"You worthless knight!"
Gareth collided harshly against the cavern's wall, sending her lance flying a few meters away from her. The rock behind her actually started to fracture, and shards fell from the impact. Looming above Gareth was a blonde woman in black armor, her golden eyes full of scorn and disdain.
"You were all fools to approach me. None of you are worthy of taking the Grail away from me!"
The dark knight gave Gareth a swift kick to her torso, causing her to cry out in pain and send her barreling towards Ryuuto. She landed in front of him, unable to stand up. Muffled sobs came from the poor Lancer, but Ryuuto was too scared to feel any pity at the moment.
The Master of Lancer was the only one standing. Caster was gone, Mash was down on the ground somewhere, and all the other non-Servants had been knocked down from the last swing of the corrupted Saber's sword.
"This is the end for you all." The dark Saber raised her evil sword up high, calling forth dark purple and red tendrils of energy. They swirled menacingly around her sword, and the pressure in the cavern increased. Oh, crap.
"Excalibur Mor-"
Yeah. That's me, Ryuuto. Last man standing, no hidden trap card to pull out, and no unlikely ally ready to swoop in to save our asses at the moment. After all the training and massacring of the skeletons and shadow servants, you would think we were ready to take on the boss of this Singularity paradox thing.
So what happened? Well…
…
"The Greater Grail is back here. It's a little far back, so don't get lost, ok?"
At last, the group of Servants, Masters, and one grumpy Director made their way towards a giant cavern. Caster led the way, making sure to choose the path of least resistance. But even then, everyone felt a little bit tense. Supposedly Saber was within, and if that Heroic Spirit was capable of conquering most of the Servants of this disastrous Grail War, who knows what that Saber could do to them if they came unprepared?
As the motley crew walked through the dark, vast cave, they came across even more skeletons. However, they were no match for the Rampaging Maiden Wolf or the flames from the blue-robed hockey wizard.
"Hmmm…" Chiaki hummed as they made their way through the mossy walls, admiring the stalactites. "This looks like a natural cave. Did this place exist before Fuyuki city?" She casually put a hand on the wall, feeling the coolness of the rock.
"Probably. It looks half natural and half man-made, due to mages fashioning this place into a workshop."The Director said, and Chiaki felt like they were on the verge of another lecture.
"So like, mages have workshops to do magic and stuff?" Chiaki asked, absentmindedly.
"Well I mean they do, or else we'd see magic in everyday life." Ryuuto was trying to avoid Gareth, who was trying to keep up with his pace.
"Oh, uh, right…" Chiaki mumbled, crestfallen. "I feel silly for asking."
"Speaking of asking, I want to know something, Caster." The Director walked up to the blue wizard. "Do you know the Saber's True Name? It sounded like you'd fought several times."
"Yes, I know it. Anyone who gets hit by that Saber's Noble Phantasm will find out that bastard's True Name…" Caster sighed.
"It's that powerful, huh. Can you tell us what it was like?" Naughty asked, with an eyebrow raised. Mash stood close by, equally as interested.
"Well first off, it's immensely powerful. All the other Servants were defeated because of that power. It's also the most famous sacred sword in your time period, the sister sword of the Sword in the Stone." Caster had a faraway look on his face, but whatever he was remembering, it wasn't pleasant.
"The Sword of Promised Victory, Excalibur. And its wielder, King Arthur, the proud King of Knights."
"Huh? Who said that?" Everyone looked around, confused at the disembodied voice.
Suddenly Caster stopped walking, as he noticed a shadowy figure was in the way. "Well, speak of the devil. Or rather, the faithful follower. Playing gatekeeper to Saber, huh?"
The figure stepped forward. He was covered in the signature miasma of a shadow servant, but his features were a little more pronounced.
"He's got a bow! He must be an Archer." Chiaki exclaimed, peering at the new stranger with wariness.
"Yes...thank you, captain obvious." mumbled Alpha under his breath.
Caster readied his staff. "I don't know why you suddenly want to protect Saber, but it's time to end this. Isn't a game that never ends boring? For better or worse, we need to get the pieces moving."
