I stared with narrowed eyes at the rapidly approaching trireme. While I would never admit to being an expert in the designs of the ancient Greek warships, from what I did know, the sheer size of the one before my eyes put it into a class entirely of its own. It looked to be about one and a half times as long as the Golden Hind, and just as wide across.
Noticing that the way to the bow was clear, I gestured towards Mordred to follow me, and the two of us started sprinting down the length of the galley, with the intent of getting a closer look at this latest development.
I could hear Drake barking out order's furiously. Less than a minute later, the galley I had boarded shook as the Golden Hind herself rocked to the side as it was partially obscured by a cloud of thick, white smoke, having just fired a broadside at the oncoming ship.
I bit my lip as I waited to see the results of the barrage, and nearly cursed when every last one of the cast iron spherical projectiles either missed or simply bounced off of the wooden hall. Damn it, another Noble Phantasm ship?!
If there was any silver lining to this revelation, it was that, at least so far as I could tell, the newcomer also lacked any kind of cannons. For that matter, there seemed to be nothing in the form of artillery. Not even a ballista or catapults, even though the ship seemed to be more than big enough to accommodate multiple copies of the ancient stone and arrow throwers.
They did have a rather massive and muscular man at the bow, however, who was clutching a rather large and heavy boulder. My eyes widened as my brain re-registered that last observation. Or rather, the now airborne boulder that was rapidly approaching us.
"They threw a boulder?!" Mash said, almost screeching so loudly that my ears felt like they were ringing. I spun around to Mordred, my brow knitted and my lips curled back in a silent snarl.
"Mordred, destroy that—"
"Move….AWAY!" Asterios roared, drowning out the rest of my instructions as the boulder began its terminal descent, heading straight for the bow where we were standing. Now, there was almost no time to finish instructing Mordred to cleave that fucking boulder in half, and now Asterios was in the way, too. I instinctively closed my eyes, uttering a soft prayer to whoever was watching over us, all while thinking, 'what a fucking stupid way to die!'
The sound of exertion, roaring, and a loud splash, were the first indicators that Asterios had prevented the boulder from hitting us. Opening my eyes, I saw a furiously panting Asterios glaring at the aggressor, who was now standing still as the enemy ship drew closer, only a few yards or so away from the unoccupied side of Hector's damaged galley.
Now, I could make out four different figures, including the massive one. It was obvious that our latest assailant was a Servant, and judging from the burning red glint in his eyes and the massive stone, axe-like sword attached to his belt, and enough muscles to make even Spartacus jealous, no doubt a Berserker. I noted with mild curiosity how his skin seemed to be sculpted from lead, but dismissed it, at least for the moment being.
In the background of the group, I noticed a familiar, green-dressed bowwoman with lion-like ears. Archer of Red, we meet again as enemies it seems.
My attention, however, was rooted on the two central figures. A fair-skinned man with golden blonde hair and bright emerald eyes a few shades richer than those of Mordred's was laughing. The sound was rich, genial, and had my skin crawling all over my body. I noted the muscular but lithe physic he had, and surprisingly delicate-looking facial features. He was dressed as fair as he looked, but that was where the ability to apply that very word to him ended. I had barely met the man, hadn't even learned his identify, and already I felt an extremely acute sense of disgust towards him.
"Hahahahaha!" The man roared in laughter, pointing at a now-exhausted Asterios. "He barely managed to catch it! That…barbarian…over there, what is that? Some manner of werebeast?" He asked his companion. Shifting my gaze ever so slightly, I felt my breath hitch.
The last of the quartet appeared to be a girl in her mid to late pre-teens. She had long, light purple hair that was done up in a ponytail, with two tresses almost completely hiding all but the knife-like tips of her ears. In one hand she held an odd-looking staff, and there seemed to be a rather innocent, naïve air to her. She shook her head as she looked at the Berserker in question with what appeared to be something akin to sympathy in her familiar, purple eyes.
"No, that's Lord Asterios. Better known as the Minotaur. The tragic child born from the forced union of a divine bull and a queen." The blonde man smirked cruelly.
