I ducked under a clumsy slash of a cutlass, before then thrusting forward with my pugio, the short but broad blade easily piercing through both cloth and muscle as I drove it up into the pirate's heart. Not bothering to see if the wound was instantly fatal or not, I kicked the body away from me as I heard another pirate charging towards me, screaming vengeance for his now-slain friend.
I leaned backwards, the blade sliding across my new breastplate harmlessly. My assailant took a second to first look at me, and then his sword, before looking at me, clearly confused about the lack of injury on my body or even scratching of the steel-like scales protecting my torso.
He looked up just in time to see my sword being thrust forward, skewering his unprotected throat in a single, control motion. The blow instantly killed him, and I gave off a soft grunt as I yanked my sword back and out of his throat, leaving the standing corpse to topple backwards, falling into eh inferno in the middle of the ship.
I had a brief moment to regain my bearings, and I didn't waste it for a second as my knight finished off the last of her opponent in what had originally been a group of a dozen muscular and scarred pirates only seconds ago.
Having refused to leave my side for even a moment, Mordred was fighting like she had been possessed by some sort of demonic entity. Blood and even the occasional arm, leg, or head flew through the air, Clarent by this point liberally soaked in blood. Thankfully, each of Blackbeard's pirates seem to be the same sort of carbon copy pirates we had encountered before, so it felt less like I was watching my fellow humans being butchered, regardless of whether it was to save the whole of humanity, and therefore a necessary and unavoidable evil.
The boarding action had been a chaotic, bloody mess. Once our feet had hit the wooden deck of the Queen Anne's Revenge, Blackbeard's cronies had begun their efforts to repel our boarding efforts, in a clear reversal of what had happened yesterday.
Even though many of the enemy crew had been busy fighting the raging fires, a good number of them had quickly recovered their wits and began putting up a determined, if also desperate, fight against us. Even with three Servants among the forward boarding party, the defenders were putting up one hell of a fight.
However, in the end, they weren't the true objective. That was Blackbeard, his three known Servant subordinates, and the Holy Grail they possessed.
So just where in the hell were they?
I let out a startled yelp as I feel a sensation best described as a punch erupt over the center of my chest. While I had been distracted, a hatchet-wielding pirate had swung his heavy weapon into my stomach. "Jacob!" Jeanne shouted in alarm, while Sasaki swept forward and bisected the pirate responsible with a single elegant yet brutal stroke of his long sword. As Mordred and Jeanne looked at me in vivid concern (even though the latter's face was covered by her helmet), I made an 'okay' gesture with my hand, unable to speak just yet.
I gasped softly, having had the air knocked out of my lungs from the impact. I had a feeling that the skin underneath would have one hell of a nasty bruise come morning, but I'd rather deal with something like that over a gut wound any day. Finally regaining my breath, I looked back up at the Ruler and Saber with a lopsided grin.
"I'm okay. The armor stopped it," I said in a mild state of disbelief. Well, good to know that dragon scale armor was sure as hell durable! Still, it's as good a sign as any that I should perhaps pull back slightly. It was the second time an enemy had gotten past my guard. I wasn't interested in testing my luck a third time, plus I had made two promises to Mordred. And I would be damned if I didn't keep them.
So, that's exactly what I start to do, before the hairs on the back of my neck stand up.
"We meet again, young Master of Chaldea." I tensed as I heard the voice of the Servant who had nearly killed me from behind. I spun around while also jumping to the side instinctively, though it would prove to have been unnecessary.
Quick as lightning, Mordred inserted herself between the Lancer and me. The Lancer merely chuckled, lazily twirling his sword-spear around as he winked at us. Even with both my armor and Mordred protecting me, I didn't let my guard down. He had clearly targeted me once already with the intent to kill. I'd be one of the world's biggest idiots if I thought for even a moment that the unnamed Servant wouldn't try it again.