The blue-haired sage turned to face the Chaldeans. "You all go on ahead. I can handle this."
The shadow Archer exhaled in humor. Was that actually funny though? "I see you still haven't changed despite being a mage now." He loaded an arrow onto his bow and aimed for Caster. "In that case, I will shoot some sense into you!"
"Did he just...make a pun?" Chiaki blinked in disbelief.
"Never mind that, you heard your Servant! Run!" The Director snapped, and everyone raced deeper into the cavern, putting their trust in the mage wielding the magical hockey stick.
"Good luck, Casteeeerrr!" Chiaki's voice trailed off into the distance. Caster smirked, as if he had taken a page from Naughty.
"Thank you Master…" With a wave of his hand, runes manifested and exploded in Archer's range. "I'm gonna need it."
…
Finally, the endlessly long tunnels of the Great Cavern expanded into a room that had the vast space of the entrance, but the pressure of a mystical being residing here as well.
"So this is the Greater Grail. It's an ultra-superior Magical Reactor...what's it doing on this island nation in the Far East?" Once again, the Director was thinking out loud.
From audio, the Doctor responded. "According to our data, it was built by an eminent family of alchemists called the Einzberns. Though apparently they didn't belong to the Mage's Association, and were solely made of homunculi."
"They were all artificial? That's kind of freaky." said Alpha.
"Hey, so this place looks pretty empty...where did Saber go?" Chiaki felt pretty clammy. Everyone else looked around, but stayed close. Who knows if Saber was planning an ambush or trap?
"I've got a bad feeling about this…" said Gareth. "My king would never go against the wishes of the people. To think the King of Knights would do such a thing to this city-"
"You have it all wrong. For the sake of humanity, I have to keep this Grail War going. Even when the flames arrived and the humans vanished, there was still a duty to fulfill."
For the second time, a disembodied voice echoed across the Great Cavern, filling the chamber with sound.
"Hey wait…" Ryuuto said. "Doesn't that voice sound kind of feminine to you?"
"Ah, there! Look!" Chiaki pointed at something in the distance, at what appeared to be a precipice overlooking the area where the group stood. "It's..a woman? Huh?!"
"Unbelievable...she's just standing there, but the amount of magical output and presence is overwhelming!" Mash looked at the figure over the cliff with concern. "Is that really King Arthur?"
Dr. Roman's hologram appeared once more. "No question. She seems to have changed somehow but that's definitely the King of Britain, Arthur, wielder of the Sacred Sword."
"Whoa...and she's just staring at us menacingly." Ryuuto said in awe.
The doctor continued with his exposition. "Her gender's different from the legend, but she had her reasons for dressing like a man in Camelot. I mean, you couldn't assume the throne unless you were a man, right? She must've had to pretend to be a man for family reasons."
"Some family she's got." snarked Naughty.
Dr. Roman sighed. "I have an idea who's behind that. It's mentioned in the legends, but Merlin really does have a terrible taste."
Naughty on the other hand, looked like he wanted to disagree. Alpha gave the Italian a displeased look.
"So King Arthur...is a woman?" Chiaki shook her head. "Geez, how many people were misgendered throughout history? At this rate, you're going to tell me that 'Sir' Francis Drake is a woman, or that the japanese warlord Oda Nobunaga is a woman, not that I see anything wrong with that, it's just- let's take a break here. I feel like I'm learning a lot of things a mile-a-minute and- well, magic is real! Everything I know is probably a lie!" By now Chiaki was waving her hands up and down, and she looked a tad crazy. Her little tantrum had turned incomprehensible, and everyone just looked at her with an expression that couldn't be put into words.
Even the Saber had an eyebrow raised. Were these people not going to challenge her? Why was this female running around like an idiot?
"Hey Director, Mash, what's the situation over there? Did somebody snap?" The Doctor looked quite concerned, a sweatdrop forming on his face.
"Hey, if this is the kind of truth this world has, then I'm all up for it!" Naughty grinned.
"You know, maybe we should focus on the problem at hand." Ryuuto gestured to the dark Saber, who was still standing there like a scarecrow. "Like, how are we actually going to defeat King Arthur before she Excaliburs us to smithereens?"
