My apologies in how long this took. I was hoping to see the Solomon Movie to get a better idea how these pillar fights go (so that was a big factor in that...), I've been hunting for a job (and I got one which I start tomorrow!) and since I'm not an expert on Altera...I got a dear friend of mine to help me with that. So the fights you're about to see were all him (I suck at combat not going to lie...he's much better than I and knows her better than I do...I had VERY little to do with those fights so if you want to know his reasoning behind how they turned out, I will give that at the end). With this however...I give you the final chapter of Septem. I hope the length and quality makes up for the wait I put you all through. I should be getting the intermission between Septem and Okeanos out a lot faster.
Septem: Scourge of God
"Well...well...well," Lev Lainur purred, clapping his white gloved hands together with every step, "To think you took out Romulus,"
Mash seemed to tense, her grip on her shield tightening as she took a ready stance. Lev just laughed, giving a shark like grin as his gaze raked over her, gauging her.
"Nice work for a 'mere' Demi-Servant," he continued, "Have you become more powerful since I last saw you at Fuyuki?"
Mash kept silent, her golden glare unwavering. Artoria and Lily stood behind Mash's shield, making sure that Lev did not get towards Cira with their swords laid over their gauntlets. Cu Chulainn was already drawing runes into the air to protect Cira the best he could.
"However," Lev finished, "A Servant is just that, a Servant...and no match for the Holy Grail,"
He snapped his fingers and a golden light burst into being in the air above his waiting palm. It solidified into a golden chalice-like structure that radiated with power.
"Is that this 'Holy Grail' you spoke of?" Nero asked.
"No doubt about it," Cira nodded, "It's the same shape as the others too…"
"Who would have thought a Court Mage would ignore his King's crisis," Romani scoffed, "I guess betrayal is second nature to you now, huh Lev? Actually...perhaps this is the real you. You seem more...energetic...than you ever were at Chaldea,"
"Lev, you've lost. Just hand over the Grail," Cira snapped.
"Oh look, seems you've finally learned to talk back, girl," Lev sneered, "I hear you did quite a bit in France...thanks to that I really got yelled at! I would have been back at the Temple already but I got sent back out due to you. As a result...I'm here to do some cleanup work,"
He gave a sigh, pinching the bridge of his nose with his free hand.
"I was going to give the Grail to a fitting fool, then enjoy what chaos would have come from that," he stated, "But you ruined that."
"Find a human or heroic spirit that wants to plunge the era into madness," Romani murmured, "And giving them the Holy Grail would for certain cause that. That's what happened in France but here…"
"Romulus didn't want to destroy mankind," Mash stated, "That's why it didn't work!"
"And Lev had no choice but to interfere himself," Romani finished, "Ironic, isn't it? The only betrayer of mankind here was you."
"Shut it, trash," Lev snarled, getting a wicked grin from Romani, "I've had no hope for humanity in the first place. Especially Cirawynn here,"
He gave an evil smile as Cira bristled at the mention of her full name.
"You think," he snorted, "That just because you defeated a few Servants, that gives you the skills and ability to beat me? Me! Lev Lainur!"
"It's not going to go like last time," Cira growled, "I've got friends here that can help, it's not just me, Mash and Artoria this time. There's no Chaldeas you can throw me into!"
"Oh I have no doubt you've changed and grown," Lev purred, "Grown more stupid anyways. Do you not know that the more you try to resist and struggle the more you are going to suffer? Besides, I believe you people forget something. Retrieve the Grail, repair the Singularity, protect mankind…idiots, there is nothing you can do. There's no point in struggling, the end is certain. You're insignificant, worthless!"
He pointed a finger at the Chaldeans, crooked and sharp as an insane smile painted over his features.
"Allow me to show you the favor of our King!" he cackled as he lifted the Grail high, and its golden light blazed brighter and brighter before snuffing out…
And the room was suddenly flooded with smoke.
What happened next, Cira wasn't sure. All she knew was she heard the sound of something tearing and the stench of rotting meat with an almost sweet undertone, like that of a corpse, filled the air. Her throat burned, like she had swallowed molten lead and her stomach roiled while her arms and legs trembled and started to falter. Nero started hacking and coughing, doubled over and leaning heavily on her sword.
"MASH, CASTER! GET HER AND NERO OUT OF THERE!" Romani's voice shrieked.
Cira felt leather bound hands wrap around her waist and there was the sensation of being yanked back and into the air. The loud clank of iron shoes on tile caught her ear and she looked up at a very concerned Mash.
"Whatever that smoke is…it's poisonous to humans," Romani said, "Hydrogen cyanide, chlorine…lot of nasty things that we're still analyzing. That being said, Cira, Nero, you two stay out of it."
"But the others?" Cira coughed.
"Not effecting them as you can see," Romani said, as Artoria and Lily stood in the midst of the smoke, their golden blades shining through the obscurant, "It's got scientific roots but there's a high concentrate of mana and magical energy in that smoke. It's designed to take out humans, not Servants. Mash, your vitals are fine strangely enough…maybe whoever bound to you's helping out."
"I've got this," Cu Chulainn patted Mash's shoulder, "Stay here with Mas-what the hell is that?"
The smoke cleared slightly and Cira's face went pale as she saw what rose out of it. It was a pillar. Blackened with rot and decay and covered in squirming bloodshot eyes that darted every which way. It's 'skin' was constructed meticulously out of what looked to be bodies, melted and twisted together in a macabre display…each face frozen in a horrified and agonized scream. A high pitched laugh oozed from each mouth in the pillar, deafeningly loud.
"What…is this?" Cira whispered.
"...I don't know," Romani's hushed voice replied, "It's…nothing the natural world has seen before…"
"Well then let's send it back to hell where it belongs!" Cu Chulainn snarled, waving his staff as a line of scarlet runes blazed in it's wake.
