"No other ship in sight, Captain," Bombe reported to Drake in a monotone. The usually carefree pirate captain was equally lackadaisical in her response, merely nodding her head, affect just like everyone else by the mood felt throughout the Golden Hind.
It was the second defeat we had suffered in this singularity. This time, the atmosphere was much heavier, and few dared to make a sound. While Drake's crew hadn't lost anyone this time, nor Ritsuka and I any of our Servants, there was a sense of loss. It was a no-brainer over who it was, too.
Asterios.
The Berserker may have been a quiet giant most of the time, but he had quickly proved endearing, not only to we from Chaldea, but to Drake and her gang of faithful supporters as well. His absence, his loss, was felt by all.
And no one, no one, felt it more acutely than Euryale. She had stayed in the same position that she had been when Asterios had sacrificed himself to stop Heracles from boarding the Hind once he had finished recovering. She hadn't even shot a dirty look at anyone when a pirate had accidently stumbled into her like she normally would.
Of course, she wasn't the only Greek Servant looking rather broody. Towards the bow, Medea sat in a cross-legged position, seemingly staring ahead, or rather into a bronze bowl filled with some sort of mysterious liquid that she had requested shortly after the start of our flight.
Finally, Euryale released a long, doleful sigh, a mournful look in her eyes as she turned around to gaze at Ritsuka and I. "He's dead, then," Euryale said softly. I walked over, Mordred following me as if she were my shadow.
"I'm afraid so."
"How foolish," Euryale said with a subdued but angry scoff. Her tiny hands curled tightly on the railing in front of her. Ah, one of the five stages of grief, I see. "We just called his name. That's all it took for him. With just that, he felt that he could die for us. Just because we called him 'Asterios', and not 'Minotaur'." Well, not aloud, at least. "That's the reason he risked his life to protect us. It was just that pure and simple."
"At least he died with no regrets," Ritsuka countered, he and Mash joining us.
"Without him, we all would have died back there," I added, displeased at Euryale's coldness towards her close companion, even if it was more due to her grieving over Asterios's loss.
"Perhaps, but it might have been better if we were all cleanly wiped out then and there. Asterios died, and Heracles lives still. With just that, it makes it all seem hopeless," Euryale said, before sighing forlornly again. "Geez, this just had to be the one time where my loser sister wasn't summoned."
"That Heracles," Drake said, now also jumping in on the discussion. "He has to die ten more times, right?"
"It's eleven times," Mash countered, before a thoughtful expression. "No, it is ten. He died from that blow from Hector's Noble Phantasm, didn't he?"
"Yes," I said curtly, staring at Euryale. "He didn't die in vain. We'll honor his sacrifice by bringing those monsters down. Mordred, gather the other Servants. We need to make a new plan."
"What am I, an errand boy?" Mordred grumbled, though I could tell she was excited at the prospect of finally doing something. "Fine, just give me a few minutes."
"I'll help you, Mordred," Mash offered, and along with Drake and Euryale, the two female warriors walked off, leaving me alone with Ritsuka. My fellow Master was about to walk off with the others when I stopped him with an outstretched hand. Rits looked up at me with a questioning look in his eyes.
"Sorry, but there's another problem we need dealing with. One that you should be the one to deal with."
"Medea?" Ritsuka asked, catching on quickly. I nodded, feeling pleased inside at the display of awareness from the younger boy.
"Yes. We don't need her to become a loose cannon. Plus, she's rather distressed."
"Why do you want to handle it? You're the more diplomatic one with these things?" Ritsuka asked, looking down at his feet. I resisted the urge to pinch the bridge of my nose and exhale sharply, instead shaking my head and gently flicking my fellow Master between his eyes. Ritsuka yelped and jumped backwards slightly, glaring at me.
"Idiot," I said without any heat to the word. "Medea's my teacher. She's your Servant, however. Furthermore, she has trust issues. If you have me handle it, she'll think that you don't trust her, and it will strain your relationship. Finally, this is what it means to be a Master. Understand?" I asked, and Ritsuka nodded, remaining silent for a few seconds before speaking.
