worth it to see that she had cleared the way for those creatures in front of her, and instead faced Caster. The latter did not seem concerned about anything.
"What's wrong, Jeanne? Have you already reached your limit?" He asked mockingly with a deranged smile. "You should already know that no matter how much you annihilate my creatures, I will be able to continue summoning more and more until I have an entire invincible legion."
"That we will decide that now." Caster's eyes widened at that when he saw that Mordred had stepped aside, and instead, he saw the archer boy a few feet away pointing his light bow and arrow at him.
Uryū only smiled before shooting his arrow at the chosen target. The arrow traveled like a direct lightning bolt towards Caster, who was paralyzed in his place without even giving him time to try to defend himself or summon one of his creatures to intervene and use as a shield. However, he never realized what his goal was; the book of Prelatis.
It was thus that the arrow did its job in reaching the book and destroying it on the spot, much to Caster's horror. They all watched with bated breath as the Quincy had managed to reach its goal, and just as they predicted, moments after destroying the book, all the creatures disintegrated out of nowhere in an incredible bloody spectacle be it those around Uryū and Mordred and the ones with Artoria and Lancer. They all disappeared without leaving a trace. Caster himself was shocked by this.
"Just as I thought." Uryū said as Caster directed his gaze to the one who destroyed his book. "Those creatures were connected to that book that was the source of their power. It was clear that it was not your mana that gave them power since otherwise, your power would have been weakened a long time ago and we would have finished long ago too."
Caster gritted his teeth and didn't like where the Quincy was going.
"According to Rider, the Caster class could only reach that form if the person in life was a sorcerer, but since you were never a full-fledged sorcerer, it seems to me that the Caster class is unsuitable for you."
"SILENCE! I don't want to listen to you anymore!" Caster bellowed totally enraged and outraged by the words that that damn boy who destroyed his book was giving him. "Who are you? It is impossible that a mere wizard could have defeated me in this way."
"It's true what you say. I'm not going to bother saying my name, but I'm just going to tell you that I'm a Quincy."
"A Quincy? I've never heard of anything like this." Caster said puzzled.
"Nor do I expect you to try. Let's just say that I'm kind of a talented enhanced human." He answered this last part with a proud smile.
Caster gritted his teeth in anger and prepared to retaliate against the so-called Quincy without momentarily realizing that he was in more trouble now.
"Well, be that as it may, this is already over." Lancer said as he walked slowly towards Caster with Artoria at his side. The two of them had only one thought in mind.
Caster only looked at them with fear and concern when he saw how that couple approached him. But they weren't the only ones.
"Heh, it seems like you don't have any tricks left." Mordred commented as he also went back on the offensive to finish off Caster. "Listen, as soon as I killed you, I will hang your head in some public place so that all the children look at it with joy and satisfaction to see that their executioner can never harm them anymore!"
Caster gritted his teeth in rage and despair when he saw that he had been defeated that simple by some simple insects, and what is worse, he was now surrounded by those damn people with the intention of killing him. He had never suffered a great humiliation like this.
"It's over, fiend!" It was the blue Saber in yelling, and she ran straight towards her target, followed by the red one on the other side.
Just when they had both closed the distance, suddenly a strange geyser of reddish smoke emerged from the ground engulfing both Caster in the middle and the 2 Sabers, this 2 latters suddenly stopped.
"Nani!?" Yelled Uryū surprised by the sudden smoke screen. Ichigo, Orihime, Waver and the others covered their eyes raising their arms in front of them to avoid being hit.
It was only an instant, that both Sabers decided to resume their attack and slammed their respective swords into the thick layer of smoke with a chance to hit the target. However, when all the smoke cleared and everything returned to clarity, the tips of the swords that were meant to bisect Caster's head, were now each inches from the cheeks of both the King of Knights and the Knight of the Rebellion respectively.
The viewers of this slightly surreal scene only watched in surprise to see that Caster had disappeared without a trace. Surely, he has fled. But now they watched uneasily as both Sabers were still in a frozen stance pointing their respective weapons at each other's faces. One would think that they were likely to face each other again and that worried some.
