Once more there was a tense atmosphere on the ship. This time, it was a grim but giddy sensation. For the first time in forty-eight hours, the Golden Hind was playing the role of the chaser. The sensation of enjoyment I should be experiencing, however, was rather tempered by several factors. One of which was standing beside me, and had a certain busty figure with pink hair and bright, ice-blue eyes.
"So, Heracles is truly dead?" Drake asked me for the third time in a row, and I sighed, silently praying for a new set of patience. If it weren't for the fact that I had told her this twice already, surely the twin facts that we were chasing the Argos this time and weren't being hunted down by several tons of pure muscles would have to be enough proof for the pirate that yes, Heracles was dead.
"Yes, he is really dead. I wish you wouldn't insult Mordred's capabilities any more by asking that question," I said, sounding a bit more snappish than I had intended. However, we had far bigger problems to deal with.
Jason still had both the Grail, and three highly competent Servants supporting him. Medea Lily, as Roman called her so to differentiate between the younger and older versions of the Greek Caster; a highly skilled 'witch' focused more on support and healing, like most Casters thus far encountered by Ritsuka and I.
Atalante, previously identified as Archer of Red by Mordred back in Orléans. One of Artemis's faithful followers, and a truly fine Archer. Without having the Madness feat forced onto her as she had while serving Jeanne Alter, Atalante would no doubt retain all her capabilities and mental faculties. Whether she would focus on Jeanne again, considering what my Ruler had told me regarding her involvement with Atalante in the Greater Holy Grail War, was up in the air. Therefore, Jeanne, Artemis, Astolfo, and Chiron would focus on her first.
Next was Prince Hector of Troy, a master of deception and of the defense. He had already shown an inclination towards what some would refer to as underhanded moves, and one of them had earned Mordred's unabated enmity. It would be suicidal to allow for any other Servants to attempt to assist her, and yet Euryale had been the only one to push the issue. It wasn't difficult to figure out why, and for what reason. A certain, Minotaur-shaped reason. She had agreed to stay out of most of the fighting, so she shouldn't be too much of a problem.
And then, there was Jason. Jeanne had reported that she had identified his class as the Saber, a fact that had both Mordred and Nero quite appalled upon hearing that. From what we've seen, he was an arrogant, egotistical son of a bitch, who had probably moderate combat skills on his own. In his legends, Jason was known more for being a tactical and strategic leader than a fighter. Still, he was a Servant, and no doubt Medea Lily would be sticking close to his side. Ritsuka, Mash, and Medea would focus on those two.
However, what really made Jason dangerous, at least at this very moment, was what he had in his possession. The Ark of the Covenant, and a Holy Grail.
The former was essentially a ticking time bomb whether the enemy Saber realized it or not. The latter was arguably even more of a threat, however. While he had lost Heracles, with the Grail in his possession, and a powerful Caster to assist him, Jason could summon replacement Servants, or if we were really unlucky, Heracles again. While Roman had assured us that the odds were next to impossible regarding that happening, it still meant that it was possible.
No doubt that was why the Argos was trying to flee from the Golden Hind. So that Jason could have some time to gain more followers. That was something that we had to stop at all costs.
While we still held the advantage of numbers, it was nowhere near as big an advantage as it had been only a few hours ago. About half of Ritsuka and mine Servants had been rendered combat ineffective. Thankfully, though, there were no critical cases that needed dealt with.
Aside from Mordred and Mash, only the three Greek Archers, Jeanne, Astolfo, Medea, Amadeus, Nero, and Chulainn were still combat capable. Ritsuka's Lancer and Saber, however, were not at full-strength, and so would therefore be assisting Drake and her crew in taking down Jason's crew, as well as any Dragon Tooth Warriors Medea Lily might summon.
While Marie was also still active, her mana reserves were lower due to having used her Noble Phantasm twice. While the first time had been primarily focused on dealing with Heracles, the second time had been shortly after we had re-embarked on the Golden Hind. That time, it was more typically of her intention behind unleashing it, to stabilize her friends and comrades. As a result, she would remain aboard the Golden Hind, along with Amadeus, who's role was to use his own Noble Phantasm and skills to disorient and weaken the enemy Servants as best he could.
