It was incredibly difficult to stay put, knowing that some of your friends were putting themselves in harm's way, regardless of it being intentional or not. The cloud of dust, accompanied with some sort of explosion, and being followed by the sounds of roaring and shouting, almost had me running out, and therefore disrupting the entire plan.
I'd like to say that I was able to resist the desire, the urge, to do exactly that through sheer willpower, but that would be a bald-faced lie. The iron grips of Jeanne and Mordred on my shoulders was the main factor that was keeping me in place.
Apart from the Assassins Jing Ke and Sasaki, as well as Lu Bu, Nero and Vlad, the other Servants were spread out in a rough half-circle, weapons drawn and at the ready. Circling around overhead, Astolfo was watching us atop his impressive mount. Though the eccentric paladin lacked the requirements needed to take any of Heracles's remaining lives, Astolfo and the other Servants that statement applied to could still run interference. Further back, Medea and Amadeus stood by.
The Greek Caster was busy casting a spell that would prevent her younger counterpart from spying on the battle, or from revealing the outcome should (when) we win, therefore providing us with an element of surprise for us. My own Caster stood nearby, knowing that he would not be of much use in this attack and so guarding Medea and the rest of us should any Dragon Tooth Warriors appear from behind us.
Further ahead of me, and to either side, were Chiron and Artemis. Both Archers had their weapons at the ready, and I wouldn't deny being filled with nervous excitement at seeing them unleash their Noble Phantasms. Regarding combat-oriented Noble Phantasms, despite the destruction that they typically unleashed, I had to confess that there was a certain raw, primal beauty to the entire display.
From the raw, raging storm of Clarent Blood Arthur, to the quick, ruthlessness of Gàe Bolg, their unique trump cards were a sight to behold. And now, I was going to see more of them deployed over the next few minutes than the rest of my time working for Chaldea combined.
Finally, the tension reaching a point that I could bear no longer, a sharp cry broke the relative silence of the grassy plain that was to serve as our battlefield. The other Servants readied their weapons in response as I saw two figures running out of the forest.
"Jacob! He's right behind us!"
Ritsuka's shouting had me stiffening, one hand gripping tightly the hilt of my sword, as Ritsuka, carrying Euryale on his back, and Mash broke through the tree line and started running towards us. Having been standing still since he had been given his orders, Lu Bu readied his massive polearm. My Berserker held his halberd parallel to the ground, his muscles tensing up as he readied himself to charge.
With a roar of his own, the Chinese Servant charged forward just as I could make out the massive figure of Heracles. It was like watching two trains steaming towards one another at full speed. In other words, it was the kind of thing you couldn't look away from, regardless of how much you wished otherwise.
To my grim satisfaction, Lu Bu's halberd struck true, skewering the opposing Berserker in a single move, and taking a life, all while covering the retreat of Mash and Ritsuka. The sheer force of the two forces of nature colliding kicked up a small cloud of dust, and Lu Bu pushed a lifeless Heracles into a tree, pinning the recovering body to the tree as my Berserker leap backwards.
Not needing any further prompting, the Chinese warrior began the process of activating his A Rank Noble Phantasm. Lu Bu held his right hand outstretched, and his halberd seemingly vanished in a column of flames. In its place was a long bow in his hand. While he couldn't tell us what the name of his triumph card was, we did have both Chaldea's resources at our disposal, and a very friendly and helpful Ruler.
Lu Bu's Noble Phantasm was called The Five Soldiers of the War God, or God Force for short. It was an Anti-Unit, Anti-Army, and Anti-Fortress Noble Phantasm. From the sounds of it, I felt that it certainly sounded like a top-rank Noble Phantasm, and now, I was about to see that confirmation with my very own eyes.
I also suddenly felt very glad that he was on our side.
My Berserker grunted, as a massive arrow (at least for anyone other than the Berserker, it would be considered such) appeared in his until-now empty hand. Notching the arrow to the bowstring of his weapon, Lu Bu began pulling back the bowstring, seemingly effortlessly. Holding the bowstring back as far as it could apparently go without breaking for a second, the deadly projectile was suddenly enveloped in fire and some sort of burning, magical aura.