"Why does this old man suspect that he made a rather large error in targeting you, young Master," the Lancer asked with a slight frown, gesturing towards me in a non-threatening manner, though the action didn't exactly mean much when he could (try to) impale me in a blink of an eye.
I shrugged slightly, unable to hide the slightly feral smirk that was creeping over my face. "Probably because I have a Servant who has essentially declared me as hers?" Mordred barked out in laughter under her helmet. I noticed that the enemy Servant seemed to pale slightly as he almost dropped his weapon.
"Gods of Olympus….you have got to be joking! Twice now?!" Pressing his free hand up to his face, the Lancer groaned loudly, shaking his head before lowering his head.
"Well, words are of little more use. On guard, Sir Mordred!"
"Bring your pretty head to my sword!" Mordred jeered back, and then the two Servants shot towards one another. I felt Jeanne tugging on my shoulder from behind, and I turned to look at her.
"Master, I think we should move a bit further away from Mordred and her opponent," advised the blonde Ruler. I nodded silently and we moved a few yards away, closer to the railing of the badly-damaged Queen Anne's Revenge.
Once there, I resumed watching and fighting against the remaining pirates on our section of the ship, Sasaki and Jeanne to either side of me as I heard the sounds of grunts, shouts, and metal scratching and grinding against one another from behind.
"Haaah!" Cried out the short, cutlass-wielding Servant. The blade slammed into Mash's shield, and the Demi-Servant went down onto one knee for a moment. She grunted as the enemy Servant tried to press forward and break through Mash's guard.
A shout from behind led to the pressure being released, however, as Emperor Nero skidded in, lashing out with her sword. The white-haired girl leapt backwards at the last minute, and Mash watched Nero prepping herself for a second charge. Looking to the side, however, she felt her eyes widen, and Mash skidded in front of Nero this time. She barely managed to slam her shield into the ground before the Shielder was almost knocked off her feet as a shower of sparks rained down as the other enemy Servant emerged from a foul-smelling cloud of white smoke.
If it wasn't for the fact that Nero was fighting beside her, Mash feared she would have been already been defeated long since she started to engage the two. Even now, though, she felt that victory was far from certain.
"Mary, I'll join!" The blonde Servant called out, charging over and coming to a stop by the shorter one, apparently named Mary. The blade-wielder, though her mouth was obscured by that collar of hers, responded rather excitedly.
"Okay!" Mash felt some sort of spike of power the instant the two enemy Servants stood next to one another, and she gasped softly. She wasn't the only one to sense that something was wrong now, either.
"That's not a good sign," Nero muttered softly, readjusting her stance as she stood next to Mash. She stared in horror at the two.
"These two, combined…they're one Servant?" This was a rather unpleasant development. The taller one of the duo smirked rather sinisterly, an action no doubt being mimicked by her far shorter companion.
"My True Name is Mary Read. Class, Rider," Mary said.
"And I'm Anne Bonny, also a Rider," the blonde added right afterward, giving a mocking half-bow. Mash felt a pit begin to form in her stomach, for she recognized those names. She started to open her mouth, but Nero beat her to it.
"Umu, I must say, you both have fantastic taste in style and clothing! Especially you, Miss Anne Bonny" Nero declared, nodding her head solemnly, acting in her more aloof manner once more. Mash resisted the urge to grit her teeth. Yes, they were in a battle, but that doesn't mean that she should get snappish at one of her companions for being themselves, especially not one she respected like Nero.
"Emperor Nero, please focus," Mash said evenly. The cheeks of the blonde Saber flushed slightly, and she laughed sheepishly.
"Right, quite right, Mash. I take it from your earlier reaction that you know of these two?" Mash nodded, bracing herself as she answered the Saber's question.
"Yes, they were the legendary duo of female pirates during the Golden Age of Piracy. No wonder they seem to work well together!" She explained rapidly, refusing to take her eyes off of either female Servants for even a split-second.