The runes shone brighter and brighter until they released a blast of energy that raced forward and seared into the demonic pillar's core. A blood curdling shriek rang from the many mouths and Cira saw Artoria and Lily both hack into pillar as if their blades were axes and the pillar a great tree. Some of the eyes locked onto Lily and circles of bright scarlet burst into being before them, energy pouring from the rings and screaming towards Lily. Artoria grabbed Lily and hurled her upwards away from where the beam fired. Lily responded by stabbing Caliburn right in one of the eyes before pushing off and landing delicately on the ground.
"Master, our blades are not doing much here!" Artoria called through the mental link, "They but slide off the corpses. We will aim for the eyes, for they still seem susceptible to being poked out…but we may need to find an alternative way t-"
A mighty explosion cut her of as Cu Chulainn hurled another fireball at the demon pillar.
"Yeah! How you like that!?" he roared, dodging easily as an energy beam fired at him, dissipating in a flash of runes as his skill took effect, "You're pathetic, you overgrown pile of corpses! Can't even hit the backside of a barn! Much less me!"
"CU!" Cira yelled, raising her hand, "Your Noble Phantasm! I give you permission to burn that thing to cinders!"
Cu Chulainn's scarlet gaze locked onto his Master's blue one and a wolfish smile came over his face.
"Gotcha, Master!" he nodded, as his hood and cloak shattered into pale blue runes, leaving the scarlet rune tattoos across his body bared to the air.
The runes lit up like embers in a bonfire as he twirled his staff around and slammed the point into the marble floor, cracks spiderwebbing away from the impact.
"Mash, Artoria, Lily! Defend him!" Cira ordered, getting a nod from her friend as she dashed forward, blocking a laser that flashed at Cu Chulainn with a sonorous clang from her shield.
Artoria and Lily ceased stabbing at the eyes and rushed to Cu Chulainn, swords at ready as the room began to heat up.
"My Magecraft is a cage of flames…" Cu Chulainn chanted as a rune circle burned into the ground around him, sending cinders into the air, "A flaming yet verdant giant. Retribution. A shrine that purifies the evil of human affairs."
"Nero, over here, quickly!" Cira called, grabbing Nero's hand and rushing towards the other end of the room, "We don't want to get in the middle of this!"
"What is he doing?" Nero demanded.
"Should be giving a hell of a fight to this thing," Cira explained, as Cu Chulainn lifted his staff high, "Servants have a special ability that they can use but it takes a lot out of them and me to use…Lily's ends up breaking her sword if she uses hers, Mash gets super tired, Cu gets nasty burns…I haven't seen what Artoria's does…"
"The one who destroys!" Cu Chulainn roared as he slammed his staff into the ground, "WICKERMAN!"
Flames burst through the runes and stole the air from the room leaving Cira breathless as a massive construct of wood and flame materialized, reaching a massive fist towards the pillar. Lasers fired at the Wickerman, trying to defend the pillar and taking out chunks of wood, sending branches and sticks shattering on the ground. But they ultimately failed as the battered construct grabbed the pillar in it's massive fist and squeezed. Eyes burst, spilling dark ichor towards the ground only to get seared away by the flames. The pillar screamed, myriad voices piercing through the air like shards of glass in Cira's ears. She and Nero put their hands over their ears as the Wickerman fell forward and smoke and flame exploded from the impact point. Cu Chulainn hissed as he batted at the flames that had latched on to his robe, his arms and face already shiny and red from the burns.
"Did it work?" Cira asked, slowly making her way towards her friends, "Doctor?"
"Signature is gone," Romani's voice said, "I think you killed it."
"How annoying…" a voice coughed and the Servants all brought their weapons to bear as Lev Lainur waved his hand through the smoke, his emerald suit coated with soot and ashes.
"How the hell is he still alive!?" Cu Chulainn demanded.
"I don't…I don't know," Cira sputtered.
"Did you think that a mere Heroic Spirit. Four of you, by the way," Lev deadpanned, "Could take on one of the gods? No…nonono, this was just a mere miscalculation! I've been away from the Temple so long my cells have been dying off."
"He seems quite sure of himself," Cira muttered.
Then again…it did take a lot out of them just to get him to this state. So there was some rhyme to this reason of his. She just hoped that this encounter would be over soon. Her body ached and she did not feel like she could keep this up much longer.
Fate of course, liked throwing monkey wrenches into her plans.
"But," Lev continued, "I am entrusted with the mission to incinerate the future. It's not as if I didn't have a contingency plan,"
Cira groaned as her head fell forward slightly. Couldn't things just be simple? Fight the bad guy, win, get the grail, go home? Lev lifted the Grail upwards, a sharklike grin on his face as the golden chalice began to shine even brighter. The magical energy swirling around the cup seemed to take the very air from the room. Cu Chulainn and Artoria got between Cira, Nero and Lev, staff and sword raised and at the ready. Mash set her shield in ready position while Lily braced next to her.
"By sacrificing Ancient Rome, I have managed to Summon the strongest hero!" Lev crowed as smoke dripped from the Grail onto the floor, swirling into arcs and lines as a blackened magic circle seared into the floor, "Rejoice Nero Claudius! For this one is truly fit to bring the demise of Rome! By the esteemed name of our King, come forth! O Calamity of the East! O Hero of Destruction! Come forth Altera!"
The Grail surged with light, causing all present to shield their eyes. When the spots died from Cira's vision and the light faded, she lowered her arm to take in the Servant that stood before her.
She was petite, not much taller than Artoria or Lily. But the sheer power that radiated from her in waves made her seem 7 feet tall, the aura of a King and a powerful one at that. Garbed in scraps of white clothing edged in shades of red, blue and black, her tanned body was honed and muscled in a way that most definitely labeled her a warrior. What Cira originally thought was her hair was in actuality a veil of white cloth, almost reminiscent of a bridal veil, that was set in place by a charcoal grey circlet upon her snowy locks. Her eyes burned with a ruby fire, and yet…her expression was…bored?
