Fate-profaned offering

by VitaVitaAR

The Holy Grail War. A free-for-all battle to the death between seven pairs of Masters and Servants. Matsushita Ai, at the behest of the organization that has cared for her for ten years, has been sent back to her birthplace to participate in such a clash. Together with her Saber-class Servant, Okita Souji, she will descend into a violent conflict in which there can be one victor.

18. Chapter 18

It had been her curiosity that they had preyed upon.

It was possible, even now, for her to recall her own creation, the first moments where she had found herself as a living being, born with purpose. Born, as the gods of Greece had told her, to be a gift to all humanity. Indeed, with her very birth, she had been granted so many gifts by the gods as well. Back then, she had thought it was a joyous occasion. She had been taught to weave and sew, given graceful bearing. She had been given great intelligence and fine language. They gave her beautiful clothing, a crown, and finally a name.

Pandora. A joyous name, one that represented her nature as both a gift to those who lived upon the Earth and one who had been granted so many gifts.

At the time, Pandora had loved the gods. The ones who were, in her mind, her family. She was a being closer to humanity, created by the gods of Greece rather than numbering among them, and yet they were those that had given birth to her. She was a divine construct, a sort of homunculus that had been created by their hands rather than the hands of humans. The very fact that she was allowed to live, to be born, to exist on this world, had granted her so much happiness.

Now that notion simply made her sick.

She recalled one gift among all the others that had been different. When all the others were obvious gifts of love, or so they had seemed at the time, Pandora had been unable to understand what the purpose of the box was. It, too, was a divine construct, an item that the gods had created alongside her. She had been told it was just as important as she was, but never to open it, for what it contained was the most important thing of all.

And then the box was given to her, and she was sent to a human settlement. The words of the humans she met, the way in which they praised her for her beauty and her kindness… it made her heart rise. She brought happiness to these people simply by the nature of her own existence, though Pandora did her best to attempt to lend her aid in other ways as well. As a homunculus, one created by the gods, she was incredibly gifted in magecraft. With her magecraft, she did all that she could to better the lives of those around her.

That, too, made her feel ill when she recalled it.

Even in her happiness, there was one thing that kept niggling at her. One thing that was gnawing at the back of her mind more and more with every passing day. The Pandora who believed she was loved by the gods and certainly was loved by humanity couldn't understand why she had been given a box and told not to open it.

For all the intelligence she had been given, she lacked the wisdom to understand this.

It was not by mistake, though. It was by design.

For Pandora, with every passing day, even with all the trust she had placed in those who created her, she kept wondering just what could possibly be inside the strange box. It felt warm to the touch. If it had been given to her, one who had been an offering to humanity, then there was no way it could have been anything bad. This was the logic that had ultimately spurred her to action. Yes, as one who was a gift, perhaps this was a gift as well, one that had been left until the right time. She was certain that one day the gods would tell her it was the right time to open the box, to show humanity whatever joys lay within it.

If it was something so wonderful, a divine gift even more important than herself, why did she have to wait? They had never told her there was any reason to do so. Simply not to open it. Soon, her curiosity was becoming overwhelming. Pandora had to lean what was within the box. She had to show the humans who had taken her in whatever wonderful thing lay inside of it.

It had been a completely ordinary day, when she made her decision to open the box. Pandora had it beside her at all times, so it was only natural that it would be easy for her to access it. She remembered placing it carefully on the ground, and for a few moments puzzling over just how it was meant to be opened. It was not any ordinary sort of container, it had no clear lid. From what she had been able to tell, it was a perfect cube of strangely-shifting blacks, purples, and browns. She had spent much of the day puzzling over this and had gathered something of a crowd of curious onlookers in the process.

Never once had the gods intervened or attempted to tell Pandora not to open the box. After all, this was just as they had planned.

Eventually, she had discovered it had no lid, but it seemed as if there was some way to open it entirely anyway…

And so Pandora opened the box.

What had poured from it was not the wonderful gift she had envisioned.

No, what poured out of it was something blackened, twisted and evil. From within the box was something composed of nothing but curses and hatred, an endless flood of All the Evils of the World flooding out of the confines of the box. It consumed Pandora. It consumed the village. It spread further and further in a great torrent of mud. It never ended, and while it burned away the very lives of those humans it came into contact with, somehow Pandora had survived. She survived to weep, to fail to understand why she had been given something so terrible.

She was unable to close it until she had glimpsed what she believed to be the final evil. Something deceptive, something of a betrayer and deceiver, something that embodied just what the gods had done.

Pandora now understood what she was. She was no gift. She was a punishment. Her existence was to harm humanity, what the gods had cared about from the beginning.

She was a profaned offering. From the very beginning, none of the gifts had been out of joy for her existence. Her arrival on Earth had not been one intended to herald a golden era of happiness. It had been because the Gods of Greece perceived that which they truly held focus on, humanity, as having done something wrong. Something worthy of punishment. The entire reason for her existence, her very birth, was simply as a tool to be deceived by the gods into unleashing a torrent of evil upon the world. Pandora had been born as a simple key to unlock a simple box, her form, her thoughts, everything about her had existed as only a deception.

The pain that this realization had caused her burned away at her inside. The burning of the black mud, the burning pain, the scent of charred flesh as humans wasted away to nothingness from the exposure to the myriad of curses as the torrent of blackness flowed. It felt as if she was being ripped apart and put back together. And yet, at the very bottom of the box, she glimpsed something shining… for the briefest moment, the remaining portion of her mind that had not been twisted with agony believed that, perhaps, it was a real gift.

Hope.

Pandora had hoped the box would contain a gift. She had hoped she would be loved. She had hoped the gods loved her. Her life, her existence, all of it had been founded on hope. And yet here and now, where had hope gotten her? Every single little hope in her mind had been nothing more than a betrayal. The very idea of hope was no longer something to be cherished. That brilliant light at the bottom of the box… at that moment, Pandora had come to realize what it was.

The box contained All the Evils of the World. And so, it would contain hope as well.

For hope truly was the final evil. The lie that deceived anyone had the audacity to believe that anything could become better.

Hope was nothing less than the blackest evil within Pandora's Box.

Somehow, though she now barely remembered how she had managed it, Pandora had shut the box before hope, too, could escape.

But she now understood. Her body had been warped by the blackened mud, her skin possessing a death-like pallor and her hair bleached.

It was the likeness she now possessed as a Servant.

But she now understood.

The gods that had used her as nothing but a tool… the humanity they had used her as a tool against, all on part of some vengeful punishment for something that they had done. Pandora may as well have been a spear that caused pestilence and disease wherever it was thrown.

And so she hated the ancient Gods of Greece. A hate that festered until she perished.

A hate that still existed and grew stronger. If they cared for humanity so much, then she would simply reveal to the gods the true nature of the punishment they had once used.

She would drown the Earth in blackened mud. It would be the end of everything, all for the sake of her revenge.

And it was so very, very close. While, for the purpose of reaching the Root, all Servants would have to be slain, the grail would begin its descent even when two or three Servants persisted in the world. Out of the original seven that had been summoned, only two remained. All she needed the Grail for was a source of power. If she threw open Pandora's Box to its limits now, many people would die in the blazing fire of millions and millions of curses. The infinite curses of All the Evils of the World. However, it would eventually wear down the girl who had summoned her until she died, and Pandora herself would soon fade away, leaving her vengeance incomplete.

So, from the moment she had been summoned, Pandora had decided that the best course of action to complete her vengeance was simply to claim the Holy Grail, use it as a source of infinite mana, and burn the entire world with it.

And so she waited, in the very bottom floor of the parking garage. This, indeed, would be the site of the Holy Grail's final descent, the arrival of the artifact the entire war existed to claim. There was something of a sense of satisfaction in her heart. That she would finally, finally see the vengeance she craved ever since that day so long ago.

However, Pandora could not allow herself to become complacent. She still had to claim the grail, to make it usable as a source of mana.

And so…

Her remaining Shadow Servants were outside the parking complex. They would form the first line of defense. Certainly, the decision to send Shadow Assassin to slay the Church's representative had been a mistake, but she still retained control of four Shadow Servants, one of whom possessed their full range of intelligence and the others who would answer solely to her will. Then, if the remaining Servant and the magi aligned with her surpassed the defenses she had placed on her new workshop… within were both of her true allies. The beautiful Lancer she had twisted with her will, and the man who desired to see the human world engulfed in fire for the sake of self-worthiness. Together, they would form an effective defense. And if they were surpassed… She would await the final Servant at the bottom of the parking garage and destroy her there.

Then Pandora would take the revenge she had waited for. For far too long. She would allow absolutely nothing to stop her from grasping that which she had desired.

Yes…

The vengeance against those monsters in the shape of gods that had waited so very, very long to come to its completion. Thanks to the Holy Grail, she would finally obtain it tonight.

She would embrace the very burning of the entire world.

---

It was time.

The Minami Parking garage was an unusual building, in Saber's eyes. Even though she had been granted knowledge of the modern world, and therefore knew its purpose, it was still strange to see such a tall, grey, industrial structure… especially given that it was placed upon one of the locations that could harbor the Holy Grail. And indeed, it was the spot that the Grail had chosen. The very location that held Avenger herself. Everything they had been doing for the past two days had been culminating towards this moment. No, it was more than that.

The entire Holy Grail War's progress had been building until this moment.

The girl samurai could feel her Master's small hand squeezing her own. Ai… to be honest… there was a part of the pale swordswoman that was feeling a fear unlike she had ever experienced before. The fear of separation. A niggling doubt that had never before plagued her, the idea that something could go terrible wrong and drive them apart. To split them from one another so soon after they had discovered just how they felt for one another. And yet…

Okita Souji had never been one to allow such doubts to stop her. She couldn't, not when she knew what was at stake.

"Ai," she began, "Once the fight has begun, you must simply remain at a distance until it ends. I'll be fine, I promise!"

She gave the small girl a smile, to reassure her as best she could. After a moment of hesitation, she returned the gesture.

"I-I'm about to see the true Okita Souji in battle, a-aren't I?" Ai commented. She was trying to lighten the mood, but it was impossible to ignore the way the brunette magus's voice wavered with each word. But that just meant she was overcoming her fears.

Saber squeezed her hand harder.

"That's right, Ai," she replied, with a nod, "I won't hold back, no matter what happens."

When Ai nodded now, it was somewhat morose. Indeed, their thoughts had drifted now to Lancer. There had been not a single way to purge the corruption from her. Tsubaki said nothing on the matter, but it wasn't difficult to see that Lancer's fate was painful for her.

But that didn't mean Tsubaki never wanted to see Lancer's face again, either.

And, indeed, no matter what had happened, Saber's intention to give Lancer that final, honorable duel had never faded away.

With every step, the shape of the apartment parking garage grew closer. By this point, they had all split into two groups. One group was composed of Rani and Alysival, in order to focus purely on penetrating Avenger's workshop for them. The other was composed of Tsubaki, Theomanius's familiar Marion, Ai, and herself.

Their job was, more or less, to fight. To kill. The things Saber was best at.

Her scarf fluttered in the wind. There was no way of knowing for sure what the Shadow Servants were planning, or rather what Avenger had planned for them. For the most part, their lack of any real will of their own made them rather poor at actual planning. Saber had seen it when they fought in the park, the phantoms had mostly been operating on attacks of opportunity, with only Assassin and Berserker showing any real inclination towards any sort of strategic maneuvering.

Berserker…

Hijikata Toshizo… A man she had called a friend and ally in life was now summoned as Berserker. That fact in and of itself wasn't necessarily shocking, though. His attitude in life, when it came to battle, it didn't make the idea of his qualification for Berserker something that came out of no-where. The fact that he had been summoned as a corrupted phantom, though…

It was hard to see him like that, but that didn't mean she would let it stop her. Avenger's plan of vengeance made it impossible for such considerations to get in the way. They could no longer let anything stop them.

The parking garage drew closer and closer. And then…

There was a tiny flicker of red light.

"Ai, get your head down and stay out of harm's way," Saber said, swiftly, glancing towards her Master and releasing her hand, "Support me from a distance with Inoue-san, I'll take care of the rest!"

"… Good luck, Souji-chan," said Ai, taking a deep breath and giving her Servant a weak smile, "I... I'll be here to heal you if you need it!"

This time, there was no time for confusion or hesitation. It was just as they had planned, anyway. Ai stepped back swiftly, as Marion and Tsubaki took places beside her as they quickly took cover in a nearby allyway. For this portion of the attack, there simply wasn't much they could do in order to directly intervene in battle, and so the best thing they could do was stay out of the way.

