See you again, people! Here is the next chapter of this story. You could say that this chapter is calm before the storm, so it is much more relaxed than the previous ones. Therefore, I decided to include quite a humour like my other current story. Still, there will still be seriousness.
As for the fate of loli FBI, well, I don't think it was that crazy. I didn't say that 'Jack of Ripper' as such was purified. The original legend is based on a few facts and not on a particular entity since the mysterious killer was never discovered, so their nature is quite similar to Sasaki Kojirou's, that is, a nameless entity summoned to assume the mantle of the legend in question. The point is that the sword of promised salvation purified that amalgam of evil spirits, but not 'Jack of Ripper'.
Anyway, that's left to everyone's interpretation. I'm not the original author, so I can only speculate.
Without further ado, let the chapter begin.
Disclaimer: I don't own any right over Type-Moon or the Fate franchise.
The next morning passed quietly. With the Assassin's affair already dealt with, we no longer had a metaphorical knife pointed at our backs. Still, the mood felt quite heavy.
The times I met Sieg, he had a frown constantly, although Rider was still trying to cheer up the mood. Ruler's expression was not very different from Sieg's, only when we met, she looked away.
As for me, well, I won't deny I felt pretty bad. I could only give rest to those poor souls, so even though they found happiness in their last moments, that doesn't take away the fact that they died without me being able to do anything.
My noble phantasm only 'severed' the curse that bound them to the miserable fate of being 'Jack of Ripper', but the original heroic spirit is still on the throne of heroes. So, you could say that I could barely 'save' a part of all the abused nameless children that make up the legend itself.
However, what has been done is done. There is no point in trying to change something that has already happened. Just as I learned to live with the memory of that hell.
I didn't cry when Nero died in front of me because of my inability to handle the situation better, and I won't cry over this either.
All my tears ran out the day that the person who saved me, and helped me to form as the individual that I am, died that full moon night.
At night, we had a strategic meeting. The final plan was to raid the flying fortress on several planes flown by golems. The problem was we didn't have a way through their magic defenses.
Caladbolg II and Retriever could go through them as if they were nothing, but they wouldn't cancel them out. Nor could we tear down the fortress. I would have to use quite a few broken phantasms, and I needed to be in full swing if we were to face the Red servants.
Then it occurred to Rider to mention that he had a noble phantasm which could accomplish such a task, but had forgotten its name.
It was a grimoire with the ability to cancel any magecraft. Basically, its function was similar to Rule Breaker's, but without the need to stab it at the target. Its mere presence nearby would do the trick. That saved me the need to project and shoot a lot of Rule Breakers.
The problem that arose was that for Astolfo to remember the name of the noble phantasm, it had to be a new moon night, and the next night like that would be in three days. Three days in which the flying fortress would already be outside Romania, and we would probably be late to stop Amakusa Shirou.
The meeting ended and I accompanied Fiore to her room. Caules also came, so it seemed that he was finally going to talk to her about the issue of inheritance.
They both sat on either side of the table, while I stood by my master's side, and Caules started straight to the point.
"I think this is the tipping point. Of you becoming a magus king or remaining human. The road forks here."
Fiore opened her eyes. "You're telling me to stop practicing magecraft!?"
"That's your choice."
"Isn't that obvious!? I-"
"You can't stomach people dying."
"But-"
"Do you remember that dog?"
"How could I forget it? That's something that shouldn't be forgotten."
"Why?"
"Because... because if I forget, where would that go?"
"You see, that's what I mean."
Fiore finally understood the point of Caules. "You're right. I may have doubted too much. I'm just a useless girl, huh?"
"That's not true." At that point in the conversation I decided to intervene. "Just because you're not heartless doesn't mean you're useless. In fact, I think it's better that you're like that."
She looked at me surprised. "Archer? You think I shouldn't be a magus too?"
"You're wrong, master. I just don't think you should let go of your humanity."
"Isn't that the same as not being a magus?"
