FATE/NOVUS ORDO SECLORUM
"New Order of the Ages"
Chapter 16: Here Lies the Queen
"Tah! Hah! Take this!" Elizabeth shouted, stabbing her spear through a werewolf's chest. She extracted it out of the corpse and moved on to the next opponent, killing them in a similar fashion. She lost count of how many Celtic soldiers and monsters she had slain, but it certainly was an impressive number for a Lancer who cared more about expanding her fame through music rather than fighting. Despite her efforts though, the enemy troops just kept flooding in like a tidal wave.
"Gah, this is ridiculous!" Robin shouted, pulling the string to a trap that caused numerous boulders to come rolling down upon the soldiers, crushing a good number of them to death.
"You said that 60% reduction is the goal, right!? Are you really pulling your weight around here!?"
"When I put my mind to it, I can get anything done! Traps, poison, sabotage, subterfuge, even treachery among their own ranks – I've been pulling out all the stops! Normally, a 60% loss of troops is enough to lower morale and cause the survivors to retreat. I suppose there's only one exception to that rule though."
"Yeah! Single-minded deathseekers who act on a hive mind!"
"Edison and Blavatsky are doing all they can with the mech troops, but the goal is to maintain this line, not to push through. I don't mean to jinx things, but if a Servant gets thrown into the mix-"
"You'll be in a lot of trouble!" a man's deep, baritone voice boomed over them. Elizabeth's heart pounded as she recognized the voice, and both Servants faced none other than Beowulf. He found them while they were busy arguing and had casually strolled up to them.
"Way to go, dumbass! You totally and utterly jinxed us!" she raged.
"Sorry…" Robin grumbled.
"Long time no see, scrawny lizard," Beowulf smirked. "Looks like you don't have the same friends you had with you last time."
"Not you again! And it's 'slender', not 'scrawny'!" Elizabeth objected. "Ugh, I can't stand this guy! Crude, shameless, and full of nothing but muscles, including his brain! Hey, Greenie! You deal with this vulgar brute!"
"I'll die without your help," Robin retorted bluntly.
"What a slacker you are. Fine, I have no choice! Pepper him with your little arrows and traps! I'll show him that there's only room for one dragon slayer in this world!"
She got in to duel Beowulf, striking her spear numerous times against his large twin sabers. Robin fired his crossbow shots whenever he could, but he didn't want to risk striking his ally either. Although their efforts were valiant, the Grendel Slayer was much more experienced in the ways of combat and found his chance to overpower Elizabeth with his brute strength. Her arms screamed in pain as she struggled to block his sword swings. Eventually, he wore her down so much that he managed to sneak in a vicious kick right at her stomach, tossing her onto the ground and making her cough. Beowulf likewise went after Robin in a similar manner, though it took nowhere near as much effort to toss the Archer about and reduce him to a bloody pile lying on the dirt.
"Agh… This isn't good," Robin groaned. "If only Edison could help us…"
"Guh… Not this again…" Elizabeth gasped, thinking, Is this what Nero felt when she lost to Cuchulainn? Is my dream of Broadway going to disappear like her dream of Hollywood…?
Beowulf smirked. "Nice try, kids, but you don't have what it takes to face a real hero. Maybe that quack Presi-King will give me a better fight than you guys did."
"D-Don't look down on me!" the Lancer seethed.
"Then I'll just kill you instead. How does that sound?"
He raised his sword, prepared to decapitate Elizabeth in a single strike. Just then, a different man's bold, deep voice exclaimed, "Then allow me to give you the challenge you seek!"
Beowulf turned to block a long thin lance being stabbed at him by a red-haired fellow in Chinese martial artist clothing. The Berserker grunted, "Whoa! Who the hell are you?"
"Just a passing Lancer. My True Name's Li Shuwen. I've been looking around for a worthwhile opponent to stave my boredom, and few are as satisfying as the Scandinavian grendel slayer Beowulf."
"Li Shuwen, huh? I've heard a lot about you. 'No second strike', indeed! Can you really live up to the reputation you boast about?"
"Would you like to test it then? Nothing else easily settles the debate between reality or an exaggeration."
"Then without weapons," Beowulf put away his dual swords and cracked his knuckles. "I can't pass up this opportunity to pummel a guy who looks stronger than grendel."
"Oh? You want to do this with your fists? Fine by me," Li replied and sheathed his spear. "I'd love to pit my Bajiquan against your unrefined yet legendary strength."
