Mordred skidded backwards, slamming Clarent into the ground and using the broad blade to slow her down as she tears a gauge out of the ground. Her helmet was retracted, having been damaged by an unexpected blast of energy from the goat head of the chimera. The warm, sticky sensation of blood dripping down the corner of her forehead was barely noticeable as she shook her head, a feral sneer on her lips.

Even after his fall and betrayal, Mordred had been envious of Lancelot's slaying of the Questing Beast, or of the other knights who had fought similar 'mythical' creatures. Now, though, she had the chance to add another title to her name, in addition to Dragon-Slayer. Monster-Slayer had quite a ring to it, didn't it?

It was a tad aggravating that she couldn't use her ultimate weapon, her Noble Phantasm, without possibly causing a cave-in, but that didn't matter in the end. She was a knight! The heir of King Arthur wasn't some pushover. The knight was not the kind of person to shirk away from any kind of challenge.

And this was definitely turning out to be a challenging fight, but hey, those were the best ones, if you asked Mordred at least. About half of her fellow Servants were of little to no use in this fight as was, and the chimera was proving to have more than a few tricks up its mane, so to speak. At least the most important members of the group were safe.

Jeanne and Mash were doing their job of preventing any attacks from reaching the two Masters from Chaldea, while her old Archer opponent had an arrow notched against his bowstring, silently watching for an opportunity to attack.

Pushing herself back up onto her feet, the Knight of Rebellion activated her Mana Burst ability before sprinting forward, enjoying the sensation of air whistling against her exposed face as the chimera slammed its right paw against Assassin's sword. The Japanese Servant grunted slightly, but didn't stumble, and once more the Saber found herself disappointed that he wasn't a fellow Saber.

The beast suddenly spun around, slamming the trunk of its snake head tail unexpectedly into the sword-wielder, sending the purple-haired Servant skidding backwards, temporary out of the fight. Seeing that its flank was exposed, Mordred swung Clarent in a slashing motion, feeling a wave of primal satisfaction within her veins as a streak of crimson was left behind.

It wasn't a fatal blow by itself, but it was a damn good start! She tried to swing again, but the blade was suddenly pinned by the front right paw of an extremely pissed of Chimera. "Shit…" Mordred cursed, bracing herself to take a hit even as she tried to pull her sword free.

The goat head opened its mouth, preparing to fire another energy attack when the Archer of the group sent a carefully-aimed arrow into the right eye, partially blinding the beast. The built-up energy dissipated as its channeler's concentration was disrupted.

Instead, the goat head began flailing around, bleating aggressively as it was apparently trying, and failing, to dislodged the arrow wedged into its right eye socket. In its distraction, Mordred saw a flash of blue and red, and the bleating stopped as Ritsuka's Lancer thrusted his fancy-looking crimson toothpick through the throat. The Irish Servant grinned wolfishly before yanking out his spear, the barbed tip sending a thin arc of crimson splattering against the nearby cave wall.

Another roar of anger from the wounded creature shook the cavern as the main head stared balefully at Mordred and the others, while its snake head looked towards the slumped middle head in what vaguely seemed to be a mixture of shock and horror…if a serpent could show or even feel such emotions, that is.

Sensing an opportunity to further reduce the number of heads on the chimera, Mordred viciously nodded her head towards Sasaki, who had been circling around the creature, keeping to the outskirts of the fight after regaining his sense of balance. Readying his sword, he sprinted forward, his robes fluttering softly as the eyes of the Japanese Servant remained fixated on his target.

At the last moment, the snake head whipped around, baring long venomous fangs as its throat bulged slightly, before with a hiss a purple cloud of gas billowed out towards the oncoming Assassin.

Mordred watched as Sasaki tried to veer away from the ominous-looking cloud of vapors, but the Knight of Rebellion could tell that it was too late, and sure enough the Assassin stumbled into the cloud, and she could hear him coughing. Hacking, really, as he stumbled backward, dropping his sword as he placed one hand against his chest.

"Ha!" Gilles grunted, his longsword slicing through the scaley trunk of the viper-tail. The almost-glowing yellow eyes began to turn dull as the severed head landed on the cave floor with a dull thud, blood flying through the air as the injured chimera flung the rest of its tail around wildly. "Jeanne, get Sasaki out of here!" The French Saber said. Ruler nodded and gently began pulling the faint-looking Assassin away, now out of the fight.

"Damn it," Mordred growled, her gauntlet-clad hands tightly gripping the hilt of her sword. "Let's finish this bastard off!"

"Do you have a plan of some sort?" Chulainn called out, sounding just as irritated as she felt. He probably meant that as a playful jab, but he wasn't exactly wrong.

"Actually, yes. You and Gilles attack the flanks, I will focus on the front. Push it backwards and pin it in a corner!"