Almost as if it were a chore to have been Summoned here.
"Kill, destroy, incinerate!" Lev cackled, nearly dancing in glee as Altera took a breath, a sword of brilliant electric blue, green and red entered her hand, "With your power, burn Rome and this Singularity to the ground!"
Altera set the sword point in the ground and the hairs on the back of Cira's neck stood on end. She'd seen Excalibur, Caliburn, and the swords of many other saints and kings…but this? This was something new. It didn't look…solid. Almost as if it were liquid fire put in a solid casing. Plasma? Greek fire? No, she couldn't describe it.
Lev let out a piercing laugh that made Cira tear her gaze from Altera's sword and towards the man next to the Servant.
"It's over, Romani Archaman! Your dream of continuing Humanity is just that! Nothing more than a dream!" he howled, "This Servant is the ultimate destroyer! Altera is a Heroic Spirit, but her powe-"
"Silence."
If Cira hadn't been watching she wouldn't have believed what she saw. The sword of Altera snaked out, far longer than what its reach should have been, almost as if it were a whip rather than a blade…
And sliced Lev laterally in two.
The Grail clanged to the ground, rolling to a stop at Altera's heel, smeared with scarlet from where it rolled in the gore. A shocked scream left Cira's throat as blood sprayed in the air all over the marble floor and across her face. She'd seen wyverns die, seen zombies dismembered and seen a few limited battles in which soldiers had been cut down…but none of it was this sudden or this violent.
"What happened?!" Romani demanded, "I don't have visual! Lev's signal is gone? Cira! Mash!"
"Professor Lev…" Mash's voice was quiet, trembling in shock as she stared in disbelief at the bloody mess before her, "Heroic Spirit Altera…cut him clean in half,"
Altera's face was emotionless as she picked the Grail up, looking at the golden chalice for a moment before it burst into motes of golden light and swirled around her. The lights seemed to be absorbed into her and that already oppressing aura around her became suffocating.
"She just absorbed the Grail," Mash continued, "Doctor, please advise!"
"Um…well…uh…I don't…" Romani sputtered.
"I am," Altera's voice rang through the still air, drawing all attention back to her, "A warrior of the Hun. And it's King. I am the King of Destruction, the one who destroyed the western world."
"Hun…" Cira murmured, finding her voice, "Wait…Altera the Hu-Atilla?! She's Atilla the Hun!?"
Learning King Arthur and Leonardo DaVinci were both women was a shock. But one Cira learned to deal with. Attila? No, that one was…
She shook her head. She didn't have time for this.
"We need to get that Grail," Cira said, "Saber, Lily, Mash, Caster…we need to get that from her and stop her from going on that mission to destroy Rome,"
"Understood," Artoria nodded, shifting to a more ready position.
"I'm helping," Nero growled, as her sword ignited into flame, "She wishes to take my Rome? Well, I'll make sure she gets it over my cold dead body!"
Nero charged forward, Artoria shadowing her footsteps instantly. Mash, Lily and Cu Chulainn followed suit. Cira took a position in the backline, raising her hand and bracing it in preparation for any opening she could take to help.
Even in the thick of it, Altera's face was as stiffly emotionless as her motions were fluid. The Sword of Mars didn't act like a solid object, or even one with defined mass. It stretched and whirled in accordance with her will, a lethal tri-color blur, forming a defensive technique that - to look at her - it didn't appear that she would have.
The wide corridor offered Lily, Artoria, Nero, and Mash countless avenues for attack. They circled and picked their strikes, like coiled snakes, to the best of their ability. But Altera seemed to have eyes in the back of her head, anticipating each blow and riposting with savage speed and accuracy, darting around, making maneuvering around her nearly impossible.
Nero and Mash charged in simultaneously, the former swinging her blade and the latter with her shield held up in a bull rush. The Sword of Mars grew in length, Altera flicked it out; it smashed against Mash's shield, interrupting her charge, then snaked back around behind Altera's head in a split second, forcing Nero to dodge the wicked point.
Artoria lunged in as Mash and Nero disengaged, and Altera returned the Sword of Mars to its natural form. With both hands, Artoria brought her weapon down in an enormous, powerful strike. Altera brought her weapon up to block, but it was a feint. She side-stepped the moment their weapons came into contact, and used the momentum from the blow to whirl her weapon down, then up above her head, at which point the blade extended directly towards Artoria's face. To her credit, Artoria was unfazed; she jerked her head to one side to let the point fly past her, then brought her sword up to smash the weapon out of place. She lunged forward once more in an attempt to take advantage of the opening she had made, but the Sword of Mars seemed to be acting of its own accord again, splitting into five separate tendrils and corkscrewing out into deadly helixes that forced both Artoria and Nero, who had sprinted up from behind her, to abandon their approaches. Once more, Altera's sword resumed its normal form, but this time she immediately slammed the point down into the ground, cracking the elaborate marble tiles. The spherical shockwave that followed looked as though she had dropped a concussion bomb at her own feet. She was unaffected, but both Nero and Artoria were sent careening in opposite directions across the room.
"Is there anything that sword can't do?" Mash gritted her teeth.
Altera plucked her sword from the floor, and cocked a hip. Her eyes darted sharply between her opponents. But they had narrowed to slits; her lips hadn't moved at all, but the laugh from her eyes rang clear with tones of condescension and derision. Artoria steeled herself, Mash raised her shield, and Nero gritted her teeth.
"Give me some time."
All eyes turned to Lily. Her face bore an expression halfway between a pout and one of righteous indignation. She shook herself out of it, and took a stance, and closed her eyes. Caliburn's thin blade began to blaze with golden light, increasing in intensity as fragile lilies of spun light bloomed around her feet.
"Tch." Altera's reaction was dull, and mocking.
The Sword of Mars erupted into four tendrils that streaked and weaved in various directions, seeking to converge on her concentrating enemy.