"Yeah, before we all die or something." Alpha looked at the Director for guidance, but she was too busy glaring at the Saber. The Saber, in turn, glared back, unwilling to lose the unspoken staring contest.
"A king or not, she is a monster. Her firepower lies in the ridiculous amount of energy she's receiving from the Grail, most likely." The Director refused to blink, holding on to her scowl.
"Ah, I see." Mash held up her shield. "So basically, I should think of her as a human rocket."
"It's now or never. Let's take down the King of Knights!" Ryuuto and Gareth got into attacking stances.
"Well then, let's not get outdone by those two." Naughty said with a wink to Mash.
"Understood. I'll fight with everything I've got!" And so all four combatants awaited the actions of the enemy.
"Hmph. To be pitted against a former subordinate and that Noble Phantasm...this must be fate. I'm curious, girl." Saber hopped down, losing the high ground and getting on the Chaldean's level. As she descended, Saber swung down her blackened sword with grace, firmly striking the ground and emitting a shockwave.
"My sword will test the truth of that shield, and the resolve of that lance."
"Get behind me, you two. I don't want anyone who isn't fighting turned into a casualty because of incompetence." The Director casted a golden barrier of light, screening Chiaki and Alpha from the fight.
Saber swung her sword with effort, causing the air to materialize purple waves of energy. Mash quickly intercepted them, giving Gareth an opening to attack.
"My king! Don't hide beneath that mask and show your face!"
Gareth aimed at the blackened Saber's mask, and for a first strike, it was a critical hit! Chiaki visibly cringed as Saber got smacked with the tip of Gareth's lance, causing the swordswoman to stumble.
"I need to know…" Gareth murmured as Saber staggered back, her facial mask fragmenting and falling away to reveal her true face. "I need to know if what you say is true."
The king raised her face and confronted the knight. Cold, pale yellow eyes met determined green ones. And in that moment, Gareth could tell there was no convincing her to back down. A horrible feeling manifested itself in her stomach, but the lancer pushed it down.
The unmasked king pursed her lips and thrust her sword, only to be blocked by Gareth's own shield. The impact pushed them apart, though, and soon Saber was raising her sword again.
"Whoa...will you look at that. She's really pretty, Ryu! If only we weren't fighting, I would totally strike up a conversation." Naughty's face was that of someone who had been peeping and saw something he liked.
"I'm not gonna lie, she is totally my type." Ryuuto said, distracted by the Saber to notice that Gareth was about to get hit by a wave of purple energy. "But never mind that! She's gonna kill us if we're not careful."
"Ghh!" Mash launched herself into Saber's assault and blocked the hits with her shield.
"Hmph. Is that all you can take?" The tyrant king slammed her sword against the shield, and an explosive burst of energy trailed after it. Mash pressed against the burst, but it was far too strong. The Shielder skidded across the ground, leaving lines on the ground with her heels.
Saber swung again, and again and again. Wave after wave of dark energy buffeted the Servants, pushing them back to their Masters. With every swing, the blasts felt more forceful, forcing Mash to expend more energy to block the barrage of sword beams.
And, she stopped. Saber grasped her cursed sword with two hands, frowning at her enemies. The only damage she had sustained was a broken mask and a little more. Did they seriously believe that would be enough to stop her? She glanced at their Masters, who were looking at her back. One of them was looking at her with love, the other with fear and anticipation.
Fools.
"The time has come to test your shield, girl."
The chamber darkened, and Saber started to radiate an aura of darkness, a miasma of dark magenta and crimson red.
"Vortigern, Hammer of the Vile King." Her aura started to pulsate. Mash and Gareth run in front of their Masters, fearing Saber's ultimate attack. "Here it comes…" murmured Gareth.
"Reverse the rising sun. Swallow the light…"
The dark Saber prepared to swing the sacred sword, which had started to generate a towering torrent of darkness.
"Excalibur….Morgan!"
Mash immediately slammed down her shield, generating her projected shield of light. "Unleash the Noble Phantasm…"
"Lord Chaldeas!"