"Yeah. Sorry, that was foolish of me," Ritsuka said, sounding ashamed of himself. I reached out and gently clasped his left shoulder, my brown eyes gazing into his blue ones.
"We're all foolish from time to time. It's recognizing it that's the important thing to keep in mind. I won't always be here to help you out or give you advice, Rits. You need to be able to handle these things on your own, with little advice. So, while I handle planning, you'll talk with Medea." I felt another burst of pleasure and pride as the look of shame on Ritsuka's face was washed away, replaced with a look of iron resolve and determination.
Good. My fellow Master, bless his heart, could be aggravatingly ignorant of his surroundings at times, but what he lacked in perception in that regard, he more than made up for it with courage and a kind heart. "I won't let you down." I clucked my tongue reproachfully, though also giving him a small, lopsided smile.
"Ah, ah, ah. This is not about letting me down or impressing me. Don't let yourself down, alright?" I asked, gently poking his chest. Another nod in response from my friend. "Good. Now, get going. Mash and I will handle the meeting. Once you and Medea have finished, come on over. We'll fill you in on anything that you miss."
"Fair enough. Good luck," Ritsuka said earnestly, and I couldn't help but chuckle.
"I feel like I should be saying that to you," I smirked, as Ritsuka chuckled as well, before he started heading towards the bow and Medea. I didn't fail to notice the (somewhat) subtle look Mash had as she watched her crush walking away.
"Come on, lover girl. You can fantasize about Rits later," I said, grinning impishly as Mash first stiffened into an upright position, her pale cheeks exploding into a bright red.
"J-Jacob S-Senpai...I, ah, I…I don't know what you're talking about," Mash spluttered in denial. I tilted my head, raising an eyebrow as I shot her a flat look.
"Yes, you do know. Almost everyone at Chaldea knows." Mash released a rather adorable whimper, and I was unable to resist the urge to reach out and gently rub my hand over her hair. The look of embarrassment morphed into an indignant scowl, as the Demi-Servant ducked under my hand and took a few steps backwards. "Don't worry, he'll realize it sooner or later. Just keep at it. Now, let's go get us a plan of action."
Ritsuka swallowed nervously as he approached the Greek Servant as she continued to both mutter under her breath in a mix of her native tongue and English while peering into what he presumed to be a scrying bowl. "Medea?" He said softly, not wanting to startle her.
"Yes, Master?" Ritsuka's Caster said rather curtly, not even bothering to look up at him. He couldn't help but flinch at her tone. It was colder than the artic winds outside Chaldea and felt almost twice as dangerous. For a moment, he considered beating a retreat, but then Jacob's stern expression and words echoed in his mind, and he shook his head, his resolve restored.
"How are you doing?" He said, trying to approach the problem like he had seen and heard Jacob doing with Mordred.
"Fine," the Witch of Betrayal spat, clearly anything but. He sighed softly, taking a moment to sit down and get into a comfortable position on the wooden planks. "What do you want?" Medea demanded, still refusing to turn around.
"I want to see how one of my Servants is doing," Ritsuka started to say cautiously, weighing each word carefully before uttering it. He could already tell that he was on thin ice, and he hadn't even gotten much of a chance to talk to her! "It must have been rather difficult, seeing your former spouse again." Another stretch of silence passed before Medea finally spoke, her tone more neutral now.
"He was so handsome…and I was so stupid. I gave him everything, and in the end, he threw it right back into my face!" She said, her shoulders rising slightly. Ritsuka kept calm, however. "I've already extracted my revenge on him in life, though. Are you not familiar with that part of my tale, young Master?" Medea asked, turning around and lowering her cowl, her bluish-purple eyes staring into his piercingly, her lips a tight line.
"More or less. When he was offered a younger girl to be his wife instead of you, you fled into a rage, and burnt everyone at the wedding alive," Ritsuka said, doing his best to keep his tone even. He personally had mixed feelings about that specific events. While he would never deny that Jason had it coming to him, especially now that he had met the hero in person, he also felt that Medea's wrath had been extended to too many others.