Silence was the only thing heard between them 2 as both warriors looked at each other intensely undeterred by the other's swords in their faces. Artoria kept her expression neutral as if this was the most natural thing in the world. Mordred's eyes did not betray fear, and she simply stared with murderous rage and loathing towards father. She was very tempted to continue with her arm movement and end up slicing off the King of Knights head, but she remained cautious as she would see this as too easy for her.
After a short period of time, Artoria was the first to lower her weapon much to the surprise of Mordred who did not expect this action. What was she playing now? Was she making fun of her? Was it a sign that she was putting her down again because she won't see her as a challenge? Those were the thoughts that were taking place in the head of the Knight of Rebellion right now, and she didn't like it at all.
Meanwhile, the tension was very high, and Ichigo and the others began to worry that it was likely that Mordred would start over. To avoid this, her Master decided to intervene immediately.
"Enough, Saber!" Ichigo yelled as he ran to the scene leaving Orihime and Waver behind and stood next to Uryū. The latter looked at him in surprise, but he ignored him and only focused on his Saber. "It's enough already. That bastard has fled, and he is the one we should fight with. Remember what he did!" She spoke in hopes of convincing the stubborn blonde not to confront the other. Fortunately, Uryū joined him.
"It's true, we'd better get out of here and let's go back to fight Caster another day."
Mordred did not give a coherent response as if she had not been paying attention and continued to stare intently at father like a predator waiting for the opportunity to pounce on her prey at any moment. However, in her head she was debating her options and knew that she could not fight her due to the conditions of attrition she had in her fight against Caster's familiars, and father looked in better shape than her so it would be risky to fight, not to mention the backing Lancer could provide her right now.
In addition, she also knew that apart from Father, she also had pending accounts with that child-murdering bastard, and she would not rest until she found him.
With that in mind, she also lowered her sword away from father's cheek. The two of them kept looking at each other without saying a word for a brief moment until the blue Saber turned and then left the place the same way she had come, and Lancer did the same. Once Mordred and the teens were alone now, the red Saber turned to look at her Master and his bespectacled archer friend a few feet away without saying anything. They both looked at the blonde a little worried if something had happened to her during the fight.
They didn't have to wait when she started walking towards them, but after taking a few steps, she suddenly began to limp as if her legs were giving out and finally began to collapse to the ground. Ichigo and Uryū reacted immediately and went to help the blonde. They arrived just in time to catch her before she fell to the ground, but they quickly noticed that she was not moving as if she were unconscious.
"Hey, are you okay? Answer me!" Ichigo yelled worried trying to wake Mordred up. Both teens tried desperately to shake the fallen knight's body to wake her up, but it was useless. Not even she heard the cries and pleas of her Master...
The next day
The day had arrived not very happy for the eighth Master's faction. Currently our protagonists were sitting around the table in the motel room taking their respective breakfasts. Ichigo seemed to be the only one who had not taken a bite of his toast, and this did not go unnoticed by Orihime and Uryū who only looked regretfully at the orange haired boy who was staring down in a state of depression.
None asked about his state of mind since they knew what was going through the head of the former Substitute. They knew that he hated feeling completely powerless in these situations when the bad guy (be it Aizen or someone else) had his way and left the orange haired boy completely humiliated in a feeling of bitterness or self-loathing for not having done something.
What happened last night was a good allusion to the above. They all saw through Waver's magical sphere how Caster had cold-bloodedly murdered an innocent child, and that served to horrify them by such a ghoulish scene. However, Ichigo was the first to recover from the shock, and his horror was replaced by pure anger and hatred, and he did not hesitate to go there to make that monster pay for what he did. They had no idea what happened once Ichigo and Saber met Caster, but it was clear that there were no survivors, but that's not all.
Ishida could still remember Kurosaki's downcast expression when he told him directly that he was no longer a Shinigami and the only thing he was going to do was just get in the way and be a burden to others. He knew very well that he had crossed that line and that he should not have said it, but something from the bottom of the Quincy told him that this was necessary to make him reconsider as painful as it was. After all, that was reality.
Ichigo barely paid attention to the food in front of him while keeping his head lowered so as not to look at his friends and worry them, and his mind kept wandering to the events that led him to this state.