But she wouldn't be fighting alone against every Shadow Servant.

From that brief flash of crimson there came the sudden surge of fire and noise. A blazing arrow erupted across the night sky, tearing through the darkness towards Saber! It was Shadow Archer, there was no mistaking that fiery arrow for anything else!

In a flash, Saber had stepped to the side, the arrowhead biting into the concrete where she had stood moments before. It suddenly erupted, exploding with an enormous crack and cratering the concrete! But that wasn't all, even after dodging the first arrow there was another dozen brilliant red flashes of light from the top of the parking garage!

A hail of flaming arrows fell, arcing through the sky and tearing towards the street below. It was to be expected, though, even from the shade of a heroic spirit that qualified for the class! To an observer's eyes, Saber suddenly seemed to vanish as she darted forward, wind rushing past her. But this was not simply the speed she had possessed before… her Agility parameter had increased! The arrows, at this range, simply couldn't touch her!

Each arrowhead that buried itself in the street erupted into a column of fire, exploding and leaving a smoking crater where it struck. And yet, Saber was able to dance through the hail of arrows and the fiery blasts. Yes, clad in her haori, this was truly her body being pushed to its fullest capabilities! She did not have to cut the arrows out of the air, because they simply never got close!

At least, to begin with. It was clear that, as the girl samurai closed the distance between herself and the parking garage, that Shadow Archer was refining her aim after her initial barrage. Even if she was some sort of near-mindless shade, that sort of skill was to be expected from someone who could qualify for the class of Archer!

This time, the next arrow came far closer then she had anticipated! But still…!

Saber's blade flashed, splitting the fiery arrow down the center and sending both halves tumbling through the air. She switched her progress from forward to the side, darting past arrows that bit into the street around her, the moonlight and the light of the crimson, fiery projectiles catching the silver of her blade in the night with each flash of her blade as she cut down any that came too close for comfort.

But she wasn't facing only Shadow Archer.

There was the whinny of a horse, and the armored samurai who was Shadow Rider suddenly came charging from within the parking garage! Each thunderous impact of the horse's hooves left a print in the street below it as its eyes almost seemed to burn, its shadowy form cutting through the night. Even as Saber continued to dodge the arrows that had been sent hurtling through the air towards her, the horse was rapidly charging, its Rider pulling out a long spear and readying themselves to swing it down upon her right as they came into range!

But even now, Saber couldn't allow herself to fail! No, she had to draw out every single one of the remaining Shadow Servants! They had received word earlier that day that Shadow Assassin had been killed during an attempt to eliminate the Church's Overseer, which left the remaining opponents as Shadow Saber, Shadow Archer, Shadow Rider, and Shadow Berserker.

So she couldn't allow herself to be overwhelmed by just two opponents!

When Saber's blade met the spear, there was a shower of sparks as she forced it away! Her physical strength too had been increased by the wearing of her haori! Shadow Rider charged past her for a few moments as she sprinted forward, but she could hear them quickly turn to begin gaining on her once more. But that was fine. Shadow Archer and Shadow Rider had been drawn out. She had to get them all before she could do anything else…

Saber hoped she wasn't frightening Ai too much. But it was simple fact that her Noble Phantasm would work best when she had drawn all of her opponents into one battle before activating it!

There!

Saber exploded forward, immediately meeting the shade that was her counterpart the moment she noticed him emerge from the darkness. As expected, his sword immediately clashed against hers. He too qualified as Saber, after all. The parted, Saber's katana glinting… even that had been ranked up. The sword she wielded now was the very blade that had been used by Ai to summon her, the sword that she trusted and loved the most.

The man summoned as Shadow Saber was older, but that hardly dulled his skills. He was capable of responding to every thrust, every slash… if he had possessed his own mind, he would have been the kind of opponent that would have required her full attention in a duel.

But right now…!

Saber forced his blade back scant moments before Rider caught up to her, the thundering hooves and swinging spear narrowly missing her. But in the blink of an eye she had put distance between herself and both of the Shadow Servants. It was hard to ignore, now that she had come close to the parking garage, that Shadow Archer's attacks had ceased.

Before the platinum blonde swordswoman even had a chance to wonder why, the armored woman suddenly launched herself off the top of the roof and fell, her flaming naginata pointed downwards towards her! Saber sprang back, giving herself a healthy amount of time to evade the flaming blade of the polearm as it buried itself in the concrete and let off a burst of flames. The horned woman yanked her spear from the street in the blink of an eye and raised it in both hands, the blank look on her face jarring with her actions.

But now Saber and successfully lured out three of the Shadow Servants! There was only one more…!

And it wasn't long before he answered, as well.

"… Okita-san… you're wearing the colors of the Shinsengumi once more…" came Hijikata's voice from the darkness of the first floor of the parking garage. And, indeed, moments later the man had emerged, holding his rifle in one hand and one of his katana in the other. "But… but I am the one who will restore them! The Shinsengumi will continue on forever!"

It was… It was sad to hear him like this. But there was no way that she could let that give her even a moment's pause. He was already raising his rifle, as the other Shadow Servants began to move…

There was the crack of gunfire, and Saber jerked to the side, the bullet ripping past her through the air. Hijikata immediately charged forward and swung his katana down, but the girl samurai couldn't allow herself to be stuck in conflict here, with all four Shadow Servants and almost no cover! No, now that she had drawn them all out… It was time!

Saber skidded backwards from her momentum, even as the horse prepared itself to charge, Shadow Archer drawing her bow as Hijikata raised his rifle once more. Even Shadow Saber was taking a step forward…

There was a flurry of cherry blossom petal lights.

Hijikata froze, his eyes widening. Even now, when his very being was tainted by the corrupted nature of his summoning, the sight before him stopped him in his tracks. Just as Saber had suspected it would. As she packpedaled, one of Archer's arrows tore through the air, but due to having to suddenly account for Hijikata's position the Shadow Servant was forced to alter her aim, to her detriment.

What Saber gripped in her hand now was undeniably a familiar sight. It had been quite some time since she had last seen it, but she would never forget those colors, not that word. It was a sight that had been inscribed on her heart.

The red and white flag, with jagged patterns around its edges, adorned with the word 'Sincerity'. It was the banner that symbolized the organization that the platinum blonde swordswoman had been a part of from nearly the very beginning.

What Saber now held in her left hand was the flag of the Shinsengumi. She had known from the very start that it would bring Hijikata to a stop, even briefly, but that was hardly the reason she had chosen to use it.

It was the Noble Phantasm that could allow her to counter her many opponents, though it was not of her own power.

"The Flag…" she heard her friend speak, still stopped dead in his tracks. Shadow Archer was drawing her bow once more, Shadow Rider about to spur their horse on, Shadow Saber ready to draw back his sword and strike… but that was too late. Now that she had unveiled the flag, none of them would be able to put a stop to it.

It was time for her to bring the first stage of the assault to an end as soon as possible.

"This is the flag that stood for the beliefs we held in life, Hijikata-san," said Saber, as she raised the flag towards the moonlight, "The scarlet flag of the Shinsengumi. I'll show you the one thing you desire, before the end."

The pale girl took a deep breath, and prepared to send out to call. To all those she had known in life. Everyone who had called themselves a captain of the Shinsengumi. This was a call for their assistance, a request for the help of people she had trusted with her life. To people she had called her friends.

"This is the symbol of those I call my friends!" declared Saber, thrusting the banner skyward, "Makoto no Hata!"

There was a brilliant flash of light, as cherry blossoms seemed to fall from the sky, drifting delicately through the air. The Servants who had been about to attack were suddenly repelled, unable to strike what they couldn't see.

When the light faded, Saber was no longer alone on this battlefield. Indeed, she never had been, not with the presence of her Master. But Ai couldn't directly intervene in the fight. She wasn't a combatant, certainly not against these shades.

But now…

Each of the figures around Saber was clad in the very same haori that she was. For indeed, each of them was another of the captains of the Shinsengumi. The force that surrounded her was the very men she had fought alongside in life. In such company, she looked small and delicate in comparison to the other captains.

Archer immediately loosed another arrow, but one of the men at Saber's side immediately stepped forward and sliced the projectile out of the air.

"So even Hijikata-san has been summoned…" commented the man. "This is going to be a pretty strange battle, fighting against an ally like that. But if it's Hijikata…"

There was a chorus of swords sliding out of their sheaths.

"We'll always fight alongside you, Okita-san!"

Those words… that voice… Even if it was only for a short time… the feeling of being alongside her fellow Shinsengumi once again was something that the platinum blonde girl had desired since she took ill towards the end of her life. Being summoned as a Servant had given her the opportunity… this one chance…

It was quite obvious that, even using her Noble Phantasm, Saber was hardly capable of summoning her fellow Shinsengumi at their full potential. She was a Servant, and not one that possessed any capabilities when it came to the matters of magecraft. But she didn't need an army of fully-powered Servants. She needed those who would fight alongside her.

These enemies weren't full-powered Servants, either, after all! Saber darted forward with the rest of the Shinsengumi!

So many had answered her call… that fact alone had bolstered her morale! These were all her friends, and they thought the same way about her!

Shadow Archer immediately stepped back and drew her naginata, but it was too late. She was already set upon by two of Saber's summoned Shinsengumi, forced to defend herself with her weapon rather then back up to get range on her opponents and attack! Shadow Saber's robotic movements simply weren't enough to handle multiple opponents, no matter how skilled the true Servant would have been, and he was quickly being overwhelmed!

Even Shadow Rider, atop their mighty horse, suddenly found themselves hemmed in by katana-wielding samurai, unable to get the range they needed to charge. Indeed, as full Servants, the shades would have been able to put up a much stronger fight. But like this…!

This was just what Saber had intended!

And there was Hijikata. He stood there, in shock, as the Shinsengumi he so cherished surrounded his allies and took them on. And yet… he did not seem sad, or angry. No… somehow… somehow he wanted to see them again, even if they were now his enemies. Saber had guessed at it, to be honest. That seeing the Shinsengumi once more, fighting again as a unit… it would at the very least give Hijikata pause. At the very least for a moment he would be unable to act from the sheer emotions overcoming him, even corrupted as he was.

But as Saber came close, he suddenly lashed out with his blade, forcing her to swiftly defend, sparks flying as sword scrapped against sword! For the moment, the other Shinsengumi that she had summoned were preoccupied with overwhelming and defeating the other Shadow Servants, so in this instant it was simply Saber and Hijikata. She gritted her teeth slightly as the impact forced her to take a step back, but the swing itself, while it had managed to take her by surprise, didn't seem as focused as the vicious attacks that the Shadow Berserker had utilized before. To be fighting Hijikata in this sorry state… but Saber couldn't let herself stop.

"I… I…" she heard him begin, as he suddenly raised his sword again, "Advance, slash!"

This time, she was more prepared! As his blade came down, she was able to slide it along the edge of her katana and force it to the side, causing him to take a step back to evade whatever attack she could have launched to counter his assault. There was still some of his mind lingering in there, some of his will to fight! But Saber knew that, no matter how she felt about Hijikata as her friend, she needed to break through.

"This is the Shinsengumi you wanted to see again, Hijikata-san," Saber commented, as she drew her blade parallel to her eyes once more, "Before the end… I wanted you to see something like this. Not only so I could win, but for your sake as well."

Even the corrupted shadow before her was still showing moment of hesitation. Had Saber been a more duplicitous person, she could have struck at that moment… But she was not. Her words were genuine. Hijikata's painful desperation when he spoke of the Shinsengumi… if she had to kill him, she would do it while showing him the organization he felt he embodied one last time.

Behind her, the shot of a rifle sounded, and Rider fell from their horse, vanishing into a black mist with their stead. The shade had been completely overwhelmed, in the end, unable to defend themselves against so many attackers even if none of them were at their strongest. The horned Archer woman, too, was losing her battle, her automaton-like behavior simply no match for multiple enemies with their full range of thought. As she stepped back and attempted to counterattack, a blade suddenly pierced her chest. She fell backwards soundlessly, breaking apart into a black mist that faded away without ceremony.

Shadow Saber, in spite of that robotic behavior, was still managing to hold off his attackers. But in the end, it was obvious that the Shadow Servants were never intended to be a defense against this many opponents. Most of them simply lacked their original personality and intelligence, leaving them as automatons with a portion of a Heroic Spirit's power. No matter how the shade was capable of using his skills to defend himself, there simply wasn't a way for him to win.