"This better work," Chulainn retorted, twirling his spear around as Gilles nodded solemnly in agreement. Mordred knows that a lot of people think that she isn't one for strategy. That wasn't exactly true. One needed strategy after all to plan a coup, but as a Servant, brute strength provided a hell of a lot of answers to most problems now.

Slowly but surely, the next half minute saw her two fellow Servants land around a score or so of light injuries against the chimera, which was forced to give ground each time, the sole remaining lion head snarling defiantly. Finally, Mordred felt the time was right. She readied Clarent, adjusting her grip, before charging forward.

"Take this!" Mordred shouted as she swung Clarent with all her strength. The blade of the sword that she had used to slay her father cut its way through first the tough hide, then the muscle, and eventually splintering the bone core of both of the chimera's forepaws. The grievously-injured monstrosity howled, rearing back on its hindquarters while it flailed its bleeding stumps around in helpless rage, unintentionally exposing its underside.

Quickly adjusting her grip, Mordred thrusted forward with all of her might, sending the tip of the broadsword deep into the chest of the chimera, all the way to the hilt. As the monster's remaining head shrieked in agony, blood trickled down Clarent's guard, and down her gauntlets as she twisted her blade, widening the wound and causing further damage, before tugging out her sword and jumping backwards as the mortally-wounded monster collapsed onto the ground.

"And stay dead," she spat, stabbing the base of the lion skull for good measure. The former Saber of Red still remembered the mistake she made against Berserker of Black in not ensuring her foe was truly dead and defeated. Well, that wasn't going to happen this time.

The Chimera released a soft whimper, body thrashing weakly, before it went limp, and began dissolving. The cave fell silent as everyone watched the massive corpse fade away. Finally, the other Master of Chaldea broke the silence once the last remnants were gone.

"Medea, Amadeus, Chiron, can you guys take a look, see if there's anything of worth in here?" Ritsuka asked. The former Archer of Black bowed his head slightly.

"As you wish, Master."

"Marie, can you use your Noble Phantasm to stabilize Sasaki?" Jacob asked, noticing how pale his Assassin Servant was as he leaned against his sword. Huh, she thought he was looking a bit unwell after that attack by the snake-tail.

More importantly, at least she didn't have to be the one to experience it. She could still remember the horrific taste of bile in her throat as it foamed and choked her while that damn witch bitch watched on in amusement.

Rider nodded and began her incantation, and Mordred felt her own light injuries being healed as her Master began channeling Mana into the links between him and his various Servants. She still felt a bit winded from all the fighting, but it wasn't like she hadn't been in this position before. Certainty was also a plus that it was in a cave and not underneath a scorching sun or something.

Thankfully, the blonde who called herself a ruler was silent. Good lord, she was itching to deck the loudmouth, and consequences be damned! The fact that her appearance was vaguely reminiscent of that of her father only further irked the blonde.

"I fear we've been had yet again," the Greek Archer suddenly called out, and Mordred gritted her teeth in a mixture of disappointment and displeasure, before looking to her Master.

"Nothing?" Jacob said, his voice sounding dangerously calm even as the knight noticed the slight shaking of his clenched hands at his side. Mordred watched her Master carefully. She had only seen him get angry a few times, and right now, he looked livid.

"Not a damn thing," Chulainn said this time, the Lancer sounding as irritated by this as the others.

"That…that….brat!" Jacob suddenly snarled, causing Shieldy, Ruler, and Ritsuka to all jump slightly as her Master's angry words rang throughout the cavern. "Let's go. I want some answers," he said, scowling. No one argued with him as he began walking briskly back the way they had entered, his boots occasionally crunching on the odd piece of bone lying here and there from the earlier skirmish.

The Knight of Rebellion quickly caught up to her Master, and she leaned over to him, eyes narrowed.

"You look furious, Jacob," she muttered to her Master, who inclined his head subtly in acknowledgment of the statement. "What're you planning to do?"

"I'm gonna rip that goddess a new one."

I stomped across the sandy beach, viciously pleased to see that the one responsible for this whole mess hadn't apparently left her spot. I could see her smug smile, and a rather cruel glint in her eyes. Despite my earlier suspicions, I had tried to give Stheno the benefit of the doubt, just as I had done with Mordred. Unlike with Mordred, however, her actions have caused me to regret that choice.

I glared at the gorgon, stomping other rapidly, my blood boiling at her actions.

"Surprised to see us still alive?" I snarled at the wide-eyed Stheno, her cheer dissipating, if only for a moment. She giggled at my ire, and the aggravated glares of the others, looking utterly unrepentant.

"Hehe, welcome back. Did you enjoy your special reward to the fullest?"

"I'm tired…so exhausted…" Nero moaned, and Mash gingerly clasped her shoulder in a sign of solidarity, looking drained herself.