Anne nodded, pleased at the recognition. Then the musket-carrying Servant adopted a more serious and analytical expression, her reddish-brown eyes focused on Mash. "Interesting. So, it seems that Heroic Spirits of the Shield do exist, Mary."
"It seems so, Anne. However, it looks like this'll be a two-on-two battle. Ready to do our usual thing?" Anne smirked ferally as she re-cocked her gun.
"Whoo-hoo! Make me proud, future members of my Yuri Harem!" Blackbeard suddenly called out, causing all four girls to flinch violently. Anne sighed heavily, shaking her head.
"Sounds like a perfect suggestion to me! First to finish her opponent gets to clobber the captain next time he says something stupid?"
"You're on!"
"Mash, focus on the tall one! I've got the other!" Nero called out, readying herself to sprint forward.
"Understood! Be careful!"
"Umu, it's time to demonstrate to these ruffians that, no matter how equally well-dressed they might be, the skills of the Emperor of Roses are more than a match for them!" Then, Mash's vision to the side was partially obscured by a cloud of crimson rose petals as the Roman Servant dashed forward.
Spinning back around, Mash's eyes widened slightly as she saw Anne taking aim at her again. Holding her shield forth, Mash then angled her shield as the enemy Rider fired her weapon. The bullet skidded off of the right cross of her shield with a shrill ringing sound, and Mash pushed herself forward.
If she could close the gap between her and Anne, she would have a much better chance against her opponent. She might have the height and weight advantages still in a close-quarters fight, but at least it wouldn't be as easy for her to use that musket of hers.
Unfortunately, when she managed to close in on Anne, the Blonde proved to be no less a threat up close as she was from afar. While she couldn't use her long-barreled musket in its intended purpose, she apparently was more than happy to wield her weapon as some sort of heavy club.
Each blocked impact sent faint jarring sensations up Mash's arm. Soon, her right arm, the one her shield was strapped to, was feeling particularly numb.
That wasn't to say that Mash didn't give as good as she got. In the minute exchange of blows, she managed to land at least four strong blows with her shield. Unfortunately, it wasn't enough to prove decisive.
Mash bent over as the heavy wooden stock of Anne's musket was riven into her gut, knocking the wind out of her lungs. Out of the corner of her eye, Mash saw her opponent then leap backwards, no doubt intending on unleashing a volley of bullets.
Forcing air back into her lungs, Mash barely managed to slam her shield down in front of her before the first of several bullets slammed against the surface of her shield. Unfortunately, she also had lost sight of most of her peripheral vision while doing so.
Something that almost costed her dearly.
"Look out!"
She heard Nero's warning just in time to shift her balance, right before Mary's cutlass could have sliced into her left arm. While Anne had pinned her down with that last volley of lead, Mary had managed to slip past Nero somehow.
"That's it, Mary!" Anne called out, as Mash realized only too late just what the ploy the two pirate Servants had pulled off. The instant she took eyes off of the blonde enemy, the Servant had taken advantage to readjust her aim. If Mary hadn't finished her off with that sneak attack, Anne would take potshots at her while she was fending off Mary's attacks.
If she had been completely on her own, that might very well have been the end of her. Fortunately, though, Mash wasn't alone. From the side, Mash heard the sound of twin gunshots, and a second later, she saw, out of the corner of her eye, Anne stumbling backwards, her right shoulder bleeding slightly, just as the blonde had squeezed the trigger of her own firearm.
Mash heard the shot go wide as Drake called out. "You owe me a drink later for that!" Mash suppressed a sigh at the scarred woman's words. When she had first met the legendary Sir Francis Drake, she had expected to encounter a cruel, greedy, self-centered ruffian, as she had mentioned to her Senpai and Jacob Senpai just before meeting her.
Then, she seemed to be someone who, while skilled, seemed to care little about matters of grave urgency, instead focused on carnal desires. Now? Well, that was still to be determined, but Mash no longer felt that the pink-haired pirate was either a nuisance or a liability to Chaldea.