The current of darkness collided against her shield of light, and the impact was absolutely blinding.
"Aaaaaugh!"
Someone put a hand on Mash's shoulder. It was warm, tender, like an old friend's.
"Keep going, Miss Mash. Don't give up on your shield! I believe in you. And I bet everyone else does too!" Light shone within Mash's eyes, and she held up her shield with renewed vigor.
Gareth got into a position to run, readying her lance. "For the sake of my newfound friends, and my own resolve."
Her lance began to glow an electric blue, and its aura twisted around like a horizontal funnel. "I don't exactly understand Your Majesty's intentions, but…"
She charged out of Mash's protective field, surging past the current of Excalibur Morgan's power. Like the lance she wielded, the Maiden Wolf pierced through the mana-charged air, never losing its speed.
"Hurting them is out of the question! I cannot take your side if you choose to hurt innocents, no matter what your goal is!"
The blackened king glared at the incoming blue missile. "Such insolence." She prepared another swing, heavily charged with miasma. Her unforgiving golden eyes met unflinching green ones once more.
With a final thrust, Gareth gave all the energy she could to her Noble Phantasm.
"Haaaaaauughh! Rampaging Maiden Wooolf!"
And the chamber shook violently, making even the onlookers fall to their knees. When the smoke cleared, Gareth was leaning on her lance for support, her armor dull and slightly dented.
Saber had been knocked a few feet back, breathing heavily. She jerked her head towards Gareth. "That's it."
With incredible speed, the dark Saber practically flew towards the unprepared Lancer with an explosive burst of mana. A flurry of sword strokes followed, and poor Gareth had little to no time to grab her lance and use her shield to defend herself.
"Lancer!" cried Ryuuto, who barely managed to stand up. The battle wasn't going well anymore! He looked around and frowned. "Seriously? How am I the only one standing?!"
Mash had been blown back and had crashed on top of Naughty. He...didn't seem to mind that one bit, though. "Hehe...you're pretty morbido despite the armor you have on, Mash...this isn't bad at all."
"I'm not sure this is the best time to say that, Master…"
The Director grumbled something and conjured up another magic barrier, and both Chiaki and Alpha just lied on the ground, literally down for the count.
"You know...I don't think I mind dying here."
"You always say that, Alpha. Can't you say something positive?"
"Argh! Be quiet, both of you! I am your leader, not your babysitter!" The Director turned to face the slackers with the most intense scowl yet.
Well, crap. Looks like things were going downhill from here.
…
"Well done, mage of the flowers. Who knew you could actually defeat me one-on-one..."
The shadow archer sighed in defeat and began to disintegrate into dust. After many arrow volleys, rune casting, snarky quips, playing with physics via runes, and more explosions than a Michael Bay film, the two long-range fighters ended their battle with Caster roasting Archer with an especially powerful fire rune.
"That's all you'll get from me. It's time for you to take a hike..." Caster stepped away from where Archer once stood and felt the tug of a Command Seal, urging him to arrive at his Master's side.
"...and time for me to help that young lady defeat the Sacred Sword." With a flash of golden light, the blue Caster vanished, hoping for the best.
Except when he arrived, the sight was less fortuitous than he had hoped. The Saber had apparently caused a tantrum so wide, only the Lancer's Master was standing. What bad luck, he was going to get bisected by Excalibur at point blank!
Caster sighed. Looks like he would have to lend a hand. His own master stared at him from the ground, along with her spineless friend. "Hey Caster, you came! We're in a pinch, though…" She sat up, looking at Saber, who was frozen in mid-attack. Was she surprised by the arrival of Caster, or was she waiting for something? Chiaki couldn't tell, but this sure was a good thing!
"Hey Miss King of Knights! Is talking a free action?" Chiaki yelled loudly, and the person in question gave her a look to rival Alpha's dead-inside stare.
With a mighty, angry inhale, Saber's Excalibur Morgan grew impossibly taller, its energy plume grazing the cavern ceiling.
Ryuuto groaned. "What the hell? You just provoked her! Now she's really going to kill us dead!" Gareth was still down, and she looked too spent to continue.