With a second roar that was almost drowned out by the burning, crackling sound his burning arrow was making, Lu Bu released the arrow, and it hit the Greek Berserker dead center, engulfing him in a raging firestorm and what appeared to be smaller, accompanying explosions. The surrounding trees burst into fire, thin, swaying pine trees and thick, sturdy oak trees burning fiercely.
Even from this distance, I swore that I could feel the heated air from the blast hitting me head-on with the same amount of intensity as if I were standing besides Lu Bu at that very moment. As the fire burnt down, I saw that Heracles had been reduced to a charred skeleton.
Then, a few seconds later, what appeared to be globs of pink flesh began to appear all over the corpse. It was extremely difficult for me to not gag at the disturbing sight of muscle, flesh, and skin being regrown. So, if all had gone to plan, that was the fourth life that Heracles had lost, plus the two lost in our first encounter with his dick of a Master.
We were at the halfway point, barring the revelation (and an unlikely one to boot) of Heracles having lost some more lives before our first encounter. Soon, Heracles was essentially reborn, and very pissed-off looking.
However, there was a secondary effect to Lu Bu's God Force Noble Phantasm. Even if it didn't manage to kill the individual targeted by the Berserker, it still stunned him or her for a few seconds. And in a fight like this, one that required very precise timing, it was a godsend.
Time for the next step of our plan. I turned to a still-panting Ritsuka. "It's time," I said softly, and my fellow Master nodded, straightening up and breathing in quickly. He turned around, facing his Archer, who was standing off to the side. On the opposite side of Chiron was Artemis and Orion. Both Archers were watching us out of the corner of their eyes, and upon seeing his Master turning to look at him, Chiron looked over his shoulder in response.
"Chiron, you're up!" Rits shouted, and the Great Sage of Centaurs nodded. He dismissed his bow, and as he began to activate his Noble Phantasm for the first time since he had been summoned at Chaldea, I could feel the hairs on the back of my neck standing up, a thick, heavy, almost divine-like energy now in the air around us.
"This shot shall pierce the heavens," Chiron started to say as he pointed skywards, towards the heavens. Even though the sun was up, it seemed like the might constellation of the archer, Sagittarius. According to his Greek myth, upon his accidental death brought about by Heracles, ironically enough, the gods of Olympus memorialized him in the night's sky as a constellation. Now, that constellation was visible for the briefest of moments, and it was breathtaking.
I watched in awe as the 'bow' section of the star formation began glowing, and for a moment I could see a centaur archer with a fully drawn bow in its hands. "My arrow has already been unleashed!" The arrow was released, a column of bright, golden energy. I watched in awe as the Noble Phantasm shot down like a comet towards the immobilized Berserker. "Antares Snipe!"
Right before impact, the column somehow thinned into a single beam, which shot straight through Heracles's heart, piercing his armor-like skin without any resistance. I saw that, as the beam dissipated, that there was a hole at least an entire inch in diameter on the right side of the enemy Servant's chest. I could also see that some of the ground behind him had been hit by Chiron's Noble Phantasm and had been scorched away.
With a creaking groan, Heracles's now-lifeless body fell onto his knees, his head slumped forward even as I saw wound healing up. There were still a few precious seconds at our disposal, and I turned to the other Greek Archer we were depending on.
"Artemis, Orion! Show us what you've got!" I called out. Artemis grinned, shooting me a thumbs-up.
"Gonna kick it up a notch!" Cried out the Goddess of the Hunt, and she kicked herself up into the air, aiming her bow with one hand, angling it to blast Heracles. Orion, in the meantime, had his plush arms wrapped, presumably tightly, around Artemis's throat. "Ready to unleash my love, darling!" She shouted, and two transparent and slightly upscaled versions of her weapon appeared around it.