"Yes, I'm sure," she said, taking a deep breath before continuing to speak. "Consecutive battles in an enclosed space will wear you out beyond belief."

"That was nothing," I growled. My feet felt sore, but it was amazing how energizing anger can be at times. Mash looked at me with wide-eyes, startled.

"Are you sure? Jacob Senpai, at times you display extraordinary endurance.."

"More like brute strength," Chulainn grumbled as another voice joined, one that had both Mordred and Amadeus stiffen slightly. The latter in particular looked like he had just been told by a doctor that an unusual growth on the back of his hand was going to be fatal to the Caster, and that he had then been handed the medical bill.

"Really, you're so lame! I could have taken on a big cat like that without breaking a sweat!" A familiar popstar-looking young teen said smugly, arms crossed, while next to her a girl dressed up in what I could only best described as a cosplayer of some sort cackled. They had apparently been in Spirit Form, and only now were jumping into the conversation.

"What in the name of…?" Ritsuka asked slowly.

"Master, I'm sensing two enemies. Either lizards, dragons, or maybe idols…" My, my, Mash, you do have a sense of humor there, don't you? "At any rate, we're going to take them out!"

"No, that's Elisabeth!" Ritsuka said hurriedly, his eyes wide in a mild panic as he gripped his Demi-Servant's shoulders.

"I know, I know!" Mash hissed. "But she's dangerous, Ritsuka Senpai," the Shielder added, nodding her head towards an indignant Elisabeth. "I have a feeling that she might screw everything up!"

"I agree," Doctor Roman suddenly interjected, speaking hurriedly yet softly. "let's pretend we don't notice her, so we can get away with it, you guys!"

"Gah! What, that reaction again?! You ugly, weird deerlet!" The dragon-girl sneered, glaring at Mash. Elisabeth's new 'friend' cackled once again, who was holding some sort of tray bearing food of some sort. Well, at least someone was having fun with this situation, apparently. Mash looked at Ritsuka, looking rather distraught.

"Senpai, a weird person told me I'm weird!" Oh, was this the first time she's ever been bullied? Before I could say anything, Ritsuka took action, gently rubbing a hand up and down her back.

"There, there," he said, trying to channel some of his inner Boudica. "She's the weird one."

"Whatever," Elisabeth said with a scoff, rolling her ice-blue eyes. "I guess that cave was really tough. Welp, it can't be helped with the Puppies' abilities." I could hear Mordred's teeth grinding slightly. Not a good sign, though even in her slightly exhausted state, I had no doubt that the blonde knight could kick the Lancer's ass again.

"…Just who the hell are you, appearing all of a sudden and talking nonsense?" Nero demanded, jabbing a finger aggressively at the Lancer's direction, having finally caught her second wind. Elisabeth blinked, before narrowing her eyes and jabbing a long, manicured nail/claw at the Emperor of Roses.

"Who the hell are YOU?" Elisabeth retorted, before a look of confusion replaced her haughtiness. "Oh, I'm not sensing any magical energy…wait, a human? You?" Now it was Nero's turn to blink, cocking her head slightly at the now-confused Servant.

"Not sure why you're so surprised. You are rude and incentive. I would have slashed you already, if it wasn't for the fact that I find you to look quite cute. I'm Nero Claudius, the true emperor of this era," the blonde said proudly. "Um, why are you looking at me like that?" She added, having noticed that Elisabeth was now staring with a rather alarming intensity at her.

"Are you kidding me? The real Nero?!"

"The real…" Mash muttered, before an alarmed yet confused expression appeared.

"What do you mean by 'real'? " Nero demanded, sounding offended whilst the cat-looking girl cackled even louder. Did she even stop to breath?!

"This is worse than France! I'm even more confused about what's going on!" Doctor Roman moaned, and I could imagine the ginger man cupping his face with both hands. A wry grin appeared, the ridiculousness of this situation having tempered my ire at Stheno.

"Tell me why this is a land of confusion," I quoted a line from the song by the group Genesis. To my slight disappointment, neither Ritsuka nor Roman acknowledged the admittedly-weak reference. Perhaps they hadn't heard the song before?

"Anyways," Stheno said a bit loudly, having apparently grown bored of watching the vaudeville performance she was getting. "When I materialized in this world, I dragged these two with me. I didn't feel like I'd be able to complete the Heroes' Cave on my own. So, I had these two serve as my…testers…for the cave," Stheno explained. Elisabeth crossed her arms, huffing in annoyance.

"Hmph, it was a totally boring dungeon. Oh, but a live show in an underground cave would be a new concept, right?" We ignored her as Stheno shrugged.

"So, it seems that you know Elisabeth. What about this one?" The treacherous and deceitful Divine Spirit asked, nodding her head at the wannabe-Joker.

"Nope," I said simply, popping the 'p' to add extra emphasis to my response.

