Hunting Two Psychopaths
That night, Zouken was really pissed off that his Servant was killed so easily. He took his anger out on Kariya, commanding the worms inside him to torture him. Berserker of Red attempted to attack Zouken, but it was pointless because he was made of nearly endless worms and would just reform every time he was splattered. Zouken eventually relented and transferred his two remaining Command Spells to Kariya, leaving Kariya with three again, and ordered him not to screw this up.
Reika was in the dream world again. She saw Touma running through an area similar to the battle from last night. He looked like he was beaten up. She gasped when she saw an albino boy beating up who appeared to be Mikoto Misaka. Touma roared at him to get away from her, calling him a lowlife. The boy laughed and kicked a rock at a tower hard enough to blow it up, and was intrigued when Touma didn't flinch. Misaka asked Touma why he was helping her, as she is nothing but a clone that can be made with a push of a button and there are approximately 10000 more of her, which made Reika sad and confused, but Touma said he didn't care and that she is the only version of her in this world and is irreplaceable.
Touma charged at the boy, but the boy stomped his foot and made a shock wave that knocked Touma back. The boy mocked him for being slow and hurled several metal rails at him, but Touma dodged them. Touma got knocked down by another shock wave and the boy lunged at him, thrusting his hand out, but Touma backhanded his hand away with his right hand. Shocked, the boy screamed and knocked Touma back with another shock wave. He attempted a flying kick that missed and broke a shipping container open, sending a big cloud of flour into the air. The boy gave a lecture on dust explosions. Realizing what was going to happen, Touma ran while the boy laughed and gave another stomp that knocked the shipping container into the air. When it landed, it created a spark that ignited the flour, causing a dust explosion. Reika screamed in instinctive fear when the explosion passed over her even though she wasn't harmed; it was only a memory, after all.
Touma managed to outrun the explosion but was still hurt a little. The boy emerged from the flames unharmed and said he almost died from lack of oxygen. After congratulating Touma for almost beating him, he boasted that he could kill a man with one touch and lunged at him with his arms extended. Touma charged and punched him in the face with his right hand, sending him flying with a bloody nose. The boy was extremely shocked, saying no one had ever harmed him before, and attacked again, but Touma repeatedly side stepped his clumsy strikes and punched him with his right hand over and over again. The boy gave another stomp and sent gravel flying, but Touma ducked and hit him with an uppercut. The boy jumped away and retreated while cursing his injuries, stopping on a railroad track. Touma caught up to him and said he was powerful, but didn't know how to fight, making him no match. The boy angrily stomped on the railroad and it buckled, flipping Touma into the air, but Touma came down and nailed him with a flying punch, seemingly knocking him out.
Touma stopped to catch his breath, but the boy slowly got up. He acknowledged that Touma was right about him not knowing how to fight, but then said that with his powers, fighting in hand-to-hand combat was beneath him. He started a strange chant, then blasted Touma with wind, knocking him down. He then created a tornado and Touma was swept up in it. Touma landed hard, hitting his head. Reika screamed as everything turned black.
After calming down, Reika realized that Touma lost consciousness. A few seconds later, the blackness disappeared and she saw Touma getting up, blood streaming from his busted nose, lips, and several cuts on his body. He looked up and Reika turned to see the boy holding a giant ball of white-hot plasma above his head and threatening to hurl it at both the injured Misaka and another Misaka who was shielding the first. Before he could throw it, it started disappearing. The boy noticed many windmills in the background were turning even though there was no wind and accused the Misakas of causing it to create artificial wind and disrupt his calculations. Before he could attack, they noticed Touma and the uninjured Misaka started crying at the sight of his injuries. The boy was incredulous, but then called Touma his greatest opponent. He charged and threw a right backhand, but Touma ducked. He then tried to jab Touma with his left hand, but Touma punched it with his right hand and broke the boy's fingers, causing him to shriek. Touma then punched him in the face, sending him flying. He landed and did not get up.