The Caster nodded, her face still an expressionless mask. "Yes. After that, I swore that I would never be someone's tool to be discarded so carelessly. So…thoughtlessly." The way she emphasized that last word didn't go unnoticed by Ritsuka. It was both a statement and a warning. "It was seeing my younger self looking at him with such…devotion. That naivety made me want to vomit."
"What would you like?" Ritsuka asked, suspecting that something was up. Sure enough, Medea nodded, a crooked smile on her lips as a pleased expression flickered through her eyes.
"I want to take part in defeating Jason. That is non-negotiable," Medea said firmly. Ritsuka nodded his head slowly. Fortunately, aside from maybe Mordred, none of the other Servants had laid claimed to Jason's head, so that wasn't going to be an issue there. Even with Mordred. After all, Ritsuka suspected that the Knight of Rebellion would rather prioritize the Servant who tried to killer her partner.
"Deal." Medea's eyes widened slightly, apparently having expected some sort of sermon of morals, perhaps, or that she would be better suited to stay towards the rear. The former would have little effect on someone who seemed so jaded (perhaps righteously at that) about the world. As for the latter? Well, he understood the desire to extract vengeance as Lev's mocking face came to mind.
His Caster stood up, and he quickly followed suit as she pulled her cowl over her head once more, a sinister smirk on her lips.
"Good. Now, come, young Master. Let's go see what the others are up to, hm?"
"Okay, I know we're mourning the loss of Asterios, but he sacrificed us so that we could fight another day. I plan on both mourning and honoring him by kicking that blonde prick's ass all the way to back to the Throne of Heroes. Who is with me?"
"Anytime, anywhere," Mordred quipped instantly, once more showing her excitement to be in yet another battle. The other Servants, as well as Mash and Drake, quickly voiced their own support to the idea.
"Now, first thing's first. Doctor Roman, do you have any ideas over what this 'Ark' that Jason mentioned is?" My erstwhile boss sighed despondently, before replying.
"There's only one Ark that I know of. The Ark of the Covenant." I stilled at hearing that name, staring at my commlink incredulously.
"Wait, the Ark of the Covenant? The Israelite doomsday device?!" I exclaimed, wide-eyed and slack-jawed. Oh, this was just great! Perfect, fan-flippin-tastic! One of the earliest types of WMDs in the hand of a megalomaniac! It was like giving Hitler a thermonuclear warhead for his birthday: you just don't do it!
"What's the big deal about this thing?" Drake asked, staring at me with a raised eyebrow. Mash coughed politely as I shook my head, recovering from my shock.
"Doctor, please explain."
"The Ark of the Covenant contains the original Ten Commandments that Moses, leader of ancient Israel, received from God. Leaving aside any theological debates and from a historical standpoint, it's a relic equivalent to that of the true Holy Grail," Roman explained.
"So, it has no worth as treasure, then? What a pity," Drake said, sounding disturbingly put-out for all the wrong reasons.
"With Mistah Blackbeard gone, that means that Jason is the actual singularity. But so, what should we do first?" Mash asked.
"I don't know. I have no idea whatsoever," Roman said with a long sigh, and Artemis scoffed angrily, her hands on her hips as she glared at Roman through my wrist-mounted device.
"Come one," the Archer said sourly, her eyes narrowed and dangerous. "You're not fighting on the front lines, so the least you could do is to make yourself useful!" I narrowed my eyes, and opened my mouth to reproach the goddess, when Roman cut me off.
"Oh, sorry, that's not what I meant. For once," Roman said, and I barely caught the bitterness in his voice at the muffled, last sentence. I frowned at the at of self-deprecation. Sure, Roman wasn't always the most help, but he consistently came through when it mattered, and never left us high and dry. "What I meant was that it was incomprehensible for Jason or his followers to actually use the Ark."
"Because of the price that comes from opening it?" I asked, grimacing as Roman voiced his confirmation. Drake's brow only furrowed further as she tilted her head to the side, hands on her hips.