He was pierced, and then broke apart into darkness moments later.

Sparks flew as Saber's sword clashed against Hijikata's once more, forcing him back. At the sight of the Shinsengumi assembled like this, even temporarily, Shadow Berserker was faltering. But none of them intervened. Saber wouldn't have wanted them to, and it seemed as if they understood without her even having to tell them. They were all people she called her friends and comrades, after all.

"I… I… I am the Shinsengumi!" the black-haired man cried, but his tone was no longer one of mad, desperate conviction. He almost sounded as if he had become resigned.

Having gained a bit of distance on the girl samurai, Hijikata's hand snapped up clutching a rifle. But even as he pulled the trigger, Saber's head snapped out of the way. Even with the crack of the firing of his rifle, Saber ducked beneath his gun. Even at point blank range, the agility she exhibited, that was offered by the wearing of her haori, made it possible to dodge a shot that should have been guaranteed to hit.

Saber thrust her katana forward, and it struck Hijikata in the chest. She shut her eyes tightly, feeling the blade easily pierce through his clothing and flesh and out the other side, impaling the shade of her friend.

This was no happy victory, but there was no other choice.

"Ah… Okita-san…" she heard Hijikata's voice, as she kept the blade buried deep in his chest. She heard his katana and his rifle drop to either side of him, before fading away. Even to a shade, there was no way to ignore that this was a lethal injury. She was certain that she had pierced his heart with that blow. "… The Shinsengumi… are here… aren't they…?"

For a few moments, Saber found herself unable to speak. But then, she took a deep breath before nodding slowly.

"… They're all here until your last moments, Hijikata-san," she replied, forcing herself to smile as she looked up at him. No matter what kind of person he had been, or corruption had been forced on him, he had been her friend. "We're all with you to until the very end."

"… You're… here…"

And with those last words, Hijikata's body began to break apart just as the others had, crumbling into a black mist that drifted into the air before fading away into nothing.

Saber lowered her blade, the blood that had been shed from piercing the shade of Hijikata Toshizo through the chest, too, fading into nothing, at her side. Once again it simply gleamed in the moonlight, and she quietly raised a hand to her cheek, rubbing at her eyes.

She didn't want Ai to see her tears. Not when they had come so very close to the final battle. And she still wanted to speak to the others, to her friends in the Shinsengumi that she had called to her side and had been instrumental in her victory.

After a moment, Saber straightened and turned towards the Shinsengumi she had summoned. The first among their number was a tall man with short hair, none other than the leader of the Shinsengumi himself, Kondo Isami. Even after everything else, she'd never stopped feeling loyal to the man, who had been one of the chief reasons that Saber had become part of the Shinsengumi as well. In that way, he could be called one of the catalysts for the change in her life. Of course, as one of the many Shinsengumi summoned by her Noble Phantasm, he did not have much longer to remain in this world. The Flag of the Shinsengumi was no Holy Grail, even weakened Servants could not be summoned by it indefinitely. But, for the moment, they were here.

"… There's no need to thank us, Okita-san," she heard Isami say, "Someone will always answer the call of our flag, you know that just as well as I do. I'd never think of rejecting my duty to a fellow Shinsengumi like you."

"… Still…"

She had, even for moment, fought alongside her fellow Shinsengumi once more. It was something that she had desired from the very beginning. Even if it wasn't to the end, it was still until they claimed victory. Until she had freed the shade of Hijikata and the others Shadow Servants were defeated as well. Saber took a deep, shuddering breath, wiping the blue and white sleeve of her haori across her eyes to banish the tears once more and looking towards her fellow Shinsengumi. Some of them were already beginning to fade away, their bodies growing transparent…

Really, Saber only had a chance to say one more thing to them.

"Thank you," she said, with a smile, "So much."

And then they were gone. Saber found herself wiping her eyes again, trying to keep it from being too obvious just how she'd been feeling before Ai emerged from her hiding place. She didn't want the girl she loved and her Master to see her lover and Servant in tears, not when the final conflict was upon them. She had to remain resolute and focused.

"… The Shadow Servants have been defeated, Ai," she said, calling to her Master. Indeed, moments later, Ai was the first to emerge from their hiding place, followed by Tsubaki and the ever-silent Marion.

"Souji… you did it!" declared Ai, in awe, "I… I knew you could, but I had no idea… that was amazing! You summoned all your fellow Shinsengumi as Servants?!"

Saber weakly smiled at her Master, scratching the back of her head.

"They answered the call, Ai-chan," she responded, "It was because of them that I won. I like being praised for my skills, but in this case they're the ones you should be thanking."

Ai was about to respond, but then she suddenly looked into Saber's eyes… without another moment's passing, the small girl quickly gripped her Servant's hand tightly. The girl samurai realized that she must have been unable to wipe away her tears completely.

"… A-ah… Ai, seeing me like this…" she murmured, averting her gaze slightly as she did.

"You've comforted me plenty of times when I was upset, Souji-chan," replied Ai, with a smile as she held her Servant's hand, "So I can do the same for you."

There was no need for explanation. Ai had already guessed at what had caused the pale swordswoman's tears. To fight alongside her Shinsengumi to defeat one of her friends, only for them to fade away… it was a bittersweet experience.

But now wasn't the time for that.

"Inoue-san, Marion-chan," Saber began, turning to face the tanned magus and the pale little familiar, "Have you received any word?"

"Have Alys-chan or Rani-san gotten through the bounded field?!" asked Ai, somewhat more frantically, almost as if Saber's question towards their allies had just reminded her to ask herself.

"I haven't," answered Tsubaki, and Marion's head quickly shook to indicate she hadn't received any word, either, "But that doesn't mean that they haven't. It might not be possible for them to quickly send us a message under their current conditions, if they're working as hard as they can to bore a hole in Avenger's defenses and hold it open."

While Saber still had learned little of magecraft, that certainly made sense to her, and Ai nodded to herself.

"Then how can we tell if we're able to get inside?" asked the silvery-eyed girl, glancing up towards the parking garage.

"Um… if I had to guess, the easiest defense for a magus from the Age of Gods like Avenger to put in place would be something that denies intruders rather than actively attacks them, since that means she doesn't need to expend any more time establishing anything but an area of denial," explained Ai. "It normally wouldn't be perfect, but if she's trying to focus on obtaining the Grail all she needs is to delay her attackers."

"… If that's the case, then she probably would have made it a bounded field that denies the concept of Servants," Tsubaki folded her arms, "Which would make it difficult or impossible for Saber to enter. That would leave us without her as a fighter. If she can get close to the building, then Alysvial-san and Rani-san have most likely been able to break through it."

Saber paused for a moment. A bounded field that denies the concept of Servants? Something like that would be a powerful defense, indeed, even if it wouldn't have been a perfect barrier like Ai had mentioned. But it also made it easy to test.

Before anyone could propose any sort of plan to check for the bounded field, the swordswoman separated herself from a surprised Ai, and made her way to the entrance of the parking garage in an instant.

Indeed, as Saber stepped up to structure, a strange sensation overcame her body. It was as if something was refusing her, as if the very building disbelieved in her ability to exist in this location. As if it was denying her existence no matter what evidence was presented to it.

And yet, it wasn't powerful enough to stop her. She was able to walk right through it with only a moment's delay, and it felt as if it was weakening by the second. They could make it inside!

"Ai, Inoue-san, Marion-chan, whatever barrier was in place, it's breaking down by the second!" Saber declared, urgently. "Alys-chan and Rani-san have done their job!"

None of the other three girls had to be told twice. Quickly breaking into a sprint, though Saber had to help Ai keep up after a moment, they were able to make it inside the parking garage. There was no telling how long the hole in the bounded field could be maintained, so there had quite simply been no time for hesitation.

Within the Minami Apartments parking garage, Saber could already tell there was a heavy, unnatural feel in the air. It only took a glance towards her Master and Tsubaki to tell they were feeling the same sensation, and Marion almost seemed to be wilting as she walked. Not only was the very air dense with mana, but on top of that there was a feeling of darkness. While it wasn't impossible to see, all the lights seemed to have dimmed or gone out completely.

There were parked cars lining the walls, and Saber didn't like to guess at what had happened to the people who had parked them. There weren't even any bodies. All she could hope was that Avenger had struck when no-one was in the parking garage.

"The air…" she heard Tsubaki's voice, behind her, "It's heavy with mana. I can't tell if it's because of Avenger or the Grail itself, but it's almost as if conditions inside this parking garage have become similar to those of the Age of Gods."

"Then…" began Ai, "It's something like Caster's Noble Phantasm?"

Tsubaki shook her head.

"I don't think so. It doesn't feel as if this has to do with the creation of Avenger's territory," she said, "Pandora has no legend telling of her creating her own domain. I think…. I think it may be the descent of the grail combined with her presence here. It's making this place thick with mana…"

Given how much Saber could feel it, she couldn't help but glance back to Ai, then Tsubaki, and finally Marion in concern. Ai and Tsubaki, no matter how worried Saber was, seemed to be able to handle the weight of the ambient mana, but Marion seemed sluggish, as if she was feeling the pressure especially hard.

It was at that moment that the girl samurai was able to recognize other details she had missed upon her initial entry into the parking garage. The lights were getting brighter, more vivid as the proceeded closer to the stairways down to the next level or up to a higher one, but in patches of shadows and darkness there almost appeared to be a dim red glow… And… there was no way to see outside. Beyond the parking garage was nothing but blackness. Was this Avenger's bounded field, as seen from inside of it?

It also felt as if their every movement was being watched. It was difficult to discern if this was because of the bounded field, the uneasy sensation of simply traveling through it, or if there was genuinely someone watching them. Naturally, Saber sensed the presence of Servants. Avenger… and Lancer both were here, after all… It wasn't possible to determine if one was closer and the other was further, or anything of that nature. She couldn't imagine that Avenger was unaware that her Shadow Servants had been eliminated, so at this point Saber believed that she had to be planning some sort of response.

There was just a question of what it could possibly be.

"If… if I'm not mistaken, the Holy Grail is going to begin its descent at the top of the parking garage or at the very bottom," said Ai, her golden eyes drifting upwards, and then down again, "So… that's where Avenger must be. … Um… Marion-san, do you sense anything?"

That's right. The little familiar had excellent senses. If it was at all possible to sense the source of this abnormal buildup of mana, it was likely that she would be the one capable of sensing it.

But in this dense 'fog' of mana…

Marion slowly, sadly shook her head. It didn't appear that she could pierce the fog to sense individual presences.

"I see…" Ai responded, her gaze drifting downwards slightly. "Then… Inoue-san, Souji, how can we find her?"

"How many levels are in this building?" asked Saber. The most ideal option she could think of was the one that was the fastest. The moment they reached the final level where Avenger was located, they would immediately be aware, so before that point it was a matter of searching for her as quickly as possible. Given that Lancer was going to be standing in their way, as well… "If we know that, we should start with the shortest path."

"There's three levels down and five levels up," said Tsubaki, quickly. "So it makes the most sense to go down first, then go up!"

But as the three girls hurried towards the stairway…

For a moment, Saber froze. She could feel it, now… but she didn't need to. Her grip tightened on the hilt of her blade more firmly.

There, barring there way to the next level, was Lancer. Her blackened armor was warped and altered, the once white and gold Trap of Argalia now stained red and black, but there was no mistaking her for anyone else. Even if Saber had not glimpsed her once before, in the throes of illness, she would have recognized her immediately.

She heard a sharp intake of air behind her, and recognized it immediately as Tsubaki.

There was the clank of armor as Lancer stepped forward, and Saber slid her feet into a ready stance, drawing her katana parallel to her eyes. But facing her like this… the knight had been such a staunch ally, to see her drenched in blackness as she now was, it…

"I knew you were coming," stated Lancer.

"Saber."

"Ai, Inoue-san," began the girl samurai, stepping into position to attempt to bar the way to them with her body as Lancer took a step forward, her silvery eyes fixed on the dark knight, "Stay back."

While Lancer had vowed not to harm other Masters, that was long before she had been corrupted by All the Evils of the World. As painful as it was, there was no way to truly know if she would hold to that vow any longer. Her entire existence had been twisted, the values she possessed could have eroded into nothing due to Avenger's Black Mud. But… even under that vicious grin she was exhibiting, was something of the Noble Knight of the White Plume still lingering?