Reika woke up. She blushed when she realized she was spooning with Toole and separated from her, careful not to wake her up. She didn't know how to explain it. As a prostitute, she had slept with many people and the only time she ever experienced love was with Hyouma, which turned out to be fake. She had been eager to reward Touma for saving her with her body, but he had turned her down. But the moment she met Toole, they just clicked. Last night, they spent it just talking and getting to know each other. She learned that Toole used to be an ordinary girl until she was hired by Darnic. When she was discovered to be a first generation Magus, she was taught just enough Magecraft to be useful, but was not considered worthy or powerful enough to be a true member of Yggdmillennia. Since she was once normal, she has a similar personality to Fiore and Caules, not being as cold-hearted as regular Magi. The two later fell asleep in each other's arms fully clothed.
As she left the room, she noticed everyone was frantically getting ready to go out. Touma walked up to her carrying a tray with two plates full of sausages, sunny side up eggs, and rice.
"Good morning, Master. Here is breakfast for both you and Toole."
They entered the room to find Toole was awake and already making the bed. She bowed.
"Good morning, Master Avenger."
"Please don't call me that. Just Avenger or Touma. After all, Reika is my Master. And if you two are together… Wait, are you together?"
The two blushed and held hands.
"I suppose Mistress Reika and myself are."
"Splendid! Oh, before I forget, a few minutes ago, the Holy Grail War's Overseer called a truce between the two sides. Apparently, Caster of Red and his Master have gone nuts and are kidnapping and murdering children, the bastards. The War is on hold until we take them out. The Overseer says whoever helps take them out will get a free Command Spell. Roche has been released and we are all getting ready to go."
The two were alarmed and quickly ate. Once they were ready, the Masters and their Servants paired up and searched the city, knowing they would need all eyes on this. By this time, Itsuwa had repaired her regular spear and was back to 100%. Fiore was happy to be able to walk through the city without needing a wheelchair for the first time. Toole went with Reika and Touma. As they searched, Reika had to ask.
"I had another dream. I saw you fighting an albino boy to protect Misaka… and another her. Is… Misaka a clone?"
He sighed.
"Well, the one here is the original. It took a while for her to open up about it, but she was cloned without her knowledge and then her clones used as cannon fodder for that guy, Accelerator, in a sick experiment to try to make him stronger. I stepped in and kicked his ass to stop it. A lot of crazy things happened and then much later, Accelerator became like my brother, and Misaka was eventually able to forgive him. This is still a touchy subject for her so please don't bring it up."
"Okay."
All the teams searched all day but didn't find anything. As the sun started to go down, they regrouped near the beach, where unlike last night, there were a few people hanging around. They met with Arturia, Irisviel, Diarmuid, Iskandar, and Waver. While Celenike was able to resist the Love Spot due to her insanity and obsession with Cendrillon, Fiore, Reika, and Toole were affected until Touma touched them with his right hand. The Red Faction members had of course been searching as well, but the only one who had any luck was Waver and his Servant, who found Caster of Red's lair and burned it to the ground, mercy killing many children who were mangled beyond recognition. Waver had become very shaken up by what he saw, but was determined to end this. The Servants of Red had not run into Gilgamesh or Berserker of Red. The Servants of Red remembered that Caster of Red had earlier revealed his name, Gilles de Rais, and revealed it to the Black Faction.
Also during this day, Tokiomi's daughter Rin had an adventure where she returned to Fuyuki to investigate the disappearance of her school friend Kotone. She found Ryuunosuke putting Kotone and several other kids in a trance with a mystical bracelet provided by Gilles and leading them to his lair. Rin confronted him and managed to use her Magecraft to break the bracelet, freeing the kids from the trance and allowing them to run. Ryuunosuke tried to kill her with a horror summoned by Gilles, but Kariya rescued her. As she fainted and Ryuunosuke escaped, he returned her to her mother. Of course, no one knew about this except for the people involved.
The assembled Servants decided they needed bait to lure out the child murderers. Roche, the only one even close to the age group of the victims, and Waver, who despite being 19 looked like a child, adamantly refused, and nobody blamed them. Cendrillon revealed she had a spell that she would normally use to transform herself into a child, but she feared Gilles would be able to sense her or another Servant, so she needed human volunteers to use it on. Reika and Toole stepped up.