A mass of pale blue energy started to form between the three bows, and I had to brace my body as the wind started to whip around from the backdraft of the swirling glob of mystical energy. "Tri-Star Amore Mio!" Artemis called out, just as Heracles started to push himself back up onto his feet.
Artemis's attack quickly reshaped itself into a heart shape, and then proceeded to slam into the Berserker dead center of his chest. I blinked my eyes as a blinding blueish-white light briefly obscured him, and I would swear to my dying day that when I opened them, it was to see that Heracles had been enveloped in an ethereal heart.
I blinked, surprised, as Heracles's looked down, also having a confused expression on his lips. I opened my mouth, about to ask (read as demand) Artemis just what the hell that attack was supposed to do. The next moment, though, I found myself thrown backwards, landing a bit painfully on my butt, though Mordred quickly hauled me to my feet.
I wasn't the only one to suffer such an indignity, and a smoking and rather mangled Heracles slammed backwards into one of the few rocks breaking up the flat grassland that was our battlefield. The sound of the impact was almost bone crushingly painful, and the massive outcrop shattered into several large pieces, partially burying the Berserker's body.
I wanted to whoop in victory, but I managed to stop myself. We had to presume that the three Noble Phantasms that had just been utilized had each taken only one or two lives, seeing as how the blonde prick commanding Heracles's wasn't around to 'brag' and belittle us in saying just how many more lives were left. Which meant that our current efforts, though fruitful they were proving themselves to be thus far, didn't translate into assured victory.
We had only two guaranteed aces left in our hand, and only one of them seemed capable of taking more than one life…so long as it was utilized correctly. My fists clenched up again as Heracles growled menacingly, shaking his head as he emerged from the rocky tomb of sorts. The enemy Berserker then bent down and retrieved his weapon, which had landed near him after he lost his grip on it taking on Artemis's Noble Phantasm head-on.
Chulainn twirled his crimson spear, while Lu Bu readied his halberd. While the Berserker could no longer take any more of Heracles's remaining lives, he sure as hell could deliver enough of a punch to weaken up Heracles. Astolfo began lowering the altitude that he had his mount circling at, his long lance at the ready. The three Archers had arrows notched, btu didn't fire yet, not wanting to limit the degree of movement the three Servants preparing to engage and delay Heracles had available to them.
Heracles stood unphased by the recent chain of events, nor at being outnumbered. Almost unnervingly so. I wasn't the only one feeling like that, either, if the sharp exhalation of air from Mordred served as any indicator.
"Master?" Mordred asked, sounding a bit nervous despite her earlier bravado. Honestly, I couldn't blame her. I reached out and clasped her shoulder armor.
"Don't worry. I know you're not exactly excited Just hold back for the moment, and let the others attack, okay? Chulainn did say that he might have a way to boost Gàe Bolg with runes, so we need to give him a chance to do so."
"Alright, alright, you don't need to remind me of the plan," Mordred grumbled. She looed back ahead, her eyes narrowed, and her lips twisted in a slight frown. I gave her once last subtle nudge before I too watched the resumption of battle.
Unfortunately, starting at that very moment, my earlier premonition of trouble came true.
Heracles quickly proved that he really did earn the title of Greece's greatest hero. Most Berserkers would have probably been overwhelmed by now, their defenses breached by a swarm of united Servants working together. Even with the cheat code known as God Hand, there should have been…something.
The first to suffer Heracles's wrath was Lu Bu. The Chinese Berserker swung his halberd, and Heracles caught it with the flat of his own weapon. At the same time, though, the hostile Servant lashed out with his right leg in a sweeping motion. As a result, Lu Bu was sent flying off his feet, but before he could hit the ground, his opponent spun around in a circle, slamming his empty fist into the breastplate of my Berserker. The sheer force of the punch sent Lu Bu flying across the ground like a rock skipping over water for what must have been almost a quarter of a mile.