"So, in other words, he's little more than a poorly created human! A comical creature fated to be defeated by a hero! They must be really short on true talent if they have him amongst their number, huh?"
"Master…" Mordred growled, her armor clinking together as she shook in rage. I shook my head subtly at her, however.
"Not now," I whispered, as the blonde man looked at the only remaining enemy on the vessel I was currently on.
"Hector! You seem to be in trouble. Need a hand?" The Lancer in question let out a sheepish laugh, rubbing the back of his head with his free hand in a way that eerily reminded me of Doctor Roman, before nodding.
"Yes, Captain. I'm sorry. Could you help?" Hector's apparent true superior smiled brightly.
"No problem, Hector! You have the goddess and the Grail there, yes? Then all is well. While we're at it, let's settle the score once and for all," the man said, before jabbing a hand at me, having noticed that I had made my way to the front of the cluster of friendly Servants and my fellow Master. "You, the evildoers trying to 'correct' the world, will be stopped by us, the heroes known as the Argonautai, trying to make it right. Truly this is a suitable finale to a Holy Grail War!" While he was talking, I noticed out of the corner of my eye Hector jumping ship, literally, landing next to his fellow Servants.
"I think you have it backwards here, friends," I said, speaking slowly and calmly. Inside, there was a raging storm of raw indignation, and I knew that it wasn't just feedback from my lover or any of my other Servants. Still, I didn't want to start a fight just yet, and I had finally pieced together the pieces of the puzzle. "If you're claiming to be Argonautai, then that ship must be the Argos. And if you are the captain, then you must be Jason," I said, receiving a smug grin and a nod from the blonde as my confirmation. Behind me, the deep, stomach-shaking tremor that was building in the back of Asterios's throat was the only warning before he roared with sheer anger and hatred in his voice, sounding completely re-energized now that he knew the name and face of the person who had ordered the kidnapping of his precious companion, Euryale.
"Ja-so-n!" Asterios howled. Jason's smirk turned into a disgusted scowl, looking at the Greek Berserker like he was a nuisance.
"So disrespectful, Minotaur," Jason said reproachfully. "My name should be uttered with only awe and worship!" Well, this piece of work was making Nero look like a second Jeanne in the field of humility! I opened my mouth when another voice entered the verbal fray.
"No. It deserves to be said with scorn and mockery, dear, faithless husband of mine."
Never had I heard words being uttered with such vile, such bitterness, such anger. I didn't imagine that it was possible, but the aura of dread that had been following Medea somehow managed to increase its intensity. Though, considering what I knew of her legend, anything less than this being her immediate response to seeing her faithless husband once more would have been a bit disappointing. Still, it made sense, as everything came together.
Jason looked horrorstruck as the Greek Caster lowered her distinctive cowl, revealing an older and more jaded version of the girl standing next to Jason. "I should have figured why those dragon tooth warriors we encountered earlier felt so familiar. Still having others doing your work, I see. My, my, you haven't changed one bit, have you?" Medea said, her voice scornful and mocking. He took a half-step back, turning delightfully pale. Out of all Greek mythology, when it came to heroes, Jason was the one I despised the most. After meeting Medea, and being tutored by her multiple times after, my disgust turned into hatred.
Jason was not a true hero. He was someone whose only contribution to the Quest for the Golden Fleece was somehow managing to assemble a crew of fellow heroes unlike any other. He was a coward, an opportunist, and a faithless womanizer. Even the Caster version of Gilles had better qualifications to be counted as a Heroic Spirit.
"M-M-Medea?!" Jason spluttered, completely shaken, and revealing his true nature to us. "Why…What…no, no. This…this is perfect. The Witch of Betrayal being amongst the ranks of these evildoers…" This time, the blonde bastard had absolutely no confidence or swagger in his words of body language. Then, it seemed that he had finally recovered after a few more seconds of manic self-conversation.
"Pathetic…I don't know what I ever saw in that man," Medea said with a dismissive hiss, pulling back up her cowl. "I'm going to enjoy this." Just then, Mash's commlink started going off. The Demi-Servant activated it, and a panicked Doctor Roman just barely managed to not shout through the device the moment it was activated.