"We volunteer!"
They were asked if they were sure, and they said they wanted to contribute. After Darnic, Gordes, and Celenike set up a Bounded Field so nobody would notice them, Cendrillon cast the spell and the two were transformed into adorable ten-year-olds. Their clothes were also transformed to match them. Fiore and Irisviel cooed over how cute they looked.
*Aerith's Theme from Final Fantasy VII Remake plays*
The two looked themselves over and Toole gave a big smile, completely unlike her usual stoic self.
"This is like a dream! Want to play?"
"All right!"
They joined hands and ran off before anyone could stop them, giggling all the while. Cendrillon sighed.
"Their new bodies have overruled their minds."
Kairi turned to Hamazura.
"Assassin of Black, guard them."
"Of course."
He activated Presence Concealment, turning invisible, and followed the girls. Since the others needed to stay away from them for this trap to work, Arturia had an idea.
"Gilles thinks I am his companion, Jeanne d'Arc. Now that the sun is down and his lair is destroyed, he's more likely to be around. If I go out into the open, I might be able to lure him to me. Personally, I detest using tricks in combat, but this dog does not deserve mercy for what he has done."
Diarmuid nodded.
"I agree. We must use everything we can to bring him to justice."
She stepped outside the Bounded Field and stood out in the open on the beach, attracting a lot of attention from both genders because of her great beauty. The Masters used hypnosis to make the people go away, then they stayed in the Bounded Field while the Servants all went into Astral Form, all doing their best to hide.
After about an hour, Gilles appeared.
"Jeanne! I have come for you and nothing will stand in my way!"
* Horrors of the Night from Final Fantasy XV plays*
He pulled out his spellbook and started summoning tentacled horrors one after another. The few people left on the beach screamed and ran away.
"Seize her!"
The other Masters and Servants came out of hiding and attacked. Arturia, Diarmuid, Kaori, and Itsuwa attacked the horrors with their weapons. Gordes turned his hands to iron and punched away at the horrors while Darnic blasted them with spells. Irisviel attacked by creating eagle constructs out of strands of her hair while Kairi blasted away with his shotgun and grenades. Cendrillon and Iskandar rode the horrors down with their vehicles and fired spells and lightning while Celenike and Waver rode with them and gave them covering fire with spells. Fiamma blasted the horrors with fire while Roche summoned golems to smash them. Mikoto and Mugino blasted them with electricity and Meltdowner beams, actually working together by redirecting each other's blasts to cover more area. Fiore had kept the Bronze-Link Manipulators, Magecraft-powered mechanical limbs of her own design extending from a backpack that were meant to help her walk and fight. She activated them and began blasting the horrors with beams from the limbs while Caules guarded her back with his own spells. Touma wielded the Tawrich and Zarich daggers he took from Angra Mainyu, since they were Rank C compared to the Rank D Jack the Ripper's knives and he could absorb Angra Mainyu's lingering malice from them to power up. In between slashing the horrors, he punched them with his right hand, with Imagine Breaker making them disappear.
However, there were too many of them and more were being produced every second. They could not reach Gilles.
"Hahaha! I came prepared! My Noble Phantasm gives me an unlimited supply of Mana, but just in case, I topped myself off by feeding on all my victims! Jeanne, my love, I promise that I will save you from God's curse!
They all thought, This guy is crazy!
* Little Red Riding Hood by Amanda Seyfried plays*
Hamazura continued to follow Reika and Toole, who continued to chat and walk while holding hands, oblivious to everything around them. He couldn't help but think they were adorable in their winter coats. The girls entered a back alley and were suddenly confronted by Ryuunosuke and a horror Gilles had assigned to guard him. They backed away in fear.
"Hey there, kiddies! My partner and I are in a really bad mood ever since our lair and collection was destroyed, but don't worry, we've found a new lair and we'll rebuild our collection!"
He turned to the horror.
"Grab them!"