"Nuh uh!" Nero trilled, thrusting her sword forward and bracing against the flat of the blade with her palm, pinning one of the tri-color limbs down against the floor.
Its purpose gone, it simply slithered back to its owner. Mash threw herself in front of the second, deflecting it and sending it careening into a nearby wall. Artoria managed to engage another, smashing its trajectory down into the floor, then spun to lunge at the final one, striking at it with an overhand blow as hard as she could, even though the tip of it had long since passed her.
She managed to knock the point off target, but it wasn't enough.
The tendril took Lily through the side just above her hip, and speared out of her back. She cried out, and Cira's heart dropped into her stomach.
Until she heard the words in Lily's pained screams.
"Aim steady!"Her voice was raw, and a tear spilled down her face. "Charge straight! Watch me as I emerge victorious! Sword of Selection, grant me your power! Cleave the wicked, for the sake of all those who have smiled! Show me the direction of hope!"
Artoria, Nero, and Mash all threw themselves out of the way as Lily thrust her sword forward, rattling and fit to burst with explosive power.
The bridge of Altera's nose creased, and her sword snapped back to her in the moments before the blinding light speared from Lily's blade.
"CALIBURN!"
Altera raised her sword just as the beam of light struck the ground a foot in front of her, and it detonated with the force of a thousand-pound bomb.
"Wooooo! Yeaaaaah!" Nero cheered as the explosion died down…
And there was the sound of tinkling metal as Caliburn shattered in Lily's hands, silver shards clattering to the marble floor in a melodic tone before melting into firefly like motes of golden light and leaving nothing but the golden hilt and sapphire pommel.
It had filled the room with dust and smoke, but Nero's voice carved through the groans and stresses of the building as one of the walls collapsed, allowing sunlight and a glimpse of the meadows outside into the room.
But as the dirt and grit in the air began to waft through the open wall, Cira's guts tied themselves into knots at what she saw.
Where Altera had stood, there was a strange bubble, almost egg-like in the manner that it rested in the crater that Caliburn had blasted into the floor. It seemed to be made of a million red, blue, and green filaments, finely rendered in overlapping hexagonal patterns. The whole thing looked like an enormous yet even more finely constructed beehive, but with no gaps for anything to enter, or exit.
Some of the filaments were frayed. But no part of the orb had been blasted through completely. It was built in a way that resembled carbon fiber, or kevlar. But rather than merely physical objects, it had been built from the material of a god's sword.
Slowly, the complexly weaved construct began to unravel itself. It took nearly ten seconds for it to form back into a sword, which Altera allowed to dangle from her thumb and forefinger as she heaved herself out of the crater.
Her long veil had been torn, and what remained of it was spotted with blood from what appeared to be several painful blunt force impact wounds on her cheek, shoulder, hip, and one knee. Somehow, in spite of it all, Altera managed to continue to hold herself high.
But her face was now curled into a savage snarl. She glared at Lily.
"That is a good trick," she said; it was likely the closest thing to a compliment that she was capable of giving. "Enough of this." Between her fingers, she flipped her sword into a reverse grip, and pointed its pommel at the sky. "I can do that, too."
Lily had collapsed to a sitting position, her knees splayed and holding herself upright with her hand on the ground, clutching her shattered sword to her chest.
"Oh no… she murmured weakly. "No, stop her…"
Artoria moved in, sword raised, but the concussive blast effect that Altera had deployed earlier launched her back yet again.
"Life is treasure," she incanted; in spite of her words, it sounded like a curse. "That gave birth to ruinous civilization. I will destroy it. Connecting to Mars."
A slender, blood-red beam shot through the ceiling of the enormous building, leaving a smoking, pencil-thin hole in the stone.
But the apparent lack of any immediate effect was of no comfort. The building sense of coalescing mana somewhere above them became overwhelming quickly.
"Master!" Mash shrieked, launching herself back towards Cira.
"Firing in three… two… one…"
Altera turned, and pointed her sword straight at Cira, filling her lungs, and calling out:
"TEARDROP PHOTON RAY!"
In the split second before the building around her was evaporated, several things happened in succession, fast enough that it wasn't until she found herself in the smoking, desolate ruin of the structure that Cira was able to process it.
Boudica had flown in from over her shoulder, and taken the other side of Mash's shield just as she had finished her rapidly spluttered incantation. The light that incinerated everything around them had been so bright that Cira had been forced to close her eyes, and even then, it was painfully blinding. She had managed to process a brief moment within the blast, being able to see the veins inside her eyelids, lit up in a way she had never experienced.
The light stopped as suddenly as it had started, and Mash and Boudica dropped to their knees as the shield fizzled out. Both panted as though they had just run for miles.
Peering blearily upward, Cira could see the remains of an enormous and complicated but dissipating magic circle pattern; no doubt through which the incredible energy of Altera's Noble Phantasm had been directed.
Artoria, Lily, and Nero were nowhere to be seen.
"ARTORIA! LILY! NERO!" Cira cried as she waved her hand through the dust, coughing the dust from her lungs, "Where are you!?"
The rubble shifted around her and coughing sounded from behind her.
"Here…" came Lily's weak voice, "What…was that?"
Cira turned around to see Artoria shunting a piece of the ceiling off of her, Lily and Nero.
"Are you all alright?" Cira asked.
"We are fine," Artoria nodded, "Battered and bruised but relatively unharmed,"
"Everyone ok?" Romani's voice crackled as the hologram sputtered, worry making his face seem many years older.
"We're ok, Doctor…thanks to Boudica and Mash," Cira said.
"I came as soon as I sensed she was here," Boudica stated, tapping her sword against the rubble, "I…am afraid Lu Bu and Spartacus were caught in the blast. I cannot sense their presence."
"They're…dead?" Cira whispered, a feeling of something cold and sharp closing around her heart, "Are you sure?!"
"Can you sense Spartacus?"