"What the hell are you talking about, Jacob?"
"They say that the Ten Commandments are sealed inside the Ark. Whoever opens it, especially those unworthy, will be punished…harshly. Basically, it's one of those 'don't open it no matter what' fables. Kind of like Pandora's Box in Greece."
"I see," Mash said, humming thoughtfully to herself. "So, it's more of a case of imagining what the worst-case scenarios might be?" Artemis scoffed dismissively at Mash's suggestion.
"Bah! You're too cautious. Either that, or maybe you're too smart." Oh, the irony was strong with this one, it seems. My eyebrow twitched at the normally scatterbrained Servant suggesting that being too smart was a bad thing.
"I admit that I'm being too cautious, yes," Doctor Roman responded, sounding unoffended by the accusation. "But that's because most of you are acting so carefree because you don't know the legend of the Ark."
"Then, doc, let's hear it. I'm not as well versed in the specifics, other than the general warnings about opening it. Are we looking at a Raiders of the Lost Ark type punishment?" I asked, half-serious, half attempting to joke to ease the building tension.
"I wish. The Ark will activate should it be either opened or even broken. The result is divine punishment. While like Jacob pointed out, the specifics are rather vague in this situation, but it's not too hard to guess. At worst, the surrounding area will be reduced to nothingness." The words were delivered with the explosive force of a nuclear bomb.
"What the hell?!" Drake demanded angrily, her eyes narrowed, teeth clenched tightly. "Why did any ancient king posses something so dangerous? Were they all idiots or something?!"
"Hey, don't look at me. I've got nothing to do with it!" Roman protested. I cleared my throat again, stropping the argument.
"Okay, so now we're all on the same page, more or less, over Jason's…toy, let's move onto the next topic. Heracles. I doubt anyone here will disagree when I say that of the four Servants following Jason, he is the one that needs to be dealt with first, correct?" I pause, taking a minute to look around at the others.
As expected, no one voiced any disagreement, and in addition to Mordred, there were a few other Servants who actually displayed some degree of excitement at the idea of fighting and (hopefully) taking down the dangerous Berserker.
I turned to a certain Archer belonging to Ritsuka, finally getting the chance to ask Chiron one of the questions that had been most present on my mind as I had tried to think up, discard, and re-do numerous ideas.
"Chiron, you know Heracles the most out of us, as his former teacher. Do you have any advice?" I asked, tilting my head in the direction of the fabled instructor of Greece's most prominent heroes. The disguised centaur shook his head sadly, though.
"From what I saw, I'm afraid it won't be of much use. If he had been summoned as an Archer or Saber, I could, but from what it seems like, as a Berserker he relies more on brute strength and instinct. It would be best to lure him into an ambush, and hit him from all sides," Ritsuka's Archer said calmly.
I frowned, chewing on my bottom lip softly. "Doc, you heard Jason mention something about Heracles called God Hand. Does Chaldea have any information on that?"
"Most likely. Just give me a few minutes," Doctor Roman responded with the occasional quiet confidence that he would display at times. I nodded and waited, the only sign of my impatience showing being the light tapping of the toes of my right boot. A few minutes later, and I heard the good doctor inhaling sharply. "Alright, I found it. Do you want the good news or the bad news first?"
"How about the good first? I suspect that the bad is what's going to be the trickiest thing to deal with," I said grimly. Roman made a sound of confirmation before he started relaying what he had found.
"Well, the good news is that, as you saw, God Hand has a set amount of lives, and that it can be taken. Even better, it is theoretically possible to take multiple lives in a single move, though that is of course extremely difficult."
"And the bad?"
"Like Jason said, only certain level attacks and Noble Phantasms can actually hurt or kill him, and once they take one or more life, they can't do so again. For example, that's why Asterios was unable to deal a second death blow to Heracles. If we had some hydra venom, then it would be an instant death, but alas, we lack access to that substance," Doctor Roman said, and I bit back a curse.