The disgusting creature lunged, but Hamazura dropped his Presence Concealment and blasted it with his pump-action shotgun after turning the bullet into a Broken Phantasm. This resulted in the creature getting shredded by buckshot before blowing up. Before Ryuunosuke could react, Shiage drew the lady's handgun in his arsenal and shot him right between the eyes, killing him instantly. He chose this gun because of its low power, meaning Ryuunosuke only had a small hole in his head with minimal blood.
He picked up the body, then turned to the frightened girls and sighed, summoning his motorcycle.
"Come on, I'll take you home."
After binding the hole so the blood wouldn't leak, he carried the body on his back and seated the girls on his lap. He rode off while activating Presence Concealment so nobody would notice them.
He made telepathic contact with Kairi.
Master, I have killed Gilles' Master and am taking the corpse and the two girls back to the mansion.
Let me know as soon as you are done! We are in serious trouble!
A few seconds ago, the others were continuing to fight Gilles' horrors when Gilles suddenly staggered.
"Argh! My Master is dead! But before I go, I will honor you, Ryuunosuke! I will show you the greatest cool!"
He raised his spellbook and the horrors all exploded in geysers of blood. In the confusion, Gilles disappeared. As Celenike left the Pumpkin Carriage, an exhausted Waver looked around.
"Is he dead?"
Fiamma pointed at the sea.
"Everyone, look!"
* God's Anger from Yu-Gi-Oh! plays*
They looked on in horror as it became foggy and a tentacled monster the size of a skyscraper emerged from the sea and started lumbering towards the land. Kaori extended her mystical senses.
"Gilles is inside that thing!"
Kairi called out.
"My Servant just confirmed that he killed Gilles' Master and is taking the girls to a safe place."
Iskandar started laughing.
"Good, good! Then all we have to do is either kill this thing or stall until Gilles fades away. Either way, this will be a story for the ages!"
Before they could do anything, three fighter jets emerged and opened fire on the creature, but the bullets and missiles had no effect. Touma groaned.
"The JSDF is here. This is bad, but oh well. We can't worry about that now."
They watched horrified as the creature swatted one of the jets out of the air and destroyed it. Kairi called out.
"The girls are safe! Assassin of Black! By my Command Spell, return to me at once!"
As one of his Command Spells disappeared, Hamazura was instantly teleported to Kairi's side. He gasped at seeing the creature.
"Whoa! My Master already filled me in telepathically. What's the plan?"
Diarmuid answered.
"We slay this monstrosity, simple as that."
Arturia immediately stepped onto the water, not sinking into it, and charged at the creature with her invisible sword. None of the others could walk on water, but they had other ways. Mikoto gathered water vapor to form wings on her back and fly, speeding towards the creature. The others watched in amazement before Fiamma teleported onto the creature and blasted it with fire. It did some damage, but it quickly regenerated and swiped at him, forcing him to teleport back to shore and rest. He had used too much Mana in the fight and Roche was exhausted from supplying him.
Touma, Hamazura, and Mugino hopped into the Pumpkin Carriage. Since it was enchanted to overcome any obstacles, it could run on water. As they sped towards the creature, Diarmuid, Kaori, and Itsuwa joined Iskandar in his chariot (Iskandar let Waver out, saying this was too dangerous for him), which rose into the air and sped forward as well. Meanwhile, the Masters worked together to extend and strengthen the Bounded Field so no one would see them.
Arturia reached the creature and started slashing at it with her invisible sword, but the wounds were shallow for a creature of its size and quickly regenerated. Misaka called out.
"Saber of Red! Get clear!"
Arturia jumped away as Misaka absorbed a lightning bolt from the clouds and then unleashed it on the creature. Unfortunately, it didn't seem to take any damage and didn't even react. It swatted another jet out of the air.
"Drat! Unlike the smaller ones, it is immune to electricity!"