"Then… One-"
"Two."
"THREE!" both men shouted in unison and smashed their fists against each other. The world around them seemed to shake, and a windy shockwave scattered dirt everywhere.
"Whoa!" Robin exclaimed. "It's a real fistfight!"
"How repulsively masculine," Elizabeth retched. "Still, at least our scarred muscular friend will be kept preoccupied. Aw, yeah! Now I'm feeling pumped to slay some pigs!"
"Now who's starting to sound like the masculine one?"
"It's called adrenaline, not testosterone!"
"You keep telling yourself that, sweetheart."
"Are you implying something!?"
"Nope, not at all. Let's get back in there and clean up. Edison wouldn't like it if he saw us just standing around."
Thick grey clouds blanketed the sky around Washington, as if nature itself responded to the tense situation by creating the appropriate atmosphere for an epic showdown. The White House seemed to turn an ashen color with the darkening skies, making it resemble a government facility for demons rather than humans. It didn't help that instead of patriotic symbols, there were statues of gruff Celtic warriors and fearsome dragons looming over the front entrance. Added to this grim décor was a gigantic version of Gae Bolg piercing the ground on an angle, serving as the symbol of Cuchulainn's imposing might and tyrannical kingship.
Standing in front of the giant spear were the king and queen. They remained alone, with no vassals or Servants to guard them. Cuchulainn remained indifferent as usual, but Medb looked around at her 'castle' with a morose look in her eyes.
"Oh dear. Looks like this is the end of playing queen for me," Medb said.
"Was it fun?" he asked boredly.
"Very much so. Even if I must do the most unqueenly thing ever and engage in battle, I'll enjoy it to the fullest. What about you, Cu? Isn't any of this exciting for you?"
"Can't say. I feel like this whole debacle has carried on longer than it should."
"You don't like being the king I've always dreamed of you being?"
He stared at her. Although he could tolerate her better than if he was a Lancer, he still harbored tremendous resentment for her forcing him to live in the system known as a monarchy. He knew he was nothing more than a manifested ideal – a nightmare turned into a Servant. Perhaps, in some deranged way that he could never fathom, he sought Connla out to drag her into this constricting world as a 'princess', so that he could then find a shred of value in his role as a 'king'. She was smart enough to reject this dark philosophy however, and went so far as to disappear in order to escape his grip. He was left with nothing but festering hatred and malice that wouldn't be sated until he destroyed all life in this world.
Medb didn't seem to notice Cuchulainn's bitterness and cooed, "I love you, Cu."
"…"
She stared forth from the front entrance and noticed movement. She calmly smiled and murmured, "It's time for the final struggle. Let's crush them beneath our feet, and force them to writhe like dying worms while they glare at us with determination in their battered eyes."
As soon as the queen said this, the four remaining Servants of the South Army rushed up the White House's steps and stopped when they found their two greatest opponents waiting for them. Ituha looked up at Medb, feeling a mysterious pang of nostalgia hit her when she saw both the queen and the transformed building.
"We're finally here!" Nightingale exclaimed. Her heart raced with excitement and anticipation – she had yearned to come here for the longest time, and now the thrill was starting to affect her. "This is the epicenter of the disease corroding this world!"
"Welcome to my humble abode, scum," Medb greeted them with a sickly sweet tone. "I'm glad you could make it here. But what is this? Four? Only four Servants to challenge me? Ah ha ha ha! This is too funny! What could so few simpletons do against the combined might of my king and the Holy Grail!?"
"Sorry, but we've got no time to listen to your yapping," Rama retorted. "All right, everyone! Get into formation like we discussed!"
He and Nightingale paired off to corner Medb, leaving Fia and Ituha to go against Cuchulainn. The Archer's heart pounded so hard that she thought it would expel itself out of her throat like some undesirable bolus. Even so, she wouldn't back down after what she suggested to Rama during the last leg of their journey:
"I think it would be best if Fia and I kept Cuchulainn busy. I think he was mainly interested in killing the two of us first because we were once his daughter. While we keep him distracted, you and Ms. Nightingale assassinate Medb and destroy the Holy Grail as fast as you can."
Although Rama didn't like the plan, it was the only one they could go with since they lost Diarmuid. Besides, Fia was only interested in killing Cuchulainn, so Ituha figured it'd be best if she provided backup while her other self went as wild as she liked. Fia hopped in front of Cuchulainn and readied her spear as she ferociously stared at him with her multiple eyes.