Then I noticed out of the corner of my eye Mordred's face screwing up, like she had just swallowed a spoiled lemon. Chiron looked discomforted as well, and for obvious reasons, considering how he lost his immortality due Heracles accidently hitting him with one of the arrows the hero had dipped into the blood of the slain hydra, but I wasn't sure what was up with Mordred's reaction.
I nudged her gently. "Had a bad run-in with hydra venom yourself?" I asked in a half-joking tone, once again making sure to phrase my concern in a way that wouldn't aggravate the prickly blonde's pride.
"You could say that…" Mordred said, and I noted that her tone said to drop the topic. Whatever it was, it was a personal matter the Knight of Rebellion was not yet ready to share with me. I nodded slightly and focused back on my commlink.
"I assume that there are some other rules behind God Hand?" I asked calmly.
"Yes. In order for it to qualify as a potentially lethal blow, any attacks made on Heracles must be made with either a Servant with a Rank A or higher strength, or a Noble Phantasm with a similar rating."
Damn. Of course, it wasn't going to be easy. We had found the loopholes, alright, but damn were they skinny! I exhaled long and slowly, chewing on the inside of my right cheek. I looked at the assembled Servants, all of whom had been listening in.
"You heard the doc. Who can qualify?"
"Oh! Oh! Me, me, me!" Artemis said, waving her hand excitedly while Orion buried his face in his paws, shaking his head in utter exasperation. "My Noble Phantasm can do so!" Well, now I had a reason to not feel bad about succeeding in finding a way to leave the unusual duo behind, at least. I clicked my tongue idly before looking around. Lu Bu thumped the butt of his weapon on the deck, before first making a stabbing gesture, before a more violent one. It took a few more repetitions of the gestures before I felt that I had at least some semblance of an idea for what my Berserker was trying to indicate.
"Your strength and your Noble Phantasm both have an A Ranking?" I asked, and the Chinese Servant grunted, crossing his arms and jutting his broad chest out proudly, looking like the fearsome warrior he was in life and literature. Okay, so that was now three lives still held by Heracles that were now accounted for.
Next, and to my surprise, it was Marie who stepped forward. "I've never mentioned it, nor have you or my Master suggested it. However, my Noble Phantasm, Guillotine Breaker, has a combat application in addition to its healing capabilities, and it has an A Ranking." Okay, now that was four.
Chiron and Vlad then stepped forward. The Archer's Noble Phantasm made the lives capable of being taken to five, while my Lancer with his Rank A strength made six. It would have been seven if we were in Romania, or so Vlad said, but it would do.
I turned to my faithful knight, who had remained rather silent. I personally knew that her Noble Phantasm should eb strong enough to take away at least several lives, if that last tidbit of information provided by Roman was correct. Mordred scoffed, crossing her arms across her chest.
"Clarent Blood Arthur will work well against that brute," Mordred said, smirking fiercely as she rested her broadsword against her armor. I nodded, my spirits feeling lighter now. Yes, we were facing a difficult challenge, alright, but we weren't helpless sheep.
This time, we would fight back, and we would win. We have to win. Drake cleared her throat, having remained quiet once throughout the conversation. Mash turned to the pink-haired fighter and nodded her head towards the English adventurer.
"Is something on your mind, Captain Drake?" Drake exhaled softly, nodding slowly before speaking.
"Okay, so now we have the start of a plan. There's still another major problem to be dealt with," Drake said, frowning slightly as she gazed at us. "Where are we going to fight that thing? I'm hoping that you're not thinking of fighting that brute on my ship!"
I shake my head. "No, not for a moment. The Golden Hind is a truly great ship, Captain Drake, but she's far too small to use as a battlefield for this. We'll need a lot of room to maneuver, and maybe trees and rocks to use as cover in-between attacks. Plus, I have something else in mind for you," I explained, and Drake relaxed slightly.
"Well, that's a relief to hear. I mean, I'm not afraid of facing down Heracles, but I've got to look out for my crew first. So, what did you have in mind, then?"