She had to dodge a tentacle and then several attacks from the last jet, as the pilot was going crazy and she forgot that Servants are immune to non-magical attacks. The Pumpkin Carriage reached the creature. Cendrillon blasted it with spells, Hamazura blasted it with his shotgun after turning the bullets into Broken Phantasms, and Mugino blasted it with Meltdowner blasts. Out of the three, the Meltdowner blasts did the most damage by punching cauterized holes in the creature, but they still regenerated, the new growth simply pushing out the charcoal. Once they were close enough, Touma leapt out and punched it with his right hand. It shrieked in pain and the flesh around his hand disintegrated, but he was disappointed that the creature was not instantly destroyed.
"Shit, it's too big."
He dodged a tentacle and jumped back on the Pumpkin Carriage. Iskandar's chariot had just about reached the creature and got behind it. Itsuwa held up her spear.
"I killed a similar creature back when I was alive, so my spear should hold a conceptual advantage. Get ready."
Kaori and Diarmuid linked their arms and braced themselves. Itsuwa jumped onto their hands and they launched her at the creature. She flew through the air brandishing her spear with a roar. But before she could reach it, it seemed to sense danger and swatted her out of the air with a tentacle. She landed in the water with a broken back. As the others yelled in concern, Darnic sighed and held up his hand.
"Lancer of Black. By my Command Spell, heal and return to me."
Itsuwa was immediately teleported back to shore. Though her injury was healed, she was still in a lot of pain.
Iskandar blasted the creature in the face with lightning, which didn't hurt it, but was able to distract it. Diarmuid and Kaori leapt out and attacked it while Arturia and the team in the Pumpkin Carriage resumed their attack. Kaori used her Nanasen technique to slice several chunks off, but then they just regenerated. Diarmuid had the most progress as injuries caused by his short yellow spear, Gae Buidhe, cannot be healed, but the problem was that the creature was so huge that the wounds he could make were pretty much mosquito bites to it and it was still moving closer to shore.
Still, it could tell Diarmuid was a threat and snared him with a tentacle. He screamed in agony as it attempted to crush him, but he felt himself filling with strength and was able to get free. He realized Kayneth spent a Command Spell to empower him and thanked his Master.
Suddenly, everyone spotted something huge and golden descending from the clouds. It was Gilgamesh and Tokiomi in a glorious flying machine pulled from the Gate of Babylon, Vimana.
"Hahaha! All of you are so puny from up here! I suppose it is up to me, the superior one, to slay this beast since you are so inadequate!"
He launched a few weapons from the Gate of Babylon at the creature, but they were embedded in its slimy body. In disgust, Gilgamesh pulled Viamana up higher.
"I have changed my mind. Go on, all you so-called heroes. Prove yourselves!"
Tokiomi was shocked.
"My King, what are you doing!?"
"I refuse to battle such a disgusting monster. It fouled my weapons, so I do not even want them back."
"But we must destroy it! Based on its level of regeneration, only your Sword of Rupture could wipe it out!"
"How dare you!? To even suggest that I use my greatest treasure on such an unworthy foe is treason and treason is punishable by death! Know your place!"
Tokiomi bowed and looked at his hand.
I could force him to use it with a Command Spell, but that would damage my relationship with him even further. And the whole reason Father Risei and I concocted this scheme was to restore the Command Spell I previously spent. Damn it.
Touma saw that most of the weapons Gilgamesh launched had sunk into the creature's flesh, but one with a long handle was sticking out and apparently causing it pain.
"Well, if you don't want it anymore… Thanks!"
He leapt out and seized the weapon, a scythe, with his left hand, not caring that it was covered with slime. When he noticed that the wound he pulled it from was not healing, he realized it was similar to Diarmuid's yellow spear and started slashing away at the creature. The injuries the two weapons caused clearly bothered it and made it slow down, but it was simply too massive.
Gilgamesh seethed when he saw Touma stealing one of his treasures, but he had just declared he didn't want it back, and a King does not go back on his word.
Meanwhile, Misaka was still being chased by the last fighter jet when Berserker of Red out of nowhere jumped onto the jet. He was fully healed from the last battle, with his hand and gauntlet back. He reached into the cockpit, crushed the pilot's head with one hand before tossing him out, then climbed in and took control. The jet turned black and red as it was converted into his Noble Phantasm. He opened fire on the creature after turning the jet's bullets and missiles into Broken Phantasms for extra destructive power. He was still bound by his first Command Spell, but Kariya told him that Caster of Red was a traitor to the cause, so it was okay to kill him. The projectiles ripped through the creature and forced the others to dodge since he didn't care about hitting them, but it simply regenerated. He just kept firing; the jet's status as a Noble Phantasm gave it unlimited ammo.
