Disclaimer: The works of Type-Moon and Jō Taketsuki are their own despite my most fervent wishes. This is a fan work and if anyone does pay me for it the only thing it will accomplish is to get me into trouble. This is being done purely for fun, constructive criticism is welcome, and flames will be ignored. Please be gentle though, this is the first fanfic I've put on the net.
Hello from Marcus Galen Sands once more. I've been on holiday the last couple of weeks which has contributed nicely to both the speed and size of my updates, then I got sick and it's pretty hard to write well when your head feels like its full of cotton wool. Now on to my pre-chapter musings.
The Powers of Campione!
In quite a few of my reviews I have received comments that the gods of the Campioneverse wouldn't match up to the likes of Servants or Dead Apostle Ancestors. I thank these people for their input and will now deliver my reply.
I think the main problem is that most of the people writing these opinions have derived their info from the Campione! Anime rather than the books. While the art style of the anime, as well as some of their unique touches such as Godou's field of swords, is cool I feel that by going with spectacle they diluted the potency of the characters. In the books gods are depicted as beings able to bring mortals to their knees by their sheer presence, they were powers that utterly dominated over all mortals who tried to stand in their way. In an attempt to let the likes of Erica and Liliana show off their skills I feel the anime downplayed this side of things. The Campione too were similarly downplayed. In the books Campione were examples of utterly unreasonable mortals, people who achieved the impossible even before gaining the power of gods. I mean from what I can find most of them possessed no magic or special powers and yet they defied all logic and killed what should be unkillable save by another deity. There was a part in the sixth book where a master martial artist with mystic training refused to fight Godou even though he had no martial or mystic training. He said that if higher fighting skills or greater magic power were enough to defeat a Campione then they would never have become one in the first place. Also please bear in mind that both gods and Campione are capable of fetes that would be regarded as True Magic in the Nasuverse. Their abilities could also be counted as Reality Marbles, Marble Phantasms, jewel class mystic eyes and so on. Also remember that the gods do not appear to contain the same concept of death as mortals, meaning that in Nasuverse terms that puts on a similar level to the TYPES, though I hasten to add that they are NOT their equals. As far as I can see there is no single being in the Campioneverse that could match ORT, but I think that several working together might be able to kill it. Remember that the Type Moon was of comparable power to ORT and it was defeated and forced into dormancy by a single human Magician. A ridiculously powerful one, one that seemed to ignore common sense, but a mortal none the less.
Hey, I just thought of something. Is it me or are there parallels between a Campione and Zelretch?
As such I'm trying to keep the gods at the level they are described as possessing while at the same time not limiting Shirou's own abilities.
I've also been getting a lot of reviews on the 'Campione versus Servant' front. Well here's my analysis.
At this point the Campione information I have is a bit incomplete due to the unfinished nature of the light novel translations as well as the anime finishing too early for my taste. Still with what I have I think I can make a few comparisons. First off is the resurrection Authorities possessed by Godou and Voban, though Godou's is the less efficient the effects are similar enough to God Hand to be comparable. In terms of sheer destructive power the Campione have such examples as Godou's Horse and Boar Authorities both of which possess power on par with Riders Belleraphon or even Excalibur, though both were downplayed in the anime from what I saw. John Pluto Smith has a gun that can fire the arrows of Artemis, which take the form of dragons, and supposedly using all six at once is enough to wipe California off the map. The Campione can also use potent territory creation abilities such as Alexander Gascoigne who possesses the Authority of the Labyrinth.
As far as physical abilities go it depends on which Campione you're talking about and which Servant they are facing. Alexander Gascoigne possesses god speed meaning that when he moves faster than 500kmph he ceases to be matter and instead becomes thinking lightning. Now I don't want to sound like I'm downplaying the Servants but the fastest any of them have moved to my knowledge is Saber crossing 2 km in a single second with the aid of a command spell. Lightning, though, travels at 300,000kmph. I'm not sure how Voban's wolf form would match up to a Servant, but I think it would do well against most short of Berserker or a fully powered Saber. Luo Hao on the other hand is well over a hundred years old, and is regarded as one of the greatest, if not THE greatest, martial artists on the planet, especially since she combines them with Daoist magic arts. From what I read in the light novels even without using her Authorities she would be comparable to the Fate/Extra version of Assassin, someone whose skills have reached the point of legend.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that Campione could curb stomp any Servant they want. Younger Campione like Godou or Shirou (assuming he didn't have his own skills to act as both trump cards and support) would have major trouble with the likes or Gilgamesh or Berserker. Hell, even the older and more experienced ones would, but at the same time I don't want the God-slaying kings to be underestimated either.
Also just to clear up a query; the reason Shirou was able to kill Hades with a nameless sword was that the sword was full of the power of the Perseus Authority he was using at the time. It didn't have any special powers like a Noble Phantasm, but it could affect a god enough to kill him. But had it struck him anywhere other than the heart or the head it would not have been fatal to him.
Now to answer a question I have been getting a lot, can Shirou use traced items and Ruler of the underworld to summon Servants? Originally I was going to answer this in a chapter or two, but I decided to show mercy and explain it now. The answer is no, at least not in the Campione world. The way I see it that world operates in completely different rules, so there is no throne of heroes for him to tap and the worlds are too metaphysically far apart for him to reach over into the Nasuverse. On the other hand once Shirou returns to his home world he will be able to summon them so long as he has some sort of link. Of course supporting a Servant without the aid of the Holy Grail will be a massive drain, but given his vastly increased reserves I think that Shirou could comfortably support at least three while still having enough strength to fight. If he is willing to sacrifice his combat worthiness then he could probably push that up to five. I hope that answers your queries.
Another thing a lot of people have been commenting on is my choice of making it so only A rank or higher weapons can kill a god. I got this idea from the fact that both Erica's and Lillian's weapons can hurt a god, but both the books and anime agree that it would be impossible for them to kill a god, heck in the books even the notion of them standing up to a god is regarded as only a step or two from suicide. With that in mind I classified their weapons as B+ rank given their wide range of abilities. Another thing I don't think I made clear was that while Gae Bolg might not be able to kill a god it sure as hell can hurt them, it can hurt them a lot. Also simply because they can't kill them it doesn't mean that their abilities are of no use against Heretic Gods. Gae Dearg for example would be very troublesome to the likes of Athena or Perseus as a touch from it would dispel her summon animals and his weapons. The reason I wanted to limit their killing power is that due to his increase Prana reserves Shirou now possesses greater freedom in tracing Noble Phantasms than even Archer had. Admittedly he isn't as skilled yet as his older counterpart, but he's getting there. As such the system is set up to limit him from becoming too powerful. As such please let me repeat myself, Noble Phantasms are powerful and useful weapons able to hurt gods considerably, maybe even incapacitate them, but to finish a god off or to strike a death blow requires the use of an A rank or higher weapon.
Next up I want to make it quite clear that Shirou only got ONE Authority from Hades. Rule of the Underworld allows him to claim and return things to the underworld, in Shirou's case that's souls and riches. Since both these resources are then under his Authority he can shape them as he sees fit. With the souls that means he can chose what state they manifest in. For riches he can shape metals and gems into almost any form he can imagine so long as it's not beyond a certain size, hence he can create jewellery of unearthly beauty.
Also lots of people have asked me whether or not Shirou has gained Perseus' ability to negate Godou's Authorities. The answer I no, he has not. The Authorities that he received from Perseus could be defined as 'the qualities of a hero', not anything to do with Mithras' dominion over Verethragna. While Shirou might have abandoned his ideals in order to save Sakura I feel that the drive to be a hero would still be strong in him, merely with a different target. As a result the aspects of a hero would have a high level of compatibility with him which was why he received them when Perseus willingly let him usurp his Authorities.
Another thing that nobody mentioned but which I think I should clarify is in regards to Shirou's rain of swords. While to most this might seem like an overpowered attack you should bare in mind that it was only effective against Hades because his 'defence' was based on the stealth provided by his invisibility. A god like the Norse god Balder would possess invulnerability from which the swords would bounce off. Someone like Athena would have the powerful shield she is often depicted with. So while this skill is a potent one it's not an auto win feature.
SPOILERS
A fair bit of this chapter is about Godou and his girls, mainly Liliana. Essentially I'm trying to come up with a substitute scenario for the adventure with Perseus that did not take place in this world. During that adventure three important things took place. Godou unlocked his Camel Authority, he firmly established his relationship with Liliana and he made his promise to Athena. Since I don't know how his promise to Athena went in the Light Novels I can't incorporate it into my own story, however the other two I can work with. While I freely admit that my own efforts are no match for the original I'm fairly pleased with the scenario I put together. While it lacks the grandeur of the original I think it hits most of the needed bases and acts to cement Liliana's affections for Godou. I hope my portrayal of the characters is accurate, due to the lack of fanfiction on Campione! I had to write them as they seemed to be to me.
A new original character has been introduced with this chapter; anyone got any guesses who they could be? As you might guess they're going to be a major factor in future plot development.
Also one of Athena's companions gets a little more exposure this chapter. I slipped in a few more clues as to her identity (which nobody has guessed yet) so a cookie to the first to get it.
I was really pleased that so many people picked up on my mention of Gilgamesh in my last chapter. That was deliberate and will be expanded on in this chapter.
Lastly I'm a bit disappointed that nobody has given be any suggestions for future Heretic Gods to appear and original Authorities for Godou and Shirou to gain. I can't promise that I will use any that are submitted, but good ideas will provide inspiration which will make sure that next chapter comes out all the quicker.
I hope everyone enjoys the new chapter. Please write lots of reviews as I find constructive criticism and people writing down their own ideas serves as excellent inspiration.
