Chapter 78
Berserker's eyes fluttered open, amber eyes gazing up at the moon. The dirt scuffed against her palm when she pushed herself up, sitting on the ground instead of lying on it. Blinking several times, she finally recalled what had happened.
The tree trunk she had crashed into was slightly cracked, fissures running through the dark wood. Gingerly, she touched her shoulder blades, hissing when her fingers stimulated the bruise, eliciting a shock of stinging pain. She could also feel a dull aching in her arms. The sensation of warm blood licking her skin tickled slightly, and she could see the seams of the sewn wounds with Illya's Mystic Code were undone in several places. It also hurt to breathe, each breath rattling in her throat and chest. The gouge across her torso from Rider's shot was aggravated with each breath, the white threads barely keeping the flesh together.
Bringing her knees close to her body in a fetal position, she leaned forward, letting her weight go from resting on the back of her ankles to her toes, then she stood up. Using her arms right now would most likely result in her falling down again.
At least Illya was safe though. She could feel the mana from her Master knitting her ruined body back together, and Illya's emotions were quite obvious through the mental link.
"Ecchan, are you alright?"
Illya's voice came through in her head, having sensed her Servant was awake.
"I'm fine. Just a few holes and cuts, nothing much."
"A few holes?"
Still, it seemed like Berserker's condition wasn't too bad, judging from her tone.
"What about Ruler?"
Berserker surveyed her surroundings, looking around to spot the bunny eared Servant. All she saw was gnarled, twisted trees, snow and dirt.
"She doesn't seem to be near me. Perhaps the shockwave from Lancer's Noble Phantasm flung us in different directions."
Illya digested it, then gave her orders.
"Look for Ruler. If she's in critical condition, carry her back to the castle for her to recover. Avenger's signature has disappeared, and Lancer is leaving the forest for the city, so you should be safe."
"Understood."
Berserker brushed the leaves and dirt off herself, then started running through the forest, eyes darting around in search of Ruler. Even with an injured body, she was able to move faster than a pro cyclist on a bike.
*splch*
*shllooook*
*Slich, slchhhh*
Ruler's glassy eyes stared blankly at the thick tree roots beside her.
*busubusu*
*nuru*
Her neck twitched involuntarily, the product of her nerves being triggered.
The old man standing next to her body stared at her intently, abnormal black sclera and white pupils looking down unblinkingly. His skin was stretched tightly across his skull, his wrinkled hands wrapped around the top of a wooden cane.
"...nnnhhnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn…"
It didn't sound like she was trying to say anything. Rather, it was just a monotone hum, the buzzing of a fan in a computer. Ruler's elegant face never changed it's expression, locked in a vacant look.
The splayed limbs twitched.
The old man continued staring.
Like a spider propping itself up, Ruler's legs and hands rose up in odd angles, her body forming an X on the ground. Her torn leggings and bodysuit exposed her pale flesh, a lone breast open to the air with the top covering it torn off. Crooked, drooping bunny ears fell into her eyes, but she made no attempt to to fix them. All around her body, dirt and snow covered it, blood and dirt matting her luxurious golden hair, scattered messily around her head.
"Stand."
She stood.
Dirt and snow fell off her body. One bunny ear was completely bent, covering one eye. Yet, she was able to stand straight, with only a slight tilt to her neck.
*drip, drip*
*plap*
A worm dropped onto the ground.
"eeEEEEeee-"
It crawled off into the undergrowth, between the dark spaces of the roots in the trees.
Ruler didn't react in the slightest, standing there silently, as still as a corpse.
"I must thank Avenger for this boon. Kohkohkoh, it seems that I have a Servant now, and a Ruler class one at that."
A leer split his face, warping it and creating more wrinkles in the wrinkles already there. Shadows stretched across, lengthening from the ridges and crevasses in his skin.
*tmp, tmp*
The cane tapped against the roots of the tree twice.
His body dissolved into a shower of worms, each one squirming until it could crawl off inside the dirt, between the roots and away from the surface.
Ruler bunched her legs together, and jumped.
Far off, Berserker spotted the dot zooming high into the starry skies, a black mark heading towards Fuyuki.
"Master, I've found her, but she seems to be leaving."
Illya frowned, furrowing her eyebrows as she concentrated on sensing through the Bounded Fields. Just like Berserker said, there was indeed something moving away to the east, but it was somewhat unlike Ruler's signature from before.
"...Let her leave Ecchan. Come back and get healed up first."
If Ruler needed to leave, she wouldn't stop her. Her priority was making sure her Servant didn't die. She had no idea why Lancer and Rider had left so suddenly, but if they returned, she wanted Berserker in as good of condition as possible.
"I'll come back then Illya."
Berserker tracked the black dot as it vanished over the hills in the distance, then made her way back to the mansion, through the levelled forest and massive crater.