"I recommend an immediate withdrawal," Roman said rather quickly, his words drawing cries of protests from nearby Servants. "We have already rescued Euryale, so it's better to fall back and regroup," Roman said, only a tad calmer this time.
"But Doctor!" Mash protested, showing that even the normally polite and quiet girl disagreed with this suggestion. I, however, had a sinking suspicion behind why the doc was suggesting this course of action.
"Listen!' The sharpness to his voice silences any more vocalization of protests long enough for the acting-director to continue speaking. "Powerful heroes were gathered as Argonauts. But even among them, there was one in particular who stood out above all others." Mash paled slightly, whipping back around as my own gaze fell on the massive Berserker.
"Then, that Berserker is…?"
"I'm afraid so. The greatest hero of Greek mythology. The slayer of the Hydra, Landon, and so many other monsters. Heracles."
As if he had heard them, the Servant in question threw back his head, and a loud roar sounding much like an oncoming training at full speed burst forth from his curled lips. Having finally recovered, Jason's laughter quickly followed, though I noted with grim satisfaction that this time it felt rather hollow.
"Ha! You can't win! As if you could in the first place! Heracles traveled everywhere, fought almost every monster. He was undefeated, and ultimately rose to become a god, just like his father! He's not like you second- and third-raters. Your trash mobs are fated to be ripped to shreds!" Now, even Jeanne d'Arc and Marie Antionette were bristling in anger, as were Ritsuka and I. With every word he uttered, the blonde Greek was only adding more fuel to the fire, and in his arrogance, didn't even realize that maybe, just maybe, what he was saying and doing was not exactly a smart idea, and so he continued speaking condescendingly.
"Of course, as a summoned Berserker-Class Servant, he does lack two things: intelligence and dignity. He's just a vicious stray dog now. Serves him right, too, I'd say…"
"Start withdrawing. Ritsuka, grab Euryale and fall back with your Servants first. Tell Drake to get ready to haul ass," I whispered as Jason took a moment from his monologue to regain his breath. My fellow Master looked at me, opening his mouth to protest my instructions. "Doctor Roman is right. We came here expecting to fight Hector and maybe one or two other Servants. If we're going to defeat Heracles, we need a plan. A real plan. I'll be right behind you."
Ritsuka glared at me briefly before nodding, his shoulder slumping. "Yes, you're right. Sorry, that guy's words are just getting to me," Ritsuka said in an apologetic manner. I gave a comforting smile and reached out with my free hand, gently clasping my friend's right shoulder.
"You're not the only one. Now, go. We'll cover your withdrawal."
"Are you done being disrespectful to me?" Jason said with more than just a hint of impatience in his voice as I turned back towards him. "Hand over Euryale. If you do, I won't send Heracles after you to attack you and your little band of ne'er-do-wells. What do you say, you Master-ish entity?" Jason asked, spreading out his arms as he gave his little 'offer' patronizingly.
"Just two words. Shut. Up," I said in an even tone, staring stonily at the prick. Jason stared back silently, his mouth hanging half-open before he threw his head back and howled in amusement, his body shaking slightly as he did so, though not in fear.
"Haha! I see, I see! For a villain, you're very courageous! I really, really, really, really like you now!" Was that a compliment or an insult? And you have a cute Servant, too! Several, actually. Granted, that knight over there is quite the eyesore. Not much of a looker, she is, but still, you're just like a hero!"
"Say that again to my face!" Mordred roared, hackles raised and arcs of crimson lightning crackling over her form. Despite my own sense of outrage at the insulting, demeaning, and overall belittling of my beloved Saber, I rested a hand on her right pauldron, gripping it firmly in a show of silent support.
Quickly glancing at me, my knight forced herself to calm down again, settling to instead glare murderously at an unrepentant Jason.
"Did I strike a nerve there? Well, I see this is pointless. Since you refused my generous offer, oh cocky wannabe hero, can you and your piece of trash Servants perish now and all?" He turned to his young feminine companion. "Medea! My beautiful, beloved Medea." Medea, our Medea, tensed up angrily, her staff in one hand and the in the other, a long, jagged dagger that looked like a bolt of lightning.