"Worry not, Saber," replied Lancer, her crooked grin growing, "I have no intention of attacking your Master, nor Tsubaki. From the very beginning, the very first clash of this Holy Grail War, the inevitable end was for us to do battle one last time. Neither of them are to be involved in this duel, Saber."

Her tattered cape fluttered in a light breeze, her loosened hair drifting as well, as she raised her cavalry lance and pointed the tip towards the pale swordswoman as her dull golden eyes narrowed. Those words… even now, even after being engulfed in Avenger's black mud, Lancer did not desire to involve anyone but herself in their final duel?

"L… Lancer!"

The voice that had cried out from behind her was Tsubaki. The tanned girl had suddenly stepped forward, and the knight's pale gold eyes drifted from Saber towards the tanned magus. Tsubaki's hands where clenched at her sides, and she looked like she was on the verge of tears.

"I… I'm still… d-don't you remember when you were summoned b-by me, Lancer?" came her desperate voice, her fists tightening, "We… we vowed to help one another win… we… we were going to claim the grail together! Then you got embarrassed when I bought those cute outfits for you, b-because I thought that… that it would be better for our relationship if you weren't in spirit form all the time…"

Tsubaki shut her eyes tightly as she averted her gaze.

"Y-you wanted to keep me safe… you wanted to make sure not a single innocent person was caught up in the Holy Grail War… y-you were like some kind of beacon of divine light in this world, a true hero… I… I wanted to spend more time with you, Lancer…"

Those tearful green eyes raised back up to fall upon the knight.

"… Please…"

For a moment, silence came over the parking garage. Lancer's sharpened smile faded.

"Inoue-san…" came Ai's voice, now, as the small girl stepped to her friend's side.

"… I am sorry, Tsubaki," responded the blackened knight. Her tone no longer sounded gleeful, there was no longer that hint of excitement in her voice at the prospect of fighting Saber. No, instead, it was a morose one. "But… no matter how anyone may feel, you are my Master no longer. There is nothing you can do."

She raised her weapon towards Saber once more, and the samurai sharply brought her blade up parallel to her eyes once more in preparation for an attack.

"L-Lancer… please… I… I'm so sorry…" Tsubaki stammered, her shoulders shaking.

"You have nothing to apologize for, Tsubaki," replied Lancer, "For I regret not a single moment of-"

Suddenly, the knight's eyes widened. Saber could hear it too, the sound of suddenly-bending metal and cracking rock… The ceiling was crumbling above them!? How?! Lowering her katana, she spun in place, reaching out towards her Master.

"Ai!" she cried, clutching the front of the small girl's clothing. With no other options, she threw the small girl back, as the ceiling began to fall. Ai landed with a yelp, but she had cleared the falling debris…! Ah, but Tsubaki was just out of reach! Even with her agility, she couldn't quite reach…!

There was suddenly a flash of blackened mana, and before Saber could realize what had just happened, Lancer was at her side… her armored hands reached out and suddenly shoved Tsubaki back, just as the ceiling fell!

Both magi had landed beyond the falling debris. Almost immediately, Saber could hear Ai's voice calling to her.

"Souji!? I… are you alright?! I-Inoue-san is here too, and Marion is okay! … I… did Lancer…"

"… I'm fine, Master, something like that wouldn't harm a Servant," responded the samurai quickly. But her eyes were fixed on the black knight now beside her. The ceiling, and a single car, had cut Saber off from both Ai and Tsubaki, and the little familiar as well. At least for the moment. It wasn't only that small section, she could see now that an entire line of debris had fallen, as if to cut the parking garage in half. There was no doubt in her mind that this had been deliberate, to attempt to kill one of the magi, or separate them from her.

But Lancer… Lancer had just acted to saver her former Master's life. There truly was a part of her, even corrupted, that cared.

"… And now, it is just you and I, Saber."

Lancer raised her weapon, her armored boots grinding along the floor as she turned on her heel to face the platinum blonde girl. Almost immediately, unable to dwell on anything else, Saber brought her blade up… and it was just in time. The side of the knight's cavalry lance suddenly slammed into her weapon, the sheer force of the blow sending Saber skidding sideways across the concrete! She didn't lose her footing, but that impact… there was no doubt in her mind! Just as wearing her haori caused her to become stronger, Lancer was more powerful now as well! Was it because of something Avenger had done…?

She shifted her footing immediately, drawing her blade parallel to her eyes once more. Nothing less could be spared. Even corrupted, this was the final duel between them.

From the very beginning of the Holy Grail War, this was how they had decided to end it.

Lancer's vicious grin returned.

"We won't be interrupted now, Saber!"

A spiral of blackened mana flowed around the form of the Trap of Argalia, and…!

---

"Souji…"

She could hear something happening beyond the rubble, but at this point it was impossible to tell just what it was. Ai had heard her Servant's response, but then… then it was a lot of commotion. Had she begun to engage Lancer already? It was the only thing she could think of… And just what had collapsed the entire section of the parking garage's next level like that? Now that the short brunette could get a good look at it, she could see that it had basically split the entire room in half. However, that didn't mean there wasn't some way around, further down!

As the girl turned towards the others, however…

Tsubaki was seated there, knees drawn up to her chest, tears in her green eyes. It had been hard enough to see Lancer like that again, and Ai couldn't even imagine how it must have felt for Tsubaki to see the corrupted knight for the first time. Her Servant, torn away from her and twisted… and… and yet, at the same time, Lancer had quite clearly acted in order to save Tsubaki's life, push her out of the way of the falling debris. Did the fact that her mind still existed in that capacity make it better or worse? It was impossible to tell, nor could she understand how Tsubaki would feel about it. If the same had happened to Saber…

No. This was the time that they needed to take action. Ai couldn't allow herself to be immobilized with feat and doubts. No matter how terrible it was, they had to make their way about around to meet up with Saber and stop Avenger!

And yet, when she spoke, she found herself hesitating.

"I-Inoue-san… are… are you okay?"

The other magus was silent for a moment.

"… Lancer… she still…" Tsubaki trailed off, hugging her knees closer to her chest, "She… still protected me, even now… she didn't want to let me… let me die…"

"Inoue-san…"

But… they couldn't just remain here. It was most likely that Saber was fighting Lancer on the other side of the debris wall, and every single moment counted when it came to stopping Avenger. They had to keep moving, even if the idea of trying to force Tsubaki to do so was making Ai's stomach twist into knots. Trying to leave her to mourn would have been the right thing to do, but…

"… I'm going, Ai-san," said Tsubaki, suddenly, wiping the tears from her eyes as she rose to her feet, "This isn't the time to mourn Lancer. It might… it might be painful, to see that wonderful girl I knew twisted like that… but for the sake of everyone, everywhere, this isn't something we have time to put off any longer."

Ai could see the way Tsubaki's hands had balled into tight fists, her shoulders shaking.

"We have to completely crush Avenger."

That certainly didn't stop Ai from being concerned, but they did have to get moving… if Saber was injured, it was difficult to try and support her from beyond the debris wall. There was no way of knowing if she was hurt like this…

"W-well stop her!"

As Ai turned to try and lead the way around the wall of debris, Marion tugged at Tsubaki's sleeve, but the girl quickly began to move as well. After a split second, the familiar began to follow as well.

The debris wall was strange. There was no way the upper floor of the parking garage could possibly have contained enough material to completely seal off this entire level by splitting it in half, but somehow it stacked all the way up to the ceiling. There was no way it happened unintentionally, but at the same time it didn't seem like only the material that composed the parking garage itself had been used to create this barrier. But regardless of that fact, they had to find there way around it! Saber could be in trouble…

And Lancer…

Behind both girls, Marion suddenly came to a halt. Wordlessly, she opened her mouth, attempting to get the attention of the two magi.

But it was too late.

By the time they turned, he had already descended. Hirata Genjiro leapt from the shadows, seemingly from no-where. In an instant, he was upon little familiar, and his leg slammed into her body with an ugly crack. Without a sound, her face contorted with pain, Marion was lifted off of the ground and sent hurtling through the air, slamming into one of the parking garage's walls hard enough to leave a crater.

When she fell, she didn't rise again.

"Marion!?" cried Ai. In an instant, the little girl had been injured, and possibly… she was possibly… no. Even from here, she could tell Marion was still breathing, but the sound of Genjiro's leg impacting against the tiny familiar's midriff had been an ugly one. Certainly, even internal damage was unlikely to kill a familiar, a being whose body was composed of mana, but the fact was that she was now incapacitated and vulnerable. But when Ai stepped forward to try and see if Marion could get up, Genjiro stepped forward, interposing himself between the two magi and the incapacitated familiar.

"The most dangerous threat has been neutralized," he said, simply, his cold eyes gazing at the two girls, "Even if she is not dead, it will be easy to finish her after the both of you have been killed."

"Hirata Genjiro…!" Tsubaki almost growled, stepping forward. But before she could even begin to reach into her bag, or perform any kind of attack, Genjiro was suddenly upon her! She was forced to raise her arms defensively, just managing to apply reinforcement at the last second before his fist slammed into her and sent her skidding backwards across the concrete floor, nearly knocked off of her feet. Seeing him now in action for the first time… Ai tried to analyze just what he had done. Some kind of reinforcement to a truly ridiculous degree…!

She stepped back when his gaze had shifted towards her, immediately passing her mana through her magic circuits in order to begin condensing moisture in the air. She had been so preoccupied with their situation that she had failed to realize just how wet the hair was, it was absolutely humid inside the parking garage. Was it some kind of side effect to Avenger's bounded field, or something else entirely? Regardless of the truth, that meant her spells were able to quickly condense the massive amounts of moisture in the air, in order to use it for her spells! If nothing else, that made the process of conjuring her ice quicker!

Indeed, the sudden chill in the air heralded the formation of her ice barrier, just as Genjiro thrust his fist towards her! The barrier immediately cracked, and she staggered back, but he hadn't been able to pierce it so easily!

Behind her, Tsubaki swiftly got to her feet, one arm raised defensively while the other reached into her bag, drawing out one of her air capsules once more between two fingers. Ai didn't know the first thing about hand to hand fighting, but it seemed like Genjiro's entire fighting style was extremely aggressive even after seeing only two blows. Was he going to use more magecraft, like the remote explosion?

"Ai-san, the entire way he fights is extremely aggressive," said Tsubaki, drawing closer to the short brunette as she did, green eyes remaining fixed on the man, "But I think if we can put forward a strong defense we'll be able to fight back!"

"R-right!" Ai nodded. She was frightened, she couldn't help it. But at the same time… she wouldn't allow herself to lose to someone like Hirata Genjiro! Not only because of the situation, but because of the kind of man he was, the terrible things he would do. The sort of person who would side with Avenger even though she desired to attack all of humanity. The kind of man who would manipulate others and attempt to drive them apart.

"…"

Genjiro, rather than attacking, to the surprise of both girls, straightened and cracked his knuckles as he looked them over. Of course, this was no reason to let their guard down, and Ai firmly maintained her ice barrier as her gaze remained fixed on the man.

"What a surprise," he commented, with a shrug of his shoulders, "After the truths I revealed to you, I would have expected the both of you to be unable to stand each other's presence."

Ai's hands tightened into fists. It was now obvious that Genjiro had only told the truth because he believed it would destroy their alliance. And it had worked. They'd lost Lancer because of it… But she wouldn't let him gloat over it!

"It's painful. It hurt to learn that Inoue-san's father was responsible… but…" the small brunette's fists clenched, "But none of that has anything to do with her! She's not her father! She spoke to me, she became my ally, not just because of guilt over what her family had done to mine, but because she wanted to! No matter how much it hurts, it's not Inoue-san's fault, and it never will be!"

Genjiro let out a sigh, as if to express disappointment with the fact that they had once again allied with one another.

"I see… Very well, then," he said, "Then perhaps there are still truths you would like to-"

"IGNITE!"

Beside her, Tsubaki suddenly hurled her air capsule towards the man. It glowed brilliantly for a moment, before exploding and releasing a massive amount of compressed air, cratering the concrete beneath it! Genjiro was forced to immediately spring away to avoid the brunt of the explosion, force sufficient enough to break the floor of the parking garage would certainly have been enough to shatter bone or even tear away a limb.

Before the light had even faded, Tsubaki had already drawn another of the air capsules from her bag, carefully taking aim at her enemy as she did.

"We're done listening to someone like you, Hirata Genjiro!" she snapped, "I can't deny that I should have told the truth, there's no way I was doing the right thing. But you only told the truth because you thought it would benefit you, not because you truly wished to be honest. We won't let you break out defense! We'll stop you, and Avenger too, you bastard!"