From the ground, Alpha sleepily murmured "We're doomed."
Nearby, Naughty tried to stifle a laugh. And maybe it was because Mash's soft chest was still smothering his head, or maybe it was the flubbing of Ryuuto's statement, but the Italian Master suddenly got an idea.
"Hey Mash?" Naughty looked at his hand. Three red command seals shimmering. If Chiaki was able to get Caster over here, then maybe...
"Yes?"
"As much as I'm loving this position I'm in, you have to get up. I want you to take on Saber's attack again. And…" A Command Seal started to glow. "I'll lend you my strength. Now go!"
Both Master and Servant got up with fresh motivation, placing themselves in front of the blast zone.
"Here she comes!"
For the third time, Saber fired her destructive sword of darkness, creating a tidal wave of miasma. With a deafening whoosh, it collided against Mash's Lord Chaldeas, which had upgraded from a mere projection of Mash's shield to a mini castle wall of marble.
"Aaaaaugh!"
Mash strained to keep her shield up. This had to be the strongest attack Saber was capable of! If she could just hold on a little longer, it would end. It had to end, or else everyone would disappear. That wasn't an option.
Someone else was holding the shield up with her.
By her side was Naughty, who was sharing the weight of her shield. For a human, her shield must have felt like a ton of metal, but he only let a little of the strain show on his face.
"We're not going to lose here. Because I...Naughty...have a dream!"
Did those words sound stupid, or inspiring? Did they sound familiar, too? Everyone has a dream, and Naughty affirming his in a moment of crisis felt...like a mix of both. But Ryuuto was not about to let Naughty and Mash be the only heroes here.
"Gareth, by my Command Seal, I want you to stand up again. We're going to help, too!"
The little lancer felt the rush of energy come in from her Master, and slowly got up. Her eyes were determined, and her lance started to glow a bright blue.
"Yahoo!"
Ryuuto turned around to see...Wicker Man? In all of his straw-basket glory, slowly rising out of the ground with an excited Chiaki waving nearby. Caster was focused on maintaining his spell, hockey stick raised and chanting. Close by, the Director was watching everything with her mouth open in shock. Was she shocked by the sheer amount of Noble Phantasms being unleashed, or that the rookies might actually win?
Meanwhile, Mash's shield was beginning to deteriorate. "Hey guys, you might wanna go attack Saber right now!" Naughty yelled, and Gareth got ready to run again.
Wicker man began to stomp past the Shielder. He waded through the remnants of Excalibur Morgan, burning with giant flames. Saber started to prepare another attack, but a blue blur of light slammed into her, pinning the king of knights to the ground.
"So this is how it ends." mused Saber, struggling to remove Gareth's massive lance as Wicker Man's giant palm raised them both into the air. The little Lancer hopped off with one last look at her former liege, and used her shield to hit the ground.
Wicker Man crushed the dark Saber within his palm with impunity. And with a burst of flames, the giant strawman dissipated, leaving an even more blackened Saber leaning on her sword.
Her pale face looked at the group with begrudging respect. "My hand must have stayed at the last moment. But...to take on so many Noble Phantasms...feels like overkill…"
She started to dissolve into golden sparkles of light. "I was going to defend the Holy Grail to the very end, but I lost because my tenacity wavered. Ultimately, no matter how my fate changes, I will always meet the same end if I'm alone."
"Saber…" Ryuuto said, suddenly feeling sympathy for the enemy. Maybe she was alone in the Grail War, doing something no one could understand.
"What's that supposed to mean? Bastard, what do you know?" Caster frowned.
She scoffed. "Don't feel pity for me." She looked at the blue sage. "Eventually, you will realize it too, Irish child of light." She was halfway gone now, the golden sparkles contrasting her dark armor.
Caster looked down to realize he was also emanating golden sparkles. "Wait, I'm disappearing too? Dammit, I don't like this." He turned to face Chiaki. "I'm leaving the rest to you, kid. You're silly, but you've got a good head on your shoulders."
Chiaki laughed, but her smile fell into sadness. "Will I see you again?"