Her ultimate trump card, Rule Breaker. Ritsuka whispered something to Medea, and his Servant, though with great effort, managed to cool her anger for the moment, and I looked back towards the other Medea present. At the same time, I sensed Ritsuka and Medea moving away, and I smiled grimly. At least my friends and his Servants were in the clear. Just have to last a little longer before we could join them…
The younger version of Ritsuka's Caster looked up at him with an expectant and serene smile. "Yes, my Lord Husband?" Jason adopted a rather bloodthirsty expression, looking back at my Servants and I with out of the corner of his eyes as he continued speaking to his own Caster.
"You know what I want, right? I want you to kill them all and break them into tiny pieces! Just like you did to your own brother!" The younger version of Medea blinked, staring up at her 'husband' with confusion and a little dismay.
"Little brother, in pieces? Sometimes you say strange things, Master. Are you okay?" Jason waved a hand dismissively. Was it just my imagination, or was he moving it just a bit too manically?
"It's fine, it's fine. I'll never betray you again!" Quirking an eyebrow in a way that was so familiar to the Medea I knew, the Caster shook her head, still clearly confused. Did she not posses the memories of what was to come for her in the future, perhaps? While an intriguing question, I feared that it was going to be yet another that I wouldn't get a response from.
"I will help dispatch these, Master. I'm the first disciple of Hekate, goddess of Magecraft. Princess Medea will make your desires come true." Jason nodded, pleased and relaxed-looking. The blonde turned to the Berserker on their ship. "And Heracles! You shall go too! Hector, Atalante, and I shall be watching the two of you from here."
"He sends his wife to fight in the front line, but doesn't fight himself," Jeanne said softly, looking horrified at that very idea. "Master, is he…?"
"The scum of mankind." I said those words rather loudly, wanting to provoke the apparently unstable blonde into doing something rash. Instead of exploding into a red-faced rant of rage, however, Jason merely smirked, apparently bemused by my (rather accurate in my opinion) insult thrown at him.
"Heh, that's a funny joke," he sneered. "Kill them all, Heracles!"
"Get back!" I shouted before Jason even finished his command, having realized just what he was about to do. With an inhuman-sounding roar, Heracles, Greece's most famous mythical icon, leapt from the bow of the Argos, and landed where Hector had been standing only minutes before.
The wood buckled and bent for a split second before the weakened planks started to splinter. This foe was beyond any of us, at least for the moment. I whipped around to the Servants around me. "All support-role Servants fall back to the Golden Hind! Frontline fighters with me! We've got to buy time for Drake to free her ship from the galley!"
"Master!" Astolfo called out, summoning his lance, and pointing towards our feet. Following the direction my Rider was gesturing at, my eyes widened as I saw multiple clouds of purplish-black mist dotting the mostly-empty main deck. A second later, and the skeletal forms of Dragon Tooth Warriors climbed up out of the mist-like substance. My gaze shot towards the enemy Medea, just in time to see her staff glowing with the same light as the mist.
At the same time, Heracles roared as he swung his sword-axe around violently, destroying the closest mast in a single hit before crouching down. I saw how his powerful muscles were tensing up. Shit, he's about to rush us!
"Brace yourselves!" I called out as both Mordred and Jeanne shielded me with their bodies as the enemy Berserker began his charge. Around us, my other Servants began readying their weapons. Then another roar filled the air. A familiar one, and one from behind.
"Die!" Asterios snarled, somehow managing to dropkick his fellow Greek Berserker. If it weren't for the life and death situation that I was in (once again), I would have laughed at the sheer absurdity of the sight. However, I did note just what the actions of the Minotaur had done.
Without saying it directly, the white-haired Greek Servant had declared that he was going to go after the enemy Berserker, and that meant that we could focus on defeating Heracles's support before either could get aboard Drake's ship.
"Master?" Mordred said, as Asterios and Heracles began exchanging blows with a degree of speed and grace that belayed their size and body mass. At the same time, one of the several dozen Dragon Tooth Warriors charged at us. My knight merely scoffed dismissively, and with a controlled flick of the wrist, Clarent bisected the skeletal construct…twice.