"Ah…? But I'm certain what I'm about to tell you wouldn't benefit me at all," he replied, cocking his head to one side as he did. "Certainly, you already know that that it was Inoue Tsubaki's father that killed Matsushita Ai's parents. But did you ever wonder why he did it?"

Ai stared in silence, even as she maintained her barrier. This was hardly the subject she wanted to be talking about, to say the least… The knowledge of the circumstances of her parents' death was already painful enough. It wasn't as if there was anything that could have changed this. What could Genjiro possibly say?

"The one responsible for the battle that resulted in the deaths of your mother and father, Matsushita Ai," he continued, "And the crippling of your father, Inoue Tsubaki, is me."

For a few moments, both Ai and Tsubaki stared in shock.

"What… what are you talking about?!" Tsubaki cried, before Ai could manage to respond.

"It's quite simple, Inoue," Genjiro replied, with a shrug, "I was another participant in that Holy Grail War. I saw my opportunity to play them against one another. The way I saw it, there was no way that any of them would escape such a conflict unscathed."

Genjiro's lips spread into a grin.

"I was quite satisfied to know that not only had he killed both of the Matsushita family's magi, but he had also sustained severe, irreparable damage to his legs. It was practically the perfect outcome, opening my path towards victory."

"You son of a bitch!"

Tsubaki stepped forward, gaze practically blazing with anger, just barely stopping herself. Ai could feel her shoulders shaking. She had started out disliking Hirata Genjiro from the outset, and her hatred had only grown for him since then. The attempted killing of Alysvial von Einzbern, the way he seemed to try and manipulate others without hesitation to meet his own ends… but now she had learned that he was, ultimately, the one who was responsible for the deaths of her parents, that anger was bubbling up to the surface. He had used the result of his own actions to manipulate then, he'd been the one who caused the deaths of her parents, he'd… he'd…!

"You're a monster, Hirata Genjiro!" cried Ai, even as she maintained her ice barrier, "An unforgiveable monster!"

She could only barely keep herself from stepping forward and trying to attack, her anger having surpassed her fear entirely. What she wanted to do, everything she wanted to do, was direct all her capabilities in Magecraft towards attacking the man who had orchestrated her parents' deaths by manipulating friend's father. The only thing that held her back was the fact that there was a part of her that realized there had to be a reason he was trying to provoke them. As much as she wanted to try and attack, that tiny little doubt just barely held her back.

Why would Hirata Genjiro tell them something that would most likely make them attack, unless it was exactly what he wanted them to do?

"A monster, you say?" Genjiro smiled, calmly, spreading his arms wide, "If that's what I must be to achieve my goal of showing humanity their value, so be it."

"Showing humanity their value!?" snapped Tsubaki, "Through manipulating others and siding with a monster who wants to kill everyone!? What kind of insane madman are you, Hirata Genjiro!?"

Tsubaki stepped forward again, reaching into her bag.

"Once, I found myself in a sea of fire, where everyone was dying around me," responded the man, calmly, eyes following each one of Tsubaki's movements as she carefully, slowly drew something from her bag, "People burned and died, consumed by a black mud of curses and hatred. And yet… I survived. Out of everyone, I survived. Do you understand what this means?"

Through the anger she felt at him, even now Ai couldn't help but be confused. What could he possibly mean?

"It means that I had value. It means that everyone who survived has value to their own existence," he continued, "The only way you can truly know that you have this value is through an experience like this, to the pain and suffering around you. The fact that you survived indicates that you are a person who possesses value."

For a few moments, Ai and Tsubaki stared in mute shock. The entire reason for his actions was because he believed that only suffering could show that a human had worth… that only pain was the path to having value? No… that wasn't it, was it? It wasn't personal hardship. He believed that only surviving something horrible could truly prove that you had worth. That only by seeing others die and suffer around you could you understand your own self-worth… what kind of warped and twisted mindset did Hirata Genjiro possess?!

"… So for you… for you… you did all of this, you hurt so many people and sided with Avenger… you manipulated Inoue-san's father into killing my parents…. B-because of some kind of delusion!?" Ai found herself crying out, her anger bubbling forth.

"Delusion?" asked Genjiro, "It is simply a belief forged by my own experiences. Knowing I have value was something like a gift, and therefore I have to spread it to others."

He spread his arms wide once more.

"Anyone who survives Avenger's flood of death will finally understand the worth of their lives."

Before anything else could happen, Tsubaki suddenly drew her hand from her bag, her fingers pointing as if to mimic a gun.

"Condense, crush, fire!" she shouted, and the air suddenly warped visibly somehow, twisting into a single point before erupting forward with a sound like a gunshot! The air bullet hurtled through the parking garage with a whistling sound! But something was strange… She just completely missed Genjiro!? But how? He didn't even move, and yet Tsubaki just shot her attack right past him… It didn't make any sense to her how something like that was possible.

But there wasn't much time to try and understand what had just happened. Suddenly, Genjiro ducked low and exploded forward, exhibiting speed that could only have come from extreme reinforcement of his own body! There was almost no time to do anything, to even react. All Tsubaki could do was take it, and hope her reinforcement stopped it from doing too much damage…

"T-Tsubaki…!" Ai cried, turning, trying to create an ice barrier. But it was too late. With an ugly crack, Genjiro's fist slammed into Tsubaki's chest, the sheer impact of the man's fist lifting her off the ground with a strangled gasp and sending her hurtling through the air backwards. Ai watched in horror as she arced, almost hitting the ceiling, before landing heavily on her back and letting out a cry of pain. Before Ai could try and move to her assistance, Genjiro's leg snapped out suddenly and caught the ice shield. This time, the cracks widened almost immediately, her barrier already having been weakened, and it shattered into fragments immediately!

All Ai could do was hold her arms over her body before the man's leg slammed into her, knocking the wind out of her and sending her flying. Sheer, fiery agony shot through her midriff, but at the same time the impact had been dulled given it had to go through her ice wall. Her ribcage had just barely been spared becoming totally shattered from Genjiro's kick, and even then the pain was almost unreal. Ai landed heavily on her side, exhaling sharply with the pain coursing through her small frame. And Genjiro was almost upon her again…!

But before he could strike, suddenly Tsubaki was upon him! She'd already manage to rise!?

Even though she was currently unable to move from the pain radiating through her chest, Ai could see the brilliant lines of mana flowing across her limbs as she thrust her fist forward, surprising Genjiro and forcing him to divert his attention, twisting his body and raising one arm parallel to his head. Tsubaki quickly proved her reinforced body to be nearly as strong as Genjiro's, as resounding thud of her fist slamming into his arm signified him being nearly lifted off the ground, stumbling sideways as his boots skidding along the concrete floor! However, it wasn't enough, and without a moment's pause he turned fully to face the tanned magus.

Even in spite of the blazing agony raging through her torso, though it was slowly fading towards its center in the middle of her chest, Ai thought for the briefest moment that she saw some sort of necklace hanging from his neck, something that was glowing ever so faintly… but as she struggled to rise, she lost sight of it.

"Ai-san, are you okay? Can you stand?" asked Tsubaki, quickly stepping to the small girl's side and reaching her hand out towards her in order to help her up. Though her body was protesting, the ice barrier had prevented her from suffering any serious injury, and Ai was able to take Tsubaki's hand in order to pull herself to her feet. With a jolt of fear, Ai realized that if she had not managed to maintain her barrier until being attacked, Genjiro's kick would likely have crushed her ribcage and killed her instantly.

"… I-I can stand," the small brunette managed to reply, wincing. But the fact that she had managed to keep her barrier intact until Genjiro struck meant that, as painful as it was, she was still able to move. It was now fading into a dull throbbing, as Ai straightened and inhaled. That brought with it another twinge of pain, but she was able to through it this time… just in time for Genjiro to step forward and suddenly erupt with motion as he attacked again!

This time, Ai managed to pull herself together just in time, her circuits blazing with mana as she gathered loose moisture in the air and bent it into the form of a barrier once more, chill filling the air as she positioned it between Genjiro and herself as quickly as she could. But too late, she saw a pinpoint of light materialize just ahead of her barrier, rather than the man simply trying to hit it again… and only realized what it was right before it happened.

"… Ah… duck!" she cried desperately, and both Tsubaki and Ai barely managed to crouch behind the ice shield as the light suddenly twisted in on itself and erupted into a blast of heat, noise, and sound! Ai's ice shield was shattered in an instant, and both girls were explosively knocked off their feet and sent back several meters, Ai landing heavily on her back with a gasp of pain. But this time, Tsubaki stayed on her feet, catching herself and almost immediately snapping her hand up to fire another air bullet towards Genjiro!

"Fire!" Tsubaki cried, the air once again warping into a single, visible point before rocketing towards the man! But just as before, somehow, inexplicably, even though Genjiro didn't seem to dodge at all, it missed!

Tsubaki gritted her teeth. It wasn't as if he was perceiving where her spell would impact, it was as if it simply couldn't hit him somehow… as if something was making it impossible for him to be considered as a target.

This time, Tsubaki didn't even ask before grabbing Ai's shoulders and pulling the tiny girl to her feet before Genjiro could mount another attack. His aggressive style and explosive magecraft… it was making the madman difficult to counter. And truly, he was quite simply insane. The idea that someone would want to help unleash something as horrible as that muck that was All the Evils of the World across the entire planet, to slaughter billions of people, simply because he believed the survivors would discover their own self-worth through the deaths of so many others… it was absolute insanity of the highest degree.

But there wasn't any further time to try and consider Genjiro's mental state. He was trying to stop them. He was trying to kill them.

"… As you can see," Genjiro said, calmly, straightening, "The difference in our abilities is far too great. If you surrender, I shall simply make it quick."

"Like hell, you bastard!" snapped Tsubaki, "Why would we ever surrender to you?!"

"We're here… we're here to stop Avenger, n-no matter what!" added Ai, fixing an intense glare on Genjiro, "That means there's no way we can let you stop us… S-Saber is fighting too, so I won't stop!"

The man slowly slid himself into a ready stance once more, a faint smile appearing on his lips.

"Then you'll both die together."

As Genjiro squared himself up to attack, Ai's mind raced. She knew she had seen something dangling from his neck, as if he had it tucked in and hidden before it somehow came loose. She knew it had been glowing faintly, as well… Was it some kind of mystic code? Was it a mystic code that functioned as a counter to ranged projectiles and magecraft? If that was the case… if that was the case…!

There, she could see it again even as Genjiro began to move! A glowing necklace dangling from around his neck! She could even feel it, somewhat, though the density of the mana in the atmosphere made it more difficult. There was no doubt in her mind that it was some sort of mystic code! Ai had to hope that she was right, though…

Taking a deep breath, as Genjiro charged forward at blinding speeds, Ai stepped forward. She had to time this perfectly… Even as Tsubaki stared in confusion…

Ai magic circuits flared to life once more, as she thrust one hand forward. As Genjiro bore down on her, she gathered the moisture in the air once more… but this time it wasn't a barrier. No, she was going through another single-action spell. All she needed was that one moment this time…!

Ice gathered into a single small orb right in front of her, tightened and compressed… and just as Genjiro raised his fist, it erupted! Exploding into thousands of tiny fragments and taking him by surprise! It couldn't do any real damage, but it wasn't as if he knew that…!

Her hand snapped out, grasping for the glowing necklace, and when her fingers found it, she gripped it and pulled as hard as she could! With a snap, it came free in Ai's hand!

"Kuh?! You…!"

As he tried to kick her away, Tsubaki stepped forward and thrust a punch directly into his center mass! A rush of air exploded from her fist, and surprised, Genjiro was sent skidding backwards!

The glow of the necklace faded.

Even as Genjiro regained his fighting stance, seeming quite unharmed, now Ai knew…

They could beat him!

---

Blackened mana spiraled around the Trap of Argalia's cylindrical form. In an instant, it gathered at the tip and was unleashed, a red and black beam of twisting destruction that tore its way through the parking garage with a strange howling sound. But if Saber had been taken off-guard and consumed by an attack like that, she could hardly take pride in her abilities any longer. She could hardly call herself someone worthy of being Ai's Servant, of having Ai's love. Of being Lancer's opponent, even now after her corruption. Darting to the side, she could practically feel the miasma of death being put off of the blackened mana. Behind her, it tore through one of the supports of the parking garage, though the damage wasn't enough to cause anything to collapse.

It only took less than a second for Saber to clear the gap between herself and Lancer!