Caster chuckled. "Who knows? But next time, summon me as a Lancer, OK?" And with that, he vanished.
Saber's head was the only thing left, and she stared at the Director. "Grand Order. The battle to obtain the Holy Grail. It has just begun." She closed her eyes, and soon Saber dissipated into ethereal golden light.
Mash pulled up the hologram for Chaldea communications. "Confirming that both Saber and Caster have vanished." She paused, looking at the silent cavern. "Does that mean we won?"
"Yes, you did a fine job Mash, and everyone! The Director must be so pleased...hey, where did she go?"
The woman in question was staring at the spot where Saber had vanished. "Grand Order...how did that Servant know that name?"
"Hey, um, Ma'am? We won, right? We can breathe easy now, right?" Chiaki walked up to the Director, hoping for words of encouragement.
"Huh? O-Oh, right. Well done Mash, Ryuuto, Naughty, Chiaki, and Alpha. Several points are unclear, but let's call this mission complete." She looked once more, noticing a shining yellow point glimmering on the ground.
"First, let's retrieve that crystal. It's most likely the reason Saber became abnormal…and clearly why Fuyuki City became a singularity."
Mash nodded, and made her way to the crystal. "Yes. An immediate retrieval-" Suddenly the yellow shard flared up with a bright light, causing Mash to back up to the rest of the group. "What the-?"
"Well, I didn't expect you'd get this far. Truly, this was beyond my plan's expectations and my own tolerances." A man in green. Oh! It was the bigwig from earlier in the Orientation!
"Hey! It's the nice green man from earlier in Chaldea!" Chiaki said, realization suddenly striking her.
The man chuckled, though his eyes were closed. "Master Candidates #45 to #48. It was my mistake to naively overlook you all as improbable children."
"Professor Lev?" Mash stared in surprise.
"Professor Lev, you say? He's there?" Dr. Roman spoke from the hologram. Even he had a shocked look on his face.
"Hm, is that Romani I hear? So, you survived as well."
"I told you to come to the command room immediately, but it seems you didn't listen." The professor shook his head. "Honestly…"
He opened his eyes and damn, did he look fish-eyed! "You are like trash who can't even follow orders. Just the mere sight of it makes me want to throw up." His teeth looked ridiculously sharp, like daggers. "Why is it that humans always try to avoid their
preordained destinies?"
Master, fall back! Fall back, please! That person is dangerous... Th...That isn't the Professor Lev we know!
Frick me
"Lev... Oh, Lev! Lev! You're alive! Thank goodness! Without you, I don't know how I could protect Chaldea!" The Director started to make her way towards the man, but Mash and Gareth held her back.
"Director don't! That man is not who we think he is!" The Director struggled to get closer, but one look at her restrainers made her stop.
Lev spoke, as if nothing had happened. "Hi, Olga. You seem well. Looks like you had a rough time, too."
The Director smiled in relief, and her tone was the most optimistic anyone had heard in all their time in Fuyuki. "Yes, yes, that's right, Lev! The command room blew up, the city's in ruins, and I can't return to Chaldea! I'm going crazy from all these unforeseen complications! But it's okay, as long as you're here we'll be fine, right?"
The professor simply smiled with those wicked teeth. Was Olga Marie really so blinded by her mentor to not notice?
"That's how it's always been, right? You'll help me this time too, won't you?"
Lev nodded. "Yes, of course. Honestly, all these complications have irritated me."
"And the biggest complication is you, Olga. I set the bomb right under your feet, yet you still live."
Everyone gasped. "Whaaaat?!" Ryuuto stared at the man in disbelief. "So then, that explosion we heard before coming here- it was on purpose?"
Naughty glared at the professor. "And you placed the bomb on the Director?"
The woman was starting to realize her blind devotion was shattering into a harsh reality. "...L-Lev? Um, wh-what's that supposed to mean?"
If it was possible, Lev's smile grew even wider. "Sorry, you're not actually alive. You're already dead. Your body, at least, long ago."
