It was a slightly melancholy Trhvmn Ortenrosse that extracted his hand from the chest of the black viscous creature. He recognized the being, or to be more precise he recognized the substance that the being was made of. Trhvmn had wondered for a while what exactly had happened to his friendly acquaintance and he had incurred great expense trying to track down and recover him. Unfortunately his research had led him to discovering that his current residence was in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. He was more than willing to sponsor a submarine to try and retrieve him but he had a feeling that he might be playing into the Water Demon's hands if he did and he was supremely unwilling to try and tangle with a good candidate for the trickiest of the Dead Apostles.
Unfortunately this left him a man down when this newest scheme was proposed by the aforementioned nautical Apostle. In addition many of the other Ancestors that were friendly to him and he could have called on were also indisposed, either sealed away or tangled in their own schemes. As such he was forced to only deal with his using his own subordinates due to the short time frame in which this undertaking could proceed. Sumire had put them all on the spot when she suggested using an obscure Japanese ritual to accelerate the summoning of The Dark Six. This had been two years ago and to his consternation everybody he had consulted with had claimed that it should work. This had put him in the unenviable position of him having to participate in the ritual so that Altrouge Brunestud did not seize unilateral control of The Dark Six as soon as it was completed.
Basically he expected the whole plan to go to shit as soon as it started and he was not disappointed. From the other seven servants that were summoned in response to the six grails that were apparently created just to frustrate their efforts. Even the enemy masters were a cut above the usual rabble that stood for magi. He was equally proud and disappointed to be involved in the defeat of two in particular. While he was happy that he finally killed the Barthomeloi head it burned him that he had to rely on his servant to do so and his servant's defeat of the Magician was tainted by the fact that she was distraught due to the death of her own servant.
He idly dodged the grasping claws of his opponent and with a swift movement of his hands bisected him in two. This creature had potential but was still only a pale imitation of Nrvnqsr and he found himself again wishing that he had his back in the competition. Taking a brief glance to both sides he watched as both of his servants both engaged in pitched battles against the master/servant pair that had teleported into the room in the middle of their engagement. Honestly he was quite annoyed when Van Fem had showed up on his doorstep offering him his last servant. Even the two dozen golems that he had offered him as a consolation gift could not quite dull the rising unease that had formed. Among all the ancestors it was Van Fem who had the best instincts, knowing when to fold 'em he called it, so his retreat didn't say anything good about their chances in the war.
Suddenly the smell and sound of water hit his senses and he casually decapitated the mass of chaos that he was 'fighting' against before he scanned the room. Seeing the water flood the room caused his respect for the architect of these grail chambers to rise but he didn't have time to admire the work done. Water of such quantities had a weakening effect upon vampires and while he had in his thousands of years managed to overcome the weakness somewhat he didn't want to be hampered at all in a fight of this magnitude. Sighing he signalled the golems to move in and deal with his opponent and he jumped up several metres and dug his fingers into the stone of the roof. Holding on he surveyed the room scanning the various fights and evaluating how to proceed. The room that they had entered was rectangular and appeared to be carved out of stone but had no visible grail otherwise he would have concentrated his and his servant's attacks to destroy it immediately and leave. The location was correct but there was no sign of any item that could be the grail in this cavern.
There were only five opponents he realised as he observed the fights. The girl with magneta hair had disappeared, most likely to the same location that the grail was stored he theorized. Breathing in deeply and ignoring the rising water and the remnants of his colleague below he analysed the smells that flooded the chamber.
"There," he said aloud breaking his silence. The unmistakeable smell of fresh blood that flowed through living veins told him that the last human had retreated to a location behind that wall. Taking barely a moment to consider his course of action he moved swiftly along the ceiling like a spider, hands and feet digging into the stone of the roof. Without slowing down he barrelled through the wall and entered into another equally sized chamber. There was however one principle difference. In the centre of the room a four foot high pillar churned with magical energy.