God Slayer Blade Works: Chapter Four
Kusanagi Godou was absolutely certain that if someone had told him he would be in this situation half a year ago he would have asked them if they what they were smoking in their spare time.
On his right side was Erica, a girl who could be regarded as an epitome of western beauty. Blonde, busty and beautiful she was what many boys envisioned when they dreamed of European girls. Right now she firmly clamped onto his arm and was sinking it into her impressive cleavage.
On his left side was Yuri, the eastern counterpoint to Erica's western appearance. She was a near perfect example of the Yamato Nadeshiko ideal that was held in high esteem by the Japanese people. Right now she was holding onto Godou's left hand and trying to pull him away from Erica with a look of flustered disapproval on her face.
And in front of him was Liliana, the latest addition to the girls in his life. Another western beauty her loveliness was more fairy like than Erica's lushness. Her silver hair, white skin and slim figure made for a third type of beauty. Right now she was glaring at him with one hand on the hilt of her sword disapproval even clearer in her eyes than in Yuri's.
This was not how he had planned to spend his vacation. He'd originally thought about going to Italy, but then Erica had mentioned that she was thinking of the same thing. He'd halted his own plans in hopes of spending a couple of weeks without having to worry about the troublesome blonde, only to find out too late that she had done likewise.
It wasn't that he disliked the witch knight, in fact the level of trust he had in her was such that he had entrusted his life to her on more than one occasion. He found her attractive, engaging and quite sexy. There were only two problems, firstly he found that simply being around her tended to drag him deeper into the troublesome world of the gods and mystics. Secondly he just couldn't understand why someone like her was interested in a normal guy like him. She was beautiful, talented, intelligent and smart, why was she wasting her time chasing a pretty much ordinary guy like him. He knew her feelings were genuine, not motivated by political gain with the circles of the magical societies, but he just couldn't understand her reasoning in chasing him so fervently.
(Yes my dear readers, Kusanagi Godou is indeed a typical action/harem protagonist, put him up against an invincible foe and he'll pull off something brilliant, ask him to understand a girls feelings and the guy is thick as two sort planks of wood and just about as insightful.)
Well whatever the case he had tried to arrange to take a week out camping in the mountains. Unfortunately Erica had somehow anticipated him despite his attempts at secrecy, when he'd gotten off the bus that had taken him to his stop he had found all three girls waiting for him. Apparently the blonde had mentioned her plans to the Hime-Miko who had insisted on coming along to ensure that nothing inappropriate took place. Liliana had also caught wind of it and decided to accompany them in her new capacity as Godou's newly sworn knight. She'd been blushing and stuttering as she explained her reasoning and Erica had mentioned someone called Karen which had caused the silver haired to blush even further and degenerate into a near stuttering wreck, much to Erica's amusement.
The four of them had all been ready with camping gear, and the three girls had steadfastly followed him despite his attempts to get away on his own. In the end he had surrendered to the seemingly inevitable and consented to setting up a joint campsite. That had led to a few hijinks as Yuri proved to have no experience with camping whatsoever. After watching her attempt at a tent collapse for the second time Godou had shown pity and move to help her.
The only problem was that Erica, whose tent had shown no signs of instability, had then found herself plagued by problems of her own and had asked the Campione to help her. Not to be outdone by her rival Liliana had also developed an inability to set up a tent meaning that Godou had to help her as well. Then to top it off when he finally got round to preparing his own tent he found that a number of essential pegs and pins had gone missing, meaning that erecting his tent was impossible.
The perfect image of shocked surprise Erica had happily volunteered to allow Godou to sleep in her tent. The young Kusanagi had at first been grateful, right up until he realized that the blonde knight had no intention of vacating the tent while he was in it. Idly he wondered if she had any idea what had happened to his missing parts, might they have 'accidentally' found their way into her bag? Probably not, she was too smart to leave such incriminating evidence where it could be found.
Which led to his current position, Erica trying to drag him off, Yuri protesting at the indecency of the suggestion and Liliana looking half ready to run away and half ready to draw her sword.
"Oh don't be so mean Godou," said Erica pushing herself in even closer to the beleaguered teen, "It's been so long since we slept in the same bed or even the same room. Do you really intend to spurn my feeling so?"
"Th-the same bed?" Yuri dropped his hand in favour of bringing both of her own hands up to cover her mouth in shock. "Godou-san, did you really . . . ? Am I . . . ? Will you . . . ?" Her delicate features suddenly suffused with a deep blush.
Godou's own face had become rather red, but for some reason his words of protest were sticking in his throat.
"Or maybe you could just push me down to the ground and get on top of me with that passionate look on your face." With a smile on her face that could only be described as playfully wicked Erica continued to pour more fuel onto the fire.
" . . . " It would appear that the imagery of that last sentence had been sufficient to rob Yuri of the power of speech. Indeed if her blush did not subside soon then there was a good chance it would also rob her of consciousness as an unhealthy amount of blood would be diverted from where it would otherwise be needed.
Liliana on the other hand was fighting her own blush and now held the hilt of her undrawn sword in a white knuckled grip.
The silver haired girl was not unintelligent, but she did have an unfortunate tendency to be a bit on the gullible side, especially when it came to Erica and her games. This was why the blonde's words were getting to her more than they should have. Liliana had come along on this trip because her maid had pointed out that it was an excellent chance for her to get closer to the young Campione. Ever since the Red Devil knight had secured herself the position of Kusanagi Godou's first lover the influence of the Copper-Black Cross had risen in influence to eclipse their traditional rivals the Bronze-Black Cross, Lillian's own order.
Originally her grandfather had hoped to equal this achievement by ordering his granddaughter to become the personal knight of the eldest of the Campione, Sasha Dejanstahl Voban. However, both to her relief and humiliation, Voban had not even seen her as a potential lover, only as a potentially useful lackey.
Eventually she had broken her allegiance to the self named marquis, due to a combination of her own morals and Erica's blackmail, and instead sided with Godou and his companions. However that had left her in a somewhat unstable position with her own order, one that had been stabilised by her following Karen's suggestion that she swear her services to the seventh Campione.
Which was why she had ended up following Erica and Yuri here. She still had yet to make her 'official' pledge to Godou and she wanted to get to know him a bit better before she went through with it. The problem was that so far he was proving to be utterly perplexing.
Her first impressions of him had been quite good ones. He was a man with a will iron enough to stand up to the oldest of the Campione despite the enormous gap in their age and experience. He had proven himself loyal by standing by Yuri's side even when it seemed that all hope of victory had faded. Even the fact that he had won Erica's love spoke in his favour, because while she and the red knight might clash in almost all major aspects of their personality it didn't change the respect they felt for each other.
However since then she had just not known what to make of him. He was one of the king of kings and yet he seemed bound and determined to remain a normal Japanese schoolboy. In his normal life the seemingly unending will and tenacity that he had shown in combat seemed to just disappear.
And then there were the other girls. First he'd captured Erica's heart, then he seemed to have ensnared Yuri's interest as well, and if Karen's information was to be believed he even had taken the highest ranked witch on earth, Lucretia Zola, as a mistress. How could she reconcile this apparent determination to build a lechers dream harem with the boy her own age she had been observing?
Of course right now her belief that Kusanagi Godou was an insatiable womanizer was receiving some strong reinforcement.
"DON'T SAY MISLEADING THINGS ERICA!"
As his cry of woe echoed through the small clearing the seventh Campione wondered just why he had to have his live disrupted this way.
-()-
Emiya Shirou gritted his teeth as he struggled to hold control over the curse he was creating.
In all truth he had rather mixed feelings about using Curses without End in this fashion. In some ways it was the most . . . eager of his Authorities to respond to his will. The powers he had gained from Perseus had a feel that put him in mind of a warhorse made of living steel, steadfast, implacable, and oddly professional. Rule of the Underworld made him think of a willing but grumpy dragon, one that would give up its treasure but would always make you work for it.
Curses without End was different, it was like a puppy that had spent its entire life in the care of a cruel and neglectful master. It was beaten, starved and scarred and yet it had continued to look for affection and kindness. Now in service to Shirou it had found such a master, and as such if there was even the slightest hint that its master wanted to use it then the puppy was practically jumping up and down while frantically wagging its tail, all eager to be of service.
If that had been all there was to it then Shirou would have been happy to use the Authority as often as he could, regardless of its costs. After all it was pretty much the same as saving someone, and with only a few notable exceptions there was nothing else in the world that he liked more than that. The problem was that while that battered little puppy seemed to love its new master Shirou was pretty much the only thing in creation that it did love.
Ever since he had begun to experiment with the power the youngest Campione had been shocked by the ease with which the hurt little puppy could turn into a rabid wolf that reeked of bloodlust in only the blink of an eye. As soon as he turned his Authorities focus outward Curses without End quickly proved to be more than deserving of its name. No matter what the target was, be it a god, a conman, a beetle on the road or even a piece of furniture, the Authority wanted to curse it into oblivion. Through fear, through misfortune, through destruction, through misery, it didn't care how it just wanted to heap on the curses until the targets very being was crushed out of existence by the weight of the curses upon it.
Perhaps the only exception to its unrelenting malice was Illya, Shirou had somehow been able to imprint it with the fact that the white haired girl was precious to him and was not to be harmed. As a result the foaming mad wolf would probably only snap at her half heartedly rather than going for her throat the moment it saw her.
The other factor that left the young Emiya more than a bit reluctant to use the Authority was the disquieting sensation that it evoked on his magic circuits when he did use it. When he had fought Perseus he had been so focussed on the battle that he had completely ignored it, it had been like pain, an utterly superfluous sensation. The closest he could describe it was as being like operating a powerful machine using controls that were at the bottom of a bucket of raw sewage that smelt of too sweet honey. It didn't matter that the filth didn't have the overpowering scent that was the signal of its rankness. Just its texture was loathsome and your mind was aware that it was everything that your body rejected as poisonous waste or useless excess. The only difference was that rather than flowing over his skin the sensation was running through his circuits.