The sound of the broken blueish-gray bones seemed to have the effect of a starting gun for the others, and with a silent, ghostly roar, they began charging at us in all directions at once. There wasn't a second to lose.
"Take them down! Don't let a single one of them get aboard the Golden Hind!" I ordered. Vlad rushed forward towards three of the skeletal constructs. He leapt forward, slamming his feet into the sternum of the middle one, breaking it with his raw strength. With a simple yet elegant flourish, the inspiration for Dracula destroyed both of his foes in a blink of an eye.
With his own madness-induced roar, Lu Bu crushed a half-dozen of his own foes, some with his halberd, the rest through punches and kicks. Once more I wondered what the famous general would have been like in life, without the traits of a Berserker-class Servant.
Astolfo, Sasaki, and Amadeus also did their own parts, bringing down Dragon Tooth Warrior after Dragon Tooth Warrior, while Jeanne did her best to defend me along with Mordred as wave upon wave of enemy constructs sought to crush us.
I learnt first-hand just how difficult these enhanced skeletons were in fighting at close quarters. A well-aimed Gandr or other ranged Magecraft attacks could bring one down, but these hit like a truck, and were more erratic and dangerous compared to the average re-animated skeletons that I had fought on multiple occasions.
By the time the last one was brought down by Mordred with a mighty swing of Clarent, my forehead and hair was drenched in sweat, and I was starting to breath rather heavily. Still, no matter how brief it might prove to be, my Servants and I had earned a moment of respite. I looked to see how the last member of our team was fairing, just in time to see Asterios spin around, almost like a whirlwind.
Heracles snarled angrily, ducking to the side while lashing upwards with his dangerous, rock-like weapon. Without coming to a full stop, Asterios retaliated, swinging his right axe low, while the other was aimed high. By doing so, theoretically Heracles would be forced to take one hit no matter what. The only question was which strike he would try to block, and which the Greek Berserker would tank.
With another angry snarl, Heracles raised his sword-axe and caught Asterios's axe with the wide flat of his own weapon, glaring as the Minotaur's other axe slammed into his legs, carving out a vicious gash on both of his thighs. The snarl was cut off suddenly, courtesy of a powerful kick that sent Heracles stumbling, thrown off-balanced. Before the hero could recover, Asterios launched one last attack.
With a braying roar, I watched in awe as Asterios slammed both of his axes into and through Heracles's shoulders, and the red glow in the latter's eyes faded away. Asterios had overcome Jason's trump card!
"Aww, I wanted to get a crack at him!" Mordred whined, the blonde slipping into one of those moments where my partner sounded less of the knight she was and more of the child she was denied by her bitch of a mother. I started to shake my head when I noticed that something wasn't right.
"I fear that you may yet get your wish, Mordred," I said slowly, raising my wrist and activating my own commlink. "Doc, Heracles's not disappearing. What readings are you getting?"
"I'm still picking up a reaction from him!" Roman responded, and I could hear the loud and hurried clacking of keyboards in the background. "I've never seen something like this before from a Servant!"
I was about to curse when a long, slow, and very sarcastic series of hands clapping together rang out over the silent battlefield. Of course, it was coming from Jason, who was still smirking smugly while barely even lifting a finger to help his comrades.
"Oh, bravo! What effort, so much effort! So, I've got some news for you guys! Consider it a reward for lasting so long. You see, Heracles here is essentially immortal." I felt the blood drain from my face as my eyes widened. While Asterios took a few steps away from the body of what should have been a defeated Servant, I heard Mash utter a sound of horror and shock.
"Yes, your eyes do not deceive you, nor your ears! Heracles's most famous legend. The Twelve Labors tasked to him by the gods. Since he overcame each and every one of those twelve impossible tasks, he's been granted that many lives as a reward. In other words, you must defeat him eleven more times, and on top of that, his God Hand ability will prevent you from killing him the same way twice! Good luck!"