Standing in front of the pillar giving him a wary glance was the magneta haired magus who had disappeared when the rest of them fought. Apparently she was to be the last line of defence in case anybody managed to sneak past the fighters. She had already taken a martial arts stance that appeared to be built towards striking although he did not recognize the specific style. He dropped down onto the floor giving her a once over. She was wearing a simple black suit of the kind he often favoured. She wore gloves that were tattooed with runes and the aged vampire instantly deduced her form of magecraft. Trhvmn Ortenrosse straightened up and adopted his own style. She was but a child but she at least showed some promise, against his better judgement he decided to play around with her for a bit before he destroyed the grail.
A false lunge at barely above the speed of a standard exorcist was blocked and countered by the younger woman and she lashed out with a punch which he quickly deflected. She drove forward with a rapid series of punches and kicks and he retreated as turned his body to avoid each of them. He retaliated with a single punch that almost knocked her off her feet. Surprisingly the suit-wearing magus recovered quickly and lashed out with a combo of punches that he blocked and finished with a kick aimed at his left side that he caught with his left hand.
She withdrew and with a slight turn she lashed out with her foot at the other side. He caught it with his other hand wondering briefly at what she was intending with this strategy when a slight tingling on both his hands revealed the truth. The magus dove to the side and away as both his hands exploded shredding the powerful limbs as if they were paper. Almost immediately she was up again and launching powerful punches at his chest that he didn't even attempt to dodge as they failed to even make him flinch. After a few moments for her to get her shots in he struck back with the stump of his arm the flesh materializing with such speed that a full healed hand struck the magus causing her to go flying back against the hard side of the building. He shook his newly reformed hands as he stepped forward to inspect the lesser grail. The pillar flickered with countless runes that proclaimed the presence of magecraft but he had no knowledge of magecraft and therefore he wasted no time in deciphering the object.
He punched forward with strength that would be able to crush a mountain and to his utmost amazement a barrier arose that prevented the pillar from being destroyed. He frowned and instantly struck the pillar again creating a vacuum from the sheer speed of his strike and this time he was gratified to see a few of the runes grow dim.
Suddenly the sound of rushing water invaded the room and he turned to see the magus girl standing facing him with her hand on a blue tinted rune that had remained inconspicuous before now. She was breathing heavily and other hand was clutching her chest where he had hit her. From the walls multiple holes began spewing water.
"Interesting," Trhvmn mused out loud as the pieces began to click in his head. "You don't have the ability to fight underwater otherwise you would have fought against me in the other room." He looked at her facial expressions to see if she would let anything slip through but she remained stoic. "If you continue to flood this area you will drown." Her face took on a look of determination as he spoke but she refused to back down. "So be it," he said nodding.
He kept his eyes on her as he pulled back his arm to launch another devastating punch and he wasn't surprised to see her charge towards him, her feet causing splashes as she sprinted across the wet floor. She lashed out with a kick that he ducked under as he drove his fist into the runes again causing a few more to splutter. He punched upwards towards her chin but she caught the punch in both hands and she used the momentum to vault herself over him launching a punch towards his own jaw that he evaded by tilting his head slightly.
Giving her no time to recover he twisted and lashed out with a clawed hand that would have bisected her in two. She evaded by a hairs-breath and stepped forward through his guard and lashed out with multiple punches that would have crushed the bones of any lesser Dead Apostle. Trhvmn took those blows on the chest as he contemplated the battle form of this girl who still fought against him despite being vastly outmatched. She was good, he admitted with a smile upon his face, but she was severely outmatched. He whipped forth his fist stopping it just in front of her body and with a sonic boom the fighting magus was flung across the room again.
Yes, while she was probably the second strongest pure human that she had fought in a while, after that disappointing battle with Lorelei Barthomeloi, it was a far difference between the two of them. While she had some wonderful moves she lacked the edge that the strongest fighters, the true heroes had. Trhvmn Ortenrosse had met many heroes in his time, he had actually fought the original Heracles back in ancient Greece and he still felt phantom pains from the one-sided drubbing he got in that particular wrestling match. Still he would under normal circumstances offer her the gift of Crimson Moon and invite her to work under him. Maybe after a few millenia she could even join the twenty-seven.