"No. I've known magus who weren't monsters who just wanted to get to the root, even though these can be counted on the fingers of one hand. The point is, if you decide to become a magus, you can follow that stupid investigation, or you can fight. Fight to try to change that twisted system, and try to make the 'moonlit world' a not-so-putrid place."
"But that is impossible!"
"You won't know it if you don't try it. If I had stopped to think about probabilities, I wouldn't have fought head-on the Primate Murder."
Fiore was not so surprised. Surely she had already seen it in the cycle of dreams. Caules was the one who was surprised.
"WHAT!? You faced the beast of calamity?!"
"Yes. But that is not the main issue. When the Holy Grail War comes to an end, I will no longer be here, so the final decision is yours, Fiore."
Caules came out of shock at the time. "Fiore, I want you to know that I will support you in making the decision you make."
With that last said, we both left the room and left her alone to think and reflect.
Although, now that I was in the hallway, I stopped to think. What was I going to do until dawn again?
As I walked in automatic mode through the corridors, totally immersed in my thoughts, I heard a scream very close to where I was.
"KYAAAAAA!"
Well, who says close, says on the door next door. My eardrums even beeped for a few seconds.
My distracted mind assumed the worst, and without thinking very well of whose room or voice it was, I kicked the door almost out of the hinges and rushed in.
"What happened!? What was that... scream?" All my impetus was gone when I started to analyze the scene I found.
On one side was Sieg, looking at the other two members of the room in a state of confusion. Jeanne was close to him, with her face as red as my cloak and covering her eyes with her hands. You could even see some steam coming out of her head.
And finally, there was Rider, with a towel on his shoulders... and totally naked. His 'excalibur' was hanging in sight.
It didn't take me long to connect the dots, and I couldn't help but put my hand on my face. Worst of all, he was having trouble holding his own laughing at poor Jeanne's reaction.
"Rider, please cover your er... 'sword'."
After Rider covered himself with the towel, I accompanied a Ruler still dazed by what she had just seen to her room.
Actually, this seemed like a typical eroge situation... wait, since when do I know what a eroge is? And why did I feel a chill when I thought about it?
The next day I found myself walking through the streets next to Astolfo and Sieg. We had reached a full consensus that we would rest until the day of the raid on The Hanging Gardens of Babylon, and Astolfo ended up dragging us to Trifas.
Something about us not having much fun on the date with Ruler. Though, was that a date? Well, what we did fit the definition... I can't remember who gave that definition to me, but to my mind it was when a boy and a girl went out together to have fun.
Does that mean I had my first date with Ruler?
Nah, it can't be. Besides, Sieg was there too, so I doubt that really counts as a date, right?
The thing is, we ended up going into a restaurant that caught Astolfo's attention, and, coincidentally, there was Saber of Red. The dishes were starting to pile up in front of her.
Sieg said he wanted to talk to her, so we sat at the same table with her. Even though Astolfo was a little reluctant as she had almost killed them, I agreed too. She and I had a business to solve.
"Well? What do you want with me?"
"I have a blunt question for you. Do you think people are right?"
"Jack the Ripper?"
"Yes. I know not all people are like that, but still..." Sieg put a complicated expression. He was probably remembering what he saw in that hell.
"So there you have it. Humans are humans. Disorderly people who will do good or evil as circumstances demand. In the end, they're just animals that turned out to be a little smarter. They are driven by greed, they always forget favors but never offenses. It is not worth lifting a finger to protect them."
Mordred's blunt response came in an indifferent tone. I didn't agree with that, but I could also see where her opinion was coming from. From the story on her sword, her 'mother' was not the nicest person to put it lightly.
Astolfo was not as patient as I was and responded. "You're wrong! That's what makes them interesting! That's why-"
"However." Saber ignored him completely and spoke to Sieg. "What about you? What do you think of humans?"
"I like them, I think. Or so I thought until I saw Assassin's past."
"What about now?"
"I don't know. I wanted to protect them. That was the path I had chosen. But now I'm not so sure if I'll be able to follow that path without regrets."