"You had no aptitude for Rayshift while alive, right? You can't teleport while you have a physical body." He laughed. "Do you understand? You only gained the aptitude you so desired after you died. That's why you can't return to Chaldea. The moment you do, your consciousness will vanish."
The background behind him tore open like paper, revealing the command room of Chaldea. The globe was just how the group left it: bright red, with the surroundings in ruins. But there were a few people on computers scrambling to do calculations. Dr. Roman was near the front, but he didn't seem to notice the sudden break in reality.
The Director had a look of pure disbelief. "Wh-What is that? Chaldeas is bright red? It's a lie, right? It's just an illusion, right, Lev?"
The four Masters and Mash had faces of despair. Lev noticed this and smirked. "It's real. I've connected the dimensions for you. Having the Holy Grail allows me to do so."
"Now behold, descendant of Animusphere. Behold your folly! Not a sliver of blue representing human survival remains!"
"Nothing but a burning, bright, red." Alpha said in despair. Chiaki looked at him with concern.
"That is the outcome of this mission. Isn't it wonderful, Marie? Once again, your incompetence has brought forth tragedy!" Lev laughed and laughed, causing the Director to grow flustered and angry.
"Don't-Don't be absurd! I'm not responsible! I didn't fail! I'm not dead!" She stomped her foot in the ground, much like a child in a tantrum. "Who are you? What have you done to my Chaldeas?!"
Lev stopped laughing and gave her a look of annoyance. "It isn't "yours." Honestly, what an annoying girl you are!" He clenched his hand into a fist, and suddenly the Director began moving towards the man without any restraint.
"Wha... Something's pulling my body across space-" Almost instinctively, Ryuuto grabbed an arm...and Naughty grabbed onto her torso. For now, the poor woman was at a stalemate in this game of tug of war, even if she swore one of her protectors was touching her somewhere funny.
"I told you. That place is now connected with Chaldea." Lev pulled harder with magic, and the Director began moving towards the tear in space again.
"Not on my watch!" Chiaki grabbed onto a free arm. Alpha supported Ryuuto, and the Director stopped moving again. Mash and Gareth came closer to the cluster, just in case more help was going to be needed.
"I could kill you now, but there's no grace to that. I will grant you your final wish, instead." Lev looked at the group, and an idea dawned on his head. "Actually, you all can join her in laying hands on Olga Marie's greatest treasure!"
The man in green raised his fist high, and everyone attached to the Director flew up in the air, on a collision course with the flaming red globe within Chaldea.
With a squeak of panic, Chiaki immediately let go and fell, only to be caught by Gareth. "Thank goodness...you were almost a goner, miss!"
"Everyone!" Mash grabbed a dangling leg, and pulled. "It's not worth it! You'll all die the same way!"
The Director was panicking. "No, stop, please! You plan on throwing me into Chaldeas? A high-density body of data? A territory of dimensional anomaly?"
Lev smiled. "Yes. It's no different from a black hole, or perhaps a sun. Well, either way...a human touching it would be a hellish disintegration on the molecular level. By all means, have a taste of infinite living death!"
That triggered panic. "No, no, no! Someone help me! Help! l...l don't want to die here! Because I've never been praised...I've never been praised by anyone!"
Mash and Gareth managed to pull down Naughty and Ryuuto, but Alpha was dangling by himself on the foot of the Director.
"Get down Alpha!" Chiaki yelled. "You're going to die if you keep holding on!" But Alpha wasn't listening. He just stared at the Director, who kept crying out for salvation.
Gravity wasn't strong enough to make him let go. He honestly couldn't bring himself to just drop, either. What was the point? Death was coming for him, either way. So there was just one thing left to do...
"Why? Why does this always happen to me!?" The two were nearing the reactor...
"No one ever valued me! Everyone hated me!" The Director kept wailing. It was honestly too hard to look, so Chiaki closed her eyes and tried to ignore the image of the two floating to their doom.
Chaldeas got nearer, and both of them were starting to feel the intense heat of the reactor. The Director's eyes widened in horror.
"No! Stop! No, no, no, no, no...l haven't even accomplished anything yet! From the moment I was born, I've never been accepted by anyone!" She looked at the idiot still hanging on her foot. "And you! What do you think you're doing?! I may be a goner, but I'm not taking someone with me!"