"Eleven more times…" Mordred repeated, and in a rare occurrence, she sounded just a tad bit nervous at the idea. In other words, even the brave Saber couldn't help but feel at least somewhat intimidated by this revelation.
"Drake, you better fucking hurry! I'm not sure how much time we can buy you now!" I shouted over my shoulder, readying for Round Two. More Dragon Tooth Warriors were starting to appear. Did young Medea have no limits, even when she was younger and less experienced than the one summoned by Ritsuka?! I gritted my teeth as Jason laughed mockingly once more, while Heracles finished his revival.
"Great, this is the best! Using overwhelming violence to oust and crush enemies! We retrieved the Ark, and now that you've brought us the Holy Grail, Hector, I think it's appropriate to declare that I'm now the king of this world. And once Euryale is back in our hands, we'll have everything that we need so that I—we, will be the ultimate rulers!"
Despite the imminent resumption of combat, I couldn't help but cock an eyebrow. "Ark?"
"Did he say the Ark?!" Doctor Roman's voice sounded absolutely horrified. I wanted to ask him if he could elaborate on just what the hell this 'Ark' I was hearing about was, but that could wait until later.
Preferably a later that saw us far, far away from the Argos and her dangerous crew.
"Er, Captain, not to undermine you or anything, but are you sure that was a good thing to mention to them?" Hector asked warily.
I tuned out Jason's worthless dribble as Heracles finished his 'resurrection', bellowing angrily. Instead of attacking us, the Greek Berserker slammed his sword-axe into the deck of the ship, causing the surface to split in half, before with a long, moaning groan, the battered ship finally gave up the will to live, splitting in two.
"Well, that's the Dragon Tooth Warriors dealt with," Mordred quipped dryly, as the bow section started sinking. I scoffed softly.
"I'd rather deal with them than that monstrosity!" I said, pointing my sword at enemy Berserker that was still on our side of the shattered hull still afloat.
"What are you doing?!" Jason demanded angrily. Heracles didn't respond with words, of course, but instead swung his oversized weapon about until he was gesturing towards Asterios at it menacingly. Apparently, the Berserker wanted to settle the score with his 'killer'. "Medea, quickly, make some more warriors!"
"I'll try, my Lord Husband," the Caster said serenely, though was it my imagination, or did the Greek princess sound rather strained this time. A second or two later, and roughly a dozen new Dragon Tooth Warriors assembled themselves before my Servants and me. "That's all I can manage for the next few hours, though."
"What, so little?! No, no, no, it's fine, it's all fine. Victory is still mine, even if Heracles has gone mad now…again!" With a roar, Asterios drowned out any more of Jason's kvetching as eh threw himself forward, wounded though he was, and apparently unable to take any more of Heracles's lives. Still, he could buy us time, though the words uttered by the Minotaur threw me off-guard.
"Kill-ed. Killed…killed…killed! Killed…innocent…children! Father…told me…to do it. Father…called me…monster! But…it…was…my fault," Asterios confessed, managing to catch Heracles's weapon with the blades of both of his own, and I watched as the two Berserkers began a test of strength, with Heracles trying to split Asterios in two, while the former strained to keep the latter from doing so, leaving the two Greek Berserkers essentially deadlocked. As I helped Mordred and Jeanne in dealing with the remaining Dragon Tooth Warriors, I listened to Asterios's labored words as the rest of my Servants scrambled aboard the Hind, per my latest set of instructions.
"I…was sure…my heart was…monster. But…Euryale…and others…called my name. Everyone else forgot…my…name! Then…I need…to return, even if I'm…not forgiven…even if I'm still ugly….I need to…return to human!" Asterios snarled, sounding almost like an adult bull, before headbutting Heracles. The noise generated sounded like to boulders being slammed against one another, and the mighty Greek hero stumbled ever so slightly.
At the same time, I cleaved the last Dragon Tooth Warrior in half, my shoulders rising and falling slightly as I panted, gasping for air. I was almost re-energized when I once more heard the voice of someone I had come to loath at such a rate I would have previously thought to have been unattainable.