The eyes of both servants turned to me for a few moments, but I kept quiet. After showing him my reality marble and true noble phantasm, there was nothing more I could do to help him choose.
"How am I supposed to respond to that? There is no right or wrong choice here. I do what I want, and how I want. That responsibility is mine alone."
"But-"
Sieg's objection was cut off when Mordred struck hard at the cup she had been drinking from.
"One day, I will become King. How can a king who cries and laughs with his people help them when they need it the most? There's no way!"
"My King would do it!"
Astolfo's response seemed to hit her nerve, and she rose to leave.
"Are you leaving?" I spoke for the first time since he had arrived at the restaurant.
"You haven't finished bothering me yet?" She replied annoyed, though her gaze said otherwise.
"I thought you and I had some unfinished business."
"Hmm. That's where you and I can be on the same page." That said, she sat at the table again, and ordered another round of dishes.
Meanwhile, I turned to look at the two people I had come with.
"I won't tell you to leave, but I warn you that we are going to talk about matters everything but nice."
Astolfo looked with concern at Sieg, before returning to his usual enthusiastic attitude and rising from the chair.
"Come on, master, we haven't done any of the fun things I have prepared yet."
They both said goodbye to me and left the restaurant to continue their tour of the city. Once Saber and I were alone, she started devouring the food, so I was the one who started the conversation.
"I guess I'll start by telling you that beating me isn't going to make you any closer to your 'father'."
"Is that so? As I understand it, you were the one who drew the sword in the stone before 'father'."
"To this day I don't even know why it chose me. All I know is that I was desperate and I give it chance without much thought. Besides, even if the name of my legend suggests it, I was never a King as such nor did I lead anyone else."
Well, if I remember correctly, I died before they tried to make me king or something like that.
She snarled as she digested the information, apart from the food. Her stomach looked like a bottomless pit.
"Was that all you wanted to talk about?"
"No. How to put this... I would like you to give me your opinion on... your 'father'."
Upon hearing my request, her fork, which had just pricked a piece of sirloin and was heading for her open mouth, stopped in its tracks. Her indifferent expression with slight discomfort shifted to a frown and a penetrating look that would make anyone shit their pants.
I knew dealing with this issue was like stepping on a landmine, but there was something I wanted to check out since our first meeting. This is precisely why I suggested to Astolfo and Sieg to leave us alone.
Seeing that I did not flinch at her angry gaze, she snorted and calmed down a bit. Not much, but the murder intent was considerably reduced.
"And why would you want to know that?" Almost ruling out any attempt to talk about it, she went back to her food...
"Well, this is the second Holy Grail War I've been involved in, at least as I remember."
...just to stop by hearing my next sentence. The way her eyes opened, she must have sensed where I was going with this, but I told her anyway.
"The servant Saber of that War was your 'father'."
Just when I finished speaking, she practically jumped out of her chair. She grabbed me by the lapels of the tuxedo and pulled me towards her until our faces came very close.
"Did you know 'father'!? Did you fight with him!?" Her expression was a strange mixture of anger and expectation.
Keeping my poker face I answered her. "Yes. As for fighting 'him', I don't remember much of what happened during the war, so I wouldn't know what to tell you." I tried to disguise how strange it was for me to call Arturia 'he'.
In fact, the few things I remember from that war are fighting to the death with my natural enemy, vaguely the boy so much like me that he promised he would surpass me, and the promise I made to that girl who was my master.
Every name or face, even how the war ended, was lost. The servants were the ones I remembered the most, and that was just because their noble phantasms were analyzed and replicated in the Unlimited Blade Works.
Were it not for the fact that Mordred's face was exactly like Arturia's, and for the image of her sacred sword that was recorded in my inner world, I would not even have remembered her.
"I-is there a problem, sir, ma'am?" One of the waitresses asked us completely nervous.
In that moment, we realized we were making a scene, and all the customers were looking at us.
For a moment it seemed that Mordred was going to burst when they referred to her as a woman, but she managed to repress herself.