Needless to say the first time he had experienced the use of the Authority with a clear head he'd immediately thrown up everything in his stomach.
The problem was that Curses without End was arguably his most powerful Authority.
Rule of the Underworld might be mind boggling in its usefulness and the Dragon Slaying Hero might be vastly compatible with him. However the Authority taken from Angra Mainyu had a potency that all the others lacked, a quality that had allowed him to slay a powerful hero god even though he hadn't known what he was doing.
Right now he did know what he was doing though.
Experimentation had taught him that Curses without End could be manifested in three forms. The first was as an enchantment. This was the method he had used to fight and defeat Perseus. The curses were loaded into his weapons, or any other convenient vessel, and the released directly into the target on contact. This way had the advantage of being highly compatible with his fighting style as well as enhancing those same weapons into something resembling cursed Noble Phantasms. Certainly nothing on the scale of Gae Bolg, but maybe one day, when his skills with both tracing and this new power were far more advanced.
The second way was as a spell. These curses could be released along a line of sight, along the sound of someone's voice or action, or through a part of the target, such as a strand of hair or a drop of blood. His experiment using a feather from a pigeon he had captured had been . . . messy, but had proved this ability to work even across a distance of miles. Naturally he hadn't had the chance to use this version on a god yet, but his intuitive grasp of the power told him that this version of the Authority would be of little use against a deity. Their divinity, their godly aura would naturally reduce the curses effects to less than a tenth of their original power.
However it was the third method that he was using right now. It was also the method that he felt to be the most dangerous out of the three, true incarnation.
In mythology Angra Mainyu had created monsters in his attempts to do evil to the world. One such example had been a snake of darkness, a monster that had met its end at the hands of Mithra. Shirou had found that he could likewise incarnate his curses into living beings. What made this method so dangerous was that while the resulting beings were bound to his will he always had the feeling that that control was constantly being tested. Not overtly or even strongly, just a slight pressure that hinted at the chance of his losing control if he was careless enough. Certainly he could easily will such a rebellious creation out of existence if such ever came to pass, even out of his control they were still dependant upon his Authority for their continued existence. But he shuddered at the though of how much damage they could do if they were to go out of his control without him being aware of it.
So he had made it a personal rule never to have more than eight such incarnated curses in existence at a time. And right now he was in the process of creating the last of those eight.
The curse he was using as its essence was WEAKNESS. The curse was taking form as something that could best be described as a demonic cross of a leech, a slug and a monkey, all made from a deep red mist. The creature was not that much bigger than a large housecat, and its misty consistency made one think that a strong breeze would be enough to brush it from existence. However both its size and appearance were deceptive.
Since it was a part of his Authority Shirou could feel the information on its attributes simply appearing in his mind, a useful ability to say the least. This being wasn't what could be regarded as a frontline fighter; instead it would attach itself unnoticed to a victim and begin to drain their vitality. After the energy drain had weakened them to the point of incapacitation then it would detach and seek out a new victim, only now it would be strong from the life-force it had drained. Its next victim would fall faster and strengthen it more, as would the next and so on. If left unchecked it would use the drained energy to fully incarnate, and its physical form would possess a power comparable to that of a minor dragon.
Gazing down at the small monstrosity in his hands Shirou carefully focussed his will upon it.
-Sleep, - he commanded, -Sleep here until I call for you.-
The creature of crimson mist seemed to curl up in his arms, folding itself into a ball about as large as a big melon. Satisfied that the curse creature had obeyed his order Shirou lifted it up and placed it inside a large ceramic jar whose inside had been lined with cushions. Once he was happy that the small monster was sleeping comfortably he placed the lid back on the jar and taped a seal over it.
The seal was actually a decoy, the impressive looking symbols on it nothing more than ominous looking gibberish. Their function was to give the impression, the true impression really, that something dangerous was sealed inside.
Tracing a knife the eighth Campione scratched one word into the side of the jar.
WEAKNESS
This was the eighth such jar he had prepared. In this small room that was one of the many basements in his new house there were seven other such jars, each of them containing a sleeping monster. As he picked the jar up and set it on its readied plinth he took a moment to glance at the other seven jars.
MISFORTUNE
FORGETFULNESS
TREACHERY
HUNGER
SLOTHE
FEAR
RAGE
These eight sleeping monster represented a force that if left unchecked could cast the entire city of Tokyo into chaos and ruin in a matter of days. When he had first conceived of this idea he had been horrified at the prospect, however the more that he had thought about it the more he had seen its advantages. As long as he kept control of the beings they would threaten no-one save for his enemies, and if they did escape his leash he could easily put them down. As long as he ensured that none escaped his observation then there would be no problem.
The monsters that slept here represented his last line of defence in the eventuality of a hostile force invading his mansion. The last and potentially deadliest.
The first defence was a collection of bonded fields that Illya had spent several days setting up. Normally inactive, once powered up they would make it very difficult for a hostile force to force their way in through brute force. The second line was also the work of Illya, a field of magical mines that were essentially little more than overpowered flash/bangs. Though unlikely to hurt anyone, except maybe for a couple of ruptured eardrums in the worse cases, it would leave them as easier prey for the third line of defence should they not elect to retreat.
The third defence was what Shirou had spent the last week working on. Having a very fat bank account as well as access to the internet had given him an idea, a ruthless but useful idea. He'd set about doing a great deal of internet shopping, buying items related to dead warriors. Bits of medieval armour, roman arrowheads, Zulu spears, Viking helms, old samurai swords, it didn't matter too much as long as they were authentic and could be delivered quickly.
In less than a week he had amassed a collection suitable for a small museum, but it wasn't their historical significance that was of importance to him. Using Ruler of the Underworld he had tested each purchase to see if they possessed a strong enough link to bring someone back from the afterlife. Only one in three possessed such a connection, but given the sheer number that he had bought that was still a great many.
To each warrior that answered his call he asked the same question. If his manor came under attack could he summon them up as zombie warriors, not full incarnations like Yusuke but as skeletal soldiers similar to those Hades had called up? In truth he didn't like the idea of bringing anyone back in such a state, but doing so was far less taxing on him. The amount of energy needed to support Yusuke would have been enough to sustain more than twenty skeletal minions.
To his surprise the greater majority of the warriors he asked were more than happy to make the agreement. No matter what afterlife they were in, be it good or bad, almost all of them would welcome some sort of change and so would have no problem with being summoned in such a manner.
And that was the third line of defence, a small army of one hundred and fifty undead warriors from more that a dozen different cultures. Certainly none of them were on par with a Servant, in fact he'd rate them as only slightly better combatants than Casters dragon tooth soldiers, but they were skilled and very hard to put down. He could personally attest to that. When combined with Illya's field of flash/bangs which would have hopefully left any attackers disorganized the sight of an undead army would be more than enough to break their moral and send them packing.
However should they break through then the release of one or more of the sleeping curse monsters was to be the last line of defence before Shirou would be forced to take to the field himself. Which curse creature he would release would depend upon the nature of his attackers. Some of the monsters were non-lethal by nature, such as the Weakness creature he had just created. Others such as Rage or Treachery were almost guaranteed to leave nothing in their wake but corpses.
Now, with the completion of his final safety measure, Shirou could honestly say that he was as ready as he was ever going to be. Tomorrow he would begin the task of trying to find the local mystical authorities and make contact with them.
The question was just how could he go about that? The simplest and most obvious way was to cause a clearly magical disturbance and then simply wait foe whoever showed up to deal with it. The downside to that was that it wasn't likely to paint him in a good first light to those he wished to contact. His next thought was to go to some remote location on his pegasus then flare his magic up as high as he could. That should get the attention of anybody with even the most rudimentary mystic senses. The problem with that was that he might end up attracting attention that he would rather have avoided. The last thing he wanted to have to deal with was another god trying to kill him.
That left the safer but more time consuming option of investigation and deductive reasoning. He'd have to go to several different places that he suspected of having some connection to the supernatural and see what he could work out from there. He already had made some basic searches using the internet and had a few starting points that he could work with. A fortune teller with a surprisingly good record for success, a shrine that genuinely seemed able to dispel ill fortune, an antiques store with a rather dark reputation of cursing would be thieves. All sounded like they might be the real McCoy rather that simple fraudsters. With any luck one of them might be able to point him towards the path that he was looking for.
Okay, now for the hard part.
Sitting down on a rug that he had spread in a corner earlier he pulled on a bell pull to alert Illya that he was finishing. That done he released the power he had been holding and sent the puppy back to sleep.
His body slumped backwards as muscle control largely abandoned him. He could still breathe and move his eyes, and thankfully for his dignity bladder control remained his. Aside from that though he couldn't have moved even if a herd of bulls were bearing down on him.
Well that wasn't quite true, he knew that if he drew on the power of Curses without End again then his paralysis would vanish, but doing so only invoke a heavier toll at a later point.
And right now the toll he was paying was considerable. Pain wracked him, as though red hot needles were being forced through his every vein. This was the price of using the power of Angra Mainyu's power, pain enough to drive a normal man insane.
However Shirou was not a normal man, even before he became a god-slaying devil king he was different from others. What was pain to him? Pain, despair and hell on earth were his earliest memories. He'd experience the pain of his own deepest nature turning against him and trying to destroy him. Heated needles in his blood? He'd felt himself being impale from the inside out by a limitless number of swords, he'd felt his memories die and his senses fade into nothing but steel.
Simply put Emiya Shirou was not an existence that could be broken by mere pain, not this level of it anyway.