Cira was quiet for a moment, cautiously going through the bonds she held with her servants. She could feel Mash, Artoria, Boudica, Lily and Cu easily. Spartacus' bond wasn't responding at all, it felt as if a thread leading to him had been severed, leaving a dimly sparking and charred end.
"...No…" she finally mumbled, putting a hand to her chest, "I can't…"
"The important thing is we're alive," Nero said, brushing the dust of the rubble off her gown, "I honestly thought we were going to die there,"
"Considering the fact that you all had an Anti-Fortress Noble Phantasm detonated point blank I'm surprised you didn't," Romani admitted, "That quick thinking on Boudica and Mash's part saved you I think,"
"Altera was the name that mage gave her?" Nero asked, "No, that doesn't matter. She's already…"
"She's on her way to Rome," Romani confirmed, "It's a slow progress, but she's making her way there, leaving burning wasteland behind her from what our scanners are picking up."
"And she intends to turn my Rome into a pile of ash?!" Nero demanded.
"That was what she was trying to do in life too," Cu Chulainn stated, rubbing the back of her neck, "'least if it's the same 'Atilla the Hun' that history has in record,"
"And she has the power to do that too," Romani finished, "Even if Nero lives…if the capital falls then Rome is destroyed. And our mission here is a failure."
"Then we have to stop her," Cira said, "We've come this far and falling flat at the finish line isn't something we can really do."
"Forgive me for sayin' this," Cu Chulainn said, "But how do you plan to stop her, Master? I'm out with these burns, Lily's out since Caliburn's broke, and I don't think Artoria's in a place to use her Noble Phantasm either because it might seriously hurt you. You look like hell with how much mana you've expanded in just this fight."
"He's not wrong, Cira," Romani added, "You've sustained not one, not two but four Noble Phantasms. I don't know if you can sustain the energy for another one."
"I can't just sit here and do nothing!" Cira snapped.
"I never said that," Romani placated, "I'm reminding you as your Director and Physician that you shouldn't strain yourself here. You die here then we're in trouble. You fail here and we're in trouble."
He sighed.
"We'll figure out something, ok?"
"You don't think you can do it?" Nero asked, looking at Mash and Cira.
Mash was quiet and looked away. Cira looked up at the sky trying to find some strength. Nero on the other hand put her hands on her hips and glared at the Chaldeans.
"Well I think you can," she said, "You were talking about gods and the like…I'm certain the gods and fate on our side. That's why you all came here. My wish will see through this to it's fruition. Rome will be saved. My people and my Rome will be left for future generations. I'm sure of it!"
She gave a smile and put her hands on Mash and Cira's shoulders.
"The Holy Progenitor said so…I heard it. So, it shall be. The World is eternal, and Rome is World…therefore Roma is eternal. Even if it's name is forgotten, it's legacy and the seeds that the glorious Rome planted will continue on in different forms. They will bloom in branches that will reach the very stars and roots that will drink the deepest oceans. The eternal empire will continue to be…even if it's name, emperor and state changes. It's the truth of humanity, a great and glorious tree that will forever bloom," she moved her hand from Mash's shoulder to Cira's free one, "Cira…this version of humanity, this vision…that is what you are protecting, yes? Then do so."
"Because you believe that you can defeat her, you will?" Romani asked, "Even though there is no real basis for that way of thinking and even less so a way to make it come true…it still makes your spirit rise a bit. What do you think, Cira?"
Cira looked at the emperor before her and gave a smile.
"Let's have some faith, shall we?" she grinned.
"That's my Praetor!" Nero beamed.
"Doctor, how far is Altera?" Mash asked.
"She's about five miles from here and keeping a steady pace. If you leave now, you can catch up with her before she reaches Rome but it'll be close." Romani ran a hand through his hair and gave a smile, "Well then? Let's go get that Grail back and save the world, huh?"
Boudica's chariot flew over the landscape without so much as a bump, the four white horses were breathing hard and heavy and foam flecked the bits as Boudica snapped the reins again, urging them faster as embers and ashes flew up to sting Cira's eyes. The land around them had once been a beautiful plain of green grass and rolling hills and flowering trees. Now the land was cracked open and ash spewed from the ground with every beat of the horses' hooves while the trees smoldered red and yellow as their blackened fingers reached into the smoke laden sky. A gleam of blue still shown from the horizon, growing steadily bigger and brighter the further they road.
"Arthur," Boudica stated, "Do you know how to drive a chariot,"
"In a sense," Artoria nodded, "My riding skill is high enough I should be able to control the horses,"
"Good," Boudica said, handing the reins over and stepping towards the back of the chariot, "Jing Ke, if you would be so kind as to assist me here?"
"What are you doing?" Cira demanded.
Boudica gave a warm smile, her hair billowing about her like a flame as she nodded towards the way they came.
"Altera's path of destruction is drawing all sorts of foul beasts and monsters out of hiding," she explained, "I can see them quite clearly. You barely survived that meeting with Altera once…should those monsters come into contact with you and the others it will be your death I am certain,"
She put a hand on Cira's shoulder and gave a gentle squeeze.
"I am proud to have met you, my dear Master…if only my daughters had met you," she smiled fondly.
She turned towards Nero.
"I still very much dislike you," she stated, "But I do believe in protecting people. Your Rome needs protected else the world my people fought and bled for, that we all died for in the proper time, will never come to be. Keep my Master safe or by Andraste I will come back to haunt you."
"I'll make sure she is safe, Queen of Britannia," Nero smiled, "You aren't that bad…for a barbaric Briton,"
"Nero," Cira warned as Artoria seemed to take a very deep breath.
"I jest," Nero chuckled, "It was an honor fighting alongside you, Boudica…you as well, Jing Ke. You both come back alive and I will treat you to the most glorious feast Rome has ever seen!"
"You'd better have some damn good alcohol," Jing Ke snorted as she braced herself at the back of the chariot, "Ready, your majesty?"