I cried out his name, and my Servant tried to push himself back up onto his feet, before slumping back to the ground, alive, but clearly out of the fight. Seeing that an increasingly desperate-looking Chulainn was on his own as he danced around Heracles, Astolfo urged his hippogryph forward into a dive, his lance held in the crouched position, braced for impact as he aimed for Heracles's back. While it wouldn't kill him, I suspected that my Rider was going to attempt to use his Trap of Argyle skill on the Berserker and temporary disable him. Hopefully, long enough to allow for Chulainn to see if his suggestion mentioned earlier would work.
Batting aside Gàe Bolg with his sword-axe, Heracles spun around once more. In the back of my mind, I wondered, incredulously, if the Greek hero was a Servant or a ballerina? Even taking into account his status as a Servant, it was mindboggling how agile he was. Not quite at Nero's level, with her having EX Rank agility, but it seemed pretty damn close.
Astolfo's mount was only able to mutter a startled squawk before it was slammed into the ground from the impact of Heracles's weapon. The beast kicked its legs around for a few seconds before going still, having been slain by the savage blow. Thankfully, its death had prevented my Rider from taking any serious damage. Considering that he was lying prone in the dirt, no longer gripping his lance, however, told me that another one of my Servants had been rendered incapable of action.
Which left Chulainn as the only one still directly engaging Heracles. The Lancer put up a good fight but seemed unable to do any damage by enhancing his weapon with runes. The Irish Servant ducked and weaved between blows, and soon the ground was scoured with deep furrows from near-misses of Heracles's sword-axe.
"He's starting to pick us off, one by one!" I called out to Ritsuka, my eyes fixated as finally Heracles landed a solid, though non-fatal, blow on Ritsuka's Lancer, launching him into the air.
"Marie!" Ritsuka called out, as Chulainn came to a stop, covered in the dirt and grass that his body had carved out of the earth. He didn't look badly hurt, rather stunned, but it was still a problem. "Be careful!" My fellow Master added in warning.
"Bright like a pretty flower and the shining sun!" Marie responded with her typical good cheer, her glass mare galloping past us. Heracles threw his arms out challengingly, roaring for extra measure, before he began charging towards Ritsuka's Rider.
"In full bloom, I'll keep dancing!" Marie said, and once more I couldn't help but wonder if anything could truly phase the ever-optimistic Rider. Quite frankly, I couldn't say that I was in all that much of a hurry to find the answer to my very question.
"Here we go!" Marie said as she closed in. As if she were a princess in a Disney movie, glittering lights trailed behind her delicate mount as it leapt into the air. She spread out her arms, as if to give everyone a warm hug, as her mount landed. "Guillotine Breaker!" She shouted, finishing her incantation.
This was the first time that Ritsuka and I had experienced Guillotine Breaker being used for combat. Until now, it seemed like it was little more than a super-effective healing technique for supporting allies. I quickly came to realize just how wrong about it I was.
Having finished the last portion of her incantation to unleash her Noble Phantasm, and upon landing, a semi-circle of giant, transparent crystals erupted behind her. As her glass horse reared backwards, more and more crystals began erupting out of the earth and surrounded Heracles.
In unison, the crystalline formations began glowing, at first a dull shade, but then far brighter, before they suddenly shattered, tearing through Heracles like shrapnel, all over his body. The Berserker was flung to the ground, blood oozing out all over his body, and he remained still for a few minutes. Another life had been taken.
At the same time, I could see the wounds sustained by Chulainn, Lu Bu, and the others who had been knocked out of the fight begin to glow, before fixing themselves as the more familiar aspect of Marie's Noble Phantasm kicked in.
Knowing that we were running both out of time and moves, I turned to the two blonde Servants that had been sticking by my side since the beginning of the battle. "Jeanne, Mordred, it's up to the two of you. Jeanne, make sure to keep Mordred from getting hit."
"Of course, Master Jacob!" My Ruler said dutifully, turning around to face the enemy as she also twirled her flagpole. Something that I had learnt could actually be a nervous tic of hers at times. This was one of those times. On my other side, Mordred scoffed loudly, her helmet clicking into place as she did so.