With her free foot and some magical assistance, the Director kicked Alpha squarely in the stomach, launching him safely out of the warped reality hole and away from Chaldeas.
Unfortunately, that was the last thing Olga Marie Animusphere would ever accomplish. She screamed as her family's greatest achievement swallowed her whole, incinerating what was left of her soul and exiling the poor Director to an eternal prison of suffering.
Ryuuto and Naughty watched in horror while Chiaki started to cry.
Lev watched the spectacle with an amused look. "Oh? Impressive, for a failure like you. Even when you face death, you still have the mercy to spare others from your fate."
"I thought she was your friend, or even a mentor! What was that for?" snapped Ryuuto, trying to get the screams of the Director out of his head. "Stop." Chiaki sobbed. "Please, just stop." It was so hard to focus.
Lev turned to face the survivors. "Shall I reintroduce myself? My name is Lev Lainur Flauros…" He raised the tip of his hat to show off his disturbing fish-eyes.
"...ln charge of the year 2018, and sent to dispose of you humans. Are you listening, Dr. Romani? As a friend who studied magecraft with you, let me give you some final advice."
He decided to show his shark teeth again. Jesus, he really looked like a demon. "Chaldea is finished. You humans have reached the moment of your destruction."
He said more, but Chiaki wasn't listening. Through tear-filled eyes, she walked towards Alpha's crash-landing site, hoping the poor guy was alright.
That bastard professor continued speaking, but Ryuuto was having none of it. He joined Chiaki in checking out Alpha, who was lying on the cold hard ground, unconscious. He was finally in the blissful void he craved so much, but to his new acquaintances, he looked pretty dead.
"Hey Ryuuto? He's not dead, right?" Chiaki checked for a pulse. Thankfully, one was present. "That was a pretty nasty fall…but he's ok. I think."
Naughty yawned as the evil man and the doctor were bickering about the end of human history. He would have moved, but Romani was using his bracelet to project the hologram and...well, here he was, playing the internet service provider. As if in mercy for the Italian, the cavern started to rumble.
Lev groaned. "Is this singularity at its limit? Cursed Saber. If you'd just obeyed, you would have been allowed to live. Even when given the Holy Grail, she caused trouble by wanting to sustain this era."
"Hey!" said Naughty. "At least Saber wasn't going to end the world."
The man in green glared at the group. "Well, no matter. Farewell, Romani. And you Mash, and you, Master Candidates. Believe it or not, l have other things to do. My enjoyment of your destruction ends here." He started to shimmer, and the dimension behind him vanished. The rumbling got louder, and it was getting hard to stay balanced.
"Now, be swallowed by the dimensional warp! But I'm not that evil, I'll allow you to say a final prayer." And with that, Lev Lainur Flauros vanished in a flash of light. Only a shimmering object remained, and it fell with a clink to the ground.
"The underground cavern's collapsing! No wait, the cavern wasn't stable in the first place! Doctor! Perform an emergency Rayshift! At any rate, we can still escape!" Mash and Gareth took out their shields and started deflecting the falling stalactites.
"Understood! I'm already doing it! But I'm sorry, it may collapse faster than I can fix it! But if it does, then do what you can on your side! I mean, we can survive in space for a few dozen seconds, right?"
"A few seconds?!" spluttered Chiaki. "We're gonna be in space?!"
"Sorry, but please shut up! I'm so mad, I'm about to lose my cool!" Mash glared at the doctor's projection as he was frantically typing on his computer.
"Just hang on to your consciousness! If we don't lose that, I might salvage something-" The connection cut off, and the very roof of the cavern started to fall.
"We won't make it! Everyone, grab on to each other!" Like a human chain, Mash held on to Gareth, who held onto Chiaki, who held onto Alpha, who had to be carried by Ryuuto, and Naughty just held Mash's other hand.
For a moment, through the collapsing rock, a peek of the flame-colored sky shone through.
And then a burst of black, white and blue light roared to life, and everyone lost consciousness.