So he endured. He lay on the rug and waited for Illya to arrive and use her string golems to carry him to his bed where he could recover. In all truth this wasn't as bad as what he had needed to endure after his battle with Perseus. That time the pain had been so great that he hadn't been able to remain conscious. This time though he hadn't needed to use multiple curses strong enough to affect a god.
-()-
It was the dead of night in Naples. Not midnight, there was still plenty going on most nights at that time. This was about three o'clock in the morning, the time when the late night revellers were finally stumbling into their bed in the hopes of catching a few hours of sleep before they had to face the day again.
However there was one man walking the streets. In truth though he was no man, he was a god, a figure of legend and a being of power beyond most mortal's comprehension. For centuries now he had been content to rest within his myth, however recently he had felt something on the mortal plain tug at him. It was something that was connected to his Authority, and yet it was something that he had never encountered before despite all his famed legends.
So he had descended to the mortal plane, but he had done so with great care and stealth. When most of his brethren rebelled against their myth and manifested upon the mortal plain they did so in so violent a fashion that their very presence was enough to trigger natural disasters. Of course manifesting in such a manner was more than likely to draw the attention of any Campione in the area, and that was something he sought to avoid.
To be sure he was no coward, his legend was filled with mentions of his bravery and fortitude, however it also held many examples of his cunning and caution. Where others had thought only to use brute strength he had employed guile, where others had been reckless he had shown prudence, and where they had died he had thrived.
Perhaps it was because it was not boredom or frustration that drove him from his legend, but rather it was curiosity. Whatever the case may be, he had succeeded in arriving on the mortal plane without stirring up so much as an angry gust of wind. And now he had finally made his way to the source of the strange tugging.
This was a part of the city that was under reconstruction, a long swathe of it had been levelled to the ground several weeks ago. He could feel the residual energies that still lingered in the wake of the destruction. One power as hateful and vile as could be conceived of, the other force was one that he could only describe as 'the promise of glory'. Both remnants seemed to be cancelling each other out so that the mortals working on the area were unaffected by either influence.
This was the site of where a god had fallen and a Campione had risen.
Still that was of little interest to him. What had drawn him was . . . here, right at the tip of the swathe of repairing ruin.
His eyes narrowed in concentration as he focussed on the . . . hole? Tear? Doorway? It was none of those and yet at the same time it was. It was map and sea and guiding star. He could also tell that it was incomplete; a remnant of a remnant, but it was SOMETHING.
He had many aspects that were famed, trickster, adventurer, king, however perhaps his most pronounced aspect was that he was a traveller. His voyages were the stuff of legends, perhaps even the most famed of their kind. Throughout his immortal live he had travelled to every point in the world, before Christopher Columbus was even born he had already mapped the entirety of what would come to be called America in his mind.
But eventually there had literally been nothing left to journey to, he had seen it all. So he had retreated into his myth, willing to wait there until the world changed so much that it would create a new world for him to travel.
Yes, he knew why this broken fragment of power had called to him so. It represented a way out of this world, it showed him possibilities. It was like a man who had been trapped in a pitch black room for most of his life finding a fragment of a key that glowed. With that glow he could finally see the door which was a way out, and the fragment gave him an idea as to the shape of the key. All he needed were the rest of the fragments and then he could remake the key.
And then . . . Freedom! Journeys without limit. Adventures without end. Could there be any sweeter prize?
Reaching out with his power he enfolded the shard of power in a covering of his power, and then carefully drew it into himself. He could feel it attaching to his own nature, altering so as to seamlessly blend into his being. It was still incomplete; it was a start, one that he could build upon.
-()-
She glared down at the small camp below her and contemplated her next action.
The dark haired boy below was not the Campione that she sought; she knew that her target was a red haired youth. When she had cast a scrying spell to point her towards the Campione that she sought the signs she received had pointed her in this direction.
This was both irritating and worrying, irritating in that she had found the wrong target, worrying in that her spell had failed. She had used that same enchantment many times over the millennia, and it had always served her well. That it would her now suggested that the object of her search was somehow veiled from her.
Certainly there existed Authorities that could have accomplished such a fete, there were even some long lost human castings that could have done it. However both those options were indications of an unpleasant development. Either the boy had acquired even more Authorities in the time since he had escaped her sight or he was allied to a sage of vast power and skill. And both options would mean only trouble for her.
Still this accident did present her with a potential opportunity. Below her was the seventh Campione, the same devil king who had defeated Athena even when she had reclaimed her lost power. Right now he was unguarded, vulnerable. If she were to strike now then might she be able to slay him? Or perhaps even wound him enough that he would be unable to interfere in her plans?
No, the Divine Ancestor shook her head to herself. She had not survived for so long and regained so much of what she had lost by being reckless. Hers was a nature that was prone to tempestuous rages and peeks of arrogance, but over the long centuries she had learnt the control and self discipline that had eluded her as a full divinity. She had learnt the value of caution; she had learnt the value of patience. As attractive as the thought of an all out battle was she knew that her carefully rebuilt power was not on the level of a true god. This was a Campione, no matter how young or foolish he might seem she had to remember the fact that he had killed a Heretic God in the full height of their power and had claimed their Authorities for himself. To fight what could be called the peak of mortal power in her weakened state was foolishness plain and simple.
But that didn't mean that she didn't have other options available to her, while an all out fight was out of the question that didn't mean that she couldn't conduct a little reconnaissance on the boy's abilities. Athena had been reluctant to share many details on the method by which she had been defeated. If she could watch him in battle it would expand her own knowledge of his strengths and weaknesses considerably.
Her mind made up she brought her left hand up to her mouth and bit down on the flesh between the thumb and forefinger hard enough to draw blood. As droplets of scarlet fell to the bracken beneath her feet she muttered an incantation under her breath in a language long forgotten to the modern world. As the incantation ended she ran her healed hand through her blue/red hair and pulled out a few stray strands. Dropping them onto the now softly glowing droplets of blood she watched as the liquid and the hair merged into a fleshy mass that began to grow at an astonishing rate.
In less than half a minute the mass that had started as no larger than a caterpillar had swollen to be as big as a large bull. The creature was centaurian, except that instead of the lower body of a horse this goliath was a gigantic scorpion from the waist down. From the waist up the monster was a man who seemed to be clad in great overlapping plates of organic black armour that matched the hue of his insectile half. In one hand he held an organic serrated edge sword while the other ended in a vicious scorpion's pincer. The monster was an awesome sight, one able to strike fear into the hearts of any mortal that crossed its path.
Looking upon it the former earth goddess could only feel disgust and shame. Once she had been able spawn such terrors that even gods had recoiled from them in battle, now this was the best she could do, a monster barely a match for the diluted creations of the younger gods. Still for this purpose it should serve well enough. With one had she gestured towards the camp below.
"Slay the boy, scatter the girls, after that your freedom is yours."
It was cruel in a way; to bring this child into existence and then send it against a foe she knew it had no chance of defeating. Still what was the point of being a divinity, no matter how reduced, if every now and then you couldn't play god?
-()-
It says a great deal about your life that you are actually happy to see a monster out of a madman's nightmares come charging into your camp. The mere fact that imminent mortal combat is preferable to further interaction with ones companions should generally be taken as a bad sign.
Kusanagi Godou was not most people though.
Right now he was lying in his sleeping bag next to the small camp fire and thanking his luck stars that the weather was good. In the end in order to both preserve his own modesty, as well as convince Liliana and Yuri that he did not in fact plan to ravage them in their sleep, he had elected to sleep outside rather than share a tent with any of the girls. As a result he was cold and uncomfortable, but at least his image as some insatiable sexual predator would not be further fed.
Still despite his neutral positioning he could have sworn that he was been keenly watched by eyes that could only be described as predatory themselves.
The instincts of a Campione were sharp indeed; the problem was that he was not only detecting the gaze of the Divine Ancestor who was watching him, but also the stares of all three of his camp companions.
Erica had been watching him for signs that he would fall asleep. She knew from personal experience that once Godou nodded off then he would sleep like the dead. As of yet she hadn't made up her mind as to whether she would slip into his sleeping bag or whether she would try to use a spell to spirit him into hers. She'd elected to wait and see how things progressed rather than making any plans.
Yuri on the other hand was keeping an eye on Godou out of both a sense of obligation as well as a certain sense of jealousy that she was doing her best to ignore. The seventh Campione was both someone she admired and someone she cared for. He'd fought the eldest and most experienced of the God-slaying kings for her sake, he had faced the tyrant that had haunted her dreams for years and he had driven him off. The young Hime-Miko felt it was her duty to ensure that her friend and saviour did not stray onto a path of debauchery and impropriety.
And if a side effect of that was that she kept other girls from paying attention of an intimate nature to him, well that was just coincidence.
Really.
Liliana, on the other hand, was finding herself a bit unsure of exactly where she stood in regards to her own feelings. On the one hand she was pleased that despite her earlier worries it seemed as though there would be no threats to her virtue from the Campione that she had allied herself to. On the other hand there was a certain element of pride and rivalry thrown into the mix. Was she less worthy than Erica? She knew her figure was the less lush of the two of them, by a fair margin if she was being honest, but she knew that in her own way she was as beautiful as her rival. So why had the seventh Campione made no move to add her to his harem?
The fact that the situation bore a rather worrying resemblance to the content of the latest chapters of the novel that she wrote in her spare time was rather worrying in and of itself.
Under so many different intense gazes it was understandable why Godou's instincts had ended up missing the more hostile presence that had been added to the already volatile mix.
What he did not miss was an eight foot tall scorpion centaur creature charging into the camp while trampling Erica's tent.
Exactly how something like that managed to get the drop on the magical knight he had no idea. Normally the blonde was far more aware of her surroundings. He had a brief moment where concern for her flooded his thoughts as he saw the spear like points of the creatures leg stab into the crumpled material of the collapsed tent as the monster charged over it. It was all too easy to imagine those points stabbing into Erica's white flesh. Then the moment was passed as the creature was upon him.
