Chapter 20: Desolation
AN: Sorry if some of the battles feel like their missing or short, but ultimately its some pretty bad matchups. Assassin vs Castor? Twice? Well, at least we have the Sabres fighting now...and other fights incoming...
"That was surprisingly easy..." Rune mentioned as he and Toko carried out the rest of Serdtse-sensei's family. "One would have thought that the CHurch would have more guards".
"Or stronger ones. Its probably because the planned to act before anyone reached here, but they did not expect us to attack during the final battle and let their guard down. Besides, this is a radical group of the Church, they probably were more worried about Serdtse-sensei then anyone else".
As they spoke, the Church behind them that they had been hiding in blew up.
"And now, there is no evidence at all of what happened. And the fake bodies I gathered and then altered the DNA of should fool them into thinking his family is dead".
"Still, I dont like this. Everything feels off. Red Faction seems like its lowering in strength, and they have the resources of the Mage's Association behind them".
"True. Let me...oi oi".
"What?"
"Red Faction HQ is on fire!"
Suddenly, the two of them sensed something approaching, something fast and dangerous.
"Rune, get them out of here now! Activate Artificial Noble Phantasm: Moonscale Blades!"
"Fine!" Rune said, as he picked up the entire family using levitation runes.
And that was when that person impacted the ground away from them, leaving a crater and creating a shockwave and pretty much blew Rune and Serdtse-sensei's family away.
"...so, you are the final boss huh?"
Toko said that as he took a fighting stance. He was in full lightweight combat gear now, wearing a white T shirt, black shorts, black sturdy shoes, and a light blue hooded jacket. All of was in truth fabric reinforced with enchantments on each thread, to protect him, heal him, and enhance his abilities even further, in addition to using his mana circuits.
And then, the one who stepped out of the crater was Terry Blood.
"It sounds like you know almost everything right now..."
"ALmost?"
"Yes. You would not be making that expression, so calm, if you knew everything. So let me show you...a piece of truth. Activate Artificial Noble Phantasm: Godly Fists".
"What?!"
"You see, my last name is not blood by coincidence" he said as his fists glowed with a radiance. "Its because my Family's Crest, and its magic...are about the manipulation of the body, how it works, how to enhance it, how to modify it...and of course, how to create homonculus".
"Wait...hold on...could it be..."
"And now, just like all the others, I will kill you as well".
Meanwhile, on the field of battle, Sabre of Red and Sabre of Black fought against each other at full power.
"Excalibur...Ultima!"
"Divine Retribution!"
The two clashed. Zeus with a sword made of pure lightning, and Joan with her mimiked excalibur. The two drove each other back, then charged forward again and clashed blades. It was truly an epic fight, though...
"They seem...evenly matched?"
"ITs because they are both Sabre Classes. Their modes of attack tend to be direct. That said, Zeus is superior in both stats and the fact he does have attack diversity, which puts Joan at a disadvantage".
"So then, Joan will lose?"
"Indeed. And, she probably knows that too".
And as the conversation between those four went on who were observing, Zeus summoned another fistful of lightning.
"Divine Smite!"
"Avalon!"
"Thunderbreaker!"
And yet, as Zeus hammered down upon him, attacks from all sides came right at him. Terry Blood had disposed of his support staff, no longer finding them helpful given what stage his plans was on, but Suzuki Subaru still had hers, so regardless of how effective that really was, it was still a factor.
"Damn ants! Get out of my way!"
As Suzuki smiled, happy to see it was bothering him, a messanger came up to her.
"Ma'am! We have confirmed, a Servant of Red Faction is attacking HQ! Comms are down! And Lancer has appeared!"
Some time ago...
"We have confirmed the presence of Lancer approaching the Greater Grail!" said one student in the former computer lab, and now tactical hub for the Black Faction Forces.
"Ford's group is holding up! But we are recieving fire from the Mage's Association! Barriers are at 20%, but with this firing, they will end up involving innocent civilians! What are they thinking!"
"They aren't. They are desperate" one glasses wearing middle schooler named Yuma Tokorori said. "They are desperate to stop the dream, the wish, of Toko Kiragime-sama".
As such, he stood up and ounded his chest, much like a salute. Others did the same.
"They are afraid of change, of unknowns, and of hope itself. For too long, Mages have lived in darkness, done dark things. They seek to plunder our spoils and stop our advances, mesmerized by what we can achieve. It is Toko-sama who will advance us to victory!"