"How ugly," he murmured. "Connla's visage with riastrad is as repulsive as I imagined. That's why I'll erase you first so I can repress the memory of your hideous face."
He initiated the battle by running for the child Berserker. A fearsome battle grin stretched all across his face as the warriors clashed. Although he didn't have enough time to recover fully from their last duel, he was certainly strong enough to overpower his young foe with his wild, uncontrollable spear slashes. She grunted and seethed with each mighty blow she struggled to parry, but she couldn't keep up with him and he got in one good strike that sent her flying backwards like a cannonball.
Fia smacked her back against the wall, then hurredily twirled aside to avoid Cuchulainn cleaving into the area she was at. She kept fumbling away, looking as if she could lose her balance at any moment. She maintained an impressive distance and found her chance to run straight up the White House's walls to the second floor balcony, grabbing the balustrade and deftly flipping onto her feet. She squatted and looked down, knowing she was going to be pursued. Just as she expected, Cuchulainn dug his clawed feet into the wall and sprinted vertically with a powerful leap, glaring at Fia with both anger and delight.
She suddenly hopped off and dove straight down at him, generating a mighty gust that pushed her down faster than terminal velocity. He wasn't prepared to intercept her, and she slammed right on his chest to make him lose his footing. They plummeted onto the grass together, and Fia quickly jumped off him. Out of the rising smoke, Cuchulainn rushed out to duel her again. Their spears whizzed around so much that most of the neatly trimmed bushes and flowers were sheared into ugly messes without a second thought.
Fia ducked her head beneath a powerful swing from Gae Bolg, which missed her by only millimeters. Small tufts of her purple her were snipped off, but she ignored the close call and flipped about in a seemingly clumsy fashion. She headed toward the front entrance and landed near the stairs. Cuchulainn attempted to chase after her, but that was when he noticed multiples of an F-shaped sigil etched all over the ground.
"Shit!"
With a silent command from Ituha, all of the Ansuz Runes detonated like mines and engulfed him in a deadly inferno. It had been the girls' plan to have Fia distract him while Ituha laid those traps in a specific area, then Fia would lure him into that spot so he would suffer massive damage. The plan worked, but when the flames and smoke subsided, they only found him covered in burns and bleeding scars.
"My word! It's like he's unstoppable!" Ituha exclaimed nervously.
Cuchulainn realized that, although the Archer was weak-looking and diminutive, he couldn't forget about her raw magical power and clever strategizing. Her trick had dealt more damage to him than Fia's occasional spear strikes, and he didn't want that to happen again. He spun Gae Bolg in his hands to get into a combat position, then charged at the astonished Ituha. He reached his hand out to snatch her throat, then slammed her back against a tree and lifted her off her feet to choke her.
"Gah! Ahh!" she yelped in desperation.
The red magic circles appeared around her hands once again and shone bright. Although she couldn't utter her Noble Phantasm's name, it seemed to activate on its own and generated scorching fire around her palms. It happened so fast that Cuchulainn couldn't react in time to escape, and he was immediately caught in an intense conflagration that he found to be very similar to Karna's Vasavi Shakti. Fia, who was running toward the scene to save her other self, slipped off her feet and doubled back to miss getting caught in the blaze. The heat alone was so potent that her coat and mittens caught on fire, and she had to throw them off to save herself.
Within the firestorm, Cuchulainn fell to one knee in utter exhaustion. Even he couldn't take two powerful fire-elemental Noble Phantasms without feeling the effects. Although he used his Battle Continuation skill to survive certain death, he didn't regenerate enough to be considered fully healed. He tried to get back to his feet, but Ituha conjured a large fireball in her hands and commanded, "Don't move!"
He glared at her, surprised to see the petite Archer looking so tough. As he got a good look at her features, he could finally see something that he had envisioned this entire time – what Connla would have looked like as a noble princess who lived and fought for her people.
"I've got this, Fia," Ituha said to the feral child. "Go help Lord Rama and Ms. Nightingale."
Although she was hesitant about leaving her 'twin' behind, she silently obeyed her order and scurried off to find the other battle.
Meanwhile, Medb revealed that she had been harboring the Holy Grail inside her the whole time, only showing it to Rama and Nightingale as an arrogant display of power.