The huge organic sword stabbed through the blue sleeping bag and into the earth below, however no blood was spilt because Godou was no longer there. Clad in a sweatshirt, his underwear and pyjama bottoms the seventh Campione rolled to his feet as he recovered from the dive that had gotten him out of his sleeping gear just in time. Twigs and stones pricked at his bare feet, but he ignored them.
Words came to his lips, instinctual words that accompanied the activation of one of the ten Authorities that he possessed.
"For I am strongest amongst the strong. Truly, I am one that holds each and every victory. I care not whom challenges me, whether man or devil; I may face all my foes and all my enemies. Regardless, I shall crush all those who wouldst stand in my way!"
The strength of the Bull surged through his form, raw power that always was enough to defeat the foes that stood against him.
Of course that didn't mean he was invincible of course. Strong he might be, but invulnerable he was not. That sword could still cut his flesh, that pincer could still crush his bones. With that in mind the black haired teen did the most logical thing, he acquired a weapon.
The boulder had been on the edge of the camp and was roughly the size of the average armchair. How much it weighed was anyone's guess, but it was the kind of stone that normally needed industrial machinery to move. With the divine power running through his limbs Godou had no trouble picking it up and throwing it at his attacker as though it were nothing more than an oversized beach ball.
Of course his enemy was no simple mortal either. The black armoured monster simply swung its sword and sliced the oncoming boulder in two with almost contemptuous ease. Both halves went flying to either side of it to go crashing into the brush with a thunderous cracking of branches.
However Godou had not expected such a simple attack to be enough to take down this foe. Such an outcome would have been nice, but the Japanese student was familiar enough with supernatural foes to know that such a possibility was unlikely to say the least. That was why he had taken the small window his attack had offered to prepare a more hefty weapon.
Wood snapped with a sound like a small explosion as an Authority enhanced kick smashed through the trunk of a tree and sent it toppling. But before it could complete its fall Godou wrapped his arms around the trunk and heaved.
It was absurd, in total defiance of all natural laws of leverage and centres of gravity, but that was the power of a gods Authority. To defy the common sense of the world and simply do as they pleased. And since that power became a Campione's with their victory that meant that that was Godou's power as well.
Which was why he was wielding the entire tree as though it were a battering ram as he charged at his enemy. As stated it was absurd. No matter his strength the brown eyed teen should have lacked the weight to allow him to use the fallen tree in such a way. The weight of the leaves and branches at the far end should have made it impossible to carry in such a way as he ran.
But he did it anyway.
Had the scorpion creature had eyes then he might have blinked in surprise as he saw the huge mass of twigs and leaves bearing down on him like a green avalanche. He still tried to slash his way through the mass as he had through the boulder, however against a tangled mess of small branches, twigs and piled leaves such an action was doomed to failure. The creature had just enough time to let out an exclamation of surprise and anger before its bulk disappeared into the mass of foliage.
Godou didn't stop though, even as his foe was entangled in the branches of his improvised weapon he kept running. He didn't stop until the end of his weapon drove into another boulder, this one the size of a small minivan, effectively crushing the scorpion man between it and the trunk of the tree being driven at it.
He paused then, unsure as to what to do next. He knew that his attack was unlikely to have finished the creature off, but at the same time he was unsure of what to do next. Switching to another Authority seemed like a foolish choice. While the Raptor, White Horse and Warrior with a Golden Sword were available to him given the circumstances, none of them were practical choice to use. The Raptor would be a step down from the Bull, the Golden Sword was of little use save as a mundane weapon since this being was both unknown and not a full god, and the Horse would probably consume his companions if used in such close proximity to them.
"Your highness, are you unharmed?"
Liliana's question made Godou wince slightly. He knew that as a Campione he was regarded as one of the supreme powers in the world of human mystics. His sole responsibility among them was to defeat any Heretic Gods that materialized on the mortal plane. As long as he fulfilled that duty he was free to do whatever he wanted.
He didn't like that.
He didn't like the way others acquiesced to him without even arguing their own opinions. He didn't like the bowing, the scraping and the fear. And he most certainly didn't like having to deal with all these needlessly complicated monsters and gods.
But oddly enough the thing that annoyed him the most was that he was called a king, even though he still felt he had not done anything deserving of the title. Sure, he had driven off Athena and Voban, but he didn't feel that those accomplishments merited him being called such by someone so obviously a knight like Liliana.
Any further musings were cut off as the tree that had just served as his weapon exploded into a cloud of splinters. With a sound like a thousand crickets being tortured the black armoured monster threw itself towards the seventh Campione once more.
Godou had been prepared for this though, at no point had he expected what he had done to be enough to finish his enemy off. Instead he dodged backwards from the blow he had been expecting, and then dove back in during the brief moment of opening that the missed sword swing left. It was only a split second window, but it was enough to let him deliver a crushing straight right to the scorpion man's solar plexus.
Liliana was forced to cover her eyes as malformed creature's body was sent rocketing back with enough force to once more drive it into the same boulder that Godou had smashed it into with the tree earlier. The difference was that this time the impact had enough force to pulverise some of the stone into dust. It had been this small burst of grit and dirt that had forced her to cover her eyes.
Drawing her hands back she took a look at what had become of the fearsome monster. All the legs on its left side, where it had struck the stone, were clearly broken. Its long tail still seemed able to move, but was clearly slowed and seemed to tremble. Most obvious though was the dinner plate sized dent in the lower torso of the black armoured form.
The silver haired knight was still amazed at the sheer power the youth demonstrated so easily. She'd spent several weeks in the service of Marquis Voban, and had also witnessed the battle between him and Godou. But it was demonstrations like this that reminded her that Campione were the truth that every spell user tried to imitate without success. Kusanagi Godou was someone who had possessed not a drop of knowledge about the mystic arts, but by the single impossible act of killing a god he had become what lifelong mages could never become.
It was almost galling in a way, but on the other hand . . .
"LOOK OUT!"
There was a sound like a rushing wind Liliana felt something suddenly hit her around the waist. She barely had time to register the impact though, because at that very instant the world blurred around her even as a screech that no human could ever have produced deafened her ears.
The next thing she knew she was kneeling next to Yuri who was herself looking every bit as dazed as Liliana felt. Between them was Godou, his knees on the ground, but tensed like an athlete ready to start a sprint.
"Not good." He muttered to himself as he glared across the clearing.
Following his gaze the witch knight realized that she was looking at the spot where she had just been standing. Both there and where Godou had himself stood the entire area had been pin cushioned with dozens of long black needles. Even as she watched the plants near to them withered and died, shrivelling and blackening so quickly that it could be seen with the naked eye.
Realization hit her like an arrow, Godou had seen the attack coming and had tried to warn her, however distracted as she had been by her thoughts she hadn't reacted quickly enough. As a result he had been forced to switch to his Raptor Authority and use it's godspeed to get her to safety. Silently she cursed herself for her incompetence; such an error was elementary and inexcusable. How could she have let herself get distracted like that?
Her thoughts were cut off once more as she felt an arm go around her waist once again. She barely had time to draw a sharp breath in surprise at the familiar contact when suddenly the world blurred again and she was once more in a different place. Instinctively her eyes sought the spot in front of Yuri's tent, the place where they had been standing just a second ago. Sure enough the spot was riddled with black spines and what living plants had been there were now dying.
Her eyes went back to the monster again. This time she wasn't going to make the same mistake, she'd keep her eyes on the thing and be ready for its attacks.
"Yuri, see if you can find and help Erica. Liliana, please protect Yuri if she needs it." Godou's voice was calm and collected, but there was a definite edge to it. This was the voice of the god-slaying king.
Before the silver haired knight could think of responding he was of again, moving so fast that even her magically enhanced senses could barely keep up.
The scorpion monster was up again now, its broken legs were still immobile but seemed able to support its weight despite the damage inflicted upon them. As it saw the Campione heading towards it it raised its left arm and stretched the black pincer at its end open. Inside Liliana could see a mass of spikes all clustered together. There was a noise somewhat like a pair of flour sacks hitting each other and then suddenly the needles were flying as though propelled from an air cannon.
However when compared to the speed of one using the power of a god those projectiles might as well have been floating through the air at the velocity of snails.
Godou easily dodged the attack before slamming into his foe. No, that wasn't right. The witch knight blinked in surprise as she saw that the Japanese teen had not collided with his target but had instead RUN ALONG him without ever breaking stride. As he put distance between them the monster roared in pain. Seeing the glint of metal among its black plates she realized that Godou had used their brief moments of contact to drive some of the longer tent pegs into its joints. Brilliant, under normal circumstances he would have lacked the strength to force them in, but by throwing them while turning at the speed he had been going he had lent them the momentum of arrows.
"Go help Godou." The words from Yuri broke into her admiring thoughts and made her turn to stare at the Hime-Miko.
"Kusanagi-sama asked me to watch over you."
"Godou-san can't use the power of the Bull now. The only other of his Authorities he can use to fight that monster are the White Stallion, the Goat and the Warrior. But neither of us knows what divinity birthed that monster so the Warrior can't be used, he isn't familiar enough with the Goat and he can't use the White Stallion because he doesn't have enough room." The explanation was delivered in a rushed gasp.
Liliana's eyes widened as understanding dawned. She knew that the seventh Campione had received an unheard of number of Authorities from the single god he had slain. She had also heard that those powers had conditions upon their use, meaning they could not be used as freely as other Campione could use their own.
Her mouth drew itself into a firm line as she gave Yuri a sharp nod of her head. She would not be a burden upon him. She was a knight of the Bronze-Black Cross and one of the finest witch knights in the world.