The mana was still swirling around Lancer's cavalry lance as she swung it to meet the blindingly-fast thrusts of Saber's katana! Both weapons struck one another with a strange echoing sound and a shower of sparks, as the girl samurai attempted to force her way past the black knight's defense by sliding her katana along the underside of the Trap of Argalia! But Lancer was hardly going to be halted by that, mana flaring around her weapon once more. This was different from the way she had used the divine mana before.

It was as if with every swing and thrust, she was pouring this blackened mana into her weapon! She had a nearly endless source of it…!

Saber stepped back, and before she could attack there was a roar of magical energy as Lancer swung her weapon downwards! The silver-eyed swordswoman was barely able to evade the pulsing, coursing destructive wave, stepping to the side and attempting to thrust her blade forward towards her opponent's undefended right side! But before she could, Lancer twisted herself immediately, and metal met metal once more, sending Saber's attack off-course! But now that she had her haori… she wasn't so easily deflected! The edge of her katana scrapped along the Trap of Argalia, and another thrust forced Lancer to step back rather then attempt to attack, to evade her torso being skewered by the tip of Saber's blade!

But that didn't mean that Lancer wasn't incapable of answering this assault with one of her own. That same blackened magical energy once again choked the form of the Trap of Argalia like a toxic gas as she thrust the lance forward, swiftly striking out at Saber! Angling her katana, using the side and the sharp and blunt edges of the blade, Saber was able to block the first strike, and the almost immediate follow-up blow as well. But the third struck the flat of her katana exceptionally hard, nearly knocking Saber off her feet and sending her skidding backwards across the parking garage! She stopped just before one of the parked cars filling the building, and with a blast of black mana Lancer rocketed towards her, darkness swirling around her weapon like a drill! There wasn't truly any good way to counter, so instead Saber waited until the Knight of the Black Plume was almost upon her before seeming to vanish, air currents whipping past her as she evaded the attack by darting to the left.

Lancer's thrust weapon pierced the front of the car, the destructive magical energy igniting something inside. In an enormous blast of heat and sound, the vehicle exploded! The force threatened to knock Saber off her feet, but she held fast, raising her hands as the front half of the car was rent apart from the inside, flames leaping into the air!

There was no time to be distracted by such a fiery display. This was the final battle with Lancer, their final clash before the end. There was no way she knew of that could allow her to free Bradamante from this corruption… but that painful idea couldn't take her focus.

Lancer was already emerging from the flames, unscathed. It was only natural, those flames were incapable of harming a Servant, after all. A grin adorned her face, a grin so unlike the person she had been before. And yet…

"This is exactly what I envisioned, Saber!" declared Bradamante, that sharpened grin widening, "A final duel between us, before the very end! You have so perfectly granted my desires, samurai of the east!"

Saber took a deep breath as she brought her blade up parallel to her eyes once more, squaring up her feet as her silver-gold gaze fixed itself on Lancer once more.

"And yet… this isn't what I saw, Lancer… seeing your very nature twisted like this…" she responded. Lancer had been her ally, she had been a dedicated, power, and yet pleasant and kind person. But now… that grin…

And yet… she had saved Tsubaki from being crushed to death. Even in this warped state, she had done what she could to protect her former Master.

"… There is nothing that can be done about that, Saber," stated Lancer, her gleeful tone, her grin, fading away entirely. She raised her cavalry lance, looking the pale sword-wielding Servant over.

"You have certainly become stronger, Saber. Your speed is even more outrageous, as well," commented the black knight, "But your spirit origin, the core of your existence, doesn't seem to have changed."

Saber's eyes remained fixed on Lancer. This brief pause had given her an opportunity to consider her next move, and while she was suited to attack and defense both she elected not to recklessly charge her opponent immediately. No matter how corrupted Lancer had become, it was clear that she still possessed every bit of skill she had previously.

"Then… that coat?" suggested Lancer, eyeing the blue and white of the Shinsengumi haori, "That must be it. That coat is a Noble Phantasm that enhances your capabilities. But… no. It is not the coat at all, is it? Alone, that coat has no power. It is only when you wear it that it gains any meaning."

The black knight stepped forward, her grin returning.

"Self-suggestion. Your mind knows that you are in your most perfect state wearing that coat, and therefore your body becomes stronger," she continued, raising the Trap of Argalia, "Excellent, Saber!"

She pointed the tip squarely at Saber, who braced herself, prepared to dodge if there was even the slightest tensing of Lancer's limbs, the smallest sign of her preparing to attack. Indeed, that was exactly how her haori functioned. It had no special abilities, no magical powers to make her stronger. It was just as it had been in life, an article of clothing that symbolized the organization she belonged to. But it was those colors that had meaning to her. The blue and white of the Shinsengumi. The haori's function as a Noble Phantasm wasn't to use some sort of magecraft to reinforce her, it was to make her think she should be stronger when she wore it. With such conviction that she truly became more powerful.

That was the tool she intended to use to defeat Avenger. But first, she had to surpass Lancer, as well.

"You have even drawn a different sword. It would have been a disappointment if nothing had changed since our first clash!" declared Lancer, pale gold eyes glazing as she grinned, "You were skilled then, but our final duel should push the both of us to our limits, should it not?!"

Angling her body sideways, Saber slowly found herself nodding. Indeed, if the course of the Grail War had been normal, she would have wanted to bring every single ounce of her capabilities out for the final duel against Lancer. It was what the knight deserved, a show of Okita Souji at her best.

But now…

"Lancer… this isn't what I wanted our duel to be like," Saber said, "I wanted us to fight on good terms, to know that we would end the war feeling like whoever won deserved the Holy Grail. We were supposed to fight as former allies who believed in one another, not like this… not after Avenger has twisted you like this…"

It wasn't the idea of killing Lancer. That was something Saber had accepted from the very beginning of their allegiance. The Holy Grail War could allow for only one victor, and the girl samurai knew that in battle it was victory that one should strive for above all else. It was the fact that Lancer had become tainted.

But for that brief moment, hope rose in Saber's heart. Lancer still expressed some shadow of her former self. Her rescue of Tsubaki from the falling debris, her desire to have a final, proper duel with Saber…

"But… I know you, Lancer! This isn't the path you wanted to take, is it?" she asked, stepping forward carefully. She wouldn't foolishly lower her guard. "You can't possibly want to let Avenger to attack all of humanity. You saved Inoue-san's life, didn't you?"

For a brief moment, the black knight was silent. Then…

"There is no longer any connection between those two actions," she said, simply, her grin fading once more, "I do not wish to see my former Master die, but I will not abandon Pandora. Even considering the darkness of her ideals, she is broken. I cannot break her further."

There truly was nothing that Saber could say to her any longer. No words that would free her. Before the silvery-haired swordswoman could even attempt to speak up once more, there was another explosion of blackened mana that sent Lancer rocketing towards her!

This time, Saber darted forward once more, angling her blade and body so that the side of her katana scraped along the side of the Trap of Argalia with a shower of sparks! But the blackened knight twisted in placed, armored feet scrapping along the concrete floor as she did, slamming her lance against Saber's sword and forcing the girl's attack to the side!

As Saber shifted her footing, turning, she didn't expect to suddenly have Lancer's armored leg meet her waist. With a surprised gasp as a shock of red-hot pain suddenly shot through her midsection, Saber was lifted completely off the ground and sent hurtling through the air! She landed on her side, but instead of being stunned, in spite of the dull throbbing now radiating up her left side, Saber immediately rolled. Had she failed to move, the tip of her enemy's cavalry lance would have pierced her body. She caught sight of it biting into the concrete she had just been lying upon less than a second ago!

But as Lancer drew the Trap of Argalia from the floor, Saber sprang to her feet and thrust her katana upwards, aiming for Lancer's chest! Even as the knight attempted to step back and out of range, it wasn't enough! The tip of Saber's katana scrapped along Lancer's black and red armor and bit into it!

But she missed. Certainly, the blade not only pierced Lancer's armor, but cut her flesh beneath. But the strike had still been made less potent by Lancer's dodge, and by her armor, instead slicing into the black knight's shoulder.

And it was almost immediately retaliated against.

As Saber drew her katana back to avoid overdrawing herself, Lancer swung the Trap of Argalia down like a club with a shout, blackened mana spiraling along its length once more! There was little Saber could do other than force the blade of her sword into the path of Lancer's blow, bracing her katana with both hands as she did!

The shock of the impact reverberated through her arms, and she could feel the concrete floor beneath her cracking and giving way, metal support within bending…!

Saber was knocked clear through the floor to the next level down with a cry of surprise! She landed, back-first, on the hood of a large vehicle, the sheer speed and force behind her impact caving the entire hood inwards. But she wasn't seriously harmed, and there was no time to hesitate when Lancer was still pursuing her, leaping down from the level above!

Springing up, the girl swordswoman flipped backwards off the roof of the car, bringing her sword up again once more. She had only barely avoided the knight's followup attack, as Lancer drove the tip of her weapon through the top of the car and blasted a wide hole through the entire vehicle! There was no denying it, with Pandora providing Lancer's mana, she was able to enhance her strength even more…

The Black Knight dragged her lance through the ruined vehicle, ripping the door off of its hinges and sending it hurtling towards Saber. But the girl samurai's blade flashed, the edge slicing through the steel like butter and sending both halves tumbling away, sparks flying as both halves of the chunk of metal were sent skittering across the concrete floor. But Lancer was almost immediately following the door she'd ripped away from the car, the tip of her weapon swirling with blackened mana as it was thrust towards Saber's midsection! Swiftly, Saber used the side of her katana, gritting her teeth, to force threatening tip of the cavalry lance away from her, the grating sound of metal scraping against metal echoing through the parking garage as Lancer's momentum carried her past the swordswoman.

But even with Saber's incredibly high agility, she wasn't able to turn before Lancer could swing her weapon to the side, the Trap of Argalia slamming into Saber's back! The samurai let out a strangled gasp, her silver-gold eyes widening as she was sent tumbling forward, pain immediately shooting up her back as she slammed to the ground, landing on her front! For a brief moment, the pale girl was stunned, struggling to force herself onto her feet as Lancer spun on her heel.

As the Trap of Argalia slammed downwards, Saber rolled, barely managing to avoid the tip of the cavalry lance before it pierced through her back! She sprang to her feet, spinning in place to face her opponent and placing both hands on her katana's hilt, drawing the sword parallel to her eyes once more. It was only when she had once again shifted into a ready stance that she realized that the very tip of Lancer's weapon had still managed to bite into her side, leaving a bloody gash through her kimono. The pain was becoming apparent now, searing through her right side, but she couldn't let herself become distracted now!

Saber took a deep breath, eyes narrowing as her blade flashed forward. She darted towards her enemy with a sound like a gunshot, and just before she made contact, just before Lancer raised her weapon into Saber's path, the silvery-haired samurai seemed to vanish once more, stepping to the knight's side in the blink of an eye and lashing out with a flurry of violent stabs, forcing Lancer back onto the defensive as Saber's scarf fluttered in the air currents of her motion! The cry of each strike of metal on metal slamming against one another exploded through the parking garage as Saber assaulted her opponent with a series of stabs.

They weren't intended to pierce her opponent individually, but if she could overwhelm Lancer's defenses…!

But Lancer suddenly thrust her weapon forward, pushing Saber's katana to the side as she did! Even as Lancer attacked, however, Saber was already moving, and she suddenly sprang through the air! The girl samurai's blade lashed out, as she went over her enemy, as the knight was forced to defend herself by swinging her cavalry lance back up and using it as a last-second barrier to attempt to deflect the aerial slashes!

When Saber landed, she couldn't avoid Lancer's attempted counterattack, using the side of her cavalry lance like a blunt instrument and slamming it down on the other Servant's blade, metal crashing down on metal as the platinum blonde girl once again used the flat of her sword as a defense. This time, the impact was still strong enough to launch Saber backwards across the room, sending her slamming into a wall from the blow! Moments later, Lancer was upon her, blackened mana spiraling around the Trap of Argalia like a drill once again!

When it buried itself in the space on the wall that Saber had once occupied, there was an explosion of debris as the wall itself simply fragmented, shattered hunks of concrete scattering across the room, some shattering the windows or denting the doors and hoods of nearby vehicles. But that attack bought Saber precious seconds to strike! Shifting her footing, her trusted katana flashed forward, scraping along and then through Lancer's midnight armor!