"Is this what you're after?" she taunted. "Those fools tried to kill me last time over this, but completely and utterly failed. If you want to follow your friends to hell, I'll be more than happy to accommodate you! Don't blame me if I inscribe something embarrassing on your headstones though!"
"No," Rama retorted. "We're not after the Holy Grail. The only thing more valuable than that is your head on a pike!"
"My, what a violent little man you are."
"Enough with the hollow boasting, Medb. You don't have what it takes to defeat us, even with the Grail," Nightingale said. "Even if I somehow used medical techniques that will be developed in the future, no amount of treatment in the world will heal you. You are healthy, yet hopelessly wicked at the same time. This is not an illness. Like a demon reincarnating into a human, you were born evil."
The queen was greatly offended by those words and snapped, "Shut up!"
"I see it now. So that's how the great hero Cuchulainn was infected, then inadvertently spread it to Connla. Then by my pledge, I'll commence treatment for him by first sanitizing the source of his disease!"
"My god, you don't know how to keep your trap shut, do you, woman!? Then I'll have to silence you first! Come, my cute boys! Protect your queen by tearing out their guts!"
The sacred chalice bubbled over with some viscous, molasses-like fluid and formed into mindless Celtic warriors and Shadow Servants. Rama spent no time gawking at them and immediately cleaved through the muck as the soldiers were being produced. He found them to be much easier to destroy in this half-formed state compared to when they were fully materialized. One by one, he cut down the warriors like using a machete to slice through jungle foliage, while Nightingale focused on a couple of Shadow Servants by shooting bullets through their heads.
"I'm eliminating them faster than she can spawn them!" Rama shouted jubilantly. "They must be at their weakest when they first materialize!"
"Leave the source of this illness to me. I will sanitize this contagion in no time flat," Nightingale told him, then turned to Medb, "So much for your endless army of germs and bacteria. It has the potential to be infinite, but only if you can perform the summoning without being distracted."
"Shut up, vermin!"
"HAAAH!" the nurse raged and leapt off a warrior's cranium, plummeting over the queen and twisting her body so she could chop her leg down on her shoulder like an axe. Medb screeched, unable to cope with the terrible pain that threatened to rip her arm right off. Unlike Cuchulainn, she wasn't known for engaging in combat and always had to rely on servants and minions to do the heavy lifting for her. That didn't mean she was entirely helpless though; as a Heroic Spirit, Medb could use the Golden Rule skill to apply self-healing that lessened the damage from Nightingale's attack.
"Now you've done it!" she raged and jumped backwards while snapping her fingers. In a flutter of pink hearts, a large chariot driven by two armored bulls appeared, and she landed in front of the carriage's seat before sitting down.
"Every thought is my strength! Mad love, misleading affairs, destructive lust! My favorite iron chariot! Chariot My Love!"
The bulls roared and charged at Nightingale, intent on trampling her to death. Amazingly, the nurse made no move to dodge them. Instead, Nightingale dug her fingers into the bull's cranium while pushing her feet against the ground with titanesque force. She then vaulted upside-down over the animal, planted her feet on its back, and hopped right at the astonished queen. She balled her hand into a tight fist and delivered a most satisfying punch to her cheek. An awful crunching sound permeated the air, followed by crashing noises as Medb collapsed out of her chariot. The bulls lost their footing, colliding with the White House's walls in a gust of smoke before disappearing.
"You-! You-! YOU CRAZY WENCH!" Medb screamed. Tears of agony flowed down her swollen cheek, and some blood dripped from her mouth.
"If I'm a wench, then you're a pustule festering on the ass of this world!" Nightingale retorted, her livid expression turning fierce.
"SHUT YOUR FILTHY MOUTH!"
Ituha sent more stones and fireballs flying at Cuchulainn as he fought to get back up and kill her. She was absolutely scared for her life, but she didn't want to retreat either. There was no way to know if she could call this 'heroic courage' or 'idiotic fear', but she remained steadfast with the fusillade of blazing projectiles while coping with her rapidly beating heart and soul-crushing anxiety. The grass around them was scorched black, and acrid smoke made breathing very difficult for them.
"Damn it," Cuchulainn gasped sullenly. "Why did you have to have her face…?"
Ituha was too frightened to hold any sort of conversation with the Mad King. All she could do was stare at him in silence.
"If only you had chosen to stay with me, things would have been so much easier," he murmured. "You could've spared yourself a lot of needless anguish."
What is he talking about?