"Undrinking blood of murderers, the unretreating bow of Jonathan! Unconsuming oil of the brave soul, returning the sword of Saul in vain! Alas, the heroes, fallen in the midst of battle!"
Il Maestro appeared in her right hand, and then shimmered in blue light as under her breath she recited the Song of the Bow, as the last word was spoken the sword had become a bow. As she began the second part of the spell four arrows surrounded by a glowing blue nimbus appeared on the bow ready to be drawn.
"O' bow of Jonathan, with eagle's swiftness and lion's strength, a hero's weapon. Go forth in assault, upon my fleeing enemies!"
As the words ended she let the shafts fly. Any normal arrow would have been useless in this conflict, but these were arrows made form the mystic essence of Il Maestro, a weapon of great potency. Combined with the power of the Song of the Bow, a spell strong enough to allow a weapon to penetrate the divinity of a god, they were more than equal to the challenge before them. Against a monster of divine origin they would have been crippling had they struck true, enough to secure Godou's victory.
Unfortunately the black armoured monster saw the arrows coming. With an agility that should have been impossible for a creature that was not only so large but also so injured it spun in place and took all four of the shafts into it larger and more heavily armoured left arm. Cursing quietly Liliana took of running, angling the path of her dash so that the scorpion man would have to turn away from Godou in order to focus on her. More arrows were loosed, but lacked the Song of the Bow as she didn't want to pause in one place in order to use it. She had the impression that if she did then she'd soon end up a poisoned pin cushion in short order.
The seventh Campione had not been idle during the opening the witch knight's attack had created. While four arrows were stabbed into the left arm of his foe more than a dozen tent pegs were driven into various joints and seams in the natural armour that protected the monster. Individually they were pin pricks, but their number increased they were slowing the creature down. Enough of them would hopefully incapacitate or kill it. Normally Godou wouldn't have been so vicious in dealing with his attacker, but this one had used clearly lethal weapons against his companions even when they hadn't made a move against it. That was enough of a reason to deal with it in a permanent way as far as he was concerned.
But the beast wasn't going down easily, and its endurance seemed to be tremendous. Forcing its cracked limbs to work it spun place with such force that it was able to use its tail to smash through two trees and send the trunks tumbling. Still using the Raptor Godou was easily able to evade the falling tree limbs. More hampered by mortal limitations as well as being caught by surprise Liliana was not so able.
Her efforts were magnificent though, worthy of her station to say the least. However misfortune caused her ankle to get caught in the fork of a root as she made her last evasion. Losing her balance and unable to make her last jump she only had time to blink as a branch as thick as her waist started to come down on her.
What happened next took place so fast that it was even less distinct than the blurred world she had experienced earlier. One instant the timber was descending to crush her; the next Godou's form crashed into her carrying them both out of the falling trees path, then there was a flash of black, then crimson red splashed the white of her pyjamas.
-()-
(A couple of minutes previously.)
Yuri was frantically pulling at the remains of the tent that Erica had been sleeping in. Unfortunately the stabbing it had received by the pointed legs of the man scorpion had driven the fabric into the ground, essentially nailing it in place. The fact that the Hime-Miko was not blessed with any particular physical strength was also hindering her efforts considerably.
"No need to be so worried," came a voice from behind her. "I was able to get out with plenty of time."
Yuri blinked then turned. Standing behind her was a sight that more than half the boys in Jounan Academy would have been willing to pay in blood to see.
Erica Blandelli was regarded as one of the most desirable girls in the school, a fact that made Godou one of the most envied boys as the blonde made no secret of her affection for him. As a result of both her natural beauty and talent Erica had considerable pride in herself. That combined with her plans for further romantic escapades with the object of her desire had resulted in her current state.
Clad in nothing but some lacy red undergarments the Red Devil of the Copper-Black Cross looked like a lingerie model that had just stepped out of a particularly risqué catalogue. The casual way that she was leaning against a tree completely unconcerned with her lack of more suitable attire seemed in some bizarre way to only heighten her attractiveness.
"E-Erica-san? Why are you dressed like that?!" The Hime-Miko's voice came out in a slightly strangled squeak.
The magical knight turned her gaze away from the battle to give the girl a raised eyebrow.
"I hardly was given a chance to get dresses before I had to get out of my tent you know you know."
"No, I mean- why are you dressed like that?"
A smile that could only be described as devilish crossed the blonde swordswoman's face.
"Well it would hardly do for me to try to seduce my dear Godou in simple pyjamas no would it?"
The sheer brazen honesty of Erica's calm statement was enough to once more rob the Hime-Miko of the power of speech.
Ignoring Yuri's shock the magical knight turned her attention back towards the fight. Liliana was proving to be excellent support for Godou and between them they seemed to dealing minor but mounting damage to their foe.
"Ano . . . shouldn't you be helping them Erica-san?" Ah, it seemed that Yuri had managed to overcome her shock and was now gazing down at the battle with concern.
"There's no need," replied the blonde with casual certainty. "In fact I think this might have been a good thing to happen. Since she broke her ties to Voban I've been hoping that she'd form some with Godou, but she's been so shy about it. This is an excellent chance for her to develop her own feelings for him."
The young Mariya could only stare at the other girl's devilish smile with a kind of horrified admiration. To think, this girl could look at the attack of such a monstrosity and calmly analyse the situation for whatever advantageous angles she could find. How terrifying, and yet how oddly admirable.
"But-but what about Godou-san?"
"Huh? What about him? Yuri, if something like that overgrown arachnid was enough to kill him then he would never have become a Campione in the first place."
The Hime-Miko once more flushed, but this time in shame rather than embarrassment. She knew that she should have known that, she more than most others knew just how powerful Godou could be. The problem was that he didn't act it. When she'd first been assigned to make contact with the newest Campione she had been terrified, sure that she would be faced with another fearsome tyrant. Instead the young Kusanagi was . . . normal. He was a nice normal guy, so much so that it was all too easy to forget just how much power he kept concealed.
Yes, he was a Campione; a monster like this should be of little threat to him.
Her thoughts were by two sudden cries, one of alarm and one of pain.
-()-
Liliana cursed herself once more as she wrapped her arms around Godou and leapt away from their previous place using a spell to allow her flight. It was a wise move, no sooner were they gone than the spot where they had previously stood as peppered by black spines.
In her arms the seventh Campione groaned in pain as he clutched the wound in his shoulder. That monster had shown that it wasn't simply powerful and agile, it was also cunning. Cunning enough to have anticipated Godou moving to aid her when she hadn't been fast enough to avoid those falling branches. Even as he had pushed her out of the way the hurled sword of the scorpion man had come spinning through the air and nearly clove his head in two. Only the fact that he had taken one extra step had made the difference between death and mere injury.
Even as they landed Godou suddenly clutched at his chest and stumbled as his legs lost strength.
"Was the blade poisoned?!" Liliana snapped as she immediately took up a guarding position between the fallen Campione and the arachnid monster. The burst of movement it had used seemed to have left it drained as it made no move to follow them, only turning slowly to face in their direction.
"No," gasped Godou, "The swords impact managed to cancel the Raptor."
The seventh Campione was angry with himself. In some ways the Raptor was the unruliest of his Authorities. The Boar might be the most wantonly destructive, but for the most part it followed his commands. The Raptor on the other hand had an unpleasant tendency to slip from his control whenever his concentration was broken. And having a spinning sword buzz saw through your shoulder could definitely break one focus.
Once again he was silently thankful for the additional hardiness that being a Campione gave to his body. Though not quite as bad as being mauled by a tiger spirit the gash in his shoulder should still have sent him into shock, now it simply hurt like hell.
Any further thoughts were cut off as the centaurian monster started to move towards them. At first its movements were slow and pained, but it quickly picked up speed and began to thunder up the shallow incline towards them.
Damn it, he couldn't be immobilized now. He needed to fight, he needed power.
Once more words came unbidden to his lips, but these were new spell words, ones that he had never used before.
"All of the enemies before me, fear me. Every sinner shall tremble before my power. Now is the time, that I obtain the power of a thousand camels! Upon my mighty self, I shall bear the symbol of the raging camel!"
Strength surged through him, the pain in his shoulder faded to inconsequentiality and his blood began to sing. This new Authority wasn't troublesome in the least; it had the feeling of wanting to be used, of wanting to fight.
Without an instants hesitation the young Kusanagi hurled himself forwards. A spinning kick caught the monsters claw arm and sent it veering of to the side so it couldn't be brought to bear against the Campione. The following kick was a straight thrust driven into the scorpion mans middle and reflexively doubling him over. The third attack of the combo was a dropping axe kick the caught its target in the back of his bowed head and drove him face first into the dirt.
Godou had never had any serious martial arts training in his life, and yet under the influence of this new Authority the moves came as easily as putting one foot in front of the other while walking. Then his instincts screamed at him once more and he jumped backwards hurriedly.
The decision saved his life as the stinger on the end of the scorpion tail stabbed through the place where his chest had been only an instant before. Without even stopping to think about it the seventh Campione brought his right leg about in a vicious roundhouse kick. The force of the blow was such that the tail was brutally severed, black ichor gushing out from the broken end.
However before Godou could press his advantage the monster had straightened itself up once more and was swiping at him with its pincer ending left arm. Almost easily he ducked under the blow and then lashed upwards with a straight kick, driving the heel of his foot into the elbow of the arm.
With a high keen of pain the scorpion man jumped backwards while cradling his broken limb with his right arm, moving like a spider as it retreated. The black haired teen watched it go, willing to let it gain some room as long as it gave him a chance to both catch his breath and plan his next move.