Now that Misaka was free, she drew coins from her pocket (part of her winnings from the casino) and charged them with electricity. She tossed one up and flicked it with her fingers while calling her second Noble Phantasm.
"Railgun!"
The coin flew at Mach 3 and punched a hole through the creature. She launched the other coins and they punched through it as well, but it was not slowing down and its injuries were regenerating.
"Damn it! This is like a nightmare!"
Suddenly, a tentacle managed to hit the fighter jet's wing, sending it spinning out of control. Berserker of Red bailed out, but took the time to rip out the jet's Gatling gun and resumed fire while falling into the water.
Misaka used her magnetic powers to halt the jet in midair, then sent a telepathic message to Fiore asking for aid. She understood and raised her hand.
"Archer of Black! By my Command Spell, use your Railgun!"
Now supercharged, Misaka yelled at the others to get clear, charged the jet with electricity, and punched it with all her might, launching it at Mach 3.
"Railgun!"
Cendrillon and Iskandar got everyone away in their vehicles as the jet collided with the creature's head, causing a massive explosion. It was spectacular enough to make Gilgamesh look up in interest.
When the smoke cleared, the creature was missing its head and it had finally stopped moving, but to everyone's horror, it slowly started to regenerate. Misaka landed back on shore and dispelled her wings, then called out.
"Does anyone have a plan!? I don't think I can do that again!"
The other Servants returned to shore except for Gilgamesh, who remained in Vimana, and Berserker of Red, who retreated in Astral Form when he sensed that his Master was in distress.
Suddenly, Irisviel received a call on her cellphone. She fumbled with it, then sheepishly called out.
"Um, how does this work?"
Waver and Caules examined her phone and patiently showed her how to answer it. On the other end was Kiritsugu, who told her there was only one option for victory. She hung up and addressed Arturia.
"Saber of Red, please use your true Noble Phantasm at full power. It is the only way to wipe out that creature."
"I would, but the creature is already really close to shore. My Noble Phantasm is too destructive at full power."
Fiamma, who had recovered somewhat, walked up.
"I believe I can help with my Noble Phantasm, but Master, you'll need to reinforce me with a Command Spell."
In truth, Fiamma could have used his Noble Phantasm to annihilate the creature at the start with The Strike That Ends Everything It Touches, but it costs too much Mana and would have probably drained Roche to death if used without a Command Spell. However, Roche was hesitant.
"But Darnic told me not to waste any more Command Spells."
The others were annoyed, but Fiamma just sighed.
"Fine, I'll just do it on my own."
Itsuwa, who had recovered, Kaori, and Cendrillon stepped up.
"Not on your own. We will help."
As the creature finished regenerating and started walking towards shore again, the three connected themselves to Fiamma via the Nanasen strings and pumped their Mana into him.
*Battle of God from Yu-Gi-Oh! plays*
Fiamma braced himself.
"Holy Right!"
A massive red, mirage-like bird claw emerged from his right shoulder. As the others looked in amazement, it expanded in size, then extended and grabbed the creature. It screeched and struggled, but could not stop the claw from dragging it back to its starting position. The claw disappeared as Roche fainted from Mana deprivation and the three girls fell to their knees in exhaustion. Fiamma staggered, then turned to Arturia.
"It's up to you now."
He went into Astral Form to conserve energy.
"Thank you, Caster of Black."
She stepped onto the water and released the invisibility on her sword, revealing it was golden with a blue hilt, and not in a gaudy way. She raised her sword over her head and everyone was amazed when beautiful sparks of light began floating out of the ground and water. Even Gilgamesh was interested. Irisviel spoke.
"Her sword is the crystallization of all of mankind's hopes and wishes, a sword that promises victory."
