Chapter 124
Saber's energetic advance was halted as Berserker regained control, adjusting to Saber's newfound strength and speed as she shifted her style. Instead of trying to match her in terms of speed, which Saber was negating due to her bold fighting style that left more openings in exchange for landing sure strikes on Berserker, Berserker instead focused her strength, deactivating her other blade in favor of having a single blade in her hands, instead of a saberstaff that could produce multiple slashes just by spinning it, but in exchange sacrificing power for speed.
Without a second blade, Berserker shifted into more orthodox fighting moves, each clash between their blades turning into a contest of strength between the two. Berserker and Saber's arms shook as their strength reached each other, the invisible sword pushing against red plasma, vying for dominance in their struggle. With the sword cloaked by the layers of wind wrapped around Excalibur, refracting the light and masking it's appearance as well as size, Berserker was forced to overcompensate, stepping back often to avoid it's perceived length as well as to offset the force in Saber's strikes. Furthermore, it also granted her a better stance and position with which to direct her strength against Saber's sword, but slowly, step by step, she was forced backwards like this, her back getting closer and closer to Assassin.
The ground cratered with every step they took, grey dust flying from the walls as they swung their weapons at each other, occasionally slicing through the concrete like butter when the tip of their weapons scraped past. Behind them, Shirou tried to decipher their movements, but it was useless. Even when they were slowing down their movements in favour of clashing with as much strength behind their blows as possible, he could still only see the moment where the two blades met, and then they would split apart, before their bodies would magically shift in position like a video skipping forward, courtesy of their speed, and they would clash once more, both sides trying to defeat their opponent with all their might.
Early on, when Saber had shot forward, Berserker had actually managed to score one or two hits when she had recklessly thrown herself forward, or so she thought. However, she was almost bisected at the waist when her slashes failed to penetrate, the armor becoming incredibly hard to penetrate as her lightsaber felt like it was moving through thick sludge to cut through, an invisible barrier protecting Saber like an extra layer of armor. As a result, Saber was able to make much more dangerous moves, sacrificing her blessings from Caster to exploit Berserker's weak defense when she attacked. If Berserker hadn't focused her psychokinesis and pushed herself, along with stepping forward instead of backwards while shifting her other side of the saberstaff to push the blade off-course, she would have been lying on the ground in a puddle of blood, her body fading away while her spirit returned to the Throne.
As it was, she now had to be wary of the extra layer of defense, and Saber's enhanced reflexes and strength were also factors that further solidified her seeming invincibility, her strong attacks threatening to deal great damage to her while she trusted her armor and blessings to deflect half-hearted strikes or shallow blows. Berserker had to land a solid blow on her to truly harm Saber, even with her anti-Saber factor, but Saber was reading her movements and blocking them before they could land, the wind-up to her blows too long.
So Berserker had to circumvent that.
Slashing from the bottom left to the top right, she put a bit more force in the strike, the blow smashing into Excalibur as the red plasma trembled against it, before breaking free like before, Berserker's lightsaber flying upwards as her whole body turned like a baseball batter when they finished their swing. With her blade stuck in an awkward position above, her entire body from her neck downwards was defenseless, her arms unable to move in time to protect them. Seeing her chance, Saber leaned in and brought her blade around in a swift slash to spill Berserker's guts.
Only for her heart to seize with trepidation, her mind descending into a state of hyperactivity. In slow motion, she saw a glimpse of what could come, a red flash shooting towards her head, a hazy mirage of a solid red energy bar passing through her head. The premonition lasted for less than a second, but it gave her all the information she needed. Leaning lower and shifting all her weight onto the leg she was stepping forward with, her charge angled to the left as she dodged the other end of the saberstaff that had shot out of the saberstaff when Berserker thumbed the activation switch. Luring in Saber, she had almost forgotten about the existence of the opposite blade, much like how Lancer had baited Saber before by fighting her first with only Gae Daerg.
Unfortunately, such a gambit could only be used once before the opponent became aware of its existence, and Saber was going to be on guard after this. But that wasn't all there was to Berserker's moves. Doing the last thing Saber expected her to do, she dropped her weapon and disarmed herself.
Sidestepping the piercing blow Saber converted the slash into, Berserker released her saberstaff, deactivating both blades and letting it fall to the ground as it dematerialized, her arms shooting out like whips to grab Saber's arms. Her position at the sides advantageous for this instead of grabbing them from the front, with the arm stretched out with a larger surface area to target, and she easily caught them in her gauntlets.
Before Saber had a chance to shake loose her grip, Berserker summoned up her mana and pumped the Servant of the sword with a heavy serving of crimson electricity, tens of thousands of volts surging straight through the Servant. Sparks flew off the metal gauntlets and breast plate, the current working its way through her entire body as her hair stood on end, standing up stiffly, her ahoge especially prominent. Patches of skin charred and turned black from the coils of red energy darting back and forth between her entire body, spit flying from her mouth and tears leaking out of her eyes as her body reflexively reacted to the numb suffering of lightning running through her body to electrocute her, a strange sensation unlike other types of pain. A soundless scream was all she could make as her mouth opened wide, her neck arched back to let her face gaze at the ceiling.
Within seconds, Berserker spent the charge she had stocked up, releasing Saber as she slowly staggered backwards, her grip on her sword loosening as she swayed from side to side. Her shoulders and legs twitched, before she tripped over herself and collapsed on the ground, various muscles flexing and stretching from the leftover currents, nerves misfiring in her body. Her gaze was blank even as her eyes remained wide open, froth gathering at the edges of her mouth. The stink of ozone and burnt flesh drifted over to Caster, Kuzuki and Shirou, the latter gaping his mouth as he stared at the pitiful condition of his own Servant.