Such thoughts were cut of though as he watched the broken end of the tail rapidly scab over and heal. As he watched he could see the end visibly begin to grow a new stinger. With a muttered curse he realized that the legs that had previously been crippled were now apparently working just fine. A loud crack echoed through the campsite as the previously broken arm snapped back into place and visibly flexed. Almost as a last insult the seemed to reach INTO its own body and draw forth a new sword.
Great, he was down two of his Authorities and this monster was almost as well off as it had been when this fight had started. Sure it still had a few tent pegs stabbed into it, but those were being treated like splinters. Irritations to be left to deal with later. If he wanted to finish this thing off he'd have to do it all in one go leaving it no chance to regenerate.
Idly he wondered at what point ruthlessness had begun to come so naturally to him. A year ago the thought of killing something would not have come to him so easily, now though it was no problem at all.
"Are you alright Kusanagi Godou-sama?"
The voice of Erica's friend broke into his thoughts. He'd been rather surprised when she had insisted upon accompanying him and the other girls on this trip. Still right now he would welcome any aid he could get.
"I'm good, the Camel grants great endurance and leg strength. The problem is I don't think it'll be enough to take on that guy's regeneration."
That much was obvious to both the fighters at a glance. The power of the new Authority that Godou had unlocked was formidable, but blunt blows such as kicks were of minimal use against a foe that healed as fast as this one. What was needed was fully destroying attacks, such as fire, or assaults that would hinder the regeneration, such as freezing.
The young Campione was well aware that his best shot at finishing this monster off was to use his White Stallion Authority on it. He could feel with himself that the power was available for his use. It seemed that this monsters mere existence made it enough of an enemy to mankind to count as one who had sinned against the people. Well, that and the fact that it was currently tearing up a national park, that probably counted too.
The problem was the power of the horse was the size of the blast it created on impact. If he used it right now not only would it encompass the entire campsite but also almost everyone in it. He and Liliana might be safe, but the chances of Erica and Yuri being caught in it were simply too great. What he needed to do was knock the monster all the way across the campsite, right to the other end. He could do it, of that he was certain. The power of the Camel gave him the strength to accomplish the fete. The problem was that the scorpion man was not about to let him get close enough to do that easily.
He could see it in his minds eye. He'd charge at the monster and it would immediately retaliate. First it would release a spray of black needles, then, if he dodged the first attack, it would lash out a quick slash with its sword. If he was able to avoid that as well the there was still its tail to contend with since it had to all intents and purposes finished healing by this point.
There lay the difficulty, no matter how he went over it in his mind he couldn't see a way to get through those three attacks and still be in position. In each scenario he envisioned he was either struck by a blow or but at an angle that wouldn't allow him to complete his objective. The problem was that while the Camel increased his leg strength and improved his reflexes it didn't give him speed anywhere near that of the Raptor. What he needed was an edge, a distraction, something to make up for that loss of speed.
"Kusanagi-sama?"
And there was the advantage he needed. It was ironic in a way, he had the power of a god at his disposal and in each and every one of his battles the deciding factor had not been the miraculous powers he had usurped. The deciding factor was that unlike his enemies Kusanagi Godou was not alone.
"Liliana-san, I need to ask a favour?"
"Ah – What can I do?" Her voice was surprised and a touch hesitant.
"I need to place my life in your care."
"EHHH?" Her response was only natural, what other kind of answer could there be to such a declaration.
"I need you to use those arrows of your once more. I'll charge him directly, but when I do he'll attack me with both his arms and his tail. What I need you to do is use those arrows of yours to throw off as many of those attacks as you can, if you can knock even just one off course it should be enough. Do you think you can do it?"
With a firm expression on her face the witch knight raised her bow and materialized three arrows.
"Kusanagi-sama, I swear on my honour as a knight that not even one attack will touch you."
With a small grin on his face the seventh Campione crouched as he prepared to begin his charge.
"If I'm placing my life in your hands then I think it would be proper for you to call me by my given name."
"Ah . . . certainly, Kus-err Godou-sama." Though the black haired teen could not see it his friendly gesture had caused the silver haired knight to blush furiously.
"Alright then . . . here. We. GO!" At the last word he pushed off into a sprint with such force that the stones beneath his feet actually cracked from the pressure exerted upon them.
Behind him Liliana was already reciting the Song of the Bow. She already knew that she would not miss her target; the magic in her arrows would not allow that. What could happen though was that she could choose the wrong mark to hit. The monster she aimed at was large, strong and possessed powerful healing, there was no doubt that her shafts could penetrate its armour and hurt it. The thing was that if she chose incorrectly then it might ignore the arrow strikes and continue its attack. What she had to do was strike it in such a way that its movements would be completely disrupted.
She mustn't rush, she mustn't act in haste. She had already made too many mistakes in this short fight; she had to redeem herself by completing the trust that had been placed in her.
So she held her shaft ready and waited. Held its tension next to her ear and sighted down its length as she watched the young devil king move closer and closer to his foe. Both adrenaline and magic sang through her blood and brain, pushing her into a world of slow motion as she focussed the entirety of her being into the task at hand.
He was only five steps from the monster now. And . . . THERE! Its left arm came up, swinging round to unleash a spray of its black poisoned needles at the Campione at point blank range.
The shaft was already released before her mind had fully caught up with her senses. Even as the arrow flew through the air she was already notching the next. The loosed arrow flew straight as a beam of sunlight and pierced right through the scorpion mans left arm at the 'wrist' just below the pincer. The force of the impact knocked the arm back and caused the black spines to fire off harmlessly into the air away from anyone.
Step!
Now he was only four steps away. Reacting with magnificent speed to the attack on its arm the black armoured man arachnid brought his sword round in a horizontal slash that would sever Godou's head from his shoulders. Once again Liliana acted without conscious thought and the arrow was flying and a new one was being readied before her racing mind had caught up with her senses. This time she didn't aim for the arm or hand, but rather for the weapon they held.
Enhanced by magic strong enough to harm a god the glowing blue shaft sliced through the blade of the wicked black sword just above the hilt. As the arm continued its useless stroke, a prisoner of its own momentum, the broken blade spun away harmlessly past the Campione's back and into the bracken.
Step!
Three more steps to go. And here came the monsters last attack, stabbing downwards the scorpion's tail tried to ram its poisoned stinger into Godou's chest. The third and final arrow was released and homed in on its target with an accuracy that would have made any Noble Phantasm proud. In the blink of an eye it had crossed the intervening space and stabbed through the middle of the tail with such force that for the second time in less than two minutes it was completely severed in two.
Step!
This was it. Her part had been accomplished, now it was all up to Godou. However as she watched the lower part of the scorpion mans armoured 'face' suddenly split open to reveal a black 'mouth'. Before her horrified eyes three black darts shot out of the opening in swift succession.
Even in the middle of his dash the Campione remained agile and managed to shift his course just enough to dodge two of them. The last one caught him a glancing cut along his right shoulder.
The blood drained from her face and the breath caught in her throat as Liliana saw the Campione fall forwards. Then it returned as it became clear that the fall was not a collapse but rather a planned move. Tucking himself into a short roll the young Kusanagi came to a stop right in front of the monster with his shoulders braced against the ground and his legs coiled in.
With a wordless shout of exertion Godou thrust out with both legs in a single simple bucking kick. The impact on the scorpion man's armour was so strong that the silver haired witch was actually sure that she saw a shockwave ripple out from the point of contact. Regardless as to whether or not that had been a trick of her mind the blow was strong enough to send the black armoured monstrosity fly right across the campsite to come crashing down in the spot where the path led into the clearing.
The seventh Campione didn't hesitate for an instant, springing to his feet he raised one hand to the sky and spoke the sacred spell words that called on the Authority that held the power of the sun.
"Came to me, for the victory! Immortal Sun, lend me a quick, shining steed. Fire of the Sun that dispels the dark, may it engulf you!"
Though it was night time the sun impossibly came into being above him. Before the awed eyes of those who watched that sun condensed down into the form of a horse. A magnificent stallion made out of pure white flames and galloping through the air at speeds that would have made a military missile weep with envy.
The black armoured scorpion man barely had time to raise his head before the horse made of sunfire came crashing down on him. Both monster and Authority vanished in massive dome of destruction nearly twenty metres across as the white stallion detonated into a conflagration holding within it the power of the sun. For a full five seconds the great hemisphere of fire and light remained in place, and then it faded from view leaving only dust and smoke in its wake.
Of the monster there was no sign, all that was left was a single huge crater in the ground big enough to put a house into.
Liliana stared; slightly awed at the sheer destruction the Authority has wrought. When Godou had sought to use the White Stallion against Voban he had been able to counter it handily with his own Authority, an act that had shocked the younger Campione. Now that she saw just what the horse Authority was capable of the silver haired maiden understood his reaction.
The sound of a body thumping to the ground drew her out of her thoughts, before her the victorious Godslayer had collapsed face first to the ground. She was by his side in the splitting of an instant, kneeling at his side and pulling him over so that his head would be pillowed by her lap. It took only a single glance to assess the reason for his collapse. An unhealthily flushed complexion, profuse sudden sweating, shivers running through his body and a severe shortness of breath.
"Poison." The word slipped out of her lips even as the thought ran through her head. A supernatural poison was the most dangerous enemy for the enhanced vitality of a Campione. Because of their resistance to external magic attacking them internally with potions and poisons was regarded as one of the only methods available to mortals who meant the devil kings harm. Of course even this approach was far from foolproof as the immense vital force of a Campione was able throw off even lethal potions; the best they could hope to accomplish was to temporarily incapacitate their target.
This though was the venom of a mythical monster. Though she was unaware of its origins most such creatures could find their roots in the form of one god or another, meaning that the monster had been at least on some level a divine beast. Now that it had been destroyed the potency of its venom would quickly dissipate, but the question was whether or not the Campione's body could hold out long enough to outlast it?