She wanted to ask him, but her throat felt too tight for her to form any words. After another minute of apprehension, Cuchulainn's eyes suddenly shifted sideways. Between the crackling flames, he heard something unusual. His expression became alarmed as he clenched his teeth and turned to run toward the other battle. Ituha gasped and ran after him, wondering where he would be going at a time like this.
Medb had heard enough of Nightingale's insults and got in to face the foul-mouthed Angel of Crimea personally. Nothing would quell her rage like beating her up with her riding crop so hard that the nurse would be left unrecognizable. However, she would not be able to see her morbid fantasy come true…
"MWAAA~AAA~AAAHHH!" an unfamiliar shriek caught her attention, and she found Fia barreling straight for her with her mouth wide open.
She pounced on Medb and sunk her sharp teeth into her neck, mauling her like a wild dog would. After some agitated struggling, she finally punctured the woman's carotid artery and caused a tremendous amount of blood to spew everywhere as a deep red geyser. The queen's jaw dropped and her eyes widened in horror. The image of the sweet, endearing Connla clashed with the sight of her Berserker self's ghastly visage. Back and forth, the two images constantly switched in Medb's mind – a charming little girl dressed in pretty white-and-green dresses, and that same child roaring aloud while drenched in blood and blinking her alien eyes.
This isn't… what I wanted…
Fia looked over her shoulder when she noticed something large and black rushing toward her. Cuchulainn angrily snarled and stabbed his spear at her, forcing her to jump back and do some flips to regain her footing. Soon enough, Ituha came running to see what was happening. Medb fell backwards onto the pavement, her eyes empty and the ground near her neck stained red. The summoned warriors and monsters that Rama struggled against started to disappear one by one.
I wanted Cu to be the wild beast… not Connie…
Medb tried to look up at Fia and Ituha, but her blood pressure dropped so dramatically that she felt like she was going to be sick.
Connie… All I wanted… was to take… your mother's place… so we could be… a happy family. Just the three of us…
She thought she passed out for a moment because when she opened her bleary eyes once again, she found Cuchulainn hunched over her while holding her head in his arm. He stared into her eyes with a compassion she thought she had erased when she wished for him to be a beast king of destruction.
"Oh, Cu…" she whispered weakly. "I feel terrible…"
"You don't look so good."
"Yes… I know I'm going to die… All at Connie's hand. I shared in your dream… of making her happy. But…"
"She didn't accept the method we used. We ignored her true feelings and did as we pleased."
"This is my punishment… for forcing her… to play a role… she didn't want. So now I have… come to the end… of my role. I'm sorry… I didn't get to… make your daughter happy…"
"You did your best. You did what you could for her, while defending your nation as a queen. You're pretty capable when you put your mind to it."
"Cu! Y-You're really praising me…!" Medb smiled warmly. "Although I failed… as Connie's foster mother… at least I got to… make my deepest wish… come true. You're finally… mine. And now, I leave everything… in your hands… and in theirs…"
"Theirs?" Rama asked. "What are you talking about?"
"Eh… ah ha ha ha ha! Have you forgotten?" the defeated queen giggled defiantly. "Do you not know… of my greatest work? Of my… Clan Calatin?"
Ituha murmured, "Those are the warriors you assembled to defeat Cuchulainn. Comprised of a father and his 27 sons, it was a poisonous creature of hatred you sent to slay him out of vengeance."
"Almost 30 warriors, huh? Very well – summon them!" Rama commanded.
Medb's chuckling grew even more sinister. "Oh, you're so wrong… You couldn't be… further from… the truth! While you're busy here… I'm sure… your North Army… is already… being swallowed… by them…"
"What!?" Nightingale shouted. "You can't be serious! Did you use the Clan Calatin as catalysts to summon those things!?"
"He he he… can your friends survive… against the wrath of… 28 Demon God Pillars at once!?"
Ituha covered her mouth in abject shock. "No! Is that even possible!? Even with the Holy Grail, that should be impossible! No human should be capable of such a ridiculous feat!"
"Feh," Cuchulainn retorted. "That just shows you how strong her wish is. If it's for my sake, she'll offer everything she has."
"This can't be happening!"
In the northern front, Helena started to act strangely as she looked around fervently. Edison noticed this and asked, "What's the matter?"
"Mr. Edison," she said with a sharp tone, "you need to have your soldiers retreat!"
"Hm? Why?"
"Just do it! Hurry!"