He saw a child's head explode with one hand as if squeezing it like a fruit, and then he saw another child's back explode in a horrible bloody spectacle in front of him, and that was the worst he had ever seen. He remembered the anger and hatred he felt at that moment that almost made him dizzy and the only thing he wanted so badly was to rush like a mad dog towards that monster to give him a brutal beating until turns him into a pulp, but before he could do such an action, he had been stopped by the words of his Servant whose anger and malice had overshadowed his and she lunged in his place. All Ichigo could do was sit still in place watching Saber fight those monstrous creatures shaped like giant larvae, and the latter managed to bisect most of them with ease as a game.
In the end, Caster escaped with his tail between his legs, and after that Saber suddenly collapsed from having spent a lot of mana, according to Rider's words. Despite their efforts to try to wake her up, none of that worked and they had no choice but to take her to the motel to rest there. It was thanks to Inoue that she managed to stabilize the Servant's body and she was out of danger. However, this had left Ichigo even more dejected, not only for not being able to do something to fight that monster, but also for not having supplied enough mana towards his Servant to fight with full efficiency and to unleash a Noble Phantasm. He couldn't help but feel guilty about it, and the only thing he wanted most right now was to get stronger.
Orihime couldn't help but feel sorry for Kurosaki. It really hurt her to see him in such a downcast and hurt way. He really didn't look much like the boy he once looked up to during the Winter War against Aizen. She still remembered the times that Kurosaki always put on that expression so determined and conviction that it always fascinated her every time she looked at her when they first went to Soul Society to save Kuchiki, or when he promised her when he came to save her in Hueco Mundo who will defeat Grimmjow in his third duel.
On all those occasions she always saw the orange haired boy's determination and courage come to life when he fought without hesitation, and it had always touched her. Nevertheless…
Now the person in front of her with the downcast gaze was a different person as if he were just the shadow of what he once was. Of course, she couldn't blame him for that as he had superhero power on those occasions. He was very depressed for not being able to save those poor children from that monster and for having done justice, and to add to his anguish, Caster ran away, and Saber passed out from exhaustion and lack of energy. All of those factors caused a rift in Ichigo's morale, and she would give everything she could to heal him.
But that wouldn't be so easy ...
"Ano, I think I should take a look to see how Saber-san is doing." She said before getting up with a plate of toast.
"Why are you wearing that?" Ishida asked seeing what Inoue was holding in her hands.
"Oh this? Well, you see, I'm sure when Saber-san wakes up, she will be very hungry." She replied with a small smile.
The Quincy looked at the healer somewhat confused by the fact that the Servant needs something to eat considering that she is a spirit and for them there is no hunger. Although of course, that should also apply to Shinigami who are also spirit entities.
Orihime turned to Ichigo. "Kurosaki-kun, do you want to come with me to see Saber-san?"
Said teenager barely made a move to look at her vaguely and seemed to be considering his friend's request. He certainly hadn't gone to see how his Servant was since she was left to rest in the room as he couldn't help but feel ashamed to see her in this way as he was responsible for her condition. Despite having a well of mana to fill her at all times even during combat, that did not mean that she could go too far like the other Servants who have better mana reserves than their Masters.
He felt so helpless and out of place that he would no longer care if the blonde tomboy yelled at him and criticized him for his incompetence ...
Suddenly everyone in the room heard footsteps approaching.
Speaking of the devil.
Neither made a move when the newly awakened blonde made her appearance, revealing herself in front of everyone looking less worn and a vague neutral gaze as if nothing had happened. Ichigo and Uryū didn't say anything about it while still looking at her as fresh as a rose, while Orihime…
"Saber-san!" She screamed with joy as she ran towards the blonde. "Are you feeling better now? Does something still hurt?"
However, the blonde only looked at the other girl as if it was the first time, she had seen her. "What the hell are you talking about? Of course I'm fine."
This left the rest of the room puzzled and they turned their attention to the knight by her carefree demeanor.
"Why are you looking at me like that?" Saber asked noticing the silly looks (from her point of view) from the teenagers towards her. "Do I have something on my face?"
"Um, no, we were just worried about you because of what happened to you last night." Orihime corrected.
"Bah, that was nothing. I've already taken worse beatings than that." She answered as carefree as if it were something natural, adding to the confusing atmosphere.