"No. There is no problem. Now get your ass out of here right now and leave us alone!"
The waitress let out a sort of moan and ran away, sweating and trembling. Well, at least she didn't do anything crazy like materialize Clarent. She let me go and sat back down snorting.
I shook the tuxedo a little so it didn't look like a bunch of wrinkles and I talked to her again.
"So, you're more open to talking about it now?"
"Fine." It took her a few deep breaths to finish calming down and psyching up. "'Father' was what could be described as the 'perfect King'. He always did what was best for the country and its people, without letting any human emotion affect their judgment."
Though it was difficult for her to speak of Arturia, I could see in her voice a glimmer of admiration.
"And yet, 'father' did not understand the feelings of humans. When I appeared before him and announced myself as his son, he rejected me as his heir simply because he hated my mother."
Now she was beginning to show a lot of hate in her words. You didn't have to be a psychologist to see that it really hurt her.
"I see..." I was beginning to see a little bit of the full picture of the whole thing. That pretty much explained her obsession with surpassing her 'father' and showing that she was worthy of being her heir.
"I guess now it's my turn to tell you the impression I had of your 'father'."
Her eyes shone a little expectantly as she ate the remaining food in an attempt to relax.
"Heh, he probably beat the crap out of you."
Well, I wasn't going to deny that. She was really a dragon with human form. Beating her would have been really hard, and that's in case she didn't use her noble phantasm and we were just talking about a sword fight. And yet, she would surely had the upperhand.
But it was time to drop the bomb. I was squeezing every drop of my fuzzy memories of her and what I could get out of her swords' story for this.
Rummaging through the swords of my reality marble, I even found Caliburn, the sword in the stone that Arturia drew and which later broke and was replaced by Excalibur and Avalon.. Don't ask me how I got the plans for that sword. If I had to guess, I guess when that boy inherited my skills and my swords, I got his too.
"What I found was a girl full of doubts and regrets."
Her mouth and eyes opened wide. "What!? Don't you dare insult 'father', Faker! It's impossible for him to have that kind of emotion!"
"You're wrong. She was as human as you and I. Otherwise, why do you think she was summoned into a Holy Grail war in the first place?"
She opened her mouth to say something, but after a few moments she closed it without saying anything. The fact is, a heroic spirit will only respond to the summons if he desires the Grail, or a special case like mine.
"She wanted to get the Grail to change the past, and have someone else draw the sword in the stone."
"No way..."
"I even remember that she came to me for advice. So, I can safely say, that the whole 'perfect King' thing was just a mask she adopted for the sake of her kingdom."
There was no response from her anymore. I guess hearing that was really shocking. I will not deny that what I said was partly my own speculation, but I am inclined to think that I came quite close to the goal.
"So... then, why did he reject me?" Now there was only anguish in her voice.
"I don't have an answer for that. Maybe she really did it out of hatred for your mother, or maybe she saw that you were missing something to be king."
"Are you telling me that I, the one who surpassed 'father', am not worthy?" Her tone came out deathly cold, though there was some desperation behind it.
"As I told you, I was never a king as such, so I'm not one to judge you in that regard. That's something you have to think about. What kind of King would you be? A human king, an inhuman one, or a tyrant one?"
"I see..."
With her food already finished, she got up to leave. She walked out, her hands in her pockets and her bangs covering her eyes.
But, she suddenly stopped halfway, and I could barely hear a thread of voice.
"Thanks..."
"Huh?"
"Don't make me repeat myself!"
With that, leaving me confused and not knowing what she had said, she finally left the restaurant.
I let go a heavy sigh. This was the most I could do to help her, the rest was up to her.
I got up to go too. It was quite late, so I guess Astolfo's plans to try and make me have fun were already completely frustrated.
I felt quite conflicted with that. I didn't feel like someone like me deserved such things, but I had promised that I would love myself more, so I hadn't rejected Rider.
"Sir, the bill."
I stopped like a deer in front of the headlights. I had forgotten that none of us had paid for the food or the teas we ordered. And now, the whole bill just fell into my hands.