"Uh, no…we've never met. Although, I know she's a Servant—" Mash's trepid reply was abruptly hijacked by yet another wave of laughter from the cat-girl(?).

"Ahahaha! Alright, let's introduce ourselves! I am Tamamo Cat, one of the Tamamo Nine!" The Servant exclaimed proudly.

"So, you can speak," I muttered, earning a chuff of laughter from both Mordred and Chulainn. Thankfully, or perhaps unfortunately, Tamamo Cat continued speaking.

"I tag 'woof' at the end of my sentences. My hobby is café management, and my favorite food is carrots!" She paused, tapping her empty claw-mitten cladded hand to her chin lightly, a puzzled look on her face. "Hmmm, that's pretty incontinent even for me. Woof, woof."

"Huh?" Nero and Mordred said in unison, the somewhat look-alikes staring at the bizarre Servant. And that was saying something!

"She did that on purpose, too. Woof!" Mash said, before blushing as she realized what the hell she just did.

"Well then," Roman said slowly, having decided to just roll along with this convoluted madness. "I'm glad she's not a hostile Servant. Or, maybe I should say I'm glad she's not our ally?"

"I was laughing because it was fun," Tamamo Cat continued rambling in the meantime. I was starting to suspect that maybe, just maybe, she was of the Berserker class. "I'm a laughing drunk," she said, shrugging at Mash.

"Oh, s-sure," Mash said nervously, the poor girl/Demi-Servant looking out of her depth in dealing with the vocative Servant. Said Servant smiled brightly and nodded enthusiastically, all the while managing to somehow not sending the platter of food she was holding flying off to who-knows-where.

"I'm Tamamo Cat, one of the Tamamo Nine! Can I speak in cat language?" The Berserker asked. I threw my hands up in the air in frustration at that point.

"Okay, I need to take a break from this…this thing," I said in exasperation, somewhat at a loss for words suitable to describe this whole mess. "I'm going to check on the boat by myself. Rits, if anything important happens, give me a shout," I added, before stomping off in the direction of the still-beached boat.

The crew must be worried sick about our long absence. It would probably be a good idea to let them know that both we and, more importantly for them, the Emperor of Roses were okay. It was also a good excuse that would allow me to have some time to myself, and let my temper completely cool off. Last thing I wanted was to lash out at my friends, or say something stupid to Mordred and set our partnership back to day zero or something.

I was rather angry, yes, but none of my comrades deserved to deal with it. It would be better for me to have the others give me some space so I can cool off, than to snap at any well-intentioned actions being done with he goal of trying to put me back into good spirits.

"Damn, looks like we won't have a chance to get back to Rome before nightfall. Just great… can anything else go wrong today?" I muttered, noticing just how low in the sky the sun was. Even in my disgruntled state of mind, I was able to admire just how beautiful the evening sky was, with the calm waters of the Mediterranean sea looking almost golden.

Shaking my head, I look back to see that I was about halfway to the ship, and continued walking. It will be nice at least to finally get the chance to get rid of the sand that was clinging to my boots, and for a moment, I had the foolish desire to have brought flipflops along, so as to avoid the risk of getting sand in my socks.

"LOOK OUT!"

At the same time that I heard the warning (though from whom I couldn't tell), I felt someone standing close to me. No, rather, towering over me with an oppressive and malevolent aura being emitted that caused a shiver to run down my spine. Wide-eyed, I turned around to see a familiar-looking figured leering down at me even as water lapped at his feet.

Two massive fists, each of which could squash my head like a ripe peach, began their downwards descent as a single word filled my ears.

"DIE!"

Orginal End notes: And done, ending with a cliffhanger! What did you guys think? Wanted to bring back Mordred's perspective, cause it has been a few chapters since last time that happened. Also, was the fight good, even if it was short? I'm worried about somehow becoming repetitive, so I want to know if my fight scenes are still enjoyable to read, and not just starting to feel like filler material or something. Finally, sorry if the chapter is chaotic, but hell, in game this was a chaotic scene in and of itself! Also, get ready for a few more Servant battles over the next few chapters! :) As for the question on Mordred Alter, I want to say thank you to everyone who has already left their thoughts and opinions. As much as I want to tell you about what I have in store, that would be a massive spoiler, and so you will have to wait. Hopefully that just serves as another incentive to continue reading the story (not that I imagine you guys and gals need it by this point lol). Also, I didn't expect to have somehow inspired someone to write a story using Mordred Alter, so I am happy to have asked this question! Now, for this chapter's question(s): Do you prefer subs or dub when watching anime? Also, who is your favorite Divine Spirit from Fate? As always, a sincere thanks to each and every last one of you amazing readers for taking the time to read the story. I hope you enjoyed yet another chapter of The Will to Fight, and I eagerly await to read y'alls feedback and thoughts! Have a wonderful day!

Added endnotes 8/8/21 Hope you enjoyed