This was the final battle of the Third Singularity. Retreat would mean surrender, and that in term meant the end of everything. So long as Ritsuka and I had blood that flowed through our veins, and until our final breath, that would not happen.
"As exhilarating as it is to finally be the hunter in one of these situations, we're getting nowhere," I said, exhaling sharply. "We need to bring the Argos to a halt somehow. We know the reason they're falling back is to gain enough time and distance to summon more Servants. Therefore, we need to halt it. Any suggestions?"
"Well, the Golden Hind is the faster vessel. I'm sure that if we just wait, a strong enough gust will arrive and we'll glide in and board that ship," Drake said, going first. I shook my head, but it was Ritsuka who delivered the verbal response.
"But that will take time. Every second matters here."
"We could try to use Noble Phantasms to disable it?" Mordred suggested with a toothy smirk. I stifled the sigh her words elicited, however. Leaving aside the fact that there was no guarantee that would work, there was an even bigger problem if it did work.
"That would be rather ill-advised," Mash countered swiftly. "In addition to the Holy Grail possibly being lost to the ocean depths, and therefore out of our grasp and marooning us here, there's still the matter of the Ark. Doctor Roman told us that breaking or otherwise damaging it would be the same as opening it, therefore making our mission end in failure," Ritsuka's Demi-Servant said rather sternly.
Mordred's smirk morphed into a scowl, and my knight crossed her arms over her chest and pouted slightly. Though if anyone were to point that last part out, they would have about less than five seconds to live.
"Perhaps if my part-time pupil used that brain of his," a familiar, feminine voice said, with a tone more teasing than insulting despite the words carried on it. "He'd realize that his Magecraft would be very helpful in this situation," Medea finished, smirking mysteriously with her arms crossed under her chest.
I blinked at my instructor in matters magical for a few seconds, before my eyes widened in understanding. Which was quickly followed by a burst of embarrassment for not thinking of it sooner and on my own, but life can be like that at times.
What was ice, but solidified liquids, like water, juice, or even blood. What was the ocean made out of? Bloody water, of course! It was what both the Golden Hind and the Argos were moving through.
So, if someone was to flash freeze enough water underneath the ship, or send a column of solid ice hurtling upwards from the depths like a sea monster of old? Well, that wouldn't be quite as difficult for even a third-rate Master like myself. Especially one who's recently been tutored by one of the greatest magic practitioners of all time.
"I'll have to stay in the water until the Argos is stopped," I said, not trying to counter Medea's wise suggestion, but rather raise a critical point. "The Hind will also have to keep moving. We'd end up shortening the gap between the two, thus making sure that any ice I form will stay somewhere under the keel of the Argos." Drake hummed softly as she cupped her chin thoughtfully.
"We could tie you to a strong enough rope and drag you along," Drake suggested. Out of the corner of my eyes I saw both Jeanne and Mordred tensing up, both blonde Servants clearly opposed to the idea.
"No. I have to stay afloat. I'm not a Servant or posses a Grail, so I'll need air to breath."
"So, how are you going to keep yourself afloat while making your ice toothpick?" Mordred asked, her words belying her concern over my well-being. I felt a warmth slowly expanding in my stomach as I tilted my head to her.
"I could try making a mini-ice float, but it would be tricky to tie a rope around it to keep me moving with the Hind," I said, rubbing my chin thoughtfully. Astolfo started giggling at that moment, and we all turned towards the cross-dresser Servant.
"Oh, Master! I have just the thing! It was a gift from Da Vinci before we left!" I titled my head to the side, raising my left eyebrow pointedly.
"A gift…?"
"I'm never going to live this down," I growled angrily, my arms crossed as I surfaced, the damn yellow rubber inflatable keeping me afloat. Da Vinci and Doctor Roman were having one hell of a fit of laughter, mark my words.
Still, it was useful. Using it to keep me buoyant, I wouldn't have to devote any energy or resources treading water to keep me afloat. It wasn't enough for me to be happy about it, but at least I was getting some meaningful worth out of this moment of embarrassment.