Arturia braced herself.
"EXCALIBUR!"
She brought her sword down, unleashing a truly massive beam of golden light. It struck the creature and began erasing it. From deep within the creature's core, Gilles saw the golden light. He experienced a vision of the real Jeanne d'Arc smiling at him and he gasped.
"Jeanne, what have I-"
He was cut off when the beam reached his body and vaporized him. Everyone looked at Arturia in amazement and then clapped for her. Gilgamesh rode Vimana to ground level and jumped off.
"That was splendid! You even have a Noble Phantasm that I do not possess. How unexpected."
The others were annoyed that he barely did anything to help and expressed this.
"Oh please. The fact that you defeated that creature on your own means you did not need my help."
He then pointed at the scythe in Touma's left hand.
"I sacrificed my treasures to that beast and Saber of Red's attack, except that one. Return it at once."
Touma defiantly made the scythe go into spiritual form, shocking him.
"You said yourself that you didn't want it. Besides, it is compatible with me."
Enraged, Gilgamesh marched forward and the Servants of Black prepared for battle, but Iskandar stood in his way.
"Everyone stop! We have just defeated a great foe, so it is time for a celebration! Please, let us keep up the truce for one more day. Tomorrow, let us have a Feast of Kings!"
Kaori interrupted his good mood.
"No one in the Black Faction is a ruler of any kind."
Diarmuid chimed in.
"Neither am I."
Iskandar was sheepish while Waver facepalmed, but he was able to bounce back.
"My mistake. Let us have a Feast of Heroes!"
The others agreed, even Gilgamesh. Irisviel whispered to Arturia and the Servant agreed.
"You are all welcome to hold the feast at the Einzbern Castle."
Iskandar laughed good-naturedly.
"It is settled! We will hold it at sundown tomorrow! I will provide the wine!"
Touma shrugged.
"We'll provide the food."
Gilgamesh jumped onto Vimana and called down to them.
"You amuse me, Rider of Red. That is why I agree to your ridiculous terms."
He pointed at Touma.
"I will make another promise. After I kill Berserker of Black, you are next! Come along, Tokiomi."
Vimana flew off. Touma sighed.
"For now, let's go home. Good thing we cooked some roast ham before we left."
The Red and Black Factions went their separate ways. As they left, Waver and Irisviel were so exhausted that they decided to get the extra Command Spells tomorrow.
The Black Faction also decided to get the extra Command Spells tomorrow. When they got home, Reika and Toole happily greeted them, having watched the battle on Fiamma's monitors. Cendrillon quickly turned them back into adults. Kairi examined Ryuunosuke's corpse, noting that he did not spend any of his Command Spells. He extracted them and gave one each to himself, Darnic, and Fiore, leaving them all with 3 again. He read Ryuunosuke's memories and was disgusted to learn that he knew nothing useful; he was just a murderer who got lucky. He started dissecting him and using his body parts to make weapons while Hamazura turned them into Noble Phantasms.
Everyone else was exhausted and went to sleep, even the Servants… except for Celenike and Cendrillon. Eager to make up for lost time, Celenike ordered her into the dungeon and had her way with her.
In a back alley, Kariya was in really bad shape. Berserker of Red had consumed too much of his Mana, even more than last night, causing the worms to consume even more of him. He collapsed and was delirious. His Servant appeared next to him and gingerly tried to help him up.
"Look at what we found. Your Servant was most impressive."
They looked up to see Kirei Kotomine and Hassan of the Hundred Faces.
"W-What!? Assassin of Red!? But we saw you die!"
"What was killed was merely part of me. There are many parts of me."
As the Assassin said this, he seemed to multiply until there were over a dozen of him, but some of them were women. The Berserker growled and prepared to attack, but Kirei held up his hand.
"We are of the Red Faction and are here to save your Master."
Kirei used a healing spell on Kariya. This improved his condition enough that he was no longer in danger of dying, but he was still in bad shape and eventually passed out. Kirei was surprised at himself. He deliberately held back the healing so that Kariya would still be in pain. For some reason, he enjoyed seeing him in pain. Nonetheless, this was enough for the Berserker to relent. Kirei picked Kariya up.