Mash shook her head, focusing back on the fight once more, just in time to see Nero's sword slamming into Mary's cutlass. The short Rider was sent flying to the opposite end of the deck, with the Emperor of Roses refusing to let up on her latest barrage of attacks. Mash turned back to face her own opponent once more.
"Damn it, that should have worked!" Anne growled angrily. Mash didn't bother replying, focused instead on finishing the fight once and for all.
Anne managed to only fire off one more shot before Mash closed the gap. Angling her shield once more, the Demi-Servant managed to redirect the bullet into Anne's stomach, further injuring the taller Servant. As Anne recoiled, Mash jumped into the air, diving down at the Rider shield first, the boss of it aimed directly for her face.
With a sickening crack, Mash's shield slammed into Anne's face, and from the sounds of it, broke her nose. Rolling to the side and therefore ducking under a clumsy swing of the musket, Mash saw that blood was starting to flow out of a now-crooked nose. Anne glared at Mash balefully.
"You'll pay for that," Anne said, any remnants of her earlier 'good' humor now truly gone. She raised her musket in a reverse grip, holding the gun overhead, intent on trying to bash Mash's skull open. However, as she did so, Mash noticed a very crucial mistake Anne had made.
She didn't seem to have a way to block any blows aimed at her lower half. Mash gave out a shout, charging forward and slamming her shield into Anne's midriff. This time, it was the blonde whose air was driven out of her lungs. The musket slid out of limp hands, and Mash swung again and again, before finally, with a disgusting squishing sound, one of the ends of her shield managed to break through Anne's skin and clothing. While she couldn't tell if she had managed to destroy any internal organs, her sense of intuition was telling her that she had fatally damaged Anne's Saint Graph.
At the same time, Mash heard the familiar but still sickening sound of metal being pushed through flesh and fabric. Risking a moment's glance, she confirmed what she had suspected, as Nero solemnly withdrew her sword from Mary's chest and leapt backwards. The Emperor of Roses looked confidant in victory, but Mash noticed that she wasn't letting her guard down, much as the Demi-Servant was also doing.
It appeared to be unnecessary, as the previously-injured enemy Servants stumbled over towards one another, looking quite dejectedly at one another, as the signature cloud of golden dust began to glimmer around them, indicating that neither had much longer to be in this world.
"Damn, looks like we fell short, Anne," Mary said rather morosely, her cutlass gone. Mash watched silently as the shorter member of the defeated duo looked over her shoulder at a disappointed-looking Blackbeard. "Sorry about that, Captain," she added, though to Mash it seemed to have been a half-hearted apology at best.
Swaying back and forth slightly as she clutched the gut wound from Mash's deflection, Anne also turned to look at their apparent Master, even as she began fading out of existence. "Captain, please don't get depressed or anything just because we're both gone. Being a victor is honestly all that you're worth. If you lose, we'll be the ones who end up looking like fools."
With those final, and rather barbed, words, the fearsome duo vanished dissolving, returning once more to the Throne of Heroes. Mash felt a surge of exhilaration. She had won!
Ritsuka watched as the two female Servants finished dissolving, and his own two female Servants stood firmly, perhaps even basking briefly in their shared victory.
However, as he heard Drake cocking both of her pistols as she stood next to him, Ritsuka was reminded that the battle wasn't finished just yet. He looked up to see an aggravated Blackbeard stomping towards them. From the side, one of Drake's crewmates charged at the…unique…Servant, making ready to thrust forth with a blood-coated cutlass.
Without batting an eye or slowing down, Blackbeard lashed out with his left hand. Ritsuka almost threw up as he watched the claw attachment on said arm grabbing and then ripping out the front of the pirate's throat. A horrendous, choked gurgling sound escaped from the dying man's lips, while next to him Drake's teeth were grinding loudly and angrily.