I still plan on burning any photocopies of this that I might find when I get back, however.
The water was rather warm, a result of the lack of clouds in the area. While it was nice to not be shivering in my underwear (Roman had suggested that I should strip down so as to not be stuck with all of my clothing wet. If there was any bright side to doing that, Mordred's face burning a bright red was it.), the fact that the water was warm this close to the surface meant that attempts to make any significant amount of solid ice would result in me exhausting myself with no successful result. Damn.
That meant I had to try forming the ice far below sea level. While moving. And dealing with currents of varying speeds and directions.
Just another typical day working for Chaldea.
Shoving down my internal bitching over the situation, I forced myself to calm down. I didn't have to think 'cold thoughts', or some sort of childish cliché of the kind you'd read in kid books or see in Disney movies or something.
I imagined pushing a part of my body forward, diving down into the inky depths of the ocean waters. Reaching out a little further, I could feel the water responding. It wasn't as easy as pulling it out of the air like in the Grail cave back in Fuyuki, however. The currents made it difficult for the ice particles I willed into being to cling to one another. The best analogy one could come up with was like grabbing smoke with your bare hands.
Deeper. I needed to reach deeper in the water.
"Come on, Jacob! Hurry up! Chiron says that we're almost within range of Atalante's arrows, and Doctor Roman's reporting that the Grail is starting to be activated!" Ritsuka called down. My eyes snapped upwards at my fellow Master who was leaning over the side with a panic-stricken expression. My lips curled back angrily. What did he think I was doing? Masturbating?!
"We're moving too fast! It's not that fucking easy!" I snarled backwards. I could feel the veins in my forehead bulging slightly from the exertion. I only had a few minutes left at best. Closing my eyes, I forced my will to reach down below the waves. Deeper into the ocean, where the water was far colder.
Sweat started to drip down my forehead, as my outstretched arm started to shake ever so slightly. Come on, Jacob. You can do this, damn it. You have to do this. I repeat the mantra as I finally found the right depth under the Argos.
I twisted my hand, pointing my palm and curled upwards as my upper lip curled up. In my mind's eye, I saw a two-by-four block of solid ice begin forming in the dark, watery depths in front of me. Pushing my will forward some more, I proceed to picture the ice slowly expanding upwards, like a column. While I was focused on primarily increasing the height, I also increased the width of the column, though with far less emphasis.
Having finally made a breakthrough, I poured as much of my prana into the connection, bending the ice further to my will. I flicked my hand upwards with a low growl, my shoulders raised, and I had a mental image of the decent-sized block of pure ice shooting upwards from the depths of the ocean. Faster, faster, closer, closer.
I opened my eyes just in time to see the Argos suddenly stop moving, veering to the side slightly. The water remained calm for only the briefest of moments before it started bubbling and frothing like it was being thrown about by the winds of a blustery gale. Then, my ice pillar impaled the ship from below, both trapping the trireme and separating the deck in half.
I instantly deactivated my Magic Circuits, panting softly. While a wave of dizziness didn't hit me like it had the last time I formed so large a mass of ice, as I had experienced back in Singularity F, but I still could feel some ill effects from my efforts.
My body felt sore. Like as if I had run three hundred-mile marathons back-to-back without rest. My muscles screamed at me to lie down. Alas, that was not an option for me, however. "Just hold on a little longer, okay?" I muttered to myself, and instead tugged on the rope. "Okay, get me back up there!"
A few minutes later, and a quick drying-off, I was dressed back in the remnants of my uniform and my armor. Seeing as how we were either in the Pacific Ocean or the Caribbean, coldness wasn't an issue, though my hair was still soaked. I could fix that problem when we returned, however.
The final boarding party was assembled. At the front were the Servants still combat effective, along with Ritsuka and I. Assembled behind us were Drake, Bombe, and roughly half of her crew. Everyone was ready for this final battle, a true do-or-die moment.
"Drake, leave the Servants to us. You and your lads will focus on defeating Jason's lesser crew members. We can't afford to be swapped by cheap numbers."