Boudica nodded and the Rider and the Assassin jumped out of the chariot, hitting the ground running as shadows of monsters immediately descended upon them.
"Stay safe…please…" Cira pleaded.
All she received was a warm feeling of a smile from Boudica before the Queen renewed her attacks.
"Master, I have spotted Altera," Artoria said, "Prepare yourself,"
"You doing better, Cu?" Cira asked as a faintly glowing rune sputtered out on Cu Chulainn's arm, leaving a slightly pink scar…a vast improvement from the angry red it had been before they had embarked in their pursuit.
"Better than I was," he nodded, "Probably won't be able to call up my Noble Phantasm for a bit yet still…but I can at least cast some protective and offensive spells around."
"Good…" Cira gave a sigh of relief, "Because I feel like we might need them…"
Altera's running speed was something to behold. Each of her footfalls kicked up a cloud of dust. In lieu of sprinting as normal, she had chosen to launch herself ten feet in the air with each stride, covering a football field's distance in a matter of seconds. Thankfully, even in a chariot not her own, Artoria covered the distance quickly. Even before they had passed her, Altera seemed to sense their presence. She ground to a stop, carving a pair of furrows into the dirt at the top of a small hill. They had made it just in time; the hill overlooked the outer walls that lined the City of Rome.
Artoria landed the chariot just beyond, placing them between Altera and her quarry. She looked down at them. She raised her chin, and turned her head slightly to one side; a gesture in equal parts curious and condescending.
"Stupid," she commented, entirely without malice.
"Stupid?" Nero howled back. Seeing her enemy this close to her city seemed to put her in an instantly foul mood. "You're stupid! Can't you see the brilliant, sprawling, gorgeous, magnificent city in front of you?"
Altera didn't bother gracing the question with a verbal response. One of her eyebrows rose, slowly and slightly, as though to lace an unspoken "no" with a lethal dose of sardonicism.
"What," Nero shouted back, "could possibly possess you to destroy something so magnanimous? So intricate, so complicated, so full of life? So full of beauty?"
Altera's response was brusque, and straightforward.
"I am a warrior of the Hun. I am their King. My domain is the razed remains of Western civilization."
Nero's enraged words gave way to the sound of gritting teeth straining against each other. Altera regarded her in the way a disappointed parent might peer down at a disobedient child.
"I am the King of Destruction. To stand against me is to be trampled by the hooves of inevitability and flattened under the wheels of fate itself. You cannot possibly hope to stop me."
She took one step forward. Mash, Cú Chulainn, Nero, and Artoria immediately took ready positions. Lily took a stance in front of Cira, wielding her broken sword like a knife.
Altera's face bent into an understated but condescending sneer.
"And you still intend to stand in my way?"
Wind gently wafted at her veil, at Cú Chulainn's cloak, and the red, white, and blue dresses worn by Nero, Lily and Artoria.
Cira closed her eyes, and drew in a breath. Then she steeled herself, huffed it out, and glared up at their enemy.
"Every time," was all she said.
"Tch." Altera lifted her chin, and looked down her nose at them.
Romani's voice crackled in Cira's ear. "Look out," he warned. "There's a serious amount of magical energy gathering around her, she's not going to waste any time messing around now!"
Cira drew in another, deeper breath.
"GO!" she bellowed.
Nero and Artoria launched themselves forward, blades held aloft. Cú Chulainn covered their approach by scraping a series of runes into the air, each of which became a blazing mass that volleyed out into an artillery barrage that sailed up, the curved quickly down to strike at Altera at a downward angle.
In response, Altera's sword weaved itself in fast-motion into a partial shield once more, which she held like an umbrella to protect herself from the blaze before pointing it forward to block Artoria's strike, who had arrived a split second before Nero did. Nero sidestepped, and made to swing at Altera's ankle from the side, but Altera's sword had snagged Artoria's with what seemed like a series of hair-thin tendrils, and she wrenched the caught blade down to parry Nero's before her own weapon took it's normal form. She raised it over her head, and once again, she slammed its tip into the ground.
The hill groaned in protest before the shockwave was issued. This time, Artoria was ready for it; she wasn't going to be taken by the same tactic a third time. The moment the maneuver was started, she had allowed herself to fall to one side and launched herself with all of her strength out of the blast radius. Nero, however, who had stumbled slightly, was not so lucky; the concussive force of the blast threw her halfway down the hill, and saw her tumble the rest of the way.
Artoria landed on her feet, carving trenches into the dirt with the balls of her feet, before redirecting her momentum and throwing herself back into the fray. She didn't, however, get there in time to stop Altera from wrenching her sword from the dirt, and pointing the pommel at the sky.
Once again, the thin red beam pierced into the heavens, and the massive magic circle system began to assemble itself. This time, Cira could see the process clearly.
The magic circles arrayed themselves out into a cylindrical formation, with outer-lying stabilizing elements to its structure. Their purpose, given what Cira had already seen, was clear; like so many lenses they would be used to focus the power of whatever energy passed through them.
But with the way they were laid out, Cira could tell where they were aimed. So too, apparently, could Nero, who was painstakingly heaving herself off of the ground.
"No!" Nero cried out. "Stop her! Stop her!"
Artoria crashed into Altera with the force of a runaway train. Altera, however, parried the blow, and allowed the momentum to carry her back several meters, landing easily on her feet.
"There is no stopping this," she said coldly.
Then she pointed the Sword of Mars. Not at Artoria, or Nero, or Cira. She pointed it at Rome.
"Let this civilization burn," she hummed to herself, softly. She stiffened her back.
"TEARDROP PHOTON RAY!"
An enormous deluge of energy poured from the sky, like a sudden torrent through a pipe. It atomized the clouds through which it rushed, funneled straight into the magic circle system above them.
Nero screamed in rage.
Artoria drove forward again, and once more, Altera caught her blade in the bind.