Actually, it was weird enough that my E rank luck hadn't gotten me into a situation like this since I was summoned.
With another sigh, I took out the wallet I was carrying with some money, and I started doing accounts.
Well... at least the numbers on the left matched. The problem was that the number of zeros on the bill and my budget didn't match... and it was my budget that had one zero less...
How many dishes was Mordred eating!? Bottomless pit fell short! Her stomach was a black hole!
Wait! Now that I remember, we brought a credit card in case something like this happened.
I checked my wallet and all my pockets, and after I didn't find anything, I finally remembered that it was Rider who was carrying the card.
Damn E rank luck!
"Is there a problem sir?" The waiter, who had come to replace his companion whom Mordred had frightened away, must have noticed that my face paled enougth to match my hair.
I turned to look at him, with a not forced smile at all, and my left eyebrow trembling. "May I make a call?"
Fiore had stayed in her room finalizing the final preparations for the assault. Her mind was still hesitant about what decision she was going to make.
What Archer had said was true. It wouldn't be an easy path at all, but it was a goal worth fighting for. However, she would have to give up her desire to be able to walk with her legs again.
A decision she needed time to weigh up, and time was a very limited resource for them in the situation they were in.
Her train of thoughts was interrupted when her mobile phone started to pop out. She caught it quite nervous. The last time she had been called was to warn her that Assassin had broken into the fortress and was after her.
At least, with that previous experience, she already knew which button she had to press to respond to the call.
"Who is it?"
"Master, it's me."
From the way the person on the other side had referred to her and his voice, it hardly took her a few moments to realize it was Archer. Still, why was her servant calling her with an unknown number?
"Archer? Why are you calling me instead of talking through our link?"
"I need to keep up appearances."
"I see... Did something happen while you were in town?"
After a few seconds of silence, Archer replied. "Master... I need money."
Fiore blinked a couple of times while processing what she just heard. "What do you mean you need money?"
The nameless servant briefly explained the situation to her, and she could not help but stroke her forehead with her hand.
"Weren't you supposed to have taken a credit card?"
"The card's in Rider's possession, and he's probably already on his way back."
She sighed "Now I understand why your luck parameter is so low. Can't you just hypnotize them?"
"That kind of magecraft is out of my league."
"What? But it's one the most basic."
"When I said I'm a disaster of a magus, I wasn't kidding. My specialized origin and element prevent me from being able to master no other spell than reinforcement and projection."
Right. She forgot that after discovering that her servant possessed the greatest magecraft, able to rewrite reality to resemble his inner world.
"And you can't project bills just like you do with swords?"
"Master, that would be a fraud. Even if it's just some bills, I doubt they'll last longer than a few days. I don't want to ruin a business in just a few weeks that I've been here."
Fiore sighed again. She didn't want that, nor would Archer do anything so selfish.
"Okay. I'll send you someone with money."
"Thank you, master."
Well, Caules wasn't doing anything right now, so Fiore doubted a walk would hurt him.
Rider and Astolfo were already climbing the slope leading to the castle Yggmillenia. It was already sunset, so there was less and less natural light, and the sky was orange, like in a certain reality marble.
Halfway up, Ruler was waiting for them, waving and smiling.
Sieg anticipated the two servants, still immersed in his internal debate, as the two began to talk about what they had done in the city.
"So you ran into Saber of Red, and Archer stayed with her arranging some... businees with her."
"Yep. They were both very serious when we left."
That was a bit troubling for Ruler, but she doubted that they would make a fuss in public. Instead, she averted her gaze to Sieg's back.
"I hope he can get rid of his doubts."
The path he had chosen was not going to be pretty, but as Archer said, if he could follow it to the end and have no regrets, then he could be happy. She had mixed feelings about it, but had come to accept it.
"About his path?"
"Yes. That's important."
"How important is it to you?"
That question caught her a little by surprise. "I-is nothing significant."
Astolfo squinted with some suspicion. "Are you hiding something?"
"Nothing at all!"