She found her hands reaching for Godou's chest to prepare a healing spell and stopped them. While she dearly wished that she could heal him the same resistance to magic that protected him likewise prevented her from healing him now. Damn it, she wanted to help him, how could she be so helpless here, right at the end of the battle? There had to be a way there had to be a . . .
Suddenly a memory came to her. When she had insisted that she accompany Erica in her plans to meet up with Godou on his planned trip they he spent an hour or two in a car driving to their destination. Having grown bored of the silence Liliana had asked Yuri why she had been kissing the seventh Campione in the middle of his battle with the Marquis Voban. While the young Japanese beauty had been blushing and stuttering Erica had been uncharacteristically helpful and explained. She had told her that due to a Campiones magic resistance the only way to enact a spell upon them was internally. In Yuri's case she had been passing information directly to Godou's mind so he could use it in battle, and in order to get around the resistance the knowledge had to be done mouth to mouth, hence the kissing.
So . . . a kiss. Her first kiss to be precise.
Could she do it? In a way it was her duty as a knight, she had leant her support to the king in this battle so how could she hold back any of her resources without being dishonourable? On the other hand would she so callously cast aside her maiden's heart by using her first such experience in such a way. Knight though she might be she was not yet so hard as to do that.
Looking down her eyes were drawn to his lips. They were moist and slightly parted as he drew in lungfuls of air, a slight smudge of blood touched the top of one lip and a spot of dirt marked one corner. This was no romantic moment in under the moonlight as she had many times envisioned her first kiss in being. This was so far from being what she would have hoped for, and yet . . .
And yet she remembered his last words to her. No hesitation, only trust in her abilities. Telling her it was alright for her to use his given name. Saying that he would be placing his life in her hands.
Once again she found herself moving without really thinking about it. The words of a healing spell were already spoken and the enchantment complete as her lips sealed themselves across his. For a moment she closed her eyes as allowed herself to enjoy the surprising softness of his lips and the slight taste of his mouth. Then she released the power she had been holding in check and allowed the healing power to flow from her into him.
The effects were immediate, his breathing instantly grew easier and she could feel the unnatural heat being to fade from his face.
"Really Godou, when I said that I would accept another woman I thought that you'd be content with just Yuri. Instead now you've gone and collected Lily as well?"
The playful, teasing and yet slightly irritated voice of her principle rival broke into the silver haired knights somewhat erratic thoughts and brought her back to the real world.
"Liliana-san, that's indecent! You should not be acting in such a manner!" The voice of Mariya Yuri was added to that of the blonde magi.
"You did the exact same thing when fighting his majesty Voban!" The hypocrisy of Yuri's words, given the situation, combined with her own embarrassment caused that rebuke to slip out before she had properly thought about it.
"Even so you should not be holding another woman's man in such a manner." Commented Erica.
"I am Kusanagi Godou-sama's knight, how is it improper for a servant to lend their support to their liege?"
AHHH, what was she saying? She hadn't made up her mind as to whether or not she would swear herself as Godou's knight. She still had to think, consider, weigh her options . . . or did she? For the sake of the Bronze-Black Cross she needed to form an association with a Campione. Her previous link to Marquis Voban was irredeemably shattered, something she was quite happy about. So apart from Godou the only other option was Salvatori Doni, and quite frankly she had no illusions as to her ability to deal with that idiotic genius. He was just not the kind of person she could feel comfortable serving.
So that left Godou as her only available choice, and to her surprise she was fine with that. He was a good man who cared for his subjects, dealt reasonably with others and did not flaunt his status as one of the supreme rulers. This was a man that she could swear her sword and body to without regrets.
Deep within her heart a decision was made. Liliana Karnjcar was now the loyal knight of Kusanagi Godou, the seventh Campione.
Laying on his back the object of her oath kept his eyes closed and continued to feign unconsciousness. Maybe if he stayed like this long enough he could avoid what was quickly becoming a troublesome situation.
-()-
From her vantage point up in the trees the Divine Ancestor watched the antics of the young man and his women below her.
That had been . . . instructive. She saw now why Athena seemed to hold the boy in some regard as well as why she viewed him as her own future prey. He was already quite powerful, even though he was young and relatively inexperienced in battle. Never before had any Campione gained so many varied powers from a single Heretic God, even if there did seem to be some limitations on their use.
He could be a problem. The plan that she and her companions had set into motion would lead them to target the eighth Campione first. However he had recently come to this land in the Far East, the place where so many things were brought by the flow of the world. Depending on how the two god-slayers when they met the plans of herself and her allies could become far easier or near impossible.
One way or another she was sure that the boy would be a deciding factor; she'd ones like him through the ages. They seemed to be of the mediocrity, just average people content to go through their lives with a minimum of fuss and bother, but those spines of theirs held steel in them. Push them, threaten them or what they cared for and that iron would become the steel of swords and lances, of revolutionaries and future kings. Then again it was hardly a surprise that the dark haired youth would possess such qualities, after all there was no way a weak man could ever become a devil king.
But she would not let that stand in her way; she had once been a goddess, a queen of the earth and sea who had given birth to those who would one day be called Elder Gods. She had held the Rule of Destiny in her hands and bestowed it upon whomever she so chose. Now she was reduced to this, to a state only a few steps removed from a mortal.
And she hated it, hated it with an intensity that could blind even a lord of the sun. She would return to what she had once been, but she would not sacrifice any of her self in order to become some pale version of what she once had been. She would reclaim her full glory, return to the heights from which she had been torn, and when she did so she would retain all the knowledge and skills that she had accumulated over the millennia. That combined with the fullness of her power would make her greater than she had ever been in her previous life as a deity.
She would be more.
She would be magnificent.
With a single word she faded from view as her magic carried her away to another location. She would have to meet with her reluctant ally. She knew that neither of them liked the other, that their association was one of necessity rather that desire of friendship. Still at least she could be secure in that they both worked towards the same goal and that each needed the others aid in order to succeed.
Information needed to be shared and plans needed to be refined.
-()-
Shirou stood in his kitchen and added the final touches to the fruit salad he had been preparing.
Oh he was proud of his new kitchen, dozens of specialized knives, four different types of oven one of which was large enough to cook a whole boar, all manner of food processing gadgets for him to experiment with and a special eight ring stove. The freezer was big enough to store an entire butchered cow and still have room to spare and the fridge was just as big if not bigger.
The things he could make here, with his new wealth he could afford the most exotic and expensive ingredients he could imagine. He was still trying to decide whether or not he should try to learn how to prepare Fugu simply because he could afford to try to now.
The smile that had adorned his face slipped as that thought of learning how to cook the needlessly extravagant dish brought thoughts of Sakura to his mind. They had joked about that sometimes, each trying to one up the other on the most exotic dish that they would one day cook. Fugu had always been the deciding one as far as both of them were concerned, how could a dish that held the chance of killing its eater be otherwise.
How was she doing right now? Did she miss him? Was she even sane enough to remember him? Could her mind have survived after her contact to that which could well be called the sum of all human evil? Was he a bad person for hoping that she did, for hoping that she was experiencing the pain of loss? The truth was that he missed her, he missed his home, he missed Fuji-nee, he missed his school, but most of all he missed her. They'd been part of each others lives for so long now, even before he began to think of her in a romantic way
she had been a dear friend. Over the course of the war for the Holy Grail they had become lovers, even if it had only been for a brief time.
Now he wondered what it would have been like if he had stayed in their home dimension, well assuming he had somehow survived of course. Would they have started to date like a normal couple? Gone to movies together, gone shopping, gone on holidays together? Would she have moved in with him? Would they have grown closer until one day he might have asked her the most important question that any couple could ask?
So many questions, questions that he could not answer.
Shaking his head the eighth Campione picked up the large bowel of chopped fruit and juice mixed with honey and began to head to the small dining room where Illya was waiting. That girl, sometime he thought that she ate even more heartily than Saber had after the battle where they defeated Berserker.
He froze at that thought, simply coming to a stop in the middle of the hallway.
That wasn't right; Saber had never fought Berserker to a victory before she was consumed by Sakura's shadow projection. The only time they had faced of had been after he had left the church and that had ended in both her and her master nearly getting killed, certainly not victory. Yes she had defeated Berserker after she was reborn as her altered self, defeated him and fed him to the same shadow that had consumed her. But she certainly hadn't come back to his house the day after so he could cook her Japanese-style hamburgers. What the hell was going on?
Saber had defeated Berserker? With his help? How? That made no sense. Sure he had used a bastardized version of Heracles' own Noble Phantasm to defeat him when Sakura's shadow had regurgitated a blind and crippled version of him. But that had only been possible because of Archer's arm being grafted to him and Berserker having been stripped of the skin that had been his God Hand Noble Phantasm. How had he been able to help Saber to kill him? While she was a fine fighter she had lacked the sheer stats needed to penetrate his defences.
No, wait. That wasn't right, Excalibur was more than enough to do the job, but she hadn't had the prana reserves to manage it.
No, there had been another sword, Caliburn? When had that happened?
The world lurched around him as his memories twisted around each other. Recollections of what he knew was true jostled for place with memories that he was sure were not right but at the same time felt as though they were true.
He was standing against Gilgamesh amidst a field of uncountable swords. He fought against Kuzuki Souichirou while Rin took on Caster. Illya held him prisoner in her castle demanding he become her servant. Saber unleashed Excalibur against Rider who was mounted upon her Pegasus.
He heard a crash of breaking glass and realized he had dropped the bowel he had been carrying. Seemingly in the distance he could hear Illya calling out to him in alarm.
As darkness rose up to claim him his last thought was to feel somewhat guilty that Illya was having to spend so much time carting around his unconscious form.