Neither could say anything when she fixed her gaze on her Master who was still sitting and looking at her vaguely looking depressed. This made her frown and she started walking towards him. As he did so, Uryū, Orihime and Kon watched the scene with concern and the first 2 prepared in case of aggression when they thought it necessary.
Ichigo was unfazed by the approach of the blonde and just sat there barely looking at her waiting for her to say something like the first time since he woke up.
Saber stopped in front of him without changing her scowling expression and then put her hands on her hips looking at him intently. The other 3 present watched this scene a bit uncomfortable waiting for the blonde to be the first to say something but instead she was silent staring imposingly at the boy like a grumpy mother at a heartbroken child. It didn't take long for the blonde to say "Tch." capturing everyone's attention.
"Pathetic. Why do you make such a long face, huh? Is that how you greet me or what?"
All 3 blinked at the red Knight's apparent 'reaction' to what had happened as they thought she was going to scold him for getting in the way. But she seemed to act as if that incident had never happened for some reason. Even if Ichigo didn't show it, he was also confused by this change in attitude.
"Look, I know I didn't manage to kill that bastard but at least he ran away with his tail between his legs, plus your friend managed to destroy that damn book so he won't be able to call those worms again." She spoke in a de facto tone before turning around to do a semicircular turn to sit across from Ichigo.
"No need to worry." She said nonchalantly as she sat down. "You'll see that the next time I find him I won't let him get away and I will make him pay for what he did."
However, Ichigo remained indifferent to his Servant's positive attitude as if she hadn't thought about what had happened. The latter noticed that disdainful look.
"What's wrong? Don't you think I can do it?" She asked sounding offended.
It was only a moment after Ichigo spoke for the first time. "Aren't you mad at me?"
"Eh?"
"I thought that just seeing me you would be screaming at me like the last time when I woke up after the first battle for save you."
"Well, normally I would do that, but I'll let it go since they didn't kill you like last time." Saber replied with a tone of fact. However, Ichigo wasn't entirely convinced.
"And aren't you angry about sending yourself so little mana to be able to fight properly or use your Noble Phantasm either?"
At that, the blonde replaced her carefree expression and frowned at that fact. She had to suppress an irritated sigh to be able to speak. "Of course I get pissed off by that too. You were supposed to send me enough mana to unleash my 2 Noble Phantasms, but I forgot that you're just a third-class magus."
Normally Ichigo would have been somewhat offended or irritated hearing her call him, but he was too dejected to be and only felt even more distressed.
"What luck I am now." Saber snapped, drawing Ichigo's attention. "You were supposed to be satisfied that you beat up that filthy worm. I know he got away, but that's no reason to feel that way. You'll see that when night falls, we will haunt him down and put an end to this." Despite the fire of determination burning in the blonde's eyes, her Master didn't seem to share the same enthusiasm as her.
This served to irritate her a bit and she sighed in exasperation.
"Oh come on, may I know what your problem is?" She asked, glaring at her grieving Master with daggers. "Are you really going to sit there like a crying baby while those bastards get away with it? Aren't you a man?"
At that statement, Ichigo had a little flashback in which Rukia yelled at him and criticized him for his weakness to fight seriously and his fear for his inner hollow. In fact, her beatings (although he did not approve of it) helped to make him react and dispel any hesitation in his mind and move on. However, this time it seemed that there was no effect.
"It's true." Suddenly everyone heard Kon speak who climbed onto the table with a free chair and looked at Ichigo with a frown. "That pessimistic and mute attitude that he has bothers me a lot too. It's almost the same as that time when he didn't do anything to go to Hueco Mundo to rescue Orihime-san, remember?"
Orihime flinched at that statement. According to what Kon told him after the Winter War, it was that Kurosaki fell into depression when he saw that the Soul Society had forbidden him to save her and since then he had remained very quiet as a child who was not given anything for his birthday. It was thanks to Kon that he made him reconsider and urged him to do something to rescue her, and it seemed like it worked. In fact, he was really happy about the encouragement that the Modified soul gave Kurosaki to regain some value.