"You'll regret that, bastard!" She hissed, bristling fully. Blackbeard, of course, ignored her, once more raising the unspoken question of whether he or Astolfo had more sanity compared to the other. Blackbeard made a tutting sound as he looked down and to the side.
"Damn, that's a disappointment, right there," the Rider said sadly, looking at the spot where Mary and Anne had last been standing. Shaking his head softly, the pirate captain then looked up, and Ritsuka could see a fearsome and excited gleam in the Servant's black eyes. Mash and Nero quickly re-positioned themselves in front of their Master, while Drake aimed both of her pistols at her nemesis, her face a mask of cold fury.
"Mmph! 'Then, Blackbeard's beard began to shine like gold, or silver, or burning red, as he rose like a phoenix'!" Blackbeard paused in his apparent self-narration, before shrugging haphazardly. "At least, emotionally!"
"Ugh," Mash groaned in front of him. "This is so discouraging," the Demi-Servant lamented. Even Nero seemed a little put-out for once, and wasn't that an ominous sign! He reached out with one hand and gently clasped the left shoulder of his kouhai.
"Don't give up, Mash. Just hang in there," Ritsuka said softly, trying to sound as reassuring as possible. Unfortunately, it was extremely difficult this time. Unlike the normal result that such an action would have on Mash, she just slumped a little more.
"Master, even you are starting to sound unmotivational," Mash said apologetically. Still, the Japanese Magus couldn't help but flinch at those words, and he retracted his hand, all while Blackbeard continued his confusing tangent.
"Back against the wall, all is vanity! Glory to the Sutra! However!" The Rider shouted suddenly, striking what seemed to have been some sort of heroic pose. "I hate to brag, but this Blackbeard never even thought he could lose!" Blackbeard said, sounding rather happy to be bragging about that. Also, please, if there is a god watching Ritsuka and his friends, let there be only one Blackbeard. Drake groaned loudly, pushing herself forward.
"Oh, look who's talking, you ugly swine!" She paused, crouching down slightly with a feral and bloodthirsty sneer on her lips. "Now this finally feels like a death-match! You and I, we're the same. A pair of heartless scoundrels who live our lives taking or saving lives! The loser is scum and the winner is justice!"
"I think we all know who the scum is in this case," Ritsuka said dryly, channeling some of the dry wit of his fellow Master. As he did so, he briefly wondered if Jacob was okay, before dismissing the though. The American would have chided Ritsuka for getting distracted in the middle of a fight. Besides, he had Mordred, Jeanne, and Sasaki nearby to help him out, not to mention however many of Drake's pirates to boot.
His words caused Drake to release a bark of laughter, though it was of the humorless variety. "Indeed! In that case, I'll trample you, Blackbeard, with my demonic heel!" Rather than be angered by the insults, however, Blackbeard let out a rather sickening sound of adoration.
"Aw," he cooed in a sing-song tone of voice. "You're acting pretty cool now, for a scarred, old hag. If I was a woman" Ritsuka almost threw up at the horrific mental image those words had conjured, "I'm sure right now there'd be romantic BGM playing, with an event CG where I start stripping." Mash and Nero joined him in gagging violently. "It would be such a bother to create backups and programming for that, though…"
While he couldn't see Drake's expression, it would have been almost impossible to note the utter lack of amusement in her voice as she replied. "I seriously don't understand what you are saying at all."
"You don't want to know, trust me," Mash and Ritsuka said in unison, and he shared a quick smile with his loyal and dependable kouhai. "Nor do you need to. I guarantee you that you'll never have a need for that knowledge," Mash added, readying herself once more for combat. Blackbeard shrugged carelessly once again.
"Well, anyway!" He shouted, his free hand pulling off his coat. Ritsuka felt a pang of jealously as he got a full view of Blackbeard's muscular physic and was making him feel a bit self-conscious about his own. Course, reminding himself that the Servant was more than a little off kilter was more than enough to banish the feeling. "Let's have our final showdown then, old hag!" Drake scoffed, and Ritsuka caught a brief glimpse of a rather crooked sneer on her lips.