"Come one, Heracles! Crush that damn Ox-head! Oh, damn it! Why is everyone else but me a hopeless imbecile? Crush them and bring me Euryale, Heracles!" But the Berserker apparently either hadn't heard him or had enough of listening to Jason's shit. I found it surprisingly entertaining to see Jason losing his as a result. "You can't even obey me now, you piece of scum?! Hector!"
I frowned, feeling yet another wave of disgust overcome me. This was the final boss, so to speak? This cowardly, loudmouth blonde? I found myself wishing that we were fighting Blackbeard again now. At least the Rider had the guts to face us head-on, no matter how crazy he may have acted!
"Yessir," Hector said, adopting a posture eerily familiar of a military salute. "Time to do it?"
"Yes. When things don't go exactly as I plan, it irritates me," Jason said with a ferociously pathetic scowl. "I can't stand my own allies' disorderly conduct. If you can't follow orders, you're worse than the enemy. Besides, Euryale is safely on that other ship."
"Gotcha. Then, releasing Noble Phantasm."
"Jacob!" Ritsuka called out, as my body tensed. A near-blinding light began to obscure both Hector and his spear. Without knowing what his Noble Phantasm type was, the target could range from me or one of the other Servants, to all of us, to the entire ship! There was no time to jump ship, not if we wanted to ensure that Asterios came with us.
There was only one option I could think of. I whirled around to the Ruler standing by my side. "Jeanne, deploy your Noble Phantasm. Hurry!" I ordered, and the blonde girl nodded, eyes stern and resolute as she stepped in front of me and Mordred.
"Oh, banner of mine, protect our comrades!" Jeanne intoned swiftly, thrusting her banner into the air, the flag unfurling in the wind. "Luminosite—"
"Durindana—"
"Eternelle!" Jeanne cried out, and the same warm and comforting sensation that I had come to associate with Jeanne's Noble Phantasm washed over me. Hopefully, the effects of Luminosite Eternelle would have also reached Asterios. And from the looks of it, Jeanne had managed to deploy her trump card just in time.
"Pilum!" Hector responded, hurling his spear like it was nothing. My eyes followed the trajectory with mounting horror, realizing that I had misjudged who Hector would have targeted. Maybe it was arrogance, maybe it was logic, but I had expected for the Trojan Lancer to have targeted me. Leaving aside the fact that he had already tried to kill me once, doing so would reduce the number of Servants Jason and his companions would have to face by half.
It seems, though, that Jason and Hector considered Asterios to be the bigger threat now, as Durandal began its terminal descant, having reached the apex of its arc.
"Asterios, look out!" It wasn't just my voice, but several others, Ritsuka, Drake, and of course Euryale among them. However, the damn spear was moving too fast. Asterios instead grabbed Heracles and used him in what I quickly realized was a makeshift shield.
Thunk!
The noise was accompanied by a sinking, squelching sound, as the spear pierced through the heart of Heracles and continued onwards, penetrating Asterios's chest, presumably either near or through his own heart.
"Asterios!" I called out, no, screamed. The Minotaur coughed up a glob of blood, some of it getting onto the tail ends of his snow-white hair and staining it a bright crimson. Across from me, Jason was having a much different, and in my not so humble opinion, messed up reaction to this outcome.
"Ha, serves you right, you mad dog!" Jason spat, completely unbothered by the fact that Heracles had lost another life, and with this one being at the hands of his own allies! "At least you kept that dumb Ox-head in place. Maybe when you come back, you'll listen to orders!"
"Uh, Captain…Asterios isn't dead, exactly," A spear-less Hector said with a nervous laugh.
"What?!"
It was with great difficulty that the impaled Berserker in question turned to look at me with watery eyes and a small, rueful smile on his blood-stained lips.
"Mas-ter! Master! Master! MASTER! Thank…you!" Asterios said. "Master…you and others…called my name! Everyone…did not hate…monster! First time…For the first time! I was…happy! I am happy…to be…born!" Asterios proclaimed with a small, sad smile. I frowned, and I could hear Euryale and the others shouting Asterios's name in fear and alarm. A sensation I too shared. The words the Berserker was saying…they sound too much like a farewell speech.