"Can you swear to God?"
"Huh? I-"
But before she could try to defend herself, Astolfo let her be and directed his gaze to the sunset.
"But I agree. He should have no doubts and love people. He still has a future."
Jeanne looked at him a little surprised, it was rare to see him serious. At that moment, a theory was formed in her mind.
"U-um, you fancy Sieg, Astolfo?" She asked him quietly in the ear.
"What about you?" The servant answered her back by returning the question.
"T-that's not it! I love everyone equally."
Instead of that discouraging him, Rider put on a mischievous smile. "Then, do you fancy Archer?"
Hearing it, Jeanne skipped a breath. It was true that she had mixed feelings with the nameless hero. She admired his honest determination to pursue his dream even though it was almost impossible, and at the same time made her feel bad about seeing him prioritize others' happiness over his.
To her relief, before she had to answer that question, they heard Sieg's voice.
"Oh, Caules, are you going to town at this hour?"
Indeed, the former master of Berserker of Black stood beside Sieg. His gaze focused on the servant with pink hair.
"Yes. Looks like a certain person forgot to leave Archer the credit card so he could pay for the food, and now he's being held at the restaurant."
Rider shuddered at the words of the magus and the looks of Sieg and Ruler, then looked away and began to whistle as if trying to look innocent.
Caules breathed a sigh at that. "Anyway. I'll go there."
The culprit of the situation opened his eyes to hear that, as if he had been struck by some realization.
"Wait!"
The boy stopped and looked at him with a raised eyebrow. Astolfó looked at Jeanne, putting back his mischievous smile.
"Ruler here says she's volunteering to take the money to Archer."
"Huh!? That's not-!"
Before she could deny it, Astolfo winked at her and whispered to her "this is your chance".
"Well, if you want to, I won't stop you."
She couldn't say no, and ended up going to the restaurant.
Even if she tried, she couldn't deny that she was amused to see Archer mumbling things about his E rank luck. Although when he approached her with comic tears in his eyes and took her by the hand saying "Ruler you're my salvation" she felt her cheeks turn as red as when she saw Astolfo's 'excalibur'.
After paying that exorbitant bill, the two returned to the castle Yggmillenia.
It was already dark, and the two walked in silence under the starry sky. The situation was a bit uncomfortable. Archer wasn't much of a talker, and Jeanne didn't know what to talk about.
Besides, Astolfo's question was still floating in her mind, and she wasn't sure she knew the answer. She could not put into words the feelings she had towards the nameless hero, nor could she distinguish whether those feelings were really hers or Laeticia's.
Finally, she mustered the courage to ask the question that had been asked since the day of the Assassin fiasco.
"Archer, I'd like to ask you something."
"And what would that be?"
"Have you ever... felt what it's like to be loved." There it is. She could finally ask him. Although she could get a sense of the answer, she still had some hope. He said he was saved by a person, so maybe that person gave him some love.
"Well…" He glanced at the night sky with some nostalgia, and then turned to look at her directly. "The person who saved me from that hell died not long after. From there, I traveled around the world helping and saving as many people as I could, so I guess the answer to your question would be no."
Jeanne bit her lips a little bit when she heard that. However, his next line was what really shocked her.
"Besides, who would love someone like me?"
She felt her heart ache when she heard that. It was really sad to hear that from him in such a flat, emotionless tone, as if he were simply objectively describing himself.
Ruler tightened her hands. "If you keep thinking like that, you might end up regretting it someday."
She said it without thinking it through. If her intuition was correct, that's the line no one told him during his life, and that's why it ended up that way.
"I know, but changing myself at this point is really hard. Helping people and making them happy is the only thing that's ever made me happy."
She squeezed her fist even tighter. He... he was right. Maybe, if someone had made him see that in his lifetime, he might not have had such a sad and lonely ending. He could have learned to love himself. But now...
It was clear that he alone could not change. His enormous psychological distortion meant he had no intention of saving himself.
He needed someone to be there for him. Someone who would help him love himself, and who would love him...