"As I said," Altera said, through her teeth, her head tilted back to cast a stern, superior gaze at her opponent, "there is nothing you can do to stop-"
Altera's head snapped to the side.
"Raaaaaaagh!"
Nero had somehow willed herself to her feet, and had charged up the hill, her sword in tow, carving a path into the dirt behind her. Altera's sword snaked up and over Artoria's and towards where Nero had tried to flank her from the right. Artoria smashed her sword upward against the bent blade to throw off her aim, and it was a good thing she had; Nero had thrown all caution to the wind, and was simply closing the distance as fast as she could. The tip of the tri-blade sword sliced into Nero's cheek, and if she even had noticed, she gave no indication.
"I will not let you desecrate my sacred city any further!" Nero bellowed, and she swung her blade up in a diagonal direction at Altera's gut. Altera jumped back, disengaging from Artoria and returning her sword to its normal shape, seeking once again to jam it into the ground for her shockwave attack.
Altera's eyes flicked to one side as a glint of light caught them. Nero's sword sailed through the air. Rather than stopping to redirect the momentum from her miss, Nero had instead chosen to abandon the weapon during the follow-through of her swing, and had remained right on Altera's heels. The Emperor in the red dress bull-rushed her, throwing herself into a flying tackle, wrapping her arms tightly around Altera's above the elbow. She failed to knock her over, but the annoyance on her face was evident. She wrenched against Nero's grip, nearly jarring her loose, but Nero tenaciously renewed her hold.
"Kill her!" Nero screeched.
Mash and Artoria charged.
The magic circles above them ceased their blast, and quickly re-oriented to aim down at the fight. But when Altera sought to charge the weapon again, Nero released her and clung to her sword hand instead. Altera battered her against the ground, and Nero still refused to release her.
"Impudence," Altera said coldly. "
The sword blade curled into a tight loop, the tip coming back around to pass by its hilt. It punched through Nero's chest. Nero gasped, and struggled to breathe.
And still refused to release her.
Altera changed tactics as Mash and Artoria bore down on her. The blade returned to normal, wrenching its way out of her enemy, before splitting into two and spearing for the enemies that were seconds away from her. But Mash through herself up in front, turning her shield sideways to intercept both blows, and as though it were a maneuver they had practiced a million times, Artoria dropped to a slide, allowing her momentum to carry her on the grass under the shield. Then she vaulted back up to her feet and launched herself into the air, bringing her blade down with both hands.
Altera didn't have time to return her sword to normal, and chose instead to use the fork between her weapon's tendrils to stop Artoria's massive strike.
The magic circle above them began to charge once more.
Artoria released the haft of her sword, allowing it to drop for a split second. Then, she took the sword by the blade, spun around, as Altera attempted to bring her weapon back to its normal shape, and used the momentum of the spin to deliver a vicious mordschlag to Altera's side. There was an audible crack, and Altera's hip collapsed just before she did.
Even from the ground, Altera didn't seem keen to give up. She pointed her weapon up into the sky with her off hand. The Photon Ray circle system glowed and crackled with power.
Artoria flicked her blade back around in her hand. She delivered two strikes. The first took Altera's arm off at the elbow. The second plunged her weapon's tip into her enemy's chest.
Altera froze. Her expression was one of pure shock, as though she couldn't quite comprehend what had just happened.
"Nothing is inevitable," Artoria said, her voice quiet. "Nothing is impossible. As long as those willing to resist draw breath, there is no certainty. Not for anyone, no matter how strong or how regal they claim to be."
Altera coughed and Cira took a step forward, feeling that it was over. She was tired, this whole adventure had been a ride and she felt like she could sleep for a week…but seeing this, seeing Altera like she was now made Cira's heart squeeze.
"I don't understand why you'd want to destroy something like this," Cira admitted, "Maybe it was whatever Lev used to summon you making you crazy…maybe it was just your history and you felt like it was your part to play…to destroy Rome. But…"
She broke off, looking at the disarmed Saber Servant.
"I don't know…I guess it's beyond me," she finished, "Maybe in another time it'd be different. I'm just sorry it ended up like this,"
Altera coughed again, and her chin was splattered with blood. Artoria withdrew her sword, and Altera groaned.
"I… I see…" she managed.
"We never wanted any of this," Mash added, her voice shaking slightly. "I…" she trailed off.
"I… see…" Altera wheezed. She rested her head back against the grass, and stared up into the sky. In that moment, her poise, her bearing, and her sullen, hard exterior seemed to melt away. All that was left was a young girl, taking in the breadth of the heavens.
"In this world… there are things that even my sword cannot destroy." Her remaining hand fell limp. "My people… they revered me. Their king… their weapon… their scourge… their god…" She tried to cough again, but didn't have the breath remaining. "Even I… can't…"
Her voice was only the tiniest of rattles in her chest.
"That…" The light faded from her eyes, and her body began to fade from existence. And her mouth creased into the smallest of smiles. "That makes me… a little… happy…"
With that, she fell still. Seconds later, she was gone and a golden gleam hit the ground with a metallic thud.
Cira was quiet after Altera had faded away. It was a brutal fight, she wasn't stupid enough to pretend it wasn't. And yet, she felt some sense of peace. As such, she made her way quickly to Nero and knelt down next to her. The Emperor had let go of Altera sometime before Artoria and Mash had collapsed down on her.
"Cu," Cira started, "I need some help here…I don't think I can do too much…"
Cu Chulainn came to her side, already sketching out some runes with his fingertips, watching as they cast a green pallor over Nero's face.
"Missy Emperor, that was a stupid and brave thing you did there," he stated, "Y'know you're not supposed to die here, right?"
Nero gave a tired smile, pain clear in her eyes…though there was a flicker of satisfaction in them.
"I could not let her destroy my Rome…I couldn't let it fall," she murmured as Cira joined in on the healing of the Emperor.
"Well, your Rome still stands," Cira smiled, "And you with it,"
Cu Chulainn gave a chuckle.
