Chapter 122
Berserker felt like an immovable mountain, standing in their way as she made no attempt to charge at them, stoically standing in place with her lightsaber humming, the lightning wrapping around her body in tight ropes, each coil containing enough energy to power a car.
Shirou looked at Berserker, the monstrous pressure settling on his shoulders as he stared at the Servant, the presence of an otherworldly enemy that could crush him as easily as an eggshell weighing down on him. His heartbeat sped up, the palms of his hands turning slick as sweat ran down not just there, but on his back and nape as well, his breath speeding up to match his nervousness and provide oxygen for his now rapid heart rate.
This was an enemy that was called from bygone legends, a one-man army capable of rebelling against god's and monsters. Though it may be that their strength varied, there was no doubt that each and every Servant was an extraordinary existence that passed the ken of normal humans. Though in Berserker's case, she was from an alternate universe that barely resembled this one, a place filled with Servants and various types of energy, where only seven humans remained, the seven Masters leftover from a past war that was long forgotten, lost to the sands of time.
Even so, for Berserker to briefly become the head of an empire that ruled the galaxy before she abdicated out of apathy, was proof of her strength, that able to subjugate the mighty warriors of the Servant-verse, controlling a mighty army that went unrivalled in the vast reaches of space. Her special factor, the anti-Saber Concept carved onto her Spirit Graph, granted her a boon against the strongest enemies she faced in the Servant-verse, as well as here with her counterpart and alternate self, Artoria Pendragon.
Shackled to a Master and following her orders in a Holy Grail War, a ritual that she vaguely grasped the basics of after the Grail stuffed the information into her head, she was no longer able to act so freely as she once did with her friend. Her loyalty was to her Master here, an obligation that she intended to fulfill to her utmost, and Illya was a Master that she took a liking to, the most important factor for her.
If she killed Assassin here, it didn't mean that she was gone forever. They were simply both copies of the original, granted a fraction of their original strength to accomplish their purpose as familiars for their Masters, then returning to the Grail as energy to fuel its final purpose. Whether Illya ordered her to kill herself or not to fulfill the final wish of her family was inconsequential to her, since she just wanted to enjoy herself as much as possible, and she wouldn't mind doing it for Illya anyways, but something told her Illya probably wouldn't do it.
In any case, she was still glad that she could protect Assassin like this, even if it was just for a moment. Being able to repay her and spend more time with her was always a plus, and if Illya could forge an alliance with the magi, then all the better.
To Shirou though, all he could was an enemy ready to cut them down if they so much as twitched in her direction. He recalled the day when he first summoned Saber, only to be almost taken out of the War instantly, if Kuzuki hadn't taken Illya hostage. Which was also another thing that Berserker hoped to address. If Kuzuki came out to fight her himself, she could repay him for taking Illya as a hostage. The reason she didn't take revenge when she manifested behind him earlier was because she didn't find it satisfying. Crushing him directly in face-to-face combat would be much better.
Berserker did what she wanted, as a free-spirited Servant that simply wanted to laze around most of the time. But when she had to work, she was surprisingly diligent.
Saber moved, her dash infused with Mana Burst pushing her far faster than her Agility ranking would suggest. The golden hair whipped backward with the wind, her emerald eyes focused on Berserker as she brought down the invisible blade the moment her feet dug into the floor and stopped her, all her momentum transferring to her arm as she added her twisting hips to the mix, adding energy to the strike that was already carrying all her momentum from the charge.
"HAH!"
To add that, Saber even shouted, a flash of adrenaline blazing through her body with the self-stimuli, empowering her body to greater heights. Mana flowed into her arm, the dragon core in her body spewing a great torrent of energy within her body and concentrating on a few select muscles, turning her first strike into a truly devastating blow.
It seemed like it would definitely hit Berserker, with the speeds she was slicing at and the sudden burst of movement sure to catch the Servant unaware, or so Saber thought. To make matters worse for Berserker, Caster's four spears of immense speed were right behind Saber, aiming for the spots in the narrow hallway where Berserker would likely dodge, cutting off any escape routes she might have to dodge. In the end, the only way she could avoid being grievously injured would be to take the blow head on, and even that wouldn't completely save her from injury.
Just like how a punch needed to be blocked by a proportionate amount of strength, Berserker needed to absorb the entire force of the blow while standing in place, having none of the momentum that Saber possessed from the running start. It was highly likely that she would be blown off her feet trying to directly block it, and get slammed into the wall dealing damage to her back, where the spine was located.
So she jumped.
The crimson blade met with the invisible blade, the winds wrapped around it clashing as the point of contact turned white and translucent, sparks flying as plasma scratched against holy metal, a weapon of the fae against a sword only dreamed of in science fiction.
As predicted, Berserker went flying back, unable to block the strike that could easily break through a meter of reinforced concrete, even with her high strength ranking. What she could do however, was slam into the wall with her feet, her jump sending her body sideways as she blocked, the physical force pushing her until her feet met the wall, ending up in her standing sideways on the wall, defying gravity, while Saber's blow supported her and made her feet sink into the concrete, more cracks joining the myriad of other lines and gashes in the damaged wall. Her legs narrowly avoided being skewered by Caster's spears, the slender spikes missing it's mark.
The force of the blow spent, Berserker wasted no time pushing back, her position allowing her to utilize maximum force as she pushed with her legs, the glutes and thighs churning out strength as she 'stood up' against the wall, electricity crackling furiously as it joined the humming blade, sparking on the invisible blade.
Saber kept her calm, her emotions shuffled to one side as she acted as the blade her Master needed her to be, disengaging from the one blow and attacking from another angle.
From Shirou's perspective, it looked like a wall of red laser lines appeared, superimposed over Saber's figure. Saber passed through the lines, and her armor was sliced in various places, blood splattering on the floors and walls in all directions.
"Saber!"
Berserker had simply moved so fast that her lightsaber had left after images, the crimson energy weaving through the air like a needle knitting thread, a wall of cuts that slashed and dashed at Saber's armor. In spite of her instincts, she was unable to completely avoid all of them, resulting in her injuries.
Bursting backwards, she placed some distance between her and Berserker, Berserker resuming her former position as if nothing had happened, while Caster looked on in concern behind them, her spears already retracted and reformed next to her after they had been fired.
Gritting his teeth, he could only curse his own powerlessness. What could he do here, against an opponent that could easily harm Saber, who had effortlessly beat him up for four hours straight without suffering a single counter?
Besides him, Kuzuki noticed his frustration, and placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Calm down. A heated mind leads to reckless actions, which is something unnecessary in combat."
Kuzuki's words reminded him of where he was, and his clouded thoughts simmered down as he decided to put his trust in his Servants. Even Kuzuki, who had previously fought with Berserker before and managed to hold his own, wasn't doing anything here, owing to the fact that he was more likely to get in the way than do any good.
"Caster, some assistance please."
Just with that one short exchange, Saber understood that they needed to fight seriously if they were going to get past Berserker and question Assassin and their relationship with Avenger, who was still out cold behind them.
Caster nodded, and the staff lit up even more brightly, the mana of the distant tower shuddering as it's vessel thrummed with channelled power.