"That dumbass can try!" She said haughtily. I bit down on my lower lip, biting down the chiding rebuke her words deserved, but I kept my tongue. For all that she liked to boast, Mordred was more than capable of proving them true, or failing that, doing her damn best trying to do so. Furthermore, she was our final ace in the hole. I had to trust her on this.
No.
I trusted her. She had always come through for me when I needed it the most. She wouldn't fail me now. Not as my Servant, my friend, or as my lover. Nor would I fail her.
"Is that so?" I said, opting instead to adopt a more bemused tone, even though I didn't really feel it inside. Mordred's head turned towards me, and I could imagine those beautiful eyes of hers glowing in feral excitement. "Well, I'm counting on you, Mordred!"
"You got it, Master! Let's go, Ruler!" Mordred said as she activated her Mana Burst ability, tightly gripping Clarent as she adopted her preferred combat stance, before suddenly darting forward. Stepping forward, Jeanne nodded, the earing-like ornaments on either end of her headpiece jingling softly from the action.
"Right behind you!" Called out the Maid of Orléans as she too shot forward at the supernatural speed possessed by the vast majority of Servants. I stared down at the Command Seals that seemed to be glowing brightly on the back of my hand. I raised my right hand halfway up my chest, clenching it tightly but not using any of the three signs of my position as Master.
Yet.
Seeing two more challengers, Heracles roared yet again and charged forward. As they closed in on one another, the Greek warrior swung his sword-axe down viciously. The teeth-clenching sound of scraping metal echoed out as it was blocked by both Clarent and Jeanne's banner.
"Piss off, asshole!" Mordred snarled, slamming a heavy sabaton into Heracles's crouch with enough force that I could feel my own eyes watering. However, the Berserker didn't seem to be phased, merely being forced back a few yards from the impact, but that was it.
It was extremely difficult to watch the next few minutes of fighting, and not just because of the normal, faster than the eye can see movements. Mordred was my love, and Jeanne was a very close friend to both of us now. It always bothered me somewhat to watch them fight Servants and not be able to fight alongside them, but at this very moment, it was bothering me with a vengeance unexpected.
I watched as the two smaller Servants worked together even as they were forced to give ground in the face of Heracles's ferocious onslaught. Clarent thrusted forth or blocked the stone slab-like sword-axe, while Jeanne tried to weaken his guard from the side, though she was often thrown back.
This was repeated for the next minute before Heracles finally broke through Mordred's guard with a feint swipe. At the same time, I saw the Berserker tense his arm in preparation for a punch, and I called out, though in vain, a warning to my knight.
My heart stopped for the briefest of moments as a massive fist caught Mordred in her stomach. Chips of her armor flew off her body, indicating that something had been cracked on her near-indestructible steel shell, but nothing truly shattered.
Mordred quickly recovered from being launched into the air by the blow mid-flight, however, darting back to the ground and slamming onto it on her feet. I managed to relax as she readied herself up for a second charge. Still, that was close. Too close.
It was time to bet it all on the throw of a dice, and hopefully, I was about to get a Nat 20 roll.
"Mordred! By the power of my Command Seal, I order you to unleash your Noble Phantasm, and kill Heracles!" There was a brief sensation of burning pain on the back of my right hand, and one of the red marks disappeared, leaving the hilt of a sword emerging from the bottom of what appeared to be a helmet. My Command Seals. My eyes flickered then towards Mordred.
"Mordred! By the power of my Command Seal, I order you to unleash your Noble Phantasm, and kill Heracles!" The words were the only warning Mordred got before a familiar wave of pure magical energy surged from her core, waves of it spreading out into her entire body.
The urge to smite, to obliviate the enemy Servant, the want, desire, no, need, to do so. It whispered into her ear like a lover, almost (something she now knew). She eyes narrowed, and Secret of Pedigree split apart, melting into her upper armor as she bared her teeth viciously. The sides of Clarent, at the base of her sword, spread out, as all that magical energy just injected into her body made ready to burst forth in a single strike.