"Then, is it time?"
"Yes! Prepare that! It is time to show them the spirit of freedom! Of hope! Of adventure! No matter what the risks and dangers may be, it is time!"
However, that was when the door was kicked open, and Archer of Red appeared in the door, though heavily injured.
"Not...so fast..."
"How did you get through our defenses!?"
"Run!" Icarus shouted, when there was suddenly an explosion from behind. Icarus ended up using a Noble Phantasm to absorb most of the blow, as Lancer of red appeared behind him. He then went and attacked Icarus again, who defended. "Damnit...come on Ajax, you have to be in there somewhere!"
"I...will serve...the Grail...the Command Seals".
"Damnit...Grail must have wiped out his mind. This is bad".
"Hold on, what is going on?"
"You are not being attacked by the Mage's Association...not really. Terry Blood slaughtered the other Red Masters, aside from those who were not there, after most of their servants were defeated. He betrayed us all, and now he is seeking to wipe out everyone else and take the Greater Grail! It seems like he has stopped caring about any life other then his own".
Ajax continued to attack Icarus as he explained, but even though he was an Archer, Icarus was holding his own in close range combat still. His previous master had decided to teach him some things on the off chance he needed them just in case, and now they were coming into use.
Still, this was a terrible situation for him. And for some reason, Lancer of Black was a no-show.
Is she planning on waiting out everyone, have them all kill each other, and then finish off who is left? Damnit, this is not the time for that! We need to team up and defeat Terry!
Icarus was able to hold his own because of the mana given to him by Command Seals, and his ability for Independent Action. He was shocked Ajax was still around, but he figured that just meant Grail gave him plenty of mana for it along with those Command Seals to force this action and leave him blank.
Which meant that Icarus was fighting at a disadvantage. Still, he did not want to give up. He wouldn't allow himself to".
"We are getting confirmed reports...Ford and Mika just went down, but Rider of Red is down too!" someone mentioned as they were evacuating, causing Ajax to destroy the computers.
"He is trying to divide Black Faction? Damnit, this guy...he has gone completely insane".
And then, Ajax charged right at him...
Meanwhile, in the woods, as Toko and Terry clashed blades to fists, Rune was recovering as well as he was heading off towards an old campsite with the family, making sure to get them to safety before returning. However, when he got there, the camp site was surprisingly in use. Rune quickly put them down, away and out of sight, and approached the group while looking flustered.
"What the hell is going on in the forest?! Why cant I reach command?!" Rune asked Dr. Warren, running up to him at the designated hillside camp. Meanwhile, as Rune looked around, he spotted three battles alone going on during the dark and stormy night. First was his own servant, Set, facing off against the enemy Assassin, Horus. And then of course, on a projected screen, they could see the fight between Sabre of Black and Sabre of Red.
However, there was also a third battle taking place in the forest, far from the Sabres, which he had no information or visual on.
"What has happened?!"
Dr. Warren just shook his head.
"That...demon...killed all of the support staff in the Red Faction Command Room. It slaughtered them all! You need to get to him, and kill him!"
"You serious?"
"Yes! Its bad enough that we have to absolutely make sure that boy, Toko, does not achieve his wish, but now this...this has gone too far!"
"This isn't another one of your tricks right?"
"Of course not. While I do live only to serve Master Blood, I would never hinder his allies either. Certainly not in this situation!"
Although it seemed relatively peaceful, the tension between the two was easily felt.
"I swear, I liked it better when it was just as simple as one side versus another..."
"What was..."
Suddenly, Rune dropkicked Dr. Warren to the ground.
"But, at least I got the drop on a lying bastard like you".
"What...wait...do you..."
That was when Rune took off his Disguise Rune, and revealed his true appearance.
"Hate to...no, love to tell you this, but you wont be able to manipulate me like that".
"It cant be...a homunculus?! YOu are one of those..."
Rune then put his shoe on the guy's neck.
"Now, it seems to me you seem very...devout, towards Blood Bastard. So, would you mind telling me what his wish is?"
"Hahaha! Its too late, you cant stop him! He will become a god, his body is perfected for it!"
"...his wish is to become a god?"
"He will become THE god of this world! And then those who supposed him shall join him in his pantheon!"
"Seriously? And what do you mean, his body was perfected?"
"Tell me...do you really think that we destroyed all that useful superior genetic material from that project?"