Unfortunately he had no time for that now as the water level reached his knees and he could feel the slight drain of his powers that accompanied the presence of bodies of water. A rapid series of punches caused more and more of the runes to dim. His instinct flared and he ducked as a swipe that would have broken his neck soared to the side. Twisting his body he lashed out with a blow that would have crushed the female magi's ribs if it connected. It didn't as at the same instant that he lashed out an immense amount of mana surged and a tremendous explosion resounded throughout the room causing the entire floor to shake. At the exact same time Trhvmn felt his connection to Van Fem's servant unravel and he instantly knew that his servant Rider had been the recipient of whatever attack that was and he was almost certainly dead.
He didn't have much time to ponder it as his momentary distraction created an opportunity that the combat magus capitalised on by landing the first clean blow of the match into his throat. As he gripped his crushed trachea he admitted to himself that it was a magnificent blow but that didn't give him any consolation as he went stumbling back into the lesser grail.
He felt the last of the ruins splutter as he leant against the pillar and with a short whack he finally disabled the barrier. He faced down the magus taking note of the fact that though she was breathing heavily and favouring her left side she still looked like she was determined to fight. He watched as she with one hand withdrew a familiar looking item from a case.
"Fragarach, really?" he said looking over her dubiously. He supposed he couldn't fault her ignorance. Noble Phantasm's were rare enough in this day and age that she could be forgiven for never learning that Dead Apostle's had the power to seal them. Still he had no desire to mock her lack of understanding. Concentrating power he focused Od into a single punch that had the power to eradicate her instantly. In an instant he was upon her drawing back his punch with the intent to erase her and then he stopped. Stepping backwards the White Wing Lord clutched at his chest and noted the perfectly spherical hole in the middle of it. His eyes grew dim as he noticed for the first time that the glove of the Fraga was ripped and there was a black substance that coursed from beneath it. "Of course," he thought as a regretful smile stole over his face. "It only works against Noble Phantasm's wielded by humans. While she may have released the Noble Phantasm it was Chaos who wielded the blade." He felt his respect for her rise at successfully pulling off such a cunning ploy. What was going to happen next was a true pity.
Trhvmn Ortenrosse stood up with no marks upon him as the curse of restoration restored him to his peak strength. He had pulled his attack at the last moment but he was almost certainly would survived Fragarach even if it had the opportunity to display it's full power. Unlike servants who were vulnerable in both of their cores located in their heads and hearts, Dead Apostle Ancestors could easily walk off such a little amount of flesh damage and return to the fight. It was a good try and it would have possibly killed some of the members of his faction but it ultimately fell short when it was used against him.
He watched as her face showed alarm for the first time in their match and he idly stretched out his muscles waiting for her to make the next move. Her composure broken she did just that as she rushed him with superhuman speed swinging Fragarach in a manner akin to a sword. It was a good idea to slash as opposed to stab and would do more damage to him and even though the usage was not ideal Fragarach was still a Noble Phantasm and thus would be able to penetrate his flesh. Regrettably for her even superhuman speed was a crawl compared to him and a single punch to the centre of her chest lead to a brutal cracking sound and her collapsing under the knee high water.
Turning away from the magus Trhvm eyed the now exposed Lesser Grail. With the barrier down the feeling of prana was almost oppressive in its intensity. He waded forward through the water and drew back his fist and in the next instant he slammed it down into the grail causing it to rupture instantly. A brief sense of satisfaction arose in him for the smallest of moments before he felt his hand be sucked inside the broken form of the pillar. Startled he attempted to drag his hand out of the trap but the more force that he pulled the more force that was returned and he felt his arm disappear into the massively condensed mass of prana inch by inch. Even as he pulled with the force of millions of Newtons he found himself losing ground steadily. As a last ditch measure he tore his own arm off and let the limb be sucked into the swirling mass of prana.
