Chapter 100
The moment the Servant entered the room, her skin crawled, a tingling sensation running across her entire body. If she still had an intact mind, she would have instantly retreated, sensing the danger that was lurking within.
As it was though, even with her ingrained instincts screaming at her body to move, her reactions were dull, the body parts unresponsive. Unable to trigger her reflexes instantly, her arms and legs were caught by vines furiously growing out of the ground and hanging from the ceiling, entangling her in cages of green matter.
Catbriers crawled up the slender limbs, thorns pricking her skin as they tried to pierce her skin, but even when weakened, they were still unable to break through and draw blood. In the end, all they did was irritate her skin, her Endurance parameter allowing her to overcome the discomfort.
Ruler didn't stay idle. Bracing her feet securely against the ground, she pulled against the vines, her legs straining as they sank into the dirt, her own strength causing the thorns to finally sink into her skin and break open small holes for the precious red liquid to flow down her legs and into the dirt.
Unlike the vines she had created during the elevator skirmish earlier, these vines were much thicker and numerous, securely anchored around the room at various points deep into the surrounding earth, even cracking open the concrete walls and floors to do so. Still, Ruler was able to strain them bit by bit, the fibers stretching as she utilized her natural leg strength.
A glow lit up the oppressive darkness, two lions appearing next to her. They were no longer the size of an entire truck, but were reduced to somewhere around the size of leopards, slightly smaller than an actual lion. But they were not to be underestimated. With sharp fangs, they bit and tore at the long rope-like vines restraining Ruler, uncaring of the thorns that failed to cut into their bodies of light. Rampaging in the darkness, they lit up a small section around them, perhaps half a meter or so.
Long sections of plant fell to the ground, some mangled by the lions, while Ruler continued snapping the vines with her own strength, tugging with all her might. With the weak light that the lions provided, she could just tell that the plants were surging forward again, gathering just out of sight to launch another attack.
Cards appeared, hovering in the air. Green, red and blue cards of varying designs etched onto the card faces spun, some of them glowing more intensely than the rest. With a wordless cry from Ruler, they flung themselves at the vines and plants, piercing the darkness with the meager light they possessed.
Small balls of inferno lit up the darkness, consuming plants with the hunger that flames possessed as it crackled on the limp bodies of the vines that were whipping around animatedly moments ago. Sections of green rope were cut apart, the green cards cutting them perfectly to reveal an undamaged cross-section, the edges unmarred. The wind itself whistled as the card sliced through the air into the darkness further ahead. The blue cards failed to completely cut through, their edges dull when compared to the razor sharp emerald weapons, but the plants they were stuck in grew weaker, flopping around as their movements grew slower and slower until they became completely still. On the other hand, the blue cards strengthened their glow, going from a mere candle to a bright torch.
Under the hail of cards chewing up the vines and the assistance of her lions, she broke free of the vines, her clothes almost completely torn up, blood dripping from a massive amount of minor cuts on her four limbs and torso, the results of her struggle with the greenbriers binding her. The vines were surprisingly tough, requiring her to use a large amount of her strength, causing the thorns to dig into her flesh and draw blood, creating self-inflicted wounds.
At any rate, she was able to escape the bonds quickly, only moments passed after she entire the room. Looking behind, she realized the door had closed, plunging the entire room into darkness, the only sources of light being her two lions and the glowing blue cards stuck in the dead vines.
"Incapacitate them."
That was the order she received, so she would carry it out.
The Holy Grail? Arbitrating the war? There were no such thoughts in her head any more. The reason why she was fighting the mages didn't matter, all that mattered to her was following the orders she was given by her Master. Absolute obedience that felt natural, a compulsion to follow the Master's every whim.
It was also possible for Zouken to control a technically dead Servant, but their parameters would be more heavily penalized, and he would be forced to shoulder a heavier burden in supporting them, so in the end he had left her in a semi-living state, keeping her Saint Graph mostly intact. She wasn't alive in the sense that humans were of course, but her free will was compromised to the point that she might as well have been a robot only capable of doing the bare minimum to achieve it's commands.
Flinging herself with wild abandon at what she perceived to be the center of the room, her lions following her. The blue cards dissipated, granting her the energy they had absorbed from the vines, a meager amount that barely amounted to a few drops of water in a pool, but nevertheless every last drop counted.
"―――――――Just a little more…"
Within the cocoon of darkness at the middle of the room, Ayaka struggled to keep her thoughts intact. Her entire body felt like it was submerged in ice cold water at the North Pole and in blazing hot magma from a volcano at the same time. She had lost her sense of touch, smell, sight, hearing and taste. She couldn't feel the bark that her body should be resting on, or the cool air that suddenly grew humid when she activated her magecraft within the altar at the tree. Her body wasn't covered in sweat, her teeth clenched so hard blood was filling her lips, yet she felt none of it. The flashes of light and explosions from Ruler's struggle went unnoticed, though the almost tangible darkness did somewhat mute these noises and sights.
Pain ran up her spine, prickling going in her arms while her legs went numb and felt on fire at the same time. An immense weight seemed to be settling on her shoulders, her entire body feeling like it was being crushed at the bottom of the sea, no pressure beyond that even, and she was acutely aware of being incredibly alone. The entire world felt isolated, even as the exotic sensations, countless in number, rushed through her body.
Her mind unravelled, memories from her distant past flashing before her, overlapping with her recent days in Fuyuki, Flat juxtaposed against her parents, her sister standing next to Gray. Flute noises and low murmured whispering seemed to fill her ear, her mental fortitude slowly crumbling against the soul splitting headache that disrupted her concentration and focus, but with an iron will, she kept her mind from breaking, though it felt like a thread being blown about in a tornado, twisting and turning without reason.
Above all, she could sense it.
There was something watching her. Something she couldn't quite place a name on, nor pin down it's nature, but there was something out there, aware of her.
Mentally gritting her teeth, enduring everything happening to her body and mind, she sent a plea.
"Curse her."