He sounded a loud horn that signaled for his troops to fall back. Robin and Elizabeth heard it as well, and the Archer wondered, "He wants us to retreat?"
"Why!? We're winning, aren't we!?" Elizabeth screeched.
"Who knows? Why not ask Edison about- Whoa!?"
The ground suddenly started to shake in a violent tumult, nearly throwing both Servants off their feet. Li Shuwen and Beowulf also had to stop their duel when the earthquake made them lose their balance. Everyone screamed in a panic, and Edison commanded, "Calm down! It's just an earthquake!"
"No! This is no ordinary seismic tremor!" Helena exclaimed. "This is…!"
The ground started to split open… Not from one spot, but from multiple locations in a concentric area around the astonished Servants. Then, they shot out of the ground. Like tree roots with life of their own, a series of massive black tentacles with numerous red eyes disgorged themselves from the earth and flailed about. The already-dark clouds darkened to a menacing hue as forks of lightning streaked everywhere.
One, two, three, four, five… The heroes couldn't keep up with how many Demon God Pillars surrounded them, but once the tentacles stopped popping out, they could make the final tally at a mind-shattering 28 monsters.
"Whaaa! W-W-W-What is this!?" Elizabeth screamed.
"I think most people would call this a 'major boss'," Robin murmured.
Beowulf frowned and said to Li, "There's no way to win this. No matter if it's my dragon-slaying skills or your techniques, nothing we do will defeat these things. But we can't run away either. Feh… So I was just a throwaway minion from the very get-go… Just someone to hold the enemy in place so this could be sprung on us all."
"Our only option is to give up, huh?" the martial artist sighed.
Edison started to tremble with fear. Soon, the man who boasted about mass production and democracy faltered and moaned, "This is the end…"
"Edison?" Helena wondered worriedly.
"Look! Just look at this! We would be hard-pressed just to take down one of them with the Servants we have! We do not even have a shred of hope against 28 Demon God Pillars!"
"You have to calm down! You mustn't panic!"
"Oooh! It would seem… justice is defeated! America… no, the world, will die here! I was not enough to protect everyone!"
Helena couldn't say anything to console her terrified friend.
Medb's skin turned as white as her clothing after the last of her blood was exsanguinated. Cuchulainn murmured to her, "You leaving?"
"Yeah. I'll entrust… the Grail… to you. Good-bye… Cuchulainn… and Connla. I hope… the three of us… meet again… somewhere…"
Her body disintegrated into golden particles, leaving him to hold nothing except the Holy Grail that had been in her possession. He slowly got to his feet, then turned his languid gaze towards the four Servants. He let out a despondent sigh and grumbled, "Damn it. Seems I only get the bad women to flock to me. Medb was especially tenacious - only when she's dying does she actually become decent. Still, she was a hell of a lot better than Aife. If things worked out differently, I bet Connla and Medb would have gotten along like sisters. That would have been nice for me to see."
"Cuchulainn…" Ituha murmured. Fia merely stared at him, unable to understand what he was saying.
Rama stood tall and said, "This world's ability to correct itself is getting slightly stronger. It must be because we destroyed the one who wished for Cuchulainn's kingship. If we are to win, we must defeat the Mad King and erase the Clan Calatin once and for all! This is the last chance we have to save everything!"
Nightingale added, "This is it – the final operation to excise the greatest lesion infecting this world!"
"Well then," Cuchulainn spun Gae Bolg about in his hands before pointing it at the group. "Now that we know what the stakes are, let's get started with the killing."
Ituha exclaimed, "Can't you just hand the Grail over!? It's pointless for us to fight anymore!"
"I cannot do that. Medb placed a geas on me so that I can't relinquish it to our enemies. If you intend to seize it and create the miracle of 'saving the world', then you must do so over my dead body. Since you've rejected the world that Medb and I wanted for you, you have to fight to make the reality you want come true! Only by standing victorious will you be able to forge a new road of your own making! I do not stand here as your father, but as the final obstacle blocking your way to the future you seek! Destroy me and live! Or die by my hand and watch this world be incinerated!"
Fia hopped in front of the agitated Ituha and snarled at Cuchulainn. The Berserker could sense her father's combat spirit being reignited and was ready to protect her 'twin' at a moment's notice.
"Come on, then," he taunted the heroes. "I'll show you what happens when you pick a fight with an Ulster warrior!"
Everyone was ready with their weapons, and they all got into their combat stances.