The last time she felt like this, it was in the Greater Holy Grail War, in the Hanging Gardens as she closed in on Assassin of Red. Kairi had used the last of his Command Seals to boost her powers by ordering her to 'Slay the King', an order that she was all too happy to comply with.
This time, though, it would be different. This time, she would slay the enemy, and bask in the praise of her safe and alive Master and lover.
Ruler must have figured out what she was about to do, and quickly leapt out of the fray. Good! Though she could still be a bit uptight at times, Ruler wasn't all that bad of a Servant to chill out with. Not that she would let anyone ever hear her say those words, of course.
Regardless, the point was quite simple: Now she could give it her all. Better yet, she didn't have to worry about injuring any allies while doing so! It'd also be a good way to burn off some of the anger she had over Berserker's Master's comments regarding the Knight of Rebellion, too.
"I have you know, Berserker!" She roared, activating her Mana Burst and shooting forward. The enemy Servant raised that crude weapon of his upwards, intent on crushing her. Pfft, as if that were even a possibility now!
The sword-axe seemed to move downwards at the speed of a snail crawling for cover now. Mordred skidded to the side, letting Berserker's weapon become buried in the ground before planting both of her feet against the flat of the blade. Her Mana Burst ability still activated, she leapt over the maddened foe's head, spinning in the air gracefully as she did so.
She thrusted Clarent forth, burying the blade into Berserker's back as far as she could. While it wasn't enough to kill him, it was more than enough for what he had in mind.
"This is the evil sword that destroyed my father," she chanted, as the sensations and memories of the Battle of Camlann were felt once more. The exhaustion, anguish, pain. The final words and rejection of her father as she lay dying in a pool of blood, her body pierced.
The chaotic swirl of red energy was joined by a sickening, burning smell. The scent of flesh being burnt. Waves of crimson electricity arced over not only her body, but also over Heracles. His hair smoldering, the Berserker tried to grab her from behind, but the idiot was too late. Narrowing her eyes into slits, Mordred finished her incantation, activating her ultimate attack.
"Clarent….Blood…ARTHUR!" She howled, sending the entire column of energy inside of Heracles's body. The Berserker roared in pain, thrashing about violently, but it was in vain, as the Berserker's insides were seared into mere cinders. His thrashing started to slow down, though his body twitched violently. Spastically.
Finally, her mana stores approaching uncomfortably low levels, and no longer feeling the urge to complete Jacob's order, Mordred cut off the flow of energy, leaping backwards to avoid any follow up retaliatory attacks. Turns out, it was rather unnecessary. Heracles's body was blackened, both on the inside and out. He didn't make a sound, nor did he move, as his body began dissolving into a cloud of golden dust, before vanishing.
"Ha! Take that, dumbass!" Mordred roared, thrusting her sword into the air in a feral display of triumph, her lips curled up to reveal a great, toothy smirk. She was proud, no, elated, over this outcome. It had taken more out of her than she would have preferred, but she had still triumphed against a worthy foe.
A part of her regretted the fact that Heracles had been summoned in a form that was essentially a wild animal, but at the same time, she couldn't help but feel that it would be almost like facing down father again. A worthy effort that even the famous King of Knights would be forced to acknowledge her, should she win such a fight.
Almost.
She shook her head, frowning slightly. What did it matter? Arthur refused to acknowledge her once again. She didn't want his praise. Not if it meant that the king was doing it because it was expected of him. Besides, she had a new 'king' now.
One that thus far had treated her better. One deserving of her loyalty this time. The Knight of Rebellion turned around, adopting her trademark smirk as she rested one hand on her hip, while the other held Clarent resting on her shoulder. Her emerald eyes bore into those of a warm brown.
"Well, Master? Good enough for you?" She said challengingly, as well as a bit impishly, eager to hear his praise.
"Well, Master? Good enough for you?"
Mordred's words had me shaking my head in bemusement. Never a humble moment with her after a battle when it came to the knight. And honestly, I would be quite upset should she ever stop doing it. Besides, after the hell of a fight she just won (along with all of our other Servants, of course), she damn well deserved some praise!