"Come on. I still have use for both of you. My Assassin, eliminate any witnesses to the battle who may be at risk of telling others. Erase all evidence."
"As you wish, Master."
The Assassins departed as Kirei carried Kariya to Tokiomi's mansion with Berserker of Red following them. A swarm of Zouken's insects tried to follow them, but Kirei and the Berserker made quick work of them; Kirei using his special thin blades called Black Keys and Berserker simply squashing them. Eventually, Zouken gave up, writing Kariya off. Kirei only had one thing to say.
"Disgusting bugs."
Diarmuid met with Kayneth and Sola-Ui. As usual, she cooed over him, completely under the Love Spot's power, while Kayneth seethed. They walked to Risei's church to collect their payment of one Command Spell, but Sola-Ui was unhappy.
"Do you really deserve that? You didn't do anything!"
"Yes I did! I healed and empowered our Servant, didn't I? He should be honored that I decided to waste a precious Command Spell just to save him."
"Indeed, I am honored, my lord."
She pouted as the couple entered, but Diarmuid stayed outside as it was the rules. Risei greeted them.
"Ah, Lord El-Melloi, what can I do for you?"
"My Servant, Lancer of Red, assisted in the defeat of Caster of Red, so I am here for my Command Spell."
"Ah, you speak the truth. Very well. Hold out your hand."
Kayneth did so. Risei took it and chanted. A new Command Spell joined the ones already there, leaving him with three again.
"Our business is concluded. It was a pleasure."
"One last thing."
Kayneth suddenly drew a Webley Mk. IV revolver and shot Risei in the head, killing him. Sola-Ui gasped in horror.
"Kayneth, what have you done!?"
"Whatever it takes to win. Now, no one else can get extra Command Spells. We have the advantage now. And with any luck, the others will think Kairi Sisigou, Assassin of Black, or Kiritsugu Emiya killed him. They are all dishonorable for using argghh, firearms. Especially Emiya."
He started muttering to himself.
"The Magus Killer is a disgrace, cowardly hiding in the shadows to shoot opponents from a distance and letting the Einzbern pretend to be Saber of Red's Master. He thought he was so clever, but I spotted him both today and the other night."
Sola-Ui could not even begin to describe Kayneth's hypocrisy, but he was starting to scare her. Best to play along.
"Yes. You are better than him, my clever man."
Kayneth immediately stopped and lit up, glad his fiancee was actually complimenting him. He hugged her and she did not resist.
"Yes I am."
They stepped outside and rejoined Diarmuid, who was oblivious to what happened. He only nodded when he saw Kayneth had three Command Spells again. The trio returned to their hotel.
Just as they left, they passed by Kiritsugu and Maiya. The two entered the church, only to find Risei's corpse. He immediately realized what happened.
"That son of a bitch."
The two reluctantly returned to the Einzbern castle.
Thus ends Day 2 of the Holy Grail War.
Author's Note:
I am really sorry that this chapter took so long.
Yes, I basically condensed the hunt for the two psychos to one day. I am also switching events around, as in canon, the Feast of Kings happened in the middle of the hunt, but I didn't like that.
I don't like Ryuunosuke. The guy is frickin evil. That's why his death is so anticlimactic, not even having the scene where he got shot in the gut and was happy to see his own blood.
I made up Gilles' kaiju being immune to electricity, but in the movies, many kaiju are immune to electricity.
The weapon Touma took from Gilgamesh is Harpe, a scythe previously wielded by Medusa and then Perseus.
Harpe: Immortal Slaying Scythe. A. Anti-Unit. Wounds inflicted by this weapon cannot be healed by supernatural means. Also, this weapon can wound and kill immortal beings.
I was never really comfortable with Berserker taking control of the jet from outside.
I upgraded Command Spells from canon, since in canon, they were usually not enough to stop a Berserker from rampaging and definitely not enough to stop Fate/Zero's Berserker from attacking Arturia, especially in the fight against Gilles.
Merry Christmas everyone.