He sighed in relief and immediately regretted it when he felt a powerful force hit his back plunging him forward into the trap. Even as he was sucked in he turned his head and saw the broken and beaten force of that Fraga in a suit whose name he regretted not knowing. Pulling back against the all devouring force he used muscles that had remained dormant for centuries and tapped into his full inhuman strength. Using impossible force he halted the suction through sheer brute force. Twisting he turned his body to gaze at the magus that had managed to push him to such a state and took one step forward. For an instant the all-consuming gravity of the Grail trap warred with the unmatched strength of the oldest living Dead Apostle and a deadly silence rang throughout the room as immovable object warred with unstoppable force. Then the Grail exploded turning the air white and instantly vaporising the water in the room.
xxx
"It's really a shame," Trhvmn said to the body that lay still on the floor. A mangled black suit and a mangled body were all that remained of one of the finest Magi for him to fight in a long time. The bomb that the Lesser Grail had turned into upon its destruction had been a powerful surprise and it had taken him a lot of energy to survive and recover. He stared at the moon as he felt the cooling night air and contemplated his choice to retrieve the magus. Her heartbeat already faint seemed to fade with every second and she would undoubtedly die soon.
Turning back to regard her he noticed a flicker of black that poked out from her suit and let out a quiet chuckle. "So that was how she managed to get up," he said to himself in bemusement. "To think I would see the day Nrnqsr saved a human."
Shaking his head he finally decided to go ahead and do what he had been contemplating since the fight began. He was tired of this war and he was quite low on energy. If he went up against some of the monsters in the opposition he would probably die and despite his great age he wasn't quite ready for that yet. He felt more than saw his servant rise up through the roof to his side and he gave him an inquiring look as he walked towards the downed magus.
"Their Rider killed ours with her Noble Phantasm," the copy of Heracles said. "Apparently she could summon the bull of heaven."
"Truly," Trhvmn said suddenly thankful of his choice to gracefully bow out in the face of an actual goddess. "How was Gransurg doing?"
"We were doing okay," his servant replied. "Their Rider was tired, the cold water weakened the black liquid man and the other two were not anything special. "If I hadn't left then we may have prevailed."
Trhvmn made a noncommittal sound as he moved towards the downed magus. Holding a hand over the ruin that was her mouth he took note of the fact that she was breathing. A hand on her wrist confirmed that her pulse was also weak but steady.
"What are you doing Master?" his servant Archer inquired curiously.
"It still feels wrong for you to call me that," Trhvmn said recalling memories of a much different Heracles. "At least it won't be for much longer," he said and with a swift motion he dug his fangs into the neck of the Fraga whose name he did not know.
Author Note: Story might be a bit rough. Didn't check it thoroughly. Fun fact: Getting stabbed in the heart is not always instantly fatal depending on the size and location of the wound.
SentinalSlice: Shirou is rather strong but there is no point in even comparing. The only actual example we have of a full powered god in the Nasuverse is Amaterasu who pulls Hakuno Kishinami millennia backwards in time and it is specifically stated that only Arcueid Brunestud is capable of bringing her down to circumstances where it is possible to beat her. Even a weak god could be considered omnipotent and Enki is by no stretch of the imagination a weak god.
Frost3d: I've tried to write Omakes but I can never seem to quite get the humour right. Sorry about that.
Guest: True and also a bit false. I'm going to be annoying because I learnt far too much Nasu trivia in the process of writing this fanfic. Gilgamesh's rejection of the God's was the initial thing that prevented a resurgence in the Age of Gods. By the time of the Golden King (about 3000BC) the Age of the God's was already ending and Gods could not properly manifest in the world. It officially ended at about 500AD with King Arthur.
I didn't actually consider the similarities between Enki and Yahweh in that aspect. Fun fact if you were to actually look at the accounts of both the gods you would find a lot of other similarities between the two.
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