"More than enough, Mordred. I knew you would do it," I said, speaking earnestly, but also ensuring that I didn't sound like some sort of suck-up to my lover. That beautiful smirk of hers broadened even further as she visibly basked in the words of praise.
Indeed, Mordred was a prideful warrior. Dismissing Clarent, she crossed her armored arms across her breastplate. "Would you expect anything less? Of course, maybe it was a little cheating to use a Command Seal there, but—"
"A win's a win," I said with my own smirk. My knight in shining armor threw her head backwards, roaring in laughter. "Good job out there, Mordred. I'm proud of you," I added, extending a fist towards her. I would rather embrace my lover, but I knew that doing so in public would result in a rather sore body at some point in the near-future.
Still smirking, Mordred's fist gently thumped against mine, and we finished sharing in the moment. I adopted a more business-like tone. "How are you feeling? Will you be good for facing down Jason and his lackeys?" Mordred hummed softly, closing her eyes for a few seconds.
"Give me a few minutes to rest, and I'll be fine. Bastard managed to crack a rib or t—" Before my knight could finish reporting on her status, I, perhaps impulsively, used my second Command Seal to fully heal her. While I didn't regret it, it was a bit more reckless a move compared to my normal approach. There was a mixture of logic and emotion involved in the act, though.
Mordred was my most powerful Servant, and for the upcoming battle I would need her in top condition. If I had more Command Seals, I would use them on my other Servants, of course. But that fact, combined with my feelings, had me acting on emotions rather than logic. Something to keep an eye on, but also something I didn't regret.
Mordred had been put through multiple hells. I wanted to make up for that, both as her Master and her boyfriend. Mordred stared at me flatly, clearly reaching a similar conclusion for my actions.
"While I appreciate the gesture, and not having to deal with breathing problems for the next few minutes, that was a bit foolish," she said dryly. I rubbed the back of my head sheepishly. Right, she might see that as me coddling her or something like that.
"Sorry. Spur of the moment," I said as Mordred walked closer, rolling her eyes slightly. I sensed that she wasn't really upset at me, and sure enough, she held out her fist. I copied the action.
"It's fine, idiot," she said, using the affectionate nickname she had given me. "Just do better next time, yeah?" I nodded, and the topic was closed. Now, on to the next, and far more pressing, matter at hand.
"Come on, let's see who can move on their own, and help those who can't to the beach. Rits, tell Drake head to the beach. If she can lure the Argos to follow her, that'll be even better, but right now we need to regroup. We won a major battle, but victory is not yet guaranteed."
Original Endnotes: And done! Sorry if that last part was a bit awkward in dialogue at the end, but I also wanted to show Jacob acting on his emotions in a combat situation and/or the immediately afterwards, you know? Also, how was the fight scene? Good, bad, meh? And what about my writing of the Noble Phantasms being deployed? I hope I did them as much justice as I do with Clarent Blood Arthur! Also, thoughts on Mordred's inner monologue?
Also, Mordred seems to be moving on from Artoria and being recognized as her son and all by the King of Knights. Anyone else smelling incoming drama?
Probably three or four more chapters left for the Third Singularity. I'm super excited for the interim before the next deployment! After all, Jacob still has to figure out what to do for his first date with Mordred and all! So much exciting things coming up, ah! :)
Now, for the question(s) of the chapter! First off, of the Noble Phantasms used in this chapter, which one is your most favorite? Second question is for FGO players. Which of the six free Craft Essences you can get this week from the Babylon thing did you pick? Mine was Bitter and Sweet, because Ereshkigal!
As always, thanks for the love and support, and for reading yet another chapter! I can't wait to read what y'alls thoughts and answers are, and i hope you enjoyed the chapter! Have a wonderful day, and see you in the next chapter!
Updated Endnotes 3/1/21: As always, the more consistently updated version of The Will to Fight can be found on Ao3.