"We need to find the closest and largest island to our current position. We'll lure Heracles onto the center of the island and hit him with everything we've got. We have the advantage in that we can dictate the field of battle."
"Because of Euryale?" Astolfo asked, and I nodded at my Rider. For all his eccentrics, the French Rider had a delightfully quick mind. The paladin shot me a small grin in response as I continued speaking.
"Bingo. Regarding objectives, they are closer to victory. However, that also means that by virtue of holding the final piece, they'll have to come to us. Drake, while Ritsuka and I deal with Heracles, your task will be to keep Jason and the others occupied. You don't have to board the ship, just keep their attention away from their Berserker."
"Normally I'm not much of a fan of taking orders from others aboard my own ship, but you lot do know your stuff. Besides, regardless of if it'll deal damage to them or not, the boys and I have a few pounds of flesh to extract now." Drake said with a feral smirk.
"How can you be sure though, that they are tracking us?" Amadeus spoke up, frowning as a polite, feminine cough from behind had me looking over my shoulder.
"Because 'I' am also on that ship. She's scrying. I've been doing my best to interfere, so that she can only see and not hear what's been said," Medea explained, sounding and looking calmer than she had been since Hector's reveal of his true allegiance. Ritsuka flashed me a small, grim but determined smile. I returned it with a nod, pleased to see that my fellow Master had taken my advice. "There is something that I demand for after Heracles is dealt with."
I tilted my head to the side, both intrigued and wary. If it wasn't for the relaxed expression Ritsuka had on his face, I would have been leaning more to the latter rather than the former. "Alright, what's that?" I asked calmly. I couldn't see the Caster's eyes, but I could see her lips curling up rather viciously.
"You will leave Jason to Ritsuka, Mash, and I."
I would have to be an idiot to inquire as to why. In fact, it was an expected demand/request. And honestly, one I was more than happy to agree to. After all, my mentor in the art of Magecraft more than deserved the chance to grind that axe of hers she had long borne regarding her former husband.
"Sounds fine with me. Besides, Mordred and I have a big score to settle with Hector. Regardless, Jason's got his first hits in, let's return the favor, and then some!" I said, a savage smirk on my lips. Drake laughed, clapping me heartily on the back.
"I see you can be a bit petty at times, Jacob! I respect that! Alright, let's find that island!" And with that, the air was reinvigorated, with bloodlust and calls for revenge against Jason, Hector, and Heracles. Still, though I hid it rather well, there was one thought that followed me persistently in the back of my mind.
Would we win?
Original Endnotes: And done! Hope you enjoyed it, bit of a filler honestly, so I hope it wasn't a terrible one? I had trouble with writing the majority of the scene with Ritsuka and Medea, so I hope it came out okay. Ah Mash, you're so easy to tease, and adorably so to boot! Also, Mordred, hungry for a good fight once again! At least this time we'll be seeing Noble Phantasms being whipped out left and right! Finally, good job, Doctor Roman! :) Speaking off, the next chapter might be a few days late, mainly due to an internal debate over whether to leave it as one big chapter, or split in half. Obviously, y'all find out by Sunday (or Monday at the latest), but just wanted to give a heads-up. Who's excited to see how the battle goes?!
Now, for the question(s) of the chapter: Who are your favorite classical writers (e.g. Homer, Cicero, Livy...)? Asking mainly because I have been acquiring a number of classical texts not only from Greece and Europe but also Japan, China, and India. I actually just bought a copy of Rama the Steadfast, the same Saber-class Servant from the fifth singularity! Second question: Of the lost belts so far released, which is your most and least favorite, and why?
As always, thanks for reading another chapter! Feel free to leave feedback of any kind, and I can't wait to read your thoughts and question answers! I hoped you enjoyed another chapter, and have a wonderful night! See you guys and gals in the next chapter!
Updated Endnotes 01-09-21: Sorry for the delay. I was in urgent care on Tuesday and have been recovering since then. Only had the energy to focus on the original story, so sorry for the delay. Hope oyu enjoyed the chapter, and as always, the more up-to-date copy can be found on Archive of Our Own