The Black Knight realized what Saber was about to do at the last moment, managing to raise her arm into the path of the sword's strike rather then take it to her upper body. Sparks flew at the impact, and Saber knew that the blade of her sword cut into Lancer's flesh!

But it wasn't enough. The Knight's vicious grin seemed to return as she suddenly used that same injured arm to drive her elbow sharply into Saber's side, knocking the wind out of the platinum blonde girl and leaving her gasping as she suddenly rocketed back once more! This time, however, she managed to land firmly on her feet, gulping in air quickly to avoid that moment of weakness being taken advantage of!

"Fantastic, Saber!" cried Lancer, thrusting her weapon skywards, "This is the very duel I imagined! Who shall win, of the two of us!? Samurai of Japan, or Knight of France?!"

Saber drew her katana up to the level of her eyes once more, body tensing as she prepared to charge.

"I have to win, Lancer," she insisted, her blade gleaming as she did, "I have to defeat Avenger, no matter how you attempt to stop me. No matter how you say she's broken. She still desires to attack and kill all of humanity, so I can't just stop here! I can't let Avenger have her revenge!"

"Well said!" declared the corrupted Lancer, black mana swirling and coalescing around the form of the Trap of Argalia once more, "After all, what would be the point if one of us wasn't trying out hardest? This is our final clash!"

There was a flash of blackened mana, and Lancer swung the cavalry lance down, unleashing a beam of darkness that ripped through the parking garage in an instant. But even that couldn't catch Saber, as she managed to dart to the side in the blink of an eye!

She had to find an opening soon!

The longer the fight went on, the more it tipped in Lancer's favor. She had armor, and more endurance. While Saber knew she could continue to fight, she felt confident in her skills, it was simple fact that Lancer had these assets when it came to this battle. And that was coupled with the infinite mana of Pandora's Box… Saber knew there was only one potential way to bring the fight to an end. She had to kill Lancer. No matter how much she regretted it, she had known this war would end like this long before now. It was worse only because Lancer was corrupted, not because of the fact that Saber had to slay her former ally.

When the black beam of magical energy faded, a gash was revealed in the floor of the parking garage, glowing white-hot. The point of impact on the wall, too, was now a crater, revealing melted metal supports and blazing concrete.

Saber darted past the groove that had been ripped in the floor and lashed out once more, an upwards slash followed by a flurry of jabs. Again and again, there was the harsh sound of metal on metal. She had to surpass Lancer. She had to make it past her in order to stop Avenger! But the knight was steadfast, like a wall. Each time she nearly got a solid blow in, Lancer was able to use the blackened mana erupting from around the Trap of Argalia to blast her away, or take advantage of her armor. She was preventing herself from being seriously harmed, but she wasn't gaining any ground, either…

Saber had to find that opening. Not only would she be able to reach Avenger, to stop her…

But she would be able to free Lancer from this terrible corruption. Deep down, Saber knew it was the only way. She possessed no special abilities, nothing that could free the black knight from the effects of being consumed by All the Evils of the World. Part of her suspected that Lancer herself knew it as well.

That it was, deep down, one of the reasons she so desperately wanted to complete their duel.

Saber stepped back just as Lancer's weapon came slamming down, cratering the floor where had just been standing, a blast of magical energy erupting from the impact and cratering the floor once more! It was more power than Lancer displayed before previously, even during this duel…!

But at the same time, the longer the battle went on, the clearer and clearer it became that some of Lancer's finesse had been sacrificed. Sheer power poured off of her every attack, but she wasn't as fast, her strikes not as precise. That blackened magical energy was both empowering her, but hindering her as well.

Saber had to find that final opening, the moment where she could take the final blow… but with every time she struck, it felt as if Lancer's weapon was coming closer and closer to making a direct hit!

No matter how confident the swordswoman was in her own skills, the fact remained that it wasn't possible to fight forever, and even if it was Saber couldn't afford to. She had no way of knowing how close Avenger was to obtaining the Holy Grail, but with every moment that ticked by it became more and more likely that she would claim it. Saber still had to find that opening, that split second in which she would be able to strike…!

Blackened mana streaked through the air in a trail behind Lancer's weapon as she charged, forcing Saber to defend once more, a shower of sparks flying from the impact of the Trap of Argalia. But just as swiftly as the knight had attacked, the samurai too lashed out, driving her sword towards Lancer again and again and forcing her onto the defensive. But that, too, didn't last, as with another blast of mana from the cavalry lance Saber was once again sent reeling, forced to defend from Lancer's vicious assault, each blow sending a shock up her arms. But she could tell her agility was foiling Lancer's attacks as well… but this extended stalemate couldn't continue! Even the blows they managed to strike against one another were glancing and non-lethal, indirect!

But the longer the battle went on, the more blackened mana was gathering around the Trap of Argalia. Another blow from that lance… it wasn't going to be a minor injury, even if it was only a glancing blow. It was as if Lancer was preparing for an even more devastating and deadly attack… Saber could feel it.

With another blast of magical energy, Saber was sent skidding backwards across the parking garage. But she didn't lose her footing, instead sliding her feet into a ready stance and taking a deep breath, raising her katana parallel to her eyes once more. From this distance, if she could bait Lancer into a ranged attack, then perhaps… perhaps…!

"Excellent! Absolutely perfect!" declared Lancer, her pale gold eyes wild with glee, "You remind me of someone I once new long ago, Saber, fighting me to an absolute standstill! You may even overcome me, and have your path to that poor, broken girl."

Suddenly, the knight sighed, her gaze softening.

"Perhaps if you find victory, it was meant to be that way. For her sake, and everyone else's."

The girl samurai took a deep breath, her eyes fixed on Lancer's blackened form. This felt as if it could be her very last chance. The memory of Lancer's capabilities, her dedication, everything flowed through Saber's mind as she readied herself.

This would be the end. No, it had to be the end, didn't it?

"Lancer, with one final blow, I'll bring this to an end and free you," she said, her silvery-gold eyes narrowing. She knew that was how it had to be. She had to find that single, infinitely brief moment where she could end it.

Lancer pointed the tip of the Trap of Argalia towards Saber.

"The end, indeed, Saber!" she declared, blackened mana spiraling around the lance and growing, more and more, "This is our last moments together in this world, in these temporary bodies! One of us must be destroyed!"

That black magical energy grew more and more, a swirling vortex of destructive power. It was greater in scale then anything that Lancer had used previously, and in a moment of shock, Saber realized that Lancer was preparing to use her Noble Phantasm! Even the concrete around her was beginning to melt, warming as uncontrolled mana radiated from the darkened cavalry lance. To use something that destructive in an enclosed location like this…!

Saber took a deep breath.

And charged with a sound like the firing of a gun, an immense backdraft erupting from her movement.

Time seemed to slow. As Saber approached Lancer, the black knight began to swing the Trap of Argalia upwards. By this point, the mana swirling around the weapon was like a storm, a raging typhoon of darkness that threatened to devour everything around it. That vicious grin had returned to the knight's face.

The cavalry lance began to fall.

There was another explosion of movement around Saber, just as she began to enter Lancer's range. Just in that split second before Lancer called the name of her Noble Phantasm. In that last possible moment, she used her capability to move as if the earth itself had been reduced, to seemingly vanish and reappear at her destination.

The momentum alone was enough.

The tip of Saber's blade pierced Lancer's armor at her chest, on her left side. It plunged through her body in an instant, and it erupted through her back coated in blood.

The samurai only stopped when her sword was buried up to its hilt her in former ally's chest.

As quickly as it had arrived, the blackened mana swirling around the Trap of Argalia suddenly dissipated, swirling outwards and fading away.

As Lancer stepped back, dropping her weapon, Saber stepped forward, keeping her katana lodged firmly through the other Servant's upper torso.

"Ah… ah…"

For a moment, the only sound was the blood dripping from the tip of Saber's blade.

"… You're free, now, Lancer," she said. She stepped back, drawing her katana from Lancer's body, stepping back and straightening. There was little she could do to feeling anything like pride in this victory… but she had freed Lancer from her nightmare, hadn't she?

It had been the only way that Lancer truly could be freed.

"…"

Slowly, the knight raised a hand to her chest. When she touched the hole in her armor, she could see the blood clinging to her gauntlets. By now, the Trap of Argalia had faded away entirely, dissipating into golden lights.

"… So you won, Saber…" the knight commented, slowly. When her gaze drifted back towards the pale swordswoman, Saber could almost be certain she saw a faint smile on Lancer's lips.

"This is to be how my Holy Grail War, and this second life, ends…"

When Lancer fell to her knees, Saber immediately stepped forward, dropping her katana at her side to place her hands on the other girl's shoulder, kneeling with her.

"Lancer, I… I'm sorry," she averted her gaze as she spoke, "The fact that it had to end this way for you, for you to be held under Avenger's sway… It should never have had to be like this."

It was almost as if the knight hat simply tilted her head in confusion.

"… We knew… from the start that this was how it would be, Saber," she replied, blood trickling from the corner of her mouth, "That it would end with our duel to the death. In that way, nothing has changed."

Saber's grip tightened on Lancer's shoulders. Everything about it had changed, even if she had known from the very start that she had to kill Lancer to claim the Holy Grail. But now…

"There is no apology that you must make," continued Lancer, smiling weakly, "Congratulations, Saber. You defeated one of the foremost of France's Knights. Take pride in your victory, Samurai of the East."

Saber could see those pale gold eyes growing duller, Lancer's eyelids drooping. She could feel the life leaving the knight's body.

"Go forth… and show that girl her vengeance… isn't worth it…"

There was one last ragged breath…

Lancer was gone.

Moments later, her body had faded away in Saber's arms.

The swordswoman raised herself to her feet.

"Even in darkness, you truly were a knight worthy of legend, Lancer."

With that, the samurai retrieved her katana. There was no further time to mourn. She hesitated only a moment, given her separation from Ai… but she had to hope her Master could make her way around. There just wasn't time.

She had to stop Avenger.

---

He almost seemed unstoppable.

Depriving Hirata Genjiro of the Mystic Code that had clearly been defending him from magecraft, at least when it was a spell made to attack from a distance, hadn't been nearly enough to even begin to slow him down. Ai could barely understand how someone, a human, could be capable of such extremes. It was absolutely insane. His body had to be reinforced to a degree that could only be considered an impossibility, it was the only explanation that the magus could possibly consider to be correct.

The last air bullet that Tsubaki fired tore just over the man's shoulder, the force of its passing ripping through his clothing and even tearing out some of his hair. But it had failed to do any real damage, Genjiro hadn't even flinched as he suddenly darted in, thrusting his fist upwards. Even as Tsubaki blocked, the sheer air pressure of the blow slammed into her, carrying the other girl off her feet with a gasp before she landed several meters away, staggering and nearly falling onto her back. Before he could try and attack her again, though…!

Ai channeled mana through her circuits, using another quick, single-action spell. This time, ice formed in thin, razor shards in the air. It was a spell that worked similarly to her shield, but this time its function was condensing the moisture that lingered into dense, incredibly sharp fragments of ice before sending them hurtling towards the tall man. When the ice melted and evaporated, she

could do it again and again as long as her mana supply held out!

The first of the shards buried itself in his arm, but he barely seemed to acknowledge it, instead almost immediately turning on his heel and swinging that same arm upwards, the current of air following his arm being used almost like a barrier to disrupt Ai's flurry of ice fragments! And even as he did that, she could see his lips moving, a pinpoint of light forming just ahead of her…!

The small brunette's golden eyes widened as she desperately used another spell, this time to once again create her barrier of ice. It was only barely enough, the barrier solidifying just quickly enough to prevent her from taking a direct hit, even as light flashed in front of her eyes, pain erupted through her body, and she was sent hurtling through the air.

With a yelp, Ai hit the ground on her back, and she could already see Hirata Genjiro looming over her. He was so fast… he was so strong! How were they supposed to defeat him!? Even against two other magi, it was like he had honed his entire being towards the purpose of killing!

"From the very beginning, fighting me was futile!" he declared, raising one foot up, preparing to bring it down on Ai's head as she attempted to rise. But before he could deliver such a crushing blow, another one of Tsubaki's spells was activated, an almost visible blast of air tearing through the parking garage and exploding between Ai and Genjiro! It sent the man off-balanced and stumbling back, surprised!

"Like hell I'd ever let you do that!" snarled Tsubaki, her right hand raised as if it was making the shape of a gun. Ai could even see a sort of green light fading from the tip of her finger. Unfortunately, Genjiro caught himself quickly, before either girl could attempt to follow up on the spell that had disrupted him, but it gave Ai a chance to get back to her feet and out of the range of the man's fists as soon as she could!