"Seriously, are you really the same Ichigo who went to the Soul Society to save Rukia, to the Hueco Mundo to save Orihime-san, and the same Ichigo who defeated Aizen? Come on, it seems like a very bad joke. " Kon continued ranting at poor Ichigo who seemed immune to his taunts.
"Knock it off already, Kon!" Uryū interrupted seeing that the Mod Soul had gone too far. This made Kon stop and look at somewhat surprised at the Quincy.
Saber decided to ignore what the stuffed said and then turned to her Master. "The truth is that he's right. You really look like a gutless softie who can't even stand up for a simple defeat of anything, plus you're still alive to fight. Are you really the same guy who wanted to participate in this war when he came out of that church to tell me to my face? I can't believe that in the end my Master is a pathetic and complete coward who only hides behind his friends to do the work for you when your friend with glasses helped me fight those worms."
This touched a nerve to the orange haired boy upon hearing that and suddenly his blood began to boil.
"What have you said?" He hissed angrily, catching Saber's attention.
"What? Sorry, I can't hear you right. Can you repeat it out loud?" She replied with feigned ignorance to mock more.
This came to a head when he clenched his teeth and could no longer contain his anger.
"Hey, how dare you make fun of me!?" He roared almost getting up from his seat and glaring at the blonde. Despite his outburst, Saber didn't flinch at all and now looked at the boy with some amusement.
"Wow, so the coward had guts and a voice after all." She said adding more fuel to the fire with a mocking smile. "It's a shame you can't keep it that way."
The atmosphere in the dining room had become very tense with Uryū, Orihime and Kon staring in utter concern at the two of them staring at each other murderously and before either of them did anything to intervene, a new voice made an appearance.
"My, I seem to be coming at a bad time."
Everyone turned to hear the enthusiastic voice of Kisuke Urahara who seemed to have just arrived.
"Urahara-san." Ishida was the first to speak.
"Yo, glad to see you in good shape." The shopkeeper greeted with his typical humorous and jovial demeanor. Of course, neither Ichigo nor Saber were in the mood for it. Picking up on this, the blond hatter took on a serious air.
"Please sit down for a moment and leave the discussions for another moment." He said as he approached the group. Ichigo and Saber did as he asked but they were still glaring at each other. Urahara ignored them before continuing. "I understand your problem very well, but do not let that break your alliance."
"Hmph, this jerk is to blame for being useless who can do nothing but stand still like a coward." Saber protested pointing accusingly at Ichigo.
Ichigo gritted his teeth again, glaring at his Servant in anger.
Urahara sighed. It was clear that this was going to be a bit difficult. "Please stop for a moment. That way you won't get anywhere." The merchant asked in the hope that he will not start another fight. "Like I said, I understand your problemsa nd what has happened, but don't let such things break your alliance."
"And what do you suggest we do?" Ichigo asked not seeing where the shopkeeper wanted to go.
Urahara was thoughtful as he searched for a solution to be able to unite these combatants who behaved like children who fought over trivial matters of themselves. Both were warriors in their own right, proud and each had their own way of thinking about how much how they were going to fight, which generated friction as to how much to their relationship.
The truth is that as much as he understood Kurosaki's current situation regarding his lack of his Shinigami powers and was quite sympathetic to it, his current sorry state along with his apparent lack of determination turned out to be a major flaw that as Saber said, it made him weak and did not earn the respect of the latter, and personally he agreed. On the other hand, the red knight's stubbornness, bravado and lack of teamwork also turned out to be a major flaw for the relationship between Master and Servant as neither wanted to agree, and he himself could do something to change that attitude of every.
But that didn't mean they wouldn't have to be intolerant any longer, because he knew what every warrior needed to know each other better.
"I have an idea. How about you and Saber-san fight in a Kendo competition?"
Of course, this proposal took everyone by surprise.
"What are you saying?" Ichigo was the first to protest the idea.
"Relax, it will just be like a friendly exhibition match to discover the abilities of each one." Urahara spoke with a carefree air before turning to Ichigo. "Kurosaki-san, since your Servant considers you as someone weak and worthless, why don't you show him the opposite and show him what you know what to do with the handling of a sword? I know that now you are depressed by what happened, but it is not too late yet. Don't let that absurd fear dominate you because if you put down the towel, it will be as if you are admitting that what Saber-san said about you that you are a coward hiding behind his friends is true, isn't it?"