"Insult me as much as you want. Now that I can punch and shoot you in the face, I'll laugh at your 'jokes'. When I finish with you, not even your mom could recognize you!" Drake taunted, sounding more like her devil-may-care self, before looking her shoulder at Ritsuka and his two Servants. "Mash, Ritsuka, Nero! Let's finish this, once and for all!"
"I'm on it! Orders, Master?" Ritsuka nodded, staring ahead sternly as he raised his hand that bore the trio of red markings which denoted his status as a Master of Chaldea.
"Defeat Blackbeard and retrieve the Grail!"
Even in the air, and at least a few good miles away from the others, Astolfo could still faintly hear the sounds of a pitched battle below. The Rider felt a pang of disappointment about his current task. Not because he felt it wasn't important. Nor because he longed for the thrill of fighting like some Servant, such as the former Saber of Red.
No, rather, it was because if something went wrong, and short of Jacob using a Command Seal to bring the paladin to his side, he would most likely be unable to intervene in time to assist. And unlike the plucky homunculus he had befriended named Sieg, neither Jacob nor Ritsuka had the ability to transform into a Servant like his former Master and friend had done.
Still, Astolfo had been given an equally-important task, and though the conditions weren't right for his sanity to be fully restored yet, he would take the duty entrusted to him by his current Master and fulfill it to the letter.
Or, so to speak.
Lost in his musings, the pink-haired Rider was brough back into the present moment by a loud, urgent-sounding squawk from his faithful winged mount. "Hey, what is it buddy?" Astolfo asked softly, rubbing his free hand up and down the hippogryph's neck soothingly. Then his eyes widened.
There was a ship slowly approaching the interlocked Golden Hind and the Queen Anne's Revenge. Unlike the other two, the ship looked to be more like a…darn it, what was the word? Rowboat? No, that's too small…
Well, the word didn't exactly matter at the moment. What did matter was finding out just who was manning the vessel, if there were any Servants on board, and whether they were potentially friend or foe.
Astolfo petted his companion before urging it downwards, towards the unknown newcomer. "Good eyes. Come on, let's take a closer look. Call me crazy," he ignored the deadpan gaze of his winged mount, "but I'm getting a bad feeling about this…"
Original Endnotes: And done! What did you guys and gals think? Good/decent fight scenes? I honestly had some trouble figuring out how to set up Chapter 68 and 69, so I want to know if it went well. Also, Anne and Mary...interesting Servants in game, hellish to write for fighting scenes! I know that technically they are actually a single Servant, but here I decided to make them two different Servants, though ones who when combined experience a power-up in abilities and skills if that makes sense? Also, Mash, why couldn't you have a sword to use? Would be easier to write in terms of defeating/killing Servants as oppose to trying to bludgeon them to death! Finally, looks like the armor works! Totally didn't let Jacob take a wallop to demonstrate the armor's effectiveness...
Next chapter we get to see more fighting! We're also somewhere between halfway and three-quarters of the way done with the Third Singularity! In the next few chapters, I will be making an announcement in the end notes about the next singularity, so keep an eye out for that!
Now, for the question(s) of the chapter! First up: who are you most and least favorite Berserkers? Second question: How long/many turns did it take you to defeat Kiara for the CCC event, and what was your team setup? Mine was Mordred, Jalter, Eli-Chan, Mash, and Jalter Berserker, with a maxed-up Nero (Bride) as support, in twenty-two turns.
As always, thanks for reading and all the support you have given me, be it through kudos, subscribing, bookmarking, commenting, or even just reading more than the first few chapters! Can't wait to hear/read what y'all thought of Chapter 68, and I hope you enjoyed it! Have a wonderful rest of the day, and see y'all in the next chapter!
Updated Endnotes 11/28/21: I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Chapter 139 is going to be posted on AO3 tomorrow morning. See you all in the next chapter either there or on here :)