Hirata Genjiro was an evil madman who wanted to unleash All the Evils of the world on the entire plant, out of this twisted sense of self-worth. And yet he was so powerful, it was a struggle to even lay a finger on him.

"Your resistance is almost admirable," Genjiro commented, brushing the ice shard that was still buried in his right arm away as he spoke, "But your efforts to prevent my altruistic cause are misguided. Why would you choose to prevent every surviving human in the world from gaining a sense of their own self-worth?"

"Because you're insane!" Ai found herself crying, small, delicate hands balled into fists, "You're a complete madman! Discover their own self-worth? With what? The suffering and deaths of those around them?! Being the only one left…"

The short magus hesitated, then shook her head.

"It's an experience defined by loneliness and pain. That's the self-worth you want to teach to people?! The whole world doesn't share your warped and deformed psyche, Hirata Genjiro! The whole world isn't twisted like you!"

Genjiro cocked his head to one side, a smirk forming on his lips.

"This is already a warped and twisted world, Matsushita Ai," he responded, an almost amused tone in his voice, "I simply aim to help whoever remains find their place in it. Can you truly argue that a sense of your own self-worth would not have helped you, all these years?"

Of course it wouldn't! All those years… would have passed by the same. Even if she hadn't been feeling like she had no inherent value to her existence. But it wasn't even like that anymore, was it? It couldn't be…

"Who the hell would listen to you?!" Ai heard Tsubaki's voice, "An insane killer who wants to drown the world in black mud?! Don't make me laugh! Sure, maybe you did discover your own worthiness all those years ago in Fuyuki, but that's only something a psychopathic bastard like you would take away from a tragedy like that!"

"I never expected either of you to understand," responded Genjiro, still smirking with a shrug, even as Tsubaki reached into her bag once more. Now that Genjiro's ability to counter projectile spells had effectively been destroyed, he was more vulnerable at range, as long as Tsubaki could successfully make a hit!

But the dark man was already rounding on her, even as she began to draw another capsule from her bag!

Before Tsubaki could deploy the concentrated air capsule, Genjiro was upon her. Before the black-haired magus could even respond, he drove his knee sharply upwards, slamming it into the girl's chest. Ai couldn't even reach her, it was simply too fast. There was an ugly cracking sound, Ai's eyes widening in horror as Tsubaki spat blood with a pained wheeze, lifted into the air. Even with her reinforcement…

The other girl landed about a meter away, on her back, her bag falling to the ground as well. She wasn't moving…

Ai's shoulders shook. From this distance, she couldn't even tell if Tsubaki was breathing… had… had Genjiro… had Genjiro killed her…?

No, she couldn't… she couldn't just believe something like that! Shakily, as Genjiro approached Tsubaki's limp form, Ai raised her hand, pointing one finger towards it. A stronger spell, this time… she had to get him away from Tsubaki as quickly as possible. If she was still alive… no, she was definitely still alive! And that meant that Ai had to protect her! To stop Genjiro from finishing her off!

Her circuits blazed as mana was channeled through her arm, gathering…

"Oh hunting spear, listen to my words! Forge yourself upon my fingertip!" cried Ai. As Genjiro began to turn around, the water in the air rapidly condensed, the entire room seeming to chill suddenly as it froze, becoming a lengthy, hefty spike of ice, every bit as sharp as the smaller shards that had been previously created! A small pale blue circle of magical energy appeared at its base, before it was suddenly sent rocketing through the air at a blinding speed, hurtling straight towards Hirata Genjiro with a whistling sound! He turned right into it, and raising his arm wasn't enough to protect him, the spear of frozen water burying itself in his right arm-no, piercing all the way through it and protruding out the other side! She saw him wince in pain, his fists tightening…!

"I had judged you the lesser threat… it seems I was mistaken," he almost seemed to growl. That hadn't even slowed him down?! He was already making his way right for her! But… no, his right arm… he had to be injured, right?! There was no way even someone like that could possibly withstand having their arm completely impaled by a razor sharp spike of solid ice! And yet he didn't even flinch, he just kept charging as if nothing had even happened!

What kind of monster was he?! Was it because of his warped mindset that he never even slowed down once?! Desperately, Ai created another barrier of ice, but it was all for nothing, shattering immediately under the force of his leg. Another sharp stab of pain burned through the small girl's body as she was sent hurtling to the side, rolling once end-over-end and ending up lying on her stomach, nearby Tsubaki's bag.

She could barely move… agony was blazing through her entire body, her tiny frame shuddering. She thought the ice barrier had prevented any serious damage, but it hurt so much… an almost unimaginable agony as if her body was being torn apart on ever level… and he was getting closer again…

Ai rolled onto her back, desperately reaching out, grasping for anything that she could to try and defend herself. Anything at all, even as her body protested at every little movement she made. She had to do something, she had to stop him. She couldn't let herself die here. She had to protect Tsubaki, she had to reunite with Souji, they had to stop Avenger, so she couldn't possibly let someone like this kill her. Someone like this evil, amoral madman…

Her hands found the handle of… a knife? An oddly-shaped, curved knife that had fallen from Tsubaki's bag… Maybe he wouldn't expect it. Her small fingers curled around the blade, just before she suddenly felt his hand grip her by the neck. With a gasp of shock, Ai felt herself lifted into the air, eyes widening in horror. At some point, he'd removed the spike of ice from his arm, still barely looking phased…!

"Tonight, the Grail War ends," he said, in a level, calm tone, "And all that remains of humanity will be able to enjoy the sense of self-worth that I have enjoyed for all these years. Can you not take solace in that, Matsushita Ai?"

Ai squirmed desperately, but his grip just tightened… she raised the knife, but before she could attempt to bring it down on his arm he simply used his other hand to stop her, gripping her wrist firmly as his grip around her throat tightened. She could feel it getting tighter and tighter, it was growing more and more difficult for her to breath by the moment. Was this really it…? No, she couldn't let it end like this… she couldn't… she'd made so many steps into the world, she'd found the girl she loved, she had to stop Avenger, she couldn't just let it end…!

"HIRATA GENJIROOOOO!"

Tsubaki! She'd gotten up again! While Genjiro was distracted, she'd managed to rise, drawing back one fist! But Genjiro was already preparing himself, his free hand releasing Ai's wrist…

It was the biggest mistake he had made.

As hard as she possibly could, Ai brought the knife down, driving it up to the hilt into his flesh! With a gasp, the dark man released her neck, and she fell to the ground, coughing as she massaged her throat. She had barely been able to breath! If… it had gone on any longer…

Genjiro attempted to rip the knife from his arm, but there was suddenly a piercing, high-pitched whine as the dagger began to glow… and to Tsubaki's surprise, it suddenly exploded! Mana was released all at once, obliterating the man's left arm from the elbow down in a brilliant flash of magical energy!

Ai was in shock. She hadn't realized the dagger had been anything but, perhaps, a tool for use in rituals. But it had exploded moments after she buried it in that bastard's arm!

The man gritted his teeth and stumbled back, the stump he'd been left with smoking and sizzling with magical energy. But even then, he was already raising his remaining hand, he was already trying to cast another spell. Right after losing his left arm!?

Tsubaki was too close. Her fist, green lines of mana seeming to materialize along it as it was reinforced even further, slamming into Genjiro's chin with a crack, sending him reeling backwards! And before he could recover, her other hand snapped towards his chest with blinding speed, exploding outwards, air building and swirling around it as she curled her hand into a fist and-

There was a blast of air. A roar like a hurricane. All that pressure had suddenly been practically fired into the man's torso.

And the result was a hole. A round cavity had been blown clear through Genjiro, blasting his entire chest out. Behind him, the wall was cratered, as if it had been struck by a wrecking ball. The spell that Tsubaki had used had hit the man like a cannonball, ripping clear through his entire body all at once. For a few moments, a silence overtook the parking garage, as Genjiro took one slow step back, the huge hole in his torso dripping blood.

"… You… wasted every single life…" Genjiro gasped, falling to his knees, "That… I took…"

"That's nonsense, and deep down, you know it," replied Tsubaki, simply, looking down at the man, "You're the one who took everything from them. This is your atonement, Hirata Genjiro. The end of the life you valued so much."

"… Avenger… is still…"

Genjiro couldn't finish his last words. With one last rasping breath, he fell forward, landing on his front. Beneath him, the crimson of his blood began to pool, spreading slowly from the now-lifeless corpse that lay on the concrete. The man responsible for manipulating the events that would kill Ai's parents was dead.

For a few moments, the short brunette could only stare in mute shock. She had barely been thinking about what she was doing, simply struggling in that moment to survive the relentless violence that Hirata Genjiro had been directing her way. But the knife's explosion, the loss of his arm, had opened the way for Tsubaki to finish him off.

Suddenly, Tsubaki fell to her knees. Golden eyes widening, Ai shot to her feet, ignoring the protest of her body as she hurried to her friend's side. She'd almost managed to forget that the taller girl was injured, just on account of how quickly she had managed to launch an attack against Genjiro, and even succeed in killing him.

"Tsubaki!" she cried, swiftly kneeling at her side, reaching out to try and support the black-haired magus by taking her shoulders in her hands. When she got this close, she could see the fact that there was still blood trickling from the corner of the tanned girl's mouth…

"I-I have to heal you!" she declared, desperately preparing for the spell. But, suddenly, Tsubaki shook her head and pulled away.

"No, Ai," she responded, giving the smaller girl a weak smile. Her voice was somewhat strained, but at least it seemed like she was capable of talking normally. "I'll be okay. It hurts, but I did everything I could to make sure he couldn't kill me easily. Someone has to stay here and make sure Marion-chan is okay, too."

Both girls glanced towards the limp, though still-breathing from of Theomanius's familiar. It was true, someone did have to stay behind… but that didn't mean that Ai couldn't heal Tsubaki, right?!

"Your Servant is the one who's going to confront Avenger. You should be there to support her, shouldn't you? I'll stay here, and look after Marion. There's no more time to waste."

Ai hesitated. While it would take some time, she still… she couldn't leave Tsubaki like this, could she? To leave her with whatever internal injuries she had sustained at Hirata Genjiro's hands… But even from here it seemed as if she was at least able to stand and breath normally.

Souji…

"B-but…"

Tsubaki shook her head.

"I'm not going to accept a world in which you don't get out there right now and help Saber take revenge against that monster for everything she's done. For what she did to Lancer. Do you understand?"

Ai fell silent.

What Avenger did to Lancer… what she was trying to do… Saber… she had to help her!

"… Besides… you still have your command seals, and I don't hear a fight going on anymore, do you?" continued Tsubaki, sadness creeping into her weak smile, "Saber has to be on her way to face Avenger. We only have so much time… so get going!"

It was true. There was not a single sound of battle carrying on beyond the wall of debris that had fallen from the ceiling. It was only obvious what this meant, seeing that Ai still retained her command seals. She felt a deep sensation of relief, knowing that the girl she loved was alright… but then a pang of guilt. Lancer was almost certainly dead, at the hands of her Servant. Even if there was almost certainly no other option, that fact couldn't stop her from feeling this way.

But at this point, there was no way Ai could let anything else slow her down.

Tsubaki's weak smile grew, just a little.

"Good luck, Ai-san."

Her hand wrapped around one of Ai's, as the short brunette got to her feet.

"… When I come back, I'll make sure you're okay, Tsubaki!" she declared. She had to come back. Saber had to win. And Ai absolutely had to make sure the first girl who had spoken to her since she had arrived in Minami would be alright.

And with that, Ai broke into a sprint, leaving Tsubaki kneeling beside Marion. She had to find the thinnest point in the debris wall, or if she was lucky, a path around it. There was no way to tell how far Saber had gotten, but she knew that her Servant had to make her way to Pandora as quickly as possible, given that every possible second was bringing the grail's descent closer and closer.

Indeed, above everything else, Ai knew the most important thing was that she had to stop Avenger.

But she had to make sure that Saber would be safe, too. The girl that she loved was going to be fighting against one of the most dangerous beings that currently existed in the world, a Servant whose one desire was to burn away all of humanity for the sake of revenge against gods who no longer had any stake in their lives. If there was one thing she knew for certain, it was that such a Servant was incredibly powerful. She had been able to defeat and corrupt Lancer… She couldn't let anything like that happen to Souji.

Ai had to find her way to Souji's side.

She had to.