They both continued in silence on their way back. That night, Jeanne would have to deal with her increasingly confused and complicated to understand feelings.
Finally, the expected day came. The day that all this history that began with the Third War of the Holy Grail would end. One dream would prevail, and the other would be crushed.
Amakusa Shirou was well aware of that. Fate had brought him and King of Fakers together, so they were destined to fight. Even if his enemy had to overcome a hero as renowned as Achilles, he did not doubt that they would end up fighting for their ideals.
With the preparations ready, he prepared to enter the Holy Grail and set in motion the miracle that would fulfill the dream he found at the end of that twisted war.
Now, all that remained was to wait. Could the man who did the impossible stop his miracle?
After so many hours of thought and reflection, Sieg found his resolve. Though seeing Assassin's past staggered his determination to move on, he saw Archer's noble phantasm that same day.
Like those poor souls, he also saw the light of hope represented by that 'sword'. Although humans had the potential to be evil and cruel, they also had the potential to be just the opposite.
He would follow his path to protect humans, and fight to change the twisted system of the world based on the sacrifice of the minority. Archer almost made it, he just missed saving himself. That was the only flaw in his noble phantasm.
If King of Fakers could, a person without any gift or talent, why couldn't he?
Then, with the decision made, he offered to take part in the final battle. He asked Siegfried to give him some advice to wield his power, and he gladly accepted his resolution.
Although that could not be called training, as he was beaten without being able to land a single attack, he learned the basics, and how to survive against overwhelmingly superior opponents.
In fact, Archer also joined in to help him, and he was an expert in that field.
After analyzing the condition of his body, his mentor found something surprising. Some of the power of Berserker of Black remained in his body after it revived him when he almost died fighting Saber of Red.
With this, he basically inherited the skills of the servant, the perpetual motion machine ability of Bridal Chest, Berserker's weapon, and Galvanism, which allowed him to absorb excess prana from the environment and turn it into electricity.
With this, he could simulate the effect of Archer's prana burst, and, in theory, instantly charge Balmung's power.
With the preparations ready, Ruler and the servant-master pairs of the black faction went to the airport they had rented to take the planes.
Before leaving, Sieg said goodbye to the Homunculi of the castle. Win or lose, he would not return, but planned to travel the world to achieve his goal.
The masters, including Caules who decided to follow his sister to the battlefield despite having lost his servant, would travel in a smaller jet behind all the commercial planes that would serve as the distraction. The servants would go over these, and Astolfo would lead the attack on the backs of his hypogriffin with his noble phantasm, with Sieg beside him to quickly replenish his prana.
Saber of Red and his master were a loose cannon that would take advantage of the distraction of the frontal attack and infiltrate the fortress.
Moments before takeoff, Archer and Saber bid farewell to their master.
"Fiore, I know I probably haven't been a good servant, always doing what I wanted, but to me you've been a very good master. You didn't treat me like a simple tool, and well... it's been a pleasure meeting you."
Yes, the goodbyes were definitely not Archer's strong point. Fiore couldn't help but giggle as she shook her head.
"No. I'm glad I summoned you, Archer. I don't know how to thank you in all that you've helped me, especially in choosing my future."
"So..."
"Yes. I have decided that I will become the heir of the Forvedge family, but I will not abandon my humanity. I will focus my research on improving that rotten, monster-ridden world that only seeks that damn Root, and who knows, maybe I'll find a solution to this..."
She glanced at her legs, the price to pay to follow that path. But in her eyes there were no more doubts or sadness, but determination.
"But the first step to securing that future is to win this battle. So, Archer, I give you permission to use your entire unlimited arsenal for your victory."
They both looked at each other with smiles on their faces. In fact, that was the first time Fiore saw her servant actually smile outside the cycle of dreams, and she couldn't help but feel warm.
Archer's gaze turned toward Caules. "I leave her in your hands from now on. Protect her when I am not here."
"Of course. As her younger brother, I will always be by her side no matter what."