"Yeah, surprisingly that sword didn't hit anything vital," he said, straightening up as the runes started to fade, "Least the damage wasn't as bad as it should have been. The gods certainly are looking out for you. Just stay there for a few minutes, let the runes finish their work. Then when you get back to Rome I suggest you take a year off work,"
Nero gave a bark of laughter…which was promptly followed by a wince.
"An Emperor's work is never done," Nero sniffed, "But…I will probably assign some more work to my Praetors to take care of…"
"Don't look at me," Cira grinned, "I think I need a little bit of a rest after this as well."
"We did manage to retrieve the Grail, Cira," Mash nodded hefting her shield, "We probably won't be much longer for this Singularity,"
"Well then let's get back to Rome then!" Nero smiled, trying to sit up, "I shall throw you all a celebration that the poets will tell of for centuries to come!"
"Food sounds wonderful right about now," Cira agreed, "And rest…lots of that,"
"I can sense Jing Ke and Boudica both making their way back here," Lily piped up, gesturing towards the west with the broken hilt of her sword, "And…oh."
Cira looked as golden embers seemed to flicker around Lily's fingertips. She looked down at herself and noticed the same phenomenon.
"Aw," she sighed, "Guess we might have to take a rain check on that feast, Nero…"
"Shame indeed," Nero chuckled, getting to her feet with a slight wince, "I will not forget you all, Mash, Cira…your beauty was akin to that of my Rome and without you it wouldn't be there anymore. I wish you the best on your journey…don't worry about me. I can see my soldiers coming to greet me. Thank you…may we meet again!"
Cira gave a smile and a wave. Her world then shattered into shards of swirling blue and silver light as she entered the void once again…
And then everything went dark.
A few days had passed since they had returned from the second Singularity, Cira was still recuperating from the strain that had been put upon her so Mash had some time to herself…much to her boredom. She mostly had stayed in her room and read her books on the world outside of Chaldea…though even that was boring at times.
She was just cleaning up at the sink…only to see a figure behind her. She whirled around, her shield materializing in her hands as she did. The figure behind her held up his hands in a harmless gesture.
"It's good to see your reflexes are not dulled," he said, coming into the light.
He was about a head taller than her, his eyes shone a warm, brilliant gold...or at least the one Mash could see did. He appeared young, but strong. His hair seemed to have greyed early, but still carried a faint tinge of violet. He wore armor, light, but striking in its sleekness and black-and-purple design...almost identical to hers, but lacked the shield. But the thing was...Mash recognized him.
"...My Guardian Angel," she blinked, "I thought you left me…"
The 'Angel' gave a soft laugh as he sat down on the bed.
"Unfortunately, I am no angel, just a knight who had failed in his duties," he admitted, "At least you remember me, Mash Kyrielight,"
Mash remembered how when she was younger he would be with her when the experiments turned a bit harsh. He'd always been upset when they took her to run some tests, often asking if she wanted to break out and be free. He had stopped appearing before her once Romani took control over her care. She figured she had merely outgrown him...but apparently it was not true.
"Then I'm crazy then?" Mash asked, "Since you are no angel and I highly doubt that you're an 'imaginary friend' I came up with as a child."
"You are not insane and neither am I an 'imaginary friend'," he chuckled, yet his smile did not quite reach his golden eyes.
Mash was quiet for a moment and she watched as his gaze went from her...to her shield. Her eyes widened as she followed his gaze and then turned back to him.
"...You're the one who saved me," she whispered, "You're the Heroic Spirit who possessed me,"
"Right in one," he nodded, "It wasn't a willing possession, however,"
His face turned dark.
"But despite my feelings of this place, I am your ally and Cirawynn's as well," he told her, "You do not need to fear me as your protection is my primary concern,"
"Who are you?" she asked, "What is your name?"
"I cannot tell you that," he shook his head, "You have to find that out on your own. That was something I was bound to when I saved you. I was to give you my combat abilities and powers...but my name? No your wondrous Magus Animusphere did not want that. My true name is sealed from you. At least, I am not able to speak it…"
His golden eyes dimmed as he bowed his head.
"Such a sad existence this...watching but not interacting with the world, seeing so many people I know and care about yet not being able to speak to them…" he gave a sigh, "But, that is not your concern, dear heart,"
He stood and came closer, giving a gentle smile as his hand brushed against her cheek...yet Mash felt nothing.
"For now, your biggest concern is the new singularity and keeping our Master safe. That is all you need to worry about. I will protect you the best I can," he promised, lowering his hand and looking towards the door, "I cannot stay here much longer...even now I feel everything pulling apart…"
He wasn't wrong, his body was already starting to fade.
"Take care, ma sœur...keep your heart strong and your shield shall never fail," his voice started to echo more and more as he faded into pale violet wisps of light that circled around Mash before melting away.
"...Who are you," Mash whispered, putting her hand to her heart.
But there was no answer.
Second Singularity
Humanity Foundation Value: B+
AD: 0060 Eternal Madness Empire: Septem
Emperor of Rose
Order Complete
Master: Cira Albion
Servants:
Servant: Shielder- Mash Kyrielight
Servant: Saber-Artoria Pendragon
Servant: Lancer/Caster-Cu Chulainn
Servant: Saber- Saber Lily
Servant: Rider- Boudica
Friend's Explaination on the end of the Altera battle and why Artoria got the kill (NO I did not influence him at all, I know some of y'all are still bitter I had Artoria with the Caesar fight...which was literally me just drawing a character name outta a hat...)
"Artoria is by far the strongest Servant present, by nearly all parameters. It would make sense that she would be the one to actually get the kill. Purely from a tactical standpoint, Nero isn't a Servant; Cú hates his class, and is fighting as an AOE-oriented servant when all his allies are melee-oriented; Lily's got a broken sword; and Mash is weak as shit at this point in the story, and I still had her contribute in the only way that she is capable of." - 30CaliberDonut