"Come on, Asterios! Yank that damn spear out and hurry over! We'll patch you up in a jiffy!" I said, pleading. My heart sank as the Berserker shook his head once, still hugging a currently lifeless Heracles.
"No. Take care of…Euryale! All…thanks to…Euryale. I…love…Euryale!" As Asterios finished that declaration of his, I noticed that the world started to seem rather blurry. Running my free hand against my eyes, I noticed the wetness of tears being formed.
"Jacob! We're getting ready to set sail! Hurry!"
"No, Captain! You can't. Asterios is—"
"Shut up, tiny goddess!" Orion shouted, cutting off an emotional-sounding Euryale. "Try to understand his feelings! Quick, someone grab her!" Behind me, I heard the sounds of shuffling and muffled cursing, and over that, the heart-wrenching pleas the petite Greek Archer shouted.
"Let me go. Let me go! Asterios! No matter what anyone says, you're Asterios and nobody else. So, I beg this of you. Don't regret not fully turning into a monster, because that is a…that is a very noble thing."
"Right. But…after all…a monster…need proper punishment. Save the world…Jacob!" Asterios called out, just as the enemy Berserker's body that Asterios both clutched, and was pinned to, began twitching, then thrashing. Heracles was starting to recover. I nodded once at Asterios, as Jeanne began tugging on my shoulder rather frantically. It was with a heavy heart that I turned around and with my two blonde friends began hurrying back to the Golden Hind. As we ran, I did my best to watch over my shoulder as Asterios managed to make his way over to the railing of the ship, though not without great effort, as his body began to glow a faint golden hue.
With one last defiant roar, the mortally wounded Asterios jumped off of the galley, dragging a recovering Heracles's body with him as huge splash of water, tinged a bright crimson as blood continued leaking out of the spear wound of both bodies. I blinked away the tears threatening to escape from my eyes as I landed on the bow of the Golden Hind with Mordred and Jeanne on either side of me.
"Set sail," Drake called out, her own voice laden with emotions. Even as the sinking halves of the galley and the Argos grew more and more distant, until we were completely away from the scene, I didn't take my gaze away from the spot that Asterios had dived into in the water.
Original Endnotes: And done! So, how did y'all enjoy the chapter? Was it good, meh, bad? Clean, messy? A part of me felt that maybe, just maybe, I should have broken this up into two chapters, but in the end I decided to not do so. I wanted to introduce the final cast of foes to fight, establish some major plot detail, and all that jazz.
Poor Asterios. At least he went out like a champ and a true badass! Now, only ten more lives to take from Heracles. Yes, I will be following the God Hand mechanics from the Fate/Stay Night anime, meaning only attacks and/or Noble Phantasms rank A or higher will be able to kill him, and only work once. And without the Ark of the Covenant, that just means there's only one way this can end: a boss fight!
Speaking of the Ark, as you've noticed, some major plot alterations have happened! Atalante, albeit reluctantly, agreed to work with Jason, and David has sadly been defeated. Now, I know some of you will be thinking 'MorgothII, why didn't you feature more on Medea this chapter?' I say this: You ain't seen nothing yet! I just want to save it for the right chapter. Same reason for the rather straight-forward combat scene. I want to make sure that the upcoming batch of Servant battles are really fresh and all. *cackles* The final battle ought to be one hell of a doozey!
So, now for the chapter's question(s): After Mordred, who is the best Camelot Servant? Also, the other day, I pulled my second Tesla, so in that case, has anyone else ever summoned a second or more copies of any five star Servants, and if so, who were they and did you burn them for rare prisms or upgrade NPs?
As always, thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed the chapter, and please feel free to leave any sort of feedback, comments or not! It means a lot that this story has gotten, and continues to get, such an amount of love, so thanks to each and every one of you from the bottom of my heart! I can't wait to read y'alls thoughts and question answers, and have a wonderful day! See y'all in the next chapter!
Updated Endnotes 12/31/21: Happy New Year everyone. Chapter 147 was posted today on the AO3 copy of my story. Stay safe and healthy and see you all in 2022