As he said that, Rune's eyes became filled with rage and shock.
"Yess...that is right. Grafted, transfused, and implanted into him, everything from the best organs of the crop, to the best skin...is from you homonculus! He is the most superior human in existence!"
At those words, Rune broke the man's neck without flinching, or feeling remoseful, right as he started to cackle.
"...Toko needs my help...Set! You get your butt here with Horus right now!"
"What, why?!"
"The fight is pointless, we are all going to win! But remember what I told you?! That bastard Terry Blood is behind it all, and is about to kill my brother Toko! So I need all of you here, now!"
With the disguise gone, Rune channeled his mana into new runes. Physical reinforcement, enhanced speed, enhanced reflexes, and had several attack runes primed and ready. He was preparing to go all out.
"I am coming, Toko!"
Icarus saw as the attack came towards him from Ajax, going right for the throat. He knew he could not react in time...
"Ice Burst!"
And that was when Ajax was shot out of a window by a huge chuck of ice that seemed to form from nowhere".
"Where did..."
"There is moisture in the air" a girl's voice told him as she stepped up towards Icarus, and the hole that Ajax just made as he was thrown out of the classroom. "That can be instantly manipulated and frozen into an attack".
And the identity of that person was...Mika.
She had heard everything that had been said here, and despite the chaos here, could not help but smile.
"You can win this, Mika-chan". You...he said you once, not us. Could it be he saw this far ahead? Of course he did...Billy was an Archer after all, always with his eye on the horizon.
"Icarus-kun, right?"
"Yeah..."
"So, the boss of Red Faction betrayed your master, and started killing you all early?"
"Yeah".
"And now, you want to stop him? And Lancer?"
"Yeah!"
"I see...in that case, Ruler!"
In that instant, Sherlock Holmes appeared behind them.
"Yes Mika-chan, it is allowed".
"Good...in that case, Icarus. Seperate, neither of us can defeat Lancer I think".
"Agreed".
"Then...how about we join forces, to fufill our wishes, and give our partners some peace. How does that sound? Will you accept me, as your master?"
"Will you accept me, as your Servant?"
The two looked at each other, and nodded. Suddenly, a magic circle appeared around them both, and the bond was formed. In addition, although very unusual, Mika somehow returned to having full Command Seals. Meanwhile, Ruler looked upon them as Astolfo joined him.
"You know...their situation, it kind of reminds me of what happened to you and Sieg in the first Greater Grail War".
"You mean, a child with great power, adopting the Servant of a former enemy, and then joining in on the Greater Grail War? Sounds like fun!"
Sherlock smiled. "Indeed. Though, I doubt this Grail War will go quite as simple as that..."
Toko dug his feet into the ground as Terry knocked him away, making sure not to tumble and being able to defend against his next attack.
Terry was moving so fast though, it was like he was teleporting. He appeared next to Toko, but Toko managed to block.
"Activate Artificial Noble Phantasm: Spirit Shield!"
"Activate Artificial Noble Phantasm: Blood Enchant!"
Toko used another defensive Noble Phantasm, and blocked the increasingly powerful assault of Terry Blood and his Noble Phantasms.
"Activate Artificial Noble Phantasm: Blood Blade!"
At this point however, Terry Blood brought forth a sword, swinging it so fast it might as well have been a helicopter blade. Toko enhanced his own speed, to fend off, as they darted around the battlegrounds, but as the sword grazed him once...he felt his body tense up, and become hard to move.
"Got you now" he said, as he charged forward and drove the sword through Toko and into the ground. It was a very serious wound, and even with healing and regenerative abilities, could be fatal as he was loosing blood. "I did say my magic focused around blood after all. Have a fun afterlife, Toko-kun. Who knows, maybe you will even be summoned as a Heroic Spirit one day".
He chuckled as he said that, only to suddenly get hit with a massive and powerful attack that sent him flying away, with someone leading the charge.
"You bastard!" she screamed, and Suzuki brought forth the full power of Networked Mana as she attacked him, while Toko continued to bleed to death.
Please...someone get there...and save him!
That was her hope as she drove Terry Blood away, to face him herself.
AN: Haha! Bet I surprised at least some of you with some of this! We are now totally caught up with present time! Who will win? Who will die? Will Toko be saved? However, Mika-chan and Icarus are back in the race! Never exclude any surviving Master out when there is a Surviving Servant as well! Hope you enjoyed, and leave some reviews!