Next to them, Saber and Gordes were staring at each other without saying anything. In the end, Gordes could not stand the discomfort and looked away.
"What? What do you want me to say?"
Siegfried's lips curled up a bit. "Master, you could at least be honest this time."
The magus grimaced and scratched his head. "Fine! I'll say it! Although we didn't get off on the right foot, you turned out to be a very good familiar, Saber. So I expect nothing more than victory in this battle."
After all those days together, he was able to draw from those words the true message he wanted to convey.
"I think the same master. Even though I didn't think so at first, I could see that deep down you were a good person. So I am proud to have been able to serve as your sword."
After that, both servants met with Ruler, Sieg and Astolfo.
Just about to leave for the final battle, Rider interrupted everyone. "Hey, you don't think this is a little bland."
Before all the raised eyebrows, he explained himself. "I know. Why doesn't someone give a motivating speech, like those given by Lancer?"
They all started looking at each other, until all eyes fell on Archer. This one, who was looking at Ruler, already found it odd that she was looking at him, but then he felt all the looks.
"Why me? I suck at making speeches. That's why charisma is not one of my skills."
"Is that so? I would say that your speeches inspired everyone here. Also, it is you who has a score to settle with Amakusa Shirou."
Seeing how everyone nodded to Rider's reasoning, he finally resigned himself.
"Fine, I'll try my best."
He coughed a little, and traced in his hand Merodach, the foundation of the sacred right to select the king, and the sword that gave him the title of King of Fakers. That would do the trick with his lack of charisma.
"Well, I guess I don't have to tell you that this will be the final battle. The fate of mankind will be at stake. We are faced with heroes of the age of the gods, and the realization of a miracle, so this is going to be really difficult."
He paused briefly to see if he was followed and continued. "However, for me, things are only impossible if you don't try and give it everything. Humanity, in spite of its weakness, prevailed in the face of all kind of adversity, even the gods. That is why..."
He raised the sword in his hand and pointed his blade toward the starry sky, as if defying the gods themselves.
"I want the word 'imposible' out of your heads! We are going to get that into Amakusa Shirou's head! We are going to win this battle despite having all the odds against us, and we are going to save everyone!"
Although the discourse could be improved, the sheer determination he showed was already inspiring in itself. The determination to achieve the miracle of 'saving everyone'.
"OOOOOHHHH!"
Initially it was only Rider who raised his spear and shouted excitedly, but in the end they all imitated him with their swords, and the banner in the case of Ruler. Some with more spirit than others, but all shared the same look full of determination.
And that's all so far. What do you think? The next chapter will be the long-awaited climax, although I'm not sure whether to include it all in one very long chapter, or to separate it into two. With so much servants, there's a lot of fighting to cover.
As I said a few chapters ago, King of Fakers the distorted psychologist came into the picture to help people with their emotional problems, when he himself is the one who most needs help on those issues. Seen this way, the thing really sounds bad, but hey, he tried.
In Mordrer's case, family problems are something that must be resolved within the family. What King of Fakers got was for her to see her 'father' differently, and to rethink why she wanted to become King in the first place.
As for references, thought about eroges is a direct reference to my other active history. And if we get into captain reference mode, this line of Jeanne's "if you keep thinking like that, you might end up regretting it someday" is a reference to the Fate route. Specifically, the scene in the park just before the final fight with Rider, where Saber basically tells that to Shirou after finally understanding her master's tendency to put others before himself.
And as for Jeanne, she's already figured out what it takes to fix King of Fakers mental problems. What he never had unlike the original Shirou, that is, a person like Saber, Rin or Sakura who helps him to love himself and realize that his life has a meaning. Well, in Sakura's case, she didn't actively do it, but rather it was the circumstances that forced Shirou to choose between her ideals and the person he loved. Now all that's left is for Jeanne to stop being as dense as Archer is.
As for the crossover with FGO, patience. That will come after this story.
Without further ado, as always, any constructive review, follow and fav is welcome, and motivates me to continue writing.
With this I say goodbye for now. Until we meet again!