Ichigo didn't say anything as he pondered what the shopkeeper intended to do. The truth is that he didn't want to play his game and get into a little fight with his Servant, but what the former captain said was true and he had to prove to that shameless blonde that he was not a pathetic coward who only depends on his friends. The truth is that he was quite pissed off by what she said and wanted her to swallow her words at once. Not looking pathetic and insignificant and maybe a kendo match he didn't want would be bad. When it comes to a combat like Kendo, he could do it better than anyone, even after having lost his Shinigami powers and not having used a sword in 2 years, it did not mean that he had lost his fencing skills since all his experiences in the past were still etched in his mind.
"And Saber-san." Now he turned to the blonde. "The fact that you do not respect your Master, I understand perfectly. But it is still too early to come to that conclusion."
However, Saber was still doubtful about the other blond's intentions.
"And why should I do that?"
"Well, you know that Kurosaki-san is not a delicate enough boy and as you may have seen he is quite stubborn and will not give up in any situation he sees, and always finds a way to move forward. Who knows, maybe he surprises you when you see how good he is with the sword. "
Saber took in what the hat said, and her mind scoffed in incredulity. That brat surprising her with the use of a sword? What nonsense. As if he were one of the Knights of the Round Table of father! She didn't know why would accept such a proposal for something like that.
"Are you sure this is necessary?" Ishida asked with concern.
"Of course". Urahara replied with a smile. "It's the only way I can think of for Saber-san to recognize Kurosaki-san's strength and fortitude in an equalizing match with shinai."
Even so, Uryū and Orihime couldn't tell if this was a good idea or not for both Ichigo and Saber to fight each other even though it was only a friendly match.
"I also agree". Saber said suddenly. "I'm not interested in what this dumbass has to prove, but I also want to kick his ass and make him understand his place."
A check mark formed on Ichigo's forehead upon hearing the insult and he couldn't help but want to teach him a lesson for her arrogance as well.
"By my fine, I'm going to kick your ass too, so you learn not to make fun of me!" Ichigo said as vehemently as she.
"Well said". The blonde replied with a wild smile, impatient for this to happen.
Again, Uryū, Orihime, and Kon looked uncomfortable at the couple as the latter were still looking defiantly at each other and worried that some of them were going to get hurt.
Instead, Urahara only smiled to herself.
These young people of today...
Wow, this is quite long. I see that I did not exaggerate that this chapter was going to be a bit long, although I did it on purpose because I did not want to divide it like the previous ones so as not to waste more time. Remember that afterwards I will pause indefinitely. Either way, I'll try to make the next chapter not so long, if I can.
Now, I'm sure several readers will be hating me for making Ichigo a broken and pathetic character. Yes, it is not pleasant to see our favorite protagonist in this way, but it is not unusual to see him like that either. Remember that in the Arc of the Bounts (although not canonical), Ichigo was left in a depressed state when Jin Kariya kicked him with a single finger. Also this when he lived in fear of his inner hollow, and when both Aizen and Yhwach made him fill with despair respectively. This is all because Ichigo is a human (as Gin Ichimaru commented) and even more so when he is without his powers.
Although I don't intend to keep it this way, either. Rukia may not be here to beat reactive him, but the blonde knight's constant taunts also served to make him work.
Speaking of which, I don't know if you have noticed, but I also wanted to make this last part of the chapter as an allusion to episode 9 of Fate in which Artoria proposes to Shirou a kendo match to test his strength and dexterity, and that will be what we will see in the next chapter.
Ja ne!
Ichigo's Servant Parameters
Class: Saber.
Identity: Mordred.
Master: Ichigo Kurosaki.
Sex: Female.
Title: Knight of Rebellion/Treachery.
Height: 1.61 cm/41 kg.
Food: Chaotic Neutral.
Statistics
Strenght: B.
Resistance: B.
Agility: C.
Mana: B+.
Luck: C.
Personal Skills
Instict: B.
Prana Burst: B.
Magic Resistance: B.
Battle Continuation: B.
Nobles Phantams
Red Thunder: Mana blast.
¿?