"You got it, Jacob. Don't worry about the lads and I. We can handle ourselves. Just make sure to give that blonde prick a good smack across the face, yeah?" Asked the scarred pirate with one of her lopsided smirks. Medea cackled darkly, her dagger, Rule Breaker, glinting dangerously in the evening light. Ritsuka chuckled awkwardly, warily eyeing his Caster, though not in the way that would indicate true distrust. Rather, it was more being uneasy at her level of grim enthusiasm, deservedly or not. I coughed politely, before I resumed speaking.
"As you can see, you can count on that. It's been a pleasure, Captain Drake," I said, sticking out my hand. The pink-haired woman threw her head back, roaring with laughter as she reached out and grabbed the offered hand. It was hard to keep a straight face as Drake gripped my hand with an almost bone-shattering intensity.
"That sounds awfully much like a good-bye," Drake said, with perhaps just a tint of warning in her words even as she smirked. "Don't forget, Ritsuka and Mash still owe me on accompanying a trip around the world!"
I nodded softly, not commenting on how that wouldn't be happening. That was something Mash and Ritsuka had to deal with. I turned around, gripping the hilt of my sword as I looked back at the enemy ship.
We were now a quarter of a mile away from it. Drake's helmsman had skillfully maneuvered the Golden Hind so that the mighty ram that had served us so well today was aimed dead center. The positioning would allow for the boarding party to cross over to either the bow or stern section despite the jagged ice wall I had thrown up from below.
"Men of the Golden Hind!" Drake's voice rang out from behind, filled with courage and confidence. "This is our last voyage! Our final task as pirates! The target is just ahead: the Argos! The treasure which they hold captive is the freedom of the seas!"
"We're with you boss!" Bombe, ever the loyal toady, unsurprisingly was the first to answer. His response was quickly picked up by other pirates, raising a cacophony of noise, jeers, and catcalls.
"Either live or die free!"
"Show no mercy!"
"Make'em bleed, lads!"
"That's the spirit, boys!
Once again, the ability for Drake, a rough-and-tumble sort of person, to show off her leadership was truly something inspiring. Even I felt the effects that her words were having. While I suspected that I was on an almost empty tank mana-wise, my tired muscles felt reinvigorated. As a Servant (for how could Francis Drake not qualify as a Heroic Spirit?), her Charisma Rank must be quite impressive.
Looking back ahead, I saw that we were about to hit. I turned to Ritsuka. "To victory," I said a bit hurriedly, holding out the hand not gripping the hilt of my sword. My friend and fellow Master returned the gesture, squeezing my hand nervously.
"To victory," He said, a bit quieter. There was more than enough steel and determination in his voice, however, and I gave him a reassuring smile as I retracted my hand. Then, the familiar jolt of impact, and the final battle of the Third Singularity commenced.
Original Endnotes: And done! Really just one of those transition chapters, but did y'all enjoy it? I know some of you are probably cringing over the return of the rubber floaty Da Vinci offered as a gag line in the game and that's it, but I felt it had the potential to be something of a Chekhov's gun of sorts. Plus, let's be honest, if Astolfo is present, why wouldn't he snag it?
So, the final battles are drawn. The battle between Jeanne and Atalante (plus the others assigned to it) is actually going to be one of the various supplemental stories I have planned. It has great potential for that, and I want to give it the proper amount of attention it deserves without deviating too much from the main roster of character PoVs used for the narrative telling of the story, ya know?
A few more plot changes in this telling of the Third Singularity still, (spoiler no demon pillars this time), and plenty of action this chapter! Chapters 78 and 79 will be the final segments of this arc of the Will to Fight. Hard to believe it's finally that moment, huh? :P
Now, for the question(s) of the day: What's the most unusual encounter with wildlife have you ever had? For me, it was Thursday night. I was walking around my college campus around 9:30 or so when a gray fox practically walked up to me. It was both shocking and adorable! Also, maybe this is a stupid question (probably is), but is this story just as awesome/good as when I first started, or has the quality and all gone down?
As always, thanks for reading yet another chapter, and feel free to leave your thoughts and feedback! Eagerly awaiting the reception for this chapter and its question answers, and I hope you enjoyed it!